Zhang Yuanyuan/VCG via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- When former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson complained to then-CEO Roger Ailes about hazing from her male co-workers, he replied with even more harassment, according to a lawsuit she filed. I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago, and then youd be good and better and Id be good and better. Sometimes problems are easier to solve, he said, according to a complaint she filed in New Jersey Superior Court in 2016. The high-profile case eventually caused Ailes' to be ousted as CEO and chairman of Fox News after 20 years. The only reason anyone outside of Fox knows about it? Carlson filed a lawsuit, instead of going through the secret process of arbitration. "We wouldn't know anything at all" about Ailes' behavior and subsequent harassment cases at Fox if Carlson had been forced into arbitration, her lawyer Nancy Erika Smith told ABC News. Smith made the risky move of filing suit against Ailes personally, rather than the company. On Thursday, one week after a global walkout of 20,000 Google employees, vendors, contractors and temp workers protesting the company's handling of sexual harassment and general equity cases, the tech company became the latest to reverse course and eliminate forced arbitration in cases of sexual harassment and assault fulfilling one of their demands. In doing so, Google joins Microsoft, Uber and Lyft in waiving forced arbitration in sexual harassment and assault cases, despite a Supreme Court ruling in favor of mandatory arbitration earlier this year. Many employee advocates argue that ending forced arbitration, which usually imposes confidentiality on the parties involved, is the first step toward ending sexual harassment in workplaces. "It's literally mindblowing," said Smith, who currently represents two women who were paid sexual harassment settlements by former Fox News star Bill O'Reilly. "It's unbelievably important to ending sexual harassment." Arbitration is a process outside of the court system that is common in American corporations. Instead of filing documents in court which become part of the public record and moving toward a jury trial, the outcome is decided behind closed doors and often included as a term for employment. Employers favor arbitration because it often limits bad publicity and the amount of money in awards an employee will receive. Also, because the employer often wins. "Theres a lot more ways to keep what happens in an arbitration secret," University of Michigan law professor Julian Davis Mortenson said. "Ligitation usually has much wider-ranging discovery, as in, 'Hey give me all the emails that relate to my claims,' 'Give me all the embarrassing stuff.'" "Once you find the embarrassing stuff, its not bound by the same confidentiality requirements that arbitration has. As a rule, it's way easier to disclose stuff happening in trial than in arbitration," Mortenson said. "A lot of these trials play out in the court of public opinion." Another thing that tilts the playing field toward employers is numbers. Arbitrators are staffed by companies, whose clients are corporations. Out of, say, 10 potential arbitrators, each side can nix a few and then rank the remaining to oversee their dispute. "Employers are repeat players in the way that individual employees never can be. They get to know lots and lots about arbitrators. If youre an arbitrator that rules for me this time, probably Im going to nominate you next time. Employers can structure the agreements to make it likely the pool of arbitrators selected are employer-friendly its like picking your jury," Mortenson said. In harassment and discrimination cases, there's another factor: demographics. "Arbitrators tend to be white men over 40 who come from a corporate or management background," said Doug Wigdor, a labor lawyer and arbitrator. He represented women who were sexually assaulted by their Uber driver. Though Wigdor and Smith noted the progress made by allowing employees to sue for sexual harassment and assault, they also said it's just the beginning of a longer process. "With sexual assault victims that they have control of the forum to air their grievances is important," Wigdor said, commending the Google decision. "For an employer to tell an employee they can't work at this company unless they agree to arbitrate matters is cruel in this day and age. But why not the same for racial or disability or age discrimination or harassment?" Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service SHAHJAHANPUR: A female passenger onboard Tatanagar bound Jalianwalabagh Express, coming from Amritsar, was attacked and strangled by three of her co-passengers when she objected them for smoking near Bareilly on late Friday night. As per the GRP sources, woman Chinta Devi, 45, was travelling along with her son and daughter-in-law in the general compartment of the Jalianwalabagh Express. She boarded the train from Jalandhar and was going to her native place for celebrating the festival of Chhat post- Diwali. Even her son and daughter-in-law were also beaten up by three hooligans. According to Shahjahanpur GRP station in-charge AK Pandey, the woman had sustained grievous injuries in the brawl. As the train reached Shajahanpur, she was rushed to Shahjahanpur district hospital but was declared dead upon arrival. Meanwhile, of the three accused, two pulled the chain and escaped in the darkness while the third one -- Sonu Yadav-- the main accused was handed over to GRP by the passengers. The victim, a widow, belonged to Makhrin village in Dalmianagar district of Bihar. Her son Rahul worked in Jalandhar and Chinta Devi was going to her native village along with son Rahul and daughter-in-law Babita. In the wee hours of Saturday, when Chinta Devi asked the three co-passengers to stop smoking as she was feeling discomfort owing to her ill health, they started misbehaving with her. As son Rahul objected to them, they attacked him and started thrashing him badly. When Chinta Devi and Babita tried to intervene, they were also beaten up black and blue. Later, somehow, Rahul informed the loco pilot of the express train about the incident and he, in, turn, conveyed the message to the railway control room. Subsequently, GRP and CRP were sounded. Accused Sonu Yadav belonged to Azamgarh in eastern UP and he also worked in Jalandhar. Yadav had to de-board the train in Lucknow but the incident happened before it. SO AK Panday said that efforts were on to nab the other two miscreants. By PTI KOLKATA: In an apparent dig at the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday some people were only capable of criticising the government's action, but lacked the ability to accomplish a single thing on their own. Speaking at the inauguration of the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival, Banerjee said the KIFF was setting new standards with the people's participation and urged the people to rise above barriers, stay united and to believe in unity "which is our core strength". "Some people only keep criticising our deeds. I tell them either do things if you can or leave the field. Some people only talk negatively about festivals. My question to them is why shouldn't there be festivals in our lives?" the chief minister said, without naming the Bharatiya Janata Party. Opposition parties, especially the BJP, have been criticising Banerjee for her government's support to festivals, including the Durga Puja carnival and donations to puja committees, at a time there were "no investments and employment opportunities" in the state. "Do you want to see people cry only? Do you have an issue if people smile?" she asked, asserting that despite the criticism by some people, her government would keep backing festivals -- from Durga Puja to Christmas, and now the film festival. "We will support organising every festival with equal enthusiasm. Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Diwali had just been celebrated across Bengal with enthusiasm. Chhath Puja, Jagadhatri Puja and Christmas are coming, and will be celebrated with equal enthusiasm by the people of the state," Banerjee told the 20,000-strong audience at Netaji Indoor Stadium here. "Festivals bring light and hope in the lives of people and 2019 will be happier," the Trinamool Congress chief said. Referring to the erstwhile Left Front government in the state, Banerjee said: "The status of the KIFF was on a downslide before we (TMC) came to power (in 2011). And we restored the lost glory." Recalling that the KIFF inaugural ceremony was formerly being held at state-run Nandan auditorium, Banerjee said some people had raised doubts when the venue was shifted to the present location. "Now, 20,000 people assemble at the Netaji Indoor Stadium for the KIFF inaugural ceremony every year and watch the inaugural film." "We showed things can be done if you want to," she said, adding that the inauguration of the 25th KIFF next year might take place at the Salt Lake stadium to accommodate over a lakh people. Turning to the dignitaries on the podium, including Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, she said, "We will seek guidance from Amit ji and Shah Rukh about how to hold the 25th edition of the KIFF in a grander way by including common people." Waheeda Rehman, Mahesh Bhatt, Nandita Das, celebrated Iranian director Majid Majidi and several Australian filmmakers were present at the inauguration ceremony. Australia is the focus country at the KIFF this year. Fayaz Wani By Express News Service SRINAGAR: In the third incident of sniping along the frontiers in last two days, an Army man was killed in sniper fire by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. An army official said Pakistani troops breached the border ceasefire in Sunderbani sector along the LoC in Rajouri at around 11.10 am today. He said the Pakistani troops fired towards the army positions, which was returned by the army men."A soldier Varun Kattal manning a bunker was hit by Pakistani troops sniper fire. He was evacuated to a military hospital, where he succumbed to injuries," the official said. Varun, 21, hails from Mawa village of border district of Samba in J&K. He is survived by parents. Defence spokesman in Jammu Lt Col Devender Anand while confirming soldier's killing said his killing won't go in vain."Our men also retaliated strongly and effectively on Pakistan army posts," he said. It was the third sniping incident along the LoC in J&K in last two days. On Friday, an army porter was killed after being hit by Pakistani troops sniper fire in Akhnoor sector. A BSF jawan was also injured after being hit by sniper fire in Manjakote sector of Rajouri district yesterday. The BSF jawan is undergoing treatment at a military hospital in Jammu. There has been a surge in ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the LoC and International Border (IB) in J&K this year. India shares the 198-km-long IB with Pakistan in the Jammu region, while the LoC, the dividing line between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK), is 740 kilometres long. At least 60 people including 32 BSF and army men and 28 civilians have been killed in these ceasefire violations. The casualties are on the higher side compared to last three years. Meanwhile, two militants of Hizbul Mujahideen were killed in an encounter with security forces at Tikken area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district today. The deceased militants were identified as Liaqat Munir Wani and Wajid Ul Islam, both residents of Pulwama. "An AK rifle and INSAS rifle and other incriminating materials were recovered from the encounter site," a police spokesman said. He said the INSAS rifle seized from the encounter site was the same rifle which militants had snatched from policemen at Murran, Pulwama early this year. Manoj Das By Permit me to take you back, briefly, to the summer of 1914a beautiful summer. A great calm lay over most of the world. Everybody in Europe was on vacation. The house parties on Literature and Education were never nicer. On the continent the spas were filled with the rich and the fashionable. ... Millions of the middle class swarmed through the art galleries and up the green valleys of Switzerland. And then a shot was fired at Sarajevo. War. It was incredible. It was a bad dream. It was a sudden insanity which would pass. But it didnt. In that beautiful summer of 1914 something ended foreversomething very great and wonderful! wrote Henry Luce, the co-founder of Time and Life. In fact, there were two shots fired by a pale Serbian youth, killing Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and the Archduchess Sophie. The shots seemed to have ricocheted a trillion times, their destructive potency growing to volcanic proportions by the hour, smashing cities and irreparably hitting civilised human relationships. At last, after four years, three months and nine days of havoc the curse lost its vitality and at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 it was declared dead. Sarajevo was the capital of Bosnia which, along with Herzegovina, had been annexed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was against the interests of Serbia. That explains the assassination. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. As Russia sided with Serbia, Germany, an ally of Austria, declared war on Russia. Next it declared war on France and invaded Belgium. A provoked Britain declared war against Germany. Soon the rival camps stood well identified: Britain, France, Russia, Japan and Serbia, later joined by Italy, Portugal and Romania constituted the Allied Powers. The determination of the idealist president of the United States Woodrow Wilson to maintain neutrality while Europe was burning ended when, early in January 1917, it was disclosed that Germany was conspiring with Mexico for a surprise attack on the US. He joined the Allies, followed by Greece. Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Turkey and Bulgaria constituted the other camp, the Central Powers. Out of 65 million people engaged in the war, 10 million were killed, apart from six million civilians. Around 20 million were wounded and at the time of armistice eight million were in prison. The disgust of the intelligentsia found vent in a letter by Bertrand Russell in the Nation: And all this madness looked at, all this rage, all this flaming death of our civilisation and our hopes, has been brought about because a set of official gentlemen, living luxurious lives, mostly stupid, and all without imagination or heart, have chosen that it should occur rather than that any one of them should suffer some infinitesimal rebuff to his countrys pride. But that was too simplistic. Sri Aurobindo wrote during the war in his monthly review Arya: National egoism remaining, the means of strife remaining, its causes, opportunities, excuses will never be wanting. The present war came because all the leading nations had long been so acting as to make it inevitable; it came because there was a Balkan imbroglio and a Near-Eastern hope and commercial and colonial rivalry in Northern Africa over which the dominant nations had been battling in peace long before one or more of them grasped at the rifle and the shell. Sarajevo and Belgium were mere determining circumstances There had been innumerable wars in history, their effects limited to regions. Even though the World War I did not cover the globe, its direct and indirect effect, political, economic and cultural, was global. But Natures subtle law of social progress, generally slow and dull, took some dramatic strides too. Sceptres and crowns tumbled down. Formidable dynastiesRomanov (imperial house of Russia), Habsburg (royal house then ruling over Austria and Hungary), Hohenzollern (German ruling dynasty) and Ottoman (Turkish dynasty) ended. The rapid collapse of the Tsarist rule and the surge of Communist revolution went together and the latters success proved to be the biggest single factor in the politics of the 20th century. The most beneficent contribution of the great war was of course the formation of the League of Nations. For many it had been the war to end all wars, partly because, they believed, the terrible spectre of doom it presented as fighting in the sky would keep the rivals in check, but positively because a grand innovation like the League of Nations held out promises of alternative to war. Not even three decades had passed when the extremely vicious World War II broke out. Once again fixing causes like Germanys frustration at the Treaty of Versailles perverting itself into Nazism can be only symptomatic diagnosis. The Constitution of the UNESCO states the reality very politely: Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defence of peace must be constructed. But let us dare question ourselves: Where are men with independent minds in the 21st century? Arent we reduced to clumps of mobs? And the ghastly irony is, a mob has no mind. If little mobs can lynch innocent passers-by, a giant mob can demand open-air hanging of a woman for an imaginary fault. Several countries are under theocratic or army-dominated or dictatorial one-party rule. Elsewhere democracy is tending to turn into mobocracy. A time has come when this must be the prime concern of all still conscious of their individual mindscommon men and our leaders in different fields. A wise man is supposed to have said that he did not know how men would fight in a third world war, but if there were a fourth, they will find only burnt bricks for weapons. But there could never be a fourth one, for the mushrooming nuclear vampire grasping the already ailing atmosphere would cause a complete extinction of life, sparing probably only the cockroaches. By Express News Service VISAKHAPATNAM: The bail petition of Janupalli Srinivasa Rao, the prime accused in the YS Jagan attack case, was dismissed by the III Metropolitan Magistrate Court Judge and extended his judicial remand till November 23. On Friday, as Srinivasa Raos remand period ended, the police produced him in the court, which extended his remand till November 23. Meanwhile, the bail petition moved by advocate Abdul Saleem, representing the accused, was not considered. The lawyer filed another bail petition on Friday. But as the judge issued orders for extension of remand, the petition was automatically set aside for hearing. Meanwhile, the SIT officials found a phone number in the name of KK from the call data of Raos mobile phone. Interestingly, sources revealed that the new person once worked as an aide to a former Congress minister and a few months back, he joined as a personal assistant of a YSRC top leader, who is considered as one of the most powerful persons in the party. SIT officials summoned the new person for inquiry and later they sent him back as they could not get any worthwhile information. Now, SIT officials are trying to complete the investigation as early as possible. If the chargesheet is not filed within a month, there is a possibility of the accused filing a petition to quash the case. By IANS Bengaluru, Nov 9 (IANS) A city court on Friday declined to grant anticipatory bail to Karnatakaa's mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy, who fears arrest by the state's Central Crime Branch (CCB) in a Ponzi scheme-related case. "Additional Sessions Court Judge Vidyadara Shirahatti said he cannot grant anticipatory bail to my client (Reddy) without hearing the prosecution side and adjourned the case to Monday (November 13)," Reddy's senior counsel C.H. Hanumantharaya told reporters here. Though the CCB summoned Reddy for interrogation in the Ponzi scam, in which he is accused of shielding its perpetrators from being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Hanumantharaya alleged that the CCB had wrongly framed his client in the case, as his (Reddy's) name was not in the FIR filed against Ambidant Marketing Ltd suspected to be behind the scam. When the judge asked the counsel the urgency in seeking anticipatory bail as Reddy was legally bound to appear before the CCB in response to its summons, the counsel said the police was searching for Reddy and raided his residence in the city and Ballari on Wednesday and Thursday in connection with the scam. Reddy, a former BJP Minister in the state, is on bail in the multi-crore mining scam that rocked the southern state for over a decade from 2002-12. "The judge has issued notice to the prosecutor for filing objections, if any, against Reddy's petition for anticipatory bail," said his counsel. Reddy's counsel also sought a court directive to the CCB for changing the investigation officers, as the Ponzi case does not come under their jurisdiction. The ED on Thursday charged Ambidant owners Syed Fareed Ahmed and his son Syed Afaq Ahmed with running a potential Ponzi scheme offering huge interest to investors in the name of 'Islamic banking'. "Investigation revealed that the city-based Ambidant Marketing Ltd has been operating a potential Ponzi scheme and duping hundreds of investors in the name of Islamic banking and 'Halal' investment," the ED said in a statement here. Since its inception on December 20, 2016, the company is alleged to have received a whopping Rs 954 crore as investments under Haj/Umrah and Ultimate plans. Interrogation of the Ahmeds (father and son) revealed that the duo had allegedly gifted Reddy 57 kg gold valued at Rs 18 crore through his personal assistant Ali Khan for bailing them out of the cases from the police and the ED. By IANS BENGALURU: Security has been stepped up across Karnataka in view of the birthday celebration (Jayanti) of the erstwhile Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan on Saturday by the ruling coalition partner Congress despite protests by the opposition BJP. "We have tightened security across the state and deployed additional forces in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Kodagu and Mangaluru for peaceful celebration of Tipu Jayanti," a police officer told reporters on Friday. The other alliance partner, the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), is staying away from the state-sponsored event, as evident from the absence of its Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy's name in the official invitation. The Chief Minister's office clarified that Kumaraswamy would be taking rest for three days from Saturday on the advice of his doctors. "Kumaraswamy will spend time with his family on these three days and there will be no official engagements till November 11," said an official statement. Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara of the Congress will inaugurate the Jayanti at the state secretariat in the city centre in the presence of special invitees and dignitaries, including cabinet ministers from Congress side. The Congress began celebrating the birth anniversary of the 18th century controversial ruler on November 10 since 2015 to honour him as a patriot and for his yeoman service to the people in the southern region. Eldest son of Sultan Hyder Ali, Tipu (1750-1799) is also hailed as the 'Tiger of Mysore' for fighting against the British East India Company to protect and enlarge his kingdom. Tipu was killed in a battle with the British army in 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna near Mysuru, about 120km from Bengaluru. Accusing the Congress of indulging in appeasement of minorities for vote-bank politics, the BJP said it was opposed to the celebration of a tyrant, who allegedly killed hundreds of Hindus and Christians in his kingdom. "We are opposing Tipu Jayanti. Nobody will appreciate this celebration. In the interest of the state, the sate government must stop it. Government's intention behind celebration is to satisfy the Muslim community," tweeted BJP's state unit president BS Yeddyurappa. Defending the celebration, Parameshwara said Tipu was a patriot who fought against the British and protect the people from the invaders. "I have directed the police to maintain law and order and ensure peaceful celebration. Pro and anti-Tipu Jayanti processions will not be allowed. The event will be held only in community halls and auditoriums," said Parameshwara, who also holds the Home portfolio. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy, who had on Friday accused the state of targetting him in an investigation into an alleged Ponzi scam, appeared in the Central Crime Branch (CCB) office here. He also surfaced in a video alongside his lawyer Chandrashekar RP on Saturday and said that news of his absconding from the city to avoid appearing before the CCB was false and that the sleuths had only sent him a summons on Friday asking him to appear on Sunday for questioning which he intended to follow. In the video, Chandrashekar speaks on behalf of Reddy and says that the CCB was misleading the public and media by stating that Reddy was absconding. "The CCB police did not mention Reddy's name in the FIR and did not try to contact him over the case till Friday. They have not shown any kind of evidence against him so far and have misled the media by saying that he is absconding. The police has acted in a biased manner and damaged my reputation," Chandrashekar says. The video was shot in an undisclosed location. The lawyer then goes on to say that Reddy respects the police and the rule of law and accordingly would appear before the CCB with his legal counsel. On Friday, a city court had declined to grant anticipatory bail to Reddy, accused of bribing an Enforcement Directorate official in a Ponzi scheme related case. The CCB had launched a search for Reddy and according to his counsel, had even raided his residence in Bengaluru and Ballari in the past week. In a statement, the ED had said that the promoters of Ambidant Marketing Ltd, had been charged with operating an illegal Ponzi scheme and duping hundreds of investors in the name of Islamic banking since its inception in December 2016. Reddy is accused of having taken money from the promoters of the company to strike a deal with the Enforcement Directorate official to stop an investigation into the case. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Tipu Jayanthi, the birth anniversary of ruler Tipu Sultan, was celebrated across the state on Saturday, albeit in a dull manner and amidst tight security as several leaders chose to skip the celebrations while protestors held sway in many other cities and towns. In Bengaluru, in the absence of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who had earlier indicated that he would not be attending due to health reasons, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara also chose to skip the main event organized in Vidhana Soudha. Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar then stepped in and inaugurated the event along with Food and Civil Supplies Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan. Meanwhile, in Madikeri, the Tipu Jayanthi Virodhi Samiti began a protest by remembering Kuttappa, Vishwa Hindu Parishad member who was killed in Madikeri in 2015 Tipu Jayanthi riot, after offering puja at Omkareshwara Temple in Madikeri. The protesters then shouted slogans against Tipu and state government. Over 100 protesters were later arrested by Rapid Force and police. Meanwhile, Tipu Jayanthi celebration at Madikeri Fort began with BJP leaders shouting slogans against Tipu. Peoples representatives and a few Madikeri taluk panchayat Officials were stopped by cops at the Madikeri Fort entrance as they did not posses invites. They were, however, let in after much protests. BJP MLA Appachu Ranjan and MLC Sunil Subramani took seats on the Dias at the ceremony in Madikeri Fort auditorium. However, MLC Sunil Subramani took over the mike even before the inauguration of the ceremony causing unrest at the auditorium. Following this, BJP members were escorted out of the auditorium by police force and were later taken into custody. Prohibitory orders have been put in place in several areas in the district. Protesters in Mangaluru were also taken into preventive custody. JDS legislators BM Farooq and Bhojegowda skip event. BJP leader Franklin Montheiro, over 60 right wing Hindu activists who tried to enter event venue taken into preventive custody. In Shivamogga, prohibitory orders were enforced across the city and the Kuvempu Ranga Mandira turned into a fortress on Saturday. District Minister and JD(S) leader D C Thammanna, who was scheduled to inaugurate the event, skipped it. BJP legislators were also absent. In Karwar and Yellapur as well, several people were taken into preventive custody for carrying out rallies and protests. Elsewhere in Kolar, Kalaburagi, Ballari and Hassan, the functions started late but went off peacefully. Police have also detained BJP workers led by MP Prahlad Joshi heading towards Mini Vidhana Soudha in Hubli to protest against Tipu Jayanti celebrations. The Karnataka government had brought the state under a thick security blanket amid threats of protest by the BJP and many Hindu outfits over the celebration of Tipu Jayanti. Calling Tipu a "religious bigot", the state BJP unit had urged the JDS-Congress coalition government to drop its decision to celebrate the Jayanti. As a precautionary measure, prohibitory orders had been clamped in many districts of the southern state. No processions, either in favour or against the event will be allowed, officials said. Elaborate security arrangements have been made in districts like Kodagu and Chitradurga, coastal regions among others, where local communities are opposed to the celebrations. Karnataka: Various groups protesting against #TipuJayanti celebrations in Madikeri detained by police. pic.twitter.com/6RzQNgMWRk ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 In Kodagu district, which was marred by widespread protests and violence during the first official celebration in 2015, Tipu Jayanti Virodhi Horata Samithi has called for a bandh Saturday. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) worker Kuttappa had died in Kodagu district during the clash that erupted during the celebrations in 2015. Superintendent of Police of Kodagu Sumana D Pannekara told reporters that the situation was peaceful so far and security arrangements have been made to ensure that no untoward incidents took place. She said no one would be allowed to forcefully shut shops and business establishments. "Around 500 police personnel along with officials have been deployed in and around Vidhana Soudha (Bengaluru). DCPs of different zones in the city will be in charge of security in their respective jurisdiction. "About 15,000 police personnel will be manning the city," Bengaluru Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar said. Kumaraswamy had in a statement on Saturday hailed "Tipu's progressive measures in administration, his quest for innovation are commendable". He also stated that as he was taking rest on doctor's advice, he was unable to take part in the programme. "It is unnecessary to add special meaning to it. It is also far from truth that he (chief minister) is not taking part due to the fear of losing power, as he opposes such blind beliefs," the statement said. It is the first Tipu Jayanthi celebration after the Kumaraswamy led Congress-JD(S) coalition government came to power in the state. The previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah observed Tipu Jayanthi on November 10 every year since 2015, amid stiff opposition by the BJP and several Hindu organisations. Tipu was a ruler of the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore and considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces. Tipu Sultan, however, is a controversial figure in Kodagu district as Kodavas (Coorgis), a martial race, believe that thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forcible conversion to Islam. He is also accused of execution of Mandayam Iyengars at the temple town of Melkote in Mandya district on the day of Deepavali, as they supported the then Maharaja of Mysuru. However, the scale of such suppression is disputed by several historians, who see Tipu as a secular and modern ruler who took on the might of the British. While BJP and some Hindu organisations sees Tipu as a "religious bigot" and a "brutal killer", few Kannada outfits call him "anti-Kannada", citing that he had promoted Persian at the cost of the local language. (with inputs from PTI) Dhinesh Kallungal By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ambitious airstrip project of Kerala has received a momentum with the state government giving permission for Mahindra Aerospace to explore the feasibility of setting up a 1,200-1,400 m runway in the proposed airstrips in Kasargod, Wayanad and Idukki and connect nearby airports with its Airvan plane in the first phase. According to government sources, Mahindra Aerospace has approached the state government along with some other companies evincing interest to start air services using its 10-seater aircraft. A high-level meeting held recently then explored the possibility of setting up the facility along with starting services and Mahindra Aerospace has conveyed its willingness in the business model. The company has also been directed to look into the prospects of starting an aircraft manufacturing hub in Kerala, similar to the one it owns in Bengaluru. The company is reported to have informed the state government it can operate 10 or 12-seater Airvan to connect the airstrips with nearby airports in Kerala and neighbouring states.A secretary-level meeting which saw the participation of officials from CIAL that had held a feasibility study of the airstrips a few years ago, has given permission to Mahindra (a newcomer on the local aerospace scene that acquired Australias GippsAero which makes the Airvan family of aircraft) to work on the business model. The company will be responsible for developing the runway and other ancillary infrastructure facilities required for operating the 12-seater aircraft, including a 1,200-1,400 runway for which the state government will make available the land in selected locations. Other airlines can operate from the airstrips and the investment to be made by the company can be recouped in the long run. Other terms such as the duration of the contract will be decided only after vetting the suitability of the business model as the project is in the preliminary stage now, said a senior bureaucrat.In the second phase, airstrips in others districts will be set up and this airstrip project is expected to bring in sweeping changes in air travel inside the state as travellers can fly to nearby districts at a rate equal to the second AC rate of trains, said a senior officer privy to the meeting. The state government had earlier given the nod to hold a study for setting up airstrips or heliports in Periya in Kasargod, Panamaram in Wayanad, Guruvayur, Palakkad, Munnar, Thekkadi, Kumarakom, Alappuzha, Asramom (Kollam) and Varkala. Though the initial attempt of the state government to set up airstrips in various places was grounded a few years ago following a public protest, things have changed now with the public coming in support of the project.A committee has also been formed with the Transport Secretary as chairman to revive the project. By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that there was no going back for the government in the case of entry of women of all ages at Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple. Opposition to changes in customs is quite natural. But there is no going back. Toilets, bathing facility and accommodation facility at Nilakkal will be set up for women devotees. The present crisis is temporary, he said at weekly media interaction programme. The government is preparing a master plan for the development of Sabarimala.Pinarayi condemned the false campaign that government was taking the revenue of temples, including Sabarimala for other expenses. In fact the government spends a good amount every year for infrastructure development of temples and road development. Some are conducting a campaign that devaswom revenue is going to the treasuries. Naive devotees fall in their trap, the chief minister said. ALSO READ: Police watched, Sangh Parivar took over Sabarimala: Congress Strict action will be taken against those creating problems at Sabarimala. State Welfare Coporation for Forward Communities chairman Balakrishna Pillai, former principal secretary to the prime minister T K A Nair, writers K R Meera, Ashokan Charuvil and Swami Sandeepananda Giri attended. Police expect more online booking for darshan by women The 550 women aged between 10 and 50, who have booked Sabarimala darshan through sabarimalaq.com, hailed from various South Indian states including Kerala. Police officers said they expect more women to book darshan using the portal in the coming days. Police IT Cell has filed a report giving details of the booked persons to police headquarters for further action including conducting background check. Social media posts of the women who did online booking would also be scrutinised. Meanwhile, police have made it mandatory for private vehicles coming to Sabarimala to obtain passes from their respective police stations. This is applicable even for inter-state vehicles. A statement issued by police headquarters said the pass should mention the date of travel and it should be pasted in the front windshield of the vehicle. Though official version is that the move is to streamline parking at Nilakkal, inside sources say that its intended to monitor arrival of trouble makers to Sabarimala. A challenge for police Only when the women devotees approach with the online booking printouts at Nilakkal, we will be able to confirm whether they are genuine or not, said a senior police officer. All the bookings have been made by uploading their photo, furnishing address and date of birth. Anyway, its going to be a big challenge for the police as already lakhs have booked for darshan using the online portal, the officer said. As on November 8, a total of 3,26,855 people have booked for darshan during the pilgrimage season and the daily booking is around 30,000. Data shows 5,607 people have also cancelled the booking so far. By Express News Service KANNUR: Launching a frontal attack against the CPM on the Sabarimala issue, BJP state chief P S Sreedharan Pillai on Friday said expecting justice from the CPM is a bit like chants of non-violence emanating from an abattoir. Addressing the Sabarimala Samrakshana Ratha Yatra at Thalassery, he said the CPM has become a safe haven for thieves and robbers and this is why the party is dilly-dallying on cracking the whip on embattled Minority Affairs Minister K T Jaleel. According to Pillai, he feels sorry for the present-day CPM which had traded Marxism for pragmatism, thereby becoming the biggest business house in politics. The Marxists are now axing the very perch on which they are seated, he said. ALSO READ: Police watched, Sangh Parivar took over Sabarimala: Congress The BJP is waging an ideological fight in the state. But the partys fight is not against the court verdict. It is against the atheistic stance of the state government. The BJP is happy its support base is swelling due to this, he said. The CPM is trying to defeat this battle by slapping fake cases on party workers and trying to silence the supporters. However, this will not work in Kerala, said Pillai. The need to protect the customs and traditions at Sabarimala can be conveyed to the people through the rath yatra, he said. The yatra will be peaceful and is not against the other religions. The CPM should desist from its malicious campaign which claims the BJP is daring the SC verdict, said Pillai. The BJP-NDA sees this as a battle between believers and non-believers, he said. CPM targeting Hindu community Kannur: In the light of the court verdict, the CPM has taken a stand to allow women to enter the holy shrine at any cost, BDJS chairman Thushar Vellappally has said. At the reception accorded to the Sabarimala protection yatra at Thalassery on Friday, Thushar said the Devaswom Board too took the same stand to make matters worse. In our country, there are separate tradition and custom for each religion. The CPM is targeting the Hindu community by trying to destroy its tradition. This will not succeed as 90 per cent of the population is believers. Its unwise to think the party could change all the devotees, said Thushar. Manoj Viswanathan By Express News Service KOCHI: The Indian shrimp is facing a ban threat in the US, as the Department of State has found that the fishing practices followed by the country do not comply with the US regulations to protect sea turtles. The ban, if imposed, may adversely affect the Rs 7,000-crore export of shrimp from Kerala. On May 1, 2017, the Department of State had certified 39 nations and one economy, and granted determinations for seven fisheries, as having adequate measures in place to protect sea turtles during the course of commercial shrimp fishing, which permits those countries to export wild-caught shrimp to the country. However, India does not feature in the list of certified countries. As India pleaded that the country is following safe fishing practices, a team of experts from the US had visited Odisha, where olive ridley sea turtles nest in large numbers. The team is expected to visit Kerala by January, 2019, said sources. The US has implemented stringent anti-dumping policy to ensure protection of endangered marine species. As per the norms, the exporter has to furnish details regarding the location from where the fish was caught and the fishing gear used. If the catch is from outside the territorial waters using illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices, the consignment will be rejected. The US law demands use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TED) in fishing gear to ensure that no turtle is harmed due to the fishing practice. There is a threat of a ban in the US on the import of wild shrimp from India. We are trying to convince them that we dont follow destructive fishing practices, said CMFRI principal scientist Sunil Mohamed. We have informed the American authorities that we follow safe fishing practices and ensure protection of marine ecosystem. Turtles are found mostly in the Bay of Bengal and there is no nesting found on the Western Coast. Besides, a majority of the shrimp exported from Kerala is from the shrimp farms. We expect they will give some relaxation, said Fisheries Deputy Director S Mahesh. All-Kerala Fishing Boat Operators Association general secretary Joseph Xavier Kalapurakal said Kerala boats have not installed TED as the population of sea turtles is low in the Arabian sea. We dont follow destructive fishing practices. Even if a turtle is found in the catch, we release it into the sea. We are confident of convincing the American authorities, he said. With the Fisheries Ministers from southern states set to meet in Kochi on Saturday, fishermen leaders have demanded the issue should be discussed. The American authorities are bringing in regulations to support their fishing sector. The India Government should take up the matter with the American authorities and find an amicable solution to the problem. If the ban is imposed it will push the fishermen to penury, said Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi president Charles George. A major chunk of the export to the US constitutes farmed shrimp and we dont think the ban will have a huge impact. We export wild shrimp worth 253 million dollars to the US, said an officer. By Express News Service PARADIP: Paradip Port Trust has made a paradigm shift by introducing ship-loading of 20,112 tonne of blended coal in the vessel M V Diamond Star containing high grade coal of ECL (G4 grade) with low grade coal of MCL (G12 grade) at the ratio of 35 per cent: 65 per cent to achieve a higher Gross Calorific Value (GCV) suitable for Vallure Thermal power station of M/s NTECL. Thermal power plants blend high grade coal with low grade coal to achieve the intended GCV at the power plant. The high grade coal is mostly imported from Indonesia. In India, high grade coal with high GCV is available in ECL, CCL & SECL as against abundance supply of low grade coal from MCL. Two different grades of domestic coal were blended at a port to achieve the same effect of blending with imported coal perhaps for the first time in India. This will go a long way in saving precious foreign exchange for the country. In the blending process carried out at Mechanised Coal Handling Plant (MCHP) of PPT, two different grades of coal from different collieries were homogeneously blended by mechanised process. Re-circulation of high grade coal from Stackyard through reclaimers & low grade coal unloaded directly from wagons will pass through a common junction house to form blended coal as per the desired ratio. This blending process at MCHP of PPT has the advantage of homogeneous blending to ensure the blend remains consistent. Mechanised Coal Handling Plant of PPT commissioned in September 2001 is one of the premier bulk material handling systems in Asia. The plant is equipped with state of the art technology and serves the purpose of exporting thermal coal to the power plants in southern India. Since inception, the plant has achieved many milestones in operational parameters like high berth productivity and minimum turn-around time of vessels which are on a par with international standards. By Express News Service PARADIP : Production in Essar Steel plant was affected on Friday as hundreds of workers staged dharna protesting illegal termination of workers and non-fulfilment of various demands. The agitators, under the banner of Paradip Essar Steel India Workers Union, locked the main gate and staged demonstration seeking fulfilment of various demands which include payment of variable dearness, skilled development, house rent, washing, conveyance, over time and canteen allowances besides provision of ESI, EPF benefits and safety equipment.As the agitators restricted entry of employees and vehicles, official work and production in the plant was affected. In May this year, the workers body had threatened to intensify protests in front of the plants main gate to press their demands. The union had also warned of paralysing production in the plant. Apprehending law and order situation in the plant, joint general manager (HR) R K Mohanty sought the intervention of the district administration to take preventive measures. The district administration had clamped prohibitory orders near the factorys main gate for smooth running of the plant. Later, the administration held a meeting with the union members in the presence of local police to resolve their issues. Though Essar officials skipped the meet, Paradip ADM Kanhu Charan Dhir had assured to resolve the issues of agitating workers. Though six months have passed since the meet, the demands of the workers are yet to be met. Meanwhile, the plant authority have also terminated eight workers. By Express News Service BHUBANESWAR: Two days ahead of the States flagship investors meet Make-in-Odisha 2018, South Korea has proposed to invest nearly `7 lakh crore in several sectors in coming years. Apart from South Korea, the five-day conclave scheduled to be held from Sunday expects investment promises from five other countries including Japan and Saudi Arabia. Japan is the country partner of the conclave. Encouraged by the Industrial Policy Resolution and conducive atmosphere promised by the Odisha Government, the South Korean Business Association at Kolkata has sent the investment proposal to the State Government. The business association, having more 200 members from the industry and investors community, intends to invest in port, airport, renewable energy, IT, food processing, tourism and hospitality, urban development and solid waste management besides some other sectors which will strengthen the partnership with the State. A delegation of investors led by the association president Jun Rae Cho is slated to meet Secretary of Industries Department Sanjeev Chopra on November 17 and discuss their investment proposals. After the preliminary discussion with senior officials of the Industries Department, the delegation will also meet Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seeking his support for grounding of the proposed projects. Business partner of the association in the State, Tzar Aerospace Research Labs (P) Ltd has already set up an aerospace technology start-up to develop a conceptual unmanned hypersonic research aircraft with new computational approaches and methods. Director of the start-up Priyam Mohanty said apart from the economic development, huge job opportunities can be created once the investment proposals are materialised. The first Make-in-Odisha conclave in 2016 had attracted investment intents worth around `3.64 lakh crore. Of 124 MoUs signed during the investors meet, nearly 64 per cent are in various stages of implementation. The State Government is leaving no stone unturned to make the second edition of the biennial global investors summit a great success as it has been planned in a grand scale compared to similar events organised by other States. Industries Minister Ananta Das said several business associations have sent investment proposals. In the run up to the conclave, we had been to South Korea to showcase our potential. A delegation from South Korea is meeting us on Saturday. We are also expecting delegations from Italy, Germany and UAE besides Japan, he added. By Express News Service CHENNAI : Oseltamivir, the drug of choice for treatment and chemoprophylaxis of swine flu or H1N1, has been stocked in over 10,000 private medical shops from Friday and also sufficient drugs are available in all government hospitals, said K Sivabalan, Director of Drugs Control.Speaking to press on Friday, Sivabalan said, The Health department instructed to make sure that there are adequate stocks of Oseltamivir drugs available in all pharmacies across the State. So, we instructed the private medical shop-owners to stock enough drugs. Also, the drug is available in all government hospitals free of cost, he added. Oseltamivir is sold under brand name Tamiflu. It is an antiviral medication used to treat and prevent influenza A and Influenza B. Swine flu is caused by Influenza A Virus (H1N1).Sivabalan also held a meeting on the DMS campus with the Tamil Nadu Chemists and Druggists Association and drug inspectors from Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts and instructed them to ensure availability of drugs. However, pharmacists in Chennai said the demand for Oseltamivir has come down after the drug was made available in all shops, In October there was a demand in our shop because many pharmacies did not stock the drugs. But, now in a week, we could sell a maximum of 10-15 strips. This is also because the drug is available in all stores, said T Nataraj, secretary,Chemists and Druggists Association, Chennai, who runs a medical shop at Adyar. The general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Chemists and Druggists Association, K K Selvan, who runs a medical shop in Salem, said, We could sell only two to three strips of Oseltamivir for 15 days or so at our shop in Salem. This was the case at most of our member pharmacists in the district, he added.The pharmacists said the drug costs `500 to `600 at private medical shops and it is available free of cost in all government hospitals. Also, we give only if there is a medical prescription from the doctors, said Selvan. Meanwhile, Sivabalan said the contact numbers of drug inspectors of all districts were available at the Tamil Nadu Drugs Control Department websites home page link www.drugscontrol.tn.gov.in and also Tamil Nadu Chemists and Druggists Association website www.tncda.com . By Express News Service CHENNAI: Oseltamivir, the drug of choice for treatment and chemoprophylaxis of swine flu or H1N1, has been stocked in over 10,000 private medical shops from Friday and also sufficient drugs are available in all government hospitals, said K Sivabalan, Director of Drugs Control. Speaking to press on Friday, Sivabalan said, "The Health department instructed to make sure that there are adequate stocks of Oseltamivir drugs available in all pharmacies across the State. So, we instructed the private medical shop-owners to stock enough drugs. Also, the drug is available in all government hospitals free of cost," he added. Oseltamivir is sold under brand name Tamiflu. It is an antiviral medication used to treat and prevent influenza A and Influenza B. Swine flu is caused by Influenza A Virus (H1N1). Sivabalan also held a meeting on the DMS campus with the Tamil Nadu Chemists and Druggists Association and drug inspectors from Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts and instructed them to ensure availability of drugs. However, pharmacists in Chennai said the demand for Oseltamivir has come down after the drug was made available in all shops," In October there was a demand in our shop because many pharmacies did not stock the drugs. But, now in a week, we could sell a maximum of 10-15 strips. This is also because the drug is available in all stores," said T Nataraj, secretary,Chemists and Druggists Association, Chennai, who runs a medical shop at Adyar. The general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Chemists and Druggists Association, K K Selvan, who runs a medical shop in Salem, said, "We could sell only two to three strips of Oseltamivir for 15 days or so at our shop in Salem. This was the case at most of our member pharmacists in the district," he added. The pharmacists said the drug costs Rs 500 to Rs 600 at private medical shops and it is available free of cost in all government hospitals. "Also, we give only if there is a medical prescription from the doctors," said Selvan. Meanwhile, Sivabalan said the contact numbers of drug inspectors of all districts were available at the Tamil Nadu Drugs Control Department website's home page link www.drugscontrol.tn.gov.in and also Tamil Nadu Chemists and Druggists Association website www.tncda.com. So, in case Oseltamivir drug is not available in their area, people can call these officials and ask them to make arrangements. There were 17 deaths and over 1,500 swine flu cases reported so far across the state, according to the officials. By Associated Press WASHINGTON: China bluntly told the United States to stop sending ships and military aircraft close to islands claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea, during talks that set the stage for a meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping later this month. The US pushed back Friday, insisting it will continue to "fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows." In late September, US and Chinese vessels nearly collided near a disputed reef. Despite the frank airing of differences at the meeting in Washington of the two nations' top diplomats and military chiefs, both sides stressed the need to tamp down tensions, which have flared amid a bitter trade dispute that Trump and Xi are expected to tackle at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina. "The United States is not pursuing a policy of Cold War containment with China," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters following the US-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue. "Rather we want to ensure that China acts responsibly and fairly in support of security and prosperity of each of our two countries." ALSO READ | Donald Trump says China no longer in race to surpass US as top economic power The talks were due to be held in Beijing last month but were postponed after Washington announced new arms sales to Taiwan, and after a Chinese destroyer came close to the USS Decatur in late September in what the US Navy called an "unsafe and unprofessional maneuver." Beijing has sweeping but disputed sovereignty claims in the area. "The Chinese side made it clear to the United States that it should stop sending its vessels and military aircraft close to Chinese islands and reefs and stop actions that undermine Chinese authority and security interests," said Pompeo's Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, who also had sharp words over US support for Taiwan. ALSO READ | China opposes US-Taiwan military ties However, Yang and Chinese defense minister Wei Fenghe spoke of the need to improve cooperation, including between the US and Chinese militaries, to ease the risk of conflict as the two powers jockey for pre-eminence in the Asia-Pacific. "Cooperation is the only option for us," Wei said. "Confrontation and conflict between the two militaries will spell disaster for us all." Defense Secretary Jim Mattis asserted US rights to freedom of navigation but also said the two sides should work together on areas of common interest. "Competition does not mean hostility. Nor must it lead to conflict," Mattis said. ALSO READ | US denies pursuing containment policy with China Although the rescheduling of the dialogue signaled an effort by the two sides to contain the slide in the relationship, it did not address the core dispute on trade. Trump has slapped tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese products, in a push to narrow the US trade deficit and push back against what the US views as predatory Chinese tactics on the high technology industry. Beijing has retaliated with tariffs on $110 million worth of US goods. Yun Sun, a China expert at the Stimson Center think tank, said Beijing is uncertain about what exactly Trump wants out of a trade deal, but hopes that with US midterm elections out of the way, the mercurial American president may be more inclined to reach a compromise. "Their top priority is to stabilize relations," she said. On human rights, Pompeo voiced concern over China's treatment of religious minorities, including the mass detention of minority Uighur Muslims. But overall, the tone of the US officials' public comments was milder than that of the Chinese. Yang insisted that Chinese people have freedom of religion, and that "foreign countries have no right to interfere." By UNI ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government aims to come up with a 'wealth fund' to turn loss-making public sector enterprises into profit-making entities before their sell-off. This was divulged by the officials of the finance ministry, State Bank and Federal Board of Revenue to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation which is currently on a visit here, Dawn reported. The IMF team is on a visit to the nation in connection with the government's privatisation programme for which it trying for a $12 billion loan from the international lender. The technical discussions, which are likely to focus on taxation regime and revenue generations on Saturday, will continue up to the middle of next week while policy level talks will be held in the last days of the week to ascertain Pakistan's requirement for bridging a funding gap and averting a balance of payments crisis, the daily said. The visiting team was informed that the government had decided not to offer Pakistan Steel Mills, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Pakistan Railways, Utility Stores Corporation, National Highway Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for sell-off. The government officials observed that all other entities were commercial units except for the CAA which was also a regulatory body in the aviation sector. The policy statement of federal Finance Minister Asad Umar which focuses on turning the loss-making public sector enterprises into "financially healthy before their privatisation, was also shared with the team. However, the officials were asked about the source of financing in the said 'wealth fund'. The IMF delegation were informed that government plans to invest in each entity in phases, and the loss-making public sector entities would be selected based on certain merits step by step. Officials said the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation had directed the industries ministry to bring up a viable action plan by the middle of December for Steel Mills turnaround. The IMF team was informed that similar plans were being prepared by relevant ministries for other entities under consideration for privatisation. The government had already held technical talks with the IMF on the power sector of Pakistan while further round of discussion would focus on monetary policy, and total requirements of the country during the three-year financial gap arrangement. On Pakistan's request for around $12 billion to bridge the financing gap during the current fiscal year, a senior official of the ministry said that actual details would be clear only after a complete review. "There are other benefits of entering the IMF programmes as it will enhance the financial standing of the country at international level and the credit rating will also improve,'' the official, however, added. 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe By ANI PARADISE: Nine people were declared dead and tens of thousands evacuated Friday as fierce wildfires raged across the western US state of California, with one rapidly spreading blaze threatening the famed resort of Malibu. All of the fatalities were reported in a massive late-season inferno in the town of Paradise, in Butte County north of the state capital Sacramento, where the entire population of 26,000 was ordered to leave, officials said. The fast moving blaze, known as the "Camp Fire," began Thursday morning. Fanned by strong winds, it has scorched 70,000 acres (28,300 hectares) and has not been contained, the California Fire Department (Cal Fire) said. Two other fires broke out in southern California, one in Ventura County near Thousand Oaks, where a Marine Corps veteran shot dead 12 people in a country music bar on Wednesday night. "The magnitude of destruction we have seen is really unbelievable and heartbreaking and our hearts go to everybody who has been affected by this," said Mark Ghilarducci, the director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. Late Friday Butte County Sheriff Korey Honea updated the Camp Fire death toll. "It's my sad duty to confirm that we now have a total of nine fatalities," he said, four more fatalities beyond the five reported earlier. Details were limited, and Honea did not release names of the victims. "I don't have all of the details because we have investigators out on the field attempting to get to those locations" where the casualties were reported, Honea said at a press conference. But he did say that four people were found inside a vehicle in the Paradise area, while another was found nearby outside the vehicle. Three more were found outside a residence, and one inside a house. Dozens of other people were reported missing. Harrowing escapes Residents who managed to escape Paradise posted harrowing videos to social media as they drove through tunnels of swirling smoke and orange flames to outrun the wildfire. The flames destroyed hundreds of homes, a hospital, a gas station, several restaurants and numerous vehicles in Paradise, officials said. An AFP photographer on the scene saw houses enveloped in flames, while others had already been reduced to ashes and cars burned to husks. Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders for more than 52,000 people in the scenic area in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, including some residents of Chico, population 93,000, near Paradise. California Governor-elect Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency to provide assistance to the fire-hit areas. More than 2,200 firefighters were battling the blaze, backed up by helicopters and water tankers. "The whole lower side of Paradise is totally engulfed in flames right now," Kevin Winstead, a resident of nearby Magalia, told KIEM TV. "All of it is engulfed in flames right now. "Not one home will be left standing," he said. "I'm devastated." "We're just hoping that our brand new home that we were hoping to move into tomorrow is not burned to the ground," Winstead said. "We're kind of all shaking right now." 'I pray everyone is safe' In southern California, authorities said around 105,000 people had been evacuated. The Ventura County Fire Department said the "Woolsey Fire" had burned around 35,000 acres, and evacuation orders were issued for some 88,000 homes in the county and neighboring Los Angeles County. "It is critical that residents pay close attention to evacuation orders," the Los Angeles County Fire Department said on Twitter. "This is a very dangerous wind-driven fire." The "Woolsey Fire" has jumped Highway 101 near the town of Agoura Hills and portions of the main coastal north-south artery have been shut down, triggering mandatory evacuations, including the entire city of Malibu. "We heard this was coming so we set up on the sprinklers and we hosed the whole house down," said Patrick Henry, a Malibu resident. "We pretty much had enough time to get the dogs in the trunk." The resort is one of the most in-demand locations in California for Hollywood stars seeking privacy and luxury, and has been home to Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, Brad Pitt and a host of other celebrities. Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West, who lives just north of coastal Malibu in Calabasas, revealed on Instagram that she was forced to flee her home. "Just landed back home and had 1 hour to pack up & evacuate our home. I pray everyone is safe," she said. Actress Alyssa Milano, one of Kardashian's neighbors in Calabasas, wrote on Twitter that she was also evacuated. "Horses are finally safe. My children are safe. My home is in jeopardy but... everything with a heartbeat is safe," she said. Director Guillermo del Toro tweeted that Bleak House, his museum of horror movie memorabilia, was also in the path of the flames. By AFP ANKARA (TURKEY): The killers of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi poured his remains down the drain after dissolving him in acid, a Turkish newspaper reported Saturday. Samples taken from the drains at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul showed traces of acid, pro-government daily Sabah said, without quoting sources. This led investigators to believe the dead body of the insider-turned-critic of the Riyadh regime was disposed of through the drains as liquid, the paper said. ALSO READ | Jamal Khashoggi killing: Saudi Arabia grilled at UN rights review session Khashoggi was last seen entering the consulate on October 2 to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage. His body has never been found. After repeated denials, Saudi Arabia finally admitted the 59-year-old had been murdered at the mission in a "rogue" operation. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the "highest levels" of the Saudi government of ordering the hit, while some officials have pointed the finger at the all-powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. ALSO READ | Khashoggi killing: Sons ask Saudi authorities to return his body Yasin Aktay, an advisor to Erdogan, suggested last week the body may have been dissolved in acid. And on Monday, a Turkish official said Saudi Arabia sent two experts to Istanbul with the specific aim of covering up evidence after the murder. Khashoggi's Turkish fiancee Hatice Cengiz took to Twitter on Thursday writing, "I'm unable to express my sorrow to hear about dissolving your body Jamal!" "They killed you and chopped up your body, depriving me and your family of conducting your funeral prayer and burying you in Madinah as wished." ALSO READ | Khashoggi's body was dissolved after Istanbul murder: Turkish official A Turkish official this week confirmed a Sabah report that chemicals expert Ahmad Abdulaziz al-Janobi and toxicology expert Khaled Yahya al-Zahrani were among a team sent from Saudi amid investigations into the murder. The paper said they visited the consulate every day from their arrival on October 11 until October 17. Saudi Arabia only allowed Turkish police to search the building on October 15. By AFP MOGADISHU: About 20 people were killed and dozens wounded Friday in a string of explosions near a popular hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu, police said. "We are getting (information that) about 20 people died in the attack and more than 40 others were wounded. Most of these people were civilians who were passing by the area when the attack occurred," Abdulahi Ahmed, a Somali security official, said. Twin car bombs exploded in the capital within moments of each other, followed by gunfire and a third blast, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the sky, according to an AFP reporter. Mogadishu faces frequent bombings at the hands of Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda affiliate which has been fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed Somali government for over a decade. The blasts occurred near the Sahafi hotel and Criminal Investigation Division (CID) police headquarters. The al-Shabaab terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attacks | AP "The target of the attack was the Sahafi hotel and even though the attackers used car bombs to make their way into the premises, the security forces stopped them," said Ahmed. "All of the four Shabaab attackers were killed outside" the hotel building, he stressed. An initial "two blasts struck the perimeter of the Sahafi hotel along the main road," said police official Ibrahim Mohamed, who earlier gave a preliminary toll of more than 10 dead. Witnesses said a third blast came from a suicide bomber who detonated an explosives-laden vest at the hotel's front entrance, as three attackers in Somali military uniform were shot at the rear entrance. Fatalities Abdulkadir Abdirahman, director of Mogadishus Aamin ambulance service, earlier said his team had recovered 10 bodies and 40 wounded. But Bashir Hassan Farah, another ambulance medic, later said he saw 20 dead bodies, most of them civilians. According to sources, the fatalities included the son of the owner of the hotel, Abdirashid Ilqeyte, who was killed in a Shabaab attack on the establishment in November 2015. The bombs destroyed parts of the hotel perimeter despite layered security, and several shops and other buildings nearby were destroyed. win car bombs exploded in the capital within moments of each other | AP Sources said several civilian minibuses and rickshaws that were passing by when the blast occurred, were destroyed and passengers killed and wounded. "There was chaos after the blast. Some of the vehicles were buses, which caught fire. I could see people screaming as they fled the buses," witness Fadumo Ali told AFP. "This area is always dense and traffic jams are normal. This increased the casualties. Most of the dead and wounded were civilians," added Awil Mohamed, another witness. The Shabaab claimed responsibility. "Armed members from the Shabab Al-Mujahideen carried (out) a complex attack targeting Sahafi hotel in Mogadishu where senior Somali government officials stay," the militant group said in a statement quoted by a pro-Shabaab website. "The attack was opened with a martyrdom car bomb blast and the fighters made their way into the building." The Shabaab were forced out of the capital by African Union troops in 2011. But they still control parts of the countryside and attack government, military, and civilian targets, seemingly at will, in Mogadishu and towns in the region. By PTI LONDON: A UK police force on Saturday launched an appeal to arrest vandals who attacked a newly-inaugurated Indian war memorial in the town of Smethwick in the West Midlands region of England. West Midlands Police said officers are treating the vandalism to the retaining wall surrounding the 'Lions of the Great War' sculpture as "racially-aggravated criminal damage". The 10-foot high statue, which depicts a Sikh soldier symbolic of the contribution of South Asian soldiers to World War I, was unveiled last Sunday at a spot between the town's High Street and Tollhouse Way and is believed to have been targeted with graffiti in the early hours of Friday. "We understand that this attack has caused a lot of concern in the community, and we are working to understand the reasons behind it and identify whoever is responsible," said Sergeant Bill Gill from the Smethwick Neighbourhood Team of West Midlands Police. "Officers had already planned to be at the remembrance event which is happening tomorrow (November 11) at the statue. I'd urge anyone with concerns to speak to the officers attending the event," he said. He added that CCTV footage is being recovered and officers are working closely with worshippers and management at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick, which had commissioned the statue to honour the sacrifices made by South Asian service personnel of all faiths from the Indian subcontinent who fought for Britain in the Great War and other conflicts. The words "Sepoys no more" were daubed on the base of the sculpture while a thick black line was drawn through the words "Great War". "Sepoy" was the term used in the British Indian Army for a soldier. "There was some vandalism to the back wall which is disappointing. The graffiti was cleaned off and the matter reported to the police," Jatinder Singh, President of the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick, said in a statement. He added, "Working with the council, we won't allow this vandalism to undermine the very strong message created by this new monument and the overwhelmingly positive reaction to its unveiling". "What makes this incident particularly distressing, is the complete disregard and lack of respect for the significance of the statue and inscriptions installed recently to commemorate the losses felt by many South Asian families who lost their dear ones during the First World War and to mark 100 years since the end of the Great War," he said. The bronze statue was unveiled last week to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I in November 1918, also referred to as the 'Great War'. The gurudwara donated around 20,000 pounds for the sculpture, with the local Sandwell Council investing in creating the public space with seating and lighting to house the new monument. The inaugural event was attended by hundreds, including Labour Party MP Preet Kaur Gill, the UK's first female Sikh MP. "It is an often overlooked fact that one in every six British soldiers was from the Indian subcontinent, making the British Indian Army larger than all the Commonwealth forces that they fought alongside, combined," the Birmingham Edgbaston MP said in her speech. "With the Commonwealth Games coming to Birmingham in 2022, this statue will serve as a timely reminder to our Commonwealth guests of the camaraderie and sacrifice shown by Sikhs throughout the wars, and who sacrificed their lives in defence of democracy and in the fight for freedom," she said. Over 74,000 soldiers from undivided India laid down their lives in World War I. This weekend marks a series of events to commemorate the sacrifices of soldiers from around the world who participated in the war effort between 1914 and 1918, as part of the centenary of the Great War. By UNI UNITED NATIONS: UN Chief Antonio Guterres has reiterated his support and solidarity with Somalis, following bomb attacks and gunfire in the Somali capital, Mogadishu on Friday, saying that he has full faith that Somalis "will not be deterred" in their efforts for lasting peace and political stability. The Secretary General said in a statement, "The support and solidarity of the United Nations with the people and Federal Government of Somalia in this endeavour." READ | Several dead, 45 wounded in car-bomb attacks outside Somalia luxury hotel The statement added that the Secretary General "sends his profound condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured," the United Nations news reported. The UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) reported that car bombs went off near the capital's Sahafi Hotel on Friday afternoon. The initial explosions were followed by gunfire, all believed to be carried out by the terrorist group, Al-Shabab. In its year long fight against the UN and internationally-backed government, the extremist group has targeted places which are frequently visited by officials and the security forces, such as the Sahafi Hotel. So far, authorities have reported that at least 20 people have been killed, and 17 wounded. In a statement condemning the attack, UN Deputy Special Representative for Somalia, Raisedon Zenenga, said the agency has faith the terror attacks will not affect Somalia's economic development and security reform. She said, "The United Nations and the wider international community stand with them." By IANS WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that Washington was not trying to contain China, but rather to persuade Beijing to adjust its approach in matters related to military expansion and respect for human rights. "The US is not pursuing a cold war or containment policy with China. Rather, we want to make sure China acts responsibly and fairly in support of security and prosperity in each of our two countries," Pompeo told a press conference at the State Department on Friday. ALSO READ | US to exempt China, India, Japan from Iran oil sanctions: Mike Pompeo He appeared with Defence Secretary James Mattis; the director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China, Yang Jiechi; and Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe following their second round of talks about security and diplomacy, reports Efe news. The conversations were held in an atmosphere of responsibility and respect, according to Pompeo, who acknowledged that China and the US face "significant differences between our nations" in such areas as trade, due to the mutual imposition of billions of dollars in tariffs. In that regard, Yang believed their differences can be settled through dialogue. "These issues," Yang said, "can be resolved through dialogue and consultation. A trade war, instead of leading to any solution, will only end up hurting both sides and the global economy." The representatives of the US and China agreed on the need to work together toward the "denuclearization" of North Korea, a regional ally of Beijing, but clashed on such subjects as Taiwan and the South China Sea. Pompeo expressed concern about the building of military installations on artificial islands and reefs of the South China Sea, while Yang asserted that Beijing has sovereignty over those waters even though other countries, including some allies of Washington, reject China's claims. On the other hand, Pompeo demanded that China respect the human rights of Buddhists and Muslims, for which Yang told the US not to interfere in "China's internal affairs". The talks held on Friday in Washington were meant to prepare the way for a meeting of President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this month at the G20 summit in Argentina. By PTI WASHINGTON: The United States will stop refuelling aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition that is bombing Yemen, the Washington Post reported Saturday. The move comes amid an ongoing international outcry over Saudi actions in Yemen, particularly after a string of high-profile coalition strikes that have killed scores of civilians, many of them children. The Pentagon would not confirm the Post's story. "We continue to have discussions with the Saudis. We have nothing to report at this time," Pentagon spokeswoman Commander Rebecca Rebarich said. ALSO READ | Yemen famine could become worst in living memory: UN Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in August warned that US support for the coalition was "not unconditional," noting it must do "everything humanly possible to avoid any innocent loss of life. " Currently, the Pentagon provides refueling capabilities for about 20 per cent of coalition planes flying sorties over Yemen. Mattis last month made a surprise call for a ceasefire in Yemen and urged warring parties to enter negotiations within the next 30 days. The United Nations has now pushed that deadline back to the end of the year. Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in the conflict between embattled Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, whose government is recognized by the United Nations, and the Huthis in 2015. Nearly 10,000 people have since been killed and the country now stands at the brink of famine. ALSO READ | Saudi-led coalition sends thousands of troops towards Yemen port International criticism over US support for Saudi Arabia grew further following the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The US sees Saudi Arabia as a key ally, especially in terms of providing a counter to Iranian influence in the region. Reporter Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk). The hospital is in collaboration with NOIC, which has availed $350 000 to cater for those who do not afford to pay for the procedures. The major challenge is that of key drug suppliers failing to provide the necessary drugs. This is coupled with a shortage of specialised manpower like perfusionists, he said. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya has poured his heart out during a pre-budget seminar in Bulawayo on Thursday, saying it was unfortunate that the apex bank has become the target of attack despite the enormous work they are putting in addressing the difficult economic situation. The top banker, who has been assured of a second term by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, was particularly not amused by those calling for the scrapping of the bond notes, introduced in 2016. In fact, extremists have been calling for his resignation, saying the neo-classical economist has failed in his job. Some of us have gone out of our way to get this economy running, Mangudya said, while addressing delegates at the on-going 2019 pre-budget seminar in the second city. It is about time that the people of Zimbabwe are grateful for this sacrifice, he added. Mangudya, whose first term of office expires in February next year, introduced bond notes about two years ago, vowing to resign if the scheme failed. He insists that the surrogate currency has been a success, giving the example of the growth in exports since its introduction as an export incentive. At the time of their introduction as a stop-gap measure to eliminate cash hoarding and externalisation of foreign currency, mainly the United States dollar, the bond notes were backed by a $200 million Africa Export Import Bank facility. At the pre-budget seminar, Mangudya was hauled over the coals in connection with the precarious state of the countrys economy and the effectiveness or lack thereof of his monetary policy interventions since taking over from Gideon Gono in 2014. In response, Mangudya said it was important for Zimbabweans, more importantly lawmakers, to appreciate the real causes of the foreign currency crisis facing the southern African nation. He said bond notes were not the real cause of the problems facing the economy, but ballooning electronic balances otherwise referred to as the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) balances that are not backed by any real money. Of the money circulating in the countrys economy, only 4,5 percent are bond notes and bond coins. Therefore, if we remove them, they wont resolve the problem. The problem is about the 95,5 percent held as RTGS balances in your accounts. Where is it coming from? Mangudya also blamed the countrys economic challenges problems on profligate spending by government whose wage bill has also become unsustainable with over 80 percent of the national budget going towards salaries. He said the country could also not expect to generate foreign currency when there was no production targeting exports. What are you producing Zimbabweans? he asked rhetorically, adding that If you are producing nothing, you cant have a higher currency, which is very strong. Therefore, the challenge that you are facing of foreign currency shortages is because we are not working, and we must start working very hard. So thats the burden we are carrying as the central bank in trying to fund those balances. If we deal with the fiscal rules and principles, then you will find out that everything comes to shape, he said. Daily News Fatalities After SUV Plows Into Wisconsin Parade UPDATED Vaccine Lab Worker Cleaning Freezer Makes Disturbing Find in case you missed it advertisement Ghostbusters Appears to Find an Audience box office Iva Kroeger Conned Her Way Through Life longform Miami Landmark to Reopen After Inspection updated 'Something Just Happened' Was Final Text. Then She Fell in case you missed it Austrians Circulate Ahead of Lockdown photos advertisement A TV Station Ran His Photo, With 'Devastating' Effects in case you missed it advertisement Cool Archaeological Site Found Due to Retreating Glacier in case you missed it advertisement Mass Marches Decry Violence Against Women photos Dad's Bear Hug May Have Saved Daughter in Plane Crash in case you missed it advertisement advertisement Small Space Traveler May Be a First in case you missed it KC Chiefs to Take Care of Girl in Britt Reid Crash for Life UPDATED (Newser) Election Day has come and gone, but the drama continues in Florida, where the books have not yet been completely closed on both the race for governor and US Senate. The Sun Sentinel notes "fraud claims, angry protests. and courtroom skirmishes," specifically in Broward and Palm Beach counties. As of Friday night, GOP Gov. Rick Scott led the incumbent senator, Democrat Bill Nelson, by 14,855 votes, which would qualify for a hand recount, while Democrat Andrew Gillum trailed Republican Ron DeSantis by just over 36,000 votes in the gubernatorial race, which would call for a machine recount. More on the ongoing tumult in the Sunshine State: How would a recount work in Florida? The Wall Street Journal offers a primer, noting the state's 67 counties must serve up their unofficial counts by Saturday at noon. If any races have a victory margin of 0.5% or less of the total votes counted, a recount is triggered. Per NBC News, Gillum is expected to hold a press conference Saturday to address his race against DeSantis and the narrowing gap between the two as more ballots are tallied. The Orlando Sentinel has "dueling statements" from Nelson and Scott, with Scott alleging a "clear violation of Florida law" and "unethical liberals," while Nelson asserts "this process is about one thing: making sure that every legal ballot is counted and protecting the right of every Floridian to participate in our democracy." Per CBS News and CBS Miami, Scott has already secured a few legal victories, including getting a Broward County judge to agree to "allow immediate" viewing and copying of ballots for review. story continues below President Trump had previously made his opinion known on the US Senate race in Florida, tweeting Thursday night: "Law Enforcement is looking into another big corruption scandal having to do with Election Fraud in #Broward and Palm Beach. Florida voted for Rick Scott!" Per CNN, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement pushed back on that Friday, noting it's not actively investigating anything related to the election. Something "weird" is happening in Broward County, per FiveThirtyEight: Many voters there didn't cast a vote for the US Senate seat, "way out of line with every other county in Florida." The site wonders if it has to do with a badly designed ballot, or possibly malfunctioning ballot-counting machines. The New York Times cites a feeling of "deja vu" in the "land of recounts and contested elections," specifically pointing at the chaos surrounding the faceoff between Al Gore and George W. Bush in 2000. Time, meanwhile, looks ahead to 2020 and what this could all mean for that election. A couple of other states are still dealing with their own high-profile election drama. Votes are still being counted in Arizona, where US Senate candidate Kyrsten Sinema has widened her lead against Martha McSally (Sinema was up more than 20,000 votes by Friday evening, per Politico). And in Georgia, Stacey Abrams is still holding tight in the hopes for a gubernatorial runoff against Brian Kemp, per the Savannah Morning News. Uncounted ballots continued to be counted Friday night, with all counties required to certify vote totals by Tuesday evening. "Votes are coming out of nowhere," Scott had complained in filing one of his complaints. More here . (Read more Election 2018 stories.) (Newser) As the wildfires ravaging California continue to wreak havoc, President Trump has weighed in from across the worldand he's blaming California, per Reuters. In an early Saturday post from Paris, where he's attending events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, Trump tweeted: "There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!" story continues below HuffPost's observation: "He offered no condolences to those killed in the blazes and did not further explain exactly how he believed the forests were being mismanaged." The site notes that nearly 250,000 people have been forced to evacuate; CNN reports at least nine people have died so far across the state, some in or near homes and others in their cars. ABC News notes that in August, Trump made similar claims blasting California, accusing the state of diverting water to fight fires into the Pacific Ocean; fire officials says his claims were wrong. (An entire community was "wiped out" by what's now being called the "most destructive fire in California history.") (Newser) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says officials from Saudi Arabia, the United States, Germany, France, and Britain have listened to audio recordings related to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, the AP reports. Erdogan's comments on Saturday were the first public confirmation of the existence of recordings of the Oct. 2 killing of the Washington Post columnist at the consulate where he'd gone to get papers to marry his fiancee. "We gave the tapes," Erdogan said Saturday before departing for Paris, where he'll attend events with other world leaders marking the armistice that ended World War I, per Al Jazeera. "They have listened to all the conversations in them. They know." story continues below NBC News notes that a State Department rep had previously denied that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had heard any such audio or seen any audio transcript when he visited Turkey last month. President Trump, meanwhile, has said that the US has asked for any audio "if it exists." Erdogan called on Saudi Arabia to rid itself of the "stain" by cooperating with Turkey over the investigation. Erdogan said a 15-member team that Turkey says was sent to kill Khashoggi know who's behind the killing, as well as the location of his remains. (Saudis are boycotting Amazon over coverage of Khashoggi's murder.) (Newser) The death toll from flash floods in Jordan rose to 12 on Saturday, and the kingdom's main tourist attraction, the ancient city of Petra, was closed for cleanup after what local officials said was the biggest deluge in the area in decades. Friday's floods struck several areas of Jordan, per the AP. Rescuers continued the search for missing people around the Wala reservoir in central Jordan. In the southern town of Maan, authorities opened a shelter for dozens of people whose homes were surrounded by water. In all, a dozen people were killed, including two children and a diver who'd been involved in rescue efforts, per state media and a government rep. Two of the bodies were found Saturday. Israel's public radio said contact had been lost with three Israeli tourists in southern Jordan. Makan Radio said the tourists had last been heard from in the Wadi Rum area, a big tourist attraction. story continues below In Petra, heavy rains began at around 1pm Friday and lasted for about 40 minutes, said a tourist from Spain. At about 3pm, a torrent of water came gushing through the site's steep and narrow access canyon, flooding the area within minutes, he said. The tourist noted he was observing from a hilltop temple in the area but saw other visitors scrambling to higher ground. He said some visitors were later evacuated by trucks, while others made their way out on foot. Suleiman Farajat, the chief administrator in Petra, said the site would remain closed Saturday, but would likely reopen Sunday. He said he's never seen flooding of such intensity in the area. "It's really ... surprising how huge the flood was," he said. The torrents came two weeks after 21 people, most of them children, were killed in flash floods near the Dead Sea. (A school bus was swept away in that earlier flood.) (Newser) A wildfire that tore through Malibu mansions and working-class suburban homes in Southern California's hills and canyons has killed two people and had more than doubled in size by Saturday, the AP reports. Officials took advantage of temporarily calm conditions to assess damage from the blaze that has burned 109 square miles north and west of downtown Los Angeles. Firefighters were searching burned-out neighborhoods for new destruction from two blazes that have already destroyed 150 homes. Los Angeles County sheriff's Chief John Benedict said two people have been found dead but provided no details on the deaths. Wildfires burning across California have now killed 11 people, including nine found dead in a massive fire in Northern California that destroyed the town of Paradise. story continues below In the south, a smoky haze still hung in blue skies, with the vicious winds that drove the flames in their first two days gone and expected to stay away until Sunday. Firefighters scrambled in the narrow window of calm to try to block the two wildfires that have blazed a path of destruction toward the sea. In less than two days, the Hill and Woolsey fires had prompted evacuation orders for more than 250,000 people, including the entire city of Malibu. The lull Saturday could give firefighters a chance to control the edges of the blazes and to swap fire crews, replacing firefighters who had worked for two days without rest, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said. But with the winds returning, it's likely more homes would be lost, Osby warned. "There's not going to be any relief in this firefight," he said. (Read about five bodies found in torched vehicles.) (Newser) Thousands of Central American migrants were back on the move toward the US border Saturday, after dedicated Mexico City metro trains whisked them to the outskirts of the capital and drivers began offering rides north, the AP reports. At the Line 2 terminus, migrants began making their way to a main highway to resume walking and hitchhiking with the tacit approval of Mexican officials. Near a major toll plaza about 19 miles north of the city, Mexico state police and human rights officials helped load men, women, and children onto eighteen-wheelers and asked passing buses and trucks if they would carry migrants. Maria Yesenia Perez, a 41-year-old who left La Ceiba, Honduras nearly a month ago with her 8-year-old daughter, said she was prepared to wait to gain entry at the US border. story continues below "I decided to come (with the caravan) to help my family," she said, before she and her daughter were hoisted onto the back of a semitrailer. Perez is now one of roughly 4,000 migrants who plan to proceed to the city of Queretaroa state capital 124 miles to the northwestand then possibly to Guadalajara, Culiacan, Hermosillo, and eventually Tijuana on the US border. Whereas migrants like her carried tiny knapsacks with bare essentials in Mexico's tropical south, their belongings swelled noticeably after a multiday stop in Mexico City. Many are now hauling bundles of blankets, sleeping bags, and heavy clothing to protect against colder temperatures in the northern part of the country. (See how President Trump reacted to questions about the migrant caravan.) Bahrain has condemned the terrorist attack that took place in the city of Mosul, Iraq, claiming lives of a number of people and injuring others, and extended its sincere sympathies for the families and relatives of the casualties. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed in a statement yesterday Bahrains solidarity with Iraq and support for all the measures it takes to maintain its security and stability. The ministry stressed Bahrains firm stance against all forms of terrorism and called for concerted international efforts to eliminate the scourge of terrorism that jeopardizes international peace and security. Three people were killed in a car bombing in Mosul, the first such attack in the northern Iraqi city since it was liberated from IS last year. The extremist group, which once controlled a cross-border caliphate home to millions of people, lost control of Mosul and the rest of its urban strongholds in 2017 but it has continued to wage guerilla-style attacks across Iraq. The car bomb detonated on Thursday night at a restaurant in the war-ravaged west of Iraqs second city The Bahraini Medical Society (BMS) announced its intention to organize the annual Bahrain Annual Rheumatology Conference under the patronage of Dr. Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, President of the Supreme Council of Health, on November 23 and 24 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Dr. Manaf Al Qahtani, Vice Chairman of the BMS, said that the conference, which will be chaired by the Rheumatology Consultant at the Salmaniya Medical Complex Dr. Saadia Naji, will be attended by 18 doctors and specialists from Bahrain, the region and the world, managing 14 lectures and 14 workshops. Dr. Al Qahtani explained that the annual Bahrain Rheumatology Conference aims to explore the latest developments in the field of diagnosis and treatment of rheumatism affecting millions of people around the world, transfer of best international practices in Bahrain, Rheumatism in Bahrain and the region and the exchange of experiences. He stressed in this context the importance of attending doctors from all specialties for this conference, especially the doctors of internal diseases, family doctors, and general practitioners. Two Bahraini defendants will spend the next four years behind bars for stealing BD14 from parked cars. According to prosecutors, the duo broke the window panes of three cars with an aim to steal money and valuables. We broke the window panes of three cars that were parked near a swimming pool. However, we could only find BD14, the first defendant told prosecutors. The duo were arrested after the car owners filed a complaint at the nearest police station. They were charged with theft. The Lower Criminal Court said that it found their crimes too serious that it decided to double their jail time with regard to the crime they committed. The whirring of a low-flying Soviet Union-era war plane signaled Russias uninvited arrival to NATOs biggest military exercise since the end of the Cold War. Marines on board USS Mount Whitney off the Norwegian coast, had gathered for a group photo on deck when the Tupolev TU-142 soared overhead. Its a long-range maritime patrol reconnaissance plane, said one fascinated marine after casting an expert eye over the visitor. Although he had seen plenty of images of the aircraft, this was the first time he had seen it live, so to speak. They warned that the two-week long exercise, which it sees as an anti-Russian show of force, would not go unanswered. Last week, Moscow announced plans to test missiles in the region. According to Avinor, the public operator of most civil airports in Norway, Russia sent a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) about the missile tests November 1-3 in the Norwegian Sea. Any missile testing will not change the plan of our exercise, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday. We have not seen anything resembling a missile test, or even ships or aircraft in the area that would be relevant to documenting or monitoring missile testing, said Robert Aguilar, captain of the USS Mount Whitney. FOCUS ON DEFENSE CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND OCEANIA Barring any last minute changes, a leadership meeting of the All Progressives Congress will hold next week to determine the fate of th... Barring any last minute changes, a leadership meeting of the All Progressives Congress will hold next week to determine the fate of the embattled National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole. A prominent member of the party, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, confided in one of our correspondents, in Abuja, on Friday that as a precursor to this meeting, the partys National Leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, and Oshiomhole, met in Paris, France, on Thursday. Tinubu had gone to France ahead of the Presidents visit to the country. It was further learnt that the meeting between Tinubu and Oshiomhole centred on the growing plot by aggrieved party members especially governors to remove Oshiomhole from office. The former Lagos State governor is one of the party stalwarts backing Oshiomhole who is now under probe by the Department of State Services. The Punch reports that an APC source said, Tinubu and Oshiomhole met in Paris on Thursday over attempts by governors and some members of the NWC to remove the party chairman. You will recall that it was Asiwaju who paved the way for the emergence of Oshiomhole as the chairman when Chief Oyegun wanted a tenure extension. Now that he has come under probe by the DSS and is being asked to step aside, he has run to Tinubu to save him. It remains unclear what their strategy will be to put a stop to the probe. It was also learnt that some aggrieved governors had begun reaching out to members of the National Working Committee to ask Oshiomhole to step aside pending the outcome of the DSS probe. A member of the partys NWC, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution said, The fact that Oshiomhole is under investigation for allegedly collecting money from aspirants is bad for the image of the APC government which claims to be fighting corruption. It is for this reason that the NWC members are being asked (by interested parties) to push for the suspension of the APC chairman pending the outcome of the probe. The Presidents body language and actions in the coming days will determine Oshiomholes fate. For now, we are still considering it but we dont want to make any hasty decision until we are sure that we have the Presidents backing. Another party source said high-ranking party leaders would meet next week to decide the best way to proceed without further depleting the partys public image and goodwill. It was also gathered that President Buhari, who has taken charge of efforts to resolve the partys post primary crisis, would be convening the meeting. Apart from Buhari, those expected at the Abuja meeting include: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Tinubu, pioneer Interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu (as former chairman of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party), and Prince Tony Momoh (former National Chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change). The party source said, The matter is receiving attention at the highest level. We cannot pretend, the situation involving our national chairman is already in public domain. His invitation and subsequent interrogation by the Department of State Services, is an indictment if you ask me; but you cannot pronounce a man guilty without giving him the right of fair hearing. The leadership meeting will take place because as you know, we dont have a Board of Trustees in place. Mr. President as the leader of the party, who in fact, has personally taken over the process of dealing with the post-primary crisis, is convening the meeting to deal with all these issues. In response to a question on whether there were charges against the party chairman, he said, Our party has a constitution, I refer you to Article 21 which deals with the issue of party discipline. Go and read sub-sections i, ii and xi. Article 21 of the APC Constitution (April 2014 As amended) which deals with the discipline of party members reads in part, Subject to the provision of this Article and the right to fair hearing, the party shall have power to discipline party members. The power shall be exercised on behalf of the party by the respective Executive Committee of the party at all levels. the party, the offender shall be liable to expulsion from the party and be prosecuted. Offences against the party shall include the following: (i)a breach of any provision of this constitution; (i) anti-party activities or any conduct, which is likely to embarrass or have adverse effect on the party or put it into hatred, contempt, ridicule or disrepute; (xi) in cases of alteration of delegate lists, falsification of nomination results, and or tampering with the processes of internal democracy ofthe party, the offender shall be liable to expulsion from the party and be prosecuted. Efforts to get a response from the party chairman were futile. Calls to the mobile telephone number of Oshiomholes media aide, Mr. Simon Ebegbulem, were neither picked nor returned. A response to a text message asking him to confirm whether or not his principal had returned to the country and what was his response to the news making the rounds about his encounter with the DSS was still being expected as at the time of filing this report at 8:07pm. Saturday PUNCH on Friday night that Oshiomhole was back in the country. The APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, toldSaturday PUNCH on Friday night that Oshiomhole was back in the country. submission of candidates names to INEC He said, The APC chairman is back in the country as scheduled. This is contrary to speculations that he was running away. He has been postponing the trip due to the party primaries andsubmission of candidates names to INEC Asked about the meeting between Oshiomhole and Tinubu in France, the APC spokesman replied, I dont have such information yet. On the proposed leadership meeting holding in Abuja next week, Issa-Onilu said, I am not aware but even if such meeting would holdyou see there is no crisis in APC. What people call crisis, I call conflict. I can assure you that we are in peace in the APC. The chairman and the NWC are standing for democracy and you should expect resistance. Campaign Organisation, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), said the crisis within the party was being exaggerated by the media. However, the Spokesman for BuhariCampaign Organisation, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), said the crisis within the party was being exaggerated by the media. Keyamo said the crisis was normal for a ruling party, adding that things would become normal very soon. He said, Let me say clearly that what is happening now is only normal for a ruling party. Source: The Punch The Executive Secretary of the Benue State Management Agency ( SEMA), Emmanuel Shior, has denied allegations that he embezzled the N20... The Executive Secretary of the Benue State Management Agency ( SEMA), Emmanuel Shior, has denied allegations that he embezzled the N200 million donated by Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, to Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs) in the state. The states Publicity Secretary of the APC, James Orguga, had in a press statement, challenged the SEMA boss to account for the donations by Wike, and other relief materials donated in wake of herdsmen attack on farmers, which forced many victims into IDP camps. But reacting, through his media aide, Moses Nongo, the SEMA boss dismissed the allegations stating that the N200 million donation by Wike has been judiciously utilised. The N200 million donated by Rivers State Governor, Nyesome Wike, to cater for the IDPs has been judiciously utilised for the purpose it was meant. Mr Shior and no one embezzled any kobo. We challenge anyone with proof to the contrary to step forward with it. Thousands of those displaced by herders invasion of their communities are still in various camps across the state. The money in question has been used in the procurement of food and non-food relief materials meant for their upkeep, said Shior. According to him, It takes a lot of money to cater for the basic needs of thousands of the displaced on a daily basis, such that, the amount is enormous when it becomes weeks and months. On the allegation that the Vice President (VP), Professor Yemi Osinbajo, made a cash donation to SEMA, when he visited the state, he said the VP did not make any such donation. Shior emphasised that Osinbajo only promised on behalf of the Federal Government, to provide other forms of relief including the construction of resettlement housing units, for the displaced persons in Guma and Logo Local Government Areas. The general public should also be informed that the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, did not also make any cash donation to SEMA when he visited the state and celebrated the 2018 Childrens Day with displaced children at Abagena IDP camp. What he pledged to do was to construct two classrooms blocks for the displaced children who were attending lessons in makeshift classrooms. This he has done and a visit to the Abagena IDPs camp will leave no one in doubt about this. We wish to state that the Benue State Emergency Management Agency has never distributed relief materials to IDPs privately. Distribution is carried out in the public glare sometimes with coverage by different media houses. What is raising eyebrows is why the Benue State APC would wait until a ban on political activities at IDPs camps was pronounced before coming up with allegations of diversion of relief materials and embezzlement of funds donated to SEMA by organisations and people of goodwill. A Senior Special Assistant to Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State on Public Communications, Segun Dipe, has stated that former gover... A Senior Special Assistant to Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State on Public Communications, Segun Dipe, has stated that former governor, Ayodele Fayose must apologise to the people of the state, for allegedly giving them poor image in the eyes of the world. A statement he signed on Friday, described Fayoses four-year reign between October 2014 and October 2018 as the worst that ever happened in Ekiti, which every discerning son and daughter must never wish for again. He said: Fayose was a disaster that happened to Ekiti. He ruled as if his reign had no expiry date. He had no respect for the rule of law, he was the executive, the legislative and the judiciary rolled into one, preparing the state budget, presenting it to himself and approving it by himself. Though Fayose would be brought to book, his negative vibes on the rhythm of Ekiti State would continue to resonate for a long time and never again would such a mindless rascal be allowed to govern a state such as Ekiti. Dipe recalled that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which is Fayoses political party, once tendered an unreserved apology to Nigerians for shamelessly throwing the nation into economic mess in its sixteen harrowing years of reign and urged Fayose to also be man enough to do the same to the people of Ekiti. Fayose ruled with deception. Due to his avarice, he threw the state deep into a humongous debt of N120bn. He didnt do so to meet the needs of the people, but he wasted it on his personal needs. Despite the huge borrowing, the various bailouts he got directly from the federal government and the heavy taxes he imposed on the people and their children, Fayose still refused to honour his monthly commitment to the workers, owing them months of salary and throwing crumbs at them once in a blue moon. Whereas he was pretending to be a man of the people. Where he could not steal directly without drawing the ire of the EFCC and other security operatives, Fayose would come up with phoney projects, hugely inflate the contract figures and rush to execute them in a shady manner. Three good examples are the needless Fajuyi Bridge in Ado Ekiti, the new High Court, which has been criticised as ill-conceived, ill-executed, and his much trumpeted Oja Oba market, which he rushed to build without minding the structural defects, yet went ahead to swindle the innocent and undiscerning people of their hard earned money by making them pay into a fake government account for fraudulently allocated defective stalls. In abject violation of the values Ekiti holds so dear, Fayose was no respecter of age or nobility. He would rain curses on elders and rubbish royalty, making the kings and chiefs, who should be revered, to literarily worship him and eat from his palm. Fayose was the substantive Speaker of the House of Assembly, with the elected Speaker as mere surrogate and other lawmakers as his footstool. Any lawmaker who dared to challenge any of his actions often had his/her wings clipped. Despite being richer than the state which he governed, Fayose continued to loot and scam the people endlessly. He baited them with false hopes, over-promising and under-delivering. He presented himself to them as their Messiah, the immovable rock. He would rush to the media to broadcast lies against his real or perceived enemies, to the extent of committing treason. Once he declared the President and Commander-in-Chief of the country incapacitated, another time he went on air to tell the people of the state to shun the president who was visiting the state. Yet another time, he went on air to declare some fake election results. Fayose used his power to grab generational lands from the people, demolishing their houses and erecting personal ones in their places. Only God can tell how many properties Fayose now owns in Ado Ekiti. Usman Yusuf, suspended executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), has revealed some of the reasons why he was... Usman Yusuf, suspended executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), has revealed some of the reasons why he was suspended from the scheme. In an explosive 43-minute video, Yusuf exposed some of the dealings of the NHIS and what he was doing about it before he was suspended. The executive secretary said his relationship with the board started well, but it deteriorated due to the influence health maintenance organisations (HMOs). He said the last time he was suspended, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), went through all his accounts and that of his family and found nothing. He said worse things have been said about men greater than I, so what they say doesnt get to me anymore, it doesnt bother me anymore. After reviewing the video, TheCable brings you seven of the major revelations made by the NHIS boss. HMOS NEGLECTED FAMILIES OF SOLDIERS FIGHTING BOKO HARAM Yusuf said the health maintenance organisations (HMOs), who are the middlemen between the NHIS and the local hospitals, were neglecting soldiers fighting Boko Haram in the northeast. Defence HMO takes care of all armed forces and security forces, when I came there were problems, our men and women in the trenches in the northeast used to call me. Their families admitted in the hospitals and HMOs were not taking care of them. When the calls were incessant, I asked for an appointment to see the chief of army staff, and he obliged me. I went and sat with him and said general we have a problem, we cannot send our men and women in harms ways and not taking care of them. And as a general that he is, he solved this thing swiftly. He said things are much better now, and that is why it is the only HMO that has full licence to practice today. NHIS MONEY IS BLOOD MONEY ID DO THIS JOB FOR FREE The professor of haematology-oncology and bone marrow transplantation said NHIS money is blood money, and that he is willing to do the job for free. If I was here to steal money, you will not hear anything; I have said it before, I am saying it again, NHIS money is blood money, he said. I accepted this position to do good, that was why we went into medical school. There is no greater honour for me than to serve. And I will do this job for free. THE REGULATED IS THE REGULATOR He said many of those on the board of the NHIS own HMOs, hence the regulated is also the regulator. They are even on the board of the NHIS, so the regulated on the board of the regulator, so I said this is not going to continue, not this time. The board of corruption, we are not going to rock it, we are going to sink it, HMOs will get licence, HMOs will pay hospitals. HMOS LICENCE EXPIRED IN 2013 YET THEY GET PAID Yusuf said when he was checking the books, he found that many of the HMOs are working with expired licences. All their liences have expired, some as far back as 2013, and I ask my people, will the central bank deal with any bank that doesnt have a licence? Then why are we giving these entities billions of peoples money? Unlicenced entities, youre giving them money three months ahead, they were not paying, they were living far away from where people are. NHIS CATERING TO ONLY 3 MILLION NIGERIANS What did I find when I came to the board of the NHIS in 2016 when I came on board. In the 13 years of NHIS, how many Nigerians have NHIS covered? In the 13 years of NHIS, how much has gone into the pool, how much has gone out? Who has benefitted? Who has not benefitted? Who are the stakeholders? How responsible have What I found was shocking, In 13 years, NHIS has only covered 3 million Nigerians. I started asking questions, how much came in, how much went out? He said the investments and the results have been abysmally embarrassing. HMOS FIX NHIS MONEY AND GAIN INTEREST He said the HMOs were using the monies gotten from NHIS to make interest rather than treat the sick. I have an HMO living in Port Harcourt with huge debt in Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, he said adding that the Kano HMO lives in Lagos, while people are sick in Kano. What do they do with this money that we give them? They either fix this money in the banks to accrue interest, while our people go to the hospital and are treated shabbily, he said. They use it to buy foreign exchange , or they use this money as collateral to get bank loans, this is what has been going on. The professor asked Nigerians to ask basic questions that would lead to answers on what exactly is happening in the NHIS. HMOS PAID THE PRESS AND UNIONS AGAINST ME The consultant paediatrician said the HMOs have paid the press and unions to oppose him via the media and through many protests. They are funding unions, they are funding the press, they have taken me to court to hold status quo. President Muhammadu Buhari arrived in France on Saturday ahead of the Paris Peace Forum, taking place between November 11 and 13, 2018. ... President Muhammadu Buhari arrived in France on Saturday ahead of the Paris Peace Forum, taking place between November 11 and 13, 2018. According to a statement released by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, on Friday, the President will participate in the first edition of the Paris Peace Forum slated for November 11 to 13. Adesina said the forum, organised by the French Government and a number of Non-Governmental Organisations, was based on the simple idea that international cooperation is key to tackling global challenges and ensuring durable peace. The presidential spokesman said the Nigerian President would join the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and other world leaders in discussing contributions towards global peace while underscoring the imperative of collective action. The statement added, While in Paris, President Buhari will also join other world leaders to commemorate the centenary anniversary of the Armistice signed on November 11, 1918 between the Allied Forces and Germany in the forest of Compiegne in France to end the First World War. During his visit to Paris, President Buhari will attend a luncheon hosted by President Emmanuel Macron of France in honour of visiting heads of delegations. Before returning to Abuja, the President and his delegation will have an interactive session with the Nigerian community in France. For eight hours last Sunday, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, was held hostage ... For eight hours last Sunday, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, was held hostage at the Department of State Security Service (DSS) at the behest of some governors and some forces in the party to force him to resign. Oshiomhole, however, stood his ground and rebuffed the pressure mounted on him to resign. He told the DSS that he committed no crime and would therefore not resign, no matter the intimidation. Although the APC chairman was caught unawares, he maintained his stand even when DSS officials tried to invoke the name of President Muhammadu Buhari. He pointedly told them that the President was in the know of all that happened during the APC primaries and that it was their collective resolve not to allow imposition of candidates by anybody, no matter his status in the party. It later turned out that some security operatives had plotted Oshiomholes resignation with about six APC governors. The plot to lay ambush for him was hatched by the affected governors in connivance with some powerful forces who were aggrieved over the outcome of the recent primaries of the APC. The governors are from Southwest, Northcentral, Southeast and Northwest. Four of them are angry with the party for not allowing them to impose their favourites as the partys candidates in their states. One Southwest governor is in sympathy with a fellow Southwest governor for standing by him recently when it mattered most. The Northcentral governor is up in arms with Oshiomhole for insisting on direct primary. There were insinuations that some former APC elements in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gave tacit backing to the plot by the APC governors in order to render the party weak ahead of the presidential campaign beginning from November 18. It was gathered that the plotters knew that the APC national chairman was due for a private visit abroad, hence they opted to seal his fate before the trip. The President was said to have been kept in the dark till the coup was hatched. The plan was to hoodwink Buhari and present him with Oshiomholes resignation letter to prevent any intervention. A reliable source, who spoke in confidence, said: Some of the governors behind the ambush had relocated to Abuja ahead of the invitation of Oshiomhole by the DSS. I In fact, one of them told a member of the Election Committee in his state to expect a major news on Sunday. He was quoted to have said by Sunday, Oshiomhole is gone and all of you will be put to shame. They opted for forcible removal of Oshiomhole to take advantage of the substitution window for candidates. The two options considered against Oshiomhole were either to get the DSS to arrest or invite him. Some of the governors actually felt that arresting him on spurious charges of fraud would make greater news and prevent Buhari from intervening like he did in the case with some judges. Unknown to the plotters, the APC national chairman had travelled to lyamho, his village in Edo State, to spend the weekend before jetting out to meet with his family abroad on Tuesday. The trip to Edo frustrated the first leg of the plot as it was too late for the DSS operatives involved in the plot to stop him from traveling to Edo State. Another source gave insight into how Oshiomhole received DSS invitation and why he reported to the agency on Sunday. The second source said: Last Saturday, a call was put to Oshiomhole by a DSS operative in Iyamho with an urgent tone that he should report at the DSS headquarters. But the APC chairman was not moved because he did not commit any crime. On Sunday, he returned to Abuja and honoured DSS invitation where he was told about a petition against him bothering on fraudulent activities. For about eight hours, it was a ding dong affair between the DSS interrogators and Oshiomhole over a demand for his resignation letter. Being an intelligent leader, Oshiomhole pointedly asked for a copy of the petition against him for his response, because he knew he did not engage in any fraud. No petition was presented to him. He rebuffed all attempts to force him to resign. While the drama was going on, the governors behind the set up were using some proxies to monitor Oshiomholes engagement with the DSS. The Northcentral governor was said to be in his house in Abuja with an official of the party from a state also in the North who they had hoped to appoint as acting chairman. The governors impunity in his state was condoned by the party before Oshiomhole took over but now, the governor is being asked to do things in accordance with the APC constitution. He is also not happy that Oshiomhole is insisting on direct primaries. His fear is that when his election is due later in 2019, direct primary will not favour him. He was one of the governors who told the public that the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) opted for indirect primaries some months back as against direct primary which was the preferred option. After being adamant for many hours, Oshiomhole was let off the hook by the DSS. He insisted that he would not resign without hearing from the President and they could not provide any evidence that the President knew about their action. On how he left DSS custody, the source said: In fact, a governor of the APC came to pick him. There was no issue of surety at all. It was uncertain if the governor was just being benevolent or was one of the plotters. The governors who were in Abuja had already put a media plan in place to force the NWC to issue a statement that Oshiomhole has resigned. The governors later realised that the plot had failed as soon as Oshiomhole survived the siege in DSS headquarters. Curiously, some forces in PDP were also in a hotel trying to know the outcome of the unfolding drama in APC, having been told of the plot by their collaborating governors. Findings, however, confirmed that the President was not aware of either his invitation or the demand for his resignation. A presidency source added: The President was shocked and angry when Oshiomhole met with him on Monday on his ordeal. He promised to look into the incident. What the aggrieved governors did not know is that the APC chairman was always briefing the President on the challenges facing the party in some states. So, the President and Oshiomhole are always on the same page. There was a time one of the governors went to meet with the President and raised some issues. After the governors narration, the President made a call and gave the phone to the governor, saying: The chairman on the line. Speak with him. The affected governor was speechless and left the Presidential Villa in shame. Buoyed by the backing of the President, Oshiomhole left the country on Tuesday to meet his family. A party source said: He had already scheduled his personal trip. He was undaunted. He is not on exile. He has not committed any fraud. Laolu Akande, senior special assistant to the vice-president on media and publicity, says the TraderMoni loan given to petty traders i... Laolu Akande, senior special assistant to the vice-president on media and publicity, says the TraderMoni loan given to petty traders is not meant to buy voters. In a statement on Friday in Abuja, Akande said Nigerians are not for sale and cannot be bought. He was reacting to a statement by southern, middle belt leaders who accused Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo of bribing voters with the TraderMoni scheme ahead of the 2019 elections. Akande said the call for an end to the initiative is an attack on the people who have benefitted from the programme. He said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to the welfare and upliftment of all Nigerians regardless of party affiliations. We do not think the Nigerian people are up for sale, nor can they be bought. Such suggestions are an insult on our collective identity, the statement read. And calling for the suspension of a scheme that improves the businesses of ordinary, hardworking Nigerians, like petty traders, is not only unfair, but an attack on the common man. The Social Investment programme of the Buhari administration started in 2016, and the TraderMoni scheme is a part. So, it is false to even insinuate that the scheme was meant for advance vote buying when it was conceived two years ago. TraderMoni, which is part of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme under the SIPs, is designed to assist petty traders across the country expand their trade through the provision of collateral and interest-free loans from N10,000. The loans are repayable over a period of six months. Akande described the social investment scheme as the largest in the history of the country, adding that it will reach two million Nigerians by the end of 2018. This administration has proven over and over again that it is committed to the welfare of everyday Nigerians, the common man, he said. That is why we started the largest Social Investment Programme in the history of our country. And we will not relent in staying connected with our people. This is a major reason why TraderMoni, which has since been formally launched in 33 states and the FCT, will continue nationwide as we intend to reach two million Nigerians by the end of the year. WMUR(FARMINGTON, N.H. ) -- Authorities in New Hampshire are hopeful a smart speaker will be smart enough to convict a double murderer. Amazon was ordered by a judge on Friday to hand over recordings taken by an Echo device in the Farmington, New Hampshire, home where Christine Sullivan lived with her boyfriend. Sullivan was found murdered in the backyard of the home on Jan. 29, 2017, along with Jenna Pellegrini, who was staying at the home. The bodies were left in the backyard, under a tarp, and a knife was buried nearby, police said. Pellegrini, 32, had been stabbed 43 times and Sullivan, 48, was stabbed eight times and had her skull fractured, according to authorities. Timothy Verrill, 34, was charged with first-degree murder for both women's deaths. He pleaded not guilty in February 2017. Police testified at a bail hearing in August 2017 that Verrill knew Sullivan's boyfriend, Dean Smoronk, who owned the house, and that Verrill had access to the home's security code. Verrill was also seen on home surveillance video with both women before their deaths, according to Manchester ABC affiliate WMUR. The ruling was handed down by Strafford County Superior Court Presiding Justice Steven M. Houran on Friday. "Accordingly, the State's motion to search in lieu of a search warrant is granted," the ruling by Houran states. "The court directs Amazon.com to produce forthwith to the court any recordings made by an Echo smart speaker with Alexa voice command capability, FCC ID number ZWJ-0823, from the period of January 27, 2017 to January 29, 2017, as well as any information identifying cellular devices that were paired to that smart speaker during that time period." The Amazon Echo device was seized by police from the home, according to court documents. It's unclear whether there is any audio evidence on the device, but the court found probable cause that the speaker could have recorded "evidence of crimes committed against Ms. Sullivan, including the attack and possible removal of the body from the kitchen." An Amazon spokesperson told The Associated Press it would not release the recordings "without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us." Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. 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. -by Valley Girl I live in Georgia. I voted early. I voted last Friday at an early voting location, not where I usually vote during primaries, midterms, or general elections. I waited in line for an hour and a half. I got off easy considering waits at many other voting locations in GA, both in early voting, and on election day. Four to 7 hours waiting to vote. I voted for Stacey Abrams for Governor. I voted on a Diebold machine. No paper trail. No punch-card ballots with hanging chads. There is no other choice in Georgia. One has to vote Diebold. Ive been closely following the Abrams- Kemp race, and related events on election day and after. I have read and bookmarked so many articles that if articles were horses, I would happily imagine imagine SoS (Son of Satan) Brian Kemp being ground into the dirt by a pack of horses. Like the field trying to chase Secretariat to the finish line at the Belmont, to win the Triple Crown. But, I digress. Forgive me. I just had to watch a feel good moment on youtube. Just earlier today I happened upon this article from Medium . It was published on June 29, 2018, updated August 20, 2018. Title of the article is: Georgia: The Epicenter of Americas Corrupted Electronic Elections The article discusses the Georgia 6th District special election of 2017 Jon Ossoff v. Karen Handel, which was the catalyst for the Georgia paper ballot suit, as well as the disturbing history of Georgias corrupted electronic elections from 2002 through the present. This is a VERY long article, but well worth reading in its entirety. However, not to be left out, is this from the article: "Republican Karen Handel an anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ, pro-gun 'Christian.'" For this post, Im going to cut it down to Diebold, but alas Ill have to leave out some very interesting Diebold history. There a lot of crooks and liars involved. And, anything in bold or underline below is my doing. And, Im leaving out a huge amount of text and information from the article that have to do with this important subject-- electronic voting machines. It makes me feel sick to do so. But, please, go read the article at the link above! August 7, 2018, the plaintiffs in the federal action titled Donna Curling, et al. v. Brian Kemp, et al., filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the state of Georgia from using its paperless touchscreen voting machines in the November midterm elections. As explained in the lawsuit, when voting machines are paperless, there is no independent record of voter intent with which to confirm the legitimacy of an electronic vote tally. Thus, according to the plaintiffs, the state must instead allow voters to hand mark paper ballots at the polls. The court denied the motion. It reasoned that although the plaintiffs are likely to win on the merits of their claim that Georgias paperless machines are unconstitutional, it would cause too much chaos and confusion to switch to paper ballots at this late date. [VG: Gawd forbid that we should have chaos and confusion] ...Georgia is one of just five states that still exclusively uses paperless voting machines. Paperless voting machines are an especially attractive target for hackers because there is nothing to compare against the electronic tally to confirm whether it was manipulated. Thus, the only way to know if a paperless machine has been hacked is to conduct a forensic audit, which courts have consistently refused to allow based on the purportedly proprietary nature of the vendors software. Georgia bought its paperless machines from Diebold Election Systems in 2002, making Georgia the first state to launch electronic voting statewide. At the time, Georgias Secretary of State was Cathy Cox, who allowed Diebold to use her image on its promotional materials. .Diebold had entered the voting machine business just a few months prior with its acquisition of Global Election Systems, a company founded by three criminals.Globals Senior VP was a convicted felon, Jeffrey Dean, who had served time for sophisticated crimes involving computer tampering. Soon after hiring Dean, Global hired convicted cocaine trafficker John Elder to oversee punch card printing in several states. Diebold acquired Global during President George W. Bushs first administration, just as Congress passed the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which allocated billions for states to buy new voting machines. The bills primary sponsor was Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio who used his position as chairman to defeat legislation that would have required voting machines to include a paper trail. Ney would eventually go to prison for corruption involving his acceptance of bribes from Washington DC lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whose firm received at least $275,000 to lobby the federal government on behalf of Diebold, the number one vendor of paperless voting machines Abramoff was a member of Bushs Rangers and Pioneers, an elite group of fundraisers who had raised at least $100,000 for Bushs reelection campaign. He too would eventually land in prison for corruption involving his lobbying work. Georgia Secretary of State Cox -- who had been very active in working with members of Congress on the Help America Vote Act-- signed Georgias contract with Diebold on or about May 3, 2002. The ensuing election in November 2002 yielded several surprising Republican victories in Georgia. The most notable upset occurred when Saxby Chambliss, a favorite of the Christian Right and President Bush, defeated incumbent senator Max Cleland (D). Karl Rove and Ralph Reed-- a Republican strategist in Georgia-- had personally recruited Chambliss to run against Cleland. Cleland, a decorated Vietnam veteran, lost to Chambliss by 7 points even though election polls on the eve of the 2002 general election showed Cleland ahead by 25 points, a swing of 912 points. An analysis of Chamblisss victory revealed that, nearly 60% of the states electorate by county switched party allegiances between the primaries and the general election. Chamblisss surprising victory helped the GOP take control of the US Senate. (It needed only two seats.) During the same election, Brian Kemp [Nov 2002]-- Georgias current Secretary of State-- defeated Doug Haines, a liberal incumbent in a left-leaning state House seat that had been held by Democrats for more than four decades. Kemp won by only 486 votes, an exceedingly small vote margin that likely would have triggered a recount but for the paperless machines. In 2003, A former worker in the Diebold warehouse in Georgia alleged that the company had patched Georgias voting machines after they were delivered to the counties and shortly before the election in 2002 Equally disturbing, in 2004, the DHS quietly released a Cyber Alert concerning an undocumented backdoor account to the Diebold Global Election Management System, which programs the electronic ballots for its touchscreen machines. Georgia Secretary of State Cox was unconcerned. In 2005 or 2006, she doubled down on Diebold with a $15 million purchase of new electronic poll books, which (according to voters) would later fail in multiple locations. Unlike Cox, the media and public had at this point begun to question the wisdom of continuing to use unverifiable voting machines. Here is a quote from a 2006 article in Savannah Now, a local Georgia publication: At first, it was easy to brush aside complaints by small but noisy groups that e-voting invited vote-stealing. Avi Rubin, professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, says devices like Diebolds can be rigged-- without detection. There are major flaws in the security design of the software, said David Dill, a computer scientist at Stanford University in Southern California. In June, The Brennan Center for Justice, a non- partisan New York think tank, said systems like Georgias pose a real danger to the integrity of state elections. This was the year that a team of computer security researchers published a report finding that touchscreen voting machines made by the notably litigious vendor Diebold were vulnerable to extremely serious attacks. The researchers were so afraid of being sued by Diebold that they broke with longstanding practice and didnt tell the company about their findings before publishing. The same year, a Diebold whistleblower named Chris Hood spoke to RFK Jr. about the 2002 Georgia election. Hood wondered why Diebold, the worlds third-largest seller of ATMs, had been awarded the [Georgia] contract. The company had barely completed its acquisition of Global Election Systems, a voting-machine firm that owned the technology Diebold was promising to sell Georgia. And its bid was the highest among nine competing vendors. Whispers within the company hinted that a fix was in. Hood claimed that, in late July, to speed deployment of the new machines, [former Georgia Secretary of State] Cox quietly signed an agreement with Diebold that effectively privatized Georgias entire electoral system. The company [Diebold] was authorized to put together ballots, program machines and train poll workers across the state-- all without any official supervision. Hood reported that in mid-August, Diebolds president, Bob Urosevich, personally came to Georgia from Texas to distribute a software patch for the voting machines. He said they were told that it was intended to fix the clock in the system, which it didnt do The curious thing is the very swift, covert way this was done... It was an unauthorized patch, and they were trying to keep it secret from the state. According to Hood, Diebold employees altered software in some 5,000 machines in DeKalb and Fulton counties-- the states largest Democratic strongholds. In 2006, the Georgia legislature considered a bill that would at least have required the addition of a paper audit trail to the paperless voting machines themselves. But the bill was defeated after Coxs appointee, Georgia Elections Director Kathy Rogers, objected to it. Several months later, Rogers took a job with Diebold. Meanwhile, Cox pursued an unsuccessful run for governor, and Karen Handel won the election to succeed her as Secretary of State. During her campaign, Handel had promised to make Georgia elections verifiable with a paper audit trail. But once in office, Handel instead defended and defeated a lawsuit challenging Georgias unverifiable voting machines. When the Georgia Supreme Court ruled in Handels favor, she praised the Georgia Supreme Court ruling and claimed that Georgia has the most secure elections in the nation Plaintiffs later discovered that Handel had taken about $25,000 in campaign contributions from employees and family members connected with [Diebolds] lobbyist, Massey & Bowers In 2007, a team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania conducted a security evaluation of ES&S optical scanners and ES&S touchscreen voting machines and published a report (the Everest report), stating that they had found numerous exploitable vulnerabilities in nearly every component of the ES&S system These vulnerabilities enable attacks that could alter or forge precinct results, install corrupt firmware, and erase audit records. In 2010, the Department of Justice forced ES&S to sell Diebold because the combined company accounted for more than 70% of US election equipment, violating anti-trust laws. In a settlement with the DOJ, Diebold purportedly dissolved, and its assets were split between ES&S and a Canadian company called Dominion Voting. The following year, an interim election board in Venango County, Pennsylvania commissioned a forensic audit of the countys 100% unverifiable ES&S iVotronic touch-screen voting systems. The court, county Commissioners, and ES&S eventually shut down the audit (with ES&S threatening legal action against the board members and scientists). But an interim report stated that the scientists had found evidence that the system was repeatedly accessed by an unidentified remote computer, for lengthy periods of time, on multiple occasions. The same year [2011], a laboratory run by the Department of Energy showed how Diebold voting machines-- used by a third of all voters nationwide (at the time), including Georgia-- could be hacked via remote control. By then, Georgias governor, Sonny Perdue, had appointed Brian Kemp to the office of Secretary of State, replacing Handel who had left office to pursue an unsuccessful bid for governor. Kemp expressed no interest in replacing Georgias paperless machines, and the national media gave him little grief. But that has begun to change courtesy of the Georgia 6th District special election in 2017. On March 3, 2017, a little more than a month before the primary, Politico and other national news outlets reported that the FBI was investigating a breach at Georgias Center for Election Systems at Kennesaw State University. And a few weeks later, equipment used to check-in voters at the polls-- including a flash card with a voter list-- was stolen from a parked car. A concerned national election integrity advocate, Marilyn Marks, filed a lawsuit to compel Kemp to use hand marked paper ballots (counted on optical scanners) in the race. But Georgia Secretary of State Kemp swiftly defeated it on a procedural technicality (sovereign immunity), declaring that the machines are safe and accurate. Kemp assured voters that Georgias voting machines could not be hacked because they arent connected to the internet. But he omitted to mention that all voting machines, including those in Georgia, must receive programming before each election from centralized election management systems that can and often do connect to the internet. Kemp also omitted to mention that Georgia uses a single flash drive to upload its election results from a central tabulator to an online Election Night Reporting System and then reinserts the same flash drive into the same central tabulator for the next round of results. Thus, if the flash drive becomes infected with malware from the online reporting system, it could spread the malware to the central tabulator and change the results from each polling place as they are uploaded. Here are some tidbits about Karen Handel from the articles August 2018 update: As for Karen Handel, who is up for reelection this year*, she has yet to hold an in person town hall. But she did make time to oppose birthright citizenship in a telephonic town hall last year. She has also made the top ten list of candidates to whom the Koch Brothers have donated money in 2018. Recently, in the wake of the Trump administrations decision to separate immigrant children from their parents at the border, it was Karen Handel who tried to silence Representative Ted Lieus audio on the House floor of children crying as they were ripped away from their parents. And about Brian Kemp: In August 2016, Secretary of State Kemp refused help from the Department of Homeland Security to secure its systems. UPDATE: Valley Girl here: As for Brian Kemp, may he rot in Hell. I have read and bookmarked articles about this slimeball and his doings for ages, including many recent ones. Im hoping to highlight the most relevant ones in a future post. Articles Sorry, there are no recent results for popular articles. Images Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Ahlul Bayt World Assembly issued a statement in response to Sheikh Ali Salmans life Sentence by Al Khalifa regime. AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Ahlul Bayt World Assembly issued a statement in response to Sheikh Ali Salmans life Sentence by Al Khalifa regime. The full text of the Assemblys statement is as follows: In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful Indeed, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people into factions, oppressing a sector among them, slaughtering their [newborn] sons and keeping their females alive. Indeed, he was a corrupter. (Surah al-Qasas: Verse 4) The Ahlulbayt (a.s.) World Assembly strongly condemns the cruel verdict of life sentence by the Bahraini dictatorial and suppressive regime's tribunals against Sheikh Ali Salman, the Secretary-General of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society and member of the Ahlulbayt World Assemblys General Assembly, along with two former Members of Bahraini Parliament, Sheikh Hassan Sultan and Mr. Ali al-Aswad. The Ahlulbayt World Assembly believes that this new regretful verdict has been issued to avenge Al-Wefaq leaders in the wake of their acquittal of the allegations of espionage for the Qatari government at the Bahraini Supreme Court, and after the boycott of the Bahrain parliamentary and municipality elections on Nov. 23 by al-Wefaq Society and other opposition groups. This illegal act revealed the dictatorial and repressive identity of the rulers of Al Khalifa regime, who seek to scare and subvert the brave nation of Bahrain. The verdict was intended to pave the way for the visit of Benjamin Netanyahu, the terrorist prime minister of the Zionist regime, to Manama, as well as to intimidate Bahraini people and preventing them from expressing their belief in supporting the Islamic Resistance and opposing relations with Israel. The Ahlulbayt World Assembly once again declares its solidarity with the brave Bahraini people's campaign, a nation who has dedicated its martyrs to attain freedom, justice and political and civil rights. The Ahlulbayt World Assembly invites all international political and legal organizations along with all national and Islamic activists, especially clerics and thinkers, to confront the cruel policies of the illegitimate Al Khalifa regime and to demand the release of political prisoners and the return of civil and political rights to them, including the right to citizenship. The Ahlulbayt (a.s.) World Assembly November 2018 ................................. /257 In An Open Letter, More Than 400 Iranian Activists Demand A New Path For Iran 11/09/18 Source: Radio Farda More than 400 current and former student activist have published an open letter warning that the very existence of the Iranian people is at stake. In their letter addressed to "academicians, lecturers, intellectuals and social activists", 410 activists have called for a thorough review of the dominant political and intellectual attitudes in Iran in order to create a unified discourse for finding a way out of the country's critical situation, a website supporting the Iranian "Green Movement", Kalemeh, reported. : https://t.co/79BgHC2OQR # (@Kaleme) November 8, 2018 Referring to a list of hundred problems and crises Iran is currently struggling with, the signatories have noted, "The ruling establishment's inability and indigence in addressing national problems and its insistence on minimizing the catastrophes Iran is suffering from, have forced us to leave political traditions behind and use our hearts, hands, tongues and pens to call upon you." The signatories have immediately suggested that one of the strategies to exit the current national crisis is a total review of the dominant intellectual schools of thought, aimed at reforming Iran's political, social and economic infrastructure. Rejecting the school of thought that supports reform from the top in tandem with holding elections, the signatories have also dismissed as futile and useless the generalized discourses on the necessity of respecting democracy and civil rights that are not backed by solid plans. Regardless of theoretical disputes, the signatories have called upon Iranian intelligentsia to expand their insights in the hope of finding a route towards a "unified national discourse". Our concern today, the signatories have reiterated, "is not wrestling each other in intellectual arenas; our problem today is the danger of annihilation that threatens the existence of all Iranians". President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has extended his condolences to the family of the student of the West Africa Senior High School (WASS) who lost her life on Thursday trying to cross Adentan-Madina highway. "I express my deep condolences to the family of the student who lost her life yesterday at Adenta, after being knocked down by a taxi, as she attempted crossing the road on her way from school," President Akufo-Addo said in a message of condolence. "Our nation has suffered an unnecessary loss. The scenes that played out in its aftermath are regrettable, and should not happen again," the President added. He said the Ministry of Roads and Highways is ensuring that work begins on completion of these bridges in the course of the coming week, and has put together a comprehensive plan to address systematically all these infrastructural problems, which are legacies of a past decade of neglect. "I would urge drivers and pedestrians to obey and respect the laws on our roads. All of us, Government and the citizenry, have a collective responsibility to safeguard and preserve life. My condolences, once again, to the family," President Akufo-Addo stated. A first-year female student of the West Africa Senior High School (WASS) who was attempting to cross the highway to go to the WASS campus was knocked down and killed on the Madina-Adentan highway on Thursday. The incident sparked a spontaneous protest again on the highway by residents in the area. The residents blocked the highway as part of the protest, burned tyres and made it impossible for vehicles to and from Aburi to use the highway. The police responded to control the protesters but had a hard time following a clash with the protesters. The deceased was going to join her colleagues on campus for group studies since school was on a break for the green track. Students under the green track vacated on Wednesday to make way for the gold track semester system to start school this weekend. Source: Daily Graphic 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 former Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana, Mrs Charlotte Osei, on Friday, 9 November 2018 halted her defamation suit against Mr Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang, a lawyer for the petitioners whose petition led to her removal from office by President Nana Akufo-Addo. Mrs Osei sued Mr Opoku-Agyemang, who represented the unnamed petitioners who called themselves Concerned EC Staff, for defamation. The suit was filed at the High Court on Tuesday, 25 July 2018. Mrs Osei had declared her intention to sue the faceless staff for defamation and requested the lawyer produce their names. Mrs Osei subsequently named Mr Opoku-Agyemang as the sole respondent in the suit after he failed to produce the names of the petitioners. Several months later, however, Mrs Oseis lawyers have filed a motion to not only discontinue but also withdraw the suit being heard by the High Court without citing no particular reason. The court granted Mrs Oseis request and ordered her to pay an amount of GHS8000 to the defendant. Source: classfmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Former President Jerry John Rawlings has denied reports that he accused former President John Mahama of superintending over a corrupt administration. The attention of the office of former President Jerry John Rawlings has been drawn to a publication by the Daily Guide newspaper of Thursday, November 8, 2018 captioned Mahama led a corrupt regime Rawlings. The office wishes to state that Flt Lt Rawlings did not meet former Sierra Leonean Vice President Chief Sam Sumana over the weekend as reported. A release signed by Communication Director, Kobina Andoh Amoakwa indicated that the "last time Chief Sam Sumana called on former President Rawlings was in late 2017". The statement further cautioned "the media to desist from dragging the name of the former President into imaginary circumstances". Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Andy Owusu writes to Prof. Joshua Alabi On the Adenta-Madina highway riot, the least person I expected to comment on this matter for now, was Prof. Joshua Alabi. I thought he could pay attention to his disorganised campaign than make any comment or seek to call for the head of the current minister. I think he's looking for cheap popularity. We all know his records at SSNIT as a Board Chairman, when he supervised a regime of gross loot and incompetence. So, if Alabi had had some shame, he could have been mute on matters considering his unfortunate records which almost collapsed SSNIT. Of all these incompetence and bad leadership, not even a moment did he think of resigning or asking for the head of the CEO of SSNIT he worked with to loot the institution. So, it is shocking to hear Alabi calling for the roads and highways minister to be sacked over this Adenta riot. I simply can't understand why he could point fingers now, because there were a lot of fingers he could have pointed on the great loot, incompetence and neglect which occurred under the Mahama's led NDC government. If he can be honest to himself, he would admit that the current roads and highways minister is one of the finest ministers of state. So it becomes really disappointing to hear Alabi calling for his head over this impasse. If he could not praise him for how better he has conducted himself at his office, he should not close his eyes at his good works, because, these are a lot he could praise the Minister for. I wish Alabi could note that, the current roads and highways minister unlike the others under the NDC is not inflating cost of contracts and he has exhibited himself in all manner of professionalism. He has attached dignity to the office and restored the lost image of the institution which occurred under the NDC. So, if Alabi can't focus on his campaign which is leading him nowhere, he can be quiet and loose miserably than look for cheap popularity with such forms of calls. I believe that would save him some face value and dignity. Signed Andy Owusu Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Speaking after the meeting of the heads of the three branches, President said, The people of Iran foiled the plots of the United States once again with their steadfastness and resistance. AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Speaking after the meeting of the heads of the three branches, President said, The people of Iran foiled the plots of the United States once again with their steadfastness and resistance. President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday, The people of Iran acted exactly the opposite way and made it clear with their steadfastness that it is the government of the United States that is thinking about putting pressure on the Iranian nation. With their illegitimate sanctions and targeting the banking system and Irans oil export, as well as other goods of export related to the income and resources of the country and import of basic goods, Americans want to negatively affect the life and living of people. He continued, Therefore, saying that the US is not after putting pressure on the Iranian people is completely incorrect and they have revealed this in action. The President added, The new round of sanctions that launched on November 5 has had no effect on the economy of our country because whatever bullets the Americans had, had been used before against the Iranian nation and they had nothing new to offer. It was also revealed that the Americans cannot reduce Irans oil export to zero. The officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran were saying from the first day that Americans are not able to reduce Irans oil export to zero, but they kept repeating that they would do this and they recently admitted that the cannot reduce Irans oil export to zero, added Rouhani. The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran also went on to say, Their argument was that if they could reduce Irans oil export to zero, the price of oil will rise to 150$ per barrel and this is what we kept saying from the first day that either the entire region exports oil or if Irans oil export is stopped, others will face problems too. He continued, Americans were under the pressure of the public opinions of the world which forced them to retreat and say that food, medicine and medical equipment are exceptions, which is also incorrect because when they impose sanctions on the banking system, they are actually affecting everything. Addressing the Iranian nation, Dr Rouhani said, In providing basic goods, we have no problem and our warehouses are ready more than any other time to provide peoples essential needs for many months. Thank God, our current conditions are good and export has risen in the first 7 months of the current year compared to the same period last year, and this means that production has increased and peoples business is good, he continued. The President also said, In the coming months, Americans will understand well that the path they have chosen is wrong. This does not tire the Iranian nation, but makes them ready for more production and having closer relations with neighbours. In todays meeting with the head of the other two branches, the Speaker of the Parliament and the Head of the Judiciary, we discussed the latest status of the economy and drawing the roadmap for the coming months as the Supreme Leader has instructed. President Rouhani also said, Today, we discussed this roadmap and closer relations with our neighbouring countries, as well as our economic relations. /257 A senior Houthi official has said Yemen will turn into a "graveyard for aggressors as Saudi-backed militants and mercenaries continued with a fresh push to occupy the port city of Hudaydah. AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A senior Houthi official has said Yemen will turn into a "graveyard for aggressors as Saudi-backed militants and mercenaries continued with a fresh push to occupy the port city of Hudaydah. Our people, with their full-scale defense of Hudaydah, once again have proved that Yemen will be a graveyard for the aggressors, Mohammed Abdulsalam said in a tweet late Friday.. Saudi-backed militants announced on Friday that they had begun a military operation to take over Hudaydah, claiming that they had advanced towards the northern and the western flanks of the port city. Abdulsalam dismissed the claims, saying the aggressors had already failed to achieve any of their objectives due to the exemplary steadfastness of the Yemeni people. The American-British-Israeli coalition, along with domestic and foreign mercenaries and terrorists groups, including Daesh and al-Qaeda have failed to achieve any of their objectives after four years of aggression, due to the exemplary steadfastness of the nation, he tweeted. A statement by militiamen loyal to Yemen's former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi claimed that they were progressing from all fronts. On Saturday, they said they had taken the main hospital in Hudaydah. Nearly 80 percent of Yemen's commercial imports and practically all UN-supervised humanitarian aid pass through Hudaydah's port. Yemeni officials say the extent of Saudi-led military aggression has intensified ever since US President Donald Trumps administration demanded a ceasefire. Chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of Yemen Mohammed Ali al-Houthi said in an opinion article in The Washington Post on Saturday that the US call for ceasefire was hollow. The continued escalation of attacks against the port city of Hudaydah in Yemen by the US-Saudi-Emirati coalition confirms that the American calls for a ceasefire are nothing but empty talk, he said. The recent statements are trying to mislead the world. Saudi leaders are reckless and have no interest in diplomacy. The United States has the clout to bring an end to the conflict but it has decided to protect a corrupt ally, he said. Al-Houthi said, Trump and his administration clearly prefer to continue this devastating war because of the economic returns it produces they drool over those arms sales profits. Last month, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis called for a ceasefire in Yemen and for all parties to come to the negotiating table within the next 30 days. Al-Houthi said the Saudi-led blockade of Hudaydah is meant to bring the Yemeni people to their knees. "The coalition is using famine and cholera as weapons of war. It is also extorting the United Nations by threatening to cut their funds as if it were a charity and not a responsibility required under international law and Security Council resolutions. He further emphasized that Ansarullah was ready to stop the retaliatory missile attacks if Saudi Arabia stopped its airstrikes against the impoverished nation. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warned on Friday that many people were trapped in Hudaydah. Other UN bodies have said an all-out attack on Hudaydah could trigger famine in Yemen. In an interview with Press TV, political columnist David William Pear described the Saudi blockade of Yemen as a war crime." No one is really stepping in to help the Yemenis. The people are starving. This is a war crime and a clear war crime. This has been the intended purpose of Saudi Arabia, he said. Colin Cavell, a university lecturer, said Saudi Arabia is doing a massive humanitarian catastrophe on the people of Yemen and the world needs to take notice of this massive humanitarian catastrophe. He also accused the UK and the United States of complicity in war crimes being committed in Yemen. /257 Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi said that the United States was forced to exempt Iraq from its sanctions against Iran. AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi said that the United States was forced to exempt Iraq from its sanctions against Iran. During his Friday prayer sermon delivered to a large and fervent crowd of believers in the Iraqi holy city of Najafs al-Fatimiyah al-Kubra Husayniyah, Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Sadruddin al-Qubanchi said that the United States was compelled to lift sanctions against Iran and said, Just as the United States exempted eight countries from its sanctions on Iran, they must exempt Iraq as well. The Iraqi government and people arent willing to follow the cruel sanctions against Iran. The Iraqi Shiah welcomed the positions of new Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi in support of the Popular Mobilization Forces and thanked him for not joining the United States in the sanctions on Iran. He stated, The stances and statements of Adil Abdul-Mahdi against the United States will lead to the dignity of Iraq. Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi also thanked Luay al-Khatib, the Minister for Electricity, for failing to comply with an order by the United States not to buy electricity from Iran. His Eminence condemned Bahrains normalization of relations with the Zionist regime and the Al Khalifah regimes human rights abuses against the Bahraini people, saying, Bahrain, while establishing a Research Centre for Peaceful Living with the membership of the Zionist regime, has condemned Hujjat al-Islam Ali Salman, the head of the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society and an advocate of human rights, to life imprisonment. He added that Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are seeking the normalization of relations with the Zionist regime, which considers Iran and Shiism a threat to themselves. Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi stressed that we are confident that the Bahraini government will be overthrown soon. In his sermon on religious issues, he congratulated the believers on the anniversary of the hijrah or migration of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers from Makkah to Madinah and on Laylat al-Mabit, the night on which they emigrated, and said, The celebration of the visit by the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib on the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad was successfully held and three million pilgrims attended this ceremony. /257 KAMPALA- Xente Tech, an electronic payment service, has unveiled an exclusive service for movie lovers and bus travelers purchasing advance tickets to all the major cinemas in Uganda and those traveling around and outside Uganda respectively. Starting November 10, those who use Xente will be able to watch films from major cinemas in Uganda such as Cinema Magic- Naalya, Century Cinemax -Acacia mall, Numax Cinema Entebbe Road and Cinemax Makerere University. Im thrilled, over 15,000 users on Xente will now be able to pay for any movie ticket at the major movie Cinemas were working with. There will be lots of promotions that will be given out to our customers using the service, said Allan Rwakatungu, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Xente App. The bus service will be catering for routes going to major cities around East Africa such as Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania among others. All the products on the Xente app can be paid for using Visa, Master Card, and Mobile Money (Airtel, MTN) or Xente wallet which is topped up using the two options. On her part, Ms. Lyn Tukei, the Public Relations Officer at Xente said in the new arrangement, anyone will be able to access the new services. Anyone from anywhere in the world will be able to buy for themselves and their loved ones bus tickets and tickets to the cinema using their bank card or mobile money, Ms Tukei said. Xente is an e-Payments, e-Commerce and Financial services platform for consumers and businesses. For consumers, it provides them with a digital wallet app on mobile and web with many payment options including e-bank, mobile money, and even credit. Consumers use the app to; key among others, safely and securely pay for lots of products and services like airtime from any network, bills, TV subscription, School fees. Other services include booking tickets for events, movies, and buses, pay at offline and online shops as well as financial services including loans. For businesses, Xente provides tools that they use to their products or service online and mobile to customers anywhere in the world and get paid instantly into their local bank account. Ms. Tukei said the company provides e-commerce web shops that businesses use to quickly and easily set up an online store including different payment options for their customers among other services. The Xente app is available on Android and IOS and can also be found on the web on www.xente.co. Related MAKERERE- The foundation has been laid for rolling out the teaching of Chinese language in Ugandan secondary schools. As the Chinese Confucius Institute at Makerere celebrated its fourth anniversary on Friday, it emerged that the Chinese language is making significant inroads into the countrys education system. The institute was set up to spearhead the teaching of the Chinese language and culture at Ugandas premier university. During a function interspersed by the Ugandan traditional and ballet dance performed by Ugandans and Chinese at Makerere University, the Ugandan institute director, Prof. Oswald Ndoleriire, said several secondary schools in Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area have already started teaching Chinese language. He explained that the institute has established teaching centres in various parts of the country, and that 30 more secondary schools will start teaching Chinese in the next academic year. Several schools are already teaching Chinese language in Kampala, Luwero, Wakiso and other areas. More schools will introduce the teaching of the same language in the next academic year because the institute has trained several school head teachers and they are ready to introduce it in schools, Ndoleriire stated. He explained that the Chinese language syllabus is ready, and will also be rolled out next academic year. 35 Ugandan teachers have underground nine months of training at Luyanzi College in Bweyogerere and are ready to introduce the language. We are targeting to introduce the Chinese language teaching in 30 schools next year and 100 in three years, Ndoleriire said. The Kampala minister, Beti Kamya, said she would enroll for the Chinese language lessons at the institute, urging Ugandans to embrace the learning of the (Chinese language) and culture. Faulty mechanical equipment which was making a sound that resembled gunfire is believed to have led to calls of an active shooter situation at Topsail High School in Pender County, NC. No evidence of a shooter was ever found and no injuries were reported. "When I arrived on scene, what I heard sounded like gunfire," explained Sheriff Carson Smith. "Everyone did exactly what they were supposed to do." Smith said stress levels were high as the calls came in and he could hear the sound of gunshots in the background of the radio traffic. "I heard dozens [of 'shots']," Smith explained, adding he said a prayer while driving to Topsail High school. According to Capt. James Rowell with the Pender County Sheriff's Office, crews searched the entire building, clearing the school room by room but found no evidence of an active shooter, reports WECT. "Today turned out to be a test and everyone passed that test," said District Attorney Ben David. "I can tell you it absolutely sounded real. These young people did not overreact. They did exactly what they are supposed to do." David was pleased to see how quickly everyone responded to this situation. Several agencies joined efforts and came together to do what they were trained to do. "What I saw today across the board is something that should make this community proud," David said. TORONTO, November 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CellCube Energy Storage Systems Inc. ("CellCube" or the "Company") (CSE: CUBE) (OTCQB: CECBF) (Frankfurt: 01X) announces a further delay in the filing its audited annual financial statements, management's discussion and analysis and related officer certifications for the nine months ended June 30, 2018 (the "Annual Financial Filings"). "It is now our expectation to file early next week," states Mike Neylan, CEO of CellCube. "While we continue to work diligently with our auditors to complete the process, we would like our shareholders to know that the delay continues to be purely a function of the complexity of the financial reporting relating to the consolidation of our recent acquisitions rather than any significant issues with the auditor or the audit process. We are very close to completion." The Company confirms as of the date of this news release that there is no other material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed. About CellCube Energy Storage Systems Inc. CellCube is a Canadian public company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (symbol CUBE), the OTCBB (symbol CECBF), and the Frankfurt Exchange (Symbol 01X) focused on the fast-growing energy storage industry which is driven by the large increase in demand for renewable energy. CellCube supplies vertically integrated energy storage systems to the power industry and recently acquired the assets of Gildemeister Energy Storage GmbH, now Enerox GmbH the developer and manufacturer of CellCube energy storage systems. CellCube recently acquired EnerCube Switchgear Systems (formerly Jet Power and Controls Ltd.) and Power Haz Energy Mobile Solutions Inc. (formerly HillCroft Consulting Ltd.) and has also invested in an online renewable energy financing platform, Braggawatt Energy Inc. CellCube develops, manufactures, and markets energy storage systems on the basis of vanadium redox flow technology and has over 130 project installations and a 10 year operational track record. Its highly integrated energy storage System solutions features 99% residual energy capacity after 11,000 cycles with the focus on larger scale containerized modules. Basic building blocks consist of a 250kW unit family with 4, 6 and 8 hours variation in energy capacity. On Behalf of CellCube Energy Storage Systems Inc., Mike Neylan, CEO, Director Chris Hopkins CFO, Director This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts which address events, results, outcomes or developments that the Company expects to occur; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "aims", "potential", "goal", "objective", "prospective", and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "can", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Certain material assumptions regarding such forward-looking statements are discussed in this news release and the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis filed at http://www.sedar.com. Except as required by the securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Glenda Kelly, Investor Communications Lorne Booth Telephone: +1-647-344-8090 Email: info@cellcubeenergystorage.com http://www.cellcubeenergystorage.com SOURCE CellCube Energy Storage Systems Inc. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Welcome Guest! You Are Here: The belief about the relations, which are under the motto of good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, and comprehensive, durable and long lasting cooperation, was stated in congratulatory messages and letters of greetings sent by Vietnamese leaders on November 9 to Cambodia on the occasion of the countrys 65th Independence Day (November 9th, 1953-2018). Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (L) hold talks with Cambodias King Norodom Sihamoni during his visit to the country in 2017 (Photo: VNA) On the occasion, the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee sent a congratulatory message to the Permanent Committee of the Central Committee of the Cambodian Peoples Party. General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President Nguyen Phu Trong sent a letter of greetings to King Norodom Sihamoni. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc cabled a letter of greetings to Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen while National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan sent her congratulations to President of the Cambodian Senate Samdech Say Chhum, and President of the National Assembly Samdech Heng Samrin. In the messages and letters, the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and the Vietnamese leaders congratulated Cambodian people on their immense socio-economic development achievements attained over the past 65 years. They wished Cambodian people would continue reaping greater and more overall achievements in the cause of developing Cambodia in peace and prosperity with the countrys status increasingly growing in the international arena as they are under the visionary reign of the King and the clear-sighted leadership of the Senate, the National Assembly and the Government. On the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh sent a letter of greetings to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn./. Across the world, there are around 150 trials on 5G currently going on and India has lagged behind. The government has now formed a committee which will look exclusively at developing a model for conducting 5G field trials, reports Kiran Rathee. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters South Korean telecom giant Samsung is planning to conduct 5G field trials in the country by the first quarter of next year. The trials are likely to be held in Delhi, and for the purpose, the company is working closely with the department of telecommunications (DoT). Samsung India senior vice-president and head (network business) Srinivasan Sundararajan said the trials will be done for technology and use cases that are already available commercially. "For us, Jio will always remain the prime partner. Today, all our discussions are with Jio. It is our sole partner and we are its sole partner. This partnership has been successful for both of us" Asked if the company is in talks with any telecom operator for the trials, Sundararajan said Reliance Jio is its prime partner. He, however, did not comment if the partnership with Jio will only be for trials. "For us, Jio will always remain the prime partner. Today, all our discussions are with Jio. It is our sole partner and we are its sole partner. This partnership has been successful for both of us," Sundararajan said. DoT has approached companies, including Nokia, Samsung, Ericsson, Huawei and Cisco, among others, for development of 5G applications and for conducting trials. The government is expected to allocate spectrum to the operators for field trials, which will allow consumers to experience 5G. Across the world, there are around 150 trials on 5G currently going on and India has lagged behind. The government has now formed a committee which will look exclusively at developing a model for conducting 5G field trials. Samsung, which is the 4G equipment provider for Reliance Jio, has already commercially launched 5G in select cities in the US with Verizon. Samsung is also expected to launch commercial 5G services in Korea later this year. Asked if India will be ready for commercial rollout of 5G by 2020, Sundararajan said the country would be ready but not like 2G, which has got a nationwide coverage. "Certain use cases will drive the deployment of 5G. It will co-exist with 4G. It is not a 4G replacement," he added. 'Naidu understands electoral calculus, that the regional parties are yet to gain confidence in Rahul as a vote-catcher,' points out R Rajagopalan. IMAGE: Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu address the media in New Delhi, November 2, 2018, after discussing efforts at Opposition unity. Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo After meeting Congress President Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi last week, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and leader of the Telugu Desam Party, has assumed the role of mediator with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Janata Dal-Secular to resolve any hindrances to Opposition unity as well as to allay their misgivings over the Congress's policies. Naidu took on the job after Rahul Gandhi is believed to have hinted to him about certain issues concerning the DMK and JD-S. Why did Gandhi choose Naidu instead of Sitaram Yechury who was coordinating with the southern political parties on his behalf and whose brainchild the Opposition grand alliance to take on Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi was? Yechury, it is learnt, cooled off towards the Congress chief after the latter's actions like visiting temples, asserting his Hindu credentials, etc. The Communists believe in keeping its distance from Hindutva, be it of the hard or soft kind. In Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka, Gandhi made it a point to offer prayers at Hindu temples, something that may backfire if done in, say, Dravidian Tamil Nadu, where the DMK is sceptical of any show of religiosity. It is this aspect of Congress politics that has worried the DMK and which Naidu has been tasked with addressing. The Communist Party of India-Marxist has pointed to Gandhi's overtures to the upper castes in the Hindi belt, which was a factor in driving away Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati from the Congress camp. Yechury is learnt to have raised these issues with Congress matriarch Sonia Gandhi. This appeal to the upper castes is another factor that has alienated the DMK in Tamil Nadu. In the southern states the forward caste votes go to the AIADMK and in recent times to the Bharatiya Janata Party, so Stalin sees no purchase in targeting them in his backyard. On the contrary, any overtures to this group may drive away his base of minorities and backward castes. Apart from the Congress's new-found enthusiasm to proclaim its Hindu-ness, another issue that has put off potential allies is its stand over seat allocation. Unmindful of its actual strength on the ground, the Congress has been expecting the moon from other parties. In Tamil Nadu, for instance, it wants the DMK to hand over 12 to 15 Lok Sabha seats, something the Dravida party is loath to do. Which was why Rahul Gandhi started sending overtures to actor turned politician Kamalahaasan and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, further irritating the DMK. DMK chief M K Stalin is not willing to allot more than 5 seats to the Congress as he fancies its chances in the remaining 34, having learnt a bitter lesson in the 2016 assembly election when the Congress could not find suitable candidates in the seats allotted to it and lost heavily, leaving the DMK short of numbers to form the government. Naidu understands this electoral calculus, that what the regional parties are really trying to say is they are yet to gain confidence in Rahul Gandhi as a vote-catcher, and doubt if he can add votes to their parties. Yechury too was faced with such griping by potential allies of the secular front. But Naidu's job may have become a little easier after the Congress-JD-S front's Karnataka bypoll victory this week, when it routed the BJP 4-1. But as he criss-crosses Amravati, Bengaluru and Chennai, the thought must cross Naidu's mind: Can he knit together an Opposition front, like the then CPI-M general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet did in the 1990s, or will he end up dejected like another Telugu bidda, Sitaram Yechury? The Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday attacked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his foreign visit, alleging that he has travelled to Dubai with a hidden agenda, but the Aam Aadmi Party dismissed the charge as outlandish. Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari tweeted about Kejriwals trip on Friday night hitting out at him for leaving the city at a time when Delhiites were facing air pollution crisis. Questioning the motive behind the chief ministers visit, Leader of Opposition in Delhi assembly Vijender Gupta told reporters on Saturday that Kejriwal suddenly left for Dubai on November 8 by Air India flight and will be back on November 11. He alleged that the information about the visit has been hidden as there is something wrong. However, AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha said in a press conference that Arvind Kejriwal has gone abroad to attend a family function of his IIT batchmate. He denied BJP charges as outlandish. But the BJP persisted with its attack as Gupta asked, Why is Aam Aadmi Party in denial mode about Kejriwal visit? The silence of Aam Aadmi Party about his trip proves that there is something wrong. It is clear that there is a hidden agenda behind this visit, the BJP leader alleged. This trip is not being called an official visit or a family trip. What is the purpose of this Dubai visit, what is the agenda, where will he be staying and whom will he meet? Why is all this information being hidden? Gupta questioned. It is to be noted that the contractor responsible for providing door step delivery in Delhi under AAP government scheme also lives in Dubai, he claimed. Gupta attacked the AAP government saying both Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia were out at a time when the pollution situation in Delhi is alarming. Mahinda Rajapaksa recovered from his 2015 electoral losses, went to the people and campaigned about the injustice done to him. Without attempting to be subtle, he underscored his image of the Sinhala Buddhist warrior a la Dutugemunu, the king of Sri Lanka (164 BC to 140 BC) who led the military campaign against the invading warlord Elara. Aditi Phadnis reports. Photograph: Paresh Gandhi for Rediff.com IMAGE: Then Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, left, with Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi in New York, September 2014. When is the Opposition not in the Opposition? When it is in government, obviously! If only it were that simple. This April, two political groupings were debating the existential dilemmas of being in the Opposition while also being in government, although their circumstances are very different. The Communist Party of India-Marxist was discussing passionately whether it should stick to its position and struggle alone to bring about a revolution with Indian characteristics, marking a permanent place in the Opposition; or tie up with other parties, even those that are only marginally like-minded, to present a solid phalanx against the Bharatiya Janata Party that is intent on gobbling up India, ruthlessly eliminating what opposition stands before it. There are sections that are more comfortable being in the opposition. Somewhat similar was the drama playing out in neighbouring Sri Lanka. In 2015, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, a left-leaning grouping in its economic outlook (but not in race relations), struck a deal with the right-wing United National Party to form a government in which, theoretically, everyone should have been happy. The common enemy was Mahinda Rajapaksa, the outgoing president who had 'vanquished' the LTTE, the most feared guerilla group in the subcontinent, ending a three-decade war between the minority Tamils in North and East Sri Lanka and the majority Sinhala Buddhists. The important thing to note here is: Rajapaksa ended the war, not the source of conflict. His health minister, Maithripala Sirisena, walked out of the SLFP, became the presidential candidate for a job that should have put a full stop to the nepotism, cronyism and corruption of the previous government, restored the faith of the minorities and put Sri Lanka on a new growth trajectory. Sirisena appointed Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister as the UNP had a majority in parliament and agreed to amend the constitution that truncated his powers as executive president. Everything was hunky-dory for the first few months. All Sri Lanka reveled in the restoration of democracy. Elements in the Rajapaksa administration were prosecuted, jailed and if they were abroad, hunted down. A reset was attempted in foreign policy, correcting a seeming pro-China bias. In other words, for a brief but crucial period, Sri Lanka had really no Opposition, only a government, because the Opposition was the government. Obviously this state of affairs could not have endured. Rajapaksa recovered from his losses, went to the people and campaigned about the injustice done to him. Additionally, without attempting to be subtle, he underscored his image of the Sinhala Buddhist warrior a la Dutugemunu, the king of Sri Lanka (164 BC to 140 BC) who led the military campaign against the invading warlord Elara. Strategic support by him to the Sinhala Buddhist Bodu Bala Sena and its campaign against Muslim minorities led to severe rioting. Add to this corruption in the form of the Bonds scandal that involved the Wickremesinghe-appointed central bank governor Arjuna Mahendran and Rajapaksa didnt even have to try. He swept the local government polls in February and became the legitimate opposition pole to which all the discontented (both in government and outside) rallied. The Rajapaksa-led Joint Opposition then put in a motion of no confidence against the prime minister. Sirisena, recognising which side of his bread was buttered, told SLFP MPs to vote according to their conscience. Some were ministers. They voted against their own prime minister. Naturally, they had to step down because Wickremesinghe won the no-confidence motion. So now, in the excessively and punctiliously constitutional politics of Sri Lanka, there was a mess -- because everyone wants to sit on the Opposition benches. The UNP was in a majority. But elements within the UNP made no secret of their disenchantment with the PM -- some abstained in the no confidence motion when the government needed every man on the deck in order to survive. The power disequilibrium within the government was no secret, especially for the bureaucracy. General elections in Sri Lanka were originally due in 2020 (after Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday night, they will be held in January 2019). Meanwhile, the questions remained: When is the Opposition, not in the Opposition? Protests by the Bharatiya Janata Party and right-wing outfits coupled with the absence of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his deputy marked the Tipu Jayanti celebrations in Karnataka on Saturday, as the event brought to the fore differences within the ruling Congress-Janata Dal-Secular coalition. IMAGE: Hindu Sena activists stage a protest over the celebration of Tipu Jayanti at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo The celebrations to observe the birth anniversary of controversial 18th century Mysore kingdom ruler Tipu Sultan brought the state under a thick security blanket, amid protests by the BJP and other organisations. The main event in Bengaluru turned out to be lacklustre. Kumaraswamy skipped the main event at Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat, citing advice by doctors to take rest for three days till November 11. Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara was reportedly in Singapore to visit an ailing senior politician from Karnataka. As BJP and other right-wing outfits protested against the Jayanti, Vidhana Soudha turned into a fortress with multi-layer security arrangement. The police ensured nobody could carry medicines, perfumes or even water bottles inside the venue. Irrigation minister D K Shivakumar, minister for minority affairs B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan and MLAs Roshan Baig and N A Harris attended the main programme, where the BJP was accused of communalising the occasion. Voices of disapproval started emerging from within the ruling coalition over the chief minister and deputy chief ministers absence, with a Congress MLA terming it as an insult to the Muslim community. MLA and former minister Tanveer Sait requested the chief minister to at least attend a Tipu Jayanti event at a place near to where he was taking rest. According to party sources, many Congress leaders, especially those from the Muslim community, are miffed with the CM and deputy chief minister for skipping the event. When in the opposition, Kumaraswamy had questioned the need for such celebrations which was started by the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress government. Kumaraswamy reportedly chose to skip the event to not antagonise voters in his partys bastion of old Mysuru region, as Tipu Sultan had seized power from Maharajas of Mysuru, who are virtually revered there. The Chief Ministers Office, however, issued a statement on Kumaraswamys absence at the event. Wishing success for Tipu Jayanti celebrations, the JD-S leader said Tipus progressive measures in administration and his quest for innovation were commendable. He said as he was taking rest on doctors advice. It is far from the truth that the CM is not taking part due to fear of losing power, as he opposes such blind beliefs, the CMO statement said. IMAGE: Protesters raise slogans against the state government as they oppose the celebration of Tipu Jayanti in Mangaluru. Photograph: PTI Photo This was the first Tipu Jayanti celebration after the Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD-S coalition government came to power in the state. The previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah began celebrating Tipu Jayanti on November 10 every year since 2015, amid stiff opposition from the BJP, several Hindu organisations and some individuals. BJP and several right-wing outfits held protests in different parts of the state opposing the celebrations. Calling Tipu a religious bigot, the state BJP unit had urged the state government to drop its decision to celebrate the Jayanthi. In Kodagu district, where celebrations in 2015 were marred by widespread protests and violence, Tipu Jayanti Virodhi Horata Samithi called for a bandh. VHP worker Kuttappa had died in Kodagu district during a clash that erupted during the Tipu Jayanti that year. BJP workers along with MLA M P Appachu Ranjan were detained at Madikeri in Kodagu district for protesting the event after he allegedly had an argument with the police for not letting those without invitations to attend the event. Another BJP MLA and former assembly speaker K G Bopaiah was detained in Virajpet during the protest. In Mangaluru, some protesters tried to barge into the zilla panchayat office with black flags where the event was being organised. Police later detained the protesters. Similar protests were reported from Chikmagalur, Ballari, Karwar and various parts of the state. IMAGE: Police detains BJP workers protesting against the state government as they oppose the celebration of Tipu Jayanti in Chikmagalur. Photograph: PTI Photo Prohibitory orders have been clamped in most of the districts as a precautionary measure, police said. Extra security arrangements were made in districts of Kodagu, Chitradurga, and coastal regions among others where local communities are opposed to the celebrations. Tipu was considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces. The ruler, however, is a controversial figure in Kodagu district as Kodavas (Coorgis), a martial race, believe that thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forcible conversion to Islam. He is also accused of execution of Mandayam Iyengars at the temple town of Melkote in Mandya district on the day of Diwali, as they supported the then Maharaja of Mysuru. However, the scale of such suppression is disputed by several historians, who see Tipu as a secular and modern ruler. Meanwhile, a group of Muslim leaders along with state minister Zameer Ahmed Khan on Saturday met senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah and honoured him on the occasion of Tipu Jayanti. Calling Tipu a good administrator, Siddaramaiah hit out at the BJP for opposing Tipu Jayanti celebrations, reminding them about the saffron party leaders attending similar events while in power. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday inaugurated the first India-bulit war memorial in northern France to pay tribute to thousands of Indian soldiers who fought selflessly and made supreme sacrifices during the World War I. Naidu, who is on a three-day visit to Paris starting Friday, also interacted with French armed forces veterans and children at the inauguration of the Indian War Memorial at Villers Guislain. Extremely happy to unveil the Indian Armed Forces Memorial at Villers-Guislain town in France today. Its a great tribute to several thousands of Indian soldiers whose gallantry and dedication have earned worldwide recognition, Naidu said in a tweet. The memorial is the first-of-its-kind built by India in France after the countrys Independence. The announcement to construct the memorial was made by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her last visit to Paris in June 2018. India contributed immensely to the war effort in terms of both men and material. Her soldiers served with credit and honour in numerous battlefields around the globe: in France and Belgium, in Aden, Arabia, East Africa, Gallipoli, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Persia and Salonika, he said. We therefore share a bond of sacrifice that joins us to French soil and society. The final resting places of these soldiers are spread over 158 cemeteries across various communes and cities of France. Their blood is permanently mixed with the soil here, he said. Naidu said despite Indias significant role in the World War I, it was frequently overlooked as a result of the horrors experienced in trench warfare and by Europes tendency to home in on battles such as those fought at the Somme and Verdun, which many assume only Europeans fought in. Vice President Naidu also addresses local community and members of Indian Diaspora after inaugurating the memorial. I consider it my privilege to have this honour to be amongst you today and inaugurate the first War Memorial constructed by the GoI in France and to pay homage to the Indian soldiers who fought selflessly and heroically during World War I and made the supreme sacrifice, he said. Indian troops were on Western Front by winter of 1914 and fought at the first Battle of Ypres. By the end of 1915, they had sustained many casualties along with casualties from sickness, the decision was taken to withdraw Indian Corps from front line duty at the end of 1915. Naidu said 800,000 Indian troops fought in all the theatres of the war with 1.5 million volunteering to fight. They fought in most theatres of war including Gallipoli and North and East Africa. In all 47,746 were classed as killed or missing with 65,000 wounded, he said. The Indian Corps won 13,000 medals for gallantry including 12 Victoria Crosses. Khudadad Khan won the Corps first Victoria Cross. Such was the cost of the war, that Indias economy was pushed to near bankruptcy, Naidu said. Vice President Naidu is in Paris to represent India at the Armistice of World War I centenary commemoration. Heads of state or government of over 50 countries and their representatives are expected to participate in the centenary activities. On Sunday, the vice president will attend the ceremony to commemorate the armistice of World War I at Arc de Triomphe, presided over by French President Emmanuel Macron. He will speak at a high-level panel discussion titled Dialogue of the Continents on Global Governance and will also hold a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum, the ministry of external affairs said in statement. Photographs: @VPSecretariat/Twitter Raking up the Ram temple issue, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday sought to know whether the Congress was concerned about Lord Ram or Mughal emperor Babur. Addressing a poll rally in Chhattisgarhs Lormi on the last day of campaigning for the first phase of the state polls, he alleged that the Congress toyed with national security and actively and covertly supported Naxalism in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand for political gains. Despite having extensive mineral deposits and forest wealth, Chhattisgarh remained poor, backward and a BIMARU state during the Congress rule, he said. BIMARU -- an acronym formed from the first letters of the names of the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh -- was coined in the mid-1980s to refer to the poor economic conditions within those states. Today, the forest wealth is being used for the welfare of locals. The adivasis (tribals) and forest dwellers are being given benefits of development schemes, the priest-turned-politician said. The Congress encouraged Naxalism for its gains, but when it (Naxalism) became dangerous for the security of people, it was the Bharatiya Janata Party which had to deal with the issue sternly. The Congress has been encouraging Naxalism actively and covertly, he alleged. The Congress, for its own gains, played with the security of the country. Be it Chhattisgarh or Jharkhand, where the issue was giving asylum to Naxalites or using states like Kashmir for political benefits. But for the BJP, national security is of prime importance, hence (it) never accepted toying with it, Adityanath said. He said no day passes when at least two to three terrorists are not gunned down by security forces in Kashmir or surrender to the armed forces. Similarly, no day goes by where people in Naxal-affected states are not being provided complete security by the state governments, the senior BJP leader said. While it is a known fact that Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya, the matter is pending before the Supreme Court. Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal had petitioned before the court that a decision should not been taken over the issue before 2019, he said. The Congress should be asked if their relation is with (Lord) Ram or with foreign invader Babur. The Congress has no idea about the countrys respect and swabhimaan (self-respect). The Congress always played with the national security and is now coming in front of you for votes, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said. He said Chhattisgarh could only develop when the BJP governments at the Centre and state worked together. The elections to the 90-member Chhattisgarh assembly will be held in two phases on November 12 and 20. Maithripala Sirisena was considered so meek and self-effacing that he appeared no threat to anyone. What a mistake his rivals made! Aditi Phadnis reports. IMAGE: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, right, with ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters Remember Giani Zail Singh, arguably the wiliest President India has ever had, who came close to dismissing Rajiv Gandhi's government via a Constitutional coup, notwithstanding the Congress's unprecedented majority in the Lok Sabha? Zail Singh failed. But Maithripala Sirisena, Sri Lanka's president, didn't. Last fortnight, in one fluid stroke, he sacked Prime Minister and United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, replaced him with Sri Lanka People's Party and Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa and presented MPs with a fait accompli: If they wanted to stay MPs in the current parliament, they needed to support Rajapaksa. If not, they should prepare for snap elections. (Late on Friday, November 9, Sirisena dissolved parliament and called a January election.) Sirisena himself has nothing to lose -- presidential elections are due end 2019-beginning 2020. Parliamentary elections were originally scheduled only in August 2020. When he became president in 2015, Sirisena said: 'I came out because I could not stay any more with a leader who had plundered the country, government and national wealth.' He was Mahinda Rajapaksa's health minister, considered a man so meek and self-effacing that he appeared no threat to anyone. But for all his modest origins, Sirisena was an extremely powerful leader: He began as a youth leader in the left-leaning Sri Lanka Freedom Party, became president of its youth wing in 1983. He became an SLFP MP in 1989 representing Polonnaruwa, built the party in central Sri Lanka and rose to become SLFP chairman in 2000. In 2001, he was appointed SLFP general secretary and he stayed in that position till 2014, making him the longest serving secretary in the party's history. And this when he belonged to no ruling dynasty like the Bandaranaikes or the Jayewardenes. Nor did he belong to the Colombo 7 crowd, roughly corresponding to Lutyens Delhi. Mahinda Rajapaksa, deputy to Chandrika Kumaratunga, rebelled against her and forced her to cede power to him. When presidential elections beckoned in 2015, Kumaratunga thought she could use Sirisena to pay back Rajapaksa. So she nudged him to defect, helped cobble together an alliance of bitter political opponents SLFP and UNP (a bit like the Congress and the BJP), their only objective being to keep Rajapaksa out. Sirisena won the presidential election, vowed to end the executive presidency that allows the president to have overarching powers of hiring and firing ministers but didn't really get round to doing it, and promised to usher in a rule of 'compassion and justice'. Tensions were inevitable and they began showing from day 1. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's involvement in a bonds scandal and the replacement of the governor of the central bank suggested high levels of corruption though Wickremesinghe was absolved of blame in an enquiry. But he did not step down when the enquiry was going on. Wickremesinghe struggled to bring some balance in the economy but Sirisena's socialist orientation balked at having to divest in government-run entities and other market-oriented initiatives. The central reason was the presidency: How could Sirisena get another term? Wickremesinghe himself wanted the presidency. Sirisena had to make arrangements for a second term for himself. So in three years, amid a lacklustre performance of a government which nevertheless won a trust vote in April this year, Sirisena felt he needed to return to the mother fold -- of Rajapaksa who, the most pragmatic of all politicians, was waiting, willing to forgive and forget past betrayals. But is it going to be so easy for Sirisena to attain his objective? Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, former defence secretary and Mahinda Rajapaksa's brother, has already launched a political forum. If he is elected prime minister in the January election, Mahinda Rajapaksa can amend the constitution and remove the two-term bar on presidentship, then he could offer himself as president. If not, then there is always Gotabhaya. Either way, Sirisena will become an inconvenience sooner than later. IMAGE: Caretaker Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Maithripala Sirisena at a rally in Colombo. Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters There is one other danger. The Rajapaksa regime played ducks and drakes with the military. Chiefs of staff were sacked, superseded, imprisoned. The present chief of army staff was denied his due in promotions by the Rajapaksas and went off to work with the US forces in Afghanistan until the government in Sri Lanka changed -- when he was made army chief nearly five years after he was due to be promoted. If the Rajapaksa regime looks as if it is going to return, many in the armed forces will begin to feel extremely uneasy. Even in the past when Sri Lanka had a ceremonial army, coups have not been unknown. And 'The War' is a way of life for the country even when the armed forces are not actively fighting one. The minorities -- the Tamils because it was during Rajapaksa's presidency that the LTTE was destroyed; and Muslims because he identifies closely with Sinhala Buddhist nationalists -- cannot afford to back Rajapaksa. Sri Lanka will continue to be turbulent for the forseeable future. Experience Hendrix L.L.C./Legacy Recordings The expanded 50th anniversary reissue of Electric Ladyland, The Jimi Hendrix Experience's third and final studio album, hit stores today. The deluxe package is available as a three-CD/Blu-ray and a six-LP/Blu-ray set, and features a remastered stereo version and new 5.1 surround-sound mixes of Electric Ladyland. It also includes previously unreleased alternate takes and demos; an unreleased live album from 1968; a making-of documentary; and a 48-page book containing rare photos, reproductions of handwritten lyrics by Jimi Hendrix and more. Released in October 1968, Electric Ladyland reached #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, and included the group's only top 40 U.S. hit: a cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," which peaked at #20. Other well-known songs on the Electric Ladyland: "Crosstown Traffic" and "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)." The reissue's live album, which appears on one CD and two LPs, is called Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live at the Hollywood Bowl 9/14/68. It captures a show that took place at the famous Los Angeles venue about a month before Electric Ladyland's release. The Blu-ray features a documentary titled At LastThe Beginning: The Making of Electric Ladyland, as well as new surround-sound mixes created by longtime Hendrix engineer Eddie Kramer. The box set's extra tracks will also be released as a 20-track CD and a two-LP set titled Electric Ladyland: The Early Takes. Meanwhile, a series of videos promoting the Electric Ladyland reissue have been posted at Hendrix's official YouTube channel. Among them are a couple of clips featuring rock-guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani going through the various aspects of the deluxe package while discussing his appreciation for Electric Ladyland. Here's the track list of the three-CD version of the Electric Ladyland deluxe reissue: Disc 1: Electric Ladyland (Original Album) " And the Gods Made Love" "Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)" "Crosstown Traffic" "Voodoo Chile" "Little Miss Strange" "Long Hot Summer Night" "Come On (Part I)" "Gypsy Eyes" "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" "Rainy Day, Dream Away" "1983(A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" "Moon, Turn the TidesGently Gently Away" "Still Raining, Still Dreaming" "House Burning Down" "All Along the Watchtower" "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" Disc 2: Electric Ladyland: The Early Takes "1983(A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" "Voodoo Chile" "Cherokee Mist" "Hear My Train A Comin'" "Angel" "Gypsy Eyes" "Somewhere" "Long Hot Summer Night" [Demo 1] "Long Hot Summer Night" [Demo 3] "Long Hot Summer Night" [Demo 4] "Snowballs at My Window" "My Friend" "At LastThe Beginning" "Angel Caterina (1983)" "Little Miss Strange" "Long Hot Summer Night" [Take 1] "Long Hot Summer Night" [Take 14] "Rainy Day, Dream Away" "Rainy Day Shuffle" "1983...(A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" Disc 3: Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live at the Hollywood Bowl Sept. 14, 1968 Introduction "Are You Experienced" "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" "Red House" "Foxey Lady" "Fire" "Hey Joe" "Sunshine of Your Love" "I Won't Live Today" "Little Wing" "Star Spangled Banner" "Purple Haze" Disc 4: At LastThe Beginning: The Making of Electric Ladyland (Blu-ray) At LastThe Beginning: The Making of Electric Ladyland documentary Electric Ladyland -- Uncompressed LPCM Stereo 24b/96k Electric Ladyland -- Uncompressed LPCM 5.1 Surround 24b/96k Electric Ladyland -- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround 24b/96k Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Addressing a meeting between the group and Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Craig Chittik in Hanoi on November 9th, Phuc said that the relations between the parliaments of Vietnam and Australia have grown thanks to agreements reached between the two sides. The two sides have maintained experience sharing in parliamentary activities, while coordinating and supporting each other at multilateral forums. Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Craig Chittik (Source: VNA) Amidst the sound development between the two countries, the two sides should continue exchanging legislative experience and support the governments of the two countries to implement action plans in the 2016-2019 period, he said. For his part, Ambassador Chittik spoke highly of the strong political trust between the two countries, especially the elevation of bilateral relationship to strategic partnership this year which, he said, opens up a new development period in bilateral ties. He expressed his delight that the Vietnamese NA will consider the ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), describing the deal as a great chance for the businesses of both sides to expand their partnership and create more jobs. The diplomat said that he hopes the two countries will further foster their political trust, while promoting the implementation of the agreements signed during the high-level meetings between the two countries, and creating more favourable conditions for people-to-people contacts and the enhancement of friendship parliamentarian groups in each country. He affirmed that Australia will support Vietnam in optimising benefits from the CPTPP./. During the talks, the leaders briefed each other on the situation in their respective countries and discussed orientations and measures to deepen the special relationship between the two sides in an effective and pragmatic fashion. They also exchanged viewpoints on regional and international issues of shared concern. Party General Secretary and President Trong said the Cuban Presidents visit will generate momentum for the bilateral relationship. Congratulating the Cuban people on achievements they have recorded recently, the host noted his belief that Cubans, under the leadership of First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Raul Castro, will gain even greater attainments in the time ahead. He thanked the Cuban Government and people for their solidarity and valuable support for Vietnam. Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong (R) and President of the Council of State and Council of Ministers of Cuba Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez (Photo: VNA) Vietnam wishes to deepen bilateral ties, meeting the aspirations and interests of people of both countries, while actively contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world, he said. For his part, President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez applauded the reform achievements that the Vietnamese people have reaped over the past nearly three decades, saying that Cuba would also like to learn from Vietnams development experience. He also used this occasion to thank the Vietnamese State and people for their solidarity and valuable support for their Cuban counterparts, and affirmed Cubas resolve to enhance the bilateral ties in order to effectively contribute to development in each country. The two leaders applauded the growth of their countries comprehensive cooperation, including increasingly trustworthy political ties through regular delegation exchanges and experience sharing. Cooperation mechanisms between the Vietnamese and Cuban Governments, ministries, and sectors have been maintained and become more and more effective. Relations between the two parties, parliaments, and peoples have also been enhanced, they noted. The two sides pledged to keep close and all-round cooperation during their journeys of national construction and development. They will make efforts to intensify their exemplary fraternity, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and faithful solidarity. At the talks, the leaders also discussed several measures to foster economic, trade, and investment partnerships in a result-oriented manner; strength ties in defence, security, external relations, agriculture, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, healthcare, education, and science-technology, and boost people-to-people exchange. They applauded and emphasised the importance of the two Governments signing of a new trade agreement and a protocol on capital disbursement and financial management of the Vietnam-Cuba project on cooperation in rice production development for 2019-2023. Party General Secretary and President Trong shared the Cuban Presidents view that the current bilateral trade total at USD240 million each year does not reflect the two countries trade potential, demand, and supply capacity. They agreed to give relevant direction to actively promote the implementation of the bilateral trade cooperation agreement, seek ways to facilitate businesses access to each others markets, and strive to raise trade to USD500 million by 2022. The leaders also expressed their delight at their countries growing coordination and mutual support at international organisations and multilateral forums, especially the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation. Regarding international and regional situations of shared concern, both sides shared the view that sovereignty and territorial disputes need to be resolved by peaceful means with respect for international law. The Cuban President invited General Secretary and President Trong to pay an official visit to his country in the near future. Before the talks, on behalf of the Vietnamese State, Party General Secretary and President Trong bestowed the Ho Chi Minh Order upon the Cuban leader in recognition of the latters contributions to bilateral friendship and cooperation. The same day, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung, representing the Vietnamese Government, and Vice President of the Cuban Council of Ministers Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, on behalf of the Cuban Government, signed the new trade agreement and the protocol on capital disbursement and financial management of the cooperation in rice production development for 2019-2023./. With grey clouds appearing over Apia, the change in weather did not dissuade Auckland couple Carolyn and Graeme Fatialofa from enjoying their last day on the island. They flew into Samoa last Friday from New Zealand to join family, who had gathered in Samoa to mark five years since the passing of Graemes grandfather, Papaliitele Peter Fatialofa. Other family members, who live abroad, were also in town for the commemoration. The couple was heading out to Nourish Cafe for lunch when the Samoa Observer caught up with them. They spoke of their interest and love for their parents and grandparents home, which is now theirs too. Born and raised in New Zealand, the couple made it their goal to visit Samoa twice this year. They were here in August and flew in again last Friday - their second trip for the year. While here they visited the final resting place of Graemes great grandfather in Lepea, and basked in the sunshine of the popular Lalomanu Beach. They also attended the Melbourne Cup fundraiser, had breakfast with family at the Tanoa Tusitala Hotel, and were entertained by the spectacular Faafiafia (show night) in the company of families at the Le Manumea Resort. On Wednesday they witnessed a cousins proposal at the world-famous To Sua Ocean Trench. Indulging in the exquisite culinary dishes was also a highlight for the couple according to Carolyn. We stayed at Taumeasina for two nights and wed wake up and go straight to the market for breakfast, she said. It has not been the first time for Samoas local market to woo tourists and visitors. But for that homely experience in a Samoan hotel, the couple ranked Le Manumea Resort at the top. Being here at Manumea, we love this connection with the smaller local communities and the networking that happens in the small places. The service here is wholehearted that you cant get in those bigger places. They said the resorts service and acts of kindness included giving Carolyn a handmade hat - which took two hours to make out of material - which she wore at the Melbourne Cup fundraiser. They were touched by the gesture. I feel that the Government doesnt understand that places like this is really promoting Samoa. No wonder this place is really booked out, Graeme said. While the couple run a business in Auckland, they say Samoa has had an impact on their lives and they will visit more often. We may be born in NZ but Samoa is our home, this is our hearts. Students of Peace Chapel Christian School in Vaimea have all the more reason to smile with the installation of two modern water cooler systems in their school. School Principal, Lisa Lameta, said the new water filtration systems are major improvements from the original polyvinyl chloride (P.V.C.) pipe fountain that students drank off, which was unhygienic. We had a P.V.C. pipe fountain at the back of the school. When they turned it on, the water just comes out of all the holes, and there was a lot of water wasted, it wasnt hygienic as well, Ms. Lameta said. She took on the Principal role this year, and it has always been her aim to provide a more suitable drinking water system for the 290 students enrolled in the school. Ms. Lameta said she was approached by the Pure Pacific Water team after a parent had anonymously volunteered to sponsor one of the water cooler systems. Someone had a business and they were getting some for the business and they really wanted us to have one here, she said. I decided with the number of students we have, one is not going to be enough. So at the moment, the school is paying for the other one. Ms. Lameta told the Samoa Observer that Pure Pacific Water has a really good discount for schools with a charge of $57.50 a month, which includes six monthly checks on the systems for maintenance purposes. Its been really good to know the students are having clean, cold water. If they use the water in the coolers all at once, then it just take 10-15 minutes for the water to get cold again. The water comes straight out of the P.V.C. pipe and the water cooler just filters it. The kids have really enjoyed it, theyre drinking more water and the parents are really blessed that the school is providing something for their kids. We did have water that we could buy at the canteen before, but this is a big help for the students. Ms. Lameta said the school staff encourages students to bring their water bottles every day to fill instead of using plastic cups over again. We encourage the students to bring bottles rather than using cups that will be thrown away or they are not using the same cup that does happen out there, she said. Its also helping the environment by people not throwing plastic cups and bottles all the time. They can just reuse them. Its just been more than a week since the installation and the school has enjoyed the new water cooler systems. Ms. Lameta said the parent who sponsored one water cooling system wanted to remain anonymous. We are a private school and the kids do pay fees, so if we can give something back to families thatll be really good. There are 11 teaching staff and five learning support staff for the Year 1 Year 8 students. Ms. Lameta acknowledged the parent who kindly donated the water cooling system for the school, and is encouraging schools still using P.V.C. pipes to consider the new invention in Samoa for the sake of the students. U.S. Embassy hosted a reception to welcome Matt Catingub and the Mavis Rivers Tribute Band on Thursday night. The band was welcomed by Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, Scott Brown and his good lady Gail Brown. The Band will be in Samoa from November 7 11, will be performing a concert in tribute to the late Mavis Chloe Rivers (1929-1992), who was once referred to by Frank Senatra as the purest voice in jazz. Mavis is well known in many countries but what many people do not know is that she has Samoan roots. Leading the Mavis Rivers Tribute Band is Laauli Matt Catingub, Maviss son and a Grammy award winning musician and composer in his own right. Rounding out the sextet are three musicians, from the U.S., Steve Moretti, Kevin Axt, and Christina Souza, along with two musicians from New Zealand, Mike Booth and Andrew Hall. The programme is part of the U.S. Embassy, Apias annual Arts Envoy Programme designed to share the best of the U.S. arts community with the world. The programme sends American arts professionals - including performing artists, visual artists, poets, playwrights, theatrical and film directors, curators, and others - overseas to conduct workshops, give performances, and mentor young people. The programme seeks to connect with international publics who might not otherwise have the opportunity to engage with American arts professionals. David Barry left Samoa in 1979 for Australia and returned home on Wednesday after 39 years abroad. Originally from Matautu-tai, he flew into Samoa from Sydney with his wife Amelia, and is keen to catch up with family and friends after a long while. The couple are in Samoa, thanks to the generosity of their eldest daughter, who decided that return airfares to Samoa are the best birthday presents for her parents. Amelia turned 60 last week and David is turning 70 next Tuesday. Their daughter and the sponsor of their trip, who is one of their six children, wanted to ensure that their birthday celebrations were memorable according to David. Upon their arrival in Samoa on Wednesday, they did not want to wait another day to catch up with family, and went to Davids home village. He said when they got to Matautu-tai, he realised that the land now had shops and there were families living there, whom he was not familiar with. I went back home to where I am from and it is really bad. It was not the way it was 40 years ago. Everything that was there is all gone now, he said. The bridge next to the Sheraton Samoa Aggie Greys Hotel & Bungalows brought back a lot of memories, added David. It used to be a popular hangout for him and his friends. Back in the days it was very beautiful and me and my mates would come by the bridge near Aggies and hang there, singing music and playing the guitar. But the Sydneysiders have four weeks up their sleeves and intend to make the best of their stay in Samoa. David said he is excited to show his wife the best of Samoas attractions. This includes travelling around Upolu and making a stop over at his fathers village Vailima, and his grandmothers Safatoa Lefaga village. For now, they are at the Le Manumea Resort and are enjoying every bit of the experience. And while it has been a long time since Davids homecoming, the couple said this visit will not be their last, as they intend to bring their whole family back to Samoa for another visit. PARIS (AP) Traveling from across the world to monuments honoring soldiers who fell 100 years ago, victors and vanquished alike marked those sacrifices Saturday ahead of Armistice Day and assessed alliances that have been redrawn dramatically since the dark days of World War I. The leaders of former enemies France and Germany, in an intimate gesture that underscored their countries' current roles as guarantors of peace in Europe, held their heads together at the site north of Paris where the defeated Germans and the Allies signed the agreement that ended the 1914-18 war. After Chancellor Angela Merkel briefly snuggled her head into the neck of French President Emmanuel Macron, the two went inside a replica of the train car where the armistice was reached and put their names in a guestbook. Macron then took Merkel's hand in his, again highlighting the changes on the continent where two world wars were fought in the 20th century. "Our Europe has been at peace for 73 years. There is no precedent for it, and it is at peace because we willed it and first and foremost, because Germany and France wanted it," he said. Merkel was equally convinced of the power their friendship exudes. "The will is there, and I say this for Germany with full conviction, to do everything to achieve a more peaceful order in the world even though we know we have very, very much work still ahead of us," she said. The open show of affection was a welcome antidote for Macron. Earlier Saturday, the French leader had a somewhat awkward meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. As Air Force One landed in Paris on Friday night, Trump wrote on Twitter he had been "very" insulted by comments Macron made in the days before that he considered anti-American. A century ago, the entry of U.S. troops into World War I tipped the momentum toward its allies, including France and Britain. Even as he embarked on two days of observances for the Nov. 11, 1918 armistice, Trump said the United States now bears far too much of the burden to defend the West. A flurry of Armistice-related diplomacy once again turned Paris, the jewel that Germany sought to take in 1914 but which the Allies successfully fought to defend, into the center of global attention Saturday as dozens of world leaders arrived in the French capital on the eve of the solemn centennial commemorations. Merkel's appearance in Compiegne marked how her nation's bloodstained history with France has become a close alliance that is now the driving force behind the European Union. In the four years of fighting, remembered for brutal trench warfare and the first use of gas, France, the British empire, Russia and the United States had the main armies opposing a German-led coalition that also included the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires. Almost 10 million soldiers died. France lost 1.4 million and Germany 2 million. Yet, despite a war that was supposed to end all wars, World War II pitted both sides against each other once again in 1940. Across the line that once marked the Western Front, leaders lauded the courage of soldiers who were killed during the unprecedented slaughter, before converging on Paris for a dinner. The armistice entered into force on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, and on Sunday 69 world leaders will commemorate the centennial of the event at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, underneath the Arc de Triomphe in central Paris. At dawn Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went to Vimy Ridge, the battlefield in northern France where Canada found its sense of self when it defeated German opposition against the odds. Standing amid the white headstones against an ashen sky, Trudeau addressed the fallen, saying what Canada has achieved in the past century has been "a history built on your sacrifice. You stand for the values on which Canada was built." In southern Belgium's Mons, Canadians were also lauding George Price, the last Commonwealth soldier to die in the war when he was shot by a German sniper two minutes before the armistice took effect. Trump was looking beyond the tragedy of death and destruction, asking in a tweet: "Is there anything better to celebrate than the end of a war, in particular that one, which was one of the bloodiest and worst of all time?" After his meeting with Macron, Trump had been scheduled to head to the battlefield of Belleau Wood, 90 kilometers (55 miles) northeast of the capital, where U.S. troops had their breakthrough battle by stopping a German push for Paris shortly after entering the war in 1917. The battle of Belleau Wood proved America's mettle to allies and foes alike, and by the time the war ended U.S. forces were at least an equal to any of the other major armies, which were exhausted and depleted. However, Trump canceled his visit because of bad weather and immediately came in for criticism. "It's incredible that a president would travel to France for this significant anniversary - and then remain in his hotel room watching TV rather than pay in person his respects to the Americans who gave their lives in France for the victory gained 100 years ago tomorrow," David Frum, a speechwriter for former President George W. Bush, tweeted, The White House sent a delegation that included chief of staff John Kelly in Trump's place. Ben Rhodes, who served as deputy national security adviser in the Obama administration, said the White House should have had a fallback plan for the president. "There is always a rain option. Always," Rhodes said. Trump is scheduled to visit a different U.S. cemetery close to Paris on Sunday. Tesla is complicated, but its cars are not. A recent week in a new Model 3, the compact electric sedan, is a rethinking of car ownership. Its as much lifestyle choice as transportation. There is much awareness of this new car and the Tesla brand and some attitude. A driver in an Audi A4 tried a stoplight drag race and a few other drivers were not hospitable in yielding the right of way, which was quite deliberate. The fledgling Model 3 has emerged as a tattletale of all that appears wrong with the company. Its CEO leader Elon Musk is an admitted tech nerd part visionary, part capricious micromanaging control freak. But he has the capital to indulge his whims, which includes building big space rockets and tunnels, colonizing mars, creating home battery storage systems and a factory to build those batteries, plus a nationwide link of 11,200 supercharging stations for the owners of his electric cars. The roomy cabin has 40.3 inches of front headroom with the glass roof or 39.6 inches with a metal roof. (Tesla) Advertisement To skeptics and critics, Musk has been showing mental signs of cracking from the workload. But there were no cracks in the Model 3, I tested. There were two slightly misaligned corners at the front fascia, which could be attributed to the much-reported teething problems during early production at the Fremont, Calif., factory. The rest of the car was a proud statement of perseverance from a leader who will do it his way, even if that means working the line and sleeping on the shop floor. Pricing and range Three versions of Model 3 are currently available in the U.S., with three levels of lithium-ion batteries and a second-motor option for all-wheel drive: Midrange rear-wheel drive, $46,200, 260 miles; long range rear-wheel, $50,200, 310 miles; long range dual-motor AWD, $56,200 and Performance AWD, $65,200, both EPA-rated for 310 miles. Pricing includes the $1,200 freight charge. The mid-range battery option uses the long-range battery, but contains fewer cells, Tesla says. The Mid-Range model also can be upgraded with the premium black and white interior ($1,500) which had been available only with the dual-motor variants. The center console between the front seats has a charging bin and clever connectors for an iPhone or Android. (Tesla) A single-battery option, with a 220-mile range, will be available in four to six months, Tesla says, which will drop the starting price to $37,120 for the rear-drive model. Tesla also cut the price of the Dual-Motor All-Wheel Drive option to $5,000, from $29,000. My top-line extended-range Performance tester was $78,200 with dual-motor AWD and performance upgrades. The EPA gives it e-mpg ratings of 120/112/116 mpg city/highway/combined. That translates to about 319 miles city, 296 miles highway and 308 miles combined. Pricing is before a $7,500 federal tax credit and $2,500 California incentive, but time is running out. The federal tax credit (incentive) was allowed for the first 200,000 such vehicles sold by an automaker and Tesla passed that milestone in July. But buyers taking delivery by the end of the year will get the full credit, Tesla says. After that, the tax credit will be reduced by 50 percent every six months until it phases out in 2020. The cabin design is lean and uncluttered with unique and appealing synthetic fabrics, headliner and plastics. (Tesla) Teslas vehicle designs are a complete rethinking of space. All ye who enter the cabin must do so with an open mind. Midsize cabin While the Model 3 is Teslas smallest sedan it is close in footprint to the midsize Mercedes-Benz C300 or Audi A4. But the Teslas wheelbase of 113.2 inches is at least 2 inches longer. The stretch of space allows a roomy interior but it also adds to the width of the turning circle, which Id guess to be about 40 feet with 20-inch tires, when others in the size class can range from 36 to 40 feet. The Tesla app turned my iPhone into the key to open the car and there also are key cards (like a hotel room card). The driver can create a profile for his or her preferences of driving. The heat-reflective glass roof extends from front to back. (Tesla) Its a bit of a culture shock to not use a key fob, to not push an ignition button to start or shut off the car, to not set the parking brake and then just walk away and let the car lock itself, and then remind you where it is an how much fuel remains. The cabin design is lean and uncluttered with unique and appealing synthetic fabrics, headliner and plastics. Nearly all cabin and driving controls are made through a 15-inch, clipboard-sized iPad-like touch screen turned on its side in the center of the instrument panel. But the screen is prone to glare and reflections in sunlight and finger smudges can be annoying. The access and activation work quite well once you learn the levels to find what you need. And some features can be voice activated. Because there is no engine or transmission to work around, there is uncharted capacity in its center console that reaches from the base of the instrument panel to between the front seats, with a charging bin and clever connectors for an iPhone or Android, good cup holders and deep, two-level armrest storage. The back seat has a flat floor for three-across comfort, adult-class thigh support and good legroom of nearly 36 inches. (Tesla) Sightlines are unobstructed over the hood and over the shoulder. The roomy cabin has 40.3 inches of front headroom with the glass roof or 39.6 inches with a metal roof. The Model 3 body is made of aluminum and steel. Tesla also designs or makes many of the elements that go on or with the car, including the seat design and synthetic upholstery. The front trunk has a usable 3 cubic feet of space with another 12 cubic feet in the rear trunk. The 60/40 back seat folds and there is a deep well under the cargo floor to corral grocery bags or other gear. I dont need 450-hp, but 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds is fortifying on those occasional full-on pedal-down power plays. With that kind of power, there will be no more pink red-traffic lights and youll be able to scoot away from most muscle cars. The enhanced autopilot will be good to have when the system can be upgraded to Level 3, which will include city-safe driving features. But the current Level 2 semi-autonomous system, in which drivers much keep a fingers weight on the wheel, still requires much driver vigilance. It is most helpful in bumper-to-bumper traffic as an omniscient guardian on 360-degree watch. The Performance models 450-hp is compelling, but at 4,072 pounds the weight is felt at high speed. It is not overly sporty to drive, but it didnt unravel when pushed. Around town, the acceleration is moderate and the ride quality settled and well soundproofed. But there is road harshness at Interstate speeds, which might be from the high tire pressure of 42 psi. Model 3 achieved a perfect 5-star safety rating in every category and sub-category, and NHTSAs tests also show that it has the lowest probability of injury of all cars the safety agency has ever tested. Charging With 300 miles of range, I had no range anxiety. Charging at home on the 240-volt system (which requires buying the charger and installation costs for around $3,000) is good for 37 miles of range an hour. Visiting a supercharger station will add 170 miles of range per 30 minutes. Or figure 24 hours on household current; Tesla provides a 20-foot charging cable for home and 240-volt charging. Tesla Supercharger system is available pretty much nationwide and the stations are often positioned in shopping areas. But just a bare charging station is a far more pleasant experience than plugging in at public charging station in parking lots of Walmart, grocery stores and urban attractions. Tesla says it is adding six charging stations a week. A keycard can be used for valet parking, but an iPhone can be used, too. (Tesla) There is nothing traditional about the marketing or maintenance of a Tesla, either. Cars are ordered online or sourced through the closest boutique (often in shopping malls) and then picked up at a delivery center. When a Tesla needs maintenance, the problem can be diagnosed remotely and then a service truck can be dispatched to make repairs wherever. Scheduled maintenance does not mean time off work the technician can unlock and lock your car electronically. The new-vehicle warranty is for 4-years/50,000-miles with battery coverage of 8-years/100,000-miles (120,000 mile with long range battery). Buying a Tesla isnt just owning a car, its buying into a lifestyle. Its not a lifestyle for everybody, but it will make many converts. 2018 Tesla Model 3 Performance Body style: compact-midsize, 5-passenger sedan Motors: 450-hp with 471 ft.-lb. torque, total power; permanent magnet motor front, induction AC motor rear 450-hp with 471 ft.-lb. torque, total power; permanent magnet motor front, induction AC motor rear Batteries: 50 and 75 kWh lithium-ion 50 and 75 kWh lithium-ion Driving range: 310 miles 310 miles E-Fuel economy: 120/112/116 mpg-e 0-60 acceleration : 3.5 seconds; top speed 155 mph : 3.5 seconds; top speed 155 mph Transmission : 1-speed automatic : 1-speed automatic Drag coefficient: 0.23 SPECIFICATIONS Trunk space : 12 cu. ft. rear, 3 cu. ft. front : 12 cu. ft. rear, 3 cu. ft. front Front head/leg room : 40.3*/42.7 in. *39.6 w/metal roof : 40.3*/42.7 in. *39.6 w/metal roof Rear head/leg room : 37.7/35.2 in. : 37.7/35.2 in. Length/wheelbase : 184.8/113.2 in. : 184.8/113.2 in. Curb weight : 4,072 lbs. *3,549 lbs. : 4,072 lbs. *3,549 lbs. Turning circle: NA ft. FEATURES Standard equipment includes : 15-inch capacitive touch screen, maps and navigation, W-Fi and mobile connectivity, streaming audio and phone, voice-activated controls, high-definition camera system, 2 USBs nd12-volt plug, full LED lighting, 20-foot charging cable (for 120, 220-volt), : 15-inch capacitive touch screen, maps and navigation, W-Fi and mobile connectivity, streaming audio and phone, voice-activated controls, high-definition camera system, 2 USBs nd12-volt plug, full LED lighting, 20-foot charging cable (for 120, 220-volt), Safety features include: 8 air bags, stability and traction controls, seven cameras, forward radar and 12 ultrasonic sensors PRICING Base price : $65,200, including $1,200 freight charge; price as tested $78,200 : $65,200, including $1,200 freight charge; price as tested $78,200 Options on test vehicle : Performance dual motor AWD $29,000; silver metallic paint $1,500; white upholstery $1,500; enhanced autopilot $5,000; Performance upgrade $5,000 : Performance dual motor AWD $29,000; silver metallic paint $1,500; white upholstery $1,500; enhanced autopilot $5,000; Performance upgrade $5,000 Where assembled : Fremont, Calif. : Fremont, Calif. Warranty: 4-years/50,000-miles bumper to bumper; battery 8-years/100,000-miles (120,000 mile with long range battery) The defeat of Bonsall Unified School Districts $38 million school bond initiative dealt a crippling blow to plans for a new high school in the rural, North County community. Measure EE, which would have funded construction of a campus for Bonsall High School, failed by nearly 18 percentage points, with just 41.02 percent of voters in favor, compared to 58.98 percent opposed. This is the second go-around for that proposal; a similar, $58 million measure on the 2016 ballot was defeated by a much narrower margin of 49.37 percent to 50.63 percent. Earlier efforts to build a school at the site also fell short. The losing bond bid leaves the district scrambling for alternatives to construct a campus that would serve future high school students as the community grows. Given the two-time defeat, the district will have to evaluate its options, with the help of outside experts and incoming school board members, said Superintendent David Jones. Advertisement The wisest thing for me to do is to bring in facilities experts and financial experts from the county, from our own staff, from the board of trustees, Jones said. To open up our minds and ask ourselves what is a good option for our high schools students. Its going to take a team effort and a group of people to begin planning. Opposition to the bond centered on the proposed school site, at Gird Road, off State Route 76. Residents of that neighborhood have fought the project, saying it would worsen traffic and pose safety and environmental problems. Gird Valley resident Teresa Platt, who organized Gird Valley residents against the project, said its location near the northern border of the district also undermined support among district voters. Its 1.1 miles from the northern border of the district, rather than centrally located as a high school should be, Platt said. For now, the districts high school students share a site with Sullivan Middle School on West Lilac Road, but officials say the school will soon need its own campus to accommodate projected increases in enrollment. We have over 700 homes being built in Bonsall territory, Jones said. We have a responsibility to educate those children, and we have a responsibility to put them in safe facilities. Our concern is that the two-story building the children are in was designed and built for middle school students, and it is over capacity. He said having both the middle and high school at that site poses safety problems in the event of a fire evacuation. Interaction between younger and older students is also a potential problem, he said. A lot of people are concerned about the age differential, he said. We have sixth-grade children, age 11 going on 12 years old, mixed in on the same campus with 17- and 18-year old kids. People are concerned that that could also present a safety issue. It would be appropriate to have older high school kids away from the middle school. Opponents of siting a high school in Gird Valley have urged the district to consider alternate spots. But an advisory committee that reviewed potential real estate concluded that there arent any properties on the market that would work for the high school as its envisioned now. Platt said she believes the existing plan is overly ambitious, and the committee started with the wrong question. Instead of asking the group to look for parcels, she said, the question should be, what facilities do we need for the future? Without bond money, new construction will likely be off the table now. Knowing the bond measure would be a hard sell, Jones said the district drew up contingency plans. They worked with a builder and architect on an option B to put portable high school classrooms on the middle school campus, or at the Gird Valley site. The Bonsall school board will soon feature some new faces, which could change the equation for the high school campus. Its important to note that the board and a team of people will likely come up with other alternative options that may be better than the ones weve considered, Jones said. With three seats open, election returns showed incumbent Lou Riddle leading with 19.52 percent of the votes and challengers Roger Merchat at 18.09 percent and Michael Gaddis also at 17.04 percent, also winning seats. They prevailed over incumbents Eric Ortega at 15.51 percent and Timothy Coen at 14.23 percent, and challenger Brian Olson at 15.62 percent. Incumbent Sylvia Tucker held a narrow lead of 50.67 percent of the vote, over challenger Larissa Anderson, with 49.33 percent, as the winner of a short-term, or two-year, position on the board. With new trustees coming in, Platt said, There will be discussion about whats next. Some soul-searching, probably, at the district, is overdue. deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan Fall and early winter are wonderful times for nature lovers in San Diegos outdoors. Mild temperatures mean the natural environment from our coastline to the arid desert are all open to exploration and discovery. For bird lovers, in particular, this is a time when a host of migrating species arrive here, providing you with a chance to add some new birds to your life list. Its a great time for birding. December will also bring an annual birding event to several areas of the county that allow the veteran birder a chance to check on the latest populations and the novice to learn from the experts, all while gathering valuable information. Advertisement Every year, a citizen science project known as the Christmas Bird Count happens across the nation where birders spend a day counting bird species they see within designated areas. This will be the 119th year for the count, sponsored by the National Audubon Society. Information gathered provides valuable data about the migration, condition, effects of changing land use and numbers of bird species around the country and in many other parts of the Western Hemisphere. The count began on Christmas Day in 1900 when ornithologist Frank M. Chapman offered the idea as a new holiday tradition. The first count involved 27 birders in 25 locations from Toronto, Canada, to Pacific Grove. A total of 90 species were recorded. Now, more than 80,000 counters participate each year, tallying as many as 60 million birds at more than 2,500 locations. Counts are no longer on Christmas Day but are conducted in late December through early January. This allows volunteers to participate in more than one count if they desire. Each designated census area is known as a Circle and includes an area with a diameter of 15 miles. In San Diego County, those circles are centered in San Diego, Borrego Springs, Lake Henshaw, Escondido, Rancho Santa Fe and Oceanside. Each circle has a volunteer coordinator that compiles and submits the results of the count. Volunteer counters are encouraged. If you would like to join in the count, contact the circle coordinator to register. Beginning birders should sign up as early as possible to allow time for them to be connected to more experienced birders. The first count will happen on Dec. 15 in San Diego, followed by Anza-Borrego on Dec. 16, Lake Henshaw on Dec. 17, Rancho Santa Fe on Dec. 22, Oceanside on Dec. 29 and Escondido on Jan. 5. For additional information and contact email for circle coordinators, visit sandiegoaudubon.org and click on the birding tab. For the past several years, I have participated in the Borrego census, traveling by off-road vehicle into a remote area of Coyote Canyon. Last year, two of us spent five hours in the field, hiked 4.5 miles and logged 19 species and a total of 125 birds. The annual Christmas Bird Count is one of the premier birding events of the year, and a great chance to learn about resident and migratory species in San Diego County. Birders can participate in another monthly bird count at San Dieguito Lagoon from 7:30 a.m. until noon Dec. 2. The event hosted by the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy is offered on the first Sunday every month. Participants will meet at the Interpretive Kiosk on San Andres Drive, just east of the Del Mar Fairgrounds and Interstate 5 at Villa de la Valle. Birding experts led by Jayne Lesley will provide information on bird habitats, behaviors and migrations during the count. Counters are divided into groups to cover different areas around the lagoon. At noon groups will gather to tally results. Bring a snack or lunch. For novice birders this is a great way to learn about resident and migratory birds at the lagoon. For additional information, contact Lesley at jaynelesley@earthlink.net or (858) 663-6568. Email ernie@packtrain.com or visit erniesoutdoors.blogspot.com. The stable outlook is based on Moody's assessment of six drivers: operating environment (stable); asset risk (improving), capital (stable); funding and liquidity (stable); profitability and efficiency (improving); and government support (stable). Entitled Banking System Outlook - Vietnam: Economic growth and improving asset quality support stable outlook," the report stated that economic growth in Vietnam will remain robust and the banks' asset quality will improve, helping to strengthen their profitability. Regarding the operating environment, the service stated that strong economic growth in Vietnam will support the banks' operating environment. Moody's stated that Vietnamese banks will show enhanced asset quality over the next 12-18 months, as strong economic growth will translate into improvements in borrower repayment capabilities and enable the banks to accelerate the write-offs of legacy problem assets. The banks' capitalisation will prove broadly stable and funding will remain stable as loan growth slows, said the report. Vietnamese banks will also show better profitability because interest margins will continue to improve, as the banks boost loans in the higher-yielding retail and small and medium-sized enterprise sectors. The service noted that the Vietnamese government will continue to support the country's banks when necessary, mainly in the form of liquidity assistance and forbearance from the central bank. Moody's rates 16 banks in Vietnam, which accounted for 61% of the total banking system assets at the end of 2017. One of Oceansides oldest commercial buildings, which opened in 1912 at the corner of Mission Avenue and Coast Highway, is about to get a new life. Originally known as the J.E. Jones hardware store, it later was Huckabays Department Store, a center of North County retail life for more than 30 years. For the last 28 years, its been the offices of Fullerton Mortgage and Escrow Co. Its a showpiece corner, said John Hartman, whose family bought the property for their mortgage company headquarters about 1990. Facing Mission Avenue, the buildings 12-foot-high front windows flood the interior with light, and its patterned tin ceilings soar 17 feet above the floor. Its one of the few buildings in Southern California to have a full basement, and the top floor was a dance hall in the 1940s and 50s. Advertisement Huckabays closed the department store in 1969 and sold the property to investors in 1977, about the time new shopping malls were stealing business from older downtown areas in cities across the nation. The building remained vacant for several years before the Hartmans bought it. When we acquired it, it was in terrible condition, Hartman said. We did a major overhaul, but thats been almost 30 years ago. Its time for the next person to do that all over again. The edifice was sold in October to Orange County-based Abdelmuti Development LLC for $5.4 million, according to property records. Whats ahead is uncertain. The building is not on any state or national registry, but it has significant local historical interest. The J.E. Jones building, now the headquarters of Fullerton Mortgage and Escrow, has been sold to an Orange County investor. (Union-Tribune photo) The bones of the building will stay, but it will get another major makeover to suit the next tenant, said company co-owner Jamal Abdelmuti. A new roof, new plumbing, and other upgrades are needed to make the structure ADA and code compliant. Abdelmuti owns Jacks Surfboards, a surf gear and clothing shop that opened its flagship store in 1957 in Huntington Beach and now has seven locations in Orange and Los Angeles counties. That prompted rumors of another surf shop in Oceanside, but thats not the plan for now, Abdelmuti said. His family took over Jacks Surfboards in 1975. They are looking for the right tenant to move into the Oceanside property, he said. It could be a restaurant or a retail store, and even a surf shop is a possibility in the back of our minds. We bought it more for an investment property, he said. It has nothing to do with our retail component. We will do some improvements and put it out for lease. The original owner, Joseph E. Jones, was a San Luis Rey Valley rancher, a businessman and civic leader who played an important role in Oceansides early growth. When he built the hardware store, most of the citys streets were still unpaved. At the time, everything was centered around the train station, which was a few blocks to the west, said Kristi Hawthorne, president of the Oceanside Historical Society. Those would have been the blocks that had all the activity, she said. His building started changing the dynamics of downtown Oceanside. The building remained a hardware store for more than 20 years. It became a clothing shop about 1934. Then, in 1939, Hiram and Walter Huckabay bought it and opened Huckabays Department Store. Huckabays Department store at the corner of Mission Avenue and Coast Highway in the 1950s (courtesy Oceanside Historical Society) The Huckabays built an addition that today houses the Kingsmen Cleaners, a business on Mission Avenue that relies largely on the uniforms of young Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton. The dry-cleaning business and an upstairs office tenant in the main building are expected to remain under the new owner. During World War II and into the 1950s, the upper floor of the building was used as a dance hall called the Silver Slipper Ball Room. Many of those guests were also young Marines, and Hawthorne said shes talked with people who met their future wife or husband at the dances. The Hartmans spent about $1.4 million to buy and restore the building as the Fullerton Mortgage headquarters, according to a 1991 story in the San Diego Union. For years, the mortgage company was affiliated with Century 21, but Hartman said he has been an independent broker for the past five years. He said hes not quite ready to retire, but downtown Oceanside is undergoing a renaissance, and it was time to sell the property. This buildings highest and best use is not a real estate office, he said. Im excited to see the progression of the downtown area, and Im happy I could be a part of it. Hes leaving the building in good hands, Hartman said, and he will continue to work there through the end of the year. philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @phildiehl A forecast for strong, gusty winds and low relative humidity led National Weather Service officials in San Diego on Saturday morning to issue a red flag warning for 6 a.m. Sunday to 5 p.m. Tuesday. A red flag warning is issued when critical fire conditions exist or will soon. Explosive fire grown is possible, so outdoor burning should be avoided. The San Diego forecast for Sunday through Tuesday calls for northeast to eastern winds from 20 to 30 miles per hour, gusting up to 50 miles per hour. The strongest winds, below passes and canyons, could gust up to 70 miles per hour, the National Weather Service reported. Humidity is in the low single digits, with little chance of making up that moisture overnight. Advertisement While strong winds will begin Sunday morning in Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, theyre not expected in San Diego County until Sunday evening. The forecast for San Diego on Sunday is for a high of 79 degrees with an overnight low of 46. The mercury will move up into the low 80s on Monday and Tuesday with overnight lows of 48 and 49 degrees. Conditions are expected to ease on Wednesday with a shift in winds and a gradual moderation of humidity that will continue through the end of the week. pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com Theres good reason for celebration by the members and listeners of the Modigliani Quartet or Quatuor Modigliani, as the group is known in its native France. The Paris-based chamber-music group is now on tour to celebrate its 15th anniversary. Drawing their name from Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani, violist Laurent Marfaing, cellist Francois Kieffer and violinists Maury Coeytaux and Loic Rio have earned critical praise and an international following. Their music strikes a fine balance between precision and passion, flair and finesse. The quartets repertoire for its Friday concert at UC San Diego includes Mozarts Quartet in C Major, K. 465, Stravinskys Three Pieces for String Quartet and Tchaikovskys String Quartet No. 3 in E-flat Minor, Op. 30. The 8 p.m. concert will be preceded by a 7 p.m. talk at The Loft@UC San Diego. Advertisement Modigliani Quartet: 8 p.m. Friday. Mandeville Auditorium, UC San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. $9-$59. (858) 534-8497. artpower.ucsd.edu george.varga@sduniontribune.com Twitter @georgevarga UPDATES: 10:10 p.m.: This article has been updated to indicate that Maury Coeytaux has replaced Philippe Bernhard as one of the violinists in the Mdogiliani Quartet. If Dan Manrique were alive, his friends believe hed be wondering what he could have done for the former Marine who walked into a crowded bar and started shooting. Instead, Manrique, 33, who also served in the Marines, was one of 12 to die Wednesday night in the shooters spray of bullets at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Friends and family said that he died trying to protect others something he did every day as an advocate for veterans. The former field radio operator served in the Marines from 2003 to 2007, including a 2007 deployment to Iraq, federal authorities confirmed. He rose to the rank of sergeant and earned multiple awards. Advertisement In 2012, an old friend and fellow veteran, Jaclyn Pieper, asked Manrique if he wanted to join the Ventura County chapter of Team Red, White and Blue, an organization that offers returning veterans a sense of community. Manrique immediately said yes. By the next year, she said, he was chapter president. It was a volunteer position that he eagerly filled. Nearly every weekend for five years, Manrique would organize events for area veterans, including bowling nights and an annual workshop to teach disabled veterans to surf. They helped veterans used to military camaraderie settle more easily into life back home. Lets say somebody went to the military right out of high school. Their whole community as they know it has changed, and so its important to bring them in and let them know theyre accepted, Pieper said. She said she cant help but think that if the shooter, Ian David Long, had been touched by her friends outreach, things might have been different. If Manrique had survived, Air Force veteran Robert Felix said, he would have asked, How could we have helped him? I want to be mad, but I cant because he is a Marine veteran, Felix, a 48-year-old Team RWB volunteer, said of Long. Hes a brother, and for whatever reason he didnt get help. A former U.S. Marine machine gunner who may have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder burst into a Thousand Oaks bar packed with college students late Wednesday night, tossed a smoke bomb into the crowd and opened fire, authorities said. Authorities have said Long may have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after his military service in Afghanistan, though people who knew him in high school described him as an angry loner who started fights and experts warn against conflating mental illness with an affinity for violence. Sgt. Manriques commitment to his fellow veterans is the epitome of what it means to remain semper fidelis always faithful, U.S. Marines Capt. Joseph Butterfield said in an emailed statement. Manrique didnt just offer up his spare hours to helping fellow veterans. From June 2017 until last month, he worked as a program manager at St. Joseph Center, an L.A.-based veterans social service organization. He ran a program that helped veterans get their benefits and spend the money responsibly, said Va Lecia Adams Kellum, the centers president and CEO. He always wanted to be hands-on, and he had the right disposition, Kellum said. Friends and colleagues described him as a comforting presence, quiet but friendly and open. Hes a very accepting person and I think that made him very special because people come through our doors who have struggled, Kellum said. On Thursday, Mayor Eric Garcetti posted a photo of himself with Manrique on Instagram. He said they had met two years earlier, and that Manrique was trying to help with the mission of ending homelessness in L.A. I was very impressed by his heart, his help and his hope, Garcetti wrote. Manrique recently got a paying job as a regional program manager at Team RWB. Marcos Manrique, 23, through tears, said that his brother had himself had difficulty adjusting to civilian life. The biggest irony, Marcos Manrique said, is that the people he wanted to help ended up turning a gun on him. sonali.kohli@latimes.com | Twitter @Sonali_Kohli nicole.santacruz@latimes.com | Twitter: @nicolesantacruz When they were younger, Quyen Nguyen-Le noticed that they didnt see people that looked like them or the communities they grew up in in movies. They wanted to change that, and started making films. Over the years, that focus has shifted a bit, and theyve found filmmaking to be a nurturing source of power that allows them to be creative while also building within their community. In other words, its not only a way for us to tell stories about ourselves to others, but to ourselves as well, said Nguyen-Le. That kind of storytelling can be found in Nguyen-Les 11-minute short film entry into this years San Diego Asian Film Festival, Hoai (Ongoing/Memory), which is being screened at 5 p.m. Friday at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park. The festival, now in its 19th year, highlights Asian-American and international films at various locations in San Diego through Nov. 17. In Nguyen-Les film, the title character returns home to live with her father after a breakup with her girlfriend, and in the midst of anti-immigrant protests. Nguyen-Le is a 26-year-old independent filmmaker who lives in Normal Heights. They took some time to talk about their work, how their intersecting identities inform that work, and living close to some great Vietnamese restaurants. Advertisement Quyen Nguyen-Le is a queer, non-binary, Vietnamese-American filmmaker who uses the pronouns they/them. Q: What is it about filmmaking as an art form that appeals to you? A: I think that filmmaking has a great power to move people to action. For me, as the child of two refugees, there was a barrier of both language and war trauma between me and my parents. Although that gap has lessened as I got older, I think visual images are an effective way to bridge that gap. After my father saw the film The Island by Tuan Andrew Nguyen (which will screen with my film at this years San Diego Asian Film Festival), he was moved for the first time to tell me and my siblings about his experience in the refugee camp on Bidong Island, where The Island takes place. This moment was so rare and precious for me, and I had no idea that an experimental sci-fi film could be the impetus for it! Q: Why have you chosen to participate in the San Diego Asian Film Festival this year? A: This is one of my favorite film festivals! A lot of our film crew, including myself, live in San Diego, and some of it was filmed here, so its sort of like a homecoming for us to finally be able to share our film in our hometown. Q: Tell us about your film, Hoai (Ongoing/Memory). A: With all of my films, I try to start from a word in Vietnamese that has a double meaning. Its important for me to have both English and Vietnamese in the title, as well as in the film, to highlight the bilingual manner in which a lot of us from immigrant communities experience our lives. For this film in particular, hoai means both ongoing and memory, and we thought that the title was appropriate to talk about how the ongoing memory of the Vietnam War affects us today. The short experimental film follows a small slice in the life of a queer, second-generation Vietnamese-American woman, Hoai, from which the title also takes its name, and her return home to her fathers house after a breakup. From this point on, events both past and present collapse together and she continually wakes up from what seems like a never-ending dream to find her way back home. What I love about Normal Heights ... I get to be near all the great Vietnamese food in Little Saigon neighborhood! Q: Where did the idea for Hoai come from? A: My dad has this one karaoke song he always sings at parties, and a couple years ago, I noticed how sad the lyrics were. Thus, the seed for the film: how does this karaoke song about eternal loneliness connect to the Vietnamese diasporas feelings around loss and leaving a homeland? And how does it relate now, in the present, in the new places in which we have planted our roots? Q: What did you want to explore in this film? A: This film was difficult for me to make because I was, at the time, grappling with diverging feelings around what Ill describe as multiple levels of heartbreak: I wanted to figure out how to express how truly sad it is when a romantic partner breaks your heart, when your family breaks your heart, and when the country you live in breaks your heart, all at the same time. It could feel like these events have nothing to do with each other, but they all weigh down on you because they all happen to you. Q: Hoai also returns home in the midst of anti-immigrant protests; why was that particular backdrop important to Hoais story and her return home? A: The co-writer, Ly Thuy Nguyen, and I felt like it was important to address because it was happening. We started from things that seemed unconnected on the surface. First was the political climate: the recent increase in anti-immigrant and anti-refugee rhetoric, especially anti-Muslim sentiment, reminded us of the same xenophobic rhetoric that led to the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans in concentration camps during World War II. Then, there was the increased militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border and attack on various communities, including southeast Asian ones, through aggressive deportation policies. Then, there was our mainstream Vietnamese-American communitys unwillingness to take a stand against the xenophobia, despite many of us ourselves being from refugee families. For me, being Vietnamese-American doesnt mean that we were a refugee group that has been so assimilated into the mainstream that we no longer identify with the struggles of people experiencing forced migrations due to militarization and war. Additionally, there is an often separate conversation about the place of non-indigenous people of color, especially immigrants, on native land. And we wanted to use this small moment between father and daughter in our film to converge the conversations. Q: Have you noticed any recurring themes in your work? A: People tend to ask me, Do you feel a responsibility to make films about queer Vietnamese-Americans? Hoai will be my fourth one centering queer Vietnamese-American characters. But to be honest, its not confining to me to make films around this same group because its my own experience and its just the starting point, not a means to an end. We have so many kinds of stories to tell. Q: And since this is about films, do you have a favorite movie? A: My favorite recent film is Boots Rileys Sorry to Bother You. Q: What is the best advice youve ever received? A: The best advice Ive ever received about being an artist is that you have to imagine that you will make more than just one thing, and I think thats so hard to imagine, especially for filmmakers of color. We operate under the myth of scarcity: that there can only be one of us to succeed and that we will only have one chance at it. It was important for me to acknowledge that no one piece of work will encompass everything about me, my skill, and what Im trying to say. And knowing that makes me freer in my creation process. Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to find out about you? A: I speak Spanish better than I speak Vietnamese! Q: Describe your ideal San Diego weekend. A: Going to the San Diego Asian Film Festival and being met with friendly staff who give me a bag full of snacks! Email: lisa.deaderick@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @lisadeaderick The human rights organization Border Angels held its fifth annual fundraising dinner Nov. 3 at the Jacobs Center in San Diego. More than 500 people attended the sellout event. The evening also celebrated the 32nd anniversary of the group, whose mission is to reduce the number of deaths along the border. The events honorees were Jacqueline Arellano, water drop director for the Border Angels; attorney Kirsten Zittlau; and Margarita Zavala, the former first lady of Mexico. The Los Angeles sheriffs deputy pulled up to the pot-filled warehouse just after three in the morning. He held up an official-looking document to a guard, who promptly unlocked a gate. The deputy and two other men, each of them armed and dressed in sheriffs jackets, got out. After locking the guard and two other employees in the back of the deputys SUV, the men went to work lugging bags of marijuana from the warehouse. But far from an official raid, the deputy and his associates were carrying out a brazen heist, federal authorities said Friday. Advertisement Dep. Marc Antrim and his team, which included more men who arrived with a moving truck, are accused of stealing hundreds of pounds of marijuana and safes filled with cash from the warehouse, which served as a distribution center for a legal marijuana operation. Antrim, a patrol deputy in the sheriffs Temple City station, and two other men were arrested Thursday on federal drug charges. During searches of Antrims house and another mans home, agents found several weapons, ammunition and about $350,000 in bundled cash, court records show. At a court appearance Friday, the three men were appointed lawyers by a judge who ordered that they be kept in custody pending their detention hearings, which were continued to next week. Government official said prosecutors will argue against bail. Attorneys for the three men could not be reached for comment. Deputy Antrim allegedly was able to use his law enforcement expertise and his access to Sheriffs Department gear to stage a robbery that netted over a million dollars in marijuana and cash, U.S. Atty. Nick Hanna said in a statement. We cannot tolerate this type of behavior from sworn officers, and this case demonstrates our commitment to quickly address corrupt behavior by law enforcement. At the time of the robbery late last month, Antrim was not on duty and was not assigned to a narcotics unit that would have given him a reason to search a marijuana distribution warehouse in the city of Los Angeles, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. Antrim, 41, of South El Monte, and the others carried out the alleged robbery early Oct. 29, according to affidavits written by an officer from the Drug Enforcement Agency to obtain search and arrest warrants. Much of the affidavits are based on footage from dozens of security cameras at the warehouse that captured the event. One of the cameras recorded the deputy pulling up to the warehouse on Commercial Street near downtown Los Angeles in an unmarked sheriffs SUV that Antrim allegedly took from the Temple City station, according to the affidavits. Along with holstered handguns, Antrim and the two men riding with him wore equipment belts typically used by police, and one man carried a larger weapon that appeared on the cameras to be a rifle or shotgun, an affidavit said. Minutes later, a rental truck pulled up and the men began loading boxes and bags filled with marijuana that had been packaged for shipment. In all, they took 600 pounds of the drug, authorities said. Unbeknownst to the men, someone had called the Los Angeles Police Department, which polices the area where the warehouse is located, to report a group of sheriffs deputies trying to execute a search warrant, according to one of the affidavits. Around 3:45 a.m., several LAPD officers arrived. As the other men fled out the back of the warehouse, shedding their gear and jackets, Antrim approached the officers, according to security camera recordings and footage from one LAPD officers body camera described in the affidavits. Telling the officers he was a Sheriffs Department narcotics investigator, Antrim made a call on his phone and said it was to his supervisor. A man on the other end of the line told an LAPD officer that Antrim was conducting a legitimate search, and the officers soon left, the affidavits said. Antrim went back to loading the moving truck and soon was joined by several men who arrived in a white pickup and on foot. Authorities suspect some of the men were the ones who fled earlier. Along with the marijuana, the men carried two safes filled with about $100,000 in cash to the moving truck and left. The scam quickly fell apart. A few days after the robbery, an attorney for the marijuana business contacted the Sheriffs Department and handed over thumb drives with a copy of the security camera footage, according to the affidavit. Sheriffs officials notified federal authorities and assisted them as agents from the DEA and other agencies began to investigate. We have systems in place to root out misconduct within the organization, as well as any Department member who chooses to violate the law and public trust, spokeswoman Nicole Nishida said in a statement. Using a tracking device installed in the rented moving truck, authorities followed its movements after the alleged heist to a house in Glendora. When agents searched the house Thursday they found about two pounds of marijuana, a loaded Beretta handgun registered to Antrim, ammunition that is issued to law enforcement officers and a flashlight with Antrims name on it, court records show. They also recovered $150,000 to $200,000 in cash. The man living at the house, Kevin McBride, 43, was arrested and is charged with being one of the men on Antrims team. A search of the house Antrim rents turned up a similar amount of cash and a cache of four firearms, which included a double-barrel shotgun and a submachine gun-style firearm, one of the affidavits said. The third man arrested and charged is Eric Rodriguez, 32, of Adelanto, who authorities also allege was at the warehouse. All three men are in custody and charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Authorities said they were still trying to identify the other men involved. The failed con job is the second time this year a Los Angeles County sheriffs deputy has been arrested on drug charges. In January, Dep. Kenneth Collins and three other men were arrested by FBI agents and charged with operating a large-scale drug trafficking scheme. According to court records, Collins boasted that he hired other law enforcement officers to provide security to drug dealers and could assault people for his clients. joel.rubin@latimes.com Twitter: @joelrubin maya.lau@latimes.com Twitter: @mayalau UPDATES: 6:25 p.m.: This article was updated with information from a court hearing. 5:15 p.m.: This article was updated with a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department and additional details about the case and edited throughout. 1:50 p.m.: This article was updated with a statement from the U.S. attorney and additional details about the case. This article was originally published at 12:45 p.m. Beverly Meintsma is 73 years old. She has been married for more than 50 years. Two months ago, she fell, broke her leg, needed surgery. Before she left her home in Paradise for a rehab center in Chico, she placed her wedding ring in her jewelry box for safekeeping. On Thursday, her longtime home burned to the ground in the voracious, fast-moving Camp fire, which has already claimed an unknown number of lives and 70,000 acres and counting. Meinstma will be released from Chico Creek Rehabilitation Center in 30 days. She has no place to go, nothing left. Not even her wedding ring. Advertisement She is traumatized and trying to figure out what shes going to do, said Heidi Peden, Meintsmas daughter. She has no home. She has nothing but the clothes on her back .... She hopes she can find her ring in the rubble. Peden tells her mothers story in a breathless rush, stopping only to choke back tears. But its not just her mothers story of grief and loss that tumbles out on Friday morning. It belongs to her father, who was evacuated on Thursday from the nursing home where he has lived since Alzheimers disease bore down. His beloved town is mostly gone. So is his memory of it. Heidi Peden and her parents, Beverly and Jack Meintsma, on her graduation from Paradise High School in 1993. The family home was destroyed in the Camp fire, along with many others. (Heidi Peden) It belongs to Peden herself, born in Feather River Hospital 43 years ago and now living in Tucson, and to her friends in the Paradise High Class of 93. Everyone in the small, Butte County town owns a big piece of the pain, so do those who loved it and left. Everyone I know has lost their homes, Peden says. Its my beloved childhood home, like Mayberry. It was this beautiful old mining town .... Its been there since the Gold Rush. We had a Gold Nugget Day parade every year. Its a world unto itself, in this mountain paradise. But. We all knew as children the threat of fire, she said. And then she launches into her best friends story, a near-death tale of devastation, a normal day that turned into a horror movie. Casey Rickards Dawson is a nurse at Feather River Hospital. She clocked in as usual at 6:10 a.m. on Thursday. Ten minutes later, the fire was bearing down and the hospital staff had to evacuate. Peden sounds nearly as shaken as Dawson must have been as she struggled toward safety Thursday. The friends spoke Friday morning. The pain is infectious. This is how Peden tells the nurses awful tale, which began as embers flew around the endangered hospital. All the patients were put in the parking lot on the pavement lined up in gurneys, children, everyone, trying to get out, Peden recounts. She pauses. Im getting chills just thinking about it. What happened next, she said, is truly horrific. Casey was told, Help this woman and her baby get out of here. The woman and baby got in another car. Everyone was like, Casey, get out of here. She took a left on Pence, the epicenter. And all she could see were flames on all sides. She drove through it. She got to Fast-N-Easy and saw a fire truck. Shes thinking shes going to die every minute. She pulled into Fast-N-Easy, a mini mart in the forest. My moms house is next to it. Casey witnessed my whole neighborhood burning up. But there was water at the market, a fire hydrant, other cars and firefighters. They told her to stay at the market with them. They sprayed her car down as she sheltered inside, praying. She stayed there for two hours. From left, Casey Rickards Dawson, Heidi Peden and Mandy Grainger, all 1993 graduates of Paradise High, at their 25th high school reunion. (Heidi Peden) The firefighters finally told Dawson to head to the Kmart on Clark Road. When she got there, she found hundreds of people gathered together, wondering whether they would die. Peden stresses this point, over and over. Casey said, Thank God this is pavement. Maybe were going to be safe, Peden recounted. She had to be there until 4:30 or 5 p.m. She thought shed die. She found a doctor who worked at the hospital. She needed to do something. She was feeding Cheez-Its to children and checking on patients from the hospital. Those people were all believing they were gonna die. Authorities said, Were going to escort you out. The caravan of all these people took a left down Clark Road. Telephone poles were on fire above them. They thought any minute these poles would come down. Casey witnessed cars being engulfed. She had an eerie, eerie feeling passing the Taco Bell, the only thing standing. Its gone now, Pende continued. She thought she was going to die. Everyone did. They got down to state Highway 70 and she got to the blue sky. Behind her was this dark, dark, dark black sky. She didnt know how she got out alive. She was shaking all morning. She didnt sleep. We talked. I said, You need to get your important documents, get them ready. Dawson lives in Chico, about 15 miles from Paradise. And parts of Chico have been under evacuation orders. Peden said her friend took a shower on Friday morning, trying to scrub away the trauma of the last 24 hours. But her hair still smells like smoke. maria.laganga@latimes.com The death toll from the most destructive fire in California history surged to 23 people on Saturday night, with more than 100 still missing in Butte County, officials said. The 14 more bodies were discovered Saturday, and fire crews are still searching through the burn area for more victims. More than 6,700 homes and commercial buildings have been lost in Butte County, making it the most destructive fire to property in state history. Huge swaths of the town of Paradise were lost. On Saturday, officials said the fire was still threatening Stirling City and Paradise Pines and headed toward Oroville. Defenses placed outside the city of Chico appear to be holding. Advertisement Firefighters are concerned that strong northeasterly winds will return Saturday night, causing the fire to spread. Extreme fire behavior with dangerous rates of spread are expected, Cal Fire said in a statement. As of Saturday morning, the fire had burned 100,000 acres and was 20% contained. About 15,000 structures were still threatened. Homes and businesses had been reduced to piles of ash and twisted metal. Tall pine trees and utility poles smoldered. According to the California Teachers Assn., at least five of the nine schools in Paradise were destroyed, including Paradise Elementary. Cars abandoned by fleeing motorists who found themselves unable to escape lay crumpled in the roadways, their tires melted. The bodies of five people were discovered on Edgewood Lane in vehicles overtaken by the fire. Others were found outside their cars and homes. Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said they could not immediately be identified because they were burned so badly. There were people who werent able to get out, Honea said from a makeshift command post at Butte College, which had been closed Thursday. As he talked, flakes of white ash fell on his uniform as strong winds continued to sweep across the nearby burning ridges. Authorities are recovering bodies with as much dignity as we can afford them, he said. Sue Brown said she and her husband, Sidney, had a half-hours warning before they were forced to leave their home and most of their possessions behind. Before they knew the fire was coming, Sidney had taken off his wedding ring because his fingers were swollen. And its gone, said Sue Brown, 66. The couple is now volunteering at the Elks Lodge in Chico, one of many evacuation centers in the area, which helps keep their minds busy. Three years ago, the Browns moved into a three-bedroom one-story home in Paradise where they planned to spend their retirement. Sue Brown said she didnt expect the gravity of whats happened to sink in until they were able to return to their property. She doesnt expect to rebuild there. We not only lost our home, she said Saturday. We lost a whole community. Its gone. Paradise is gone. At Neighborhood Church in Chico, a large evacuation center, dozens lined up outside at tents set up by insurance companies, while inside the Red Cross was registering people. Just inside, a white dry-erase board had rows of names of the missing. The board was filled, so sheets of yellow notebook paper with more names were taped to the sides. For the past two nights, Gerald Zastrow, 82, his wife, Nancy, 70, and her sister Terri Myers, 80, slept in small cots in the shelter. They had abandoned their home on the south side of Paradise on Thursday and were able to collect a handful of possessions beforehand. If I got off the hill the way God made me, I was lucky, Nancy Zastrow said. If I got anything more than that, which I did, I was really lucky. The three have an offer to stay with relatives near San Francisco, but want to wait and see if their home is still standing first. Nancy Zastrow found evidence online that the health center down the road from their home had not burned, but their neighbors house had. The majority of the people need to know if they have a home or not, she said. Its the not knowing thats the killer. This limbo is really difficult. Joe McNally and his wife, Anne Benoit, were struggling to come to terms with losses of everything they owned on 20 acres of Paradise: two houses, a barn, a garage, a stable and a Christmas tree farm. We lost 10,000 Christmas trees that were 2 to 10 years old, Benoit said. We tried to defend them with garden hoses, but it wasnt enough. Heres the thing: It takes about 10 years to grow a Christmas tree, she added. But Im 70, and Joe is 71. So, with the crop gone, we wont grow another. Among the displaced was Anthony Campa, a 40-year resident of what he described as a mountain town like no other. The family lines of some people I grew up with stretch back to the Gold Rush era in the 1860s, he said. Later, in 1979, we incorporated as a city of distinction, but not for the usual reasons. We are the only municipality in the United States without a sewer system, the former Paradise firefighter said. Instead, we rely on septic systems. Thats because the hilly terrain, isolation and remoteness of Paradise made a sewer system unaffordable. As caravans of fire engines and utility trucks rushed past the window of a restaurant in nearby Chico where he was trying to come to terms with the catastrophe, he said, The big question now among evacuees is this: So, where do we go from here? Paradise was an exceptional place to live for generations, he said wistfully. It may be again, but not for generations to come. It could be weeks before officials determine the cause of the Camp fire, named because it began near Camp Creek Road. On Friday, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. notified state regulators that one of its high-voltage power lines located near where the fire began had malfunctioned shortly before the first flames were reported Thursday morning. The fire forced 50,000 people in Paradise and surrounding towns to evacuate. Many of them spilled onto a four-lane road called Skyway the main evacuation route out of Paradise that quickly became jammed. Residents described sitting in traffic as flames on both sides of the road reached their cars. UPDATES: 7:30 p.m.: This article was updated with more comments from Paradise residents. 6:30 p.m.: This article was updated with new information from fire officials about death toll. 2:50 p.m.: This article was updated with more comments from Paradise residents. 1:40 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Paradise resident Sue Brown. This article was originally posted at noon. A Southern California man pleaded not guilty on Friday to the murder of a gay University of Pennsylvania student in a hate crime. Samuel Woodward, a 21-year-old from Newport Beach, entered the plea during a hearing in Orange County Superior Court. Bail was previously set at $5 million, but Judge Kimberly Menninger ordered Woodward held without bail at prosecutors request, saying she believed he would be a danger to the community if he were released. Woodward is charged in the January stabbing death of college sophomore Blaze Bernstein, who was home visiting his family on winter break. Advertisement Bernstein, who was gay and Jewish, went missing after he went out with Woodward to a park in Lake Forest, Calif. His body was found days later buried at the park in a shallow grave. Prosecutors have said DNA evidence links Woodward to the crime and his cellphone contained troves of anti-gay, anti-Semitic and white hate group materials. Woodward picked up Bernstein from his parents home and stabbed him nearly 20 times in the face and neck, authorities have said. If convicted of first-degree murder and the hate crime allegation, Woodward faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. It is scheduled that a total number of 19 groups and corporations will be transferred to the committee. The MOIT is the first ministry to carry out this handover. The six businesses include the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, Electricity of Vietnam, the Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Corporation, the Vietnam National Chemical Group, the Vietnam National Petroleum Group and the Vietnam National Tobacco Corporation. The total State-owned capital at the six corporations is worth over VND550 trillion (US$23.65 billion), accounting for half of the total State capital at the 19 groups and corporations to be handed over to the committee. Minister of Industry and Trade, Tran Tuan Anh, said that all of the six transferred corporations and groups are powerful businesses in the sectors and have a great influence on the national economy and make huge contribution to the State budget. The Minister expressed his hope that, with the new management mechanism, these corporations would have more conditions to develop further to continue to be pillars and motivation for economic development in the context of international economic integration. Minister Anh affirmed that the MOIT will continue to accompany and support the operations of the groups and the committee in order to accomplish the tasks assigned by the Party and State. Shirley Hertel returned to her Thousand Oaks home Friday morning after watching it catch fire on TV just hours before. The sight left her in tears. Clutching her phone and singed newspaper clippings, she stood in her driveway and wept. Her daughters car, parked in the driveway, was reduced to its metal frame. The garage door and her daughters bedroom above it were burned too, the frame and windows now an ash black. Text alerts and a message from her cable provider left on her TV screen urged Hertel, 68, to leave her house in the early morning hours. She left around 1 a.m. Advertisement Before getting into the car, she stopped at her front door. She gave it a kiss, and prayed to God that her house would still be there when she returned. I left thinking everything would be OK, she said through tears. You dont think your house will burn down. Hertel recalled the feeling of the flames across the street when she left her home. The home directly across from hers was spared, but another across the street was reduced to its brick chimney. Hertel first came back to her home around 5 a.m., when a police officer was still there. The officer let her in for about five minutes enough time to grab a few of memories of her mother that she had left behind, including an old painting of the Santa Monica pier. Earlier she had taken photos of her daughters, important documents and large photo of her mother, who passed away two years ago. Its like that saying, you dont think it would happen to you, she said. Im just lost for words. Hertel learned her house burned through a friend who saw it on TV. She immediately went to her nieces house, frantically knocking on the door and telling her she needed to watch the news because her home was on fire. Thats when she saw her house. It was so surreal, she said. Walking though the home late Friday morning, Hertel stopped at her daughters room at the top of the stairs. The window had blown out, and the bed and dressers were covered in ash. The ceiling fan and walls were left with scorch marks and peeling paint. This is unbelievable, she said of her daughters room. This is her safe haven, her room. Its no longer habitable. She paused, tears falling down her cheeks. How a fire can change your life in a days? she said, sobbing. As she surveyed the home, her husband, her niece and some friends tended to the damage. They hoisted wooden boards and drilled them where the windows once were. Hertel stepped into a room, and came back with a ceramic rabbit. Look what made it, she mused. My good luck charm. In the backyard, much of her furniture was left strewn across the patio; burned magazines littered the floor. The fence separating her from her neighbors house was wrecked. I dont even know that I even understand what happened here, she said. She took the fire and the water damage she had just fixed in the home last month as a sign that she should leave the city shes lived in her whole life, she said. Her other daughters and granddaughter live in Kentucky, she said, and she wants to watch her grow up. This will always be my home, but Kentucky is where Ill live, she said. Firefighters on Saturday got a respite from destructive Santa Ana winds to take stock of the Woolsey fire, which has burned 83,000 acres, claimed two lives, destroyed more than a hundred homes and forced 260,000 people to evacuate across a wide swath of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. With the winds expected to return by Sunday, fire officials said they spent Saturday assessing the damage and improving defenses. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said aircraft made fire retardant drops in an effort to bolster fire lines and keep flames from spreading. More than 170 homes have been destroyed but fire damage assessment teams are still out collecting information. Many expect the losses to be in the hundreds. Authorities stressed that residents need to stay out of the massive evacuation zone and urged the public not to let its guard down. Advertisement Dont be lulled by a false sense of security, Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said. Red flag warnings were issued for Sunday morning through Tuesday, with wind gusts up to 50 mph expected along the coast and the valleys, and up to 60 mph winds forecast for mountain areas. The fire spread in several directions, burning homes in Malibu, Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks while threatening parts of Simi Valley, West Hills and numerous Ventura County communities. The fire, which is only 5% contained, has doubled in size since Friday afternoon. Firefighters staged a furious battle overnight to save Pepperdine University in Malibu, where hundreds of students and staff were sheltering in place. We have fuels that are in critical drought state right now, Osby told reporters at a Saturday news conference. This is the sixth year of drought in this region. Our firefighters have been facing some extreme, tough fire conditions that they said that theyve never seen in their lives. The all-out attack by air and ground resources appears to have prevented any major losses at Pepperdine, though some outbuildings may have been damaged, the university said. It was a tense night, with those on campus taking refuge in several buildings, including the library, as the firefight unfolded. Full coverage of California wildfires Two fatalities were reported Friday afternoon in the 33000 block of Mulholland Highway in Malibu, according to L.A. County sheriffs officials. The bodies of two individuals were severely burned inside of a stopped vehicle located on a long residential driveway, authorities said. Local officials pleaded with residents to remain vigilant and heed evacuation orders so as not to hamper the firefighters work. Weve had a lot of tragedy in our community. We dont want any more, said Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks, whose district includes the Borderline Bar and Grill, where 12 people were slain in a mass shooting Wednesday night. We do not want any more lives lost, so please listen when they tell you to evacuate. Garet Anzalone, 23, is tearful as he goes through his grandmothers burned out property in a mobile home park in Westlake Village. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Elsewhere in Malibu, the fire invaded picturesque canyons, swallowing house after house. It reached the Pacific Ocean in several places, destroying a yet-uncounted number of beach homes. Point Dume was in ashes Saturday afternoon. Dozens of homes were leveled or smoldering. Natural gas leaks burned hot and loud like blow torches. Fire crews worked to knock down hot spots and shut off the gas supply. Keegan Gibbs, 33, arrived Saturday morning to find the home he grew up in on Dume Drive destroyed. His parents stayed to defend the house from hot spots, but eventually fled when the flames grew too close. He said the fire traveled along the gully behind their house where the chaparral had not burned in decades. Malibu is a really small community and gets a bad rap for being this kind of elitist, snobby place, and its exactly the opposite, Gibbs said. Its built off the shoulders of hard-working blue-collar families, and thats really going to show when we rebuild this place. Its a real community; it isnt something people buy into. All my friends who stayed and fought for their houses some were successes, and some werent. One silver lining was that the Woodshed Recording studio on the back of the lot was not damaged and neither was his mothers garden. Famous musicians such as U2, Coldplay, Lady Gaga and Barbra Streisand have recorded there, according to the studios website. Gibbs was evacuated from his home Topanga, where he lives with his wife and child. He said he plans to spend the night at the Woodshed studio next to the remnants of his childhood home. Its definitely a consolation, he said. Unfortunately I lost all of our childhood memories in the house. But we are safe. All the material possessions really dont matter. In Point Dume, Chaplain Brian Laspada with the L.A. County Sheriffs Department counted at least 20 homes that were destroyed on Wandermere Road alone. Laspada lives in the neighborhood and stayed home Friday night to spray hotspots with a garden hose. This was one torrential [fire] it hit so many structures, Laspada said. He was on site to help grieving families but said his job Saturday was just help put out more hotspots. Its more or less just helping people, he said. Weve been praying with people, but not as much counseling. They are still in shock are not ready to talk yet. The destruction was also widespread in Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village, where condo complexes and homes were torched as the fire hopscotched across canyons and hillsides. Landmarks were obliterated, including Western Town at Paramount Ranch, whose sets were the backdrop for Westworld and countless other productions, and the historic Peter Strauss Ranch. The blackened remains of Kristys Roadhouse restaurant in Agoura Hills were still smoldering Saturday morning; a statue of Buddha and a badly damaged mailbox were among the few things standing. On Saturday, resident David Spence walked through the wreckage of his home in Oak Forest Estates, a mobile home park nestled between the two hillsides in Westlake Village. He pointed to his Triumph TR6, a vintage British sports car that was now a hulking skeleton: I loved that car. It was a beauty. He also lost a Lexus and a motorcycle. His home burned to the ground in the tight-knight community, where he had lived for 20 years. You want to know a funny story, it was in escrow, he said. I was selling it. Officials said they had been unable to tally the number of homes lost, but sheriffs officials in Ventura County put the number there at 50 or more. They said damage assessment teams would begin their work later Saturday. Parks, the Ventura County supervisor, thanked fire officials for working through the night to prevent further losses. Entire neighborhoods have been saved because of these firefighters taking really tough stands and beating back the flames, she said. Some were saved with the help of residents who refused to evacuate. If this was going to happen, I didnt want to just sit in a hotel worrying, said Maxwell Korrodi, 26, who on Friday helped put out flames spreading through his brother-in-laws townhome complex in Malibu Gardens. He and his brother-in-law, Jason Biheller, jumped into neighbors backyards, hooking up as many hoses as possible. They smashed glass and grabbed fire extinguishers, spraying with abandon. By their estimate, they saved a whole block. Our backyard was on fire and we decided we might as well do something about it, Biheller said. The Woolsey fire was fueled by intense winds that weakened Saturday morning. But the Santa Ana winds are forecast to return Sunday. We know Mother Nature has given us a little reprieve today, said Lorenzen, the Ventura County fire chief. That gives us some opportunities, but I need everybody to remain vigilant. At times Friday, heavy smoke and wind gusts as high as 50 mph grounded the helicopters and tankers that had been dispatched to drop water and retardant on the fire. Weary firefighters also struggled with a shortage of equipment. Some of the crews, trucks and other gear that would normally come to Southern California to join the firefight were tied up at the Camp fire in Butte County, Osby said. We still have outstanding orders of hundreds of vehicles, he said. The Woolsey fire started Thursday afternoon near Simi Valley in a hillside area next to the old Santa Susana Field Lab and quickly spread to nearby suburban communities. Its terrifying speed left some residents little time to flee. (Los Angeles Times Graphics) Laurita Gallagher and her family kept watch over the fires progress overnight Thursday, their belongings packed and ready to go in case they needed to evacuate. Her son, 24-year-old Payson, didnt sleep. By 5:30 a.m., their homeowners association warned the blaze was spreading fast. Soon after, deep-orange flames were chewing through timber yards away from her home. Gallagher, 60, screamed at her family that it was time to leave. Before they could get into their cars, flames were licking their driveway and burning branches hit the caravans hoods as they drove out. It happened so quickly, Gallagher said. There were embers flying everywhere our eyes were burning, and we couldnt keep them open. The intensity of the heat on our faces and body was almost blistering. Sheriffs officials said they had deployed hundreds of deputies to protect property after reports of looting. Three people were arrested in the mansion-lined neighborhood of North Ranch, according to Ventura County Sgt. Eric Buschow, including two who were taken into custody after a short car chase. If you come here with the intent of taking advantage of the situation, we will arrest you and you will go to jail, Buschow said. The Woolsey fire and the nearby Hill fire, which burned about 6,000 acres in the Santa Rosa Valley area, prompted Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency on behalf of Gov. Jerry Brown, who was traveling out of state. Newsom also sent a request to federal officials and President Trump for assistance to support communities affected by the fire. Trump approved a state-of-emergency declaration but on Saturday once again attacked California, claiming erroneously that poor forest management policies caused the fires, even though the Woolsey fire didnt occur in a forest. There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments! Trump wrote. Trump has threatened to cut off funding over fire policy before, but has never been specific. California officials have rejected his criticism and said hes playing politics. Environmentalists believe Trump is trying to use fire prevention as an excuse to raid Californias forests. They contend he is making a move to open ecologically sensitive public land for timber production, as well as for potential solar, wind, broadband infrastructure, mining, off-road vehicles and grazing uses. Trumps comments come during a week in which fires wrought destruction up and down the state, with more than 6,000 structures lost and at least nine dead in Paradise, north of San Francisco, and massive losses in Southern California. Along Pacific Coast Highway in L.A. County, dozens of homes were lost Friday night and flames licked at both sides of the famous thoroughfare. At one point, a man on the south side of the road valiantly doused hot spots. The fire burned the hillside while sending violent pops crackling through the air. Many of those sheltering at Zuma Beach live on Point Dume. On Friday, one resident renamed the enclave; on this day, it was Point Doom. Charlie Dresser and Teresa Andersen didnt want to leave their home in Malibus Point Dume Club. They watered down the roof, sprayed the plants and held off evacuating as long as they could. But Dresser saw the flames from the roof of their mobile home. They were shooting all over. They shut off the gas at their home and a few nearby and left. It just got to be the right time to get out, he said. I dont think I want to be that close to the fire right now. This fire is like Armageddon, Dresser said. Its out of control. Times staff writer Jeanette Marantos contributed to this report. ruben.vives@latimes.com | Twitter: @LATvives laura.newberry@latimes.com | Twitter: @LauraMNewberry jaclyn.cosgrove@latimes.com | Twitter: @jaclyncosgrove christine.maiduc@latimes.com | Twitter: @cmaiduc dakota.smith@latimes.com | Twitter: @dakotacdsmith ben.poston@latimes.com | Twitter: @bposton UPDATES: 10:05 p.m.: This article was updated with new information about amount of acreage burned. 7 p.m.: This article was updated with new information from Point Dume area. 5:45 p.m.: This article was updated with new details from fire officials about two fatalities. 5:30 p.m.: This article was updated with new details about fire fight. 4:15 p.m.: This article was updated throughout with scenes from Westlake Village and Malibu. 12:35 p.m.: This article was updated throughout with new information from officials about alleged looting, the location of the fatalities and other comments. 10:20 a.m.: This article was updated with new information from fire officials about fatalities. 9 a.m.: This article was updated with the fire growing to 70,000 acres. This article was originally posted at 8 a.m. A motorist who fled after hitting a man who was getting into his car in front of his Chula Vista home was sentenced Friday to three years in state prison for the fatal hit-and-run crash. Guillermo Jimenez, 29, of Chula Vista, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run causing death. Jimenez surrendered to police three days after the March 11 crash that killed 62-year-old Rogelio Medrano. The victim was about to get into his car to go to work when a gray 2008 3 Series BMW two-door coupe struck him in the 400 block of Moss Street about 9:45 p.m., according to police. Following the deadly impact, the motorist continued driving and left the area to the west, Detective Joe Briles said. Advertisement Medrano died at the scene, despite paramedics attempts to save his life. A longtime public defense attorney just became the newest judge in San Diego Superior Court. Judge Shereen J. Charlick, 54, was sworn-in to her judicial office on Friday, court officials announced. She was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown and fills the vacancy created when Judge Kerry Wells retired. Charlick has a long history of defense work in federal and state court. Most recently, Charlick was the interim executive director of Federal Defenders of San Diego Inc., a nonprofit that provides defense services for poor people facing federal charges. Advertisement She had been the organizations chief trial attorney since 2005. Her work included serving as the appellate attorney for Brent Wilkes, who in 2007 had been convicted of bribing now-former Congressman Randy Duke Cunningham. Charlick stepped into Federal Defenders top spot on an acting basis earlier this year, according to Superior Court officials. She has a long history with Federal Defenders, having served as the supervisory attorney and trial team leader for the group from 1999 to 2004. Charlicks time in the San Diego offices was interrupted briefly when she served a stint in the Office of the Federal Public Defender in the Southern District of Florida. It was the same district where Charlick had worked as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch from 1989 to 1991. After the clerking job, she went on to be a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice Honors Program from 1991 to 1994. She spent the next few years, from 1994 to 1998, as a deputy public defender in the Office of the Federal Public Defender, Southern District of Florida. Also in 1998, Charlick served as a deputy public defender at the Los Angeles County Public Defenders Office. From 1998 to 1999, she was an associate at the Law Office of Tarlow and Berk, and joined Federal Defenders in San Diego in 1999. Charlick earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Superior Court judges make $200,042 annually. teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com (760) 529-4945 Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT A man who gunned down a woman in her Santee home two years ago during a robbery in which he stole her drugs was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Jose Luis Nunez Torres, 23, was convicted in September of first-degree murder and special circumstance allegations of murder during a burglary, robbery and lying in wait in the death of 34-year-old Leticia Arroyo. Deputy District Attorney James Koerber said Torres got an acquaintance, Jaen Avila, to drive him to Arroyos home on Oct. 4, 2016. The prosecutor said Torres who had bought drugs from the victim before had a secret plan to ambush her and steal methamphetamine. Torres shot Arroyo in the head, then stole one or more bags of meth before fleeing, Koerber told the jury. Advertisement Before sentencing ijn an El Cajon courtroom, Arroyos mother, Roseanna Reyes, told Superior Court Judge Evan Kirvin that she taught her daughter how to pray when she was 7 years old. Leticia was giving and thoughtful, Reyes told the judge. The mother told Torres he deserved the death penalty for killing her first-born child. You hurt me to the core of my soul, Reyes told the defendant. The victims sister, Priscilla Chavez, said Arroyos life went downhill when she was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. You murdered someone who already felt dead inside, Chavez told Torres. Koerber asked the judge to sentence Torres to the maximum term under the law for his callous crimes. He killed a woman, the prosecutor said. He shot a woman in the head. She would have given him the shirt off her back. She would have given him the drugs. Eight days after killing Arroyo, Torres put the same gun to the head of a man in La Jolla during another home-invasion robbery, Koerber said. Torres was convicted of that robbery and another incident in which nothing was stolen. The judge refused to strike a gun allegation against Torres, sentencing the defendant to a pair of life terms plus another 24 years and eight months in prison. These were the actions of a cold-blooded, remorseless man, Kirvin said. During trial, defense attorney Michael Hawkins said it was Avila who shot Arroyo, but Avilas attorney said her client was so scared after the murder he didnt talk about it. Eventually, Avila pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact for being the getaway driver. He faces up to three years in prison. Hawkins told the judge before sentencing that Torres life took a downward turn when his mother died and he started using drugs, specifically methamphetamine. Hawkins said Torres is remorseful and is aware of the huge mistake he has made in his life. A former Coronado dentist who lost his license due to negligence and incompetence more than a decade ago was sentenced this week to more than four years in prison after pleading guilty to a slew of felonies, including practicing dentistry without a license, grand theft and securities fraud. Robert Frank Mansueto, 66, was sentenced Wednesday to four years and eight months in prison, to be followed by at least two years of mandatory supervised release, according to the California Department of Insurance. He was also ordered to pay $650,000 in restitution. The charges to which Mansueto pleaded guilty were part of a settlement in three separate cases filed by the District Attorneys Office. According to prosecutors and California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones office, Mansuetos dentistry license was revoked in 2005 for incompetence, gross negligence, and excessive treatment. Advertisement Mansueto then set up a practice in Tijuana under the assumed name of Dr. Bob Franco. He advertised his services in California and transported patients across the U.S.-Mexico border to perform dental work in Mexico under a false name, Jones office said in a statement. An investigation by the Department of Insurance also revealed that while acting as a licensed investment adviser, Mansueto convinced elderly victims to invest a total of $400,000 in his dental implant manufacturing company. He promised their investments would be used to create inventory and expand his business into Mexico. Instead, investigators discovered he deposited the funds for his personal use, authorities said. In a separate matter, Mansueto altered and deposited more than $640,000 worth of stolen checks into his bank account for personal use, authorities said. I have zero tolerance for agents and medical providers who egregiously violate the trust of consumers, especially seniors, Jones said in a statement, crediting Mansuetos conviction to the great work by Department of Insurance investigators and the District Attorneys Office. This conviction sends a clear message to individuals who think they can double-cross the system, Jones said. The consequences of your actions will be severe. In a plea agreement that settled all three cases against him, Mansueto pleaded guilty to multiple felony counts of unlicensed dentistry, grand theft, identity theft and securities fraud. Mansuetos insurance agent license was suspended in October 2016, and the Department of Insurance said Wednesday that it is in the process of revoking that license. Twitter: @Alex_Riggins (619) 293-1710 alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com The combined economic force of the military in San Diego County amounts to more than 330,000 jobs and more than $50 billion spent toward the gross regional product. The San Diego Military Advisory Council released a report on Thursday containing those numbers as it examined the economic impacts of the military. San Diego is home to the largest concentration of military in the world. Its network of Navy, Marine and Coast Guard bases, the report says, its intricate supply chain serving major defense contractors and its population of veterans and retirees make it a true super cluster. The military concentration also includes partnerships with research, innovation, health care and secondary spending from tourism, said the report, which showed that more than one in five jobs in the region are supported by defense spending. That spending is likely to increase, as the Department of Defense is focusing more heavily on the Pacific region in response to a rising China which will affect many in the Navy and the Coast Guard. Advertisement Data Watch Videos On Now Data Point: Media Mergers 2:58 On Now Jaywalking infractions in San Diego 1:24 On Now Video: Finding the recipe for the perfect burrito 2:09 On Now Video: Where marijuana is legal in the United States 0:53 On Now Report: Correctional system fails women 1:22 On Now San Diego students have larger classes On Now Hierarchy of cuisine prices On Now Pay phones: Is that still a thing? On Now 2016 border apprehensions On Now STD trends, San Diego County Reach the writer at: daniel.wheaton@sduniontribune.com or @theheroofthyme As the Florida Senate race vote count continues to tighten, Gov. Rick Scott announced, without offering any evidence of fraud, that he was asking the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the election offices in two of Floridas most Democratic-leaning counties. Scott, the Republican contender for the Senate post, also said late Thursday that he was filing a voter fraud lawsuit against election officials in the counties, Broward and Palm Beach. Scotts moves, which drew sharp criticism from the camp of his election foe, three-time Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson, come on the eve of Saturdays deadline to have all preliminary results reported to the secretary of states office in Tallahassee. Nelson has been slowly closing in on Scotts lead, trailing by only about 15,000 votes statewide at midday Friday in a race in which almost 8.2 million ballots were cast. Scott held a hastily called news conference at the Governors Mansion in Tallahassee to announce his actions, which come as county election officials in Broward continued to pore through a slew of vote-by-mail, early voting, provisional and overseas ballots. Sixteen counties in Florida were still counting provisional ballots as of Friday. Florida, which has never had a statewide recount, is likely looking at three. In addition to the Senate race, the governors contest had Republican Ron DeSantis leading Democrat Andrew Gillum by about 36,000 votes and Agriculture Commissioner contender Democrat Nikki Fried ahead of Republican Matt Caldwell by less than 3,000 votes. Advertisement After receiving the preliminary results from counties on Saturday, Secretary of State Ken Detzner, a Scott appointee, would then, by law, order a machine recount in any race where the margin is 0.5% or less. Later, if the margin remains 0.25% or less, there would be a manual recount, with each ballot looked at by hand. The margin Friday between Scott and Nelson is 0.18% A spokesperson for the state law enforcement department said the agency would investigate any allegations of fraud, but so far have not been presented with any. Painstaking counts of provisional and mail-in ballots in exceedingly close races have also slowed the declaration of winners in a U.S. Senate contest in Arizona, the governors race in Georgia and several U.S. House battles in California. As in Florida, these races could also wind up in recounts, affecting the final composition of the incoming Congress. While offering no evidence, Scott, in his announcement, said: Every Floridian should be concerned there may be rampant fraud happening in Palm Beach and Broward counties. I will not sit idly by while unethical liberals try to steal this election from the people of Florida. And on Friday morning, speaking on the South Lawn of the White House before departing for a weekend trip to Paris, President Trump insinuated that there was something nefarious about a Democratic candidate gaining ground in closely contested races as the final votes are tallied, something commonly seen in historic voting patterns. You notice the votes never go the other way? Trump said. They hire lawyers, and the votes dont ever seem to go the Republican way. Its always the Democrats. Its always crooked stuff. Nelson fired back with a video message to his supporters. Clearly, Rick Scott is trying to stop all the votes from being counted, Nelson said. And, hes impeding the democratic process. The Broward elections office has not indicated when it might finish its initial count. Broward County has 593,540 registered Democrats, 328,868 with no party affiliation and 252,023 Republicans. In Palm Beach County, there are 395,775 Democrats, 276,328 with no party affiliation and 264,902 Republicans. Broward County has a rich history of election confusion. It was at the center of the hanging chad controversy that eventually resulted in the 2000 presidential election being ruled on by the Supreme Court, which, through its decision, handed the election to George W. Bush over Al Gore. Through the years, Broward has been cited for lost, missing or destroyed ballots, late opening of polling places, broken machines and general chaos. In 2002, Gov. Jeb Bush removed elections supervisor Miriam Oliphant from office and appointed current official Brenda Snipes in her place. Los Angeles Times staff writer Eli Stokols contributed to this report from Washington. John Cherwa is a special correspondent. UPDATES: 3:35 p.m.: This article was updated with a new quote from Florida Sen. Bill Nelson. This article was originally published at 1:45 pm. San Diego County lawyers say they want to ask a federal appeals court to reconsider its decision from last week that medical examinations given to children removed from their homes and taken to the countys emergency shelter violate the constitutional rights of parents and children. The bid to ask the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear its decision has to still be approved by the county Board of Supervisors when it meets Nov. 14. The bid was revealed in a court filing in an unrelated case in federal district court in San Diego. That district court case has been on hold while the higher appeals court weighed the question of the county exams. County lawyers asked for a continued delay in the San Diego court case until the appeals process is finished. The exams, given to children taken out of their parents care because of suspected abuse or neglect, are given by doctors at Polinsky Childrens Center. Courts have ruled against the policy in previous cases saying the county has to get parents consent or a court order and allow parents to be present . Advertisement The county had modified its practices but had argued there was not a constitutional right for parents to be notified or be present at the exam. A three-judge panel ruled last week against that position. County lawyers now want to ask the panel to reconsider that ruling, usually a request that is not granted. The county can also ask for a large panel of the full court known as an en banc review to hear the appeal and possibly overrule the three-judge panel. Donnie Cox, the lawyer for the parents in the appeals case, blasted the decision. Cox has sued the county several times over how the exams were conducted. It is another example of the tail wagging the dog, he wrote in an email. Instead of the County Board of Supervisors and County Counsel overseeing a Department of this County, it appears that County Counsel will once again ask the Board to allow the Department to call the shots with taxpayer dollars. Make no mistake, the County has lost this case. More than a half dozen judges in four separate cases have now told their lawyers that the County has violated the rights of families for more than 20 years and yet they continue to waste precious taxpayer resources defending the indefensible. Twitter: @gregmoran greg.moran@sduniontribune.com A San Diego Superior Court judge rejected a challenge to the 2017 approval by the San Diego City Council for a center that will serve Jewish students at UC San Diego. Judge Timothy Taylor ruled Thursday that the citys finding, approving both the site plan for the project and an environmental impact report, were supported by substantial evidence. A group called Taxpayers for Responsible Land Use, or TRLU, had sued over approval for the Glickman Hillel Center, contending it would have bad impacts on the La Jolla neighborhood where it is to be built. Julie Hamilton, a lawyer for the group that sued, said the group disagrees with Taylors ruling and that they still believe there were some obvious flaws in the approval for the project. She said it was not yet known what the next steps would be. Advertisement My clients have not made a decision yet on how they intend to proceed, she said. The San Diego City Attorneys Office, which defended the approval, did not respond to a request for a comment Friday. The new center is to be constructed on a triangular vacant parcel at the corner of La Jolla Village Drive and Torrey Pines Road. The project will be built on the 0.8-acre site bounded by La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla Scenic Way and La Jolla Scenic Drive. This was a baseless lawsuit, and we are heartened that Judge Taylor confirmed Hillels lawful right to build, Joel Smith, President of the Board of Directors of Hillel of San Diego, said in a prepared statement sent to the media. We are especially delighted that our project will serve as a welcoming beacon of inclusivity at the entrance to La Jolla, a neighborhood that once forbade Jewish ownership. We will not be bullied any longer; the time to build is now. The $15 million project was opposed in part because opponents said it would bring more traffic and noise to the neighborhood and take up parking spaces that already are scarce. Twitter: @gregmoran greg.moran@sduniontribune.com The delegation led by Gabriel Mato, MEP and committee spokesperson, had high-level meeting with the Prime Minister, the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly, ministers, and officials from concerned agencies. After the fact-finding tour, the delegation spoke highly of Vietnams efforts and announced this on the media in Europe. The delegation heard about enforced measures and newly-passed laws and met with officials from the VASEP. They were provided with information about challenges and limitations facing the fisheries sector. They hailed Vietnamese functional agencies and related fishing association for involving in discussions in an open, frank, cooperative and constructive manner. They said considerable improvements in the Law on Fisheries would surely increase the capacity of addressing and stopping IUU in Vietnams seas. They visited new monitoring facilities, like the Fisheries Monitoring Centre in Hanoi and sea ports in Quy Nhon, Hai Phong and welcomed VASEPs publication of the white book on IUU fighting in Vietnam. They talked about the challenges facing the country, like the over-capacity operation and resources abuse of the rapidly-developing processing sector, and weak legal awareness, monitoring policy and management that let fishermen to go fishing outside the Vietnamese sea and violate foreign waters. The delegation recognised Vietnams political efforts in committing to dealing with IUU issues and emphasized that the country has allocated sufficient human and finance resources for the work. Emphasizing the importance of the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), they stressed the need to clarify the bilateral cooperation in the fight against IUU in the programme on sustainable trade development of the agreement. They pointed out that it is important for Vietnam and the EU to continue their open dialogue so to work together in successfully addressing challenges from illegal fishing activities in the wider world. On October 23, 2017, the EC issued a "yellow card" warning to Vietnam, after the country failed to demonstrate sufficient progress in the fight against IUU fishing. Countries that fail to meet EC standards are given a "yellow card", followed by a "green card" if the problems are resolved, or a "red card" if they are not. A red card can lead to a trade ban on fishery products. A working delegation of the European Commission (EC)s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries made a fact-finding trip to Vietnam late May to inspect the implementation of recommendations related to the fight against IUU fishing. EC officials will return to Vietnam in January 2019 to evaluate one more time before considering the removal of the yellow card on Vietnamese seafood. A 17-year-old boy was recovering from multiple bullet wounds in a San Diego hospital Saturday after being shot by an unidentified man Friday night in Southeast San Diegos Ridgeview/Webster neighborhood. San Diego Police officers were called to reports of a shooting at 11:20 p.m. Friday on 50th Street near Federal Boulevard. The victim was standing at 1500 50th St. when he was shot by a suspect described as a black male in his 20s, according to the police report. San Diego Police Southeastern Division detectives are investigating.Anyone with information is encouraged to call San Diego Police at (619) 527-3500. Advertisement pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com House Democrats figured out how to win in districts that narrowly supported President Trump in 2016. Now they have to figure out how to govern there. Thats one of the key issues facing Democrats as they prepare to take control of the House for the first time in eight years: How do they strike a balance between progressive voters who are anxious to see Democrats stand up to Trump and more moderate voters in formerly Republican districts who decided to pull the lever for Democrats this week? Both constituencies will be pivotal to shaping the partys identity ahead of 2020, when Democrats will be trying to hang onto the House while Trump runs for reelection. Moderates and progressive House members are both trying to position themselves for the coming identity crisis or power struggle in a closely divided chamber. If were going to start out with impeachment and this and this, I mean, the American public is going to say, what did we put in charge? said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), a moderate who has been in office since 2005, even as many other moderate Democrats lost their races. Advertisement Hes worried about progressives controlling the agenda and costing Democrats the House by losing seats in more conservative areas. I dont want to be in the majority only four years and then get kicked out, he said. Some progressive members, think we can come in, change the world. A lot of it is done incremental, its incremental work. But progressives want to pursue bold ideas that have grown in popularity while Democrats have been in political exile such as Medicare for all. Theyre equally concerned about not responding to the electorate that they feel delivered them the House. If we dont respond to the electoral wins weve had, we wont have a good 2020, said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The caucus is pushing access to healthcare for all, a $2-trillion infrastructure plan and legislation to crack down on allegedly predatory banks and pharmaceutical companies that charge high prices for prescription drugs. The caucus is setting up a center to do polling, focus groups and media work to promote progressive priorities even to their Democratic colleagues. We are convinced that the people agree with progressive issues, and if we can just convince those more moderate and conservative members that it really is what their constituents want, then I think we can be successful, Pocan said before election day. Democrats dont have to look far to see the example they want to avoid. Republicans in the House spent much of the past eight years consumed by internal battles as the partys conservative tea party wing fought with more moderate members. Ultimately, the House Freedom Caucus, which included many of the tea party legislators, became such a powerful bloc that it defined much of the agenda, driving Speaker John Boehner from office. Freedom Caucus lawmakers also insisted last year that the House bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act include provisions that would have largely eliminated protections for people with preexisting conditions. In the midterm campaign, Democrats used votes in favor of that legislation to pummel Republican incumbents in districts across the country. Its doubtful that any Democratic group would emerge with the same kind of power. Democratic leaders, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, who is hoping to overcome rank-and-file grumbling to retain the gavel as House speaker, are already trying to prevent that pressure from building. They would rather Democrats focus their attention on Trump, not within their own ranks. Pelosi, as well her deputy, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, have downplayed calls for Trumps impeachment they say the Mueller investigation has to be completed and have pushed bipartisanship and unity while calling for investigations into administration officials. On election night, Pelosi touted an infrastructure plan an idea both parties have pushed as well as legislation addressing pharmaceutical companies and money in politics. Pocan suggested that he and other progressives are prepared to see some of the potentially more divisive issues being put off for a while, particularly because Trump is unlikely to sign Democratic bills on those topics into law. My guess is theres just going to be a lot of pent-up work that has to happen that were all going to be able to agree on, he said. At least 20 Democrats endorsed by the Progressive Caucus won their races, according to the caucus, with a few more races still uncalled. But some Democrats who ran in Trump districts performed well on election day too. Democrats won in 19 districts that Trump carried in 2016, and they hung on to nine of their 12 incumbents running in districts Trump carried, according to data compiled by the Cook Political Report. Those figures could change as final votes are counted in uncalled races. Republicans were able to flip three seats Trump won that were previously held by Democrats, including two in Minnesota and one in Pennsylvania, according to Geoffrey Skelley at the FiveThirtyEight website. The reality that any legislation that gets through the House would also have to get through the GOP-controlled Senate and past Trumps veto pen will constrain Democrats of all stripes. Equally important to the partys 2020 ambitions will be so-called messaging bills: legislation that expresses what the party would do if it fully controlled Congress and the White House. If Democrats want to try to enact bipartisan legislation, they will have to navigate working with Republicans on bills while investigating the president the latter being a goal of Democrats across the spectrum. I dont believe that Congress exercising its oversight role and its ability to work with the president is mutually exclusive, said Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), a member of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition, which is poised to gain at least six new members. Outside groups will also be a factor in the Democratic caucus, as they have been for the Republicans. Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a liberal group, argues that the best way to help Democrats in red or purple districts is to vote on bold ideas, not the lowest common denominator agreement between the two parties. Green argues that House Democrats can send public signals about those ideas while getting more centrist legislation enacted. Democrats could vote to allow anyone to buy into Medicare, for example, which is very unlikely to get through the GOP Senate, while also passing a more modest bill to repair the Affordable Care Act, which has a chance of getting bipartisan support. House Democrats identity could very well be shaped by the fact that the majority will be made up largely of legislative neophytes. Most of the incoming lawmakers are first-time politicians. And more than half of the new Democratic caucus has never served in the majority. Veteran lawmakers welcome the newcomers energy but say it wont define House Democrats, given that committee chairmen and members of the leadership will have control of the agenda. There will be a lot of sound. Well see how much fury, said Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.). Will it satiate or satisfy everybodys appetite for what they want to do? Of course not. But the consensus of the caucus has to come to bear on it also. The latest from Washington jennifer.haberkorn@latimes.com @jenhab Rep. Scott Peters is calling on San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Councilwoman Lorie Zapf to seek an investigation into how McMillin Co. has managed the North Chapel in Liberty Station, the historic house of worship that the lessee has advertised as a restaurant venue. In a letter dated Nov. 5, Peters asked Faulconer and Zapf to submit a formal request to City Attorney Mara Elliott to investigate whether McMillin has complied with all of the terms of its lease. Several members of the community, including Save Our Heritage Organisation, have been in contact with my office to express their concerns regarding the leasings by the McMillin Company (or a successor in interest) of the North Chapel to a commercial tenant, which they claim violates the Guidelines for the Treatment of Historic Properties at the Naval Training Center, the San Diego congressman wrote. Faulconers office issued a statement saying he has directed his staff to reviews the concerns raised in Peters letter. Advertisement As with Faulconer, Zapfs office declined to say whether she would seek an investigation, but spokeswoman Donna Clearly said, The council member is opposed to it being used for anything other than a place of worship. A city spokeswoman said officials have received nothing specific from McMillin about plans for the church. The city thoroughly reviews any proposed changes to historic structures, but no specific proposal has been submitted to date for the North Chapel, spokeswoman Anna Vacchi said by email on Friday. That is all the information I have at this time. The request from Peters is important because the City Attorneys Office only researches legal opinions based on requests from elected city leaders. As you know, we cannot undertake a legal analysis for anyone other than our client, spokesman Gerry Braun wrote in an email. Thats per the City Charter. Braun also said the office has produced no public records on the topic of Liberty Station and noted that communications with client departments are privileged. The citys economic-development team is reviewing a request from McMillin to consider the sale of all or part of its 66-year master lease at Liberty Station, including the North Chapel, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported last month. McMillin executives declined to discuss their intentions for Liberty Station or respond to the request from Peters. A public-relations professional issued a statement Friday saying no plans for the property have been finalized, and did not respond to follow-up questions. Bruce Coons of Save Our Heritage Organisation said San Diego leaders have an obligation to make sure McMillin is meeting the terms of its agreement with the city. We need to see what rules were all operating under, he said. McMillin tends to act like its their property and not the city of San Diegos. We need to exercise some oversight here and see whats going on. The request from Peters comes as Coons and other activists worry about the fate of the North Chapel, an historic house of worship that McMillin recently advertised as a potential restaurant venue. According to its lease with the city, McMillin is supposed to maintain the building for its original use. The federal government designated the 1940s era chapel as historically significant site and it is not supposed to be considered for renovation. But the company told two different congregations that worship at the chapel that they could no longer hold services there after Dec. 31. Meanwhile, a rental company called 828 Venue Management in Indianapolis, Indiana, has been advertising North Chapel on its website as a coming soon wedding and reception alternative. No one at 828 Venue management would respond to questions about the chapel, and the advertisement was pulled from its website. Preservationists worry that McMillin and its new tenant are planning major changes to accommodate the commercial activity. Liberty Station is the poster child for a lack of transparency in dealing with private companies that deal with city government, said Ronald Slayen, an artist who leases a studio in the arts district of the former military base. Our concern is they are going to gut the chapel, he added. The interior is protected because its on the federal registry. The McMillin public-relations firm acknowledged the historic status of North Chapel and said the future use for the property would comply with the companys agreement with the city. Any new tenant would be for a use that is approved as part of the NTC Precise Plan, she said. Slayen said he and other activists plan to attend the City Council meeting on Tuesday to urge their elected representatives to protect the chapel, which was the final place of worship for thousands of recruits shipping off to fight World War II. I do trust that among nine council members there will be at least one who says this has to be done correctly, and asks for an investigation, he said. The city attorney has a massive file on all dealings with Liberty Station but has to wait for a council member or mayor to step forward with a formal request for an investigation. McMillin acquired the long-term lease in the late 1990s, after the U.S. Navy turned the former Naval Training Center over to the city of San Diego. In exchange for renovating many of the historic buildings, McMillin was permitted to manage dozens of commercial properties and develop hundreds of private homes. It is not clear if or when the company will sell all or part of its master lease, which was valued in 2014 at $300 million. An aide to Rep. Peters said Friday that the congressman had yet to receive a response to his letter. jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald Mayor Kevin Faulconers recent announcement of support for community choice energy marks an unprecedented step toward a cleaner environment, greater customer choice and local renewable energy development. Whether its called community choice energy or community choice aggregation (CCA), its a mouthful thats really something simple: SDG&E will no longer have a monopoly on providing our electricity. Customers like us will have a choice, with the community leading the way. Related: San Diegos energy choice plan has too many unanswered questions That choice will include the lower rates and greener electricity that come from a nonprofit public utility, or the option to stick with our hyper-profitable private natural gas subsidiary. Advertisement The mayors support for community choice energy followed by an expected affirmative City Council action will provide us with the best tool for reaching San Diegos goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2035. Around the state, nearly 20 community choice programs serve millions of customers with renewable electricity options at costs that inevitably wind up lower than the private utility. Across the board, the lights have stayed on, the electricity choices have gotten cleaner and consumers have saved money. If that wasnt enough reason to pursue community choice, these programs increasingly invest in their own regions by building clean energy projects that provide high-quality jobs for local workers, as well as devote resources in communities of concern to ensure everyone can participate in and benefit from the clean energy economy. As the biggest city to embrace community choice in the state, San Diego can make an enormous positive impact with its community choice energy program. Potentially including more than 1 million customers, it can eliminate more than 1.5 billion pounds of carbon from our skies every year. Ultimately, the mayors support for community choice energy may prove among the most important decisions he has made. As plans begin to organize the program in partnership with other cities in our region, those of us who advocated long and hard for community choice will shift our efforts to ensuring families, workers and communities play a role in designing the best possible program and ensuring its accountability including prioritizing investments in communities on the front lines of the climate crisis. Choice means exactly that. Even with a fully operational community choice energy program, every electricity customer in the city will retain the option to choose SDG&E as his or her purchaser of electricity. The utility will also continue to handle monthly billing for everyone so switching is fast and easy. It also makes sense to have just one electricity grid and one grid operator, so the state of California has determined that, when community choice programs come online, utilities like SDG&E retain ownership and maintenance of our electricity highway. For the first time, SDG&E will have a competitor in part of its business and consumers should reap the benefits of that competition. In the more than 160 California jurisdictions with community choice, consumers are expected to save more than $90 million this year alone, while also having new options for reasonably priced 100 percent clean electricity. For over a century, SDG&E has profited handsomely as a monopoly. Over roughly the last decade, regulators have allowed payouts to shareholders to more than double while increasing our rates over 50 percent, even though electricity demand has remained flat. Going forward, SDG&E proposes further steep rate hikes. It is not surprising, then, that the private utility spent millions and fought hard to block community choice. But our broad-based coalition of environmental, business, social justice, worker and faith-based organizations tirelessly made phone calls, emailed, testified and marched in support of community choice. We met with local political leaders and made a compelling case: community choice is a key tool in fighting climate change, while also providing families choice and savings. In these challenging times when our future is on the line, adoption of community choice represents a game-changing victory for the climate and for San Diego families. Our success, with a big assist from the mayor and council, should be a source of inspiration. It shows that, even in this divided climate, we can work together across party lines to do whats right. Despite long odds, reason can prevail, people power can win and we can fight to keep this planet livable for generations to come. Capretz is executive director, Climate Action Campaign. Lane is co-chair, Public Policy Team, SanDiego350. Price is community development coordinator, Grid Alternatives San Diego. In 2015, the city of San Diego adopted a visionary Climate Action Plan (SDCAP). One goal within the SDCAP is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by having 100 percent of the electricity used within the city be from renewable sources by 2035. To further that goal, Mayor Kevin Faulconer is recommending the city, alone or through a joint powers authority (JPA), pursue adoption of a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program. I believe that within the next few decades global warming will represent a significant threat to the quality of human life on our planet. I enthusiastically support policies and programs that will meaningfully reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GhG), including maximizing renewable energy. However, there are critical foundational questions which should be addressed before the city goes any further with a CCA plan. Related: Why San Diego plan for community choice energy is a blueprint for bipartisan climate action The mayors announcement followed the October 2018 release of the citys CCA Business Plan. The plan acknowledges that establishing, managing and maintaining a CCA is a complex enterprise, operating in a highly regulated environment, requiring significant capital or credit, with responsibility to procure an essential 7/24/365 commodity. That something is new or complex doesnt mean it shouldnt be considered, but it does mean the proposal must be soberly and dispassionately evaluated. Advertisement What is the citys potential marginal GhG reduction gain with the CCA? California law changed in 2018 to mandate 60 percent of electricity be from renewables by 2035, with a goal of 100 percent by 2045. This law fundamentally changed the foundational benefit premise of CCAs. Even if state mandates are not accelerated, San Diegos marginal benefit is at best GhG emissions from 40 percent of electricity generation in 2035 my calculation is roughly 2 percent of the regions total GhG emissions declining to zero by 2045. By comparison, transportation represents almost 50 percent of regional GhG emissions. (The plan recognizes that under no scenario can 100 percent of San Diegos electricity ever be from renewable generation.) The city needs to recalculate the value of the potential marginal benefit in light of this new, statewide standard. Proponents argue that the CCA will procure the power cheaper than SDG&E, saving consumers money. The plans math is complex and unavoidably layered with assumptions. Per the plans base case, the saving is 0.7 cents per kWh less than a penny. For the average city ratepayer paying $137 per month, the savings would be roughly $3.70. The plan acknowledges that savings cannot be guaranteed, and in some scenarios CCA power would be more expensive. The ultimate final CPUC ruling on exit fees will be critical to any savings calculations. Do these uncertain margins justify a new non-core to mission government-controlled business? Beyond operational complexity, the plan projects the CCA will require: Upfront costs of $5 million A reserve fund of up to $100 million Annual operating costs of $16 million The plan presents options for sources of funds, most referencing the city as the funder or the credit-worthy entity. The plan recognizes that a new JPA would not qualify. The mayor should state what the city is prepared to do or not do. Obviously, to realize net GhG reductions the energy must be produced by new sources. The plan states that if the CCA buys power from existing sources, no GhG reduction has been achieved, an unavoidable reality for at least the first years of operation. New production facilities are very expensive, and take years to site, permit and construct. Developers generally demand binding purchase agreements from credit-worthy parties before construction or entering into long-term, fixed-price contracts. State law requires CCAs to enter minimum 10-year fixed price contracts for 65 percent of mandated renewable energy. The plan defers all fundamental credit issues for later resolution. I disagree. The mayor should state if the city will act as the credit-worthy entity. if not, what is the viable plan to ensure new production and fixed price purchase agreements? GhG impacts are global. Even if San Diego had zero GhG emissions, our environment would not be cleaner. Cities worldwide should lead GhG reduction efforts, and San Diego should continue to lead cities. Section V of the plan lists a series of exciting energy reduction opportunities, many of which could be accelerated by the city today, without creating a new business or expending significant public funds. Pursuing these opportunities, along with aggressive energy storage programs, would produce results other cities would study and emulate, reduce the citys GhG emissions and create new local companies and jobs. Until key value and financing issues are answered, no private business would undertake the uncertainties, complexities and costs of the proposed CCA. Why should the city be different? Waring, a San Diego investor, served as San Diegos deputy chief operating officer for land use and economic development under then-Mayor Jerry Sanders. In 2011, my husband Bob was treated at Walter Reed for 11 months. In the many hours I spent at the hospital with him, I witnessed firsthand the courage and sacrifice of our nations recovering wounded warriors and the all-consuming love and support of their caregivers. Americas veterans are rightly hailed as heroes. But often overlooked are the nearly 5.5 million spouses, parents and other loved ones who selflessly and heroically care for their wounds and help our veterans return to civilian life. According to research commissioned by the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, military caregivers provide nearly $14 billion worth of unpaid services each year. Our nation rarely sees the care they provide, and we seldom offer our thanks, or give these hidden heroes the day-to-day support they desperately need. One place to start is with an all-hands-on-deck effort to bring veterans and their caregivers online at home. Veterans and their caregivers now depend on the internet in every part of their lives from benefits to employment to education to connecting with communities that care. We need to ensure they are fully able to access vital internet resources, such as virtual appointments and patient portals at the VA, online peer groups, and flexible online employment and education to fit their unique needs. These are opportunities that would make a world of difference. But millions of low-income veterans are on the wrong side of this digital divide. According to research, nearly a third of low-income veterans do not have internet service at home and about 40 percent dont even own a computer. This is robbing our veterans of an essential lifeline, and its something we must address with urgency. Advertisement The digital divide gets lots of attention these days. Much attention is given to ensure all young students are connected. It is vital to their life-long success. Shouldnt our veterans and their caregivers also fit into this picture? A number of business leaders are already stepping up to forge public-private partnerships to address this issue. The largest of these, Comcasts Internet Essentials, has connected more than 6 million low-income Americans since its launch in 2011. Together with low-cost internet service and free access to digital literacy training resources, the program teams with thousands of local partners nonprofit organizations and government programs as well as local civic and faith leaders to help ensure that eligible families are getting online and capable of taking advantage of all the resources the internet has to offer. Just like all Americans, veterans, their families and caregivers must develop digital literacy skills so they can connect with family and friends, build communities, coordinate healthcare and benefits, and learn how to search and apply for jobs. Fortunately, Comcast recently extended its marquee program to benefit an estimated 1 million low-income veterans. The Elizabeth Dole Foundation is proud to be one of Internet Essentials nonprofit partners. Other industry leaders should follow suit and use their influence, resources and expertise to partner with local community leaders to better support the veterans and caregivers whove given so much to our country. Like many, I want to see our leaders in Washington work together to get things done for our veterans and our nation. But at this time of political gridlock, its more important than ever that our business and civic leaders also step up to work together to address the unmet needs of some of the most deserving among us our veterans and the hidden heroes who care for them. Dole, a former Cabinet secretary and U.S. senator, is the founder and president of The Elizabeth Dole Foundation. Website: elizabethdolefoundation.org Economists know very little about how post-Sept. 11, 2001, combat deployments and the trauma that accompanied them have affected the economic transitions of separating veterans. These long-term costs are often ignored by policymakers in deciding to go to war, but nevertheless are borne by our service members after they come home. And they are coming home. Between 2010 and 2016, the U.S. Army experienced its most dramatic drawdown since the end of the Cold War. The size of active duty Army forces has declined by 20 percent, which means 120,000 soldiers have returned to civilian life. Advertisement How successful has our nation been in aiding their transition to healthy, socially integrated, economically self-sufficient lives? In new research, William Skimmyhorn (College of William & Mary) and I used Army administrative data from 2001 to 2017 to explore the impacts of post-9/11 combat deployments on veterans labor market outcomes. In total, we amassed data on approximately 1 million soldiers who separated from the Army during the post-Sept. 11 era and tracked their transitions to civilian life. The results are sobering. We found that combat deployments substantially increased the risks of receiving Veterans Disability Compensation (VDC) benefits for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The magnitudes of our estimates imply substantial additional costs to the United States government of almost $60 billion. Combat deployments also increased use of the Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemember (UCX) program, generating additional public costs of approximately $200 million. Post-9/11 combat deployments substantially curbed educational attainment during enlistment and after separation. Combat deployments that accumulate to 18 months or more lead to a 10 percent decline in the probability of graduating from a four-year college. Understanding the plight of post-9/11 combat veterans face helps us reckon the full costs of war. First, the physical and mental health effects of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars were substantial: 5,390 U.S. service members were killed in action, over 52,000 were wounded, and nearly one-quarter are living with the invisible wounds of PTSD and TBI. Surveys of human resource professionals show that nearly half of civilian employers view psychological problems as an important barrier to hiring veterans. Employers may even discriminate against veterans without PTSD because, in their minds, its better to be safe than sorry and opt for hiring a civilian. Second, the skills soldiers accumulate to successfully prosecute a war, particularly for those serving in combat-intensive occupations, may not easily transfer to the civilian labor market. Third, well-intentioned and needed veterans benefits can act as a deterrent to self-sufficiency. Indeed, evidence suggests that VDC programs may have the unintended consequence of deterring labor force participation. Finally, the Global War on Terrorism was a new kind of war. According to researchers at the Army War College, it was an orchestrated melange of combat operations, military operations other than war, and [other nonwar] operations bear[ing] more resemblance to a protracted hunt than a war. If the modern battlefield has changed, so too must our calculus of the economic costs to veterans. Policymakers must appreciate that the full cost of war includes those paid by our brave men and women after the war ends. A deeper understanding of these costs might lead us to forego some conflicts. And when war is unavoidable, we should do more to aid at-risk veterans reintegrate into the labor force and achieve the independence and dignity associated with earning a living. We are indebted to their service, both on the battlefield and in the war they continue to fight at home. Sabia is professor of economics at San Diego State University and a research affiliate at UC Irvines Economic Self-Sufficiency Policy Research Institute. In two months, Jerry Brown, the states 34th and 39th governor, will leave a different California to successor Gavin Newsom. When Brown began his second stint, the state seemed almost ungovernable. Fallout from the recession that began in 2008 dropped state revenue 20 percent and staggered predecessor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democrats in control of the state Legislature. But Browns fiscal discipline and the states booming economy helped turn a $26 billion budget deficit into multibillion-dollar annual surpluses. Elected on Tuesday, Newsom can be glad he isnt inheriting a fiscal crisis, as Brown did. Nevertheless, the current governor isnt exactly leaving a tidy desk behind for the current lieutenant governor. Instead, there are huge issues that will challenge Newsom from day one. Here are four pressing ones. Housing: A recent poll showed most Californians dont believe a lack of construction is a major cause of the states massive housing shortage. Newsom must use his bully pulpit to build a better understanding of the crisis and to overcome the NIMBYism that prompts nearly reflexive opposition to housing projects in most urban areas. As a candidate, Newsom said hed build 3.5 million new housing units by 2025. As governor, hell need more allies than Brown found to come close, and he knows it. Education: Newsom said in a May interview that he wants to shake up the education status quo and acknowledges that union states with politics similar to Californias have made gains the Golden State should envy. He and the next state superintendent of public instruction need to work together to fix the reforms that Brown touted but that have accomplished little at high cost. Thankfully, both candidates in the still-undecided superintendents race Assemblyman Tony Thurmond and former school executive Marshall Tuck say they support a profound change in the interpretation of the Local Control Funding Formula, the 2013 state law that directed more funding to schools with high numbers of English-language learners, foster children and students from poor families. Superintendent Tom Torlakson said the money could be used for any general need, including raises for teachers. Thurmond and Tuck say it should be used specifically to help these disadvantaged students. Thats reassuring as the winner and Newsom have their work cut out for them as they try to help all state students. Advertisement Water: Newsom must also reach consensus on a project to firm up the states stressed, aging water conveyance system. Brown grew so impatient that he was considering a maneuver to begin a $16 billion twin tunnels project to move water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta without the Legislatures approval. Newsom said in an August interview that a governor certainly has the right to commit to the project. However, he also said that I will come at it from a fresh perspective. Thats a good idea but when Newsom reaches a conclusion, hes asking for a firestorm if he seeks to impose his decision without working with the Legislature. The state bullet train project: Newsom has often raised concerns about the troubled, once $33 billion, now $77 billion project. This is a pleasant contrast to Brown, who had a history of belittling critics of the many broken promises voters heard in 2008 to get them to approve $9.95 billion in bond seed money for a high-speed rail network. In a May interview, Newsom dissected the projects flaws, in particular its funding shortfall of at least $45 billion. But he also spoke enthusiastically about the possibility the first segment could link Central Valley housing to Silicon Valley jobs, leading to more federal funding and (finally) private investment. Given the federal governments huge deficits and the projects history, Newsom needs to be honest about this boondoggle. Theres no question Brown leaves state government much better than he found it in 2011. But he also leaves Newsom with some complex issues at the start of his term and some important decisions to make early on that will set the tone for it. Twitter: @sdutIdeas Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion Picking party over people is un-American Re Rep. Hunter appears poised to win sixth term despite indictment (Nov. 7): The nauseating stench of hypocrisy wafts over this midterm election results. Neither death nor federal indictment discouraged voters from casting ballots for a deceased brothel owner in Nevada and the incumbent in Californias 50th Congressional District. When party loyalty rides roughshod over common sense, what is left of our common decency? The people have spoken, and it is disgusting. Victoria Tenbrink Advertisement Escondido The voters should focus on their own needs We have the resources to provide adequate food, shelter and health care to all of our citizens, but the greedy big business investors who control our government through large campaign contributions will not permit this. They want to continue exploiting the working-class citizens by outsourcing jobs, price-gouging, etc. Our government was initially established as a democracy by our Constitution and later changed to a capitalistic state by big money. The agenda of those in politics is to strengthen the party and not help the workers. The only solution to all of this is for the working-class citizens to resign from all political parties (as later recommended by the founding fathers of our Constitution), become independent voters and select Sen. Bernie Sanders for president because he has an agenda of prosperity for the workers. Herbert Pairitz Carlsbad Someone must step up to champion civility There were many winners but also one tremendous loser in the elections Tuesday our longstanding and cherished system of functioning democracy. We seem to have devolved from a degree of unity in our common love of America down to a nation that is so highly polarized that there can be no bipartisanship for our common good. I abruptly lost a good friend of 50 years as a result of my last letter to the editor here, and Im sure many of us are used to tiptoeing around politics these past few years when not in our comfortable circles. There has never been such a degree of hardening views and animosity among us since I first voted in 1964. We collectively should be better than this as a nation, but I cannot see any near-future relief from our inability to engage in informed and sincere political discourse with those with opposing views. Bill Leonard Del Mar Heights 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. Brett Kavanaugh must have been smiling as the returns came in on Election Day, because it is now clear that the Democrats campaign to destroy him will go down as a massive blunder. It failed to keep Kavanaugh off the court. It cost Democrats their chance to regain control of the Senate. And it gave Republicans an expanded Senate majority that will allow them to confirm an even more conservative justice next time around. Today, Kavanaugh sits on the Supreme Court hearing cases. Meanwhile, Democratic Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Donnelly of Indianapolis and Claire McCaskill of Missouri are packing up their Senate offices thrown out by voters furious over their partys brutal campaign of character assassination against Kavanaugh. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia was the only Democrat who voted for Kavanaugh, and he survived but just barely. Two weeks before Election Day, Manchin was leading by double digits, but on Tuesday night he won by just over 3 points. Had he voted against Kavanaughs confirmation, he would likely have been toast as well. The Democrats smear campaign also cost them the chance to pick up GOP seats. In Tennessee, Rep. Marsha Blackburn was trailing former Democratic governor Phil Bredesen by 5 points in a CNN poll before the Kavanaugh hearings. She ended up winning by just under 11 points, as the Democrats mistreatment of Kavanaugh united Tennessee Republicans behind her. The Kavanaugh smear no doubt also played a role in energizing GOP voters in Arizona, where Republican Rep. Martha McSally is in a tight race against Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, and in Texas, where Sen. Ted Cruz defeated Rep. Beto ORourke by just 2.6 points in one of the reddest states in the union. None of that might have been possible had it not been for the Democrats horrific treatment of Kavanaugh. As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put it, the failed effort to stop Kavanaugh was like an adrenaline shot for the GOP base. Republican voters were outraged to see a good man accused, without a shred of corroboration, of sexually assaulting a teenage girl, exposing himself to a college classmate and participating in gang rapes in high school. They were disgusted by Senate Democrats insistence that the burden was on Kavanaugh to prove he didnt do it and by Democrats blatant disregard for the presumption of innocence. They were energized by Kavanaughs willingness to fight back and declare his treatment by Democrats a national disgrace. And they punished the perpetrators of that disgrace at the polls on Tuesday. Advertisement Now Republicans have not only an expanded Senate majority but also a pro-life majority. Reports indicated that Trump was close to nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a devout Catholic and mother of seven, to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. Barrett became a folk hero among religious conservatives after Californias Diane Feinstein, ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, grilled her over her Catholic faith during her confirmation hearings as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit last year. The dogma lives loudly within you, Feinstein told Barrett, suggesting that her faith disqualified her. That outraged conservatives, who rightly castigated Feinstein for applying an unconstitutional religious test on Trumps nominee. As Harvard Law School professor Noah Feldman explained, Feinstein insinuated an anti-Catholic stereotype that goes back at least 150 years in the U.S. that Catholics are unable to separate church and state because they place their religious allegiances before their oath to the Constitution. Barrett was confirmed for the Circuit Court. But when it came to the Supreme Court, Trump calculated that with a razor thin-GOP majority he needed what was supposed to be a safer pick and went with Kavanaugh instead. Now, with an expanded, pro-life Senate majority, Trump no longer has to worry about losing a few GOP votes next time around. At every stage of recent Supreme Court fights, Democrats have miscalculated. Their mindless decision to filibuster Neil Gorsuch paved the way for Senate Republicans to get rid of the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees which made it possible to confirm Kavanaugh by simple majority. And if Barrett ever makes it onto the Supreme Court, Democrats can thank their horrific, defamatory treatment Kavanaugh. The lesson for Democrats should be clear: Character assassination does not pay. Quite the opposite, it backfired big-time. Thiessen is on Twitter, @marcthiessen. On the same day, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc extended his congratulations to his Cambodian counterpart Samdech Techo Hun Sen, while Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan sent a letter of congratulations to President of the Cambodian Senate Samdech Say Chhum and President of the National Assembly of Cambodia, Samdech Heng Samrin. In the letters and messages of congratulations, the CPV Central Committee and the Vietnamese leaders congratulated Cambodia on the significant socio-economic development achievements that the country has attained during the past 65 years, especially its successful organisation of the sixth general election in 2018 to form the new National Assembly and Government. They expressed their belief that under the wise reign of King Norodom Sihamoni and the bright leadership of the Senate, National Assembly and Royal Government of Cambodia, the Cambodian people would continue to achieve more significant and comprehensive accomplishments in the cause of developing the Kingdom of Cambodia in a peaceful and prosperous manner, with an increasingly high position within the international arena. The Vietnamese Party and State firmly believe that with the motto of good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, and comprehensive, sustainable and long-term cooperation, the inherently fine relations between Vietnam and Cambodia will continue to thrive, for the interests of the two countries people and for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world. On the occasion, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh extended his congratulations to Cambodian Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Prak Sokhonn. 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. During the talks, the leaders briefed each other on the situation in their respective countries and discussed orientations and measures to deepen the special relationship between the two sides in an effective and pragmatic fashion. They also exchanged viewpoints on regional and international issues of shared concern. Party General Secretary and President Trong said the Cuban Presidents visit will generate momentum for the bilateral relationship. Congratulating the Cuban people on achievements they have recorded recently, the host noted his belief that the Cubans, under the leadership of First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Raul Castro, will gain even greater attainments in the time ahead. He thanked the Cuban Government and people for their solidarity and valuable support for Vietnam. Vietnam wishes to deepen bilateral ties, meeting the aspirations and interests of the people of both countries, while actively contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world, he said. For his part, President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez applauded the reform achievements that the Vietnamese people have reaped over the past three decades, saying that Cuba would like to learn from Vietnams development experience. He also took this occasion to thank the Vietnamese State and people for their solidarity and valuable support for their Cuban counterparts, and affirmed Cubas resolve to enhance the bilateral ties in order to effectively contribute to development in each country. The two leaders applauded the growth of their countries comprehensive cooperation, including increasingly trustworthy political ties through regular delegation exchanges and experience sharing. Cooperation mechanisms between the Vietnamese and Cuban Governments, ministries, and sectors have been maintained and become more and more effective. Relations between the two parties, parliaments, and peoples have also been enhanced, they noted. The two sides pledged to keep close and all-round cooperation during their journeys of national construction and development. They will make efforts to intensify their exemplary fraternity, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and faithful solidarity. At the talks, the leaders also discussed several measures to foster economic, trade, and investment partnerships in a result-oriented manner; strength ties in defence, security, external relations, agriculture, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, healthcare, education, and science-technology, and boost people-to-people exchange. They applauded and emphasised the importance of the two Governments signing of a new trade agreement and a protocol on capital disbursement and financial management of the Vietnam-Cuba project on cooperation in rice production development for 2019-2023. Party General Secretary and President Trong shared the Cuban Presidents view that the current two-way trade at US$240 million annually does not reflect the two countries trade potential, demand, and supply capacity. They agreed to give relevant directions to actively promote the implementation of the bilateral trade cooperation agreement, seek ways to facilitate businesses access to each others markets, and strive to raise bilateral trade to USS$500 million by 2022. The leaders also expressed their delight at their countries growing coordination and mutual support at international organisations and multilateral forums, especially the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation. Regarding international and regional issues of shared concern, both sides shared the view that sovereignty and territorial disputes need to be resolved by peaceful means with respect for international law. The Cuban President invited General Secretary and President Trong to pay an official visit to his country in the near future. Party General Secretary and President Trong bestows the Ho Chi Minh Order upon President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez in recognition of the Cuban leader's contributions to bilateral friendship and cooperation. (Photo: VNA) Before the talks, on behalf of the Vietnamese State, Party General Secretary and President Trong bestowed the Ho Chi Minh Order upon the Cuban leader in recognition of the latters contributions to bilateral friendship and cooperation. The same day, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung, representing the Vietnamese Government, and Vice President of the Cuban Council of Ministers Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, on behalf of the Cuban Government, signed a new trade agreement and a protocol on capital disbursement and financial management of the cooperation in rice production development for 2019-2023. The Vietnamese leader said at a joint press conference following their talks that the bilateral political ties are developing fruitfully with high mutual trust, as seen through the regular exchange of delegations at all levels through all channels of the Party, State, Government and National Assembly, as well as people-to-people exchange. Cooperation mechanisms between the two countries governments, ministries and sectors have been maintained and proven their efficiency with diverse activities, he said. He informed the press that the two sides had committed to continuing their close and comprehensive cooperation, and making efforts to consolidate and deepen their model fraternity, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation and loyal solidarity. Host and guest compared notes on measures to deepen economic, trade and investment ties in an effective and practical manner, intensify the partnership in national defence-security and external affairs, and step up affiliation in agriculture, bio-technology, pharmaceutical products, health care, science-technology and exchange between citizens. Regarding regional and international issues of shared concern, both sides expressed their support for the settlement of sovereignty disputes by peaceful measures on the basis of respect for international law. Vietnam and Cuba affirmed that they will bolster collaboration at multilateral organisations and forums, especially the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation. Party General Secretary and President Trong said he firmly believes that the good results of President Miguel Mario Diaz Canel Bermudezs visit will create a new momentum to lift the Vietnam-Cuba special relationship to a new high, meeting the aspiration and interests of people of both sides, and contributing to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world as well. Meanwhile, President Miguel Mario Diaz Canel Bermudez expressed his hope that the two sides will continue to exchange experience in socialism building, and that the reached agreements will be materialised through specific cooperation projects, thus bringing practical benefits to both sides. He affirmed that current and future generations of the two countries will always be loyal to the thoughts of Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Fidel Castro, and promote the friendship between the two nations. Lauding the close cooperation between the two countries at international and multilateral forums, the President thanked Vietnam for its support to Cuba in the struggle for ending the embargo against the country. The Cuban President affirmed that the Vietnam-Cuba relationship is a special one, both at present and in the future, citing President Fidel Castros immortal statement: For Vietnam, Cuba is willing to shed its blood. Following their talks, the leaders witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation documents between the two countries, including a trade agreement and a financial protocol on implementing the cooperation project on rice production during the 2019-2023 period. Earlier the same day, Party General Secretary and President Trong presented the Ho Chi Minh Order a noble award of the Vietnamese Party and State to President Miguel Mario Diaz Canel Bermudez in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the solidarity, friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba. Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/09/2018 -- A recent research report on potassium sulphate market skilfully crafted by Future Market Insights reveals several aspects of the global market along with key trends and developments taking place. The research publication titled "Potassium Sulphate Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012-2016) and Opportunity Assessment (2017-2027)"uncovers numerous facets such as opportunities, drivers and trends that have an influence over the growth of the entire market. Moreover, along with current market scenario and historical market data, this research report has outlined future market projections that reveal the future direction of the global potassium sulphate market in terms of growth rate and valuation of the entire market considering all crucial market segments that define the market. This data has been assessed across key regions in the globe to get a clear market picture in the current timeline as well as in the future. Request to Sample of Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/REP-GB-1534 Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa Potential Revenue Pockets for Potassium Sulphate Countries in Middle East and Africa have saline soil and often are exposed to scanty rainfall and draught situations leading to uncertain agricultural production. Governments in countries in Middle East and Africa are taking initiatives for encouraging agriculture and enhance agricultural output. Countries in North Africa as well as Central Africa present huge opportunities with respect to the use of potassium sulphate fertilizers with a view to boost agricultural production thereby reducing dependability on imports on food products. Economies with an agricultural base, or countries that look forward to boosting their agricultural production and output and countries with low percent of arable land and low agricultural production import significant amount of potassium sulphate from international producers. With the increasing agricultural production, the imports of potassium sulphate are likely to increase. Countries in Asia Pacific such as China and India are few of the most likely destinations for export for key manufacturers of potassium sulphate. Future Market Insights on Global Potassium Sulphate Market As per the analytical research report on potassium sulphate market, the global market is estimated to reach a valuation of more than US$ 6100 Mn by the end of the year of assessment from a value of around US$ 3.7 Bn in 2017 and is projected to expand at a value CAGR of 4.9% throughout the period of forecast (2017-2027). Key Factors Impacting Revenue Growth of the Global Potassium Sulphate Market The key aspects that are driving the growth of the global potassium sulphate market include increasing preference for value added fertilizers, increasing new entrants in the sulphate of potash industry, increasing focus of manufacturers on expansion in key growth areas, market consolidation and expansion in regions such as Latin America, growing sales of high cash crops owing to increasing awareness, increasing awareness regarding the use and advantage of potassium sulphate among farmers, increasing opportunities for manufacturers owing to increasing population, increase in production capacity and output owing to various advancements, favourable government support in research and development, increasing production of vegetables and fruits, limited availability of arable land thus fuelling the use of potassium sulphate fertilizers, emergence of innovative agricultural practices and increasing per capita food consumption in developing economies favourable agricultural policies. On the contrary, factors such as relatively higher prices, high pricing competition among local players and improper value chain management are posing hindrances to the growth of the global potassium sulphate market. Ask a question to Analyst @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-the-analyst/rep-gb-1534 Global Potassium Sulphate Market: Segmentation Snapshot Granules product type segment to lead the global market with a high market valuation by 2027 end Increasing use of potassium sulphate fertilizers to be observed in fruits and vegetables cultivation APEJ and MEA to grow at a relatively higher value and volume CAGRs during the forecast period Global Potassium Sulphate Market: Vendor Analysis The vendor analysis chapter in the research report covers intelligence on key players operating in the market. Main players such asCompass Minerals, K+S KALI GmbH, SESODA Corporation, Tessenderlo Group, SQM (Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA), United Co. RUSAL Plc, SDIC Xinjiang Luobupo Potash Company Limited, Yara International ASA, Migao Corporation, Kemira Kemi AB, The Mosaic Company and China Ching Shiang Chemical Co. Ltd.,are profiled in this research report. For more insights into the global potassium sulphate market, write in to Future Market Insights analysts at press@futuremarketinsights.com. Get full report now @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/1534 Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/09/2018 -- Poultry Feed Market: Drivers & Restraints: Rising per capita income and widespread poultry diseases are the major driving factors of the poultry feed market globally. In addition, growth of domestic and international quick service restaurants in developing countries and demand for quality meat products by consumers has significantly contributed to the rising demand of poultry feed those regions. In 2014, Asia Pacific was the largest market in terms of poultry feed demand and revenue and would continue to dominate the market for several factors. The market growth is attributed to the higher standard of living among consumers coupled with shift towards away-from-home-eating. Poultry feed market is a part of vast animal feed market and makes an important part of it as poultry is invariably consumed in most parts of the world. The concept of animal feed has been there in the market for several years especially in the developed markets. However, with the advent of globalization and rise in the standard of living of consumers, companies are expanding in the emerging markets of the world with improved products and wide range of options for each animal group. Poultry meat is the highest among others such as pork, beef and fish meat. Therefore, vast opportunity lies in the poultry feed segment. Manufacturers are closely working with the factory farmers to direct them towards higher yield of poultry thereby increasing their return on investment (ROI). For instance, Cargill Inc. were engaged closely with Malaysia based TD Poultry to deliver best poultry solution. As a result, TD Poultry could achieve remarkable results in broilers with 1.63 feed conversion rates. Also, 2.35 kg body weight was achieved in 35 days, down from previous 40 days. Request for Table of Contents @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-716 The various type of poultry feed additives available in the market consists of antibiotics, vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids, feed enzymes and feed acidifiers. Feed acidifiers are the largest among all other poultry additive segment across the world. The regional segmentation includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is the largest market followed by North America. On the basis of type, the poultry feed market can be segmented as broilers, layers, turkey and others. The consumption of meat varies from region to region, for instance, in North America, broilers is the most preferred meat category and antibiotics falls under the largest category under the feed additives segment Poultry feed is required to increase the feed conversion ratio by improving gut micro flora thereby enhancing animals health. It also maintains animal health by preventing diseases among them. The manufacturers are concentrating more on the developing markets to tap the under penetrated feed market in countries such as Vietnam, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Lebanon and Turkey. These markets offer greater opportunities to increase revenue and sales with higher per capita expenditure on quality food. Moreover, it is a proven fact that with rise in per capita income, people tend to consume more meat and meat products. Therefore the poultry feed market is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR through the forecast period (2015-2020). Players such as Novus International, Inc. and Kemin group continue to deliver new products for poultry farmers. In November 2012, Novus International, Inc. launched AVIMATRIX- a feed solution for optimized broiler performance by acting over gut environment through targeted and controlled release of compounds in the broilers gut. There is an increasing demand of solution oriented customized products from the poultry farmers in the emerging markets. In May 2013, a South African firm AgriProtein Technologies bagged the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) for developing a commercial method to develop animal feed through maggots. Key global players of the poultry feed market include Alltech Inc., ADM (Archer Daniels Midland Company), ABF Plc (Associated British Food), BASF (Badishce Anilin und Soda Fabrik), Charoen Popkhand Foods, Cargill Inc., Evonik Industries AG, CHR.Hansen Holdings A/S, Novus International Inc, Nutreco NV, Royal DSM N.V., DLG Group and InVivo NSA. Request For Report Sample: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-716 Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/09/2018 -- South Korea is considered a key developed economy in Asia Pacific. And its construction industry is the topic of study of a recent report by ResearchMoz.us, titled, "Construction in South Korea-Key Trends and Opportunities to 2022." The report factors in various parameters to understand the trajectory of the market. It presents information on the opportunities it presents, the players operating in it, and the government's role. At the outset, the report states that the South Korean construction industry recorded a rise of 10.1% in 2016. It also notes that the rise was 7.1% in 2017. The average annual growth over the period starting in 2013 and ending in 2015 was a tepid 3.1%. This growth is mainly a result of consumer demand generating business confidence. As a result there has been both private and public sector investments in commercial, infrastructure, and residential projects. The South Korean construction industry has grown because of it. Another factor that is lending support to the South Korea construction industry is the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. It has already completed the building of a US$109 mn pentagonal stadium to that end. The stadium which can be dismantled once the event gets over has helped to contain costs to a degree. However, many now question the rationale behind building such as expensive structure. Get a Sample PDF: https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1911335 Over the course of the next few years, the South Korean construction industry is predicted to rise, however at a much reduced pace. The growth is expected to be brought about by efforts of governments to improve energy, commercial, and utilities infrastructure. Thrust on bettering the existing traffic network is also predicted to support growth too in the near term. The slump in growth pace, on the other hand, is a result of oversupply in the residential sector, especially surrounding its capital Seoul. This, in turn, is mainly a result of the government's efforts to cool property prices. Our report projects the residential construction segment to contribute almost 43.0% of the volume in the South Korean construction industry in 2022. The main reason for it is the governmental support to build affordable houses for the middle- and low-income groups in the nation. The government envisages to build around 1 million affordable housing units by 2022. When it comes of infrastructure building, the market output is forecasted to rise at a 2.01% CAGR. This is mainly on account of private and public sector investments in modernizing and developing the nation's transport infrastructure. For example, earlier this year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation declared its plan to up the share of rail network to the total freight transport to 10.0% by 2021. In 2017, it was around 5%. All these are predicted to have a positive impact on the South Korean construction industry. The overall construction projects in the pipeline in South Korea, including mega projects above US$25 mn, currently stands at US$268.7 bn. However, fortunes were changed due to the storms, with destinations like the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and the US Virgin Islands seeing declines, while others picked up business on ship redeployments. The spending springs from the 29.6m passenger and crew onshore visits to 36 Caribbean and Latin American destinations (including several non-Caribbean, Pacific coast ports) in the 2017-18 cruise year. 79,000 jobs generated As well, cruising generated 79,000 jobs paying more than $900m in wages during the period, according to a newly released study by Business Research & Economic Advisors (BREA). Details were announced at the FCCA Cruise Conference & Trade Show Thursday in Puerto Rico. 'We could not be prouder of these results and what they mean for all of our neighbors and partners throughout the Caribbean and Latin America,' FCCA president Michele Paige said. She had announced the overall spending figure during a September media call with cruise line leaders to update on Caribbean recovery a year after the storms. 'Beyond showing what cruise tourism brings to these destinations' economies, which was crucial in restoring lives and communities following last year's historic hurricane season, many of the findings will also serve as the foundation of building further mutual success between cruise lines and destination stakeholders,' Paige said. The studycommissioned by the FCCA in partnership with destinations every three yearsmeasured direct spending impacts through passenger surveys and crew surveys, cruise line spending for services and provisions, port revenues and employment generated by cruise ship calls. Measurement of economic impacts was calculated by collecting data from local government agencies, regional development agencies and international economic agencies to evaluate impacts on employment, wages, port fees and taxes. Passenger, crew and cruise line spending Of 25.2m onshore visits by cruise passengers, total spending was $2.56bn, or an average of $101.52. Crew made 4.4m onshore visits, with total spending of $265.7m, or $60.44 on average. Cruise lines spent $534 million, an average of $14.8m per destination. The 29.6m passenger and crew visits represent a 5.2% increase compared to the previous (2015) study, and the 32 common destinations in the 2015 and 2018 studies experienced a 6.5% increase in passenger visits. Average per passenger spending increased at 23 of the 32 common destinations, and 12 destinations recorded average spending rates above $100 per passenger, up from nine in 2015. Impact of a single transit call On average, a single transit cruise call with 4,000 passengers and 1,640 crew generated $378,500 in passenger and crew spending alone, $339,500 and $39,000, respectively. The study's measure of cruise tourism expenditures did not include indirect benefits of cruise tourism, including supplies purchased by tour operators, restaurants and port authorities, though the estimates of these expenditures served as the basis for total employment and wage impacts. The study also did not account for other indirect benefits, such as spending from cruise passengers who return as stay-over visitors, nor did it measure other methods of cruise line spending that benefit destinations, including NGO partnerships and marketing. Hurricanes changed fortunes Results were skewed by last year's historic hurricane season with destinations like the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and the US Virgin Islands seeing declines due to the temporary effects, while still totaling expenditures more than $500m during the study and now regularly handling more than 10,000 cruisers per day. Additionally, the temporary impacts led to increases in destinations like Guadeloupe, Martinique and Bonaire. Cozumel on top Eleven destinations had direct cruise tourism expenditures of $100m or more. Cozumel led all destinations with $474m, followed by The Bahamas with $406m, Jamaica with $245m, the Cayman Islands with $225m and the US Virgin Islands with $185m. Combined, these five destinations accounted for 46% of the total cruise tourism expenditures among the 36 in the study. The next six destinations, with $100m or more in cruise spending, accounted for 24% of the total. Among these were Puerto Rico ($151m), St. Kitts and Nevis ($149m), St. Maarten ($143m), Dominican Republic ($135m), Honduras ($107m) and Aruba ($103m). The next 10 destinations with expenditures between $50m and $100m, or 22% of the total, ranged from $52.9m in Guadeloupe to $89.5m in Costa Maya. In addition to Costa Maya, Turks and Caicos ($86.5m) and Belize ($86.1m) each had total cruise tourism expenditures in excess of $85m. The next six destinations with expenditures between $20m and $50m accounted for 6.4% of the total. This ranged from $29.2m in Costa Rica to $42.5m in Puerto Vallarta. Ensenada ($40.4m), Martinique ($38.2m) and Progreso ($32.7m) each had cruise tourism expenditures in excess of $30m. The remaining nine destinations each had less than $20m. These ranged from $1.6m in Puerto Chiapas to $19.2m in Grenada. In addition to Grenada, St. Vincent ($16.4m), Mazatlan ($15.9m), the British Virgin Islands ($12.6m) and Guatemala ($11.1m) each had in excess of $10m in cruise spending. Onshore visit percentage drop storm-related? Direct comparisons with earlier studies are not exact since the number and mix of participating destinations differs from prior studies. But BREA said some general comparisons with the 2014-15 study are possible. Of average passenger and crew visitation ratesthe number that make an onshore visitpassenger visits dropped to 85% from 88%, while crew visits remained constant at 39%. The FCCA is working with BREA to determine if the decline in disembarkation was influenced by the hurricanes, due to factors such as fewer available excursions or passenger perceptions of destination recovery. 'We feel confident the drop is an anomaly and are investigating further,' an association spokesman said. Watches/jewelry purchases decline The average per passenger spending, including transit and homeport calls, decreased 2.2%, from $103.83 in the last study to the $101.52 this year. BREA said this decline was largely due to a decrease in spending for watches and jewelry. While those who purchased watches and jewelry spent nearly $25 more per passenger, fewer people purchased watches and jewelry (15.5% versus 19.8%). In addition, fewer passengers spent money on taxis and local transportation this year (18.7% versus 23.7%). Higher spending on tours and souvenirs These decreases were only partially offset by increases in the average expenditure per passenger for shore excursions, and local crafts and souvenirs, which increased by 8.3% and 11%, respectively. Hurricanes Irma and Maria resulted in nearly 2m fewer passenger visits to St. Maarten and the US Virgin Islandsthe top two destinations in terms of average per passenger spending in both the recent study and the last. Had these two destinations received a similar number of onshore visits as in the 2014-15 study, the overall year-over-year average per passenger spending would have increased, BREA said. Crew spending decline continues Average expenditures by crew continued its multi-study drop, experiencing a 10% decline, from $67.10 in 2014-15 to $60.44. This resulted from reduced spending primarily in electronics, watches/jewelry and clothing. Expenditures by cruise lines for port fees and services and other goods and services increased to $533.8m, resulting in an average expenditure of about $14.8m per destination. The full study, its Volume II focusing on the specific spending within the destinations, along with metrics including passenger satisfaction, time spent ashore and types of shore excursions, along with similar studies dating back to 2001, are available at www.F-CCA.com/Research. Press Release November 9, 2018 A LESSON IN JUSTICE, AN ELECTORAL GUIDE TO VOTE AGAINST THE MARCOSES' TRAIL OF PLUNDER AND TYRANNY *Statement of Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros on the Sandiganbayan finding Rep. Imelda Marcos guilty of 7 counts of graft This is an important lesson in justice. The Marcoses may be able to temporarily evade accountability, they may be able, for the moment, to cheat history and whitewash their crimes with the use of "alternative facts" and fake news, they may climb their way back to power and even hide behind the back of President Rodrigo Duterte, but justice will eventually push its way through their walls of impunity. They can dam a river but they can never dam the ocean. The waves of justice will always find a way to make them accountable. I hope this ruling would serve as a crucial electoral guide to our voters this coming election. The people must not allow historical revisionism and the shameful trail of plunder, murder and dictatorship to win in the ballot box. The Filipino people must not allow our elections to be used to invalidate the people's struggle against the Marcos dictatorship. I call on the public to closely monitor this case and all the other cases filed against the Marcoses. We must not allow the Marcos family to influence and undermine our collective process to search for truth, justice and accountability. Speaking at the event, the Deputy PM said Vietnam is now the second largest trade partner of Cuba in Asia. More and more Vietnamese firms are keen on promoting trade and investment projects in the Latin American country. In the first nine months of this year, the Cuban government granted licenses to six Vietnamese firms. The Vietnamese businesses want the two governments to create favourable conditions for Cubas projects in priority fields of agriculture, consumer goods, construction materials, hospitality services, clean energy, telecommunications, health care, biology and pharmaceuticals, he said. Deputy PM Dung added that the two governments signing of the new Vietnam Cuba trade agreement during the Presidents visit will lay a foundation for both sides to lift two-way trade to US$500 million by 2022 from over US$200 million at present. As requested by Cuba, Vietnam will maintain stable export of rice to the country in the near future, as well as launch a new stage of a rice production project in Cuba. Vietnamese businesses want to import more goods of Cubas strength, especially bio-tech and health care products, as well as pharmaceuticals, he said. Bermudes, for his part, said Cuba has launched reform policies and promoted foreign investment attraction, adding that it has issued a new Law on Investment to lure more foreign investors. According to him, the Cuban people trust many Vietnamese goods while Vietnamese firms are operating effectively in the country. During the visit by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in March 2018, both sides signed a number of important agreements on construction, infrastructure, electronic spare parts and food processing. Many projects on renewable energy, construction and food processing are underway. Cuba wants Vietnamese firms to extend operations in civil aviation, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, scientific research, academic and cultural exchange, he said. The guest proposed both sides to work more closely together to improve the efficiency of the Inter-Governmental Committee cooperation mechanism. He wished that during the committees 36th meeting in Havana in late 2018, negotiations on many major projects would be concluded. He pledged to clear barriers facing Vietnamese firms to contribute to Cubas development. ANGARA HOPES 3RD TELCO WILL FAST-TRACK IMPLEMENTATION OF FREE WIFI IN SUCS Senator Sonny Angara is looking forward to faster implementation of the government's free Wi-Fi project in state universities and colleges (SUCs) with the expected entry of the third major player in the telecommunications industry. Angara expressed hope the third telco would invest in telecoms infrastructure that would support the implementation of a law establishing free internet access in public places, especially in SUCs. "Sana ang pagpasok ng bagong telco provider ang hinihintay natin para mapabilis ang pagpapatupad ng libreng Wi-Fi access sa mga pampublikong lugar, lalung-lalo na sa mga SUCs kung saan malaki ang pakinabang nito sa mga estudyante," Angara said. The National Telecommunications Commission recently declared Mislatel, a consortium of China Telecom and Filipino businessman Dennis Uy's Udena Corp. and Chelsea Logistics, as the provisional third telco provider following a selection process where it emerged as the lone surviving bidder. Angara said that free internet connectivity in SUCs can help students with their research, school assignments and projects. With free Wi-Fi access, Angara said, devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones can connect students to a wealth of text, audio and video content not found in textbooks. "Kung libre ang Wi-Fi, malaki ang matitipid ng mga estudyante dahil hindi na nila kailangang gumastos sa mga computer shop o pagpapa-load para magkaroon ng internet data," Angara pointed out. The government's free Wi-Fi project has a total budget of P1.7 billion for 2018, which includes P326 million for SUCs and P1.36 billion for free Wi-Fi in public places. However, as of June this year, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) reported during a Senate budget hearing that it had only utilized 10 percent of the budget for the project. Angara, who sponsored the DICT's budget for 2018, could not hide his disappointment over the apparent delay in the implementation of the government's free Wi-Fi access program. The senator was all the more dismayed when he found out that only 15 out of 112 SUCs in the country have free Wi-Fi. "This could also help students to keep in touch with their families and loved ones. Partikular na sa mga mag-aaral na ang mga magulang ay OFW o para sa mga nag-aaral dito sa Maynila habang ang kanilang pamilya ay nasa probinsya. Dapat ay maipatupad na ito agad," he added. Press Release November 10, 2018 De Lima pushes for 'medical parole' for terminally-ill inmates Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has filed a measure granting medical parole that would allow terminally-ill inmates to serve their sentence under the care of their families or seek better medical care outside the correctional facilities. De Lima, who chairs the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, filed Senate Bill No. 2084 which seeks to grant medical parole, also known as "compassionate parole," to qualified inmates on humanitarian or medical grounds. "The grant of medical parole presupposes that the conditional release of a prisoner will not constitute a threat to the safety of the society," she said. Medical parole is defined under the proposed measure as the "conditional release of a prisoner from a correctional institution on the ground that he is suffering from a terminal illness or an incapacity that renders him incapable of managing his own affairs." De Lima, an active advocate of prison reform, explained that establishing the medical parole not only provides for a humane treatment of terminally-ill or permanently-incapable prisoners. It will also rationalize the correctional practice by allowing the conditional release of prisoners who are no longer capable of serving their sentences within the correctional facilities due to their conditions, she added. "This bill is meant to allow prisoners to serve out their sentence under the care of their families or seek better medical care outside the correctional facilities," the former justice secretary noted. De Lima also pointed out that her proposed measure provides a mechanism for citizens and interested parties to oppose any application as a matter of check against any improvident or even fraudulent grant of medical parole. Under SBN 2084, also known as Medical Parole Act, the grant of medical parole may be opposed depending on the severity of the inmate's illness, or his release will be a threat to public safety or the inmate is likely to commit an offense while on medical parole. Last July 21, De Lima has filed Senate Bill No. 1879 which seeks to integrate the management of the country's jails and prisons under one agency tasked to provide better treatment and rehabilitation program for all detainees and prisoners. President of the association Vu Mao congratulated the Cambodian people on their attainments across the board and expressed his belief that the new Cambodian Government will guide Cambodia to new achievements. He said Vietnam and Cambodia have enjoyed the time-honoured solidarity, friendship and cooperation fostered by their people and generations of leaders and their relations have been growing across fields. The two countries successfully organised the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Year 2017 with many significant activities held across localities, he said. The Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association has over the past 40 years played as a bridge connecting people of the two countries and worked closely with relevant agencies to launch practical and meaningful activities to enhance mutual understanding, friendship, and all-faceted cooperation between the two countries. Cambodian Ambassador to Vietnam Prak Nguon Hong said under the visionary reign of King Norodom Sihamoni and the dynamic leadership of the Cambodian Royal Government led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, Cambodia posted a stable GDP growth rate of around 7% a year in the past decade and Cambodians earned an average annual income of US$1,435 each as by 2017. The diplomat said he is happy with the growing friendship and cooperation between the countries, emphasising that the noble sacrifice of the two nations made their traditional friendship and solidarity an invaluable heritage that is constantly consolidated for the robust development and prosperity of each country. On behalf of the Cambodian Royal Government, Ambassador Prak Nguon Hong offered profound thanks to the Party, Government, army and people of Vietnam for their wholehearted assistance and sacrifice to free Cambodians from the Pol Pot genocidal regime in 1979 and bring independence, happiness, and prosperity to Cambodia today. Exiled Chinese author in Hong Kong urges 'courage' to defend free speech Hong Kong, Nov 10 (AFP) Nov 10, 2018 Dissident Chinese author Ma Jian hit out at threats to freedom of speech Saturday saying it was the "basis of civilisation" after a struggle to find a venue to host his talks at Hong Kong's literary festival. The venue battle fuelled growing concerns that semi-autonomous Hong Kong's freedoms are fast disappearing under an assertive Beijing. Ma, whose books are banned in mainland China, is due to promote his latest novel "China Dream" at two speaking events Saturday. The title plays on Chinese President Xi Jinping's rhetoric of national rejuvenation and is described by publisher Penguin as "a biting satire of totalitarianism". "Self-censorship is nothing wonderful and we have to have the courage to break that," he told reporters Saturday morning at a press conference at the new Tai Kwun arts centre, which hosts the Hong Kong International Literary Festival and had originally cancelled his talks. The venue reinstated them at the eleventh hour Friday after a replacement location also dropped out. Ma, 65, said Tai Kwun's last-minute change of heart showed that "self-censorship had failed". "The freedom to speak is the basis of our civilisation," he added. "We have to safeguard our freedom of expression. We have to safeguard our civilisation." He agreed freedom of speech in Hong Kong was shrinking and that people felt a "lack of security" but said the attention given to the cancellation of his talks and the reversal of the decision had unified people and could be the "beginning of change". Ma, who lives in London and is a British passport holder as well as holding Hong Kong residency, said he had informed his local MP that he was coming to Hong Kong and they had told the British foreign ministry. "I know that they would protect me if I ever disappeared and would look for me," he said. "This is what I can do in a democratic country." Tai Kwun's director Timothy Calnin said Thursday it had cancelled Ma's talks because it did not want to be "a platform to promote the political interests of any individual". Backtracking Friday, Calnin said public statements by Ma had clarified he would not use the venue to "promote his personal political interests". Ma had said from the beginning of the row that he is a novelist, not a politician. "If anybody separates the political elements from other things in novels, that only shows the ignorance of that person," he told reporters. He added that the fact he had entered Hong Kong freely after concerns he would not be allowed in made him think the government had not been involved in the two venues' decisions to bar him. Literary festival organisers said they could not comment when asked by reporters Saturday for more detail on the reasons Tai Kwun had given them for the original cancellations and the backtrack. iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- We may not punch ballots on Election Day anymore, but for one 78-year-old man, he was punching something: a big black bear. Sonny Pumphrey was cleaning up fall leaves in his driveway in White Oak, North Carolina, on Nov. 6 when he came face to face with a mother bear and her two cubs. He said that the cubs ran away when he saw them, but that the mother stayed behind, leaving him with no choice but to confront her. "I had nowhere to run. I could not go right and I couldn't go left," Pumphrey told ABC News. "I guess I just went with my natural instinct and just tried to protect myself." Pumphrey said the bear immediately ran toward him to attack, and that his reaction was to punch her in the face. "I had nothing in my hands, so... I just started slugging at the bear as hard as I could," he said. Pumphrey said he was able to land a few hits, however, the bear eventually bit him and began shaking him like a "rag doll." Pumphrey's wife, Betty Pumphrey, said that she heard the commotion from inside the house. "I was scared to death that she was going to kill my husband," Betty Pumphrey said. "He was fighting for his life." She said that she ran outside with her dog to try to scare the bear away. "The door was open and... I saw the bear attacking him," Betty Pumphrey, 72, said. "I didn't hesitate, I just went through the door and screamed, and then with the little dog barking, we tried to, you know, get [the bear] away from him." I guess with all the commotion, it startled her and she turned and ran," she added. With the bear gone, Betty Pumphrey called 911, and an ambulance took Sonny Pumphrey to the hospital, where he received rabies shots for his bitten and bruised hip. I'm sore all over; my body hurts, he said. Sonny Pumphrey said he was at home recovering on Friday. He said that he was lucky to be alive after the ordeal and that from now, on he wouldn't be leaving home without his gun. I got lucky, he said. I am one lucky individual to be alive today. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. He was addressing the UN General Assemblys open debate on maintaining international peace and security, promoting multilateralism and the UNs role on November 9. He said in the context when international peace and security are facing more complicated traditional and non-traditional challenges, the international community need to maintain and raise the efficiency of multilateralism as history proved that unilateral and bilateral measures could not address global issues. Quy emphasised that all member countries, especially ones playing an important role, need to continue renewing strong commitments and taking real actions to ensure the international system is based on rule in which all issues are addressed on the basis of fairness and equality. Multilateral institutions, first of all the UN, need to continue with reform to improve their efficiency and transparency and really attach to people, he said. The Ambassador asserted Vietnams support for the UN Secretary-Generals reform efforts and stressed the importance of outlining an appropriate action plan for the UN reform. As a proactive, active and responsible member of the international community, Vietnam will continue working for a world of peace, prosperity, fairness and sustainable development, Quy said. In his opening remarks, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said multilateralism has brought for immense achievements, such as the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change, and peace-keeping activities. As the world is coping with unprecedented challenges stemming from the rise in new conflict multiply, extremism, force population movement, climate change advances, and deepened inequality, the UN official called for maintaining multilateralism and collective problem-solving actions, strengthening commitments to retaining the rule-based world; and using more effectively intermediate reconciliation mechanisms to address conflicts. Mozambique opens $785 mn Chinese bridge Maputo, Nov 10 (AFP) Nov 10, 2018 Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi opened a Chinese-built bridge in the capital Maputo on Saturday that cost $785 million, saying it would help link northern and southern Africa. The twin-tower suspension bridge stands 141 metres (463 feet) above Maputo Bay, is 680 metres-long and joins the city centre to the outlying district of Katembe. "Today is a unique day of our history, the achievement of the dream of (former president) Samora Machel," Nyusi said at a rally following the inauguration. "With the completion of this bridge... the connection of southern Africa to the north over land and across our country is guaranteed." The bridge, which connects the north and south banks of Maputo that were previously linked only by boat, would help promote tourism, Nyusi said. It will also directly link the capital to the border of neighbouring South Africa by road for the first time. He described China, whose Road and Bridge Corporation began construction in June 2014, as a "brother and friend" of Mozambique. China's ambassador to Maputo Su Jian attended the opening and described Mozambique as a foreign policy priority for Beijing. Ninety-five percent of the bridge's cost was financed through loans provided by Chinese lenders. Police 'kidnap' 10 labour activists across China: rights group Beijing, Nov 10 (AFP) Nov 10, 2018 A Chinese labour rights group on Saturday said at least ten of its supporters were detained by police in several cities across the country, in the latest apparent crackdown against its activists. Student-led activism from China's top universities has surged in recent years, as young college students rally behind labour rights and unions despite pressure from universities and police. The Jasic Workers Solidarity group, which supports workers at welding machinery firm Jasic Technology, said the activists were detained by police on Friday night. Five were graduates of Peking University -- one of the country's top-ranked institutions. One of the graduates, Zhang Shengye, was "kidnapped" on the school campus, the group alleged in its statement. An eyewitness and Peking University student claimed that more than ten people in dark-coloured clothing beat Zhang before dragging him into a black car. "They hit him hard and quickly got Zhang under control," he told AFP, requesting anonymity. A few other students who were passing by were also beaten, he added. They were forced to the ground, and stopped from taking photos or speaking. "Peking University acquiesced to the kidnapping -- this is another crime universities have committed against progressive students and the leftwing community," said the Jasic Workers Solidarity group. In addition to Zhang, four other Peking University graduates went missing Friday after police raided homes in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, stated the group. In Shenzhen, a city in southern Guangdong province, two people who operated a non-profit for young workers, as well as members of their staff, were taken by police as well, the group said. Three workers who were part of the solidarity group, plus an unspecified number of activists in Guangdong province, also disappeared in the police sweep, it said. AFP could not independently verify the labour group's claims. Police in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment. In August, a police raid swept up student activists in Guangdong province, according to the official website of the Jasic Workers Solidarity group, who said police beat students and confiscated their phones. Yue Xin, a Peking University student who co-authored a petition demanding details about a probe into allegations of sexual abuse at the school, has not been heard from since she was detained in the August raid. Two students from Renmin University and Peking University were also taken away by police for several hours Friday after taking photos in front of an Apple store in Beijing. The students -- a group of ten in total -- were protesting the alleged exploitation of workers at an Apple Watch factory in southwestern China. Apple said it was investigating the claims. ewx-py/ecl/amz Right on the first day he arrived in Hanoi, the Cuba News Agency (ACN) and major news outlets such as Granma, Juventud Rebelde, Cubadebate and Prensa Latina ran articles highlighting the Cuban leaders activities and meetings. Website Cubadebate cited his posts on his Twitter account as saying that he appreciated his meetings with Vietnams high-ranking leaders and affirmed both sides commitments to raise the level of economic relations to the level of political ties. Much to learn from our Vietnamese brothers, winners of wars, embargos and consequences of underdevelopment, with exemplary work, creativity and discipline, Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on Twitter. Vietnam is the fifth leg of the Cuba leaders tour to European and Asian nations. Earlier, he stopped over in France and paid official visits to Russia, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) and China. Laos will be the last leg of this tour. 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Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed that the new team should stand out when the people are in most need, save them from disasters, assist them in crisis and heroically fight for their life and property safety. The national fire and rescue team was formed based on the country's fire services and armed forestry police. Women carve niche in emerging sextech sector Lisbon, Nov 10 (AFP) Nov 10, 2018 Start-ups founded by women are building a niche for themselves in the male dominated "sextech" industry with connected vibrators and other high-tech sex toys they design themselves. Sex toys made by men are based on their idea of what a woman wants, which is often not what women are actually looking for, said Stephanie Alys, 28, the co-founder of London-based MysteryVibe which makes a vibrator for women called the Crescendo. "So there are a lot of women who are starting companies and designing products that they themselves would like to see," she told AFP at the four-day Web Summit, Europe's largest tech gathering, which wrapped up in Lisbon on Thursday. Unlike traditional vibrators, the Crescendo connects to an app that lets you create your own vibration patterns and has been downloaded over 500,000 times. MysterVibe created a buzz at the Web Summit, dubbed "the Davos for Geeks", with the presentation of its first device for men. Dubbed the Tenuto, it is embedded with six vibrating motors, including one designed to pleasure the wearer's partner. - 'More comfortable' - Figures for how many women run sextech startups are hard to come by but Alys, a former political consultant, said she runs a "sex tech collective", an e-mail list for women involved in the sector in London, which has about 50 members. New York-based Dame, founded by two women, has put out two vibrators meant for clitoral stimulation. The tiny Fin sits between two fingers while the Eva is worn hands-free. Women are "so excited" to know the devices are made by other women, Dame co-founder Alexandra Fine told AFP after an all woman panel discussion on sextech at the summit. "It's like the fact that women are making the toys in and of itself makes them more comfortable with the idea of using it," she said. The value of the global sex toy market is expected to hit $29 billion (25 billion euros) by 2020, according to online market research portal Statista. - 'Feel inadequate' - Capturing a slice of this pie is difficult since sex startups are banned from advertising on digital platforms such as Google and Facebook, said Fine, who holds a masters degree in clinical psychology. Women owned firms don't just design sex toys differently, they also take a different approach to marketing them than men, she added. "Putting sexy women on the boxes doesn't make me feel sexy, it makes me feel inadequate," she said. Instead Dame pitches its products as "health and wellness" goods "that could fit on the shelf right next to your favourite candle or toothbrush," Fine said. Polly Rodriguez, the founder of New York-based "Women of Sex Tech" which represents about 70 women who produce sex toys, said "women in particular are often scared of the reputational risk" of getting involved in an industry that has to do with sex. But she said she has been "continuously surprised" by the positive reaction after telling people she is the co-founder and president of Unbound Babes, which makes about 75 sex products and sells them online. "I am just really excited to build products that look beautiful, are affordable and hopefully smash the patriarchy at some level," she told a panel at the summit. ds/pmr/bp Facebook Saudi coalition asks to end refueling deal with US for Yemen war Dubai, Nov 10 (AFP) Nov 10, 2018 The Saudi-led coalition that is bombing Yemen has asked for the "cessation of inflight refueling support" from the United States, a statement from the Saudi press agency said on Saturday. The move follows a report in the Washington Post that the US was to end the deal, and comes amid ongoing international outcry over Saudi actions in Yemen, particularly after a string of high-profile coalition strikes that have killed scores of civilians, many of them children. "Recently the Kingdom and the coalition has increased its capability to independently conduct inflight refueling in Yemen," the SPA said. "As a result, in consultation with the United States, the coalition has requested cessation of inflight refueling support for its operations in Yemen." Earlier, Pentagon spokeswoman Commander Rebecca Rebarich said "discussion with the Saudis" was ongoing but did not confirm the report in the Post. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in August warned that US support for the coalition was "not unconditional," noting it must do "everything humanly possible to avoid any innocent loss of life." The Pentagon has provided refueling capabilities for about 20 percent of coalition planes flying sorties over Yemen. US defense chief backs Saudi 'decision' to halt Yemen refueling Washington, Nov 10 (AFP) Nov 10, 2018 Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said Friday that the United States supports Saudi Arabia's "decision" to cease American aerial refueling for aircraft from the Riyadh-led coalition involved in the Yemen war. "We support the decision by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after consultations with the US Government, to use the Coalition's own military capabilities to conduct inflight refueling in support of its operations in Yemen," Mattis said in a statement. The official Saudi Press Agency had earlier said the coalition had asked for the "cessation of inflight refueling support" from the United States. "Recently the Kingdom and the coalition has increased its capability to independently conduct inflight refueling in Yemen," it said. The move follows a report in the Washington Post that the US was to end the deal, and comes amid ongoing international outcry over Saudi actions in Yemen, particularly after a string of high-profile coalition strikes that have killed scores of civilians, many of them children. Mattis in August warned that US support for the coalition was "not unconditional," noting it must do "everything humanly possible to avoid any innocent loss of life." The Pentagon was providing refueling capabilities for about 20 percent of coalition planes flying sorties over Yemen. Mattis last month made a surprise call for a ceasefire in Yemen and urged warring parties to enter negotiations within the next 30 days. The United Nations has now pushed that deadline back to the end of the year. Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in the conflict between embattled Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, whose government is recognized by the United Nations, and the Huthis in 2015. Nearly 10,000 people have since been killed and the country now stands at the brink of famine. International criticism over US support for Saudi Arabia grew further following the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The US sees Saudi Arabia as a key ally, especially in terms of providing a counter to Iranian influence in the region. Four Turkish soldiers die in munitions blast: Erdogan Ankara, Nov 10 (AFP) Nov 10, 2018 Four soldiers were killed and about 20 injured in an explosion at an army munitions depot in southeast Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday. The defence ministry said late Friday an artillery shell exploded "accidentally" at the base at Sungu Tepe in Hakkari province near Turkey's borders with Iraq and Iran. It said 25 soldiers were injured and seven missing after Friday's blast. Erdogan said in a televised speech Saturday that four soldiers were "martyred" and "about 20" others wounded. He made no mention of any missing. It was not clear whether the explosion happened during a combat mission or an exercise. Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast has seen years of violent fighting between the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), classified a "terrorist" group by Ankara and its Western allies. Turkey also regularly bombs PKK bases in northern Iraq. After a brief truce, fighting resumed in 2015, shattering hopes for a peaceful resolution to a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984. The Finnish pavilion at the China International Import Expo. (People's Daily Online) The China International Import Expothe world's first import-themed exhibition at a national levelwas a major innovation in the history of international trade. In the past several days, the National Convention and Exhibition Center has welcomed more than 3,000 international exhibitors and many more purchasers. Among the hundreds of thousands of buyers, private entrepreneurs in China were enthusiastic in seizing the opportunity to establish relations with foreign businesses. In the past forty years since reform and opening-up, the private sector has witnessed significant development and contributed strongly to the growth of the Chinese economy. In terms of international trade, the proportion of private enterprises in Chinas imports and exports to foreign countries has continued to increase. In the first 10 months of this year, imports and exports done by private companies totaled 9.88 trillion yuan ($1.42 trillion), an increase of 14.6%, accounting for 39.4% of Chinas total foreign trade value. The biggest exhibit of the Expo, the Taurus milling machine, will not be shipped back to Germany, as it has found a new owner in China. The giant tool, which weighs nearly 200 tonnes and takes up an area of 200 square meters, has been purchased by a private enterprise from the Yangtze River Delta, although the name of the company and the specific transaction price have not yet been released. An aviation technology company from Huzhou of eastern Chinas Zhejiang province has signed a contract with Russian Aviation Technology Center Zvenda to purchase more than a hundred Mi -2 helicopters and dozens of Mi-171 helicopters for a total of several hundred millions US dollars. Wang Xiaowei, the purchasing manager of Xian Baiyue Goat Milk Group, has been busy signing agreements with international first-class equipment suppliers from Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and other countries, worth a cumulative amount of more than $20 million. The Expo has set up a world-class platform for private companies to connect with their global counterparts. Regardless of the size of the company, were presented an equal opportunity to do business with the worlds best companies and we cherish the ticket to the exhibition very much," said Li Xinggan, a trade representative from southwestern Chinas Sichuan province. "In the next 10 years or more, China will be the best market in the world," Ding Lei, CEO of Chinas internet giant Netease predicted, adding that that his company will help more overseas quality brands to enter the Chinese market and share Chinas "new consumption" opportunities. Kaola.com, the cross-border e-commerce arm of Netease, has agreed to buy nearly $3 billion worth of products from over 110 global companies, completing part of its plan to make $20 billion in direct purchases from its partners across the globe. Other e-commerce giants, including Alibaba, Suning.com, and JD.com have also announced plans to expand imports and deepen cooperation with international brands. Earlier this month, President Xi Jinping stressed Chinas unswerving support for development of private enterprises. "The private sectors contributions are undeniable for the country to be able to make miraculous achievements in economic development," Xi said. The principle and policies to unswerving encourage, support, and guide the development of the non-public sector have not changed, and the principle and policies to provide a sound environment and more opportunities to the sector have not changed either, the president added. By the end pf 2017, the 27 million private enterprises and 65 million individual business owners in China accounted for more than 50% of Chinas tax revenue, more than 60% of GDP, more than 70% of technological innovations, and more than 80% of urban employment opportunities. Their active engagement in the Expo has once again proved their dynamic and will bear more fruits in the long term as the Chinese market becomes more inclusive. Serbia president says army being 'dramatically strengthened' Belgrade, Nov 10 (AFP) Nov 10, 2018 Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Saturday said the country's army was being "dramatically" strengthened. Vucic was speaking as he attended a major military exercise to mark the end of World War I and after Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said in an interview with AFP on Friday that Pristina was sticking to its recent decision to create its own army. That decision has provoked anger from Kosovo's own ethnic Serb minority as well as from Stnxerbia. NATO, which leads a military force that ensures Kosovo's security, has also expressed serious reservations. Vucic told the state-run RTS television Saturday that his country's army was among the strongest in the region with exception of Romania. "Us (Serbia) and the Hungarians are similar, but all the others are far, far behind. "We are dramatically strengthening our army," said Vucic after attending the exercise in Serbia's east. "We will have to arm ourselves in line with new technologies, we already ordered from our Chinese friends (our) first armed drones. People will see that in 2019." About 8,000 soldiers, 100 tanks and eight MiG-29 jets participated in the 'Century of Winners' exercise, local media reported. Vucic and Thaci had a tense meeting Thursday in Brussels to relaunch dialogue on the normalisation of ties between the former foes. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. The move came a decade after the 1998-1999 war between Belgrade forces and pro-independence ethnic Albanian guerrillas. Serbia -- and its main ally Russia -- refuse to recognise Kosovo's independence, although more than 100 countries, including the United States and most European Union member states, have done so. Both Vucic and Thaci are expected in Paris for WWI commemoration services this weekend. Belgrade and Pristina have to settle a range of sensitive issues, including the question of their common border. Majority ethnic-Albanian Kosovo, with a population of 1.8 million, is home to about 120,000 ethnic Serbs. Shaheed Al Hafeed, November 10, 2018 (SPS) -President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, urged the African Union (AU) to stop Moroccan attempts to undermine the organizations Constitutive Act. "Since Morocco's accession to the AU, we have witnessed repeated attempts to undermine the organizations Constitutive Act and unity by ignoring its decisions. I urge the AU to take firm action against such behaviour that reflects a contradictory and dangerous attitude," said Ghali in a speech read on his behalf by President of the Sahrawi National Council, Khatri Addouh at the launch of the "Carmma" campaign at the Sahrawi Refugee Camps on Thursday. The Sahrawi President welcomed the decisions taken at successive AU summits, expressing "his full readiness" for direct negotiations between the SADR and Morocco as two AU member countries in order to resolve their conflict. In addition, Ghali said that the UN Personal Envoy, Horst Kohler, made significant progress through inviting both sides to attend a meeting in Geneva in early December, with the participation of two neighbouring countries, Mauritania and Algeria,. The Sahrawi official called on the UN Security Council to assume its responsibility by imposing the implementation of its decisions to speed up the decolonization process of the last colony in Africa and to allow the Sahrawi people, like other colonized peoples and countries, to enjoy their right to self-determination and independence. The African "Carmma" campaign was launched on Thursday at the headquarters of the Sahrawi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the presence of President of the Sahrawi National Council, Khatri Addouh, representative of the Sahrawi President, Minister of Public Health, Mohamed Lamine Dedi and a delegation from the AU Commission. (SPS) 062/SPS/APS Bir-Lehlu, November 10, 2018 (SPS) President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, has sent a message of congratulations to President of the Republic of Angola, His Excellency Joao Lourenco, on the occasion of the 43th anniversary of the Independence Day of the Republic of Angola. On behalf of the Saharawi People and on my own behalf, I would like to extend to your Excellency my sincere congratulations on the 43th anniversary of the Independence Day of the Republic of Angola, said the President of the Republic. I would not miss this opportunity to salute and extend my thanks to Your Excellency, the Government and the People of the Republic of Angola for the permanent position of Angola in defending the struggle of the Sahrawi People for their right to self-determination and independence, as reconfirmed in your last speech before the General Assembly of United Nations, which also illustrates your constant commitment towards eradication of all sort of colonization agenda and for strengthening the economical independency of our continent. I strongly believe, Excellency, that the long standing excellent bilateral relations established between the people of Republic of Angola and the people of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic have stood the test of time and adversity and also has for sure enhanced the core role of the African Union to take its natural place in the International arenas, he added. (SPS) 062/SPS English09/11/2018 SRNA News Roundup /II/ - November 9, 2018 REPUBLIKA SRPSKA BANJALUKA - Republika Srpska Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic and the new head of the International Monetary Fund /IMF/ Mission in BiH, Martin Petri, assessed today in Banjaluka that Srpska fulfills its obligations and actively implements policies in line with the objectives of the Economic Reform Programme. ZVORNIK - Republika Srpska presidential envoy, Miladin Dragicevic, posthumously presented medals of merit for the people to the families of 13 fallen soldiers of the Republika Srpska Army from Zvornik, Bratunac, Vlasenica and Srebrenica today in Zvornik. BANJALUKA - A meeting of the Coordination Body for monitoring illegal migrants across the territory of Republika Srpska has begun in Banjaluka. JAHORINA - The management of the Jahorina Olympic Centre /OC/ has announced the sale of the Bistrica hotel including the surrounding land, with a starting price of BAM 5.985.900. JAHORINA - Representatives of the Jahorina Olympic Centre, headed by Director Dejan Ljevnaic, presented novelties for the upcoming winter tourist season on Mount Jahorina to numerous visitors at a conference in Vienna. ISTOCNO SARAJEVO - By implementing the provision on language in the Law on Primary Education in the Sarajevo Canton, which requires teaching exclusively in one of the three official languages, is not only the act of segregation, but the act of imposition of unitary BiH, is the opinion of Milos Kovacevic, one of the most prominent Serb linguists. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA BANJALUKA - SRS Leader Vojislav Seselj has said that he is glad that his name is listed on the persona non grata list for Serbian citizens who will be banned from entering BiH, which is a sufficient reason for him to "chase /Dragan/ Mektic wherever he appears in Serbia". BELGRADE - Editor-in-chief of the Happy Television station, Milomir Maric, has assessed that the persona non grata list for Serbian citizens to be banned from entering BiH, is an attempt by the BiH Security Minister, Dragan Mektic, to "offer himself for new functions to his instructing parties from Sarajevo". BELGRADE - Head of the Zavetnici Serbian Patriotic Movement, Stefan Stamenkovski, has said that the preparation of a persona non grata list for Serbian citizens who should be banned from entering BiH is "the move of a desperate security minister in the BiH Council of Ministers, Dragan Mektic". FEDERATION OF BiH BIHAC - Migrants, 146 of them, started getting off of the train at the Bihac Railway Station and getting into the busses secured by the police that would transport them to Sarajevo, federal media reported. SARAJEVO - The FBiH Railways Company has announced that the Una-Sana Canton Interior Ministry again illegally captured" BH train in Bihac today and that the regular traffic was violently interrupted, which is why this company announced to file a lawsuit for compensation of damages from the Una-Sana Canton Government and file a complaint against the minister and the commissioner of this cantons MoI. BIHAC - The Interior Ministry of the Una-Sana Canton points out that, based on the conclusions of the Operational Group for coordination of supervision activities over migration crisis, 153 migrants are prevented from getting off of the train that arrived in Bihac from Sarajevo, denying information that the MoI blocked the train. SARAJEVO - Investigators of the Criminal Police Department of the Bihac Police Station arrested a migrant with an asylum card issued to K.A. /48/ from Pakistan, and the passport issued in the name of J.S. /52 / from India, via which he received money on several occasions through "Western Junion" in the "BH Post Office" Ceravacka brda. BIHAC - An unknown migrant from Pakistan is suspected of attempting to forcefully take off the clothes of a thirteen-year-old girl from Bihac, the Ministry of Interior of the Una-Sana Canton has announced. SARAJEVO - Demining team of the Federal Civil Protection Administration "Tuzla B" completed demining of 34,188 square meters at the site of Gornji Pribitkovici in the municipality of Banovici. LIVNO - A doctor has arrived in the Serb village of Gubin in the municipality of Livno after 25 years, said the Minister of Health, Labour, Social Welfare and Refugees of the Livno Canton, Vaslija Broceta. SERBIA BELGRADE - European Unions efforts on mediation between Belgrade and Pristina have collapsed, which the plans of a self-proclaimed Kosovo to form its own armed forces make evident, which the United States is pushing them into, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. BELGRADE - Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yury Borisov today discussed the upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Serbia and a series of agreements that should be signed during the meeting in January. /end/vos Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, meets with senior officers of the China National Comprehensive Fire and Rescue Team after a flag-conferring ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, on Nov. 9, 2018. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) President Xi Jinping Friday conferred the flag to the new national fire and rescue team, ordering them to be loyal to the Party, disciplined and devoted to the people. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed that the new team should stand out when the people are in most need, save them from disasters, assist them in crisis and heroically fight for their life and property safety. At the ceremony held in the Great Hall of the People, Xi extended congratulation to all members of the China National Comprehensive Fire and Rescue Team on behalf of the CPC Central Committee. A national fire and rescue team is important for developing a national emergency rescue network based on China's reality, enhancing the country's ability for disaster prevention and relief, safeguarding public security and protecting people's life and property, Xi said. More than 500 team members in their new uniforms attended the ceremony. Great expectations are placed upon the new national team who serves as a main emergency rescue force to prevent and address major safety risks and deal with various disasters and accidents, Xi said. In his address, Xi stressed upholding the absolute Party leadership over the team, one of several requirements he urged the team to follow. He urged the team to stay true to their ideals and convictions, uphold the authority of the CPC Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership and follow the Party's orders. He then ordered the team to be highly disciplined, follow rigorous education and training methods and build a capable team with "iron discipline." Xi also urged the team to be brave enough to defy all difficulties and danger, maintain a combat-ready and quick-response status and hone their skills to be professional and precise. Xi said the national fire and rescue team should always serve the people and be able to charge ahead when the people need it the most. Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, read the decision issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to confer the flag to the team. The ceremony was presided over by Han Zheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier. Afterward, team members participating in the ceremony collectively took an oath, saying they will be loyal to the Party, hone their skills, serve the people wholeheartedly and be ready to sacrifice themselves to defend people's well-being and social stability. The national fire and rescue team was formed based on the country's fire services and armed forestry police. The team is in the command of the Ministry of Emergency Management. Alliance Finance retains investment grade credit rating of BBB View(s): Alliance Finance Company PLC (AFC) has been able to retain its investment grade credit rating of BBB- from ICRA Lanka Ltd (ICRA) despite the extremely challenging macroeconomic conditions. In a media release, AFC said it is the third oldest finance company in Sri Lanka with a heritage built with the trust of four generations of loyal customers spanning a time period of over six decades. ICRA reaffirmed the credit rating of BBB- of AFC in its latest rating review published on October 31. However, the rating outlook was revised to negative given the increase in non-performing loans due to adverse economic conditions and erratic weather patterns in the recent past which has resulted in the banking and finance sector experiencing a steep increase in non-performing loans in 2018 when compared to 2017. AFC says it has one of the most diversified funding sources amongst finance companies in the country with equity, deposits, bank borrowings and foreign funding from global development financial institutions with a significantly lower dependence on public deposits. The foreign lenders of AFC include the private sector lending arm of the World Bank Group International Finance Corporation (IFC), Netherland based Tridos Bank, Switzerland based Symbiotics SA and US based Developing World Markets (DWM) while a few more funding lines are in the pipeline from several European countries. AFC has been very successful in developing such funding partnerships with leading development finance institutions given its strong focus and genuine commitment to its Triple Bottom Line business philosophy which supports and facilitates socially and environmentally sustainable development in Sri Lanka, the media release said. Prof. Torsten Henry Fransson to receive honorary degree from Open University View(s): The Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) has decided to confer the Degree of Doctor of Science Honoris causa to Prof. Torsten Henry Fransson from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden for his contribution to the OUSL. He will receive this honour at the OUSL convocation on November 14 at the BMICH, Colombo. KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden is one of the best universities in the world, ranked among the first 100 Universities in the world today. The OUSL in 2008 entered into an agreement of Academic Cooperation with the Royal Institute of Technology for the facilitation of offering the KTH Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Engineering programme to Sri Lankan students. The energy sector in Sweden is very advanced but there was no energy degree programme at OUSL by that time. That was one of the reasons for getting together to offer Sri Lankan students an education that can be profitable for the country. In terms of the agreement, the OUSL and Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Open University in particular, have been providing facilities in the form of academic counselling, library facilities, conducting examinations, project identification and supervision, coordination with local experts in the energy sector and Internet access to those students. The programme was offered with no cost to the students and the OUSL was compensated for facilitating the programme, according to an OUSL media release. This programme is popularly known as SEE World as a parallel alternative that allows Sri Lankan students to participate in the regular Sustainable Energy Engineering Programme at a distance offered by the KTH. The objective of offering the programme is to assist the developing nations to build human resources capacity with expertise in sustainable energy generation and utilisation, hence contributing to national development. Students successfully completing the SEE World Programme are entitled to be conferred the degree of Master of Science with specialisation in Sustainable Energy Engineering. A total of 117 students have successfully completed the SEE World MSc and they are at present employed in key organisations in the energy sector as well as in the national universities. Apart from the efforts of Prof. Fransson in this project, enormous contributions also came from Prof. N. R Arthenayake, who was the first Programme Facilitator in Sri Lanka and Dr. Jeevan Jayasuriya who is SEE World Programme Developer and the former Programme Coordinator at KTH, among others. With the experiences gained, the OUSLs Department of Mechanical Engineering is now in the process of delivering a one-year Masters programme in Energy Management in 2019 with the support of SEE World MSc holders as well as those who are working in energy industry in Sri Lanka and academics who have the potential to contribute their knowledge in delivering the programme. Prof. Fransson is a Fellow of the ASME and a Senior Member of the AIAA. He is also a Member of the Royal Physiographic Society in Lund and the Swedish Royal Engineering Academy (IVA). He has published more than 200 scientific papers together with various co-researchers. Ratmalana Airport to accommodate corporate jets View(s): Sri Lankas city airport, the Ratmalana Airport has called for bids from international corporate jets seeking to appoint one fixed based operator for a five year period, operating from this airport. The Request for Proposals (RFPs) were called around mid October and will be closed by November 31, the airports Manager Aruna Rajapaksa told the Business Times. He noted that since Sri Lanka lacks having an international corporate jet operator, the Ratmalana Airport could service this need as a location which is to the countrys advantage. This would also open the space for the creation of more jobs in the market and stated that this would be in line with the increasing demand for corporate jet travel by the end of next year. Of the bids that would be received only one operator would be picked to carry out operations on the ground as a fixed base operator, Mr. Rajapaksa said. In 2017 the Ratmalana Airport handled 576 aircraft movements and this year the airport is expected to see a surge by 10 per cent, the Airport Manager said. (SD) 2018 has been a positive year for friendship and trade links between China and Africa. The 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation took place in September of this year, and the CIIE has welcomed a number of African businesses and government officials to Shanghai over the last week, to discuss a more open and accessible trade and investment system. As a continent, Africa trades goods worth $1.2 to $1.3 trillion every year, of which between 14 and 15 percent comes from China, explained Vinod Madhavan, Group Head of Trade at Standard Bank. Standard Bank, as the largest bank in Africa, has been at the CIIE all week with 60 to 70 of its customers, many of whom also have booths at the expo. Chinas involvement in Africa has only been relatively recent. Although diplomatic relationships have existed for years, Madhavan explains these relationships have only started to have a noticeable effect in his company more recently. In reality, it started hitting us about 6 or 7 years back, thats when Chinas involvement in our markets became apparent, be it in terms of construction, be it in terms of people on the ground and more importantly, how the governments in Africa were actually engaging with the Chinese government, he explained. Madhavan said that there are currently over 10,000 Chinese corporates operating on the ground in Africa, noting that Chinese corporates and entrepreneurs are one of Standard Banks largest growing client segments. The two African countries currently trading the most with China are South Africa and Ethiopia, he said, adding, both of these countries have national government plans on how to engage China. One South African company present at the CIIE, Sasol Ltd, has already expanded to 130 countries with about 8,000 customers globally. Executive Vice President of Chemicals Business, Sasol Ltd., Fleetwood Grobler, told Peoples Daily Online that a new chemical facility in Nanjing was announced recently, expected to triple production capacity of their special disinfectants. He explained that he is using the CIIE as a way to meet more prospective clients here in China. Grobler explained, I participated in the opening ceremony as well as some of the breakout forums, and I must say I was really encouraged to hear government and business interacting about growth and prosperity. I think from an industry point of view we welcome that - we welcome open trade, we welcome the opportunity to bring our product to areas we know we can add value to our customers needs. Its not just businesses that have already entered the Chinese market that are benefiting from the CIIE, either. Kuyu Dhel, representing Ramciel Multipurpose Cooperative Society, an agro-business company based in South Sudan, explained that the CIIE marks the company's first entry into China, and the event has opened up a range of opportunities for him. Weve had very good interactions - many people are coming to ask about the product, and equally they want to know about South Sudan. People who want to buy these products want to buy in a high quantity - some of them are asking, do you have them here in China? We can buy them immediately! The company brought along a range of products including sesame, hibiscus, groundnuts, sorghum, and gum arabic, which is used as an emulsifier and a thickening agent in things like Coco Cola and cosmetics. Dhel noted that hes already met some Chinese companies who can help produce machinery for harvesting and processing. Asked if he will be back next year, he said, We will definitely be back next year, to make the relationship deeper and deeper and look for new markets. During the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation earlier this year, President Xi Jinping committed $60 billion to Africa over the coming three years, $5 billion of which will go directly into importation. Madhavan is looking forward to it, saying the next step is executing the plans and removing any residing roadblocks, noting, If the last three years are anything to go by, the plans will be delivered. Although the trade between China and Africa, which is made up of 54 countries, is still on a lower level compared with many countries, Madhavan said the growth rate is encouraging. The trade between China and Africa has been growing at a rate of over 10 percent, and its expected to go pretty high. So the potential coupled with technology augmenting, easing the way of doing trade, makes it an amazing place to be, he said. Rob Davis, South African Minister for Trade and Industry, agrees, noting that investment is the way to move forward in Africa. We think that it's in building a stronger and deeper investment relationship, in supporting the development of stronger and more sustainable industries in bringing in the new technologies of the fourth Industrial Revolution, it's through that that we believe that we can begin to lay the foundations that will allow us to work effectively for a stronger, more inclusive, more developed and fairer global trading environment. Grobler noted that the Belt and Road Initiative of President Xi Jinping is focused on seeing Africa as a partner, so there will be results, adding that the CIIE has been a great event in terms of the interaction with business and the contacts that you muster through it. Sri Lanka launches new destination brand So Sri Lanka at WTM London View(s): Sri Lanka on Monday finally, after years of being in the works, launched the much-awaited global campaign initially with the new brand So Sri Lanka, at the World Travel Mart (WTM) in London. Present at the launch, new Tourism Minister Wasantha Senanayake explained that the new brand encapsulates the essence of Sri Lanka, its authenticity, diversity and all of its richness is an expression that sums up the travels and tales of a Sri Lankan experience. So Sri Lanka, he said, goes beyond being a place descriptor and embodies the vibrant qualities that inspire us about our travels and tales from the island nation. We envisage that tourism will flourish to be the most significant sector contributing to our economy thats the goal we aspire to reach in the next few years, he said, according to a media release issued in Colombo by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB). The release said that in the last decade, Sri Lanka has seen a steady growth in arrivals and investments. Based on qualitative research findings on inbound tourists for the last three years, the most endearing feature of Sri Lanka as a destination brand is its authenticity. This authenticity is an attribute that is alive in the countrys heritage, cuisine, landscape, architecture, culture and mostly in its people. Recently, Lonely Planet ranked Sri Lanka as top destination to travel in 2019 based on its diverse and authentic offerings, it said. The resulting brand So Sri Lanka is laser focused on elevating Sri Lankas destination brand to include all its diverse offerings and unique attributes. Ms Alyna Hajji Omar, CEO, J.Walter Thompson, which developed the brand, explained, The objective of the brand So Sri Lanka is to inspire us to proudly own our finer qualities while at the same time be open enough to continuously work on improvements. We have moved away from investing in a passive identity and we are seeking a dialogue with our socially active millennial travellers. The logo is easily recognisable with its artisanal circular representation. It is a logo that comes alive in marketing material effortlessly. In the coming months, a new marketing campaign will be launched based on the new identity, which will give us a taste of the depth, and versatility of the new brand platform. The new destination brand also saw the culmination of many ideas from several key industry stakeholders in the private sector who infused their thinking and recommendations to create a new brand identity. A delegation consisting of 60 industry partners joined Sri Lanka Tourism to highlight Sri Lanka as a world class tourism hotspot, with a variety of numerous travel and hospitality products, including the world famous Ceylon tea. Trade unions slam Maithripala, UNP By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s): Trade union leaders, at a meeting with a US Embassy official on Thursday, criticised both President Maithripala Sirisena and the former United National Party (UNP)-led former government for the current state of affairs in the country. While condemning the Presidents move to sack the Prime Minister and prorogue Parliament as unethical, trade union leaders were also critical of the UNP, said Palitha Athukorala, Secretary of IndustriALL Sri Lanka Council, adding: Union leaders said the UNP had lost the support of the masses, was unpopular and this was used by the President to resort to the present state of affairs. These issues emerged during a discussion between trade unions and Eduardo Garcia, US Embassys Economic and Commercial Officer at the Colombo office of the Solidarity Centre, a US-based labour rights group. US Embassy officials had wanted to ascertain the view of the unions on the present crisis and also whether there were any outstanding labour issues vis-a-vis the US GSP concessions. Mr. Athukorala, who was present at the meeting along with 20 other representatives of key trade unions, said Leslie Devendra, General Secretary of Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya, an SLFP union and Anton Marcus, Joint Secretary Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees Union (FTZGSEU) were among those present. Union leaders also said the current political impasse was negative in the eyes of the international community and needed to be resolved urgently. In the meantime, Mr. Marcuss union also issued a separate statement said the country was slipping into some form of anarchy and urged the authorities to call a parliamentary election to honour the peoples right to sovereignty in electing a government of their choice. On Wednesday, the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors, a powerful group of directors representing a cross section of Sri Lankas business elite, said they were gravely concerned about the current political situation in Sri Lanka. We urge the countrys political leaders to expeditiously resolve this matter using principles of democracy and good governance and safeguard Sri Lankas economy, security and all its people, it said. Meanwhile the state machinery has ground to a halt following these political developments. The implementation of development projects has been suspended as the country is poised to enter a period of policy paralysis, official sources said adding that unused money allocated to ministries and state institutions for those projects this year will go back to the Treasury. Priority projects introduced to make rapid progress in the rural areas in the next 18 months following the rebuilding of the countrys economy during the past few years have become non entities under the present circumstances, economic analysts disclosed. Activities have come to near standstill at almost all ministries, state departments, corporations, statutory boards, state institutions and SOEs and the country is poised to enter a period of policy confusion, several heads of institutions and sectional heads said. According to Finance Ministry statistics at least 50 priority projects were in the pipeline to be implemented from 2015 to 2020. Progress in the implementation of 19 projects was on schedule, 7 behind schedule and 9 slightly behind schedule while the balance 15 projects were still to be launched, Ministry data showed. Some 12 priority projects out of 50 were scheduled to be completed this year of which a sum of Rs.240.75 billion has been allocated. However, so far only Rs.166.77 billion has spent on its implementation. The unutilised Rs.74.08 billion will have to be transferred to the Treasury by relevant ministries as the project implementation has been suspended midway. The sudden change in administration has created a vacuum in decision-making process in all most all government institutions and SOEs due to the failure of appointing new heads to fill the void created as a result of vacating of posts by previous chief officers. A fight to reset Sri Lankas constitutional clock View(s): As the core of Sri Lankas Democratic Socialist Republic implodes in multiple critical ways today, it cannot be said that we were not forewarned. For not only President Maithripala Sirisena but also each and every one of us must abide by a fundamental truth underlying the legal order. The Constitution cannot be selectively applied because we happen to like someone or dislike another. If this is not recognised, we are condemned to unceasingly wander in a weary cycle of constitutional attrition, much like the bewildered rat in the cage. Selective constitutional propriety There is a particular context to that warning. A bare eight months into office in 2015, the President addressed the nation before television cameras stating that even if former President Mahinda Rajapaksas faction of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party was successful in obtaining a majority at the pending parliamentary election, he would not appoint him as Prime Minister. Voices of reason should have been aghast at this proclamation. It was an affirmation in no uncertain terms that constitutional propriety will yield to a visceral reaction of whom the President felt should be suitable or not to appoint as Prime Minister. But few raised their eyebrows. In fact, many applauded. Why? Because a hated and feared Rajapaksa was at the receiving end of that presidential diatribe. It was on that same reasoning that many clapped and cheered when earlier that same year, a Chief Justice who should have been properly impeached for misbehaviour in office was declared by a Presidential letter never to have been in office. As pointed out in these column spaces, that was an assessment that should have been made by Court, not by executive fiat. Yet, this was justified, supported and even urged by those who wax eloquent (then and now) on constitutional propriety. Even as members of the black-coated fraternity strode up and down Hulfsdorps streets bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, demanding the Chief Justices summary ouster, I remember receiving a phone call from a colleague who asked me only half in jest, as to why I was not joining the yahapalanaya melee. My response was these disastrous precedents will be rued once triumphalism following Rajapaksas defeat subsided. An ugly history of subversion Now as 2018 draws to a close, it is cold comfort to be proven right. Prodigiously infantile if not instrumental constitution-making has reaped its bitter harvests. The removal of a UNP Prime Minister by a letter of the President has been effected in much the same manner. Putting the blame on an eccentrically manipulative Presidency is the easy way out. Instead, the responsibility is much wider. It pervades beyond the political sphere, as uncomfortable as that truth may be. This is something that Sri Lankas young democracy fighters lining Colombos streets and boulevards must remember. That said, cynics who grumble that this is merely the continuation of a long history of constitutional subversion are only half right. Both the 1972 and 1978 Constitutions were instrumentally engineered to suit political ends. In that ugly history, the 17th Amendment stands as the one clear exception where constitutional objects were true to their aim. The 19th Amendment was a pale shadow of that steadfastness. For those who would jib at this castigation, a thorough reading of the constitutional documents is recommended. One major illustration is the Constitutional Council devised to mediate appointments to key public posts and independent commissions. Its 17th Amendment version insisted on a majority of civil society members. This was revised in the 19th Amendment which tilted that balance in favour of politicians. To be fair, the 19th Amendment did away with the authoritarian overreach of the Rajapaksa backed 18th Amendment brazenly approved by the Supreme Court of the day. But that does not excuse this Amendment being shot through with multiple internal contradictions and inconsistencies. Basic questions in issue An excellent example concerns the dissolution of Parliament this Friday. This came four short days before a sitting where a floor test to determine the majority in the House would have been inevitable. Proponents of the presidential move rely on Article 33 (2) (c) which gives general power to the President to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament. Opponents say that this is contrary to Article 70 (1) of the Constitution which reiterates this power but specifically provides that Parliament cannot be dissolved before the passing of four and a half years, absent approval of a two-thirds majority in the House. On a plain and simple reading, the constitutional text inclines towards the primacy of Section 70 (1). Even so, a basic question arises. Earlier, the power of dissolving Parliament was simply and unambiguously contained in Article 70 of the 1978 Constitution (Section 70) with provisos as to time periods that were thereafter amended. But a ridiculously tautologous general power of the President to dissolve the House was brought also into Section 33(2)(c) through the 19th Amendment, piling one folly upon another and enabling this rich confusion presently gripping the nation. In the most profound of ironies, it is this Section that is cited by admittedly devious legal minds to justify the Presidents act (Country in anarchy; President can dissolve Parliament, Sarath N. Silva, Sri Lanka Mirror, 08.11.2018). Interestingly it is contended that Section 33(2)(c) had been inserted following the Determination of the Supreme Court on the 19th Amendment when a clear reading of that Determination shows that very much not to be the case. In the eye of a storm But constitutional drafting errors aside, what is happening now is infinitely worse than at any time in the past. Rash actions by President Sirisena which are entirely devoid of remorse add to the sum total of historical abuses by the Office. An election to bring in the same set of rogues in whatever configuration is pointless. Indeed, a wildly unpredictable President may well dismiss the winner of that election as well if the outcome is not to his liking. His appeal to public officers to perform their duties regardless of political conflict is quite nonsensical. Truly we are in the eye of a storm that has the potential to strangle Rule of Law protections even as they are being slowly and and hesitantly rejuvenated. The popular struggle must be to reset Sri Lankas constitutional checks and balances and reject this joke of a monstrous kind perpetuated by all three men, President Sirisena, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. To safeguard the credibility of this movement, it must studiedly keep itself aloof from the UNP and the SLFP. The discarding of the Executive Presidency must be a prime aim along with eschewing transferral of those powers to an equally authoritarian Prime Minister. For now, it will be up to the judiciary to fulfill its role of protector of the Constitution. It is the nations hope (against hope?) that this task will be taken to heart in the full and awful solemnity that it demands. Secret events that led to Sirisenas decision to dissolve Parliament; the numbers were there and not there Several Muslim MPs were about to join the Rajapaksa group, but changed their minds and were sternly rebuked by their leaders UNP needs to learn from its mistakes and conduct a positive campaign at grassroots level; Speaker defends his stance President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved Parliament at midnight on Friday and declared that parliamentary elections would be held on January 5 next year. This is the second Friday night shocker in a fortnight for Sri Lankans and came just 24 hours after the Government officially declared through the Government Information Department there would be no dissolution. In politics, which makes strange bedfellows, what is said yesterday is not what is done the next day. Not by anyone who has solemnly sworn to adhere to good governance, now a very cheap brand name. Nominations will be held from November 19 till noon on November 26 in 22 electoral districts, a proclamation said, adding that a new Parliament would meet on January 17 next year. President Sirisena is preparing to address the nation to give reasons why he took this course of action. Amid views that existing constitutional provisions debar the President from dissolving Parliament, the proclamation cited that it was being carried out with powers vested in the President by paragraph (5) of Article 70 of the Constitution to be read with paragraph (2) ( c ) of Article 33 and paragraph (2) of Article 62 and in pursuance of the provisions of Section 10 of the Parliamentary Elections Act No 1 of 1981. The dissolution is the direct result of two reasons: The first is Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriyas insistence that he would list a floor test (a test of numbers) in Parliament on November 14. This is the date when the House, which was set to resume after prorogation, would have seen a policy statement of the government by President Sirisena. Though there are no precedents, the Speaker declared to the Sunday Times, I will act according to my conscience. I have to protect the rights and privileges of the majority MPs. However, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa countered this position. He told the Sunday Times, There is no provision in the Standing Orders for such a course of action. He (the Speaker) could only act on a substantive motion and a debate on such a matter could only take place after consulting party leaders. This is arbitrary and he has not acted independently. On Friday night, President Sirisena brought under the Ministry of Defence the Department of Government Printing. Army and Police Special Task Force personnel were deployed to guard the institution. This was after reports that Speaker Jayasuriya had asked the printing of an Order Paper with the floor test being listed to be taken up on November 14. The new government leaders feared it would lead to an open confrontation between two sides in the House. They also feared this would lead to President Sirisena being humiliated and insulted. The second is the numbers game. As details revealed in these columns today will confirm, the new government had a trying time raising 113 MPs to support it in a 225-member Parliament. At one point it was on hand and the next moment there were worries some MPs may slip away. President Sirisena complained that huge amounts of money were being offered, not surprisingly, for this has become a culture for all parties. The United National Party (UNP), the ousted partner in President Sirisenas coalition, was furious over the dissolution. There were indications yesterday the UNP would challenge the move in the Supreme Court. Its leaders were busy consulting legal opinion yesterday. UNP Chairman Kabir Hashim told the Sunday Times, Our party has never been frightened or worried over elections. We were threatened and state terrorism has been used against us. The government is used to abusing state machinery. In fact, during our rule some faced charges before courts. Now they may go scot free. The dissolution is illegal, undemocratic and unparliamentarily. We will study the legal side. Otherwise, we will take part in democratic activity against anything that is forced on the people illegally. Ahead of the dissolution of Parliament, President Sirisena chaired a string of top level meetings on Friday at the Presidential Secretariat. At one meeting, Dilan Perera raised the issue of powers of the Speaker of Parliament. The President said such executive orders were issued by the President. He said it was by gazette that Parliament was prorogued. A new convening date was announced. He asserted that there is no way the Speaker of the prorogued House could convene Parliament at his will, just as you are not supposed to hear your own case. Premier Rajapaksa was also at the meeting. It is here that they decided on a dissolution of Parliament. Both held the view that it was difficult to move forward in the light of the Speakers stance, said a source close to the President. Both leaders were conscious of the fact that the term of a new Parliament would run when a presidential election is held. UNPers argued that constitutional provisions debarred the President from dissolving Parliament until it had completed four and half years. This is what Article 70 of the Constitution, which facilitated the prorogation, through a proclamation issued by President, (in terms of the 19th Amendment) states: (1) The President may by Proclamation, summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament. Provided that the President shall not dissolve Parliament until the expiration of a period of not less than four years and six months from the date appointed for its meeting, unless Parliament requests the President to do so by a resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the whole number of Members (including those not present), voting in its favour. However, Sirisena has been told by his legal advisors that this provision has been introduced only at the Committee Stage when Parliament was taking up the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. They have opined that it was not in the original draft 19th Amendment that went before the Supreme Court to determine its constitutionality. Since there was no provision in Sri Lanka for a post-judicial review of matters that went through Parliament, legal advisers claimed the provision had been smuggled. Hence, they have argued that the provision that empowers the President to dissolve Parliament still remains. It has been pointed out to Sirisena that two constitutional experts, one backing the UNP and another from a northern political party, were responsible for this situation and had acted at the behest of a politician. They had allegedly left many a loophole, Sirisena had been told. Another argument cited by President Sirisenas legal advisors is a reference to a Supreme Court determination on the Presidents powers sought by then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. In terms of this ruling, it was pointed out to him that the SC had ruled that the powers of the President could not be removed unless without a two thirds majority in the House and a referendum thereafter. This opinion was to further strengthen the arguments of the legal advisors. UNP lawyers pointed out that the President had abided by all that is required in dissolving Parliament through Article 70, i.e. issuing a proclamation, gazette etc., except abiding by the proviso that forbids him from doing so for four and half years. Why did he follow those procedures except the proviso, asked a member of the UNP legal team that was having discussions with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) yesterday on going together before the Supreme Court, which sits as the Constitutional Court. Advisors of both President Sirisena, Premier Rajapaksa together with the two leaders as well as their seniors also discussed the upcoming campaign for the polls on Friday. This is where they reached broad agreement on an alliance of their respective partner parties. There are still differences of opinion. Basil Rajapaksa is in favour of fielding candidates under the Pohottuwa symbol. However, there are those in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) who insist their identity should be preserved and their symbol should be retained. President Sirisena was in Kandy yesterday. The matter is to be discussed by the two sides when he returns today. At one of the discussions, it was pointed out that some foreign countries were sending out television crews to cover Parliament proceedings to project what was called a chaotic situation. Even if the claim is true, it is only because developments in Sri Lanka have generated so much interest. President Sirisenas own appointees at diplomatic missions, at the Foreign Ministry and at media institutions have failed miserably to cope with an exacerbating campaign against him and Premier Rajapaksa. In the case of Rajapaksa, the stains of killings and forced abductions, directed at the then Ministry of Defence, appeared very much alive. The result the countrys economy, including the tourism industry, has been made very vulnerable. Considerable damage has already been caused. Contrary to confident assertions, first to the Sunday Times last week and later at a rally on Monday, where tens of thousands gathered near the Parliament complex in Kotte, President Sirisena was unable to muster 113 MPs. It was so close at one time and became yet so far as events continued to unfold this week. Thus, far from receding, the political turmoil portended to escalate to newer levels as a relentless hunt for crossovers turned futile. In behind-the-scenes negotiations, the majority of 113 was almost on hand as Sirisena negotiated with both the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) led by Rauff Hakeem and the All Ceylon Makkal (Peoples) Congress led by Rishad Bathiuddin. The two, who style themselves as political leaders of the Muslim community, also met together for a one-on-one at a Colombo apartment hotel to discuss what another crucial issue seemed for them whether one should join without the other. They were agreed it would be both or none. The SLMC has seven MPs and the ACMC five. The Sunday Times learnt that Hakeems talks with President Sirisena centred on his party signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government. Those related to addressing the needs of the Muslim community. For Sirisena and his backers, there was at least good news from three SLMC parliamentarians who were in favour of joining. They were Syed Ali Zahir Mowlana, (the only elected MP from the SLMC ticket whilst others were from UNP), H.M.M. Harees and another. Two others, from the ACMC were Abdullah Mahroof and S.M. Mohamed Ismail, were also lined up to join. The Sri Lanka Podujana (Peoples) Peramuna ideologue and strategist, Basil Rajapaksa, was of the view that leaders of the two parties should also be roped in. Until then, he opined, those wanting to come over should not be sworn in with portfolios. In fact, Dr S.M. Mohamed Ismail, an ACMC National List MP, was to be sworn in as Deputy Minister of Health. He holds a UNP slot given to the ACMC and was earlier at the South Eastern University where he had been charge sheeted for demanding sexual favours. A last minute intervention by Basil Rajapaksa halted the move and Ismail met Bathiuddin. The move was to appease the ACMC leader who was infuriated that one of his MPs was to be pinched without his consent. He even refused to talk to the new government emissaries but later cooled down. Two Muslim party leaders thought the best way to avoid all pressure was to leave Sri Lanka. They have not, it appears, conclusively decided on whose side they will throw their weight. The new government leaders learnt that their decision would be made known to them when the group of twelve return on November 12, two days before the reconvening of Parliament. On the other hand, the UNP leadership had learnt from the two party leaders that their support to them had not ceased. Whatever the outcome would be, a fracture in the two parties was to become inevitable if Hakeem and Bathiuddin chose to back the UNP. Government leaders felt the situation was mercurial and could not be fully relied upon. On Thursday afternoon, all 12 MPs of the two parties flew to Mecca for Umrah an Islamic pilgrimage which can be performed in the Holy City of Mecca (Saudi Arabia) at any time of the year. This is in marked contrast to the Haj for which a pilgrimage is undertaken once a year. It appeared that both party leaders were following the founding leader of the Muslim Congress,the late M.H.M. Ashroff. During the October 2000 parliamentary elections, Ashroff fell foul with his then cabinet colleague A.H.M. Fowzie over some remarks that the latter made. When the then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, tried to reach him, he wrote a lengthy letter to her and went on Umrah pilgrimage. In that letter, he said, he would support a new government but would not accept any portfolio. No sooner he returned, emissaries lined up a late night meeting. Ashroff descended on her with a parcel of dates and zam zam water from the well in Mecca considered sacred to Muslims. Differences were resolved thereafter. The Sunday Times learnt that the government numbers in Parliament now stood at 107 MPs as against 108 earlier. One parliamentarian, Manusha Nanayakkara who crossed over from the UNP to the SLFP in 2010, has gone back to his previous party. He and his family are now in Singapore. The projected five from the two Muslim parties would have brought the total to 112, one short of the required majority. Yet the situation was fragile. There were still fears that one or two within the governments own ranks could desert. Also in Singapore now is P. Harrison, a former UNP Cabinet Minister who was earlier wooed by the parties in the new government. Compounding the uncertainty this week is a turn of unexpected events surrounding Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. That was to become the number one reason for the dissolution. It came after the ouster of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa was gazetted on October 26. A second Gazette, issued on October 27 prorogued Parliament from noon that day till 10 a.m. on November 16. It was later advanced to November 14. On the ouster of Ranil Wickremesinghe, a debate on whether it is constitutional or otherwise, continues. This naturally has focused the spotlight on Parliament and a clamour for its early reconvening. The UNP (albeit the United National Front) has thrown its full force behind the move in the strong belief that it could demonstrate that it commands a majority in the House. Thus, the UNP believes, it would be able to prove Ranil Wickremesinghe commands majority support to be Prime Minister and his position should be restored. Even if UNP leaders declared his ouster as a constitutional coup detat and threatened to impeach Sirisena, Wickremesinghe told the Chennai based The Hindu newspapers Sri Lanka Correspondent Meera Srinivasan in an interview that he was willing to once again work with Sirisena. Whether this was a mea culpa (through my fault), posturing or forebodings of a possible dissolution of Parliament is not clear. Herein lay a serious dilemma that had led to the dissolution move. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya was caught between a moral and a legal dynamic or between two different worlds. A closer study of his responses after the prorogation underscores this reality. Firstly, though clouded in claims that it is undemocratic, the prorogation itself has not been a subject of accusations either over any constitutionality or illegality, unlike the sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. True, in keeping with hallowed conventions, the Speaker had not been consulted on the prorogation. At most, that meant, a convention had been breached. The day after the prorogation, on October 28, Speaker Jayasuriya wrote to President Sirisena informing him that prorogation until November 16 will have serious and undesirable consequences and urged him to reconsider. He also drew his attention to the convention that a prorogation should be done in consultation with the Speaker. The letter was prompted by what he called the serious political constitutional crisis which has arisen and a request to him to protect the rights and privileges of Ranil Wickremesinghe until any other person emerges from within Parliament securing its confidence to be Prime Minister. His letter, nevertheless, did not contest the prorogation which was duly carried out but the appeal to have it reconvened earlier underlined its acceptance. However, a statement issued by him last Monday (November 5) reflected a marked shift in position. Asserting that it was his paramount duty to act in accordance with his conscience, he said, that a request sent to him by the UNP, the TNA, the JVP and the Muslim Congress said that the decision made by President Sirisena was unconstitutional and undemocratic. As they are not in agreement with the Presidents decision, he declared, the Parliament should be summoned forthwith to seek approval on their claims that is extremely reasonable. Speaker Jayasuriya pointed out, At a time it has been brought to my attention by the majority that the lawful summoning of Parliament has been prevented and the rights of the members of Parliament have been usurped, in the name of justice and fair play. I have to make my stance known to the world. As the majority is of the opinion that all changes made in Parliament are undemocratic and inconsistent with traditions of Parliament, and as the majority of Parliamentarians have requested that the status that existed before these changes were made shall be accepted. I wish to emphasise that I am compelled to accept the status that existed previously until such time that they and the new political alliance prove their majority in Parliament. There is no question that Speaker Jayasuriyas stated position had sound moral reasoning. Yet, there were questions over whether he had crossed the legal threshold as Speaker and has himself violated a convention. More surfaced when he summoned an informal meeting of party representatives in Parliament last Thursday. The idea was to examine how to move forward with the signed request from 118 MPs for a test of strength on which side had the majority support. There were heated exchanges between the UNP side and those who represented the Government. The Speaker wanted a floor vote or a count of which side each MP supported before the delivery of the policy statement by President Sirisena. Dinesh Gunawardena, who was appointed Leader of the House, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Faiszer Musthapha, Thilanga Sumathipala, Chandima Weerakkody and Udaya Gammanpila, who represented the Government side argued that there should be a substantive motion seeking a floor vote. They argued that it would have to be placed in the Order Book for five days before it appears in the Order Paper. They claimed that the Speaker had no right to seek a floor vote. The Speaker did not heed a call by the government side to show the letter signed by 118 MPs but insisted I have to go by my conscience. He declared I am putting it to a floor vote. Countering the arguments were UNPs Lakshman Kiriella, Ajith Perera, JVPs Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Rajitha Senaratne, Ravi Karunanayake and Patali Champika Ranawaka, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) leader. They said as the custodian of the House, it was the Speakers prerogative to heed the request of the majority MPs. There were angry verbal exchanges between the two sides. Dinesh Gunawardena said the meeting ended inconclusively. Patali Champika Ranawaka, who represented the UNF, argued that a decision was in fact made to have a floor vote. Mang hithuwey nehe Jayasuriya echcharatama naraka minihek kiyala or I did not think Jayasuriya was such a bad person, declared an angry President Sirisena when he heard of the informal party representatives meeting with Speaker Jayasuriya. He was at a meeting with his close supporters. Eya janadipathi varayage balathala danne nethuwa kathaa karanney or he is talking without knowing the powers of the President (in the Constitution). Under normal circumstances, when Parliament reconvenes after prorogation, the President, if he so decides, makes a statement of policy of his government. This replaced the traditional throne speech which flowed from the British colonial era. On occasions when the policy statement is delivered by the President, it is he who takes the chair with the Presidents emblem (in place of the Speakers emblem) and conducts business of the House including an announcement on the date and time to resume sittings after adjournment. The Speaker sits one step below, between the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General on such occasions. Speaker Jayasuriya told the Sunday Times before dissolution of Parliament, If necessary, I will discuss with the party leaders the agenda for November 14. A floor test will have to be taken. Once it is done, things in the country will return to normal. He strongly defended his action in meeting heads of diplomatic missions in Colombo. I initiated parliamentary diplomacy for the sake of the country. There are contacts between heads of state and foreign ministers. What is wrong if I launch an initiative to meet diplomats of foreign countries to ensure more goodwill and understanding? He said seating for the new Prime Minister as well as Ministers had been assigned in the front row. Similarly, front row Opposition benches had been assigned whilst for the rest, it would be free seating. SLFP Deputy Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva, however, was critical of Speaker Jayasuriya. He told a news Conference on Friday that At our first informal meeting, the Speaker recognized the gazette. The Prime Minister (Mahinda Rajapaksa) could go to his office in Parliament. He accepted Dinesh Gunawardenas appointment as Leader of the House. He then issues press releases to the contrary. We believe that the Speaker has been pressured by someone. However, UNP Chairman Kabir Hashim defended the Speaker. The Speaker has remained above politics. There is no doubt about that. He has to uphold the supremacy of Parliament. He has to safeguard the rights of the parliamentarians. The people look to him to do that without fear or favour, he said. A head on confrontation between those in the United National Front (UNF), albeit the UNP and government leaders would have become inevitable if there was a floor count of MPs either before or after President Sirisenas policy statement. In the current acrimonious situation, a disruption when Sirisena makes his speech was also feared. Heckling and hurling insults to the President, if it were to happen, would have been humiliating. He was conscious of this, said a source close to President Sirisena. President Sirisena asserted at his partys All Island Central Committee meeting at Apey Gama in Barraramulla on Thursday night that he was prepared for any eventuality. He said he had the answers if anyone were to create issues. It indicated that a dissolution of Parliament was also on his mind. Earlier, he had also considered a referendum to seek a vote from the people whether they wanted early elections. However, the move was dropped after it was pointed out that MPs on both sides of the divide would not favour the move for they would lose their right to pensions. An MP would have to serve a term of five years. However, the proposed dissolution has put paid to the move. MPs have been informally told that the matter would be rectified later. The All Island Central Committee meeting also adopted amendments to the SLFP Constitution. A highlight is the setting up of a 15-member Politburo which will function at the top of the Central Committee. One of its main tasks is to evolve measures for reconciliation between the SLFP and those in the former Joint Opposition. After this was adopted, President Sirisena asked participants, How many of you who have endorsed this amendment know what this is all about? There was pin drop silence. This endorsement is the acknowledgement of the trust you have placed in me, he said. Amendments also confer additional powers to the Chairman of the party and has streamlined procedures for disciplinary inquiries. A significant feature at the meeting was the retaining of mobile telephones of Ministers and MPs by the Presidential Security. No one was allowed to carry them to the meeting for fear of recording or letting those outside to hear what went on. In what now appears to be the reasoning for the dissolution of Parliament, President Sirisena also told the Executive Committee that bags of money were being offered to his group of MPs to cross over. He urged members to make this public at their own meetings. It is not unusual for money bags to change hands to win support of those on either side. However, the stakes have been much higher this time. Money changers, a business source said, had converted Rs 250 million from US$ 100 bundles of notes. President Sirisena also declared at the Executive Committee meeting do not worry about the outcome on November 14 in Parliament. We have the majority. In any case, I have more trump cards (Magey langa thava thurumpu thiyanawa). Though without making direct reference, he was alluding to the dissolution of Parliament. At one of the discussions, even Basil Rajapaksa, who was not sure of a Parliamentary majority, favoured the idea. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, notwithstanding the dissolution move, finds himself in a win-win situation. I am not interested in numbers. It was not my task to find people, he told the Sunday Times. In fact, Rajapaksa did not hide his feelings when he admonished his new Minister S.B. Dissanayake who had made him believe the numbers were on hand. Instead of campaigning at the upcoming elections from the Opposition side, he and his Ministers will now do so with official positions, no doubt an advantage that earlier remained with the UNP. As revealed exclusively in the Sunday Times (Political Commentary) the precursor to the new government was a meeting by Sirisena with both Mahinda and Basil Rajapaksa at S.B. Dissanayakes Battaramulla residence. Despite Dissanayakes denials, it is now clear he not only hosted but also promised numbers. He could not, however, deliver. Even late last week he was going on showing a brave face on tv about having the numbers and that it was they who sent the Muslim MPs to Mecca to keep away till November 14. It is also known that though he promised, he failed to deliver numbers for the No-Confidence Motion against ousted Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe in April this year. Rajapaksa said even in Opposition, he had clamoured for elections as soon as possible. He said the presentation of an On Account Vote in Parliament was not necessary. We can go on for three months, he said and added, that a vast loan repayment is due from Sri Lanka on November 19. He, however, declined to elaborate. The dissolution of Parliament also turns the spotlight on the UNP. The debate on the constitutionality of ousting Wickremesinghe from the post of Premier apart, the party has been caught flat footed on the recent events. One was the absence of any strategy on its part when it learnt that President Sirisena was locked in a dialogue with his one-time arch rival and predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa. In fact, Wickremesinghe was abroad. When he was ousted, Wickremesinghe was in Galle and had to rush back to Colombo. Reactions became ad hoc with former ministers and deputies speaking in different voices. One joke was when the state run Daily News ran a news story with a photograph of Gayantha Karunatilleke, one of three official spokespersons of the then coalition. The story, just a day before Wickremesinghe was ousted, declared there were no differences at all between President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe. For the UNP, there is a great deal of re-thinking to do now. The party needs a new positive image that it is now in the hands of those who are capable and not a handful coterie. There are smaller sections who have launched a campaign that the UNP should boycott the parliamentary elections on the basis they are illegal and undemocratic. Would that not give a walkover or a very large majority to government parties? Would that not facilitate a new Constitution? On the other hand, they feel the Presidents actions have garnered support for it from pro-democracy forces as was seen in the protest rallies following the prorogation. After the 2015 elections, the UNP banked on western nations for aid for Sri Lanka to usher in economic prosperity. It never came and the party complained publicly about it. It is time they break from the sole dependence on them or their heart thumping, tear jerking pleas to save democracy and instead concentrate more on winning the hearts and minds of the Sri Lankan people. It is no classified secret that the UNP remains partly or largely isolated from the people. The reasons are many. None of those countries uttered a word when Provincial Councils elections, a part of the democratic process, were not held. It is no secret that their own geopolitical interests are what matters most to them and they will not drop boots on the ground to save democracy. Not even when some have welcomed them with open arms. The new Sirisena-Rajapaksa alliance will have to be taken seriously. And for this, the UNP needs to have a credible, positive campaign at the polls. For that, it needs to have a credible, capable party and shed the bad image it has earned. It has a lot of lessons to be learnt and plenty of corrections to be made. Though distasteful, the party in more than one way unwittingly facilitated the alliance between Sirisena and Rajapaksa through its day-to-day governance. The result is a challenge for the UNP now. It now has to fight a onetime friend and now a foe together with a long-time secret friend who is now an arch enemy. From the frying pan into the fire View(s): What a turn of events again on a Friday night. The good governance President first suspends an elected Parliament and then disbands it when, after a fortnights search, he cannot find a majority that would justify his decision to sack his Prime Minister. What more will unfold in this confused State, heaven knows. The Constitution, the basic law of this country, has been turned into a mere scrap of paper. And the one who boasted all over the countryside, if not the world of being the only President who voluntarily shed the Executive powers of the President, has become a one man show. Clearly, the Presidents advice has been based on political expediency. There are two seemingly conflicting Constitutional provisions is the argument. One is fundamentally based on Article 33 (2) (c) which gives blanket powers to the President to dissolve Parliament at his wish. This provision comes from the original 1978 Executive Presidency Constitution. The other view is the proviso of Article 70 (1) introduced by way of the 19th Amendment by this very Presidents Government that prohibits him from dissolving Parliament for four and half years. Apart from the irony of the President and the SLFP relying on the 1978 J.R. Jayewardene Constitutional provision to argue their case, the basic principle of law if there is a conflict is that any later amendment, and the later intention of Parliament must be given priority. That apart, whatever the letter of the law maybe, has the President gone by the spirit of the law in calling for a snap election? No one seems to care these days as long as the end justifies the means. The confused State was worse confounded this week when the Speaker issued a hard-hitting statement saying that in the absence of proof to the contrary, he continued to recognise the ousted Prime Minister as the duly elected PM of Sri Lanka. Then came a statement from the Deputy Secretary General of Parliament saying he would follow the Gazette (which recognises the newly appointed PM), followed by a quote from Parliaments Sergeant-at-Arms who said he would abide by the Gazette (new PM) and the Speakers instructions (old PM). What a comedy, if it were not so tragic that this country was saddled with two Governments, which in effect meant no Government. The Constitutional crisis precipitated by the Presidents actions of October 26, 2018 and compounded by the dissolution of Parliament by Fridays midnight Gazette, rekindles the story of the King (now the elected President), an elected Parliament and the Sovereignty of the People. In the Republic of Sri Lanka, it is the People who are sovereign. And it all began centuries ago when King Charles I in England stormed the Parliament one day, sat on the Speakers chair and demanded the arrest of five MPs on grounds of treason. The Speaker, William Lenthall upheld the privileges of Parliament saying; May it please your majesty; I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak in this place, but as this House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here, and humbly ask pardon that I cannot give any other answer to what your majesty is pleased to demand of me. A civil war followed, led by one of the MPs, Oliver Cromwell. The King was captured, tried for treason, and executed. Speaker Lenthalls words immortalised in the long history of representative democracy the first recorded instance when a Speaker asserted the rights of Parliament and its Members. Sri Lankas now ousted Speaker seems to have followed those long established traditions. Parliamentary democracy has moved on from those violent times and one would have expected countries like Sri Lanka, which gained Universal Adult Franchise back in 1931, even before India, to have gained some stability and political maturity, and not be prone to the whims and fancies of individuals in power and place. This past fortnight, the people witnessed a disgusting saga of secret calls and meetings, stories of money bags, offers of the perks of ministerial office, all this when the Bribery Commissions circular to public servants states that accepting hampers for Christmas is tantamount to accepting a bribe. What was causing a great deal of public anger is that the future of this country and its 22 million people is being determined by just a handful of political frogs who crisscross the floor of the House for a mess of pottage. Crossovers are nothing new in Sri Lankas Parliament. In 1964, the famous stab-in-the-back claim made by Sirima Bandaranaike that brought her Government down was engineered by the then Opposition. Since then scores have switched sides. All this has been at the expense of the franchise, which is one of the elements of the sovereignty of the people. The courts are replete with case law of MPs seeking redress from expulsions, largely due to crossovers. In Ameer Ali vs. the SLMC; Gamini Dissanayake vs. M.C.M. Kaleel; Tilak Karunaratne vs. Bandaranaike, and many other cases, courts have generally tried to strike a balance between shielding an MP from an unlawful expulsion by the party, allowing him or her to keep the seat as an MP and/or being expelled against the rule of natural justice. They have been ordinarily entitled to relief at the expense of the iron fist of party discipline. Very rarely have the courts tested this with the rights of the voter whose franchise has been violated or compromised by the crossover (having voted for a party or candidate in the belief that he/she would support the party that voter supports). The proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution tabled by the JVP intends to curtail this jurisdiction of the courts. The argument is that the Constitution confers primacy to the political party as against the individual MP. The party carries the mandate of the electors and in turn, gives a mandate to the MP. Many Parliamentary democracies like India, South Africa, Kenya and Singapore have introduced anti-defection laws. The silver lining in the ongoing drama had been that the move to make up the numbers by lining pockets and offering perks to MPs had not shown the desired results. Either, nowadays bribes can be matched by bribes, or this country still has some principled MPs left. And so, what could not be done by bribery has been done by trickery. The Executive President unable to face the humiliation of going before Parliament and losing a floor vote next week, dissolved it. A Government has for all intent and purpose been toppled without the peoples vote. And the Presidents party will now go into an election, if held to be legal, with the state apparatus entirely in that partys command and control. Ethical Isles first ever outing By Sashini Rodrigo View(s): View(s): Sustainable fashion is globally lauded as the future of the fashion industry, with innovative design combined with ecological practices to create fashion with a conscience. Sri Lanka is no exception, and patrons recently got a taste for how vibrant sustainable fashion can be at Ethical Isle, as part of Colombo VIP Nights third iteration of the Shop Till You Drop event at the Taj Samudra. This was Ethical Isles first ever outing as a collective effort. Renowned local brands Selyn, Cane Couture, Kantala Brands, House of Lonali and Pedals footwear have joined together to present a curated store of ethically-produced products that support the traditional crafts industry. Handwoven hemp and cane bags, upcycled apparel, shoes made of repurposed offcut material and more were showcased together for the first time, allowing customers to mix and match and to style themselves responsibly. Collaboration and sharing resources and ideas is vital in reaching the full potential of truly sustainable practices, and a wonderful example is the range of Lonali for Sthrisignature upcycled shoes from House of Lonali that are made with handloom discards from Selyn. Every brand that you see here empowers a marginalised community, empowers women, and protects the environment. We really believe that if you dont get together as a collaboration, we cant really grow an industry, says Selyns Director of Business Development Selyna Peiris, highlighting the importance of giving prominence to the ethical fashion industry. With so many creative brands working towards the same cause of ethical and sustainable fashion practices, it made sense that they should collaborate and gather their ideas and resources. House of LonalisFounder and Lead Designer Lonali Rodrigo explains that the answer to introducing sustainable fashion to the market in Sri Lanka is to start slow. We are trying to show people that you dont have to go completely sustainable, but you can always have that statement piece that you carry. Your bag or shoes can be sustainable. You cant just go 100% sustainable, because we dont have a lot yet. The designers behind Ethical Isle hope to bring this collaborative retail space back in the form of pop up stores and other projects in the coming future, to collaborate with more like-minded ethical brands, and to further cement sustainable fashion as the smart and fashion-forward choice. Lets hear it for the girls Tarini Pilapitiya sits down with the Bishops College cast and director behind the winning production at the Girls Finals of the recently concluded Shakespeare Drama competition View(s): View(s): The win is all the girls, as directors we just give them the firepower but ultimately its up to them to fight the battle, says Javin Thomas, director behind Bishops Colleges production of King Lear performed at the Interschool Shakespeare Drama competition organized by the YMCA and Rotary Club of Colombo North. His directorial stint with Bishops commenced in 2015 when the school placed third at the competition. Haiving not competed in 2016 and not entering finals in 2017 Bishops made its comeback with first place, best actor and best supporting actor this year when the winners cup entered the gates of James Peiris Mawatha after an absence of 12 years. This year Javin was backed by a directorial team including Amayaa Wijesinghe, Lehan Thomas, Shazad Synon and Ashini Fernando. This year the productions period was set to a modern tone yet not limited to a particular era instead a greater emphasis was put on emotions whilst being supported by a militia background. I wanted to do a largely untouched segment of Lear Javin muses I wanted to show the audience Lears journey, what he went through before he went mad and I wanted to base it on the daughters and how Lear himself was built on the dynamics of each individual relationship. His recollection of 2008 best actor Yasas Ratnayakes performance as King Lear and having researched a diverse range of stage and film performances allowed him to envision a hybrid Lear of sorts for 17 year old Raaedha Faizel assisting her performance and clinching her the title of Best Actress for her unique portrayal. Similarly, ageing the Fool played by Luxmi Wijeyanathan (17), Best Supporting Actress award (Joint with Celina Randeniya of Visakha Vidyalaya), allowed Javin to create an apt confidante to the discarded King. We wanted it to be relatable, current and with real emotion so that the audience could see The Fool and think We all have that one friend Javin shares. For the three 18 year old seniors of the drama society; President Kavya De Silva (Goneril), Secretary Shamimah Faizel (Duke of Cornwall) and board member Tashinee Wijeyeratnam (Soldier) this year will mark their last Shakespeare Drama Comp. Kavya who first took part in Shakes in kindergarten in Bishops production of A Midsummer Nights Dream laughs I remember my only line in the play was and I. Over the years these young ladies have grown with drama and for Kavya who took on Presidency of the society this year the pressure gets harder and harder every year cause we like to set a standard and not give the crowds a half done job regardless of the results. For Shamimah, drama was an activity forced upon her by an older sister. She recalls my younger sister (Raaedha) and I were really shy but drama helped us break out of it, adding its also that drama brings people together, she shares. Working with her older and younger sister has also been an eventful ride, Shamimah laughs last year being the only year shes been on stage alone, her oldest sister having left school whilst Raaedha sat for her OLevels. For Kavya shes always felt type casted in comical, casanova-esque roles, this being her first female role (if you dont count that one time in her KG play). One of her most memorable performances was being Brutus in last years production of Coriolanus. It was one of my more serious roles where I got to play a 45 year old man of the people, she shares adding It was a lot of fun and in a different way so was Goneril cause she was just pure evil. What kicked off as an initial audition of 30 was shortlisted to a cast of 24. This year there was a large focus on the acting and less on the effects, Kavya shares. It was layers on layers, Shamimah chimes in that plays difficulty was bringing out the subtlety of the emotions as Tashinee adds we were warned that this production needed a lot of maturity. On researching her character Kavya recalls watching Cate Blanchett, who plays the wicked step mother in the 2015 live action Cinderella movie, stating theres a reason everyone is wicked. Whats yours? allowing her to really ponder on Gonerils harshness to the hands that raised her. In my interpretation I dont think Goneril hated anyone, Kavya muses adding She just doesnt have time for nonsense and her personality overpowers everyone even the men. Each character had a unique backstory made by the girls themselves allowing them to bring the subtlety of a dramatic plot, humour in an unconventional form and real emotion to the forefront of their performances. Despite messy beginnings the cast laughs, group bonding and open conversations allowed them to have unanimous agreements on character relationships and portrayals. Weve been 6 years in the finals and with 17 schools taking part for semis and some strong schools taking part after some time the competition was high and we had a lot to overcome as a school, teacher in charge Ashini Fernando said. However the look on the juniors faces made it feel like it paid off, Kavya shares, however, adding We may have won but we have much more to grow and to do. First timers Sanduni De Fonseka (18) who played Regan, Cordelia played by Devmini Bandara (17) and Amani Pamduwawela (18) who portrayed the Duke of Albany shared similar sentiments. My character was pretty weird which I liked, Sanduni shares adding that Regans middle child complex allows her to have an almost lost demeanour. Devmini had a long adjustment period to her character. A Sinhala actress Devmini shares she had to tone down her accent and adjust a lot of the fast paced movement from Sinhala theatre to the subtle gestures of Shakespeare. I have the worst stage fright! Anouck Subasinghe (18), this years backstage manager shares. Having been nominated for Best Stage Craft at the Semis Anouk shares that being backstage I gained a lot of respect for our directors, she shares. There was a lot of intensity on stage and getting into the production was a roller coaster ride. For the ever joyful Amani, keeping a straight face during practices was a challenge. However watching the discipline of her castmates kept her focus. At practice Kavya wouldnt respond to anything other than Goneril she laughs. However, Javin reveals that it was only at the last minute that the production seemed to gel. Despite the encouraging results he chuckles Its always amazing for me when I see these young kids taking on mature roles. World War II and monster horror movie Overlord View(s): View(s): Overlord, a thrilling and a pulse-pounding action adventure movie directed by Julius Avery is now being screened in a number of theatres in Colombo and around the city. With only hours until D-Day, a team of American paratroopers drop into Nazi-occupied France to carry out a mission thats crucial to the invasions success. Tasked with destroying a radio transmitter atop a fortified church, the desperate soldiers join forces with a young French villager to penetrate the walls and take down the tower. But, in a mysterious Nazi lab beneath the church, the outnumbered G.I.s come face-to-face with enemies unlike any the world has ever seen. A Paramount Pictures presentation and a Bad Robot Production, Overlord, stars Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, PilouAsbk, Mathilde Ollivier, John Magaro, and Iain de Caestecker. The screenplay is by Billy Ray and Mark L. Smith from a story by Billy Ray. The producers are J.J. Abrams and Lindsey Weber and the executive producers are Jo Burn, Jon Cohen and Cory Bennett Lewis. On the eve of D-Day, during World War II, American paratroopers are caught behind enemy lines after their plane crashes on a mission to destroy a German Radio Tower in a small town outside of Normandy. After reaching their target, the paratroopers come to realize that besides fighting off Nazi soldiers, they also must face off against horrifying, bloody, and violent creatures that are a result of a secret Nazi experiment. It all started with an incredible script that Billy Ray wrote, says Overlord producer and Bad Robot founder J.J. Abrams. The thing I loved most about the premise was that it took a classic World War II movie and smashed it into a monster horror film. Its a very unique concoction. The idea of those two genres coexisting felt like it could make for an incredibly intense and fun ride. Abrams said he was gripped by Rays story from the first page. The opening sequence in particular reminded me of something that Rod Serling might have come up with. It was intense and funny and full of characters and action, and that was just the very beginning of the script. Bad Robots Jon Cohen, who served as executive producer on the film, was equally impressed by the dazzlingly fresh concept from Ray, an award-winning screenwriter and director whose copious writing credits include such blockbusters as Flightplan, The Hunger Games and Captain Phillips. Overlord is a natural fit for Bad Robot because of its distinctive fusion of ideas, says Cohen. Its a great character story and a thrilling World War II movie, but youll find humor in there, along with emotion and sentiment, and we always want that blend in our movies. Overlord felt like the perfect combination of that. In Colombo Overlord was released simultaneously with the worldwide release at Liberty by Scope Cinemas, Empire, MC Cinemas, Liberty Lite and Scope Cinemas (CCC) Colombo 3. In outstation cinemas it will be screened at Milano Kegalle, Regal Gampaha / Nuwara Eliya, Aruna Kiribathgoda, Rauoo Katunayaka, Sky Lite Malabe, Vista Ja-Ela and Sky Lite Matara. Cambodian team visits demining site at Muhamalai View(s): A 9-member delegation of the Cambodian Mine Action Authority (CMAA) of the Cambodian government visited the Muhamalai humanitarian demining site this week, officials said. Major Waruna Ponnamperuma, Commanding Officer, of the 10 Field Engineer Regiment of the Sri Lanka Army Humanitarian Demining Unit (HDU) had briefed them on the ongoing de-mining project in Muhamalai and adjoining areas. The armys manual and mechanical demining teams staged field demonstrations. The Cambodian team also visited the HALO Trust resettlement site in Muhamalai where they witnessed non-governmental deminers at work. CPC issues tender to buy Algerian crude View(s): The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has issued its first term tender to buy Algerian Saharan blend crude for delivery between February and September, according to a tender document and a company source, a Singapore datelined Reuters report said yesterday. CEYPETCO plans to buy 2.1 million barrels of Saharan Blend, or three cargoes of 700,000 barrels each, to be delivered to Colombo over eight months, the document showed The tender will close on Dec. 6 with offers valid for another three months. Earlier the Peroleum Ministry said CPC was testing a crude oil sample from Algeria to widen supply sources for its Sapugaskanda refinery which was overhauled to refine largely the Iranian crude. The Ministry said that after the United States sanctions on Iran came into effect, the CPC stopped importing the Iranian crude and was looking for alternative crude blends to diversify its sources of supply. The CPCs 50,000 barrels a day refinery was revamped to refine Iranian crude oil but, of late, it has been updated to refine other crude blends also, an official said. Chinese Minister of Defense Wei Fenghe and US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis hold talks in Pentagon for the second round of the China-US Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in Washington, DC, November 9, 2018. [Photo via Chinese Defense Ministry] Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe and U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis met here Friday afternoon to discuss bilateral and military-to-military ties. Wei said Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump have reached a series of important consensuses that provide strategic guidance for developing Sino-U.S. relations. Both sides should earnestly implement the consensuses, strive to avoid conflicts and confrontation, respect each other and conduct win-win cooperation, so as to make positive contributions to world peace and prosperity, Wei said. Both sides should treat military-to-military relationship in a positive and calm manner, enhance strategic communication, boost strategic mutual trust, expand dialogue and cooperation, properly manage risks, discuss rules and ways to avoid unexpected conflicts and frictions, so as to make the military-to-military relationship a stabilizer for the overall bilateral relationship, Wei said. Mattis agreed with Wei's position that bilateral and military-to-military relations should be developed steadily. He said the United States has no intention to contain China and that fostering a constructive military-to-military relationship with China has always been a goal for the United States. Mattis said he hopes both militaries could make full use of the current dialogue and communication mechanisms to improve risk management, avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations, and seek pragmatic cooperation in more fields. Wei and Mattis also exchanged views on issues relating to the South China Sea, Taiwan and the Korean Peninsula. Wei noted that the Chinese military firmly opposes any acts to separate China, and will safeguard China's national sovereignty, security and territory at all costs. Crossover bribes: TISL complains to CIABOC View(s): Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has filed a complaint with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), saying that money and other inducements were offered to parliamentarians to cross over. TISL Executive Director Asoka Obeysekere said they handed over a CD containing voice recordings that corroborated the claims that as much as Rs 500 million was offered for MPs to cross over. However, he said the commission did not give an assurance that the complaint would be investigated as a matter of urgency.When asked, CIABOC Director General Sarath Jayamanne said he could not comment on the alleged financial bribes offered to MPs. At a media conference last week, United National Party Minister Palitha Range Bandara played several voice clips recorded when a minister and others called and tried to persuade him to cross over with ministerial perks and financial inducements. Mr. Bandara identified the callers as Minister S.B. Dissanayake, one of his associates, and coordinating secretaries of Minister S.B. Nawinna and an associate of Yoshitha Rajapaksa. He told the Sunday Times that UNPer Ranjan Ramanayake had lodged a complaint with CIABOC in this regard. However, Mr. Bandara said he had no knowledge of whether the commission had initiated a probe.Mr Dissanayake told the Sunday Times it was he who made the phone call and admitted he urged Mr. Range Bandara to join the government and obtain a cabinet portfolio. I spoke to everyone except Ranil (Wickremesinghe), he said. However, he denied he or anyone in his party made a financial offer to woo Mr Range Bandara to join the new government. Meanwhile, Yoshitha Rajapaksa took to his official twitter handle to refute the phone call conversations. I vehemently deny the allegations made by Parliamentarian Range Bandara at a press conference today insinuating that a coordinator of mine has offered financial bribes to lure MPs to the Govt. the tweet read. Speaking to the Sunday Times Mr. Rajapakse said,I dont have a secretary and I never had one. This is not the first time these politicians have attacked me. Anyway I dont want to waste time running behind these politicians to respond to their allegations he added. Former SLFP MPs flock to join SLPP View(s): The Sri Lanka Freedom Partys former parliamentarians are flocking to obtain membership in the newly formed Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) to contest the upcoming general elections, amid questions on which symbol th two parties are to contest the upcomin elections. Plantation Industries Minister S.M. Chandrasena told the Sunday Times that several of SLFP members obtained SLPP membership yesterday with many others, including himself, expected to become SLPP members today. He said the objective was to contest elections under the SLPP as a common front while invitations would be extended to the SLFP and other parties to join them. He said they did not obtain membership of the SLPP earlier as they had contested under the United peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and they feared legal consequences of losing their seats in Parliament. He said, however, since the dissolution, the problem did not arise. Yesterday, former parliamentarians Namal Rajapaksa and Shehan Semasinghe were among those who obtained SLPP membership. Former parliamentarian Ranjith Soysa told the Sunday Times they were planning to contest the upcoming Parliamentary elections under the SLPPs Phohottuwa symbol. Over the past three years, we have gathered a large support base and it is clear that President Maithripala Sirisena has now accepted our position. Therefore, to take advantage of the process we wish to contest under the Pohottuwa symbol. We will be extending invitations to other parties also to join us, he said. Former parliamentarian Kanchana Wijesekara, who is due to take SLPP membership today, said they expected all other 54 members who served in the Joint Opposition would take membership in the SLPP. LAWASIA expresses concern over Lankas political crisis View(s): The Council of LAWASIA has joined the Bar Association of Sri Lanka in expressing its concern over the political crisis in Sri Lanka. In a statement, LAWASIA said that at its annual meeting, it shared the concerns of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka with respect to the current situation in Sri Lanka and likewise urged the various authorities, institutions and parties to uphold the rule of law, good governance, and the provisions and spirit of the Constitution of Sri Lanka. LAWASIA echoes the call by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka for all parties concerned to address and resolve the situation and its related issues peacefully and in accordance with the laws of Sri Lanka, LAWASIA President Christopher Leong said. Last week, the Sunday Times, in its news story regarding this meeting had inadvertently reported that there was call to send a fact finding mission to Sri Lanka. Mangala lashes out at Sirisena View(s): On October 26, President Maithripala Sirisena entered the history books as the only leader who conspired against his own government and toppled it, former Finance Minister and senior UNPer Mangala Samaraweera said yesterday. He voluntarily gave up many of his executive powers. The 19th Amendment, which was supported by the President, restricts the Presidents powers, Mr Samaraweera said, adding that, the President can dissolve Parliament only four-and-a-half years after it is appointed. He said the President has failed to show numbers and failed to buy over members of the UNP. The UNP is not afraid of an election, but we are opposed to it due to the unconstitutional nature of this act. We will fight in the courts, we will fight against it in Parliament and at the elections. We are not afraid of elections. We will take this to courts on Monday. We are prepared to show our majority in Parliament next week. The people are rallying against this dictatorship, irrespective of party affiliations. We will fight this emerging tyranny of Maithripala Sirisena, Mr. Samaraweera claimed. We continue to reiterate that, not allowing the Prime Minister to show his majority in Parliament is illegal, claimed UNP Chairman Kabir Hashim. The dissolution is an acceptance that the President didnt have the numbers. Thats why he dissolved Parliament, he added. Mr. Hashim was of the view that the President and Mahinda Rajapaksa had failed to secure the numbers, even with bribes of money and positions. Mano Ganesans TPA to contest polls in alliance with the UNF View(s): The Upcountry based Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) led by Mano Ganesan is to contest the upcoming Parliamentary polls under the United National Front (UNF), the alliance umbrella of the United National Party (UNP), a senior leader of the party said. Velusami Radhakrishnan, leader of Upcountry Peoples Front, a constituent party of TPA, told the Sunday Times yesterday that the party had decided to contest under the UNF alliance just as in previous polls since they hoped to gain more votes through an alliance of major political party. No congratulatory messages from foreign leaders View(s): No heads of government or state have so far sent congratulatory messages to new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Foreign Ministry has confirmed. However, a spokesperson also said it was because the Cabinet of Ministers was only finalised on Friday and, therefore, a list had not been sent out to Sri Lankas missions abroad for dissemination to host nations. The Cabinet of Ministers was only finalised on Friday and Parliament was subsequently dissolved the same night, the spokesperson said yesterday. What we have at present is a caretaker Government. The new list will be sent following elections in January. The name of the Prime Minister is also normally sent with the list of Cabinet Ministers, she said. Since the list of Cabinet Ministers was not complete, it was not sent to missions or capitals. They do not issue statements on caretaker governments. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Sarath Amunugama has written to heads of Sri Lankan missions, instructing them to personally report back to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs on a daily basis, on any statements made in capitals and reportage of events in Sri Lanka, in your country/countries of accreditation Please make it absolutely clear to all concerned that this is a democratic act so that the peoples wishes regarding the composition of the Government could be given effect to. Sri Lanka has a long tradition of democracy and of holding free and fair elections, the minister says. In a Nov. 10 fax message to Sri Lankas missions abroad, Minister Amunugama says the President has dissolved Parliament from midnight of November 9. The reason for the Presidents decision was the state of uncertainty that prevailed regarding the anticipated behaviour of the Speaker of Parliament. The attention of the President was drawn to the information that, contrary to the Constitution and Standing Orders of Parliament, the Speaker, without due authority, was attempting to change Parliamentary procedures and not proceed with the statement of Government Policy that was to have been delivered by His Excellency the President on the 14th of November, 2018, on which date Parliament was scheduled to be reconvened by Gazette Notification, the minister adds. There have been several requests to call for a general election so that the wishes of the people who are the ultimate repositories of the sovereignty of the country, could be addressed, he says. Accordingly, the nomination period for the forthcoming general election has been gazetted as 19th to 26th November, 2018. The Election Commissioner has been informed of this notification and it is anticipated that he will now proceed to act accordingly. The election for new Members of Parliament will take place on the 5th January 2019 and the new Parliament will meet on 17th January, 2019. In the coming days, we will follow up with further information regarding the procedure which will be set in motion by the National Elections Commission, through the Election Commissioner. Public opinion in Sri Lanka is very much in favour of an election which will resolve the political crisis which hampered activities in the country during the last few months. Please ensure that this information is conveyed to State and non-State actors in your countries of accreditation, the Minister says. UNP, TNA, JVP to challenge dissolution Ranil says Maithri-Mahinda duo's claim was a lie; Polls Chief says he has no mandate to seek legal opinion on President's action View(s): View(s): Ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe declared that his United National Party (UNP) would go to court to challenge the dissolution of parliament and insisted that President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa could not face a floor test in Parliament. He told the Sunday Times that neither of them could show a majority to prove they commanded the confidence of Parliament. They could not face a floor test and have instead committed a fraud on the people. The people have been asked to suffer for the personal ambitions of some. The dissolution shows that the presidents and his prime ministers claim that they had a majority and commanded the confidence of the House is a lie. This is not Yahapalanaya, but Yamapalanaya, he said. The comments came as several political parties, including the the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), decided to go to the Supreme Court to challenge President Sirisenas decision to dissolve Parliament. Since the Presidents Friday night surprise dissolution of Parliament, little over three years into its five year term, parties opposed to the move have been saying he has acted unconstitutionally and has violated the provisions of the 19th Amendment which bars a dissolution by the President until Parliament completes four and half years of its five year term. Senior UNP member Mangala Samaraweera said yesterday that the party would fight the Presidents tyranny in courts, in Parliament and in a poll, if necessary. We will challenge this in the court, but we will also show that we have the support of the majority of MPs who made up Parliament so that we can prove that the President dissolved the House when one side had a majority, he told reporters last morning. Meanwhile, United National Front (UNF) leaders, including Champika Ranawaka and Rajitha Senaratna, met Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya yesterday. We requested that the election be held in keeping with the law and in keeping with the Constitution, former UNP State Minister Ajith Perera said. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said his party would challenge the Presidents decision. His arbitrary actions have put the entire country in jeopardy. If we allow the President to dissolve Parliament at his whim and fancy, if he cannot get the result he likes in the January 5 poll, he can dissolve the House again, the JVP leader said. The Sunday Times learns that the Election Commissions three members met yesterday to discuss the next move to be taken to conduct parliamentary elections within a short period. The Election Commission has no mandate to seek legal opinions on the validity of the dissolution and the commissioners have decided not to express their opinions on the pending legal challenges, until the issue is resolved by the Supreme Court. Several political parties have approached us to go before the Supreme Court, but that is not our mandate. We are part of the executive and we have to go by the Presidents decision, a senior Elections Department official said. Election Commission Chairman Deshapriya yesterday told journalists that interpreting the constitution is up to the Supreme Court and lawyers, not us. Referring to a meeting with the President on Friday, he said it was not a consultation. I met the President, but he and I only spoke on the possibility of holding Provincial Council elections within three months. I met him on behalf the EC. Later, on Friday evening, I was asked to meet him, then he had prepared the gazette and he told me that parliament was dissolved. There was no consultation with the EC; there is no need to consult the EC to dissolve parliament, he said. This vacant seat tells the story of our times View(s): Amid the political turmoil and unprecedented constitutional crisis in Sri Lanka, a major story is told by this empty seat in the front row at a meeting on Thursday to commemorate the third death anniversary of the Ven. Sobitha Thera who played a leading role in the good governance campaign and the victory of President Maithripala Sirisena at the January 8, 2015 election and campaigned for the abolition of the executive presidency. The President was invited for this event, but did not turn up. This was much in contrast to last year when the organisers forgot to invite the President, but he turned up uninvited. Pic by Ishanka Sunimal Crime busting in the US By Kumudini Hettiarachchi Crime Scene Investigator Ravi Perera attached to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Quantico, Virginia talks of his work that has even taken him to the wilds in Kenya View(s): View(s): The house was the launching pad for a spree of crimes. The suspects who had rented it out using fake names had fled but armed with a search warrant the Crime Scene Investigators (CSIs) were running the house through a fine-tooth comb when they found a camera. In the pictures, there were no faces, one of the CSIs found, on reviewing the camera. The pictures were mostly of electrical wiring. But one, just one picture had a finger pointing to a wire. Skill, long hours and sophisticated software kicked in to help enhance the finger to obtain enough ridge details to convert it into a fingerprint. A search through the database and voila the fingerprint was of a wanted person, in connection with several serious crimes including kidnappings and carjackings. That finger in a photograph led to the mans arrest a few weeks later.and the CSI who helped crack the case across the seas in the United States of America (USA) is 57-year-old Ravi Perera attached to the Forensic Academy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Quantico, Virginia. Ravi is a CSI going into his 25th year of such work this month and when he applied to join the FBIs Forensic Academy he had been the only CSI selected from California and one of just 12 from the whole of the US. Some of the equipment we use is so sophisticated that it puts James Bond to shame! he says, adding, however, that he cannot really talk about this as the information is classified. Gripping as well as chilling are the many crime scene investigation television series of American origin beamed into our sitting rooms, riveting our attention and making sure that we miss not a single episode. In those we see the all-too-familiar yellow tape cordoning off the scene of a crime be it a murder, hijacking, robbery or more. But not in our wildest imaginings have we linked real-life scenes, cracking of difficult cases and successful detection of criminals to one of our own. I have worked over 5,000 crime scenes during my career from the basic vandalism to homicides. I have also been fortunate to work with some of the best detectives, Ravi tells the Sunday Times in an email interview between trips to different countries this week, with a talk scheduled in Sri Lanka for Thursday on battling wildlife crime through advanced forensics. Pointing out that the finger in the photograph was one of my most unusual cases, this CSI says how he worked on the photo with specialized software for many hours. Carjackings he can take in his stride but child molesting cases and sex crimes, Ravi concedes, take an emotional toll on you, especially when there are young children involved. For Ravi, crime scenes were hard to get used to, especially when there was death involved. Over time, I have got used to it and look at a body as a casing only, where the soul has departed. I have been to a mass shooting within 10 minutes of it happening and seen the whole floor a bright red. I had no time to think but had to start working immediately, he says with poignancy. When asked what prompted him to take to this type of important work, he says that law enforcement always interested him and he joined the police in 1993. Being a photographer, I was immediately called upon to assist in CSI photography and my department wanted me to take the basic CSI certification course. In 1999, we were one of the first departments in the US that changed from film to digital photography and I played a big part in the conversion. To be even considered for the FBI Forensic Academy you had to be recommended by someone senior to you who had already attended and have a minimum of 10 years in a field of study. Ravis was photography and six months after he applied he was notified that he had been selected. To document, preserve and collect the important evidence at a crime scene is my responsibility. Most times this needs to be done to avoid contamination and destruction. One person does not solve the crime and it takes a combination of the CSI, detectives and laboratory personnel to work together and get the end result, explains Ravi. Pointing out that in addition to DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid carrying genetic information) evidence they try to recover, analyzing digital media takes a long time, he is justifiably proud over the fact that since its inception in the mid-90s, their Crime Lab is probably one of the best equipped in the county. I have been lucky to have received the most up-to-date equipment available, costing thousands of dollars. The many facets of his profile emerge as he details how he specializes in shooting reconstruction. This would entail, when called to a scene of a shooting, reconstructing the scene as accurately as possible and documenting it with photography. You always want to reconstruct the scene the same time of day it happened and use the vehicles and other evidence that were associated with the crime. Stand-ins are always used for people. After interviewing witnesses and using photographs taken soon after the crime, I will use laser trajectory to show the path of one or more bullets fired. Setting up, most of it to the closest inch, takes several hours, and we could work 8-10 hours to obtain proper documentation, he says, giving a glimpse of what occurs after a shooting has taken place. Getting down to the nitty-gritty of probes to crack a case, he says that surveillance photography is often done when they need to gather evidence and information on a suspect or location before a search warrant can be served and the suspect is arrested. And now Ravi has widened his work also becoming an instructor in law enforcement in the past eight years. He has taught in the Police Academy, lectured arson investigators in the Fire Academy, conducted certification classes for law enforcement and held crime scene classes for high school seniors. So who is Ravi, the CSI? A boy like any other, an only child, who lived in Dehiwala, schooled at S. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia, and went onto high school in America on turning 16. After graduating from high school he returned to Sri Lanka, joining Air Lanka for a few years, before going back to the US in 1988 and living there since then. Overcome by wanderlust at the tender age of 17, he has since visited 48 countries in six continents flying about three million miles on 28 different airlines. Presently, while daughter Dimithri works in a bank, has a degree in Film Studies and is an improv comedy actor, it is his other daughter Natasha who is at the University of Southern California, graduating with a Masters degree in Communications Management, who loves to travel. She has gone on safari and has been to five continents with Ravi. Of his work, Ravi says: I enjoy what I do, and no two days are alike. Electronic forensics We venture into the fascinating, yet mind-boggling, field of electronic forensics, as Ravi explains that it consists of the analysis or search of electronic devices a suspect uses cell phones, computers, video cameras, GPS devices, gaming devices and even vehicle computer systems.With most people owning a cell phone, the evidence contained in it can amount to a couple of thousand pages of information and with sophisticated software they can break into the phone and know what someone has done basically minute-by-minute, it is revealed. Even if the phone is locked, we do have powerful software to break the code. While Apple laptops are hard to break into, I can most times hack into a Windows computer in less than 15 minutes and find out what the computer contains, says Ravi, adding, We can also track anyones present location (which is often done for missing children) or go into the past and see where someone has been to in the last few months. We dont even need the persons cell phone for this, but use the information from the cell phone provider. A talk by Ravi Perera CSI Ravi Perera will deliver a lecture onFighting wildlife crimes with forensics on November 15 at 6 p.m. at the Jasmine Hall, BMICH, Colombo. The lecture organised by the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) is open to all. Into the African wilds Crime scene investigation and wildlife! Meeting Sudan prompted Ravi to channel his skills to halt the ruthless and barbaric killing of wildlife. Sudan was the worlds last northern white rhinoceros that Ravi met during his first visit to South Africa and a trip to Kenya. For Ravi, that changed everything and he then knew that this was the country he wanted to do more in. Says Ravi: With my forensic experience, I knew that there was a lot I could do. I own my safari business in Kenya (www.KenyaSafari.us) and most recently started Serendipity Wildlife Foundation (www.CSIwildlife.org) which is a volunteer based organization, where all donations received go directly into conservation. Many of the poachers who are apprehended do not get prosecuted or face any jail time. We want to make a change and provide training to Rangers and Anti-Poaching Units to collect evidence and document the crime scene so that a solid case with physical evidence can be used to prosecute the suspects. When asked whether he has faced many threats and if so, why he keeps doing what he does, without giving up, his answer is simple: We dont talk much about how we operate and what our tactics are. All operations are kept secret as we dont want information leaking out and posing a threat to us all. One of our projects was kept a secret for a year and only after that did we publicize that we would be collecting fingerprints on elephant tusks and starting an exclusive database for poaching and wildlife crimes. Ivory and rhino horn are a multi-billion business with connections all over the world, so we have to maintain secrecy on what we will be doing. Ravi sheds light on how his passion for wild creatures was triggered by visits to Yala and Wilpattu as a little boy younger than 10, along with a friends family which was involved in the veterinary side of things.At that time we had less than 20 jeeps entering Yala and the animals could be observed, undisturbed! With regard to wildlife work Ravi is engaged in Sri Lanka, he says that during his current visit he will be talking to certain people on how his foundation can help in conservation. One of my concerns is the many projectiles that have entered the bodies of elephants and been left there, causing a slow and agonizing death to the animals. I would like to discuss veterinary support from the US where vets can offer help to extract these bullets from the elephants. We also have a way to analyze the recovered bullets in our lab in the US and use them as evidence, where we can sometimes match them to a particular gun, he adds. Culinary Ceylon: A unique flavour of history and cuisine By Sashini Rodrigo View(s): View(s): Walking down the cobblestoned Hospital Street in Fort, a curious sight greets you if you happen to notice it at all a small petti kade with its timber shelves lined with groceries nestled between the buildings. Not a typical location for a roadside kiosk. It is all part of the experience of Culinary Ceylon, as you walk past the shelves into a room where you are greeted by your host for the evening and a team of smiling staff who are dedicated to taking you on a culinary journey through Sri Lanka. Culinary Ceylon is a hosted food experience, comprising a seven course degustation menu that tells the story of Sri Lankas rich and varied history through its cuisine. Diners are treated to delicious and skilfully prepared examples of the islands multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and diverse range of dishes, while a passionate and knowledgeable host teaches you about the origins of each dish, the history behind it, the ingredients and how it is made. Culinary Ceylon is owned and operated by the team behind Leopard Trails, a luxury camping service in Yala and Wilpattu. Director Amrith de Soysa explains that they decided to bring the concept of a hosted experience to Sri Lankan cuisine to educate and immerse tourists in Sri Lankan culture Colombo is definitely lacking experiences and we feel this will be a great addition to the experiences available for foreigners, he adds. Our host for the evening Glen spared no detail in explaining the gastronomic history of Sri Lanka as Richard softly serenaded on guitar with popular local hits. The historical tales were fascinating, from the culinary habits of the indigenous Veddhas to the colonial influences from the Portuguese, Dutch and British who brought their own flavours and techniques from their travels around the world, which Lankans then adopted and gave our own flavourful spin. Chef Lasantha and his team plated up a variety of dishes that tasted as beautiful as they looked. The crab rasam hit the palate with a peppery punch flavoured with roasted coriander seed and tamarind paste, tender crab meat at the bottom. Next was a platter of street food and saivar kade favourites the isso wade that is a beachside staple made of lentils and prawns, hot buttered cuttlefish and crispy ulundu vadai. This was complemented by a cold dish of grilled sweet potato topped with eggplant salad that lent a refreshing balance to the fried foods. The black pork curry stuffed pol roti was an instant favourite, served with seeni sambol and a lunu miris that didnt shy away from spice. Next was a delightfully mini version of chicken lamprais, served traditionally wrapped in banana leaf with all the necessary accompaniments. We were told about its Dutch Burgher influences, and its origins from the Dutch East India Company bringing Indonesian workers to the country, who in turn brought with them their local snack of lemper. No Sri Lankan menu would be complete without kottu or stringhoppers, and the string hopper kottu with roasted chicken wings and chilli parata with tangy tamarind sauce was a wonderful tribute to the adaptability of local cuisine. Kottu itself is an example of this, as it originated from the East as an experiment according to their research. Both the food and the knowledge kept coming, surprising and delighting even us locals who ought to know these things. Dessert brought forth familiar favourites buffalo curd and treacle and a pol pani pancake of sweetened coconut tinged with cardamom and cinnamon, flavours which linger on the tongue. A surprise treat was when a bombai muttai vendor dropped by, ringing his bell and bringing with him the crunchy nostalgic confection that is sadly not as widespread as it used to be. The evening culminated with a glass of hot ginger plain tea that settled both the stomach and the mind. Priced at 70USD, the Culinary Ceylon dinner experience is perfect for tour groups up to 26 pax per reservation. Starting at 7.30p.m, the dinner is paced over two hours so you dont feel rushed. Culinary Ceylon also hope to launch an immersive hosted cooking class, where guests will be taken to the market to buy fresh produce themselves, cook traditional local fare, and eat the meal they have prepared. For more information and bookings, contact +94 (0) 777800030 or culinaryceylonhr@gmail.com, or visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/culinaryceylon The United Nations' Human Rights Council has given China a passing grade in its latest review of China's human rights development. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Jun said, "During this examination, we presented the world with China's substantial results in improving human rights. We've also prove that China's approach to human rights development with Chinese characteristics is correct. China has contributed a lot to the world in this field and we will firmly keep to our approach." The latest review, which began on Tuesday, has seen the Chinese side detail the latest developments in China's human rights efforts. The Chinese delegation has also announced over 30 new measures being planned on improving the country's overall human rights situation. In giving China the green-light in its review, the UN Human Rights Council has made a series of recommendations for the Chinese government to work on in areas such as poverty alleviation, the rule of law, religious affairs and international cooperation in human rights. Zhang Jun says the UN's proposals are being welcomed by the Chinese side. "China welcomes constructive proposals made by other countries and paid close attention to the proposals included in the examination report. We will make a careful and in-depth study and give feedbacks next year. Meantime, we also hope some countries observe China's development objectively and respect the Chinese people's choice of political system and development road. We oppose any attempt to use human right issues to infringe on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and interfere in our internal affairs." This is the third time that China has passed the UN human rights review following two previous rounds in 2009 and 2013. Letters to the Editor View(s): A mothers reaction to the Presidents actions That Friday evening many of us were shocked to our very core. A hasty decision, an unexpected sacking and swearing in no one expected that no one not even me a mother who tends to be more focused on her children and their upcoming year end exams could get over . I am a mother who often gets caught up in all my childrens activities and needs, and leaves the world (and government) to do their thing. But on Monday I put aside everything, normally thought important in my world and went to stand in solidarity for the future and country my children I hope can live in. Why am I terribly upset over that Fridays decision? Well for starters it teaches that something done the wrong way can be eventually justified as right. I strive to teach my children that wrong is wrong no matter how you try to justify it. A rule is a rule and bending it will only lead to pain and regret. The billboards, the many posters and TV debates, they all sadly oppose my teaching. I teach my children that we all make mistakes but we learn, say sorry and move on bettering ourselves. Today I see my children learn that sorry is a sign of weakness and defeat. I teach my children that doing what is right or saying the truth no matter how hard is always more important than a quick fix or small lie. The truth eventually comes out. But even as I write this I can hear my childs voice going Really?? But how come so much of what you say is shown otherwise? I teach my children that money is not everything and the pursuit of that is not happiness. My children are seeing that money talks and that honestly scares me. I teach my children to be kind, compassionate and to treat others the way they like to be treated. They watch todays TV and see people running each other down, calling each other names with a complete disregard of loyalty and respect. I look at what my children and the children of this nation are seeing and I wonder can my voice outcry their example? Can they learn simple life principles that I believe are vital for their success? Oh Sri Lanka I moan so much for you. I love you so much and no matter how much well meaning parental advice urges me to move to greener pastures I will not because you are my country the country of my birth and I love you. I am so proud you topped the list on Lonely Planet because I know the awe of standing on top of Sigiriya and imagining the majesty of yesteryear, I have seen the beauty of your waterfalls, tea plantations and the stag standing aloof in Horton Plains. I love the beaches and my road of solace, my Marine Drive. I love that whilst other countries may have better roads and cheaper food, there is no place like my Sri Lanka. I love you so much that I moan for the little boy who believes aggression is the way forward, shouting and demanding is the way to win the battle. I moan for the little girl who backs down in confusion because right seems wrong and wrong is right. I moan for her because I know the day will come when she feels she has to let go of her gentle, quiet ways and instead demand, shout and push her way through if she wants to achieve her goals. I moan for the boy who thinks quick fixes and a little bit of cheating is better than plain hard work and determination. I moan for the loss of not learning from the wrong of yesterday but believing wrongs can be made right or else forgotten. I moan for the child who places his trust in power and money, disregarding the value of humanity and fair play. Oh my beautiful precious country I pray for a day when we will birth a different citizen, a citizen who will place their own interests aside and work for the common good of others. A citizen who will walk in love irrespective of ethnicity and religion, compassionate, slow to anger, kind and not malicious, serving their peers with the quiet confidence of the knowledge of their own strengths and not feel threatened or insecure. Sri Lanka, oh Sri Lanka, I pray for a nation who will truly walk as one nation with one mother, proud and confident to be all we can be! T. Tranchell Via email Lessons to learn from a bus conductor and driver I was pleased to read the short letter titled Hats off to honest conductor and driver published in the Sunday Times of October 28. I must congratulate the writer Suren Fernando for sharing this experience with readers -if only to show that all is not lost in our land -and that there are good and honourable men, in lowly employment, -who uphold ethical values, and eschew money based values -which appear to drive society in the post-modern world we live in. They are indeed examples to others holding high office in governance or in the professions -where greed for wealth, position and power are often seen to surpass all else. The conductor Roshan Udaya Kumara and driver Nishantha Fonseka, of this bus plying from Colombo to Galle, practised and exemplified the common ethical values taught in all the great religions, practised in our much blessed land. Christianity teaches that the love of money is the root of all evil, while one of the 5 precepts of Buddhism teaches the importance of being truthful. Indeed all the great religions teach common ethical values as also the need to live in peace and harmony. It is important that youth are guided in ethical and righteous living in their homes, in their schools and by their respective religious leaders, and also taught to live with goodwill to all, in a spirit of Live and let Live. Eng. Hemal Pieris Via email Spotting Nelu flowers in bloom five years before time By Dushy Perera View(s): View(s): Driving to Nuwara Eliya on work recently I was informed by a friend Vimukthi Weeratunge, lead naturalist at Cinnamon Trails that the Nelu flowers were blooming on Horton Plains. So we decided to drive up to Horton Plains national park two Sundays ago. It turned out to be a brilliant morning after intense continuous rains for a week or more. As we ascended the plains past Pattipola, a picture book sky line welcomed us. A lone Rhododendron red was shimmering in the bright morning sun with the gigantic windmills of Ambewela, dwarfed in the background. And then we came across the Nelu . The Nelu last bloomed on the plains in October /November 2013 and was expected to bloom again in 2023/2024 as per its normal flowering cycle. Why has it bloomed five years before time? Has climate change contributed to this situation, we wondered. There are 31 species of Nelu in Sri Lanka out of which 26 varieties are endemic. We noticed four in bloom- Strobilanthus pulcherima ( light pink) Strobilanthus viscosa (white), Strobilanthus sexennies (blue) and Strobilantus calcynia (yellow). In 2013 when we last saw the Nelu in bloom , virtually the whole of the plains was covered with a blaze of pink, blue, white and yellow. This time there were no buzzing bees nor jungle fowl feeding on the seed fall as we noticed five years ago. Maybe the intense rain fall was bringing about an early end to the flowering and also kept the fauna away. Conservationist Rohan Pethiyagoda says in his book, Sri Lankas Cloud Forest National Park the only bloom with a resinous odour upon the completion of 10 to 12 year cycle. Certainly there was no resinous odour which filled our nostrils, only clean, salubrious air. Climate change the culprit? Former Director General of the Department of National Botanical Gardens Prof. Siril Wijesundara says, It is unusual that the flowers have bloomed so early on. It could be due to climate change. However we have no scientific data to prove this. Prof. Wijesundara had witnessed the blooming of the Nelu flowers back in 2013 and was expecting it to bloom once again in 2025 as expected of its 12-year flowering cycle. The Nelu plants follow this pattern because once the flowers bloom, the mother plant itself dies until it is again reproduced naturally after some time. Symphony for a Child: The very best of its kind View(s): The much awaited musical annual variety performance Symphony for a Child was held at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on November 4. An acclaimed concert pianist and music teacher, Mrs. Sirima Jayasekera has been the livewire behind it. Resident in the UK she spends quite some time in Sri Lanka and has undertaken this type of philanthropic activities, in England as well as in Sri Lanka, for at least two decades. Mrs. Jay, as she is affectionately known, has organised this event in London as well as in Colombo for several years. The Sri Lankan concert brings together a plethora of talented musicians in a magnificent spectacle of music, song and dance. The proceeds have always been used for the benefit for the children of Sri Lanka. This year it was to provide relief and support for children affected by HIV/AIDS, the assistance being channelled through the AIDS Foundation of Lanka for the very many projects for children initiated and maintained by the Foundation. The Chief Guest was Dr. Chris Nonis, former High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in UK and the Guests of Honour were Consultant Paediatrician Dr. B.J.C.Perera and his wife, Dr. Mrs. Sarojini Perera, former Director of Research and Programmes of the AIDS Foundation of Lanka. Dr. Pramilla Senanayake of the AIDS Foundation of Lanka made the introduction and the event began with a beautifully arranged and sparkling version of our National Anthem, by the Saint Cecilias Choir of Saint Josephs College, the award-winning boys choir. The choir presented a number of classical, semi-classical and popular songs that kept the audience spellbound interspersed with a few solos by the talented choristers. It was also wonderful to see some of the senior boys of the choir taking turns to conduct the singing with gusto and commitment. Yeran Aturupane presented a classical piano recital Nocturne in C sharp minor by Chopin followed by the Violin Duo of Darshana Amarasinghe and Manoj Wijayawardena who presented Largo ma nontanto from Concerto in D minor by Johann Bach. These were greatly appreciated by the audience. A change to the tempo and cultural diversity came next as Amithya Liyanage provided two Japanese presentations, Yume to Hazakura, and King by Lauren Aquilina. Choral Spectrum then presented a mix of favourite Sinhala, Tamil and English songs as well as their own original compositions with magnificent harmony. This was followed by the Ravibandhu and Samanthi Dance Ensemble stylising a novel dance item Athenian Damsels. The event continued with Yeran Aturupane on the violin this time with Introduction and Polonaise by Carl Bohm. It was followed by Rushane Fernando on the classical guitar presenting Prelude No.1 in E minor by Heiter Villa-Lobos. Soprano Ridmavi Anthony providing a superb vocal rendering of VoiChe Sappette-Operatic Aria by Wolfgang Mozart. The Ravibandu and Samanthi Dance Ensemble came on again to present a traditional Kandyan dance item, MathraNavaya. Finally the Saint Cecilias Choir of Saint Josephs College returned to present a fitting grand finale of an exciting mix of semi-pop arrangements from the songs of ABBA, Dr. Zhivago, to Elvis Presley and Andrea Boccelli. Francis DAlmeida, choirmaster and compere for the show encouraged the appreciative audience to join in a sing-along which had a very enthusiastic response. It was noteworthy that all the artistes performed completely free of charge. Mrs. Jayasekera thanked everybody involved in the production and reiterated that she keeps doing it not for any personal accolades but to bring glory to God above. A very special edition of Symphony for a Child will be held on October 20, 2019 to commemorate the 10th death anniversary of Mr. Brighty Jayasekera, the much loved husband of Mrs. Sirima Jayasekera. The cenotaph once stood tall on Galle Face Green By Randima Attygalle Today, November 11, marks the centenary of the end of World War I View(s): View(s): They shall grow not old As we that are left grow old Age shall not weary them, Nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun And in the morning We will remember them. When you go home Tell them of us and say We gave our tomorrow For your today. British poet Lawrence Binyons poignant ode can be found engraved as the epitaph on the War Memorial or the cenotaph (empty tomb or a monument honouring a person or group whose remains are elsewhere) that stands tall at the ViharaMaha Devi Park in Colombo. The cenotaph is a timeless reminder of the 442 service personnel who left the shores of then Ceylon and died in action in the First World War. Today, November 11, marks the centenary of the end of the war. The majority of the names engraved on the War Memorial are of British origin with a few local names such as Wijekoon, Obeysekera, Weerakoon, Perera, Ramanathan and Samarawickreme among them. Interestingly one female name appears as Miss L.Midwood. The name Ceylon is engraved on the upper part of the cenotaph, along with the Sinhala and Tamil translations. Below the inscription is the Royal Crown with the letters RGI denoting Rex George Imperator or King George V who was the British monarch at the time. The column has inscribed upon it the Arms of Ceylon on a shield and wreaths carved at the base of the column with eagles at each corner, chained and hooded. On the shaft of the column are oak leaves. Standing nearly 120 ft tall, the cenotaph accompanied by the backdrop arcade of several plaques, is one of the landmarks of Colombo city. Interestingly, the monument or the Victory Column as it was originally known, was initially located at the Galle Face esplanade. The Ceylon Independent of November 11, 1920 under the heading Ceylon War Memorial- Present Position of the Fund notes that the sum earmarked for the cost and erection of the Victory Column was R.150,000 and samples of the most suitable Indian stone were obtained and specimens forwarded to Sir Edwin Lutyens for his selection. The newspaper account further states that the architect of the project, Sir Edwin Lutyens who is credited with the design of the White Hall Cenotaph in England and the Rashtrapati Bhavan or the Presidential Residence in New Delhi (formerly known as Viceroys House) had selected the site on the Galle Face lying between the Colombo Club and the Battery (a bastion of the Colombo Fort). Historian, Prof. K.D. Paranavitana explains that this is the area between the Taj Samudra and the Presidential Secretariat. One bastion of the Colombo Fort was located around this area and the Victory Column had originally stood where the statue of Premier S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike stands today with the backdrop of the newly built Shangri-La Hotel. The ultimate choice of a monument for those who sacrificed their lives in World War I was a matter of dispute. Among the monuments that were mooted were a hospital, a Sailors Home and a new lighthouse. Sir Edwin Lutyens silenced all conflicting opinions reports the Ceylon Daily News of October 27th, 1923. The newspaper account further notes that the architect had told one of the Daily News representatives, that there should be nothing commercial about the memorial dedicated to those who laid their lives in the cause of liberty. The foundation stone for the monument as the engraved plaque on it confirms, was laid by the Governor, Brigadier General Sir William Henry Manning on December 7th, 1921. The Ceylon Daily News of the same day reports the event to be held under the banner: Ceylons War Memorial, laying of the foundation stone. Todays ceremonial at the Galle Face. The account gives an extensive report about the preparations and the Ground Plan for the ceremony, also details of its design: The Column will be constructed of the best Sholinghar (a district 30 miles north of Madras) granite 119 ft.6 in height and seven ft in diameter. The following days Ceylon Daily News provides an interesting account of the ceremony. After His Excellency touched the wet cement with the silver trowel, three workmen- a Sinhalese, a Tamil and a Moorman of Messers Braid and Co. who are building the Victory Column, moved the stone to position and His Excellency declared it well and truly laid with an ebony mallet also supplied by the Colombo Stores Ltd. Copies of yesterdays date of the five daily newspapers in Colombo and Ceylon coins, bearing this years date were placed in the cavity below the foundation stone. The ceremony was followed by a prayer. The monument was declared open on October 27th, 1923 by Governor Manning at 7.45 a.m. as the Ceylon Daily News records. According to the newspaper account, huge blocks of stone each weighing from one to four tons that arrived from the steamers from India, were all hoisted into position, shaped and dressed by skilled Indian workmen. Addressing the gathering on the day, Governor Manning who laid the foundation stone to this great monument of honour said, it will bear witness to the part the men of Ceylon, both British and Ceylonese took in that great struggle and it will be enshrined in the memories of all those who rest in peace, where they fought and died. With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, it was decided by the authorities that the Victory Column on the Galle Face esplanade would be a notable landmark to enemy aircraft and thus it had to be dismantled. After much deliberation as to where it should be relocated, it was finally decided to erect it at its present location- then known as the Victoria Park. Governor of Ceylon, Lord Soulbury took the decision to add a backdrop of columns and plaques bearing the names of those who lost their lives between 1939 and 1945 in the Second World War. The Ceylon Daily News of February 6th, 1952 headline announces: War Memorial Completed. The caption reads that the Princess Elizabeth will lay a wreath in memory of those killed in the last war. The Royal visit to the island was however cancelled due to an unexpected turn of events when King George VI died suddenly. The King dies in his sleep, Princess Elizabeth ascends the British throne the Ceylon Daily News of February 7th, 1952 proclaimed in bold letters. With the unexpected demise of King George VI, the royal itinerary was altered, as the Princess had to return to England from Kenya. A hush of sadness was cast over Ceylon yesterday evening, the Ceylon Daily News reported. Representing the Royal who had cut short her commonwealth tour, Lord Soulbury had later placed a poppy wreath at the cenotaph. The war monument which is of archaeological value has been renovated by the Sri Lanka Ex-Servicemens Association (SLESA) with the assistance of SL Navy which is responsible for its maintenance. A few years ago, SLESA added a decorative fence in front of the cenotaph along with concrete interlocking paving blocks. Flash lights were also installed to illuminate the monument at night. Warscapes to landscapes: Sir Donald McCullins haunting images View(s): The otherwise inexpressible horrors of war explode within his frames and you bathe in the grief and misery, bravery and sacrifice. No one brought the horrors and valour of the frontline to living rooms across the world as did Sir Donald McCullin. Which is why he could easily be Britains most renowned photojournalist. After his father died of asthma McCullin had to give up his scholarship at a junior art school. But later, when he joined the RAF and worked as a darkroom assistant, his innate visual interest just came out like a genie from a bottle. His first big break wielding the camera: a picture of The Guvners- a local gang one of whose members had committed a murder. The photo was bought by the Observer and a door would open out of nowhere for 23-year-old Don, at Fleet Street no less. A self funded trip to Berlin to see the wall being put up was what made his international reputation, and gave him a taste of being out there amidst strife and conflict, capturing its essence. The war in Cyprus in 1964 marked the beginning of his career as war photographer. Between 1966 and 1984, he worked for The Sunday Times Magazine, covering Biafra, the Belgian Congo, the Northern Irish Troubles, Bangladesh, the Lebanese civil war, El Salvador, and the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. He is best known for his iconic photos of Cambodia and Vietnam. He is also a talented essayist and author of more than a dozen books. He taught himself photojournalism in a country that understood little of the art. He would later call his university tomes of journals of sophisticated American work, among them the Photogram photography annuals. McCullin believes in the hard way; an artisanal approach. A critic of digital photography, he never air freighted his work, always bringing the film home with him and processing it himself in the darkroom with laborious care. After he was sacked by the Sunday Times because a new editor thought his work was depressing, Don McCullin started discovering landscapes, giving birth to haunting images where the sky looms large. When out there he feels the thrill of being part of the great canvas of history. When he feels his body being charged with pleasure in these spaces alive with a sense of the panorama of the past, he denies himself some of that by remembering how these places were built. Quoting from the Guardian: I know deep in my heart that if there wasnt that confusion and tension, then I would probably be too happy. And over the years, if Ive learned anything about myself, its that being too happy is the one thing that will never do. After the mid-term polls, what now for America? By Ian Buruma, exclusive to the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka View(s): View(s): NEW YORK At least it wasnt a disaster. If the Democrats had failed to secure a majority in the US House of Representatives, President Donald Trump would have felt almighty, with all the dire consequences that would entail. But the Republicans still control the Senate, and that means that the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, will be pushed further to the right. And the election of Republican governors in major states like Ohio and Florida means that electoral districts can be finessed to boost Trumps reelection chances in 2020. One of the most common political cliches ahead of these midterm elections was that they were a battle for Americas soul. It is easy to imagine Republicans and Democrats standing for two different versions of the country: one is overwhelmingly white, modestly educated, not very young, strong in rural areas, often male, and proud to own guns; the other is better educated, younger, urban, racially diverse, more female, and keen to control guns. These are caricatures, but they express a very recognisable reality. Though both sides believe they are patriotic Americans, their idea of patriotism could not be more different. The writer James Baldwin put the case for progressive patriotism well: he loved America more than any country in the world, and for that reason insisted on the right to criticise her perpetually. Trumpian patriots would have denounced Baldwin as a traitor. The big temptation for the Democrats, now that they have won control of the House, is to make the most of what they see as their greatest strengths: racial and gender diversity, and a shared loathing of Trump. This would be a logical position. Trump is indeed dreadful, and the Democrats could legitimately claim that older, rural white men are less representative of America today than the young, the urban, the nonwhite and newly empowered women. And yet, to focus the Democratic agenda on Trump and diversity would be a mistake. There will be pressure, especially from younger Democrats, fired up by their success, to impeach the president. But as long as the Senate, which would have to convict him, is in Republican hands, an indictment by the House would be practically meaningless. Even if impeached, he would still be president, and Republicans would be inclined to defend him even more fiercely. It is certainly a good thing to have more women and nonwhite, non-Christian representatives in the legislature. This provides a refreshing and necessary contrast to the Republican Party, which has remade itself in the image of its leader: angry, white, and often openly racist. But to fight Trumps identity politics with an equally aggressive form of identity politics would make political tribalism worse, and could make it harder for the Democrats to win national elections. There is always a danger that the Democrats will be divided, with younger radicals pitting themselves against the mostly white establishment. But the Republicans, who seem utterly united behind their leader, have a problem, too. The socially liberal, highly educated Republicans who used to be the backbone of the party have been pushed so far to the margins that they are almost invisible. John McCain was perhaps the last of those Mohicans. The Democrats should capitalise on that. And the way to do it would be to put less stress on sexual, racial, or gender identity, and more on the economy. This might seem a naive strategy during an economic boom, when Republicans can boast of record-low unemployment. But even many traditional laissez-faire conservatives should recognise that a yawning divide between rich and poor is not good for business. Henry Ford, who was not a fount of wisdom on many matters, recognised that if you want to sell cars, you have to put enough money into peoples pockets so that they can buy them. This, too, is an issue close to Americas conflicted soul. For some, American identity is based on red-blooded capitalist enterprise and rugged individualism, unhindered by excessive government regulation in the pursuit of material happiness. But for others, America stands on an ideal of greater social justice and economic equality which nowadays should include a commitment to address climate change (a barely-discussed issue in the midterms), given that global warming will harm the poor more than the rich. There have been boom times for the very wealthy, such as the Gilded Age in the late nineteenth century, when 2% of American households owned more than a third of the countrys wealth, or indeed our own time, when the top 1% owns almost half the wealth. And there have been periods of reform, when governments tried to redress the balance. The most famous example is Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal in the 1930s. It is clearly time for New Deal II. Instead of promising more tax breaks for the richest citizens, a more equitable fiscal policy could pay for necessary bridges and other public goods and services that would improve everyones life. Affordable health care for all citizens is a mark of a civilised society. The US is still a long way from that goal. The same is true of high-quality public education. It is grotesque that so many people who stand to benefit from such socialist policies are still persuaded to vote against them because they are supposedly un-American. Concentrating on egalitarianism would appeal to liberals, of course, but it should not alienate moderate voters either, because more equality would be good for the economy. And it might even persuade some angry, poor Trump supporters to recognise that his pseudo-populism is not about helping the left-behind folks in Rust Belt cities and rural hinterlands. It is about giving even more money to the very few. The Democrats core message for the next two years should be that in a plutocracy, everyone else loses. (Ian Buruma is the author, most recently, of A Tokyo Romance: A Memoir.) Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018. www.project-syndicate.org With population growth perceived as a threat to the countrys development, could policies to curb birth rates in Egypt make real headway I never wanted to have four children. I had planned for only two, said 39-year-old Shaimaa in a frustrated tone. Not that Shaimaa did not like children, but she explained that the financial burden of having to raise four children had itself been hard labour. Shaimaa had two unwanted pregnancies because she had probably received bad medical advice on contraception, she said. My husband has had to stop work, and Ive been grappling with different jobs since to make ends meet, she said. I had to accept jobs that involved difficult tasks like cleaning and looking after elderly people to be able to educate my children, she added. As the only breadwinner of her family, Shaimaa has to work 12 hours a day as a care-assistant in a home for the elderly. Her oldest two children have recently gone to university, adding to the financial pressure. I want them to receive a university education so that they can get good jobs and have a better life than mine, she said. I just hope I can pursue that dream under the present financial pressure. Similar financial pressures seem not to have dissuaded Mahmoud, a doorman from Aswan, from having more children. His wife has given birth to their third child despite the fact that Mahmoud can hardly support his family since he also has to provide for his parents and siblings back home. We love having children, and we trust that God will provide for them, Mahmoud explained. Im trying to get an extra job beside door-keeping to be able to feed my family. Its hard, of course, but children are the only support we have in life when we grow old. While family planning programmes may have proved inadequate in Shaimaas case, Mahmouds logic may equally epitomise the many challenges hindering decades of state efforts to curb Egypts growing population. Having children is, of course, a very personal choice, and many parents like Mahmoud hardly think twice about how their family planning decisions could affect the larger society. As a result, many governments worldwide may feel compelled to intrude into the lives of the people, either meddling with birth-control policies to help the floundering economy or providing incentives to couples to have more children in cases of low fertility rates. Sometimes such policies fail to yield the expected results or end up causing a demographic imbalance that forces a reversal of government policies, as is currently the case in China and Singapore. Egypt falls into the first category, as overpopulation has been widely seen as a time-bomb stifling attempts at economic development. The government has adopted national birth-control policies over recent decades, but these were temporarily pushed down the list of priorities in the aftermath of the 25 January Revolution that ended the rule of former president Hosni Mubarak. Today, however, family planning is back on track, since the birthrate has surged and the political will to curb it been revived after President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi said flatly at a youth conference last year that terrorism and overpopulation were the two biggest dangers that Egypt faces. Head of statistics agency the Central Agency for Population and Mobilisation Statistics (CAPMAS) Abu Bakr Al-Guindi has similarly warned that the country could be facing a catastrophe if population growth continues unabated. Alarming Rates According to Egypts 2017 census, the countrys population has more than doubled over the last 35 years, currently hitting 104 million people. If the current birthrate continues, being the worlds 13th highest at a newborn every 15 seconds, Egypts population is estimated to grow almost 50 per cent by 2038. For even the casual observer, these alarming figures immediately translate into daily hardships. Car-drivers now have to cope with round-the-clock traffic deadlock, especially in highly congested cities like Cairo and Alexandria. Public hospitals can hardly accommodate the number of patients they receive, while children are crammed into classrooms in state schools and expanding housing has encroached on arable land to meet population growth rates in rural areas. In the meantime, according to official figures poverty rates have increased to 28 per cent of the population, a figure that unofficial sources say could in reality be much higher, perhaps to the tune of 34 per cent or even extending to half the population. Although government figures indicated a drop in unemployment rates to 10.6 per cent of the population for the first quarter of this year, compared to 11.3 at the same time last year, Egypt still needs to create jobs for at least one million people entering the labour market every year. More alarmingly, perhaps, is the fact that Egypt is about to face what the UN terms water poverty and problems in feeding its population unless action is taken now. Economists explain that overpopulation becomes a threat when the rate of consumption exceeds savings and imports are larger than exports, the case in Egypt and many other developing countries. When the population is overblown, more imports are needed and consumption accelerates to cause problems that can stymie any attempts at development. Economic development is also often gauged by a countrys per capita income and the public services the government provides, and both seem to have been crumbling under rapid population growth in recent years. Egypt has been adopting family planning policies to rein in population growth since the 1960s, but it was in the 1970s that the US aid agency USAID stepped in with financial support for family planning programmes among other health services in Egypt. It was under former president Mubarak that Egypt intensified its efforts to rein in population growth rates, especially following Egypts hosting of an international population conference in 1994. Decades of modest decreases in Egypts population growth, however, gave way to a sudden surge in the birthrate following the 25 January Revolution, and the 2012 birthrate was considered a setback, taking Egypt back to the records of the early 1990s. As a result, the government entered the fray last year with more intensive efforts to curb the surge in the birthrate. New policies, including a campaign named two is enough, were adopted as part of the countrys population and development strategy for 2015-2030. The two [children] is enough project was designed by the Ministry of Social Solidarity, and it has been widely adopted by local media. It was clear at the outset that the project would not adopt a strict family planning policy that implied penalties and rewards akin to that of China but would rather aim to increase awareness and provide better reproductive health services. Fighting illiteracy, unemployment and poverty were all announced by the government as part of its broader birth-control strategy. The strategy soon received the support of USAID, which announced on its website that it would provide technical assistance and training to the Ministry of Health and Population to strengthen its Family Planning and Reproductive Health Programme. Contraception is the last thing we can rely on in the population strategy, the then health minister Ahmed Emadeddin told the newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm during the launch of the programme. He explained that tackling issues of illiteracy, school dropout rates, early marriages, unemployment and religious misconceptions on the issue were also equally important when dealing with family planning. However, more than a year after the campaign was launched there have been calls for adopting harsher policies, imposing penalties on those who do not stop at having two children. Parliament has recently been discussing a family planning bill which suggests depriving the third child of any kind of government support and offering financial incentives to those who decide to stop at two. Parents who do not abide by the number of children stipulated in the bill should not expect the government to subsidise the food, medical treatment, or education of the extra children, MP Mohamed Masoud explained. Devil In The Details The bill soon attracted criticism for being too harsh. Professor of gynaecology and family-planning expert Ahmed Rashed slammed it for being catastrophic as most of those who have large families belong to the poorer strata of society. It is totally illogical and against human rights to punish a third baby in this way, Rashed said. After all, 20 per cent of pregnancies have been found to be the result of unmet needs. That is, 20 in every 100 women have an unwanted pregnancy as a result of not receiving the right or any reproductive health services, while those resulting from using the wrong contraceptive methods due to bad advice could reach 80 per cent of unplanned pregnancies, he said. A 2014 paper by Tarek Amin, professor of community medicine and public health at Cairo Universitys Faculty of Medicine, corroborates the fact that unmet needs are prevalent among many Egyptian women having more births than they consider ideal. According to Ministry of Health statistics, around eight in 10 married women in Egypt want no additional children or to delay the next birth for at least two years, yet a sizeable proportion do not use contraception, Amin wrote in his Trends and Patterns of Use and Barriers to Family Planning in Egypt. A recent survey has showed that the highest level of the use of family planning was observed in the 35-39 age group at some 92 per cent, he added. Total fertility would thus perhaps fall to 2.4 births per woman if unmet needs were efficiently tackled, according to Amin. Imposing penalties would be a grave mistake, he said. The problem with the current unclear family planning policies immediately show up in the mentality of those designing them, he lamented. He said that penalties were not just against a childs right to education and healthcare, as stipulated in the constitution and human rights documents. They would also strip the country of having a healthy and well-educated generation in future, he insisted, adding that having more uneducated and unhealthy children is primarily the governments problem, not a mother or child issue. Rashed is equally worried that any such campaign would stop at a local media campaign in the absence of any transparent strategy or effective outreach campaign similar to the state project to fight the Hepatitis C virus, for example. Contraceptives, he explained, are too expensive to be handed out for free, while healthcare providers may find few incentives to do an honest days work since the bulk of the projects budget could be channeled to senior officials. Workers in family planning clinics sometimes produce papers showing that contraceptives were provided, while in fact they often get rid of them simply because of government inspections, Rashed told Al-Ahram Weekly. Family planning programmes were most effective in the period between 1996 and 2000, when USAID-supported fieldworkers would go on outreach visits to women in their homes in rural areas and provide advice in pediatric clinics when mothers went for their childrens vaccinations or check-ups. This is not the case now, he said. In the absence of these outreach programmes, Rashed said that media campaigns can hardly convince women to visit clinics or change their convictions regarding the number of children they would like to have. The government has to recruit civil society to help in effective awareness campaigns, and it needs to recruit technical advisors who have the will to bring actual change on the ground, he said. Cultural Barriers However, cultural, economic and social barriers also have to be tackled for any family planning policy to bear fruit. Most of those having large families belong to the poorer strata of society with no access to social or medical insurance programmes, explained Karima Korayem, a professor of economics at Al-Azhar University and an economic consultant to a number of international organisations. Many such families do not even have access to food ration cards. There is also a consensus among demographic experts that for many poor families a child costs little and soon becomes a financial asset to the family as they drop out of school to join the labour market early in their lives. Those people are not stupid. They do have a point, Korayem said. Family planning policies should study the demographic reality in order to be able to design concrete solutions because media campaigns cannot deal with such issues, she insisted. Since having more children is seen as a form of life insurance for the very poor when they get old or if the family breadwinner falls ill or dies, the real solution in Korayems view is to provide a stronger safety network to that segment of society. If poor families felt they received real government support in the form of a pension and health insurance, they would probably not feel the need to have more children or even employ those children when they are young, Korayem insisted. In the absence of such support, awareness campaigns will just fall on deaf ears. Middle-class families already tend to have fewer children because, as Rashed puts it, they are encumbered with the expenses of private schooling, university education and high living costs. Most middle-class families who have more than two children would thus fall into the category of those having an unwanted pregnancy, Rashed said. But social workers also mention other family planning barriers like couples wanting a different sex of child, usually a boy in rural areas, or having religious misconceptions about contraception as being haram (sinful), the latter being tackled by Al-Azhar, the renowned religious institute. It is common that women have more children in attempts to have a boy, said Fatma, a 65-year-old mother of six girls, of whom three are married. Fatma had six girls in her attempts to have a boy, but she never succeeded. She does not seem to regret it despite the hardships she has had to bear in educating her girls and marrying them off. Instead, she feels rewarded that her girls do all the household chores for her since she is growing old. They also help with expenses since they all work and contribute to the household budget. Children are an asset in life, Fatma said in a contented voice. Yet, although her eldest daughter wanted to stop at two children, her husband threatened to remarry if she did not have more. Now she has four, and her health has deteriorated, Fatma lamented. Life has changed. It is not easy to have many kids these days, she said. Changing the mindsets of people and cultural barriers is hard, and some pessimists could agree with a recent editorial in the UK Guardian newspaper suggesting that in many cases crude attempts to raise and lower birthrates are unlikely to produce sustainable solutions. There are also those who view overpopulation as more of an asset than a threat. They argue than half of Egypts population is young, which means they can be productive and help in economic growth. China and Singapore are mentioned as cases in point to corroborate this kind of argument. Chinas economic miracle has been fueled by its demographic dividend: an unusually high proportion of working age citizens, wrote the Guardian. China, however, is currently facing a time bomb of an ageing population as a result of its harsh one-child family planning policy. Today, it needs to reverse this as the number of young adults is plummeting due to strict birth control policies, while with increased life its population bulge is becoming a problem as it ages, the newspaper said. In the meantime, tens of millions of workers have migrated to the cities, creating an even worse imbalance in rural areas which already suffer low incomes, poor public services and minimal social security. Egypts slogan mimics Singapores stop at two edict in the 1970s, the Guardian suggested. But Singapore is trying to reverse its policies, offering incentives for couples having more than two children. Egypt might want to proceed with care because as China and Singapore have found, an apparently desirable fall in the birthrate can have unanticipated consequences, according to the newspaper. But Korayem rules out any similarity between Egypt and China or Singapore since each country has its own demographic character and culture. Those in the opposite camp who remain positive on overpopulation issues suggest investing in Egypts human assets via developing education in a way that would serve the labour market and providing young people with help in starting small and medium-sized enterprises. They suggest this could mimic India in boosting productivity and exporting human expertise. But, as Korayem argues, there is no one solution that fits all, and the question of whether other countries experiences fit Egypt has to be carefully studied first. After all, she said, small and medium-sized enterprises have failed in many cases when people could not pay back loans. Rashed insists that curbing population growth should come first. The bulk of the population falls into the school-age category, which costs a lot until it reaches the age of productivity, he argued. So, you need to have a population size that meets your resources first, or otherwise you will be left with an unhealthy, poorly-educated generation that can hardly be productive. * A version of this article appears in print in the 8 November, 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Debating birth control Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry headed the Egyptian delegation to Bahrain on Saturday for the 10th meetings of the joint committee, MENA reported. The two-day meetings are held for discussions on joint cooperation across all domains, foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said. Several cooperation agreements are expected to be signed at the meetings. The agreements will be held under the co-chairmanship of the Bahraini and the Egyptian foreign ministers, added the spokesman. Search Keywords: Short link: Floods in Jordan kill 12, force tourists to flee Petra Amman, Nov 10 (AFP) Nov 10, 2018 Flash floods killed 12 people in Jordan and forced nearly 4,000 tourists to flee the famed ancient desert city of Petra, emergency services said on Saturday. Search teams were scouring valleys near the historic hill town of Madaba for a young girl who was still missing after Friday's floods, civil defence spokesman Iyad Amru told state television. Among those confirmed dead after torrential rains swept the south of the kingdom were six people found in the Madaba area southwest of the capital Amman. To the east, three people were killed near Dabaa on the Desert Highway, one of Jordan's three main north-south arteries, while one was killed near Maan in the south. It was not immediately clear where the other two died. Amru said two girls had gone missing in the Madaba region, later announcing that one of their bodies had been found. Government spokeswoman Jumana Ghneimat said authorities had alive found four Israeli tourists who had gone missing in the Wadi Rum desert in southern Jordan but were looking for two more. "Our embassy in Tel Aviv contacted the Israeli foreign ministry for information on the identities of the missing Israelis," Ghneimat said in statements carried by the state news agency Petra. A spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry confirmed that contact had been lost with two Israeli tourists who were in Wadi Rum. - Tourists evacuated - The Jordanian army deployed helicopters and all-terrain vehicles to help with search and rescue operations after floodwaters cut off the Desert Highway in both directions. A rescuer was also among the dead, the civil defence spokesman said. State television said the waters had reached as high as four metres (13 feet) in parts of the red-rock ravine city of Petra and the adjacent Wadi Musa desert. It broadcast footage of tourists sheltering on high ground on both sides of the access road to Jordan's biggest attraction. The government spokeswoman said 3,762 tourists were evacuated. Designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1985, Petra draws hundreds of thousands of tourists a year to its rock-hewn treasury, temples and mausoleums. Its buildings have been used as sets for several Hollywood blockbusters including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Wadi Rum, also a UNESCO world heritage site, has attracted generations of tourists with its spectacular sandstone and granite rock formations. Its moonlike landscapes served as a backdrop in the filming of the Hollywood classic Lawrence of Arabia. The latest deaths come after October 25 flash floods in the Dead Sea region of the kingdom killed 21 people, most of them children on a school trip. Jordan's education and tourism ministers both resigned last week over failings in the government's response to those floods. The education ministry ordered schools closed nationwide on Saturday amid warnings of more heavy rains. Jordan's minister of water and irrigation, Raed Abu al-Saoud, said on Saturday that the country's 14 main dams had filled up by some 26 percent of full capacity in the past 48 hours because of the torrential rains. Jordan is a water-poor country that is 90 percent desert. Lumberton Police Department(NEW YORK) -- The state of North Carolina is offering up to a $5,000 reward in the desperate search for kidnapped 13-year-old Hania Noelia Aguilar. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced the additional reward Thursday afternoon, asking for information that leads investigators to Hania's location. The FBI is offering a reward up to $20,000. Hania was kidnapped just before 7 a.m. local time Monday outside her home at the Rosewood Mobile Home Park in Lumberton, North Carolina, according to police. Hania had grabbed her aunt's car keys that morning so she could turn on the vehicle before school. That's when a witness saw a man clad in all black with a yellow bandanna over his face approach the girl and force her into the green, 2003 Ford Expedition, police said. The suspect then drove away in the family's SUV with Hania inside, police said. The stolen vehicle was located several miles away on Quincey Drive three days later, but Hania was nowhere to be found. So far, there is no indication Hania was targeted, according to police. "It breaks my heart to stand here before you five days after Hania has been missing and kidnapped and not have her back yet," Lumberton Police Chief Michael McNeill told reporters at a press conference Friday afternoon. Investigators are trying to track down a man who is seen in surveillance footage walking in the neighborhood Monday morning, around the time Hania was abducted. The three videos, which the FBI released earlier this week, show the unidentified man wearing light-colored shoes, a light-colored shirt and a hoodie. The man is not considered a suspect or person of interest at this time. Rather, he's someone authorities "want to speak with" who may be able to help investigators narrow down a timeline of Hania's kidnapping, according to FBI Supervisor Andy de la Rocha. Authorities are seeking additional surveillance footage from anyone who lives or owns a business on or around Quincey Drive. Investigators are also going "door-to-door" to speak to people in the neighborhood, according to the Lumberton police chief. "We urgently need the public's help," McNeill told reporters at a press conference Thursday. "We need them more now than ever to find Hania and bring her back." Hania's mother, Elsa Hernandez, said she is distraught over her daughter's kidnapping but has faith she will be found safe. "I don't have words to describe how I feel," Hernandez said, speaking in Spanish in an interview with ABC Durham, North Carolina, station WTVD. "She's a good, sweet girl." Hania is described as a Hispanic girl who is 5 feet tall and weighs about 125 pounds, according to the FBI. She has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a blue shirt with flowers and blue jeans. Authorities have set up a special tip line that anyone can call if they have information to help investigators find Hania: (910) 272-5871. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Egypt's Tourism Minister Rania el Mashaat met in London with Chief Executive Officer for Thomas Cook Group Peter Fankhauser to discuss means of fostering relations and opening new markets for Egyptian tourism from China and Eastern Europe. In a press release, the Ministry of Tourism said that the meeting was attended by a number of leaderships in Thomas Cook Group, head of the Tourism Promotion Authority Ahmed Youssef and tourism advisor in London Amr el Ezzaby. Fankhauser said that more tourists are wishing to spend their vacation in Egypt especially in Luxor and Marsa Allam cities. He wished that Egypt will launch a direct flight to Sharm El-Sheikh to receive more tourists. The minister noted that there are a lot of opportunities for tourism investment in Egypt especially in New Alamin area that was inaugurated recently by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi as well as other areas in the Red Sea region. Mashaat asserted that the government is giving great attention to the tourism industry as one of the main pillars of Egypt's national economy. She noted that her ministry is cooperating and coordinating with the ministries antiquities and civil aviation to develop the tourism sector. Search Keywords: Short link: Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Shanghai, China Sat, November 10, 2018 13:01 1107 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877b875af 2 Science & Tech China,artifical-intelligence,AI,media,technology Free China's state-controlled news broadcasters have long been considered somewhat robotic in their daily recitation of pro-government propaganda and a pair of new presenters will do little to dispel that view. Calling it a "world first", Xinhua news agency this week debuted a pair of virtual news anchors amid a state-directed embrace of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). Based on the appearances of two flesh-and-blood Chinese news presenters, the computerized avatars read out text that is fed into their system, their mouths moving in tandem with the reports. Xinhua said the "AI Synthetic Anchors", one for Chinese and one for English news, were developed along with Sogou Inc, a Beijing-based creator of search engines and voice-recognition technology. China last year unveiled plans to become a world leader in AI and other high-tech fields, though it has since toned down the rhetoric amid a trade war with the United States, which has included accusations by President Donald Trump that China steals US technologies. Read also: China to train its brightest students to develop AI weapons The digital anchors offer certain advantages over humans, Xinhua said, such as being able to work 24 hours a day and to quickly disseminate breaking news. "The AI Synthetic Anchor has officially become part of the Xinhua reporting team. He will work together with other anchors to bring you authoritative, timely and accurate news and information in Chinese and English," Xinhua said. The anchors have appeared on some Xinhua online and social media products, but it was not immediately clear how extensively they would be used by the agency. Rather than true AI, however, the Xinhua presenters merely react to text that is fed into their systems, the agency said. True AI involves machines that can think, make decisions and take action on their own. The avatars debuted this week during the World Internet Conference, an annual convention in the eastern Chinese city of Wuzhen organised by China's government. Egypts foreign minister Sameh Shoukry and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, will co-chair in December the upcoming Egypt-EU Partnership Council meeting. According to a joint statement that was distributed in Cairo by the EU Commission on Saturday, the partnership commission held its sixth meeting in Cairo over the past two days under the co-chairmanship of ambassador of the Egyptian foreign ministry Raouf Saad and the director of the Middle East and North Africa Department in the EU Colin Scicluna. The meeting included means of implementing partnership priorities from 2017-2020 and the development of cooperation between both sides since the convocation of the last session in 2016. The two sides discussed the Middle East peace process and issues in Syria, Libya and Yemen, added the statement. They also reviewed the outcome of sub-committees' meetings, which included enhancing cooperation in the political, economic and social domains, along with the fields of human rights, security, energy and fighting illegal migration, the statement said. The two sides also voiced pleasure over a decision that was adopted by the Egyptian government, cancelling customs duties on European-imported vehicles as of January 1 next year, the statement concluded. Search Keywords: Short link: Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, November 10, 2018 18:08 1107 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877b92669 1 Entertainment Indonesia,Movie,Singapore-International-Film-Festival,festival,film Free More than 100 films from 44 countries are set to be screened at the 29th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) slated to run from Nov. 28 to Dec. 9. Among the films is Jogjakarta-born 2017 Honorary Award recipient Garin Nugrohos 19th feature, Memories of My Body, which will be screened on Dec. 1. The film tells the story of a young Lengger dancer transitioning into manhood amid Indonesias social norms. Read also: Film festival in Indonesia goes beyond awards night Meanwhile Elinah, a film about the first pregnancy struggle of a young mother directed by Ninndi Raras, director and founder of Labide Studio, a production company in Yogyakarta, will have its international premiere at the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition. The film will be judged by an all-female jury. The 2018 SGIFF is said to celebrate progressive developments in Asian cinema and diversity in filmmaking. A new SGIFF Film Fund will also be launched to support original voices in Southeast Asian films. Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh is set to receive the 2018 Honorary Award, and the Cinema Legend Award will go to the famous Asian-American actress and filmmaker, Joan Chen. (iru/kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, November 10, 2018 07:05 1108 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877b7fb3a 1 City mortar,seizure,Tangerang Free As many as 60 active mortars have been seized from an junk iron seller named Dafir in Cipondoh, Tangerang, Banten, a police officer has said. We found 57 mortars that were 30 centimeters long and 9 cm in diameter. Also there were three small mortars that are 21 cm long and 6 cm in diameter, Tangerang Police crime unit chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. Deddy Supriady, said on Thursday as quoted by kompas.com. The mortars are active and rusty, he added. According to Dafir, he bought the mortars from two unknown men who offered them to him on Tuesday. He said the two unidentified men were traveling in a black van. According to Dafir, the two men wore black construction worker suits. They said they found the mortars when they were excavating for a road project in Citra Raya. Dafir bought the mortars for Rp 4,600 per kilogram (31 US cents). In total he bought 220 kg in four sacks. Cipondoh Police chief Comr. Sutrisno, said Dafir did not know the mortars were active. He is just a used iron seller. He thought the mortars were just old bullets, he said. After buying the mortars, Dafir informed the local police, as he had become suspicious. After the officers inspected the mortars, they concluded they were active and dangerous. A Gegana bomb squad seized the mortars on Tuesday night. Dafir was not arrested of course, Sutrisno said. (gis) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, November 10, 2018 08:02 1108 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877b8092c 1 City teenagers,robbery,arrest,gang,West-Jakarta Free Palmerah Police in West Jakarta have arrested four teenagers they accuse of being involved in 11 robbery cases in Jakarta. The teenagers were arrested at separate locations. During the robberies they did not hesitate to hurt their victims. They were cruel and were not afraid of anything. Mostly they seized their victims money and cellphones, Palmerah Police chief, Comr. Ade Rosa, said as quoted by wartakota.tribunews.com on Friday. Police said they have been pursuing the gang since Oct. 30, after one victim reported being robbed at a cafe on Jl. Anggrek Rosliana in Kemanggisan, West Jakarta. The victim of that incident, Nilla Dahniar, 49, said the robbers seized two cellphones and some money. The victim was closing her cafe when four culprits approached. Two people stood outside and two others went inside and threatened her with a sickle, Ade said. (gis) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, November 10 2018 Cuffed and guarded: Police officers escort Rohandi (center) to a car to be transported to the North Jakarta Police station for questioning. Rohandi allegedly attacked police officers at the Penjaringan Police station with a machete and a knife and smashed windows.(JP/David Caessarre) A 31-one-year-old suffering from depression, who reportedly attacked officers at the Penjaringan Police headquarters in North Jakarta on Friday morning, wanted to be shot dead, the police have claimed. The suspect, Rohandi, was depressed because he has inoperable lymph node cancer, Penjaringan Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Rachmat Sumekar said as quoted by kompas.com on Friday. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, November 10, 2018 15:30 1107 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877b9054b 4 City murder,murder-case,Tangerang,ride-hailing-service,ride-hailing-application,Grab,GrabCar Free Investigators in Tangerang Polices criminal investigation unit arrested a 17-year-old boy identified only as FF on Friday for allegedly taking part in the murder of 68-year-old Jap Son Tauw, a driver for a ride-hailing application company. FF was arrested in Sunter, North Jakarta on Friday, Tangerang Police chief Sr. Comr. Sabilul Alif said. During interrogation, the suspect admitted that he committed the murder, Sabilul said on Friday as reported by tribunnews.com. Sabilul explained that the police had tracked down FFs whereabouts from the route of the online order sent to Jap on Monday. Investigators then combed the location until they found the suspect. Based on preliminary investigation, FF allegedly committed the murder with two other people identified only as REH and RLP, who remain at large as they escaped during the raid, Sabilul added. Tangerang Police criminal investigation unit head Adj. Comr. Gogo Galesung said the police had seized several items of evidence, consisting of clothing worn by the suspect, one Grab Card and clothes belonging to the victim, a knife, a large rock and a sack. Jap worked as a driver for the Malaysian-based ride-hailing service Grab Indonesia. His son reported that he had lost contact with Jap since Monday. At the time, the victim had reportedly picked up a passenger, identified as Y, in Duta Harapan Indah, North Jakarta, looking to go to Kapuk Pasar Alam, West Jakarta. The police have yet to identify a connection with Y or a motive for the murder as the investigation process is still ongoing. (sau) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Gemma Holliani Cahya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, November 10, 2018 15:06 1107 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877b8f99e 1 National train-accident,surabaya,National-Heroes-Day,Surabaya-Membara-accident Free Three people were killed and 20 others injured when a train passed a crowd of residents celebrating National Heroes Day in Surabaya, East Java, on Friday night. The crowd had gathered on the edge of a railway bridge on Jl. Pahlawan at 8 p.m. to watch a theater performance titled Surabaya Membara (Surabaya Burning) near the Heroes Monument. According to kompas.com, the scheduled train was passing over the bridge and sounded its horn having slowed down to 15 kilometers per hour from 30 kph after the train driver saw the group of people standing on the railway. Some people reportedly lost balance as the train moved forward causing the bridge to vibrate, and fell 7 meters to the street below. Three were hit by train. The Transportation Ministry's railway director general, Zulfikri, said the ministry will compensate the victims of the accident and expressed his condolences to the families who had lost their loved ones. However, he pointed out that railway bridges are not suitable places from which to view events. "The [law] clearly states that unauthorized people are prohibited from accessing the tracks for any reason. The railway cannot be used carelessly because it involves the safety of train travel," he said in a press release on Saturday. Surabaya is known as the City of Heroes, and the outdoor theater performance, which relives the historic Battle of Surabaya when the people fought to liberate their city from Dutch rule on Nov. 10 in 1945, is an annual affair that always draws large crowds in the city. (wit) Actors perform "Surabaya Membara", an annual theater show to commemorate the National Heroes Day in the East Java capital city, on Friday. (Antara/M. Risyal Hidayat) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, November 10, 2018 13:15 1107 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b30877b8e91f 4 City suicide-attempt,South-Tangerang,Banten Free A woman identified only as SR, 48, died in Fatmawati Hospital in South Jakarta on Wednesday as a result of severe burn injuries that she suffered after setting herself on fire in an apparent suicide attempt. [SR] died at 12:05 a.m. on Nov. 7, Fatmawati Hospital spokesperson Atom said as quoted by kompas.com on Friday. Atom said the hospital had made every effort to save SR according to standard medical procedures. SR had previously been taken care of at South Tangerang Regional Hospital, Banten, for her burn injuries before being rushed to Fatmawati. Head of medical services at the regional hospital, Imbar Umar Ghozali, said SR suffered 80 percent burns to her face, chest, thighs, back and other parts of her body. We transferred her to Fatmawati Hospital because we do not have a burns treatment isolation room, Imbar said. SR reportedly set fire to herself in her rented house in Jl. Sukma, Ciputat, South Tangerang on Tuesday. She was saved by her neighbors who heard her screaming and rushed her to the nearby hospital. (gis) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rachmadea Aisyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, November 10 2018 A senior woman minister in President Joko Jokowi Widodos administration has urged women to fight against the gender stereotypes that are keeping them from reaching their true potentials in their professional lives. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the first woman to hold the position in Indonesia, said that societies throughout the world, including Indonesia, imposed restrictive standards on women, in which they were perceived as precious and gentle. This, she said, was constraining. Women are respected and positioned on a higher plane but they are there alone. That places limitations on what they are and are not allowed to do, which is a consequence of stereotyping, Sri Mulyani said during the first Indonesian Womens Forum in Jakarta on Friday. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed during a Saturday phone call with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte Egypts support to efforts related to reaching a political resolution to the Libyan crisis. In an official statement, presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said El-Sisi receoved a phone call from Conte, where they discussed the Libyan crisis and exchanged viewpoints on a number of regional issues of common interest. According to the statement, El-Sisi accentuated Egypts position of adhering to the unity of Libyan lands and a support of its national institutions, as well as a respect to the will of the people, which contributes to the return of stability and security in the Middle East. The phone call by Conte comes a few days ahead of an Italian hosted conference in Palermo, joining key political Libyan factions and other international partners in the latest bid to solve the continuing Libyan crisis and proceed with a plan to hold planned elections. Search Keywords: Short link: According to the university, handing out such offers was not economically sustainable as students were getting into their courses without having achieved the grade requirements. Tes reported that some A Level students even started to skip school after receiving unconditional offers. UCAS revealed in their end of cycle report that in 2017, over fifteen per cent of 18-year-old applicants in the UK received an unconditional offer.So do unconditional offers make students lazy and complacent? Cardiff fresher Sophie achieved her grades despite her unconditional offer. Speaking to TNS, she said that unconditional offers are "great for students who are willing to continue working, but if not then its just a waste!" Chrystal, a third-year student at Birmingham university did not achieve the grade requirement of the course. "I got my unconditional and thought 'well now I dont have to try.' I needed AAB and in the end, I got ABB."An anonymous respondent said that they worked less hard in their A Levels because of their unconditional offer, admitting they ended up missing their requirements by 2 grades. A recent Sheffield Hallam graduate also admitted the offer made them put less effort into their A Levels admitting I know I wouldve worked harder without the unconditional offer. I just thought whats the point of getting stressed out when at the end of the day Im going to uni whatever the results. However, this sentiment was not echoed in all of our respondents. Jess, a third year at Sheffield Hallam, said I definitely would say having mine made me less determined because I knew I had a place but in some cases, I feel like it made me do better because I was so comfortable sitting the exams. Katie H, a third year at Birmingham, said I felt much less pressured, but I didnt work any less hard. Katie B, another third year at Birmingham who still achieved the AAB required for her course, said I worked as hard as if I had a conditional offer. In the back of my mind, I was keen to at least achieve the conditional grades that my course required.' She agreed that the unconditional offer attracted her towards Birmingham 'when choosing between two universities that were of a similar level of academic standard, having the novelty of an unconditional definitely had to capacity to sway my overall decision." Genevieve, a second year at Birmingham, admits that she applied to Birmingham uni because she "knew that gave out a lot of unconditional," admitting Birmingham was actually her 5th choice, but the unconditional attracted her to the uni. Despite this, Genevieve claims the unconditional made no difference to her work ethic, but it did make her feel "a little more relaxed." Some students claimed their unconditional offers actually spurred them to overachieve their required grades. Emily, a third year at Birmingham, said it spurred me on because I thought they were showing they had faith in me so I thought Id prove they made the right choice. Only requiring AAB for her course, she received A*A*A. Is it time that universities scrap unconditional offers? Southern Pines, NC (28387) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low around 50F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low around 50F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Montreal, CA (H4T1V6) Today Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 7C. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 4C. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Sizhong Chen wrote this for The Sun Chronicle as part of the Boston University Statehouse Program. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday named a scholar who served as a Vatican diplomat as the US envoy to Africa's Great Lakes region, filling a position aimed at encouraging stability in the conflict-ridden area. J. Peter Pham, now a vice president at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank, will focus on "strengthening democratic institutions and civil society," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. He will also work to encourage "the safe and voluntary return of the region's refugees and internally displaced persons," she said, amid renewed tensions in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The appointment comes ahead of December 23 presidential elections that are seen as critical for the future of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the sprawling nation that has never experienced a peaceful transition of power. Pham will fill a role empty for a year since the departure of Larry Wohlers, a veteran US diplomat who held a similar role as special coordinator for the Great Lakes. Pham holds a doctorate from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and later served as a diplomat for the Vatican around Africa and in the Philippines, according to James Madison University, where he is an associate professor. He was formerly a vice president of the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa, a group of scholars founded by two of the most prominent academics to support the US invasion of Iraq, Fouad Ajami and Bernard Lewis. Atlantic Council president Frederick Kempe congratulated Pham, crediting him with producing "cutting-edge projects" about Africa. "It's difficult to imagine anyone with deeper subject-matter expertise on the challenges faced by Africans or US ties with the countries of the African Great Lakes," Kempe said. Search Keywords: Short link: remaining of 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. MIKE KIRBY of North Attleboro is a former editor of The Sun Chronicle. Contact him at mkirbygolf18@gmail.com. US-led coalition air strikes killed 26 civilians including 14 children Friday in a holdout of the Islamic State group in eastern Syria, a Britain-based war monitor said. Those killed in the eastern town of Hajin near the Iraqi border were relatives of IS fighters and also included 9 women, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Search Keywords: Short link: MBABANE Conservation is as common a term as is the act of destroying indigenous plantations in Eswatini. The alarming rate of deforestation in the country has unearthed issues rooted in poverty and linked to the rising trend in commercial and residential developments. The severity of the matter was magnified during an interview with the General Manager of Big Game Parks, Ann Reilly, who lamented the lack of input into conserving and managing the general landscapes of Eswatini. She expressed that this issue, which she holds dear to her heart, is one that demands action from all individuals in the country and not just government authorities and organisations. Reilly went on to celebrate the beautiful landscapes that the kingdom boasts of. She deemed it heartbreaking that this rich asset was experiencing dilapidation at an alarming rate. Problematical Any natural vista (view) left is almost certainly either a private farm or a game reserve. This is extremely problematical going forward, even more so for the health of our country and our people, she said. Assistant National Herbarium Curator at the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Zachariah Dlamini, declared this matter a national crisis. Dlamini attributed the exponential increase in deforestation to the unrelenting demand for indigenous plants for medicinal purposes and the harvesting of trees for firewood. He said that in the latter case, wood harvesters targeted fresh indigenous trees that, when uninterrupted, grow to be of great value for future generations. He also shared that highly-exploited vegetation includes trees such as umkhaya, ishankwe and singa which are commonly ferried in big trucks within the country and outside it. In some instances, wood acquired from these trees were sold to butcheries and on roadsides across the country. Dlamini further stated that poverty and the desperate need for income largely contributed towards the cutting down of trees. However, he strongly discouraged this method of earning a living, highlighting that, not only was it detrimental to the environment, but it was also not sustainable. Survive When asked to detail efforts made by the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs in offering effective alternatives for people who survive on selling wood, he mentioned that the Government did not have any projects that respond directly to this matter as yet. Instead, he revealed that they were collaborating with their stakeholders, who include development agents and parastatal organisations such as Eswatini Environmental Authority (EEA), Eswatini National Trust Commission and Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise. Collectively, we run a community outreach programme, through which we sensitise people on the importance of conservation. We explain the long-term benefits that they stand to reap from protecting indigenous plants, said Dlamini. Sustainable Through this programme, it is said that community members are then given some money that they can invest towards establishing and maintaining sustainable developments that involve increasing access to water and establishing community farming developments. He also said the act of cutting down indigenous plants was unlawful. He referenced the Flora Protection Act, Section 5 of 2001, which speaks to the unlawful picking of protected flora. The Act prohibits the plucking, picking, cutting, uprooting, digging out, injuring, breaking, processing or destroying any specially protected flora, save in the case of a permit issued by the Minister. MANZINI The fifth LUCT graduation has been described as the leeway to economical growth by His Majesty the King. LUCT stands for the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology. The King said he was already seeing significant progress towards achieving the Kingdoms national goal to position Eswatini as a developed country globally. He said this through a message contained in a LUCT fifth graduation ceremony booklet. The graduation ceremony was held at theMavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre yesterday. The King said included in these goals were concerted efforts to revamp and accelerate the development of human resources in the country to a point where it met global standards. This will help the kingdom create a sustainable economy and address poverty issues, the King said. empowering He said this would be done by empowering the next generation with skills that allowed them to manipulate the latest technological innovations and inventions. On that note, the King said the world was using technology not only to interact but also to generate wealth. Technology has now become a vital part of economies around the world, the King added. He said LUCT has helped transform the youth of Eswatini into confident, skilled and techno-savvy individuals, who have the capacity to think creatively when providing solutions in the business environment. Furthermore, the King told the graduands that they had the privilege to explore opportunities that were previously unavailable in the country. encourage The skills you have acquired from LUCT will enable you to venture into entrepreneurship, which is something we encourage you to explore in order to boost our countrys economy, His Majesty said. The King went on to commend the institution for working closely with industry captains. He affirmed that the Kingdom had entered the next phase of its growth and that it was, in part, being driven by products of LUCT. With their skills and global perspective, His Majesty said the nation believes, under no shadow of doubt, that they would help bring the country closer to attaining First World Status in the near future. MANZINI Under no circumstances will workers ever believe and understand the gospel of government being in cash liquidity problems. This, they said was because of its spending patterns as a country which indicate that money was in abundance. The workers made this submission during a first-of-its kind courtesy meeting by the Prime Minister, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini. The premier met Public Sector Associations (PSAs) at the Mavuso Trade Centre, yesterday after gracing the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology Graduation ceremony. The PSAs had earlier in the week voiced their excitement about the PM inviting them for a face to face meeting. agenda Even though the agenda was not clear from the start, it was the PSAs main wish that the 6.5 per cent salary increment they have been requesting would be discussed. This is because government had urged them to stop strike actions and wait for the new government. The PSAs comprised of SNAT, the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU), National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) and the Swaziland National Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP). The workers also told Dlamini that they would never accept salary cuts and salary freezes. This follows submissions made by Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg, that the economic status of the country could be changed through freezing of salaries, among other things. dire According to a statement released by the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), the premier told them that government was in dire cash liquidity problems. He is said to have requested his Finance minister (Neal) to confirm the governments financial quagmire and that government was in a worse situation this year than it was in 2011. Part of the brief report to their membership reads: In his speech, the Prime Minister, made a commitment to establish harmonious relations with all social partners (Unions included). He stressed his commitment on ensuring economic improvement through job creation and instilling fiscal discipline to the rest of the government departments and officers. He stated that negotiations at the JNF should be engaged upon with all partners thereat exemplifying utmost respect for each other. This, according to him, will be achieved if honesty, transparency and accountability are embraced by both The Government Negotiating Team (GNT) and PSAs. Reacting to the prime ministers statement, the workers stated that unless and until government set correct priorities, the economic problems would be perennial. accountability That his government and himself, in particular, should exemplify honesty, transparency and accountability if he is to earn integrity and respect of the Eswatini citizens in general and workers in particular, read the statement. They then requested that the premier should also reflect on a report that was tabled by his predecessor in 2011, which stated that the best way of improving the countrys economy was through pumping money into salaries of workers so that the same money could be pumped back to the economy. This would be made possible by the fact that the buying power of the workers would have been enhanced, they said. In its analysis of the meeting, the SNAT National Executive Committee (NEC) said it drew a conclusion that the unprecedented predicament that they as workers were in, would stay with them for a little longer and that tougher times were lying ahead for the workers of this country. Bheki Mamba, the President of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) said, Yes we had a meeting, there was nothing much said, except that he emphasised that we should be patient because government was faced with a fiscal problem. He also asked that we look into the state of the economy and work with him in trying to resolve it. Mamba said in response to this they raised the issue of corruption, which they felt should be uprooted as it was rife in government. We did state that we will not accept salary cuts, instead we are expecting a salary increase. Government spokesperson Percy Simelane could not be reached for comment as his phone was on engage mode. He was called a numerous times and the last attempt was made at 9:04pm. judgement The last development on the CoLA issue was a judgement made by the Industrial Court in September. Judge Dumsani Mazibuko ruled that the three-day SNAT strike, which was due to start on Tuesday, September 25, 2018 was legal but should be postponed until November 23, 2018 where a new government would be in place. The judge said the NAPSAWU strike, which was started earlier and was due to continue could not go ahead because the union had not given sufficient notice under the kingdoms Industrial Relations Act. Previously, of the 3 635 civil servants who participated in a strike ballot, 3 593 voted in favour. Trend: Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) is introducing enhanced laboratory control in relation to products coming from the Armenian enterprises Hayr Ev Vordi Buniatyanner (Father and Son Buniatyan), Fishart LLC and Khayts Ishkhan LLC, the Russian agency said in an official statement. The nitrofuran metabolites have been found in the products of Hayr Ev Vordi Buniatyanner, the message says. Yeast has been found in sturgeon roe made by Fishart and in salmon roe made by Khayts Ishkhan. Interestingly, at the end of October, Rosselkhoznadzor already banned the import of products of Armenian company Food Ex in connection with detection of a combination of benzaldehyde green and leuco-benzaldehyde green in trout. The ban on the import of Armenian products into Russia is introduced not for the first time. Similar measures to prevent imports from Armenia were taken by Rosselkhoznadzor in previous years. For example, a ban was imposed on the import of dairy and meat products from Armenia in 2015 due to the unstable epizootic situation in Armenia, as well as the high risk of bringing especially dangerous animal diseases into Russia. Later, in 2016, due to the unstable epizootic situation of hand-foot-and-mouth disease in Armenia, as well as due to the high risk of bringing the causative agent of this disease into the territory of Russia, Rosselkhoznadzor reintroduced restrictions on meat and dairy products from Armenia. In May 2018, in connection with the discovery of quarantine organisms in Armenian tomatoes and cucumbers, the quarantine phytosanitary control of crops coming from Armenia was also strengthened. This decision was made after detection of two types of quarantine organisms: miner moth on tomatoes and western (Californian) flower thrips on cucumbers. All agricultural products were returned back to Armenia. Commenting on the November decision of Rosselkhoznadzor, Russian expert Dmitry Verkhoturov told Trend that this is a normal procedure introduced in the event if products do not meet sanitary standards, that is, they are potentially dangerous to the health of consumers. As for nitrofuran metabolites found in products [all listed companies are related to fish production and fish processing], these are most likely the residues of the nitrofurans that are sometimes used in animal husbandry and fish farming as feed additives and growth stimulants. I think the Armenian companies have tried so hard to get as many products as possible and as quickly as possible that they overdid with this additive. These compounds are really quite dangerous, and the food products containing such compounds even in small quantities, are not comestible," the Russian expert explained. He noted that the restrictions are imposed according to results of the tests conducted by the laboratories that are politically neutral. However, has the agency indeed simply prohibited the import of products from unscrupulous manufacturers without any political motivation? In November 2015, the Turkish armed forces shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber in the skies over Syria. One of the pilots died during ejection, the second Russian soldier died in the course of a rescue operation. Immediately after the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the events a "stab in the back." A few days later, Moscow announced economic measures against Ankara. On December 1, the charter flights to Turkey were banned, the visa free travel was lifted, restrictions were imposed on Turkish companies' commercial activity in the territory of Russia, and the work of the intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation was suspended. As a result, on January 1, 2016, Rosselkhoznadzor imposed a ban on the import into Russia of Turkish products of 17 titles, including fruits, vegetables, flowers and salt. An embargo was also introduced on tomatoes, which were the main article of Turkish vegetable export to Russia (until January 1, 2016, Turkey exported 360,000 tons of tomatoes to Russia). Bilateral trade between the two countries declined sharply from $31.6 billion in 2014 to $15.84 billion in 2016. Two years later, amid a thaw in relations, Rosselkhoznadzor allowed from May 1, 2018 the import into the territory of Russia of Turkish tomatoes without restrictions on individual enterprises. As we see, the ban was a purely political decision that had nothing to do with a quarantine or other purely environmental issues. Another significant development occurred when President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko declared in April 2018 that Russia is unleashing trade wars by prohibiting the supply of certain Belarus goods to the Russian territory. In April, Minister of Agriculture of Russia Alexander Tkachev recommended Belarus to look for new sales markets for its milk, since the Russian authorities intend to fill the domestic market with domestic products by 90 percent. Rosselkhoznadzor also imposed a temporary ban on deliveries of live pigs and pig-breeding products from Belarus to Russia in connection with detection of African swine fever. A rhetorical question: why did African swine fever appear in the meat from Belarus right after Tkachev's statement? Political scientist Valery Karbalevich in this regard believes that Russia is violating the rules of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) - which also includes Armenia - suggesting the free movement of goods, capital and labor. And although the conflict over the supply of the Belarus dairy products to the Russian market is closed, the case, according to Karbalevich, has not gone anywhere, since this has already occurred repeatedly. Thus, Rosselkhoznadzor has openly become a political tool far from food security and environmental considerations. So, perhaps, the ban on the import of products from Armenia is also a part of this political mechanism, under which Moscow is taking preventive measures so that the officials in Yerevan do not question relations with Russia against the backdrop of the US claims. The Georgian political expert Gela Vasadze told Trend that the logic of the Russian authorities in this case is not entirely clear. "We all know perfectly well that Rosselkhoznadzor has long been an instrument of Russian foreign policy. In 2006, the agency, for example, imposed sanctions against Georgia, after which the Russian leadership has been actively using this tool in foreign policy. But this case is somewhat strange. The current leadership of Armenia has done nothing in word or deed that could put a question mark against relations with Russia," Vasadze said. He said although the stories about the arrest of the ex-President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan and the investigation in regard to CSTO Secretary General Yury Khachaturov are internal Armenian problems, the Kremlin used them to demonstrate its influence. The expert noted that the imposition of a ban on Armenian products could be needed by Russia either for some serious business interests, or as a topic for further bargaining with Yerevan. What is happening in the relations of Armenia with Russia? The current Armenian leadership, headed by the Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, from the very beginning of its coming to power assured Moscow of preserving the old political orientation. However, from the very beginning, certain minor hiccups appear here and there, which more and more often lead outside observers to the idea that a black kitten if not a big black cat ran between Yerevan and Moscow. For a start, the very coming to power of Pashinyan as a result of a revolution was met in Moscow quite ambiguously. Some experts immediately said the new prime minister was a protege of the West. A lot of questions also arouse by the recent visit of the US President's Adviser for National Security John Bolton, during which he declared the superiority of American weapons over Russian ones, after which Pashinyan answered in absentia that, if necessary, Armenia could start acquiring the US weapons. And although a series of refutations rained down after this, such a situation caused a rather nervous and verbose reaction of the Kremlin. In December, an extraordinary parliamentary election is expected in Armenia, through which the new political forces in the country intend to gain a foothold in the leadership. And only time will tell what steps follow from here on - whether Yerevan will continue to try to keep a foot in both camps, tacking between Moscow and Washington, and whether Rosselkhoznadzor will not ban any other products from Armenia after that. The Holocaust of Arkadi in Crete remains a universal symbol of self-sacrifice for freedom in the face of barbarism To this day, the Holocaust of Arkadi in Crete remains a universal symbol of self-sacrifice for freedom in the face of barbarism, while filling another page in the glorious history of Greece. It was November 9, 1866 when more than a thousand brave Cretans gave their lives so that their their struggle would be written in the most glorious pages in Greeces history choosing to blow themselves up rather than fall into the hands of the Turks. November 1866 saw Cretans making yet another effort to get rid of their Ottoman overlords and unite with the rest of Greece, which had been freed since the end of the 1820s. There were several uprisings for freedom in Crete before 1866 but the revolt in the Arkadi monastery was the most crucial. Turkish oppression had forced the Pancretan Assembly to meet in Chania in May 1866 and to draw up a list of requests to be sent to the Sultan. Cretans asked for a more fair tax system, respect for the Christian religion, recognition of the population to freely elect their own elders and the freedom to improve the economic development of the island. Simultaneously, the Assembly sent a secret message to the monarchs of England, France and Russia inviting them to act on behalf of the union of Crete with Greece. The gathering was also attended by Gabriel Marinakis, abbot of Arkadi Monastery, the revolutionary center of Rethymnon. The Arkadi monastery, a little outside Rethymnon, was the headquarters of the Cult Revolutionaries of the area. There, in November 1866, about 1,000 men assembled and armed themselves, with 250 of them eager to fight, while the rest were women and children. The siege of Arkadi The siege commenced on the morning of November 8. Despite the fierce attacks of the Ottomans, they failed to take over the monastery on the first day. In the evening they asked for assistance and they brought a large cannon from Rethymnon. The following day, November 9, the second wave of the attack started. Early in the afternoon, the western wall of the monastery was shattered by cannonfire. The attackers then invaded the monastery and began to massacre the inhabitants. The last act of the bloody drama and another glorious page of Greek history was written that day. Kostis Yamboudakis, (or Emmanuel Skoulas according to others), blew up the ammunition storage room, killing all the Greeks and many soldiers of the Ottoman army. Immediately thereafter, Ottomans and Albanians advanced again and slaughtered the survivors, then burned down the church and looted the many sacred artifacts there. Only three or four Greeks managed to escape, while about one hundred were taken prisoners. Abbot Gabriel Marinakis had been killed before the explosion. The Pashas dead and injured amounted to 1,500 (or 3,000, according to later calculations). The Holocaust of Arkadi had a strong emotional impact in the Christian world and a new wave of philhellenism was generated in Europe. Significant personalities of the time such as Giuseppe Garibaldi and Victor Hugo took a stance in favor of the Cretan struggle, and foreign volunteers rushed to reinforce the revolution. Financial contributions from Russia and the U.S.A. were added to the war chest of the rebels. Not long after, under the pressure of the Great Powers, the Ottoman Sultan was forced to draft a kind of constitution that provided privileges to Christians and a semi-autonomous status for the island. The union of Crete with Greece did not become a reality until 1912. Read more at greekreporter.com RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Prekarios License: CC-BY-SA The leader of the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah insisted that one of its Sunni allies be given a portfolio in a new Lebanese cabinet, and indicated it would be ready to go back to square one in negotiating a government if necessary. In a televised speech on Saturday, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also warned Israel that his Iranian-backed group would respond to any attack on Lebanon and urged his country to withstand diplomatic pressure over its rocket arsenal. Hezbollah's demand for one of its Sunni allies be given a portfolio in the new Lebanese government is at the heart of a row that has obstructed a final agreement six months since a parliamentary election. The formation of a new government is necessary before any moves can be made towards fiscal reforms which the International Monetary Fund said in June are needed immediately to improve debt sustainability. Hezbollah says one of its Sunni allies must be represented in the government to reflect their election gains. But Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri, who is Lebanon's main Sunni politician and enjoys Western backing, has ruled out allocating any of his cabinet seats to them. Lebanon's political system requires government positions to be allotted along sectarian lines. Nasrallah said rejecting a Sunni ally from its "March 8" camp amounted to exclusion of a section of Lebanese. "We were sincere when we spoke of a national unity government. There is no national logic, or moral logic, or legal logic ... for anyone in Lebanon to come out and say 'it is forbidden for the March 8 Sunnis to be represented in the Lebanese government," Nasrallah said. "If it is forbidden, come let's talk again from the start," he said, adding: "We don't want conflict, or tension, or escalation." President Michel Aoun vowed earlier on Saturday to find a solution to the problem. Though a political ally of Hezbollah, Aoun has sided with Hariri in the row. Hezbollah, groups and individuals that support its possession of weapons won more than 70 of the 128 seats in the May 6 parliamentary election. Hezbollah is proscribed as a terrorist group by the United States. The group last fought a major conflict with Israel in 2006, since when it has grown militarily stronger as a major participant in the Syrian war. Nasrallah said Israel had recently tried to increase pressure over the group's rocket arsenal and to create "a state of intimidation and threat that if this matter is not dealt with, it (Israel) will deal with it". Israel had used "the Americans and even some European states" in this effort, he said. "I say to Lebanon that it must bear this level of diplomatic pressure," Nasrallah said. "Any attack on Lebanon, any air strikes on Lebanon or bombardment - we will certainly respond," he said. Search Keywords: Short link: Access will be given to all citizens, whether insured or uninsured The Onassis National Transplant Center will make a decisive contribution to the coordination but also the increase of transplants in Greece, the president of the Onassis Foundation Antonis Papadimitriou noted in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) on Friday. The new Center, which will be built next to the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center but without disturbing its operation, will be ready in three years and its construction will commence at the beginning of the new year, he said. Read more at thenationalherald.com RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Golden Gate Developers, a joint venture between Bahraini-based company Kooheji Golden Gate and Indian real estate companies Ajmera Realty and Mayfair Housing, has unveiled its new residential development project, Golden Gate, which will come up in the heart of Bahrain Bay. The project was launched at a grand ceremony held in the Four Seasons Hotel in Bahrain Bay where guests were treated to a 360-degree virtual reality tour, enabling them to walk through the property and have a virtual experience of living in these homes. The joint venture said it has revolutionised the way real estate is viewed by introducing buying off-plan and allowing attendees, buyers and potential buyers to envisage the property and experience what the future of real estate is. The joint venture between Kooheji Golden Gate and Ajmera Realty and Mayfair Housing represents a partnership to change the landscape of real estate in Bahrain with this project, said senior officials at the event. With years of experience combined and their ambitious nature, the partners has revived decades worth of trade relations between the two nations, further cementing it with the creation of Golden Gate and for many years to come. This partnership aims at fostering a long-lasting relationship between these two nations and attracting more foreign investment into the country, they added. Kooheji Golden Gate chairman Ishaq Al Kooheji said: "The innovation and creativity that we have shown will only propel Bahrain into the spotlight, making the kingdom an exemplar of excellence in the real estate industry." Ajmera Realty managing director Manoj Ajmera, said: We are thrilled with the way the launch has taken off and are expecting only bigger and greater successes for The Golden Gate project and our growing relationship with the Kingdom of Bahrain. The property will be situated in the heart of Bahrain Bay, one of the most desirable locations for residential and commercial developments in the country, with amenities and transport links easily accessible for the residents. Golden Gate will be spread over a sprawling 140,000-sq-m area providing striking views of the waterfront and iconic Bahraini landmarks, distinguishing itself from other developments and buildings in the area. Their modernistic interpretation of traditional architecture is Golden Gate aims to become the tallest residential towers in the country, consisting of two towers with 45 and 53 stories and a total of 746 luxurious apartments, starting at BD45,000 ($118,481). The development stands out with its design that fuses both Bahraini and Indian cultures, paying homage to their rich cultural backgrounds. Mayfair Housing chairman Nayan Shah lauded Bahrain Bay's potential and dubbed it as one of the best waterfront developments in the world. Bahrain was a great choice for our first international venture as Golden Gate Developers, and Bahrain Bay was the best place to begin our journey. We are impressed with the countrys business-friendly mentality and strong worth ethic, which enabled us to create possibilities such as the Golden Gate project, which we hope to make a prestigious landmark. We are proud and honoured to be involved and a part of this project, he added.-TradeArabia News Service Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) said it has concluded a new long-term liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales agreement with Wanhua Chemical Group of China. Wanhua Chemical Group is the worlds largest MDI producer and the biggest TDI supplier in Europe. It operates a world-scale, advanced C3/C4 petrochemical industrial chain in China, as well as high value added specialty chemical clusters. Under the terms of the 10-year contract, Wanhua will purchase up to 1 million metric tonnes of LPG per annum, said Abdulla Salem Al Dhaheri, the marketing, sales and trading director at Adnoc after signing the deal with Kou Guangwu, the executive VP of Wanhua Chemical Group. The agreement represents another important milestone in the expanding relationship between Adnoc and its partners and customers in China. "This sales agreement with a major end-user of LPG, further reinforces Adnocs position as a major supplier of crude oil and petroleum products to the growing economies of Asia," remarked Al Dhaheri. "At Adnoc, we remain committed to achieving the best commercial value from our products, expanding our client base and penetrating new markets, through a combination of both short and long term sales and trading opportunities," he added. In line with its strategy to maximise value from its downstream refining, petrochemical and gas processing operations, Adnoc produces up to 10,500,000 metric tonnes per year of LPG. This is sold both locally in the UAE and internationally. Guangwu said: "Through this long term supply agreement, we look forward to strengthening our strategic partnership with Adnoc. We will continue working on potential collaborations between our companies, either in China or in the UAE, to add more value to the One Belt One Road project." Wanhua Chemical Group is government owned but also publicly listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The company has investment grade credit ratings from Moodys, S&P and Fitch Ratings. LPG is the main feedstock for Wanhua petrochemical units, with consumption demand of up to 6 million tons per annum projected by 2021. It owns the world largest LPG underground cavern storage with total capacity of 2.4 million CBM as well as excellent port conditions with two 50K DWT dedicated VLGC berths.-TradeArabia News Service President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received reports from the heads of regional administrations on fulfillment by Turkmen farmers of their contractual obligations on production of raw cotton. Turkmenistans cotton growers delivered over 1 million 50 thousand tons of cotton to the state-owned procurement stations on the eve of the Harvest Festival, which is celebrated every second Sunday of November. The President of Turkmenistan thanked the cotton growers of the country and all agricultural workers for their selfless labor and achievements. TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2021 Chennai, Nov 10 (UNI) Leaders of various political parties, including DMK President M K Stalin and PMK Founder Dr S Ramadoss, in Tamil Nadu termed dissolution of Sri Lankan Parliament and announcement of fresh elections by President Maithripala Sirisena as 'a murder of democracy' and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure safety of the Eelam Tamils in the Island Nation. Terming Mr Sirisena's action as unconstitutional, Mr Stalin, in a statement here, said the atrocious action was shocking as it has created worst political crisis in the neighbouring country. 'It is not only a murder of democracy, but has also caused a sense of fear and insecurity among the Tamils, who have been traditionally living there', he added. Expressing concern over Mr Modi's silence on the Lankan crisis right from the day when former President Mahinda Rajapakse was installed as Prime Minister removing Ranil Wickremesinghe from the post by the President, he recalled the killing of Tamils during the Rajapakse regime and ignoring India's demand to provide equal rights to Tamils as per the amendments to the 13th Constitution and said the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre remained a mute spectator all these days. 'The mute silence by Mr Modi on Mr Mahinda Rajapakse, who should be subjected to trial for war crimes and genocide of Tamils, who has created a political instability, ended in the dissolution of Parliament', Mr Stalin said. Noting that Mr Modi has the responsibility to protect the Tamils at a time when a political crisis has gripped the Lankan Nation, he said the Indian government should immediately condemn the act of Mr Sirisena and take all steps to ensure that the Tamils lived with dignity. MORE UNI GV CS 1622 Huge consignment of foreign liquor seized in 'dry' Bihar, five nabbed Hajipur, Nov 10 (UNI) Police seized huge consignment of foreign liquor from a car and arrested five peddlers at Subhai village in Vaishali district late last night. Police said here today that 19 cartons of foreign liquor were seized from the car under Vaishali police station area on the basis of specific intelligence input. Sources said that the seized liquor was manufactured in Haryana. Police said that five peddlers identified as Dheeraj Kumar, Sunny Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Abhishek Kumar and Rakesh Kumar (all natives of Vaishali police station area) were arrested from the spot. Land scam case:Court extends interim bail of Malik Riaz Islamabad, Nov 10 (UNI) Anti-corruption court (ACC) in Rawalpindi extended the interim bail of Bahria Town Chairman Malik Riaz on Saturday, in a case pertaining to land-related fraud and forgery of 1,170 kanal of land belonging to the Punjab Forest Department. The interim bail of Malik Riaz along with nine other suspects were extended, Dawn reported. On October 23, Riaz was granted interim bail by the court after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against him as well as other government officials in the Rawalpindi Anti Corruption Establishment police station on Oct 5. Related Israel arrests 29 Palestinans in occupied West Bank after deadly stabbing of Israeli settlers A Palestinian man shot in clashes with Israeli forces in October has died of his wounds, the health ministry in the occupied West Bank said on Saturday. Mohammed Shreyteh, 28, had been shot in the head during the clashes that took place on October 26 in the West Bank. At the time, witnesses said the violence erupted when Israeli settlers came to visit a site near the West Bank village of Al-Mazraa al-Gharbiya, and that Palestinians pelted them with stones. Israeli occupation forces then intervened and fired tear gas and ammunition at the Palestinians, according to the witnesses. During those clashes another Palestinian, Othman Ladawda, 33, was killed, the health ministry in the West Bank said at the time. He was hit with live ammunition, with the bullet piercing organs in his lower abdomen, the ministry said. *This story was edited by Ahram Online Search Keywords: Short link: Chandigarh, Nov 10 (UNI) Given the inter-state and international ramifications of the case, the Central and Punjab governments have decided to hand over the investigations into the case involving the arrest of 3 armed Kashmiri students, associated with Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH), to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The three students were arrested last month in a joint operation by the Punjab Police and Special Operations Group (SoG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police from the hostel of CT Institute of Engineering Management and Technology, located in Shahpur on the outskirts of Jalandhar. Two weapons, including an Assault Rifle, were also seized from them along with explosives. The decision to hand over the case was taken after discussions on the issue between the Punjab government and the Ministry of Home Affairs, according to DGP Punjab Suresh Arora. Initial investigations had revealed that the students, identified as Zahid Gulzar, Mohd. Idriss Shah and Yusuf Rafiq Bhatt, were associated with Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH), a Kashmir-based terrorist outfit with reported links to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The outfit is reportedly headed by Zakir Rashid Bhatt@ Zakir Mussa. In deciding to hand over the case to NIA, the two governments had also taken note of the fact that after these arrests, two more Kashmiri students were also arrested by the Punjab Police in connection with the Maqsudan Police Station hand-grenade blasts case of September 14. Two of their accomplices were reported to be still absconding. This was indicative of efforts by Pakistans ISI to expand the arc of militancy on Indias western border, said Arora, underlining the need to unravel the entire conspiracy and network built by these outfits/individuals in Punjab and J&K, said the DGP. Arora said the decision to hand over the investigations to NIA, the countrys Central Counter Terrorism Investigation Agency, was aimed at ensuring speedy and more effective probe into the matter. The State government was also of the view that the growing attempts by Pakistan-based ISI and terror outfits/elements based abroad to revive terrorism in Punjab required strong and concerted efforts by the National Agency which has the mandate to investigate all over the country and even abroad. The Punjab Police, he said, would extend all necessary support and help to NIA to ensure that the investigations are completed, and the complete nexus of terrorist outfits/elements based in India and abroad is identified and broken at the earliest. The DGP said while the state police were keeping a close eye on activities of Kashmiri students to pre-empt any further incidents of targetting of police stations and police officers in Punjab, it was felt necessary to take all the required steps to ensure that militant elements and anti-national forces are not allowed to disturb the peace and communal harmony in the state. UNI JS SHK2034 New Delhi, Nov 9 (UNI) India on Friday said its decision to participate at the much talked about meeting in Moscow hosted by Russia on Afghanistan situation has anything to do with New Delhi holding parleys with the Afghan Taliban. "Where did we say that there will be talks with the Taliban?," MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar told reporters at the weekly briefing here. He insisted in crystal clear terms: "....we did not say (this), we just said we will be participating in a meeting on Afghanistan which is hosted by Russia or that we have decided that non-official will be participating". Answering questions on why and how a decision was taken to depute an 'non-official team', the MEA spokesman said: "It was decided by the Government of India that our participation will be at the non-official level. Beyond this, I really can't get into the details as to why it was at that level". He explained further: "There are lot of factors that go into taking a decision, this time it was the considered decision of the Government of India that we will participate at the non-official level". To a question, he answered that - "the term non-official is self explanatory". "I don't think I have to elaborate as to what this constitutes. The Non-official term is self explanatory," he added. Asserting that India supports all efforts to ensure peace, security and stability in terror-ravaged Afghanistan, New Delhi on Thursday confirmed its participation in the multilateral talks on the Afghan situation in a Russia-initiated move but only at a 'non-official level'. "Our participation at the meeting will be at the non-official level," MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar has said in reply to a query. "India's consistent policy has been that such efforts should be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and Afghan-controlled and with participation of the Government of Afghanistan," the spokesman has said. UNI DEVN AR 1545 Taliban's new religious guideline: No female artists in Afghan TV shows 22 Nov 2021 | 9:40 AM Kabul, Nov 22 (UNI) The Taliban has ordered television channels in Afghanistan not to air soap operas featuring women and said the female journalists will have to wear hijabs as per the group's interpretation of Islamic law. see more.. Waukesha Police confirm over 20 people struck by car at holiday parade, several killed 22 Nov 2021 | 8:56 AM Washington, Nov 22 (UNI/Sputnik) Several people were killed and over 20 people, including a dozen children, were injured when a car plowed into the Waukesha Holiday Parade in Wisconsin, local police and fire authorities confirmed. see more.. Kast ahead in Chiles presidential election with over 29% - Electoral Service 22 Nov 2021 | 8:44 AM Buenos Aires, Nov 22 (UNI/Sputnik) Chiles far right politician Jose Antonio Kast is coming ahead in the presidential election with nearly 30 percent of the votes, the countrys Electoral Service said after about 20 percent of the ballots had been processed. see more.. G7 Foreign Ministers meeting to pake Place in Liverpool in December - UK Foreign Office 22 Nov 2021 | 8:39 AM London, Nov 22 (UNI/Sputnik) A summit of the foreign ministers of G7 countries will take place on December 10-12 in Liverpool, the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office says. see more.. The caravan of Central American migrants whose trek toward the United States became a hot-button issue in the US mid-term elections fragmented Friday as hundreds left Mexico City to resume their journey. Around 5,500 migrants had been camped out in a shelter set up at the weekend inside a stadium in the capital. But several hundred in the group decided to hit the road again at dawn, while the remainder chose to wait in hopes that someone would provide them buses, at least for the elderly and those traveling with small children. The caravan set out on October 13 from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and has covered more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) so far. Along the way, it has drawn a flurry of vitriolic tweets from US President Donald Trump, who sought to mobilize his conservative base with anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of Tuesday's elections, in which his Republican party lost control of the House of Representatives. Hitch-hiking and walking, often in plastic shoes or flip-flops, the migrants still have up to 2,800 kilometers to walk to the border, if they take the safest route -- to Tijuana. Most of those who packed their meager belongings and set out again before sunrise were young men, though there were some families, too. "We couldn't just wait there. People just kept spreading lies, saying someone was going to give us buses. We were hungry and cold," said Socorro Diaz, a 32-year-old Honduran woman traveling with her two children, ages four and seven. Mexico City authorities provided a subway train to give the group a free ride to the last stop on the line. From there, they headed to the highway toward the city of Queretaro, 220 kilometers away. "Thank you, Mexico!" they shouted as they streamed out of the subway. The migrants are mostly fleeing violence and poverty in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, where street gangs rule their turf with bloody brutality that has given the region some of the world's highest murder rates. "I'm carrying clothes, toys for the kids and a picture of my late wife," said one migrant, Justin Cortez, who decided to make the journey with his twin 10-year-old sons after his wife was killed by a gang. "My family is the reason that, God willing, I'm going to reach the US border. I'd rather die than give them a bad life," he told AFP. Search Keywords: Short link: Two soldiers were killed in war-torn eastern Ukraine, the military said Saturday, as separatists prepared to hold elections in defiance of the West. "Over the past 24 hours, two soldiers received fatal wounds as a result of hostilities," Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told a briefing. The soldiers were attacked near the rebel-controlled city of Lugansk, with the separatists using heavy weapons including large-calibre mortars, he said. A series of periodic truces have helped lower the level of violence in two breakaway provinces in Ukraine's industrial east but have not fully ended the bloodshed. On Sunday, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk "People's Republics" are to hold elections despite Western calls on Russia to cancel the ballot so as not to further sabotage peace agreements. The United States and the European Union say the polls will further undermine efforts to settle a crisis that has killed more than 10,000 people since 2014. "There have been more Ukrainian soldiers killed, more casualties in the conflict in Ukraine than Americans in the entire length of the war in Afghanistan," the US special envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, said this week. Kiev and its Western backers accuse Russia of funnelling troops and arms across the border to fan the flames of the conflict. Moscow has denied the claims despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Search Keywords: Short link: Lin-Manuel Miranda, foreground, performs with members of the cast of the musical Hamilton in New York. The creator and star of the musical who has won 11 Tony Awards, a Grammy and a Pulitzer Prize will return to the title role for 24 shows in Puerto Rico from Jan. 8 to 27. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close This Marine veteran found a road out of homelessness and a path to hope Minister of Petroleum said that his ministry signed over the past four years 63 new oil agreements that will add to the national oil production and reserves Egypt's Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla said on Saturday that measures adopted by the ministry will help attract more investments to the gas sector. The plans by the ministry aim to attract around 10 billion dollars in investments during the fiscal year 2018/2019 in oil exploration and development of discovered oilfields, according to El-Molla. Major international companies are interested in operating in Egypt, which sends a clear message of confidence by foreign companies in the country's investment climate, he added. Preparations are underway to place the Red Sea exploration area on the investment map of the Egyptian oil industry, he noted. El-Molla concluded that his ministry signed over the past four years 63 new oil agreements that will add to the national oil production and reserves. Search Keywords: Short link: iStock/Thinkstock(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.) -- The veteran suspected of opening fire at a Thousand Oaks, California, bar, killing 12, texted or posted to social media during the shooting, law enforcement sources told ABC News. Preliminary information indicates that Long walked into the bar, immediately shot a group of security guards and employees standing near the entrance to the bar and then paused to text or post to social media, according to law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation. "It's too bad I won't get to see all the illogical and pathetic reasons people will put in my mouth as to why I did it," he wrote at 11:24 p.m., according to documents obtained by ABC News. "Fact is I had no reason to do it, and I just thought... life is boring so why not?" Three minutes later, he posted, "Yeah... I'm insane, but the only thing you people do after these shootings is 'hopes and prayers' ... or 'keep you in my thoughts' ... every time... and wonder why these keep happening." Long's social media were taken down at the request of law enforcement. Long, a former U.S. Marine, showed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, authorities said, but there's little information available yet on what prompted the attack late Wednesday night at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Long was found dead inside the bar; authorities believe he shot himself. "He was somewhat irate. Acting a little irrationally," Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said at a press conference. "They felt he might be suffering from PTSD, the fact he was a veteran." Long, 28, lived near the bar with his mother, neighbors told police, describing the suspect as a troubled man who battled fits of rage. "I think I do recall some times when he was struggling with some issues internally," said Todd Stratton, a friend of Long's. "I didn't know [about] PTSD, but his girlfriend would kind of ask him about things going on with him, because he'd get really upset sometimes and kind of shut down and he wouldn't want to talk about it to people. He'd just kind of close himself up, and I think he had a really hard time reaching out for help because of his personality." FBI officials have swarmed the house, desperate to find the motive behind his alleged shooting rampage. One neighbor told ABC News she called the police on Long once after he allegedly got into a fight with his mother. Another neighbor said Long rarely left home and that his mother told her that he was getting violent. Dean said Long had several previous run-ins with police, including an incident in April where deputies were called to his home in Newbury Park because he was reportedly behaving erratically. "They went to the house, they talked to him. He was somewhat irate, acting a little irrationally," Dean said. "They called out our crisis intervention team, our mental health specialist, who met with him, talked to him and cleared him." "It's difficult, because I've been doing this for 41 years, and you don't leave things unfinished," Dean, who'd been considering retirement, told ABC News' David Muir. Dean was a close friend of one of the shooting victims, Sgt. Ron Helus, who died in the line of duty. "I think we try to look at the core and try to understand what happened and see if there's a way that we can stop it. We all try to make sense of the senseless." Authorities said hundreds were inside when the suspect walked in to the country-western bar with a gun and opened fire. The weapon was equipped with a an extended-ammunition magazine, allowing it to hold more than the normal 10 bullets, so it's unclear how many total rounds he may have had, police said. Zach Frye and Tyler Odenkirk told ABC News that two of their friends who worked as security guards at Borderline were among the dead. A Borderline bouncer said they were surely among the heroes. "I know they did everything they could in their final moments," the unnamed bouncer said. "We were told one of them went out a hero. He went out fighting the shooter." Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. The Taste of Korea: Egyptian Bread and Korean Salt, organised by the Korean Cultural Centre, took place at one of Cairos five-star hotels last Wednesday. Introducing the event, the Korean Ambassador to Egypt Yeo-Cheol Yoon said, Let me first thank you all for your keen interest in the Korean food or appetite for it! Tonight, we are taking on the theme of food which, I believe, everybody here loves. I am also happy to share this pleasant outdoor evening with all of you. One of the surprises I had since my arrival in Cairo was that there are so many Egyptians who enjoy Korean cuisine. I had the notion that Korean food can be too spicy and may not suit the taste of non-Koreans, he said. However, as a Korean ambassador, I am grateful that many Egyptians love Korean food and even more, they want to learn how to cook it! It also makes me wonder what makes Korean cuisine so appealing to you, Yoon continued. You may like Korean food like kimchi and other fermented foods because they are good for your health while utilizing natural flavours with colourful presentations, he added. I hope you will all explore and enjoy Korean dishes and spread the news of Korean food throughout Egypt. I will check my Facebook tonight, the ambassador concluded. Three expert Korean chefs were invited to present the cuisine: Baek Seung Ho, Chu Ji Soo, and Oh Jung Hwa. Baek Seung Ho is the head chef at the residence of the ambassador in Maadi and has caused admiration and jealousy of the ambassadors guests with his creative fusion of traditional Korean and Western cuisine. They showed the attendees how they can cook one of Koreas favorite dishes from Egyptian chick peas and how anyone can utilize food laying around to make a Korean dish. Present at the event were Soha Bahgat, the advisor to the Minister of Tourism, Hala El-Khateeb, the general manager of the Egyptian Tourism Chamber Union, as well as media personalities such as actor and presenter of the food TV programme Al-Akeel Murad Makram. Other influential food experts like bloggers and social media big shots also attended the celebration. The event comes at the end of a two-month Korean cooking course hosted by the Korean Cultural Centre, which was supervised by director Sang Keun Yang to introduce Korean food and culinary culture to Egypt. Search Keywords: Short link: By WestKyStar & Shawnee College Staff Nov. 10, 2018 | 06:40 AM | ULLIN, IL This year recipients were selected from students who have obtained a minimum of 40 credit hours beyond developmental credits, hold a GPA above 3.0 and who are on track to graduate by May 2019. Interviews were conducted, and each candidate was required to submit a brief essay outlining their reason for choosing Shawnee College and describing their plans for future academic endeavors. The 2018 award recipients are Jessica Edwards, Meridian High School graduate, Cassandra Nelson, Kaylie Rose, and Jala Wilson Century High School graduates and Ukari Posey Cairo High School, graduate. The Clairene Weaver Endowment will be an annual opportunity for qualified candidates. For more information regarding all scholarship opportunities at Shawnee, contact the college at 618-634-3200. Earlier this month, Illinois Foundation Board representatives met with the Shawnee Community College President, Peggy Bradford, to discuss an endowment donated to the institution by Ms. Clairene Weaver. The endowment is to be utilized for scholarships for female students attending Shawnee Community College. Ms. Weaver, a former English faculty member, specified that the gift was to be distributed individually to women who are permanent residents of the Shawnee district to assist them with furthering their educational goals. By WestKyStar & Red Cross Staff Nov. 01, 2018 | 09:11 PM | WESTERN KENTUCKY A decline in donations occurs from Thanksgiving to New Years Day when donors are busy with holiday activities and travel. Medical conditions and emergencies that require blood dont stop for the holidays. Patients like 6-year-old Ava King will continue to need transfusions critical to their care this holiday season. Ava has Diamond-Blackfan anemia, which impacts her bodys ability to produce enough red blood cells. We are so thankful for blood donors because Ava relies on blood transfusions every month to stay alive and thrive, said Avas mother, Tina King. Its truly a gift! By giving blood or platelets, donors may give patients more time and more holidays with loved ones. Make an appointment to donate blood or platelets by downloading the free American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). The Red Cross is thanking those who carve out time to give Nov. 21-24 with a long-sleeved T-shirt, while supplies last. Upcoming blood donation opportunities Nov. 16-30 Fellowship Baptist Church, 890 Senior Ave. Vienna, IL. 62995 11/19/2018: noon - 6 p.m. First Baptist Church, Monroe and Jefferson, Golconda, IL . 62938 11/27/2018: 12:30 - 5:30 p.m. Cross Road United Methodist Church, 1289 Ullin Road, Ullin, IL. 62992 11/27/2018: 2 - 6 p.m. Fulton County High School, 2740 Moscow Road, Hickman, KY. 42050 11/16/2018: 7:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. American Legion, 211 S. 7th, Mayfield 42066 11/20/2018: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 210 S. Washington St. Clinton, KY. 42031 11/26/2018: noon - 6 p.m. Livingston Hospital Health Care Services, 131 Hospital Drive, Salem, KY. 42078 11/28/2018: 12:30 - 4:30 p.m. Woodmen Life, 1005 Poplar St. Benton, KY. 42025 11/19/2018: noon - 6 p.m. Calvert City Elementary School, 563 E. 5th Ave. Calvert City 42029 11/20/2018: noon - 5 p.m. North Marshall Middle School, 3110 Hwy. 95, Calvert City 42029 11/26/2018: 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Paducah Blood Donation Center, 4635 Falconcrest Dr., Paducah 42001 11/16/2018: 8:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. 11/17/2018: 7:45 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. 11/18/2018: 7:45 a.m. - 2:15 p.m. 11/19/2018: 11:45 a.m. - 6:45 p.m. 11/20/2018: 8:45 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. 11/22/2018: 7:45 a.m. - noon 11/23/2018: 8:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. 11/24/2018: 7:45 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. 11/25/2018: 7:45 a.m. - 2:15 p.m. 11/26/2018: 11:45 a.m. - 6:45 p.m. 11/27/2018: 8:45 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. 11/29/2018: 11:45 a.m. - 6:45 p.m. To donate blood, simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or drivers license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements. Blood and platelet donors can save time at their next donation by using RapidPass to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, before arriving at the blood drive. To get started, follow the instructions at RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass or use the Blood Donor App. The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nations blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit RedCross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross. The American Red Cross urges people to share their good health this holiday season by donating blood or platelets for patients in need. Calvert City Jingle All the Way 5k and Fun Run set for December 4 By WestKyStar & PTHS Staff Nov. 10, 2018 | 07:01 AM | PADUCAH Duke and Duchess awards are presented by the Mayor to citizens who have contributed to the well being of the community. Hoy and Price recently earned their Eagle Scout ranks, the highest achievement and rank attainable in Boy Scouts of America. Only 4 percent of Boy Scouts achieve the designation. Both are members of Troop 1. Rogers, a two-year mayoral intern and a two-year member of the Paducah Human Rights Commission, has been a driving force in initiating programs to engage Paducah's youth. Three members of the Class of 2019 have earned one of the City of Paducah's highest honors. Mayor Brandi Harless named David Hoy and Joseph Price Dukes of Paducah, and Addie Rogers has been named a Duchess of Paducah. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. By WestKyStar & WKCTC Staff Nov. 04, 2018 | 08:18 PM | PADUCAH Needham, who teaches at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, will showcase his sound art work with Radio Piano in West Kentucky Community and Technical College's Clemens Fine Art Center tonight at 7:30 pm. The presentation is free and open to the public. Needham's Radio Piano is a composition for extended piano and concert hall that involves the use of discrete FM transmissions from within and around a grand piano. Each performance is unique as the composition is created by gathering live radio signals and remixing their energies and content for transmission to the audience. "Radio Piano is part of our Exposure Series that makes it possible for audiences and artists to join together for exploring ideas about our world with an interdisciplinary and more education-based approach. Jay creates a visionary performance and brings the audience and artist together on the stage where he combines the analog and digital worlds to create sounds that disperse into the ether," said Clemens Fine Arts Center Director Todd Birdsong. "Most people know what a piano is and what a radio is and how they both work. Jay redefines your understanding of these two things and introduces us to a new and unique way of seeing and experiencing these everyday objects." Needham works across multiple creative platforms, striving to affect positive change and to bridge the gap between the arts and the sciences. His sound art, works for radio and visual art have appeared at museums, festivals and on the airwaves worldwide. His works have appeared at critically acclaimed festivals such as Internationale Ferienkurse fur Neue Musik, Darmstadt Gremany; Pixel Ache, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland; International Festival of Antarctic Arts and Culture in Buenos Aires, Argentina; dLux Media Arts, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia; and the Rapid Pulse International Festival of Performance Art in Chicago. Needham is a member of the boards of the World Forum of Acoustic Ecology, the Institute for Neotropical Conservation and serves as president of Carbondale Community Arts. He received a masters of fine arts degree the School of Art at California Institute of the Arts. For more information about Radio Piano at the Clemen's Center, contact Todd Birdsong at todd.birdsong@kctcs, 270-534-3213 or visit artsinfocus.org. The beginnings of radio began in the late 19th century with Guglielmo Marconi's coded transmitted signals that traveled just a few miles. While radio has grown exponentially since then, it's also changed and adapted for new types of audiences, delivery methods and innovations. This includes an idea for sound artist, composer and teacher Jay Needham, who has taken radio transmission to a new and unique level. Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany announced on Saturday a new discovery made by an Egyptian archaeological mission during excavation work carried out since April at the area located on the stony edge of King Userkaf pyramid complex in the Saqqara Necropolis. Cairo governor Ahmed Rashid attended the announcement, along with members of parliament and 30 ambassadors from all over the globe to highlight the role that antiquities play in promoting the country and its unique heritage. El-Enany explained that the mission uncovered three plain New Kingdom tombs that had been used during the Late Period as a cat necropolis, along with four other Old Kingdom tombs, the most important of which belongs to Khufu-Imhat, the overseer of the buildings in the royal palace. This tomb can be dated to the late fifth and the early sixth dynasties. He also pointed out that the Egyptian mission selected the site to excavate because there was a high probability that a collection of Old Kingdom tombs could be uncovered around the ramp of King Userkaf pyramid complex. In 2008, the mission stopped digging and instead devoted all of its work to the studying, documenting and restoration of some of the discovered tombs, though all projects completely stopped after 2013. This will be the first of three upcoming new discoveries in other governorates in Egypt to be announced before the end of 2018, said El-Enany. Mostafa Waziri, the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, announced that the Egyptian mission succeeded in unearthing the first ever scarab mummies in the Memphis necropolis, as two large mummies of scarabs were found inside a rectangular limestone sarcophagus with a vaulted lid decorated with three scarabs painted in black. Studies on these scarabs show that they are wrapped in linen and in a very good preservation condition. Another collection of scarab mummies was also found inside a smaller and squared limestone sarcophagus decorated with one painted black scarab. Tens of cat mummies were also unearthed, along with 100 wooden statues of cats and a bronze one dedicated to the cat goddess Bastet. A collection of wooden gilded statues depicting the physical features of a lion, a cow, and a falcon was also unearthed. Painted wooden sarcophagi of cobras with mummies found inside them were also discovered along with two wooden sarcophagi of crocodiles. Within the debris, the mission succeeded to unearth around 1000 amulets made of faience dedicated to different deities, including Tawesert, Apis, Anubis, Djehuty, Horus, Isis, Ptah Patek, and Khnum, as well as other faience amulets in the shape of the Udjat eye, the white and red crowns, and the Wadjat column. Three alabaster canopic jars and writing tools, such as ink pots with pens, were found along with several papyri featuring chapters from the Book of the Dead. Names of two ladies, Subek Sekt and Mafy, were also found engraved on a false door for the first time ever. Sabri Farag, the Director General of the Saqqara Necropolis, said that a collection of baskets and ropes made of papyrus was also found along with 30 clay pots, a headrest, and alabaster and bronze jars inside a wooden sarcophagus. A large number of decorated stone reliefs and blocks, along with parts of false doors, were also found with two blocks representing a part of the lintel of the tomb of Ankh Mahur, one of the Old Kingdom viziers. Orascom Investment Holding (OIH) is the sponsor of the event, in accordance with the newly launched commercial sponsorship regulation, according to the request it submitted to the ministry of antiquities. Engineer Naguib Sawiris, the Executive Chairman of OIH, affirmed the companys interest to develop archaeological sites to show the exceptional richness of Egyptian civilization and to attract the attention of the world towards its magnificent monuments and great civilization so that it becomes the focus of the world. Among the attendees are ambassadors of Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Cyprus, Mexico, Italy, Malta, Hungary, France, Ireland, Armenia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Japan, Austria, and Bella Russia. Saudi Arabia and Georgias vice-ambassadors have also attended, as well as Denmarks general councilor and the cultural attaches of the Czech Republic, Georgia and USA. The heads of the American Research Centre in Cairo and UNESCO were also among the attendees. Multiple ambassadors have participated in several archaeological events over the last month, including the Abu Simbel Temple solar alignment phenomenon and tours around the archaeological sites in the New Valley and Saint Catherine in South Sinai. Search Keywords: Short link: By West Kentukcy Star Staff Nov. 09, 2018 | 03:51 PM | CARBONDALE According to KFVS, The closed meeting started at 10 a.m. at the Stone Center in Carbondale. Interim SIU system president Dr. Kevin Dorsey was named acting interim chancellor. The board also discussed the SIUC interim chancellor selection process and choosing a search firm for the presidential search . In October, SIUC Chancellor Dr. Carlo Montemagno passed away. He revealed on his blog in June 2018 that he was battling cancer, but did not go into detail about his illness. A special board meeting was held on Friday, November 9th, to discuss the process of filling the Southern Illinois University Carbondale chancellor position. Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Nov. 09, 2018 | MURRAY By West Kentucky Star Staff Nov. 09, 2018 | 10:49 AM | MURRAY In celebration of scholarly research and creative activity, Murray State University students will have the opportunity to present their findings at Fall Scholars Week, November 12th16th. Scholars Week is a semi-annual event at Murray State presented by University Libraries and the Office of Research and Creative Activity. The variety of presentation topics, from trends in contemporary creative writing to evidence-based practices in health care, are informative to attendees from all disciplines. "Scholars Week provides an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to formally present the fruits of their scholarly or creative labors with the entire campus community," said A.J. Boston, coordinator for the Office of Research and Creative Activity. "It is an excellent venue for all Murray State students, staff, faculty members and the local community to interact with currently enrolled students from a wide variety of disciplines and interests." While research enhances students' understanding of their disciplines and better prepares them for their future careers, it also allows students to find solutions to current issues in their fields. It was during a clinical when nursing major Abby Prins of Hagerman, Indiana, learned local newspapers used to publish the names of hospital patients for community members to send letters of encouragement. After the enactment of various legislation, newspapers were no longer allowed to print patient information. Prins was curious how the community support of hospital patients was impacted after there were no longer patient announcements in local newspapers. Her research, which she will present during Fall Scholars Week, stemmed from this question to develop into the broader topic of how social support affects patients' mental and physical health. "I spend time getting to know patients' hobbies, family lives and jobs in an attempt to build a relationship with them," Prins said. "I offer patients a handmade card filled with encouragement and remind them of the community of people who are here to support them. The surveys and vital measurements reveal the change in psychological and physiological health before and after they receive the card." Prins is excited her dream of making a difference is coming true by bringing light to an important health care topic she is passionate about, she said. "Conducting research allows me to explore topics that are important and worthy of investigation," Prins added. "Scholars Week is the venue where I can share my discoveries with the inquiring minds of the campus community." In addition to student research presentations, Fall Scholars Week will host panel discussions, poster sessions, language colloquiums and Honors College senior thesis presentations. A full schedule of events for Fall Scholars Week is available at tinyurl.com/MSUFallScholarsWeek18 Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended side-by-side with Sudanese counterpart Omar Al-Bashir the closing ceremony of the second edition of the World Youth Forum in South Sinai's Sharm El-Sheikh. The closing ceremony of the forum, which ran from 3 to 6 November, will see an announcement of the recommendations of the international forum, which attracted 5,000 participants this year. Earlier on Tuesday, El-Sisi spoke with Al-Bashir on bilateral ties on all fronts, which, according to Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady, comes in line with extending historical ties between the two countries. The talks reflected a strong will and determination to bolster ties, according to Rady. Search Keywords: Short link: China News on Women 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 Amid technological shifts, we may well witness not only the waning of a unipolar world, but the emergence of a tripolar one World Wars I and II and the Cold War did not erupt out of the blue. The rise of the US as the worlds sole superpower was not just an accident or merely the consequence of the collapse of Soviet Union alone. Nor were the events of 11 September 2001, which marked the end of the American epoch in world history, just a kind of nightmare. All these historically pivotal events were preceded by precursors, indicators and portents that all observers and politicians chose to ignore, whether due to interests vested in the status quo or because no one can dictate the course of fate. The question is, what is the next surprise in store for the world the foretokens of which we are experiencing today? In late September this column addressed this question in the framework of the Middle East. Today the task is more complicated because I have expanded the query to the whole world. Marxists search for the key to change in the evolution of the forces of production. If technological and political scientists agree on anything it is that we are on the threshold of a new breakthrough in artificial intelligence, or AI. If so, then the world is on its way to becoming bipolar again; not between the US and the USSR, this time, but between the US and China. The former is the current world leader in AI. The latter is investing enormous resources to surpass the US in this domain in the next decade. Political scientists are examining the movement of the constellations of international alliances and coalitions for signs of the forthcoming surprise since the state of global polarity, alone, is insufficient to determine the nature of the international order. In this regard, there are three events that we should examine not just because of their significance in and of themselves, but also of their bearings on the search for transformations that depart from the existing state of affairs. The first event of note is Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abes visit to China to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping despite the bloody history between them during the World War II, the disputes between them over strategic islands and the ongoing and escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing. On 14 October, the 14th annual Beijing-Tokyo Forum convened in Tokyo and focused on the theme, Deepening mutual trust and cooperation, sharing responsibility for peace and development in Asia and the world and exploring the practical significance of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan. The developments in Sino-Japanese relations as epitomised by the summit between the two presidents, the forum meeting and this forums focus on addressing Asian concerns in the absence of and, perhaps, regardless of, the US are extremely significant. Secondly, while those meetings were taking place in East Asia, one was also struck by the tangible closeness between Germany and Russia during the meeting that convened in Istanbul to discuss the Syrian crisis. Notice that this regional meeting, in which France and Turkey also took part, did not include Syria, the chief subject of concern. Also noticeable for its absence was Iran which has a strong military, financial and intelligence influence in Syria and its neighbours, Lebanon and Iraq. But more significant, from a global perspective, was the total absence of the US. Washington remains a player in the management of the Syrian crisis diplomatically and through the provision of arms. But this time the crisis management, whether concerning how to handle Idlib or how to chart the next steps needed to resolve the crisis, is in the hands of that quartet that met in Turkey. Although that meeting concerned the Middle East, the German-Russian rapprochement was noteworthy because it occurred despite disputes over Ukraine and Georgia, Moscows alleged poisoning of a former KGB agent in Britain, not to mention the sanctions imposed on Russia by NATO and the EU. Is this a one-off situation due to the exigencies of the Syrian and refugee crises which require closer Russian-German cooperation? Or are we looking for another situation in which changes are taking place without the involvement of the US whose president, in all events, cares little for NATO and the EU? The abovementioned scenes in both Asia and Europe are linked to developments in a third, namely the US, where I am writing this column and where a media war is raging between Trump and the press and, more generally, between Republicans and Democrats. One also finds, here, abundant fuel for this war, from the confirmation hearings for Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Judge Kavanaugh, and the murder of a Saudi journalist in Istanbul to the case of a homegrown red-blooded American terrorist who sent letter bombs to 12 American politicians, all Democrats, and the case of another American terrorist who went on a murder rampage in a synagogue killing 11 and wounding six, of whom four were police. To the south, meanwhile, a caravan of tens of thousands of migrants from Latin America is marching towards the US border to which Trump dispatched US troops in order to keep the migrants out. At the same time, he pulled out of the landmark intermediate-range missile treaty that his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, had signed with the Soviet Union. What is happening inside the US cannot be viewed separately from the US administrations foreign policy attitudes which attach decreasing importance to the USs traditional allies in the name of America First and a mode of isolationism that is open to relations with others only insofar as they lead to profitable deals. The trend is not restricted to the US. It is on the rise globally in the form of ultranationalist movements that shun internationalism and globalism and that are coarsely and sometimes violently xenophobic. Brazil, for example, just saw the election of a new president who has saluted the US flag and vowed to emulate Trump. Bolsonaro has said that Brasilia would join NATO, quit the UN Human Rights Council and move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Perhaps the world is gradually shifting towards a tri-polar order. The US would remain the chief main superpower because of its money, weapons and technology, and it would probably lead new associations of countries ruled by ultranationalist governments. China is the rising star and is feeling its way forward in international relations. It may not be ready to accelerate the exercise of its superpower prerogative but it does have the pull to attract planets such as Japan into its constellation, and maybe the countries of ASEAN as well. Russia is still the second superpower, at least in terms of nuclear weapons. Its technological progress in armaments compensates for its relative economic weakness and bolsters its political and military courage and daring, as we have seen in Georgia, Ukraine and Syria. Moscow hopes to become the European star that attracts such planets as Germany and France. I hope this was not too precipitate a prognosis for the future. * The writer is chairman of the board, CEO and director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies. * A version of this article appears in print in the 8 November, 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: World developments ahead Search Keywords: Short link: Local lawyer and friends brave the elements to raise 1K for British Heart Foundation This article is old - Published: Saturday, Nov 10th, 2018 A trio of keen cyclists from Wrexham recently braved the elements in a gruelling bike ride to raise more than 1000 for the British Heart Foundation. Robert Williams, a partner with GHP Legal, was joined on the 75 mile round trip by Barclays Bank business manager, Paul Ffoulkes and Medwyn Edwards from Hadlow Edwards. Travelling between GHP Legals four offices in Wrexham, Oswestry, Chirk and Llangollen, the group finished off with a climb over the Horseshoe pass before returning to Wrexham. Speaking after the event, Robert said: The weather on our chosen day of 26th October proved to be the worst and the first day of winter. But we raised more than 1000 for British Heart Foundation, so it was all worthwhile. We coped with rain, wind, hail and the Horseshoe Pass, but it was the biting wind as we went over the top at Ponderosa that almost did for us and our damp fingers and toes started to freeze on the long descent to the warmer low-lying area at the finish. At times it was only thoughts of dear friends and colleagues who lost their lives in the past year, and who were the reason we undertook the ride, that kept us going. Fortunately all the GHP Legal offices provided perfectly timed refreshments and we managed to finish the ride on target, at 4.45pm. Now we would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who sponsored and supported us SkillsCymru helps inspire Wrexham students This article is old - Published: Saturday, Nov 10th, 2018 Youngsters from across Wrexham recently had the chance to explore a range of opportunities for jobs, skills and apprenticeships across a variety of sectors at Wales largest careers fairs. The annual event, supported by the Welsh Government and the European Social Fund, took place at Venue Cymru in Llandudno on the 18th October. It included more than 35 employers from a variety of sectors some of which included Airbus, NHS Wales, Target Jobs, Cardiff University, Careers Wales and Royal Air Force. Thousands of young people from schools, further education colleges and work based learning providers across Wales attended the event including Alun School, Ysgol Rhosnesni, Ysgol Rhiwabon, St Christophers School and Flint High School. Lewis Gibbins, 16, from Ysgol Dinas Bran in Wrexham, who attended the careers event, said: SkillsCymru has been a great experience and its showed me how many different careers I could pursue. Ive always wanted to be an engineer and I wanted to talk to different employers about apprenticeships. The Babcock stand was really interesting as I found out what it would take to become an aeronautical engineer through an apprenticeship. I think a lot of other young people are starting to consider their options more and not just going straight to work or university. Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning, Eluned Morgan, said: This event is always a huge success and brings great opportunities for all visitors. SkillsCymru aims to inspire the next generation in the hope that attendees take the necessary steps and opportunities to help them explore a range of potential career paths. The chance to meet employers face-to-face is great for young people so that they can ask questions, participate in activities and hand on demonstrations and explore career opportunities in a welcoming environment. SkillsCymru is organised by Prospects and Cazbah supported by the Welsh Government and part-financed through the European Social Fund. The event is a yearly success with more than 10,000 attendees at both Venue Cymru in Llandudno and the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff. More than 11,000 United Parcel Service (UPS) Freight drivers and warehouse workers across the United States are due to conclude voting tomorrow on a concessions-filled contract backed by the Teamsters union and UPS management. Workers already voted overwhelmingly to reject the contract on October 5. On October 26, the Teamsters announced that workers would be forced to vote on a virtually unchanged agreement. If approved, it would create a new tier of lower-paid drivers, maintain poverty-level wages of part-time warehouse dockworkers, and continue the undermining of full-time positions through the proliferation of subcontracting. The vote is now taking place under conditions of blackmail and intimidation by the Teamsters. Workers have reported voting practices by Teamsters locals aimed at reducing the turnout in the vote below 50 percent. Some are allowing only 30 minutes a day for workers to vote, excluding many drivers; others are holding votes only on Sunday morning; others are forcing workers to drive an hour to vote. These crude measures are intended to allow the union to use the same constitutional loophole that it used to ram through the sellout contract on a quarter of a million small-package parcel workers, in defiance of a 54 percent no vote last month. The Teamsters constitution states that if less than half the workforce votes, a two-thirds majority is required to reject the unions proposal. After the Teamsters announced the vote on October 26, it sat by and allowed UPS to instruct workers over an entire week to clear all the freight from its system, and thus reduce workers leverage in the event of a strike. Both management and union have openly threatened workers that a no vote could lead to a lockout. Any organization that was in any way committed to defending workers would respond to such declarations by immediately preparing to expand the struggle by workers against the company. On the contrary, the Teamsters has already told workers that in the event of a lockout or a strike, it will isolate them by instructing the parcel workers at the same company to continue working. A strike would only be directed against UPS Freight, and not against UPS Parcel or any other UPS entity, the Teamsters UPS Freight Negotiating Committee Co-Chairman Kris Taylor told workers on November 1. UPS parcel workers have reported receiving additional larger and irregular-sized packs in the last week, indicating that the company is processing freight through its parcel facilities. To the threats by UPS management against workers, the Teamsters has added its own. It has refused to answer requests by workers as to whether their healthcare coverage would be maintained in the event of a strike or lockout by Teamcare, the healthcare fund jointly controlled by the Teamsters. The union has stated that its sellout agreement is the companys last, best and final offer, and declared, There is nothing more to be had at the bargaining table at this point. The company says there is no more. Not a penny, not half a penny. The Teamsters takes workers for fools. Workers know that UPS just released its third quarter financial report, showing a 20 percent increase in profits to $1.5 billion in just 90 days of operations. The freight division alone recorded a profit of $260 million, a more than 30 percent year-on-year increase, and approximately $23,000 for every freight worker. And this does not include the $3 billion that will be handed out by UPS in dividends to its billionaire Wall Street shareholders this year. Certain basic conclusions that must be drawn from this situation. Workers cannot fight corporations as individuals. They know that they must be organized. The Teamsters, however, is not a working-class organization, but an arm of company management, controlled by a layer of wealthy business executives and tasked with dividing workers and preventing any struggle. The first step for workers to fight is therefore to take the struggle into their own hands, by forming organizations that they directly and democratically control, independent of the Teamsters. The WSWS UPS Workers Newsletter urges workers to form rank-and-file workplace committees, composed entirely of workers themselves, in every hub, to give expression to the sentiments and will of workers and provide a forum for them to decide on how to organize their fight. The first task of such committees would be to provide a means for breaking out of the isolation and division between freight and parcel workers. They would issue a direct appeal for a common struggle and preparations for a nationwide strike. There is widespread support for such a struggle. In the month since the Teamsters rammed its sellout contract down the throats of parcel workers, the initial shock and outrage has only hardened. The new contract is illegitimate. The workers voted it down. It should therefore be considered null and void. UPS Freight workers should likewise vote no to this rotten deal that they have already rejected. Workers know that they possess immense power. They are approaching the peak delivery season, the most critical period for the profits of UPS. This is why the Teamsters and management are so determined to ensure that no united action takes place. As for the Teamsters United and the Teamsters for a Democratic Union, these supposedly militant factions of the Teamsters apparatus are no less terrified of any struggle by workers. The TDU website has posted nothing at all about the situation confronting freight workers. The Teamsters Uniteds Sean OBrien (salary $300,000) and Fred Zuckerman released a statement on Facebook calling for a no vote, but claimed that theres still a chance to make [Teamsters president] Hoffa work for the members. A NO vote would force the company and the union back to the table. Every action by the Teamsters demonstrates that it is utterly impervious to the wishes of the membershipand yet only increases the TUs insistence that workers appeal again and again to the Hoffa leadership. Both factions of the Teamsters are terrified that workers will break out of their control and organize themselves. The WSWS UPS Workers Newsletter will provide every assistance to workers who want to take forward a fight and encourages them to contact us today. Millions were sickened by a vile video of a group of backward racists burning an effigy of Grenfell Tower on bonfire night, November 5. The cardboard model had cut out paper figures with brown faces, looking out of the tower windows, with the perpetrators making derogatory comments about Grenfell Tower residents. As it is set on fire, one participant is heard saying, Help me, help me! and Jump out the window! Another says to laughter, in a reference to the failed stay put policy of the fire brigade, Stay in your flat, we are coming to get you. In a reference to a woman wearing a niqab, one states, The little ninja is getting it at the minute, Another comments, Thats what happens when they dont pay their rent. According to reports, the video was circulated privately among those involved on WhatsApp, but soon ended up being posted on social media and going viral where it provoked widespread anger and condemnation. The faces of many of those involved are seen in the video and five men from south and south-east London handed themselves in to the police on Monday night. Another man, aged 19, was arrested Tuesday after attending a south London police station. All six were arrested and charged on suspicion of a public order offence before being released under investigation. Despite the abhorrent nature of the video, it is not clear that the perpetrators have committed any crime. Arrested under section 4a of the 1986 Public Order Act, a defence against prosecution can be made if the accused were inside a dwelling and had no reason to believe what they did would be heard or seen by people outside the dwelling. It has since emerged that three of the six were members of a local Conservative Club, with one, Clifford Smith, having previously been photographed on social media mocking homeless people. Within a matter of hours, the political elite were queuing up to condemn the video in what was a display of nauseating hypocrisy. Prime Minister Theresa May posted a tweet, To disrespect those who lost their lives at Grenfell Tower, as well as their families and loved ones, is utterly unacceptable. Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, James Brokenshire, issued an official statement that the government condemns this video in the strongest terms, adding, I know that the police have been made aware of this video and will work to establish whether any offences have been committed. Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy, who is leading the criminal investigation into the Grenfell fire, issued an appeal for information as to the identities of those involved. Following the first arrests, Tuesday morning saw the police conduct a search for around two hours of Smiths house in South Norwood, south London, where the bonfire took place, after which they took away two plastic bags. The governments attempt to exploit the situation for political ends with pious expressions of sympathy rapidly backfired. Social consciousness has changed forever, as a result of the Grenfell inferno. After witnessing the callous and indifferent treatment of the survivors and bereaved of the tower by central government and the local Tory Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, many saw through the crocodile tears of May, et al. Hostile comments were posted on Twitter within minutes, with one reading, Didnt you [May] refuse to meet those affected by the disaster, initially after the disaster happened? Another asked, Do you really wanna open a dialogue on disrespecting Grenfell? One man pointed out when the first anniversary of the fire took place, May was wooing bankers at a European financial services event at a banquet in Whitehall. Another person tweeted, The effigy they burnt was less flammable than the actual tower. So, save your pious fake outrage, re-home the families who are still in temporary accommodationdespite your liesand remove this lethal cladding thats still on dozens of towers around the UK. Many people drew attention to the most salient fact revealed by the furor: In the now nearly 17 months since the Grenfell fire not a single individual has been arrested, let alone charged, in connection with the deaths of 72 people. It is now four and a half months since the Met bothered to even give an update on its investigation, when it revealed in July that only three people had been interviewed under caution in relation to the fire. The author of one of the above tweets, pointed out that FIVE people are (rightly) in custody for setting an effigy of Grenfell on fire. ZERO people are in custody for the actual Grenfell Tower fire. Something very wrong there. The many social media postings lambasting the government and police over their hypocrisy over Grenfell, articulating the views of millions of people shocked at the social murder committed at Grenfell, found no reflection in the media. The Guardian even went into defensive mode in response to the filthy statement about Grenfell residents not paying rent. It commented, The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which owns the block, said only 44 of the 115 rentable tenancies in the tower were covered entirely by housing benefit, and 40 households received no housing benefit at all. Other flats were owned by leaseholders. That such anti-working-class diatribes are considered the subject of polite debate shows the extent to which far-right views have become common coin within the corporate-controlled media. Nothing said by the Grenfell effigy burners has not regularly appeared in the comments sections of right-wing newspapers such as the Daily Mail, Daily Express and the Sun. It was only a few years ago that the now openly far right activist, Katie Hopkins, was handed a column by the Daily Mail and then the Sun, in which she regularly attacked immigrants, asylum seekers and welfare claimants. In one column, she launched into a fascistic rant, describing refugees fleeing war and persecution as cockroaches. A crime as enormous as Grenfell cannot be swept away with a few hypocritical gestures by political representatives of the capitalist class responsible for the 72 deaths. Recognising this, the pro-Labour Party New Statesman commissioned Gavriel Hollander, a freelance journalist who has worked for Inside Housing and Construction News, to urge calm and justify official inaction. An article asking, Why has no one been prosecuted for the Grenfell Tower fire? insisted that the growing clamour in some quarters to see signs of progress from the police investigating the disaster or from the public inquiry, which continues to hear evidence from survivors and the bereaved, is misplaced. When six men were arrested the very next day, some compared the speed with which the police moved to the apparent stagnation of the investigation into the fire itself. This comparison, Hollander, replied was stark but also spurious. It is easy to understand why a community that feels let downfatallyby those in power should be distrustful of the authorities, but everyone should calm down as trust is essential if we are to get the kind of justice that same community needs. This should and will take time. Trust in what is an ongoing official cover-up led by Justice Moore Bick is rapidly evaporating, as it should, and appeals for patience, even from the well-intentioned, are beginning to wear thin. The Grenfell Fire Forum invites readers to its next meeting to discuss these vital issues on Saturday November 10, at 4 p.m. at the Maxilla Social Club, 2 Maxilla Walk, London W10 6SW (nearest tube Latimer Road.) For further details visit the Grenfell Fire Forum Facebook page. Asia India: Delhi Transport Corporation workers still on strike Around 12,500 contract workers from the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) workers remain on strike in defiance of the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA). Last week some of the protesting workers marched to the transport minister residence demanding dialogue on day 13 of the strike. Thousands of contract workers have been detained by police and demonstrators claim that water and power supplies to their protest camp area have been cut and public bathrooms made inaccessible. The workers want permanent jobs and pay parity with permanent DTC employees. Strikers claim DTC management has terminated about 150 contract workers since the protest began while others had been issued notices to show why they should not be terminated over absenteeism. Management has begun recruiting new contract workers who are only given one day of training. Some of the new recruits have left and joined the protest. One worker told the media, If older workers do not have a future here, what is the guarantee that I will have one. Pricol workers on strike for 75 days in Tamil Nadu The workers from Pricol, a multinational auto parts manufacturer, protested outside the plant at Periyanaickenpalayam in Tamil Nadu on November 3. The more than 300 workers, who are members of the Kovai Mavatta Pricol Thozhilalar Sangam (KMPTS) union, which is affiliated to the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), participated in the demonstration. The workers, who have been on strike for over 75 days, want the company to stop punishment, victimization and denial of allowances to the workers. They are also demanding secret ballot union elections and have called for an increase in the minimum monthly salary from 23,000 rupees ($US318) to 40,000 rupees and a higher festival bonus. The workers began the strike on August 21 after management consistently refused to meet and discuss their demands. Last February Indias Supreme Court upheld the life sentences of two Pricol workers who were framed-up on murder charges over the killing of Pricol human resource vice president in 2009. Indian union calls off Haryana Roadways 18-day strike Haryana Roadways Workers Union leaders last week called off strike action by its members following management assurances that they could resume work the following day. Roadways employees began indefinite strike action on October 16 against the state governments decision to hire the services of 720 private buses. The strike paralysed Haryana Roadways, which employs about 19,000 people and has a fleet of 4,100 buses transporting around 1.2 million passengers every day. The strike action was supported by thousands of Haryana government employees. Bangladesh police threaten protesting workers On Monday around 750 Esteem Wears workers in Ujilab, Gazipur demonstrated to demand payment of their September and October salaries and an end to police harassment. The protestors blocked the Sreepur-Mawna road for nearly two hours. Workers complained that authorities had promised to pay all outstanding amounts by Monday but when they arrived at the factory they were confronted by large numbers of police. The workers ended their demonstration following assurances by industrial police authorities that all outstanding payments by factory authorities will be made before next Monday. Bangladesh health workers protest for pay rise and overdue wages Health workers and employees held a sit-down protest outside the city health centre in Kawnia, Barisal district over four demands. This included payment by Sunday of 11 months outstanding wages. Health care workers, service providers, midwives and other employees for Srijoni Bangladesh, one of the NGOs and government-run city health and maternity centres in Barisal city for the Urban Primary Health Care Services Delivery Project. The UPHCSDP, which began operations in 1996, employs nearly 28,000 workers. Demonstrators warned that they will take more militant action if their demands are not met. Pakistan: Karachi dock workers protest for outstanding benefits and permanent jobs Hundreds of dock workers employed at Port Qasim, Karachi are continuing their sit-down demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club. They claim their wages have been withheld for several months by Huaneng Fuyun Port & Shipping (HFPS) company which operates two berths in the busy port. They have been on strike for seven weeks. Workers have also accused the HFPS and other operators of not providing permanent jobs and allowances or the basic safety equipment required for dangerous jobs. Port Qasim is the second busiest port in Pakistan. The more than 1,750 dock workers employed by HFPS do not even receive the meagre minimum 8,000 rupees ($134.69) per month paid to Port of Karachi workers. Pakistans ports are notorious for superexploitation of workers and hazardous work conditions. Welfare and safety regulations and minimum wage standards are wilfully flouted. Sacked welfare workers in Punjab, Pakistan demand reinstatement Workers terminated by the Punjab Population Welfare Department demonstrated in Attock, Punjab last Sunday. The protest involved all 144 of the workers affected. The welfare workers want immediate reinstatement and job permanency for all 3,700 workers at the department. A protest was later held in Lahore by the All Pakistan Clerks Association demanding job permanency and a wage increase. The protest was called off after the authorities agreed to the clerks demands, which included a seven percent wage increase. The use of contract labour is prevalent among the government departments and services as a means of cost cutting. Chinese police attack rally of terminally ill workers Over 300 Chinese workers afflicted with fatal silicosis lung disease were pepper sprayed and beaten by police as they protested outside government offices in Shenzhen on Wednesday night. A number of them were taken to hospital for treatment. Online videos show demonstrators coughing and falling to the ground. One worker said the pepper spray caused him to cough so hard he brought up blood. The workers had travelled from Sangzhi and Leiyang in central Hunan province on Monday for the ninth time this year. They are petitioning authorities for compensation and medical costs after contracting the disease, caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. The group includes 600 people who worked on construction sites across Shenzhen in the 1990s and 2000s. Many have succumbed to the disease since the campaign began in 2009. Workers have not been able to seek compensation because of a lack of documentation of their employment. Many migrant workers were employed precisely because of their lack of rights, conditions and workplace protection under Chinas Hukou system. Taiwanese flight attendants protest against overwork Scores of flight attendants protested in Taipei on Tuesday against overwork. They accused Taiwans aviation regulator, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), of colluding with local airlines to deprive them of labour rights. The protest was organised by members of the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union (TFAU) and the EVA Air and China Airlines unions. The rally, outside CAA headquarters, urged the agency not to legalize excessive work hours. The protesters were asking for flight attendants travelling to Tokyo, Beijing and Phnom Penh not to be forced to take round trips, which can result in shifts longer than 12 hours. The protest came after Taoyuan labor authorities fined EVA Air $NT550,000 ($US17,800) last week for having its attendants work longer hours than allowed by law. This was the fifth documented infringement in three years. The CAA backed the airline, however, saying the excessive working hours were due to an unexpected air traffic control event. Australia and New Zealand Australia: Tasmanian public sector workers impose work bans Paramedics and communications staff at Ambulance Tasmania began limited industrial action this week after rejecting the governments offer in a dispute for a new enterprise agreement (EA). Action by members of the Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) includes staff writing slogans on ambulances, taking all allowances and breaks, not accepting any rostered overtime, attending rallies and only accepting offered overtime shifts at their choosing. The government deal capped annual wage increases at a maximum of 2 percent, well below the rapidly rising cost of living. After years of stagnant wages enforced by the union, Ambulance Tasmania staff are reportedly paid $10,000 a year less than their mainland counterparts. The union has not revealed how much of a pay increase it is demanding. Paramedics joined with thousands of other Tasmanian public sector workers in strike action for several hours on October 24 to demand the state Liberal government end its 2 percent cap on pay increases. Public sector workers in health, education, forensic services and other departments are implementing minor work bans over the issue. Crane hire workers in New South Wales end strike Workers at WGC Cranes, a mobile crane company with depots in Sydney and Wollongong, ended their two-week strike over a pay dispute on October 29. Workers were opposed to the companys demand that separate pay and conditions agreements be struck for the two depots. The Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) called an end to the strike after WGC management abandoned its two-tier demand. Details of the final enterprise agreement (EA) accepted by the union, however, have not been made public. The stoppage at WGC coincided with strike action at crane hire company Boom Logistics in Singleton (north of Sydney), whose employees walked out on October 13 in a dispute for a new EA. Boom workers complained that they despite doing the same labour, they are employed by four different entities, each offering different rates of pay. Hitachi machinery maintenance workers on strike in New South Wales Around 50 workers at the Hitachi Construction Machinery depot in Muswellbrook, New South Wales are maintaining rolling two-hour stoppages they began last July in a dispute for a new enterprise agreement. The highly skilled maintenance workers are demanding upgraded pay and conditions in line with other workers in the Hunter region mining industry. Workers have complained that although they do most of their work in coal mines on seven-day rotating shifts of over 13 hours duration, Hitachi is refusing to recognise them as mineworkers and give them appropriate entitlements. They are demanding industry standard long service leave, six weeks annual leave and improved accident pay. New Zealand midwives vote to strike More than 1,100 midwives employed by New Zealands District Health Boards (DHBs) have rejected a pay offer and voted by a 90 percent majority to strike. Eighty percent of members of the Midwifery Employee Representation & Advisory Service (MERAS) employed across 20 DHBs cast votes. MERAS has given notice of daily two-hour work stoppages on every shift over a two-week period from November 22 to December 5. The strike follows a year of negotiations. The rejected offer was the same as the sell-out 9 percent pay rise across three years accepted by the NZ Nurses Organisation in August. Midwives are seeking 3 percent above this, or alternatively a $5,000 retention allowance. There is a national midwifery shortage. Midwives have a high level of responsibility, study for a four-year direct-entry degree, and their work includes a high level of clinical decision-making. The NZ Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA), which covers 17,000 secondary school teachers, has begun nationwide stop-work meetings to discuss ongoing employment contract negotiations. The two-hour meetings began on November 7 in the South Auckland, Counties-Manukau, and Otago regions. A PPTA conference last month voted to reject the ministry of educations (MoE) offer, including annual pay rises of between 2 and 3 percent for three years. The PPTA has claimed that it is demanding a 15 percent increase over one year, and measures to reduce workloads. New Zealand primary teachers to begin rolling strikes New Zealand primary teachers will start rolling regional strikes next week after rejecting the latest government pay offer. Some 29,000 teachers and principals will be involved nationwide over five days. Auckland teachers will start the action on Monday with rallies on more than 100 street corners and mass meetings later that day. The NZ Educational Institute (NZEI) said facilitation under the Employment Relations Authority ended yesterday and the strike meetings will consider new offers from the Ministry of Education and recommendations from the facilitator. The ministry made a new offer to teachers, but did not move on its earlier promise to raise pay scales by 3 percent a year for three years. Its latest offer included a new top step and the partial removal of a cap on qualifications for some teachers from 2020. NZEI president Lynda Stuart said the offers did not address union claims for lower class sizes and more professional time. School were notified several weeks ago of the proposed strike dates, but the NZEI had indicated it was prepared to call off the strikes if a deal could be struck. Formal strike notices for Auckland were issued late on Thursday night. On Wednesday, as he toured World War I battlefields in the run-up to tomorrows celebration in Paris of the centenary of the end of World War I, French President Emmanuel Macron hailed Frances fascist dictator, Marshal Philippe Petain. Macron declared that it was legitimate to honor Petain: He was a great soldier, this is a reality. Political life like human nature is sometimes more complex than one would like to believe. After these statements provoked an outpouring of popular revulsion, Macron returned Thursday to defend the leader of the Nazi-collaborationist Vichy regime and praise his record as a general in World War I. He declared, I will hide no pages of history. Marshal Petain was also, during World War I, a great soldier. That is a reality of our country. Macrons statements are a deliberate effort to rehabilitate Petain, the figurehead of French fascism and the Vichy regime, the bloodiest and most reactionary regime France has ever known. As the head of the Vichy regime collaborating with the Nazi occupation of France, Petain was implicated in all the crimes of European fascism. He ordered the launch of mass deportations that led over 75,000 Jews from France to the death camps. He presided over a regime that recruited Frenchmen to the Axis armies fighting the Nazi war of annihilation in the Soviet Union, and to the French Militia, which crushed armed resistance to the Nazi occupation. The Vichy regime also violently repressed the left, banned communist parties, dissolved the trade unions and declared the class struggle illegal. Immediately after World War II, the Provisional Government of the French Republic organized a trial of Petain on charges of treason and collusion with the enemy. On August 15, 1945, Petain was found guilty, given a death sentence later commuted to life imprisonment, and stricken from the army with loss of rank and honors. Since then, praise of Petain has been the exclusive domain of neo-fascists, and Macrons honoring of Petains World War I record echoes their attempts to overturn the August 15, 1945 trial. Macrons hailing of Petain is an unabashed overture to the far right. Within the working class, Macron is hated as the president of the rich. He is booed whenever he encounters a working class audience. When he stopped at a Renault factory in Maubeuge as part of his World War I tour on Thursday, he was greeted with catcalls and a union official who informed him he is not welcome here. In response, Macron is seeking to cultivate the neo-fascists to create a popular base for his reactionary policies of militarism and social austerity. In this, Macron is reprising the policy of his German ally, the grand coalition government between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social-Democratic Party (SPD). In the face of the overwhelming unpopularity of Berlins decision in 2014 to become a military great power for the first time since Hitlers defeat, the grand coalition has deliberately cultivated the far-right. An initial propaganda campaign to downplay Hitlers crimes led by a cabal around right-wing extremist Professor Jorg Baberowski has escalated into a campaign by the German political establishment to promote the far-right. Despite mass protests by hundreds of thousands against neo-fascism, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party enjoys growing support in the army and domestic intelligence, whose former chief, Hans-Georg Maassen, worked in close collaboration with the AfD to publish a report branding opposition to capitalism as left-wing extremism. Workers are flooded with fascistic state propaganda, such as Interior Minister Horst Seehofers statement that he would have liked to have joined neo-Nazi riots in Chemnitz. Such statements from Macrons German allies make quite clear the character of Macrons efforts to rehabilitate Petain. It is not a neutral act of historical memory, appraising Petains skill on the killing fields of World War I, but a political provocation aiming aimed at strengthening the far-right in order to ram through discredited policies of austerity and war despite mounting popular opposition. Heads of state are gathering for tomorrows World War I centenary in Paris amid the deepest crisis of capitalism and of US-European relations since the 1930s Depression and World War II. While Trump scraps the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty to prepare nuclear war against Russia and China, Macron calls for building a European army to confront not only Russia and China, but also the United States. The European imperialist powers attempts to band together to make a bid for world hegemony require them to drastically restructure class relations, repudiating all the social and democratic concessions made to the working class after the fall of fascism. Macron government officials declared at this years Munich Security Conference that France would spend 300 billion euros on the Army by 2023. As Macron hands out tens of billions of euros in tax cuts to the super-rich, such spending is possible only on the basis of ruthless austerity against the workers. To promote militarism and slash social rights established in struggle against fascism, the French bourgeoisie is driven to legitimize the Vichy dictatorship. In 1943, the National Resistance Councils (CNR) Stalinist, social-democratic and bourgeois forces pledged the eviction of great economic and financial feudalities from rule over the economy. As the Trotskyist movement explained, these forces strangled a revolution, with devastating long-term consequences for the working classblocking a seizure of power by the workers, preserving capitalism and protecting the fascist ruling classes. After armed insurrections across Europe in 1943-4 and mass strike waves in 1946-7, however, the French ruling elite was forced to make vast concessions to the workers. Rail and energy firms were nationalized and state pensions, free health care and free public education were instituted in France and across much of Western Europe. Decades later, Macron aims to destroy what is left of these gains to feed the war machine. This spring, he privatized the National Railways by decree, despite strike action and opposition from 95 percent of rail workers. Now, even as his ratings plunge and his ministerial cabinet disintegrates, he is forging ahead with cuts to pensions, health care and unemployment insurance, while strengthening the states police powers. Macrons hailing of Petain underscores the fascistic character of his policy. All the middle-class organizations and parties that in the 2017 elections promoted Macron as a lesser evil than neo-fascist candidate Marine Le Penand who are now negotiating Macrons social cuts with him through the union bureaucracyare exposed as bankrupt and reactionary. Macrons efforts to rehabilitate the fascist dictator Petain are an unanswerable confirmation of the warning made by the International Committee of the Fourth International that the worlds ruling elites, bent on war and austerity, are actively promoting a revival of fascism. It makes clear that only a socialist political program seeking to overturn the capitalist system, the root of war and dictatorship, offers humanity a means to avoid the return of the barbarism of the 1930s. Red Hat and IBM officials announced a definitive agreement on October 28, under which IBM will acquire the open source enterprise Linux company for a cash value of $34 billion. IBM is paying $190 per share for Red Hat stock, a 63 percent premium to its closing price of $116.68 on the previous Friday. It is the largest acquisition by IBM in its 107-year history. The acquisition is the latest case of giant corporations swallowing up previously independent open source companies and the community of developers around them as they grow ever larger and more powerful. Nowhere is this more prevalent than among companies competing in the so-called public cloud market, in which IBM trails behind Amazon, Microsoft and Google. In the 10 years from 2007 to 2017, the number of Microsoft employees grew from 79,000 to 124,000. Google had 16,805 in 2007 compared to 57,000 in 2017. The number of employees in Amazon Web Services (AWS) is not available, but the total number of employees at Amazon grew from 17,000 in 2007 to 566,000 in 2017. IBM, the dominant tech company for much of the 20th century saw a slight reduction from 386,000 to 366,000 in wholly owned subsidiaries for the same period. IBM hopes that the acquisition of Red Hat will give it a competitive edge in the so-called hybrid cloud, which combines public cloud offerings with private clouds in data centers run by a company. In a press release, Ginni Rometty, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer, said, The acquisition of Red Hat is a game-changer. It changes everything about the cloud market. Rometty claimed that IBM will become the worlds #1 hybrid cloud provider, offering companies the only open cloud solution that will unlock the full value of the cloud for their businesses. Jim Whitehurst, president and CEO of Red Hat, said, Open source is the default choice for modern IT solutions, and Im incredibly proud of the role Red Hat has played in making that a reality in the enterprise. IBM has had its own close relationship with open source software over the past 20 years, recognizing it as a superior development model to those of proprietary systems. With the open source model, IBM gains access to thousands of talented developers globally who would not necessarily work for the company. Even Microsoft, whose former CEO Steve Ballmer described open source as a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches and communism, has in recent years adopted the open source model for a number of projects. Sixty percent of instances running in Microsofts Azure cloud are Linux based. Last month Microsoft completed its acquisition of GitHub for $7.5 billion. The open source code repository and development platform has over 31 million users and hosts more than 96 million repositories from 2.1 million organizations. Red Hat was founded in 1993 by Bob Young and Marc Ewing. Young ran a catalog service that distributed software while Ewing was developing his own distribution of the open source GNU/Linux operating system which he called Red Hat Linux. The distribution bundled together various application and utilities developed by the Free Software Foundation led by Richard Stallman and the Linux kernel developed by Linus Torvalds. Both the GNU and Linux were released as open source software that could be used by anyone free of charge. Most importantly, the GNU General Public License requires that the human readable source code be made available and gives users the right to modify that code. This was in stark contrast to the proprietary licenses of companies such as Microsoft, Apple and IBM. Red Hat became the first commercial Linux distribution with a revenue model of distributing the software for free and charging a subscription service for support, updates and professional services. It has maintained a close relationship with the open source developer community and contributed to numerous projects. Today Red Hat is a significant corporation in its own right, with over 12,000 employees worldwide. Utilizing the code developed by thousands of volunteer programmers, Red Hat quickly established itself as the main distributor of Linux software to enterprise companies. In August 1999, Red Hat went public, achieving the eighth-biggest first-day gain in the history of Wall Street. In 2000 the company opened Red Hat India and began a series of acquisitions, most recently buying the Linux Container distribution, CoreOS, for $250,000,000 in January this year. A particular target of IBMs cloud strategy is JEDI, the $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure project of the Department of Defense. The project is intended to modernize and consolidate the defense departments IT systems into an enterprise-level commercial cloud. IBM has issued a protest against the JEDI solicitation, stating, Throughout the year-long JEDI saga, countless concerns have been raised that this solicitation is aimed at a specific vendor. At no point have steps been taken to alleviate those concerns. IBM are complaining specifically about a requirement that bidders meet the Defense Information Systems Agency Impact Level 6 security capabilities to handle secret-level military information. Two senior Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee, Reps. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.) have called for the Pentagons internal watchdog to open an investigation into the cloud procurement, raising the same concerns in an October 23 letter to Glenn A. Fine, the acting inspector general at the Department of Defense. At the time the proposal was announced, only AWS met this requirement. Microsoft announced last month that it will soon meet the requirement. Google withdrew from the JEDI bid last month following protests from employees. Microsoft went ahead with the bid despite opposition from workers. Nextgov reports that CEO Satya Nadella appeared at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, October 10. Nadella reportedly said Microsoft has a four-decades-old partnership with the Defense Department and added that the US armed forces have a fundamental grounding on what it means to deploy any technology or practice which is ethically used. Amazon is also going ahead with its bid and criticized Googles decision to pull out. Speaking at the WIRED25 summit on October 15, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said, One of the jobs of a senior leadership team is to make the right decision even when [it] is unpopular. He added, If big tech companies are going to turn their back on the DOD, then this country is going to be in trouble. With its contribution to open source, Red Hat has maintained a certain respect among developers. But part of the attraction to IBM is the companys close relationship with the US military. The headline of a 2012 blog post boasts of Red Hats Decade of Collaboration with Government and Open Source Community. The authors cite a 2003 study that presented DOD-wide guidance on open source software, which implicitly permitted its acquisition, development, and use. The blog post states that at this time Red Hat released the first version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and that, The Army deployed Red Hats operating system in its Blue Force Tracker system, which lived in jeeps and tanks on the battlefield. It goes on to cite Major General Nicholas Justice, the man responsible for Blue Force Tracker, saying later: When we rolled into Baghdad, we did it using open source. Retired general Hugh Shelton joined the Board of Directors of Red Hat Corporation in April 2003 and was elected that boards chairman in 2010. Shelton served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1997 to 2001. A June 26 article in the Herald Sun states: Red Hat leaders have been talking to defense officials about its JEDI cloud-services contract and think the company is extremely well-positioned to supply the projects back-end workings, Red Hat Chief Financial Office Eric Shander said in a recent interview. IBM is pushing for the DOD to adopt a hybrid cloud approach, utilizing multiple providers rather than a single vendor. In acquiring Red Hat they obtain control of the operating system that will run on whatever cloud infrastructure is ultimately selected, together with orchestration tools that make cloud deployments easier. If they cant get the whole $10 billion JEDI cake, they at least have a possibility of a slice, together with more lucrative contracts down the road. The author also recommends: Silicon Valleys corrupt nexus: War, censorship and inequality [17 September 2018] On November 3, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) announced that it would vote for the United National Partys (UNP) no-confidence motion against Mahinda Rajapakse in parliament. An official TNA statement described President Maithripala Sirisenas sacking of UNP Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his appointment of Rajapakse as prime minister as illegal, unconstitutional and an undemocratic violation of parliamentary supremacy. Mavai Senathirajah, who leads the Federal Party, the dominant component of the TNA, said four days earlier that the alliance would decide on who to support in the ensuing political crisis after consulting with the international community and India. The TNAs decision to support Wickremesinghe has nothing to do with defending democracy. Rather, the organisation is pursuing the same pro-imperialist course that saw it support the US-sponsored regime-change operation that brought Sirisena and Wickremesinghe to power in 2015. That operation was aimed at installing a pro-US government in Colombo in line with Washingtons war preparations against China. Against the Tamil nationalists and other middle-class left organisations, the SEP (Sri Lanka) was the only political party that rejected fraudulent claims that the regime would result in democratic rule. The SEP warned about the danger of a US-led war against China and the IMF-dictated social austerity attacks on the working class, and laid out a political program to unify Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim workers in struggle against the Colombo regime. Recent events have comprehensively vindicated the SEP. Sampanthan campaigned for Sirisena in 2015, insisting that his election would produce a revival of democracy. While Sirisena has now unilaterally sacked the prime minister and dissolved the parliament, the TNA is again on a crusade for democracythis time against the man it hailed as Sri Lankas leading democrat. Underlying the shift in the TNAs position is the Tamil bourgeoisies determination to maintain its close political alignment with US foreign policy demands. Both Washington and the TNA seek to use the vicious state repression of the Tamil workers and oppressed masses after the 19832009 Sri Lankan civil war as a political pretext to pressure the regime in Colombo under the phony banner of defending human rights. Less than 24 hours after Rajapakses installation as prime minister, the US State Departments Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs tweeted: We expect the Government of Sri Lanka to uphold its Geneva commitments to human rights, reform, accountability, justice and reconciliation. The tweet indicated that if Rajapakse was installed as prime minister and pursued a pro-China policy, Washington could again threaten Colombo with war crimes investigations over the 2009 massacre of the Tamilsthreats it used to remove Rajapakse from office in 2015. Not accidentally, the TNAs statements are virtually indistinguishable from those of the Western powers in defending democracy in Sri Lanka. TNA leader M. A. Sumanthiran told a party meeting that we are the deciding factor, stressing the TNAs leading role in mobilising forces to defeat Rajapakse in 2015. The TNAs cynical claims to be fighting for democracy and against the oppression of the Tamil masses since 2009 are exposed by Sumanthirans recent meeting with a delegation from the Sinhala-chauvinist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and headed by party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Attacking Sirisena, Sumanthiran declared that, the TNA and the JVP decided to resist these moves jointly and join hands with all opponents of such unlawful and undemocratic practices. Dissanayake reciprocated, stating, We, as the JVP, and people in the north have both faced the repercussions of anti-democratic situations. This posturing has no credibility among workers in Sri Lanka. Since its foundation in 1966, the JVP has been a champion of racist politics targeting Tamils. During its first insurrection in 1971, which ended in the bloody death of thousands of Sinhalese youth at the hands of the Colombo regime, the JVP denounced Tamil plantation workers as a fifth column of Indian influence in Sri Lanka. The JVP is infamous for its active support of the Sri Lankan military against Tamil nationalist forces during the civil war and its murderous political violence against political opponents, including the SEP. The alliance of the racist JVP and the TNA nationalists in line with US imperialist foreign policy is a warning to the working class. These parties are fully integrated into the Sri Lankan ruling elites drive towards dictatorship and are bitterly hostile to the workers. What is the balance sheet of the TNAs three-year support for the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe regime? TNA parliamentarians voted for the governments IMF-dictated austerity budgets which have drastically worsened the living conditions of the working class and the masses. The TNA promised in 2015 that Sirisenas Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP) and Wickremesinghes UNP would unite and solve the Tamil national question but none of the consequences of the Sri Lankan civil war have been addressed. Tamil political prisoners have not been released, no investigation of war crimes has occurred, the whereabouts of the missing are still unknown and military-held private lands have not been returned. Homes destroyed by the war have not been rebuilt, and the war wounded and widows are still suffering without assistance. In 2016, Sampanthan dismissed growing popular anger over the plight of the Tamil masses, saying: After travelling a long journey, one cannot hastily break contact with the government. Immediately after last months political coup, Sirisena announced that he would grant no concessions to the Tamils and never allow Tamil-majority areas to be merged nor allow the country to be a federal state. I would have to be killed, he declared, for before such a devolution of power was implemented. Despite this, Sampanthan led a TNA delegation to meet Sirisena on November 7 and issued a press release in which he pledged to extend to the President its fullest support with regard to any future steps taken by him to stabilise the political situation in the country with the cooperation of all political parties. Tamil nationalist critics of the TNA are supporting the organisations parliamentary manoeuvres and calling for more detailed promises from Washington and the other powers to protect Tamil bourgeois interests. As political analyst S. A. Jothilingam told a press conference in Jaffna, Mahinda Rajapakse is supported by China, Western countries support Ranil Wickremesinghe. The best thing that can be done in this situation is to keep these countries as witnesses and obtain written promises from these parties. The stark shift to the right of the ruling parties is their reaction to the growing movement of protests and strikes among workers of all ethnicities in Sri Lanka. Two days before Sirisenas political coup, 5,000 young Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim workers protested in Galle Face Green, demanding that daily wages for plantation workers be doubled to 1,000 rupees. In several cities in the Tamil-majority North and East, workers and youths have spontaneously joined street protests in support of the plantation workers. The last three years have once more proved that there is no national path for the democratic aspirations of Tamils in Sri Lanka. The Tamil nationalists alignment with imperialism originates in the bourgeois class interests they represent and which are hostile to the workers and oppressed masses. Amid an upsurge of the class struggle, the only way forward is on basis of the struggle being waged by the SEP to unify the working class of all nationalities on a socialist and revolutionary perspective. The support of Tamil workers from the North and East for strikes and protests in Colombo and Sinhalese workers sympathy for the year-long protests of the relatives of missing people in the North point to the growing unification of the working class. The world is about to celebrate the centenary of the conclusion of World War I, which came to an end 11 November 1918, by the armistice signed in Paris. On this occasion, French President Emmanuel Macron invited the heads of 60 countries from all over the world to Paris to celebrate this significant occasion, not only for Europe, but for the whole of mankind. Those invited leaders include the US and Russian presidents and the German chancellor. Different from World War II, whose results were mostly undone with the end of the Cold War, one could safely argue that the results of World War I largely remain with us until today. This is particularly the case for the Arab region and the Middle East. To be sure, we increasingly witness plans, initiatives and manoeuvres aimed at redrawing the map of the region. These came under different titles and from different parties, whether non-Arab regional powers or international actors. However, few, if any, such plans came from the Arab world itself. Only two years ago, when the world was celebrating the centenary of the famous Sikes-Picot Agreement, the secret colonialist agreement between France and the United Kingdom in 1916, there was a lot of speculation, occasionally mixed with fear, regarding attempts to elaborate a new, but rather different in content, Sikes-Picot 2. At the time, voices in the West particularly warned mainly the Arabs of simply repeating the conspiracy theory logic that has dominated their thinking for decades, if not centuries. However, the reality was there and senior officials as well as well-connected writers, journalists and intellectuals, in several of the capitals of the world that influence developments in the course of events, were simply confirming these fears and concerns expressed by Arab intellectuals with an advanced degree of awareness and consciousness. If we recall the evolution of the background of events that led to the eruption of World War I, and if we decide to leave aside the precipatory factors that directly and immediately led to its eruption, we will easily and clearly notice that in essence it was a war among colonialist powers, predominantly European. The subject matter of that war was simply the incessant and increasing competition, dispute and conflicts over the control of the largest amount possible of colonies, whether in the old world or in the then relatively freshly discovered new world. The target was not the countries or the peoples themselves, but rather the wealth, natural and otherwise, contained on their territories or beneath them, and in their waters or under them, as well as the markets they offer and the geostrategic locations they occupy In addition, the inter-colonialist dispute was over the control of the worldwide routes of transportation, whether for military or commercial navigation purposes. If leftist circles have insisted on calling that war the Imperialist War rather than World War I, one could see some merit in such a description. At that point of history, one of the main, if not the main, concerns for the colonialist powers was to inherit the territories that were for centuries or decades controlled by the Ottoman Empire in the Arab and Muslim worlds. This was particularly the case as those same European colonialist powers at that time 1914 were keen to liberate the European territories that were still under Ottoman control and leave their peoples free to enjoy the fruits of their then recently developed nationalist aspirations that came as a result of the spread of nationalist ideologies in Europe during that era, deciding on their own political independence. It is also worth recalling that it was only thanks to the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia that erupted and gained power in October 1917 that we knew of the Sikes-Picot secret agreement between the British and the French, as the new leadership in Russia, namely Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, widely known as Lenin, decided that Russia was withdrawing from the World War I, which he labelled the Imperialist War. The release of that secret colonialist agreement dealing with the partition of the Ottoman Empires Arab territories was one good reason used to show the real nature of that war, particularly in light of the liberating and progressive ideology of the new revolution. World War I was, at its time, the most destructive war humanity had witnessed, both in terms of material losses and human casualties. Again, if one looks at these losses and casualties and compares them to the real motivations of the colonialist powers, a competition over spoils, one feels sorrier still regarding the damage incurred, particularly the human losses, as in real terms those people died for no good or noble reason. They were dragged from all sides to go and participate in a war in which they had no interest whatsoever. This statement applies for the peoples of the warring countries, and even more to the peoples that were recruited, in most cases by force, to join the war efforts of the countries at war, primarily from the colonies of these countries, including the Arab world. Finally, World War I had a lingering impact at the ideological level for Europe and for the whole world, because during it the world witnessed the success of an important ideology, namely Marxism, in seizing power in a big European country, namely Russia. Also, the aftermath of the war witnessed the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe in different forms, mainly in Italy and Germany, but also in Spain and Japan. These ideological developments were to impact the destiny of humanity, not only until the end of World War II, or even until the end of the Cold War, but until this very day, and probably for years and decades to come. * The writer is a commentator. * A version of this article appears in print in the 8 November, 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: WWI is not over Search Keywords: Short link: Three thousand workers from the Yamaha India and Royal Enfield motor-cycle manufacturing plants, and the auto-parts manufacturer Myoung Shin India Automotive (MSI) have been on strike in Oragadaman industrial hub on the outskirts of Tamil Nadus capital Chennaifor more than six weeks. In the face of violent police attacks, mass arrests, and pro-employer rulings from the courts, the workers are waging a determined struggle. They are fighting for improved working conditions, higher wages, the reinstatement of workers victimized by Yamaha for taking the initiative in forming a union, and recognition at all three plants of newly-organized unions affiliated with the Center of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). The CITU is aligned with and controlled by Indias main Stalinist parliamentary party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM. The Tamil Nadu autoworker strikes are part of a growing wave of workers struggles in India and internationally, and have immediately come up against the anti-worker nexus that unites the employers, the government, police and courts. However, the Stalinist CITU leaders are doing everything to isolate the strikes in Oragadam. Although the courts and police have acted in unison to bar the strikers from picketing the strike-bound plants, the CITU has done nothing to mobilize the other workers that it represents in Oragadam, a vast auto-making hub, let alone across Tamil Nadu and India, in support of the striking Yamaha, Royal Enfield, and MSI workers. And it has opposed the strikers raising demands on behalf of, or otherwise making a class appeal to, the contract workers the companies are using to continue production during the strike, although uniting contract and permanent workers is a strategic question. For decades, the use of contract-labour and multi-tiered workforces (contract, temporary, apprentice, part-time, etc.) has been a key weapon in Indian big business offensive against the working class. Instead, the Stalinists have urged the strikers to direct appeals to the Tamil Nadu state government, which is led by the AIADMK, a close ally of Indias ruling party, the Hindu supremacist BJP and to the AIADMK-controlled labour department. Similarly, they have told them to put their faith in, and abide by the rulings of, the capitalist courts. In a further attempt to derail the strikes and tie them to the capitalist ruling elite, the CITU recently called an all party meeting at which the Stalinists paraded before the workers leaders of various opposition parties and their affiliated unions and touted them as allies of the strikers. Those who shared the platform with the CPM and CITI leaders at the bogus October 30th meeting in support of the Yamaha, Royal Enfield and MSI strikes included: K. Sundar, the district secretary of the DMK, the main opposition party in the Tamil Nadu state assembly; M. Shanmugam, general secretary of the Labor Progressive Front, which is affiliated to the DMK; and P. Damodaran, state assistant secretary of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), the union wing of the big business Congress Party. Leaders of several other Tamil Nadu-based bourgeois parties, including the MDMK, PMK and VCK, were also invited to address the meeting and pose as supporters of the autoworkers. Addressing the meeting, CPM Tamil Nadu state leader A. Soundarajan claimed that the auto workers struggle has been transformed, and is now between all [opposition] political parties versus the state government. Such claims are nothing less than an attempt to implant a kiss of death on the Yamaha, Royal Enfield, and MSI workers struggle. All of the aforementioned parties are fully committed to the anti-working class, pro-investor agenda of the bourgeoisie that has resulted in the exponential growth of Indias billionaires over the past two decades, from 2 to more than 130, even while hundreds of millions are condemned to survive on less than $2 per day. The Congress Partyuntil recently the Indian bourgeoisies preferred party of governmentinitiated the pro-market reforms when it ruled India between 1991 and 1996, and accelerated them and forged a global strategic partnership with US imperialism when it headed the UPA government from 2004-14. The DMK has a similar anti-working class record, both as Tamil Nadus governing party and as a junior partner in Congress- and BJP-led central governments. The smaller regional parties are satellites of the big business DMK and AIADMK and their respective partners on the all-India political arena. The CPM-CITU all party meeting had a double reactionary purpose. To keep political control over the strikers by giving them the impression that the Stalinists were mobilizing support for them, while further turning them away from class struggle. And second, to advance the Stalinists attempts to stitch up alliances with an array of bourgeois parties in preparation for next springs national election. At their national congress last April, the Stalinists agreed that, in the name of defeating the BJP, they are ready to reach enter into an electoral understanding with the Congress Party, even though they concede that that it is a neo-liberal, pro-US-imperialist party, and will forge even closer alliances with various regional parties. The DMK, which is itself a close Congress ally, is one of the Stalinists most important prospective electoral partners. The CPMs October 6th-8th Central Committee reaffirmed this orientation. It announced three tasks for the party in the coming election, strengthening the left, defeating the BJP, and ensuring an alternative secular governmentthat is, a Congress Party-led or other rightwing bourgeois governmentis formed at the centre. Diverting the growing movement of the working class behind the bourgeois parties represented at the October 30 all party meeting and similar parties in other states is central to these goals: to provide the Congress, DMK and an array of other caste-based and regional bourgeois parties with some desperately needed left credentials to help them muster votes; and to augment the Stalinists own influence within the political establishment. Significantly, the longer the strikes have dragged on, the more the CITU has highlighted the demand for union recognition over all others, while stressing its adherence to Indias pro-employer labour relations system. The message is unmistakable: if the employers recognize the CITU, it will work with them to contain and suppress worker opposition just as the CITU and CPM do nationally. In this regard two further points need be made: At the October 30 meeting, Stalinist leader Soundarajanclearly under pressure from workers over the CITUs refusal to take action to shut down the struck plantsdelivered a rant in which he suggested the strikers wanted violence. Telling the contract workers not to go to work or trying to stop them from going to work, said Soundarajan, that is not a problem. But that may lead to lot of push and shove and bloodshed. Is that what you want? Second, the Stalinist leaders have kept the Tamil Nadu autoworkers in total ignorance about the state-employer vendetta against the workers at Maruti Suzukis Manesar car assembly in Haryana, in north India. In 2012, Maruti Suzuki, Haryanas then Congress Party state government, and the police organized the arrest of 150 workers on frame-up charges and the sacking of 2,400 workers, because the Manesar plant had become a center of worker resistance to contract labour and poverty wages. Today, 13 workers, including all twelve members of the executive committee of the Maruti Suzuki Workers Union, are facing life prison terms after being convicted on trumped-up murder charges. The Stalinists dont want the Tamil Nadu strikers to learn about the Maruti Suzuki frame-up for two reasons: first, because it is a devastating rebuttal of their claims that the big business politicians, courts and other authorities can be pressured into addressing workers concerns; and second, because any campaign against the frame-up of the Maruti Suzuki workers would scandalize their Congress and other bourgeois political allies. The Tamil Nadu auto strikes and the growing upsurge of the Indian working class of which they are a part highlight the urgency of the struggle to expose the Stalinist CPM and CITU as social props of the Indian bourgeoisie and to arm the working class with a new political perspective based on the Trotskyist program of Permanent Revolution. That is, the systematic mobilization of the working class as an independent political force, rallying the toilers and rural poor behind it in struggle against all sections of the Indian bourgeoisie, and in the fight for a workers government and the program of international socialism. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Tallahassee Fire Department is honoring veterans over some BBQ. The event took place Friday at the Veterans Village. The Tallahassee Fire Department hosts this event every year and is an opportunity for the community to show support to those who fought for our freedom. "Its tremendous, all of the veterans in the program every year look forward to this," said Shawn Knowles, Regional Veterans Director for Volunteers of America of Florida. This is the one of many events happening this weekend leading up to Veteran's Day this Monday that recognizes the sacrifices people have made for our country. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Tallahassee Police Department held a briefing on the deadly shooting at Hot Yoga Tallahassee last week. Chief Michael DeLeo with TPD said investigators have been working long hours, reviewing thousands of recovered documents, and canvassing all over town trying to piece together a timeline of the 48 hours. Scott Beierle was in Tallahassee leading up to the deadly shooting. TPD knows he arrived Halloween night and they're trying to figure out everything he did on November 1. Beierle once lived in Tallahassee, but had moved to Deltona. Detectives searched Beierle's home in Deltona and they're waiting on other warrants for phone and bank records, social media sites, and any personal documents. Chief DeLeo said so far investigators haven't found any connection to Tallahassee, the yoga studio, or anyone who signed up for the class. TPD has interviewed at least 100 people over the last week and has submitted all forensic evidence to FDLE. Chief DeLeo said Beierle has a history of inappropriate behavior toward women dating back to his high school years. He resigned from the Army during an investigation for just that and as we've already reported, TPD arrested him in 2012 and 2016 for battery. Chief DeLeo stated Beierle was one of the last people to sign up for the yoga class and started shooting within minutes of class starting. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Tallahassee Police Department says they will be holding a briefing on the deadly shooting at Hot Yoga Tallahassee last week. The conference comes a week after two people, Dr. Nancy Van Vessem and Maura Binkley, were killed at the Midtown yoga studio. The briefing will take place at 3 p.m. at TPDs headquarters. We have a reporter going to the conference. Stay with us for updates. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-09 21:09:44|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng (R), also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and chairman of TerraPower, in Beijing, capital of China, on Nov. 8, 2018. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng met with Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and chairman of TerraPower, in Beijing on Thursday. During their meeting, Han told Gates that China stands ready to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with the U.S. on new energy and energy-related technological innovation to continuously optimize its energy structure. Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China is opening its doors wider and its business environment keeps improving. Han said China welcomes American enterprises to the country for energy cooperation with a view to enhance technological progress and achieve greater development through mutually-beneficial and win-win cooperation. For his part, Gates spoke highly of China's achievements in the sustainable energy development sector, adding that his company will continue boosting cooperation with the Chinese side in this regard. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-09 22:15:02|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), presides over a bi-weekly seminar of the 13th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 9, 2018. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's political advisors on Friday raised suggestions on promoting the development of the new energy automobile industry at a bi-weekly consultation session presided over by top political advisor Wang Yang. Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said the advancement of new energy automobiles demonstrates the implementation of the new vision for development and is the only road China must take when marching towards strong manufacturing of automobiles. Wang underscored adherence to market orientation, policy support, overall planning and encouragement of exploration, as well as comprehensive advancements and key breakthroughs, in order to promote high-quality development in the industry. Political advisors and business executives put forward proposals ranging from development trends to technological innovation. China has accomplished significant development in the new energy automobile industry, they said, noting such problems as the need to improve core technologies, the lagging behind of ancillary facilities and excess production capacity risks. A number of political advisors called for guiding society in rational investment, standardizing favorable policies of local governments, supporting foreign capital investing in the industry and encouraging competitive enterprises to venture overseas. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 00:45:59|Editor: yan Video Player Close JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- A total of 45 investment deals worth about 32 billion U.S. dollars have been signed at the first African Investment Forum in Johannesburg. The majority of the clinched deals are in infrastructure, energy, transport, agriculture and housing sectors, Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (ADB) announced on Friday. With the continent requiring at least 130 billion U.S dollars yearly for infrastructure development, the bank said the projects signed at the three-day forum, which concluded on Friday, should be welcomed. "What we have done in this is to tell the world that Africa is ready for investment, Africa absorbs investments," Adesina said, adding that multi billion dollar investment in water and sanitation projects signed at the forum would transform the lives of many communities. The forum hosted by ADB and Gauteng government attracted several African head of states. It was aimed at attracting investment to the continent and ensuring that the environment is conductive for investment and tackling any existing regulatory barriers. Intra-Africa cooperation has been the buzz word throughout the investment forum. A project worth 2.6 billion U.S was signed between South Africa and Ghana. The transport deal will see the construction of the Accra Sky Train project, making travelling much easier and cheaper for citizens who use public transport in Ghana. Speaking to Xinhua on the sidelines on the forum, Frank Nweke from Nigeria's Brass Fertiliser and Petrochemical said that the company he represented plans to invest about 3.3 billion U.S dollars on an agricultural business in Nigeria. The project is expected to enhance food security in the West African nation and create more jobs. "This project has the potential to employ 15,000 people during construction phase. This is one of the biggest projects done by the private sector in Nigeria. This would enable us to diversify Nigeria's economy away from oil," Nweke added. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 00:50:59|Editor: yan Video Player Close NANJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The city of Nanjing on Friday marked 14 years of the death of Iris Chang, whose book "The Rape of Nanking" trained the global spotlight on the 1937 Nanjing Massacre by Japanese invaders. Members of the public observed a ritual of silence, bowed and laid flowers in front of a bronze statue of Chang at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. The Chinese-American historian and writer, who died in 2004, is credited for collecting and presenting a profusion of accounts and archives in her book that helped expose the brutality committed by Japanese troops in the ancient city of Nanjing. The massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the eastern Chinese city on Dec. 13, 1937. In six weeks, they killed 300,000 Chinese civilians, unarmed soldiers and raped more than 20,000 women. Wang Weixing, a researcher with the Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, recalled the time when Chang, then 27 years old, arrived in Nanjing in 1995 in search of massacre survivors. "She brought a map of Nanjing in the 1930s and pinned it on the wall. Every day after interviewing survivors, she would label on it the mass killing sites and escape routes they mentioned and then compared with historical records and archives," said Wang, who described Chang as a meticulous young scholar. Zhang Jianjun, curator of the memorial hall, said Chang's efforts to study and tell the truth of history will be forever remembered. "She inspired us that it is a duty to tell the world what actually happened, and it requires much courage to fight those who intentionally forget or ignobly deny history," said Zhang. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 01:11:05|Editor: yan Video Player Close COLOMBO, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved the parliament late Friday amid a political crisis which erupted in the island nation since Oct. 26, local media reported. Sirisena signed a special gazette notification, dissolving the parliament from Saturday 12:00 a.m. local time (1830 GMT Friday), the report said. Sri Lanka has been facing a political turmoil since Oct. 26, when President Sirisena dissolved his cabinet and sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed former president Mahinda Rajapakse to the post. Wickremesinghe, who called his sudden dismissal illegal, has urged the parliament to convene immediately to prove his majority in the 225-member unicameral chamber. President Sirisena suspended the parliament till Nov. 14. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 01:21:06|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for a reformed, reinvigorated and strengthened multilateral system to deal with today's global challenges. "Toward that end, we need a stronger commitment to a rules-based order, with the United Nations at its center, with the different institutions and treaties that bring the (UN) Charter to life," Guterres told an open debate of the Security Council on strengthening multilateralism and the role of the United Nations. "But it is not enough to have laws and international conventions, vital as they are. We need new forms of cooperation with other international and regional organizations -- a networked multilateralism. And we need closer links with civil society and other stakeholders -- an inclusive multilateralism." The world is facing many challenges: multiplying conflicts, advancing climate change, deepening inequality and rising tensions over trade, among others, he warned. But at the same time, trust is on the decline, within and among nations. People are losing faith in political establishments, national and global. Key assumptions have been upended, key endeavors undermined, and key institutions undercut, he said. "It often seems that the more global the threat, the less able we are to cooperate. This is very dangerous in the face of today's challenges, for which global approaches are essential." Multilateralism is nothing more than countries coming together, respecting one another, and establishing the forms of cooperation that guarantee peace and prosperity for all in a healthy planet, he explained. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 03:16:26|Editor: yan Video Player Close GENEVA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency UNHCR said Friday that it expects all countries, including the United States, to protect any person in need of refugee assistance without obstruction. The UNHCR issued a statement after the U.S. government said Thursday that immigrants who enter the country illegally would be banned from applying for asylum. Among the people on the move in Central America and Mexico today, many are fleeing life-threatening violence or persecution and need international protection, said the refugee agency. "UNHCR expects all countries, including the United States, to make sure any person in need of refugee protection and humanitarian assistance is able to receive both promptly and without obstruction in accordance with the 1967 refugee protocol to which the United States is a party," the statement said. The U.S. move on Thursday is widely perceived as a measure targeting a caravan of immigrants from Central American countries moving toward the U.S.-Mexico border. The refugee agency said that in an ideal and predictable world, asylum seekers should present themselves at the border and request protection. "However, the reality of refugee flight is complex and requires management in a structured way with dignified reception arrangements," said UNHCR. It noted that long-standing insufficient reception capacity at official U.S. southern border ports of entry is resulting in significant delays in northern Mexico and is forcing many vulnerable asylum-seekers to turn in desperation to smugglers and cross the border irregularly. Many asylum-seeking families making this desperate choice are not trying to evade border authorities. UNHCR said that national security and dignified reception of refugees and asylum-seekers are not mutually exclusive, but rather mutually reinforcing. The UN refugee agency said it "stands ready at all times to support the United States and all governments and civil society partners working to guarantee that any person fleeing life-threatening violence or persecution is able to reach safe ground and is able to have their claim reviewed." Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 04:46:46|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close British Prime Minister Theresa May (2nd R) walks with French President Emmanuel Macron (2nd L) at the Thiepval Memorial in Thiepval, northern France, on Nov. 9, 2018. French President Emmanuel Macron and visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday paid homage to soldiers who died in the Battle of Somme during World War I in northern France. (Xinhua/Han Yan) PARIS, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron and visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday paid homage to soldiers who died in the Battle of Somme during World War I in northern France. At the Thiepval memorial standing on high ground overlooking the Somme River, the two leaders deposited together a wreath of poppy and bleuet flowers, national emblems of remembrance in Britain and France. The commemorations were a time to "reflect on our shared history, but also look ahead to our shared future", said May at the memorial, which honors tens of thousands of soldiers killed in the Battle of Somme. "We remember the heroes who lost their lives in the horror of the trenches. We will never forget their sacrifice," she added. Prior to the wreath laying ceremony, the two leaders held a private meeting and a working lunch in the town of Albert, in the heart of the Somme region. The French side refused to comment on whether they had talked Brexit, according to some British and French media. The Battle of Somme took place between July 1 and Nov. 18, 1916, on both sides of the upper reaches of the River Somme. Designed to hasten a victory for the Allies, it was the largest battle of the First World War on the Western Front. More than 3 million men fought in the battle and 1 million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. May's visit is part of the commemoration of the First World War that has led Macron's week-long tour through battlefields in France. The French president will also welcome other world leaders this weekend, including U.S. President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russia's Vladimir Putin, among others. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 05:16:51|Editor: yan Video Player Close TIRANA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Albanian President Ilir Meta decreed the amendments to the law on gambling which had been approved by the country's parliament, the president office said Friday in a statement. According to the statement, Meta decreed the law no. 75/2018 "On several amendments and changes to Law No.155 / 2015" On Gambling in the Republic of Albania". On Oct. 25, the Albanian parliament approved with 75 votes of the Socialist Party Members of Parliament the law on gambling and the law on the closure of casinos on Dec. 31, 2018, in the entire territory of Albania. The law stipulates that, starting from Dec. 31 this year, all casinos and betting centers will be closed, whereas casinos will operate inside 5-star hotels in the tourist areas. Currently in Albania, there are 20 betting and gambling companies which win 54 million U.S. dollars each year, according to local media reports. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 07:07:23|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close BARCELONA, Spain, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Spanish students who learn Chinese language will be competitive in their future jobs, thanks to increasing economic and cultural exchanges between Spain and China, experts said on Friday. "There are socio-economic balance factors that change at great speed," Montserrat Graneras, senior official with Spain's Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, said at a seminar called "Chinese in the Spanish educational system". "All Spanish educational leaders have a moral obligation to act effectively and flexibly to ensure that these students have the best possible tools to compete in the labor market," Graneras said. Latest data showed that more than 40,000 people are learning Chinese in Spain and more than 8,000 take the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) exam. The figures place Spain in the first place among the member states of the European Union (EU). The Spanish government has advocated for implementing Chinese language in school curriculum in a "progressive" but "non-stop" way. "Chinese is a very useful language in modern society to strengthen economic and cultural exchanges between Spain and China. Students who learn it can be more competitive in the future," Zhong Xiwei, with the Chinese Embassy in Spain, told Xinhua. Regarding Chinese teaching in Spain, experts highlighted the work of regions such as Andalusia (south of the country), which began this task in 2011. "We started then with an eminently experimental number and now, in 2018, we have almost 3,900 students learning Chinese both in primary education (6-12 years) and in secondary education (12-16 years)," said general director of Educational Planning of the Junta de Andalucia, Abelardo De la Rosa. Castilla y Leon, located in the center-north of the country, is another region that has been teaching Chinese as a subject of free choice in two secondary-schools. "Everything has an international dimension that we want to implement in the young people of our community," said Jose Alberto Hernandez Ganan, head of the Teacher Training Service of the Junta de Castilla y Leon. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 07:42:29|Editor: Liu Video Player Close LOS ANGELES, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed when a raging wildfire engulfed their vehicles in the northern of the U.S. state of California, as two other blazes forced evacuation in the state, authorities said on Friday. Investigators with the Butte County Sheriff's Office located the five fatalities in the area of Edgewood Lane in Paradise town of about 30,000 people in Butte County, about 130 km north of California State's capital Sacramento. "The preliminary investigation revealed that the victims were located in vehicles that were overcome by the Camp Fire," said the sheriff's office in a release, adding that identification could not be immediately made due to burn injuries. The Butte County Coroner's Office has formed an interagency team to investigate and identify additional fatalities, according to the release. Only a day after it erupted, the wildfire near the town of Paradise had grown to nearly 110 square miles (285 square km) and was burning out of control. The sheriff's office has received reports of fatalities due to the fire, and investigators are still working to confirm the reports, Sheriff Kory Honea said in the release. "The task is difficult as the fire is still active and there are many hazards in areas where fatalities have been reported." The sheriff encouraged residents to check safeandwell.org to locate their loved ones, or contact the office at 5305387322 to request a welfare check or file a missing person's report. The rapidly expanding Camp fire blazing through Northern California has disrupted phone and internet service, according to Butte County. "The County website and network are down due to the campfire. This means some phone numbers are down. All numbers starting with the prefix 552-XXXX are down. Numbers starting with 538-XXXX should be working," the county tweeted on Friday morning. The initial five reported deaths put the Camp Fire among the 20 deadliest fires in California modern history, according to Cal Fire. The worst was the Griffith Fire in Los Angeles in 1933, when 29 died. Besides the Camp fire, the other two Southern California fires, Woolsey and Hill fires, are just miles from a bar where 12 people were killed by a former Marine in a mass shooting in Thousand Oaks. With flames also burning in Southern California, California state officials put the total number of people forced to flee from their homes at about 157,000. Evacuation orders included the entire celebrity enclave of Malibu. The Woolsey fire had jumped the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills early Friday and forced mandatory evacuations, including the entire city of Malibu, a city home to 13,000, among them some of Hollywood's biggest stars. The Hill fire pushed through canyons to the edge of Camarillo Springs and Cal State Channel Islands, both of which were evacuated. The Woolsey fire had grown to nearly 14,000 acres (56 square km), while the Hill fire swept 6,100 acres (25 square km). Fanned by high winds and fueled by low humidity and dry vegetation, the fires spread rapidly Thursday and overnight into Friday. The three wildfires, which range from 180 miles northeast of San Francisco to the Santa Rosa Valley in Southern California, come as California recovers from other wildfires that have devastated parts of the state in previous months. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 07:47:30|Editor: Liu Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), one of the largest U.S. utility companies, said Friday that it has cut gas service to 12,000 residents in Paradise city threatened by raging wildfires in northern California. The San Francisco-based PG&E said the gas service has been suspended for security concerns "in and around the City of Paradise," where at least five people were found killed in vehicles engulfed by the wildfire that had grown to nearly 110 square miles (285 square km), one day after it erupted early Thursday morning. The Butte County Sheriff's Office confirmed Friday the blaze, dubbed the Camp Fire, has burned 2,000 structures and forced more than 50,000 people to evacuate, making it the fourth most destructive wildfire in California history. PG&E disclosed that as of Friday morning, 25,000 of its customers were currently without power due to the impacts of the Camp Fire. "At the request of first responders, PG&E turned off power to some customers as an emergency precaution to support safety and firefighting efforts. Others lost power due to fire-damaged equipment," said the company. The utility operator said it has mobilized its Emergency Operations Center in San Francisco to support wildfire emergency response to the Camp Fire in Butte and Plumas counties in northern California. On Thursday, PG&E reversed an earlier announcement warning customers of potential power loss, saying it would not be preemptively shutting off power to northern California residents in response to high fire-risk conditions. By Thursday noon, about 34,000 households in Butte County were without power, mostly caused by fire damage, a PG&E spokesperson said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 07:57:32|Editor: Liu Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- At least one person was killed and four others were injured on Friday in a bomb blast in Pakistan's northwest district of North Waziristan, an official said. An official from the district administration told media that a bomb blast hit a vehicle of pro-government local tribal elders in village Eidak of Tehsil Mir Ali in North Waziristan, a district in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Locals and security forces rushed to the site and shifted the body and injured to a nearby hospital. According to the official, the bomb was planted in a motorcycle and it was detonated with a remote-controlled device. The victims have been actively participating in the anti-terrorism campaign of the government, local media reports said. Security personnel cordoned off the area after the blast and launched a search operation. No group claimed the attack yet. On Wednesday, at least three soldiers were injured in a roadside explosion of an improvised explosive device in the Rogha Badar area of Gharyum region in North Waziristan. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 10:17:54|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Yang Jiechi (2nd L), a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe (1st L), U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (2nd R) and U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis attend a press conference following the second China-U.S. Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in Washington D.C. Nov. 9, 2018. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The scheduled meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump during the G20 summit in Argentina had great significance, said a senior Chinese official here on Friday. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a press conference following the second China-U.S. Diplomatic and Security Dialogue. China and the United States should strengthen communication and keep close coordination with elaborate preparations to ensure that the important meeting will yield positive results, Yang added. Yang co-chaired the dialogue with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe participated in the dialogue. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 13:28:18|Editor: zh Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S.-led airstrikes killed at least 26 civilians on Friday in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour, state news agency SANA reported. The airstrikes targeted the town of Hajin in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour, said SANA, adding that women and children were among those killed. Civilian casualties were reported before as a result of U.S.-led strikes on the last Islamic State (IS)-held areas. The United States has been backing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to defeat the IS on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River near the Iraqi border. Airstrikes on this area have recently been renewed as the Kurdish-led groups were planning a second wave of attacks on the IS after a failed attempt on Sept. 10. The Syrian government has long questioned the intention of the U.S.-led operations in this oil-rich area. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 13:28:18|Editor: zh Video Player Close CANBERRA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has cited a failure to connect with voters as the reason behind the downfall of his predecessor. Addressing August's deposition of Malcolm Turnbull as leader of the governing Liberal-National Party (LNP) for the first time, Morrison said there were concerns within the party that Turnbull was out of touch with voters. Morrison was sworn-in as new prime minister in August after winning a ballot on the leadership of the government, which took place after Turnbull vacated the position. "Those who had advocated that (change in leadership) made points about the need to better connect with the values and beliefs of Liberal, Nationals and LNP members across the country," he told News Corp Australia on Saturday. "We live in a parliamentary democracy, we don't live in a presidential system and the parliamentary Liberal Party decides who their leader is and the parliamentary Liberal Party formed a decision that we wanted to make a change," Morrison said. His comments came in the wake of Turnbull's first media appearance since he retired from politics. Turnbull identified conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) within the LNP as the architects of his downfall as well as a host of his own ministers. However, he absolved Morrison, a Turnbull supporter who only contested the leadership because his predecessor stood aside, of any blame. Despite Morrison's assertion that Turnbull could not connect with voters, the LNP has fallen further behind in the polls since the leadership was resolved. According to the latest Newspoll, the LNP trails the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) 54-46 on a two-party preferred basis compared to 51-49 in Turnbull's last poll as leader. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 13:33:19|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close SHANGHAI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- It was delightfully surprising to see so many people asking for samples and brochures of the exhibits and business cards, Bolivian exporter Mijail Loredo told Xinhua at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, where the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) runs till Saturday. The manager of AgroExport, a Bolivian company that brought sesame, Chiquitana almond and Chia seeds to the expo, had not expected such a rapid and warm welcome from Chinese buyers. Marianela Anza, the executive president of Nature Organic Products of Bolivia, shared the same feeling. Her exhibits include fruit and herbal tea, dehydrated kiwis, strawberries and apples. The tempting aroma of these exhibits attracted so many visitors that the kiosk was constantly crowded throughout the six-day fair, the world's first import-only-themed national-level expo that brought together more than 3,600 exhibitors and over 400,000 buyers. "Our expectation wasn't very high initially, because, let's be honest, our products are fruit teas, and we thought the Chinese market had been saturated already," Anza said. "But it just turned out to be quite the opposite." What surprised the Bolivian exporters is simply the reality that China has been shifting its growth to a consumption-driven one. "A very important fact is that China begins is not only a producer but also a buyer," said Peruvian Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Rogers Valencia, who headed his country's delegation to Shanghai. Serving typical South American seafood dishes like ceviche and Peru-made brandy pisco, Peru's national pavilion at the fair also put on huge posters featuring alpaca and the wool of the South American mammal. The minister said that Chinese online retail platforms were so attractive that there had been about 200 Peruvian enterprises running their business on these platforms till this year. After grapes, mangos and shrimps, the quinoa and pomegranate are expected to be the subsequent Peruvian exports to China, according to Valencia. Uruguayan Foreign Affairs Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa said his country also wanted to diversify its exports to China, which were mostly agricultural products for the moment. China's imports from Uruguay account for over 25 percent of the Latin American country's total export. The Uruguayan pavilion, decked in blue and white, also treated their visitors with a lively, rhythmical Candombe dance, listed as the World Cultural Heritage of humanity, while the drum beats and joyful samba music from the Brazilian pavilion were clearly reverberating in the background. Eliciting partner-interests is as important as signing deals, the exhibitors believed. Companies were very happy with the ample business opportunities here, so they "wanted to return next year," Costa Rica's Foreign Trade Minister Dyala Jimenez Figueres told Xinhua at the expo. Anza said that at least five people had shown great interests in being appointed as exclusive distributors for her products in China. "The Chinese market is so big that you can introduce your products even though it's a small company, probably on a smaller scale, but that's very significant for us," she added. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 13:33:19|Editor: zh Video Player Close ADEN, Yemen, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Airstrikes launched by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition killed several mid-level Houthi commanders and destroyed their operations room in Yemen's port city of Hodeidah on Friday, a military official told Xinhua. The F-16 fighter jets of the Saudi-led coalition carried out a number of airstrikes and destroyed an underground Houthi operations room in Hodeidah where some Houthi leaders were meeting, the local military source said on condition of anonymity. "According to the initial information coming from the bombing site, a number of militants including field commanders were among the killed inside the operations room under Hodeidah's airport," the source said. Hodeidah is the single most important point of entry for food and basic supplies to Yemen's northern provinces controlled by Houthis, including the capital Sanaa. The Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia have repeatedly accused Houthi rebels of using Hodeidah's port to smuggle Iranian weapons. Both the Houthis and Iran have denied the accusation. The Arab coalition started to intervene in Yemen's conflict in March 2015 to roll back the Houthi rebels and support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi who was forced into exile by the Houthi rebels. Source: Xinhuanet| 2018-11-10 14:23:42|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close by Wang Yamei, Li Xia SHANGHAI, Nov. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The first China International Import Expo (CIIE) has drawn applause from exhibitors and representatives of companies and institutions from various countries attending the expo. They said the expo has provided them with a huge opportunity to present their best products to Chinese consumers, and a significant chance to cooperate with China in the future. China is opening wider its market to more countries, which is a positive move and is welcomed in the UK, said Gareth Taylor, Consul of Science & Innovation at the British Consulate-General in Shanghai. The expo will boost cooperation between Russia and China in areas such as infrastructure, tourism, and hi-tech products, said Azad Karryev, Media Director of Russian Exhibition Systems. Yvest Morath, counselor of Swiss Business Hub China, said Switzerland announced its official participation in the CIIE quite early, because it believed that the expo is "a very important platform not only for China, but also for the world." Morath also said he was most impressed by the fact that the expo not only focuses on the industrial sectors, but also on other sectors such as the culture industry. Vlasimir Kocerha, trade commissioner of Economic and Commercial Office of Peru in Shanghai, highlighted that Peru wants to hold this opportunity to bring more high-quality products to China. Vlasimir Kocerha's expectation was also echoed by other representatives. Matthias Berninger, vice president of Public Affairs of Mars Incorporated of the United States, said that "the expo means a lot" and it is an opportunity for his company to demonstrate its commitment to the Chinese market. Stefan Vadocz, CCO of Aeromobil, a Slovakian engineering company, said he expected to find new partners, suppliers, and investors at the import expo. Bisrat Ermias Gebremariam, a government delegation member from Ethiopia, said that he attended the expo not only for more exports to China and good relations with Chinese companies, but also for promotion of Ethiopia's tourist attractions to the Chinese consumers. These exhibitors and representatives were also impressed by the scale of the expo and the large number of participants. The CIIE, held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10, attracts over 3,600 exporters from 172 countries, regions and international organizations. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 13:43:21|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Ma Zhaoxu (L, front), China's permanent representative to the UN, addresses an open debate of the Security Council at the UN headquarters in New York, Nov. 9, 2018. Chinese envoy to the United Nations (UN) on Friday highlighted the importance of upholding multilateralism as the world is going through "a new round of profound development as well as tectonic changes and adjustments." (Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese envoy to the United Nations (UN) on Friday highlighted the importance of upholding multilateralism as the world is going through "a new round of profound development as well as tectonic changes and adjustments." "Due to the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, the international order and global governance system are under attack. The world needs multilateralism and a stronger UN more than ever," Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the UN, said during an open debate of the Security Council. The Chinese envoy pointed out that strengthening multilateralism and the role of the UN is a consensus of the international community, for which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, President of the UN General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces and member states aired support during the high-level week of the General Assembly in September. "This shows that multilateralism is a prevailing trend and the common aspiration of all people, representing the right direction of history," he said. Ma also underscored China's commitment to defending the international order and pursuing multilateralism, pledging that "we stand ready to join hands with all states to build a community of a shared future for mankind and a more peaceful world with a better life and greater happiness for all." Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 13:48:22|Editor: zh Video Player Close SWEIDA, Syria, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- After over three months of gruelling captivity by the Islamic State (IS), some hostages from southern Syria were finally reunited with their loved ones amid joy mixed with sorrow for others who couldn't make it. Sweida, a predominantly Druze area in southern Syria, had experienced over three months of tension and sadness as around 30 women and children were taken away by IS during a surprise attack on July 25. The hostages were taken to the village of Shbeki in the Tulol al-Safa area in the remote desert in the eastern countryside of Sweida. An old woman died of her medical condition while being hustled by IS, which also killed a 19-year-old young man and a 25-year-old woman. The deaths of these three added to the sorrow of the people in Sweida. The families of the abductees kept appealing to the authorities and international organizations to secure the release of the hostages. Last month, the Syrian army secured the first batch of six hostages from IS, which raised hope that the rest might be released. On Thursday, the army battled with an IS group in the desert near the city of Palmyra in central Syria and successfully freed 19 women and children. Unfortunately, two children and a woman were killed during the clashes. Still, the entire city of Sweida was happy as the freed hostages were on their way home. Upon arriving, men expressed their joy for seeing their children and wives while holding the children on shoulders amid chants for the Syrian army's rescue of the hostages. Nashat Abu Ammar, a man in his late 30s, has lived a very tough time since his wife and three children were kidnapped by IS. At the time of the kidnap, he was having a night shift at the hospital he works at and couldn't reach the village in time to defend his family. Now, he was filled with both sorrow and happiness, as his wife, daughter, and son made it back home, but his other son Rafat, 8, was among the three who died during the clashes. It's an unimaginable feeling to meet his wife and two children while the third returned in a casket. "I have been waiting for this moment for many weeks and today the kidnapped people were freed, but my happiness is missing as Rafat died during the clashes in the desert," the man told Xinhua. Most of the civilians kidnapped by IS were children. Mashael Abu Ammar, 14, told Xinhua that they lived in fear and horror every day during the captivity. "We had lived very tough moments as we were being taken from one place to another in the desert," she said. Mashael's mother, Feryal, who was also kidnapped, told Xinhua that IS used to hide them in rocky areas in the desert to avoid being exposed to warplanes. "We had no idea where we had been moving. It was a nightmare that lasted for so long. I am now tired and happy that the nightmare is over," she said. On the day of the kidnap, all hostages had to walk for 12 hours to reach the destination of captivity, where they had to live in tents inside caves of Tulol al-Safa hills. IS militants were still holding areas in the desert region which connects Sweida with the countryside of Damascus and the desert of the central province of Homs where Palmyra is located. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 14:03:24|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close SHANGHAI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- "This is something else. This is really something else," exclaimed Cate Rahmlow, director of the Wisconsin State's Sector Strategy Development Corporation, when asked to describe the CIIE. The China International Import Expo is a behemoth of an event. Housed in a clover-shaped mega-complex sprawling an area of over 1.27 million square meters, accommodating over 3,600 exhibitors, and representation from 172 countries, regions and international organizations all set against the backdrop of the metropolis of Shanghai. The jaw-dropping pomp and pageantry accorded by the attending National Pavilions set the high-spirited tone of events which would unfurl over the entire span of the expo. Big and small countries, affluent and the less well-to-do all came together with one intent, and one intent alone, to sell their goods and services to the most populous country on this planet. From the moment one passes through the high-tech enhanced-security gates, past the pulsating rhythms of Polynesian drums, to savor the wafting aroma of exquisite and exotic gastronomic delights, one cannot help but ask if they had accidentally meandered in paradise itself. All this, even before one even sets foot into the exhibition halls proper. More than 400,000 visitors have traipsed into the gigantic halls over the past week, each one large enough to house a hypermarket or two. President Xi Jinping announced Monday that China's imported goods and services were estimated to exceed 30 trillion U.S. dollars and 10 trillion dollars, respectively, in the next 15 years. Then there's the visual sensory feast. Being up close and personal with helicopters, luxury yachts, flying cars or the state-of-the-art animatronic robots performing a synchronized "song and dance" is enough to delight any "child whose ages range from 1-to-ninety two." Drifting from one hall to another over the last five days elicited more gasps, "oo's" and "ah's" than Disneyland. One visitor exclaimed, jokingly of course, the need to turn on their GPS just to navigate the labyrinth of exhibitors. No fear, because in addition to the handing out hundreds of thousands of minutely-detailed maps, an energetic cadre of young multi-lingual volunteers decked in pin-striped scarlet blazers were ever ready to assist those who needed it. Standing in rain and in shine, their only desire was that you arrive at your intended destination. The warm reception extended to CIIE visitors of all creed and color is reciprocal of the same warm reception extended to Admiral Zheng He over five hundred years ago, whose legendary reputation included sailing the mighty seas into distant faraway lands. Those faraway lands, however, are today no longer distant, but have become near and dear brothers instead. The airplane has brought us close. The internet has brought us even closer. This closeness allows unfettered mutual understanding of each other, blazing trails in the sciences, in cultures, information and trade, which in turn allows for the reduction and eventually the possibility of the elimination of poverty, sickness and disease around the globe. The breadth, depth, scale and magnitude of the CIIE signifies the readiness of China to forge ahead with open arms alongside her partners into the future. A bright future where a fully-realized globalized world would be void of ethnocentrism, prejudices and selfishness. In its place, the appreciation of the fact that we all share this planet together. It is this togetherness which will shape the tomorrow which our next generation, and their descendants will one day call their "today." China eagerly looks forward to that moment. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 14:13:26|Editor: zh Video Player Close FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- At least three policemen including deputy chief of the sixth police precinct, were killed and three others wounded, following a Taliban grouping attack on a security checkpoint in northern Badakhshan province on Friday, an official said Saturday. The attack happened at about 10:00 p.m. local time on Friday, when a group of Taliban militants launched an offensive on a police checkpoint in Faizabad, the provincial capital, resulting in the death of three policemen including the deputy chief for the 6th police precinct, Sanaullah Ruhani, the provincial police chief spokesman, told Xinhua. "Taliban faced strong counterattack by the provincial security forces, and escaped the area, after leaving one fighters dead," said the spokesman. Taliban militants who are active in parts of the troubled Badakhshan province are yet to make comments. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 14:38:29|Editor: zh Video Player Close DHAKA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Overseas Bangladeshis in the first four months of the current 2018-2019 fiscal year (July 2018-June 2019) remitted home 5.1 billion U.S. dollars, the central bank data showed. According to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data, some 10 million Bangladeshis, living and working abroad, remitted home 5,108 million dollars from July to October this year against 4,553 million U.S. dollars in the same period a year ago. The data showed that overseas Bangladeshis in October sent home 1,239.11 million U.S. dollars and the amount was higher by about 77 million U.S. dollars than the level of remittance receipts in the same month last year. The inflow remittances, one of the key sources of foreign exchange for the nation, in the last 2017-2018 fiscal year which concluded in June reached 14.98 billion U.S. dollars, 17.32 percent higher than the same period a year ago, the BB data showed. Most of the remittances come from the Gulf countries, according to the bank. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 14:58:34|Editor: zh Video Player Close GAZA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian died Friday of bullet wounds he received earlier Friday in the clashes that erupted in eastern Gaza Strip between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters, medics said. Ashraf al Qedra, spokesman of the Gaza Health Ministry, said in a statement that 28-year-old Rami Qahman was shot in the neck by Israeli gunfire during the anti-Israel protests in Rafah town of Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel. He added that the clashes left 37 protesters wounded. Al-Qedra said since the outbreak of the anti-Israel marches of return on March 30, the Israeli army has shot dead 222 Palestinians and wounded around 24,000 others. "The marches of return will continue until it achieves its goals of the complete lifting of the unfair siege," said Hamas spokesman Abdulatif al-Qanou'a in a statement. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 14:58:35|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close NEW YORK, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Christmas Spectacular show, an iconic New York City winter attraction dating back to 1933, unleashed groundbreaking technology in this year's debut on Friday, offering a blended experience of tradition and innovation with drones becoming a part of the cast for the first time. Starring the Radio City Rockettes, a female dancing troupe famous for vigorous kicks and stunning precision, the annual show has already drawn millions of spectators over the years into the Radio City Music Hall in midtown Manhattan for a festive-spirited feast of musical, tap dance, ballet and acrobatics. Now it's even more spectacular with a touch of high-tech. A hundred mini drones resembling Christmas lights appeared in the finale scene of the show, hovering above the Santa Claus and Rockettes on the stage and forming various holiday-themed images and animations in sync with the music and light changes. Created by Intel, the lightweight Shooting Star Mini drones have made appearances at last year's Super Bowl in Houston, Texas and the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, while the Radio City Hall debut marked its first large-scale choreographed show in theaters. "It's really cool to be in a brand-new finale scene," said Corey Whalen, a member of the Rockettes for nine years. "I've never danced with drones before. They interact a lot with the orchestra, dancing over ensemble members ... It's really exciting to be part of it." Meanwhile, state-of-the-art digital projections from New York-based Obscura Digital studio perfectly combined technology and artistry by turning the hall into an immersive winter wonderland, sparking joyful screams from the crowd whenever the ceiling was projected with eye-popping colors and patterns. "I really want to see this again," seven-year-old Katie, who came here with her parents, said after the show. The show will run through Jan. 1, 2019, and be on stage one to six times a day, even on Christmas Day. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 15:13:38|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close BEIJING, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) has urged courts nationwide to enhance their efforts to crack down on gang crimes in rural areas to better serve the country's rural vitalization strategy, saying in a guideline that perpetrators in such cases should be handled more harshly and quickly. The guideline, issued this week, mainly targets mafia-like gangs who manipulate the operation of village affairs, maneuver or disrupt elections at the grassroots level, monopolize village resources, misappropriate village collective assets and who use clan force and family power to play the bully in the village. Those running business operations related to prostitution, gambling, drugs as well as usury will also be harshly cracked down upon, it said. The SPC also demanded that cases related to land contracting and land use rights disputes should be properly coped with. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 15:18:40|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Brunei's consumer price index (CPI) in September increased by 0.4 percent year-on-year compared to September 2017, owing to the rise in prices of food and education, according to the latest statistics from Brunei's Department of Economic Planning and Development (JPKE) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy. In its monthly CPI report, JPKE said that the food and non-alcoholic beverages prices and non-food prices increased by 1.6 percent and 0.4 percent year-on-year respectively. The increase in the overall CPI in September was largely attributed to the rise in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages (1.6 percent); education (1.7 percent); and recreation and culture (1.2 percent). A senior manager of Baiduri Bank, which is the second biggest local bank by total assets in Brunei, told Xinhua that the country's CPI has been stable for the past year, which is supportive of local economic growth. On a month-a-month basis, the CPI in September 2018 increased by 0.3 percent compared to August 2018. CPI is a measure of price changes of goods and services paid by the consumer in a specified period. Brunei's list of goods and services in the CPI is based on the average expenditure per household. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 15:38:45|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan coast guards on Friday rescued 44 illegal immigrants off the coastal city of Zuwara, some 120 km west of the capital Tripoli. The Security Directorate of Zuwara said in a statement that a coast guards patrol rescued the immigrants as their rubber boat broke down en route to Europe. Four women and one child among the rescued immigrants are from different African nationalities, the statement said, adding that they have been provided with necessary humanitarian assistance upon arrival to Zuwara. Thousands of illegal immigrants choose to cross the Mediterranean towards European shores from Libya due to insecurity and chaos following the 2011 uprising. A total of 22,000 illegal immigrants have reached Europe from Libya since the beginning of the year, while 1,267 others drowned en route, according to the International Organization for Migration. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 15:48:47|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close TEHRAN, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian parliamentary delegation left Tehran to Aktau city in Kazakhstan on Friday to attend a trilateral meeting between Iranian, Russian and Kazakh parliamentary officials, state-run IRNA news agency reported. At the two-day trilateral meeting, the Iranian, Russian and Kazakh MPs will explore avenues for boosting cooperation among the three parliaments. The Iranian delegation is also scheduled to hold separate bilateral meetings with its Russian and Kazakh counterparts. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 15:53:49|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The spread of Zika virus has been brought under control in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, state health minister Kalicharan Saraf confirmed on Saturday. Speaking to Xinhua over phone from the state capital Jaipur, Saraf said, "There have been no deaths in the state due to Zika virus so far, and all the 136 patients who were affected by Zika virus have been treated and are doing well now." He further stated that there was no shortage of medical facilities in the state, and enough precautions were being taken to check the spread of the virus. The state's health minister on Wednesday visited the Zika-affected areas in Jaipur's Shastri Nagar area and reviewed initiatives being taken by the health officials in checking the spread of the virus, according to the local media. Later, the minister told the media that the situation was under control in the city. "There are sufficient medicines available ... The samples of those suffering from fever or showing symptoms of Zika virus are being sent to S.M.S. Hospital for further tests. The guidelines of union health ministry are being followed," he said. Zika virus disease is spread by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes. Its symptoms include fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, and headache. This is the third Zika virus outbreak in India since January 2017. The first outbreak of Zika was reported in India in January 2017 in the western state of Gujarat, while the second outbreak was reported in the southern state of Tamil Nadu in July 2017. Both outbreaks were contained. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 15:58:50|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close QALA-E-NAW, Afghanistan, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Three security personnel and 12 militants have been killed as clashes erupted in Qadis district of the western Badghis province on Friday, head of provincial council Abdul Aziz Big said Saturday. The clashes, according to the official, flared up after Taliban militants stormed checkpoints in Langar area of Qadis district late Friday night, and the security forces returned fire which lasted for several hours, leaving 12 militants and three security personnel dead. In the fighting, eight militants and 11 security personnel have been injured, the official said. Neither police, nor Taliban have made comments on the report. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 16:03:51|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close by Xinhua writers Peng Peigen, Xu Xiaoqing, Chen Aiping SHANGHAI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Walking along Nanjing Road in central Shanghai clustered with colorful billboards, fancy boutiques and historic buildings, Li Zhenhai, 60, feels familiar and foreign at the same time. Li, from east China's Shandong Province, first visited the metropolis 30 years ago. "I was awestruck back then," Li said. "You could find so many quality things you couldn't find elsewhere in China, so buying something in the city was a must-do." He bought himself a black woolen coat that kept him warm for the following 14 years. This time around, the streets are still bustling and dazzling, but Li said he doesn't recognize many of the newly arrived foreign brands. In the past decade or so, multinationals such as Armani, Leica, Louis Vuitton and Starbucks have set up flagship stores in Shanghai to feed the growing demands of Chinese consumers, and that trend got a boost at the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) held between Nov. 5 and 10 in the city. About 25 km west of Nanjing Road, more than 400,000 buyers from home and abroad pack the expo hosted at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), looking to buy the goods and services of over 3,600 companies from some 170 countries and regions. China has pledged to welcome more imports of services and products, as well as greater opening-up. Shanghai, where the country set up its first pilot free trade zone (FTZ), will expand the FTZ and relax restrictions on foreign investment. Located on China's central coastline, Shanghai was once called "the Paradise of Adventurers" by the Mexican honorary consul Mauricio Fresco under the pseudonym G.E. Miller in 1937, the year which saw the city go from its booming commercial culture heyday to its decline following the Japanese aggression. Miller's description, along with Shanghai's many other nicknames back then such as "Paris of the Orient" and "Hollywood in China", underlined the persistent Western imagination of Shanghai as the essence of exoticism, excitement, color and vitality. The city's modern day development still echoes with the romance of the past. EAST AND WEST After Shanghai's opening as a treaty port in the 1840s, it became China's earliest hub of East-West interaction, assimilation and competition. At the Bund, one of the most famous Shanghai landmarks, located at the east end of Nanjing Road, two dozen colossal Western structures, ranging in style from art deco to Roman classical, stand side by side, forming an expansive marble curtain. Among the buildings is HSBC's former inland headquarters, set up in 1865. Between 1874 and 1890, the bank acted as the leading underwriter for about 70 percent of the foreign debt borrowed by the Qing regime. It also led the way for the establishment of the Imperial Bank of China, the first Chinese commercial bank, in 1897, and a series of other financial institutions. The relations between HSBC and the Chinese banks were made apparent by two lion sculptures -- Stephen and Stitt -- once put outside the HSBC headquarters, named after the bank's Shanghai manager and chief manager. The lion pair is still present today in front of the headquarters of the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, which uses the former HSBC building, as well as outside a branch of China Merchants Bank, which occupies another building just meters away. The early interaction with foreign businesses like HSBC helped Shanghai get a step ahead of other Chinese cities in the financial sector, industry, pop culture and consumerism. Across the Huangpu River that runs along the Bund, glass-curtained modern skyscrapers dotted at Lujiazui in the Pudong New Area create an iconic city skyline. While the west bank boasts historic remnants of former foreign concessions, the east bank is completely modern and futuristic. None of the buildings existed 30 years ago, yet Lujiazui is one of the most vibrant parts of the city, teeming with luxurious hotels, dining bars and colorful nightlife, things that could only be found at the Bund a century ago. The opening-up and reform policy has transformed the once mostly marshland to a central business district with global influence. More than 200 of the world's Fortune 500 companies have invested in the area, according to municipal data, and financial heavyweights such as the Shanghai Stock Exchange have settled there. In the 1990-2017 period, Pudong saw a total contracted foreign direct investment of 196.2 billion U.S. dollars. THE INFLUX The policies have made Shanghai an economic miracle. Along with the CIIE and China's renewed promise of opening up, the bewilderment felt by foreign settlers a century ago and common visitors to the city today will only continue to lure more free-spirit adventurers from around the world. A survey on some 1,000 U.S. companies doing business in China, released in July by American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, shows 77 percent of the U.S. companies in China have gained profits in 2017, with the same percentage seeing sales growth. U.S. carmaker Tesla Inc. announced in July that it will set up its first overseas plant in Shanghai and global robotics giant ABB released plans in late October to build a "factory of the future" where "robots make robots" in the city. At a new era of opening up, Shanghai serves as a boot camp for companies aiming to get in touch with a more lucrative and promising market of more than 1.3 billion people. "The consumption market underwent a major change in recent years," said Pan Zhiluan, deputy supervisor of a mega-shopping mall project in Shanghai. "We are focusing more on providing a good experience and convenience for consumers." They want the newest, the fastest and the coolest, Pan said. And to adapt to the nightlife in the city, his mall will extend more working hours. Just as American writer Patricia Marx once put it, "New York may be the city that never sleeps, but Shanghai doesn't even sit down." Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 16:18:57|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close by Dana Halawi BEIRUT, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The delay in the formation of a government in Lebanon has weighted heavily on consumers' confidence and the flow of investments, local economists told Xinhua. "The fact that the government has entered its sixth month of deadlock creates uncertainty and insecurity," said Layal Mansour, a researcher at the American University of Beirut. When people feel unsecure, they tend to restrict their consumption to important and basic goods, which means businesses won't have any incentives to produce or to invest, she said. According to Mansour, investment is the core of the economy as it leads to growth and creates jobs while increasing income. "However, investment needs trust, security and confidence. Huge foreign investments will not go to a country that has no government and that is not capable of approving the necessary laws for improving the business environment," she said. Foreign direct investments (FDI) to Lebanon are expected to drop to 2.4 U.S. billion dollars from 2.56 billion dollars in 2017. Nassib Ghobril, head of the economic research department at Byblos Bank, attributed the drop in FDI to the weak investment climate, inadequate business environment, high taxes, high operating costs in addition to the delay in government formation. Ghobril reiterated Mansour's remarks by saying that consumers' confidence has been remarkably impacted by the delay in the formation of the cabinet. Byblos Bank's Consumer Confidence Index jumped in May as a result of expectations from the parliamentary elections, said Ghobril, but the index has regressed and stagnated since June. "People are putting on hold all their major individual consumption decisions which require financial commitment such as buying a car or a house," he said. He added that businesses have also put on hold investment decisions, projects and expansions because of uncertainty. Ghobril explained that the delay of cabinet formation is burdening the Lebanese economy with an opportunity cost. "We are incurring an opportunity cost of not starting with the process of reforms to unlock the funds that were pledged at the CEDRE conference," he said. Lebanon secured over 11 billion dollars in soft loans and grants from international donors at CEDRE to revamp its ailing infrastructure and bolster its economy. CEDRE is an international conference in support of Lebanon development and reforms. However, authorities must speed up the formation of the new government to start necessary reforms to obtain the help pledged at CEDRE. "When the overall income of people decrease and producers shutdown their businesses, they won't be capable of paying back their loans," said Mansour. She added the number of checks without provisions is actually at its peak and judges have taken unofficial measures not to stop all of unpaid checks holders. Meanwhile, Ghobril said that some banks are being more flexible with people and companies who cannot pay back their loans for the time being. "The banking sector is bearing public finance stability and economic stability that 89 percent of public debt is held by local institutions," he said, adding that economic growth and fiscal reforms are the responsibility of the executive branch and not the banking sector. "Also, the stimulus packages offered by the central bank is supposed to be part of the responsibility of the executive branch," he added. When asked about the positive impact of a government formation in the near future, Ghobril said that the new cabinet should be an efficient one in a bid to make a difference. Mansour noted that restoring trust and confidence in the country after the formation of the government is not easy. "People can easily lose confidence but it takes a lot of time to build this trust again," she said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 16:24:00|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close CARACAS, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Friday that his administration will continue to boost the production of minerals, and gold in particular, in spite of sanctions imposed by the United States. "Venezuela will never follow the orders of the U.S. empire and Venezuela will continue to produce gold," Maduro said, referring to the latest sanctions imposed by Washington on Venezuela. Earlier this month, the U.S. President Donald Trump slapped new sanctions against Venezuela, barring U.S. citizens and entities from involvement in the gold export trade with the country "It may sound crazy" to prohibit the country from producing and selling gold, said Maduro, adding that Venezuela will continue to "obtain important gains in gold for public education, public health and people's housing." Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 16:39:04|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Militants loyal to the Taliban group have gained ground following inflicting casualties on security forces in the restive northern Kunduz province, head of Provincial Council Mohammad Yusuf Ayubi said Saturday. "The Taliban rebels after two days of fierce fighting and inflicting casualties on security forces have gained in Dasht-e-Archi of Kunduz province over the past two days," Ayubi told Xinhua. A resident of Dasht-e-Archi district who refused to be named confirmed that the militants were roaming in some 20 villages in Dasht-e-Archi district following government forces retreated from the area. In the meantime, Zabihullah Majahid who claimed to speak for the Taliban outfit in contact with media confirmed the fighting, saying that the insurgent group after storming military base in Qarluq area have gained ground in Dasht-e-Archi district. Nevertheless, police spokesman in Kunduz province Inamudin Rahimi told Xinhua that fighting in the area has been confirmed and stated that cleanup operations would be launched soon to ensure security there. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 16:54:06|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's special envoy to China said on Saturday that the large overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asian nations could help promote the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. Addressing the World Chinese Economic Forum, Tan Kok Wai, who is Malaysia's special envoy to China and head of the Malaysia-China Business Council, said the community's strong roots and multi-cultural background would help boost the initiative. Citing Malaysia, Tan said, "Malaysian Chinese grow in a multiracial, multi-religious and multicultural environment where at least three languages - Malays, English and Chinese as well as other dialects are spoken in our daily life," he said. "Hence we are in a prominent position in collaboration with China in terms of the language and cultural exchange," he added. Tan said data from Malaysian Registrar of Societies showed about 10,000 Chinese societies registered in Malaysia which provided the community with a wide degree of diversification and internationalization. "These societies vigorously enhance the exchange and cooperation and the economic and trade development between Malaysia and China as well as strengthening the bond of the people of both countries." Tan reiterated the government of Malaysia would vigorously support, cooperate and participate in the Belt and Road Initiative to contribute to the mutual prosperity and growth among the region, especially in current global political and economic climate. "The Belt and Road Initiative is a tremendous strategy of cooperation and mutual benefit, and will contribute enormous positivity to global peaceful development. Only cooperation and mutual benefits would pave the way for success in the long run," he said. Proposed by China in 2013, the initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa on and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes. It comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 16:59:08|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close Visitors view a robot arm performing makeup tutorship at the Apparel, Accessories & Consumer Goods area of the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 9, 2018. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan) SHANGHAI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- At the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) held here, an eye-catching number -- 40 trillion U.S. dollars -- has stirred up waves in participants' discussions. While addressing the CIIE's opening ceremony, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday that China's imported goods and services are estimated to exceed 30 trillion dollars and 10 trillion dollars,respectively,in the next 15 years. As the number marks nearly half of the global GDP in 2017, sellers and buyers have seen a golden opportunity to share benefits from the CIIE's vision of global connectivity and common prosperity. OPENING INCLUSIVE MARKET More than 3,600 companies from 172 countries, regions and international organizations have showcased their achievements at the CIIE, looking for more chances of international cooperation. The expo provides a display space of 300,000 square meters, accommodating around 400,000 merchants from China and abroad. Organizers say 200 of the Fortune 500 companies rented exhibition stands. The fieriness tells a simple fact -- the world has recognized the huge consumption potential of the Chinese market. Jose, a Brazilian coffee seller, told Xinhua that he predicted China will become the world's largest coffee consuming country in 10 years. Usually, transporting coffee from Brazil to China has to go through a process of 10 links, according to Jose. But the CIIE has provided an excellent opportunity to greatly reduce the intermediate costs, he said with excitement. Artificial Intelligence, flying cars, smart city plans ... The dazzling technologies on display here demonstrate that consumption upgrade and industrial upgrade are synchronized in China. In addition to high quality products, the Chinese market is also yearning for good services. China's cumulative service imports are expected to exceed 2.5 trillion dollars in the next five years, a Ministry of Commerce (MOC) report showed Tuesday. China's service imports will account for more than 10 percent of global service imports, contributing over 20 percent to total global growth in the coming five years, said the report. Just as World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo commented here, the Chinese market will open to everyone, "not in a discriminatory fashion." "It's up to every country to seize the opportunities," he told Xinhua here in an interview. "(What) we need today is not more borders but less borders." "Every time the global economy grows, it is because that trade is booming. It is because the integration is there and the borders are open. When we begin to close borders, that kind of growth and development are going to suffer," he said. BRIDGING DEVELOPMENT GAPS On China's endeavors to achieve common prosperity with opening up and reform measures, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde metaphorically commented that China has been building three bridges. In her speech at the CIIE, Lagarde said China constructed a "bridge to the world" by opening its economy and by kickstarting reforms 40 years ago. Now, Lagarde said, China is building a "bridge to prosperity" by re-balancing its economy towards consumption-led growth, rather than export- and investment-led growth, and also a "bridge to the future" by harnessing the power of international cooperation, especially on trade. The CIIE is a symbol of these efforts, she said. As the world's biggest developing country, China has particularly attached great importance to connecting with developing countries as well as the least developed countries at the expo, seeking common development on a larger scale. The CIIE has invited 35 out of more than 40 least developed countries (LDCs) listed by the UN, including Nepal, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Ethiopia and Madagascar, offering preferential policies such as exemption of participation fees for them to promote their products like honey, peppers, hair oil and other organic products. "This is a very great opportunity for Malawi to find an entrance into the Chinese market," said Clement Kumbemba, CEO of the Malawi Investment and Trade Center. Kumbemba, who regarded the import expo as a quicker way to improve the Malawi people's livelihood, said "the best tool to address poverty is trade." "When their products find themselves in the export market, more people in Malawi will have money in their pockets," he said. SHARING WORLD DREAMS Just as President Xi put it, "the Chinese economy is not a pond, but an ocean." Amid a global context of rising protectionism and unilateralism, China has opened its door to the world by hosting the import expo, reaffirming its commitments to safeguarding multilateralism and the free trade system. The expo has received overwhelming responses from this year's participants. According to organizers, the 2019 CIIE enrollment has already started. U.S. companies, including Ford, Tesla, Microsoft, Dell, Qualcomm, General Electric, Mars and 3M, have already agreed to participate next year. "The CIIE is a platform that goes beyond China," said Stephen Badger, chairman of the board of directors of confectionery maker Mars from Chicago, U.S. state of Illinois. "It is a truly global event driving development across all Chinese industries by promoting cooperation amongst government and business entities as well as globalization and trade liberalization," he said. China has been persistent in opening up despite some domestic pains, said World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. "By ensuring that all layers of the society gained from the opening up, China ensured the continued support for the reform program. This is the lesson for everyone," he said. "We need to continue to support trade reforms that can deliver a greater shared prosperity," Kim stressed. "With trade, we don't have to choose between inclusiveness and economic growth." Related: Commentary: A timely shot in the arm for world economy SHANGHAI, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Five days on, the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) has exceeded expectations and earned its place in history, a feat biased critics hate to admit. Full story Commentary: World to benefit as China fills its shopping cart SHANGHAI, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The CIIE is a global event designed for both developing and developed countries to carve their niche in China. Full story Commentary: Against unilateralism, China set to share prosperity SHANGHAI, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Well begun is half done. The first China International Import Expo (CIIE) inaugurated by Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday is a world fair that comes at the right time. Full story Xinhua Headlines: China's spending power provides golden opportunities to developing economies Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 17:39:14|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The local government in India's northeastern state of Assam have ordered a probe into infant deaths at a government run medical college hospital, officials said Saturday. At least 16 infants deaths were reported during the past nine days at Jorhat Medical College hospital in Jorhat district, about 296 km east of Dispur, the capital city of Assam. "As many as 16 newborns died in the hospital between Nov. 1 and Nov. 9 at the hospital," an official said. "The government has taken cognizance of the deaths and sent a high-level team to the hospital to probe the matter." Local health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters the team includes director of medical education and an official from UNICEF. Reports said the deceased newborns had congenital diseases and some had very low birth weight. Officials at Jorhat Medical College hospital deny any medical negligence. "The deaths were reported at the special care newborn unit of the hospital," Dr Saurav Borkakoti, superintendent of hospital said. "However owing to the number of patients coming to the hospital may sometimes be large and therefore the figure of death of newborns may also be large." Reports said the hospital remains overburdened much beyond its capacity. As per the latest data from NITI Aayog (policy think tank of government of India) Assam has had the worst maternal mortality rate from 2004, with the state recording 237 deaths per 1000 live births in the 2014-2016 period, against the national average of 130. The infant mortality rate in Assam was last recorded at 44 in 2016, against the national average of 34. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 19:14:29|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- As many as 40 Taliban militants, including their local commander, were killed and 25 others wounded, following the recent 24-hour conflicts in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province, an official said Saturday. "Taliban launched offensives in Dasht-e-Archi and Qala-e-Zal districts of Kunduz province, where they faced strong counterattacks from security forces, and fled the scene, after leaving 40 fighters, including Mullah Abdullah, one of their local commander, dead and 25 others wounded," Abdul Baqi Nuristani, the provincial police chief told a media gathering in the province. Nuristani confirmed the death of seven policemen in the skirmishes and said a wide counter-insurgents operation will soon be launched in Dasht-e-Archi district and other turbulent areas of the province. The Taliban, by releasing a statement to media, claimed that their fighters have killed tens of troops during their raids on the government forces security posts in the war-affected province. Kunduz provincial officials have earlier confirmed that militants affiliated with the Taliban group, finally succeeded to take control of 20 strategic villages in Dasht-e-Barchi district of the province. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 19:34:37|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ISTANBUL, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 37th International Istanbul Book Fair kicked off in Istanbul on Saturday, drawing publishers from China and other countries. The Chinese delegates joined the fair for the sixth time, bringing with them some 800 books in seven categories, including those by Chinese President Xi Jinping on the governance of China and books on China's development path and values, and books for learners of the Chinese language in Turkey. Chinese and Turkish publishers are set to discuss cooperation, exchanges and copyright trade during the fair. The Istanbul book fair, which started in the 1980s, has become one of the largest in the region. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 19:39:39|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close JAKARTA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian national search and rescue office on Saturday ended search for body parts of victims from an air crash and the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder (CVR), said head of the office Muhammad Syaugi. Rescuers from search and rescue offices in the country's capital of Jakarta and West Java province will continue the search operation in the crash of a brand new Boeing 737 Max 8 on Oct. 29 in waters of Tanjung Pakis of Karawang district in West Java province. "The national search and rescue office decides to end this search and rescue operation under the office coordinating today (Saturday)," Syaugi said. The head of the office convinced that both rescue offices are on alert around the clock for the mission. Head of the National Transport Safety Committee (NTSC) Soerjanto Tjahjono disclosed that the committee would focus on retrieving the cockpit voice recorder as it is imperative in efforts to find out the last conversation in the cockpit. The search would use a more sophisticated device that will be installed in the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to identify the recorder at the sea floor which contains a thick layer of mud and sand, said Tjahjanto. "We will dispatch several ships with bigger size and more sophisticated ROV. And the most important here is that there will be a new equipment that will be installed on the ROV, it is sub bottom profiling which can detect things covered by mud by up to 4 meters," he said. Previously, divers have said that thick mud and sand have hampered them from hunting the cockpit voice recorder, albeit the signals from its ping locator have several times been detected from the sea bed. By far, the NTSC has gleaned the data from the flight data recorder and unveiled a glitch on the angle of attack device which linked with the malfunction of the speed indicator in the fatal flight that left all the 189 people on board dead. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 19:59:43|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close BAGHDAD, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi President Barham Salih will start a tour in the Gulf region that would begin in Kuwait on Sunday to boost ties with the Arab countries. A statement by his office on Saturday said that Salih is travelling to Kuwait for a state visit "at the invitation of Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, as he scheduled to discuss various issues, including bilateral ties and means to develop them." The president's tour in the Gulf will also include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in addition to a number of neighboring countries, said the statement without naming the other countries. The aim of the tour is to confirm Iraq's keenness to "build the best relations with its Arab and Gulf brotherly countries in establishing good-neighborliness, economic integration and common cultural advancement to serve the peoples of the region and promote the concepts of international cooperation," the statement added. Salih's tour is his first since he took office on October 2, when the Iraqi parliament elected him as the president of Iraq. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 20:19:46|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close TEHRAN, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iran's ambassador to the United Nations urged global condemnation of the recent U.S. unilateral sanctions against the Islamic republic, Press TV reported on Saturday. "U.S. unilateral withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal and restoration of its sanctions on Iran is a challenge to the international law and global order," Gholamali Khoshroo said in a letter to the UN Security Council on Friday. The global community "should not allow the United States to pursue its unilateral, arrogant and self-centered policy," he said. Washington withdrew from Iran's landmark 2015 nuclear deal in May and imposed second batch of sanctions against Tehran on Monday, targeting Iran's shipping, financial and energy sectors. An effigy of U.S. government icon "Uncle Sam" is held up by demonstrators during a rally in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018, marking the 39th anniversary of the seizure of the embassy by militant Iranian students. (AP photo) TEHRAN, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iran's ambassador to the United Nations urged global condemnation of the recent U.S. unilateral sanctions against the Islamic republic, Press TV reported on Saturday. "U.S. unilateral withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal and restoration of its sanctions on Iran is a challenge to the international law and global order," Gholamali Khoshroo said in a letter to the UN Security Council on Friday. The global community "should not allow the United States to pursue its unilateral, arrogant and self-centered policy," he said. Washington withdrew from Iran's landmark 2015 nuclear deal in May and imposed second batch of sanctions against Tehran on Monday, targeting Iran's shipping, financial and energy sectors. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 20:34:51|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close MOGADISHU, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The number of people who perished in the triple terrorist attacks in Mogadishu on Friday has risen to 50 while 58 others are nursing injuries in various city hospitals, police and medical sources said on Saturday. "More bodies were found under the rubble and the death toll now stands at 50 people. We don't know if there are other people still under the rubble but we are trying our best to recover those missing," a police officer who requested anonymity told Xinhua. The city's main hospital Madina received majority of the dead and injured from the blasts which rocked the central business district area Friday. "We received 32 injured people while several others including the dead were booked in other hospitals," said Mohamed Yusuf, director of Madina Hospital. Three huge blasts went off around KM 4 Junction Friday afternoon which the militant group al-Shabab said was targeting Sahafi hotel which is popular with politicians and was once a safe haven for journalists covering the Somali civil war. The owner of the Sahafi hotel identified as Abdifatah Abdirashid was among those killed. Abdirashid had inherited the hotel from his father who was killed in a similar attack in 2015. Pictures from the scene showed mangled wrecks of vehicles which were plying the route. The UN and other foreign countries have condemned the attacks which came barely a month after Somalia marked one year since the October 14, 2017 truck bombing which claimed over 500 lives. Meanwhile, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has condemned the bombings on Sahafi Hotel and CID headquarters in the restive capital, Mogadishu. In a statement issued in Mogadishu on Saturday, the AU mission vowed to intensify its joint operations with the Somali government to degrade terrorists and other militant groups. "AMISOM also calls on the public to remain vigilant and work with the security forces in preventing future senseless attacks by terrorists and restoring lasting peace in Somalia," it said. The AU mission which has intensified its onslaught against the militants also sent its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved and wished the wounded a speedy recovery. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 20:54:55|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close Yang Jiechi (4th R), a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, presides over the second China-U.S. Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in Washington D.C., the United States, on Nov. 9, 2018. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Senior Chinese and U.S. officials on Friday said the two countries have vast room for cooperation and they should work jointly to enhance cooperation on trade, military, law enforcement, and counter-terrorism, among others. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, co-chaired the second China-U.S. Diplomatic and Security Dialogue with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe also participated in the dialogue. The two sides held in-depth discussion about the preparations for the scheduled meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump during the G20 summit in Argentina, and had a thorough exchange on major international and regional issues of common concern. The dialogue was candid, constructive and produced great results. For his part, Yang said that Xi and Trump agreed during their telephone conversation on Nov. 1 to work for new progress based on healthy and stable development of relations, and to meet with each other during the upcoming G20 summit. The two sides spoke highly of the strategic leading role of the two presidents' diplomacy in the bilateral relations, noting that under the current circumstances, their meeting carries great importance to the stability of bilateral ties. The two sides agreed to strengthen communication, keep close coordination and conduct elaborate preparations to ensure that the important meeting will yield positive results. In their talks, the Chinese and U.S. officials exchanged their views thoroughly on their own strategic intentions. The Chinese side said that China will adhere to the socialist path with Chinese characteristics, stick to reform and opening-up and peaceful development, and work with other nations around the world to build a community with a shared future for mankind. What China has done is to seek better life for its people, rather than challenge or replace any nations, the Chinese officials said. China has, as always, been a builder of world peace, a contributor to the global development, and a guardian of the international order, they said. They noted that China firmly sticks to defense-oriented national strategy, and its effort to develop its military in a moderate manner aims to safeguard its national security, not to engage in an arms race with anyone. China respects the U.S. sovereignty, security and development interest, and the United States should give China reciprocal treatment, they said. China has committed to working together with the United States for the goals of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, so as to make positive contributions to the peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia Pacific region and the world at large, the Chinese officials said. For its part, the U.S. side said that it welcomes China's economic development and success, and it has no intention to contain China. The U.S. side hopes to develop a constructive and fruitful bilateral relationship based on respect and reciprocity. The two sides agreed that maintaining the stable development of bilateral ties accords with the fundamental interests of the two peoples as well as those of the international society. They also agreed to follow the direction and principles set by the two top leaders, manage and control differences on the basis of mutual respect, expand cooperation based on mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, so as to push forward the China-U.S. relationship featuring coordination and cooperation. MILITARY Chinese Defense Minister Wei said that China has developed the military-to-military relationship with the United States with the utmost sincerity. The Chinese military will firmly defend China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests, he said. Wei expressed the hope that the two sides will respect each other's core interests and major concerns, enhance communication and strengthen mutual trust, so as to make the military-to-military ties a stabilizing factor for the overall bilateral ties. During the dialogue, the two sides agreed to maintain military communications at various levels, and strengthen mechanism dialogue, in a bid to deepen communication and de-escalate risks. The two sides will keep up communication to develop a Crisis Deconfliction and Communication Framework, and be committed to implementing the existing Confidence Building Measures. SOVEREIGNTY-RELATED ISSUES The Chinese officials highlighted the fact that the Taiwan issue concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and is the most important and sensitive issue between China and the United States. Taiwan separatists and their actions are the biggest threat to the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, the Chinese officials said. China resolutely opposes the separatists and their actions in Taiwan, and will defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, they said. Noting that the one-China principle is the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, Yang and Wei said that China hopes that the U.S. side will honor its commitment to the principle and abide by the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and handle the Taiwan-related issues in a cautious and proper manner. In this regard, the two senior U.S. officials said that the U.S. government will honor its commitment to the one-China policy, and abide by the three joint communiques. On the South China Sea issue, China has underlined its indisputable sovereignty over Nansha Islands and its adjacent waters. While defending its sovereignty and maritime interests and rights, China has been committed to the peaceful settlement of disputes with other claimants through dialogue and consultation, so as to ensure peace and stability in the South China Sea, the senior Chinese officials said. It is China's legitimate and lawful rights under international law to build civil and necessary defense facilities on its own soil, and such constructions have nothing to do with the so-called militarization, Yang and Wei noted. They urged the U.S. side to recognize these facts and stop its actions that would undermine China's sovereignty and security interests, and play a constructive role in safeguarding the peace and stability in the South China Sea, and reduce security risks. Regarding China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Chinese officials said during the dialogue that what happens inside Xinjiang is China's domestic affairs, and foreign nations have no rights to meddle. China attaches great importance to the socio-economic development in Xinjiang, and has taken a host of measures to advance stability, prosperity, unity and people's wellbeing there, while cracking down on separatist, violent and terrorist activities in a lawful way to safeguard its national security and protect civilians' lives and property, Yang and Wei said. These measures have achieved remarkable results, as the general social order in Xinjiang has remained stable, with robust economic growth and harmonious coexistence of various ethnic groups, they added. China expects the U.S. side to respect these facts, view relevant issues in an objective manner and stop meddling in China's domestic affairs, the officials noted. TRADE On trade, the senior Chinese and U.S. officials said that the two sides should earnestly implement the consensus reached between the two heads of state during their recent phone talks, support the two countries' economic teams to communicate and consult on issues of mutual concern, so as to reach an agreement that is acceptable for both sides. Both sides said that there is vast room for them to cooperate, and they should promote their communication and collaboration in such areas as economy and trade, military, law enforcement, anti-terrorism, drug control, and people-to-people exchanges, in a bid to bring more practical benefits to the two peoples. KOREAN PENINSULA ISSUE On the Korean Peninsula issue, China reaffirmed its commitment to the denuclearization and peace and stability on the peninsula and adhered to its stance that a solution should be found via dialogue and consultation. While supporting the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to engage in direct talks, China hopes that the two sides will step toward each other, accommodate each other's reasonable concerns, accumulate mutual trust, so as to facilitate the complete denuclearization and the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula at the same time. The U.S. side expressed appreciation for China's important and constructive role on the issue. Both sides believed that the consensus reached between top U.S. and DPRK leaders in their Singapore meeting in June should be implemented in a proactive manner. As such, the United States and the DPRK should keep close and substantive contact, and relative UN resolutions should be implemented continuously, said the U.S. and Chinese officials. China and the United States agreed to maintain their communication and consultation concerning the Korean Peninsula issue. The two sides also compared notes on international and regional issues such as those concerning Afghanistan and the Middle East. They agreed to enhance communication and cooperation and play their positive roles in the proper settlement of these issues. The two countries had their first Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in June 2017. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 21:30:03|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close TEHRAN, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The fresh U.S. sanctions on Iran's economy are aimed at exerting pressures on the Iranian people, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said here on Saturday. "The U.S. inappropriate and wrong sanctions seek to negatively affect people's lives and their everyday livelihood," Rouhani was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency. He was reacting to the recent interview of the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with the BBC Persian who said that the U.S. sanctions against the Islamic republic do not target the Iranian people, but the Iranian government. The U.S. claims that the Iranian people are immune against the sanction pressures are "totally false and inaccurate," he said. Rouhani stressed that the Iranian people and government are united against the U.S. pressures and resist them. All the U.S. sanctions against Iran that had been removed under the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal were returned by the United States on Monday. The U.S. embargo targets many of the country's "critical sectors" like energy, shipping and finance. Washington has accused Iran of agitating regional instability and exporting violence, which has been denied by Tehran. The U.S. President Donald Trump, who terminated the hard-won Iran nuclear deal on May 8, said that it was "one of the worst and most one-sided deals the United States has ever entered into." Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 21:35:04|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close Aerial photo taken on Nov. 9, 2018 shows the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Fan Jun) by Xinhua writers Liu Jie, Liu Xinyong and Zheng Xin SHANGHAI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The first China International Import Expo (CIIE) concluded on Saturday with sizable deals signed, signaling China's historic transition from an export powerhouse to an import nation. Deals for intended purchase of goods and services within a year totaled 57.83 billion U.S. dollars, Sun Chenghai, deputy director of the CIIE Bureau, told a news conference after the expo wrapped up. Deals for high-end intelligent equipment reached over 16.46 billion dollars, followed by 12.68 billion dollars of food and agricultural products, 11.99 billion dollars of automobiles, 5.76 billion dollars of medical equipment and health care products, 4.33 billion dollars of consumer electronics and appliances, and 3.37 billion dollars of apparel, accessories and consumer goods, Sun said, adding that the value of deals for services hit 3.24 billion dollars. The CIIE is a high-level expo that generates extensive significance at home and abroad and produces fruitful outcomes, Sun told reporters. FREE TRADE BUILDS SHARED FUTURE Like it or not, nobody can deny that we are living in a globalized world. At the CIIE, there was something for everyone -- sipping French wine, wearing Finnish jewelry, dressing up in U.S. smart sportswear, riding in Japanese new energy cars. Refusing globalization is like refusing the law of gravity. When the free trade system is under attack, protectionism is on the rise, and the seeds of economic instability and uncertainty are being planted. The CIIE musters support for free trade and injects certainty into the world economy. This type of event could facilitate the mission of building a community of a shared future for humanity, in which common development of all nations could be realized. Every country makes money, the wealth gap is bridged and all nations prosper. At the opening ceremony of the expo, Chinese President Xi Jinping underscored the role of economic globalization, saying that it is an irreversible historical trend and provides strong momentum for world economic development. The import expo has served as a platform to inspire cooperation in international free trade in unprecedented depth and width. It is not China's solo show, but rather a chorus involving countries from around the world. The first CIIE is a new propellant driving China's import agenda. In the next 15 years, China expects to import 30 trillion U.S. dollars worth of goods and 10 trillion U.S. dollars worth of services. Last year, China's total imports rose 15.9 percent to hit 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars. SWEET TASTE OF FREE TRADE "This Taurus machine has already been sold, but we still have many more..." reads a note on the 200-tonne milling machine from Waldrich Coburg, the largest product on display that has won extensive media coverage ever since the shipping from Germany to China began. Close media attention has paid off: The milling machine received an order from a Chinese private company at about 2.8 million euros (3.2 million U.S. dollars). "At the expo, we have a lot of delegations and interested visitors, and we are confident that we are going to sell more machines," said Sven Grosch, in charge of public relations at Waldrich Coburg's holding company -- Jingcheng Holding Europe GmbH. The sweet taste of free trade is shared across the expo's venue in the shape of a four-leaf clover. As of Friday, German manufacturer ZEISS signed contracts with a combined worth of more than 400 million yuan (57.7 million dollars), far exceeding the company's expectations. The U.S. firm Intuitive Surgical sold more than 40 of its da Vinci robotic-assisted surgical systems to Chinese buyers. Besides bringing companies from all over the world together with their potential buyers, the expo is also gathering worldwide consensus on supporting free trade and globalization. "China has made its stance against trade protectionism, with recent opening-up measures in the automobile industry," Zhang Kelin, deputy head of the China Machinery Industry Federation, said at a forum on the sidelines of the expo. Wider opening-up not only makes domestic manufacturers more competitive in the global arena and more dedicated to innovation, but also gives global brands more investment opportunities and a wider market, contributing to the inclusive growth of the global economy, Zhang said. The import fair, which will be held on an annual basis in the years to come, will serve as evidence of China's support for globalization and willingness to share growth opportunities with the world. SHARED PROSPERITY The CIIE has been the meeting point of over 170 countries, regions and international organizations, which include more than 30 of the world's least developed countries such as Afghanistan, Cambodia and Malawi. Two booths were provided gratis to each of the least developed countries to encourage broader participation. "This expo is a very great opportunity for Malawi to find an entrance into the Chinese market," said Clement Kumbemba, CEO of the Malawi Investment and Trade Center. Traveling in a delegation of 18 people, Kumbemba said they had much confidence in China's "enormous consumption" and "spending power." He regarded the import expo as "a quicker way to improve their people's livelihood." "When their products find themselves in the export market, more people in Malawi will have money in their pockets," Charles Onunaiju, director of Center for China Studies in Abuja, said, adding that the expo had been a demonstration of China's faith in free trade and globalization and that trade can genuinely offer a way out for the African continent and many other developing countries. "For Africa, there is no better opportunity to readdress the so-called imbalance in global trade. China is not just offering investment, infrastructure and financial support. It is now offering a market. The most important element in any meaningful development is the market," he said. China's imports from Africa hit 75.3 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 32.8 percent. The trade surplus went down 45.2 percent year-on-year to around 19.5 billion dollars, according to data from China's General Administration of Customs. (Xinhua reporters Zhou Rui and Chen Aiping contributed to the story.) (Video reporters: Jia Yuankun, Pan Xu, Li Haiwei, Shi Yiling, You Zhixin, Sun Qing, Chen Jie, Wu Xia; Video editors: Geng Linlin, Zhao Yuchao) Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 22:00:16|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close TIRANA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The protected areas in Albania attracted over 158,000 tourists home and abroad during October, Albanian Minister of Tourism and Environment Blendi Klosi wrote in the social media. The Karavasta Lagoon in west Albania has become the favorite destination thanks to the arrival of flamingos, and other birds. According to Klosi, besides the coastal beauty, Albania also has a very good scenery and climate in its protected areas. The protected areas occupy about 20 percent of Albanian territory, and are considered an opportunity for development of sustainable tourism. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 23:05:31|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIRUT, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Saturday that his party will retaliate for any Israeli attack on Lebanon. "We will inevitably respond to any attack against Lebanon and we will not accept any underestimation by the enemy of the country's power as it used to do in the past," he said in a televised speech marking the party's "Martyrs' Day." Nasrallah said that "Hezbollah has a tremendous rocket capability and the enemy will not dare to attack Lebanon because of this power." "Any attack will be faced automatically," he said. He added that "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu possesses a nuclear power, yet he cannot face Hezbollah's great rocket capabilities." In a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September, Netanyahu said Hezbollah had placed three precision missile sites near the Beirut airport, one in the Ouzai neighborhood "a few blocks away from the runway," a second under the Ahed stadium, and the third "adjacent to the airport itself, right next to it." This has prompted Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil to lead a tour for ambassadors and journalists to two of the locations mentioned by Israel to prove to the public that Netanyahu's claims are false. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-11 00:10:46|Editor: yan Video Player Close NAIROBI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Nairobi-based Africa Academy of Sciences (AAS) said it will award post-doctoral fellowships to seven early career researchers in the continent to help them come up with solutions that promote sustainable development. AAS said in a statement issued on Friday evening that the young African scientists will benefit from financial support to pursue advanced studies in disciplines that promote sustainable development like health and environment. "The trainees will receive funding to tackle antimicrobial resistance, discover drugs for cancer and skin diseases, contribute knowledge to conserve woodlands and develop low cost alloys used for military and civic applications, aircraft, bicycles and medical devices," said AAS. It revealed that the young researchers drawn from Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda will benefit from three to six months academic visits and mentorships at institutions outside their native countries. The new capacity development support for early career African scientists was unveiled ahead of World Science Day for Peace and Development that was observed on November 10. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-11 00:30:48|Editor: yan Video Player Close NEW YORK, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Some U.S. experts will have a forum on Wednesday in New York City to discuss how big data and entrepreneurialism are driving all sorts of healthcare innovation in China. The experts will talk about the following topics: Who will be the next unicorn startup? What are the opportunities and challenges in the field? Will China's top-down technology policies make the country a fierce competitor for global technology supremacy?" The event is held as big data and other healthcare innovations have prompted investors to rush for China, according to China Institute, the organizer of the forum. Speakers include Gary Rieschel, founder of Qiming Venture Partners; Olivia Wang, head of U.S. for ZhenFund; and Fei Wang, Cornell Medical health data mining and machine learning expert. The discussion will be moderated by Ye Xie, a journalist from Bloomberg News. Founded in 1926, the NYC-based China Institute is the oldest bicultural non-profit organization in the United States to focus on China. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-11 00:35:50|Editor: yan Video Player Close GAZA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- A Qatari diplomat vowed on Saturday to permanently resolve the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, which has been ruled by Islamic Hamas movement since 2007. Qatar's support is provided to the Palestinian people and not to factions, said Mohamed Ammadi, chairman of the Qatari Committee to reconstruct Gaza, who arrived in the Gaza Strip on Thursday. "Qatar is seeking to resolve the problems of the Gaza Strip populations permanently and continuously," he said, adding that his country's ties with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and with the Palestinian factions "are excellent." Qatar had pledged 150 million U.S. dollars to be paid for improving the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip within six months. The money is devoted for resolving the shortage of electricity, paying the salaries of employees appointed by Hamas after 2007 and helping poor families. The senior Qatari diplomat visited the area in eastern Gaza on Friday afternoon close to the border with Israel and requested from Hamas leaders calm on the border. "We are seeking calm," Ammadi told Khalil al-Hayyah, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza as both were present in eastern Gaza during the weekly anti-Israel rallies. The PA opposed the Qatari plans of injecting money into the Gaza Strip, believing that the Qatari money will boost Hamas rule in the coastal enclave and delay the efforts of ending 12 years of internal Palestinian split. "Pumping money into Gaza on monthly basis speeds up the dead economy wheel in the Gaza Strip," said Ammadi, adding "we observe this aid by ourselves and all the sectors of the Palestinian society are getting benefits from it." Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-11 00:35:51|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOSCOW, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday discussed the recent alleged espionage scandal with his Austrian counterpart Karin Kneissl over the phone and said any unfounded charge is unacceptable. "The Russian side emphasized the unacceptability of the practice of raising public unsubstantiated accusations, which is against the norms of international communication," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "It was emphasized that any possible mutual concerns should be discussed through established channels of dialogue and on the basis of facts," it added. On Friday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that Austrian law enforcement agencies are investigating a retired colonel who allegedly worked for the Russian intelligence since the 1990s until this year. In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Vienna's accusation is based on groundless suspicion and that Austria failed to follow the norms of diplomacy when it made public the case before consulting Moscow. During the phone conversation, Kneissl explained Vienna's motives in making certain decisions and expressed her hope that the incident would not affect relations between Austria and Russia, according to the statement. A number of other issues on the bilateral agenda were also discussed, it said. Earlier on Friday, Kneissl summoned the Russian representative in Austria over the alleged spy case and canceled her upcoming visit to Russia. iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- Ongoing protests in Broward County and Florida's pending recount battle highlight twists and turns seen across the country in outstanding midterm races. The delays nationwide, partially due to overwhelming voter turnout, have sparked a conversation about the efficiency of the nations voting mechanics. Here are the states where constituents are still waiting to find out who will represent them. Senate races to watch Florida In Florida, a razor-thin margin has the divided state gearing up for recounts in more than one race, including for senate. Incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, the Democrat has refused to concede to Gov. Rick Scott, the Republican challenger, who currently leads by less than 0.2 percent with ballots across the state still uncounted. State rules mandate a recount if the margin is less than 0.5 percent, which looks entirely possible, especially because two Democratic-leaning counties havent completed counting mail-in ballots and one of them hasnt finished counting early ballots, either. Many more counties continue to count provisional ballots. A recount could come as early as Saturday. Scott carried a larger lead Tuesday night, but continues to see it dissipate as more votes come in. Scott has responded by accusing county election supervisors of corruption and filing lawsuits against them. Scott is backed by support from the president, the GOP and Floridas current Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. A win for Republicans in Floridas senate race would only add to the stinging loss of three key senate seats on Tuesday night in Indiana, North Dakota and Missouri, which are all states where Democratic senators faced re-election in states Trump won in 2016. But in Florida, where incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson is awaiting results against Republican challenger Gov. Rick Scott, Trump narrowly won the state by less than 1.5 percentage points. Arizona The Arizona Senate race to replace outgoing GOP Senator and Trump-critic Jeff Flake between Democrat Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Martha McSally was always going to be one of the closests contests of 2018, and it did not disappoint. The most recent raw vote has Sinema with a lead of just under 2,000 votes over McSally, a shift from the post-election count that showed a nearly 1 percentage point lead for McSally. With talk of numerous lawsuits swirling, it could be weeks before we find out who the first woman to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate will be. Gubernatorial races to watch Florida Unlike the ongoing battle in Floridas U.S. Senate race, the Democrat in the states gubernatorial race, Andrew Gillum, did concede to his Republican opponent, Ron DeSantis, on Election Night. Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum: "We didn't win it tonight. We didn't win this transaction. But I want you all to know that is just it, a transaction, that what we believe in still holds true today," Gillum said Tuesday. But as the margin between Gillum and DeSantis continued to shrink, now to the point where an automatic machine recount is expected to be triggered, the Democrats new mantra is Count every vote. DeSantis holds a significant lead of over 36,000 votes, a margin that will be difficult for Gillum to overcome, but with multiple recounts in the works and Floridas long history of unpredictable elections, this continues to be a race we are tracking very closely. Georgia In Georgia, there are also doubts that Democrat Stacey Abrams can overcome the current margin between her and her opponent, the states now-former Secretary of State Brian Kemp, but the race is too close to call. That didnt stop Kemp from declaring himself the winner on Thursday a victory Abrams camp rejected. "All the votes haven't been counted. How can anybody claim a victory when there are enough votes that have not been counted that could cause a run-off here?" John Chandler, a member of Abrams' legal team, asked at a press conference Thursday. In Georgia, the winner needs 50 percent of the vote or a runoff is automatically triggered. Kemp says there arent enough ballots left uncounted to close his narrow lead. As of Friday morning, Abrams had 48.72 percent of the vote compared to Kemps 50.33 percent. But Abrams campaign has vowed to staunchly moderate the incoming vote tallies and make sure every vote is counted an unsurprising move in a race where her opponent has been shrouded in allegations of voter suppression, beginning with reports that millions of voters were unknowingly purged from registration systems under his tenure, many of whom were African American voters. House races to watch New Jersey's 3rd The tight race in New Jerseys 3rd Congressional District has yet to be called by ABC News, despite a declared victory from Democrat Andy Kim Wednesday night. Kim, a former Obama administration official, faced incumbent Republican Rep. Tom MacArthur, who caught flack in the state when he stood by Trump and voted for the tax cut. Democrats have already flipped three of the five New Jersey House seats held by Republicans and a Kim victory would bring that number to four. It would also mean Democrats seize 11 seats of the 12 seats in the New Jersey House delegation. California's 39th In the open race for a formerly Republican-held seat in Californias 39th, Republican Young Kim has a slight lead over Democrat Gil Cisneros in a race thats still too close to call. If Kim wins, she would be the first Korean-American woman elected to the U.S. House. The traditionally Republican area was revealed to be a split district in 2016, fueling Democrats hopes for an inroad, when Hillary Clinton won it the 2016 presidential election by 8 points. California's 48th Republican incumbent Dana Rohrabacher has represented this Orange County district since the late 1980s, but it appears his time in Congress may come to an end in 2018. While California still has a significant number of mail-in ballots to count, Rohrabacher currently trails his Democratic opponent Harley Rouda by just under 5,000 votes. Dubbed Putins favorite Congressman by his critics for his Russia-friendly policy views, Democrats will undoubtedly trumpet a Rohrabacher loss that could further signal that the area that birthed former President Richard Nixon is continuing its leftward shift in the era of President Donald Trump. Utah's 4th Rep. Mia Love is currently the only African-American woman among the House Republican ranks, but she is in serious danger of losing her Salt Lake City-area seat to local mayor and Democrat Ben McAdams. McAdams currently holds a lead of over 6,700 votes over Love, who was called out individually by President Trump at his post-election press conference over her tepid embrace of the Commander-in-Chief. Democrats had held this seat since 2000 before Love flipped it in 2014, but it appears it will be back in their control when the 116th Congress is sworn in next year. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-11 00:40:52|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close BEIJING, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese agricultural official Saturday called for closer agricultural cooperation among China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in Beijing. China will work to double its agricultural trade with Japan and ROK to over 30 billion U.S. dollars in the next 10 years, said Chinese minister of agriculture and rural affairs Han Changfu at the Third Trilateral Agriculture Ministers Meeting. Han said the three countries are strongly complementary in agricultural technologies, industries and markets, adding they should deepen cooperation in agriculture and rural development, agricultural technologies, and agricultural trade. The three countries have made in-depth exchanges and cooperation in agricultural policies and animal disease control since the establishment of the trilateral agricultural cooperation mechanism, Han said. China's agricultural trade with Japan and ROK has grown steadily, hitting 16.78 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, accounting for 8.3 percent of the country's total trade in agricultural products, Han added. At the meeting, the three countries vowed to share experience in rural industrial integration, safety control of agricultural products, innovation of agricultural technologies, to guarantee food security in the region, and to push forward the development of resource-saving and environment-friendly agriculture. Agricultural ministers from the three sides also issued a joint communique and a memorandum on trilateral agricultural cooperation. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-11 00:45:53|Editor: yan Video Player Close by Robert Manyara LODWAR, Kenya, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The scorching mid-morning sun failed to deter a group of men from pulling a huge batch of fish from a motor boat moments after landing at Kalokol beach in Lake Turkana located in northwest Kenya. During a conversation with Xinhua on Friday, the men revealed that they had been on a fishing expedition since dawn. A group of women who had been waiting for the arrival of the boats swung into action to help the fishermen offload the consignment. "We have been in the waters since 5:00 a.m. and our nets are full," says Peter Ekiru, a tall and energetic fisherman. Despite the huge catch, Ekiru was a worried man. The father of six lamented over poor business in the last couple of weeks. Like most of the fishermen in the area, Ekiru depended on ready market for the fish in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). However, since Ebola outbreak in DRC, Ekiru's business has suffered losses. "We depend on fishing as our main economic activity. But there is no stable market for the fish after the Ebola outbreak in the DRC," said Ekiru. "Previously on a good day I could walk home with about 10 U.S. dollars but the business is low and I hardly get 5 dollar per day," he added. The DRC, which has been battling the Ebola outbreak since April, provides a huge market for fish in Lake Turkana. Most fish traders have pulled out of the trade following a decision by some countries that border DRC to introduce stringent health restriction to contain the spread of Ebola. The DRC government has declared the Ebola outbreak a public health crisis with regional implications while the World Health Organization reported that 27 total cases of fever with hemorrhagic symptoms were recorded in the Bikoro region between April 4 and May 5 this year, including 17 deaths. Bikoro is situated in Equateur Province on the shores of Lake Tumba in the north-western part of the country near the Republic of the Congo. It is the ninth time an Ebola outbreak has been reported in DRC since 1976, forcing neighboring countries to heighten border surveillance. Back to Kalokol, Xinhua found that traders at the five Beach Management Units (BMUs) in Lake Turkana now live on the edge of survival not knowing what the future holds for them as they watch their earnings rapidly dwindle. "The DRC is our major fish market and Ebola outbreak has affected our business and we don't know when the disease will be contained and business resume," said Jane Etapel. Etapel says fish prices have fallen since the outbreak from an average of 4 dollars to 2 dollars a single catch as the produce is sold at throw-away prices in the saturated local market. "We are being exploited because of lack of stable market. Fishmongers have taken advantage of the crisis in DRC to buy fish from us at a throw-away price," said Ekal Ekuwom, an official at the beach. Trade assessment conducted by Indian Ocean Commission indicates that DRC imports an average of 89,000 tons of fish, mainly from Lake Turkana, to meet the needs of local consumers. The fishermen will now rely on South Sudan as well Kenya's Nairobi and Kisumu, which compromise the bulk of current demand for fish. An average of 15,000 kilograms of fish was consumed in Nairobi and 6,000 in Kitale town last month. Fishermen interviewed said they are hopeful that the situation will return to normal in the Democratic Republic of Congo to enable them to resume profitable business. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-11 01:05:59|Editor: yan Video Player Close DAR ES SALAAM, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Saturday sacked Minister of Industries, Trade and Investment Charles Mwijage and Minister of Agriculture Charles Tizeba in a mini-cabinet reshuffle. A statement issued by the Directorate of Presidential Communication at State House in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam did not give reasons for the sacking of Mwijage and Tizeba. The statement said the president appointed the Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Japhet Hasunga, to replace Tizeba in the agriculture docket. President Magufuli also appointed Joseph George Kakunda to replace Mwijage in the industries and trade docket, said the statement. Before his new appointment, Kakundq was Deputy Minister in the President's Office responsible for Local Government and Regional Administration, said the statement. The statement said the new appointments were effective from Saturday, adding that the new appointees will be sworn in by the president on Monday. President Magufuli also made changes in the appointments of some deputy ministers, said the statement. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (L) and Defense Minister Mario Kunasek give a press conference in Vienna, Austria, on November 9, 2018, to comment on the case of a retired colonel in the Austrian army suspected of having spied for Russia for several decades. (AFP PHOTO) MOSCOW, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday discussed the recent alleged espionage scandal with his Austrian counterpart Karin Kneissl over the phone and said any unfounded charge is unacceptable. "The Russian side emphasized the unacceptability of the practice of raising public unsubstantiated accusations, which is against the norms of international communication," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "It was emphasized that any possible mutual concerns should be discussed through established channels of dialogue and on the basis of facts," it added. On Friday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that Austrian law enforcement agencies are investigating a retired colonel who allegedly worked for the Russian intelligence since the 1990s until this year. In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Vienna's accusation is based on groundless suspicion and that Austria failed to follow the norms of diplomacy when it made public the case before consulting Moscow. During the phone conversation, Kneissl explained Vienna's motives in making certain decisions and expressed her hope that the incident would not affect relations between Austria and Russia, according to the statement. A number of other issues on the bilateral agenda were also discussed, it said. Earlier on Friday, Kneissl summoned the Russian representative in Austria over the alleged spy case and canceled her upcoming visit to Russia. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-11 04:31:27|Editor: yan Video Player Close ANKARA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- At least seven Turkish soldiers were killed and 25 others were wounded in an ammo depot blast in southeastern province of Hakkari, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a press conference on Saturday. An earlier statement released by the Defense Ministry said that at least 25 Turkish soldiers were wounded and seven more went missing after an explosion at a military base in Hakkari on Friday. The accident occurred due to explosion of defective ammunition during artillery shooting, the ministry said late Friday. It happened at Ortaklar Sungu Tepe military base in Semdinli district of Hakkari province, which is located near the borders with Iran and Iraq. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar visited the site later on Friday, accompanied by Chief of General Staff Yasar Guler and Land Forces Commander Umit Dundar. Some of the wounded have been transferred to hospitals in the capital Ankara by ambulance aircraft to continue treatment. An investigation has been launched into the incident. Photo taken on Dec. 27, 2016 shows a navy ship and a helicopter taking part in a rescue operation on the Black Sea coast at the crash site of Russian Defense Ministry's Tu-154 aircraft near Sochi, Russia. (Xinhua/Sputnik) MOSCOW, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Joint anti-piracy naval drills of Russia and Japan had kicked off in the Gulf of Aden, Russia's Northern Fleet said Saturday. Combat ships of the Russian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force participated in the drills, including the Northern Fleet's Severomorsk anti-submarine ship and the Japanese destroyer Ikazuchi, according to Northern Fleet's spokesman Vadim Serga. "Such interaction between Northern Fleet's sailors and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is taking place for the first time in the history of the Russian Navy," Serga was quoted as saying by Russia's Interfax news agency. The naval drills were aimed at increasing cooperation between the Russian and Japanese warships in the fight against piracy and terrorism, Sputnik news agency cited Serga as saying. During the exercises, the crews of the ships will exchange information, detect suspicious vessels, train sorties of shipborne helicopters, conduct simulated attacks and carry out excursions, according to Serga. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-11 05:36:36|Editor: yan Video Player Close YAOUNDE, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon on Saturday freed popular TV host Mimi Mefo, who heads the English-service of privately-owned Equinoxe TV, after three days in detention, Equinoxe TV said in a statement on Saturday. "Equinoxe TV is pleased to announce that Mimi Mefo has been set free. She is now with her family," the statement said. On Wednesday, Mefo was detained for propagating "fake news" that is "highly detrimental" to the morale of the troops clashing with armed separatists in troubled Anglophone regions of Cameroon, according to minister of communication, Issa Tchiroma. According to her lawyer, barrister Richard Tamfu, Mefo will appear before the military tribunal on Monday. An archaeologist works in a tomb in Saqqara Necropolis in Giza Province, Egypt, on Nov. 10, 2018. Egypt's Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anany announced Saturday the discovery of seven pharaonic tombs in Saqqara Necropolis in Giza Province. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) CAIRO, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anany announced Saturday the discovery of seven pharaonic tombs in Saqqara Necropolis in Giza Province. The discovery was made by an Egyptian archaeological mission during excavation works at the area located on the stony edge of King Userkaf pyramid complex in Saqqara Necropolis, al-Anany told Xinhua. The minister explained that the mission has uncovered three plain New Kingdom tombs that had been used during the Late Period as necropolis for cats along with four other Old Kingdom tombs, the most important of which belongs to Khufu-Imhat, the overseer of the royal buildings in the royal palace. He also said that the Egyptian mission selected such a site to excavate because "there was a high probability that a collection of Old Kingdom tombs for individual could be uncovered around the ramp of King Userkaf pyramid complex." A French mission previously excavated the eastern section of the site and uncovered a collection of Old and New Kingdoms tombs that were used during the Late Period as cats' graves, he said. The French mission has stopped all excavations on site since 2008 and devoted all its work to study document and restore some of the discovered tombs. However, all the works have completely stopped since 2013. "This is the first of three upcoming new discoveries in other governorates in Upper Egypt to be announced before the end of 2018," al-Anany said. During the inauguration ceremony, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri announced that the Egyptian mission has succeeded to unearth the first ever mummies of scarabs to be unearthed in Memphis necropolis as two large mummies of scarabs have been found inside a rectangular limestone sarcophagus with vaulted lid decorated with three scarabs painted in black. "Tens of cat mummies were also unearthed along with 100 wooden gilded statues of cats and a bronze one dedicated to the cat goddess Bastet," Waziri revealed. He added that a collection of wooden gilded statues depicting the physical features of a lion, a cow, and a falcon was also unearthed. "Painted wooden sarcophagi of Cobras with mummies found inside them were also discovered along with two wooden sarcophagi of crocodiles," Waziri explained. Egypt, one of the most ancient civilizations, has been working hard to preserve its archaeological heritage and discover the secrets of its ancient antiquities in a bid to revive the country's ailing tourism sector. Tourism sector has suffered an acute recession over the past few years due to political turmoil and relevant security issues. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-11 06:11:41|Editor: yan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of the recent U.S.-led airstrikes on areas in eastern Syria has risen to 41 as the Syrian Foreign Ministry renewed calls for an international investigation into the coalition's "crimes." The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday that 41 people were killed, including 17 children and 13 women, as a result of the airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition on Islamic State (IS)-held areas in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour province in eastern Syria on Thursday and Friday. The watchdog group said the death toll could likely rise as result of the U.S.-led airstrikes that targeted the town of Hajin, one of the villages in the last IS-held pocket on the eastern bank of the Euphurates River near the Iraqi border. Meanwhile, the Syrian Foreign Ministry renewed in a statement Saturday calls on the UN to form "an independent international mechanism" to investigate the "crimes of the Washington coalition" and punish the perpetrators. It said the coalition's attack on Hajin also wounded tens of civilians, amid ongoing strikes and a difficulty in saving people from under the rubble. "This ugly crime lays bare the phony claims of the U.S. about fighting terrorism as it (U.S.) aims only to kill as many Syrians as they can and render more damage to the infrastructure in Syria," the ministry said. Civilian casualties were reported before as a result of U.S.-led strikes on the last IS-held areas. The United States has been backing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to defeat the IS on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River near the Iraqi border. Airstrikes on this area have recently been renewed as the Kurdish-led groups were planning a second wave of attacks on the IS after a failed attempt on Sept. 10. The Syrian government has long questioned the intention of the U.S.-led operations in this oil-rich area. Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-11 06:36:44|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close Associate professor Zhao Jing (Rear) from China's Beijing Language and Culture University introduces the main features of the teaching method during a training seminar of Chinese language in Sibiu, central Romania, on Nov. 10, 2018. Dozens of local Chinese language teachers in Romania and neighboring countries have an opportunity to improve their teaching skills with two experts from Beijing this weekend in Sibiu. (Xinhua/Chen Jin) SIBIU, Romania, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of local Chinese language teachers in Romania and neighboring countries have an opportunity to improve their teaching skills with two experts from Beijing this weekend in Sibiu, central Romania. The two-day training seminar starting here on Saturday is the first of this kind since Confucius Institute at Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu became Hanban's only teacher training base in Romania last December. Trainees included local Chinese teachers, volunteer teachers and reserve teachers from all the four Confucius Institutes in Romania, as well as some from neighboring countries such as the Confucius Institutes at University of Banja Luka in Bosnia Herzegovina and University of Tirana in Albania. At the seminar, professor Jiang Liping from Beijing Language and Culture University explained the characteristics, content and application of the concept and tutorial of the Chinese textbook HSK Standard Course, while her colleague, associate professor Zhao Jing elaborated on the main features of the teaching method. Practical cases of class activities and major teaching modules from primary and secondary schools in other countries were also introduced. Chinese experts and local teachers will also share teaching experiences on the second day of the seminar. As most Chinese learners in Romania are primary and secondary school students, it's better for teachers to able to speak both Chinese and Romanian, said Wang Jiong, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute of Lucian Blaga University in Sibiu. The overseas teacher training center in Sibiu is designed to offer regular training for teachers in Romania and neighboring countries, with the support of Hanban and Beijing Language and Culture University, Wang told Xinhua, adding that efforts will be made to improve teaching efficiency and effect and train more local teachers to build the reserve pool. Confucius Institute at Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, established in 2007, is the first Confucius Institute in Romania. Currently, there are four Confucius Institutes in Romania, 10 Confucius Classrooms, and more than 130 Chinese language teaching sites, with over 10,000 local Chinese learners. Austrian authorities will extradite to Hungary an Afghan man accused of raping a woman in the lavatory of a downtown Budapest fast food outlet in September. He is also accused of committing indecent exposure twice in Budapests Seventh District, the tabloid Blikk reported. Budapest Police confirmed the report. Hungarian authorities had issued an international warrant for the of the Afghan, who was captured in Austria not much later. Although the Hungarian government sees the EPs approval of the Sargentini report as illegitimate, it will participate in a General Affairs Council debate on launching an Article 7 procedure against the country, the head of the Prime Ministers Office told a press conference. At the meeting scheduled for Monday, the government will aim to fully brief all member states on the issue, Gergely Gulyas (pictured on top) said. Members of the European Parliament approved the Sargentini report that finds the rule of law in Hungary wanting in a vote in September. The report authored by Green MEP Judith Sargentini says there is a clear risk of a serious breach by Hungary of the values of the European Union and calls for the Article 7 procedure, which ultimately suspends a member states voting rights, to be opened. Gulyas said the procedure against Hungary was political in nature, but was being painted as one protecting the rule of law. The government sees the charge that the rule of law is endangered in Hungary systemically as absurd, he said. Presenting political accusations as the rule of law is extremely dangerous for the whole of the EU, Gulyas said, especially if the EP oversteps its own authority when criticising member states decisions. Parts of the Sargentini report fall under that category, while other parts are simply false or contain charges on matters that have long been settled, he said. The report may also serve as a bad precedent, sending the message that there is no point in striving for constructive talks, compromise and agreements with the EU, Gulyas said. Hungary has always been ready to seek a compromise with the EC and complied with the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union, amending its law according to the latters rulings in cases such as the media law or the judiciary. This put an end to those infringement procedures, he said. If the charges in these cases are revisited after 5-7 years, that seems to say that there is no point in striving for honest cooperation with EU institutions, he said. Gulyas said the government had appealed the EP vote on the Sargentini report at the European Court of Justice because the twothird majority support was achieved by neglecting abstentions and this went against the Lisbon Treaty. Regardless of the fact that the Hungarian government believes the result of the vote was not valid, it will still participate in the debate at the General Affairs Council and will try to give comprehensive information to all member states, he added. At the meeting of the General Affairs Council, the European Commission will present a report on earlier infringement procedures against Hungary and the government will present a hundred-page report on Hungarys position to every country. After this, the General Affairs Council meeting on December 11 will hold a hearing where the Hungarian government will be represented, he said. The member states will get a chance to ask questions based on the accusations in the Sargentini report, information provided by the EC and the Hungarian governments defence. There will be unlimited time available at this meeting to answer the questions, Gulyas added. Our negotiating position is the open and tolerant position of an ally because we believe this is correct even against such harsh expressions of intolerance as those expressed against Hungary in the European Parliament, he said. After that, the extent to which the Article 7 procedure becomes part of the Hungarian and European election campaign will not depend on the Hungarian government, he added. Regardless, the Hungarian government would like to answer all the questions as soon as possible, he said. In response to a question, Gulyas said he did not expect the four-fifths majority support required to take the Article 7 procedure against Hungary to the next level would be granted. Related articles: Fidesz, Opposition Comment On Counter Sargentini Resolution Video: Hungary Fights Back Against Report Claiming It Violated EU Rights MTI Photo: Monus Marton Coun Perez reiterates warning to barangay leaders involved in drugs 07 Aug 2017 Hits:37 Comments(0) Liga ng mga Barangay President, Councilor Jerry Perez yesterday reiterated his warning to all barangay officials from using or selling drugs. Perez said he is closely monitoring the activities of all the barangay officials and vowed sanctions against erring leaders. Aqui gane na mio barangay ya quita ya iyo na puesto cunel dos barangay leaders quien mas temprano ya sale positivo na... Un jandarm s-a impuscat in piept Un subofiter din cadrul Inspectoratului Judetean de Jandarmi Alba si-a tras doua gloante in piept, cu pistolul din dotare. Incidentul s-a produs duminica, in timp ce efectua serviciu de paza al unitatii. La fata locului s-au deplasat echipaje de la SMURD si IPJ Alba. Subofiterul nu a putut fi salvat, acesta a decedat. Cazul a [] [citeste mai departe] Romanian Police: 430 driving licenses withheld by policemen in a single day countrywide Over 7000 fines were issued, worth over 2,000,000 RON, by policemen, on Friday, at the national level. According to a release sent on Saturday to AGERPRES by the Romanian Police Inspectorate General, over 10,000 policemen were in action, at the national level, to prevent antisocial events and maintain public order and safety. In this context, 253 actions were organized and 2587 events were attended by police officers, most signalled through the emergency number 112. Following the activities, policemen noted 716 felonies, 113 persons being caught red-handed. Furthermore, Citeste articolul mai departe pe stiripesurse.ro Sursa articol: stiripesurse.ro Stiri pe aceeasi tema - As many as 97,711 people have received the coronavirus jab with either the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Johnson&Johnson vaccine in the past 24 hours, the National COVID Vaccination Coordination Committee (CNCAV) informs on Friday. As many as 27,793 people were given the first shot, - A number of 19,013 people infected with SARS-CoV-2, 367 children included, are currently hospitalized in Romania, the Strategic Communication Group (GCS) announced on Friday. According to the cited source, 1,877 patients, 31 children included, are in intensive care. Also, 130,318 people - As many as 73,377 vaccine doses from Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson were administered in the last 24 hours, of which 39,052 represent the first dose, 7,105 - the second dose and 27,220 received the third dose, the Romania's National COVID-19 Vaccination Coordination Committee - President Klaus Iohannis's official visit to the Republic of Latvia, which was supposed to take place on Friday and Saturday, has been postponed due to the Latvian President testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. "The official visit of President of Romania Klaus Iohannis to the Republic - In the past 24 hours, entry was denied to Romania for 49 foreign citizens, which did not fulfill the conditions set by law, announced on Friday the General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPF). Furthermore, exit was not allowed for 11 Romanian citizens for various legal reasons, the IGPF - The Government approved, under a decision on Thursday, the new measures proposed by the National Committee for Emergency Situations (CNSU) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, establishing, among others, that the persons vaccinated against COVID-19 where the incidence rate exceeds 6 cases per - The Ministry of Health informed on Thursday that there are 109 free intensive care beds in the whole country, of which 40 are for children. In Bucharest, three beds are available in intensive care. A number of 6,271 people infected with the novel coronavirus are hospitalized in specialized health - President Klaus Iohannis will be present in Chisinau on Friday to take part in the events marking the 30th anniversary of the Republic of Moldova's declaration of independence. Iohannis will have meetings with President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu, with President of the Republic of Poland Inside these small plastic boxes, inside a storage closet at the Chester County Coroner's Office, have languished the cremated remains of dozens of people. After years in limbo, these souls are finally being interred, thanks to two women who would have it no other way. Read more Christina VandePol was startled when she first walked into a locked room inside the Chester County Coroner's Office. Small black boxes were stacked against a white cinder-block wall. Each had a label with a person's name. The containers were four inches high in the evidence room. VandePol, a physician, had just become the first elected female coroner here, and was baffled. "What is this?" she asked Patty Emmons, the office's longtime right-hand woman. Emmons had done everything, from answering phones to investigating deaths to serving for a time as deputy coroner, over her eight years there. "Cremains," Emmons replied, "of people who remain unclaimed." The coroner was staring at the ashes of people who had died and for whom there was no one who cared enough, or who had enough money, to claim them afterward. Emmons had tried for years to match those forgotten souls with a final resting place. But there was no longer a pauper's cemetery in Pennsylvania's most affluent county. No coroner made it a priority to find cemetery space. So the dead had gone into plastic boxes and then into a closet at the end of a long, white hallway in the basement of the West Chester-area county administration building. One of the 52 dead people? His ashes had languished in storage for eight years. "It's just not right," VandePol said, in words that seem so obvious that it's hard to imagine any of her male predecessors thought otherwise. VandePol has spent part of her first year in office making this right, though the law requires none of her efforts. On Thursday, after the new coroner had secured donated space at Philadelphia Memorial Park in Frazer, the ashes of 52 people in that evidence room were placed into the crypt of a mausoleum there. "I really took it on as a mission, along with Patty, to say, 'We've got to do something,'" VandePol told me. "I've been pushing and pushing and pushing," Emmons added, "but she's the first one to follow through." Some of the people in that room died from suicide. Others from accidental or natural causes. They were young and old, men and women: 68-year-old James Lloyd of Kennett Square, dead in July 2011; James Sturges, a 58-year-old Phoenixville man, dead as of July 2017. I called to inquire about these people after seeing a news release a few weeks ago seeking next of kin for the county's unclaimed dead. Where were the remains, I wanted to know. In a closet. Huh? I was even more shocked to learn that under Pennsylvania law, a coroner is required only to seek out next of kin and take possession of unclaimed bodies. If no one comes calling, there is zero mandate to do much more. Emmons had tried for years to change that. Her thinking: What if someone in her own family ended up in the hands of bureaucrats? Wouldn't she want them to handle those remains with diligence and care? In the summer of 2017, she tasked an intern with identifying who was inside seven of the boxes. Together they discovered that the group had been military veterans. Emmons had them interred with full honors at Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Bucks County. The only other group Emmons had helped inter was a group laid to rest in 2012. Afterward, a man called her about one of the dead: Where is my father? I never got to pay my last respects. The caller had been in prison when his dad died. All he knew was that his brother had refused to take possession of their father's body. Emmons still remembers that call. I asked both women why this was important to them. VandePol, 70, a physician and mother, said family was a big part of her upbringing. Her parents were Nazi resisters in Europe before immigrating to the United States. The family kept close ties to those back home even after building new lives in America. Emmons, 67, has three boys, one of whom is a Marine. She used to make the kids send Christmas cards every year to her father, even though, starting in 1984, she and he were estranged. The boys had never met their grandpa in Minnesota. She found out only two months ago that her father, Martin, had died, some time ago, somewhere in Minnesota. She is still hunting down a death certificate. Then she can figure out who took possession of his body. Maybe, she says, it's in a box in a coroner's office. "Oh, my God," I exclaimed when she told me this. "Yeah," she said. "It's a little creepy." With any luck, she, too, will be led to people who are more than mere bureaucrats but, rather, are people with humanity. Students from Penn Treaty High School attempt to jump together in an Outward Bound team building exercise. Read more Robert Mitchell was 35 feet above the ground, suspended from harnesses and wires amid the tall trees of Wissahickon Valley Park, and he was terrified. "I can't do this," said Mitchell, a ninth grader, shaking visibly. Below him, a knot of his classmates from Penn Treaty High School some of whom he knew a little, while others had been just faces in the hallway encouraged him with shouts and claps to move forward on his Outward Bound ropes challenge. And from the tree to Mitchell's left came a voice strong and sure. "I won't let you fall, bro," said Jose Naranjo-Betancourt, Mitchell's partner on the climb, tethered to him as they made their way up trees and across ropes together. Increasingly, city students are having moments like these. The Philadelphia School District has doubled down on its partnership with Outward Bound's Philadelphia arm, spending up to $340,000 annually so students can climb tall trees, take nature walks, and complete physical challenges in one- and multi-day expeditions, all in the name of social and emotional learning. Leaders believe it will have ripple effects, ultimately boosting academics, especially among high school freshmen, whom it has targeted for Outward Bound exposure since last school year. Nationally, Outward Bound focuses on leadership, team building, and character development, primarily through outdoor experiences. The nonprofit works in 11 locations across the United States and has operated in Philadelphia for 25 years. This school year, 1,400 district ninth graders will participate in Philadelphia Outward Bound School programs, with hundreds more in other grades also accessing programs. By next year, the majority of district ninth graders will have access to some sort of Outward Bound programming as the school system expands its ninth-grade academy model in an attempt to shore up graduation rates. The idea is that by strengthening students' bonds, building their resilience, and exposing them to leadership-development opportunities, academic success will follow, officials said. To Superintendent William R. Hite Jr., who has engaged in climbs, canoeing, and other Outward Bound activities with his own cabinet, expanding the program was an easy decision. "It creates this deep sense of purpose of taking care of your fellow students, of depending on them, of encouraging them," Hite said. "And it provides access to an outdoor experience that some of our children might not have otherwise." After participating in an Outward Bound program, students reported themselves more likely to be leaders in their school, assist those who need help, believe in their ability to succeed, and take responsibility for their actions. Researchers from the University of Illinois who study how young people develop motivation and resilience collected data from Philadelphia Outward Bound and echoed those conclusions in a January research paper produced for the program. Nearly every student the researchers interviewed indicated significant learning from Outward Bound experiences. "They described becoming more self-confident and developing skills for navigating interpersonal conflicts and personal struggles," the Illinois academics wrote. Students described making gains in compassion for others, communication and refocusing skills, positive mindset, and perseverance and grit. On an autumn day so brisk that participants could see their breath in front of them, 26 Penn Treaty students and two school staffers boarded a school bus at their Fishtown school and made their way to the Wissahickon Valley spot, among the Philadelphia sites used by Outward Bound. Over the course of almost six cell-phone-less hours, they found themselves out of their element in both ground-based problem solving activities and ropes courses, the students said. Most surprised themselves by loving it. Lorraine Fortino, a biology teacher, was a skeptic before she accompanied Penn Treaty freshmen on a five-day canoeing expedition in the Delaware Water Gap last year. ("I don't sleep in tents," said Fortino, who lives in Philadelphia.) But her group both strong students and kids with behavioral and academic issues thrived on the challenges in a way that translated into better overall attitude and school performance, said Fortino, who chaperoned new freshmen on the one-day experience recently. "Initially, they think, 'What did I get myself into?'" she said. "Afterward, they walk away saying, 'I can do anything.'" That's important for Philadelphia students, one-third of whom don't graduate from high school on time. (At Penn Treaty, where 90 percent of the students live below the poverty line, 73 percent graduate from high school in four years.) Christine Liang, the college and career coordinator for Penn Treaty's ninth-grade academy, was new to the Outward Bound experience, but she thought it would do a world of good for her students. "As soon as they feel like something's tough, they shut down," Liang said. But in the Wissahickon, there were organic lessons about finding a way to meet and overcome challenges. Mitchell and Naranjo-Betancourt conquered their partnered climb successfully, despite Mitchell's fears. Another classmate performed a solo climb blindfolded. Yet another thought she couldn't even make it up three rungs of the ladder in the solo climb. She managed six rungs, shaky but exhilarated, earning perhaps the loudest applause of the day. Johnathon Malloy is scared of heights, but an Outward Bound instructor told him to just attempt the ropes course, and if he got really scared, to take one more step if he could. Malloy made it, with cheers and high-fives from classmates and Fortino, all of whom acted as belayers people who pull ropes to make the climb possible. Malloy said everyone pitched in even the people who stood on the ground, exerting tension on the ropes. "I conquered my fear," Malloy said, a little incredulously. "We all had to work together." Imogen Cooper's message Thursday night was a subtle one. In a Philadelphia Chamber Music Society recital largely of classics, the English pianist made no bold pronouncements. Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, and a mesmerizing work by Thomas Ades were rendered in fine detail, but often expressively restrained. Even in the Schubert encore at Cooper's Perelman Theater appearance, when many a recitalist will loosen up, it was about coloring between the lines. But what colors. You come to Cooper for melody, and here she gave listeners not just a lot to consider, but also some beautiful emotion. She is a great believer in the power of the line the feeling of pushing through a phrase to the end. A silken, rich sense of melody took listeners happily through the first moments of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in A Flat Major, Opus 110, and throughout the rest of the first movement. And then there is her rich middle-register sense of sound, so deeply satisfying. Where other pianists (Pollini, Ashkenazy) draw attention to the contrasts that are so much a part of these composers and classical style in general, Cooper tends to make accommodations. Glossy, legato lines were the hallmark of her approach to Haydn's Piano Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI:50. And she had other ideas for color, like the charming music-box sound she brought to the section near the end of the first movement, or, in the big chords, the sound of grandness rather than brightness. The second movement came, if I'm not mistaken, with some extra ornamentation; these touches were completely in character and yet imaginative. Schubert's Piano Sonata in C Minor, D. 958 is a bear of a piece. Parts of it seem more symphonic than pianistic. Rather than wowing with technique, Cooper uncovered the first movement's strange, disorienting chromatic section just before the recap by creating a coloristic haze. I know we don't know what key we're in anymore, she seemed to say. Just enjoy the sensation. The Ades had some of that same feeling. Darknesse Visible, written in 1992, is a kind of mournful, spiritual deconstruction of a John Dowland tune from 1610. Here Cooper's repetition of single notes was so quick and deft they created the auditory illusion of the human voice. A ghost of the chorale-like melody ends the piece it is marked ppppp, a dynamic so quiet you nearly never encounter it which Cooper used to glide, ever so slyly and without interruption, directly into the Beethoven. It startled in the best possible way. Discount ticket alert: The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society will hold its annual $10 sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 5, with three additional hours, from 5 to 8 p.m., for online sales only. Twelve PCMS concerts throughout the season will be on sale for $10 per ticket for the one-day sale. pcmsconcerts.org, 215-569-8080. A motorcycle begins to catch fire outside an engulfed structure at a park for recreational vehicles in Malibu, California. Read more AGOURA HILLS, Calif. College professor Jeff McClenahan hiked up a winding road Saturday toward a terrible unknown, expecting the worst. The ferocious Woolsey Fire had come through Friday after leaping the freeway. McClenahan had grabbed his wife's computer and some documents and evacuated. That night, someone had posted a photo on social media of a nearby house consumed by the flames. He had stayed awake all night, thinking: "I'll never wear that cowboy hat again. I'll never wear that sweater again." But fires can be capricious. Maybe he still had his home? He arrived, and stared. A house that has succumbed to a wildfire is rarely just a little bit destroyed. The damage almost always looks as if the structure had been not merely been burned, but also bombed. A water pipe spurted halfheartedly over the ruins. "On the one hand . . . it's stuff," McClenahan said, struggling to maintain his composure. "But it's a lot of history. Everything, our whole lives were in here." "Oh, you get to start over," he said. Then he crumbled to his knees and sobbed. The wildfires scorching California in the past few days have been vast, bringing their destruction and lethality to numerous communities across large swaths of the state, including this one in Los Angeles County and another gigantic burn along the northern mountains. The Camp Fire, in the Sierra Nevada foothills north of Sacramento, is now the most-destructive individual wildfire in California's history. As of Saturday, it already had destroyed nearly 7,000 structures in and around the mountain town of Paradise and has been blamed for 25 deaths, though more could come. Sheriff's deputies are looking into 35 reports of missing people. "This event was the worst-case scenario," Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said. "It's the event that we have feared for a long time." The smoke, like orange fog, that enveloped Chico and surrounding towns Friday gave way to a low-lying haze that spread all the way up to Redding on Saturday, thanks to a shift in winds overnight. Surgical nurse Nichole Jolly, who turned 34 on Friday, spent her birthday helping evacuate all the patients from Chico's only hospital. She didn't know if her home survived. After clearing the hospital, she tried to leave the area but was trapped by smoke and flames. Her car caught fire. A call from her husband, in a place where cellphone service is notoriously spotty, came through and "he told me to get out and run." "I told him I wasn't sure I was going to make it out," she said. "I told him I loved him and told him to give the kids a kiss. He told me to get out of the car and run, that if you're going to die, die fighting." A bulldozer picked her up and brought her back to Adventist Health Feather River hospital, where staff, trapped in place, started a triage area outside because "the whole place smelled like burned plastic." Staff, patients and anyone who could hold a fire extinguisher watched for spot fires. She said there were about 10 nurses, two doctors and a respiratory therapist who spent the next five or six hours treating anyone who found their way to the hospital. "People were making sure no one was left behind," she said. "Strangers helping strangers. We might be a divided country, but it didn't matter that day. Black, white, Democrat, Republican; none of that mattered. People just helped one another, and it was amazing to see." Here in Southern California, investigators said two bodies were found, deaths that might be linked to the wildfire. Winds eased Saturday, but they are expected to ramp up again Sunday. The weather that is conducive to fires dry air, not a drop of rain, high winds is forecast to continue until late Tuesday. About 200,000 people, enough to fill the Rose Bowl twice, were forced to evacuate from the Woolsey Fire, which sparked into existence midafternoon Thursday near Simi Valley even as fire departments were responding to a second wildfire, called the Hill Fire, just west of Thousand Oaks. The Woolsey Fire proved to be truly explosive, expanding within 24 hours to some 35,000 acres. It raced from the Conejo Valley to the Pacific Ocean, straight across Highway 101 and the Santa Monica mountains, at speeds that impressed veteran fire officials. "It's spreading quicker than it used to," said Mark Lorenzen, chief of the Ventura County Fire Department. They weren't surprised. They knew the wind was coming, and when there is wind here, there is fire, reliably. But David Richardson, deputy chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said everyone had expected a lull in the wind Friday afternoon, and it didn't materialize. The gusts stayed dangerous. "This fire is very bad and monumental. It's a historic fire," Richardson said. "These fires come along every 30 years or so." This was an unpredictable fire, one that burned some houses to the foundation, everything gone, nothing but charred ruins, while leaving the one next door untouched. That was the case in Oak Park, which abuts the rugged hills separating Conejo Valley from Simi Valley. People were still gradually returning to their neighborhoods Saturday, and what they found was a largely intact community pocked with destroyed houses. "It's just nature. Nature makes its choices," said a man walking his dog, too busy on his cellphone to provide his name or any other information. Californians have a relationship with fire. They read smoke signals. They will study the fire glow on a ridgeline and forecast their immediate future based on what they smell. They know what to pack. They know to turn their cars around in the driveway, aimed toward safety. They are required by law to have "defensible space" around their homes, free of brush, a firebreak built into the building codes. They know how fire spreads: "We get this ember wash. It looks like a billion fireflies," Lorenzen said. The embers were largely gone Saturday, but the smoke remained inescapable, pooling in lower elevations. Spot fires remained, and the ground smoldered. Among the things consumed by flames was Paramount Ranch, a fake Western town used for HBO's "Westworld" and other shows dating back more than a half-century. Sharon Woods, 48, who owns a winery, lives just a few yards from McClenahan in Malibou Lake, and she was horrified by the hellscape all around her. Her two-story wooden house somehow had been spared, with a trail of fire circumventing it as it heeded the property line. The only things she lost were a couple of garbage cans. She'd won the fire lottery. "I'm still completely dazed," she said. "I've been crying for 20 hours." She surveyed the remnants of the neighborhood with Jeremy Sugarman, 39, a landscape architect whose home also survived. "I'm very familiar with fire. This one, however, was exceptionally scary," Sugarman said. He recounted driving to Malibu to check on his mother's house: "We were seeing smoke tornadoes." In Malibu, Pepperdine University's 3,600 undergraduates were ordered to shelter in place as the fire approached. That decision by university officials proved controversial, especially with parents, after the flames reached hillsides near campus. Overnight, debate had raged about whether the students were in the safest possible spot or trapped and in danger. It seems counterintuitive, said Connie Horton, Pepperdine's vice president for student affairs, but the Los Angeles County Fire Department supports the shelter-in-place plan as the safest course. "We have lived it a number of times over the years, practiced it, rehearsed it, trained on it," she said. The flames had been extinguished near campus by early Saturday morning. On Saturday, President Donald Trump made his first comments on the wildfires, blaming California's government for its management of the forests. "There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor," Trump tweeted Saturday morning. "Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!" A spokesman for Gov. Jerry Brown, D, responded by saying that more federal forest land has burned than state land, adding that the state has expanded its forestry budget while the Trump administration has cut its budget for forest services. Back in Oak Park, Richard Gwynn, 75, and his wife, Lynda Gwynn, 70, surveyed the burned landscape. She became emotional, looking at a canyon where her children had once played, which was now blackened by fire. "Winds are coming back tonight and they're going to blow all day Monday," Richard Gwynn said. "But there's nothing left to burn." Nearby, a rabbit hopped over charred ground. "There's one alive?" he said. "We can't get rid of them no matter what," Lynda Gwynn said. Williams reported from Paradise, California, and Wootson reported from Washington. The Washington Post's Susan Svrluga in Washington contributed to this report. A Camden County Metro police officer has been charged with beating an unarmed suspect. (FILE) ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer Read more A Camden County police officer captured on video apparently punching an unarmed suspect this year on the streets of Camden has been charged with assault and trying to cover up the beating, authorities said Friday. Nicholas Romantino, 25, of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., was charged in a two-count indictment, said U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito. He was charged with violating the civil rights of Edward Minguela of Camden on Feb. 22. At a brief hearing Friday, Romantino told U.S. District Judge Joel Schneider that he understood his rights and the charges against him. He was released on a $50,000 unsecured bond and ordered not to leave New Jersey. He left the Camden federal courthouse without commenting. >>READ MORE: Three Camden police officers removed from duty over alleged assault The beating was recorded by a Camden liquor store's surveillance camera and has been viewed thousands of times on social media. The black-and-white video appears to show Romantino pushing the 32-year-old Minguela to the ground and punching him in the back of the head about a dozen times. Romantino and two other officers were removed from street duty pending the outcome of an investigation by the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, but the office said in March that any criminal charges had been put on hold pending an unspecified investigation. The two other officers, whose names were not released, have returned to duty, a spokesman said Friday. According to the indictment, Romantino, a two-year veteran of the Camden County force, responded to a dispatcher's report of a "man with a gun" in the area of Collings and New Hampshire Roads in the city's Fairview section. Romantino was one of several police officers who responded. When officers arrived at the location, another officer stopped Minguela and told him to put his hands up, and Minguela complied, the indictment says. Romantino approached Minguela from behind and tried to pull his arm behind his back, which startled Minguela, the indictment said. He reacted by pulling his arm away from Romantino, and the officer then threw Minguela to the ground. Romantino rolled Minguela onto his stomach, and another officer grabbed Minguela's legs while a second officer grabbed his right arm, according to the indictment. Romantino grabbed Minguela's left hand. The indictment does not identify Minguela as the victim, but Minguela and his attorney have said that Minguela is the man in the video. "Romantino, without provocation, punched the victim multiple times in the back of his head," according to documents in the case. Minguela was treated for a broken wrist, bruising, and a concussion. He was charged with resisting arrest and obstruction. A weapon was not found. His civil attorney, Devon M. Jacob, has demanded that the charges be dismissed and has said that he plans to file a federal civil rights lawsuit on Minguela's behalf. Jacob did not immediately return a message left at his law office. A spokeswoman for Camden County Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo did not respond to a message seeking comment. Romantino underwent treatment at Virtua Hospital in Camden for injuries to his right hand that he suffered as a result of punching Minguela in the head, prosecutors said. At the Camden County police station, Romantino allegedly submitted a fraudulent report seeking to justify actions against Minguela, the indictment says. The report falsely stated that the victim "placed his left hand under his chest and began to try [to] lift himself off the ground. Due to the fact that the male was trying to lift himself up and I was unable to see his right hand I began to strike the male in the head with a closed fist ." The Camden County Police Department operates only in the City of Camden. Romantino remains suspended without pay, according to the department. His lawyer, Daniel E. Rybeck, declined comment after Friday's court hearing. If convicted on the civil rights charge, Romantino could face up to 10 years in prison and up to 20 years on the false records charge in addition to a $250,000 fine. A Nov. 28 status conference was scheduled before U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler. New Jersey State Police was investigating the death of a 2-year-old boy who was reported missing late Friday morning and then discovered in a Burlington County pond. Around 11 a.m., state troopers were called to 35 Estates Drive in Southampton to search for Adam Reed, who had disappeared from a mobile home park there. A short time later troopers found the boy unresponsive in a nearby pond and performed CPR on him. He was taken to Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly, where he was pronounced dead. No further information was available. Teacher Amy Andersen (right) is greeted by her mother, Ruth Brown (left), after she was announced as the New Jersey Teacher of the Year Wednesday, Oct. 04, 2017, at the New Jersey Department of Education in Trenton. Read more American Sign Language teacher Amy Andersen almost took a different career path. As a youngster, she played the flute, took private lessons, attended band camp, and planned to become a musician. She landed in an elite music program at Indiana University and studied under a world-renowned flutist. She was all set until she took an American Sign Language class, got involved in the deaf community, and volunteered in a kindergarten class for deaf students. She was hooked. "I feel in love again. It's what I wanted to do all of the time," said Andersen. Andersen, who teaches at Ocean City High School in Cape May County and has been an educator for more than two decades, on Wednesday was named New Jersey's Teacher of the Year for the 2017-18 school year. She will represent New Jersey in the national Teacher of the Year competition. "She's extremely exhausting to work with," Ocean City High principal Matthew Jamison said with a laugh. "She's 100 percent committed to her students and the school. She should be emulated by everyone in the profession." Andersen, 45, of Cape May Court House, was selected from a field of seven finalists vying for the top honor. She received a 2017 Ford Fusion donated by the New Jersey Education Association and an EZ-Pass. Educational Testing Service will pay her salary so she can spend the next year on sabbatical providing professional development to other teachers around the state. She will also meet President Trump. Andersen, flanked by her two sons and her mother, received a standing ovation at a packed meeting of the state Board of Education, where the award was announced. Each of the state's 21 counties nominated an educator for the award. "Being a teacher is part of me. It is who I am," she said. Kathleen Taylor, superintendent of the Ocean City School District, called Andersen an inspiration who "is making a real difference in the lives of students." The high school has 1,200 students. During the 2016-17 school year, 2,689 high school students took American Sign Language, state officials said. Andersen started the American Sign Language program at Ocean City High in 2004 with 42 students; today about 130 students are enrolled. More than 85 percent of her students have obtained the state seal of biliteracy in sign language. She is credited with sponsoring ASL activities in the community, including socials at local coffee shops and evening performances to raise funds for scholarships to benefit her students. While in college, Andersen said, she "found the courage to follow my instincts." She called her parents. "I really want to be a teacher and I want to work with deaf children," she recalled telling them. "Although performing for an audience was extremely gratifying, what I felt when I was working with children was different from anything I had ever experienced up to that point," Andersen recalled in her acceptance speech Wednesday. "There was something pulling me towards teaching." Her parents, special-education teachers in South Jersey at the time and later administrators, gave their only child their blessing. "I'm just so proud of her," said her mother, Ruth Brown, 68. Andersen earned a bachelor's in flute performance from Indiana University and later obtained a master's in deaf education at McDaniel College in Westminster, Md. She holds numerous certifications, including National Board Certification as an Exceptional Needs Specialist Teacher of the Deaf. She began her teaching career in Boston in 1996. She joined Ocean City High when she returned home in 2004 to raise her children, Jacob and Luke, in Cape May County, where she grew up. Andersen said she tries to teach her students about the deaf community as a culture in the hope that they gain more respect for those who are hearing-impaired. In 2015, the television program Classroom Close-Up NJ featured her program after an anti-bullying ASL video made by her students went viral. "My hope is that my students continue to apply this sense of empathy in all aspects of their lives," she said. Two others from South Jersey: Mimma-Marie Cammarata, an Italian language teacher at Sterling High in Somerdale, representing Camden County, and Domenick Renzi, a basic-skills teacher at Wedgewood Elementary in Washington Township, in Gloucester County, were also finalists and attended Wednesday's presentation. Sherrie Wilkins, a fifth-grade teacher at Alexander Denbo Elementary in Pemberton Township, represented Burlington County. Cammarata, 36, of Cherry Hill, the only world-language teacher among the 21 teachers nominated, applauded Andersen. "It's another language that's being honored." Renzi, 45, a lifelong Washington Township resident, teaches at the same elementary school he attended in 1978. He was allowed to invite one person to attend Wednesday's announcement. Unable to choose between his parents, he invited Angela Longo, a basic-skills math assistant at his school. "It's an incredible honor," said Renzi. County teachers of the year are first selected as teachers of the year at the school level through the Governor's Educator of the Year program. A state panel of educators chose the state Teacher of the Year based on an application, video, and interview. Eric Milus, 57, is accused of taking lude photos of more than 30 women without their consent. Read more A Berks County man is accused of surreptitiously taking lewd photos of 31 females, including one minor, at shopping malls and grocery stores in Montgomery, Chester, Berks, and Lancaster Counties. Eric Milus, 57, was arraigned Friday morning and charged with criminal attempt to photograph a sex act of a child, criminal use of a communication facility, and multiple counts of invasion of privacy, court records show. He was released on $50,000 unsecured bail ahead of a preliminary hearing Dec. 4. Daniel Emkey, Milus' attorney, said his client has been fully cooperative with investigators. "It's obviously a situation that is out of character for him," Emkey said. "He's been going through some emotional issues the past few years, and he's addressing those now." Investigators first came into contact with Milus, of Sinking Spring, in June, when the husband of a woman he had shot an up-skirt photo of confronted him in a Lowes hardware store near Milus' home, according to the Berks County District Attorney's Office. The man followed Milus out to the store's parking lot, where bystanders helped detain Milus until the police arrived. There, Milus was interviewed by Spring Township police and surrendered his phone after admitting to taking the photos of the woman inside, according to the District Attorney's Office. During the investigation, county detectives discovered 7,500 files on Milus' iPhone, from which they determined Milus had photographed 31 females between May and June, authorities said. The photos were taken at various locations, including the King of Prussia Mall and Wegmans grocery stores in Collegeville and Malvern, investigators said. Detectives also learned that Milus was convicted of similar behavior in Texas in 2016, during a business trip to Amarillo, according to paperwork filed in his arrest. Investigators have not identified all of the victims involved and are asking anyone who thinks they may have been victimized by Milus to call Berks County detectives at 610-478-7171. A late-night dance at Lincoln University ended in the arrests of two students and minor injuries to 15 others. Read more A brawl that erupted at a late-night dance at Lincoln University late Friday ended with a campus security officer assaulted and two students charged with disorderly conduct. In a statement Saturday, administrators at the school in Chester County said the incident began as students were waiting in line for an event inside the student union building. A fight broke out among the students about 10:30 p.m., prompting the school's security office to respond, according to the statement. During their response, one of the officers was assaulted and used pepper spray "as a cautionary method to control the crowd." Ultimately, 15 students were taken to hospitals for treatment and had all been released by Saturday morning, according to the school. There were no major injuries, administrators stressed. Officials did not disclose the names of the two students arrested. In the wake of the fight, university president Brenda A. Allen canceled all parties and "has pledged to bring students and administrators together to address concerns and develop procedures to prevent such incidents in the future," the school's statement read. A crowd protests outside the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, in Lauderhill, Fla. A possible recount looms in a tight Florida governor, Senate and agriculture commission race. Read more Three state-wide contests in Florida, including the closely watched Senate race, are headed for history-making recounts, election officials confirmed Saturday, with Republican Gov. Rick Scott's lead over Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in the marquee contest shrinking to just 12,562 votes out of nearly 8.2 million cast. The .15 percent margin is narrow enough to not only trigger a machine recount, which by law must be completed by Thursday, but will likely result in a hand-recount across the state a complicated logistical task in the nation's biggest battleground state. The new tally in the governor's race was not quite as close but also met the threshold for a voting machine recount. Numbers posted on the state election website showed Republican Ron DeSantis leading Democrat Andrew Gillum by 33,684 votes. President Donald Trump immediately weighed in on Twitter, reiterating his unsubstiated allegations of voter fraud. "Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida! We are watching closely!" Scott's campaign declared a "close but decisive victory." The governor, who has also raised allegations of fraud, used his bully pulpit Saturday to encourage Florida sheriffs to keep an eye out for any violations of election laws. Nelson has accused Scott of using the power of his office to try to secure his Senate victory. But the claims of fraud by the president and the governor were undercut Saturday by the Florida Department of State, which said in a statement it found "no evidence of criminal activity at this time." Republican suspicions have centered on Democratic-leaning Broward County, Florida's second-largest county and the site of the "hanging chads" and other ballot irregularities during the 2000 presidential recount. The State department, which oversees elections, had sent two monitors to observe Tuesday's vote in Broward as the result of a lawsuit over the mishandling of ballots in a 2016 congressional race. A spokeswoman for the State department, Sarah Revell, said the observers were sent to "monitor the administration of the election, including visiting polling locations throughout the day as needed and observing preparation of the voting equipment and procedures for the election." The monitors have continued to watch the vote-counting this week. Republicans have been sharply critical of Brenda Snipes, supervisor of elections in Broward, blaming her for the slow pace of counting ballots and citing previous problems with voting under her watch. In a brief interview, Snipes brushed off the criticism. "It's kind of like a hurricane, where things get really stirred up for a while and then it passes," she said. "I don't know when this will pass, but it will." On Thursday, the governor called for the State Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the voting in South Florida a probe the agency has so far declined to begin because the State department has not presented any allegations of fraud. The 2018 Florida recount will include a three statewide contests. Secretary of State Ken Detzner, a Scott appointee, officially ordered recounts Saturday in the races for Senate, governor, and state agriculture commissioner, setting the stage for what could be weeks of partisan warfare. Under Florida law, a statewide machine recount is conducted when the margin of victory is less than 0.5 percent, and a manual recount is ordered if the margin is less than 0.25 percent. The governor's race likely will not meet the manual recount standard, if Saturday's tally holds. Still, the news prompted Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, to reverse his decision to concede to the former congressman. "Let me say clearly: I am replacing my words of concession with an uncompromised and unapologetic call that we count every single vote," Gillum said at his campaign office Saturday afternoon. Gillum said he was dispatching hundreds of volunteers and lawyers across the state to make sure the count is fair and accurate. The outcome of the election, Gillum said, "Will have consequences beyond who wins and who loses. How we handle this election and this process will have reverberations for democracy for an entire generation of voters." A manual recount is of ballots in which voters skipped a race or voted for two candidates in one race. That pool of ballots will be in the tens of thousands in heavily Democratic Broward, where nearly 25,000 ballots showed votes for governor but not senator. Those ballots represent Nelson's best chance to close the gap with Scott if the machines failed to detect actual votes. But it's possible voters skipped the race, purposefully or by mistake. The culprit could have been the design of the ballot, in which the Senate candidates appeared in the bottom left corner, under the voting instructions. In Broward and Palm Beach counties Saturday morning, attorneys from both parties quibbled over ballots in which the intent or eligibility of the voter was in doubt as the minutes ticked toward a noon deadline for counties to submit unofficial vote totals to the state. Scott's narrowing lead as vote-counting continued after Election Day has provoked litigation and raucous street protests reminiscent of the contentious 2000. In a sign of the heated battles to come, the three-member Broward Canvassing Board on Saturday slogged through one ballot at a time, trying to determine if each voter was eligible and which candidates were favored while fielding arguments from Democratic and Republican attorneys. Journalists and onlookers were on hand to observe the spectacle. "There is a lot of grandstanding going on," said Anthony Quackenbush, an attorney for Nelson's campaign, cracking a joke about the speeches elections officials and attorneys gave as they litigated each ballot. "I figured I'd make a competition out of it." William Scherer, a Republican attorney representing Scott, held an impromptu news conference in the back of the room during a breakto discuss his objections to 205 mail-in ballots that election workers had improperly opened. "Fake news, fake news!" and "Liar, liar!" shouted some people in the crowd of about 100 people. Another popular chant: "Count every vote!" The battle is also playing out on a national level, as the Scott campaign arranged for Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to complain about the vote-counting in a call with reporters. He compared the situation in Florida to the contentious confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Graham encouraged Scott to report to Washington next week for orientation for new senators, regardless of the recount. "If the recount goes, the recount goes," said Graham. Scott campaign manager Jackie Schutz Zeckman said the governor's team was still working on his schedule. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday lauded the people in poll-bound Chhattisgarh for building a Ram Temple in Raipur. Addressing a public meeting in Chhattisgarh's Lormi district, Adityanath once again promised that a Ram Temple will soon be built in Ayodhya. He said that the people have supported Chhattisgarh have given their support by building a Ram Temple in Raipur and the same will be done in Ayodhya soon, news agency ANI reported. "Maine pichhli baar yahan aakar kaha tha Bhagwan Ram ke nanihaal mein jab Bhagwan ka mandir ban jaega to janmbhoomi mein bhi mandir avashya ban jaega aur main dhanyawaad doonga Chhattisgarh vaasion ka ki unhone Raipur mein Bhagwan Ram ka ek bhavya mandir ka nirmaan kiya hai," Adityanath said. UP CM also slammed the Congress while speaking at the event. Adityanath took a jibe at Congress and accused the Rahul Gandhi-led party of threatening the national security of the country. Adityanath said that the Congress has promoted Naxalism in the region for their own selfish motives, ANI reported. Commenting on the issue of threat to national security, Adityanath added that the Congress had threatened the national security by doing politics in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, north-eastern states and Kashmir. Backing up his party, Adityanath added that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken strict measures to combat Naxalism in the area. BJP never tolerated the threat to national security and it is the party's top priority, UP CM added. "Congress toyed with national security for their political benefits while BJP government is taking strict measures to combat it (Naxalism) which has become a threat to people in this region," Adityanath spoke in Lormi district of Chhattisgarh. UP CM also added that it is because of the Centre government that people in Chhattisgarh have received houses. "For the first time after independence a Prime Minister announced that by 2022 no poor in India will be without a house," Adityanath added. Led by Chief Minister Raman Singh, Chhattisgarh is currently under BJP rule. BJP also released its manifesto on Saturday. Raman Singh said that the free salt Yojana will continue and small and landless farmers over the age of 60 years will get Rs 1,000 as pension. He mentioned that the minimum support price (MSP) will be raised by 1.5 times to increase the income of farmers and promised to a proper home for all by 2022. After releasing the manifesto, BJP national president Amit Shah asserted that the last 15 years rule of the BJP is a model of an ideal state. "Raman Singh government has successfully tried to contain the Naxal and made the state an education hub. This manifesto is for Naya Chhattisgarh," Shah said. The voting for the first phase in the security-sensitive zone of Chhattisgarh will take place on November 12 where polling will take place for 18 Assembly seats. The second phase is scheduled to take place on November 20. The counting of votes is on December 11. Bhopal: Soon after the Congress party released its manifesto for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday attacked the grand old party saying that it has never fulfilled the promises made in their election manifestos. He further said that even though Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had promised to do away with poverty in the country, they did not do it. However, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shivraj Chouhan himself who fulfilled the promise made by the late Congress veterans. "Congress today released its election manifesto, they only release manifestos but never fulfil them. Even Indira ji and Rajiv ji had promised to remove poverty but didn't do it. Their promise was fulfilled by Shivraj Singh Chouhan and PM Modi that is why Congress is angry," Shivraj Chouhan said. His statement came while the Chief Minister was addressing a gathering in Anuppur. Earlier in the day, the Congress launched the election manifesto for the MP polls 2018. The manifesto called 'Wachan Patra' was launched by state Congress leader Kamal Nath in Bhopal. It was released in the presence of Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, Digvijaya Singh and other senior party members. In the manifesto, several issues including that of the farmer loans, employment, women security, and several others were assured. Madhya Pradesh is scheduled to go for polls in a single phase on November 28. Results will be announced on December 11. New Delhi: The Election Commission on Friday imposed a near month-long ban on holding exit polls beginning November 12 in the five poll-bound states. A notification issued by the poll panel said between 7 am of November 12 and 5.30 pm of December 7, "conducting any exit poll and publishing or publicising the result of the exit poll by means of the print or electronic media or in any other manner shall be prohibited". While Chhattisgarh is going to polls in two phases on November 12 and 20, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram have elections on November 28. Rajasthan and Telangana will go to polls on December 7. Using powers under the Representation of People Act, 1951, EC bans exit polls from the time the poll begins till half-an-hour after the polling ends. The poll panel had proposed that there should be a prohibition on publication and broadcast of the results of opinion polls starting from the date of notification of elections till the completion of the last phase of polls to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies. The proposal is pending with the government. BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday said that the Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh has made the state "almost free" of Naxalism and developed it as a hub of power and cement production. Targeting the opposition Congress, he said a party that felt Naxalism was a medium for revolution could not do any good for Chhattisgarh. Shah exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would win this month's Assembly polls in the state for the fourth straight time. Addressing a press conference in Raipur after releasing party's manifesto ahead of the first phase of polling on November 12, Shah said, "The BJP government under Chief Minister Raman Singh has contained Naxalism and made the state almost free of it." Earlier known as a BIMARU state, Chhattisgarh was now a "power and cement production hub", he said, and lauded the Raman Singh government for initiating several welfare measures for the state's prosperity. "Taking on the Congress's propaganda and working tirelessly for the state's development for the last 15 years is a big challenge. I am confident that the BJP will win a straight fourth term in office," Shah said. Chhattisgarh was the first state to have a legislation on skill development, he added. The state government had initiated several welfare measures and made the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme corruption-free, he added. The 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will go to the polls in two phases, on November 12 and 20, and the results will be announced on December 11. New Delhi: Neither the Muslims in Karnataka nor the Muslims across the country are against the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, said Karnataka minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan on Saturday, adding that the mosque should also be built along with the temple. "Not only the Muslims in Karnataka but Muslims across the country are not against Ram Mandir. Build Ram Mandir but our mosque which was martyred should also be made. We are not against Ram Mandir, we are just demanding our right," he said. There has been a constant war of words going on regarding the Ram Temple issue. Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lashed out at Congress calling the party the biggest obstruction in the construction of the shrine in Ayodhya. Meanwhile, the working president of Vishva Hindu Parishad, Alok Kumar, said that they will hold public rallies in all parliamentary constituencies to urge the government and pressure political parties to bring a legislation for the construction of the temple. Built by Mughal emperor Babur in Ayodhya in 1528, the Babri Masjid was demolished allegedly by Hindu activists on December 6, 1992. The activists claimed that the mosque was constructed after destroying a Ram temple which originally stood there. On October 29, the Supreme Court adjourned the Ayodhya title suit until next year to fix a date for the hearing. The court was hearing the matter which challenged the 2010 ruling of the Allahabad High Court which divided the disputed land into three parts. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met former president Pranab Mukherjee at the latter's residence in the national capital. He exchanged Diwali greetings with Mukherjee and wished him for the festive season. Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister said, "Always a delight to meet Pranab Da. Went to his residence, exchanged Diwali greetings and wishes for the festive season. @CitiznMukherjee" He also posted a couple of photographs with Mukherjee, clicked at the latter's residence. Always a delight to meet Pranab Da. Went to his residence, exchanged Diwali greetings and wishes for the festive season. @CitiznMukherjee pic.twitter.com/gcLi3NkpoG Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 10, 2018 Earlier, PM Modi had penned down a heartfelt letter to Mukherjee on his last day in office. In the letter, the Prime Minister had described the veteran Congress leader as his 'father figure' and a mentor. (With inputs from ANI) Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday clarified that he will not be joining Congress party for now and will be a part of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Speaking at an event in Mumbai, Athawale confirmed that he has been asked to join Congress by its leader Naseem Khan. Athawale said that he remained with Congress for 10-15 years and intends to remain with BJP for the same period of time, news agency ANI reported. I will be here till the time the current government stays in power. I will decide on switching sides when I figure out which way the wind is blowing," he added. Earlier, Republican Party of India (RPI) chief had claimed that he would contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Mumbai South Central constituency. Interestingly, the sitting member of Parliament from the Mumbai South Central seat is Shiv Sena`s Rahul Shewale who contested the 2014 polls as a joint candidate of both, Shiv Sena and BJP. Athawale had earlier on October 31 said that it would not be right to bring an ordinance for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. He maintained that the unity between Hindus and Muslims should not be disturbed at any cost, which, he feels, won't be good for the social fabric of the country. ''My party's stand is that unity between Hindus and Muslims shouldn't be disturbed. If a decision is taken for temple then it should be taken for Mosque as well. I think the demand for an ordinance that is being done is not right,'' Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said. (With Agency Inputs) Islamabad: Pakistan army's Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat Friday alleged that India was attempting to alter the regional strategic landscape through an unprecedented military build-up. Hayat was speaking at a book launch event hosted by Center for International Strategic Studies Islamabad (CISS). The CISS said in a statement that General Hayat reviewed the regional security situation and listed the threats faced by Pakistan especially in the context of latest developments, including the first deterrence patrol by Indian nuclear submarine INS Arihant, the Indo-Russian nuclear deal for S-400 air defence missile systems and India's shifting doctrinal posture. "An aggressive hybrid war had also been imposed on Pakistan," he alleged. "Pakistan was determined to maintain credible minimum deterrence against full spectrum of evolving threats while exercising restraint and responsibility in order to preserve regional peace and stability," he said. Besides, India's destabilising actions, the world powers providing high-tech military hardware and technologies were also aggravating regional and global security, he claimed. Hayat also claimed that exceptional access to modern technology granted to India was undermining strategic stability. "We are fully alive to these challenges. We will do what it minimally takes to restore the strategic balance in the region," he said. He reminded about Pakistani proposal for a 'Strategic Restraint Regime'. About the challenge of hybrid war, Hayat said that it would be dealt with through "a whole of the nation approach". He additionally called for a fair, equitable and non-discriminatory treatment for Pakistan's application for membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group. Executive Director CISS Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi said South Asia was a crisis-prone region due to unresolved disputes between India and Pakistan. These issues have resulted in trust deficit and lack of communication between the two countries, he said. India on Friday made it clear that its participation in the multilateral conference in Moscow, Russia, was in sync with its Afghan policy and asserted that attending the meeting was not talking to the Taliban at all. It also said that it attended the conference in a "non-official" capacity in a bid to bring back peace in Afghanistan. Initially, the meeting was proposed for September 4 but it was called off after the Afghan government pulled out of it. India had also declined an invitation to the meeting then. The Afghan government is learnt to have sent the country's High Peace Council. The one-day conference was hosted by Russia and participated by the Taliban as well as representatives from several countries including Pakistan, China and Iran. Asked why India sent representatives to the meeting when the Taliban was participating in it, the spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Raveesh Kumar said in New Delhi that India will be part of any peace process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled. "We will participate in any process which is consistent with the policy we have for Afghanistan... It was decided by the government that our participation will be at non-official level," he said. To a question on participation of Taliban in the meeting, he said, "Where did we say that there will be talks with Taliban? We did not say that." "In our policy on Afghanistan which we have articulated and which has been consistent for quite sometime that we will be supportive of any process in Afghanistan is a party to the process," said Kumar. India's consistent policy has been that the peace talks should be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and Afghan-controlled and with participation of the government of Afghanistan. India has been actively engaged in reconstruction activities in war-ravaged Afghanistan and has already spent USD 2 billion in various projects there. India's former envoy to Afghanistan Amar Sinha and former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan T C A Raghavan were representing New Delhi at a "non-official" capacity. In his opening remarks at the conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia and the countries of the region will continue to do everything possible to launch dialogue between Afghan government and the Taliban, which is banned in Russia. "We are determined to make every possible effort to facilitate the opening of a new page in the history of Afghanistan," he was quoted as saying by the state-run Tass news agency. Lavrov said the conference was "aimed at building an inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue in order to advance the national reconciliation process". The US Embassy in Moscow has sent a diplomat to observe Friday's discussions at the meeting which is being attended by representatives from Afghanistan, India, Iran, China, Pakistan and some other countries. In his address, Lavrov said all countries of the region and the entire international community would like to see Afghanistan as a peaceful, independent and prospering country, free of terrorism and drug trafficking. At the same time, he said Afghanistan should not be used for "geopolitical games" and stressed the importance of preserving territorial integrity of the country. "Russia supports the preservation of a united and indivisible Afghanistan in which all ethnic groups populating the country could live peacefully and happily. I have no doubts that the other participants of the Moscow format share this approach and that we all go by basic national interests of the Afghan people," he said. The Moscow conference comes a month after the Taliban held talks with US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who is tasked with finding a negotiated end to Afghanistan's bloody war. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, invitations to take part in the event had been sent to Afghanistan, India, Iran, China, Pakistan, the US and some other countries. Washington: Demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) are the two major headwinds that held back India's economic growth last year, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said, asserting that the current seven per cent growth rate is not enough to meet the country's needs. Addressing an audience at the University of California in Berkley on Friday, Rajan said for four years -- 2012 to 2016 -- India was growing at a faster pace before it was hit by two major headwinds. "The two successive shocks of demonetisation and the GST had a serious impact on growth in India. Growth has fallen off interestingly at a time when growth in the global economy has been peaking up," he said delivering the second Bhattacharya Lectureship on the Future of India. On the second anniversary of demonetisation on November 8, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley staunchly defended the demonetisation drive, saying 'prophets of doom' have been proven wrong as hard data of two years shows an increase in tax base, greater formalisation of the economy and India retaining the fastest growing economy tag for the fifth year in a row. "By the time the first five years of this government are over, we will be close to doubling the assessee base," he said in a Facebook blog 'Impact of Demonetisation'. Jaitley said India clocking the fastest growth rate has proved "prophets of doom", who had predicted that demonetisation will shave off 2 per cent of growth rate, conclusively wrong. Rajan, in his address, said a growth rate of seven per cent per year for 25 years is "very very strong" growth, but in some sense this has become the new Hindu rate of growth, which earlier used to be three-and-a-half per cent, Rajan said. "The reality is that seven is not enough for the kind of people coming into the labour market and we need jobs for them, So, we need more and cannot be satisfied at this level," he said. Observing that India is sensitive to global growth, he said India has become a much more open economy, and if the world grows, it also grows more. "What happened in 2017 is that even as the world picked up, India went down. That reflects the fact that these blows (demonetisation and GST) have really really been hard blows...Because of these headwinds we have been held back," he said. While India's growth is picking up again, there is the issue of oil prices, the economist noted referring to the huge reliance of India on import of oil for its energy needs. With the oil prices going up, Rajan said things are going to be little tougher for the Indian economy, even though the country is recovering from the headwinds of demonetisation and initial hurdles in the implementation of the GST. Commenting on the rising Non-Performing Assets (NPA), he said the best thing to do in such a situation is to "clean up". It is essential to "deal up with the bad stuff", so that with clean balance sheets, banks can be put back on the track. "It has taken India far long to clean up the banks, partly because the system did not had instruments to deal with bad debts," Rajan said. The bankruptcy code, he asserted, cannot be the only way to clean up the banks. It is the only one element of the larger cleanup plan, he said and called for a multi-prong approach to address the challenge of NPAs in India. India, he asserted, is capable of a strong growth. As such the seven per cent growth is now being taken granted. "If we go below seven per cent, then we must be doing something wrong," he said adding that that is the base on which India has to grow at least for next 10-15 years. India, he said, needs to create one million jobs a month for the people joining the labour force. The country today is facing three major bottlenecks. One is the torn infrastructure, he said, observing that construction is the one industry that drives the economy in early stages. ?Infrastructure creates growth," he said. Second, short term target should be to clean up the power sector and to make sure that the electricity produced actually goes to the people who want the power, he said. Cleaning up the banks is the third major bottleneck in India's growth, he said. Part of the problem in India is that there is an excessive centralisation of power in the political decision making, he said. "India can't work from the centre. India works when you have many people taking up the burden. And today the central government is excessively centralised," Rajan said. An example of this is the quantum of decisions that requires the ascent of the Prime Minister's Office, Rajan said as he highlighted the recent unveiling of the 'Statue of Unity' of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as an example of a massive project that required the approval of the PMO. On the 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on October 31, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the 'Statue of Unity' in Gujarat's Narmada district. Touted to be the tallest statue in the world, the 182-metre tall statue was built at a cost of Rs 2,989 crore. The concrete and brass-clad statue is the quickest to be completed in 33 months. An Indian Army soldier was killed on Saturday after Pakistan resorted to unprovoked firing at Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, for the second consecutive day. Pakistan violated the ceasefire in Sunderbani sector at around 9.45 am. The jawan who was injured later succumbed to his injuries. "The Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation in Sunderbani at around 9.45 am," Defence Ministry spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand said. The soldier succumbed to injuries from sniper fire, Anand added. Earlier on Friday, an Army porter was killed in Pakistani sniper fire along the Line of Control in Jammu district, while a BSF jawan was injured in a separate incident in the Rajouri-Poonch sector. The porter died in sniper fire from across the LoC in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu district around 1800 hours Friday, according to news agency PTI. In the Manajakote sector, Pakistani personnel targeted forward posts along the LoC around 0930 hours. A jawan of the Border Security Force (BSF) was injured in the firing, they said. The number of ceasefire violations this year by Pakistan has been the highest in the past eight years. The first seven months of this year saw 52 deaths and 232 people getting injured in 1,435 ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir, according to an RTI reply by the Home Ministry. At least two terrorists were killed on Saturday morning after an encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. IGP Kashmir, SP Pani, confirmed that the terrorists belonged to Hizbul Mujahideen. The security forces also recovered one each of Insas rifle and AKM. The operations have concluded. Pani also confirmed that there has been no collateral damage in the encounter. A gunfight began after a nightlong cordon and search operation in Tiken village of the district. Two terrorists were trapped in the area. A joint team of 55 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), 180/183 BN CRPF and SOG cordoned off the area after specific information about the presence of terrorists. An intermittent exchange of fire took place. Earlier on Friday, at least one Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorist was killed by security forces in an encounter in Tral, Pulwama district. One police personnel had also sustained injuries. Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Dar-Ganiegund area of Tral, based on credible inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area. During the operation, a terrorist holed up in a house fired on the forces. In the retaliatory fire, the terrorist was gunned down. The body of the terrorist was recovered from the site along with incriminating materials including arms and ammunition. An official had said in a statement, "The terrorist killed is a Pakistani, codenamed Anwar, was affiliated with proscribed terror outfit JeM. He was involved in attacks on security establishments and other civilian atrocities in the area." Elaborating the encounter, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, SP Pani told ANI, "One terrorist has been killed. No collateral damage has been reported as yet. One police personnel had also got injured in the encounter, but he is currently stable." A police case has been registered and an investigation has been initiated in the matter. The police have urged locals not to venture inside the encounter zone since such an area can prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials, and has also requested them to cooperate with the police till the area is completely sanitised and cleared of all the explosives materials if any. A tight blanket of security was ensured in Karnataka on Saturday taking account of the shutdown called and protests in Kodagu district's Madikeri against observing Tipu Jayanti celebrations. The shutdown has been called by various organisations, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Codava National Council. Section 144 will come into place in the cities of Hubli and Dharwad as well as the district of Kodagu from 6 am on Saturday till 7 am on Sunday. The Karnataka government has decided to celebrate the event to mark the birth anniversary of the controversial 18th-century ruler of erstwhile Mysore kingdom, Tipu Sultan. However, state chief minister HD Kumaraswamy said that he will not participate in the celebrations and has cited health reasons for his absence. Speaking to news agency ANI, BJP District Secretary Sajjal Krishnan alleged that the celebrations were nothing but vote bank politics. He added the state government is wasting public money in the name of celebrations. "Government is wasting public money in the name of Tipu Jayanti. Tipu is not a warrior, he killed so many Hindus and attacked temples. Why are they glorifying a man like him? This is vote bank politics. Everyone in Kodagu is opposing the celebrations," said Krishnan. The celebrations themselves have once again become a raging issue in his state with the BJP labelling it as a means of appeasing Muslims. Here are the live updates: # It can't be an insult. Karnataka CM and Deputy CM are occupied with their issues. We are also part of the govt. I don't agree with my friend Tanveer Sait: DK Shivakumar, Karnataka Minister on Sait's statement, 'CM and Deputy CM not attending Tipu Jayanti celebrations an insult to the community' # To hold a state govt event on Tipu Sultan Jayanti who is a symbol of hatred, is surprising. We want to ask Congress how the one who destroyed Churches and temples and killed thousands of Christians and Hindus, is praised in a state govt event, asks Union Minister Prakash Javadekar # I have information that Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy couldn't attend the Tipu Jayanti celebrations due to health issues. Deputy CM G Parameshwara also couldn't attend. Somewhere it seems like it's an insult to the community. There's no doubt about it: Congress MLA Tanveer Sait # Police have detained BJP workers led by BJP MP Prahlad Joshi heading towards Mini Vidhana Soudha to protest against Tipu Jayanti. # Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, who was slated to inaugurate the state celebrations, did not make it to the event. "Parameshwara had few prior engagements due to which he had to visit Singapore," said Minority Welfare Minister Khan. # Minority Welfare Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan and Culture Minister Jayamala of the Congress were also part of the celebrations, although its alliance partner -- Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) -- stayed away from the state-sponsored event. # Security has been tightened around the assembly building in Bengaluru, and in Mysuru, Kodagu and Mangaluru to maintain peace, a police officer said. # "Government is observing the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan all over the state. Tipu`s progressive measures in administration, his quest for innovation are commendable. The Chief Minister is taking rest on doctor`s advice, and hence is unable to take part in the programme. It is far from truth that he isn`t taking part due to the fear of losing power, as he opposes such blind beliefs," a statement from Kumaraswamy`s office said. # Police have detained BJP workers led by BJP MP Prahlad Joshi heading towards Mini Vidhana Soudha at Hubli in Dharwad district to protest against Tipu Jayanti celebrations. # Karnakata Minister DK Shivakumar joined Tipu Jayanti celebrations at Vidhana Soudha # Minutes after Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Kodagu PI Srividya said that all precautionary measures were taken on security arrangements and police will take strict action against those who violate law and order, BJP workers raised slogans in the premises of the DC's office protesting against the celebrations. "We have taken all precautionary measures. If somebody violates law & order the police will take strict action," said Srividya. Madikeri: BJP workers raise slogans in the premises of the Deputy Commissioner's office protesting against #TipuJayanthi celebrations being held there. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/VC4k1IPV3Y ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 # Karnataka Minority Welfare Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan met former CM Siddaramaiah at his residence in Bengaluru. Karnataka Minority Welfare Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan met former CM Siddaramaiah at his residence in Bengaluru today. #TipuJayanthi celebrations are being observed by the state govt today. pic.twitter.com/IakUU4o8zQ ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 # Taking to Twitter, Karnataka BJP tweeted, "CM @hd_kumaraswamy Missing! While Cong-JDS govt is celebrating a tyrant Tippu, the CM himself goes into hiding, what is the point of celebrating a fanatic when CM himself abandons a govt function. Glorifying a mass murderer just for vote bank clearly shows mindset of this govt. Their is lot of similarities between Congress & Tippu: Both were anti Hindu, Both believed in suppressing Hindus, Both were responsible for Killing of Hindus, Both believed in minority appeasement, Both wanted to divide Hindus. No wonder Congress is worshipping tyrant Tippu." # Various groups protesting against Tipu Jayanti celebrations at Madikeri in Kodagu district of Karnataka detained by police. Security has been tightened in the light of a shutdown called in the town. The shutdown has been called by various organisations, including BJP and Codava National Council. # Speaking to news agency ANI, BJP District Secretary Sajjal Krishnan alleged that the celebrations were nothing but vote bank politics. He added the state government is wasting public money in the name of celebrations. "Government is wasting public money in the name of Tipu Jayanti. Tipu is not a warrior, he killed so many Hindus and attacked temples. Why are they glorifying a man like him? This is vote bank politics. Everyone in Kodagu is opposing the celebrations," said Krishnan. # Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy will not participate in controversial Tipu Jayanti celebrations and has cited health reasons for his absence. According to news agency ANI, Kumaraswamy has been advised rest for three days, till Monday, by his doctors and therefore, won't be part of the celebrations on Saturday. A Nepali man was arrested from Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district in possession with 1.5 kilograms of cannabis, Kullu police said on Saturday. A case was registered at Kullu Police Station under section 20 of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The person was identified as Nain Singh (65) and was caught with 1.556 kg charas during regular police patrolling from Manikaran to Kasol on Friday. Further investigations are underway. (With Agency Inputs) Amaravati: In a bizarre incident, women in an Andhra Pradesh village are prohibited to wear nighties during the daytime. According to the elders of Tokalapalli village in the state's West Godavari district, no woman should wear nighties between 7 am to 7 pm. The rule, allegedly formulated by village elders, say that if someone is found not following the 'rule', a fine of Rs 2000 will be imposed on her. Furthermore, a 'prize' of Rs 1000 has been earmarked for the person who informs village elders about women not adhering to the dress code. Also, it is being said that the money which will be collected through fines will be used for the development of the village, which comprises of 11,000 families and has a population of 36,000 people. #AndhraPradesh: Women in Nidamarru Mandal's Thodukalpalli village of West Godavari dist say that they're happy to follow a rule which has been imposed in their village that women will not wear nighties from 7am-7pm. The rule had allegedly been formulated by elders of the village. pic.twitter.com/laAggqIPjC ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 Following reports of the new rule, Village Tehsildar Sundar Raju and police sub-inspector Vijay Kumar visited the area to analyse the situation. However, to their surprise, no woman came forward to oppose the decision. The residents of the village said that they are happy about the ban. A woman in the village said that there has been no such decision of fining the women. "It's just a rumour," said Saraswati. "Women in the village have taken a decision not to wear night dress in the daytime and informed the elders in the village. It was then that they gave a specific time frame. But there is no such rule to collect fines from women," she said. Another villager, Krishna Kumari, said that they are "very happy" to follow the rules which were created by all the women in the village. "We all collectively took this decision to respect and follow our tradition," she added. (With inputs from ANI) Kolkata: Amid showbiz greats including Shah Rukh Khan and Iranian director Majid Majidi, Amitabh Bachchan on Saturday inaugurated the 24th Kolkata international Film Festival, delivering a stirring speech saluting those working behind the scenes. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee promised to "put up something like Cannes" in 2019, when the event completes 25 years. A lively and cheerful crowd of over ten thousand was present at the Netaji Indoor stadium, where the inaugural show was a heady brew of glamour, glitz, nostalgia, fun and some serious talk on cinema. Bachchan, who has been inaugurating the fest over the last few years, did the honours this time as well by lighting the lamp. Leading Bengali actress Rituparna Sengupta was the `thali girl`. With the festival this year celebrating 100 years of Bengali cinema, Bengali film legends from different eras like Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukhopadyay, Sabitri Chatterjee, Biswajit Chatterjee and Ranjit Mallick were seated at the dais. A directory on 100 years of Bangla cinema, put together by the state`s Information and Cultural Affairs Department, was released by Bachchan during the function. Bachchan said filmmaking was a team effort, where every member, big or small, had a key role to play. "Sadly, it is noticed that as the film ends and the credits roll, the audience gets up and leaves the theatre," he said. Underscoring the importance of movies, he said: "They trigger something special by provoking a variety of emotions. Films can become a reflection of collective dreams where we look to something much larger than ourselves, hold our breath and suspend our beliefs..." "Today, I take this opportunity to salute all those working tirelessly behind the scenes, from the hardworking spot boys to the highly talented specialists who keep these dreams alive and contribute to making our movies so immensely popular," he said. Bachchan ended his speech by saying that nothing was more potent than the intoxication of good cinema. Film director Mahesh Bhatt said that the narrative of India cannot be reduced to one colour. He said the plurality of a diverse country like India needed to be celebrated, and underlined the importance of events like the KIFF that commits itself only to the idea of India which says all make it together or none of us makes it. "In this changing, shifting times, I believe that the filmmakers and storytellers will hold the world together. It is the occasion to realise that one of us is much lesser than all of us," Bhatt added. The trailer of Shah Rukh Khan`s upcoming film `Zero` was screened at the inaugural. Khan, who is also West Bengal`s brand ambassador, welcomed the delegates and technicians, and echoed Bhatt as he said that there is something which is making us all extremely divisive. "Like Bhatt saab said, I am sure everyone believes that in a world which is getting so much closer with technology and accessories, there is something which is making us all extremely divisive. "And the only thing that can bring us together is one or the other form of art, whether it is classical music, whether it is hip-hop, jazz, ballet, Kathakali, but I think the thing which brings us closest to all of us is cinema." `Antony Firingee`, a 1967 Bengali musical drama with Uttam Kumar and Tanuja in the lead, was the inaugural film. As many as 171 feature films, and 150 short films and documentaries from 70 countries would be screened until the festival concludes on November 17. China on Friday disclosed the technical details of its supersonic cruise missile, HD-1, leading military experts to believe that it has the potential to compete with the BrahMos missile jointly developed by India and Russia, as reported by Chinese media Global Times. A mining company, Guangdong Hongda Blasting, disclosed the details at the Airshow China 2018 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province. The company described that the October-tested missile uses a solid-propellant ramjet that can reach targets 290 kilometres away at a speed of Mach 2.2 to 3.5. The missile weighs 2,200 kilograms, can fly as high as 15 kilometres and as low as 5-10 meters when sea skimming, according to the report. The company claimed that the time taken to prepare for the launch of the missile is less than 5 minutes and less than 10 seconds to launch a second missile. It also described that the missile can accurately hit ground and sea targets. The HD-1 can be launched from a land-based transport erection and launch vehicle (TEL). One TEL can be loaded with 6 missiles, which can be fired with a single push of a button, added the report. The vehicle adopts an 8x8 all-wheel chassis, making it very mobile and can withdraw within 3 minutes after launch, ensuring its strong battlefield survivability, according to the report. Alongwith the basic version, the company also unveiled the HD-1A, an HD-1 variant that can be launched in the air by fighter jets and bombers and has similar capabilities. The HD-1 can also be launched from a ship, the report added. On the other hand, the BrahMos missile can fly almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.8 and has a range of 290 km. The range of the BrahMos missile can be further extended up to 400 km. The BrahMos is a medium range ramjet supersonic cruise missile and can be launched from the land, air and the sea. It is a joint venture between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroeyenia. The word BrahMos is a portmanteau of rivers Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. It boasts of a speed of Mach 2.8 to 3.0, making it the fastest anti-ship cruise missile in the world. Its speed is now being upgraded to Mach 5.0. It was inducted into service in 2006 and is used by the Indian Army, Air Force and the Navy. It weighs between 2,500 kg and 3,000 kg, has a length of about 8.4 meters with a warhead of about 200-300 kg. According to the Beijing-based military analyst, Wei Dongxu, the flight speed and altitudes of HD-1 make it very difficult to intercept. "It could be an awesome aircraft carrier killer. A saturated attack by the HD-1 can even demolish an entire fleet," he said as reported by Global Times. The HD-1's capability has already surpassed early versions of the BrahMos, the reporter said quoting Wei. Washington: US President Donald Trump Saturday said the suggestion of his French counterpart Emanuel Macron that Europe should build its own army was "very insulting", asserting that Europe should first pay its "fair share" to NATO. Trump slammed Macron in a tweet, moments after he landed in Paris for a weekend trip to commemorate Armistice Day and attend the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, which is being attended by several world leaders, including India's Vice President Venkaiah Naidu. "President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. Subsidizes greatly!" he said in a tweet. Early this week, Macron had pushed for a "true European Army" that would address the threat posed by countries like Russia and China. "We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America," he told French Radio Station One. "Who is the main victim? Europe and its security. I want to build a real security dialogue with Russia, which is a country I respect, a European country ? but we must have a Europe that can defend itself on its own without relying only on the United States," Macron said. Trump's tweet just after landing in Paris that was highly critical of Macron is expected to strain the US-French relationship. Early this year, Trump had hosted Macron on the first State Dinner of his Administration. Trump and Macron are schedule to have bilateral meeting during his stay in France. Earlier leaving for Paris, the US President told reporters at the White House that it will be a "great, really, commemorative service".? "I think it's going to be something very special.? I've seen what they have planned, and I think it's going to be something very, very special," he said. Jakarta: Indonesia authorities said on Saturday they had stopped the search for victims of a plane crash that killed all 189 people on board, but would keep looking for the Lion Air flight`s second black box, the cockpit voice recorder. "There is nowhere left to search and we have stopped finding victims` bodies," Muhammad Syaugi, the head of the national search and rescue agency (Basarnas) told media. "We will limit our operations to monitoring." The nearly new Boeing Co. 737 MAX passenger plane crashed into the sea on October 29 just minutes after taking off from Jakarta en route to Bangka island near Sumatra. Syaugi said 196 body bags containing human remains had been retrieved and 77 victims identified after forensic examination. Authorities have downloaded data from one of the black boxes found last week, the flight data recorder, but are still looking for the cockpit voice recorder. Soearjanto Tjahjono, the head of the transportation safety committee (KNKT), said finding the voice recorder would be critical to understanding the cause of the crash. "From the black box data, we know about 70-80 percent of what happened but to 100-percent understand the cause of the accident... we need be able to know the conversation that took place in the plane`s cockpit," he said, declining to elaborate on what the flight data recorder had revealed. KNKT has brought in a pinger locator and a vessel capable of sucking up mud to help with the search for the voice recorder, in addition to remotely operated underwater vehicles equipped with cameras. Tjahjono said he was worried the cockpit voice recorder may have been damaged on impact because KNKT had yet to detect any "ping" sounds that would indicate its location, as had happened with the first black box. He said authorities were searching for 15 aircraft parts, including an "angle of attack" sensor on the aircraft, which helps the plane`s computers understand if the aircraft is stable. Investigators have said one of these sensors had provided erroneous data. KNKT told Reuters on Wednesday that there was a problem with the sensor on the previous flight taken by the doomed plane from the island of Bali to Jakarta. One sensor had been replaced in Bali. Saudi Arabia and the United States have agreed to end US refuelling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi insurgents in Yemen, halting a divisive aspect of US support to a war that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. The move, announced by the coalition on Saturday and confirmed by Washington, comes at a time when Riyadh, already under scrutiny for civilian deaths in Yemen air strikes, is facing global furore and potential sanctions over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its Istanbul consulate on October 2. The United States and Britain late last month called for a ceasefire in Yemen to support UN-led efforts to end the nearly four-year-long war that has killed more than 10,000 people and triggered the world`s most urgent humanitarian crisis. "Recently, the Kingdom and the Coalition increased its capability to independently conduct inflight refuelling in Yemen. As a result, in consultation with the United States, the Coalition has requested the cessation of inflight refuelling support for its operations in Yemen," it said in a statement. Saudi Arabia has a fleet of 23 planes for refuelling operations, including six Airbus 330 MRTT used for Yemen, while the United Arab Emirates has six of the Airbus planes, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya al-Hadath channel reported on Saturday. Riyadh also has nine KC-130 Hercules aircraft that can be used, it added. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the US government was consulted on the decision and that Washington supported the move while continuing to work with the alliance to minimise civilian casualties and expand humanitarian efforts. Any co-ordinated decision by Washington and Riyadh could be an attempt to forestall action threatened in Congress next week by lawmakers over refuelling operations. However, a halt to refuelling could have little practical effect on the conflict, seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Only a fifth of coalition aircraft require in-air refuelling from the United States, U.S. officials said. BATTLE FOR HODEIDAH The Sunni Muslim alliance led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE has recently stepped up military operations against the Iranian-aligned Houthi movement, including in the main port city of Hodeidah, which is a lifeline for millions of Yemenis. "The continued escalation of attacks ... by the US-Saudi-Emirati coalition confirms that the American calls for a cease-fire are nothing but empty talk," Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, head of the group`s supreme revolutionary committee, wrote in a column published by the Washington Post on Friday. He said the ceasefire call was an attempt "to save face after the humiliation" caused by the murder of Washington Post columnist Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi policy, that has strained Riyadh`s relationship with the West. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for an immediate end to the military escalation in Yemen. "The Saudi-led Coalition and pro-Hadi forces, the Houthi forces and those who supply arms or other support to the parties to the conflict all have the power or the influence to stop the starvation and killing of civilians, to give some reprieve to the people of Yemen," Bachelet said in a statement on Saturday. The statement also said there is concern over 900 detainees in the central prison in Hodeidah and six pre-trial detention facilities after it was hit on Monday by two mortar shells, injuring five and cutting off power and water to the prison. Hodeidah has become a key battleground in the war in which the coalition intervened in 2015 to restore the internationally recognised government ousted by the Houthis. UN bodies warn that an all-out attack on the Red Sea port, an entry point for 80 percent of Yemen`s food imports and aid relief, could trigger a famine in the impoverished country. The World Food Programme said on Thursday it planned to double food assistance for Yemen, aiming to reach up to 14 million people "to avert mass starvation". Air strikes by the coalition, which relies on Western arms and intelligence, have often hit schools, hospitals and markets, killing thousands of Yemeni civilians. UN special envoy Martin Griffiths hopes to convene Yemen`s warring parties for peace talks by the end of the year. The coalition expressed hope in its statement that his efforts would lead to a negotiated settlement, including an end to Houthi missile attacks that have targeted Saudi cities and vessels off the port of Hodeidah. Mattis said all parties support Griffiths' efforts. "The US and the Coalition are planning to collaborate on building up legitimate Yemeni forces to defend the Yemeni people, secure their country`s borders, and contribute to counter Al Qaeda and ISIS efforts in Yemen and the region," he said in a statement. The last round of peace talks in Geneva in September collapsed when the Houthis failed to show up, saying their delegation had been prevented from traveling. The Yemeni government blamed the group for trying to sabotage the talks. The enemy used 120mm mortar in the area of Luhanske Open source On November 9, from 7 a.m. through 6 p.m., the illegal armed formations performed four attacks against the positions of Ukraine's Armed Forces in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) zone. The press office of the Joint Forces Operation headquarters reported this on Facebook. The occupants opened aimed fire from grenade launchers of different systems, heavy machine guns and small arms on the positions of the Joint Forces near Vilne, Avdiivka and Pisky. Moreover, the enemy used 120mm mortar in the area of Luhanske. The defending forces suppressed the enemy fire. No casualties among the Joint Forces were allowed, the HQ reported. Reportedly, over the last day, November 8, the militants opened fire at the positions of the Ukrainian servicemen 14 times, having injured two fighters of the Armed Forces Of Ukraine. The highest fire activity was recorded in the area of Krymske, Luhansk region. According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Ukraine and its international partners are working to strengthen sanctions against Russia because of the "elections" in the occupied territories of eastern Ukraine Ukraine and its international partners are working to strengthen sanctions against Russia because of the 'elections' in the occupied territories of Donbas. This is written in the statement of the Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin, as published on Twitter. 'The Kremlin is arranging another circus show to hide its crimes. The reaction to such criminal actions of the authoritarian Kremlin regime and its minions in the occupied territories will be the strengthening of international sanctions. And we are already working on this with our partners!', he said. The Foreign Minister urged residents of the occupied territories not to vote in the 'election' and not to participate in them. As it was reported, the militants scheduled the so-called elections in occupied Donbas on Sunday, November 11. The 'heads of the republics' and 'the peoples deputies' are to be elected. Ukraine and the international community have already condemned such 'elections'. The representatives of the Kremlin stated that they decide on recognition or non-recognition after the final results. The President of Ukraine expects new anti-Russian sanctions due to the 'voting'. The Secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Turchynov stated that all the organizers and the participants of the 'elections' on November 11 would be defined and prosecuted in compliance with the Ukrainian legislation. According to the Ukrainian Embassy, Polish radicals may prepare provocations under the guise of Ukrainian nationalists in Warsaw The Embassy of Ukraine in Poland warns about possible provocations planned by Polish radical organizations under the guise of Ukrainian nationalists in Warsaw on November 11, during the celebration of the centenary of the restoration of the independence of Poland. The Ukrainian Embassy to Poland reported this on Facebook. According to available operative information, some Polish radical communities intend to commit provocations under the guise of so-called Ukrainian nationalists in Warsaw, on November 11. The Embassy asks the citizens of Ukraine, the residents and guests of the capital of Poland to be particularly vigilant and careful, primarily during their stay in downtown and near the National Stadium, reads the message. The Embassy also urged fellow Poles not to give in to various provocations during the celebration of the centenary of the country's independence restoration, which can pursue the goal of conscious inciting of hatred against Ukrainians. As it was reported, the Mayor of Warsaw prohibited to hold the march of nationalists and far-right at the day of the centenary of the independence of Ukraine. The United States Congress urges the American administration, and, in particular, President Donald Trump to speed up the work on sanctions against Russia, imposed for a chemical attack in Salisbury in England, Voice of America reports. Thus, the head of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Republican Party, Ed Royce, condemned the uncertainty of the timing regarding the introduction of a new package of sanctions. 'Its unacceptable that the administration lacks a plan, or even a time frame for action in the second phase of mandatory sanctions,' Royce said. Member of the Senates Foreign Relations Committee, Democrat Bob Menendez, also called on President Trump to introduce a second phase of sanctions, especially given the plans for holding a meeting between Trump and Putin. The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine urged residents of the occupied territories of Donbas not to take part in the election. This is reported in the statement of the embassy on Twitter. 'Tomorrows sham elections will benefit only Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine, not the Ukrainian people. Residents of the Donbas should reject this charade and refuse to participate,' the statement said. Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin said that sanctions could be imposed on the organizers of the 'elections'. As it was reported, the militants scheduled the so-called elections in occupied Donbas on Sunday, November 11. The 'heads of the republics' and 'the local MPs' are to be elected. Ukraine and the international community have already condemned such 'elections'. The representatives of the Kremlin stated that they decide on recognition or non-recognition after the final results. The President of Ukraine expects new anti-Russian sanctions due to the 'voting'. The Secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Turchynov stated that all the organizers and the participants of the 'elections' on November 11 would be found and prosecuted in compliance with the Ukrainian legislation. The letter to Trump says: "We have the right to find out what happened to our relatives" The families of MH17 victims called on US President Donald Trump to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to give answers on this catastrophe. This is reported in a letter posted on Twitter by Thomas Schansman, whose 18-year-old son died in the crash of MH17. 'No country has claimed responsibility for the shooting down of the aircraft. At the same time, several obvious attempts were made to conceal what really happened on that terrible summer day. I mean the attempts by officials of the Russian Federation, supported and repeated by President Putin,' the report said. Earlier U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker assigned responsibility for the MH17 tragedy in Donbas to Russia. 'Russia is responsible for that as it intervened and occupied this part of Ukraine,' Volker noted. He said that the air defense system which shot down the plane, came from the Russian regular military unit. It was delivered from Russia to Ukraine, used to fire a missile, which shot down a civil plane from the Ukrainian territory and then this system was returned to Russian military unit. 'And the question on who exactly pushed the button, a Russian or Ukrainian, a Ukrainian from Donbas or an officer of Russias Armed Forces, is actually less important than the fact that this Russian military equipment was transported to another sovereign state under Russias control, used to launch a missile which killed all these civilians and then taken from Ukraine,' Volker said. On November 10, the Femen movement representatives organized another naked rally, this time at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, according to BFM TV channel. The rally is timed to the main ceremony dedicated to the centenary of the end of the First World War, which should bring together about 70 heads of states from around the world. The girls were holding posters with the words "Imaginary Peacemakers, Real Dictators", "Welcome, War Criminals," saying that most of the officials that will arrive are in fact dictators and neglect the rights of people. Earlier one of the founders of the Ukrainian radical feminist activist group Femen Oksana Shachko committed suicide in Paris as Telegram channel Paris Burns reported. 'Oksana Shachko (one of the Femen founders) committed suicide on July 23 in her Paris apartments. French police have taken her body for the examinations. Oksana left a note in English addressed to the Paris bohemians with which she closely negotiated the last time 'all of you are fake',' the message said. Oksana Shachko was born in Khmelnytsky on January 31, 1987. Along with Anna Hutsol and Oleksandra Shevchenko, she founded Femen in April 2008. The cross of the state borders using weapons will entail an imprisonment for up to eight years Law comes into force in Ukraine, providing the criminal responsibility for border crossing beyond checkpoints in order to harm the interests of the state or the security forces from the aggressor country. On Friday, the document was published in the official parliamentarian outlet Holos Ukrainy. The document stipulates up to 3 years in prison for crossing the state border in order to harm the interests of the state; that includes certain kinds of perpetrators, a person who is prohibited from entering the territory of Ukraine, or the representatives of units of the armed forces or other security forces of the aggressor state in any way outside the checkpoints, or without the necessary documents or the documents with inaccurate information. If such a violation is committed repeatedly or by a group of persons, the punishment will be imprisonment for 3-5 years. The same violation with the use of weapons would entail the prison term up to 8 years. Earlier, the parliament increased fines for the illegal border crossing. Since April 29, 2018, the crossing of the state border outside the checkpoint or with forged documents entails a fine of 125 315 USD. A repeated violation during the year or a group of people entails a fine of 300-500 USD. Deliberate entry into Ukraine by a foreigner, despite the ban, provides for a fine from 60-200 USD. Violation of the order of entry into temporarily occupied territories is punished by a fine of 125-190 USD; a repeated violation, if committed by a group of persons or within a year, carries a penalty of a 325 USD fine. But these fines can be imposed only within three months from the date of detection of the violation and not later than a year from the date of commission. Procedure for the entry of foreigners into the territory of the temporarily annexed Crimea is currently in force, as approved by the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 722 (September 16, 2015). According to the document, foreign journalists must coordinate a visit to the peninsula with the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine, and human rights activists and representatives of international NGOs must coordinate their visits with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, the list of grounds on which foreign citizens can obtain permission to enter Crimea includes the preaching of religious beliefs, the performance of religious rites or the satisfaction of religious needs (exclusively at the request or agreement with the Ministry of Culture), as well as participation in activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people. At the moment, the only legal way to visit Crimea is to come from the territory of Ukraine. However, the approved rules were criticized, since foreigners cannot get the permits or apply for entry to the territory of annexed Crimea, being outside Ukraine. To obtain permission, they must go to Ukraine and file special documents. The shrine will be donated to the Ecumenical Patriarchate for religious services, religious rites, ceremonies and processions A law on the transfer of the Saint Andrews Church for the use of the Ecumenical Patriarchate came into force in Ukraine. Saint Andrews Church will be donated to the Ecumenical Patriarchate for religious services, religious rites, ceremonies and processions under a condition that the Ecumenical Patriarchate will adhere the legislation on the security of the cultural inheritance of Ukraine. The building itself remains the property of the government. Related: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate plans meeting with Poroshenko on November 13 President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko registered the bill in the Ukrainian Parliament on October 17. The MPs endorsed the Presidents initiative on the next day with 237 positive votes (226 are necessary to pass, - 112 International). Recently, the Leader of the State has signed the adopted law. Earlier, the press office of the National Reservation 'Sofia Kyivska' reported that an agreement on the transfer of the Saint Andrews Church to the use of the Ecumenical Patriarchate would be concluded with the representatives of Constantinople. The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine denied the information of certain media that Archbishop Ambrozy crossed the Ukrainian border Rector of Moscow Ecclesiastical Academy Archbishop Ambrozy was banned to enter the territory of Ukraine during three years. The press office of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported. Related: Law on transfer of St. Andrew's Church to Ecumenical Patriarchate takes effect The border officers stressed that the information of certain media that the Archbishop crossed the Ukrainian border is false. On November 7, Archbishop Ambrozy wasnt only not allowed to cross the border but also banned from entering the territory of Ukraine for up to three years. This is why he wont be able to get to Ukraine at least until 2021, reads the message. Related: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate plans meeting with Poroshenko on November 13 Reportedly, on November 7 it became known that Archbishop Ambrozy wasnt allowed to enter Ukraine. The border officers claimed that they fulfilled the instructions saying that Ambrozy cant be allowed on the territory of Ukraine. The spy attended courses and seminars organized by the Alliance; he is suspected of having 'leaked' information to the Russian special services for about 20 years A former colonel of the Armed Forces of Austria, who was detained on suspicion of working for the Russian intelligence, transferred information regarding the NATO to the Russian Federation. Salzburger Nachrichten wrote that, with reference to the messages of former colleagues of the agent. The information concerned the habits and shortcomings of the military leadership of NATO, as well as attitudes among the army units. We recall that the detained ex-colonel is suspected of having 'leaked' information to the Russian special services for about 20 years. Earlier, workers of the Internal Security Agency of Poland detained a Russian spy as TVP Info reported. According to the information, the name of the detained is V. Marek. It is known that he was in touch with the Russian intelligence officers under diplomatic cover in the embassy in Warsaw and provided the information about the investments. The suspect was also interested in the work of Energy Ministry, particularly, in the construction of Nord Stream 2 pipeline. It is noted that the Internal Security Agency's actions were agreed with the special services of other EU countries. The suspect is arrested for three months. Open source The elections in the occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions scheduled for November 11 are illegitimate and unlawful. High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini claimed that. The EU condemns these 'elections', as they are in breach of international law, undermine the commitments taken under the Minsk agreements and violate Ukraine's sovereignty and law, Mogherini said. Related: Ukraine's Security Service reveals "results" of "elections" in occupied Donbas The EU Representative reminded that the Minsk Agreements exclusively provide for local elections to be held within the framework of the Ukrainian legislation and under the OSCE standards and observation. We expect the Russian Federation to make full use of its considerable influence over the separatists it backs. The provisions of the Minsk agreements should be implemented fully and without further delay, starting with a comprehensive ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons, so as to create the necessary conditions for the political transition through local elections they foresee, Mogherini's press service said. Related: Sanctions to be imposed against organizers of "elections" in occupied Donbas As it was reported, the militants scheduled the so-called elections in occupied Donbas on Sunday, November 11. The 'heads of the republics' and 'the local MPs' are to be elected. Ukraine and the international community have already condemned such elections. The representatives of the Kremlin stated that they decide on recognition or non-recognition after the final results. The President of Ukraine expects new anti-Russian sanctions due to the 'voting'. The Secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Turchynov stated that all the organizers and the participants of the 'elections' on November 11 would be found and prosecuted according to the Ukrainian legislation. Related: Election in Donbas is red light to negotiation process, - official Donbas conflict, Ukrainian Orthodox Church, sanctions over Crimea, Handziuk case, protests in Kyiv - the whole week on one page About Donbas conflict On November 6, Ukraine claimed that Russia officially recognized the upcoming elections that are actually illegal. President Poroshenko claimed that the staged election in the occupied areas of eastern Ukraine may lead to more sanctions against Russia. Oleksandr Turchynov, the Secretary of the National Defense and Security Council added that the organizers and participants in the election would be found and prosecuted. Meanwhile, in the view of the approaching election date, Russian militants bring tanks and artillery to Donetsk. U.S. Envoy in Ukraine Kurt Volker said that the current armed conflict in eastern Ukraine is actually the worst war in Europe since the Yugoslavian crisis in the 1990s. Besides, he announced that the U.S. Treasury of the State is to expand the list of sanctioned individuals and entities, involved in the ongoing conflict and the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea in 2014. Dozens of European countries protest against the recent attack on the OSCE SMM drone in the militant-occupied area of Donbas. The EEAS, European External Action Service released the respective statement, which may be found on the authority's website. *** About Handziuk On November 4, Ukrainian social activist and Advisor of Kherson Mayor Kateryna Handziuk died. She suffered an acid attack in summer this year and died from multiple organ failure and chemical burns. Later that day, people gathered to pay tribute to the memory of Kateryna in Kyiv; she was 'a plain dealer, she always spoke very harshly and honestly about many situations'. Similar actions were also conducted in Lviv, Kharkiv, Khmelnytsky, Odesa, and Zhytomyr. Kateryna Handziuk was buried in Heolohiv, Kherson region on November 7. Who ordered the murder? According to the National Police, the investigation is almost over. President Poroshenko required the law enforcement bodies to punish her murderers, while Ukraines Parliament invited the leadership of the National Police, General Prosecutors Office and Security Service of Ukraine to hear the report on the investigation of the tragedy. Yuriy Lutsenko, Ukraines Prosecutor General, who on November 6 claimed about his resignation, stated that there were three main suspects in the attack on Handziuk. The international community reacted to the incident - European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn stated that attacks against civil society activists are unacceptable. The Council of Europe is concerned about the increase in attacks on representatives of civil society in Ukraine. The U.S. urged Ukraine to prosecute those responsible for the crime. *** About Crimea On November 8, the U.S. Treasury of the State has expanded the list of individuals and entities, which fall under the anti-Russian sanctions for the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the continuing aggression in Donbas. Later U.S. State Department emphasized that the sanctions against Russia is the confirmation of the partnership of Washington and Ukraine. Besides, Ukraine's representative to Minsk Talks claimed that Ukraine can solve Donbas Conflict refusing from the Crimean peninsula. *** About church in Ukraine Kyiv Patriarchate asked the parliament to rename Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate. According to the Kyiv Patriarch of Ukrainian Orthodox Church Filaret, Moscow Patriarchate should not hide behind the name of Ukrainian church. On November 7, Ukraines President signed the law on transfer of St. Andrews Church to Ecumenical Patriarchate. The building itself will remain a state property. About the EU financial assistance for Ukraine The Ukrainian parliament ratified the redit agreement between Ukraine, the National Bank and EU on the receiving of the macro-financial aid in the sum of one billion euro. Moreover, Ukraine expects the positive estimation of the European Commission on the aid. Besides, Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, is to visit Ukraine at the beginning of the next year. *** About European car plates and high rates for customs clearance Ukrainian parliament adopted two laws one of them introduces new rates for the excise tax form imported vehicles, another one raises the penalty for cars without customs clearance. Protests continue. *** About Sports Oleksandr Usyk and Tony Bellew are going for something big and spectacular this Saturday at least, their supporters have every reason to expect that. The Ukrainian undisputed heavyweight champion of the world arrived in Manchester. Both fighters went for an intense staredown and, clearly, gave each other a credit; so it is up to them now to sort things out. Football fans had their share of joy and sorrow, too. In this weeks fixtures of the group stage of UEFA Europa League, Dynamo beat Stade de Rennais in the home game played at NSC Olimpiysky (3-1); meanwhile, Poltava-based Vorskla FC lost to Qarabag from Azerbaijan (0-1). Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe (R) meets with U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis (L) in Washington on Nov.9, 2018.(mod.gov.cn) WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe and U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis met here Friday afternoon to discuss bilateral and miliary-to-military ties. Wei said Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump have reached a series of important consensuses that provide strategic guidance for developing Sino-U.S. relations. Both sides should earnestly implement the consensuses, strive to avoid conflicts and confrontation, respect each other and conduct win-win cooperation, so as to make positive contributions to world peace and prosperity, Wei said. Both sides should treat military-to-military relationship in a positive and calm manner, enhance strategic communication, boost strategic mutual trust, expand dialogue and cooperation, properly manage risks, discuss rules and ways to avoid unexpected conflicts and frictions, so as to make the military-to-military relationship a stabilizer for the overall bilateral relationship, Wei said. Mattis agreed with Wei's position that bilateral and military-to-military relations should be developed steadily. He said the United States has no intention to contain China and that fostering a constructive military-to-military relationship with China has always been a goal for the United States. Mattis said he hopes both militaries could make full use of the current dialogue and communication mechanisms to improve risk management, avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations, and seek pragmatic cooperation in more fields. Wei and Mattis also exchanged views on issues relating to the South China Sea, Taiwan and the Korean Peninsula. Wei noted that the Chinese military firmly opposes any acts to separate China, and will safeguard China's national sovereignty, security and territory at all costs. Law enforcement authorities in northern California said Friday that five people have died in a wildfire, one of three in the state that have leveled thousands of homes and forced widespread evacuations. The Butte County Sheriff's office said the victims were found dead in vehicles that had been burned by the Camp Fire that left a trail of destruction in its path. The sheriff's office said the victims were found near the town of Paradise, which was destroyed by a blaze that forced thousands of residents to flee as it rapidly approached the outskirts of the city of Chico early Friday. Acting Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the northern part of the state to help facilitate rescue and recovery efforts. "The town is devastated, everything is destroyed," said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Scott Maclean. "The fire moved so fast and grew so fast a lot of people got caught by it." State fire official Koby Johns said 2,000 buildings have been destroyed and another 2,000 buildings and 15,000 homes were "at imminent danger of burning." Paradise, located nearly 145 km north of Sacramento, was home to more than 26,000 residents, according to its website. Presidente @MartinVizcarraC: Los invito a izar las banderas de una nueva independencia. A menos de un mes del Referendum digamos como lo dijo uno de los victoriosos comandantes del ejercito libertador en el momento de aquella gloriosa jornada: Adelante! Paso de vencedores! pic.twitter.com/4oVq9LFmAJ Recently appointed Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Northwestern Federal District Alexander Gutsan is well versed on the main issues of the Nenets Autonomous Area and is paying significant attention to the environment and security in the Arctic region, said Nenets Autonomous Area Governor Alexander Tsybulsky. This Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed former Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Gutsan the presidential plenipotentiary envoy to the Northwestern Federal District. "Alexander Gutsan has been to the Nenets Autonomous Area many times; he knows the peculiarities of the region and is very familiar with the main issues that we get to resolve, including in close collaboration with the Russian Prosecutor General's Office I am talking about the issue of delayed construction projects," Tsybulsky explained. Tsybulsky also added that he spoke with Alexander Gutsan this September, during the Russian Security Council meeting on security and the environment held in Naryan-Mar. Tsybulsky hopes that Gutsan will support solving the issues of security in the Arctic region and building relations between local subsoil users and the nomadic population. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. The pre-election list of the Prosperous Armenia party will consist of the people adhered to the party mission, program provisions, having knowledge and share. Vice Speaker of the Parliament, member of the Tsarukyan faction Mikayel Melkumyan says he expects serious presence for their party in the Parliament after the upcoming snap parliamentary elections. Melkumyan gave an interview to ARMENPRESS, talking about the upcoming elections and their pre-election list. -During the debate of the Electoral Code you stated that many MPs elected by ranked voting system are not delivering remarks, not asking questions. However, that electoral system was maintained, and whether you see the same risks and what are you going to do to keep away your faction from such lawmakers? -Yes, it has been so. 74 out of 131 MPs have not delivered speeches in the previous Parliament. I have been the most active lawmaker of both the previous and this Parliament. I think its not mandatory for this norm to work by 100%. But as today the institute of those who bring votes by the ranked voting system no longer exists, I mean election bribes, administrative resource and etc, these terms have been eliminated. In other words, those, who must have been elected to the Parliament by this scheme, will not be elected, in any case its probability will decrease a lot. But I consider a great mistake the fact that the Electoral Code was not adopted, since the proportional system would enable the political system to develop, in other words, the parties would make a decision inside. But now, in fact, there will be an internal fight between different members of the same party by the ranked voting system. -Do you think that such lawmakers have not been in your faction in this Parliament? -For our part the political component has greatly increased in the Parliament of the last convocation. There are many young people among us, women had the highest share, and we had a major political activeness. There are people who have great reputation in their territories and there is no need to approve that publicly. But we can record that the vector is being upgraded. -Can you be confident that there will be no distribution of bribes during the upcoming elections? -The systematic phenomenon has been eliminated and its a fact. No one can give guarantee for another. There may be people who can always make a mistake, but this cannot be a systematic phenomenon. -Following the non-adoption of the Electoral Code by the Parliament, you stated that this option perhaps is more beneficial for you, do you mean that the Prosperous Armenia party has more opportunities by this electoral system? -Both are perceivable and viable for us. But there should have been an upgraded Electoral Code for the development of the political system. But both are perceivable since we have party structures, party members having ties with the people, and I put an emphasis based on this because we have many people who have a reputation in their places. Full version of the interview is available in Armenian. Interview by Anna Grigoryan Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. Acting minister of territorial administration and development Suren Papikyan addressed a congratulatory message on the 22nd anniversary of local self-government, the ministry told Armenpress. The message says: Dear representatives of local self-government bodies, I warmly congratulate you on the 22nd anniversary of your professional day. The complete formation and establishment of local self-government system is one of the most important priorities of new Armenia as the communities are the main pillars of democracy of each state and the primary channel of implementation of political and civil rights. The local self-government the institute closest to the people and their needs, creates a real opportunity for a feedback between the leadership and the citizens, as well as for the effective participation of the citizens and civil society to the decision-making process by the public authorities, by ensuring the countrys sustainable, progressive and evolutionary development. On this day I want to express my gratitude to all community leaders, city council members, community servants, as well as representatives of civil and public unions dealing with the field for their responsible, dedicated work, wishing success and productive work for the development and prosperity of our communities. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. Recently the Azerbaijani media commented on the article by Masis Ingilizian, an analyst at the American Bellingcat center, claiming that the author of the article states that Azerbaijan has liberated new heights in Nakhijevan. Masis Ingilizian told ARMENPRESS that the Azerbaijani media outlet distorted his words and presented the translation of the article with changes. There is no word in my article that the Azerbaijani side has captured Armenian heights in Nakhijevan. I have talked about the movements of neutral zone. The Azerbaijani media interpreted the article differently, from the viewpoint beneficial for them, even completely changing my words in some parts. Its a pity for the news outlet, Masis Ingilizian said. Earlier spokesperson of Armenias defense ministry Artsrun Hovhannisyan also commented on the topic, stating that Azerbaijan once again tries to distort the facts. The spokesperson also added that Azerbaijan has not liberated a single millimeter land. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. US President Donald Trump blamed the local authorities for the massive wildfires that broke out in California, reports Armenpress. There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!, Trump said on Twitter. At least 9 people have been killed in major wildfires in Californias north. The fires, which broke out on November 8, cover an area of 36.000 hectares: it destroyed almost 7000 buildings, mostly homes. Nearly 250.000 people were forced to leave their homes due to wildfires. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan Joe Raedle/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Broward County election officials will have to disclose how many ballots are outstanding and yet to be counted, a federal judge ruled in Florida. Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips of the 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida ruled in favor of Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who filed an emergency complaint late Thursday night against Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes. The ruling allows for an immediate inspection of the most current information on the number of ballots both already cast and still uncounted. Scott and incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson are in the midst of a razor-thin race for Florida's Senate seat. Philips ordered the information be made available by 7 p.m., but even after midnight, Scotts campaign told ABC News Broward County has not disclosed how many votes are still outstanding. It should be there, it should not slow down the proceedings, it should be a matter of record at this point, Phillips said in her ruling. This is information that should have already been compiled." Scotts campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee will also have access to those ballots, per the judges ruling. The county faces a noon deadline Saturday to send unofficial preliminary results to the state. Scott spoke to Sean Hannity on Fox News Friday night and said Nelson was trying to "steal" this election. "Bill Nelson's lawyers, who is trying to steal this election, they went to federal court today trying to get the certification postponed," Scott told Hannity. "They were not able to do that, so basically tomorrow, my win will be certified by the court subject to a recount. "It looks like they are going to do everything they can to steal this election," he continued. "I'm so disappointed in Bill Nelson." Snipes attorney Eugene Pettis argued in court that the lawsuits were an attempt by Scott and the NRSC to slow things down. Whether theyre saying it or not, theyre interfering with the counting process, which should be Dr. Snipess primary responsibility, Pettis said, arguing that Snipes is not denying the information should be made public but that she had only 26 hours to get her job done. Pettis disputed Scott's earlier comments about the fundamental importance of protecting the vote. "I think there's something equally fundamental, which is to count the vote," Pettis said. Scotts attorney Jason Zimmerman noted that his clients were not requesting Broward County stop counting votes. This is a simple request that the supervisor of elections should have provided, Zimmerman said. Scott has filed another lawsuit in Palm Beach County, which has also not finished counting its votes. A narrow margin in the votes cast in the divided state has Florida gearing up for recounts in both the gubernatorial and senate races. Nelson has not yet conceded to Scott, who currently leads by less than 0.2 percent with ballots across the state still uncounted. State rules mandate a recount if the margin is less than 0.5 percent, which looks entirely possible as Broward County and Palm Beach County, both Democratic-leaning counties, havent completed counting mail-in ballots and one of them hasnt finished counting early ballots, either. Many more counties continue to count provisional ballots. Counties face a noon Saturday deadline to report preliminary results to the state and thin margins could trigger a recount could come as early as then. Scott carried a larger lead Tuesday night, but continues to see it dissipate as more votes come in. Scott has responded by accusing county election supervisors of corruption. Scott is backed by support from the president, the GOP and Floridas current Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. A win for Republicans in Floridas senate race would only add to the stinging loss of three key Senate seats on Tuesday night in Indiana, North Dakota and Missouri, which are all states where Democratic senators faced re-election in states Trump won in 2016. But in Florida, where incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson is awaiting results against Republican challenger Gov. Rick Scott, Trump narrowly won the state by less than 1.5 percentage points. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. #police Police face flak over inadequate responses to violent crimes Police have come under fire for their inadequate responses to violent crimes, as seen in the recent death of a stalking victim under police protection and an alleged dereliction of... #LPGA Ko Jin-young overcomes injury, personal ordeal in outstanding 2021 LPGA season With a brilliant performance at the final tournament of the 2021 LPGA season that helped her bag the top individual honor, South Korean star Ko Jin-young showed once again who's bo... YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. French President Emmanuel Macron and his US counterpart Donald Trump discussed issues relating to the security in Europe during the meeting in Paris, RIA Novosti reported. Macron said Europe must increase defense expenditures within NATO. Europes greater participation in the NATO will provide broader opportunities thanks to which the common responsibilities will be shared. I think that will be fair, Macron said. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador Arman Kirakossian, Head of Permanent Mission of the Republic of Armenia to the OSCE, delivered remarks at the 1200th session of the OSCE Permanent Council in response to the annual report of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the Armenian foreign minister told Armenpress. In his remarks Ambassador Kirakossian thanked the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs for the efforts put for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and added that 2018 is marked with an important anniversary: in February 1988, the regional council of the peoples deputies of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast made a decision asking the Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan to approach with understanding to the will and dreams of the Armenian population of Karabakh and agree on the transfer of the Oblast from Azerbaijan to Armenia. It was stated that Azerbaijan, in response to this appeal of self-determination, carried out violence, deportations, crimes and unleashed a war. Ambassador Kirakossian stated that since that time the status and security of Artsakh became the most important elements of the conflict settlement. The Armenian side highlighted that today the Armenian people highly value democracy and human rights, which was approved this spring by the peaceful and democratic changes that took place in Armenia as a result of which early parliamentary elections will be held this December. Talking about the position of the new Armenian leadership on the conflict settlement, the Ambassador outlined several key points: The first one the status and security of the Artsakh people are one of the most important issues for the conflict settlement and are the absolute priority of Armenia. The second one the people and authorities of Artsakh must have a decisive voice in the conflict settlement process. Any attempt to isolate Artsakh and its people from the conflict settlement process contradicts to both the causes of the conflicts origins and the existing reality. Artsakh is populated by its native people who historically constantly comprised an absolute majority, including at all stages of the conflict. The third one Armenia continues supporting the efforts of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Russia, US and France) aimed at settling the conflict exclusively through peaceful means. The fourth one the conflict cannot have a military solution, and the military scenarios should be rejected unconditionally. The 2016 April military adventurism had a negative impact on the peace process. The current positive dynamics, which was formed as a result of the recent meetings and the agreements reached in Dushanbe, must be followed by an implementation of actions aimed at strengthening trust and security already agreed upon in Vienna, St. Petersburg and Geneva, which in its turn will strengthen the OSCE presence in the conflict zone. The fifth one the creation of atmosphere contributing to peace requires not only reduction of tension and introduction of monitoring mechanisms, but also preparing people to peace. The hostile rhetoric and maximalist positions question the possibilities of mutual concession. Ambassador Arman Kirakossian also thanked the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and his team for strengthening the ceasefire regime and the trust between the sides. He expressed confidence that the only international presence in the NK conflict zone and the only OSCE presence in South Caucasus play an important role in mitigating the tension in the Line of Contact and the border. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan together with defense minister Levon Mnatsakanyan and other officials observed tactical maneuvers involving troops of the Defense Army's central military region on November 10, the Presidential Office told Armenpress. The President noted that army building and consistent enhancement of the armed forces' operational capacity had always been and would remain among the most crucial tasks of the state and the corresponding work on a consistent basis will continue in this direction. On the same day the Head of the State visited the Mets Shen village of the Martakert region, met with the residents and talked on site over the existing problems and ways of solving them. President Sahakyan gave appropriate instructions to the heads of concerned structures for proper realization of the set tasks. State minister Grigory Martirosyan and other officials participated in the meeting. Friday 16 November will be a public holiday but only in Port Moresby. Last week, prime minister Peter ONeill said there would be just one public holiday after speculation the government was planning to declare two. The APEC leaders meeting and CEO summit are the highlights of APEC leaders week, to take place from tomorrow (Monday) to next Sunday, and thousands of delegates are arriving in Port Moresby from all over the APEC region. Heres what to expect. Parliament House with Independence Boulevard behind and the circular new International Convention Centre at left (Aaron Chin) We are trying to create an environment where it is business as usual, he told a Port Moresby business meeting last week. The public holiday is to ensure that there is limited inconvenience to the public. The weekend will be a normal weekend. The leaders meeting has been deliberately held on a Saturday and a Sunday. International Airport to remain open Port Moresbys Jacksons International Airport will remain open throughout the week, with most VIPs flying into the country outside peak times to avoid too much disruption to scheduled flights. Most leaders are expected to fly in on Friday 16 Novemberhence the declared public holiday. The citys port will remain open While Port Moresbys port at Motukea Island will remain open, there will be changes to its operations to accommodate cruise ships, which are arriving in PNG to provide accommodation for delegates. Final APEC senior officials meeting Port Moresbys international convention centre will be the location for the last APEC senior officials meeting meeting of the year to be held tomorrow (Monday) and on Tuesday. APEC Ministerial meeting PNGs foreign minister Rimbink Pato will host the ministerial meeting at the international convention centre on Thursday 15 November. The CEO Summit Organised by the APEC business advisory council, the CEO summit will be held on the cruise liner Pacific Explorer from Thursday to Saturday. The ship will be moored close to downtown Port Moresby. World leaders scheduled to address the summit include Chinas president Xi Jinping, Malaysias prime minister Mahathir Bin Mohamad, Russias prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, and Australias prime minister Scott Morrison. Business speakers lined up for the summit include Patrick Pouyanne (chairman and CEO, Total), Raymund Chao (chairman Asia Pacific, PwC), Scott Price (chief strategy and transformation officer, UPS), Pierre Eladari (CEO, Puma Energy Global), Denis OBrien (chairman & founder, Digicel Group), His Escellency Carrie Lam (chief executive, Hong Kong), Peter Botten (managing director, Oil Search), Ayesha Khanna (co-founder and CEO, ADDO AI) and Terry Brady (president, UL). APEC gala dinner The official gala dinner will take place at Port Moresbys new Kutubu Convention Centre, part of the Star Mountain Plaza development which also includes the new Hilton Hotel, on the evening of Friday 17 November. What will the leaders wear? This is the night the leaders dress in clothing proposed by the host country. APEC leaders meeting The APEC leaders meeting, the culmination of PNGs APEC year, will take place at APEC Haus, Ela Beach, on Sunday 18 November. The day before, the same venue will be used for dialogues with Pacific leaders and with ABAC [APEC Business Advisory Council]. The area will be in security lockdown, so steer clear. Visiting Papua New Guinea? Looking for accommodation during APEC Week? Most of Port Moresbys main hotels are expected to be fully booked. Also, note that PNGs visa-on-arrival system has been suspended for security reasons until 30 November. But Papua New Guinea is the self-proclaimed land of the unexpected and on the streets of Waigani, the countrys political heart, there are no signs of its inimitable Sepik wood-carved sculptures, traditional kundu and garamut drums, or natural fibre weaves. One could reasonably expect that, with the global spotlight shining brightly on Papua New Guinea, its rich cultures would be showcased to the thousands of visitors and world leaders. In 2018, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is ubiquitous in PNG and, whatever your views on trade liberalisation and neoclassical economic thought, it is undeniable that this annual forum is by far the largest event ever hosted by the country. Art, architecture and artefacts reveal much about the spirit of the day they sit at the intersection of people, place and time, and help to tell their collective story. PORT MORESBY - Over thousands of years Papua New Guinea has developed cultural aesthetics that are intricate, diverse and highly regarded by admirers around the world. China's flag flies alongside the Papua New Guinean kumul - contributing to many people's mystification about what APEC is really all about Decorative Chinese lanterns hung in Port Moresby for APEC There is a distinct and ancient culture on show and it is definitively not Melanesian. The scene in Waigani is instead dotted with the oriental lanterns, street decorations and even an ornate paifang gateway of China. Port Moresby residents have been left mystified by the foreign displays of influence and the lack of opportunities given to the many talented Papua New Guinean artists, who struggle to find paid work. I feel like it should be China hosting APEC rather than Papua New Guinea, said Lohia, a former journalist from Central Province. We have more than 800 cultures we should be displaying those for the other countries and world leaders to see what our country is all about. These lamps (photo taken in Kokopo), made in the style of traditional East New Britain fish-traps, could have served the same purpose while promoting Melanesian culture They should invest more in our cultural items, images and murals to go up a toea shell, a kina shell, a Sepik bilum something that represents us. Art is a great source of pride for people in every corner of the country and connects modern Papua New Guinean life to its millennia-old heritage. Lohia believes the propagandistic muscle flexing has added another layer of societal scepticism towards APEC. People from the community I come from dont understand what APEC is all about, he said. They ask how is it going to move PNG forward? The grassroots dont really know. It makes them worried to see in the newspaper, or watching the news, that so much money is coming into our country when they are not the ones benefiting from it. The longer term impact, if any, of Papua New Guineas APEC year is unclear. There is also uncertainty about whether Waiganis Chinafication will be ephemeral or if it could allude to the zeitgeist of a new era. Lohia is concerned the disregard for local cultural icons in favour of Chinese imagery could symbolise a broader shift of influence in Papua New Guinea. Were an independent state - we have so many cultures, he said, why dont we use those cultures? Independence Boulevard has all these Chinese ornaments hanging somebody was saying that it represents good luck. But what luck should it bring to us? There are strings attached. (Bloomberg) -- In choosing Robyn Denholm to keep Elon Musk in check, Tesla Inc. picked a numbers-first executive who climbed the ranks of tech companies. Those who know her say her no-nonsense ways may be exactly what the mercurial CEO needs to get out of his own way. Everything about her is rational, reasonable, and warm. Im not surprised she got the job, Scott McNealy, the co-founder and former chairman of Sun Microsystems Inc., said in a phone interview. If Elon listens to her, hell be way more successful. As Teslas chairman, Denholm, 55, will be responsible for the tall tasks of reining in the celebrity CEO Musk and guiding an electric-car maker thats still in a phase of costly expansion and vulnerable to financial setbacks. While Tesla just celebrated a blowout quarter in which it posted a rare profit, many analysts and investors suspect that further capital increases could be needed before the company is on firm footing. Leading the charge to step up oversight of Musk could be particularly tricky. Teslas board, which Denholm has been on since 2014, didnt prove to be effective in controlling some of his worst impulses this summer. Her ascendancy to the role of chairman was precipitated by Musks run-in with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over his problematic take-private tweets. Denholm began her career at audit and accounting services at Arthur Andersen, and left the firm for a position in the finance department of Toyota Motor Corp.s Australian subsidiary. She joined Sun in 1996 and was there for 11 years, including a position in the pioneering computer companys top leadership group. She declined to be interviewed. Supremely Competent Musk, 47, is a classic Silicon Valley founder type, an eccentric visionary who is very much focused on products. The chairmen that oversee them often have been CEOs themselves, or led companies in other strategic roles. A chairman with a finance background isnt as common -- though in Teslas case that actually could be a strength: rapport with the financial community is precisely what the carmaker is seeking to improve. Story continues She seems to be supremely competent in financial communications, said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, an expert on leadership who teaches at the Yale School of Management. Of the likely choices, I think they made the best pick. Her strengths are not his and vice versa. Still, some see Denholm as being too close to Musk. A settlement reached with the SEC in September stipulated that Tesla strengthen a board long criticized for being too closely aligned with its billionaire leader. Denholm provides a potential spark for change, Loup Ventures Gene Munster said in a note. But Tesla needs to follow through with other actions, including turning over half of the board to bring in directors with manufacturing experience, he said. No Pushover After Sun, Denholm worked at network-equipment maker Juniper Networks Inc., where she was an executive vice president and chief of finance and operations. Her technology background is an asset: Teslas cars constantly receive new features via over-the-air software updates, and the companys batteries are increasingly being sold to utility companies. Denholm also served on the board of ABB Ltd., the Swedish-Swiss multinational that works closely with utilities. Robyn is very smart, tough-minded and ethical, said William F. Meehan, a lecturer in strategic management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business who was a director of Juniper while she worked there. Denholm joined Telstra, Australias largest phone company, in January 2017 as chief of operations and took on the role of CFO on Oct. 1. Her decision to step down from the CFO role so quickly surprised many; just last month, she told Australian media through a spokesperson that she wasnt in contention for the Tesla chairmans job. Denholm, who is married and has adult children, lives in Sydney, and its not clear if she will move back to California for the chairman job. Robyn is fearless but very practical. If she believes in something she fights for it -- shes not a pushover," said Joe Pollard, the former chief marketing officer of Telstra, in an interview. She is always focused on how are we going to fix this problem. Nothing is ever left unsaid and she will always speak up for customers, the business and employees." Like Silicon Valley, the business world in Australia has a long way to go in terms of gender equality, and Denholm is passionate about getting more women into science, technology and engineering, establishing a scholarship in her name at the University of New South Wales. Shes not part of the bro culture, and yet is not someone naive parachuting in from the outside, Yales Sonnenfeld said. Its a rare ray of good governance news. For more on Tesla, check out the Decrypted podcast: To contact the reporters on this story: Dana Hull in San Francisco at dhull12@bloomberg.net;Anders Melin in New York at amelin3@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Ville Heiskanen, Sam Nagarajan For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2018 Bloomberg L.P. Tirana has banned 52 Greek nationals from entering the country over what it labelled their "extremist" behaviour at the funeral of an ethnic Greek man killed by Albanian police, an official said late Friday. The 52 were banned as their "intolerable manifestation of extremism harms Albania's sovereignty, national and public security," deputy interior minister Aleksander Lleshaj told reporters. In Athens, the Greek foreign ministry said it expected "meaningful clarifications" over the move. "At this sensitive moment we expect the Albanian side to desist from actions and statements that further charge the atmosphere in our bilateral relations," the ministry said in a statement. The 52 were among hundreds of people, many from Greece, who attended the funeral of Konstantinos Katsifas on Thursday. The 35-year-old, who had both Greek and Albanian passports, was killed during a shootout with police in Bularat, a village in southeastern Albania, on October 28. During the funeral, many mourners, carrying white-and-blue Greek flags, chanted "Konstantinos, you are alive and leading us!" "Bularat is Greek!" and "Blood is calling us, set Albanians on fire!" Tirana described Katsifas as a Greek "extremist" who had fired a Kalashnikov in the air in the centre of the village, near a ceremony being held to commemorate Greek soldiers who fought in World War II. A 30-minute shootout ensued after police tried to apprehend him. Greece said the loss of life was "unacceptable" and requested a full investigation, while some Greek nationalist groups have protested against the killing, firebombing an Albanian tourism office in Athens. "In every country ... it is very well known what happens if one stands against police," Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati said in a statement Friday. He said the "extremism manifested during the funeral in Bularat ... harms the friendship between the two people." The treatment of Albania's ethnic Greeks has long strained bilateral relations. The size of the ethnic Greek minority in Albania, concentrated in the south, is disputed. A 2011 census put it at 25,000 out of an overall population of 2.8 million. Some 600,000 Albanians have also emigrated to Greece since the fall of communism almost 30 years ago. The neighbours have a number of other long-running disputes, including a disagreement over their maritime border, which is believed to straddle lucrative energy resources. They have yet to officially lift the state of war declared in 1940, although both sides have indicated an intention to do so. Hundreds of people, many from Greece, attended the funeral of Konstantinos Katsifas, an ethnic Greek killed during a shootout with Albanian police Bulgarian President Rumen Radev issued a stinging critique of the government's record on corruption and press freedom Friday, saying "the foundations of democracy are being threatened to a critical degree". In a televised speech, Radev said the freedom of speech won by Bulgarians after they toppled communist dictator Todor Zhivkov was now "only a memory". Radev used the speech, given to mark the eve of the 29th anniversary of the fall of communism, to mount a scathing attack on the right-wing government led by Boyko Borisov. Radev has been a thorn in the side of Borisov since he was elected in November 2016 with the backing of the opposition Socialist Party (BSP). Although the presidency is a largely ceremonial role, according to the constitution it is meant to "embody the unity of the nation". Radev said that "lobbying and corruption have permeated the entire system of government and have made it arrogant. "Corruption and the arbitrary exercise of power will endure... as long as society remains indifferent," he added. Radev also had harsh words for the press in his speech, arguing they had abandoned their role as a check on power. "Professional standards in the media have collapsed, and so has citizens' trust in the information they receive," he said. Bulgaria languishes in 111th place in the latest World Press Freedom Index compiled by journalism watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the worst score in the EU. An RSF report last year described Bulgaria's press industry as mired in "corruption and collusion between media, politicians and oligarchs". Radev's intervention comes just days before the European Commission is due to publish an annual report assessing the efforts of the Bulgarian justice system to fight corruption. Bulgaria, along with neighbour Romania, is subject to special judicial monitoring by Brussels, which has demanded tougher action on both organised crime and corruption among high-ranking officials. In recent weeks, prosecutors have begun proceedings against several businessman for fraud and money laundering. They have also asked for the parliamentary immunity of six MPs -- one of them from Borisov's GERB party -- to be lifted as part of an investigation into alleged tax fraud and racketeering. Analysts say that prosecutors are keen to prove to European authorities that they are capable of cracking down on such offences. Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev has been a thorn in the side of Boyko Borisov's rightwing government since he was elected in November 2016 with the backing of the opposition Socialist Party (BSP). Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Saturday he had proposed restoring writer Milan Kundera's Czech nationality, stripped from him by the country's former communist regime nearly four decades ago. Kundera, whose novel "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" was turned into a 1987 film starring Daniel Day-Lewis, became a naturalised French citizen after emigrating when he was prevented from publishing in his native country. "He really deserves to have his citizenship again," Babis told Czech CTK agency in Paris where he was attending a commemoration of the 1918 armistice to end WWI. Kundera, now 89, and his wife Vera, were stripped of their nationality in 1979 by the communist regime of then Soviet-era Czechoslovakia. They emigrated to France in 1975. The author's "The Book of Laughter and Forgetting" published in 1979 explored how citizens lived under the regime. His own life had been under surveillance by the StB secret police. His first novel "The Joke" -- his take on the one-party state -- led to a ban on his publishing at home. Kundera, born in 1929 in Brno, maintained a complex relationship with his homeland even after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 ended one party rule in Prague. According to Babis, the author refused to make public appearances in Czech Republic even after he returned several times following the fall of communism in 1989. He said Kundera had last visited 22 years ago. Czech-born French writer Milan Kundera, seen here in 1973, was stripped of his nationality in 1979 after emigrating to France Flash floods killed 12 people in Jordan and forced nearly 4,000 tourists to flee the famed ancient desert city of Petra, emergency services said on Saturday. Search teams were scouring valleys near the historic hill town of Madaba for a young girl who was still missing after Friday's floods, civil defence spokesman Iyad Amru told state television. Among those confirmed dead after torrential rains swept the south of the kingdom were six people found in the Madaba area southwest of the capital Amman. To the east, three people were killed near Dabaa on the Desert Highway, one of Jordan's three main north-south arteries, while one was killed near Maan in the south. It was not immediately clear where the other two died. Amru said two girls had gone missing in the Madaba region, later announcing that one of their bodies had been found. Government spokeswoman Jumana Ghneimat said authorities had found alive four Israeli tourists who had gone missing in the Wadi Rum desert in southern Jordan but were looking for two more. "Our embassy in Tel Aviv contacted the Israeli foreign ministry for information on the identities of the missing Israelis," Ghneimat said in statements carried by the state news agency Petra. Israel initially confirmed the report but in a later update a spokesman for the foreign ministry said that "all the Israelis in Jordan have contacted us. All of them were found". - Tourists evacuated - The Jordanian army deployed helicopters and all-terrain vehicles to help with search and rescue operations after floodwaters cut off the Desert Highway in both directions. A rescuer was also among the dead, the civil defence spokesman said. State television said the waters had reached as high as four metres (13 feet) in parts of the red-rock ravine city of Petra and the adjacent Wadi Musa desert. It broadcast footage of tourists sheltering on high ground on both sides of the access road to Jordan's biggest attraction. The government spokeswoman said 3,762 tourists were evacuated. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985, Petra draws hundreds of thousands of tourists a year to its rock-hewn treasury, temples and mausoleums. Its buildings have been used as sets for several Hollywood blockbusters including "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade". Wadi Rum, also a UNESCO World Heritage site, has attracted generations of tourists with its spectacular sandstone and granite rock formations. Its landscapes served as a backdrop in the filming of the Hollywood classic "Lawrence of Arabia". The latest deaths come after October 25 flash floods in the Dead Sea region of the kingdom killed 21 people, most of them children on a school trip. Jordan's education and tourism ministers both resigned last week over failings in the government's response to those floods. The education ministry ordered schools closed nationwide on Saturday amid warnings of more heavy rains. Jordan's minister of water and irrigation, Raed Abu al-Saoud, said on Saturday that the country's 14 main dams had filled up by some 26 percent of full capacity in the past 48 hours because of the torrential rains. Jordan is a water-poor country that is 90 percent desert. Jordanian rescue teams search for missing persons following flash floods in the city of Madaba near the capital Amman on November 10, 2018 A picture taken on November 10, 2018 shows a car submerged in mud following flash floods in the city of Madaba near the capital Amman Nearly 4,000 tourists have fled Jordan's famed ancient desert city of Petra as flash floods killed 12 people in the south of the kingdom A handout picture released by state news agency Petra on November 10, 2018, shows residents in the southern city of Maan inspecting flood damage Florida authorities on Saturday ordered a statewide recount in the contentious races for US Senate and governor, amid tit-for-tat accusations of fraud from the candidates -- plunging the state once again into election uncertainty. Eighteen years after the Sunshine State found itself at the heart of a battle for the US presidency, it was once again in the spotlight after Tuesday's vote, which left the contests for statewide offices undecided. Florida's 67 counties had been given until midday (1700 GMT) on Saturday to submit unofficial totals. State law triggers a machine recount if the difference in a race is within 0.5 percent. Florida's secretary of state Ken Detzner issued the official order for the recounts after the deadline. After the cut-off, the Senate race between outgoing Republican governor Rick Scott and incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson was extremely close: Scott's lead stood at just 12,562 votes out of nearly 8.2 million cast, a margin of just 0.15 percent. In the governor's race, the latest unofficial results on the Florida division of elections website show Republican Ron DeSantis, who was backed by Donald Trump, leading Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum by just 33,684 votes out of more than 8.2 million cast, or a margin of 0.41 percent. "Machine recount indicated," the website said in both cases. Gillum -- who had previously conceded the race -- changed course on Saturday, saying: "I am replacing my words of concession with an uncompromised and unapologetic call that we count every single vote." In a statement, Detzner said the results of the machine recount would be due on November 15 at 3:00 pm (2000 GMT). Trump was not amused by the development, tweeting from France: "Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida! We are watching closely!" - Lawsuits - With Florida's developments raising partisan tensions to fresh highs, Trump on Friday alleged a major corruption scandal was brewing. "What's going on in Florida is a disgrace," Trump told reporters. "Bad things are going on in Broward Country, really bad things," Trump added, referring to a Democrat-heavy county where officials were slowly counting votes including absentee and provisional ballots. Scott filed lawsuits against Broward and Palm Beach counties alleging fraud after his lead narrowed. On Saturday, he urged Florida's sheriffs to "watch for any violations during the recount process as outlined in Florida law." Meanwhile, Nelson -- accusing Scott of trying to suppress votes -- fired back with a lawsuit of his own to block steps that would reject thousands of mail-in ballots. The recount is reminiscent of the dramatic recounts that occurred in parts of Florida after the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Those recounts were halted by the US Supreme Court, and Bush defeated Gore by 537 votes in Florida to win the presidency. Broward County was also at the heart of that controversy. Most US political races have already been settled. But Florida is not alone. In neighboring Georgia, the Democratic candidate for governor initiated legal action to ensure all votes were counted in her contest. In Arizona, there is still no official result in a fierce US Senate battle that has Democrat Kyrsten Sinema leading Republican Martha McSally by a slim margin. The ballot chaos raises fresh questions about why the world's most powerful democracy is incapable of producing swift and accurate election results across all 50 states. Andrew Gillum -- who had previously conceded the race for governor -- later changed course, issuing a call for "every single vote" to be counted "The people of Florida deserve fairness and transparency," Governor Rick Scott told reporters Four soldiers were killed in war-torn eastern Ukraine, the military said Saturday, as pro-Russian separatists prepared to hold elections in defiance of the West. In one attack, two soldiers died after an assault near the separatist-controlled city of Lugansk, with the rebels using heavy weapons including large-calibre mortars, Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told a briefing. In a separate later incident, two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and two others wounded in an explosion in the nearby Donetsk region, the military said. On Sunday, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk "People's Republics" are to hold elections despite Western calls on Russia to cancel the ballot so as not to further sabotage peace agreements. The United States and the European Union say the polls will further undermine efforts to end a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people since 2014. "There have been more Ukrainian soldiers killed, more casualties in the conflict in Ukraine than Americans in the entire length of the war in Afghanistan," the US special envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, said this week. Kiev and its Western backers accuse Russia of funnelling troops and arms across the border to fan the flames of the conflict. Moscow has denied the claims despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine are set to hold elections in two self-proclaimed republics About 50 government workers have been evacuated from their offices twice after spider scares. The employees at a Shared Services Canada building in Ottawa were evacuated from their office in June and sent home for two days after someone spotted an unusual spider in the office, CBC reports. It later emerged that the spider bit one of the employees, according to Shared Services Canada. The department added the bite was consistent with that of a brown recluse a native North American spider, which is harmful to humans. A brown recluse spider. Source: Getty Images (File pic) The office was fumigated but on October 18, employees spotted another spider and were sent home for another two days. Monika Mazur, a spokesperson for the department, said since the spider did not appear to be a typical house spider management decided to be cautious. It was feared the second arachnid could have been a brown recluse too however it was later determined to be a yellow sac spider, which is also purported to have necrotic venom but be harmless to humans. The evacuations cost taxpayers A$18,000. University of Toronto arachnologist Catherine Scott said the evacuations were totally absurd and a giant waste of money. She added fumigating the office is possibly more dangerous to workers than the spider would have been. Her comments were made before it emerged one of the employees had actually been bitten by a brown recluse. A revised border between Kosovo and Serbia will not be drawn along ethnic lines, Kosovo's President Hashim Thaci insisted in an interview with AFP on Friday. He was speaking a day after a tense meeting with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels, where they were hosted by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. A range of sensitive issues remain to be settled between the erstwhile foes, including the question of their common frontier. This summer, Thaci and Vucic both raised the possibility of redrawing the border, comments that alarmed some observers. But Thaci, in Paris for WWI commemoration ceremonies this weekend, was clear on one point. "We will work together to define the borders, just like we did with Macedonia and Montenegro, but there will be no borders based on ethnic lines," he said. "Kosovo will stay multi-ethnic, Serbia as well, no population displaced. The region will be safer thanks to this agreement." The countries are seeking an agreement to end a diplomatic deadlock that has lasted for years. In 2008, a decade after the 1998-1999 war between Serbia's forces and pro-independence ethnic Albanian guerrillas, Kosovo broke away from Serbia. Serbia -- and its main ally Russia -- refused to recognise Kosovo's independence, although more than 100 countries, including the United States and most EU member states, have done so. - A 'multi-ethnic' army - Despite a tense start to the talks, Thaci remained cautiously optimistic. "Last evening's meeting was difficult but important for the final phase of the agreement for the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia," he said. "I think it is the right momentum and the right leadership to reach an agreement." Such an agreement would be "about the mutual recognition of Kosovo and Serbia, (a) legally binding agreement, an opportunity for Kosovo to join the UN because Russia will be lifting its veto at the Security council...," said Thaci. Kosovo's recent decision to create its own army, has provoked anger from its own ethnic Serb minority as well as from Serbia. NATO, which leads the KFOR military force that ensures Kosovo's security, has also expressed serious reservations. "I am the president of a sovereign country," Thaci told AFP. "The armed forces of Kosovo will be created. This is a done deal. "Nobody in Serbia can put a veto on this, whether they like it or not. "Everything we'll do will be constitutional and legal. This will be a gradual process, coordinated with our partners in NATO and the US," he added. "It is a new army, peaceful, multi-ethnic, with over 10-percent minority representation." Kosovo's President Hashim Thaci arrived in Paris for the weekend's WWI centenary commemoration ceremonies 'Kosovo will stay multi-ethnic,' President Hashim Thaci insisted during his interview with AFP Libya's key political players are set to meet global leaders in Italy next week, in the latest bid by major powers to kickstart a long-stalled political process and trigger elections. A summit in Paris in May had seen the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) and eastern Libya strongman Khalifa Haftar agree to hold national polls on December 10. But acknowledging the chaotic political situation since dictator Moamer Kadhafi was deposed in 2011, the UN on Thursday conceded elections will not be viable before at least the spring of 2019. Analysts say next week's summit in the Sicilian city of Palermo risks being compromised not only by tensions between Libyan factions, but also the competing agendas of foreign powers. Just as in May, the key Libyan invitees are Haftar, the eastern parliament's speaker Aguila Salah, GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj and Khaled al-Mechri, speaker of a Tripoli-based upper chamber. Sarraj, in an interview with AFP, urged the international community on Thursday to find a "common vision" for the future of his chaos-hit North African nation. The GNA says it will use the Palermo talks to lobby for security reforms that unify the army, a constitutionally-rooted electoral process, economic reform and an end to "parallel institutions". - 'A fundamental step' - The US, Arab countries and European nations will all send representatives to the talks set to take place on Monday and Tuesday. For Rome's populist government, a top priority is stemming the flow of migrants who exploit Libya's security vacuum in their quest to reach European shores, often via Italy. "The Palermo conference is a fundamental step in the goal of stabilising Libya and for the security of the entire Mediterranean", Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said this week. UN envoy Ghassan Salame told the Security Council on Thursday that a national conference in early 2019 would be organised to provide "a platform" for Libyans to spell out their vision for the future. But diplomatic wrangling between Italy and France hangs over next week's summit. In September, Italy's defence minister and parliamentary speaker both partly blamed France for Libya's security crisis, which continues to simmer some seven years after the NATO-backed uprising toppled Kadhafi. The Italian swipes came as Tripoli was plagued by militia clashes that killed at least 117 people and wounded more than 400 between late August and late September. Rome and Paris have for months been at loggerheads over Libya's election timetable. While France repeatedly endorsed the December date, Italy opposed it. Rome and Paris have "many interests in common" in Libya including energy, immigration and terrorism, said Federica Saini Fasanotti at the Brookings Institution. But they have "different ideas in how to reach their targets", she added. - 'Consensus close to impossible' - Italy has not been alone in pushing for elections to be delayed -- the December 10 date was also viewed sceptically by Washington and Moscow. "We support elections as soon as possible, but artificial deadlines and a rushed process would be counterproductive," David Hale, the number three at the US State Department, told the Middle East Institute in Washington on Thursday. One Italian diplomatic source told AFP that no definitive poll date should be set next week and it is "not sure that there will be a final document" after the talks. For Libyan analyst Emad Badi, rivalry between Paris and Rome has only further polarised the political scene. The Palermo conference "certainly seems to be orchestrated as a counterweight to the French conference (rather) than ... focusing on genuinely solving the Libyan political deadlock," Badi contended. Some experts also say rivalries between Arab powers complicate Libya's crisis. For Claudia Gazzini, a Libya specialist for the International Crisis Group, a solution requires better coordination and not just between France and Italy. "What needs to happen is a joining hands also of Russian and US positions" with the UAE, Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, she said. According to diplomats and analysts, Russia, France, Egypt and the UAE support Haftar, while Turkey and Qatar have thrown their weight behind rivals to the eastern strongman, especially Islamist groups. "Forging a consensus at the current conjuncture is close to impossible", Gazzini said. An agreement to hold national polls in December was reached at a summit in Paris, but they have been delayed until spring 2019 Libyan militiamen loyal to the Government of National Accord keep watch from a position south of the Libyan capital Tripoli on September 25, 2018 following a fresh wave of violence around the capital Fayez al-Sarraj was interviewed by AFP in Libya's capital Tripoli in November, 2018 France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (L) met with Libya's Khalifa Haftar (R) near Benghazi in 2018 Mexico's 136th-ranked Gaby Lopez celebrated the biggest victory of her career on Saturday when she triumphed at the $2.1 million Blue Bay LPGA in China. An emotional Lopez beat off world number one Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand and a late challenge from France's Celine Boutier for her maiden victory on the US-based LPGA Tour. Lopez carded a final-round 73 to go eight under for the tournament on the island of Hainan -- where wind has been a factor all week -- and a one-stroke win. She was drenched in water by her rivals and wiped away tears at the end. Lopez had marked her 25th birthday on Friday by hitting a hole-in-one at the 17th hole and grabbing the third-round lead. Jutanugarn finished second on seven under and Boutier, ranked 150th in the world, was third, a further shot back, after shooting a sparkling six-under-par 66. There was a tie for fourth between Danielle Kang of the United States and South Korea's Kim Sei-young. Gaby Lopez beat off world number one Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand and a late challenge from France's Celine Boutier for her maiden victory on the US-based LPGA Tour Thousands of students protested Friday in Morocco for the third consecutive day against a government decision to keep its clocks at summer time year round, local media reported. Pupils who now have to get up before sunrise to get to school denounced "a shameful decision" and a "farce", demonstrating in several cities, according to newspapers and social media. On October 26, the government decided to abandon plans to switch to winter time and kept the clocks in the North African country at GMT+1. Avoiding the switch saves "an hour of natural light", administrative reform minister Mohammed Ben Abdelkader said at the time. The decision also reduces electricity consumption, he was quoted as saying by official news agency MAP. The last-minute decision took many by surprise and sparked outrage and confusion, as the electronic devices of many Moroccans switched automatically from summer to winter time. Parents complained that their children had to leave home for school when it was still dark outside. A spokesman for the education ministry told AFP on Friday that schools have been authorised to adjust their timetables "according to the needs of each region". On Thursday Prime Minister Saad Eddine el Othmani said the government would be sticking with summer time, although it would set up a "mechanism to evaluate and follow up" on the decision. The European Commission in August announced a proposal to abolish switching to winter time in 2019, but EU transport ministers have said the move is not realistic and that disagreement remained over how to implement the idea. Students in Morocco who now have to get up before sunrise to get to school denounced the government's decision to keep its clocks at summer time year round as "shameful" and a "farce" California authorities collected DNA samples from relatives on Thursday to help identify victims of the western US state's deadliest-ever wildfire, as President Donald Trump said he planned to visit the region at the weekend. At least 59 deaths have been reported so far from the sprawling blazes in northern and southern California and the toll is expected to rise as body recovery teams with sniffer dogs conduct searches. Some 300 people are also unaccounted for. The White House said Trump, who has blamed the fires on "gross mismanagement of the forest," would travel to California on Saturday to meet with victims and review the damage. Fifty-six of the deaths and all of those unaccounted for are from the Butte County town of Paradise in northern California, which was decimated by the so-called Camp Fire that erupted a week ago. A list of those missing in Butte County grew overnight to some 300 names, many of them elderly. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said some may have fled their homes and not been in touch with family and friends but others are believed to have died in the fast-moving Camp Fire. He said 461 search and rescue personnel and 22 "cadaver dogs" were involved in the effort to locate the missing and DNA testing was being expedited to identify victims. He said 47 of the 56 fatalities have been tentatively identified so far using "rapid DNA" techniques. "Beginning Thursday, anyone who believes a family member perished can provide a DNA sample," Honea said. Paradise, a town of around 26,000 in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, was popular with retirees and many of those reported missing by the sheriff's office are in their 70s, 80s and 90s. Virtually every home in Paradise, located 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of the state capital Sacramento, was destroyed by the fire, which was driven by high winds. Body recovery teams are conducting a painstaking search of burned-out homes for human remains in the town and closely examining the many charred cars littering the roads. The 56 deaths reported from the Camp Fire make it the deadliest wildfire in California's history and it is also the most destructive. Three people have died in the Woolsey Fire northwest of Los Angeles. - 'A war zone' - The California fire department (Cal Fire) said early Thursday that the Camp Fire has destroyed 140,000 acres (56,655 hectares) and was 40 percent contained. It said nearly 5,500 firefighters were battling the blaze and it did not expect it to be fully contained for another two weeks. The Camp Fire has destroyed more than 8,650 single family homes and 260 commercial buildings, Cal Fire said. The Woolsey Fire has razed 98,000 acres (39,660 hectares) and has been 57 percent contained. It is expected to be fully contained by Monday. Authorities said cooler temperatures and calmer winds had brought welcome relief to fire crews. A number of celebrities have lost their homes in Malibu as a result of the Woolsey inferno, including Pierce Brosnan, Miley Cyrus, Neil Young, Robin Thicke, Shannen Doherty and Gerard Butler. California Governor Jerry Brown, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Brock Long, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), toured the damage in Paradise on Wednesday. "This is so devastating that I don't really have the words to describe it," Brown told a press conference. "It looks like a war zone." Long said Paradise was looking at a "total rebuild," with most homes, businesses and infrastructure destroyed. "This is going to be a very long and frustrating event for the citizens of Paradise," Long said. "We're going to have to find a new normal." "You're not going to be able to rebuild Paradise the way it was." Authorities said it was unclear when residents would be allowed back into the town. While the cause of the Camp Fire is still under investigation, a lawsuit has been filed against the local power company, PG&E, by fire victims claiming negligence by the utility. The complaint alleged that the fire began on November 8 when a high voltage transmission line failed, igniting tinder-dry vegetation. The utility was found to be responsible for several devastating fires in northern California last fall that killed at least 15 people, and it faces billions of dollars in liability for the latest wildfires. Rescue workers sift through rubble in search of human remains at a burned property in Paradise, California A Fresno County Sheriff's officer tends to a body recovered at a burned residence in Paradise, California In this aerial photo, a burned neighborhood is seen in Paradise, California The Santa Monica Mountains are seen left blackened by the Woolsey Fire near Malibu, California Yemeni government forces pressed further into the strategic port city of Hodeida, seizing its main hospital in heavy fighting Saturday, as their Saudi-led coalition backers put a brave face on an end to US refuelling support. A loyalist official said mortar rounds were "falling like rain" in the streets as troops overcame rebel-laid mines and snipers to take control of the main hospital in the city of some 600,000 people. The rebels have put up fierce resistance to the government advance towards the city's vital docks, which are the point of entry for 80 percent of Yemen's commercial imports and nearly all UN-supervised humanitarian aid. The grinding Saudi-led war in Yemen has caused growing international unease after high-profile coalition air strikes that have killed scores of civilians, many of them children. The intensified coalition-backed push into Hodeida, which has claimed the lives of at least 382 combatants this month, comes despite aid agency warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe in the event of a protracted battle for the city. Some 14 million Yemenis are at risk of famine and many more are dependent on international aid, according to UN agency figures, making it vital that Hodeida's port remains open and undamaged. Yemeni officials said Saturday that pro-government forces had captured the city's May 22 Hospital. Amnesty International had earlier accused the Huthis of "deliberate militarisation" of the facility after they posted snipers on its roof. - 'Street fighting' - Two days after loyalist troops entered residential neighbourhoods of Hodeida for the first time, fighting raged in the city's east as pro-government forces backed by air strikes and helicopters sought to push deeper into the city. "The battles here are turning into street fighting," one loyalist official said, adding that pro-government forces had advanced around a kilometre along a major highway into the city on Saturday. Hodeida resident Lubna, who asked that her full name not be used for fear of retaliation, said "the noise of Apache helicopters, artillery and gunfire" was incessant. Huthi forces were using artillery to pound advancing loyalist forces, at times firing from residential areas, she said, fearing this "could mean that civilians pay the highest price". UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Saturday urged the coalition, the Huthis "and all those supplying arms to the parties to the conflict to take immediate steps to end the suffering of civilians in Yemen". Save the Children field coordinator Mariam Aldogani spoke of intense coalition air strikes, with over 15 hitting in the space of just 30 minutes. "This is the worst time for Hodeida children," she said. The UN Human Rights Office, meanwhile, said there were "serious concerns about the fate of 900 detainees" at six pre-trial detention facilities and Hodeida's central prison, which was hit by mortar shells on Monday. - Refuelling deal scrapped - The suspension of US assistance to refuel coalition aircraft comes as Washington's backing of the war effort faces increased scrutiny following international outrage over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder last month in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. In an apparent face-saving move, Saudi Arabia sought to project the decision as its own, not Washington's. The Pentagon had been providing refuelling capabilities for about 20 percent of coalition planes flying sorties over Yemen. Saudi-controlled media suggested the coalition had the capacity to make up the shortfall. Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath television reported that the kingdom has 23 planes of its own for refuelling operations devoted to Yemen operations, while the UAE has six. Loyalist commander Colonel Sadiq Duwaid said the decision would "not affect" the coalition assault on Hodeida, which would continue "until the Huthi militias surrender". The intensified battle for Hodeida comes despite Pentagon chief James Mattis calling last month for a ceasefire and negotiations between Yemen's warring parties within 30 days. The United Nations has since pushed that deadline back to the end of the year. In an op-ed published by The Washington Post on Friday, the head of the rebels' Supreme Revolutionary Committee, Mohammed Ali al-Huthi, said the escalating offensive in Hodeida showed Mattis's ceasefire call was "nothing but empty talk". The article infuriated Yemeni government officials, who accused the Post of providing a platform to a "war criminal". The Huthis have controlled Hodeida since 2014 when they overran the capital Sanaa and swept though much of the rest of the country, triggering the Saudi-led intervention the following year. The rebels have since been driven out of virtually all of the south and much of the Red Sea coast. At least 110 airstrikes were carried out in Hodeida, Saada, the Huthi stronghold in northern Yemen, and Sanaa between 31 October and 6 November, the UN Human Rights Office said Saturday. burs-mah-ac/rsc/del Yemeni pro-government forces gather on the eastern outskirts of Hodeida on November 9, 2018, in readiness to push into the strategic rebel-held port city Map locating Hodeida in Yemen where pro-government forces are attempting to retake the city from the rebels. The United States will no longer provide mid-air refuelling support to Saudi-led coalition warplanes carrying out sorties over Yemen, like these Emirati aircraft seen at a Saudi base in 2015 Yemeni pro-government forces push into Hodeida from the east on November 9, 2018, despite aid agency warnings of the humanitarian consequences of an all-out battle for the stategic rebel-held port city Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Saturday said the country's army was being "dramatically" strengthened. Vucic was speaking as he attended a major military exercise to mark the end of World War I and after Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said in an interview with AFP on Friday that Pristina was sticking to its recent decision to create its own army. That decision has provoked anger from Kosovo's own ethnic Serb minority as well as from Serbia. NATO, which leads a military force that ensures Kosovo's security, has also expressed serious reservations. Vucic told the state-run RTS television Saturday that his country's army was among the strongest in the region with exception of Romania. "Us (Serbia) and the Hungarians are similar, but all the others are far, far behind. "We are dramatically strengthening our army," said Vucic after attending the exercise in Serbia's east. "We will have to arm ourselves in line with new technologies, we already ordered from our Chinese friends (our) first armed drones. People will see that in 2019." About 8,000 soldiers, 100 tanks and eight MiG-29 jets participated in the 'Century of Winners' exercise, local media reported. Vucic and Thaci had a tense meeting Thursday in Brussels to relaunch dialogue on the normalisation of ties between the former foes. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. The move came a decade after the 1998-1999 war between Belgrade forces and pro-independence ethnic Albanian guerrillas. Serbia -- and its main ally Russia -- refuse to recognise Kosovo's independence, although more than 100 countries, including the United States and most European Union member states, have done so. Both Vucic and Thaci are expected in Paris for WWI commemoration services this weekend. Belgrade and Pristina have to settle a range of sensitive issues, including the question of their common border. Majority ethnic-Albanian Kosovo, with a population of 1.8 million, is home to about 120,000 ethnic Serbs. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (pictured July 2018) said his country was strengthening its army after the Kosovar president announced that Pristina was sticking to its recent decision to create its own army Seven Turkish soldiers were killed in an "accidental" explosion at an army munitions depot, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday. The defence ministry said the accident occurred when a heavy artillery shell exploded at a base at Sungu Tepe in southeastern Turkey near the borders with Iraq and Iran on Friday. "We have seven martyrs in the munitions depot explosion... and also we have 25 wounded," Erdogan told a press conference. He said investigations were under way to find out exactly what happened. Both Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and armed forces chief Yasar Gulu went to the remote depot located in the mountains. Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast has seen years of fighting between the army and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), classified a "terrorist" group by Ankara and its Western allies. Turkey also regularly bombs PKK bases in northern Iraq. After a brief truce, fighting resumed in 2015, shattering hopes for a peaceful resolution to a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984. Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast has seen years of fighting between the army and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Several thousand protesters rallied in Rome on Saturday to protest against what they criticised as unfair anti-migrant policies promoted by far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Waving banners with slogans "Black lives matter" and "Welcome for all; Open the borders", leftists joined anti-racism activists who organisers said came from 50 cities to defend migrants and protest a recent decree on asylum rights. Italy's Senate, backed by Salvini's Northern League party and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, voted to clear the way for a decree that makes it easier to expel migrants and strip some of them of Italian citizenship. The protest was to "say no to Salvini and no to racism", said Sergio Serraino, a member of an association that helps migrants, who was taking part in the protest. The lower house of parliament now has until the end of November to approve the decree, which ends "humanitarian protection" residency permits -- a form of lower level asylum status in Italy. It also allows a fast-track of expulsions for "dangerous" asylum-seekers. The United Nations refugee agency has said the decree does not provide enough guarantees for the vulnerable or those with particular needs such as victims of abuse or torture. Salvini, whose far-right party forms a ruling coalition with the Five Star Movement, accuses other EU members of letting Italy shoulder an unfair share of migrants. Italy's Senate, in a move backed by Salvini's League party and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, voted to clear the way for a decree that makes it easier to expel migrants and strip some of them of Italian citizenship The United Nations refugee agency has said Italy's new migrant decree does not provide adequate guarantees for the vulnerable or those with particular needs such as victims of abuse or torture The victim of a terrorist attack in Melbournes CBD on Friday has been identified as local coffee shop owner Sisto Malaspina. Mr Malaspina, the owner of Pellegrinis Espresso Bar, was fatally stabbed on Bourke Street on Friday afternoon by a lone terrorist. Its believed he was stabbed after running to help his attacker after his car exploded, the Herald Sun reported. Sisto Malaspina, the owner of Pellegrinis Espresso Bar, was fatally stabbed on Bourke Street on Friday afternoon by a lone terrorist. Source: 7 News Pellegrinis opened in 1974 and was the first cafe in Melbourne to have an espresso coffee machine. Mr Malaspinas business partner Nino Pangrazio told the Herald Sun his colleagues death was a sad day for Melbourne and described him as the happiest person you could imagine. Never a bad word, never a dull moment, he said. He also became a grandfather for the first time last week. Mr Malaspinas business partner Nino Pangrazio mourns Mr Malaspinas death. Source: 7 News Tributes also flowed on social media for Mr Malaspina. One man wrote he was stunned by his death and described Mr Malaspina. Said hello to Sisto last weekend, when I had a coffee with a friend at Pellegrinis, he tweeted. Such a lovely gentleman. Always chatting with customers. Pellegrinis Espresso Bar on Bourke Street. Source: Google Maps (File pic) Another woman added shes absolutely devastated. He was and always will be one of the most friendliest men I have ever met, she tweeted. Not too long ago I was in for my birthday and he celebrated this with me with his kind hospitality. Terrorist planned explosion for Melbourne The terrorist has been named by police as 30-year-old Hassan Khalif Shire Ali. Shire Ali stabbed three man, including Mr Palaspina. The other two are currently recovering in Royal Melbourne Hospital. A screenshot taken from a supplied video showing an incident on Bourke Street in Melbourne on Friday, November 9. Source: AAP The 30-year-old planned to cause an explosion by igniting gas cylinders in his car, police said. With AAP AUBURN Austin Ireland and Frederick "Fritz" Allen didn't expect to have a day named after them while celebrating the 243rd birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps. Auburn mayor and former Marine Mike Quill declared Saturday to be Austin Ireland and "Fritz" Allen Day during the ceremony honoring the founding the of the Marines. Ireland and Allen, who were both in the Marines for two years, said they didn't know Quill would acknowledge them. "It was a surprise and an honor," Ireland said. Over 40 people were present at the Marines event at Memorial City Hall Saturday morning. Cayuga County Legislator Charles Ripley, R-Summerhill, who had been a major in the Marines and was in the organization for 24 years, was the primary guest speaker for the event. He acknowledged those with "a warrior's spirit" who have fought to defend freedom. "For 243 years, Marines have fought and won wherever and whenever," Ripley said. Before honoring Ireland and Allen, Quill asked those in attendance to remember Marines who are no longer alive. Staff Sgt. Kyle Wagner, the Marine recruiter for Auburn, and recent recruits took part in the flag-raising ceremony that kicked off the event. Wagner and the recruits barely released a shiver while standing still in the frigid weather. Cody Wheeler, one of the recruits, said he joined the Marines in order to make himself the best person he can be. "There's always room for improvement, and I figured the Marine Corps could offer that," Wheeler said. Another recruit, Jonathan Ammerman, also talked about why he enlisted. "Be a part of something and wanting to serve our country," he said. Related cake-cutting parties, one at the American Legion Swietoniowski-Kopeczek Post No. 1324 and the other at the Veterans of Foreign Wars No. 1975, both in Auburn, were held later that day. Staff writer Kelly Rocheleau can be reached at (315) 282-2243 or kelly.rocheleau@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @KellyRocheleau. Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Browse through recently listed homes in the Auburn and Cayuga County real estate market and find your next home! Are you feeling like maybe now is the right time to treat your family to a special experience? If so, here are five resort destinations to consider. Members who serve on the 168 boards that control local alcohol sales in North Carolina are doing good work.Know how we know?Because state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission officials, including one who's no longer with the agency, say so.The ABC is giving these boards a bonus of sorts. For all their "hard work."Former ABC administrator Bob Hamilton left the agency in late July, about two weeks before the state auditor released a report saying the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission has over past years cost the state about $13.5 million.Hamilton, ABC meeting minutes say, reported that ABC staff recommended reducing the bailment surcharge - $1.40 per case - to $1.15 per case. (Bailment charges and fees are imposed on each case of liquor shipped from an ABC warehouse).The formula for pricing a bottle of liquor in North Carolina is, well, complicated. The cost to the consumer is the result of myriad fees and taxes, including the bailment fee and local markup, as well as state and federal excise taxes, state sales taxes, and bottle charges.Guess who ends up paying more?A bottle of, say, Jim Beam white label bourbon will cost you $16.95 for a 750-milliliter bottle at any ABC store in this state. In Virginia, also a control state, that bottle will cost $14.99, according to the Virginia ABC website . In South Carolina - not a control state - that same bottle, a quick web search tells me, is fewer than $12 at some stores and fewer than $11 at others.On to the "bonus."The local markup for a bottle of liquor in North Carolina has stood at 39.5 percent. To help make up for the bailment reduction, ABC decided to increase the markup to 39.6 percent.The increase in the markup for local boards would cover operating expenses, the ABC says.As Hamilton explained, according to the minutes,ABC Chairman A.D. "Zander" Guy doubled down, sayingHe also mentioned the boards' "hard work," the minutes say.Board members are paid from money generated by local alcohol sales. Each local ABC board, the commission says, may set its own compensation, as long as it doesn't exceed $150 per board meeting, according to state statute.Joe Wall of the N.C. Association of ABC Boards was quite pleased with the change.But what about the consumers, many of whom, in my mind, are getting played by a monopolistic system run by people and special interests intent on locking it down for the foreseeable future? How else can one explain the commission's sudden generosity with money to localities funneled through a group of people appointed by local politicians, who, then, are paid for their "hard work?" Looking at the ABC system as a whole, these are people who hold unfettered power to control what should be a free and open market. People who control markups, surcharges and fees. Who control prices, which aren't dropping despite record profits.Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, has a fundamental problem with the markup change.McGrady asks.In May, the state's Program Evaluation Division released a follow-up report toThat initial report was released in 2008.the latest report says,In fiscal 2006-07, the PED report says, total revenue for liquor sales in North Carolina was almost $692 million. For fiscal 2016-17, total revenue was more than $1.1 billion, about $74.5 million of which went to county and city governments.Overall, the report says, the profit percentage for the ABC system increased from 8.54 percent for fiscal 2010-11 to 11.19 percent for fiscal 2016-17. The percentage of boards with profit margins of 10 percent or more increased from 10.1 percent to 19.6 percent. Since performance standards were implemented in 2011, 62 percent of local ABC boards have operating margins that match or exceed private liquor stores in South Carolina and Florida, the PED study says.Beyond the idea of buying loyalty, the ABC, regardless of profit margins, are unwilling to lower prices, save the across-the-board monthly specials. The ABC, of course, has no competition, so why would it? [A]mong all the persons being floated as potential replacements, one stands out: retired D.C. Circuit Court Judge Janice Rogers Brown. ... Over the past century, the courts have eroded the Constitution and its freedoms, and attorneys general have too often seized the opportunity for expanded federal power. The result has been a profound loss of confidence in the Constitution. What we need, therefore, at this stage is an attorney general of unimpeachable personal integrity, with a deep attachment to the Constitution and an elevated vision of the attorney general's office. And that is Judge Brown. If the President really wants to find ways of discouraging police misconduct and improving relations between the police and the public, maybe he should stop convening task forces, and, instead, have a chat with ... Judge Brown about reviving the Fourth Amendment. I feel compelled to rise on this issue to express, in the strongest terms, my opposition to the nomination of Janice Rogers Brown to the DC Circuit. ... If the claimant is powerful ... then she is willing to use any tool in her judicial arsenal to make sure the outcome is one they like. If it is a worker or a minority claiming discrimination, then she is nowhere to be found. ... [T]he version of America she is trying to create from her position on the bench ... is ... a view of America that says there is not a problem that cannot be solved by making sure that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Despite lacking any semblance of particularized suspicion when the initial contact is made, the police subject these individuals to intrusive searches unless they can prove their innocence. Our case law considers such a policy consistent with the Fourth Amendment. I continue to think this is error. Our jurisprudence perpetuates a fiction of voluntary consent where none exists. As a thought experiment, try to imagine this scene in Georgetown. Would residents of that neighborhood maintain there was no pressure to comply, if the District's police officers patrolled Prospect Street in tactical gear, questioning each person they encountered about whether they were carrying an illegal firearm? [I]f judges will not check this outsized power, then who will? ... The President is the most equipped to police his own house.... But, despite an impressive number of executive oversight bodies, there is pitifully little oversight within the Executive. ... Congress, perhaps? ... [C]ongressional oversight is a joke-and a bad one at that. ... Our democracy is broken. We must, however, hope that it is not incurably so. This nation's reputation for open and measured action is our national birthright; it is a history that ensures our credibility in the international community. The spread of drones cannot be stopped, but the U.S. can still influence how they are used in the global community-including, someday, seeking recourse should our enemies turn these powerful weapons 180 degrees to target our homeland. The Executive and Congress must establish a clear policy for drone strikes and precise avenues for accountability. In a Daily Caller piece last week, Philip Hamburger asked, "If Jeff Sessions steps down as attorney general, who will replace him?" With the President's recent announcement that Sessions has, indeed, stepped down, Hamburger's question is no longer hypothetical. Which makes his answer that much more interesting:Hamburger is right. Janice Rogers Brown has long been one of my favorite federal judges. If she were to become America's top law enforcement officer, I am sure she would do all she could to restore the U.S. Constitution and the freedoms it guarantees.I alluded to Judge Brown's exemplary devotion to the Constitution in a 2015 Legal Update . President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing had just released a report that recommended increasing the level of federal interference in the affairs of local police forces despite all the harm that that interference had already done. Citing Judge Brown's recent concurrence in United States v. Gross , I said:Even when I wrote those words, however, I knew President Obama would never seek advice from Judge Brown-not about the Fourth Amendment or anything else. When George W. Bush nominated Brown to the D.C. Circuit in 2005, then-Senator Obama denounced her in terms that would have amounted to defamation outside the Senate chamber:These calumnies have been thoroughly refuted by Judge Brown's record on the D.C. Circuit.Take, for example, United States v. Gross, which I cited in the 2015 Legal Update mentioned above. The case involved a Fourth Amendment challenge to the District of Columbia's stop and frisk program. In her concurrence, Judge Brown acknowledged that Supreme Court precedent required her to uphold the program, but that didn't stop her criticizing that precedent:Whose side was she on? It certainly wasn't the side of the rich and powerful:Or take, as another example, a case I cited in a long Legal Update I wrote when Judge Brown announced her retirement from the D.C. Circuit in 2017: Ahmed Salem Bin Ali Jaber v. United States . The case had been brought by the relatives of two men killed as "collateral damage" during a U.S. drone attack in Yemen. They claimed the attack violated international and U.S. law because, rather than strike when the intended victims were alone and away from other people, the drone operator delayed the strike until the intended victims had entered the village where the plaintiffs' family members were attending a wedding celebration.In her opinion for the court, Judge Brown dismissed the complaint because, under the Supreme Court's political question doctrine , it was "nonjusticiable." However, in a separate concurrence she observed:Whose side was she on in Jaber? (Hint for Obama: Yemeni villagers aren't powerful; giving them a right of redress when their relatives are killed by negligently timed drone strikes won't ensure that the rich get richer.)Janice Rogers Brown would be an inspired choice for attorney general. Let's hope President Trump holds her in higher esteem than his predecessor. It was nice to have a few days off - and I made the most of it. I came to Elizabeth City and spent my time doing the things that I hold dearest, rocking Brynn, playing with Lyla and cooking.The days were bright and the sun shone so cheerfully, that it turned the "laughing river" to a vibrant indigo . I had never seen it that color and took great joy in finding a new discovery of beauty. I showed Lyla and she agreed with me that the water was a shade of purple.Jenny had a friend visiting for a few days. Julie, from Florida came to meet Brynn. Jenny and Julie have been friends since they were teens. To say that Julie is a free spirit, is an under statement. Julie has a track record, to confirm this. She took off out west, to Colorado, when she was quite young. She did not know a soul, nor have a job waiting. She attended a concert the first week she was there, and that is where she landed a job. She stayed there a few years, but at some point, decided to try New Zealand, for she had heard of its' beauty. Off she went, alone, and lived there a year. At some point, Julie went to Finland and declares it was as lovely country as ever was. Now, she has traveled all over the planet, always alone, but has finally made her home in Florida, for Julie fell in love . . . She and a former schoolmate crossed paths again, a few years ago, and within several weeks, he and Julie were headed to Florida. That was a three years back, and it is good to write , that Julie is "happy as a lark" ever dared to be. I listened to her stories in great awe. I can not pretend that I was not shocked at her sense of adventure.I made all sorts of southern foods while she was there. There were cheese biscuits, one day, while she talked about Colorado, hamburger in gravy, as I heard about Christmas in Finland - and pumpkin bread as she talked about the beautiful people in Estonia. Ever so often, I would say "your poor mother", though all turned out well, for Julie everytime. If there was ever a quote that fitted Julie, it is " She thought she could . . .so she did."I couldn't help but think how opposite I am from the brave Julie. I like to have a plan and take years to make things "as sure as fire" possible, before I take the first step. Hence, I have always been slow to act on impulse. Now rest assured, I have had a fair share of shocking circumstances. Planning has never spared me of "rough patches" nor changes. The things I so thoughtfully prepared for did not always happen, and many things popped up and caught me completely off guard. I have lived at the "rabbitpatch" for more than a dozen years, and have worked at the same job for eighteen years. . . and of course, I have never been to Finland.I have contemplated selling the house, for five years now! It took me two years to just decide I would. The last few years, I became serious, and have contemplated the details thoroughly. . . I have studied the housing market and been able to define my needs. I have weighed heavily, what is sensible and what is desirable . . . yet, somehow, sometimes, it still feels reckless! Getting older is a complex time. . .and most especially, when it happens to you.Now it is Halloween, much to the delight of many children. In the country, little ghosts and goblins are scarce. When I first moved here, there were several young children in the neighborhood, that came and it delighted me. Now, they are all grown up, but I remember them each year. I still buy candy for my grown children. Lyla wants to be Dorothy, from "The Wizard of Oz". She has talked about it for months.I loved Halloween, as a child. Our church organist. "Miss Arahbelle" would have a table covered in a fancy table cloth set up in her dining room. She had all sorts of homemade treats and a big bowl of punch, that we drank, out of little glass cups. All of the neighbors made cookies or brownies, in those days. Some popped popcorn and some gave out apples. We only went to the homes of family members or long time neighbors, anyway.One year,a new preacher did a whole sermon on Halloween and discouraged parents from participating -that put a damper on things. I was a young mother by then with three little ones. I am sorry to say that we skipped Halloween that year. I was sure that we would be put on the prayer list, had we observed the tradition or else our children would be doomed. Braver parents than I, took their little ones out anyway -and what a predicament arose, when they came to our house. It was like insult to injury, for my own little children. The next year they went, with my blessing. They made little thank you notes to hand out, as they went along and it was a lovely time. Being young, is a complex time , too.Jenny has never allowed Lyla to have much candy. The first year that Lyla really went trick or treating, Lyla, dressed like a little fairy, would follow the children to the doors and simply say "thank you!" without taking any candy! It shocked the folks in the homes, but it tickled me. Of course, she is carrying a basket tonight, as Dorothy did, and I sure she will accept candy, now . . .which Jenny will ration out, like a miser.The fields lay golden just now. The soy beans fields are a lovely russet color. The sun, when it is just at the horizon, seems to gild the fields til they glow fairly. Even the , cornfields, now spent, and often full of blackbirds are a pleasing sight. Slowly, but surely, the woodlands are changing too. Here and there are flashes of gold and ruby, like a tempting prelude of things to come. We have not yet had a hard frost, so frogs still sing in the evening, til very early morning. Under such circumstances, there is little need for heat nor air. I raise the windows in the old farm house at the rabbit patch and the sweet country air wafts in. Combines hum in the distant fields and the blackbirds chatter. Autumn is a lovely time. Stanhope Deatherage, Jr. at Fort Pulaski, adjacent to Tybee Station on Tybee Island, Georgia, at the mouth of the Savannah River: Above. We visited Stanhope quite often while he was stationed so far away from his North Carolina home. photo by Stan Deatherage Robert Earle Deatherage, barely 18 years old in 1944, before he earned all his stripes as the citizen soldier from Fuquay Springs: Above. I am not a veteran. I only have the greatest respect for those who have served, unsurpassed by all professions that keep America safe and strong. To that extent, I observe Veterans Day.Not all veterans served in foreign wars, but, in these times of the Global War on Terror, many have. Many are physically and mentally devastated from that war of shifting Rules of Engagement. It is a war that the politicians were ill prepared to prosecute, still aren't; however, we can always expect that perfection in military application in our citizen government, with our citizen military is a fleeting, often unattainable ideal. While America has the greatest, most professional military that the world has ever known, rarely do we get it right ... World War II was the exception in modern times.That is the way a democratic republic works: We are run by citizens, our immediate contemporaries, who are voted into office; and we are protected by citizen soldiers, most of whom will not make the military their career. In fact, by today's standards of military personnel versus the citizenry, only around 2% of our nation's population protects the rest of us - the 98%. It has not always been that way, especially in World War II, and we will talk about that later.While I mentioned that I am not a Veteran, as most Americans are not, I am the son of a veteran, Robert Earle Deatherage, and the father of one, William Stanhope Deatherage, Jr. I am so very proud of my father's patriotic call to duty, and I take great pride in my son's desire to serve these United States as well. Neither were drafted, but both found their manhood in the service of our nation, were honorably discharged, and both were, and are good men, who loved, and love their country as well as their families. What better Americans to walk the good earth of our nation than the veterans that serve us all, many of whom were put in harm's way - then and now?My son, who served in the United States Coast Guard and reached the rank of petty officer, second class, never was put in harm's way, other than his job to climb the floating buoy towers in the Atlantic and our eastern waterways to maintain the safety of our shipping lanes. My father, who served in the United States Army in the Pacific Theater of World War II, reached the rank of staff sergeant, and definitely was put in harm's way, as he fought in two of the largest battles of the Pacific Theater, then prepared for the Invasion of Japan.My father, in contrast to my son, was swept up into the patriotic zeal to serve after Japan's unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor, where America's Pacific Fleet was stationed , and summarily devastated. Bob Deatherage was only 15 years old when Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941 , and then hours later the Philippines and Wake Island were also attacked by the Japanese, drawing America 'kicking and screaming' into total war, the likes of which this nation, and this world has never seen before, or since.The war effort in the United States was total, with 16,112,566 American men serving in the military, with others back home, especially the U.S. women, serving in retrofitted factories as line workers building some of the most efficient lethal weapons to be employed by either side. The United States census in 1940 was 132,164,569 souls, so the ratio of citizens versus soldiers was 12.19% veterans serving us, protecting us, which is over 6 times higher than the citizen participation in the war effort here currently during the World Wide War on Terror.When my father was just 17, as a Freshman at North Carolina State, in 1943, he set his sights to join the Navy to become a Navy Pilot. Robert Earle had scored extremely high on his entrance exams for flight school, the Navy badly needed pilots, but there was just one problem, young Bob was only 17, and he needed his mother, Ida Mae, to sign him into the Navy as a minor. Ida Mae would have none of the signing of her only 17 year old son into a profession to fly off a perfectly fine air craft carrier in a propeller driven gunship that every facet of a vigorous and well armed enemy would be shooting at.A year later, when Bob turned 18 in late August, he left after his freshman year at NC State, and signed up to fight for his nation, but there was another problem with him now becoming a Navy pilot. They did not need any now, they needed infantry, preferably smart ones like my father, so he joined, trained, and when it was time to retake the Philippines ("I shall return" - General Douglas MacArthur, 1942), my father was tromping right along with the brilliant general; however, in a far more forward position.When that huge battle was finally coming to its inevitable conclusion, Bob Deatherage prepared for the first battle of this war on Japanese soil - Okinawa - this time as a squad leader, as a buck sergeant, at 18 years old. I still find this a remarkable feat for someone so young. After the Okinawa victory, when it was time for the eventual Invasion of Japan, my father was promoted to staff sergeant with his own platoon command, and again, remarkably, he was not yet 19 years old.Think about what you were doing when you were not quite 19 years old. Chances are, you were: not the youngest platoon leader in your battalion, and barely old enough to drink beer (18 in those days), in the largest war the history of Man has ever known, preparing to lead his platoon into the largest battle this nation would ever know (probably larger than the Battle of the Bulge) - the Invasion of Japan.Just a few weeks before Robert Earle's 19th birthday, just a scant few hundreds of miles from my father's position in Okinawa, the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic device (the first of two ever used in war) on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped the second atomic device on Nagasaki, Japan, effectively ending the greatest war in the history of Mankind. My father, at 19 years old, commanded his platoon in the Occupation of Japan, following the implicit commands of Japan's new Emperor - General Douglas MacArthur.The General's orders were absolute, his power immutable by America's standards as a Democratic Republic, and when my father was directed to command the destruction of giant piles of Japanese small arms in great bulk, he executed his orders with extreme prejudice. Remarkably still, my father bequeathed to me, at his passing, a 7 millimeter Japanese sniper's rifle and a samurai sword. I keep these archaic instruments of combat as monuments to Bob Deatherage's patriotic youth in a war where the only option was to win at all cost.Thank God the America of the 1940's did have the immense fortitude to win , and, moreover, thank God that they did destroy the abject evil born from our adversaries' ambitions, for that legacy of unconditional victory has preserved a great peace, as it did, also, catapult America to the position of the preeminent democratic republic of our modern world. The Wall Street Journal [paywall] just published a major expose revealing "several previously unreported instances in which Mr. Trump intervened directly to suppress stories about his alleged sexual encounters with women." The Wall Street Journal interviewed "three dozen people who have direct knowledge of the events or who have been briefed on them, as well as court papers, corporate records and other documents." Trump has lied on several previous occasions about the payoffs, saying he played no role in them. The article reports that Trump met with National Enquirer publisher David Pecker and the two struck a deal to pay hush money to women who wanted to publicize their alleged sexual affairs with Trump. Less than a year later, Mr. Trump asked Mr. Pecker to quash the story of a former Playboy model who said they'd had an affair. Mr. Pecker's company soon paid $150,000 to the model, Karen McDougal, to keep her from speaking publicly about it. Mr. Trump later thanked Mr. Pecker for the assistance. The Wall Street Journal obtained an audio recording of a conversation between Trump and his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, which reveals Trump's sense of loyalty towards people who go out of their way to help him: As Mr. Cohen explained his plans, Mr. Trump spoke over him: "So, what are we gonna pay One-fifty?" Mr. Trump asked. Mr. Cohen paused and replied, "Yes." Mr. Cohen said he would be getting "all the stuff," meaning the other files on Mr. Trump he had been seeking. They discussed the uncertainty about what might become of the files if Mr. Pecker no longer ran American Media. "Yeah, I was thinking about that," Mr. Trump said. "Maybe he gets hit by a truck." Federal prosecutors have gathered evidence of the president's participation in transactions with porn stars and models that violated campaign-finance laws, per this WSJ story. https://t.co/cvpT5Tv5AG Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) November 9, 2018 WSJ: When Cohen pleaded guilty, prosecutors filed a document asserting that he "coordinated with one or more members of the campaignabout the fact, nature, and timing of the payments." The unnamed campaign member or members referred to Mr. Trump.https://t.co/1LXDuARxyU Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) November 9, 2018 For people of influence, balancing the fame, expectations, and criticism can be a daunting task. A little slip like what happened to Emtee could stir up controversy. Luckily, the Roll Up hitmaker understands everything that comes with the lifestyle. So, what really happened to Emtee? Mthembeni Ndevu alias Emtee is one of the rising stars in Africa. Emtee's musical journey began when he was still a kid, but he started making some coins out of it at the age 17. However, his breakthrough in the industry happened in 2015 after the release of Roll Up. The Matatiele born rapper even collaborated with Wizkid and AKA. In the same year, he won the Song of the Year award during the South African Hip Hop Awards. Ever since, Emtee has released three studio albums and one EP. As his music portfolio increased, so did his popularity. Emtee's music took over the airwaves, and he got booked for various shows. READ ALSO: Emtee blasts critics and people who 'snitch' on his sacred culture Emtee latest news Emtee So much has happened since Emtee's rise to fame. Here is a roundup of Emtee latest news. Emtee falls on stage On July 8th, 2018, Emtee was scheduled to perform in Lephalale, Limpopo. During his performance, Emtee fell on stage. Even before the show could end, the news about what happened to Emtee on stage spread on social media. Some fans sympathized with Emtee while others were quick to point at his lifestyle. In the meantime, Emtee was carried off the stage. He stated in an interview that he lost consciousness for some time. By the time he snapped back, he could not comprehend what was going on. Majority of the current generation rappers glorify money, fame, and drugs. As such, drugs such as weed and codeine are somehow part of the lifestyle. For Emtee, seeing his idol, Lil Wayne walk around with a cup of codeine concoction influenced him to start sippin. He would drink about a liter of the codeine concoction each week. Emtee also encouraged his friends to try out the codeine concoction. He stated in an interview that the concoction calmed him down and slowed his heart rate. Also, he, directly and indirectly, encouraged his fans to use the codeine concoction through his videos and music. He has also admitted that he had taken weed for some time. Naturally, the public had a reason to link Emtee falling on stage to his drug abuse. As the Emtee video spread, most people opined that he should seek help to solve his drug problem. Others used the incident to create awareness. Emtee news after the fall After some time, Emtee decided to give an account of what happened to him. In an interview with ZAlebs, he denied claims that drugs were to blame for the fall. Instead, Emtee stated that he fell because he was fatigued and overwhelmed. Moreover, Emtee said that he had back to back shows days before heading to Lephalale, in addition to having traveled by bus to the event as he stated in an interview with MetroFM. He woke up some minutes before hitting the stage. Therefore, Emtee believes that he fell because he lost concentration. Emtee drugs free The Limpopo incident was a wake-up call for Emtee. First, a post on Emtee Twitter account suggested that he was free of all narcotics. Emtee also shared his drug recovery story in an interview with DRUM. He joined a wellness center in Bloemfontein. To Emtee, the experience at the wellness clinic was all about finding himself. So, for 21 days he received psychological support and opened up about his struggles. During this time he had limited communication from outside. Emtee also got pills that helped him during the recovery phase. At the end of his stay, Emtee purposed to make several changes in his life. First, he decided to stop depending on drugs. Then, he created boundaries for him and his family. He chose to focus more on becoming a responsible dad and providing a decent home for the family. Emtee, a father of two, hopes to spend as much time as possible with his children. As for his crew and friends, they will have to call first before visiting Emtee's house. Also, Emtee now keeps a journal where he documents his thoughts and refers to when facing challenges. Lastly, Emtee wants to use his platform to influence others positively. Emtee 2018 EP Emtee released his EP titled DIY2. The EP features artists such as Saudi, Sjava, and Simz. Emtee and his crew intend to take African rap music to the next level. The EP is available on iTunes and Amazon. READ ALSO: A look at what South African celebs do over the weekends Emtee is no stranger to controversy. Last year, Emtee Instagram post exposing his private parts made him the talk of the town. Like most of us know, some things like what happened to Emtee occur so that we can learn and grow. For Emtee, each setback and incident has been a valuable gift to him. As he uses his platform to influence change. READ ALSO: Emtee absolutely loves his special 'drank,' but it's ruining his teeth Money comes, money goes: Rapper Emtee lives a life of luxury but says it's not all about the money Lifestyle of the rich and famous: 7 South African celebs show off their luxury cars Prince Kaybee is showing-off his fans: Put your name on his car Gigi Lamayne admitted to hospital after alleged suicide attempt Source: Briefly.co.za Trendy music often leads to trendy dance moves. There are dances that come to stay like the Vosho and the Pantsula, and then there are those that some people hope won't stay. The #MalwedheChallenge is one dance that SA authorities hope will blow over real soon. PAY ATTENTION: Click See First under the Following tab to see Briefly.co.za News on your News Feed! South Africa, and the African continent really, have been taken by storm with the #MalwedheChallenge - a dance that calls for people to 'faint' where they stand. This new trend is brought to dancers by King Monada and has authorities worried. While dancers who aren't as good with hitting a Vosho gladly accept the #MalwedheChallenge and 'faint' on the spot, authorities fear that people could really get hurt. PAY ATTENTION: Save mobile data with FreeBasics: Briefly is now available on the app Malwedhe is a new hit dance track and the word loosely translate to 'faint' or 'collapse'. Music lovers listening to the song simply fall down at the right parts of King Monada's catchy track. It's said that this song will be THE track to listen during the December chill time. However, the dance does come at a price. School learners did the dance in their class and got suspended for it. TimesLIVE reports that some people did the challenge in their car and nearly had an accident. For those curious about the track and the dance, here's a look at the #MalwedheChallenge: READ ALSO: Python bites man on his manhood hiding in toilet, 15 stitches required Enjoyed reading our story? Download BRIEFLY's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major South African news! Source: Briefly.co.za News / National by Staff reporter Human rights abuses in Marange and plans by the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) to rope in artisanal miners risk putting the country on the agenda of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), experts and Parliament have warned.The KPCS plenary is set for Brussels in Belgium from November 12-18 and comes after ZCDC boss Morris Mpofu on Wednesday revealed plans to ring-fence its alluvial fields to allow locals, to embark on organised artisanal mining.But the chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio committee on Mines said the move was a publicity stunt by ZCDC after Parliament recommended the disbandment of the company."That is just a public relations stunt. The question that must be asked is whether that is part of the diamond policy? It has to be part of the diamond policy that will then come to us (parliamentary committee)," he said.Mliswa's committee recently threatened to charge Mines minister Winstone Chitando and permanent secretary Onesmo Mazai Moyo with contempt of Parliament if they failed to dissolve ZCDC as recommended by Parliament on the premise that they were illegally constituted, and that they had illegally taken over diamond mines in Chiadzwa."They want to block the return of the former diamond mining companies by claiming to embrace villagers, which is a recipe of disaster as this will attract the attention of KPC," said a mining expert who requested anonymity."Villagers have not made it a secret that the former companies were much better in terms of developing the area."Under terms of the KP, participants are required to meet minimum requirements, come up with import and export controls, as well as commit to transparency.Centre for Natural Resources Governance director Farai Maguwu wrote to KP chair Hilde Hardeman recently, alleging human rights abuses in Marange."While the KP has moved on with regards to Zimbabwe, the reality of the matter is diamond mining in eastern Zimbabwe is accompanied with gross human rights abuses in the form of both direct and structural violence," Maguwu, in the letter said.In her response, Hardeman said they were closely following developments."I understand that consultations are currently ongoing between the affected diamond communities, civic society groups , Zimbabwe's Mines minister and ZCDC to further clarify the facts on the ground," she saidCentre for Research and Development director James Mupfumi urged Manicaland provincial affairs minister Ellen Gwaradzimba to take action against human rights abuses in Marange to avoid the country becoming an agenda at the KP. News / National by newzimbabwe FIRST Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa's philanthropic work has been recognised after she was Thursday honoured with a Matter Humanitarian Award from the Matter group president Quenton Marty in the United States.Through her Angle of Hope Foundation, President Emmerson Mnangagwa's wife has been involved in a lot of charity work and community engagement initiatives to raise awareness around cervical cancer.Mrs Mnangagwa chose to remain modest while accepting the award, saying she was not into charity work in order to be rewarded for it."The recognition is a great encouragement that what I have started with my team is impactful and that we should, with the help of others, continue to do good," said Mnangagwa as she accepted the honour."Let us come together and make lives matter; let us come together to make a difference for our people, even if it impacts one life, that still matters."Her Foundation was established in February this year with aims to support marginalised women and children through different interventions."On welfare, we have started joint ventures to equip women with different skills in order for them to be self-sustainable economically," she said."Our country has been experiencing hardships over the years due to socio-economic decline, therefore we need to go on without waiting for government."This is the reason you see me go to different places around the country with the hope to eradicate poverty and have access to go health care for all."She added, "It is my dream that I will be able to find sustainable ways to assist those who touch my heart."Mnangagwa, who was this year asked by her husband to surrender her Chirumhanzu seat as MP in order to concentrate on charity, also said her work will not have been possible if donors and other well-wishers did not come on board."Our journey with Matter begun early this year when the team came to equip Lukosi Hospital in Hwange and established a nutrition plot where fruits and vegetables are grown organically and will be provided to the hospital with excess being sold," she said."Matter has also done amazing job for the Victoria Falls Hospital which is now equipped with modern bedding for private hospital standards."She also said she will soon establish a new maternity hospital in Harare with focus on the nutrition in partnership with Matter.Matter is a Minnesota based global health non-profit organisation on a mission to expand access to health around the world by giving hospitals the tools they need to care for the sick and injured in dignified ways and designing solutions to create diversified and resilient farms. North Battleford Mayor Ryan Bater says a recent crime ranking by Maclean's magazine only paints a small picture of life in Saskatchewan's seventh largest city. "That is not reflective of life here," Bater said. "What's being reflected in these crime statistics and their associated stories is one aspect of the community." The magazine released their annual list of the most dangerous cities in Canada earlier this week. The rankings are based on crime severity index using data from Statistics Canada. North Battleford finished top of the list for all crime, youth crime, firearms offences and impaired driving. "People who do live here and do visit here see much more than just these crime stats," Bater said. Bater said he worries the rankings will deter people from going to North Battleford because they distract from positive aspects of the city. "We have the best recreation facilities in Saskatchewan. A lot of people don't know that. Bridget Yard/CBC News "We have a lot of economic activity," he said. "There's a lot of investment going on in the community right now." Bater also noted some of the events the city recently hosted, including the 2018 Saskatchewan Winter Games. Bater said he recognizes North Battleford has a high crime rate. "It's something that we're working on and it's a high priority for our city," he said. "Our citizens know it's a high priority and we have a lot of irons in the fire to address it." He commended the province for its recent implementation of the Crime Reduction Team, which operates out of North Battleford and Prince Albert, but said the city needs more help from the provincial and federal government. He said he would like to see more provincial help for people struggling with addictions and mental health, as well as additional assistance from the federal government to address youth crime. - With files from CBC Radio's Afternoon Edition For Justin Trudeau and his Canadian delegation, there was an obvious place to start a weekend of commemorations marking the centenary of the armistice that ended the First World War: The still-pockmarked battlefield at Canada's National Memorial at Vimy Ridge. Dreary, damp skies and a chilling wind greeted the prime minister when he arrived off his overnight flight from Ottawa Saturday morning. But just as it was a century ago, Vimy Ridge remains a place for stoicism and national pride. "You stand for the values upon which Canada was built, values like democracy, equality, justice and liberty. And what I can barely know, you will never forget," Trudeau told a half-dozen representatives of veterans' organizations following a wreath laying in the small cemetery on the memorial's grounds. "From the very bottom of our hearts, thank you." It falls to subsequent generations of veterans to tell the story of Vimy Ridge today the place where Canadian soldiers forged a national identity by fighting together for the first time under their own command. The words now inscribed on the massive hilltop monument describe their accomplishment in a succinct, understated style: "The Canadian Corps on the 9th of April, 1917, with four divisions in line on a front of four miles, attacked and captured this ridge." Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press Canada's ambassador to France, Isabelle Hudon, said it's important to keep the memory of a "generation of extraordinary citizens" alive, honouring the sacrifices made both on the battlefield and at home. "These brave men and women have always stood up for Canada," she said. "Now it is our turn to stand up for them." Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O'Regan called the battle at Vimy, about two hours north of Paris near the city of Arras, the "battle that helped end the war," after months of devastating and brutal trench warfare against the Germans. Story continues "The price, though, was staggering," he said, metres away from grave markers of young Canadian soldiers, some of whose remains were buried unidentified. Values forged in battle In his speech to the small gathering of a few dozen dignitaries and invited guests, O'Regan said reading the letters of First World War soldiers is a reminder of what they sacrificed "greatly and knowingly" to help build a better future for their young country. "Now we are free to choose our country's course," the minister said, drawing a straight line from the values that propelled the soldiers a century ago to the freedoms Canadians enjoy today. "We must remember the lesson of these conflicts: That freedom is not free. That it is not easy. Indeed it is hard fought," the minister said. "To remember those lessons is to remember those who fought these battles and who fight them still." O'Regan and Hudon joined Trudeau for a short Indigenous ceremony during their wreath laying. First Nations and Metis veterans were among the half-dozen who met the prime minister and attended a short reception with the dignitaries following the prime minister's visit. Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press Keith Williamson described how he believes he's the third generation to serve. He spent about 25 years in the reserves and regular forces, his father fought in the Second World War, and he believes a grandfather he never met fought with the Royal Navy in the First World War. He said it was an honour to be part of the armistice event at Vimy. "It was the first major battle that Canada was in," he said. "We had a tremendous loss of life ... Canada became a country, as it were." A small group of young people were also included in Saturday's commemoration. Pascal Morimanno, 16, was chosen to attend after telling his family's story in an essay competition. His great-grandfather fought for the British side in the final 100 days leading up to the armistice, including at the Battle of the Somme. He told reporters it wasn't lost on him that some of the grave markers at Vimy remember soldiers nearly as young as him when they were killed on that Easter Monday in 1917. Vimy Oaks now planted on site On his way from the cemetery up to the hilltop monument, Trudeau stopped at a small grove of oak saplings, part of recent efforts to replace the original oak trees on the battlefield site with young trees originating in Canada. In the battle's aftermath, Canadian soldier Leslie Miller plucked a handful of acorns and sent them home to Toronto, where they grew into strong trees. Now volunteers are using the Canadian trees to regenerate the trees on the memorial grounds in France. There are now 100 saplings for the 1.6-hectare park, to coincide with the centenary. They're planted in four concentric rings, one for each of the Canadian divisions that fought the famous battle. Atop the ridge, the Canadian Armed Forces combined pipes and drums band played as Trudeau walked past the thousands of names of Canada's First World War dead. The rain held off as a soloist sang O Canada and La Marseillaise, the French national anthem. Then it was off to Paris for the prime minister and other dignitaries representing Canada at the international commemoration set to take over the heart of the city on Sunday, the 100th anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the war. Saturday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting a private tour and dinner at the Musee d'Orsay for some of the 60 world leaders expected to be in attendance, representing countries that fought on both sides of what was supposed to be the war to end all wars. Vancouver Coastal Health is warning people not to consume a chili oil sauce made in a Richmond home due to what it says is a botulism risk. The health authority says it has advised the maker of Betty's King Sauce, which is largely sold online and on social media, to stop making the product. It has also advised consumers to throw out any remaining product they have. "Inspectors discovered that the product is being produced in a person's home in Richmond, which is not an approved and inspected facility," a statement read. "The ingredients and processing method could allow for the growth of the harmful bacteria." Vancouver Coastal Health notes no cases of botulism are known to have been caused by the sauce. Maker issues statement The Instagram account for Betty's King Sauce posted a statement Wednesday acknowledging the action by the health authority and highlighting that there have been no health issues from the sauce. "I don't make it in a commercial kitchen and couldn't afford to keep sharing the joy it brings my community if I did," the statement read. "I don't make it in a commercial facility that is tested. It does not mean there has been any issues, but said that I have to stop my home production." Rare disease Botulism is a disease caused by a neurotoxin produced by bacteria under certain conditions. It is uncommon fewer than seven cases of botulism in Canada are reported each year but culprits can be improperly preserved canned foods at home or improperly refrigerated meats. Vancouver Coastal Health says contaminated food may not look or smell spoiled but when eaten can cause nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dry throat, respiratory failure or paralysis. Symptoms develop 12 to 36 hours after eating contaminated food, the health authority said. A spokesperson from Vancouver Coastal Health said its investigation is ongoing. She said no penalties have been assessed at this time but if production resumes "we may look at a fine." By Ruma Paul COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - For Nurul Amin, a Rohingya Muslim living in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, the days since learning he and his family were among a group of people set to potentially be repatriated to Myanmar have been among the most frightening since they fled their home. "I can hardly sleep at night for fear of getting forcibly repatriated. Since the time I heard that my name is on the list I can't even eat," says Amin, 35, who has four daughters, a wife and sister with him in the Jamtoli Camp in southeast Bangladesh. Reuters identified and spoke to more than 20 of the roughly 2,000 Rohingya refugees on a list of people Myanmar has agreed to take back. Though officials say no-one will be forced to return against their will, all say they have been terrified since learning this month their names were on the list prepared by Bangladeshi officials and vetted by Myanmar. The list has not been made public and not all those whose names are on it have been informed, say Bangladeshi camp officials, due to concerns of sparking widespread panic in a camp that shelters 52,000 refugees. Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed in late October to this month begin the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled across the border to escape a Myanmar army crackdown, even though the United Nations' refugee agency and aid groups say doubts persist about their safety and conditions in Myanmar should they return. More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims crossed from Rakhine state, in mostly Buddhist Myanmar, into Bangladesh from August last year after Rohingya insurgent attacks on security forces triggered a sweeping military response. Refugees said soldiers and local Buddhists carried out mass killings and rape during the violence in 2017, while U.N.-mandated investigators have accused the military of unleashing a campaign with "genocidal intent". Myanmar has denied almost all the allegations. It has rejected the U.N. findings as one-sided, and said the military action was a legitimate counterinsurgency operation. WILLING TO RETURN? This week, the U.N.'s human rights investigator on Myanmar urged Bangladesh to drop the repatriation plan, warning that Rohingya still faced a high risk of persecution in Myanmar. A Bangladesh foreign ministry official, who asked not to be named, said on Friday the country would not send any Rohingya back forcefully. "The Bangladesh government is in talks with them to motivate them," he said. Separately, another foreign ministry official told Reuters the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) would verify whether those shortlisted were willing to return. Firas Al-Khateeb, a UNHCR representative in Cox's Bazar, told Reuters that effort would start within a few days. "We have not started the process yet but we will be carrying out an assessment of the voluntariness," he said. Dr Min Thein, director of the disaster management department at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement in Myanmar, said his team was preparing for 2,000 people to return. "The Immigration Department is doing the scrutinizing," said Min Thein. An official at Myanmar's Immigration Department declined to answer questions over the phone. In late October, a delegation from Myanmar visited the camps in an effort to urge Rohingya to participate in the repatriation process. "THROW US INTO THE SEA" Refugees who spoke to Reuters said they did not trust the Myanmar authorities to guarantee their safety. Some said refugees would go back only if they got to return to their own land and were given citizenship. "I'll just consume poison if I am forced to go back. I saw my cousin shot dead by military ... What is the guarantee that we'll not be persecuted again?" said Abdur Rahim, 47, who previously owned a shop and 2 acres of land in Rakhine. Nur Kaida, 25, who is the mother of a 19-month-old girl, said it "would be better to die in the camps rather go back and get killed or raped". On Friday, an alliance of humanitarian and civil society groups working in Rakhine and in refugee camps in Bangladesh, in a joint statement, warned sending people back would be "dangerous and premature". The group called on the governments of the two countries to ensure that refugees in Bangladesh were able to make a free and informed choice about their return. It also said U.N. agencies should have unimpeded access to all parts of Rakhine in order to monitor the situation in areas of potential return. Recent days have seen dozens of Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh attempting to flee via sea to Malaysia, raising fears of a fresh wave of dangerous voyages. But despite poor conditions in the camps prompting some to risk such a perilous route out, those like Muhammed Wares, 75, whose name is on the list, say it is better than going back. "Why are they sending us back?" said Wares. "They may as well throw us into the sea." (Reporting by Ruma Paul in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh; Additional reporting by Serajul Quadir in Dhaka and Thu Thu Aung in Yangon; Writing by Euan Rocha; Editing by Alex Richardson) By Stephen Grey and Tom Arnold VALLETTA/DUBAI, (Reuters) - In February 2017, the Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia wrote in her blog about a mystery company in Dubai called 17 Black Limited. She alleged it was connected to Maltese politicians, but offered no evidence. She was unable to discover who owned the company, and it remained unclear whether 17 Black had any significance. Eight months later Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb, prompting an international outcry. No evidence has emerged that connects her death to any of her journalism. But her killing did renew interest in her many different claims, leading to media reports about such subjects as banking regulation and Malta's sale of passports. Now Reuters and other media have begun to unravel another mystery, that of 17 Black. Two people familiar with the subject in Malta said a report by Malta's anti-money laundering watchdog had identified Yorgen Fenech, the chief executive of a Maltese property developer, as the owner of 17 Black. A third person familiar with the subject in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said account records at a bank in Dubai identified Fenech as the owner of 17 Black. Reuters last month reviewed UAE banking correspondence that described Fenech as the owner and signatory of a 17 Black account at Noor Bank in Dubai. Fenech is a director and co-owner of a business group that won a large energy concession from the Maltese state. In 2013, that group was granted the right by the Maltese government to build a 450 million euro ($517 million) gas power station on the island. When asked to comment, Fenech declined to say whether he owns 17 Black. The ownership of the company is significant because of another document, an email written in December 2015 by accountants for two senior figures in Malta's government. That email was discovered by Maltese financial regulators among documents obtained from the accountants' firm, according to a person briefed on the investigation. Its existence has been reported before and its authenticity has not been challenged. The two senior political figures concerned are Konrad Mizzi, who was Malta's energy minister from 2013 to 2016, and Keith Schembri, the prime minister's chief of staff. Mizzi conceived and promoted the idea of offering the power station concession. According to the December 2015 email, Panama companies owned by Mizzi and Schembri stood to receive payments from 17 Black for services that were unspecified. The email said the Panama companies expected 17 Black to be a "main target client," with payments of up to $2 million expected within a year. The email made no reference to the gas power station energy scheme and there is no evidence the payments went ahead. It remains unclear why the Panama companies owned by two senior political figures expected to receive money from 17 Black. The December 2015 email was first published in April by the Daphne Project, a collaboration of news organizations, including Reuters, that has been carrying on the work of the murdered journalist. In a response at the time, Schembri said that firms he owned had a business plan to earn money from 17 Black but that those plans did not go ahead. He did not elaborate. Mizzi denied all knowledge of 17 Black. Schembri and Mizzi both told Reuters in October they had no knowledge of any connection between 17 Black and Fenech, or of any plan to receive payments connected to Fenech or the energy project. Fenech denied making any plans to pay any politician or any person or entity connected to them. The Maltese firm of accountants that sent the December 2015 email, NexiaBT, said it could not comment because of client confidentiality. There is no suggestion that anyone connected with 17 Black was involved in Caruana Galizia's death. Three people have been charged with planting the bomb that killed her; they deny the charges. No evidence has emerged publicly about who ordered the assassination. Mizzi, who is now Malta's tourism minister, issued a statement through a spokesman saying he "reiterates that there is no connection, direct or otherwise, between him, the company or trust he held, and any entity called 17 Black. Furthermore, he has no information relating to 17 Black." In a statement to Reuters, Schembri said he had not heard that Fenech owned 17 Black. He said he was not involved in the power station project and, asked if he had intended to profit from the project, said: "The answer is a categorical 'No'." Fenech said he and his companies "never had (or intended to have) any untoward business relation" with any politicians or politically affiliated individuals or entities. "We have always and consistently run our operations in compliant, transparent and above-board fashion," he said. Financial records identifying the owner of 17 Black were first discovered earlier this year by Malta's anti-money laundering watchdog, the Financial Intelligence and Analysis Unit (FIAU), according to two sources briefed on its findings. Reuters reviewed UAE banking correspondence that summarized 17 Black's banking activity in Dubai. The documents stated that when 17 Black opened an account in June 2015 at Noor Bank in Dubai, the company declared it was 100 percent owned by a Maltese citizen called Yorgen Fenech. The correspondence also said Fenech is the account's sole signatory. The only "Yorgen Fenech" listed on Malta's electoral roll and company register is the power station developer. In the spring of this year, the FIAU passed Fenech's name to Malta Police's Economic Crime Unit as part of a wider examination of energy deals conducted by the government. Malta Police said it was prevented by law from confirming whether it had received any information from the FIAU and whether any investigation was under way. In a statement, the FIAU declined to comment on 17 Black because of "secrecy obligations" under Maltese law. A UAE government official, who was unwilling to be named, said UAE financial and law enforcement authorities were examining 17 Black's activities after a request for assistance from Maltese authorities. The official declined to elaborate. In July 2017, more than a year after Caruana Galizia had mentioned the Panama companies owned by Mizzi and Schembri in her blog, a Malta magistrate ordered a judicial inquiry into whether the companies involved any illicit activity. Opposition politicians in Malta and members of the European Parliament called for Mizzi and Schembri to be suspended from office while that inquiry was conducted. The island's prime minister, Joseph Muscat, declined to do so. In May this year, another magistrate ordered that 17 Black's activities should also be examined as part of the same probe. The inquiry is currently stalled, pending a legal challenge made on procedural grounds by Mizzi, Schembri and others. Both Mizzi and Schembri have said they would welcome testifying and disproving any allegations made against them before any inquiry. In a statement to Reuters this month, referring to the judicial probes, Kurt Farrugia, the prime minister's spokesman, said that as the activities of 17 Black were under investigation, Muscat would "await the conclusion of this process and act accordingly. He has been consistent on this point." The prime minister, Farrugia said, did not know who owned 17 Black. OLD FRIENDS IN POWER Before he became a government minister, Mizzi worked as a management consultant. In September 2012, he became energy spokesman for Muscat's Labour Party. In January 2013, at the start of a general election campaign, Mizzi proposed an ambitious plan to reform Malta's energy sector. Mizzi said the proposals, which counted on private investment to build a gas power station, would cut the country's bill for energy generation by 187 million euros a year. Muscat said he would implement the plan. Labour won the March 2013 election. Muscat became prime minister and appointed Mizzi energy minister. Mizzi and the government proceeded with the energy plan, and several deals were struck by October that year. One deal granted a concession to a private business group, selected from several bidders, to build and run the new gas power station. Under the selection procedure, Mizzi played no direct role in choosing the winner. The winning group - which included Maltese investors, Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR, and the German company Siemens was set up in 2013 and called Electrogas Malta. Fenech, the Maltese property developer, was a director and an investor. The 450-million-euro Delimara power station was completed in 2017. Siemens declined to comment on whether Fenech owned 17 Black, or about Mizzi and Schembri's potential business connection, saying "Siemens is not in a business relationship with the company." SOCAR Trading, the subsidiary of SOCAR involved in the power station project, said it "has no knowledge of the company 17 Black." In July 2015, Mizzi bought a shell company in Panama called Hearnville Inc, registering his ownership via an anonymous trust in New Zealand, according to corporate records and public statements later made by Mizzi. At the same time, Schembri acquired a Panama company, called Tillgate, also via a New Zealand trust. Schembri, a businessman, had known Muscat, Malta's prime minister, since they were at school together in the 1990s. Schembri became Muscat's chief of staff in 2013. When he did so, he resigned his directorships of his Maltese printing and stationery business, but remained the owner. Schembri said his position in the prime minister's office gave him "no involvement" in the power station project. When Hearnville and Tillgate, the two Panama companies, sought to open bank accounts, they were asked to list their likely sources of revenue. Accountants acting for Mizzi and Schembri sent an email on Dec. 17, 2015, to a Panamanian law firm that was assisting the search for a suitable bank. The email named 17 Black Limited and another company, Macbridge Limited, as the "main target clients" from whom banks could expect payments to Hearnville and Tillgate. Mizzi and Schembri were asked this month by Reuters if they had knowledge of the email before it was sent. Schembri replied "No", without elaborating either about the email or what he knew of 17 Black. Mizzi replied that he "did not see the alleged email you are referring to prior to its publication." Asked about Hearnville and Tillgate, Fenech told Reuters that "neither I, nor any company/entity of which I am or have been involved in, have ever had (or had the intention to have) any relation whatsoever with the entities you mention." Asked to clarify whether he owned or had any relation to 17 Black, Fenech did not respond. Brian Tonna, head of NexiaBT, the accountancy firm that sent the email, said he was prevented by client confidentiality from commenting. He added that the firm was cooperating fully with the authorities. The December 2015 email said both 17 Black and Macbridge were registered in Dubai. Reuters found no trace of Macbridge. The banking correspondence reviewed by Reuters indicated 17 Black was registered in the nearby emirate of Ajman and opened an account at Noor Bank in Dubai in June 2015. The person familiar with 17 Black's arrangements in the UAE said 17 Black was a "flexi-desk company," a business that could be created without a physical presence in the country. Around 9 million to 10 million euros went through 17 Black's account at Noor in 2015, the person said, after which the account became dormant. Reuters could not confirm those figures. The source said that most of the money paid into the 17 Black account had swiftly moved on to other entities, though it had retained a balance of about 2 million euros. Based on the absence of evidence for the business purpose of these in-out transactions, Noor Bank froze the account in September, the source said. In a statement, Noor Bank declined to confirm any details of the bank account or its actions, saying it was "legally precluded from any unauthorized disclosure of confidential customer information" but always complied with any formal requests for information from authorities. Maltese financial investigators have traced two payments to 17 Black, according to a source briefed on the investigation and a draft FIAU report from 2017 seen by Reuters. One was $200,000 sent to 17 Black on July 10, 2015, from Orion Engineering Group Limited, marked as provision of "manpower" in Qatar. Orion is a Maltese company owned by Maltese businessman Mario Pullicino, according to the report and public corporate records. Pullicino was also a company secretary of Armada Floating Gas Services Malta Limited. Armada was set up in June 2015. It provided a gas storage tanker for the new power station commissioned by Mizzi. Pullicino confirmed to Reuters making the $200,000 payment and said it was for work unrelated to the Malta gas project. Speaking by telephone, he declined to provide further details of the transaction, 17 Black or its owners. He said his company "has never paid any money to any politically exposed people." Pullicino did not respond to further questions about whether he knew 17 Black was owned by Fenech. Another payment to 17 Black consisted of $1.5 million sent in November 2015 by Mayor Trans Limited, a Seychelles company with a bank account in Latvia, marked as for "financial advisory services." Mayor Trans, according to public U.S. regulatory filings relating to that start-up, is ultimately owned by an Azeri citizen named Rufat Baratzada. The address given for Baratzada in U.S. regulatory filings is a modest apartment in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Neighbors there described 51-year-old Baratzada as a former subway worker. His family, contacted at Baratzada's new one-storey home at end of an unpaved road on the outskirts of Baku, said he was now working as a security guard on a construction site in Baku. Reached by telephone and asked whether he owned Mayor Trans, Baratzada said: "If it's me, it's me." He declined to talk further. POLITICALLY EXPOSED Through the autumn of 2015, the Panama companies acquired by Mizzi and Schembri applied to open bank accounts in Panama, Miami, Dubai, St. Lucia and the Bahamas, according to evidence assembled by Malta's financial investigators from emails, obtained directly from the offices of Maltese accountants for Mizzi and Schembri, and detailed in the draft FIAU report. Copies of the emails were also contained in the Panama Papers and shared with Reuters by the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, which first obtained the Panama Papers. According to those emails, opening bank accounts proved tough. The biggest obstacle, the emails indicated, was that the ultimate owners were politicians. Financial institutions are obliged to take special care in handling customers designated as "politically exposed persons," or PEPs - people entrusted with a prominent public function or their families. Banks shy away from handling the money of PEPs if they are unsure about the source of it. The emails show that efforts to open accounts for the Panama companies of Mizzi and Schembri continued until February 2016. That month Caruana Galizia and other Maltese media reported the existence of the Panama companies. Mizzi and Schembri then commissioned audits of the New Zealand trusts they had set up to hold the shares of their Panamanian companies. Both audits were conducted in October 2016 by an office of Crowe Horwarth accountants in Wellington, New Zealand. The firm declined to comment on questions from Reuters. In notes attached to the audits published by Mizzi and Schembri, the accountants said that the audits were based on "sufficient and appropriate evidence." The audits stated the Panama companies had carried out no trading activities and that neither had a bank account. In March last year, 17 Black changed its name to Wings Development, according to the person familiar with 17 Black's arrangements in UAE. An official at Ajman Free Zone said Wings Development was still registered there but provided no evidence. Reuters could locate no company of that name for comment. (Additional reporting by Margarita Antidze in Tbilisi, Maria Tsvetkova in Moscow and Jacob Borg of the Times of Malta in Valletta; Editing By Richard Woods.; This story is part of the Daphne Project, coordinated by Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based group that continues the work of journalists silenced through murder or imprisonment) By Ezgi Erkoyun ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey has given recordings related to the killing of Jamal Khashoggi to Germany, France and Britain, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, seeking to maintain international pressure on Riyadh over the Saudi journalist's death. Khashoggi, a critic of de facto Saudi ruler Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate last month in a hit which Erdogan says was ordered at the "highest levels" of the Saudi government. His killing provoked global outrage but little concrete action by world powers against Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter and a supporter of Washington's plans to contain Iranian influence across the Middle East. Speaking as he left Turkey to attend World War One commemorations in France alongside President Donald Trump and European leaders, Erdogan said for the first time that the three European Union states had heard the recordings. "We gave the tapes. We gave them to Saudi Arabia, to the United States, Germans, French and British, all of them. They have listened to all the conversations in them. They know," Erdogan said. CIA director Gina Haspel heard an audio recording of Khashoggi's death when she visited Istanbul, two sources told Reuters last month. A senior Saudi envoy was also played a recording, a source said. Erdogan did not give details of the contents of the tapes on Saturday but two sources with knowledge of the issue have told Reuters that Turkey has several audio recordings. They include the killing itself and conversations pre-dating the operation which Turkey subsequently uncovered, the sources said. These had led Ankara to conclude from an early stage that the killing was premeditated, despite Saudi Arabia's initial denials of any knowledge or involvement. Saudi Arabia's prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb has since said Khashoggi's killing was planned in advance, although another Saudi official said Prince Mohammed had no knowledge of the specific operation. One source familiar with the recordings said that officials who heard them had been horrified by their contents. One of Prince Mohammed's top aides, Saud al-Qahtani, featured prominently in them throughout, sources said. Last month two separate intelligence sources told Reuters Qahtani gave orders over Skype to Khashoggi's killers at the consulate. Qahtani did not respond to questions from Reuters at the time. Saudi state media said King Salman sacked him and four other officials over the killing. There was no indication that any of the suspects were detained. WHO KILLED KHASHOGGI? Erdogan did not repeat on Saturday his accusation that the operation was ordered by Saudi leaders. However, he called on Riyadh to identify the killer, saying it must have been a member of a team that arrived in Turkey hours before Khashoggi's disappearance. "There's no need to distort this issue, they know for certain that the killer, or the killers, is among these 15 people. Saudi Arabia's government can disclose this by making these 15 people talk," Erdogan said. Erdogan also accused Mojeb - who visited Istanbul to discuss the investigation with his Turkish counterpart and inspect the Istanbul consulate - of refusing to cooperate. "The prosecutor came to Turkey to make excuses, make things difficult," he said. During his visit, Mojeb revealed no information to Turkish authorities, a source said, but instead asked for Khashoggi's mobile phones which the journalist had left with his fiancee before entering the consulate. Erdogan repeated a demand for information on the whereabouts of Khashoggi's body. An adviser to the president has said the body was cut up for disposal, and Vice President Fuat Oktay has called for an investigation into reports that it was then dissolved in acid. A Turkish official said last week that Saudi Arabia sent two people, a chemist and a toxicologist, to Istanbul a week after Khashoggi's Oct. 2 killing to erase evidence, calling it a sign that top Saudi officials knew of the crime. Saudi Arabia has said members of the team which was sent to Istanbul, and returned shortly after the killing, have been arrested along with three others. Following a meeting on Saturday in Paris, Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed that Saudi authorities needed to shed full light on Khashoggi's murder, a French presidency source said. They also agreed that the matter should not be allowed to cause further destabilization in the Middle East and that it could create an opportunity to find a political resolution to the war in Yemen, according to the official. (Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Dominic Evans and David Stamp) From changing moose migration patterns to ice melting much sooner in the spring, the signs of a changing climate are all over the North. This week, stakeholders from the James Bay region of Quebec met to discuss those changes and to begin work on a regional action plan to help communities and hunters adapt. "The reliance of the Cree is deeply rooted in their traditional knowledge," said Isaac Voyageur, the director of the Cree Nation Government's department of environment and remedial works, which organized the two-day Regional Climate Change Forum. "Traditional knowledge is being put to the test at the moment, now that we have climate change," said Voyageur. The gathering in Eastmain, Que. on Nov. 6 and 7 was the first of its kind in the Cree Nation and brought together elders, traditional land users, and representatives from the Cree health board and Cree Trappers Association, as well as climate experts from the provincial and federal governments and academics. 'How do we adapt to climate change... in a way that respects our culture?' - Paul Linton, assistant director of Public Health for Chishaayiyuu Some of the changes the group discussed were large drops in the number of geese flying to coastal communities and moose migrating for the first time all the way to Whapmagoostui, the most northern Cree community on Hudson Bay. These changes raised important concerns about food security, according to Paul Linton, assistant director of Public Health for Chishaayiyuu [people over the age of 30] for the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay, who took part in the forum. "It's important to get together to discuss these changes," said Linton. "But the other [larger] part is how do we adapt to climate change and do it in a way that respects our culture?" "Fifteen thousand or 20 thousand Crees are not going to change global warming, but what we need to do is to identify it and to make changes to our systems in relation to hunting and trapping." Story continues 'There needs to be more emphasis on ice safety' One of the ideas discussed, according to Linton, was farming moose or caribou to create a source of local traditional meat as wild populations diminish or migrate elsewhere. Ice and water safety was also a big topic of discussion at the forum. Linton says Cree land users need to more aware of the risks posed by changes to the ice, which is disappearing sooner in the spring, and increasingly unpredictable weather and winds while out on the water in summer. "There needs to be more emphasis on ice safety and boat safety," said Linton. "Almost every year we have people going through the ice." Voyageur says the Cree Nation Government hopes to put in place a "more robust" and regional ice monitoring system. Individual communities already collect the data, according to Voyageur, but he says it needs to be better used and made more easily available to hunters. Submitted "There is a willingness to work together," said Voyageur. "Everyone knows if you are a hunter and trapper, you need to have adequate ice strengthen to travel and transport with." Voyageur says this is only the beginning of efforts to come up with a regional climate change action plan for the Cree nation. The information gathered over the two day conference will be put together in a report that will be sent to local hunters and trappers. The Nature Conservancy of Canada, or NCC, has a new program director on Prince Edward Island. Lanna Campbell, who previously guided NCC's work in Newfoundland and Labrador, has moved to Charlottetown to lead the charitable land trust's projects on the Island. The end goal is land conservation. Lanna Campbell Campbell succeeds Julie Vasseur, who moved to Guelph, Ont., last spring to take a new role with the conservancy. Submitted by Lanna Campbell Campbell describes herself as "nature's realtor." "I work with land value appraisers, I work with lawyers, I work with land owners, and I do things that involve land transaction so much like a real estate agent does however the benefactor or the end goal is land conservation." First project in Kingsboro One of Campbell's first projects as P.E.I. program director will be to secure the final donations needed to conserve a 95-hectare property near Kingsboro in eastern P.E.I. CBC The property was donated by Camilla MacPhee in memory of her husband Mel MacPhee, who was a Souris business leader. It features a large wetland habitat and a mature hardwood forest, which supports a variety of wildlife. Campbell comes at a time when the P.E.I. government has set a target to have seven per cent of the Island's land base protected by 2020, double what is currently designated as protected. "There's a growing need for conservation and there's a growing awareness that we need to protect our local landscape and biodiversity and species at risk especially in a small place like P.E.I.," Campbell said. More P.E.I. news With files from CBC Radio: Island Morning. On a Tuesday evening last week, Jawara Hinkson, 35, slipped out of one uniform and into another. He'd spent the previous eight hours behind the wheel of the 105 bus, the vital route that runs along Sherbrooke Street in west-end Montreal. Then it was onto his second job as Canadian Forces captain assigned to operations with the Black Watch, Montreal's storied highland regiment. Around a wooden conference table at the regiment's century-old downtown headquarters, Hinkson received his orders for his next mission. He is among a handful of soldiers chosen to represent the regiment Sunday in Mons, Belgium, where an ceremony will be held to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. "Just to be considered to go over there 100 years to the day was a truly, truly humbling experience for me," Hinkson said. His predecessors in the Black Watch were instrumental in the capture of Mons on the last day of the war, just hours before news of the Armistice reached the front lines. CBC On Nov. 11, Hinkson will be part of a contingent that will recreate the triumphant parade that Black Watch soldiers held in Mons when the guns fell silent exactly 100 years earlier. "We love to think that we have something inside of us that would make us act almost a fraction as well, and as bravely, as those men fought," he said. Regiment more diverse today than it was The Black Watch has changed dramatically since it was founded by Montreal's Scottish chieftains in 1862. When the Black Watch raised three battalions to fight in the First World War, it would have been unthinkable to find a black bus driver like Hinkson among its officer corps. The regiment was then still the preserve of the Scottish elite. In 1915, the regiment's 13th battalion had 27 officers, 18 of whom were millionaires. One Capt. Guy Drummond was a billionaire. But the Black Watch is now commanded by a native French speaker, Lt.-Col. Bruno Plourde, something else that would have been unthinkable in a military that was notoriously anti-French Canadian in the First World War. Story continues Canadian War Museum Yet the diverse unit which includes a dozen different cultural groups still carries on its strange highland traditions, despite many members having no obvious cultural affinity for bagpipes or kilts. "Sure we have a couple of Scots, but they might need a DNA test to prove it," said Plourde. Hinkson hopes his taking part in high-profile events, such as the one in Belgium, will help further diversify the Forces. "I would be happy if those kids at home whether they're black, white, Asian or other if they see me as a role model, they say, 'I can do whatever I want, too,'" he said. The secret lives of bus drivers Hinkson was still a high school student when he saw a presentation by the cadets. They promised recruits would have a chance to see the world. "That Friday night I ended up at the armoury," he said. Though he doesn't come from a military family, he quickly took to being a cadet. "You did some incredible things you could boast about when you ended up back at school on Monday," he said, chuckling. In 2004, he joined the Forces as a reservist and has been affiliated with the Black Watch for almost a decade, serving in a number of different front-line and administrative roles. He was among several hundred soldiers deployed to Montreal's West Island last year to help residents cope with historic spring flooding. CBC "You hear about disasters all over the world where the Canadian Forces go to help," Hinkson said. "We had this opportunity in our backyards a bunch of Montreal boys and girls that could just go out there and effect change on a daily basis." Plourde has known Hinkson since he first joined the Forces. He's watched proudly as Hinkson has risen through the ranks and appreciates the enthusiasm and good nature he brings to his duties. "Now he's one of the senior captains. He still has a career in front of him," said Plourde, who has served with the Forces in Bosnia, Africa and Afghanistan. "We'll just go slowly, and one day he'll end up right here in my chair." But Hinkson also calls on his military training in his day job as a city bus driver. CBC "You're constantly problem-solving, dealing with different personalities, different people," he said in an interview aboard the 105, after finishing one of his routes. "It's the ultimate of service when you're serving the public." Most of his passengers are oblivious to their driver's double life. But a careful eye might notice his uniform is pressed just a bit more sharply than that of other drivers. "I like the presentation of a clean-cut bus driver. It shows a bit of professionalism," Hinkson said. "Maybe I got that from my military training." Editor's note: Jawara Hinkson is the brother of a member of CBC Montreal's editorial staff. Premier Stephen McNeil's nine-day visit to China includes three visits to universities and a celebration of the 10th anniversary of a program that allows Chinese students to attend Nova Scotia high schools. There are currently 2,000 Chinese teenagers attending schools across Nova Scotia. The heavy emphasis on education is no surprise given the reliance Nova Scotia universities have on international students. Speaking to reporters Thursday, McNeil said attracting more foreign students to the province is a key part of the mission, his sixth as premier. 'It is about sustainability' "It is about sustainability to continue to make these universities continue to be viable," he said. "It provides sustainability for the universities, but it also provides an economic opportunity for our province as we continue to grow our population." Peter Halpin, executive director of the Atlantic Association of Universities, echoed that sentiment. "I don't think the premier is overstating it at all," he said. "I think he's simply reinforcing what was well articulated in the One Nova Scotia report and that is population growth is critical to the future sustainability of the entire province and all of its communities, and that includes our universities." More than 9,500 international students at N.S. universities According to the 2018-19 enrolment figures compiled by Halpin's organization, 25 per cent of students attending Nova Scotia's 10 universities come from outside Canada for a total of 9,553. The percentages range from two per cent at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax to 55 per cent at Cape Breton University. Nova Scotia's two largest post-secondary institutions Saint Mary's and Dalhousie have international populations of 32 and 23 per cent respectively. Halpin said international students are attracted to Canadian universities because of the quality of instruction, but also by non-academic considerations. Story continues "One of the key attributes today is students want to know that they're going to a tolerant, non-discriminatory, warm and welcoming community, where they're going to be embraced and not rejected, and Canada offers that," he said. He pointed to a successful recruitment drive by Cape Breton University to attract students from India. More to benefits than tuition Of almost 2,000 international students at CBU, 1,200 are from India. Tuition for international students is roughly double what Canadians pay, which is a boost to university revenues. But Adam Robertson, Dalhousie's registrar, said foreign students bring more than that. "They really do enrich learning environments for all students and they certainly expand perspectives," he said. "Certainly I would say international students are a huge part of viability for all of us." Remembrance Day has always been special for Brig.-Gen. Derek Macaulay. His father and grandfather both served in Canadian Armed Forces. His grandfather was on the beaches of Normandy in the Second World War, and is buried in France. "For me this is certainly a day to reflect on the sacrifices that not only they, but so many made," said Macaulay, the army commander for the Atlantic provinces, in an interview with CBC News: Compass. But Macaulay said the Remembrance Day message is also alive and well among the younger generations, who may be more connected to recent missions in Afghanistan and the current missions in Mali and Latvia. Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press "With social media and the ability to understand what is going on all over the world we have so many conflicts ongoing and soldiers trying to protect those that can't protect themselves I think the youth are provided an opportunity to understand, and they understand the importance of the Canadian Armed Forces and what we do in the world today," he said. Atlantic ranks growing That interest in the Forces can be seen in recruitment efforts, where Macaulay said the Atlantic ranks grew beyond expectations in the last year both in numbers and diversity. "I'm really happy to say we have had an explosive year," said. "We managed to surpass our goals and grew over 40 per cent in the division overall. "Everything, not only gender but culture, has changed. It's a slow process on diversity, but I can say we have some great women and men that have joined the Canadian Armed Forces." More P.E.I. news With files from CBC News: Compass Thousands of protesters joined rallies in cities across the United States on Thursday, November 8, to demand that President Donald Trump not interfere with an investigation into Russian meddling with the 2016 election. In New York City, around 6,000 people marched from Times Square to Union Square, chanting slogans including Hands off Mueller and Nobodys above the law and holding signs that said Truth Must Triumph and Repeal, Replace Trump. The nationwide protests were organised after Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned on Wednesday, November 7, and the White House announced his chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, would become the acting Attorney General. Sessions had recused himself overseeing Special Counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation while Whitaker has previously called for a scaling back of the probe. This video, shared on November 8, shows protesters chanting slogans at Times Square. Credit: Sarah Wilson via Storyful This week, coroners declared Mac Millers death an accidental overdose. (Getty Images) Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller had just released his fifth full-length album, Swimming, before he died at age 26 earlier this fall. A coroner recently declared his death an accidental overdose involving fentanyl, a fast-acting opioid drug thats 100 times more potent than morphine. Miller joins a staggeringly long list of people who have been unknowingly exposed to the potentially deadly substance, which is one that has Canada in the midst of a crisis. There were more than 8,000 apparent opioid-related deaths in Canada between January 2016 and March 2018, according to the federal government. Between January and March of this year, there were at least 1,036 apparent opioid-related deaths, of which 94 per cent were accidental; 73 per cent of those involved fentanyl. Fentanyl is extremely toxic, says Vancouver Coastal Health medical health officer Dr. Mark Lysyshyn. A small amount has a powerful effect. Its a very dangerous product. ALSO SEE: Rapper Mac Millers death ruled accidental overdose of fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol Fentanyl has a legitimate use in medical settings: its used for anesthesia and for the management of severe, long-term pain, often in cancer patients. When prescribed by a doctor, its administered via injection, transdermal patch, or lozenges. Carefully monitored in a clinical setting, it can be effective and safe. It works by binding to the bodys opioid receptors, which are found in areas of the brain that control pain and emotions. Like heroin, morphine, and other opioid drugs, when fentanyl binds to those receptors, dopamine levels in the brains reward centres rise, leading to a state of relaxation and euphoria, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. However, heres why its so dangerous: Opioid receptors are also found in the areas of the brain that control breathing. High doses of opioids, especially forms as potent as fentanyl, can cause breathing to stop completely, which can cause brain damage or death. Story continues Two milligrams of pure fentanyl about the size of four grains of salt is enough to kill an average adult. Fentanyl thats sold on the street can be mixed with heroin or other drugs, significantly driving up its toxicity and potential dangers. It is odourless and tasteless and therefore hard to detect, according to the RCMP. It can be found in powder, liquid and blotter form. Fentanyl is also often stamped into pill form and sold on the street as oxycodone, a popular painkiller. In Canada, these counterfeit pills are often green in colour and stamped CDN 80. Fentanyl goes by all sorts of nicknames, including apache, China girl, China white, dance fever, friend, goodfella, green beans, jackpot, murder 8, shady 80s, TNT and tango and cash. A single kilogram of fentanyl, worth a few thousand dollars, can be cut down into more than 100,000 pills, which are worth millions on the street, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the primary source of illicit fentanyl is China. Organized crime and independent dealers are able to buy the drug online and have it shipped across the border; the RCMP says that many Chinese manufacturers even offer free replacements if the first shipment is seized. ALSO SEE: TMZ claims Demi Lovato freebased oxycodone laced with fentanyl: What does that mean, exactly? Drug-testing projects in use in Vancouver including fentanyl test strips and infrared spectrometers that scan drug mixtures to detect fentanyl have led to greater understanding of contamination of illicit substances. Lysyshyn says that fentanyl is most commonly mixed with opioids, such as heroin. Recent tests showed that less than five percent of cocaine and crystal meth are contaminated, and even lower rates were found in MDMA and ketamine. Its a completely unregulated market, and as a result there are variety of things that can happen, Lysyshyn says. People can intentionally contaminate drugsadd it to heroinor substitute one drug for another and sell fentanyl instead of heroin. If someone wants to buy cocaine but you have a different white powder, you can sell it because you want to make money. Or you can make an error. You might think youre giving someone cocaine but because youre under surveillance by police and you have to do the transaction quickly, you give them fentanyl. People are now using more dangerous drugs than before. Its a crisis of contamination. Many users begin with legitimate prescriptions to manage pain but end up addicted and turning to the opiate black market to feed their addiction. A recent United Nations report found that Canada consumes the most prescription opioids per capita of any country in the world. Canada is in desperate need of far more doctors who are trained in addiction medicine, says Dr. Evan Wood, director of the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use at Vancouvers St. Pauls Hospital. He points to the case of B.C.s Jordan Miller, who died in 2014 at age 25 of an accidental overdose. His mom, Leslie McBane, has gone public with his story, sharing with media that he was prescribed oxycontin for pain stemming from a workplace injury and became addicted to it. He repeatedly told his doctor he needed help getting off the painkiller, but didnt receive any help. The College of Physicians and Surgeons later found that the doctor failed the young man, by prescribing combinations of opioid(s) and not taking definitive action when presented with evidence of opioid misuse. McBane went on to cofound Moms Stop the Harm to work for harm-reduction changes to drug policies. ALSO SEE: Fentanyl is linked to thousands of deaths a year, so why do doctors still prescribe it? Most health-care providers who should be diagnosing and treating addiction are not and do not know how to do so, Wood says. In a situation where family doctors can prescribe opioids for pain, they need training to prescribe medication for opioid addiction, like Suboxone. We have pathologists, respirologists, gastroenterologists, cardiologists, but we havent invested in training health care providers in evidence-based addiction care. Drug-checking, where people can get drugs tested for the presence of fentanyl, needs to be more widely available, Wood says, as do recovery services. Treating this disease as a criminal justice issues makes it very difficult for people to come forward and get help. Treatments like heroin prescription needs to be scaled up for people who are street-entrenched; we know its cost-effective, he adds. Recovery services helping people with employment, helping them get out of a life of addiction, needs to be brought to scale Why isnt it happening? Because there isnt a skilled workforce of care providers. To prevent overdose deaths, its crucial for people who use street drugs to not use alone and to go to a supervised-injection site or an overdose-prevention site if possible, Lysyshyn says. People should never mix opioids with alcohol or other substances. Users or those who are in contact with them should also carry naloxone kits so they can use it if necessary; the medication quickly reverse the effects of opioid overdose. And he says people should know what an overdose looks like so that they can get emergency medical care when needed. People need to know that its safe to call 911, that theyre not going to be arrested if theres drugs on scene or if they admit to using drugs, Lysyshyn says. With an opioid overdose, people become drowsy; they may fall asleep or lose consciousness. Their lips can become blue, skin can become grey if dont get enough oxygen to the brain. They might be short of breath. This very dangerous product is still out there, people are still using it and theyre still using it in high-risk situations, alone behind closed doors, he says. The solution is ultimately to get rid of stigma by decriminalizing drug use, by regulating the drug supply so that this dangerous drug is not out there. Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Check out Yahoo Canadas podcast, Make It Reign our hot takes on all things royals in a non-stuffy way on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. India and Singapore will hold 25th joint naval exercise SIMBEX, acronym for Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise from November 10 to 21 in India off Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. SIMBEX 2018 will mark silver jubilee of exercise and will be largest edition since 1994 in terms of scale and complexity. SIMBEX 2018 It will witness diverse range of exercises at sea such as live weapon drills including multiple missile firings, heavy weight torpedo (HWT) and medium range gun and anti-submarine rocket firings; advanced anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercises, submarine rescue demonstrations; integrated surface and anti-air warfare (AAW); unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations and cross deck helicopter flying among others. The initial first harbour phase of the exercise will be held at Port Blair followed by Sea Phase in Andaman Sea. Second harbour phase will be held at Visakhapatnam. Final sea phase will be held in Bay of Bengal. The number of missiles and torpedo firings in this exercise will be largest ever undertaken by Indian Navy with any foreign Navy till date. It will also witness highest numbers and variety of platforms fielded by both sides. Indian Navy for this exercise will be deploying Ranvir class destroyer INS Ranvijay, two Project 17 multirole stealth frigates INS Satpura and INS Sahyadri, Project 28 ASW corvette INS Kadmatt, Project 25A missile corvettes, INS Kirch, OPVs INS Sumedha and INS Sukanya, Fleet Support Ship, INS Shakti, Sindhughosh Class submarine, INS Sindhukirti, P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol and ASW aircraft from INAS 312, Dornier 228 Maritime Patrol aircraft from INAS 311, Mk 132 Hawk AJTs from INAS 551 and integral helicopters such as the UH3H, Seaking 42 B, Seaking 42C and Chetak utility helicopters. Singapore Navy will be deploying represented by two Formidable Class stealth frigates RSS Formidable and RSS Steadfast, two Missile Corvettes, RSS Vigour and RSS Valiant, one Littoral Mission Vessel RSS Unity, Archer class Submarine, RSS Swordsman, Swift Rescue Deep Sea Rescue Vehicle (DSRV), Fokker F50 maritime reconnaissance aircraft, embarked S70B helicopters and Scan Eagle unmanned aerial systems. Death penalty has no place in human rights reform The death penalty remains a controversial debate around the world because of the moral complexities and emotions surrounding it. We, too, received brickbats and cheers when Malaysias cabinet agreed to abolish capital punishment and halt all pending executions. The countrys death sentence mandates hanging as punishment. There are some 1,200 people on death row for murder, drug trafficking, kidnapping and other offences. But the death penalty goes against our most basic human right, which is the right to life. The legal system also isnt without flaws. Mistakes are sometimes made and what if someone innocent is killed? According to the Penang Institute, on average 27.7 % of High Court and 50 % of Court of Appeal death penalty case judgements were overturned by the immediate higher courts. Variables such as offence type, ethnicity or nationality, the gender of the accused and the locality of the High Courts were shown to be contributing factors in creating judicial errors. The capital punishment is a legacy of the common law system that Malaysia inherited from the British under which 359 people were executed between 1979 and 2001. In 2016, Malaysia carried out 9 executions and imposed 36 death sentences. Despite these executions, statistics revealed at a recent conference by the National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) show that the death penalty is not a deterrent. For example, the number of drug-related murders and attempted murders had increased especially in recent years. Armed gang robberies reported each year also went up between 40 and 100 cases. And drug cases have not decreased even though the death penalty remains under the Dangerous Drug Act of 1952. Lets think about this - a guy who occupies the lowest position in the chain of command is arrested and faces the music. But a banker caught laundering billions of dollars for some of the most murderous people on the planet gets off with a slap on the wrist in the form of some puny fine and a deferred prosecution deal. Its common knowledge that triads and drug cartels wash billions of dollars of blood money through some of the worlds biggest banks. Is capital punishment, therefore, a tool that dispenses justice? On the other hand, it is the ultimate form of state control. China, Iran and Saudi Arabia are the countries that executed the highest number of people in 2016. Political dissidents and rights activists were branded criminals and subsequently executed. If we are to convince the public that human rights are a key part of Pakatan Harapans policy, then the death penalty will have to go. According to Amnesty International, 142 countries had abolished the death penalty in law or practice by 2017. Lets add Malaysia to the list. Source: malaysiakini.com, Letter to the Editor; Charles Santiago, November 8, 2018. The writer is member of Parliament for Klang. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde The numbers may be small for a large country like India, but it has confirmed that the virus is present in the air as was suspected earlier. (Photo: Pixabay) Hyderabad: The Zika virus poses a very real risk for the Indian population. Its presence has been confirmed by five zika virus strains which have been isolated from patients in Jaipur. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) states that the virus in India lacks a particular gene linked to foetal microcephaly (babies born with abnormally small heads), and so at present this not a risk. But epidemiologists state that earlier vector-virus relationship studies with chikungunya and dengue, caused by the same type of mosquito, have suggested that in due course of time it will spread and become a major public health concern. A senior doctor in the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme explained, There are 159 positive cases of zika virus in Rajasthan. The numbers may be small for a large country like India, but it has confirmed that the virus is present in the air as was suspected earlier. This is Indias third outbreak of zika in the past two years which means that we need to be alert and there must be better diagnosis. The virus breeds in Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes and the environment in India is conducive to its spread as water here is stored, there are high levels of humidity and optimal temperature to support the survival of mosquito eggs for three to four days at a stretch. The President of Sri Lanka has sent his island nation tumbling further into a constitutional crisis by dissolving the Parliament on Friday night and ordering snap general elections on January 5, 2019. President Maithripala Sirisena comes through the whole episode as a coldblooded opportunist who tried to change Prime Ministers midstream. On sensing that the power struggle was not ending in their favour as a majority could not be engineered in Parliament for the new Prime Minister, Mahindra Rajapapksa, a former President of Sri Lanka, Sirisena opted to further cloud issues by taking more unilateral action. Fresh elections were ordered in a questionable manner even as the ousted incumbent Ranil Wickremasinghe stays on in Temple Trees, the official Colombo residence of the Prime Minister. The dissolution of Parliament goes against the Constitution of Sri Lanka, a country that was an early model for democracy in South Asia. The saddest development in this unseemly power struggle is how the democratic institution of Parliament has been disrespected. In staving off the pressure brought on by such powers as the USA, EU and the UN, Mr Sirisena and Mr Rajapaksa, his protege now after having been his mentor in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, may be acting at the behest of another major power. The motivation could be their perception of the public mood that seemed to be swinging back towards Mr Rajapaksa, once perceived as the savior of the nation who brought the civil war against the Tamil Tigers to a victorious end in 2009. This may have been evidenced in the February elections to 340 local authorities. Constitutional propriety, like the checks and balances between the President, the Prime Minister and the Legislature, have been thrown out of the door by Mr Sirisena. He has been forced to call for elections because horse trading in the absence of an anti-defection law in Sri Lanka could not bring about the desired result despite the promise of huge sums of money to legislators. The crux of the differences in the alliance between Mr Sirisenas SLFP and Mr Wickremasinghes UNP was with regard to leasing out infrastructure projects to India although Sri Lanka is already reeling financially after freely leasing out such projects to China during Mr Rajapaksas regime as President. Within a few days of Mr Wickremasinghe meeting the Indian PM in New Delhi last month and discussing Indian projects in Sri Lanka came his dramatic sacking as PM. But all India can do now, besides giving good counsel to a neighbor, is to be on guard about its assets in Sri Lanka staying secure while awaiting the outcome of the process to elect a new government in what is strictly Sri Lankas domestic issue. A possible solution to this standoff between Prime Ministers lies in going to the people again although Mr Sirisena is attempting this only after having destroyed an institution like Parliament by dissolving it in a decision of unprecedented dimensions. Mark Wilson/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron appeared to mend fences Saturday just hours after Trump fired off an angry tweet toward his host upon arriving in Paris over recent comments Macron made about propping up a "European Army" to counter international threats. "President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia," Trump tweeted just minutes after he and first lady Melania Trump arrived in France Friday night. "Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly!" The president appeared to be referring to comments made by Macron in a radio interview earlier in the week, in which he called for a "true European army" intended to "protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America." Macron cited Trump's recent announcement that he planned to pull the U.S. out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear forces treaty with Russia as evidence that Europeans should direct more focus on protecting their own security interests. "We need a Europe which defends itself better alone, without just depending on the United States, in a more sovereign matter," Macron said. The position doesn't exactly conflict with Trump's repeated past demands for U.S. allies to share more of the cost burden for their defense, which Macron sought to remind Trump of in their one-on-one meeting at the Elysee Palace on Saturday. "We do share views that we need much better European burden sharing in NATO, in order to take our part of the burden," Macron said. Trump responded by agreeing with that idea, saying, "I very much appreciate what you're saying about burden sharing, we want a very strong Europe." A reporter then asked Trump about his tweet and whether he was "insulted" by Macron's comments, and Trump answered the two are "getting along from the standpoint of fairness." "We want to help Europe but it has to be fair," Trump said. "We just want to absolutely be there, we want to help, we want to be a part of it but different countries also have to help." The trip comes as the White House looks to grapple with a new political reality of Democrats taking the House in Tuesday's midterm elections and the fallout from the president's sudden firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. While the president will hold meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, a senior administration official told reporters Wednesday they do not anticipate the president scheduling any additional meetings with world leaders invited to Paris, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. The president told reporters Wednesday that he would not be holding an extended meeting with Putin before the G-20 summit later this month in South America, though said he wont be surprised if the two interact during the leaders luncheon at the Elysee Palace on Sunday. The primary purpose of the president's visit, according to the administration official, will be attending ceremonies around the centennial commemoration of the end of World War I. "This is a historic opportunity to honor the sacrifices of those who gave their lives for our freedom in that struggle," the official said. But upon leaving Washington, the president seemed eager to renew focus on the controversies ignited over the past week, lashing out at reporters as they pressed him on stories like his firing of Sessions, the suspension of a CNN correspondent's press pass, and the Florida Senate and gubernatorial races now both likely heading to recounts. Once on board Air Force One, the president shot out a tweet threatening to send a team of lawyers to Florida to counter what he claimed were partisan efforts by Democratic lawyers to change the vote counts. Trump also sought to parallel the controversy to Russia's efforts to meddle in the 2016 election, saying sarcastically, "Let's blame the Russians and demand an immediate apology from President Putin!" Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Automaker Mitsubishi Motors wants to have full-scale production of parts in Vietnam. Photo by Reuters Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors plans to expand its Vietnam operations by moving to full-scale production of parts within the country. The companys CEO Osamu Masuko said at the global launching ceremony of the Mitsubishi Triton pickup truck in Bangkok that sourcing materials in Vietnam would let the company handle more upstream processes for components. "To be a true winner, we must develop production and exports to certain levels in each country," the Nikkei Asian Review quoted Masuko as saying. He added that the Vietnamese operations will not simply be limited to assembling modules in a "knock-down kit" production method, referring to the method of manufacturing parts in one country and shipping them to another. The ASEAN region is the largest and most profitable market for Mitsubishi Motors, the company said in its annual report for fiscal 2017. Sales in the region went up by 33 percent last year to 275,000 units, while revenue from the region jumped 45 percent for the year to 506.2 billion yen ($4.45 billion). In Vietnam, Mitsubishi currently has an assembly plant in the southern province of Binh Duong with a capacity of 5,000 vehicles per year. It plans to increase production by having a second plant in the country by 2020, with a capacity of 30,000-50,000 vehicles per year. In the first nine months this year, a total of 230,958 automobiles were sold in Vietnam, according to Vietnam Customs. This figure could reach 300,000 by the end of this year, it added. There has been no report of Mobile World customers having card information stolen and used to appropriate money. Photo by VnExpress The central bank says no customer of leading Vietnamese mobile phone retailer has reported loss of bank money because of data leaks. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) issued the statement Friday following the reported leak of information about 31,000 transactions of Mobile World, including customers' bank card numbers, on the internet. The central bank also noted that while there has been no report of Mobile World customers having card information stolen and used to appropriate money, the incident has caused anxiety and created negative public opinion. The SBV said it is closely coordinating with relevant authorities to determine the cause of the alleged leak, as well as the identity and motive of the individual or group behind it so they could be strictly punished in accordance with the law. Also on Friday, the SBV issued instructions on enhancing security of customer information to proactively prevent any possible leak of bank card information. Payment service providers and third-party payment gateway operators have been asked to work with Mobile World to determine the cause of the alleged leak, monitor all related cards and transactions for any abnormality and safeguard the information, rights and legitimate interests of customers. They must also strictly comply with regulations on storing and securing customer information, review, re-evaluate their business procedures with relevant parties, and inform their employees of regulations on storing, securing customer information. In response to the data leak reports, a number of banks have also issued internal circulars instructing employees to avoid any risk. In its circular, a Ho Chi Minh City-based bank has asked its departments to inspect and review all transactions via POS card readers and advised customers to change their PIN numbers. The alleged data of Mobile World's customers were leaked on Tuesday and Wednesday. A user on online forum RaidForums uploaded files containing 5.4 million customer email addresses, 61,000 employee email addresses and over 31,000 card transactions with customers' card numbers partially shown. This user later uploaded another file containing what is allegedly the full card number of some Mobile World customers, prompting experts to suggest that the hacker might have the full card numbers of all 31,000 bank cards partially leaked in the previous file. In an official announcement issued on Wednesday evening, Mobile World asserted that its system had not been hacked and that the company did not store customers' card numbers and transaction times, so it was impossible for such information to be leaked from its system. According to the Authority of Information Security (AIS) under the Ministry of Information and Communications and Vietnamese network security firm Bkav Corporation, there is currently no sign that Mobile World's system has been subjected to a cyber attack. The AIS also backed up the retail giant's claim that it does not store customers' card information. Hanoi advises its citizens not to spread false, degrading info on the Internet. Photo by Shutterstock/Lifestyle discover Hanoi has issued an appeal for residents to spread positive, humanitarian content rather than false, degrading misinformation. The capital citys Department of Information and Communications has issued a document which says information that degrades reputation and dignity, incites violence, or otherwise negatively affects people are becoming increasingly apparent online. It blames this on limited awareness that causes people to unwittingly spread "wrong, toxic" information on cyberspace. "As such, it is vital that people be educated on the proper etiquette when online," the document states. Specifically, it says people should stop forming online groups to "badmouth" each other, stop using others personal data for commercial gain, verify credibility before spreading any information and denounce "culturally inappropriate" trends online. Instead, residents should spread positive information about social activities to contribute to Hanoians image as a "civilized, elegant people," the document states. It also calls for Internet service providers and relevant authorities to be alerted when problematic information is discovered online. Last week, Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Information and Communications, said at a National Assembly session that the ministry has already set up a national center that can read, analyze, evaluate and categorize 100 million messages on social networks per day. The move is a response to the spread of false information, culturally inappropriate images and fraudulent activities on the Internet and social networks that is growing globally, he said. Around half Vietnams population get online. An April report by social media marketing and advertising agency We Are Social showed that Vietnamese are online seven hours a day and spend a daily average of 2.5 hours on social networks. Facebook and Google's YouTube are the most accessed sites with user ratios of 61 percent and 59 percent, respectively. Another survey by Vietnams Program for Internet and Society under Vietnam National University in Hanoi last year showed that 78 percent of more than 1,000 respondents said they had been victims of hate speech. According to this survey, hate speech on social media in Vietnam was mostly defamation and libel, with 61.7 percent of respondents as victims, followed by slander with 46.6 percent, ethnic discrimination with 37 percent, gender discrimination with 29.3 percent, disability stigma with 21.7 percent and religious discrimination with 16 percent. Minister Hung said the country would eventually need a tool to remove violating online content, persuade foreign social networks to comply with Vietnamese law and to punish people who upload false info online. He said: "People cannot blindly trust everything they read." The explosion at a chemical plant in South Korea kills two Vietnamese workers. Photo by Shuttershock/Vikau A chemical plant explosion in South Koreas Wonju City Saturday killed two and injured two other Vietnamese workers. The explosion took place at around 9:45 a.m. as plumes of black smoke billowed from the plant run by the Foosung Precision Industry Co. in Wonju City, around 130 kilometers (80 miles) to the east of Seoul, the Yonhap News Agency reported. Two Vietnamese workers, whose names have not been revealed, have been confirmed dead and their bodies transferred to the Wonju Medical Center, the report quoted a firefighter as saying. Two other Vietnamese workers suffered extensive burns and were rushed to a local hospital for treatment, it said. One worker in his 20s suffered third-degree burns to his face, while the other, aged 30, had second-degree burns to his legs and a broken left leg. An official from the hospital said the injured workers are being treated, but refused to say anything about their health status. The explosion is being investigated by South Korean authorities. Officials of the Foosung Precision Industry Co., which makes fluoropolymer-lined tanks, pipes and valves, declined to give any details of the accident. South Korea is one of the largest labor export markets for Vietnam. There are over 45,398 Vietnamese migrant workers in South Korea by the end of June 2018. The majority of them are registered under the Employment Permit System, according to official labor reports. The Vietnamese also account for 30-40 percent of around 200,000 illegal foreign workers in South Korea. A former deputy labor minister and three former senior officials of Vietnam Social Security were arrested Friday on allegations of economic mismanagement. Le Bach Hong, former Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. Photo by VnExpress/File Le Bach Hong, former Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and former General Director of Vietnam Social Security (VSS), is accused of "deliberate violations of state economic management regulations, causing serious consequences." The other three former officials are Nguyen Huy Ban, former General Director of VSS, and Tran Tien Vy and Hoang Ha, two former chiefs of its finance and planning department. They are under arrest on the same charge. Their arrests are part an effort to widen investigations into wrongdoing at Vietnam Social Security, which runs social insurance operations, and at a bankrupt state-owned finance leasing firm, the Agribank Financial Leasing Company No 2 (ALC II), according the Ministry of Public Security. Le Bach Hong was Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs between 2005 and 2008. In late 2008, he was resigned to work as general director of VSI. He retired in 2014. The Central Inspection Commission, the Party's watchdog, said Hong had made violations in financial reports at the insurance agency, and failed to review on wrongful lending at the unit. Investigation found VSI had lended ALC II VND1.05 trillion ($45 million), including unsecure sums, while it was only allowed to lend money to state-run commercial banks. When ALC II was declared bankrupt in December 2016, it still owed the insurance agency nearly VND770 billion, besides interest. The Ministry of Public Security said it was carrying out further investigations to retrieve state assets that had been lost. The arrests came amid a corruption crackdown that has seen scores of senior government officials and executives of state-owned enterprises arrested and jailed in recent years. Party Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who spearheads the corruption fight, was sworn in as Vietnam's president last month, prompting experts' speculations that he will push the campaign to a new level. A Hanoi court Friday jailed two dog thieves and gave a suspended sentence to a buyer of the stolen dog. Banh Van Thang, 37, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for "stealing property" while his accomplice, Tran Duc Lap, 29, received a three-year jail term on similar charges. Banh Van Thang and Tran Duc Lap are jailed for stealing pet dogs from a foreign woman in Hanoi. Photo courtesy of Hanoi Police According to the indictment, Thang asked Lap to join him in stealing dogs last March. As the duo drove a motorbike around Tay Ho District, where many foreigners reside, they spotted a foreign woman, whose nationality has not been revealed, going for a walk with her pet dog. They snatched the dog and drove away. The pet dog, which costs VND20 million ($859), was sold to a pet dog business owner for over VND4 million ($172). Nguyen Dac Luyen, 22, who bought the stolen dog, got a one-year suspended sentence for "harboring or consuming property acquired through the commission of crime by other persons." Dog theft is rarely treated as a criminal offense in Vietnam. Stolen animals have to be valued at more than VND2 million ($86) for stricter action to be taken. Over the last two decades, however, there has been a public outcry against dog stealing and suspected thieves have been lynched by angry mobs. While some stolen dogs are resold as pets, many would end up in restaurants. Vietnam consumes an estimated five million dogs a year, second only to Chinas 20 million. Recently, the Hanoi Peoples Committee called on residents to stop eating cat and dog meat, saying this reflected badly on the capital city in foreigners eyes. The proposal has received mixed reactions from the public. On the banks of Ho Chi Minh City's Xuyen Tam canal the houses come in many forms. Short or tall, pieced together from scraps of wood, or metal or plastic. Some tilt precariously over the polluted water's edge. Ho Chi Minh City boasts large sprawling communities living along polluted waterways. Photos by AFP/Kao Nguyen The makeshift homes are set to be demolished under long-promised government plans to redevelop the city's "black canals," nicknamed for the darkened hue of their waste-strewn waters, where thousands live with no legal title to the land. That worries grandmother Nguyen Thi My, who for the past 28 years has lived on the downtown Xuyen Tam canal, eking out a living selling snacks. "It'll be a pity to move. I know this area well... and it's good for business," she told AFP from her busy home where she lives with family. It's a familiar woe in the city where land fights frequently flare up between residents and a government seen to be in the pockets of powerful developers. My's is one of 20,000 remaining households on Ho Chi Minh City's serpentine waterways slated to be demolished by 2020 as part of the city's massive renewal project that promises to replace some of the polluted canal banks with Parisian-style riverside promenades, paved roads, modern shops and buildings. HCMC's waterways are often dubbed 'black canals' because they are so polluted. Around 36,000 homes along the city's canals have already been cleared, forcing residents to move to the outskirts or accept compensation that is often lower than soaring market rates. Some canal dwellers like Le Thi Thanh are fed up with the trash, and stench, and say they'd happily move. "People just throw trash and defecate in the canal, so we have to live with the pollution," 61-year-old Thanh, who has been on Xuyen Tam canal for 20 years, told AFP. Local authorities want to demolish the shanty communities and redevelop the canals. Thanh runs a boarding house, mostly for rural migrant labourers, and sells lottery tickets from the slanted porch of her home pieced together with old wooden doors and metal sheets. The canals of Ho Chi Minh City have not always been so coveted. Under the French, they were the city's main arteries used to move goods and people around, but as roads modernized and as the population boomed with war refugees in the 1960s, they became places to illegally settle. Today, the tide may be turning again. "There's a new elite that's emerging that's retransforming (canals) into an aesthetic place where you might sit and capture cool breezes and have views," Erik Harms, author of "Luxury and Rubble" about development in the city, told AFP. The relocations have not been easy for some former canal residents like Nguyen Van Muc, who said he was forced to move into government housing three years ago. A man trying to fish something out of the water on Xuyen Tam canal in HCMC. His new house, though outfitted with ceramic tiled floors and plastered walls, is half the size of his old clapboard model on Nuoc Len canal, and 20 kilometers (12 miles) away. "I've sent several complaint letters to central and local authorities but received no response," the former police officer told AFP. Swiss court bans any payments by operators of Nord Stream to Gazprom The decision was taken as a temporary interim measure on Naftogaz's claim. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter USDA raises maize yield forecast for Ukraine in MY 2018-2019 In total, Ukraine's grain harvest in 2018 may amount to 67.2 million tonnes. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Russia's hybrid military forces have mounted 9 attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas in the past 24 hours, with two Ukrainian soldiers reported as killed in action (KIA), the press center of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) has reported. "Russian invaders opened fire on the positions of our troops 9 times. At the same time, the enemy used weapons banned by the Minsk agreements three times. As a result of hostilities, two soldiers of the Joint Forces have been fatally wounded," the JFO staff said on Facebook on Saturday morning. Russian occupation forces opened aimed fire in the vicinity of Krymske, Svobodny, Luhanske, Avdiyivka, Pisky, Taramchuk, Berezove and Hnutove. "The Russian occupation forces opened aimed fire from grenade launchers of various systems, heavy machine guns and small arms. In addition, the enemy resorted to 120mm mortars to shell the Ukrainian positions near Luhanske two times, while 82mm mortars were used near Krymske, which was mostly attacked, and the defenders came under sniper fire," the press center said. On November 10, the enemy mounted one attack near Taramchuk. No heavy weapons were used. Casualties are not reported. According to Ukrainian intelligence, two militants were killed and two others were injured. European Commissioner Hahn notes Ukraine's success in implementing some reforms, but also setback in some spheres European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn has said that Ukraine should implement reforms in the energy sphere, economy and fight corruption. He said at a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman that there are some spheres where setback is seen in cooperation with the EU, and the EU does not see a possibility of leaving everything unchanged. He said that Ukraine should continue fighting corruption. Hahn thanked Groysman and the Ukrainian government for the implemented reforms, in particular, in healthcare, civil service, decentralization and education. He said that the country introduced not always very popular measures, in particular, the increase in the tariffs for households, which allowed reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which, in turn, opened a way for the macrofinancial assistance from the EU, the European Commissioner said. He pointed out Ukraine's success in privatization. Later Hahn wrote in the Twitter social network that at a meeting with Groysman he also stressed that "we must see more reforms on economy, energy and anti-corruption." President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Rasa Jukneviciene and Chairman of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada Andriy Parubiy have condemned the holding of the so-called "elections" on the Ukrainian government uncontrolled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions on November 11. The press service of the Verkhovna Rada said on Friday that while visiting Donbas and talking to journalists, Jukneviciene condemned the holding of so-called "elections" in the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas and called for their non-recognition. "The time to condemn what the other side is doing is the so-called "fake" elections, which no democratic country and also the NATO PA recognize," Jukneviciene said. She also pointed out the work of a Ukrainian delegation to the NATO PA, led by MP from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction Iryna Friz. "This is one of the best delegations we have seen at the PACE, and these people are defending the interests of Ukraine so that everyone can learn about Ukraine," she said. Jukneviciene also congratulated the Ukrainians on holding the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in 2020, "when parliamentarians from all countries come here." In turn, Parubiy, answering journalists' questions regarding the holding of so-called "elections" in the uncontrolled areas of Donbas, called "a great tragedy that such facts can exist in the Ukrainian state." Iranian political observers have offered different insights in recent days regarding the future of political power in Iran while the country is facing the hardest sanctions aimed at changing the Islamic Republic's behavior. The forecasts deal with possible change of current political dynamics and alliances that might change the shape of the Islamic Republic in the post-Khamenei era. An observer has suggested that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been changing the division of labor among key players in Iranian politics, delegating some of President Rouhani's authority to others. Meanwhile, a prominent Iranian activist and political analyst suggests an alliance is being formed by President Hassan Rouhani and Majles Speaker Ali Larijani in a bid to take over political power in Iran in the post-Khamenei era. A keen Iran watcher, Behnam Gholipour, wrote in a November 7 tweet that "Khamenei is not happy with Rouhani's performance," and suggested that Khamenei was making changes in the political dynamics to make up for Rouhani's weaknesses. Gholipour said in the tweet that Khamenei has vested a set of new authorities in Ali Larijani to allow him to solve the country's problems. As an indication of Larijani's new powers, Gholipour reminded that Larijani held meetings with six provincial governors-generals on November 7. Governors are accountable to the president, not the speaker of parliament, and in this case Larijani acted more like an executive rather than a legislature. Gholipour added that Khamenei has made hardliner cleric Ebrahim Raisi active in administrative affairs, and further observed that Iran's state TV, which is controlled by Khamenei's office, has broadcast a speech by Raisi simultaneously on three different channels in an unprecedented move to lend him prominence. On the other hand, in an analysis on Radio Farda's Persian website, Akbar Ganji wrote that Rouhani hopes to replace Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, adding that Rouhani believes that solving the country's political and economic problems depends on friendly relations between Iran and the West, including the United States. According to Ganji, Rouhani has never been a reformist and has always thought of himself as a "moderate," although he belonged to Iran's conservative camp. However, Ganji quoted Rouhani's predecessor and mentor, former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, as having said that "Eliminating or marginalizing radical political forces is the precondition for moderates," to take over. "Rouhani needs to form a coalition in order to attain this objective. He used reformists simply as a ladder to make it to the top," wrote Ganji. "The reformists are not represented at the Assembly of Experts," said Ganji about the body that determines Iran's next Supreme Leader when he is no longer around. So, "[Rouhani] has been furthering his plans in a coalition with Ali Larijani for a long time now," he added. Both Rouhani and Rafsanjani characterized Larijani as "moderate conservative." According to Ganji, Larijani who was a candidate in the 2005 presidential race, is still hopeful to win the position. "Larijani believes that if he forms an alliance with Rouhani, Iran's reformists would vote for him in the 2021 presidential elections as no reformist figure can get through the net of the vetting process controlled by hardliners at the Guardian Council," Ganji wrote, adding that Rouhani agrees with this idea. In addition, Larijani's brother. Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani is the powerful head of Iran's judiciary; a fact that can help him in any power-struggle. According to Ganji, the duo's most important job in the meantime is to marginalize radical elements in the conservative and reformist camps as well as weaken the influence of the military, as they believe this can pave the way for a dialogue with the West and the United States, and for solving the country's economic and non-economic problems. It should be noted that in any scenario the military is a wild factor. To what extent the Rouhai-Larijani duo can weaken or control the military which also has enormous economic power is an important question. Right or wrong, both of these analyses point out Ali Larijani's rising star. Larijani has been the key force behind persuading the Majles to approve the nuclear deal with the West in 2015, and in ratifying the FATF bills that could end Iran's isolation. The fact that both moves faced resistance by hardliners, and were in accord with Rouhani's agenda lend a degree of credibility to these analyses. The head of the Judicial Department in the province of Tehran says that indictments against the detained environmentalists have been delivered to the "Revolution Court" and the specific court for their trial has been selected. Speaking to the state-run Mehr News Agency (MNA), Gholamhossein Esmaeili said on Friday, November 9, that the trial will begin soon. Earlier, the spokesman of Islamic Republic's judiciary had also confirmed that the indictments against five of the detainees were issued and sent to the Revolutionary Court. Eight Iranian environmentalists have been kept in custody since last January. Initially, they were charged with espionage, but, in an interview with Radio Farda on October 21, one of their attorneys, veteran lawyer Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, disclosed that the prosecutor decided to replace the charge with "Corruption on Earth". The charge against five detained environmentalists has been changed from "espionage" to "Corruption on Earth" after the examining magistrate received a letter from the Iranian Army, Aghasi cited Tehran Prosecutor-General as saying. Later, Tehran's Prosecutor-General, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi confirmed that the charges were indeed changed after the amendment of the indictments. Meanwhile, the head of Iranian parliaments Environment Faction, Mohammad Reza Tabesh said that replacing the charge of espionage with "corruption on Earth", has "surprised" him. According to Article 228 of the new Islamic Penal Code adopted in 2013, corruption on earth is defined as: Any person who extensively commits felony against the...people, offenses against internal or international security of the state, spreading lies, disruption of the economic system of the state, arson and destruction of properties, distribution of poisonous and bacterial and dangerous materials, and establishment of, or aiding and abetting in, places of corruption and prostitutionshall be considered as corrupt on earth and shall be sentenced to death. Eight environmentalists, Niloufar Bayani, Houman Jokar, Sepideh Kashani, Amir Hossein Khaleqi, AbdolReza Kouhpayeh, Taher Qadirian, and Sam Rajabi as well as Iranian-American dual citizen Morad Tahbaz have been held in temporary custody by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' Intelligence Organization since last January. Iranian-Canadian founder of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, Professor Kavous Seyyed-Emami, who was detained alongside the eight ecologists, mysteriously died last January in Tehran's infamous prison, Evin. The authorities maintain that 63-year old Seyyed-Emami committed suicide behind bars, an allegation categorically denied by the environmentalist's relatives. None of the detainees have been allowed to freely designate a legal counsel, while under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iran is required to ensure that anyone facing criminal charges has access to a lawyer of their choosing. Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.10 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have 30 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Nov. 10. Armenian armed forces were using heavy machine guns. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. /. , ... Details added (first version posted on 15:28) Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.10 By Leman Zeynalova - Trend: The decision of Norway to close its embassy in Azerbaijan is regrettable, but this is the decision of the Norwegian government, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys acting spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva told Trend Nov. 10. She was commenting on the message of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry about the closure of the embassy in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has warm, comprehensive relations with Norway, she said. Equinor, Norways biggest energy company [formerly Statoil], was one of the first foreign companies in Azerbaijan in the 1990s and participated in the Contract of the Century. Famous Norwegian ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl, the author of the theory of ancient relations between the Norwegian Vikings and Azerbaijanis, was a great friend of Azerbaijan. Numerous projects in various fields have been implemented between the two countries. Abdullayeva added that presently, according to available information, the Norwegian side intends to maintain its representation in Azerbaijan through consular activities. However, it is not yet clear in what form this representation will be carried out - in the status of an honorary or diplomatic consulate, she said. Abdullayeva also clarified the issue of the possibility of Azerbaijans closing its embassy in Sweden. We dont intend to close our embassy anywhere, including in Stockholm, she said. The principle The flag once raised will never fall is important for sovereign and independent states. On the contrary, given the very active foreign policy pursued by Azerbaijan and the growing respect from the international community, we intend to further increase the number of representative offices abroad. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 10 Trend: An Azerbaijani delegation, led by the minister of economy, the co-chairman of the Azerbaijan-China Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation, Shahin Mustafayev, met with President of the Chinese Greenland Group Zhang Yuliang, the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan said in a statement. A presentation of Greenland Group's activities was held during the meeting, and the company's activities that cover real estate, construction, international trade, finance, hotels, supermarkets, etc. were noted. The parties held discussions on cooperation in hotel business, tourism, clinic management and sale of Azerbaijani products in the company's network of supermarkets, G-super. It was also noted that the Chinese company can participate in investment projects implemented in Azerbaijan. During the meeting, the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) signed a memorandum of understanding on development of trade and economic cooperation with the international trading company Greenland Zhongxuan and a contract with another Chinese company Shanghai Jizhi Investment Management for renting an exhibition pavilion in the trade center Greenland Global. The meeting also saw memorandums of intent signed between Azersun Holding and Greenland Zhongxuan on exporting products to China worth $2 million and between the Azerbaijani company Sharg Ulduzu and Greenland Zhongxuan worth $1 million. The meeting was attended by the Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Agriculture Seyfeddin Talibov, Chairman of Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company Rauf Valiyev, Deputy Head of the Food Safety Agency Rufat Rustamzade, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Food Products Procurement and Supply OJSC Elshan Asadov, Azerbaijans ambassador to China Akram Zeynalli, Acting President of AZPROMO Yusif Abdullayev and Azerbaijan's Trade Representative in China Teymur Nadiroglu. Then, the Azerbaijani delegation took part in the opening of the Azerbaijani pavilion in the G-hub shopping center of the Greenland Group. Various Azerbaijani products - alcoholic beverages, food products - under the "Made in Azerbaijan" brand will be sold there. Sales of Azerbaijani products started in the Chinese supermarkets network of DIG on Nov. 7. On the same day, the Azerbaijani delegation took part in the Global Trade and International Logistics Forum in Shanghai, which ended with presentations and discussions. Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.10 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: Frances Alstom will deliver the first contracted freight locomotive for the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway to Azerbaijan in the second half of December 2018, the company told Trend. "After the first dynamic tests in Kazakhstan the first Prima T8 freight locomotive AZ8A will arrive to Azerbaijan in the second half of December," said Alstom. Alstom and Azerbaijan Railways plan to start the preparation for testing in Azerbaijan in January 2019, according to the French rail giant. "From February 2019 the first AZ8A locomotive will be on test runs between Ganja and Boyuk Kesik stations," said the company. Alstom earlier presented its first electric freight locomotive Prima T8 AZ8A for Azerbaijan Railways. The presentation of the locomotive was held at the Electric Locomotives Assemblage Factory (EKZ), located on the territory of the Astana special economic zone. The first AZ8A locomotive became a part of the contract signed by EKZ with "Azerbaijan Railways" in 2014 for the supply of 50 locomotives, including 10 passenger locomotives Prima M4 AZ4A. AZ8A is a heavy-duty freight locomotive from the Prima T8 series, which is based on the KZ8A locomotive, currently operated in Kazakhstan. AZ8A is designed for operation at temperatures from -25 to 50 degrees Celsius. The locomotive is designed according to the specific technical requirements provided by the ARW Company, and also meets the GOST and TU standards. Prima T8 is one of the most powerful electric locomotives in the world. The model consists of two sections, is able to pull a train weighing up to 9,000 tons and reach a speed of 120 km/h. Founded in 1928, Alstom develops and markets systems, equipment and services for the transport sector. The company offers a complete range of solutions (from high-speed trains to metros, tramways and e-buses), passenger solutions, customized services (maintenance, modernization), infrastructure, signalling and digital mobility solutions. The official opening ceremony of the BTK railway was held in Baku Oct. 30 last year. The BTK railway was constructed on the basis a Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement. The railways peak capacity will be 17 million tons of cargo per year. At an initial stage, this figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 10 Trend: Azerbaijan presented data on its daily oil production in October 2018 to the OPEC Joint Technical Committee as part of the Vienna Agreement, the Azerbaijani Energy Ministry said in a statement. Daily oil production stood at 783,000 barrels in October 2018, of which 717,000 barrels accounted for crude oil and 66,000 barrels for condensate, while 599,000 barrels of crude oil, 71,000 barrels of condensate and 4,000 barrels of oil products were exported. In January 2018, daily oil production stood at 814,600 barrels, in February 2018 at 806,000 barrels, in March 794,000 barrels, in April 785,700 barrels, in May 801,000 barrels, in June 792,000 barrels, in July 773,000 barrels and in August 774,000 barrels of oil per day. OPEC Joint Technical Committee was created on Jan. 22, 2017 to monitor the implementation of countries' commitment to cut oil production. In December 2016, at a meeting of oil producers in Vienna, 11 non-OPEC countries, including Azerbaijan, agreed to cut oil production by a total of 558,000 barrels a day. The agreement was concluded for the first half of 2017 and was extended until the end of the first quarter of 2018 at a meeting on May 25, 2017. At the last OPEC meeting in Vienna, the agreement was again extended until the end of 2018. Azerbaijan supported the decision. Tehran, Iran, Nov. 10 Trend: While fuel consumption in Iran is increasing, its smuggling out of the country has hiked by a turbulence in foreign exchange currency market. "Increase of unnecessary fuel consumption is a fact in Iran. The gasoline consumption is rising. Production in new refineries is raised. The consumption from 54 million liters in targeted subsidies plan has reached to 90 million liters," Spokesman for the Iranian Parliament's Energy Committee Assadollah Gharakhani told ILNA. "Another undeniable fact in our country is smuggling, he said. We have to find a solution to these issues." The official said a special committee was established to deal with the issues including fuel quotas, fuel cards for families or increasing gasoline prices. "We will finalize our decision on the fuel prices after reviewing the reports," he added. Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.10 Trend: Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR plans to supply its new refinery in Turkey with oil from different producers in Europe, the Black Sea region and the Gulf, SOCAR Trading told Reuters. Initial consumption (of oil) will be 100,000 barrels per day with a further increase to 215,000 bpd, said the company. SOCAR Trading will supply oil (to STAR) from different producers at ports in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Persian Gulf, as well as from Russian company Rosneft. SOCAR Trading had secured contracts to buy -92 grade gasoline from producers in Russia, Switzerland and Turkmenistan due to planned maintenance at Heydar Aliyev oil refinery in Baku. The company said oil was still playing a central role in the firms trading strategy, having a 50 percent share in its portfolio. SOCAR Trading had decided to reduce the share of fuel oil - recently at 30 percent - in its trading portfolio. The strategic decision has been made, but it will start to reflect on figures in 2019. SOCAR Trading said it was open to discussions on obtaining crude from Russias Filanovsky and Rakushechnoye oilfields in the Caspian Sea operated by Russian company Lukoil , with shipment via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. We are ready for dialogue on these oilfields and dont see any problems from a technical viewpoint on getting these oil flows. SOCAR Trading said it would soon start selling polypropylene and low-pressure polyethylene from SOCARs polymer plant, which started operating in August. The opening ceremony of the Star oil refinery took place on October 19 in Izmir, Turkey, with the participation of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The total refining capacity of the refinery will be 10 million tons, and Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR is the main supplier of crude for the refinery. The refinery will significantly reduce the dependence of Turkey on imports of petrochemical products. The refinery worth $6.3 billion, built by SOCAR in the Aliaga District of Izmir, will produce 1.6 million tons of naphtha, 1.6 million tons of aviation fuel, 4.8 million tons of low-sulfur diesel, 700,000 tons of petroleum coke, 420,000 tons of mixed xylene and 160,000 tons of sulfur. SOCAR Trading, headquartered in Geneva, was established in late 2007 by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan. Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.10 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: Azerbaijan actively participates in promoting energy efficiency, the International Energy Agency (IEA) told Trend. "The IEA is working closely with Azerbaijan on the EU4Energy Programme, which has a strong focus on sustainable energy, energy markets and energy security, while promoting evidence based policymaking. The four-year programme, which runs through 2020, has had a strong emphasis on Energy Efficiency, from both a policy and data perspective and we have seen strong levels of participation from Azerbaijan on this and other topics," said the Agency. As for the recent visit of IEAs Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol to Azerbaijan, IEA said that the visit included meeting with Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov to discuss key energy developments in Azerbaijan, including efforts to improve electricity market design, as well as the countrys investment in its petrochemicals sector in order to diversify economically and reap more value-add from their oil and gas. "Another highlight from the visit was the meeting with the President of SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev to discuss oil and gas sector developments," said the IEA. Further, IEA said its recent report Energy Efficiency 2018 shows the great potential for energy efficiency to contribute to all energy and climate goals, and sets out an Efficient World Strategy that identifies the key policy actions required to deliver these benefits. "The IEA is pleased to announce its new online global exchange platform for energy efficiency. The new platform allows countries to share information and learn from each other about best practice in energy efficiency policies. All countries are encouraged to use the online platform to find the latest information on energy efficiency issues, and to help develop it by providing country-specific information to the IEA to be included on the platform," said the Agency. "The global exchange platform supports countries wishing to pursue these opportunities by providing information on how to design and implement policies based on the experience of other countries." IEA was established in November 1974. The original founding members were Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway (under a special Agreement), Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States. Joining in the following years were Greece (1976), New Zealand (1977), Australia (1979), Portugal (1981), Finland (1992), France (1992), Hungary (1997), Czech Republic (2001), Republic of Korea (2002), Slovak Republic (2007), Poland (2008), Estonia (2014), and more recently Mexico (2018). --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 10 Trend: During the first 10 months of 2018, 36.9 percent of Uzbekistan's internet users were attacked on the internet, Uzbek media reported. With the given indicator, Uzbekistan ranks 27th in the world. As for local threats - malware that spreads via removable media, such as hard drives, USB flash drives, etc. - 69.8 percent of users were attacked, which brings Uzbekistan to number 13 in the world. These statistics were presented by Kaspersky Lab. Such threats do not lead to direct financial damage, but significantly reduce the performance of the infected device. In general, the number of cyber threats to users has increased 700 times in comparison to 2006, and the total number of attacks is also growing - in 2017 there were more than a billion cyber attacks worldwide. Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.10 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: The election of the host country of World Expo 2025 will take place during the 164th General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in Paris on 23 November, BIE told Trend. There will be no further official BIE visits or meetings before the General Assembly, said the Bureau. "Earlier this month, each candidate organized theme seminars in Paris to raise awareness of the theme among BIE delegates: Azerbaijan - October 4 , Japan - October 9 and Russia - October 25," said BIE. Three countries are candidates to host World Expo 2025: Japan (in Osaka), the Russian Federation (in Ekaterinburg), and Azerbaijan (in Baku). The 170 Member States of the BIE will elect the host country at the 164th General Assembly in November 2018. Azerbaijan, which has been actively participating in six Expo exhibitions held by the International Exhibitions Bureau for 18 years and has won three awards for the high quality of the pavilions, demonstrates a strong commitment to Expo movement. If Baku is chosen, the World Expo 2025 will be held for six months from May 10 to November 10, 2025. It will be the first World exhibition of the International Exhibitions Bureau organized in the South Caucasus region. World Expos, known officially as International Registered Exhibitions, are organized every five years. Their themes are designed to raise awareness of and find responses to universal challenges of our time. The next World Expo will take place in Dubai (UAE) between 20 October 2020 and 10 April 2021 under the theme "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future". --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, and Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Response in Europe, Afshan Khan, today concluded her first official visit to Turkmenistan. The partnership between the Government of Turkmenistan and UNICEF has yielded some important results in health, nutrition, education and other areas affecting the lives of children and their families, said Ms. Khan. I am encouraged by the investments in childrens wellbeing made by government and look forward to the best initiatives and successful programmes reaching national scale, she said. Delivering results for every child in the country remains the bedrock of our partnership with the Government, she added. During her four-day visit, Ms. Khan discussed priorities for children in Turkmenistan as part of UNICEFs partnership and cooperation with the Government. Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foregin Affairs, Rashid Meredov; Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, responsible for education and health, Purli Agamyradov; and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, responsible for economy and social welfare, Gochmyrat Myradov were among the senior officials she met. Ms. Khan also met the Speaker of the Parliament, Gulshat Mammedova and the Ombudsman, Yazdursun Gurbannazarova. The UNICEF Regional Director thanked them for the fruitful collaboration and ongoing prioritization of child rights issues in the countrys policy and programming. Ms. Khan had earlier met the Minister of Health and Medical Industry, Nurmuhammet Amannepesov, and Minister of Education, Mammetmyrat Geldiniyazov, to highlight the importance of a holistic approach to early childhood development (ECD) and to commend their intersectoral collaboration in ECD. Ms. Khan visited the UNICEF-supported Early Childhood Development Centre at the Scientific-Clinical Mother and Child Health Centre in Ashgabat where she interacted with families accessing the services of the Centre, and met with specialists who provide timely support to children experiencing developmental delays. The UNICEF Regional Director also met with the UN Country Team, representatives of other international organizations, and senior members of the diplomatic corps. Tehran, Iran, Nov.10 Trend: Kazem Sedighi, one of the clerics appointed by the leader to lead Friday prayers in the capital has praised Guardian Council for rejection of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) bill, Iranian media reported. "Today, we are asking the authorities to not approve the humiliating bills of FATF which is similar to capitulation treaty (immunity of foreign subjects from jurisdiction during Pahlavi era), he said. The Supreme Leader has stated that these laws are written to colonialize us, so we appreciate the Guardian Council that rejected the bills.", he said referring to coincidence of anniversary of the murder of fifty six students of University of Tehran in 1953 and the reimplementation of US sanctions. Iran's parliament has endorsed the FATF bill on combating the financing of terrorism, however it failed to pass from the Guardian Council. Referring to the Iran hostage crisis he says that a nation was able to question American`s domination. The United States is unable to cut Iranian oil exports down to zero, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday, Sputnik reported. "The officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran were saying from the first day that Americans are not able to reduce Irans oil export to zero, but they kept repeating that they would do this and they recently admitted that the cannot reduce Irans oil export to zero," Rouhani said, as quoted on his official website. He went on to say that the new package of Iran sanctions had not influenced the country's economy as the United States had already used all the "bullets" that they had, and now had "nothing new to offer." While the first round of the Iran sanctions was reimposed in August, the second package, including restrictions targeting the country's oil industry, came into force on November 5. The United States seeks to force all the importers of Iranian oil to eventually reduce their imports to zero. However, China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey have received temporary exemptions from the sanctions on importing oil from Iran. According to the US State Department, the exemptions will remain in force for 180 days with no planned extensions. In May, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and reimpose sanctions against Tehran that were previously lifted under the accord, including secondary restrictions. Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 10 By Matanat Nasibova & Fikret Dolukhanov Trend: Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) is introducing enhanced laboratory control in relation to products coming from the Armenian enterprises Hayr Ev Vordi Buniatyanner (Father and Son Buniatyan), Fishart LLC and Khayts Ishkhan LLC, the Russian agency said in an official statement. The nitrofuran metabolites have been found in the products of Hayr Ev Vordi Buniatyanner, the message says. Yeast has been found in sturgeon roe made by Fishart and in salmon roe made by Khayts Ishkhan. Interestingly, at the end of October, Rosselkhoznadzor already banned the import of products of Armenian company Food Ex in connection with detection of a combination of benzaldehyde green and leuco-benzaldehyde green in trout. The ban on the import of Armenian products into Russia is introduced not for the first time. Similar measures to prevent imports from Armenia were taken by Rosselkhoznadzor in previous years. For example, a ban was imposed on the import of dairy and meat products from Armenia in 2015 due to the unstable epizootic situation in Armenia, as well as the high risk of bringing especially dangerous animal diseases into Russia. Later, in 2016, due to the unstable epizootic situation of hand-foot-and-mouth disease in Armenia, as well as due to the high risk of bringing the causative agent of this disease into the territory of Russia, Rosselkhoznadzor reintroduced restrictions on meat and dairy products from Armenia. In May 2018, in connection with the discovery of quarantine organisms in Armenian tomatoes and cucumbers, the quarantine phytosanitary control of crops coming from Armenia was also strengthened. This decision was made after detection of two types of quarantine organisms: miner moth on tomatoes and western (Californian) flower thrips on cucumbers. All agricultural products were returned back to Armenia. Commenting on the November decision of Rosselkhoznadzor, Russian expert Dmitry Verkhoturov told Trend that this is a normal procedure introduced in the event if products do not meet sanitary standards, that is, they are potentially dangerous to the health of consumers. As for nitrofuran metabolites found in products [all listed companies are related to fish production and fish processing], these are most likely the residues of the nitrofurans that are sometimes used in animal husbandry and fish farming as feed additives and growth stimulants. I think the Armenian companies have tried so hard to get as many products as possible and as quickly as possible that they overdid with this additive. These compounds are really quite dangerous, and the food products containing such compounds even in small quantities, are not comestible," the Russian expert explained. He noted that the restrictions are imposed according to results of the tests conducted by the laboratories that are politically neutral. However, has the agency indeed simply prohibited the import of products from unscrupulous manufacturers without any political motivation? In November 2015, the Turkish armed forces shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber in the skies over Syria. One of the pilots died during ejection, the second Russian soldier died in the course of a rescue operation. Immediately after the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the events a "stab in the back." A few days later, Moscow announced economic measures against Ankara. On December 1, the charter flights to Turkey were banned, the visa free travel was lifted, restrictions were imposed on Turkish companies' commercial activity in the territory of Russia, and the work of the intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation was suspended. As a result, on January 1, 2016, Rosselkhoznadzor imposed a ban on the import into Russia of Turkish products of 17 titles, including fruits, vegetables, flowers and salt. An embargo was also introduced on tomatoes, which were the main article of Turkish vegetable export to Russia (until January 1, 2016, Turkey exported 360,000 tons of tomatoes to Russia). Bilateral trade between the two countries declined sharply from $31.6 billion in 2014 to $15.84 billion in 2016. Two years later, amid a thaw in relations, Rosselkhoznadzor allowed from May 1, 2018 the import into the territory of Russia of Turkish tomatoes without restrictions on individual enterprises. As we see, the ban was a purely political decision that had nothing to do with a quarantine or other purely environmental issues. Another significant development occurred when President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko declared in April 2018 that Russia is unleashing trade wars by prohibiting the supply of certain Belarus goods to the Russian territory. In April, Minister of Agriculture of Russia Alexander Tkachev recommended Belarus to look for new sales markets for its milk, since the Russian authorities intend to fill the domestic market with domestic products by 90 percent. Rosselkhoznadzor also imposed a temporary ban on deliveries of live pigs and pig-breeding products from Belarus to Russia in connection with detection of African swine fever. A rhetorical question: why did African swine fever appear in the meat from Belarus right after Tkachev's statement? Political scientist Valery Karbalevich in this regard believes that Russia is violating the rules of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) - which also includes Armenia - suggesting the free movement of goods, capital and labor. And although the conflict over the supply of the Belarus dairy products to the Russian market is closed, the case, according to Karbalevich, has not gone anywhere, since this has already occurred repeatedly. Thus, Rosselkhoznadzor has openly become a political tool far from food security and environmental considerations. So, perhaps, the ban on the import of products from Armenia is also a part of this political mechanism, under which Moscow is taking preventive measures so that the officials in Yerevan do not question relations with Russia against the backdrop of the US claims. The Georgian political expert Gela Vasadze told Trend that the logic of the Russian authorities in this case is not entirely clear. "We all know perfectly well that Rosselkhoznadzor has long been an instrument of Russian foreign policy. In 2006, the agency, for example, imposed sanctions against Georgia, after which the Russian leadership has been actively using this tool in foreign policy. But this case is somewhat strange. The current leadership of Armenia has done nothing in word or deed that could put a question mark against relations with Russia," Vasadze said. He said although the stories about the arrest of the ex-President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan and the investigation in regard to CSTO Secretary General Yury Khachaturov are internal Armenian problems, the Kremlin used them to demonstrate its influence. The expert noted that the imposition of a ban on Armenian products could be needed by Russia either for some serious business interests, or as a topic for further bargaining with Yerevan. What is happening in the relations of Armenia with Russia? The current Armenian leadership, headed by the Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, from the very beginning of its coming to power assured Moscow of preserving the old political orientation. However, from the very beginning, certain minor hiccups appear here and there, which more and more often lead outside observers to the idea that a black kitten if not a big black cat ran between Yerevan and Moscow. For a start, the very coming to power of Pashinyan as a result of a revolution was met in Moscow quite ambiguously. Some experts immediately said the new prime minister was a protege of the West. A lot of questions also arouse by the recent visit of the US President's Adviser for National Security John Bolton, during which he declared the superiority of American weapons over Russian ones, after which Pashinyan answered in absentia that, if necessary, Armenia could start acquiring the US weapons. And although a series of refutations rained down after this, such a situation caused a rather nervous and verbose reaction of the Kremlin. In December, an extraordinary parliamentary election is expected in Armenia, through which the new political forces in the country intend to gain a foothold in the leadership. And only time will tell what steps follow from here on - whether Yerevan will continue to try to keep a foot in both camps, tacking between Moscow and Washington, and whether Rosselkhoznadzor will not ban any other products from Armenia after that. --- Matanat Nasibova & Fikret Dolukhanov, Trend commentators Follow Fikret Dolukhanov on Twitter: @FDolukhanov The international community has raised additional funds today to support efforts to overcome the legacy of uranium mining in Central Asia. A pledging event for the Environmental Remediation Account for Central Asia (ERA) at the EBRD Headquarters in London on Thursday was attended by representatives of more than 30 countries and international organizations. The event was opened by EBRD First Vice President Jurgen Rigterink who emphasized the Banks commitment to make its expertise available to protect people from radiation risk. The European Commission increased its contribution by 10 million. Belgium, Switzerland, the United States and Norway also pledged significant contributions, and Lithuania made a donation. This is sufficient to extend the work of the fund to additional contaminated sites but more will be required to tackle all high priority sites in the region. The fund was established in 2015 at the initiative of the European Commission and is managed by the EBRD. The ERA has started operating in the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan following the signing of framework agreements. Remediation works will start in 2019 at four sites in the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan. Central Asia served as an important source of uranium in the former Soviet Union. Uranium was mined for over 50 years and uranium ore was also imported from other countries for processing there. A large amount of radioactively-contaminated material was placed in mining waste dumps and tailing sites. Most of the mines were closed by 1995 but very little remediation was done neither prior to nor after closure of the mining and milling operations. The amount of radioactively-contaminated material accumulated in the region is a threat to the environment and to the health of the population. Many of the uranium legacy sites in Central Asia are concentrated along the tributaries of the Syr Darya river which runs through the densely populated Fergana Valley, the agricultural center of the region which is shared by the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The ERAs goal is to assist these countries to remediate some of the most dangerous sites left by the past uranium production. These seven sites have been identified in a Strategic Master Plan (SMP), jointly developed by key stakeholders. The SMP is publicly available on the website of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Balthasar Lindauer, EBRD Director, Nuclear Safety, said: We are grateful for the international communitys renewed display of solidarity with Central Asia. This commitment gives us a boost to progress with our work which will enter the implementation period next year. While the first steps have been promising, more remains to be done and we need to maintain the very good cooperation of all partners. Adriaan van der Meer, Chair of the ERA Fund Assembly, added: Work on environmental remediation is at a crucial stage. Most plans for actual remediation in priority areas in Central Asia are now ready and independently reviewed. I support the call from the Central Asian countries to the international community to make the necessary financial means available so that the actual environmental clean-up can start as soon as possible. By doing so the programme will move to the next phase The Environmental Remediation Account for Central Asia (ERA) was established at the initiative of the European Commission and is the seventh and latest decommissioning fund managed by the EBRD to support nuclear safety and security in the Banks regions. Other EBRD-managed funds are active in the transformation of Chernobyl, financing the decommissioning of former Soviet-type nuclear reactors in Bulgaria, Lithuania and the Slovak Republic and management of radioactive waste in north-west Russia. Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis on Friday returned to the parliament amendments to the labor law allowing employers to reduce overtime pay in sectors where the minimum hourly wage is substantially increased, the president's spokespeople said, Xinhua reported. According to the new regulation which the president has refused to sign into law, the hourly overtime pay will have to make up at least 150 percent of the standard hourly wage in those sectors where employees have concluded general collective agreements. In sectors without such collective agreements employees will be entitled to an overtime pay that is twice as high as their standard hourly wages. The new regulation was drawn up to eradicate unreported business activity and under-the-table wages in industries like construction and food industry. The Latvian parliament passed the amendments to the labor law on November 1, 2018. However, President Vejonis believes that these efforts to fight shadow economy in particular sectors leaves entrepreneurs in other sectors in disadvantage, which is unacceptable. "As we fight shadow economy in one industry, we must not put employers and employees in other industry in an unfavorable situation," the president said. Ombudsman Juris Jansons, the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, (LCCI), Foreign Investors' Council in Latvia (FICIL) and a trade union of pediatric surgeons have also called for a revision of the overtime pay regulation and the parliament legal office questioned its compliance with the Latvian constitution. The LCCI had proposed paying 150 percent of the standard hourly wage for the first two overtime hours in all sectors of the economy, but that proposal was rejected. European Council President Donald Tusk said earlier this week there was a "very serious threat" of Poland leaving the European Union amid tensions between Warsaw and Brussels. Poland has been anything but disappointment economically. The country's economy has been steadily growing for years, even amid 2008 crisis, while some other EU members have been grappling with recession. However, it has had its disagreements with Brussels on other issues. The European Union has been critical of Poland's judiciary reforms, in particular, of the new law that lowers the retirement age for Supreme Court judges to 65. Brussels has been worried that the reforms may threaten the rule of law in the country. Tusk, who was Poland's prime minister in 2007-2014, called on Warsaw to stop bickering with Brussels to avoid Polexit. According to the European Council president, Polexit could happen by "accident." However, some members of the European parliament disagree. "A country can no more fall out of the EU by accident than a prisoner can accidentally fall out of a high-security prison by accident," Steven Woolfe, an independent member of the European Parliament from the United Kingdom, told Sputnik. Michal Marusik, the Polish member of the European Parliament, also believes that such accidents are unlikely. "Nothing in the United Kingdom happened 'by accident'," Marusik told Sputnik. The warning might be linked to Tusk possibly considering a return to Polish politics, but Tusk's Civic Platform party is unlikely to be re-energized, Marusik said. "There is indeed a chance that Donald Tusk tries to make a comeback, but it seems to me that he will not be needed anymore because the political project "Civic Platform" cannot be revitalized. The same causes that once formed the Civic Platform will now organize a completely new sociopolitical force, not associated by society with the existing structures of power and influence," the vice-chair of the Europe of Nations and Freedom Group said. Woolfe sees Tusk's words as an attempt to scare fellow Poles, who, for the most part, "still want to belong to the EU." "However, if Brussels continues with its relentless attempts to interfere in Polands own laws and institutions, that could change," the member of the European Parliament said. Marusik stressed the European Union was largely a German-French alliance, which made it hard for other members to influence the bloc's policies. "Practically, the Union does not do anything that France and Germany will not agree to. Symbolically, the capital of the Union is the capital of Alsace, Strasbourg, even though the monthly travels of the entire European Parliament from Brussels to Strasbourg are a funny and very expensive spectacle," Marusik said. However, a September poll showed that over 65 percent of the Poles are against leaving the bloc. Only about 17 percent would like to leave, while another 17 percent do not have an opinion on the matter. A South African court on Friday ordered former President Jacob Zuma to pay for his legal fees for a case related to "state capture" allegations, Xinhua reports. In a ruling, the North Gauteng High Court dismissed Zuma's bid to appeal the cost order granted in his unsuccessful challenge to former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela who requested Zuma to set up a commission of inquiry into state capture. The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) both submitted applications to the court earlier this year, demanding that Zuma personally pick up the bill for his various criminal and civil cases. The DA and EFF want the court to declare that the state is not liable for the costs incurred by Zuma in his personal capacity in criminal prosecutions against him. The presidency has previously said the state would carry on covering Zuma's legal fees until a court decides otherwise. President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that 15.3 million rand (about 1.1 million U.S. dollars) had already been paid in the time Zuma had been challenging a corruption case, in which the former president faces charges related to allegedly accepting a bribe from French arms company Thales in the awarding of an arms deal in the late 1990s. Zuma is also accused of collaborating with the controversial Indian Gupta family in looting from the state coffer, known as state capture. Both Zuma and the Guptas have denied the accusations. The DA welcomed Friday's ruling, saying this is a victory for not only the DA but also for the South African taxpayers. "This sends out a very strong message to government officials and members of the Executive that they cannot use state resources to litigate frivolously," the DA said. The party said it will continue to defend the Constitution against those who seek to violate it for personal benefit. Turkey has opened a new border gate crossing to the northern Syrian region of Afrin, Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan announced on Friday, Xinhua reported. Pekcan said the customs gate was named "Olive Branch" after Turkey's military operation against Kurdish militants in Afrin early this year. The Turkish trade officer previously said the gate will speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid to Afrin and meet the infrastructure needs of the region. Turkey has 10 land and three rail customs gates with Syria, but only one rail and four land ones are operational as of this month, local media Daily Sabah reported. On Jan. 20, Turkish army launched cross-border operation in Afrin to clear Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militants from the area. Turkey considers the YPG as the Syrian affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis during talks with Chinese officials said the United States wants Beijing to withdraw its missiles from the Spratly islands in the South China Sea, the State Department said in a press release, Sputnik reports. "The United States called on China to withdraw its missile systems from disputed features in the Spratly Islands, and reaffirmed that all countries should avoid addressing disputes through coercion or intimidation," the release said after Pompeo and Mattis met with Chinese diplomats and security officials at the State Department. Earlier, Chinese Foreign Affairs Director Yang Jiechi, alongside Pompeo and Mattis at a joint press conference, said the situation in the South China Sea is moving "toward greater stability." According to the release, both countries during the talks, the second US-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue, agreed to support a peaceful resolution of disputes, overflight issues and other lawful uses of the sea in the region. In May, Mattis said that despite Chinese President Xi Jinpings pledge not to militarize the Spratly Islands, Beijing had moved weapons there. In turn, Beijing said that it had the sovereign right to send troops to any part of its territory. The Asia-Pacific region has several territorial disputes in the South China and East China seas that involve Brunei, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Beijing considers the Spratly archipelago as its territory, although a Hague-based court concluded that there was no legal basis for China's maritime claims. US soldiers have performed a series of drills near its international border with Mexico, in response to a caravan with thousands of Central American migrants en route to the United States, Press TV reported citing Reuters. Although the migrants are still in the country's south and in Mexico City, President Donald Trump has reportedly sent over 5,000 soldiers to the border in response. Trump has hardened his stance on immigration, and specifically against the caravan of migrants. This week, he effectively suspended the granting of asylum to migrants who cross the US-Mexico border illegally, seeking fresh ways to block thousands of Central Americans traveling in caravans from entering the US. Trump has said Washington could send as many as 15,000 troops to the border, more than those American forces in Afghanistan. U.S. President Donald Trump and French leader Emmanuel Macron held a very constructive bilateral meeting on Saturday, an official in the French presidency said, Reutes reported. The two leaders met hours after Trump was scathing in a tweet of Macrons suggestion earlier this week that Europe needed a European army to bolster its defence capacities and reduce its dependence on the United States. The Elysee Palace official said there had been a misunderstanding and that Trump, who had tweeted that Macrons comments were very insulting, had told Macron in their meeting: I think we are much closer than it seems. To share with friends and brethren The Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (the Everlasting Gospel), and to prepare a people to stand when He returns to redeem His remnant. Also, to share relevant information of current events, and to show how they relate to prophecy; By means of articles, editorials, opinions, scripture readings, and poetry. Disclaimer Endrtimes does not necessarily endorse or agree with every opinion expressed in every article/video posted on this site. The information provided here is done so for personal edification; It's up to the reader to separate truth from error, and to examine everything (like the Bereans) from a Biblical perspective. Let the Holy Scriptures be you guide! - - - FAIR USE NOTICE: These pages/videos may contain copyrighted () material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, POLITICAL, HUMAN RIGHTS, economic, DEMOCRACY, scientific, MORAL, ETHICAL, and SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior general interest in receiving similar information for research and educational purposes. KYODO NEWS - Nov 10, 2018 - 20:14 | World, Urgent, All A Somali-born man who stabbed three people, killing one, in a terror incident in central Melbourne on Friday was "inspired" and "radicalized" by Islamic State, Australian Federal Police said Saturday. Speaking at a press conference in Melbourne, Australian Federal Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney identified the attacker as Hassan Khalid Shire Ali, who moved to Australia from Somalia in the 1990s. Around 4:20 p.m. Friday, Shire Ali, 30, set his pickup truck on fire at a shopping mall popular with locals and tourists before going on a stabbing rampage. He was shot once by police and later died at hospital. (Getty/Kyodo) "I think it is fair to say he was inspired, he was radicalized," McCartney said, adding he did not think Shire Ali had direct contact with the Islamic State terror group. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in Australia's second-largest city. However, Victoria State Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said state police are unsure how seriously to take the claim at this stage of the investigation. Federal police confirmed that the attacker's brother was arrested over terrorism offenses in November 2017, and that Shire Ali's passport was cancelled in 2015 when Australia's national spy agency believed he had plans to travel to Syria. Under Australian counter-terrorism laws, the government may suspend or cancel an individual's passport if they are deemed likely to join conflicts in countries including Syria and Iraq. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a press conference in Sydney that the National Terrorism Threat Level remains at probable, while identifying Islamic extremism as a threat to the country. "The greatest threat of religious extremism, in this country, is the radical and dangerous ideology of extremist Islam," he said. Morrison also called on religious leaders to take responsibly to "ensure that these dangerous teachings and ideologies do not take root here." Police said they do not believe there are other individuals looking to carry out similar attacks, however issued two warrants on Saturday to search homes in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. Bourke Street Mall, a pedestrian strip and shopping area popular with foreign tourists including Japanese, was previously the scene of car rampage in 2017 that left six people dead. KYODO NEWS - Nov 10, 2018 - 11:12 | All, World The United States is not pursuing "a Cold War or containment policy" with China despite strategic and economic conflicts between the two powers in the Indo-Pacific region, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday after a bilateral high-level security meeting. Pompeo made the comment after senior U.S. and Chinese officials clashed over Beijing's militarization of the South China Sea, but they confirmed coordination in pursuit of the denuclearization of North Korea through strict enforcement of U.N. sanctions. (Yang, left, and Pompeo at a joint press conference)[Getty/Kyodo] In the meeting in Washington, the officials were apparently at odds over Iran, with Washington pushing Beijing to reduce its oil imports from the country to zero but China vowing to comply with the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, from which President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in May. On trade, they agreed to support economic officials from the two sides and seek "a mutually acceptable solution" to the ongoing tariff war and what the United States and other countries see as China's "unfair" trade practices, according to Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China. The second U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue brought together Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, as well as Yang, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and National Defense Minister Wei Fenghe. The gathering was in preparation for a planned meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit slated for Nov. 30 to Dec. 1 in Argentina. Speaking at a joint news conference after the security dialogue, Pompeo said the United States has "continued concern about China's activities in militarization in the South China Sea." Beijing's militarization of outposts in disputed areas of the sea has drawn condemnation from other claimant states and third-party countries as an attempt to force a shift in the regional status quo. Yang, however, defended China's activities, saying most of the "constructions on its islands" are "civilian facilities" and warning the United States, a non-claimant state, to stop sending its vessels and aircraft close to what he called "Chinese islands." "The purpose is to serve the interests of the Chinese people, but also to provide public good to others," he said. "At the same time, it is necessary for China to build certain security facilities in response to possible threats from outside." Mattis dismissed Yang's claims as having no legal basis, and said, "We continue to operate anywhere in international waters, international airspace, as all nations are entitled to. China has overlapping maritime claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan in the sea, a strategic waterway through which over one-third of global trade passes. Meanwhile, the two sides underscored their "shared desire to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea," according to Mattis. "We reaffirmed our nations' commitments to enforcing the unanimous (U.N.) Security Council (sanctions) resolutions in pursuit of that goal, for the good of all mankind," he said. Washington and Pyongyang have been at odds over the process for ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. North Korea has yet to take credible action to dismantle its weapons programs despite leader Kim Jong Un pledging in a historic meeting with Trump in June in Singapore to work toward "complete" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Referring to China's pressure on pro-Taiwan countries to sever diplomatic ties with the self-ruled island, Pompeo criticized Beijing's "increasing efforts to coerce others, constraining Taiwan's international space." The chief U.S. diplomat also urged China to respect the human rights of the largely Muslim Uyghur population in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, as well as other religious minorities in China. Yang responded that "China respects human rights." By Imogen Pullan, KYODO NEWS - Nov 10, 2018 - 10:06 | Feature, All, World During the early days of World War I, a young Japanese man who had left his country behind seeking a new life enlisted into the British army to fight the Germans. In the four ensuing years of war, Harry Fusao O'Hara would be injured almost 70 times, receive multiple medals for bravery, and become the first and only known Japanese national to have ever flown in Britain's Royal Air Force. (Harry Fusao O'Hara poses in front of an aircraft in this undated photo) [Photo courtesy of Geraldine Reedijk] According to his youngest and only surviving daughter Geraldine Reedijk, 87, O'Hara was born in Yokohama in 1891. He attended Waseda University as a young man where he developed "leftist ideas," dropped out and ran off to India to work as a reporter for Japanese newspapers. He quickly volunteered to join the British Army after war broke out, with Britain and Japan allies at the time, and went on to amass what several contemporary newspapers called "a record unsurpassed in gallantry" before being seriously injured in combat. Receiving a medal for his bravery, O'Hara then joined the Royal Air Force in 1917 as a mechanic before working his way up to becoming the force's first and only known Japanese pilot. (Geraldine Reedijk and her son Wim in September 2018) At the beginning of June 1918, O'Hara was shot in the jaw and evacuated to Britain, bringing an end to his military career a few months before the armistice was signed on Nov. 11. O'Hara applied to become a pilot at exactly the right time, according to RAF Museum curator Peter Devitt. A portrait of an intense looking O'Hara stands out among the heroes -- the only Asian among the portraits -- that decorate the wall at the RAF Museum. Until World War II, the RAF officially discriminated against anybody of "non-European heritage" and barred them from becoming officers. "The color bar was explicit...you can't get away from the fact that it was racist. In peacetime, you would never have seen these people (of non-European heritage) being accepted," Devitt said. Devitt explained that the heavy number of casualties and acute need for more personnel in the latter part of World War I forced the RAF into letting O'Hara become a pilot alongside a "handful" of other ethnic minorities, although he was never granted the rank of officer. After the war ended, O'Hara married a British woman named Muriel McDonald and settled in London where they had three children. Although he remained a Japanese citizen for the rest of his life, he never went back to Japan. "He loved England, and the English way of life," Reedijk, 87, told Kyodo News at her home in Holland. O'Hara's injuries made it difficult for him to hold down steady work, and with only a meager pension the family initially struggled financially until he eventually found a job at a charity decorating trays and boxes with lacquer. "We weren't rich, but we were very happy," she said. "We had enough." Reedijk described her father as a kind, quiet man who adored his children and "fitted in very well." "He would go shopping and the girls would flock to help him, because he was very friendly," she said. "He would bow, and they thought that was marvelous." (Photo taken in July 2018 shows portrait of Harry Fusao O'Hara, center, among other heroes at the RAF Museum) According to Reedijk, O'Hara hardly ever encountered discrimination in Britain for being Japanese, although she also said she rarely asked her father about his past because she was so young and World War II was breaking out. "We never asked him about the flying and so on, because we were in the middle of the war," she said. "My brother was called up, and immediately the worry about my brother...filled our lives really," she added. Reedijk has no memory of her father being interned during World War II and his name does not appear on any such records. O'Hara died from cancer six years after World War II ended at the age of 59, survived by his wife and three children. Although his injuries troubled him for his entire life, Reedijk said he was able to walk until shortly before his death. Reedijk's son Wim, 61, a retired theologian, is now researching his family's past and has visited Japan to reconnect with his heritage. "Sometimes I have thought it all sounds too fantastic to be true, but then all of a sudden it is true," he said. "He was even more interesting than I thought he was." "He was very adventurous," Geraldine Reedijk said. "I'm very proud of him." (Photo taken in September 1917 shows Harry Fusao O'Hara and his wife Muriel)[Photo courtesy of Geraldine Reedijk] Four, including two minors aged 17 and 10 were taken into custody by the police over the incident. The memorable time has come. Yes Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh who announced their wedding date 14 and 15 November on Instagram few days back has headed to Italy. With 4 days to the wedding, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone twin in white spotted at the Mumbai airport amidst the media glare and fan craze. They will be tying the knot amidst family and very few friends at an intimate ceremony in Lake Como. After having mum about their relationship for six years, the lovebirds are all set t o walking down to aisle. The bride-to-be and groom-to-be spotted with their radiant smiles at the airport. Simba actor Ranveer made a total hero-like entry. The actor greeted everyone who was present at airport and also posed for the paps. He was dressed in a button-down white bandhgala having dapper look. Check out all the photos of DEEPVEER from the airport Taking about Dipika so amidst fanfare and cheers, the dimpled beauty couldnt stop smiling and looked gorgeous as always. She clad in pristine white turtleneck top with a white pencil skirt. She with nude pointed stilettos, a tan bag looked dazzling. We wish all the best to DEEPVEER for their wedding life. (Bloomberg) -- The man who has long insisted he owns half of Facebook Inc. remains nothing if not resourceful. Until his arrest in August in Ecuador, Paul Ceglia was on the lam from law enforcement for more than three years. He was trying to avoid prosecution in New York on charges that he faked a contract with founder Mark Zuckerberg. He hid in hippie communes in Georgia and Missouri, put on an Amish disguise, bribed South American border cops and even set sail to Cubaor tried towith his wife, two sons and a Jack Russell terrier. Or so Ceglia says. He talked to Bloomberg in a long, narrow, urine-smelling outdoor common area at Quitos Centro de Detencion Provisional, known as El Inca jail, after the neighborhood. There was a constant din of other prisoners and a few drops of rain that fell through broken roof tiles. Later, he returned to the 10-by-10-foot cell he shares with eight other prisoners. Ceglia, now 45, was purposely vague on some details, saying he wanted to protect people who had helped the family evade authorities. U.S. prosecutors say hes a con man. They are now trying to extradite him to New York to stand trial on six-year-old fraud charges. If they succeed, Ceglia may face a courtroom confrontation with Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder, as the star witnessand as many as 20 years in prison if convicted. Federal prosecutors say Ceglia fabricated a 2003 contract with Zuckerberg when he was a Harvard freshman that gave him half of the business that would become Facebook. Ceglia is fighting extradition proceedings, which will continue on Monday with another court hearing in Quito. He claimed in the interview that hes being railroaded in a conspiracy involving Facebook and the U.S. government. And he asserted that he ran after receiving a death threat in an unsigned letter. Many details of Ceglias story couldnt be independently confirmed. I needed to go to another country to get justice, he said, in trying to explain why he jumped a $250,000 bond and fled his home in western New York State in March 2015. That was just weeks before he was to go on trial in Manhattan. Story continues Ceglia continues to maintain that his claim against Facebook is genuine and that he didnt commit a crime. His elaborate escape in March 2015 set the tone for his later exploits. He cut off his electronic bracelet and then connected it to a contraption he had rigged from a pump and an electric timer to try to keep it charged and in motion to fool officers who were monitoring remotely, according to U.S. prosecutors. The trick gave Ceglia, his wife Iasia, their sons Joseffinn, then 11, and Leenan, then 10, and the family dog, Buddy, a head start of at least one day. They headed south with a hired driver, disguised as an Amish family. The ruse, which he took from his acquaintance with Amish people living near his home, provided a ready excuse for traveling without identification. The family was bound first for Florida, hoping to lose themselves among spring break visitors. The plan was to sail to Cuba and then fly to Ecuador. He said he admired the leftist government of former president Rafael Correa. It was his administration that offered asylum in its London embassy to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. For the first leg, he said he bought an 8.9-meter Morgan sailboat in Florida and tried sailing to Cuba. That ended with the boat stuck on a sandbar. A second try was abandoned when the Ceglias learned that Secretary of State John Kerry was in Havana to improve relations between the two countries. Cuba was out. In any case, the boys grew too terrified to sail on the open sea, given the experience. The Ceglias spent the rest of 2015 in the U.S., including time in what he called hippie communes in Georgia and in the Missouri Ozarks. To misdirect U.S. authorities, Ceglia, who has dual U.S.-Irish citizenship, said he had dropped clues to appear that he was headed to Ireland or somewhere else in the E.U. One time, he left partially burned papers with European locations on them for marshals to find. After a year in the U.S., the family said goodbye to Buddy, leaving him with a man theyd met in Missouri. (The well-traveled dog later met an unhappy end when he was hit by a car.) The Ceglias travelled to Houston in March 2016 and boarded a cruise ship bound for Colombias Caribbean coast. Ceglia, whose U.S. and Irish passports were being held by court authorities, declined to say how they managed to get out of the U.S. On reaching port in Cartagena, Ceglia said he thought, At least Im not going back without a fight. From Cartagena, the family made their way by land to Medellin and then south toward Ecuador. When asked for papers, he said, We would tell people, We dont have our passports. Theyre at the hotel and were headed back there, That and $20 was usually enough to get by. Ceglia said they stayed for a time in Quito, going to lawyer after lawyer and government person after government person, in a futile attempt to win asylum. Eventually, they moved from Quito to the more affordable southern city of Cuenca, an Andean town popular with expatriates. It was there that Iasia gave birth to their third son, Orayan, in February. He said that, while in Ecuador, he earned money from computer coding online, stowing the cash in European bank accounts. He said he made enough to buy some property. The familys last move was to Ballenita, a small beach town about a days drive from Quito. Ceglia said he openly disclosed his identity to the Ecuadorian government in seeking asylum. He thinks that may have brought him to the attention of officials back home in the U.S. The end came on Aug. 23, when Ecuadorian police converged on Ceglia and his wife in Salinas, on the countrys Pacific coast. Wearing a Pink Floyd hoodie and an unhappy expression, he was arrested and transported to Quito. If Paul gets extradited, he will fight the case with his teeth and nails, said his Ecuadorian lawyer, Roberto Calderon. The ordeal is taking its toll on the family. Leenan, the Ceglias 14-year-old son, got tired of life on the run and moved back to the U.S. after his fathers arrest. He is living with relatives in California. Every Saturday, Iasia gets up early and heads over to El Inca jail for a chance to see her husband during visiting hours. --With assistance from Stephan Kueffner. To contact the author of this story: Bob Van Voris in New York at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Larry Reibstein at lreibstein@bloomberg.net, David PapadopoulosDavid Glovin For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2018 Bloomberg L.P. (Adds Tria, Centeno comments, background) ROME, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said on Friday a sharp reduction in the government's budget deficit, as demanded by the European Commission, would be suicide for Italy's economy. Speaking alongside the head of the Eurogroup Mario Centeno, Tria said he had no intention at present of changing Italy's contested 2019 budget and added that EU concerns over the expansionary package were unfounded. Centeno told reporters that the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers hoped Tria would revise the budget, saying this would help dispel market doubts over Italy which have led to a sharp rise in the country's borrowing costs. The Commission, which says Italy's 2019 deficit goal of 2.4 percent of gross domestic product is too high, has given Rome until Tuesday to reduce it, but the government insists that fiscal expansion is needed to help the struggling economy. Tria said sticking with the commitment of Italy's previous government to lower the deficit to 0.8 percent of GDP would be "economic suicide and I don't believe the EU expects this". The ruling coalition of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the right-wing League took office in June. Tria, a 70-year-old former academic, does not belong to either party. Many countries had broken the EU's fiscal rules on deficit reduction in the past, he said, including France and Germany, but a political agreement had always been found. If Italy does not budge, the Commission is expected launch an "excessive deficit procedure" that could eventually result in fines, though these have never been levied on any country in the monetary union. Tria said he was "not taking for granted" that the procedure would be launched, and Centeno, the former finance minister of Portugal, said sanctions against Italy were "not on the Eurogroup's agenda at the moment." ""Within the rules and beyond the rules, the sustainability of public finances is what is important," Centeno said. (Reporting by Gavin Jones and Giuseppe Fonte; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Alison Williams) Justice Phil Johnson/courtesy photo Texas Supreme Court Justice Phil Johnson/courtesy photo Texas Supreme Court Justice Phil Johnson, a decorated former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot who served as an appellate court judge for two decades, announced he will retire from the Texas Supreme Court at the end of the year. You feel like in this position, you can make a difference. The law is the superstructure of society, the framework for doing what we can do, he said. Ill miss that I was contributing. Thats what Ill miss about it. Johnson, who is 74, has a term ending in December 2020. Texas law requires judges to retire from the bench at age 75 but allows them to serve out their complete terms if they so choose. Im finishing up 20 years at the end of this year, I just thought that was enough for me," Johnson said. "And I have some family considerations. He served from 1967 to 1968 in the Vietnam War, where he won the Silver Star; the Distinguished Flying Cross, with bronze oak-leaf cluster; the Air Medal, with multiple oak-leaf clusters; and the Republic of Viet Nam Cross of Gallantry. Johnson continued as an Air Force instructor until 1972, when he enrolled in Texas Tech University School of Law. Johnson graduated law school in 1975 and joined the Crenshaw Dupree & Milam law firm in Lubbock. He was later elected to the Amarillo Court of Appeals in 1998 and appointed to the Texas Supreme Court in 2005 by then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Johnson leaves the court as its third-most-senior judge behind Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, who joined the court in 1988, and Justice Paul Green, who was elected to the court in 2004. He has made a vast and indelible contribution to Texas law, Hecht said. Justice Johnson is greatly beloved and admired by the court and its staff, and we will miss his wise and steady leadership greatly. Likewise, Johnson said hell miss his colleagues on the high court. Ive served with quite a few justices, and youve had different personalities go through, but my view is the court has always acted appropriately, Johnson said. We would disagree, but its always been in a professional way. Its been a privilege to me to serve with the people Ive served with on the court. Johnson also said he plans to move away from the high courts home in Austin soon as a way of making good on a promise he made to his wife over 13 years ago. We raised our family in Lubbock. And my wife is pretty partial to Lubbock, Johnson said. And I said, when this is over, well go back to Lubbock. Its a 95 percent well end up back in Lubbock. Photo credit: Virgin Orbit From Popular Mechanics Cape Canaveral Spaceport is made of more than launchpads. The famed space coast site also has a 15,000-foot runway, a veteran of more than 130 Space Shuttle landings. Those landings came to an end in 2011, though, but now, seven years later, that runway is open for commercial business. Yesterday, Florida's spaceport authority reported that the FAA issued a launch license for operations at the site. The runway, for now still called the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF), is a symbol of where spaceflight has been-now it's becoming a key hub of the future. Since 2015 the runway, tower, and other pieces have been operated by Space Florida, the state's spaceport development authority. Space Florida has been working on this license since December 2015 and just submitted the more than 120-page application in February. On Thursday the FAA approved the paperwork, which allows the Cape Canaveral Spaceport to support operations of aircraft that carry air-launched rockets. There are numerous companies working on these systems, including Northup Grummans Pegasus, Vulcan Systems Stratolaunch, Virgin-owned Launcher One, and Spaceship 2. Photo credit: Stratolaunch Systems In a conversation with Popular Mechanics, SLF Airfield Manager James Mofitt said that direct-to-orbit spaceplanes-those that take off from a runway and cruise directly into suborbital space without using a carrier-are covered by the license. The best-known company offering this type of spacecraft was XCOR, which folded earlier this year, but the spaceport wants to be ready for future developments. To get a license, a spaceport must have an idea of what kind of vehicles they will be hosting. The license must list the parameters of a prospective flight in the application, the details of which applicants make as broad and encompassing as possible. With every new potential launch vehicle from our facility, we have to evaluate to see if it fits within the parameters of how we achieved our license, said Mofitt. What we try to do and what a lot of organizations try to do is make sort of a worst-case scenario on concept vehicles. We rarely ever use a specific vehicle because then our license would be tied to that specific flight profile. So we use concept vehicles. Story continues Space Florida officials acknowledged that the new license does not cover landings, but say that they are working on that. Landings are as important as takeoffs in terms of economic development. Launching experiments from Cape Canaveral is great, but landing them means companies are setting up labs and facilities in the nearby Space Floridaowned industrial park. One of the major concerns, and also one of the most time-consuming aspects of applying for a license, are environmental reviews. The list of considerations includes storage of rocket fuel, wastewater disposal, noise along flight routes, and the potential impact of a launch mishap or other accident. Space Florida says they and the FAA reviewed over 400 comments from agencies including NASA, the Air Force, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service. Adding various aircraft into the local airspace was one critical area of discussion. The key difference when this facility was used for the Shuttle was that it was a government program, says Mofitt. The government had full control of how they brought back an orbiter, and [authorities] could waive a lot of processes if they needed to. But for us commercial folks, the FAA and Office of Space Transportation spells out what we need to do. The spaceport had to obtain letters of agreement with local air-traffic authorities, nearby airport, and leadership at the Pentagons Eastern Range that say these parties will work together to smooth launch operations. Airlines were not directly solicited, says Space Florida VP Dale Ketchum, but could contribute through the airports input. Photo credit: Jure Ahtik / EyeEm - Getty Images The license cost a couple million dollars but that amount includes work being done to credential a secondary site. Spaceports are often accused of a build-it-and-they-will-come strategy, but Mofitt points to the plethora of space launch companies that are coming online. Did we get this license on spec? Sure. But its safe to say this will pay off, he says. This license creates a major competitor in the spaceport world. There are numerous airports that are obtaining licenses to cohost rocket-launching airplanes, including several sites in Texas and one new one Colorado. One difference between us and a spaceport that is tied to or co-located at an airport is that we dont have the mix of commercial or general aviation traffic, Mofitt says. Were already segregated enough here. This is the second of three horizontal spaceports on Floridas Space Coast, the other two being in Jacksonville and Titusville. Space Florida helps promote all three locations, but they cut a deal with NASA to operate the SLF, so they essentially helped establish potential competitors. The battle for tenants will make or break these spaceports and having Cape Canaveral Spaceport throw its weight behind spaceplanes introduces a major player in a cluttered market. With its history, solid backing from the state of Florida, and now a license in hand, Space Florida will be a site to beat. We would like to think you can do it all here, says Ketchum. So why even talk to Virginia, Texas, New Mexico, California, or Alaska? ('You Might Also Like',) COLOMBO, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena signed a gazette notification to dissolve the nation's parliament with effect from Friday midnight, two sources told Reuters, in a move that will likely worsen a political crisis. It will mean that new parliamentary elections can be held in January-February, one of the sources, a close ally of the president, told Reuters. The dissolution comes after an intense power struggle in the past two weeks. That followed Sirisena's sudden sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the appointment of former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez Edited by Martin Howell) U.S. steel giant Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) has been running the same highly successful playbook for a very long time. Right now, that playbook calls for at least $2 billion in capital spending between 2018 and 2019. Here's what management has in the works, and how past moves are powering today's decisions. From the ground up During Nucor's third-quarter conference call, CEO John Ferriola explained that the steel company has two primary uses for cash. The first is to invest in profitable growth, and the second -- if there aren't enough opportunities for profitable investment -- is to return it to shareholders. That's a pretty simple concept, and there's a lot that goes into those decisions. But it explains a great deal about what's going on right now. Two men working in a steel mill with sparks flying Image source: Getty Images Nucor has nine projects in the works, worth around $2.2 billion. Scheduled completion dates span from 2019 to 2021. All of the projects are either upgrades of existing assets or new mills. Some highlights include the rebar mills Nucor is building in Florida and Missouri. The goal is to provide product to a pair of markets that are currently served by mills outside of these areas. That will give Nucor a competitive advantage because transportation costs for its rebar will be lower. It also has notable scrap-collection assets around both mills, which will help to keep costs low. In addition, it is upgrading a rolling mill at its Marion facility in Ohio and expanding its Kankakee mill in Illinois. The Ohio upgrade is expected to help reduce operating costs, enhancing the company's competitive position. The Illinois expansion will allow Nucor to take share from competitors that are shipping rebar in from outside the region. It takes advantage of both excess melting capacity at the mill as well as the company's scrap operations in the area. The steelmaker's Gallatin mill in Kentucky is scheduled for two projects. The first, expected to be completed in early 2019, will allow Nucor to produce wider sheet products. The industry-leading mill will support greater sales into the automotive sector. In 2021, the company should complete an expansion that will nearly double the mill's production to support growth in automotive markets, tubular steel/pipe (for the energy industry), and the heavy equipment and agriculture sectors. These are all higher margin products that move Nucor up the value chain. Story continues Nucor is also working with 50/50 partner JFE in Mexico to build a new mill. This investment expands the company's reach beyond the United States and is meant to serve the growing auto industry in that country. The mill should start up in 2019. There are a couple of additional projects, but you get the idea. Nucor is strategically building assets that allow it to better serve customers and/or move up the value chain to increase production of higher margin products. A change, but not a big one One of the key takeaways from the examples above (the complete list is below) is that Nucor isn't buying assets. The steel industry is in the midst of an upturn and, as Ferriola noted during the quarterly conference call: "...in strong markets, sellers are proud of their assets and they value them accordingly. That's why when you look at our history, we historically grow organically during the stronger markets." Strategic Investments Projected Completion Investment in Millions Nucor Steel Gallatin hot-band production expansion Q2-2021 $650 Rebar micro mill in Missouri Late 2019 $250 Rebar micro mill in Florida H1-2020 $240 Nucor Steel Arkansas galvanizing line H1-2021 $240 Nucor Steel Arkansas specialty cold-mill complex H1-2019 $230 Nucor Steel Kankakee Midwest merchant-bar expansion Late 2019 $180 Nucor Steel Gallatin hot-band galvanizing line H1-2019 $176 Nucor-JFE joint venture galvanizing line in Mexico H2-2019 $135 Nucor Steel Marion rolling-mill upgrade H1-2019 $85 Data source: Nucor Corporation. That wasn't true just a couple of years ago, when Nucor made three acquisitions in the tubular-steel space to build a new division. The new tubular steel division, meanwhile, has allowed the steelmaker to use more of its commodity steel internally to produce higher margin products. This is a long-term goal for Nucor, which increased its internal use of steel from 8% of production in 2006 to 16% in 2016. The tubular steel division, built with acquisitions between late 2016 and early 2017, helped increase that to 19% last year. But the real proof of the company's approach is that its financial results over time have generally followed an upward path. The steel industry is highly cyclical, of course, so the goal is to create a business that can produce higher highs and higher lows over time. For example, during the 2001-to-2003 downturn, Nucor's average annual cash flow was $495 million. The average during the most recent downturn, which ran from 2009 to 2017, was $1.3 billion. With the industry now in a decided upturn, Nucor is producing record results. If you are looking for a steelmaker... The projects in the works show that Nucor is finding plenty of ways to use cash to continue profitably growing the business for shareholders. That cash, meanwhile, is available because of past investments, a virtuous cycle that investors should be pleased to see. Nucor isn't cheap today, as you would expect based on the industry upturn, but if you are looking to add a steel mill to your portfolio, it should be on your short list. If you like this story, but don't want to buy during an upturn, then put Nucor on your wish list -- the next cyclical downturn could provide an opportunity to buy this well-run industry giant at a good price. More From The Motley Fool Reuben Gregg Brewer owns shares of Nucor. The Motley Fool recommends Nucor. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. (Adds details) WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation that effectively will suspend the granting of asylum to migrants who cross the U.S. border with Mexico illegally for up to 90 days. The order, which goes into effect on Saturday, means that migrants will have to present themselves at U.S. ports of entry to qualify for asylum. Immigrant advocates say the administration has deliberately slowed the processing of migrants at official ports, forcing them to wait for days or weeks to request protection. "I just signed the proclamation on asylum - very important, Trump told reporters on Friday before leaving for Paris. "People can come in but they have to come in through the points of entry." The order followed other regulations on migrants released by the administration on Thursday. Trump's order will be in effect for 90 days or until the United States reaches an agreement with Mexico allowing it to turn back asylum-seekers who had traveled through Mexico, whichever comes first. U.S. and Mexican diplomats have held talks over the issue this year, but there has been little indication Mexico would agree to such a pact. The plan, which invokes the same authority Trump used to justify his travel ban on citizens of several Muslim-majority nations, is likely to be quickly challenged in court. Pro-immigrant groups have denounced the administration's plan, arguing it contravenes existing U.S. law and unfairly restricts asylum protections for those fleeing persecution and violence. The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday its legal experts were reviewing the new U.S. policy, but declined to comment further. Trump made his hard-line policies toward immigration a key issue ahead of Tuesdays midterm elections, sending thousands of U.S. troops to help secure the southern border and repeatedly drawing attention to a caravan of Central American migrants trekking through Mexico toward the United States. The Trump administration lost a legal battle on Thursday, when a federal appeals court in California ruled that it must continue a program begun under former President Barack Obama that protects hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children, known as Dreamers. Trump said the ruling on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was good news because now the administration can appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. "The DACA will now hopefully go to the Supreme Court where it will be given a fair decision," Trump said. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Yeganeh Torbati; Writing by Doina Chiacu Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Paul Simao) WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton said there will be additional U.S. sanctions on Iran after the Trump administration on Monday re-imposed oil and economic sanctions, but gave no other details. "We're going to have sanctions that even go beyond this. We're not simply going to be content with the level of sanctions that existed under (former U.S. President Barack) Obama in 2015," Bolton said in an interview on Fox Business Network, according to a transcript. "More are coming." (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and Susan Heavey Editing by Bill Trott) In June 2018, New Zealand King Salmon Investments Limited (NZSE:NZK) announced its earnings update. Overall, analyst consensus outlook appear cautiously subdued, with earnings expected to grow by 3.7% in the upcoming year compared with the higher past 5-year average growth rate of 38%. By 2019, we can expect New Zealand King Salmon Investmentss bottom line to reach NZ$17m, a jump from the current trailing-twelve-month NZ$16m. I will provide a brief commentary around the figures and analyst expectations in the near term. For those interested in more of an analysis of the company, you can research its fundamentals here. See our latest analysis for New Zealand King Salmon Investments How is New Zealand King Salmon Investments going to perform in the near future? The view from 2 analysts over the next three years is one of positive sentiment. Broker analysts tend to forecast up to three years ahead due to a lack of clarity around the business trajectory beyond this. To get an idea of the overall earnings growth trend for NZK, Ive plotted out each years earnings expectations and inserted a line of best fit to determine an annual rate of growth from the slope of this line. NZSE:NZK Future Profit November 9th 18 From the current net income level of NZ$16m and the final forecast of NZ$27m by 2021, the annual rate of growth for NZKs earnings is 19%. EPS reaches NZ$0.20 in the final year of forecast compared to the current NZ$0.12 EPS today. The primary reason for earnings growth is due to cost-cutting initiatives, since top-line is predicted to rise at a slower pace than earnings. Margins is currently sitting at 10%, which is expected to expand to 13% by 2021. Next Steps: Future outlook is only one aspect when youre building an investment case for a stock. For New Zealand King Salmon Investments, there are three fundamental aspects you should further examine: Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Future Earnings: How does New Zealand King Salmon Investmentss growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High-Growth Alternatives : Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of New Zealand King Salmon Investments? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large growth potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! To help readers see past 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. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad will visit Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar this month to push for peace negotiations with the Afghan Taliban, the State Department says. A statement said Khalilzad will travel to the region from November 8 to 20 and meet with Afghan government officials and "other interested parties to advance the goal of an intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations that include the Taliban and lead to a sustainable peace." For years, the United States has been trying to persuade the Taliban to agree to negotiate an end to the 17-year conflict in Afghanistan, as the Afghan security forces continue to struggle to counter stepped-up attacks by the militant group in its drive to force the Western-backed government in Kabul from power. U.S. efforts foundered over the militants' insistence on negotiating directly with Washington rather than the Afghan government, which it calls a "puppet" of the United States. Khalilzad, Trump's special adviser on Afghanistan, last visited the region in October. The State Department said he had been "encouraged" to see that both the government in Kabul and the Taliban are "taking steps" toward organizing "authoritative negotiating teams." "A sustainable peace requires that all Afghans have a say in their country's future," it also said. "The United States remains committed to a political settlement that results in an end to the war and to the terrorist threat posed to the United States and the world," the statement added. "A peaceful Afghanistan can play a catalytic role in regional trade and development." As recently as late October, U.S. and Taliban officials conducted preliminary talks in Qatar, where the militants have a political office that serves as a de facto embassy. Ivette Dominguez, a leader among minority General Motors dealers, will buy Mike Shaw Buick GMC in the Motor City area of Colorado Springs on Monday, making her the citys first minority principal owner of a new car dealership. The Denver-based executive owns Alpine Buick GMC in Denver and three dealerships in Illinois and will rename the Colorado Springs dealership Alpine Buick GMC-South, she said. Dominguez plans to retain the dealerships 40 employees, expand advertising and online marketing, boost its focus on military customers and hire bilingual sales personnel. This store fits with our business model of smaller stores that are sometimes struggling. Motor City in Colorado Springs is an excellent market with good visibility it is right off the interstate, Dominguez said. Colorado Springs has good demographics. Our top goal is to get involved in the community. It is important to give back to the community and our focus is on women and children. Negotiations began about two months ago with a goal of completing the deal by early next year, but talks moved quickly and the deal was reached this month, Dominguez said. Alpine has named Laissa Sanchez, now general manager of its Denver location, as general manager and part owner of the Colorado Springs location. We plan to cater to the Spanish-speaking customer. Laissa is bilingual and we are training new sales associates, including three or two who are bilingual. We also will have a military division this is our third dealership near a military installation, Dominguez said. We will be investing a lot in media. Our (advertising and marketing) budget for December is $80,000 to get our brand out there in Colorado Springs. Dominguez will become one of the highest-profile minority business leaders in Colorado Springs, where 15.6 percent of the citys more than 54,000 businesses were owned by minorities in 2012, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau. She chairs General Motors Minority Development Advisory Council and also is a member of its Womens Retail Network. Dominguez got her start in the automotive business with a summer job at a BMW dealership in Camarillo, Calif. She spent three years there and became the dealerships top salesperson before she was recruited by Don Massey Cadillac in Denver, where she spent five years before it was acquired by North Carolina-based Sonic Automotive. She was Sonics executive manager of General Motors products when she left to acquire what is now Alpine. She turned around the struggling Denver dealership and in the past 1 years has bought troubled Buick GMC dealerships in Belleville, El Paso and Crystal Lake, Ill. She said she plans to double the number of dealerships she owns during the next five years, looking anywhere that we see a good opportunity. Contact Wayne Heilman 636-0234 Facebook www.facebook.com/wayne.heilman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Stacy Smallwood is passionate about fashion. As owner and head buyer of Hampden Clothing, an upscale womens boutique, Smallwood goes to Paris, New York, Milan and London to buy the most up-to-date stylish clothing and accessories not only for her store, but also herself. Over time call it an occupational hazard she has acquired a lot of clothes. So her closet an extra bedroom she had transformed into a large walk-in was a disaster, nothing like the sleek, well-edited and organized displays in her shop. Clothes, shoes and bags were jumbled; she had never bothered to edit out older or unworn items. And she spent years rationalizing the dilemma, saying, I love it and might wear it again. But most mornings, she would stare blankly at her closet and, like many women, gravitate to the same pieces again and again. Despite being in fashion, I was struggling to get dressed every morning, Smallwood says, so I would often start my day in a bad mood. One day, she said, I looked around and was sick of the mess, and I knew the only way for me to get clarity of my mind was to start with my environment. Smallwood enlisted the help of professional organizer Julia Pinsky, founder of Pinsky Project. Pinsky, who had a long career in fashion and merchandising before beginning her organizing business, says she specializes in making a home look minimal yet maximized. She began tackling Smallwoods closet as she does all projects. You have to take everything out to see what you actually own. This means sorting by category. Take shoes, for example. Women often keep dressy shoes in their bedroom closet, boots in a coat closet and everyday shoes in a mudroom. But when organizing, you want all shoes in one place so you can edit out those you dont need. Pinsky warns, Do not put anything back until you have completed the entire sorting process. Smallwood still follows Pinskys editing rule: If you havent worn it in a year, sell or donate it. Smallwood sold most items on the Real Real, an online luxury consignment shop. Pinsky also recommends selling items on the website Tradesy and donating to thrift shops. After editing, Pinsky grouped together clothes that needed to hang and those that needed to be folded or stacked. She then reworked and maximized Smallwoods space. We got rid of all existing shelving and built a new system that used the full height and width of the room. For a cost-friendly option, Pinsky recommended using Ikeas Pax system. With her efficiently designed framework of hanging space, shelves, drawers and bins, Smallwood ended up with enough room for a vanity. Once the architecture was in place, the women organized the items by category. And items in each group were arranged by color. Pinsky says if you make sure every item has a place, you have no excuse not to put it back. For hanging items, Smallwood invested in new coordinating hangers, which create visual order and symmetry. Pinskys parting words to Smallwood: Do not bring anything into your house that you do not need, love or will have no use for, even if it was free, a good deal or a gift. Said Smallwood: I think we often dont realize how much our environment plays such a big role on our mood, our self-esteem and even our style and the way we dress. By organizing my closet, I can now create looks I had never put together before, and I dont dread that moment every day of deciding what to wear. When you are organized, Pinsky said, everything in your life begins to feel more efficient. But, you have to be ready to make the change. You have to be ready to let go of things. The Global SuperTanker was deployed to northern California Friday to help take control of a wildfire that has killed at least five people and forced evacuations of more than 30,000 people. The Colorado Springs-based firefighting plane has made two sorties to assist CAL FIRE, said Global SuperTanker spokesman Lewis Lowe. The #SuperTanker is at MCC and crew members are on the ramp this morning. They have been briefed for missions to support CAL FIRE. We will be in the air soon. Stay safe everyone.T-944 pic.twitter.com/08IZQdRrNk Global SuperTanker (@GlobalSuperTank) November 9, 2018 Three engines from Colorado also were mobilized Friday to head to California, according to Caley Fisher, spokeswoman for the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control: Sarah Hucal/ABC News(BERLIN) -- More than 100 people came to Charlottenburg on Saturday for a free, historical walking tour. Under overcast skies, they gathered in the central Berlin neighborhood for a unique visit: to mark the 80th anniversary of anti-Jewish Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, pogrom -- the first coordinated, nation-wide attack on Jewish citizens under the Nazi regime. The damage done on that November night in 1938 went far beyond broken windows. Around the country, thousands of Jewish citizens were attacked, hundreds were murdered, and 7,500 Jewish shops and businesses were looted or destroyed. Also, 1,400 synagogues were burned. The state-driven anti-Semitism, which occurred five years after Adolf Hitler took power, set the stage for the Holocaust and marked a gruesome turning point in German history. This was a game-changer, because up until 1938 you could be a German Jew, seeing that things were becoming worse and worse, but you still held the belief that maybe the Nazi craziness would go away," the events organizer, Ben Fisher, told the group. "Or even if the Nazis would eventually deport you, they would do it in a legal fashion because this was Germany, after all." On this tour, we are basically following the story of the persecution, the program itself, the damage to stores and the synagogue and the forced immigration that came in the next weeks and months, he added. The tour wound its way through Charlottenburg, where in 1938 10 percent of the population was Jewish and much of the violence in Berlin took place. At the end of the tour, a small informal ceremony was held to commemorate victims of the Holocaust. Fisher is a charismatic Israeli history buff who moved to Berlin three years ago and now runs a private tour agency, Ben in Berlin. Feeling a personal need to commemorate the anniversary, he advertised the free event on Facebook, with the intention of guiding just a handful of friends and colleagues. He got more than he bargained for when dozens of people attended. Its obvious there is some demand for this -- and maybe its a good way to approach younger people to talk about Jewish history of Berlin, he told ABC News. With the far-right xenophobic riots that broke out in the eastern German town of Chemnitz in September still looming large in Germanys societal conscience, it seems an apt time to remember Kristallnacht and the events which led citizens to play out their long-standing resentments, as Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday in a ceremony at a Berlin synagogue. The chancellor urged citizens to take initiative and set themselves strongly against attacks on our open and plural society." "We are commemorating in the knowledge that watching as lines are crossed and crimes are committed ultimately means going along with them," she reminded the public. One of the most interesting stops on the tour was the Jewish community center, which stands in the place of the former Fasanenstrasse Synagogue. When it opened its doors in 1912, it was the largest synagogue in Berlin and a symbol of Jewish integration in German. It was so significant that Kaiser Wilhelm II, the former German emperor, made a visit. As such, it was a primary target of the November 1938 pogrom, with Joseph Goebbels sending a specific directive to Berlin to ensure that the synagogue be burned, Fisher told the group. Fisher showed a photo depicting firefighters standing next to the burning synagogue, not making any attempt to quell the flames. They had an order coming from above that they should only intervene if the fires went to German, Aryan areas, he told the group. The Nazis had closed the synagogue in 1936; it was destroyed by an allied bomb in the 1940s and then re-opened in the late 1950s as a Jewish community center, which it remains today. Pieces of the original synagogue were incorporated into its facade. Fisher considers himself well-informed on the history of Nazi Germany, but described the scope of the pogrom, which he discovered while pouring over archival materials in the library, as mind-blowing." Walking down the busy shopping street Kurfuerstendamm, Fisher pointed out the striking juxtaposition of past and present. You can go now to Kurfuerstendamm and show a picture and say, 'Listen, there was a store here. It was plundered. You can see the merchandise on the sidewalk and people are taking what they want, Fisher said. Its a strong dissonance when you see today. Its a UNIQLO," he added. "But this is part of Berlins history - it suffered so much and keeps rebuilding itself." Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. El Paso County planning staff have signed off on a California companys controversial plan to build a luxury rehab center in the Woodmoor area north of Colorado Springs. The decision is a green light for Mountain Springs Recovery, which will open in the coming months, Sunshine Behavioral Health CEO Chad Daugherty said in a statement. The rehab center, slated for 1865 Woodmoor Drive on the site of a former Ramada motel, has been vehemently opposed by some area residents who say its not appropriate in that location and could attract criminals. We will continue to listen to the concerns of our neighbors, and we are confident that ultimately, Mountain Springs will play an important role in addressing the epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction in El Paso County, Daugherty said. An opposition group told The Gazette on Friday that it would appeal the approval of the site development plan, which was posted to a county website Friday. It isnt that we dont want a rehab center. Its just that this is just not the right place for it. Its so close to the businesses and to the schools, said Sam Schafer, organizer of Take Action El Paso County. At a contentious public meeting held by the company in Monument in August, dozens of residents laid out other concerns: that the center would decrease nearby home values, increase traffic on local roads, and expose young people in the surrounding community to dangerous habits. They also criticized Sunshine Behavioral for not holding the public meeting until after the company had paid $4 million for the former motel. About 150 pages of comments from residents opposed to the project were submitted to the county planning staff during the site plan review. Petitions, with hundreds of signatures, saying the center will jeopardize and put at extreme high-risk public safety and health, also were given to staff. The public outcry was reminiscent of the outrage three years ago over a proposed methadone clinic roughly a mile from the former hotel. Colonial Management Group, which sued Monument after officials denied it a business license to open the clinic, agreed to leave the town for a $900,000 settlement that was finalized in 2016. Sunshine Behavioral has repeatedly emphasized its center wont administer methadone. It will be similar to another facility the company operates, Texas-based Willow Springs Recovery, a resort-style campus with group therapy, detox services and other programs and resources onsite. Mountain Springs Recovery would open with about 54 beds and eventually expand, said Jared Raymond, Sunshine Behavioral vice president of project management. Raymond said that many of the residents concerns are based on false information. I think that just comes from a lot of people being irrationally afraid of something because they just dont want it in their backyard, he said. Sex offenders, people convicted of violent crimes, and substance abusers court-ordered to participate in a rehabilitation program would not be accepted, Daugherty has said. A memo, prepared by traffic engineering firm CLH Associates and submitted with the site plan proposal, estimates that the rehab center would see a fraction of the traffic associated previously with the motel. The site plan shows that the property includes a main office and several other buildings clustered around a courtyard. The company has proposed adding landscaping and building a 7-foot tall cedar fence around the complex. Sunshine Behavioral still needs approval from Pikes Peak Regional Building Department to begin renovations and a Colorado license to operate the inpatient rehabilitation facility, Raymond said. Because a zoning change was not needed for the rehab center, a public hearing before the county commissioners wasnt required. The board will make a ruling, however, if an appeal is made. Anyone seeking an appeal of an administrative action has 30 days to file a written appeal with county Planning and Community Development Executive Director Craig Dossey, county spokesman Ryan Parsell said. After the appeal is submitted, it will be scheduled for a hearing before the board within 35 days, according to a resolution previously approved by commissioners that outlines the process. A federal judges ruling this past week that Colorado Springs failed to adequately curb the amount of sediment and pollutants flowing down Fountain Creek could leave the city on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties, two councilmen warned. This easily could be worse than Pueblo (County), Councilman Bill Murray told The Gazette on Saturday, referring to the $460 million stormwater agreement in 2016 between Colorado Springs and Pueblo County. Two years ago, Colorado Springs sought to placate Pueblo County by promising to spend nearly half a billion dollars on stormwater projects over the next 20 years. Pueblo County residents had long borne the brunt of the damage caused by Colorado Springs unwillingness to address erosion and flooding from stormwater runoff flowing downstream in Fountain Creek. Despite that agreement and the resurrection of a fee that will free up about $17 million a year for the stormwater projects, U.S. District Judge Richard Matschs ruled Friday that Colorado Springs was in violation of federal regulations governing runoff into waterways. Matsch, issuing a partial ruling in a lawsuit filed two years ago by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, found that the city failed to adequately monitor and control what was ending up in creeks at three construction sites. Matsch faulted city officials for allowing construction crews to skirt stormwater requirements meant to reduce the amount of pollutants discharged from sites which can erode stream banks, degrade water quality and harm downstream communities. The judge has yet to rule on additional claims in the lawsuit, which eventually was joined by Pueblo County and the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy. He also has not said what if any penalties Colorado Springs could face. Weve been nervous and scared since the beginning, Councilman Tom Strand said about the lawsuit. Now all the chickens are coming home to roost on us. Strand said he expects the city to be hit with at least a seven-figure judgment. I dont think its going to be less than millions, he said. If it is, then God bless us. If the city is hit with a large judgment, the money might have to come out of the parks, police and fire departments budgets, Strand said. Mayor John Suthers blamed othe lawsuit on deficient funding in the past, adding the city will continue trying to resolve it. The council and mayor, and now the citizens of Colorado Springs, have taken extraordinary steps to ensure that going forward we will build the best stormwater program in the state, he said. Matschs ruling addressed six stormwater violations at three sites, said Richard Mulledy, the citys stormwater manager. Additional alleged violations at different sites have yet to be addressed. The first part of the trial was held in September, and Strand expects the next phases to carry into next year. While Matschs ruling wasnt entirely unexpected, officials said, it came as a disappointment to Suthers and others who hoped it could be averted by showing a good-faith effort to address stormwater problems in recent years. Colorado Springs pact with Pueblo County outlines 71 stormwater projects for the city to complete. Before the pact, Pueblo County had threatened to withhold a permit Colorado Springs Utilities needed to complete its $825 million Southern Delivery System. That project now funnels up to 50 million gallons of water a day from the Arkansas River to Colorado Springs, Fountain, Security and Pueblo West. None of the plaintiffs could be reached Saturday for comment. TORONTO, Nov. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sandy Lake Gold Inc. (Sandy Lake or the Company) (TSXV:SLAU) announces the appointment of Patrick Sheridan as Executive Chairman and CEO of the Company. Ms. Michele McCarthy, the former chair of Sandy Lake Gold and its predecessor company Lago Dourado Minerals will be continuing as an independent Director. Dan Noone will be stepping down as the Interim CEO but continue in his role as a Director. Mr. Sheridan has over 25 years experience working in Guyana and has raised over 400 million dollars for exploration and development projects in Guyana. Mr. Sheridan is credited with the discovery, financing, and development of the Aurora Gold project. The Company also announces the appointment of Mr. Peter Mullens to the Board of Directors. Mr. Mullens is a Geologist with 30 years of experience in the mining industry; and is currently the CEO of GPM Metals Inc. (TSXV:GPM). Mr. Mullens has been active with junior exploration companies over the past 15 years. He was instrumental in acquiring the Aquiline Resources Navidad project in Argentina, later sold to Pan American Silver for $630 million in 2009. Mr. Mullens was also a co-founder of Lydian Resources which discovered the 4 million-ounce Amulsar Gold Deposit in Armenia and worked with the company from pre-listing to completion of feasibility study in 2013. SANDY LAKE GOLD PROJECT UPDATE Sandy Lake Gold Inc. currently controls approximately 104,000 acres of contiguous mineral claim holdings in the Sandy Lake Greenstone Belt. In 2014, a limited drill program in the western part of the claim package returned high grade gold intercepts of 12.86 Au g/t over 6.85 meters and 12.17 Au g/t over 6.2 meters. (Goldeye press release April 9, 2014 available at SEDAR.com.) The Company has completed a VTEM airborne and ground geophysics surveys over the Phase 1 target areas. In February 2018 the Company signed a 5,000 meter drill contract and has mobilized all necessary equipment for the project. The Company is currently negotiating an Exploration Agreement with the First Nation communities, whose Traditional Territories encompass the project. Sandy Lake Gold Inc. looks forward to advancing the exploration and development of this emerging gold district in partnership with the First Nations. ABOUT SANDY LAKE GOLD INC. The Companys board of directors, management and exploration personnel have demonstrable skills in all aspects of mineral development; from grass roots exploration to capital markets and mine builds globally. Management and insiders hold approximately 40% of outstanding shares. All scientific and technical information in this press release has been prepared under the supervision of Dan Noone (a Director of Sandy Lake Gold), a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Noone (B.Sc Geology, MBA) is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. For further information please contact: Patrick Sheridan Executive Chairman & CEO (416) 628-5904 Email: info@sandylakegold.com "Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release." NEW YORK, Nov. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Algodon Group, Inc. (OTCQB: VINO), a collection of luxury assets, real estate holdings and premium wines in Argentina, today announced the press launch of its new designer fashion and accessories label, Gaucho - Buenos Aires (GauchoBuenosAires.com, whose Resort Collection debuted to fashion industry media at Algodon Mansion in Buenos Aires on October 25, 2018. Founded by entrepreneur Scott Mathis and headed up by Argentine designers Santiago Gallo and Carmen Vils, Gaucho - Buenos Aires blends the quality of a bygone era with a sophisticated, modern, global outlook. The brand's beautifully handcrafted clothing and accessories herald the birth of Argentina's finest designer label. Gaucho - Buenos Aires embodies the spirit of Argentina -- its grand history, its folklore and its revival as a global center of luxury. Inspired by the sophisticated elegance of the great European maisons, Gaucho - Buenos Aires is also rooted in the traditions of native, nomadic culture. With its ambitious couture, ready-to-wear and high-street fashion offering, this is the brand in which Argentine luxury finds its contemporary expression. "Algodon Group is even now one step closer to our objective of becoming the top luxury brand in Argentina," said Scott Mathis, Algodon's founder, chairman and CEO. "Judging by the feedback of the Argentine press and media that attended, our inaugural PR launch at Algodon Mansion was successful in generating an early buzz about our brand, our designers, and our soon to launch e-commerce platform. Since the event, weve seen nearly a 1000% increase in our social media follower base, which continues to grow daily. For this, we thank all those who have shared news of our arrival to the world fashion scene to their social platforms, including social media influencer Neels Visser, our designers Santiago Gallo and Carmen Vils, and numerous Argentine and International celebrities that attended the launch." Established in Buenos Aires, the Gaucho story is one of impeccable timing. Once dubbed the Paris of South America for its exquisite Belle Epoque style, the city is thriving again and entering a new golden age. The time is ripe for Buenos Aires to align itself with Milan, New York, Paris and London as a global fashion capital, and Gaucho - Buenos Aires will be its bold ambassador. Algodon's goal is to reintroduce the world to the grandeurs of the city's elegant past, intertwined with an altogether deeper cultural connection: the strength, honor and integrity of the Gaucho. Seen in the intricate stitching of handmade leather, or the exquisite workmanship of an embossed belt buckle, "Gaucho" style is a world-renowned symbol of Argentine craftsmanship. Blending the quality of a bygone era with a sophisticated, modern, global outlook, the brand's beautifully handcrafted clothing and accessories herald the birth of Argentina's finest designer label. Please visit GauchoBuenosAires.com today to sign up for insider fashion news, behind-the-brand stories, exclusive invitations, and special access to wait lists and pre-ordering. About Algodon Group For more than ten years, Algodon's mission has been to source and develop opportunities in Argentina's undervalued luxury real estate and consumer marketplace. With our proprietary collection of wine, hospitality, fashion brands, and real estate holdings as a foundation, we seek to build our luxury brand ALGODON, one of prestige, distinction and elegance. We begin with a focus on the quality and reputation of our award-wining wines, which serve as our ambassador for our luxury lifestyle properties and other real estate assets. As we continue to produce the ultra-fine wines for which we have become recognized, we expect that our reputation for quality will continue to grow and accordingly increase the value of our brand and real estate holdings. Algodon's luxury assets are currently concentrated in Argentina, which we believe represents one of the most undervalued investment sectors in the world today. For more information, please visit www.algodongroup.com . Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements The information discussed in this press release includes forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (the Securities Act) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act). All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included herein concerning, among other things, planned capital expenditures, future cash flows and borrowings, pursuit of potential acquisition opportunities, our financial position, business strategy and other plans and objectives for future operations, are forward looking statements. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as may, expect, estimate, project, plan, believe, intend, achievable, anticipate, will, continue, potential, should, could, and similar terms and phrases. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties and are not (and should not be considered to be) guarantees of future performance. Among these risks are those set forth in a Form 10-K filed on March 30, 2018. It is important that each person reviewing this release understand the significant risks attendant to the operations of Algodon. Algodon disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement made herein. Media and Investor Relations: Algodon Group Rick Stear Corporate Communications & Marketing Manager 212.739.7669 rstear@algodongroup.com English German Spanish French ST. MICHAEL, Barbados, Nov. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mystique Blue Boutique Suites, a modern and elegant beachfront resort, opened its doors on Friday, November 02, 2018. Set on one of Mexico's most pristine and secluded destinations, Mystique Blue offers discerning travelers a luxurious vacation experience with unique dining, upscale services and breathtaking off-property excursions. Mystique Blue offers beach-life luxury in a nearly uninhabited environment. With a design inspired by Isla Holbox itself, the boutique resort celebrates the beauty of nature through its decor while never sacrificing indulgent features. With 38 suites to choose from guests can enjoy upscale amenities including spacious balconies with suspended nest-style seats, 55" Satellite TVs, unlimited WIFI connectivity and custom mattresses that allow for unparalleled comfort. Mystique Blue is a hidden gem for the nature lover. Guests can bike up and down the island's car-free roads, enjoy sightings of exotic birds, interact with local fisherman and explore the Yum Balam, a protected nature reserve found within the 26-mile island. The resort's concierge is available to book off-property excursions, be it kayaking through the mangroves, learning to kiteboard or swimming with the magnificent whale sharks that frequent the waters surrounding the island from May to September. For more information about Mystique Blue, visit www.mystiqueresorts.com or contact your travel agent. Like us on Facebook and be the first to see new promotions, pictures, videos, and more. About Mystique Resorts The newest addition to Blue Diamond Resorts' ever-growing portfolio, Mystique Resorts , is a boutique-style resort collection that offers personalized experiences in strikingly beautiful places. Mystique Resorts are contemporary, luxurious and exquisite resorts firmly rooted in some of the world's most vibrant destinations and poised to attract luxury travelers seeking to explore their surroundings. Mystique Blue , located on Mexico's Isla Holbox, and Mystique Royal Saint Lucia are ideal resorts for both families and couples alike, as they offer upscale amenities, unparalleled service and unique locales. hero_with_1000_faces wrote: According to United States Air Force officials, a cannon that shoots dead chickens at airplanes has proved helpful in demonstrating what kind of damage can result when jets fly into a flock of large birds. (E) that shoots dead chickens at airplanes has proved helpful in demonstrating Few more questions, as I am not very grammar savy and don't have lot of knowledge about grammar, especially verbs. I would like to ask few questions has proved is a present perfect tense ? Thanks AndrewN (E) that shoots dead chickens at airplanes has proved helpful in demonstratingFew more questions, as I am not very grammar savy and don't have lot of knowledge about grammar, especially verbs. I would like to ask few questionsis a present perfect tense ? has proved has had hero_with_1000_faces wrote: D What would be your reasoning Quote: (D) that shoots dead chickens at airplanes proves itself helpful to demonstrate D doesnt sound ok to my ears, but I cant say for sure whats wrong in D also, if you had to elminateWhat would be your reasoningdoesnt sound ok to my ears, but I cant say for sure whats wrong in to demonstrate itself has proved helpful hero_with_1000_faces wrote: Also, fun fact, when you didn't have your own picture as profile Pic, your formal and polite tone in forums gave me an impression that you were an old gentlemen in his 40's. it's don't Hello, Hero1kF. I will respond in-line below.Yes,is written in the present perfect tense. The perfect tense adopts the form [to have] + verb. It is the conjugation of [to have] that dictates whether the tense is, say, present perfecti.e.provedor past perfectproved.The idiom at the end,, is simply incorrect in this context. As a lesser consideration, why do we need? What does that word add in the way of clarity thatin choices (A) or (D) does not already convey? Whenever you see extra words, you should ask yourself this very question. If the excess does not achieve something in the way of the vital expression of meaning that the other choices lack, then get rid of such an answer choice. When I consider these two problems with (D), it is enough for me to see it off comfortably.Ha ha. I will take that as a compliment. Yes, I do tend to write in a formal manner. That is just my way. One of my professors in college, an Oxford-educated taskmaster, forbade the use of contractions in our essay papers. That is right: a singleorwould result in a returned paper for a rewrite... with one letter grade knocked right off the top, before he had even read through the paper (and he was not an easy grader at all). I was already writing in a pretty conservative way at the time, but perhaps that experience pushed me over the edge.Thank you for seeking my input. I enjoy challenging myself and helping others in the process.- Andrew Re: Climatic shifts are so gradual as to be indistinguishable at first fro [ #permalink 5 Kudos 8 Bookmarks Expert Reply Re: In his eagerness to find a city worthy of Priam, the German archaeolog [ #permalink Quote: In his eagerness to find a city worthy of Priam, the German archaeologist Schliemann cut through Troy and uncovered a civilization a thousand years older as was the city Homer's heroes knew . Quote: Meaning :- 1. The German archaeologist Schliemann was eager to find a city worthy of Priam. 2. He , therefore, cut through Troy and uncovered a civilization a thousand years ancient than other cities. MORE OR OLDER IS ALWAYS FOLLOWED BY THAN (A) older as was the city Homer's heroes knew It should be Older than . Wrong. (B) more ancient than the city known to Homer's heroes Correct comparison. A civilization thousand years more ancient than the city . Keep it. (C) older than was the city known to Homer's heroes Wrong comparison. A older than B. A and B must be of same type . Here A is noun but B is verb. (D) more ancient of a city than Homer's heroes knew Again A more than B. B is not noun.Incorrect comparison. Wrong (E) older of a city than was the one known to Homer's heroes Again A older than B. B is not noun.Incorrect comparison. Wrong -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All the Gods, All the Heavens, and All the Hells lie within you. Signature Read More IMO B._________________ Re: One of the first indications of a distinctive American character came [ #permalink My thoughts: 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to A. comment on the origin and nature of a national personality type --> They do talk about the origin of the American character, and its traits in every paragraph. Correct , but remember to find 4 wrong answers before deciding B. demonstrate why Benjamin Franklin was so admired by the French --> Franklin is only mentioned in the last paragraph, as an example, this cannot be the primary purpose of the passage. C. argue that the idea of an American character is a myth --> Nowhere is the idea of an American character described as a myth D. recount the historical and philosophical contributions of Americans in Europe --> Completely out of scope E. provide a psychological profile of a specific individual --> Way out of scope 2. The passage suggests which of the following about the Europeans? A. Europeans lacked personal initiative and self-reliance. --> Although the passage did say that Americans tended to demonstrate a higher level of personal initiative and self-reliance , it never said that Europeans lacked it . B. Europeans admired Americans because of the Americans rational, self-interested nature. --> Tricky because in the last paragraph Europeans' conception of Franklin was admired, and he was described as best representing the American character. Even though it did not say this explicitly, I would keep this answer until I find a better answer C. The European conception of the American character might not entirely conform to reality. --> Keywords are key in this one. From the passage: "This idealized portrait of the American citizen..." . When something is idealized, it is usually too good to be true. From the question: "...might not entirely conform to reality" . An idealized portait of something might not be as described. This is Correct D. Europeans placed a high value on the works of Adam Smith and other political economists. --> The passage only mentioned Adam Smith once and mentioned nothing about the value of his work. E. To the Europeans, no individual better embodied the ideas of the Enlightenment than Benjamin Franklin did. --> Franklin "best represented the American character". Seems to me there are a lot of comparable individuals. 3. As it is presented in the passage, which of the following best exemplifies the American personality? A. An aristocrat who diligently keeps abreast of all the fashionable new trends in society. --> The Americans had their own way of making businesses, no copycats/trendfollowers. B. A pious, hardworking farmer who takes care of his family and remains humble. --> It says nothing about family relations or the Americans' humbleness. C. A cunning statesman who uses his knowledge of human nature to manipulate friends and foes. --> Free markets, trade and hard work. No manipulative characteristics or suspicious activity were mentioned. D. An absent minded inventor whose brilliant discoveries are counter balanced by his lack of common sense. --> They describe the American personality as an economic personality, not an oldschool scale of imbalances E. A self-made man whose efforts help him create a successful shipping company. --> Trade, free markets, hard work. All three are checked off and it is Correct SajjadAhmad wrote: The drug Nephoprene has been proven to help certain harmful medical conditions, but it also has serious side effects. Doctors are responsible for weighing the benefits of a drug against the possible harm to the patient from side effects, and most doctors have chosen not to prescribe Nephoprene even to patients who would experience benefits. Which of the following follows most logically from the argument? (A) Nephoprene will not cure patients. (B) Most doctors have determined that the side effects of Nephoprene outweigh the benefits. (C) Patients who want to take Nephoprene are not able to obtain prescriptions for it. (D) Not all patients with medical conditions that can be helped by Nephoprene will actually experience benefits when taking it. (E) The doctors who decline to prescribe Nephoprene are not fulfilling their duties as doctors. Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor Learn more about how Veritas Prep can help you achieve a great GMAT score by checking out their KarishmaVeritas Prep GMAT InstructorLearn more about how Veritas Prep can help you achieve a great GMAT score by checking out their GMAT Prep Options > Signature Read More - N is useful in certain medical conditions but has serious side effects.- Doctors are responsible to weight benefits against side effects.- Most doctors have NOT given it to even those patients who will experience benefits.What will follow?(A) Nephoprene will not cure patients.No discussion on what can "cure" patients and when do we say they are "cured".(B) Most doctors have determined that the side effects of Nephoprene outweigh the benefits.Correct. N has not been prescribed even when it will have benefits. It means the harmful effects outweigh the benefits.(C) Patients who want to take Nephoprene are not able to obtain prescriptions for it.We don't know who all can prescribe N. Also, some doctors may still prescribe it.(D) Not all patients with medical conditions that can be helped by Nephoprene will actually experience benefits when taking it.This tells us that not all patients with related medical conditions will experience benefits. This is not implied because the argument does not tell us how many people with related medical conditions will be benefitted. Will it benefit all or some, we don't know so this is not implied.Our argument focusses on those patients whom it will benefit. The point is that doctors are not prescribing it to even those who will benefit.(E) The doctors who decline to prescribe Nephoprene are not fulfilling their duties as doctors.Cannot infer. Perhaps they are actually fulfilling their duties.Answer (B)_________________ Quote: (A) crests and troughs that remain stationary although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, are Quote: (B) crests and troughs that remain stationary although they are formed by rapidly moving air, are Quote: (C) crests and troughs that remain stationary although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, is Quote: (D) stationary crests and troughs although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, are Quote: (E) stationary crests and troughs although they are formed by rapidly moving air, is (C) crests and troughs that remain stationary although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, is (E) stationary crests and troughs although they are formed by rapidly moving air even though This is one of those wordy GMAT sentences that probably has too many commas, so all of the answer choices basically sound the same. But in this case, theres an easy elimination once you catch the subject-verb issue: after the semicolon, we have the resulting flow pattern, [modifier blah blah], ARE knownThats bad and wrong. (A) is out.We can split some hairs over the differences between (A) and (B), but the subject-verb thing is a still a big, fat problem. (B) is out, too.The subject-verb agreement is fine here, so thats cool. We have perfect reasonable uses of the modifier that in both cases: crests and troughs are indeed the things that remain stationary, and the air is the thing that forms them. And them refers back to crests and troughs.I dont see any mechanical issues at all, so lets keep (C).Same subject-verb problem as in (A) and (B). I like free stuff, and this is basically free stuff. Thank you, GMAT, for taking mercy on us and letting us whittle this down to (C) and (E) in no time at all.Hm, theres nothing explicitly WRONG with (E) in terms of grammar. The pronoun is OK (they refers to stationary crests and troughs), and so is the subject-verb agreement.As we mentioned in our long-winded beginners guide to SC , once you eliminate everything you can based on DEFINITE grammar rules, then youll want to compare the remaining pairs side-by-side to see if theres any meaning difference between the two:So what are the differences between these two? Well, (C) uses active voice (the air that forms them is moving rapidly), while (E) is passive (they are formed by rapidly moving air), and we could argue that the active voice is clearer and stronger in this particular case. (Though passive voice can be acceptable on the GMAT but thats a longer conversation for another day.)More importantly, (C) does a better job of emphasizing the heart of the sentence. The thing that is (allegedly?) interesting about the crests and troughs isnt simply that they are formed by rapidly moving air and thats basically what (E) says. The noteworthy thing is that the crests and troughs are stationarythey are formed by rapidly moving air and by putting the phrase that remain stationary right before although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, (C) emphasizes this fact much more clearly than (E) does.Fun stuff. (C) is the best answer._________________ Pls do not quote the narrowed choices in ur answer as u will get biased answers. asthanap wrote: In this case, I could reach to B & E but could not take it further to reach to correct answer. Please advise. Using computer techniques, researchers analyze layers of paint that lie buried beneath the surface layers of old paintings. They claim, for example, that additional mountainous scenery once appeared in Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa, which was later painted over. Skeptics reply to these claims, however, that X-ray examinations of the Mona Lisa do not show hidden mountains. Which of the following, if true, would tend most to weaken the force of the skeptics objections? (A) There is no written or anecdotal record that Leonardo da Vinci ever painted over major areas of his Mona Lisa. (B) Painters of da Vincis time commonly created images of mountainous scenery in the backgrounds of portraits like the Mona Lisa. (C) No one knows for certain what parts of the Mona Lisa may have been painted by da Vincis assistants rather than by da Vinci himself. (D) Infrared photography of the Mona Lisa has revealed no trace of hidden mountainous scenery. (E) Analysis relying on X-rays only has the capacity to detect lead-based white pigments in layers of paint beneath a paintings surface layers. Now coming to the question, i think it shld be E bcos we need to attck the skeptic's objection. the skeptic claims that X-ray examinations of ML do not show hidden mountains. However, if as E says, Analysis relying on X-rays has limited capabilities then it is quite possible that the X-ray is not able to detect the mountain scenary. B though a close one does not adhere to the skeptic's objection abt the X-Ray. bb wrote: Official Solution: The requirement of using standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT in undergraduate admissions decisions has long been debated. A recent report from the National Association for College Admission Council (NACAC) recommends that more colleges consider switching to a test-optional admissions policy. Although the report acknowledges that a blanket approach cannot be applied to all colleges, it states that The Commission encourages institutions to consider dropping the admission test requirements if it is determined that the predictive utility of the test or the admission policies of the institution (such as open access) support that decision and if the institution believes that standardized test results would not be necessary for other reasons such as course placement, advising, or research. The reports agrees with the conventional wisdom that standardized tests are a strong predictor of first-year grades, and even agrees that they are a strong predictor of full four-year grades. Speaking about the SAT and ACT, the report states that The Commission is in agreement that the tests measure what they purport to measure. However, the authors recommend that overall college success be defined by a broader set of criteria than first-year grades. College success can be defined in terms of overall degree attainment, a range of GPAs, post-college employment, or progression to graduate school. When defined in this way, there are tests that may be even more predictive of overall college success than the SAT and ACT. These are the College Boards Advanced Placement exams and the International Baccalaureate Examinations. These tests have two benefits: First, they measure knowledge of portions of the actual high school curriculum. Second, there is little test prep industry around these exams, so students have less ability to buy their way to a good score. Despite the Commissions recommendations, it acknowledges that high school students may experience some disadvantages if they do not take the usual standardized tests. For example, a students PSAT scores are used in the initial screen of eligibility for National Merit scholarships. A student that skips the PSAT passes up a scholarship opportunity. Additionally, colleges themselves have an incentive to require high SAT scores: the ranking tables of major publications depend heavily on a schools average test scores. In its report, the Commission recommends that these publications stop using test scores as a measure of institutional quality. The passage implies that which of the following is not a valid reason for a college to switch to a test-optional policy? A. The college does not believe in the predictive power of standardized tests B. Standardized tests are necessary for first-year course placement C. The college has an open access policy in admissions decisions D. SAT scores are not helpful for academic advisors that help students choose first-year courses E. The college has a broad definition of student success including degree attainment and post-college employment (A) This is a reason for the college to switch to a test-optional policy. (B) Correct . If standardized tests are necessary for first-year course placement, then the college should not switch to a test-optional policy. (C) This is a reason for the college to switch to a test-optional policy. (D) If SAT scores are not helpful for course placement, then the college could switch to a test-optional policy. (E) This is a reason for the college to switch to a test-optional policy. Answer: B Hi,Please explain this question. IceViking strongly condemns physical attacks and harassment directed towards them. They are also often victims of the Islamic idea. This is true when it comes to the cruel and tragic treatment of Muslim women and children when it is in accord with the Koran, the example of Mohammed and Islamic law, Sharia, which may be applied regardless of where a Muslim male may find himself in the world, whether in a Muslim or non-Muslim country. However, in no way, shape or form should one judge all Muslim men because of what is in Islamic scripture and what constitutes the Islamic law, Sharia. "Race", ethnicity or basically anything that you are "merely" born with should never be a basis for bigotry and discrimination. Apostates from Islam have been executed for 1400 years in accord with the Koran and the words and actions of the Islamic prophet Mohammed and Islamic law, Sharia. They should be lovingly helped. Furthermore, approximately as many as 11,000,000 Muslims may have been killed by other Muslims since 1948. To quote the website The Religion of Peace (TROP), edited by Glen Roberts: While it may be safe to say that a true Muslim would not intentionally kill another true Muslim ( 4:92-93 ), the Quran places no such value on the life of a Muslim who is not true. Consider verse 9:73 : Strive hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be harsh against them, their abode is Hell. The Arabic for strive hard uses the same root as Jihad - and the context in this sura is holy war (see v. 86 and 91). Thus, there are two distinct classes of people that a true Muslim is to target with harshness: disbelievers and hypocrites. A disbeliever obviously refers to a non-Muslim, so a "hypocrite" must be a Muslim of some sort. In fact, hypocrites are those who say they believe, but do not act as they should. In other words, they are "Muslims", but not true Muslims. They will go to hell just as unbelievers do, and so, according to the verse, their lives matter for naught. The same sura says that a hypocrite can be recognized not just by lack of piety (reluctance to follow Sharia), but by fear of death ( 9:56 ), reluctance to fight ( 9:44-45 ) and even friendliness toward non-believers ( 9:67 ). A true Muslim would thus be a pious person who relishes martyrdom, is eager to fight, and shuns non-believers. Even the Quranic passage that warns against killing "believers" ( 4:88-94 ) is more complicated than it first appears. It never says that a true Muslim is incapable of killing another Muslim, just that it should not be done. In fact, it makes exceptions for the unintentional killing of "believers" in war and mandates the killing of "hypocrites." Verse 17:33 says, "Do not kill anyone which Allah has forbidden, except for a just cause" . The greatest cause of all is that Islam be superior ( 9:33 ), which is exactly what Islamic terrorists say is their goal. Thus believing Muslims are allowed to be collateral damage in the war on unbelievers. There is sadly a phenomena that I`ve noticed in Sweden and elsewhere of people using true facts about Islamic doctrine and history as a cover for all sorts of irrational targeting of Muslims, ranging from xenophobia and racism to verbal abuse and physical attacks. This is strongly condemned by this website and does not in any way serve serious criticism of orthodox Islam and other important work. It`s also important that one tries to express oneself in a civilized way. Words matter. In this bloggers humble opinion the root cause of the problem is the ancient doctrine of orthodox Islam. In simple terms a non-Muslim is a Kafir. " The Koran defines the kafir and kafir is not a neutral word. A kafir is not merely someone who does not agree with Islam, but a kafir is evil, disgusting, the lowest form of life." An exact quote, as stated in the writings of Dr. Bill Warner in the article "Kafir" at http://www.politicalislam.com/kafir . In the perfect Koran (Allah`s direct and literal word as revealed to Mohammed through the angel Jibril), Muslims are told 89 times to emulate Mohammed in all ways (see Koran 33:21 for instance). Mohammed`s example, the Sunna, is found in the Hadith (stories of what Mohammed said and did) and the Sira (biographies of Mohammed). Islamic law, Sharia , is directly derived from these unchanging scriptures. It is based on the Koran`s numerous commands to obey Allah and obey the Messenger, that is Mohammed (see Koran 4:59 for instance). Islam is Sharia. Sharia is Islam. It is a capital crime for Muslims to deny Sharia in any way. A Muslim is someone who submits to Islam and submitting to Islam means obeying the Sharia of Allah. Sharia law includes pronouncements for both Muslims and non-Muslims (Kafirs). Islam is a "complete way of life", a "complete code of life", a "complete system of life". Islam is not just a religion but also a comprehensive ideology. Islam is a supremacist ideology. Islam is a totalitarian and imperialistic ideology akin to Communism and Nazism. Islam is a civilization. Islamic law, Sharia, is a manual for a civilization. Islamic law, Sharia, governs every aspect of life. It has a say about every conceivable human act . Non-Muslims are morally and legally inferior in Islam. Women are morally and legally inferior in Islam. The History of Jihad: From Muhammad to ISIS by Robert Spencer is the first one-volume history of jihad in the English language and a great book on the topic. Allah guarantees Paradise to those who "kill and are killed" for him (Koran 9:111). A hadith depicts a Muslim asking Muhammad: "Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad (in reward)." Muhammad replied, "I do not find such a deed." (Bukhari 4.52.44) Muhammad himself said: I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah, and he who professed it was guaranteed the protection of his property and life on my behalf except for the right affairs rest with Allah. (Sahih Muslim 30) Freedom of speech, human rights, democracy, science and human lives are all at stake in the fight against the Islamic Jihad. As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ CHRI noted that Kazemi is at least the second journalist to be arrested in Tehran during the past two weeks, apparently on the basis of nothing other than his work as a reporter. An attorney for the detainee gave no indication of whether charges had been filed against him or which Iranian authority carried out the arrest, but he did point out that the arrest was made without prior warning, in a display of repressive trends that are becoming worse in the current domestic environment. The lawyer, Ali Mojtahedzadeh, was quoted as saying that under Iranian law, arrests via unannounced raid are only permissible in very limited cases for people accused of serious or dangerous crimes. He added that such surprise arrests are nonetheless repeatedly happening to journalists and becoming a normal pattern. But it bears noting that many Iran watchers would no doubt insist that this has been a familiar pattern for some time, especially if one considers the use of that method of arrest not just when journalists are the target but also when the arrests strive to silence and criminalize dissent by political reformists, human rights defenders, and other activists. Whats more, aggressive and apparently unlawful arrests are only one part of a broader strategy of intimidation directed against dissenting voices in the Islamic Republic. Harsh treatment at the point of arrest often leads to harsh treatment in detention and the threat of extremely harsh sentencing. As an example of this latter phenomenon, the CHRI report notes that the previously arrested journalist, Pouyan Khoshhal, was subjected to charges that could carry the death penalty solely because he failed to refer to the death of Imam Hossein martyrdom, thereby supposedly breaking with the regimes enforced hardline Islamist ideology. Although CHRI referred only to these two arrests as having taken place in the past two weeks, there is little reason to suppose that they stand alone, especially given that the clerical regime has been credibly accused of stepping up its overall domestic repression in the face of widespread and ongoing anti-government protests. Some other arrests of journalists may carry a lower-profile while still being apparent examples of the crackdown on dissenting voices and the suppression of free speech. On Tuesday, the Human Rights Activists News Agency pointed to what may be one such case. It noted that a metropolitan beat reporter by the name of Vahid Ahang had been arrested by local authorities on the basis of a complaint filed by the Municipality of Dishmok, amidst years of critical reporting on municipal business matters. Ahang reportedly faces charges of insulting, slandering, and threatening municipal workers. In this way, the case arguably highlights the top-down nature of media suppression in the Islamic Republic, with similar politically-motivated charges being applied in defense of government officials and their private sector associates at both the national and the local level. Meanwhile, the Iranian government continues in its apparent efforts to bury reports of domestic crackdowns on the free press by portraying itself as the target of malicious conspiracies by foreign news outlets, with the backing of foreign governments. Toward this end, Iranian Ambassador to the UK Hamid Baedinejad used Twitter on Monday to denounce a UK-based news network called Iranian International TV, which allegedly receives funding from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In the wake of that station airing comments that praised a recent terrorist attack in the Islamic Republic, Baedinejad claimed that some employees who wish to leave the TV network have called my embassy and complained about the intimidations made by the network managers. The ambassador then added that he had offered help to these journalists, but in reporting upon the announcement, IranWire expressed extreme skepticism about that supposed offer and about whether Iranian exiles had ever reached out to the embassy in the first place. In light of recent violence against journalists, the report asked: Do journalists who formerly worked for BBC Persian, VOA Farsi, Manoto TV, and Iran International feel safe in Irans embassy? Do any of them believe the ambassadors tweet to be genuine? Has the Islamic Republic ever helped an Iranian journalist, apart from those employees working for the state media, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting? The same report notes that the press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) seized upon Baidinejads tweet, thanking him for bringing attention to the supposed instance of threats occurring on British soil, but then questioning the ambassador over the escalating crackdown on reporters inside the Islamic Republic. The organization identified six Iranian journalists by name who are currently known to be in detention without access to their lawyers. These and other cases had already been highlighted by RSF in previous public statements, which referenced an escalating crackdown on press freedom by Iranian authorities. Iran Human Rights Monitor provided details on Thursday of some of the cases that had come under the RSF spotlight, noting that in addition to several arrests in recent weeks, a number of reporters have been subjected to questioning and harassment as the regime continues to warn journalists and activists against deviating from Tehrans official line. All such executions are barred under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Crime. Iran is a signatory to both agreements, although as an IranWire report emphasized on Monday, the Islamic Republic has a long history of signing but refusing to ratify or implement international treaties and other agreements. In fact, the clerical regime tends to take a particularly defiant attitude toward international human rights standards, routinely rejecting criticism on matters such as juvenile issues and portraying it as an example of cultural imperialism. In line with this defiance, the Iranian judiciary has carried out at least five executions of juvenile offenders this year alone. The first three of these gave rise to widespread concerns that the regime was actually stepping up its implementation of such sentences, given that they came in more rapid succession that the previous year. The subsequent downturn may have been motivated in part by pressure from international human rights organizations and foreign governments, but the latest juvenile execution only underscored the regimes rejection of international standards. The victim of that October 2 execution was Zeinab Sekaanvand, an Iranian-Kurdish woman who was convicted of killing the man whom shed married when she was only 15 years old. Her case became a cause for international activism not only because of the fact that she was 17 at the time of the alleged crime but also because of the unfair nature of her trial, including a lack of legal representation, reports that she was compelled to confess under torture, and the judiciarys disregard for her claims of having been routinely abused by her husband and raped by her brother-in-law. The schedule of Sekaanvands execution was apparently pushed back as a result of international pressure, but as almost invariably happens in these cases, the judiciary ultimately insisted that age was not a factor in the question of legal responsibility. Under Iranian law, boys can be considered legally responsible at the age of 15, and girls at only 9. Consequently, child marriage and juvenile executions are both common topics of criticism regarding the Islamic Republics human rights record. And the Sekaanvand case was a representative example of both of these, as well as the more general issue of womens rights and inequitable application of justice. Despite Irans internationally condemned notions of legal majority, Iranian law does provide a pathway for compliance with international standards, in that judges may assess the emotional maturity of individual juvenile offenders and declare them ineligible for the death penalty. But this rarely, if ever, occurs, and according to the Iran Human Rights report, no such assessment was even attempted in the case of the newly sentenced juvenile offender, whom the Iranian newspaper Javan had identified only by the first name Pouyan. It was not immediately clear whether the individual named in that case is the same as the one who was identified by Iran Human Rights Monitor on Thursday. Although some details are similar in both reports both describe the defendant as having killed a fellow youth in a fight IHRM identifies the person by the name Shayan Saeedpour and notes that the sentence was handed down earlier, on October 23. According to Iran Human Rights, the announcement of the sentence in Javan did not specify the date of the hearing or the verdict. The contrasting reports point to some of the means by which Iranian authorities attempt to obfuscate figures regarding detention, sentencing, and execution as part of an apparent effort to deflect some domestic and international criticism. IHRM notes that the use of capital punishment in Iran is often shrouded in secrecy, and that this fact leads to the possibility that the number of juvenile death sentences in the country is actually higher than the confirmed number or the estimates put forth by human rights experts. The same report points out that Amnesty International has obtained details regarding 49 juvenile offenders who are currently on death row in Iran. In its report on the Sekaanvand case in October, Time Magazine reported that there were at least 88 such individuals, and the United Nations puts the figure at roughly 160. Whether or not the Iran Human Rights and IHRM reports deal with the same individual, it is clear that juvenile death sentences and executions are widespread and frequently recurring problems in the Islamic Republic. Whats more, they are often closely connected to other human rights issues involving the abuse and mistreatment of prisoners and the frequent absence of due process in Iranian criminal cases. As an example of these overlapping issues, IHRM pointed out that Shayan Saeedpours juvenile status was not the only mitigating factor that was ignored in handing down his death sentence. The defendant also reportedly had a history of psychiatric problems including multiple suicide attempts. It is very much an open question whether he will now receive any treatment for these problems, in light of the judiciarys long history of withholding or limiting medical treatment as a form of pressure or extrajudicial punishment. Strangely, while Saeedpour may be deprived of psychiatric care as he waits, potentially for years, until the implementation of his sentence, other prisoners may be subjected to unwanted hospitalization or medication as hardline authorities enact a new strategy for punishing political offenses and silencing dissent. This was the situation described on Tuesday by the Center for Human Rights in Iran when it reported upon the case of Hashem Khastar, a retired teachers rights activist who was arrested on October 23 by plainclothes officers and immediately taken to a psychiatric facility, despite having no known history of psychological issues. Much like juvenile executions, this sort of arbitrary detention is a clear violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The CHRI report clarified this fact and added that even if Khastar was diagnosed with mental health problems, his arrest would be in violation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which declares that disability alone cannot be grounds for deprivation of liberty, as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, which states that medical care and medication must be based on free and informed consent of the patient or a lawfully designated caregiver. The apparent use of psychiatric detention as a form of extrajudicial punishment in this case is underscored by the fact that Khastars wife and two sons were arrested on Monday along with other protesters who had gathered outside the facility to call attention to the case and to add to the international chorus of outcry against Tehrans blatant disregard for collectively agreed-upon human rights standards. Ever since the earliest days of the mullahs rule, they have tried to suppress the MEK through disinformation campaigns at home and abroad, criminalising MEK membership, and even the executions of over 120,000 MEK members and supporters. Why would the mullahs work so hard to eliminate a group that posed no threat at all to them? And what kind of fringe group has over 120,000 people willing to risk their lives to support their cause? Of course, the MEK is no fringe group. In fact, it is the oldest, longest running, and largest anti-fundamentalist Muslim group in the Middle East and has spent the past 50 years fighting two dictatorships to bring freedom and democracy to Iran. It is a strong organization that has broad support across the world, as can be seen by the people who attend MEK rallies and conferences every year, but they also have great support within Iran, which is how the nationwide anti-regime protests of this year were so well-organised and effective. But why would the MEK enjoy such incredible support? Because they are advocating for the values most prized by the Iranian people and most countries throughout the world: democracy, freedom, and equality. The MEK reject the fundamentalist mullahs regime and its totalitarian rule in favour of a 10-point-plan that would bring those values to Iran. The 10-point-plan, designed by MEK leader Maryam Rajavi, champions the repeal of the mullahs Sharia law, equality for everyone regardless of gender, ethnicity, or any other marginalised identity, and working with the rest of the modern world. The plan includes: 1. The introduction of free and fair elections, universal suffrage for those aged over 18, and the ballot box as the sole criterion for political legitimacy 2. Respect for freedom of speech, expression, political affiliation, assembly, and the press, along with uncensored internet access for all 3. A ban on the death penalty and other forms of cruel and unusual punishments (i.e. torture, floggings, blindings) 4. The separation of religion and state, which would also include a ban on discrimination based on religious affiliation or denomination 5. Full gender equality, which would include banning discrimination against women across all areas, allowing women to make their own decisions in matters of marriage, divorce, clothing, education and employment, and ensuring the equal participation of women in political leadership 6. The introduction of a modern judicial system that emphasizes the presumption of innocence, the right to a defence, the right to be tried in a public court, and due process, as well as the abolishment of the mullahs Sharia law 7. A commitment to human rights as laid out in the Universal Declaration of Humans Rights and its international covenants and conventions, as well as support for an autonomous Iranian Kurdistan. 8. A commitment to a free market economy, with equal opportunity for all Iranians, as well as a strong commitment to the environment 9. A commitment to peaceful coexistence with other countries, including putting an end to the mullahs destabilisation of the Middle East 10. A commitment to a non-nuclear Iran with no weapons of mass destruction This leads us to a rather obvious solution to the Syrian crisis, one advocated for by Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the Iranian Resistance, back in 2016: Evict Iran from Syria and the Middle East. Iran has sent many militias to Syria, some made up of terror cells in neighbouring countries, some of refugees who need Iranian citizenship, and some made up of actual children, which is why Maryam Rajavi suggests that the world adopt a decisive policy to confront Iran in order to end the war and bring peace to this part of the world. The US has thankfully started to listen and has called on Iran to remove its militias from Syria not that the mullahs will listen and have vowed to leave US troops in Syria until all Iran-backed fighters have left. This is a good start, but the US (and the rest of the world) should do more to increase the practical efforts to evict Irans dictatorship from the entire region, as noted by Maryam Rajavi. Condemning and isolating Iran Maryam Rajavi advised that the UN Security Council, UN member states, and all other international bodies need to condemn the Iranian regimes atrocities and meddling in Syria, while the Organization of Islamic Cooperation must expel the Iranian regime and all Arab and Muslim countries must cut ties with Iran. Maryam Rajavi also advises that all deals and trade with IRGC-affiliated companies should be banned, as well as all forms of cooperation and joint action with the IRGC and its militias in Syria and Iraq under the pretext of fighting the Islamic State. After all, the Iranian Regime is not fighting ISIS. It actually helped create it. Maryam Rajavi said that the international community should provide political, military, and financial backing to the democratic Syrian opposition, while also taking the necessary international measures to remove Iranian and Iranian-backed forces from Syria. This would include making all economic and political relations with Iran contingent on the Regime ending its meddling in the region and especially Syria. Maryam Rajavi noted that in order to ensure that the Iranian Regime could no longer meddle in the Syrian crisis, they should also be excluded from any negotiations, as the Regime does not seek peace. She also advised that UN Security Council resolution 2231 should be fully implemented in order to stop Iran from sending weapons to Syria, Iraq and terrorist groups. Maryam Rajavi said: I have no doubt that regardless of their differences, countries in the region are able to join hand in hand with the Iranian people and Resistance, in order to put an end once and for all to the rule of the Velayat-e Faqih regime and turn the page in the history of this part of the world. CALGARY, Alberta, Nov. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- West High Yield (W.H.Y.) Resources Ltd. ("West High Yield" or the "Company") (TSXV:WHY) announces that it proposes to complete a non-brokered private placement of Units ("Units). Each Unit will consist of one Common Share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one-third of one Common Share purchase Warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant would entitle the holder to purchase one additional Common Share at an exercise price of $0.50 for a period of one year from the date of issuance of the Warrant. There is no minimum subscription for this offering and a maximum of 5,000,000 Units will be issued at a price of $0.30 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $1,500,000. The Company may pay finders fees on all or a portion of the private placement to eligible persons seeking subscribers to the financing, all in accordance with applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"). The proposed private placement is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals including the approval of the Exchange. The Company confirms that, as of the date of this press release, there is no "material fact" or "material change" (as those terms are defined under applicable securities laws) related to the Company which has not been generally disclosed. Assuming the maximum offering is completed, approximately $1,200,000 of the net proceeds are expected to be used for the continuation of the environmental base line study, environmental assessment study and mine plan and permit application and Industrial Mineral Mine Permit application for the Company's Record Ridge deposit near Rossland, British Columbia and the balance of the net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. If the offering is not fully subscribed, the Company will apply the proceeds to the above uses in priority and in such proportions as the board of directors and management of the Company determine is in the best interests of the Company. Although the Company intends to use the proceeds of the offering as described above, the actual allocation of proceeds may vary from the uses set out above, depending upon future operations, events or opportunities. The Company also advised that it did not proceed with the private placement previously announced on August 28, 2018. About West High Yield West High Yield is a publicly traded junior mining exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral resource properties in Canada with a primary objective to locate and develop economic gold, nickel and magnesium properties. For further information please contact: Frank Marasco President and Chief Executive Officer West High Yield (W.H.Y.) Resources Ltd. Telephone: (403) 660-3488 Facsimile: (403) 206-7159 Email: frank@whyresources.com Dwayne Vinck Chief Financial Officer West High Yield (W.H.Y.) Resources Ltd. Telephone: (403) 257-2637 Facsimile: (403) 206-7159 Email: vinck@shaw.ca Reader Advisory This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information or statements. More particularly and without limitation, this press release contains forward looking statements and information concerning the terms of the proposed non-brokered private placement of Units, the proposed use of proceeds and the Company's business plans. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward looking statements and information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions in Canada and globally; industry conditions, including governmental regulation; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; competition for, among other things, skilled personnel and supplies; changes in tax laws; and the other factors. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is given as of the date hereof, and to not use such forward-looking information for anything other than its intended purpose. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Not for distribution in the United States. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States. The securities of the Company will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of U.S. persons except in certain transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act. The Danish case has only added strength to claims that the overall Iranian threat to global security and stability is increasing. This trend stems not only and not even primarily from the escalating war of words between the Iranian regime and the administration of US President Donald Trump, but also from the growing unrest inside the Islamic Republic itself. The connection between recent protests and the regimes efforts to lash out against foreign adversaries is underscored by the fact that the main target of those would-be attacks is the entity that is largely driving the Iranian protests that continue to this day. The Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran has, in fact, been the main source of opposition to the theocratic regime since shortly after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. It has accordingly been targeted for destruction by regime authorities both at home and abroad throughout the intervening four decades. The Mojahedin (PMOI or MEK in its Farsi abbreviation) has seen approximately 120,000 of its members killed during that time, some of them via execution, some via direct clashes with security forces, and some of them via assassination either inside the Islamic Republic or on foreign territory. Despite this fact, the MEK has steadily grown in membership while also acquiring alliances among global policymakers, Middle East experts, and so on. Today, the organization stands at the head of a coalition known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which is headquartered in France and holds an international rally near Paris every summer. The event tends to attract upwards of 100,000 attendees, consisting of Iranian expatriates from throughout the world, plus hundreds of political dignitaries from the United States, Europe, and various countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. It also happens that this years MEK-led rally was the target of one of the thwarted terror plots that preceded the Danish incident. In June, a leading Iranian diplomat working out of Austria provided 500 grams of TATP explosive and a detonator to an Iranian-Belgian couple, with instructions to bomb the Iran Freedom gathering. The operatives were arrested at the border between France and Belgium, and the diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, was later arrested in Germany, in preparation for his extradition to face charges in Belgium. The NCRI subsequently released detailed reports on the plot, drawing upon information gathered by the MEK intelligence network inside Iran. That information demonstrated that the order for renewed terrorist operations on European soil came from the highest levels of the Iranian regime. This finding was later corroborated by French intelligence officers when they completed an exhaustive investigation in October and concluded, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Tehran was responsible for the plot. The credibility and potential usefulness of the MEK intelligence network had previously been demonstrated by wide variety of reports detailing the operations and inner workings of the clerical regime. Prominent among these was the MEKs revelation of the location of secretive Iranian nuclear sites and details of the weaponization aspects of Irans nuclear activities. This certainly did nothing to diminish the regimes focus on the MEK as the greatest threat to its hold on power. In fact, the nuclear deal generated substantial backlash from hardline institutions of the Islamic Republic. Officers in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, among others, were evidently fearful of the implications of a forced compromise with Western enemies, and sought to save face both by stepping up confrontational rhetoric and cracking down on dissenting voices at home. Naturally, the MEK stood out as a prominent target of the latter phenomenon. In recent years, as human rights activists and labor organizers have been targeted for largely indiscriminate arrest, some supporters of the MEK have been given extremely long prison sentences or even executed for crimes as insubstantial as donating money to an opposition satellite television network. But as the regimes risky effort to bomb the Iran Freedom rally this year indicates, these pressures have done nothing to slow down the efforts of the MEK to encourage popular dissent and work toward regime change and the establishment of a truly democratic system of government. The MEKs organizing power was already given somewhat prominent attention last year, against the backdrop of the national elections that led to a second term for so-called moderate President Hassan Rouhani. The MEK publicly disputed Rouhanis moderate credentials since his first-term election, when a number of Western policymakers welcomed him as a potential symbol of change. Throughout the ensuing five years, more and more observers both inside Iran and throughout the international community have moved in the direction of the MEKs position, following Rouhanis failure to address the escalating domestic crackdown or instances of foreign belligerence that include but are not limited to French, Danish, and other terror plots. In fact, the NCRI reports on the French plot connected its planning to the Supreme Council on National Security, which is chaired by Rouhani. Recognizing and anticipating the presidents fealty to the hardline policies and views that are more formally linked to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the MEK sought to organize a boycott of the 2017 elections, emphasizing that the disqualification of reform-minded candidates by the powerful Guardian Council meant that there was no real alternative to the hardline theocracy on the ballot. MEK activists risked arrest and even possible execution by posting images in public places of Maryam Rajavi, who is the heads MEKs parent coalition of the NCRI and is its designated president for a transitional period following the ouster of the mullahs regime. The images were accompanied by such slogans as vote for regime change, in an apparent precursor to the strongly anti-government slogans that would characterize widespread public protests in the following months. Although the Iranian government reported large turnout for the presidential election, the MEK maintained that the boycott was largely successful and that the polling numbers had been deliberately inflated, with members of the Basij paramilitary appearing in large numbers at designated polling places for the purposes of propaganda broadcasts on state media. The opposition claim was arguably reinforced by the subsequent protests, which by the regime officials own admission pointed to the widespread social influence and organizing abilities of the MEK. The anti-government protest and, by extension, the work of the MEK, took on new dimensions on December 28, when economic protests began in the streets of Irans second city of Mashhad before spreading throughout the country and giving rise to slogans like death to Rouhani and death to the dictator [Khamenei]. These slogans clearly highlighted the strong overlap between popular sentiment and the goal of regime change that had long been espoused by the MEK. On January 9, while the nationwide uprising was still in full force, the Supreme Leader issued a public statement in which he referred to the MEK by the familiar derogatory term hypocrites, and acknowledged that the organization was a driving force behind the protest. Khamenei declared that the MEK had planned for months to promote the anti-government slogans and organize the demonstrations across many localities so they would take on national significance. This speech was clear departure from the regimes longstanding policy of downplaying the strength and popularity of the MEK while insisting that there is no viable alternative to the theocratic dictatorship. Considering that the December/January uprising compelled Khamenei and other authorities to admit to some of the regimes domestic vulnerabilities, it is no surprise that many of those same authorities have sought to expand upon force-projection beyond their borders, even reaching into Western territory with multiple terrorist plots, though they have been almost entirely unsuccessful. The MEK, it associates in the NCRI, and its political supporters throughout the world are understandably concerned that this escalation in Irans foreign policy will continue as long as the regime feels particularly vulnerable. At the same time, these critics of the Iranian government recognize the likelihood of simultaneous escalations in the longstanding crackdown on dissent inside the Islamic Republic. The potential cost of those escalations is considerable. The historical behavior of the clerical regime points to the extent of the bloodshed that can result when it feels the need to reassert its power in the face of existential threats. In 1988, when Tehran was facing domestic pressure from the MEK while also begrudgingly managing the end of the eight-year Iran-Iraq War, then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa declaring opponents of the fledgling regime to be at war with God himself, and thus subject to summary execution. As a result, tribunals were assembled across the country to interrogate political prisoners over their affiliations and pass immediate death sentences for those deemed disloyal. Over a period of just a few months in that year, an estimated 30,000 political prisoners were put to death, with the overwhelming majority of them being members or supporters of the MEK. The danger of similar bloodshed persists. Thousands of peaceful protesters were reportedly arrested in the midst of the nationwide uprising, before it was suppressed in late January. In addition, approximately 50 protesters were shot dead in the streets, and a further 14 were tortured to death while in detention. Since then, the ranks of the nations political prisoners have continued to swell as protests demonstrations flared in numerous localities, following the lead of the nationwide uprising. Many of those arrestees have been explicitly threatened with the death penalty by judiciary officials and other hardline authorities. But in contrast to 1988, the domestic pressure that Iran faces from the MEK today is accompanied by unprecedented pressure from the United States following its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement. The leading Iranian opposition group continues to reach out to the international community with the message that these simultaneous pressures could yield a change of government for the Iranian nation, especially if the European Union and other world powers join in imposing sanctions while supporting the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people. With concerns over Iranian terror threats mounting in the West, it may be increasingly likely that European governments will sign onto this high-pressure campaign in at least some capacity. If that turns out to be the case, many Middle East experts foresee further escalations in Irans domestic unrest. But the MEK would no doubt emphasize that this trend is already underway, and that the organized Iranian Resistance movement is guiding it. In March of this year, Maryam Rajavi, the NCRI president-elect, looked back on the nationwide uprising from the perspective of the Iranian New Year celebration of Nowruz and declared publicly that the year ahead could be made into a year full of uprisings. This, she said, would lead in turn to the ultimate victory of the Iranian people over the clerical regime. It is a message that has been tacitly endorsed by the Trump administration in the US, which recognizes Iranian fingerprints on all major regional crisis and many threats to American national security. It now remains to be seen whether the nations of Europe will similarly endorse that message in the wake of multiple terror threats inside their borders, primarily targeting the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran. Overview On September 26, 2018 We filed trademark applications covering: LOS ANGELES, CA, Nov. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KAIYADRU Pharmaceutical preparations, namely, pharmaceutical preparations for the treatment of diseases and disorders of the alimentary tract and metabolism, and blood and blood forming organs; pharmaceutical preparations for the treatment of diseases and disorders of the cardiovascular system, musculoskeletal system, central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, genitourinary system and respiratory system; and pharmaceutical preparations for the treatment of dermatological, hormonal, infectious, viral and oncological diseases and disorders About KAIYADRU Word Mark KAIYADRU Goods and Services IC 005. US 006 018 044 046 051 052. G & S: Pharmaceutical preparations, namely, pharmaceutical preparations for the treatment of diseases and disorders of the alimentary tract and metabolism, and blood and blood forming organs; pharmaceutical preparations for the treatment of diseases and disorders of the cardiovascular system, musculoskeletal system, central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, genitourinary system and respiratory system; and pharmaceutical preparations for the treatment of dermatological, hormonal, infectious, viral and oncological diseases and disorders Standard Characters Claimed Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK Serial Number 88133141 Filing Date September 26, 2018 We intend to submit patent applications for formulation, synthetic process and reconstitution related to our KAIYADRU drug product candidate, although there is no assurance that we will be successful in obtaining such patent protection. Independently from potential patent protection, we believe KAIYADRU will qualify for Orphan Drug status, which could entitle us to market exclusivity of up to 7 and 10 years from the date of approval of a New Drug Application (NDA) and Marketing Authorization (MA), in the US and the European Union (EU), respectively. However, there can be no assurance that such status will be granted. Separately, the FDA may also grant market exclusivity of up to five years for newly approved new chemical entities (of which KAIYADRU would be one), but there can be no assurance that such exclusivity will be granted or, if granted, for how long. Under the Code of Federal Regulations Title 21, Volume 5 Revised as of April 1, 2017 CITE: 21CFR312.20 TITLE 21--FOOD AND DRUGS CHAPTER I--FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SUBCHAPTER D--DRUGS FOR HUMAN USE Subpart B--Investigational New Drug Application (IND) Sec. 312.20 Requirement for an IND. (a) A sponsor shall submit an IND to FDA if the sponsor intends to conduct a clinical investigation with an investigational new drug that is subject to 312.2(a). (b) A sponsor shall not begin a clinical investigation subject to 312.2(a) until the investigation is subject to an IND which is in effect in accordance with 312.40. (c) A sponsor shall submit a separate IND for any clinical investigation involving an exception from informed consent under 50.24 of this chapter. Such a clinical investigation is not permitted to proceed without the prior written authorization from FDA. FDA shall provide a written determination 30 days after FDA receives the IND or earlier [52 FR 8831, Mar. 19, 1987, as amended at 61 FR 51529, Oct. 2, 1996; 62 FR 32479, June 16, 1997 Upcoming Milestones: We expect to file an IND application and an application with the (MAA). The company expects to file its IND with the FDA and its application with the MAA for KAIYADRU. The filings will be based on the results of the randomized clinical trial of which has yet to commence. Risk Associated with Our Business As a preclinical stage pharmaceutical company, our business and ability to execute our business strategy are subject to a number of risks of which you should be aware before you decide to buy our securities. In particular, you should consider the following risks, which are discussed more fully in the section entitled Risk Factors: we currently do not have regulatory approval for our lead drug candidate, KAIYADRU, or any other product candidates, in the United States or elsewhere, although we plan to conduct clinical trials in the United States for KAIYADRU and other drug candidates in the future, there is no assurance that we will be successful in our clinical trials or receive regulatory approval in a timely manner, or at all. Our lead drug candidate, KAIYADRU, is not the subject of any patent protection, and, although we intend to apply for formulation and method-of-use patents for KAIYADRU, there is no assurance that we will be successful in obtaining such patents unforeseen side effects from any of our product candidate KAIYADRU could arise either during clinical development. we do not currently carry product liability insurance covering any of our drug candidates and, although we intend to obtain product liability insurance for future clinical trial liability that we may incur, there can be no assurance that we will secure adequate coverage or that, even if we do so, any such coverage will be sufficient to prevent the exposure of our operations to significant potential liability in the future; We have incurred significant losses since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future. We may never achieve or maintain profitability. We depend almost entirely on the success of our lead product candidate, KAIYADRU, which is still in early pre-clinical development. We cannot be certain that we will be able to initiate clinical trials for, successfully complete the clinical development of, obtain regulatory approval for, or successfully commercialize KAIYADRU We will require additional capital to fund our operations. Failure to obtain additional capital may force us to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development efforts or require us to enter into unfavorable financing or licensing terms. Our independent registered public accounting firm has included an explanatory paragraph relating to our ability to continue as a going concern in its report on our audited financial statements included in this prospectus. Our lead product candidate, KAIYADRU, is designed to be administered with other therapies, which may result in unforeseen side effects or failures in our clinical trials. Additionally, if the other therapies are limited in their commercial availability or removed from the market, we may be unable to successfully complete development and commercialization of our product candidates. We may rely on a number of collaborations with third parties, and if they do not adequately perform their obligations, we may not realize the commercial benefits of these arrangements and our results of operations may be materially harmed. The pre-clinical and commercial landscape for Cancer is highly competitive and subject to rapid and significant technological change. Competitive products for treatment of may reduce or eliminate the commercial opportunity for our product candidates. If our competitors develop technologies or product candidates more rapidly than we do or their technologies are more effective, our ability to develop and successfully commercialize our products may be adversely affected. we have never commercialized any of our drug candidates, including KAIYADRU, and, even if approved, our drug candidates may not be accepted by healthcare providers or healthcare payors; and we may be unable to maintain and protect our intellectual property assets, which could impair the advancement of our pipeline and commercial opportunities. third parties may claim that the manufacture, use or sale of our technologies infringe their intellectual property rights. As with any litigation where such claims may be asserted, we may have to seek licenses, defend infringement actions or challenge the validity of those patents in the patent office or the courts. If these are not resolved favorably, we may not be able to continue to develop and commercialize our product candidates. We may not have identified, or be able to identify in the future, U.S. or foreign patents that pose a risk of potential infringement claims; We are dependent on the principal members of our board and management and will need to recruit a significant number of additional personnel in order to achieve our operating goals. If we are unable to retain and motivate our current executives and advisors or attract and recruit additional personnel, our ability to develop and successfully commercialize our product may be adversely affected. our short-to-medium term prospects depend largely on our ability to develop and commercialize one drug candidate, KAIYADRU, and our ability to generate revenues in the future will depend heavily on the successful development and commercialization of KAIYADRU; If we are unable to obtain or protect intellectual property rights related to our product candidates, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets. A Fast Track Designation by FDA may not actually lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process. We plan to seek and receive Fast Track Designation for KAIYADRU and we may seek Fast Track Designation for some of our other product candidates. If a drug is intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition and the drug demonstrates the potential to address unmet medical needs for this condition, the drug sponsor may apply for Fast Track Designation. FDA has broad discretion whether or not to grant this designation, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible for this designation, we cannot assure you that FDA would decide to grant it. We may never obtain FDA approval for any of our product candidates in the United States, and even if we do, we may never obtain approval for or commercialize any of our product candidates in any other jurisdiction, which would limit our ability to realize their full market potential. In order to eventually market any of our product candidates in any particular foreign jurisdiction, we must establish and comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis regarding safety and efficacy. Approval by FDA in the United States, if obtained, does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions. In addition, clinical trials conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries, and regulatory approval in one country does not guarantee regulatory approval in any other country. Approval processes vary among countries and can involve additional product testing and validation and additional administrative review periods. Seeking foreign regulatory approval could result in difficulties and costs for us and require additional preclinical studies or clinical trials which could be costly and time-consuming. Regulatory requirements can vary widely from country to country and could delay or prevent the introduction of our products in those countries. The foreign regulatory approval process involves all of the risks associated with FDA approval. We do not have any product candidates approved for sale in any jurisdiction, including international markets, and we do not have experience in obtaining regulatory approval in international markets. If we fail to comply with regulatory requirements in international markets or to obtain and maintain required approvals, or if regulatory approvals in international markets are delayed, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of our products will be unrealized. A purchase of any Shares is an investment in the Companys common stock and involves a high degree of risk. Investors should consider carefully the following information about these risks, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before the purchase of the Shares. If any of the following risks actually occur, the business, financial condition or results of operations of the Company would likely suffer. In this case, the market price of the common stock could decline, and investors may lose all or part of the money they paid to buy the Shares. International Regulation In addition to regulations in the United States, there are a variety of foreign regulations governing clinical studies and commercial sales and distribution of our current and future product candidates. Whether or not FDA approval is obtained for a product, approval of a product must be obtained by the comparable regulatory authorities of foreign countries, or jurisdictions such as the EU, before clinical studies or marketing of the product can commence in those countries. The approval process varies from country to country, and the time may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA approval. The requirements governing the conduct of clinical studies, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary greatly from country to country. In addition, certain regulatory authorities may require us to repeat previously conducted preclinical and/or clinical studies under specific criteria for approval in their respective country or jurisdictions, which may delay and/or increase the cost of approval in certain markets targeted for approval by us. About Hoverink Biotechnologies We are an innovative preclinical biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery development, manufacturing and commercializing its product candidates. Our principal executive offices are located at:1801 Century Park East., 24th Floor Los Angeles, California 90067 our tele is :866-443-4666 Our website address is in beta at www.hoverinkbiotech.yolasite.com . Our email is info@hoverink.net This press release contains references to our trademarks and to trademarks belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus, including logos, artwork, and other visual displays, may appear without the or symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the rights of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies trade names or trademarks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies. Except where the context requires otherwise, in this prospectus Company, Hoverink, we, us and our refer to Hoverink Biotechnologies, Inc.Certain of the statements made in this press release are forward looking, such as those, among others, relating to the companys expectations for seeking regulatory approval and commercial launch of its products, including any conditional marketing authorization from the EMA, initiation of future clinical trials, data availability from ongoing and future clinical trials, and the companys expectations for its 2017 financial outlook. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected or implied in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference include risks that the company may experience delays in the completion of its clinical trial (whether caused by competition, adverse events, patient enrollment rates, regulatory issues or other factors); risks that data from its clinical trials may not be indicative of subsequent clinical trial results; risks related to the safety and efficacy of the companys product candidates, the goals of its development activities, estimates of the potential markets for its product candidates, estimates of the capacity of manufacturing and other facilities required to support its product candidates, projected cash needs, and expected financial results. More information about the risks and uncertainties faced by Hoverink Biotechnologies, Inc. is contained in the companys periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Hoverink Biotechnologies, Inc. disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. VANCOUVER, B.C., Nov. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Conifex Timber Inc. (TSX: CFF) (Conifex) announced today that it is temporarily curtailing sawmill operations at its Fort St. James, British Columbia sawmill for a two-week period commencing Monday, November 12, 2018, due primarily to log costs and current lumber market conditions. An additional two-week curtailment is planned around the Christmas period, resulting in a total reduction of approximately 15% of Conifexs BC lumber production for the quarter. We have made the difficult decision to temporarily curtail our Fort St. James sawmill in Q4 due to the combined impact of increasing log costs, deteriorating log quality as the availability of commercially viable mountain pine beetle timber reaches an end, falling lumber prices, and punitive lumber export duty impositions, said Ken Shields, Chair and CEO. We are working on a priority basis to position Fort St. James for long term sustainable production in the lower lumber price, higher log cost environment we envisage for the balance of 2018 and 2019 and will be seeking to mitigate the impacts on our employees as much as possible. For further information, please contact: Media Contact: Sandy Ferguson VP Corporate Affairs and Business Development (778) 385-2750, Sandy.ferguson@conifex.com Investor Contact: Yuri Lewis Chief Financial Officer (778)-331-8687 yuri.lewis@conifex.com About Conifex Timber Inc. Conifex and its subsidiaries' primary business currently includes timber harvesting, reforestation, forest management, sawmilling logs into lumber and wood chips, and value added lumber finishing and distribution. Conifex's lumber products are sold in the United States, Chinese, Canadian and Japanese markets. Conifex has expanded its operations to include bioenergy production following the commencement of commercial operations of its power generation facility at Mackenzie, BC. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements, including statements about Conifexs lumber production. Forward-looking statements are statements that address or discuss activities, events or developments that Conifex expects or anticipates may occur in the future. When used in this news release, words such as estimates, expects, plans, anticipates, projects, will, believes, intends should, could, may and other similar terminology are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations and beliefs of Conifex's management. Because forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, actual results, performance or achievements of Conifex and its industry may be materially different from those implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant uncertainties, should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be an accurate indication of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including lumber price volatility and availability and cost of log supply and other risks described in Conifex's 2017 AIF, available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. These risks, as well as others, could cause actual results and events to vary significantly. Accordingly, readers should exercise caution in relying upon forward-looking statements and Conifex undertakes no obligation to publicly revise them to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law. As soon as I hear the word 'techie', I feel an emotion-cocktail of frustration and despair, with a sprinkling of betrayal. Subdued through repetition this negative response may be, its nevertheless a call to action. A call to protect the techies (myself included), and a requirement to be vigilant about the state of the project. I recall decades ago reading a 'red-top' newspaper in the UK called "The Sun", and whenever it talked about a scientific matter (rarely), it would refer to the scientists as 'boffins'. It was a mechanism to dehumanise this class of people, so that the fact that they are clever and coming up with ideas, doesnt matter on a personal level. Theyre not like you and me and were not inferior to them - in need of being challenged on our life-choices - as these people are simply just boffins! So it goes with techies. This is a bunch of people who just love to geek out and play with computers. Just make sure youve got adults in the room to shepherd them and to talk to them on your behalf. Theres a knack to it. Its not simply the insidious dehumanisation and the patronising that bothers me - which to be fair, is a human condition - rather its the attempted commoditisation of what is a highly specialised trade. When you trivialise a trade, you make the trades-people interchangeable. This isnt a them-vs-us thing, because inside of our collective profession, we regularly do it to ourselves. Theres a destructive pattern inside of Agile software development of squashing individualism. Devs cant be trusted to work solo, so pair them up. Devs cant be trusted to think holistically about the problem at hand, so each 'story' needs to be written child-like. We demand TDD, a convoluted code-review and branch process, and antipatterns such as 'the big ball of mud' terrify us, so we must insist on nano-sized microservices to promote code shared ownership and polyglot diversity, so that each service can be rewritten at any time in any language, and no single developer can possibly ever become a bottleneck. This is at the grass-roots level. The problem gets worse when the 'scrum masters' are landed, promoting slogans such as 'my job is to make myself redundant' and 'I want to create self-organising teams', and then they do the exact opposite. Im not sure who coined the term 'story drones', but it neatly portrays what is so common on large projects with all the trimmings of project managers, business analysts, iteration managers, architects, and then finally the developers. In the morning a soul-crushed developer will be paired up with another - perhaps using 'pair stairs' - then will be given a story of 2-3 velocity points worth, will have a 'story huddle' with all the senior project cast, will have a coffee to take a breath, will open the JIRA ticket and read the acceptance criteria, will have another huddle to correct the assumptions made in the first huddle, will correct the JIRA ticket, will go to lunch, will get another coffee, will glance at the build monitors, then will finally start engaging in 'ping pong' TDD, where one person writes the unit-test, and the other makes the test pass. Later, a solo developer will refactor most of it. Whats the solution? We could start by giving up on the dream of developers all being equal in ability, who can then be traded as commodities. Developers have different strengths - some are fantastic systems thinkers, some are drawn towards architecture, and others possess a laser focus on delivery. Some are better at communicating, whilst some just want to think deeply about the problem and to ponder every edge case. If developers are recognised as individuals and emboldened with trust and freedom, then they will play to their strengths to give an overall multiplying effect. We can embrace individualism rather than chasing it away, by celebrating and raising up the role of the software developer. - Maine Mendoza and Arjo Atayde were spotted together once again - The rumored showbiz couple was seen together at Karpos Live Concert - Netizens were convinced that they are indeed dating PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed! After some online rumors about Maine Mendoza and Kapamilya actor Arjo Atayde surfaced, pictures of them together in some public places also made rounds online. The Kapuso TV host and Kapamilya actor were spotted in a concert last November 8 in Quezon City. Maine was seen in striped top while arjo was in dark polo shirt with a red cap. There are also video clips showing the them and posters of Karpos Live 3.3 were also visible. According to a report by Pep, the concert was held at Vertis Tent, Vertis North, sa Quezon City. Some netizens posted their pictures on social media showing the same background in the concert venue. Among the performers on the said concert were the American pop group na Cigarettes After S3x and the famous local band Up Dharma Down. PAY ATTENTION: Using free basics app to access internet for free? Now you can read KAMI news there too. Use the search option to find us. Read KAMI news while saving your data! Arjo and Maine were first spotted in a restaurant in Quezon City last month. They were also spotted in a bar in Bonifacio Global City days after. It is also said that they were together in Bali, Indonesia but there were no pictures of them together. Meanwhile, netizens were quite convinced that Arjo and Maine were indeed dating. Maine Mendoza is a Filipino celebrity known for hosting, acting, a product endorser and also writes songs. She rose to fame for her viral Dubsmash videos which made her land a ole as Yaya Dub in the noontime variety show Eat Bulaga!'s "Kalyeserye" segment. She was teamed up with Alden Richards and formed the phenomenal love team called "AlDub." Arjo Atayde rose to prominence with his antagonist roles in TV Series. Among those most notable was his portrayal of Joaquin Tuazon in FPJ's Ang Probinsyano. This led to many more TV projects like Francisco "Paco" Alipio in television drama series Hanggang Saan. POPULAR: Read more about Maine Mendoza here Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! Filipinos Answer Funny Tricky Questions Tagalog: Who Is Neil Armstrong? | HumanMeter Do you think you can answer them correctly? These individuals from the Philippines have their answers! Click Play and find out the answers to these tricky questions from the Tagalog speakers Source: Kami.com.ph NEW YORK, Nov. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Tribune Media Company (Tribune or the Company) (NYSE: TRCO). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980. The investigation concerns whether Tribune and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here to join a class action] In May 2017, Tribune and Sinclair Broadcasting Group, Inc. (Sinclair) announced a prospective merger of the two companies (the Merger). On July 16, 2018, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai issued a statement expressing serious concerns about the Merger. In particular, Chairman Pai stated that certain station divestitures that have been proposed to the FCC would allow Sinclair to control those stations in practice, even if not in name, in violation of the law. Chairman Pais statement signaled that Sinclair was not agreeing to the regulatory requirements necessary to complete the Merger, although Tribune had discussed these station divestitures repeatedly in its public filings since the May 2017 announcement of the Merger. On this news, Tribunes stock price fell $6.44, or 16.7%, to close at $32.12 on July 16, 2018. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com. CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com 888-476-6529 ext. 9980 Family members and allies of two former Thai leaders announced formation of a new political party this week. The party was launched Wednesday in Bangkok. Its leaders are relatives and supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra and his sister Yingluck Shinawatra. Each served as Thailands prime minister in recent years until they were ousted. Formation of the new Thai Raksa Chart Party comes months before planned general elections. Thailands military government has promised to hold the vote between February and May 2019. Thailands last general election was held in 2011, when Yingluck Shinawatra, head of the Pheu Thai Party, was chosen as prime minister. She and her government were ousted from power in 2014. Thaksin Shinawatra was overthrown when the military seized power in 2006. Since then, he has lived in self-imposed exile. In 2008, a Thai court found Thaksin guilty of violating the countrys anti-corruption law. He never returned to Thailand to his trial, which he said was carried out for political reasons. He faces separate corruption charges brought in 2008 and 2012. Yingluck Shinawatra fled Thailand in August 2017 just before a court found her guilty of criminal negligence. She was given a five-year jail sentence. Like her brother, she did not attend her trial. The 2019 elections will put supporters of Thailands military and ruling family against populist forces led by the Pheu Thai Party. Political observers see the formation of the new party as part of an alliance aimed at winning more seats in the vote. The Thai Raksa Chart party will be led by Preechapol Pongpanich, a former member of parliament with the Pheu Thai Party. The leadership includes Thaksin and Yinglucks nephew and niece, as well as a younger generation of political allies. Parties linked to the Shinawatras have won every Thai election in recent years. The family still remains popular in many areas, especially in the rural northeastern provinces. But the military governments new constitution effectively limits the number of constituency seats in provinces where the Shinawatras have enjoyed support. The military has said the constitutional changes are aimed at limiting the power of major political parties. The military government has ordered Thailands Election Commission to investigate whether Thaksin is still controlling the Pheu Thai Party. Findings of that investigation could result in the party being banned. Former army chief and current Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has expressed interest in entering politics. But he has yet to say if he plans to compete as a candidate in the next elections. Im Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. His story is based on reports from Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Gerge Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story negligence n. failure to take the care that a responsible person usually takes constituency n. an area of a country that elects someone to represent it in the government, or the people who live there niece n. a daughter of ones brother, sister, a brother-in-law or sister-in-law nephew n. a son of ones brother, sister, a brother-in-law or sister-in-law impose v. to order or establish; to bring about by force Scientists have identified what they say is the oldest known drawing of an animal. The scientists say the red image of a bull was found on the wall of a cave on the island of Borneo. They believe the picture is at least 40,000 years old. Until a few years ago, experts believed that Europe was where human ancestors first made drawings of animals and other things. The earliest drawings of animals have been dated to between 33,500 and 37,000 years ago. They were found inside a cave in Chauvet, France. A report on the Borneo cave drawing was published in the journal Nature. The picture of the red bull and other discoveries in Southeast Asia suggest that figurative drawing appeared in both continents about the same time. The limestone caves on Borneo have been known to contain prehistoric drawings since the 1990s. Maxime Aubert is an archaeologist and geochemist with Griffith University in Australia. He and his team had to cut a path through thick jungle on the Indonesian side of Borneo to reach the cave. They walked and sometimes had to crawl on their hands and knees through a series of caves. They reported finding hundreds of ancient designs on the walls of the caves. To find the age of the images, they needed to collect mineral deposits from the drawings. They used scientific instruments to measure decay, or break-down, of the element uranium. Aubert and the researchers reported in 2014 on cave art from the neighboring Indonesian island of Sulawesi. They dated the designs by blowing red particles to capture the image of a hand pressed against rock. Scientific tests dated the image to almost 40,000 years ago. Now, with the Borneo cave art, the scientists are able to create an estimated time line of how art developed in the area. In addition to the red bull, which is about 1.5 meters wide, they dated red- and purple-colored designs of hands and paintings of human images. Scientists say Borneo was still connected to mainland Southeast Asia when the first drawings were made about 40,000 years ago. That was also about the time that modern humans arrived in Europe. The researchers say they are planning to dig further to learn more about the people who made these drawings. A few dig sites have already been identified. They are said to contain human bones, prehistoric jewelry and remains of small animals. As for the red bull, Aubert said, We think it wasnt just food for them it meant something special. I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. The Associated Press reported this story. Hai Do adapted this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story drawing - n. a picture, image, etc.. that is made by making lines on a surface cave - n. a large hole that was formed by natural process in the side of a hill or underground figurative - adj. showing people and things in a way that resembles how they look The crash of a Lion Air plane last month has brought attention to the airlines safety record as well as airline industry growth in Indonesia. All 189 passengers and crew members were killed in the crash of flight JT 610. The plane crashed into the sea not long after takeoff from the Jakarta airport. Just before the crash, the pilot asked to return to the airport. An accident investigator and a flight tracking website reported that the aircraft had some problems on its previous flight. Its airspeed readings were not dependable. On Monday, investigators said the flight data recorder from the Boeing 737 Max 8 plane showed its airspeed indicator had been damaged during its final four flights. Boeing said on Wednesday it had sent a message to airlines reminding pilots about procedures for dealing with incorrect data from sensors. The United States Federal Aviation Administration also issued an order calling for changes on how pilots should react in such a situation. Demand for air travel The Lion Air crash demonstrates some of the difficulties that carriers in developing countries face. They must keep up with demand for air travel, while also aiming for established safety rules. With 129 million passengers in 2017, Indonesia is the worlds 10th-largest aviation market. It is expected to only continue growing. In the past 10 years, the numbers of domestic passengers there have grown three times higher, thanks to a combination of low ticket prices and increased personal incomes. The United Nations aviation agency reported the growth has been met with an air-accident rate that was two times the worldwide average in 2017. The accident rate in Indonesia is also higher than its neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Indonesian pilots are permitted to fly up to 110 hours each month. Many countries set the limit at 100 hours. Boeing reported last year that, around the world, a total of seven commercial planes had been damaged beyond repair. Two were in Indonesia. Neither was a Lion Air plane, however. Lion Air has expanded quickly since it started flying in 2000. The privately owned carrier captured more than half of Indonesias domestic market. It started offering flights to Thailand and Malaysia. It now flies more passengers than the national carrier Garuda Indonesia. Safety standards In April 2013, a Lion Air Boeing 737 missed the runway on the Indonesian resort island of Bali in bad weather. It went into the sea and crashed on the rocks. All 108 on board survived. But a 2014 report by Indonesias air crash investigators said the 24-year-old co-pilot had failed to follow the basic principles of jet aircraft flying. In 2007, the European Union (EU) barred all 100 of Indonesias airlines from flying to its airports. Most of the countrys airlines are very small. The ban was lifted in 2009 for the national carrier Garuda Indonesia. The EU removed Lion Air from the ban in 2016. The rest of the airlines all came off the list in June of this year. Chappy Hakim is a former air force chief of staff and advisor to the Indonesian transport ministry. He told Reuters that he avoided flying with Lion Air or other Indonesian airlines. He only flies Garuda, which has not had a deadly crash since 2007. I know Garuda, he said. The other airlines, I dont believe they do the maintenance and training properly. Lion Air Managing Director Daniel Putut disputed any question in connection to the carriers safety culture. He said Lion Air followed the planes usual maintenance. The Indonesian aviation authority did not answer Reuters requests for comment about Lion Airs safety record. Developing a safety culture Putut, a former pilot, told Reuters that Lion Air had worked hard to develop a safety culture after the Bali crash in 2013. He said thousands of Lion Air flights had taken off and landed without serious problems until last month. Frank Caron served as Lion Airs safety manager from 2009 to 2011. He said he was troubled at that time by what he called the airlines attitude about safety. For example, after the 2013 Bali crash, Lion Air co-founder Rusdi Kirana told local media asking about the airlines safety record, If we are seen to have many accidents, its because of our frequency of flights. After the Bali crash, investigators recommended that Lion Air should make sure that all pilots must be competent in hand-flying. They also suggested teaching correct coordination for pilots and co-pilots. They also urged the aviation authority to make sure all of the countrys carriers did the same. Putut said Lion Air fully accepted those recommendations. I'm Dorothy Gundy. Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on Reuters news reports. Ashley Thompson was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story indicator - n. a device that shows a measurement aviation - n. the business of flying domestic - adj. of or relating to your own country income - n. money that is earned from work or investment principle - n. a basic truth maintenance - n. the act of keeping equipment in good condition by making repairs, correcting problems, etc. frequency - n. the number of times that something happens during a particular period competent - adj. having the necessary ability or skill coordination - n. the process of organizing people or groups so that they work together properly and well United States President Donald Trump said on Friday he has signed an order to deny asylum to migrants who enter the country illegally. We need people in our country but they have to come in legally Trump said. He spoke as he was leaving for Paris to attend observances of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. The president signed the order as groups of Central American migrants travel to the U.S. border with Mexico. Many are fleeing violence in their homelands. It is not known if the large group plans to illegally cross the border. The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, and several other rights groups immediately brought legal action against the order in a federal court in California. ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said Trumps order ignores immigration law passed by Congress to provide asylum to those in danger. The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act says a migrant is permitted to make a claim for asylum up to one year after arriving in the U.S. The law does not set a condition on how they arrive illegally or through a border crossing. Officials from the Trump administration said the order is meant to force asylum seekers to go through official border crossings. The legal ports of entry along the southern border already have long lines of people. In 2017, the U.S. received more than 330,000 asylum claims. That number is the highest in the world and nearly double the number from two years earlier. Additionally, U.S. immigration courts have a list of more than 800,000 claims that are being considered for approval. Officials said people who are denied asylum may be permitted to receive a similar form of protection if they fear returning to their countries. But they would be subject to higher requirements. The protection is called withholding of removal. It does not permit migrants to receive green cards or to bring family members. Officials estimated that about 7,000 Central American migrants are in Mexico heading to the U.S. They are mainly poor people and many say they are fleeing violence. It is estimated that 1,700 are children under 18, and more than 300 are children under age 5. Im Mario Ritter. Hai Do adapted this story for VOA Learning English a report by the Associated Press. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story attorney - n. a lawyer There are many things for students in the United States to consider when thinking about which college or university to attend. This includes the location of the school, whether it is in a big city or the countryside, the size of the student population, and even how well known the school is. But as the cost of U.S. higher education keeps rising, another consideration for many students is return on investment. Not all colleges and universities require a lot of money for a students education. But at some schools, students can expect to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars within the normal four-to-six year study period. If they have to spend that much, students want to know what they can expect to earn in their chosen career field. In 2013, then-U.S. President Barack Obamas administration launched an online tool to help students decide which college or university to attend. It is a Department of Education-operated website called College Scorecard. The department created the website as a database for all kinds of information on schools across the country. It lists information on yearly costs, average student debt, completion rates and expected job earnings. The Obama administration put all this data in one place as a way of providing answers to questions about higher education. We know students and families often feel they lack the tools to decide which school is right for them, noted then-Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Critics raised questions about whether the data treated all schools fairly and whether it was helping some schools, but not others. Some were concerned that the website was designed only for students receiving financial aid from the federal government. And others argued that the data failed to demonstrate the student experience at some schools. But generally speaking, College Scorecard has been a useful tool for Americans wanting to make informed decisions about higher education. So says Kaitlyn Vitez, higher education campaign director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. The group, also known as U.S. PIRG, is an alliance of activist non-profit organizations across the country and in Canada. A major change to the 'College Scorecard' Recently, the administration of President Donald Trump made a change to the College Scorecard that critics say limits its usefulness. In September, the Department of Education removed all the national median data from the website. The national median data provided the national average for any of the qualities and groupings listed on the College Scorecard. For example, if users looked at the debt they could expect to take on from studying at a given school, they would also see the overall average for all the schools in the system. This gave students at least some kind of general comparison when weighing costs and expected results, said U.S. PIRGs Kaitlyn Vitez. She added that without this information, students might not be able to tell if a school is successfully serving students as well as others. Vitez noted there are other ways for comparing the return on investment from colleges and universities. But some publications give more attention to schools that are well-known and respected, but not necessarily the best value. Vitez said the current administration would want to limit this kind of information because of its support for for-profit higher education. The Obama administration took legal action against several for-profit schools, accusing them of wrongdoing. Vitez said the current Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, has taken steps to remove rules that she considers harmful to the for-profit higher education industry. This includes announcing plans to cancel a rule requiring schools to ensure that their graduates find good-paying jobs. Vitez told VOA, If were not going to be holding these schools accountable for all those really important metrics, and were also not going to show that some of the schools are not a good choice for students, that doesnt serve the public interest. But the Department of Education argues that the national median data has serious problems and is not that clear. In a written statement, a department spokesperson noted that the national medians were established with data from every school receiving federal money. The official argued it is unfair to compare all schools with the same measures, as many colleges and universities are very different in important ways. For example, a selective school that serves mostly wealthy students will have different outcomes than a school that mainly serves poor communities. Comparing these two types of institutions is meaningless, the spokesperson wrote. Institutional selectivity has a significant impact on institutional outcomes, and therefore the most appropriate comparisons are between institutions that serve similar students and have similar admissions criteria. Who the remove of national medians affects However, even some supporters of Secretary DeVos and her efforts find the change in the College Scorecard troubling. Daniel Elkins is the legislative director for the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States. His organization represents the interests of thousands of members of the U.S. armed forces. Elkins says his group was pleased with recent actions by DeVos, including the plan to remove the employment guarantee rule. He argues it does not correctly punish all the schools guilty of underserving their students. However, he said, the removal of national median data is a move in the complete opposite direction from where the department should be heading. Elkins notes that many armed forces members who seek a college or university education are non-traditional students. This means they are likely the first in their families to go college and may have little money of their own. He noted that their families may not be able to help them financially or have experience with higher education. The U.S. military offers financial aid for education to some of its members. But many of them often need to take out loans to help pay for college. Elkins and Vitez agree any lack of knowledge can lead them to borrowing from bad lenders or attending bad schools. And the special tools the military uses to help members find good schools depend on information from College Scorecard, including national medians. If you do not have anything to compare it to, you dont understand whats out there, said Elkins. Then you have to compare multiple graphs, multiple charts, and try and figure out an average on your own. In October, Elkins organization released a joint statement with several other military veterans groups. They asked the Department of Education to return national medians to the College Scorecard by mid-November. The information has yet to return to the website. Im Pete Musto. And Im Dorothy Gundy. Pete Musto reported this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. What do you think is the most important information a person needs when they choose a college or university to attend? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Quiz Quiz - US National Average Data Removed from College Scorecard Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story graduate(s) n. a person who has earned a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university accountable adj. required to be responsible for something metric(s) n. a system or standard of measurement selective adj. careful to choose only the best people or things institution(s) n. an established organization impact n. a powerful or major influence or effect appropriate adj. right or suited for some purpose or situation criteria n. something that is used as a reason for making a judgment or decision graph(s) n. a drawing that uses a series of dots or lines to show how much or how quickly something changes chart(s) n. information in the form of a table or diagram In villages and towns in many places in Europe, Sunday will have a special importance. The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month will mark 100 years since the end of World War I. That war affected almost all of Europe and many places around the world. It resulted in the collapse of three European empires and cost tens of millions of lives. The conflict was so large that people at the time could not imagine another war. They called it The War to End All Wars. The area called Le Chene Tondu is deep in the Argonne Forest. It still signs of the fighting. German soldiers dug long narrow holes there in a last effort against allied forces including Americans. Randy Gaulke has researched the American military history of World War I. He has studied how American forces helped bring an end to the war. He points to many remains that can be found in the Argonne Forest from that time. The Americans would have been coming up from the other side, the 28th Divisionthe Pennsylvanians, would have been coming up, trying to get a foothold on this plateau. On high ground in the area, there is a burial place for German soldiers. The conflict caused a huge loss of life. More than eight-million armed forces alone were killed. However, unlike France, German territory was not damaged in World War I. William Philpott is a professor of military history at Kings College London. He said Germany did not receive the heavy bombing that it would face in World War II. The allied powers negotiated several peace treaties after the war, yet they left Europe dangerously unbalanced. Philpott notes that Europe lost ruling families of three major areas: the Romanovs in Russia, the Hapsburgs in Austria-Hungary and the Hohenzollerns in Germany. Under the peace treaties, Germany was forced to make huge payments to France, its colonies were taken away and its territory divided. The result brought economic crisis and anger that aided the rise of Adolf Hitler. Philpott said that when the Nazi Party came to power in Germany it stopped making payments to France. It also refused to observe disarmament requirements under the Treaty of Versailles which ended World War I. World War II resulted in an even larger loss of life than in World War I and the destruction of much of Germanys industrial areas. The country was split into West Germany, which was controlled by the allies, and East Germany, which was controlled by the Soviet Union. German historian Markus Klauer said West Germany worked to overcome its problems after the war. We had the chance to rebuild everything from scratch. So, in the 1960s and 70s, we had the great advantage to have a powerful industry once more." Philpott said, in time, Germany developed into an important force bringing Europe together. In 1989, the two Germanies united to form Europes largest country. The nation also worked closely with France and other nations to develop what would become the European Union. The international institutions created since the 1950s which have led to the European Union, have allowed Germany to exercise influence, financial power, economic strength, in a much more benign way, he said. Klauer said the nation learned a great deal from the experiences of conflict. We learned the lessons out of these two world wars that no nation in Europe can stand alone, he said. Im Mario Ritter. Henry Ridgewell reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story empire n. a group of countries or regions that are controlled by one ruler or one government plateau n. a large flat area of land that is higher than other areas of land around it from scratch -expression a point at which nothing has been done yet advantage n. something that helps to make something or someone better allow v. permit institution n. an established organization benign adj. not causing harm or damage We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 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 Tension over looming recounts in three statewide elections spilled into the courts and streets of South Florida Friday as candidates fighting for their political lives lobbed allegations of fraud and voter disenfranchisement. Judges from Fort Lauderdale to Tallahassee weighed lawsuits that could influence the outcome of tight races for U.S. Senate, governor and agriculture commissioner. Thousands of ballots remained uncounted following an election that saw more than 8 million people vote. And protesters clashed in Broward County as the nations most embattled elections supervisor scrambled to transmit to the state by noon Saturday every vote cast. Bad things have gone on in Broward County, President Donald Trump told the White House press corps. Really bad things. Trump played the recount instigator all day Friday as Republican candidates watched the not-quite-final vote tallies trickle in to the states Division of Elections. By the evening, Gov. Rick Scott was ahead of Sen. Bill Nelson by 14,848 votes in the race for Nelsons Senate seat, and former congressman Ron DeSantis was ahead of Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by 36,002 in the race for governor. All of Floridas 67 elections supervisors must transmit unofficial results by noon Saturday to Secretary of State Ken Detzner, who will review the data and determine whether any races are in need of automatic recounts. Regardless, the governors race appears headed for a mandatory machine recount, and the races for Senate and commissioner of agriculture will likely need recounts done by hand. With the nationally watched elections so close, every vote matters. And the campaigns are fighting over every ballot before the states 67 canvassing boards appointed bodies that review local elections and pore over problematic ballots and judges in state and federal court. Attorneys for Scott, who accused elections supervisors in Broward and Palm Beach of voter fraud Thursday without presenting any evidence, were in courtrooms in both counties prosecuting lawsuits that could influence the election. In Broward, Scott forced elections supervisor Brenda Snipes to turn over data related to the number and type of ballots cast and the number of ballots yet to be counted by Friday evening. In Palm Beach, Scott won an order demanding that Supervisor Susan Bucher provide any ballots discarded by her staff to the countys canvassing board for review, and that she turn over a list of voters who filed provisional ballots. Click here to read more. News Horrifying videos show how negligence leads to road accidents in Abu Dhabi Stressing the importance of concerted efforts by all government and private entities to secure the safety of road users and guarantee their right to life, the Abu Dhabi Police underscored their continuous interest in developing the traffic safety system in co-ordination with partners with a view to reaching the best response rates and providing logistical support for the injured. Driving a motor vehicle in South Africa can be a hazardous activity, with many people driving without insurance and an alarmingly-high level of road accidents. Arrive Alive and Justice Project South Africa (JPSA) have previously explained the benefits of fitting a dashcam to your vehicle to aid in insurance claims and deter police corruption. A dashcam is a simple dashboard-mounted camera which is powered by your cars battery and constantly records video to an SD card as you drive. If you get into an accident, the footage before and after the accident can be saved automatically if the camera has the required hardware. [For more information on dashcam hardware available in South Africa, click here.] JPSA, Arrive Alive, and Garmin all said that having a dashcam in your vehicle is a valuable asset if you ever witness or are involved in a road accident. However, there is currently no explicit incentivisation or requirements from vehicle insurers regarding the implementation of dashcams, despite the invaluable evidence they can provide when processing claims. MyBroadband spoke to OUTsurance, Discovery, and MiWay about their policies and incentives surrounding dashcams. OUTsurance OUTsurance acknowledged the value delivered by drivers with dashcams installed in their vehicles, and added that it has begun incentivising clients to install the devices in their cars. Having a dashcam installed in a vehicle can provide valuable information in the event of a dispute on who is to blame for a collision, OUTsurance head of client relations Natasha Kawulesar told MyBroadband. We have recently started offering clients who have a dashcam installed in their vehicle a discounted premium, Kawulesar said. She added that while OUTsurance has begun encouraging clients to use dashcams, the approach is still relatively new. The company said it is not able to share any other information regarding this solution at this point. MiWay MiWay told MyBroadband that it does not currently offer clients any incentives to purchase dashcams. The company added that it does not account for the presence of a dashcam when offering clients vehicle insurance. While it does not offer any incentives now, MiWay said it may consider the option in future. We will consider it if it becomes more widespread, MiWay said. Discovery MyBroadband reached out to Discovery for feedback, but the company did not respond by the time of publication. Now read: Drivers want Uber to help fight crime in South Africa E-levy is not the best of ... Chase Bank will move into the former Citibank building at the corner of Adams Street and Railroad Avenue in St. Helena. The St. Helena Planning Commission approved design review Tuesday allowing a complete remodeling of the buildings exterior and interior, including new siding, windows, roof, trash enclosure, bike lockers, landscaping, and two new ATM machines. The exterior will be finished with asphalt shingle roofing, half-round shingle siding, tongue and groove siding, board and batten siding, a small stone veneer base, and aluminum-clad windows. New gabled ends will be added to the roof, but the existing building height of 23 feet, 6 inches will remain unchanged. The removal of a 517-square-foot mezzanine will reduce the buildings square footage to 2,362 square feet. After submitting initial plans that city staff considered corporate architecture, the bank completely redesigned their plans to better reflect the context of the site and its surroundings, planner Aaron Hecock wrote in a staff report. Commissioners praised the redesign as a substantial improvement on the previous plans. The Citibank branch closed in January 2017. Assessor John Tuteur walked out of Napa County Superior Court with the cloud of possible removal from office, though not officially gone, rapidly dispelling. Judge Mark Boessenecker said hes inclined to dismiss the accusations of willful or corrupt misconduct by the 2017-18 grand jury against Tuteur. But the wording on paperwork describing the reasons for dismissal must be finalized. Boessenecker during Fridays hearing set the next court date on Nov. 19, with that hearing to be canceled if he grants the order for dismissal before then. The state Attorney Generals Office would prosecute the case to remove Tuteur from elected office, if the case moves forward. But the Attorney Generals Office last month decided not to oppose Tuteurs request for dismissal. Deputy Attorney General Caroline Chen held to that view during Fridays hearing. After leaving the courtroom Tuteur said he felt wonderful, despite the slow-motion court case conclusion. This is one of the highlights of my 40-year career, to be able to withstand unfounded accusations and show my service to the public has always been above-board, Tuteur said. Indeed, since the charges surfaced last March Tuteur has been energetic and upbeat during public appearances, whether hes addressing the Board of Supervisors on assessor matters or, as the county clerk, urging young people at a high school to vote. He hasnt looked like a man with a sword hanging over his head. Its actually been an invigorating process, Tuteur said. Before Fridays hearing, Tuteur sat on a bench in the courthouse lobby and chatted briefly with a grand jury member. The Assessors Office employee who brought the accusations against Tuteur to the grand jury watched the short court hearing. One of the grand jury charges said Tuteur in 2008 performed an assessment of his income stream from a cell tower lease on family property. That represented a conflict of interest. In addition, Tuteur made a mistake in the assessment that wasnt discovered until 2016. He then failed to pay $20,000 in back taxes, the accusation said. The Attorney Generals Office in an Oct. 19 court filing said the conflict-of-interest allegation isnt supported by evidence. Furthermore, the statute of limitation for charges involving such conduct in 2008 has run out. Evidence shows Tuteur was notified of the error and believed steps would be taken to correct it, the Attorney Generals Office filing said. The chief appraiser testified to the grand jury that Tuteur told him to do what he had to do because its passed onto my tenant, the filing said. Tuteurs defense in July said the final calculations show Tuteur owes $1,453 in back taxes, not $20,000. Tuteur on Friday said he has begun making payments. The grand jury made three other accusations against Tuteur that it said warranted removing him from office. All involved how he handles Williamson Act contracts, which provide tax breaks for agricultural land. In each case, the Attorney Generals Office concluded the evidence doesnt warrant the grand jury charge. In separate action, the grand jury in March asked the Attorney Generals Office to file a civil lawsuit against Tuteur and his family to recover approximately $20,000 in back taxes it alleged resulted from the cell tower incident, plus penalties. Tuteur on Friday said no suit has yet been filed. Tuteur served on the Board of Supervisors from 1973 to 1980. He became Assessor in 1987 and today is Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Napa-based airplane spent much of Thursday and part of Friday aiding firefighters battling the Camp Fire in Butte County. The fast-spreading Camp Fire has ravaged 70,000 acres and an estimated 2,000 structures, and injured three firefighters, according to the Cal Fire-Butte unit. The California Highway Patrol's Golden Gate Division Air Operations unit, which is based at the Napa County Airport and oversees the greater Bay Area, pitched in this week by offering up one of its planes. A two-person crew in the Air-37 plane looked for safe routes on the ground for firefighters to approach and retreat from the fire. CHP crews only fly in and around the fire when they absolutely have to, in order to avoid firefighting planes, CHP said. Also pitching in are aircraft from the CHP's Northern, Central and Valley Divisions, which oversee areas from the San Joaquin Valley to the northernmost California counties, according to the CHP Air Operations' Facebook page. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CALISTOGA Pacific Gas & Electric is still in the process of learning how to implement its Planned Safety Power Shutoff program, a company official explained during a town meeting Thursday night. Aaron Johnson, vice president of PG&Es fire and safety program, was there at the request of Napa County officials, to explain reasons for, and lessons learned from, a PSPS that left the entire town without power from Oct. 14 to Oct. 15. PSPS is a new program for the company designed to prevent the kind of wildfire disasters that occurred last October in Napa and surrounding areas. There are still some issues to work out. This is a very big deal for us and as a company we know we need to get better, and there is room for improvement and thats the spirit we come here in, Johnson said. About 70 people attended the meeting held at the local high school including residents, business owners, and local government officials, police and fire agencies, and television crews from Sacramento. Residents have complained of poor communication, slow restoration times, and argued that weather conditions didnt seem extreme enough to justify the shutoff in October. Business owners lost tens of thousands of dollars during the power shutdown, and the town made the national news, as it did during the October 2017 wildfires, as a not-safe place to visit. Its a real moment of reckoning. We know we have to do things differently. Fire risk is making (the company) think differently how to keep power flowing, and is beginning to make changes. We are on a journey and expect it to get better, Johnson said. PG&E is expanding its network of weather stations with high definition observation cameras, with a goal of 600 over the next five years. Their images will be available to first responders and residents. Johnson acknowledged that PG&E needs to work on its messaging to alert customers of safety shutoffs. The company has learned from other PSPS situations that are implemented in San Diego and Australia. There are not a lot of utilities out there doing these kinds of things, Johnson said. The largest PSPS, in San Diego, involved 19,000 customers. In Northern California, 60,000 PG&E customers were affected during the October shutoff. We are developing new practices as a utility. I know we did the right thing and prevented some fires. Im certain well have to do this again, Johnson said. The company is also expanding its vegetation management. The long-term goal is to re-build 7,100 miles of line. A PSPS is the last tool in the case, Johnson said. A lot of modeling on wind data is done beforehand, but You design them and then put it into practice and they turn out differently. Calistoga is a unique situation. Its a non-high-risk area surrounded by a high-risk area. We dont have clearly delineated circuits in Calistoga due to configuration of grid, but there are plans to rectify that, Johnson said. On Oct. 7, PG&E installed temporary generators at a substation powering the town, at a cost of about $10,000 a day, to keep Calistoga from getting caught in the net of the PSPS program. Johnson reiterated that the company will not reimburse businesses for losses during such power shutoffs. Some, like Calistoga business owner Clive Richardson, were incredulous that a 100-year-old company such as PG&E is still learning. Youre learning on the basis of our loss, he said. When the age and fragility of the lines were questioned, Johnson said it wasnt the lines themselves but things that blow into them, like branches and tarps. Questions were also raised about reasons for not putting power lines underground. The answer is cost, as underground lines are three to 10 times as expensive, Johnson said. Johnson was asked his advice for business owners as back-up generators are very expensive. He said there was no easy answer. At end of the day each business has to make its own decision. We would need to do this (PSPS) 1 or 2 times a year, he said. Business owners also brought up the question of reputation management, and damage that has been done to tourism because of the power outages. John said thats a painful dilemma, but he would rather have the company be blamed for that than their power lines causing a fire. Calistoga as a whole is concerned. The media has been kind and saying that we are still open and a great place to visit, but it is that balance of safety to financials on our side and theirs, said Calistoga Mayor Chris Canning at the meeting. The difference now is we know this system (the generators) exists and they can bring it here. You can reach Cynthia Sweeney at csweeney@weeklycalistogan.com or 942-4035. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A group of men thought to have broken into a car and stolen a gym bag may have been tied to another theft and car pursuit in Vallejo, police say. American Canyon Police received a report at 9:30 a.m. Friday that three men smashed the windows of a car with government plates and left in a black BMW with tinted windows, according to an email from Chief Oscar Ortiz. The car was parked on Main Street in American Canyon, near the Army Recruiting office at 6040 Main St. The gym bag only contained clothes. American Canyon police couldn't find the suspects' car. But in Vallejo, police got a call that involved thefts at a Vallejo Home Depot, Ortiz said. Vallejo police ended up in pursuit of a car with occupants that matched the description of the American Canyon thieves. The pursuit had to be terminated and the investigation is ongoing, Ortiz said. Vallejo Police did not return a message seeking additional information Friday afternoon. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Adan Arroyo is not the kind of teacher that stands still. His hands and feet are almost always moving. If hes not explaining something to his students, hes encouraging them to follow his example. He circles their work tables, checking their progress. In front of the class, he counts out syllables, asking the students to accompany him. He sounds out new vocabulary words, coaxing his students along. Piensa, piensa, he said. Think, think. Its all in a day for Arroyo, a brand new NVUSD teacher. This fall Arroyo, 26, started his first teaching job as first grade teacher of 23 children at Pueblo Vista Magnet School in Napa. Over the past 15 weeks, Arroyo has settled into his new job, building a relationship with his students. Im here to help the students be successful and for them to be lifelong learners, just like I am, said Arroyo. And hes already seeing some progress. To see how theyve grown from day one to now, in just a few months, its incredible, said Arroyo in an interview on Wednesday. They started off with one sentence. Now they can write a paragraph. How does that make him feel? Accomplished, he said. Proud. Arroyo is more than just a new teacher, hes also a homegrown educator. Arroyo grew up in Napa. He attended several elementary schools in town (although not Pueblo Vista), Silverado Middle School and graduated from Napa High School in 2010. He then attended Napa Valley College and UC Merced. He received his teaching credential from Sonoma State University. I think teaching is a calling, said Arroyo during an August interview. Its definitely my calling. Four months into his new job, Arroyo said things in Room 6 at Pueblo Vista Magnet School were going well. I think were learning a lot about each other, he said. Im definitely learning a lot myself. Two key elements Arroyo has implemented are routines and classroom culture, he said. A regular routine helps students know what is expected of them and gives them a feeling of security, he said. That leads to less stress and a better environment to encourage learning. For example, when students enter his classroom each morning, there is already a task waiting for them to complete at their desks. That way, They go straight to work, he said. Students thrive on structure, he said. A regular routine helps the students know what to expect throughout their day, which helps learning. For some students, the classroom is only time they have structure in the day. Creating classroom culture helps the students build trust between students and teacher, which creates a safe environment for students to learn, he said. His students are learning about him too, Arroyo said. They are learning to trust me. I listen to what they have to say. They trust that what we are learning is beneficial to them. That I care about them. Arroyo is the only teacher in the classroom but that doesnt mean hes alone. He works with a grade-level team support group that includes two other teachers, Laura Roldan and Mindy Banuelos. A resource teacher visits the classroom when needed. Parents volunteer. And an aide, Cecilia Barrera, also assists. That helps a lot, said Arroyo. But how does he manage a classroom of 23 first-graders? I practice effective management, he said. Take deep breaths. Try different management strategies. And sometimes none of that works, he acknowledged. In that case, I try to acknowledge the (students) that are doing a good job and following directions, he said. Arroyo said hes also learning to remain flexible to his students needs, yet manage his time and stay on track with his curriculum. Pacing is a big thing, he said. Im always looking at the clock. Pre-planning is essential, he said. Im constantly on. There is no time for a break when they are here. Because Pueblo Vista is a dual immersion school, 90 percent of the instruction in first grade is in Spanish. By fifth grade that percentage is closer to 50/50. Speaking in Spanish, he encourages his students with comments like excelente and perfecto. Muy bien, ninos, he told the group on Wednesday after successfully completing one task. Wow. Arroyo uses all kinds of techniques to help keep his students focused and on track. Calling groups by color, he moves students from desk to carpet and back. When they finish a task, he asks them to manos arriba or raise their hands. When a student needs to go to the bathroom they use a crossed finger hand symbol instead of calling out. To get a students attention, Arroyo may whisper his request, rather than raise his voice. Tapping on a bell or a hand clapping routine can also help refocus the class. Arroyo said structure and routine in his personal life also help him keep up his energy and motivation. Outside of school I go to the gym. I try to get enough sleep. In December, Arroyo will have a three-week holiday break. Hes planning on going to Mexico to visit family for part of that time, he said. And just relax and recharge ... to continue doing the best I can. Arroyo said he was surprised how many people read the Aug. 26 story about him in the Napa Register. Youre famous, his students told him after the story ran. Yeah, because of you, was his response. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Find out how many people have quit their jobs, plus how overdoses have risen during the pandemic, and more trends from this week's data with t Indian Ambassador to Myanmar Vikram Misri attended the Tri-annual Forum of Khumi (Chin) Leadership Council at Yangon, the national capital of Myanmar. Misri briefed the participants at the meeting on various development projects undertaken by India in Myanmar and the growing bilateral relationship. Informing about the meeting, the office of the Indian Embassy in Yangon (Myanmar) on its official Twitter handle on Saturday stated: Ambassador Vikram Misri briefed the participants at the Tri-annual Forum of Khumi (Chin) Leadership Council on various development projects undertaken by India in Myanmar and the growing bilateral relationship. According to information, the Council meet was held in Yangon for three days from Thursday to Saturday. The 2nd Khumi Forum has been working together for peace and development. Misri had taken charge as Indias Ambassador to Myanmar on August 31, 2016. It may be mentioned that in a major fillip to connectivity between the northeastern States and Myanmar, the international entry-exit checkpoints between Myanmar and India have recently been opened. Both India and Myanmar have implemented the historic Land Border Crossing Agreement, which was signed on May 11, 2018 to take forward Indias Act East Policy, Both the sides have simultaneously opened the international entry-exit checkpoints at the Tamu-Moreh and the Rihkhawdar-Zowkhawtar border between Myanmar and India. Vikram Misri, who has recently been appointed as Indias next ambassador to China, will replace Gautam Bambawale. Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan had a working luncheon with major entrepreneurs and tax payers of Armenia, the official website of the Prime Minister of Armenia reported. Various issues related to the improvement of the investment environment in the country, legislative regulations, reforms in the tax sphere, fight against corruption, increase of export volumes of Armenian products, protection of interests of local producers were discussed. The entrepreneurs welcomed the economic policy of the Government, particularly the amendments to take place in the Tax Code. They emphasized that by simplifying the taxation process a number of important problems are solved. The acting PM noted that the Government is interested in the success of the entrepreneurs and highlighted active dialogue and partnership with the business community. Pashinyan added that the steps of the Government are aimed at encouraging labor. Nikol Pashinyan hoped that as a result of the Governments measures the revenues of the tax payers will add, they will record new achievements and will pay more taxes to the state. The sides highlighted the measures taken in the direction of fight against corruption for improving business environment and expressed confidence that it will foster economic activities in the country. El Salvador plans to build the world's first Bitcoin city Canadian portal publishes list of countries with strongest Air Force on Earth Japan announces self-destruction of COVID-19 delta strain Israel to sign solar energy agreement with Jordan in UAE Japan concerned over joint air patrols of Russia and China near country's borders In Mexico, 600 migrants were found in two trucks Europe protests against coronavirus restrictions Commander of Russian airbase in Armenia: Ready to perform tasks as intended US is going to build a nuclear power plant on the moon Biden's son helps Chinese company buy mine in Africa China lowers level of diplomatic relations with Lithuania Russia and US confirm their intentions to send joint mission to Venus Putin and Pashinyan discuss situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and measures to stabilize it Honored Art Worker of Armenia, composer Ruben Altunyan passes away 492 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Armenia Armenian Foreign Minister and Otto Luchterhandt discuss Nagorno-Karabakh settlement Armenian contract soldier dies amid violation of rules for handling weapons Man, 29, jumps from Yerevan bridge Armenia MFA confirms PM Pashinyan's readiness to meet with Azerbaijans Aliyev on December 15 Quake shakes coast of Vanuatu State minister: Nationwide quarantine, specific restrictions planned to be imposed in Karabakh Artsakh President convenes National Security Service consultation Opposition MP: Armenia FM stated that Turkey has proposed new precondition: corridor Armenia military expert: US Embassy warns its citizens to avoid Karahunj-Davit Bek, Kapan-Chakaten road sections Armenia opposition MP: Air carrier operating flights from Syunik Province cannot have any security guarantees Singapore is good example for Armenia, says President Sarkissian Iran seizes foreign ship in Persian Gulf 2 Azerbaijanis injured in anti-tank mine explosion at Karabakh conflict zone US, Turkey presidential advisors discuss situation in South Caucasus Synopsys boss pays tribute to Armenian Genocide victims Russia peacekeepers escort 15 convoys to, from Artsakh in one week Catholicos Karekin II to Patriarch Kirill: We appreciate your warm attitude towards Armenian Church, people China fines Alibaba for violating antitrust law 36 new cases of coronavirus reported in Karabakh UK Premier Johnson considering boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics Artsakh President visits Askeran city, meets with regional capitals youth President to Russia Patriarch: Armenian people highly value your efforts aimed at achieving peace in our region 870 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia 8 injured in tragic accident on Yerevan-Gyumri motorway are discharged from hospital China, Russia, US agree to promote political dialogue on Iran Azerbaijan mother, son commit suicide on same day One pedestrian dies on the spot, other hospitalized after hit by car in Armenia village area US beauty consultant is accused of killing woman by injecting silicone into her butt Brazil Amazon deforestation reaches highest level in 15 years Newspaper: Armenia soldiers are prohibited from filming episodes from their service, posting them on internet Newspaper: Armenia opposition is forming large-scale resistance network Armenia President visits National University of Singapore Gia, wanted by French law-enforcement authorities, found at Armenia's Bagratashen checkpoint Leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia agree to meet in Brussels European Council: Pashinyan and Aliyev agreed to establish direct communication line at level of defense ministers Armenia's Representative to OSCE speaks about Azerbaijan's recent attack at Permanent Council's session Armenia serviceman Meruzhan Harutyunyan, killed in Syunik Province, was buried at Yerablur Military Pantheon Armenian News-NEWS.am's special report: Drive from Kapan to Tchakatashen is 150 km instead of previous 8 km 3 Armenian servicemen killed during Nov. 16 Azerbaijani attack posthumously awarded presidential medals Left-wing trade unions hold protest against Turkey's Erdogan in Izmir Armenia FM presents situation following Azerbaijani attack during meeting with Lithuanian Seimas Vice-President Armenia delegation covers Azerbaijan's Nov. 16 attack during online meeting of CSTO PA Permanent Commissions Armenia PM receives delegation led by Vice President of Lithuanian Seimas Lavrov, Cavusoglu discuss bilateral ties and regional issues Karabakh: Azerbaijani side, in Shushi, transfers bodies of 3 Armenian soldiers killed on Nov. 16 NEWS.am daily digest: 19.11.21 Armenian Embassy in Russia: Armenia citizens - mother and child - evacuated from Afghanistan Georgia refuses to be a part of '3+3' format with regard to South Caucasus The occupied Hadrut of our days (PHOTOS) Arabologist: Photo of map of Turkic world shown by Erdogan and Bahceli is simply a gift for Armenian diplomacy Situation is tense in Armenia's Kasakh, residents protesting against acting village head (LIVE) Opposition With Honor legislature faction MP: No one knows if Armenia petitioned to Russia for military assistance Armenia opposition MP: There is a threat that Baku will always get what it wants through use of force Lavrov is certain that the Russia-Armenia-Azerbaijan summit will take place Ann Linde: OSCE working very closely with Russia to resolve Karabakh conflict Karabakh FM congratulates newly appointed Abkhazia counterpart Dollar relatively stable in Armenia Armenia parliament majority members do not deny possibility of exchange of territories with Azerbaijan Armenia ruling party MP: Public and competent authorities need to know circumstances behind captures of soldiers Armenia ruling party MP assures that situation on the border is currently stable Armenia ruling party MP: Confidentiality of process of preparing for demarcation is strictly necessary Armenia PM: Citizens of EEU countries will be able to receive loans in all territories of member states Armenian serviceman, 19, dies in Georgia's Akhalkalaki Armenia legislature majority faction lawmaker: Russia military intervention is not end in itself High commissioner: Diaspora is considering ways to help hundreds of Ethiopia Armenians Opposition With Honor parliament faction: Armenia authorities trying to push territorial losses issue to backburner Legislature majority faction MP: Armenia authorities do not make any demands on Russia Opposition Armenia Faction in parliament: Authorities are unable to distinguish between priority and secondary issues 3 more die of coronavirus in Artsakh Bruno Retailleau: France must support Armenia more firmly against aggressions by Azerbaijan Armenia parliament majority faction: Border delimitation preparation process will start from point zero PM: Armenia exports to other EEU countries increased by 27.8% Armenias Pashinyan: Azerbaijan provocations are aimed at disrupting arrangements reached by trilateral statements California Armenian couple accused of fraud flee leaving their 3 children behind 799 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Katherine Clark: Azerbaijan must acknowledge and respect Armenian sovereignty Eurasian Intergovernmental Council enlarged meeting underway in Yerevan Russia peacekeepers patrol along Karabakh border delimitation line MOD: According to current data Armenia has 6 military casualties as result of Tuesdays attack by Azerbaijan Turkish Islamic preachers organization denies reports of his death Newspaper: What happened to missing Armenia soldiers during recent hostilities? Armenia MOD dismisses reports about not allowing officers with higher rank than major to go up to combat positions US virtually completes development of new tactical nuclear gravity bomb B61-12 Newspaper: Officers with higher rank than major not allowed to combat positions during recent hostilities in Syunik Opposition MP: Granting corridor to Azerbaijan through Syunik Province will be gravest crime against Armenia At least seven Turkish soldiers have been martyred and 25 others injured in an ammo depot explosion in southeast Turkey, the countrys president said on Saturday, Anadolu reported. Recep Tayyip Erdogan was speaking at a ceremony, marking 80th death anniversary of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, in the capital Ankara. "Seven Turkish soldiers were martyred and almost 25 others were injured in an ammo depot explosion in southeastern province of Hakkari. Rest in peace. I also wish quick recovery to injured ones," Erdogan said. The defective ammo blast in Hakkari had occurred on Friday. "Twenty-five of our military personnel were injured today at the Ortaklar Sungu Tepe military base in the Semdinli district when defective ammunition detonated during artillery shooting," said the National Defense Ministry on Friday. Meanwhile, Erdogan criticized the U.S. for putting bounty on key PKK terrorists, while cooperating with terror group at the same time. "We are aware of those who listed PKK as a terrorist organization and put bounty on key leaders, but cooperated with them in the background," Erdogan said. "We always tell them [U.S. officials] this game will fail and those, who walk alongside terrorist organizations, will be disappointed," he said. Turkish army will continue to destroy terror in northern Iraq, the president added. U.S. Department of State on Tuesday put a bounty on three key PKK terrorists, according to a statement by the U.S. Embassy in Ankara. Those who give information on the identification or location of the terrorists Murat Karayilan (up to $5 million), Cemil Bayik (up to $4 million) and Duran Kalkan (up to $3 million) will be rewarded as part of the State Department's Rewards for Justice program. Dear Newsie Readers, Newsie has now permanently ceased it's services as of Friday 20th December 2019. Newsie has been an owner-funded operation since day one. Coming up to three years old, while we still firmly believe Newsie has a place in the New Zealand media landscape, the cost in both time and money has become too burdensome for the owners to continue alongside other ventures. With the current government looking to restructure public broadcasting, and seemingly supporting NZME buying a ring-fenced Stuff, the time seems right to call it a day. Should it happen, the combination of NZME and Stuff will ensure New Zealands national media will die a death by a thousand opinion-based articles. Newsie has always tried to stick to balanced news, to inform readers of the facts of a situation, amid being largely ignored by government. Hopefully, one day someone else will take up the challenge to fight the good fight. The good news, however, is that there were no job losses as a result of Newsie closing. Thanks to careful structuring, everyone involved in Newsie will retain their current positions. We hope you all have a happy Christmas and new year. Stay safe, and stay out of the news. The team at Newsie A knifeman who stabbed three people, leaving one dead, in Melbourne had also planned to set off an explosion, police have revealed. Hassain Khalif Shire Ali, 30, stabbed three men one of whom died at the scene after getting out of a pick-up vehicle and setting it on fire in Australias second-biggest city on Friday. He was shot by police and died in hospital. Police say Shire Ali had planned for the vehicle to explode but gas cylinders in the back failed to ignite (Picture: James Ross/AAP Image via AP) Victoria state Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said that Shire Ali who had his passport cancelled in 2015 after it was learned he planned to travel to Syria had also planned for his vehicle to explode, but barbecue gas cylinders in the back of his pick-up failed to ignite. It looks like hes attempted to ignite a fire in the car, we believe at this stage with a view to igniting those canisters with some sort of explosion, but that didnt eventuate, Mr Ashton told reporters. MORE: Girl, 16, arrested on suspicion of murder over fatal stabbing of man in South London MORE: More than 50 MPs call on the US not to let Tommy Robinson into the States Shire Ali, who moved to Australia with his family from Somalia in the 1990s, was known to police and the federal intelligence authority ASIO and Mr Ashton said he had a criminal history for cannabis use, theft and driving offences. Emergency responders help the injured after the attacks on Friday (Picture: WEIBO/@DEARRUTHIE/via REUTERS) Mr Ashton also said police had searched two Melbourne properties on Saturday in relation to the attack, but that police did not believe there were any ongoing threats to the public. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released through its Aamaq media arm, but provided no evidence. It said the man was an Islamic State fighter and had responded to IS calls for attacks in countries that are part of the international coalition fighting the militants in Syria and Iraq. Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Ian McCartney told a media briefing on Saturday it was believed the attack was inspired by IS, though it was thought Shire Ali had no direct links to the organisation. Story continues He said: Its fair to say he was inspired. He was radicalised, with the rise of the caliphate and the propaganda that was put out on the internet. Were not saying there was direct contact. Were saying it was more from an inspirational perspective. Mr McCartney said the incident was a reality check for security agencies that even with the fall of the (IS) caliphate the threat continues to be real. Floral tributes have been left at the scene where Sisto Malaspina was stabbed to death (Picture: AAP/James Ross/via REUTERS) Police and civilians had tried unsuccessfully to subdue Shire Ali during Fridays attack, before police shot him in the chest. A 74-year-old man named as Sisto Malaspina, who had been stabbed in the face, died at the scene. Two other men, aged 26 and 58, are in a hospital with what police describe as non-life threatening injuries. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said radical, violent, extremist Islam poses the greatest threat to Australias national security. Here in Australia, we would be kidding ourselves if we did not call out the fact that the greatest threat of religious extremism in this country is the radical and dangerous ideology of extremist Islam, he said. Robin Givens Set For ABC Legal Drama The Fix In Major Recurring Role https://t.co/S9kZDQkIYP pic.twitter.com/6IH4SC5Scg Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) November 8, 2018 "SWAMP THING Casts Henderson Wade As Matt Cable!" It's all coming together, people. #SwampThing is going to be the real deal next year.#DC #DCUniverse https://t.co/uR2sJxEEtZ pic.twitter.com/wh9itZQh1M Revenge of The Fans (@RevengeOTFans) November 8, 2018 Here's a NY Times profile of McGill grad Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina). He has improbably mined the world of Archie Comics to become "a John Hughes for a darker, more cynical, way more libidinous age." https://t.co/aEvlnKEXQe McGill News Magazine (@McGillNewsMag) November 8, 2018 Camila Mendes on her instagram for Riverdale season 3, episode 4 pic.twitter.com/SRwU38rqUv Daily Camila Mendes (@LatestCami) November 8, 2018 THE COVER-UP After confronting the parents, who were part of The Midnight Club twenty-five years ago, Betty follows some strong leads in hopes of finding out who the true Gargoyle King is.Meanwhile, Veronicas attempt to prove Archies innocence lands her in hot water.Finally, Archie turns to Kevin for help making things right.Every series regular will appear except Vanessa. We meet Reggie's dad Marty in the present day.Directed by Rachel Talalay and written by Cristine Chambers.Original airdate 11/28/2018 aka skipping another week because of US Thanksgiving.---We'll be seeing less of Robin Givens than we already do as she will be a "major recurring character" on ABC's legal drama The Fix. She will play the loyal ex-wife of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's character who is suspected of another murder. ---Looks like Tom Keller might be getting his job back as Henderson Wade (Sheriff Minetta) has just been cast as a series regular in DC Universe's upcoming Swamp Thing show. He will be playing Matt Cable.----He's just as much of an overexcited fanboy in person as he presents himself online. Workaholic who's bursting with millions of ideas that he tries to cram into every episode. Never seemed to eat his lunch while being interviewed-Mentions his college play that was sent a C&D letter from Archie comics because he had Archie Andrews as a gay man who met up with the murderers Leopold and Loeb.-Lives in LA with his husband (production stage manager Barclay Stiff) and their dog named Ms. Molly, and flies to Vancouver every week to oversee production on Riverdale and now Chilling Adventures of Sabrina-Thinks the set for the hospital they use on the show is hauntedOn Riverdale being a thirsty show: Big time. Biiiig time. Big time.On what drew him to Archie comics in his youth: where everyone was basically nice and everyone was basically friends and everyone would go and have hamburgers every night and everyone would go to dances. I wanted to be friends with them, ---Michael Consuelos appeared on his mom's show to talk about what it was like to play a younger version of his father. ---While dressed in young Hermione's outfit, Camila did a little lip synch to Hit Me Baby One More Time source: 1 Brought to you by me pre-celebrating a long weekend. Remember to roleplay responsibly! Leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obradors victory in last July presidential election casts a shadow over the future of Mexicos ongoing energy reform. The president-elect has not yet said whether he will continue tenders of oil assets, and during the campaign described the 2013 reform bill as vile trick and a complete flop. He also pledged to build at least one oil refinery, a proposal perceived as a nationalist madness. Will Lopez Obrador find the right balance between pragmatism and ideology? In December 2013, Mexico passed an historic energy reform bill ending state oil company Petroleos Mexicanoss (Pemex) 80-year old monopoly and opening the door to private sector participation. Some 75 years after the expropriation and nationalization of the countrys oil industry, two-thirds of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies and Senate passed a constitutional amendment allowing private investment in every aspect of the energy sector. Since the reform began to be implemented in 2014, Mexico has awarded over 100 contracts, which could generate as much as $200 billion in investment from oil majors and Chinese firms. The reform also benefited Pemex, which reported its first profit since 2012 in May 2017, after reporting 17 consecutive quarterly losses. But these gains are now in question. A storm is coming In August 2013, as president Enrique Pena Nieto was about to unveil the framework of what would become the Mexican Energy Reform (or Reforma Energetica), Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (known popularly as AMLO) issued a warning to the ruling Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI): Oil is the property of the nation, Lopez Obrador thundered. I am convinced that privatizing petroleum () betrays the country. We have to call things by their name. They are traitors. Flash forward to 2018, and AMLO is now Mexicos president-elect, after winning the countrys presidency in a landslide victory last July, paving the way for the most left-wing government in Mexicos democratic history. AMLOs political rise in Latin Americas second-biggest country echoes Pena Nietos abysmal approval rating. Among the many failures of the outgoing president is his perceived unwillingness to defend Mexicos national honor and sovereignty in the face of repeated insults and threats of tariffs from US president Donald Trump. While Trump has been a thorn in the side of Pena Nieto, his antagonistic rhetoric against Mexico has been a blessing for AMLO, a veteran leftist politician, former mayor of Mexico City, who came close to winning the 2006 presidency as the candidate of the center-left Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). At a time when Mexicans were looking for someone who could stand up to Trumps bully-type behavior, AMLO tailored himself as a Messiah with a fighting spirit attitude. He ran under the aegis of Morena (National Regeneration Movement), a party formed by former PRD members in 2014, campaigning against Mexicos widespread corruption, and denouncing the countrys slowing economy as well as the governments soft response to Trumps diatribes. On 1 July, he was elected with the widest margin in a presidential election since the 1980s, taking more than half the vote 30 points ahead of his nearest rival. Related: The Trojan Horse In Oil Markets Among the observers who anxiously followed last Julys ballot, energy companies certainly have much to lose from an AMLO administration. Since the passage of the 2013 energy reform, a number of oil majors such as Royal Dutch Shell, BP, ExxonMobil and Total have signed multimillion-dollar contracts to explore for oil the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A long-time ally of labour unions and a fervent supporter of a strong Pemex, AMLO has pledged to halt oil auctions and to build more refining capacity within Mexico. Although the designers of the energy reform argue that Pemex lacks the capital and expertise to pursue deep-water exploration or unconventional gas development, AMLO seems determined to bring production back home so that oil never falls back into the hands of foreigners. Despite the president-elects braggadocio, AMLO, who will take the oath of office on December 1, might catch energy players and investors on the wrong foot by opting for a pragmatic approach. Decoding Mexicos tropical messiah AMLO was born in 1953 in the tropical southeastern state of Tabasco, where his parents ran a village store. He cut his teeth in politics in Mexicos PRI in the 1970s, when he worked as a representative of Mexicos National Indigenous Institute in his native state of Tabasco. He spent five years living in a shack, just like the ones the indigenous families lived in. He eventually became Tabasco state party president in 1983. As a result of his upbringing, Lopez Obrador has the principle of never spending more than you earn built into his DNA, a belief reflecting his promises of halving bureaucrats salaries and selling the presidential plane to fund pensions, student bursaries and apprenticeships. To this day, AMLOs political nature is still heavily underlined by his tropic roots, his fighting-spirit and his unwavering willingness. He has made cracking down on corruption a central priority of his campaign, favors tighter state control of economic activity and is a harsh critic of the Pena Nieto administration education, tax, and labor-market reforms. He has vowed to launch Mexicos fourth transformation referring to the countrys independence in 1821, the civil war in the mid-19th century, and the 1910 revolution by uprooting the mafia of power, ending corruption like sweeping the stairs, from top to bottom, reducing violence (over 100,000 Mexicans were killed in incidents related to organized crime in the last six years), and rebalancing the gap between the rich and the poor. AMLovers see him as a champion of Mexicos poor and middle class a decent man in indecent times who will bring honesty, security and prosperity at the top of the political agenda. AMLOs heroes include the late Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and Argentine Marxist revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara (he named the youngest of his four sons Jesus Ernesto as a tribute to Guevara). He is also a friend of UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, with whom he reportedly spent part of his 2016 Christmas holiday. Although AMLO promises a peaceful revolution to transform Mexico, the countrys political establishment portrays him as a clone of Venezuelas president Nicolas Maduro, and is convinced that he will run Mexico into the ground. Some are also worried that he might undermine the political and judicial institutions. In 2006, following his narrow defeat in the presidential election, AMLO alleged fraud, declaring himself Mexicos legitimate leader and staging a mock inauguration during which he famously said to hell with their institutions. He even wrote book The Mafia That Robbed Us of the Presidency (La Mafia Nos Robo la Presidencia) in which he bitterly retraces his failed presidential bid. AMLOs vision for Mexicos energy policy Three ideas are central to AMLOs energy doctrine: re-inserting the state into the energy sector, passing and implementing new measures to maximize production in Mexico, and achieving energy efficiency within three years. During the campaign, Lopez Obrador disclosed four energy proposals: Investing 75 billion pesos ($3.8 billion) in capital injection for state oil company Pemex, with the ultimate goal of increasing oil output from 1.9 to 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd); Starting the renovation work at Mexicos six refineries, which are currently operating at just 51.1% of their total capacity, according to figures released by Pemex in 2017. Such renovations would require an additional 49 billion pesos ($2.5 billion) investment; Building what could be the countrys largest oil refinery, with an approximate cost of 155 billion pesos ($8 billion) and production capacity of 400,000 bpd. The project, which is expected to begin in 2019, is part of the AMLO administrations ambition to slash Mexicos reliance on US fuel imports, as the president-elect seeks to achieve energy self-sufficiency by half-way through the governments six-year term. The construction of an additional refinery with a smaller capacity might also be envisaged by the administration during the same timeline; Rolling back the liberalization of the energy sector by putting a halt to tenders and reviewing over 100 oil contracts awarded to private investors under the 2013 energy reform. AMLOs energy reforms constitute an unusual combination of old and new ideas, reflecting the president-elects resolve to defend a nationalistic approach to energy. He has picked Rocio Nahle, a 53-year-old congresswoman and former chemical engineer, to serve as the administrations Secretary of Energy. A fierce opponent of the Pena Nieto governments energy reform, she shares AMLOs vision that Mexico should turn its focus to value-added-fuels, and increase domestic crude processing capabilities to produce more gasoline and diesel at refineries owned by Pemex. Although aligned with Lopez Obradors leftist agenda, Nahle has pledged to adopt a pragmatic vision once in office. In an interview for Reuters last February, she said the new administration is open to investment and to the world, and highlighted the need to internationalize Pemex. But she also described the opening of the energy industry to foreign investors as irresponsible, portraying the oil auctions as an excessive rush. As the benefits of the 2013 energy reform in terms of job creation, fiscal revenues, economic growth and oil production have not materialized yet, many Mexicans might see those comments as very compelling. The 2013 Energy Reform at risk The 2013 Energy Reform ended the state monopoly established following the nationalization of the petroleum industry in 1938. It includes numerous provisions aimed at establishing a competitive tax regime level to turn Mexico into an attractive market for foreign firms. It also focuses on combating corruption within Pemex, which is widely viewed as the single most corrupt institution in Mexico. The energy reform has already generated substantial benefits, such as contracts that could yield $200 billion in investments in the coming years, according to figures from the countrys Secretary of Energy. In January 2018, the government awarded 19 blocks in the Gulf of Mexico to a number of oil and gas companies, including Royal Dutch Shell. In March, 35 additional shallow-water oil and gas blocks were auctioned, leading to the signing of contracts with firms including Repsol, Total and Eni. The revenue raised from the auctions will be managed through a sovereign wealth fund, the Fondo Mexicano del Petroleo, as the Mexican government seeks to build a long-term savings reserve. As mentioned above, one of AMLOs most controversial energy proposals concerns the halt of auctions while his administration assesses the extent to which a large capital injection into Pemex might help lift production capacity. In July, the National Hydrocarbons Commission, Mexicos oil regulator, announced that it would postpone two scheduled oil auctions and a tender to find joint venture partners for Pemex from September 2018 until February 2018. The decision to delay the auctions until the new administration officially takes office has alarmed investors, who fear that AMLOs planned $10.5 billion rescue plan for the oil industry will increase Pemexs debt burden. The Mexican state oil company is already the worlds most indebted national oil company, according to ratings agency Moodys, with more than $100 billion in debt and about the same amount in pension liabilities. On October 19, Fitch, another ratings agency, revised down Pemexs outlook rating to negative from stable, causing the peso to fall to its lowest level in over a month. Pemexs disarray is evidenced by Mexicos gargantuan oil production decline over the past two decades. According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), oil production fell from 3.9 million bpd in 2004 to 2.5 million bpd in 2016, and slipped even further in 2017, dropping as low as 1.9 million bpd. Oil output has fallen during most months in the first half of 2018, standing at just under 2.1 million bpd in June. This production loss has been caused by the natural decline of Pemexs Cantarell field, which was not offset by new discoveries. Pemexs fall in output to a four-decade low was among the major factors that led to the so-called Pact for Mexico a political coalition that brought together to PRI, the center-right National Action Party (PAN), the PRD and the Green Party which was at the origin of the 2013 energy reform process. The company is in dire need of partnerships with international energy players specialized in enhanced oil recovery. Such joint ventures would allow it to extract more oil from its existing fields, and to discover new fields to rejuvenate its mature portfolio. Moreover, it is crucial to that Pemex is able to pursue its current approach of generating profits, under which its oil refineries operate at half capacity, allowing the company to not produce at a loss. Adopted two years ago, this new strategy has proved its worth, as Pemex recently reported 26.8 billion pesos ($1.43 billion) of net profit for the third quarter of 2018, compared with a 101.8 billion pesos loss in the same period last year ($5 billion). Saving Mexicos oil output With AMLO taking the oath of office on December 1st, the hypothesis of a roll-back of the energy reform is on everybodys mind. Considering Pemexs financial burden, time is not on the side of the incoming administration, as much of the companys debt matures in 2022. Hence, the new government will have to rapidly put in place a coherent energy policy, as Pemex pays 70 per cent of its income to the state and is a fundamental pillar of the economy. As it stands, AMLOs agenda is the exact opposite of the kind of reforms Mexico needs to pursue. Lopez Obradors set goal of increasing oil production to 2.5 million bpd by investing $3.8 billion in exploration and drilling does not strike as realistic, as this would only be achievable through a competitive footing in Mexicos deep-water and unconventional areas which would require Pemex to participate in joint ventures as a learning partner an option that AMLO and Rocio Nahle have promptly rejected. As indicated in Pemexs third quarter results, crude production remains the most urgent issue that the company has to tackle: crude output continued to decline, to 1.827 million bpd from 1.87 million bpd in the second quarter. If implemented, AMLOs expressed determination to halt oil tenders and to reverse the 2013 reform will inevitably hurt Mexicos oil production. Related: U.S. Oil Production Is Set To Soar Past 12 Million Bpd The only pragmatic policy to boost Mexicos oil output is to ensure the continuity of the 2013 Energy Reform, as investments by international companies in the countrys oil industry will be crucial for reversing the decline in oil production. Pemex must continue to take advantage of the partnerships with the private sector promoted by the Energy Reform, especially regarding the deep waters exploration projects, which require state-of-the art technology from oil majors and a certain level of risk-sharing. Moreover, although crude oil production has suffered a continuous decline under the Pena Nieto administration, oil ouput is forecast to rise from 2019, as recently discovered fields come online. In September 2016, Pemex announced the discovery of six oil deposits in the Gulf of Mexico containing around 200 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d). In March 2017, Eni revealed that it had discovered considerable deposits of heavy and light crude oil in its Amoca-2 well in the Bay of Campeche. In July 2017, a joint venture including Premier (UK), Talos Energy (US) and Sierra Oil and Gas (Mexico) announced a major oil discovery in the southern Gulf of Mexico. Located 60km off the coast of the Tabasco state, the Zama well contains an estimated 1.4 billion to 2 billion barrels of light oil in place. Finally, in November 2017, Pemex made its largest onshore oil and gas discovery in 15 years the Ixachi-1 well in the eastern state of Veracruz. The asset could hold 350 million barrels of proven, probable and possible reserves. Pragmatism vs. ideology In this context, there is no economic argument justifying the potential reversal of the 2013 reform, especially if the AMLO administration is to carry out plans for social and infrastructure spending. Considering Lopez Obradors ambitious social spending agenda, it will be politically costly to send taxpayer money to inject capital into Pemex rather than using funds generated through partnerships with private companies. According to an estimate from multinational Spanish banking group BBVA, AMLOs energy proposals would represent a cost of 0.8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Similarly, plans to stop exporting oil in favor of refining production domestically could deprive the government of income worth 2 per cent of GDP, according to Moodys Investors Service. Moreover, AMLOs willingness to start building a new refinery immediately after taking office smacks more of economic nationalism than a sound energy policy: Mexican refinery production in the third quarter of 2018 fell to 640,000 bpd, down from 704,000 in the second quarter. The new refinery could cause considerable damage to Pemexs credit profile, which might eventually force it to sell off some of its assets when its debt matures in 2022. The president-elect does not seem to consider all the downside risks associated with increased domestic refining: he recently criticized Pemexs plan to import US light crude from refiner Phillips 66, calling it another example of the great failure of neo-liberal economic policies. Hardly reassuring is the fact that Octavio Romero, AMLOs pick as the new head of Pemex, is an agronomist from his native Tabasco state, with very little experience in the sector. The 2013 Energy Reform is rooted in Mexicos constitution and cannot be changed by an executive order. His coalition would need to secure the two-thirds Congressional majority required to reverse constitutional reforms. However, as the auctioning process has been placed under the authority of the government, the AMLO administration will have exclusive control over the offering of private contracts for oil and gas investment. Therefore, energy players already operating in Mexico can only hope that the new government will opt for a pragmatic approach, in the light of the many challenges it would face if it was to suspend the 2013 Energy Reform. During his time as Mexico Citys mayor from 2000 to 2005, AMLO showed that he could work with the business sector. His record as mayor includes the building of a second tier to Mexico Citys urban highways, a successful partnership with telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim to fund a large-scale renovation plan of the citys historic center, the passing an old-age pension and an efficient fiscal management. Some of AMLOs declarations in the margins of the campaign also constitute positive signals. During a business forum in May, the president-elect pledgedto respect investors: We need business to get this country going, to allow us to grow. Outlook: The risk landscape There is a strong chance that AMLO will pursue a populist agenda. During the campaign, the president-elect described himself as a high-risk politician, and his past escapades wont contradict this statement, especially in the field of energy. In 1994, after losing the governorship of Tabasco in an allegedly fraudulent election, Lopez Obrador called on his supporters to block Pemexs facilities in the state, in a demonstration of civil disobedience. In 1996, he instigated another blockade of Pemexs oilfields in Tabasco, in an attempt to obtain remuneration from the company for environmental damages. In 2008, a coalition of left-wingers led by AMLO stormed Mexicos national congress, protesting against president Felipe Calderons oil reform, which would have allowed Pemex to enter into joint-ventures with foreign firms on technically challenging projects. In 2015, Lopez Obrador prompted Tabasco residents to stop paying their electricity bills in protest of rising retail power prices. Around 90% of customers failed to pay. His recent decision to scrap the $13 billion project to build a new airport in Mexico City following an unofficial referendum in which only 1 per cent of Mexicos electorate participated raised business concerns that the new administration may not respect long-term contracts. Hence, AMLOs demonstrated impulsivity could pave the way for an energy policy driven by the presidents own populist ideology rather than a pragmatic strategy. By Global Risk Insights More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: As American LNG costs continue to fall, and as Europe looks to untangle itself from Gazprom, U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports are quickly becoming a welcome alternative to Russian gas supplies. The United States is all too happy to help Europe increase its energy security by diversifying its natural gas suppliesin which Gazprom holds more than a third of the market. These were the key messages from U.S. officials and LNG developers at this weeks gas conference in Berlin. Germany is the end-point of the controversial Gazprom-led Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which will follow the existing Nord Stream natural gas pipeline between Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea. The U.S. opposes the project, as do EU institutions and some EU members such as Poland and Lithuania. Germany, however, supports Nord Stream 2 and sees the project as a private commercial venture that will help it to meet rising natural gas demand. At the conference this week, Woodward Clark Price, Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. embassy in Berlin, said that U.S. LNG is becoming increasingly competitive, due to continuously falling costs. US LNG will become even more cost-competitive and attractive. We are confident US LNG can compete [in Europe] -- even on price, S&P Global Platts quoted Price as saying at the event. Lower pipeline gas price compared to LNG has long been Russia and Gazproms key selling point. The U.S. is ready to help Europe to diversify its energy supply, Price noted. We want to enhance a more secure energy situation in Europe so that no one country or corporation can disproportionately influence Europe, Price said, in an obvious reference to Russia and Gazprom. Related: The Rapid Acceleration Towards Peak Oil Demand U.S. LNG benefits from low-cost shale gas at home, flexible capital markets, and reduced liquefaction costs said Tom Earl, chief commercial officer at LNG developer Venture Global, which expects to make a final investment decision on its Calcasieu Pass LNG project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, in early 2019. Paul Corcoran, CFO at the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline operating company, said that pipeline gas is cheaper than LNG and due to this, 75 percent of Europes LNG import capacity stays unutilized. Russian gas is still very well placed against US LNG, Corcoran said at the Berlin conference. At the same time in which Nord Stream 2 and U.S. LNG executives discussed the competitiveness of gas supplies to Europe, some 300 miles east of Berlin in Polands capital, Warsaw, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry was witnessing the signing of a 24-year LNG deal under which U.S. Cheniere will deliver growing volumes of LNG to Polands PGNiG. American energy is empowering Europe and diversifying markets, Secretary Perry said. Poland, one of the most vocal opponents of Nord Stream 2 and Russias dominance on the European gas market, will start importing regular supplies from the United States as early as next year. The share of LNG in our import portfolio is constantly increasing. The worlds liquefied natural gas market is rapidly growing and allows us to select the best offers in this area, Piotr Wo?niak, President of the Management Board of PGNiG, said in a statement. At the news conference after the signing of the deal, he said, as quoted by Platts: We will sign different contracts for LNG with US companies, they all have one thing in common, they are 20%-30% cheaper than the currently purchased gas from Russia. Related: Bolton: U.S. Is Preparing More Sanctions Against Iran During Secretary Perrys visit to Warsaw, Polands energy ministry and the U.S. Department of Energy also signed a joint declaration vowing to support the development of gas infrastructure alternative to Russian supplies, and to promote market diversity through decreasing reliance upon dominant suppliers in Central and Eastern Europe and working together to counter politically driven projects, which are aimed to use energy as a means of political and economic coercion, such as Nord Stream 2 and the second line of TurkStream; and to ensure continuity of robust supply and transit of natural gas in Ukraine and other Central Eastern European nations. In the readout of Secretary Perrys visit to Warsaw, the Department of Energy said, commenting on Chenieres long-term LNG supply deal: This contract is one of several that builds on the desire of Poland to diversify their sources of energy, and the effort of the Trump Administration to expand U.S. LNG abroad as an alternative to Russian gas. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Where some see hardship, others see opportunity. Russias most valuable export products are oil and gas of which the top producers are Rosneft and Gazprom, respectively. The latters dominant position on the European gas market has put it in the spotlight as a foreign policy tool of Moscow after the crisis in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea. Rosneft, on the other hand, has had fewer setbacks while propping up its engagement in multiple countries on several continents. The impact of these deals could have a far-reaching effect on the global energy market and domestic politics. One of the regions of attention is Iraqs northern Kurdistan area where Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin has made several important deals, cementing the companys position. With preparations underway to start extracting oil, Bagdad has voiced its discontent concerning Rosnefts activities. Rosnefts balancing act As Russias largest oil producer, Rosneft is a highly valuable company. The Russian state owns 50.00000001% of its shares while Sechin also maintains close personal relations with President Putin. The Kremlin has not been shy to exert control over the energy company. While this doesnt mean that Rosneft isnt a commercial organization, Moscows foreign policy objectives have been taken into consideration. The energy company has to walk a fine line between the Russian states interests and its commercial opportunities. For a regular company, this would be a hard task. However, the backing of the Russian government gives Rosneft some advantages over its competitors. The company has lent $6 billion to Venezuela where it could end up owning Texan refineries currently in the possession of Venezuelan PDVSA because the assets are collateral against the debt. In India, Rosneft has invested $13 billion in a refinery which was above the market price but the company was required to outbid Saudi Aramco in order to cement Russian, Indian ties. Arguably Rosnefts deal with the Kurdish Regional Government or KRG in Northern Iraq has the most potential in terms of political and financial dividend. The KRGs independence referendum in the fall of 2017 was a fiasco. During the crisis, Bagdad regained control over the significant oil fields near Kirkuk and nullified hopes for Kurdish independence. At the height of the crisis, when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was trying to defuse tensions, CEO Igor Sechin was busy negotiating the acquisition of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline. Instead of easing tensions, Sechin doubled down in a letter to Bagdad in which he stated his support for the Kurds which showed a higher interest in expanding strategic cooperation. The deal to transfer control over the pipeline and several oil fields was struck on October 20th, 2017 at the height of the post-election chaos. Iraqs weakness and opportunities Bagdad opposes any deal the KRG strikes without the consent of its parliament. Rosneft, however, maintains the right to engage with the Kurds according to the existing power-sharing agreement between the central government and Erbil. The meeting between Iraqi oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi with Sechins right-hand man Didier Casimiro in Bagdad in April was a sign of acquiescence by the central government. Related: The Clock Is Ticking For Chinas Oil Independence Despite its discontent, Bagdad prefers to maintain good relations with Russia for several reasons. First, Moscow in recent years has acquired a formidable position in the Middle East by maintaining good diplomatic relations with all regional actors. Second, the Coordination and Information Centre set up in September 2015 by Russia, Iran, Iraq, and Syria in Bagdad to coordinate the fight against ISIS, has also functioned as a trust sharing platform. Furthermore, Iraq is the second largest importer of Russian arms after India. From a strategic point of view, Bagdads relations with Moscow provide it with a highly needed balance against the two other important foreign actors in Iraqi politics: Iran and the U.S. Although Russia cannot provide financial and political support on the same level as Washington or doesnt share the same cultural and religious background as neighboring Iran, Moscow is able to provide strategic balancing if required. Moscows green light Besides oil, natural gas is also a topic the KRG and Rosneft are discussing. A pipeline could provide Turkey and Europe with an additional source of energy. Gazprom in Russia has a monopoly concerning the export of gas through pipelines. The opening of the Iraqi gas market could go at the expense of Gazproms market share in Turkey and Europe. Moscow has on several occasions intervened to confirm the Russian gas giants monopoly vis-a-vis pipeline exports. The Kremlin, however, has remained silent concerning Kurdish gas. Its muted acquiescence is based on maximizing financial dividends and increasing or at least maintaining, political influence in Europe. The opening of a second Russian controlled gas corridor from Iraq could possibly go at the expense of Gazproms market share. However, relatively expensive LNG imports could be hit even harder. Furthermore, the KRG could prefer Rosneft constructing and exploiting the pipeline as the company has supported the regional government during the past year while other governments and companies have kept their distance. By Vanand Meliksetian for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Russias oil firms are demanding penalty clauses and payments in euros instead of U.S. dollars in their annual renegotiation of oil supply contracts with Western crude buyers, as the Russian oil industry is seeking to protect itself from possible new U.S. sanctions on the sector, Reuters reports, citing a number of industry and trading sources. Buyers, however, are unwilling to yield to the demands. U.S. lawmakers have been discussing extending sanctions on Russia to energy and oil projects and sovereign debt markets in what Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called a sanctions bill from hell. Just yesterday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed additional sanctions on officials and entities supporting Russias occupation of Crimea, designating three individuals and nine entities for profiting from the annexation of Crimea. None of the targeted companies are oil companies in this round of sanctions, but the Russian oil industry has apparently grown concerned about sanctions coming its way. According to Reuters sources, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, Russias third- and fourth-largest producers, respectively, are having very tough talks with trading houses and Western oil majors who buy their oil. Looking to protect themselves in the 2019 annual contracts from possible sanctions, the Russian firms have demanded clauses such as penalties to be paid if buyers fail to pay, sanctions or not. For most of the Western buyers, these demands are unacceptable, and talks with Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz have been progressing painfully, according to industry sources who spoke to Reuters. Some have reached compromisesone large European buyer has agreed to pay in euros in exchange for Surgutneftegaz dropping the penalty clause. Related: The Energy Investment Model With A Glaring Problem Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Russias biggest oil producer Rosneft was also in a deadlock with Western oil buyers over the 2019 contracts. The major buyers are fiercely opposing penalty clauses, trading sources told Reuters. Commenting on Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegazs impasse with buyers, a source with a big trading house told Reuters: They basically said - sanctions dont matter. Buyers have to find a way to pay, or to return purchased goods, or pay penalties. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Florida authorities on Saturday ordered a statewide recount in the contentious races for US Senate and governor, amid tit-for-tat accusations of fraud from the candidates -- plunging the state once again into election uncertainty. Eighteen years after the Sunshine State found itself at the heart of a battle for the US presidency, it was once again in the spotlight after Tuesday's vote, which left the contests for statewide offices undecided. Florida's 67 counties had been given until midday (1700 GMT) on Saturday to submit unofficial totals. State law triggers a machine recount if the difference in a race is within 0.5 percent. Florida's secretary of state Ken Detzner issued the official order for the recounts after the deadline. After the cut-off, the Senate race between outgoing Republican governor Rick Scott and incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson was extremely close: Scott's lead stood at just 12,562 votes out of nearly 8.2 million cast, a margin of just 0.15 percent. In the governor's race, the latest unofficial results on the Florida division of elections website show Republican Ron DeSantis, who was backed by Donald Trump, leading Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum by just 33,684 votes out of more than 8.2 million cast, or a margin of 0.41 percent. "Machine recount indicated," the website said in both cases. Gillum -- who had previously conceded the race -- changed course on Saturday, saying: "I am replacing my words of concession with an uncompromised and unapologetic call that we count every single vote." In a statement, Detzner said the results of the machine recount would be due on November 15 at 3:00 pm (2000 GMT). Trump was not amused by the development, tweeting from France: "Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida! We are watching closely!" - Lawsuits - With Florida's developments raising partisan tensions to fresh highs, Trump on Friday alleged a major corruption scandal was brewing. "What's going on in Florida is a disgrace," Trump told reporters. "Bad things are going on in Broward Country, really bad things," Trump added, referring to a Democrat-heavy county where officials were slowly counting votes including absentee and provisional ballots. Scott filed lawsuits against Broward and Palm Beach counties alleging fraud after his lead narrowed. On Saturday, he urged Florida's sheriffs to "watch for any violations during the recount process as outlined in Florida law." Meanwhile, Nelson -- accusing Scott of trying to suppress votes -- fired back with a lawsuit of his own to block steps that would reject thousands of mail-in ballots. The recount is reminiscent of the dramatic recounts that occurred in parts of Florida after the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Those recounts were halted by the US Supreme Court, and Bush defeated Gore by 537 votes in Florida to win the presidency. Broward County was also at the heart of that controversy. Most US political races have already been settled. But Florida is not alone. In neighboring Georgia, the Democratic candidate for governor initiated legal action to ensure all votes were counted in her contest. In Arizona, there is still no official result in a fierce US Senate battle that has Democrat Kyrsten Sinema leading Republican Martha McSally by a slim margin. The ballot chaos raises fresh questions about why the world's most powerful democracy is incapable of producing swift and accurate election results across all 50 states. As Jurgen Klopp tries to maintain Liverpool's challenge for the Premier League title, the need to sort out his midfield is becoming an increasingly pressing issue. A home match against bottom club Fulham on Sunday may just offer the opportunity to start to put that right by giving both Naby Keita and Fabinho crucial game time to build momentum and confidence. Both players were signed at great expense during the summer with a view to strengthening Liverpool's midfield options. Keita was seen as a replacement for the attacking guile of Philippe Coutinho while Fabinho was viewed as the player to prove a defensive shield following Emre Can's departure. Neither has yet managed to establish themselves as a powerful presence in England, with Reds boss Klopp relying largely on the players used last season. Klopp has suggested both signings need time to settle in a new country, with Guinea international Keita arriving from German club RB Leipzig, and Brazilian Fabinho joining from French Ligue 1 side Monaco. While it is understandable that neither player would hit the ground running, the need for them to find form has become more urgent, given the lack of creative spark in Liverpool's midfield. If the front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have failed to hit last season's heights, the same is true of the midfield, where the injured Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been sorely missed. Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has seen the difference for himself. "Last season everyone was used to us scoring four or five goals. That can't be possible every single game," Robertson said. "Maybe we are missing a bit of a spark in terms of not winning 4-0 or 5-0 in most games but if the manager thinks that then we need to try to get it back. "We need to come together as a team and try to give what the gaffer wants, try to get the spark and try to win games more comfortably." - Vulnerable - Liverpool, currently third in the Premier League, have not been as threatening a force as they were last season en route to the Champions League final. The midfield has looked particularly vulnerable in their past two matches, a 1-1 Premier League draw at Arsenal last Saturday and a surprisingly meek 2-0 Champions League group defeat at Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday. Neither Keita nor Fabinho played in Serbia, while their other major outfield signing of the summer, Xherdan Shaqiri, was left in England, amid concerns about the reception he would receive from the home supporters because of his Kosovan heritage. Klopp's three-man midfield on Tuesday failed to distinguish itself, with hamstring injury victim Jordan Henderson clearly missed. James Milner's error led to the home side's second goal, with Georginio Wijnaldum shrugged aside too easily before Milan Pavkov scored. Adam Lallana, making a rare start, was anonymous. Fabinho was an unused substitute in Belgrade, having struggled against Arsenal, and is clearly not up to speed with the English game yet. Keita started well in England, then hit injury problems, as he suffered a back spasm during October's Champions League defeat by Napoli, and a hamstring problem playing for Guinea. Klopp has shuffled around his midfield this season, but appears reluctant to repeat the experiment he tried in September's Premier League win over Southampton, when Shaqiri was used in an advanced midfield role. The Switzerland international was substituted at half-time that day, because Klopp felt the match was too open. His best hope of regular game time now would appear to be as part of the attacking three, which means dislodging Salah, Firmino or Mane. Fabinho still has work to do to earn his starting spot too. Keita, though, will surely become a regular once he gets up to speed and a meeting with struggling Fulham could be the ideal place to start. Hong Kong is the city we aspire to be top, Shenzhen official tells Chief Executive Carrie Lam as pair bond over special relationship Hong Kong will still set the pace for Shenzhens future direction, the metropolis communist party boss said on Saturday, as he welcomed Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her 160-strong delegation who were en route to Beijing to mark the 40th anniversary of economic reforms and opening up. Returning the compliment, Lam said Hong Kong and its neighbouring city enjoyed a uniquely close relationship. Hong Kong and Shenzhen are neighbours, we are loving brothers, she said. Some 60,000 Hong Kong firms are based in Shenzhen, she noted, making the city one of the biggest investors there. Shenzhen party secretary Wang Weizhong thanked Hong Kong for being instrumental in its development over the past four decades. Hong Kong is still Shenzhens role model, it is still the goalpost of our development, Wang said. We will not forget, that one of the central governments important considerations of setting up the Shenzhen special economic zone, is the unique advantages of Shenzhen being a neighbour of Hong Kongs. Shenzhen has a special place in the story of opening up. When China opened its doors to capitalism and foreign investment in 1979, late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping chose Shenzhen, a fishing town in the Pearl River Delta near Hong Kong, as the first special economic zone. Before departing for the city on Saturday morning, Lam said the rise of Shenzhen was Hong Kongs biggest contribution to Chinas economic reforms. Over the past 40 years, Shenzhen has been transformed from a small fishing village to an economically important city today I believe Hong Kongs participation was indispensable, she said. It was fitting that Lams visit to Beijing began in Shenzhen, as she and her entourage, many of whom had played a part in the southern citys development, spent the day there touring iconic sites, and visiting an exhibition charting Shenzhens rise. Story continues Apart from the citys top officials, the delegation included prominent businessmen and politicians such as toy tycoon Lam Leung-tim, 94, Peter Woo Kwong-ching, former chairman of Wharf Holdings, Bank of East Asia chairman David Li Kwok-po, and Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, former member of the National Peoples Congress Standing Committee. Lam Leung-tim was later introduced to Wang as the oldest member of the delegation, as he proudly showed off the yellow rubber duck toy his company Forward Winsome Industries is known for. Also among the delegates was Dennis Lam Shun-chiu, an ophthalmologist known for his philanthropic work on the mainland. In 2004, he founded Project Vision, which aims to provide eye healthcare to rural China. The chief executive told Wang the average age of the delegates was 66. The delegation began its tour with a stop at an exhibition on the transformation of the mainland city from a fishing town, to Chinas innovation and technology hub that is also home to 12 million people. The group then met Wang over lunch, before visiting another exhibition, and an iconic site related to reforms at Qianhai, Shenzhens new business and financial district. They then set off for the capital, and are due to attend a seminar on Sunday with Beijing officials on how Hong Kong can further contribute to Chinas development. On Monday morning, the group is expected to meet state leaders. No official statement has been made yet, but these leaders could either be President Xi Jinping, or Vice-Premier Han Zheng. Former chief executives Tung Chee-hwa and Leung Chun-ying are also expected to join the tour later as vice-chairmen of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, the nations top political advisory body. Separately, before leaving for Shenzhen, Lam once again dismissed speculation that Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung was to be replaced. There is no such thing this delegation is purely to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the countrys reform and opening up, she said. Lam also said she will not have one-to-one meetings with state leaders on this trip. Cheung was not in the delegation. This article Hong Kong is the city we aspire to be top, Shenzhen official tells Chief Executive Carrie Lam as pair bond over special relationship first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018. Yemeni government forces pressed further into the strategic port city of Hodeida, seizing its main hospital in heavy fighting Saturday, as their Saudi-led coalition backers put a brave face on an end to US refuelling support. A loyalist official said mortar rounds were "falling like rain" in the streets as troops overcame rebel-laid mines and snipers to take control of the main hospital in the city of some 600,000 people. The rebels have put up fierce resistance to the government advance towards the city's vital docks, which are the point of entry for 80 percent of Yemen's commercial imports and nearly all UN-supervised humanitarian aid. The grinding Saudi-led war in Yemen has caused growing international unease after high-profile coalition air strikes that have killed scores of civilians, many of them children. The intensified coalition-backed push into Hodeida, which has claimed the lives of at least 382 combatants this month, comes despite aid agency warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe in the event of a protracted battle for the city. Some 14 million Yemenis are at risk of famine and many more are dependent on international aid, according to UN agency figures, making it vital that Hodeida's port remains open and undamaged. Yemeni officials said Saturday that pro-government forces had captured the city's May 22 Hospital. Amnesty International had earlier accused the Huthis of "deliberate militarisation" of the facility after they posted snipers on its roof. - 'Street fighting' - Two days after loyalist troops entered residential neighbourhoods of Hodeida for the first time, fighting raged in the city's east as pro-government forces backed by air strikes and helicopters sought to push deeper into the city. "The battles here are turning into street fighting," one loyalist official said, adding that pro-government forces had advanced around a kilometre along a major highway into the city on Saturday. Hodeida resident Lubna, who asked that her full name not be used for fear of retaliation, said "the noise of Apache helicopters, artillery and gunfire" was incessant. Huthi forces were using artillery to pound advancing loyalist forces, at times firing from residential areas, she said, fearing this "could mean that civilians pay the highest price". UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Saturday urged the coalition, the Huthis "and all those supplying arms to the parties to the conflict to take immediate steps to end the suffering of civilians in Yemen". Save the Children field coordinator Mariam Aldogani spoke of intense coalition air strikes, with over 15 hitting in the space of just 30 minutes. "This is the worst time for Hodeida children," she said. The UN Human Rights Office, meanwhile, said there were "serious concerns about the fate of 900 detainees" at six pre-trial detention facilities and Hodeida's central prison, which was hit by mortar shells on Monday. - Refuelling deal scrapped - The suspension of US assistance to refuel coalition aircraft comes as Washington's backing of the war effort faces increased scrutiny following international outrage over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder last month in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. In an apparent face-saving move, Saudi Arabia sought to project the decision as its own, not Washington's. The Pentagon had been providing refuelling capabilities for about 20 percent of coalition planes flying sorties over Yemen. Saudi-controlled media suggested the coalition had the capacity to make up the shortfall. Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath television reported that the kingdom has 23 planes of its own for refuelling operations devoted to Yemen operations, while the UAE has six. Loyalist commander Colonel Sadiq Duwaid said the decision would "not affect" the coalition assault on Hodeida, which would continue "until the Huthi militias surrender". The intensified battle for Hodeida comes despite Pentagon chief James Mattis calling last month for a ceasefire and negotiations between Yemen's warring parties within 30 days. The United Nations has since pushed that deadline back to the end of the year. In an op-ed published by The Washington Post on Friday, the head of the rebels' Supreme Revolutionary Committee, Mohammed Ali al-Huthi, said the escalating offensive in Hodeida showed Mattis's ceasefire call was "nothing but empty talk". The article infuriated Yemeni government officials, who accused the Post of providing a platform to a "war criminal". The Huthis have controlled Hodeida since 2014 when they overran the capital Sanaa and swept though much of the rest of the country, triggering the Saudi-led intervention the following year. The rebels have since been driven out of virtually all of the south and much of the Red Sea coast. At least 110 airstrikes were carried out in Hodeida, Saada, the Huthi stronghold in northern Yemen, and Sanaa between 31 October and 6 November, the UN Human Rights Office said Saturday. burs-mah-ac/rsc/del How Singles Day has helped Alibaba ascend on an AI-powered cloud in China Within minutes of the clock striking midnight on November 11 this year, consumers across China will be racking up billions in purchases on Alibabas e-commerce marketplaces. Alibaba engineers and employees watching the transaction numbers on big screens will whoop as the figure instantly crosses the hundred million yuan mark, then zooms into the billions. As the orders start to roll in, the companys proprietary cloud computing platform Alibaba Cloud will, at its peak, process hundreds of thousands in transactions and payments per second. Robots in the automated warehouses of Alibabas logistics arm Cainiao will begin sorting and packing the orders that come in, readying them for the battalion of trucks, scooters and millions of deliverymen that will send an estimated 1 billion packages to their rightful owners within days of November 11. For Chinas largest e-commerce firm, Singles Day is not just its most important shopping event of the year. It is also the day that the Alibaba pushes the boundaries on its technology and services, stress-testing its technology systems during the worlds largest shopping festival that grows in scale every year. The technology and innovation that Alibaba has developed to serve the needs that arise from Singles Day have allowed Alibaba to expand into a variety of services, including Alibaba Cloud, logistics, and artificial intelligence. Take Alibaba Cloud for example. Alibabas cloud computing arm was borne out of a belief by Alibaba co-founder and executive chairman Jack Ma that it was important for the Hangzhou-based firm to develop its own core technology. Alibaba Cloud to support live broadcast of 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo Before 2008, Alibaba relied heavily on technology from Yahoo, one of Alibabas largest shareholders, according to Wang Jian, who served as president of Alibaba Cloud since its inception in 2009 until September 2013. Jack Ma understood the importance of technology, he felt deeply that without [your own] technology, you cannot survive, Wang recounted in a CCTV interview in July. Alibaba did not make Wang or other executives available for interview. Story continues Ma wanted Alibaba to develop its own cloud computing capabilities instead of relying on external technology, and pledged to invest 1 billion yuan every year for the next decade for Wang to build Alibabas proprietary cloud computing systems. Wang led a team of engineers to create Apsara, a cloud computing system that could cluster thousands of PCs and act like a supercomputer to implement extremely powerful computing performance. Within just a year, Alibaba Cloud supported its first Singles Day shopping festival, supporting 2.4 billion page views in 24 hours. Alibaba Clouds systems have today become the backbone for subsequent Singles Day bonanzas. In 2017, the system supported a peak of 325,000 transactions and 256,000 payment transactions per second. This is like a stress test and this shows the very strong cloud capability of our elastic [compute], big data and security, said Wang Yeming, an Alibaba Cloud general manager in an interview with ComputerWorld UK in June this year. Nowhere else can you find such a workload on the cloud Alibaba is well proven in extreme stress tests. Alibaba Cloud is now essential infrastructure it powers every business unit throughout the Alibaba Group. In its 2018 fiscal year, Alibaba transacted a massive 4.8 trillion yuan worth of transactions on its e-commerce platforms, giving the company access to big data that it can use to test its cloud computing architecture and feed into its machine learning systems. By combining big data, artificial intelligence and cloud computing, Alibaba today offers not just cloud services, but also an intelligent AI platform called ET Brain that helps companies solve business and even social problems. Solutions offered can help improve traffic flow, predict medical needs in a hospital and even ease congestion at the Beijing Capital International Airport, which is notorious for its flight delays. Alibaba Cloud sets sights on US market as it expands Europe services In January, Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur signed an agreement with Alibaba to use its ET City Brain smart city platform, that will use big data and AI on its cloud computing infrastructure to process video feeds, social media and traffic information to manage traffic on the streets, and even help provide data for urban planning and reduce traffic congestion. Other cities that will also use ET City Brain include Macau and the African nation Ghana. Similar solutions are on offer for industries that are looking to increase efficiency, whether on the production line, during the supply chain process or to protect themselves from copyright infringement, as Alibaba chairman Ma looks towards smart manufacturing as the next big thing that will upend the retail industry over the next decades. While much of its AI and cloud products are still aimed at providing solutions to enterprises, industries and cities, Alibaba has also introduced several consumer-facing features, tucked away in its Tmall mobile app, that will give consumers a peek at its AI prowess. Located in the My Tools section of Tmalls app are three AI features that Alibaba calls Select items with AI. Specifically, three options are available users can snap a picture to determine the ripeness of a melon, check the type of kiwi fruit (golden or green) and even whether ones longjing tea leaves are hand- or machine-roasted. The latest AI tea leaves feature was demonstrated onstage by Simon Hu, president of Alibaba Cloud, at the companys 2018 cloud computing conference in September. Inviting the emcee on stage to taste some of Hangzhous famous longjing tea, Hu asked if the emcee could identify whether the tea leaves on the two saucers before him were roasted by hand or by machine. When the emcee demurred, Hu pulled out his smartphone, drew up the AI feature and snapped a picture of each saucer, allowing the AI tool to identify the roasting style of the two kinds of leaves. Through lots of image recognition and machine learning, we can use smartphones and AI today to distinguish between the two, he said. Over a span of nine years, Alibabas cloud computing arm is now ranked third in market share behind Amazon and Microsoft for infrastructure as a service (IaaS), a form of cloud computing that provides virtualised computing resources over the internet, according to a Gartner report in August. In Alibabas second-quarter earnings results in early November, the company reported that its cloud business generated revenue of 5.6 billion yuan, up 90 per cent from the previous year. To be sure, although Alibaba Cloud may be among the worlds top three cloud services providers, its 4.6 per cent global market share is still dwarfed by Amazons 51.8 per cent and Microsofts 13.3 per cent market share, according to Gartner means it still has a long way to go to become the worlds dominant cloud services provider. Cloud computing services have also helped Alibaba improve upon a vital industry that impacts its business logistics. Alibaba formed its logistics arm Cainiao with a consortium of delivery and courier firms in 2013 to improve efficiency among the couriers, with the aim of finding a way to deliver packages even quicker into the hands of consumers. Cainiao primarily operates a logistics information platform that links up a network of logistics providers and their warehouses and distribution centres, allowing more information sharing and integration directly into Alibabas e-commerce platforms. This means that merchants can easily select the courier companies they want to deliver the customers orders within Alibabas marketplaces, and consumers can track the status of their package deliveries within sites like Taobao and Tmall, no matter which courier is delivering the package. For logistics companies, the open information flow means that they can provide more efficient and better services to customers. Develop and control: Xi urges China to use AI in race for tech future Using Alibaba Clouds infrastructure, Cainiao is able to offer data-driven services to the supply chain, allowing couriers to determine the best delivery routes and allowing both companies and consumers to monitor the real-time location of packages. With the Cainiao network, Alibaba managed to deliver 100 million parcels within just 2.8 days last year, compared to almost 9 days in 2013, according to Ben Wang, vice-president at Cainiao. The logistics industry has grown tremendously over the last 10 years, mostly benefiting from e-commerce. [Singles Day] plays a key role in this, Wang said in a video interview on Alizila, Alibaba's news site. Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post. This article How Singles Day has helped Alibaba ascend on an AI-powered cloud in China first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018. Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools: Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring View the latest news, buy/sell ratings, SEC filings and insider transactions for your stocks. Compare your portfolio performance to leading indices and get personalized stock ideas based on your portfolio. Stock Ideas and Recommendations Get daily stock ideas top-performing Wall Street analysts. Get short term trading ideas from the MarketBeat Idea Engine. View which stocks are hot on social media with MarketBeat's trending stocks report. Mexicos new populist government, whose president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador officially takes office on 1 December, is poised to put a new spin on the drug war, turning the countrys cannabis industry into a potential gold mine. The new government is on a fast-track path to legalizing cannabis for commercial, recreational and medicinal purposes, putting a new spin on the drug war as industry figures eye Canadas burgeoning marijuana market as a major potential buyer. On 1 November, Mexicos Supreme Court overturned the ban on recreational use of marijuana. Then, on 8 November, the incoming interior minister in the new government, Senator Olga Sanchez Cordero, introduced draft legislation that would regulate cannabis. The export potential is mouth-watering, especially considering Canadas recent legalization of recreational marijuana and the fact that its already struggling with supply. Were going to be able to create a new industry based on new regulations, to produce cannabis for the rest of the world our geographic situation and our labour [pool] gives us a major advantage, the Globe and Mail quoted Guillermo Nieto, president of the National Association of Cannabis Industries, as saying Thursday. And Nieto says theres no question about interest, with his office already fielding a deluge of requests from potential investors and partners. Related: Markets Rally Following Mid-Term Elections And Mexico isnt just following Canadas lead here, and eyeing its export potentialits also checking out is legislative playbook to see how its done. But Mexicos drug cartels make things much trickier than its been for Canada. Mexicos war on drugs has been going on for over a decade, during which time more than 230,000 people have been killed. While the governments stance against marijuana has often been criticized for contributing to the violence, with security forces using heavy-handed tactics to crack down on cannabis producers, it remains highly uncertain whether legalization will lead to a reduction in violence. As the Globe and Mail notes, groups involved in drug trafficking control territory where illegal marijuana is grown. Mexican drug cartels are major suppliers of illegal marijuana to the U.S., where there is no federal-level legalization and where cartels would still find a lucrative market. Attributing cannabis prohibition to crime and violence, Cordero told senators: Today, the nation has taken the decision to change. We dont want more deaths. It will be a major contribution to bringing peace to our beloved country. The bill would also any individual to grow up to 20 marijuana plants on private property and produce up to 17 ounces (480 grams) a year, though edible marijuana products would remain prohibited. Related: Amazons Tale Of Two Cities The domestic market, too, could be quite lucrative. Estimates are that Mexicos medical marijuana market alone is worth as much as $5 billion. Is Mexicos cannabis package going to make it through Congress? Potential investors and partners certainly hope so, and theyre banking on the fact that Obradors party enjoys a majority in both houses, and the fact that Mexicos push to legalize medical marijuana last year won overwhelming support in Congress and Senate. But theyll have to be patient because the new president doesnt take office until next month, and the general consensus is that new regulations wouldnt be up and running for at least a year. By Charles Benavidez for Safehaven.com More Top Reads From Safehaven.com: Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Education Reporter Mathew Burciaga is a Santa Maria Times reporter who covers education, agriculture and public safety. Prior to joining the Times, Mathew ran a 114-year-old community newspaper in Wyoming. He owns more than 40 pairs of crazy socks from across the globe. Highway 101 is currently closed in both directions south of Ventura County due to multiple fires in the area. Many communities in the area have been evacuated, including Malibu, and the Pacific Coast Highway has been impacted by traffic and closed in portions as well. Highway 118 is currently open, but impacted by heavy traffic. You can watch a live feed from local television stations on our Facebook page for updates, information and video. " " This gold-anodized aluminum plaque was attached to the Pioneer 10 spacecraft before it was launched into space on March 2, 1972. Scientists Carl and Linda Sagan and Frank Drake designed the plaque that was attached to Pioneer 10 to communicate with extraterrestrial beings. (Note: Due to size limitations, the entire plaque is not pictured here.) NASA/Getty Images One of the biggest voices in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, or SETI, once wrote that humans should be prepared to deal not just with aliens, but also with their artificial intelligence. Seth Shostak, senior astronomer for the SETI Institute, based his argument on watching us create both basic AI and cloud computing technology and sending robots to explore places we currently can't go. If we can do that, why couldn't an alien species do something similar? The communication part is where it gets tricky. The prospect of getting aliens to understand what we're saying is hard enough. What chance would an alien machine have? After all, whatever signals we send might seem based on immutable laws of math to most of us, but they'd be arbitrary to an extraterrestrial mind, organic or synthetic. For instance, the fact that we divide information into bits and bytes, that each byte contains eight bits, and there are 1024 bytes in a kilobyte are consequences of computing being adjusted to better handle certain arbitrary communication protocols. So, while we could imagine beaming pulses that are neatly decoded into greetings and instructions for alien probes, how do we know that these machines could understand our Earth-centric standards? Advertisement Shostak says we shouldn't worry about that. An alien machine could do what we do when we're trying to understand a different language. They could parse it for distinct patterns, notice repetitions and conclude that what they're receiving is an intelligent signal. "If you just said lots of things," he explains, "and no matter what is at the other end, if it's an intelligent machine, then it can certainly go through all that information and pick out the redundancies. Even if it's little gray guys with big eyeballs, they probably have some big computers and so they could do the same thing with their computers." In fact, he argues that trying to send a large volume of data is a more efficient way for aliens to understand our language, more efficient than signals showing that we understand the laws of mathematics. Faced with vast amounts of data, alien machinery could build up a large list of nouns and learn to associate them with certain images. "If they were parsing [the digital version of] The Library of Congress, they would quickly learn that the name for this square thing with four wheels is 'automobile,'" he says. "What will be hard is understanding verbs, but they could certainly pull out sequences and try to figure them out, kind of how you learn to read actually, although you'd already know the language." Of course, there's only so far we can broadcast our radio signals, and there are only so many targets at which we can aim our lasers. But let's say that at some point alien machines do encounter our probes. It's very unlikely the two devices will be able to successfully communicate because in a few hundred years the electronics on our probes would fail thanks to wear and tear and the radiation of outer space. It's also statistically unlikely they'd be quickly found by an alien spaceship. However, says Shostak, that doesn't mean there wouldn't be a lot for aliens to learn from the discovery, starting with analyzing the probes' levels of technology. "Say something happened to Christopher Columbus' ships and they all sank except maybe one," he elaborates. "So imagine that Santa Maria washes up on the shore and Native Americans go down and take a look at this ship. What can they tell about the culture that was on the other side of the ocean that launched this ship? Well, they have metal, and they have big pieces of cloth that serve some function they can probably figure out what the purpose of it was. They'd see a rudder and certainly know what a rudder was. They could certainly learn a lot from just the technology about the relative technical sophistication of the culture at the other end." " " Each of the two Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977 carry one of the 12-inch gold-plated phonograph records pictured here, replete with images and sounds from Earth. NASA And while Shostak says aliens are probably never going to run into the Voyager or the Pioneer probes, they'd be intrigued with the technology we put into them, more intrigued than with any plaques adorning said probes. If anything, he argues that equipping probes for first contact should be done with as much data as possible and allow alien machines to figure out the rest. In other words, aliens will understand our communication protocols as long as we're consistent about the ones we send and we make sure to give them a lot of data so they can decipher that they're dealing with a language. How much time and energy they'll invest in their process will likely be determined by their priorities and the limitations of their machines' programming, but it's unlikely that alien machines and their handlers won't at least recognize that they've made first contact with something out there. Now That's Interesting Shostak also suggests using a kind of interstellar braille on crystals that can survive for extremely long periods, "sort of like a CD designed for the rigors of space" that can still be read by scanners since an alien machine would be able to notice the patterns of redundancies and start the process of deciphering what we have to teach it. Despite Issue 1's overwhelming defeat, Ohio leaders still talking optimistically about state criminal justice reforms | Main | "Farewell to the Felonry" Michelle Alexander has this notable new New York Times opinion piece headlined ""The Newest Jim Crow: Recent criminal justice reforms contain the seeds of a frightening system of 'e-carceration'." I recommend the piece in full, and here are excerpts: Since 2010, when I published The New Jim Crow which argued that a system of legal discrimination and segregation had been born again in this country because of the war on drugs and mass incarceration there have been significant changes to drug policy, sentencing and re-entry, including ban the box initiatives aimed at eliminating barriers to employment for formerly incarcerated people. This progress is unquestionably good news, but there are warning signs blinking brightly. Many of the current reform efforts contain the seeds of the next generation of racial and social control, a system of e-carceration that may prove more dangerous and more difficult to challenge than the one we hope to leave behind. Bail reform is a case in point. Thanks in part to new laws and policies as well as actions like the mass bailout of inmates in New York City jails thats underway the unconscionable practice of cash bail is finally coming to an end. In August, California became the first state to decide to get rid of its cash bail system; last year, New Jersey virtually eliminated the use of money bonds. But whats taking the place of cash bail may prove even worse in the long run. In California, a presumption of detention will effectively replace eligibility for immediate release when the new law takes effect in October 2019. And increasingly, computer algorithms are helping to determine who should be caged and who should be set free. Freedom even when its granted, it turns out isnt really free. Under new policies in California, New Jersey, New York and beyond, risk assessment algorithms recommend to judges whether a person whos been arrested should be released. These advanced mathematical models or weapons of math destruction as data scientist Cathy ONeil calls them appear colorblind on the surface but they are based on factors that are not only highly correlated with race and class, but are also significantly influenced by pervasive bias in the criminal justice system. As ONeil explains, Its tempting to believe that computers will be neutral and objective, but algorithms are nothing more than opinions embedded in mathematics. Challenging these biased algorithms may be more difficult than challenging discrimination by the police, prosecutors and judges. Many algorithms are fiercely guarded corporate secrets. Those that are transparent you can actually read the code lack a public audit so its impossible to know how much more often they fail for people of color. Even if youre lucky enough to be set free from a brick-and-mortar jail thanks to a computer algorithm, an expensive monitoring device likely will be shackled to your ankle a GPS tracking device provided by a private company that may charge you around $300 per month, an involuntary leasing fee. Your permitted zones of movement may make it difficult or impossible to get or keep a job, attend school, care for your kids or visit family members. Youre effectively sentenced to an open-air digital prison, one that may not extend beyond your house, your block or your neighborhood. One false step (or one malfunction of the GPS tracking device) will bring cops to your front door, your workplace, or wherever they find you and snatch you right back to jail. Who benefits from this? Private corporations. According to a report released last month by the Center for Media Justice, four large corporations including the GEO Group, one of the largest private prison companies have most of the private contracts to provide electronic monitoring for people on parole in some 30 states, giving them a combined annual revenue of more than $200 million just for e-monitoring. Companies that earned millions on contracts to run or serve prisons have, in an era of prison restructuring, begun to shift their business model to add electronic surveillance and monitoring of the same population. Even if old-fashioned prisons fade away, the profit margins of these companies will widen so long as growing numbers of people find themselves subject to perpetual criminalization, surveillance, monitoring and control.... Many reformers rightly point out that an ankle bracelet is preferable to a prison cell. Yet I find it difficult to call this progress. As I see it, digital prisons are to mass incarceration what Jim Crow was to slavery. If you asked slaves if they would rather live with their families and raise their own children, albeit subject to whites only signs, legal discrimination and Jim Crow segregation, theyd almost certainly say: Ill take Jim Crow. By the same token, if you ask prisoners whether theyd rather live with their families and raise their children, albeit with nearly constant digital surveillance and monitoring, theyd almost certainly say: Ill take the electronic monitor. I would too. But hopefully we can now see that Jim Crow was a less restrictive form of racial and social control, not a real alternative to racial caste systems. Similarly, if the goal is to end mass incarceration and mass criminalization, digital prisons are not an answer. Theyre just another way of posing the question. Some insist that e-carceration is a step in the right direction. But where are we going with this? A growing number of scholars and activists predict that e-gentrification is where were headed as entire communities become trapped in digital prisons that keep them locked out of neighborhoods where jobs and opportunity can be found. If that scenario sounds far-fetched, keep in mind that mass incarceration itself was unimaginable just 40 years ago and that it was born partly out of well-intentioned reforms chief among them mandatory sentencing laws that liberal proponents predicted would reduce racial disparities in sentencing. While those laws may have looked good on paper, they were passed within a political climate that was overwhelmingly hostile and punitive toward poor people and people of color, resulting in a prison-building boom, an increase in racial and class disparities in sentencing, and a quintupling of the incarcerated population. Michelle Alexander frets about "The Newest Jim Crow" | Main | Fraternal Order of Police now supporting FIRST STEP Act with some sentencing reform provisions November 10, 2018 "Farewell to the Felonry" The title of this post is the interesting title of this interesting new paper authored by Alice Ristroph now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: Bastard. Idiot. Imbecile. Pauper. Felon. These terms, medieval in origin, have served as formal legal designations and also the brands of substantial social stigma. As legal designations, the terms marked persons for different sorts of membership in a political community. The rights and privileges of these persons could be restricted or denied altogether. Today, most of these terms have been abandoned as labels for official classifications. But the terms felon and felony remain central to American criminal law, even after other developed democracies have formally abolished the felon/felony category. Felony has connotations of extreme wickedness and an especially severe crime, but the official legal meaning of felony is a pure legal construct: any crime punishable by more than a year in prison. So many and such disparate crimes are now felonies that there is no unifying principle to justify the classification. And yet, the designation of a crime as a felony, or of a person as a felon, still carries great significance. Even beyond the well-documented collateral consequences of a felony conviction, the classification of persons as felons is central to the mechanics of mass incarceration and to inequality both in and out of the criminal justice system. American law provides the felonry the group of persons convicted of felonies a form of subordinate political membership that contrasts with the rights and privileges of the full-fledged citizenry. The felon should go the way of the bastard, into the dustbins of legal history. If that outcome seems unlikely, it is worth asking why a category long known to be incoherent should be so difficult to remove from the law. This Article examines felony in order to scrutinize more broadly the conceptual structure of criminal law. Criminal laws, and even their most common critiques and arguments for reform, often appeal to the same naturalistic understanding of crime and punishment that gives felon its social meaning. When we imagine crime as a natural, pre-legal wrong and the criminal as intrinsically deserving of suffering, we displace responsibility for the laws burdens from the community that enacts the law and the officials that enforce it. To bid farewell to the felonry could be a first step toward reclaiming responsibility for our criminal law. November 10, 2018 at 09:27 AM | Permalink Comments Felony, from Old French for villainy and misdemeanor is a meaningless distinction in North Carolina. We have misdemeanor offenses for which a def can get three years active , and we have felonies that carry no active time. Not a single day. Irrational!!! Bruce Posted by: Bruce Cunningham | Nov 10, 2018 5:33:34 PM Perhaps the mistake was in taking the legal stigma from the other terms rather than in keeping it for felon. Posted by: Soronel Haetir | Nov 10, 2018 6:34:43 PM Term has a valid use. While different states may use it in different ways (which can be a problem), there is a rational need to have a term for serious offenses involving potential prison time from lesser offenses that only involve jail or fines. There are times when a new label is needed because the old label creates a misleading impression or has a negative meaning that we no longer feel is appropriate. We do need a negative label for people who commit serious crimes because we want to convey that it is unacceptable behavior. Posted by: tmm | Nov 11, 2018 11:30:51 AM tmm, I agree that there is merit to have a shorthand term or designation for a person convicted of a serious crime. That is easier said than done, because it is extremely difficult to come up with one term which separates convictions with varying degrees of risk to public safety. "Felony" is simply too broad to describe the notion that the person convicted of a felony is a dangerous, violent person. Most citizens equate felony with violence. For example, in North Carolina, stealing pine straw is a felony, as is submitting a false affidavit to get a driver's license. The fact that we still use the felony./ misdemeanor dichotomy is largely attributable to the the reluctance of the legislature to take something off the table, once a new approach is put on the table. Which then results in a system/process which is illogical. For example, the NC Sentencing Commission worked for years to prepare proposed legislation which automatically factors in a person's prior record of criminal convictions into the sentence for a current offense. The Commission came up with a grid for judges to use which consists of a vertical axis of severity of offense and a horizontal axis of the number of seriousness of prior convictions. The Chairman of the Commission expressed the position that the state's Habitual Felon Act should be repealed once the sentencing grid was placed in effect. Of course, politicians couldn't find it within themselves to vote in favor of repealing something call "habitual" felon. So we now have two, superimposed statutes which increases the penalty for a felony conviction, due to a defendant's prior record. bruce Posted by: bruce cunningham | Nov 11, 2018 9:16:10 PM Post a comment If you have been to Singapore lately, you probably must have noticed the trends in bar scenes bursting and vibrant, but what you may not have captured is the fact that most of these bars in the scene are on a world-class level. Expats, particularly bar enthusiasts, can enjoy the oh-so-amazing selection of creativity on the styles in the cool bars. Singapore economy is on another whole new level. This is due to the many world-class institutions based on the small island. Therefore, it is not surprising to have several bars around falling in the world-class category. Some of the bars have gone ahead and won numerous awards and are the reason for the countrys nightlife booming. Interested or looking to jump into the bar-hopping bandwagon? With hundreds of beautiful places to visit, compiling a list of some of the best bars in Singapore is one tedious task, but here is a strict checklist of the award-winning and everyones favorite bar in Singapore. Manhattan Ranked as number one bar at the Asias 50 best bars in 2018, Manhattan is your place to try out this season. If you are a cocktail connoisseur or that individual who enjoy strong, sophisticated vibes, then Manhattan bar is the best place to try out such stuff. Here you will enjoy top class service, a mix of old school tunes, indie hip-hop, electro swing accompanied by a pic-perfect ambiance for your social media coverage and update and ultimately the fantastic cocktails served by some of the best Singaporean bartenders. The swanky vintage, New York design bar is the best place for anyone who fancies the Mad Men era. It is also the first bar across the world to have Rickhousean in-hotel where the American oak barrels are used to keep single-cask cocktails, fine spirits, and age bitters. As if thats not enough, there exists another room with multiple shelves that are lined with cool drinks. Native The passion project for the award-winner Vijay Mudaliar, Native bar pay lots of attention to cocktail creations which are creatively made with local products and ingredients that are sourced from across the region. Story continues Native is popularly known for hosting events, playing music, and hosting various celebrities such as musicians and DJs from local and international levels. If you are a music fanatic, a dancer, choreographer or simply a fan of cocktails, you are missing a lot. Once you find yourself in Native, you find yourself caught up with so many flavors that tickle your taste buds. All the cocktails are naturally made, and each has a rich history. A little chat with the friendly and professional bartenders can give you some insights on how the drinks came about, despite the fact that it was opened in December 2016. Tippling club Ryan Clift, the chef-owner of the Tippling club has kept this bar bursting with innovations, cocktail pairings, the ultra-progressive cuisines, and many others since 2008. The Tippling club is known to deliver avant-garde cuisine which is accompanied by the fancy world-class cocktails. The famous Joe Schofield, who is the head bartender is also known to create sensorium menuone experiment and the innovative cocktail menu that is naturally made from gummy bears. Visitors can choose whatever they like or would appreciate trying to get a heavenly experience. This waterhole is a favorite for individuals who enjoy breaking their boundaries for serious drinks particularly the sensorium which is the latest menu. The gummy bears work as a sampler to guide the direction of the type of drink you want. There are 12 gummy bears. Each represents a drink and its alcoholic counterpart. It is no wonder the bar landed itself in the top 25 restaurants in Asia by San Pellegrino catching the whole worlds attention. Operation Dagger Looking for a basement bar? Hidden in a quiet nondescript building at a corner of the bustling Ann Siang Hill is Operation Dagger. The entrance is marked with a rectangle logo, a rather small clown, and a darkened staircase. Here, you will find low key electronics that play hip hop music which makes it easy for an individual to receive phone calls and follow up on a conversation. Visitors can have an interactive and unique experience with the drinks, the bartenders, and companions. There is a wide range of drinks that are composed of specially-fermented concoctions and house-made meads. The elusive and hard to find bar has special cocktails such as G.O.A.T, Untitled and Onion gum which gives you a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience. In fact, these three will keep you coming back for more. Atlas Even if you have never stepped to Atlas, you probably may have caught a glimpse of the gold leaf-flecked and ornate interiors on multiple social media portfolios. The ambiance is quite breathtaking, and you wont want to wake up from those cozy armchairs while taking your favorite drink and ultimately soaking yourself in the opulent atmosphere. The place serves European cuisines from the chief chef Daniele Sperindio. The world-class type of cocktails meets the aesthetics of the roaring 20s of America and the Great Gatsby. When you get there, dont forget to request for a gin-based cocktail and fill your Instagram with the eye-catching gin tower. There are over a thousand types of gin, so dont get confused just have a chat with the sommelier and he will definitely get you something of your taste. HongKong Street If youre that individual who doesnt fancy certain tricks done to your drink, then dont look any further for Hong Kong Street is your perfect match. This is the type of bar that values the importance of sticking to the basic essential of a drinking experience and avoiding frills. The philosophy is well-illustrated by their hilarious website which is more of an empty page with necessary information rather than too much detailed specifications that you would expect in a website trying to market itself. The drinks are super unique and come with a high foot to boot. The menu is revised a few times in a year to give a perfect experience. You may also like to read: Tips To Build A Successful Brand/Business for Millennials 8 Expensive Dining Places and Specialty Foods in Singapore 2018 10 of the most unusual food you must try in Japan (By Molly Joshi) Related Articles - 8 Expensive Dining Places and Specialty Foods in Singapore 2018 - Best dining credit cards in Singapore (2018) - Romance your date at these 5 exquisite dining spots Visiting writers have had a mixed response to Hong Kong over the years. In 1873, novelist Jules Verne published Around the World in Eighty Days, in which he wrote that Hong Kong had the appearance of a town in Kent or Surrey transferred by some strange magic to the antipodes. Rudyard Kipling may have gone on to be dubbed the Bard of the British Empire, but he had nothing good to say about Hong Kong, which he visited in 1889, only to be outraged by the presence of white prostitutes (hed never had any problems with Indian ones in the brothels of Lahore). Kipling wrote little of his brief Hong Kong sojourn, but if he was shocked by the presence of white prostitutes, we can assume he at least ventured as far as Lan Kwai Fong, as well as Wellington and Peel streets, and Hollywood Road, where most of the European-staffed bordellos were. He may also have strolled Lyndhurst Terrace and patronised (I mean, of course, been shocked by) Veras, which was run by an American madam of the same name who was reputedly very well spoken, took extremely good care of her health, did not smoke, was teetotal and, if possible, would not hire diseased girls. To be truly shocked, Kipling may have found himself on Gage Street, a rookery of immense villainy at the time. Somerset Maugham was famously welcome only once wherever he went. This was due to his rather scurrilous short stories that resulted from his travels, and which enraged expats in the likes of Malaya and Singapore. In 1925, Maughams novel The Painted Veil was published. It was set partly in Hong Kong, which he had visited. The story of the lovely but shallow Kitty Fane, adulterous wife of Walter, a bacteriologist stationed in China, and of her husbands revenge, outraged Hong Kong. The book had first been serialised in Nashs Magazine in England, where Walter and Kitty Fane were originally surnamed Lane. A certain Mr Lane of Hong Kong successfully sued for libel, and the action ended in a settlement of 250, and with Lane becoming Fane in the book. Story continues Still, the government in Hong Kong complained that the novel accused senior colonial officials of adultery and insisted that the location be changed. Hence, Hong Kong became the fictional Tching-Yen, Happy Valley was now Pleasant Valley, Kowloon redesignated as Lushan, and The Peak became the Mount. That was not quite enough for the pedantic Hong Kong government, however, and all references to nearby Canton had to be removed too. Despite this, the first three editions referred to Hong Kong. The 2006 movie of the novel (the third film adaptation) , starring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, also shied away from the British colony and set the adulterous affair in Shanghai. With cinema audiences, at least, Shanghais reputation as sin city has frequently overwhelmed that of Hong Kong, though in keeping with tradition after The Painted Veil, Maugham was no longer welcome in the territory. American playwright Eugene ONeill sought to escape the hassles of success and a failed marriage, and travel to Shanghai in 1928. He sailed from Marseilles with his new love, Broadway actress Carlotta Monterey. Along the way, ONeill got sunstroke in Colombo, went for a swim in Singapore in water Monterey described as sewer infested, and then caught a nasty dose of flu in Saigon. When his liner finally reached Victoria Harbour, ONeill opted to stay aboard, deciding that Hong Kong was too damp for him. Once in Shanghai, he had a nervous breakdown. Shanghai and Hong Kong are the subject of a little disagreement when it comes to Noel Coward. In his 1937 memoir Present Indicative, Coward says that he wrote his play Private Lives in Shanghai, in 1930, while staying at the Cathay Hotel, revised the draft in Hong Kong, in his room at the Peninsula, and made final corrections at Raffles Hotel in Singapore. While in Shanghai, however, Coward suffered from influenza, so the actual sequence of events is unclear, and both the Peninsula and the Raffles may have equal claim to Private Lives. The Cathay Hotel of old, on Shanghais Bund, is now called the Fairmont Peace Hotel, but it holds rigidly to the story of how Coward, tucked up in bed, penned his brilliant comedy of sexual manners there. (Perhaps Shanghai would not be so keen to claim Coward if they knew he described the city as a cross between Huddersfield and Brussels.) Whatever the truth, the play, set in Deauville, France, was written somewhere between those three hotels, making Private Lives a truly pan-Asian play about nothing Asian whatsoever. A year later, in 1931, Coward immortalised Hong Kongs noonday gun in the song Mad Dogs and Englishmen, composed during a car journey from Hanoi to Saigon. The song has summed up the eccentricities of the colonial English for generations, and became Cowards show-stopper turn during his famous 1960s Las Vegas cabaret shows, telling of how: Mad Dogs and Englishmen, go out in the midday sun The smallest Malay rabbit, deplores this stupid habit. In Hong Kong, they strike a gong, and fire off a noonday gun, to reprimand each inmate, whos in late. In 1938, W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood came to Hong Kong, en route for China, to cover the war with Japan. The trip led to their book Journey to a War (1939). In one of the sonnets in the book, Auden referred to still peaceful Hong Kong: Here in the East our bankers have erected A worthy temple to the comic muse. Ten thousand miles from home and Whats-Her-Name, A bugle on this late Victorian hill Puts out the soldiers light; offstage a war Thuds like the slamming of a distant door: Each has his comic role in life to fill, Though life be neither comic nor a game. The pair, who rolled out of the city from Kowloon railway station, heading up through the New Territories to Guangdong, noted that the countryside was reminiscent of Englands Severn Valley. Of course, it is not, but they had just spent a few days largely on the gin, having experienced Hong Kong as a dream due to there being no war. They described it as a city of dinner parties, dinner jackets and taxis home. War brought smart and savvy American war correspondent Martha Gellhorn to town in 1941. It was her first trip to the East and despite her reason for coming she had visions of a Maugham-type colonial lifestyle in the Orient. Gellhorn liked Hong Kong, but she was keen to get up into China and see the war. However, she was having a hard time shifting her UC. The Unwilling Companion in question was her new husband and supposed war correspondent colleague Ernest Hemingway. Reporting their marriage, some wag at the South China Morning Post came up with the (rather good) headline, For Whom the Belle Falls. Gellhorn was independent and tough. She had been a foreign correspondent in Paris with United Press in the early 1930s, then worked for the Federal Emergency Relief Administration during the Great Depression, as part of President Franklin Roosevelts New Deal. Her work with photographer Dorothea Lange, documenting Americas poorest communities, resulted in one of the great books of the Depression, The Trouble Ive Seen (1936). Gellhorn had met Hemingway and then gone to cover the Spanish civil war and Nazi Germany. Now she wanted to see the war in China. However, the Post was only interested in Hemingway, whose arrival they eagerly anticipated. Gellhorn was dismissed in a passing mention as a bottle blonde she certainly was not. UC Hemingway had immediately taken to Hong Kong. He was happy to find a ready circle of hangers-on to praise him and pour his drinks at the bar of the Hongkong Hotel (which was on Pedder Street, in Central). Former Shanghailander and New Yorker correspondent Emily Hahn claimed Hemingway introduced the concept of the Bloody Mary to Hong Kong. The problem, however, was that the bar of the Hongkong Hotel was not where the story was. Gellhorn famously said, Where I want to be, boy, is where it is all blowing up. And that was not Hong Kong not quite yet. But Hemingway would not be moved from the bar and so, in March 1941, Gellhorn flew to Chungking (today Chongqing), at night, freezing cold and at high altitude to avoid Japanese fighter planes. Hemingway opted to stay in the British colony, enjoying his circle of admirers, annoying the management of the Hongkong Hotel by letting off firecrackers in his room and pushing all the furniture out into the corridor so he could teach his new gang of acolytes and drinking buddies to box. Hemingway then headed into the New Territories to hunt for pheasant in the company of Morris Two-Gun Cohen, who had been Sun Yat-sens cockney bodyguard, and who was in semi-retirement in Kennedy Town. Eventually, Hemingway had to go to China proper too but he hated it and was glad to eventually get back to the United States, describing his entire Hong Kong-China trip as an unshakeable hangover. More positively, in 1962, writer Ian Fleming arrived in Hong Kong on a BOAC jet and started enjoying life on TheSunday Times tab. The James Bond author thought Hong Kong the most vivid and exciting city I have ever seen and spent plenty of time enjoying Shek O and Big Wave Bay. In his Sunday Times column, later collated as the travelogue Thrilling Cities (1963), Fleming listed the best three things about Hong Kong as: 1) food; 2) suits tailored perfectly in 48 hours; and 3) cheap cigarettes at 1s 3d for twenty. Finally, multiple countries and cities celebrate Joseph Conrad. These include his home country of Poland, and his adopted country England, obviously, and there are various plaques and memorials to the great writer of the sea in Sydney, Singapore and San Francisco, among others. Conrad visited nearly every port city in the world at one time or another before his death in 1924, and there was long a rumour that he dropped into Hong Kong and stayed at the Peninsula (which opened in 1928). But, though the city gets a mention or two in his novels, it seems he probably never called in at all. And, if he did, he certainly did not stay in the Peninsula. But no matter, many believed he did, including fan Graham Greene, who arrived in Hong Kong in 1955, on his way to Hanoi. Greene checked in at the Peninsula and requested Conrads room, believing the tale to be true. A canny receptionist nodded knowingly, gave him a room key and assured him it had been Mr Conrads home from home. Paul French, author of true-crime bestseller Midnight in Peking (2011), was in Hong Kong for the Hong Kong International Literary Festival. This article What authors from Kipling to Hemingway and Auden made of Hong Kong, good and bad first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018. More from South China Morning Post: The death toll from a string of car bombings near a popular hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu has jumped to at least 41, police said on Saturday. Friday's attack was the latest in a wave of bombings by Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda affiliate which has been fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed Somali government for over a decade. Twin car bombs exploded within moments of each other, followed by gunfire and a third blast, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the sky. The blasts occurred near the Sahafi hotel and Criminal Investigation Division (CID) police headquarters. Parliament speaker Mohamed Mursal said the attackers deliberately targeted civilians. "These terrorists have massacred civilians at a time when people were out to spend time during the weekend. I call on the Somali people to stand together against those killers," he told reporters. - 'Chaos after the blast' - Police official Ibrahim Mohamed said information received from various hospitals indicated that the number of dead had reached 41, with another 106 wounded. "Most of these people were civilians and nearly 20 of them died in minibuses that were passing by the road when the blast occurred," he added. Another security official, Abdirahman Osman, told AFP that nearly 50 had been confirmed dead so far, although the final number was not yet known. Officials on Friday had put the death toll at about 20. "There was chaos after the blast. Some of the vehicles were buses, which caught fire. I could see people screaming as they fled the buses," witness Fadumo Ali told AFP on Friday. According to sources in Somalia, the fatalities included the son of the owner of the hotel, Abdirashid Ilqeyte, who was killed in a Shabaab attack on the establishment in November 2015. The bombs destroyed parts of the hotel perimeter despite layered security, and several shops and other buildings nearby were flattened. The Shabaab claimed responsibility. "Armed members from the Shabab Al-Mujahideen carried (out) a complex attack targeting Sahafi hotel in Mogadishu where senior Somali government officials stay," the militant group said in a statement quoted by a pro-Shabaab website. The Shabaab were forced out of the capital by African Union troops in 2011. But they still control parts of the countryside and attack government, military, and civilian targets, seemingly at will, in Mogadishu and towns in the region. Dissident Chinese author Ma Jian hit out at threats to freedom of speech Saturday saying it was the "basis of civilisation" after a struggle to find a venue to host his talks at Hong Kong's literary festival. The venue battle fuelled growing concerns that semi-autonomous Hong Kong's freedoms are fast disappearing under an assertive Beijing. Ma, whose books are banned in mainland China, promoted his latest novel "China Dream" at two speaking events Saturday. The title plays on Chinese President Xi Jinping's rhetoric of national rejuvenation and is described by publisher Penguin as "a biting satire of totalitarianism". "Self-censorship is nothing wonderful and we have to have the courage to break that," he told reporters Saturday morning at a press conference at the new Tai Kwun arts centre, which hosts the Hong Kong International Literary Festival and had originally cancelled his talks. The venue reinstated them at the 11th hour Friday after a replacement location also dropped out. Ma, 65, said Tai Kwun's last-minute change of heart showed "self-censorship had failed". "The freedom to speak is the basis of our civilisation," he added. "We have to safeguard our freedom of expression. We have to safeguard our civilisation." - 'We were wrong' - Speaking to a packed audience about his new book later Saturday night at Tai Kwun, Ma had further words of warning for Hong Kong people. "You might not feel it now, but perhaps your children might have to read Xi Jinping Thought as their text book in school later," he said through a translator. He also said that Xi's hardline approach in China had been unexpected. "At first we thought Xi Jinping wasn't a Red Guard, he wouldn't think he owned the country," he said. "But we were wrong." Ma, who lives in London and has a British passport as well as holding Hong Kong residency, earlier said he had informed his local MP that he was coming to Hong Kong and they had told the British foreign ministry. "I know that they would protect me if I ever disappeared and would look for me," he said. "This is what I can do in a democratic country." Tai Kwun's director Timothy Calnin said Thursday it had cancelled Ma's talks because it did not want to be "a platform to promote the political interests of any individual". Backtracking Friday, Calnin said public statements by Ma had clarified he would not use the venue to "promote his personal political interests". Ma had said from the beginning of the row that he is a novelist, not a politician. "If anybody separates the political elements from other things in novels, that only shows the ignorance of that person," he told reporters. He added that the fact he had entered Hong Kong freely after concerns he would not be allowed in made him think the government had not been involved in the two venues' decisions to bar him. Literary festival organisers said they could not comment when asked by reporters Saturday for more detail on the reasons Tai Kwun had given them for the original cancellations and the backtrack. Hong Kong government had nothing to do with earlier decision to cancel Tai Kwun talk by dissident Chinese writer Ma Jian, Carrie Lam says Hong Kongs leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor denied on Saturday she was responsible for an earlier decision by an arts venue to cancel events featuring Chinese dissident writer Ma Jian, as the author went ahead with his two talks without incident. Speaking before her trip to Shenzhen and Beijing, the chief executive said the government has no involvement, before adding: I only learned about the incident after it was reported. Ma, who arrived on Friday, had suggested heritage site Tai Kwuns initial cancellation of his appearance was influenced by powers beyond the arts centre and its parent group, the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The row erupted on Thursday, when Tai Kwun a defunct police station turned culture hub said it was cancelling two scheduled events involving Ma as part of the Hong Kong International Literary Festival. At the time, the venues director, Timothy Calnin, said Tai Kwun should not be used to promote the political interests of any individual. I am happy that the incident has been resolved Carrie Lam On Friday, a second venue owned by property developer Nan Fung also refused to host Ma. In a U-turn, Tai Kwun then gave Ma the go ahead, after Calnin said the author had made clear he had no intention of using the platform to promote his political interests. Ma appeared on Saturday at a panel discussion titled Hong Kong Through The Lens of Literature with two local writers, and introduced his new novel China Dream . At a press conference by organisers in Tai Kwun on Saturday morning, Ma said his smooth entry into the city proved the Hong Kong government did not have a hand in the initial cancellations. Ma called on Hongkongers to stand up against censorship and defend free speech in the city. My case proved that self-censorship is nothing invincible. We must be brave and break it because free speech is the foundation of civilisation, Ma said. Story continues He said Tai Kwuns earlier decision to cancel his talks came from ignorance on the nature of literature. Novels and literature in general include a great variety of knowledge, ranging from psychology and phytology to politics, Ma said. Judging an author by singling out the political elements in his works is an act of ignorance. Judging an author by singling out the political elements in his works is an act of ignorance Ma Jian, writer Ma said China Dream was a political allegory dedicated to George Orwell, who wrote the dystopian novel 1984. Orwell wrote what he thought would happen and in response, I wrote what has occurred, Ma said. I hope my book can make Hong Kong readers reflect on their current situation and whether free speech is suppressed as the city seeks to be part of the China dream touted by the Beijing government. The author revealed that before he left London where he is based he told members of parliament about his trip, and the details were then shared with the British foreign affairs office. If anything untoward happened to me, the British government would look for me and protect me. This is what I enjoy in a democratic country, said Ma, who holds a British passport and has Hong Kong permanent residency. He warned Hong Kong readers they could no longer treat literature as merely a sanctuary from reality. I understand that people here are feeling insecure, and I understand that words alone cannot defeat political power, but through reading and sharing, we can uphold the basic principles of humanity and morality, he said. Generations of writers have done this. And now its our turn, despite the complications we are facing. Phillipa Milne, director of the festival, said organisers were delighted that Tai Kwun had reversed its stance, but declined to disclose any further details of their interactions with the venue operator and the Nan Fung Group. Simon Westcott, co-chairman of the festival, said questions over the cancellations would have to be handled after the event ended on Sunday. Separately, Lam said the government would safeguard freedom of speech and expression, as well as the freedom to participate in cultural and arts events, but it could not control decisions made by venue operators. I am happy that the incident has been resolved, she added. On Saturday afternoon, all 90 seats available for Mas first talk with two local authors Ng Mei-kwan and Hon Lai-chu were taken before the event began at 5pm. At the start of the talk, Ng, who is also president of the Hong Kong Literary Criticism Society, read out a declaration in protest against Tai Kwun. Venues are extremely scarce in the literary scene in Hong Kong, and Tai Kwun is using public resources, Ng said. How come Tai Kwuns management took advantage of their control over the platform, to promote and extend political interests of some other individuals? On the sidelines of the event, Ng told the Post that most of the cultural spaces in the city was controlled by the government and its affiliated organisations. The venues boards mainly comprise of businessmen who have interests on the mainland, and therefore tend to overly worry, she said. Chris Ng, audience member and founder of the Progressive Lawyers Group, said the cancellation had been unnecessary and unwise. The mission of Tai Kwun was to promote the development of the arts. And the arts cannot stand alone from politics. Restricting free expression with self-censorship is unwise, the barrister said. It seems that Tai Kwun underestimated the reaction from the public and the literati, who have a strong self-defence mechanism against political interference. This article Hong Kong government had nothing to do with earlier decision to cancel Tai Kwun talk by dissident Chinese writer Ma Jian, Carrie Lam says first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018. Iraq's Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi meets with Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih in Baghdad Iraq's Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi meets with Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih in Baghdad, Iraq November 10, 2018. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq and Saudi Arabia agreed on Saturday to work together to stabilise oil markets, Iraq's Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said, without giving further details. During a meeting in Baghdad, Iraq and Saudi Arabia's oil ministers also discussed an electricity grid connection between the two countries to meet Iraq's power needs, he said. The Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih also met Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. Iraq currently pumps around 4.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil, second only to Saudi Arabia in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The bulk of Iraq's oil is exported via its southern terminals, which account for more than 95 percent of state revenue. Earlier this week, Iraq's Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban said the country plans to increase its oil output and export capacity in 2019, with a focus on the southern oilfields, and is close to reaching a deal with international companies. The country is targeting production capacity of 5 million bpd in 2019, with average exports expected to reach around 3.8 million bpd. On Thursday, the United States granted Iraq a 45-day exemption from sanctions which it reimposed on Iran. The exemption will allow Iraq to continue purchasing natural gas electricity from Iran. "This relief gives Iraq time to start taking steps towards energy independence," a video published on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq's official Facebook page said. (Reporting by John Davison; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Kirsten Donovan) As the biggest exporter of weapons to China, Russia has more than 100 products on display at this years Airshow China. Here is some of the hardware it had on show to attract clients in China and around the region. Military aircraft 1. Sukhoi Su-35 fighter China signed a US$2.5 billion contract for 24 Su-35s in late 2015, making it the first international buyer of the aircraft. At least 14 of the jets have already been delivered and the rest are expected to be handed over by 2020. Indonesia also ordered 11 Su-35s earlier this year. The aircraft is the best of Russias fourth-generation jet fighters available on the international market. It is powered by two AL-41-1S (AL-117S) turbofan engines and fitted with thrust vectoring nozzles enabling it to perform post-stall manoeuvres at low speeds. Its multifunctional radar is capable of tracking up to 30 targets simultaneously. 2. Ilyushin Il-78MK-90A aerial refuelling tanker The Il-78 series of air tankers is based on the Il-76 transport plane. The latest version is the Il-78MK-90A, which had its maiden fight this year. The four-engine tanker can carry a maximum payload of 52 tonnes over 5,000km (3,100 miles). Air refuelling tankers are in short supply in the Chinese military. China has just eight Il-78s from Russia and has plugged the gap with its own H6-Us, which it developed in the 1990s based on the 1950s Soviet Tu-16 bomber. 3. Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A airlifter Chinas air force is also in need of large airlifters. It has bought more than a dozen Il-76s over the years and developed the Xian Y-20 cargo plane, which can carry a payload of up to 66 tonnes. But the Y-20 is powered by Russian Soloviev D-30 turbofan engines, limiting production. The latest version of the Ilyushin, the Il-76MD-90A with Aviadvigatel PS-90 high-bypass turbofan engines, might help China make up any shortfalls. 4. Mil Mi-171Sh combat-transport helicopters The Mi-171Sh was introduced in 2002 and has been sold to several countries, including Nato members Croatia and the Czech Republic. Story continues It was designed for combat missions in local armed conflicts, and can be fitted with a Shturm-V guided missile system, 80 S-8 unguided rockets, GSh-23L 23mm cannons, and various machine guns. Hundreds of the Mi-171 series helicopters are used in China for both military and civilian purposes. Missiles 1. S-400 Triumph surface-to-air missile system The S-400 is Russias best air defence missile system in service, with greater ability to detect stealth aircraft such as the United States F-35 Lightning and counter electronic jamming. Moscow is promoting it on the international market despite concerns from the US about the systems threat to American stealth fighters. One S-400 system features up to 72 launchers and 384 missiles. The missiles vary in range from 40km to 400km, and can hit targets travelling at a maximum speed of 4,800 metres per second (10,740mph), or Mach 15, from altitudes of 10m to 30km. China was the first foreign buyer of the S-400 system, ordering six of them in 2015. The first was delivered earlier this year. Turkey and India have also signed deals for the system and several other potential buyers in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, have expressed interest in it. 2. Tor-M2KM modular surface-to-air missiles Almaz-Antey, the maker of the S-400, is also advertising its Tor-M2KM air defence system, a short-range low to medium altitude surface-to-air missile shield. China already has a number of the earlier version Tor-M1s but the Tor-M2KM features a highly flexible modular design and can be installed on a truck, roof, ship deck or any horizontal surface of at least 2.5 metres by 7.1 metres. It is self-contained and no external support is needed. With a range of 15km, the system can simultaneously track 20 targets. 3. Uran-E and Bal-E anti-ship systems Developed by Tactical Missile, the Uran-E is a shipborne anti-ship missile system while the Bal-E is its coastal version. They use different launcher batteries but both systems use Kh-35E subsonic anti-ship cruise missiles, which can destroy vessels displacing up to 5,000 tonnes. The Kh-35E has a range of up to 130km and the maximum speed of Mach 0.8. It has proved a big seller for Russia, with buyers including Vietnam and India. Engines 1. AL-41F-1S turbofan engine The AL-41F-1S is made by Saturn and designed for the Su-35. China has ordered a number of the engines as spare parts for its Su-35s. The engine, also known as the 117S, is an upgrade of the previous AL-31F. China bought hundreds of AL-31Fs for its Shenyang J-15 carrier-based fighters, and AL-31FNs for its Chengdu J-10 fighters. China is still working on its own WS-15 Emei engine and has had to use AL-31s in test types of the Chengdu J-20, Chinas most advanced stealth fighter. Some observers say China might buy more AL-41F-1S for the J-20, which is expected to go into mass production before the end of the year. 2. VK-2500M helicopter engine The VK-2500M is the latest and highest power type of turboshaft aero engine and has been described as revolutionary in its use in high-speed helicopters. It is designed for double-engined medium-sized helicopters with a take-off weight of between eight and 15 tonnes. Its predecessor, the VK-2500, powered Russias Mil Mi-35M, Mi-28N, and Kamov Ka-52 military helicopters as well as Chinas Z-10, until Beijing replaced it with its own WZ-9 engines. Radar and electronics 1. Zhuk-AME FGA50 AESA radar Russias multifunctional, multimode active phased array radar is designed for its MIG and Sukhoi family of fighters and could be used in Chinas Su-30 series and Su-35 aircraft. It has a detection range of up to 160km and can simultaneously operate in air-to-air and air-to-land modes to attack multiple targets. According to Janes, it can track up to 30 targets and simultaneously attack up to six aerial targets. This article In the market for a missile system? The Russian military hardware on show at Airshow China first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018. FILE PHOTO: A guard opens a door at the office of Rappler in Pasig, Metro Manila, Philippines January 15, 2018. REUTERS/Dondi Tawatao/File Photo MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines' justice department said on Friday it had found cause to indict online news site Rappler and its top executive for tax evasion. The justice department said it "found probable cause" to indict Rappler for violation of the country's tax laws after it did not declare gains made in its 2015 tax returns. Rappler said in a statement the indictment "is a clear form of harassment" and "an attempt to silence reporting that does not please the administration." The news site's lawyer, Francis Lim, also said the case "has no legal leg to stand on" because Rappler did not evade any tax obligation. Rappler is a frequent critic of the Philippines' leader, Rodrigo Duterte, questioning the accuracy of his public statements and scrutinising his war on drugs and his foreign policy decisions. In a resolution last month, but made public only on Friday, a state prosecutor upheld a complaint from the internal revenue agency that Rappler and its top executive, Maria Ressa, had attempted to evade paying taxes by not reporting gains of almost $3 million in its 2015 tax returns. The justice department's statement said that the state prosecutor had dismissed Ressa's defence that "the non-declaration of such gain was neither intentional nor willful." ($1 = 53.0380 Philippine pesos) (Reporting By Manuel Mogato. Editing by Jane Merriman) Palestinian civil servants formed long queues in Gaza on Friday to receive millions of dollars in Qatari-funded salaries, as part of efforts to ease tensions in and around the impoverished territory. For the second consecutive Friday, clashes along the Gaza-Israel border were less violent than in previous weeks, although 25 Palestinians were injured by Israeli army fire, the territory's health ministry said. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at points along the frontier but most kept a distance from the separation barrier, correspondents said. In Qatar's operation, a total of $90 million is to be distributed in six monthly instalments of $15 million, according to authorities, primarily to cover salaries of officials working for Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the Palestinian enclave. Some exited post offices, where the first instalment was being distributed, to show off hundred-dollar bills before the cameras, after several months of sporadic salary payments in cash-strapped Gaza. The money was driven into the Palestinian enclave through Israel late Thursday by Qatar's envoy to Gaza, Mohammed al-Emadi, transporting suitcases packed with dollars, according to a Hamas source. Qatar has also said it would hand out $100 to each of 50,000 poor families, as well as larger sums to Palestinians wounded in clashes along Gaza's border with Israel. "I came to collect $400, my salary for July," Fadi Abu Safia, a 35-year-old government employee, said at a post office in Gaza City. Mohamed Abed al-Hadi, 27, said he would be collecting 700 shekels ($190 dollars), "quite a sum considering the conditions we're living in", as compensation for an injury in the border clashes. The Israeli-authorised money transfer appeared to be part of a deal that would see cash-strapped Hamas end months of often violent protests along the border in exchange for Israel easing its blockade of Gaza. Senior Palestine Liberation Organisation official Ahmed Majdalani expressed the discontent of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority over the deal. Emadi had "smuggled the money" into Gaza in suitcases like a "gangster", the official said. "The PLO did not agree to the deal facilitating the money to Hamas that way," Majdalani, who is close to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, told AFP. Such a deal harmed Egyptian efforts to reconcile Hamas and the PA and would allow the Islamist movement to consolidate its control over Gaza, Majdalani said. Hamas has controlled Gaza since ousting forces loyal to the internationally recognised PA in a near civil war in 2007. - 'Capitulation to terrorism' - Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman criticised the Qatari money transfer to Gaza. "This is capitulation to terrorism, and in effect Israel is buying short-term calm with money, while severely undermining long-term security," he said, quoted in Yediot Aharonot newspaper on Friday. In another Israeli-approved deal, Qatar has started buying additional fuel for Gaza's sole power station, allowing planned outages to be reduced to their lowest level in years. Egypt and the United Nations have been brokering indirect negotiations for a long-term truce with Israel, against which Hamas has fought three wars since 2008. Deadly clashes have accompanied the major protests along the Gaza border with Israel that began on March 30, generating at times fears of a new war between the Jewish state and the strip's militant rulers. At least 220 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, the majority shot during protests and clashes, while others have died in tank fire or air strikes. One Israeli soldier was killed by a Palestinian sniper. Israel says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations and attacks, which it accuses Hamas of seeking to orchestrate. sa-sk-lal-he-jjm/hc/rsc PHOTO: Getty Images Controversial blog States Times Review (STR) is apparently shutting down its Facebook page in the next fortnight, following a sharp response from the Singapore government over what it termed a libellous STR article titled Lee Hsien Loong becomes 1MDBs key investigation target. In a Facebook post on Friday evening (9 November), STR founder and editor Alex Tan, who has been based in Sydney since 2015, added that the website will remain until the next General Election is over. Tan said that the website had been blocked under false charges of fake news and criminal defamation laid by the Singapore dictatorship. As such, the website will cease and desist considering that it lost a channel to reach Singaporeans. Tan added that he had decided to stop writing and continue my life in Australia. Do take note that this shut down notice is of my own volition, and not pressure from anyone or the dictatorship. I have no intention to impugn my integrity bending forward for a scum government. Earlier on Friday, Tan had refused to take down the 1MDB article, stating that he welcomed a lawsuit by Singapores Prime Minister. The Monetary Authority of Singapore had also filed a police report over the article, while the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) had directed STR to take down the objectionable article by 5pm on Friday, failing which it would instruct Internet Service Providers to restrict access to the site. Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam also weighed in on the same day, telling reporters that the allegations in the article were absurd and that police would take action against all involved. Tan, a systems engineer, contested in Ang Mo Kio GRC the Prime Ministers ward during the 2011 General Election. Related stories MAS files police report over States Times Review article Singapore: The Coverage article linking PM Lee, 1MDB fake news, libellous Sri Lanka's political crisis has dramatically escalated, with the president calling snap elections and dissolving parliament, two weeks after sacking the prime minister. Here are the main players in the volatile political scene of back-stabbing and shifting sands in the strategically important Indian Ocean island of 21 million people. - The quiet Sri Lankan - Mild-mannered but steely-nerved President Maithripala Sirisena, 67, was a relative unknown until his shock defeat of Mahinda Rajapakse in presidential elections in 2015. Sirisena had walked out of Rajapakse's government a day after the two men had dinner together, and accused his former ally of plotting to assassinate him if he lost the election. "If I had not won the presidency, I would be six feet under by now," he told a public rally after his win. Usually dressed in spotless white, Sirisena vowed to do all in his power to stop the highly divisive Rajapakse becoming prime minister and appointed Ranil Wickremesinghe instead. Two weeks ago -- almost four years after he first turned his back on Rajapakse -- Sirisena dismissed Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapakse in his place. Late Friday he called elections and dissolved parliament. - Macho Mahinda - Having loaned his government billions, China swiftly congratulated Rajapakse, 72, on his new appointment but India and the West were less pleased -- to say little of the Tamil minority. As president from 2005 until 2015, Rajapakse ended Sri Lanka's four-decade civil war in 2009 by crushing the Tamil Tigers. But 40,000 ethnic Tamils were allegedly massacred in the process. Sri Lanka's media, remembering the 17 journalists and media workers killed under Rajapakse, are also fearful about his comeback. He and his family are also accused of corruption. But with his trademark macho moustache, traditional national dress and outsize personality, Rajapakse remains a hero for many Sinhalese, deftly portraying himself as a man of the people. "A general election will truly establish the will of the people and make way for a stable country," he tweeted in the early hours of Saturday. - I will not be moved - But Wickremesinghe, 69, calls his sacking, the snap elections and the suspension of parliament illegal, and is refusing to vacate the prime minister's official residence, where he has been holed up since October 26. Silver-haired and often in Western-style suits, Wickremesinghe has been prime minister four times, the first time after the Tamil Tigers assassinated the then-president in 1993. During his 2001-4 time in office, Wickremesinghe is credited with pulling Sri Lanka out of its first ever recession, in part with reforms that have endeared him to the West. "You have not let this country be plunged into the darkness of dictatorship," Wickremesinghe said in a video message on Thursday thanking his supporters. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 51F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 51F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Top US officials rejected a warning by China on Friday to stop sending American vessels into the South China Sea, the latest focus of military tensions after warships from the two navies nearly collided in the disputed waters. The warning and its dismissal came at a top-level diplomatic security dialogue in Washington, jointly chaired by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis, Chinese politburo member Yang Jiechi and Defence Minister Wei Fenghe. In a news conference after the meeting, Yang warned his hosts that the United States should stop sending its vessels and military aircraft close to Chinese islands and reefs and stop actions that undermine Chinese sovereignty and security interests. Mattis responded that the United States will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, while Pompeo criticised Chinas militarisation of the South China Sea. Yang, China's highest-ranking diplomat and director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Central Commission of China's ruling Communist Party, dismissed that accusation by asserting Beijings sovereignty over the disputed area. Beijing vows to keep military presence in South China Sea On its own territory, China is undertaking construction to build civilian facilities and necessary defence facilities, he said. That is the right to preservation and self-defence that international law provides for and has nothing to do with militarisation. Despite the cautionary statements and the exchange of significantly differing points of view, both sides seemed to regard the talks as constructive. Mattis and Wei re-emphasised the militaries role as a stabilising force in the countries relationship. Mattis characterised the talks as a candid discussion in which the countries sought ways to lessen tension, maintain open lines of communication between our militaries and reduce the risk of miscalculation. Watch: The South China Sea dispute explained Story continues Wei regarded the dialogue as productive and positive, saying that the two sides shared the view to further step up strategic trust, properly handle differences, promote exchanges and cooperation so that this military relationship will be a source of stability for the overall bilateral ties. It marked the second consultation between Mattis and Wei in less than four weeks. The two met in Singapore on October 18 on the sidelines of a regional security forum, in an effort to maintain high-level contacts between the two militaries and reduce the risk of potential conflict after a Chinese and American warship nearly collided in the South China Sea in late September. Mattis had been scheduled to meet Wei in Beijing in October, but the plans were cancelled after Washington in late September sanctioned a Chinese Peoples Liberation Army equipment unit and its director, a lieutenant general, for buying weapons from Russia. The day of talks in Washington came ahead of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the end of the month. The talks on Friday also provided another channel to discuss issues of critical interest to both nations, which are engaged in a highly fractious trade war. Ahead of the meeting, Daniel Russel, a former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs during the Obama administration, said that there is real urgency in stopping the downward spiral of US-China relations. Both sides need to describe the kind of relationship they want between the two countries and begin a process of exploring how to get there, Russel, now at the Washington-based Asia Society Policy Institute, said. They must also explore ways to reconcile approaches to key issues like North Korea and Iran. Watch: A rare view of the South China Sea It is important they use the meeting to lay out their respective strategic goals and concerns, and not simply exchange recriminations and rhetoric, he added. The discussion was the second US-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue, a negotiation framework initiated by Trump and Xi when they met at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in April 2017. The first meeting was in June 2017, also in Washington; then, North Koreas nuclear threat was the priority because of Pyongyangs increased programme of nuclear and inter-continental ballistic missile testing. US committed to rule of law in South China Sea, Mike Pompeo tells Asean Tensions on the Korean peninsula have largely de-escalated since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un paused his provocative nuclear weapons programme and spent much of this year embracing diplomacy with China, South Korea and then the US. Meanwhile, Beijing and Washington have engaged in a tit-for-tat trade war imposing punitive tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of each others exports since the summer. And in the fall, tensions have spread to the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, aggravating the two nations military relations. In the past two months, the US has flown B-52 bombers and conducted freedom of navigation operations in the vicinity of the South China Sea; US warships have sailed through the Taiwan Strait in support of Taiwan. In Fridays meeting, Pompeo reaffirmed Washingtons commitment to the US one-China policy, based on the USs Taiwan Relations Act and the three joint communiques that define the rules of US engagement with the self-ruled island. He called on China to restore cross-Strait stability and respect Taiwans international space. The United States opposes unilateral actions by any party aimed at altering the status quo, including any resort to force or coercion, Pompeo said. The Chinese side repeated its position on Taiwan as inseparable part from China. During the joint press conference, Chinese defence chief cited US's oath of allegiance in which it said the US is one nation under the God, indivisible. So it is the same with Taiwan. It is an inalienable part of China, Wei said. So if this territorial integrity is under threat, we will do it at any cost just like what the US side had in Civil War, he added. Watch: Video shows near collision between US and Chinese warships Then, in late September, an American destroyer, the Decatur, sailed near an islet claimed by Beijing in the Spratly archipelago, known in China as the Nansha Islands. The Chinese ship came within 41 metres (135 feet) of the US vessel, leading the Pentagon to accuse the PLA Navy of conducting an aggressively unsafe and unprofessional manoeuvre. Beijing claims sovereignty over the South China Sea and has long opposed US military aircraft flying over and warships sailing near the region. China also strongly rejects any official US contact or arms sales to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing views as a renegade province, to be brought into line by force if necessary. On October 25, during an inspection tour of Guangdong province, Xi told the military responsible for monitoring Taiwan and the South China Sea to prepare for war. On the same day, Wei vowed that China would not cede a single inch of its territory. This article Top US officials reject Chinese demand to stop military moves that undermine Beijings sovereignty in South China Sea first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018. Nine people were killed and hundreds of thousands ordered to evacuate as wildfires raged Saturday across California, with one rapidly spreading blaze threatening the resort of Malibu, home to Hollywood stars. The fatalities were reported in a massive late-season inferno in the town of Paradise, in Butte County north of the state capital Sacramento, where some 6,700 structures went up in flames - officially becoming California's most destructive fire on record. The fast-moving blaze, which authorities have named the "Camp Fire", broke out Thursday morning. Fanned by strong winds, it has scorched 90,000 acres (36,400 hectares) and is only five percent contained, the California Fire Department (Cal Fire)said late Friday. Other large fires raged in southern California, including one just north of Los Angeles and another in Ventura County near Thousand Oaks, where a Marine Corps veteran shot dead 12 people in a country music bar on Wednesday night. "The magnitude of destruction we have seen is really unbelievable and heartbreaking and our hearts go to everybody who has been affected by this," said Mark Ghilarducci, the director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. Governor-elect Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency to provide assistance to the fire-hit areas. Butte County Sheriff Korey Honea said late Friday it was his "sad duty" to update the Camp Fire death toll to nine. "I don't have all of the details because we have investigators out on the field" trying to reach the locations where casualties were reported, Honea told reporters. But he did say that four people were found inside a vehicle in the Paradise area, while another was found nearby. Three more were found outside a residence, and one inside a house. Officials earlier said that five people had died in vehicles overcome by the fire. Dozens of other people were reported missing. - Harrowing escapes - Residents who escaped Paradise posted harrowing videos to social media as they drove through tunnels of swirling smoke and orange flames to outrun the wildfire. The flames destroyed hundreds of homes, a hospital, a gas station, several restaurants and numerous vehicles, officials said. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for more than 52,000 people in the scenic area in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. "The whole lower side of Paradise is totally engulfed in flames right now," Kevin Winstead, a resident of nearby Magalia, told KIEM TV. "All of it is engulfed in flames right now. "Not one home will be left standing," he said. "I'm devastated." "We're just hoping that our brand new home that we were hoping to move into tomorrow is not burned to the ground," Winstead said. California has endured abnormally dry weather for years. Much of the south, including the Los Angeles area, is experiencing drought conditions according to official data. President Donald Trump showed no sympathy for the famously liberal state. "There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor," Trump tweeted on Saturday. "Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!" - 'I pray everyone is safe' - In southern California, authorities said some 200,000 people are under evacuation orders. The Ventura County Fire Department said the "Woolsey Fire" had burned around 35,000 acres, was not contained, and that evacuation orders were issued for some 88,000 homes in the county and neighboring Los Angeles County. Out of control wind-driven flames triggered mandatory evacuations, including for the entire city of Malibu. The wildfire destroyed Paramount Ranch, a movie set for cowboy shows including HBO'S Westworld, officials said. Cal Fire posted footage taken from helicopters that showed flames racing over hill ridges towards multi-million dollar mansions. "We heard this was coming so we set up on the sprinklers and we hosed the whole house down," said Patrick Henry, a Malibu resident. "We pretty much had enough time to get the dogs in the trunk." Malibu is one of the most in-demand locations in California for Hollywood stars seeking privacy and luxury, and has been home to Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, Brad Pitt and a host of other celebrities. Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West, who lives just north of coastal Malibu in Calabasas, revealed on Instagram that she was forced to flee her home. "Just landed back home and had 1 hour to pack up & evacuate our home. I pray everyone is safe," she said. TV star Charlie Sheen tweeted that his father, Martin Sheen, and his mother Janet were both missing - but the pair surfaced unharmed hours later at a beachside evacuation spot. "We're fine, we're at Zuma Beach and we're probably going to sleep in the car tonight," Martin Sheen told Fox News 11, addressing his adult children. Sheen said this was the worst fire he had seen in 48 years of living in Malibu. Director Guillermo del Toro tweeted that Bleak House, his museum of horror movie memorabilia, was also in the path of the flames. burs-jt/ch/bp British music producer David Tickle and his model fiancee Kate Elizabeth Hallam were awoken at 3am on Friday morning (California time) by a desperate knock on their window and a police loud speaker at their home in Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks. The 59-year-old Tickle, who has worked with Prince, U2, 4 Non Blondes and Split Enz, and Hallam were ordered to evacuate immediately as raging brush fires that started the day before had reached their area in Ventura County in Southern California. The people of Thousand Oaks had barely recovered from a deadly bar shooting that claimed 12 lives, including that of a police officer, before the worst fire since 1982 spread in populated parts of the city forcing thousands into their cars in search of temporary accommodation or emergency shelters. We ran out on to the drive way and it was like a movie. The first was raging, said Hallam, 34, an actor, model and bass player with the band Makela. The winds are just so bad, 70 miles per hour, and they cant get a handle on the fire with so far zero per cent containment on it. Ive never seen anything like it, we can only pray all involved. The feelings and energy is very surreal. The wind is dramatic, it feels apocalyptic, added Hallam, who said the couple had given up searching for a hotel after hours of driving around and decided to head to the nearest evacuation centre. The inferno started from two brush fires in Ventura County on Thursday and rapidly spread. More than 70,000 have been forced to evacuate and, according to reports, a number of homes have been lost to the blaze. The feelings and energy is very surreal. The wind is dramatic, it feels apocalyptic Kate Elizabeth Hallam All the hotels were fully booked, she said. The fire is only a few miles from the Borderline Bar & Grill where a gunman suspected be former soldier Ian David Long shot and killed 12 people on Wednesday. Smoke from the fire could be seen from where mourners held a candlelit vigil for those who died in the shooting. Story continues Everybody is panicked and anxious with the unknown, added Hallam. Lives, animals, properties are all involved. Being told to evacuate literally on the spot with no time to plan or pack is quite stressful. I think after the shooting the day before, everyone is in a state of shock. The fire is literally so close to exploding into an area that is massively populated. On Wednesday, Long, used a smoke bomb and a handgun, opened fire during college night at a country music bar in Thousand Oaks. Apart from 11 people in the bar, the suspect shot and killed sheriffs sergeant Ron Helus, a 29-year veteran of the department who considered retiring within the next year. The 28-year-old Long was a former machine-gunner and decorated combat veteran of the US Marines, according to sheriffs officials. They said they believe Long fatally shot himself. This article The wind is apocalyptic: one couples midnight flight from wildfires raging in California first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018. More from South China Morning Post: Listen to Employee of the Month: Get More Employee of the Month Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcastsand much more. Sign up today. Join Slate Plus Subscribe to Employee of the Month Copy this link and add it in your podcast app. copy link copied! For detailed instructions, see our Slate Plus podcasts page. Catie Lazarus talks with Emmy Award winner Chris Jackson, best known for originating the role of George Washington in Hamilton. He was also a lead in In the Heights and composed music for Sesame Street, penning the music for a Will.i.am hit What I Am, which is addictive, no matter how old you are. Plus, Catie sits down in the studio with CUNY professor and poet Celina Su to discuss how to avoid burnout as a political activist, refugees, and prose. Web site: Employee of the Month Twitter: @catielazarus Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Get More Slate Money Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcastsand much more. Sign up today. Join Slate Plus Subscribe to Slate Money Copy this link and add it in your podcast app. copy link copied! For detailed instructions, see our Slate Plus podcasts page. Listen to Slate Money via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. On this weeks episode, Emily Peck, Felix Salmon, and Anna Szymanski discuss: Axios: Coming Soon: Democrats vs Deutsche Bank CNN Business: The Two-Year Wells Fargo Horror Story Just Wont End Vox: Voters Just Gave Nearly 1 Million Workers a Raise in 2 Red States NPR: Voters Relax Marijuana Laws in 3 More States: Michigan, Utah, Missouri The New York Times: Iran Sanctions Explained: U.S. Goals, and the View From Tehran The Wall Street Journal: Under Armours #MeToo Moment: No More Strip Clubs on Company Dime In the Slate Plus segment: Under Armours new nostrip club policy. Slate Plus members: Get your ad-free podcast feed. Email: slatemoney@slate.com Twitter: @felixsalmon, @Three_Guineas, @EmilyRPeck Podcast production by Max Jacobs. This article is published through a partnership with New York Medias Strategist. The partnership is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected by New York Media. If you buy something through our links, Slate and New York Media may earn an affiliate commission. Making a great cup of coffee at home has plenty to do with buying excellent beans, but after that, its crucial to consider how you store them. The right storage vessel can definitely extend your coffees shelf life and keep all of those delicate flavors and aromas ripe and fresh for another week, said Andrew Ho, the food and beverage manager at Ferris and Paper Coffee, both at the Made Hotel in New York. Maybe two weeks, if youre lucky. To find the best storage options, we turned to java savants like baristas and coffee-shop owners, who gave us their picks along with some added advice: Buy whole beans instead of grinds and re-up weekly. We recommend buying coffee like bread, keeping it fresh weekly and using it frequently to avoid it going stale, says Peter Longo, owner of Porto Rico Importing Company. Other coffee pros even espouse the benefits of the packaging that high-quality beans are already sold in. Some of thoseplus the best glass, stainless-steel, plastic, and ceramic canistersare all below. The Very Best Coffee Canister No less than six of the experts consulted said the Airscape canister is the one they use to keep coffee reliably fresh. Paul Schlader, co-founder and head roaster at Birch Coffee, has used the stainless-steel model at home for years. Because its stainless steel, its less porous and therefore coffee oils wont stain in the way that they do plastic, he says. The lid on the Airscape depresses into the can, eliminating any excess oxygen, which is what erodes the flavor of fresh beans. Todd Carmichael, CEO and co-founder of La Colombe Coffee Roasters, swears by the stainless-steel Airspace, too. When Im looking for a coffee canister, its important to look for ones that protect from light and force humidity and oxygen out, keeping it airtight, he says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BUY: Airscape Stainless-Steel Storage Container (32 oz.) $24, Amazon Michael Harris, sales manager at Fresh Cup magazine, a publication devoted to all things coffee-related, says his Airscape keeps a five- to seven-day supply of coffee fresh, but that he uses the 64-ounce canister for holidays or special occasions, when hes stocking up. Advertisement BUY: Airscape Stainless-Steel Storage Container (64 oz.) $28, Amazon Airspace also makes a glazed ceramic version with a bamboo lid, like this striking Yves Klein Blue option. Allie Caran, director of education at Tobys Estate, likes the patented lever lock on the Airspace that produces an airtight seal. Its one-way valve allows carbon dioxide to escape. Ho is also a fan of the ceramic styles. The main problem with most coffee canisters is that they are not actually airtight, and even when they are, there is still a considerable amount of air trapped inside the canister, he says. Like the stainless-steel one, the ceramic canisters valve gets nearly all of the air out. Advertisement Advertisement BUY: Airscape Ceramic Storage Canister (64 oz.) $27, Amazon The Second-Best Coffee Canister Schlader says he also likes the OXO container, for a more aesthetically pleasing option. This holds coffee very well, and because of its UV protective coating, it doesnt allow light in, which can break down coffee, he says. Jonathan Rubinstein, founder of Joe Coffee Company, also likes the Pop: When it comes to coffee-bean storage, there is no need for many bells and whistles, and simplicity wins, he says. He also emphasizes buying less coffee, more often. Advertisement Advertisement BUY: OXO Coffee and Tea Pop Container $20, Amazon Same thing, but round. Advertisement Advertisement BUY: OXO Pop Round Container (1.9 qt.) $14, Amazon The Best Plastic Canister These canisters feature a button that allows you to pull air out of the container after each use, says Jessica Easto, author of Craft Coffee: A Manual. The less oxygen coffee is exposed to, the better. The smallest version holds a half-pound of whole coffee, which is perfect for me, as I only buy as much coffee as I think Ill use in a week. Coffeevac comes in a range of colors, but Easto recommends getting the opaque black version to keep coffee as fresh as possible. Were fans of this 80s-esque transparent one, which would be best kept in the pantry to avoid light. Caroline Bell, founder of Cafe Grumpy, also vouches for the Coffeevacs usability. A wide mouth is helpful if you want to use a scoop to get your beans out, she says. These particular ones are also easy to stack. Advertisement BUY: Coffeevac $11, Amazon The Best Ceramic Canisters Longo likes these Mason Cash canisters. They come in a variety of colors emblazoned with either the word coffee or tea on them with a permanent silicone seal, he says. They hold around a pound of ground coffee and keep the coffee out of the light and with a tight seal, and theyre great for on the counter. Advertisement Advertisement BUY: Mason Cash Cane Coffee Jar $48, Amazon In Italy, and at all of our restaurants, we always grind coffee beans a la minute for the freshest espressos and cappuccinos, says Iacopo Falai, culinary director of Sant Ambroeus Hospitality Group. We know at home, especially here in New York, that is not always an option for people, so I recommend Le Creusets containers: They always make such beautiful ceramics. Also, most people always want to put coffee in the refrigerator, but please dont. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BUY: Le Creuset Coffee Storage Jar $60, Amazon The Best Glass Canisters Longo also likes these blue-accented Italian-made Bormioli Rocco versions. They hold a good amount of coffee or tea, and they have a replaceable rubber gasket, as well as a clip top to keep it snug, says Longo. While they are clear glass, they are well-made square jars, with rounded edges. They make a clear-lid version, but the blue lid has a nice aesthetic, a throwback to yesteryear. Advertisement Advertisement BUY: Bormioli Rocco Fido Square Jar $9, Amazon Also from Bormioli: these sealed jars, with chalkboard labels. Advertisement BUY: Bormioli Rocco Fido Square Chalk Label Jar $24, Amazon Some of Longos customers are fond of this Kilner version, too, which, like the Bormioli jars, arent meant expressly (or exclusively) for coffee. Like the ceramic jar, it has a permanent silicone seal for freshness, and the lid fits snugly with no clasps or attachments, though it is a clear glass. Its rounded body makes for a fun counter piece. Advertisement Advertisement BUY: Kilner Universal Storage Jar $28, Amazon Todd Chatterton, the sommelier at Vaucluse and Osteria Morini and a coffee enthusiast, is a big fan of these Prepara Evak glass styles, which are really great at limiting the amount of air in the container, and are very simple to use and very easy to clean, he enthuses. The key to what makes this container the best is that the container itself is adjustable, Chatterton says. If you only have a few beans left, the plunger can go all the way to the bottom, keeping the beans as fresh as they would be in a filled container. Though theyre glass, they are very durable, and they look great. Advertisement Advertisement BUY: Prepara Evak Fresh Saver Canister $18, Amazon The Best Coffee for Going Canister-Free In many cases, the best place to store coffee beans is in the bag they came in, Easto says. Those used by specialty roasters are designed to keep out oxygen, moisture, all of which degrade coffee. Look for coffee bags that are completely opaque and lined, as opposed to plain kraft paper. Another important detail: a degassing valve, which looks like a little belly button near the middle of the bag, which allows you to squeeze air out without letting any air in, Easto says. I also like the newer styles that have zip closures instead of tin ties. Easto is a fan of Onyx Coffee Labs great coffee and great bags. Advertisement Advertisement BUY: Onyx Coffee Lab Roasted Whole Bean Coffee $16, Amazon Bailey Manson, education and service program manager at Intelligentsia Coffee, actually implores customers to utilize the original packaging in lieu of a canister. The best thing for you to keep your coffee in is the bag you get it in from us. Our bags are metal, and they preserve freshness like crazy, Manson says. They have a one-way valveyes, like every other coffee bagthat lets CO2 out and doesnt let oxygen in. They reseal easily. They stand upright easily. They come labeled, so you never lose track of what the coffee is and when it was roasted. BUY: Intelligentsia Whole Bean Coffee $14, Amazon Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication. California continues to battle three major fires at both ends of the statenorth and souththat have burned through tens of thousands of acres, destroyed thousands of homes and structures, and killed nine people so far, creating apocalyptic scenes on the outskirts of Los Angeles as the blazes continued to smolder into the weekend. The northern blaze, called Camp Fire, located north of Sacramento, is set to be the most destructive fire in the states modern history, having destroyed 90,000 acres and 6,700 buildings so far. In Southern California, two significant fires are gripping the western flank of Los Angeles, forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate their homes. In the Thousand Oaks community, which is in the midst of dealing with a mass shooting at a country music bar earlier this week, the fires added to the misery, prompting three-quarters of the city to evacuate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Right on cue, President Donald Trump on Saturday morning from Paris tweeted out a callous, unnecessary, and unfounded rebuke of the state of California grappling with a crisis. There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor, Trump tweeted. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments! Authorities dont yet know the cause of the fires. Californias governor-elect, Gavin Newsom, declared a state of emergency Friday in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The northern California fire is only 5 percent controlled, according to authorities, while no part of the southern fires was under control, the Ventura County Fire Department said. Firefighters and first responders are struggling to contain the fires and provide assistance to residents trapped by the flames. Advertisement The scenes of devastation are staggering: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cesar Sayoc, the man suspected of sending 16 pipe bombs to prominent Democrats, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, has been indicted on 30 counts in a federal court in New York. The indictment prosecutors announced Friday could mean a life sentence for the 56-year-old Florida man. Charges included using a weapon of mass destruction, illegal mailing of explosives, interstate transportation of an explosive, and threatening interstate communications. Sayoc had previously been charged with five federal crimes, which would have given him a maximum of 48 years in prison if convicted. Advertisement Sayoc, an early and impassioned Trump supporter, was connected to the bombs when investigators found his fingerprints and a possible DNA match. He was also found to have searched for the intended victims addresses on his phone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The packages he allegedly sentmade of PVC pipe, a small clock, a battery, wiring, and possibly explosive materialnever exploded, but FBI Director Christopher Wray said after they had been examined that they were not hoaxes. While Sayoc was in custody, packages he had mailed continued to be found. Alleged targets included George Soros, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former CIA Director John Brennan, Rep. Maxine Waters, Sen. Cory Booker, former National Intelligence Director James Clapper, Sen. Kamala Harris, Democratic donor Tom Steyer, actor Robert De Niro, and CNN. The packages were labeled with the return address of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The scope of the grand jury was limited to those sent in New York: bombs sent to Soros, Clinton, Brennan, Clapper, and De Niro. The first package was discovered at Soros home on Oct. 23. They continued to be found all through the week, and Sayoc was finally arrested on Oct. 26. According to NBC News, Sayoc has a preliminary court appearance set for Monday. The Wall Street Journal just published a big chronological rundown of what federal prosecutors in Manhattan know (or think they know) about the hush-money payments that former Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen arranged during the 2016 campaign for Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels, who say they had affairs with Trump. (He denies the affairs.) Its a colorful read, though probably a bit oversold by the part of the headline that says there is evidence of [the] presidents participation in transactions that violated campaign-finance laws. While its inarguable in one sense that the transactions broke the lawCohen has already pleaded guilty to a crime related to the paymentsits not clear, as Slate contributor Richard Hasen notes as an expert source in the WSJ piece, that the elements of the transactions that the president participated in specifically constitute prosecutable crimes on his part. Much of the timeline presented in the piece is meanwhile sourced directly to Cohens statements to prosecutors, and while Cohens claims about the case have thus far been proven accurate to the extent possible, we already knew by virtue of what he said when he pleaded guilty that he was going to finger Trump for involvement in the payments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That said, there are at least three items in the story that dont appear to have come from Cohen that deepen what we know about Trumps involvement. The first is a description of a meeting between National Enquirer publisher David Pecker and Trump in 2015: As a presidential candidate in August 2015, Donald Trump huddled with a longtime friend, media executive David Pecker, in his cluttered 26th floor Trump Tower office and made a request. What can you do to help my campaign? he asked, according to people familiar with the meeting. Mr. Pecker, chief executive of American Media Inc., offered to use his National Enquirer tabloid to buy the silence of women if they tried to publicize alleged sexual encounters with Mr. Trump. Advertisement (Pecker would go on to buy the rights to Karen McDougals allegations and broker a nondisclosure payment from Cohen to Daniels after getting wind of Daniels story from her attorney.) Second, Pecker is specifically said to have spoken to Trump directly about the McDougal payment before it happened: Messrs. Pecker and Howard alerted Mr. Cohen, who in turn warned Mr. Trump, by then the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who in turn phoned Mr. Pecker for help. Advertisement Third, Pecker is said to have personally asked Trump to reimburse Cohen for the Daniels payment in what the piece portrays as a favor to Cohen: Mr. Pecker visited Trump Tower twice during the presidential transition. When he raised Mr. Cohens request during a meeting in the first week of December 2016, Mr. Trump demurred, saying Mr. Cohen had plenty of money. Advertisement It would seem that all three of these anecdotes are sourced either directly or indirectly to Pecker, who is reportedly cooperating with prosecutors. The three scenes also speak to the question of whether Trump committed a crime, because to prove that he broke the law by illegally concealing campaign contributions one would have to show that he was aware of the payments (as the transition anecdote and alleged McDougal-related phone call to Pecker suggest he was) and that he believed they were made to influence the election rather than for an unrelated personal reason (as the what can you do to help me win the election anecdote suggests he did). Advertisement That said, as Richard Hasen has previously explained in Slate, its unlikely Trump will be imminently prosecuted either way because of the norm against indicting a sitting president. (Yesclearly Hasen has a better grasp of the legal angles here than I do. But Im the one on call to blog when something happens on Friday afternoon, so youre going to have to deal with it.) Advertisement Advertisement In any case, David Pecker comes across in the piece as considerably savvier, if not particularly more ethical, than either Michael Cohen or the president. First Pecker includes a section in his companys agreement with McDougal soliciting her services as a model and health and fitness contributor, which gives the deal legal cover by having an ostensible purpose besides influencing the election: After speaking with an election-law specialist, Mr. Pecker concluded the companys payment to Ms. McDougal wouldnt violate the law, because the magazine covers and health columns gave him a business justification for the deal. Then he tells Trump/Cohen not to reimburse him for what he paid McDougal, again motivated by the desire to maintain plausible independence from the campaign, only for Cohen to screw things up: Advertisement Mr. Pecker called off the Trump-reimbursement deal in October 2016 on the advice of his lawyer. Accepting reimbursement from Mr. Trump, the executive worried, could undermine any argument that the McDougal payment was made for editorial and business reasons, rather than as an in-kind campaign contribution. Mr. Pecker told Mr. Cohen to tear up the reimbursement agreement, but Mr. Cohen kept a copy. Federal agents found it in a search of Mr. Cohens office earlier this year. Later, Pecker steers clear altogether of having any financial involvement in the Stormy Daniels situation (Daniels real name is Stephanie Clifford): Mr. Cohen asked American Media to buy Ms. Cliffords story. Mr. Pecker refused on the grounds that he didnt want his company to pay a porn star. Smart, in retrospect! Too bad the president of America and his personal lawyer were so much sloppier. The two marquee races in Florida remain so tight they are officially headed toward a recount, the state secretary of state, Ken Detzneran appointee of current Florida governor and Republican Senate candidate Rick Scottannounced Saturday. As the state begins its second tally, the original count in the Senate race gives Scott an ever-so-slim 12,500-vote lead of 8 million votes cast over Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson. That amounts to a 0.15 percent advantage. In the similarly tight race to replace Scott as governor, former Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis is out in front of Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by nearly 34,000 votes or 0.41 percent. Advertisement The recounts seemed inevitable as the races tightened in the aftermath of Tuesdays vote and became a certainty after the noon deadline Saturday for county election supervisors to submit their results passed with both races within the 0.5 percent margin that legally mandates a recount. In the governors race, which stands at a 0.4 percent margin, a legally required machine recount will be undertaken. In the Senate race, because its closer than 0.25 percent, an additional hand recount is required by law of votes that were not initially counted by the voting machines for whatever reason. Some of those may be blank, filled in partially, incorrectly, or just misread by the machine. The machine recount must be completed by Thursday at 5 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Broward and Palm Beach counties Saturday morning, attorneys from both parties quibbled over ballots in which the intent or eligibility of the voter was in doubt as the minutes ticked toward a noon deadline, the Washington Post reports. Officials from both parties have focused much of their ire on Brenda Snipes, supervisor of elections in Broward County, Floridas second-largest county and the site of the hanging chads and other ballot irregularities during the 2000 presidential recount. The Florida Department of State has sent monitors to Broward County, which had tallied more than 700,000 votes as of Thursday afternoon, stemming from a lawsuit over the countys mishandling of 2016 congressional race ballots. Scott and, unsurprisingly, President Donald Trump have floated theories and warnings about voter fraud that have been rebutted by the Department of State, which said it had no evidence of criminal activity at this time. Advertisement Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida! We are watching closely! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018 Advertisement Both campaigns have done what campaigns on the leading and trailing ends of too-close-to-call contests do. Its time for Senator Nelson to accept reality and spare the state of the Florida the time, expense and discord of a recount, said Scott spokesman Chris Hartline. Whereas the Nelson campaign issued a statement calling for all the votes to be counted. We have every expectation the recount will be full and fair and will continue taking action to ensure every vote is counted without interference or efforts to undermine the democratic process, the statement reads. We believe when every legal ballot is counted well win this election. Advertisement Advertisement Further complicating matters in the Senate race is a potential ballot design flaw that may have caused tens of thousands of voters to skip over the Senate contest in Broward County, which was buried underneath the ballot instructions. Roughly 10,000 fewer people voted in Broward County in the Senate race than for the commissioner of agriculture or the chief financial officer race, which is unusual. If tens of thousands of voters mistakenly skipped over the Senate race, that appears to be tough luck for Nelson and something that will obviously need to be remedied in the future. Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias, however, has suggested the undervote is due to the voting machines failing to detect legitimate votes. If that is the case, then the gap will likely close substantially. In the nine months since Jaclyn Corin survived the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, she has organized a lobbying trip to Tallahassee for 100 of her classmates, traveled the country registering young people to vote, and helped lead a march of thousands on the National Mall. On Tuesday, the 18-year-old high school senior watched her state appear to choose a pro-gun senator and governor over the candidates she hoped would make the country safer and less beholden to the gun lobby. Advertisement But when we spoke on Friday, Corin was more charged up about the good news she and her fellow activists got on election nightthat dozens of NRA-backed legislators had been voted out of Congress and that several strong voices for gun control had been voted in. We also discussed Wednesday nights Thousand Oaks, California, shooting, and how a survivor of one mass shooting copes when other ones are in the news. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christina Cauterucci: You turned 18 just about a month ago. What was it like for you to vote in your first election after so many months of trying to get other people to vote? Jaclyn Corin: It was wonderful, honestly, because I would have felt kind of left out if I hadnt been able to vote in the election I was pushing so hard for. So it was great. I went to vote with my dad, on my 18th birthday, which is something that I urge everyone to do when they turn 18, if they can: either go vote or register to vote. It was really quick and easy. I think a common misconception is that voting is a long, difficult process. I was in and out of there within 10 minutes because I went to early vote. Advertisement What were your big hopes going into election night? My big hopes were obviously to boot out a lot of NRA-backed candidates. We saw over 30 NRA-backed candidates lose their seats, which was a huge win. And the fact that weve only been going at it for almost nine months now and we got rid of that many people is a huge success, and theres no telling how much better we can do going into 2020 and 2022. Advertisement Our generation, Generation Z, and millennials showed up in amazing numbers. The last midterm election in 2014, only 21 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds actually went and voted, but 31 percent of that age bracket showed up to vote [this year], which is incredible. And so our takeaway from election night was that our generation proved the people that said we couldnt make a difference wrong. We actually made our voices heard. And I think voting is only going to become more normalized among young people going forward. Advertisement Advertisement Walk me through what election night was like for you. It was definitely an emotional roller coaster. And I think that although we didnt succeed as we had planned in Florida, we saw so many amazing victories around the country. In Florida, the candidate for governor who would have made the state safer and helped transform it into a leader in gun violence prevention lost, but we just have to push even harder toward 2020. It was tough in the moment to know that our state was not going to be a leader in this fight, but we saw so many states that are going to become the leaders in gun violence prevention efforts. And we have an amazingly diverse Congress now. Over 100 women were elected, and people ran on the issue of gun violence and actually prevailed. So thats a win, that its actually being talked about. Advertisement Advertisement It looks like Florida is now going to have a pro-gun senator, Rick Scott, and a new governor, Ron DeSantis, who is heavily supported by the NRA. How do you square their victories with the traction your activism has gotten around the country? Florida has been a safe state [for Republicans] for as long as Ive been alive and before that. So its going to take longer to progress, and have citizens here understand gun violence and how to cure it. But as a whole, we saw the NRAs caucus crumble in some of their strongest districts. So over time, slowly but surely, the gun lobby is losing more people as supporters, as more of us start to understand what gun safety actually means, and as more young people are standing up for their lives and their families lives, their friends lives, and their neighbors lives. I think that Florida is going to be trailing behind a lot of states that are going to be leading the way in gun violence prevention, which is unfortunate for Floridians, but its fortunate for the country as a whole. Advertisement Advertisement Democrat Lucy McBath just won a congressional seat in Georgia in a district thats been Republican for decades. She was inspired to run after the shooting you experienced, and in part because her son Jordan Davis was murdered by a man who thought his music was too loud. What are your thoughts on her win? Advertisement I think Lucy is an incredibly strong human being to go through something like that and to work tirelessly since the death of her own sonits incredibly inspiring. Shes just a prime example of the fact that anyone can run for something. You dont have to be a politician from the time you were 25 to actually make a difference. I commend her, because she ran on the issue of gun violence [prevention] because its something she cares about and its something she believes in. I applaud her, and I applaud all the young people around the country who ran. There are students in Orange County specifically, and all around the country, who ran for city council or mayor, and theyre only 18, 19, 20 years old. The fact that they were unsatisfied with their elected officials and took the next step, which was actually running for something, was inspiring, and it honestly makes me want to run for office someday as well. Advertisement McBaths candidacy also speaks to the intersection between gun control activism and the racial justice activism of the Movement for Black Lives. What connections do you see, or do you want to make, between those issues and activist movements? Advertisement Advertisement Our movement for gun violence prevention is entirely correlated with the Black Lives Matter movement because so much of the gun violence we see, in fact the majority of it, is in inner-city communities, is in disenfranchised communities of color, and especially within law enforcement, police brutality. So a large piece of what March for Our Lives stands for is making sure that people in those communities are protected and their lives arent lost. A common misconception is that we only care about the lives that are lost in schools. But that is completely false. Over the summer, we worked with groups from around country from inner-city Chicago, Milwaukee, South Central L.A. This has been an important piece of what March for Our Lives is, because even though it started in Parkland, a primarily white suburban community, its expanded into so much more, to involve every single community. Advertisement Advertisement People can no longer just pray for Thousand Oaks, they cannot pray for Parkland. They have to act for Thousand Oaks, they have to act for Parkland. Jaclyn Corin There was a New York magazine piece that ran a week before the election, in which 12 young people explained why they probably werent going to be voting in the election. A lot of people were angry after they read it, and then a lot of people were saying, Maybe shaming people about not voting is not the best way to get them excited about voting. Im curious what you think keeps young people from getting engaged politically, and whats a good way to energize them. Advertisement I did see that [article]. When Im trying to persuade someone to vote, I always find a personal connection for that person to the ballot, because oftentimes people dont understand what theyre actually voting for, because they dont recognize any names on the ballot. But you always have to make sure they know the issues behind the names on the ballot, like gun violence. Weve been in so many rooms where we ask people to say if they have been affected by gun violence or know someone whos been affected, and almost every single hand in the room goes up. Or Ill mention student loans, if theyre in college or heading to college, because thats on the ballot as well. Ill mention health care, because unfortunately a lot of students experience difficulties in their families if a family member has a pre-existing condition. So you always have to tie it back into something that people can feel closely connected to. Advertisement What was your reaction when you heard the news about the Thousand Oaks shooting? When I woke up, I opened Twitter, and it was there. And I immediately thought, Oh no, not again. As did Im sure every single American that was aware of the shooting, because weve seen mass shootings almost every single day this year in this country. Mass shootings are becoming a part of everyday American life, which is disgustingits embarrassing, honestly. Advertisement Advertisement And every time a mass shooting occurs, its very difficult for survivors to understand and comprehend, because theyre still trying to get over what they experienced, and theyre just reminded of the violence that they have seen firsthand when it happens to another community. Whenever theres a mass shooting or whenever I read about someone getting senselessly murdered, its very difficult, because I know exactly how they feel. I saw the video of the father that lost his son, Cody Coffman, and those tears reminded me of the tears of my entire community just a few months ago. Advertisement Its difficult, but it proves why this conversation is so important, why we continue to do this work every single day. People can no longer just pray for Thousand Oaks. They cannot pray for Pittsburgh, they cannot pray for Parkland. They have to act for Thousand Oaks, they have to act for Pittsburgh, they have to act for Parkland. How do you take care of yourself, as youre talking about your own experience so much and bearing witness to these other shootings? I continue to work. Because from the very start of it, reacting in a positive way has been my grieving process. I also try to connect with survivors of each shooting. Ive already been in contact with a girl that was in Thousand Oaks, because people look at my friends and I as people that can understand what theyre going through. So I just help other people try to grieve and try to heal, because it honestly helps me to help others. How are you able to balance all your activism with school? Ha! I dont go to school as often as I should. But I just email back and forth with my teachers and I make it work. Its a lot of long nights studying at 1 a.m., but senior year is almost halfway over, and Im not going to let one prevail over the other, because both are important. Im applying to college right now as well. The next chapter of my life is within distance, so Im going to just keep pushing until that chapter begins. Blocked: Once again, as in Columbine, Aurora, Sandy Hook, Pulse nightclub, and Las Vegas, the gunman who killed 12 this week in Thousand Oaks, California, used a high-capacity magazine. In 2016, Californians voted to outlaw these magazines, but a judge struck down the ban. The latest tragedy shows how illogical, how callous to human life our Second Amendment jurisprudence has become, writes Mark Joseph Stern. Talkin Beale Street: Inkoo Kang interviewed director Barry Jenkins about his new movie, which is the first-ever English-language film adaptation of James Baldwins work. Their conversation also touched on viral videos of racism in action, the useful social function of Twitter, and Jenkins award-season matchups with La La Land and First Man director Damien Chazelle. We have reviewed your report carefully: Vox co-founder Matt Yglesias got doxed on Twitter yesterday, and Twitteras usualdid nothing. Will Oremus explains what that means for the rest of us without blue check marks. One last yarn: In his final Interrogation for Slate, Isaac Chotiner talks to his friend Nate Cohn of the New York Times about what we should make of the midterm resultsand what happened to the dreaded Needle on election night. (Give em hell, Isaac!) For fun: A short scene from the first GIF film festival. Now THIS is cinema, Nitish The people of California wanted to protect residents of their state from precisely the kind of mass shooting that killed 12 people in Thousand Oaks on Wednesday. A federal judge wouldnt let them. In 2016, California voters approved Proposition 63 by 63 percent of the vote. The laws centerpiece outlawed high-capacity magazines, defined as any magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Such magazines were used in some of the nations worst mass shootings, including Columbine, Aurora, Sandy Hook, Pulse Nightclub, andsince the measure passedLas Vegas and Thousand Oaks. Gun rights advocates, including the California arm of the National Rifle Association, promptly filed a lawsuit, alleging a violation of their Second Amendment rights. Advertisement U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez, a George W. Bush appointee, blocked Proposition 63 in June 2017. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later declined to lift his injunction. In his ruling, Benitez declared that the law is a poor fit as a means to eliminate the types of mass shooting events experienced in California. He insisted that high-capacity magazines are an incredibly rare danger to public safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of the ten mass shooting events that occurred in California, Benitez wrote, only two involved the use of a magazine holding more than 10 rounds. He reasoned that the law was a poor fit as means to increase public safety. And he concluded that, as a result, Proposition 63 likely cannot survive constitutional scrutiny. Advertisement Benitez expressly discounted a Mother Jones survey that found that half of 62 mass shootings between 1982 and 2012 involved magazines with more than 10 rounds. He ignored another study that found that high-capacity magazine shootings produced 60 percent more fatalities. And he overlooked the fact that mass shootings in Virginia fell when the state banned high-capacity magazines, only to rise once more when the ban was lifted. The shooting illustrates how illogical, how callous to human life our Second Amendment jurisprudence has become. But leave that data aside and consider the situation in California. Benitez wrote that only two mass shootings in the state had theretofore involved high-capacity magazines. Only two? These massacres were the 2013 Santa Monica shooting, which killed five civilians, and the 2009 Oakland shooting, which killed four police officers. You might expect these tragedies to influence the courts reasoning. But Benitez insisted that it wasnt entirely clear whether Proposition 63 wouldve kept these shooters from obtaining high-capacity magazines. And the marginal good effects the law mightve hadthat is, the lives it might have saveddidnt justify the ban. Advertisement Advertisement What interests lie on the other side of this dispute? Gun advocates claimed that they need high-capacity magazines to defend themselves. But an expert witness hired by the state found that an average of 2.2 shots were fired in self-defense situations. Between 2011 and May 2017, just two of the 736 incidents examined involved an individual firing more than 10 rounds in self-defense. To Benitez, this data didnt matter. [P]ublic safety interests, he wrote, may not eviscerate the Second Amendment. The judge was especially offended that Proposition 63 did not exempt honorably discharged member[s] of the Armed Forces to use high-capacity magazines. What possibly better citizen candidates [are there], he asked, to protect the public against violent gun-toting criminals? This argument is and was spuriousgood guys with guns dont have the best track record against bad guys with guns. Further demonstrating the absurdity of Benitezs argument is the fact that Ian David Long, the Thousand Oaks shooter, was a Marine veteran. Advertisement Advertisement To be clear, Benitez cannot and should not be blamed for Wednesdays shooting. We do not yet know how Long obtained the high-capacity magazine he used in the shooting, but sale of these magazines is already prohibited in California (though the ban is easy to work around). Proposition 63 explicitly targeted their possession, removing them not only from gun shops but also from the gun owners themselves. Until we learn more details, we cannot know whether the law mightve stopped the Thousand Oaks shooting. And, to further state the obvious, the ultimate blame lies with Long. Advertisement Regardless, the shooting illustrates how illogical, how callous to human life our Second Amendment jurisprudence has become. If high-capacity magazines help virtually no one defend themselves, but increase the lethality of mass shootings, shouldnt that justify their prohibition? Why is it that only two mass shootings involving these devices werent enough to support a ban? How many more shootings would it take? How many more dead bodies does California have to mourn before the courts allow the state to take serious action? Advertisement Several years ago, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh offered an answer. In a 2011 dissent, then-Judge Kavanaugh wrote that the District of Columbias ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines infringed upon the Second Amendment. He shrugged off the fact that assault weapons are significantly more damaging to the human body, as their high-velocity ammunition causes catastrophic bleeding, shreds vital organs, and leaves exit wounds the size of an orange. To Kavanaugh, the devastation wrought by these weapons is simply the price we pay for liberty. The Supreme Courts decisions protecting handguns in the home do not compel such a result. But courts have manipulated that limited holding to cast constitutional doubt on a wide array of gun restrictions meant to protect us from mass slaughter. They refuse to consider the cost of their jurisprudence in terms of human lives. Matters of life and death are abstracted to the point that only two mass shootings make no constitutional difference. After the carnage unleashed at Thousand Oaks, is it really so unreasonable that Californians want to eradicate high-capacity magazines from their state? As Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote in a 2017 case upholding Marylands assault weapons ban: Disenfranchising the American people on this life and death subject would be the gravest and most serious of steps. It is their community, not ours. It is their safety, not ours. It is their lives, not ours. But Wilkinson is not on the United States Supreme Court. Kavanaugh is. And his ruthless commitment to the untrammeled liberty of gun owners may now be ascendant. The current acting attorney general of the United States, the highest law enforcement officer in the entire country, believes that states have the constitutional right to disobey federal laws when they deem appropriate. Thats coming from President Trumps pick to oversee the Justice Department, very much a federal body and ultimate enforcer of federal laws, during his failed 2014 Senate run in Iowa. CNN unearthed Whitakers comments on state nullification, as serious questions are being raised about the legality of Whitakers temporary appointment that has always had the appearance of Trump trying to install an ally to end Robert Muellers investigation in his campaigns links to Russia. Whitaker has personal ties to the Trump administrationin particular the parts of Trump world that are part of the Mueller investigationand has been publicly critical of the Mueller investigation before taking over at the DOJ. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The question appears to be in relation to Obamacare, which Republicans were (still!) furiously running against in 2014. As a principle, it has been turned down by the courts, and our federal government has not recognized it, Whitaker said during a September 2013 campaign speech at a candidate event hosted by the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition. Now, we need to remember that the states set up the federal government and not vice versa. And so the question is: Do we have the political courage in the state of Iowa, or some other state, to nullify Obamacare and pay the consequences for that? The federal governments done a very good job about tying goodies to our compliance with federal programs, whether its the Department of Education, whether its Obamacare with its generous Medicare and Medicaid dollars and the like, he continued. But do I believe in nullification? I think our founding fathers believed in nullification. Theres no doubt about that. And so that principle survives. I dont think we as a people that like our federal goodies have the political courage to nullify Obamacare. Donald Trump, a man whose signature could be described as a cry for help, is now yelling about other peoples signaturesspecifically those of Arizona voters. Just out in Arizona, SIGNATURES DONT MATCH. Electoral corruption - Call for a new Election? We must protect our Democracy! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A reasonable person may be asking themselves: Huh? Heres how to make sense of Trumps incomprehensible nonsense. The unsupported allegationapparently prompted by a Fox News segmentis plainly a reaction to the fact that Democrat Kyrsten Sinema recently moved into the lead over Republican Martha McSally in a U.S. Senate race that remains entirely too close to call. Arizona officials are still counting ballots and expect to continue well into next week. As the Associated Press explains, that is pretty much standard operating procedure for the state, which historically takes at least a week to count ballots. The time-suck is a result of two things: Most Arizona voters cast ballots by mail, which take longer to count; and the states largest county, Maricopa, is using a computer system from the 1980s that can only process up to 75,000 ballots a day. Trump, however, sees a Republican losing and feels compelled to cry foul. Advertisement The specific issue of the [*clears throat*] SIGNATURES is a relatively small part of the equation. Arizona law requires the mail-in ballots to be signed and sealed, and election officials then have the unenviable task of matching each signature to the one they have on file before they even open the envelope. If the signature doesnt match, officials then try to contact the voter to resolve the issue, a process known as curing. Arizona Republicans filed a lawsuit earlier this week over how long officials have to complete that process, which is what elevated this little-known vote-counting wrinkle to the level of Fox News coverage and then, predictably, the presidents Twitter feed. Advertisement According to the AP, it appears that less than 1 percent of all ballots are counted after this process. There were an estimated 2.3 million votes cast in the state, so that would mean were talking about roughly 23,000 ballots at most. Maricopa County officials say they have a total of about 350,000 ballots that still need processing. Sinema currently leads McSally by a little more than 11,000 votes out of more than 1.9 million that have been counted. Its entirely possible that McSally will move back into the lead before this is over. At the same time, however, it seems entirely impossible that weve heard the last from Trump about this. The Victorians believed in progress, and in technology as its handmaiden. They saw their lethal use of machine guns in the conquest of Africa as progressthe spread of European civilization. But in the Great War that ended 100 years ago this Sunday, those same machine guns produced a bloody stalemate between Europeans, fracturing faith in European civilization at home and abroad. Movements against European imperialism gained strength around the world, and postwar British turned cynical, losing faith in all that the Victorians held dear: progress, war, technology. Advertisement But if this commonly held view, associated with scholars like Eric Leed and Paul Fussell, is the whole story, we are left with many mysteries: Why did Britain promote industrialism in its colonies right after the war? Why did it so readily turn to the same technologies in the Second World War? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Far from the Western Front, the usual focus of our efforts to understand the cultural legacy of the war, the British, in particular, simultaneously cultivated a more positive view of technologys contribution to warfare. We have inherited wartime British marginalization of these other theaters as sideshows, despite their enormous scale, impact, and strategic importancea marginalization made necessary by the ethical dubiousness of European actions in those theaters: British activity in the Middle East was initially shrouded in secrecy to avoid provoking anti-imperialists, Indian Muslims, and Arab allies. Advertisement Shifting our gaze from France to the Middle East, we can see how faith in technological warfare survived. The Mesopotamia and Palestine campaignsin which the British fought the Ottoman Empire in present-day Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Syria, and Saudi Arabia in alliance with the indigenous Arab Revoltwere mobile and creative military affairs, incorporating deception tactics, irregular warfare, and air power, which have become basic to modern warfare. This tactical exceptionalism was the product of British commanders unique willingness to use craft in a region that they thought of as magical and mysterious, an ancient biblical land of cunning and subterfuge, where little surprise would be occasioned in seeing a genie floating out of a magic bottle. The Great War institutionalized the British view of the Middle East as a site of exception that permitted tactics considered unethical elsewhere. Leave your English customs, T.E. Lawrence, a key architect of these campaigns and the primary liaison with the Arab Revolt, exhorted fellow Britons in the region: The more unorthodox and Arab your proceedings, the more likely you are to have the Turks cold. Foreshadowing 21st-century Americas embrace of special operations and drone-driven counterterrorism warfare, Lawrence (later immortalized in Lawrence of Arabia) urged a minimalistic guerrilla-style of warfare that contrasted sharply with the entrenched mass warfare and complex supply lines on the Western Front, a nimbleness supported by a heavy dependence on air power, which he and other British experts on the region thought essential in a land they perceived as uniformly flat, despite its varied topographical reality. Control of the air was crucial to deception operations, allowing the British to conceal their movements and watch enemy movements. Air power also coordinated guerrilla warfare and train-wrecking and enabled reconnaissance of a region that had foiled British mapping efforts. Aerial photography and signaling were developed in the Middle East. Most significantly, British officials praised aerial bombardments political uses in disciplining tribes. A 1921 Cabinet paper on air power acknowledged that it proved its potential not in Europe but in the more distant theatres in the Middle East. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Mesopotamia campaign came to include British investment in the general technological development of the region after an early military failure. British troops stationed at the Persian Gulf made a hasty push north to take Baghdad in 1915. But they failed and were besieged by Turkish forces at Kut, resulting in the loss and surrender of thousands of troops, an event hailed as Britains greatest humiliation in the War. Officials blamed Mesopotamias lack of transportation infrastructure. A government inquiry replaced the romantic depiction of a magical land of the Arabian Nights with the grim image of a land rife with Physical and Climatic Peculiarities: undisciplined rivers, a swamplike port, biblically punishing heat, drought, insects, and floods. While technology was widely blamed for the deadly stalemate in France, laments on this front were about the lack of technology. The inquiry prompted Britain to give in to growing demands from the crown jewel colony of India for industrialization, so that India could fulfill British military needs in the Middle East. India sent iron, steel, and timber, alongside dredgers, labor, and experts, to construct river embankments, wharves, dams, harbors, docks, ships, canals, and bridges in Iraq as the troops pushed north again. It sent railroad and electrical plant, telegraphic and telephonic equipment, engines, vehicles, boatsall this to enable British troops to wage war as it should be waged. Advertisement Advertisement The British campaigns changing fortunes after this monumental development effort seemed to disprove the Western Fronts lesson that technological warfare had made long advances impossible. Pushing toward Baghdad again, officers mused on the great ancient armiesthe Parthians, Sasanians, and Romansthat had passed this way before [modern] men in khaki with aeroplanes and wireless. Baghdads fall in 1917 was hailed as the most triumphant piece of strategy since war started. It enforced the military establishments commitment to the cult of the offensive and convinced Prime Minister David Lloyd George to make Jerusalem a Christmas gift to his peoplejust when the Battle of Passchendaele, the major 1917 Allied offensive on the Western Front, ended in failure. These campaigns preserved British morale despite the grim news from France. The fall of Jerusalem incited public euphoriathe bell of Westminster chimed for the first time in three years. Postwar military journals noted a reversal in the importance of the various campaigns, since Mesopotamia and Palestine had proved that in future wars, mobility and power would again be correlated. The high-tech power of armored cars, aircraft, and wireless, combined with cavalry, riverboats, deception, and guerrilla tacticsshowed that modern warfare need not be stalemated trench warfare. Educational tours in Iraq praised the special value of operations there for military science. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These campaigns seemed to affirm British military prowess and redeem warfare itself as a productive enterprisein the very cradle of civilization. The Guardian triumphantly called the military operations in the region the greatest programme of public works since ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Trains, cars, and airplanes were bringing a new age of miracles to Baghdad, where lay the natural junctions of the worlds airways and railways, the worlds centre. Others imagined a regenerated Babylonia giving meaning to British war losses. Mesopotamia would supply cotton and wheat, provide fields for European industry, and enlarge the wealth of a universe wasted by war, foresaw the powerful British administrator in Iraq, Gertrude Bell. Well fix this land up, wrote an officer, and move the wheels of a new humanity. The press hailed the regeneration of Palestine as one of the few fine and imaginative products of the war that made it all [seem] worth while. These campaigns renewed Victorian idealism despite the cynicism produced on the Western Front. James Mann, a postwar recruit to Iraq, explained to his mother: If one takes the Civil Service, or the Bar, or Literature, or Politics, or even the Labour movement, what can one do that is constructive? Here on the other hand I am constructing the whole time. Advertisement Advertisement But these hopes were pipe dreams. The occupying army did build bridges and railways but abandoned many of these projects because of financial stringency and because a violent colonial policing system known as air control hijacked the development discourse in the face of a 1920 Iraqi rebellion against the British occupation. Iraq descended into a new kind of colonial hell, where bombing was used for everyday purposes like tax collection. The Great War institutionalized the British view of the Middle East as a site of exception that permitted tactics considered unethical elsewhere. For Britons, the campaigns in the Middle East gave industrial warfare a new lease on life and produced the tactics that shaped the next war, while inspiring a long history of destructive covert and aerial Western engagement with the Middle East. PayPal announced on Friday that it is canceling accounts belonging to the extreme right-wing group the Proud Boys, its founder Gavin McInnes, the Anti-Facist Network, the Atlanta Antifa, and Antifa Sacramento. The payment-processing company also banned Tommy Robinson, who founded the far-right English Defence League. The move will make it more difficult for the groups to engage in online fundraising. Striking the necessary balance between upholding free expression and open dialogue and protecting principles of tolerance, diversity and respect for all people is a challenge that many companies are grappling with today, Paypal told the Daily Beast. We work hard to achieve the right balance and to ensure that our decisions are values-driven and not political. We carefully review accounts and take action as appropriate. We do not allow PayPal services to be used to promote hate, violence, or other forms of intolerance that is discriminatory. The payment-processing company would not reveal what specific actions had led to the groups deplatforming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Proud Boys made headlines in October when members of the group were involved in a violent altercation with antifa members in New York following a speech that McInnes gave for the Metropolitan Republican Club. New York police arrested five members of the Proud Boys in the aftermath. Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram banned the group and McInnes from their platforms at the end of the month. While antifa as a whole has been controversial, its unclear why Paypal has singled out these specific local affiliates. In past years, the company has also quietly revoked accounts belonging to Belfast Antifa, Antifa Arkansas, Antifa Philadelphia, and Rose City Antifa. The Atlanta Antifa blamed the deplatforming on false equivalence in a tweet. Advertisement If this is correct, Paypal is making a ridiculous false equivalence. This is where liberal "both sides" discourse leads. https://t.co/qg49QyNFmZ Atlanta Antifascists (@afainatl) November 9, 2018 Advertisement Paypal banned the social network Gab at the end of October after it was revealed that the gunman who allegedly killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh had been posting anti-Semitic content on the site. In September, Paypal made the high-profile decision to cut off Alex Jones and Infowars, joining a number of other platforms like Twitter and Facebook that had also recently blocked the far-right conspiracy theorist and his outlet. Jones filed a lawsuit against Paypal last month alleging viewpoint discrimination and is demanding that he be allowed back on the platform. As the fourth and final series of the North American Amateur Drivers Association nears completion, the eighth leg of the 10-race Fall competition was contested at Yonkers Raceway with two short fields going to post prior to the betting card getting underway. Alan Schwartz and Bobby Ciavardini each emerged victorious in their respective splits. Schwartz won with his old warhorse Ladys Big Stormont in 2:01.1 while Ciavardini copped his division with Baltimor AS in 2:01.4. Both races were contested over a sloppy racetrack. Schwartz and his veteran trotter started from the pole position and they sped to the front and had two lengths on their competition at the quarter in :28.2. After tapping the brakes, Ladys Big Stormont got by the half in :59.3. Up the backside, Schwartz was comfortable and braced for challenges from the ladies, Jennifer Lappe with Celebrity Blue Chip and Monica Banca with Master Of Excuses. But once Ladys Big Stormont rounded the final turn, he put it in another gear and rambled off to a solid three-length triumph. Celebrity Blue Chip photoed-out Master Of Excuses for second money. Schwartz owns and trains the winner, who notched his 11th seasonal triumph and raised his 2018 bankroll to over $53,000. In his split, Ciavardini was content sit in the three-hole as Annie Stoebe took command with Uriel on the first turn and they showed the way past the quarter in :30. They were still without any challenges as they trotted by the half in 1:01.2. When the field headed for the three quarters, Ciavardini moved Baltimor AS off the pylons to challenge and the two raced side by side into the turn. When they headed for home, Baltimor AS had gained command and went on to a length victory over Uriel. Third place went to Here Comes Numbers, driven by Dr. John Kokinos. Ciavardini put racing on the back-burner in the mid-1980s and after completing his professional working career, he rejoined the amateur ranks two years ago. From a limited amount of starts, this was his first seasonal driving victory. Tom Milici owns the trotter, who is trained by Austin Gilbert. (NAADA) The curtain will close on the 25th silver anniversary season of live harness racing at Harrahs Hoosier Park on Saturday, Nov. 10 and will be highlighted by a $20,000 guaranteed Pick-4 pool. An action packed 14-race card will close out the 2018 season with mandatory payouts in the Pick-4, Pick-5, and Hoosier High-5 pools. First post is 6:30 p.m. Two longshot winners in Fridays Pick-4 sequence at Harrahs Hoosier Park sparked a carryover of $4,385.17 and will kick-start the Pick-4 pool for Saturday. Harrahs Hoosier Park will offer this signature wagering opportunity in partnership with the United States Trotting Association Strategic Wagering program and the Indiana Standardbred Association. The Pick-4 begins in the third race and will continue through the sixth race. Approximate post time for the first leg of the wager, the third race, is 7:06 p.m. (est.). Free past performances for the Pick-4 will be available on the United States Trotting Association website. Expert selections and handicapping tools are also available on Hoosier Parks website and The United States Trotting Associations website. Saturdays 14-race card will feature several late closing series finals and a $21,000 Invitational Pace. Local fan favourite and Breeders Crown champion Freaky Feet Pete will also be in action on the evenings 14-race card looking to score his second consecutive win, competing in the $15,000 Open Pace with Trace Tetrick in the bike. In addition to the racing action, Hoosier Park will award the 2018 leading driver and trainer trophies. Hoosier Parks reigning leading driver, Trace Tetrick, led the driving standings from start to finish and will add his seventh driver title at Hoosier Park to his resume. The title for leading trainer looks to be a race to the wire between Jeff Cullipher and Jamie Macomber, who shared the trainer title last season, with only four wins separating the two heading into the final night of racing. (With files from Hoosier Park) Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship. Mountain Shadows in Wayanad is just the place for a dreamy vacation Your browser does not support the audio element. Unverified news of a Vietnamese leading mobile resellers website being compromised with its customer data leaked has sounded the latest alarm bell on the poor awareness of data security and privacy in the country. The rumor that The Gioi Di Dong, one of Vietnams largest mobile retail chains, had more than five millions of its customers private data, including payment card information, exposed after a hack was widespread on the Internet on Wednesday. The data breach was first reported by RaidForums, a message board known for database leaks, when one anonymous user named Erwincho posted links to three attached files that it claimed were a database dump, belonging to one of Vietnams largest resellers Mobile World JSC (best known for their brand Thegioididong.com). Although The Gioi Di Dongs public relations manager Dang Thanh Phong was quick to assert that all the information is false, some Vietnamese Internet users said that they were able to download the email list leaked on RaidForums and find their own email addresses. After two days of verification, the Authority of Information Security (AIS) under Vietnams Ministry of Information and Communications told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday that the agency discovered no sign of attack on system components related to the alleged leaked personal information. According to an AIS representative, the main transactions between customers and The Gioi Di Dong are usually performed through POS (Points of Sale) devices and e-commerce websites, which then encrypt and transfer all information related to credit cards of customers to banks or providers of intermediary payment services, as per the regulations of the State Bank of Vietnam. In other words, the mobile resellers system does not store any information of customers bankcards. In Vietnam, email information can be collected from various sources that have been exposed, or leaked before, the representative said, implying that the exposed addresses could come from other online sources. Still, the representative noted that a number of users, organizations and enterprises in Vietnam still have low awareness on protecting personal information. Alarm bell According to a survey by accounting firm PwC in collaboration with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development last month, one of the three biggest challenges Vietnamese enterprises are encountering in the digital economic revolution is failing to solve problems of security and data security. The Gioi Di Dongs incident has once again sounded the alarm bell of the weak security of customer information in the country, Ngo Tan Vu Khanh, Director of Development in Vietnam of security solution provider Kaspersky Lab, emphasized. In fact, a number of Vietnamese firms have already suffered from network security incidents before, namely the series of hacking attacks into the systems at several major airports and two websites in the country in July 2016. In this context, security firms predict the information security situation of Vietnam will be more threatened, with the application of smarter technology by hackers as the nation has determined to build smart cities, applying sensors, cameras and IoT (Internet of Things) devices. A customer pays by bank card at a The Gioi Di Dong store in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre According to Kaspersky Lab, Vietnam ranks second in the world among the countries affected by attacks on IoT devices, accounting for up to 15 percent of global attacks, just behind China with 17 percent. In Vietnam, many mobile and desktop applications demand access to various data on the devices even though these apps functions have nothing to do with the data. For instance, a photo editing app may require access to users contact list, or a flashlight application may want to gain entry to phone memory and gallery. Users with poor awareness of privacy would give permission to these apps without a second thought. Many websites, more often than less, also ask for users personal information, such as address, phone number and email addresses. Likewise, social networking sites easily collect users data not only through the enforced forms of log-in information and account verification, but also by encouraging them to share personal photos and video. Security researchers have also warned users that some popular dating applications can transfer unencrypted data through unsafe web access. Leaked data is one of the best sellers on dark web, according to data analytics company Experian, as several types of them are sold for as much as US$2,000. According to PwC Vietnams Director CyberSecurity Robert Trong Tran, the U.S digital advertisement industry was able to earn $240 for each users data on average in 2016. This explains why data breach is rampant in the world, especially in Vietnam. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A Vietnamese engineer has succeeded in persuading Google to add his mother tongue to the languages supported by a keyboard app for the worlds most popular mobile operation system. Nguyen Dang Viet Anh, a Vietnamese employee at Google, worked hard to get the Internet giants approval to develop Vietnamese keyboard for Gboard, a multi-language keyboard app developed by Google for Android devices. Despite his success at Silicon Valley, he is determined to come back to Vietnam in the future. From a personal cause It all began when Anh, who started working for the Silicon Valley-based company in 2011, noticed his parents struggling with typing Vietnamese on their Android phones as this mobile operating system did not support a Vietnamese keyboard. Instead, users were required to download, install, and set up an extension by themselves which can be quite challenging for the ones not good with technology. Hence, Anh directly contacted Googles deputy managing director so as to have the company focus more on Vietnamese users, beginning with adding Vietnamese to their Gboard app. At first, he received many objections claiming the direction is not feasible and unprofitable. However, being determined and strongly motivated, the 30-year-old engineer hailing from Hanoi kept on persuading the board until they agreed. Because I was having a clear motivation, I worked with 120 percent efficiency without getting tired, Anh told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. Within one and a half years, along with Nguyen Tuan Anh, his Vietnamese colleague at Google, Viet Anh successfully developed a Vietnamese keyboard compatible with the Gboard app for Android. Now my parents can easily type Vietnamese and can even activate voice typing in the language, Anh said. Recruited by the big three Viet Anh represents a generation that every country wants to have, Professor Stephen Intille, who taught Viet Anh at college, said. After graduating from Amsterdam High School for the Gifted in Hanoi, Nguyen Dang Viet Anh was admitted to Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a full scholarship of US$200,000. In 2011 he graduated with a Masters degree in Computer Science and was accepted by the big three of Silicon Valley including Facebook, Microsoft, and Google. He chose to work at Google, joining the tech giants Experience (UX) unit. As UX is a new concept for Vietnamese people, the young engineer has been trying his best to inform, educate, and familiarize Vietnamese youth with both the importance and essence of this field in each tech company through his own website uxlagi.com. Working at Googles headquarters in Silicon Valley also allowed Viet Anh the opportunity to directly present his ideas and self-developed projects to the worlds top tech bosses, including Bill Gates and Larry Page. I always want to live for the fullest for my country and that is why I am going to come back home, he said. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Shared offices, more popularly known as co-working spaces, are catching the attention of young office workers, especially freelancers and start-up employees in Ho Chi Minh City. These young professionals come for the traditional office amenities, such as desks, private meeting rooms, kitchens, and coffee, but stay for the trendy interior designs, laidback atmosphere, and opportunity to mingle and network with like-minded individuals. Nguyen Thi Cam Hong, the 32-year-old founder of an event planning start-up based in Toong, a co-working space in District 3, was excited to share her experience with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. Toong features a park with greenery and plants, a skylight, and stone chairs placed under a tree, and a corridor painted to look like the clear blue sky adorned with red bird of paradise flowers. Each office space is enclosed in transparent glass, giving the entire place a sleek, modern feel. Everything is see-through, so people need to learn how to respect each other, Hong said. If we need to hold a meeting, well have an A0 sheet of paper hung on the glass wall as both a door curtain and a projector screen, she added. People working at Toong co-working space. Photo: Tuoi Tre Flexibility Co-working spaces not only allow for flexibility in location, but also flexibility in working hours. Toongs public space is designed as a coffee shop in order to create a more congenial vibe so freelancers can escape the boredom that occasionally accompanies working alone at home. It also features rectangle and round tables lining the walls near the windows. The entire space is fill with natural light. For those who need extra space, private offices are also available for rent. Workspaces are designed to inspire work, but most importantly, this is where people have the opportunity to connect with others, said Nguyen Nhu Quynh, a marketer for a livestream application start-up which rents an office room at a co-working space in District 2. Quynh said that the perk of working in a shared office is that she can choose a different seat and meet new people every day. Seeing people walking by and working does not make me feel annoyed. It actually makes me feel more excited to work, Quynh said. People working at Toong co-working space. Photo: Tuoi Tre Likewise, Hong told Tuoi Tre that there are usually social activities planned each week for people to share their own stories and experiences and learn from those around them. This workspace also makes me feel more humble because I have the opportunity to meet many successful and experienced people who also work here. It drives me to put more effort into my work, Hong said. Hong has also found several partners for her company through connections shes made at the co-working space. In addition, co-working spaces do not come with the high costs and commitments of a traditional office lease, an important factor for new businesses just trying to get off the ground. Our top priority is to focus on developing our company, Hong said. We do not want to waste a lot of time managing and purchasing equipment. With this office, we not only share space and equipment with other companies, but also knowledge, she proudly affirmed. A green space with plants at Toong co-working space. Photo: Tuoi Tre The office cabins at Toong co-working space. Photo: Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Embassy of Sweden in Vietnam has presented 1,000 free helmets to students of a primary school in Ho Chi Minh City. Students of Luong The Vinh Primary School in District 1 were given the meaningful gifts during a special event called Have Fun with Traffic Day on Thursday. Head is our invaluable asset. We need to protect ourselves to be happy, the Swedish embassy's second secretary Johan Alvin said at the event, stressing the importance of traffic safety. Johan Alvin, second secretary of Embassy of Sweden, shows students how to wear a helmet properly. Photo: Tuoi Tre Underlining that traffic in Vietnam is quite complicated, Alvin expressed his hope that the helmets will be with the students to minimize the unwanted consequences caused by traffic accidents. The Swedish embassy handing over free helmets to Vietnamese children out of the belief that students need to be educated about traffic safety since they are young so they know how to protect their own lives, according to the envoy. Despite being an educational session for the children, Thursdays event contained many activities like decoding riddles in both Vietnamese and Swedish, and a dancing performance, so as to make the day more intriguing for the young student. Luong The Vinh students had a memorable session with the Swedish guests while also learning many important regulations and recommendations regarding traffic safety. Students of Luong The Vinh Primary School are seen at the event. Photo: Tuoi Tre Around 2,000 children die tragically because of traffic accidents on an annual basis, according to Nguyen Vu Hanh Phuc, chief of staff of department of traffic safety of Ho Chi Minh City. Phuc praised the efforts and gestures of the Embassy of Sweden in Vietnam, expressing his belief that the gift helmets, complete with long-term education, will reduce the number of accidents and increase peoples awareness regarding traffic rules, especially when children are involved. I think that not only adults, but also children need to wear helmets, he said. We also really need to protect our heads. Wearing helmet is compulsory for both drivers and passengers on motorbike in Vietnam. The regulation is applicable for children from six. Students of Luong The Vinh Primary School are seen at the event. Photo: Tuoi Tre I am very happy to receive this helmet and I will consider it my friend on my way to school, fourth-grader Nguyen Vo Xuan An said after the fun activities she participated in. The event was co-held by the Ho Chi Minh City traffic safety agency and education department, and the National Traffic Safety Committee. A atudent of Luong The Vinh Primary School is seen at the event. Photo: Tuoi Tre Students of Luong The Vinh Primary School are seen at the event. Photo: Tuoi Tre Students of Luong The Vinh Primary School are seen at the event. Photo: Tuoi Tre Second secretary of Embassy of Sweden (left) receives a painting from Luong The Vinh primary school. Photo: Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnam and Cuba have agreed to strive to increase bilateral trade value between the two countries to US$500 million by 2022. The agreement was reached during a discussion between General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Nguyen Phu Trong and visiting Council of State and Council of Ministers of Cuba Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez in Hanoi on Friday. The event took place after talks between the two leaders, following a welcome ceremony held for the Cuban guest in the capital the same day, according to the official Vietnam News Agency. At the talks, the two leaders discussed several measures to foster economic, trade, and investment partnerships, as well as to strengthen ties in defense, security, external relations, agriculture, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, healthcare, education, and science-technology, and boost people-to-people exchange. The leaders spoke highly of and emphasized the importance of the two governments signing of a new trade agreement and a protocol on capital disbursement and financial management of the Vietnam-Cuba project on cooperation in rice production development for 2019-2023. Party General Secretary and President Trong shared the Cuban Presidents view that the current bilateral trade total at $240 million each year does not reflect the two countries trade potential, demand, and supply capacity. They agreed to give relevant direction to actively promote the implementation of the bilateral trade cooperation agreement, seek ways to facilitate businesses access to each others markets, and strive to raise trade to $500 million by 2022. During the talks, the leaders also briefed each other on the situation in their respective countries and discussed orientations and measures to deepen the special relationship between the two sides in an effective and pragmatic fashion. They also exchanged viewpoints on regional and international issues of shared concern. Party General Secretary and President Trong said the Cuban Presidents visit will generate momentum for the bilateral relationship. Before the talks, on behalf of the Vietnamese state, Party General Secretary and President Trong bestowed the Ho Chi Minh Order upon the Cuban leader in recognition of the latters contributions to bilateral friendship and cooperation. Party General Secretary and State President of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong (R) decorates Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel with the Order of Ho Chi Minh City inside the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on November 9, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Your browser does not support the audio element. While Vietnam encourages its citizens to report tax frauds, insignificant rewards for whistleblowers are putting people off risking their job and safety to denounce the dishonest activities. Earlier this month, the taxman of Ho Chi Minh City announced it had rewarded a local resident VND3 million (US$130) in cash for reporting tax frauds at an electronics chain that led to the collection of over VND148 billion ($6.35 million) worth of fines and tax arrears. Nguyen Kim, an electronics giant in the southern metropolis, was found to have dodged the payment of personal income tax for its executives and employees by turning their allowances and bonuses into overtime pay. Under Vietnamese laws, the disparity between overtime pay and regular pay is considered non-taxable income. In all, Nguyen Kim was made to pay VND104.74 billion ($4.5 million) in personal income tax arrears, a VND19.41 billion ($832,000) fine for administrative violations, and another VND24.18 billion ($1.04 million) penalty for late tax payment, according to the municipal tax department. The whistleblower, who was not identified by name for privacy and safety reasons, received the monetary reward of $130 and a thank-you letter to acknowledge his sense of responsibility toward the community. Shoppers inside a Nguyen Kim electronics store in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre After news of the reward were reported in the media this week, many people questioned its value, which is only 0.002 percent of the money collected by authorities thanks to the mans report. According to Nguyen Nam Binh, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City taxman, the reward is based on a 2016 directive by the General Department of Taxation, which laid out a guideline on rewarding people who report tax frauds. The guideline dictates that those who provide information to help district-level taxmen collect tax arrears are eligible for rewards worth no more than VND2 million ($85). For city-level taxmen, the maximum reward value is VND3 million ($130), while the General Department of Taxation can issue rewards worth no more than VND5 million ($215). Legal experts are now calling on authorities to revise rewards for whistleblowers of tax frauds and adopt a new system where people are rewarded with a percentage of the amount of tax collected thanks to their report, rather than with a fixed amount. In countries like the U.S., those who report tax frauds are eligible for up to 30 percent the value of collected tax arrears. For a regular citizen, $130 might not be enough incentive to make them risk denouncing the dishonest activities, said Tran Xoa, director of a Ho Chi Minh City-based law firm. Thats not to mention whistleblowers are legally accountable for their reports, he added. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Chinese drugs said to contain human flesh are not licensed to be manufactured, imported registered or circulated in Vietnam, the countrys drug administration said on Friday in response to recent reports that such a drug has been in circulation in Nigeria. The Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) confirmed last month that a Chinese drug sold in the African country contained human flesh, according to a report on The Guardian. According to investigations by the National Intelligence Agency of Nigeria, the drugs were sold in the form of capsules and were filled with powdered flesh from dead babies whose bodies were chopped into small pieces and dried on stoves before being turned into powder in north-eastern China. The South Korean Customs Service, on 30th September 2018 revealed that it has seized 2,751 Chinese drugs/capsules, containing human remains from fetuses, infants and flesh imported into the country by some Chinese nationals, NIA said in a statement. The manufacturers claim that the drugs/capsules can boost stamina, cure cancer, diabetes and some other terminal diseases. The capsules were smuggled in suitcases and through international mail. The agency revealed that South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety indicated that 18.7 billion viruses, including hepatitis B virus were found in the capsules. In light of these reports, the Drug Administration of Vietnam on Friday issued a dispatch to provincial and municipal health departments warning of the presence of such drugs in foreign markets. Though these drugs are not licensed in Vietnam, the drug administration has called on local health departments to warn residents against buying and using drugs of unclear origins on the black market. Residents are encouraged to report to relevant authorities of any discovery of drugs advertised to contain human flesh in Vietnam. Vietnams market watchdog is also asked to step up inspection to timely discover harmful drugs in circulation, the drug administration said in its dispatch. It was not the first time that drugs from fetuses and human flesh made in China have filtered into markets worldwide. In 2011, Chinese officials launched investigations into the production of drugs made from dead fetuses, The Guardian reports. The capsules were disguised as stamina boosters and some people believed them to be a panacea for disease. Investigations also revealed that thousands of the same drugs were first confiscated in South Korea in 2012. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! When last we had a new John le Carre spy adaptation it was the very glossy star-vehicle, The Night Manager. The Little Drummer Girl, also from BBC, adopts a far more sombre tone under South Korean director Park Chan-wook. More slow-burn than action, this is in a similar vein to Deutschland 83 or Mindhunter. Set in West Germany in 1979 it centres around a world of Israelis and Palestinians. A furtive Michael Shannon stars as Israeli spymaster Martin Kurtz whose memory of the hostage crisis during the Munich Olympics drives his will to kill current Palestinian terrorist Khalil. Meanwhile aspiring British actress Charlie (Florence Pugh) is thrilled when her acting troupe is whisked away to Greece by a mysterious patron. Unlike her colleagues Charlie is never afraid to speak her mind nor relent on her independent spirit. When she meets the handsome but secretive Gadi (Alexander Skarsgard) the two spark like electrons of a battery, each waiting for the other to make the first move. But amid the alluring European locations, Charlie has no idea she is already part of a bigger three act opera. The sum of the parts by writer Michael Lesslie makes for a complex and layered jigsaw for the viewer and in the hands of assured director Park Chan-wook (The Handmaiden, The Vengeance Trilogy, Oldboy) and production designer Maria Djurkovic this avoids lapsing into spy tropes. Scenes filmed at Greeces Acropolis are particularly lyrical. How will I ever fall in love after this? Charlie wonders. Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth, The Commuter, Malevolent) is arresting as the actress lured to a part she did not plan to play (I had to keep reminding myself she was not Jessica Marais) while Alexander Skarsgard is dependably enticing. But its Michael Shannon who will win the plaudits for his character role as the determined mastermind, orchestrating a classic kill-plan. The six part series also features Charles Dance and Condors Max Irons. While I enjoyed the sexiness of The Night Manager, The Little Drummer Girl wants to make me work harder which I suspect may ultimately be a more satisfying experience. The Little Drummer Girl airs 8:30pm Wednesdays on BBC First. Iceland's new Christmas advert has hit the headlines this week after being considered too political for television. The one minute, 33-second animation highlights the issue of deforestation in the rainforest and its effect on the Orangutan population, using #NoPalmOilChristmas to promote the key issue. However, according to Clearcast, who the BBC writes "Assesses adverts against the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising," Iceland's advert broke the rule when it came to political advertising. According to the Guardian, the animated advert breached the 2003 Communications Act, with the advertisement's connection to Greenpeace a contributing factor. . Social media did not agree with Clearcast's decision, however, and after Iceland released the video on its own social media on Thursday, it has been shared over 200,000 times. What is Palm Oil and where is it found? Although Iceland has pledged to remove Palm Oil from all their own brand products until deforestation reaches zero, no information has been given on how or when they plan to do this. The removal of Palm Oil may be hard to achieve as it is in almost all products such as; shampoo, soap, pizza, make-up, chocolate, ice cream and bread, to name just a few. But there are some ways you can help, prevent such excessive deforestation by finding products that use sustainable Palm Oil. The simplest way to do this is to look for an 'RSPO' (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) or 'Green Palm' label on products that you purchase. These ensure that the Palm Oil used in the product was produced in a responsible way and supports Palm Oil farmers. Despite Iceland's Christmas advert being banned from our televisions, the Guardian wrote that "Iceland will still be placing TV ads, but only 10-second clips that will highlight palm oil-free products," a small compensation from the result of Clearcast's decision. Social media shares The animation features a cute Orangutan named "Rang-tan" who enters the bedroom of a young girl and tries to get rid of the products in her room that contain Palm Oil. Angry the girl kicks "Rang-tan" out of her room, but not before she asks him why he is there, the advert takes a sad turn as we learn that the Orangutan's home and been destroyed and his mother killed in the pursuit of Palm Oil. The animated duo pulled at the heartstrings of viewers, and alongside its 200,000 social media shares the Christmas advert has received more than one million views on Iceland's YouTube channel. The animation almost makes it sadder, as viewers quickly connect to the characters, before seeing a photograph of a real Orangutan next to the message "Dedicated to the 25 Orangutan's we lose every day." Twitter users also had their say on Clearcast's decision to ban the emotional Christmas advert, Twitter often a place where people express their political or social views, on a quick and easy platform and Iceland's advert was no different. I will share the heck out of this. What an incredible ad. Too political?! It's the truth & is happening now. This is media messaging manipulation at its finest & 'humans' have to wake up big time before it's too late #NoPalmOilChristmas CollyWobb (@ArtUKRock) November 9, 2018 Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz (left) and defence minister Mario Kunasek (right) give a press conference in Vienna,: Austria OUTHELMUT FOHRINGER/AFP/Getty Images Austria has arrested a retired army colonel on suspicion of spying for Russia, chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said. The officer is accused of beginning to work for Russian intelligence in the 1990s and continued to maintain the relationship until 2018, Mr Kurz told a news conference. The chancellor said the case and allegations of espionage in the Netherlands, dont improve relations between Russia and the European Union. Earlier this year, the Netherlands expelled four Russians it suspected of planning a cyber-attack on the worlds chemical weapons watchdog in the Hague. At the moment were demanding transparent information from Russia," Mr Kurz said. Russian spying in Europe is unacceptable and to be condemned. Austrian foreign minister Karin Kneissl summoned the Russian ambassador over the matter and cancelled an upcoming trip to Moscow, the chancellor added. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said he was unpleasantly surprised by the allegations, Rusian news agencies RIA and Interfax reported, Austrias defence minister Mario Kunasek said Vienna was warned a few weeks ago by a friendly European intelligence agency about the suspected spy. Mr Kunasek said the colonel in question retired five years ago. The mans electronic devices, including laptop, are being examined. Associated Press contributed to this report FILE -- In this Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018 photo Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, dances with Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl as he attends the wedding of Kneissl with Austrian businessman Wolfgang Meilinger in Gamlitz, southern Austria. (Roland Schlager/Pool photo via AP) BERLIN (AP) Austria's government said Friday that a retired colonel in the country's military is suspected of having spied for Russia for decades, a claim swiftly dismissed by Moscow. The 70-year-old man from Salzburg, who wasn't named, allegedly provided a Russian intelligence agency with information about Austria's military and political situation, officials said. "According to our information this activity may have begun in the 1990s and continued until the year 2018," Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told reporters. "That means there's a case of espionage here." Kurz said the Russian charge d'affaires in Vienna was summoned to the foreign ministry. "At the moment we're demanding transparent information from the Russian side," he added. In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Austria of "microphone diplomacy" for making what he called "public accusations and demanding an explanation over an issue we know nothing about." "If a country has concerns or suspicions about another country's actions and its alleged involvement seen as a threat, it should directly ask for an explanation in line with the international law," said Lavrov. The Russian Foreign Ministry later said it summoned the Austrian ambassador to tell him that "Vienna's steps based on suspicions not backed by any proof already have exacerbated our previously positive ties." Austria's Defense Minister Mario Kunasek said Vienna was warned several weeks ago by a friendly European intelligence agency about the suspected spy. Kunasek said the colonel in question retired five years ago. He said the man, whose electronic devices, including a laptop, were being examined, had told investigators that his handlers were interested in weapons systems, recent migration to Austria and information about Austrian personalities. Salzburg prosecutors, who are handling the case, declined to say whether the man is in custody. Story continues "Whether this was an isolated case can't be said at the moment," said Kunasek. Kurz, the Austrian chancellor, said that based on the information available so far "we can indeed assume at the moment that the suspicion (against the colonel) will be confirmed." If that occurs, the case in Austria and recent allegations of Russian espionage in the Netherlands "don't improve relations between Russia and the European Union," said Kurz, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the 28-nation bloc. He added that Austria's foreign minister, Karin Kneissl, has canceled a planned trip to Russia. Kneissl was criticized by Austria's opposition for inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin to her wedding in August. ___ Vladimir Isachenkov contributed from Moscow. Car bombs explode within moments of each other in the Somali capital Mogadishu. At least 20 people have been killed in the attack. Also, a former president alleges fraud in Madagascar's recent election, but EU observers say the abnormalities are marginal - we update you on the state of the 36-candidate race. Lastly, ahead of the 100-year anniversary of the armistice that ended WWI, the family of one Senegalese soldier tells his story. By Ruma Paul and Poppy McPherson YANGON/COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Dozens of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and Bangladesh have boarded boats to try to reach Malaysia, officials and aid workers said on Thursday, raising fears of a fresh wave of such dangerous voyages after a 2015 crackdown on people smugglers. One boat attempted to set sail from the southern coast of Bangladesh on Wednesday, the coast guard said, while several vessels left Rakhine state in western Myanmar, according to Rohingya leaders, aid workers and a monitoring group. Officials detained 33 Rohingya and six Bangladeshis aboard a fishing boat bound for Malaysia in the southeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, said Foyezul Islam Mondol, the head of the coast guard in southeastern Teknaf upazila. Six Bangladeshis were also arrested, he said. A spokeswoman for the U.N refugee agency in Myanmar said the organization had heard "similar reports" of boats leaving the country but could not confirm their location. "With the prospect of boat movements increasing following the end of the monsoon season, it is increasingly urgent for the authorities to take measures to address the root causes of displacement...and create conditions which foster social cohesion and economic opportunities for all communities," the spokeswoman said. A Myanmar government spokesman could not be reached for comment. Kyaw Swar Tun, deputy director of the Rakhine state government, said he was unaware of any boats leaving. More than 700,000 Rohingya, members of a persecuted Muslim minority, fled Rakhine following an army-led crackdown in August last year, settling in sprawling Bangladeshi refugee camps, according to U.N. agency figures, while hundreds of thousands remain inside the country in internal displacement camps and villages. Refugees say soldiers and local Buddhists carried out mass killings and rape during the violence last year, while the United Nations has accused the military of genocidal intent. Myanmar has denied almost all the allegations. Story continues TRAPPED For years, Rohingya on both sides of the border have boarded boats organised by smugglers in the dry months between November and March, when the sea is calm. The perilous journey to Thailand and Malaysia, often undertaken in overcrowded, rickety vessels, has cost many lives. Thailand cracked down on the trade after discovering a series of mass graves in 2015, leading to a crisis when smugglers abandoned their human cargo and left boats adrift in the Andaman Sea. The new departures come as Myanmar prepares to take some of the refugees back after agreeing with Bangladesh to start repatriation on Nov. 15, despite widespread opposition from Rohingya, who say they will not return without guarantees of basic rights, including citizenship and freedom of movement. The United Nations has said conditions in Rakhine, where Buddhists have protested against the repatriation, are not conducive for returns and the special envoy on human rights, Yanghee Lee, on Thursday urged a halt to the rushed plans. Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, which has a network of sources across Rohingya communities, said the threat of being sent back to Myanmar could be pushing refugees to turn to smugglers. The Rohingya are trapped, she said when contacted by Reuters via phone. They have nowhere to go. No one wants them, and now they face on top of that the threat of repatriation. On the other side of the border in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine, tens of thousands of Rohingya have been languishing in internal displacement camps since a previous wave of violence in 2012. Accounts of how many boats had left Myanmar differed. A high level of secrecy surrounds the smuggling operations. An aid worker in Sittwe said they had received information that at least four boats had departed since the start of October, and some of them had already arrived in Malaysia. Some of those boarding the boats were women and children joining other family members, the aid worker said. The living conditions in the camp are very bad and theres not enough food to survive, said Kyaw Hla, a Rohingya leader from Thae Chaung camp outside Sittwe, where he said one boat carrying some 80 people left last week. People are not able to stand against all these troubles, so they are deciding to leave, he said. "Theres no hope for us here. (Reporting by Ruma Paul in Cox's Bazar and Poppy McPherson, Simon Lewis and Thu Thu Aung in Yangon; Editing by Nick Macfie) FILE PHOTO: An electoral commission official marks with ink the thumb of a voter after casting his ballot during the presidential election at a polling centre in Analakely, Antananarivo, Madagascar November 7, 2018. REUTERS/Malin Palm/File Photo Thomson Reuters By Lovasoa Rabary ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - The head of the European Union's observer mission to Madagascar's presidential election said on Friday that any irregularities found so far were minor and unlikely to affect the results. Hery Rajaonarimampianina, seeking a second term and one of the three front-runners, complained on Thursday about the use of an invalid voter register, delays in opening of the polls in some places, intimidation and ballot-stuffing. But the EU's chief observer Cristian Preda said they had not detected anything that would alter the result or call Wednesday's vote into question. "We are in a good atmosphere. The disputes are part of the democratic game... it's normal, it's human. Disputes must be handled by the law enforcement bodies," Preda said. He however noted that the lack of a cap on campaign spending by the candidates had put some at a disadvantage, without providing any names. In an irony in one of Africa's poorest countries, the result of the first round of voting could hinge in part on which of the three front-runners -- all wealthy men -- spent the most money campaigning for the contest. "In 2013, the European Union recommended capping candidate expenses and in future reports, there will still be this recommendation," Preda said. Voters are eager to get a winner who will tackle the impoverished Indian Ocean island's many problems including unemployment and corruption. The poll pits Rajaonarimampianina against former president Andry Rajoelina, who has claimed victory already, and another former leader Marc Ravalomanana. The contest has drawn a total of 36 candidates. Because of the unusual high number of contestants, few expect an outright winner and the poll is widely expected to go into a second round. This would involve only the two top candidates and would be held on Dec. 19. Observers and Malagasy are hoping for the second peaceful election since the upheaval of 2009, when Ravalomanana was forced out of office by protests led by Rajoelina in what international organizations such as the African Union said was a coup. Story continues (Writing by Duncan Miriri, Editing by William Maclean) See Also: The number of children that women around the world are giving birth to has fallen so much that some countries are facing a baby bust, new data suggests meaning there are insufficient children born to maintain their population size. We all know the expression baby boomers, the generation born after the second world war when the birth rate spiked and now the scourge of millennials for their free education, affordable homes and early retirement age. Globally in 1950, women were giving birth to an average of 4.7 children in their lifetime, according to the research published in The Lancet. By 2017, the fertility rate was almost half that amount, at 2.4 children per woman and in some countries, the average number per woman is now just one child. Improved access to contraception, working opportunities and ultimately, more choice for women is thought to be behind the falling rates, but a society where there are more grandparents than grandchildren could be problematic. The researchers highlight that an ageing population with fewer children could have social and economic impacts after all, children are needed in order to care for older generations, either directly or indirectly via taxes. (Photo: mapodile via Getty Images) Total fertility rates (TFR), a measurement representing the average number of children a woman has over her lifetime, have declined since 1950, according to the study. In 2017, the lowest TFR was in Cyprus, where on average, a woman would give birth to one child throughout her life, as opposed to the highest, in Niger, where a woman would give birth to seven children. To sustain populations, countries require an average fertility rate of 2.1, because some children will not survive until adulthood. In 2017, the UKs fertility rate was 1.7 births per woman. The lower rates of womens fertility clearly reflect not only access to and availability of reproductive health services, but also many women choosing to delay or forgo giving birth, as well as having more opportunities for education and employment, said Dr Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. Story continues Although total fertility rates are decreasing, the global population continues to grow as death rates decline and because of population momentum in previous decades. Dr George Leeson, director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, said worldwide declining fertility rates do not have to be a bad thing, providing we make significant societal adjustments, such as changing the retirement age. Everything we plan for is not just driven by the numbers in the population, but also the age structure and that is changing, so fundamentally we havent got our heads around it, he told the BBC. READ MORE: Women Are Scrapping Hormonal Contraception For Fertility Apps - But Are They Safe? Would You Pay 10,000 To Freeze Your Eggs And Do You Need To? Can You Get IVF For Free On The NHS? It Depends On Where You Live Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. French authorities said on Friday they seized a Ryanair plane, forcing 149 London-bound passengers off the aircraft, to get the Irish low-cost airline to repay illegal public aid, the latest in a string of troubles for the carrier. Claiming that Ryanair owed them 525,000 euros ($595,000) in subsidies wrongfully paid out to the airline, the authorities sent in a bailiff under police protection on Thursday to seize the plane on the tarmac of Bordeaux airport as it was readying to take off for London Stansted. Just under 24 hours later, the no-frills airline relented and paid up, authorities said Friday, allowing it to reclaim its aircraft. 'Last resort' "This measure was taken as a last resort by the French authorities after several reminders and attempts to recuperate the money failed," the DGAC civil aviation body said of the seizure. The EU Commission in 2014 ruled that subsidies Ryanair received from a regional authority a decade ago had to be repaid, but the airline had not complied despite repeated warnings, it said. The move on the plane, a Boeing 737, on Thursday at Bordeaux's Merignac airport in southwestern France came after Ryanair failed to respond to a final warning delivered in May, prompting the order to seize the aircraft, DGAC told AFP. "By this action, the government reaffirms its intention to guarantee the conditions of fair competition between airlines and between airports," DGAC said. It was "regrettable" that the passengers on board the plane had to wait five hours before being able to take off from the Bordeaux-Merignac airport in another Ryanair aircraft, the civil aviation body added. Ryanair's fleet is made up mostly of Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which have a list price of around $98 million each. 'Such stinginess' Ryanair did not respond to AFP's requests for comment on Friday. But the president of the French regional airport authority, Didier Villat, said that before paying, Ryanair had tried to bargain. Story continues "They owed us 525,585.05 euros and they paid 524,907.80, which is the sum fixed on September 15" but which, the official said, did not take account of accrued interest since that date. "Such stinginess, but we won't take the matter any further," a smiling Villat told AFP. The sum was negligible for Ryanair, "a very wealthy company", said the official. "They wanted to make this a question of principle. But so did we," he said. "I'm happy because I'm the little guy who got his rights respected," Villat said. Plenty headaches The Bordeaux incident comes after a series of mishaps for Ryanair across Europe. In October, EU anti-trust authorities opened an investigation into whether Ryanair benefited from measures at a German airport that give the Irish airline an unfair leg-up over competitors. And last week ministers from five European governments warned Ryanair that it could face legal trouble if it ignores national labour laws after a series of strikes across the continent. Ryanair pilots across Europe staged a 24-hour stoppage in September to further demands for better pay and conditions, causing chaos for tens of thousands of passengers. In July, strikes by cockpit and cabin crew disrupted 600 flights in Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain, affecting 100,000 travellers. A major issue among staff based outside Ireland remains the firm's practice of using Irish legislation in employment contracts. The pan-European stoppages prompted the airline to cut its earnings forecast, but it still expects to make profits after tax of 1.10-1.20 billion euros in its current financial year. Ryanair is also fighting an order by Italian regulators to suspend a charge for carry-on bags. In the Netherlands, it is also at loggerheads with the judiciary for shutting down its Eindhoven base for winter, despite a Dutch court decision stopping it from forcing pilots there to transfer abroad. (AFP) By Neil Jerome Morales MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines' anti-corruption court on Friday ordered the arrest of former first lady Imelda Marcos after finding her guilty on seven counts of graft during the two-decade rule of her husband and former dictator, Ferdinand Marcos. But Marcos, 89, famous for a huge collection of shoes, jewellery and artwork, can avoid arrest and remain free if she appeals the decision and if denied, she can challenge it at the Supreme Court. Marcos said in a statement her lawyer is "studying the decision and he has advised us that he intends to file a motion for reconsideration". The widow of the late dictator is facing dozens of protracted graft cases that have hounded her since her family was toppled in an army-backed popular uprising in 1986. The court ordered Marcos, a congresswoman, to serve six to 11 years in jail for each of the seven counts of graft. She was charged for making seven bank transfers totalling $200 million to Swiss foundations during her term as Manila governor. The court's decision came nearly three decades after the case was filed. Under the rules of the Sandiganbayan, the former first lady has 15 days from promulgation of the ruling to file an appeal, and the anti-graft court has 30 days within which to decide on it. Marcos may also go straight to Supreme Court to seek relief. She can also file an application for bail. Marcos, a sitting three-term congresswoman, has registered as a candidate next May to succeed her daughter, Imee Marcos, 62, as governor of Ilocos Norte, the stronghold of the still powerful Marcos family. Imee is running for the Philippine senate in 2019. "I hope this ruling would serve as a crucial electoral guide to our voters this coming election", opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros said in a statement. Ferdinand Marcos ruled the Philippines for two decades, placing the country under martial law in 1972, during which time thousands of opponents were jailed, killed or disappeared. Story continues He was accused of amassing more than $10 billion while in office and died in exile in 1989. President Rodrigo Duterte enjoys good ties with the Marcos family and has often praised the late strongman. Duterte allowed Marcos' embalmed body to be buried at a special heroes' cemetery in 2016, and the president is often accompanied at official events by Imee Marcos. Duterte's spokesman, Salvador Panelo, said in a statement the ruling against Imelda Marcos was proof that the executive "is not in the business of exerting undue interference or influence" on courts, and therefore respects the decision." (Additional Reporting by Manuel Mogato and Karen Lema; Editing by Martin Petty and Simon Cameron-Moore) MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry summoned Austria's ambassador on Friday after Vienna demanded an explanation over suspicions that a retired Austrian colonel had spied for Moscow, Russian news agencies reported. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said earlier the recently retired officer, who he did not name, may have carried out spying activities since the 1990s. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova, writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by John Stonestreet) Retailers are in line for a 200m tax refund after winning a legal fight against the government over business rates for store cash machines. Supermarkets including Tesco (Frankfurt: 852647 - news) , Sainsbury (Amsterdam: SJ6.AS - news) 's and the Co-op went to the Court of Appeal after a ruling last year upheld a decision in 2013 that ATMs built into the front of a shop or petrol station should have a separate business rates bill. The government's Valuation Office Agency (VOA) was refused leave to appeal though it could petition the Supreme Court to hear such a case. It marks a rare, valuable victory for business over business rates as retailers in England and Wales had been facing the prospect of a 44.5m "hole in the wall" bill this year alone, according to Altus, the real estate adviser. Free-to-use supermarket cash machines were at risk of disappearing had the rates case - supported by independent ATM operator Cardtronics Europe - gone against them. Such a move would have exacerbated the trend for falling numbers as bank branches close. A Tesco spokesman said: "We recognise the vital role that ATMs play in the daily lives of our customers and remain committed to providing this service to them. "We welcome today's result and the confirmation of our belief that ATMs should not be separately rateable." The tax, which is paid to local authorities, is currently facing a wider backlash amid claims higher rateable values are killing off high streets, though the chancellor announced some relief in last month's budget for smaller retailers. Robert Hayton, head of UK business rates at Altus, said: "This is the latest in a series of cases which flow from Councils' need to increase their business rates income. "This landmark ruling and the tax rebates that will flow from it will have massive implications for councils and their budgets under business rate retention which could potentially impact upon local services." Sergey Lavrov (L), Din Mohammad Azizullah of the high peace council ( 2nd L) and Taliban envoy Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanakzai (R) arrive for talks - Anadolu Taliban envoys have taken part for the first time in a high-level international talks, meeting Afghan officials in Moscow as part of a Russian-sponsored peace effort. Representatives from the militants' Doha office said they were taking part alongside senior diplomats from the region to find a peaceful solution to the issue of Afghanistan. Both the militants and the Afghan government insisted the meeting did not mark formal negotiations, but the conference still marked a diplomatic coup for both Russia and the Taliban. The Taliban's attendance will bolster the group's international status, while the meeting gives Moscow the chance to influence peace efforts until now dominated by Washington. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said the participation of both Afghan leaders and the Taliban was an "important contribution" aimed at creating "favourable conditions for the start of direct talks". Five Taliban envoys were led by Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai, head of the Doha office and a former Taliban deputy foreign minister. The long running Afghan conflict has seen steadily escalating casualties this year The Afghan delegation includes four members of the country's High Peace Council. Speaking to The Telegraph before the talks, Habiba Surabi, deputy head of the council, said she hoped to see that the Taliban were flexible enough for genuine negotiations. She said she would suggest the delegations could talk Afghan-to-Afghan without foreign interference, but added that women's rights were at the top of her agenda and she intended to ask why the Taliban had no female representatives. While little of detail was likely to be discussed she said: We have to convince them to talk. A Taliban statement before the meeting in a Moscow hotel said there will not be any sort of negotiations taking place with the delegation of the Kabul administration. Kabul said the high peace council members were not an official government delegation, but did acknowledge they would discuss the dynamics and details of initiating direct negotiations. The Taliban have so far dismissed Ashraf Ghani's government as a puppet regime and said they will only talk with the US to find an end to America's longest war. By Rod Nickel and David Gaffen WINNIPEG, Manitoba/NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge in Montana has blocked construction of the Keystone XL pipeline designed to carry heavy crude oil from Canada to the United States, drawing praise on Friday from environmental groups and a rebuke from President Donald Trump. The ruling of a U.S. Court in Montana late on Thursday dealt a setback to TransCanada Corp, whose stock fell 1.7 percent in Toronto. Shares of companies that would ship oil on the pipeline also slid. TransCanada said in a statement it remains committed to building the $8 billion (6.1 billion), 1,180 mile (1,900 km) pipeline, but it has also said it is seeking partners and has not taken a final investment decision. The ruling drew an angry response from Trump, who approved the pipeline shortly after taking office. It also piles pressure on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to assist the country's ailing oil sector by accelerating crude shipments by rail until pipelines are built. Clogged pipelines have made discounts on Canadian oil even steeper than they were earlier this year when Scotiabank warned that they may cost the country's economy C$16 billion (9.3 billion). U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris wrote that a U.S. State Department environmental analysis of Keystone XL "fell short of a 'hard look'" at the cumulative effects of greenhouse gas emissions and the impact on Native American land resources. "It was a political decision made by a judge. I think it's a disgrace," Trump told reporters at the White House. The ruling was a win for environmental groups who sued the U.S. government in 2017 after Trump announced a presidential permit for the project. Tribal groups and ranchers also have spent more than a decade fighting the planned pipeline. "The Trump administration tried to force this dirty pipeline project on the American people, but they can't ignore the threats it would pose to our clean water, our climate, and our communities," said the Sierra Club. Story continues The State Department is reviewing the judges order and had no comment due to ongoing litigation, a spokesman said. The pipeline would carry heavy crude from Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would connect to refineries in the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast, as well as Gulf export terminals. Shares of Canadian oil producers Canadian Natural Resources Ltd and Cenovus Energy lost 2.7 percent and 2.2 percent respectively. Canada is the primary source of imported U.S. oil, but congested pipelines in Alberta, where tar-like bitumen is extracted, have forced oil shippers to use costlier rail and trucks. Two pipeline projects have been scrapped due to opposition, and the Trans Mountain line project still faces delays even after the Canadian government purchased it this year to move it forward. "You have to wonder how long investors will tolerate the delays and whether the Canadian government will intervene again to protect the industry," said Morningstar analyst Sandy Fielden. Ensuring at least one pipeline is built is critical to Trudeau's plans, with a Canadian election expected next autumn. "I am disappointed in the court's decision and I will be reaching out to TransCanada later on today to show our support to them and understand what the path forward is for them," Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi told reporters in Edmonton, Alberta. Alberta has felt the financial pressure, and an industry source said the provincial government last month solicited proposals from companies on ways to move crude faster by rail. The source said proposals included ideas such as buying rail cars and investing in loading terminals. Ive never seen (the Alberta government) so active on this front, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the matter is politically sensitive. That is a shift. Alberta Energy Minister Margaret McCuaig-Boyd said the province has sent a proposal to Ottawa to move crude faster by rail that includes making more tank cars available. "We're giving away our resources cheap," she told reporters. "We need market access." Neighbouring Saskatchewan stands to lose C$500 million in annual royalties if the discount for Canadian crude remains steep, Saskatchewan Energy Minister Bronwyn Eyre said. "People have placed quite a lot of hope in that (Keystone) project, so it's a major setback," she said in an interview. Morris, in his ruling, ordered the government to issue a more thorough environmental analysis before the project proceeds. He said the analysis failed to fully review the effects of the current oil price on the pipeline's viability and did not fully model potential spills and offer mitigation measures. The ruling likely sets Keystone back by up to one year, said Dan Ripp, president of Bradley Woods Research. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, David Gaffen in New York and Brendan O'Brien; Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton and Timothy Gardner in Washington, Julie Gordon in Vancouver and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe, David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman) By Idrees Ali and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Standing side by side, top U.S. officials urged their Chinese counterparts on Friday to halt militarization of the disputed South China Sea, drawing a rebuke from the Chinese for sending U.S. warships close to islands claimed by Beijing. During a round of high-level talks in Washington, the two sides aired in sometimes blunt terms many of their main differences, including a bitter trade dispute, freedom of navigation in Asia-Pacific waters, self-ruled Taiwan, and Chinas crackdown on its Muslim minority in Xinjiang. Two visiting senior Chinese officials also seized the opportunity to warn publicly that a trade war between the worlds two largest economies would end up hurting both sides and to call for keeping channels of communication open to resolve an issue that has unsettled global financial markets. Despite the airing of grievances, the talks appeared aimed at controlling the damage to relations that has worsened in recent months and at paving the way for an encounter between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina at the end of November. "The United States is not pursuing a Cold War or containment policy with respect to China," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a joint news conference. Even as the United States and China confront difficult challenges, cooperation remains essential on many issues, he said, citing efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme. The meeting paired Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis with Chinese Politburo member Yang Jiechi and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe. The annual U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue was originally set for Beijing last month but had been called off amid rising tensions. Pompeo took aim at China over its continued building of military installations on artificial islands and reefs in the South China Sea, where China insists it has sovereignty despite competing claims from some smaller neighbours. Story continues We have continued concerns about China's activities and militarization in the South China Sea, Pompeo said following the talks. We pressed China to live up to its past commitments in this area." Yang said China was committed to "non-confrontation but that Beijing had the right to build "necessary defence facilities" on what it considers its own territory and urged Washington to stop sending warships and military planes close to the islands that Beijing claims. Mattis made clear that this demand go unheeded by Washington, which insists it is acting under international law to preserve access for it and others to the South China Sea. In a statement on Saturday, China's Foreign Ministry described the talks as "frank, constructive and very fruitful." TAIWAN Responding sharply to Pompeo's mention of Taiwan, which China considers a wayward province but which is armed by Washington, Wei said Beijing would defend its claim on the island "at any cost." But Wei and Mattis agreed on the need to lower U.S.-China military tensions to avoid unintended clashes, with the Chinese general saying confrontation "will spell disaster to all." Washington has protested to Beijing about recent behaviour by its warships that the U.S. Navy considered unsafe. While Pompeo spoke little about trade in his public comments, Yang said he hoped the two sides would find a mutually acceptable solution on the issue before long. China and the United States have slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other's goods, jolting global financial markets, and Trump has threatened to set tariffs on the remainder of China's $500 billion-plus exports to the United States if the trade dispute cannot be resolved. Trump's administration has also accused China of meddling in U.S. politics ahead of this weeks congressional elections, charges China strongly denies. Reflecting growing U.S. concerns about the Chinese cyber threat, a senior U.S. intelligence official on Thursday accused China of violating a 2015 agreement aimed at stopping cyber espionage through the hacking of government and corporate data. Pompeo also reiterated U.S. criticism of China's "repression of religious groups," citing treatment of Buddhists in Tibet and minority Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang region that has drawn condemnation from human rights groups. Yang defended China's policies in Xinjiang as measures against "ethnic separatist activities and violent terrorist crimes" but said it was a Chinese internal affair and foreign governments should not interfere. (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Idrees Ali; additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Mohammad Zargham, and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by James Dalgleish, Tom Brown and Nick Macfie) K.K. Rebecca Lai and Allison McCann in the New York Times: In the 2016 presidential election, 55 percent of white women voted for Republicans. And this year, the group backed Democrats and Republicans evenly. Historically, women, people of color and young voters have been more likely to cast ballots for Democrats, while men and wealthier voters have tended to favor Republicans. These demographic divisions held in 2018, but the last few decades of exit polls show that that has not always been the case. The gender gap has remained relatively consistent since the 1980s, but it has been widening in recent years. Political scientists attribute this to women placing more of an emphasis on social welfare issues like health care and child care, which generally align with the Democratic Party, whereas men are more concerned with issues like taxes and national security. More here. Nellie Bowles in The New York Times: The futurist philosopher Yuval Noah Harari worries about a lot. He worries that Silicon Valley is undermining democracy and ushering in a dystopian hellscape in which voting is obsolete. He worries that by creating powerful influence machines to control billions of minds, the big tech companies are destroying the idea of a sovereign individual with free will. He worries that because the technological revolutions work requires so few laborers, Silicon Valley is creating a tiny ruling class and a teeming, furious useless class. But lately, Mr. Harari is anxious about something much more personal. If this is his harrowing warning, then why do Silicon Valley C.E.O.s love him so? One possibility is that my message is not threatening to them, and so they embrace it? a puzzled Mr. Harari said one afternoon in October. For me, thats more worrying. Maybe Im missing something? Part of the reason might be that Silicon Valley, at a certain level, is not optimistic on the future of democracy. The more of a mess Washington becomes, the more interested the tech world is in creating something else, and it might not look like elected representation. Rank-and-file coders have long been wary of regulation and curious about alternative forms of government. A separatist streak runs through the place: Venture capitalists periodically call for California to secede orshatter, or for the creation of corporate nation-states. And this summer, Mark Zuckerberg, who has recommended Mr. Harari to his book club, acknowledged a fixation with the autocrat Caesar Augustus. Basically, Mr. Zuckerberg told The New Yorker, through a really harsh approach, he established 200 years of world peace. Mr. Harari, thinking about all this, puts it this way: Utopia and dystopia depends on your values. More here. George Dvorsky in Gizmodo: Its a huge day for archaeologists and anyone interested in the history of Americas first settlers. Findings from three new genetics studiesall released todayare presenting a fascinating, yet complex, picture of the first people in North and South America, and how they spread and diversified across two continents. Our understanding of how the Americas were first settled used to be simple. Today, its not. North Americas first migrants, weve been told, spilled into the continent at the tail end of the last Ice Age some 15,000 years ago, either by trekking along the West Coast and/or through an interior land route. Eventually, this population found itself south of a massive ice sheet covering North America from coast to coast. From here, scientists assumed that, as populations moved southward, some groups split off, never to meet again. Gradually, this pattern of southward migration and dispersal resulted in the peopling of the Americas. But as the new research released today suggests, its considerably more complicated than that. Humans, as were all too aware, arent so predictable. More here. Winterfest draws artisans, vendors, shoppers Vendors and artisans had a chance to peddle their wares Saturday and Sunday at Winterfest at the Aberdeen Civic Arena. The annual event offers a chance to do a little holiday shopping before the start of the holiday season. There was a time in the recent past when Los Alamos County was considered a Republican stronghold plopped down in the middle of the hardcore Democratic communities of north central New Mexico, from Santa Fe up to Taos and from Espanola across the mountains to Mora and Las Vegas. A couple of decades ago, the Democrats in charge elsewhere made it clear they recognized the GOP-ness of the Atomic City by dividing tiny Los Alamos County among three state Senate districts. At one point, various sections of Republican Los Alamos were represented by three different Senate Democrats a Santa Fe-area liberal, a classic political patron from Rio Arriba County and a Native American from far away Crownpoint. Now thats effective gerrymandering! But take a look at Tuesdays election results. Los Alamos no longer needs to be forced to live under a Democratic yoke. Capping a trend thats been developing for a few election cycles, Los Alamos did not go for a single Republican this election day. Christine Chandler, the Democratic nominee for the state House seat in Los Alamos-centered District 43, blew out Republican Lisa Shin, taking 61 percent of the vote in the county. In the governors race, Michelle Lujan Grisham got more than 58 percent. Democrats easily carried Los Alamos County for every statewide office and all the state judgeships. Perhaps the most telling result came in the voting for the Los Alamos County Council. The way this works in Los Alamos, candidates dont run for specific seats, but as a group for all the seats available. On the general election ballot this year, eight candidates four Democrats, three Republicans and a Libertarian ran for four seats. The top four vote-getters would take the council positions. The top four on Tuesday were all Democrats, who also won elections for county sheriff a vestigial job with not much to do in a county with a police department and for municipal judge. It would be great to see some polling or detailed analysis on why Los Alamos has gone blue, joining up with the surrounding Democratic coalition that includes the wealthiest Santa Fe neighborhoods, tiny rural villages in poor counties and some people who want to see Los Alamos National Laboratory and its nuclear weapons work to go away altogether. Maybe one reason is science. Los Alamos is a science town. In August, five former lab directors and then-director Terry Wallace spoke at a forum that was part of the labs 75th anniversary events. Asked to address about their worries for the future, they talked about misinformation and misunderstanding. John Browne, LANL director from 1997 to 2003, said: Just think of how many times you look at social media today and someone thinks something is true because someone has put something out there. I think that threatens our way of life. Wallace, whose mother Jeannette Wallace is a big part of Los Alamos political past she was a tough, independent GOP state representative for 20 years before she passed away in 2011 was worried about the American education system. Participation in democracy and the values that we have require that youre well grounded in education, he said. So when you look at a website that tells us that theres a conspiracy in a pizza parlor, that everyone goes there for pedophile activities, you should be able to apply scientific principles to that to understand that its not (true). And so when we have a Republican president who famously called climate change a Chinese hoax, that just doesnt seem like something that would go over well in Los Alamos. President Trump these days has disavowed the Chinese hoax theory, but continues to portray science as more or less a political game. The Union of Concerned Scientists features a report about Trump on its web page called Sidelining Science from Day One and a regular blog titled Attacks on Science. Chandlers opponent in the state representative race this year has an impressive professional background and appealing personal history. She also is an unabashed Trump supporter. She got 39 percent of the vote in Los Alamos County. Los Alamos political shift, of course, may be about many factors including social issues where Los Alamos generally affluent, highly educated population may identify more with the proverbial coastal elites than with heartland conservatives. But antagonism toward science is not going to help many candidates get a positive vote in Los Alamos. DAMASCUS, Syria Islamic State group militants shot and killed two children during an operation to liberate a group of hostages from southern Syria that were being held by the extremist group since July, a father and activists said Friday. Nashaat Abu Ammar, a resident of Sweida whose wife, two sons and daughter were among those being held by IS, said his 8-year-old son Raafat was among the two boys shot dead during the Syrian army raid to free the hostages. A 13-year-old boy, Qusay, was also killed. They shot him in his mothers lap, Abu Ammar told The Associated Press by telephone from Sweida, his voice breaking up with emotion. State media reported Thursday evening that troops liberated the 19 women and children held by IS in a military operation in central Syria, triggering celebrations in Sweida. My happiness is huge, Abu Ammar, reached by the AP, said then. His happiness was crushed hours later when the group of hostages arrived in Sweida. Among them was the body of Raafat and his 13-year-old cousin. His wife appeared very frail, he said, adding that the group was barely being fed to stay alive. The 19 women and children were among 30 people kidnapped by IS in Sweida on July 25 when militants of the extremist group ambushed residents and went on a killing spree that left least 216 people dead. The rare attacks in the province, populated mainly by Syrias minority Druze, came amid a government offensive elsewhere in the countrys south. The coordinated attacks across the province, which included several suicide bombings, devastated the community and shattered the calm of a region that had been largely spared from the worst of the violence of Syrias seven-year long civil war. Russian Lt. Gen. Vladimir Savchenko said the hostages were freed by the Syrian military Thursday in an operation directed by Russian military officers. He did not give any details of the operation but claimed that no hostages were hurt. He also said IS kept the hostages in brutal conditions, keeping them in pits where they could barely sit or lie down, giving them no food for days and providing no medical care. Russia is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad and wields significant power in the war-torn country. Since July, one woman from the group of Sweida hostages died in IS custody while another was shot dead by the extremists. In August, a 19-year-old man was also killed in detention. Six other hostages, two women and four children, were freed in an exchange with the government last month. Negotiations were expected to free the remaining hostages but the talks failed and Syrian troops launched a broad offensive against IS in southern Syria. ___ Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov contributed to this report from Moscow. Copyright 2018 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE In a meeting tinged with historical import, the only two women ever elected governor in New Mexico said Friday that they are setting aside political disagreements to work toward a smooth transfer of power. Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham, who was elected governor this week, and Republican Susana Martinez, who will leave office at the end of the year, met for two hours in the Governors Office to discuss transition-related issues keeping reporters waiting for more than an hour for a scheduled news conference. Both Lujan Grisham and Martinez described the meeting as productive and referred to its historical significance. New Mexico had never elected a female governor until Martinez won office in 2010. Now, state voters have elected back-to-back female governors. It is a momentous day when two Latina women are able to stand together, having been elected to the highest office of this wonderful state, Martinez told reporters, describing the occasion as long overdue. Were incredibly proud of that and incredibly proud of New Mexicans who put their faith in two women, added Lujan Grisham, who also appeared on a national cable news program earlier Friday to discuss her election. Martinez also said she was proud to be relinquishing the Governors Office at a time when New Mexico is projected to have unprecedented incoming state revenue levels primarily from skyrocketing oil production levels in the states southeastern corner. Our states fiscal health is the best its ever been, the two-term governor said. Lujan Grisham will be sworn into office on New Years Day, giving her less than two months to assemble a Cabinet and prepare a budget blueprint for the 60-day legislative session that starts on Jan. 15. To facilitate a smooth handoff, she said, she and Martinez on Friday discussed giving her transition team access to top-level Martinez administration staffers and state government records during the coming weeks. We are clear, both of us, that we want good governance and a productive transition, Lujan Grisham said. Although the two come from different political parties and have espoused divergent views about how state government should function, Lujan Grisham and Martinez brushed aside questions Friday about political and policy differences. I really dont think its a time today to talk about politics, Martinez said at one point. On the campaign trail, Lujan Grisham criticized some of Martinezs policies, including the teacher evaluation system implemented by her administration in 2013, but she largely refrained from direct attacks. In contrast, Martinez, during her 2010 election bid and her 2014 re-election campaign frequently criticized her predecessor, former Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat. Lujan Grisham, who got more than 57 percent of the votes cast in this years race for governor against Republican Steve Pearce, pointed out that she already had a working relationship with Martinez, due to the three terms she has spent in Congress representing the Albuquerque-based 1st Congressional District. Meanwhile, Martinez said she could still fill critical state government positions before she leaves office at the end of December, but said her administration was not planning to shift appointees to protected civil service positions. Were not going to run around and start filling (positions) with individuals, because she needs to surround herself with the people to succeed, Martinez said. WASHINGTON Civil rights leaders lashed out Friday at Jeff Sessions, who in one of his last acts as attorney general approved an order restricting the federal governments ability to enforce changes at state and local law enforcement agencies accused of abuse. In a memo released late Thursday by the Justice Department and praised by police organizations, Sessions expanded the requirements for court-enforced consent decrees reached with state and local government entities. Sessions signed the memo Wednesday, the day he resigned. It says that two senior political appointees at the Justice Department must approve nearly all future agreements. The decrees also are to have a sunset provision, limiting them to no more than three years. And Justice attorneys now must meet additional requirements beyond establishing that a police department repeatedly violated the Constitution. Civil rights advocates say Sessionss move rolls back progress made under the Obama administration. During those years, the Justice Department opened 25 investigations into law enforcement agencies in cities including Chicago, New Orleans, Cleveland and Ferguson, Missouri, and was enforcing 14 consent decrees and other agreements. After the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, who suffered a spinal cord injury while in the custody of Baltimore police, the Justice Department reached an agreement that called for officers to be trained in resolving conflicts without force. This memo seals Sessions legacy as an obstructionist when it comes to advancing justice, promoting reform and protecting the rights of victims of discrimination, said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Vanita Gupta, president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, called the action a slap in the face to the dedicated career staff of the department who work tirelessly to enforce our nations civil rights laws and to the communities that depend on that enforcement. Jeff Sessions parting act was another attack on the core mission of the Department of Justice, said Gupta, who was head of the departments Civil Rights Division in the Obama administration. The memo is designed to restrict consent decrees and creates a series of increasingly higher roadblocks to render them rare and ineffective. One of Sessions first actions, taken in March 2017, shortly after he took office, was to order the Justice Department to conduct a sweeping review of all reform agreements with troubled police departments. He said the review was necessary to ensure that the decrees did not work against the Trump administrations goal of promoting officer safety and morale while fighting violent crime. That move and others were hailed by police departments and state and local officers across the country. Chuck Canterbury, the national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, also applauded the Sessions memo, saying that consent decrees henceforth will give more responsibility to local departments, include the views of rank-and-file officers and be more collaborative. Steven Cook, a Justice Department official at the Office of Law Enforcement Affairs, said that Sessions made clear his view on consent decrees from the time he testified before Congress at his confirmation hearing in January 2017. He said were going to continue to police the police, Cook said. But were not going to condemn the entire department when theres a single or couple of wrongdoers. That was huge to police departments that were under consent decrees and police departments that werent because they were constantly living in fear they would be next. The new consent decree requirements pertain to all civil litigation against state or local government entities, not just police agreements. On the day before President Donald Trump asked Sessions to resign, Sessions again signaled his strong support of state and local police with his last line in a speech to a group of law enforcement officers. You can be certain about this: We have your backs and you have our thanks. Copyright 2018 Albuquerque Journal An effort by former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to scale back the scope and time of consent decrees for troubled police departments likely wont have any immediate impact on the police reform effort underway in Albuquerque. But city officials and local advocates for police reform said theyll be keeping watch for any potential changes. Sessions, on his last day in the position Wednesday, issued a seven-page memorandum that, among other things, limited most consent decrees on police departments to three years, provided more oversight on the reform projects by high-ranking U.S. Justice Department officials, and said future consent decrees must have sunset provisions so local governments can more easily come into compliance and end reform processes. The DOJ issued a letter of findings against Albuquerque in April 2014 that outlined a pattern of excessive force within the department. Albuquerque became one of about two dozen law enforcement agencies across the country during the Obama administration that had to negotiate a consent decree or settlement agreement with the DOJ to correct the patterns and practices found during its investigations. A settlement agreement was reached in late 2014 and became operational in the summer of 2015. A spokesperson for the DOJ said that all existing consent decrees, including the one in Albuquerque, would need to go through a process to have significant modifications to material terms of a consent decree. That process includes needing specific approval from numerous DOJ officials in order to make any changes. Peter Simonson, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in New Mexico, said he was hopeful the reforms in Albuquerque will continue unchanged. We here in Albuquerque have a long ways to go with reform, but the benefits of the consent decree are beginning to manifest, he said. Were fortunate that the department is well into a legal agreement with the Department of Justice so that Sessions parting shot is not going to have an impact here in New Mexico as far as I can tell. But I think it does a great disservice to communities that are suffering under violence and brutality of officers that are not managing their officers well. Sessions, who was forced out of office by President Donald Trump, has been critical of the agreements and consent decrees. In the memo he stressed the financial burden that the reform efforts have on cities. The city of Albuquerque has budgeted about $2.3 million on police-reform related costs in the current fiscal year. City officials declined interview requests about the memo, but the city said in a statement that the memo wont have an immediate impact here. As we understand it, the memo does not affect existing settlement agreements, including Albuquerques agreement. But we are keeping an eye out for additional guidance from the U.S. Attorney General, Gilbert Gallegos, a police spokesman, said in a prepared statement. Shaun Willoughby, the president of the police union, said he read and agreed with much of the memo. But he said the union is still on board with the reform effort. I think this has been one of the most painstaking, expensive and intrusive processes that Ive ever experienced, he said. But were dedicated to the process and were looking forward to being in compliance. Were constantly all hands on deck trying to achieve that and I dont think this memo changes that. Vanita Gupta, president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, told The Washington Post the action was a slap in the face to the dedicated career staff of the department who work tirelessly to enforce our nations civil rights laws and to the communities that depend on that enforcement. Jeff Sessions parting act was another attack on the core mission of the Department of Justice, said Gupta, who was the head of the departments Civil Rights Division when Albuquerque and the DOJ negotiated the settlement. The memo is designed to restrict consent decrees and creates a series of increasingly higher roadblocks to render them rare and ineffective. WASHINGTON Americas body politic has recently been scarred by excruciating political shingles, and 2018 campaigning was equivalent to acid reflux. But Tuesdays elections indicated that some political antibodies are strengthening the nations immune system. Tuesday was, on balance, deflating to Democrats, who learned or perhaps not that despising this president, although understandable, is insufficient. His comportment caused his congressional party only slightly more than half the carnage Obamas party suffered in the middle of his first term. The GOP depressingly ends 2018 more ideologically homogenous than it has been for 11 decades. Hitherto, it has been divided between Theodore Roosevelt progressives and William Howard Taft conservatives; between Robert Taft conservatives and Thomas Dewey moderates; between Nelson Rockefeller liberals and Barry Goldwater libertarians. In todays monochrome GOP color it orange, for the coiffure of its Dear Leader postures range all the way from sycophancy to adoration. Americans are sensibly parsimonious with their trust, preferring divided government to one partys control of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. So, when the 116th Congress adjourns in autumn 2020, the nation will have completed 40 years in which one party controlled the presidency and Congress for only 10. Tuesdays results refuted two tiresome and shopworn axioms: Americans vote their pocketbooks, and all politics is local. This year, Americans voted their competing national aversions, some against the presidents palaver, others against those he baited into carpet-chewing tantrums. Americas political dyspepsia produced 2018s surge in midterm voting, which should, but wont, sober those Pollyannas who insist that high turnouts indicate civic health. In four German elections from 1930-1933, as the Weimar Republic crumbled, German turnout averaged 84 percent. Campaign spending about $5.2 billion in House and Senate campaigns over the 2017-18 cycle; about what Americans spend every two years on Halloween candy should, but wont, end hysteria about too much money spent on political advocacy. Neither will this redundant evidence of the steeply declining utility of campaign dollars: Beto ORourke raised $7 million, then $10 million, then $38 million in 2018s first three quarters, and his Quinnipiac poll numbers were 44 percent in April, 43 in July, 45 in September, 46 in October. Tuesday he received 48.3 percent, and his cable-television groupies, impervious to discouragement, instantly segued to speculation about his possible presidential candidacy. Tuesdays winners included the Affordable Care Act. Referendums in three crimson states Idaho, Utah, Nebraska mandated Medicaid expansion, Nebraskas Legislature had rejected it six times, which is Obamacares arrhythmic heart. And Republican candidates everywhere genuflected at this altar: Pre-existing conditions shall not preclude access to health insurance. Now many Democrats, artists of self-destruction, might forfeit health care ground they gained: The 157 million Americans content with their employer-provided health insurance will rightly hear menace in Medicare for all. If Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the villain in 61,000 Republican ads, is elected House speaker, she will be the first since Sam Rayburn in 1955 to regain that post after yielding it. If she is not elected by House Democrats, who are indebted to her tactical canniness and prodigious fundraising, they will deserve the Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg Trophy: He was the Austrian prime minister who, when Russia sought reciprocal assistance after helping Austria suppress unrest, replied that Austria would astound the world with its ingratitude. Having strengthened their grip on the Senate, Republicans, who two years hence will be defending 21 seats Democrats only 12 increased the chance if they lose the presidency in 2020 they can impede or modify Democratic initiatives. Meanwhile, the Republican Senate can continue staffing federal courts and being what it has been while Republicans controlled the House: the graveyard of House initiatives. Soon, House Democrats can perhaps pore over the presidents tax returns, acquaint his minions with oversight, and even test his sincerity regarding his occasional interest in infrastructure magnificence. John Marshall, the famously amiable future chief justice, participated in Virginias heated debate adversaries included titans George Mason and Patrick Henry about ratification of the Constitution. He later wrote, The county in which I resided was decidedly anti-federal (against ratification), but I was at that time popular, and parties had not yet become so bitter as to extinguish private affections. Amiability could be infectious in a nation weary of politics as Henry Adams defined it in The Education of Henry Adams the systematic organization of hatreds. Someday, someone in the upper reaches of politics is going to resort to amiability, as a novelty, and his or her party will prosper. E-mail georgewill@washpost.com. (c) 2018, Washington Post Writers Group. Phew. The midterm elections are over! You voted, right? Yes? Great. For those who did not join the record-breaking throngs that either cast an early ballot or turned out on Election Day you missed out. Voting is one of Americas greatest civil rights and it, gloriously, brings us all together old, young, people of all races, classes and creeds. In a world where so many human beings have absolutely no control over who runs their country, we regularly get the chance to make our voices heard. Everyone should be heartened by the energetic turnout. No matter how divisive we may be, public participation in the voting process has swelled some 114 million of us voted in the midterms and thats a good thing. That said, there is still much to be done before we can honestly brag about our all-inclusive system. For one thing, millions of citizens are not allowed to vote simply because they once served time in prison. That number can be traced to our get-tough-on-crime era that resulted in the U.S. incarcerating a larger share of its population than any other country in the world. Weve spent so many decades locking up people many sentenced to long prison sentences for non-violent or three-strikes-and-youre-out crimes that we have effectively disenfranchised more than 6.2 million Americans. There are a mish-mash of various state responses to ex-offenders who seek to have a say in our political system. Some states allow those with felony records to vote immediately after their release. Other states make ex-cons wait until their parole and/or probation period is over. A few states take into consideration the type of crime committed and may require the former prisoner to undertake the long process of seeking a gubernatorial pardon before they can vote. The states of Kentucky, Iowa and Florida enacted laws that banned convicted felons from voting for the rest of their life. (New Mexico statue 31-13-1 includes the requirement that felons serve their sentences, obtain a certificate of completion and re-register to vote.) Is it fair to continue to punish citizens even after theyve paid their debt to society? How can former prisoners assimilate back into their neighborhoods, feel a part of their communities, if they are denied this most basic right? How can we hope for first-class behavior from them if we continuously treat them as second-class citizens? Im glad to report that things began to change with this election. Voters in Florida overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment restoring nearly 1.5 million ex-felons to the voter rolls, though those convicted of murder or felony sex offenses are still prohibited. This is seen as a positive first step toward ensuring all law-abiding citizens have a voice in Florida politics. The amendment is especially welcomed in the black community where the latest studies showed nearly 18 percent of the potential black voting pool was excluded from the system because so many of them had a prison record. If we really want to reach for the goal of full voter participation, how about states adopting some uniform guidelines? According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, only 37 states and the District of Columbia allow early voting, either in-person or by mail. Yet that is among the easiest and most efficient way to cast a ballot. Why dont all states offer that? The NCSL also reports that in 20 states a citizen requesting an absentee ballot must provide an official excuse, such as a physical disability or overseas military assignment. This might deter citizens from trying to vote, and does anyone even check out those excuses? I say, if an American wants to vote, states should help not hinder that desire. Polls in some states close as early as 6 p.m., which seems highly unhelpful for parents juggling childrens hectic schedules or those struggling to leave work to get to the polls. I suggest every state keep voting booths open until at least 8 p.m. Many states require citizens to register to vote weeks before Election Day, so procrastinators are out of luck. But 11 states soon to be 16 allow same-day voter registration. Its easy to see that as an election nears, enthusiasm can build. States should take advantage of that eagerness and design a same-day process to sign up everyone who wants to vote. Look, we live in a time of great political alienation. According to a Fox News Voter Analysis poll, 81 percent of Americans do not trust the government. An ABC News survey found 51 percent of voters believe the government did not do enough to protect the midterm elections from foreign interference. What better way to restore faith in the system than to have each state fully embrace its population and encourage, rather than discourage, voting? And, on a personal note, could all states please make sure there is a hefty supply of those I VOTED stickers next election? My polling place had run out of them by 10:30 a.m., and I missed my opportunity to display my good citizenship all day. Good citizenship can be infectious. www.DianeDimond.com; e-mail to Diane@DianeDimond.com. Copyright 2018 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE Long-simmering tensions within the New Mexico Republican Party bubbled over this week after an Election Day that saw GOP candidates generally fare poorly, with several loyalists to Gov. Susana Martinezs political machine lashing out at current state GOP leaders. In social media posts, former Martinez staffers appeared to blame party leaders and individuals connected with Republican Yvette Herrells campaign for a rare Democratic victory in the southern New Mexico-based 2nd Congressional District. Democrat Xochitl Torres Small was declared the projected winner of the seat held by Republicans for all but two years since 1981 following a count of more than 8,000 absentee ballots in Dona Ana County on Wednesday. Shortly after Torres Smalls projected victory was announced, former Martinez spokesman Joseph Cueto tweeted that change is needed ASAP in state GOP leadership. Several other Martinez campaign alumni voiced similar sentiments. In response, some of those criticized say the finger-pointing amounts to sour grapes. Herrell, a state lawmaker from Alamogordo, defeated former state GOP chairman Monty Newman in the June primary election, and several of the former Martinez campaign aides who were outspoken on social media this week including Cueto worked for Newman during the primary cycle. Martinezs political adviser Jay McCleskey helped with Newmans primary bid. Andrea Goff, a senior adviser and fundraiser for GOP gubernatorial nominee Steve Pearce who also helped Herrells campaign during the primary election, told the Journal that more support from Martinez in the general election might have made a difference in the hard-fought southern New Mexico congressional race, which featured big spending by outside groups. She also said she had been made aware that the White House wanted Martinez, the states two-term outgoing governor, to be more supportive of Republican candidates in this years race, specifically Herrell and Pearce. When U.S. Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Roswell on Oct. 26 to hold a campaign rally for Pearce and Herrell, Martinez showed up at the Roswell airport to greet the vice president but left the site before the rally began, Goff said. Pearce ultimately lost in the governors race, with Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham getting more than 57 percent of the votes cast in the contest. I take the loss along with the team, knowing we worked hard and with integrity to better the state, Goff added. While publicly supporting Pearce and Herrell during this years general election cycle, Martinez did not campaign for either candidate. She also appeared to criticize Herrell in a June interview. Im certainly going to support our Republican, Martinez told the Journal at the time. But I think there are some questions with reference to her ability to represent New Mexico in a fair and reasonable way. Meanwhile, current state GOP chairman Ryan Cangiolosi, who was among those criticized, said Republicans faced headwinds in this years general election due to a political climate that favored Democrats, but pointed out they actually voted at a higher rate than Democrats statewide. However, Democrats turned out in high numbers, too, and entered this years election cycle with a significant advantage in registered voters, leading to their clean sweep of statewide races. Democrats also won all three New Mexico congressional seats and appear on track to pick up eight seats in the state House, pending likely automatic recounts in two races. Our candidates, as well as an army of faithful volunteers throughout the state, fought hard to advance Republican principles and beat the odds, Cangiolosi told the Journal. They should be thanked and honored, not criticized by those who chose to sit on the sidelines or support the Democrats. Intra-party strife has roiled the New Mexico Republican Party in recent years, even with Martinez winning two terms as governor and Republicans winning control of the state House in 2014 for the first time in 60 years. Democrats reclaimed a majority in the chamber two years later. Republican National Committeeman Harvey Yates Jr., has been among those criticizing Martinezs governing style and McCleskeys campaign tactics. McCleskey, who engineered Martinezs successful 2010 run for governor and her 2014 re-election bid, told the Journal that facing challenging political environments is nothing new for Republicans in New Mexico. The difference is the Martinez-led political operation planned and prepared for these challenges in the past, in order to achieve successes in spite of them, McCleskey said. This year, the state Republican party simply rolled over, and that lack of effort and incompetence is why Republicans got crushed up and down the ballot. McCleskey, who has also done political work for the Republican Governors Association, said Herrell never asked for Martinezs help with her congressional campaign. He also faced challenges in this years election cycle, as all four judges appointed by Martinez to the Court of Appeals lost in the Tuesday general election, despite McCleskeys help in their campaigns. Well, thats over. Did we all survive the midterms? Was it a blue wave? An ooze? Or something more in the shade of crimson? Did we do our duty? Did we save the country? Can we move on with our lives until 2020? Well, not yet. The elections may be over, the confetti swept away, the tears shed, the ceaseless cacophony of attack ads stilled. But for folks like Sandra Duckert and, she hopes, you the work has just begun. Many of us think that our only duty as citizens is to vote, said Duckert, a Corrales resident and a tireless advocate for advocating. Weve been trained to believe we have no influence after our votes. But if we learn how to be effective we find we actually have a lot of influence. Its fun and easy when you know how. Duckert is a former longtime educator who hasnt stopped educating. Over the past two years, she estimates she has trained close to 300 people on both sides of the political spectrum across New Mexico on how to be effective advocates. She learned how to be effective herself through Results, a national advocacy organization that helps train, support and inspire citizens to become advocates for ending poverty globally and nationally. Her work helped earn her the organizations prestigious Bob Dickerson Grassroots Leadership Award this year, named after a longtime member. Shes the second New Mexican to be so honored since the awards inception four years ago. I teach people how to give a two-minute speech in front of lawmakers, how to write a letter to the editor, how to speak with our congressional leaders, she said. It helps people feel some power again, some sense of being able to do something other than feel hopeless, to feel they can make an impact. Duckert herself was a quick study, her training helping her get up the courage to chat up Sen. Tom Udall as he walked in a Fourth of July parade in Corrales. I jumped off my folding chair along the side of the road and just started lobbying him on foreign policy, she said. You know I could not have done that if I had not known what to say. Although Results focuses on anti-poverty advocacy, learning how to connect and communicate effectively is a useful skill with any issue and every level, from school boards to the U.S. Senate. Which brings us back to life after midterms. Now that weve voted them in, its time to teach them how to do the job. Think of it like hiring new employees, she said. These people work for us and if we can do something to help them do that job better, then lets do that. No office or business would last long if people hired were put in their jobs and then not bothered with for two years or six years. A recent study published in the American Political Science Review and conducted by researchers Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, Matto Mildenberger and Leah Stokes found that senior congressional staffers the people who help their bosses decide what bills to pursue and support have wildly inaccurate concepts of what their constituents want or think, a cluelessness exacerbated by the Washington, D.C.-centric echo chamber and the ubiquitous and well-financed lobbyists. Yet a separate survey by the Congressional Management Foundation found that 46 percent of staffers say an in-person visit from a constituent wields a lot of influence, compared with just 8 percent of staffers who find a visit from a paid lobbyist equally as influential. Constituent letters, emails, phone calls and town hall comments also rank higher in influence than a chat with a lobbyist, the survey found. This leads me to believe that our advocacy as citizens is critical, Duckert said. I have found that the staff members in congressional offices appreciate getting background information and solutions. Our job is to help our leaders understand what we want. Which is to say that the job of being a good citizen is not over once a vote is cast. So lets get to work. UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 823-3603, jkrueger@abqjournal.com or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg. Go to www.abqjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor. GRANTS A co-leader of a rural New Mexico paramilitary religious sect with anti-Semitic leanings faces being sentenced to prison after pleading no contest to child abuse charges. James Green entered his pleas Friday in state District Court in Grants to charges stemming from abuse of a Ugandan child brought to the United States illegally in 1997 and from a 13-year-old boys death at the commune in January 2014 from a probable infectious disease, the Gallup Independent reports. Green and Deborah Green, his wife and also a co-leader of the sect, were arrested in August 2017 after authorities raided the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps secluded Fence Lake compound in western New Mexico after a two-year investigation into concerns about child abuse. James Green will be sentenced in December under a plea agreement to 10 years in prison with credit for time reserved. Deborah Green was sentenced in September to 72 years in prison after being convicted of child abuse and other charges in the case. Former sect members said the abuse dated back years, while Cibola County Undersheriff Michael Munk said the former members described leaders treating followers like slaves and physically beating children. He also said the sect had evaded law enforcement by moving and operating in seclusion. In Deborah Greens defense, her attorney said the accusations against her had stemmed from the vendettas of former sect members, and that the victim in the case had changed her story over the years. The Greens opened Free Love Ministries in 1982 with four communal houses in Sacramento, Calif. The Greens had little ministry training but attracted about 50 members and operated a military structure. Fence Lake is 119 miles west of Albuquerque. KABUL, Afghanistan When Maj. Brent Taylor, a reservist in the Army National Guard and the mayor of North Ogden, Utah, was killed here Nov. 3 in an insider attack, his friend and comrade in arms, Afghan Air Force Maj. Abdul Rahman Rahmani, felt he had to send a message to Taylors family. He died on our soil but he died for the success of freedom and democracy in both of our countries, Rahmani, 34, a helicopter pilot, wrote the next day in a letter he included in a tweet. It was addressed to Jennie Ashworth Taylor, the mayors wife and the mother of their seven children. Jennie, please pass my words to your seven children, whom I consider as brothers and sisters to my own five children, Taha, Taiba, Tawab, Aqsa and Wahab, Rahmani wrote. Tell them their father was a loving, caring, and compassionate man whose life just wasnt meaningful, it was inspirational. He wrote that he considered Taylor, 39, a close friend and a leader who was the first to volunteer for any tough assignment. Taylors brother-in-law, Jared Pack, spotted the tweeted letter and sent it to his sister. This week, Pack said that Jennie Taylor was very touched by Rahmanis words and that the whole family was grateful. It is nice to hear that Brents colleagues loved him as much as he loved them, he said. Rahmani, who often posts online, described himself in an interview as one of a new generation of Afghan military officers who strongly believe in a partnership with the United States. He said he wrote the letter, in part, to make clear that such insider attacks do not represent the sentiments of most Afghans toward Americans. I wanted to convey two messages. One, the friendship that Afghanistan and the United States built in the last 17 years is worth it. Second, I wanted to let his family know that Major Taylor did good things in Afghanistan, Rahmani said. He said he had no idea, though, that his tweeted message would go viral. Within 48 hours, it had been shared more than 3,000 times and liked more than 8,000 times. Taylor was killed when a member of the Afghan security forces opened fire at a base in Kabul where foreign troops train Afghan forces. The shooter, who also wounded another U.S. service member, was killed instantly. Taylor, a Purple Heart recipient, had deployed twice in Iraq and once before in Afghanistan. His death shocked people across Utah, where he had served as Ogdens mayor since 2013. Gov. Gary Herbert called it a sad day for the state. Rahmani, who graduated from the Expeditionary Warfare School at the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia, pilots a Russian-built troop transport helicopter in the Special Mission Wing of the air force. His unit works closely with Afghan commandos and coalition Special Operations forces. He said he and Taylor had participated in several missions together, often talking about the war and their lives. Several weeks ago, they were chatting when Rahmani received a call from home. The children were making noise, and Rahmani started shouting. When he hung up, he said, Taylor asked him to speak more gently. Family is everything, he wrote in the letter, quoting Taylor. Rahmani said he had lost eight of his own family members, including his father, in Afghanistans years of conflict. He has participated in high-risk missions and been wounded twice. When the Afghan army hospital was attacked in 2017, he recalled, he landed on the roof and took rocket fire while a team of Afghan commandos jumped out. Like Rahmani, Taylor often posted on Facebook, using it to stay in touch with his constituents from Afghanistan. Last month he posted a message to dear North Ogden friends, saying, things are going great over here for our team as it helped to secure the parliamentary election. After the Oct. 20 election, Taylor wrote another Facebook post, saying it was beautiful to see over 4 million Afghan men and women brave threats and deadly attacks to vote. He called the high turnout a success for Afghans and for the cause of human freedom. Taylor also wrote that he felt proud of the soldiers he served with. Many American, NATO allies, and Afghan troops have died to make moments like this possible, he wrote. During 17 years of fighting, more than 150 U.S.-led coalition troops have been killed in insider attacks, according to military reports. Despite the length and bloodiness of the war, Rahmani said in the interview, he remains convinced that it is worth fighting the Taliban and that it is possible to win. On behalf of my family and Brents friends here in the Special Mission Wing, he wrote to Taylors widow, we pledge to continue to work hard until the day when peace will return to our country and violence and hatred no longer claim the lives of both of our countrymen. GoFundMe site for Maj. Taylors family. Due to ever-evolving technological advances, manufacturers are connecting consumer goods -- from toys to lightbulbs to major appliances -- to the internet at breakneck speeds. This is the Internet of Things, and it's a security nightmare. The Internet of Things fuses products with communications technology to make daily life more effortless. Think Amazon's Alexa, which not only answers questions and plays music but allows you to control your home's lights and thermostat. Or the current generation of implanted pacemakers, which can both receive commands and send information to doctors over the internet. Automakers and manufacturing Automotive industry Business and industry sectors Business, economy and trade California Computer science and information technology Continents and regions Digital privacy Digital security Internet and WWW Internet of Things North America Software and applications Southwestern United States Technology The Americas United States Communications law and policy Computer and internet law Law and legal system Telecommunications industry But like nearly all innovation, there are risks involved. And for products borne out of the Internet of Things, this means the risk of having personal information stolen or devices being overtaken and controlled remotely. For devices that affect the world in a direct physical manner -- cars, pacemakers, thermostats -- the risks include loss of life and property. By developing more advanced security features and building them into these products, hacks can be avoided. The problem is that there is no monetary incentive for companies to invest in the cybersecurity measures needed to keep their products secure. Consumers will buy products without proper security features, unaware that their information is vulnerable. And current liability laws make it hard to hold companies accountable for shoddy software security. It falls upon lawmakers to create laws that protect consumers. While the US government is largely absent in this area of consumer protection, the state of California has recently stepped in and started regulating the Internet of Things, or "IoT" devices sold in the state -- and the effects will soon be felt worldwide. California's new SB 327 law, which will take effect in January 2020, requires all "connected devices" to have a "reasonable security feature." The good news is that the term "connected devices" is broadly defined to include just about everything connected to the internet. The not-so-good news is that "reasonable security" remains defined such that companies trying to avoid compliance can argue that the law is unenforceable. The legislation requires that security features must be able to protect the device and the information on it from a variety of threats and be appropriate to both the nature of the device and the information it collects. California's attorney general will interpret the law and define the specifics, which will surely be the subject of much lobbying by tech companies. There's just one specific in the law that's not subject to the attorney general's interpretation: Default passwords are not allowed. his is a good thing; they are a terrible security practice. But it's just one of dozens of awful "security" measures commonly found in IoT devices. This law is not a panacea. But we have to start somewhere, and it is a start. Though the legislation covers only the state of California, its effects will reach much further. All of us -- in the United States or elsewhere -- are likely to benefit because of the way software is written and sold. Automobile manufacturers sell their cars worldwide, but they are customized for local markets. The car you buy in the United States is different from the same model sold in Mexico, because the local environmental laws are not the same and manufacturers optimize engines based on where the product will be sold. The economics of building and selling automobiles easily allows for this differentiation. But software is different. Once California forces minimum security standards on IoT devices, manufacturers will have to rewrite their software to comply. At that point, it won't make sense to have two versions: one for California and another for everywhere else. It's much easier to maintain the single, more secure version and sell it everywhere. The European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which implemented the annoying warnings and agreements that pop up on websites, is another example of a law that extends well beyond physical borders. You might have noticed an increase in websites that force you to acknowledge you've read and agreed to the website's privacy policies. This is because it is tricky to differentiate between users who are subject to the protections of the GDPR -- people physically in the European Union, and EU citizens wherever they are -- and those who are not. It's easier to extend the protection to everyone. Once this kind of sorting is possible, companies will, in all likelihood, return to their profitable surveillance capitalism practices on those who are still fair game. Surveillance is still the primary business model of the internet, and companies want to spy on us and our activities as much as they can so they can sell us more things and monetize what they know about our behavior. Insecurity is profitable only if you can get away with it worldwide. Once you can't, you might as well make a virtue out of necessity. So, everyone will benefit from the California regulation, as they would from similar security regulations enacted in any market around the world large enough to matter, just like everyone will benefit from the portion of GDPR compliance that involves data security. Most importantly, laws like these spur innovations in cybersecurity. Right now, we have a market failure. Because the courts have traditionally not held software manufacturers liable for vulnerabilities, and because consumers don't have the expertise to differentiate between a secure product and an insecure one, manufacturers have prioritized low prices, getting devices out on the market quickly and additional features over security. But once a government steps in and imposes more stringent security regulations, companies have an incentive to meet those standards as quickly, cheaply and effectively as possible. This means more security innovation, because now there's a market for new ideas and new products. We've seen this pattern again and again in safety and security engineering, and we'll see it with the Internet of Things as well. IoT devices are more dangerous than our traditional computers because they sense the world around us, and affect that world in a direct physical manner. Increasing the cybersecurity of these devices is paramount, and it's heartening to see both individual states and the European Union step in where the US federal government is abdicating responsibility. But we need more, and soon. CHICO, Calif. - Action News Now spoke to a park ranger that oversees Upper Bidwell Park in Chico, after numerous people were concerned the park was on fire by the Camp Fire. James Ledonne, says the park itself never encountered flames by the Camp Fire that has grown to more than 70,000 acres. At the moment, Chico residents cannot enter the park, due to safety precautions and the entrance is blocked by authorities. If a person enters the park, they will face a fee penalty. Rangers strongly suggest not to sneak in, because of the unpredictability of the Camp Fire. Watch the video for all the details. UPDATE 5:53 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 - Chico State will not resume classes until Nov. 26. Campus operations will remain closed through Friday, Nov. 16, except for essential personnel. --- CHICO, Calif. - California State University has closely monitored the Camp Fire burning in northeastern Butte County. The fire has caused numerous parents of students to be concerned about the proximity of the flames and how the school is responding to safety. Action News Now spoke to Sean Murphy, public relations coordinator for Chico State to talk about how the school is talking to students about the situation. Murphy does not know how long the school will be closed, Monday is already a federal holiday, and the Chancellor and Provost of the university are discussing the future plans. Watch the video to learn how students can get free N-95 masks. CHICO, Calif. - The 90,000-acre Camp Fire has created a massive amount of smoke to be pushed into the entire county of Butte, which means poor air quality for North State residents. Action News Now spoke to Lisa Almageur from Butte County Public Health to discuss how people can protect themselves with an N-95 mask to avoid breathing problems by the fire's smoke. Almageur strongly suggests people avoid going outside, especially the young and elderly who are the most susceptible. She also says the heavy smoke can create symptoms that indicate people should seek a doctor. The Butte County Public Health has a link to find N-95 masks around the North State on their Facebook. (Watch the end of the video to see how to properly wear an N-95 mask) If you would like to find an N-95 that fits you, click here. Lights, celebrations and lots of sweets; its Diwali happiness all around. Festivals are an occasion to usher in the new and to clean up all the old elements. It is the time for transformation of body, mind and soul everything that you hold dear. Diwali is an auspicious occasion where everyone redecorates their house to welcome the festivities with new and fresh energy. Magic 106.4 FM made this Diwali a little more magical for its listeners through their initiative of home transformations Ghar ko Sajaao. In this special activity Magic 106.4 FM invited their listeners to call up RJ Sapna and share a reason as to why their houses deserve a much-needed makeover. One listener narrated the story wherein she welcomed her parents home, while another spoke about celebrating his first Diwali together with his wife. Both having a hectic work life never got a chance to celebrate Diwali together and this time the celebration turned special with a newly decorated home. Compelling stories like these won a free makeover of their home refurbished by Magic 106.4 FM. These emotional stories got a much-deserved happy ending by the radio station. A winner all excited about being selected said, I was overwhelmed by the gesture made by Magic 106.4 FM for the Diwali contest. Staying away from home, this gift by the radio station will be etched in my memory forever as Magic has made this Diwali truly special for me. Commenting on the initiative Nisha Narayanan, COO Magic 106.4 FM says Festivities in India are not just your personal celebration but also about togetherness. At Magic 106.4 FM we aim to bring alive Jee le Zara moments for the listeners and Ghar ko Sajaao is magical initiative to spread festive cheer amongst the listeners in its true essence. It has always been our endeavour to do something special for the listeners and this time we have given them Diwali Magic waali. Even if its precise definition isnt at the tip of your tongue, most everyone gets the general drift of what is meant by the term biogas theres biology involved, and the result is gas. One might guess its the funk in the air aboard the bus carrying the sauerkraut-eating team home after a weekend competition. Others would say biogas is cow belches, or the rotten-egg stink-bubbles that swarm to the surface when your foot sinks into swamp ooze. Those are all examples of biogas, which is composed primarily of methane, CH4, at concentrations ranging from 50% to 60 %. Methane is highly combustible, and can be used in place of natural gas for heat or to run internal-combustion engines for the generation of electricity and other applications. Formed by microbes under anaerobic conditions, it is a greenhouse gas twenty-eight times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in Earths atmosphere. The fact that it can be useful if harnessed but dangerous if released is why we need to trap biogas given off by landfills, manure pits, and someday, maybe even cow burps. By itself, methane is colorless and odorless, but it often hangs out with unsavory friends like hydrogen sulfide, H2S, which is responsible for the rotten-egg smell we associate with farts and swamp gas. Not all biogas is equalthe stuff given off by landfills is contaminated with siloxane from lubricants and detergents, and manure-sourced biogas may contain nitrous oxide, N2O. Siloxane, nitrous oxide, and hydrogen sulfide gases are toxic at high concentrations, and are very corrosive. They usually burn off harmlessly when used for heat, but must be removed if biogas is to be used to fuel an engine. As mentioned, methane occurs when organic matter decomposes in oxygen-deprived conditions. This led to numerous biogas explosions in landfills across the US and Europe, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s, although a series of such incidents in England in the 1980s spurred tighter regulations in that country on collecting biogas. The frequency of explosions at dumps is much reduced in recent times, but it does still happen. A dump at Walt Disney World in Orlando caught fire in 1998. In 2006, the US Army (which is exempt from many environmental laws) evacuated twelve households near one of its old landfills at Fort Meade, Maryland due to high methane levels. Even though it provides benefits like electricity generation, extracting landfill biogas is necessary for health and safety. But biogas is also produced intentionally in something called a methane digester, which I thought was another word for a cow. Despite the name, these things do not digest methane. Rather they use animal manure, municipal sewage, household garbage, and other organic matter to produce methane, much of which would otherwise have been released to the atmosphere. The basic process is this: an airtight reactor is filled with animal manure or whatever your favorite filling is, and after a 4-part bacterial process and some amount of time you end up with a digested slurry that can be used for fertilizer, and biogas. Digester technology can work from a massive industrial scale to a very small backyard unit which runs on household waste. At about 60% methane, digester biogas is a better fuel than landfill biogas, which tends to be about 50% CH4. Gas from a digester can be used directly for cooking or heating, but must be processed before it can be put to other uses. In addition to being used to run internal-combustion engines, scrubbed biogas, which is nearly pure methane, can be injected into the natural-gas grid, or compressed and sold to distant markets. These days, livestock farmers are being encouraged to install methane digesters as an additional source of income or to offset heating costs. Digesters reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, and manure processed in a digester retains more nitrogen than manure stored in open-air lagoons. Its not brain surgery, but there is a learning curve, as well as labor inputs. The idea is being promoted now, but it is far from new. The Chinese have been involved with methane digestion since about 1960, and in the 1970s disseminated something like six million home digesters to farmers. Currently, home digesters are common in India, Pakistan, Nepal, and parts of Africa. On the larger scale, Germany is Europes foremost biogas producer, with around 6,000 biogas electric generating plants. Germany also has incentives and subsidies for farmers and others to adopt digester technology. Regionally, an operator of the Village of Lake Placid wastewater treatment plant captured and used biogas to help heat the plant beginning in the early 1980s. Paul Gutman, chemist and former operator who I met in 1988, developed the program. Though it saved the Village a great deal of money, it is not working at the moment due to disruptions related to upgrades. We may have backyard methane digesters, but to my knowledge there are none for strictly personal use. If youve eaten too much sauerkraut youll just have to let digestion run its course. Away from others, please. Clarkson Universitys Biomass Group, headed by Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Dr. Stefan Grimberg, has information on its biogas projects, plus links to other resources, on its website. Photo of Dairy Cows in Collins Center, New York, 1999 courtesy Wikimedia user Daniellagreen. BAGHDAD While new Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has promised to open Baghdad's fortified Green Zone to the public and to through traffic, there are doubts that he will be able to fulfill that pledge. The Green Zone, officially the International Zone, is a 4-square-mile area that's home to Iraqi government buildings for the presidency, parliament, judiciary and the intelligence and national security staffs. Also located there are various foreign embassies, including those of the United States and the United Kingdom; other diplomatic missions; offices of international organizations, notably the UN; and residences of privileged Iraqis and high-level officials. The restricted zone inconveniences many Baghdad residents, especially commuters. Opening the area could reduce heavily congested streets and slash the amount of time it takes to travel across town. It would also make it easier for citizens to access government agencies. In addition to opening up the area, Abdul Mahdi wants to get "closer" to citizens by relocating with his Cabinet to a building outside the zone. In fact, on Oct. 25, Abdul Mahdi and his incomplete government met there, marking the first time a session has been held outside the Green Zone since 2003. The building he chose was once the headquarters of the National Council under the regime of Saddam Hussein. A few years ago, it briefly became the headquarters of the High Commission for Human Rights, before the commission evacuated the premises almost two years ago. The building isn't far from a street vendors' area and the infamous garage where, in 2004, relatives of then-Prime Minister Ayad Allawi were kidnapped. The area isn't as fortified as the Green Zone, but is surrounded by cement blocks and a number of security people. Some people in the area reject the idea of having a potential target a government office in their midst, but Abdul Mahdi tried to reassure Iraqis that having the government headquarters there, along with a stable security situation, are beneficial. That assessment of stability, however, contradicts recent security warnings, including one issued Nov. 6 by the US Embassy in Baghdad that "unspecified militia leaders have discussed plans for kidnapping US citizens attending the 45th Baghdad International Fair," set for Nov. 10-19. Opening the Green Zone to public scrutiny could also prove embarrassing to politicians and officials who live in such a fortified, restricted, safe area. But Abdul Mahdi says his goal is to make the whole country safe. We want to consider all of Iraq to be a green zone, he said during his first official news conference. The new prime minister is also likely to feel pressure from diplomats, especially those in the US Embassy, who might fear attacks on their headquarters should the area be opened up, according to security expert Hisham al-Hashimi, who said a US Embassy representative has spoken with Abdul Mahdi. "Americans told Abdul Mahdi that it's necessary for him to provide them with protection to prevent any attacks," Hashim told Al-Monitor. The embassy already has security walls, and Abdul Mahdi "will somewhat isolate the US Embassy by surrounding it with cement blocks." He added, Abdul Mahdi moved the new Cabinet headquarters 100 meters [109 yards] from the Green Zone, which means 100 meters closer to the people. [But] this is not what citizens want. They are demanding real changes in terms of services and care." Former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi faced the same pressures when he wanted to open the zone. Abadi promised Nov. 11, 2014, to open parts of the Green Zone. About one year later, one street was opened on the northern side of the Green Zone, but people were not allowed in on foot, only in vehicles heading directly to the exit in the southern part of the area. Even that street is closed now. That's why some civil activists have been questioning Abdul Mahdis ability to deliver on his promise. Hamid Jahjih, one of the activists, told Al-Monitor, In our experience with ... Abadi, all his promises about the Green Zone were empty and just for media show. Jahjih, who often criticizes the Iraqi government, believes Abdul Mahdis promise is also just talk, designed to win the people's support. The new prime minister will not be able to open the Green Zone to the public," Jahjih said. He might be right about the zone staying closed, especially as there has been lots of talk about renewed demonstrations in Baghdad. The Green Zone has been a safe area for diplomatic missions and key government offices in the country, and it would take a major political push to open it. Few people seem to believe Abdul Mahdi will succeed in his endeavor, at least not during his first two years in office. Putin embraces four-party talks While US officials spoke last week about contesting more actively Irans actions in Syria, Russia pressed ahead with a new diplomatic initiative involving Europe. Russias envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, met Nov. 6 with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after arriving from Tehran. The focus, reports Maxim Suchkov, was the Russian-Turkish memorandum on Idlib signed in Sochi on Sept. 17; the formation of the Constitutional Committee; Syrias postwar restoration; and the creation of conditions for the return of refugees. The Russians also briefed Syria on the results of the Oct. 27 meeting in Istanbul between the presidents of Turkey, Russia, Germany and France. Russia is making sure its own initiatives are well sealed and recognized by other major regional players before UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura steps down at the end of November, writes Suchkov. Russia is thus pressing Assad to speed up the formation of the Constitutional Committee part of the mission of the high-level delegation in Damascus. Meanwhile, in Moscow, Deputy Foreign Ministers Mikhail Bogdanov and Sergey Ryabkov have engaged in a frenzy of diplomatic activity, meeting with ambassadors of virtually all Middle Eastern countries over the last four days. Putins embrace of the four-party talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel made many in Moscow believe that Russia now seeks to merge the two formats of the Astana group and the two leading European nations from the so-called small group, adds Suchkov. Now that any meaningful progress within the small group is stalled from Russia's perspective with its participants seeking other venues to strengthen their own positions in the Syrian political settlement, and the United States lacking any clear set of objectives that could genuinely unite other members, Moscow believes the conditions are ripe to engage the Europeans who are open to such engagement, albeit each for their own reasons. Although Iran is absent from the Istanbul quartet, writes Suchkov, Russia sees it as an important puzzle piece for a Syria settlement and thus briefs both Tehran and Damascus on the consultations within the group, which Moscow, too, considers to be a step into linking the Astana format with the Istanbul group. The Astana trio was critical in shifting the balance of forces in Assads favor, but now that the conflict has moved to the political realm, a broader coalition with Europeans is needed, both for the sake of the process' legitimacy and for financial reasons. German companies are eyeing possible contracts in Syrias restoration, partially helping to alleviate Russias own concerns for finding the money for reconstruction. Erdogan plays big with US Cengiz Candar explains how Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may be leveraging the Jamal Khashoggi case to play big, writing that Erdogan is one of the very few people in the international game who has leverage with the leaders of both the United States and Russia. Erdogan has not held back on his opposition to US policies. He said last week that joint US-Syrian Democratic Forces patrols can cause serious negative developments and slammed US sanctions on Iran as imperialist, Jasper Mortimer reports. Candar wrote of Erdogan, His relations with Washington are better than they have been for some time. Turkey has surprisingly become one of the eight countries exempted from the American oil sanctions against Iran. What makes Turkey privileged is that it is the only country among the eight on the oil waiver list that is Irans immediate neighbor. Nothing can illustrate better how relations between Erdogan and Trump have warmed up than this exemption. Erdogan even went as far as to say publicly that the American president promised to instruct his people to review the case of a Turkish bank that is expected to be fined by US Treasury over the Iran sanctions scam. When the Turkish president speaks with US President Donald Trump, Candar writes, It is almost certain that Erdogan will bring up the issue of the eastern Euphrates, where the American military cooperates with the Syrian offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Erdogan, emboldened with the dazzling diplomatic show in Istanbul, spelled out Turkeys intention to eradicate the presence of the Kurdish allies of the United States in the eastern Euphrates and Turkish artillery began to pound the Kurdish targets. Erdogan went as far as to imply that Turkey will move militarily to the towns such as Tell Abyad and Kobani. After the Turkish artillery bombardment, the Americans started joint patrols with elements of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units along the Turkey-Syria frontier to deter Turkey from creating a potential bone of contention between the two NATO allies. It remains to be seen how Trump will react to Erdogans possible demands involving the eastern Euphrates, Candar concludes. It appears that Turkish objectives are irreconcilable with those of the Syrian Kurds and the United States, unless the latter decides on a sell-out of the Kurds. History has a record on this that Erdogan should well know. An Abbas-Netanyahu summit in Oman? Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Oct. 31, five days after the Israeli prime ministers visit to Oman, with a message for Abbas from Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, placing Oman at the center of a diplomatic flurry on the otherwise stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Netanyahus visit to Oman on Oct. 26 triggered the fears of the various Palestinian factions, writes Adnan Abu Amer. Islamic Jihad spokesman Daoud Shehab told Al-Mayadeen on the same day that Netanyahu's visit to the sultanate could open a new channel of negotiations with Israel. In turn, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine described the visit in a press statement as an advanced stage of normalization in tandem with the efforts of the United States to pass its "deal of the century. Head of Fatah's Information Department Munir al-Jaghoub said in a press statement that the visit aims to undermine the Arab peace initiative based on the land for peace formula. On Oct. 27, he denied these statements. Hamas was angered by Netanyahus visit to Oman, reports Abu Amer. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said, It is terribly wrong to receive Israelis on Arab premises. This cannot be justified as a step aimed to achieve the best interest of the Palestinians. This must not be repeated. Israel is the enemy. Israel and the PA are aware that Oman has managed to organize negotiations on major files such as Iran's nuclear deal, the Yemen war and the Gulf crisis, Abu Amer continues. This makes it a neutral intermediary, though it operates in secret and out of the limelight. Oman has emerged as a mediator with the ability to host the Palestinians and Israelis. It could be planning to hold a summit between Abbas and Netanyahu, which could be a golden opportunity for the sultanate to rise as a political mediator, while all other regional countries are preoccupied with their internal issues. Israel has managed to be hosted in yet another Arab capital despite the halt of negotiations with the Palestinians, Abu Amer concludes. This proves that Israel can communicate with the Arabs by bypassing the peace process. As for the Palestinians, they have yet to reap the gains contemplated from this Omani movement. A federal lawsuit against Assistant State Superintendent Tommy Glasscock alleges he sexually harassed and discriminated against his female assistant while he was superintendent of Chilton County Schools. Glasscock was named head of career and technical education at the state department of education in July and began work there in August. AL.com had not received a response from Glasscock or any members of the Chilton County Board of Education prior to publication time of this article. State Superintendent Eric Mackey told AL.com in an email Friday that he was not aware of either an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint or any of the allegations prior to recommending Glasscock for the position. Mackey said he learned of the lawsuit after Glasscock notified him in the days prior to the lawsuit being filed. Glasscock was elected Chilton County schools superintendent in 2014. He was named in July to the state job. According to the lawsuit filed last month, Allison P. Smith said she was employed in various roles by the Chilton County Board of Education as Glasscocks assistant from February 2015 through April 2017. During that time period, Smith alleges Glasscock subjected her to unwelcome, severe and pervasive sexual harassment and that the harassment was constant. The seven-member Chilton County Board of Education is being sued on multiple counts as Smith alleges board members did not take any action after Smith reported Glasscocks actions towards her. Smith is suing Glasscock directly for invasion of privacy and assault and battery, accusing him of touching her in an unwelcome manner that was intrusive, unwelcomed, and sexual and intentional, gratuitous and conducted with sexual overtones. In the lawsuit, Smith said she was asked by the Chilton County Board President to work as Glasscocks assistant because they needed to hire someone who was not too pretty. Smith said she thought the remark was odd, but needed the job and took it in February 2015. Smith claims she worked long hours and was not properly compensated monetarily nor was she allowed appropriate comp time for the additional hours. In addition to working as Glasscocks assistant, Smith took on additional duties as the districts payroll clerk and board clerk. Smith said she often found herself having to work alone with Glasscock during the summer when staffing levels were less than those during the school year. During that time, the lawsuit states, Glasscock began sharing marital problems he was having with his wife. Glasscock commented about how other women wanted him, the suit alleges. Glasscock commented on other womens physical characteristics, pointing out their short skirts or big boobs. In the suit, Smith claims Glasscock spoke in derogatory ways about having sexual relations with multiple women and the workplace was permeated with Glasscocks gender-based and sexually-charged comments. Smith claims she spoke with multiple people, including former employees and board members about allegations Glasscock was sexually harassing her. Smith said she complained to three administrators within the Chilton County school district but that no investigation was ever conducted. Among other incidents cited in the lawsuit, Smith claims she was shocked and embarrassed after Glasscock showed her a text he received from a female employee showing the employees naked breasts after she had breast implant surgery. Smith claims board members questioned her about Glasscocks affair with that female employee and therefore knew it was happening. Smith said Glasscock gave her the title of Assistant Superintendent in November 2015 and she continued in that role until April 18, 2017, when she was terminated. She said she was never given the raise Glasscock promised and in June 2016, asked to return to the original job of assistant only. Glasscock refused to allow her to return to that job, she said, and after she distanced herself from Glasscock, he threatened to fire her. She said she understood these comments as a threat that she would have to have sex with Glasscock to keep her job, but she told him she could not do that. After two months of increasingly hostile behavior from Glasscock, Smith said Glasscock told her she should look for another job on Sept. 30, 2016. During the next few weeks, Smith said Glasscock changed his mind and created a position for her that would also increase her salary from $39,000 to $46,000 a year. He told her he would fire her for insubordination if she refused to take on additional duties, she said. She said she took on the additional duties, but her salary was not increased. After further advances from Glasscock, she said she explained to Glasscock she only cared about him as a boss, nothing more. Smith said Glasscock responded angrily and her work environment continued to grow more hostile. At the end of February 2017, Smith said Glasscock told her she could either resign or be fired. On Feb. 27, 2017, Smith said she submitted her resignation to the board and told them Glasscock threatened her job. She was employed there until April 18, 2017. To her knowledge, she said, no one on the board of education investigated her complaints. Smith filed a complaint with the EEOC in August 2017. The EEOC issued a letter giving Smith the right to sue on July 11, one day after Glasscock was hired at the state department of education. Smiths lawsuit alleges the Chilton County Board of Education violated both the Equal Pay and the Fair Labor Standards Act. Smith alleges the board also committed Title VII violations of sexual discrimination and sexual harassment and violations of the 14th Amendments Equal Protection clause. In the lawsuit, Smith asks the court to award back pay, lost wages, compensatory and punitive damages, costs, interest, and attorneys fees but does not specify an amount. One of the top evangelical Christian attorneys in Alabama, who wrote the states Religious Freedom Amendment, says public schools are probably less likely to post the Ten Commandments with the passage of a new constitutional amendment saying they can. A key passage in the amendment passed Tuesday with more than 70 percent of voters approving says that no state funds can be used to defend a school if it posts the Ten Commandments and is sued. That leaves schools especially vulnerable if they challenge current law as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court, said Eric Johnston, president of the Southeast Law Institute in Birmingham. If they do it, and they get sued, and if they lose, under federal statutes and attorney fee rules, they have to pay the legal fees for whoever challenged it, said Johnston. That could be $200,000 to $400,000, and they are likely to lose going up through the court system. That means a school wanting to challenge all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court for its right to display the Ten Commandments would need a hefty legal fund at the ready to handle the expenses of challenging the 1980 Stone v. Graham ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that found public display of the Ten Commandments in schools to be a violation of the U.S. Constitution. That would be a risk, a lot of money at risk, Johnston said. Their lawyers will tell them, Dont do it. Johnston issued an advisory before the election in which he sounded the alarm about Amendment One. That was not a good strategic move, Johnston said. Now you have a law in effect that says the state cannot defend a lawsuit. Before, the state could have defended you if you did it. Its more of a hindrance. It was just bad strategic language. The full proposed amendment did not appear on ballots. Here is what it will look like when it is added into Alabamas Constitution: Every person shall be at liberty to worship God according to the dictates of his or her own conscience. No person shall be compelled to attend, or, against his or her consent, to contribute to the erection or support of any place of religious worship, or to pay tithes, taxes, or other rates for the support of any minister of the gospel. Property belonging to the state may be used to display the Ten Commandments, and the right of a public school and public body to display the Ten Commandments on property owned or administrated by a public school or public body in this state is not restrained or abridged. The civil and political rights, privileges, and capacities of no person shall be diminished or enlarged on account of his or her religious belief. No public funds may be expended in defense of the constitutionality of this amendment. "The Ten Commandments shall be displayed in a manner that complies with constitutional requirements, including, but not limited to, being intermingled with historical or educational items, or both, in a larger display within or on property owned or administrated by a public school or public body. Johnston said that with a more conservative leaning U.S. Supreme Court, theres a chance such a legal case could find a sympathetic hearing. If a school displayed the Ten Commandments alongside the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence and other documents that influenced the foundation of law and western values, theres a good chance it would be found constitutional, Johnston said. There is already such a display in the Old Supreme Court chambers in Alabama, Johnston said. The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed such a historical display at a courthouse, but schools face a stricter test. The standard for a school is different than a courthouse, Johnston said. Students are more impressionable and look to school officials as an authority figures. Johnston did like the opening sentence of the amendment, Every person shall be at liberty to worship God, and said that language offers added protection for religious freedom. As a constitutional religious freedom lawyer, the first part is more important to me, Johnston said. But that, too, was not needed because similar language was already added to the state constitution with the Religious Freedom Amendment, ratified in 1999. It was unnecessary, Johnston said. Weve got a religious freedom statement in the constitution. Although Johnston has previously written laws and amendments that have been added to the state constitution, he had no role in crafting this amendment and wasnt consulted, he said. I think they made a mistake, he said. Six people were charged after a two-month investigation into a prison money card and insurance fraud scheme, the Alabama Department of Corrections announced Friday. The suspects are accused of using false identifies to lure a family of a state inmate into paying for legal services to a fake law firm the suspects created as part of the scheme, ADOC officials said. The suspects led the family to believe the fake law firm could get charges against their family member dropped or sentence reduced if the family agreed to pay for the services. ADOC officials said the suspects told family members to make payments through prepaid money cards and money wiring transactions. The suspects are also accused of using a victims identify to file a fraudulent insurance claim. Four people were arrested Thursday on felony charges ranging from identity theft, theft-of-property, to insurance fraud. Below are their names and ages: Willie Edward Wells, 71, of Pike Road Adrianne Mary Collins, 32, of Tuskegee Latoya Howell, 25 of Montgomery Alexia Danielle Collins, 22, of Montgomery There is an outstanding arrest warrant for 27-year-old Kimeya Pringle of Montgomery for first-degree theft of property, ADOC officials said. ADOC officials suspect 27-year-old state inmate Trederris Cowan initiated the scheme. He was charged with identity theft, theft of property and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. He is serving a four year sentence for a 2015 theft conviction in Montgomery County. People should never use a prepaid money card to pay for such legal services, said Arnaldo Mercado, director of ADOCs Investigation and Intelligence Division. The public should know that the state, its officers, representatives, or employees would never request any type of payment in the form of a prepaid money card or other similar method, Mercado said. Anyone who suspects such fraudulent activity is being perpetrated within the state prison system, they should contact the ADOC I&I Division at 334-353-8912, 1-866-293-7799, or report the crime by going to the ADOC website at http://www.doc.state.al.us/InvestigationRequest. The U.S. Marshals Service and narcotics units from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and Montgomery Police Department assisted ADOC agents in Thursdays arrests. The case will go to the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office for further prosecution. A federal district judge has ruled a Dothan animal services officer did not violate the Fourth Amendment rights of a man she fatally shot after a struggle stemming from a drivers license and a stray dog. U.S. District Judge Emily Marks ruled officer Adrianne Woodruff did not violate Lawrences Fourth Amendment rights when she fatally shot Robert Earl Lawrence after he allegedly grabbed her taser during a struggle. The ruling 41-page ruling filed Thursday came from a December 2016 lawsuit family members representing Lawrences estate filed, which alleged the officer violated his rights. Even construing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Plaintiff, the video evidence inescapably demonstrates that Woodruff had probable cause to believe that Lawrence, in possession of the Taser, posed a serious threat of physical harm to herself," Marks said in an order filed in federal courts Thursday. She said Lawrence was visibly and vocally resistant and called the facts of the case tragic and disturbing. Although the facts of this case are tragic and disturbing, they are not so egregious as to present a violation of constitutional law in the absence of precedent. His refusal to abide by the most basic of lawful commands from Woodward and Rhodes needlessly escalated the encounter from detention to arrest to a struggle that lasted longer than two minutes culminating in Lawrence having the very weapon law enforcement had ineffectually used in the effort to subdue him and take him into custody without resort to deadly force. The incident started with a stray dog and an argument about the constitutionality of drivers' licenses. On December 30, 2014, Lawrence tried to surrender a stray dog found at a local Walmart to the Dothan Animal Shelter. Employees asked him to provide his drivers license, which he refused to do, claiming they didnt have the right to require his drivers license to drop off the dog. Police have said Lawrence considered himself a sovereign citizen. In the months leading up to his death, Lawrence had begun to read about sovereign citizens, an anti-government movement that often includes, among other things, complicated arguments against the constitutionality of drivers licenses, family members told AL.com. He then said he would drop the dog elsewhere and left. Woodruff followed and would not let him leave unless he showed his license. Dothan police Officer Chris Summerlin arrived after Woodruff called for backup and soon got involved in a physical altercation with Lawrence. In a closeup video, Lawrence can be seen grabbing the Taser as it is being used like a cattle prod to shock him. He was being held from behind by another officer at the time of the shooting. A third officer was pulling on his arm. Then, without warning, Woodruff shot Lawrence in the abdomen, killing him. Representatives of Lawrence argue in the lawsuit that he was not a threat of serious physical harm to the officers at the time he was shot. Marks disagreed. How the Taser could be so seriously painful to Lawrence that he would risk unlawfully taking the weapon away from a law enforcement officer, yet that same Taser no be a threat to the officers with whom he was wrestling is simply untenable, Marks said in the order. In 2015, Dothan Police Department cleared their officer, Adrianne Woodruff, stating in reports that Lawrence had taken control of her Taser and was an armed threat. The incident was captured by video from inside the office at the animal shelter, a cellphone video taken by Lawrences girlfriend and himself, and the dash-mounted camera in Officer Alan Rhodes' patrol car. In August, AL.com obtained the dash cam video of the incident. The video shows graphic images of the incident. We were disappointed in the decision and will be filing an appeal, Hank Sherrod, who represents Lawrences family in the lawsuit, told AL.com during a phone call Friday night. Read the full text of judges ruling below: A Georgia man has been charged with making threats that led to schools in Georgia and east Alabama closing Thursday, officials said. Eufaula police allege 27-year-old Levi Junior Calhoun III, of Georgetown, Georgia, made destructive and harmful social media threats directed toward the schools in Eufaula, Police Chief Steve Watkins said in a statement released Friday night. Eufaula City Schools were closed Thursday due to safety concerns related to the threat. Quitman County Schools in west Georgia were also closed Thursday due to the threats. Calhoun was taken into custody at the Quitman County Sheriffs Office on a felony warrant for making a terrorist threat. Watkins said Eufaula police have obtained warrants for his arrest in Alabama. He said Calhoun will ultimately be charged with eight counts of making a terrorist threat. Calhoun is being held in Georgia awaiting an extradition hearing to Alabama. We appreciate the cooperation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Fusion Center and other Law Enforcement Agencies that assisted in the investigation, Watkins said. We will continue to relentlessly investigate all threats to our citizens and pursue those responsible with urgency. Further details about the threat were not immediately available. Authorities are asking for the publics help in finding a runaway teen girl from Ashville. The St. Clair County Sheriffs Office said 15-year-old Christina Tina Hall has been gone for six days. Tina was last seen at her Ashville home about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3. Tina is 5-feet, 4-inches tall and weighs 122 pounds. She has blue eyes and brown hair. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call Investigator Knight at the St. Clair County Sheriffs Office in Ashville at 205-594-2140. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. A replacement section of fence goes up in front of a house in Mexico that is built right up to the border. Signs of World War I are everywhere and nowhere in the Middle East. Overlain by subsequent conflicts and decades of bitter contestation, the legacies of the wartime experience continue to reverberate long after the conflict passed into history in Europe. With the Middle East in the throes of renewed political turmoil and having experienced decades of regional and international crises, many deriving from the decisions taken after the World War I, the complicated legacies of the war may not immediately be apparent but are nonetheless highly relevant. A parallel may be drawn with the divided Europe up until 1989, where the ramifications of the World War II remained highly visible across multiple generations and made it difficult to establish historical distance from events whose legacy continued to resonate decades after. {articleGUID} The fighting in the Middle Eastern theatres of the war Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, modern-day Iraq, and Turkey came to an end with the Armistice of Mudros signed by British and Ottoman officials on a warship in the Aegean Sea on October 30,1918. In his post-war memoirs, Britains acting Civil Commissioner in Baghdad, Arnold Wilson, recalled how the looming end of hostilities led him to urge every effort to score as heavily as possible on the Tigris before the whistle blew. Thus, the city of Mosul, widely (and correctly) believed to be in the heartland of the richest oilfields in Mesopotamia, was occupied on November 10, 1918. This may have been one day before the end of the war in Europe, but it was 11 days after the Armistice of Mudros and it signalled a start of the clash of competing visions for translating wartime gains into peacetime. Busy square in Mosul, Mesopotamia. The region, formerly part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, came under British military control in October 1918 [Getty Images] While the Treaty of Versailles signed with a vanquished Germany on June 28, 1919 (the fifth anniversary of the assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that triggered the slide to war in 1914) is by far the most well-known outcome of the post-war peace conferences, four other treaties also were formulated to address different regional aspects of the conflict. These were the Treaty of Saint-Germain with Austria on September 10, 1919, the Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria on 27 November 1919, the Treaty of Trianon on June 4, 1920 with Hungary, and the Treaty of Sevres with the Ottoman Empire on August 10, 1920, which subsequently was superseded by the Treaty of Lausanne made on June 24, 1923 with the new Republic of Turkey. The Treaty of Sevres covered the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire and determining the nature of the post-war political entities that took its place. In addition to raising Kurdish and Armenian hopes that some form of conditional independence might be granted to them, the treaty imposed swingeing political and financial terms on Istanbul. France, Italy, and Greece were all given zones of influence in southern, western, and central Anatolia while Greece also made large territorial gains in Thrace. These effectively removed the Ottoman Empire from the European landmass, while Istanbul itself remained under the direct British, French, and Italian occupation that had started on November 12, 1918. It took more than 16 months of tortuous negotiation for the Treaty of Sevres to come to fruition. Following the initial meetings in Paris in the spring and summer of 1919, the negotiations continued into 1920 with substantive meetings at the Conference of London (February 12-24) and the San Remo Conference (April 19-26). In addition to formulating a punitive treaty on the rump of the Ottoman Empire, the victorious powers also faced the task of reconciling their divergent wartime objectives and agreements. These included the vague wartime promises made between 1915 and 1917 the Hussein-McMahon correspondence of 1915-16, the Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916, and the Balfour Declaration of 1917 which planted the seeds of resentment and conflict once their full extent, and their imperialist and contradictory nature, was revealed in 1918. Against the backdrop of rising nationalist movements across the Middle East and an assertive Turkish military and nationalist alliance sweeping away the final vestiges of Ottoman rule, the wartime allies attempted to maintain political control by devising and distributing a system of mandates for administering the region. Turkish general and statesman Mustafa Kemal Ataturk reviewing his troops during the war of independence against Greece [Getty Images] The result was the formation of the boundaries of the modern Middle East, albeit in the face of concerted public and political opposition from local populaces. Yet, the ink on the Treaty of Sevres was hardly dry before it was rendered obsolete by radical shifts in the situation on the ground. Already in 1919, Britains position in the Middle East was shaken by an uprising in Egypt against the continuation of British wartime powers and a nationwide anti-British rebellion in Iraq in 1920. Syria and Lebanon, meanwhile, saw fierce confrontation between local and international plans for the post-war settlement, which led to a falling-out between erstwhile allies Britain and France, sharp clashes with French troops sent to occupy Syria, and, ultimately, the embedding of Arabism at the core of Syrian national identity and the establishment of Hashemite Kingdoms in Iraq and Jordan rather than in Syria itself. In what remained of the Ottoman Empire, a Turkish National Movement orchestrated by the victor of Gallipoli, Mustapha Kemal Ataturk, grew from strength to strength as it capitalised on feelings of anger and humiliation and organised the political and military resistance to the occupation. What began as a loose umbrella of nationalist groups across the country quickly swelled into a unifying national movement against the occupying powers. A series of congresses were convened in the second half of 1919 at which delegates from all over Turkey drew up a political manifesto. In March 1920, in the run-up to the final deliberations of the Treaty of Sevres, the Turkish National Movement formally split with the Ottoman state and established its own parliament, the Grand National Assembly, in Ankara. It met for the first time on April 23, just as the allied powers were meeting in San Remo to draw up the system of mandates for the Middle East. Relations between the Turkish National Movement and the Ottoman Government broke down irretrievably in October 1920. By that stage, French, Greek, and Armenian forces were all engaged with units directed by the Grand National Assembly in separate parts of Turkey. Kemalist forces overwhelmed Armenian units in November 1920 and, in March 1921, Turkey signed the Treaty of Moscow with the Soviet Union that incorporated the rump of Armenia as a Soviet republic and returned two lost Ottoman provinces of Kars and Ardahan to Turkey. Allied support for Kurdish independence slipped away in the face of Turkish gains. French forces withdrew from the southern Turkish region of Cilicia in 1921 following a gruelling conflict with Turkish nationalists that cost France heavily in lives and money. Greek troops fighting to realise Eleftherios Venizeloss Megali Idea (Big Idea) initially pushed inland through Anatolia towards Ankara in 1921. However, Kemals counterattack in August 1922 shattered the Greek army and pushed them back into the coastal city of Smyrna (todays Izmir). Smyrna was taken in September and its Greek and Armenian communities forced to flee as representatives of the great powers looked on powerless to intervene. Thousands of local Greeks fleeing by sea from Smyrna, Turkey, driven out by the armies of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk [Getty Images] Aside from settling the modern boundaries of Turkey and Greece (and in the process unleashing a humanitarian catastrophe as hundreds of thousands of Greeks and Turks were forcibly exchanged), the resolution of the Greco-Turkish war had another consequence. It led to the political downfall of Britains wartime leader, David Lloyd George, whose Liberal party remained in its post-1915 alliance with the Conservatives. This occurred after the Chanak Crisis in October 1922. The resounding defeat of Greek forces in Anatolia opened the way for Kemal to march north towards Istanbul. To prevent this, Lloyd Georges government in London called on the British Empire and its allies to hold the line at Chanak, on the Asiatic shore of the Dardanelles. However, in a humiliating development for Britain, only New Zealand supported the call for bellicosity, while France and Italy both refused to support Lloyd George. As criticism of Lloyd George mounted, his Conservative coalition partners voted to withdraw from the government, removing Lloyd George as prime minister and deposing his Liberal Party permanently from office. Lloyd Georges sudden departure from office was the last decisive break with the wartime era. Recognising that the Treaty of Sevres was unenforceable, it was replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne in July 1923. The treaty extended international recognition of Turkish sovereignty in response to the abandonment of territorial claims for all non-Turkish regions of the Ottoman Empire. Allied forces also ended their military occupation of Istanbul (in September 1923) and Ankara was declared the new capital of the Republic of Turkey on October 29, still celebrated today as Turkeys national day. In March 1924, the new Turkish government headed by Ataturk formally abolished the caliphate, the last remaining Ottoman symbol, and embarked upon a process of reshaping Turkey into a modern, secular, European nation-state. World War I thus was pivotal to the creation of the modern Middle East. It hastened the demise of the Ottoman Empire and paved the way for the emergence of a state-system (albeit initially under mandatory rule) that remains largely in place today. The entire political landscape of the region was reshaped as the legacy of the war sapped the ability of imperial outsiders to dominate and influence events as nationalist groups succeeded in mobilising mass movements around distinctly national identities. Issues such as the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Balfour Declaration remain spoken about as if they refer to contemporary controversies, and it was no accident that when militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) bulldozed the border post between Syria and Iraq in 2014, they claimed they were dismantling the Western boundaries imposed by and after the war. Turkish troops of the Iron Division march across the Galata Bridge into Constantinople, Turkey, in October 1923 to mark the end of its occupation by foreign allies [AP Photo] A century on, Armistice of Mudros, and the end of the war, more generally, will be marked for different reasons in Turkey than in Europe. The way Gallipoli catapulted Ataturk to national status cemented his subsequent role as the builder of the modern Turkish nation. However, over the past 15 years, the nature of the Turkish state he put in place has been superseded by the domination of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who this year surpasses Ataturks longevity in power. After the war and the turbulence of the immediate post-war years, the ties between the erstwhile foes repaired rapidly, epitomised by the moving words attributed to Ataturk on a war memorial at Gallipoli. As Ataturk oversaw a programme of social modernisation, he moved Turkey decisively towards Europe and away from the Middle East in a shift that, again, has only started to reverse in recent years under Erdogan. For Europeans, World War I will remain dominated by the battles on the Western Front Verdun for the French, the Somme and Passchendaele for the British, the Kaisers Great Offensive for the Germans that have been seared into historical memory and national mythmaking. And yet, the role of the war in shaping and creating the state-system of the modern Middle East merits much more than an afterthought when the ceremonies to mark the end of the war are commemorated on Sunday. While the modern bedrock of European relations with Turkey was cemented after World War II, when hundreds of thousands of Turks migrated to post-war Germany and Turkeys strategic orientation was enshrined in NATO, it was the settlement of the earlier war that set Turkey on its trajectory and gave it the hybrid identity it retains today. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, 30, had his passport cancelled in 2015 after he planned to travel to Syria, police say. Australian police said on Saturday a man who fatally stabbed a person and injured two others in central Melbourne held radicalised views that prompted him to carry out the attack. The perpetrator, Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, 30, had his passport cancelled in 2015 after it was learned that he planned to travel to Syria, police said. The attack occurred on Friday when Shire Ali got out of a pickup vehicle, which he then set on fire, and stabbed three men, one of whom died at the scene. The attack on Bourke Street horrified hundreds of onlookers during the afternoon rush hour in Australias second-biggest city. Victoria state Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said Shire Ali, who was shot by police and died in a hospital, was known to police and the federal intelligence authority ASIO. {articleGUID} Shire Ali, who moved to Australia with his family from Somalia in the 1990s had a criminal history for cannabis use, theft and driving offences, Ashton said. Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Ian McCartney told a media briefing on Saturday it was believed the attack was inspired by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, though it was thought Shire Ali had no direct links to the organisation. McCartney said the incident was a reality check for security agencies that even with the fall of the caliphate (ISIL) the threat continues to be real. Shire Ali had family and associates who were also known to police. His brother Ali Khalif Shire Ali is currently on remand awaiting trial next year for allegedly planning an attack, Ashton said. ISIL claimed responsibility for Fridays attack but provided no evidence. Bourke Street reopened on Saturday morning, and a Reuters reporter said there was an increased police presence in the area. Australia has been on alert for such violence after a Sydney cafe siege in 2014, and its intelligence agencies have stepped up scrutiny, though police said there was no warning of the latest attack. Authorities say Australias vigilance has helped foil at least a dozen plots, including a plan to attack Melbourne at Christmas in 2016, and a plan to blow up a flight from Sydney using a bomb disguised as a mincer. In December 2014, two hostages were killed during a 17-hour siege by a lone wolf gunman, inspired by ISIL, in a cafe in Sydney. The Battle for Hodeidah: Yemeni forces announce new push Pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia say a major offensive is now under way to try to take Hodeidah back from rebel Houthi fighters. Juan Emilio Cheyre is the most senior figure to be held accountable for abuses committed under Pinochet. A Chilean judge has convicted the countrys former army chief for his role in the killing of 15 people in the early days of Augusto Pinochets military dictatorship decades ago. Juan Emilio Cheyre, 71, was sentenced on Friday to three years and a day under house arrest for covering up the killings of the infamous Caravan of Death following an inquiry by an investigating magistrate. The so-called caravan was a military death squad which roamed the country targeting left-wing opponents in the months following Pinochets 1973 military coup that overthrew Chiles democratically elected President Salvador Allende. Cheyre did not form part of it but he belonged to a military contingent based in the northern city of La Serena, where the 15 people were killed. He is the most senior figure so far to be held accountable for abuses committed after Allendes overthrow. Mario Carroza, the judge who led the investigation, told reporters on Friday that Cheyres conviction was proof of the egalitarian justice system Chile now enjoys. {articleGUID} It has been an extensive and complex investigation, above all because we did not have the cooperation of those implicated. It has been difficult to get to the historical truth, Carroza said. Chiles armed forces have long been accused of withholding information related to abuses committed during the Pinochet period, particularly in relation to the location of victims remains. The military initially claimed that no such documentation existed, but now maintains the paperwork has been destroyed. However, speaking to reporters in July, Carroza said Cheyre himself had always collaborated with the investigation. Victims representative Ana Merino criticised the ruling as being too lenient on Cheyre, saying he personally participated in the killings being investigated. Following Cheyres conviction, the Chilean army issued a statement saying that, while it is sorry for the personal situation its former head now faces, the army has absolute respect and agreement with the rule of law. Opening old wounds Following the 1973 coup, Cheyre served as adjutant to the commander of the infantry regiment for La Serena, some 470km north of the capital, Santiago. There, he witnessed the murder of 15 people by fellow officers on the orders of the caravan, which arrived in the coastal city a month after the coup. When Chile transitioned to democracy following a referendum in 1988, with Pinochet remaining in office until elections in 1990, Cheyre became a key figure in the process, serving as commander-in-chief of the armed forces from 2002 until 2006. He was one of the first to ask forgiveness for the militarys actions during the dictatorship. {articleGUID} On Friday, the same court ordered Ariosto Lapostol, the former commander of the Arica regiment stationed at La Serena, to serve 15 years in prison for the multiple murders. Carrozas 335-page ruling named Lapostol the sole author of the killings, saying that the other accomplices were now dead. The ruling also awarded compensation to the families of the victims. The convictions follow those of more than 1,000 former agents, soldiers and collaborators for human rights abuses during the dictatorship, despite initial reticence on the part of authorities to reopen old wounds. During Pinochets 17-year rule, an estimated 3,200 people were murdered and another 28,000 tortured by the state. Enforced disappearances were also a common practice. Almost 4,000 tourists forced to flee from ancient Petra, as flash floods kill 12, two weeks after similar tragedy. Heavy rains and flooding have killed at least 12 people in Jordan and forced authorities to evacuate more than 3,500 tourists from the ancient city of Petra and other popular destinations. The visitors were taken to safe areas before flash floods inundated parts of the mountainous city famed for its carved rock ruins, government spokesperson Jumana Ghunaimat said on Saturday. The site was closed after the flooding but would likely reopen on Sunday, Suleiman Farajat, the citys chief administrator said, adding that he had never seen such intense flooding in the area. Rescuers continued to search for missing people around the Wala reservoir in central Jordan on Saturday. In an earlier statement, Ghunaimat said two women and a girl were killed in Madaba province when their vehicle was swept away, adding that nine people were admitted to hospital, some in critical condition. {articleGUID} Torrential rains and flooding in the region began on Friday afternoon. In Wadi Musa, the town next to Petra in southern Jordan, water surged from nearby mountains into a dry riverbed running through the community. Ahmed Shamaseen, 29, owner of the Petra Harmony guesthouse, told The Associated Press news agency he heard a thunderous sound, ran outside and saw water carrying tree stumps, rocks and debris. He said several shops near Petra visitors centre were badly damaged. Shamaseen said a couple from the Netherlands and their one-year-old child were touring Petra when the flooding began. He said the couple told him after their return to the guesthouse that they had to climb to higher ground to evade the water. More intense showers in the future According to Al Jazeera meteorologist Rob McElwee, the floods in Jordan are a result of bad infrastructure and changing climate. Across the Middle East, weve seen floods in the last few days you wouldnt expect. And of course, the infrastructure in what is effectively desert area is not made to be able to cope with much rain, McElwee said. Ive studied the likely effects of climate change and the way they can be defined over here is a general increase in temperature, and although there is no more rainfall expected, what rain will fall will be in heavier bursts, McElwee added. McElwee also referred to recent heavy showers in Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar, saying that it might be the start of a gradually increasing trend. Any individual thunderstorm or shower is expected to be of much more vicious nature. A local official said he had never seen such intense flooding in the area [Petra News Agency via EPA] Second deadly flood in a fortnight Authorities declared a state of emergency in the Red Sea port city of Aqaba further south as downpours started. They said hundreds of families living in makeshift tents in outlying rural and desert areas were the worst hit. Those evacuated included the families of Syrian refugees who work as shepherds and farmers, officials said. A major highway that links capital, Amman, with the south was closed. The government announced the closure of universities and schools, and mosques were opened to shelter civilians in areas hit by the floods. In mid-October, 21 people, mainly children, died after they were swept away in flash floods on a school outing in the Dead Sea region in one of the countrys worst natural disasters in decades. Politicians and members of the public criticised the emergency services at the time, saying crews were unprepared, forcing two Jordan ministers to resign. French and US leaders hold very constructive meeting, official says, after a spat over remarks on EU security. French President Emmanuel Macron has sought to defuse a dispute with his US counterpart, hailing the great solidarity between the two countries after Donald Trump blasted his proposals for a European army. An official in the French presidency said on Saturday the two leaders held a very constructive bilateral meeting in the French capital, which came hours after a scathing tweet by Trump on Macrons suggestion. Trump is currently in Paris to participate in events marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. The Elysee Palace official told the AFP news agency there had been a misunderstanding and that Trump who called Macrons comments very insulting told the French leader: I think we are much closer than it seems. Meanwhile, in yet another sign of a growing European Union-US tension, EU chief Donald Tusk accused Trump of being averse to a strong and united Europe. {articleGUID} For the first time in history, we have an American administration that is, to put it mildly, not enthusiastic about a united and strong Europe, Tusk said in a speech on Saturday in his native, Poland. Tusk had previously voiced fears that Trump was seeking to tear down the post-World War II order, with the US president once calling the EU a foe in trade. In an interview published on Saturday by Polish newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza, Tusk also said he believed Trump wanted a world with the United States on one side and on the other, a disparate collection of other countries. Trump-Macron defence spat The tensions between Macron and Trump were triggered earlier this week when the French president referred to Trumps plans to pull Washington out of a Cold War-era nuclear treaty and said a joint EU force was needed to end Europes reliance on US military might. Also in the interview, Macron spoke about cyberthreats and France having to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States, he told a French radio station, after listing various threats including cyberattacks. Trump, who appeared to have taken Macrons cyberthreat remarks out of context, sent out a tweet just as the Air Force One landed in Paris on Friday night. President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidises greatly! {articleGUID} In their meeting on Saturday, Macron attempted to smooth over the divisions, referring to Trump as my good friend and tapping him on the thigh. Defending his call for a European army, the French leader said: It is unfair to have European security being assured by the US. We want a strong Europe. Its very important to us to have a strong Europe, Trump said. Never again Macron has repeatedly invoked World War I to hammer home his message that rising nationalism is again destabilising the world. Later on Saturday, Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held hands and rested their heads against one another in a poignant ceremony to mark 100 years of the signing of the Armistice peace agreement in the northern French town of Compiegne. The visit was intended to symbolise the close existing ties between two European powerhouses that fought three wars between 1870 and 1945. Europe has been at peace for 73 years. It is at peace because we want it to be, because Germany and France want peace, Macron told several youngsters, with Merkel at his side, referring to the peace since the end of World War II in 1945. And so the message, if we want to live up to the sacrifice of those soldiers who said Never again!, is to never yield to our weakest instincts, nor to efforts to divide us. Trump has ducked out of a peace conference in Paris on Sunday, which Macron and Merkel intend to use as a platform for promoting multilateralism. Activists say Taoufik Bouachrine, an outspoken critic of the Moroccan government, is unjustly being targeted. A Moroccan court has handed prominent journalist Taoufik Bouachrine a 12-year prison sentence on sexual assault and human trafficking charges in a trial that activists say is politically motivated. Bouachrine, a director of the Akhvar al-Yaoum newspaper, was additionally slammed with a 200,000 dirhams ($20,000) fine by the Casablanca Court of Appeals on Friday, his lawyers said. The 49-year-old was arrested in February after a police raid on the Casablanca-based daily. Prosecutors said the arrest was in relation to a number of complaints made by female employees who have accused the outspoken critic of sexual assault and rape. Authorities said police seized 50 sex videos involving Bouachrine in his office, charges that the journalist has consistently denied. Bouachrine said the man seen in the video is not him and that those filmed seemed to engage in the sexual acts consensually. While the verdict can be appealed, the case has seen several twists since the trials opening. Four of the woman cited as victims by the prosecution have denied expressing concern. One of them was sentenced to six months in prison for accusing the police of falsifying her statement, a sentence confirmed after her appeal this week. Eight of the 15 parties initially cited, however, were recognised as victims by the prosecution and compensated, according to their lawyers. On Friday, a number of journalists and rights activists held a protest outside parliament in Casablanca where they called for Bouachrines release and accused the government of violating his right to free speech. Some protesters raised placards, reading: Detentions for the eyes of Bin Salman referring to Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The protesters claimed that Bouachrine was jailed due articles he had written that were critical Saudi Arabia. Mohamed Ziane, one of Bouachrines lawyers, said official sources told him that the Saudi Arabian embassy in Rabat had complained to the head of government about two of his editorials. Myanmar refugees return to relative peace, but few resources Dwindling support and the prospect for peace are encouraging ethnic Karen refugees in Thailand to return to Myanmar, but are finding the jobs and resources to rebuild their lives are scarce. Security officials update number of victims of Fridays car bomb and gun attack to 39 killed and 40 wounded. The death toll from Fridays car bomb and gun attacks in Somalias capital, Mogadishu, has risen to 39, with at least 40 people wounded, police have said. Two car bombs exploded near the Sahafi Hotel and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) on Friday afternoon, before a third bomb, placed in a three-wheeled tuk-tuk, exploded on a busy street near the hotel. According to the police, a group of gunmen then tried to access the hotel but were killed by armed guards. We have confirmed 39 civilians died and 40 others were injured in yesterdays blasts, Mohamed Hussein, a police officer in the city told the Reuters news agency. The death toll may rise because some people are still missing. Some of the victims were burned beyond recognition when one of the car bombs exploded next to a minibus, police said. {articleGUID} Ive pulled many dead bodies from the cars, said Mohamed Aden, a witness of the attack. The number of casualties is unknown as bodies are still being pulled from the burning cars, he told Al Jazeera. Hussein Nur, a shopkeeper who suffered light shrapnel injuries on his right hand, said: The street was crowded with people and cars, bodies were everywhere. Gunfire killed several people, too. Al-Shabab claims responsibility Al-Shabab, which is fighting to overthrow Somalias government, claimed responsibility for the attack. The armed group was forced out of the capital and other major urban areas by Somali and African Union multinational forces in 2011, but continues to carry out deadly bombings and attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere. Targets have included hotels, military checkpoints and the presidential palace. Last year, at least 358 people were killed in the deadliest attack in the countrys history, when a car bomb exploded at a busy road junction, flattening nearby homes and businesses. {articleGUID} Under US President Trump, air attacks in the Horn of Africa country have increased, with the Pentagon carrying out more than 25 raids, including drone attacks, since January. Last month, the Pentagon said it killed more than 60 al-Shabab fighters in an air attack near the city of Harardhere. There are currently around 500 US troops in the Horn of Africa country. UNP says it will mount legal challenge against the dissolution of parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena. The party of Sri Lankas dismissed prime minister has said it will file a legal challenge to President Maithripala Sirisenas decision to dissolve parliament, which escalated the countrys political uncertainty and drew international criticism. We will go to the courts, United National Partys (UNP) Mangala Samaraweera, who was finance minister in the government of sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, said in the capital, Colombo, on Saturday. We will fight in the courts, we will fight in parliament and we will fight at the polls. {articleGUID} On Friday, Sirisena announced the dissolution of the already suspended parliament and called fresh elections on January 5, two weeks after Wickremesinghe was sacked in a shock move and replaced with Mahinda Rajapaksa, a controversial former president, The announcement of the snap election, almost two years ahead of schedule, came after Rajapaksa seemingly failed to muster enough support in parliament before an expected vote seeking to remove him on November 14, the date the House was supposed to reconvene. While the new government is defending the president, his critics say he has undermined parliament, Al Jazeeras Minelle Fernandez said, reporting in front of a Colombo crowd protesting against the presidents moves. I would say this is a total betrayal, a protester told Al Jazeera. The whole country has been betrayed. Charu Hogg, fellow at the Asia Programme at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera that Sirisenas actions were illegal. All three steps are unconstitutional the dismissal of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa, and finally the proroguing and dissolution of parliament, she said. On Friday, Sirisena announced the dissolution of parliament and called fresh elections on January 5 [File: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters] Deepening political crisis Rajapaksa, 72, was prime minister for two weeks without ever stepping into parliament. He will continue in a caretaker until a new parliament meets on January 17. A leader of Rajapaksas party, Susil Premajayantha, said Sirisena sacked the legislature to end the power struggle and allow people to elect a new legislature. Now, we have a caretaker government with limited functions, Premajayantha said. We will conduct a free and fair election. In the parliament meeting earlier scheduled for Wednesday, the UNP was planning to show it had the support of more than 113 members in the 225-seat parliament. {articleGUID} Sirisenas United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) conceded on Friday it only had the backing of 105 legislators. Several politicians, meanwhile, had alleged they were offered millions of dollars to switch allegiance. On Thursday, Wickremesinghe had thanked his supporters in a Facebook video for not letting Sri Lanka be plunged into the darkness of dictatorship. It was not immediately clear if he would vacate the official Temple Trees residence following the dissolution of parliament. The deposed leader has remained holed up there since his abrupt dismissal on October 26. International reaction The worsening political crisis in the Indian Ocean island nation has alarmed the international community. India and the West have raised concerns over Rajapaksas close ties with China. Beijing loaned Sri Lanka billions of dollars for infrastructure projects when Rajapaksa was president between 2005-2015, putting the country deep into debt. China would like to see a stable Sri Lanka, Xiudong Jia, researcher at the China Institute of International Studies, told Al Jazeera. {articleGUID} The US Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs said in a tweet that Washington was deeply concerned by news that the parliament had been dissolved, further deepening the political crisis. Mark Field, the British minister of state for Asia and the Pacific, tweeted: As a friend of Sri Lanka, the UK calls on all parties to uphold the constitution and respect democratic institutions and processes. Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne expressed both concern and disappointment in a statement, saying the move undermines Sri Lankas long democratic tradition and poses a risk to its stability and prosperity. Protesters express opposition to Italys government, call for the withdrawal of bill making it easier to expel migrants. Rome, Italy At least 20,000 people have marched in Rome to express their opposition to Italys populist government which, they argued, has been fuelling a growing climate of hatred since coming to power five months ago. The demonstration on Saturday was organised by left-wing, anti-racism and anti-fascist groups, largely orphans of any mainstream political representation. Roma families recently evicted from camps rallied alongside students, migrants and refugees, as well as human rights and social centre activists from across the country. The march set off to chants of We are all illegals!, with a slight delay as some buses were held up outside the capital for long police checks. Among the demonstrators was Domenico Lucano, the mayor of Riace, who was recently put under house arrest and later banished from the southern town on charges of facilitating undocumented migration. Organisers said the demonstration is the result of an attempt by civil society groups to create a united opposition front at a time when racist incidents are reported with increasing frequency alongside episodes of institutional discrimination such as the denial of school meals to children born of foreign parents. Im here against the climate of intolerance and complete social and cultural poverty that this country is going through, but also this city, said Massimo Guidotti, who runs an intercultural nursery school in Rome currently at risk of closure. We continue working based on equality as a universal right, but we risk becoming [increasingly isolated] if people dont wake up, Guidotti added. Salvini decree opposed {articleGUID} Three months after an inconclusive election on March 4, an agreement between the traditionally anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the far-right League party resulted in the formation of Italys new government. Since then, polls have shown the first losing in popularity, while the latter has nearly doubled its consensus to become the countrys top party. Much of the League partys popularity can be attributed to its leader and Interior Minister Matteo Salvinis anti-migrant stance, which included preventing NGO-run refugee rescue boats from docking at Italian ports. While the number of arrivals had already dropped as a consequence of the previous governments deal with Libya, such actions had an effect on public opinion. They also led to a higher mortality rate and instances of missing people in the central Mediterranean, according to the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI). The march was organised under the slogan #indivisibili (indivisible) [Ylenia Gostoli/Al Jazeera] This week, the Italian Senate gave the go-ahead to a security and migration decree drafted by Salvini, who is also one of the countrys two deputy prime ministers. The move brought the bill a step closer to being turned into law within 60 days of its entry into force on October 5. It will now be examined by the second branch of the Italian parliament, the chamber of deputies. Salvini said the new rules will cut the financial costs of migration, while Italy will continue to grant refuge to those who have the right to asylum. Among the most contested measures is the abolition of humanitarian protection, which Italy used to grant applicants who did not qualify for asylum or subsidiary protection. This type of permit will be replaced by special permissions to remain in Italy based on stricter categories and issued for a shorter time. We want the security of a roof over our heads, said a speaker from a truck at the head of the march, referring to the bill dubbed the Salvini decree, as protesters called for its withdrawal. Climate of hatred terrifies me Boubakar Bahaba, 25, came to the march with a group from Caserta, a city near Naples that was the theatre of at least one of a series of copycat air gun shootings against migrants over the summer, often dismissed as pranks by the authorities and large parts of the public. {articleGUID} Bahaba, originally from Senegal, has a humanitarian protection permit, which allows him to catch up with his higher education while working as a cultural mediator. He learned Italian through one of the programmes run as part of the migrant reception system. Under the new rules, none of this would have been available to him. We need to go forward, not backwards, Bahaba said. How can I renew this permit? This worries me, he says. Worries also remain that the new measure will lead to more people finding themselves undocumented and without rights on Italian streets, creating new forms of irregularity. According to ISPI, the number could rise to 60,000 more in the next two years than under the current system. The think tank says that during the governments first five months in office, more people have seen their application rejected, while fewer have been repatriated compared to the previous governments average. Those who decide to cross the sea, or even walk for kilometres to get to the United States border looking for a better life I can only support that personally, said 22-year-old student Saba Abbate, who was born in Italy to an Ethiopian father. The growing climate of hatred terrifies me; on the bus or at the market, we live it every day. US president says on Twitter that there is no reason for the forest fires except that forest management is so poor. United States President Donald Trump has said gross mismanagement of forests is to blame for two unchecked wildfires burning in California, where nine people were killed and hundreds of thousands forced to flee. There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor, he wrote in a Twitter post early on Saturday. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments! he added. The monster wildfires still burned out of control on Saturday in northern and southern California, after killing at least nine people, who were found dead in vehicles torched by the flames. There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018 This event was the worst-case scenario. It was the event we have feared for a long time, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said at a Friday evening news conference. Regrettably, not everybody made it out. The remains of five of the victims in Northern California were discovered in or near burned out cars, three outside residences and one inside a home, Honea also said. Another 35 people had been reported missing and three firefighters had been injured. Fires continue On Saturday, in Los Angeles County, the 14,164 hectares Woolsey Fire was threatening 75,000 homes and more than 200,000 people were under mandatory evacuation early on Saturday. Some of the evacuation orders were for residents within the City of Los Angeles in the West Hills area. It was unclear how many homes have been evacuated within the City of Los Angeles. {articleGUID} About 800km to the north, nine people were found dead in and around the Northern California town of Paradise, where more than 6,700 homes and businesses were burned down by the Camp Fire. These numbers make it one of the most destructive blazes in state history, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire protection data. The flames descended on Paradise so quickly that many people were forced to abandon their cars and run for their lives down the sole road through the mountain town. The Camp Fire, which broke out on Thursday at the edge of the Plumas National Forest northeast of Sacramento, has since blackened more than 90,000 acres (36,421.71 hectares) and was only five percent contained as of nightfall on Friday. Venezuelan migrants dangerous trek through Colombia More than three million Venezuelans have fled poverty, hunger, and crime in their country in recent years, in one of the biggest migrations in the world today. Saudi-backed Yemeni forces claim to have captured the citys May 22 hospital which was taken over by Houthi fighters. Yemeni forces, backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have seized control of a hospital in the western city of Hodeidah which was taken over by Houthi fighters earlier this week. The AFP news agency reported on Saturday that Yemeni soldiers captured the May 22 hospital in the citys eastern suburbs, which had been turned into a sniper position by Houthi fighters in violation of international law. A source in the city told Al Jazeera that Yemeni forces, numbering in the thousands, had also seized the Faculty of Engineering building of Hodeidah University, which sits just 4km from the citys vital port. The source said the citys streets, which would normally be heaving with people and traffic on Saturday, were empty with the sound of shelling a near constant in the background. {articleGUID} Hodeidah, a large city on Yemens Red Sea coast, is the latest battleground between the Houthis and a Saudi-UAE military alliance who have been fighting for control over the country for the past three and a half years. Since November 3, there have been more than 200 air strikes reported in the city, with at least 150 confirmed deaths. The Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah news outlet said more than 30 air raids were carried out in the neighbourhood of the hospital on Friday, killing at least two civilians, including a girl, and leaving at least 15 other civilians wounded. The report could not be independently verified. At risk of obliteration Aid agencies have long warned that fighting in Hodeidah risks escalating the war-ravaged countrys dire humanitarian crisis. More than 70 percent of the countrys food, aid, fuel and commercial goods used to enter into Yemen through the citys port. In a statement on Friday, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), a charity which operates in several parts of the country, condemned the latest offensive and warned Hodeidah was at risk of being obliterated. Temporary roadblocks had been erected across the city, it said, preventing people from entering or leaving in effect trapping them in an active conflict zone. We warned the international community that an offensive on the city was coming, and it has. We warned that the violence would see another half a million people flee their homes, and it did. We are now warning that by allowing this to go on, parties to the conflict and their international backers will be responsible for the death, injury and suffering of millions of people, the NRC said. A new round of peace talks to end the war, which has killed more than 56,000 people according to a recent estimate, was scheduled to take place in Sweden in November but had been pushed back to late December. On October 30, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and James Mattis, the Pentagon chief, had called for a ceasefire within 30 days and demanded that the warring parties meet the UNs Special Envoy Martin Griffiths in Sweden. However, on Thursday, the UN said its special envoy would instead convene talks by the end of the year. Saudis have no interest in diplomacy Writing in the Washington Post, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the head of the Houthis Supreme Revolutionary Committee called US calls for a ceasefire nothing but empty talk. Saudi leaders are reckless and have no interest in diplomacy, he said. The United States has the clout to bring an end to the conflict but it has decided to protect a corrupt ally. {articleGUID} Trump and his administration clearly prefer to continue this devastating war because of the economic returns it produces they drool over those arms sales profits, al-Houthi added. The conflict in Yemen, the Arab worlds poorest country, began when the Yemeni government slashed fuel subsidies in the summer of 2014, prompting angry protests and forcing thousands onto the capitals streets. The Houthis exploited the unrest and marched south from their stronghold of Saada province to Sanaa, and toppled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadis government. Concerned by the rise of Houthis, a US-backed Saudi-UAE military coalition intervened in 2015 with a massive air campaign aimed at reinstalling Hadis government. Since then, data collected by Al Jazeera and the Yemen Data Project has found that more than 18,000 air raids have been carried out in Yemen, with almost one-third of all bombing missions striking non-military sites. Weddings, funerals, schools and hospitals, as well as water and electricity plants, have been targeted, killing and wounding thousands. The leftists continue to demonstrate a severe Trump Derangement Syndrome. How else do you explain a manic obsession in finding connections between everything terrible that happens in the world and President Trump, or seeing a malicious intent in his every single action and word? Planet is heating up Trumps to blame (no, it doesnt matter for the leftists that we are reducing carbon emissions.) Trump nominates a new Supreme Court Judge lets oppose him with whatever means necessary. Trump smiled at Putin at some formal gathering -- Putins puppet, obviously (no, it doesnt matter that the Trump Administration is constantly introducing anti-Russian sanctions.) Now, in the end of October, the Nigerian Army killed 45 and wounded nearly 100 protesters from the radical Shia group called Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) when they started throwing rocks at the soldiers. The leftist reaction? You guessed it it was Trumps fault. Nigerian Army Uses Trumps Words to Justify Fatal Shooting of Rock-Throwing Protesters, runs the New York Times. Nigerian Army defends killing protesters by quoting Trump. Trumps caravan rhetoric affecting the whole world, asserts CBS. Thats right, the whole world. So, what actually happened? The Nigerian armys official Twitter account posted a video, Please Watch and Make Your Deductions, showing Trumps speech in which he said rocks would be considered firearms if thrown toward the American military at the nations borders as the 7,000-migrant caravan was approaching southern border of America. Were not going to put up with that, President Trump said. They want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back. Nigerian army deleted the post hours later without explanation after it had caused an uproar on social media. But it was more than enough for the leftist media to connect the dots between the Trumps words that suggested a decisiveness to protect American border and the lives of those who defend it with the long-lasting conflict between Sunni and secular Nigerian government. The conflict has a long and bloody history, indeed. Nigeria is a predominantly Muslim country, and the overwhelming majority of Nigerian Muslims are Sunni. By most accounts, Shia Islam had little presence in Nigeria until the Islamic Revolution in 1979. "The Iranian revolution of 1979, which led to the emergence of an Islamic government, inspired many northern Nigerian Muslims," Michael Olufemi Sodipo, the founder of Nigeria's Peace Initiative Network, writes. "The puritanical tendency among [Muslims and Christians] in northern Nigeria gave rise to increasingly zealous political actors." This movement was led by Ibrahim Zakzaky, who had been trained in Shia theology in Iran. In the early '80s, Zakzaky founded the Islamic Movement, which spread among Shias in northern Nigeria. "Its stated mission is to establish an Iran type of Islamic state in Nigeria, which has kept it in intermittent skirmishes with government security forces," Ibrahim Haruna Hassan, a professor at Nigeria's University of Jos, explains. Adel Assadinia, a former Iranian diplomat, claimed that the IMN was set up by and modeled on the Lebanese Hezballah and that Iran provides the IMN with training in guerrilla warfare: bomb-making, use of arms such as handguns, rifles and RPGs, and the manufacturing of bombs and hand grenades. These claims raised some questions concerning the radicalization of the sect, that eventually formed a state within a state in the north of the country. Therefore, the IMN has been viewed by the Nigerian government as a threat for the territorial integrity for quite some time. As Nigeria expert Oreuluwa Runsewe notes, Shiite traditions have also led to widespread animosity from the Sunni. There were minor feuds between Shiites and Sunnis in Sokoto state, however, things escalated quickly when an anti-Shiite Imam in Northern Nigeria, Umaru Danmaishiyya, was murdered by unknown men in 2007. His death marked the beginning of Shiite vs. Sunni violence in Nigeria. Currently, the IMN leaders underline that their group is peaceful and unarmed. They continue to say that we are armed. This is a blatant lie. If we are armed, Nigeria Army cannot face us. If we have weapons with us, Nigeria Army is too small to face us. With our courage, braveness and bare hands, they are running away, talk more of when we have arms. They are cowards, said Abdullahi Zango, IMN Leader, on November 5, 2018. Notably, the IMN is famous for using rocks, slingshots, catapults, and petroleum bombs during their numerous protests, which they do not consider to be weapons. Now, the Nigerian government are no angels themselves. Just like the majority of African countries, Nigeria is deeply corrupt. Political corruption, in particular, is a persistent phenomenon in Nigeria. The rise of public administration and the discovery of oil and natural gas are two major events believed to have led to the sustained increase in the prevalence of corrupt practices in the country. Even though the efforts have been made by government to minimize corruption through the enactment of laws and the enforcement of integrity systems, it had little success. Greed, ostentatious lifestyle, customs, and people's attitudes are believed to have led to corruption. Another root cause is tribalism. Friends and kinsmen seeking favor from officials can impose strains on the ethical disposition of the official as these kinsmen see government officials as holding avenues for their personal survival and gain. Naturally, any competition is considered a threat. Also, the situation in the country is worsened by the activity of Boko Haram, a terrorist Sunni organization that supports ISIS. An insurgency led by Boko Haram has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions more in recent years. As we can see, Nigeria is in a tough situation, and the tensions between Sunni, Shia and corrupt government is extremely high, and have been warming up for decades and have been affected by numerous factors of the religious, political, economic and cultural nature. So, no, it wasnt Trump who caused the killing. These people have been killing each other for decades. This guy Donald Trump has amazing physical staying power. Right after his end-sprint in the Midterms, which ended pretty well, and only pausing for a White House presser to deliver a kick to Jim Acosta, Donald Trump is in Europe, where the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day is being memorialized on Sunday. In case you forgot, Armistice Day is the day the guns stopped firing in the trenches in World War I, after the United States sent in our first huge expeditionary force to tilt the balance against the Central Powers, including the German Empire, as Bismarck had rebranded Prussia in1848, and the other German Empire of the time, called the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During that bloody trench war the German General Staff also sent Vladimir Lenin in a closed train across to Moscow, to stir up revolution against the Romanoff Czars. Lenin and his Bolsheviks killed the Romanoffs, all of them -- men, women and children, and after a civil war that the Bolsheviks won. The rest, as they say, is history. Lenin pulled Russia out of World War I, which was the German aim in smuggling Lenin over there. So we have another German Empire to thank for the Soviet Union, though we should not blame living people for the sins of the past. But history has a crazy way of repeating, and today we have the makings of a new European Kaisertum, called the European Union. Its the Frankish Empire all over again, only run by unelected bureaucrats of the European Commission, "the executive of the European Union." Flags outside the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels Photo credit: Sebastien Bertrand There are only three things to remember about the EU. The EU has no electoral legitimacy. (Repeat three times, wash, rinse and dry). Those are the only three facts you need to know, and in Britain, a British independence movement has been gathering steam against the power-hungry Euro-Swamp. After 25 years of campaigning, a fellow named Nigel Farage led the charge to have an actual voters referendum, and two years ago the Leave referendum barely squeaked by with 52 percent of the vote. But 52 percent is a majority in a democracy. And now, another creature from the Swamp named Theresa May is shafting the British independence movement by making it clear that Brexit will happen only over her dead body. Because the British Swamp is also the Euro-Swamp, which is also the US Swamp, which is also the UN Swamp. Guess why British and Aussie spooks were part of the coup detat against Donald Trump, before, during and after the election of 2016? Yes, thats right. Christopher Steele, superspook for the Brits, is just a carbon copy of John Brennan, the former Communist voter who somehow became head of the Obama CIA. When Donald Trump goes to Verdun to memorialize the Armistice of 1918, he might want to have a quiet word about all that with Mrs. May. British spooks dont stir up an American coup detat without checking with the boss, Mrs. May. As of Friday night, "Mr Trump is reportedly not scheduling any meetings with the other world leaders in attendance, including Mr Putin. But, he did not rule out the two would interact at a scheduled Elysee Palace dinner." Nothing scheduled, but who knows what might come up? Maybe The Don can just have a word with the British Prime Minister? These Swampsters all have lifetime jobs, so they know each other. Donald Trump has long known about the International Swamp, because you cant be in the international hotel business without knowing about the Swamp. Trump has big hotels overseas. Trump is a disruptive figure in Swamp politics, and now, right after the midterms, hes flying to Paris to practice jujitsu on the EU's version of the Swamp.. Now Nigel Farage has a talk show (American style, and very successful) on a YouTube channel called LBC, a takeoff on the BBC, also known as the Bolshie Beeb. LBC seems to be disrupting the propaganda monopoly that the Beeb has exercised for a century. In the last 50 years the EuroSwamp has been sucking in one British Prime Minister after another, so that UK sovereignty is almost gone. The Union Jack is still fluttering, but its steadily sinking below the waves. So the Leave Referendum two years ago was a turning point, and it naturally freaked out Herr Dr. Jean-Claude Juncker, the aptly named President of the European Union, which has no electoral legitimacy whatsoever --- zero, zilch, nada. The socialist Ruling Class over there has locked itself into power, exactly like the Swamp of DC, the American left and the Rinos. Dont worry about trying to understand their complicated fan dance. Its just the global Swamp again, Euro branch. All Swamps are alike, and they all seem to be very good friends. (But the EU has no electoral legitimacy at all, remember? None. Its a Swamp front.) Now consider M. Macron, President de France, and how he is welcoming the President of the United States, Donald Trump, for Armistice Day on Sunday. Keep in mind that Macron is in trouble in France. The mighty EU is also in trouble in Britain, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Greece. The Greeks and Poles have just threatened to sue Germany for a trillion dollars in war reparations from 70 years ago, when the Nazis did what they did. Now the Greeks and the Poles are trying to level the playing field. More trouble for the EU. EU President Herr Dr. Jean-Claue Juncker just gave his State of the European Union Address, and he was not a happy man. They can see the signs of voter revolt all over Europe, and theyre beginning to run out of ammo. So M. Macron, who is technically elected by the voters of France, but who is actually a regular Swamp creature, has done what European rulers always do when their power is questioned. hey double down and up the ante. In response to the Brexit campaign M. Macron is celebrating the forthcoming anniversary of Armistice Day with a big slap in the face to the United States, by announcing the sudden need for an EU Army, which now shows all the signs of becoming yet another European Imperial military-bureaucratic tyranny. No need for NATO, thank you very much, ve vill do zis ourszelves. President Trump tweeted back his displeasure: President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018 Europe wont pay for its own defenses, which they leave to Uncle Sucker. But now, faced with a voter revolt, because the Euro-Fraud is suddenly obvious over there, the ruling elite has decided to go for broke. They want their own Imperial Flag, their own currency (really the Deutschmark), their own vainglorious Anthem, and their own Empire. This is not the new, peace-loving non-empire theyve been promising to make for fifty years. Its just the old, old Kaiser again. (It doesnt matter which Kaiser you pick, theyre all the same). In case we didnt get the message clearly enough, Macron announced that yes, the new European Empire would defend itself with French nuclear weapons, against Russia, against China, and yes, against the United States! (Which has defended Europe against three consecutive world-conquering plagues, the Austro-Hungarian Kaiser, then Hitler, and then Stalin and the Soviet Empire.) Gee, thanks, guys. Nigel Farage has a talk show on LBC thats fun to listen to, and it sounds like the Brits are finally getting the Farage message. Hes been predicting this explosion for 25 years. Farage is the Donald Trump of the UK, along with a very modest-sounding old-fashioned-looking gent named Jacob Rees-Mogg, the very image of a modern British gentleman. Both of them are enormous fun to watch, and if you wanted to take a long bath after the last couple of years of dirty US politics, I recommend watching them. They havent won the battle yet, but they are very steady and determined, and their side is gathering political steam by convincing the people that something is very wrong with drowning in the Euro-Swamp. So what should The Donald do when he lands in Paris on Sunday, to honor the dead on Armistice Day, a hundred years later? Chances are hes thinking about that even now. If the President reads this column, I would recommend respectfully that on arriving in Paris, Mr. Trump should simply greet his hosts by saying VIVE LA FRANCE LIBRE! Thats all he needs to say. Theyll get it. In a move widely seen as an effort to delay sanctions against Saudi Arabia for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Trump administration reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia to end refueling operations in Yemen. A coalition of Gulf states have been battling Houthi rebels in Yemen for 4 years, leading to 10,000 civilian deaths and the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Congress was to address the issue of sanctions against The Kingdom next week. Reuters: The move, announced by the coalition on Saturday and confirmed by Washington, comes at a time when Riyadh, already under scrutiny for civilian deaths in Yemen air strikes, is facing global furor and potential sanctions over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its Istanbul consulate on Oct. 2. The United States and Britain late last month called for a ceasefire in Yemen to support U.N.-led efforts to end the nearly four-year long war that has killed more than 10,000 people and triggered the worlds most urgent humanitarian crisis. Recently, the Kingdom and the Coalition increased its capability to independently conduct inflight refueling in Yemen. As a result, in consultation with the United States, the Coalition has requested the cessation of inflight refueling support for its operations in Yemen, it said in a statement. Saudi Arabia has a fleet of 23 planes for refueling operations, including six Airbus 330 MRTT used for Yemen, while the United Arab Emirates has six of the Airbus planes, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya al-Hadath channel reported on Saturday. Riyadh also has nine KC-130 Hercules aircraft that can be used, it added. There will be little practical effect on the war since the mid-air refueling operation only services a few planes. More importantly, it's a move that might allow the president to forestall other sanctions from Congress, including a cancellation or reduction in the $120 billion arms deal reached between the Trump administration and Saudis earlier this year. Trump wants to avoid a break with the Saudis not only to save the arms deal, but because The Kingdom is on the front lines fighting against Iranian hegemony. The Saudis are fighting the Iranian backed Houthis in Yemen while also working with Israel to blunt Iranian ambitions in Syria. Next to Israel, the Saudi Arabian army is considered the best in the region. Hot heads in Congress want to pull the plug on the arms deal, giving little thought to the domestic economic impact and damage to our strategic position in the Middle East. The administration is exploring other means to punish the Saudis for Khashoggi's murder that won't do permanent damage to our relations. The end of these refueling operations might give Trump the room he needs to come up with alternatives before Congress can act. Back in the spring of 2016, the Obama administration appointed several respected civilians to the then new Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. The panel, which was established as part of Obama's $19 billion proposal to sure up American defenses against cyberthreats, was looking for the top industry experts outside of the intelligence community for their cybersecurity recommendations and solutions to problems affecting both the public and private sectors. Among the individuals assigned to that commission were General Keith Alexander, USA (Ret) of cybersecurity firm IronNet, Professor and Chair of the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology Annie I. Anton, President and CEO of Mastercard Ajay Banga and Microsofts Peter Lee. Ultimately, the commissions final report made sixteen major recommendations grouped under six specific areas: Protecting the information and digital infrastructure. Investing in the secure growth of information and digital infrastructure Consumer information access Building the cybersecurity workforce Building a secure governmental cybersecurity framework Keeping interconnectivity open, fair, competitive, and secure Also recommended were the creation of a new civilian component agency, forming a national public-private initiative to improve digital identity management, launching a new cybersecurity awareness and engagement campaigns to help consumers better protect themselves and starting a new workforce program to train up to 100,000 new cybersecurity personnel. Other suggested remedies included focusing on areas such as critical infrastructure, IoT, cybersecurity innovations, public awareness and education, state and local issues and the role and vulnerabilities of small and medium-sized businesses. But what was the ultimate effect of this commission? In the time since it reported its findings, we have seen a phishing campaign led by Russian-affiliated hackers targeting conservative politicians and think tanks. In addition, ahead of the recent midterm elections, we also saw the continuation of disinformation campaigns carried out by foreign agents on social media platforms with the intention of swaying public opinion and of course, the WannaCry attack that resonated globally. To its credit, the Republican-led Congress has moved aggressively on the issue, designating a new agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the governments primary oversight arm. The new entity, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was approved by congress on October 3, 2018. This department will be responsible for elevating and executing the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) under director Chris Krebs, who is the former NPPD undersecretary. Part of CISAs role will be the protection of other federal agencies and Americas most critical infrastructure from cyberthreats. The agency will also assist the private sector in matters related to cybersecurity. And thats where cooperation between Microsoft and the Trump administrations come into play. The hope for increased unity between government and the private sector has increased as Microsoft recently made their intention to work with Congress to establish cybersecurity measures for civilians clearly known. At the 2018 Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal last week, Microsoft President Brad Smith told CNBC "Most technology issues so far have not been partisan issues." "There are important things we need to address, we need to skill the population to be prepared for a new generation of work, we need to bring broadband to every corner of not just the United States, but every country." The involvement of the company responsible for the active operating system on 87.3% of all PCs globally is key for the protection, education and vigilance of online users, both in the private and public sectors. With such a reach, the looming proliferation of some of the most popular and destructive malware, such as TeslaCrypt ransomware and similar threats that specifically target computers running Windows may reach a pinnacle. As a result, properly educating users is paramount and must be a priority for the current administration to tackle now rather than later. Microsoft has also highlighted their support of the idea that privacy should be considered a human right. While praising Europe's new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that creates new, stricter privacy standards for any company conducting business in the EU, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told the Microsoft Future Decoded conference in London, "We need to use our collective prowess and power to protect these most vulnerable of populations, and it requires not just our industry but also nation states to be part of that." A safer online future is dependent on cooperation and data sharing between technology leaders and nation-states. Hopefully, the U.S., along with companies like Microsoft, can set a safer standard in the ever-changing digital landscape. Hello America. My wife Mary and I spent much of the past two years traveling state to state campaigning to keep Republicans in control of the house and senate. Along with our team of associates, Mary and I worked extremely hard and passionately for Conservative/Republican candidates and our country. The day after the election, we were in a Nevada hotel room preparing to fly home. After Mary finished packing our suitcases making sure they weighed less than 50 pounds, the impact of losing the U.S. House hit her. Mary wept. While I am also disappointed, I trust God. In a just world, the Democratic Party should have been crushed November 6. Americans should have been blessed with a red tsunami. America's chickens of decades of surrendering our kids for leftist indoctrination in public schools have come home to roost. Consequently, far too many of our millennial voters have disdain for their country. They embrace socialist and Communist candidates who run as Democrats. Democrats outrageously promote mob violence against Trump supporters and threatened blood in our streets if Democrats did not come out on top in the midterms. Insidiously evil Democrats plan to continue lying to destroy the lives of Brett Kavanaugh and his family. It has been exposed that Democrats are funding the invasion of our country by illegals. An Antifa mob attacked the home of Fox News' Tucker Carlson. They publicly posted on the internet the home addresses of Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Tucker, his brother and his friends. Antifa publicizing addresses is a clarion call to their fellow Democratic Party anarchists to assault all who dare to disagree with their evil Godless agenda. The Democratic Party not being punished at the ballot box for behaving like evil divisive domestic terrorists had me feeling a bit frustrated. Upon our flight landing into Baltimore, we picked up our car and began the three-hour drive home to West Virginia. My thoughts about the election were all over the place. A country song came on the radio, You've Got to Stand for Something by Aaron Tippin. The lyrics truly spoke to me, boosting my spirits. ...you got to stand for something or you'll for fall for anything. You've got to be your own man, not a puppet on a string. Never compromise whats right and uphold your family name. You got to stand for something or you'll for fall for anything. Aaron's song affirmed my God ordained mission to continue standing for whats right -- to keep fighting to send strong character driven politicians to represent us in Washington D.C. Senator Ted Cruz in Texas is one such man for whom I proudly campaigned. Ted stands for something and that something is constitutional conservatism. Praise God Ted defeated Democrats' $70 million extreme radical leftist golden boy Beto O'Rourke. Thank you God, for Republicans keeping the senate. On the other hand, Utah congresswoman Mia Love proved to be a RINO puppet on a string disappointment. Several years ago, Mia spoke at the Republican convention boldly touting Tea Party conservative principles. Along with our Republican base, I was excited about a fellow black constitutional conservative on our side. Suddenly, Mia scrapped her original team to sign-on with the GOP establishment's team in Utah. Mia began distancing herself from the Tea Party. Aaron song says, never compromise whats right... Mia threw the Tea Party under the bus when she thought it would further her political career. Many of the 45 Republicans who retired causing the GOP to lose the house were cut from the same disloyal and anti-Trump mold as Mia Love. By refusing to embrace Trump's America First agenda, these Republicans did not stand for the best interest of our country. They fell for Democrats' and fake news media's lies. We the People and President Trump deserve much better. It would be dishonest not to admit that I am suffering a bit of pushing-back-against-evil-Democratic Party burnout. But folks, the Bible says, And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9 We must never grow weary in protecting and saving America. As we enter into the holiday season, I plan to enjoy loving my wife, family and friends; petting Sammy, our elderly greyhound -- the smell of the cookies Mary is baking. Like George Bailey, I am grateful that God has blessed me with a wonderful life. Meanwhile, I will remain engaged in special elections and recounts, keeping a watchful eye for Democratic Party dirty tricks and mob attacks during the holidays. I will trust in God and keep my powder dry in preparation of stopping Democratic Party attempts to roll back the remarkable unprecedented achievements Trump has made for We the People. Trump has kept his promises, stacking up 289 achievements and counting. I met Aaron Tippin about 10 years ago. We were both featured recording artists at a Gathering of Eagles Troop Support Rally in Washington D.C. Aaron is an unpretentious, really nice patriotic guy. It is interesting that Aaron's song showed up at a perfect time to encourage me. You got to stand for something or you'll for fall for anything. Folks, please take a stand for America. Have a happy and blessed holiday season. Lloyd Marcus, The Unhyphenated American Help Lloyd spread the Truth Are Florida Democratic election officials the dumbest Democrats in the country? They apparently can't even steal an election properly. Governor Rick Scott, the GOP candidate challenging Senator Bill Nelson, has won two separate lawsuits against Democratic officials who violated the Florida constitution and election law. At issue are ballot counting procedures that are clearly spelled out in the law that two Democratic party functionaries blatantly violated. One suit targeted Broward County Election Supervisor Brenda Snipes who, incredibly, was refusing to turn over voting records on the counting and collection of ballots to Scott and the NRSC, despite the law saying she must. The judge ordered her to immediately do so. The other suit by Scott was against Palm Beach Election Supervisor Susan Bucher. According to AP, Bucher was sued for "refusing to allow official party and campaign representatives into the ballot counting area, and having staff members determine a voter's intent without review by the county canvassing board." I guess she didn't want anyone to know what she was up to. In Snipes case, Scott's suit is seeking to determine just how many ballots were cast in Broward County. Snipes has been upping the total since election day, and the governor wants to know where all these extra ballots are coming from. ABC10: Lawyers for Snipes argued that requiring such a swift response would interfere with ongoing efforts to finish counting Broward County ballots. But lawyers for Scott contended the information is already required to be collected under state law and should take minutes to provide. Scott filed a lawsuit Thursday night against, asking the court to order Snipes to turn over several records detailing the counting and collection of ballots. But Snipes attorney said in court Friday that it would be inappropriate for the court to intervene at this time, simply because Scott wants the counting process to be sped up. The attorney said Snipes is not refusing to turn over the records, but needs more time to do so. Scott's thin lead over Nelson has narrowed during the vote-counting in the days since he declared victory Tuesday night. Without citing any evidence of wrongdoing, Scott also asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate elections offices in the Democratic strongholds of Palm Beach and Broward counties, questioning whether they have been taking too long in some sort of effort to inflate the Democratic vote. "Any evidence of wrongdoing...? If the police find a body in an alley with no visible marks on it, they automatically assume it's a homicide. There's something really stinky about what's happening in those two counties with ballots and the FDLE should be looking into it. Meanwhile, another judge in Palm Beach County ordered Bucher to turn over under-counted and over-counted ballots. As ballots in the gubernatorial and Senate races head to a recount, Scott sued Bucher Thursday night for refusing to allow official party and campaign representatives into the ballot counting area, and having staff members determine a voter's intent without review by the county canvassing board. On Friday, West Palm Beach Circuit Court Judge Krista Marx granted an injunction ordering Bucher to submit "over-voted" and "under-voted" absentee ballots to the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board for public review of each vote before they are counted. In a machine recount, all completed ballots are re-fed through ballot-counting machines to try to confirm the original, unofficial counts. The machines must first be re-tested and re-calibrated to read and separate ballots with apparent over-votes, that is, the ballots in which the machines read that the voter may have selected more than one candidate, and undervotes, in which the machine does not register a vote on the ballot. The testing of the machines has to be done in public. The lawsuit against Bucher accused her office of withholding some of the over-voted and under-voted absentee ballots from the county canvassing board, even though Florida law dictates that only a canvassing board is allowed to determine "all valid votes" from over-votes or under-votes. Law? Law?? We don't need no stinkin' law! Bucher and her minions are far too busy trying to steal the election to obey the law. Not allowing representatives of the opposing political party to oversee the counting of ballots is ridiculous. Even more unbelievable is allowing Democratic staffers to determine the validity of a ballot without review by the county canvassing board. Are Bucher and Snipes really that stupid? Or really that devious? Scott currently leads Nelson by 15,000 votes which is less than 1% of the total. If it remains this close, there will be a machine recount and if, at that point, it's still less than a .5% difference between the two candidates, a manual recount will be ordered. So, plenty of time and opportunity for Democrats to keep counting until they get the desired result. There was a lot of huffing and puffing leading up to this midterm. In the end, it appears that the nation didnt experience a Red Wave or a Blue Wave. Breakwaters held on both sides. In every campaign, theres a primary goal and a passel of secondary objectives. Each party succeeded in winning their Number 1 priority. For Republicans, retaining the Senate. For Democrats, winning the House. Both parties succeeded. But Republicans set their sights on a more vital goal. Control of the House allows Democrats to make trouble. Lots of trouble to be sure, but Democrats cannot control legislation with only half of Congress and a presidential veto hanging over their heads. On the other hand, Republicans retain the authority to approve presidential appointments, which allows them to continue rejiggering the judiciary and executive further toward a conservative orientation. While Democrats can hamper -- but not hamstring -- the executive, Republicans can mold two branches of government. In the end, Republicans held off the Blue Wave, picked up a few additional Senate seats, held house loses to the historic average, and rid themselves of some troublesome chaff within their own ranks. All in all, a pretty good midterm for Republicans Heres the rub. Republicans focus on winning elections. Democrats focus on skewing the process in their favor. When they gain control of government, they immediately start tilting the table. This last election demonstrated how successfully they have executed this strategy in the Northeast and West Coast. Republicans failed to pinprick either of these Democrat bulwarks. New York appears insurmountable for any Republican and surrounding states are only slightly more competitive. On the other coast, Californian slipped further toward the left wing of the Democrat Party. Oregon and Washington are solidly Democratic. Nevada flipped solidly blue this mid-term. With a mass migration of Californians to Arizona, that once conservative state has turned purple. New Mexico and Colorado? True Blue. Once Democrats get a grip on the reins of government, they hold on for dear life. They have ruinously run cities for decades with zero chance of a Republican turnover. (Only one of the ten largest cities have a Republican mayor.) This is no accident. Its called machine politics for a reason. The Democratic goal is clear. They want uncontested elections. One-party rule. Democrats prefer not to have opponents and get testy when they must campaign for reelection. Without competition, they can elect office holders like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and reelect people like Maxine Waters and Bob Menendez. In California, they have rigged the system so that in the general election, its possible that Democrats run against each other. For example, Dianne Feinstein just won her reelection against Democrat Kevin de Leon. Nifty trick, that. Arguably, Republicans won this election, but Democrats are winning the long game. The nation wasnt buried under a Blue Wave, but a Blue Tide is creeping in from both coasts. Unless Republicans find a way to reverse this tide, its only a matter of time before the United States is ruled by a Chicago-style machine. The first task is to shore up the Red states, especially Texas, Florida, and Arizona. A prerequisite is immigration control. Next, encroach on Democratic territory. That will require piles of money and candidates that appeal to voters in those states. On the surface, the cost may appear high to flip a couple congressional seats, but a toehold can be invaluable. Republicans must challenge in court the most grievous Democrat election prerogatives. Republicans should continue to give Democrats every opportunity to expose their true beliefs and hidden agendas. Lastly, Republicans need better messaging. Democratic assaults can be spotted from miles away, but Republicans often get caught flatfooted. Not only dont they have a counter message at the ready, they forget to repeat it. Too often they go on a Sunday morning program, lay out a set of talking points, and return home thinking job done. Democrats repeat their messages ad nauseum because it works. The 2018 midterms held off a blue onslaught but won no new political ground. Republicans need to extend their time horizon to win the war. Democrats win the hearts of their constituents, Republican win their minds. The big winner will be the party that wins the hearts and minds of Americans. President Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio haven't always been the best of political allies or even friends among Republicans, but for Florida's beleaguered voters, they're coming together to fight for the integrity of their ballots and it couldn't be a bigger relief. Rubio, for his part, was right on it, fast, real fast, using his Twitter to sound the alarm when the first whiff of irregularities from the Broward and Palm Beach county precincts started wafting through the wake of the election result. This wasn't the tweeting of a mere activist making claims, but a Senator putting it on the line and openly calling fraud. That drew attention, it certainly drew mine. Go to Rubio's site to read ALL the tweets because they are a masterpiece of legal reasoning, sharp observation, and careful retorts to lefty strawmen. Here are only a curated few. Look at that early timing and close reading of the Florida political scene, of which Rubio, a former Florida state assembly leader, is a master at recognizing: After reading that, it was obvious that Rubio was mapping out with clarity the problem, and getting word out in precise and specific terms where the legal problems were. That gives Republicans a case - and the mental and legal weapons to fight back. And oh, it's done with such lucidity and detail. President Trump noticed, and with his huge, huge, Twitter voice, openly thanked Rubio for his yeoman's work in defending democracy, a thing of beauty because the two men have never gotten along all that well up until now: Thank you @marcorubio for helping to expose the potential corruption going on with respect to Election Theft in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. The WORLD is now watching closely! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018 Trump did a pretty good tweetstorm of his own giving the circumstantial case for why this whole thing was starting to stink, citing his own experience with Florida politics. It rang true with these tweets, mocking Democrats as hypocrites, pointing out the pathetic appearance of the incompetence (which is what Broward County's vote counters are pleading) on the global stage, and most importantly, assured Republicans with a warning to the cheats that he is going to fight. You mean they are just now finding votes in Florida and Georgia but the Election was on Tuesday? Lets blame the Russians and demand an immediate apology from President Putin! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018 As soon as Democrats sent their best Election stealing lawyer, Marc Elias, to Broward County they miraculously started finding Democrat votes. Dont worry, Florida - I am sending much better lawyers to expose the FRAUD! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018 Rick Scott was up by 50,000+ votes on Election Day, now they found many votes and he is only up 15,000 votes. The Broward Effect. How come they never find Republican votes? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018 Mayor Gillum conceded on Election Day and now Broward County has put him back into play. Bill Nelson conceded Election - now hes back in play!? This is an embarrassment to our Country and to Democracy! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018 In the 2016 Election I was winning by so much in Florida that Broward County, which was very late with vote tabulation and probably getting ready to do a number, couldnt do it because not enough people live in Broward for them to falsify a victory! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018 Rubio's brainpower, clarity and swift striking response, combined with Trump's warning that he's coming down on the cheats, is a powerful combination. Both men's strengths are coming into the fore. Trump is putting up his classic fighting persona, the one that got him elected, and that's good, we always like to see him in top form. But Rubio's tweets also can arguably be called his Lindsey Graham moment, the moment when eyes shifted and perceptions altered as they did with Graham at the Kavanaugh hearings, his breakout making him a statesman. Rubio's coming out of this a statesman, too. Let's see much much more of it as the coming tough years roll upon us. Nobody knows how this episode will turn out, whether Democrats will be able to "discover" new boxes of ballots every time a close election is called in the Republicans' favor, or if there really are sufficient checks and balances, via legal challenges, the existing law, or the willingness of the judges to read the law as the law, or what. But it's immensely assuring to know that we have a team of fighters giving it their best shot to correct the bad development. We see two fighters putting their all out there for us. If you are obsessed with Android then you should probably up sticks and move to California right now. If you already live in California then you are best off staying put. As it would seem that besides being the technology magnet state in the US that it is, California also happens to be the number one state when it comes to Android-related keyword searches performed on Google Search. Thats according to the latest data. If California is not the state for you but you would still like to live with like-minded Android enthusiasts, then you could opt for Washington which came in second, New York (third), New Jersey (fourth) or even Utah (fifth). The rest of the top 10 places were padded out by Massachusetts, Oregon, Nevada, Texas and Colorado in order. In contrast, the state which seems the least interested in Android (based on number of related keyword searches) was Illinois. Followed by Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Wyoming, and Louisiana in decreasing interest order. On the basis of these results, you might be forgiven for thinking Illinois is simply more preoccupied with iPhone. While that would seem a natural assumption to make, it would also be exactly why you should avoid making assumptions in the first place as the data suggests that when it comes to Illinois nothing could be further from the truth. Applying the same focus and type of analysis on keyword searches related to iPhone, Illinois once again ranked dead last in the US. Basically, Illinois is not that interested in either Android or iPhone at least not according to how it searches in relation to the other states. In fact, the most iObsessed state honor went to New York who ranked third in terms of Android. Interestingly, when it comes to iPhone searches, California (who ranked first for Android) ranked fourth. So it seems California and New York are somewhat mirror states that almost have switched perfectly depending on whether you are talking Android or iPhone. As for the rest of the iPhone top 5, Georgia came in as the second most interested state, followed by Maryland in third and New Jersey (the only other state to appear in both top 5s) in fifth, after California. You can see the full US breakdown results for both Android and iPhone in the images below. Advertisement Background: The data highlighted here was collected by Kempler Industries and using Google search volume data to better understand the smartphone landscape in the US. Besides the images above, and some minor explanations on the findings, there was no additional information provided on the methodology, who the users were, or when the data was originally collected. In spite of this, the results do make for some interesting reading. For example, Kempler also found some patterns that go well beyond state lines and provide a much broader view of how the US is searching for information on smartphone technology in general. This includes how the western side of the US is more likely to search for Android, while the east side of the country was more inclined to focus their searches in on iPhone. Again, interestingly, Illinois was not alone in its overall indifference with much of the middle of the US proving to be the section of the country thats the least interested in Android, and the least interested in iPhone. In other words, the least interested in searching for smartphones in general. Then there was the observations made about the difference between the two operating systems. For example, while the west searched more often for Android and the east for iPhone, there were a number of states who were more inclined (compared to other states) to search for comparisons between the two options to presumably understand better what makes them different, if anything. Topping what Kempler refers to as the most confused state list was Wyoming. Followed closely by Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota and Virginia. Wyoming, incidentally, in addition to appearing to be the most confused state overall, also happened to rank low on both Android and iPhone keyword search lists coming in 47th place in both instances the lowest ranking in both cases for all of the top 5 confused states. Impact: Although there can be no definitive statements made based on the data, the patterns observed do provide good food for thought for marketing companies and actual smartphone manufacturers, as well as those just generally interested in how different parts of the US think about technology. As there does clearly seem to be at some level a difference in the way in which consumers are searching for smartphone information based on their location. With California, New York, and New Jersey arguably the places that are most interested in smartphone technology seeing as these three states ranked in the top 5 for both Android and iPhone. Advertisement Likewise, it would also be interesting to see further and more detailed research conducted which looks to build upon and address some of the findings reported here. Android, for example, is a fairly loose and all-inclusive term compared to iPhone so it might prove interesting to see how Android breaks down at the individual maker/device level. Seeing as Samsung is typically understood as the very definition of Android to a lot of consumers, further understanding how different Android as a search term is to Samsung might provide greater insight into which states better understand Android beyond Samsung. Then of course, it might also prove interesting to take a closer look to see if middle America really is so disinterested in smartphones overall or whether the results offered here are more down to other factors. Or why Wyoming is apparently so confused on the difference between Android and iPhone? Or for that matter why California is so accident-prone? Considering in spite of it being the number one state for Android searches, it also happens to be the number one state in the US when it comes to searching for iPhone screen repair. Of course, the biggest and most important question that needs to be asked and answered immediately is whats Illinois problem? There are all sorts of smartphone accessories available out there these days as the smartphone industry has gotten truly huge by now. Considering that there are so many sub-categories when it comes to smartphone accessories, there are quite a few products listed down below, ranging from power banks and headphones to Bluetooth speakers and camera lenses. There is something for everyone down there, just in case youre looking to pick up some new smartphone accessories for yourself or someone you know in the coming days; holidays are upon us after all, so its good to be ready. Prices below are subject to change. This post will be updated regularly to ensure the most up-to-date pricing, but during the holidays, there will be flash sales and price drops so keep that in mind. Best Beefy Power Bank for ultimate power users Advertisement RAVPowers 26800mAh portable charger is great if you need a really huge power bank on the go. Its 26,800mAh battery is able to recharge almost any smartphone a bunch of times, 5+ for most smartphones, so its good to have around if youre planning to be without a charging plug for extended periods of time, like if youre traveling or something of the sort. This power bank can charge up three devices at the same time, and were looking at 2.4A charging, maximum. RAVPower's 26,800mAh Power Bank - Amazon - $56.99 Advertisement Best Tiny Power Bank if you need something really small If you need a power bank, but everything youve seen around seems to be too big for you, and youre looking for something that you can fit in your pocket / purse and not even know its there well, the Anker PowerCore+ mini could be a solution for you. This is a 3,350mAh power bank, and its a lipstick-sized battery which is made out of aluminum. This charger comes with Type-A and microUSB ports. Advertisement Anker PowerCore+ - Amazon - $19.99 Most Stylish Power Bank if youre into aluminum-made, slim power banks Advertisement The Xiaomi Mi Power Bank Pro is a great 10,000mAh power bank which is actually quite compact considering its battery size. This power bank is made out of aluminum, and its also quite thin, and thus, highly portable. This power bank comes with both Quick Charge 2.0 and Quick Charge 3.0 support, and it has all the safety certifications for overcharging, and so on, not to mention that youll get both a microUSB and Type-C cables with this charger. Xiaomi Mi Power Bank Pro - Amazon - $24.90 Best Qi-Supported Power Bank if you want to charge your phone wirelessly on the go Advertisement If youd like to charge your device wirelessly while youre on the go, thats also possible, and mophies Powerstation external battery charger is a great option for that. This charger has a 10,000mAh battery built-in, and it supports pretty much every smartphone that comes with Qi charging support. This charger will not slip around the surface you put it on, due to its design, and there are LED lights on it that will signalize battery status to you. mophie Powerstation - Amazon - $75.29 Advertisement Best Wireless Headphones if youre looking for great wireless headphones no matter the cost If youre looking for a great pair of wireless, noise canceling headphones to use while youre on the go, you cant go wrong with the Sony WH1000XM3. These are over-ear headphones, and they have a 30-hour battery life, while they also support fast charging. Smart listening is enabled via Sense Engine, and these headphones come with 40mm liquid crystal polymer drivers. On top of everything ear cushions on these headphones are quite comfortable, and youll also get an audio cable for a wired connection, if thats something you need. Advertisement Sony WH1000XM3 - Amazon - $348 Best Fully Wireless Headphones for those who like running and working out in a high-tech manner Fully wireless headphones have managed to become quite popular in the last couple of years due to their portability and convenience, and the Jabra Elite 65t earphones are amongst the best out there. These earphones come with Alexa support, while a charging case is bundled in as well, not to mention that theyre both dust and water resistant. The company claims that these earphones can provide you with 5 hours of battery life (while in use), and the charging case adds 15 more on top of that. Jabra Elite 65t - Amazon - $169.97 Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker if you need a better speaker on the go Smartphone speakers are not the best, some are better than others, but still, they cannot replace full-fledged speakers. That is where Bang & Olufsens Beoplay A1 portable Bluetooth speaker comes in. This speaker is extremely portable, it has a built-in microphone, and its quite good overall. It offers a 24-hour battery life on normal volume levels, while it has a peak power of 2x140W, not to mention that it is both dust and splash resistant, and that its made out of aluminum. Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1 - Amazon - $242.70 Best Selfie Stick & Tripod Hybrid If youd like to have both a selfie stick & a tripod at hand Having a tripod on hand for more advanced night time photography is always a good idea, and if you can have that, and a selfie stick all in one, why not right? Well, BlitzWolf does have such a product, and its really sturdy, not to mention that youll also get a remote control for the shutter button on your phone, which is a handy thing to have as well, and you can simply tuck away that remote controller when you dont need it, as it fits into the tripod / selfie stick quite nicely. BlitzWolf's Selfie Stick & Tripod Hybrid - Amazon - $21.99 Best Type-C Magnetic Charger if you need versatility when it comes to your charging cable Having charging / syncing cables on hand is quite useful, especially if theyre high quality. Voltas Type-C to USB-A magnetic charging cable actually comes with two tips, and there are two lengths that you can choose from on Amazon. This cable comes with a strong nylon cord, and the company claims that it is x times better than your regular charging cable cord, and that it wont break easily at all. This cable supports USB 2.0 data transfers, and it comes in three colors. Volta Magnetic Cable - Amazon - $26.99 UPDATE (December 17): currently unavailable. Best Value Camera Lenses if you need some variety when it comes to smartphone photography Smartphone camera lenses can open up various opportunities when it comes to smartphone photography, and AMIRs clip-on lenses are actually quite good. In this package, you will get wide-angle, fisheye and macro lens lenses, and you can clip them onto your device, though do keep in mind theyre not compatible with basically any device out there, simply due to their design. Some compatible devices are listed on the link down below, though, while these cameras should fit nicely to other phones that have similar camera setups, in terms of their design, that is. AMIR Camera Lenses - Amazon - $13.99 Best Foldable Keyboard if you need a physical keyboard on the go Typing longer e-mails on your phone, or anything else that takes some time to do, can be quite annoying, and youd make a lot fewer mistakes if you actually had a keyboard at hand. Well, 1byones foldable Bluetooth keyboard may be a solution for you, as its actually quite comfortable to type on, while it is compatible with both Android and iOS devices, not to mention that you can hook it up to your PC or any other computer, really. 1byone Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard - Amazon - $34.99 Best Waterproof Phone Case if you plan on going swimming with your phone If you plan on going swimming with your phone, or you run in the rain often, OCASEs waterproof phone case may be a solution for you. This case will keep your phone dry no matter how much water gets on it, but please note that this case is not made for diving, so if you plan on doing that, this is not the way to do it. This case comes with a neck strap, just in case you need it. OCASE Waterproof Phone Case - Amazon - $7.99 UPDATE (December 17): currently unavailable, may be in stock soon. Best VR Headset if youd like to enjoy VR using your phone If you own a Samsung smartphone and are looking to get try out VR, the Gear VR is the best you can get out there. Unlike every other device on this list, this gadget has a much narrower compatibility list (when it comes to smartphones), but its quite good. So if you have the Galaxy S8, S9 or any other device that is listed as compatible, the Gear VR is a really solid device which actually comes with a controller as well. Samsung Gear VR (2017) - Amazon - $94.91 Best Car Charger if youd like to top of your smartphone while driving How many times have you forgotten to charge your smartphone, and remembered only after youve already fired up your car and started driving to work or wherever else youre going well, if thats an often occurrence for you, having a car charger may be a good idea, and RAVPowers 24W 4.8A car charger with two ports is actually quite good. This charger does not support Quick Charge, but you can charge up two devices at the same time if you want. RAVPower 24W Car Charger - Amazon - $8.99 Samsung is looking to bring consolidate its smartphones under a total of four series brands and reduce the cost of some of those by using LCD display panels, South Koreas ETNews reports. Citing at least one mobile operator and other industry insiders, the source says that the associated changes will be most noteworthy in Samsungs budget-end and mid-range offerings, currently classified with J, C, Galaxy ON, M, and A model designations. Following the rebranding, expected to take place at some point in 2019, only the M and A series handsets will remain. The Galaxy M family of devices is said to include top-level models under the M50 designation that will feature OLED panels more typically used by the company. However, Samsung Galaxy M30 and Galaxy M40 are set to be built around LCD screen technology to keep pricing down. For the traditionally more premium Samsung Galaxy A lineup, Samsung hopes to start pricing at a lower cost that starts below $265.22 using a similar strategy. The Samsung Galaxy A30, A40, A70, and A80 will feature either OLED or LCD panels and will be available in Korea, North America, and Europe market. Galaxy A50 and A60 models will only feature LCD displays will be the only devices in the lineup brought to India and Southeast Asia, in addition to those other regions. Similarly, industry insiders say that Samsung will keep premiering novel new features, such as the quad cameras found on the recently launched Samsung Galaxy A9 series, within the upper reaches of the Galaxy A family of devices. In fact, tech giant reportedly has plans to include those types of features across the entire family of devices in its A category starting next year. Background: This is not at all the first time Samsung has been reported to be considering a complete rebranding of its lineup. Prior to the launch of the above-mentioned Samsung Galaxy A9, CEO DJ Koh indicated that the company was putting significant effort into revitalizing the mid-range to the budget-friendly portion of the companys offerings. Moreover, the executive also hinted at a need to bring more premium features to bolster those device families overall market performance. Simultaneously, the reasoning offered by the new reports, with regard to Samsungs decision to rein in its vast list of current smartphones under simplified branding reportedly stems from difficulties the company in those smartphones respective sectors. More succinctly, thats linked to the fact that it is having trouble in keeping its sales for budget handsets moving along an upward trend compared to the companys rapidly rising competition. That hasnt been verified by the OEM in so many words but does align well with the direction of the market itself, according to analyst reports. Advertisement Another likely culprit, meanwhile, is the introduction of the manufacturers new, tentatively titled, Samsung Galaxy F series. No handsets have been released under that series, as of this writing, but it will be comprised of devices that are arguably more premium than the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series, according to the source. Moreover, it will be in a completely different category regardless since thats the family of smartphones that Samsungs new folding tablet/phone hybrid devices will be placed under. With the previous naming conventions and smartphones in place, that would have brought the number of device families to seven or eight, depending on whether the Note phablets are placed in their own category. Under this newly reported convention, that number will be reduced to just four or five, with fewer handsets in each category. Impact: As already alluded to, the biggest advantage to this new strategy would be that it puts an end to the ever-increasing number of Samsung smartphone models currently available. Beyond that, however, it also provides a clearer set of dividing lines between the device families. The new designations and their subsequent numbered order will clearly show an order of hierarchy for budget-focused smartphones in the Galaxy M family while Galaxy A mobile devices will follow a similar pattern but above the quality of the former series. Galaxy S and Note smartphones will likely continue to represent two branches of the same flagship family meant for different audiences, on the other hand. Lastly, the Galaxy F series would represent the most novel concept the company has yet to put forward and a device thats at the top of its game as both a tablet and a smartphone. Whether any of that bears out remains to be seen but it would be a much more straightforward approach than the one Samsung currently takes. Less than two years ago, T-Mobile introduced a new feature that would block scam calls from its customers. This was one of the many pain points that the company wanted to solve with its Un-Carrier movements, and it was a big one. T-Mobile was able to decipher numbers that would be scam calls, and instead of just keeping it from getting to your phone, T-Mobile would show it as Scam Likely, so you know you dont need to answer it. Now, nearly 18 months after it launched, T-Mobile has announced that it has successfully blocked over a billion scam calls, and it identified over six billion calls as scam calls. But that isnt the reason why T-Mobile issued a press release. The company is taking this to the next level, and is going to be unveiling improvements to Scam ID, Scam Block and also introduce new protections at the network level. So that not only will that scammer no longer call you, but they wont call any T-Mobile customers anymore. T-Mobile is announcing that it will be ready for the new STIR/SHAKEN standards that the FCC are forcing all carriers to adopt. But it has also improved Scam ID and Scam Block, one of the major ways that T-Mobile will do this is with Neighborhood Spoofing. This is a method that scammers will use to temporarily hijack a phone number to match the area code and the 3-digit prefix for who they are calling. Which makes it seem legit, like its someone nearby that might be trying to contact you. There are many call blocking apps out there, but they can only blacklist known numbers. Not actual numbers that were hijacked to scam someone. Now T-Mobile is able to do that. However, thats not all. It is also partnering with First Orion, and is the only major wireless provider that can add protections at the network level. This means that T-Mobile customers will receive less scam calls, and this is thanks to intelligent analysis of network-wide data, which is able to pinpoint and identify the origin of a call before it reaches your phone. And this is going to be available for all postpaid T-Mobile customers, as well as Metro by T-Mobile customers, for free, without a special app. All three of these changes are going to be available for all T-Mobile postpaid customers and Metro by T-Mobile customers, at no extra charge and it is on by default. Scam ID and Scam Block is available to everyone, but if you would rather not be bothered by scam calls at all, you can enable Scam Block to block all of these scam calls. Which is likely a good idea, considering how good T-Mobile is at identifying these calls as scam now. T-Mobiles CEO, John Legere is proud of the amount of calls it has been able to block already, and stated that scam calling is an industry-wide issue. Its estimated that by 2019, nearly half of all calls to mobile phones will be scam attempts! And when the other guys join us in adopting STIR/SHAKEN standards, every customer will be even better protected. Advertisement Background: In early 2017, Scam ID and Scam Block were announced as part of a new Un-Carrier movement by T-Mobile. It was a way for T-Mobile to work to block scam calls, which had become a major issue for T-Mobile and its customers. Though not just its customers, all customers. So T-Mobile launched Scam ID and Scam Block, which as it turns out, has been a huge success for T-Mobile. And the best part here is that T-Mobile was not charging its customers for this service. It was completely free to all of its customers, and on by default. Whenever you get a call that says Scam Likely thats a call that T-Mobile has scanned and flagged as being a scam or spam call. T-Mobile has had very little calls get that flag that werent actually scam calls, which shows how good the system they have in place was already. The other carriers have followed T-Mobiles lead here, in blocking these scam calls, but they arent quite on the level of T-Mobile, who is really leading the way here. Including debuting new technology to block these calls, like it has done today. Impact: With the new improvements that T-Mobile debuted today for Scam ID, Scam Block and on its network, you should see even less scam calls making its way to your device. The fact that T-Mobile is using, what is essentially machine learning, to improve this scam blocking, is pretty impressive. But it also means that T-Mobile is going to get better and better at blocking these calls. What Legere said about the number of calls that are expected to be scam calls by 2019 is not a surprise really. Scam calls is how these scammers make their money. Its similar to the spam emails that you get in your inbox everyday. And spam emails have really picked up in the past few years as well. T-Mobile is leading the industry in blocking these scam phone calls, which is definitely a good thing, but whats better is that they are also bringing in its competition to block these scam calls. So whether you have AT&T, Sprint or Verizon, you should be getting less scam calls. The FCC is also demanding that wireless carriers adopt a couple of new standards primarily STIR and SHAKEN to help protect their customers from getting these spam calls from spammers. T-Mobile announced they are first to adopt these standards, but they wont be alone. The FCC is actually looking out for the consumer with these new standards, which is surprising and needed. T-Mobile has done a lot of different Un-Carrier changes that have helped shape the wireless industry into what it is today, but blocking spam calls might be the smallest Un-Carrier movement that was a big deal and helped change the industry for the better. Since no one likes getting these scam calls, and being interrupted while at work. Chinese state-owned news agency Xihua has officially added AI-powered news anchors to its cast. These anchors are based on existing flesh-and-blood news staffers, mimicking both their looks and their voice, but are powered by AI text-to-speech and natural language processing technologies, among other bits of AI magic. One of the biggest magic tricks is using machine learning to analyze footage of the anchors theyre based on speaking, then mimic their mannerisms, lip movement and delivery based on the text theyre reading, as seen in the video below, featuring an AI anchor based on Xinhua staffer Zhang Zhao. The AI composite anchors, as theyre being called, will be working alongside their human counterparts to allow live news reporting on a 24/7 basis, and can be found on most of Xinhuas web presences in both English and Chinese. Background: This development was pioneered in concert with Sogou, a search engine company out of Beijing. As can be seen in the video, the computer-generated, photorealistic rendering of Zhao moves and talks in a convincing manner, and the AI-generated voice, aside from the obvious robotic inflection common in text-to-speech software, sounds very human. The visual aspect is not a pre-made 3D model, but rather a recreation of the anchor using computer vision AI software akin to what powers Googles DeepDream program. This explains the photorealistic texturing and the convincing movement; rather than a human skinning and skeletonizing a 3D model, the AI software does all the work in a much more detailed manner, producing a result thats arguably beyond what would be feasible for a human to put in the work to produce. The software analyzes its assigned anchor in-depth, then patches together all of its visual data into a cohesive image that mimics the anchors movements and other quirks. Taken together, these parts form a whole that very strongly resembles the human anchor, thus the composite part of the name. Impact: For now, this particular advancement does not seem to be a threat to existing news anchors jobs, though it has affected job prospects for would-be nighttime anchors. Rather than hiring and training new anchors, the composite anchors allow Xinhua to continue serving its users a mostly intact version of familiar daytime personalities. These anchors are somewhat limited in their capabilities; for obvious reasons, they cant do fieldwork or conduct non-virtual interviews, nor can they serve as a public face for their news agency during events, building tours, and other face-to-face engagements. While its for a completely different purpose, there is a technology making a slow rise that could solve that part of the problem. A company called KinkySDollS recently made headlines when a planned robot brothel in Houston got blocked by permitting woes, and that companys not the only one working on realistic human-based automatons. Should these bots reach a sufficient level of AI-based autonomy, along with a sufficient level of mobility, as seen in a recent video from Boston Dynamics that showed a bipedal robot doing parkour, its quite possible that AI-created public workers could become a thing. Such a development would go far beyond news anchors, though its not hyperbole at this point to say that were nowhere near the kind of realistic, emotional androids depicted in science fiction. I'm Tom - I'm new here and just want to say Hi to everybody, and I'd also like to thank you all very much for the generous amount of information available on various immigration topics. For the last few days I've been going through lots of threads but I haven't come across a definite solution to my issues. If anyone is aware of a similar situation please point me to the right thread - I greatly appreciate it. I'm currently living in the U.S and my girlfriend is an Australian citizen. We've been in a long distance relationship for the last 4 years - we've communicated everyday but only physically met a few times in Australia and the U.S. We're planning to get married early next year but since she's assisting her mother (who's going through a lengthy medical procedure) and I want to be there with her during this difficult time we're not sure how to best proceed. ** Best refer to her as your partner not girlfriend. I understand that I can't just travel to Australia on a tourist visa, then get married there and lodge a partner visa within 3 months because doing so would violate the visa's conditions. And we don't want to go through the PMV route because it'll probably take more than a year before we can get married according to the DIBP website. ** Yes you can - depending on your evidence PMV might be a good option with the ETA to wait it out or a Work and Holiday visa if you qualify. However, I'm thinking that with an ETA I can legally have multiple visits to Australia within a period of 12 months, so maybe I can travel to a nearby country for a short time before the end of the first 3-month visit, then come back to Australia and get married before the end of the second visit and apply for a partner visa. We'll live as a joint household and share everything together, including joint finances and have both of our names on bills and any other applicable documents. That way we'll have nearly 6 months living together, and we could also register our relationship in New South Wales to compensate for the standard 12-months requirement. Would that be considered a legitimate de facto relationship? ** Is an option but possibly best to register the relationship now anyway. If 6 months living together and registering our relationship are not sufficient, we may lodge the partner visa application before the end of the fouth and final 3-month visit allowed by the ETA so we'll have almost a full year together before applying. Would the DIBP allow using an ETA to both visit and build our relationship that way, or would they possibly bar me from re-entry (even if the ETA is valid for multiple entries within a 12 months period) if they think doing so would violate the conditions of an ETA? I personally believe that building our relationship that way is legitimate and genuine. The potential issue is that we're not sure what kind of documents we may have both of our names on to establish evidence of a joint household. I think we may have joint bank/brokerage accounts and joint bills, as well as providing statements on domestic and financial arrangements to show we truly sharing our lives together but I'm still researching this. ** On any entry they can warn you to get a more appropriate visa for next entry - DO NOT take this warning lightly even if it is on your first entry. Currently I don't see there's any other way for us to commit to our relationship without being able to live together for at least 12 months. As far as I know most countries only allow visitors to stay up to 3 months for each visit although multiple entries may be allowed up to 1 year in general. Since many people have lived in de facto relationships for at least a year or more, I guess that's one way they built their relationship, i.e, using multiple entries visa to live together before applying for a partner visa. Please correct me if I'm wrong, and any pointer/advice is greatly appreciated. ** To apply for a visa you must already be in a committed relationship. Living together for 12 moths is not a requirement (but a good way to collect evidence). Visitor Visas to Australia can be granted for 12 month stay periods and WHV's start at 12 months and extensions can be granted if conditions are meet up to 3 years now I believe (certainly 2 years). SUV The teaser photo doesnt show much, except for the Hyundai badge on the tailgate and Palisade in capital letters. The name of the model comes from a series of coastal cliffs, also known as an affluent and beautiful neighborhood in Southern California. The name doesnt have a beautiful ring to it, but the family-sizedis exactly what Hyundai needs in this utility vehicle-driven market.Even though the Telluride is manufactured with pride in the United States with locally- and global-sourced parts, the Palisade will be imported to America from South Korea. Hyundai confirmed the world premiere on November 28th at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show, and market availability will begin in the summer of 2019 for the 2020 model year.For the time being, Hyundai is keeping quiet about powertrain and drivetrain configurations. Considering the preferences of the U.S. consumer, two- and four-wheel-drive models will be offered, along with a Lambda II option that could come in the guise of the 3.3- or 3.8-liter V6. A vehicle this size would be better suited to the 3.3-liter twin-turbo engine, which develops 365 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque in the Stinger GT.Because both the Palisade and Telluride offer seating for eight, Hyundai and Kia are both after a piece of the market that Honda dominates with the Pilot. The Acura MDX doesnt count because it seats six to seven people. Over the course of 2017, Honda managed to sell no fewer than 127,279 examples of the Pilot in the United States. As far as styling is concerned , look no further than the Santa Fe and Kona for clues in this regard. The exterior design wont be to everyones liking, but then again, being bold in an increasingly clinical automotive industry has the potential to pay off for Hyundai. California's Camp Fire, which largely destroyed the town of Paradise, is now the most destructive wildfire in state history in terms of property damage. The big picture: According to officials, the fire has destroyed at least 6,713 homes, businesses and other structures, while killing multiple people. Both the property count and death toll are likely to rise as officials comb through the wreckage. This fire surpasses the damage from the previous record-holder, which was the deadly Tubbs Fire, which devastated Santa Rosa in the state's wine country just 13 months ago. The human toll: The fire sped through the town, located about 90 miles north of Sacramento, so quickly on Thursday night into Friday morning that some residents had no time to escape. Those who did make it were forced into such hasty evacuations they they left valuables and in many cases, pets, behind. Paradise Vice Mayor Greg Bolin told the LA Times that he has been informed that up to 90% of his town has been destroyed. The town is gone, he said. Between the lines: The fire now measures well over 100,000 acres in size and has been fueled by a combination of unusually dry weather and powerful, desiccating Santa Ana winds, at times blowing at hurricane force (75 miles per hour). The winds made the flames impossible to anticipate and control, giving firefighters no choice but to help residents flee, rather than beat the flames back to save the community. The trends: The Camp Fire that tore through Paradise is not an anomaly. California is experiencing one of its worst wildfire seasons on record, having had its hottest month in state history in July, along with the largest fire the state has ever recorded. According to Aon Insurance meteorologist Steve Bowen, 7 of the top 20 most destructive fires in the state have occurred since October 2017. Other data show stark trends, too. Northern California has had its worst fire season on record this year, in terms of acres burned. 15 of the top 20 largest wildfires in state history have all occurred since the year 2000. The climate context: There is no more discrete "wildfire season" in the Golden State anymore. Instead, it's lasting all year long, a trend that has been occurring with increasing regularity in Western states due to a combination of climate change, land development and forest management practices, among other factors. California has had one of its warmest and driest six month periods on record since 1895 (May through October), according to NOAA. Much of California has not seen measurable rain in months, and vegetation moisture levels are near all-time lows. Longer-term climate change and population growth are combining to cause increased wildfire risk in California, including in highly populated areas. One of the biggest changes firefighters are having to contend with is an uptick in instances of extreme fire behavior, such as the massive EF-4 fire tornado that accompanied the Carr Fire in July. The bottom line: We're witnessing more deadly and destructive wildfire disasters in a state that is likely to see this problem grow worse with time, as climate change leads to more erratic rainy seasons and hotter, drier and more extended dry seasons. Go deeper: Special Report: A 30-year alarm on the reality of climate change. [ in the flesh ] 11.10.18 On Meat A s is his custom and his pleasure, my Colombian son-in-law tucks into his steakla carne in Spanish and carne in Italian, echoing the Latin carn- or caro (flesh), as do carnal in English (having a relation to the body as opposed to the soul), carnival (a time of feasting and fleshly indulgence as opposed to Lent and fasting), carnivorous and carnivore (flesh-eating animals as opposed to herbivorous and herbivore, plant eaters). Among flora, the carnation is a flower as red as raw meat, as blood. Meathead suggests more muscle than brains. Sexual organs are called meat. Males are said to beat their meat. Women are objectified as pieces of meat (Antony even calls Cleopatra cold leftovers on dead Caesars trencher). Philip Roths Portnoy actually gets off inside a piece of liver. Venery refers both to deer hunting and to sex, as in venereal disease, Venus, and venison. My dear could be my deer. Horny refers to stags and stag parties. Both hunters and lovers have trysts, or secret meetings. The hunters tryst is the camouflaged platform where he waits to shoot his arrow at the unsuspecting deer. The lovers is the bedroom, as in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where both trysts are simultaneous and parallelthe lady of the castle hunts Gawains chastity as her lord hunts deer: . . . Thus frolicked the lord on the fringe of the forest, And Gawain the good in his gay bed reposed . . . , As softly he slumbered, a slight sound he heard . . . The lady it was, most lovely to look at, Who shut the door after her stealthily, slyly, And turned toward the bed . . . Benjamin Franklin struggled with Chastity in his schedule of self-improvement: Rarely use Venery except for Health or Offspring; Never to Dullness, Weakness, or the Injury of your own or anothers Peace or Reputation. St. Augustine confessed: I love a kind of light, and melody, and fragrance, and meat, and embracement when I love my God, the light, melody, fragrance, meat, embracement of my inner man: where there shineth unto my soul what space cannot contain, and there soundeth what time beareth not away, and there smelleth what breathing disperseth not, and there tasteth what eating diminisheth not, and there clingeth what satiety divorceth not (Book IX). No creatures on Noahs ark ate each other, and after the Great Flood, God promised Noahs descendants, Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you. Of course, for observant Catholics, no meat on Fridays. In his later, religious years, Tolstoy preached against eating meat. He gave up hunting, visited and described slaughterhouses, questioned butchers, and was horrified by the killing. He claimed that consuming meat only serves to develop animal feelings, to excite desire, and to promote fornication and drunkenness. And this is continually being confirmed by the fact that young, kind, un-depraved peoplewithout knowing how it logically follows, feel that virtue is incompatible with beefsteaks, and, as soon as they wish to be good, give up eating flesh. On a school trip to the Plymouth Plantation, my then eight-year-old daughter witnessed a Pilgrim chop off a turkeys head and refused to eat meat for many years afterwards. I came from a meat-eating family. When we went out to eat, we each ordered roast beef au jus. My mother served roast lamb and beef, steak (on special occasions tenderloin, which, she said melted like butter in your mouth), lamb chops, meatloaf, ham, turkey and chicken. We rarely ate fish. My oldest brother was a hunter, and once when he shot a stag, he brought it home and left it with Howard, our neighborhood butcher, to carve up and store in his freezer. But when we tried his venison for dinner, Mom and Dad decided it was too tough and racy tasting, and the rest was thrown out. (By coincidence, my father was assigned Alcohol: One Mans Meat by Edward A. Strecker around this time as part of his treatment for alcoholism.) Meat means substance (the meat of the argument) as well as sustenance (wheres the beef?). As a grad student in the 1960s, I cooked for myself in the rooming house kitchen and shopped at a corner market nearby, where the owner, Sol Levine, who was also the butcher, took a kindly interest in me. He asked why I chose the expensive milk? Buy the other one, you want to save money, dontcha? Same milk, no difference. So I retrieved the other. Moved by his own good deed, So there you are, he said; go back and get busy and happy. I responded, Being busy isnt always being happy, which struck a chord. He said, Oh, dont you worry, itll come around. Youll be eatin filet mignon in a little while. For the next five years, Sol kept me in prime cut meats, which hed save for me without charging full price, whether for roasts, or for hamburger which he ground fresh while we talked. He told me about his life, sometimes for hours, leaning against his meat case. Shortly before we met, hed been widowed after forty-four years of marriage. He had a son and two daughters and five grand-children. He was 73. Hed already distributed his estate, so there would be no quarreling after he was gone. He was working for free for his son and daughter-in-law in the store; they had the upstairs apartment and he lived in back. He told me he was up before dawn to drive his van to the North End and get the best sides wholesale. He shared and tried to teach me not only about grades of meat but also about the meat of life. Hed lost most of his family to the Holocaust, but his mother had survived, and when she reached New York, she had held and kissed him so hard he worried shed left a hole in his cheek. I stopped eating meat in mid-life more out of curiosity than conscience. I had discovered distance running and was surrounded by vegetarian friends and coworkers in my teaching (my daughter had reverted to meat when she came of age). How did vegetarians manage? What did they eat? Cheese, bagels, pasta, fruits, nuts, and vegetables, milk, eggs, yogurt? I acquired new tastes. I lost weight. I felt clearer, emotionally and intellectually. My wife supported me. My doctor approved. I never had meat dreams. I enjoyed a certain righteousness, and due exception. At catered school events, I asked for vegetarian options. Likewise, at restaurants and dinner parties, including Thanksgiving with family friends. A full decade later without meat, I started slipping. Why not hard salami? Why not real bacon occasionally? Why not sausage patties? Why not compromise when there was no veg option? Eat the ham or barbecue out of good manners? I was now a mostly vegetarian, my wife said. Id never been serious on principle anyway. She seemed complicit and relieved. As for my son-in-law, hes lean, works hard, and craves red meat as a way of remaining true to his culture. I eat mostly turkey, as if that is healthier somehow. Turkey burgers, turkey ham, turkey bacon, turkey meat balls. And as for Tolstoys logic, I live with the guilt, but also with realism, self-acceptance, and deliberate stupidity. I dont dwell on the evil, nor on my animal brothers with spiritual regard. Animists, I read, thank the animals they kill: When a large animal is killed or a large fish is caught, the hunter or fisherman may cry over its death to appease the animal spirit. Hunters also apologize to animals when they are killed, saying that they needed to take the meat and hide for their survival. It is to think too curiously, I think, to trace my Styrofoam tray of red hamburger sealed in plastic wrap forever fresh and waiting in the supermarket (no butcher or meat cutter in sight) back to the refrigerated boxcar and truck, the meat processing plant, the slaughterhouse, the stockyard and feeding pens, the crowded cattle truck, the herd and range, the individual creature. Its just meat. And though I do (I do!) weep at the stories of a farm kid given a lamb to raise as a pet, giving it a name, then one day having to surrender it for slaughter and eat its flesh; or, similarly cheer for the preservation of Wilbur as Some Pig, I also understand the need of being versed in country things. At some level, to live is to kill. Were both hunters and gatherers. We wield tools in place of fangs. We dream of paradise, where we feed in innocence; and our worst nightmare, even worse than the Donner Party, or Dantes UgolinoAnd then the hunger had more / Power than even sorrow over me (Canto XXXIII, ln. 7073), is Soylent Green: Next thing, theyll be breeding us like cattle, for food. In India, sacred cows wander among the starving poor. Florida's secretary of state has ordered recounts of both the governor and senator races with candidates in each race within a half of a percentage point of each other, the AP reports. The details: Florida, by law, must conduct a recount when results fall within the margin of error, the AP explains. Ron DeSantis, Republican candidate for governor currently leads the race with 49.6% of the vote while Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate, holds 49.2%. Rick Scott, current governor and candidate for senator, holds 50.1% of the vote in the Senate race while incumbent Senator Bill Nelson holds 49.9%. Driving the news: President Trump accused Florida Democrats of attempting to fix the election in favor of Gillum and Nelson despite having no supporting evidence to back up his claim. On Saturday, Trump responded to the recount, again accusing the elections of attempting to be stolen. A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted. Scott filed a lawsuit against Broward County's supervisor of elections and accused officials of withholding information as the race tightened after he declared victory over Nelson. What's next: The recount order applies to the entire state, so all 8,302,983 votes must be recounted over the next five days, the Miami Herald reports. Facing stubborn company resistance to higher wages in the tightest U.S. labor market in a half century, increasing numbers of cities and states are forcing employers to push up their pay. The big picture: Despite a tightening labor market, wage growth has remained sluggish. Against this trend, 10 large cities have passed $15-an-hour minimum wages, in addition to the state of California. New York has set a $15 minimum for fast-food workers, and Massachusetts for home health workers. In Tuesday's elections, two red states Arkansas and Missouri passed higher hourly minimums of $11 and $12, respectively. By the numbers: Wages have risen by 3.1% year on year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week well below the 3.5% to 4% they routinely increased during the tight labor markets of the 1990s and 2000s. The backdrop: Labor's share of national income has plunged since 2000, according to the St. Louis Fed, and wages have been largely flat since. The rise in corporate profit is far outrunning labor income, the Fed branch said. (h/t Heather Long). The tipping point for the pushback was the 2016 elections, in which Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders made a $15 minimum his central plank more than double the $7.25 federal minimum. At the time, his demand was widely seen as outlandish , but now it's been mainstreamed. , but now it's been mainstreamed. "There is some sign that the public is impatient with the state of affairs ," Brookings' Mark Muro says. "If companies and the marketplace are not going to take care of us or their own, the public is stepping in." ," Brookings' Mark Muro says. "If companies and the marketplace are not going to take care of us or their own, the public is stepping in." Gad Levanon, chief economist at The Conference Board, a think tank, says the spurt in $15-an-hour minimums reflects not only public dissatisfaction, but company resignation to a new environment. at The Conference Board, a think tank, says the spurt in $15-an-hour minimums reflects not only public dissatisfaction, but company resignation to a new environment. "The opposition of companies to a rise in the minimum wage is weakening when they realize they have to raise them anyway," Levanon says. "If you had a weaker labor market, they would fight more." Between the lines: Leading economists are not convinced that the hikes in both red and blue states amount to a nascent pro-labor public groundswell. Alan Krueger, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama, tells Axios that the economic and public policy environments have become decidedly less favorable for labor. the Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama, tells Axios that the economic and public policy environments have become decidedly less favorable for labor. "A lot has changed," Krueger said. "Unions are weaker and the chance of unionization is lower; labor laws, such as an emphasis on arbitration over allowing the courts to adjudicate enforce workers rights, have shifted against workers; employer concentration has increased, especially in national markets, etc." The bottom line: David Autor, an MIT professor and one of the world's most respected labor economists, said low unemployment would have to continue for many years to reverse the decades of flat wages. California's existing gun control laws are under the microscope after 12 people were killed on Wednesday at a bar in Thousand Oaks, the New York Times reports. The big picture: California already has some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the country, but governor-elect Gavin Newsom is considering passing "even tougher laws" following Wednesday's shooting. He said this week that he would have signed into law some gun measures that Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed in the past. At a press conference on Thursday, Newsom said the response "cannot just be excuses. The response sure as hell cannot be more guns," the Times reports. Newsom isn't the only one House Democrats are also eyeing more aggressive gun control legislation in response to the Thousand Oaks shooting now that they have control of the House. Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee filed a lawsuit late Thursday against the Broward County Supervisor of Elections alleging that the office withheld information on the number of outstanding ballots and how many people voted in the state's closely-watched Senate race, which could be headed to a recount. What's happening: Scott claimed victory in the race Tuesday night against incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson. But since then, the vote gap between the candidates has been narrowing. According to local reports, early voting and vote-by-mail ballots are still being counted in Broward County, and ballots that were mailed in are being tallied in Palm Beach County, both of which are heavily Democratic. The backdrop: Floridas hotly contested gubernatorial race between Democrat Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis is inching toward a mandated recount. DeSantis' lead has narrowed to a margin of 0.47%. The details: "I will not sit idly by while unethical liberals try to steal this election," Scott told reporters at a press conference Thursday night. Scott called out Marc Elias, an attorney whom Nelson hired, and claimed that he's trying to "steal the election." They're "mysteriously finding more votes," Scott said. The lawsuit demands an emergency court hearing on the matter. The latest vote totals show Scott has a 0.18% margin over Nelson. Under state law, a recount is required when the winning margin is 0.5% or less. In response to the suit, Nelson's campaign said in a statement: The goal here is to see that all the votes in Florida are counted and counted accurately. Rick Scotts action appears to be politically motivated and borne out of desperation. President Trump tweeted about the race Thursday evening saying, "Law Enforcement is looking into another big corruption scandal having to do with Election Fraud in #Broward and Palm Beach. Florida voted for Rick Scott!" The escalating U.S. fear of Beijing's spies chipping away at the American tech edge has a new focus: Chinese scientists who are recruited to return to their homeland. Driving the news: China is making its Thousand Talents Plan a widely publicized government program that has lured an estimated 7,000 Chinese scientists back home to date disappear, reports Nature. The program has been wiped from government sites, and interviewers have reportedly been instructed no longer to mention the initiative by name when speaking with prospective recruits. The big picture: Scientific cooperation between the U.S. and China is splintering amid the full-blown trade war and intensifying Washington rhetoric around Beijing's economic espionage. It threatens to slow scientific advances across the world. "My sense is that things in this space are going to get worse before they get better," says Chris Johnson of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Thought bubble, from Axios science editor Andrew Freedman: China is making great strides in multiple fields, including supercomputing, AI, gene editing (biology), medicine, atmospheric sciences and space exploration, to name a few. Their goals are ambitious, and it's not so much that luring scientists back home will set scientific progress back, but more that it'll probably benefit China versus other nations, like the U.S." Xi Xiaoxing, a physicist at Temple University, told Nature: Every scientist should be concerned not just scientists of Chinese origin." Xi was arrested by the FBI for sharing sensitive information with China, but his case was later dropped. The California Camp Fire has burned more than 100,000 acres and is at 20% containment Saturday morning as it ravages the state as the most destructive wildfire in its history. The trends: The Camp Fire that tore through Paradise, California, is not an anomaly, Axios' Andrew Freedman explains. The Golden State is experiencing one of its worst wildfire seasons on record, having had its hottest month in state history in July, along with the largest fire the state has ever recorded. According to Aon Insurance meteorologist Steve Bowen, 7 of the top 20 most destructive fires in the state have occurred since October 2017. By the numbers: The fire has destroyed at least 6,713 homes, businesses and other structures. 80% to 90% of the homes in Paradise have been destroyed, according to CNN. At least nine people have been killed. 35 people have been reported missing. This fire surpasses the damage from the previous record-holder, which was the deadly Tubbs Fire, which devastated Santa Rosa in the state's wine country just 13 months ago. Cal Fire Captain Steve Millosovich carries a cage full of cats that were found in the road after the Camp Fire moved through the area. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Abandoned burned out cars sit in the middle of the road after the Camp Fire moved through the area. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images A chimney remains at the site of a home that burned as the Camp Fire moves through the area. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images A home burns as the Camp Fire moves through the area. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Hospital workers at the Feather River Hospital work in a triage area while evacuating patients as the Camp Fire moves through the area. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images A business burns as the Camp Fire moves through the area. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Go deeper: California wildfire is the most destructive in state history After working to undermine the legitimacy of the press and the Mueller investigation, President Trump is now targeting the electoral process as insurance against possible Republican losses in too-close-to-call races in Florida and Arizona. Why it matters: The president is doing more than any top official in memory to cast doubt on the outcomes of elections. On Arizona, Trump tweeted: "Just out in Arizona, SIGNATURES DONT MATCH. Electoral corruption - Call for a new Election? We must protect our Democracy!" The AP reports: "There is zero evidence of anything unusual going on in the Arizona vote-counting and no elected Republican officials in the state have cried foul." "Whats going on in Florida is a disgrace," Trump said last week. Both the Senate and the gubernatorial races in Florida are currently undergoing a recount. Trump tweeted that GOP Senate candidate "Rick Scott was up by 50,000+ votes on Election Day, now they 'found' many votes and he is only up 15,000 votes. 'The Broward Effect.' How come they never find Republican votes?" that GOP Senate candidate "Rick Scott was up by 50,000+ votes on Election Day, now they 'found' many votes and he is only up 15,000 votes. 'The Broward Effect.' How come they never find Republican votes?" Trump tweeted that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum "conceded on Election Day and now Broward County has put him 'back into play.' [Incumbent Democratic Senator] Bill Nelson ... back in play!? This is an embarrassment to our Country and to Democracy. ... The WORLD is now watching closely!" that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum "conceded on Election Day and now Broward County has put him 'back into play.' [Incumbent Democratic Senator] Bill Nelson ... back in play!? This is an embarrassment to our Country and to Democracy. ... The WORLD is now watching closely!" On Monday, Trump tweeted that "an honest vote count is no longer possible," and that Florida must go with the Election Night results. that "an honest vote count is no longer possible," and that Florida must go with the Election Night results. Worth noting: Florida accepts overseas and military ballots through Nov. 16 as long as they are postmarked by Nov. 6. Post-midterms and ahead of his re-election race and a possible Mueller report Trump is continuing his effort to degrade and devalue mainstream reporters. President Trump threatened to pull federal funding from California in a tweet on Saturday for the state's "gross mismanagement of the forests," as the most destructive wildfire in the state's history ravages the region, demolishing homes and leaving multiple people dead. A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted. The big picture: Trump says there's "no reason" for the fires, of which there were three, "except that forest management is so poor." Axios' Science Editor Andrew Freedman reported that the increased wildfire risk in California is due to a combination of longer-term climate change and population growth, and it's only going to get worse as climate change leads to longer dry seasons. White House Middle East peace envoy Jason Greenblatt said in a speech at a closed event in London earlier this week that the U.S. "will soon be ready to publish" President Trump's long awaited plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, people who attended the event told me. Timing: On September 26th, Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York and said he will release his peace plan within two to four months. This means the plan could be release as soon as the beginning of December. White House officials declined to say what Greenblatt meant when he said "soon." However, the main challenge for Trump's "peace team" is the fact the Palestinians have cut ties with the White House over the moving of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. The details: At the London event Greenblatt made clear the Israelis and the Palestinians will have to compromise. He said: "Neither side will like everything in the plan, but we are confident both sides will understand why we came to the conclusions that we did if they are willing to engage." Greenblatt said the Trump administration is not looking for an interim agreement between Israel and the Palestinians and wants to try and change the status quo. "The standard talking points to the conflict will not bring us closer to peace. The United States will no longer invest in temporary solutions. We understand that temporary solutions do little to improve Palestinian lives, and prolong the cycle of suffering and violence," he said. The big picture: In the last several months, Palestinian leadership has said multiple times it will not engage on the Trump administration's peace plan and that the plan will be biased in favor of Israel. Greenblatt tried to push back on this claim explaining. "[b]efore you pass judgment, read the plan from beginning to end. Dont listen to rumors and reports from sources other than the Trump Administration. Judge it for what it is intended to be a comprehensive proposed solution to the conflict." A White House official declined to comment on the matter directly saying, "we are not going to comment on the veracity of alleged comments from an off the record event/closed press event." Armenias acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian will pay a working visit to France on November 10-11, his press office said on Friday. In the French capital Pashinian is due to attend a ceremony dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the armistice in World War I and take part in a session of the Paris Peace Forum. The events will be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and will bring together a number of world leaders, including United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Armistice of November 11, 1918 put an end to fighting on land, sea and air in World War I between the Allies [France, the United Kingdom, the United States and others] and their opponent, Germany. It marked a victory for the Allies, with previous armistices eliminating Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the war. An estimated 11 million soldiers and about 8 million civilians were killed during the four-year war waged by the worlds leading powers of the time. Armenians, then a people divided between two opposing empires Ottoman Turkey and Russia suffered severe consequences of the war. Some 1.5 million Armenians were exterminated by the Ottoman authorities during the years of World War I in what many historians and more than two dozen governments of the world today recognize as the first genocide of the 20th century. Pashinians visit to Paris will be his third since assuming the post of Armenias prime minister in May. In September, Pashinian went to France for talks with Macron ahead of the summit of Francophonie nations that was held in Yerevan the following month and was attended by the French leader. On October 5, the Armenian leader visited Paris for a national homage to Charles Aznavour, a world-renowned French-Armenian crooner who had died at the age of 94. Pashinian attended that ceremony jointly with Macron. 1 killed, 18 injured in Dhading bus collision A man died and 18 others were injured when two commuter buses collided with each other at Maling in Benighat of Dhading along the Prithvi Highway on Saturday. By Trend An Azerbaijani delegation, led by the minister of economy, the co-chairman of the Azerbaijan-China Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation, Shahin Mustafayev, met with President of the Chinese Greenland Group Zhang Yuliang, the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan said in a statement. A presentation of Greenland Group's activities was held during the meeting, and the company's activities that cover real estate, construction, international trade, finance, hotels, supermarkets, etc. were noted. The parties held discussions on cooperation in hotel business, tourism, clinic management and sale of Azerbaijani products in the company's network of supermarkets, G-super. It was also noted that the Chinese company can participate in investment projects implemented in Azerbaijan. During the meeting, the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) signed a memorandum of understanding on development of trade and economic cooperation with the international trading company Greenland Zhongxuan and a contract with another Chinese company Shanghai Jizhi Investment Management for renting an exhibition pavilion in the trade center Greenland Global. The meeting also saw memorandums of intent signed between Azersun Holding and Greenland Zhongxuan on exporting products to China worth $2 million and between the Azerbaijani company Sharg Ulduzu and Greenland Zhongxuan worth $1 million. The meeting was attended by the Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Agriculture Seyfeddin Talibov, Chairman of Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company Rauf Valiyev, Deputy Head of the Food Safety Agency Rufat Rustamzade, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Food Products Procurement and Supply OJSC Elshan Asadov, Azerbaijans ambassador to China Akram Zeynalli, Acting President of AZPROMO Yusif Abdullayev and Azerbaijan's Trade Representative in China Teymur Nadiroglu. Then, the Azerbaijani delegation took part in the opening of the Azerbaijani pavilion in the G-hub shopping center of the Greenland Group. Various Azerbaijani products - alcoholic beverages, food products - under the "Made in Azerbaijan" brand will be sold there. Sales of Azerbaijani products started in the Chinese supermarkets network of DIG on Nov. 7. On the same day, the Azerbaijani delegation took part in the Global Trade and International Logistics Forum in Shanghai, which ended with presentations and discussions. Trend: Frances Alstom will deliver the first contracted freight locomotive for the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway to Azerbaijan in the second half of December 2018, the company told Trend. "After the first dynamic tests in Kazakhstan the first Prima T8 freight locomotive AZ8A will arrive to Azerbaijan in the second half of December," said Alstom. Alstom and Azerbaijan Railways plan to start the preparation for testing in Azerbaijan in January 2019, according to the French rail giant. "From February 2019 the first AZ8A locomotive will be on test runs between Ganja and Boyuk Kesik stations," said the company. Alstom earlier presented its first electric freight locomotive Prima T8 AZ8A for Azerbaijan Railways. The presentation of the locomotive was held at the Electric Locomotives Assemblage Factory (EKZ), located on the territory of the Astana special economic zone. The first AZ8A locomotive became a part of the contract signed by EKZ with "Azerbaijan Railways" in 2014 for the supply of 50 locomotives, including 10 passenger locomotives Prima M4 AZ4A. AZ8A is a heavy-duty freight locomotive from the Prima T8 series, which is based on the KZ8A locomotive, currently operated in Kazakhstan. AZ8A is designed for operation at temperatures from -25 to 50 degrees Celsius. The locomotive is designed according to the specific technical requirements provided by the ARW Company, and also meets the GOST and TU standards. Prima T8 is one of the most powerful electric locomotives in the world. The model consists of two sections, is able to pull a train weighing up to 9,000 tons and reach a speed of 120 km/h. Founded in 1928, Alstom develops and markets systems, equipment and services for the transport sector. The company offers a complete range of solutions (from high-speed trains to metros, tramways and e-buses), passenger solutions, customized services (maintenance, modernization), infrastructure, signalling and digital mobility solutions. The official opening ceremony of the BTK railway was held in Baku Oct. 30 last year. The BTK railway was constructed on the basis a Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement. The railways peak capacity will be 17 million tons of cargo per year. At an initial stage, this figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo. By Trend The election of the host country of World Expo 2025 will take place during the 164th General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in Paris on 23 November, BIE told Trend. There will be no further official BIE visits or meetings before the General Assembly, said the Bureau. "Earlier this month, each candidate organized theme seminars in Paris to raise awareness of the theme among BIE delegates: Azerbaijan - October 4 , Japan - October 9 and Russia - October 25," said BIE. Three countries are candidates to host World Expo 2025: Japan (in Osaka), the Russian Federation (in Ekaterinburg), and Azerbaijan (in Baku). The 170 Member States of the BIE will elect the host country at the 164th General Assembly in November 2018. Azerbaijan, which has been actively participating in six Expo exhibitions held by the International Exhibitions Bureau for 18 years and has won three awards for the high quality of the pavilions, demonstrates a strong commitment to Expo movement. If Baku is chosen, the World Expo 2025 will be held for six months from May 10 to November 10, 2025. It will be the first World exhibition of the International Exhibitions Bureau organized in the South Caucasus region. World Expos, known officially as International Registered Exhibitions, are organized every five years. Their themes are designed to raise awareness of and find responses to universal challenges of our time. The next World Expo will take place in Dubai (UAE) between 20 October 2020 and 10 April 2021 under the theme "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future". By Trend The US Army General, Commander of the US Transportation Command Stephen R. Lyons visited Baku on Nov. 9. General R. Lyons met with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Deputy Defense Minister Colonel-General Najmaddin Sadigov, the US embassy in Azerbaijan said in a statement on Nov. 10. General R. Lyons also got acquainted with numerous facilities of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in Alat settlement. Stephen R. Lyons noted that the US highly appreciates Azerbaijans contribution to international security and the fight against terrorism, the important work being done by the country to ensure a safe and prosperous future in Afghanistan and beyond. 3 258 Trend: The decision of Norway to close its embassy in Azerbaijan is regrettable, but this is the decision of the Norwegian government, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys acting spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva told Trend Nov. 10. She was commenting on the message of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry about the closure of the embassy in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has warm, comprehensive relations with Norway, she said. Equinor, Norways biggest energy company [formerly Statoil], was one of the first foreign companies in Azerbaijan in the 1990s and participated in the Contract of the Century. Famous Norwegian ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl, the author of the theory of ancient relations between the Norwegian Vikings and Azerbaijanis, was a great friend of Azerbaijan. Numerous projects in various fields have been implemented between the two countries. Abdullayeva added that presently, according to available information, the Norwegian side intends to maintain its representation in Azerbaijan through consular activities. However, it is not yet clear in what form this representation will be carried out - in the status of an honorary or diplomatic consulate, she said. Trend: Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR plans to supply its new refinery in Turkey with oil from different producers in Europe, the Black Sea region and the Gulf, the executive chairman of SOCAR Trading Adnan Ahmadzade told Reuters. Initial consumption (of oil) will be 100,000 barrels per day with a further increase to 215,000 bpd, he said. SOCAR Trading will supply oil (to STAR) from different producers at ports in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Persian Gulf, as well as from Russian company Rosneft. He said the company had secured contracts to buy -92 grade gasoline from producers in Russia, Switzerland and Turkmenistan due to planned maintenance at Heydar Aliyev oil refinery in Baku. Ahmadzade said oil was still playing a central role in the firms trading strategy, having a 50 percent share in its portfolio. He noted that the company had decided to reduce the share of fuel oil - recently at 30 percent - in its trading portfolio. The strategic decision has been made, but it will start to reflect on figures in 2019, he said. Ahmadzade said SOCAR Trading was open to discussions on obtaining crude from Russias Filanovsky and Rakushechnoye oilfields in the Caspian Sea operated by Russian company Lukoil , with shipment via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. We are ready for dialogue on these oilfields and dont see any problems from a technical viewpoint on getting these oil flows, he said. Ahmadzade said the company would soon start selling polypropylene and low-pressure polyethylene from SOCARs polymer plant, which started operating in August. The opening ceremony of the Star oil refinery took place on October 19 in Izmir, Turkey, with the participation of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The total refining capacity of the refinery will be 10 million tons, and Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR is the main supplier of crude for the refinery. The refinery will significantly reduce the dependence of Turkey on imports of petrochemical products. The refinery worth $6.3 billion, built by SOCAR in the Aliaga District of Izmir, will produce 1.6 million tons of naphtha, 1.6 million tons of aviation fuel, 4.8 million tons of low-sulfur diesel, 700,000 tons of petroleum coke, 420,000 tons of mixed xylene and 160,000 tons of sulfur. SOCAR Trading, headquartered in Geneva, was established in late 2007 by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan. By Abdul Kerimkhanov Russia could help Iran evade U.S. sanctions by buying up Iranian oil and reselling it as its own, expert in energy policies & strategies Luis Colasante said in an interview with Azernews. He was talking about the possible ways of bypassing U.S. sanctions for ensuring Iranian oil supplies to the world market. Colasante noted that Trump administration is restoring sanctions lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal in a bid to pressure the Islamic Republic. "These sanctions will hit the Iranian oil sector, banks, and shipping, and will make it difficult to do business with them. The US is betting that economic pressure will force Iran to change its tune and agree to a new, much more restrictive nuclear deal than the one reached in 2015 between Tehran and the six world powers," said the expert. He pointed out that Irans oil exports have fallen since the Trump administration announced at mid-year that they would re-impose sanctions on the Iranian economy. But the exemptions granted to Iran's biggest oil customers - China, India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan, and Turkey - allow them to import at least some oil for another six months more. This group of eight buyers imported over 80 percent of Iran's roughly 2.6 million barrels per day of oil exports last year. Only China, India and Japan imported around 1.6 million barrels per day," said the energy expert. Colasante said that the Trump administration fears that Russia could help Tehran evade US sanctions by buying up Iranian oil and reselling it as its own. He noted that Russia can purchase Iranian oil for domestic usage, thus buying Iranian oil at preference prices and export its internal production. But at the end, Russia doesnt need to import oil from any country. Even in the last five months, Russian production has increased by 400,000 barrels per day and the country has the capacity to increase it by another 300,000 barrels per day," the expert said. The U.S. introduced a second package of unilateral sanctions against Tehran aimed at restricting the export of Iranian oil on November 5. More than 700 individuals and legal entities, ships and aircrafts of Iran fell under the new U.S. sanctions. This is the second wave of sanctions imposed by the Trump administration since May of this year. Despite the desire to reduce to zero the supply of Iranian oil to the world market, Washington nevertheless went for relief for a number of countries purchasing energy from Iran, including Italy, Greece, Turkey, India, China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan. In 2012, the Iranian government ceased, in response to sanctions by Western countries, the sale of oil to the U.S. and the UK, and from the beginning of 2013 to the EU. After Iran made concessions on the nuclear program, in 2016 the U.S. authorities announced the lift of sanctions from 59 individuals (citizens of Iran and other countries), 385 enterprises, 77 planes and 227 ships. In 2018, the Trump administration restored sanctions against Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump announced in May that Washington was withdrawing from an agreement on a nuclear program with Iran. Trump also reported on the restoration of all sanctions against Iran, including secondary ones, that is, in relation to other countries doing business with Iran. The United States re-introduced part of the sanctions against Iran on August 7. More substantial sanctions that will cover oil exports are expected from the beginning of November. From August 7, 2018, the updated Blocking Statute entered into force in the EU, the provisions of which are aimed at protecting European companies from the influence of U.S. extraterritorial sanctions. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 17 injured in Gorkha bus accident At least 17 persons were injured when a passenger bus en route to Gorkha from Aabukhaireni fell off the road at Sorkha Kilo in Gorkha Municipality on Saturday evening. Bakersfield, CA (93308) Today Evening clouds will give way to clearing overnight. Low 42F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Evening clouds will give way to clearing overnight. Low 42F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. The Californian welcomes your comments and suggestions. To offer your input by phone, please call 395-7649 and leave your comments in a voicemail message or send an email to soundoff@bakersfield.com. Please include your name and phone number. Phone numbers and addresses wont be published. Wide Range of Heat to Frost on Oregon Coast This Weekend Published 11/09/2018 at 4:39 AM PDT - Updated 11/10/2018 at 12:09 AM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Oregon Coast) The northern half of the Oregon coast gets quite sunny this weekend but thats nothing compared to the southern half: look for 70 degrees there at certain points. Meanwhile, nighttime frosts are coming in along the beaches as well. (Photo above: courtesy Seaside Aquarium's Tiffany Boothe). It will be mostly sunny to essentially all sunny over the weekend on the northern half of the Oregon coast, slightly echoing the inland areas. Friday starts off foggy and mostly cloudy, then becoming sunnier. Highs over the weekend through Monday stick around the mid 50s with light winds. Monday during the day stays mostly sunny, but clouds start to come in at night and stick around the rest of the week, bringing some rain. Highs will be around the mid 50s with lows around 44 to 48. Thursday regains some amount of sun and highs around 54. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the southern Oregon coast will be measurably warmer. In the Bandon to Brookings areas, its sunny and in the upper 60s on Friday and Saturday. But Sunday and Monday hold quite the trick up their sleeves: the highs will be at 70 degrees, then dipping down to the 50s on Tuesday. However, there are some frost warnings overnight for Friday and Saturday. Indeed, Seaside Aquarium already caught some morning frost on the beach. The aquariums Tiffany Boothe snapped that shot, declaring "winter is coming." It appears that temperatures are cold enough that many locations will see frost rather than fog, the NWS said. Breezy east winds continue to blow in the Columbia River Gorge and along the coast, with the resultant mixing keeping surface temps warmer in these areas. A cold front is working its way from British Columbia, bringing rain for a bit to the Washington coast, but then moving on. The clearing combined with generally light winds should result in more widespread fog and low stratus for the lowlands Saturday morning, the NWS said. The morning clouds will give way to afternoon sunshine. East winds out of the gorge look to slowly subside through Monday. This ridge looks to continue a warming temperature trend as well as a drying trend through Monday evening. For the marine waters, it may get windy and seas will slowly start to build. Seas will hold around 3 to 6 feet through early next week, though a larger swell may arrive by the middle of next week and build seas to around 10 feet. See full Oregon Coast Weather. - Oregon Coast Lodgings for this event - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Sailendra Adhikari is an online reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering a wide range of issues, including politics, society, sports, arts and entertainment. TOKYO - Japan is considering the introduction of the U.S. Avenger unmanned combat aircraft to the Maritime Self-Defense Force with an eye on strengthening its surveillance of Chinese naval vessels in waters around Japan and North Korean smuggling activities, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. Tokyo plans to stipulate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the new National Defense Program Guidelines to be compiled at the year-end. It aims to deploy the Avenger in the late 2020s. Equipped with a jet engine, the Avenger can fly at a maximum speed of 740 kph and operate 18 hours or longer per flight. It is said the aircraft can be equipped with antiship missiles and bombs, enabling it to counter enemy naval vessels and other units without endangering personnel should a contingency arise. If the plan materializes, it will mark the Self-Defense Forces' first use of an unmanned aircraft intended for use in combat. The MSDF plans to use the Avenger to monitor Chinese naval vessels sailing in waters around Japan, as well as North Korean smuggling of refined petroleum products and other goods through ship-to-ship transfers on international waters. The SDF currently rely mainly on manned patrol planes such as the P-3C and P-1 to conduct surveillance and ensure security around Japan. From fiscal 2021, the SDF plan to begin using three unmanned Global Hawk patrol aircraft at high altitudes of at least 15,000 meters to monitor missile launch preparations, among other activities. The SDF plan to operate the Avenger at altitudes higher than those of manned aircraft, but lower than those of the Global Hawk, to reinforce the nation's surveillance capabilities. With the introduction of unmanned aircraft, which can be operated by small numbers of personnel, the SDF aim to streamline its surveillance activities, such as by dispatching more patrol planes to monitor submarines, which is the planes' primary mission. Two days after a Harris County judge who lost a bid for re-election made waves by asking a string of juvenile defendants whether they planned to kill anyone before letting them go, court administrators put out a statement disputing the description of "wholesale" releases and highlighting the number of kids detained. "Despite many media reports, there was no 'mass' or 'wholesale' release of detained juveniles during November 7, 2018, docket in the 313th District Court," the Administrative Office of the District Courts wrote in an unsigned statement released late Friday. Juvenile Judge Glenn Devlin has not commented publicly on the releases and did not show up for court the following day. In court, his coordinator wouldn't say where he was, whether it was a planned absence, or when he might be back. READ MORE: A day after 'wholesale' releasing defendants, juvenile judge doesn't show up for court The furor began Wednesday morning when - to the surprise of attorneys present - the long-time Republican jurist released most of the defendants appearing before him for detention hearings. "He was releasing everybody," said public defender Steven Halpert, who was in the 313th court that morning. "Apparently he was saying that's what the voters wanted." Prosecutors begged the judge not to let out the young defendants, and Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg later condemned the releases. "We oppose the wholesale release of violent offenders at any age," she said Wednesday. "This could endanger the public." As previously reported, the judge let out seven kids - including four charged with aggravated robbery - during detention hearings. By law, youths who are waiting in local lock-ups before their cases are resolved are entitled to detention hearings every 10 working days to decide whether they need to stay behind bars or can safely be released under supervision. It's not abnormal for Devlin to sometimes release juveniles facing serious charges, as long as they've behaved in detention and have adequate supervision in place on the outside, according to Halpert. "He's not one of those that never releases a kid charged with an aggravated robbery," he said. "But nobody has seen this before." READ MORE: 2 Harris County judges responsible for 1 in 5 children sent to state juvenile prisons The court office's release stressed that, aside from the seven releases, six kids scheduled for detention hearings that morning remained in lock-up. However, it was not immediately clear whether those six children actually had detention hearings or waived them. Halpert said that practice is not uncommon. In its statement, the court office also claimed that the judge did not let out any children without parents present. "Reports that Judge Devlin released juvenile respondents without parents present, without access to mental health services, and/or other protective parameters is inaccurate," the court statement said. "All seven juveniles released on November 7, 2018, were released to parents or legal guardians who agreed to provide 24-hour supervision." Though he said that he could not speak in detail about specific cases, Chief Public Defender Alex Bunin disputed that claim, citing one instance where a child was let go without a parent present and another where an intellectually disabled child was released to an intellectually disabled parent with no supervision plan in place. The district attorney's office did not offer any response to the court statement, which also detailed release conditions for some of the juveniles. It's not clear whether those conditions were in place at the time of the children's release or added later. Cases for all of the kids released, according to Halpert, were reset for Jan. 4 - the first Friday after the new judge takes over. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct previously declined to comment or clarify whether Devlin's actions would constitute any violation of judicial canons, but the ACLU of Texas called for an investigation and said it was weighing its options to take action on the matter. "We call on the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct to investigate Judge Devlin for violating the canons of judicial conduct," said Sharon Watkins Jones, ACLU of Texas director of political strategies. "It is improper for a judge to make orders motivated by partisan interests or spite as a result of his political loss." The outgoing jurist - who on Tuesday lost his bench to Democrat Natalia Oakes - is one of two juvenile court judges in Harris County whose track records favoring incarceration contributed heavily to doubling the number of kids Harris County sent to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department in recent years, even as those figures fell in the rest of the state. A Houston Chronicle investigation last month found that Devlin and Judge John Phillips accounted for more than one-fifth of all children sent to the state's juvenile prisons last year. The two jurists not only sent more teens to juvenile prison, but they also sent them younger and for less-serious offenses than the county's third juvenile court, where Judge Mike Schneider presides. Two major mishaps involving the Russian space program have made the last three months tumultuous for NASA astronaut Anne McClain, , raising questions about whether her flight to the International Space Station in December would happen as planned. "Whirlwind is a great way to describe it," she told the Houston Chronicle on Friday. "In space, everything is dependent on everything else and one hiccup causes a lot of ripple effects." First, a hole that caused an air leak was discovered in August in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft attached to the space station, but was later patched. Then last month, the launch of a different Soyuz headed to the space station was aborted because of a rocket booster failure, grounding American astronauts who depend on Russia to ferry them into space until the cause was determined. But on Friday -- with her launch date moved up to Dec. 3 and her training regimen adjusted -- McClain said she is more confident than ever to strap into a Soyuz and rocket out of Earth's atmosphere. "I do have confidence," she said. "No one would give the green light to fly," she said, unless everything was OK for launch. This will be McClain's first spaceflight since being selected as an astronaut in 2013. She, along with Russia's Oleg Kononenko and Canadian Space Agency's David Saint-Jacques initially were supposed to launch from Kazakhstan on Dec. 20. "We got moved up, we had to cut some training and we had to compress things ... but I feel ready to go," McClain said. "The training flow for the space station is a year-and-a-half to two years. Over the last few months, we've just made sure we're keeping up with everything." When McClain and her two crew mates launch Dec. 3, they will join a group of three astronauts, including NASA's Serena Aunon-Chancellor, who have been living on the space station since June. Aunon-Chancellor and her crew mates were supposed to welcome NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin aboard the orbiting laboratory in October, but then the launch was aborted. Because of the abort, NASA had to cancel two spacewalks to upgrade the space station's power systems that were supposed to be conducted by Hague. There is a possibility McClain could conduct those in his stead, she said, though an official decision has not been made. "We were able to train for the procedures on the ground just in case we did those [spacewalks]. We're ready to execute," she said. "Someone will do them in the next year, and it may be me." The failed mission last month would have been Hague's first spaceflight since being tapped as an astronaut in 2013 and it's not clear when he'll get to fly again. Russian officials have said he will enter the rotation again in the spring, though NASA has repeatedly declined to comment on that scenario. Russian officials immediately began investigating the cause of the failed launch in October. And earlier this month, they announced that a malfunctioning sensor caused the first and second stages of the rocket to crash into each other, breaking the second stage and forcing an emergency landing. The sensor, they continued, was damaged during the rocket's assembly at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where the Soyuz is launched. Russian officials still are investigating the hole discovered in August. NASA expects that investigation to conclude in December. Since NASA's space shuttle program was shuttered in 2011, the U.S. has relied on Russia to ferry American astronauts to the station. The U.S. has spent billions of dollars on the space station in its 20-year lifetime, but NASA currently cannot reach the space station on its own. Alex Stuckey writes about NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey. 3 injured in rhino attack Three persons were injured when a rhino from Chitwan National Park entered settlement and attacked locals at Devchuli municipality in Nawalparasi district on Saturday morning. It's time to cut unnecessary work from the EHR, according to a perspective in The New England Journal of Medicine by Melinda Ashton, MD, a physician with Hawaii Pacific Health in Honolulu. In the article, Dr. Ashton describes a program she and her colleagues launched in October 2017, called "Getting Rid of Stupid Stuff." In an effort to engage clinicians and reduce burnout, the program team asked all employees at the healthcare network to review their daily documentation practices and nominate aspects of the EHR they thought were "poorly designed, unnecessary or just plain stupid." Along with fielding nominations from physicians and nurses, the team also conducted its own review of documentation practices, and removed 10 of the 12 most frequently ignored alerts the EHR pushed to physicians. The team also removed order sets that had not been used recently. Dr. Ashton acknowledged the specific changes likely aren't relevant for other hospitals, but she advocated for the shift in mentality the "Getting Rid of Stupid Stuff" program initiated. "It appears that there is stupid stuff all around us, and although many of the nominations we receive aren't for big changes, the small wins that come from acknowledging and improving our daily work do matter," she wrote. Here are four of the categories Dr. Ashton and her colleagues deleted from the EHR as part of the program: 1. One nurse who worked with adolescent patients asked to remove a physical assessment row labeled "cord," meant to reflect care of the umbilical cord remnant in newborns. The row, which was supposed to be suppressed for those older than 30 days of age, had still been present for other ages. 2. A nurse who cared for newborns said she had to click three times whenever she changed a diaper, as a result of EHR documentation for incontinence requiring the clinician to indicate whether the patient is incontinent of urine, stool or both. The team created a single-click option for children in diapers. 3. Multiple nurses highlighted the frequency of "head-to-toe" nursing assessments, which they are expected to complete upon assuming care of each patient. However, in some units, the EHR prompted nurses to document several of these assessments during a 12-hour shift. "We sought to identify standards in the literature and found that some of our practices were in keeping with those standards," Dr. Ashton wrote. "In other units, we reduced the frequency of required evaluation and documentation." 4. An emergency medicine physician questioned why the EHR prompts employees to print an after-visit summary before scanning it back into the system. He hadn't noticed the patient was expected to sign the summary, which was stored in the record. "His question led us to query other health systems and our legal team about the value of the signature, and we were able to remove this requirement," Dr. Ashton wrote. "The physician was delighted that he had been able to influence a practice that he believed was a waste of support-staff time." To read Dr. Ashton's article in The New England Journal of Medicine, click here. Amid patients' desire for price transparency, it is even more crucial that hospitals ensure the accuracy of their chargemaster before they provide patients with price estimates. That's according to Brad Josephson, director of marketing and communications at PMMC, a provider of healthcare revenue cycle management software and contract management services, who penned a recent web post on the issue. In the post, published by Medical Tourism Magazine, Mr. Josephson said providers should ask: 1. Is contract data accurate? Data in hospital-payer contracts helps determine a hospital's chargemaster rates and is used to show the reasoning behind the rates. If data is not accurate, hospitals will face challenges in providing accurate financial estimates that are meaningful to the patient, said Mr. Josephson. 2. Are the hospital's charges competitive within the local market? Once accurate data is established, hospitals should ensure chargemaster rates are competitive within the state and local market, Mr. Josephson said. "To be certain that your organization's charges stay competitive, it's important that the revenue integrity team knows how and when to conduct their annual reviews," he wrote. "From a best-practices standpoint, these reviews should occur annually before your new fiscal year to ensure that the charges you're comparing against the market are accurate and up-to-date." 3. How can I adjust my charges and remain revenue-neutral? Mr. Josephson said hospitals seek to remain revenue-neutral as they review and adjust chargemaster rates, meaning changes to the chargemaster won't negatively affect revenue. He said this "involves the revenue integrity team examining a total chargemaster list of all their charges to determine where they can lower or raise their charges while remaining revenue neutral." He recommended organizations use software tools to strategically adjust charges as part of that process. Access Mr. Josephson's full post here. Here are 11 recent health IT vendor contracts and go-lives: 1. Philadelphia-based Rothman Orthopaedic Institute plans to implement a practice management solution from Allscripts across its facilities in Pennsylvania. 2. East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust in England went live on a patient administration system from Allscripts. 3. New Orleans-based Ochsner Health System launched Ochsner Anywhere Care, a direct-to-consumer telehealth platform for urgent care visits, under a partnership with American Well. 4. Winona (Minn.) Health joined forces with Bright.md to offer telehealth services on the company's SmartExam solution. 5. Logansport (Ind.) Memorial Hospital is preparing to implement a Cerner EHR to replace the two systems the hospital currently has in place. 6. A plumbers union in Chicago selected Cerner to manage a new health center, where the group's members and their families will be able to access healthcare services as part of their union benefits. 7. The U.K. Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy unveiled five centers of excellence to apply artificial intelligence to digital pathology and imaging, spearheaded by GE Healthcare, Siemens, Philips, Leica, Canon and Roche Diagnostics. 8. Charlotte, N.C.-based Novant Health went live on Glytec's insulin therapy management system. 9. The Department of Defense granted a picture archiving and communication system from Fujifilm authority to operate on its networks. 10. Rockledge, Fla.-based Health First plans to implement patient-provider matching and scheduling solutions from Kyruus. 11. Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., is using an app from Vocera to collect data about hospitalists' behaviors and communications during patient interactions. Nurses have ratified their first agreement with Commerce Township, Mich.-based Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital, a Detroit Medical Center affiliate owned by Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare. The three-year deal covers members of the Michigan Nurses Association. It includes "safe-staffing language to protect patients, wage increases to retain nurses, and important job protections," according to a union news release. Specifics of the contract were not provided in the release. Nurses and hospital administrators reached the deal after more than two years of negotiations. "I am so proud of what nurses achieved by forming a union and sticking together. For the first time, we have a grievance procedure with enforceable contract language on professional development, health and safety," said Judy Moore, RN, and bargaining team member. "These tools will help us protect patients and will serve as a model for other DMC hospitals." Detroit Medical Center told Becker's it is also pleased with the agreement, which is "fair, competitive and acknowledges the value of our nurses' contributions." The agreement is effective immediately and retroactive to September. More articles on human capital and risk: Massachusetts union regroups after defeat of nurse staffing initiative Southcoast Health hires consulting firm amid unionization push Hospitals and unions: 8 recent conflicts, agreements ATA Consulting, which conducted business as Best Medical Transcription, agreed to pay $200,000 to settle allegations it violated HIPAA and the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act after a breach in 2016. Here are six things to know about the settlement: 1. ATA Consulting and its owner, Tushar Mathur, entered into the settlement with New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs to resolve allegations arising from a 2016 breach, in which the vendor allegedly allowed the public to view online records of patients from Virtua Medical Group, a network of medical and surgical practices in southern New Jersey. 2. Physicians at three VMG practices had contracted Best Medical Transcription to transcribe dictations of medical notes, letters and reports. In 2016, Best Medical Transcription updated its software on a password-protected website that stored the transcribed documents. During the update, the vendor unintentionally misconfigured the web server, allowing the site to be publicly viewable. 3. As a result of the server misconfiguration, the private health information including names and medical diagnoses of up to 1,654 patients treated at VMG practices was publicly exposed online. Subsequently, those who conducted web searches for terms included in the dictation information, such as patient names, were able to find portions of the exposed records online. 4. In April 2018, VMG agreed to pay $417,816 to settle allegations it failed to secure these patients' medical records when they were made accessible online. At the time, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs alleged VMG had not conducted a thorough analysis of the risk associated with electronically sharing protected health information with Best Medical Transcription. 5. Best Medical Transcription, which was based in Georgia, dissolved as a business in June 2017, an act it said was independent of New Jersey's investigation. Along with paying the fine, Mr. Mathur also agreed to a permanent ban on managing or owning a New Jersey business. Mr. Mathur said he would no longer serve as an officer or trustee, among other positions, of any corporation in the state. 6. The $200,000 settlement amount comprises $191,492 in civil penalties and an $8,508 fine to reimburse the state for attorney fees and investigative costs. "Patient privacy laws don't just apply to doctors, they also apply to vendors like Best Medical Transcription," said Paul R. Rodriguez, acting director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. "Our settlement with Best Medical Transcription sends a message that New Jersey requires compliance from all entities bound by patient privacy standards." Two surgeons at Dallas-based Methodist Health System cleared a 92-year-old woman for pancreatic cancer surgery, despite the surgery's higher risk for her age group, according to ABC 8. Alejandro Mejia, MD, director of organ transplantation at Dallas-based Methodist Health System, met with 92-year-old patient Joe Anna Logan in September. Surgery is the only chance to save a patient diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. "That is the single treatment that makes a difference in your survival," Dr. Mejia told ABC 8. In the initial appointment, Ms. Logan did not ask if surgery could be performed, but asked when it could be done. Dr. Mejia consulted with Richard Dickerman, MD, senior surgeon and surgical director of the kidney and pancreas transplant program at Methodist, to collaborate on Ms. Logan's surgery. "It was basically because she was in such good shape that we thought she could tolerate such a big operation like this," Dr. Dickerman told ABC 8. Though Ms. Logan's biological age is 92, physiologically her age is younger. Dr. Mejia and Dr. Dickerman performed Ms. Logan's surgery in three hours. Ms. Logan survived the surgery and beat pancreatic cancer at 92 years old. More articles on clinical leadership and infection control: Florida hospital shuts down kidney transplant program New Mexico hospital first in state to win 'patient safety excellence' award for 5 straight years Hand hygiene compliance better during flu season Gallup, N.M.-based Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services is the first hospital in the state to be honored with the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award for five consecutive years. The award by Healthgrades, which provides comparable data on about 4,500 acute care hospitals, ranks Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services in the top 10 percent of the country's hospitals for patient safety. Specific categories the hospital is recognized for include strong nurse and physician communication as well as patient room cleanliness. "I am extremely proud of our hospital staff for delivering some of the best patient safety care in the US," said David Conejo, CEO of Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services. "We all work very hard to maintain these high standards, and being recognized by the community is a great honor." 3 killed, 2 injured in Bara jeep-taxi collision Three persons died and two others sustained critical injuries in a jeep-taxi collision near Bhamara Bridge in Nijgadh Municipality-9 of Bara along the East-West Highway in the wee hours of Saturday. The United States Agency of International Development said the U.S. is worried about the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak, which has 312 confirmed and probable Ebola cases and 191 Ebola-attributed deaths, according to Reuters. "We are absolutely concerned about the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo," a USAID official told Reuters. "It is not comparable at this point to the outbreak that occurred in West Africa in 2014." The 2014 outbreak spread to nine countries and totaled 28,000 cases. USAID officials expressed concern over the active conflict zone in the Congo's North Kivu province. "It is occurring in an area of active conflict, so physical insecurity is a persistent challenge and complication to the ongoing response efforts," the official told Reuters. The rate of Ebola cases has picked up in recent weeks. Neighboring country Uganda has started vaccinating its health workers in case any Ebola cases spill over its borders. The World Health Organization has not declared the Congo's outbreak an international concern. The U.S. has deployed dozens of health experts since August to work with the Congo's health ministry. More articles on clinical leadership and infection control: 3 CHI Texas division hospitals get top marks from Leapfrog for patient safety Dallas surgeons clear 92-year-old patient for cancer surgery Florida hospital shuts down kidney transplant program Four spine surgeons discuss the technologies they see as the future and what they think are just fads that will eventually disappear. Dwight Tyndall, MD. Spine Care Specialists (Munster, Ind.): Robotics and biologics hold great promise long term but will take significant development to become an every day standard of care. If you apply these technologies correctly you can achieve better and more consistent clinical outcomes. With robotics, you can standardize procedures therefore making them more consistent and hence patient care more consistent and predictable. There is a larger upfront cost, but over time and with enough cases the technology should pay for itself. Robots can help the surgeons by taking the variability out of the procedure, which then will make the surgeon more efficient. There are a lot of surgeons putting in pedicle screws with the robot now, and it is surprising how quickly and consistently that part of the procedure can now become. In some ways, I think of a robotic system like an MRI, in that MRI facilitated greatly improved patient care with better and more precise imaging. I think fluoroscopic-guided percutaneous TLIFs is a fad in that we will evolve away from it with better techniques and technology. Andre Jakoi, MD. North Kansas City (Mo.) Hospital: I think the concept of sagittal balance is not just a fad but will be the gold standard when discussing fusion and good long-term outcomes, which may decrease adjacent segment disease and morbidities that follow fusion after the recovery period ends. Conversely, I think a new fad of robotic surgery is not quite there in terms of what it can provide for surgeons. It's early, and I think ultimately the technology will meet the demands and requests of what surgeons need from it, whether that is assistance with osteotomies or decompression,or implementing a surgical plan for deformity cases. Currently I think not as many surgeons are excited about the robot merely planning screw holes when technique, experience and fluoroscopy/navigation are all gold standards. Harel Deutsch, MD. Rush University Medical Center (Chicago): Some of the current trends in the market involve materials. The surface of the implants and the affinity of the implant to bone based on microscopic surface features is a new trend. 3-D printed devices are another technology that is evolving. Some devices can now be made for significantly less cost and therefore there are more innovative product design possibilities. Finally, value-added services, such as navigation and robotics, are used as a hook to get surgeons to use specific devices. The orthopedic devices are built in to integrate with a system such as a robotic system. Some areas in orthopedic devices that I see as fads or at least as possibly declining in popularity are lateral interbody fusions and sacroiliac bone fusions. Alpesh Patel, MD. Chicago Spine MD: I think the biggest trends will come from new technologies and devices that address procedural problems: improving safety and predictability of our surgical procedures. This may come in the form of novel implant materials and/or designs that improve fusion rates, new retractors and neural monitoring that decrease collateral damage and new imaging modalities in the operating room that provide real-time 3D anatomy with more precision and more reliability. The fad that we continue to see, however, is the development of non-differentiating devices. This unfortunately creates a larger drag on pricing across the industry that is starting to be tapped into by large health systems. Most businesses in Northern Ireland would choose the backstop over a no-deal Brexit scenario, a leading figure has suggested. While some business leaders were adopting a wait-and-see approach in the wake of the leaked letter from Theresa May to the DUP leadership, Seamus Leheny of the Freight Transport Association said he believed most would take the backstop over a no-deal situation which he said could leave Northern Ireland's economy "in tatters". The Prime Minister's five-page letter appeared to suggest that she would be prepared to agree to a backstop scenario, seen by the EU as the safety net for a frictionless Irish border in the event of a failure to strike a deal with the UK. However, the backstop could see Northern Ireland remain in the EU customs union and align itself to parts of the single market, resulting in a border down the Irish Sea. Mr Leheny said while the value of goods shipped from Britain to Northern Ireland is a good deal higher than what moves across the border to the Republic, the volume heading south is much greater. In 2016 some 800,000 trailers of goods moved via ferry between Britain and the ports of Larne, Belfast and Warrenpoint. Analysis on 12 cross-border roads in the same year identified 4.6 million goods vehicles. But in monetary terms, 4bn of goods were exported to the Republic in 2016, compared with 14.6bn to Britain. "At recent meetings in Belfast, London and Brussels, all business sectors from Northern Ireland have agreed a no-deal Brexit must be avoided," said Mr Leheny. "To pursue, or indeed to sleepwalk into, a no-deal Brexit would unravel the carefully tailored economy of Northern Ireland and potentially leave it in tatters." Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Tina McKenzie said: "While there has been significant comment around a so-called 'hybrid backstop', it would be unwise to welcome or endorse proposals for which there is no written text available to judge. "However, what is clear is that an agreed backstop to ensure that the Northern Ireland/Ireland border continues to be frictionless remains elusive." In recent weeks the FSB has promoted the idea of Northern Ireland as an 'enhanced economic zone', allowing it to trade freely into the UK market and throughout Europe. Ms McKenzie said it could incentivise EU and British businesses to use local ports and airports to transfer and process goods, potentially turning Northern Ireland into the "Singapore of the Western Hemisphere". "This proposal would simultaneously meet all of the concerns expressed by all sides in the negotiations, whilst establishing Northern Ireland as an international trading hub; in essence rendering the need for a backstop unnecessary," she said. As Armistice Day approaches, there will be some who may ask could we do it all again? Does the country have the moral fibre to fight another protracted war, where every last one of our nation's efforts, from the home front to the battlefield, would be co-ordinated and dedicated to military victory? Thankfully, the chances of such a conflict on the colossal scale of the Great War, which left 40 million either dead, wounded, or missing, are slim. That is not to say serious conflicts are not just around the corner, for, depressingly, they are. Global frictions in our geopolitical space mean that conflict is virtually inevitable and the only question is one of scale. Therefore, the question to be asked is: do we have the means and the will to fight a war that could ultimately result in the demise in our way of life? For me, the answer is clearly yes. And this is why. Many people think that fighting power is about the delivery of technology on the battlefield. Of course, this plays a crucial part and can act as a force multiplier in any given conflict. Indeed, battles are already being fought daily in cyberspace and their outcomes can be as lethal as any direct military action and possess the capacity to topple governments, countries and coalitions. However, on the traditional battlefield - if there is such a thing anymore - fighting power is made up of three main, balanced components: the physical, the moral and the conceptual, each complementing the other. The physical component is about who we are, our people, their training, the equipment they use and how it is resourced. The moral component is about our ethical foundations, leadership and morale, while the conceptual component is about knowing how to fight. Yet, doctrine definitions don't tell the whole story. For those who think the youth of today - much criticised in society - are soft, I can tell you categorically that they are not. I served with young men who, straight out of training, found themselves in the heat of battle, showing that same grit and determination that was to be found in the mud of the Great War. In 2012, I wrote about the experiences of my young soldiers thus: "In the middle of winter in southern Helmand, the fighting and killing is done in the open, in mud-heavy fields, freshly ploughed and irrigated. "There is nowhere to hide, the irrigation ditches that could give cover have been seeded with IEDs (improvised explosive devices), the bare tree-lines no longer providing cover from view, or fire. "The mud is everywhere, it clings to your boots like glue and sucks the soldiers' legs into the saturated terrain. "It is a scene and experience that would not be alien to those who served in the Great War. When the bullets come, there is no quick dash to safety, the mud rooting you to the spot. "As the enemy engages, the cursing and high-pitched screaming of men starts. But, very soon, the training and the adrenaline really do kick in and the job of war truly begins." The young men - for it was mostly young men - who fought on the battlefields of Ypres, Mons, The Somme and Gallipoli are the same young men who fought in Korea, the Falklands and Afghanistan. They are now joined by extremely brave and dedicated young women, whose courage I have also seen at first-hand. Many will argue that today's armed forces are professional, well-trained, well-resourced, but small, and this is true - certainly when compared to the size of the standing armies of Russia, or China, for example. Any major conflict would require a conscripted, or volunteer citizens', army, as it did in 1914 and I see no signs that an increase in the armed forces density could not be achieved in times of national crisis. Is it simply jingoistic to say such a thing in the colloquial sense of the word? Maybe it is. But maybe that kind of self-belief is what makes countries victorious. There have undoubtedly been huge changes in society in the last century and, for many, we now appear to live in a more selfish, materialistic and consumer-based society, where national pride, patriotism and even sovereignty are dismissed as outdated and unfashionable concepts by many. I disagree, because for me the United Kingdom retains that same will to fight and win today as they did 100 years ago. As a nation, I believe - even as divided as we are today - that we would come together yet again on the home front and the battlefield in the face of an existential threat, to ensure our way of life continues. Let us hope and do all we can to ensure that such a situation never presents itself and that the industrial slaughter and unimaginable suffering of 100 years ago is never repeated. The Ivory is a restaurant perched on the top floor of Belfast's Victoria Square shopping mall. It's been there ever since the mall opened 10 years ago. It occupies a prime site with a view. By any standards, the location gives the restaurant a head start. The adviser and I visited recently and, unable to find anyone (we waited a few minutes near the entrance, the restaurant was half-empty, but there seemed to be no staff around), we went to Zizzi instead. When you think Zizzi is going to be better than some place else, you know there's something up. This week, I made a return visit with a fearless journalist from a sister newspaper. This time would be different. There was staff and a good few tables in, too. It could be that I hadn't paid attention the first time I came here some years earlier, but I couldn't really see any difference in the place. In fact, when I sat down on the edge of a banquette at a table for two, the innards of the seat appeared to have long since been worn down to paper-thin meanness and had lost volume, meaning a very awkward reach for the cutlery and food, which was now on a table far higher. The Ivory has the feel and smell of one of those regional airport restaurants with mid-Nineties dark wood and faux leather upholstery. You cannot find a good spot, because, in fact, there is no heart in the place. It's just a void with tables and chairs and the strong, lingering whiff of disinfectant. But we're here now and the menu looks interesting. There are tones hinting at Middle Eastern exotic, with borlotti bean hummus with harissa, dukkha, carrots sticks and flatbread. This is excellent. Texture and flavour of the hummus, interestingly lighter than the chickpea version, is heightened by the pomegranate seeds and sprinkling of dukkha. The harissa creates little disturbance. This is one of the great spices of the world, a wonderful preserver and hotter-upper of all things it touches. But not today. Which is surprising, because chef Adam Sarhan, formerly of the Quartisan, where he was cooking authentic, fiery, beautifully balanced Middle Eastern dishes, is now the kitchen boss. A very charming server is attentive and informed and we both lean towards the North African names for a number of starters, rather than any mains. There are grilled chicken skewers with sumac, grilled vegetables, pomegranate and zaatar-spiced creme fresh. Zaatar is the signature flavour of Lebanon, providing dusty depth, heat and tone to all dishes. Sumac is a fruit herb typical of culinary traditions across Africa, which gives tang and bite. None of this is evident in either of our chicken dishes. The chicken itself has as much moisture as tumble-dried chamois and the flavours have all died somewhere else. A plate of salt and chilli prawns, on the other hand, is delightful, light and bursting with plump and juicy flavours backed up by sparkling tomato ceviche and watercress and saffron aioli. The prawns are proof that somebody in the kitchen knows what to do. The hand of Sarhan is evident. Then there is a terribly long wait. It's a Tuesday lunchtime: people have work to get back to, or shops to visit. This goes beyond tolerable and I suggest we pay for what we've had when journo nudges the server. Not sure if they had forgotten, or what, but the food eventually arrives. It wasn't worth the wait. A bowl of gnocchi with merguez sausage, two of my favourite things, is supported in vain by some spinach (tasty), preserved lemons (nice chew), capers and ricotta, all fine. But they can do nothing to bring back to life the tasteless and listless merguez, nor the fat and greasy gnocchi. We don't stay for coffee as we ran out of time half-an-hour ago. The Ivory can do better than this. It's coming up to Christmas; they surely must have some of the best opportunities to attract diners in all day long. But at these prices, the so-so food, slow service and an unattractive and dated environment, way past its design sell-by date, there are far better places to drop half the money. The bill Hummus 5.95 Chicken skewers x 2 17.90 Prawns 8.95 Gnocchi8.95 Zaatar fries4.50 Glass Chardonnay 7.50 Glass merlot7.95 Bottle Pellegrino4.95 Small Pellegrino 2.75 Total: 69.40 Conor McKenna enlisted with the Royal Irish Regiment in 2000 Conor McKenna enlisted with the Royal Irish Regiment in 2000 A Catholic man from north Belfast has received a massive online response after going public on his decision to join the British Army 18 years ago. Conor Gerard McKenna (34), who has served in the Royal Irish Regiment since 2000 and now lives in Scotland, explained his reasons in a Facebook post that has attracted thousands of comments and shares. The avid Celtic fan, who served in the second Gulf War as well as here, was too young to join the Irish Defence Forces and decided to enlist in the Royal Irish. But he lost friends as a result, and some family relationships became strained. Some of his relatives were concerned at the implications. But he said that his Protestant-born mother, who is from Glasgow, was more accepting of his choice. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, the soldier recalled that growing up close to the Antrim Road was an "interesting" experience. "We were only one of a few Catholic families that lived on our street," he said. "I remember the UFF shot through the window of one of our neighbour's houses. "We used to get tortured and I'd a few fisticuffs with boys down our street. "It's funny, though, that some of the boys I may have been fighting with from the Shore Road, Fairhill and Mount Vernon signed up at the same time as me." He recalled the various negative reactions he had to contend with, and was labelled a "turncoat" when he met people from the area where he grew up. Asked about feelings of Britishness or Irishness, he said: "We are who we are. "It's just unfortunate about the way we've been brought up "I don't even think I'd say I'm Catholic anymore. "I don't practise any religion or have any beliefs or ideologies. I'm just me. "The Army is the same to me as the day I joined. "The boys I've served with are family now, they're brothers. "There's a community feel that's never going away." The huge reaction to his post on Facebook has taken him by surprise. More than 12,000 people have 'liked' it with over 2,000 comments and 4,000 shares. "I wasn't expecting it to go viral." he added. "I can't get my head around it at all." In any negotiation process all participants need to be conscious of an inherent risk, namely, that their own participation creates a sense of ownership and attachment. The long hours, the focus on one new draft after another can cloud the original objective. The desire to produce the right deal can be superseded by the perceived need to produce a deal. This is why all negotiations need measures to prevent this, a check mechanism and preferably multiple ones. With the current UK-EU negotiations, there are two identifiable check mechanisms or lines of defence to concluding an unwise agreement - Cabinet and Parliament. Last week, I wrote to the Prime Minister outlining broad concerns about the direction of travel. This could be discerned from shifts in public comments, private engagements and what was being briefed in London, Dublin and Brussels. I wrote in the hope of reassurance and with the desire that an acceptable deal for us all was within grasp. Instead, I received confirmation that we were right to be concerned. If what is outlined in the reply is the type of deal the Prime Minister intends to conclude, then the DUP could not support a deal which annexes Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom. Indeed, many others in Westminster and throughout the United Kingdom, true to their commitments to respect the referendum, the national interest and to the Union, have contacted me to voice their concern. Equally we cannot be assured that this current proposal will be the final deal. The European Union 'price' for agreement appears to rise daily whether it be our fishing industry or an ever growing list of level playing field commitments. Last December when this 'backstop' appeared we were deeply concerned. This is why we sought and got the paragraph 50 assurance of a democratic protection against a sea border. In March, the EU made clear its intention to ignore paragraph 50 and rewrite paragraph 49. We took no solace from our predictions being correct but we did take solace that it was universally rejected. Neither the passage of time nor the application of pressure has made it any more acceptable now. The 'new' idea of a UK customs arrangement does not appear to be a genuinely UK-wide offer but a GB offer and an NI offer badged as one - Northern Ireland in THE EU customs territory and GB in A customs union. The real intent is not to solve any land border issues in Ireland but to handcuff the UK to the EU, with the EU holding the keys. The United Kingdom would be trapped. The focus on customs arrangements should never blind anyone to a sea border of regulations. We certainly did not forget it and why we raised it repeatedly and consistently. It was something the Prime Minister ruled out after Salzburg: "no new regulatory barriers should be created between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK unless the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly agree." The limited and low level checks that exist at the moment in Belfast and Larne do not compare to what wo uld be the future arrangement. Key industries in Northern Ireland would be subject to rules and standards with no democratic input to them. Rules would be made in Brussels rather than Stormont or Westminster. The regulatory sea border with some caveats in the Prime Minister's letter is still a sea border. This is not haggling about checks but preventing Northern Ireland from being left in the EU with the Northern Ireland Assembly reduced to vassal status or the devolution settlement torn up. Our most important trade flows are to be hampered and regulated by the EU. Despite all of this a Northern Ireland specific backstop still remains. The Scottish Conservative MP Ross Thomson has rightly warned: "Northern Ireland would diverge unconsciously from the United Kingdom against the expressed will of its people - it would also feed Scottish nationalist demands that a similar divergent arrangement be made for Scotland." The DUP does not stand alone against this proposal. We appreciate the support from MPs across the United Kingdom. We are ready to stand with those in Cabinet and in Parliament to work for a better deal. One which works for the whole United Kingdom. We want the referendum result to be respected and the entire United Kingdom to leave together with a sensible deal. A house with two young children in it has been set on fire in Lurgan in an arson incident. At around 11.45pm police received a report of a fire at a house in the Wellington Street area. The front door and hallway of the house were damaged as a result of the fire. A man, a woman and two young children were in the house at the time of the fire but were not injured. Police say the occupants have been left "shaken" by the ordeal. Detective Sergeant Patterson is appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident or anyone with any information that can assist with the investigation to contact detectives in Lurgan on 101 quoting reference 1521 09/11/18. Information can also be provided to independent charity anonymously Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Man dies on house fire A person was killed in a house fire at Tarigaun in Tulsipur Sub-metropolitan city, Dang, on Friday night. Fianna Fail TD Eamon O Cuiv (left) and Senator Mark Daly with Sorcha McAnespy last month, who hopes to stand for election in NI for the party An independent Co Tyrone councillor at the centre of a Fianna Fail fall-out says she still intends to run as a candidate for the party in next year's council elections. Sorcha McAnespy also said her position on the party's national executive is not under threat. Ms McAnespy is said to be contesting next May's Fermanagh and Omagh District Council election as a Fianna Fail candidate - but the party said it had made "no decision" on taking part. On Wednesday Kerry senator Mark Daly was stripped of his title as Fianna Fail's deputy leader in the Seanad for his role in an event on October 25 which appeared to unveil Ms McAnespy as a candidate without the party's permission. He also lost his title of Fianna Fail's Seanad spokesperson on foreign affairs. A day later, Eamon O Cuiv was removed from the Fianna Fail front bench over his involvement in the same event. Fianna Fail quickly issued a statement saying no decision had been made to put forward candidates for next year's Northern Ireland local elections. Ms McAnespy, an Omagh councillor, has now received confirmation that her role with the party will continue. "My position on the national executive is not under threat," she said. "In fact, on Thursday I received the official notification in the post. "As the local councillor and Fianna Fail Ard Chomhairle member, the natural assumption that it would be my desire to run under the Fianna Fail banner in the local council elections in May 2019 is not contested. "However, like any democratic party, there are procedures to be followed in these processes. The purpose of the meeting held in Omagh was to share with my constituents and the greater community my perspective on Brexit, the Good Friday Agreement and issues arising from the recent Brexit referendum. "Brexit has presented a number of issues for constituents who have asked me to assist in a range of areas and to help address many concerns. "The farming community, business groups, health care professionals and many others have asked me to represent their concerns. The volume of people looking for assistance with passport applications alone at times has been overwhelming. "As an elected representative of the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council I am the only local councillor to date to openly hold such a public event on Brexit. I hope to hold similar events in the near future. "Also being an elected representative on the Fianna Fail national executive, I invited members of Fianna Fail to the event including former government minister Eamon O Cuiv TD, who addressed the meeting." Ms McAnespy quit Sinn Fein in 2016 and would become the first Fianna Fail candidate to stand in an election in Northern Ireland. Outlining her political future, she added: "I am an independent councillor at present. I fully intend to contest elections in the future as a Fianna Fail candidate and I want to thank my many friends, family and the wider community for their ongoing support. "I want to give a special thanks to all the Fianna Fail members and officials who have supported and advised me at this time. "The response I received from the Omagh public has been incredible. I may be an independent councillor at present but it is refreshing to have the confidence of a national organisation behind me and the people I represent." The area outside City Hall where the incident happened / Credit: Google Maps A 23-year-old man is in hospital following an early-morning assault in the centre of Belfast. The incident happened outside Belfast City Hall on Donegall Square North shortly before 2am. A 19-year-old man has been arrested and is in police custody. The victim has been taken to hospital for injuries which are being described as serious. Detective Sergeant Corrigan said: I would appeal to anyone who was in the area of Donegall Square North just before 2.00am this morning or anyone who has dash-cam footage of this incident to contact Detectives at Musgrave on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 122 10/11/18." Alternatively the public can contact independent charity Crimestoppes anonymously on 0800 555 111. I and the leaders of the other four pro-Remain parties will be in London on Monday and meeting An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Wednesday when we will be sending a strong, united message that the backstop, as already agreed, must be delivered. The political machinations over recent days cannot distract from the fact the backstop was agreed between the British Government and the EU 27 last December. That remains the bottom line in order to prevent a hard border and safeguard our political and economic stability now and for the future. There can be no hardening of the border on the island, no undermining of the Good Friday Agreement and no loss of citizens' rights. The consequences of Brexit are real and they will be lasting. The backstop must be also. The DUP are ignoring the evidence from our business community, our farming industry and from citizens the length and breadth of Ireland, who support a bespoke arrangement that meets our particular needs and reflects our particular realities. The DUP, as on many issues, do not speak for the majority when it comes to Brexit. The four pro-Remain parties will again make that abundantly clear when we meet political leaders in Britain and Ireland next week. It is our parties that represent the majority of citizens in the North who voted to Remain. And we will be stressing that the backstop, as agreed in December, is the absolute bottom line for Sinn Fein, the SDLP, Alliance and Green Party. The North simply cannot afford to be excluded from the customs union and single market at the behest of a reckless DUP-Tory agenda that is prepared to drive our economy over a cliff edge for the sake of political rhetoric. As we enter the endgame of the Brexit negotiation process, all pro-Remain parties must continue to represent the demand for our rights and political processes to be protected and the onus is firmly on the Dublin Government and the EU 27 to ensure Theresa May is held accountable to the agreement she made in December. The officer said the victim may soon be discharged (stock picture) The mother of a four-week-old baby has been left blind in one eye after a brutal attack carried out by her husband, a court has heard. While taken to hospital by her alleged attacker and his mother, the victim was too scared to tell medical staff what had occurred until both had left, it was said. In the dock of Dungannon Magistrates Court was Sean McDonagh (21) of The Glen, Coalisland, who is accused of unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on his wife, the mother of the new baby and a toddler. A police officer said the charge could be connected. Opposing bail, she explained that the victim was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital on Wednesday by McDonagh and his mother. She had sustained a severe injury to her right eye and needed emergency surgery. The socket was fractured and she is now blind in that eye. McDonagh and his mother stayed at the hospital for some time, but when they finally left, the woman contacted police. Officers attended, recording her comments on body-worn cameras. She said fear of her husband was why she waited until he and his mother had left before speaking to medical staff and police, the court heard. She describing McDonagh delivering a blow her face during a visit to his mother's home. Police called with the mother who advised McDonagh would be contacted. He surrendered to police later that day. The court heard that in an interview he replied "no comment" to all questions, but "became emotional and cried" on being shown footage of his wife's disclosures. The officer said: "Police have concerns of victim interference. She has expressed fears he will attempt to visit her in hospital. There are two very small children in the relationship, one aged two and the baby, four weeks. "Police are particularly concerned the victim was unable to speak freely to medical staff due to the presence of the defendant and his mother. We are concerned for her safety. She has suffered extremely serious, life-changing injuries." Under cross-examination the officer confirmed that McDonagh has no previous record, there is no domestic violence history and that he surrendered to police without incident. Arguing for bail to be granted, the defence said: "My client is a relatively young man with no previous. It is appreciated the offence is serious and the injuries appear to be life-changing." District Judge John Meehan said: "The relevant forces must gather around this victim as the court is all too familiar with issues securing a statement of complaint. However, I bear in mind there is body-worn footage, so a statement is not just as critical in this instance." The officer said the victim may soon be discharged. Bail was set at 500 with a 500 surety. McDonagh is banned from entering within five miles of a specified area of Omagh, and all contact with the children is to be instigated and conducted by Social Services only. A couple aged in their 70s have been thrown to the ground during what police have described as a "horrific attack". The attack happened during a break-in at their home in Elmfield Villas in Warrenpoint. It was reported to police at around 8pm on Friday night three men had forced their way into the home of a couple aged in their 70s. During the break-in the man was thrown to the ground and the woman was grabbed by the throat. Police have described those who carried out the attack as the "dregs of society". In a post on the Facebook page of the PSNI Newry & Mourne division wrote: "This was a horrific attack and this elderly couple endured a frightening and violent violation of their home. "The individuals who carried out this attack are the dregs of society with nothing to offer and all to take. These people need to face the full rigor of the law. "Did you see anything suspicious in the Elmfield area or the Upper Dromore Road area of Warrenpoint this evening?" Police have asked the public to come forward if: they noticed anything unusual in the area; if they live in the area and have CCTV footage of the incident; or if they were driving in the area and have dash cam footage. Detective Sergeant Connor said: "Anyone with information should contact detectives in Ardmore on 101 quoting reference 1261 09/11/18. Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime." A Romanian family have spoken of their lucky escape after they battled to extinguish a fire lit under their door in a hate crime in east Belfast. Florentina Lacatus (26), her husband Alin (24) and their children Adrian Florin (6) and four-year-old Lacrinuioara had their Hyndford Street home targeted during the early hours of yesterday. Just after midnight a flammable liquid was poured through their letterbox, which was then set alight. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph through relative Anna-Marie Lacatus, they gave a terrifying account of their ordeal. Ms Lacatus explained: "They were upstairs and somebody, I don't know who it is, but they set the door on fire. "It started the alarm and the wife came back from upstairs and saw fire on the door. All the door was on fire. "My friend, she put water on the fire from the inside (of the house)." She added that the family believed that they had been targeted because they are Romanian. Ms Lacatus, who has lived in Belfast since September 2017, claimed her own house had been subjected to an attack last month, which had left visible marks on the property. "I don't know who it is or what is their problem or why they do it," she said. Meanwhile, a resident living in Hyndford Street, who did not want to be named, said she was alerted to the fire within minutes. "At about five past 12 I heard smoke alarms and I looked out the bedroom window and saw a very small fire at the bottom of the front door," she said. She explained that she had rushed down the stairs to go and help when her partner informed her that the fire had been put out and emergency services contacted. "I was like, thank God for that there because it's children, you know what I mean," the woman continued. "It's wrong obviously because there's children in the house. It was scary because if that door had lit (up) it would have been frightening with kids in the house." PSNI Detective Sergeant Sam McCallum condemned the incident and appealed for anyone with information to come forward. "This was a reckless act on a home where a family have the right to feel safe," he said. "We could have been dealing with something much more serious today. Thankfully no one was injured, however the family has been left badly shaken." The detective said that enquiries are at an early stage, but the incident was being treated as a racially-motivated arson. "Hate crime, in all its forms, is totally unacceptable," DS McCallum added. "It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to ensure that we live in a society where diversity is respected." Alliance MLA Chris Lyttle hit out at those behind the racist attack, branding them a "danger" to society. "This was a thoroughly reckless attack which could have resulted in serious injury or even death," he said. "Racism has no place in our society and must be condemned by everyone. "The vast majority of people in East Belfast are welcoming and abhor both the attitude and actions of those who carried out this attack. "Clearly the perpetrators are a danger to our entire community." He added: "I would urge anyone with information to contact police with it immediately." Anyone who witnessed the attack, or who has information about it, can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or 101 quoting reference number six. The leaflet Aramark distributed to students at the University of LImerick (Declan Mills/PA) A company which supplies services to Direct Provision asylum centres has defended its stance by handing out leaflets on a university campus. Aramark Corporation, which supplies catering services to three Direct Provision centres, had staff distribute flyers around the University of Limerick (UL) this week after some students questioned the ethics of companies directly involved with facilities that house refugees. Aramark also provides a number of catering services around the campus of UL. Aramark has no say, influence or involvement in the establishment of this system or in the residency or asylum application processAramark spokesman The leaflet, titled The Facts, defends the companys role in Direct Provision, saying: Aramark has no say, influence or involvement in the establishment of this system or in the residency or asylum application process. The move came after some at UL had become increasingly vocal about their objection to Direct Provision and advised students of Aramarks services to the centres. Some of the students who attend UL currently live in Direct Provision, and some have criticised the university for calling itself a sanctuary university while contracting those who profit from the centres. UL student Clodagh Guerin said the leaflet drop by Aramark may have unintentionally drawn further attention to the companys role in Direct Provision to students who were previously unaware. The ties UL have with Aramark are obviously of huge concern, and we're urging students and staff to be careful and thoughtful about where they spend their moneyUL student Clodagh Guerin ULs student life centre started taking a formal stance against Direct Provision, she said. The ties UL have with Aramark are obviously of huge concern, and were urging students and staff to be careful and thoughtful about where they spend their money. Aramarks position is one we do not support, and we are encouraging people to terminate their support of them as a company. Responding to the article in the student paper, and to ULs stance in general, by having baristas and caterers hand out these flyers, they have shown that they feel the pressure of our voices. We are against Direct Provision, and no flyer will change our minds, or distract us from the truth. A spokesman for Aramark admitted that the leaflets were sent out in response to student criticism of the company. A small number of students at UL began questioning the services we provide to the Department of Justice & Equality. We have been providing information at our locations to ensure that our customers are fully informed of the facts, he said. University of Limerick is aware of the concerns of the students and have raised these with Aramark The university has defended its stance to contract Aramark, but said it does not agree with Direct Provision. A spokesman said: University of Limerick is a sanctuary university that offers those living in Direct Provision a chance to go to university, with 17 scholarships being funded this year. The university has serious concerns about the Governments plan for asylum seekers, especially with how they are housed, and believes that they should be afforded the opportunity to work and receive state social services like the rest of the population. University of Limerick is aware of the concerns of the students and have raised these with Aramark. Direct Provision is the current system of accommodating asylum seekers in Ireland. Asylum seekers are housed in residential institutions known as Direct Provision centres across the country, with 32 facilities in total. Seven of the centres are state-owned but the majority are run on a for-profit basis by private contractors. In recent years there have been media reports about concerns regarding the level of care and cleanliness as well as availability of food in the centres, which are usually closed off to the wider public. One dies from knife attack One person died from a knife attack during a clash in Banke district on Saturday morning. Some 2 million has been invested at a Co Down primary school as it marks its 180th year. As part of the project at St Joseph's, Newcastle, a large extension was constructed which has created a new entrance, a multi-purpose hall, kitchen, changing rooms, toilets and four new classrooms. The main building was also refurbished providing two classrooms, a resource area, staff room, multi-purpose room and medical room while most of the temporary accommodation was removed. The scheme was delivered under the school enhancement programme, which provides much needed facilities to improve school environments. Derek Baker, permanent secretary for the Department of Education, said: "St Joseph's Primary School is celebrating its 180 year anniversary and I want to congratulate them on this achievement." He added; "I am especially pleased that this major investment has made such a difference to this school, creating new classrooms and other vital space while at the same time retaining an important piece of local history by enhancing the original national school which opened its doors in 1838. "These excellent facilities have been delivered under the school enhancement programme and are evidence of the very real benefits for our schools estate, providing much needed facilities and creating a better place in which pupils can learn and flourish for many generations to come." The university is being lit up red for the centenary of the end of the First World War (University of St Andrews/PA) A virtual museum has been created to help remember some of the Scots who died in the First World War, a university has revealed. Experts from the University of St Andrews school of computer science have worked with the Royal Scots Museum in Edinburgh to create a digital roll of honour for all the members of the regiment who were killed in the conflict from 1914 to 1918. It contains information on the soldiers lives, deaths, medals and graves as well as any photographs that are available of them. The university, which is taking part in Poppy Scotlands national Light Up Red campaign this weekend, said one in 10 of all its graduates who perished in the Great War served with the Royal Scots. The University of St Andrews commemorates students who were killed serving with The Royal Scots to mark the centenary of the First World War. Search the @StAndrewsCS #WW1 roll of honour: https://t.co/0rzZfpYlUF#Armistice100 #Rememberance #WW100 pic.twitter.com/itQv2EteoB University of St Andrews (@univofstandrews) November 10, 2018 Among those featured in the roll of honour is Charles Whitehead Yule, who was killed near Vermelles in France on May 11, 1916 at the age of 26. The son of a builder from Kinghorn in Fife, he went on to gain a first class honours degree in classics and economic science, then a BLitt postgraduate degree from the university. A keen rugby player and member of the Officer Training Corps (OTC), he worked at General Register House in Edinburgh before being commissioned in 1914 as a second lieutenant in the Royal Scots. He went on to become a lieutenant and a temporary captain before his death in a direct hit from German artillery. Also featured in the website is George Scott Philp, from Dunfermline in Fife, who was 33 when he died at Gallipoli in May 1915. He had graduated with an MA in 1904 and was a member of the university battery, a group of artillery volunteers. Just a few weeks after war broke out, the teacher enlisted in the 4th battalion of the Royal Scots also known as the Edinburgh Rifles and rose to become lance-corporal. The full roll, unveiled as the country marks the centenary of the First World War this weekend, can be viewed at http://straylight.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/royalscots/ Sajid Javid has said there needs to be more leadership all round after unveiling details of a new drive to stop youngsters being drawn into crime. The Home Secretary announced that 29 projects endorsed by Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales will receive funding totalling 17.7 million over two years. The money will go towards initiatives that aim to divert children and young people away from a life of crime and violence at an early stage. Expand Close Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick with Home Secretary Sajid Javid during a visit to Brixton (Gareth Fuller/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick with Home Secretary Sajid Javid during a visit to Brixton (Gareth Fuller/PA) Ministers have come under intense pressure over efforts to tackle spiralling levels of violent crime. Particular focus has fallen on London after a spate of fatal stabbings in the capital. On a visit to Brixton in south London on Saturday, Mr Javid said the root causes of serious violence need to be tackled. He was asked about comments reportedly made by the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Cressida Dick, about the Home Office needing to show greater leadership. Expand Close With Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick in Brixton (Gareth Fuller/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp With Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick in Brixton (Gareth Fuller/PA) He said: I think there needs to be more leadership all round in this. This is a huge issue, huge challenge were facing, young people losing their lives. These arent statistics, theyre real people. Parents and others will be absolutely devastated and theyre looking for leadership on this issue, absolutely from government, but also from police, from mayors and others. And thats what theyre certainly going to get from the Government. Asked about her comments, Ms Dick, who joined Mr Javid on the visit, said: I think, genuinely, people have taken out of context what I was trying to say. In a long-ranging interview, I said that in relation to technology, in a highly complicated system, where we need to get ahead of the criminals and be able to develop technology really fast, it would be really helpful if the Home Office were able to lead that more than they have done in the past. Thats all I was saying. Im working really closely with the Home Office and the Home Secretary and of course the mayor on serious violence. I think the public want us to be focused on violence. There is no disagreement between us about that at all. Were working very, very well together. The pair were in Brixton meeting young people who have been through a programme called Divert. Plans for an Early Intervention Youth Fund were set out in the Serious Violence Strategy, which was published in April. Important work being done by the DIVERT project in Brixton - helping young people on a path to training & employment. Early intervention is key in the fight against serious violence pic.twitter.com/C54wDtdFWZ Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) November 10, 2018 Announcing the recipients, Mr Javid said: As well as taking immediate action to curb knife crime, we need a longer-term approach to prevent our young people from getting drawn into a life of crime in the first place. That is why early intervention alongside tough law enforcement is at the heart of our Serious Violence Strategy. This money will fund a range of projects that focus on diverting vulnerable youngsters and those who have already offended away from crime. Measures used by the chosen projects include mentoring, support for families and steps to guide youngsters into employment or education. Efforts to combat the influence of so-called county lines gangs are part of the remit of a number of the selected schemes. Ten of the projects chosen for the fund are London-based. Others are in the PCC areas of Norfolk, Sussex, Avon and Somerset, Merseyside, Essex, Humberside, West Midlands, Northamptonshire, Suffolk, Greater Manchester, Cleveland, Devon & Cornwall, Northumbria, Hampshire, Thames Valley, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. A combined all-Wales bid was also successful. The Queen arrives for the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall (Chris Jackson/PA) The Queen and Prime Minister have paid tribute to those who fought in the First World War at a remembrance event marking a century since the Armistice. The Royal Family stood as thousands of audience members held aloft photos of those who took part in the conflict, and descendants stood in the middle of the Royal Albert Hall with pictures of their ancestors. Theresa May and her husband Philip held aloft photos of two of her ancestors, including Private Hubert Brasier Grant, of the East Surrey Regiment, who died at Passchendaele in 1917 aged 19. Expand Close The Queen with the Prince of Wales, during the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall (Chris Jackson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Queen with the Prince of Wales, during the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall (Chris Jackson/PA) Mrs May attended a service to mark the centenary of the battle last year and found her fathers cousins name on the Menin Gate Memorial in Belgium. A photograph was also shown of the PMs grandfather Sergeant Major Tom Brasier, who served with the Kings Royal Rifle Corps. The PM and her husband joined thousands of servicemen and women at the annual Festival of Remembrance, organised by the Royal British Legion and marking 100 years since the guns fell silent. Expand Close Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip attended the event (Chris Jackson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip attended the event (Chris Jackson/PA) Alongside the Queen in the royal box were other senior royals including the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. All were dressed in dark clothing as they watched from the box, giving standing ovations to welcome the Chelsea Pensioners and bereaved family members. The Queen raised her right hand in acknowledgement twice after the crowd sang the national anthem and cheers were sent her way. Sir Tom Jones led the musical performances, singing Coming In On A Wing And A Prayer alongside the RAF Squadronaires. Expand Close Sir Tom Jones performs during the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall (Chris Jackson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sir Tom Jones performs during the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall (Chris Jackson/PA) Sheridan Smith was backed softly by a piano as she sang Are You Just Sleeping, while Tom Fletcher from McFly performed Born To Fly with Danny Jones, which he wrote to celebrate 100 years of the Royal Air Force. Sheku Kanneh-Mason, the cellist who delighted millions at Harry and Meghans wedding earlier this year, played a modern version of Leonard Cohens Hallelujah to a hushed crowd. Other famous faces attending included Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and former Countdown presenter Carol Vorderman. Expand Close The Duchess of Sussex arrives for the event at the Royal Albert Hall (Chris Jackson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Duchess of Sussex arrives for the event at the Royal Albert Hall (Chris Jackson/PA) A poignant citation, written for Saturday evening by childrens author Sir Michael Morpurgo, was read by Second World War pilot Colin Bell. He read: They came because country called, because they knew it had to be done, that unless they went to fight there could be no peace. And still today they come forward, our soldiers and sailors and airmen and women, a hundred years on. They come, carrying the torch for freedom, our freedom. Expand Close The Duchess of Cambridge was among the royals at the commemoration in London (Chris Jackson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Duchess of Cambridge was among the royals at the commemoration in London (Chris Jackson/PA) The Last Post sounded before poppies began to fall to the floor, forming a poignant carpet of red. The hall was bathed in silence as the petals fluttered down, some falling on to the caps of servicemen and women standing below. Members of the public mingled with members of the armed forces in the centre of the hall after the service ended. The Justice Secretary has said there are rightly questions being asked following the death of a teenager at a young offenders institution. Sixteen-year-old William Brown, also known as William Lindsay, died while on remand at Polmont Young Offenders Institution (YOI) in October. The Scotsman reported that he had taken his own life days after being remanded, despite having been flagged up as a suicide risk. A mandatory Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) will be carried out in due course. The story of William Lindsay is a tragedy - there are rightly questions being asked. I will explore what can be done in the immediate term and what is more appropriate for the Fatal Accident Inquiry. https://t.co/nx5eXVVrea Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) November 10, 2018 The newspaper report comes around a fortnight after the parents of a young woman who killed herself in Polmont YOI called for a review of Scotlands prison system. Katie Allans family sought a meeting with Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf as they launched a campaign calling for change. Responding to the Scotsman report on Twitter, Scottish Labours health spokeswoman Monica Lennon MSP said: Another preventable suicide. Another young life ended in prison. Katie Allan and William Lindsay are not the first young people to die at the hands of a broken system but they must be the last. What the hell is going on at Polmont? Mr Yousaf said he will set out the steps being taken to ensure we are providing the best possible care for young people in custody. He tweeted: The story of William Lindsay is a tragedy there are rightly questions being asked. I will explore what can be done in the immediate term and what is more appropriate for the Fatal Accident Inquiry. He also tweeted: I am meeting the family of Katie Allan shortly the other young person referenced in the article. After listening to their concerns I will give details on what we intend to do to ensure we are providing the best possible care for our young people within the prison estate. Ms Allan, a 21-year-old geography student, was convicted in March of a drink-driving offence which saw her injure a pedestrian and she was sentenced to 16 months in jail. Stuart and Linda Allan said their daughter was bullied in Polmont YOI near Falkirk and lost more than 80% of her hair due to the state of her mental health. She died there in June. Another preventable suicide. Another young life ended in prison. Katie Allan and William Lindsay are not the first young people to die at the hands of a broken system but they must be the last. What the hell is going on at Polmont? @HumzaYousaf @JeaneF1MSP @haughey_clare https://t.co/PuMSFO7zRb Monica Lennon MSP (@MonicaLennon7) November 10, 2018 An entry on the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) website notes: William Brown, 16, a prisoner at HMP & YOI Polmont has died. He was remanded at Glasgow Sheriff Court on 4 October 2018. Police Scotland have been advised and the matter reported to the Procurator Fiscal. A Fatal Accident Inquiry will be held in due course. Mr and Mrs Allans lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said the two deaths were not inevitable. He has called for all those politicians who claim to care about justice or young people to consider their shameful silence on this issue. Responding to the latest case, a Scottish Government spokesman said: Our thoughts are with the family and friends of this young man. Investigations have begun ahead of the Fatal Accident Inquiry and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment on the specifics of this individual case. We recognise, however, that many young people entering the criminal justice system have complex needs and we work with agencies to ensure appropriate support is available when needed. A Crown Office spokesman said: The investigation into the death of William Brown (or Lindsay) is ongoing and is under the direction of Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit (SFIU). There will be a mandatory Fatal Accident Inquiry in due course once investigations are complete. The family will be kept updated in relation to any significant developments. An SPS spokesman said: Every death in custody is subject to a DIPLAR (Death in Prison Learning and Audit Review), which we will conduct along with partner agencies, and that process would feed into the FAI. McLaren were faced with an unusual problem during free practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix after one of their drivers had a run-in with a bird. Stoffel Vandoorne was taking part in FP3 at Interlagos when he told his team: Im not sure if I hit a bird. Vandoorne wasnt sure see if you can make out what happened. OK copy, will check, the team responded. We think we missed. We think we missed the bird, should be OK, no concern. But while the wing of the car appeared undamaged, others expressed concern over the well-being of the bird itself. #F1 #BrazilGP Vandoorne may have hit a bird but it looks like his McLaren is OK. Not so sure about the bird though Mad Pauly (@madpauly) November 10, 2018 Whether car and beast made impact remains unclear, but what we do know is that Vandoorne will start the race from the back of the track after qualifying bottom of the pack. Both cars return to the garage as our #BrazilGP qualifying session comes to an end. Fernando finishes P18, Stoffel P20. pic.twitter.com/YMnqCl4GTv McLaren (@McLarenF1) November 10, 2018 Fingers crossed our feathered friend is OK. So, the endgame then. For the last year the DUP have been supplying the Government with anything but confidence. The June 2016 sweetheart deal was horribly misnamed. Now, finally, the DUP has called time on the Conservative government's obfuscations and ambiguities. Equally, Theresa May has begun to call time on the DUP, whilst pretending otherwise. The Prime Minister's leaked letter to the DUP insists that 'she could not accept there being any circumstances or conditions in which that "backstop to the backstop" which would break up the UK customs territory, could come into force'. The UK would remain a single customs unit, temporarily aligned to the EU. Did the PM really expect the DUP not to notice the absence of a similar guarantee to Northern Ireland regarding regulatory territory? Dominic Raab might forget about Calais to Dover. Arlene, Nigel and Sammy were never going to do likewise for Stranraer to Larne. For the DUP, the position is clear. If Theresa May really believes the exercise of a backstop, or a backstop to a backstop, cannot or will not happen on her watch - why sign up to a deal which keeps the possibility, however remote, of it happening? And the possibility of a prolonged backstop is not remote at all. The chances of concluding an all-encompassing deal with the EU sometime soon seem about as good as those for an early restoration of the Stormont Assembly. So a backstop moving from temporary to semi-permanent status is probable. And for the DUP any 'Northern Ireland only' backstop feature remains as untenable as it was a year ago. The DUP position has some logic in terms of the party's own worldview - in which economics and constitutional issues are intertwined. In a week in which Canadian economists have hailed the potential value of an all-island economy in a United Ireland, the DUP has again stressed the value of the UK single market. And the DUP steadfastly refuses greater alignment with Ireland which risks Irish unity. What, after all, if unionists get to like the dual trading arrangements of the supposed EU protectorate - a single EU market trading healthily across the border and the rest of the EU states - plus a largely unchanged UK single market? They might dilute or even desert a unionism which is struggling demographically, politically and ideologically. Whether, in terms of objective economics or constitutional analysis, the DUP's position makes sense is another matter. There is no irrefutable evidence that a small increase in regulation of trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland will diminish that trade. A more politically dexterous DUP leadership might be less concerned with a modest extension of regulatory checks on goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. There is already online documentation for the transit of such goods. As for the constitutional question, Northern Ireland's status within the UK is determined by the consent principle of the Good Friday Agreement, not by any one of Barnier, May or Varadkar. But the DUP can hardly row back now. What Theresa May is offering is unsellable in its present language even if the Prime Minister turns up on bended knee at the DUP conference two weeks from today offering another billion pounds. So what can the DUP do, other than rage? It's the Labour 257 (minus a few outright Brexiteers like Kate Hoey) who may matter far more than the DUP 10. If the Prime Minister can soften Brexit sufficiently - and a Customs Union plus an EU Single Market for Northern Ireland is on the cushioned landing side perhaps - then Labour might, just might, abstain or even back the government. That's possibly a bigger ask than the Labour leadership remembering all six of their supposed Brexit "tests". But Labour acquiescence would mean DUP irrelevance in terms of the parliamentary voting arithmetic. If Labour rejects the government's proposals, the DUP parliamentary vote remains important. Conservative Brexiteer opposition (too soft a withdrawal) plus DUP antipathy (Northern Ireland's position is paramount) plus hostility from all the other parties (Brexit seen as disastrous) means no parliamentary majority for the government proposals. That in turn probably means (a) back to Brussels for a better deal - good luck with that; (b) general election - a snap election having worked out so well for the Conservatives last time; or (c) a so-called People's Vote. And with that last option there is the possibility that the Brexit that 70% of DUP voters chose in 2016 doesn't happen at all ... Five people have been killed in a southern California wildfire as another blaze raging in the north of the state triggered a mandatory evacuation order for much of Malibu. The victims bodies were found in vehicles torched by the flames in the town of Paradise, north east of San Francisco. A separate wildfire north west of Los Angeles has roared south, jumping the US 101 freeway early on Friday and sweeping into the Santa Monica Mountains. The beachside town of Malibu, known as the home of many Hollywood stars, has about 13,000 residents and lies along 21 miles of coast at the southern foot of the mountain range. Los Angeles County Fire Department tweeted that the fire is heading towards the ocean, punctuating the message with the declaration: Imminent threat! #WhoolseyFire *URGENT SAFETY MESSAGE* Fire has jumped the 101 fwy near Chesebro and is headed to Ocean Mandatory Evacuations, 101 Fwy to the coast between Las Virgenes Cyn /Malibu Cyn Rd. to the LA County line. Imminent threat! Malibu lakes residents must leave area immediately. L.A. County Fire Department (@LACoFDPIO) November 9, 2018 Malibu officials initially said the order applied to the entire city but have now defined an area that is approximately the western two-thirds of the community. The director of the California Governors Office of Emergency Services says another fire in northern California has claimed lives. Mark Ghilarducci said the number of deaths was not known. He said there are also injuries. A fire official said the blaze in northern California nearly quadrupled in size overnight. Captain Scott McLean of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the fire near the town of Paradise has grown to nearly 110 square miles. The blaze has devastated the town of 27,000 people and is moving north into Sierra Nevada foothill communities. Butte County Sheriffs Office said an evacuation ordered had been issued for the small communities of Stirling City and Inskip. UPDATE: An Evacuation Order has been issued for the area of Stirling City and Inskip. Residents are advised to exit up through Butte Meadows and down Hwy 32. #ButteSheriff #CampFire Butte County Sheriff (@ButteSheriff) November 9, 2018 Cal Fire Captain Bill Murphy said winds have calmed down in the valley but there are shifting, erratic winds with speeds of up to 45mph along ridge tops. The blaze also reached the edge of Chico, a city of 90,000 people. Mr Murphy said firefighters were able to stop the fire at the edge of the city, where evacuation orders remain in place. Expand Close Smoke from wildfires obscures the San Francisco skyline (Eric Risberg/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Smoke from wildfires obscures the San Francisco skyline (Eric Risberg/AP) Authorities issued an unhealthy air quality alert for parts of the San Francisco Bay Area as smoke from the wildfire drifted south. The air in San Francisco was hazy and the smell of smoke overwhelming, prompting officials to declare air quality unhealthy. They advised older people and children to move physical activities indoors. All people were encouraged to limit their outdoor activities. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel remembered those killed in the war (Philippe Wojazer/Pool Photo via AP) The leaders of former enemies France and Germany have joined together to remember soldiers killed in the First World War ahead of the centenary of the Armistice. Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron stood together at the site north of Paris where the defeated Germans and the Allies signed the agreement that ended the 1914-18 war. After the German chancellor briefly snuggled her head into the neck of the French president, the two went inside a replica of the train carriage where the Armistice was reached and put their names in a guestbook. Expand Close French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel sign a guest book inside a replica of the train carriage (Philippe Wojazer/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel sign a guest book inside a replica of the train carriage (Philippe Wojazer/AP) Mr Macron then took Mrs Merkels hand in his, again highlighting the changes on the continent where two world wars were fought in the 20th century. Our Europe has been at peace for 73 years. There is no precedent for it, and it is at peace because we willed it and first and foremost, because Germany and France wanted it, he said. The open show of affection was a welcome moment for Mr Macron. Earlier on Saturday, the French leader had a somewhat awkward meeting with US President Donald Trump. As Air Force One landed in Paris on Friday night, Mr Trump wrote on Twitter he had been very insulted by comments Mr Macron made in the days before that he considered anti-American. A century ago, the entry of US troops into World War One tipped the momentum toward its allies, including France and Britain. Even as he embarked on two days of observances for the November 11, 1918 armistice, Mr Trump said the United States now bears far too much of the burden to defend the West. Expand Close French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel lay a wreath of flowers during the ceremony (Michel Euler/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel lay a wreath of flowers during the ceremony (Michel Euler/AP) A flurry of Armistice-related diplomacy once again turned Paris, the jewel that Germany sought to take in 1914 but which the Allies successfully fought to defend, into the centre of global attention as dozens of world leaders arrived in the French capital on the eve of the solemn centennial commemorations. Mrs Merkels appearance in Compiegne marked how her nations bloodstained history with France has become a close alliance that is now the driving force behind the European Union. In the four years of fighting, remembered for brutal trench warfare and the first use of gas, France, the British empire, Russia and the United States had the main armies opposing a German-led coalition that also included the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires. Almost 10 million soldiers died. France lost 1.4 million and Germany 2 million. Yet, despite a war that was supposed to end all wars, World War Two pitted both sides against each other once again in 1940. Across the line that once marked the Western Front, leaders lauded the courage of soldiers who were killed during the unprecedented slaughter, before converging on Paris for a dinner. The armistice entered into force on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, and on Sunday 69 world leaders will commemorate the centennial of the event at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, underneath the Arc de Triomphe in central Paris. Sri Lanka's president dissolves parliament, deepening political crisis Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday night and called a general election for Jan. 5 in a move that will likely deepen the countrys political crisis. Donald Trump has criticised French President Emmanuel Macron for an insulting proposal to build up Europes military to counter the US, China and Russia. The US president tweeted after arriving in Paris ahead of an international commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the First World War. He planned to meet Mr Macron on Saturday for talks on topics expected to include European security, Syria and Iran. As he arrived, he tweeted that Mr Macron has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of Nato, which the US subsidises greatly! For Sundays anniversary, Mr Trump is to join world leaders at a ceremony in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe. It should be a very beautiful period of time, the 100th anniversary of the ending of World War I. We have many countries the leadership from many countries will be there, especially since they heard the United States will be there. And we look forward to that, Mr Trump told reporters before leaving the White House. Ive seen what they have planned, and I think its going to be something very, very special. Mr Trump originally wanted to celebrate Veterans Day on Sunday with a grand military parade in Washington, as he was inspired by the tanks and flyovers he saw during Frances Bastille Day celebrations when he visited Paris in July of last year. Mr Trump ordered the Pentagon to come up with plans for his own version, but they were eventually scrapped over concerns about costs and the damage tanks weighing many tons would do to the streets in Washington. The president and first lady Melania Trump were expected to visit several memorial sites in France that are dedicated to American service members. Not on Mr Trumps schedule, despite earlier discussions about the possibility, was an extended meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. I dont know that were seeing each other in Paris, but we may, Mr Trump said. There may be a lunch for the leaders. The White House and the Kremlin had previously considered a formal meeting in Paris. That now seems more likely for later this month, when they attend the G20 summit of international leaders in Argentina. Mr Trump and Putin have met previously on the sidelines of two summits and had their own bilateral meeting in July in Helsinki. At that meeting, Mr Trump would not say whether he believed Mr Putin or US intelligence agencies about their conclusions about Russias interference with the 2016 presidential election. Mr Trumps brief visit to Europe comes amid uncertainty about the US relationship with the continent. He has railed against trade deals with the European Union and has criticised some EU nations, including France, for not spending enough on defence to sustain Nato, the decades-old Western alliance formed as a bulwark to Moscows aggression. President Donald Trump is threatening to withhold federal payments to California, claiming its forest management is so poor. President Trump said there is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly fires in California. The president said that billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments. The comments were President Trumps first about massive wildfires, including a blaze that incinerated most of the Northern California town of Paradise and killed at least nine people. Wildfires also raged in Southern California, including the town of Thousand Oaks, where a gunman days earlier killed a dozen people at a local bar. President Trump earlier issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds to help firefighters. Family members display photos of murder victims (from left), Kevin Morais, Sosilawati Lawiya and Wong Jing Kui speak to reporters in Kuala Lumpur, Nov. 9, 2018. Family members of three murder victims urged the government Friday not to abolish the death penalty, a day after a Malaysian delegation faced the United Nations Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and agreed to abide by a moratorium on executions. About 1,200 prisoners were on death row as October in the Muslim-majority nation, according to Malaysian officials. Erni Dekritawati Yuliana, the oldest daughter of murdered cosmetic mogul Sosilawati Lawiya, said she understood the governments efforts to better protect human rights in the country, but disagreed with efforts to ban capital punishment. Relatives of murder victims Kevin Morais, a former deputy public prosecutor; and banker Wong Jing Kui joined Erni during a news conference in Kuala Lumpur. It is so unfair to (murdered) family victims to abolish the death penalty, Erni told reporters, while emphasizing that she agreed with efforts to improve human rights in Malaysia. Sosilawati and three others were beaten to death by her former lawyer and two farm hands, before their remains were burned to ashes in a case that gripped the nation in 2010. The defendants exhausted their chances to appeal after the Federal Court upheld the death penalty. On Thursday during its third review by the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Malaysian representatives reaffirmed the governments decision to ratify all remaining U.N. rights treaties and to establish a moratorium on all executions until the death penalty is abolished. Malaysian Human Rights Commission commissioner Jerald Joseph, who was part of the Malaysian delegation, told BenarNews he sympathized with the families. I can understand their pain, but the death penalty is not deterrence to those horrible crimes, Joseph said. Government officials could not be reached for comment Friday to respond to the families. Last month, Liew Vui Keong, cabinet minister in charge of law, said the government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad decided to abolish death penalty with no exceptions. New Malaysia, new look, new hope where everyone has a right of life, Liew said on Oct. 10, underscoring that the new Malaysian view was in line with the internationally accepted convention on human rights. Malaysias move, announced during an event commemorating the World Day Against the Death Penalty, spurred positive comments from U.N. chief Antonio Guterres, who described it as a stride toward eliminating the death penalty worldwide. About 170 nations have implemented a moratorium or ended the practice of the death penalty, Stephane Dujarric, Guterress spokesman, said in a statement. Brother speaks out Richard Morais, the slain prosecutors younger brother, said those who have lost loved ones through horrific deaths have a special bond. You have to lose a family member to murder to understand, Richard Morais said as tears rolled down his cheeks while recounting his brothers murder. Kevin Morais, an employee at the attorney generals office, was abducted while he traveling to his office on Sept. 4, 2015. His remains, entombed in a concrete-filled barrel, were found 12 days later in a suburb outside Kuala Lumpur. His whole body was like a rock, I couldnt even touch his body. Is this fair? Richard Morais said. Seven people charged with Kevin Morais murder pleaded not guilty and are on trial in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur. Lawyer Christina Teng, who represented all three families, said the government should not bulldoze through the decision to abolish capital punishment because it is needed as a deterrence. Teng said the survivors think the government failed to consider their feelings. Wong Jing Kuis family members did not speak to reporters. Human rights group reacts Amnesty International Malaysia challenged the claim that capital punishment deters crime, saying there was no credible evidence the death penalty was any more effective in reducing crime than life sentences. Abolishing the death penalty does not mean that those convicted of a crime will go free and justice will not be served, Executive Director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu said in an email to BenarNews. Shamini said the death penalty is a matter of taking a life and, by principle, the state has no right to take the life of another human being. The rights group mentioned Canada, where the murder rate in 2008 was less than half the rate in 1976 when the country abolished capital punishment. The Malaysian governments plans to abolish the death penalty for all crimes has created an opportunity for Malaysians to have constructive debates on its effectiveness in deterring crime and also for the country to uphold human rights reforms, Shamini said. 1. Yes. Nonprofit youth organizations are underfunded in the city. Its a good decision. 2. Yes. In conjunction with city-run programs, it will provide needed opportunities. 3. No. The money should be used to benefit all residents, not just the citys youth. 4. No. The funds should be invested in the area where the project is being developed.. 5. Unsure. Its hard to say whether its an appropriate use of the money. Vote View Results India is evolving as a significant player in clinical research and pharmaceutical field. Drugs are materials recognized by an official Pharmacopeia and Formulary which are approved for use to treat, cure or prevent a disease or disorder. With drugs being a vital element for saving lives, the regulation of drugs and medicine is crucial to the health and safety of the public. Ensuring that a medicine is high quality is achieved by checking the efficacy, quality and safety of the drug. The medicines are prepared, stored, manufactured and shipped according to health and safety guidelines of professional and experienced chemists and pharmacists. The production and use of poor quality drugs or harmful medicines can have adverse repercussions such as organ failure, exacerbation of the ailment, and sometimes fatality. In order to protect public health and also maintain the confidence of the people in the health systems and the pharma industry, there needs to be a comprehensive set of regulations to ensure that accurate information is available and no spurious drugs can enter the existing drug system. India, being a large contributor to the pharma industry, needs to have regulations imposed upon the pharmaceutical activities. They are crucial not only due to essential and stringent regulatory requirements for manufacturing of products such as Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Good Clinical Practices (GCP) and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) but also due to the obligation on regulatory bodies to make sure that a healthy supply of safe and quality drugs is provided to the public, at affordable rates. The regulatory authorities of the country are responsible to ensure the implementation of the various rules to regulate the drug market. The process of drug approval has to go through many stages including formal administrative requirements for marketing authorization and conducting clinical trials and surveillance of post-marketing studies. In order to prove the efficacy and safety of the proposed drug molecule in Indian population, it has to conduct clinical trials in accordance with the guidelines specified in Schedule Y and submit the report in stated format to the authority. The Stringent Regulatory Authorities (SRAs) provide critical expertise for the evaluation of finished pharmaceutical products (FPPs) and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for prequalification. The process of scrutiny includes participating in the WHO Prequalification Team (PQTm) assessment sessions that take place every two months in Copenhagen, Denmark. The WHO shares its expertise and work with PQTm to resolve technical pharmaceutical issues relating to dossier assessment. This is followed by participating in the WHO inspections of manufacturing sites, contract research organizations and quality control laboratories. This stage helps the team to ensure that its inspection standards and approaches are completely aligned with current practices working with PQTm so as to develop the prequalification guidance that will help the manufacturers understand and meet the stated prequalification requirements. Most importantly, enable the low- and middle-income country medicine regulators to facilitate understanding of WHO prequalification requirements and enhance their expertise in applying international standards for assessment and inspection. India is evolving as a significant player in clinical research and pharmaceutical field. The progressive growth and development in regulatory framework is a case in point as to how the pharmaceutical industry is modernizing under the rationale of scientific knowledge and public health. In India, the new drug approval is now lined with the rules influencing the approval of these products in order to safeguard the health of the population. This is constituted under the role of statutory regulatory authorities to ensure that pharmaceutical companies comply with regulations. The drug approval process can be understood as an optimized procedure by which a new drug molecule is formally approved by the drug authority for a person or an organization that is interested in launching a drug product for commercialization. Though an overlook of Indian pharmaceutical Industry shows a complicated regulatory structure wherein pharmaceuticals companies come under the purview of the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) is headed by the DCGI that comes under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and there is a separate agency for monitoring food products that is the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Owing to Indias growth, accomplishments and the potential it holds as an emerging pharma leader, the country needs to step ahead of the back foot from being an observer in the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) and transpire as a member so as to reinforce its audits and develop its pharma market. Dr Piyush Gupta, Director, GNH India PR Newswire LONDON, November 10, 2018 LONDON, November 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Full of Possibility, Free of Limitations Click here to download additional high res imagery bareMinerals, the clean beauty brand founded 23 years ago, today announced the launch of its Power of Good Fund by bareMinerals. From January 2019, this philanthropic initiative will donate 1% of sales from bareMinerals boutiques and http://www.bareminerals.com to various charities that champion women's education, entrepreneurialism, and mentorship. As part of this new program, bareMinerals will also dedicate 1% of its employees' time to volunteerism, effectively encouraging each employee to donate three days every year to charitable causes. The Mission of bareMinerals is to champion the power of good. We believe that the little choices we make have a power to make a big difference. "As a mother, business woman, and advocate for change, it was incredibly important that we establish a fund that allows young women to unleash their potential and realize their dreams. By establishing the Power of Good Fund by bareMinerals we hope to change the futures, and lives, of thousands of women across North America to start, with the aim to take this initiative global in 2020", says Jill Scalamandre, President bareMinerals. To celebrate the launch of this initiative, bareMinerals hosted a Power of Good Global Wellness Retreat, the brand's first-ever global event, at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire, England. Guests included Hailey Baldwin (bareMinerals Clean Beauty Ambassador), Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (bareMinerals Beauty Ambassador), Nikki DeRoest (bareMinerals Global Makeup Artist), Marc Rey (CEO, Shiseido Americas & Shiseido Group Chief Growth Officer), Jill Scalamandre (President, bareMinerals) and Jenny Halpern Prince (Founder, Joint Chairman, and Trustee for Access Inspiration). More than just a beauty brand, bareMinerals believes that little choices can lead to big things. From the products that are part of a person's everyday routine to that greater sense of purpose that lies well beyond the makeup bag, bareMinerals is on a mission to help everyone feel the Power of Good. "The Power of Good campaign not only values products that make a difference, but also shows how feeling good and doing good can impact people around you," said Huntington-Whiteley. For Baldwin, the Power of Good means being "full of kindness and free of cruelty," while DeRoest believes in being "full of freedom and free of boundaries." Every aspect of the two-day event was designed to evoke the Power of Good and put it into practice. Editors and influencers from all around the world were able to meet and mentor young women from London based charity, Access Aspiration. Founded by Jenny Halpern Prince, the charity provides 16 to 24-year-old students with new skills and career networks in an effort to increase social mobility, improve employability and remove barriers to higher education. A donation to Access Aspiration was made by bareMinerals in the name of all the guests in attendance. Additionally, DeRoest led a clean beauty masterclass and a dinner was hosted by Rey and Huntington-Whiteley to round out the retreat. With philanthropy being a core pillar of the brand and clean ingredients free of compromise at the heart and soul of every product, the Power of Good Fund by bareMinerals is designed to further bareMinerals' mission to impact the world in a positive way. Knowing that every decision has an outward effect, bareMinerals strives to make a difference, effect real change, and unleash the potential of young women by encouraging acts of kindness both big and small. SOURCE bareMinerals PR Newswire VIENNA, Va., Nov. 9, 2018 VIENNA, Va., Nov. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of asthma community stakeholders released a joint statement today expressing deep concern over the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision to approve Primatene Mist as an over-the-counter (OTC) treatment for mild, intermittent asthma. Allergy & Asthma Network, American Association for Respiratory Care, American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI), American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Lung Association, American Thoracic Society and Association of Asthma Educators believe the FDA's decision endangers people with asthma by suggesting asthma is a "do-it-yourself" disease treatable with OTC medications. Asthma is a complex, chronic condition affecting more than 22 million Americans and requiring active attention. Approximately 10 people a day die from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those deaths occur equally in mild, moderate and severe asthma patients. "Anyone who has asthma should be working with an allergist to make sure they are on the appropriate medication to control the disease," says allergist Bradley Chipps, MD, ACAAI President. "We want people with asthma to understand they should not go off their regular prescription medication to start taking Primatene Mist. That could prove very dangerous." "Asthma is best managed when doctors and patients partner together to identify the most appropriate, long-term treatment plan," adds Tonya Winders, President and CEO of Allergy & Asthma Network. "Patients should never try to figure it out on their own." Primatene Mist does not treat asthma instead it masks the symptoms that come from asthma. Furthermore, Primatene Mist's active ingredient is racemic epinephrine, which is not a recommended asthma treatment under the National Institutes of Health's "Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma." Anyone with asthma should not consider Primatene Mist as a replacement for prescription asthma medications, including quick-relief albuterol inhalers and daily inhaled corticosteroids that prevent symptoms. If you have asthma and forgo or delay taking your prescribed asthma medication to use Primatene Mist, you are putting yourself at risk for a more serious flare and potentially causing long-term lung damage or even death. Whether symptoms are mild, moderate or severe, people with asthma are encouraged to see their primary care doctor or a board-certified allergist or pulmonologist who can properly diagnose the disease and work with a healthcare team to outline an Asthma Action Plan that spells out how to treat asthma daily and what to do when symptoms worsen. "The right asthma management plan can allow for a full and active life, and it requires strong communication between the patient and treating healthcare provider," says American Lung Association National President and CEO Harold P. Wimmer. "The availability of and the reliance on over-the-counter medication like Primatene Mist in lieu of effective prescribed asthma medications erodes that communication and relationship, and it may also put patients at risk for excessive cardiac stimulation." A new Shared Decision Making Tool from ACAAI, CHEST and Allergy & Asthma Network helps those with asthma and their physicians discuss together the possible treatment options for uncontrolled asthma. The tool can be accessed at asthmarelief.acaai.org or asthma.chestnet.org/sdm-tool. About Allergy & Asthma Network Allergy & Asthma Network is the leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending needless death and suffering due to asthma, allergies and related conditions. Allergy & Asthma Network specializes in sharing patient-friendly, medically accurate patient information through its award-winning Allergy & Asthma Today magazine, E- newsletter, AllergyAsthmaNetwork.org website and numerous community outreach programs. Follow Allergy & Asthma Network on Facebook and Twitter @AllergyAsthmaHQ. Join at AllergyAsthmaNetwork.org/join. About ACAAI ACAAI is a professional medical organization of more than 6,000 allergists-immunologists and allied health professionals, headquartered in Arlington Heights, Ill. The College fosters a culture of collaboration and congeniality in which its members work together and with others toward the common goals of patient care, education, advocacy and research. ACAAI allergists are board-certified physicians trained to diagnose allergies and asthma, administer immunotherapy, and provide patients with the best treatment outcomes. For more information and to find relief, visit AllergyandAsthmaRelief.org. About American College of Chest Physicians CHEST is the global leader in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chest diseases. Its mission is to champion advanced clinical practice, education, communication, and research in chest medicine. It serves as an essential connection to clinical knowledge and resources for its 19,000+ members from around the world who provide patient care in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. For information about the American College of Chest Physicians, and its flagship journal CHEST, visit chestnet.org. About American Association for Respiratory Care The American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) is the leading national and international professional association for respiratory care. AARC encourages and promotes professional excellence, advances the science and practice of respiratory care, and serves as an advocate for patients and their families, the public, the profession and the respiratory therapist. Visit aarc.org About American Lung Association The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease, through research, education and advocacy. The work of the American Lung Association is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer; to improve the air we breathe; to reduce the burden of lung disease on individuals and their families; and to eliminate tobacco use and tobacco-related diseases. For more information about the American Lung Association, a holder of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Guide Seal, or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) or visit Lung.org. About American Thoracic Society Founded in 1905, the American Thoracic Society is the world's leading medical association dedicated to advancing pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. The Society's more than 16,000 members prevent and fight respiratory disease around the globe through research, education, patient care and advocacy. The ATS publishes three journals, the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology and the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. Visit thoracic.org. About Association of Asthma Educators The Association of Asthma Educators was founded in 1998 and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing quality education to a multidisciplinary group of asthma educators. AAE serves as the premier professional organization representing healthcare professionals who identify themselves as asthma educators, many of whom will sit for the national asthma educator certification examination. AAE's membership includes nurses, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, physician assistants, doctors, community health workers, case managers and social workers. asthmaeducators.org Contact: Gary Fitzgerald Allergy & Asthma Network 703-641-9595 [email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fda-decision-to-approve-primatene-mist-endangers-asthma-patients-according-to-allergy--asthma-network-and-asthma-community-stakeholders-300747789.html SOURCE Allergy & Asthma Network Reciba en su email: noticias de ultima hora, analisis tecnicos o el cierre de mercado Email no valido Nombre requerido Recibira las informaciones mas relevantes del dia en tiempo real Que informacion desea recibir? Noticias de Ultima hora Boletin Cierre de Mercado Boletin analisis tecnico Boletin Fundsnews Debe seleccionar un tipo de boletin Acepto la Politica de privacidad Debe aceptar la politica de privacidad Responsable EMPRESAS DEL GRUPO WEB FINANCIAL GROUP Finalidad La remision de informacion, novedades y promociones Establecimiento o mantenimiento de Relaciones Comerciales. Legitimacion Consentimiento del interesado. Interes legitimo en el desarrollo de la relacion comercial Destinatario Empresas del Grupo WEB FINANCIAL GROUP Derechos Acceso, rectificacion, supresion, limitacion, oposicion y portabilidad Informacion adicional Politica de Privacidad de nuestra pagina Web + INFORMACION PR Newswire BUTTE, Mont., Nov. 9, 2018 BUTTE, Mont., Nov. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- NorthWestern Energy has reached an agreement with the Montana Consumer Counsel, Montana Large Customer Group, Human Resource Council, District XI and the Natural Resources Defense Council, Montana Environmental Information Center and the Northwest Energy Coalition that will provide a reduction in customer bills as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed in December 2017. The parties are asking the Montana Public Service Commission to approve the agreement. If approved by the commission, the settlement will provide a one-time credit of $20.5 million to eligible customers commencing within 30 days of MPSC approval. This includes a $19.2 million credit to electric customers and $1.3 million credit to natural gas customers. To be eligible for a credit a customer must have been a NorthWestern Energy customer as of September 30, 2018 and remain a customer on the date the refund is provided. Under this settlement, average eligible residential electric and gas customers will receive a credit of approximately $24.00 and $3.50, respectively. "Because our rates are based on the cost to provide the service, changes to those costs eventually flow-through to our customer bills when we reset rates in a formal review process," said Bob Rowe, President and CEO. "In this case, the reduction to income tax expense will immediately be passed on and provide a long-term benefit to our customers." In addition to eligible customers receiving a one-time bill credit, the settlement also reduces rates for all natural gas customers by approximately $1.3 million annually beginning January 1, 2019, provides funds for low-income energy assistance and weatherization. The settlement also reflects the agreement of the parties to support our request to address hazard tree removal in our current electric rate review filing. "We are happy when we can work with parties to reach a settlement that, with the commission's approval, provides a bill credit to our customers during the holidays," said Brian Bird, CFO. "This settlement extends beyond 2018 and captures the income tax reductions we expect to realize for customers until new rates are in effect for both electric and natural gas." NorthWestern previously disclosed a range of possible financial impacts related to the outcome of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in Montana and indicated that a portion of the resolution may be excluded from 2018 adjusted non-GAAP earnings guidance. If this settlement is approved, NorthWestern expects to exclude from 2018 earnings amounts in excess of the 2018 reduction in income taxes. NorthWestern Energy provides electricity and natural gas in the Upper Midwest and Northwest, serving approximately 718,300 residential and business customers in Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Yellowstone National Park. With approximately 1,600 employees, NorthWestern operates 28,000 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines, 9,710 miles of natural gas lines plus storage facilities, and owns significant electric generation assets. For more information on Northwestern, please visit www.northwesternenergy.com. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/northwestern-energy-and-montana-intervenors-reach-settlement-to-reduce-customer-bills-with-the-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-benefits-300747804.html SOURCE NorthWestern Energy PR Newswire TUPELO, Miss., Nov. 10, 2018 TUPELO, Miss., Nov. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Larry Killough is looking forward to smiling again. The 65-year-old Army Veteran from Tupelo, Miss., says, "It hurts me to smile because I'm so embarrassed, and to be able to smile again and to be in public with my children and not be embarrassed is something I can't wait to have." Killough will soon have his smile again, thanks to fellow Army Veteran Dr. Abby Raymond, whose Affordable Dentures & Implants practice in Tupelo has dedicated Monday, Nov. 12, the official U.S. observance of Veterans Day, to provide free dental care to 20 military veterans (the veterans have been pre-screened and have scheduled appointments for the day). Dr. Raymond, who served in Afghanistan with the 4th Combat Brigade Team of the 101st Airborne Division and 7th Special Forces Group, remains a member of the Army National Guard, and has a deep and personal mission to give back to fellow veterans, many of whom do not have health benefits that cover dental care. "I don't have the means right now to have dental work done," explains Killough. "Very few people would do this and Dr. Raymond, from the first time I met him, is someone very truly special. I can't explain how much this means to me to have my front tooth fixed so I can smile. He always said to me that he just wanted to 'do the right thing' and I am so appreciative." "My family has a tradition of service in the military and I'm continuing that tradition now as a dentist to help make a positive impact in the lives of the veterans who sacrificed so much for our country," explains Dr. Raymond, who trained as a dentist through the U.S. Army Health Professions Scholarship Program. "Helping my fellow veterans is the least I can do, and I am honored to be in their presence and to serve them." In addition to Killough, 19 other veterans, including a Korean War vet, will benefit from free dental care planned for Dr. Raymond's Nov. 12 "Operation Make Veterans Smile". The care provided will include teeth extractions, dentures, implant surgery, with implants donated by Sterngold LLC, a manufacturer of dental implants and mini-implants, and bone grafting all specialized treatments performed daily by Dr. Raymond at his practice. "I haven't been to the dentist in 30 years," explains Thomas Ginn, whose service in the U.S. Air Force from 1965 to 1986 included the Vietnam War. Ginn, who is retired and serves as Commander of VFW Post 4057 in Tupelo, adds, "Dr. Raymond is a super individual, dedicated to our community and dedicated to serving veterans. A lot of our veterans don't have a dental plan, and Dr. Raymond helps them in any way possible. Knowing he is available is a great comfort to our veterans. Dr. Raymond is a true veteran." Roger Peloquin, a 20-year Navy vet, who served from 1960 to 1980, including the Vietnam War, where his service ranged from Vietnamese language school to training recruits as a military advisor, will also benefit from Dr. Raymond's dental care on Veterans Day. "I had throat cancer and lost my bottom teeth," he explains. "My benefits don't cover dental care and Dr. Raymond said he wanted to make sure he took care of me. He is not only a fantastic dentist, but he is a fantastic person who puts his heart into what he does. It's not just a job for him." About Affordable Dentures & ImplantsFounded in 1975, Affordable Dentures & Implants today is the largest network of providers concentrating on denture and implant services in the U.S., with more than 260 affiliated practices in the U.S. Each affiliated practice is individually owned and operated by a licensed, general dentist to provide dentures and implants crafted to each patient's treatment needs, delivered with the highest levels of professionalism and care. More than seven million patients have received services from an Affordable Dentures & Implants-affiliated practice. For more information about Affordable Dentures & Implants, visit www.affordabledentures.com. To learn more about dental practice ownership and career opportunities, visit careers.affordabledentures.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/soldier-to-soldier-dentist-gives-the-gift-of-a-smile-to-military-veterans-300747892.html SOURCE Affordable Dentures & Implants By Trudy Rubin CHENGDU, China One reason for the fashionable fear that Beijing is out to overtake America is the worry that China will soon outstrip the United States in key areas of technology. Chinese President Xi Jinping fanned this fear with his Made in China 2025 pledge to catch up with the U.S. in 10 critical areas of tech by the middle of the next decade, including automation and artificial intelligence. Add to that the incidents of Chinese theft of intellectual property and forced technology transfer from multinational firms that want access to Chinese markets. This all adds up to a tizzy about future Chinese technological triumphs. Yet a visit with a group of young entrepreneurs in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, raised a question that clouds China's huge aspirations: Can your nation truly be innovative if your government directs the process from the top down? Chengdu is a logical place to noodle over that question. Best known abroad for its panda preserve and its spicy Sichuan food, this major city has become a center for a vibrant startup culture that draws young Chinese and foreigners with its cheaper cost of living than Shanghai or Beijing. I met several entrepreneurs in a conference room at WeWork, a provider of shared office space located in a glass tower in the newish Jinjiang district. "China has opened more than 5,000 (tech) incubators, with 200 in Chengdu alone," said Erik Ackner, a German who has lived in China for five years. He helps China's startup community connect with the rest of the world, through programs such as Startupbootcamp China in Chengdu. "There are so many innovation centers in universities, and in government," he added. And there is a ton of government money sloshing around to fund startups and fly young aspirants around to conferences (there is also substantial private venture capital). So even though half the 5,000 incubators may prove useless, adds Ackner, the government strategy is to see which can survive. But then there is the flip side, starting with the horribly slow internet controlled by government servers that ban Facebook, Google, and other outside content. The young entrepreneurs described having to "play hopscotch" with VPNs, the virtual networks designed to leap the great internet firewall. Often VPNs must be changed daily. Chinese business developers frequently write sophisticated software to get around the firewall. Internet restrictions harm China's bottom line. "A lot of startups leave China to Thailand and elsewhere because it is very hard to expand internationally," said Hungarian entrepreneur Rafael Raj, who has worked in Chengdu for 15 years and is cofounder of Blockwise Consulting. "We work in an isolated bubble here," he added. "Development is top down and the government tells you where the money should be used." The tech entrepreneurs were also troubled by a rigid Chinese education system that tells people "don't think" and a culture averse to risk-taking (the aim of successful startups is not to go public but to get bought out by medium-sized Chinese companies). Not an outlook that produces technological breakthroughs. Instead, the Chinese take a different approach. "The big thing now is not innovation, but implementation," said investment fund manager Dinis Gaspar Nunes. In other words, while the U.S. excels at innovation, the Chinese focus on taking established technologies and making them better. For example: "They didn't invent artificial intelligence (AI), but they want to be best at it," Gaspar Nunes said. So when it comes to technological breakthroughs, the United States will no doubt remain the leader. But given the scale of the Chinese market and available government funds, the Chinese could leapfrog ahead in some fields. And forced technology transfers could help them make that jump. A key area where China could take the lead is AI, in large part because the size of the Chinese population provides access to so much data. E-commerce is very advanced here, with everyone from kids to grandmas paying for nearly everything by flashing the barcode on their cell phones. And everyone can afford a cheap smartphone. Just imagine the amount of data that provides the Chinese government. What surprised me at the roundtable was the accepting attitude of some Chinese entrepreneurs toward government use of that data, which includes compiling a "social score" on individuals that can affect everything from jobs to mortgages to whether they are allowed to travel. "Your social score is to encourage better behavior," said Violet Chen, a Chinese native with a British graduate degree who helps foreign firms set up a Chinese digital presence. "If you have a higher score, for example, you can rent a phone charger without paying a deposit. It helps establish trust." Her point: In China, the public embraces technology that gives power to the system. We in the West assume that technological advances come from the bottom up in an open society. But the Chinese aim to prove that a top-down, closed system can still enable their country to play catch up with some help from forced technology transfer. Their odds appear disturbingly favorable. Trudy Rubin (trubin@phillynews.com) is a columnist and editorial-board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Her commentary was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. He has been an ambassador of Kazakhstan to Egypt since September 2020, before that, since April 2019, he was Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and even earlier, from October 2013 to February 2019, he worked as Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the UAE. Brandon-based Cando Rail Services Ltd. will be partnering with Torquest Partners, according to an announcement made Thursday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/11/2018 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us Brandon-based Cando Rail Services Ltd. will be partnering with Torquest Partners, according to an announcement made Thursday. The decision was made as their company continues to thrive, Gord Peters, co-founder of Cando said yesterday. Gord Peters, co-founder of Cando Rail Services Ltd. said that he is proud of how far the company has come. TorQuest Partners announced an investment into Cando on Thursday. (submitted) "Cando keeps expanding. It seems like year after year our sales grow and grow and grow," Peters said. "It takes more capital all the time, so this is a good partner to have in it." Their company is an international service provider of many rail services. Cando was founded by Peters and Rick Hammond in 1978. Since then, it has grown to have approximately 500 employees across Canada and the United States. The company provides various rail services, optimizing the bulk material supply chain. Some of their individual services include engineering and track services, rail car storage and rail car repair. Being an employee-owned company has been instrumental in their success, Peters said. They offer a stock purchase and incentive program to all employees. "It gave everybody a chance to monetize some of their stake in Cando, put a value on it, so everybody is appreciative of that I think," he said. They looked at four or five particular groups across the country before choosing Torquest. "We thought it suitable as a very good partner," he said. Although Cando has always had outside investors, this was a bigger chunk with a very deep company, he said. Their business will continue to stay the same moving forward, while looking towards the future. "Head office is staying in Brandon and employee ownership is staying, were in the same business," he said. "Weve got a lot of long-term contracts, and were looking for more kind of ideas -- theres lots more to do." The process to get to where they are today was a team effort, he said. "I had a lot of help from a lot of great people in building this thing over the years, and thats what it takes is a very dedicated team, and we do have that in Cando. And thats what I attribute the success to- the people of Cando (were the ones) that made it successful," he said. Peters said that he and his wife Diane will continue to stay active in Brandon moving forward. "Were fully committed to the community of Brandon, the dome, everything like that," he said. "There will be other things that will come our way too in the next few years, so we look forward to that and staying involved in the community." mverge@brandonsun.com Twitter: @Melverge5 Cando helps Churchill Cando Rail Service Ltd. recently completed their work on the Churchill rail line. They were hired by the Arctic Gateway Group to help repair the line after it was washed out by flooding more than a year ago. "A team of Cando Engineering and Track Services employees, in collaboration with other professionals and contractors, commenced to undertake the work on September 01, 2018 and had completed restoring the track by the end of October," said Tim Yamashita, Candos vice president of engineering and track services. It was ahead of schedule, he said, and "an excellent display of teamwork and cooperation." Although Yamashita said he wasnt able to get into the details of their contract with Arctic Gateway Group, work will resume in the spring. The Brandon Sun The past 30 years have flown by for the owners of local staple Kims Asian Restaurant. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/11/2018 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us Owner Angie Nguyen poses for a photo at her restaurants sushi bar at Kim's Asian Restaurant on Victoria Thursday. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun) The past 30 years have flown by for the owners of local staple Kims Asian Restaurant. Owner Angie Nguyen remembers when her mom Kim Van and dad Binh Nguyen opened their first location in 1988 in what is now known as The Town Centre in downtown Brandon. Owner Angie Nguyen celebrates 30 years of success at Kim's Asian Restaurant on Victoria Thursday. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun) "I was looking at photos with my mom, and I was thinking, Mom when we first started we were a little shop, a little kiosk kind of thing," Nguyen exclaimed. "Its crazy, 30 years went by so fast." With hard work and dedication to their craft, the Nguyens found success later expanding their shop when they moved locations to 42 McTavish Ave E in 2000. The family was able to open a second location at 2330 Victoria Ave in late April of this year. Coming from modest beginnings, Nguyen is amazed and humbled by the prosperity her family has fostered in town. Nguyens parents were refugees of the Vietnam war. The family had a home and restaurant in the country before the war broke out, but then everything was taken from them. Escaping their country in the dead of night, they left everything behind in the hopes of finding a safer and better life. They spent about a year waiting in Malaysia until they were able to move to Brandon. "You just run," Nguyen exclaimed, "to see my parents go through that and to see them thrive I just want my parents to have peace and happiness." Eventually landing in Brandon, the family would never have found their new home and launched their restaurant without help from St. Georges Anglican Church. The church sponsored Nguyens family to come to Brandon in 1978 in the middle of the winter. "My mom said it was a shock," Nguyen laughed. Coming into the Brandon community with nothing, her parents set to work creating a business from scratch. Having a love of cooking, Nguyens mother decided a restaurant seemed like the best fit for a family business. From there the family has found their home and happiness in the town, Nguyen said. "Were very grateful for everybody and very thankful," Nguyen said, "This is home." At the restaurant one can order off the menu or explore the restaurants buffet. There is a selection of Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese food on hand. "Pho is very popular," Nguyen laughed. The secret to the restaurants success has been the passion that fuels their dedication to quality food and service. Nguyen and her brother Billy grew up in the kitchen, with her parents instilling a deep work ethic in them and a love of the industry. Kims has regulars that remember Nguyen when she was little, watched her grow up and are now watching her kids grow up, she joked. "I enjoyed it, I grew up in it I think its just in me," Nguyen said. And Nguyens kids are following in her footsteps, just as she and her brother did with their parents. "I look at my kids and think oh my god history is repeating itself," Nguyen said. With their second location just over seven months old now, Nguyen said, the focus of the family is providing the same quality food to the community, like they have been for the last 30 years. Theyre busier with the two restaurants, with her brother running the one on McTavish. Working 12 or 13 hour days the family has become time management masters, she chuckled. Nguyen hopes to the restaurant continue to flourish and grow over the next 30 years, and hopefully a little longer. "We love what we do, to see everybody and talk to everybody." ckemp@brandonsun.com Twitter: @The_ChelseaKemp Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/11/2018 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us 08112018 Kayla Bialkoski, a recent graduate in Assiniboine Community College's Heavy Equipment Operator program, shows her certificate at the college on Friday. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun) As a single mom, Kayla Bialkoski thought her options in life were limited. That was before being accepted into a program at Assiniboine Community College to train Indigenous students for a career as a heavy equipment operator. The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples covered the cost for qualified candidates who met their funding criteria. The heavy equipment was provided by Brandt Tractor Ltd. Nine students, including Bialkoski, graduated from the program taught at the colleges Victoria Avenue East campus from Aug. 7 through Oct. 12. The program combines training on high-end computer simulation equipment with practical hands-on experience in the seat of actual equipment. If someone had not provided the funding for tuition and books for the course, "Id probably still be sitting here (at home)," said Bialkoski, 29, whose family is from the Haida Nation in British Columbia. Armed with her certificate, Bialkoski is now on the hunt for a job in the heavy equipment industry. The mother of four children, ranging in age from two to nine, said this is the first time she has had the opportunity to attend college. "Its empowering," Bialkoski said Thursday, adding it enabled her to be a positive role model for her children and others. "Its a great way to show your kids You can do it, too." The program trains graduates to properly maintain and service the machines and be employed as an operator in the heavy construction industry. Heavy equipment operators are well compensated and in demand in Manitoba and throughout Canada. In keeping with the colleges Indigenization strategy, cultural content was infused into the curriculum. Elders and knowledge keepers visited the program regularly. "We would like to acknowledge the effort the college has put into the program and are proud to partner with them to train students to be the best prepared that they can be for future employment within the heavy construction industry," Brandt Tractors Winnipeg branch manager, Peter Paulic, said in a statement. "We believe in the program and the programs ability to train for our future." The company donated five pieces of John Deere heavy equipment for ACC to use in training future operators to learn on. "The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples is pleased to have had the opportunity to fund Assiniboine Colleges Heavy Equipment Operator program this year, which followed last years Applied Electrical Installation Certificate program," Sarah Mitchell, the congresss national project co-ordinator, Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy, said in an email Friday. "Providing skills training support to our constituents is important because it provides an opportunity for these individuals to engage in meaningful employment and it increases their overall quality of life for themselves and their families. Investment in skills training programs is an investment in the future." CAP is one of five national aboriginal representative organizations recognized by the Government of Canada. Founded in 1971 as the Native Council of Canada (NCC), the organization was originally established to represent the interests of Metis and non-status Indians. Reorganized and renamed in 1993, CAP has extended its constituency to include all off-reserve status and non-status Indians, Metis and southern Inuit aboriginal peoples, and serves as the national voice for its provincial and territorial affiliate organizations. CAP also holds consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which facilitates its participation on international issues of importance to Indigenous peoples. "Assiniboine has been very pleased to partner with the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples to provide heavy equipment operator training in Brandon," said Gerald Cathcart, ACCs business development co-ordinator, community development. "Our graduates remain in demand by local industry, demonstrating the value of programs in which students learn by doing," Cathcart said in the statement. brobertson@brandonsun.com Twitter: @BudRobertson4 Brandon Fire & Emergency Services Fire Station No. 2 is home to a new water tanker set to help keep the municipalities of Cornwallis and Elton safe. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/11/2018 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us Councillors from the RMs of Cornwallis and Elton gathered at Brandon Fire & Emergency Services Fire Station No. 2 Friday for the unveiling of a new water tanker. The project is a joint venture between the RMs and Brandon. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun) Brandon Fire & Emergency Services Fire Station No. 2 is home to a new water tanker set to help keep the municipalities of Cornwallis and Elton safe. Fridays unveiling of the new tanker the only one of its kind in the city served as a showcase for those who had not yet seen the truck. Terry Parlow, Brandon Deputy Fire Chief, has been working with the municipalities to ensure that the department has the equipment needed to attend sites in rural areas, while also ensuring these needs are met on budget. "It enables us to get to calls sooner and allows us to stay on calls longer," Parlow said. The 2011 Kenworth truck is owned by the municipalities of Cornwallis and Elton, with the City of Brandon Fire & Emergency Services supplying the manpower to operate the vehicle. Arriving on site about a month ago, the fire department first got to work training with the vehicle. The truck has been in service at the station for about two weeks. RM of Cornwallis Coun. Kurt Wasserberg takes a photo of the newly-unveiled water tanker at Brandon Fire & Emergency Services Fire Station No. 2 on Friday for the unveiling of a new water tanker. The project is a joint venture between the RMs of Cornwallis, Elton and City of Brandon. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun) When a fire breaks out the water tanker can arrive on scene and draft water to a pumper truck. When the tanker runs dry it can run to a municipal well to fill up. "We can put out the fire in a more manageable way," Parlow said. RM of Elton Coun. Ches Bollman was relieved to see the truck parked and ready for action in the fire station bay. "It looks really good," Bollman said Bollman was one of three committee members given the task of searching out a new water tanker for use in the two municipalities. The group spent about a year and half searching for a truck that met the fire departments needs. At a cost of about $125,000, between the purchase of an appropriate front end and the addition of brand new equipment and the tank on the back, Bollman said, the tanker is ready for action. Tracking down a truck that was suitable for the needs proved a daunting task, taking the greater part of a year. Bollman and his cohorts had originally hoped it would take three to four months. The new truck was found last spring and met the needs of the department and the budget of the municipalities. The old water tanker, a 1995 truck, served the areas well for about 20 years, but it was under powered to respond to certain calls and also had a smaller tank, Bollman said. "They were finding that there wasnt enough capacity on the truck when they attended to certain towns to put out of the fires," Bollman said. "To put out the fire they would have to run and reload somewhere." He hopes that with new tanker holding nearly 2,700 gallons, almost double the water capacity of the old one, the fire department will be better able to fight fires. Bollman hopes to see the truck last for about 10 to 20 years, like the old one, while providing safe conditions for everyone. The old truck is in the possession of Elton, and will eventually be put to tender or sold off Bollman said. "If we do have a fire to put out it will do the job," Bollman said. ckemp@brandonsun.com Twitter: @The_ChelseaKemp By Eamon Quinn Consumer and financial experts have called on regulators to probe the grip held by AIB and Bank of Ireland on the banking market. The calls come after ECB head Mario Draghi told the Oireachtas Finance Committee on Thursday that a quasi-monopoly was driving up the costs of credit for homes and business borrowers. Policy and council adviser with the Consumers Association of Ireland, Dermott Jewell said there has been no real competition since the end of the crisis and that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission should investigate. Financial expert Brendan Burgess called for the Central Bank to ban lenders from offering cash-back mortgages, saying the products allowed banks to charge more. He wants a review of the home repossession laws because lenders have long argued that the regime drives up their lending costs. However, Mr Burgess said any competition probe would achieve little. New Central Bank figures showed Irish banks charge 3.08% on new mortgage loans, much higher than the average eurozone rate of 1.76%. Central Bank governor Philip Lane said yesterday lenders had left the market during the crash and cleaning up bad loans and economic recovery would help improve conditions for new entrants. He echoed Mr Draghis comments for the need to drive on with European banking union and capital markets union. The commission signalled that after its 2017 report that a new probe was unlikely. The issues highlighted at Thursdays Oireachtas Finance Committee are not new, as the lack of competition has been a feature of the Irish mortgage market for many years, it told the Irish Examiner. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission shares the view that there is not enough competition in the mortgage market. To address this and to encourage new mortgage lending initiatives, we suggested actions which could be taken by the Central Bank of Ireland and the Department of Finance. Actions were also taken by the commission in terms of providing assistance to consumers to switch their mortgage provider, where possible, which further stimulates competition, it said. By Eamon Quinn Sterling stumbled yesterday as UK transport minister Jo Johnson resigned, saying he wants a new Brexit referendum, and the DUP clashed with prime minister Theresa May over potential plans for the Border. Against the euro, it fell about 0.3% to 87.25p and traded at $1.2977. However, The Ftse-100 index which tends to gain when the UK currency weakens, was weighed down with most other stock- markets over fears about the outlook for the world economy. The Iseq Overall index of Irish shares retreated by almost 0.5%. The resignation of her transport minister, who is Boris Johnsons brother but who had nonetheless voted in 2016 for the UK to remain in the EU, may increase the difficulties for May in getting any Brexit agreement through the Commons. The week has passed without further progress on a Brexit deal, and the afternoon has become more interesting as Jo Johnson resigns from the government, calling for a second referendum. Even if some sort of deal emerges soon, it will still have to clear parliament, and it is by no means certain that such an outcome will transpire, said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online broker IG. Sterling will take its cue next week from UK economic data but the main story is still the uncertain fate of the UKs relationship with Europe, said Beauchamp. Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index, said the Ftse-100 stocks failed to tap a potential boost from a weaker sterling. Brexit optimism which had buoyed the pound over recent sessions was starting to run dry by Friday. After a week of rumours and reports that a Brexit deal was just days away, pound traders now want to see evidence. Until there is something more substantial to go on, the pound could remain under pressure, she said. Falling oil prices added to fears about the world economy. A selloff in tech stocks added to the fall for US stocks. After falling 62c in London, the price of Brent crude just about kept above $70. Fianna Fail's spokesperson on Justice, Children and Youth Affairs has warned that childhood obesity in Ireland is likely to rise without State intervention. Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee says it is crucial that greater resources are targeted at lower socio-economic schools and communities to prevent the problem from getting worse. Gardai are investigating a number of incidents in the Drogheda area that took place overnight on Thursday. They included cars being set on fire and a number of petrol bombs being thrown. Two men arrested in connection with the death of David Boland in Kildare have been released from custody. They were detained yesterday as part of an ongoing investigation into the case. Update 8pm: Lewis Hamilton will start the first race of his championship parade from pole position after he avoided sanction for a near-miss during qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix. On virtually the identical piece of Interlagos tarmac where he passed Timo Glock to sensationally win his maiden title here a decade ago, there was further drama for Hamilton on Saturday. At first, it appeared as though the Mercedes star was at fault. In attempting to jump out of Sergey Sirotkins way, he inadvertently drove into the Russians path with the pair only inches away from a 150mph shunt. HAMILTON: "That was some qualifying session - the weather was going up and down. I'm really happy to be in Brazil. I've got Senna's design on the back of my helmet. I appreciate the love I get here." #BrazilGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/AXLWTSVpPV Formula 1 (@F1) November 10, 2018 Sirotkin turned sharply to his left, narrowly avoiding Hamiltons Silver Arrows, before running over the grass on the exit of Turn 11. Given the speed at which Sirotkin approached Hamiltons Mercedes, the initial evidence suggested the Williams driver was on a flying lap, and Hamilton was caught napping. But both parties later confirmed that the rookie Russian was, like Hamilton, only preparing for a speedy run. As such, Hamilton was not summoned to the stewards, with the five-time world champion instead pointing the finger at Sirotkin for reckless driving. As far as I was aware no driver behind me was on a quick lap, Hamilton said. I was making sure I had the gap to the driver in front, but then all of a sudden I saw a car coming out of Turn 11 at high speed so I was like oh my God is that someone on a flying lap? I moved to the left and that was where he decided to go. He wasnt on a quick lap so I dont know what his thinking was. It was quite a disrespectful move in the sense that it was dangerous. It was kind of strange and completely unnecessary. Hamiltons high-speed run-in with the Williams came during the second phase of qualifying as drops of rain threatened to have an impact on the result. In the end, the wet weather stayed away, and Hamilton did what he always seems to do, pulling a lap out of nowhere to claim his 10th pole of the season when it was Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel who seemed to hold the advantage. Vettel provisionally qualified second, just 0.093 seconds adrift of Hamilton, but is facing a grid penalty for Sundays race after he bizarrely lost his cool when he was called to the weighbridge in his Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel could face sanction for an incident during qualifying (Nelson Antoine/AP) They shouldnt call us when the conditions are changing like that, Vettel said. Its unfair and I wanted them to hurry up. The Germans impending punishment could pave the way for Valtteri Bottas to be promoted a place, and an all-Mercedes front row, as the Silver Arrows bid to become only the second team in history to win five consecutive constructors championships. Ferrari must outscore them by 13 points on Sunday to take the team fight on to the final race in Abu Dhabi. Vettels team-mate Kimi Raikkonen qualified fourth. It is 12 long years since Fernando Alonso won the last of his two titles at Interlagos, but in the penultimate race of an F1 career which has fizzled out since he re-joined McLaren in 2015, the Spaniard finished a miserable 18th. The year started with great hope for the Woking marque after they pushed through a divorce from Honda to team up with Renault power. But Britains most decorated Formula One outfit indeed the team to have won more races in Brazil than any other are in freefall with Alonsos team-mate, Stoffel Vandoorne, last of the 20 runners. Earlier: Lewis Hamilton's pole position in doubt Lewis Hamilton's pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix is in doubt after he came within inches of causing a high-speed crash. On virtually the same piece of Interlagos tarmac where he passed Timo Glock to sensationally win his maiden title a decade ago, Hamilton, caught napping as he prepared for his quick lap, veered into the path of Sergey Sirotkin's Williams, who was approaching at 150mph. Sirotkin had to react quickly, turning the wheel of his Williams sharply to the left before ending up on the grass. Hamilton, back in competitive action for the first time since he was crowned world champion for a fifth time a fortnight ago, set a track record to secure his 10th pole of the year, but could now face an investigation for his apparent misdemeanour. Sebastian Vettel, who finished second, just 0.093 seconds adrift of Hamilton, could also be thrown down the grid after he broke the scales while his car was being weighed. Vettel, keen to get back on track in the fight for pole, angrily gesticulated with the officials to get a move on before he drove off on his own accord and damaged the scales. The German will face the stewards at 16:45 local time. Valtteri Bottas finished third for Mercedes. "That was some qualifying session," Hamilton said. "My last lap wasn't that good, to be honest. "Obviously with the weather going up and down, and the Ferraris being quick this weekend, I'm going with my engineer to get the car in the best shape." Informed of his imminent stewards' investigation, Vettel defended his actions. "They shouldn't call us when the conditions are changing like that," he said. "I think it's unfair if somebody is pulled in. I wanted them to hurry up." It is 12 years since Fernando Alonso won the last of his two world championships at Interlagos, but in the penultimate race of his career, which has fizzled out since he re-joined McLaren - Press Association A meeting of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization takes place in Astana. President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev is the Chairman of the Collective Security Council. Opening the meeting, Nursultan Nazarbayev outlined issues of the work ahead: "Today we are to hear the information on the work held on a wide range of areas within the CSTO, to speak of the current international situation, as well as the current interaction." I thank every member of the Collective Security Council for your participation in the event. At the session we will hear the information by the SCTO Secretariat, as well as the results of Kazakhstan's chairmanship of the Organization will be summarised, and issues to ensure collective security of our states will be discussed. Also, the Kyrgyz side is to present priority areas of its chairmanship in the CSTO, as this country chairs the Organization's next," said the head of state. Some issues were discussed in narrow meetings by the heads of state. The rest of the agenda items have been discussed at the plenary meeting where the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the MInisters of Defense and the Secretaries of the Security Councils of the CSTO member states took part, as well as Acting Secretary General of the Organization Valery Semerikov. Before the beginning of the session, a joint meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Council of the MInisters of Defense Ministers and the Committee of the Secretaries of the Security Councils of the Organization took place, during which 24 issues were scheduled, of which 15 will be considered by the heads of state. Reportedly, the Collective Security Council discussed the international and regional security, the interaction of the CSTO member states within the Organization and on the international arena. It is planned to adopt Declaration of the CSTO Collective Security Council confirming the commitment to continue coordinating foreign policy positions of the CSTO member states and reach the Organization's tasks to strengthen peace and create favorable conditions for the multifaceted development of the states. The Collective Security Council includes the CSTO member states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Currently, the Organization is chaired by Kazakhstan. It is expected that an Action Plan to develop a coordinated information policy in the interest of the CSTO member state and a Plan for development of a collective system against illicit migration until 2025 will be concluded. The president of the Nomads' ACT chapter was granted bail in the ACT Magistrates Court on Saturday just hours before he was due to get married. Lucas Gordon Clark, 36, of Monash was arrested on Friday after members of ACT Policing's Taskforce Nemesis raided his home and allegedly found cocaine, ammunition, a firearm magazine and two knuckle dusters. A photo released by ACT Policing following a raid on the home of ACT chapter president of the Nomads outlaw motorcycle club Lucas Gordon Clark. The images show cocaine and ammunition. Credit:ACT Policing He was charged with drug trafficking, possessing a prohibited weapon and dealing in the proceeds of crime. In a media release, police reported the cocaine had an estimated street value of $100,000. Mr Pangrazio said he was informed of his business partner's death late on Friday night after receiving a call from a staff member. Mr Pangrazio and Mr Malaspina, who had just become a new grandfather, had worked together at the restaurant just hours earlier. Sisto Malaspina will be greatly missed behind the counter at Pellegrini's. Credit:James Boddington "I left about 3 o'clock to go home for the week and then one of the staff rang me to ask had I seen Sisto. I thought he was there but obviously he wasn't and then I got a call around 10.30 to say the police had been in touch with the devastating news." Mr Pangrazio said his friend's loss was already being felt by the wider Melbourne community. "As you can see with all the people around here, there have been literally hundreds of people stopping by since about 7.30 this morning," he said. ''He was always a happy fellow and that's what people are remembering ... his happiness and his friendliness and his smile." Loading Mr Pangrazio attributed his partner's "big personality" to much of the success of the business. "His personality was right out in the forefront. People loved him and the business just seemed to grow every year. He will be missed by a lot of people." Staff gathered in the laneway outside the restaurant throughout the day. Many broke down in tears while others offered comfort. Most were too upset to speak to the media. However, a hand-written note in the window from staff paid tribute to "the best boss". "Thank you for making us, your staff members, as part of your life. You always looked after us like family. You always said to have fun at work because we all worked so hard," the note said. "Pellegrini's was your life. We will never forget all that you have done and given us all. We will love you forever and ever in our hearts." Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and the Ambassador of Italy to Australia, Stefano Gatti, were among hundreds of high-profile customers who paid tribute to the "Melbourne icon." He was an amazing person and someone wholl be missed, Mr Andrews said. Hell be remembered for his life on Bourke Street not his death." "We are devastated to hear this news. This was a beautiful man, generous and full of life. So undeserving of such a horrific ending," Barnes posted on Facebook. Loading "We have taken our kids and grandkids to Pellegrinis over the decades and our whole family sends our deepest condolences to Sisto's family and friends. What a shocking and sad week it has been. RIP my friend," he wrote. Radio presenter Jo Stanley described Mr Malaspina as "a man who shaped Melbourne." "Thank you for the memories Sisto all of them connected to friendship and celebration. You are forever entwined with who I am. So much love to his family," Ms Stanley wrote on Twitter. Members of Melbourne's close-knit restaurant community also expressed their shock at the loss of an "industry legend". Denis Sabbadini, from another city dining institution, the Waiters Restaurant, said Melbourne had "lost someone special". "You couldn't be in his presence without being warmed by his wide smile and wonderful Italianness," Mr Sabbadini said. "He was the connsumate Italian restaurateur and a wonderful human being. I think the entire city is in shock. "I fell on the bed and cried when I heard the news. He was the epitome of what a good cafe owner should be. And no one wore a scarf like he did," he added. Former Hotel Sofitel and Hare & Grace chef Raymond Capaldi said it was "inconceivable" that someone who was the "embodiment of Melbourne" and had worked in Bourke Street for more than 40 years should die in such a way. "Whenever you walked past Pellegrini's it gave you a little happiness in your heart," Mr Capaldi said. "You would look inside and see Sisto in his cravat, making a coffee and you'd think 'You know what, this world is a good place'. "You just imagined he would always be there and now he's not, and for it to end in such a tragedy makes it even more inconceivable." But it was, perhaps, heartbroken Melbourne student Anubha Sarkar who summed up Mr Malaspina best. A female police officer who shot dead a man under police guard at a south-east Queensland hospital after he turned violent is recovering from serious facial injuries and concussion. Senior Constable Leesa Richardson was hurt after she was repeatedly bashed by 28-year-old Tyson Jessen, who reportedly had his leg shackled at the time, while he was at Ipswich Hospital on Saturday. Senior Constable Leesa Richardson was treated for concussion and facial injuries after the fatal shooting of Tyson Jessen at Ipswich Hospital on Saturday. Credit:Seven News Brisbane Mr Jessen, who was wanted on several warrants by Victorian Police, was treated on the scene by medical staff but died. Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers commended the officer's courage. About 4.20pm, a blue utility mounted the footpath on Bourke Street, near the corner of Swanston Street, and erupted in flames. A man now identified as Hassan Khalif Shire Ali got out of the vehicle. The blazing vehicle on Bourke Street. This is what we know so far about what police have described as a lone-operator terror attack on Bourke Street, which brought Melbourne's CBD to a standstill. It is believed he then attacked 58-year-old Rodney Patterson and a 24-year-old security guard. Patterson had a head injury and the security guard had a neck injury. Both of them are in a stable condition. Transit police arrived and Shire Ali punched one of them through a police car window. The two police officers began to engage with him as police flooded the scene. Shire Ali then produced a knife and lunged at the police officers. A new "national interest test" to apply to academic research grants will give ministers the power to block funding for projects that do not align with Australia's security, foreign policy and strategic interests. Fairfax Media understands the test announced by federal Education Minister Dan Tehan last week has been designed with one eye squarely on China and its growing influence at Australia's major research universities. Education Minister Dan Tehan will introduce a national interest test for research grants. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen A report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute released last week pointed to the booming collaboration between Australian universities and Chinese military scientists. In particular, it identified the University of NSW as second only to a Singaporean institution for publications with academics linked to the People's Liberation Army over the past decade. At its most startling, this schtick involved a heavy-breathing locker room gag about American TV star Pamela Anderson, who has called upon Morrison to repatriate Julian Assange to Australia. Asked about this during an interview with a Gold Coast radio station called Hot Tomato FM, Morrison chuckled and said: Ive had plenty of mates who have asked me if they can be my special envoy to sort the issue out with Pamela Anderson. It was a bizarre remark, unbecoming of any prime minister, let alone one with a strong Christian background. I guess its OK to make jokes about Andersons sexual availability because ... she has big breasts? Perhaps Morrison should look up from the Canberra bubble he keeps talking about and read the mood of the times on this sort of stuff. The PM tucks into the wares at Beefy's near Maroochydore. Credit:AAP Malcolm Turnbulls appearance on Q&A on Thursday night showed how large the former prime ministers shadow looms over the Liberal Party. Morrison seems intent on defining himself in opposition to his wealthy and urbane predecessor, which only highlights Turnbulls ongoing importance. During doorstops and press conferences this week the Prime Minister repeatedly referred to the Canberra bubble and the narks in Canberra, even accusing one journalist of taking questions down the phone from colleagues in the press gallery. The Prime Minister talks about the Canberra bubble as though he has not spent nearly his whole professional life in it; as though he is not a creature of it himself. As though that bubble was not the sole cause of his partys disastrous decision to dump Turnbull - a rare politician who was well-regarded outside the bubble (among actual voters). Turnbull was ousted by people whose primary source of power exists only within the Canberra bubble, extended to encompass the after-dark Sky News shows the politicians watch as they sit lonely in their Canberra hotel rooms, bitterly texting each other on WhatsApp. It is the laziest trick in the political playbook to accuse journalists of obsessing about inside-the-beltway stuff when theyre asking questions that discomfit you. In this case, Morrison reacted most irritably when asked about his empty bus, and when asked about voters concerns over his partys instability. Prime Minister Scott Morrison eats a strawberry during a visit to a farm in Chambers Flat on Monday. Credit:AAP I think the ABC should stop coming up to press conferences and repeating the lines of the Labor Party, he snapped on Wednesday. On Tuesday there was an exchange about the bus so surreal it was worthy of a Samuel Beckett script. Will you be taking the bus to Rockhampton from here? asked the journalist. Yes. The bus will be going to Rockhampton from here. Thats right, replied the Prime Minister. With you on it? the journalist pressed. Under further questioning, the Prime Minister conceded time constraints meant he had to fly to Rockhampton, and that he would be flying to Townsville too. And your point is what? he said. Im just interested in the point of the bus if youre not on it, the journalist countered. I am on it, said Morrison. I just got off it. The lamentable thing about the week was how quickly the story ran away from the Prime Minister. By any objective measure, Morrison was growing into his role as treasurer, albeit helped by a resurgent economy. He can feasibly distance himself, at least a little, from the malice and dysfunction of the coup against Turnbull. Friday's terrorist attack in Melbourne's Bourke Street was the sort of lone-actor attack that police have been fearing and training for ever since the rise of the Islamic State movement in 2014. Such attacks are feared in large part because they are so difficult to predict and therefore prevent. Hassan Khalif Shire Ali lunge at police with a knife before he was shot in the chest. Attacks involving larger teams are often many months in the planning and involve extensive communication that authorities are increasingly able to detect and intercept. Terrorism and radicalisation to violent extremism is almost always a social phenomenon. With most people it involves being drawn into becoming a member of a group that affirms them. Consequently, most lone-actor attacks involve a larger social network. Minister of Information and Communications of Kazakhstan Dauren Abayev told why the construction of the Kok-Zhailau alpine ski resort is necessary during the Otkrytyi dialogue programme on the Khabar TV channel. Almaty held regular public hearings on the construction of the Kok-Zhailau alpine ski resort. During the talk, Dauren Abayev noted that the two sides reveal their arguments, and the local authority shows their readiness to dialogue and openness to public scrutiny. The proof of this is the Almaty Mayor's Office takes into account remarks of the public relating to the first construction project of the resort in 2014. In 2014, the first project of the ski resort was way expensive, as the serious intervention in the natural landscape was needed. It was presented as a premium resort for rich foreign tourists. But today the Mayor's Office revised the construction approaches. It is about a year-round, affordable resort. The planned length of routes is shortened, as well as the area of buildings and premises by 10 times, if I am not mistaken. All this seriously reduces the burden on the environment. I would like to note that this new concept completely excludes private and individual cottages," said Dauren Abayev. Answering the question whether the funds allocated to the construction of the expensive ski resort would be rationally spent on social needs, the Minister responded that: "There is the real demand for Kok-Zhailau. The overburdening of another Almaty resort Shymbulak can prove it." Today we should use recreational capabilities to disclose tourism. The share of tourism in world GDP exceeds 10%, which is around 8 trillion dollars. Most importantly, tourism provides 300 million people with jobs, and the figure increases. We should compete for tourists. And the mountains surrounding the city are Almaty's huge advantage," said Abayev. He noted that the neighbouring countries had already started to intensively develop all areas of ski industry. Uzbekistan plans to launch a big resort with a volume of investment of more than 100 million dollars. Kyrgyzstan has started constructing two big resort zones in the Karakol area. In Azerbaijan, a ski resort has been opened, that has been visited by 100 thousand people so far. That is, our neighbors seek to take advantage of the richness of nature to develop tourism," said the Minister. He underlined the importance to protect the environment during the construction of resort zones and noted that all environmental risks would be taken into account while implementing the Kok Zhailau project. Environment is very important. I think that during the implementation of the project, all risks to the environment will be taken into account. Especially since there is a rich international experience, for instance, the construction of alpine resorts. Despite the fact that the European environmental movement is strong, which nobody can deny, there are hundreds of such resorts in the Alps," said Dauren Abayev. The MInister noted that it is necessary to respect all opinions relating to the construction of the Kok-Zhailau resort. As I have said, much criticism for the original version was productive as the Almaty Mayor's Office took it into account and introduced amendments. As they say, controversy served to cause of truth, on the other hand, we do not want it to be like in the old phrase: "While we argue, others do," said the Minister of Information and Communications. Facebook said on Friday that it would no longer force employees to settle sexual harassment claims in private arbitration, making it the latest technology company to do away with a practice that critics say has stacked the deck against victims of harassment. Facebook acted one day after Google announced similar plans. Last week, 20,000 Google employees staged a walkout from the companys offices around the world to demand that it change the way it handled sexual harassment incidents. Microsoft changed its arbitration policy about a year ago, as did the ride-hailing company ... 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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 Protests by the and right-wing outfits coupled with the absence of Chief Minister H D and his deputy marked the 'Tipu Jayanthi' celebrations in Karnataka Saturday. Tipu Jayanthi is celebrated to observe the birth anniversary of controversial 18th-century ruler of the erstwhile Mysore kingdom, The celebrations brought the state under a thick security blanket, amid threats of protests by the and other organisations, with the main event in Bengaluru turning out to be lacklustre. Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, who was to inaugurate the main event at Vidhana Soudha, the seat of state legislature here, in the absence of Kumaraswamy, also skipped the function. did not attend the event, citing doctors' advice to take rest for three days till November 11. The chief minister's office had made prior announcement about Kumaraswamy's inability to attend the function and his name was also not printed in the invitation. Parameshwara did not attend the event as he was out of town, sources at his office told PTI, without divulging any details. Following the chief minister's decision to skip the event, reports had emerged about difference of opinion between the ruling coalition partners over the celebrations. While in the opposition, had questioned the need for such celebration which was started by the previous Siddaramaiah-led government. Kumaraswamy reportedly chose to skip the event to not antagonise voters in his party's bastion of old Mysuru region, as had seized power from Maharajas of Mysuru, who are virtually revered there. The Chief Minister's Office (CMO), however, issued a statement on Kumaraswamy's absence at the event. Wishing success for Tipu Jayanti celebrations, the JD(S) leader said Tippu's progressive measures in administration, his quest for innovation were "commendable". He said as he was taking rest on doctor's advice, he was unable to take part in the programme. "It is unnecessary to add special meaning to it. It is also far from truth that he is not taking part due to the fear of losing power, as he opposes such blind beliefs," the CMO statement said. This was the first such celebration of 'Tipu Jayanti' after the Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) coalition government came to power in the state. The previous government led by Siddaramaiah began celebrating Tipu Jayanthi on November 10 every year since 2015, amid stiff opposition by the BJP, several Hindu organisations and some individuals. and several right-wing organisations held protests in different parts of the state opposing the celebrations. Calling Tipu a "religious bigot", the state BJP unit had urged the state government to drop its decision to celebrate the Jayanthi. In Kodagu district, where celebrations in 2015 were marred by widespread protests and violence, Tipu Jayanthi Virodhi Horata Samithi called for a bandh. VHP worker Kuttappa had dled in Kodagu district during a clash that erupted during the Tipu Jayanthi that year. BJP workers along with MLA M P Appacchu Ranjan were detained by police at Madikeri in Kodagu district for protesting against the event after he allegedly had an argument with the police for not letting those without invitations to attend the event. Another BJP MLA and former assembly speaker K G Bopaiah was detained in Virajpet during the protest, police said. In Mangaluru, some protesters tried to barge into the zilla panchayat office with black flags where the event was being organised. The protestors were later detained by police. In Yellapura of Uttara Kannada district too, there were reports of detaining protesters. Similar protests were reported from Chikkamagaluru, Ballari, Karwar and various parts of the state. Police have clamped prohibitory orders in most of the districts in the state as a precautionary measure. Extra security arrangements have been made in districts like Kodagu, Chitradurga, and also coastal regions among others where local communities are opposed to the celebrations. was considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces. The ruler, however, is a controversial figure in Kodagu district as Kodavas (Coorgis), a martial race, believe that thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forcible conversion to Islam. He is also accused of execution of Mandayam Iyengars at the temple town of Melkote in Mandya district on the day of Deepavali festival, as they supported the then Maharaja of Mysuru. Tipu Sultan is seen in a negative light in the coastal Dakshina Kannada district too, where the Christians believe he unleashed atrocities on their community. However, the scale of such suppression is disputed by several historians, who see Tipu as a secular and modern ruler who took on the might of the British. Meanwhile, a group of Muslim leaders along with state minister Zammer Ahmed Khan Saturday met senior leader Siddaramaiah and honoured him on the occasion of Tipu Jayanthi. Calling Tipu a "good administrator," Siddaramaiah hit out at the BJP for opposing Tipu Jayanti celebrations, while reminding about saffron party leaders attending similar events while in power. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In what seemed to be a softening of its stance by the government in its tussle with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Garg on Friday said there was no proposal by the Centre to ask the central bank to transfer any specific amount. The issue being discussed was for an appropriate economic capital framework. Gargs statement, on Twitter, comes after extensive reports in the media of the latest face-off between the finance ministry and the RBI over the former referring to Section 7 of the RBI Act in its communication with the central bank last ... The Congress on Saturday promised to write off farm loans of up to Rs 200,000 and provide a "salary grant" for five years to industries offering jobs to the youth if elected to power in Madhya Pradesh. Releasing its manifesto for the November 28 Assembly polls, the main opposition party also promised a slew of benefits for other sections of the society in the state where it is making a renewed bid to dislodge the (BJP) from power. Aggressively wooing farmers, who had launched a statewide protest last year, the party promised a social security pension to them and a rebate in the registration fee of land documents, besides a financial help of Rs 51,000 for the marriage of daughters of small cultivators. In its manifesto titled "Vachan Patra" (document of promises), the Rahul Gandhi-led party, out of power in Madhya Pradesh since 2003, also promised a minimum support price (MSP) for crops in accordance with the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations. Releasing the 112-page manifesto at a press meet, state Congress chief Kamal Nath described it as the "voice of the people of Madhya Pradesh", saying the document was prepared after consultations with every section of the society. The manifesto offers sops to every section of the society, including government employees, homemakers, the common people, women and journalists, but the focus is largely on farmers and young people. Among the plethora of measures for farmers mentioned in the document, the Congress has promised a social security pension of Rs 1,000 per month to farmers who attain the age of 60 and whose land holding is below 2.5 acres, besides writing off farm loans of up to Rs 200,000. Other sops promised to farmers include a 50-per cent subsidy on loans for agriculture equipment, halving the power bill rates for them, a bonus on the MSP of some crops and a subsidy of Rs 5 per litre on milk procurement among others. The opposition party also promised a re-investigation into the Mandsaur police firing incident, in which six farmers were killed in June, 2017. It also promised a rebate in diesel and petrol prices. Professionals like tourist guides and lawyers would be provided an "encouragement fee" of Rs 4,000 per month for five years for settling down in their respective professions. The Congress also promised a "salary grant" of Rs 10,000 per job to the industries offering employment to the youth of the state. It promised the constitution of a Yuva Aayog (Commission for the Youth) to look into the problems of young men and women. The Congress also promised several sops, including a rebate in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and subsidised loans for setting up industries with an investment of at least Rs 1 billion. Those covered under the existing social security pension scheme would get Rs 1,000 per month, instead of Rs 300 now, if the Congress was elected to power in the state, according to the document. A subsidy of Rs 100 on gas cylinders to poor families and free education to girls up to the post-graduation level were also promised by the party. In a bid to appease the agitating general category people, the opposition party promised the constitution of a Samanya Varg Ayog (General Category Commission) to look into their issues. The state recently saw a series of protests by people from the unreserved (general) category communities. Besides, the Congress promised regularisation of daily wagers, 30 per cent government contracts to tribals, setting up of a Senior Citizen Board, a law to protect journalists and lawyers, honorarium to journalists above 60 years of age, telemedicine facility in rural areas and four new medical colleges. Nath said a Jan Aayog (People's Commission) would be constituted for investigations into scams like Vyapam. A "jan jababdeh kanoon (public accountability law) would be enacted to hold the government departments responsible for providing public amenities, he added. The manifesto has 973 points on 50 subjects. State Congress Campaign Committee chief Jyotiraditya Scindia and former chief minister Digvijay Singh were also present at the press meet. Taking potshots at the BJP, Scindia said the Congress's manifesto was not like the saffron outfit's "jumla patra" (document of rhetoric) as the party would honour every promise made in the document. "We are bringing a vachan patra and not a jumla patra like the BJP. Our document of promises has something for everybody," the former Union minister said. The 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly will go to the polls on November 28 and the results will be announced on December 11. Every year at the World Internet Conference, held since 2014 in the photogenic canal town of Wuzhen near Shanghai, companies and government officials have convened to send a message: China is a high-tech force to be reckoned with. With that message now settled beyond much doubt, this years conference showcased something different. Chinas tech industry is becoming more serious about grappling with its products unintended consequences and about helping the government. Discussions of technologys promise were leavened with contemplation of its ... The US on Friday accused China of repression of religious groups in the country, in particular, Christians, Tibetans and Uighur Muslims, even as Beijing asked Washington to stop interfering in its internal affairs. The issue of religious repression in China was raised by Secretary of State and Defence Secretary in discussions with their visiting Chinese counterparts, Minister of National Defence Gen Wei Fenghe and Chinese Communist Party Office of Foreign Affairs Director Yang Jiechi. The visiting Chinese leadership denied the allegations and asked the to stop interfering in China's internal affairs. "I stated the United States and the communities will continue to express our concerns with respect to China's repression of religious groups and Christian, Buddhists and 800,000 to possibly millions of Muslims that have been denied their freedoms," Pompeo said at a joint news conference here along with Mattis and the two Chinese leaders. Yang immediately denied the US allegations. "China respects human rights, as other countries must do the same. As President Xi Jinping points out, there is always room for improvement on human rights," he said. Asserting that in China, people have the freedom to believe or not believe in religion, he said they are all Chinese citizens. "Their human rights have been fully respected and protected. It is our hope that the United States could respect the fact," Yang said. "All in all, China and the United States should step up communication on the basis of mutual respect, and work to handle well its own affairs," Yang said. Responding to a question on allegations of rights violations against Tibetans and Muslim Uighurs, Pompeo said the US is unequivocal when it comes to human rights. "We ask every country, China included," he said. "We have discussions to make sure that they treat the people of their nations with the respect and dignity that every human being is entitled to, and when it comes to religious minorities in China, we had a conversation about how it is that we hope the Chinese will treat their religious minorities, and our concerns with respect to that," Pompeo said. Yang said matters related to Xinjiang province are China's internal affairs and foreign countries have no right to interfere. The Chinese government attaches great importance to social and economic development in Xinjiang and it has taken a host of measures to promote stability, development, unity and people's well-being, he said. "At the same time, within the confines of law, the government has taken steps to crack down on ethnic separatist activities and violent terrorist crimes to safeguard national security and life and property of the people. These measures have paid off," Yang said. "Right now, Xinjiang enjoys social stability. Its economy is growing with a strong momentum, and ethnic groups are existing with each other in harmony," Yang said. "We hoped that the United States could respect the fact and look at relevant matters in an objective light, and stop interfering in China's internal affairs," he said. "In Tibet, ethnic minorities are having good relations, and their rights and interests are protected. A lot of foreign people have been to Tibet and Xinjiang. Facts are facts," Yang said. The United States on Monday re-imposed sanctions against Iran's oil exports to punish Tehran for its involvement in several Middle Eastern conflicts. Washington had been pushing governments to cut imports of Iranian oil to zero. But, fearing a price spike, it granted Iran's biggest buyerper centna, India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan and Turkey - sanctions waivers. That will allow the eight, which account for about 75 percent of all Iran's oil exports, according to trade data, to import at least some oil for another 180 days. Washington and the ... Asserting that there is no problem of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, Beijing said no country should use any excuse to engage in militarisation in the region. China, which claims almost all of the South China Sea, has been unhappy with the US' navigation and overflight patrols in the region over which Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have counterclaims. In September, a Chinese destroyer and a US warship nearly collided in the disputed waters. "There is no problem of the freedom of navigation and overflight being obstructed, so to use the freedom of navigation and overflight as an excuse to pursue military actions is unjustifiable, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi told a joint press conference here on Friday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, US Defence Secretary and Chinese Minister of National Defence Wei Fenghe were also present at the press conference. The Chinese leaders are in Washington to set the stage for a meeting between US President and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this month. In an apparent attempt to allay the growing global concern about China constructing defence facilities in the disputed territory, Yang said Beijing is only building certain security facilities in response to possible threats from outside. He said China has undertaken some constructions on the islands and reefs in the region, however, "most of them are civilian facilities" whose purpose is to "serve the interest of the Chinese people and also to provide public goods to others". Yang said to pursue militarisation in the region will not only undermine the interest of regional countries but will also hurt the nations that take these actions. Addressing the conference, Mattis said the US adheres strictly to law and the maritime rules of the road and it "will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever law allows". He said the US' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, one that is underpinned by the rules-based international order and regional stability, is unwavering. Even in a state hardened to the ravages of wildfires, the infernos that raged at both ends of California on Friday were overpowering. At least nine people were killed, including several who died in their cars in a retirement community called Paradise. Malibu mansions burned. And in the neighborhood in Thousand Oaks where a gunman had killed 12 people in a crowded bar earlier in the week, survivors now fled the flames. The fire-prone state was battling three major fires, one in the northern Sierra and two west of Los Angeles. In the northern town of Paradise, the ruins of houses and ... Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations urged global condemnation of the US unilateral sanctions against the Islamic republic, the media reported on Saturday. "The US unilateral withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal and restoration of its sanctions on Iran is a challenge to the law and global order," Gholamali Khoshroo said in a letter to the UN Security Council on Friday. The global community "should not allow the US to pursue its unilateral, arrogant and self-centred policy," he was cited as saying by Press TV. Washington withdrew from Iran's landmark 2015 nuclear deal in May and imposed a second batch of sanctions against Tehran, targeting its shipping, financial and energy sectors. The United States is halting refueling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen, Saudi Arabia said on Saturday, a move that would end one of the most divisive aspects of U.S. assistance to the Saudi war effort. Saudi Arabia, in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), said it had decided to request an end to U.S. aerial refueling for its operations in Yemen because it could now handle it by itself. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington supported the Saudi decision. The change comes at a time of ... Seconds before an armistice formally ended World War I on November 11, 1918, Pvt Henry Nicholas Gunther, an American soldier from Baltimore, mounted a final, one-man charge against a German machine-gun nest in northeastern France. The German gunners, The Baltimore Sun reported many years later, had tried to wave him away, but he ran on, only to perish in a burst of heavy automatic fire the last soldier of any nationality to die in the conflict at 10.59 am local time. One minute later, under the terms of an armistice signed about six hours earlier, the so-called Great ... 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Sharing details about the case, Devanakonda Sub Inspector AC Peeraiah said that Rajanna, Pedda Ranga Swami and six others were allegedly involved in the case. "The police nabbed six of the accused. Search for two other accused is going on. A case has been filed under sections 302, 307, 147, 148, 149 of India Penal Code and section 25(1)(b) of Arms Act. An investigation is going on," he added. Goud was apparently attacked by eight people on Friday night while he was returning from Devanakonda to Venkatapuram along with his son Sivaprasad. While Goud succumbed to his injuries, his injured son was admitted to a government hospital in Pattikonda. "One Sriramulu, who was working for Goud, had an extramarital affair with a woman. Her father, Rajanna, tried to stop him and they had clashes earlier. Goud had been supportive of Sriramulu. In this wake, Rajanna developed grudge over Goud and planned his murder. Accordingly, last night Rajanna along with seven others attacked Someshwar and his son," claimed the police official. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Toronto-bound Fly Jamaica aircraft carrying 118 passengers and eight crew members crash landed at Cheddi Jagan International Airport on Friday, leaving six people injured. The incident took place just a few moments after the flight OJ256 took off from the very same airport in Guyana after a 45-minute delay, according to CBC. Guyana officials held a news conference on Friday, during which they stated that the pilot had indicated trouble with the Boeing 757's hydraulic system merely 11 minutes into the flight, forcing the aircraft to return to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport where the crash landing occurred. The plane went through a fence at the airport with the emergency inflatable slide being deployed from one side, according to pictures posted by the airport on their social media accounts. One of the engines seems to have been damaged due to the crash landing. Fly Jamaica later issued a media release in which they confirmed the incident while outlining that all on board are safe. The airline assured that assistance is being provided. The six injured are being treated at Diamond Hospital, according to the airport's Facebook page. (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 Saturday called upon the voters to ensure the victory Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh from Rajnandgaon seat with a lead of over 70,000 votes against his rival in the ensuing Assembly polls. Singh's victory margin from Rajnandgaon was over 35,000 votes in the last polls. Congress has fielded Karuna Shukla, niece of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee against Singh. Addressing an election rally here, Shah said: "If an MLA wins in some other constituency, he will remain an MLA. If Dr Raman Singh wins, he will become the chief minister. So to take full benefits from him, you will have to ensure that he wins by a huge margin. I give you a target to make him victorious by over 70,000 votes." He also urged the people to ensure the constituency witnesses a voter turnout of over 80 per cent on November 12. "When you go out to vote on November 12, you have to choose between a corruption, lies and scandal filled Congress party and a development-centric BJP. Singh did not even think of his life while taking on Naxals in the state. He has made Chhattisgarh safe," Shah said. Shah also highlighted the contributions of the Chief Minister in ensuring overall development of the state. "He made roads, factories, houses, brought trains, electricity in the state. Modi ji got toilets, gas cylinders and implemented health programmes for the poor. I ask what the Congress has done for the state," he said. BJP chief further said: "What good will the Congress will do here? They don't have a leader, no policy, no determination, no direction. They can't develop this state. For 55 years, when they ruled over the state, from the panchayats to the Parliament, they didn't make any progress. In the past 15 years, Dr Raman Singh has tried to open all those closed doors of development in the state." Campaigning for the first phase of assembly elections in Chhattisgarh concluded on Saturday evening. Polling for the first phase, which includes 18 constituencies across eight Naxal affected districts, will be held on November 12, while the remaining 72 constituencies will go to polls on November 20. The counting of votes will take place on December 11. A total of 1,291 candidates are in the fray for the two-phased elections. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress' Karnataka leader Zameer Ahmed Khan on Saturday asserted that Muslims all across the country were not against the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya while adding that Babri Masjid should also be built alongside temple. Addressing the media, Khan said, "Not only the Muslims in Karnataka, but Muslims across the country are not against Ram Mandir. Build the Ram Mandir, but our Babri Masjid, which was demolished, should also be constructed. We are not against the temple, we are just demanding our right". "We say make the temple on one side and the mosque on the other as a sign of peace. Our India is famed for peace. I have been to many countries, but nowhere have I seen any place where Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians live in harmony and with love. But the BJP is spoiling that feeling of brotherhood," Khan added. The Babri Masjid, built by Mughal emperor Babur in Ayodhya in 1528, was, on December 6, 1992, razed to the ground allegedly by Hindu activists, claiming that the mosque was constructed after demolishing a Ram temple that originally stood there. Since then, several hearings have been held in the Supreme Court regarding this matter. On October 29, the apex court adjourned the Ayodhya title suit till next year to fix a date for the hearing. The court was hearing a challenge to the 2010 ruling of the Allahabad High Court which divided the disputed land into three parts. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief and Uttar Pradesh Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar on Saturday launched a scathing attack on his political ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for their name changing spree. He has asked the BJP to change the names of three of their Muslim leaders before changing the names of different towns and places in the state. He told ANI, "BJP changed the names of Mughalsarai and Faizabad. They say they were named after the Mughals. They have a spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Uttar Pradesh Minister Mohsin Raza-three Muslim faces of the BJP. They should change their names first." On Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath renamed Faizabad as Ayodhya. Further sharpening his attack on the BJP, he alleged that the names of places were changed just to divert attention of the backward and oppressed people from the issues, which concern them. "This is all a drama to distract the backward and oppressed people whenever they raise their voices for their rights. No one else has given the things which Muslims have given. Should we throw away the GT Road? Who built the Red Fort? Who built the Taj Mahal," he asked. Rajbhar also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi led NDA government at the Centre for demonetisation. "What was the use of demonetisation if all the money came back to the Reserve Bank of India? If they want to end corruption, then they should illegalise the use of Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday fired a fresh salvo at the Congress party, asserting they were creating obstructions when development works were being carried out by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state. Addressing a rally here, Chouhan pointed out that the poor conditions of roads and erratic electricity and water supplies in the state, which he alleged, were not taken care of during the previous Congress government headed by Digvijaya Singh. "When I came to power in 2003, Madhya Pradesh was in a terrible condition. Roads were in a bad shape. There was no power and electricity supply in villages. And now, everything has changed. Roads have been paved in all villages. Electricity connection has been expanded and power supply reach has widened," he said. Continuing his tirade, Chouhan claimed that the people were fed up with the Congress party, which had betrayed them several times. "When I give food grain by charging just Re 1 to the poor people, Congress gets agitated. When I carry out development works, Congress gets angry. I pay fees for the poor children, Congress gets perturbed. I gave strict punishment to the rapists, which they didn't give, Congress gets angry. A farmer's son, who at the helm for 13 years, Congress cannot digest this fact and are agitated," the Madhya Pradesh chief minister said. Chiding the Congress with their pet slogan of 'Garibi Hatao', Chouhan remarked, "This has been there since the time of Indira ji (Gandhi) and Rajiv ji (Gandhi). But the poor did not get anything. They were betrayed. I vow to eliminate poverty with programmes aimed at the welfare of the poor people." He underlined that all poor will be able to live in a concrete house by 2022, adding that 10 lakh jobs will be created, if the BJP retains power. Chouhan said that his aim was to eliminate poverty in Madhya Pradesh in next five years. He appealed to the people to vote for the BJP without any hesitation. Further sharpening his attack on the Congress, Chouhan said, "For plucking tendu leaves, I gifted chappals (slippers) for my sisters and shoes for my brothers, drinking water and saris for my sisters. The Congress could not digest all this and asked the people not to wear these chappals as these were infested with cancer. Will I ever send cancer-infested chappals to you?" Madhya Pradesh is slated to go to polls in a single phase on November 28 for 230 constituencies. Counting of votes will take place on December 11. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a direct attack on the Congress accused the party of being the main obstacle in building the Ram Temple. In an attempt to connect with people's 'feelings', Adityanath told ANI: "People want the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. We respect their emotions. Whatever can be done under the ambit of the Constitution will be done." He further added that Ayodhya has a certain Vedic relevance as it is the birthplace of Lord Ram and development there is being done keeping that in mind. Touching on the issue of Naxalism, the chief minister said: "Congress promoted Naxalism in this region for their own selfish motives. BJP government is taking strict measures to combat it which has become a threat to the people in this region. Congress toyed with security for their political benefits." Earlier in the day also while addressing a public rally in Chhattisgarh's Kawardha, he accused the Congress of being the "main obstacle" in building the Ram Temple. "Congress does not want the Ram Mandir to be built in Ayodhya. The party which does not belong to Lord Ram is of no use to us too." In another campaign rally in the poll-bound state's Lormi this afternoon, he reiterated that once Ram Temple is built in Lord's maternal state of Chhattisgarh, it will also be constructed in Ayodhya. Taking a jibe at the Congress, Adityanath said: "Congress leader Kapil Sibal had appealed to the apex court that the matter should not be taken up before 2019. One should ask the Congress if India is related to Lord Ram or is it associated with an outsider Babar," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress MLA Tanveer Sait on Saturday hit out at Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara for skipping Tipu Jayanti celebrations. Sait said that their decision to not attend the celebrations is an insult to the Muslim community. "I've information that Chief Minister couldn't attend because of health reasons. Deputy Chief Minister also couldn't attend. Somewhere it seems like it's an insult to the community. There's no doubt about that," Sait told reporters here. On Friday, the Karnataka Chief Minister's Office (CMO) issued a statement stating that Kumaraswamy would not take part in any official function for the next three days (November 9-11) as he has been advised by doctors to take rest due to health concerns. "On the advice of doctors, the chief minister will take three days rest till November 11. He will spend time with family and there will be no official engagements on these days," the statement read. The birth anniversary of the 18th century Mysore ruler has been celebrated on November 10 by the state government since 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took a dig at the Congress on Saturday saying that the party only releases its election manifesto but never delivers on the promises made. Addressing a rally here, Chouhan said that though late Congress leaders Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had promised to remove poverty in the country but failed to do so. "The Congress today released its election manifesto; they only release manifestos but never fulfill them. Even Indira ji and Rajiv ji had promised to remove poverty but didn't do it. Their promise was fulfilled by Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi that is why Congress is angry," the chief minister said. Chouhan, who is the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh since 2003 and popularly known as 'mama' in the state, during a rally in Pushprajgarh earlier in the day alleged that the poor conditions of roads and erratic power and water supplies in the state were not taken care of during the previous Congress governments headed by Digvijaya Singh. "When I came to power in 2003, Madhya Pradesh was in a terrible condition. Roads were in a bad shape. There was no power and electricity supply in villages. And now, everything has changed. Roads have been paved in all villages. Electricity connection has been expanded and power supply reach has widened," he said. Continuing his tirade, Chouhan claimed that people were fed up with the Congress party which had betrayed them several times. The state is slated to go to polls on November 28. The strength of the Madhya Pradesh assembly is 230 and counting of votes for the assembly elections will be conducted on December 11. The election in the state is seen as a direct political battle between the BJP and the Congress. While Chouhan is attempting to secure a fourth consecutive term, the Congress will fight for regaining power after 2003. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The one-hour special documentary Kerala Floods - The Human Story on Discovery Channel is a poignant take on the indomitable spirit of Kerala who instead of losing hope, are steadily working towards rebuilding their beloved state. The documentary is a celebration of the spirit of survival in the face of disaster; viewers will get to witness incredible stories of people coming together to help those in need - from fishermen turned rescue operators to the defence forces who provided aid, from actors who worked alongside NGO workers to get supplies to those in need to young entrepreneurs who devised ways to connect people at a time when the apocalyptic rain fury just refused to die. The documentary also features the story of Sajitha Jabil who was just three days away from her due date, her labour pains had intensified, and water levels were still rising. She was airlifted in one of the most dramatic rescues of Indian Navy's Operation Madad. By the afternoon, baby Subhan was in her arms unaware of the many storms his mother braved to bring him into this world. This one-hour special documentary will be broadcast on Monday, November 12, 2018 at 9 PM, only on Discovery Channel. It all began on Independence Day this year, when Kerala started experiencing an extremely heavy downpour. Little did the inhabitants of the state know that soon they were going to witness the worst deluge Kerala had seen in almost a century. In over eleven straight days of intense rainfall nearly 25 trillion litres of water fell on Kerala---a state with one of the highest density of population, 44 rivers and 61 dams. Water is a lifeline, defining not just Kerala's geography but its history and economics as well. The watery abundance gives it life and sustenance. The biggest flood in almost a century devastated most of the state. God's own country will need to rebuild 218 bridges, nearly 35,000 kilometres of local roads, an estimated 174,000 houses. Agriculture crops in over 46,000 hectares was destroyed. The loss because of the floods has been estimated at INR 40,000 crores. Highlighting the importance of this documentary, Zulfia Waris, Vice-President & Head, Premium & Digital Networks, Discovery Communications India, said, "What Kerala witnessed this year is a disaster of unimaginable magnitude. But like any news cycle, there's always something else that takes precedence and yesterday's headlines lay forgotten. The idea of presenting the documentary, 'Kerala Floods - The Human Story', is to draw attention to the hundreds of people who are working tirelessly to rebuild Kerala. Through stories about surprising strength of character in times of disaster and hope in the face of abject loss, 'Kerala Floods' aims to tell the story of a Kerala that refuses to be defined by devastation. Everyone saw the destruction of Kerala, it is now time they get to see the efforts that are being made to rebuild it, one brick at a time." Kerala Floods, which will be showcased on Discovery Channel on Monday 12th November 2018 at 9:00 pm will take viewers through inspiring stories of people of Kerala who refuse to lose hope and are working tirelessly to piece back everything that was lost. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid reports of Mizoram's chief electoral officer (CEO) SB Shashank's removal, the Election Commission of India (ECI) in a meeting on Saturday called for a panel of names for the post from the state Chief Secretary. Earlier, ECI had constituted a high-level team led by Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) Sudeep Jain to discuss various issues related to upcoming assembly polls in the state. On Friday, the ECI rubbished the reports of Shashank's removal stating, "We will be assessing Deputy Election Commissioner Sudeep Jain's report in the matter who went to the poll-bound state." Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding Shashank's removal following the sacking of Principal Secretary (Home) L. Chuaungo. Chuaungo had been removed following Shashank's complaint to the ECI about the interference of the state in the ensuing assembly elections. Shashank also brought to the notice of the commission of Chuaungo's alleged involvement in the revision of the electoral rolls and using the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). The people of Mizoram have been protesting against Shashank, alleging that he is biased in conducting the elections due on November 28. Results of the elections will be declared on December 11. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi [India], Nov 10 (ANI): With the pollution level and air quality in Delhi getting worse by the day, the Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) for the Capital, has extended the ban on industries using coal and biomass including brick kilns, entry of truck traffic to Delhi and construction activities till November 12. However, the ban does not include power plants. In a letter to the Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, chairman of the (EPCA, Bhure Lal on Saturday also asked the Delhi government to extend the ban in the Mundka Industrial Area and in the operations in the plastic factory complex till November 12. It was also agreed that during this period New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will ensure that wastes are being physically removed and taken to a disposable site so that it can be incinerated properly. It has been found out that the 12000 tons of industrial and plastic waste have been removed till November 5 since EPCA directed NDMC to remove the waste lying on roadside on October 27. However remaining industrial wastage also needs to be removed. EPCA has also asked to file a compliance report at the earliest on steps taken to ensure that there is systematic collection and transportation of waste material on regular basis. On November 9, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Task Force has informed EPCA that given the prevailing adverse condition in Capital Region (NCR) where the air quality fluctuates between 'poor' and 'very poor' the ban shall stay on till further review of the situation. Earlier, the ban was imposed till November 10. The air quality on Saturday evening at 5 pm was in "severe category" (PM2.5: 250 - 300 or PM10: 430 - 500) . The PM 2.5 on Saturday evening was 259 while PM10 was 414. During this level, the action plan includes closing down of brick kilns, hot mix plants and stone crushers. It also includes shutting down of Badarpur power plant and maximizing generation of power from existing natural gas based plants to reduce operation of coal based power plants in the NCR. The action plans also calls to intensify public transport services and introduce differential rates to encourage off -peak travel besides increasing frequency of mechanised cleaning of road and sprinkling of water on roads and identify road stretches with high dust generation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan the Members of European Parliament have expressed concern over the threats to Asiya Bibi (Aasiya Noreen), who was recently acquitted by Pakistan's Supreme Court in a Blasphemy Case. The letter is signed by 197 EU politicians including from states that provide financial assistance to Pakistan. They have demanded safe passage for Asiya Bibi as the Islamic fundamentalists have threatened to kill her. Asiya Bibi was convicted of Blasphemy eight years ago and sentenced to death by hanging. It was alleged that she made derogatory remarks about Islam after others objected to her drinking water from their glass because she was not a Muslim. In a letter sent to Imran Khan, EU politicians said: "We celebrated the decision of the Supreme Court to acquit Asiya Bibi and were pleased to see the government defend the judiciary in the days that followed. However, it has since been reported that because of the political deal struck with Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, Asiya Bibi is, once again, effectively on death row". "We are aware that a review of the Supreme Court verdict could take years, leaving Asiya incarcerated for that time or vulnerable to mob violence if released", said the letter. It further stated: "We understand that the decision to review the ruling was made for political, rather than legal, reasons. What happens next in this sad story will show the whether Pakistan is a nation that respects the rule of law, or whether political interests will prevail". The Members of European Parliament said Pakistan must maintain the rule of law and such incidents will hugely impact the country economically. "Investors and businesses need confidence in justice for the sake of contracts, employees, and reputation. Likewise, other nations will be less likely to invest in Pakistan if the rule of law is undermined. Therefore, we urge in the strongest possible terms the Government of Pakistan to guarantee safe passage for Asiya, her family, and any of those under threat due to their part in the decision to acquit her, to any country that accepts them," the letter said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) United States President Donald Trump has said that he had never discussed anything in connection to the investigation into the alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential elections with the acting attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker. The statement from the President came amid speculations that he had appointed Whitaker as an acting attorney general in order to terminate the investigation by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Before leaving for Paris to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of War I, the US President a few hours ago took a step further by claiming, "I don't know Matt Whitaker," according to the Washington Post. This recent statement by the President is in clear odds with a previous interview of him a month ago on Fox News, in which Trump said, "I can tell you Matt Whitaker's a great guy. I mean, I know Matt Whitaker." Reports also suggested that Trump preferred to discuss issues with Whitaker rather than former attorney general Jeff Sessions, thus highlighting a prominent reason for Sessions' removal. Earlier in September, Trump had said that he still continues to search the 'crime' in connection to the Russian probe. He even took to Twitter to claim that there was no collusion with Russia and that the probe is 'not allowed under the law'. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India's Ambassador to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin called for a reform and reinvigoration of the UN Security Council, and focused on the role of strengthening multilateralism- an organising principle for international cooperation. In a UN Security Council Open Debate, India mentioned that if the Council is not reformed, renovated and includes multilateralism as a practice, peace is likely to be replaced by a ' order in pieces'. Under the agenda of maintaining international peace and security, Akbaruddin said that the Council is facing a manifold crisis of performance, credibility, legitimacy, and relevance. However, to blame multilateralism for such a dismal situation of the Council is not legitimate, he added. Targeting the working methods, Akbaruddin noted that even as the Council has formed an entire range of the subordinate bodies, the functioning of this 'subterranean universe' of subordinate bodies has become Byzantine. He also suggested that in the place of only five members having a veto on informal meetings, all 15 members should be bestowed with a veto in the 'subterranean universe' of sanctions committees. In addition, as the task of promoting and maintaining international peace and security has grown more daunting, the Council has been found wanting, Akbaruddin said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday met United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Audrey Azoulay in Paris and reaffirmed India's commitment for 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development, most importantly in the field of The Vice President complimented UNESCO for its renewed focus in the fields of and culture and said that the India system has benefitted a lot from UNESCO's capacities, in the early years after the country's independence. "The strategic thrusts of the education development efforts in India focus on five important pillars: Accessibility, Equity, Quality, Affordability, and Accountability," the Vice President told Azoulay while adding that the UNESCO has been promoting education, science and culture over the past 70 years. "India has always been a firm supporter of UNESCO's core agenda and we will continue to do so in the future," he added. The Vice President further said that the priority of India is to expand the opportunities for technical education, vocational education and skills development with an aim to equip the youth with the skills required for enhancing their employability and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. He added that the Skill India Mission launched in 2015 aims at skilling 400 million youth by 2022. Apart from this, the focus was also laid to promote the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to improve access to education, enhancing the quality of the teaching-learning process, teacher development programmes, strengthening educational planning and management, and improving monitoring systems. "We are ready to offer to UNESCO our capacities in the field of ICTs and especially the use of ICTs in the promotion of education," Naidu said. During the interaction with the UNESCO Director-General, Vice President Naidu also said that India is committed to the cause of education and peace, which is also reflected in its willingness to host the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Education for Peace and Sustainable Development wholly out of its extra-budgetary contributions. To celebrate 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi across the world, India had tabled the resolution titled 'Remembering the life and legacy of Mahatma Gandhi' which received overwhelming support. Artists from 124 nations will honour the Indian freedom fighter though singing of his favourite hymn, 'Vaishnav Jan to tenekahiye je'. In the field of culture, India has deep engagement with UNESCO's conventions especially in Heritage and Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Vice President, who is on a three-day official visit to France to attend the Paris Peace Forum, arrived here on Friday. Vice President Naidu and his wife, M. Usha Naidu were received at the airport by Ambassador of India to France Vinay Mohan Kwatra. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a glittering closing ceremony of the week-long World Youth Forum (WYF) in Sharm El-Sheikh, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt awarded Dr. Harbeen Arora of India for her inspiring work in women empowerment as Founder and global chairperson of ALL Ladies League (ALL) and Women Economic Forum (WEF). She is the very first recipient of the Presidential honor to any Indian. WYF 2018 attracted 5,000 attendees from 160 countries including heads of states and opinion leaders and large delegations of youth, providing a vibrant and powerful platform to explore and engage with peace-loving and pro-development ideas, toward integrating civilizations and cultures. Dr. Harbeen Arora said, "This is a great honor and international recognition for India's ethos of revering the feminine as supreme Shakti. This vision drives our movement of relentlessly connecting women worldwide everyday for our greater networks and opportunities with a spirit of sisterhood and self-belief." Dr. Maya Morsy, President of the National Council of Women, Egypt added that India and Egypt are among the oldest civilizations and we are committed to gather our efforts to play a pivotal role in women and youth empowerment toward creating a better world for All. Dr. Harbeen Arora is a Global Leader, Speaker, Educationist, Philanthropist, Spiritualist, Mentor, Author, Entrepreneur and Businesswoman. She is the Chancellor of Rai University in Ahmedabad, Rai Technology University in Bangalore and Jharkhand Rai University in Ranchi in India. Dr. Arora is also the Founder of BIOAYURVEDA, an organic health and wellness enterprise. She also leads ventures in hi-tech agriculture, organic farming and sustainable living. Egypt will assume the presidency of the African Union in 2019 and will also be hosting the Women Economic Forum, WEF 2020 with over 2000+ women coming together from 120+ countries, akin to the annual event held in India every year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Kerala High Court on Saturday asked the state government to explain its stand on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president PS Sreedharan Pillai's plea to quash the First Information Report (FIR) against him. Pillai had filed a petition in the court asking the judicature to quash the FIR against him in connection with his speech on Sabarimala. According to media reports, Kozhikode's Kasaba police on Thursday registered a case against Pillai after he referred to Sabarimala as a 'golden opportunity' in his speech during an event organised by BJP Yuva Morcha on Monday. "Sabarimala is a golden opportunity. It is an issue. Settling the Sabarimala issue in a straight line is not possible. We put forward an agenda and everyone else surrendered to it, leaving only us and our enemies, the government and its parties," he had said. He also claimed that the BJP had planned the entire protest when the decade-old shrine was opened in October. "Our BJP secretaries had gone to a (decided) place and carried out what they were supposed to do successfully. When Sreejith IPS went to Sabarimala with two women, it was a Yuva Morcha leader who assembled devotees and stopped them. The outside world doesn't know all this," he had stated. The BJP leader had also claimed that the Sabarimala Temple chief Kandararu Rajeevaru had called him to discuss the shutting the doors of the Lord Ayyappa's shrine if women aged between 10 and 50 entered its sanctum sanctorum. While speaking to ANI, Pillai also claimed:"Many CPM ministers have also sought my opinion, and I have fought cases," he had said. The Sabarimala Temple and surrounding areas witnessed a string of protests recently over the Supreme Court's decision to quash restrictions on the entry of females between the ages of 10 and 50 into the holy shrine. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a rather comical manner, Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan asked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to let the trailer of his upcoming film 'Zero' be screened on the inaugural day of the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) on Saturday. The actor further said that the Chief Minister should give him permission to showcase his movie at KIFF as it would never be played at any international film festivals in the years to come. The Chief Minister was seen laughing as she was caught off-guard on the unusual request made by the 'Chak De India' star. "My films will never ever be played at international festivals, maybe they don't deserve to," he said. "There will come a time when one of my films will get selected for an international festival of this reckoning," he further added. Hoping that one of his films be played at one of the international film festivals across the country, he asked the film festival authorities to let the trailer of the upcoming movie be played on the big screen. Starring Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif, the trailer of 'Zero' showcases the journey of Bauua Singh (played by SRK) - a vertically challenged man on a lookout for a bride. Directed by Anand L. Rai, and produced by his wife Gauri Khan, the movie is set to hit theatres on December 21. The 24th KIFF was inaugurated by Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, the Chief Minister and other stalwarts of Bengali Cinema earlier today. This year, the festival will showcase iconic Bengali movies to commemorate 100 years of Bengali Cinema. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) has shown concerns over EU Commission providing trade subsidies and grants to Pakistan, a country that is supporting terrorism and targeting religious minorities. Dominique Martin, MEP wrote in his article published by EP Today that European pensioners are suffering whilst EU Commission is funding Pakistani extremists. "In Greece, the European Commission requires the government to reduce, by at least 20 per cent, the average level of public sector pensions (currently EUR 500 per month), whilst in Germany, Spain and Portugal the Commission is satisfied with measures to reduce healthcare costs for retirees by encouraging them to take odd jobs," he said. "But where are the European values of solidarity between generations? Is it correct to ask a retiree, after 40 years of hard work, to clean offices or public toilets? Whilst we ask these sacrifices of our parents and grandparents, ironically, at the same time, we see the European Commission extending lavish gifts in the form of trade subsidies and grants towards third countries for the sake of enhancing its profile in those countries", Dominique wrote in an article. Giving an example of Pakistan he said: "A good example is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a country recently placed on the list of countries supporting terrorism by the United States, France and Germany. Religious minorities, including Christians, are persecuted and often treated as slaves in Pakistan. The young Catholic Asiya Bibi is a symptomatic example. She was in the antechamber of death for daring to commit "blasphemy" against the Prophet Muhammad. She did not commit blasphemy, but merely sensitised people to the discrimination of Christians in the country". The European Commission has endorsed EUR 347 million in subsidies to Pakistan during 2014 to 2017. At the same time, it has granted Pakistan the benefit of the GSP+, a preferential trade regime which allows for the importation, into Europe, of textile and leather products without custom duties or obstacles of any kind. This equates to more than EUR 6 billion per year. This GSP+ preferential treatment is granted to Pakistan whilst, at the same time, Pakistan does not actually implement many of the 27 international core conventions that were set as a condition for the granting of the GSP+, particularly those regarding United Nations civil and religious freedoms and respect for the ILO's international labour law conventions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Indian Army and the Nehru Sidhant Kendra Trust entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Sat Paul Mittal School, Ludhiana under which both the groups will offer educational scholarships to 100 children of the deceased soldiers of Indian Army every year. Brigadier HS Kahlon, Directorate of Indian Army Veteran (DIAV) and Bipin Gupta, representing the Nehru Sidhant Kendra Trust, signed the MoU in the presence of General Bipin Rawat, the chief of army staff and Rakesh Bharti Mittal, President of Nehru Sidhant Kendra Trust. Under the MoU, preference will be given to children of primary classes and girl children. Nehru Sidhant Kendra Trust will continue to render financial support to these children up to class 12. The support will be available to the children of soldiers categorised as physical causalities that die in harness and are not covered by any other welfare schemes for purposes. This noble initiative will help the Indian Army extend its reach to support the of the children of its deceased soldiers in a meaningful manner. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A total of 2,800 nominations have been filed for the 230 seats of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded its candidates from all the assembly seats, Congress announced its candidates only from 229 seats and left a seat for Sharad Yadav's Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) for the upcoming assembly elections in the state. The filing of nominations for the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections ended yesterday. A total of 162 nominations were filed from Rewa assembly constituency, while 156 from Satna. This time, the BJP has fielded Usha Thakur from Mhow assembly constituency. Earlier, party leader Kailash Vijayvargiya used to contest from this seat. Opposing Thakur's nomination from the seat, five BJP leaders from the area have filed independent nomination from the seat. Meanwhile, Congress leaders Nasir Islam and Sajid Ali have also filed nomination as independent candidates. Madhya Pradesh is slated to go on polls on November 28, while counting of votes will be held on December 11. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Saturday demanded the resignation of Maharashtra's Environment and Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar over the killing of tigress Avni and also sought a CBI probe into the entire episode. Talking to media persons, he alleged that there was a connection between Mungantiwar and the poachers, who allegedly killed Avni. He claimed, "From 2008 to 2015 only 14 tigers were killed in the state while in 2016 as many as 16 tigers were killed. In 2017, 21 tigers were killed." Union Minister for Women and Child Development and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, seeking removal of Sudhir Mungantiwar, State Minister of Environment and Forest. She claimed that the tigress Avni could have been saved had the minister in-charge been 'little more sensitive.' Tigress Avni was killed in Maharashtra's Yavatmal on November 2. She had allegedly killed 14 people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) What amounts to retreating his commitment to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during a campaign rally in Chhattisgarh on Saturday said that once Ram temple is built in his maternal state Chhattisgarh, it will also be constructed in Ayodhya. Adityanath addressed a gathering in poll bound Chhattisgarh's Lormi where he said, "During my earlier visit I had said once Lord Ram's temple is constructed at his maternal residence, then it will certainly be built at his birthplace too. I would like to express my gratitude to the people of Raipur for constructing a grand Ram temple." As per Indian mythology Ram has deep connect with Chhattisgarh as his mother Kaushalya was from Kaushal near Raipur and he himself spent 14 years in exile, while living in Dantkarni jungles now in Chhattisgarh. It is the same area where his wife Sita was abducted. Adityanath further added that Chhattisgarh is Lord Ram's maternal homeland and today the matter of his 'janambhoomi' is sub-judice before the Supreme Court. "Congress leader Kapil Sibal had appealed to the Apex Court that the matter should not be taken up before 2019. One should ask the Congress if India is related to Lord Ram or is it associated with an outsider Babar," he said. Further sharpening his attack on the Rahul Gandhi led party, UP CM Adityanath said: "Congress promoted Naxalism in this region for their own selfish motives. BJP government is taking strict measures to combat it which has become a threat to the people in this region. Congress toyed with security for their political benefits." The Chief Minister also claimed that the BJP's top priority is security while the Congress did at the cost of security. "Be it Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, north-eastern states or Kashmir, Congress did at the cost of national security. But for the BJP, national security is top priority. We have never tolerated any threat to national security. No one has the liberty to toy with national security." Lauding the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Central government for eliminating terrorists from the Kashmir Valley and taking strict measures against anti-social and anti-national elements in areas like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said: "There is hardly any day when two to four terrorists are not gunned down in Kashmir. Moreover, each day action is being taken against Naxals. They too are surrendering before our forces." Claiming that the BJP has been tirelessly working for the rights and welfare of the poor, he said, "For the first time after independence a Prime Minister announced that by 2022 no poor in India will be without a house. Had there not been a BJP government at the Centre, the people in Chhattisgarh wouldn't have received the houses, which they are receiving now." Chhattisgarh witnessed an intense political slugfest on Friday ahead of the first phase assembly poll due on November 12. The first phase of elections comprises 18 seats distributed in eight Naxal-affected districts of the state. Of these, 12 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes, while one is Scheduled Caste reserved seat. The polling for remaining 72 seats will take place on November 20. The counting of votes will take place on December 11. A total of 1,291 candidates are in the fray for the two-phased state polls. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An ordnance blast at a military warehouse in the southeastern Turkish province of Hakkari has left four Turkish soldiers dead and around 20 others injured, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday. On Friday, the country's Defense Ministry said in a statement that at least 25 people were injured, while searches for seven missing soldiers were underway. All of the injured soldiers were promptly taken to hospital. "Four of our servicemen were killed in a blast at an ammunition depot in Hakkari, while around 20 are injured," Erdogan said during his address in Ankara. He went on to say that search and rescue operations continued. According to the administration of the Hakkari province, the blast was caused by faulty ordnance. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Army soldier was killed after Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation along the Line of Control in Rajouri's Sunderbani sector in the state on Saturday morning. According to the Army spokesperson, "At about 0945 hours, unprovoked ceasefire violation was initiated by Pakistan in which one Army Soldier was shot by a sniper and succumbed to the injuries." Apparently during the exchange of fire, the soldier suffered injuries and was rushed to the hospital for treatment. However, he succumbed to the injuries. Further details are awaited. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi international airport experienced a panic situation on Saturday afternoon after the pilot of Ariana Afghan Airlines mistakenly pressed the hijack button. Kandahar-bound flight FG-312 was scheduled to depart from Delhi airport at around 15:45 but suddenly the aviation security at the airport was alerted after airlines' pilot pressed the hijack button. As per CISF sources, aviation security was alerted and deployed for necessary action but later it was clarified that the pilot pressed the button by mistake. After security clearance by the Bureau of Civil Aviation (BCAS), the aircraft took off for Kandahar after two-hour delay. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi by accusing him of insulting Congress leaders like Mahendra Karma and Narendra Kumar Patel, who fell to the bullets of Naxals in Chhattisgarh. "Our leaders in Chhattisgarh have made the real sacrifice by standing up against the menace of Naxals," said Gandhi, while addressing a poll rally at Naxal-affected Jagdalpur. "A few days back, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about Naxals. But the real sacrifice was made by the leaders of Congress party. Our people have sacrificed their lives for the country and Chhattisgarh as well. Congress leaders like Mahendra Karma and Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel lost their lives here. By his statement, the Prime Minister has insulted Karma ji and Patel ji." Only recently Prime Minister Modi had accused the Congress of backing "urban Naxals" who, he said, have ruined the lives of poor Adivasi youths in Chhattisgarh. During a rally at Jagdalpur, PM Modi had said: "The urban Maoists, who live in air-conditioned homes in the cities and whose children study abroad, remote control Adivasi children in Naxal-dominated areas. I want to ask the Congress why it supports urban Maoists when the government takes action against them." It is worth mentioning that in 2013, Naxals attacked a convoy of Congress leaders in Darbha Valley in Sukma district which led to 27 deaths, including the killing of former state minister Mahendra Karma and Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel and Vidya Charan Shukla. Lashing out at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said: "The Congress party has many such leaders who have lost their lives fighting against the Britishers. When our leaders were fighting against the Britishers, when Britishers were ruling this country, when all the Congress leaders were in prison, your (Prime Minister Modi) leader Veer Savarkar was folding hands in front of the Britishers." Coming down heavily on Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Gandhi raised the issue of his son's name in the Panama Papers case, asking why no action had been taken against him till now. Gandhi said, "If the Chief Minister doesn't want to answer that, then he should explain to the people of Chhattisgarh why no action has been taken against his son, whose name appeared in the Panama Papers case? In Pakistan, the Prime Minister is jailed because his name appeared in the Panama Papers case." Mounting attack on Prime Minister Modi over alleged Rafale fighter jet scam, Gandhi said: "At every platform, Prime Minister Modi talks about patriotism, but he is the one who changed the Rafale contract. When the UPA government was in power, the Air Force senior officials proposed the name of Rafale fighter jet but our government put two conditions-the aircraft should be made in India and secondly, the fighter plane should be minimally priced. When Modi came to power at the Centre, they gave the contract to Anil Ambani because he is the Prime Minister Modi's friend. Here, the Prime Minister compromised with the security." The election campaigning for the first phase of Chhattisgarh polls will end on Saturday night, 48 hours before the voting on November 12. Chhattisgarh polls will be held in two phases, first phase polling is on November 12 and then on November 20. The counting of votes for both the phases will take place on December 11. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday promised all-loan waiver to poor farmers within 10 days of forming the government if voted to power in Chattisgarh. Gandhi, who was addressing a rally at Kanker, said He also said that the Congress government would give Rs 2,500 to every farmer for harvesting his paddy crop. "We will not only waive off farmers' within 10 days of coming to power but will also give Rs 2,500 to each farmer for harvesting and sowing paddy. Congress government will also give bonus to farmers. In case they have not received any bonus from the past two years, we will compensate them accordingly," he said. Gandhi also touched upon the issue of unemployment and promised that after coming to power, his government will work day and night to set up food processing factories in every block and district of the state to ease the life of farmers in selling their produces. "Congress government will ensure farmers get right price for their produces. We will set up food processing factories in all districts and blocks. From these factories, not only you will get the correct price for your crops but your children will also get employment in these factories," said Rahul in a bid to woo farmers, who play a key role in the state "It has been 15 years that Dr Raman Singh has been in power in the state. As on to date, more than 40 lakh people are unemployed in the region and around 65 per cent of the land has not been irrigated. Moreover, 75,000 acres of land have also been taken away from the tribal people and given to the close aides of the government," he claimed. He said his mission is to make Chhattisgarh an agricultural state like Punjab and Haryana within five years. Talking about the issue of development, the Congress president tore into the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre and claimed that the Centre failed to fulfill its promise of creating two crore jobs every year and created only fewer jobs for the youths. "I have a vision. I want that Chhattisgarh youths must be given loans so that they can set up their own factories and create employment in the state," he added. "If one looks closely, China within a span of 24 hours gives employment to more than 50,000 people but Modi ji is only providing employment to 450 people per hour as all the money, nearly Rs 12, 50, 000 crore, has been given to his 15 friends. Modi ji only believes in 15 people but I believe in crores of people," he added. Gandhi also promised the gathering that his government would put an end to the outsourcing of labour works in the state and will first provide employment opportunity to the poor people of Chhattisgarh. "Each family in the village who does not possess any property will be given a piece of land," he added. While training guns at the Central government, Rahul Gandhi claimed that more than 60,000 seats of teachers are lying vacant in the state and they will make efforts to fill them fast after coming to power. Talking about the decades old-MNREGA programme, the Congress president alleged that the Narendra Modi-led government has spent Rs 35,000 crore for the implementation of the scheme but still failed to provide any relief to the poor. "All of that money has been distributed among his friends like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Lalit Modi." Speaking about the menace of corruption prevailing in the state, the 48-year-old leader alleged that Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh was himself corrupt. He also pointed fingers at the state government for not initiating any investigation against the Dr Singh's son after his name appeared in the Panama Papers case. "Whenever Modi ji goes somewhere, he claims that his government is against the menace of corruption. But after coming to Chhattisgarh, he does not mention that the chief minister is also a corrupt man. The state CM should explain to the people of Chhattisgarh why has no action been taken against his son, whose name appeared in the Panama papers case? In Pakistan the PM is jailed because his name appeared in Panama Papers case," he said. Rahul also mentioned about the famous Public Distribution System scam and stated that Rs 36,000 crore from the people of Chhattisgarh was looted. "I want Raman Singh ji to answer who are this CM Madam and Dr Sahab whose names were found in the diary in connection with the scam." Gandhi scion said that his party will not work for any particular religion, community, caste or a district but for all. He also added that as soon as the Congress comes to power in the state, they will build schools, colleges, and hospitals and will also uplift the status of poor in the society by implementing 'Paisa Kanoon,' Tribal Bill and Real Estate Law. The first phase of elections in Chhattisgarh comprises 18 seats and these are distributed in eight Naxal-affected districts. Of these, 12 are Scheduled Tribe seats while one is a Scheduled Caste-reserved seat. The polling for remaining 72 seats will take place on November 20. The counting of votes will take place on December 11. A total of 1,291 candidates are in the fray for the two-phased state polls. In the 2013 assembly elections, the BJP had bagged 49 seats, Congress got 39, Bahujan Samajwadi Party and Independent got one seat each in the 90-member House. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday said that religious tolerance must be retained and preserved in the country. Addressing a gathering during a function held at Sat Paul Mittal School here, General Rawat said, "We have a very strong cultural heritage and legacy which we must honor and respect. But we are gradually adopting Westernise culture. The citizens must not forget that India has a rich cultural heritage of its own and it should be retained at every cost. Humanity, religious tolerance, sympathy, compassion for elders, care - are a part of our rich Indian culture. Religious tolerance must be retained and preserved." The Army Chief also called upon the youth to come forward to become an integral part of the Indian Army and help armed forces to serve the nation. "Doors of Indian army are always open for children of this country but then no decision should be forced. One should explore and identify their capabilities...just appreciate what you are good at. The aim should not be just to get a government job and survival thereafter.." the Army Chief said. He added that collective efforts are required for making India a number one country. During the function, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Nehru Sidhant Kendra Trust and the Indian Army under which 100 annual scholarships would be provided to the wards of those soldiers who laid down their lives in the service of the country. General Rawat also stressed that India is progressing in every field at a fast pace. "Our country is facing several challenges but all these can be overcome if we are together. There are people from different castes, religions and languages in this country but we are one nation and that is what India is all about," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Taliban has said that the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan is the only way for maintaining peace and security in the region. Quoting sources, Tolo News reported that the statement was passed by the Taliban representatives who attended the Moscow Summit on Afghanistan's peace, on Friday, along with the envoys from 11 different countries including the United States. A delegation of Afghanistan's High Peace Council (HPC) members who also attended the meeting, in addition, said that the land-locked country would not need the help of any foreign power after peace is established in the country. The meeting was inaugurated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who looked forward to establishing direct talks between Kabul and the Taliban. He said that the meeting aimed at removing the Daesh militants entirely from Afghanistan that has almost become a permanent base point from where terrorist activities are carried out in Central Asia and further. Meanwhile, no representative from the Afghanistan government attended the Moscow meeting. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs through a statement said that the Afghan government would welcome efforts by any country that could help in establishing peace. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senator Democrats are considering legal action against the United States President Donald Trump's decision of appointing Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general. A Democratic aide told The Hill that a potential lawsuit is in talks, which would argue that Whitaker's appointment breached the Senate's "advice and consent" role, which is in the preliminary stages and is being researched. "We are actively thinking about what a possible legal challenge would look like in this case," the aide asserted. The potential lawsuit comes following the ouster of attorney general Jeff Sessions and Trump's appointment of Whitaker as the acting attorney general, who was Sessions' chief of staff. Democrats and a few Republicans have also expressed anxiety about the effect Sessions' appointment will have on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Seeking details on the logical reasoning behind Whitaker's appointment, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer wrote a letter to Trump, citing a violation of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution by putting someone who had not been previously confirmed by the Senate into the Justice Department spot. "Mr. Whitaker is a political appointee who is not serving in a Senate-confirmed position in the Justice Department. I am not aware of any precedent for the appointment of an official who has not been confirmed by the Senate to serve as acting Attorney General," Schumer wrote in the letter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif was on Saturday arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with another corruption case pertaining to Ramzan Sugar Mills. Sharif, who has been in NAB custody in the Aashiana Housing Scheme case, was on Saturday produced before the accountability court in Lahore, as his transit remand expired on Friday, Geo News reported. In the Sugar Mills case, a bridge amounting to Rs. 500 million was built to facilitate the mills. Sharif, during his tenure as the Punjab chief minister, had allegedly issued illegal orders for the construction of the bridge, according to The Express Tribune. During the hearing, a NAB prosecutor said, "We are arresting Shehbaz today on November 10 in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case." The prosecutor added, "The new case is different and we have evidence in the ongoing case." Sharif's counsel, Amjad Pervaiz, also said, "The new request that has been submitted in court has been filed on the wrong basis. The law states that a man who has been arrested in one case will be considered arrested in other cases as well." On October 5, Sharif was arrested by the NAB on charges of misusing authority and corruption in the Rs 14 billion Ashiana Housing Scheme during his tenure as the Punjab Chief Minister (2013 to 2018). The PML-N chief has, however, denied any wrongdoings and called the allegations as "baseless". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The White House, late on Friday, issued a statement issuing emergency in California as the death toll in a fast-moving wildfire rose to nine. Quoting sources, the statement also permitted the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide all disaster relief efforts and necessary support needed by the US state authorities in coping with the wildfires, Sputnik reported. "Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that an emergency exists in the State of California and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from wildfires beginning on November 8, 2018, and continuing," the White House statement read. The fast-moving wildfire, especially in California's Butte County region, has led to the displacement of approximately 52,000 people. The fire has also reportedly destroyed over 6,000 houses in the area. Many Hollywood stars including Kim Kardashian West, Alyssa Milano, Lady Gaga and Caitlyn Jenner have been forced to vacate their homes due to the fire that has also started threatening areas around the Los Angeles County, Malibu and the regions around the Pacific Ocean in the West, prompting more evacuations in days to come. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a shocking incident, a senior manager of the Tata Steel Processing and Distribution Ltd (TSPDL) was shot dead by a former employee of the company in Faridabad on Friday. The TSPDL, in a statement, informed that the incident took place at around 1:10 pm at Faridabad office of the company, wherein Arindam Pal, senior manager, was shot dead by the former employee Vishwash Pandey. After shooting Pal, Pandey immediately ran out of office and is still at large. The victim died on his way to the hospital. Pandey worked with TSPDL from 2015 to 2018. He was discharged from the services of the company in August this year. Ashok Kumar, SHO, Mujesar, informed, "In the initial reports, the doctors revealed that five bullets were pumped in Pal's body. But the Post-mortem reports are still awaited." The police has initiated the investigation. Further details into the matter are awaited. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Anger ran high here on Saturday on the occasion of birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan as scores of people took to streets to oppose Karnataka government's decision to go ahead with the celebration, which was introduced by then Congress Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in 2015. Several other groups of protesters have also decided to first offer prayers at Sri Omkareshwara temple and then will carry out a procession against the celebrations. Taking the cognizance of the prevailing tense situation, the security has been beefed up in Madikeri. Not only residents, but several political parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Codava Council have also called for a shutdown in the region to register their protest against the celebrations. Speaking to ANI, PI Srividya, Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu, said the police have made all requisite arrangements to maintain law and order in the region. "We have taken all precautionary measures. If somebody violates law and order, the police will take strict action against him." Each year Tipu Jayanti creates a rift among political outfits over the celebration of his birthday. Basically, Tipu Sultan is considered as a freedom fighter by the coalition government in Karnataka but he is treated as a religious "bigot" by the BJP and its supporting organisations. Taking on Karnataka government, BJP's district unit secretary Sajjal Krishnan alleged that the coalition government in the state was playing appeasement to garner the support of a section of the society. "The government is wasting public money in the name of Tipu Jayanti. Tipu was not a warrior. He killed so many Hindus and attacked temples. Why are they glorifying a man like him? This is only vote bank Everyone in Kodagu is opposing the celebrations," he said. BJP spokesperson C T Ravi also tweeted, urging Karnataka government to choose icons like Mirza Ismail or Shishunala Sharief and not a "bigot" like Tipu. Taking to twitter, the BJP Karnataka also stated, "While Cong-JDS government is celebrating a tyrant Tipu, the CM himself goes into hiding. What is the point of celebrating a fanatic when CM himself abandons a govt function? Glorifying a mass murderer just for vote bank clearly shows mindset of this govt." Moments after BJP Karnataka's Tweet, the Karnataka Chief Minister's Office (CMO) issued a statement stating that Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is taking rest on doctor's advice and thus is unable to take part in the programme. "It is also far from truth that he isn't taking part due to the fear of losing power, as he opposes such blind beliefs. He has wished the function a grand success," it added. Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwar will also not attend the celebrations as he is out of the country and has not returned yet. Responding to criticism, former chief minister Siddaramaiah said: "Tipu's opponents have to remove their communal glasses to see the true Tipu Sultan. For this, the BJP leaders have to read the book on Tipu Sultan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Coming down heavily on the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance government in Karnataka over Tipu Sultan Jayanti celebrations, Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday said holding a state government event on the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan, who persecuted Hindus and Christians in large numbers is "surprising." Speaking to ANI, Javadekar said: "To hold a state government event on Tipu Sultan Jayanti who is a symbol of hatred, is surprising. We want to ask the Congress how the one, who destroyed churches and temples and killed thousands of Christians and Hindus, is praised in a state government event." The Congress government-led Siddaramaiah had started celebrating Tipu Sultan's birth anniversary in 2015, saying that the 18th century ruler of Mysore was a "freedom fighter", who was killed in the fourth Anglo-Mysore war. On November 8, former chief minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader BS Yeddyurappa called the state government's celebrations a gimmick to appease the Muslim community. "We are opposing this (Tipu Jayanti). Nobody will appreciate this celebration. The government's intention behind Tipu Jayanti celebration is just to satisfy the people of the Muslim community. Even within the Congress and JD(S), people are opposing this," Yeddyurappa, Karnataka chief of BJP, told ANI. Tipu Sultan had fought against the British and died in 1799 while defending his capital Srirangapatna, present day Mandya, in Karnataka. Several leaders of the BJP, however, claim that the ruler was "against Kannada language and anti-Hindu" and thus flay the state government for celebrating his birth anniversary or Tipu Jayanti. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) United States President Donald Trump on Friday termed his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron's proposal to build a European Union Army as "very insulting". French President Macros suggested the idea to protect the European countries from the United States, Russia, and China, Sputnik reported. "President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidizes greatly!" Trump wrote on Twitter just minutes after reaching Paris. As per reports, the French President Macron has been advocating for mobilizing a European military force since his election last year, but emphasised on the same again while touring War I memorials on Tuesday. On Thursday, French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said that the potential EU joint military force could be used for tackling the consequences of natural disasters, for providing humanitarian assistance and in military operations. Trump is in France to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of War I. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) United States Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis met with Director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Central Commission of the Communist Party of China Yang Jiechi and State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe for the second US-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue. The US Department of State, in a statement, stated that the US and China had candid and in-depth conversations about key diplomatic and security issues. They even reaffirmed that the US-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue could be a constructive platform that produces meaningful results. The US also highlighted President Donald Trump's vision for a constructive, results-oriented relationship between the two countries based on fairness and reciprocity. Both the countries also committed to coordinate on resolving differences and cooperate on common goals Further discussing the military co-operation, the two countries recognised that the military-to-military relationship between the US and China could be a stabilising factor for the overall bilateral relationship, and committed to a productive mil-mil relationship. The two sides also decided to deepen engagement to advance their shared commitment to the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. The issue of denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and to bring back normalcy in Afghanistan were also discussed during the meeting. The two sides committed to support peace and stability in the South China Sea, the peaceful resolution of disputes, and freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea in accordance with international law. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United States of America (USA) strongly condemned the crackdown on the LGBT community by Tanzania's government on Friday (local time). A press statement issued by the US Department of State read, "The United States government is deeply concerned over escalating attacks and legislative actions by the Government of Tanzania that violate civil liberties and human rights, creating an atmosphere of violence, intimidation, and discrimination." "We are troubled by the continued arrests and harassment of marginalized persons, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and others who seek to exercise their rights to freedom of speech, association, and assembly. The legislation is being used to restrict civil liberties for all," the release noted. The US further stated that the current state of affairs in Tanzania inhibits development in the country. "The deteriorating state of human rights and rule of law in Tanzania inhibits development, economic prosperity, peace, and security," the statement added. "We call on Tanzanian authorities to act decisively to safeguard the rights of civil society organizations, human rights defenders, journalists, health workers, political activists, and all people in accordance with the Tanzanian constitution, the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, and the country's international and regional obligations and commitments," the US Department of State concluded. The Governor of Dar es Salaam had previously vowed to arrest all Tanzanian citizens belonging to the LGBT community in the nation, adding to the increasing crackdown on LGBT individuals in the country. People from the LGBT community face a 30-year jail sentence according to Tanzanian laws, while homosexual acts attract the death penalty in other African nations like Sudan, Somalia, and Mauritania. Tanzania's health ministry had also discontinued HIV/AIDS services in about 40 clinics last year, citing that the establishments had promoted homosexuality. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The physical and socioeconomic benefits of tourism will form part of the exhibits of Central Luzon at the North Philippines (NorthPhil) Tourism and Travel Expo slated at the SM City Clark on Nov. 16 to 18. The exhibits will highlight tourism worthiness as the ultimate manifestation of good governance, which all the local government units in NorthPhil can aspire for, according to the Association of Tour Officers of Central Luzon, which is anticipating the rise of new Clark and Subic cities on the tide of massive infrastructure development on the back of the governments Build, Build, Build program alongside private investments. Atocel president Michael Palispis said LGUs in Central Luzon would have to level up to keep astride with and cash in on the benefits of such developments. Tourism worthiness encompasses, not just infrastructure and tourist attractions, but also all the qualities of good governance that includes safety and security, economic productivity, cultural values, social behavior and attitudes, a healthy business and natural environment, a well-educated populace, transport and telecommunications connectivity, and many other factors that define a CL visitors experience, Palispis said. The goal for the LGUs in CL and the rest of NorthPhil is to attain a level of certainty that they wont miss out on the benefits and opportunities from tourism, whose uptrend is projected to continue despite all the fuel price hikes, Palispis said. Constituting Central Luzon are the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales, with an aggregate 2017 tourist volume of 3.42 million comprising 2.91 million domestic, 481,436 foreign, and 14,254 overseas Filipino workers, according to the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc. The inbound tourist volume in Central Luzon, as reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority, grew by 9.3 percent in 2017 when tourism contributed 12.2 percent to the economy from 8.6 percent in 2016 as measured by the share of tourism direct gross value added in the gross domestic product. The TDGVA amounted to P1,929 .3 billion [P1.93 trillion] at current prices in 2017. This is higher by 24.2 percent than the previous years P1,553.7 billion [P1.55 trillion], the PSA report stated, citing a 43.9-percent rise in 2017 inbound tourist spend.Also on the upsurge was domestic tourist spend, up by 25.5 percent to P2.645 trillion in 2017 from P2.1 trillion in 2016. The share of tourism in total national employment in 2017 was placed by the PSA at 13.1 percent. On the other hand, total contribution to GDP is projected by the World Travel & Tourism Council to rise by 5.3 percent yearly to $108.2 billion (P5.134 trillion) at 20.7 percent of the GDP in 2027. Thus, our LGUs shouldnt miss out on that golden opportunity from tourism, which we strive to showcase at the NorthPhil Expo in Clark, Palispis said of Central Luzons unique exhibits and the presentation of the new digital and official website of the DOT office in the region. Central Luzon lies in the immediate north of Metro Manila and spans the full breadth of this part of the archipelago from the coastal provinces of Pangasinan, Zambales and Bataan at the West Philippine Sea to Aurora province at the Pacific Ocean The Central Luzon exhibits are among those displayed in 104 booths featuring all tourism sectors in North Philippines and other parts of the archipelago, including Asia. Co-organized by the Association of Travel Operators of Central Luzon and managed by the Philippine Exhibits and Trade Corp., the expo is supported by the Department of Tourism, the Angeles City government, the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales, Clark Development Corp., Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Tourism Infrastructure & Enterprise Zone Authority, and Cebu Pacific Air as sponsors. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said that India contributed immensely to the war effort during the War I as he inaugurated the Indian War Memorial at Villers Guislain in France on Saturday. Speaking during the inaugural function, the Vice President spoke about the importance of the memorial, terming it as a tribute to the Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives fighting selflessly during the War I. "I consider it my privilege to have this honour to be amongst you today and inaugurate the first War Memorial constructed by the Government of India in France and to pay homage to the Indian soldiers who fought selflessly and heroically during War I and made the supreme sacrifice," Vice President Naidu said during the event which had Mayor of Villers Guislain Gerard Allart, and other distinguished guests in attendance. "India contributed immensely to the war effort in terms of both men and material. Her soldiers served with credit and honour in numerous battlefields around the globe: in France and Belgium, in Aden, Arabia, East Africa, Gallipoli, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Persia and Salonika," he added, while bringing attention to the 100th anniversary of the Armistice Day that marks the end of the World War I. He also opined that the World War I "not only changed the social and political fabric of Europe, but perhaps changed the destinies of a number of countries across the world." Further recalling the contributions made by the Indian soldiers, the Vice President stated, "The first Indian troops landed in Marseille on September 26, 1914. Over the next five years of the Great War, more than 140,000 Indian soldiers fought the War on this same land (present day France and Belgium) where we stand today. They reached here in the extreme winters of Europe, had no winter clothing but fought gallantly, earning battle honors for themselves, their regiments and for India. More than 9,300 of them made the ultimate sacrifice in Belgium and France." He remarked, "We, therefore, share a bond of sacrifice that joins us to French soil and society. The final resting places of these soldiers are spread over 158 cemeteries across various communes and cities of France. The Indian Memorial at Neuve Chapelle built by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is a place where 4,300 brave Indian soldiers died in one night. Their blood is permanently mixed with the soil here." Vice President Naidu opined that the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers during World War I cannot be erased. "Although it was not a war that India was involved with directly, the valour of the Indian soldiers and the duty they stood for, leaving behind their kith and kin, is a memory that can never be erased. They fought for human liberty and freedom," he said. "Even today, India continues to be one of the largest contributors to the United Nations Peace Keeping Missions in the conflict zones of the world. The sons and daughters of India have always stood on the side of righteousness even when confronting the toughest adversities and have fought gallantly and laid down their lives to uphold and promote these cherished ideals, in the far-flung corners of the world. Their sacrifice can best be phrased in their own words: "When you go home, tell them of us and say, that for their tomorrow, we gave our today," he said. Vice President Naidu added, "As you are aware, the Battle of Cambrai was fought on this very piece of land that you are standing upon today from the morning of November 20, 1917 till December 4, 1917. Over 40,000 soldiers had died during that battle, including many Indians. It was almost 100 years back on this same soil that the Indian Cavalry comprising the Deccan Horse, Hodson's Horse, Poona Horse, Central India Horse and 18 Cavalry had charged at German positions during the Battle." He further brought attention to the present Indian government's contribution towards remembering the brave hearts. "No Indian War Memorial had so far been constructed by Government of India in France. I am, therefore, happy that the present Government has constructed this iconic monument as part of our homage to our brave soldiers," Vice President Naidu said. "This Indian memorial in Villers-Guislain would stand tall as a towering manifestation of our continuous efforts to express solidarity with France in remembering the martyrs of the First World War," he noted. Vice President Naidu further expressed his deepest gratitude to Mayor of Villers-Guislain for gifting land to the Government of India for the memorial's construction and his continued cooperation in the completion of the construction. Hoping for long-lived relations between India and France, Vice President Naidu concluded his speech by appreciating all the efforts which went into the making of the monument. "I would like to express my gratitude to Government of India and the United Services Institution of India for conceptualizing, designing, and constructing this monument in Villers-Guislain, at the exact site of the Indian Cavalry Charge during the Battle of Cambrai," he stated. The Vice president further mentioned, "I would also convey my deepest appreciation to all the local and regional authorities of the French Republic and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for their assistance and close collaboration." Lastly, he thanked the crowd for gathering for the inauguration ceremony. "My special thanks are also due to you all who are present here today at this ceremony to pay homage to the fallen soldiers of my country. This demonstrates your truest and most sincere appreciation of these soldiers and ensures that their sacrifices are not forgotten by anyone on this land," Vice President Naidu said. Nearly 1.3 million Indian soldiers fought during World War I, out of which 1,40,000 Indian soldiers took part in World War I in France and Belgium. Even though a memorial dedicated to the Indian soldiers who died during World War I was made by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) at Neuve Chapelle in 1927, a need to build a unique Memorial by Independent India was felt. In Europe, the only other such memorial stands at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium. The main motif of the Indian War Memorial at Villers Guislain is the Indian national emblem which consists of Ashoka lions along with a bronze wreath, plaque, and lances which have been designed in India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale, who claimed to have been offered to join Congress, clarified that he would remain with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as long as it stays in power. Addressing a gathering on Friday, Athawale who is the president of the Republic Party of India said that he will decide on switching sides once he figures out which way "the wind (is) blowing." "Naseem Khan has offered me to join the (Congress) party. I stayed with the Congress for 10-15 years, so I will have to stay with them (BJP) for at least same number of years. I will be here till the time the current government stays in power. I will decide on switching sides when I figure out which way the wind is blowing," he added. Earlier, Athawale had claimed that he would contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Mumbai South Central constituency. Interestingly, the sitting member of Parliament from the Mumbai South Central seat is Shiv Sena's Rahul Shewale who contested the 2014 polls as a joint candidate of both, Shiv Sena and BJP. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B. V., subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, announced that it has commenced a tender offer to purchase for cash (the Tender Offer) any and all of its outstanding S$1,500,000,000 5.125% Guaranteed Senior Notes due 2023. The purpose of the Tender Offer is for the Company to proactively manage its capital structure, reduce gross debt and leverage by acquiring the Notes funded out of equity proceeds and also provide liquidity to Noteholders at a premium to the market. The Bharti Airtel Limited group continues to execute on its intent to deleverage and pursue its strategies towards that end. In line with this, it has been actively exploring various equity driven initiatives, including those previously announced regarding its Africa business, so as to proactively manage its balance sheet and capital structure to align them to the grou p's core conservative philosophy. Accordingly, the Company's parent, Airtel Africa, a U. K. incorporated subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, recently made a successful primary equity issuance of US$1.25 billion to six leading global investors comprising Warburg Pincus, Temasek, Singtel, SoftBank Group and others. The proceeds of this equity issuance are intended to be used to reduce Airtel Africa's existing debt of approximately US$5 billion on the date of the announcement. The proceeds of this equity issuance are now fully realized and available as cash. The Company also carries organic cash on its balance sheet. The Company wishes to utilize the proceeds of this equity issuance and the cash available to it to reduce its existing debt by offering to purchase 'any and all' of the Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer. Via the Tender Offer, the Company is also providing liquidity to the Noteholders at a specified premium over the market price at launch. The Tender Offer is in addition to the previously announced tender offer cum repayment of EUR 1 billion 4.000% notes maturing December 2018, for which funding has been drawn and available as cash with the Company. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Kerala Police on Saturday arrested two arsonists for a blaze at a plastic factory here 10 days back that caused a loss of nearly Rs 500 crore to the company. The two arrested -- Vimal, 19, and Binuat, 39, were helpers at the factory and have confessed to their crime, Assistant Commissioner of Police R. Anilkumar told IANS. On October 31, the fire that broke out at around 7.30 p.m. at the Family Plastics burnt it down to the ground. On November 1, when the blaze was finally extinguished by a 25-fire truck brigade, the popular plastic bucket producing company was completely gutted. There was, however, no casualty. "The two employees who worked at the company as helpers were angry after the employers cut professional tax from their salary. They were detained on Friday," said Anilkumar. The officer said the arson was well-planned. Two days ahead of the major blaze, there was a minor fire incident. It was identified as a short circuit. The arrested worked in the day shift on October 31 and left the factory around 7 p.m. "They expected the blaze on October 31, might be taken as another short circuit. However, CCTV visuals helped us to zero in on the two. "During the questioning they confessed they were the ones who left a plastic material burning inside the store that caused the blaze," added Anilkumar. --IANS sg/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four men who had planned to attack French President Emmanuel Macron were placed under formal investigation on Saturday, media reported. Earlier this week, French security forces arrested six people after they carried out raids in Isere, southeast France, Moselle, on the border with Germany and in the northwestern city of Ille-et-Vilaine. Two of the suspects were released while four others, aged between 22 and 62 years, were put under formal investigation for "association of criminal terrorists," Xinhua news agency reported. All members of the far-right movement, they were accused of undertaking "imprecise and loosely-formed" plan targeting French President. According to state-run France2 television, the group planned to stab the head of state last Wednesday during his visit to Charleville-Mezieres, east France as part of a his tour to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. On Thursday, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner announced that 10,000 officers would be deployed to ensure the safety of the memorial ceremony at the weekend. More than 70 presidents, including US President Donald Trump, Russian head of state Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will join Macron beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris where he will light the flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to celebrate the Armistice Day on November 11. "But we must be extremely vigilant to face the terrorist risk and that of the radical movement," Castaner said. --IANS vc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) THe Delhi Congress on Saturday targeted the ruling Aam Aadmi Pary (AAP) for allegedly asking the Chhat Puja Samiti to put pictures of ministers and legislators at ghats to receive funds. Chhat Puja Samiti is the committee responsible for making arrangements for Chhat -- a four-day Hindu festival -- in Delhi, for which this year about 1,000 Ghats had been built. Delhi has about 40 lakh voters from Poorvanchal -- people from eastern Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar -- who celebrate Chhat. This year festival begins on November 10. Calling the alleged order from Delhi government as "insult to the poorvanchalis", Delhi Congress Chief Ajay Maken said that by doing "dirty politics" the AAP government has "lowered the prestige of a sacred festival". "It was very unfortunate that puja samitis are being asked to put up the photos of AAP government Ministers and MLAs at the ghats else they would not be given any funds," Maken said at a press conference. Maken criticised the AAP government and the BJP-led municipal corporations of Delhi for bad arrangements and lack of preparations for the festival. Taking a dig at BJP Chief Manoj Tiwari, Maken said despite being from Poorvanchal, Tiwari did not ensure that fresh water is released in the Yamuna from Haryana for the festival. --IANS aks-kd/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will launch his government's year-long celebrations to commemorate the 550th 'Parkash Purab' (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev on November 23 from the Sikh holy town of Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district. "The Chief Minister will lay the foundation stone for several development projects in the holy city of Sultanpur Lodhi on the occasion of the Gur Purab of the first Sikh Guru, marking the inauguration of a series of events planned to mark the celebrations of the 550th Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji," a spokesperson for the Chief Minister said on Saturday. Prior to the launch of these celebrations, the Chief Minister will chair a meeting of the state coordination committee on November 19 and will also meet the representatives of 'Sant Samaaj' (Sikh religious leaders) to finalize the modalities for the celebrations, the spokesperson added. The Punjab government has planned year-long celebrations to mark the 550th birth anniversary of the founder of Sikh religion. Guru Nanank Dev (1469-1539) is revered in Sikh religion, one of the youngest religions in the world. --IANS js/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Raipur, Nov 10 (IANS/Mongabay) It is probably the 'resource curse' that best explains the present condition of one of India's most mineral-rich states, Chhattisgarh. The state goes to polls later this month and Chief Minister Raman Singh, who is seeking a fourth consecutive term, knows that his government has failed to match the expectations of the people on the social development front while aggressively pursuing activities like mining. Singh plans to focus on social development if he wins this time. But this promise probably means little for the people of the state, who continue to wait for the basic necessities of life. Mongabay-India travelled for nearly 2,400 kilometres across Chhattisgarh and found that at many places, even basic facilities like drinking water, electricity, education, health facilities and roads are still a luxury. Five states are going to polls in November and December this year - Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan and Mizoram. Voting for the 90 seats in the Chhattisgarh assembly will be held in two phases -- on November 12 (18 seats) and November 20 (72 seats). After Chhattisgarh was formed as a separate state, policymakers hoped that this would lead to the higher economic growth in the region. It did, and the growth was even faster than the national average, but the growth was driven largely by industries and its fruits hardly reached the poor. For instance, good roads are generally considered the first sign of development. In southern Chhattisgarh, the Maoist-affected Bastar and Dantewada region have smooth roads but in Korba, the northern part of the state, which has large scale mining activity taking place, the roads are in very bad shape. Over 30 per cent of the Chhattisgarh population of 25.54 million is tribals. Last week, Raman Singh kicked off his election campaign from the tribal-dominated Bastar region. During one of his public meetings at Geedam, Dantewada falling in Bastar, Singh stressed that Dantewada known as a backward region is now famous for its education infrastructure. The chief minister emphasised on the development carried out in the region, including roads, and exhorted the people to vote for his party while reminding them that the region had not voted for the BJP during the 2013 elections. After the election meeting, Singh said if he wins the fourth term, his focus will be on improving social indicators such as infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate and malnutrition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Chhattisgarh on Nov 9 and BJP President Amit Shah was in the state earlier in the week. In his latest 'Mann ki Baat' radio programme, Modi reached out to the tribal communities -- on how the tribes and their traditions and rituals are the best examples of coexistence with nature. Modi in his programme discussed the issue of environment protection and a balanced lifestyle. "Our country is also facing this problem. But, for its solution we only have to look inwards, to look into our glorious past and our rich traditions and have especially to understand the lifestyle of our tribal communities," the Prime Minister said. Farmers in the region, though are unhappy with the chief minister. Sudesh Tikam, who leads the 'Zila Kisan Sangh' in Rajnandgaon area, said that the state government had failed to address concerns of farmers in the 15 years of its rule. "Government is only focused on mining and power. Farmer issues are systematically ignored. In the last elections, Raman Singh promised a minimum support price of Rs 2,100 for the rice crop and a bonus of Rs 300. But after winning, they never fulfilled their promise. The government, after a lot of protests from farmers, gave MSP of Rs 1,750 and Rs 300 bonus only in 2017. We will not be fooled this time," Tikam told Mongabay-India. Tikam, whose group has about 20,000 farmers as members in Rajnandgaon, said the government also failed in ensuring the welfare of farmers who faced drought in 2015 and 2017. "The other main issues for us are loan waiver and landless agricultural labour. The small and marginal farmers are also ignored by this government," he added. Tikam is also coordinating with farmer groups across the state to put pressure on political parties. They have already organised a series of protests and a Kisan Darbar in the constituency. They have already announced that they will support any political party or independent candidates who listen to farmers' problems. But it is not just in Rajnandgaon that farmers are angry with the state government for not fulfilling its promise. A farmer from Barsur, Keshav Prasad, travelled for about 25 kilometres to listen to Raman Singh at his public meeting in Geedam, Dantewada. "This government has forgotten its promises. I was not brought here by party workers but I came myself to only see what the CM has to say about his promises," said Prasad. The Congress, which is the primary opposition party in the state, also seems to be fully geared up to bridge the narrow margin in the number of votes that have kept them away from power The Congress has fielded Karuna Shukla, the niece of late BJP leader and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, against Raman Singh. According to party sources, the extra push is required due to the narrow margins of the BJP's victories. In 2013, the BJP won 49 seats with 41.04 per cent of the votes polled while Congress won 39 seats with 40.29 per cent of the votes. With such narrow margins and an anti-incumbency factor, the Chhattisgarh elections are turning into a good fight. (In arrangement with Mongabay.com, a source for environmental news reporting and analysis. The views expressed in the article are those of Mongabay.com. Feedback: gopi@mongabay.com) --IANS mayank/vm/hs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After getting divorced, actor Ben Affleck and his ex-wife Jennifer Garner went on an ice-cream outing to celebrate their official split. The former couple, who got officialy separated on Thursday, spotted enjoying ice cream together with their six-year-old son Samuel here, reports tmz.com. Ben - who recently completed a stint in rehab for alcohol addiction, wore a checked shirt for the outing, while Jennifer also dressed casually in a beige jacket, white t-shirt and blue jeans. Also, as per the reports, a private judge has officially signed off on the couple's divorce papers which were submitted to an LA County Superior Court judge earlier in November. --IANS sim/nv/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid showbiz greats including Shah Rukh Khan and Iranian director Majid Majidi, Amitabh Bachchan on Saturday inaugurated the 24th Kolkata international Film Festival, delivering a stirring speech saluting those working behind the scenes. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee promised to "put up something like Cannes" in 2019, when the event completes 25 years. A lively and cheerful crowd of over ten thousand was present at the Netaji Indoor stadium, where the inaugural show was a heady brew of glamour, glitz, nostalgia, fun and some serious talk on cinema. Bachchan, who has been inaugurating the fest over the last few years, did the honours this time as well by lighting the lamp. Leading Bengali actress Rituparna Sengupta was the 'thali girl'. With the festival this year celebrating 100 years of Bengali cinema, Bengali film legends from different eras like Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukhopadyay, Sabitri Chatterjee, Biswajit Chatterjee and Ranjit Mallick were seated at the dais. A directory on 100 years of Bangla cinema, put together by the state's Information and Cultural Affairs Department, was released by Bachchan during the function. Bachchan said filmmaking was a team effort, where every member, big or small, had a key role to play. "Sadly, it is noticed that as the film ends and the credits roll, the audience gets up and leaves the theatre," he said. Underscoring the importance of movies, he said: "They trigger something special by provoking a variety of emotions. Films can become a reflection of collective dreams where we look to something much larger than ourselves, hold our breath and suspend our beliefs..." "Today, I take this opportunity to salute all those working tirelessly behind the scenes, from the hardworking spot boys to the highly talented specialists who keep these dreams alive and contribute to making our movies so immensely popular," he said. Bachchan ended his speech by saying that nothing was more potent than the intoxication of good cinema. Film director Mahesh Bhatt said that the narrative of India cannot be reduced to one colour. He said the plurality of a diverse country like India needed to be celebrated, and underlined the importance of events like the KIFF that commits itself only to the idea of India which says all make it together or none of us makes it. "In this changing, shifting times, I believe that the filmmakers and storytellers will hold the world together. It is the occasion to realise that one of us is much lesser than all of us," Bhatt added. The trailer of Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film 'Zero' was screened at the inaugural. Khan, who is also West Bengal's brand ambassador, welcomed the delegates and technicians, and echoed Bhatt as he said that there is something which is making us all extremely divisive. "Like Bhatt saab said, I am sure everyone believes that in a world which is getting so much closer with technology and accessories, there is something which is making us all extremely divisive. "And the only thing that can bring us together is one or the other form of art, whether it is classical music, whether it is hip-hop, jazz, ballet, Kathakali, but I think the thing which brings us closest to all of us is cinema." 'Antony Firingee', a 1967 Bengali musical drama with Uttam Kumar and Tanuja in the lead, was the inaugural film. As many as 171 feature films, and 150 short films and documentaries from 70 countries would be screened until the festival concludes on November 17. --IANS bnd-ssp/shs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nattural Quality Corp. founder and CEO Evenson Sian (left) and Food and Nutrition Research Institute institutional research ethics committee chairman Gemiliano Aligui show a plate of ginger and eggplant. Two healthcare industry experts vouched for the importance of herbal against traditional medicine in promoting health. Gemiliano Aligui, chairman of the institutional research ethics committee of Food and Nutrition Research Institute at the Department of Science and Technology and Evenson Sian, founder and chief executive of Nattural Quality Corp. were guests at the recent Kapihan sa Manila Hotel where Aligui said universal health should not be contingent to medicine but rather on food itself. Aligui said food has ingredients considered essential for sustaining life and maintaining health like protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.He said herbal medicine and food supplements create a synergy that can combat diseases and help improve health in general. Herbal medicine, or herbs in general, are safe, he said, while food can help heal by building stamina and maintain health and well-being. Aligui pushed for a designated subject in schools focusing on herbal medicine and its properties; or at least lessons on herbal medicine added in the academic curriculum to empower consumers. Meanwhile, Sian discussed the herbal medicine industry from a legal standpoint, expressing dismay on the local regulatory issues regarding legal therapeutic claims of herbal medicines; that brands cant announce certain claims even though the products actually do what they are supposed to do.Sian said the Philippines is one of the most bio-diverse locations in the world with the long use of natural and herbal plants as source of traditional medicine. We should recognize the indigenous know-hows, he said, by promoting the use of herbs as natural remedy and first-aid use due to the lack of health centers and clinics at many barangays. He cited Thailands herbal industry where they adopt all forms of alternative (mostly herbal) medicine including Chinese medicine. Its called Thai traditional medicine. Sian is urging the Philippine government to do the same by opening opportunities for the herbal industry to provide options against conventional medicine. Aligui is a medical doctor with a Master of Public Health and a PhD in Biology from Brown University. Sian is the founder of Nattural Quality Corp., a 100-percent Filipino-owned corporation established in 2002 that aims to be a leader in the natural food supplement industry and bring about a consciousness for better health and improved quality of life. The Kapihan sa Manila Hotel is a local media forum relaunched on Oct. 26, 2015 by the Association of Philippine Journalists, also known as Samahang Plaridelcomposed of media practitioners and communications specialists founded in 2003 by veteran journalists with at least 20 years of experience. The insurgency-riddled Bastar region, which is made up of seven districts, is heading for a cliffhanger between the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress as assembly polling begins in Chhattisgarh on Monday. The Congress had bagged eight seats in the last assembly polls out of 12 in Bastar in 2013 but the BJP has launched an aggressive campaign in the sprawling, forested 'red zone'. Bastar, spread over roughly 40,000 sq kms. Chhattisgarh has a total of 90 assembly seats and in the first phase, polling will be held for 18 seats -- 12 in Bastar and six in Rajnandgaon district. Political analysts say that the BJP holds an edge in Bastar but the Congress appears to have made a comeback in the past one week due to an unrelenting election campaign. It has also persuaded party rebels to pull out from the elections in favour of the official candidates. "It's a very close contest in Bastar and as of now the Bastar battle heads for a photo finish. The only worry for the Congress would be that BJP has largely convinced people in jungle areas that only the saffron party could eliminate insurgency and bring prosperity," said Kawasi Lakhma, three-time Congress MLA from the state's worst Maoist-hit Konta seat in Sukma district. Lakhma, who never attended school, is the tribal face of the Congress in Bastar. He remarked that his party had no option but to effectively counter the BJP's propaganda that the Congress adopts a soft approach towards the Maoists, mainly urban Maoists. Chhattisgarh Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel though claimed: "Congress would definitely consolidate its seats tally this time in Bastar, despite the BJP putting in all its might and resources." The BJP which claims to have constructed roads, schools and hospitals in deep interiors of the 'red zone', has set a target of winning not less than 10 out of Bastar's 12 seats. "The BJP has the best ever chance in Bastar in this election. We have placed the right candidates in the right seats. Any figure less than 10 seats will be disappointing," Raman Singh, the longest serving Chief Minister of the BJP, told IANS. Singh is contesting from a Rajnandgaon seat. The Congress has fielded Karuna Shukla, niece of former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to spice up the poll battle in Rajnandgaon, where Raman Singh's son and BJP Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Singh appears to be calling the shots for the BJP. --IANS Sujeet/hs/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP President Amit Shah on Saturday said the Chhattisgarh government under Chief Minister Raman Singh has made the state nearly Maoist-free, developing it into a power hub of prospering cement, steel and aluminium industries, besides making rapid progress in education and health. "Chhattisgarh is the best example of a welfare state," Shah said at a press conference here while releasing the BJP election manifesto for the two-phased Assembly polls on November 12 and 20. "Raman Singh has made a successful effort to change Chhattisgarh in the last 15 years. The biggest achievement of the Bharatiya Janata Party regime here is that it has tightened the noose on the Maoists. "It has almost freed the state from the insurgents," the party chief said. The Chief Minister and several of his cabinet members were present along with Shah at the release of the "Sankalp Patra" which laid down the BJP's roadmap for the next five years. "Now, when Raman Singh returns to power, he will focus on making the state a digital-hub," the BJP chief said. "The BJP governments in states and the Narendra Modi government at the Centre are delivering development to the last person," he said. The BJP promised to give Rs two lakh interest-free loans to women to start their business; to distribute free books and uniforms to students till Class 12; formation of journalist welfare board and to build film city in the state among others if voted to power. Hitting out at the Congress for being a Maoist-sympathiser, Shah said: "The party which sees Maoism as a medium for revolution can never do welfare for the state. He said by providing cooking gas cylinders, electricity, education and health services to the poor and bringing happiness on the faces of farmers his party has brought about a "revolution". "Now, there is a harmonious combination. The Centre is led by Narendra Modi and the state by Raman Singh. Both will take the state further," Shah said as campaigning reached its final day on Saturday. When BJP came to power in Chhattisgarh "it was an underdeveloped state" but "now it has become a hub of power production, cement, steel, aluminium and providing best of education and health care", Shah said. Taking on the opposition Congress, Shah said that party which ruled India since Independence failed to deliver development in the states. Chhattisgarh was curved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000. Campaigning for the first phase of Assembly polls would end at 5 p.m. for 18 constituencies in eight Maoist-affected districts. Polling to the remaining 72 constituencies in the final phase, would be held on November 20. Counting of votes will take place on the December 11. --IANS akk/bns/in/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Centre should provide "liberal assistance" to boost deep sea fishing, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday. "The Centre has to provide liberal assistance to boost deep sea fishing by equipping traditional fishermen. Kerala government plans to introduce new schemes for enhancing the skills and capabilities of the traditional fishermen to undertake and popularise deep sea fishing, but assistance from the Centre is required to materialise this plan," he said while inaugurating a two-day conference of fisheries ministers from nine south Indian states and union territories at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) here.Vijayan also sought the Centre's intervention to develop a holistic plan for the utilisation of resources in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), taking into consideration the requirements of coastal states and union territories. "The Centre, states and the union territories should act together to agree upon the management policies and measures for a sustainable utilisation of living resources in the EEZ and for the effective and sustainable growth of fisheries sector in every region," the Chief Minister said. Kerala Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma expressed her concern over the National Marine Fisheries Policy (NMFP), as it pushes for private investments in deep sea fishing and allows public-private partnership (PPP) in the marine fisheries sector. "The state is of the firm view that instead of the PPP model, the traditional deep sea fishermen must be trained and equipped to undertake deep sea fishing through fisheries cooperative societies," she said. --IANS sg/mag/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The death toll in three car bomb explosions carried out outside a luxury hotel in the Somali capital has risen to 30, officials said on Saturday. The Somali terror group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attacks, which took place on Friday on a busy street near a checkpoint that controls access to Mogadishu International Airport. Mohamed Abshir, a worker for Amin -- the only free ambulance service operating in Mogadishu -- told the local media that the death toll had risen after some of the hundreds of injured succumbed to their injuries and more bodies were recovered from the scene, Efe news reported. The first two blasts took place almost simultaneously at 4 p.m. outside the Sahafi Hotel, while the third came 20 minutes later in the garage of the adjacent Hayat Hotel. Several terrorists were killed trying to enter the Sahafi after the explosions, security sources told Radio Dalsan on Friday. The two hotels are located just a few metres away from the Criminal Investigation Division's headquarters in an area full of restaurants and bars. Among the dead was Sahafi owner Abdifatah Abdirashid, whose father was killed in a similar attack on the same hotel three years ago, according to Radio Dalsan. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that the Somalis would not be dissuaded in their search for a lasting peace and political stability and sent his condolences to the families of the victims. Al-Shabaab, affiliated to Al Qaeda, controls part of the territory in the centre and south of the African country and aims to establish an Islamic state in Somalia based on the Wahhabi version of Islam. The group has carried out various attacks in the African country, including strikes against the African Union Mission in Somalia military bases, killing hundreds of soldiers from Kenya, Burundi, Uganda and Ethiopia. --IANS soni/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Saturday wondered why DMK leaders didn't take up check dams being built across Palar river with Chandrababu Naidu when he visited M.K. Stalin's home on Friday. On Friday the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister met Stalin at DMK leader's residence in Chennai for forging opposition unity against the BJP for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Palaniswami said if the DMK really cares about Tamil Nadu and its people, it should have raised the issue of check dams across the Palar. Queried about AIADMK's opposition to Vijay-starring 'Sarkar' movie, Palaniswami said the issue has been settled. Palaniswami, however, said the movie industry is "sucking the movie-goers' blood by selling Rs 100 ticket at Rs 1,000" during the initial couple of days after the movie's release. Refuting the allegation that AIADMK cadres tore the banners of the movie, Palaniswami said since the general public also opposed some of the scenes in the movie, the producer and the director agreed to remove those scenes. Palaniswami said any self-respecting cadre belonging to any party will be angry if the welfare schemes brought by their leaders are belittled. --IANS vj/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Expelled from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) earlier this month, Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala said on Saturday that he has not received any expulsion order so far. Refusing to accept his expulsion, Dushyant pointed out that neither has his expulsion order been issued officially by INLD nor has the party's national executive met to decide the issue. Dushyant, who is the Hisar Member of Parliament, and his younger brother, Digvijay Chautala, were expelled from the primary membership of the INLD on Nov 2 by their grandfather, O.P. Chautala, who is the national president of the INLD. Dushyant was also removed from the post of leader of the INLD Parliamentary Board. Claiming that he had learnt about his 'expulsion' only through the media, Dushyant said that only the INLD's national executive, or a committee headed by the party president, can take action against him. The INLD, which is Haryana's main opposition party, could be heading for a split with the fight within the Chautala family coming out in the open in the past few days. Both Dushyant and Dijvijay are sons of Chautala's elder son, Ajay Chautala. Ajay, who came out from Tihar prison on Monday on parole, told his supporters in Delhi that the next course of action would be decided in the coming days after he completes a tour of Haryana. Dushyant and Digvijay are great-grandsons of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal. The action follows recent activities of both youth leaders and their supporters who were trying to project Dushyant as a chief ministerial face in Assembly elections in Haryana to be held around October next year. "Both Dushyant Chautala and Digvijay Singh have been accused of indiscipline, hooliganism and spreading disaffection within the party against the party leadership during the birthday celebrations of Chaudhary Devi Lal in Gohana on October 7," an INLD statement had said. O.P. Chautala and his elder son, Ajay, were convicted in the JBT (junior basic teacher) recruitment scam in January 2013. Both were sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment by a CBI court in Delhi. Both cannot contest elections due to the conviction. The INLD has been managed by Chautala's younger son Abhay Singh Chautala since then. --IANS js/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Karnataka on Saturday celebrated the 269th birth anniversary (Jayanti) of erstwhile Mysore (Mysuru) ruler Tipu Sultan amid protests by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, an official said. "Tipu Jayanti was celebrated peacefully on his birth anniversary under tight security despite protests by BJP leaders and cadres in the state," a Kannada and Culture Department official told IANS. State Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of the JD-S and Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara of the Congress were conspicuously absent at the main event, held in the legislative building in the city centre. "Kumaraswamy is unable to attend the function, as he is taking rest on doctor's advice," said a statement from the Chief Minister's office, explaining his absence and denying that he kept away from the event due to the fear of losing power, as he is against such blind beliefs. Parameshwara also could not be present at the main function as he was out of the country. "Parameshwara could not be present at the function as he flew to Singapore to visit our ailing party leader Chennigappa, who is undergoing treatment in a private hospital there," state Water Resources Minister and Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar told reporters after inaugurating the Jayanti. Congress ministers, including Jayamala, Zameer Khan, U.T. Khader and party legislator Roshan Baig also participated in the event. JD-S Ministers, however, kept away from the day-long state-sponsored celebrations, held in all the district headquarters, including Ballari, Mysuru, Kodagu, Mangaluru, Raichur and Hubbali. Eldest son of Sultan Hyder Ali, Tipu (1750-1799) is also hailed as the "Tiger of Mysore" for fighting the British East India Company's advances and protecting his kingdom. Tipu was killed in a battle with the British army in 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna near Mysuru, about 120km from here. "Tipu's birth anniversary is being celebrated all over the state. His progressive measures in administration and quest for innovation are commendable," said Kumaraswamy in a message on the occasion. In a related development, about 70 BJP men, including its Virajpet legislator K.G. Bopaiah, were detained by the police at Somwarpet in Kodagu district for protesting against the event. "The BJP protesters were taken away from the function venue and detained due to ban order imposed in the district to maintain law and order," a police official told IANS from Madikeri, about 270km from here. Commenting on the absence of the Chief Minister and his Deputy at the main event, the BJP's state unit said in a tweet: "CM Kumaraswamy missing! While the Congress-JD-S coalition government is celebrating a tyrant Tipu, the CM himself goes into hiding, what is the point of celebrating a fanatic when CM himself abandons a government function." "Glorifying a mass murderer for vote bank clearly shows mindset of this government," said the opposition party in another tweet. The Congress began celebrating the birth anniversary of the 18th century ruler in 2015 to honour him as a patriot. Zamir Khan, along with a few Muslim clerics including Hazrat Maulana Saheb Rasadi Sagir Ahmad Khan visited former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah's official residence in the city and presented him a sword and a traditional headgear similar to that worn by Tipu. "We are celebrating Tipu's Jayanti to mark a patriotic, secular, and a generous king. Tipu is not confined to any one religion, but to the nation," tweeted Siddaramaiah later. Accusing the BJP of politicising the event, Shivakumar said Tipu was a great warrior who had struggled for the freedom of his kingdom. "History of Tipu and his greatness was endorsed by President Ram Nath Kovind while addressing us on October 25, 2017 in the same place (Vidhana Soudha). I don't know why the BJP is making an issue of it," said Shivakumar. --IANS bha-fb/shs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Karnataka on Saturday celebrated the 269th birth anniversary of erstwhile Mysore (Mysuru) ruler Tipu Sultan and the one person who was conspicuously missing from the festivities was Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. Even Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, who was slated to inaugurate the state celebrations here, did not make it to the event. Security was tightened as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested against the Vidhana Soudha celebration comemorating "tyrant Tipu" that was eventually presided over by Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar of the Congress. Minority Welfare Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan and Culture Minister Jayamala of the Congress were also part of the celebrations, although its alliance partner -- Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) -- stayed away from the state-sponsored event. In fact, Kumaraswamy's name was missing from the official invite. The Chief Minister's office though said that he was resting for three days from Saturday on the advice of his doctors. Security was tightened around the assembly building in Bengaluru, and in Mysuru, Kodagu and Mangaluru to maintain peace, a police officer said. Several BJP cadres were detained in Madikeri in Kodagu district and Mangaluru. Celebrations were also held across the state's district headquarters despite the BJP-sponsored protests. "Government is observing the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan all over the state. Tipu's progressive measures in administration, his quest for innovation are commendable," a statement from Kumaraswamy's office said. "The Chief Minister is taking rest on doctor's advice, and hence is unable to take part in the programme. It is far from truth that he isn't taking part due to the fear of losing power, as he opposes such blind beliefs," the statement added. "Parameshwara had few prior engagements due to which he had to visit Singapore," Minority Welfare Minister Khan told reporters. "CM Kumaraswamy missing! While Congress-JD-S government is celebrating a tyrant Tipu, the CM himself goes into hiding, what is the point of celebrating a fanatic when CM himself abandons a government function. "Glorifying a mass murderer for vote bank clearly shows mindset of this government," the state unit BJP tweeted. The Congress began celebrating the birth anniversary of the 18th century ruler on November 10 since 2015 to honour him as a patriot and for his yeoman service to the people in the southern region. Khan, along with few Muslim clerics, visisted former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah's residence in the city and presented him a sword and traditional headgear similar to that worn by Tipu. The eldest son of Sultan Hyder Ali, Tipu (1750-1799) is also hailed as the "Tiger of Mysore" for fighting the British East India Company's advances and protecting his kingdom. Tipu was killed in a battle with the British army in 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna near Mysuru, about 120km from here. Celebrating Tipu's birth anniversary was the coalition government's way of appeasing the Muslim community, state BJP chief and former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had said in 2015. On Saturday, he again tweeted: "Nobody will appreciate this celebration. In the interest of the state, the sate government must stop it. Government's intention behind celebration is to satisfy the Muslim community." --IANS bha-fb/in/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actress Katrina Kaif believes love should be liberating and that people should free themselves from judging themselves based on how their partner makes them feel. Katrina shared the love advice in a chat with filmmaker Karan Johar on a forthcoming episode of Star World's "Koffee with Karan Season 6", read a statement. The actress and Karan spoke about how it is widely accepted that it is necessary for a woman to have a man while she believes that this is not true for everyone. She feels people tend to burden their partners with the responsibility of making them happy and that's where relationships go wrong. "You somehow always judge yourself based on how much love or attention you're getting from your partner. Your relationship suffers just a little bit, and your self esteem and your image take a beating, which is not a good thing," said the actress, whose latest film to release is "Thugs Of Hindostan". Both Katrina and Karan were in agreement that one shouldn't feel anything on the basis of how somebody else is trying to make them feel. She said her singleton period has got her to be really comfortable with "who she is", which she didn't think she was for a large part of her life. Sharing her personal interpretation of love, Katrina said: "When neither of you need each other, when there's no great dependency on the other person. There's just admiration, there's respect, there's companionship and there's a space of ease between you." Katrina was joined on the show by actor Varun Dhawan, with whom she will star in the upcoming movie "ABCD 3". They will spill the beans on their experience of working together. --IANS rb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Cohiba is the best brand among Cuban cigars. My marriagea shot of Havana Club Rum, a Cohiba cigar, and Cafe Serrano in a demitasse One of the things cruise passengers have to do to enter Cuba is to sign up for some shore excursions for the days they spend in the city. Our group of 24 family members chose The Best Of Havana for our first days tour. This took us to all the important natural and historical attractions of the city. We were breaking our heads over which shore excursion to take for the second day of our visit. After much deliberation, we decided on Havanas Aromas simply because its come on assured us that it would be the best way to experience what guilty pleasures Havana is known for. Now, who wouldnt be lured by an invitation like that?Right at the start, our tour leader immediately shared with us something interesting: In Cuba, marriage is what a person has when he holds a jigger of Havana Club Rum, a Cohiba cigar, and a demitasse of Cafe Serrano, the best brands of each. I asked our tour leader why these items put one into that status, and he casually replied that one is better off having these three items at hand than having a spouse. In hindsight, should I have applauded him for having a terrific sense of humor or for telling the truth? The five-hour tour gave us a chance to enjoy the world-famous Cuban cigar, rum, and coffee. It was a most enjoyable experience. It made me appreciate cigar-smoking. Cigar smoke, as it swirls inside my mouth, is quite pleasurable, after all. In fact, since I came back from my Cuban holiday, every chance I get, I stay outside my front door and puff on a Cuban cigar, a good supply of which I brought home from my trip. We were brought to the biggest tobacco factory in the city where an expert tabaquero (cigar dealer) walked us around the different manufacturing sections while explaining to us how they grow, harvest, and process tobacco for Cubas famous cigars. The best tobacco leaves come from Pinar del Rio in Western Cuba which has the most ideal weather and soil conditions for tobacco farming. We watched up close how a cigar is made. Five different dried and fermented tobacco leaves are hand-rolled to make one cigar. The four inner leavesthree fillers and one bindermust be of the highest grade, as they determine the quality of the cigar, while the fifth outer leaf must be the best looking and the smoothest, for aesthetic reasons. To ensure its quality, each cigar-maker must do the cigar from start to finish, then it is placed inside a wooden press for 30 minutes, after which it is trimmed in both ends then packed for sale. The factory workers are paid for every cigar they make, and each of them can produce anywhere from 100 to 150 cigars per day. In the factory we visited, as their bonus, each worker is allowed to take home a maximum of five cigars per day, theirs to smoke or to sell in the blackmarket. Although it is not the only cigar-producing country in the world, Cuba exports worldwide 80 million cigars annually. We also discovered something interesting: All the cigar brands produced in Cuba are made by this same cigar factory we visited. The tabaquero clarified that the factory just follows each cigar brands respective grade specifications of the tobacco leaves, thus resulting in the quality and pricing difference. Havana Club Rum, more popularly known as El Ron de Cuba (The Rum of Cuba), is the fifth largest rum brand in the world and sells about five million cases annually in 120 countries worldwide. It is the most popular souvenir purchase by Americans returning from Cuba. I liked the smoky oak flavor of the smooth liquid as it rolled over my tongue so, just like other tourists, I also brought home some bottles with me to give as gifts to friends. Cafe Serranos pleasant aroma and exquisite flavor make it the finest and most sought-after coffee in the world. It is 100 percent organic, grown from Arabica beans of Sierra Maestra in Southwest Cuba, and is known for its intense, full-bodied, and aromatic flavor. It also has double the strength of regular standard coffee, that is why it is usually served in a demitasse.How did we get to try out these Cuban guilty pleasures? Our day tour was capped by a visit to the Palacio de la Familia Pedroso, a 238-year-old castle that has been turned into a commercial establishment with an al fresco restaurant in the courtyard and some souvenir shops on the ground floor. There, we were treated to a taste of these Cuban Aromas, the elements of a happy marriage that our tour guide explained to us at the start of the day. Everyone enjoyed the treat, even the ladies in our family who also gulped down the shot of Havana Club Rum, puffed on the Cohiba cigar, and finished the Cafe Serrano in a demitasse.Now, thats living it up, the Cuban way. So, if you want to partake of and enjoy some pleasures in life, guilty pleasures they may be, I suggest you head off to Autentica Cuba (the countrys new tourism tagline) and treat yourself to a perfect marriage. For feedback, Im at [email protected] WIFE: Honey, what will you give me for our 25th anniversary? HUSBAND: A trip to Scandinavia. WIFE: Oh, how sweet! Finally, I can watch the awesome Northern Lights. And, what about for our 50th anniversary? HUSBAND: Then Ill pick you up from there. The husband is now on his third month of rehab for shoulder, hip, and leg replacement. The BJP on Saturday attacked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his "secret trip" to Dubai and alleged that he has gone there to convert the black money into white. The BJP also accused Kejriwal of neglecting the people of the city at a time when the air quality is under 'severe' category. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) refuted the BJP charge and said the Chief Minister has gone to attend a family function of his batch mate. "The people of Delhi are crying due to pollution -- it has become difficult to breathe. But you are on tour of Dubai with family members. Is it right Chief Minister Kejriwal?" asked Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party chief Manoj Tiwari in a Hindi tweet. "A signature deal is going on to convert the black money into white in the name of party donations. The people of Delhi will not forgive you," Tiwari alleged. The BJP MP from North-East Delhi said Kejriwal spends the money of Delhi on political expansion in other states and visits foreign countries to convert "black money into white". "Recently Delhi's Health Minister Satyendar Jain had also gone to Dubai for a week but nobody was informed about his tour. It shows some conspiracy is being hatched," Tiwari alleged. "Kejriwal is busy in exchanging the hawala money which was collected in the name of party funds," he alleged. Echoing Tiwari's claims, BJP MLA and leader of Opposition in the Assembly Vijender Gupta said, "Kejriwal left for Dubai on November 8 by an Air India flight. AAP is trying to hide his trip." AAP leader raghav Chadha at a press conference said, "All such charges against Kejriwal are wrong. He has gone to Dubai to attend a family function of his IIT batch mate," he said. --IANS aks/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi Police on Saturday booked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, and BJP's Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari in connection with the scuffle at the inauguration of the Signature Bridge here, police said. Two FIRs including one against Khan was registered on the complaint of B.N. Jha, a BJP worker from east Delhi, while the other one against Kejriwal was registered on the complaint of Tiwari, a senior police officer told IANS on the condition on anonymity. A third FIR was registered against Tiwari on the complaint of Taukir, an AAP worker, the officer said, adding that all the FIRs were registered under causing hurt, criminal intimidation, attempt to commit culpable homicide, wrongful restraint, and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. According to police, the FIRs were registered on Tuesday but the cases were transferred from the local police to the Crime Branch for further probe on Saturday. "In the next couple of days, we are likely to call Khan for interrogation to ascertain the exact sequence of crime that happened on the day of inauguration of the Signature Bridge," the officer said. During the inauguration of the bridge on November 4, Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party workers were seen clashing with each other, following a scuffle between both the parties' leaders. --IANS sp/mag/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday hailed his three-hour talk with visiting US President Donald Trump as "fruitful", despite their brief spat on Europe-US defence cooperation, media reported. "We have decided, President Trump and I, to work together for the stability of the Middle East, which will have a positive impact on the price of oil," he said on his twitter account, noting that their close-door conversation focused on issues of counter-terrorism, European defence, Iran, Syria, the Gulf region and Libya, among others. Earlier on Saturday, Macron received Trump at the Elysee Palace. In his opening remarks, Macron told reporters that he "do share Trump's view that we need a better budgetary within NATO ... because it means more Europe and more capacity within NATO, in order to keep ourselves secure," reports Xinhua. Responding to a spat between him and Trump over his proposal for a "real European army", Macron insisted that his proposal "is truly consistent with" Trump's demand for European NATO members to raise their defence budget. Hours ago, upon his arrival in Paris, Trump slammed Macron's suggestion of "a real European army" as "very insulting". "Perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidises greatly!" he tweeted. Trying to defuse the episode, Macron recalled "the tremendous solidarity" linking the "oldest allies" in his opening remarks. For Trump, security cooperation between his country and Europe should be more fairness-oriented. He told reporters in the Elysee Palace that the United States wants a secure Europe and wants to help, "but it should be fair." The US can only do so much in fairness of itself, said Trump, adding that "different countries have to also help." Trump had been frequently criticising European nations for failing to meet the official annual defence spending target of two per cent of gross domestic product set by NATO. According to NATO figures, only five of 29 allies, namely Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Britain and the US, met their defence spending targets this year. In July this year, Macron said that a NATO summit statement had confirmed the goal of two per cent by 2024. --IANS vc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Mahershala Ali has accepted an apology from "Green Book" actor Viggo Mortensen for using the N-word on at a screening of their film, but he didn't find the usage of the word "appropriate" at all. Mortensen used the word on Wednesday night at the ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood during a conversation moderated by Film Independent programmer Elvis Mitchell. Mortensen was speaking about cyclical and generational use of hate speech, according to several audience members in attendance, and used the N-word specifically as an example of speech that's no longer common in conversation, reported variety.com. In his subsequent apology, Mortensen said: "Although my intention was to speak strongly against racism, I have no right to even imagine the hurt that is caused by hearing that word in any context, especially from a white man. I do not use the word in private or in public. I am very sorry that I did use the full word last night, and will not utter it again." Ali responded on Friday by saying: "However well-intended or intellectual the conversation may have been, it wasn't appropriate for Viggo to say the n-word. He has made it clear to me that he's aware of this, and apologised profusely immediately following the Q&A with Elvis Mitchell. "Knowing his intention was to express that removing the n-word from your vocabulary doesn't necessarily disqualify a person as a racist or participating in actions or thoughts that are bigoted, I can accept and embrace his apology." The Oscar winner of "Moonlight" fame added: "An excellent and poignant thought was unfortunately overshadowed by voicing the word in its fullness. Which for me, is always hurtful. The use of the word within the black community has long been debated, and its usage should continue to be examined within the black community. "The use of the word by those who aren't black, is not up for debate. The history of discrimination, slavery, pain, oppression and violence that the word has come to symbolize only causes harm to members of the black community and therefore needs to be left in the past." "Green Book" centers on a tour of the Deep South in the 1960s by Jamaican-American pianist Don Shirley (portrayed by Ali) and a bouncer serving as security (played by Mortensen). --IANS rb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce on Monday its order on a plea by Manipur police personnel seeking the recusal of the judges of the bench for describing as "murderers" some of the personnel chargesheeted in alleged fake encounter cases. A bench of Justice Madan B.Lokur and Justice U.U. Lalit was asked by the petitioner Manipur Police personnel to recuse from hearing the case as remarks passed by the bench during a hearing were prejudicial to the probe involving them. The Centre represented by the Attorney General K.K. Venugopal had supported the plea by the petitioners saying that the armed forces face difficult situations in areas like Manipur and have to adopt various methods to deal with the situation at hand. Venugopal had said the reported remarks of the bench that these security personnel were "murderers" had "completely shaken" the morale of the police and armed forces. Besides the personnel of Manipur police, the court has also been moved by over 300 serving Army officers and personnel against the dilution of AFSPA that gives immunity to military personnel from prosecution for their actions in disturbed and insurgency-hit areas. The plea by Army officers and other men in uniform is still pending. The court has been hearing the main case which was a PIL seeking a probe into as many as 1,528 cases of extra-judicial killings in Manipur. On July 14, 2017, the apex court set up a Special Investigation Team comprising CBI officers and ordered registration of FIRs and investigation into the alleged extra-judicial killings in Manipur. The court had ordered the registration of FIRs in 81 cases, including 32 probed by a commission of inquiry, 32 investigated by judicial authorities, 11 in which compensation was awarded and six probed by a commission headed by former Supreme Court judge Santosh Hegde. --IANS pk/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actress Manisha Koirala on Saturday unveiled her book "Healed", her personal story of a battle against ovarian cancer. "Overcoming cancer has been a lesson in self-discovery and learning to love life again!! Dear friends, presenting you my book," Manisha tweeted along with the book's cover. Penned by the "1942: A Love Story" actress with Neelam Kumar, the book is subtitled "How cancer gave me a new life." Manisha's smiling face on the cover reflects the positivity that has helped her sail through the battle against the disease. "'Healed" is the powerful, moving and deeply personal story of actor Manisha Koirala's battle against ovarian cancer. From her treatment in the US and the wonderful care provided by the oncologists there to how she rebuilt her life once she returned home, the book takes us on an emotional roller-coaster ride through her many fears and struggles and shows how she eventually came out triumphant. "Today, as she completes six years of being cancer-free, she shares her story-one marked by apprehensions, disappointments and uncertainties-and the lessons she learnt along the way. Through her journey, she unravels cancer for us and inspires us to not buckle under its fear, but emerge alive, kicking and victorious," the publisher, Penguin Random House India, posted on its website. On the acting front, Manisha has in recent times been seen in Rajkummar Hirani's "Sanju", based on actor Sanjay Dutt's life and in Netflix film "Lust Stories". --IANS rb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Meghalaya Home Minister James Sangma on Saturday promised swift action in the murderous assault on frontline women's activist Agnes Kharshiing in the coal belt area in East Jaintia Hills district. Concerned citizens from all walks of life on Saturday staged a protest near the additional state Secretariat, and demanded an independent inquiry into the murderous attack on Kharshiing and her aide Amita Sangma. "I assure you that the government will take swift action and will be bringing the guilty to justice. A case has been registered and two persons have been placed under arrest and the investigation is going on," Sangma told journalists. Kharshiing is the president of an influential Civil Society Women's Organisation (CSWO). The Home Minister cut short his family vacation to Europe and arrived in Shillong this morning in view of the murderous attacks. He visted the injured at the North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS). On Thursday, Kharshiing along with Sangma and Kurbah were brutally assaulted by a group of some 40 people after the activist lodged a complaint on the illegal mining and transportation of coal in the district. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had ordered an interim ban on "rat-hole" coal mining in Meghalaya from April 17, 2014, after the All Dimasa Students' Union and the Dima Hasao District Committee filed an application before it, alleging that the water of the Kopili river was turning acidic due to coal mining in the Jaintia Hills. Asked if the government supported the demand of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) for either a CBI or judicial probe into the attacks, Sangma said, "The police department is equipped to handle the case. We have already nabbed two suspects. So, we are quite hopeful that things will progress and we will be able to crack the case very soon." Refusing to comment on the alleged nexus between coal mafia and the state police that has led to the attack on the activist, Sangma said, "I don't want to comment on speculation or anything like that." "But we are seriously looking into this matter (alleged nexus between coal mafia and state police) whether it comes in the form of a judicial probe or magisterial inquiry. We are very serious about getting into the root of it," he said. Meanwhile, officials at the NEIGRIHMS said that Kharshiing, was still in a "critical condition and on life support" while her aide Sangma is stable. "Kharshiing is still on ventilator. She has multiple injuries but her pulse and blood pressure are normal so far. Sangma condition is stable. She is conscious and speaking," NEIGRIHMS spokesperson K.K. Pandita told IANS. --IANS rrk/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "Crazy Rich Asians" star Michelle Yeoh is in negotiations for a spin-off series on her "Star Trek: Discovery" character. CBS All Access has plans to grow its "Star Trek" franchise. The actress is in talks with producers CBS Television Studios to see her character be spun-off into a series of her own for the subscription video on demand service. But representatives for CBS All Access and CBS TV Studios declined comment, according to hollywoodreporter.com. Yeoh was the first actress cast in "Star Trek: Discovery", the first new series in the franchise in years. The actress, who recurred in season one of "...Discovery", will return in season two as the new spin off series would likely follow her adventures in Starfleet's Section 31 division. --IANS rb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Karnataka's mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy on Saturday appeared before the state's Central Crime Branch (CCB) for interrogation in a Ponzi-related case, police said. "Reddy appeared before our investigation officers with his lawyer in our office for questioning his alleged role in the multi-crore Ponzi scheme case," a CCB official told reporters here. Reddy's appearance at the CCB office came a day after a city court on Friday declined to grant him anticipatory bail. The CCB has alleged that Reddy had shielded the accused in the Ponzi scheme from being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Reddy, a former BJP Minister in the state, is on bail in the multi-crore mining scam that rocked the southern state for a decade from 2002 to 2012. In a video clip released to local news channels hours before he drove to the CCB office in the city's southwest suburb, Reddy denied speculation that he was absconding or hiding in Hyderabad. "Though I have been in Bengaluru only, I learnt through news channels that I am in Hyderabad. I am going to the CCB office on the advice of my lawyer Chandrashekar in response to its notice," Reddy said in the video clip. --IANS bha-fb/shs/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said he will be visiting Varanasi on Monday to inaugurate development projects that will have a transformative impact on the city and Uttar Pradesh. "I look forward to being in Kashi to inaugurate development projects that will have a transformative impact on the city and the rest of Uttar Pradesh, especially Poorvanchal," Modi said in a series of tweets. "Kashi has blessed me with unparalleled affection. I am doing everything possible to transform the ancient city and strengthen it with the modern infrastructure it deserves. "A major infrastructure project, which will enhance 'Ease of Living' for the people of Varanasi," the Prime MInister said. The government in an official release said that Modi will on Monday dedicate to the nation two important national highways in Varanasi, having a total length of 34 km built at a cost of Rs 1571.95 crore. It said that the 16.55 km Varanasi Ring Road Phase-I has been completed at a cost of Rs 759.36 crore, while the work of four-laning and construction of 17.25 km Babatput-Varanasi road on NH-56 has cost Rs 812.59 crore. According to the release, the Babatpur Airport highway will link Varanasi to the airport and extend to Jaunpur, Sultanpur and Lucknow. "With a flyover at Harhua and an road over bridge (ROB) at Tarna, the road will reduce the travel time from Varanasi to the airport and will prove a big relief to the residents, tourists and other visitors," it said. The Ring Road, with two ROBs and a flyover, will provide a way for traffic on NH 56 (Lucknow-Varanasi), NH 233 (Azamgarh-Varanasi), NH 29 (Gorakhpur-Varanasi) and Ayodhya-Varanasi highways to bypass Varanasi city, thereby reducing traffic congestion in the city. According to the release, these projects will also provide employment opportunities and development of small and medium industries in the area. Currently there are 2,833 km of National Highway projects costing Rs 63,885 crore underway to link Varanasi to other places in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. During his visit, Modi will also dedicate the newly constructed Multi-Modal Terminal on River Ganga to the nation. "This is the first of the four multi-modal terminals being constructed on NW-I (River Ganga) as part of the World Bank-aided Jal Marg Vikas project of the Inland Waterways Authority of India," it said. The Prime Minister will also receive India's first container vessel that sailed from Kolkata. "This consignment containing food and beverage set sail from Kolkata in the last week of October," it said. --IANS aks/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Residents of Ifugao province are waiting for President Rodrigo Duterte to sign an enrolled bill that declares Sept. 2 as a non-working holiday in the province. On Sept. 2, 1945, General Tomoyuki Yamashita surrendered to the US military in Kiangan town, ending Japanese resistance to the allied forces that came to liberate the Philippines. Yamashita was the commander of all Japanese Imperial army forces in the Philippines. Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat Jr. of Ifugao, principal author of House Bill 5553, underscored the significance of Yamashitas surrender in 1945 that paved the way to the liberation of the country from its colonizer. Prior to the congressional adjournment on Oct. 12, the bill was transmitted to President Rodrigo Duterte for his approval and signature, after both the House and the Senate passed the measure. The 2nd day of September 1945 is a significant date in the history, not only of Ifugao but also of the country, Baguilat said, in seeking to declare Sept. 2 of every year as a special non-working holiday in Ifugao province to commemorate the surrender of Yamashita. He said Yamashitas surrender should remind everyone that we should keep in our hearts and minds the precepts of peace and harmony, he said in the explanatory note of the bill.Baguilat noted that the framers of the 1987 Constitution have recognized this important concept. He said that Section 2, Article 2 of the 1987 Constitution provides that The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land, and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations. He said the bills enactment will also honor those who died during the World War II, and those who valiantly defended the Philippines, and the innocent lives victimized by the war. This will be a memorial that will allow people to ponder on the evils of war and the graces of peace especially in the province of Ifugao where it all ended, said Baguilat. The bill provides that the Provincial Government of Ifugao, in coordination with the municipal government of Kiangan, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, and the Military Shrines Service, shall lead the commemorative programs and activities. These programs and activities shall be participated by officials and employees of the national, provincial and municipal government agencies and instrumentalities, as well as civic, religious, non-government, business and civil society organizations. Upping its aggressive stance, Mumbai Congress on Saturday accused Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar of links with the international poaching mafia and sought his arrest and dismissal from the cabinet. The minister has strongly refuted the charge, saying he would file a defamation suit against city Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam. Nirupam claimed that in 2014, 14 tigers died, 16 in 2016 and 21 in 2017, proving that the national animal is "unsafe" with Mungantiwar heading the ministry in the state. "The number of tiger deaths in 2017 was the second highest in the state after Madhya Pradesh. It is highly possible that Mungantiwar could be in nexus with the international poaching mafia," alleged Nirupam. Immediately hitting back, Mungantiwar said that by linking his name with global poachers, the Congress leader was intentionally "ruining" the country's image before the world community. "In my tenure, only one tigress (Avni) has been killed, that too, as per the Supreme Court orders. Nirupam is wrongly dragging all other natural deaths of tigers as if the creature is immortal. I shall file a defamation case against him in the Chandrapur court," the minister warned. Addressing mediapersons on Saturday, Nirupam said that despite the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)'s directives to intall an e-surveillance system in every tiger reserve in the country, Mungantiwar has conveniently refrained from doing so repeatedly in Maharashtra. "The state floated its tender in August 2016 and even after bids were received, the tender was scrapped," Nirupam said, producing the tender invitation documents. "In March 2017, another tender was issued and it met the same fate after two months. However, all other states where tiger reserves are located have installed e-surveillance, barring Maharashtra," Nirupam said. The Congress leader pointed out that when the e-surveillance system was installed as a pilot in Chandrapur's Chanda Tiger Reserve, Mungantiwar himself praised it saying it could easily track a tiger's movement as well as poaching activities. Speaking about the two probe panels which have kicked up a fresh controversy, animal activist and actress Rupali Ganguly said they comprise people from the government who could be "biased". "We demand a committee comprising forest officers, forensic and cyber experts, veterinarians and shooters to be part of the committee to ensure a fair probe and check the inconsistencies in the information provided so far," Ganguly said. Animal activists Priyanka Timmins, Anupama Mukherjee and Bharat Sharma announced that a 'Global March' will be held in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon from Worli to Shivaji Park for highlighting Avni's killing. --IANS qn/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Investigating Agency will probe the arrest of three Kashmiri students, associated with terrorist outfit Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH), from Punjab recently, police said on Saturday. The students, studying in educational institutions in Punjab's Jalandhar district, were arrested in a joint operation of the Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir Police recently. "Given the inter-state and international ramifications of the case, the Central and Punjab governments have decided to hand over the investigations to the NIA," said Punjab Director General of Police Suresh Arora. The three students were arrested last month in a joint operation by the Punjab Police and Special Operations Group (SoG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police from the hostel of CT Institute of Engineering Management and Technology, located in Shahpur on the outskirts of Jalandhar city, around 160 km from Chandigarh. Two weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle, were seized from them along with explosives. "The decision to hand over the case was taken after discussions on the issue between the Punjab government and the Ministry of Home Affairs," the DGP said in a statement. "Initial investigations had revealed that the students, identified as Zahid Gulzar, Mohammed Idris Shah and Yusuf Rafiq Bhatt, were associated with AGH, a Kashmir-based terrorist outfit with links to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)," the DGP said. "The AGH is reportedly headed by Zakir Rashid Bhatt alias Zakir Mussa," the DGP added. Senior officials took note of the fact that after these arrests, two more Kashmiri students were arrested by Punjab Police in the Maqsudan Police Station hand-grenade blasts case of September 14. Two other accomplices of these arrested students are still absconding. "This was indicative of efforts by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence to expand the arc of militancy on India's western border," Arora pointed out, adding that the entire conspiracy and network to foment trouble in Punjab needed to be exposed. --IANS js/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The first meeting of Congress and other opposition parties will be held in New Delhi on November 22 to discuss formation of an anti-BJP front, sources said. This was decided during a meeting between Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Saturday. The meeting to be attended by Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Chandrababu Naidu and leaders of other parties is also expected to discuss a common programme for the proposed front. Naidu said he would meet Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on November 19-20 in Kolkatta to invite her to join the proposed non-BJP front. The TDP chief told reporters that he was already in touch with Banerjee, but would personally meet her to invite her to join the efforts for opposition unity. He would also invite her to the November 22 meeting. Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) president H.D. Deve Gowda, Aam Admi Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, DMK leader M.K. Stalin and other leaders will also be invited to November 22 meeting. Gehlot flew to Amaravati for a follow-up meeting with Naidu. The TDP chief had met Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on November 1 and they agreed to work together to bring together non-BJP parties. Intensifying his efforts to cobble together anti-BJP front, Naidu met Deve Gowda and DMK leaders over the last two days. Addressing a joint news conference with Gehlot, Naidu targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah saying they had ruined the secular, social and economic fabric of India. "Both Narendra Modi and Amit Shah ruined the country with their ego and adamant attitude," said Naidu, whose TDP walked out of BJP-led NDA in March this year. Gehlot said the opposition parties were coming together to form a front to save democracy. He said there was an undeclared emergency in the country and all democratic institutions were being destroyed. --IANS ms/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, upset over elder son Tej Pratap's planned divorce from his wife of six months, and his threat that he won't return home unless his parents supported his decision, will not celebrate Chhath Puja this year. "Rabri Devi will not celebrate Chhath this year because the family is worried over Tej Pratap's absence from Patna for the last one week," Bhola Yadav, a Rashtriya Janata Dal legislator considered close to party chief Lalu Prasad's family, said here on Saturday. Bhola Yadav told IANS that Rabri Devi was unhappy over Tej Pratap's reported statement that he won't return home until his parents approved of his decision to divorce. "In such a situation, Rabri Devi will not celebrate Chhath," he said. He admitted that the family has been trying hard to persuade Tej Pratap to return home soon, but to no avail. RJD leaders said that Tej Pratap was camping in Haridwar after visiting Varanasi a few days ago. Tej Pratap, a former Health Minister in the Bihar government, has not returned home since he met his jailed father Lalu Prasad in Ranchi last week and discussed his decision to divorce his wife Aishwarya Rai. Tej Pratap married Aishwarya, daughter of RJD legislator and former Minister Chandrika Rai and granddaughter of former Bihar Chief Minister Daroga Rai, on May 12 in Patna. Tej Pratap filed for divorce in a Patna civil court on November 2 citing 'mental cruelty'. With Rabri's decision not to celebrate Chhath -- Bihar's most popular Hindu festival -- people will miss a rare festivity at her sprawling official bungalow 10, Circular Road. Last year, Rabri Devi had said she would celebrate Chhath only after her two sons -- Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav -- got married. Tehashwi Yadav, the current Leader of Opposition and a former deputy Chief Minister, is the heir apparent of the RJD. The four-day Chhath starts on Monday with the 'Nahai-Khai' ritual. Devotees, mostly married women, will throng river banks early in the morning for a ritualistic bath, before preparing the traditional meal of boiled rice and pumpkin. RJD leaders said that Rabri Devi's Chhath celebration is popular as politicians, irrespective of party affiliation, and people from all faiths and communities visited for the traditional 'prasad' during the festival. "Till 2016, Rabri Devi, helped by Lalu himself, used to draw a large number of people during Chhath, but this year they will miss it," an RJD leader said. The 'Nahai-Khai' will be followed by 'Kharna', when 'Kheer' will be cooked and distributed among neighbours, friends and relatives. During the festival, married women observe a fast for 36 hours and devotees offer wheat preparations, milk, sugarcane, bananas and coconuts to the Sun God. Chhath is the only festival across India in which devotees offer salutations to both the setting and the rising Sun. --IANS ik/shs/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Pakistani court has launched a fresh corruption case against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif, officials said on Saturday. Sharif has been in the National Accountability Bureau's custody since October 5 in another case of alleged corruption related to the Ashiana Iqbal Housing Scheme. "The NAB ordered the arrest of Shehbaz Sharif in another case of Ramzan Sugar Mills," the spokesperson of the anti-corruption body in Lahore, Muhammed Waqarm, told Efe news. According to Waqarm, there were accusations that Sharif, during his tenure as head of the government of Punjab province, "used public funds to benefit Ramzan Sugar Mills, which belongs to his family". The NAB court also summoned his children -- Salman Shehbaz and Hamza Shehbaz -- who are directors of the sugar mill, for investigations into the case. "Salman did not appear before the court and Hamza Shehbaz appeared and he is now on a pre-arrest bail," the NAB spokesperson said. Meanwhile, the NAB was granted a further 14-day extension in the physical remand of the PML-N President in the Ashiana Iqbal Housing Scheme case. The anti-graft body had said that Shehbaz Sharif was involved in corruption in the housing scheme during his tenure as the Punjab Chief Minister from 2013 to May 2018. It said that he had "misused his powers" and granted contracts to unqualified companies of his friends, causing "losses of millions of rupees to the national exchequer". However, Shehbaz Sharif has denied the allegations as "false and baseless". --IANS soni/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A jobless suitor in a Maharashtra village stabbed a man to death after he rejected him his daughter's hand in marriage, police said here on Saturday. Another relative was also grievously injured in the late Friday incident in the Datada-Budruk village, when Sachin Narayan Surnar attacked Kailash Shinde at his home. Surnar wanted to marry Shinde's daughter and had expressed his desire to the girl's brother, police official Rohini Ingole said. Amol K. Shinde wanted to take his father's consent on this. However, when the senior Shinde dismissed Surnar's proposal on the basis of his current unemployed status, the suitor was enraged. Surnar along with four of his friends mounted an attack on the Shinde household and demanded answers. But before the father could respond, he was attacked with a long sharp knife repeatedly, killing him on the spot. When Shinde's relative rushed and attempted to intervene, Surnar injured him, too. Bhujang D. Shinde is recuperating in a Nanded hospital, Ingole added. All five accused have been arrested. They will be produced before a magistrate later on Saturday for remand, the officer said. --IANS qn/mag/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lanka's ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's party, the United National Party (UNP), said on Saturday it would file a case in the Supreme Court against the early dissolution of Parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena. UNP Parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera told journalists that the party would early next week file a challenge in the Supreme Court, calling the President's decision to dissolve Parliament "illegal", Xinhua news agency reported. A group of UNP legislators on Saturday met Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya and discussed the dissolution of Parliament and urged him to take steps to "save democracy". Meanwhile, the main opposition Tamil National Alliance and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna will also be filing cases in the Supreme Court against the dissolution of Parliament on Monday, their party spokespersons said. Sirisena late on Friday signed a special gazette notification dissolving Parliament and declaring January 5 as the date for a snap parliamentary election. The President said Parliament would stand dissolved from Saturday 12 a.m. and nominations for the parliamentary elections would be called from November 19-26. Sirisena's move to dissolve Parliament came one and a half years ahead of the scheduled parliamentary polls. Sri Lanka has been facing political turmoil since October 26 when the President sacked Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and appointed former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the post. --IANS soni/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sunday, November 11, happens to be Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's birth anniversary, forgotten this year as it has been in the past. The Maulana is an inconvenient name to remember at a time when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel towers above every national leader. When former Vice President Hamid Ansari released the Hindi, Urdu and Malayalam translations of my book "Being the Other: The Muslim in India", he quoted from a speech Patel had made on August 11, 1947, four days before Partition. Some TV channels went ballistic. The quote is actually quite well known: "To be United, India would have to be divided." Patel was tracing how the consensus to "divide" India came about. No, but Ansari should not upturn conventional wisdom that "Jinnah was the culprit". If it were the evil Jinnah who created Pakistan, it follows that the CWC, the Iron man included, were busting their guts to keep a United India and Jinnah outfoxed them. Mountbatten's June 3, 1947, plan sought a division of India largely along religious lines. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) swallowed the plan hook, line and sinker. Of the two Muslim leaders present at the CWC, Frontier Gandhi Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan wailed: "You have thrown us to the wolves." Maulana Azad smoked a box of cigarettes and said nothing. Supposing the two, vehemently opposed to Partition, had walked out of the meeting in protest, what interpretation would future historians have placed on the remaining CWC composition? Jawaharlal Nehru valued Azad for his intellect. Some of Nehru's admiration for Azad comes across even in his intimate letters from Ahmednagar jail to his daughter Indira. "Maulana is an extraordinarily interesting person. The more I know him, and I have known him now for over 21 years, the more I find in him. He has an astonishing memory and his information on a variety of subjects is encyclopedic. He is soaked in the lore of the middle ages... he has Plato and Aristotle on his fingertips and is perfectly at home at Cordoba of Arab Spain... It seems such a pity that with such vast learning and a very unusually keen mind and a powerful style, he should have written so little." At one point Nehru reveals he is keen to learn Sanskrit from Acharya Narendra Dev and Persian from Azad. Nehru then gives vent to his afterthought: "But Azad is too erudite." The paradox is that despite such admiration for Azad, Nehru still found time to let him down repeatedly. It was a delicate package, that Azad, as Congress President, had negotiated with the Cabinet Mission and Viceroy Lord Wavell to keep India united. Nehru torpedoed it by raising contentious issues at a press conference in Bombay (Mumbai). Azad was shocked when the entire CWC accepted the Mountbatten plan without fuss. "Partition over my body" kind of sham was instantly abandoned. In fact, Rajendra Prasad came down strongly on a suggestion Mountbatten and Azad had made: That a United Armed Forces for a short period would obviate the massacres which eventually followed. "Not for a day" after August 15, 1947, would the Congress government tolerate a United Army, Prasad thundered. He wanted Partition to be sealed irreversibly. It was no concern of the CWC that an Army, abruptly separated along sectarian lines, would be sucked into the horrendous violence that followed as a partisan force on both sides. Mahatma Gandhi's Secretary Mahadev Desai wrote about Azad: "There was no other in the Congress to match Maulana's insights and wise counsel." Stalwarts like C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru deferred to him on many issues. On his wisdom and erudition, Sarojini Naidu was at her wittiest, "Maulana was 50 years old when he was born." It was this vast reservoir of wisdom that Nehru relied on when Home Minister Kailash Nath Katju decided to bar foreign missionaries in India, "if evangelism is their purpose". The statement created a furore among Christian missionaries. Nehru singled out Maulana to handle the situation. The letter that Azad wrote to Cardinal Valerian Gracias is reproduced on page 79 of my book, "Being the Other". It is a masterpiece of reasoning and logic on the question of conversion. Azad had settled the issue over 60 years ago. He made a distinction between religious conversion, which requires deep reflection on issues of theology and what the constitution calls "mass conversions". The latter is a response to a social and political provocation. It is possible that Maulana was not suited to the rough and tumble of which demands fickleness generally dressed up as flexibility. Maulana was incapable of deviating from his core principles -- Hindu-Muslim unity as the bedrock of Indian nationalism. Dr. Rajesh Kumar Pruthi, Director General of the National Archives, published a rare collection of the Maulana's letters in Urdu. The preface by Dr. Pruthi is by itself quite masterly. As evidence of Maulana's consistency he cites a passage from the Maulana's address as President of the Congress at a session held in Delhi on 15 December, 1923: "If an angel came down from heaven and, from the height of the Qutub Minar, announced that if the Congress abandons its platform of Hindu-Muslim Unity, Swaraj or independence would be granted in 24 hours, I would turn my back on that Swaraj. Shunning it for the cost being demanded may delay Swaraj and harm India's interest for a short period but abandoning our unity for good as a price for freedom will be a blot on all humanity." He maintained a decent silence on colleagues who had "blotted humanity". But he did not cheat history. He kept away in the National Archives 30 pages which expose the men with feet of clay who faltered in the last lap towards freedom. Partition, he wrote in a press note, "would be unadulterated Hindu Raj". These pages were made public in 1988 when he and all his colleagues had died. He may have had grievances with Nehru but that did not prevent him from dedicating "India Wins Freedom" to "Jawaharlal, Friend and Comrade". (A senior commentator on political and diplomatic affairs, Saeed Naqvi can be reached on saeednaqvi@hotmail.com. The views expressed are personal.) --IANS naqvi/mr/tb (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu political leaders on Saturday condemned the dissolution of Sri Lanka's parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena and urged the Centre to take necessary steps for the protection of Tamils in the island nation. In a statement issued here, DMK President M.K. Stalin said Sirisena's action was "murder of democracy". "The Indian government instead of watching this silently should condemn the action and also take necessary steps to protect the Eelam Tamils," Stalin said. PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss said India cannot remain quiet over the developments in Sri Lanka as it impacts the former's security and also the welfare of Tamils there. Ramadoss said the Sri Lankan elections will not be held in an honest manner. On Friday night, Sirisena announced that parliament would stand dissolved from Saturday 12 a.m. and nominations for the parliamentary elections slated for January 5, 2019, would be called from November 19 to 26. He set January 17 as the date for the new parliament to convene. The move comes after the President sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed former president Mahinda Rajapakse to the post on October 26. Sirisena made the move after his United People's Freedom Alliance quit the national unity government which it had formed with Wickremesinghe's United National Party. Rajapakse has welcomed the President's decision to dissolve parliament, saying a parliamentary election "will truly establish the will of the people and make way for a stable country". --IANS vj/ksk/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump, who just arrived in Paris for WWI 100th anniversary commemorations, said on Friday that French president Macron's suggestion of Europe building its own military to protect itself from US and other nations "very insulting". "President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia. Very insulting," Trump said in a tweet, Xinhua news agency reported. "But perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidizes greatly!" he tweeted. Earlier this week, Macron said in an interview with Europe 1 that he wanted "a real European army" to protect the Europeans from the US and other nations. Trump had been frequently criticising European nations for failing to meet the official annual defense spending target of two percent of gross domestic product (GDP) set by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). According to NATO figures, only five of 29 allies met their defense spending targets this year -- Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Britain and the US. Earlier in July, Macron had said that a NATO summit statement had confirmed the goal of 2 per cent by 2024. --IANS vc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A national environmental health and justice organization denounced the entry of misdeclared plastic trash from South Korea, a highly developed economy, to a country like the Philippines, which is struggling to address its own garbage woes. Fearing a repeat of the still unresolved Canadian garbage dumping scandal, the Quezon City-based EcoWaste Coalition called on authorities to reject the illegal garbage imports from South Korea and to return them at once to their origin. Bandila, the late night news broadcast of ABS CBN, reported about the garbage importation controversy on Nov. 10. We find this latest incident of plastic waste dumping outrageous and unacceptable. Why do we keep on accepting garbage from other countries when we know that our countrys plastic waste, which is literally everywhere, is spilling to the oceans and endangering marine life?, said Aileen Lucero, national coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition. We also find it ironic that while South Korea is taking action to control its plastic waste, including banning plastic bags in supermarkets starting October this year, and yet its unwanted plastics are being sent abroad, she said. Its high time for the Philippines to disallow garbage imports and to demand that developed countries, as well as manufacturers of plastics and other disposable goods, take full responsibility for their products throughout their whole life cycle, she said. The illegal garbage shipments from Canada misrepresented as recyclable plastic scraps, which are still in our country, are a stinking reminder of how disadvantageous and unjust global waste trade is, she added. According to the request of alert order issued on October 25,2018 by Joel Pinawin, Supervisor, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, Bureau of Customs (BOC) - Cagayan De Oro City, the baled garbage misdeclared as plastic synthetic flakes arrived from South Korea on board MV Affluent Ocean on July 21, 2018. As per the said document, the shipment was consigned to Verde Soko Phil. Industrial Corp. and the violation committed was in relation to Section 1400 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act on Misdeclaration, Misclassification, Undervaluation in Goods Declaration, crimes punishable under the said law.As stated by John Simon, Port Collector, Mindanao International Container Terminal in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental: Kapag plastic flakes, dapat puro plastic flakes ang makikita mo diyan. Pero hindi, nakita naming may kahoy at ibat ibang materials. The incident prompted the EcoWaste Coalition to renew the clarion call it made in 2017 for the government to ban plastic waste imports and for domestic industries requiring plastic scrap inputs to source their supplies locally. Barring the importation of plastic garbage should form part of the governments efforts to improve existing regulations to avoid a repeat of the Canadian garbage saga, the group said. Imposing an import ban on scrap plastics may even prompt local industries to seek ways to retrieve locally-generated plastic discards, which can help in reducing the amount of plastics leaking to water bodies, the group added. The EcoWaste Coalition made the call after China announced that it will prohibit the importation of scrap plastics and other wastes by January 2018 to protect Chinas environmental interests and peopleshealth. The government of Malaysia announced last month that it will phase out in three years the importation of all types of plastic waste following the Chinese ban on waste imports. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said that recordings related to Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death have been passed on to Saudi Arabia, the US, the UK, Germany and France. Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and a supporter-turned-critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, was killed inside the kingdom consulate in Istanbul on October 2 when he went there for paperwork for his forthcoming marriage. Speaking before his departure for Paris for World War I commemorations, Erdogan said: "We passed on the recordings. We gave them to Saudi Arabia, to America, to the Germans, French and the English -- we gave them all." However, he did not elaborate on what was in the recordings. "They listened to the conversations which took place here, they know", he said. No other country admitted hearing the said recording. Erdogan said the killer, or killers, would be known to the 18 suspects identified by Turkish authorities -- including 15 men who arrived from Saudi Arabia shortly before Khashoggi's death. He again called on Saudi Arabia to provide answers as to what happened to Khashoggi and his body. Saudi authorities initially denied all knowledge of Khashoggi's fate before admitting that he was killed "accidentally" in a fist fight at the consulate by "rogue" agents. However, it denied the ruling royal family's involvement in the killing. The Saudis also denied comments allegedly made by the Saudi Crown Prince describing Khashoggi as a dangerous Islamist. There is still no consensus on how Khashoggi died. Initially, Turkish had reported that the country had audio recordings proving that the journalist had been tortured before being murdered. Last week, however, Turkey said he had been strangled immediately after entering the consulate and his body dismembered "in accordance with plans made in advance". No body has yet been found and a Turkish official said it had been dissolved in acid. --IANS soni/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A police officer in the UK has been jailed for 18 months for causing the death of an Indian-origin shopkeeper by dangerous driving. Balvinder Singh, 59, died in hospital from his injuries after the van he was driving was hit by off-duty Jason Bannister's vehicle in Wolverhampton in December 2016. Bannister, 45, of Wombourne, was treated for minor injuries following the collision and had pleaded guilty in a hearing in September. He was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment by a Birmingham Crown Court on Friday, the BBC reported. Bannister is currently suspended from duty. The Staffordshire police said they would launch misconduct proceedings now the court case had concluded. Bannister was also banned from driving for three years and nine months. He will be required to complete an extended driving test in order to regain his licence, the report said. --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo here on Friday said that the US is not trying to contain China, but rather to persuade Beijing to adjust its approach in matters related to military expansion and respect for human rights. "The US is not pursuing a cold war or containment policy with China. Rather, we want to make sure China acts responsibly and fairly in support of security and prosperity in each of our two countries," Pompeo told a press conference at the State Department. He appeared with Defence Secretary James Mattis; the director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China, Yang Jiechi; and Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe following their second round of talks about security and diplomacy, reports Efe news. Those conversations were held in an atmosphere of responsibility and respect, according to Pompeo, who acknowledged that China and the US face "significant differences between our nations" in such areas as trade, due to the mutual imposition of billions of dollars in tariffs. In that regard, Yang believed their differences can be settled through dialogue. "These issues," Yang said, "can be resolved through dialogue and consultation. A trade war, instead of leading to any solution, will only end up hurting both sides and the global economy." The representatives of the US and China agreed on the need to work together toward the "denuclearisation" of North Korea, a regional ally of Beijing, but clashed on such subjects as Taiwan and the South China Sea. Pompeo expressed concern about the building of military installations on artificial islands and reefs of the South China Sea, while Yang asserted that Beijing has sovereignty over those waters even though other countries, including some allies of Washington, reject China's claims. On the other hand, Pompeo demanded that China respect the human rights of Buddhists and Muslims, for which Yang told the US not to interfere in "China's internal affairs." The talks held on Friday in Washington were meant to prepare the way for a meeting of US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping late this month at the G20 summit in Argentina. --IANS vc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that Washington was not trying to contain China, but rather to persuade Beijing to adjust its approach in matters related to military expansion and respect for human rights. "The US is not pursuing a cold war or containment policy with China. Rather, we want to make sure China acts responsibly and fairly in support of security and prosperity in each of our two countries," Pompeo told a press conference at the State Department on Friday. He appeared with Defence Secretary James Mattis; the director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China, Yang Jiechi; and Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe following their second round of talks about security and diplomacy, reports Efe news. The conversations were held in an atmosphere of responsibility and respect, according to Pompeo, who acknowledged that China and the US face "significant differences between our nations" in such areas as trade, due to the mutual imposition of billions of dollars in tariffs. In that regard, Yang believed their differences can be settled through dialogue. "These issues," Yang said, "can be resolved through dialogue and consultation. A trade war, instead of leading to any solution, will only end up hurting both sides and the global economy." The representatives of the US and China agreed on the need to work together toward the "denuclearization" of North Korea, a regional ally of Beijing, but clashed on such subjects as Taiwan and the South China Sea. Pompeo expressed concern about the building of military installations on artificial islands and reefs of the South China Sea, while Yang asserted that Beijing has sovereignty over those waters even though other countries, including some allies of Washington, reject China's claims. On the other hand, Pompeo demanded that China respect the human rights of Buddhists and Muslims, for which Yang told the US not to interfere in "China's internal affairs". The talks held on Friday in Washington were meant to prepare the way for a meeting of President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this month at the G20 summit in Argentina. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) If you think coding or writing software is something reserved for men, you are wrong; women coders have lately come of age, breaking the glass ceiling across tech fields the world over. India is no different, and sensing the need, leading enterprise software provider VMware, in partnership with the global non-profit Women Who Code, has announced it will train 15,000 women in India over the next two years in diverse technology areas -- for free. The idea is novel because the programme is aimed at helping women with previous experience in IT -- who had to quit as they found it difficult to maintain a work-family balance -- upskill themselves in emerging digital technologies around Cloud and return to work. Set to launch from December 1, the programme, titled "VMware VMinclusion Taara: Women Return to Work", has received support from several key enterprises like Bharti Airtel and Cognizant who will consider women certified in VMware solutions for relevant IT openings at their workplace. "We are in a good position to help skilled women, who are currently home, come back, gain the right skill-sets and join the professional stream once again. We can make a difference. This is a journey and we feel learning never stops. This programme is a first such step," Duncan Hewett, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific and Japan, told IANS. The VMware project will educate 15,000 women in the cutting-edge Cloud technologies like networking, virtualisation, data centre, storage and security. The programme is designed to equip women with foundation-level training courses on digital business transformation; professional-level courses on virtualisation software for Hybrid Cloud and multi-Cloud platforms and infrastructure; and an advanced course on network virtualisation, data centre virtualisation, Cloud management and automation and digital workspace technologies. Once completed, the women will get VMware certification. "I am happy to see that in India, 42 per cent of women are part of the IT workforce as compared to the US where it is merely 30 per cent. "Many women in India have an IT engineering diploma or background. But those who have left the workforce tend to have concerns that their knowledge and skills are outdated and have reservations about returning," said Regina Wallace-Jones who is on the Board of Directors at Women Who Code. With a presence in 20 countries, including India, Women Who Code has executed more than 7,000 free events around the world and has a membership exceeding 137,000. "The training under 'Project Taara' will refresh their understanding of the latest technologies and help qualify women for new jobs in India's data centre and Cloud-computing industries," she told IANS. Wallace-Jones has earlier worked as Senior Director of Technology and Operations at Yahoo! and Head of Security Operations at Facebook. According to Devaraj PR, Senior Vice President and Global IT Head, Cognizant, diversity and inclusion are seen as a crucial competitive advantage at the company. "We are pleased to support this initiative and look forward to welcoming these highly skilled women into our workforce," Devaraj said. Harmeen Mehta, Global CIO and Head of Digital, Airtel echoed his views: "As a woman technology leader, I can confirm that in today's dynamic environment, constant upskilling on new technologies is critical for the growth of our careers. "This is a great initiative, as apart from bringing more women to the workforce, this programme also brings in new skills and talent for companies to build a digital foundation for innovation," she emphasised. As part of "Project Taara," the women will have virtual meetings with industry experts on various aspacts of the New-Age technologies and get their queries answered as they attend online sessions. According to Hewett, "by upskilling women who left their career, we are empowering them to prepare a foundation for a rapidly evolving technology industry". (Nishant Arora can be contacted at nishant.a@ians.in) --IANS na/hs/tb/sac (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A woman was beaten to death on board a train near the Bareilly station when she asked a group of youngsters not to smoke in the compartment, police said on Saturday. The incident happened on board the Jalianwala Bagh Express which was going from Amritsar to Tata Nagar. Police said the woman and her son and daughter-in-law were unable to tolerate the cigarette smoke, and that when they objected, they were thrashed. The woman sustained serious injuries in the attack. Two assailants fled by jumping off the train when it approached the Shahjahanpur railway station. One of them was overpowered by passengers and handed over to the Government Railway Police (GRP). The profusely bleeding woman was rushed to the district hospital in a critical condition. She was declared dead on arrival by doctors. She has been identified as Chinta Devi (50), a resident of Bihar. She was returning home for Chatth puja from Punjab where she lived with her son who worked there. One of the assailants has been identified as Sonu, a resident of Azamgarh. The police said efforts were on to arrest the other youth. --IANS md/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A woman died and her minor daughter suffered critical injuries after a speeding car jumped off the divider of the opposite road and hit their car on a flyover in west Delhi, police said on Saturday, adding the accused driver has been arrested. "The accident occurred on Friday around 11.50 p.m. when the deceased identified as Poonam Sardana, 38, along with her husband Vimal Sardana, daughter Chetanaya Sardana, 13, and another family member was returning to their residence in Adarsh Nagar from south Delhi's Chattarpur temple," Deputy Commissioner of Police Monika Bhardwaj said. "Vimal Sardana informed the local police about the accident," she said. "When they reached the Punjabi Bagh flyover in their Mahindra Quanto car, a speeding Maruti Suzuki S-Cross coming from opposite road, jumped off the divider and hit the side of their car. Poonam was declared brought dead at the nearby hospital, while her daughter Chetanaya is undergoing treatment," Bhardwaj said. "The accused driver identified as Shivani Malik,22, is a resident of Ghaziabad. She was booked for rash and negligent driving. She works in a Noida-based saloon and was going to a club in Gurugram with her friend. She was found drunk," said the DCP. --IANS sp/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two men were killed when their motorcycle was hit by a speeding car near Bhuapur Tirkaripur village under the Jangipur police station here, police said Saturday. Akash Kannaujia (20) was killed on the spot, while his friend Sagar Yadav (19) succumbed to injuries subsequently in a hospital, after their motorcycle was hit by the car Friday night, the police said. The bodies were sent for post-mortem, they added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 28-year-old man was arrested Saturday for allegedly killing an educationist in Rohini after he refused to hand over his car keys to the accused, police said. The accused, Bhupender Mehra, a resident of Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand, was nabbed after police got a clue to his whereabouts through his Facebook account, they added. On September 24, Deepak, an IIT-Delhi and IIM-Calcutta alumnus, was stabbed to death by Mehra. Deepak also used to run an academy called Prakhar where he used to prepare students for entrance exams like IIT-JEE, NEET etc. The incident took place at around 2 pm when Deepak was getting his car repaired at Prashant Vihar and Mehra, who was known to him, came and asked for the keys of the vehicle. Deepak refused politely but when Mehra insisted, he rebuked him more firmly, said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) Gaurav Sharma. Later, Mehra slapped Deepak and after a while, he took out a knife and stabbed Deepak in the stomach, he said. The accused fled from the spot after the incident. Deepak was rushed to a nearby hospital and after a few days, he succumbed to injuries, Sharma said. During investigation, it was very difficult to identify the accused as no one knew him very well, he said. Through his Facebook account, police got to know about his relative in Pithoragarh district. They immediately sent a team there but did not find Mehra. Later, police learnt that Mehra will visit Delhi on Diwali. He was nabbed on Saturday when he came near the Japanese Park to meet some friends, Sharma added. During interrogation, Mehra revealed that he was fond of driving. He asked Deepak for the keys of his car on which the latter refused and Mehra took it as an insult, the officer said. In order to take revenge, he slapped Deepak several times and later stabbed him in the stomach, Sharma said. One country-made pistol and two live cartridges were seized from Mehra's possession, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A recruitment examination organised by the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) was held on Saturday amid protests by a section of the aspirants who were dispersed by the police using water canon here, officials said. The incident occurred near a school where the mains examination of the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission Combined Examination (APPSCCE) was going on. A section of the candidates protested outside the school demanding postponement of the mains examination on the ground of court cases related to the examination. APPSC secretary Taru Talo said 900 out of total 1336 candidates appeared in the first day of the mains exam. The Commission on Friday night notified that it would conduct the examination according to schedule from November 10 to 20 after the Itanagar bench of the Gauhati High Court vacated a stay order on November 8 on holding the examination. However, the court ordered that the result of the examination will be kept in a sealed cover and will be subject to the final outcome of the writ petition filed by some candidates. The Court has fixed the next joint hearing for November 14 next. A section of the candidates decided to boycott the examination saying they are not in a mental state to appear for the examination, owing to the ongoing fiasco. They demanded that the mains examination be held only after the final verdict of the high court is out. The APPSC has rejected the demand. The fiasco began in November last year, when the APPSC held the APPSCCE preliminary examination. Following objections by students over alleged anomalies in selection of questions, the preliminaries were rescheduled and held in July this year. The results were declared within a week but a section of the candidates who did not make the list for the mains exams moved court. The candidates have sought instituting an expert committee to look into the alleged anomalies in the prelims question papers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte A pro-administration lawmaker on Saturday pushed for the passage of his bill establishing the Philippine Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology as the primary institution in the treatment of millions of Filipino diabetics. Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said the enactment of his House Bill 7861 will enable the government to take a more decisive approach to fighting diabetes, a silent killer disease. Citing the National Nutrition and Health Survey (NNHS), Villafuerte said the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in the Philippines for the last 10 years has grown from 3.9 percent to 17.8 percent, or by nearly 20 percent.This means that one out of every five Filipinos could potentially have diabetes mellitus or pre-diabetes, Villafuerte said. If nothing is done to stem the alarming trend, the prevalence of diabetes is expected to soar to 20 percent by the year 2045, and more than 100,000 Filipinos would be dying every year arising from its complications, Villafuerte added. He said that while the disease is emotionally taxing to patients and their families, it is also a massive financial burden to the government. Last year, PhilHealth spent around P8 billion to assist patients undergoing dialysis, the majority of whom were diabetics. Villafuertes bill targets the prevention of certain types of diabetes, and its early detection to reduce the number of affected individuals, and to provide treatment as soon as possible. It also seeks to provide support to diabetics and their loved ones in coping with the killer disease. Under the bill, among the objectives of the PCDE are the following: To construct, establish, equip, maintain, administer and operate such integrated medical institutions which shall provide an organized system of care, comprehensive and optimal treatment for patients with diabetes and other endocrine problems; To conduct nationwide screening and diagnosis of diabetes, obesity, and the components of the metabolic syndrome; To promote, encourage and engage in medical and scientific research on the prevention and treatment of diabetes and other endocrine diseases and gather, compile, and publish the findings of such researches for public dissemination; To encourage, undertake and assist conferences, conventions, seminars, workshops, and training programs for physicians, nurses, health officers, medical technologists, social workers and medical and technical personnel on the practical and scientific implementation of health care services to diabetic patients; To assist universities, hospitals, and research institutions in their studies on diabetes and other endocrine diseases and other related fields, to encourage and grant scholarships for advanced training and specialization in medical care and management in diabetes and related fields and to support and finance educational programs of value to public health; and To encourage the formation of other organizations at the national, provincial, city and/or local levels, and to coordinate the various efforts and activities of such organizations for the purpose of achieving a more effective approach to the common problem relative to the purposes and objectives enumerated herein. Villafuerte said the proposed PCDE, which will be under the Department of Health, shall serve as the lead tertiary-level center in the screening, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes in the country. While diabetes is generally preventable and treatable, it has grown into a silent and fatal disease that has cost our people and this government so much in healthcare expenses, Villafuerte said. In the Western Pacific, the Philippines ranks fifthbehind China, Indonesia, Japan and Thailandin the number of diabetics, the lawmaker said, citing data. This makes the Philippines an official diabetes hotspot. An Army soldier was killed Saturday in sniper fire by Pakistani troops, while two BSF personnel were injured in cross-border firing along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Rifleman Varun Kattal (21), a resident of Mawa-Rajpura area of Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, was shot dead by a sniper from across the border in Sunderbani sector, triggering an exchange of fire between the two sides, the officials said. This was the second sniper attack along the LoC in two days. An Army porter lost his life in a similar attack in Akhnoor sector of Jammu Friday. "At about 0945 hours, unprovoked ceasefire violation was initiated by Pakistan in Sunderbani sector in which one Army soldier was shot by a sniper from across the border and later succumbed to injuries at 11.10 AM," a defence spokesman said. "Rifleman Kattal is survived by his parents, father Anchal Singh and mother Pinki Rani. He was a brave and sincere soldier. The nation will always remain indebted to him for the supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty," the spokesman said adding his death will not go in vain. He said the Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively on Pakistan army posts. Two BSF personnel manning a border outpost in Sunderbani sector were also injured in an exchange of fire with Pakistani troops this evening and were hospitalised, the officials said. On October 21, three soldiers of Jammu and Kashmir light infantry regiment and two heavily-armed infiltrators, believed to be members of the Border Action Team (BAT) of the Pakistani army, and terrorists, were killed in Sunderbani sector. On November 6, a soldier was injured when he was hit by a sniper from across the border at Kalal in Noushera sector of Rajouri, while a BSF jawan was injured in a separate incident of firing by Pakistan along the LoC in the Manjakote area of the Rajouri-Poonch sector Friday. The number of ceasefire violations this year by Pakistan has been the highest in the past eight years. The first seven months of this year saw 52 deaths and 232 people getting injured in 1,435 ceasefire violations in the state, according to an RTI reply by the Home Ministry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bharti Airtel on Saturday said it will pre-pay $1.5 billion debt with its subsidiary Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands), using the proceeds it got from six global entities investing in its Africa unit. Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B V commenced cash purchase of $1.5 billion, 5.125 per cent Guaranteed Senior Notes which were due in 2023, Bharti Airtel said in a regulatory filing. This offer, it said, has been made with a view to "proactively manage its capital structure, reduce gross debt and leverage by acquiring the Notes funded out of equity proceeds and also provide liquidity to Noteholders at a premium to the market." Bharti Airtel group continues to deleverage and pursue its strategies towards that end, it added. "In line with this, it has been actively exploring various equity driven initiatives, including those previously announced regarding its Africa business, so as to proactively manage its balance sheet and capital structure to align them to the group's core conservative philosophy," it said. Bharti Airtel International's (Netherlands) parent Airtel Africa Ltd, a UK incorporated subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited, recently made a successful primary equity issuance of $1.25 billion to six leading global investors, including Warburg Pincus, Temasek, Singtel, SoftBank Group and others. "The proceeds of this equity issuance are intended to be used to reduce Airtel Africa's existing debt of approximately $5 billion on the date of the announcement," it said. The proceeds of this equity issuance are now fully realised and available as cash. The company also carries organic cash on its balance sheet. "The company wishes to utilize the proceeds of this equity issuance and the cash available to it to reduce its existing debt by offering to purchase 'any and all' of the Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer. "Via the Tender Offer, the company is also providing liquidity to the Noteholders at a specified premium over the market price at launch," the filing said. This offer is in addition to the previously announced tender offer cum repayment of 1 billion, 4 per cent notes maturing December 2018, for which funding has been drawn and available as cash with the company. Earlier this week, Moody's Investors Service had placed Bharti Airtel's rating on review for downgrade on low levels of profitability and expectation of weak cash flow. Moody's had placed on review for downgrade the 'Baa3' issuer and senior unsecured rating of Bharti Airtel and the ratings on the backed senior unsecured notes issued by Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B V. A senior BJP leader Saturday demanded a ban on "Kedarnath", an upcoming film set against the backdrop of a catastrophic deluge that hit the Himalayan shrine in 2013, alleging that it hurts the sentiments of Hindus and promotes love jihad. Ajendra Ajay, who is part of the state BJP's media relations team, wrote to Central Board of Film Certification Chairman Prasoon Joshi that despite being set against the backdrop of one of the worst human tragedies, the film directed by Abhishek Kapoor makes fun of Hindu sentiments. Taking exception to a kissing scene between lead pair Sushant Singh Rajput and Sara Ali Khan featured in the film's teaser and a tagline in its poster reading "Love is a Pilgrimage", the BJP leader alleged that it was an attack on the Hindu religion as Kedarnath represents the faith of crores of Hindus. "By setting a romantic love story against the backdrop of a huge tragedy that occurred at Kedarnath, a centre of faith for crores of Hindus, the filmmakers have shown great disrespect to the followers of the religion" Ajay told PTI. Objecting to the film depicting the love story of a Muslim porter and a Hindu pilgrim, Ajay said couldn't the makers of the film find a Hindu character for the lead. Accusing the film of promoting love jihad, the BJP leader said acute resentment prevailed among teertha purohits for projecting Kedarnath in such a flippant manner. Warning of largescale protests in the state if the film was released, Ajay urged the CBFC chairman to impose a ban on the movie produced by Ronnie Screwwala and Pragya Kapoor. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid growing demands for a Ram temple, Savitribai Phule, the MP from Bahraich, has called for installing a statue of Lord Buddha at the disputed site in Ayodhya. "Excavations carried out at the disputed site in Ayodhya on the directions of the high court had found certain things associated with Lord Buddha," Phule claimed. "Therefore, a statue of Lord Buddha should be installed at the same place," she told newspersons on Friday night. "I want to make it clear that Bharat belonged to Buddha, and Ayodhya is the place of Buddha. Therefore, a statue of Buddha should be installed there," she said. To a question on reports about Rajya Sabha member Rakesh Sinha bringing a private member's bill for construction, she said, "India is a secular country according to its Constitution which has given equal guarantee of security to all religions ... The nation should be run as per the Constitution." Phule's statement comes at a time when right-wing organisations have renewed the demand for construction of a in Ayodhya. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Rajasthan launched 'Mera Parivar-BJP Parivar' campaign on Saturday to reach out to masses ahead of the assembly polls in the state. Jaipur MP Ramcharan Bohra said during the campaign, party workers will meet residents of each constituency and put BJP flags and stickers on their houses. The party has also released a special poster for this mass contact programme. Bohra said since November 2, the BJP has been conducting booth-level programmes, under which the party's public representatives inform people about policies of both central and state governments. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) All the three BJP Members of Parliament from Goa Saturday met ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar at his private residence here and enquired about his health. Vinay Tendulkar (Rajya Sabha MP), Shripad Naik, the North Goa MP who is also a Union minister, and South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar met Parrikar this morning. The ruling party parliamentarians were accompanied by senior BJP leader Datta Kholkar and one of them said it was a courtesy visit during which no political issue was discussed. "We met him to enquire about his health. He is doing fine now," Sawaikar told PTI, claiming the meeting with Parrikar was a courtesy visit. The Lok Sabha MP said there was no discussion on political issues during the meeting. Parrikar, 62, has been recuperating at his private residence near here since October 14 when he returned to Goa after being discharged from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Since then, the chief minister has held a series of meetings with government officials and his Cabinet colleagues. He had also chaired meetings of the state Cabinet and the State Investment Promotion Board. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) RPF Director General Arun Kumar on Saturday said he has advised officials not to fight with squatters during a rail-roko agitation, but register cases against them to get them debarred from contesting polls. The move would work as a deterrent for people indulging in such protests, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) chief said. "I have asked RPF officials to book people under section 174 of the Railways Act for indulging in rail-roko. If anyone is convicted under this Act, he or she cannot contest elections," Kumar told reporters here. One violates section 174 of the Railways Act, 1989 if he or she obstructs or attempts to obstruct any train by squatting or picketing, or by tampering with railway equipment. The offence is punishable with imprisonment for a maximum term of two years, or with fine, or with both. Section 8 in The Representation of the People Act, 1951, says a person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years would be disqualified from contesting elections. "I have asked officials not to fight with protesting people who indulge in rail-roko. Rather, make a video or take a photo of such incidents and register cases against them and ensure conviction as it would debar them from contesting elections," Kumar said. "Conviction under the provisions of IPC is a bit difficult one but under the Railway Act, one has to produce video/photo as evidence to ensure conviction of the accused," the top RPF official said. People in the western region especially in Mumbai have understood to a large extent the consequences of rail-roko or damaging railway properties during such agitations, he said. Kumar, who took over as RPF DG on September 30, was here to hold discussions with various security agencies of the East Central Railway (ECR), headquartered at Hajipur in Bihar. He also announced the schedule for holding online examination to fill up 8619 posts of constables and 1120 posts of sub-inspectors in RPF and Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF). The examination will be conducted zone-wise in the six zones across the country, he said, adding that the first examination would start from December 19 for group E-- North Frontier Railway followed by the other five zones. He said it was for the first time that applications were invited online and the exam too was being conducted online across the country. Kumar said over 500 touts were arrested and 10 crore tickets, including used ones, were seized during a raid conducted on November 2 across the country by the RPF. RPF also recovered narcotics/contraband items and liquor worth Rs 9.13 crore besides arresting 62 persons in this regard in ECR zone, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China's first international import expo which concluded in Shanghai on Saturday resulted in deals worth USD 57.83 billion, official data said, with India among the 172 countries which participated in the mega event in the Chinese business hub. The five-day expo was held amid criticism that China, the world's biggest exporter of goods, imports far less from the rest of the world. Deals for intended one-year purchases of goods and services worth a total of USD 57.83 billion were reached at the first China International Import Expo (CIIE), which concluded in Shanghai, state-run Xinhua agency said quoting official data. It also came in the midst of a trade war with the US, which has clamped tariffs on USD 250 billion of Chinese imports. Washington is demanding China cut down the trade deficit of USD 375 billion. India too took part in the event by setting up a country pavilion highlighting its food and agro products, pharmaceuticals, IT and IT-enabled services, (ITES) tourism and services sectors, to gain market access to China. Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan inaugurated the pavilion and held talks with Chinese officials to increase Indian exports to China to bridge the over USD 51 billion trade deficit. Indian firm Jay Shree Tea & Industries Ltd signed a USD 1 million export contract with Chinese company COFCO (China Tea) for export of Indian black tea to China. A total of 172 countries, regions and international organisations, and more than 3,600 enterprises participated in the event, which attracted more than 400,000 domestic and overseas purchasers, Sun Chenghai, deputy director of the CIIE Bureau, told a conference in Shanghai. Deals for high-end intelligent equipment reached over USD 16.46 billion, followed by USD 12.68 billion of food and agricultural products, USD 11.99 billion of automobiles, 5.76 billion dollars of medical equipment and health care products, USD 4.33 billion of consumer electronics and appliances, and USD 3.37 billion of apparel, accessories and consumer goods, Sun said, adding that the value of deals for services hit USD 3.24 billion. Intended purchases with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries reached USD 4.72 billion, Sun said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the Karnataka chief minister and his deputy skipping the Tipu Jayanthi celebrations, a Congress legislator Saturday termed it as an insult to the Muslim community. "This was the first Tipu Jayanthi of the new government. The information is that following doctor's advice chief minister H D Kumaraswamy is not taking part (in the programmes). Deputy chief minister G Parameshwara is on a foreign tour. This development has somewhere come across as though the community has been insulted. There is no doubt about it," MLA and former minister Tanveer Sait said. According to party sources, several Congress leaders, especially those from the Muslim community, are miffed with the chief minister and deputy chief minister for giving the event a miss. Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Sait said and party notwithstanding it was his duty to express the sentiments of his community. He requested the chief minister to at least attend a Tipu Jayanthi event at a place near to where he was taking rest. "I request the chief minister to try and attend the programme at H D Kote that is near to the place where he is taking his break," he added. Protests by BJP and right wing outfits and the absence of Kumaraswamy and Parameshwara marked Tipu Jayanthi celebrations in Karnataka, which marks the birth anniversary of 18th-century ruler Tipu Sultan. The previous Congress government, led by Siddaramaiah, began celebrating Tipu Jayanthi on November 10 every year since 2015, amid stiff opposition from the BJP, several Hindu organisations, and some individuals. Sait said the government should show the same enthusiasm when celebrating Tipu Jayanthi as is done during the jayanthis of stalwarts from other communities. "Cancelling celebrations or processions and banning all programmes other than scheduled government events just because someone will cause hurdle somewhere, causes insult to the community," he added. Kumaraswamy did not attend the event citing doctor's advice to take rest for three days till November 11. The chief minister's office had made prior announcement about Kumaraswamy's inability to attend the function and his name was also not printed in the invitations. Following the chief minister's decision to skip the event, reports had emerged about differences in opinion between the ruling coalition partners about Tipu Jayanthi celebrations. While in the opposition, Kumaraswamy had questioned the need for such celebrations. Kumaraswamy reportedly chose to skip the event, not wishing to antagonise voters in his party's bastion of old Mysuru region, as Tipu Sultan along with his father Hyder Ali had seized power from Maharajas of Mysuru, who are virtually revered there. Parameshwara, who was to inaugurate the main Tipu Jayanthi celebration event at Vidhana Soudha, the seat of state legislature here, in the absence of Kumaraswamy, also skipped the function Saturday. Parameshwara was reportedly in Singapore to visit a senior politician from Karnataka, who is ailing. His office maintained that the deputy chief minister was out of town. Later in a statement, Parameshwara, while hailing Tipu and his contributions to the state, maintained that due to unavoidable reasons he was unable to attend Tipu Jayanthi celebrations Saturday and wished success for the event. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Alleging that the Congress is the biggest hurdle in the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh minister Shrikant Sharma Saturday asked its president Rahul Gandhi to make clear his party's stand on the issue instead of visiting shrines across the country "to garner votes". He alleged that Congress activists were opposing Ram temple, Ram Setu (a mythological bridge between India and Sri Lanka) and engaging in "cow slaughtering". The Congress is the biggest hurdle in the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya," Sharma said here, when asked by reporters why his party was not bringing in a legislation on the issue. "Either the visits of the Congress president to temples is an exercise to garner votes or he should support construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. The party should make clear its stand on the issue," the state power minister said. Asked about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its sister organisations adopting an agitational approach to enable the construction of the temple, he said they were toeing the line of the BJP, which has clearly mentioned in its election manifesto that the issue would be resolved within the framework of the Constitution. Sharma said, "The Allahabad High Court had in its judgement clearly mentioned that a Ram temple existed in Ayodya and a subsequent geological survey supported it." On the BJP's prospects in assembly elections in five states, he said the party would win a landslide victory. The party has transformed the "sick" Madhya Pradesh into a well-developed state, Sharma claimed. Reacting to former prime minister Manmohan Singh's criticism of demonetisation, he said the BJP has healed the "wounds of corruption the country received from the previous Congress government. The Modi government has successfully tried to rebuild the image of India that was tarnished by rampant corruption during the Congress rule, he claimed. "While the Congress president himself is on bail in the National Herald case, senior party leader P Chidambaram is an accused in the Aircel-Maxis case and could be jailed any moment," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Representative Datu Radin Igwas Davao City Kidapawan City Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) Datu Radin Igwas came to last weeks session of the city council some 6.4 km. away from his home in Barangay Perez the best way he knew howon horseback. Igwas said Saturday he was not trying to make a statement for being an IP leader, nor was it an antic. He was forced to ride the horse because two weeks ago, kidapawan Mayor Joseph Evangelista issued a memorandum stripping him of his service vehicle. Upon receiving the memo, Igwas said he was not seriously troubled because I can still attend the session by other means. We datus are used to using horses to move around, he said.But when the second memo came, also on Oct. 28, he started to worry. The second memo says he was also being stripped of his office. Igwas said Evangelista reasoned out in the second memo that his office would be renovated for the use of the deputy mayor for the IP. In a statement, Igwas said he heard he was being stripped of his service vehicle and his office because he was supposedly supporting Evangelistas rival in the May elections. Evangelista is running for another term and was being challenged by Vice Mayor Bernardo Pinol Jr. Igwas denied he was playing politics though. I cannot support any candidate because that is not allowed under the law. I am the IPMR and I am supposed to be apolitical, he added. Igwas further said that some Manobo tribal leaders had sought Pinols help on his behalf and the vice mayor agreed to stay the execution of Evangelistas order on the recall of his office while preparations are being done for a new space he can occupy.Evangelista, on Saturday, also admitted that he had indeed recalled the service vehicle issued to Igwas and asked him to vacate the office he was occupying. But Evangelita said there was no politics behind his two memorandums to Igwas. He said in February, Igwas wrote him a letter, asking him to fund the renovation of his office. He was the one who asked for it, Evangelista said by phone. He said Igwas office would be turned into a training center for women IPs and that sewing machines would be put up there. They need a space for the training, he added. Igwas, however, said these were not the reasons given him. The vehicle was recalled for the use of the city engineering and the office for the use of the deputy mayor for IP. I guess I was stripped of these because there are things I would not do, jobs that I cannot simply do because these are not within my mandate, he said. He would not say what these jobs are though. : Congress leader and MLA K Muraleedharan Saturday asked Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to convene an all-party meeting before the Mandala- Makaravilikku pilgrimage season at Sabarimala, beginning November 17, to sort out 'infrastructure bottlenecks.' He alleged that even basic infrastructure like toilets and drinking water for pilgrims were yet to be readied at Sabarimala. "Though the pilgrim season is just a week away, basic amenities such as drinking water and toilets for thousands of of pilgrims who are expected to visit the place are yet to be arranged. The Chief Minister must shed his arrogance and call an all-party meeting," he said at a press meet here. Lakhs of pilgrims from the country and abroad visit the Lord Ayyappa Temple every year during the annual Mandala-Makaravilikku pilgrimage season every year. The Congress MLA also sought a judicial probe into the death of a man who was pushed in front of a moving car, allegedly by a police official. He said the Chief Minister was yet to visit the grieving family of Sanal. 32-year-old Sanal was killed after being pushed in front of a moving car, allegedly by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) (Neyyatinkara) B Harikumar at Neyyatinkara near here. Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor also demandedRs 50 lakh compensation and a government job for Sanal's widow. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hitting out at the Congress for celebrating the birth anniversary of Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, the BJP today dubbed it as a "party of hypocrites". Union minister and BJP leader Prakash Javadekar here said, "While Congress president Rahul Gandhi talks of love and brotherhood, his disciples celebrate Tipu Jayanthi. Tipu Sultan killed Hindus and Christians and destroyed temples and churches." He said the Congress' nature was to say something but do something else. "How can they explain this hypocrisy? This is the true nature of Congress," he said. He pointed out that the previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah began celebrating the birth anniversary of controversial 18th century Mysore kingdom ruler on November 10 every year since 2015 amid stiff opposition from the BJP. Protests by BJP and right-wing outfits broke out in several parts of Karnataka on Saturday against 'Tipu Jayanthi' celebrations, which were held amid tight security, while Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his deputy were unable to attend the main event. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress Saturday staged a protest rally against the failure of demonetisation and termed it as one of the "biggest scams" in the country. The West Bengal Congress unit today staged a protest outside the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the city against demonetisation that was announced two ago on November 8, 2016. "This year we are observing the second anniversary of the draconian decision of demonetisation. This was one of the biggest scams India has ever seen. This was nothing but an official money laundering scheme of the BJP government," WBPCC president Somen Mitra said at the protest programme. Congress workers also took out a candle light march carrying placards and posters against the state government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A delegation of opposition CPI(M) met Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb Saturday and sought his intervention to stop alleged terror unleashed by the ruling BJP-IPFT activists on left party workers. Over 7,000 workers of various left parties in Tripura were forced to flee their homes due to large-scale political violence during the last eight months since the BJP-Indigenous People's Front of Tripura government came to power, senior party leader Badal Choudhury claimed. "More than 300 party and frontal organization offices were demolished saying they were illegally constructed on government land," Choudhury alleged in a press conference. "Opposition MLAs, ex-ministers are not provided police security while visiting interior locations for political activities. When the Left Front was in power the right to perform political activities of the opposition parties were not hindered any way," he said. Choudhury said the delegation sought intervention of the chief minister, who also holds the home portfolio, so that effective administrative and political measures are taken to ensure that opposition party offices in private land could function freely. The delegation also submitted to Deb a list of 94 CPI(M) party offices built on private lands. The CM was also requested by the CPI(M) to provide security escort to opposition legislators and former ministers during their visits outside Agartala for political activities. "The chief minister assured us to take all possible steps in this regard. We shall wait for a month to watch what measures were taken in this regard," he said. Besides Chowdhury, Lok Sabha MP Jitendra Chaudhury and former ministers Manik Dey and Tapan Chakraborty were members of the delegation that called on Deb. The Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally, the IPFT, scripted history in March winning a two-thirds majority in the Tripura legislative assembly, ending the 25-year reign of the Left Front led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi BJP on Saturday attacked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his foreign visit, alleging that he has travelled to Dubai with "a hidden agenda", but the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) dismissed the charge as "outlandish". Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari tweeted about Kejriwal's trip on Friday night hitting out at him for leaving the city at a time when Delhiites were facing air pollution crisis. Questioning the motive behind the chief minister's visit, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta told reporters on Saturday that Kejriwal "suddenly" left for Dubai on November 8 by Air India flight and will be back on November 11. He alleged that the information about the visit has been "hidden" as there is something wrong. However, AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha said in a press conference that Arvind Kejriwal has gone "abroad" to attend a family function of his IIT batchmate. He denied BJP charges as outlandish. But the BJP persisted with its attack as Gupta asked, "Why is Aam Aadmi Party in denial mode about Kejriwal visit? " "The silence of Aam Aadmi Party about his trip proves that there is something wrong. It is clear that there is a hidden agenda behind this visit," the BJP leader alleged. "This trip is not being called official visit or a family trip. What is the purpose of this Dubai visit, what is the agenda, where will he be staying and whom will he meet? Why is all this information being hidden? " Gupta questioned. "It is to be noted that the contractor responsible for providing door step delivery in Delhi under AAP government scheme also lives in Dubai," he claimed. Gupta attacked the AAP government saying both Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia were out at a time when the pollution situation in Delhi is alarming. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Excessive centralisation of power in the political decision making is one of India's main problems, former RBI Governor has said, as he highlighted the recent unveiling of the 'Statue of Unity' as an example of the project that required the approval of the Prime Minister's Office. Speaking at the University of California in Berkley on Friday, Rajan said part of the problem in India was that there is an excessive centralisation of power in the political decision making. On the 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the 'Statue of Unity' in Gujarat's Narmada district on October 31. Touted to be the tallest statue in the world, the 182-metre tall statue was built at a cost of Rs 29.89 billion. The concrete and the brass-clad statue is the quickest to be completed in 33 months. Part of the problem in India is that there is an excessive centralisation of power in the political decision making, Rajan, said. "India can't work from the Center. India works when you have many people taking up the burden. And today the central government is excessively centralised," he said. Rajan said an example of this was the quantum of decisions that required the assent of the Prime Minister's Office. Nobody wants to take a decision, unless it has approval up there, which means even if the Prime Minister works 18 hours a day, a very hard-working prime minister, there is only so much time he has, Rajan said. The kind of project that gets done depends on the Prime Minister, he said. "For example, we build this massive statue, the Sardar Patel statue on time," Rajan said amidst laughter and applause from the audience. "That suggests that when there is a will there is a way. Can we find that will for everything else?" he asked. In addition to excessive centralisation, the unwillingness of the bureaucracy, including in the public sector to take initiatives, is another major problem, he said. Rajan said ever since the corruption scandals hit India, the had stepped back. Born in 1963 in Bhopal, Rajan was the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India between September 2013 and September 2016. Saturday said it will no longer require employees to resolve claims via arbitration, mirroring a move by The change of workplace rules at the world's leading social network will allow complaints of such improprieties to be aired openly in court. "Today, we are publishing our updated Workplace Relationships policy and amending our arbitration agreements to make arbitration a choice rather than a requirement in claims," corporate media relations director Anthony Harrison told AFP. " is something that we take very seriously and there is no place for it at " The Silicon Valley-based internet firm's policy about workers dating one another was also modified to require executives of director level or higher to tell the human resources department when they are dating another employee at the company. on Thursday outlined changes to its handling of sexual misconduct complaints, hoping to calm outrage that triggered a worldwide walkout of workers last week. Arbitration of harassment claims at will be optional instead of obligatory, according to chief executive Sundar Pichai, a move that could end anonymous settlements that fail to identify those accused of harassment. "Google has never required confidentiality in the arbitration process and it still may be the best path for a number of reasons (e.g. personal privacy, predictability of process), but, we recognize that the choice should be up to you," Pichai said in a memo shared with AFP. Pichai promised that Google will be more transparent with how concerns are handled, and provide better support and care to those who raise such issues with the company. A section of an internal "Investigations Report" will show numbers of substantiated sexual harassment concerns as well as trends and disciplinary actions, according to the California-based company. He also said Google is consolidating the complaint system and that the process for handling concerns will include providing support personnel and counselors. Google will update its mandatory sexual harassment training, and require it annually instead of every two years as had been the case. Five persons were killed and another was injured when their motorcycles coming from opposite directions collided in Munger district, the police said. Two bikes carrying three persons each collided killing four of them on the spot while another died on way to the hospital Friday near Rampur Maujma bridge under Sangrampur police station. While three persons riding a bike were going to a fair organised at Balia village on the occasion of Kali puja, the other three riding a two-wheeler were returning from the fair, the police said. The injured person, admitted to the Sangrampur primary health centre, is out of danger. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The foundation stone of a cancer hospital, being set up by the Jharkhand government with assistance from the Tata Trusts, was laid here on Saturday. The Ranchi Cancer Hospital and Research Center will come up within 12 to 18 months. State Chief Minister Raghubar Das and Tata Trusts Chairman Ratan Tata laid the foundation stone of the hospital. "After two years, patients will not have to go outside the state after construction of this hospital. I know the difficulty and pain of the people who have to go outside for treatment," Das said at the programme. During the state's business summit "Momentum Jharkhand, 2017", the chief minister had urged Tata for construction of a cancer hospital here. The Tatas spend 80 per cent of its profits on welfare programmes and the industry should take inspiration from the Tata house, Das said. Tata Trust Chairman Ratan N Tata said the project of this scale has not been undertaken in India and the world. "It would be our hope that in 20/30 years, we will help the government reduce the deaths caused by cancer. The road is not easy but the goal is achievable. North-East India is known for high number of cancer patients and I hope the hospital here in Ranchi will play a major role in this part of the country," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : Congress and its partners in the 'grand alliance' for the December 7 Assembly elections in Telangana Saturday held consultations on finalising seat sharing amid demands from the CPI to increase its share. The 'grand alliance' comprises Congress, TDP, CPI and Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS). CPI, which had expressed dissatisfaction over being offered three seats by the Congress, said it is hopeful that its demand for an increase in the share would be considered. "It was we (CPI) who formed the alliance. Alliance will be there. We will definitely be successful in seat adjustments. We will go ahead with optimism," CPI State secretary Chada Venkat Reddy told reporters here. Expressing dissatisfaction over the Congress 'unilaterally' announcing that it would give three seats to CPI, the Left party Friday said it has decided to contest five seats. TDP's Telangana unit president L Ramana said the alliance partners intend to move ahead in a planned manner, including preparing a road map, in the days to come. The first list of Congress candidates for the polls would be released on November 10, AICC in-charge of party affairs in Telangana R C Khuntia had said. However, the move has been deferred as the talks remained inconclusive. Congress had said that it has decided to leave 25 seats -- 14 to Telugu Desam Party, eight to Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) and three to CPI. Khuntia had said the party has cleared 74 names. There are 119 Assembly segments. The gazette notification for the polls would be issued on November 12 and the last date of nominations is November 19, according to the schedule released by the Election Commission. The supporters of some aspirants for Congress tickets staged a sit-in Saturday at Gandhi Bhavan, the State Congress headquarters,demanding that their leaders be given tickets. The TRS, which had announced candidates for 105 seats on September 6 when the Assembly was dissolved, is on a hectic campaign. TRS leader and minister in the caretaker government K T Rama Rao attacked the Congress-TDP alliance, alleging that TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu had been critical of the Congress and its former president Sonia Gandhi earlier. TRS president and caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao would distribute the 'B forms' (authorised forms for candidature) to the party nominees on Sunday, party sources said. He would also meet party activists from his constituency of Gajwel near here, they said. Meanwhile, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer said in a press release that the Election Commission has issued an order banning conduct of exit polls and the publication of its results in Telangana from 7 AM on November 12 to 5.30 PM on December 7. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) and its sister airline Cebgo on Saturday announced the cancellation of at least 90 domestic flights in Manila scheduled from Nov. 15 to 20 to give way for the improvement of the Ninoy Aquino International Airports navigational system. In its Nov. 10 advisory, the CEB management stated that this is to remind passengers on the following Cebu Pacific and Cebgo flights that these have been canceled in line with the governments call for a reduction in flights to give way for the transition to the Communications, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) system. Among those canceled are flights to and from Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Butuan, Cotabato, Dumaguete, General Santos, Iloilo, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Naga, Tuguegarao, and Zamboanga. The domestic flights in Zamboanga to and from Tawi-Tawi and Davao scheduled on Nov. 19 were also suspended. These cancellations are a necessary as a precaution during the integration of a new system that will improve navigation and air traffic management within Philippine airspace, CEB management said. Legacy carrier Philippine Airlines is also suspending more than 120 flights. At least 60 domestic flights and 68 international flights will be affected by the PAL cancellation. Among the domestic PAL flights affected are to and from Bacolod, Iloilo, Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro, Dipolog, Tacloban, Puerto Princesa, Laoag, Kalibo, Tagbilaran, Davao, Cotabato and General Santos.The international flights affected are to and from Hong Kong, Dubai, Pudong, Narita, Singapore, Dammam, Bangkok, Jakarta, Riyadh, Melbourne, Fukuoka, Denpasar, Doha and Xiamen. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said the airlines made the suspension in response to the governments call to reduce the number of flights. The flight reduction has been coordinated amongst Philippine-based airlines and the Airport Coordination Australia [ACA]. It is the airlines discretion as to which flights to cancel, said CAAP spokesman Eric Apolonio. NAIA, the countrys premier gateway, currently caters to 40 flights each hour. With the reduction of flights, at least four arrival flights will be canceled per hour. Apolonio said the reduction of flights was decided as a safety measure as the old Manila ACC radar, which has a limited capacity, undergoes a transition phase to the CNS/ATM system, which can cover the whole country. The CNS/ATM system is expected to enhance the safety and efficiency of air traffic and airspace management in the country. Over 27,000 people Saturday visited the Statue of Unity in Gujarat's Narmada district, the highest since the Sardar Patel memorial was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31 and opened to the public on November 1. The statue, built on an islet near the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Kevadiya, at 182 metres is the tallest such structure in the world. With the capacity of the high-speed lift which takes tourists to the viewing gallery inside the statue being 5,000 persons per day, the state government asked people to plan their trip to the memorial keeping this aspect in mind. The viewers gallery inside the statue is at a height of 135 metres and can accommodate up to 200 persons at one time. Narmada district Collector R S Ninama, while confirming that 27,000 tourists visited Saturday, said the administration was expecting the figure to go further up Sunday. He told PTI the high number of tourists was because of Diwali vacations and the Gujarati New Year holiday. Ninama said the number of feeder buses ferrying visitors from the parking lot to the statue had been increased to 40 from 15 for Sunday. In a statement, the state government appealed to the visitors "to plan their trip keeping in mind the timing as well as the capacity of the infrastructure at the Statue of Unity." The government statement also informed visitors that the memorial remains closed every Monday for maintenance. "The two lifts at the Statue of Unity can carry up to 5,000 people in a day to the observation deck (viewing gallery). Therefore, all visitors are requested to plan their visits keeping in mind the timings as well as the capacity of the infrastructure," the statement said. "It is a request to the people of Gujarat to plan their visits in a way that there is no overcrowding and no one comes back disappointed from the Statue of Unity visit," it added. Apart from the statue, people can go to the Visitors Centre, souvenir shop, exhibition hall, viewing gallery among other attractions. The entry ticket for the statue and viewing gallery is Rs 350 for adults and Rs 200 for children in the 3-15 age group. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Madras High Court has issued a notice to the Centre and Union territory of Puducherry on a public interest litigation (PIL), challenging the appointment of IAS officer G Theva Neethi Dhas as OSD to Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi. A division bench comprising Justices M Sathyanarayanan and P Rajamanickam passed the interim order, returnable by December 7, on the PIL filed by P Saravanan. The petitioner submitted that Bedi had sent a proposal to the Centre on April 17, recommending the appointment of Dhas as her advisor. However, the government in its reply said he cannot be appointed as an advisor, but may be considered for assignment on a consultancy basis for a fixed tenure. The petitioner claimed that Chief Minister V Narayanasamy had written to Bedi on June 29 to name the successor of Dhas, a day before he was to retire. However, it later came to light that the Confidential and Cabinet Department had on June 26 itself had issued a letter of proposal pursuant to which Dhas was appointed as officer on special duty (OSD) for a period of two years from July 1, 2018 at a contractual fee of Rs 1,16,737 per month, he submitted. The copy of the proposal and consequent appointment was also sent to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), he said. Alleging that the appointment made without the consent and approval of the chief minister was illegal and arbitrary, the petitioner moved the court to quash the appointment. The procedure for appointment of retired government officials as consultants shall be on submission of a proposal before the Consultancy Evaluation Committee consisting of department officials concerned, but in this case, the procedure was violated, he contended. Moreover, there was no such post as officer on special duty to Lieutenant Governor, he added. On October 8, the court had sought affidavits from three top Puducherry officials on Saravanan's claim of having obtained confidential reports through RTI, using which he challenged the appointment of Dhas as OSD to Bedi. Saravanan had filed confidential reports and documents in the form of typed set of papers, claiming that he had obtained them through the Right to Information (RTI) Act. He alleged that the appointment of Dhas, who had retired as secretary to the Lt governor, had been made in violation of rules and keeping the chief minister in the dark and was a colourable exercise of power by Bedi. The court had observed how confidential documents, reports and demi-official letters such as file notings with the signatures of the chief secretary and other officials had been obtained. It had directed the Puducherry chief secretary, principal finance secretary and the secretary to the Confidential and Cabinet Department to file separate affidavits setting forth the details whether any application was made under RTI by the petitioner for the reports and documents. The petitioner had also submitted that when quite a number of officers senior to Dhas had been waiting to get such a post, his appointment as OSD was "illegal, incorrect, biased and violative of the principles of natural justice. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A hijack scare on a Kandahar-bound flight sent security officials at the Delhi airport into tizzy on Saturday after the pilot "mistakenly" pressed the 'hijack button' when it was taxiing for take-off, sources said. The Ariana Afghan Airlines plane took off nearly two hours later after "satisfactory" security checks, they said. While there was no immediate official reaction, the sources said the pressing of hijack button had pushed all agencies concerned, including the anti-terror force National Security Guard (NSG), into action. NSG commandos and officials of other agencies swiftly responded to the situation and surrounded the aircraft, they said. After a two-hour operation that created panic among passengers on board the aircraft, the plane was cleared for take-off, the sources said. The Delhi-Kandahar FG312 flight was scheduled to depart at 3.30 pm. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prominentt religious guru and BJP leader Swami Paripoornananda, who is described as the "Yogi Adityanath of Telangana" by his supporters, says he is just one of the many admirers of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. Paripoornananda, who was in the earlier this year after being externed from Hyderabad for allegedly making provocative speeches, had recently joined the BJP in the presence of its president Amit Shah and general secretary Ram Madhav. Asked about being described as the 'Yogi Adityanath of Telangana,' he said, "I could see his (UP CM) maturity, his way of dealing things, his presentation. He is widely accepted across the nation. Many NRIs, they just follow him, they admire him. I am one of his admirers," he said. b He said Shah had told him to focus on Telangana and to convey to people that BJP, has in no way, tied up with TRS. "Amit Shah's message for me is to really focus on Telangana and issues in Telangana and convey to people that in no way BJP is tied up with Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), directly or indirectly. "If at all, TRS head KCR (K Chandrasekhar Rao) wants to have a tie-up, let him have a tie-up with Prime Minister. Because, he (KCR) is chief minister of a state and he should have contact with prime minister. If he wants. That should be the only relation," he told PTI in an interview here. "The TRS is sending wrong signals to the society by joining hands with the city-based AIMIM," he said. The religious guru, who has been engaged in public service for about two decades now, said he would focus on working for the party and not seek any post for himself. "I am a common man. If you ask me the definition of a CM, I am a common man. Before elections, and after elections. If you say, it is a Chief Minister post,.. that has to be decided by the party. The party has to decide," he said. He said this when asked whether he would be a Chief Ministerial candidate for the BJP in Telangana. "If the party feels so, I will say I am a 'Karma Yogi'. I work for a party. I am not working for a 'kursi' (chair)," he said. "Amit Shah and Ram Madhav are the best people to decide what is good for me," he said. He also said what is good for him is not important, that what is good for the country, state and party is. He said the party would decide if he should contest the elections. He said he was ready to contest if the party feels that by his contesting, it would give better results. Asked about his alleged provocative speech, he said: "If anybody can prove that I have said something provocative, they don't need to ask me to go out, I myself will get out of the state." Paripoornananda, who was externed from Hyderabad for allegedly making provocative speeches and later got relief from the court, said he would never hurt the religious sentiments of others. He asked why the TRS government did not extern AMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi when he had allegedly made a provocative speech. Paripoornananda said he would campaign in the elections on the alleged failures of the TRS government to implement its promises, including two-bedroom houses for the poor and three acres of land for scheduled caste people. He wanted to know why Telangana has not implemented the 'Ayushman Bharat' health scheme introduced by the central government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Haryana MP Dushyant Chautala Saturday refused to accept his expulsion and that of his brother Digvijay Chautala from the INLD, claiming that the party's national executive had not met and no sack order issued by president Om Prakash Chautala. Amid a widening rift in the Chautala family, Dushyant Chautala said only the Indian National Lok Dal's national executive or a committee headed by the party president could take action against him. But he claimed the working committee meeting called by his father Ajay Singh Chautala on November 17 in Jind could suspend or expel any leader. Definitely, if the committee unanimously takes action against anyone. It is supreme, he said, answering a question at his first press conference here after the crisis. The young Chautala claimed he heard about his expulsion only through the media. On November 2, an INLD press release quoting their grandfather Om Prakash Chautala had announced the expulsion of the two brothers following an inquiry which found them guilty of indiscipline. Both are the sons of Ajay Chautala, who is pitted against his younger brother Abhay Chautala in the power struggle. The two leaders were suspended after their supporters allegedly shouted slogans at an INLD rally in Gohana, appearing to target Abhay Chautala. I do not believe that the decision on the suspension and expulsion was taken by Chautala sahib (Om Prakash Chautala), Dushyant Chautala said. Neither the suspension letter bore his signature, nor have I received my expulsion letter till now. As far as I know, there was no such letter signed by the national president, he added. I do not accept that I am not in the INLD. Until I get a letter signed by the national president, I will not accept that I have been expelled, said the Hisar MP. Chautala claimed that under the INLD constitution, the INLD state executive was not empowered to expel him. If any action can be taken against me, it is by the combined meeting of party's national executive or a committee under the leadership of the national president. Till now, no such process has been followed, he said. Chautala sahib is the head of the family and the party chief, and if he issues orders in writing I will not challenge them and accept them as his blessings, he said. He was accompanied by several INLD leaders including MLAs Anoop Dhanak and Pirthi Singh at the press conference. Dushyant Chautala said the report of the disciplinary committee, which earlier suspended him and his brother, was also prepared behind closed doors. He said the INLD's committed workers will not tolerate it if some people try to break or capture the party. The party did not belong to one person, but to each soldier of the INLD who had toiled to strengthen it, the MP said. Om Prakash Chautala and son Ajay Chautala are serving a 10-year-sentence for a recruitment scam. Ajay Chautala is currently on a two-week parole. Dushyant Chautala said after his father was sentenced in 2013, he, his brother and his mother had been taking the ideology of INLD founder Devi Lal forward. But some people are trying to throw us out of the party, he said, without taking names. He said the slogans raised by party's youth activists at the Gohana rally were wrongly considered hooliganism. It was the enthusiasm and emotions of the youth activists. But some people did not like their emotions, he said. He said he was the only person raising slogans in favour of Leader of Opposition, a reference to his uncle Abhay Chautala. Dushyant Chautala suggested that he and his brother were ignored in the organisation of the Gohana rally. There have been consistent efforts to keep us away from organisational activities, he said. People who were working with Ajay Chautala were consistently humiliated at party meetings. It has been happening for over the last four years. He made another veiled attack on Abhay Chautala, suggesting he was not doing enough as Leader of Opposition in the state assembly. Being an MP, I raised important issues on the floor of the House in Parliament. But it is saddening to note that state-related issues like student elections which we raised through the media were not taken up in the Vidhan Sabha. Asked whether former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal had tried resolve the family feud, Chautala said, He is the tallest leader and he has guided us in tough and happy times. I, Digvijay and my father talked to Badal Sahib on the day after Diwali to seek his blessings, he said. Meanwhile, Ajay Chautala held a meeting of his supporters in Delhi on Saturday. "Abhay is dear to me and I will placate him," he reportedly said there. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A two-month-old boy died allegedly after he was administered an injection by a quack here, police said on Saturday. The parents of the boy had taken him to a clinic in Kitadih locality after he had fallen sick on Friday. After check-up, the alleged quack administered an injection to the baby, following which he turned non-responsive. The couple then rushed the boy to government-run M G M Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead, police said. When doctors at the hospital enquired about the injection administered at the clinic, the couple said no prescription was given to them by the quack. The accused has fled and efforts are on to arrest him, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Scores of Kashmiri migrant pandit youths Saturday staged a demonstration outside Raj Bhavan here against the "delay" in releasing the final list of candidates selected under Prime Minister's special employment package some months back. The protesters, carrying banners and placards, assembled outside Raj Bhavan and staged the sit-in, seeking intervention of the Governor Satya Pal Malik in releasing the final list of candidates selected under Prime Minister's special employment package by J&K services selection board (SSB). The protesters shouted slogans like we want justice and save our future. The delay in releasing the list is tantamount to grave injustice with over 1100 candidates who have passed the examination in April and completed all formalities by July," claimed Vijay Koul Budgami, one of the protesters. We have been running from pillar to post for the last two months to know the reason for the delay but failed, forcing us to stage the sit-in outside the governor's house to seek his intervention, he added. Over 1600 posts were advertised by the SSB under the PM's special employment package for Kashmiri migrants in November last year. The government extended the benefits of the package to non-migrant pandits by amending J&K Migrants (Special Drive) Recruitment Rules, 2009, making 561 non-migrant unemployed Kashmiri Pandits eligible for the government jobs in response to high court directive after a Kashmiri pandit organisation in the valley moved the court and pleaded for the community aspirants to be allowed to apply for the posts notified under the scheme. The Sikh community also moved the high court and demanded extension of the package to the community as well under the new government order following which the court, in an ad interim order, had said subject to objections and till next date of hearing, no appointment shall be finalized and made. It clearly stated that the order is interlocutory and is limited by time as well valid till next date of hearing only which was February 12, 2018. No orders were passed on the given date and therefore there is no order in force to stop even finalizing of final appointment list, Budgami said. He said the selected migrant youths are in great distress as after leaving their private jobs outside the state in the hope of serving their motherland are idle for over a year now. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Saturday called upon businessmen to invest in the State to generate more employment opportunities and be a part of its economic development. The State government would extend all assistance to the investors to set up their establishments, he said while inaugurating Lulu Cyber Tower at Infopark here. With the opening of the tower, more than 11,000 additional employment opportunities would be created and the total capacity of Infopark would also be enhanced, Vijayan said. Constructed at a cost of Rs 400 crore, Lulu Cyber Tower is the second major investment by the Lulu group in the IT sector, the company said in a release here. UAE consul general to South India Jamal Hussain Al Zaabi and chairman of Lulu group Yusuff Ali MA were among those present on the occasion, the release said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Supporters of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party of Union minister Upendra Kushwaha took out an "aakrosh march" in Patna on Saturday to protest a statement by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar which, they claimed, denigrated the RLSP chief. The march started from Gandhi Maidan and was to reach Raj Bhavan, but police stopped it at Dak Bungalow Road crossing, about 2 km from its intended destination, leading to a skirmish in which people from both the sides were stated to have been injured. The protesters wanted to submit a memorandum to the Bihar governor against the alleged "neech" remark made by Kumar. The march was organised a day after Kushwaha made it clear that the RLSP had a tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party and not the Janata Dal (United), constituents of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar. Kushwaha has reportedly been peeved after the BJP and the JD(U) decided to contest an equal number of seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election in the state. The state sends 40 members to Parliament and after the BJP-JD(U) deal, there is a speculation that this would mean fewer seats for other allies like RLSP and Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). The "aakrosh march" was taken out by "Samast Kushwaha Samaj", an organisation floated by RLSP parliamentary board chairman J P Verma, which claims to represent the interest of Koeri caste to which the Union minister of state for human resource development, belongs. The protesters carried posters accusing Kumar of having called the RLSP chief "neech" (lowly) and raising slogans demanding public apology from the chief minister. At a conclave organised by a private channel last week, Kumar also the JD(U) president had refused to join issue with Kushwaha over seat-sharing between NDA partners in Bihar, saying "Itna neeche baat ko nahi le jaiye (do not take the debate to such a low level." Kushwaha appears to have picked up the word "neeche" from the statement and took it as an insult to himself as the RLSP chief was the topic of discussion. He alleged that the remark was tantamount to calling him a lowly person. On Friday, he also resented that he is being expected to make a "sacrifice" in seat-sharing arrangement, pointing out that after Kumar's return to the NDA last year, the RLSP was the only coalition partner which did not get a ministerial berth in the new government in Bihar. Asked whether a ministerial offer now would assuage him, he said, "Our party does not like stale food". Following the skirmish during the march Saturday, police sources said several personnel of the department were injured. RLSP leaders too claimed their six supporters were injured in the lathi charge by police. Kushwaha tweeted, "The lathi charge is distressing, shameful and shocking. Bihar police honours criminals but breaks skulls of agitators. My sympathies towards those injured in the barbaric lathi charge". The opposition Grand Alliance, which has been wooing Kushwaha for some time, also condemned the lathi charge. RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tiwary and Hindustani Awam Morcha spokesman Danish Rizwan came out with statements condemning the lathi charge on RLSP supporters and demanded an apology from the chief minister for making a statement that had "hurt" Kushwaha. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron sought Saturday to ease tensions caused by a defence row that risked clouding World War I centenary commemorations in Paris. Trump was one of dozens of world leaders taking part in events to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the war. On Saturday, he and his wife Melania cancelled a trip to Belleau Wood battlefield and cemetery in northern France, citing "scheduling and logistical difficulties" caused by the rainy weather. Coming on the eve of Veteran's Day in the United States, the decision drew criticism on social media, where many noted that the rain had not stopped Macron, Germany's Angela Merkel or Canada's Justin Trudeau from paying their respects to the dead. "They died with their face to the foe and that pathetic inadequate @realDonaldTrump couldn't even defy the weather to pay his respects to The Fallen," Nicholas Soames, a British Conservative member of parliament and grandson of Winston Churchill tweeted. Ceremonies have been held across the world this week in honour of the 18 million soldiers and civilians who perished in World War I. In one of the high points, Macron and Chancellor Merkel on Saturday unveiled a plaque to the Franco-German reconciliation in the forest clearing in northeast France where the armistice ending the conflict was signed. Macron, a centrist advocate of open borders and multilateralism, has repeatedly invoked the war in recent weeks to hammer home his message that rising nationalism is again destabilising the world. He will host Trump, Merkel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, among others, for dinner at Orsay Museum on Sunday evening. On Sunday morning, they will be joined by President Vladimir Putin of Russia for the main ceremony at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris, which will draw in 70 world leaders. On Saturday, Macron and Trump downplayed their divisions after a tumultuous start to the weekend, which saw Trump fire off a tweet slamming Macron's proposals for a European army just as his plane was touching down in Paris. The spat was the latest between Trump and Macron, who struck up a warm relationship initially but have clashed over a growing list of issues, including Trump's decision to pull the US out of the 2015 Paris climate accord and the Iran nuclear deal. "President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia," the US president tweeted, referring to remarks made by Macron in an interview three days earlier. "Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidizes greatly!" he added. In the interview, Macron had cited Trump's plans to pull the US out of a Cold War-era nuclear treaty and said a joint European Union force was needed to end Europe's reliance on US military might. "We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States," he said, listing various threats including cyberattacks. During talks later at the Elysee Palace Macron said his call for greater European autonomy on defence was not intended as a snub towards the US and backed Trump's calls for EU members to boost their defence spending. "We need a much better burden-sharing within NATO," he said, patting his counterpart's knee affectionately. Trump described himself and Macron as "very good friends" and expressed support for "a strong Europe". The US leader has however ducked out of a peace conference Sunday in Paris, which Macron and Merkel intend to use as a platform for promoting multilateralism. The WWI commemorations come at a watershed moment for the liberal post-war order, with anti-immigration populists at the helm in the US and Brazil, sharing power in Italy, and making strong gains in Germany, where Merkel has announced her resignation in 2021 after a series of electoral setbacks. On Saturday, she visited the site of Germany's capitulation at the end of the World War I, the first German leader to do in 78 years. The forest in Compiegne is doubly symbolic as Adolf Hitler chose the same train carriage in the same clearing to sign the surrender of the French on June 22, 1940 at the start of World War II. Macron, sporting a cornflower in his lapel -- the French equivalent to Britain's remembrance poppy -- and Merkel reviewed grey-clad soldiers from the Franco-German brigade, before unveiling a plaque to Franco-German reconciliation. They also visited a replica of the carriage which was destroyed during World War II. The visit underscored the close ties between two countries that fought three wars between 1870 and 1945 but are now seen as the lynchpins of peace in Western Europe. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Social media campaigner Inday Espina-Varona READ: Duterte prefers mediaman as spokesman The BJP and its ally Shiv Sena Saturday sparred over a committee formed by the Maharashtra government to probe the killing of tigress Avni after Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray called the panel a "farce". The big cat, officially known as T1, was shot dead in an operation in a forest in Yavatmal district on November 2, leading to outrage among animal lovers and wildlife organisations who accused the state government of violating norms. The state government Friday constituted a four-member committee, comprising wildlife experts and officials, for an "in-depth" probe into the killing of the tigress. Senior BJP leader and state Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said the state government is willing to form another panel under Thackeray's leadership, if he so desires. The committee is headed by Principal Chief Conservator of Forest S H Patil and includes Wildlife Institute of India member Habib Bilal, Wildlife Conservation Trust chairman Anish Andheriya and Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Nitin Kakodkar. It will probe if established protocols and standard operating procedures were followed in the case and submit a report to the government. In a statement issued here Saturday, Thackeray demanded that a panel be formed under a retired judge to probe Avni's killing. "Those who had given 'supari' (contract) to kill the tigress have been made members of the (probe) committee. The committee is a farce," Thackeray alleged. Taking a swipe at senior ally BJP, Thackeray said if Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis backed state Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar saying he could not be held responsible for the killing, why did Prime Minister Narendra Modi take credit for the surgical strike conducted in September 2016 to destroy terror camps, when the PM had not conducted it himself. However, Mungantiwar said if Thackeray felt the committee is a "farce", then the state government is willing to form another panel under the Sena chief's leadership. "Uddhav ji is an important figure in the BJP-Sena alliance. If he does not want to head a committee under him, he should realise I have already asked the chief minister to appoint a committee under retired Supreme Court judges," Mungantiwar said. "Lowest level of politics is unnecessarily being played over the issue," the forest minister added. Reacting to Mungantiwar's comments, Sena MLC and spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said she has requested Chief Minister Fadnavis to constitute a committee under the chairmanship of Thackeray as the Sena chief has "in-depth" knowledge of tigers and forests. "If a committee is appointed under him, he will bring the truth out. However, the decision has to be taken by the chief minister and not Sudhir Mungantiwar, who is himself in the dock over allegations against him," Gorhe said. Earlier, Union minister Maneka Gandhi had lashed out at the state government over Avni's killing and dubbed it a "ghastly murder". Avni was the mother of two 10-month-old cubs. The Maharashtra government, however, defended the killing, calling the incident "sad" but necessary after the tigress had attacked forest staff trying to tranquilise it. The opposition NCP also dubbed the inquiry an "eyewash". Asked about the opposition's criticism, Mungantiwar had said he had written to Gandhi, asking for an independent probe by Supreme Court judges into the killing of Avni. "This inquiry (by SC judges) will happen when it has to happen, but the state government has to probe the issue at the earliest," he had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Shiv Sena Saturday claimed to have distributed food grains and household items to 5,000 families of farmers affected by drought in Maharashtra. A statement issued by the Sena here said farmers in Marathwada and Vidarbha are having to grapple with severe drought conditions during Diwali. "Thus, the Sena is lending a helping hand to 5,000 families of farmers in Amravati, Buldhana, Parbhani, Aurangabad, Akola, Hingoli, Jalna, Beed, Latur, Washim, Nanded, Osmanabad and Yavatmal," it said. As part of its programme, the Sena has distributed 15 kgs wheat and rice, 5 litres edible oil, 5 kgs sugar, 3 kgs dal, 2 kgs rawa and maida, soaps and other household items to them in Diwali, the statement said. On October 31, the state government declared drought in 151 talukas across 26 districts. Of these, 112 are facing "severe drought" and 39 "medium drought". The state comprises 355 talukas, of which 182 were declared "drought-prone" on October 24. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man was injured in the leg after four unidentified persons fired indiscriminately in the early hours of Friday in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said. Prashant Kanthe (25) was on his way home after shutting his shop for the day when the incident happened, an official said. "The incident happened near Shubhamvastu residential complex on the Mumbai-Agra Highway. He is being treated at a local hospital," the Vashind police station official said. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the IPC and the Arms Act against four unidentified persons and efforts were on to nab them, he said. He said police were probing if Kanthe was the intended target of the persons who fired the shots. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A retired Army Captain was arrested Saturday for allegedly duping people of several lakh rupees on the pretext of giving them jobs at a Navy canteen, a senior Crime Branch official said. The scam came to light Saturday morning when six of these job aspirants approached the Defence Audit Controller's office in south Mumbai with "appointment letters" as canteen attendants, the official said. "The candidates had received these letters from Delhi, On verification, they were found to be fake, following which an inquiry was initiated," he said. The six persons told police that they were students of Sarasvati Defence Academy in Andhra Pradesh's Vishakhapatnam city, he said. "The academy is run by retired Captain Imendri Shailendranath Trinetra (49). The six persons said they had paid Rs 6 lakh each to Trinetra to get jobs as canteen attendants," the official said. "Trinetra, who was in Mumbai, was called for questioning. We found that Trinetra made false promises to the aspirants and also managed to get them undergo a medical test at a local hospital there," said Dilip Sawant, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection), Mumbai. He said Trinetra sent the candidates fake appointment letters from New Delhi. Police said a case was registered on a complaint made by the office of the Chief Defence Audit Controller, following which the accused was arrested. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hitting out at the Maharashtra government over the killing of tigress Avni, Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam Saturday accused Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar of having links with the international poaching mafia, following which the BJP leader said he would file a defamation case. Mungantiwar has been facing flak from opposition parties in the state over the killing of the tigress in Yavatmal district on November 2. Officially called T1, the big cat had allegedly killed 13 people in the district's Pandharkawda area in the last two years. It was shot dead by a marksman hired by the state government. Demanding the minister be sacked from the Cabinet immediately, Nirupam said tigers are "unsafe" in Maharashtra as long as Mungantiwar is in-charge of the forest department. The Congress leader said a CBI probe should be instituted against the forest minister over the death of tigers in the state in the last four years. "Sudhir Mungantiwar resumed office as the forest minister in the year 2014. Since then, 14, 16 and 21 tigers have died in the years 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively, in Maharashtra. "The number of tiger deaths (in Maharashtra) in the year 2017 was second highest in the country after Madhya Pradesh. India's biggest tiger Jay has been missing too," Nirupam said at a press conference here. "Does this bitter reality sound normal to Sudhir Mungantiwar? It is highly possible that Mungantiwar could be in nexus with international poaching mafias. It is clear that our national animal isn't safe under Mungantiwar's rule," the Congress leader said. Nirupam alleged that despite the National Tiger Conservation Authority's rule of having a surveillance system in every tiger reserve in the country, Mungantiwar has conveniently refrained from doing so in Maharashtra. "States with tiger reserves have installed surveillance systems, except Maharashtra. When a surveillance system was installed on a pilot basis in a tiger reserve in Chandrapur district, Mungantiwar admitted it helped in tracking the location of tigers and poaching activities. "Is this why he hasn't installed it (such a system) in Maharashtra so that the poaching mafia could continue to kill tigers for huge monetary benefits?" he asked. Mungantiwar said he would file a defamation case against Nirupam for making wild allegations. "This is nothing but low-level politics. He has lowered the standards of politics by making baseless allegations. I will file a defamation case against him in Chandrapur district," the BJP minister said. The BJP-led government in the state has come under fire over the killing of the tigress. She left behind two 10-month-old cubs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In an apparent dig at the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday some people were only capable of criticising the government's action, but lacked the ability to accomplish a single thing on their own. Speaking at the inauguration of the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival, Banerjee said the KIFF was setting new standards with the people's participation and urged the people to rise above barriers, stay united and to believe in unity "which is our core strength". "Some people only keep criticising our deeds. I tell them either do things if you can or leave the field. Some people only talk negatively about festivals. My question to them is why shouldn't there be festivals in our lives?" the chief minister said, without naming the Bharatiya Janata Party. Opposition parties, especially the BJP, have been criticising Banerjee for her government's support to festivals, including the Durga Puja carnival and donations to puja committees, at a time there were "no investments and employment opportunities" in the state. "Do you want to see people cry only? Do you have an issue if people smile?" she asked, asserting that despite the criticism by some people, her government would keep backing festivals -- from Durga Puja to Christmas, and now the film festival. "We will support organising every festival with equal enthusiasm. Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Diwali had just been celebrated across Bengal with enthusiasm. Chhath Puja, Jagadhatri Puja and Christmas are coming, and will be celebrated with equal enthusiasm by the people of the state," Banerjee told the 20,000-strong audience at Netaji Indoor Stadium here. "Festivals bring light and hope in the lives of people and 2019 will be happier," the Trinamool Congress chief said. Referring to the erstwhile Left Front government in the state, Banerjee said: "The status of the KIFF was on a downslide before we (TMC) came to power (in 2011). And we restored the lost glory." Recalling that the KIFF inaugural ceremony was formerly being held at state-run Nandan auditorium, Banerjee said some people had raised doubts when the venue was shifted to the present location. "Now, 20,000 people assemble at the Netaji Indoor Stadium for the KIFF inaugural ceremony every year and watch the inaugural film." "We showed things can be done if you want to," she said, adding that the inauguration of the 25th KIFF next year might take place at the Salt Lake stadium to accommodate over a lakh people. Turning to the dignitaries on the podium, including Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, she said, "We will seek guidance from Amit ji and Shah Rukh about how to hold the 25th edition of the KIFF in a grander way by including common people." Waheeda Rehman, Mahesh Bhatt, Nandita Das, celebrated Iranian director Majid Majidi and several Australian filmmakers were present at the inauguration ceremony. Australia is the focus country at the KIFF this year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hours before the inauguration of the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival on Saturday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a tweet, welcomed cinema lovers to the eight-day extravaganza - the theme country for which has been selected as Australia this year. More than 300 films, including shorts and documentaries, will be screened in 16 theatres across the city and Howrah over the next week. A film directory chronicling the major films made during the period of 1917-2017 will be published at the fest to mark 100 years of Bengali cinema. Fourteen timeless Bengali classics have also been selected by the jury for screening at the eight-day event. "I welcome cine-lovers from across the world to come to the 'City of Joy' to experience world cinema. The special attraction at #KIFF2018 this year is 100 years of Bengali cinema. The theme country is Australia. 170 (feature) films will be screened this year," the CM tweeted. Banerjee, who will preside over the inauguration ceremony on Saturday, also welcomed dignitaries and film stars to the fest, including megastar Amitabh Bachchan. "Welcome to #Kolkata@SrBachchan Ji, @iamsrk, Jaya Di, Waheeda Rehman Ji, @MaheshNBhatt Ji, Majid Majidi, Phillip Noyce, Jil Bilcock, Simon Baker & every dignitary. Looking forward to a memorable evening with you at #KIFF2018 inaugural ceremony," she added. Bachchan will inaugurate the festival at Netaji Indoor Stadium here, while celebrated Iranian director Majid Majidi and Australian filmmakers Philip Noyce, Jill Bilcock and Simon Baker have been invited as guests of honour. Actors Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Jaya Bachchan, Wahida Rehman and Nandita Das will form part of the Bollywood brigade that is set to grace the inaugural programme here. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A married woman allegedly chopped off the genital of a man with whom she had an extra-marital affair at a village in Keonjhar district, the police said. The incident occurred in the house of the woman at Badauagaan village Wednesday night, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) James Toppo said. The 24-year-old woman was arrested Friday following a complaint filed by family members of the man identified as Rajendra Nayak (25), who is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Cuttack, he said. Police recovered a sharp weapon used in the crime after the woman, Kamla Patra, admitted to have committed the crime following a quarrel. Nayak, who belongs to Jharabeda village, worked in a private company in Chennai and was in relationship with the married woman. He used to visit Kamla's house whenever he would come from Chennai. Nayak came from Chennai on Tuesday and the next day went to Kamalas house where both had an argument over his remarks about her. Angry over Nayak's remarks, she chopped off his genital with a sharp weapon when he was asleep, police said quoting the woman's statement. Nayak, who sustained serious injuries, was rushed to Harichandanpur Hospital and then shifted to Keonjhar district headquarters hospital here. He was subsequently shifted to a hospital in Cuttack. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man was arrested for posing as a Maoist and allegedly extorting money from people in West Singhbhum district, police said Saturday. ' The man was arrested from Porahat village on Thursday, allegedly for demanding money from a school teacher by pretending to be a member of the CPI (Maoists), the police said. The man also allegedly threatened the teacher with dire consequences in case he failed to meet his demand, a senior police officer said. Police has arrested Varun Mahato alias Dukhu Mahato, a resident of Porahat village under the jurisdiction of Sonua police station, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of West Singhbhum district, G Krathi Kumar, said. Mahato had threatened to kill an assistant teacher of a school at Khariamati village in case he failed to give Rs 25 lakh to Mahato, the SP said. Mahato had also pasted a poster on a wall of the teacher's house on October 8. He had asked the teacher to cough up Rs 12 lakh then, the police said. Mahato had also threatened to blow up the teacher's house, the SP said. The SP also said that Mahato has been engaged in such activities for the last 3 to 4 years and during investigation the police discovered that Mahato had built a house by spending Rs 15 lakh from the money he had extorted from other people. A police team was working hard to apprehend the culprit after the teacher lodged a complaint with the police. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 21-year-old man was beaten to death by villagers in West Singhbhum district after he allegedly raped his 9-year-old niece, police said on Saturday. Taluka Purty, the victim's paternal uncle, raped her in one room of the house on Friday night at Karlajori village under Muffassil police station area. The girl's grand-mother was in another room when the incident happened, police said. The villagers reached the spot on hearing the scream of the victim, caught hold of the accused and beat him up. Purty was later taken to a hospital in Chaibasa where he succumbed to his injuries on Saturday afternoon, police said. The girl was sent for medical examination. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The final quarter of 2021 is on its way and theres so much positivity about the rapid growth of the... New YorkFormer Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfein met with a man at the center of the 1MDB corruption scandal involving former Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak, a person close to the matter confirmed to Agence France-Presse. The US Justice Department charged three people in the case last week, two of them former Goldman bankers, and said a high-ranking executive of the bank was present at a November 2009 meeting with Low Taek Jho -- an alleged mastermind and intermediary to the Malaysian fund. The source, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed news reports that Blankfein, who stepped down as CEO last month after 12 years, is the executive named in the court documents. A Goldman Sachs spokesman declined an AFP request for comment. The source told AFP that Blankfein and Low attended a meeting in November 2009 hosted by Najib at his hotel in New York while visiting the United States. The private reception, which was described as an outreach effort, was held a few weeks after Najib created Malaysian public investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to modernize Malaysia. That meeting laid the foundation for a commercial relationship between the prestigious investment bank and Kuala Lumpur, the source said. The United States charged Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, with working with two former Goldman bankers Tim Leissner and Ng Chong Hwato launder billions of dollars allegedly skimmed from 1MDB. Low remains at large. Leissner and Ng are charged with conspiring to launder billions of dollars from the sovereign wealth fund and for conspiring to bribe officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi to hire Goldman for lucrative consulting contracts.US authorities said the scam allowed the men to divert $2.7 billion from 1MDB in the form of commissions on three bond issues in 2012 and 2013, underwritten by Goldman Sachs. Goldman earned $600 million in commissions as a result. However, Blankfein did not know Low and did not know he would attend the November 2009 meeting, which also was attended by other Goldman Sachs bankers and Najibs entourage, according to the source. The discussion covered a broad range of topics. Another source told AFP that Blankfein also was scheduled to meet Low at a conference in New York on September 25, 2013 but Low did not attend, which contradicts news reports that the two met twice. Conference participants also included private equity firms such as Bain Capital and TPG to discuss Investing in Malaysia. David Solomon, who took over Goldman Sachs after Blankfein retired in September, said Wednesday he was alarmed by the charges of corruption against the two former Goldman bankers. The bank has said it is cooperating with the US Justice Departments criminal investigation and Goldman lawyers are due to meet with investigators next week in Washington, a source close to the investigation told AFP. Congress president Rahul Gandhi Saturday took a dig at the Narendra Modi dispensation, saying many people knew the cost of the Rafale fighter aircraft deal but the government considered it a "national secret" that could not be revealed to the Supreme Court. Taking to Twitter, Gandhi, who is on the campaign trail in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, said, "The PM knows. Anil Ambani knows. Hollande & Macron know. Every journalist now knows. Defence Ministry babus know. All of Dassault knows. All Dassault's competitors know. But the price of the #RAFALE is a National Secret, that cannot be revealed even to the Supreme Court," he tweeted. The Dassault Aviation-made Rafale deal was renegotiated during the tenure of French president Franois Hollande, who was succeeded by Emmanuel Macron. Gandhi has been asking the government to reveal the price of the aircraft, as negotiated by the NDA government. The Congress chief has also accused the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of renegotiating the price of the aircraft and purchasing it at a price three times higher than what was negotiated by the erstwhile UPA government. He alleged corruption in the deal and favouritism towards the Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Group, a charge denied by both the government and the company. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : The materials used for the upcoming Kochi-Muziris Biennale Pavilion would be subsequently utilised to construct houses for the flood-affected in Kerala, organisers of contemporary art festival said. At least a dozen homes of 600 square feet each would be built next summer from the structure that is currently being constructed at Cabral Yard, Fort Kochi in time for the Biennale which starts on December 12, Bose Krishnamachari, founder-president of Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF), said. The Foundation felt an urgent need to contribute to relief and aid efforts after the August deluge and landslides that ravaged the state, the KBF said in a release. "This will be one way of our joining the state government's 'Rebuilding Kerala' mission," Krishnamachari said. The KBF has already announced that a major art auction of the Foundation would be organised for the same purpose. Select paintings, sculptures and installations of more than 40 artists in India and abroad would go under the hammer at the January 18, 2019 event in Kochi as part of the Foundation's ARK (Art Rises for Kerala) initiative in partnership with SaffronArt, it said. This year's Biennale curator Anita Dube said the monsoon calamity in Kerala had prompted her to explore ways in which KMB could respond to the massive loss of lives and livelihood. Given the severity of the catastrophe, Dube offered the chance for participating artists to alter their work in response to the tragedy. "Some artists were affected by of the event and changed their ideas," she said, emphasising that resources which are currently making a major public structure for the Biennale will be used after the event to construct houses for the flood-affected. The fourth edition of the KMB is curated by Anita Dube and runs from December 12 2018 to March 29 2019. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Victoria Police Saturday identified the man, who set a car on fire and stabbed three people, killing one of them, before being fatally shot in the Australian city of Melbourne, as Hassan Khalif Shire Ali from Somalia. The police said it has executed search warrants in two properties and spoke to Ali's wife as part of the investigation. Ali, who was driving a ute, loaded with gas bottles, into the Bourke Street, allegedly set it alight and began stabbing members of the public Friday. He was shot by police as he lunged towards them with a knife. He later died in a hospital. Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton confirmed Ali died in the hospital after being shot by police. One man, who is yet to be formally identified, died at the scene after the stabbing. A 26-year-old man was in a stable condition in the Royal Melbourne Hospital, while a 58-year-old also remains in hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Police were treating the attack as terror-related at this stage, and counter-terrorism investigations were continuing into Ali's background. Ashton said he believed the suspect moved to Australia from Somalia in 1990s, and that his family members have been known to police on terrorism-related matters. On Saturday, the Joint Counter Terrorism Team began executing search warrants on two homes in Werribee and Meadow Heights. Ashton said police had spoken to Shire Ali's wife. He further said Ali was was the brother of a man arrested in relation to committing acts in preparation for a terrorist attack. "He is known to both Victoria Police and federal intelligence authorities," Ashton said, adding that ''there is no ongoing threat that we know of ... as I speak to you.'' "But certainly we are treating it as a terrorism incident. He's got family associations that are well known to us," he said. According to media reports, the IS had claimed responsibility for the attack via the Amaq agency, which said the man was "one of Islamic State fighters" and had responded to IS calls for attacks in countries that are part of the international coalition fighting the militants in Syria and Iraq. In a statement, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he condemned the act of terrorism in Melbourne, describing it as an "evil and cowardly attack". He said he had been briefed by law enforcement and security agencies and acknowledged the investigation by the Joint Counter Terrorism Team, led by the Victoria Police. "Australians will never be intimidated by these appalling attacks and we will continue to go about our lives and enjoy the freedoms that the terrorists detest," he said. State Premier Daniel Andrews and the opposition leader Matthew Guy also condemned the attack. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A minor fire broke out at the State Bank of Indias Bapuji Nagar branch here on Saturday morning, fire brigade sources said. The local people of Bapuji Nagar spotted smoke on the third floor of the bank branch and informed the fire services. Two fire engines immediately reached the spot and managed to douse the flames after one hour, they said. The fire had broken out at the record room and Aadhaar room of the bank. Documents in these two rooms and some computers were damaged in the fire, the sources said. Several important documents and records of the bank customers were reportedly gutted in the fire but there was no major damage, the sources said. The fire could be due to a short circuit, they added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress chief Rahul Gandhi Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of waiving loans worth Rs 3.5 lakh crore of 15 select industrialists and hit out at Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh over the issue of corruption. On the second day of his campaigning in the state, where the first phase of polling would be held Monday, Gandhi targeted the Raman Singh government over the alleged chit fund scam, civil supplies scam and the chief minister's son Abhishek Singh, who is accused of holding offshore assets. "In the last four-five years, Modiji gave Rs 3.5 lakh crore to the 15 richest people. While an amount of Rs 35,000 crore is needed yearly to run the MGNREGA scheme in the country, he waived loans worth 10 times that amount of 15 select industrialists," he alleged. Gandhi said he wanted Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to become agriculture centres in five years and provide food, fruits and vegetables to the country. "Modiji has given the keys to the treasury to 15 select people, but the Congress wants the keys to be given to farmers, youth, poor, women and tribals. Modiji trusts 15 people, but we trust crores of Indians," he said. Accusing Singh of indulging in corruption, Gandhi claimed that Rs 5,000 crore had vanished in the chit fund scam. "Sixty people died, 310 FIRs were registered, but nobody went to jail because the chief minster did not want action to be taken," he alleged. The Congress chief further charged that Rs 36,000 crore were stolen in the alleged Public Distribution System (PDS) scam and claimed that there were documents to prove Singh's involvement in it. "There was a diary found in which it was written that money was given to Doctor Sahab. Who is this Doctor Sahab? "If the chief minister does not want to answer this, he should tell the people why no action has been taken against his son, whose name has been mentioned in the Panama Papers, when a country like Pakistan could jail its former prime minister (Nawaz Sharif) over (similar) corruption charges," he said. The Panama Papers refer to 11.5 million leaked documents published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists with the details of the offshore entities set up by a Panamanian legal firm. The papers had named several world leaders and celebrities as having stashed money abroad in offshore companies. They also included the details of the entities set up by some Indian nationals. In the past, Raman Singh's son Abhishek had claimed that the allegations against him with regards to the Panama Papers were "baseless and politically motivated". Gandhi claimed that in the 15 years since Singh came to power in the state, 40 lakh young people had remained unemployed, there was no irrigation on 65 per cent land and 56,000 acres of land was snatched from tribals and given to the chief minister's friends. Contrary to honouring its promise of providing employment to the youth, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was now indulging in "outsourcing", where young men and women from other states were getting employment in the Naxalism-hit state, he said. "Once the Congress comes to power, outsourcing will be closed. Also, we have written in our manifesto that every family that does not own land will be given land," Gandhi added. He also alleged that the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's land acquisition bill, tribal rights bill, and Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act were not enacted by the Raman Singh government and added that his party would implement those once after coming to power in the state. "We do not want the people to think that it is a Congress government, but that it is their own government. We do not want to work for a particular caste, religion or district, but for the all-round development of Chhattisgarh," Gandhi said. The 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will go to the polls in two phases -- on November 12 and November 20 -- and the results will be announced on December 11. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi opened a Chinese-built bridge in the capital Maputo on Saturday that cost USD 785 million, saying it would help link northern and southern Africa. The twin-tower suspension bridge stands 141 metres (463 feet) above Maputo Bay, is 680 metres-long and joins the city centre to the outlying district of Katembe. "Today is a unique day of our history, the achievement of the dream of (former president) Samora Machel," Nyusi said at a rally following the inauguration. "With the completion of this bridge... the connection of southern Africa to the north over land and across our country is guaranteed." The bridge, which connects the north and south banks of Maputo that were previously linked only by boat, would help promote tourism, Nyusi said. It will also directly link the capital to the border of neighbouring South Africa by road for the first time. He described China, whose Road and Bridge Corporation began construction in June 2014, as a "brother and friend" of Mozambique. China's ambassador to Maputo Su Jian attended the opening and described Mozambique as a foreign policy priority for Beijing. Ninety-five per cent of the bridge's cost was financed through loans provided by Chinese lenders. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Myanmar on Saturday denied allegations of a cross-border shooting that raised tensions with Bangladesh ahead of a scheduled start date for the repatriation of Rohingya refugees. The fresh diplomatic row started after a Bangladesh border guard official said that a 15-year-old Rohingya refugee was shot in the elbow on November 4 while grazing cows after multiple rounds were fired from a security post across the demarcation line. Bangladesh summoned Myanmar's ambassador to lodge a protest but Aung San Suu Kyi's government says it has looked into the allegation and denies it ever happened. "The Myanmar ambassador promptly contacted the responsible officials from the Myanmar Border Guard, who confirmed that no shooting incident had taken place," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is overseen by Suu Kyi, said in a statement late Saturday. Myanmar says it was involved in coordinated patrols at the time of the alleged incident with Bangladeshi forces along the Naf River that separates the two countries, and that none of their counterparts mentioned the claim. "A formal protest through diplomatic channels based on dubious reports, as took place in this case, does not serve any useful purpose," the ministry added. The contentious back and forth highlights the delicacy surrounding a planned start to the first official repatriation of Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar, which is supposed to start November 15 with over 2,000 people at a rate of 150 daily. Some 720,000 Rohingya fled their homes in Myanmar to take refuge in Bangladesh following a sweeping and bloody crackdown on the Muslim minority in August 2017. United Nations investigators say Myanmar's military should be investigated for genocide as a result of the campaign, which witnesses say included scorched earth tactics, rape and murder. Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed to repatriate Rohingya expelled in the recent military campaign, but they fear returning to a country without guarantees of citizenship, safety and basic rights. Northern Rakhine has been undergoing massive redevelopment in their absence and Rohingya advocates say the process amounts to an effort to erase their history for good. The UN, which has been granted access to parts of Myanmar's northern Rakhine state where most Rohingya used to live, says conditions are not right for the stateless minority to return. A total of 42 aid agencies and NGOS said this week that Rohingya in the camps in Bangladesh were "terrified" about the prospect of coming back. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The national permit vehicles can now ply without two drivers, the government said Saturday. Besides, there is also no requirement of having dark brown body colour for such vehicles, as was mandatory earlier with amendment in Central Motor Vehicles Rules. "The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has made amendments to CMVR 1989. For national permit vehicles the requirements of having a dark brown body color and having two drivers have been done away with," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement. It said the words "National Permit or N/P" should be inscribed in the front and rear of the vehicles in bold letters, and added that in case of trailers, the letters "N/P" will be inscribed on the rear and left side of the vehicle. "The body of a tanker carrying dangerous or hazardous goods shall be painted in white colour and shall display the class label. It has to be fitted with FASTag. Vehicle shall be affixed with reflective tapes at front and rear. Vehicle will also be fitted with a vehicle tracking system device. It will not pick up or set down goods between two points in the same state, if restricted by the particular state, the statement said. The government said the renewal of fitness in respect of transport vehicles will now be every two years for vehicles up to eight years old, and one year for vehicles older than eight years. The renewal of fitness was required every year earlier. "Further that no fitness certification shall be required at the time of registration for new transport vehicle sold as fully built vehicle and such vehicle shall be deemed to be having certificate of fitness for a period of two years...," the statement said. These measures will ease the transport sector of the regulatory requirements and would help to reduce corruption and increase efficiency of the sector, it said. Under rule 138B, now the goods carriage vehicles can not carry goods openly. They can carry in closed body or within covers like tarpaulin etc. This was a cause of nuisance when vehicles carrying say construction material, garbage etc were moving without covers. "The production of documents like registration, insurance, fitness, permit, driving licence etc to the enforcement authorities on their asking can now under the CMVR be in Electronic Form also, under rule 139," the statement said. This will be very beneficial for a common citizens at this age of mobiles and IT, it added. The citizens are now not required to carry documents in physical form while driving. Although under the IT Act 2000 the document in electronics form was prescribed but enforcement authorities were still pressing for physical documents as per CMVR. All India Motor Transport Congress has hailed the move. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Navies of India and Singapore Saturday began a 12-day military exercise off the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal as part of their efforts to further solidify maritime security cooperation. A number of frontline ships of the two navies are participating in the mega exercise -- SIMBEX, an acronym for 'Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise'. "The exercise at sea this year will be unprecedented and largest in terms of the complexity and weapon firings," Navy Spokesperson Capt D K Sharma said. Started in 1994, the SIMBEX has graduated into a complex maritime combat drills featuring missile and torpedo firings as well as shore-based intensive professional exchanges, he said. In sync with deepening defence cooperation between India and Singapore, the navies of the two countries have expanded their ties significantly in the last few years. The Indian naval ships which are participating in the exercise include Ranvijay, Satpura, Sahyadri, Shakti, Kirch, Kadmatt, Sumedha and Sukanya. Singapore Navy has sent a number of its frontline ships including Formidable, Steadfast, Unity, Valiant and Vigour. Maritime Patrol Aircraft of both countries - the versatile P8I of the Indian Navy and Fokker F50 from Singapore would also be part of the exercise, said Capt Sharma. "The number of missiles and torpedo firings being undertaken are unprecedented and perhaps the largest the Indian Navy has undertaken with any foreign Navy till date," said the Navy spokesperson. He said the exercise will feature "highest numbers" of platforms being fielded by both sides. "Over the years the two navies have increased their interoperability to a level that could be matched by few other navies," said Capt Sharma. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nepal Saturday observed the 104th birth anniversary Ganesh Man Singh, the veteran democratic leader who steered the 1990 people's movement that restored multiparty democracy in the country. The commemoration of the late leader's birth anniversary was held at Shova Bhagawati shrine in Kathmandu. Speaking at the function organised by the Ganesh Man Singh (GMS) Foundation, former deputy Prime Minister and senior leader of main opposition Nepali Congress Prakash Man Singh highlighted the role played by his late father in overthrowing authoritarian Rana regime in 1950 and reinstatement of multiparty democracy in 1990. There is a need for fulfilling the dream of late Singh by building an inclusive democratic society and attaining economic prosperity for the country through economic revolution if we are to pay true tribute to him, Prakash said. He also underlined the need for strengthening inner party democracy within the Nepali Congress by abiding to the party's statute. He also slammed the present Communist government for failing to deliver on their promises despite enjoying two thirds majority in Parliament. Nepali Congress had played a key role in promulgating the new Constitution three years ago under the premiership of party president late Sushil Koirla and now the party is ready to play any role in institutionalising the achievements of the democratic movement of 2006, when federal democratic republic system was established by abolishing monarchy, he said. Singh was the leader of the democratic movement of 1990 in Nepal. He is revered as the Father of Democracy and the Iron-man of Nepali He joined Praja Parishad to protest against the autocratic rule of the Ranas. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bidyut Chakraborty, the newly appointed vice chancellor of Visva-Bharati University, has assumed office, a month after the President Ram Nath Kovind cleared his name for the position. Chakraborty, a former professor of the Delhi University, reached Santiniketan Friday morning, along with his family members, and paid tribute to Rabindranath Tagore on the university premises before taking charge from officiating vice chancellor Sabuj Koli Sen. Sen, who received him at the institute, said, "We welcome Chakraborty cordially to the university and hope all people concerned will come forward to cooperate with him." The central university, set up by Tagore, has been running without a permanent head since 2016, after Sushanta Duttagupta was removed from the post of VC on ground of irregularities by the then HRD Minister Smriti Irani. Saugata Chattopadhyay, the officiating registrar of the university, said Chakraborty briefly interacted with senior officials and teachers upon his arrival. "The new VC met the senior officials and visited places of importance on the university campus, including Rabindra Bhavana, before joining office. He left for his ancestral home at Suri later in the day," Chattopadhyay said. Expressing hope that Chakraborty would address the grievances of students and teachers, Sudipta Bhattacharya, the president of Visva Bharati University Faculty Association, said several measures need to be taken to restore the glory of the institute. "We are looking forward to a fresh beginning. The new VC is an experienced person and a good scholar. We have been deprived of promotion for a long time and a number of posts are lying vacant at the university. We hope necessary actions will be taken to solve the crises," Bhattacharya added. An alumnus of Ballygunge Government High School, Chakrabarty earned his master's degree from the University of Calcutta before moving to London School of Economics for Ph.D. In 1998, he joined the University of Delhi as a professor of political science. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Punjab government has decided to hand over to the NIA a case involving three Kashmiri students who were arrested for their alleged association with a terror outfit. The students -- Zahid Gulzar, Mohd. Idriss Shah and Yusuf Rafiq Bhatt -- were arrested from an engineering college in Jalandhar last month and two weapons, including an assault rifle, and explosives were seized from them. Police had said they were associated with Kashmir-based terror outfit Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH). The AGH reportedly has links with the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and is headed by Zakir Rashid Bhatt alias Zakir Mussa, who masterminded and guided attacks on the Maqsudan police station in Jalandhar on September 14, they had said. The decision to hand over the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was taken after discussions on the issue between the state government and the Home Ministry, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Suresh Arora said in an release said. It said the decision came in the wake of the inter-state and international ramifications of the case". The students were arrested in a joint operation by the Punjab Police and the Jammu and Kashmir Police's Special Operations Group (SoG) from the hostel of CT Institute of Engineering Management and Technology in Shahpur on the outskirts of Jalandhar. Two weapons, including an assault rifle, were also seized from them along with explosives, police had said. Initial investigations had revealed that the students were allegedly associated with terror outfit AGH, they had said. The decision to hand over the investigations to the NIA was aimed at ensuring speedy and more effective probe into the matter, the DGP said "The state government was also of the view that the growing attempts by Pakistan-based ISI and terror outfits and elements based abroad to revive terrorism in Punjab required strong and concerted efforts by the national agency which has the mandate to investigate all over the country and even abroad," Arora said in the release. The Punjab Police, he said, would extend all support and help to the NIA to ensure that the investigations are completed, and the nexus of terrorist outfits and elements based in India and abroad is identified and broken at the earliest. The release said while deciding to hand over the case to the NIA, the state and central government also took note of a separate case in which two Kashmiri students were arrested by the Punjab Police on November 5 in connection with the Maqsudan police station incident. This is indicative of the efforts by Pakistan spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to expand the arc of militancy on India's western border, Arora said. He also underlined the need to unravel the entire conspiracy and network built by these outfits and individuals in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. The DGP said the state police is keeping a close eye to pre-empt any further incidents of targeting police stations and officers in Punjab. Police is taking all the required steps to ensure that militant elements and anti-national forces are not allowed to disturb the peace and communal harmony in the state, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Around 300 nurses of a private hospital in Delhi are on a strike for the second day demanding minimum wages as per the Supreme Court recommendations. The nurses at the Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre in south Delhi have alleged that they had been forced to work for extra hours and were not being paid accordingly. Their other demands include maintenance of the nurse-patient ratio as per the norms of the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH), annual increments, implementation of the maternity leave policy and insurance coverage, said a member of the nurses' union. The nurses have submitted their list of demands to the management, besides putting forth their complaints to Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain and the Nursing Council of India. "There is paucity of staff and the management makes the nurses work overtime and does not even pay for that," said Joldin, general secretary, United Nurses Association-Delhi. According to the nurses, the management was not listening to their demands, forcing them to go on a strike. Commenting on the issue, the hospital's medical director, Vipul Sood, said: "The staff at all hospitals are overworked this time because of the ongoing dengue and chikungunya season. And, at such a time, the patient's safety is the primary concern and people have to work extra. Financial incentives and compensatory offs are being given for extra duty hours." He added that a section of the nurses have gone on a strike, while some were still working. The medical director said the ICUs and the operation theatres were functioning and extra staff had been deployed for the smooth functioning. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Anti-BJP parties would meet in New Delhi on November 22 to create a common platform and chalk out their future course of action, TDP president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said Saturday. Addressing a press meet after a meeting with Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot who came here as an emissary of Rahul Gandhi at his riverfront residence here, the Telugu Desam President said the endeavour was to bring everybody on board to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party. Naidu said he would meet West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on November 19 or 20. "This is broadly anti-BJP platform. This is in the interest of the nation. Save democracy, save the nation and save the institutions..that is the agenda. That is the national agenda, an utmost important agenda," Naidu said. The TDP chief had recently met former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, his Karnataka counterpart H D Kumaraswamy and DMK president M K Stalin as part of his efforts to forge a front against the BJP. "Now I have convinced everybody. Everybody is willing to cooperate with us. In this experiment, Congress is the main opposition party. They have more responsibility. We have to acknowledge that," Naidu said. The New Delhi meeting would decide on "how to move forward" and also "build an organisational structure" for the anti-BJP platform, he added. Naidu said he had already met several leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah and others, and would meet Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Replying to questions, he said there were only "two platforms" in the country BJP and anti-BJP. "Political parties should decide which side they are. If they don't join us, it means they are with BJP," he said. "The Tamil Nadu government is controlled by remote control (from New Delhi). Telangana Rashtra Samitis (TRS) agenda is BJP agenda. Some parties are there. They are aligned with the BJP," Naidu said. The TDP chief said some parties might join them after the elections to Assemblies in five states and "one or two" might come after the Lok Sabha elections. "Our effort is to bring everybody on board to fight the BJP," he said. To a question, he said sharing of seats (in elections) and other things would come after some time. Gehlot said there was an "undeclared Emergency-type atmosphere in the country. Institutions are getting destroyed in the country. Constitution (of India) is getting weakened. People are worried. Not one section of the society is happy with the Modi administration in the last four and a half years," the former Rajasthan chief minister said. While anti-BJP parties have their foundations in secularism and democracy, the BJP and RSS people have only the "mask of democracy" on their faces, he said. "They dont have any faith in democracy. They are fascist...," Gehlot alleged. This was the "proper time" for (anti-BJP) parties to come on to a single platform and forge a grand alliance, the AICC general secretary added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over 27.85 lakh children were given the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine during an ongoing vaccination campaign across Jammu and Kashmir, an official spokesman said Saturday. The campaign was launched on September 24 to cover nearly 38 lakh children in the age group of nine months to 15 years to eliminate the congenital rubella syndrome, caused by the rubella virus. "A total of 37,72,960 children will be covered in the state, of whom 27,85,731 have been vaccinated till date with 17,00,994 children covered in the Kashmir division and 10,84,737 in the Jammu division," the spokesman said. The campaign is expected to be concluded by the end of this month as against the scheduled October 20 deadline. The measles-rubella campaign marks the introduction of the rubella vaccine in India's childhood immunisation programme for the first time. Rubella, which is commonly referred to as German measles, is a mild infection, but can have serious consequences if it occurs in pregnant women. India's latest MR vaccine also protects against measles, a major killer of small children. Highly contagious, it spreads through contact. Nearly 37 per cent of the global burden of deaths due to measles is in India, mainly due to complications such as diarrhoea and pneumonia. The spokesman said Principal Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Atal Dulloo reviewed the progress of the campaign at a meeting here and asked the health authorities to build up awareness on a big scale in schools and outreach areas, where a stiff resistance has come up against the vaccination drive. The meeting was informed that Kathua, Leh and Kargil districts had already achieved 100 per cent targets, while Samba in Jammu and Budgam and Kulgam in Kashmir were on the verge of achieving their targets. Dulloo instructed the health authorities of those districts, which were far behind the target, to gear up to achieve the set targets by the end of this month, the spokesman said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More than 450 heavy and medium goods vehicles were sent back from Delhi borders due to a three-day ban on their entry till Sunday, authorities said. According to Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Alok Kumar, 1,559 vehicles were checked and 1,078 vehicles were allowed entry from 11 pm on Friday till 6 am on Saturday as they were carrying essential goods. As many as 481 vehicles were returned from the Delhi borders, Kumar added. The Delhi government's transport department had issued a notification, banning the entry of heavy and medium goods vehicles into the region from 11 pm on Thursday till 11 pm on Sunday. It has also appealed to private diesel car owners to avoid using their vehicles during the period. However, vehicles carrying vegetables, fruits, grains, milk, eggs, ice and other essentials, and tankers carrying petroleum products are exempted from the ban. The air quality on Saturday was in the 'very-poor' category after local pollutants "reduced significantly" and the contribution from stubble-burning remained "marginal" due to wind speed, officials said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's anti-graft body on Saturday arrested opposition leader and PML-N chief Shahbaz Sharif in another corruption case and had his physical remand extended till November 24. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had taken Shahbaz Sharif, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly and younger brother of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, into custody on October 5 in the Rs 14 billion Ashiana-i-Iqbal housing project scam. Shahbaz was produced before an accountability court in Lahore for a hearing in the Ashiana scam and the NAB requested extension to his remand for another 15 days. It informed the court that it had also arrested Shahbaz in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case. His counsel Ahmad Pervaiz opposed further extension in the physical remand saying his client had been in NAB custody for more than a month and could not prove anything against him. NAB prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua said the body could not interrogate Shahbaz properly as he attended the National Assembly session during the remand period. After hearing the arguments, the court extended 14-day remand of Shahbaz in NAB custody till November 24. Several PML-N workers gathered outside the court and chanted slogans against the Imran Khan government and NAB. Meanwhile, Shahbaz's son Salman Shahbaz on Friday skipped the third consecutive hearing in NAB Lahore as he left for London. "The Sharifs wants Salman to extend his stay in London till the outcome of the investigation against his father and his elder brother Hamza Shahbaz," a family source said adding the family fears that NAB may arrest Salman. According to the NAB, both brothers - Hamza and Salman - in their capacity as directors of Ramzan Sugar Mills got a bridge constructed linking their mills using public money in Chiniot, some 200 kms from Lahore. It said an amount of Rs 200 million was approved by then Punjab chief minister Shahbaz for the construction of the bridge. NAB Lahore Director General Shahzad Saleem said Salman had fled to London after the bureau sought details of his family properties and said he is deliberately avoiding the NAB hearing. The Sharif family denies this saying he will soon return to face the NAB probe. Shahbaz Sharif's son-in-law Imran Ali Yousaf is already in London after being declared a proclaimed offender by the accountability court in the Punjab Saaf Pani Company and the Punjab Power Development Company (PPDC) cases. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's trade deficit marginally contracted to USD 11.8 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal year on the back of almost flat growth in imports for the fourth consecutive month while the pace of increase in exports remained modest despite numerous rounds of currency depreciation. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said the USD 11.8 billion deficit, recorded in July-October FY19, was nearly 2 per cent or USD 237 million lesser than in the same period last fiscal, The Express Tribune reported on Friday. Exports in the July-October period increased 3.52 per cent to USD 7.3 billion. In absolute terms, the export receipts rose USD 248 million, but the pace of increase was slower than the preceding year. The value of imported goods stood at USD 19.1 billion, which was only 0.6 per cent or USD 11 million higher than the import bill in the corresponding period of previous fiscal year. Exports were 261 per cent less than the value of imports. Imports of the country have started to ease due to the State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) numerous policy and administrative measures. Additionally, the federal government has imposed heavy regulatory duties on imported goods. Over the past 10 months, the SBP has let the rupee depreciate by 26.6 per cent to 133.7 against the US dollar in a bid to curtail the current account deficit which is presently Pakistan's biggest challenge. Owing to the slowdown in imports, the current account deficit narrowed to USD 3.7 billion in first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year. However, despite a steep fall in the value of the currency, Pakistani exporters are unable to take full advantage of the situation because of their failure to diversify shipments. The government voices hope that exports will bounce back and register average growth of 18 per cent compared to last year's level. China has offered a USD 1 billion duty-free facility to Pakistan for enhancing its exports. As compared to over USD 15 billion worth of imports, Pakistan exports only USD 1.2 billion worth of goods to China, which is not commensurate with the potential. Bilateral trade is regulated under the 2006 Free Trade Agreement. Pakistan does not have exportable surplus and there is a high probability that the country will avail the USD 1 billion facility by exporting additional quantity of rice and some other agricultural produce. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Chinese labour rights group on Saturday said at least ten of its supporters were detained by police in several cities across the country, in the latest apparent crackdown against its activists. Student-led activism from China's top universities has surged in recent years, as young college students rally behind labour rights and unions despite pressure from universities and police. The Jasic Workers Solidarity group, which supports workers at welding machinery firm Jasic Technology, said the activists were detained by police on Friday night. Five were graduates of Peking University -- one of the country's top-ranked institutions. One of the graduates, Zhang Shengye, was "kidnapped" on the school campus, the group alleged in its statement. An eyewitness and Peking University student claimed that more than ten people in dark-coloured clothing beat Zhang before dragging him into a black car. "They hit him hard and quickly got Zhang under control," he told AFP, requesting anonymity. A few other students who were passing by were also beaten, he added. They were forced to the ground, and stopped from taking photos or speaking. "Peking University acquiesced to the kidnapping -- this is another crime universities have committed against progressive students and the leftwing community," said the Jasic Workers Solidarity group. In addition to Zhang, four other Peking University graduates went missing Friday after police raided homes in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, stated the group. In Shenzhen, a city in southern Guangdong province, two people who operated a non-profit for young workers, as well as members of their staff, were taken by police as well, the group said. Three workers who were part of the solidarity group, plus an unspecified number of activists in Guangdong province, also disappeared in the police sweep, it said. AFP could not independently verify the labour group's claims. Police in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment. In August, a police raid swept up student activists in Guangdong province, according to the official website of the Jasic Workers Solidarity group, who said police beat students and confiscated their phones. Yue Xin, a Peking University student who co-authored a petition demanding details about a probe into allegations of sexual abuse at the school, has not been heard from since she was detained in the August raid. Two students from Renmin University and Peking University were also taken away by police for several hours Friday after taking photos in front of an Apple store in Beijing. The students -- a group of ten in total -- were protesting the alleged exploitation of workers at an Apple Watch factory in southwestern China. Apple said it was investigating the claims. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three policemen were allegedly roughed up in an Uttar Pradesh village where they had gone in connection with a dowry-harassment case, police said. Acting on the complaint of a woman, a police team had gone to the Nagla Jayee village in Etah district on Friday night when her in-laws beat them up, said Aliganj Circle Officer Ajay Bhadauria. The injured, including sub-inspector Suresh Singh, and constables Harendra and Vijay, have been admitted to a hospital, the officer said. A case has been registered against the head of the family, Khushiram, and three others, and efforts are on to nab them, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Meghalaya Home Minister James P K Sangma Saturday said the state police will soon crack the attempted murder case of RTI activist Agnes Kharshiing who was attacked by the mining mafia on November 8. Kharshiing is battling for life at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) super-specialty hospital near here after she was found unconscious near illegal coal mines in East Jaintia district. Two persons were arrested for the alleged attempted murder. "We will be able to crack this case very soon. We have already managed to nab two suspects so we are quite hopeful that things will progress," James told mediapersons after visiting Kharshiing at NEIGRIHMS. "We feel the police department is equipped to handle this case," he added. Condemning the attempt on her life by the coal mafia, the home minister said, "I can assure you that we are seriously looking into this matter (illegal coal mining)." "The only thing that remains to be seen is whether it will be in terms of a judicial probe or a magisterial inquiry. We are serious about getting to the root of it," he said further. NEIGRIHMS spokesperson told PTI that the condition of the RTI activist was critical and she was on ventilator and life support systems. Her brother John Kharshiing said that a number of blood transfusions had taken place since her admission to the hospital on November 8 evening. A group had gathered near the additional secretariat here during the day to express solidarity with Kharshiing and Amita Sangma, her confidant, who too was injured in the attack and is under treatment at NEIGRIHMS. Thma u Rangli u Juki (TUR) convener Angela Rangad demanded that the government must form institute a judicial inquiry into the assaul on Kharshiing. The state has lost its credibility. Only an independent inquiry will be justified, she told the gathering. Former state home minister R G Lyngdoh said those involved must be brought to book and alleged that the attackers must have been "assured protection from those in the corridors of powers". An investigation is required to unearth the nexus between the police and the mining mafia in East Jaintia district where the illegal mining is going on. Agnes, an RTI activist in Meghalaya was allegedly targeted for her war against corrupt practices adopted by the government officials. One of her RTI successes was the unearthing of the 2009 education scam in which several politicians and officials were named. The case is currently under investigation by the CBI. The 58-year-old activist is also a champion for victims of rape and assault and has been helping them to file FIRs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In-form Prajnesh Gunneswaran was on Saturday seeded fourth at the USD 150,000 Bengaluru Open, where he will open his campaign against Russia's Ivan Nedelko. The left-handed Indian Davis Cupper is ranked 141st while Nedelko is ranked 123 places below him. Radu Albot of Moldova, who is ranked No. 100, will be the top seed and will clash with a qualifier. In an interesting first round contest, the finalists of the previous edition, defending champion Sumit Nagal and seventh seed Jay Clarke will clash against each other in their tournament-opener. Nagal, who has been struggling for good results this season, has been awarded a wild card by the organisers. Argentinian Marco Trungelliti who is ranked 121st is seeded second while Elias Yemer of Sweden is seeded third. Australian Marc Polsman has is seeded fifth while Quentin Halys of France is seeded sixth. Flip Peliwo of Canada is the last seed at No.8. The other Indian players to get a direct through wild cards Adil Kalyanpuri and Saketh Myneni will face off with each other in their first round. Suraj Prabodh faces sixth seed Quentin Halys. Meanwhile, as many as five Indians including national champion Siddharth Vishwakarma, nationals runner-up Arjun Kadhe, Ranjeet Murugesan, Mukund Sasikumar and Aryan Goveas advanced to the second round of the qualifying event. Khumoyun Sultanov of Uzbekistan created a flutter when he stunned the second seed Liam Broady of Britain in straight sets 6-3 7-5 to move into the second round. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Andhra Pradesh minister K Ravindra said Saturday procurement of private land would begin by mid-November to speed up the proposed Machilipatnam deep sea port. The minister also rubbished rumours that private land owners or farmers would have to pay the tax for the package received for parting with the land for the port project. He clarified that the Andhra Pradesh government has exempted tax on packages for land procured for developmental projects, including the Polavaram Irrigation project. In September, the Machilipatnam Urban Development Authority (MUDA) had borrowed Rs 200 crore from the state mineral development corporation for purchasing the land from the farmers or private land owners, the minister said. Of the required 2,200 acres of private land proposed for the port, the MUDA is yet to procurer over 1,500 acres of land to proceed with construction works of the port project, Ravindra said. The state government, private land owners and farmers have agreed for Rs 25 lakh as package for an acre under the Land Purchasing Scheme, he said. Ravinder also said an official communication in this regard will be released soon in consultation with revenue authorities concerned. The Machilipatnam Urban Development Authority (MUDA) chairman B Vedayas and Municipal Chairman M Babaprasad were also present at the presser. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh had made the state "almost free" of Naxalism and developed it as a hub of power and cement production, BJP president Amit Shah said Saturday. Targeting the opposition Congress, he said a party that felt Naxalism was a medium for revolution could not do any good for Chhattisgarh. Shah exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would win this month's Assembly polls in the state for the fourth straight time. Addressing a press conference here after releasing his party's manifesto ahead of the first phase of polling on November 12, Shah said, "The BJP government under Chief Minister Raman Singh has contained Naxalism and made the state almost free of it." Earlier known as a BIMARU state, Chhattisgarh was now a "power and cement production hub", he said, and lauded the Raman Singh government for initiating several welfare measures for the state's prosperity. "Taking on the Congress's propaganda and working tirelessly for the state's development for the last 15 years is a big challenge. I am confident that the BJP will win a straight fourth term in office," Shah said. The state government had initiated several welfare measures and made the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme corruption-free, he added. The 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will go to the polls in two phases -- on November 12 and 20 -- and the results will be announced on December 11. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SAIL Chairman Anil Kumar Chaudhary Saturday said the new Hot Strip Mill at Rourkela Steel Plant should be completed by the beginning of next financial year, which will augment the unit's hot rolled steel making capacity. He made the remarks while visiting the state-owned firm's Rourkela Steel Plant. According to a statement, during his address, Chaudhary emphasised on early completion of the new 3.0 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) Hot Strip Mill (HSM). The new HSM should be completed by the beginning of next financial year, which will augment the plant's hot rolled steel making capacity along with enabling RSP to produce advance grade HR coils, he said. "This will help RSP to cater to the high end HR Steel segment and facilitate for supplying to Cold Rolling Mills producing auto grade steel, as per requirement," the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) chairman said. During the visit, Chaudhary inaugurated the Additional Heat Treatment Line (AHTL) of the Special Plate Plant (SPP) of RSP. The Special Plate Plant has been catering to the needs of the nation's defence and research programmes and has supplied steel for indigenous defence projects like INS Vikrant, INS Kamorta etc. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Serbia is holding large military drills to mark 100 years since the end of World War I in an apparent show of force amid rising tensions with Kosovo. The live-ammunition maneuvers on Saturday, dubbed "The Century of Winners," include 8,000 soldiers, 100 battle tanks and MiG-29 fighter jets supplied by Russia. Tensions recently have increased in the region, with Serbia and Kosovo accusing each other of undermining efforts at reconciliation following a 1998-99 war which ended after NATO intervention. The former Serbian province declared independence in 2008 which Belgrade doesn't recognise. Serbia is often wrongly accused of starting World War I after a Serb nationalist assassinated the Austrian archduke in Sarajevo, Bosnia, in 1914. Serbia suffered the worst losses proportional to the size of its army during the war. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (BFIL) Saturday said its shareholders' meeting will be held on December 11 to approve merger of the microfinance company with IndusInd Bank. In accordance with the order, meeting of the equity shareholders and secured creditors of BFIL is scheduled on December 11, 2018, the company said in a regulatory filing. The dispensed with the meeting of the unsecured creditors of the bank, it added. The issued directive on October 31, 2018 to hold meeting of the equity shareholders for approving the composite scheme of amalgamation. IndusInd Bank in October last year decided to acquire the country's leading micro- player BFIL, which was previously known as SKS Microfinance. The merger will be effected through an all-stock transaction of BFIL into IndusInd through a Composite Scheme of Arrangement. Post merger, the new entity will have 4,000 branches and outlets and 16 million customers. The merger had received approval from the on December 19, 2017. IndusInd Bank also received a 'No Objection' from the Reserve Bank of India for the proposed merger on March 13 this year. Four Indian-origin men were charged by a Singapore court on Saturday for lighting fireworks on Diwali. Lighting of fireworks has been banned in the country since 1972. The four were involved in three three separate incidents -- illegal fireworks in the housing estates of Yishun, Bukit Batok West and Joo Seng Road on Tuesday, the day Singaporeans celebrated Diwali or deepavali. A Hariprasanth, 18, Elvis Xavier Fernandez, 25, Jeevan Arjoon, 28, and Alagappan Singaram, 54, are accused of discharging dangerous fireworks, reported The Straits Times Saturday. On Wednesday, two other Singaporean men of Indian-origin were charged over their alleged involvement in an illegal fireworks display in Little India on Diwali eve. Thaigu Selvarajoo, 29, is accused of letting off dangerous fireworks while Siva Kumar Subramaniam, 48, allegedly abetted him. Jeevan allegedly let off fireworks at an open field in front of Block 504B Yishun Street 51 at around 3.30 am on Tuesday. Police said they were alerted to loud sounds in the area that morning and found cylinders containing explosive materials. They arrested Jeevan the next day. Hariprasanth and Singaram are accused of discharging a box of "25 Shot Cake" at an open space adjacent to Block 194B Bukit Batok West Avenue 6 at around 7.40 pm on Tuesday. According to court documents, Fernandez is said to have discharged a bundle of six "whistling fire sparkles" at Block 18 Joo Seng Road about three hours later. Officers arrested him on Thursday. The four men charged on Friday were each offered bail of SGD 5,000. Jeevan will be back in court on November 23, while Fernandez will return five days later. The cases involving Hariprasanth and Singaram have been adjourned to November 30. Selvarajoo and Siva Kumar have been remanded at Central Police Division and will be back in the court on November 14. Court documents did not reveal how they obtained the fireworks, according to The Straits Times. The government started regulating the use of fireworks in 1968 when the practice of lighting celebratory fireworks became a serious public safety issue. A total ban was rolled out on August 1, 1972. Police said, "Members of the public are reminded that it is an offence to possess, sell, transport, send, deliver, distribute or import any dangerous fireworks." "The police have zero tolerance against acts that endanger the lives or safety of others as well as cause undue alarm to the public and will not hesitate to take action against those who blatantly disregard the law," they said. Offenders convicted of discharging dangerous fireworks can be jailed for up to two years and fined between SGD 2,000 and SGD 10,000. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Vice President Mike Pence and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would discuss India-US defence cooperation and bilateral relationship during their meeting in Singapore next week, the White House said Saturday, asserting that "sky is the limit" for New Delhi's role in the Indo-Pacific region. "They would be talking about the bilateral relationship and a defence cooperation in the kind of larger context. I can't really say if they'll get into trade (ties) specifically at this time," a senior administration official told foreign journalists during a conference call Saturday. Modi and Pence are scheduled to meet during the ASEAN and East Asia Summit in Singapore next week. Pence leaves on a four-nation Asia trip over the weekend, that would take him to Japan, Australia, Singapore and Papua New Guinea. He will be representing President Donald Trump at the ASEAN and East Asia Summit in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Papua New Guinea. Responding to a question, the official said the two leaders would be talking about "a common vision" for maintaining what the US refers to a free and open Indo-Pacific as India has talked about the Act East policy and their "enormous convergence" in these two approaches. In some respect, these are different names for common approach and talking about some of those common principles that "we share, seeks to promote and sustain including a freedom of navigation and overflight, sustainable development for the region; the importance of ASEAN and the role that they play, as well as a major democracy in the region that we have very good relations in common with like Japan," the senior administration official said. "Really the role for India (in Indo-Pacific region), the sky's the limit,"he said, when asked about what role the US sees for India in the region and President Trump's Indo-Pacific policy. Noting that India is "such a huge component" of the Indo-Pacific region, the official said, "It is the second largest population, the world's largest democracy, while the United States is the world's second largest democracy." He added that India is not only the dominant feature geographically, but also politically and culturally in the Indian Ocean. "With this administration there is a significant increase in quality and tempo of interaction from the top leadership on down," the White House official said. Referring to the recent two plus two dialogue in New Delhi, he said Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a "very, very good" meeting. "It was amazing to see the amount of progress that's been made in areas of cooperation as part of our partnership," said the official, who spoke with foreign reporters on condition of anonymity. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The story of India is a promising one at a time when the rest of the world is experiencing a slowdown, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has said as he asked the Indian diaspora to make use of the opportunities for investment and innovation in India. Naidu, who is here to attend the centenary year of the end of the World War I, addressed the Indian diaspora at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). He asked the Indian diaspora to connect actively with their roots and participate in India's developmental process. India's bold reforms agenda is transforming the academic landscape of the country, Naidu said. "The story of India is an unfolding and a promising one. This is at a time when the rest of the world, including parts of this region, is experiencing a slowdown," he said, adding that the introduction of the Goods and Service Tax was a major step towards having a seamless and efficient national market. "It would make it easier for businesses to establish and grow in India," an official statement quoted Naidu as saying. He invited the members of the Indian diaspora to participate actively in the creation of New India. He asked them to make use of the time and suitable opportunities for investment and innovation in India. "It is also an important time to connect actively with your roots," he said. Naidu lauded the contributions of the diaspora in the fields of science and technology, industry, agriculture, art, culture, governance and politics. "Their strong contributions and successes are as much a matter of pride for France, the country of their settlement, as they are for India, the country of their origin," he said. "Persons of Indian Origin and Indians abroad have excelled in many areas of French public life, with many as members in the French Parliament as well as in the European Parliament," he added. Reminding the gathering about long and mutually enriching association with the French, the vice president said that Rabindranath Tagore's intellectual influence was known to have touched several French thinkers. "Indian luminaries like Madame Bhikaji Cama and JRD Tata, who were significant figures in India's pre-independence history, too had strong links with France," he said. Naidu also talked about the joint efforts of India and France to promote the use of clean energy by way of International Solar Alliance. He said that the development partnership between India and France had brought mutual rewards to both of our economies, especially in the field of smart urbanisation and transportation. India has always been a voice for peace and non violence, he said, adding that peace is the only pre-requisite for progress. He also interacted with Director General of the UNESCO Audrey Azoulay and apprised her about India's efforts to achieve the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, especially in all the fields including education. They also discussed matters such as usage of information and communication technologies to improve access to education, enhancing the quality of teaching-learning process and teacher development programmes, strengthening educational planning and management and improving monitoring systems. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A senior leader of the BJP's West Bengal unit said on Saturday that those trying to stop the party's scheduled 'rath yatra' in the state "will get crushed under the wheels of the chariot", drawing criticism from the ruling TMC. Locket Chatterjee, the saffron party's West Bengal Mahila Morcha president, also said that the 'yatra' is being organised to restore democracy in the state. BJP national president Amit Shah is set to kick off three 'rath yatras' - which will cover all 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bengal - on December 5, 7 and 9. At the conclusion of the 'yatra', the party plans to hold a massive rally in Kolkata which is likely to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The main purpose of the rath yatra is to restore democracy in West Bengal. We have said this earlier too that the heads of those who try to stop the 'rath yatra' will get crushed under the wheels of the chariot," Chatterjee told reporters after attending a party meet at Malda district. Condemning Chatterjee's comment, TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said BJP leaders are making provocative statements to disturb peace and stability of the state. "The BJP's main aim is to push its communal agenda in Bengal. That is why they are making these provocative comments. But the people of Bengal will defeat the divisive of the BJP," Chatterjee said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Protests by BJP and right-wing outfits broke out in several parts of Karnataka on Saturday against 'Tipu Jayanthi' celebrations, which were held amid tight security, while Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his deputy skipped the main event here, drawing disapproval from ruling Congress lawmakers. The previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah began celebrating the birth anniversary of controversial 18th century Mysore kingdom ruler Tipu Sultan on November 10 every year since 2015, amid stiff opposition from the BJP and several Hindu organisations and groups. When in the opposition, Kumaraswamy had questioned the need for such celebrations. The main event at Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat here, turned out to be lacklustre on Saturday, as Kumaraswamy, who is of JD(S), skipped it citing advice by doctors to take rest for three days till November 11. Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, who is of Congress, was also not present as he was reportedly in Singapore to visit an ailing senior politician from Karnataka. As BJP and other right-wing outfits protested against the Jayanthi, Vidhana Soudha turned into a fortress with multi-layer security. Police ensured nobody could carry medicines, perfumes or even water bottles inside the venue. Irrigation minister D K Shivakumar, minister for minority affairs B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan and MLAs Roshan Baig and N A Harris attended the main programme, where the BJP was accused of communalising the occasion. Voices of disapproval started emerging from within the ruling coalition over the chief minister and deputy chief minister's absence, with a Congress MLA terming it as an "insult" to the Muslim community. MLA and former minister Tanveer Sait requested the chief minister to at least attend a Tipu Jayanthi event at near to where he was taking rest. According to party sources, many Congress leaders, especially those from the Muslim community, were miffed with the CM and deputy chief minister for skipping the event. Kumaraswamy reportedly chose to skip the event so as not to antagonise voters in his party's bastion of old Mysuru region, as Tipu Sultan had seized power from Maharajas of Mysuru, who are virtually revered there. The Chief Minister's Office (CMO), however, issued a statement on Kumaraswamy's absence at the event. Wishing success for Tipu Jayanthi celebrations, the JD(S) leader said Tipu's progressive measures in administration and his quest for innovation were "commendable". He said as he was taking rest on doctor's advice. "It is far from the truth that the CM is not taking part due to fear of losing power, as he opposes such blind beliefs," the CMO statement said. This was the first Tipu Jayanthi celebration after the Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) coalition government came to power in the state. Meanwhile, a group of Muslim leaders along with state minister Zameer Ahmed Khan Saturday met senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah and honoured him on the occasion of Tipu Jayanthi. Calling Tipu a "good administrator," Siddaramaiah hit out at the BJP for opposing Tipu Jayanthi celebrations, and said the saffron party leaders had attended similar events while in power. BJP and several right-wing outfits held protests in different parts of the state opposing the celebrations. Calling Tipu a "religious bigot", the state BJP unit had urged the state government to drop its decision to celebrate the Jayanthi. In Kodagu district, where celebrations in 2015 were marred by widespread protests and violence, 'Tipu Jayanti Virodhi Horata Samithi' called for a bandh. VHP worker Kuttappa had died in Kodagu district during a clash that erupted during the Tipu Jayanthi that year. BJP workers along with MLA M P Appachu Ranjan were detained at Madikeri in Kodagu district for protesting the event. Another BJP MLA and former assembly speaker K G Bopaiah was detained in Virajpet during the protest. In Mangaluru, some protesters tried to barge into the zilla panchayat office with black flags where the event was being organised. Police later detained the protesters. Similar protests were reported from Chikmagalur, Ballari, Karwar and various parts of the state. Prohibitory orders have been clamped in most of the districts as a precautionary measure, police said. Extra security arrangements were made in districts of Kodagu, Chitradurga, and coastal regions among others where local communities are opposed to the celebrations. Tipu was considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces. The ruler, however, is a controversial figure in Kodagu district as Kodavas (Coorgis), a martial race, believe that thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forcible conversion to Islam. He is also accused of execution of Mandayam Iyengars at the temple town of Melkote in Mandya district on the day of Diwali, as they supported the then Maharaja of Mysuru. However, the claims are disputed by several historians, who see Tipu as a secular and progressive ruler. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Protests by the BJP and right-wing outfits coupled with the absence of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his deputy marked the 'Tipu Jayanthi' celebrations in Karnataka Saturday. Tipu Jayanthi is celebrated to observe the birth anniversary of controversial 18th-century ruler of the erstwhile Mysore kingdom, Tipu Sultan. The celebrations brought the state under a thick security blanket, amid threats of protests by the BJP and other organisations, with the main event in Bengaluru turning out to be lacklustre. Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, who was to inaugurate the main event at Vidhana Soudha, the seat of state legislature here, in the absence of Kumaraswamy, also skipped the function. Kumaraswamy did not attend the event, citing doctors' advice to take rest for three days till November 11. The chief minister's office had made prior announcement about Kumaraswamy's inability to attend the function and his name was also not printed in the invitation. Parameshwara did not attend the event as he was out of town, sources at his office told PTI, without divulging any details. Following the chief minister's decision to skip the event, reports had emerged about difference of opinion between the ruling coalition partners over the celebrations. While in the opposition, Kumaraswamy had questioned the need for such celebration which was started by the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress government. Kumaraswamy reportedly chose to skip the event to not antagonise voters in his party's bastion of old Mysuru region, as Tipu Sultan had seized power from Maharajas of Mysuru, who are virtually revered there. The Chief Minister's Office (CMO), however, issued a statement on Kumaraswamy's absence at the event. Wishing success for Tipu Jayanti celebrations, the JD(S) leader said Tippu's progressive measures in administration, his quest for innovation were "commendable". He said as he was taking rest on doctor's advice, he was unable to take part in the programme. "It is unnecessary to add special meaning to it. It is also far from truth that he is not taking part due to the fear of losing power, as he opposes such blind beliefs," the CMO statement said. This was the first such celebration of 'Tipu Jayanti' after the Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) coalition government came to power in the state. The previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah began celebrating Tipu Jayanthi on November 10 every year since 2015, amid stiff opposition by the BJP, several Hindu organisations and some individuals. BJP and several right-wing organisations held protests in different parts of the state opposing the celebrations. Calling Tipu a "religious bigot", the state BJP unit had urged the state government to drop its decision to celebrate the Jayanthi. In Kodagu district, where celebrations in 2015 were marred by widespread protests and violence, Tipu Jayanthi Virodhi Horata Samithi called for a bandh. VHP worker Kuttappa had dled in Kodagu district during a clash that erupted during the Tipu Jayanthi that year. BJP workers along with MLA M P Appacchu Ranjan were detained by police at Madikeri in Kodagu district for protesting against the event after he allegedly had an argument with the police for not letting those without invitations to attend the event. Another BJP MLA and former assembly speaker K G Bopaiah was detained in Virajpet during the protest, police said. In Mangaluru, some protesters tried to barge into the zilla panchayat office with black flags where the event was being organised. The protestors were later detained by police. In Yellapura of Uttara Kannada district too, there were reports of detaining protesters. Similar protests were reported from Chikkamagaluru, Ballari, Karwar and various parts of the state. Police have clamped prohibitory orders in most of the districts in the state as a precautionary measure. Extra security arrangements have been made in districts like Kodagu, Chitradurga, and also coastal regions among others where local communities are opposed to the celebrations. Tipu Sultan was considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces. The ruler, however, is a controversial figure in Kodagu district as Kodavas (Coorgis), a martial race, believe that thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forcible conversion to Islam. He is also accused of execution of Mandayam Iyengars at the temple town of Melkote in Mandya district on the day of Deepavali festival, as they supported the then Maharaja of Mysuru. Tipu Sultan is seen in a negative light in the coastal Dakshina Kannada district too, where the Christians believe he unleashed atrocities on their community. However, the scale of such suppression is disputed by several historians, who see Tipu as a secular and modern ruler who took on the might of the British. Meanwhile, a group of Muslim leaders along with state minister Zammer Ahmed Khan Saturday met senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah and honoured him on the occasion of Tipu Jayanthi. Calling Tipu a "good administrator," Siddaramaiah hit out at the BJP for opposing Tipu Jayanti celebrations, while reminding about saffron party leaders attending similar events while in power. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Saturday dubbed DMK as opportunist, saying the Dravidian party's chief M K Stalin did not raise the Palar river issue during his meeting with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Palanisamy, referring to the meeting between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and DMK leader Stalin on Friday at Chennai, wondered why the issue of the neighbouring state constructing check dams across the river Palar was not flagged by the leader of the opposition. "DMK is taking steps to forge an opportunistic alliance," the Chief Minister told reporters when asked about the meeting between the two leaders. On the "BJP is communal," refrain of the DMK, Palaniswami wondered if the Stalin led party was not aware of it when it joined forces with the saffron party years ago. DMK was part of the BJP-led NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Chief Minister alleged that Stalin had not raised the issue of Palar affecting Tamil Nadu as he wanted only power and was not interested in the welfare of the people. Naidu had met Stalin at Chennai Friday as part of his efforts to cobble up a front against the saffron party. To a question on 18 disqualified MLAs and their clamour to hold protest to flag 'non-development,' of their assembly segments, the Chief Minister blamed them for the sluggish development in their constituencies. However, welfare schemes were being executed in all the constituencies, he said. The chief minister said the DMK failed to provide evidence against ministers against whom it had levelled corruption charges. He wondered why the DMK had sought a stay from court in connection with the Omandurar Secretariat case, pertaining to alleged irregularities its construction during the previous DMK rule, if it had nothing to fear. On the controversy over the Vijay-starrer 'Sarkar', Palanisamy said the media should disseminiate to the public, the benefits that accrued to the beneficiaries through the freebie schemes. Even the film director's relatives had benefited due to the scheme, he said. The media should also highlight salaries drawn by the actors and also the exorbitant prices of tickets, he said. Asked about actor Kamal Hassan's criticism on the issue, the chief minister said that when he had faced a similar problem for his picture, he had remarked that he would leave the country. "When he cannot tackle his own problem, how he will solve people's problems?," Palanisamy asked, adding that the actor has now ventured into after retirement from filmdom. During the peak of a controversy involving his movie 'Vishwaroopam,' Haasan he had made the remark about leaving the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : Tamil Nadu has received the nod from the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch its State Shelter Fund for attracting investments in the affordable housing segment, Deputy Chief Minister of the State O Panneerselvam said here Saturday. Panneerselvam, participating in an event, said, the Tamil Nadu government established the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund which is the category-I Alternative Investment Fund. "The government received the approval from SEBI to launch the Tamil Nadu Shelter Fund for affordable housing (segment)," he said at a conference on 'Innovative and Alternative Finance for Business and Infrastructure Development in India' organised by the United Economic Forum (UEF) Chamber of Commerce and World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation (WIEF). The Deputy Chief Minister said,"The fund is a social impact fund to provide investors with profit besides getting social and environmental benefits." On the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund taking up projects, he said, "The first round of funding has been raised from both local and international investors." "I am happy to inform you that the infrastructure fund has also declared with a total fund-raising of USD 350 million", he said. Panneerselvam said the UEF and WIEF have been working together to attract more investments into Tamil Nadu and have set a target of attracting one per cent of sovereign wealth fund investments. "This would amount to USD 33 billion. Such investments will immensely benefit the State and society at large". Panneerselvam said the State was ready to receive such huge investments and that it has identified over 200 infrastructure projects requiring investments of approximately USD 250 billion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu political parties, including the main opposition DMK Saturday termed the dissolution of the Sri Lankan Parliament as "murder of democracy". They also sought the Central government's intervention to ensure that the security of India and the welfare of the Tamil people in the island nation are protected. DMK chief M K Stalin said the dissolution of parliament was "trampling of the Constitution" and "atrocious" since the Sri Lankan constitution says that only a resolution by two thirds of its members can pave the way to dissolve the House within four and a half years of its convening. The leader of the opposition in the Tamil Nadu assembly, dubbed the move as a political emergency that threatened stability and jeopardised the welfare of Tamils. Urging the Centre to condemn the "murder of democracy", the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader said the Union government must take steps to ensure a dignified life for Tamils with peace and security. Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) leader Anbumani Ramadoss said although it was Sri Lanka's internal issue, the Centre cannot overlook the developments as the security of India and the welfare of the Tamil population of the island nation was at stake. "It is a brutal murder of democracy since Parliament's tenure ends only in August 2020," Anbumani, who is also the party's Dharmapuri Lok Sabha MP, said. He alleged that the Maithripala Sirisena-Rajapaksa combine would try to win the January 5 polls through intimidatory tactics and by indulging in poll irregularities. If they succeeded, it would lead to "both anti-Tamil" and "anti-India measures" in Sri Lanka, Anbumani claimed. "Strategic locations in Sri Lanka may be given on a platter to China, jeopardising India's security interests," he alleged. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko accused Sirisena of executing a "treacherous drama" to hand over full powers to Rajapaksa, who was allegedly responsible for the killings of Tamil people during the civil war in 2009. T T V Dhinakaran of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam too condemned the dissolution of parliament and demanded that the United Nations and the Indian government monitor the situation to ensure that Tamils were not affected in any way. Accusing Rajapaksa of being responsible for the killings of Tamils in 2009, he said the House was dissolved at a time when Tamils all over the world were expecting annulment of his appointment as the prime minister by parliament, an "atrocious act that would root out democracy". Sri Lanka is facing a major constitutional crisis after President Maithripala Sirisena ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa and suspended Parliament. Days ahead of the floor test in the house, his spokesman Friday acknowledged that Rajapaksa remains short of the 'magic number' 113 required to prove his majority in Parliament. The sudden constitutional crisis came amid growing tensions between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe on several policy matters and the President has been critical of the prime minister and his policies, especially on the economy and security. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Nagpur police Saturday termed as "fake" media reports about the arrest of two suspected agents of Pakistan's spy agency ISI from the city. Police Commissioner B K Upadhyay said no such operation was carried out in the city. There were reports Friday on social media that two suspected ISI agents were arrested from Bhaldarpura area under the Ganeshpeth Police Station. Some newspapers carried reports that the Military Intelligence (MI) had made the arrests in a covert operation on Friday night. However, the police commissioner said these reports were "fake" and no such operation was carried out in any part of the city. Irfan Quazi, a social activist residing in Bhaldarpura, said no one noticed any such raid in the densely populated area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A triple monument as a mark of respect to the former South African president Nelson Mandela, Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini and spiritual leader Swami Sivananda was unveiled in a public park in Durban on Thursday. Besides the first busts erected together of Mandela and Zwelithini, there is also the latest Sivananda Peace Pillar, a project initiated by South African Indian-origin philanthropist and businessman Ishwar Ramlutchman. Ramlutchman has also been anointed as an adopted son of the Zulu King, acquiring the title Mabheka Zulu. "I have been associated with the Zulu monarch and the Zulu nation since I was 20 years old. I was touched by the simplicity and the contribution of His Majesty and Dr Nelson Mandela to society and decided to honour them by commissioning this monument of peace in honour of them," Ramlutchman said. Zwelithini commended Ramlutchman for having installed 14 Sivananda Peace Pillars across the province of KwaZulu-Natal already. "The Sivananda Peace Pillars are a beacon of unity in diversity. They are a source of inspiration and a reminder that peace and love should transcend our human limitations," Ramlutchman said, adding that he was humbled when the Dalai Lama gave his unconditional support for the project. Ramlutchman said the latest monument would also include a plaque commemorating the first Indian indentured labourers who arrived in Durban in 1860. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government will soon start a dialogue for the purchase of 26 per cent equity shares of the Palatana gas thermal power project from the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS). The 726.6 mw gas-based power project, run by ONGC Power Company (OTPC), was formally started in 2014 as a joint venture of the ONGC, the IDFC, the and the government. "The state of Tripura owns 0.5 per cent share in the project. We have come to know from the central government that the will offload its entire 26 per cent share. We are in the process of opening a dialogue with them to buy all the shares because the Palatana power project is a very profitable company," Law Minister Ratan Lal Nath told reporters on Friday. The ministry of power allocated over 58 per cent energy from the Palatana project to north-eastern states. Out of Tripuras share in the project's output, the state government is selling 160 mw on a daily basis to neighbouring Bangladesh. The purchased 26 per cent equity shares at Rs 2.91 billion. With an increase in value, the equity shares are now estimated at Rs 3 billion, Nath said. The minister claimed that the value of the shares is likely to appreciate in future. US President Donald Trump Saturday said the suggestion of his French counterpart Emanuel Macron that Europe should build its own army was "very insulting", asserting that Europe should first pay its "fair share" to NATO. Trump slammed Macron in a tweet, moments after he landed in Paris for a weekend trip to commemorate Armistice Day and attend the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, which is being attended by several world leaders, including India's Vice President Venkaiah Naidu. "President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly!" he said in a tweet. Early this week, Macron had pushed for a "true European Army" that would address the threat posed by countries like Russia and China. "We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America," he told French Radio Station One. "Who is the main victim? Europe and its security. I want to build a real security dialogue with Russia, which is a country I respect, a European country but we must have a Europe that can defend itself on its own without relying only on the United States," Macron said. Trump's tweet just after landing in Paris that was highly critical of Macron is expected to strain the US-French relationship. Early this year, Trump had hosted Macron on the first State Dinner of his Administration. Trump and Macron are schedule to have bilateral meeting during his stay in France. Earlier leaving for Paris, the US President told reporters at the White House that it will be a "great, really, commemorative service". "I think it's going to be something very special. I've seen what they have planned, and I think it's going to be something very, very special," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Turkey's president said Saturday that at least seven soldiers were killed and 25 others wounded in an explosion at an ammunition depot at a base in the southeast. The Defense Ministry previously said on Friday that 25 soldiers were wounded and seven others were missing following an unexplained accident during the firing of heavy weapons ammunition. The blast occurred at a base in Hakkari province, bordering Iraq and Iran. The base is mainly used for operations targeting outlawed Kurdish rebels. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaking at a memorial marking the 80th anniversary of the death of the Turkish republic's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk said the incident involved an ammunition depot explosion and resulted in four deaths. He later told reporters before departing for Paris that seven soldiers were killed and 25 others were wounded in the explosion. Four of the wounded were in serious condition and were being evacuated by helicopter to a hospital in Ankara, Erdogan said. The others were hospitalised in Hakkari province. The president said the cause of the blast was under investigation. It wasn't clear if the explosion occurred during training or a clash against rebels. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A former UK minister says others may step down from the government to protest Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan. Jo Johnson told BBC radio Saturday it is up to members of Parliament to take a stand. He said that if others decide to resign, "good on them." Johnson, the younger brother of Boris Johnson, stepped down as a transport minister Friday and called for a second Brexit referendum. He said May's Brexit plan would damage Britain's national interest. He said the plan is so different from what had been promised during the 2016 referendum that a second vote is needed. May has rejected all demands for another vote, saying the 2016 vote in favor of leaving the European Union is definitive. Difficult negotiations between Britain and the EU continue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A UK police force on Saturday launched an appeal to arrest vandals who attacked a newly-inaugurated Indian war memorial in the town of Smethwick in the West Midlands region of England. West Midlands Police said officers are treating the vandalism to the retaining wall surrounding the 'Lions of the Great War' sculpture as "racially-aggravated criminal damage". The 10-foot high statue, which depicts a Sikh soldier symbolic of the contribution of South Asian soldiers to World War I, was unveiled last Sunday at a spot between the town's High Street and Tollhouse Way and is believed to have been targeted with graffiti in the early hours of Friday. "We understand that this attack has caused a lot of concern in the community, and we are working to understand the reasons behind it and identify whoever is responsible," said Sergeant Bill Gill from the Smethwick Neighbourhood Team of West Midlands Police. "Officers had already planned to be at the remembrance event which is happening tomorrow (November 11) at the statue. I'd urge anyone with concerns to speak to the officers attending the event," he said. He added that CCTV footage is being recovered and officers are working closely with worshippers and management at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick, which had commissioned the statue to honour the sacrifices made by South Asian service personnel of all faiths from the Indian subcontinent who fought for Britain in the Great War and other conflicts. The words "Sepoys no more" were daubed on the base of the sculpture while a thick black line was drawn through the words "Great War". "Sepoy" was the term used in the British Indian Army for a soldier. "There was some vandalism to the back wall which is disappointing. The graffiti was cleaned off and the matter reported to the police," Jatinder Singh, President of the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick, said in a statement. He added, "Working with the council, we won't allow this vandalism to undermine the very strong message created by this new monument and the overwhelmingly positive reaction to its unveiling". "What makes this incident particularly distressing, is the complete disregard and lack of respect for the significance of the statue and inscriptions installed recently to commemorate the losses felt by many South Asian families who lost their dear ones during the First World War and to mark 100 years since the end of the Great War," he said. The bronze statue was unveiled last week to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I in November 1918, also referred to as the 'Great War'. The gurudwara donated around 20,000 pounds for the sculpture, with the local Sandwell Council investing in creating the public space with seating and lighting to house the new monument. The inaugural event was attended by hundreds, including Labour Party MP Preet Kaur Gill, the UK's first female Sikh MP. "It is an often overlooked fact that one in every six British soldiers was from the Indian subcontinent, making the British Indian Army larger than all the Commonwealth forces that they fought alongside, combined," the Birmingham Edgbaston MP said in her speech. "With the Commonwealth Games coming to Birmingham in 2022, this statue will serve as a timely reminder to our Commonwealth guests of the camaraderie and sacrifice shown by Sikhs throughout the wars, and who sacrificed their lives in defence of democracy and in the fight for freedom," she said. Over 74,000 soldiers from undivided India laid down their lives in World War I. This weekend marks a series of events to commemorate the sacrifices of soldiers from around the world who participated in the war effort between 1914 and 1918, as part of the centenary of the Great War. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United States voiced concern Saturday after Sri Lanka's president ordered snap elections, as lawmakers warned that US aid was in question. President Maithripala Sirisena, who two weeks ago sparked a crisis by sacking the prime minister and installing former authoritarian leader Mahinda Rajapakse in his place, signed a decree for elections to be held January 5, nearly two years ahead of schedule. "The US is deeply concerned by the Sri Lanka parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis," the US State Department said in a statement on Twitter. "As a committed partner of Sri Lanka, we believe democratic institutions and processes need to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity," it said. The incoming head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee warned Sirisena he was jeopardizing US assistance including a package under discussion through the Millennium Challenge Cooperation, which supports countries that observe democratic norms. "Unfortunately, we fear that recent actions, if not corrected, will threaten your country's democratic development and derail the progress made in recent years," said the letter to Sirisena. It was signed by three lawmakers including Representative Eliot Engel, who is set to take charge of the House committee following the Democratic Party's election victory. Sri Lanka's relations with the West have warmed significantly since the 2015 electoral defeat of Rajapakse, who as president crushed the long-running Tamil Tiger insurgency. He refused to acknowledge any human rights abuses in the final campaign, in which rights groups say up to 40,000 civilians died. But Rajapakse is short of votes in parliament to return to power as prime minister and the sacked, Western-friendly premier, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has refused to back down. An ally of Wickremesinghe has accused China of financing defections toward Rajapakse, who has pursued close cooperation with Beijing. China has denied the allegations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US prosecutors in on Saturday indicted the Florida man accused of sending pipe bombs to critics of with crimes that carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. The 56-year-old, who lived in a van plastered with pro-Trump and anti-Democrat stickers before his October 26 arrest, was previously hit with a five-count complaint in the sunshine state. The registered Republican, who has a criminal history and reported past as a stripper, was subsequently flown to and appeared in a Manhattan court earlier this week, before the 30-count indictment was unveiled. Cesar Sayoc now stands accused of mailing 16 explosive devices, despite law enforcement officials previously alleging that he sent 11 critics of the US president a total of 13 different devices. The charges include five counts of use of a weapon of mass destruction for each mailed to and intercepted in the area, targeting billionaire liberal donor George Soros, former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, actor Robert de Niro, former CIA director John Brennan and former intelligence chief James Clapper. Sayoc is charged five times with interstate transportation and receipt of explosives and five times with threatening interstate communications. Allegedly included with the bombs were a print-out or photograph of his intended victim marked with a red X. Sayoc was also charged five times with illegal mailing of explosives, five times with use of explosives to commit a felony and five times with use of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence. Outside the New York area, Sayoc is also accused of sending other pipe bombs to former president Barack Obama, former vice president Joe Biden and The attempted bombings fanned tensions across the United States ahead of this week's midterm elections, which saw Trump retain control of the Senate but the Democrats win the majority in the lower House of Representatives. The US has welcomed Saudi Arabia's "decision" to cease taking American support and instead use its own military capabilities for refuelling aircraft from the Riyadh-led coalition engaged in the Yemen war. The US has provided refuelling to about 20 per cent of the Saudi-led coalition planes flying sorties over Yemen. "We support the decision by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after consultations with the US Government, to use the Coalition's own military capabilities to conduct inflight refueling in support of its operations in Yemen," US Defence Secretary James Mattis said in a statement late Friday. The US' statement came after the Saudi Arabia said that "in consultation with the US" it has asked for "cessation of inflight refueling support" from America. A statement, released by the Saudi Press agency, said Saudi Arabia and its allies were able to "increase their capacity" of refuelling their aircrafts, and will do so independently. The Saudi's move followed a report in the Washington Post that the US was to stop refuelling aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition, amidst ongoing international outcry over Riyadh's actions in Yemen, particularly after a series of coalition strikes in which scores of civilians, including several children, were killed. The move also came at a time when Riyadh is facing international outrage over the murder of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. "We are all focused on supporting resolution of the conflict, led by UN special envoy Martin Griffiths," Mattis said. He said the US will continue working with the coalition to minimise civilian casualties and expand urgent humanitarian efforts in Yemen. Besides refuelling, the US provides intelligence support to the Saudi-led coalition and sells it weaponry used in Yemen's war. "The US and the coalition are planning to collaborate on building up legitimate Yemeni forces to defend the Yemeni people, secure their country's borders, and contribute to counter Al Qaeda and ISIS efforts in Yemen and the region," Mattis said in the statement. In August, Pentagon had warned that the US support for the coalition was "not unconditional" and noted that it must do "everything humanly possible to avoid any innocent loss of life". Saudi Arabia and its allies are intervening in an ongoing conflict that began in 2015 between embattled Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, whose government is recognized by the UN, and the Houthi militia, which claims to constitute the Yemeni government. As per various media reports, nearly 10,000 people have since been killed and the country now stands at the brink of famine. Saudi Arabia is a key ally of the US, which views it as a counter to Iranian influence in the region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Vishva Hindu Parishad will hold public rallies in all parliamentary constituencies to urge the government and pressure political parties to bring a legislation for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, its working president Alok Kumar said Saturday. Kumar also praised the UP government's decision to rename Faizabad district as Ayodhya and linked it to national pride. "There was a king's road and a queen's road, there was a Hardinge Bridge in Delhi. They were renamed to Rajpath, Janpath, and Tilak Bridge by then Congress government. Restoring the old names or changing the names of places named after people who have attacked India is a sound thing to do for restoration of national pride," he said. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced at a public meeting on Tuesday that Faizabad will be renamed as Ayodhya. Kumar said they are meeting religious and social leaders, who in turn are meeting the governor of their states to tell them that people want Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The governors have assured us they will convey it to the president and the prime minister, he added. "We will hold public rallies and other programmes in all parliamentary constituencies and will meet all MPs to insist that they support the legislation on Ram Mandir. We will hold the first three public meetings on November 25 in Nagpur, Ayodhya and Bengaluru. The whole thing will culminate in a big public rally on December 9 at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi," Kumar said. He said these developments will be reported to the 'Dharma Sansad' on January 31 in Allahabad and the future course of action will be decided there. "We hope that this (public rallies) would strengthen the government to bring a bill and put pressure on other parties to support or at least not to oppose it," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Saturday inaugurated the first India-bulit war memorial in northern France to pay tribute to thousands of Indian soldiers who fought selflessly and made supreme sacrifices during the World War I. Naidu, who is on a three-day visit to Paris starting Friday, also interacted with French armed forces veterans and children at the inauguration of the Indian War Memorial at Villers Guislain. "Extremely happy to unveil the Indian Armed Forces Memorial at Villers-Guislain town in France today. It's a great tribute to several thousands of Indian soldiers whose gallantry and dedication have earned worldwide recognition," Naidu said in a tweet. The memorial is the first-of-its-kind built by India in France after the country's Independence. The announcement to construct the memorial was made by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her last visit to Paris in June 2018. "India contributed immensely to the war effort in terms of both men and material. Her soldiers served with credit and honour in numerous battlefields around the globe: in France and Belgium, in Aden, Arabia, East Africa, Gallipoli, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Persia and Salonika," he said. "We therefore share a bond of sacrifice that joins us to French soil and society. The final resting places of these soldiers are spread over 158 cemeteries across various communes and cities of France. Their blood is permanently mixed with the soil here," he said. Naidu said despite India's significant role in the World War I, it was frequently "overlooked" as a result of the horrors experienced in trench warfare and by Europe's tendency to home in on battles such as those fought at the Somme and Verdun, which many assume only Europeans fought in. Vice President Naidu also addresses local community and members of Indian Diaspora after inaugurating the memorial. "I consider it my privilege to have this honour to be amongst you today and inaugurate the first War Memorial constructed by the GoI in France and to pay homage to the Indian soldiers who fought selflessly and heroically during World War I and made the supreme sacrifice," he said. Indian troops were on Western Front by winter of 1914 and fought at the first Battle of Ypres. By the end of 1915, they had sustained many casualties along with casualties from sickness, the decision was taken to withdraw Indian Corps from front line duty at the end of 1915. Naidu said 800,000 Indian troops fought in all the theatres of the war with 1.5 million volunteering to fight. They fought in most theatres of war including Gallipoli and North and East Africa. In all 47,746 were classed as killed or missing with 65,000 wounded, he said. The Indian Corps won 13,000 medals for gallantry including 12 Victoria Crosses. Khudadad Khan won the Corps first Victoria Cross. Such was the cost of the war, that India's economy was pushed to near bankruptcy, Naidu said. Vice President Naidu is in Paris to represent India at the Armistice of World War I centenary commemoration. Heads of state or government of over 50 countries and their representatives are expected to participate in the centenary activities. On Sunday, the vice president will attend the ceremony to commemorate the armistice of World War I at Arc de Triomphe, presided over by French President Emmanuel Macron. He will speak at a high-level panel discussion titled 'Dialogue of the Continents on Global Governance' and will also hold a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum, the Ministry of External Affairs said in statement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three days after remaining elusive, mining baron G Janardhana Reddy said on Saturday he would appear before the police in connection with an alleged ponzi scam, maintaining that he had not done anything wrong. In a video message from an unknown location, Reddy said he was not absconding and was very much in the city, asserting that there was no need for him to flee. He also rubbished media reports that he had fled to Hyderabad or some other city. "I have not committed anything wrong. The police do not have not a single document to prove that I am wrong. They are misleading the media," he claimed in his message telecast by TV channels. Reddy, who was a minister in the erstwhile Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka, said he never panicked as his name neither figured in the first information (FIR) report, nor was any notice served to him. "Now that the notice has been issued by the police, I have decided to appear before the Central Crime Branch today itself though the notice says I should appear on Sunday," Reddy said. "I decided to make this video to let people know the truth. I have faith in the police and believe that they would not succumb to any political pressure," he added. The Central Crime Branch police had launched a hunt for him since Wednesday in connection with a money transaction worth crores of rupees, allegedly linked to a ponzi scheme. The CCB was also on the lookout for Reddy's close aide, Ali Khan, who had allegedly struck a Rs 20-crore deal with Syed Ahmed Fareed of Ambidant Marketing Pvt. Ltd -- a company accused of involvement in the ponzi scheme -- to bail him out from the Enforcement Directorate investigation. Bengaluru Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar had said on Wednesday that Reddy was absconding and the police were looking for him to question him in the case. Reddy's lawyer, C H Hanumantharaya, who earlier moved a city civil court on Friday seeking anticipatory bail, had told reporters that the minor baron would take a call on Saturday whether to appear before the CCB or not. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pharma major Ltd Saturday reported widening of its consolidated net loss at Rs 230 million for the second quarter ended September 30. The company, which plans to raise up to Rs 18 billion through private placement of non-convertible debentures, had reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 3 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal, said in regulatory filings. Sales during the quarter under review stood at Rs 11.25 billion. It was at Rs 10.22 billion in the year-ago period, it added. The company said its total expenses during the quarter were higher at Rs 11.6356 billion as against Rs 11.0476 billion in the corresponding period last fiscal. The board of directors in its meeting held on Saturday approved raising of funds through issuance of non-convertible debentures or bonds on private placement basis up to an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 18 billion. further said its board has also approved issuance of non-convertible non-cumulative redeemable preference shares of face value of Rs 5 aggregating up to Rs 5 billion on preferential basis to members of the promoter group, for which shareholder nod would be taken through postal ballot. It, however, did not specify where the funds would be utilised. The business performance of the company during the second quarter showed marked improvement driven by growth in US and emerging markets, Wockhardt Ltd said. "Costs of on-going remedial measures, however, continued to impact profitability," it added. business stood at Rs 4.55 billion in the quarter as against Rs 4.52 billion in same period last year. It contributed 40 per cent of the global revenue, it said. The company said its US business grew by 18 per cent in rupee terms mainly on account of new products launches and increased market share of some of its products. The US business contributed 17 per cent of global revenue. On the other hand, emerging market business contributed about Rs 1.44 billion, around 13 per cent of global revenue. The segment witnessed strong growth of 68 per cent in the second quarter, it said. The call launched by King Mohammed VI to neighboring Algeria for a direct, open and frank dialogue to settle the transient and objective differences hampering the development of relations between the two countries has triggered positive reactions worldwide and earned the Sovereign praise in Africa, Europe, the UN and in the Arab world. In a speech on the anniversary of the Green March celebrated last Tuesday (Nov.6), King Mohammed VI has made Moroccos good intentions clear calling on Algeria for dialogue to settle all differences poisoning bilateral relations. In response to this wise initiative, the United Arab Emirates top diplomat Sheikh Abdallah Ben Zayed al-Nahyan voiced his countrys full backing to the initiative made by the Moroccan King for the normalization of relations with Algeria and ending the political deadlock. He renewed support to Moroccos territorial integrity and sovereignty over the Sahara and to the autonomy plan for the Sahara that would allow the local inhabitants to exercise their right to run their affairs themselves, and to achieve integrated development in a free and stable environment. Qatar also welcomed the royal initiative, saying it will usher in a constructive and fruitful dialogue between the two neighboring countries to settle all their pending issues. Oman praised the content of the Royal speech and commended the Kings call for constructive dialogue with Algeria and for the peaceful settlement of disputes. A statement carried by the Omani news agency said the call will strengthen security and stability in the Arab Maghreb region. Bahrain also commended the royal initiative, stressing that this wise initiative reflects the Moroccan Kings commitment to dialogue and fraternal relations linking the two Maghreb countries. A statement by the Bahraini Foreign Ministry said the royal initiative is meant to further strengthen bilateral cooperation for the benefit of the two brotherly peoples. In his outreach to Algeria, King Mohammed VI also suggested the setting up of a joint political mechanism for dialogue and consultation to break the stalemate in bilateral relations, reiterating his commitment to work hand in hand with the Algerian brothers. Manama hopes that this mechanism of consultation will help overcome the obstacles hindering the development of relations between the two countries and boost their capacities to serve the interests of Arab Maghreb states and joint Arab action, the statement said. Bahrain reiterated its unwavering support for Moroccos legitimate rights over its southern provinces and for the autonomy initiative as a means to reach a political and lasting settlement under Moroccos sovereignty and territorial integrity. Likewise, Jordan welcomed the Moroccan Kings call for a frank and direct dialogue with Algeria to break the existing impasse in relations and rebuild well-grounded ties based on fraternal solidarity and confidence, a statement by the foreign ministry said Friday. Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said bridging differences between the two countries and turning over a new page of cooperation would further boost joint Arab solidarity, serve pan-Arab issues and overcome common challenges. Safadi highlighted the central role of both Algeria and Morocco in the framework of the joint Arab action system, what makes the positive interaction a necessity serving the interests of the two brotherly countries. The Foreign Minister renewed Jordans firm support for all efforts seeking to settle Arab disagreements and set up new mechanisms of effective cooperation among Arab states. A 38-year-old woman was killed and her daughter was seriously injured after their four-wheeler was hit by a speeding vehicle, which was allegedly driven by an inebriated woman, in west Delhi's Punjabi Bagh area, police said Saturday. The deceased was identified as Poonam Sardana and her daughter as Chetanya (13). The minor's eye was completely damaged in the accident and doctors transplanted Poonam's cornea to replace the damaged one, they added. The accident took place on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. On November 9, the police were informed about an accident on the Punjabi Bagh Flyover. On the spot, two damaged vehicles were found. Sudhir Sardana along with his family, including Poonam and Chetanya, were returning from Chhatarpur Mandir and driving towards their house in Adarsh Nagar when a vehicle bearing an Uttar Pradesh registration number lost control, jumped over the road divider and rammed their car, police said. It was found that the erring vehicle was being driven by one Shivani Malik (22). She was accompanied by three of her friends, who allegedly had alcoholic drinks at Connaught Place, and were driving towards Gurgaon, police added. "It is suspected that Shivani was driving at a high speed. She lost control of the vehicle, and hit the divider before crossing over to the other lane and hitting Sardana's car from the rear-end," police said. Shivani's vehicle then upturned over another car being driven by one Tarun Bajaj, who escaped with minor injuries, they added. The injured were rushed to a hospital where Poonam Sardana (38) was declared brought dead while her 13-year-old daughter's eye was severely hurt. Poonam's cornea was used to give vision to her daughter, police said. The accused, Shivani Malik, is a resident of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. She was allegedly inebriated and was on her way to Gurugram Club along with friends, Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Monika Bhardwaj said. The accused woman works in a salon in Noida. She was arrested and a case was registered against her, officials said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A woman farm labourer was mauled to death by a wild animal, suspected to be a tiger or leopard, at a forest in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, police said Saturday. Sakhubai Kasture, 55, a resident of Pendhri village in Chandrapur, located around 160 km from Nagpur, had gone to work at a farm in the forest on Friday, an official at Patri police station said. When she did not return home till late night, villagers launched a search and spotted her body in a forest area in Sawali tehsil on Saturday early morning, he said. There were injuries and animal marks on the body and some blood clots were also found on her clothes, he said. Pug marks of tiger and leopard were also noticed near the body, he said, adding that police and forest officials visited the spot and were investigating the incident. Tigers and leopards are often spotted in the forest area, he said. The Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, the oldest and largest national park in Maharashtra, is located in Chandrapur district. Notably, a tigress named Avni, who was believed to have turned man-eater and killed 13 people in the last two years in Yavatmal district's Pandharkawda area, was shot dead in the Borati forest there last week. The killing led to outrage among animal lovers and wildlife organisations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : The YSR Congress Saturday decided not to contest the December 7 assembly elections in Telangana since its 'complete focus' is on the 2019 elections in Andhra Pradesh, its actual base. The party, however, said it would take steps to strengthen the organisation across Telangana with the elections in 2024 as the target. The YSRC won three assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat in the 2014 elections, but its elected legislators subsequently switched sides to the ruling TRS. A statement from the YSRC Central Committee late Saturday night said the decision not to contest the polls was taken since 'our complete focus' was on the 2019 general elections in Andhra Pradesh. "Taking into account the happenings (in Telangana) in the last four and a half years, we have decided not to contest the elections in that state," the statement added. The YSRC is fighting a do-or-die political battle in Andhra Pradesh and the 2019 elections are critical for its future. Meanwhile, the Jana Sena Party said it would take a call on fighting the Telangana elections in a few days. "There is some uncertainty in the party because of the mid-term elections in Telangana. Had the elections been conducted as per schedule (in 2019), we wanted to contest 23 Assembly and three Lok Sabha seats," Jana Sena Chief Pawan Kalyan said in Vijayawada. Some candidates were eager to jump into the fray as independents and sought Jana Senas support, he said. "We will deliberate all aspects and take a decision in a few days," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 2 announced that MSMEs can get loans up to Rs 1 crore in 59 minutes through a dedicated portal (psbloansin59minutes.com), giving a boost to the sector that employs the most Indians after agriculture. The process took up to 30 days earlier as banks had a lengthy process of approval and documentation and while applicants would invariably end up making rounds of multiple banks to procure loans. So, how did the government accomplish the task of providing the in-principle approval within an hour? The solution is a single form that consists of all the data points that can be entered by the applicant through a simple, user-friendly interface. The data points so collected can be re-arranged as per the requirement of different banks. For the loan officer, the decision-making is simpler and quicker as the solution provides a summary of credit, valuation and verification on a dashboard. The algorithm that enables this is a proprietary software of Ahmedabad-based CapitaWorld and it came into the limelight in 2017 when its software engine-powered app called 'Artificial Intelligence Enabled Fund Raising' won the second prize at a contest organised by the Reserve Bank Of India's research institution, the Institute for Development and Research into Banking Technology, to encourage the development of banking apps. It integrates information from GST, IT returns, bank statement, fraud checking, credit bureau information to approve the loan. CapitaWorld's platform maps and matches the loan seekers with loan providers using artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning, creating a complete recommendation system. CapitaWorld Platform, incorporated in 2015, was founded by Jinand Shah, Vinod Modha, and Aviruk Chakraborty. Jinand Shah, 34, holds a CA and CFA certification, and has worked in finance, manufacturing, ports and infrastructure, as well as the service sector. Sixty-year-old Vinod Modha's experience spans venture funding, NBFCs, incubation, funds, and infrastructure. He has served on the board of several corporates, and has been a strategic advisor for promoters of corporates like Nirma, Mudra Communications, and Intellecap. Aviruk Chakraborty, 34, is a techie who has worked at SAIL's Bokaro steel plant, Volvo's manufacturing unit in Bengaluru, and ICICI Bank. He has also worked as a financial advisor to Stein and Partners in Dusseldorf, and has been a lecturer in engineering and economics at the Ruhr/Government University in Germany. However Chakraborty is not listed in the leadership team of CapitaWorld. In July, the company's ownership saw a major change when nine public sector banks, including SIDBI, bought 54 per cent stake in CapitaWorld Platform for Rs 22.5 crore. Putting the controlling power in the hands of SIDBI and 5 other PSBs which together hold the majority stake. Four out of 7 directors are public sector shareholders nominee namely Mohammad Mustafa (SIDBI nominee), Narayanan Sadanandan (SBI nominee) Akhil Handa (Bank of Baroda nominee) and Manoj Mittal (SIDBI trustee co. nominee). The company now sits on a gold mine as it would have access to the data of millions of MSMEs. Besides, CapitaWorld charges Rs 1,180 (including taxes) against the online 'in-principle' approval in case the borrower's proposal matches the lender requirements. If the loan gets approved, the company earns another 0.35 per cent of the loan amount as commission. With over 70,000 loans sanctioned, the company has already earned over Rs 8 crore from 'in principle' approval. That is over and above the 0.35 pc it will earn for the loan amount disbursed. New Delhi, Nov 9 (PTI) In his first visit as the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will travel to Male on November 17 to attend the swearing-in ceremony of new Maldivian president, indicating an attempt to mend bilateral ties, which nosedived during the outgoing Abdulla Yameen government.Announcing Modi's day-long visit, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the prime minister has accepted president-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih invitation to attend the ceremony "with pleasure". Kumar, however, made it clear that it is not a "bilateral visit"."In keeping with its neighbourhood first policy, India looks forward to closely working with Maldives in further deepening the partnership," Kumar said.India-Maldives ties came under strain under Yameen who was perceived to be close to China. Some decisions by Yameen including imposition of restrictions on work visas for Indians and signing of a new Free Trade Agreement with Beijing also did not go down well with New Delhi. The relations deteriorated further after Yameen imposed emergency on February 5 this year. India had criticised his decision and asked his government to restore the credibility of the electoral and political process by releasing political prisoners. The emergency lasted for 45 days. Presidential elections were held in Maldives on September 23 in which joint opposition leader Solih defeated Yameen, capping months of political upheaval in the tourist paradise. Maldives is an important country for India's maritime security and there have been concerns in India over China's growing influence over the country in last few years. PTI MPB PYK PYKPYK Crisis-hit Jet Airways said independent director Vikram Singh Mehta has put in his papers due to "time constraints" and other obligations on Friday. The full service carrier is battling financial woes and has been delaying salary disbursement to its senior management, pilots and engineers since August. In a filing to the stock exchanges, the airline said Mehta has submitted his resignation as an independent director with effect from November 9. Mehta has expressed his inability to continue as an independent director on the board "due to his recent time constraints, commitments and other obligations," the airline said in a separate statement. Quoting Mehta, the statement said that in recent months, the call on his time from his other obligations has mounted. "I find it increasingly difficult to dedicate the time and attention required to discharge my fiduciary responsibilities. It is for this reason that I have resigned," he said. The Jet Airways board, chaired by Naresh Goyal, has ten members, as per its website. With the resignation of Mehta, who is a former civil servant, the board now has nine members. Shares of the airline closed almost flat at Rs 257.40 apiece on the BSE. King Mohammed VI of Morocco will take part on Sunday in Paris in the ceremonies marking the centennial of the armistice that ended World War I. The Sovereign will take part in the ceremonies at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron of France, a statement by the Royal office said. Many world leaders, including US president Donald Trump, president Vladimir Putin of Russia, German chancellor Angela Merkel, president Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will join French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris for the commemoration festivities. The commemoration agenda features a parade at the Arc de Triomphe, and a luncheon in honor of attending world leaders. The commemoration will also be marked by the opening ceremony of the Paris Peace Forum, a gathering of global leaders, dedicated to international cooperation and multilateralism. This global platform, initiated by the French President, is intended to respond to the rise of tensions in the contemporary world and provide participants with the opportunity to discuss how to work together on global issues more efficiently, and achieve fairer and more equitable globalization, and a more effective multilateral system, according to organizers. The forum comes as the current model of international cooperation has shown its limits amid a rise of populism in Europe, the retreat of the US administration from the international stage, and the need to protect democracy, the organizers say. To support collective action, it gathers all actors of global governance under one roof for three days states, international organizations, local governments, NGOs and foundations, companies, experts, journalists, trade unions, religious groups and citizens, organizers said. The U.S and China held security meetings in Washington D.C. Friday, bringing together top security and military officials amid continuing tensions and an ongoing trade war. The two sides discussed key issues like the South China Sea, Taiwan, and Iranian sanctions, although the talks were also presented by both sides as a chance to lay the groundwork for a meeting of Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump at the G-20 summit in Argentina later this month. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis met with Yang Jiechi, a member of China's politburo and former foreign minister, and General Wei Fenghe, China's defense minister. This was the second U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue, a forum intended for candid discussions between the two countries' military and defense leaders, initiated last year. The meetings, originally scheduled for October in Beijing, were delayed after relations swiftly deteriorated when the U.S. imposed sanctions on a Chinese state-owned company for buying Russian weapons, and approved sales of $330 million of military equipment to Taiwan. U.S. military patrols in the disputed South China Sea have further irritated Beijing. The U.S. is committed to finalizing a military-to-military crisis deconfliction and communication framework, said Mattis, saying that the two sides had tried to find ways to lessen tensions between the two countries and reduce the risks of miscalculation. China and the U.S. will hold joint military maritime rescue and search exercises by the end of the year, Wei told journalists. During a press conference after the talks, Pompeo said that he hoped China and the U.S. would cooperate more on helping to denuclearize the Korean peninsula and bringing Irans oil export revenues to zero. China and seven other countries including India, Japan and South Korea received six-month exemptions from U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil that were imposed earlier in November due to Washingtons suspicions that Tehran is continuing its nuclear program with the aim of developing nuclear weapons. Yang said that proper handling of the Iran situation was very important. China's policies toward the South China Sea and Taiwans international space were key U.S. concerns, said Pompeo. The U.S. called on China to withdraw its missile systems from disputed features in the Spratly Islands, at the dialogue, according to an official summary, referring to islands located in the South China Sea. China has constructed facilities on its islands and reefs, but they are mostly for civilian purposes, Yang told journalists. China and the U.S. agreed to continue to improve communication between their militaries and on issues like counterterrorism, law enforcement, and illegal narcotics, said Yang. Earlier this year, the two countries engaged in tit-for-tat rounds of punitive tariffs on hundreds of billions dollars of products, a key source of current tensions. A trade war will only end up hurting both sides and the global economy, said Yang to journalists after the talks. Neither Pompeo nor Mattis mentioned trade issues. The United States is not pursuing a Cold War or containment policy with China, Pompeo said, in his concluding remarks. Tensions between China and the U.S. have shown some signs of easing after a telephone discussion between Xi and Trump earlier this month. The leaders had a long and very good conversation about trade and the discussions were moving along nicely toward meetings at the G-20 summit, Trump tweeted. Contact reporter Ke Baili (bailike@caixin.com) news, latest-news Patients across the country are being put at risk by bullying, harassment and unprofessional behaviour by medical staff in hospitals, a report has found. In an article published in the Medical Journal of Australia, researchers found bullying is so widespread in the health system in Australia it's considered endemic. According to the article, between 25 and 50 per cent of medical staff have been subjected to discrimination, bullying or sexual harassment while at work. "Although unprofessional behaviour is common, the true prevalence is likely to be significantly underestimated, with widespread under-reporting," the report said. "Humiliation, belittling and verbal abuse of medical students and trainees are common and, in some situations, normalised in Australia." Australian Institute of Health Innovation research fellow Neroli Sunderland, one of the report's authors, said the health of patients has been put at risk due to bullying. "We know when staff are bullied in all workplaces, there's a bigger risk of anxiety and having difficulty concentrating," she said. "It's particularly concerning in the health system because it impacts upon the duty of care." The report findings come as an independent review is set to examine workplace culture within the ACT health system, with cases of alleged bullying widespread across Canberra's hospitals. Last month, the training accreditation of the intensive care unit at Sydney's Westmead Hospital was stripped in response to bullying and harassment allegations. Another Sydney hospital, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, was also barred from training doctors in its cardiothoracic surgery department. The medical journal report said changing bullying behaviour within hospitals must start within university or training programs. However, without culture change across hospitals, the training programs would have limited success. "There was a recent study of medical students, where the majority of them had been treated bad in hospitals during their training, and 50 per cent of them thought that was a good way to learn, and they were humiliated for making mistakes," Ms Sunderland said. "Now there's an awareness and less acceptance of bullying, and there will have to be a willingness from the hospitals to change the culture." Staff burnout and dissatisfaction as a result of poor workplace culture and bullying threaten the sustainability of the health workforce, according to the report. "Without addressing behaviour, teamwork and culture, programs [to create a safe work culture] will have limited impact on optimising safety and quality of care," the report said. Ms Sunderland said in order for changes to be made, a cultural shift would have to happen in training facilities and hospitals. "The main component is to remove the negative repercussions that people receive if they speak up," she said. "We know that very often people don't report incidents for the fear it could impact upon their career or it would impact themselves." /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/4ba41cde-932b-423b-9d6c-1639c9a0e956/r0_101_2000_1231_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news Mitchell traders want to leverage the impending launch of a household drone delivery service in the suburb to position the precinct as a testing ground for new technology. Tech company Wing is establishing a full-time base for its drone service in the north Canberra suburb, with plans to start delivering to homes and businesses in nearby Gungahlin, Palmerston, Harrison, Crace and Franklin early next year. Mitchell Traders' Association secretary Julian Kusa said a number of local businesses had expressed interest in having their products delivered by Wing's drones, including a brewery, clothing store, toy manufacturer and gaming outlet. Mr Kusa said the arrival of the innovative service - which Wing is promoting as world-leading - presented an opportunity to reposition the industrial suburb as the capital's innovation hub. "Mitchell is very small, compact and strategically located - so it would be perfect as a trial site for, say, autonomous vehicles and other new technologies," Mr Kusa said. "So many suburbs are looking for that gritty and edgy feel, but we're really proud that we have that already. We have all sorts of businesses in Mitchell and I think we can all co-exist. We want businesses to know that Mitchell is here, and its open for businesses." News of Wing's expansion into Canberra's north sparked a flurry of debate on Friday, as politicians and residents offered mixed views on delivery drones in the capital. ACT Liberals leader Alistair Coe told radio station 2CC that there was "huge potential" for delivery drones in residential areas. "There is still a lot of work that needs to be done ... but I think there is a future for drone deliveries," Mr Coe said. "Just imagine you've got a tradesperson around at the house and they need to pop over to the store to get part X or part Y. Imagine if it [the part] could get delivered to your house while the plumber is there, working on your leaking tap. There is amazing potential for this." Tim Hollo, the Greens candidate for the federal seat of Canberra, criticised Wing's announcement, which came less than a week after the ACT Assembly voted to launch an inquiry into household delivery drones amid community concerns about the company's trial in Bonython. "Canberrans are mighty sick of private companies coming in and steamrolling over community concerns," Mr Hollo said. "This is part of a growing anti-democratic trend of 'disruptive' corporations deliberately setting up shop before governments have a chance to set the rules, making it much harder to regulate them after the fact." Wing chief executive James Ryan Burgess on Friday attempted to allay concerns about drone noise, saying the company was developing a quieter, "more pleasant" aircraft model ahead of its Mitchell launch, which is subject to Civil Aviation Safety Authority approval. Mr Burgess told ABC radio that opposition to the Bonython trial had been limited to a "small, highly organised" group of residents - a claim disputed by one talkback caller, who declared opposition was widespread in the Tuggeranong suburb. Chief Minister Andrew Barr, also speaking on ABC radio, said the trial had presented a "number of issues that needed to be addressed", particularly around regulation. Mr Barr said the ACT government had no power to regulate airspace, but could impose restrictions on noise levels. "But any changes would need to be cognisant of flow-on effects across the entire community," Mr Barr said. "If there is a view that noisy activities should be further restricted then people will not be able to mow their lawns outside certain hours, because noise is as irritating to neighbours as a drone engine can be." /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/eed3712a-9255-4d03-86f6-41a1edb9043e/r0_293_4928_3077_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news It's been 100 years since the guns fell silent. One hundred years since the muddied battlefields in France and Belgium saw no more bloodshed. Sunday marks the centenary of the armistice that brought the end of World War I, and those who served and who have served in conflicts since are being commemorated in services across the country. For retired Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony John, when the clock strikes 11am he will be honouring multiple generations of his family who have served in the Australian Defence Force past and present. "My grandfather was a soldier in World War II and was in Papua New Guinea. When he came back he was wounded badly and he died soon after," he said. "My father also joined the army and fought in Malaya and Vietnam. I was in the army for 30 years and went to Papua New Guinea, to Bougainville and also to the Middle East, serving in Afghanistan." The military links in the family stretch even further. Lieutenant-Colonel John's wife is also involved with the army, as is his eldest son, while his second son is set to join the air force. "There was also my mother's uncle. He was in Gallipoli and was killed there," Lieutenant-Colonel John said. Despite the career paths members of his family made generations before him, he said there wasn't family pressure to enlist. "I wasn't compelled by others to join. It was a decision that I made," he said. "I saw it as a job and I joined the army, and it helped that I knew about it." The Ainslie resident served as an operations officer during peacekeeping efforts in Bougainville in the late 1990s. There, he earned the Conspicuous Service Cross, which recognises outstanding devotion to duty, or outstanding application of exceptional skills, judgement or dedication, in non-warlike situations. He was then deployed for seven months during the early stages of the war in Afghanistan in 2002. Before he was deployed, Lieutenant-Colonel John said he knew largely what to expect having heard stories about life in conflict zones from his father. "He was quite open about things, because at that point I was a professional soldier, and he knew it was important to hear the truths of what happened," he said. On Sunday, his father's medals, which include a Military Cross received for his service in Vietnam, will be worn alongside Lieutenant-Colonel John's own. Now retired from the armed forces, the army veteran said days like Remembrance Day carry extra significance. "It certainly means a lot more to me now," he said. "It gives me time to reflect. Because both my father and grandfather have passed, it's now a chance to think about what they had done and what their service meant to me." This year he will be looking to the present while remembering the past, as he watches his son give an address for Remembrance Day before watching the ceremony at the Australian War Memorial. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/71b4e539-974a-4fa3-8197-d80bd5ab1d63/r0_311_6000_3701_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg whats-on, music-theatre-arts After two years with ABC Radio Canberra, Laura Tchilinguirian is returning to her previous position with NewsRadio in Sydney. Her last day on-air will be Thursday, December 13. ABC management says her replacement will be announced before the end of the year. She started at ABC Radio Canberra in November, 2016. "I have loved every minute of the past two years at ABC Radio Canberra, and to be welcomed into this wonderful community,'' she said. "But its such a great time to be a journalist right now. With so much happening in national and international news, my role at ABC NewsRadio is calling and its time to head home. Tchilinguirian is currently on holidays and back on-air on Monday, November 19. ABC Canberra editor Michelle Ainsworth was sad to see her go. We will miss Laura on our Canberra airwaves and I am very grateful for the contribution she has made in the past two years,'' she said. Lauras breadth of experience with her news background, as well as her passionate approach to the Canberra arts, right through to all things sci-fi, has kept local audiences both informed and entertained. She will be missed and we wish her all the best with her return to NewsRadio. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/3c1ec6c7-d6cb-4297-9205-c2d087aaa2d3/r6_0_848_476_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg The Africa Investment Forum kicked off in South Africas Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. The first ever transaction-based Forum is aimed at attracting multi-billion-dollar deals to accelerate investment and transform Africas economic, agricultural and industrial sectors. The Forum provides an innovative platform to bring together investors, multilateral institutions, governments and the private sector to develop, de-risk and close bankable projects to develop and transform the continent. Regional and global investors and institutional investors, private sector leaders, prominent government officials, and state representatives are attending the event. The EU-AU High-level platform on Sustainable Energy Investments in Africa will be launched during the forum. Between $130 to $170 billion a year is needed to finance infrastructure for Africas growing population, according to the African Development Banks Economic Outlook 2018. According to Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, disciplined investment was the only sure way for countries to develop and not through aid. We are committed to fast track development. We know countries do not develop from aid but by the discipline of the investment. We require broad-based partnerships and collective effort with the private sector and institutional investors, the AfDB President said. The former agriculture minister of Nigeria called on stakeholders from governments, international organizations and other partners to join hands to seize the opportunity to fast track Africas investment and development agenda. news, latest-news What exactly it is that we remember on Remembrance Day is contentious. Critics say there's too much jingoism in the big set-piece formal events. Organisers of those big events, on the other hand, say the official ceremonies are simply a matter of remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country and of causes that were just. And now a group of Australian women are adding their voices to the debate. In Canberra on Sunday, the choir called "A Chorus of Women" is to perform a drama in song about a peace conference held in 1915 in the Hague in the Netherlands. One of the chorus, Janet Salisbury, said, "It's a story that we've been trying to bring to public attention. It's a story of women peace-makers." The composer of the work, Glenda Cloughley, said her composition offered an alternative view of remembrance in contrast to "extravagant" commemorations of war and battles. The work she's written is about a conference that became known as the Women's Peace Conference and involved 1200 women from 12 countries, including from those at war with each other at the time. No Australian participant could get there because of distance but the feminist Vida Goldstein followed it by awaiting cables and then publishing them in the suffragist weekly The Women's Voter here. The concert organisers say the current #MeToo movement has its roots in the work of the feminists they are now celebrating. Glenda Cloughley, the composer and librettist, said the 1915 conference was an inspiration for what she calls "the great people's movements" today like, as she believes, activism on climate change, caring for refugees and promoting human rights. Sunday's concert will feature a choir of 35 adult voices plus 15 children and eight soloists in the work called The People's Passion, written by Dr Cloughley. "It's a big work," she said. She had been inspired by one of the leaders of the conference who said, "Peace is not just the absence of war. Peace is the nurturing of human life". Dr Cloughley said she was a Jungian psychoanalyst and that informed her view of the trauma of war, a trauma that would be reflected in the performance on Sunday. She said military historians omitted the story of the conference in 1915 "and we are putting it back on the record". /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/d10937e7-7d5e-457a-bd0b-3ec4f8a65d97/r0_357_6720_4154_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, crime ACT Policing's Taskforce Nemesis have seized drugs, cash and ammunition from a Monash residence. The operation saw a search warrant executed on Friday, where a significant quantity of a substance suspected to be cocaine was found, along with ammunition. The substance, with an estimated street value of $100,000, the ammunition, cash and a prohibited item were seized by ACT Policings Criminal Investigators in an operation targeting criminal gangs. A 36-year-old Monash man was arrested and has been charged with trafficking a prohibited substance, possessing ammunition, proceeds of crime and possessing a prohibited item. He will face the ACT Magistrates Court on Saturday and police will oppose bail. ACT Policing Detective Superintendent Scott Moller said Fridays operation is another positive result for the Canberra community. We are dedicated to improving the safety of Canberra, and disrupting the illegal activities of criminal gangs in the ACT is one of our highest priorities, Superintendent Moller said. This operation is part of our ongoing strategy to target criminal gangs and reduce their ability to benefit financially from illegal activity. As has been demonstrated again this week, police attached to ACT Criminal Investigations will be relentless in the pursuit of criminal gangs. We know the community is supporting us with this endeavour, and I would like to thank those individuals who give us information. We want to hear from anyone who has any information regarding drugs, illegal firearms, or criminal gang activity. Police are urging anyone who may have any information regarding illegal firearms or drugs to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Information can be provided anonymously. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/dc38bf20-f7ce-4552-97bb-515bac1bd111/r0_100_2000_1230_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg whats-on, music-theatre-arts Canberra Theatre Centre could be repurposed into a live music venue like Sydney's Enmore Theatre or Melbourne's Forum Theatre as part of a redevelopment of the precinct, territory officials have revealed. Cultural Facilities Corporation chief executive Harriet Elvin said stripping out the tiered seating to make the existing theatre a flat-floor venue was being considered as the Barr government looked at options to build a new theatre. $1.2 million was allocated in the June budget to develop a full business case for a new theatre with around 2000 seats. Civic Library could be moved and the Mooseheads car park redeveloped, as part of the transformation of the precinct, tender documents released in April revealed. Ms Elvin told annual reports hearings this week the existing 1200-seat theatre was more than 50 years old, and its size limited the productions that could come to Canberra. "The existing Canberra Theatre, which was opened 1965 and of course it opened at a stage when a lot of the major performing arts centres were going in internationally like the Lincoln Centre, and it pre-dated virtually all of the other performing arts centres in Australia like the Sydney Opera House, the Adelaide Festival Centre, the Melbourne Arts Centre," Ms Elvin said. "It was good to pre-date it but I guess it meant it started to age first so there are two main respects in which were seeking improvements." Ms Elvin said the number of seats made it difficult to make productions financially feasible, given there were many fixed costs regardless of how many tickets were sold. "The second main issue that we would like to tackle is the technical constraints of the venue. Youll be familiar from attending performances here that its got that slight letterbox look to it. In contemporary terms its considered a lot lower than other venues on the performing arts circuit so that tends to limit technically the productions we can fit into the venue," Ms Elvin said. "There are other issues like the size of the stage, the size of the wings, the height of the fly tower, the backstage facilities and that means that either the productions have to be re-sized for the Canberra Theatre, which can be very expensive or productions can tour to Canberra alone and its really a combination of those two things - the auditorium size and the technical constraints of Canberra Theatre." Ms Elvin said there was an argument the centre had a "viable ongoing life, potentially as a flat-floor venue for contemporary music, cabaret and comedy. She said the theatre was in "constant demand", especially at this time of year. "Dance schools for example are heading into a very busy time of year and it can be quite difficult to accommodate all of those uses so that could be a further continuing use for the existing facility," Ms Elvin said. "We're currently looking at other models like the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, or the Forum Theatre in Melbourne to see if those offer viable models for how we might repurpose that venue." A government spokeswoman refused to say what other options were being looked at as part of the redevelopment. "Once the government has agreed on preferred options for the new and existing facilities, the business case will be commissioned to explore these options in detail," she said. "This will take place over the 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years and will include opportunities for community engagement." Canberra's live music venues have been under increasing pressures in recent times, with the closure of Academy and near-closure of The Phoenix this year alone. Music ACT director Daniel Ballantyne said while repurposing Canberra Theatre was a "fantastic proposal", there also needed to be regulatory changes akin to those in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley to allow live music to survive alongside residential development across the city more broadly. Those changes in the 2000s placed a greater onus on new developments to incorporate noise attenuation and set noise limits specifically for music venues. "Those core regulatory changes have allowed the Valley to remain the most active centre for live music in Australia," Mr Ballantyne said. Mr Ballantyne said the "Enmore solution" would not produce an "Enmore situation" as that theatre had a particular history. However he said the Canberra Theatre could become a "phenomenal" live music venue in its own right, with standing room of 1500-2000, so long as it sustained its marketing of the venue and engaging with promoters. "There's a strong team at Canberra Theatre at the moment who really get it. It comes down to people, there's nothing inherent in the venue itself." City Renewal Authority chief executive Malcolm Snow said he was also keen to avoid problems of St Kilda in Melbourne, which has seen live music venues disappear in recent years due to gentrification. "What we dont want to see is that we lose one of the things that contributes to activation," Mr Snow said. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/97a484e0-91c9-4090-a930-fee6b8e8d73b/r0_288_5472_3380_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news The past couple of decades are not unique in Australian political history: the despising of the loathsome politicians, and the sudden and late coming around of those loathsome politicians to abandon the positions of their financial backers and appease the majority of thoughtful people in the face of impending electoral defeat. No doubt some diehard Labor supporters are nervous that Scott Morrison's government will neutralise the big issues like Nauru, climate change and an anti-corruption commission with a bit of policy sop and then sneak back into office that Morrison will road-to-Damascus-like see the light and be as successful as Saint Paul in gaining conversions and followers. Do not fear. History is against this happening. Any late lip service to what the people really want on these issues and others, such as population, health and education, will only be death throes that voters will see through. Let's first go back 50 years in the United States, and then go back 50 years in Australia. Fifty years ago this month, Richard Nixon was elected president. Stephen Ambrose, his biographer, wrote: "American politics had sunk to depths not reached since the Civil War and reconstruction. America's political leaders, [Lyndon] Johnson, [Hubert] Humphrey, Nixon and [Spiro] Agnew, and most of the others were just playing with people." Ambrose wrote: "If they had the slightest feeling for the death and destruction that was devouring Vietnam, if they had any concern for the lives of American soldiers in Vietnam, if they had the least commitment to a decent respect for the opinion of mankind, if they had the vaguest concern to meet their constitutional obligation to promote domestic tranquillity, if it even occurred to them to strive to provide the conditions that would allow the American people to pursue happiness, they managed to ignore it all in their single-minded pursuit of personal political victory at any cost." Remind you of Australian politics now? Now, let's look at the behaviour over the past 50 years of Coalition Australian prime ministers facing defeat. It's the same as that of Morrison and his government right now. First, to Billy McMahon in 1972. He finally called the election for December 2, 1972 three years, one month and a few days after the 1969 election. Practically and constitutionally, he could not cling on any longer because, after that, it would have been school holidays (many polling booths are at schools) and it would have caused resentment to have an election at the beginning of the summer holidays. The seething unpopularity of Australia's immoral involvement in the Vietnam War at the behest of the US and the military-industrial complex was catching up with the Coalition. McMahon announced Australia's withdrawal late in 1971, not out of conviction that the war was wrong but because it was becoming a lost cause. It was half-hearted and done slowly. Moreover, he did not end the detested military conscription, under which the young and vulnerable paid for the idiocies of the old and rich. It was a death throe and the McMahon government went down. In 1983, prime minister Malcolm Fraser called an early election as he watched the growing unpopularity of his government, particularly over the Tasmanian government's proposal to dam the World Heritage-listed Franklin River for hydro-electricity. Fraser seemed helpless in the face of growing concerns about the environment because the Coalition stood for state rights, development and industry. Tasmanian premier Robin Gray called the Franklin River "nothing but a brown ditch, leech-ridden and unattractive to the majority of people". He said the state would run out of electricity by 1990 if the dam were not built. As a sop, Fraser offered Tasmania $500 million in development aid if it abandoned the dam. It was too little too late, and not a determined conviction to stop the dam because it was wrong. A death throe. It took federal legislation by the new Labor government to save the river. In 2007, John Howard's Coalition government faced election, again with popular concerns about the environment, unfair industrial relations and the public health and education systems staring him in the face, yet contrary to the interests of big business. Begrudgingly, on June 4, 2007, Howard announced a carbon-trading scheme. Again a death throe, and Howard was defeated. Coalition governments usually convince people to vote for them with tax cuts and assertions (often misplaced) that they can run the economy better. They rarely understand that lots of voters think beyond jobs and growth to fairness, the environment, human rights and an overall vision of Australia society. When Tony Abbott, Peter Dutton, and News Corp and Sky News commentators talk about the need to heed the Liberal Party base, you might think they're talking about voters. More realistically, they're talking about big corporate supporters. But they can't be looked after to the extent that most voters get turned off, as polls are showing. So the Coalition, facing electoral demise, is bringing the children back from Nauru, considering an anti-corruption commission and reducing immigration, but not out of conviction, the environment or making people's lives better. Again, these are death throes. Voters will see that like the Coalition's eventual agreement to a banking royal commission it was forced into it against its will. So Labor is to get a barely deserved second chance after less than six years, with voters fearing yet another round of self-indulgence and looking after mates. It would be better if a batch of sensible independents and minor party MPs (not looneys or hard-right populists) held the balance. That way, we might get a federal anti-corruption body with broad powers; transparent and tough rules that restrict political donations and require accounting for public funding; rules that require government appointments be made on merit not mateship; a sensible population policy; and laws that favour broad, not sectional, interests. Otherwise, it will be just another political cycle. crispinhull.com.au /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/1b57b10d-6f7f-4f45-9c57-37ce9c2b63d6/r0_956_2514_2376_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news Perhaps the greatest service the House of Representatives' six independent MPs could do for themselves and the nation over the dying days of this Parliament is to take charge of progress with a federal anti-corruption commission. Good for them indeed, all six have an excellent chance of being re-elected and good for the country. They probably won't have a balance of power over the next government, and anything Labor cooperates in putting on the statute book over the next three months is likely to be stronger than what it would initiate in government. But even the Coalition, if it was smart, might realise at last the virtues of a commission with teeth, given that the commission could not possibly be established and operating during the term of this government. How delicious it would be to see the probable Shorten government immediately hobbled by what would be, in effect, a standing royal commission beyond its control. Particularly if it operated not just as a scourge of criminality but also of maladministration, incompetence and waste of public resources. Labor's conversion to the need for a commission is essentially opportunistic. Polling evidence shows the public wants one, and thinks it essential. Voters are increasingly cynical about the honesty and integrity of ministers and the bureaucracy. Their cynicism extends to both sides of politics, as might be expected by those who have seen Labor governments in action in the states and territories. In power last time, Labor pretended it had an open mind but "was not convinced" that an anti-corruption agency was necessary. The Liberal Party has been much the same, with even less enthusiasm, if that were possible. Any number of interested parties not least in police and the public service, including some of the ineffective agencies supposedly protecting us against corruption insist there is no evidence of a big problem. Any problems occasionally coming to light are the work of bad apples, not of systemic weakness. That is, of course, much the same argument Scott Morrison made about the banks, commercial superannuation and financial planning. Nearly 40 years ago, a shadow Labor attorney-general, Gareth Evans, used to joke that he would have a bill to reform the Freedom of Information Act ready on the first day of a Labor government. If there was any delay, he said, the reform probably wouldn't happen, because the public service, then as now quite resistant to the very idea of open government, would get at his fellow ministers. He was right. The reforms he proposed were either watered down or dropped by the incoming Hawke government, once the great and good of the public service had persuaded cabinet that the changes could bounce back on them and embarrass ministers. Evans was at least of a reforming disposition, even if, sometimes, he tripped over himself coming and going. It would be a brave observer who would expect much in the way of reform of the law, or of the processes of government, from the present shadow attorney-general, Mark Dreyfus. His actual record, as opposed to his publicity, as first law officer in the Gillard and last-Rudd governments shows he was timid on human rights issues. If privately slightly queasy about the modern security state's overreach and boat people's rights, he has not had great success in persuading either his leader or colleagues to be anything other than slightly more liberal than conservative governments. And, like his colleagues, including some who became great mates with senior cops while in government, much given to appreciating their regular "heads-up" on anything of political consequence, he has maintained a scrupulous lack of curiosity about the federal police's incapacity to solve or prosecute politically embarrassing crimes. No one wants the cops as enemies by itself, a real indication that an increasingly inbred body that has not had a serious external review since its formation 40 years ago is ripe for scrutiny. If there is any resistance to the idea of an ICAC-style body over the next few months, one can expect the resistance will be organised from within the Attorney-General's Department, arguing, first, that existing accountability and anti-corruption agencies have covered the field, so there is no need for further expensive duplication of effort, and that, in any event, everyone (from inside the system) who has studied the problem agrees that systemic corruption is rare at the federal level of government. The AFP will enthusiastically agree, certainly as to any suggestion that such a body have jurisdiction over its own performance in detecting and dealing with any such corruption, were there any. It has never found anything much, other than from matters referred to it from elsewhere, such as, last year, the Tax Office. The AFP will be deaf to any suggestion that the risk of corruption is much greater, and the prospects of dealing with it much reduced, now that the police fall under the umbrella of the Department of Home Affairs, which draws on a tradition of poor administration and resistance to external scrutiny or independence of thought. The AFP is apt to wrap up even its mundane activities behind national security and border security arguments. Or, failing that, the pretence that the largely unaccountable powers given to the police are saving the nation from child pornography. This week saw the death of Ted Mack perhaps, with Peter Andren, one of the most respected and effective independents the House of Representatives has seen in nearly 120 years. Mack served at all levels of the legislature in Australia: federal, state and local government. He did not just talk integrity, including a very parsimonious attitude to putting his hand in the taxpayer's pocket. He acted and encapsulated it, right down to eschewing a big parliamentary pension. It's important to remember that his influence came from his capacity to persuade, and from his own reputation for honesty; he never exercised any sort of balance of power in Parliament, and, consequently, had nothing to horse trade for his vote, as did the independents of the Gillard government, Brian Harradine (in the Senate) with everyone, or Bob Katter and others in the present Parliament. (There are some who would raise eyebrows to heaven about the favours, whether for electorates, regions or hobby horses, that have been traded for votes over the past 11 years, but there is a good argument that this sort of bargaining is of the essence of political compromise, particularly for those not attached to a party. As was remarked of Harradine, who was generally consistent in his broader attitudes, his vote was for rent, not for sale, and mostly it was traded (generally for jobs) on issues on which he was agnostic. Or, less creditably, was traded in exchange for an administrative deal that aid, or other money, would not go to people who supported or counselled abortion rights.) Mack did not promote himself as an alternative government, with a policy and a view on every issue under the sun. There were issues, such as the environment, on which he was passionate, where he argued his case, sometimes with success. He accepted that governments had a right to govern and generally did not stand in their way, provided they went about it openly and honestly, and followed the rules. He wanted transparency, accountability and the virtues supposed to be included in governance of honesty and integrity such as open tendering, an equal opportunity to all comers, and decisions that were recorded and accessible. He was a foe of decisions by discretion, insider appointments, closed tenders, secrecy, and the power and influence of lobbyists, particularly undeclared ones, with a private door to the minister's office. Mack would have excoriated, far better than Labor has done, some recent government decisions, such as the decision to hand over half a billion dollars to a small Great Barrier Reef charity run by people from the big end of town, many engaged in activities, such as mining, that are causing the damage. He would have felt much the same about ad hoc $500 million decisions that massively favoured one Australian cultural institution at a time other institutions, including the ABC, have faced steady cuts. But as obvious as such targets might be, they have had to take their place alongside an increasing pattern of arbitrary and largely unaccountable decisions that have passed important government work away from the public service to private contractors, without evidence or expectation of superior performance or outcomes. And stewardship by favourites, rather than by people chosen for their experience, integrity and independence of mind. Heaven knows what he might say of the decision, by Home Affairs, that it is no longer interested in performance reviews. An independent attitude on such matters does not come from ideology or convictions about individualism versus collectivism. In the right circumstances, these are proper decisions for ministers, or, in matters of contracts and appointments, usually public servants. Provided, that is, that the decisions follow open and accountable processes, where the evidence is reviewed, where the right factors are considered, and where decision-makers follow the law and procedures in a fair-minded way, and are not actuated by bias, interest or extraneous motive. Deviation from such principles caused most of the great public administration scandals in Australia's history. A pattern of arbitrary decision-making by modern governments shows that very little has been learnt from these experiences; indeed, irregularity is becoming worse, with serious effects on the efficiency, effectiveness and credibility of government. Even more so, alas, when we now have public watchdogs who do not bark. If the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity achieves anything behind the scenes with an enormous staff and public resources, it is not obvious from the public record, or any list of convictions. One scarcely hears of the Commonwealth Ombudsman's activities or findings. House of Representatives committees have not troubled recent governments; Senate committees, more obviously able to be accused of being partisan, are usually ignored. While important functions are performed by quasi-judicial bodies, many of them have their effectiveness, authority and legitimacy sapped because they have been blatantly stacked, at huge public expense, with friends and relations of people in government. As the findings of the banks inquiry has shown, the public has also been badly let down by the bodies that were supposed to protect consumers, promote competition, and prevent fraud and dishonesty. While these agencies sometimes suffered from a lack of will, or from being gun shy, they also failed because they were deliberately starved of funds by government. Far from having, or funding, "tough cops on the block," as Morrison was apt to say, cabinet was making it almost impossible for them to perform their policing functions. That's when the Coalition was not seeking to weaken laws designed to prevent rip-offs and conflict of interest, at the behest of banks and those in the financial advice industry found to have ripped off clients. The economic triumvirate in the present government may disingenuously claim that recollection of this is "looking backwards". But it may prove to be the thing for which they are remembered by history, showing typical deafness to public opinion and the public interest, as well as partisan governing for mates and cronies. One can confidently expect that the public service review, supposedly mimicking the fundamental one by the Coombs royal commission of more than 40 years ago, will not ask why the modern public administration seems to lack the clout, or the character, to prevent some of the modern abuses. Appointed without public consultation, whether as to personnel or terms of reference, the inquiry was commissioned by Malcolm Turnbull, largely from his friends and acquaintances in the banking industry. It is not clear that either the Morrison government, or a future Shorten government, has any great interest, or investment, in what it may recommend. It would be nice to think and expect that the next government will have much higher standards of public stewardship. We can take it that everyone will mean to be good. The crowds of people and interests clamouring for favours from Labor politicians tends to be different from those in Coalition governments. But many of the senior members of the shadow ministry have had experience as ministers in previous Labro governments, and form for being prepared to take shortcuts with due process or sound principle. And they will take charge of a public administration with much the same personnel, much the same systemic weaknesses, and much the same passivity in the face of poor leadership as now. If experience is any guide and, alas, it usually is the new lot will very soon be smug and comfortable in power, arrogant and impervious to sham. And soon addicted to secrecy, hostile to accountability, and practised in the art of using police to intimidate public servants. That's why the public should wish success to the independents in getting up effective laws before the transition. Legislation cannot create good character. But we have learnt that the big check on those inclined to be slipshod, or bad, is the prospect of getting caught and publicly shamed. Barring the Auditor-General who despite an assault of his functions by the security state is still defending the public interest the evidence suggests that new ministers know they have little to fear from old checks and balances. Jack Waterford is a former editor of The Canberra Times. jwaterfordcanberra@gmail.com /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/97c4c600-24b1-416f-b485-4abcf598e666/r0_113_2000_1243_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg A total of 124 Somalis who were stranded in Libya for years have returned home on Wednesday, the federal Government of Somalia said. According to Somali Prime Minister, Ali Hassan Khaire, the returnees are finally home to start a new life as FGS steps up efforts catering to its nationals wherever they are. He said over the course of the last 12 months, the government had facilitated the return of over 1,000 nationals from within and outside the continent. About 9,000 migrants have returned home from Libya through a voluntary program over the past six months, according to the United Nations migration agency. A total of 8,938 people returned to some 30 African and Asian countries in the first half of the year, said program coordinator Jomaa Ben Hassan. Most of the migrants were intercepted or saved at sea, and often detained in inhumane conditions, at which point many opt for repatriation. The African Union plans to fly 20,000 out of the conflict-wracked North African nation. Since Libya collapsed into violent chaos after the 2011 revolt that toppled and killed longtime dictator Muamar Gaddafi, with a myriad of militias, the country has become a transit hub for migrants seeking a better life in Europe. The European Union is working with Libyan coastguards to reduce the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea. 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. Photo: The Canadian Press Jo Johnson A minister in the British government stepped down Friday to protest Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan and is backing calls for a second referendum on whether the country should leave the European Union. Jo Johnson, younger brother of former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, said the withdrawal agreement being discussed by EU and British leaders would greatly weaken Britain and require the country to follow EU rules without having any say. The only alternative on the table, he said, is a no-deal Brexit that would "inflict untold damage" on Britain. "It has become increasingly clear to me that the withdrawal agreement, which is being finalized in Brussels and Whitehall even as I write, will be a terrible mistake," said Jo Johnson, who was a transport minister in the government. To give the public a choice between these two disastrous versions of Brexit would be a "failure of British statecraft on a scale unseen since the Suez crisis," he said, referencing the 1956 conflict against Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser that is widely seen as marking the moment at which Britain formally lost its imperial role in the world. Instead, Johnson said it would be proper to give the British public a chance to vote again because of the way the Brexit negotiations have evolved. "Given that the reality of Brexit has turned out to be so far from what was once promised, the democratic thing to do is to give the public the final say," Jo Johnson said. His older brother Boris resigned in July to protest May's Brexit plan but Boris did so as a staunch support of a hard-line Brexit, while Jo Johnson backed the "remain" side during the June, 2016 referendum. In a tweet, Boris Johnson said he had "boundless admiration" for his brother and that they are "united in dismay" at the indefensibility of May's position even though they disagree over Brexit. Jo Johnson's resignation, and his call for a fresh referendum to test voter sentiment, further complicates matters for May as she tries to strike a deal with EU leaders that would pass muster with her own cabinet and win backing in Parliament. She has consistently rejected the idea of another nationwide vote on Brexit, insisting her obligation is to make good on the will of the people as expressed in 2016. Hundreds of buffaloes have drowned in a river near the border between Botswana and Namibia, on the edge of the Kabulabula Peninsula, the Botswana government said on Thursday. It is estimated that more than 400 animals drowned due to the massive movement of buffalo trampling, and falling from steep river banks. According to Botswanas Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, carcasses have largely been removed, mostly by community members who live along the river in Namibia. Mass drownings are not uncommon, the ministry added. Initial investigations by authorities on both sides of the Botswana-Namibia Border suggest that an exceptionally large buffalo herd was grazing in Namibia when they stampeded into the Chobe River. The cause of the stampede is still uncertain and under investigation, however initial indications are that they were being chased by a pride of lions, Botswana Government said in a series of tweets. The northern water ways of Botswana are one of the best places in Africa to see Buffalos. These animals are one of Africas Big Five and have a reputation for being extremely dangerous, especially when wounded. Buffalos are the third most numerous antelope in the southern African nation. King Mohammed VI is overseeing in person the governments implementation of his instructions to bring the health sector up to the ambitions of Moroccan citizens. Like education, vocational training and agriculture, the Monarch has attached utmost importance to improving health services in his recent speeches. In this respect, the King received recently Head of the Government Saad Eddine El Othmani and Health Minister Anas Doukali who outlined the next steps to be taken in implementation of Royal instructions. The King was notably briefed about the concrete steps taken to the inconsistencies affecting the implementation of the health coverage program (RAMED) and the review of the national health system. A statement by the Royal office issued after the meeting on Wednesday said that RAMED, which has been generalized since 2012, faces several constraints and shortcomings that limit its effectiveness and its ability to meet the needs of targeted categories, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable people. The Sovereign was also briefed on the first findings of the inter-ministerial technical commission set up for that purpose. Police in Ethiopia have discovered a mass grave with 200 bodies near the border between the Somali and Oromia regions, local media reported. The grave was found by the police during a court-ordered investigation for evidence of alleged abuses by forces loyal to the former president of the Somali region, Abdi Mohammed. Police were granted 14 days to unearth and do forensic examinations on the uncovered bodies. The former President of Ethio-Somali Regional State Abdi Mohammed Oumer was arrested in August on suspicion of gross violations of human rights, inciting ethnic and religious conflicts and atrocities. He is now in detention awaiting trial over allegations he fueled ethnic clashes. Last month the state-linked broadcaster Fana reported that he attempted to escape police custody by climbing through a window ahead of a court appearance. A notorious regional security force known as the Liyu police is accused of carrying out killings in the area between the Somali and Oromia regions. About two million people have reportedly been displaced in Ethiopia over the past six months as a result of ethnic tensions. Dozens of others have been killed in different parts, including 50 in Addis Ababa. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has appointed a committee of experts to establish administrative changes. The European Union has said it will review its ties with Tanzania over what it calls a deterioration of the human rights and rule of law in the east African nation. In a statement released this week, the EU said it will be conducting a broader review of its relations with Tanzania. The EU, a major donor to Tanzania has pledged more than $700 million in support between 2014 and 2020. The announcement comes a week after the bloc called back its ambassador, Roeland van de Geer, to discuss the situation in Tanzania. Two months ago, the EU expressed concerns over allegations of human rights violations in Tanzania, citing arbitrary arrests of rights activists, journalists, bloggers and Members of Parliament. Last week, the regional governor of Dar es Salaam, Paul Makonda, called on the public to report names of suspected gay men to the police. LGBT people face a 30-year jail sentence in Tanzanian. Since coming to power in the country of 55 million in 2015, President Magufuli, nicknamed the bulldozer from his time as roads minister, has banned political rallies and mutilated bodies have washed up on the shores of Coco Beach in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital. Earlier this year, 65 civil society groups have called on the Tanzanian Government to address rapidly deteriorating environment for media, human rights defenders and opposition party members. The Hamilton Firm LLC, a regional plaintiffs personal injury law firm, headquartered in Chattanooga, at 2401 Broad Street, announced that two of its four trial lawyers have again been recognized by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers Magazine as among the Top Rated Plaintiffs Personal Injury Attorneys in Tennessee for 2018. Both Hubert Hamilton and Patrick Cruise have again achieved Super Lawyer status for the current year as Plaintiffs Personal Injury attorneys. Mid-South Super Lawyers recognizes attorneys in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Hubert Hu Hamilton, also has the unique distinction of being recognized as a Top Rated Plaintiffs Personal Injury Attorney in Georgia as well. He is the founding member of the The Hamilton Firm. Mr. Hamilton is a Board Certified Civil Trial Specialist (National Board of Trial Advocacy), and is licensed in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Patrick A. Cruise, who joined the firm in 2005, first earned the Super Lawyers distinction in 2013. He is licensed in Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee. Other members of the firm include Annette T. Kelley, and John W. Chandler. The firm handles catastrophic injury and death cases, throughout the southeast, focusing on wrecks involving tractor trailers, buses and other commercial vehicles, as well as severe workplace accidents. The selections by Thomson Reuters are made by the research team at Super Lawyers. Each year, the team undertakes a multiphase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area and a good-standing and disciplinary check. Only five percent of attorneys are selected to the Super Lawyers list. Erlanger Murphy Medical Center and the Nurse Professional Practice Council honored nine outstanding nurses through the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses ceremony on Nov. 5. The DAISY Award is a national award to honor nurses who define patient and family centered care. Audrey Hedden, BSN, won the 2018 DAISY Award for "her dedication to providing comprehensive care extending beyond medical needs to her patients." The eight other nominees were Stephanie Forbess, BSN; Dana Hill, RN; Linda Hoefsmit, RN; Vickie Martin, RN; Melissa Myers, RN; Katie Moore, RN, FNP; Dawn Roper, RN; and Brandi Welch, RN. "All of the nurses were recognized with stories detailing their outstanding patient-centered care they continuously provide," officials said. "Ms. Hedden was honored for her extraordinary effort to ensure that a homeless patient was well taken care of after discharge. She gathered supplies, food and even a new backpack for the patient, so that his needs could still be met even after his discharge. Her compassion and serving heart earned her this years DAISY Award." The DAISY Foundation was created in 1999 after Patrick Barnes passed away from Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura. His family wanted a way to honor him and show appreciation for the nurses compassion and kindness they extended to the whole family during his eight-week stay in the hospital. DAISY was born from his wife, Tenas, imagination standing for Diseases Attacking the Immune System and through this the award for Extraordinary Nurses was created. JOS, Nigeria, November 9, 2018 (Morning Star News) Following the announcement by Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram that it will keep a Christian high school girl as a slave, church leaders in Nigeria said they are not giving up on pressing for her rescue. Leaders of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) have intensified discussions with government officials urging that they continue talks with Boko Haram to win the release of 15-year-old Leah Sharibu and other Christian girls and women being held captive by Boko Haram, an ECWA spokesman told Morning Star News. The leadership of ECWA has continued to mount pressure on the Nigerian government to continue with discussions with the Islamists who are holding Leah Sharibu captive, the Rev. Romanus Ebenwokodi said. We strongly believe that as long as Leah and others are still alive, it is possible to secure their release. Boko Haram, which seeks to impose sharia (Islamic law) throughout Nigeria, is also holding Christian UNICEF worker Alice Ngaddah as a slave. Kidnapped along with two other aid workers in March, Ngaddah is a member of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (EYN). The church and Leahs parents believe that God can make it possible for Leah and others in captivity to regain their freedom if we dont give up, Ebenwokodi said. The hope in Jesus Christ, which is the hope of glory, has kept Leahs parents going and sustained the church on her knees. We shall continue to pray without ceasing until this faithful servant of Christ and others like her who are being held captive are released. Boko Haram last month killed an aid worker as an apostate from Islam and vowed to keep Leah and Ngaddah as slaves. Leah, kidnapped along with more than 100 schoolgirls from Dapchi, Yobe state in February but not released with the others because she refused to convert to Islam, will never be freed because Boko Harams Islamic law allows infidels to be kept as slaves, according to a statement by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), commonly known as Boko Haram. Based on our doctrines, it is now lawful for us to do whatever we want to do with them, the group said. The group executed Hauwa Leman, an aid worker with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as seen on the video. Boko Haram has not made known its demands for the release of the hostages, but Nigerian newspaper The Herald, citing an unnamed diplomatic source, reported that the group has demanded 100 billion naira (US$275,000) for Leah. Government officials fear Boko Harm will use the money to acquire upgraded weapons systems, according to the Herald source, who has been involved in negotiations for Leahs release. Though the government says it is doing everything possible to secure her release, the source told the Herald that giving such large amount to Boko Haram could hurt national security ahead of February 2019 general elections, as the terrorists would use the weapons on Nigerian citizens. In September Boko Haram killed Saifura Ahmed, one of the three humanitarian workers abducted in March in Rann, Borno state. In its statement, the Boko Haram group said, Saifura and Hauwa were killed because they are considered as Murtads [apostates] by the group because they were once Muslims that have abandoned their Islam, the moment they chose to work with the Red Cross, and for us, there is no difference between Red Cross and UNICEFIf we see them, we will kill the apostates among them, men or women, and chose to kill or keep the infidels as slaves, men or women. Leah was the only Christian among more than 100 high school girls kidnapped from the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, on Feb. 19. The other girls were released in March. Government representatives and advocates within Nigeria, along with the international community have called for her release. Boko Haram has kidnapped more than 1,000 children in Nigeria since 2013, according to CNN. About 100 of 276 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram from the town of Chibok, in Borno state, in 2014 are still missing. Boko Haram, whose name is loosely translated as, Western education is a sin, has fought for more than nine years to impose Islamic law on all of Nigeria, killing tens of thousands of people and displacing more than 2 million. Boko Haram militants reportedly warned parents of the returned Dapchi girls not to send their daughters back to school. In 2015 the Nigerian military began taking back most of the territory Boko Haram had controlled, but many areas remain, and the terrorists are still mounting isolated attacks. Jubilee Campaign reports that, according to figures from the Stefanos Foundation, Boko Haram in 2017 took responsibility for attacks that claimed more than 650 lives. Christians make up 51.3 percent of Nigerias population, while Muslims living primarily in the north and middle belt account for 45 percent. Nigeria ranked 14th on Open Doors 2018 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution. If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit http://morningstarnews. org/resources/aid-agencies/ fo r a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved. Christians praying as out-of-control California wildfires bring devastation Churches in California are praying for an end to the devastating wildfires that have burned thousands of homes to the ground. At least nine people have been confirmed dead as authorities struggle to contain three large wildfires in the state. One of the worst affected areas is the town of Paradise in Butte County, northern California, which authorities said was 'pretty much' destroyed. Amazingly, at least one church in Paradise has so far managed to survive the flames. Paradise Alliance Church, which sits on the northern edge of the town, posted a picture of its building still standing on Friday as smoke clouded the sky behind. It captioned the post: 'For those wondering. A praise in the midst of trouble. Prayers for you all.' Other churches have also been caught up in the chaos after mandatory evacuation orders were put in place. Pastor Shawn Thornton was forced to evacuate just days after losing two people from his church in the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar in Thousand Oaks on Wednesday. But he's more worried about others who might have lost their homes than he is about himself. 'People's whole lives, some people have lived in those homes 40, 50 years, and now we're hearing there's a few fatalities,' Thornton told Fox 11 News. He added that his heart had not felt this heavy since 9/11. 'The only other time in my 20 some years of pastoral ministry I have felt like I'm feeling right now was on September 11, 2001, as I had the great privilege of serving the folks at Bible Center there in the city of Charleston. I felt this same way then,' he said. 'The whole country isn't feeling it, the whole world isn't feeling it, but I can tell you that we in our area, we're really feeling it.' A mandatory evacuation order is in place in Malibu, with the city alerting residents on Friday that the Woolsey Fire had reached populated areas. In an update on Saturday, the city said the fire was still '0% contained'. Vintage Church, which has campuses in Malibu, west LA and Santa Monica, said it was 'heartbroken' by the fires and shooting at Thousand Oaks. As part of its response, church members are opening up their homes to those who have had to evacuate and the church will be running trauma and grief management workshops. Hollywood celebrities have also had to evacuate. Christian TV and movie producer Roma Downey was thanking God and asking for prayers after she and her family managed to evacuate their Malibu home in time. In an Instagram update, Downey, who is married to producer Mark Burnett, told fans that her dad's Bible was one of the few things she took with her. 'What do you take from your home when you are told to evacuate immediately because of approaching wild fires? I grabbed my Fathers old family bible, my daughters first Christmas dolly and a smoke mask [SIC],' she said. 'Thank God my family and dogs are safe. Praying for all those impacted by these fierce fires and for the safety of all the first responders.' In another update, Downey, wrote that it had taken them four hours to evacuate. She wrote: 'But we are safe thank God and our dogs are safe. Our street is on fire. So I hope our home survives. It's was apocalyptic and moved so fast. Thanks so much to all our friends for reaching out. We appreciate the love and concern. Please Keep praying for all first responders and fire fighters that they are safe and protected we are out but they are still there [SIC].' Popular church worker among the victims of California bar shooting A young church worker who 'loved serving people' has been confirmed as one of the victims of Wednesday's mass shooting at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California. Noel Sparks, 21, was a member of staff at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village. Church pastor Shawn Thornton said: 'She's now stepped into the presence of the Lord and it's been heavy for us. There have been some tears shed, we've had some tough conversations.' The church has held a prayer vigil following the shooting and is also hosting support meetings for those struggling to come to terms with what has happened. Friend Sarah Penrose, who attended the church's Bible study together with Sparks, said she loved serving others. 'As we say at Calvary often, she lived and loved like Jesus,' Penrose said. 'She was genuinely caring, and loved serving people. She definitely left a legacy of selfless servitude.' Authorities have identified the gunman as 28-year-old Ian Long, a former Marine. Twelve people were killed when he stormed the Borderline Bar during a student night on Wednesday before turning the gun on himself. Police had been called to Long's home in April over a disturbance where officers described him as being 'irate' but decided not to detain him. The authorities have not yet established a motive for Wednesday's shooting, although CNN reports that the authorities have found a social media post believed to have been made by the gunman around the time of the attack saying: 'I hope people call me insane. wouldn't that just be a big ball of irony? Yeah.. I'm insane, but the only thing you people do after these shootings is 'hopes and prayers'.. or 'keep you in my thoughts'... every time... and wonder why these keep happening...' The African Development Bank, Congo and the Republic of Congo have signed an agreement to build a bridge across Africas mighty Congo River, the first to link the capital cities of Kinshasa and Brazzaville. The deal was signed on the sidelines of the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) in Johannesburg. The African Development Bank said it will raise the financing of the project, which is estimated to cost $550 million. The bridge will be just 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) long and include a four-lane highway, a railroad track and a pedestrian walkway, it said. The route, according to the bank, will enable the two nations to develop special economic zones on either side of the bridge. Kinshasa and Brazzaville, the worlds two closest capital cities, are currently connected by ferries. The landmark project, part of the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) Priority Action Plan will be connected to existing road infrastructure in both countries. Once the bridge is completed, the existing traffic of an estimated 750,000 people and 340,000 tons of freight a year, is expected to increase to over 3 million people and 2 million tons of freight by 2025. Financing infrastructure for Africas growing population requires between $130 to 170 billion a year, according to the African Development Banks Economic Outlook 2018. UK withholding offer of asylum to Asia Bibi over 'security concerns', campaigner claims The UK has decided not to offer asylum to a Christian mother in Pakistan because of concerns that it would be a threat to security, a human rights campaigner has claimed. Wilson Chowdhry, chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, told The Huffington Post that the British Government was concerned about unrest at home and possible attacks on its embassies around the world. Mrs Bibi's family have been pleading for asylum from several western countries, including the UK, since she was acquitted of a death sentence for blasphemy by the Pakistan Supreme Court last week. Mr Chowdhry said that the family has accepted an offer of asylum from another western country, although he did not disclose which one. 'I've been lead to believe that the UK government had concerns that her moving to the UK would cause security concerns and unrest among certain sections of the community and would also be a security threat to British embassies abroad which might be targeted by Islamist terrorists,' said Mr Chowdhry. 'Asia and her family have now decided to take up one of the offers for asylum from a western country.' CNN reported on Thursday that her lawyer, Saiful Malook, claimed to have filed an application for asylum in the Netherlands, the same country where he took refuge after her acquittal. According to CNN, a spokesperson for the Dutch government clarified that an application for asylum could only be submitted by Mrs Bibi from within the Netherlands. 'The case of Asia Bibi has the fullest attention of the Dutch government,' the spokesperson added. 'We are working closely and are in contact with other countries on the matter.' Khalid Mahmood, a Muslim MP from Birmingham, told The Huffington Post that relations between Pakistani Christians and Muslims in Britain are generally positive. 'Yes there may be a tiny minority on the extremist fringes of Islam who might resort to violence against Pakistani Christians but they will attack anyone who isn't Muslim,' he said. 'It would be wrong to suggest that the general Muslim population in the UK is prejudiced against or hates Pakistani Christians.' History in close-up: an extraordinary eyewitness record of the signing of the Armistice The remarkable memoir of British naval officer Jack Marriott, who recorded with unerring detail the people and events of a few historic days in a French forest in November 1918 A forest in northern France: a typical November day, cold and damp. Two railway carriages stand 200 feet apart. At precisely 9am, as agreed, six men emerge from one and make their way along the temporary duckboard path that has been laid over the boggy ground. I have never seen a more miserable lot of men, thinks one of those watching. The group is led by Matthias Erzberger, the son of a postman from southern Germany. Our witness records that he is fat and bloated-looking, double chin, scrubby moustache, wears pince-nez. Beside him is Count Alfred Graf von Oberndorff from the German foreign ministry: a polished gentleman. Just behind them is Admiral Ernst Vanselow, a naval officer who does not look at all like a sailor, more like a pork butcher. Front row, from left: Deputy First Sea Lord, Rear-Admiral George Hope; General Maxime Weygand, Marshal Fochs chief of staff; First Sea Lord, Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss; Ferdinand Foch, Marshal of France and Supreme Allied Commander; Captain Jack Marriott of the Royal Navy. Photo: Keystone-France/Getty Images Waiting at the door of the second carriage is a French general, who bows stiffly, alongside a 38-year-old British naval officer, Captain Jack Marriott, who is mentally recording every detail of these events. It is Friday 8 November, 1918 the German delegation has arrived in the Forest of Compiegne, about 60 km north of Paris, to sign the Armistice that will end the war to end all wars. On 12 December Christies will offer for sale Marriotts extraordinarily detailed accounts of the events of the following few days. Marriott was one of only four British participants in the Armistice negotiations, and the notes and mementoes he kept summon up the scene with wonderful clarity. World War One Armistice. Captain J.P.R. Marriott (1879-1938). Typescript letters, letters and original ephemera from the negotiations and signature of the Armistice in the Forest of Compiegne, 7-11 November 1911. Estimate: 10,000-15,000. Offered in Books & Manuscripts on 12 December at Christies in London There were the moments of accidental comedy: as the German delegation approached, the French chief of staff was suddenly paralysed by a point of etiquette how, from a point of view of courtesy, do you receive the representatives of a country with whom you have been engaged in a war of unprecedented destruction for more than four years? The Allies asked the Germans for their credentials (to prove they were the legal representatives of the German government), but Marriott wryly notes that it was lucky the Germans did not retaliate, as they had not thought to bring any. There are also the lost details of history that the Great War was prolonged by a whole day because the German party had failed to bring a code with them by which they could send the Armistice terms back to headquarters by telegram. As a result the papers had to be sent back across the front line by motorcar, a process which took 36 hours. Marriott recorded that after the signing of the Armistice, he and his colleagues had a glass of port and went for a walk in the Forest which was wonderfully soothing after our busy night Then, when Captain Marriott tried to phone Buckingham Palace to inform King George V about the Armistice, he was almost defeated by the primitive telephone technology: The line was dreadful and I must have been cut off about 30 times. There are the human vignettes, too: the junior German representative taking the Armistice terms back to his government with a bottle of beer in each pocket and crying his eyes out. It had been immediately clear to the Allied party that the German delegates, caught between absolute military collapse on the front and starvation and revolution at home, would accept almost any terms. And so, after three days of cursory negotiations, at 5 oclock in the morning, Marshal Foch, Admiral Wemyss and the four German delegates signed the document which declared an end to a war which had killed an estimated 17 million military combatants and civilians. The guns would fall silent exactly six hours later, at 11 oclock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. Sign up today Christie's Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week Subscribe Raymond Plank, who started Apache Corp. in 1954 from seed capital of $250,000 and grew it to a $50 billion oil and gas producer at the time of his retirement as chairman in 2009, has died at 96. Plank died Thursday evening at his home near Sheridan, Wyo., according to his family. Houston-based Apaches culture in its early days mirrored that of Plank, who was known as a risk-taker with swagger. Plank loved fast cars and was often seen puffing away at his pipe, smoking in his office, the company jet or in rental cars, said Tony Lentini, a longtime spokesman for Plank at Apache. When he rented a car, he would have the no smoking sticker pulled off of the car and stuck to his pipe, Lentini recalled. Sometimes, he would almost smoke out the pilots on the plane. He brought unconventional methods to oil exploration and production and typically found success. In 1981, Plank created the first publicly traded master limited partnership, or MLP, that has since become popular with oil and gas companies for their tax benefits. When Apache first began to explore for oil in the Qarun area of western Egypt in the early 1990s, there was no pipeline infrastructure available to move the oil to where it could be refined and sold. Although Apache had plans to build the necessary pipelines, Plank couldnt wait. There was no way to get the oil out, so Raymond decided to truck it across the western desert before we built the pipeline, Lentini said. He wanted to monetize it at the beginning and trucked thousands of barrels a day across the desert. Lentini recalled many times Raymond used bluster and colorful language at press conferences. Being his PR guy was a lot of fun, but he would say things just to provoke, Lentini said. He was unconventional, to say the least. Plank was also publicly outspoken about suspecting Enron Corp. of foul play years before the company collapsed in an accounting scandal. That was a big deal, Lentini recalled. Everybody believed Enron hung the moon. Raymond had the courage to say, Were going to expose this because this is wrong. While Plank has not been active at Apache for many years, his presence is still felt at the company. For the many of us at Apache who knew him, and the many more whose lives he touched, we remember Raymond as a visionary leader and a strong, passionate and caring man. His leadership, courage, generosity and integrity are central to the core values he instilled at Apache, and they continue to guide us today. We send our deepest condolences to the Plank family, said Apache Corporation CEO and President John Christmann. Plank was born in 1922 and served as a bomber pilot in the Pacific in World War II before returning to graduate from Yale. Plank authored a memoir in 2012 titled A Small Difference that outlines many of his adventures as a Texas wildcatter. He called his memoir A Small Difference, but he made a big difference in many peoples lives, said his son, Roger Plank, founder and CEO of Apex International Energy, a Houston oil and gas company. Raymond Plank for the past several years had been living near Sheridan and was passionate about the nearby Ucross Foundation, a nonprofit organization he founded in 1981. Ucross is on a historic 20,000-acre cattle ranch on the high plains in Wyoming and provides workspace and living accommodations to artists, writers and composers. Several acclaimed works were created in part during artist residencies at Ucross, including E. Annie Proulxs The Shipping News and Elizabeth Gilberts Eat Pray Love. Raymond was a force of nature, said Sharon Dynak, president of the Ucross Foundation, adding that he transformed the lives of thousands of artists whose work has influenced the culture of the world. Plank also had a lifetime affinity for learning, and in 2001, he created Fund for Teachers, a national organization based in Houston that helps develop teaching skills. He also developed a program to build 200 one-room schools in Western Egypt for girls. Plank was a native of Minneapolis, where he founded an accounting and tax service that managed oil and gas investment programs that eventually morphed into Apache, which today has a market capitalization of about $14 billion. In recent years, Apache has shed several large assets, including in Canada and the offshore Gulf of Mexico, to focus on its core assets in the Permian Basin, U.K. North Sea and Egypt. john.roper@chron.com After 25 years in the Cy-Fair area, Kindred Hospital Houston Northwest has not only given patients long-term care but built a family within its walls. Kindred Hospital, originally established in 1993, is a long-term acute care, or LTAC, hospital specializing in patients needing extra care for lasting medical issues, including respiratory failure, as well as following up with patients after they arrive home. Tracy Kohler, market CEO for the northwest and Tomball locations of Kindred Hosptial, said the mission of Kindred Hospital is to help local community members with long-term medical needs. Kohler has been an employee with Kindred Hospital for 18 years, beginning as the director of education before eventually becoming CEO. Our mission is about hope, healing and recovery, she said. Those patients who can't heal very quickly take a little bit longer, and that's okay. It gives them hope and it gives them a longer time to recover. Kindred Hospital offers most services that short-term acute care hospitals in the area offer, minus labor services or an emergency room, Kohler said. According to a facility fact sheet, Kindred Hospital has 196 beds total, including beds for ICU and private beds, sepsis wound care, a lab, a rapid response call team and more. Penelope Wilson, area director of business development for the northwest and Tomball locations of Kindred Hosptial, said the Kindred Hospital and their physicians work with local short-term acute care hospitals, like Cy-Fair Medical Center. The physicians that practice here also practice at Kindred and they understand the types of patients that need a little bit more time to get better, she said. When they do, it's a tremendous investment in their care because the patients typically have a lot of comorbidities that are pretty medically complex and in some cases, critically ill. Along with giving patients time to recover on-site, Kindred Hospital follows up with patients for after care, including the equipment and medication they need. The hospital will follow up with patients at home for as long as 90 days, Kohler said. Kindred actually has a service where we call them to make sure their home health's arrived and if it's in 24 hours, 48 hours, 7 days, 14 days, 30 and it goes out to 60 and 90 days to make sure that they're taken care of, she said. Kindred Hospital is one of 28 hospitals in the United States with Joint Commission certification for the management of respiratory failure. Kohler said this achievement is important to the community, considering many patients come in with respiratory failure issues and stay at Kindred Hospital for an extended amount of time. We noticed respiratory failure was a big issue for us, she said. When we went for joint commission certification for respiratory failure, that's huge for our level. When we got our certification, we were one of 20 in the nation. Kohler said the reason many employees stay with the company and patients choose the LTAC over others is due to the care given to both groups. During a ribbon cutting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Kindred Hosptials opening, held Nov. 1, and hosted by the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce, many community members attended to support the hospital and reminisce over pictures of past years. When you take care of each other, why would you want to leave? Kohler said. When we say every moment counts, it's from one act of kindness. Passing it on and passing it forward and paying it forward. A lot of times we forget about our coworkers who are our work family. We spend so much time with our work family that we have to take care of our work family and take care of our patients because it is a calling for us and our physicians are the ones that have our back. chevall.pryce@chron.com A man is in critical condition after suffering severe burns from a fire that broke out Friday evening some 25 miles north of Houston. North Montgomery County fire officials responded at about 11 p.m. to reports of a large fire at a garage-type structure in the Security community off Texas 105 between Conroe and Cleveland. Three new faces will join the Crosby ISD school board. With 542 votes Kasey KeaLynn Lewis was selected as the new District 2 member for the Crosby ISD Board of Trustees. Challenger Sharyl Eavon Fain garnered 215 votes. Lewis, a deputy with the Harris County Sheriffs Office, said she will help make Crosby ISD one of the top school districts in the Houston area. Lewis said she would make it a priority to fix the districts current financial crisis if elected. Fain, an administrative assistant with the Baylor University College of Medicines Nutrition Research Center, decided to run for this position as a way to give back to her community. I am honored and excited to have won the confidence of the residents in my district and would like to thank everyone who took the time to vote during this election, Lewis said. We now have a lot of work ahead of us and I plan on doing everything I can during this time to preserve the level of education and professionalism that Crosby ISD has risen over the past few years. Meanwhile, Joseph Robert Humphries was also elected. He was running for District 3 unopposed. He will take over the District 3 seat from John Lindsey who did not seek re-election. District 1 board member Tanya Shaye Eagleton will join the board again. She ran unopposed. At-large District 6 Board Member John Warren Swinney was elected to the same position. He ran unopposed as well. According to the Harris County Clerks Office 8,313 people early voted at Crosby Library Branch. All results are unofficial until canvassed. kaila.contreras@chron.com UVALDE Jack D. Young, the driver of a large Dodge pickup truck who killed 13 people and badly injured another when he crashed into their church bus last year, was sentenced Friday to 55 years in prison. State District Judge Camile DuBose sentenced Young after an emotionally draining three-day hearing. You have a choice. You can choose to live your life as a victim or you can honor the spirit and the lives of those who were killed that day, and rise above your circumstance, DuBose told him before handing down the sentence. Jesus loves you, and you must learn to love yourself. More than 60 people were in the courtroom, many of them relatives of the accident victims who were members of the First Baptist Church of New Braunfels. Also present were Youngs family and friends. After the sentence, some relatives of the victims went over to comfort and embrace Youngs family. Several of them spoke tenderly to him as well. Im crushed. Im hurt. This is a no-win situation for everyone, said Dawn Tysdal-Jean, whose mother was killed in the crash, moments after she spoke to Young as he cried. I feel its just another life lost. Im broken in my heart for both families, she said. The 14 elderly churchgoers were returning from a retreat in Leakey on March 29, 2017, when Youngs truck crashed into their bus on U.S. 83 north of Uvalde. It was one of the deadliest accidents in state history. Young, 21, later admitted he had smoked marijuana and taken clonazepam, a prescribed anti-depressant, before the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the accident was caused by his impaired driving, which was captured on a cell phone video by a motorist who noticed Young weaving on the highway. Young pleaded no contest in June to 13 counts of intoxication manslaughter and one count of intoxication assault. He faced a possible life sentence. Young was the last person to take the stand Friday, and gave an emotional apology to the friends and families of the victims. I cant put into words how sorry I am. I cant tell you how many times I have prayed to God that it isnt so, he said. If anyone, it should have been me. Ive tried to kill myself before. They were beautiful people with beautiful families, he said. In a sometimes barely audible voice, Young talked about his difficult upbringing and about being raped as a boy. He said the assault had haunted him in recent years, leading to his commitment for psychiatric treatment in a San Antonio hospital. He said his drug use was a means of coping with recurring memories of the assault. Rogelio F. Munoz, Youngs lawyer, tried to blame one of Youngs doctors for giving him a six-month prescription for clonazepam, and not monitoring its effects. This doctor gave a mind-altering drug to a mental patient, Munoz asserted. Under cross-examination from District Attorney Dan Kindred, Young admitted that his drug use continued after the accident and he was sent to jail to await sentencing. Friends and relatives of the victims shared memories during the hearing this week, told favorite stories, showed family photographs and testified about their losses. Rose Mary Harris, the only survivor in the bus, brought many in the courtroom to tears Thursday when she talked about seeing so many of her friends perish. Harris has undergone multiple surgeries and now walks with a cane, where before she could walk three miles. Several of Youngs family members, including his parents and older sister, testified in detail Friday of the difficult circumstances of his upbringing, beginning with alcohol and drug abuse by both parents. His sister, Chelsea Young, described how the family had basically fallen apart after the death of her grandmother, and how Jack had suffered the most from neglect. Im very sorry for the pain you are going through. You all have such beautiful loving family members you lost, she said, before contrasting it with her own childhood. I dont have any happy memories. It was emotional and mental abuse, physical abuse sometimes, she said. But, she said, despite the neglect and instability at home, she never foresaw such a tragedy. Im sorry for the actions of my brother. I never thought it would reach this far. We didnt have any example. There was no chance, she said. Youngs father, Ben Young, and his mother, Lori Davis, also testified about his harsh upbringing. Both acknowledged substance abuse and accepted blame for failing as parents. In his closing arguments, Munoz pleaded with the judge, saying, We have one incident, one time. Dont throw him away. Dont throw him away. District Attorney Dan Kindred asked for a sentence of 130 years. The magnitude of the loss of life must be reflected in the magnitude of the sentence. Jack Young has made his bed, and now hes going to lay in it, he said. jmaccormack@express-news.net A 30-year-old man was killed Friday night after police say his wife shot him after she said he physically assaulted her, beating her with the gun she used to defend herself in their Spring home. Montgomery constable deputies responded to two calls around 10:45 p.m. in the 2400 block of Colonial Springs Lane. One caller was a female friend who fled the scene when her friend's husband, Terrance Theus, threatened to shoot them both. A second call came from the wife stating she shot her husband and needed help, according to a sheriff's office press release. About half of the population of the Central African Republic need urgent food, the United Nations said on Thursday. According to the UN, this is the worst situation since 2014. The situation is mainly the result of renewed tension, which is now been undermined by violence between armed groups, it said. Nutritional conditions in the Central African Republic continue to deteriorate due to persistent insecurity, World Food Program spokesman, Herve Verhoosel said. Of the 620,000 people who have been internally displaced by the violence, six out of 10 are staying with host families, the WFP said. The UN is therefore calling for urgent action to prevent another human tragedy. Since 2017, violence has escalated in several areas, the number of attacks against civilians and aid workers is on the rise, and one out of four Central Africans now live in displacement. Late last month, the European Union Commission has allocated 8 million to the Central African Republic to address the increasing food, nutrition and emergency needs in the countries. Funding in the Central African Republic will enhance the EUs ongoing efforts to address the needs of the displaced populations, it said. The Central African Republic is witnessing the worlds third-worst humanitarian crisis behind Yemen and Syria, measured by the percentage of population in need of lifesaving relief. NEWPORT, R.I. Lt. Vanessa Brown applied the lessons learned in Houston to become one of the most elite surface warriors. I learned confidence and the importance of being strong while growing up in Houston, said Brown. Those lessons turned into an opportunity to learn leadership and the most innovative tactics of surface warfare at Surface Warfare Officers School, located in Newport, Rhode Island. I like the challenges of being a surface warfare officer and the ability to practice one of three different fields, including engineering, which is what Im in now, said Brown. Considered one of the Navys greatest assets, surface warfare officers must first train and be mentored at Surface Warfare Officer School. These students must pass a rigorous course structure in order to serve as surface warfare officers. The mission of Surface Warfare Officers School is to ready sea-bound warriors to serve on surface combatants as officers, enlisted engineers, and enlisted navigation professionals to fulfill the Navys mission maintaining global maritime superiority. Once service members finish training they are deployed around the world putting their skill set to work aboard Navy ships, such as aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, amphibious warfare ships, mine warfare ships and littoral combat ships. At Surface Warfare Officers School, we are committed to training, developing and inspiring our Navys surface warfare officers, said Capt. Scott Robertson, SWOS commanding officer. Our graduates leave our courses ethically, intellectually, professionally and physically prepared to deliver professional leadership on every surface vessel in the fleet. Brown is a 2005 graduate of Elsik High School and a 2010 graduate of the University of Texas Pan American, now the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. There are many sacrifices and goals one must achieve to be selected as a surface warfare officer and Brown is most proud of serving as a member of the commissioning crew of the littoral combat ship, USS Little Rock. This experience gave me a sense of ownership and responsibility along with job satisfaction, said Brown. The future of surface warfare is rapidly changing, so the course and materials at Surface Warfare Officer School are constantly evolving to create the most dynamic, lethal, safe and professional warfighting team for the Navy the nation needs. It is critical that students report to the fleet with the academic baseline required to perform as warfighters in todays maritime environment, said Lt. Matt Gallagher, the commands public affairs officer. SWOS training is at the epicenter of professional development for surface warfare officers throughout their careers. Surface warfare has been a part of world history for more than 3,000 years, and the United States has its stamp on that history with actions ranging from the American Revolution to modern day operations at sea around the world. Brown is continuing a family tradition of military service. My mother and father were both hospital corpsman in the Navy, said Brown. As Brown and other surface warriors continue to train, they take pride serving their country in the United States Navy. Serving in the Navy has given me a sense of duty and maturity, said Brown. Its put me on the fast track to life. Despite the possible rain and cooler temps, the show must go on: the 2018 Childrens Festival at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion is the organizations 23rd annual event. Its set for this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m and is presented by ExxonMobil. Ashley Gravois, the pavilions public relations and educational outreach manager, said that theyre expecting between 12,000 and 15,000 people to attend. Tickets are $10. This event focuses heavily on our mission of providing educational outreach opportunities to foster new audiences and introduce younger generations to the impact performing arts can have, Gravois said. To that end, there are to be several performances throughout the weekend with Sesame Street Live being the highlight. Kids will get to meet and greet characters, partake in science-related activities and enjoy a Touch a Truck area complete with an official race car. There is also to be a toddler area for kids four years old and under. There may also be kite building and parachute races on the lawn, weather permitting, but children will be able to take part in arts and crafts activities regardless. Certain vendors, like Cecilia and Federico Penas booth, will be giving free art classes throughout the festival days. They own a Young Rembrandts studio in north Houston, where they teach children to draw by breaking objects down into basic shapes. This is the second time theyre attending the festival. Cecilia said they had an awesome experience last year, with many people coming to take the free class. She said shes excited to return this year. People get to see that every kid starts with a white paper, and (when they leave) theyve done everything on their paper. Its pretty awesome, Cecilia said. jane.stueckemann@chron.com The 36th annual Lighting of the Doves Festival is back at Town Green Park on Nov. 17. The tradition, the second-longest running in the history of The Woodlands, includes performances from local and international entertainers, a snow hill, childrens activities and shopping, culminating with the titular light show and Santa Clauss arrival in a sleigh boat down The Woodlands Waterway. A dove is a symbol of peace appropriate now and always, said Visit The Woodlands President Nick Wolda. The festival allows us to celebrate the holiday season and see how people celebrate in various ways. The festival dates back to the 1980s, when an employee of the then-The Woodlands Corporation devised an event that celebrated the holidays without religious denominations as a focus and brought the giant lighted doves to the township. Its one of our signature events, Wolda said. Keeping in line with years past, the townships Parks & Recreation Department, which manages the festival, estimates about 20,000 visitors next weekend. Its been a great way to kick of the holiday season here, said Angel Nicks, the assistant director of the townships Parks and Recreation Department. To ensure the safety of all those attending, Nicks said that the township has partnered with the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office for security patrols. Highlighting the two stages that will be set up at the park the Celebration Stage and the Festival Stage are performances from the Ballet Folklorico Herencia Mexicana de Houston, Danny Ray and the Acoustic Production, The Woodlands Christian Academy Middle School Choir and the Performing Arts Center of The Woodlands, among others. The festival includes the opening of the the Ice Rink at Town Green, which will remain open throughout the holiday season until Jan. 21. Kids can also enjoy inflatables, face painting and balloon art throughout the festival. A fireworks display sponsored by Service King will begin at 7 p.m. mrincon@chron.com In June, the Conroe Independent School District Board of Trustees had a vacancy to fill at The Woodlands High School they were short a principal. The person they selected for the job? Ted Landry. Landry came from Kingwood High School in the Humble Independent School District, the district hed been in for more than 15 years. Yet, his first job in Texas was with Conroe ISD, so this is a homecoming of sorts for him. Hes now a few months into his new role and spoke with The Villager about how its going. QUESTION: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family. LANDRY: I was born and raised in south Louisiana. My dad was a sugar cane farmer. I grew up on the farm, driving a tractor, working hard. Its where I got my work ethic, from my father. After high school I joined the Marine Corps and spent some time there. But, Ive known since I was 16 years old that I wanted to be an educator. Ive worked toward that goal my adult life. I started teaching in Louisiana at Breaux Bridge High School. I became a guidance counselor and did that for a year in Louisiana, but my wife is an educator as well. The education system in Texas was very appealing to us, so we moved here in 2000. My first job in Texas was as a guidance counselor at Conroe High School. I was there for two years and then I moved to Kingwood High School, where I became and assistant principal and then the associate principal at Atascocita High School. Then, I went back to Kingwood High School as the principal, and I did that for the last six years. Then I had an opportunity to come here and this was the dream job, and an opportunity I couldnt pass up. QUESTION: Tell us about the experience of serving in the Marine Corps. LANDRY: The Marine Corps was an opportunity for growth for me. I did not come from a wealthy family, so some of it was logistics, to help financially with college. The other part was out of a service to the country. Were very patriotic people, so serving my country was a big deal. The Marine Corps is the ultimate adventure for an 18-year-old young man. I have one brother, and hes 11 months older than I am, and we enlisted together. We ended up in the same training platoon in basic training. That was an interesting experience. Once they found out we were brothers, it made things a little fun. Hes a great support, we are very close, and we supported each other through it. He was stationed on the west coast, and I was on the east coast. That was the first time we were ever apart. But, I always knew at the heart of it that I was probably going to be going back to Louisiana, back to college, because ultimately I still wanted to be an educator. QUESTION: How did you know you wanted to get involved in education? LANDRY: As a junior in high school, I had this spectacular AP World History teacher. I always had a love of social studies and history that started in middle school, but this gentleman really brought it to life. From that moment forward, I knew this was what I wanted to do. We talk about it now as adults, those of us who had him as students it was like Netflix in the 80s. He would tell stories and had a way of bringing them to life that really made them engaging, and then talk about the significance of why it was important for us to know that, and how that could influence future generations. He really did a nice job of that, and I wanted to do that for others as well. QUESTION: Youre a few months into your role as principal of The Woodlands High School. How is it going so far? LANDRY: Its going great! This place is fantastic. The student body is stellar. Theyre an awesome group of kids. You can tell that they have goals, they have support, they have some drive and initiative and they know what they need to do. They know what comes next, or at least have an idea of what comes next in their lives or are working toward it. And the ones who dont have an idea (of what will come next) know that education is the foundation for whatever it is they want to do. So, they take their education seriously. Their expectations on learning are very high, so they challenge the staff and faculty to make sure that they are teaching them whatever they need to know for the next level or whatever comes next in their lives. The parental support is second to none. As an educator, to be able to pick up the phone and call a parent and get an immediate response is not something you see everywhere, but it is something that happens here. The district administration is great; theyve been tremendously supportive. Everyones been very welcoming, received me very warmly and are helping me navigate the bureaucracy of a large school district. QUESTION: You started your career in Conroe ISD, and now youre back in Conroe ISD. How has it been to come full circle? LANDRY: I spent 16 years in Humble ISD, which is a great place and treated me and my family great, but theres always a special place in your heart for your first job. Coming from Louisiana as a young couple, just my wife and I, Conroe welcomed us and took us in, just like they did this time. There was always a soft spot in my heart for Conroe ISD, so to have an opportunity to have a little bit of a homecoming and come backits very nice to be in a place that puts a high value on education. I couldnt be happier about being here. A huge thank you to everybody from the district administration that made this possible, for the warm welcomeand not just me, but my whole family. When we go out to school events, the students and sponsors and teachers and parents have embraced my entire family and have made them feel very special through this whole process, which has made it a cool experience. Now, my kids are excited and want to come to the school. They really want to be part of the community, and its been fantastic sharing this community with them. QUESTION: High school education has changed a lot in the past two decades. Where do you see Conroe ISD and The Woodlands High School specifically in the future in terms of technology and innovation? LANDRY: In the last 10 to 15 years, education has changed a lot. To prepare students for a job, you cant really do that anymore. Technology is moving so fast that by the time these freshmen graduate from college, the jobs they land in probably dont even exist yet. As educators, we need to work very hard to make sure were covering a broad range of topics, to make sure those students have the ability to think critically, problem solve, be flexible and adapt their knowledge based on whatever situation theyre presented with. They have to be able to be ready to go and have those skills in their pocket and be ready to roll. QUESTION: What are your goals for the future? Do you see yourself here long-term? LANDRY: I hope to be here for years and years. I would love to be able to retire from Conroe ISD thatll be some time, but this is a great place to raise a family. As a high school principal, you couldnt ask for a better (school). This school is in the top five in the state, so to be a high school principal in the state of Texas, this is the pinnacle of our position. Id love to be here. QUESTION: What do you like to do in your free time? LANDRY: I have four children, all under the age of 11, so my free time is wholly and completely consumed by being a dad, which I love immensely. We have our first middle schooler, but the rest are all in elementary and one in preschool. Being a dad and engaging them as much as I possibly can, exposing them to things. We like to travel, to go places we havent been and expose my children to the diversity that is our world that we live in. Part of being a teacher is sharing new things with someone, and watching that excitement and that joy in their face. That same thing is true in being a dad. When they see things for the first time, or experience something for the first time, its awesome. jane.stueckemann@chron.com The call launched on Tuesday (Nov.6) by King Mohammed VI to open a frank and direct dialogue with Algeria to settle the transient and objective differences impeding the development of the two countries relations was met with praise in Africa. President of Burkina Faso welcomed the Moroccan Monarchs call and pleaded for opening borders between Morocco and Algeria. President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who received Friday in Tangier the Grand Prix MEDays 2018, said at a news conference after the prize awarding ceremony that he really appreciates the Kings outreach the Algerian brothers so that the borders, which have been closed for a long time, be re-opened and that we could work together for the common cause of Africa. President Kabore who insisted that the opening of Moroccan-Algerian borders will benefit the entire continent commended the efforts made by King Mohammed VI to strengthen inter-African bounds, lower all the obstacles delaying African progress and search for real solutions to Africas problems. In Abidjan, Ally Coulibaly, Ivorian Minister of African Integration commended the royal move as it seeks, he said, to open new perspectives for peace and development in the Maghreb. President Alassane Ouattara welcomes the royal proposals, which reflect the Sovereigns attachment to peace and dialogue, said Ally Coulibaly. By calling for dialogue with Algeria, the Moroccan Sovereign has set the example for world leaders, mainly African leaders, said Senegals ombudsman and former Foreign Minister, Alioune Badara Cisse. Mauritania has also commended King Mohammed VIs call as an initiative that will safeguard regional stability. Mauritania encourages and wishes full success to any initiative aiming to guarantee regional stability and security as well as neighborliness, Spokesperson for the Mauritanian government Sidi Mohamed Ould Maham said. Cape Verde, through the voice of Foreign Minister Luis Filipe Tavares, welcomed the royal call for dialogue as a wise and courageous initiative. He described the royal speech as historic, expressing hope that Algeria would grasp the hand extended to it. The Royal initiative was also hailed by several Arab and European countries as well as by the UN Secretary General and the European Union as an opportunity to open new perspectives for peace, stability and development in the Maghreb. What are the various types of Sankirtan and why are Sai Bhajans special? Your browser does not support the audio element. This Sankirtana is of four types. One is Guna Sankirtana (singing about the qualities of God), second is 'Leela Sankirtana' (singing about the divine acts of God), third is 'Bhava Sankirtana' (singing expressing one's feelings to God) and the fourth is 'Nama Sankirtana' (singing the various names of the Lord). Guna Sankirtana means describing the auspicious qualities of God, feeling ecstasy and striving to inculcate such noble qualities in one's own life. This 'Guna Sankirtana' was practiced by Tyagaraja. Rama, Your prowess is beyond description by words! Is it possible to extol Your glory even for Brahma? I am waiting for Your grace, Hear my prayers and rescue me oh Lord! You are beyond description by words! You brought back and gifted the son of Your guru who was abducted by death, You uprooted the evil, You freed Vasudeva and Devaki from imprisonment, You protected the dove eyed Draupadi by saving her pride, You safeguarded the Pandavas umpteen times, You alleviated the suffering of Kuchela, The hunchback Kubja's physical crookedness You removed, You saved sixteen thousand damsels, Rama, Your prowess is beyond description by words! From where all words together with the mind return, unable to reach thus saying, Tyagaraja described Rama by singing, "There are qualities in You, O Rama, which words fail to describe." 'Leela Sankirtana', is expressing and dancing the sacred playful acts of the Lord (or leelas) as a musical ballet, thereby experiencing them and being immersed in them. This is Leela Sankirtana. This is also called as 'Gita Govindam'. Then there is 'Bhava Sankirtana'. This was experienced only by Radha, who lost in feelings for God, transformed her own nature into the essential nature of God. She lived her life experiencing the feelings of peace, truth, motherliness, affection and that of sweet love. Therefore, the sacred feelings of Radha and Meera came to be known as 'Bhava Sankirtana'. 'Nama Sankirtana', Chaitanya (Mahaprabhu) was the one responsible for propagating this. 'All names are Your names. A world without Your name or a world without Your form cannot be found in this cosmos. Chaitanya was one who proclaimed, 'O God, the beauty of this whole world is but Your name and form!' Thus, with the feeling that every object, atom and moment is an embodiment and reflection of God, Chaitanya redeemed himself, through the name of the Lord. Based on one's fortune, people of each age followed one of the four paths alone; whereas the people of Prasanthi Nilayam are immensely fortunate to experiencing all the four paths. Guna Sankirtana, Leela Sankirtana, Bhava Sankirtana and Nama Sankirtana - the amalgamation of all these four is our bhajans. - Divine Discourse, March 03, 1992 President Donald Trump on Friday invoked national security powers to prevent migrants crossing the border illegally from applying for asylum, though advocates immediately challenged it in a federal court in San Francisco. Trump in his decree said migrants should seek asylum at ports of entry and that he would commit additional resources to such official crossing points in anticipation of a large influx. If a judge does not intervene, the measure would take effect Saturday. It is certain to cause chaos at over-burdened ports of entry along the southern border. Dozens were already camped this week on or near international bridges from Brownsville to El Paso as they waited to apply for asylum and, at the San Diego port of entry, migrants are waiting up to five weeks to be processed. The Rio Grande Valley, where more than 11,500 families were apprehended for crossing illegally last month, is expected to particularly feel the crush. The president, who has railed for weeks about a caravan of mostly Central American migrants walking through Mexico to reach the United States, issued the proclamation based on the same emergency authority to control the countrys borders that he cited last year when banning travel from several Muslim nations. Federal judges quickly halted the measure, though the Supreme Court allowed the administration to implement a limited version after an 18-month legal fight. Legal experts predict a similar battle over the presidents attempt to restrict asylum. U.S. immigration law for decades has explicitly allowed those who fear persecution to ask for protection whether or not they enter the country illegally. The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups argued in seeking the injunction that the administration violated that asylum statute, as well as federal law governing how agencies are allowed to change regulations. Ever since the horrors of World War II, the worlds nations have committed to giving asylum seekers the opportunity to seek safe haven, said Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, an advocacy group that is part of the lawsuit. The Trump administration cannot defy this most elementary humanitarian principle, in violation of U.S. and international law, with a flip of a presidential pen. The president and senior White House officials said that the number of immigrants necessitated the action. New federal statistics showed 60,745 people were arrested or deemed inadmissible at the southern border in October, more than any other month since Trump took office. The continuing and threatened mass migration of aliens with no basis for admission into the United States through our southern border has precipitated a crisis and undermines the integrity of our borders, Trump wrote in the proclamation. I therefore must take immediate action to protect the national interest, and to maintain the effectiveness of the asylum system for legitimate asylum seekers. The number of people requesting credible fear screenings the first step to receiving asylum at the border increased from about 5,000 in 2008 to 97,000 in 2018, according to Justice Department data cited in a Federal Register notice announcing the change. Overall illegal immigration is at historic lows, but the number of families coming here mainly from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras has surged to almost half of all apprehensions at the southern border. A record 23,121 crossed illegally in October, more than any month since Central Americans began coming here en masse in 2013, many fleeing gang violence and poverty. The government is prevented by law from quickly deporting most if they credibly fear return, and a legal settlement protecting children usually frees families from detention. That has frustrated Trump who campaigned against ending catch and release and in the run-up to Tuesdays midterm elections falsely blamed Democrats for the practice as part of an attempt to stoke fear over illegal immigration. He also sent thousands of military troops to the border although they are not allowed to arrest migrants and said he would erect tent cities to detain them. Under Fridays proclamation, and an accompanying interim final rule issued by the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, immigrants who cross between ports of entry no longer would be eligible for asylum but could qualify for a type of protection known as withholding from removal, which has a far higher burden of proof. It is immensely more difficult to attain, so many more immigrants would likely be quickly deported. It also does not lead to any type of legal status as with asylum. Groups who support limiting immigration applauded the move, saying that it would reduce the number of migrants seek asylum, which has contributed to a record backlog of more than 1 million cases in the civil immigration courts. It can take years to adjudicate many cases before migrants are deported. The proclamation and subsequent rule changes will make important alterations to the asylum process by attempting to reduce the flood of migrants who enter the United States illegally before asking for asylum, said Dan Stein, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Federation for American Immigration Reform. Until loopholes that have been exploited for years are closed and asylum laws are changed to protect the credibility of the process, well continue to see increased pressure on our southern border. Legal experts said the administrations argument appeared unlawful. At the end of the day this is not going to be permissible, said Leon Fresco, who oversaw immigration litigation as part of former President Barack Obamas Justice Department. All of the steps of this are flawed. He said the emergency authority invoked by the president applied only to people who have not yet entered the United States, not those already across the border. And he noted that the first line of the law governing asylum states that any immigrant who arrives in the country whether or not at a designated port of arrival is eligible to apply for the protection. It is literally the first few words of the statute, he said. Charles Foster, a Houston immigration attorney who advised former President George W. Bush, said the law is black and white. I dont see any merit to this argument at all, he said. Hundreds of prospective asylum seekers camped out overnight Thursday on the Mexican side of three international bridges linking El Paso and Juarez, said Shaw Drake, an attorney for the ACLUs Border Rights Center. By Friday, many had moved to shelters in Juarez. He said Customs and Border Protection agents appeared only to be processing up to 20 asylum seekers a day. Roger Maier, a spokesman for the agency in El Paso, said it does so as expeditiously as possible, given space constraints and other factors. The Center for Constitutional Rights and other groups have separately sued the agency for what they allege is a practice of turning away asylum seekers who arrive at ports of entry. The lawsuit is ongoing. Jodi Goodwin, an immigration attorney in Harlingen, said she feared Trumps order would force a bottleneck upon international bridges in the Rio Grande Valley as immigrants throng there seeking asylum, rather than walking across the river and asking Border Patrol agents for the protection as most do. The region does not have enough shelters on the Mexican side to house all the migrants. Reynosa and Matamoros are largely controlled by drug cartels and have some of the highest kidnapping rates in Mexico, according to the U.S. State Department. Unlike the Tijuana-San Diego border crossing, there is no organized process at ports of entry in Texas to gain a spot in line to apply for asylum. As it is, right now, people are living on the bridges or under the bridges just to be able to apply for asylum, Goodwin said. The humanitarian effect is going to be horrendous. lomi.kriel@chron.com twitter.com/lomikriel The newly elected Harris County clerk plans to phase out the countys eSlate voting machines, which have occasionally caused problems for voters. Diane Trautman, who beat the incumbent in the countywide sweep of Democrats, also wants to improve the countys elections technology so voters can cast ballots in any precinct on Election Day. Currently, residents are allowed to vote at any polling place during early voting, but must use a designated location on Election Day. We must replace the current electronic machines with an electronic machine that produces a verifiable paper trail, Trautman said. The problem, of course, is the funding. During early voting for in the midterm election, some straight-ticket voters complained their votes in the U.S. Senate race between Rep. Beto ORourke, D-El Paso, and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz had been switched. Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart, whom Trautman defeated on Tuesday, insisted the machines were working properly, but said in rare cases, voters can select candidates they do not intend by pressing buttons on the eSlate machines too quickly. That particular machine, manufactured by Hart InterCivic in Austin, also has been troublesome in other counties and in previous elections. Adrian Garcia, who this week was elected Precinct 2 commissioner, said replacing the machines should be a priority. You can never have an election with any degree of concern to the public that their vote is not being cast as they expect it to be, he said. Especially when these problems had been previously reported and complained about. Stanart said he also had planned to phase out the eSlate voting machines if re-elected. On average, the devices are eight years old. Most were purchased after a 2010 fire destroyed the warehouse where Harris County stored its voting machines. Stanarts spokesman, Hector de Leon, said the clerks office estimates that replacing the countys 8,189 eSlate machines would cost about $75 million. Trautman said she would explore whether the state or federal government could cover part of the cost. Congress previously funded election equipment upgrades through 2002 legislation, authorizing $3.65 billion to states to replace voting systems. Some $3.5 billion of that was appropriated from 2003 to 2016 to help states comply with new federal requirements. Earlier this year, Congress approved another $380 million in grants, with about $24 million going to Texas. However, officials have said the grant should largely go toward securing the states voter registration database, NPR reported, and the total falls far short of Stanarts cost estimate. To shore up the security of its elections, Harris County and all other counties would likely have to replace its machines en masse, said Douglas Jones, a computer science professor at the University of Iowa who studies elections security. Its really hard to apply security to a system as an afterthought, he said. Security is something you either design in, or abandon all hope on. As for Stanarts $75 million cost estimate, Jones said he developed a metric that pegs the cost of buying new voting equipment at less than $4 per voter. By that metric, replacing Harris Countys machines would cost far less than Stanarts estimate, though Jones developed the method by studying a much smaller county in Iowa. Meanwhile, Commissioners Court would need to approve the purchase of new machines, and members are supportive of the idea. Incoming Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said improving the voting experience for residents must be a priority. Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle urged Trautman to prepare a detailed proposal for replacing the eSlate machines and present it to the court. He said new machines must be a technological upgrade and have a long-term life span. Lets not throw out good machines just to get fancy new ones, Cagle said. What we buy next, lets make sure it lasts a while, as well. Cagle also said he agrees with Trautman that residents should be able to vote at any polling location, which he said could save money by closing sites with few voters. The change is possible because Stanart, the outgoing clerk, developed an e-poll book system so polling locations can communicate with each other electronically to prevent voters from casting ballots at multiple locations. Staff writer Jasper Scherer contributed to this report. zach.despart@chron.com twitter.com/zachdespart A San Antonio police officer was arrested overnight Saturday and charged with DWI, according to Bexar County booking records. Matthew Mintz, 24, was arrested shortly before 3 a.m. and charged with driving while intoxicated. Carlos Ortiz, a spokesman for the San Antonio Police Department, said in an email that Mintz is a two-year veteran of the department. Officials have not said where the incident occurred but local media report it was in Universal City. Universal City police declined to comment. Mintz will be placed on administrative leave pending an administrative investigation, Ortiz said. International Lawyer seeks asylum for Asia Bibi in Netherlands The Hague, Nov 9 (IANS) | Publish Date: 11/9/2018 12:16:53 PM IST Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibis lawyer on Friday said he was seeking asylum for his client and her family in The Netherlands amid violent protests in Pakistan by radical Islamists against her acquittal in a blasphemy case. Saif-ul-Malook said he had already spoken with Dutch politicians and ministers, although he was yet to make an official asylum request, reports Efe news. Speaking at a vigil for Asia Bibi organised in Vianen near Utrecht by the foundation Persecuted Christians, which covered the costs of her nine-year long legal battle in Pakistan, the lawyer said he would file a written request with the appropriate authorities in the next few days. A Dutch Foreign Ministry source said only affected persons can file asylum applications and no third parties were allowed to do so on their behalf. Last week, a majority of parties in the Dutch Parliament urged the government to temporarily take charge of Bibi and her family after she was acquitted by Pakistans Supreme Court of blasphemy charges for which she had been sentenced to death eight years ago. Since her acquittal and release, she has been threatened amid widespread protests that accelerated her departure from a Lahore prison and her transfer to Islamabad on Wednesday. Malook said Bibi, her husband and children were under the protection of the Army and police in the wake of threats from radical Islamists who demanded a public execution, rejecting her acquittal. The lawyer was also forced to flee to The Netherlands last week but has not filed an asylum application to stay permanently in the country. On Thursday, the Dutch Foreign Ministry made an official offer to him to join a special programme for human rights activists under pressure in their home countries. AKRON, Ohio - The names of 1,534 Summit County military service members who died during World War II are now displayed at the Summit County Courthouse in downtown Akron. The names are inscribed on plaques that were recently installed on exterior walls near the WWI Doughboy statue in an area that honors veterans from the county. The Doughboy, which was unveiled in 1934, was created by the mothers of 66 Summit County soldiers who were killed during World War I. To dedicate the WWII plaques and honor local service members for Veterans Day, County Executive Ilene Shapiro hosted a ceremony on Friday at the courthouse rotunda. Opening the event, the Ellet High School Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps presented the colors. The Summit Choral Society performed patriotic tributes. Several WWII and Korean War veterans, now in their '80s and '90s, were in attendance as well as veterans of wars in Vietnam and the Middle East. Elected officials from municipalities cross Summit County also attended the dedication. The WWII plaques were originally installed in 1954 in the University of Akron's Memorial Hall. When the hall was demolished in 2010, the plaques were put in storage by David Pierson, UA's vice president of capital planning and facilities management. Vietnam War veteran Bruce Killian, commander of Fairlawn VFW Post 349, worked with Pierson and others to have the plaques installed at the courthouse. Killian, who was a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War, told attendees that 130 county residents died serving in the Korean War. A plaque at the Summit County Courthouse honors 1,534 local military members who lost their lives in WWII. Shapiro told attendees that especially now, during a time of increasing divisiveness in the country, it is important to remember the price many veterans paid while fighting for the freedoms we enjoy, such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to practice religion and freedom from tyranny. "We must never take freedom for granted or those who fought to protect it," Shapiro said. Summit County Veterans Service Commission Director Larry Moore spoke of the high casualty rate on D-Day, the day in 1944 when allied forces landed at the beaches of Normandy, France. "You are my heroes," he told the veterans. "I can't think of a better job than to care for those who have cared for us for all these years." World War II and Korean War veteran Joseph Genet, a Barberton resident, was given a standing ovation after speaking about his experiences and about honoring service members who lost their lives. Below is the list of Summit County residents who died serving the United States in WWII. To learn more about Summit County's Veterans Service Commission, visit the website. Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.com's Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Assault, Noble Road: At 10:30 p.m. Nov. 6, police were called to an apartment building where a man was outside, lying on the ground, after having been stabbed. The man, 28, had been stabbed in a shoulder and arm by the mother of his 3-year-old daughter. Officers learned that the couple had argued until the man pushed the woman, 26, to the floor of their living room and bit her ear. The man later pushed and kicked the woman, who fought back. In the kitchen, after being kicked into a counter, the woman grabbed a knife and stabbed the man. She then left the apartment and asked a passerby to call 911. As the passerby called 911, the man came out of the house, said he had been stabbed, and fell to the ground. The man was put in an ambulance and, on the way to the hospital, he abruptly refused medical attention, jumped out of the ambulance and ran back into the apartment. The man's injuries were not serious. Both the man and woman were charged with domestic violence, assault and child endangering. Disorderly conduct, Euclid Heights Boulevard: At 2:25 a.m. Nov. 1, dispatch informed officers that a disturbance that had become physical was taking place on Euclid Heights Boulevard, near Coventry Road. On the scene, officers encountered a woman who smelled of alcohol and who was yelling at a man, 24. Other people were also in the immediate vicinity. The drunk woman, 31, would not stop yelling as police asked her what had happened. Apparently, the woman had had her purse stolen and she was yelling at the man, who also wouldn't stop screaming. The man was saying that he just wanted to find the woman's purse. After a while, police decided to arrest the woman for disorderly conduct. She would not allow herself to be put in handcuffs and continued to yell. She was eventually told to get on the ground, where she was handcuffed. Police were not fully able to calm anyone down and learn what had truly happened. The woman was arrested for disorderly conduct/intoxication. Domestic violence, Lee Road: At 1:15 p.m. Nov. 5, police were called to a dermatology office where officers learned that an employee's ex-boyfriend, who is the father of her two children, had been to the business and made a threat. The man, 47, went to the business and asked for the woman, 38. When told she was at lunch, he left, but came back a few minutes later. When he saw the woman at her desk, he yelled that if she didn't stop posting things on Instagram, he would kill her. The man then threw a clipboard in the woman's direction, and walked out. The woman believes the man's threat to be credible. She signed complaints against him for domestic violence and menacing. The couple last resided together in February 2017. They share custody of their children. Police are seeking the man on a warrant. Physical control, Mayfield Road: At 12:35 a.m. Nov. 2, an officer on patrol saw a car parked askew in front of a gas pump at the BP gas station, 3983 Mayfield Road. There was a person inside the car. The vehicle's windows were foggy and there was vomit on the ground outside the car. The officer asked a store clerk how long the car had been there. The car had been parked by the pump for about 45 minutes. The officer used a device to unlock the car's doors. A man, 29, was sleeping inside. The car contained an open container of brandy and a bag of marijuana. The man was unable to answer simple questions, as he repeatedly answered by stating his first name. The man failed field sobriety tests and was found to have a blood-alcohol count of .198, above the state minimum for drunk driving of .08. Police charged the man with having an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance, prohibited blood-alcohol content and failure to maintain physical control. Domestic violence, Fairmount Boulevard: At 10:05 p.m. Nov. 2, a woman called police from the corner of Fairmount Boulevard and Idlewood Road. When officers arrived, the woman was shaking and crying. Officers saw a cut on her left cheek. Her cheek and lip were swollen. The woman said that she was driving her car with her husband as passenger. The man blamed her for their daughter's suicide attempt, and she responded by striking her husband in the shoulder. He, in turn, hit her multiple times in the face. The woman stopped the car, got out at the intersection and called police. The woman, a Shaker Heights resident, refused to pursue charges and would not tell officers her husband's name. She said she just wanted to go home. While left alone for a few moments in the police cruiser, the woman called her husband and told him to spend the night in a hotel. Police drove the woman home and asked if they could check inside her home to see if her husband was still there. The woman refused. Determining the man to be the aggressor, police issued a warrant for his arrest on domestic violence and assault charges. If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- U.S. Marshals in Cleveland arrested a man Saturday morning in connection to the torture and slaying of a girl and her father last month in East Cleveland. Kodii Gibson, 21, is the second person arrested in connection with the deaths of Paul Bradley, 39, and his 14-year-old daughter, Paris. Their bodies were found Oct. 10 badly burned in a car that was on fire in a vacant East Cleveland lot. The arrest came two days after another suspect, Ronald Newberry, turned himself in Thursday to East Cleveland police after a warrant was issued for his arrest, U.S. Marshals spokesman Josh Lowe said. U.S. Marshals gathered new evidence Friday and issued a warrant for Gibsons arrest, Lowe said. Members of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested Gibson Saturday morning near the 12300 block of Chesterfield Street in Clevelands Glenville neighborhood, Lowe said. He was taken to the East Cleveland Police Department pending arraignment on his charges. Our task force members wasted no time in tracking down this fugitive, U.S. Marshal Pete Elliot said in a statement. The East Cleveland Police Department should be commended for their tireless efforts in identifying the suspects in this tragic case. Investigators believe the men were part of a group that tortured and killed Paris Bradley, an honor roll student at Bedford High School who split time living with each of her parents, because she happened to be staying with her father at the time of a planned robbery, East Cleveland police Commander Scott Gardner said Wednesday. Detectives believe the group broke into Paul Bradleys Bedford home in order to rob Bradley. They pulled the father and daughter from their beds as they slept and ransacked the residence looking for things to steal, Gardner said. He declined to disclose what the group may have been looking to take from the home. The group tortured Bradley and his daughter before they fatally shot Paris in the back of the head while her father was still alive, Gardner said. They later bludgeoned Bradley to death, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiners Office. We have learned that there are still additional parties that are involved in this crime, Gardner said Saturday. To comment on this story, visit Saturdays crime and courts comment section. AKRON, Ohio -- Police believe an accidental weapon discharge resulted in a man getting shot in the abdomen early Saturday in a University of Akron residence hall, prompting the school to go under lock down, according to a statement from the University of Akron Police Department. Police officers from the university and Akron Police Department responded about 1 a.m. for a call of a shot fired in the Exchange Street Residence Hall, according to a statement from the university. Officers found a 19-year-old Bedford man, who was not a University of Akron student, with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was transported to Akron General Cleveland Clinic Hospital, police said. A 17-year-old boy, who is also from Bedford and known to be acquainted with the victim, was taken into police custody at the Summit County Juvenile Center. He has been charged with unlawful discharge of a firearm. School officials lifted the lock down after about 15 minutes. UA prohibits firearms in residence halls and requires resident students to have responsibility for the actions of any guests, the university said in a statement. This incident underscores the importance of this policy. Both the police investigation and the universitys review of the incident is ongoing. Police responding to incident at Exchange St Residence Hall. Shelter in place. Not a drill. Call 9-1-1 if you see or hear something. University of Akron (@uakron) November 10, 2018 Update from police: Suspect has been detained. Lockdown is lifted. We'll send details when we get them. University of Akron (@uakron) November 10, 2018 Update from police: Lockdown lifted. Suspect detained. Appears to have been an accidental weapons discharge. More to come as we get details. University of Akron (@uakron) November 10, 2018 To comment on this story, visit Saturdays crime and courts comment section. COLUMBUS, Ohio A three-judge panel on Friday dismissed a complaint that Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine was not recusing himself from cases involving his father, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. Although an Ohio Judicial Conduct rule states, A judge shall not permit family to influence the judges judicial conduct or judgment, Fridays opinion cited case law that states it is not alone the grounds for recusal. Instead, the totality of the circumstances must be considered when disqualification is at issue, the opinion stated. The Ohio Supreme Court released the decision after 5 p.m. Friday. Mike DeWine was elected the next governor three days earlier. The complaint was filed Jan. 30 by Bradley Frick, a Columbus attorney and a special disciplinary counsel who was appointed after an anonymous panel of judges found good cause for an investigation, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Throughout the younger DeWines career on the bench, starting with Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, then the First District Court of Appeals, he sought legal opinions on how to handle cases that came from his fathers office. He was generally told he didnt have to recuse himself unless his father was personally involved in a case. Hes been challenged on this matter several times throughout his career. At times Pat DeWine has heard cases involving the Ohio attorney generals office, which as the states attorney represents Ohio agencies and officials. The justice has not explained how he would know if his father was personally involved or what criteria he would use to deem it appropriate to recuse, the complaint said. The complaint also said images of the justice and attorney general together, including the younger DeWine swearing in his father, have been posted on social media and the Ohio Attorney Generals website. ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- Trespassing, Center Ridge Road: On Oct. 30, staff at Rockport Retirement Community reported that a woman would not leave the premises. Officers discovered that a resident at the Rockport had allowed the 45-year-old homeless woman to spend the night in his room, but she refused to leave when asked. cleveland.com Suspicious, Glendale Drive: On Oct. 31, a resident reported that her car had been gone through overnight. Nothing was taken. Theft, Center Ridge Road: On Nov. 1, the manager at Giant Eagle reported the theft of several bags of groceries by a man and a woman, both in their 30s. The couple filled five reusable grocery bags and left through the east doors near Starbuck's without paying for the items and left in a black Toyota Camry. Intoxicated, Wooster Road: On Nov. 2, an officer noticed a man lying face-down on the sidewalk along Morley Road. The man had injuries to his forehead and hands. It was determined that he was intoxicated and had fallen while walking on the sidewalk. The 60-year-old Rocky River man was transported to the hospital. Theft, Lake Road: On Nov. 4, a resident reported that two bikes were stolen from his garage overnight. Theft, Parklawn Drive: On Nov. 4, a resident reported that a briefcase had been taken from his unlocked car overnight, but was later found on a neighbor's porch. Nothing of value was taken. If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page. In the 1960s Azza Fahmy was the first woman ever to apprentice with a goldsmith in Cairo's bazaar district. Her unique designs, drawn from Egyptian history and Islamic culture, has made her an international success. Source: Azza Fahmy CAIRO Azza Fahmy's latest collection includes a ring crafted in the image of a mud house found in the south of Egypt, in Nubia. "See the house here, and the steps leading down, and this stone is the lake," says Fahmy, arranging the ring on the hand of a visitor. "It's up to you. But put it this way on your hand, it's surrounded more by the white of your skin, and I like that." Fahmy, the driving force behind one of the most unlikely success stories in modern design, likes to have things just so. In 1969 she apprenticed with a goldsmith in Cairo's bazaar district, the first woman ever to do so. Over the past 50 years, she's built an internationally known family-owned jewelry brand, one of only a handful of medium-sized artisanal jewelers in the world. The company today produces 40,000 pieces a year, ranging in price from several hundred to thousands of dollars, and her brand is a model not only for jewelers and designers worldwide but for Egyptian women: Fahmy is so famous in the country of more than 90 million that she is often recognized on the streets. The company won't disclose revenues, but an average price per piece of $2,000 would put revenue at $80 million. She expects sales to increase this year by 30 percent to 35 percent. The company employs about 285 people. Her two daughters have even more ambitions for the company, which this year opened its first store in the Mayfair district of London, adding to a network of 14 branded stores, as well as retail agreements with galleries in global cities such as Washington, D.C., and Dubai, and an online shop. The heart of the brand's success is its unique designs, drawn from Egyptian history and Islamic culture. From pharaconic collars to twisting serpents, Azza Fahmy pieces have been spotted on celebrities from Naomi Campbell and Rihanna to Queen Rania of Jordan. Source: Azza Fahmy In an interview in her workshop on the edge of Cairo, in a district called the Sixth of October, Fahmy shared some of the practices that led to her success in the design business. Sales of luxury jewelry are expected to top $287 billion by 2020, according to consultancy McKinsey. In the past, the high-end jewelry business was split between local boutique designers and, to a lesser extent, internationally known brands, like Harry Winston, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, according to McKinsey. But a handful of strong national brands have begun to carve out a middle territory. Swarovski is often mentioned as a leader in that category, along with Chinese company Chow Tai Fook. The fact that one of them is run by Egyptian women in the male-dominated business is particularly remarkable. In the Azza Fahmy workshop downstairs, dozens of men in blue shirts bend over machines. Much of their work is done by hand, as Fahmy has renewed some of the ancient techniques of Egyptian jewelry-making: hand piercing and stone setting, and filigree, which involves placing tiny wires and beads onto a backing of the same precious metal. Outside, the Azza Fahmy building is painted jewel red, a standout in the dusty industrial zone. Fahmy's office has fresh flowers on the tables, and Fahmy herself looks comfortable and casual in a white linen shift with a bright scarf, while her daughter Amina, who has taken over about 80 percent of the designing, sits nearby, interjecting once in a while. Fahmy's older daughter, Fatma Ghaly, runs most of the business operations. The company is known for its metal mix of 18-karat gold and sterling silver. The stones bright turquoise, brilliant amethysts, diamonds and others are handpicked from India by Amina. A collection usually takes from six to eight months to create. Some collections, like one based on styles of the Pharaohs, take longer. Fahmy said she researched the collars and wide cuffs for eight years. Breaking down gender bias "Azza Fahmy's story means no boundaries," said Yasmin Hamalawy, who manages a Cairo school for jewelry designers founded by Fahmy and an Italian jewelry designer, Doris Maninger. Opened in 2013, the school offers classes for hobbyists and serious designers, with the aim of preserving the trade and growing the profession. "There are no boundaries for women. And no boundaries for achieving your dreams." Source: Azza Fahmy Fahmy grew up in the Egyptian countryside, the daughter of a well-to-do family. But her father died when the children were young. Her mother sold off her own jewelry, piece by piece to support the family. "I still remember when she sold the bracelet my father gave her for their wedding," she said. She went to work as an archivist for the government of Cairo. But she has always been guided by intuition and a sense that her life had a purpose. "I feel messages and calls along the way. I'm certain something will come from this, and I follow it," she said. One of the first messages came when, as part of her job for the Egyptian government, she found herself in a library. She pulled a German art book from the shelves. It fell open to a photograph of a granulated silver donkey. "That's when I knew I wanted to be a designer," she said. She was intent on learning how to become one. "I was dying to have this education, but I didn't have the money," Fahmy said. Hence, her journey into the bustling Cairo market called Khan el Khalili where she insisted on an apprenticeships with Hajj Ramadan and Hajj Sayed. She wore tennis shoes and seersucker overalls to protect her clothes, held down a full-time job while she studied, and reared two daughters as a single mother after her divorce. She worked with them for two years until she felt her designs and ideas exceeded their knowledge. The British Council in Cairo gave her a scholarship to study at London Polytechnic. When she felt fear, she went ahead, anyway. "If you look back at my life, you think I was courageous. But along the way, all the time, I was shaking inside." Whenever she decided something was the right decision, she proceeded, no matter what. When she began marketing her own designs, she bought the material on her own, and then used her sales to buy more. "My first capital ... was 3 pounds," she said. Building a brand Shifting from a workshop to a structured business was difficult, she said. She needed to learn to trust a team, so that her craft could become a business. Over the years, there were daily problems with workers and cash-flow crises. Mother and daughter both remembered a day when Ghaly came home from third grade with a bad report card. Fahmy cried because she thought she wasn't doing a good job as a mother a lesson Ghaly took to heart. "I never did that again," she said. The girls were part of the business from early on. At the ages of 5 and 8, Amina Ghaly recalled, the girls were at Art in Action, a jewelry conference in Oxford. "We were selling, polishing, talking about jewelry." Source: Azza Fahmy "People think everything is handed to you on a silver platter," said Ghaly, who later got a degree in jewelry design at the University of Central England. "But there are expectations and a high standard to live up to. It's a heavy pressure." Fahmy has been deeply strategic over the years, with collaborations that raised her profile. One was in 2006 with Julien Macdonald, who worked for Chanel and Givenchy as well as his own label, and one in 2010, with Preen. Her work has also been featured in Egyptian film. Tapping history for inspiration Dennis Hof owner of the 'Moonlite Bunny Ranch on November 13, 2015 in Edison, New Jersey. Bobby Bank | Getty Images Nevada brothel owner Dennis Hof was elected to the state Assembly's 36th district. There's just one problem. He's dead. Hof, the owner of legal brothels including Moonlite BunnyRanch and star of the HBO series "Cathouse," died Oct. 16. He had been celebrating his 72nd birthday with celebrity guests like former madam Heidi Fleiss and adult film star Ron Jeremy (who actually found Hof's body). His death came too late to remove his name from Tuesday's ballot, and he cruised to a victory over his Democratic opponent, Lesia Romanov. It wasn't close he crushed her by 36 points. Hof's death may not have prevented him from winning, but it does prevent him from serving, so his seat will be filled by a replacement who has yet to be determined. Still, Nevada's situation is hardly unique. There have been multiple instances of American politicians who ran for office, passed away before the votes were cast and still won. Here are some other notable examples. Mel Carnahan Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan speaks at a press conference September 15, 2000 in St. Louis, MO. Bill Greenblatt | Hulton Archive | Getty Images Mel Carnahan was governor of Missouri from 1993 until his death in a plane crash in October 2000. At the time he was running for a U.S. senate seat against John Ashcroft, and Missouri election law would not allow his name to be taken off the ballot, so his wife, Jean, was selected by the campaign to serve in his stead in the event that he won. Carnahan defeated Ashcroft, who went on to become attorney general under President George W. Bush. Jean Carnahan's tenure didn't last long though she was defeated by James Talent in a special election two years later. Strangely enough, Mel Carnahan died on Oct. 16, 2000, exactly 18 years before Hof's death. Carl Robin Geary, Sr. On April 13, 2010, Carl Robin Geary Sr. was elected mayor of Tracy City, Tennessee, despite having died of a heart attack one month earlier. According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, he defeated his opponent Barbara Brock by 268 votes to 85. Geary's widow, Susan, reportedly said that when her husband died, "people were calling with condolences and saying, 'We're still voting for him.'" Patsy Mink Rep. Patsy Mink, D-HI, speaks before a Committe on House Administration on the 'Campaign Integrity Act of 2001. Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call Group | Getty Images Hawaii's Patsy Mink was elected to the U.S. House twice: first for a 12-year stint starting in 1965 and again in 1990. She died of viral pneumonia on Sept.28, 2002, according to The New York Times. Her death occurred just one week before the 2002 primary, which was too late to remove her name from the ballot. She won and was re-elected posthumously that November. Her seat was eventually filled by Ed Case, who won 43 percent of the vote in a field of no less than 44 candidates. Hale Boggs & Nick Begich Hale Boggs, left, and Nick Begich Getty Images House Majority Leader Hale Boggs of Louisiana and Rep. Nick Begich of Alaska were campaigning in the latter's home state in October 1972 when their plane disappeared. After 39 days, the search had turned up nothing, and the two Democrats were presumed dead. But they were still re-elected the following month. Their seats were filled after special elections shortly thereafter. In another strange coincidence, their plane disappeared on Oct. 16, 1972, on the same calendar day that Carnahan and Hof died. Clement Miller Clement Woodnutt Miller Source: Wikipedia Representing California's 5th District, Clement Miller began serving Congress in 1959. The World War II veteran's luck ran out on Oct. 7, 1962, when he died in a plane crash near the California city of Eureka. He was re-elected posthumously to the House the following month. James J. Rhoades Pennsylvania Republican James J. Rhoades was elected to the state senate in 1980. The former school teacher and principal was running for his eighth term when he was injured in a car accident on Oct. 17, 2008. He died the next day. Rhoades won re-election, but one of his opponents, independent Dennis Baylor, didn't immediately concede the race. "I wouldn't know how you'd go about conceding," Baylor said, according to the Pocono Record. "This is a race that's a sham to begin with, having to concede to a person who's dead." Jenny Oropeza State Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, uses a fan to stay cool during the Senate session at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008. Rich Pedroncelli | AP California state Sen. Jenny Oropeza was first elected in 2006 and was expected to win re-election, but she succumbed to liver cancer on October 20, 2010, too close to Election Day to have her name removed from the ballot. According to the Los Angeles Times, California Democrats sent out mailers to voters that alluded to her illness, but stopped short of saying she had died. She won with 58 percent of the vote. Harry Stonebraker President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he departs the White House en route to Paris from Washington, November 9, 2018. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters President Donald Trump dove into tight Senate and gubernatorial races in Florida, Arizona and Georgia on Friday, tweeting a series of unfounded claims apparently aimed at sowing doubt about the election results if Democrats ultimately prevailed. In Florida, closely watched Senate and gubernatorial races seemed headed to recounts as slim leads held by Republicans Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis, respectively, tightened on Friday. Trump and Republicans in the state focused their ire on late returns from Democratic-leaning Broward County, Florida's second most populous county. In a series of tweets Friday, the president alleged without evidence that Democrats and election officials in the state were conspiring to steal the election and commit "fraud." Speaking to reporters at the White House as he prepared to leave for Europe, Trump said Florida was "all of the sudden" finding "votes out of nowhere," which Trump called a "disgrace." For Trump, the results of Tuesday's elections could hardly have higher stakes. The two contested Senate races in Florida and Arizona will set the makeup of the only chamber of Congress left that is still under Republican control next year. The outcome of two contested governors' races in Florida and Georgia, meanwhile, could have major implications for the 2020 presidential race, not to mention the lives of the 30 million people living across the two states. But Trump's unfounded claims about fraud and stolen elections this week did not appear out of the blue. On the contrary, Trump has shown himself more than willing in the past to spread false conspiracy theories and cite fake statistics about elections and voting in order to further his political goals. But now, as the prospect of extended recounts takes shape across several states, the president's scorched-earth tactics risk inflicting long-term damage on the U.S. election system. By sowing unfounded fears among his supporters about the integrity of U.S. elections, Trump spreads a false narrative that is more often perpetuated by America's enemies than by its leaders. Namely, that American democracy is a failure, infected with corruption and irreparably "rigged." New battlegrounds As of Friday afternoon, the Florida Senate race was too close to call, with Scott leading Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson by about 15,000 votes, or 0.2 percentage point. Also too close to call was a Senate race in Arizona, where Republican Rep. Martha McSally recently lost what appeared to be a lead over Democrat Kyrsten Sinema. Votes are still being counted across the state, but on Friday, momentum seemed to be shifting from McSally's camp to Sinema's. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. Bill Clark | CQ Roll Call | Getty Images In the Florida governor's race, DeSantis had only a 36,000-vote lead on Friday afternoon over Democrat Andrew Gillum, a 0.4 percentage point margin. And in both the Senate race and the gubernatorial contest, vote counts fell within the 0.5 percentage point margin for a mandatory recount in the state, although this could change. Counties have until noon on Saturday to deliver unofficial results to the state. In Georgia, Republican Brian Kemp who stepped down as the state's top election official only Thursday led Democrat Stacey Abrams on Friday by fewer than 2 percentage points in the race for governor. Kemp had garnered 50.3 percent of the vote, just above the majority threshold needed to avoid a runoff with Abrams. But the race was still too close to call, as Georgia continued to count final returns. With his allies facing the prospect of losses in closely watched states, Trump came to their defense Friday with explosive tweets, in some of which he spread conspiracies. In alleging foul play by Florida's Broward County to tilt the elections, Trump joined top Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who also claimed Broward County had a history of corrupt elections. On Friday afternoon, Republicans got a boost when a judge ordered that the county had to turn over voter information to Scott's campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee under Florida's open records laws. Trump claimed without evidence that Broward County was "probably getting ready to do a 'number'" and turn the election against Scott and De Santis. He contended that county officials had tried to do the same to him in 2016, but "couldn't do it because not enough people live in Broward for them to falsify a victory!" @realDonaldTrump: In the 2016 Election I was winning by so much in Florida that Broward County, which was very late with vote tabulation and probably getting ready to do a "number," couldn't do it because not enough people live in Broward for them to falsify a victory! Trump also said Friday that he would send lawyers to Florida to "expose the FRAUD" and to counter the effect of prominent Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias, who is representing Nelson's campaign. Sen. Bill Nelson, left, and Gov. Rick Scott Bill Clark | CQ Roll Call | Getty Images; Getty Images There did not appear to be any legal means for the president to deploy federal officials to Florida, however. The White House on Friday did not respond to questions from CNBC about Trump's claims. The Republican National Committee sent a fundraising email claiming it needed to raise $247,867 to send a "team of reliable supporters to oversee the entire recount process." The RNC has already raised millions dollars this cycle for its legal defense fund, which can used to pay for recounts. In addition to Florida, the president also tweeted about Arizona's Senate race from aboard Air Force One on Friday, bound for Europe. "Just out in Arizona, signatures don't match," Trump wrote on Twitter, without citing any evidence. "Electoral corruption - Call for a new Election? We must protect our Democracy!" he added. Trump appeared to be referring to a lawsuit brought Friday by Arizona Republicans that could limit the number of votes counted in the Senate race. They have challenged a practice in two counties, including the state's most populous in Maricopa County, that allows voters to fix signature issues on mail-in ballots for up to five days after the election. About three-quarters of Arizona voters use mail-in ballots. In Georgia, meanwhile, Trump appeared to discourage officials from counting the remaining ballots in the gubernatorial race. "It's is time to move on" because Kemp "won," Trump tweeted. @realDonaldTrump: .@BrianKempGA ran a great race in Georgia he won. It is time to move on! Kemp has faced accusations of using his power as Georgia secretary of state to suppress the vote among groups likely to support his opponent in the gubernatorial race. The circumstances of the recounts vary widely across individual states and races. But what doesn't vary is Trump's approach to waging what he sees as pitched public battles against his political foes. Familiar fights Trump's history of crying foul when things don't go his way dates back to his early days as a New York real estate developer, where he earned a reputation for litigiousness by frequently taking his competitors, and at times his partners, to court. When Trump lost, he was often quick to publicly blame the system, at times accusing judges of corruption, municipalities of bias and his own lawyers of incompetence. When Trump entered politics by announcing a presidential run in June 2015, his primary battlefield shifted from the courtroom to the ballot box, but he retained his instinct for blaming the system when it didn't go his way. During the Republican primary in 2016, Trump did not cite any evidence before he repeatedly accused the primary elections in states he didn't win, like Colorado, of being "rigged." Once he won the Republican primary, Trump claimed the general election, too, was "rigged" against him, again, citing no evidence. As Trump trailed his rival, Hillary Clinton, in polls, he often claimed he was the victim of a rigged system, as he did in Cleveland in August 2016: "It's a rigged system. It's a totally rigged system. The elections are rigged," he told supporters. That same summer, Trump's tendency to blame the legal system when it didn't favor him spilled over into the presidential race when he attacked a federal judge who was presiding over a case involving one of Trump's business ventures. Trump claimed that the judge was biased against Trump because the Indiana-born judge was Hispanic. "He's a Mexican. We're building a wall between here and Mexico," Trump said. Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in front of his airplane, March 12, 2016 in Vandalia, Ohio. Brooks Kraft | Getty Images One hundred years after the guns of World War One fell silent, the leaders of France and Germany held hands and rested their heads against one another in a poignant ceremony to mark the signing of the Armistice peace agreement. President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel inspected troops from a joint Franco-German Brigade before unveiling a plaque paying tribute to the reconciliation and renewed friendship between the foes of two world wars. German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and French President Emmanuel Macron commemorate the end of the First World War 100 years ago near the northern French town of Compiegne. The armistice was signed on 11 November 1918 in a converted dining car in the clearing. The memorial is located on this site. Kay Nietfeld | picture alliance | Getty Images More than 3 million French and German troops were among an estimated 10 million soldiers who died in the Great War of 1914-1918. Much of the heaviest fighting was in trenches in northern France and Belgium. A German delegation signed the Armistice before sunrise on Nov 11, 1918, in a private train belonging to the commander of French forces, Ferdinand Foch, parked on rail track running through the Compiegne Forest. Hours later, at 11.00 a.m., the war ended. "Europe has been at peace for 73 years. It is at peace because we want it to be, because Germany and France want peace," Macron told several youngsters, with Merkel at his side, referring to the peace since the end of World War Two in 1945. "And so the message, if we want to live up to the sacrifice of those soldiers who said 'Never again!', is to never yield to our weakest instincts, nor to efforts to divide us." German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2L) and French President Emmanuel Macron (2R) lay a floral wreath as they take part in a French-German ceremony in the clearing of Rethondes (the Glade of the Armistice) on November 10, 2018 in Compiegne, France. Sylvain Lefevre | Getty Images Merkel said she was moved by the ceremony and described Macron's invitation as a "very symbolic gesture." In a powerful show of unity, Macron and Merkel sat inside the reconstructed teak-lined rail wagon in which the peace charter was signed and looked through a book of remembrance. After each signed the book, they held hands a second time. Macron tweet Closer Europe The last time French and German delegations had sat in the same place was when Nazi Germany's Adolf Hitler forced the surrender of French authorities after invading in 1940. Since World War Two, France and Germany have driven tighter European cooperation and the European Union has become the world's largest trading bloc. Macron, 40, an ardent defender of a closer Europe, has turned to Merkel to help him forge deeper economic integration within the EU's single currency bloc, as well as more collaboration on matters such as defense and immigration. For years, Merkel, 64, had waited for a French leader with Macron's zest for Europe. But the fragility of her governing coalition and her own weakened leadership, as well as misgivings over aspects of Macron's vision for renewal, have meant she has not moved as quickly as Macron would have liked. French President Emmanuel Macron walks at the cemetery by the Ossuary of Douaumont near Verdun, north-eastern France on November 6, 2018, during ceremonies marking the centenary of the end of World War I. ( Francois Mori | AFP | Getty Images Matthew Whitaker, former Chief of Staff to Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice. U.S. Senate Democrats are considering legal action over President Donald Trump's appointment of a new acting attorney general, congressional sources said on Friday, as some outside experts called the move unconstitutional. Trump on Wednesday named Matthew Whitaker to replace former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was forced out after months of attacks by Trump for recusing himself from an ongoing probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The move made Whitaker supervisor of the investigation, which has hung over Trump's presidency. Whitaker has criticized the probe in the past as too wide-ranging, which has raised concerns among Democrats that Sessions' ouster and Whitaker's appointment might be precursors to Trump moving to end it. Senate Democrats were considering suing Trump, the sources said, on the grounds that, in naming Whitaker, the president ignored a statutory line of succession at the Justice Department and deprived senators of their constitutional "advice and consent" role on some presidential appointments. "The only two paths to that office are regular succession, and advice (and) consent," said a source close to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told Reuters late on Friday he was "considering action that might be brought against an interim appointment that violates the normal statutory line of succession and raises very serious constitutional questions." He said he was speaking only for himself and he hoped Republicans might join as plaintiffs if a lawsuit goes forward. The Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution states that some senior government officials, known as "principal officers," must be confirmed by the Senate. A spokesman for Senate Judiciary chairman Chuck Grassley said Trump had the authority to appoint Whitaker as acting attorney general temporarily, even though he had not been confirmed by the Senate. Such appointments can be done for senior officials who have worked in the department for at least 90 days and can last for up to 210 days, spokesman George Hartmann said. As the minority party in the Senate, Democrats might need some Republican support to have legal standing to sue Trump under the Appointments Clause, said Andrew Wright, who was a White House lawyer under former President Barack Obama. The source close to the Senate Judiciary Committee said Democrats were unsure whether they would reach out to Republicans to join the lawsuit, but added it was "not likely." Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who earlier this year introduced legislation to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is conducting the probe, said Whitaker did not pose a threat to his work. "Mueller will be allowed to do his job," Graham said in a Friday interview on Fox News Radio. John Yoo, a former Justice Department lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, said "the Supreme Court made clear that the Attorney General is a principal officer" in a 1998 case. "Therefore, Whitaker cannot serve as acting Attorney General ... Any other officer in the Justice Department who was appointed through advice and consent can serve, including the Deputy AG, the solicitor general, and the assistant AGs," said Yoo, now a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a career Justice Department official already confirmed by the Senate, should have been named the new attorney general. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he departs the White House en route to Paris from Washington, November 9, 2018. President Donald Trump on Saturday doubled down on his unsubstantiated claims that there was something nefarious going on in the Florida elections. His assertion came in response to the news on Saturday that the Florida Secretary of State ordered a machine recount of votes in the U.S. Senate race, as well as the governor's race. The results are due by 3 p.m. ET Thursday. Trump tweeted, "Trying to STEAL two big elections. We are watching closely!" TRUMP TWEET Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democrat Bill Nelson are locked in a tight battle for Florida's Senate seat. Scott's lead over Nelson narrowed to about 12,500 votes, or 0.15 percent, by Saturday afternoon. In the gubernatorial contest, Republican Ron DeSantis, a former congressman, was last leading by 0.41 percentage points over Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum. Earlier in the day, a motion was approved in Broward County to begin a recount in four Florida races, including the senate and governor races. France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) and US President Donald Trump (R) arrive for the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on July 11, 2018. U.S. President Donald Trump and France's Emmanuel Macron agreed on Saturday on the need for more European defense spending, papering over an earlier Trump tweet that had described Macron's call for a European army as "very insulting." Meeting for talks at the Elysee a day before commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One, Macron welcomed Trump under rainy Parisian skies with a firm handshake. But there appeared to be less immediate warmth in the greeting between the two than in the past. Seated on gilded chairs in the ornate presidential palace, Macron placed his hand on Trump's knee and referred to him as "my friend," while Trump kept more distance, although he also talked up common ground on an issue that had caused friction. "We want a strong Europe, it's very important to us, and whichever way we can do it the best and more efficient would be something we both want," said Trump. "We want to help Europe but it has to be fair. Right now the burden sharing has been largely on the United States." Macron echoed those sentiments, saying he wanted Europe to bear a greater share of the defense costs within NATO, a point he has made repeatedly since taking office, alongside his ambitions for Europe to have its own military capability. "That's why I do believe my proposals for European defense are totally consistent with that," Macron said in English. Fresh off U.S. congressional elections that saw his Republican Party's power eroded, Trump's visit is aimed at bolstering the U.S.-European alliance at a symbolic time, with the world marking the centenary of World War One's armistice. But in a tweet prior to landing in Paris, Trump took a dim view of comments Macron made in a Europe 1 radio interview this week in which he appeared to cast the United States as a threat. Discussing the growing dangers from cyber-hacking, meddling in electoral processes and the U.S. decision to withdraw from a missile treaty, Macron said Europe needed to protect itself against China, Russia "and even the United States." Later in the interview he spoke about the need for a European army, saying: "Faced by Russia, which is on our borders and which has shown that it can be threatening... we need to have a Europe that can better defend itself by itself, without depending solely on the United States." Trump, who has pushed NATO allies to pay more for common defense and not rely on the United States, complained. "Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly," Trump said on Twitter. The Elysee said the misunderstanding, which it said had been caused by "exaggerated" U.S. press reports, was cleared up during more than an hour of talks it described as "substantial" and "very constructive." "We had a great discussion and we are aligned," the Elysee quoted Trump as saying during the meeting, which covered trade, defense, Syria and the fallout from the murder in Istanbul last month of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Vessels from a People's Liberation Army Navy fleet take part in a review in the South China Sea on Apr. 12, 2018. Standing side by side, top U.S. officials urged their Chinese counterparts on Friday to halt militarization of the disputed South China Sea, drawing a rebuke from the Chinese for sending U.S. warships close to islands claimed by Beijing. During a round of high-level talks in Washington, the two sides aired in sometimes blunt terms many of their main differences, including a bitter trade dispute, freedom of navigation in Asia-Pacific waters, self-ruled Taiwan, and China's crackdown on its Muslim minority in Xinjiang. Two visiting senior Chinese officials also seized the opportunity to warn publicly that a trade war between the world's two largest economies would end up hurting both sides and to call for keeping channels of communication open to resolve an issue that has unsettled global financial markets. Despite the airing of grievances, the talks appeared aimed at controlling the damage to relations that has worsened in recent months and at paving the way for an encounter between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina at the end of November. "The United States is not pursuing a Cold War or containment policy with respect to China," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a joint news conference. Even as the United States and China confront difficult challenges, "cooperation remains essential on many issues," he said, citing efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. Hi! I am an Assistant City Editor for the education beat, which means I help with breaking news and all things K-12 or higher education. Any tips or story ideas can be sent to me at hlht46@mail.missouri.edu or in the newsroom at 882-5720. Follow this search Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today People at Wilkes Boulevard Methodist Church say K2 overdoses are all too common among the homeless population they're trying to serve. Once a legal synthetic cannabinoid, K2 and similar designer drugs have become far more potent and unpredictable in their effects. 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. Brexit 1) Jo Johnson resigns over terrible mistake of the terms being proposed Stepping out of the shadow of big brother Daniel Capurro, Daily Telegraph Honest Jo Leader, The Times Resignation has left friends in shock Andrew Pierce, Daily Mail Quiet one follows his brother The Times This is not a plot Daily Mail Theresa Mays domestic woes deepened last night after Jo Johnson resigned as a transport minister, declaring her approach to Brexit a failure on a scale not seen since Suez. Mr Johnson, who backed Remain in the 2016 referendum and is the brother of Boris Johnson, stunned colleagues by walking out of government while Mrs Mays plan was still being finalised. In an uncompromising statement he called the proposed withdrawal agreement, which sets out the terms for Britains departure from the European Union, a terrible mistake that leaves the country in a far worse negotiating position than at present. He vowed never to support it in a Commons vote and called for a second referendum. The Times >Yesterday: Brexit 2) DUP would not back PMs plan DUP leader Arlene Foster has said her party will not be able to support Theresa Mays latest proposals aimed at resolving the Brexit deadlock. The party accused the PM of breaking promises over plans to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The plans were revealed in a letter from Theresa May to Mrs Foster, leaked to the Times. Downing Street reiterated the PMs commitment to avoiding a hard border. BBC This plan would handcuff Britain to EU and leave Brussels holding the keys Arlene Foster, Daily Telegraph We could not be further from a Brexit deal, so let the Irish border showdown begin Juliet Samuel, Daily Telegraph I support the backstop Peter Hain, The Guardian >Yesterday: MPsETC: The UK joined as one nation and must leave on that basis. The DUPs letter to May full text Brexit 3) The deal is not dead yet insists Lidington Lack of Northern Ireland representation unfortunate, says Varadkar after British Irish meeting Belfast Telegraph Brexit negotiators say draft treaty is close Financial Times Brexit 4) Military ties would stay strong with no deal Theresa Mays de facto deputy, David Lidington, has insisted the government remains confident it can get its Brexit deal through parliament, despite the Democratic Unionist party warning it is prepared to vote it down. Speaking in the Isle of Man, where he was attending a meeting of the British-Irish Council, Lidington said he believed a new dynamic would emerge once MPs saw the full text of the proposed agreement. He said: I hope and I believe that we can secure that majority in parliament.He said: The prime minister has always been clear that we wont accept something that involves carving out Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. The Guardian The head of the UKs armed forces, General Sir Nick Carter, said the strong military ties between Britain and its closest European allies would endure despite political turmoil unleashed by a no-deal Brexit. Although an agreement between the UK and Brussels could be rubber stamped by Prime Minister Theresa Mays cabinet as early as next week, obstacles remain which could yet leave Britain facing a cliff edge departure from the EU next March. During the course of Brexit negotiations, Mrs May has repeatedly used Britains defence and security capabilities as a bargaining chip with EU leaders, threatening that any failure to secure a new defence treaty could jeopardise Europes long-term security. Financial Times Brexit 5) Forsyth: The clock is ticking Brexit 6) It cant be stopped declares Corbyn There will be no emergency Cabinet meeting this weekend. Theresa May still doesnt have a deal to put to her ministers. But with the clock ticking on Tuesday the Cabinet was meant to decide on whether to book ferry space to bring in essential supplies in the event of no deal there is an intense scramble on to get a deal. As one government source tells me: If theres no November Council, then no deal goes into overdrive. With Mrs May determined to avoid no deal, there probably will be some kind of agreement shortly. But it will be flawed and Mrs May should say so. James Forsyth, The Sun Jeremy Corbyn claimed it was impossible to stop Brexit. In comments that will enrage pro-EU campaigners, the Labour leader added that politicians should instead recognise the reasons people voted Out.He told German magazine Der Spiegel: We cant stop it. The referendum took place. Article 50 has been triggered. What we can do is recognise the reasons why people voted Leave. The long-time Eurosceptic has always insisted he backed Remain in the 2016 EU Referendum. The Sun Brexit 7) Sturgeon faces backlash over her support for a second referendum Brexit 8) Parris: No sane MP can put their name to Mays offer SNP opposition to Nicola Sturgeons support of the Peoples Vote has grown with Kenny Gibson becoming the latest Nationalist politician to warn it has implications for Scottish independence. Mr Gibson, the MSP for Cunninghame North, has joined Pete Wishart MP, Angus McNeill MP and the former cabinet secretary Alex Neil MSP in voicing concerns that a second Brexit vote would enable Unionists to argue for another vote on the terms of Scottish independence in the event of a Yes vote. Ms Sturgeon has said the SNP will support a referendum on the terms of the Brexit deal. The Scotsman Listen to Mrs Mays proposed deal as it unfolds. Listen to the caveats and exclusions and tortuously worded ambiguities. Listen (as Democratic Unionists now can when they read yesterdays leak to The Times) to the strangled verbal formulations. And keep repeating this single question: How is this better than just being in the EU on the terms negotiated by Margaret Thatcher and John Major? Answer comes there none, nor ever will, because there is no answer and the prime minister knows it. She accepted the instruction to get the best deal available. But it isnt any good. So government whips will have their work cut out. Matthew Parris, The Times The young will never forgive my party Interview with Anna Soubry, The Guardian Its not extremist to reject the EU Frederick Forsyth, Daily Express Brexit 9) Oborne: I still predict that May will survive UK economy growing at three times the Eurozone We have now left the long period of political stasis, and instead events will move with bewildering speed. I have advice for those without strong stomachs and nerves of iron: get off the train nowIts less than eight weeks until Christmas Day, and Im not going too far to say that the destiny of Britain for the next half-century could be determined amid the carol services and sparkling trees of the festive season. If I was a betting man, I would guess Mrs May will get her way and, for all the travails she has faced in recent months, she will yet lead Britain out of the European Union on March 29. Peter Oborne, Daily Mail Britains economy grew three times faster than the Eurozone over the summer despite a worrying slide in business investment. Official figures revealed GDP rose by 0.6 per cent between July and September powered by higher consumer spending, better than expected exports, fewer car imports, and a rebound in construction. Its the fastest rate since late 2016 and compares with 0.2 per cent for the Eurozone. France achieved 0.4 per cent. The Sun Hinds calls for a reduction in the number of pupils excluded from school Corbyn meets head of MI6 Growing numbers of vulnerable children are being expelled, particularly in the year before GCSEs, as schools try to improve their league table rankings. I do worry about children being excluded and I am concerned that schools may be in some cases encouraging families to take kids off the school roll, Mr Hinds says. We need to make sure kids arent being excluded unnecessarily and if they are excluded it is the start of something and not the end and there is something positive to go on to. Only 1 per cent of those in alternative provision get five good GCSEs, and some pupil referral units have become recruiting grounds for gangs. Interview with Damian Hinds, The Times Jeremy Corbyn has met with the head of MI6 for the first time in anticipation of a snap election triggered by the collapse of the Brexit negotiations, The Telegraph has learnt. The Labour leader recently met with Alex Younger, the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, during which the importance of the agencys work and the severity of the threats facing Britain were made clear to him. A Whitehall official with knowledge of the meeting said: The feeling was that the time had come for Mr Corbyn to become acquainted with the workings of the intelligence establishment. Daily Telegraph PM visits France to pay tribute to war dead as the name of a former MP killed in the First World War finally added to Parliaments memorial Theresa May has used the words of World One War poets to pay tribute to fallen soldiers in France and Belgium. Visiting the St Symphorien Military Cemetery in Mons with the Belgian prime minister, she laid wreaths at the graves of the first and last UK soldiers killed in the war. Using words from a 1914 poem, she thanked those who died for being staunch to the end. Her visit comes ahead of the Armistice Centenary this Sunday. During her trip to France, she and French President Emmanuel Macron paid their respects at the Thiepval Memorial, which commemorates more than 72,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers. BBC A forgotten hero has finally been remembered on Parliaments World War One memorial. The marble installation recognises the sacrifice of peers, MPs, MPs sons, and senior officers of Parliament, who died in service during the Great War. But 96 years after its completion, a leading historian realised one MP had been left off. Now Lieutenant Gerald Arbuthnot, once the Conservative MP for Burnley, has had his name belatedly added. BBC Moore: Remembrance is about the common soldier thats why it matters so much Making sense of the Great War, one hundred years later Leader, Daily Telegraph Childrens Commissioner attacks the Government for benefits cuts Ever since mankind first began to develop an idea of history, people have been tormented by this thought of loss. Even in ancient, hierarchical societies, there was great concern that ordinary human beings were not properly commemorated. Our war memorials are often inscribed with the words, Their name liveth for evermore. This is a quotation from the book of Ecclesiasticus, written about 200 years before the birth of Jesus. Let us now praise famous men and our fathers that begat us, the passage begins. Such men will be all right, it says, because they were honoured in their generation and have left a name behind them. But it worries about all those not honoured: And some there be who have no memorial, who are perished as though they had never been, but their name liveth for evermore. Charles Moore, Daily Telegraph Ministers have been warned by the childrens commissioner that they are in danger of seeming to demonise single mothers because benefits cuts have plunged almost half of lone parents into poverty. Anne Longfield said that single parents had been disproportionately affected by the introduction of universal credit and wider welfare changes. There is a great risk here that the government looks like its going back to an outdated . . . viewpoint which is demonising both single parents but also families claiming benefit, and working mothers, she told The Times. Almost half of children in single- parent families now live in poverty, compared with just over one in four of those in couple families. The Times Trump challenges recount process in Florida The economic risks of a more aggressive stance after the midterms Leader, Financial Times Is Trump a symptom or the cause of the USs bitter political divide? David Charter, The Times US Presidents fury at Macrons insult Daily Express Persecution of Christians ignored as there is no word for it President Donald Trump has lambasted Floridas election recount process, calling it an attempt by Democrats to win a US Senate seat with fake votes. Mr Trump told reporters theres a lot of dishonesty over contested votes in Broward County. However, there has been no evidence of voter fraud. The gap between the two candidates Republican Rick Scott and Democrat Bill Nelson narrowed to 0.2% as of Friday as Broward County votes were counted. Both candidates are suing the state. Mr Scott, who claimed victory on Tuesday, is suing officials over an election recount, while Mr Nelson is suing over uncounted ballots. BBC The persecution of Christians is being ignored because there is no definitive word to describe it, an Archbishop has said. Anba Angaelos, Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London, argued that because there is no Christian equivalent for words such as anti-Semitism and Islamophobia the problem was not seen as the phenomenon which we know it is. His comments come after the announcement that the Government is to spend 12 million on a programme to champion freedom of religion around the world. Daily Telegraph News in brief Where do the midterms leave the Mueller investigation? Bob Seely, CapX Our future is global and there are huge trade and investment opportunities for British business in Sierra Leone Steven Wolfe, Brexit Central The ignorant hounding of Roger Scruton Douglas Murray, The Spectator Be realistic about what our armed forces can do John Redwood And finallyWright uses Lego bricks to relax A cabinet minister has spoken about how he likes to unwind by spending time with his very large Lego collection. Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright told Talk Radio he found assembling the building bricks therapeutic. I think everybody who does any difficult or stressful job needs a way to switch off, he said. We all have different ways, mine is Lego. The Conservative MP also said claims that he did not read any newspapers were complete nonsense. - BBC 60% Website mrsantosclass.com uses latest and advanced technologies. It supports HTTPS. The main html page has a size of . This CoolSocial report was updated on 2019-09-12, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 100% Website tekneitalia.com uses latest and advanced technologies like: JQuery and Boostrap. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 114703 bytes (112.01 kb uncompressed) and 22587 bytes (22.06 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-04-03, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. CORNWALL, Ontario Katrina Douglas of Cornwall is in her fourth year of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University. Alongside six fellow students, the 22-year-old is petitioning the federal government to take responsibility regarding an international human rights violation. As a part of her LAWS4908 Academia and Activism class, lead by Dr. Melanie Adrian, Douglas has the opportunity to work directly with Scholars at Risk (SAR) and advocate on behalf of Dr. Hatoon Al-Fassi. Our intention is to raise awareness about this human rights violation and advocate for her immediate release, explained Douglas in a press release. Dr. Al-Fassi, a womens right activist and professor of womens history at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia was arrested in June after advocating and fighting for womens rights in Saudi Arabia. Her whereabouts and wellbeing remain unknown. Our professor introduced us to three different scholars who are at risk, said Douglas. Douglas chose to advocate for Dr. Al-Fassi because she is passionate about womens rights activism and has taken other courses on the subject at her university. After the completion of her undergraduate degree program, Douglas hopes to attend law school to continue learning about the subject and stories like Dr. Al-Fassis. Human rights law and feminist government, and international feminist assistance (are) definitely areas I would like to work in; just in general, womens rights law is something that interests me, said Douglas. According to Douglas, her group has worked tirelessly to communicate their platform since September. The students have advocated through social media and in-person meetings, often working outside of classroom hours. Canada signed the treaty, said Douglas, referring to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is our responsibility as Canadians to help her (Dr. Al-Fassi) as best as we can and hold them (the Saudi Arabian Government) accountable to enact an immediate release and excuse the charges laid against her. Douglas is feeling optimistic that the federal government will take some action. The group has already received a sponsorship for their petition from Gary Anandasangaree, the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Scarborough Rouge Park. The recognized petition currently has 64 signatures and can be signed until Feb. 28, 2019. To sign or find out more about the petition, visit https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-1894&fbclid=IwAR1-FIk5qhIloIc1halvUCkIj0yiCBjKnwLEbcyDHpGqH91K4eegA92R4K8. To find out more about the students efforts to advocate for Dr. Al-Fassi, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CUForAlFassi/. Mystic Cruises is expanding its push into the ocean-going expedition market and has ordered two more 9,300-ton 200-guest expedition vessels from the West Sea shipyard in Portugal. The company, owned by Portuguese entrepreneur Mario Ferreira, will see its first ship debut in 2019 as the World Explorer will sail on charter agreements for Ferreiras Nicko Cruises brand and Quark Expeditions. The ship will debut for Nicko next summer in Europe, and helps expand the German river cruise brands presence into the ocean cruise market. Following her Nicko program, the vessel repositions for Antarctica sailings on a charter to Quark Expeditions for the 2019-2020 season. The two additional vessels that Ferreira has ordered will be sisters to the World Explorer, with projected delivery dates in 2021 and 2022. The ships are valued at approximately 60 million euro each, according to a statement. Ferreira has previously said he could see a home-grown fleet sailing under the Mystic Cruises banner. The news pushes the already booming expedition orderbook to a total of 34 ships and roughly 7,400 berths, according to Cruise Industry News estimates. Labor Department offering training, employment workshops HAMDEN The Connecticut Department of Labor is offering several free training and employment workshops at American Job Center, 37 Marne St.: Fundamentals of Resume Writing, 1-4 p.m. Nov. 15. Interviewing Strategies & Techniques, 1-4 p.m. Nov. 29. Veterans Workshop covering basics of developing an effective resume, 1-3 p.m. Nov. 21. Over 40 and Looking for Work, discussing challenges and employer expectations for older workers and strategies to successfully mitigate possible stereotyping, 1-4 p.m. Nov. 13 and 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 19. Successful Job Search Strategies, 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 26. To register, call 203-859-3200. Informational session for Amazon jobs NEW HAVEN Workforce Alliance, in partnership with Amazons Wallingford Sortation Center, will hold informational sessions at American Job Center, 560 Ella T. Grasso Blvd., Nov. 13. Sessions will be held every 30 minutes between 10 a.m. and noon; to reserve a spot, email vgelpke@workforcealliance.biz. Tabletop Expo & Business After Hours ORANGE The Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce will hold a Tabletop Expo & Business After Hours event from 5-7 p.m. Nov. 14 at Grassy Hill Country Club, 441 Clark Lane. The business expo and networking event will include hors doeuvres and door prizes. Business interested in showcasing products can get a clothed table which includes electric (limited availability) and admission for two company representatives for a fee of $159. Additional levels of sponsorships also available. For information, call Nell Moll at the chamber at 203-878-0681 or email nmoll@milfordct.com. Women Redefining Retirement to meet MILFORD Women Redefining Retirement will meet at 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at Golden Hill Rehabilitation Pavilion, 2028 Bridgeport Ave. Some members this month will be sharing the recipes (and samples) of some of their traditional family dishes, and the group will celebrate its 11th anniversary. Items will be collected to benefit Milfords annual Thanks For Giving food drive. Were always looking for dining trends and specials, especially healthy ones, but Michael Jordans Steakhouse caught our eye with its new Steakmanship Series. One option gets you either a 12-ounce domestic wagyu strip steak or a 14-ounce bone-in ribeye, for $60 (plus sides). The $160 option, called Flight 23, gets you both of those plus a 6-ounce filet mignon. But wait, theres more. For $223, a Legendary Flight will score you those three steaks plus Jonah crab, scallops Rockefeller and Maine lobster. Yikes. The offering comes from Jordans home restaurant in Chicago, where its a regular item. Here, its a weekend item, or on an occasional weeknight menu when a big show is in the arena, said Kyle Beausoleil, executive chef at Michael Jordans in Mohegan Sun. The offering began Oct. 26. It actually went really, really well, Beausoleil said in a phone chat. We sold about 14 total. ... You have the option to buy two of the steaks a la carte. We sold a bunch of a la carte steaks, so it definitely was worth it for us. Beausoleil, 38, said the flight combos will feed four or five people and some parties did that. Then again, Im sure were gonna get that one guy who comes in and hes like, Oh, that sounds great; Ill have that, and do it by himself, you know? Born in Killingly in eastern Connecticut, Beausoleil worked his way into a tough business with no formal culinary training. He started cooking at 15 for Hanks Restaurant in Brooklyn, then Wrights Mill Farm in Canterbury and Mohegan Sun restaurants such as Pompeii & Caesar (pre-Ballo and since departed). He went to work for David Burke Prime at Foxwoods after that, then left to open his own bistro restaurant in Westerly, Rhode Island, but returned to upscale dining at David Burke Prime. My old chef used to say, Youre only as good as the chef you steal your recipes from, said the affable Beausoleil. Eventually he found his way back to Mohegan and Michael Jordans, moving from sous chef to executive sous chef to chef dcuisine and now executive chef in 2018. You pick up stuff from everybody. I had the privilege of working for a lot of great chefs, he said. More Entertainment Last call for Margaritaville at Mohegan Sun Other fall menu changes at the restaurant include a couple of salads and entrees (including a tuna with smoked szechuan pepper crust that Beausoleil takes a full minute to describe for the details of its preparation). Michael Jordans can be pricey, given its location in a casino resort, Beausoleil notes. For value at the restaurant, theres a basil-brined chicken breast for $26 and a braised short rib over pappardelle with a Medeira cream sauce for $26. I have an Italian background, so I always have a special home in my heart ... for fresh pasta, he said. For quicker/cheaper options beyond that, theres Michael Jordans Sportscafe next door, of course. (The company also runs Sol Toro downstairs at Mohegan Sun.) Michael Jordan officials at Mohegan didnt know what to expect in terms of business in September with MGM Springfield opening just before that, Beausoleil said, but Mohegan Sun did a great job of booking conventions and booking shows through the whole month of September. It was actually our busiest September weve had in some time. On a visit to Jordans on a recent Friday night, with a big Sebastian Maniscalco show in the arena, the restaurant was packed. A sampling of the Mishima Reserve domestic wagyu strip with shishito pepper au poivre (or simply: a tender steak in a great mushroom sauce) was delicious, as was the restaurants smoked gouda mashed potatoes and a Jenga-like tower of garlic bread slices surrounded by a moat of blue cheese fondue. Beausoleil said the restaurant was expecting another 700 diners the following night. Asked about healthy options, Beausoleil pointed to a new vegan-friendly menu section (with edamame dumplings for an appetizer and a tofu scallops dish) and other seafood dishes. For an intriguing meat option, while most of Jordans meats come in pre-cut from Meats by Linz in Chicago, hes also working with Connecticut-based Savage Hill Cattle Co., whose cattle is grass-fed, free-range and non-GMO. Savage Hill provides the Steakmanship Series filet mignon, served in foie gras butter. Sustainability isnt the first concern of a steakhouse, of course, but wagyu provider Mishima Reserve on its website says we believe that sustainability is no longer a choice; its a necessity, and we hold ourselves to the highest standards when it comes to both quality and sustainability. Sustaining business, meanwhile, is a chief concern for any restaurant, and if youre wondering why a couple would drop $200 on a meal, Beausoleil sums it up as the experience overall. We have a very knowledgeable waitstaff, very friendly people. All of our employees in the steakhouse have been there for years. ... And the food is all cooked with pride. These guys love what they do; they love their jobs. Mark Weiss / Contributed photo Trans-Siberian Orchestra returns to Mohegan Sun Arena with its live multimedia show on Sunday, Nov. 25. The Ghosts of Christmas Eve The Best of TSO and More will be performed once in the afternoon and again in the evening. Fans can expect to hear all of their favorite songs plus a few new ones during this theatrical experience, which is often described as elaborate concert, complete with video screens, pyrotechnics and lasers. Its also a popular holiday tradition with fans of all ages. It was quite a week of beginnings and endings. Ned Lamont was elected governor and does he have his work cut out for him. He has a solid majority of Democrats in the state legislature, so he will have no excuse for not being able to advance his agenda. Connecticut is in rough, rough shape. In addition to its billion dollar budget holes and a choking obligation to retired state employees, this still beautiful state has a lousy reputation both inside and out. Lamont is a successful business guy, well known in that community, has played a role in bringing business to Connecticut and, if he can convince more to come, hell be headed in the right direction. As a member of the Hearst Connecticut Media Group editorial board a former member now, but well get to that I thought it odd that Bob Stefanowski, the outsiders outsider, had this sudden interest in being the governor of Connecticut. The guy hadnt voted in 16 years. Its like a kid from another neighborhood wandering into a sandlot game and saying not only does he want to play, he wants to pitch and bat first. And on Election Day, his staff got their knickers in a twist when Hearst Connecticut Media Group columnist Dan Haar had the temerity to ask Stefanowski at a polling location how it felt to vote for the first time in a long time. In the midterm elections nationwide, weve returned to a two-party power situation in Washington. It should be a good thing. The Democrats control the House of Representatives; the Republicans. the Senate and the presidency. Logic would dictate that for anything to get done, for either party to be able to do anything, they will need to work with each other and shake hands even if the other hand is holding the nose. President Donald Trump sounded downright statesmanly when he recognized the reality of the situation, as did presumptive Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who also spoke of the need for compromise. Well, a guy can dream, cant he? U.S. Rep. Jim Himes gets it. During an editorial board meeting, he mentioned a trip he took to visit a congressional colleague in Youngstown, Ohio. When Himes saw the economic devastation of the area and talked with some of the people, he had the blinders removed from his eyes and saw the obvious reasons for the support of Trump by people who felt theyd been overlooked and abandoned by the system. Himes is a realistic guy. He seemed genuinely upbeat about the prospect of working with the Republicans on the infrastructure project that Trump himself seems to be keen on. So, the potential is for cooperation is good. But, dont hold your breath. Now, endings. You are reading the words of a retired newspaperman. Can it be? Seems not that long ago I walked into 410 State St., a very young man, the pungent smell of melting lead and cigar smoke scenting the air where was OSHA in those days? the Royal typewriters clattering. It wasnt yesterday, though, it was more like 46 years, four owners, nine publishers, 11 Bridgeport mayors a number that includes Joe Ganim the First and Joe Ganim the Second and a partridge in a pear tree, ago. Ive had a very good run and have worked with any number of wonderful people. Ive said to people over the years that everyone should have to be a newspaper reporter for a year: The first reason why is that you have to listen to people, really listen, so that you can accurately represent their stories and present them to, well, at one time it was about 90,000 subscribers to the Bridgeport Sunday Post. Its a high privilege to write a column and I owe gratitude to one Joseph Owens, a late editor of the Post editorial page who gave me the chance more than 30 years ago. So I am retired, but the good news, for me and I hope for you is that this column is likely to continue. Michael J. Daly is the retired editor of the editorial page of the Connecticut Post. Welcome to Green Entrepreneur's video recap of the cannabis news you might have missed this week, hosted by our cannabis correspondent Conrad Martin. Were you one of the 36 million people successfully shamed and guilted into voting in Tuesday's midterm elections? If so, you may have contributed to legalization depending on where you live. Voters in Michigan, Missouri, and Utah chose to legalize in all three states. Related: Marijuana Wins Big in the Midterm Elections Jeff Sessions: OUT. Weed Stocks: UP! Longtime cannabis prohibitionist and former attorney general, Jeff Sessions resigned on Wednesday. The "hemp hater's" resignation had positive ripple effects -- after the news broke, cannabis stocks including Tilray jumped 30%. Related: AG Jeff Sessions Was (Basically) Fired Legalization Applies Pressure to Mexican Cartels Cannabis legalization in the states is having an impact on Mexican cartels. As states allow citizens to consume cannabis it digs into cartel market share. While cannabis trafficking has gone down, other drugs and opiod trafficking has increased. Related: Study Suggests Legal Pot Would Make Border Safer Than a Massive Wall Be sure to keep up with all things cannabiz by checking out the newly launched GreenEntrepreneur.com If you missed last week's episode, check it out here: You Can Get High At This Airport! Related: This Week in Weed: Americans Vote on Cannabis! This Week in Weed: You Can Get High At This Airport! This Week in Weed: Mr. Wonderful Passes on Grass! Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved USA & China Named As Top Cyber-Attack Sources NSFOCUS has released its H1 Cybersecurity Insights report, which analyzed traffic from January to July this year across more than 27 million attack sources the first half of 2018. The standout issues are a big jump in crypto mining, the persistence of DDoS attacks and the predominace of repeated 'recidivist' attacks emating from China, the USA and Russia. Crypo Mining Since the end of March, the number of crypto mining activities has risen sharply compared to the beginning of 2018. Among all crypto miners, WannaMine was the most active, responsible for more than 70 percent of all detected crypto mining activities detected by NSFOCUS. Recidivist Attackers Among more than 27 million attack sources detected in the first half of 2018, 25 percent were responsible for 40 percent of attack events. This implies that recidivists (attack sources found to be repeatedly linked with malicious behaviors) are more threatening than other attack sources. The large proportion of recidivists indicates that it is a common practice among attackers to reuse attack resources. China, the USA, and Russia are home to the most recidivists. Government agencies, energy, education, and finance sectors are most favored targets, suffering 90 percent of recidivist attacks, due to the large volume of business, extensive distribution, and more sensitive data. IoT impact on Attack Types During the first six months of 2018, there were fewer new Trojan variants than botnets and worms. This is linked with the proliferation of networked hosts and IoT devices in part due to the reduction of hardware costs. Due to the high activity of backdoor programs, device and network administrators need to upgrade devices and check their configurations regularly. Backdoor activity remained at high levels and then peaked in May at 6,000,000 before falling to more nominal levels. Backdoors are common malicious programs that can provide remote control access solely through default login interfaces of IoT devices. DDoS Traffic DDoS attack traffic drops sharply when the government exercises security governance during substantial events both physical and cyber. In the first half of 2018, the amount of DDoS traffic seen in the network environments in China is somewhat suppressed due to the governments traffic governance for major events. 61 percent of DDoS attack sources have launched only DDoS attacks over a long period of time. Common DDoS attack resources include reflectors and controlled hosts or devices, whose IP addresses or IP address ranges are relatively fixed. However, about 9 percent of DDoS attack sources launch exploit attacks later. Looking ahead to the rest of 2018, vulnerabilities will continue to be discovered each and every day and the need to exploit those found will always be present. Weve noticed that attackers prefer to reuse tactics and exploits, so patching regularly is critical for IT professionals, said Guy Rosefelt, Director, Threat Intelligence & Web Security, NSFOCUS. We also believe DDoS traffic will remain a great scourge on the Internet. Arguably, most hackers are capable of causing enormous amounts of traffic and their capability is increasing, which will continue to be a great challenge to defenders and security governance personnel. HelpNetSecurity: You Might Also Read: Crypto-Mining Hits 42% Of Organisations Worlwide: The Rise of AI Driven DDoS Attacks: Michael is the Daily Emerald's Editor-in-Chief. He started at the Emerald as a reporter in 2017 and has held the roles of senior news reporter and associate news editor. He has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Portland Tribune and Eugene Weekly. Follow Michael Tobin Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today So its finally over. The House of Representatives will be controlled by the Democrats and there is the chance that the so-called lower house will finally take its oversight responsibilities seriously. There are, of course, Democrats who are already saying that they should leave Donald Trump alone. That would be exactly the wrong thing to do. The time to investigate Trump has finally arrived. And now for the first time, the House relevant committees will probably have Bob Muellers report to work from and will have subpoena power to ask for things like the presidents tax returns which he has fought against like a bantam rooster. Trust me, you dont fight that hard to protect the privacy of your taxes if you have nothing to hide. Then, too, there is the famous Russian connection which the feckless Republicans in the House and Senate have failed to properly investigate. You can expect that Donald Trump will tweet like a canary and the House will become the new enemy of the people. It will become very, very nasty because Trump knows that his entire reputation will properly be at risk. The question of Nancy Pelosis continuation as the Speaker of the House will be on the minds of many of the newbies who were elected to the House and who, following the shortest path to being elected, swore to their electorate that they would not vote for Pelosi. For her part, Pelosi has been quoted as saying that she wants to be a transition leader. But it should be remembered that in this, the year of the woman, it might be very difficult for some of the new members to be seen as hostile to the top female leader in the country. It should also be remembered that with the Democrats taking control of the House, there will be a lot of new, very powerful leaders taking prominent position. Richie Neal, one of my favorite people in politics, will assume control of the Ways and Means Committee, one of the most powerful in the House. Paul Tonko may become the chair of the subcommittee that will take control of things environmental. In New York state, there will be a number of important changes. The state Senate, too often putting obstacles in the way of progressive legislation like the codifying of Roe v. Wade into state law, will now be controlled by the Democrats. For years, the Assembly has passed good progressive legislation and the Senate has made sure that the Assembly product goes nowhere. In fact, they even passed some badly needed ethics legislation but we will have to see whether the Assembly folks who were elected under the old self-serving rules have the cojones to put forward the same legislation now that it actually has the possibility of its passing. The other problem is that the history of New York is replete with examples of self-destruction once the Democrats take power. It is important to remind those in the Democratic camp to obey all the laws and not to endanger their majority by doing something that will surely get them thrown into prison. We have seen that happen before you can look it up. To the new Senate Leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, we send our best wishes for good luck in herding the new Senate Democratic majority cats into a responsible and productive group of legislators. Fortunately, she will have the able help of Michael Gianaris to make sure that the Democrats dont blow it. Then there is Governor Andrew Cuomo, who promised the people that he would serve out his full term. I suspect that he may not have been telling the truth and that he will find a reason to break that pledge. He will, of course, run for president, and if you have been listening to him, youd guess that he already is. Aint politics fun? Sunday Freeman columnist Alan Chartock is a professor emeritus at the State University of New York, publisher of the Legislative Gazette and CEO of the WAMC Northeast Public Radio Network. Readers can email him at alan@wamc.org. It wasnt a blue trickle, but nor was it a tsunami. Rather, the midterm elections brought a gentle, purplish wave of mostly center-leaning Democrats whose profiles suggest a welcome infusion of professionalism and balance to a disorderly House. Unlike the tea party revolution of 2010, when Republicans gave Democrats a shellacking, as then-President Obama put it, this years victors seem more inclined to govern than to disrupt. Perhaps this is because so many of them are women, who tend to work well together even when particular issues may place them on opposite political sides. Sidebar: The worst thing to happen to women and, therefore, to the nation is the encroaching trend of unisex restrooms. Dont you people know that half the worlds problems are solved when two or more women go to the Ladies Room together? Maybe when were in charge Indeed, in this election, many of the tea party and Freedom Caucus Republicans notably outgoing Rep. David Brat, R-Va., who came to office by defeating then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor will be holding the door for up to 40 new Democratic members, depending upon final tallies in some races. This is a blessing in so many ways. First, the Democrats takeover of the House brings much-needed balance to the Congress. Its rarely, if ever, good for the country when one party controls all branches of government, even if it means the occasional gridlock. Sometimes doing less is more. Second, a Democratic majority in the House may well mean a greater likelihood of compromise on big issues such as infrastructure, health care and immigration. It isnt just pretty to think so; its apparently what President Trump is thinking as well, counterintuitive though it seems. Plainly, the surge in women candidates on the Democratic side was partly in response to antipathy toward Trump for all the familiar reasons. Yet, as Trump said Wednesday during a contentious news conference, he and Republicans now have no choice but to work with Democrats if they want to get anything done. Trump said he thought this more likely now that the numbers will force both parties to the table. Come January, Washington is about to get lots more interesting and animated and just possibly much better. Since no one asked, I thought Id offer some advice. First, to Republicans: Change the soundtrack on immigration and make your voices louder than the presidents. Without a doubt, immigration is tough, but it neednt be apocalyptic. As of now, the GOP is increasingly viewed as racist not without reason. It is possible to enforce borders and create rational solutions to handle people entering the country illegally without appearing to be anti-immigrant. I know, its specious to conclude that tough policies are anti-immigrant, but you neednt respond so convincingly. Separating children from parents and watching mutely as armed troops are sent to the border to combat, literally, a caravan of migrants, including some children should be an outrage. To the presidents credit, minors will no longer be separated from their parents, but more than 200 children have yet to be reunited. Make this a conservative, family-values mission and demand an immediate resolution. Also, make conservatism cool again. Speak intelligently to young Americans about things like freedom as a counterpoint to the socialist vision increasingly in vogue on the left. More government always means less freedom, but maybe no one has explained this. Paging William F. Buckley, RIP. To Democrats: Resist the temptation to be worse than Republicans. If we keep this up, with each side bringing ever-more extreme views to the table, we wont have a country. Well have two countries. Dont waste time on impeachment either the presidents or Justice Brett Kavanaughs, as some are urging. Ultimately, this would rupture the country beyond repair. Not that politicians care about polls, but exit surveys showed that only 39 percent thought Democrats should seek to impeach. Finally, Mr. President, with all due respect: Youre the commander in chief of the free world. This means that people will listen to you no matter what. Maybe no one has ever told you this before, but you absolutely have the option of being gracious, humble, generous, self-effacing and kind while also being tough. Bury your TV personality and try to charm America, starting with the media. Its so easy to make them eat out of your hand. Smile. It so becomes you. Especially smile at your enemies, perceived or real. It infuriates them and youll still get the last laugh. By no means least, leave Robert Mueller alone. After all, youve nothing to fear. Right? Kathleen Parker is syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group. Prince Charles, in his BBC documentary on Thursday, seemed to be a man at ease in his own skin. Devoted to good causes, a loving father and grandfather, he had shed the angst that once seemed to bedevil him and was clearly determined to make his time as king-in-waiting worthwhile. And so far he has. He warned us of the perils of plastic decades before single-use became part of our vocabulary, and the Princes Trust has helped more than 900,000 children from deprived backgrounds find a place in the world. Inevitably, the headlines have concentrated on his comments about what kind of king he wants to be. But the documentary was actually most revealing about his wife Camilla and their marriage. Prince Charles, in his BBC documentary on Thursday, seemed to be a man at ease in his own skin. It was shown to mark his 70th birthday on November 14 She appeared no fewer than five times in the first 15 minutes and it was she who had the last word, finishing the programme by describing the caring, lighter side of Charles she would like us all to see. She came across as his standard bearer, extolling his virtues with becoming humour in that husky ex-smokers voice of hers. Whether she was shown jollying him up on a tedious foreign tour or describing him playing with her grandchildren, this was not so much about our future King but, whisper it, our future Queen. I have been one of Camillas fiercest critics, not least about the way in which she and Charles betrayed Diana. But it was crystal clear from this documentary that she is integral to his happiness and they are meant for each other. Camilla talking about if Prince Charles dwells on becoming king. She appeared no fewer than five times in the first 15 minutes and it was she who had the last word This demonstration of mutual trust and contentment only accentuated how ill-matched Charles and Diana were, which must still be a source of pain to his sons. Indeed, one of the most poignant moments in the programme was when Prince William lamented the fact that Charles hardly finds time to see little George, Charlotte and Louis. Its something Im working more heavily on, put it that way... said Wills. I would like him to have more time with the children. Yet Camilla revealed that Charles is wonderful with her grandchildren, playfully swinging them around and reading them Harry Potter books, with all the different voices. The documentary was actually most revealing about his wife Camilla and their marriage. The pair are pictured in 2005 in Scotland Those of us who believe in an enduring monarchy should perhaps accept that when Charles becomes King, Camilla will be his Queen. They are evidently a perfect match. But amid the celebrations to mark his 70th and Happy Birthday, Sir I just hope Charles takes heed of Williams plea and finds a little more time for Dianas grandchildren. That's rich, chaps Good news for gals everywhere that the 767,000 chainmail bra paraded by Victorias Secret model Elsa Hosk (left) will soon be available on the High Street for a modest 200, minus its 2,100 Swarovski crystals. Although it does make one think, why do men want women trussed up to look like scantily clad Christmas fairies when they get away with wearing two-year-old Calvin Kleins? Model Elsa Hosk wears the $1 million fantasy bra while walking the runway during the 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York last week Leave Lisa the dog, Ant Proud dad Declan Donnelly heads off to Australia for Im A Celebrity with his lovely wife Ali and new baby Isla. Meanwhile, Ant McPartlin is snapped walking his new squeeze Anne-Marie and his and ex-wife Lisas labrador in a London park. Pet pooch Hurley is at the centre of a bitter custody battle between them. Have a heart, Ant. You dumped your wife for a former PA to the pair of you. The least you can do is leave Lisa with one loyal companion. Well done Emma Thompson, turning up to receive her damehood in a Stella McCartney suit that looked as if shed stolen it from a Big Issue seller. She also brandished a badge calling for equal pay for women, and railed against holiday hunger, where children cant afford to eat during the holidays. Perhaps the irony was lost on Dame Emma that the 235 she forked out for her vegan trainers could have fed a family for a month. Westminster Wars Theresa May attended the Thiepval Memorial yesterday, which commemorates more than 72,000 British and South African troops who died on the Somme and have no known grave. Since 1928, each night a bugler has sounded the Last Post at another memorial, the Menin Gate, for one of the Allies lost soldiers. This tragic roll-call will only end in 2400. Such sacrifice rather puts squabbling over Brexit into perspective. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is refusing to use the RAF to repatriate British jihadists imprisoned in Syria and Iraq. Good thing too. Let them rot there, dreaming of the 72 virgins awaiting them in paradise. Still a star, Babs Now in the advanced stages of Alzheimers, Dame Barbara Windsor made a surprise appearance at the West End show 42nd Street to celebrate her friend Bonnie Langfords performance. The trouper got a standing ovation when she appeared in the Royal Box and later, when the crowds had gone, she even tap-danced on stage. These will be precious memories for her husband Scott Mitchell. There will come a time, as with my own mother struggling with the terrible disease, when even one coherent word is precious. In the words of a song from 42nd Street: When its raining cats and dogs, think how swell it is for frogs. Every situation has a sunny side. It's not a good look, Baby In the video announcing the Spice Girls reunion tour, Emma Bunton Baby Spice, right asks: Am I too old to wear bunches? Sorry, but at 42 the answer is yes. Emma Bunton of the Spice Girls performing on stage at Wembley Arena in London in 1998. The group are due to get back together Food for thought Iceland's orangutan Christmas TV ad has been banned as being too political. It implores shoppers to eschew palm oil, as its production destroys the great apes habitat and kills 25 of these endearing and endangered creatures every day. A baby orangutan in the ad says: Theres a human in my forest and I dont know what to do. He took away my mother and Im scared hell take me too. Frankly, Id prefer a Christmas message that reminds us all of the consequences of our eating habits, rather than one that encourages us to stuff our faces without conscience. Dynamo's heartwarming trick An electrician fixing my lights asked if I knew the magician Dynamo, as hed spotted him in my street. The sparky explained that his dying father-in-law was a big Dynamo fan and would love a message from the performer. The video my neighbour Steven Frayne aka Dynamo sent the family was played at the funeral. It said: I hope this helps you remember your magical moments together. You see, magic is not just an illusion after all. Broadcaster Jenni Murray has pulled out of an Oxford University History Society talk after a group of transgender-sympathising students objected to her having once written that women who have lived as men dont have the same experience of growing up female as other women. Thats a shame the students could have learnt a lot from Jenni. As anyone who has ever listened to her presenting Womans Hour on Radio 4 will know, that Dame has more balls than any man youll meet. The charity War Paws has reunited a former soldier who cleared bombs in Syria with Barrie, a stray dog he found cowering in rubble in Raqqa. Former Lance Corporal Sean Laidlaw, 30, says: It may come across that I saved Barries life, but I feel like she saved mine. Any pet lover will understand that. Deep in the heart of the Compiegne Forest, in north-eastern France, there stands a handsome two-storey building. Inside is a humble railway wagon, apparently perfectly preserved, the letters identifying it as a dining car still picked out in gold. This afternoon, in that clearing in Compiegne, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel will stand in silence to remember what happened almost exactly a century ago. It was there, just after five on the morning of November 11, 1918, that the representatives of France and Germany signed the Armistice that marked the end of World War I. Six hours later, at 11 oclock, the guns fell silent, leaving more than a million Britons, and perhaps 20 million men, women and children of all nationalities, dead in what was at the time the greatest cataclysm in world history. British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron visit the Thiepval cemetery as part of ceremonies to mark the centenary of the 1918 Armistice A century on, it is hard to read the stories of the men who fell during more than four years of slaughter without a lump in your throat. A hundred years ago, with the horrors still burning in their minds, people sometimes called it the war to end all wars. They meant it literally: a statement of ringing idealism, a dream of a better world. Their hopes did not last long. Even on the first anniversary of the Armistice, in 1919, it was grimly obvious that the Great War had not ended all wars at all. For, although the guns had fallen silent, they did not stay silent for long. Far from ushering in a new age of peace, the end of World War I was followed by vicious civil wars in Ireland and Hungary, an interminable series of wars in Central and Eastern Europe and the deaths of at least ten million people in the Russian Civil War. French President Emmanuel Macron (C) sits next to French historian Antoine Prost (L) as he attends a round table with historians on the Great War in Peronne on November 9, 2018 - Macron is currently on a six-day tour to visit the most iconic landmarks of the First World War (WWI) ahead of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the 11 November 1918 armistice Even for the British Army, the Armistice was only a comma, not a full stop. In the next two years, thousands of men saw action in Russia, Afghanistan, Turkey, Kuwait, Ireland and Iraq, battlegrounds that might have been ripped from todays news headlines. Right from the start, therefore, there was a tragic irony in the act of remembrance. Even as millions bowed their heads, the world was sliding towards a second world war that would prove even more horrific than the first. Even today, the end of World War I is hardly a cause for uncomplicated celebration. A century on, we are still living with its aftershocks, especially in the blood-drenched shatter zones where the defeated empires of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey gave way to a mosaic of bitterly competitive new nation states. Syrias civil war, for example, reflects ethnic and religious tensions that date back to Syrias creation by the Allies after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. Similarly, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, which has poisoned world politics for so long, can be traced back to Britains attempt to win a propaganda victory by promising a Jewish homeland in Ottoman Palestine. German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) speaks to Russia's President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Istanbul last month And, although Remembrance Day sermons often urge us to make sure that it never happens again, the fact is that it is happening again right now, today, in the ravaged cities of eastern Ukraine, the apocalyptic nightmares of Syria and Yemen and the interminable bloodbaths of Iraq and Afghanistan. Indeed, as frightening as this may sound, a major continental war will almost certainly happen again one day, not least because it would be naive to pretend that the forces that fuelled the war in 1914 have vanished for ever. Perhaps the most obvious is the role of Germany. As it happens, I am not one of those historians who think the Germans deserve all the blame for the outbreak of war in 1914. Yet if there was one thing that destabilised the balance of power in Europe before 1914, it was the emergence of Germany as a single entity, an economic and military leviathan that was simply too big for its own continent. Does that sound familiar? It should. For in many respects, the story of Europe during the past decade has been the struggle to manage Germanys immense economic and political power. Of course, Angela Merkel has never espoused Kaiser Wilhelm IIs militaristic ambitions. But, at a time when the far-Right AfD are polling in double figures there, and would be the obvious beneficiaries from an economic downturn, it is hard not to worry about Germanys future path. And even if the far Right never comes to power, the German problem will not go away. Such is its economic hegemony that the governments of Greece, Spain and Portugal have sacrificed the prosperity of their own people in order to stay inside the German-dominated European project, stoking resentments for what could be decades to come. But power inevitably provokes a reaction. You can see it not just in the anti-German graffiti on the streets of Athens, but in the rhetoric of demagogues such as Hungarys Viktor Orban, who is never happier than when he is denouncing Brussels and Berlin. US President Donald J. Trump responds to a question from the news media as he walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, before departing for Paris for a ceremony commemorating 100 years since the end of World War I on 11 November It is no coincidence that Mr Orban looks for support to Germanys great rival in 1914, the brooding, resentful giant of Russia. Indeed, for another example of the continuities between the 1910s and the 2010s, just look at Russias ambitions in Eastern Europe, from its attempts to destabilise pro-Western forces in Montenegro and Macedonia to its cyber-warfare campaigns in Latvia and Estonia. Because we remain so fixated on the Western Front, we often forget the incendiary role the Russians played in the outbreak of World War I. For it was they who ignited the superpower conflict when they insisted on backing Serbia after the assassination of Austria-Hungarys Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Why did the Russians do it? Why support a terrorist state so far from their own borders, even when they knew it might provoke a global conflagration? The answer is that they were desperate to promote their interests in the Balkans, feared the advance of their wealthier Western rivals and were determined to protect what they saw as their own sphere of influence. Does that, too, sound familiar? British Prime Minister Theresa May, right, and French President Emmanuel Macron, left, walk together after laying wreaths at the World War I Thiepval Memorial in Thiepval, France, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. The memorial commemorates more than 72,000 men of British and South African forces who died in the Somme Vladimir Putins biographers even call him the new Tsar, pursuing an overtly imperialist policy, based on the projection of raw, uncompromising power, that recalls Russia before 1914. We know where that mentality leads: from confrontation to confrontation, ending in the charnel house of the trenches. But Mr Putin is not just an imperialist. He has tapped the uniquely inflammatory power of nationalism, which was driven by the rise in literacy in the decades before 1914, and is fuelled by social media such as Facebook and Twitter today. Even a few years ago, commentators were talking of nationalism as something that belonged to history. National identity was supposed to be a thing of the past, superseded by a new multiculturalism. And the nation state was supposed to be on the way out, rendered obsolete by supranational entities like the EU. Few people would make such claims today. Far from undermining existing identities, globalisation and immigration have driven people back to the tribal loyalties of old. The past two weeks alone have produced two conspicuous examples: first in Brazil, where the far-Right Jair Bolsonaro won power on a platform that might have been borrowed from the World War I veteran Benito Mussolini; and then in the United States, where Donald Trumps unrepentantly nationalist appeal America First attracted tens of millions of voters in the mid-term elections. But the most glaring examples have come in precisely the places most affected by World War I, where a sense of festering resentment, victimhood and betrayal has been passed down the generations. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (L), Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel (R), and Liz Sweet, Director of External Relations at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, walk through the St Symphorien Military Cemetery in Mons, Belgium. Where wreaths were placed at the graves of John Parr, the first British soldier to be killed in WWI in 1914, and George Ellison, the last British soldier to be killed before Armistice in 1918 It is no coincidence, I think, that the EUs most aggressively xenophobic leader, the demagogic Viktor Orban, came to power in Hungary, a country that was occupied and humiliated by its neighbours after 1918 and lost more than two-thirds of its territory and half its population in the post-war settlement. Nor is it a coincidence that the authoritarian Recep Tayyip Erdogan rose to power in Turkey, a country that lost a huge transcontinental empire during the war, was occupied by the Allies and almost dismembered by the Greeks. Perhaps the most disturbing example, though, comes in the very place where the centenary of the Armistice will be commemorated this afternoon: France. Despite its rhetorical commitment to European unity, France is a country where the fires of nationalism still burn brightly. And although liberals took solace from Mr Macrons victory in last years presidential election, the plain fact is that more than one in three French men and women voted for the far-Right Marine Le Pen. In a blackly ironic twist, she is especially popular in precisely that north-eastern corner of France where the war was fought. Indeed, the two departements she won in 2017, Aisne and Pas-de-Calais, saw some of the bitterest fighting of the war, including the battles of Arras, Loos and Vimy Ridge. This week, nationwide opinion polls actually put her National Rally ahead of Mr Macrons party for the first time a startling and disturbing development. Perhaps the French president should spend less time commemorating the battles of the past, then, and more time worrying about the battles of the future. For if France follows countries such as Italy and Hungary in embracing the politics of nationalism, a conflict in Europe will no longer look so fantastical. None of this, of course, means that we could see a re-run of World War I. History never repeats itself exactly. Theresa May (C) after wreaths were placed at the graves of John Parr, the first British soldier to be killed in WWI in 1914, and George Ellison, the last British soldier to be killed before Armistice in 1918 The world has moved on, and a return to the days of great alliances and superpower blocs seems unlikely. But we would be deluded to imagine, as so many pacifists and peace campaigners did in the Twenties and Thirties, that we have left war behind for ever. No matter how often the EU elite tell themselves they have banished conflict for good, there will be another European war one day. History does not stop, and humanity does not change. It will happen: the only questions are where and when. On a weekend of sombre reflection, that may seem a pessimistic thought. But it was not pessimism that killed 20 million people in World War I. It was optimism: the belief that the generals could manage the war swiftly and efficiently; the fantasy that the boys would be home by Christmas; the politicians delusion that they could shatter Europes fragile political and social order and somehow reassemble the fragments afterwards. This, I think, is the real lesson of World War I. It is easy to stand in silence for a few minutes, brushing away a tear in memory of the boys who went over the top. What is more unsettling is to recognise the fragility of the world we know and love. Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron hold hands after a conference as part of a summit called to attempt to find a lasting political solution to the civil war in Syria As they learned a century ago, fixed points can be destroyed in a moment; assumptions swept away overnight; emperors, governments, even entire countries smashed to pieces. Yet even in 1918, when they knew how low humanity could sink, people still deluded themselves that they could banish the demons that lurk within us all. After the Armistice, the French put the Compiegne wagon in a museum in Paris. It became a symbol of their definitive victory over their German rivals, a totem of peace. And what happened to it? In 1940, having crushed the French in the rematch, Hitler ordered that it be returned to the forest in Compiegne for their surrender. Then it was taken to Berlin and displayed as a trophy of revenge, and in 1945 the SS destroyed it with dynamite. That carriage in the museum at Compiegne is a replica. What it symbolises is not a lasting peace, but the recurrence of conflict. So much, then, for peace and victory. And so much, alas, for the war to end all wars. Plenty of us are guilty of taking a few too many photos to capture the perfect snap for social media, or letting our food get slightly cold while waiting for the best lighting. But new research has revealed that some Brits are taking their Instagram obsession to the next level, with 30 per cent saying they visited a spot just to take a picture. The fixation with capturing the perfect shot has even led to some women planning their holidays around Instagram - with 53 per cent of those polled by Away Resorts saying someone else's social media posts influenced their choice of trip. Bloggers and influencers in particular are going to extreme lengths to beat their competitors, with some admitting to travelling hundreds of miles just to take a picture. Sophie Davis, an influencer who lives in Milton Keynes, said she travelled all the way to Paris last year for a weekend of 'content creation' with her best friend While there she took pictures by the Eiffel Tower and at Annabel's - a tea house which gained popularity because its interiors are particular 'Instagrammable' SOPHIE DAVIS: SPENT 300 ON A TRIP TO PARIS TO GET PHOTOS Sophie Davis, an influencer who lives in Milton Keynes, told Femail she travelled all the way to Paris with her best friend last year for the sole purpose of 'content creation'. While there, she took pictures at the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and Angelica's - a tea house which gained popularity because its interiors are particular 'Instagrammable' - to post on her blog, Sophie's Suitcase. Despite travelling nearly 350 miles to get to the city of love just to take pictures, and spending 300 in the process, Sophie insists she's still able to live in the moment. She said: 'I believe it can take the enjoyment out of a visit if you don't put down the phone or camera after you've captured the perfect shot. She said: 'If you are able to then fully immerse yourself in a place and be present in the moment, as well as capturing that iconic photo, then it should not take too much enjoyment away from your travels' 'If you are able to then fully immerse yourself in a place and be present in the moment, as well as capturing that iconic photo, then it should not take too much enjoyment away from your travels.' Two years ago, the influencer, who has more than 11,000 followers, travelled 220 miles for a day trip to Hadrian's Wall just because she wanted an 'outdoorsy Instagram photo'. Sophie, who works as a PR manager, added: 'I believe it is a positive thing for bloggers to visit places with the intention of "showing it off". 'I love to visit well-known landmarks in the UK and abroad to take great shots to share with my followers, and I recognise it now comes with the territory of blogging. 'As an influencer, I share great photos to engage and grow my audience so I am guilty of visiting particular locations over the years to get a good photo.' Two years ago she also made a day trip to Hadrian's Wall - some 220 miles away - to get what she described as an 'outdoorsy Instagram photo'. KATYA JACKSON: TOOK A 50-MILE DETOUR JUST TO GET A PHOTO Katya Jackson, a travel photographer who is originally from Russia but currently lives in London, is also guilty of visiting locations purely for content for her blog. Earlier this year she took a 50 mile detour from Yeovil just to take a snap from the top of Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, a spot made famous from the classic 70s Hovis advert. Her desire to get the perfect photo with the correct lighting, composition, and weather conditions has even led her to say that 'sometimes travelling to a place feels more like a job than being a tourist'. Katya Jackson, a travel photographer who is originally from Russia but currently lives in London, is also guilty of visiting locations purely for content for her blog Earlier this year Katya Jackson took a 50 mile detour to take this picture at the top of Gold Hill in Shaftesbury Photographer Katya believes Instagram-related visits are a good thing because tourists support local businesses. Pictured: Staithes in North Yorkshire However, she thinks believes her Instagram snaps can have a positive impact on local tourism. 'I think some remote and under promoted destinations in the UK can only benefit from an influencer posting a photo and showing it off to the world,' she explained. 'Often tourists will only visit the first places that appear in the tour guide or the classic locations well known to all UK visitors, rather than exploring less visited areas themselves.' After taking all the photos she needs, Katya then checks out shops, places of interest and cafes in the local area, to make sure she still enjoys her visit. Katya added that tourists such as herself bring business into some under visited locations in the UK, and that Instagram posts may encourage people to take a staycation. She said: 'Most people consider holidays only being trips overseas but I think there is so much to explore and discover here at home in the UK.' Katya said that travelling about to take snaps for Instagram is a way of discovering and exploring what's on offer in the UK, rather than thinking holidays are all about going overseas. Pictured: Caravanserai in Leeds VICTORIA BREWOOD: WAITS HOURS TO GET THE PERFECT SHOT Victoria Brewood, who is originally from Manchester admits visiting spots in New York where she lives for the perfect snap. Recently she visited the Top of the Rock and spent nearly an hour waiting for crowds to disperse to get a shot with just her in it. She added: 'When it comes to travel, I usually go to new countries or places because I'm sent there for work or because I've always wanted to visit the place. 'However, the prospect of getting an amazing photo is definitely an incentive. For example, I had seen so many photos of Cape Town on my Instagram feed so I was inspired to go there.' 'What concerns me though is when I see people who are just visiting for a photo, with no real appreciation for the destination and the location. 'Are people really discovering a place, or are they just posing for Instagram then "on to the next"? It makes me feel sad that life has become a bit superficial in that sense.' Victoria Brewood, a full-time travel blogger from Manchester who now lives in New York goes around her adopted city seeking out good spots for Instagram snaps Recently Victoria visited the Top of the Rock in New York and waited nearly an hour for crowds to disperse so she could get this incredible photo of her stood alone looking at the view She was inspired to visit Cape Town (pictured: Delaire Graff Estate in South Africa) after seeing incredible photos on Instagram MONICA STOTT: BECOMES A DAREDEVIL FOR INSTAGRAM Monica Stott, 31, a blogger from Chester who runs The Travel Hack, went ice hole swimming in Finland last year, something she would never have tried if she wasn't a blogger. She said: 'If I'm honest, I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for Instagram but I'm so glad I did it. 'It was such an incredible experience and I needed a little push to actually get in the water and the thought of an Instagram photo performing well was the push I needed!' Monica also thinks Instagram can be fantastic for small businesses by allowing them to reach a huge audience on a limited budget. ''Some people take things way too far, worrying about getting the perfect photo for their grid or wearing inappropriate clothing just so it looks pretty for their photo, 'she said. 'It can ruin the whole experience, but you don't need to let it! This is my job and even I don't take it so seriously I stop enjoying myself.' The Travel Hack blogger Monica Stott, from Chester, has admitted she has done things for Instagram Last year while in Finland, she went ice hole swimming. She said: 'If I'm honest, I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for Instagram but I'm so glad I did it. It was such an incredible experience and I needed a little push to actually get in the water' After the stunning success of Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II, Sir David Attenborough returns to our screens tomorrow night to present a brand new wildlife spectacular Dynasties. The five-part series, four years in the making, follows five captivating and elusive creatures lions, tigers, chimpanzees, emperor penguins and painted wolves as they try to protect their offspring and preserve their bloodline. As Stephen Moss reveals in his book accompanying the show, theres love and devotion, tragedy and triumph. Sit back and enjoy the family drama of the year... Sir David Attenborough revealed how BBC's Dynasties team were able to film animals including tigers and wolves across four years for a new wildlife series. Raj Bhera (pictured at the hidden den with her young cubs) has territory within Bandhavgarh National Park Raj Bhera is the ruler of a tiger dynasty that goes back at least a century. A fully grown female, she is five years old, strong and experienced, with a grown-up daughter named Solo whose territory is close to hers. They live in Bandhavgarh National Park, 500 miles south of Delhi. Created in 1968, the park is patrolled by Forest Department guards on elephant back to prevent poaching. Dhruv Singh, who is from the area, knows these tigers long history. Raj Bhera lives in the shadow of Bandhavgarh fort, an ancient city once home to maharajahs, he says. Her dynastic rule echoes that of the people who lived here. Raj Bhera has a litter of cubs three male and one female hidden in a den in a remote, hilly part of the park. Her task is to raise them from birth through to adulthood and independence. She will only achieve that goal if she is able to find enough food for her and them, while at the same time defending her territory against intruders. And she will have to do this all on her own because, after mating, male tigers play no part in raising the family. Her cubs, whose eyes open roughly a week after they are born, stay in the safety of the den for eight weeks or so, being fed on their mothers milk. Raj Bhera (pictured) is a strong and experienced mother tiger who struggled to patrol her territory after a rival female pushed her way in They grow rapidly: by the time they are four weeks old their weight has increased fourfold. After a couple of months, Raj Bhera gradually starts to wean the cubs onto solid food, though she will continue to produce milk until they are about six months old. Sadly, the chances of any cub reaching maturity are less than 50/50. They may die from accidents, attacks by male tigers, poaching and other human encounters, bad weather, conflicts with other predators such as leopards, or starvation. Raj Bheras dynastic rule echoes that of maharajahs Cubs are keen to explore their surroundings like all young mammals, this is the way they learn so Raj Bhera has to keep a constant eye out for danger. Cubs also enjoy play-fighting, which is crucial in learning the skills they need to make a life on their own. With a new family to look after, Raj Bhera cannot patrol her territory roughly eight square miles as often or as diligently as she did. So a rival female pushes into a key part of Raj Bheras territory. LONE HUNTER WITH A HUGE APPETITE Raj Bhera (pictured stalking her prey) would often cover up the remains of carcasses using leaves and grass. A large adult tiger can eat up to one-fifth of its bodyweight The ability to hunt animals far bigger and heavier than itself makes the tiger unique among large predators lions and cheetahs do go after big prey, but usually they hunt as a team rather than on their own. Not so the tiger, which always hunts alone. Once a tiger has successfully killed, it will drag the body of its victim into cover, so it can feed without being disturbed. This reduces the danger of any of the meat being taken by other predators including rival tigers. When feeding, Raj Bhera gorges herself on the meat, starting at the fleshy hindquarters of the animal, and using her side teeth to rip off huge chunks of flesh, before then moving on to the rest of the carcass. A large adult tiger can eat up to one-fifth of its bodyweight from a single kill, during two or three days. Having finished feeding, Raj Bhera will often cover up the remains of the carcass using whatever material comes to hand, including leaves and grass, to hide them in case she needs to return later to feed some more. Advertisement This intruder is no stranger, but her adult daughter, Solo. Now nearly three years old, Solo moves into one of Raj Bheras best hunting areas, with a very high density of grazing animals. Solo could take her mothers prey, putting the new cubs at risk. Raj Bhera and Solo come face to face after Raj Bhera has made a kill. Secretly, Solo was watching. Raj Bhera got thinner and her fur was rougher Gradually, Solo edges nearer and nearer, until her mother can no longer tolerate her presence. Now Solo is fully grown, she could take the kill from Raj Bhera. Raj Bhera has to show Solo whos boss. Yet she hesitates, realising perhaps for the first time that her daughter has grown into a real rival. The confrontation teeters on the brink of a full-scale fight. Raj Bhera (pictured keeping her cubs hidden safely away in a den) stays in charge using her age and strength But Raj Bhera raises herself up to full height and Solo adopts a submissive pose, rolling onto her back. For now, Raj Bhera has won. Her age and strength keep her in charge. But soon Solo will start her own family and will have to enter her mothers territory once again. By this stage, she will be far more experienced and she might win the battle for supremacy between the generations. At this point, each time Raj Bhera makes a kill the three bigger, stronger male cubs come in to feed straightaway, leaving little or nothing for their smaller sister, Biba. So one day while her brothers and mother sleep, Biba goes to feed on the remains of a kill. Sir David says... 'Raj Bhera, like so many other animals, is short of space surely we should afford those creatures with whom we share the planet the chance to retain some part of their ancient heritage? Advertisement She finishes eating and heads to the pool for a drink where a male tiger is taking a dip. Curious, she approaches an act that could be fatal, as males will usually kill any cubs they come across that are not their own. But fortunately, the male recognises her as one of his own cubs. Raj Bheras adult daughter Solo (pictured) rolled on her back in submission after encroaching on her mothers territory Shes very lucky: hes the only tiger in the whole of Bandhavgarh who wont harm her. Male tigers rarely bump into their young and when they do, they just move on. Sadly, Bibas troubles with her siblings didnt end and, aged 17 months, she moves away to find her own territory some six months earlier than normal. Raj Bhera now feels the immense strain of providing for her three remaining cubs while trying to repel Solo. When we first met her, Raj Bhera was in glorious condition, says director Theo Webb. POWERFUL CREATURES IN PERIL There are now far more tigers in captivity at least 13,000, the vast majority in the United States than there are in the wild. More than half of those that do survive in the wild, at least 2,200, are found in India. In the past century, more than 90 per cent of the tiger population has been wiped out. Poaching is fuelled by the demand for tiger products in China, which continues to grow. Biba, Raj Bheras female cub, met her father at a pool a rare incident as males usually have no role in raising their cubs. He would have killed her if he hadnt recognised she was his In the early 1990s, a survey in the Ranthambore National Park in northern India, once a hotspot for tigers, found just 15 individuals poachers had killed the rest in order to supply the lucrative trade in skins and other body parts. Soon afterwards, the authorities in Delhi seized a haul of almost 500kg (1,100lb) of tiger bones. In 2010, the umbrella conservation body the Global Tiger Forum was established. Tiger experts from all over the world came together to try to stop, or reduce, the illegal trade by promoting anti-poaching measures and working closely with local communities to get people on the tigers side. Campaigners are also trying to change attitudes in China. Conservation scientists have identified five major areas in India, collectively covering an area of nearly 60,000 square miles, that offer the tiger its best chance of survival. Each region is capable of providing enough food for 200 tigers about a thousand in all. The plan is to double wild tiger numbers by 2022: ambitious, but a target certainly worth aiming for. Advertisement But towards the end of filming three years later, she had become thinner and thinner, and her fur looked rougher. You could tell she was having a really tough time. Then Raj Bhera makes the decision to leave the sanctuary of the park and head towards a village one of about 60 settlements supporting 40,000 people around the park borders. Here, she causes panic and mayhem, as the villagers gather around the tiger, beating the scrub with sticks and shouting in a desperate effort to see her off. Their response is understandable: few wild creatures are as dangerous as a cornered tiger, and many people fall victim to them each year. Sir David says... 'Over the past century, the number of tigers in the wild has fallen from 100,000 to just 4,000. Its a huge decline which needs to be halted or the risk of extinction is real. Advertisement When they hear Raj Bhera is outside the park, Theo and the team race to her. Just as things are about to get nasty, the park rangers arrive. The tiger had been cornered in a patch of bamboo where rangers managed to tranquillise her, so they could take her back to her territory, says Theo. It was a real race against time, before the effects of the tranquilliser wore off. Raj Bhera has successfully raised three of her cubs to adulthood (Pictured: Biba and one of her brothers relax in a shady glade in the jungle) 'This incident showed the lengths Raj Bhera had to go to, to find food for herself and her cubs. Raj Bheras absence gave Solo the perfect opportunity to take over her mothers territory permanently. But she did not have time to do so, as the rangers soon released Raj Bhera. By reclaiming her territory from her daughter, Raj Bhera had re-established herself as the Queen of Bandhavgarhs tigers. She has successfully raised three of her cubs to adulthood, and can continue her dynasty and raise another generation of Bandhavgarhs tigers. SPOT THE TIGER! Tigers may be one of the biggest predators on the planet, but that does not make them easy to film. Unlike lions, which give chase on open plains, tigers live and hunt in dense forest where it is hard to track and follow their movements. So the team recruited expert help in the shape of guide and tracker Digpal Karmawas. As with all wildlife filming, local knowledge was an essential factor in whether the team could succeed in filming the tigers at all. At dawn each day, Digpal would take the team into the park, not knowing where Raj Bhera and her family would be. They would then split up to look for any signs of the tigers. This is as much an art as a science, as Digpal points out. Digpal Karmawas revealed although tigers are creatures of habit they aren't easy to find. Pictured: Rangers on elephants could find the tigers even in long grass Tigers are creatures of habit, but they are not easy to find. 'They have favourite paths and waterholes but they always retain the ability to surprise, appearing where and when you least expect. 'Anything is possible in the jungle! Being ambush predators, tigers hide in or behind trees or scrubby vegetation, and often the only evidence of a kill is the sound of the dying victim as it expires. The best way to track them was to use a three-stage approach. The first step was to find their fresh tracks. Then, Digpal would listen for alarm calls from deer and monkeys, to pinpoint the tigers whereabouts. Even then, they are easy to miss without sharp eyes to spot them in thick undergrowth. They were so well camouflaged, explains director Theo Webb. Their stripes blended in exactly with the bamboo. Principal wildlife cameraman John Brown, who has spent hundreds of days in the field observing and filming tigers, was struck by their ability to change shape, depending on the angle from which they were seen. I was always amazed by how the tigers seemed almost two-dimensional. 'Viewed from the side, they have a real mass and muscularity, but they are incredibly slim in the hips and shoulders so they almost vanish when they are walking towards or away from you. In over 20 years of wildlife filmmaking, Id never spent more time looking for the subject and so little time with it visible through the viewfinder. 'Wed go for days without seeing Raj Bhera. Even when we found her, the situation was usually unfilmable. So the team put out camera traps, triggered by movement, around Raj Bheras territory to capture her as she patrolled. What they did not bargain for was that her cubs would take such an interest that they pushed one of the cameras over, into the water. Despite these difficulties, the team got wonderful material of Raj Bhera and her cubs bathing in a pond. They chased cormorants and other waterbirds, and enjoyed playing in the water, just like children in a swimming pool. For Theo, this made up for all the disappointments. Camera traps are very hit-and-miss. But sometimes they are the only way to obtain intimate, close-up views of natural behaviour. 'An insight into the secret world of our tigers. Advertisement A Game of Thrones in the African bush: Two packs of painted wolves led by a mother and her daughter battle for the territory that will keep their pups alive in this action-packed episode. And Tim Oglethorpe went out on location A bitter battle for territory on the floodplains bordering Zimbabwes Zambezi River lies at the heart of the Dynasties documentary about the wild hunting dogs known as painted wolves. And the most startling thing about this feud is that, like some African version of Game Of Thrones, its between an alpha female, Tait, and her daughter, Blacktip. Painted wolves, so-called because of their black, brown and white markings, live in packs headed by an alpha female and alpha male. There used to be half a million of them spread over 39 African countries. The Dynasties team ventured to Zimbabwes Zambezi River to film painted wolves in 11 visits (pictured: tiny wolf pups emerge from their den) But when the Dynasties team started filming, there were just 6,600 painted wolves remaining in their heartlands of east and southern Africa, as human encroachment has led to a loss of their natural habitat, while the erroneous belief theyre a danger to humans has led to them being poisoned and shot. Its shrinking territory that triggers the riveting events in this Dynasties episode. Blacktips pack, which after several successful breeding seasons has grown to 30-strong over twice the size of her mothers cant source enough food in its current home. But with the Zambezi River lying to the north, with crocodiles waiting in the shallows; hyenas, another predator, to the south; and human hunting lands to the west, Blacktip has no option but to invade her mothers far bigger patch to the east. What follows is a vicious confrontation between the two packs. Although Tait senses Blacktips scent on the wind, her pack has little time to react when Blacktips family bear down on her. The local crocodiles can swallow a wolf whole A vicious fight ensues and casualties are high. Blacktips wolves are left with gashed necks and flanks, but Tait soon realises the safest course of action is to withdraw. She and her pack are forced to resettle further east into the highly dangerous Lion Pridelands. For Nick Lyon, the producer who spent four years filming Tait and the other painted wolves for the most intimate and extraordinary documentary ever made about them, the coup was a disaster. The team racked up 585 filming days during 11 visits to Zimbabwe, and learned the unique markings on the sides of every single wolf in the three packs being observed (another daughter of Taits, Janet, led a pack on the eastern edge of Zimbabwes Mana Pools National Park). Thats 182 flanks on the sides of 91 animals! The painted wolf (pictured) is one of the worlds most endangered carnivores But the canny painted wolf can easily disappear within the 2,600 square miles of the park (an area the size of Devon), and the conflict between Tait and her daughter Blacktip meant the star of Nicks film had simply vanished. There was nothing for it but to search the entire park for Taits tracks, says Nick. The trackers, Nick Murray and Henry Bandure, spent a month trekking through thick bush infested with tsetse flies and mosquitoes. 'Then, amazingly, they found Taits new den, a two-and-a-half-hour drive away from her original den. The wolves make for fascinating viewing. For instance, when near water they are 100 per cent focused on crocodiles, or the slightest hint of them. The local ones are so large they can swallow a painted wolf whole. Every pool could have one, so Taits pack has to be wary. So much of their day is spent staring into the water just to see where the crocodiles are. 'They stare and stare and stare. Theyre fixated on crocodiles, says Nick. Sir David says... Its wonderful to see a programme entirely about painted wolves, theyre fascinating. When TV was young, Americans thought the only animals viewers wanted to see were lions and giraffes Advertisement Back in Taits old territory, Blacktip was starting to enjoy the rewards of victory. Nick and his team captured her and her family performing a high-energy greeting ceremony in which ears are flattened, forequarters lowered and tails curved over the back, along with sniffing, licking and ducking under each other. Its the prelude to a hunting mission and soon the pack are advancing towards a herd of impalas, the wolves splitting into attack parties of three and four. Suddenly, an impala bolts, unwittingly firing the starting gun on the carnage that follows. Reaching speeds of 45mph, and with stamina that allows them to maintain that pace over long distances, Blacktip and her pack set their sights on an impala theyve perceived as weaker than the others. The highly efficient hunter Blacktip lunges and grasps at a back leg and fells it. The hunt is over and the feeding begins. Meanwhile, Tait has started to flourish in the Lion Pridelands. Four months after moving there, she has given birth to two puppies in a former aardvark burrow. Alpha female, Tait, and her daughter, Blacktip had conflict that led Tait to find a new den (Pictured: elephants keeping a wary eye on Blacktips pack) Nick Lyon and his team were on hand to capture the footage, as proud mum Tait emerged from her den followed by her pups, whod spent their first three weeks underground. Little bundles of fur unsteady on their feet, they were the epitome of cuteness amid a deadly world. Their emergence was also a filmmakers dream. The pups were so small and their heads so disproportionately large that whenever they stopped walking, they would teeter over their front legs like a see-saw, laughs Nick. Ox, the pups father, was first to go over and sniff them this was his first litter, Taits eighth while the pack formed an orderly queue to come and see, smell and fuss over the new arrivals. Soon it was time for the pups to take a nap back in the den and Tait positioned herself so she could still see the entrance to the den while enjoying the breeze and the shade of a large acacia tree. But she was soon off hunting again. Leaving behind her two new pups, Tait set off across the grassland accompanied by the other adults in the pack. A CLOSE CALL FOR SIR DAVID Sir David Attenborough got up close and personal with the painted wolves while out in Zimbabwe filming the episodes closing sequence but it was a close-run thing. Producer Nick Lyon became obsessive about getting David close to the wolves, says executive producer Mike Gunton. Sir David Attenborough (pictured) was flown down in a helicopter to capture shots alongside Tait's youngest daughter I told him we didnt have time to do that for the closing sequence, that we would waste hours trying to set it up and it probably wouldnt work anyway. But somehow it did. 'David was flown down in a helicopter to where Tammy, Taits youngest daughter and current alpha, was resting with the pack, and filmed him just as the wolves were starting to get up and stretch. 'It made for wonderful footage. Everybody knew the crew, David, perhaps even the dogs that this was the moment and it worked superbly! Advertisement But as Nick captured her departure on film, he soon realised something truly extraordinary was happening. Apart from the pups, all the wolves had gone hunting, which meant the three humans in attendance near the den Nick, tracker Henry and cameraman Warwick Sloss had been left in sole charge of the babies. It took a while for it to dawn on us, says Nick. But the trust between us and Taits pack had reached such a level that they felt able to leave us with their offspring. 'So we babysat for them, and even had to shoo the pups back into their den. We only left when Tait and the others came back. Eventually, the conflict between Tait and her daughter reignited. Blacktip, who initially appeared to have no idea where her mother had gone, picked up scent marks from Taits pack and decided to go off in pursuit. The wolf left the film crew in sole charge of its pups As they trekked deeper into the Lion Pridelands they encountered a troop of baboons, one of whom paid with its life as the two species clashed. Blacktip and her followers raced on through the moonless night, not realising they were being trailed by a pack of hyenas, who started to summon help with their eerie whooping calls, eventually forming a 15-strong group. When Blacktip realised the danger she was in, she decided attack was the best form of defence and turned on the hyenas. Low-light and infrared camera specialist Justine Evans captured the ensuing fight, which resulted in the death of one of Blacktips pups. Seemingly grief-stricken, the painted wolves milled around, reluctant to leave without the lost pup, eventually having to do so with their heads down and tails between their legs, marching in silence. Eventually, Blacktip came so close to her mothers new home that Tait could smell her daughter on the breeze. But then another, more dangerous, animal intervened. We suddenly noticed a lion creeping towards Blacktip and her pack through some long grass, says cameraman Barrie Britton. We then saw more lions behind and realised the dogs had no idea they were there. BABOON FOR DINNER The dry season makes it harder for the painted wolf to hunt. Elephant footprints, made in soft mud at the end of the wet season, were now baked hard. For the wolves to pick their way through the potholes at full speed chasing nimble impalas could end in a broken leg or worse. Blacktip had to rethink her hunting strategy, and she came up with something never seen before. She switched from impalas to baboons. Blacktip's pack began hunting baboons in addition to impalas (Pictured: adults prepare to attack their prey) The chacma baboons at Mana Pools are fearsome characters, a large male being almost twice the size of a painted wolf, immensely strong, fast and with formidable canine teeth. They pass the night safely up in the trees, but spend most of the day foraging on the ground where they are vulnerable. At the start of the first hunt the wolves approached silently. A loud baboon bark announced they had been spotted, and the pack spread out and broke into a run. The baboons panicked, and while some of the painted wolves kept the large male baboons busy, the rest could seek out the smaller and more vulnerable members of the troop. Blood was spilled, and several of the wolves were left with open wounds, but from then on Blacktips pack specialised in hunting both impalas and baboons. Advertisement Only at the last minute did the painted wolves realise what was going on. A gruff bark was the signal to scatter, causing confusion among the lions, before the most unlikely of allies further helped Blacktips cause. A buffalo suddenly charged through the trees, distracting the lions. When it fell momentarily, the lions were on it in a flash a more substantial meal than the one they were expecting. But the encounter with the lions was the last straw for Blacktip, and she decided to call off her hunt for Tait. Once theyd made up their minds to go, the wolves barely looked back as they raced through the night without stopping, covering some 15 miles. The war between mother and daughter was over, and it was time for Taits pack to reclaim their old territory. But Tait didnt join them, she was too old and slow and was killed, with her companion Ox beside her, in the Lion Pridelands. But the story doesnt end there, for a new generation of leaders must continue the bloodline. After weeks of eerie calls echoing round the park as the pack decided on its new leader, eventually Taits youngest daughter, Tammy, emerged as the new alpha female. Nick Lyon hopes his documentary will change the image of these relatively unknown creatures. What shines through is their love for each other within the pack, he says. Theyre the most caring carnivores Ive ever worked with. 'Theyre much smaller than the likes of lions, yet they survive by exhibiting tight family bonds in a very tough world. ' People often regard them as grizzly predators but theyre not. I hope this documentary reveals a new side to a misunderstood and much-maligned creature. Dynasties: The Rise And Fall Of Animal Families by Stephen Moss, published by BBC Books, 25. Adapted by Christopher Stevens and Tim Oglethorpe. Offer price 20 until 24/11/2018. Order at mailshop.co.uk/books or call 0844 571 0640, p&p free on orders over 15. Dynasties begins tomorrow at 8.30pm on BBC1 Celebrities share the stories behind their favourite photographs. This week, its the turn of actress Sylvia Syms, 84 Sylvia Syms, 84, (pictured) shares the stories behind some of her favourite snaps 1939: Im five here, in a Peace and Plenty dress decorated with fruit and veg for a fancy-dress contest in Eltham, south east London, where I grew up. It was made by my mother as a message of peace even though war was coming and we knew children like me would be evacuated. When I was sent away, parents couldnt come on the station platform to say goodbye, they had to wave from afar. It was pretty awful. 1958: John Mills, Anthony Quayle, Harry Andrews and I are relaxing here on the set of the film Ice Cold In Alex. We were filming in Libya and it was a tough shoot, what with all the flies, the heat and the lavatories which were quite an education. My co-stars were all proper grown-up men who had served in the war and were like uncles to me. 1959: I had to learn to play the bongos for this scene in the film Expresso Bongo, with Cliff Richard on guitar and Laurence Harvey on the big drums. Cliff was absolutely adorable, the most beautifully behaved young man Ive ever met. He must have been very well brought up by his mother. Larry was sharp and witty, and married to a very grand actress called Margaret Leighton. I didnt see Larry again for many years until we bumped into each other when he was desperately ill, so it was a sad reunion. 1964: My daughter Beatie was born a year after I adopted my son, Ben, because I thought I couldnt have any more children after a miscarriage and the death of my two-day-old daughter, Jessica. Ben is a teacher now but he played Sophia Lorens son in the 1974 film remake of Brief Encounter. I wasnt desperately glad that Beatie followed me into acting because shes so remarkable and clever that she could do anything. But shes done well, especially in Poldark, in which she plays Rosss servant Prudie (right). 1985: This is me with Adam Ant in Joe Ortons Entertaining Mr Sloane at the Manchester Royal Exchange. The play is about a hustler who lives with a middle-aged woman, played by me, and her gay brother, who are competing for his affections. Adam wanted a break from pop to develop his acting, and he was wonderful. We got to know each other travelling up and down from London together; and we still keep in touch a bit. 1991: Although I wasnt a great fan of Margaret Thatcher when she was in office, its no good taking your prejudices with you if youre going to get inside a characters head. Playing her in the television film Thatcher: The Final Days made me realise what terrible disloyalty her Cabinet showed to her in the end. Theyd all been leaping on her bandwagon when she was a success, so I did feel rather sorry for her, not in a sentimental way, but because I was so shocked at what happened to her. 2007: The year before I received my OBE from the Queen, I had played her mother in the 2006 film The Queen. But you mustnt embarrass the royals by saying, What did you think of me in that? I was so thrilled it was Her Maj who presented it to me. I was at RADA when her father, George VI, passed away and I remember we all stood there crying our eyes out. She has been such an important part of our lives. 2018: I so loved doing my recent movie with Peter Bowles, called Together. The budget was small and we had to work very long hours but it was a beautiful film. Working with Peter was wonderful, and he said at the end of filming, We werent acting at all, were we? I said, No, we werent we were just an elderly couple who loved one another. Sylvia Syms supports Age UK. Visit ageuk.org.uk (free helpline 0800 169 6565). As told to Maureen Paton A model has revealed how she managed to overcome the turbulence of an eating disorder and depression. Emica Penklis, 34, from Byron Bay is a naturopath with her own chocolate brand Loco Love and although she's now thriving her life hasn't always been this way. Ms Penklis has always been naturally thin and when she was younger she would eat whatever she liked, which often meant pizza. It wasn't until her doctor told her to cut out dairy and gluten due to her health that things started to spiral. 'At first I started to feel better and lost some weight and everyone was commenting on how great I looked,' she told FEMAIL. Emica Penklis, 34, is a model from Byron Bay who has revealed how she managed to overcome the turbulence of an eating disorder and depression The 34-year-old (pictured) has since gone on to launch her own six-figure chocolate business beloved by celebrities 'The compliments kept coming in and I started to cut out more foods, which at first I was feeling really good about but after a while, it didn't feel so good anymore,' she added. By this stage she was 21 and had moved to London so she could model full time. 'This is when the depression got really bad. My body had started to be nutritionally depleted by this stage and I was hiding my eating disorder, which was very isolating,' she said. 'I felt so alone, my creativity had been replaced with an obsession about my appearance. It was a very dark time for a few years.' 'At first I started to feel better and lost some weight and everyone was commenting on how great I looked,' she told FEMAIL Now she is thriving as a naturopath with her own chocolate brand, Loco Love, but her life hasn't always been this way (Pictured with her fiance Jesse) The now-naturopath was still modelling full time throughout this dark period. She revealed that what caused the depression and eating disorder was an obsession with what she put into her body. When it came to modelling Ms Penklis had nothing to improve on except her weight and she also didn't believe in what she was doing, which made things spiral even more. 'This in turn rendered me an anti-social, shell of a person. I felt aimless and lost. I fell victim to the pressure of trying to be perfect,' she said. Her depression and her toxic relationship with food hit her hard when she was living in London at 21 and her body was nutritionally depleted While she was gracing the pages of magazines the holistic chocolatier's self-esteem was nonexistent 'It was a horrible experience, I felt so alone and like this darkness would never leave me. 'Suicide played on my mind regularly, as I was so consumed with self-hatred. I felt apathetic and hopeless.' From the self-hate grew so much insecurity, to the point that she avoided most social situations. She was constantly riddled with guilt if she ate something she didn't deem 'acceptable' and would over-exercise to compensate. 'There was so much shame and self-hatred, it was a never ending cycle of abuse,' she said. When it came to modelling Ms Penklis had nothing to improve on except her weight and she also didn't believe in what she was doing 'Suicide played on my mind regularly, as I was so consumed with self-hatred I felt apathetic and hopeless,' she said Ms Penklis said no one at the time knew what she was going through, mainly because she was living in London while all of her friends and family were back home. 'They thought I was doing great with my international modelling career,' she explained. During this period of her life she travelled the world, going to Asia, America, England, Europe, India and New Zealand, as a highly paid professional model. She worked for clients such as, Levis, Stella McCartney, Lancome, Clinique, Burberry, Agent Provocateur, Bonds, Herbal essences and Topshop, among others. From the self-hate grew so much insecurity, to the point she avoided most social situations Ms Penklis said no one at the time knew what she was going through, mainly because she was living in London while all of her friends and family were back home (Pictured: an old test shot from when she was a teenager) While she was gracing the pages of magazines the holistic chocolatier's self-esteem was nonexistent. 'My early modelling career was amazing, if I only I were there to enjoy it, I wasted some of the best years of my life suffering,' she said. 'I wish I could go back in time with my outlook now. I was so hard on myself But I don't have any regrets as it's led me to where I am today.' This darkness took over her life for six years but she finally sought help when she was 23. During this period of her life she travelled the world, going to Asia, America, England, Europe, India and New Zealand, as a highly paid professional model While she was gracing the pages of magazines the holistic chocolatier's self-esteem was nonexistent The model said it wasn't until she was 26 that she felt like she had fully recovered. 'Recovery took many years and a lot of different avenues. It wasn't until I started meditating that I truly could silence my mind and discover an inner love that I had never felt before,' she said. 'This was a huge relief for me, having space in my mind and cultivating love for myself.' Although Ms Penklis still models now she has a much healthier approach to her body and her health. 'Recovery took many years and a lot of different avenues. It wasn't until I started meditating that I truly could silence my mind and discover an inner love that I had never felt before,' she said Although she still models now she has a much healthier approach to her body and her health How are Loco Love chocolates made? Before we get our hands on the cacao, the beans must be picked, dried, fermented and then sent to Australia. When the cacao arrives to our warehouse we check it for taste and quality and if it's not up to our standard, we don't use it. After this, the cacao is placed in a giant stone grinder with coconut blossom sugar for 48 hours, until it is silky smooth and creamy. The slow grinder allows the delicate flavours to develop and marry together. We never heat the cacao over 47 degrees, to maintain its nutritional profile. We add the highest quality medicinal, wild crafted mushrooms and pure, therapeutic grade essential oils intermingled with tonic herbs, healing spices and superfoods. Advertisement It's thanks to this attitude that she decided to create Loco Love, an artisan vegan chocolate brand that is packed with health benefits. Health foods have been a big part of her life for a long time thanks to her years of modelling and becoming a nutritionist and naturopath. 'Making chocolate wasn't something that I wanted, it was something that happened naturally and almost serendipitously when I stopped trying to overthink everything,' she said. 'I was always so stressed about what I was going to do with my life but making healthy alternatives to my favourite foods was my passion.' She used her training as a naturopath to add herbs and other medicinal foods to the chocolate so that when people ate them they wouldn't feel the common sugar crash or guilty after thoughts. It's thanks to this attitude that she decided to create Loco Love, an artisan vegan chocolate brand that is packed with health benefits Health foods have been a big part of her life for a long time thanks to her years of modelling and becoming a nutritionist and naturopath She started making the chocolates herself from her tiny kitchen in Bondi at the time and eventually the brand was selling out constantly from ten stores in Sydney. 'The demand increased, so I made more and more. I had moved apartments and had a bigger kitchen by this point,' the 34-year-old said. 'At this time I was working in the day and making Loco Love at night or on weekends.' She started making the chocolates herself from her tiny kitchen in Bondi at the time and eventually the brand was selling out constantly from 10 stores in Sydney Fast forward to moving to Byron in June 2017, and Ms Penklis found an approved commercial kitchen and her fiance Jesse jumped on board the business. Loco Love has expanded rapidly ever since. At the beginning she was sending out 200 orders a week and now they're sending out 7,000. There is also a variety of celebrities and influencers who are fans of the brand, such as Kelly Slater, Alessandra Ambrosio, Mimi Elashiry, Pip Edwards, Olive Cooke, Nicole Trunfio, Lisa Messenger and Ellie Bullen. Currently the revenue is $500,000 to $600,000 with three internal staff members but they're expecting to double this within the next three years. 'We hope to develop more ways in which Loco Love can give back to the community and keep on spreading positivity in a genuine way,' she said. Loco Love was born from a place of realising we could be the change we wished to see in the world. Sydney-based Daniel Avakian (pictured) is a leading Australian fashion designer who specialises in Italian-inspired tailoring Sydney-based Daniel Avakian is a leading Australian fashion designer who specialises in Italian-inspired tailoring. After studying master tailoring in Florence, Italy, Mr Avakian relocated to Sydney and established his eponymous brand Daniel Avakian in 2006, followed by his latest venture DA Privata which debuted earlier this year. His collection boasts sustainable, custom-made designs ranging from black tie gowns to corporate wear for men and women at affordable price points. In recent weeks Mr Avakian's ensembles have been featured on The Bachelorette, publicity which has triggered a surge of interest in his unique garments. Mr Avakian spoke to FEMAIL about DA Privata, his fail safe A-list styling tips, ultimate red carpet faux-pas and hopes for the future of fashion. Scroll down for video The current Bachelorette Ali Oetjen (pictured left in the designer's $850 Tuxedo Mini Dress and right in his $850 Ava Gown) has worn multiple designs by DA Privata this season Pictured is the sketch Mr Avakian made ahead of designing Ali's famed first night dress Mr Avakian made dresses for countless Australian celebrities attending this year's Logies and Dally M awards, including presenter Erin Molan who was voted best dressed by a number of publications. An A-list event veteran, Avakian knows a thing or two about red carpet dos and don'ts which he shared with FEMAIL. 'Given my affinity with tailoring, I love putting a woman in a beautiful suit combo,' he said. 'I also love to reinvent the little black dress - it's a timeless classic no matter how you style it. 'Just days after we were first featured on the series, we had more than 150 people looking for customised versions of Ali's dresses in different colour ways and slightly altered silhouettes' (pictured is Ali in Daniel's $1,500 Aly Gown) TV presenter Erin Molan (pictured) wore DA Privata to the Dally M awards and was voted best dressed by Vogue and Elle Australia 'The red carpet is a real place of beauty, style and elegance, but there are always certain things that make you cringe a little. 'One of the worst things to see is a broken zipper. I always feel so bad for the person wearing it, because I know that they are aware of it, but there's just nothing they can do even though they're in fashion hell! But there are other major faux-pas where Avakian admitted he feels no sympathy. 'There are some things people do to themselves - for example, brown gowns simply do not belong on the red carpet. 'And don't get me started on cowl necks!' Asked about how life and business have changed since being spotlighted on The Bachelorette, Mr Avakian said they have been 'inundated' with inquiries about custom orders Avakian's designs have repeatedly featured on this season of The Bachelorette Australia, with star Ali Oetjen wearing four custom dresses while ten of her hopeful admirers also wore suits by the brand. Asked about how life and business have changed since being spotlighted on The Bachelorette, Mr Avakian said they have been 'inundated' with inquiries about custom orders. 'We've been absolutely swamped with live chat requests for where to get Ali [Oetjen]'s dress and Todd [King]'s suits. There's also been an increase in interest for bridal gowns. 'Just days after we were first featured on the series, we had more than 150 people looking for customised versions of Ali's dresses in different colour ways and slightly altered silhouettes - it's been incredible.' In terms of the aspirational Daniel Avakian muse, the master tailor expressed his admiration for South African-born actress Charlize Theron. 'I would love to style her. She is so elegant and stylish and just such a beautiful person with so much character. 'She likes to try new things and is happy to push the envelope a little, but never too far. I think she would look amazing in a tailored DA Privata gown!' Daniel Avakian has showcased his work at Australia's Mercedes Benz Fashion Week (pictured) Mr Avakian is in the process of revolutionising the luxury fashion industry, thanks to his use of 3D body scanning technology. Through photos uploaded to a smartphone app, designers can access client measurements remotely from anywhere in the world at the touch of a button. 'A woman sitting in Miami watching the Bachelorette on Wednesday night could take a picture of themselves and upload it to the app from the comfort of the lounge sofa,' he said. 'The scans are processed at our headquarters here in Sydney, giving us custom measurements which we use to create our custom-made clothing. Customers can discuss with our agents on live chat if they have any additional queries.' Mr Avakian said the 3D scanner is game changing because it 'allows clients to custom make their own designs with a high-end brand at an affordable price point', a luxury rarely extended to the general public. DA Privata is set to embark on a large scale expansion in 2019, moving across the water to take on the US and other global markets. This week, BEL MOONEY advises a 54-year-old woman whose husband of 25 years has been seeing multiple women behind her back Dear Bel Im 54, my husband is 61. Weve been married almost 25 years and I discovered only six months ago that he started seeing an ex-girlfriend barely two months after we began. That relationship continued for more than 13 years. Although at times I suspected, he furiously denied it, so I let it go. His latest affair began more than four years ago when a passenger on his bus handed him her phone number, saying: Ring if you are interested. What decent, respectable woman does that? Shes been married for about 30 years. Like a fool, he phoned her without a second thought for me, then started visiting her a couple of times a week. I knew he was cheating because he was like a lovesick schoolboy. At first he denied the affair, then promised to end it. But he didnt. He recently admitted both of them were excited by the fact I knew about it. Isnt that warped? How could they enjoy causing heartache? He admits hes in love even obsessed. I left him two months ago and now live alone, ten miles away. His lover lives in his town. In spite of still loving him, Ive decided to see a solicitor. During our marriage we had sex only a couple of times a year. I thought he was gay or had erectile dysfunction. What a fool! He just didnt want me. Im thankful for our wonderful three children all kind, well-adjusted people and two grandchildren. In some ways Ive been very lucky, but the lonely marriage is an unbearable sadness. I know hes a bad lot, but Im very much in love with him. I still hope hell realise what a prize I was. I devoted myself to him and our family and was always loyal and faithful. Why did he stay if he wanted other women? How could he betray me so often? Even now, I want us to get back together and be happy; to grow old and grey together. Will he ever wake up and see what he has lost? Have I been a complete fool and doormat? I will see the solicitor about a divorce but, really, thats not what I want. My head says get divorced. My heart says try to get him away from his obsession with the other woman. Why cant he adore me? GINNY Your letter made me very sad not just because you have been deceived so often and been so hurt, but also because you still love the man who did it. Im sure there are many women who will identify with your situation, but perhaps more who would like to give you a little shake. Many of us have been hurt and some of us have dished out the hurt, too. But this is an inevitable part of human experience. The big question is, how long can a man or woman endure being hurt? There comes a point when perhaps they are staying in the marriage as much for convenience and/or status as for love. There is also the terror of being alone which (I know from readers letters) is enormous. But in your case you stayed because you loved and still love a man you describe as a bad lot. He has lied to you for nearly 25 years, and yet you would have him back in a heartbeat. Thought of the week So, though much will be forgotten when the sound of Wars alarms And the days of death and strife have passed away, I shall always see the vision of Love working amidst arms In the ward wherein the wounded prisoners lay. From The German Ward, by Vera Brittain, Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse and writer (1893-1970) Advertisement You must have realised ages ago that you would never change him and yet you are still hoping that hell realise what a prize I was. In spite of everything that has happened and the contempt he has shown for you and for his family, you yearn to grow old with him. Honestly, it amazes me! It really is time for you to put your feelings under a microscope. The serial cheat is often aided and abetted in his/her behaviour by a compliant partner. You ask why he stayed when he wanted other women. Well, because you were the willing skivvy who raised the children, kept house and let him do what he wanted. Was this love on your part or sheer masochism? What exactly is it you still love about this man the certain knowledge that if you got back together he would be likely to turn into a tireless old lech until the day he lost his mojo, and then youd be useful for ministering to his elderly needs? I know that sounds tough, but if you are to move forward and reclaim your own life, you have to be clear-eyed. Your desperate wish that he would adore you is pointless and you must see that. For the sake of your dignity, you must make that appointment with a solicitor that you have been putting off and face the facts of your marriage. At 54, you have plenty of years ahead to create a new life, to spend time with your beloved family, to make new friends. I hope the doormat will rise from beneath the feet of her oppressor and become transformed into a flying carpet. My pilgrimage brought home the true power of empathy Bel travelled to Tyne Cot Cemetery, near Ypres, ahead of Remembrance Sunday. It marked the fourth pilgrimage she and her husband made to Flanders At Tyne Cot Cemetery, near Ypres, a rosy-cheeked young woman sits shivering in a bitter wind on the steps of the great Cross of Sacrifice. Chania is 22, a graduate from Exeter University and a Commonwealth War Graves Commission intern. Like many other young volunteers in this centenary year, shes spending four months in the wind and rain of Flanders, simply to answer questions from visitors to the 11,965 (8,369 of them unnamed) graves in this, the biggest Commonwealth cemetery in the world. Shes doing it because she loves reading the soldier-poets of World War I and knows how much remembrance matters. Chania says she and all her friends were furious about the recent Cambridge student union decision not to honour Remembrance Sunday: I know people at Cambridge who say they dont represent them. In a ringing voice she adds: Im the same age as many buried here. Theres a connection between the youth of today and these men and always will be. How I wish those callow Cambridge students, and all those who say the scarlet poppy of remembrance glorifies war, could walk with me among the pale headstones that stand like soldiers on parade. They would not then so readily diminish the memory of the dead. This was the fourth pilgrimage my husband and I have made to Flanders, joining a special study tour organised by the War Poets Association, led by battlefield historian Andy Thomson. The experience is overwhelming. We learn history, listen to poetry read aloud and share camaraderie and tears. But why travel to stand in that bleak cold landscape to feel heartbroken? As an advice columnist for many years I recognise the importance of sharing personal grief. Many letters about bereavement come to my page, and yet no individual grief comes close to the worldwide mourning for the brave souls of World War I. Many people find it very hard to talk about loss, and so a visit to those vast cemeteries becomes the ultimate lesson in empathy. B y accident, I come across a row of headstones to unknown soldiers from the Lancashire Fusiliers; just four of the 250,000 men who perished horribly defending an insignificant little Belgian town called Ypres. I died in hell; they called it Passchendaele, wrote the poet Siegfried Sassoon. My beloved grandfather William Mooney was there, too a teenage private from Liverpool who had already survived the 1916 carnage of the Somme. Now, at Tyne Cot, I gaze at these anonymous graves. Men from his regiment. Were they Grandads mates? I picture him lighting a Woodbine with them, visualise them sitting in a squalid trench writing to their sweethearts, hear in my heart their soldiers banter and despair. Those imaginings are a sudden body-blow. The four Fusiliers may have no names, yet my tears fall for them. My grandfather survived the bloodshed (though he was later wounded at Dunkirk) and lived to hold both my children. These other men had all their promise, all their hopes consigned to the shattered earth, with no identity. Blinded, I bow my head. And, thus, grief becomes universal. All around these rows of graves are marble panels bearing 34,887 names of men from the United Kingdom and New Zealand Forces with no known grave at all, nearly all of whom died between August 1917 and November 1918. What sense can we make of such numbers? When you visit the battlefields of Flanders, that question quickly numbs your brain as it devastates the heart. Was that war futile? Did they die for nothing, as some argue? Such debates fade when you walk in solemn disbelief among the headstones. Thats why I rejoiced when Chancellor Philip Hammond announced in his Budget he will hand out 1 million to pay for battlefield visits for school pupils. A further 1.7 million will be provided for educational projects in schools to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. Misguided people argue that World War I remembrance is overdone, for we should mark and mourn all wars and all genocides. But as ignorant of history as of symbolism they miss the point. T o remember the dead of World War I doesnt mean you ignore the losses of World War II or forget Vietnam. To make a pilgrimage to Auschwitz doesnt mean you are indifferent to Armenians. But some horrors are so great, they become imprinted on human consciousness permanent symbols of evil. And the more anger and grief are concentrated, the more intense they are. This is what the young need to learn, and why I have made four pilgrimages to the battlefields. I call it pilgrimage because we tread on sacred ground. The oldest person in our group (of 51 people) is the distinguished poet from Belfast, Michael Longley, CBE, who was born 35 days before the start of WWII and whose father was a hero of WWI. Demonstrating the involvement of the young are Mira and engaged couple Sophia and Edward, all 26. In between representing every decade we are Christians, Jews, doubters and unbelievers, from many backgrounds, those who choose the white flower of the Peace Pledge Union and those who wear the red poppy of Remembrance. No niggling confrontation here. Bel answers readers questions on emotional and relationship problems each week. Write to Bel Mooney, Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT, or email bel.mooney@dailymail.co.uk. A pseudonym will be used if you wish. Bel reads all letters but regrets she cannot enter into personal correspondence. Advertisement Over three days, in cold clear sunlight and bitter, driving rain, we read aloud the words of poets such as Wilfred Owen, Edward Thomas, Isaac Rosenberg, Siegfried Sassoon, and Edmund Blunden. At 15 and passionately anti-war, I fell in love with the work of Wilfred Owen, whose words have never been bettered: My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity. Pity, indeed. Owen was awarded the Military Cross in October 1918, then killed in machine gun fire on November 4 already a great poet at only 25. In Shrewsbury the Armistice bells were ringing when his parents doorbell chimed with the dreaded news. Beside his grave (in Ors Communal Cemetery, Northern France) I find it hard to control my emotions yet its even more intense to stand in the small, brick cellar of Foresters House where he took shelter not long before his death. There, he wrote his last letter to his Dearest Mother, jostled by 50 men in a small, smoky space. I hope you are as warm as I am, as serene in your room as I am here , he wrote. Of this I am certain, you could not be visited by a band of friends half so fine as surround me here. With our own new band of friends we drive along the Western Front, knowing that for every 3cm of ground, a British soldier died trying to capture it or a German soldier died trying to defend it. M any were fighting from duty rather than inclination. For example, Edward Thomas (widely known for his haunting poem, Adlestrop) was a sensitive man who kept a detailed nature diary at the Front. He found consolation in observing field mice and wondered: Does a mole ever get hit by a shell? This brilliant writer was himself killed (aged 39) by a shell blast at the Battle of Arras. Many men some famous, most not found moments of relief on the battlefield by noticing odd moments of beauty. In one of his poems, Isaac Rosenberg hears the song of unseen larks. Rosenberg a brilliant artist and poet whose poverty-stricken parents emigrated from Russia to England was a lowly private, killed in action in April 1918, aged 27. So the litany goes on. The loss. The waste. Between 1914 and 1918 the world lost the flower of its youth. More than 2,000 German undergraduates went over the top, arm in arm, singing patriotic songs, only to be mown down in minutes by British guns. All their names are carved beautifully in oak at the German cemetery at Langemark, where a large flat area of grass marks the mass comrades grave. It is the last, unfathomable resting place of 25,000 more souls, their names recorded on massive black blocks of stone. After the Commonwealth cemeteries, the German ones are sombre, overshadowed by trees. But how important to visit; to remember the sorrow of the mothers of Wolfgang, Otto and Fritz as well. That is what I mean by empathy. This last pilgrimage has left me changed by the profound, permanent importance of what we have seen. And by the immeasurable power of all those silent warnings from the unforgotten dead, who for ever cry for peace. Emily Blunt channeled Meryl Streep's character from The Devil Wears Prada while speaking with Vogue at its office in New York City. The 35-year-old British actress was interviewing with Vogue for its 73 Questions segment where she revealed she was acting as Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour for the day. This inspired Emily to drop famous lines Meryl's character, editor Miranda Priestly, uttered during the popular film where the actress played her personal assistant. Stunning: Emily Blunt, 35, hilariously recreated Meryl Streep's famous lines from The Devil Wears Prada during Vogue's 73 Questions interview segment Hilarious: During one moment in the video, Emily attempted to pick between two seemingly identical blue belts while answering questions Icon: The scene was made famous by Meryl Streep, whose role as the magazine's editor-in-chief is said to be inspired by Anna Wintour At the beginning of the video, Emily attempted to appear intimidating when scolding someone for handing her a Starbucks. 'Bit cold. Never mind,' Emily said briefly before moving on with the rest of the questioning as she walked into Anna Wintour's spacious office overlooking NYC. The actress was later asked what her favorite scene was to film in The Devil Wears Prada, which she admitted her husband, John Krasinski, has seen an estimated 23 times. 'I liked the one where I was really, really, really sick,' Emily said. She is referring to the moments during the movie when her character has a terrible head cold and is unable to perform some of her duties as assistant. Since the movie was focused on the fashion industry, Emily revealed lessons she learned while on set. 'Just be more fierce and wild,' Emily said. 'I learned that from Patricia Field, our costume designer.' Calling in the experts: Emily took a call from co-star and brother-in-law Stanley Tucci (left) and Anna Wintour (right) during the interview Popular: The actress revealed she learned to be more 'fierce' in fashion after her role in The Devil Wears Prada as a personal assistant Emily later takes the camera through a tour of the Vogue office as she heads towards the closet to view clothing items and fashionable accessories. Along the way, she attempts to channel her inner-fashionista while offering the staff her opinions about different pieces. One pair of red pants was raved about by the actress, but then she proceeded to dismiss a white coat in a Miranda Prestley-esque tone when presented to her by an employee. 'Now hang that up,' Emily jokingly commanded. 'Don't just fling it anywhere.' The Devil Wears Prada references only continued while Emily was in the accessory closet and asked to pick between two similar blue belts a moment which was first made popular by the hit movie. 'That's a tough call, they're both so different,' Emily said mimicking what one actress said during the film. Spectacular: Emily is also starring on the cover of the December issue of Vogue Magazine High flying fashion: The actress was shot for Vogue by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz where she embodied Mary Poppins She then decided to call in co-star Stanley Tucci, who is married to Emily's sister Felicity, for his opinion on the belts. 'I don't really know,' Stanley, 57, replied. 'I don't know too much about fashion. I only played someone who did and it was completelyit's fake. It was fake.' 'Right, you are very unstylish, goodbye,' Blunt abruptly said before ending the call. Emily went on to reveal one fashion mishap that she wishes she could forget. 'I don't really think I looked good at The Devil Wears Prada premiere,' Emily revealed. 'My dress was all wrinkly and it was a mistake.' Before the interview ended, Emily spoke with Anna Wintour over the phone, who is said to have inspired the Miranda Priestly character in the movie. The interviewer then asked Emily one last question: 'How do you think the interview went?' She hilariously responded: 'I think it went really well. But next time, bore someone else with your questions.' This interview comes as the actress stars on the cover of Vogue magazine's December issue in Mary Poppins-inspired apparel ahead of the movie remake's release. Advertisement Melania Trump was warmly welcomed by Brigitte Macron in Paris and they looked thrilled to see each other ahead of their meeting today despite their husbands coming to trade blows over European army checks in the US. Melania looked as stylish as ever as she greeted French President Emmuanel Macron's wife at the Elysee Presidential Palace prior to their lunch with U.S President Donald Trump. The US first lady donned a chic black belted wool dress that skimmed just above her knees and a pair of black snakeskin Christian Louboutin stiletto heeled court shoes upwards of $714 (550). The 48-year-old also opted for bare legs, her hair in a stylish updo and finished her outfit with a pair of silver jewelled earrings, subtle natural makeup and long black leather gloves. Looking stylish: Melania Trump looked chic in a belted wool dress as she was welcomed by French President's wife Brigitte Macron who was wearing a navy Louis Vuitton outfit at the Elysee Palace in Paris Waving to the crowds: Pausing at the top of the steps of on the steps of the Elysee Palace, Melania and Brigette looked happy as they waved to crowds Brigitte, 65, wore a stylish blue skirt $2064 (1590) and top two piece from Louis Vuitton complete with shiny gold buttons on the shoulders and sides of the skirt. She welcomed Melania graciously and the pair looked pleased to see one another as they kissed cheeks and held hands. The pair put on a show despite their husbands locking horns over the 'very insulting' comment the French president made about the need for Europe to build an army as a check on the United States. Looking fresh and energetic despite the rainy weather, Melania appeared to forget any tough-talking as she stepped out of a black car at the palace shielded by a large umbrella. Pausing at the top of the Elysee Palace, Melania and Brigitte looked happy as they waved to crowds before heading inside. The pair put on a show and looked overjoyed to see each other despite their husbands locking horns over the the 'very insulting' comment the French president made about the need for Europe to build an army as a check on the United States Chic outfit: The first lady looked as stylish as ever in a chic fitted black belted wool dress that skimmed just above her knees Stepping out: Looking fresh and energetic despite the rainy weather, Melania arrived at the palace shielded by a large umbrella and wore her hair in a stylish up do Donald Trump and Melania arrived last night to meet with world leaders and commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I on November 11. President Trump is in Paris to participate in the international ceremony of the Armistice Centenary of 1918 at the Arc de Triomphe tomorrow. At a meeting with Macron on Saturday morning, Trump told Macron that he and first lady Melania Trump had been 'beautifully received' at Orly airport as he commended him for his 'graciousness' as he recollected that they had become 'very good friends' who have 'much in common.' Forgetting their troubles: Emmanuel Macron greets Melania and kiss her on the cheek as they prepare for their meeting At a meeting with Macron on Saturday morning, Trump told Macron that he and first lady Melania Trump had been 'beautifully received' at Orly airport Melania opted for bare legs and her hair in a stylish updo as she met Brigitte at the Elysee Palace in Paris for the commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of the November 11 armistice The US first lady looked chic in a navy belted wool dress that skimmed just above her knees and a pair of black snakeskin Christian Louboutin stiletto heeled court shoes upwards of $714 (550) Brigitte, 65, who donned a stylish $2064 (1590) Louis Vuitton blue skirt and top with gold button details, welcomed Melania graciously, and the pair looked pleased to see one another as they kissed cheeks and held hands After she stepped out of a black car, the first lady was warmly greeted by Brigitte on the steps of the palace The pair looked pleased as they met prior to their lunch with U.S President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Presidential Palace on November 10, 2018 in Paris, France The US first lady finished her outfit with a pair of silver jewelled earrings and subtle natural makeup Greetings: Melania joined her husband president Trump in Paris to participate in the international ceremony of the Armistice Centenary of 1918 at the Arc de Triomphe tomorrow Stepping out: Melania and Brigitte look chic in their classic outfits as they make their way up the steps of the palace Warm welcome: The pair hold hands after they greeted each other and are shielded from the rain by an umbrella When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit the Clooneys' riverside mansion in Berkshire next month, Michelle Obama will join them It is set to be one of the most star-studded dinners ever. When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex head to the Clooneys' riverside mansion in Berkshire for one of their regular get-togethers next month, another VIP will be joining them Michelle Obama. It is Meghan's first chance since the Royal Wedding in May to thank the former American First Lady for playing a key role in introducing her to Prince Harry. Harry and Meghan will attend a dinner hosted by George and Amal Clooney at their 10 million home on an island in the Thames after Mrs Obama, 54, gives a talk in London to fans about her new memoir, Becoming. The dinner party conversation will certainly be interesting. Actor and liberal activist George, 57, is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, and his wife Amal, 40, is a noted human rights lawyer. It is understood that Meghan, 37, has been keen to meet up with Mrs Obama after she and Harry were steered away from inviting her and husband Barack, the former US President, to their wedding for 'political reasons'. It will be Meghan's first chance since the Royal Wedding in May to thank the former American First Lady for playing a key role in introducing her to Prince Harry A source told The Mail on Sunday: 'Michelle is keen to see the Clooneys when she is in the UK, as she and Barack are very close to George. 'She also wants to see Harry and Meghan as she was very disappointed not to have been able to attend the wedding and wants to check in on them. 'She was instrumental in introducing Harry and Meghan and feels a responsibility to see how they are getting on, as well as celebrate the news they are about to become parents.' Actor and liberal activist George, 57, is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, and his wife Amal, 40, is a noted human rights lawyer The dinner, scheduled for December 4, is the day after Mrs Obama's appearance at London's Southbank Centre. She will then fly back to America to continue her book tour there. The dinner is just one of the engagements being packed into her three-day trip to Britain. Negotiations are under way for her to be interviewed on Sky and the BBC. She is also believed to be meeting a group of schoolchildren, although this has yet to be confirmed. Last week Mrs Obama revealed she felt 'lost and alone' after suffering a miscarriage, and later underwent IVF to conceive daughters Malia, now 20, and Sasha, 17. She said: 'I felt like I failed because I didn't know how common miscarriages were because we don't talk about them.' Mrs Obama also confessed she and Barack, 57, have couples counselling when they 'need it'. Kensington Palace declined to comment last night. When Liam Charles left The Great British Bake Off in the quarter-final last year, there was a chorus of disapproval. The acting student from Hackney, east London, made such an impression with his cheeky charm that he was dubbed the peoples champion. He left saying, Im coming for Paul Hollywoods job in a couple of years! It was no empty promise. Even though hes only 21, earlier this year Liam made his presenting debut as co-host with comedian Tom Allen on Bake Off: The Professionals. He released his debut cookbook Cheeky Treats, and now he has a six-part series starting on Channel 4 Liam Bakes. Liam Charles, 21, left the Great British Bake Off in the quarter-finals of last year's series. He reflected on his time on the hit show ahead of the debut of his own series The shows working title was Bake Boy, which would make a rather appropriate superhero alias. Liams a massive fan of The Avengers, the band of heroes including Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America. That, he admits, would be my ultimate acting goal. I want to play a superhero. Well, heroes dont just wear capes, they wear aprons, too. The new show sees Liam in the kitchen with family and friends, and out and about in Hackney. It wouldnt be complete without a cameo from his nan Cynthia. Liam loves to put his own spin on her traditional Caribbean recipes and won star baker in last years pastry week thanks partly to a salsa-topped pie inspired by her Sunday dinner filled with curried meat, plantain and potatoes. Paul Hollywood loved it so much he called her a genius. When Mum was working Id go to Nans, says Liam of his childhood, so I had a lot of her food and still do. 'Her food inspires my savoury bakes. Caribbean food has so many flavours ginger, cinnamon, Scotch bonnet chillis, turmeric. 'Nand never put curried goat in a pie, but she liked my pie... in spite of herself! Liam will be seen making savoury scones with his mum. My nephews are in the show too, he says. We make a massive layer cake. My youngest nephew is seven and he thinks Im cool. Liam's new six-part series features co-host Tom Allen (pictured together) as they explore the kitchen with friends and family in Hackney 'My eldest nephew, whos 12, plays it down. When we were decorating the cake he was buzzing, saying, I made this!, but then he was complaining that his friends and teachers are always talking about me. A great thing is when youngsters get inspired, he adds. One boy, who was 11, came up to me and said, Bro, you got me into baking. I didnt go out to inspire people, but its cool. While the headlines tend to concentrate on the seamier side of inner-city living, its important to Liam to present the reality of life in Hackney. Theres good and bad everywhere, he says, Hackneys changed a lot. He has been heavily influenced by the diversity of his surroundings. Im a combination of everything around me, he says. If you go to Stoke Newington theres loads of Turkish restaurants, so its baklava, rose water, pistachios. 'If you go to Dalston theres a heavy Caribbean and African influence. Thats a walk of just ten minutes. Liam who began baking at age 16 claims he's watched a lot of Paul Hollywood shows. Pictured: Liam with Bake Off host Sandi Toksvig and judges Paul and Prue on Bake Off last year 'All those flavours to excite your palate. Food brings people together, its a universal language. Liam wouldnt be sitting here now if it wasnt for Bake Off watching the show taught him to bake. I was 16 when I got into baking, he explains. Id watch loads of cooking and baking shows on TV. I loved watching Bake Off. 'If it was, say, biscuit week, Id look at the recipe books I had and make biscuits inspired by the show. I watched loads of Paul Hollywood shows too, he adds. He was my food hero he made me think, I need to do this. 'And Tom Kerridge he had a series where he baked a cake on a barbecue. Heston Blumenthal is like a mad scientist. Liam was actually voted the student most likely to appear on Bake Off when he was at school. Liam (pictured on The Great British Bake Off) revealed he went on Bake Off to prove to himself that he has the ability to bake to a good standard and to learn Id do a weekend bake and then come into school with my Tupperware, he says. To go from watching the show to standing in the tent was an out-of-body experience. It was crazy. I was in so much shock. Standing in front of Paul and Prue Leith with your bakes is scary, but they were very positive and encouraging. Pauls cool and Prues like the aunt you dont want to disappoint. After week three my rockiest, as it was bread Paul said, Just focus. So I did. Everything they say is constructive. But fifth place is good. I was there to prove to myself I can bake to a good standard, to learn. 'We were all mates in the tent and still see and message each other. 'I was with Steven Carter-Bailey [one of last years runners-up] only the other day. Liams full of praise for the Class of 2018. I was so happy Rahul won. He took us on a journey and it was amazing. Hes so deadpan, he doesnt realise how funny he is! I loved Kim-Joy in Chocolate Week, he says. Liam says he pinches himself daily as having a show about what he loves is 'awesome' The way she poured hot chocolate on her showstopper then we saw the little turtles she made... wicked. And I adored Ruby from week one shes a Londoner, so thats family for me, he adds. She won star baker two weeks running and, like me, shes a Man Utd supporter. I was so sad to see Briony leave at the semi-finals. 'I felt every emotion the bakers went through. And that wagon wheel challenge in Biscuit Week! he laughs. I dont know what wouldve happened if it was me. Still studying Drama and Theatre Arts at Goldsmiths, Liam graduates in December. Drama was my first passion, he says. I went to the Young Actors Theatre in Islington. I did Silent Witness in Year Seven at school my first drama job. But right now its the baking thats taking off. Its mad, he grins. I pinch myself every day. To have a show about what I love to bake is awesome. Liam Bakes begins on Monday at 8pm on Channel 4. As many as half of college students black out or brown out from drinking alcohol - but most of them don't understand what makes it happen, a new study reveals. Drinking in high school has consistently declined in the US, but that encouraging trend goes out the window once Americans hit adulthood. Over the age of 18, Americans are drinking record amounts of alcohol, and binge drinking in particular is up. Despite the fact that half the college students surveyed by researchers at Brown University had browned out or blacked out sometime in the past month, most of them didn't know what kind of drinking would interfere with their memories. Half of college students get black out drunk - but most of them don't know why or how to avoid having a night they won't remember, a new study found Getting 'black out drunk' has practically become a punch line. Teens (over) use the phrase, movies use it as a narrative device for hilarity to ensue and countless Americans use it as an excuse for being on less-than their best behavior. It's a common practice. In fact, when newly-minted Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh was asked in his confirmation hearing if he had ever been black out drunk, he snapped back at Senator Amy Klobuchar and asked if she had been. He stood accused of blacking out during college, something that the Brown University researchers say is avoidable - but most don't know why they black out, much less how to prevent it from happening. The research team, led by Dr Kate Carrey, a professor in the school's Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, carried out a series of three studies - consisting of surveys and interviews - on college student drinking. In the first discussion forum, 50 students were generally aware of the baseline risk factors for a black out: hard liquor, drinking a lot, and drinking it quickly. But the nuances were lost on them. Unbeknownst to most of the students, women are more likely to black out (three drinks sooner than their male counterparts), and other genetic factors come into play. By some estimates, having a mother who had alcohol problems makes people of either gender more likely to black out, and genetic predisposition may account for as much as 50 percent of blackouts. Then there are the factors that are within students' control - if they should choose to have any. We don't know all of the mechanisms at work in black outs, but we do know that drinking on an empty stomach, being short on sleep, 'pregaming,' mixing different liquors and mixing alcohol and drugs all raise the risks of blacking out or browning out. But the study's college students didn't know that. 'The kind of drinking that results in alcohol-related memory impairment is common, but its also not typically done with the intent of blacking out,' Dr Carey said. 'And those who regularly drink and report blackout experiences dont have a full understanding of what causes them,' says Dr Carey. For the better of student's minds and perhaps for the worse for their livers, if these students knew the causes they could drink more and black out less. 'The interesting thing is that regardless of how much you drink, there are ways to drink so that you dont black out,' Dr Carey says. Although some studies found that having 15 drinks over four hours would give you a solid chance of blacking out, and it can happen after as little as two, spacing as many drinks out over time as possible could help you dodge a blackout. So could the oldest drink in the book: water. Just small amounts of water drunk throughout a night of drinking can keep blood alcohol from spiking out of control, which begins to drown out memory. Blacking out precedes passing out, and in some ways can be more dangerous, as the person may continue to engage in activities that endanger themselves and others - such as sexual activity and driving - so long as they remain conscious. Black outs can cause lasting damage to the brain, including, in about one to two percent of Americans, a permanent seizure condition called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome which permanently impairs the memory and vision. Historically, simply teaching students the dangers associated with alcohol, has shown little efficacy in changing their behavior. Instead, the Brown University team found that talking about students' blackouts with them and helping them to see these experiences as dangerous rather than 'exciting' (as some students described them) made young people rethink black out drinking. 'We hope that focusing in on this one particular consequence of a certain style of drinking will provide lots of opportunities for interventions,' said Dr Carey. NHS bosses and GPs are blaming each other for failing to provide enough flu jabs for the over-65s. Thousands of elderly patients have not yet been vaccinated after surgeries and chemists ran out of stock. One pharmacist in Bristol said he was turning away 15 elderly patients a day and shortages have also been reported in Surrey, Kent, Middlesbrough, Birmingham and Bolton. The problems were triggered by the rollout of a new jab. Scroll down for video This year the over-65s are being given an improved flu jab called Fluad. But GPs say they were only given official instructions from NHS England in February to use it four months after they traditionally place orders with suppliers. Pictured is a stock image GP leaders said NHS England only told them to switch vaccines in February after they had placed orders in September and October 2017 to be used this autumn. But NHS England has criticised doctors and pharmacists for failing to act quickly enough to switch stocks once the guidance went out. It gave them until the end of March to place orders for the vaccine, manufactured by Surrey-based firm Seqirus, which it claims was plenty of time. NHS England said that there is enough of the new vaccine, Fluad, to go around and a batch is expected to arrive in surgeries next week. The flu season usually starts to take hold in December. Richard Vautrey, the chairman of the British Medical Associations GP committee, said that NHS England had to learn from its failings to avoid similar shortages next year. While Judith Jolly, the Lib Dems health spokesman, said: It is disgraceful that the most vulnerable people in our society are being left at risk. Picture the scenario: a robo-doc Artificial Intelligence program has examined your scans, read your medical records, taken into account your habits, your genes, and crunched through global population data and the latest medical research. All this has allowed it to correctly identify an early-stage cancer long before it could ever become a true threat. All thats left is for your GP to deliver the news with skilled compassion. The doctor has ample time now, liberated by legions of automated systems that cut through a once-impossible workload. The hospital, should you ever need to attend, is now a model of efficiency with cleaners, nurses and doctors all guided by apps to wherever care is needed next. Your medications are bespoke: a single pill combines every drug you need. According to new Department for Health and Social Care figures, AI could cut GPs and nurses workload by a third, and that of hospital doctors by a quarter Far-fetched? Very possibly, but its the revolutionary dream of Health Secretary Matt Hancock. The Minister has pledged that within the next two to five years, effective and efficient use of Artificial Intelligence or AI will be routine and widespread in the NHS. This technology has the potential to revolutionise care by introducing systems that speed earlier diagnoses, improve patient outcomes, make every pound go further and free up clinicians so they can spend more time with patients, says Hancock. According to new Department for Health and Social Care figures, AI could cut GPs and nurses workload by a third, and that of hospital doctors by a quarter, and claim it could save the NHS as much as 12.5 billion a year a tenth of its budget. Few would argue that this all sounds great in theory. Yet experts have raised concerns about the safety of leaving machines to make life and death decisions. Health Secretary Matt Hancock (pictured above) had pledged that AI will be used throughout the NHS Just last week, an inquest into the death of Stephen Pettitt, 69, who died after a heart operation aided by a revolutionary surgical robot, deemed the machine ultimately responsible for his passing. In her damning verdict, coroner Karen Dilks warned of the risks of further deaths brought about by the increase in robot-assisted surgery. Others warn the Government is jumping the gun in a rush to adopt new technology that is, largely, untested. So what is the truth? Its already happening Not a day goes by, it seems, without an announcement that AI is going to revolutionise our health. Last week the Government announced a 50million programme to build five medical technology centres across the UK for developing AI systems that analyse medical evidence and spot cancer. There have also been announcements that AI could aid the diagnosis of heart disease and dementia.But how can a computer program do all this? The idea is simple AI is, essentially, software. In a medical setting, staff collate and input information about you, your symptoms, test results, and the like. The program or algorithm as its called then compares this with information from medical textbooks, studies, and the outcomes of previous cases similar to yours. It will then provide a probability or likelihood of a condition or disease, or suggest a course of treatment. Stephen Pettitt (pictured above) died after a heart operation aided by a surgical robot As more cases are processed, so the machines knowledge base grows. This is how it learns. A more primitive version of this technology is used by Amazon to predict that if you bought the latest Jamie Oliver book, you might also be interested in Nigella Lawson so it advertises her books to you. A medical algorithm predicts your risk of cancer or heart disease, not your taste in celebrity chefs. Amazon uses algorithms to compare information regarding your purchases which enables it to predict what your next purchase could be and make similar suggestions One of the most advanced AI health projects currently in use is at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. There, doctors have partnered with the Google-owned AI company DeepMind to create a system that examines patients scans to create an algorithm to diagnose early signs of the eye diseases age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy the two leading causes of blindness. At Imperial College London, an AI program has been developed to help doctors spot deadly post-surgical complications, while cardiologists at the Royal Liverpool Hospital are using the technology to aid decisions on heart attack victims treatment. GPs in Sutton are working to slash cancer deaths by using an AI database called C the Signs to help facilitate early cancer diagnosis by cross-referring NHS treatment guidelines with combinations of symptoms and risk factors. Cardiologists at the Royal Liverpool Hospital (pictured above) are using technology to aid decision on heart attack victims And in South Yorkshire, staff are working with Huddersfield University to develop AI to cut suicide deaths by spotting mental health patients most at risk. Is the NHS ready? Despite the excitement, many within the NHS fear implementing these programmes will not be straightforward. Dr Julian Huppert at the University of Cambridge, who led an independent review of the Moorfields Eye Hospital project, warns: The infrastructure of the NHS is not ready. A lot of patient data is not available for computerisation, as its held on paper or incomplete. An AI programme has been developed at Imperial College London (pictured above) to help doctors spot post-surgical complications Health policy expert Nicola Perrin, of medical research body the Wellcome Trust, agrees, saying: These new projects are fantastic, but it doesnt mean much if your hospital consultant doesnt have the results of your test done a week ago at a different hospital. A streamlined, hassle-free NHS AI system seems beyond the realm of imagination, given that, according to Perrin, technology in many parts of the NHS is out of date. More recently, an IT survey of 900 nurses found that many are hindered by depressingly mundane barriers such as obsolete systems. One told the Royal College of Nursing study: We are upgrading our PCs to run Windows 7 which is already a decade out of date. Many within the NHS fear implementing these programmes will not be straightforward The NHS technology track record isnt good: there was a six-year initiative to create a single electronic records system that collapsed in 2011, followed by a failed 12.4 billion attempt to upgrade NHS computer systems in 2013, branded by officials as the worst and most expensive contracting fiascos in public sector history. And in May, it was revealed an IT failure led to 450,000 women not being sent a letter inviting them to a mammogram as many as 270 women are feared to have died of breast cancer as a result. Burned to death The use of AI in critical life and death situations raises the question of whether clinicians and AI can be trusted to work together safely. Why everyone's so excited about AI healthcare AI is the use of sophisticated computer software and algorithms to mimic the human intelligence of doctors and scientists. It is being trialled for a wide range of medical purposes, including detection of disease, management of chronic conditions, delivery of health services and drug discovery. Artificial Intelligence is the use of sophisticated computer software and algorithms It offers huge potential for improved accuracy, speed of diagnosis and saving money for the NHS and is expected to transform health care. Medical research is another key area where AI can analyse and identify patterns in large and complex data sets faster and more precisely than the human eye. Several UK hospitals are trialling AI to aid diagnosis of conditions such as pneumonia, cancer and eye diseases and seeing promising results. Robotic tools controlled by AI have been used to help surgeons carry out keyhole surgery. Its effectiveness might be limited by the quality of available health data and the potential for AI to make mistakes. Advertisement This year it was reported that development problems had slowed the progress of the American computer giant IBMs AI cancer diagnosis tool called Watson for Oncology. An investigation by online journal Stat concluded that three years after IBM began selling it, the supercomputer is still struggling with the basic step of learning about different forms of cancer. Danger also lies when health professionals become reliant on AI and dont challenge its decisions, known as automation bias. Perhaps the most tragic example dates back to the 1980s. In several US and Canadian hospitals, computerised radiotherapy machines issued error messages that none of the staff understood, so they ignored them a lethal mistake. The machines were overdosing patients with harmful X-rays and burned six people to death. The British Medical Association (BMA) is adamant that clinicians must keep the upper hand in all AI decision-making. In June, the chairman of the BMA GP committee Dr Richard Vautrey rejected a claim made by the American IT company Babylon that its AI tool was as good at giving health advice as a GP. AI may have a place in the tools doctors use, but it cannot replace the essential elements of the doctor-patient relationship which is at the heart of medicine, he said. Beware data leeches Could patients intimate health data become exploited by social media giants? Many think so, and with good reason. Last year, the NHS lost more than half a million computerised confidential medical letters sent between GPs and hospitals from 2011 to 2016. Months later, a cyber-attack locked computers and cut phone lines in at least 40 NHS Trusts, leaving doctors unable to access patients records. Most recently, an AI collaboration between DeepMind and the Royal Free London NHS Trust to produce an app aiding diagnosis of kidney injury was judged in breach of UK data protection law. The app may have saved nurses up to two hours every day, but it shared 1.6 million patients health data with a Google-owned company. The concern is that should insurance companies get hold of this data, they may refuse to insure people based on information obtained unlawfully. What if it goes wrong? And what happens if an AI tool makes a ruinous decision that badly affects your health: Who do you sue? No one yet has the answer. Sir Bruce Keogh (left) says there could be issues for regulators, lawyers and policy makers with the use of AI. He is pictured at an awards ceremony with Dr Alexandra Stachan (centre) and Nial Dickson (right) It is a concern held by Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, former Medical Director of the NHS in England. He says: The worry with AI is that we may not know what is going on in its mind and why it makes the decisions it does. This means if it starts to make bad decisions, it becomes hard to rectify. These issues will pose difficult questions for regulators, lawyers and policy makers. Such problems are on the Health Secretarys radar. He has produced a draft code of conduct on AI and data driven technologies in health care. However, Sir Bruce believes we must not forget the fundamentals of what doctors do: The art of medicine is the judicious application of science, he says. We need to take the same approach with AI. What to read watch and do READ The Anatomy of Loneliness, by Teal Swan As the health impact of loneliness in the UK reaches epidemic status, a so-called spiritual leader and popular YouTuber outlines practical tools to help you find your way back to a place of connection. 12.99, Watkins Publishing WATCH Operation Live, Channel 5, starts Tuesday, 10pm. Three live nights of surgery from St Bartholomews Hospital, London. One life-changing operation is broadcast each night, with surgeons such as Kulvinder Lall, right, commentating. DO The Big Bowel Event 2018, Friday 16th November, 5 Experts in bowel diseases meet at Londons Barbican Centre to discuss new frontiers in treatment and prevention. bowel cancerresearch.org Ten years ago, Claudia Castillo, a young woman from Colombia, became the first person in the world to receive a donor windpipe grown from her own stem cells. The procedure involved chemically stripping away the cells of a windpipe taken from a deceased donor. This scaffold was then populated with stem cells taken from tuberculosis patient Castillos own bone marrow and the new airway quickly began functioning like normal. Billed as an astonishing breakthrough which could change the face of transplantation and end waiting lists, the operation, carried out in Barcelona, raised the possibility that any organ could be created in a laboratory on demand. And because theyd be made from a patients own cells, there would be no more need for powerful anti-rejection drugs. Claudia Castillo was the first person in the world to receive a donor windpipe grown from her own stem cells But this turned out to be far from the truth. Last week, researchers at the respected University College London (UCL) were accused of covering up the deaths of two young women who also had the procedure. Keziah Shorten, 20, from Kent, was left fighting for her life after having a stem cell-engineered larynx transplant in Italy in 2010 to treat her failing windpipe, it was reported. Keziah shorten died at the age of 20 after she went to Italy for a stem-cell engineered larynx transplant She remained in intensive care for six months after having the operation and died of pneumonia after a second transplant carried out by UCL in 2011 also failed. Shauna Davidson, 15, from Teesside, died after a similar procedure in 2012. It has been reported that her new trachea collapsed, suffocating her and causing her fatal brain damage. She died 13 days after the operation. The scientists were said to have deemed both operations successful and argued that Davidson died of non-graft related causes. Claudia Castillos doctor, Professor Paolo Macchiarini, who pioneered the treatment, was then an honorary professor at UCL and carried out Keziahs first transplant. But he was later found guilty of scientific misconduct by Swedens Karolinska Institute after failing to report the complications and deaths from his procedures in his published research. Claudia, now 41, remains one of few patients who have had his pioneering donor trachea transplant to still be alive. The others died after their transplants failed. The story has thrown the often dark reality of experimental stem cell therapies into sharp relief. GO abroad... and miss out on NHS advances Stem cell treatments offer huge promise in a range of therapeutic areas as highlighted by The Mail on Sunday earlier this year from heart disease to multiple sclerosis. Yet they remain highly experimental and, in the wrong hands, can be dangerous. Professor Paolo Macchiarini performed the treatment on Claudia Castillo Experts are particularly concerned at the increasing number of patients being lured abroad for treatments which are not yet available in the UK. So-called stem cell tourism is a rapidly growing phenomenon, with about 700 clinics thought to be operating worldwide. The actual number of UK patients, many of them with debilitating illnesses, seeking treatment in places such as Turkey, Thailand, Switzerland and India, is not known. But the reality is that most treatments being offered will not have been thoroughly tested and, crucially, may not work. Professor Paolo Macchiarini performed the treatment on Claudia Castillo Professor Brendon Noble, chief scientific officer at the UK Stem Cell Foundation, which funds research into the most promising stem cell trials, said: There are dangers to your health, your bank balance and to your chances of using the NHS in the future. The best thing that might happen is you pay your money and your condition does not improve. But the worst thing that could happen is that youre damaged by the therapy, or die, because its unregulated. If you come home, the NHS may not be equipped to help you, and you may not be allowed on any legitimate stem cell trials in the UK. While some treatments promise a medical cure, others are cosmetic and proffer anti-ageing remedies. If you have treatment abroad the NHS may not be equipped to help you if there are complications when you return home Many clinics are reputable and conduct treatments within the law, but others have been shut down for fraudulently claiming patients faced no risk, or over safety concerns. Some countries do regulate stem cell therapies, but not every doctor will be adequately trained in performing them. Tricked by the spinal cord charlatan One 48-year-old musician suffered a paralysing spinal cord injury after being attacked in the street in 1998, and was lured to the clinic of Dr Robert Trossel in Rotterdam. Trossel was struck off in 2010 for making exaggerated claims about stem cell therapies to patients paying thousands of pounds for a cure for MS and spinal cord injuries. Stem cells are helping researchers study mammal development, allowing them to battle disease and create organs for human transplants Stem cells are the body's raw materials - a basic type of cell that can change into another type of more specialized cell through a process known as differentiation. Think of stem cells as a fresh ball of clay that can be shaped and morphed into any cell in the body - including bone, muscle, skin and more. This ability means they have been the focus of lots of medical research in recent decades. They grow in embryos as embryonic stem cells, helping the rapidly growing infant form the millions of different cell types it needs to build before birth. The embryonic stem cells used in research come from unused embryos, which result from an in vitro fertilization procedure and are donated to science. In adults they are used as repair cells, replacing those we lose through damage or ageing. For adults there are two types: One type comes from fully developed tissues such as the brain, skin, and bone marrow; the other includes pluripotent stem cells. Pluripotent stem cells have been changed in a lab to be more like embryonic stem cells. Advertisement The patient, whose stage name is Brod, met him at his London consulting rooms in 2004, after seeing him talk about his treatments on ITVs The Richard and Judy Show. Although Brod had partly regained his ability to walk, Trossel told him he could make a significant improvement to his life with stem cell injections. Brod says: He was the most charming, relaxing, confident person you could ever meet. I was absolutely convinced by him. There was no physical examination at all he said he knew the power of the cells he would inject me with and that he could definitely help me. It was going to be a miracle. Brod sold his house to pay 10,000 for the treatment. In advance of the therapy, which took place in November 2005, he was told to have vitamin B12 injections to reboot his system, to have metal fillings removed and to have a bizarre treatment called Aqua Tilis therapy, which involved sitting in a sauna lined with what looked like tin foil and mirrors. In the months after the injections, Brod saw no improvement. Later he received a call from the BBCs Panorama programme to tell him it was investigating Trossel, that he was linked to a couple wanted for stem cell fraud in the US, and the stem cells he had received may have come from animals. He says: I was stunned. I couldnt believe it. Id been a guinea pig. I still dont know what I was given and whether itll have an effect on me in the future. I fell for it because I so desperately wanted to believe it. My advice to anyone considering going abroad for these therapies is to talk to the UK Stem Cell Foundation. Stem cells in the eye turned to bone Horrifying cases reported in the US include a patient whose rejuvenating stem cell facelift left her unable to open her eyes when the cells turned to bone, not tissue, and three patients left blind after stem cells were injected into their eyes. Others have lost their lives after treatments at cowboy clinics. The New England Journal of Medicine revealed that an Israeli boy with a rare genetic brain disease developed tumours after being injected with embryonic stem cells in Russia, while a girl treated in Costa Rica for multiple sclerosis contracted a catastrophic inflammatory disease. A German clinic was shut down after a Romanian baby died following a stem cell injection to its brain, and a woman suffering from lupus also died after a procedure in Thailand. Scientists themselves worry that stem cells risk multiplying uncontrollably, turning into rogue cells which could become cancerous. Prof Noble said: Anyone considering travelling abroad for stem cell therapies should get a second opinion and check whether the treatment has been tested in a clinical trial. The UK Stem Cell Foundation has a leaflet for patients considering overseas treatment. More details at ukscf.org. McColl's has more than 1,600 convenience stores and newsagents around the UK Who is it? McColl's a relative minnow in the world of grocery retailing has more than 1,600 convenience stores and newsagents around the UK. It operates under the McColl's, Martin's and RS McColl names and has also recently revived the Safeway brand. What's the latest? Over the summer, 150million was wiped off its market value after what chief executive Jonathan Miller called a period of 'unprecedented disruption'. One of its key distributors collapsed last year, which hit profits even though sales had been rising. Who backs it? Klarus Capital is the largest shareholder. Aberforth Partners, a firm which invests in companies which it thinks are undervalued, also owns a sizeable stake as does activist investor Laxey Partners, which generally pushes companies to improve. Other well-known fund managers also feature in the top-ten investors, including Miton, Chelverton, Fidelity and Legal & General. Why you should invest David Jones, chief market strategist at online trader Capital, suggests the pessimism among investors might have been overdone and a turnaround may be on the cards. The new Safeway brand has been selling well, and the company has become a good dividend payer. ...And why you shouldn't The obvious risk comes from the big supermarkets. 'If the likes of Sainsbury's and Tesco decide to further expand their smaller stores, then this is going to put the squeeze on the likes of McColl's,' Jones says. 'And as usual there is the ongoing threat of Amazon continuing to encroach in this space but even the US giant can't beat the convenience of nipping around the corner for that forgotten pint of milk just yet.' Legal win: Supermarkets will not have to pay business rates separately on cash machines Some of Britain's biggest supermarkets have won a long-running 400million legal dispute over business rates paid on cash machines. The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of a case brought against the Government's Valuation Office Agency by the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury's and the Co-operative Group. The ruling means supermarkets will not have to pay business rates separately on 'hole-in-the-wall' cash machines attached to shops. The decision paves the way for 200million of backdated rates refunds to retailers. The Court of Appeal has also refused the VOA leave to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, although it can petition the court to hear an appeal. Retailers had been facing a 44.5million bill for ATM rates this year across England and Wales and 181.3million over the four-year life of the 2017 business rates. Stores, backed by cash machine operator Cardtronics Europe, have cheered the decision. Myanmar-focused social media app Mysquar, said 900,000 has gone missing from company funds MISSING CASH Myanmar-focused social media app Mysquar, which is investigating accounting irregularities, has said 900,000 has gone missing from company funds. The London-listed firm said it had been paid to third parties or former directors without being approved. SMELTER DEAL Industrialist Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty steel company has secured financing from banks to buy Europe's largest aluminium smelter from Rio Tinto in a deal thought to be worth 384million. APPLE ACRES A buying spree has increased Apple's vast property holdings by more than 50 per cent. The iPhone maker owns nearly 7,400 acres of land in the US now, compared to nearly 5,000 acres a year ago, according to its annual report. SPACE PLANS Elon Musk's SpaceX has proposed launching almost 1,600 small satellites into space as part of a global broadband network. They would be placed in low orbit to avoid debris and provide a better signal for users. NEW STREAM Disney is preparing to launch a streaming service called Disney+ to rival Netflix in late 2019. Boss Bob Iger said it will focus on blockbuster franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel, including a series starring British actor Tom Hiddleston as Loki. VENTURE SALE Investment firm Gresham House has bought the venture capital trust business of Livingbridge for around 40million. THUMBS UP The competition watchdog has given the green light for forecourt operator Motor Fuel Group to acquire MRH, the UK's largest petrol station and convenience store operator. NO FLOW London-listed Flowgroup, the former parent company of Flow Energy which was sold to Co-op Energy earlier this year, has fallen into administration. Vodafone faces a battle to protect its 3.5billion dividend as it grapples with debts, costly network investments and price wars. The telecoms group is under pressure to spell out how it will maintain its payouts after launching a takeover of Liberty Global's European cable assets, a move that has taken its debt pile to around 46billion. It has also just spent 2.1billion buying airwaves for 5G services in Italy, in an auction that proved far more expensive than industry figures expected. Vodafone is under pressure to spell out how it will maintain its payouts after launching a takeover of Liberty Global's European cable assets Analysts have raised doubts about its growth prospects, warning the company faces intense price competition in Italy, Spain and India. Since the start of the year, the share price plunged more than 38 per cent to nine-year lows, wiping 24billion off its value. Company veteran Nick Read, who took over from former boss Vittorio Colao last month, will present his first quarterly results as chief executive on Tuesday. He is expected to set out his vision for the group, including how it will take advantage of the Liberty Global deal, continue cutting costs and drum up cash from asset sales. One investor told the Mail there were questions over whether Vodafone would carry on paying its current dividend. However, talks with management about this had proved frustrating, the investor added. Vodafone veteran Nick Read will present his first quarterly results as chief exec on Tuesday The Vodafone dividend has long made the company an attractive investment to British savers who have benefited from a steady income stream. Analysts have warned Vodafone faces difficult decisions if it wants to protect the dividend, which the company has not cut since first paying one in 1990. But in a note, JP Morgan argued a cut could make sense if the company wants to pay down debts quickly and asset sales and cost-cutting failed to raise enough cash. Russ Mould, investment director at broker AJ Bell, added: 'Concern about the dividend is one of the reasons Vodafone shares have been such a horror this year. The company is pointing to cash flow but what has got people spooked is the Liberty Global deal.' 'They are looking at it and saying 'You already had a lot of debt and that is now going to take it even higher, and at a time when general borrowing costs are going up not down'.' Speaking to investors in September, Read dismissed fears about the dividend and claimed the company had the cash flow to support it. He explained that Vodafone would aim to deliver a cash flow of nearly 15billion over three years, with around 10.5billion taken by dividend payments and 4.5billion left free to spend on airwaves needed for next-generation 5G mobile networks. However, the company says it only expects an annual spend of just over 1billion on 5G spectrum, or around 3.1billion over the period. Speaking in New York, Read told investors: 'We're confident in the dividend policy that we have and that remains the case. 'We did the Liberty Global transaction. Then we said we will de-lever over time, through two levers. One is the expansion of earnings; and the other one is disposal of assets.' He said assets that could be sold included the company's signal masts and towers. Shares closed 2.1 per cent, or 3.16p, lower at 143.92p. Breakdown service AA has tanked after brokers released a report on the company, criticising a hidden cheap policy which could 'cannibalise' its revenues. Last month it emerged that AA was offering secret half-price breakdown insurance to drivers within a 20-mile radius of their home. The company did not advertise this policy at all, but mentioned it to existing AA members when they called to cancel. Analysts at Credit Suisse noted that only 27,000 of these 45 policies have been taken out, but added this could soar as more of AA's 3.3m customers found out about the policy or tried to leave. Hitting the skids: Last month it emerged that AA was offering secret half-price breakdown insurance to drivers within a 20-mile radius of their home The broker said in a research note: 'We believe this offering represents an innovative retention strategy from the AA.' However, if more people were to move onto the cheap policy, it would be 'cannibalistic to the personal membership revenue base', the note added. The Competition and Markets Authority is probing loyalty penalties across UK businesses, after complaints from customers who said they were paying more to stay with a service provider than new customers were charged. With this investigation under way, Credit Suisse also said it wasn't convinced that AA would be allowed to keep offering the significantly reduced service to leaving customers only, and might have to open it to all. If it did have to begin advertising the cheap policy to all its members, this could see the number of people using it climb to around 115,000. Shares in AA crashed 7.5 per cent, or 8.15p, to 100.25p, a day after they had risen 3 per cent on the back of a positive note from its house broker Peel Hunt. The analysts at Peel Hunt had said: 'Under a strengthened management team, the AA faces an exciting future.' Stock Watch - Haydale Graphene Super-material graphene has been popping up in industries ranging from fashion to electrical components, but Haydale Graphene seems to have lost out. Its shares slumped 42.5 per cent, or 10p, to 13.5p, as it said it needed funding to stay afloat. Discussions with lenders were under way, it added. Orders were slower than expected too, so it has slashed costs by 1million. Haydales materials are used for strengthened car bodies, precision printers and cutting tools. Britain's blue-chip index failed to maintain gains made earlier in the week, dropping 0.5 per cent, or 35.34 points, to 7,105.34 points, as mining giants slid following weak economic data from China. Copper miner Antofagasta fell 4.9 per cent, or 39.8p, to 778.2p as growth in China's producer price index which measures the prices businesses receive for their goods and services slowed. This sign of weakness in China pushed down commodities prices, since the country is a major importer of raw materials. Fresnillo also skidded 4.7 per cent, or 42p, to 861p, and Glencore dipped 4.4 per cent, or 14.1p, to 303.9p. David Madden, of CMC Markets, said: 'There are continued concerns that China is slowing down, and this is driving the sell-off in natural resources.' These worries over demand also weighed on luxury clothes designer Burberry. The British fashion house, which has been trying to pull younger consumers on side by selling limited-edition 290 T-shirts over social media and relies heavily on Asian buyers, was the FTSE 100's biggest loser as its shares fell 4.9 per cent, or 91p, to 1773.5p. A hoard of miners also weighed on the FTSE 250, which was further under pressure from oil companies. The price of Brent crude oil slid below $70 per barrel, racking up losses of more than 20pc since its peak last month. Traders have sent prices skidding on reports that Iraq may soon be adding more oil to the market, under pressure from President Trump to boost supplies. The US president has been urging allies to increase their oil output so it has room to curtail Iran's exports. But the lower price caused London-listed Tullow Oil to shed 6.7 per cent, or 14.6p, to 203.7p. Premier Oil was close behind, falling 6.3 per cent, or 6.65p, to 99.05p, and Cairn Energy dropped 6.1 per cent, or 12.6p, to 193.4p. Local councils have fallen over six years behind their own house building targets as Britain continues to struggle to deal with its housing crisis, research has revealed. After crunching councils' own figures, modular homes provider Project Etopia found that development across the UK is moving at such a glacial pace that 316 sites will have fallen short of targets by 889,803 homes within the next eight years. It comes as a government report conducted by Sir Oliver Letwin concluded that house builders are deliberately building slowly so as to not bring down high house prices. Home building in 316 council areas is set to fall short by 889,803 homes over the next decade Last September, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government set out annual housing targets jointly with local authorities, which went on to inform the Government's new national planning policy framework this July. Just one year after the publication of the report, 241 of the 316 locations are already in deficit, leaving them 9.2 years behind target on average. And of the 10 councils which have fallen behind the furthest, it would take until 2060 for all the homes required by 2026 to be built, according to Project Etopia's calculations. Which local councils are performing the worst? Figures show Southend-on-Sea is by far the worst town or city outside London for meeting its targets, and is set to be 8,405 homes short of what it needs by the end of 2026. If it does not speed up, it will take 34 more years to build enough housing stock. Will the Government's target of 300k homes a year by 2020 be met? The short answer is probably not - targets are far from being met whichever way you measure them. In the 2016/17 financial year, 217,350 new build homes were completed, a long way off the Government's target of 300,000 homes a year by 2020. Figures from warranty provider NHBC show that this year 106,031 new build homes have been completed by NHBC members, which represent around 80 per cent of the market. Factoring an extra 20 per cent in would bring the total figure to around 132,500 so far for this calendar year, excluding conversions of non-residential properties. The Government financial year runs from April to March, and while it's too soon to say how much by, it's safe to say the 300,000 target is not going to be met. Steve Wood, chief executive of the NHBC said: '300,000 is obviously a long way off and is a demanding target. 'There is no silver bullet but there need to be some changes to the way the industry works to get there.' Councillor James Courtenay, deputy leader of Southend-on-Sea Council, said: 'In July this year the Government's revised national planning policy framework re-evaluated our area's housing need using a new formula. 'We are now in the process of preparing new plans to see how and what proportion of this need can be delivered sustainably in Southend. 'Given that we are only three months into the publication of the new NPPF, it is premature to make any meaningful forecasts on what will or will not be delivered through our new local plan.' Although the revised NPPF only came in in July, it was informed by the report published in September last year which set out in the detail the number of new homes the country needs to build in each town and city. Joseph Daniels, chief executive of Project Etopia said: 'Our research shows that councils have plenty to do if they are to get anywhere near achieving these goals.' York and Luton are the only other towns and cities that are more than 20 years behind. All 10 councils with the biggest deficits are two decades off the pace on average. The Project Etopia study found even councils with fewer homes to build, such as Gosport in Hampshire, which only needs to build 238 a year, have been struggling to meet their own targets. Gosport is 17 years behind. Why are councils so far behind? Councils have for years been prevented from building new housing stock themselves, leaving them at the mercy of developers whose building rates can be hampered by economic and planning constraints. However, the Prime Minister announced at the Conservative party conference earlier this year that the borrowing cap would be lifted to encourage local authorities to commission and fund new developments themselves. Daniels said: 'It is alarming to see so many areas so far behind already. If the pace is not rapidly picked up, we will be in an even deeper black hole in 10 years' time than we are in now. 'Housing need is plain for all to see but not enough is being done about it. There is an air of complacency everyone knows we need to build more houses and fast, but not enough decisive action is being taken to ease the crisis.' Where NHBC completions have been registered so far in 2018, representing 80% of the market Why are houses taking so long to build? On the same day as the Budget last month, Sir Oliver Letwin's year-long review into the rate at which new homes are built was published in its final form. Letwin didn't find that major housebuilders are holding onto land until its maximum value can be realised, a practice known as 'land banking' for which they have been widely criticised. Top 10 towns and cities behind on meeting their house-building targets Council Target 2016 - 2026 Annual build rate 2026 defecit How many years behind? Southend-on-Sea 1,114 250.6 8,405 33.5 York 1,070 302 7,604 25.2 Luton 1,417 430 9502 22.1 Oxford 746 249.4 4895.4 19.6 Tunbridge Wells 692 241.6 4285.6 17.7 Gosport 238 83 1,472 17.7 Worthing 865 319 5,436 17.1 Braintree 835 316 5,211 16.5 Guilford 789 290 4,777 16.5 Sevenoaks 698 263 4,285 16.3 Source: Project Etopia Instead, he found that developers buy land based on existing local property values and build at a rate that won't flood the market - essentially building slowly enough to keep house prices where they already are. The review looked at the time developers took from planning approval to completion of the last home on 15 large sites in areas of high demand and found an average of 15.5 years. The review also found that only 6.5 per cent of the overall number of houses planned were built each year. Letwin's report says: 'Once a house builder working on a large site has paid a price for the land that is based on the assumption that the sale value of the new homes will be close to the current value of second-hand homes in the locality, the house building company is not inclined to build more homes of a given type in any given year on that site than can be sold by the company at that value.' In layman's terms this translates as: build slowly enough that house prices don't fall. Letwin concluded: 'It would not be sensible to attempt to solve the problem of market absorption rates by forcing the major house builders to reduce the prices at which they sell their current products. 'This would, in my view, create very serious problems not only for the major house builders but also, potentially, for prices and financing in the housing market, and hence for the economy as a whole.' The types of housing built in Britain since 1946 - Office for National Statistics Instead, he found that requiring house builders to build a mix of homes, including a high proportion of affordable housing, would maintain current house prices and still enable homes to be built more quickly. Letwin didn't offer any suggestions as to how to address the affordability barrier for buyers, as the report was solely focused on how to bring more houses to market faster. Instead, he suggested providing incentives for developers to build more affordable homes and granting councils extra powers to buy land for development more cheaply. To put the scale of the UK's housing shortage into perspective, since 1970 France has built roughly twice as many new homes each year as Britain and experienced half the level of real house price growth. Studies by the Office for National Statistics suggest that between 1997 and 2016, average annual earnings increased by only 68 per cent, while house prices skyrocketed by 259 per cent. Thirty years ago, full-time employees in England and Wales could typically expect to spend 3.6 times their annual earnings on purchasing a house, according to ONS data. Today, homebuyers can expect to spend 9.7 times annual earnings on purchasing a newly-built property and 7.6 times their annual earnings on an existing property. Source: Open Property Group Research by Open Property Group suggests that property prices need to fall by an average 36 per cent to 125,329 to make owning a home affordable for a single person earning an average wage. Open Property Group managing director Jason Harris-Cohen said: 'Home ownership peaked in the UK in 2007. These figures show just how far out of reach the right of passage enjoyed by the baby boomer generation is for millennials. 'Naturally, if there is a better supply of available properties, prices could become more affordable as developers and home sellers compete to make their properties more saleable.' Bolivia's president has moved into a lavish 27million skyscraper with a jacuzzi and massage room amid protests that the money is not being spent on tackling poverty. The 29-storey building, which is also said to include a gym, sauna and a private lift for the country's leader Evo Morales, looms 394 feet over the country's capital La Paz. Morales hailed a break with the country's colonial past as the modern glass-frounted building replaces the 16th-century Palacio Quemado as the centre of Bolivia's government. But the building has been slammed by critics who said Morales was trying to 'immortalise' himself at the expense of much-needed investment in public services, the Guardian reported. The new presidential palace in Bolivia looming over the city of La Paz. The country's leader Evo Morales hailed the new building as a break from the country's colonial past Political analyst Carlos Toranzo told the newspaper: 'It's an insult to the country'. '[Morales] wants to immortalise himself with a building which is not only anti-aesthetic but also anti-ethical.' Samuel Doria, the leader of the country's opposition, said the money for the new building should be spent on a cancer hospital instead. The president reportedly used his majority in parliament to bypass a ban on high-rise buildings in the centre of La Paz. Morales said at the building's inauguration: 'Sisters and brothers, it is a joy to be with the Bolivian people inaugurating this beautiful work for the people of La Paz and Bolivia, it is a symbol of our identity and nationality. 'We leave behind the palace of a colonial state to come here to the People's Great House of the plurinational state of Bolivia. 'It's another historic milestone thanks to the struggle of the Bolivian people.' The country's state news agency described the former presidential palace, known as the Burned Palace since it was set alight in 1875, as a symbol of colonial oppression. President Evo Morales (pictured) is planning to run for a fourth term despite opposition Morales has moved out of the Palacio Quemado (pictured), a 16th-century colonial building Work started on the new 'Case Grande del Pueblo' in December 2014, with the new building also including an auditorium, a helipad and three underground floors. Last year Bolivia's highest court cleared the way for Morales to run for a fourth term in office. Morales narrowly lost a referendum in February 2016 on whether the constitution should be revised to allow him to run yet again in 2019. But the constitutional court ruled in November last year that a human rights convention guaranteed the right of citizens to be elected through the ballot box. Morales, who is Bolivia's first indigenous president, was first elected in 2005 and re-elected in 2009 and 2014. Bolivia's constitution allows only two consecutive terms in office but the court earlier ruled that his first term did not count because Morales did not complete the full five-year term before a new constitution took effect in 2009. A Mexican florist who got lost and ended up crossing into Canada from the U.S. 18 years ago now faces deportation for his error. Gualterio Santos was on his way from Chicago to New York when he took a detour on a highway and crossed the United States-Canada border by mistake. In an interview with DailyMail.com on Friday, he recalled signing documents that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents had given him. They even handed him a map with instructions on how to make it to the Big Apple. But the undocumented immigrant never knew he would have to attend an appointment at an immigration office in Detroit months after his 2000 driving blunder. Santos, 47, can now only hope an immigration judge in Los Angeles has a soft spot for the father-of-seven who illegally entered the U.S. in 1991. Gualterio Santos took a detour on a highway and crossed the United States-Canada border by mistake He is pictured above with his wife Sebastiana Morales. The father-of-seven must voluntarily leave the country within 90 days 'I have lots of fear,' Santos told DailyMail.com on Friday. 'In reality I came to this country to work. It was a mistake,' added Santos, who has been given 60 to 90 days to make plans for his two flower stores that generate $5million a year in sales and voluntarily leave for Mexico. 'That was an ignorant decision. It is the only error that I have committed.' Santos arrived from Mexico in 1991 and spend almost a decade peddling flowers on supermarket carts in the Washington Heights area in New York City before moving to Chicago. Gualterio Santos (center in the back) is worried about leaving his friends and more importantly his family Due to a lower cost of living, Santos moved to the Windy City with this wife and three American-born children - including one who is now a college graduate volunteering in the Philippines - and during a phone chat with his brother, the conversation veered off to the purchase of an automobile. Since the opportunity of buying an used car was much more economical, Santos agreed to purchase it in the Chicago area and drive it to his brother's home in New York City. Before operating a multi-million dollar flower vending business, Gualterio Santos was living in New York City selling flowers out of a supermarket cart in the streets However, technology still was not up to speed with GPS applications inserted in cell phone. Today he regrets not grabbing a map from a gas station would have been a wise decision that could have avoided this entire mess. Santos submitted an application for legal residency in the U.S. but upon meeting a judge August 12, 2017, he was informed of the pending deportation order that had existed since 2000 since he technically skipped his immigration hearing. Because he moved from Chicago to Los Angeles in 2003, where his flower vending business finally boomed after a supermarket owner invited him to sell from market instead of illegally doing so in the store lot, Santos confessed to the judge he never had the slight idea the immigration agents were on his tail and never received any official notice. Santos almost saw himself returning back to his old hometown of Oaxaca in central Mexico on October 19 after he visited the local ICE agency in Santa Ana, California, where he opened his first flower shop. Gualterio Santos owns two flower shops - one in California and another in Nevada - that generate $5million in sales each year Luck must have been on his side when he was just minutes from being sent across the Tijuana, Mexico border before an immigration agent said he would be taken to a detention center in Los Angeles. He was released October 23 with the assistance of local politicians. An ICE official then notified Santos that he should sell off his two flower shops - he owns another one in Las Vegas. Santos has no idea what he will do over the next three months except hope the immigration judge considers his reasoning for staying in the United States. His two youngest children, a girl, 11, and an eight-year-old boy have been the most affected, receiving counseling at school. 'My family is devastated. I'm at God's will right now.' More than 20,000 has been raised to help a hero RAF rear gunner who faced selling his home when the NHS withdrew funding for his medical treatment. Bob Frost, 95, who is bedbound, and his companion Mildred Schutz, 94, a former SOE who operated behind enemy lines in 1944, told MailOnline they were in despair. 'The NHS said I'd survived too long and they were stopping my funding,' the World War Two hero said. 'That came as a mortal blow, it really did. I don't have a massive retirement plan. My pension wasn't adjusted for the cost of living, so I came off very thinly.' A JustGiving page set up on Saturday has now raised 20,458 of its 30,000 goal to help Mr Frost pay his medical bills after he was told he would need to sell his home to do so. To donateclick here. Bob Frost, 95, is a hero RAF rear gunner who evaded capture by the Nazis in 1942. His companion Mildren Schutz, 94, operated behind enemy lines in 1944 Mr Frost has been told to sell his house to pay for medical bills as he has 'survived too long' 'The NHS said I'd survived too long and they were stopping my funding,' the war hero said. 'That came as a mortal blow, it really did' This graphic shows how Armistice Day will be commemorated in London and around the country today Mr Frost, who was shot down over Belgium in September 1942, said: 'All my life I tried to buy a house so I'd have something to pass on to my children. But now they're taking it away.' Mildred, who laid a wreath for the Special Forces club at Westminster Abbey for Remembrance Sunday, added: 'Bob's house is worth 300,000 and it's all he has in the world to pass on. 'It is a very cruel blow, when he should be treated with dignity.' Coming on the centenary of the 1918 Armistice, the case raises concerns about the treatment of veterans who fought bravely for Britain in their youth. Mr Frost was admitted to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, Margate, Kent, after he had a fall in March. He was moved after one night to Ami Court nursing home, in Walmer, Kent, and put on an 'end of life care' programme, funded by the NHS. But he amazed doctors by surviving two bouts of pneumonia and a kidney infection. Mr Frost, originally from Camden, north London, was the rear gunner in a Wellington bomber that was shot down in September 1942, as it flew to raid the German town of Essen (pictured: Mr Frost when he joined the RAF) Mr Frost (third from the right) met the Queen Mother after serving his country in the RAF 'With deepest respect and utmost gratitude this drawing is dedicated to Sgt Robert (Bob) Frost, Rear Air Gunner, depicting Wellington BJ877-Z Zebra. Presented by his friends from Belgium as a tribute to a brave man who risked his life for our freedom' Now, given his good health, the NHS decided to withdraw funding for his care, passing the case onto social services at Kent County Council. That was when he was told he must stump up the cash. Care at his nursing home costs up to 5,000 a month. His only asset is his two bedroom home in Sandwich, Kent. 'My father was a brewery labourer, and fought for the Royal Flying Corps in World War One,' he said. 'We never had very much money.' 'I've never been one to be greedy, but I worked hard for my house and I had hoped to be able to pass it on.' Mr Frost, originally from Camden, north London, was the rear gunner in a Wellington bomber that was shot down in September 1942, as it flew to raid the German town of Essen. Mr Frost met Mrs Schutz 20 years ago through Special Forces circles. Widowed in 1983, the mother-of-five was active in various clubs and societies in the espionage community. After the war Mildred worked for a shipping company and married Reginald (both pictured), an accountant at the same firm. They had five children, but he died of a brain tumour in 1983 'All my life I tried to buy a house so I'd have something to pass on to my children,' said Mr Frost. 'But now they're taking it away' 'Everything fine and dandy, safe at Gibraltar': A message from Mr Frost's days in the Royal Air Force The war was at its height, and Bomber Command had lost 36 aircrafts from a single squadron in four months. 'It wasn't a matter of if you'd get shot down. It was a matter of when,' Mr Frost said. He bailed out and parachuted to safety, then made his way to a nearby village. Seeing red 'V for victory' graffiti on a wall, he knocked on a door and was taken in by the local mayor. 'The Germans were after me, and the resistance were trying to help me,' he said. 'I was hidden in an attic, and I remember looking out the window at the street below where a festival was going on. Mr Frost's old flight log book and Royal Air Force Air Gunner (AG) brevet patch. The log book details Mr Frost's qualification as Air Gunner on January 23, 1942 After his bomber was shot down, Mr Frost was targeted by a German soldier on a train as he made his way back to Britain, and only managed to escape by pretending to be insane He was smuggled across the Pyrenees in October 1942, arrived in Spain and made his way to the British embassy in Madrid 'After that, I would walk the streets in civilian clothing, trying to seem as normal as possible.' He went to ground, buying false identity papers under the name Robert Simoness, and posed as a Belgian seaman visiting his elderly mother. With the help of the Belgian and French resistance, he was eventually smuggled out of Europe via the 'Comet Line', a 1,200 mile escape route organised by British undercover agents together with the French underground. On one occasion, he was targeted by a German soldier on a train, and only managed to escape by pretending to be insane. He was smuggled across the Pyrenees in October 1942, arrived in Spain and made his way to the British embassy in Madrid. From there, he posted a pair of shoes he had borrowed from a supporter back to Belgium. 'My squadron wanted to court martial me for coming back so late, and I had words with them in very plain English,' Mr Frost said His companion Mrs Schutz grew up on a farm in Walton-on-Thames, was recruited by the SOE, 'the forerunner of MI6', at age 17, and went on to work behind enemy lines in Italy, 1944 'It was a sign to tell him I'd made it,' he recalled. 'My squadron wanted to court martial me for coming back so late, and I had words with them in very plain English.' After the war he married, became a headmaster in Kent and adopted two children. But his wife, Daphne, died of motor neurone disease in 1995. He met his friend Mrs Schutz, 20 years ago through Special Forces circles. Widowed in 1983, the mother-of-five was active in various clubs and societies in the espionage community. Mrs Schutz, who grew up on a farm in Walton-on-Thames, was recruited for the Inter-Services Research Bureau, which made weapons and equipment for spies, at the age of 17. 'I was very surprised when I found out that I'd joined SOE, the forerunner of MI6,' she said. Mrs Schutz and Mr Frost became 'inseparable' since they met after the war through special forces circles Mr Frost had managed to save up 25,000, she said, but it was stolen by a family member with access to his bank account, who also left him with a 15,000 overdraft 'They offered me training and I accepted. It was mainly memory training. They would give me a brief set of instructions once and I'd have to obey them perfectly the next day. 'Finally, they asked me if I'd be willing to go overseas in the field. They said I'd need to have parachute training. I thought it was terribly exciting, so I said yes immediately.' Despite having her cover blown by German agents before she left Britain, Mrs Schutz was despatched to Italy in 1944. Mr Frost declined to press charges and had just finished paying the overdraft off using his pension when he was told that his NHS funding would stop Mrs Schutz travels from her home in London to visit Mr Frost in Kent several times a month, spending more than 50 on travel each time There she was ordered to work behind enemy lines, making contact with friendly Italian resistance groups and organising them into effective fighting operations. 'It could get pretty hectic,' she recalled. 'Once I was in a jeep and some Fascist fighters triggered a landslide on us. 'I only just escaped with my life. I then secured the documents we needed, and was driving back through a vineyard. Former RAF rear gunner Bob Frost, who escaped capture by the Nazis, pictured with his old plane 'A group of Italians came running out, shouting that the place was full of Germans. We sped round a corner, straight into a machine-gun nest which opened fire. 'Luckily, it's quite tricky to hit a speeding jeep.' After the war she worked for a shipping company and married Reginald, an accountant at the same firm. They had five children, but he died of a brain tumour in 1983. 'I wasn't in a great rush to get married. I didn't think it a good idea,' she said. 'Once one has been abroad in the forces, being a housewife seems all a bit mundane.' She became active in 'interesting things', however, including supporting the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY), the Princess Royal's volunteer corps, an all-female organisation that provides assistance to the civil and military authorities in times of emergency. In March Mr Frost, pictured with his old plane, was admitted to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, Margate, Kent, after a fall It was through these circles that she met Mr Frost, who belongs to the Escape Lines Memorial Society (ELMS). 'I suppose you could say that we have become inseparable,' she said. Mr Frost had managed to save up 25,000, she said, but it was stolen by a family member with access to his bank account, who also left him with a 15,000 overdraft. He declined to press charges, however, and had just finished paying the overdraft off using his pension when he was told that his NHS funding would stop. Mrs Schutz travels from her home in London to visit Mr Frost in Kent several times a month, spending more than 50 on travel each time. 'It all does add up, especially as I have to get a taxi to the station and back these days,' she said. 'But we are both very lucky to be alive.' At 95, Bob is among the very last of the fast diminishing band of WWII RAF veterans. Mr Frost's wife, Mrs Schutz, travels from her home in London to visit him at his nursing home in Kent several times a month, spending more than 50 on travel each time Earlier this week Mr Frost's MP Craig MacKinlay, wrote to his solicitor to allow Mrs Schutz, under the Power of Attorney she holds for Mr Frost, to contact the East Kent Heath and Social Services on her husband's behalf. The aim is to get them to revise their Continuing Care Assessment so that Mr Frost does not have to sell his house to pay for his care in his final days. In the meantime, however funds the funds are exhausted to help Ms Schutz pay for her thrice monthly 170 mile round rail and taxi journeys from Worcester Park to Walmer to be by her husband's bedside. A Kent County Council spokesman said: 'Mr Frost has not yet been assessed by KCC and is at present receiving continuing healthcare funding from the NHS. 'We appreciate that paying for residential care in a care home is extremely expensive but KCC is bound by government legislation on funding arrangements. 'KCC has to carry out a financial assessment to see whether people are eligible for funding support and this looks at income and savings - including the value of property. 'If someone has over 23,250 that person is self-funding meaning they pay for their costs. Below this threshold and the local council can fund some of a persons care. 'When this money drops below 14,250, funding is solely from the local council. 'People eligible for NHS continuing healthcare will have their care home costs funded by the NHS.' In order to help raise funds for the RAF hero a JustGiving page has been set up and can be visited on: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/hero-bob-frost MailOnline have contacted The Royal British Legion and MP Craig MacKinlay for comment. A grandfather is likely to die in jail after he was found guilty of using a tomahawk and kitchen knife to murder his estranged wife's new partner. Etem Duga, 76, was married to Vickie Fidel for more than four decades before she left him in 2016 and started dating 73-year-old Philip Fidel, who she met at a local gym. In the West Australian Supreme Court on Friday, a jury found Duga guilty of murdering Mr Fidel, attempting to murder Ms Fidel and neighbour John Jacobs, as well as endangering the life or safety of another neighbour, Rupert Rudd. Vickiee Fidel (pictured right) with a friend after the court hearing in Perth - Ms Fidel's ex-husband murdered her new partner with a tomahawk and kitchen knife in 2016 During the trial, the jury was shown vision of Duga chasing his former wife down the stairs with an axe before using the weapon on Jacobs. Duga claimed he was attacked by the couple when he dropped off a towel at a residence in Yokine, a suburb 7km north from Perth's CBD. When quizzed on why he struck Fidel with the tomahawk, Duga said it was in self-defence. Fidel had 18 sharp force injuries when he died, including one through his skull. Duga testified that he accidentally hit Mr Fidel three times with the axe during the struggle in an attempt to defend himself. The father-of-two had been married to Ms Fidel for just over 40 years before they separated. Once the divorce was finalised, she took out a restraining order against him. The crime scene in Perth, where Etem Duga murdered his ex-wife's new partner with a tomahawk and kitchen knife Duga described their marriage as 'perfect', but she told the jury her former husband had subjected her to repeated verbal abuse and threatened her with a knife. Ms Fidel also told the jury her former husband's threats continued up until the moment she was escorted to an ambulance after her new huband's murder. 'As I passed him he said, 'Don't worry, I'll come back to kill you, too', and all the police heard it,' she said. Duga will be sentenced in 2019. The FBI is investigating a 'scam' company that paid a multimillion dollar fine and had on its board Trump's designated acting attorney general, Matt Whitaker. Trump's appointment of Whitaker as the nation's top law enforcement officer this week followed the forced resignation of attorney general Jeff Sessions in a move that critics howled was designed to seize control of the Russia probe. But Whitaker's role on the board of World Patent Marketing Inc also has drawn scrutiny. The Federal Trade Commission accused the firm of scamming its members, and received a $26 million judgement against it to settle fraud allegations. Whitaker served as a paid advisor and also wrote an email in 2015 warning an angry customer not to complain in public or face consequences. The FBI is investigating a 'scam' company that paid a multimillion dollar fine and had on its board Trump's designated acting attorney general, Matt Whitaker Trump tweeted the above on Friday evening. Whitaker now oversees the FBI, but ethics experts state it is certain he would have to recuse himself from the case Trump tweeted Friday night: 'Matthew G. Whitaker is a highly respected former U.S. Attorney from Iowa. He was chosen by Jeff Sessions to be his Chief of Staff. I did not know Mr. Whitaker. Likewise, as Chief, I did not know Mr. Whitaker except primarily as he traveled with A.G. Sessions. No social contact...' The Wall Street Journal reported the probe, which is being conducted by the bureau's Miami field office, along with postal inspectors. A July 2017 letter from the FBI to an alleged victim stated: 'This case is currently under investigation by the FBI as well as the United States Postal Inspection Service. A criminal investigation can be a lengthy undertaking, and, for several reasons, we cannot tell you about its progress at this time. A victim of a federal crime is entitled to receive certain services.' Whitaker now oversees the FBI, but ethics experts state it is certain he would have to recuse himself from the case. Whitaker now has oversight over the FBI, but would almost certainly have to recuse himself from a probe of a company that paid him to be on its board 'I didn't speak to Matt Whitaker' about the Mueller probe, President Trump said News of the FBI probe comes as Whitaker is already facing pressure from Democrats to recuse himself from the Russia probe, following the emergence of a raft of his public statements criticizing special counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry. By forcing the resignation of Sessions, Trump caused oversight of the probe to transfer from deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein to Whitaker. Democrats are claiming Trump has already forced a constitutional crisis. They have bee joined by conservative legal scholars who note that Whitaker has never been confirmed by the Senate to a senior oversight role. The FBI contacted a 'possible victim of a crime' involving the company The bureau referenced a 'large number of victims The letter gave information about victim notification for the alleged 'scam' 'As an unconfirmed political appointee, Mr Whitaker has not been subject to the scrutiny that the Constitution requires to ensure that he has the character, integrity and ability to fulfill the grave responsibilities of this job,' Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer wrote Trump on Friday. 'These concerns are heightened by specific expressions of bias against the special counsel investigation that Mr Whitaker made just last year,' he added. Whitaker, a former US attorney in Iowa, got paid $9,375 for his role, and he was listed on a company web site to bolster its reputation. 'That advisory board was thrown up on World Patent Marketing website as a way of luring consumers,' class action lawyer Joe LoPiccolo. Whitaker wrote a dunning letter in August 2015 to an angry customer, warning that a complaint to the Better Business Bureau would amount to 'smearing' the company, the Miami New Times reported. Whitaker threatened it could result in "serious civil and criminal consequences." But the angry customer also had a legal background. 'I don't know Matt Whitaker,' Trump said of the new acting attorney general he named who has gained control of the Russia probe "I am a former United States attorney... You are a party [to] a scam,' he wrote. 'Do not email me again with your scare tactics,' he wrote Whitaker. Trump on Friday defended his decision to name Whitaker as 'acting attorney general' with oversight over the Robert Mueller probe. 'I don't know Whitaker,' Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House as he headed to Paris. He called Whitaker as 'highly thought of' but denied ever taking his pulse over the Russia probe which he now will oversee following Trump's decision to force out attorney general Jeff Sessions and sideline oversight that had been given by deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein. Democratic attorneys general for 17 states and Washington, D.C. wrote Whitaker Thursday demanding he recuse himself from the Russia probe something Sessions had done, which infuriated President Trump. George Conway III, a prominent lawyer, penned an op-ed in the New York Times along with former solicitor general Neal Katyal, arguing that Trump's power play at the Justice Department is 'unconstitutional.' Whitaker has spoken critically about the Mueller probe and spoke in a TV interview about choking off its funding. He also was not confirmed by the Senate, since he does not hold one of the top posts that meet this bar. According to Conway, this come in violation of the Constitution's appointments clause. 'Mr. Whitaker's installation makes a mockery of our Constitution and our founders' ideals,' the men wrote. 'President Trump's installation of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general of the United States after forcing the resignation of Jeff Sessions is unconstitutional,' they wrote. 'It's illegal. And it means that anything Mr. Whitaker does, or tries to do, in that position is invalid. Retail chiefs have renewed calls for an overhaul of business rates in the face of 15 shops closing every day. They said the 900million relief offered by Chancellor Philip Hammond was only a sticking plaster and wider reform was needed. A record 2,692 shops, supermarkets, cafes and other high street businesses shut down in the six months to July 15 a day. Only 1,569 opened, for a net loss of 1,123 shops, according to consultants PwC. Richard Walker, managing director of frozen food chain Iceland, said traditional retailers were being hammered while online giants such as Amazon paid peanuts in tax. Retail chiefs said the 900million relief offered by Chancellor Philip Hammond was only a sticking plaster and wider reform was needed Richard Walker, managing director of frozen food chain Iceland, said traditional retailers were being hammered while online giants such as Amazon paid peanuts in tax (file photo) We have an out-of-date tax mechanism thats only targeting bricks and mortar retailers, said Mr Walker. The online behemoths are hitching a free ride on our national transport infrastructure and all the other public services. Lisa Hooker, a retail expert at PwC, said: The turmoil facing the sector is unlikely to abate. Store closures already announced in the second half of the year already will further intensify the situation. The Mail is campaigning for a level playing field on rates. Defendant: One of the youths (identity obscured) at an earlier hearing Two teenagers suspected of running a county lines drugs gang appeared in court yesterday charged with slavery offences in the first case of its kind. The 17-year-olds were accused of grooming three girls to peddle heroin and crack cocaine on the streets of a Home Counties town. They are the first juveniles in Britain to face a crown court over modern slavery offences. Police chiefs warned of more cases in the future and said such crimes were the modern equivalent of the Artful Dodger pickpocket character in Oliver Twist. Despite their age, police and prosecutors took the unprecedented decision to charge the 17-year-olds as slave masters rather than drug dealers. The case exposes the depth of the county lines crisis, in which dedicated mobile phone lines are used to sell, buy and ferry drugs from cities to provincial towns. The teenagers, of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, and Ilford, east London, are alleged to have exploited three girls, who at 16 were only a few months younger, to traffick Class A drugs. The prosecution under the Modern Slavery Act comes after Kent Police smashed a suspected drugs network in July. They arrested the two teenagers and four older men aged 18 to 61 on accusations of enslaving children to sell drugs in Maidstone, Kent. The youths, who cannot be named due to their age, were also charged with being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine. They appeared at Woolwich Crown Court, south-east London, with four other alleged members of the gang. The younger boy, who is in care, is accused of trafficking the girls over five days in July. During yesterdays hearing, he appeared agitated, shaking his head, muttering and gesturing at the police officer in the court. He sat on the lawyers bench next to a social worker who appeared so young she was mistaken by the judge for his sister. She and his lawyer had to warn the boy several times to be quiet. He denied a total of six charges including supplying heroin and crack cocaine, arranging or facilitating the travel of a person with a view to them being exploited under the Modern Slavery Act and possession of Class A drugs. Both 17-year-olds were dressed identically in white shirts, black jackets and black skinny jeans. The other teenager was told to sit in the dock as he will be 18 when the case goes to trial in January and classed as an adult. He denies six charges relating to drug supply, possession of Class A drugs, possession of a diving knife and facilitating the travel of a person with a view to them being exploited under the Act. Both boys were granted bail. The hearing heard that the teenage gang was operated by 18-year-old Reis Bhandal, who was said to have had control over several county lines and players. They appeared at Woolwich Crown Court, south-east London, with four other alleged members of the gang Prosecutor Alex Rooke said: The allegation is of drug running in the Maidstone area using people from London to transport drugs and sell them. It is said that Mr Bhandal orchestrated this having overall control of lines and players from an address in Gravesend. Bhandal, who appeared via video link from prison, denied supplying drugs and modern slavery. The other three defendants denied all charges. One was returned to custody and two were bailed. The Act has only been used since 2017 in a handful of cases targeting the ringleaders of large drug networks and has not previously been tested in the case of alleged child drug traffickers. The landmark trial comes after the National Crime Agency revealed the number of county lines operations has nearly trebled in just one year. Director general Lynne Owens estimated there are almost 2,000, up from 720 in November last year. The gangs are believed to be making profits of 7million a day. An NCA report due this month is expected to warn that the phenomenon has exploded across all areas of the UK. Vince OBrien, NCA head of drugs operations, said there are likely to be more young people charged with slavery in future as police adopt new tactics against the use of child drug mules. Youths aged 17 to 19 were acting as recruiters and groomers in a way that might be compared to the Artful Dodger in the Charles Dickens novel of 1839, he added. Mr OBrien conceded the public would be shocked at children being charged with slavery but it is hoped the stigma will stop youngsters becoming involved. Prosecuting county lines cases under the new law allows for heftier sentences than drug dealing as the maximum sentence for modern slavery is life imprisonment. In September, the Daily Mail revealed how children as young as 17 were setting up their own phone lines to sell heroin and crack cocaine. More than 400 juveniles have been arrested in county lines operations between 2014 and 2018. However, the Childrens Commissioner has estimated that as many as 50,000 could be involved. The confession tape of the man accused of killing jogger Karina Vetrano was played in court for jurors during his murder trial Friday. Jurors watched playback of the video tape in which Chanel Lewis, 22, can be heard admitting that he 'finished her off' while appearing to confess to 30-year-old Karina's murder in Queens, New York's Spring Creek Park. In August 2016, Karina was fatally attacked while she was out jogging. She was punched in the face, thrown to the ground, raped and then strangled in a marsh, about a block away from her house. Her father, Philip Vetrano, later found her partially-clothed body. Jurors watched a confession tape in which Chanel Lewis, 22 (left), said that he killed Karina Vetrano, 30, while she was jogging in Queens, New York. Lewis pictured here on Friday Karina is pictured above. Her father, Philip Vetrano, later found her partially-clothed body In the tape, which was recorded in February 2017, Lewis told authorities that he had punched Karina five times, before dragging her 'by the hands' into the grass near the jogging path, where he said he 'finished her off,' according to the New York Post. During the taped confession, Lewis also said that he 'was beating her and was mad at her,' after she tried to fight him off. 'I got angry,' Lewis said, according to the New York Daily News. 'I saw red. I never meant to do anything.' He also said in the tape that Karina had not done anything to provoke him and that she never screamed because 'her tooth broke.' A still from the confession tape, in which Lewis recounted what happened during the attack Lewis can be heard talking about hitting Karina in the face, strangling her and then throwing her into the bushes. He also denies having touched her private parts In a clip from the confession that was released by the New York District Attorney's Office, Lewis can be seen wearing a striped shirt as he's questioned by a detective, who is off-screen. Lewis answers the series of questions calmly, recounting how he grabbed Karina by the shoulders and hit her in the face about five times before she fell to the ground. He can be heard saying that he hit her for about five minutes, squeezed her neck at one point and was 'mad about an incident'. Lewis confirmed that Karina had tried to fight back by trying to scratch him on the fact and that she left a mark. After the beating, Lewis said Karina fell in the water. 'Then my hand was bleeding and I washed off the blood,' he noted, denying that he held her under the water. Later, 'she was just lying there,' Lewis said. 'I got her by the ankles and picked her up from her back and threw her in the bushes.' The detective then asked about the state of Karina's clothing. Lewis said that her pants were 'kinda pulled off' and that her underwear may have been coming down as well. When asked if he touched either her vagina or anus, Lewis said no. A surveillance camera caught Karina jogging a short time she was rape and strangled Karina's parents, Cathy and Phil Vetrano, were also at the Queens Supreme Court Friday When speaking about her actual death, Lewis' statements which were described as being both mumbled and rambling seemed to contradict Karina's autopsy findings. In his confession, Lewis said that 'There was a puddle of water. She fell into it and then she was drowning.' However, her autopsy report stated that Karina died of strangulation. Lewis denied raping Karina before allegedly murdering her, though. 'I didnt do any of the other stuff they said,' Lewis said in the tape. 'Sexual assault and other stuff.' Karina had gone out for a run when she was violently and fatally attacked in August 2016 Karina was punched in the face, thrown to the ground, violently raped and then strangled in a marsh. Her father found her partially-clothed body about a block away from her house Lewis was arrested and charged in connection to Karina's murder six months after the attack. He was linked to her death by DNA evidence, obtained from a consensual cheek swab and then compared to DNA evidence that was recovered from under Karina's fingernails. In February, a judge decided to let the DNA evidence and Lewis' videotaped confession be used at trial. His lawyers had previously questioned the validity of his DNA sample and the manner in which his confession was gained. Police were said to have stopped Lewis from making a phone call until after he confessed to the crime. He arrived at the police precinct at about 6.30pm and his confession was not made until 6am the next day. Other recordings made during his interview revealed that Lewis had asked authorities to let him speak with his parents and his sister. Lewis' confession tape was previously played in public in 2017, during a pre-trial hearing. His trial began November 5. Lewis' mother, Veta Lewis (in orange scarf), was in court supporting her son Friday Dwarfed by the largest British war memorial ever built, Theresa May yesterday reached for the words of one who had died within its gaze. There lie the flower of youth, the men who scornd to live (so died) when languished Liberty, the Prime Minister wrote on the poppy wreath she laid at the Thiepval Memorial, Sir Edwin Lutyenss soaring monument to the missing of the Somme. She had borrowed her message from a poem, The Soldiers Cemetery, by Sergeant John William Streets. He wrote it not long before his death on July 1, 1916 the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the worst day in British military history. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May prepares to lay wreaths at the graves of John Parr, the first British soldier to be killed in during the First World War in 1914 Tribute to 16m animals that served Actress Jenny Seagrove led tributes to the millions of animals from horses and dogs to slugs and glow worms that played vital roles in the First World War at a special remembrance event. It was attended by animal charities, three members of the Household Cavalry on their mounts, and more dogs than you could shake a stick at. (Left to right) Freddie and Miss Darcy, cockapoos, join a congregation of animals and representatives from Dogs Trust A minutes silence apart from the odd yap was observed at the Animals in War Memorial at Hyde Park, before Miss Seagrove, 61, spoke about the more than 16million animals used by both sides for transport, communication and companionship in the war. The actress, who runs the Mane Chance horse sanctuary in Surrey, said: Animals have always played a part in the field of war. They have no choice, but they do have our undying gratitude. Horses, donkeys, mules and camels were used not only in cavalry divisions but also for carrying wounded soldiers, food, water, ammunition and medical supplies. Millions of equines died either in combat or through cold, hunger and disease, Miss Seagrove said. Dogs, meanwhile, were trained to carry messages, serve as sentries and locate wounded or dying soldiers on the battlefield. Miss Seagrove also mentioned some of the less well-known recruits from the animal world. Slugs, for example, were used to detect toxic gases, cats to hunt rats that plagued troops, and glow worms in jars for light in the trenches. Poppy wreaths were laid at the memorial by Miss Seagrove and representatives of charities including the RSPCA. Advertisement On a day like yesterday, the Prime Minister preferred to leave the talking to the dead and made no further public comment. Alongside her, in crisp autumn sunshine, stood French president Emmanuel Macron. They met close to where Mr Macrons British great-grandfather, George Robertson, fought in the trenches. Mr Robertson, a Bristol-born butcher, was just 19 during the Somme campaign and won medals for his service before staying in France after the war. He married Frenchwoman Suzanne Leblond in Abbeville in 1919, and the couple had three daughters, including Jacqueline, who married Andre Macron. Their son, Jean-Michel, is Mr Macrons father. The two leaders had come together to the Somme ahead of tomorrows centenary of the Armistice, an event which will bring much of the world to a halt at the 11th hour, exactly a hundred years after the guns fell silent. Come that moment, Mrs May and Mr Macron will be in their respective capitals. In London, the Prince of Wales will lead the nation in honouring the countrys war dead during the national service of remembrance at the Cenotaph in Whitehall. He will lay a wreath on behalf of the Queen as she watches from the balcony of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. For the first time, a German leader President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will lay a wreath at the Cenotaph. After the service, 10,000 people, chosen by ballot, will pay their respects to the First World War dead in a Peoples Procession past the Cenotaph. Yesterday, Mrs May and Mr Macron came to pay tribute on soil so violated that a large tract of land alongside the memorial is still out of bounds behind steel fencing, because of unexploded shells. The Battle of the Somme was a tragedy for both nations, with 420,000 British and 204,000 French casualties. Engraved on the walls of this sacred tower of brick and Portland stone are the names of the 73,357 British and Commonwealth troops whose bodies were never found men of every rank and background, among them a few famous sportsmen and writers of their day but mostly, in the words of one historian, unknown humble men, who never had a chance of becoming famous. The memorial sits among dozens of cemeteries. The one immediately alongside it very deliberately contains equal numbers of French and British fallen, 300 of each laid out either side of the Cross of Sacrifice. Escorted by two young guides from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Mrs May and Mr Macron inspected the grave of Rifleman Philip Stubbs, a man who had served in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps with Mrs Mays maternal grandfather, Regimental Sergeant Major Thomas Brasier (he himself died at Salonika). This graphic shows how Britain will commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War on Remembrance Sunday British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron walk near graves at the World War I French-British memorial of Thiepva, France Rising up behind them, that pitiful stone roll call of those with no known grave was glowing in the setting sun. Looking up at a corner at random, I spotted a Major C C Dickens of the Kensington London Regiment. Cedric Dickens was the grandson of the writer, Charles. He was last seen leading his men in to action in nearby Bouleaux Wood in the latter stages of the battle. This vast construction, which required one million bricks, might have been larger still. Out of deference to the French, Lutyens actually reduced it by a few feet to ensure that it did not exceed the height of the hallowed Arc de Triomphe in Paris though the flagpoles which he then planted on top actually make it fractionally taller. Yesterday, both flags flew side by side, visible for miles around across fields which, a century before, had been a hellish wastescape. British Prime Minister Theresa May, right, and French President Emmanuel Macron, left, walk together after laying wreaths at the World War I Thiepval Memorial in Thiepval, France The short ceremony and inspection of the cemetery followed a bilateral meeting and working lunch in the town hall at Albert. Here was a reminder that some things really are bigger than parochial contemporary problems such as Brexit or the upcoming European elections, even if the French president frequently seems to forget this. Mr Macrons behaviour during this centenary is questionable. He has spent the past week on a memorial tour up and down the Western Front, mixing battlefield tours with brazen political grandstanding. It has not been entirely successful. His popularity ratings are tumbling and the far-Right are on the rise ahead of next years European elections, particularly in the industrial north places much like Albert, in fact. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (C) lays a wreath as Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel stands behind (L), during the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War at the Saint-Symphorien Military Cemetery, near Mons Torches draw thousands Huge crowds flocked to the Tower of London last night to witness a sea of light from 10,000 flaming torches filling the monuments dry moat. So many queued to see the tribute to soldiers who died during the First World War that some blocked local traffic. The commemoration, entitled Beyond the Deepening Shadow is like 2014s installation of ceramic poppies at the Tower the work of distinguished stage designer Tom Piper. It takes 100 volunteers 50 minutes to light, and is accompanied by choral music and lines from war poet Mary Bordens Sonnets to a Soldier. Advertisement Yesterday, the president was so busy gladhanding locals in nearby Lens that he turned up in Albert 40 minutes late. Mrs May had flown in on time, and was left working on her boxes at the local airport until receiving the green light to head in to town. By then, Mr Macron was standing alone in front of the television cameras at the steps of Alberts town, craftily making it look as if it was the British who were being unpunctual. It is unsurprising that Mrs May has decided not to attend todays instalment of the Macron show when the president holds a ceremony in Compiegne, where the Allies and the Germans signed the Armistice. Angela Merkel will be there. Britain is sending Cabinet Office minister David Lidington. Mr Macron has also used the centenary to invite all the worlds leaders to Paris tomorrow, presenting the First World War as primarily a French victory. Presidents Trump and Putin will be among those present. This will be followed by a special peace summit which Mr Macrons aides are hailing as a Davos of governance. It will start with a major address on the state of the planet by Mr Macron himself, in contrast to the British tradition of politicians saying little or nothing of significance on Remembrance Sunday. Little wonder, then, that there is exasperation at both Downing Street and Buckingham Palace. Seventeen-year-old Private John Parr, the first man to fall Private Ellison came within 90 minutes of surviving the First World War. But at 9.30am on November 11, 1918 he was hit by a German sniper and became the last British soldier to die before the Armistice Mrs May was pointedly avoiding any charges of grandstanding yesterday. She started the day at Mons, in Belgium, the very fulcrum of the First World War. It was here that Corporal E Thomas of the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards fired the first British shot of the war on August 20, 1914, as the British Expeditionary Force valiantly tried to hold off the German advance through Belgium. It was the first British shot fired in anger on European soil since the Battle of Waterloo. It was also here that the first Victoria Crosses of the war were awarded to Private Frank Godley, of the 4th Royal Fusiliers, who survived the war, and his commanding officer, Lieutenant Maurice Dease, who did not. He lies in perpetuity at the beautifully maintained St Symphorien Cemetery just outside Mons, a few yards from the first German to win the Iron Cross. Here, too, lies Private John Parr, the first British soldier of the Great War to be killed. By astonishing coincidence, his grave lies opposite that of the last British soldier to die in the Great War Private George Ellison of the 5th Royal Irish Lancers. A few yards away lies the very last man to die for King and country Private George Price of the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade. He was shot by a German sniper at 10.58am on November 11 as he received flowers from a grateful Belgian civilian. Here, in one small, stunning cemetery originally built by the Germans, 284 of whom lie here we find the entire ghastly narrative of the Great War framed in a few tragic yards of well-tended grass. As Commonwealth War Graves Commission historian Max Dutton admitted: It is extraordinary that fate should bring these men, ordinary serving soldiers, together like this. It makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. It was entirely right that the Prime Minister should come here to pay her respects. She came bearing less well-known lines from some of our most famous war poetry. Accompanied by Belgian prime minister Charles Michel, she laid a wreath first at the grave of John Parr. On it, she had written a line from Rupert Brookes The Soldier: There is in that rich earth a richer dust concealed. For George Ellison, she had taken a line from Laurence Binyons For The Fallen (They shall grow not old). She wrote: They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted. We will remember them. Standing alongside the graves were small detachments from the regimental heirs of these two soldiers, the Princess of Waless Royal Regiment in the case of Parr and the Royal Lancers, in honour of Ellison. Here, too, were serving men from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, proudly commemorating Lt Dease VC. Just the other day, workers mending a water pipe found three bodies a Lancashire Fusilier and two Australians. The Lancashire lad was buried with full honours this week. The Australians will be interred together on Monday. A century on and this rich earth continues to make one thing very clear: remembrance is not going to stop once this weekend is over. Detainees at Darwin's notorious Don Dale Detention Centre are due to move back in over the weekend after Tuesday's riot but the five inmates identified as ringleaders could be segregated. The teenage group, including some who have committed serious sex crimes, may be separated from other inmates regarded as better prospects for rehabilitation under new 'management plans'. Several attacked a youth justice worker with a metal table leg and stole his keys, let other inmates out of cells, set alight and destroyed an education building and used angle grinders to try to escape. Scroll down for video The detainees at the centre of a riot which saw buildings set ablaze at Don Dale juvenile detention centre (above) have been revealed as five teenage inmates The latest fire comes just months after four boys were accused of setting the centre (pictured, left) alight in July The worker required seven stitches to defence wounds on his hand. The 25 detainees were moved to Darwin's Police Watch House, prompting criticism it wasn't safe for youths. 'These four to five did not behave in an acceptable manner the other night and led the issues at Don Dale so we are looking at appropriate management plans around them,' Northern Territory Deputy Chief Minister Nicole Manison told reporters. 'We are looking at whereabouts in Don Dale they can be housed ... different staffing programs. 'There is also a cohort there making a real effort to become better people.' Dylan Voller (pictured) was one of the high-profile faces of the youths handcuffed, hooded and strapped to restraint chairs at Don Dale in the footage aired on ABC's Four Corners in 2015 TV footage of teenagers being tear-gassed, spit-hooded and shackled at Don Dale prompted a Royal Commission two years ago. The NT government has committed $229 million to implementing recommendations. Criminal Lawyers Association NT president Marty Aust said Don Dale was a 'death trap' that the youths should not be returning to. The detainees that had not participated in the riot were afraid of the violent ringleaders identified by authorities, he said, and parents had a right to expect the NT government would provide a safe facility where detainees could not climb on roofs or light fires. 'The CLANT has grave concerns about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child being complied with ... do we need someone to die whether its a worker or a child?' Mr Aust said. A top bank executive who referred to female employees as 'girls' and allegedly told them to put their 'big girl panties on' is to step down next year. Wells Fargo confirmed that private bank head Jay Welker is to retire next March. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal which referenced an internal memo but did not mention the allegations. A complaint was made against Welker as part of a larger internal investigation into allegations of discrimination by female executives in Wells Fargo's wealth management unit. Jay Welker, who heads Wells Fargo 's wealth-management division, will retire at the end of March after female executives complained Welker used demeaning and sexist language The bank ended up spending months months interviewing dozens of women after complaints were made about the 'systemic belittling of female executives', according to the Journal. Jon Weiss, head of Wealth and Investment Management at Wells Fargo, insisted to managers in a call last week that 'there is unequivocally no gender bias' in the unit. 'We take seriously any allegation raised by a team member, or against a team member. We ensure that concerns raised are thoroughly and objectively investigated, while taking measures to protect confidentiality. Once an investigation is complete we are committed to taking any appropriate action,' a spokesperson for the bank said in a statement to CBS News. Wells Fargo spent months interviewing dozens of women for the investigation. Welker, is alleged to have often called women 'girls' or told them to put their 'big girl panties on' The bank is 'committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our business', the spokesperson added. Wells Fargo has faced a crisis of its own after it was embroiled in a scandal over its sales tactics that erupted in 2016, leading to the ouster of John Stumpf as its CEO and costing the bank $185 million in fines. Wells Fargo in August disclosed a 'calculation error' in its mortgage modification underwriting tool that resulted in 545 homeowners being foreclosed on. The bank also was featured recently in research from Stanford University finance professor Amit Seru and two co-authors who found that men in the financial industry are more than twice as likely to engage in misconduct than women are, yet women are 20 percent more likely to be fired for infractions. The researchers said Wells Fargo had the largest discrepancy among financial institutions studied, disciplining women advisers at a much higher rate than male advisers. He wore a Rastafarian hat and had an unequivocally African name. His hair was curly, his skin dark. He spoke of the bigotry he had experienced because of his appearance and dedicated his career as an actor and theatre director to exposing the prejudice people of colour faced. Little wonder that many who met Anthony Ekundayo Lennon assumed he was black. Anthony Ekundayo Lennon (pictured) has previously said 'Although I'm white, with white parents, I have gone through the struggles of a black man, a black actor.' He spoke of the bigotry he had experienced because of his appearance In fact, he isnt black at all, but entirely Caucasian the blue-eyed son of pale-skinned Irish parents, whose own parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were also white. Yet, after being mistaken as mixed race throughout his youth, Anthony decided he felt more comfortable living as a black man. Proudly describing himself as an African born again, he changed his name to Taharka Ekundayo and claimed: Everybody on the planet is African. Its your choice as to whether you accept it. Anthony Lennon's mother, Josephine Lennon, left, and his father Patrick Anthony Lennon, pictured right. Proudly describing himself as an African born again, Anthony changed his name to Taharka Ekundayo Anthony Lennon on the left and brother Vincent on right as boys. Black actor Luke Elliot said he was fuming that Lennon was taking up the little resources awarded to black artists Now 53, Anthonys baffling transition might have gone largely unnoticed outside the tight-knit theatrical world, were it not for the fact that he was recently awarded a 100,000 taxpayer-funded grant intended to help the BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) community further their careers. He was one of four theatre practitioners of colour to share 400,000 funding from The Artistic Director Leadership Programme (ADLP), an Arts Council of England-funded charity. The money will pay for a three-day-a-week role at Londons black-led theatre company Talawa for two years. When the decision was reported by the Sunday Times this week, a furore ensued. Lennon a trainee artistic director was branded a racial imposter and accused of pilfering funds intended for those who hadnt enjoyed the advantages of being born white. Anthony Lennon (right) poses for a picture with actress Michaela Coel at a Talawa event. Now 53, Anthonys baffling transition might have gone largely unnoticed outside the tight-knit theatrical world Writing for The Independent, Paula Akpan, an advocate for black women, said his claim of being African born again was not how race works at all, adding: To actively claim space that isnt yours and purposefully misrepresent yourself goes beyond ignorance its entitlement. Its deciding that this identity and culture is yours for the taking, no matter who it hurts. Trevor Phillips, the former chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, said: Institutions are so desperate these days to show how inclusive they are on issues of self-identification that Im afraid I saw something like this coming. The problem is, of course, that the people who lose out are the minorities. Meanwhile, black actor Luke Elliot said he was fuming that Lennon was taking up the little resources awarded to black artists. A cryptic statement this week from Talawas Artistic Director, Michael Buffong, raised questions about what Lennon, who was given the award on the basis of being mixed heritage, has said about his identity. Buffong said that a year ago he was made aware of some quotes taken from a book that Anthony had contributed to about his identity that were contrary to what he understood about him, but that after Anthony claimed he had been misquoted he was given legal reassurance that Anthony was still eligible. It is not known what Anthony who has declined requests to comment had been misquoted on. Actor Lennie James (pictured) said that it felt as though Lennon was watching him and saying 'this equals a black man'. Meanwhile, black actor Luke Elliot said he was fuming that Lennon was taking up the little resources awarded to black artists Buffong was quick to add: As our trainee Associate Director, Anthony receives a trainee fee in line with others in a similar role on the ADLP. I want to stress that in this unique case there has been no attempt to mislead any funders or to deny anyone else considered more valid, a place. So what possessed Anthony Lennon to assume a different race? Has he shunned his white heritage to compete in the cut-throat theatre world? Or conjured up a sense of discrimination for attention and sympathy? The truth, this Mail investigation uncovered, is altogether more complex. Anthonys behaviour might be seen by some as disingenuous, but that his looks have caused him difficulty in the past and led him, and others, to question his identity is undeniable. Even more curiously, it emerges that Anthony is not the only family member to have been born looking as if he has black heritage. A cousin on his fathers side was also known for his dark skin and hair so much so that he was, in the Fifties, given the racist nickname Wamba Womba by neighbours in reference to the fact he looked almost black. Anthonys father, Patrick Lennon, was born in 1937 in Tramore, a seaside town in Southern Ireland, the youngest of three siblings. Patricks mother Chrissie was a housewife; his father, Stanislaus or Stan a postman. Known for wearing a cravat around his neck, Stan was a member of local amateur dramatics group, the Tramore Players. Fraser Ayres (left) and Wil Johnson (centre) stand with Lennon (right) after a performance at the Bush Theatre. Born with darker skin, kinkier hair, higher cheekbones, as he wrote in Photo ID, Anthony claims his appearance heaped shame on his family at a time when racism was rife Although residents of Tramore described the Lennons as typically Irish looking with pale skin and brown hair, they remember that one of Stans nephews Patricks cousin David, who lived in the town, was also known for his atypical appearance. As with Anthony, nobody appeared to know why David looked so different from his family. Maybe it was a kink in the genes, said one local man now in his 80s, whose recollection is echoed by an elderly relative of Chrissie, still living in the area. She recalls David as very, very dark with dark eyes, adding: It was a striking anomaly. Maybe there was some sort of genetic thing on the Lennon side of the family that was passed on to Anthony. It cant have been easy for him. Anthonys own verdict appears conflicted. In 1990, he said in a documentary: My parents are white and so are their parents, and so are their parents, and so are their parents. But in 2008, he wrote a short eBook, called Photo ID, which reads as autobiography, and in which he writes there was definitely something in my familys gene pool that isnt as straightforward as most. Anthony E. Lennon and British actor Kwamekweiarmah at a performance of Guys and Dolls Anthonys mother, Josephine, was born in Tralee, County Kerry, in south-west Ireland, in 1934, to a labourer and a housewife. Believed to be one of around 11 siblings, the family lived on a council estate where unemployment was as high as the desire to emigrate. Josephine, known as Josie and now 88, had moved to West London by her mid-20s, where Stan had also moved his family in search of work. When Josie and Patrick married in Paddington in 1959, she was working as a canteen assistant and Patrick a sales assistant. They had three sons Anthony, the eldest, was born in 1965; Vincent in 1967 and David in 1974. Born with darker skin, kinkier hair, higher cheekbones, as he wrote in Photo ID, Anthony claims his appearance heaped shame on his family at a time when racism was rife and mixed-race relationships taboo. My father and my family on both sides thought my mother had had an affair, he recalled. Suspected of cheating with a black man, Josephine was spat at in the street. But, when, according to Anthony, his brothers were born with similar features, it appeared the siblings had instead inherited the same genetic anomaly. In 1990, Anthony said in a documentary: My parents are white and so are their parents, and so are their parents, and so are their parents. But in 2008, he wrote a short eBook, called Photo ID, which reads as autobiography, and in which he writes there was definitely something in my familys gene pool that isnt as straightforward as most As Anthony later recalled in Chilling Out, a film about race that formed part of the BBC Everyman series in 1990, it is only now my mum is telling me that, when I was a baby, people threw stones at me because they thought my mum was with a black man. His father, meanwhile, appears to have vented aggression physically. During a stand up comedy routine in 1998, Anthony claimed Patrick used to beat him with a strap when he came home from school. Youre trying to be brave and not cry, he recalled of the experience, admitting that one tear would always let you down. Anthonys parents marriage did not last and by 1983 Patrick had remarried and was living with his second wife Dorothy in North-West London. One former neighbour, who met Anthony and Vincent when they came to visit, told the Mail this week that she assumed, judging by their sons appearance, that because Patrick was white, Josephine must be black. Anthony was mixed race. He was not white, she says emphatically. Nor, she insisted, was Vincent. Everyone knew that his kids were mixed race. She recalls Patrick, who died in 1999, as a volatile oddball a very white man with snowy hair. It is unsurprising Anthony felt unsettled; his parents apparent ambivalence to his appearance arguably driving him to sympathise with the minority he was believed by outsiders to be part of. Lennon had also recently been caught up in the evacuation of King's Cross station in London and was pictured with industry friends outside. Lennon isnt black at all, but entirely Caucasian the blue-eyed son of pale-skinned Irish parents, whose own parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were also white Aged 13 and sick of what he describes in Photo ID as racism, bigotry, hate & more, he bought a Rastafarian hat from Brixton market a conscious decision to avoid the constant scrutinisation (sic) of his appearance. After that, he came to think of himself, in private at any rate, as black. Whatever Josephine made of her sons transition, she kept it to herself. My mums not questioned it in any way, whats happening in front of her eyes, Anthony later said. As a young man he said he and his mother dont talk and Josie was unavailable for comment this week. A certain distance between them was hinted at by a local in Tralee, who told the Mail that every summer, David, now living in Kent and believed to work for the police, brings Josie back to Tralee for the towns annual festival but that she had yet to witness Anthony accompanying them on a visit. Yet Josie wasnt indifferent to Anthonys needs, taking him to drama school so he could pursue his dream of becoming an actor. Aged 15, Anthony studied at Londons Weekend Arts College under mime artist Adrian Hedley, who this week appeared surprised to learn Lennon was born to white parents. I am friends with him on Facebook, says Hedley, 65. He looks mixed race in the pictures that he posts. There is no way he looks like a typical Caucasian person. White or black? Controversies over adopted racial identity Rachel Dolezal: The ex-civil rights leader in the U.S. identified as black and legally changed her name to Nkechi Amare Diallo. She sparked outrage when her parents revealed three years ago she was born white but posing as a black woman. Outrage: Rachel Dolezal After the story became an international sensation, Dolezal was fired from her job at the NCAAP. Dolezal was also kicked off a police ombudsman commission and lost her job teaching African studies at Eastern Washington University. Vijay Chokal-Ingam: The Indian-American said he had posed as a black person to win a place at a university through affirmative action. He claims he was accepted into St Louis University's medical school in the 1990s by using his middle name Jojo. He also shaved his head and became a member of black student organizations. Despite his lower than average grades, he was accepted because he was posing as a black student, he claims. Advertisement Anthony, meanwhile, in Everyman, recalls his brother as being confused by his own appearance. It is not clear which brother he was referring to but, in 1987, Vincent died. Those who knew the family in both Ireland and London suggested it was a train accident, but Anthony revealed on Twitter the cause was suicide his brother, he wrote, was consumed by negative self image. Yet the tragedy didnt appear to bring Anthony and his father closer. He says Ive got an identity problem and the sooner I sort myself out, the better, Anthony, who left school with four A-levels, said in 1990. But instead of reverting back to his white roots, Anthony changed his name, shortly before the birth of my first daughter, he says, adding: I was at a stage in my life where to address myself as Anthony Lennon did not fulfil me, it didnt seem to allow me to express myself as I saw fit. He chose his new name from an African name book Taharka is the name of an Egyptian pharaoh and Ekundayo means weeping becomes joy while making his stage name Anthony Ekundayo Lennon. By his own admission, pursuing black roles not only gave him a sense of belonging, but boosted his career. Having been rejected for a glut of white parts he started working with organisations such as the Black Theatre Co-Op and the African Peoples Theatre, and was cast in productions such as The Remnant and a Nineties all-black production of the reggae musical Ragamuffin, on which he worked with Jan Ryan, director of UK Arts International. He identified as black, and people called him Ekundayo, but I knew he had white Irish parents, she told the Mail this week. Nobody had an issue with him and he never talked about his heritage. Instead of reverting back to his white roots, Anthony changed his name, shortly before the birth of my first daughter, he says, adding: I was at a stage in my life where to address myself as Anthony Lennon did not fulfil me, it didnt seem to allow me to express myself as I saw fit' Lennon later became an assistant director on Britains first all-black production of Guys And Dolls and, 14 months ago, was appointed trainee artistic director with Talawa in East London a position that was advertised as being open to people of colour and to which Anthony applied as a mixed-heritage individual. It is a somewhat imaginative description of himself, although there is no suggestion Anthony has lied to anyone about having white parents. I have always been aware of Anthonys unique and complicated story, says Buffong, who adds that his companys spirit of inclusivity meant that Anthony, was accepted by many, inside the organisation and externally, as a person of mixed heritage. Many of his thespian colleagues didnt think his background warranted questions at all. The question of his heritage never came up, says Will Daniel-Braham, 54, a training and development consultant who is mixed-race and worked with Lennon on a theatre production. If you have grown up with racism and been subjected to racial abuse then you can understand why you would identify with that racial minority. He was accepted by the profession as a black actor. The more accepted Anthony became by the black community, the more he seemed to believe he actually was black at least in terms of the way the outside world perceived him. As Anthony himself put it in 2012: Although Im white, with white parents, I have gone through the struggles of a black man, a black actor. Certainly, his social media presence suggests he sees himself as a champion for ethnic minorities, his Twitter feed almost exclusively preoccupied with black rights and culture. And clearly, he felt entitled to apply for a residential traineeship as part of the ADLP to help BAME creatives. It is unlikely The Arts Council England expected a white man to be among the recipients. This week, they said they were not responsible for the administration of this programme but that when Talawa raised their wish to support Anthony with us they took into account the law in relation to race and ethnicity adding: This is a very unusual case and we do not think it undermines the support we provide to black and minority ethnic people. Buffong, meanwhile, is keen to defend Talawas decision, saying his judgement of Anthonys suitability for the ADLP was based on his acceptance of Anthony as a person of mixed heritage. I welcome the debate around identity, surely we must acknowledge that there are nuances and grey areas. Whether that means a white man should be able to assume a black identity no matter what hardships he has endured before doing so will continue to divide opinion. Additional reporting: Jenny Friel and Stephanie Condron Advertisement A pioneering Melbourne cafe owner was stabbed to death by a Somali immigrant who knifed two other before he was gunned down by police. Sisto Malaspina, 74, was murdered by Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, 30, as he ran to help what he thought was a car crash victim just blocks from his coffee shop, called Pellegrini's, at about 4.20pm on Friday. However, Khalif had deliberately crashed his Holden Rodeo that was loaded with gas canisters and set the car alight after mounting the pavement near the Swanson Street intersection. Melbourne cafe legend Sisto Malaspina was stabbed to death during a terrorist's knife rampage through Bourke Street just blocks form his iconic Pellegrini's coffee shop Mr Malaspina's body was on Friday seen lying in the street covered by a white sheet with a bare foot sticking out after bystanders unsuccessfully tried to save his life By trying to do a good deed, Mr Malaspina, who became a grandfather last Saturday, became the murderous knifeman's first victim. Soon two others would also be stabbed before Khalif attacked police. Video shot from the scene showed the frenzied attack that carried on for more than a minute as Khalif chased the officers around as they tried to convince him to surrender, before finally shooting him. The two policemen were very junior officers and the one who fired the shot that mortally wounded Khalif had only been out of the academy for three months. 'They're both reasonably new members, the member that fired was only out of academy three months. He has family members in Victoria Police police,' Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said. 'They are now off duty with family members due to speak with them. They are in good spirits but shaken up, particularly being junior members. 'From what I saw of the footage, I think they followed their training very well.' Chief Ashton said the man who tried to stop Khalif's attack on police by bravely ramming him with a trolley has been spoken to be police, and praised his actions. 'People act in the spur of the moment and that's what he's done, he's attempted to the police and do what he could,' he said. 'Certainly people have to be careful that they're not putting themselves in harms way if police are there, but certainly he's done what he thought was the right thing at the time.' By trying to do a good deed, Mr Malaspina became the murderous knifeman's first victim. Soon two others would also be stabbed before Khalif was shot dead by police Hassan Khalif Shire Ali attempt to stab and slash at two police officers before he was shot and fell to the ground. He earlier stabbed three people and set fire to his car on Melbourne's Bourke Street One witness said he was 'terrified' after seeing a body covered in a white sheet on the footpath Two victims lie on the ground in pools of blood after being stabbed by the knifeman in the street, as bystanders rush to their aid Markel Villasin, 22, saw Mr Malaspina was breathing but appeared to be 'bleeding out' as he lay in a pool of blood, as emergency responders attempted to resuscitate him using CPR Police said Khalif was inspired by ISIS to commit jihad, but they were unsure if he had direct contact with the terrorist group. ISIS claimed his as one of their own, but often falsely associate themselves with lone wolf attacks. Khalif's passport was cancelled in 2015 after he was flagged as one of 300 potential security risks when he it was discovered he planned to travel to Syria. Assistant AFP Commissioner Ian McCartney said in a press conference late on Saturday morning that though Khalif was on their radar, police decided not to intervene. 'While he held radical ideals, he didn't hold a threat,' he said. 'It's a reality check for us that even with the fall of the Caliphate (with ISIS-held territory taken back in Syria and Iraq) the threat is still very real. 'It's a complex and challenging business working on these threats on a daily basis the assessment was that he wasn't a threat at that time. 'Obviously in terms of when he turned from radicalisation to these actions will be a focus of these investigations.' Commissioner McCartney confirmed Khalif was inspired by ISIS propaganda online. Khalif's makeshift bomb was just a barbeque gas bottle that failed to explode until he set the car on fire, and even then only damaged the car itself. 'Looks like there was some attempt to light a fire there were gas cylinders they had been turned to open,' Chief Ashton said. 'It certainly wasnt remotely sophisticated, it wasnt effective the car caught fire and was controlled pretty quickly.' Khalif's family were known to counter-terror agencies and believed to have ties with North African extremist groups. Heartbroken friends and longtime customers left floral tributes to the slain food icon outside the Pellegrini's, just down Bourke Street near the Exhibition Street intersection. Staff were in shock and a sign on the door said the cafe would be closed until November 12, with police standing guard outside. Mr Malaspina's body was on Friday seen lying in the street covered by a white sheet with a bare foot sticking out after bystanders unsuccessfully tried to save his life. After confronting Khalif, officers retreated to the other side of the road as the bearded attacker with a shaved head and dressed in a long brown tunic, pursued them as horrified bystanders called on police to shoot him Witnesses said the Holden Rodeo hit a pedestrian as it mounted the kerb and burst into flames outside Target near the Swanson Street intersection about 4.20pm on Friday, before the stabbing rampage began Markel Villasin, 22 and his bosses ran out of their KFC store when they heard a 'commotion' and saw Khalif holding a knife and swinging it at police officers. 'It looked like police officers didn't know how to handle the situation because obviously in Melbourne it's so rare,' Mr Villasin told ABC. Mr Villasin saw Mr Malaspina was breathing but appeared to be 'bleeding out' as he lay in a pool of blood, as emergency responders attempted to resuscitate him using CPR. 'Unfortunately, the man passed away, they put a sheet on him. It was crazy because he was alive at my feet as they tried to work on him and then he passed away,' he said. Mr Malaspina came to Australia from Italy and took over Pellegrini's Espresso Bar in 1976 with his business partner Nino Pangrazio and maintained its original 1954 decor. The cafe, with its heritage-listed neon sign, became a popular haunt for urban professionals, tourists, and even politicians like former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. Heavily-armed officers wearing tactical gear and masks swooped on the home in Werribee about 8am on Saturday as they continue to investigate Hassan Khalif Shire Ali's attack His family are inside the house and cooperating with authorities. Khalif's wife, who police also believe to be radicalised, was missing on Friday night but has since been interviewed by police A Muslim woman talks to police at the house of the terrorist's father. His family are cooperating with police Neighbour Patricia Rouse said she was shocked by the raid on Khalif's family home across the street in Werribee Heavily-armed officers wearing tactical gear and masks swooped on a home in Werribee linked to Khalif about 8am on Saturday. The house is believed to be that of the lone wolf terrorist's father. His family are inside the house and cooperating with authorities. Khalif's wife, who police also believe to be radicalised, was missing on Friday night but has since been interviewed by police. Neighbour Patricia Rouse said she was shocked by the raid on Khalif's family home across the street in Werribee. 'I did hear them ask if there were any kids on there last night and I think there was a young boy who was 15,' she said. Ms Rouse said she believed one of the couple's daughters ran for local council last year. 'I don't know how she did,' she said. 'But I don't see them, honestly. All is see is the mother might be going shopping.' Ms Rouse said it was disturbing to think a terror cell might be linked to her quiet street. 'But whether it's connected to anything I don't know,' she said. The man was quickly arrested on the pavement by two officers in front of shocked pedestrians who stood back to film it Rodney Patterson (second from left) was one of three people who were knifed by the Somali-born attacker, who was shot dead by police after crashing a car and setting it on fire The rampage began when Khalif mounted the kerb and crashed his Holden Rodeo on the pavement before setting it on fire to ignite a makeshift bomb made of a barbeque gas bottle. He then stabbed Mr Malaspina to death and wounded Tasmanian businessman Rod Patterson, 58, and a 26-year-old security guard from Hampton Park, Melbourne. Two police officers then arrived on the scene to investigate the car fire and Khalif charged at them, punching one through a car window and lunging at them with a knife. He then chased the officers around a tree as they tried to avoid his blows and convince the man to surrender, and a brave bystander tried to stop the attack by running him down with a shopping trolley. The officers then retreated to the other side of the road as the bearded attacker with a shaved head and dressed in a long brown tunic, pursued them as horrified bystanders called on police to shoot him. Khalif again attempted to stab and slash at the officers several times before one policeman unsuccessfully tried to taser him and his partner shot the assailant in the chest. Victoria Police said officers responded to reports of a car fire (pictured) before they were confronted by the man The burned-out car sitting where it crashed on to the pavement and exploded before the rampage began He clutched his chest and and fell to the ground where he was quickly arrested on the pavement by two officers and rushed to hospital under police guard. No officers were injured. Khalif died on the operating table at Royal Melbourne Hospital within a few hours of being shot. Chief Ashton said the officers followed their training and first tried to talk the attacker down before using non-lethal methods including capsicum spray and tasers. 'It was a quick emerging event and the first thing they are trained to do is create space and have a conversation to verbally de-escalate but that wasn't successful,' he said. However, he rejected the view that they could have shot Khalif in the leg. 'Once officers are of the view they have to draw firearms they do so, they have to shoot to kill,' he said. Mr Patterson's wife Maree took to social media to share the harrowing turn of events, detailing how she and her husband were 'caught up in the attack' before he was stabbed. 'Rodney was hurt - good news is he is in a great hospital and doing ok given the circumstances,' she posted on Facebook. 'Can't take calls at the moment but will speak to everyone when I can. Thanks to everyone for their wishes and caring.' Tasmanian MP Will Hodgman praised Mr Patterson's 'brave' actions. An obituary carried in the Times described Patricia Hollis was a 'sexy Leftie' who used her 'feminine skills' A former Tory minister whose defection to Labour helped propel Tony Blair into power is locked in an extraordinary row over an obituary of his late partner Lord Howarth, whose switch during the final days of John Major's government caused a sensation, is furious over comments on Baroness Hollis carried in the Times. The grieving family of the Labour peer, who died aged 77 last month, are also incensed after the pair who were married to other people when he defected were effectively accused of being in a relationship at the time. The obituary said Lady Hollis was a 'sexy Leftie' who used her 'feminine skills to orchestrate Lord Howarth's political seduction'. He was described as a 'Tory traitor'. Friends of the couple said they were shocked by the 'deeply distasteful' obituary and have urged him to sue over the damage to his reputation and to clear the name of his late partner. As Alan Howarth, he served as an education minister under Mr Major, but resigned as Stratford on Avon MP in 1995 and was given a safe Labour seat in Newport, South Wales, by Tony Blair in 1997 in gratitude for helping to wreck the Tories. Patricia Hollis was a Labour councillor in Norwich before being ennobled in 1990. The Times obituary described her as a 'real cracker with endless legs' and depicted her as a political coquette. It stated: 'Not only was she striking and statuesque with thick auburn hair, but male colleagues were also gratified at her habit of giggling at their jokes, while others admired her chic style of dress.' The Times said she relished the attention: 'When asked about her reputation as the most glamorous peer in the Lords, Lady Hollis said, "I should be very cross," before adding, "Oh, for heaven's sake, I may as well enjoy it."' The Times said many Tories held her responsible for the 'political seduction' of Lord Howarth. He said he left because of 'indecent' Tory calls for tax cuts. The obituary said an unnamed peer had said archly of her role in his defection: 'She can be very persuasive and use her feminine skills for maximum effect; she thrives on projects and Alan Howarth is her most exciting project to date.' The obituary referred to reports Lady Hollis and Lord Howarth 'were regularly engaged in private conversations on a parliamentary trip to Australia' in 1992, and subsequently 'a story in The Sun newspaper appeared under the headline: 'Traitor's trip Down Under with his sexy Leftie pal.' It claimed the pair had behaved 'like soulmates'. The Times said they denied an affair, or that their friendship had anything to do with Lord Howarth's marital problems. She insisted they shared an interest in social issues such as the disabled and that she remained happily married to the philosopher Martin Hollis. She added she often socialised with male colleagues of different political persuasions, citing excursions to Ronnie Scott's club with Ken Clarke and other jazz-loving politicians.' Alan Howarth, whose switch during the final days of John Major's government caused a sensation, is furious over the comments about his late partner The Times added pointedly: 'After the death of her husband in 1998, it did indeed emerge Hollis and Howarth had found happiness together.' Following a backlash from Lady Hollis' friends and family, the newspaper published a second obituary of her, written by her friend and former colleague, Baroness Smith of Basildon, Labour leader in the Lords. In a glowing tribute she praised her 'intellect and fearlessness', said she was 'caring, warm, witty and wise' and a 'loving mother and grandmother'. She described her as a devoted wife to husband Martin to his dying days, saying he 'was ill for some time and Patricia was unstinting in her love and support for him'. Lady Smith dealt with the relationship with Lord Howarth in a single sentence: 'After Martin's death in 1998, Patricia found many years of happiness with her partner, Alan Howarth.' Lord Howarth divorced wife Gillian in 1996. Mr Blair made him a minister in 1997, where he served in government alongside Lady Hollis. The pair were later united in the Lords when he was given a peerage by Blair in 2005. A Labour Lords spokesman said: 'There was anger among our peers over the initial obituary in The Times an anger shared by others across the House. Lord Howarth and members of Patricia's family found the piece deeply distasteful.' The Times did not respond to a request for a comment. An Arkansas man captured the terrifying scene of thousands of spiders swarming alongside a highway. Zach Riggs, of Jonesboro, Arkansas, was driving along Highway 230, near Bono, Arkansas, when he came across the nightmare situation, according to Fox News. Riggs stopped and, naturally, took video and photos which he then shared on Facebook on November 6 with the caption, 'Anybody need some spiders?' While driving on a highway, Arkansas man Zach Riggs came across thousands of spiders said to be mating under thick blankets of spiderwebs. He shared the video and photos online It's believed that the spiders seen in the now-viral video and photos are Tetragnatha spiders or 'stretch spiders,' due to their long bodies. They're common in tropical climates In the video, Riggs gives viewers and up close and personal look at the spiders covering a highway construction barricade. At first glance, the plastic sawhorse looks like it's covered in dirt. Zach Riggs posted the now-viral pictures and video of the spiders on Facebook But upon closer inspection, it's clear that it is actually an astonishing number of arachnids jumbled on top of each other. Riggs can be seen bravely holding out his hand near the spiders, which waste no time crawling over his palm. The series of photos that Riggs posted reveal that thick, white spiderwebs cover the grass on the side of the road, brushes, metal road signs and even spindly trees. It's believed that the spiders seen in the now-viral video and photos are Tetragnatha spiders. The so-called 'stretch spiders' have long bodies and are common in tropical climates. AccuWeather stated that the area near Bono has been very moist due to recent storms and that some spider species are attracted to those conditions. The spiders were so numerous that they appeared to look like clumps of dirt in places The spider webs could be seen blanketing shrubs at the edge of the road The spiderwebs also covered nearby signposts and trees. The spiders are not dangerous to humans and do not have a negative impact on flora This isn't the first time that such a frightening scene has caught the eye of a passerby, however. In September, a man in Aitoliko, Greece, shared similar images online, showing a nearly 1,000-foot spiderweb blanketing a local beach which was determined to be a kind of 'mating party'. Democritus University of Thrace biology professor Maria Chatzaki said that 'It's as if the spiders are taking advantage of these conditions and are having a kind of a party,' according to a translation by the BBC. 'They mate, they reproduce and provide a whole new generation.' After mating beneath the webs, Chatzaki said, the spiders would then die. Tetragnatha spiders are not deemed dangerous for people and don't cause any damage to nearby flora. Hold the garlic: Pheasant crumble pie tickles Charles's tasatebuds, he tells Country Life magazine It has long been known that architecture, organic farming and complementary medicine are high on the menu of meaty issues which Prince Charles likes to get his teeth into. Less well documented, however, is what he most likes to tuck into for his supper let alone just what a keen eye he has for a cutting edge and imaginative new recipe. Until now. For the Prince of Wales has given a mouthwatering insight into what sets his taste buds tingling by revealing that his favourite recipe is . . . pheasant crumble pie. And the heir to the throne likes eating game birds so much he has invented a possible successor to that dishs place in his affections a moussaka made with grouse, instead of the usual lamb, which he calls groussaka. His craving for such culinary creations will be revealed in next Wednesdays edition of Country Life magazine that he is guest editing to mark his 70th birthday, which falls on that very same day. In it, Charles tells how he owes his fondness for pheasant crumble pie to a friend, saying: I got this recipe from someone I know. It is delicious. He goes on to say: I invented a grouse one recently, coq au vin with grouse, as well as moussaka with grouse (it doesnt always have to be lamb), in other words groussaka! The feature, titled My Favourite Recipe, includes an interview with John Williams, the executive chef at The Ritz in London, and the recipe for pheasant crumble pie, along with photographs of Mr Williams preparing it. The feature, titled My Favourite Recipe, includes an interview with John Williams, the executive chef at The Ritz in London, and the recipe for pheasant crumble pie Mr Williams tells the magazine he thinks cooking with game went out of favour for a while because chefs werent handling it correctly. He adds: People used to tell me, I like my game green, man its got to be very well hung, but hanging should only be taking place from four to six days, really; just enough to make it tender and ready for the table. Mr Williams also advises readers: The important thing is not to overcook game birds make sure theres juice inside . . . Seasonality, of the kind you get with game, brings something new to the table. We work on the principle that the ingredients the animals live among tend to go really well with them, so, at the moment, were serving [at The Ritz] a lovely dish of roast grouse with blackberries and ceps. Its very simple. Charles's craving for such culinary creations will be revealed in next Wednesdays edition of Country Life magazine that he is guest editing to mark his 70th birthday Earlier this year, the Duchess of Cornwall gave a peek into her husbands food habits when she appeared on a special episode of MasterChef Australia and talked about how much he likes cheese. She said: Anything to do with cheese, hell love . . . anything with eggs, with a bit of local vegetables of some kind, hed love that. Youd definitely see a smile. In the documentary, Prince, Son And Heir Charles At 70, which aired on BBC One on Thursday, Charles appeared to suggest during a conversation about a smelly sporran that there is, however, one cheese that he is not keen on goats cheese. Laughing, he said: It [the sporran] goes round smelling like goats cheese, I never quite know because it always smells like my sporran and tastes like it. As for foods which the Royal Family would generally rather avoid, garlic is known to be high on the list. On MasterChef Australia, Camilla was asked if that is because they spend so much time chatting to people and replied: Exactly you just have to lay off the garlic. Perhaps not surprisingly, then, the pungent bulb is absent from the ingredients listed in the recipe for the Princes favourite pheasant crumble pie, the sauce for which is flavoured with juniper berries, bay leaves, thyme, peppercorns and a splash of sherry. HRH The Prince of Wales 70th birthday commemorative issue of Country Life is on sale Wednesday, November 14. A Canadian political commentator whose views have been described as white nationalist secured third place in Toronto's mayoral race. In a field of 35 candidates, Faith Goldy secured 26,000 votes. Goldy worked for alt-right Rebel Media until the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia - she was fired for appearing on The Daily Stormer, a Neo-Nazi podcast. Upon entering the Toronto race she demanded she be given 'serious candidate' status and be included in the mayoral debates. Faith Goldy is a Canadian political commentator whose views have been described as far-right and white nationalist. Here she poses with an OK sign, an adopted symbol of the alt-right Goldy recently stood as a candidate for mayor of Toronto where she finished third with 3.4% of the vote pulling in almost 26,000 votes with her extreme views Goldy poses with Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and current lawyer for Donald Trump The Toronto Star reported how she ran a campaign that parroted Trumpian language like 'make Toronto safe again!' and 'the media is truly the enemy of the people!' She suggested that if she lost the mayoral election that it was because the election was 'rigged'. Goldy's far-right platform promised to evict illegals from Toronto's homeless shelters and give them back to homeless Canadians. Her campaign flyer proclaimed, 'Only Faith Goldy will evacuate illegal migrants from our city and put Toronto First!' She vowed to provide subsidized housing only to people born in Canada, stop illegal immigration, monitor imams and Islamic organizations with a view to revoking the permits of mosques where extreme views are taught. Goldy was banned from appearing during the mayoral debates because of her extreme views Goldy ran a campaign that gleefully parroted Trumpian language like 'make Toronto safe again!' and 'the media is truly the enemy of the people!' Goldby wanted to bring back a procedure known as 'carding' whereby police are allowed to stop black and brown people to answer police questions even when they are not suspected of committing a crime. Goldy's views have been described as far-right and white nationalist. She wrote and reported for The Rebel Media, a Canadian right-wing media website. A typical report by Goldy showcasing her distasteful views occurred in March 2017 when she posted a video of herself on Twitter in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in which she expressed shock that she could hear an Islamic call to prayer in the city. She suggested that 'Bethlehem's Christian population has been ethnically cleansed'. Her campaign flyer proclaimed, 'Only Faith Goldy will evacuate illegal migrants from our city and put Toronto First!' - echoing a similar rhetoric from the White House A month later, she suggested the Canadian government was involved in 'White Genocide' after she analyzed the country's foreign immigration policies compared to the Third World. She suggested that the European population in Canada was being replaced as a result of the taking-in of immigrants from other countries around the world. Goldy was also involved covering events surrounding the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia according to The Cut which wrote a lengthy piece profiling her. Goldy mocked counter-protesters and complained of apparent police bias against the alt-right demonstrators. However, her contract was terminated after she appeared in an interview on The Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website, speaking about the Charlottesville incident. In December 2017, Goldy appeared on an the alt-right podcast and recited a white supremacist slogan, the Fourteen Words. Last August, Goldy covered the deadly Unite the Right protest in Charlottesville where she appeared to show sympathy for the alt-right protesters. She was later fired from her job Goldy suggested that she lost the Toronto mayoral election, it will be because is was 'RIGGED' After being challenged for uttering the slogan she continued: 'I don't see that as controversial ... We want to survive.' Goldy has also previously recommended a book calling for the 'elimination of Jews' and said on a podcast that she believed homosexuality was a reason for the Holocaust. Crowdfunding site then Patreon suspended her account in May 2018 and she was subsequently banned from PayPal that July, leaving her unable to receive payments However, despite her controversial views, The Star believes that there is something to said for allowing such high-profile, far-right personalities and racists a place to speak their minds, in order for others to tear their arguments apart. Columnist Royson James writes: 'Confronting them and calling them out is a better strategy especially when their utterances and policies are couched in coded words and ideas we have long deciphered as dog whistles intended to rally the like-minded under an invisible banner. Evil grows in the dark. Open debate is a disinfectant, not something to fear.' Jeremy Corbyn has met MI6 boss Alex Younger, pictured, for the first time Jeremy Corbyn has met the boss of MI6 for the first time amid concerns there could be another snap general election. The Labour leader was given a briefing by the intelligence chief on potential threats to the nation. It comes as the potential for another election has been predicted if Theresa May's Brexit negotiations fail. Jo Johnson's decision to quit as transport minister saw pro-EU and arch-Brexiteers in the Conservative Party unite to attack the Prime Minister's stance. Mrs May also had to deal with a challenge from Northern Ireland's DUP whose support she needs to command a Commons majority. According to the Daily Telegraph, Mr Younger invited Mr Corbyn to MI6's headquarters in Vauxhall, south London for an 'acquaintance session'. A Whitehall source told the paper: 'The feeling was that the time had come for Mr Corbyn to become acquainted with the workings of the intelligence establishment.' The source added he received a detailed briefing on MI6's organisational and operational structure. Today Mr Corbyn also indicated he felt sorry for Prime Minister Theresa May over the EU withdrawal negotiations but said she was following the wrong path and that Brexit 'cannot be stopped'. Asked by German magazine Der Spiegel if he would stop Brexit if he could, the Labour leader said: 'We can't stop it. 'The referendum took place. Article 50 has been triggered. What we can do is recognise the reasons why people voted Leave.' Mr Corbyn insisted he would not face the same problems as Mrs May if he was in charge of Brexit negotiations. The Labour leader said: 'No, because we wouldn't be trying to face towards the deregulated economy of the United States, which the one wing of the Tory party is trying to do all the time. 'We would want to make a new and comprehensive customs union with the European Union, one that would obviously protect the Irish border - that's crucial - but also ensure that our supply chains worked in both directions. 'People voted Leave, or they voted Remain, but nobody voted to lose their job. Nobody voted to reduce their living standards or working conditions.' Mr Corbyn, pictured in London earlier this week, also said Brexit 'cannot be stopped' as calls grow for another referendum with government minister Jo Johnson resigning Meanwhile, Jo Johnson, who supported Remain in the referendum campaign, delivered a stinging rebuke to Mrs May's Brexit position as he walked out of Government in protest. He said: 'To present the nation with a choice between two deeply unattractive outcomes, vassalage and chaos, is a failure of British statecraft on a scale unseen since the Suez crisis. 'We are barrelling towards an incoherent Brexit that is going to leave us trapped in a subordinate relationship to the EU. 'With no say over the rules that will govern huge swathes of our economy.' Boris Johnson backed his brother's decision, saying: 'We may not have agreed about Brexit but we are united in dismay at the intellectually and politically indefensible of the UK position.' Speaking of his brother, Jo Johnson acknowledged that the Brexit negotiations 'have at least united us in fraternal dismay'. Google is clamping down on alcohol-fuelled work events as part of a plan to stamp out a culture of sexual harassment at the organisation. The head of the web giant has released an action plan, days after its workers across the globe walked out over covered-up sleaze allegations. After female workers told of the pervasive culture of sexual harassment, Google chief Sundar Pichai has promised to better support anyone bringing cases against fellow workers. Google chief Sundar Pichai has promised to better support anyone bringing cases against fellow workers Harassment is never acceptable and alcohol is never an excuse, he said. In 20 per cent of cases involving harassment, the perpetrator had been drinking, Mr Pichai noted. He said: Excessive consumption of alcohol is not permitted when you are at work. Mandatory sexual harassment training is also being introduced along with an end to forced arbitration for those employees who present sexual assault or harassment claims Some teams had now imposed two-drink limits, he added. Mandatory sexual harassment training is also being introduced along with an end to forced arbitration for those employees who present sexual assault or harassment claims. Families are stranded in damp and mouldy properties because of a state-backed green energy scheme. Thousands of low-income households were offered free insulation, double glazing and a boiler in a drive to cut greenhouse gases. But contractors bodged the work so badly that sodden walls are sprouting mushrooms. The builders have now gone bust, putting ministers under pressure to pay for repairs to the 387 homes in Preston. Campaigners fear that as many as a million homes renovated under the Green Deal might be affected. Afsha Hussain said her house in next to worthless (box), she lives in Fishwick area of Preston Residents in Prestons Fishwick estate were offered the work by door-to-door salesmen employed by the big energy companies, which were under pressure to meet energy efficiency targets. In 2013 entire rows of terraced houses were swathed in several inches of polystyrene insulation topped with pebble-dash rendering. Occupants were soon complaining of severe damp in their front rooms and surveyors said the work had been bungled. Rainwater was seeping in through gaps before becoming trapped in the brickwork. My house is next to worthless Afsha Hussain signed up to the Green Deal on the promise of cheaper energy bills instead they have doubled. And her terraced property in Preston has been made almost worthless through damp that she blames on botched external insulation fitted under the scheme. Its impossible to warm the house up now, its so damp, said the customer service adviser. I have to have the heating on all the time. I was paying 75 a month for my energy bills, now its more like 135 a month. Who would want to buy the house now? It was valued at 80,000, now its not even worth a tenth of that. Miss Hussain, 40, said every room was mouldy and she feared for her health. Advertisement Some owners have been quoted 40,000 to repair the damage to homes worth 90,000. In 2014, the company behind the main insulation scheme, InterGen, was ordered by energy regulator Ofgem to repair 62 homes at a cost of around 1.5million. But in a statement yesterday, Ofgem conceded it had since become apparent that the problems with the work are more widespread. Unfortunately at the time of our settlement with InterGen, we were only aware of problems with 62 houses so the agreed settlement with InterGen only required them to resolve these complaints and did not include any further issues that might arise, it said. It said it was still looking at other options to assist Preston residents whose homes had been blighted. Preston council, which has been working to help residents despite, it says, having no legal liability, said it had exhausted all avenues and only the Government could help. Sir Mark Hendrick, who is the citys Labour MP, highlighted the issue during an adjournment debate in the House of Commons last month. He said it had been an absolute tragedy for those living in those 387 houses, who have been trying to put up with substandard housing and great inconvenience. In response, energy minister Claire Perry branded the saga evidence of a strong failure by the Labour government which introduced the community energy saving programme aimed at low income households. She promised to work on a solution. More than eight million homes have been insulated over the past 20 years under a range of government-backed schemes to cut carbon emissions and reduce bills. Many have had cavity wall insulation retrofitted, rather than externally as was done in Fishwick. But experts last year warned as many as 1.5million of these properties had been blighted by botched work, causing dampness and crumbling plaster. The insulation industry body said this claim was wildly inaccurate. A spokesman for the Government, which scrapped the Green Deal in 2015, said: Energy-efficiency measures, including insulation, need to be installed to a high standard for the benefits to be realised, including cheaper energy bills and warmer homes. The spokesman said ministers had brought in a new quality mark and a requirement for guarantees to be provided. Britons could be forced to rely more on UK-grown vegetables such as turnips in the event of 'No Deal' with the EU (file photo) Britons could be forced to rely more on UK-grown vegetables such as turnips in the event of 'No Deal' with the EU, a senior pro-Brexit minister has suggested. The minister, who asked not to be named, has told friends of fears of trade disruption and chaos at Dover if Brexit talks collapse. They said it could limit the amount of choice on supermarket shelves, forcing greater reliance on home-grown food like turnips. The comments will be seen as a sign that warnings of 'No Deal' chaos are becoming accepted by Brexit-supporting ministers. Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab this week accepted he 'hadn't quite understood' how dependent the UK is on goods brought in via the Dover-Calais crossing. One Cabinet minister has proposed a 'Plan B' to manage a collapse in Brexit talks. Under the proposal, which has been put to Theresa May, the UK would leave the EU in March as expected but agree to pay its membership fees until the end of 2021 and to follow Brussels rules. This would help avoid an immediate 'cliff edge' exit from the EU. Crucially, it would mean the UK would be able to negotiate with Brussels for another two years. It would also avoid the full 38billion Brexit divorce bill. But it would not address what to do about Northern Ireland. The PM is understood to have told the Brexiteer minister their plan 'was not needed yet'. Two-hundred elite soldiers who formed a covert neo-Nazi faction within Germany's equivalent of the SAS planned to butcher immigrants to the country. They conspired to unleash chaos on what they code-named Day X when they planned to kill Green Party leader Claudia Roth, foreign minister Heiko Maas and ex-president Joachim Gauck. But authorities smashed the breakaway group of the Bundeswehr's KSK unit before their death squads could carry out the assassinations. Authorities uncovered 200 elite soldiers who had planned to execute left-wingers (pictured, a file photo of Bundeswehr's KSK unit - there is no suggestion these servicemen were involved in the plot) They planned to kill Green Party leader Claudia Roth (left) and foreign minister Heiko Maas (right) The 200 soldiers were also set to target leaders of asylum groups they blamed for rapes, terror and social unrest, Berlin's new weekly, Focus reports. Their organisation's membership grew when Chancellor Angela Merkel let a million refugees into the country in 2015. A report on the thwarting of the neo-Nazis reads: 'Numerous interrogations paint a picture of a conspiratorial force that is not supposed to shy away from the killing of political opponents.' The racists were going to unleash Day X when law and order collapsed - something they regarded as 'imminent'. After Angela Merkel (left) opened the borders the group's ranks swelled and they planned to kill ex-president Joachim Gauck (right) Police originally thought the plot was just alcohol-fuelled fantasy - but then interrogators got the truth out of a former Air Force major. The plotters all belonged to a group called Uniter, which was founded in 1996 to take care of soldiers who had toured in Afghanistan and Africa. Uniter has denied any knowledge of the group. German authorities have also been been scouring training camps on the Austrian and Swiss borders for weapons, ammunition, food and petrol. The Ministry of Defence has sent more than 1,300 letters to former soldiers seeking information on deaths in Northern Ireland. The Army veterans many in their 60s and 70s are potential murder or manslaughter suspects over killings at the height of the IRA's terror campaign. They have been contacted over around 40 incidents dating back to the 1970s, including Bloody Sunday. Critics claim it is fresh evidence of a 'witch-hunt' against troops who served during the Troubles. The British Army veterans - mainly in their 60s and 70s - are potential murder or manslaughter suspects over killings at the height of the IRA's terror campaign (file photo) The Police Service of Northern Ireland has sparked anger by re-examining every British Army killing. There is outrage that hundreds of elderly ex-soldiers many suffering serious illnesses are being put through another ordeal. The Daily Mail has long campaigned for an end to the hounding of our troops. A freedom of information request by the Belfast Telegraph newspaper revealed the MoD had sent at least 1,381 letters to veterans since 2013 on behalf of the PSNI. The total will be higher because the MoD did not disclose figures for cases where fewer than ten letters were sent. Some 386 letters relate to Bloody Sunday, when 13 people were shot dead after members of the Parachute Regiment opened fire on demonstrators in Londonderry in 1972. Another died later. The letters relate to inquests, ongoing criminal probes and investigations by the PSNI's former Historical Enquiries Team. Ex-soldier Alan Barry, of the group Justice For Northern Ireland Veterans, said: 'This is a fishing exercise looking for information. Our advice to veterans remains that they should put these letters in the bin and not co-operate in any shape or form. 'Men being called upon to give evidence in an inquiry are in their late 70s. Their memories might be fading or it may have been a traumatic incident that they were involved in. The next thing is that they will be brought forward as part of a criminal investigation.' Ex-soldier, Dennis Hutchings, 77, from Cornwall, has been accused of attempted murder in connection with a fatal shooting of a man he suspected of being an IRA member in Northern Ireland in 1974. He has been cleared by two previous investigations. Philip Barden, of Devonshires Solicitors in London, who represents British troops, said: 'Former soldiers are asked to recall events and when they can't it is suggested they are lying. They have been contacted over around 40 incidents dating back to the 1970s, including Bloody Sunday (file photo) 'The whole process is unreliable. I don't think this is about a quest for the truth it is about revenge and using the criminal process to that end. 'Soldiers who were investigated and released should not be re-investigated in the absence of new material and reliable evidence. That should be a line that isn't crossed.' Campaigners are angry that Army veterans are being probed while IRA terrorists who committed atrocities get off scot-free. A total of 187 on-the-run paramilitary suspects received 'comfort letters' from Tony Blair's government which told them they were not being sought by police. One was John Downey, 66, who escaped prosecution for the 1982 Hyde Park bombing, which left four soldiers dead, because he was given a guarantee he was immune from prosecution. He has always denied involvement but was this week arrested in a probe over the murder of two soldiers in Northern Ireland. The MoD said: 'The welfare of our personnel and veterans is of the utmost importance.' It stressed it had a legal obligation to assist with investigations and inqu Advertisement The two police officers who bravely challenged knife-wielding Bourke Street terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali were both rookie members of the force. Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, 30, crashed his car on the busy shopping street before setting it on fire, knifing bystanders - one fatally - and slashing at the two officers who tried to stop him at around 4.20pm on Friday. One of the officers eventually shot him in the chest, and he died of his wounds in Royal Melbourne Hospital. It has now emerged the officer who fired the bullet had only graduated from police academy three months ago. At a press conference on Saturday morning Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said both members were 'reasonably new'. He said: 'The member that fired was only three months out of the academy and has family members in the Victorian police force.' The chief commissioner also praised his officers composure in the situation. The two police officers who bravely challenged knife-wielding Bourke Street terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali were both rookie members of the force He said: 'I continue to be proud of all our members' efforts. They had seconds to react and they did so very bravely.' Chief Commissioner Ashton defended accusations his officers had taken too long to subdue the assailant. A witness who came out of KFC to see the commotion told ABC after the attack it looked 'like police officers didn't know how to handle the situation'. Video shot from the scene showed the frenzied attack that carried on for more than a minute, beginning with Khalif charging at two police officers, punching one through a vehicle window and lunging at them with a knife. Khalif chased the officers around a tree as they tried to avoid his blows and convince him to surrender. A brave bystander also tried to stop the attack by running him down with a shopping trolley. The knife-wielding Somalian terrorist (left) crashed his car on the busy shopping street before setting it on fire, knifing bystanders - one fatally - and slashing at the two officers who tried to stop him at around 4.20pm on Friday The officers retreated to the other side of the road as the bearded attacker, who had a shaved head and was dressed in a long brown tunic, pursued them. Horrified bystanders begged police to shoot him. Khalif again attempted to stab and slash at the officers several times before one policeman tried to taser him unsuccessfully. His partner then shot the assailant in the chest. The knifeman clutched his chest and and fell to the ground where he was quickly arrested by two plain-clothed officers. He rushed to hospital under police guard, where he later died on the operating table. Witnesses said the Holden Rodeo hit a pedestrian as it mounted the kerb and burst into flames outside Target near the Swanson Street intersection about 4.20pm on Friday, before the stabbing rampage began Meanwhile, it has emerged Khalif was known to Australian counter-terror agencies and had links to north African extremist groups. He had his passport was cancelled in 2015 after he was flagged as one of 300 potential security risks. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed it was taken off him after it was decided by intelligence officers he planned to travel to Syria. A series of auto bombs detonated in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Friday, killing at least 23 people, local officials said. Twin vehicle bombs exploded within moments of each other, followed by gunfire and a third blast, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the sky. The hotel is near the headquarters of the Somali Police Force's Criminal Investigations Department (CID). A third blast hit the busy street near the hotel about 20 minutes later, according to witnesses. "The death toll is sure to rise". The blasts came a day before the first anniversary of a truck bombing that left more than 500 dead in Mogadishu, the worst ever attack in Somalia which was blamed on Al-Shabaab. "Most of these people were civilians who were passing by the area when the attack occurred", Abdulahi Ahmed, a Somali security official, said. "Most of these people were civilians and almost 20 of them died in minibuses that were passing by the road when the blast occurred", he added. "There was chaos after the blast". People rescue a wounded person following three blasts of suicide bomb auto attacks in Mogadishu, on 9 November 2018. The blasts appeared to be suicide bombs that detonated near the perimeter wall of the hotel. "Most of the dead and wounded were civilians", added Awil Mohamed, another witness. "Two martyrdom operations and a special forces attack on the Sahafi hotel in the center of Mogadishu, where government officers and officials reside, which was adopted by Shabaab", the group's short statement reads. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but Islamists from the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group have mounted regular attacks in the capital. But they still control parts of the countryside and attack government, military and civilian targets, seemingly at will, in Mogadishu and regional towns. Budget German supermarket Aldi is at the centre of a caviar storm due to doubts around the luxury products authenticity. The row erupted after a rival producer suggested Aldis cut-price caviar - which has yet to go on sale and is part of the supermarket's Christmas product range - was engineered or enhanced and was not the real thing, the Times reported. Last night Kenneth Benning of London Fine Foods and the owner of a sturgeon farm on Exmoor blasted Aldi and their caviar producer, KC Caviar, for misleading customers about the new product, which he believes has been manipulated and overly preserved. The German cut-price supermarket chain Aldi has sold a cut-price version of caviar since 2014 but a rival producer last night slammed their product saying it is 'misleading' He told the Times: Real caviar is the raw salted roe of sturgeon fish that has not been treated with anything. The problem with KC Caviars product is that the eggs have been rinsed in a saline solution and put through a calcium bath. This encases the roe in a form of jelly that changes the molecular structure of the egg and increases its longevity. Mr Benning added: Real caviar is a raw natural product that unfortunately spoils within days and certainly within weeks. Yet I bought a caviar product from KC Caviar nearly 16 weeks go and it has not yet spoilt. This is an undeniable confirmation that the roe has gone through significant molecular change and is therefore not the real thing. There is nothing wrong with these eggs but it would be misleading for Aldi to claim that they are real caviar. Last night Kenneth Benning of London Fine Foods and the owner of a sturgeon farm on Exmoor blasted Aldi and their caviar producer, KC Caviar, for misleading customers about the product, which he believes has been manipulated and overly preserved But Aldi and KC Caviar, strongly dispute the claims and have said Mr Benning was being malicious and that his actions were motivated by commercial interests. Aldi previously stocked caviar in 2014 as a limited edition product as part of its plan to step up its battle for a bigger slice of the luxury market by increasing and improving its selection of goods aimed at affluent consumers. They originally called it Beluga caviar but were forced to rename it because it was not sourced from authentic European sturgeon from the Caspian sea and Black Sea. A spokesman for Aldi said: Cambridgeshire county council, Aldis primary authority, having reviewed the legislation and sought advice from the Food Standards Agency, have confirmed this product is caviar.' The nation's top police officer has accused the Government of leaving police unable to stop violent crime. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said officers 'hamstrung' and called on the Home Office to show 'greater leadership'. She slammed a failure to introduce laws allowing police to use facial recognition and said more funding is needed. Cressida Dick (left) has hit back at the Home Office after Home Secretary Sajid Javid (right) told Scotland Yard to get a handle on violent crime It comes after a row over whether cuts in funding are linked to rising crime as the force investigates its 120th murder this year. That's already three more than the whole of 2017 and Home Secretary Sajid Javid has told Ms Dick to 'get the situation under control'. But she has told The Daily Telegraph that the police have been left to fend for themselves since Theresa May was Home Secretary. 'I do see a greater leadership role for the Home Office than the one they have chosen to take recently,' she added. The commissioner also hit out at Theresa May (pictured at a WW1 memorial event with French President Emmanuel Macron) for her leadership when she was Home Secretary 'Three years ago there was a sense from the then home secretary that you, the police, should transform yourselves and there are areas where that is really difficult. It has got to be led.' The technology she had hoped to deploy to her officers would have allowed them to scan live video footage and compare it with listed offenders. But civil liberties groups raised concerns about the cameras, which the Home Office as not authorised. Ms Dick argues that without the cameras, criminals have an advantage over her officers. Ex-FBI director James Comey used his private Gmail account to send and receive scores of messages including government emails, according to a new report. The New York Post has exclusively obtained 156 of 1,200 pages of messages sent between Comey and his chief of staff, in which they discussed government business while Comey was using his personal Gmail address. The Department of Justice turned over the 156 pages to the newspaper in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, but kept back seven messages that the DOJ believed would 'disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions.' The Department of Justice reveled there are 1,200 pages of messages involving FBI business that ex-FBI director James Comey sent and received using his personal Gmail account An additional 363 pages of those messages were withheld due to personal privacy concerns or privileged agency communications, the NY Post said. Despite the DOJ's reasons for withholding the emails, it's said that Comey's claims that he only used his private Gmail account for 'incidental' purposes, not sending classified information, appear to be true. Among the reasons Comey used his personal Gmail account, according to the messages that were obtained, were the fact that his work email on his presumably government-issued smartphone wasn't functioning and that he'd left the same phone at the office. In October 2015, shortly before having give testimony to the Senate, Comey complained that his government-issued phone 'is not sending emails' and asked an aide to send to the testimony to his private Gmail account. The need to resort to his private account while investigating Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, Comey wrote, was 'Embarrassing for us.' Comey even used his Gmail account while investigating Hillary Clinton for using a private email server while she was Secretary of State. Comey's claims that he did not use Gmail to send classified information appears to continue to be true, however The DOJ-released messages also showed Comey using his Gmail account to send links to media stories involving the controversy over Russian hackers trying to get access to Clinton's email servers. In September 2015, Comey sent his then-chief of staff, James Rybicki, a link to a Fox News article about Russian hackers and Clinton's servers, and added: 'Need to be sure our colleagues across the street dont think I actually said most of the stuff they attribute to me.' And, in July 2016, Comey sent Rybicki a Lawfare article speculating about what the government knew about the DNC hack and Russia, writing, 'I suspect there will be more of these kinds of stories.' Other Gmail emails Comey sent involved seemingly routine business such as speeches and public statements, but there were also emails about a threatened Chicago school mass shooting in May 2016, as well as talk of his protection detail changes and assisting American teachers with the visa process. Watchdog groups were quick to criticize Comey for using Gmail to conduct FBI business, no matter how general or insignificant the contents of the messages were. 'Using private email to conduct official government business endangers transparency and accountability, and that is why we sued the Department of Justice,' conservative watchdog group Cause of Action CEO John Vecchione told the New York Post. Cause of Action also questioned the FBI's decision to hold back emails for law enforcement sensitivity reasons. 'This runs counter to Comeys statements that his use of email was incidental and never involved any sensitive matters,' Vecchione said. 'He cant have it both ways,' nonpartisan coalition Open the Government executive director Lisa Rosenberg said. 'Either he used his personal email for things that were public or would be in the public domain, or he used it to discuss internal policies, investigations, etc. that might or might not be appropriately withheld under FOIA.' Watchdogs also pointed to the apparent double standard involved in the notion of Comey using his Gmail account while investigating Clinton for using a private email server to conduct business while she was Secretary of State. 'Its just so transparently hypocritical to have one standard for a person you are investigating and an entirely different standard for yourself when you are the one whos enforcing the law,' Rosenberg said. Comey has claimed that his using Gmail was 'a totally different thing' from Clintons private server use and has said that he forwarded his personal emails to FBI accounts to keep record of them. A rep for Comey told the New York Post that Comey had no comment about the newly-released emails. The 156 messages that were released to the newspaper were dated between 2013 and 2017 and were said to be heavily redacted. More messages are expected to be released soon. Advertisement Tributes continue to pour in following the tragic passing of cafe icon Sisto Malaspina on Friday. The Pellegrini's Espresso Bar co-owner on Melbourne's Bourke St was stabbed to death at about 4.20pm by terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali. Hordes of regulars, friends and staff visited the cafe on Saturday to pay their respects with flowers and cards or online via social media. In what was a horrific scene, Malaspina, 74, initially ran outside to aid Ali, believing the Somali-born attacker was the victim of a car accident. Tributes have poured in for murdered coffee maestro Sisto Malaspina (pictured) who was stabbed to death on Friday Mourners paid tribute to co-owner Malaspina outside Pellegrini's cafe on Bourke Street with written messages and flowers He was labelled by many as the 'Godfather of coffee' after bringing the first espresso machine to Melbourne in the 1960s HEARTFELT TRIBUTE POSTED BY STAFF IN FRONT OF THE CAFE SISTO. Thank-you for making us your staff members as part of your life. You always looked after us like family. You always said to have fun at work because we all worked so hard. Pellegrini' s was your life. We will never forget all that you have done and given us all. We will love you forever and ever in our hearts. REST IN PEACE. Condolences to Malaspina family. Always loved, never forgotten. Advertisement A frenzied Ali attacked the elderly man, who died in the street next to a pool of his own blood. Ali went on to attack two more victims, who survived. Twitter user Tony De Bolfo said Malaspina offered 'Italy in a cup', while another tweeted the elderly gentleman added to the 'fabric of the city' due to his cheerful persona. A third described Malaspina as an 'icon of Melbourne' with Mary Sullivan stating his passing was a 'tragedy for family, friends and Melbourne.' Another wrote that Sisto taught their husband, Frank, his own recipe for spaghetti carbonara and was 'such a legend'. Malaspina was a co-owner of Pellegrini's Espresso Bar, a popular institute for Melburnians. The coffee shop was closed on Saturday with floral tributes displaying in the window, accompanied by a heartfelt message from his staff. Mr Malaspina emigrated to Australia from Italy in 1963 and took over Pellegrini's Espresso Bar 11 years later with his business partner Nino Pangrazio, and maintained its original 1950s decor. Melbourne residents were quick to pay tribute to Sisto Malaspina, who was stabbed to death on Friday by a terrorist Malaspina was called the 'Godfather of coffee' by some of his customers, who are seen lining up to pay their respects A tribute posted by staff in front of the shop, calling Malaspina 'the best boss' and thanking him for treating them like family Politicians have joined the public in remembering Malaspina. Keysborough MP Martin Pakula shared the last time he saw Malaspina. 'The last time I saw Sisto we took our coffees & a bit of cake up to the landing above the loo,' he wrote. 'He grabbed me a kitchen chair and a milk crate as a table. 'He sat on the step, told me about being a nonno (grandfather) and how he might get a city pad. Then he wouldnt take my money. A beautiful man.' Opposition leader Bill Shorten shared the sentiment, saying Sisto was a 'true gentleman'. 'Shocking, unreal and heartbreaking. I have been visiting Pellegrinis since school.' Opposition leader Bill Shorten (pictured) was among many Melburnians paying their respects, saying he'd been to Pellegrini's since he was a schoolboy Twitter user Tony De Bolfo said Mr Malaspina gave patrons 'Italy in a cup' and wrote 'goodbye, dear friend' in Italian One tweeted she is 'shedding a tear' following the attack while another said he added to the 'fabric of the city' Many called Malaspina's death a 'tragedy for his family, friends and Melbourne'. Malaspina was also deemed a Melbourne icon Many wrote they weren't surprised Malaspina ran to the aid of the terrorist, whom he believed was a victim of a car accident A sign on the door said the cafe would be closed until Monday, with police standing guard outside. The cafe, with its heritage-listed neon sign, became a popular haunt for urban professionals, tourists and even politicians like former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. His murderer died on the operating table at Royal Melbourne Hospital on Friday night within a few hours of being shot by a junior police officer. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called out 'radical, violent, extremist Islam' as posing the greatest threat to Australia's national security. Speaking in response to the Bourke Street terror attack, Mr Morrison said he was the first person to protect religious freedoms. 'But that also means I must be the first to call out religious extremism,' he said at a press conference in Sydney on Saturday. Mr Morrison made it clear no religion was immune and it took many forms around the world. Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) has called out 'radical, violent, extremist Islam' as posing the greatest threat to Australia's national security Mr Morrison urged religious leaders to protect their communities to ensure 'dangerous teachings and ideologies' didn't spread in Australia 'But here in Australia, we would be kidding ourselves if we did not call out the fact that the greatest threat of religious extremism in this country is the radical and dangerous ideology of extremist Islam,' he said. Mr Morrison said he had long-standing relationships with the Muslim community and it was them who had raised with him their concerns about radicalism in recent years. 'I have sat in the living room of a family whose four sons went and fought for ISIS,' he said. 'And they all died. I have seen the look of complete loss in the eyes of a mother and a father ... confused by people who came and corrupted their children.' Speaking in response to the Bourke Street terror attack, Mr Morrison said he was the first person to protect religious freedoms Prime Minister Scott Morrison also urged all Australians not to be intimidated by Friday's attack Mr Morrison urged religious leaders to protect their communities to ensure 'dangerous teachings and ideologies' didn't spread in Australia. 'They must be proactive, they must be alert and they must call this out in their communities,' he said, adding the government and wider community needed to work respectfully with them. Mr Morrison also urged Australians not to be intimidated by Friday's attack. 'Keep being yourselves, keep being Australians,' he said. 'Be proud of who you are, because I know you are and that is what will ensure we will always defeat this insidious evil that comes at us every single time.' Advertisement The Bourke Street terrorist stormed out of the bungalow he shared with his wife in an 'agitated state' just days before he went on a knife rampage through Melbourne's CBD. Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, 30, lived with his wife and young child in a bungalow at the back of a home in Meadow Heights for about a year before the ISIS-inspired attack on Friday. The Somali immigrant mounted the kerb on the busy shopping strip about 4.20pm before setting the car on fire and stabbing three men, one fatally, before being shot dead by police. Neighbours said Ali stormed out of the home on Pinnaroo Circuit a 'few nights ago', pursued by his wife who always wore full Islamic dress, including keeping her eyes covered and wearing gloves. 'He appeared agitated,' the neighbour said. Family friends also said Ali, who was working as a tradesman, struggled with drug abuse and mental health issues in recent years. Scroll down for video Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, 30, is believed to have lived in a bungalow at the back of the home in Meadow Heights before he went on a knife rampage through Burke Street on Friday Counter-terrorism officers raided a second home in connection to the attack on Saturday afternoon Officials seized bags worth of contraband as they left the second home. Friends earlier told authorities he had abused drugs The young family who lived in the main home were said to be oblivious to what was going on in the bungalow neighbours said was often rented out Counter-terrorism officers raided the house about 3am on Saturday morning with officers waking up neighbours by yelling 'come out, come out'. Police soon realised the young family who lived in the main home were oblivious to what was going on in the bungalow neighbours said was often rented out. A neighbour said he believed Ali worked as some sort of tradesman and would often see him leaving in his ute - likely the same Holden Rodeo that was used in the attack. The young family would go for walks around the neighbourhood at night, and another woman in full Islamic dress was also seen spending time at the property. Another neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said the killer mostly kept to himself, but spoke up when he objected to some loud music. 'He didn't like Tupac,' she said. 'He didn't like the language.' But she said Ali also displayed some neighbourly qualities: 'He stopped by one time and asked if we needed anything from the shop,' she said. Federal agents removed bag loads of evidence from the man's property about 5.30pm. AFP Detective Sergeant Keith Randall said police seized a variety of items, but declined to say exactly what. 'It's a breadth of exhibits that we've seized that are relevant to the investigation,' he said. Ali was living in the bungalow after breaking with Somali tradition and moving out of the family home in Werribee amid a strained relationship with his parents. He was abusing drugs and struggled with mental health issues that caused his life to 'spiral out of control' in recent years and his family worried about him. '[He was] complaining he was being chased by unseen people with spears,' family friend Imam Isse Musse told The Age. Hassan Khalif Shire Ali attempt to stab and slash at two police officers before he was shot and fell to the ground. He earlier stabbed three people and set fire to his car on Melbourne's Bourke Street Counter-terrorism officers raided the house on Pinnaroo Circuit on Saturday morning, followed by forensics officers and detectives A detective can be seen at the entrance to the bungalow out the back of the family's house Police zeroed in on Ali's home as they searched for answers hours after the second attack on Bourke Street in a year, which left a Melbourne cafe legend dead in the street. Sisto Malaspina, 74, was murdered after he ran to help what he thought was a car crash victim just blocks from his iconic Pellegrini's coffee shop. However, Ali had deliberately crashed his truck that was loaded with gas canisters and set the car alight after mounting the pavement near the Swanson Street intersection. By trying to do a good deed, Mr Malaspina, who became a grandfather last Saturday, became the murderous knifeman's first victim. Soon two others would also be stabbed before Ali attacked police. Video shot from the scene showed the frenzied attack that carried on for more than a minute as Ali chased the officers around as they tried to convince him to surrender, before finally shooting him. Melbourne cafe legend Sisto Malaspina was stabbed to death during a terrorist's knife rampage through Bourke Street just blocks form his iconic Pellegrini's coffee shop Mr Malaspina's body was on Friday seen lying in the street covered by a white sheet with a bare foot sticking out after bystanders unsuccessfully tried to save his life Ali planned to ram into pedestrians with his ute or drive it into a shop and kill whoever was there, then set the car on fire to detonate three gas bottles in the back tray to create a deadly explosion. However, this was foiled by his ineptitude and lack of access to even low-level explosives and that the fire didn't reach the gas bottles and make them explode and spray pedestrians with shrapnel. 'Looks like there was some attempt to light a fire there were gas cylinders they had been turned to open,' Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said. 'It certainly wasn't remotely sophisticated, it wasn't effective, the car caught fire and was controlled pretty quickly.' His plan to stab as many people to death as possible was also ruined when two nearby police officers arrived in just 90 seconds, during which time he only stabbed three people. The two policemen were very junior officers and the one who fired the shot that mortally wounded Ali had only been out of the academy for three months. 'They're both reasonably new members, the member that fired was only out of academy three months. He has family members in Victoria Police police,' Chief Ashton said. By trying to do a good deed, Mr Malaspina became the murderous knifeman's first victim. Soon two others would also be stabbed before Ali was shot dead by police One witness said he was 'terrified' after seeing a body covered in a white sheet on the footpath Mr Malaspina came to Australia from Italy and took over Pellegrini's Espresso Bar in 1976 with his business partner Nino Pangrazio and maintained its original 1954 decor Heartbroken friends and longtime customers left floral tributes to the slain food icon outside the Pellegrini's, just down Bourke Street near the Exhibition Street intersection So many people came to pay their respects that a line formed out the front of the shop as well-wishers wrote condolences TRIBUTE WRITTEN BY STAFF IN FRONT OF PELLEGRINI'S SISTO. Thank-you for making us your staff members as part of your life. You always looked after us like family. You always said to have fun at work because we all worked so hard. Pellegrini' s was your life. We will never forget all that you have done and given us all. We will love you forever and ever in our hearts. REST IN PEACE. Condolences to Malaspina family. Always loved, never forgotten. Advertisement 'They are now off duty with family members due to speak with them. They are in good spirits but shaken up, particularly being junior members. 'From what I saw of the footage, I think they followed their training very well.' Chief Ashton said the man who tried to stop Ali's attack on police by bravely ramming him with a trolley has been spoken to be police, and praised his actions. 'People act in the spur of the moment and that's what he's done, he's attempted to the police and do what he could,' he said. 'Certainly people have to be careful that they're not putting themselves in harms way if police are there, but certainly he's done what he thought was the right thing at the time.' Police said Ali was inspired by ISIS to commit jihad, but they were unsure if he had direct contrast with the terrorist group. ISIS claimed his as one of their own, but often falsely associate themselves with lone wolf attacks. Ali's passport was cancelled in 2015 after he was flagged as one of 300 potential security risks when he it was discovered he planned to travel to Syria. A review of Pellegrini's in a magazine bearing his picture was placed among the tributes at the cafe Staff wrote a moving tribute to Mr Malaspina calling him 'the best boss' who made his employees 'part of his life' His cafe, with its heritage-listed neon sign, became a popular haunt for urban professionals, tourists, and even politicians like former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam Two victims lie on the ground in pools of blood after being stabbed by the knifeman in the street, as bystanders rush to their aid Markel Villasin, 22, saw Mr Malaspina was breathing but appeared to be 'bleeding out' as he lay in a pool of blood, as emergency responders attempted to resuscitate him using CPR Assistant AFP Commissioner Ian McCartney said in a press conference late on Saturday morning that though Ali was on their radar, police decided not to intervene. 'While he held radical ideals, he didn't hold a threat,' he said. 'It's a reality check for us that even with the fall of the Caliphate (with ISIS-held territory taken back in Syria and Iraq) the threat is still very real. 'It's a complex and challenging business working on these threats on a daily basis the assessment was that he wasn't a threat at that time. 'Obviously in terms of when he turned from radicalisation to these actions will be a focus of these investigations.' Commissioner McCartney confirmed Ali was inspired by ISIS propaganda online. Ali's family were known to counter-terror agencies and believed to have ties with North African extremist groups. Heartbroken friends and longtime customers left floral tributes to the slain food icon outside the Pellegrini's, just down Bourke Street near the Exhibition Street intersection. Staff were in shock and a sign on the door said the cafe would be closed until November 12, with police standing guard outside. Mr Malaspina's body was on Friday seen lying in the street covered by a white sheet with a bare foot sticking out after bystanders unsuccessfully tried to save his life. After confronting Ali, officers retreated to the other side of the road as the bearded attacker with a shaved head and dressed in a long brown tunic, pursued them as horrified bystanders called on police to shoot him Witnesses said the Holden Rodeo hit a pedestrian as it mounted the kerb and burst into flames outside Target near the Swanson Street intersection about 4.20pm on Friday, before the stabbing rampage began Markel Villasin, 22 and his bosses ran out of their KFC store when they heard a 'commotion' and saw Ali holding a knife and swinging it at police officers. 'It looked like police officers didn't know how to handle the situation because obviously in Melbourne it's so rare,' Mr Villasin told ABC. Mr Villasin saw Mr Malaspina was breathing but appeared to be 'bleeding out' as he lay in a pool of blood, as emergency responders attempted to resuscitate him using CPR. 'Unfortunately, the man passed away, they put a sheet on him. It was crazy because he was alive at my feet as they tried to work on him and then he passed away,' he said. Mr Malaspina came to Australia from Italy and took over Pellegrini's Espresso Bar in 1976 with his business partner Nino Pangrazio and maintained its original 1954 decor. The cafe, with its heritage-listed neon sign, became a popular haunt for urban professionals, tourists, and even politicians like former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam Heavily-armed officers wearing tactical gear and masks swooped on the home in Werribee about 8am on Saturday as they continue to investigate Hassan Khalif Shire Ali's attack His family are inside the house and cooperating with authorities. Ali's wife, who police also believe to be radicalised, was missing on Friday night but has since been interviewed by police A Muslim woman talks to police at the house of the terrorist's father. His family are cooperating with police Neighbour Patricia Rouse said she was shocked by the raid on Ali's family home across the street in Werribee Heavily-armed officers wearing tactical gear and masks swooped on a home in Werribee linked to Ali about 8am on Saturday. The house is believed to be that of the lone wolf terrorist's father. His family are inside the house and cooperating with authorities. Ali's wife, who police also believe to be radicalised, was missing on Friday night but has since been interviewed by police. Neighbour Patricia Rouse said she was shocked by the raid on Ali's family home across the street in Werribee. 'I did hear them ask if there were any kids on there last night and I think there was a young boy who was 15,' she said. Ms Rouse said she believed one of the couple's daughters ran for local council last year. 'I don't know how she did,' she said. 'But I don't see them, honestly. All is see is the mother might be going shopping.' Ms Rouse said it was disturbing to think a terror cell might be linked to her quiet street. 'But whether it's connected to anything I don't know,' she said. The man was quickly arrested on the pavement by two officers in front of shocked pedestrians who stood back to film it Rodney Patterson (second from left) was one of three people who were knifed by the Somali-born attacker, who was shot dead by police after crashing a car and setting it on fire The rampage began when Ali mounted the kerb and crashed his Holden Rodeo on the pavement before setting it on fire to ignite a makeshift bomb made of a barbeque gas bottle. He then stabbed Mr Malaspina to death and wounded Tasmanian businessman Rod Patterson, 58, and a 26-year-old security guard from Hampton Park, Melbourne. Two police officers then arrived on the scene to investigate the car fire and Ali charged at them, punching one through a car window and lunging at them with a knife. He then chased the officers around a tree as they tried to avoid his blows and convince the man to surrender, and a brave bystander tried to stop the attack by running him down with a shopping trolley. The officers then retreated to the other side of the road as the bearded attacker with a shaved head and dressed in a long brown tunic, pursued them as horrified bystanders called on police to shoot him. Ali again attempted to stab and slash at the officers several times before one policeman unsuccessfully tried to taser him and his partner shot the assailant in the chest. Victoria Police said officers responded to reports of a car fire (pictured) before they were confronted by the man The burned-out car sitting where it crashed on to the pavement and exploded before the rampage began He clutched his chest and and fell to the ground where he was quickly arrested on the pavement by two officers and rushed to hospital under police guard. No officers were injured. Ali died one the operating table at Royal Melbourne Hospital within a few hours of being shot. Chief Ashton said the officers followed their training and first tried to talk the attacker down before using non-lethal methods including capsicum spray and tasers. 'It was a quick emerging event and the first thing they are trained to do is create space and have a conversation to verbally de-escalate but that wasn't successful,' he said. However, he rejected the view that they could have shot Ali in the leg. 'Once officers are of the view they have to draw firearms they do so, they have to shoot to kill,' he said. Mr Patterson said he was stabbed as he tried to help Mr Malaspina as the cafe owner lay bleeding on the ground. 'Yesterday, whilst out with my wife Maree enjoying another great day in Melbourne, a city that we love, we were unfortunately caught up in the incident on Bourke Street,' he said. 'I went to assist and whilst doing so received a knife wound to my head. Tasmanian MP Will Hodgman praised Mr Patterson's 'brave' actions. Australians are going to extreme lengths to avoid coming into contact with mould. Known as 'mould avoiders', they are a group of individuals who become severely sick when they are around mould. Richard Barry, 32, has had to spend most of his days constantly aware of his surroundings in order to avoid a reaction. Mr Barry spent years of his life in and out of doctors' offices in an attempt to figure out why he was always feeling sick and exhausted, Nine News reported. Scroll down for video A mould infestation inside his home was so intense that Richard Barry (pictured) began to notice concerning neurological symptoms Mr Barry first began to be affected by mould when his family moved into a home in Balgowlah, on Sydney's northern beaches, that was high in humidity (stock image) At just 17 years of age, he was diagnosed with chronic fatigue and soon fell down a 'rabbit hole' trying to find a cure. Mr Barry first began to be affected by mould when his family moved into a home in Balgowlah, on Sydney's northern beaches, that was high in humidity. 'Mould would grow on clothes very quickly and there was just a lot of superficial mould in the bathroom,' Mr Barry told Nine News. Despite continually seeking medical advice and being diagnosed with chronic illnesses, the 32-year-old's health continued to decline. After years of dealing with the struggles, Mr Barry moved into an apartment in Bondi, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, when he was 27 that caused more health issues. The mould infestation was so intense, the healthy and fit young man began to notice concerning neurological symptoms. 'My brain shut down. I literally couldn't remember what year it was,' Mr Barry (pictured) said when talking about his mould-related illness 'I could barely talk. I was stammering. I was fully housebound. I couldn't walk to the end of my street. My brain shut down. I literally couldn't remember what year it was,' Mr Barry said. Not long after, Mr Barry chose to move in with his father to Budend in Victoria and finally found relief from the symptoms. The 32-year-old immediately noticed a change in his health, going from barely sleeping each night to suddenly sleeping perfectly. After reading that mould could be the factor behind some of the illnesses, Mr Barry thought it was a bit far fetched. He began to explore the idea and soon found that his health was vastly better when he kept away from the toxin. He has also spent the past two years living in a tent up and down the east coast of New South Wales. Mr Barry said the first night he slept in a new tent he bought was the most profound shift in his health. 'It was immediate. My brain felt clear and I had word recollection immediately,' he said. An inquiry in Australia reveals those suffering from the illness were due to the fact their properties had significant amounts of mould (stock image) A recent Federal Government inquiry into mould-related illnesses received more than 100 submissions. The inquiry in Australia reveals those suffering from the illness were due to the fact their properties had significant amounts of mould. Tenants have voiced their concerns after struggling to get landlords to address their complaints seriously. Those with mould-related illnesses usually have symptoms affecting their respiratory system such as coughing, watery eyes and skin irritation. But mould could also lead to more serious health problems such as memory loss, insomnia, anxiety and depression. President of the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating's Building Physics Special Technical Group Jesse Clark said 'prevention is better than cure' when it comes to address mould-related illnesses. Long lines are forming at California evacuation centers as hundreds of thousands of residents are being forced out of their homes while fleeing from the raging wildfires sweeping the state. At least nine people have died and 35 are missing in the massive wildfire in Northern California, while in Southern California, thousands of homes are under threat and all of Malibu has been evacuated as two other fires bear down. More than 300,000 people from across the state have been forced to flee their homes, as the fast moving flames from the fires that all started on Thursday have raced to cover more than 200 square miles. Evacuation alerts left more than 300,000 people across California looking for shelter from the wildfires. Students at Pepperdine are seen in the campus's dining area on Friday A man and his dog sleep on a cot in a parking lot while waiting to learn the fate of their home Whipped by the notorious Santa Ana winds gusting up to 60mph, the southern blazes have not yet killed or injured anyone, but have destroyed many homes and forced thousands to flee for their lives on short notice - including many celebrities who live in the wealthy coastal enclaves under threat. The larger of the two southern blazes, the Woolsey Fire, has scorched as least 35,000 acres north of Los Angeles since igniting near Rocketdyne at around 2pm local time Thursday, quickly spreading southwest toward Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks. The American Red Cross and other organizations have been scrambling to open evacuation centers across the impacted areas, as people have been told to leave their homes due to the encroaching fires. In Ventura County, some of those shelters were filled to capacity by Thursday night, with space slowly opening up Friday after as people were able to find alternative accommodation. Pepperdine students are seen here in the hallways, waiting for the all-clear Pet owners flocked to Zuma Beach in Malibu to escape from the wildfires At least nine people have died and 35 are missing in the massive wildfire in Northern California, while in Southern California, thousands of homes are under threat The Thousand Oaks Teen Center hosted as 250 evacuees, American Red Cross staff told the Ventura County Star. People unable to get into evacuation centers or hotels sought refuge in their cars, cafes and even the beach. Evacuees Steven and Karen Hansen, of Oak Park, told the VC Star that they left their home on Thursday at 10pm and went to stay at friend's home in Thousand Oaks, only to be evacuated from there 45 minutes later. At that point, Steven said, they decided to just to the Thousand Oaks Teen Center rather than to keep trying to hop from home to home. However, long lines of people waiting to get into the Teen Center left them little choice but to stay in their SUV overnight, take naps and watch security footage of their home on their cell phones, looking for signs of fire. They were fortunate, as their home was not impacted. Meanwhile, Simi Valley's Rancho Santa Susana Community Center saw about 180 evacuees descend upon it. In Woodland Hills, evacuees were spotted cramming into a local Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf location and using it as a temporary shelter, where they could watch security footage of their homes on cell phones and laptops after sleeping in their cars or relative's homes overnight, according to Los Angeles Daily News. More than 150 people filled Woodland Hills' Taft Charter High School shelter, which was set up by the Red Cross, to capacity Thursday night. Among those at Taft, were residents of senior-care facilities in nearby Westlake Village and Agoura Hills, who had been received evacuation orders from police Thursday midnight. Malibu's Zuma Beach, meanwhile, was where many humans fled with their animals in tow, setting up chairs next to their cars and walking their dogs on the sand while fire engine sirens could be heard in the distance, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Malibu Zoo also managed to evacuate its animals and bring them to the beach. A spokesperson for the Red Cross said that as of Friday at 10am, 722 people and an unspecified number of large animals were being housed at various shelters across the state. For more information or to donate money, please visit www.redcross.org or call 1-800-Red-Cross. Michael Daley has been elected as the NSW Labor leader to take the party to the March 2019 election after Luke Foley's resignation. The Member for Maroubra received 33 of 45 votes in a caucus meeting on Saturday afternoon, while Chris Minns received the other 12. The switch left Mr Daley's deputy Labor leader job open, but Labor shadow minister for trade, tourism and environment Penny Sharpe was elected as deputy leader. Michael Daley(pictured) has been elected as the NSW Labor leader to take the party to the March 2019 election after Luke Foley's resignation Mr Foley (pictured) resigned after ABC journalist Ashleigh Raper issued a statement alleging he put his hand through the back of her dress and groped her Mr Foley resigned after ABC journalist Ashleigh Raper issued a statement alleging he put his hand through the back of her dress and groped her at a 2016 Christmas party. He has denied the allegation but said he won't seek re-election to parliament. Deputy leader Michael Daley on Friday emerged as the frontrunner to replace Mr Foley. But within hours 39-year-old Chris Minns, Labor Member for Kogarah, also threw his hat in the ring. Both men distanced themselves from Mr Foley, who they suggested should leave the party altogether. Following the vote, Mr Daley said he sought to run a government focusing on 'four key pillars' and vowed to put 'working people first'. The Member for Maroubra (pictured, left) received 33 of 45 votes in a caucus meeting on Saturday afternoon They include world-class health and education, easing the cost of living, providing jobs for suburbs and regions and making Sydney more liveable. After the vote Mr Minns was asked by journalists if he was disappointed at the result. 'I'm a realist. It's a great day for Michael and I know he's going to be the next premier of NSW - I'm convinced of that and I'm genuinely looking forward to being part of this team. 'Now it's onto the next election and take the fight up to Gladys Berejiklian,' Mr Minns said. A young boy has died after a boulder rolled on top of him at a rural property. Emergency services were called to the scene at Molong, in the New South Wales central west, shortly after 2pm on Saturday. Three boys were reported to have been fishing on a creek bed when it gave way and collapsed, sending a boulder rolling down onto an 11-year-old boy. Emergency services were called to the scene in Molong, in the New South Wales central west, shortly after 2pm on Saturday He was treated for critical injuries at the scene but died shortly after. His two friends were both uninjured in the incident. Footage showed helicopters and police circling the area, which was perched on unsteady, grassy terrain with a steep slope down to the Mitchell Highway. Officers from Central West Police District will investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. Police are expected to prepare a report for the coroner following the young boy's death. The film, titled "Rang-tan", promotes Iceland's range of palm oil-free festive foods, announced last month as an extension to its high-profile pledge to remove palm oil from all its own label brands by the end of April 2019. Iceland's emotional Christmas advertisement featuring a cartoon orang-utan has been banned from television for being "too political" - a vetting body says it can not clear the Greenpeace-made film which highlights the plight of the orang-utan because it breaches guidelines. "Clearcast and the broadcasters have to date been unable to clear this because we are concerned that it doesn't comply with the political rules of the BCAP [the Broadcast Code for Advertising Practice]", a spokeswoman for Clearcast, the regulator responsible for vetting adverts before they are broadcast, said. Just think about the hype around John Lewis - people actually sob at that shit. Iceland's Christmas campaign has been banned from TV because it has been deemed to breach political advertising rules. But we want to share our "No Palm Oil" story with you this Christmas. Iceland raising awareness of palm oil consumption. A British supermarket chain said on Friday their Christmas advert has been banned for being too political because it shows palm oil manufacturers terrorizing orangutans. "Throughout 2018 we have led the retail industry to take action in areas such as rainforest destruction for palm oil and plastic pollution of our oceans", said managing director Richard Walker. The colours fade to black and white and show bulldozers flattening trees and chasing Rang-Tan and her mother. Despite it being blocked from airing on TV there is nothing to stop the ad being shared online and it has already gone viral on social media. Greenpeace made the film, with a voice over by Emma Thompson, and gave permission to Iceland to use it as its Christmas ad. "You won't see our Christmas advert on TV this year, because it was banned". "Our commitment to help protect the home of orangutans remains extremely close to our hearts". Bhutanese twins Nima and Dawa are both in a stable condition after they were separated in a delicate six-hour procedure in Melbourne. A spokesperson from the Royal Childrens' Hospital gave the update at 4pm on Saturday, saying they were recovering on a hospital ward. The sisters, who spent the first 15 months of their lives joined at the torso, lay metres apart for the first time on Friday after a team of experts managed to successfully separate them. Bhutanese twins Nima and Dawa (pictured) are both in a stable condition after they were separated in a delicate six-hour procedure in Melbourne Fourteen-month-old twins Nima and Dawa Pelden (pictured with mother Bhumchu Zangmo) were admitted to Melbourne 's Royal Children's Hospital for the delicate procedure on Friday Up to 25 surgeons, nurses and anaesthetists worked together to split the girls' connected livers and reconstruct their abdomens, closing over the area that was previously attached. Head of paediatric surgery Dr Joe Crameri, who led the operation, said the girls were breathing independently and in recovery. It was hoped they would not need intensive care. Mother Bhumchu Zangmo, who brought Nima and Dawa to Australia in October, was said to be 'very relieved' and filled with joy following the successful surgery. The girls are likely to spend at least a week in hospital before continuing their recovery at the Children First Foundation retreat in Kilmore, where they were cared for in the lead-up to the operation. The procedure and recovery are expected to cost at least $350,000 and the state government has offered to pay the bill. After the girls were given the green light on Friday, they were anaesthetised about 8.30am, before a team of four surgeons and about 18 people The pair were joined at the the lower chest above the pelvis, and were thought to have shared a liver Other funds raised will go towards the twins' rehabilitation and return home. Dr Crameri told ABC News the procedure was a success and had been shorter than initially expected and the twins were 'doing well'. 'We saw two young girls who were very ready for their surgery, who were able to cope very well with the surgery and are currently in our recovery doing very well,' Dr Crameri said. The paediatrician said his team was well prepared for the surgery and there weren't any complications or major bleeding during the procedure. 'We saw two young girls who were very ready for their surgery, who were able to cope very well with the surgery and are currently in our recovery doing very well,' lead paediatric surgeon Joe Crameri (pictured) told ABC after the surgery After the twins first arrived at the hospital in October, doctors decided to postpone the surgery to allow more time to bolster their nutrition levels Dr Crameri said there was no significant bowel attachments that complicated the procedure and the main challenge was to reconstruct the infants' abdomens. He said the best part of the surgery was that there weren't any 'highs or lows' - it was all very calm and quiet with 'calm conversation'. Dr Crameri added once the team realised they were able to divide the liver successfully without compromising the girls or doing 'anything fancy' to the bowel was a 'sense of relief'. The twins were brought to Australia from the Himalayas' Bhutan for the surgery earlier this month but the procedure had been delayed as a result of assessments. After they first arrived at the hospital in October, doctors decided to postpone the surgery to allow more time to bolster their nutrition levels. A woman has captured the shocking moment a crocodile was spotted lurking just metres away from swimmers at a popular beach. Joanna Henderson spotted the reptile swimming against the tide near Picnic Bay Lifesaving Club in Townsville, north Queensland, about 11am on Saturday. Ms Henderson, a local from North Ward, told Daily Mail Australia she regularly walks in the area and swims at Jezzine Barracks but has never seen a crocodile there before. 'That's the first time I've ever seen one so close and the first time I have seen one down there,' Ms Henderson said. Scroll down for video A woman captured the shocking moment when a crocodile was spotted lurking just metres away from swimmers at near Picnic Bay Lifesaving Club in Townsville After news of the crocodile broke, lifeguards updated the Queensland beach report sign at the popular beach with an added crocodile alert notice 'I'm down The Strand multiple times a week and have never seen one before.' The kindergarten assistant said she was at the popular beach with her friends from South Africa when they were shocked to see the crocodile lurking in the water. Ms Henderson said It 'definitely' was a crocodile but it was difficult to tell at first. 'It looked like it could have been a log but as we watched, we could see the movement of the tail and it's head popping out if the water,' she said. She said the crocodile - which she estimated was about 2 to 2.5metre long - was very close to shore, just happily bobbing up and down in the water. 'It was just out past the yellow buoys put out,' she said. Ms Henderson said there was plenty of people swimming in the stinger nets nearby, but the crocodile was not interested and kept swimming by. 'I even went for a swim this morning and thought nothing of it. He (the crocodile) was probably down there too,' she said. Ms Henderson said the crocodile - which she estimated was about 2 to 2.5metre long - was very close to shore, just happily bobbing up and down in the water 'I was in the water just after sunrise - in the stinger nets. I'm not sure they would stop a croc though.' After capturing the footage of the reptile, Ms Henderson shared the video on her Facebook page. A short time afterwards, lifeguards updated the Queensland beach report sign at the popular beach with an added crocodile alert notice. 'Croc sighting at the Strand just now, Saturday 10th November at 11:11am ... posting my video before the media post it,' the Facebook post caption stated. 'All beaches have been closed for swimming along The Strand.' 'I was impressed with the Lifeguards quick response to close the beaches for swimming to keep the public safe,' Ms Henderson said. Visitors to the popular beach were surprised to hear of the crocodile's presence but weren't too concerned about having to change their swimming plans. 'Well, we went out there and we saw the flags, then we didn't know what to do - so we just went to the rock pools,' one person told 7News. 'We were going to have a bit of a dip, but apparently not,' another person said. The croc sighting comes a month after another reptile was spotted in Ross Creek near the Metropole Hotel, Townsville Bulletin reported One woman said she was planning on taking her child to the beach for Nippers but after hearing about the croc spotting she decided to postpone the swim. The croc sighting comes a month after another reptile was spotted in Ross Creek near the Metropole Hotel, the Townsville Bulletin reported. At the time, Department of Environment and Science wildlife officers confirmed the crocodile was about one metre long. Ms Henderson said while the crocodile's presence was definitely scary, it won't stop her from swimming in the area. 'We do live in paradise but we just need to be aware and respect the crocs in their territory,' she said. Talks between Special Counsel Robert Mueller and President Trump's former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort have grown increasingly tense over Manafort's apparent lack of cooperation with the investigation Prosecutors with Robert Mueller and the special counsel's office say they are 'not getting what they want' from Paul Manafort, President Trump's former campaign chairman. Manafort, 69, entered a plea agreement in September in the hope of shaving time off his prison sentence for tax and bank fraud, however, ABC News is reporting that Manafort is providing much less useful information Mueller had expected. Manafort has met with prosecutors nearly a dozen times since entering a plea agreement on September 14. As part of the plea deal, Manafort agreed to provide information on a 'broad' array of topics. It is not apparent whether Manafort had provided information about President Donald Trump, Trump associates, or anything else. The ABC report which is based on anonymous sources, does also not make clear whether Manafort failed to provide information that he had promised to share with investigators, or whether he merely has failed to meet the Mueller's expectations. Prosecutors from Robert Mueller's, pictured, office have been asking Manafort about a wide range of topics in nearly a dozen meetings since Manafort agreed to cooperate in September, sources said, but the Mueller team is 'not getting what they want' according to ABC News So confident are Trump's team that nothing incriminating will be found, Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said that Manafort's attorney, Kevin Downing, had revealed to him that Manafort is not providing information that implicates Trump. If Manafort is found to be uncooperative, it could dash his hopes of getting a lighter sentence in his August conviction in Virginia on bank and tax fraud. Manafort's plea agreement was supposed to cap his prison sentence to 10 years. Manafort's plea deal stipulates: 'if prosecutors determine that Manafort had failed to cooperate fully, has intentionally given false, misleading or incomplete information or testimony, he will not be released from his pleas of guilty but the Government will be released from its obligations.' According to ABC News, prosecutors have asked Manafort about his work with Roger Stone, a longtime Trump confidant who is a focus of the Mueller probe. Manafort entered the Trump campaign in early 2016 to manage the Republican National Convention and was later elevated to the Trump campaign chairman, serving in that role until late summer 2016, when he abruptly resigned Mueller, who is now in the process of writing his final report, is interested in finding out if Stone had prior knowledge of Wikileaks' plans to release emails stolen from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Stone has vehemently denied having specific knowledge about the content, source, or specific timing of Wikileaks' email dumps. Mueller's team has been asking Manafort about work he did with Stone as far back as the 1980s. Manafort and Stone ran the lobbying firm, Manafort, Black & Stone, that became notorious for taking on foreign clients deemed off-limits by most other lobby shops. Manafort is also being pressed for information on his contacts with Stone during the 2016 presidential campaign but on this topic also, Manafort is also said to have provided information of little use. Shocking footage has captured a desperate family's near-death experience after they drove through the heart of the California wildfire to escape the blazing inferno. Brynn Parrott Chatfield filmed the moment her family sped through the fire in the town of Paradise, as flames and smoke billowed around the vehicle. Brynn is heard saying a prayer as their vehicle drives through the blistering inferno before they safely emerged through the other side. Brynn Parrott Chatfield filmed the moment her family sped through the fire in the town of Paradise She is heard saying a prayer as their vehicle drives through the blistering inferno before thanking her husband Jeremy for being brave At least nine people have died and 35 are missing in a wildfire in Northern California, while in Southern California thousands of homes are under threat and all of Malibu has been evacuated as two other fires bear down. The Camp Fire in Northern California is now the most destructive in state history, after wiping out the town of Paradise. Authorities suspect it may have been started by a malfunction in power lines. More than 300,000 people from across the state have been forced to flee their homes, as the fast moving flames from the three fires that all started on Thursday have raced to cover more than 200 square miles. Whipped by the notorious Santa Ana winds gusting up to 60mph, the southern blazes have not yet killed or injured anyone, but have destroyed many homes and forced thousands to flee for their lives on short notice - including many celebrities who live in the wealthy coastal enclaves under threat. Flames and smoke billowed around the vehicle as they made the terrifying drive in Northern California But the family safely emerged through the other side after the tense journey The larger of the two southern blazes, the Woolsey Fire, has scorched as least 35,000 acres north of Los Angeles since igniting near Rocketdyne at around 2pm local time Thursday, quickly spreading southwest toward Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks, the community still reeling from a mass shooting in a bar on Wednesday night. The Camp Fire devastated the town of Paradise, where officials say nearly every structure has been razed by out-of-control flames and five people were found dead in burned out vehicles early Friday afternoon. Officials said on Friday night that another four people had been killed by the Camp Fire and another 35 were missing. Three of the additional dead individuals were found outside their homes, and one inside a residence. Three firefighters have been injured battling the northern blaze, out of 3,223 personnel currently involved in the containment efforts. Their trip was made all the scarier after it was revealed five people had been burned alive in their cars Police in Paradise said they had received two reports of looting but have yet to make any arrests. 'It is despicable conduct,' Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said of would-be looters, vowing swift arrest and maximum penalties. When Paradise was evacuated, the order set off a desperate exodus in which many motorists got stuck in gridlocked traffic and abandoned their vehicles to flee on foot. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's Calabasas home, Caitlyn Jenner's mansion in Malibu and even the famed Bachelor Mansion have been hit by the devastating wildfires overtaking Southern California. The Woolsey Fire reached the Kardashian-West pad in the Hidden Hills neighborhood on Friday afternoon, according to TMZ. At points, the car's windshield was completely consumed by thick smoke, making it near impossible for Mr Chatfield to see Around the same time reports emerged that Jenner's 3,500 square foot, four-bedroom pad overlooking the Malibu beach was destroyed by fierce flames from the same blaze. Meanwhile, Lady Gaga's mansion nearby in Malibu was seen surrounded by a blanket of thick smoke as the wildfire overtook the beachside city before moving toward Oxnard. Will Smith posted a video to his Instagram story expressing worry that his own home would be hit by the flames as the path of destruction continues. Confronting new footage showing a security guard being stabbed in the neck by the Bourke Street terrorist has emerged. Somali-born Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, 30, stabbed three men, one fatally, during his Friday afternoon rampage through the heart of Melbourne. Shocking security footage of one of his victims, a 24-year-old security guard, has been revealed. Shocking footage has emerged of the Bourke Street terrorist attacking one of his victims The video shows the young guard standing at his post out the front of a shopping centre on Bourke Street, seemingly unaware of the terror approaching him. Ali turns the corner, straight into the security guard, and stabs him once in the neck. The guard clutches at his neck before running inside, leaving spots of blood on the floor. Ali chases after him before the footage, acquired by Nine News, ends. The young man, from Melbourne's south-eastern suburb of Hampton Park, was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital with the other surviving victim after Ali was shot and arrested. He is an employee of SecureCorp, who provide security guards for organisations across Australia. The security guard flees after being stabbed in the neck. He is reportedly recovering well A spokeswoman from SecureCorp told The Age he was recovering well. 'He's fine,' she said. 'He was stabbed in the neck. He received medical attention and has pulled through, is doing very well.' The other surviving victim was revealed to be 58-year-old Tasmanian man Rodney Patterson, who says he is also 'doing okay'. Rodney Patterson (right) was also stabbed and survived the attack, recovering in hospital Mr Patterson (second from left) was commended by the Tasmanian Premier for his bravery His wife Maree said the couple were 'caught up in the attack' as her husband was stabbed. Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman tweeted out a message of support for Mr Patterson on Friday night. 'Our thoughts are with a brave Tasmanian, Rod Patterson, his family and friends,' he wrote. 'A nicer bloke you wouldnt meet. Its not surprising he would step in to help others. 'We all wish him well.' 74-year-old Melburnian coffee figurehead, Sisto Malaspina (pictured) died in the attack Sisto was beloved by staff and customers at his iconic Bourke Street coffee shop Pellegrini's The victim who died in the attack was identified as Melbourne coffee maestro Sisto Malaspina, who initially approached Ali to help him out of a burning car. Tributes have poured out for Malaspina, 74, whose Pellegrini's Espresso Bar was considered an instrumental institution for Melbourne's coffee scene. He was stabbed in the face by Ali, who died on an operating table shortly after police shot him in the chest. Gay rights acitivist Peter Tatchell has been slammed for suggesting sex with children is not 'unwanted, abusive or harmful'. His opinion emerged yesterday from a letter he wrote to The Guardian in 1997 when he defended a book which challenged assumptions of paedophile sex. The 66-year-old has since apologised for his comments and said the book he was referring to was not 'a paedophile handbook' but written by psychologists and anthropologists. Peter Tatchell, 66, has been slammed for suggested child-adult sexual relationships are not 'unwanted, abusive or harmful' in a letter to The Guardian in 1997 The letter read: 'Young boys have sex with older warriors as part of their initiation into manhood' in the Sambia tribe of Papua New Guinea.' He also mentioned that 'positive nature of some child-adult sexual relationships is not confined to non-Western cultures' explaining that his friends had 'sex with adults from the ages of nine to 13'. The activist has since apologised for the comments which he says have been 'misinterpreted' Mr Tatchell told The Sun: 'The printed version did not include my point that I oppose adults having sex with children. Empathise with victims of child sex abuse and agree for the vast majority of children, sex with adults is neither wanted nor joyful. 'My letter was in response of an attempt to close down a debate my argument was that academic discussion of these issues, based on research and evidence is legitimate and should not be misinterpreted for any form of child sex abuse. 'I am disheartened that some people are misrepresenting it to portray me as advocating paedophilia. I've supported child abuse survivors groups, and campaigned for stronger action against abuse.' Arron Banks' Russian wife allegedly asked her first husband to rub butter on her because she 'couldn't afford sun lotion'. Ekaterina Paderina married the divorced, father-of-two Eric Butler at 25 but for only 10 weeks in 1998. Katya had moved from Yekaterinburg, Russia to study English at the University of Portsmouth when she met Eric. Eric Butler, then 54, married Katya Banks, then 25, in Portsmouth despite being double her age Eric claims their whirlwind romance started when Katya asked him to rub 'sun cream' on her Their whirlwind romance started began in Portsmouth when Eric said Katya asked him to rub 'suncream' on her bank as she had 'no money'. Eric, who was on a 72-a-week benefit and more than double her age, proposed to Katya but soon after the ceremony things appeared to take a bitter turn. Eric, then 54, claims to recall a moment when he was stood on her dress after getting married in Portsmouth harbour and believed he should have annulled it immediately after her 'very serious response'. He told The Express: 'I said 'sorry dear' thinking I had stood on her dress. She then said to me 'I don't love you, I'm not married to you in Russia. If you come at me you will feel the full power of Russia'. After the allegedly hostile comment, Katya's father, named as Eugenie K Paderine on the marriage certificate, reportedly told Eric to 'look after his daughter' while supposedly showing him his Communist Party membership card. Katya had moved from Yekaterinburg, Russia to study English at the University of Portsmouth The father who also reportedly stated he is a 'powerful person in Russia' and worked as 'Head of government property in Yekaterinburg' which is reportedly a key city in Vladimir Putin's Russian empire. However a ten weeks into their harmonious marriage, Eric suspected Katya of seeing other men as she would go out all evening claiming she had 'been with friends'. A private detective, who was friends with Eric, followed her allegedly confirming his suspicions as police officers then searched their home while she was away. Eric suspected Katya of seeing other men as she would go out all evening claiming she had 'been with friends' Eric claims: 'They went into the bedroom, lifted up the carpet and said to me "Have you seen this?" The floor was covered with beautiful American dollars. I said no, I hadn't seen it before, and they took a banknote away to be examined.' The retired navy merchant went on to suffer a heart attack in 1999 which he blames on the unpredictable nature of his new bride. Katya was later charged with aggravated bodily harm after smashing him with a lampshade despite her new husband, Arron Banks, insisting it was 'self defence'. Without any explanation on where she had been those nights, divorce papers were served in 2000 and pregnant Katya was issued a deportation notice which was successfully challenged. A little over a year later Katya married Arron Banks, 52, the pro-Brexit businessman who is currently under investigation for financing 8million into the Leave EU campaign. Katya married Arron Banks in 2001 after having a son with Eric and almost being deported The pair have three children together while Arron also helped to raise the son from Katya's first marriage. Ericm now 74, claims he has only seen his 19-year-old lookalike son three times in his life. He said: 'She married into money and that benefits my son. When Banks pops his clogs I think he'll be left a bit.' Katya, now 45, lives a far removed lifestyle from her time in Portsmouth as she attends events with Arron across the world and meets famous political figures. MailOnline have contacted Arron Banks for comment. Advertisement Weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office as gale-force winds and heavy rain brought flooding to parts of England and Wales, closing a train line, submerging homes and cutting off power for thousands of properties. Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire in Wales saw the worst of the weather with some homes at the Lower Priory area of Milford Haven under 10ft of water and many properties being evacuated as more than an inch of rain fell during the day. As emergency services tried to ease the flooding more than 1,000 properties were also left without power as thundery showers and wind brought flooding and travel disruption across the country. Horses and riders from the Lord Mayors Parade head back to stables through torrential rain. On the Strand near Trafalgar Square Central London: Early Christmas shoppers get caught in the rain during heavy downpours in Piccadilly on Saturday afternoon People walk across Millennium Bridge during heavy rain in London on Saturday November 10 Horses and riders from the Lord Mayor's Parade head back to stables through torrential rain on the Strand near Trafalgar Square Weather warnings were issued by the Met Office as gale-force winds and heavy rain brought flooding to parts of England and Wales. Pictured: Flooding in Milford Haven, Wales, sees car being overturned due to rising waters Emergency services were seen in Milford Haven after some homes were left under 10ft of water causing many properties to be evacuated Horses and riders from the Lord Mayor's parade head back to stables through torrential rain near Trafalgar In Devon a combination of high tide and strong winds in Dawlish caused the sea to flood train tracks, while Western Power Distribution said it had 2,500 customers 'off supply' on Friday evening. More than 10 flood warnings and around 60 flood alerts were issued across the south west of England and Wales with an amber warning for heavy rain in place until 11pm last night. The inclement weather is expected to continue into the early hours of Saturday, which will be wet and windy across large parts of the country. Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkhill said: 'It's going to be a breezy day for most places with showers around for the South and West. As rescue workers tried to manage the flooding more than 1,000 properties were also left without power as thundery showers and wind brought swept the area As a result of the flooding in Wales fire crews have been pumping water into Milford Haven marina to reduce flooding levels Following the heavy and thundery rain from yesterday parts of Pembrokeshire woke up to streets flooded in waters Emergency teams wearing life jackets in Milford Haven were seen driving along the streets in vehicles after the rain caused the streets to flood Pictures posted on social media showed the effects of last nights showers, with Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire in Wales being the worst hit Residents living in properties at the Lower Priory area of Milford Haven saw just under 10ft of water submerge their homes The fire service were also called to an incident in the nearby village of Fifehead Neville, where a car became stuck in over two feet of water. Pictured: Central London Crystal Palace vs Tottenham: A fan wrapped up prior to kick-off during the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London 'We could get spells of more regular showers pushing westwards during the day, reaching central parts in the afternoon. 'Those showers could be heavy with a bit of thunder mixed in and possibly some hail. 'The north-east of England and Scotland could stay dry.' The fire service were also called to an incident in the nearby village of Fifehead Neville, where a car became stuck in over two feet of water. Following the floods in South West Wales the Met Office issued an amber flood warning showing risk of further flooding Two crews from Sturminster Newton used wading gear and a patient carrying sling to carry the gentleman from his vehicle to dry land. The driver, who was uninjured, was able to return home shortly afterwards. During the day, temperatures are expected to remain a few degrees above average for the time of year, although the wet and windy weather will likely make it feel cooler. Meanwhile lows of minus 1C (30F) or minus 2C (28F) could be seen in parts of Northern Ireland and sheltered glens in Scotland. Wind speeds hit 68mph at Culdrose in Cornwall on Friday afternoon, while they were still gusting at up to 66mph in the evening. Images from Dawlish station showed water pouring over the seaside platform and on to tracks ahead of high tide shortly before midnight. The floodings and weather warnings issued by the Met Office come just four weeks after Storm Callum hit parts of South Wales In Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, streets and homes were flooded as the region saw a second day of heavy rain. BBC Wales reported five properties had been left under tenft of water after a lake overflowed. A localised yellow weather warning for rain has been issued for area for most of Saturday. The weather warnings come just four weeks after Storm Callum caused flooding across parts of south Wales. The flood warnings also come on the eve of the centenary of Armistice, which saw the Lancashire Fusilier along with sister locomotive No.45407 hauling passengers over the 24 arches of the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire this morning. The powerful locomotives, that were seen billowing steam across the viaduct, took eager spectators back to the Great War when such sights were a regular occurrence on the Settle to Carlisle line. A former soldier who was jailed for life for the cold-blooded murder of his Scottish girlfriend in Lapland has had his conviction overturned. Karel Frybl will serve a shorter prison sentence of 11 years for homicide instead. The ruling by the Lapland Court of Appeal comes eight months after Czech Frybl was jailed for life over the death of tour guide Rebecca Johnson. Karel Frybl, right, stabbed Rebecca Johnson, left, 40 times in Lapland on December 3, 2016. The 37-year-old former Czech soldier has had his murder conviction downgraded to homicide which will see him released after 11 years instead of a life term Ms Johnson and Frybl were both working for a Santa safari company in Lapland Under Finnish law that means a killer is expected to spend between 12 and 13 years behind bars. Miss Johnson, of Burnt-island, Fife, was stabbed 40 times by Frybl, with whom she ran Christmas-themed dog sled tours. The new ruling means the appeal panel believes the 26-year-olds killing was not premeditated. In its deliberation yesterday, the panel said: Although Frybl is undoubtedly considered to be cruel, [the killing] cannot be considered to be particularly cruel. However, the three judges on the panel were divided. Johannes Ahola, a local lawyer who has been following the case, told the Courier newspaper: This means it has been a difficult case because its rather unusual for the Appeals Court judges to vote. It happens, but not really often. Miss Johnson and Frybl, 37, had been together since 2015. According to the police, Frybl had been a butcher and slaughterhouse worker when the couple lived in Scotland. They were employed with a Santa safari company in the village of Kuttanen when the brutal attack took place on December 3, 2016. A trial at Lapland District Court previously heard Frybl had planned to move out of their cottage on the morning of the attack but the couple had argued again over the ownership of husky puppies. Ms Johnson was stabbed 40 times during the fatal attack in December 2016. The jacket Ms Johnson was wearing at the time of her death was shown to the court during Frybl's trial Police recovered this knife which was used in Ms Johnson's killing The court was told that after the attack, Frybl fled on a dog sled before being captured. During the trial, Miss Johnsons family, who appeared in court wearing purple ribbons in her memory, fought back tears as text messages recovered from her phone were read out to show the abusive nature of the relationship. After one text exchange, her sister, Victoria, texted back: You need to tell people at the hotel. He is a danger to you. He may end up killing you. Frybl will continue to serve his sentence in Finland, although it is understood he has been moved from a prison in the north of the country to another location. His case could be passed to Finlands Supreme Court because the judges in the appeal were divided. A 10-year-old boy has become the latest victim in the fruit contamination crisis after he allegedly found a needle lodged inside an apple. Jonah claimed he found the needle after he bit into a Royal Gala apple his family purchased from a Woolworths supermarket at Fairfield Heights, in Sydney's south-west, 7News reported. After biting into the fruit, Jonah realised 'something wasn't right' so he told his mother, who examined the fruit and discovered there was a needle inside. Scroll down for video Jonah (pictured), 10, has become the latest victim in the fruit contamination crisis after he allegedly found a needle lodged inside an apple After biting into the fruit, the 10-year-old realised 'something wasn't right' so he told his mother, who examined the fruit and discovered there was a needle inside The 10-year-old said after he told his mother, she cut around the bite mark and allegedly discovered there was a needle lodged inside the fruit. 'It was pretty scary... You never know, you could swallow it, choke, cut your mouth open - you never know,' he said. The boy's mother, who chose to remain anonymous, said since finding the needle, she will cut up every piece of fruit before giving it to her children from now on. 'I'm shocked. I mean you've heard about it on the news, in different states, but you don't think those things happen to you,' she said. The latest find comes a week after another family at Casula, in Sydney's south west, discovered a sharp object embedded in an orange that was given to a four-year-old. Maddie Sheridan, four, came across a horrifying discovery of a needle in a cut up orange she was about to eat on Monday after she asked her mum for some fruit. According to 7News, that orange was purchased at Woolworths supermarket not to far away from the Fairfield Heights store where Jonah's family purchased the apple. A Woolworths spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the safety of customers is their 'top priority'. Jonah claimed found the needle after he bit into a Royal Gala apple that his family purchased from a Woolworths supermarket at Fairfield Heights (pictured) 'We are aware of the customer's report and we are investigating the matter,' the spokesperson said. The first reported contamination scare in Queensland six weeks ago, forced farmers to dump tonnes of the unwanted fruit as shoppers avoided the grocery stores. Since the strawberry scare first made headlines, there have been more than 100 reports to police of contaminated fruit, 7News reported. Among the reported fruits targeted in recent weeks are contaminated apples, oranges, strawberries and cucumbers. 'It's very unfair. There are lot of selfish people in the world,' Jonah said. South Australia Police issued a statement on Friday warning the public 'of two reports of sharp objects found in strawberries'. 'At this time there is no information to suggest the incidents are linked. The incidents are reported to have occurred at Salisbury and the Clare region,' the statement said. 'Thankfully no-one was injured. The public are advised to take care and cut strawberries up prior to consumption and report any contamination to police.' The full extent of the Bourke Street jihadi Hassan Khalif Shire Ali's botched attack in the heart of Melbourne has been revealed. The cylinders did not explode and the fire was put out in 10 minutes, by which point the attack was over. Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton confirmed Ali died in the hospital after being shot by police. Members of the public have praised the "trolley man", who was seen twice attempting to ram the knife-wielding attacker with a shopping cart, shortly before police shot the offender in the chest. One of the victims later succumbed to the injuries, while two others are still receiving treatment. The other victims were described as a "26-year-old and a 58-year-old", both hospitalized with "non-life-threatening injuries". Ashton also said police had searched two Melbourne properties on Saturday in relation to the attack, but that police did not believe there were any ongoing threats to the public. Clayton added that the bomb squad had cleared the area and deemed it safe, and that fire crews had extinguished the burning vehicle. Sunday is also Remembrance Day, when memorial ceremonies for the First World War are held. Mr Ashton said he believed the suspect moved to Australia from Somalia in 1990s, and that his family members have been known to police on terrorism-related matters. "I've known [his father] for 30 years, he is a kind and respected man in the Somali community", one said. He declined to release their names because police were still in the process of contacting families. The message over the loudspeakers says: "This is Victoria Police, please evacuate the area". Here's what we know about the Bourke Street attacker. Australia has been on heightened alert from 2015 for attacks by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East. Authorities say Australia's vigilance has helped to foil at least a dozen plots, including a plan to attack downtown Melbourne at Christmas in 2016. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned the stabbing as an "evil and cowardly attack". A video shared on Twitter clearly showed the attacker, a dark-skinned middle-aged man wearing a black sweatshirt, viciously swinging the knife he used to stab the civilians at police officers at the scene. A witness, Markel Villasin, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio: "Bystanders were yelling out "just shoot him, just shoot him". Ashton added that Counter Terrorism Command will investigate alongside Victoria police. The area has been cordoned off, police said. Friday's attack is a double blow for the city as it coincides with an ongoing the murder trial of 28-year-old James Gargasoulas, who ploughed his vehicle into crowds in the same area in 2017, killing six people. The City of Melbourne is in the process of installing bollards to block traffic access to pedestrian malls. If it hadnt been for one random shot during World War One, film director Peter Jackson might never have made his Hobbit films or won a clutch of awards for his Lord of the Rings trilogy. His grandfather William, who fought alongside JRR Tolkien during the war, was seriously injured during the conflict. He returned to Britain, married wife Harriet and had five sons including Jacksons father William. So, I know my existence is owed to a German machine gunner, he quipped. If that German machine gunner hadnt hit my grandfather on that day, I wouldnt be alive now. Its weird. I wish I knew who he was. I would buy his family a bottle of Schnapps. William Jackson, circled, fought in the First World War alongside Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien. Jackson's grandson Peter would later transform the books into Oscar-winning films Peter Jackson, pictured, was inspired by his grandfather William to produce a state-of-the art movie on the First World War by using Jacksons lifelong interest in the First World War stems from his grandfather, who joined the 2nd Battalion South Wales Borderers in 1910 and went on to fight at Tsingtao, Gallipoli, the Somme, Passchendaele, Cambrai. Tolkien joined the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1915, sent to relieve the Borderers, and fought in the Battle of the Somme before he was invalided out with trench foot. Without their survival Tolkien would never have written his famous novels and Jackson would never have filmed them. Jackson, 52, never met his grandfather, who won a Distinguished Conduct Medal at Gallipoli the treasured medal is kept in a brass tin, stamped with the head of Queen Mary. But he remembers hearing stories about the man, whose health deteriorated before he died in 1940 at the age of 51. In fact, it was down to his grandfather, who fought with the Anzacs at Gallipoli, that his father, also William, emigrated to New Zealand after World War II. William Jackson, pictured on his wedding day to Peter's grandmother Harriet, centre Learning about William Jackson, pictured inspired his grandson Peter to research the conflict As a ten-year-old, my Dad had to carry him up the stairs on his back. he told the Sunday Times recently. My father said it was because of him being in the trenches, up to his waist in freezing water, for so long, It was his grandfather, who partly inspired Jacksons documentary Thou Shall Not Grow Old, which was premiered at last months London Film Festival in front of Prince William and is screened tonight on BBC1 to celebrate the centenary of Armistice Day. The director, who won 17 Oscars for his Lord of the Rings trilogy, which grossed more than 1.8 billion, created the film using original footage from Imperial War Museums film archive and audio from BBC archives. He colourised the footage, converted it to 3D and transformed it with modern production techniques. I wanted to reach through the fog of time and pull these men into the modern world, he said, so they can regain their humanity once more - rather than be seen only as Charlie Chaplin-type figures in the vintage archive film. By using our computing power to erase the technical limitations of 100-year-old cinema, we can see and hear the Great War as they experienced it. Jackson used archive footage from the First World War to bring the soldiers back to life Jackson was interviewed by the BBC about his grandfather in a behind-the-scenes documentary, which followed him over the course of a year while making of his film. My grandfather William Jackson was in the The South Wales Borderers and he was in the British Army from 1910, he added. He was a professional soldier in the 29th Division. He was in one of the very first engagements of the First World War in 1914, one of the very first British soldiers to go into combat. The shame for me is that theyve got about 40 films in the regiment and the South Wales Borderers arent there. Otherwise I would see my grandfather, which I was hoping, but they didnt do every single one. I went to The South Wales Borderers Museum in the Brecon Beacons in the UK and they very kindly let me go through their photo archives. I found a shot of the British troops in the trenches and my grandfather standing there with a cigarette in his mouth. Hes got this James Dean pose and he looks really cool. Thou Shall Not Grow Old is screened at 9.30 pm tomorrow on BBC2. What Do Artists Do All Day? Peter Jackson is aired at 7.30pm on Monday on BBC4. The head of McDonald's in the UK has challenged British consumers to find a High Street sandwich 'better for them' than a Big Mac. Paul Pomroy eats from the chain twice a day and boasts that he's only got a one per cent chance of having a heart attack. The father-of-two's typical order includes porridge or a bagel for breakfast, with a wrap or salad for lunch - and he treats himself to a Big Mac once or twice a week. But he's jumped to the defence of McDonald's vilified signature burger, claiming it's got less calories than most High Street chain sandwiches. How High Street sandwiches compare to the vilified Big Mac burger from McDonald's Paul Pomroy, CEO of McDonald's UK, said he eats from the chain twice every day - and treats himself to a burger once or twice a week 'It's [a Big Mac] under 500 calories! I challenge you to find a sandwich in a High Street chain that's less than that,' he told the Evening Standard. 'Do I have a Big Mac and fries every day? Of course not. I treat myself once or twice a week. But I eat a McDonald's twice a day and Ive just flown through my health check.' The Bromley-born CEO also boldly claimed the chicken breast in their sandwich is the 'same chicken you'll buy in Waitrose'. High-street food which contains more calories than the Big Mac include a southern fried chicken from Waitrose, a roast chicken and sausage sandwich from Tesco, a smoked ham and freerange sub from Sainsbury's. According to the McDonald's chief executive, he claims that the chicken breast in their chicken sandwich is the 'same chicken you'll buy in Waitrose' The Bromley-born CEO said there are too many false misconceptions about McDonald's Greggs' Mexican chicken baguette and Pret A Manger's avocado, olive and tomato baguette also include more calories than the Big Mac. Pre-tax profits for McDonald's Restaurants Limited in 2017 were up 19% on the year before, at a staggering 341million. The McDonald's chief claimed part of the reason behind the chain's success is that they are 'great value' - not because they're 'cheap'. 'I get very irritated when people wrongly assume there's a bank of microwaves back there. We cook proper food. We don't take stuff out of a freezer and zap it. We have the shortest supply chain of any retailer,' Pomroy said. A disabled mother who tried to grow her own cannabis to ease her symptoms was slashed with a knife after dodgy crooks turned her home into a drug den. Susan Butler, from South Shields, who suffers fibromyalgia, planned to grow six plants for medicinal purposes after hearing about the wonders of cannabis oil. But the 49-year-old wept as in court heard how she was slashed in her own home after her botched bid to 'grow-her-own' turned into a life of gun and knife violence. Susan Butler and her son Chrisptopher leave South Tyneside Magistrates Court. Ms butler planned to grow six plants for medicinal purposes after hearing about the wonders of cannabis oil Ms Butler had created the small farm with her 25-year-old son Christopher in order to ease pain from her long-term condition which leaves the entire body riddled with pain. But what started as six plants turned into a whopping 48 plants after dealers came to set up a cannabis 'operation'. Prosecutors said: 'Someone from the outside came in to set up the whole operation and they were practically sitting ducks when the police arrived.' South Tyneside Magistrates' Court heard while Susan was in Thailand receiving an operation, shady figures roamed through their Bramham Court home turning it into a drug den. Her son knew about the cannabis, the court heard, but not that those involved were dodgy. Defence Ian Cassidy said: 'He agreed to water and feed the plants, but he was not aware of the sinister element.' When Ms Butler returned from a holiday in Thailand, she was horrified to see the size of the illegal grow and had demanded to have the stuff removed from her home When she returned from Asia, she was horrified to see the size of the illegal grow and had demanded to have the stuff removed from her home. But the crooks threatened the family that that if they told police, they would 'come for you'. It was then Ms Butler and her son realised that they were over their heads. Mr Cassidy said: 'She had been given information that cannabis would benefit her symptoms.' 'For some reason she decided the only thing she could do is take cannabis, everything else gave her side effects.' He branded her an 'extremely gullible' person, a trait which would ultimately have horrifying repercussions. What started as six plants turned into a whopping 48 plants after dealers came to set up a cannabis 'operation'. file photo Her son warned her not to let people in the house as the situation intensified between the sides. However, 30 minutes after that warning, there was a knock at the door from people asking about her cleaning business. Mr Cassidy said: 'The man forces his way in and he has a gun. He has a knife and he slashes her.' Injuries from that attack, the court heard, were still there. The mother and son pleaded guilty to being concerned in production of growing cannabis. When Northumbria Police became involved back in March, the pair were arrested although the court heard they had investigated the ringleaders. The court heard though that the 'trail has gone cold' on that probe. The Butlers had faced possible prison sentences for their role but magistrates, citing the 'extraordinary' circumstances, stepped back. Instead they fined the pair, both on benefits, 120 each. In mitigation it was said both were previously unconvicted. The mother had only a caution for affray. Both must also pay 85 costs and a 30 charge. Foodbanks are 'picking up the pieces' after a delay in Universal Credit payments has forced a record number of struggling families to seek emergency starvation packs. A national foodbank handed out 660,000 ration packs in just six months to people in crisis seeking help. Hungry families have been forced to look elsewhere for food due to the five-week wait for a first payment. A charity has called for urgent changes to the benefits system to help with poverty. Hungry families have been forced to look elsewhere for food due to the five-week wait for a first payment There was an increase increase in parcel referrals by 13 per cent - which contain everything from cereal to tinned meat- between April to September, figures reveal. Foodbank use is expected to rise in the winter, with The Trussell Trust receiving more referrals in the second half of the year. More than 70,000 of the food parcels were distributed to people in need across London, according to figures from the charity. WHAT IS UNIVERSAL CREDIT? What is Universal Credit? A radical change to the benefits system which combines six payments including tax credits, housing benefit and income support into a single, means-tested payment. How does it work? A claimant's benefits should be adjusted automatically if their wages change. Benefits will gradually 'taper' off if a claimant finds work or earns more. What is the timetable? After teething troubles with the computer systems implementation has been hit by delays. There are currently around 610,000 on UC and this will go up by anther 12 million over the next five years. Why a five-week delay on payments? Controversially the benefit is paid five weeks in arrears - this is because it is based on your previous month's earnings. Critics say this delay pushed people into debt. Advertisement Of all the the London's boroughs, Greenwich applied for the most, with 3,400 given to those in need and 1,100 given to kids. Lewisham also saw large numbers of emergency food parcels leave foodbanks as 3,375 were given during the same period, with 1,182 parcels going to kids. Chief executive of The Trussell Trust, Emma Revie has called for the Department for Work and Pensions to be resourced to 'reduce the wait for a first payment.' She said: 'We're seeing soaring levels of need at food banks - the time to act is now. 'If the five-week wait isn't reduced, the only way to stop even more people being forced to food banks this winter will be to pause all new claims to Universal Credit. 'Food banks cannot continue to pick up the pieces - we have to make sure our benefits system can protect people from hunger.' A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said: 'The reasons why people use food banks are complex, so it's wrong to link a rise to any one cause. 'Universal Credit replaces an out-of-date, complex benefits system with cliff edges that disincentivised work and often trapped people in unemployment. 'We will be increasing the amount people can earn on Universal Credit by 1,000 before their payment begins to be reduced, to ensure work always pays, and introduced 1 billion to help people moving over from the old benefits system to Universal Credit. A charity has called for urgent changes to the benefits system to help with poverty 'This is on top of the improvements we have already made - advances have increased to 100 per cent, the seven-day waiting period has been removed and we are paying housing benefit for an additional two weeks when people move onto Universal Credit.' A petition from End Hunger UK which calls on the Government to 'fix Universal Credit' has so far received of 18,000 signatures. The deaths of two people who fell from a block of flats in south London are being treated as a suspicious incident. Renata Poncova and Tony Taylor, both 33, died after falling from a block in Marchwood Close, Camberwell. Scotland Yard said detectives had uncovered evidence at their eighth-floor flat, as well as a possible disturbance at the property before they fell, that indicated there were suspicious circumstances. The deaths of two people who fell from a tower block in south London are being treated as suspicious after Scotland Yard detect a possible disturbance at the flat before the fall Police were called to Marchwood Close at 11.44pm on November 2 after receiving reports that a man and woman were injured after apparently falling from a height. Paramedics were called to the address, although Ms Poncova and Mr Taylor were pronounced dead at the scene at 12.30am. A post-mortem found both had died as a result of multiple injuries 'consistent with having fallen from height'. Detective Inspector Phil Coster said: 'I am appealing for anyone who knew Renata Poncova and Tony Taylor, and had contact with them in the days before their deaths, to call police. 'I also need to speak with anyone who either witnessed the incident or saw anything suspicious either during on leading up to the deaths. Renata Poncova and Tony Taylor, both 33, were announced dead at the scene in south London 'Evidence at the flat and a possible disturbance at the flat prior to the fall leads us to believe there are suspicious circumstances. 'We need witnesses to come forward to help us build a picture of what happened before these deaths. If you know anything please call us.' Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should call the incident room on 020 8358 0400 or 101 quoting reference CAD 9264/02NOV. Alternatively, they can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. The Somali-born terrorist who stabbed three men, one fatally, in a horror rampage through Melbourne's city had a drug and alcohol dependency that caused his life to 'spiral out of control', according to a close family friend. Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, 30, had broken Somali tradition and moved out of his family's Werribee home after arguing with his parents ahead of the attack. He has also been revealed to have split with his wife in the days leading up to the horrific incident, storming out of their home as she desperately chased after him, the Herald Sun reported. The Somali-born terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali (pictured) who stabbed three men, killing one, has been revealed to have a drug dependency Ali, 30, had become increasingly 'delusional' leading up to the attack on Bourke Street in Melbourne (pictured) His wife, who is yet to be named, was reported as missing when they raided Ali's home on Friday night. She was initially suspected to be radicalised but was found and interviewed by police on Saturday afternoon. The couple were living in a converted garage at the back of an unassuming young family's home in Meadow Heights, north of Melbourne. They had split less than a week before Friday's attack. Ali had moved there with his wife and their young child amid a strained relationship with his parents. According to a family friend and imam - a prayer leader in mosques - it is against Somali tradition to leave the family home before marriage. Police spoke to neighbours of a Werribee address raided by officers on Saturday Ali lunged at police with a knife before he was shot in the chest in what police say was an 'uncoordinated' attack The family friend, Isse Musse, told The Age Ali had become more 'delusional' ahead of the attack. '[He was] complaining he was being chased by unseen people with spears,' Musse said. 'If a person is Muslim and has a mental health problem, then Islam will be one of the things they may speak.' Counter-terrorism authorities raided two homes on Saturday, seizing bags of evidence Ali's family reportedly became worried about him after years of drug abuse and mental health struggles. Pictured: A home in Werribee raided by police Saturday afternoon THE EVENTS OF THE BOURKE STREET TERROR ATTACK 4:20pm Friday November 9: A blue ute mounted a footpath on Bourke Street in Melbourne's CBD. The car burst into flames. - Cafe owner Sisto Malaspina, 74, saw the explosion and ran to the aid of the driver. The driver, now known as Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, exited the vehicle and stabbed Mr Malaspina to death. - Ali then continued his rampage, attacking bystanders at random, including 58-year-old Rodney Patterson and a 24-year-old security guard. Footage shows the security guard was stabbed in the neck. - The car fire was quickly put out by fire fighters and the bomb squad, who discovered gas cylinders in his car. The cylinders were declared useless shortly after. - Two young officers were first on the scene, they engaged Ali. He lunged at them repeatedly with a knife. - An unnamed hero joined the fray, affectionately nick-named 'Trolley Man' after he attempted to stop the knifeman by repeatedly attacking him with a trolley. - An officer shot Ali in the chest, he dropped to the ground and was arrested. - He was taken to hospital in a critical condition. - Police were made aware of other victims of the knife attack. Three men were taken to hospital. Mr Malaspina, who died, and the two other men, who are both in stable conditions. 6pm Friday November 9: Superintendent David Clayton spoke with media and said they were not certain the attack was terror related, but would not rule it out. 8:30pm Friday November 9: Victoria Police commissioner Graham Ashton spoke with media and confirmed the attack was terror related. He also confirmed Ali was known to state and federal police, as well as ASIO. - Ali died in hospital. - His identity was revealed, and further affiliations to terror were revealed. 11:30pm Friday November 9: ISIS claim the terror attack in Melbourne. Saturday November 10: Police raided two homes affiliated with Ali. Advertisement His family reportedly became worried about him after years of drug abuse and mental health struggles that caused his life to 'spiral out of control'. A history of drug use was confirmed by Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton, who told reporters Ali had prior convictions for drug-related offences. He was required to complete 250 hours of unpaid community service and undergo drug testing and rehabilitation for a 2012 offence. Police stormed the bungalow in Meadow Heights about 3am Saturday, with one neighbour saying he heard officers shouting 'come out, come out'. They later raided a Werribee home, believed to be Ali's father's. Masked officers were seen standing in front of the property as forensic teams scoured the home on Saturday afternoon, hauling bags of evidence into their car. Coffee maestro Sisto Malaspina, 74, died from stab wounds to his face after he rushed to help Ali out of his burning crashed car Tasmanian man Rodney Patterson (right) survived his wounds and says he's 'doing okay' Ali stabbed three men in his rampage through Melbourne's inner-city Bourke Street. His first victim, 74-year-old coffee maestro Sisto Malaspina, died from his injuries. Tributes have poured out for Malaspina whose Pellegrini's Espresso Bar was considered an instrumental institution for Melbourne's coffee scene. Malaspina rushed to the wreck of Ali's car to offer his assistance, but instead was met with a knife. His other two victims survived their injuries and are recovering in hospital. One was a 24-year-old security guard who was stabbed in the neck while on duty. Harrowing footage of the attack shows him running away, leaving a trail of blood. The other surviving victim was revealed to be 58-year-old Tasmanian man Rodney Patterson, who says he is also 'doing okay'. His wife Maree said the couple were 'caught up in the attack' as her husband was stabbed by Ali, who was shot and killed by police. Jeremy Corbyn has admitted he won't stop Brexit and implied he had no plans to push for a second referendum. The Labour leader said he wouldn't try to overturn the vote even if there was another snap election and he found himself in Number 10. 'We can't stop it. The referendum took place. Article 50 has been triggered. What we can do is recognise the reasons why people voted Leave,' Corbyn told German magazine Der Spiegel. Jeremy Corbyn has no plans to push for a second referendum, even if there is another snap election But while he respected the the result of the referendum, Corbyn said the Tory Party was not fulfilling voter's wishes. He said: 'People voted Leave, or they voted Remain, but nobody voted to lose their job. Nobody voted to reduce their living standards or working conditions.' The Labour leader, 69, admitted he felt sorry for Theresa May but hinted she should step down for her own good. He told the magazine: 'I am a decent human being, I feel sorry for anyone in distress. But the best way for anyone to alleviate distress is to take yourself away from the source of it.' Corbyn criticised Mrs May for pushing towards a deregulated economy like the US and said if he were PM he would propose a new customs union with the EU, one that would protect the Irish border and 'ensure that our supply chains worked in both directions'. His comments come as the potential for another election has been predicted if May's Brexit negotiations fail. Jo Johnson's decision to quit as transport minister saw pro-EU and arch-Brexiteers in the Conservative Party unite to attack the Prime Minister's stance. Mrs May also had to deal with a challenge from Northern Ireland's DUP whose support she needs to command a Commons majority. The Labour leader, 69, admitted he felt sorry for Theresa May but suggested she should step down Meanwhile, Jo Johnson, who supported Remain in the referendum campaign, delivered a stinging rebuke to Mrs May's Brexit position as he walked out of Government in protest. He said: 'To present the nation with a choice between two deeply unattractive outcomes, vassalage and chaos, is a failure of British statecraft on a scale unseen since the Suez crisis. 'We are barrelling towards an incoherent Brexit that is going to leave us trapped in a subordinate relationship to the EU. 'With no say over the rules that will govern huge swathes of our economy.' Boris Johnson backed his brother's decision, saying: 'We may not have agreed about Brexit but we are united in dismay at the intellectually and politically indefensible of the UK position.' Speaking of his brother, Jo Johnson acknowledged that the Brexit negotiations 'have at least united us in fraternal dismay'. This is the terrifying moment a Land Rover Discovery flips onto its side, slides across the road and ends up in a ditch on its roof. Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Roads Policing Unit said the car rolled 300m across the A11 carriageway near Six Mile Bottom in Cambridge. Police said the driver escaped with a slight injury and called him a 'miracle male'. The distressing incident took place on the A11 near Six Mile Bottom on Friday. The car can be seen veering off the carriageway before flipping over and bouncing towards the grass verge. Dust and smoke can be seen coming from the crashed car and filling the left hand side of the dash cam's view. The driver recording the crash then slows down and pulls over as the clip ends. Signs in the video show the speed limit in this area is 50mph. The car flips onto its side and moves across the right hand lane towards the grass Cambridgeshire police said the driver remarkably walked away with only slight injuries The tweet said: 'The exit slip road on the A11 on to the A1304 near Six Mile Bottom is closed due to a collision where a car has left the carriageway. Please take care on approach.' The exit slip road was closed for around two hours to allow recovery to take place. A spokeswoman for Cambridgeshire police said: 'We were called to the incident at 12.44pm after reports of an RTC on the A11 near Six Mile Bottom. 'A Land Rover Discovery had rolled 300m along the carriageway and ended up 15m into a ditch, on its roof. 'Traffic officers said the car was 'half the size of what it should be' and referred to the driver as a 'miracle male.' 'Witnesses said it was a spectacular incident. The driver walked away with only slight injuries.' President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold federal payments to California over 'gross mismanagement' of its forests as the state is ravaged by three massive wildfires. In a 2am tweet, Trump wrote: 'There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. 'Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!' On Friday evening Trump issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds to help the thousands of firefighters struggling to contain the flames that have already torched more than 200 square miles across the state. President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal payments to California over 'gross mismanagement' of its forests in a 2am tweet as the state is ravaged by three massive wildfires On Friday evening Trump issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds to help the thousands of firefighters working tirelessly to contain the flames The blaze has incinerated most of the Northern California town of Paradise and killed at least nine people. The Camp Fire in Butte County north of Sacramento was only five percent contained as of 1.30am local time Saturday. In Southern California, the Hill and Woolsey fires have already scorched more than 40,000 acres, forcing more than 250,000 residents near Ventura and Los Angeles counties to evacuate. Those fires, which remain at zero percent contained as of Saturday morning, descended on the town of Thousand Oaks from both sides, threatening the community still reeling from a mass shooting that left a dozen dead at a local bar Wednesday night. This map shows the three major fires ravaging California, two in the south and one in the north Police have opened an enquiry after a Paris taxi driver locked two tourists in his car and forced them to pay almost 200 for a trip that normally costs less than 50. The start of their ordeal is captured in a disturbing video that has been posted on YouTube by victim Chakrid Thanhachartyothin, a Thai national who was travelling with his wife. Like many visitors to the French capital, Mr Thanhachartyothin had checked the price of a standard taxi from Charles de Gaulle airport to the city centre, and found it was as low as 43. The driver shows the tourists his phone which has logged 45km and a journey price of 247 Mr Chanhachartyothin and his wife (right) were travelling from Charles de Gaulle airport to the city centre and expected the drive to cost less than 50 But the unidentified driver, who claimed to be licensed, first said he wanted the euro equivalent of 216 following a 11.55am pickup last Thursday. Mr Chanhachartyothin said: When the taxi arrived at our hotel, the driver picked up a meter and it showed a total of 240 [209] We were shocked, because when we checked online, taxis the city were between 50 and 70 euros maximum. They cheated. I didnt pay up easily, but the driver was angry and would not let us out. We said we would pay, and then go to the police station, but the driver stayed on the phone. He was speaking to his gang, and there was a real threat. The driver can be heard in the video telling the tourists that prices are 'by the metre' and that the car isn't his, it is 'the companies.' When they question the price the man holds up his phone and says 'It's by metre, look 45km' and points to the distance on his screen. The tourists claimed that the driver also constantly shouted Pay me, pay me! during the hour-long journey. The man shows the couple his taxi license and insists that his company sets the prices The Thanhachartyothins reported the incident to the police who have opened an investigation As a heated argument carries on, he also resorts to shouting You dont pay me, no problem but still refused to allow the couple to get out. In the end Mr Thanhachartyothin, who was growing increasingly scared and frustrated, handed over 200 [175] and the couple were allowed out. They have since made a complaint, and Paris police have opened an investigation for illegal taxiing. The suspect who is clearly identifiable in the video showed what he claimed to be official documents, but all local taxi firms say they know nothing about him. Mr Chanhachartyothin now hopes that the YouTube video will help to catch the driver. Rogue taxi drivers are a constant menace at all of the Paris airports, and at other travel hubs including the Eurostar station at Gare du Nord. The British are the biggest visitor group to Paris the most popular tourists destination in the world and they are regularly targeted by fraudsters. Mr Murphy said firefighters were able to stop the fire at the edge of the city, where evacuation orders remain in place. Even so, TV reports show homes, palm trees and even power poles erupting in flames. Winds of up to 50 miles an hour (80kmh) have stoked the Woolsey Fire, which has charred some 35,000 acres (14,200 hectares) around Los Angeles. A firefighter drags a hose as he battles the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, U.S. November 8, 2018. The size of the fire is about 110 square miles, he said Friday. "There's nothing left standing", said Scott Maclean, the state's forestry and fire protection spokesman. Residents described fleeing their homes and then getting stuck on gridlocked roads as flames approached, sparking explosions and toppling utility poles. Among the towns under evacuation orders is Thousand Oaks, where a gunman killed 12 people in a rampage on Wednesday. Five people have died during massive wildfires in the U.S. state of California, a representative of the Butte County Sheriff's office told Sputnik. Several evacuation centers were set up in nearby towns. A separate massive blaze raging in Northern California since Thursday morning has almost quadrupled in size overnight, according to one Californian fire official. Four hospital employees were briefly trapped in the basement and rescued by California Highway Patrol officers, Kinney said. 'It's devastating. It's like "welcome to hell,"' resident Cynthia Ball said about the dual disasters while she was outside the teenage centre serving as a shelter for evacuees. Back in Butte County, concerned friends and family posted frantic messages on Twitter and other sites saying they were looking for loved ones, particularly seniors who lived at retirement homes or alone. "We're just hoping that our brand new home that we were hoping to move into tomorrow is not burned to the ground", Winstead said. Thousands of people in California have had to flee ahead of a wildfire that has consumed thousands of hectares of land and continues to grow, courtesy of strong winds. "We're anxious sick. They do have a auto, but they both are older and can be confused at times". On Thursday, acting California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for the fire-stricken area in Northern California and requested a presidential disaster declaration, saying that unsafe weather conditions were expected to last several days. The 101 freeway is closed as the both the Hill and Woolsey fires have jumped the freeway near Camarillo as well as in Agoura Hills near Malibu. The resort is one of the most in-demand locations in California for Hollywood stars seeking privacy and luxury, and has been home to Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, Brad Pitt and a host of other celebrities. He said he thought he could save her house, but they would only watch helplessly as their home burned. Authorities were forced to shut down the 101, a major north-south artery, as well as the Pacific Coast Highway. Champion swimmer Cameron McEvoy has shocked fans and the Australian swimming family by announcing his split with long-term girlfriend Violet Atkinson. The 24-year-old confirmed the split this week, saying it was 'friendly and amicable' and nothing like the messy separation of Mitch Larkin and Emily Seebohm. McEvoy said unlike fellow swimmers Larkin and Seebohm's bitter bust-up, his break-up with Ms Atkinson had nothing to do with a third party. Larkin was accused of cheating on Seebohm, an accusation he denies. Champion swimmer Cameron McEvoy, 24 (right), has shocked fans and the Australian swimming family by announcing his split with long-term girlfriend Violet Atkinson, 24 (left) McEvoy (right) confirmed the split this week, saying it was 'friendly and amicable' and nothing like the messy separation of fellow swimmers Mitch Larkin and Emily Seebohm McEvoy (right) said his break-up with Ms Atkinson (left) had nothing to do with a third party 'It's nothing like that situation, I can assure you,' McEvoy told The Daily Telegraph, adding he and Ms Atkinson were simply on 'different trajectories'. He said the amicable decision to go their separate ways was mostly due to the fact that Ms Atkinson's career was taking her more and more to Sydney and Melbourne. Ms Atkinson, a self-styled influencer and fashion blogger - who is also a lawyer - with more than 18,000 Instagram followers, has spent the last week mingling with celebrities and sporting legends in Flemington's glamorous Birdcage. 'My training base is on the Gold Coast and I am happy here and we just decided that our relationship's dynamic was more suited to just being very, very good friends,' McEvoy said. McEnvoy also denied rumours the break-up had anything to do with him focusing on swimming following a disheartening performance at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Despite seemingly being at the top of his game, and going into the 100m freestyle as the reigning world record holder, the two time Olympic swimmer placed seventh. Emily Seebohm (right) broke up with fellow Mitch Larkin (left) in July after it was alleged he was having an affair with another swimmer outside the Olympic team. He has denied cheating on Seebohm McEvoy (left) said the amicable decision to separate was mostly due to the fact that Ms Atkinson's (right) career was taking her more and more to Sydney and Melbourne McEvoy also denied rumours the break-up had anything to do with him focusing on swimming following a disheartening performance at the Rio Olympics in 2016 Ms Atkinson (left and right) is a self-styled influencer and fashion blogger - who is also a lawyer - with more than 18,000 Instagram followers The couple, who met 13 years ago as children at Northcliffe Surf Club, celebrated their four-year anniversary on the eve of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. 'Cam and I met at Northcliffe Surf Club doing nippers when we were 11,' Ms Atkinson previously told The Gold Coast Bulletin. 'I was homeschooled with my younger brother so I made most of my friends at surf lifesaving. 'We were friends for a long time and didn't actually start dating until the day before he left for the Glasgow Games in 2014,' she said. At the time, Ms Atkinson praised her relationship with McEvoy, saying they both were 'super chill' and enjoyed spending quite time with their groodle puppy Apollo. Ms Atkinson has also said she does not hold any grudges over the split. Donald Trump defended his decision to appoint Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general in a series of tweets following the resignation of Jeff Sessions this week. In a series of late-night tweets from Paris, Trump reiterated statements he made in Washington earlier in the day in his defense of Whitaker. Whitaker served as Sessions' chief of staff until his boss resigned on Wednesday at the request of the president. Donald Trump (left) defended appointing Matthew Whitaker (right) as acting Attorney General Trump wrote a series of late nights tweets praising Matthew Whitaker from Paris Just before leaving for Paris where he will take part in events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One, Trump said he 'didnt know' Whitaker but the former US attorney from Iowa was 'highly thought of'. His remarks contradicted comments he made on Fox News last month when he said Whitaker was a 'great guy and I mean, I know Matt Whitaker'. The President tweeted: Matthew G Whitaker is a highly respected former US Attorney from Iowa. 'He was chosen by Jeff Sessions to be his Chief of Staff. I did not know Mr Whitaker. Likewise, as Chief, I did not know Mr Whitaker except primarily as he traveled with AG Sessions. No social contact. He subsequently tweeted that Iowa Governor Joni Ernst, US Senator Chuck Grassley and US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad were among those who thought 'very highly' of Whitaker. Trump said he 'didnt know' Whitaker but the former US attorney was 'highly thought of' The appointment comes just two days after Trump unceremoniously dumped Sessions The appointment comes just two days after Trump unceremoniously dumped Sessions. He put Whitaker in charge of the Justice Department and the special counsels investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Since then, criticism has surfaced about Whitakers lack of credentials to be the nations top law enforcement official, along with allegations that he has conflicts of interest that should keep him from overseeing the Russia inquiry. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the chambers top Democrat, sent a letter to Trump on Friday saying that the appointment of Whitaker, who was chief of staff to Sessions, was unconstitutional. Eighteen state attorneys general signed a document Thursday calling on Whitaker to excuse himself from overseeing the probe. They cited critical comments he made about the investigation during media appearances before joining the Justice Department last year. Matthew Whitaker joined the Justice Department as Sessionss chief of staff in October 2017 Trump dismissed the criticism saying on Friday: 'This only comes because anybody that works for me, they do a number on them. All the time Im watching many different people go on many different shows saying many different things. That doesnt mean theyre unqualified. Some of Whitaker's criticisms of the Russia probe include an op-ed article in which he said Mueller would be straying outside his mandate if he investigated Trump family finances and a radio interview where he said no evidence of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign existed. Senator Susan Collins on Friday said she wants the Senate to debate placing restrictions on Trump's ability to remove Mueller. Speaking in Brunswick, Collins said Whitaker's comments on the probe had her very concerned about his appointment, adding that a bill would pressure Trump to let the investigation run its course. Senator Susan Collins on Friday said she wants the Senate to debate placing restrictions on Trump's ability to remove Mueller 'I recognize that the president is never going to sign such a bill, but I think Senate debate and passage of the bill would send a very strong message to the president,' she said. In a statement to Justice Department employees, Whitaker said Friday: 'As we move forward, I am committed to leading a fair Department with the highest ethical standards, that upholds the rule of law, and seeks justice for all Americans'. Trump suggested on Friday that he was not surprised that Whitakers appointment would draw criticism from the Democrats. 'You didnt have any problems with Matt Whitaker when he was working for Jeff Sessions,' Mr. Trump said. 'No matter who I put in, they go after him,' Trump said about his appointees. 'Its very sad'. Democrats could make the biggest changes to gun legislation the United States has seen in 25 years when the new term begins January but Republicans are unlikely to make it easy for them. A fresh wave of politicians will enter the House next year, after the Democratic party took it back in Tuesday's elections. But the GOP still control the Senate which passes federal laws. However with the Thousand Oaks, California mass shooting where 12 people died just the day after the midterms, politicians have suggested they'll be aggressively pursuing action to enforce tougher gun control. A new wave of Democrats wanting change on gun laws include Lucy McBath (left). Her son Jordan Davis, 17, (right) was shot killed in 2012 for playing music too loud House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi believes there will be change when more Democrats join Congress in January 'This new majority is not going to be afraid of our shadow,' California Democrat, Mike Thompson, told the Wall Street Journal. 'We know that we've been elected to do a job, and we're going to do it.' As the chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, the man who represents Napa County and parts of other counties in Napa Valley, he's keen to make universal background checks mandatory when the new Congress is in progress. The importance was of control to the Democrats was reflected in the funding that went into the midterms campaigns. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg-backed Everytown for Gun Safety and Americans for Responsible Solutions - a group founded by former Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in 2011 - spent $37million combined in the 2018 elections. However gun-rights advocacy only spent approximately $20million. NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said much of the funds went on backing the confirmation of Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. It helped Atlanta Democrat Lucy McBath defeat Republican Karen Handel. Others keen for change include Jason Crow of Denver. He has been vocal about the mass shootings at Columbine High School and the Aurora, Colorado movie theater Former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger, from Virginia, supports a ban on certain firearms with military-style features She left her job as a Delta Air Lines flight attendant and now advocates for gun control after her 17-year-old son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed. The story plays out in a Netflix documentary titled 3 Minutes, 10 Bullets, and details how the man who killed her son was involved in an altercation because the child was playing music too loud. He was later convicted of murder. While her initial ads were on gun control, she focused on health care as Tuesday's elections approached. 'Voters absolutely understood where Lucy stood on the issue of gun safety,' Everytown President John Feinblatt said. 'There was no question in voters' minds about Lucy's story.' According to AP Votecast, that questioned around 90,000 people before and on the day of the elections, approximately 61 per cent of people voting in the midterms said gun laws in the US should be stricter. Approximately 13 percent of Democrats and 8 per cent of all voters said gun control had the biggest influence on their vote. Democrat minority leader Nancy Pelosi told CNN on Thursday that she does believe there will be significant action. 'Because in this Congress, the one that we're in right this minute, there is bipartisan legislation to have common sense background checks, to prevent guns going into the wrong hands,' she said in an interview. Democrats Katie Hill (left) from Southern California and Joe Cunningham (right) of South Carolina, are taking a more middle ground approach Others keen for change include Jason Crow of Denver - who has been vocal about the mass shootings at Columbine High School and the Aurora, Colorado movie theater - and former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger. The Virginia woman supports a ban on certain firearms with military-style features. However Bloomberg News reports Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said Friday that the Thousand Oaks shooting this week is unlikely to have an effect on gun ownership at a federal level. He told their National Political reporter it's 'highly unlikely there will be restrictions passed'. 'The biggest Second Amendment implication of the election is that the pro-Second Amendment majority in the US Senate will continue to confirm pro-Second Amendment judges to the lower courts all the way to the Supreme Court,' NRA spokesperson, Baker, added to WSJ. El Paso, Texas rep Veronica Escobar said: 'If the president or the Senate chooses not to support it, frankly, it's on them but we have to try and we have to continue to try until we get it done' The New York Times reports El Paso, Texas rep Veronica Escobar said: 'If the president or the Senate chooses not to support it, frankly, it's on them but we have to try and we have to continue to try until we get it done.' Some Democrats, including Representative Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania, Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, and Katie Hill from Southern California, are taking a more middle ground approach. They are suggesting banning items that make semiautomatic rifles fire like automatic weapons. 'As Democrats, we should not try to make this a political issue that is about gun legislation because any of the gun legislation we're advocating for would not have prevented this,' Hill said. 'We lose credibility if we try to make it as if it would've.' The man who killed 12 people at the Borderline Bar & Grill Wednesday was a legal gun owner. The day after Tuesday's elections a mass shooting occurred in Thousand Oaks, California A gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on 'college night'. 12 people died including a deputy who rushed to the scene A man has been shot dead by police after he attacked an officer in hospital. The patient, who police say faked an illness after being arrested, was taken to Ipswich Hospital in Brisbane's west at about 9pm on Saturday, the Courier Mail reported. Police say they were guarding the man's hospital bed 'when he became violent towards an officer'. A man has been fatally shot by police while he was under guard at Ipswich Hospital (pictured) The man was treated by staff at the hospital but died from his wound. One officer was treated for minor facial injuries. The officer involved will be interviewed overnight. An ethics committee will investigate the shooting with assistance from the Crime and Corruption Commission. Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart has been informed of the situation. The suicidal airport worker who hijacked a plane and performed loops in the air before crashing acted alone, FBI have finally confirmed. According to a report released Friday, 28-year-old Richard Russell, of Seattle, hijacked the 76-seat plane from Sea-Tac Airport on his own and intentionally crashed onto Ketron Island on August 10. The FBI reviewed the flight's data recorder and cockpit voice recorder and determined that even in the final minute of the flight, Russell had complete control of the plane and had more than enough time to recover if he didn't want to crash. FBI released a report Friday saying Richard Russell, 28, acted alone when he hijacked a plane, took an hour-long joyride, then crashed to his death on August 10 The suicidal airport employee hijacked the plane (pictured in a still from a video taken by a witness on the ground) after one of his shifts with Horizon Air and flew in loops in the air before crashing on Ketron Island, sending up plumes of smoke (right) Smoke and an orange glow are seen on Ketron Island in Washington state, where the plane eventually crash landed What remains a mystery is why Russell took his own life. He did not make any phone calls or any statements about his motive. Investigators described him as suicidal. He took off and flew around in loops and upside down above Pierce County at 7.33pm. He did not have a pilot's license but told an Air Traffic Control agent he didn't need much help adding 'I've played some video games before'. The FBI determined he had no formal flight training but was familiar with the checklist of actions before a plane take off and his internet history revealed a search for flight instructional videos. As he took his hour-long joyride, he talked to the air controller, who tried to reason with him before the fatal fiery crash. Russell pictured above with his wife Hannah, who he married in 2011. The two had no children The FBI determined Russell had no formal flight training but was familiar with the checklist of actions before a plane take off and his internet history revealed a search for flight instructional videos 'I've got a lot of people that care about me. It's going to disappoint them to hear that I did this. I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess. Never knew it, until now,' he said in audio obtained from Air Traffic Control communications. Russell then said before he crashed: 'I think I'm going to try to do a barrel roll, and if that goes good I'll go nose down and call it a night,' according to a recording of his conversation with the controller. Timeline of Russell's final day 2.36pm - Arrived at checkpoint security at Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle 7.19pm - Climbed aboard the aircraft 7.27pm - Used a tow vehicle to turn the nose of the place around 7.33 - Russell took off and flew in loops over Pierce County 8.46 - Crashed at Ketron Island Advertisement The FBI will not pursue any criminal charges in the case as Russell acted alone and died in the crash, according to Seattlepi. They laid out a timeline of Russell's final day. He arrived at a security checkpoint for work at 2.36pm on August 10 at the airport where he was a Horizon Air employee and baggage handler. He climbed aboard the aircraft at 7.19pm and used a tow vehicle to turn the nose of the plane around at 7.27pm. He took off at 7.33pm and crashed about an hour later at 8.46pm. The plane was a Bombardier Q400, a turboprop that seats 76 people, owned by Horizon Air, part of Alaska Airlines. It had been parked at a cargo and maintenance area for the night after arriving from Victoria, British Columbia, earlier in the day. He had worked at Horizon Air for three and a half years. Turkey has shared recordings linked to the murder last month of journalist Jamal Khashoggi with Riyadh, Washington and other capitals, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today. 'We gave them the recordings, we gave them to Saudi Arabia, we gave them to Washington, to the Germans, to the French, to the British,' he said in a televised speech. 'They listened to the conversations which took place here, they know,' he said, but added that they were not accompanied by any written documents. Erdogan gave no details of the tapes' specific content in his televised address. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not reveal specific details of the audio recordings but said he had discussed the latest developments in the Khashoggi case with US President Donald Trump Khashoggi was last seen entering the consulate on October 2 to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage. After repeated denials, Saudi Arabia finally admitted the 59-year-old had been murdered at the mission in a 'rogue' operation. Turkish pro-government daily Sabah earlier Saturday reported Khashoggi's killers poured the remains of the insider-turned-critic of Riyadh down the drain after dissolving him in acid. According to pro-government daily Sabah, Khashoggi's killers poured the remains of the insider-turned-critic of Riyadh down the drain after dissolving him in acid Samples taken from the consulate drains showed traces of acid, Sabah said without quoting sources for its story. Erdogan, who was heading to France to attend commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, has accused the 'highest levels' of the Saudi government of ordering the hit. Some officials have pointed the finger at the all-powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and some analysts say Ankara is keen to have the heir sidelined from the nexus of power in Riyadh. Erdogan has not accused the prince but has said he does 'not believe for a second' that King Salman ordered the crime. Some Turkish media and officials had said for weeks that Ankara possessed an audio recording of the murder and had shared it with CIA head Gina Haspel when she visited Turkey late last month. Some officials have pointed the finger at the all-powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (pictured) and some analysts say Ankara is keen to have the heir sidelined from the nexus of power in Riyadh But the existence of such a recording had not been officially confirmed. Khashoggi's body has not been found, more than a month after the Washington Post columnist was killed. Yasin Aktay, an advisor to Erdogan, suggested last week that the body may have been dissolved. The Istanbul prosecutor found on October 31 that Khashoggi had been killed and dismembered. Erdogan has demanded greater cooperation from Riyadh in investigating the affair amid distrust between the two nations after the Saudis' initial denials that Khashoggi was dead. The Turkish leader insisted Saturday that the 15-member Saudi delegation sent to the consulate 'know very well the murderer or murderers.' Erdogan has demanded greater cooperation from Riyadh in investigating the affair amid distrust between the two nations after the Saudis' initial denials that Khashoggi was dead 'The Saudi authorities should succeed in revealing that by making them speak,' Erdogan added. Ankara has been demanding, to date without success, the extradition of those involved in the killing. Before heading to France, Erdogan said he had prior to his news conference spoken by telephone to US President Donald Trump and would meet with the US leader in Paris 'if we find the opportunity.' Trump and Erdogan have previously spoken by phone on the case of Khashoggi, who went into US exile last year after openly criticising Prince Mohammed's growing crackdown on dissent. With Riyadh a key regional ally, Washington has to date given the Saudi heir the benefit of the doubt on the affair while demanding answers. Judith Heard (pictured) was asked for $3,000 to stop nude photos of herself being leaked online in 2013 A model and socialite from Uganda was blackmailed for $3,000 (2,300) when someone stole her nude selfies and threatened to publish them online. Judith Heard, 32, refused to pay and her photos were leaked without her consent in 2013. But in May this year, the nude photos of her began to circulate online again only this time she was arrested under Uganda's Anti-Pornography Act. Despite revenge porn being illegal in the UK, the Uganda act criminalises the production and circulation of 'pornographic material'. She claims the photos came from a stolen phone or computer and insists she never sent them to anyone. Heard was one of three women who had their nude pictures or sex tapes shared online without their consent. Police officer Esther Akol had a nude photo of her in uniform circulating online but she said her ex-boyfriend had maliciously edited the photo to appear as her. During a press conference, the Pornography Control Committee chair, Annette Kezaabu, referenced Akol's case saying that 'woman can be both a victim and perpetrator at the same time'. Judith Heard posing for a selfie that she posted on her Instagram page The nude photos of Heard began circulating again online only she was then charged for it Kezaabu suggested marriage breakdown, the spread of HIV, teenage pregnancies and domestic violence are among the 'dangers of pornography'. She told Alice McCool for CNN the government's 'eventual aim is to have no footage of sex or nudity on TV whatsoever', and that the committee intends to 'go after' pop stars who wear revealing clothing. 'I think that the Anti-Pornography Act is evidence of how little the government itself cares about women, about their rights, and also about, I would say, their desire to control a woman's agency,' Kezaabu added. Judith Heard, 32, said she was asked for $3,000 to stop the photos being leaked When photographs began circulating again this year she had no idea she was arrested However, Heard disagrees with Kezzabu and said: 'Why is it that women in Uganda are being punished for everything, instead of the government punishing the people who are damaging us?' The police are still searching for Heard's stolen devices because without them she has a 'very weak defence', according to a police spokesperson. If she is found guilty of the offence, she can be fined or imprisoned for up to 10 years. Uganda's Anti-Pornography Act criminalises the production and circulation of 'pornographic material' Topless activists from the radical feminist group FEMEN were arrested in Paris today after staging a protest in front of the Arc de Triomphe. With the words 'Fake Peacemakers' written on their bare chests, three female protesters demonstrated in front of the monument where world leaders commemorated the 100th anniversary Sunday of the end of the First World War. They were dragged away by police using force when they refused to move along. Topless activists from the radical feminist group FEMEN were arrested in Paris today after being man-handled by police They were dragged away by policemen after staging a protest in front of the Arc de Triomphe Three female protesters demonstrated in front of the monument where world leaders commemorated the 100th anniversary Sunday of the end of the First World War (they're seen being escorted away by stewards_ Striking images show them being man-handled by two policemen, carrying them by their arms and legs, before loading them into a police van. The protesters chanted 'welcome war criminals' in reference to visiting foreign leaders including Donald Trump and Angela Merkel. Activists also painted the slogan 'real dictators' across their bodies as part of the protest. Photos showed the three women holding placards spattered with fake blood. French news reports said police quickly took the protesters away. Femen is a Ukrainian radical feminist activist group intended to protect women's rights. With the words 'Fake Peacemakers' and 'Real Dictators; written on their bare chests, they held up scathing placards The protesters chanted 'welcome war criminals' in reference to visiting foreign leaders including Donald Trump and Angela Merkel Femen is a Ukrainian radical feminist activist group intended to protect women's rights. Here, the women continue to hold up the signs even mid-arrest The organization became internationally known for organizing controversial topless protests against sex tourism, religious institutions, sexism, homophobia, and other social, national, and international topics. In July this year one of the founders of Femen was found dead in her Paris apartment. Activists from the organisation said 31-year-old Ukrainian Oksana Shachko left a suicide note next to her body. Shachko was one of four feminist activists who founded Femen in Ukraine in 2008. Exiled in France since 2013, she had since left the group and was working as an artist. Robert Mueller has 'dozens of sealed indictments' for people associated with Donald Trump's 2015-16 campaign and his administration, according to an insider who worked with the Special Counsel. The president this week hired Matthew Whitaker as his Attorney General a man who previously suggested draining financial resources to limit the probe into the leader in a CNN interview. However an Intelligence Community official has suggested Mueller already has what he needs. Robert Mueller has 'dozens of sealed indictments' associated with US President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign The Russia collusion probe headed by Robert Mueller (pictured) appeared to be under threat when Trump hired Matthew Whitaker 'Nobody who's close to the Russians is getting out of this,' the official told the Observer. Mueller has been investigating Trump for the past 18 months and quietened down about the probe in the two months leading up to the midterm elections on Tuesday so not to seem to interfere with voting decisions. He is expected to soon be done with the final draft of his report as to whether Trump's Russian ties helped him in the 2016 presidential elections. Donald Trump Jr is predicted to be a focus point. The American leader's son is believed to have lied about a meeting with Russian intelligence officials in in June 2016. He initially said it was about adoptions but changed his tune when talking to the New York Times in July 2017, saying a former 2013 Miss Universe contact had requested a meeting. It emerged Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and then-campaign manager Paul Manafort, had spoken about alleged links between campaign rival Hillary Clinton and the Russians that could damage her reputation. But Mueller has 'dozens of sealed indictments' associated with Trump's campaign Manafort has since been tied to the Kremlin. 'After pleasantries were exchanged,' Trump Jr said, 'the woman stated that she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Mrs. Clinton. Her statements were vague, ambiguous and made no sense. No details or supporting information was provided or even offered. It quickly became clear that she had no meaningful information.' Matthew Whitaker is Trump's new acting Attorney General. He previously suggested draining financial resources to limit the probe Mueller could ask to interview the president's son about possibly involving Russia in the election and whether he has obstructed the investigation. The Special Counsel could also be on the heels of former campaign consultant Roger Stone. Stone a friend of the president and Manafort since the 70s could be linked in various ways to the Russian interference. Perhaps most notably, he posted Twitter direct messages between himself and alleged Democratic National Committee hacker Guccifer 2.0 on his blog. According to a February 2018 it was operated by Russian military intelligence. Trump fired his Attorney General Jeff Sessions Wednesday. Sessions had recused himself from overseeing the Mueller investigation. With concern the acting AG, Whitaker could block Mueller from chasing investigative leads and issuing significant subpoenas, Trump insisted he knew nothing about Whitaker's comments on cutting off investigative resources. Donald Trump Jr (left) and Roger Stone (right) could be both be focuses in Mueller's investigation 'I don't know Matt Whitaker. He worked for attorney general Sessions,' Trump said at a news conference Friday. 'He was very very highly thought of... It's a shame that no matter who I put in, they go after them.' 'The Russia investigation is a hoax... a phony hoax,' Trump added. Whitaker's appointment was met with protests in different cities calling for the protection of the Mueller probe. In radio and television interviews last year, Whitaker repeatedly supported Trump's 'illegal witch hunt' charge against the investigation. 'The left is trying to sow this theory that essentially Russians interfered with the US election, which has been proven false,' Whitaker said in an interview with a conservative Christian broadcaster. 'They are trying to suggest that essentially the Trump campaign had these deep ties into Russia, which is not true.' Protests erupted in defense of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia collusion investigation after President Donald Trump appointed Mueller critic Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general Members of Congress said his appointment was unconstitutional, because he has never been confirmed for top office by the US Senate. 'As an unconfirmed political appointee, Mr Whitaker has not been subject to the scrutiny that the Constitution requires to ensure that he has the character, integrity and ability to fulfil the grave responsibilities of this job,' top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said in a letter addressed to Trump Friday. 'These concerns are heightened by specific expressions of bias against the special counsel investigation that Mr Whitaker made just last year,' Schumer said. Republican Senate chief Mitch McConnell insisted the probe was not under threat and that Whitaker was only a 'very interim' Justice head, while Trump weighs candidates for a permanent attorney general. The U.S. Navy is under fire for allegedly ignoring distress calls from a sinking migrant dignhy that was capsized in the Mediterranean Sea in June and killed 76 people. Survivors claimed that the USNS Trenton would not come to their aid as the boat was sinking. They claimed that had the Navy acted, then some of the people who were on the boat might have been saved. The allegations were made in a video published by La Repubblica in October and was investigated by prosecutors in Sicily. Scroll down for video Survivors claimed that the USNS Trenton would not come to their aid as the boat was sinking in June There had been 116 people on the boat in total but only 42 survived There had been 116 people on the boat in total but only 42 survived. 'We saw that ship, it was not far away,' one survivor stated. 'We saw the American flag. If they had rescued us when we were all still on board, 76 people would not have died.' The dinghy had been travelling from Libya and contained mostly people from sub-Saharan Africa. It began filling with water on the morning of June 12. The dignhy had been travelling from Libya and contained mostly people from sub-Saharan Africa. It began filling with water on the morning of June 12 The US navy has denied that it was in the area before the sinking One witness claimed that the seas were 'rough' when the boat began filling with water. But when the migrants saw the American boat, they spent more than an hour trying to get the boat's attention. 'We saw the American flag and we tried to reach them, but as we approached, they seemed to avoid us and changed direction,' another witness added. Many of the migrants lost their loved ones, including a woman on the video who lost her brother and sister. Survivors claim that the USNS Trenton came back to the scene a half-an-hour after the boat sunk 'My wife was pregnant. She died before my eyes,' a man said in the clip. The US navy has denied that it was in the area before the sinking. But survivors claim that the USNS Trenton came back to the scene a half-an-hour after the boat sunk. And when asked why they hadn't helped in the first place, they were told that 'it was not their job.' A recording by Republica also revealed that the Trenton had been reluctant to help another distressed migrant vessel, in a separate incident, just two days before the sinking. It captured a conversation between the Navy ship and Greek merchant ship Leone Hermes who alerted the Americans to the migrant boat in trouble. An American voice replied: 'I have other tasking which I'm following We are unable to assist in this matter.' Leone Hermes eventually stepped in and rescued the migrants themselves. 'We are aware of the reports that an Italian official is looking into USNS Trenton's rescue of people in distress at sea,' said Cmdr Kyle Raines, a spokesman with the US 6th Fleet Fabio D'Anna, a prosecutor in Ragusa, said that a formal investigation hasn't been launched. She added: 'We will try to talk with the survivors of the shipwreck, to understand what happened that morning.' 'We are aware of the reports that an Italian official is looking into USNS Trenton's rescue of people in distress at sea,' Cmdr Kyle Raines, a spokesman with the US 6th Fleet, said to The Guardian. 'Military Sealift Command reaffirms that at approximately 1010 GMC on 12 June 2018, USNS Trenton's watch officer visual observed a capsized raft and personnel floating in the ocean. This was the first observation of the raft made by personnel of USNS Trenton. 'Two rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) and one fast rescue boat were launched from Trenton and recovered the distressed people, who were immediately brought aboard Trenton and provided with food, water, clothing and medical care.' In June, Trenton's response to another migrant rescue was brought under speculation. The Greek ship, Leone Hermes, wound up saving the migrants in that incident. New elections are likely to be held in early January, almost two years earlier than originally planned, a government minister told the AFP news agency. The US State Department tweeted that it is deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka Parliament will be dissolved, "further deepening the political crisis". "We will definitely challenge this in the Supreme Court, that the president is violating the constitution", said Harsha De Silva, who was state minister of economic affairs under Wickremesinghe's government. The former Prime Minister-led United National Party (UNP) says the dissolution of Parliament by the President Maithripala Sirisena today almost two years before its term expires is illegal and against the constitution. Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena waves to supporters at a rally on November 5, 2018, in Colombo. Sirisena sparked the two week-old drama last month by sacking Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister and naming Mahinda Rajapaksa - the country's authoritarian president from 2005 until 2015 - as his replacement. Under pressure from the United Nations, the USA and the European Union to allow a parliamentary vote, Sirisena agreed three times to lift the suspension but changed his mind each time. Following the Parliament's dissolution on Friday, the United National Party - of which Ranil Wickremesinghe is the leader - vehemently rejected the move, and said that it was illegal. "This dissolution by the President is illegal and goes against the constitution", the UNP said on Twitter. Sirisena has filled only 22 of 30 cabinet positions - purposefully keeping some jobs vacant to tempt legislators of Wickremesinghe's party to defect to Rajapakse's side. The admission, which came despite Sirisena's earlier claim that he had the support of 113 legislators when he sacked Wickremesinghe, had fuelled speculation that he would go for snap elections. The deposed leader, who has remained holed up in the prime ministerial residence since his abrupt dismissal on October 26, has demanded a parliamentary vote to prove his majority. "The dissolution clearly indicates that Mr. Sirisena has grossly misjudged and miscalculated the support that he might or could secure to demonstrate support in the Parliament", said Bharath Gopalaswamy, director at New Delhi-based analyst group Atlantic Council's South Asia Center. Sirisena has said he fired Wickremesinghe because the prime minister was trying to implement "a new, extreme liberal political concept by giving more priority for foreign policies and neglecting the local people's sentiment". Geraint Kristopher Jonson, 24, (pictured) has been given a 10-year extended sentence after being caught having sexual conversations with young girls online A paedophile has been given a 10-year extended sentence after being caught engaging in sickening sexual conversations with girls online. Geraint Kristopher Jonson told a 13-year-old girl he wanted to have sex with her and that if she got pregnant and had a daughter, he would want to have sex with the child too. But Swansea Crown Court heard the 24-year-old does not think he has done anything wrong, and refuses to engage with any help to tackle his problem. Ian Wright, prosecuting, said Jonson gave police officers his passwords, and they were able to access his extensive chat history on the Skype video messaging service. The first chat log they found involved Jonson communicating with a 13-year-old girl who was traced to the Humberside Police area. The prosecutor said the conversations started innocently - with messages about a shared interest in computer games - but then became more 'flirtatious and sexual in nature', with Jonson paying the young girl compliments. The court was told that Jonson then started asking her to expose her breasts and touch them while he performed sex acts on himself, the results of which he would show her. The court heard Jonson also talked to her about getting a hotel room so the pair of them could 'watch movies and eat pizza'. Jonson, from Swansea, pleaded guilty to a total of 11 counts of possessing indecent images, inciting a child to perform sexual acts, attempting to incite a child to perform sexual acts, and engaging in sexual acts in the presence of a child at Swansea Crown Court (pictured) Mr Wright said the young victim had been traced and spoken to, and now realised she had been groomed and taken advantage of by Jonson - though at the time of the conversations she thought he genuinely wanted to be her boyfriend. Police also found chat logs between Jonson and someone who appeared to be a 13-year-old girl in America. During these conversations Jonson asked her to perform sex acts on camera, and told her he wanted to have sex with her - adding that if she got pregnant and had a daughter, he would want to have sex with the child too. He also told her about films he had watched of the incestuous rape of a four-year-old girl by her father, the court heard. The American victim has not been traced. Mr Wright said the third chat log discovered by police involved what appeared to be a 10-year-old girl - though, unbeknown to Jonson, the profile was in fact being run by an adult male. During these chats, Jonson again talked about impregnating the 'girl' and then abusing any daughters they may have had. He also told the 'girl' he wanted sex with her while she was wearing her primary school uniform. Aside from the chat logs, police found indecent photographs and videos of children on Jonson's computer equipment and phone. They found a total of 39 of Category A, the most extreme kind, 51 of Category B, and 65 of Category C. Jonson, of Heol Gwyrosydd, Penlan, Swansea, pleaded guilty to a total of 11 counts of possessing indecent images, inciting a child to perform sexual acts, attempting to incite a child to perform sexual acts, and engaging in sexual acts in the presence of a child. He appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Friday to be sentenced. The court heard he had no previous convictions, though there was 'ample evidence' that he had been engaging in inappropriate online behaviour for some time. John Tarrant, defending, said the pre-sentence reports into his client showed little evidence that he accepted he needed help. Judge Geraint Walters described the case as one of the most disturbing of its kind which he had encountered, due to Jonson's refusal to admit his actions had been wrong. He said the pre-sentence reports into the defendant made for 'very disturbing reading', with a psychiatrist concluding Jonson was 'suffering from paedophilia' and was committed to carrying on with similar communications with young girls in the future. Judge Walters told the defendant: 'You have given no indication whatsoever of being in anyway remorseful. You consider there is nothing wrong with what you have been doing - let me tell you, it is very wrong.' Jonson was given an extended 10-year sentence, comprising seven years in custody and three years on licence. He will also be on the sex offenders' register for the rest of his life, and will be the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order. Judge Walters said he thought the extended sentence was necessary to protect children from Jonson. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel linked hands as they marked 100 years since their countries' reconciliation at the same forest clearing where the armistice ending World War I was signed. In a highly symbolic ceremony, Macron and Merkel met at the site near Compiegne in eastern France where Germany officially surrendered at dawn on November 11, 1918, bringing to a close more than four years of slaughter on the Western front. It was the first time a German leader had visited the site since World War II. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron embrace as they take part in the ceremony in the clearing of Rethondes, also known as Glade of the Armistice Merkel and Macron share a moment of remembrance during the symbolic ceremony to mark 100 years since their countries' reconciled The pair lay a floral wreath, with the help of soldiers from the Franco-German brigade, as they take part in the symbolic ceremony at the site where Germany officially surrendered in 1918 The visit underscored the close ties between two countries that fought three wars between 1870 and 1945 but are now seen as the lynchpins of peace in Western Europe. Macron sported a cornflower in his lapel - the French equivalent to Britain's remembrance poppy. Merkel reviewed grey-clad soldiers from the Franco-German brigade, part of the Eurocorps, before the pair stood elbow-to-elbow at the centre of the clearing for the ceremony. 'On the centenary of the November 11, 1918 armistice, Mr Emmanuel Macron, president of the French Republic, and Mrs Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the federal Republic of Germany, here reaffirmed the value of Franco-German reconciliation in the service of Europe and peace,' read the plaque. Macron wore a cornflower in his lapel, the French equivalent to Britain's remembrance poppy French President Macron wipes his eye as Chancellor Merkel appears deep in thought A plaque was unveiled which read:'On the centenary of the November 11, 1918 armistice, Mr Emmanuel Macron, president of the French Republic, and Mrs Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the federal Republic of Germany, here reaffirmed the value of Franco-German reconciliation in the service of Europe and peace,' read the plaque.' It was laid next to another plaque dating back to World War 1, which reads: 'The criminal pride of the German empire died here on November 11, 1918, vanquished by the free people it had sought to enslave.' The open-air site at Rhetondes is doubly symbolic as Adolf Hitler chose the same spot to sign the surrender of the French on June 22, 1940 at the start of World War II. Germany insisted that the railway carriage in which the WWI armistice was signed be brought out of a museum and returned to Rhetondes for the ceremony. It was destroyed during the war and a replica now stands at the site. Macron and Merkel are due to travel to Paris where some 70 world leaders will gather Sunday to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the war at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe. The pair reviewed grey-clad soldiers from the Franco-German brigade, part of the Eurocorps Merkel and Macron sign a guest book inside a replica of the wagon where the Armistice was signed in 1918 in the Clairiere of Rethondes A German bugler stands ready as a big screen shows Chancellor Merkel and President Macron Advertisement Archaeologists in Egypt said today that they had discovered dozens of cat mummies, a rare collection of mummified scarab beetles, as well as an apparently pristine Fifth Dynasty tomb they plan to open in the coming weeks. The mummified beetles - the first ever to be found in the area - were among artefacts found in seven tombs discovered over the past six months on the edge of the King Userkaf pyramid complex at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara, south of Cairo. The burial chambers also contained wooden statues depicting other animals and birds. As they were preparing the site to present the latest discoveries, archaeologists found the door of another tomb that remains sealed, said Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. Scroll down for video Archaeologists in Egypt said today that they have found dozens of mummified cats, a rare collection of mummified scarab beetles, as well as an apparently pristine Fifth Dynasty tomb they plan to open in the coming weeks. Above, one of the cat mummies at the site - on the edge of the King Userkaf pyramid complex at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara, south of Cairo An Egyptian archaeologist cleans some of the mummified cats. Egypt has been whipping up publicity for its new historical discoveries in the hopes of reviving a devastated tourism sector still recovering from the turmoil following a 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak Archaeologists said that cats were used as religious sacrifices in Ancient Egypt over 5,500 years ago. Cats were known as 'Mau' and were later important in Egyptian society and became a symbol of grace. It is believed the ancient Egyptians cared for domesticated cats as long ago as in 3,700BC. Until recent times, it was thought that cats were first domesticated in the country around 1,950BC Above, left, a wooden gilded cat statue, and right, one made of bronze, which were both discovered at the site One of the mummified scarabs discovered inside the tomb of Khufu-Imhat at Saqqara The mummified beetles - the first ever to be found in the area - were among artefacts found in seven tombs discovered over the past six months on the edge of the King Userkaf pyramid complex. (Pictured, some of the scarabs which were put on display) One of the bronze statues is given a clean. The Fifth Dynasty ruled Egypt from about 2,500BC to 2,350BC - not long after the great pyramid of Giza was built The pyramid complex of Userkaf (above, its north face) consisted of an outer casing of fine limestone, around a core which at some point crumbled into rubble. For this reason, it is known locally as El-Haram el-Maharbish, the 'Heap of Stone' Cat worship in Ancient Egypt It is believed that the ancient Egyptians cared for domesticated cats as long ago as in 3,700BC. Until recent times, it was thought that cats were first domesticated in the country around 1,950BC. Evidence of pet felines has also been found in China, indicating farmers cared for cats in 3,300BC. As a revered animal, some cats received the same mummification after death as humans and were often dedicated to Bastet. (Above, a statue found at Saqqara) Archaeologists said that cats were also used as religious sacrifices in Ancient Egypt over 5,500 years ago. Cats were known as 'Mau' and were later important in Egyptian society and became a symbol of grace. Two goddesses took the form of cats - Mafdet - a lion-headed goddess of justice and execution, and Bastet - a cat representing fertility and motherhood. As a revered animal, some cats received the same mummification after death as humans and were often dedicated to Bastet. It is thought there were four main reasons for mummifying animals - to be worshipped as manifestations of certain gods, act as offerings to them, provide food in the afterlife and allow beloved pets to live on in the afterlife. Advertisement Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Enany said the discovery was made by an Egyptian archaeological mission during excavation work started in April. Three of the tombs had been used for cats, he said, while one of four other sarcophagi discovered at the site belonged to Khufu-Imhat, overseer of the buildings in the royal palace. The tomb dates from the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom and is unusual because the facade and door are intact, meaning its contents may still be untouched, according to Mohamed Youssef, director of the Saqqara area. Egypt has been whipping up publicity for its new historical discoveries in the hopes of reviving a devastated tourism sector still recovering from the turmoil following a 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The Fifth Dynasty ruled Egypt from about 2,500BC to 2,350BC - not long after the great pyramid of Giza was built. The tombs lie in a buried ridge that has only partially been uncovered and could offer many more similar discoveries, Waziri said. Of the statues found, those depicting cats were the majority, reflecting the reverence ancient Egyptians showed the felines, whose God Bastet was worshipped. Other statues depicted a lion, a cow and a falcon. Excavations in the area had halted in 2013 before resuming earlier this year. Saqqara served as the necropolis for Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt for more than two millennia. Ancient Egyptians mummified humans to preserve their bodies for the afterlife, while animal mummies were used as religious offerings. Two large scarabs wrapped in linen and in very good condition were found inside a limestone sarcophagus with a vaulted, decorated lid, the antiquities ministry said in a statement. Another collection of scarab mummies was found inside a smaller sarcophagus. 'The (mummified) scarab is something really unique. 'It is something really a bit rare,' Waziri said. 'A couple of days ago, when we discovered those coffins, they were sealed coffins with drawings of scarabs. I never heard about them before.' Dozens of cat mummies and gilded statues of cats were unearthed, including a bronze statue dedicated to Bastet. The team also found painted wooden cobra and crocodile sarcophagi, a collection of gilded statues depicting animal features, as well as objects including amulets, canopic jars (which were used to store and preserve the viscera of their owner for the afterlife), writing tools and papyri baskets. Egypt's relics are a draw for foreign visitors and authorities hope new finds can help attract more as a way to help revive tourism hit by the unrest that followed the overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The number of tourists visiting the country rose 54 per cent to 8.3million last year, still well below the 14.7million who came in 2010. The excavated items have generated much interest - above, some of them on display today. The tombs lie in a buried ridge that has only partially been uncovered and could offer many more similar discoveries Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Enany said the discovery was made by an Egyptian archaeological mission during excavation work started in April. Three of the tombs had been used for cats, he said, while one of four other sarcophagi found at the site belonged to Khufu-Imhat, overseer of the buildings in the royal palace. Above, mask artefacts form the tomb of Khufu-Imhat A wall inside the tomb of Khufu-Imhat. Excavations in the area had halted in 2013 before resuming earlier this year Saqqara served as the necropolis for Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt for more than two millennia. Ancient Egyptians mummified humans to preserve their bodies for the afterlife, while animal mummies were used as religious offerings. (Pictured, artefacts found at the site) Of the statues found, those depicting cats were the majority, reflecting the reverence ancient Egyptians showed the felines, whose God Bastet was worshipped The number of tourists visiting Egypt rose 54 per cent to 8.3million last year, still well below the 14.7million who came in 2010 Userkaf built his pyramid circa 2490 BC in the shadows of Djoser's Step Pyramid - an archaeological jewel in the Saqqara necropolis built around 2700BC for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser The team also found painted wooden cobra and crocodile sarcophagi, a collection of gilded statues depicting animal features, as well as objects including amulets, canopic jars (which were used to store and preserve the viscera of their owner for the afterlife), writing tools and papyri baskets. Above, the tomb of Khufu-Imhat 'His soul is powerful'... but his pyramid became a 'Heap of Stone': The life and afterlife of Pharaoh Userkaf Userkaf, whose name translates as 'his soul is powerful', was the founder of the Fifth Dynasty and reigned from 24942487BC Userkaf, whose name translates as 'his soul is powerful', was the founder of the Fifth Dynasty and reigned from 24942487BC. The Fifth Dynasty ruled Egypt from around 2,500BC to 2,350BC, not long after the Great Pyramid of Giza was constructed. Pharaoh Userkaf was at one point believed to be the son of Queen Neferhetepes - but excavations now suggest she was in fact his wife. However, other sources suggest he was married to Queen Khentkaus. It was under his reign that the cult of Ra, the Sun God, started to gain importance. He built the first of a series of temples to Ra at Abu Sir, north of present-day Cairo, on the west bank of the Nile. Userkaf built his pyramid circa 2490 BC in the shadows of Djoser's Step Pyramid - an archaeological jewel in the Saqqara necropolis built around 2700BC for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser. The pyramid complex of Userkaf consisted of an outer casing of fine limestone, around a core which at some point crumbled into rubble. For this reason, it is known locally as El-Haram el-Maharbish, the 'Heap of Stone'. Userkaf's pyramid forms just part of a larger mortuary complex, which includes an offering chapel and mortuary temple. Userkaf's mortuary complex: 1) Main pyramid, 2) Offering Hall, 3) Cult pyramid - the mortuary temple comprises: 4) Courtyard, 5) Chapel, 6) Entrance corridors and 7) Causeway An Amazon Echo may be the key to breaking a grisly double murder case. Christine Sullivan, 48, and her friend Jenna Pellegrini, 32, were found stabbed to death in the backyard of Sullivan's Farmington, New Hampshire home on January 29, 2017. Cops seized an Amazon Echo from the home's kitchen and on Friday Judge Steven M. Houran ordered the firm to hand over the device's audio, believing it may have recorded audio of Sullivan's horrific murder. She was stabbed eight times and her skull fractured in the kitchen. Her friend Pellegrini was slashed 43 times. Timothy Verrill, 34, was charged with first degree murder in the deaths of both women and he pleaded not guilty in February 2017. A Judge has ordered Amazon to release the audio on an Echo machine that may have recorded parts of a grisly double murder in New Hampshire on Friday Christine Sullivan, 48, (left) and her friend Jenna Pellegrini, 32, (right) were found horrifically stabbed to death in the backyard of Sullivan's Farmington, New Hampshire home on January 29, 2017. Timothy Verrill, 34, was charged with first degree murder in their deaths. He pleaded not guilty in February 2017 'Accordingly, the State's motion to search in lieu of a search warrant is granted,' he said, asking for 'The court directs Amazon.com to produce forthwith to the court any recordings made by an Echo smart speaker with Alexa voice command capability, FCC ID number ZWJ-0823, from the period of January 27, 2017 to January 29, 2017, as well as any information identifying cellular devices that were paired to that smart speaker during that time period,' he added. It's not clear if audio was recorded by the device, but it is probable as Amazon's Echo is a voice activated device and could've have caught snippets of the murder. The court said it was probably the speaker could have recorded 'evidence of crimes committed against Ms. Sullivan, including the attack and possible removal of the body from the kitchen.' An Amazon spokesperson told Associated Press it would not release the recordings 'without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us'. Cops say Sullivan was killed in the kitchen. Both bodies were discovered by Sullivan's boyfriend two days after the murder on January 29 in the backyard Verrill knew Sullivan's boyfriend Dean Smoronk. Verrill had access to the home's security code and was seen on the home's surveillance cameras with both of the women before their deaths The bodies of the women were found in the backyard under a tarp and a knife was found buried nearby, cops said. Cops said at a August 2017 hearing that Verrill knew Sullivan's boyfriend Dean Smoronk, who owned the house that he and Sullivan lived in together. Verrill had access to the home's security code and was seen on the home's surveillance cameras with both of the women before their deaths, according to WMUR. Their bodies were discovered by Smoronk when he returned home from a trip and found his girlfriend missing. 'In the upstairs bedroom, he showed [police] a large blood stain on a mattress and downstairs in the kitchen area and on the refrigerator,' Sgt Brian Strong, who arrived at the home after Smoronk reported the women missing, testified at the August 2017 hearing. A Canada law enforcement officer who is a father-of-three and worked on the force for 13 years - was labelled a 'complete idiot' after getting high on drugs obtained from tampering with evidence. Judge Mary Misener scalded Toronto Constable Vittorio Dominelli, 36, in a College Park courtroom Friday for taking three bars of cannabis-infused hazelnut chocolate and then having to radio in for help after scoffing one while on duty and panicking. The officer was carrying a service-issued firearm when he and Constable Jamie Young tried more than the recommended amount of the snack after they carried out a raid of Community Cannabis Clinic on January 27. Constable Vittorio Dominelli, 36, ate weed chocolate January 27 in Toronto He was on duty after raiding an illegal cannabis dispensary (pictured) and stole evidence A charge said Young 'failed to account' for the weed after they unpacked boxes. According to a statement of facts Dominelli had confessed he'd taken the edibles that he found outside of evidence bags. While he instantly regretted taking them, he said Young who was absent from court - advised him not to dispose of them publicly. Within 20 minutes of chomping on the marijuana-laced sweet, they were intoxicated. Neither had used marijuana before and Dominelli said he assumed it would be a 'minor mellow feeling'. However the pack contained eight segments of chocolate and although the instructions say to only take a small portion and wait 40 minutes, the wrapper was found empty. The pair was on a surveillance assignment of a bar near Eglinton Avenue West and Allen Road from around 11pm but two hours into the shift Dominelli used a 10-33 police code for officers in serious trouble to call in help. He grabbed his partner's radio after she refused to give it him, ran up the street and requested an ambulance for an officer in need of assistance. Dominelli later admitted he was worried the weed had been laced with something else when he became sweaty and thought he was going to die. Dominelli used a 10-33 police code for officers in serious trouble to call help 'I think I'm going to pass out. I'm just lightheaded,' Dominelli said during the phone call, The Toronto Star reported Friday. 'My heart was pounding. I felt like it was going to come out of my mouth,' Dominelli said in a court document. 'I realized instantly what a stupid thing I had done At that point, I did not care any more about the prospects of getting caught or the professional consequences, I just wanted medical help.' When law enforcement arrived at the scene they noticed Young and Dominelli 'appeared to be in distress'. The pair was taken to hospital and Dominelli felt fine once he vomited. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in cannabis, was found in a blood test. Judge Mary Misener will consider his punishment for tampering with evidence It wasn't just the life of the public he put at risk. One of the responding officers slipped on ice while rushing to the scene and sustained a serious concussion. She has been off work for 10 months, has 'significant difficulties with speech and vision', must wear sunglasses most of the time and the accident has impacted her balance. Seven people charged in connection with the raid of the illegal marijuana dispensary have since had charges dropped. Dominelli resigned this week and faces four misconduct charges After Crown attorney Philip Perlmutter read a statement of the facts in court this week, Dominelli pleaded guilty to attempting to obstruct justice and said he felt remorseful and ashamed. Dominelli resigned this week and he faces four misconduct charges under the Police Services Act, reports CBC.ca. A breach of trust charge against him was withdrawn Friday. Lawyer Peter Brauti said the man, whose father also served a long time as a Toronto police officer, realized he had 'lost the trust of the policing community and the public to the point where he could no longer be a police officer'. His attorney added it was a 'thoughtless act of stupidity'. The judge agreed but said she had to punish him for interfering with evidence. She said: 'The conduct here, you can't describe it as anything other than stupid. He was just a complete idiot.' Dominelli said the much-publicized story had turned the lives of his wife and children six-year-old twin girls and a seven-year-old daughter - 'upside down'. 'The first place to start is to say I'm sorry, sorry for my actions, my judgment and for being so inconsiderate,' he wrote in a letter. 'My actions were wrong, and the community that I served deserves that I be held accountable for those actions.' He wishes 200 hours of community service and a conditional discharge. The Crown Attorney suggests a 21-month conditional sentence and 10 months on house arrest. The sentencing hearing date will be set next week. Young faces six charges including criminal breach of trust and attempting to obstruct justice. The other charges against her have not been proved reports the Toronto Star. Young is currently suspended and is due in court November 15. Conservative actor James Woods put aside his political differences to help Me Too movement supporter Alyssa Milano when a raging Southern California wildfire threatened her home. Milano was searching for a safe place for her familys horses when she and her husband evacuated their home with their two children. Woods posted a message on his Twitter account asking if anyone could help the actress. She wrote: 'If anyone can get 5 horses out the fire please help'. James Woods (left) put out a call on Twitter to help Alyssa Milano (right) move her horses Woods was quick to put the call out saying that Milano needed help as wildfires raged in a number of areas. He wrote: She needs help with five horses. It was previously reported that her horses had been evacuated, but she says that did not happen. 'Please contact her at @Alyssa_Milano to get her location or use my hashtag #SoCalFiresJamesWoods This is a serious request. The actor has been an outspoken critic of Democrats and liberal policies. While he initially supported Carly Fiorina's 2016 presidential campaign, Woods has become a vocal backer of President Trump. Following the 2016 election, Woods said he was quitting Twitter because of censorship. However, he later rejoined the platform and tweets regularly. He even offered advice to Milano about what to do if she couldnt find a safe place for the horses. Offers of safe places for the horses came in, and Milano soon tweeted that 'everything with a heartbeat is safe' and thanked people for their concern. Woods initially added a dedicated hashtag #CampFireJamesWoods for the deadly blaze north of Sacramento in Butte Country that has scorched about 70,000 acres. Woods helped Alyssa Milano get help in finding a safe place for her horses on Twitter Woods turned his Twitter page into a place where people can get word out about missing loved ones or for anyone seeking help for their animals He later added #SoCalFiresJamesWoods for the Hill fire near Hill Canyon in Ventura County, north of Los Angeles, which was burning 6,000 acres Friday morning, and the 14,000-acre Woolsey fire south of Simi Valley in Los Angeles County. Malibu homes threatened by Woolsey were ordered evacuated Friday. Woods claimed the social media operation was so much more rewarding than arguing politics. He assured followers he was safe and far from the fires, visiting in New England. Some people criticised Milano on social media inlcuing one who asked: why would anyone want to help @alyssa_milano? Woods quickly interjected and said: Because her animals are in danger and she needs help'. Woods defended Milano from some social media haters who also criticized him for helping her Milano received a backlash from some social media users who said they wouldn't help her Despite their vast political differences, Milano thanks James Wood for his help during the fires Woods was quick to criticizes the democrats on the day of the midterm election. On Wednesday he slammed Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams for refusing to concede to GOP candidate Brian Kemp in a very tight race while votes were still being counted. Woods called it 'not very classy, but not surprising'. Milano has turned her attention towards political activism and different movements Milano had also claimed she was taking a day off but would be back to Babies are still separated from their families, Reproductive Freedom, LGBTQ Rights and Fight racism and bigotry. In response to sexual misconduct allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, Milano sent a tweet that turned the hashtag #MeToo into a rallying cry against sexual assault and harassment. In December, Milano and Tarana Burke, the creator of the original Me Too movement back in 2006 were recognized among Time magazine's 'Silence Breakers' as the person of the year. Milano famously drove voters to polling stations in Alabama's special Senate election to increase voter turnout for Democrat Doug Jones in his bid to defeat Republican Roy Moore, the accused child molester whose bid gained national attention. Advertisement Thousands of people visited a replica WW1 style trench to commemorate remembrance at a 900-year-old castle. Specialist film set builders constructed a Western Front trench at Carlisle Castle in Cumbria, complete with re-enactors playing the parts of British Tommies and German soldiers. The free event also included a pub run under special 'state management' rules which sold beer, and visitors could even visit a replica field hospital. The grounds of Carlisle Castle transformed into a scene from the the trench warfare of France and Belgium, above. The public could walk around the trenches, as well as visit a traditional period market later in the day The 160 foot replica trench was the idea of former soldier Robert Lowther, who builds and supplies props for war films. The idea for this special act of Remembrance came from Colonel Anthony Steven, a Commandant at the Cumbria Army Cadet Force This graphic shows how Armistice Day will be commemorated in London and around the country today Visitors also watched ninety-minute shows including a Salvation Army band and a drill demonstration by Cumbria Army Cadet Force. The public could walk around the trenches, as well as as well as visit a traditional period market later in the day A wooden tank was also created by joinery students at the local Carlisle College, in addition to a wooden design of the castle's front gates from 100 years ago. Re-enactors playing cards, above, played the parts of British Tommies and German soldiers. Together they brought realism to the display for This Day: 1918 in Cumbria A wooden tank, above, was also created by joinery students at the local Carlisle College, in addition to a wooden design of the castle's front gates from 100 years ago The 160 foot replica trench was the idea of former soldier Robert Lowther, who builds and supplies war props for films. He worked with professional film production crew to assemble the Western Front style trench, including Ronnie Papaleo, who has worked on war films including Flags of our Fathers. Some of the trench wood was supplied by the Ministry of Defence and local businesses from Cumbria. The idea for this special act of Remembrance came from Colonel Anthony Steven, a Commandant at the Cumbria Army Cadet Force. Former soldier Robert Lowther worked with professional film production crew to assemble the Western Front style trench, including Ronnie Papaleo, who has worked on war films including Flags of our Fathers Two WW1 re-enactors open up munitions boxes. The free event was held for just one day in the grounds of Carlisle Castle, in Cumbria Thousands of people visited a replica WW1 style trench to commemorate remembrance at a 900-year-old Carlisle Castle, above. The event was free but was open for one day only Colonel Steven said: 'Initially the idea was a tattoo. Then this phrase This Day in 1918 came into my head. 'Were taking the castle back in time 100 years. 'Weve had an extremely positive response with more than 100 volunteers. Weve had people ringing up saying Can we be involved?' 'People are genuinely very interested. Its a very simple thing to sell. Its the centenary of the Armistice.' The recreated pub was run under State Management rules by the local Carlisle Brewing Company. These special management rules meant the government nationalised pubs in Carlisle during the war. In practice, this meant the price of beer increased since the government encouraged men to drink less. The free event was held for just one day in the grounds of Carlisle Castle, the local paper, the News and Star reported. They castle was used by the military during the war, but before this was used as an army hospital. Visitors could also walk around the trenches. They could also watch ninety-minute shows including a Salvation Army band and a drill demonstration by Cumbria Army Cadet Force Democratic governor candidate Andrew Gillum has withdrawn his concession after the Florida secretary of state officially ordered a recount in the U.S. Senate and governor races. Gillum, who was trailing his Republican rival, former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, by just 0.41 percentage points, tweeted Saturday: 'I am replacing my words of concession with an uncompromised and unapologetic call we count every single vote.' It's a reversal of his concession speech on election night, when the candidate had told supporters in Tallahassee: 'We recognize that we didn't win this tonight.' The news comes just hours after Secretary Ken Detzner issued the recount order on Saturday because the unofficial results in both races fell within the margin that by law triggers a recount. The unofficial results show that Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis led Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by .41 percentage points. In the Senate race, Republican Gov. Rick Scott's leads over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson by .15 percentage points. Detzner also ordered a recount for Florida's Agriculture Commissioner race where Democratic Nikki Fried stands .06 percentage points above Republican Matt Caldwell. All three races will undergo machine recounts with results due no later than 3pm on Thursday November 15 to the Florida Department of State. Democratic governor candidate Andrew Gillum (left) who was trailing his Republican rival, former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis (right), by just 0.41 percentage points, has withdrawn his concession If the vote is too close to call yet again by falling within a 0.25 margin or less, the three races will advance to hand recounts, due to be completed by November 18. The state's 67 counties had until noon Saturday to submit their unofficial ballot tallies. President Donald Trump - who campaigned for both Scott and DeSantis - said that the recounts are a Democrat ploy to steal the election. 'Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida! We are watching closely!' the president tweeted on Saturday. Scott called for his opponent DeSantis to decline the recount. 'It's time for Senator Nelson to accept reality and spare the state of the Florida the time, expense and discord of a recount,' Scott's spokesman Chris Hartline said. Nelson responded saying he does not intend to back down. 'We have every expectation the recount will be full and fair and will continue taking action to ensure every vote is counted without interference or efforts to undermine the democratic process. We believe when every legal ballot is counted we'll win this election,' Nelson said in a statement. Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Gillum withdrew his concession adding 'I say this recognizing that my fate in this may or may not change'. 'What I do know is that every single Floridian who took time to go out to cast their vote, to participate in this process deserve the comfort of knowing that in a Democratic society and in this process, every vote will be counted,' he said. Secretary Ken Detzner ordered a recount for the Senate, Governor and Agriculture Commissioner races in Florida on Saturday. Republican Gov. Rick Scott's (left) leads over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson (right) is less than 0.25 percentage points The Florida secretary of state is ordering recounts in the U.S. Senate and governor races. Susan Bucher, second right, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections and Judge August Bonavita, seated at center left, look at provisional ballots in Riviera Beach, Fla., Friday 'Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida! We are watching closely!' Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday He also slammed Trump, Scott and Senator Marco Rubio who have voiced their opposition to the recount. 'I also have to say what has also changed since election night have been the chorus of voices from the president of the United States, the junior senator of the state of Florida and the governor of the state of Florida, a chorus calling for the ending of the counting in this process,' he said. 'What I do know is that we dont just get the opportunity to stop counting votes because we dont like the direction in which the vote tally is headed. That is not democratic and that is certainly not the American way. In America, we count every vote regardless of what the outcome may mean,' he added. Secretary Ken Detzner issued the recount order for the Senate, Governor and Agriculture Commissioner races on Saturday All the while protesters rallied outside the offices of the Broward County Supervisor of Elections in Lauderhill on Saturday where the final counts were made ahead of the noon deadline. The recount announcement was made after Broward County election monitors said they saw no evidence of criminal activity in Tuesday's midterm election, despite the county being run by a controversial supervisor who mixed in illegal votes and failed to reveal the number of uncounted votes. 'Our staff has seen no evidence of criminal activity at this time,' Sarah Revell, spokesperson for the state Department of Elections, said to the Miami Herald on Saturday morning. Following Tuesday's election, Rick Scott filed a lawsuit against Broward County and Palm Beach County, accusing Democrats of trying to steal the election on Thursday evening. He asked for Snipes to turn over several records detailing the counting and collection of ballots. Snipes has been accused of 'fraud' in how she handled counting ballots in the election by Scott, President Donald Trump, and Republicans. She has a long history of controversies when it comes to vote counting. The news comes as Florida election monitors in Broward County said they saw no evidence of criminal activity in Tuesday's midterm election. The county's Supervisor of Elections is Dr. Brenda Snipes, pictured above, has been accused of 'fraud' by Trump, Republicans and Rick Scott Attorney Eugene Pettis (left) and Dottie Joseph (right), both of the Broward County Supervisor's Office announced Saturday that all the county's ballots have been counted A crowd protests outside the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office Friday Protesters chanted 'Lock her up!' and 'Sneaky Snipes has got to go!' outside the Broward County Elections Office in Lauderhill, Florida The protesters targeted Snipes who has been accused of 'fraud' in how she handled counting ballots in the election by Scott, President Donald Trump, and Republicans Florida Senator Marco Rubio tweeted a shot of boxes that reportedly had yet uncounted ballots in them in Broward- almost 48 hours since the polls had closed. The picture cast doubts on how accurately Broward County handled the election She agreed to present 205 provisional ballots to Broward County's canvassing board for inspection, and the board declared on Friday that 20 of the 205 provisional ballots were illegal due to mismatched signatures. They were set aside then counted in a voting machine, but the results were not added to the election's final total vote count. On Friday the county didn't know how to move forward with the invalid ballots. 'We have found no clear authority controlling the situation faced by the board,' Broward County Attorney Andrew Meyers said. Broward County collected more than 600 provisional ballots on Election Day, but majority were deemed invalid by the board for reasons including late registration or voting in the wrong precinct. Since the election two Department of Elections have been stationed in Broward County to oversee see the administration of the elections, visit polling stations and 'ensure all laws are followed'. In May Florida's Secretary of State announced increased oversight after a court found Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes broke the law by authorizing the premature destruction of ballots pertaining to a contested race following the 2016 elections. On Saturday Broward official hit back at fraud allegations in a news conference after the ballot tally, Snipes refused to confirm whether she had counted all the ballots for days. At the press conference her team said each ballot was finally processed, excluding overseas ballots. 'There have been allegation of fraud. Those are serious charges to recklessly offer out there. To give a claim of fraud without any evidence, I think it unacceptable,' Eugene Pettis, a lawyer for Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes said. Advertisement New satellite images show the widespread devastation caused by three wildfires still raging out-of-control in California. The Camp Fire in Northern California and Woolsey and Hill fires in Southern California have scorched a total of 175,000 acres in less than three days, fueled by the relentless Santa Ana winds. As of Saturday morning, the Camp Fire was reported to be 20 percent contained after having burned an estimated 100,000 acres of land north of Sacramento in Butte County, making it the worst wildfire in California history. Down south the Woolsey and Hill fires are ablaze just miles apart, spanning nearly 75,000 acres in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The former remains zero percent contained while firefighters have managed to bring the latter, which is considerably smaller, to 25 percent containment. New satellite images show the widespread devastation caused by three wildfires still raging out-of-control in California. The photograph above shows the 100,000-acre area torched by the Camp Fire in Northern California's Butte County, taken Friday Slide me The slider above gives both an unmarked view (left) and an annotated version (right) of images taken by DigitalGlobe's WorldView-3 satellite on Friday. As the second image explains, the areas with healthy, undamaged vegetation appear blue, burned areas appear yellow and orange and areas still on fire appear incandescent The DigitalGlobe satellite is able to penetrate the thick blanket of smoke cloaking the area surrounding the wildfire DigitalGlobe captured aerial shots of Camp Fire with its WorldView-3 satellite on Friday. Along with a natural color view of the area, the satellite uses Shortwave Infrared technology to penetrate the thick smoke clouding the area to show where the flames have passed and where they're still alight. In the images, areas with healthy, undamaged vegetation appear blue, burned areas appear yellow and orange and areas still on fire appear incandescent. Another set of photos taken by NASA's Terra satellite on Saturday show a full view of California as giant plumes of smoke and ash billow out from the fire-ridden areas and drift for hundreds of miles over the Pacific Ocean, carried by the same winds fueling the fires. Three wildfires are seen burning in California on Friday. The larger Camp Fire in the north has killed five and destroyed the town of Paradise. In the south, near Los Angeles the twin Hill and Woolsey Fires have forced an evacuation of Malibu Katy Perry has slammed Donald Trump for threatening to withhold federal payments over the state's 'poor' forest management in the wake of the California wildfires. 'This is an absolutely heartless response,' she said in the Saturday tweet. 'There arent even politics involved. Just good American families losing their homes as you tweet, evacuating into shelters.' In a 2am tweet, Trump threatened to withhold funds to California over 'gross mismanagement' of its forests as the state is ravaged by three massive wildfires. Katy Perry took to her Instagram on Saturday to blast President Donald Trump for his comments about the three California wildfires that ravaged the state 'This is an absolutely heartless response,' she said in the Saturday tweet . 'There arent even politics involved. Just good American families losing their homes as you tweet, evacuating into shelters' He wrote: 'There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. 'Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!' On Friday evening Trump issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds to help the thousands of firefighters struggling to contain the flames that have already torched more than 200 square miles across the state. The blaze has incinerated most of the Northern California town of Paradise and killed at least nine people. President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal payments to California over 'gross mismanagement' of its forests in a 2am tweet as the state is ravaged by three massive wildfires On Friday evening Trump issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds to help the thousands of firefighters working tirelessly to contain the flames The Camp Fire in Butte County north of Sacramento was only five percent contained early Saturday morning. In Southern California, the Hill and Woolsey fires have already scorched more than 40,000 acres, forcing more than 250,000 residents near Ventura and Los Angeles counties to evacuate. Those fires, which remain at zero percent contained as of Saturday morning, descended on the town of Thousand Oaks from both sides, threatening the community still reeling from a mass shooting that left a dozen dead at a local bar Wednesday night. The most recent figures on hate crime from Statistics Canada show the Jewish population was the most frequent target of religiously motivated hate crimes in 2016. They looked for refuge in Cuba and the US but were turned away. Canada's refusal to accept the St. Louis passengers took place more than six months after the infamous Kristallnacht in November 1938 where storm troopers and Hitler Youth burned hundreds of synagogues, smashed thousands of shop windows and killed dozens of Jews. But the shooting deaths of 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue nearly two weeks ago have reframed the prime minister's plan for the apology and Jewish leaders expect Trudeau to say something more than that the Canadian government is sorry for a decision made decades ago. "We are sorry for not apologizing sooner", Trudeau said in a French and English language address. "Anti-Semitism directly affects Jews, but it doesn't only affect Jews and it's not a Jewish problem". "[Hitler] watched as we refused their visas, ignored their letters and denied them entry", the Prime Minister told the House of Commons. Louis returned to Germany and the passengers scattered in Europe. The passengers of MS St Louis, that boarded the liner in Hamburg on May 15, 1939, destined for Havana in a bid to escape the violence, persecution and outright imprisonment at home. As Nazi Germany expanded its reach, about 254 were captured and killed in death camps, The New York Times reports. The US State Department issued its own apology in 2012. Following the outbreak of the #MeToo movement denouncing sexual assault, and the massive women's protests against US President Donald Trump, women voters and candidates were poised to play critical roles in the first major election since Trump took power. Antisemitism is still far too present. "It was very important that the government made this statement and fulsome apology for the past", said Michael Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer of B'nai Brith Canada. "We all must, as individuals, communities and as a nation, help these people in every way we can", she said. Gordon said she thinks history is repeating itself today, as "many people are discriminated against, starving or running for their lives". Four people have been killed in a devastating small plane crash in Iowa where the pilot suffered a heart attack and a student pilot frantically tried to emergency land the aircraft. The plane took off from Le Mars in northwest Iowa at 4.15pm on Friday headed for Osceola, but suddenly dropped off the radar near Guthrie County, officials said Saturday. Air traffic controllers in Des Moines received a call at 5pm on Friday requesting an emergency landing for a single-engine aircraft at Guthrie County airport. But the aircraft never made it to the landing strip. Four people have been killed in a devastating small plane crash in Iowa. Crash victim 28-year-old Tyler Douvia, of Merrill, is pictured above Crash victim 36-year-old Patrick Kellen (right) in a memorial photo posted by his cousin, Danelle Noreen Four people have died in a devastating small plane crash on Friday in Guthrie County, Iowa. The wreckage of the single-engine plane pictured above There were four people on board the craft headed to Osceola for a hunting trip. The craft suddenly crashed after pilot Edward Ralph Anderson, 49, suffered a heart attack in the cockpit and a student pilot attempted to emergency land the plane Authorities said pilot Edward Ralph Anderson, 49, suffered a heart attack in the cockpit and a student pilot attempted to emergency land the plane. In addition to the pilot and student pilot there were only two others on board. The victims have been identified as 36-year-old Patrick Kellen, 15-year-old Samantha Clark, both of Le Mars, and 28-year-old Tyler Douvia, of Merrill. It's not clear which was the student pilot. A citizen reported seeing a small plane crash in a pasture in Guthrie County at 6.31am on Saturday, according to the Des Moines Register. The victims have been identified as pilot Edward Ralph Anderson, 49; Patrick Kellen, 36; Samantha Clark, 15; and Tyler Douvia, 28 A Guthrie County resident called police at 6.30am on Saturday saying they saw a small plane crash in a cow pasture nearby 'The plane impacted very hard and all occupants were deceased at the scene,' Guthrie County Sheriff Marty Arganbright said in a press release. Searchers found the wreckage in a cow pasture southwest of Guthrie Center, about 115 miles southwest of Le Mars where the plane had taken off. Tom Mullally, who manages the Le Mars airport from which the plane took off, said the four were going on a hunting trip. Their bodies were taken to the Iowa Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy. The FAA will investigate the cause of the crash. A California man believed to have a malignant brain tumor has miraculously healed without receiving treatment for an illness that left him unable to walk assisted. Paul Wood, of Lodi, believes his faith helped him recover without doctors - who gave him different diagnoses when he complained of being seriously sick several months ago. The father was told he may have a brain bleed by a neurosurgeon at UC San Francisco and a radiologists believed he had a tumor. Scroll down for video Paul Wood, of Lodi, California believes faith helped him recover from a tumor 'This was back in July 2018, you can see the tumor on the lower right a white round spot, now it's all gone, From the bottom of my heart I want to thank all of you that prayed for me, God heard your prayers. Bless you all and may God have favor on you,' he wrote on Facebook '11/1/18 it's a miracle, tumor is completely gone, Doctors can not explain it, they agree, it is a miracle ! Thank you Jesus!' he wrote on Facebook 'I had massive headaches, I couldn't walk down the hallway without holding on to the walls,' Wood said. However the day before he was due for an operation his surgery was canceled when his X-ray results showed up clear. Medical experts are baffled at how Wood now shows no signs of disease and has sprung back to health. 'We do tests and we have medical technology and we try to come up with some conclusion sometimes things happen that we can't explain,' said Dr. Richard Yee. Wood believes a higher power was working on his side. After telling his community about his ill health, he received well wishes from all over, especially on his social media. 'My phone is blowing up, my Facebook is prayer after prayer, all over California,' said Wood. 'It's a miracle and that is the way God planned it.' His pastor agreed that the good intentions of the congregation worked in the man's favour. Positive thinking and placing his trust in God as his religion teaches resulted in an unbelievable turnaround that has inspired members of his church. He recovered from not being able to walk unassisted without the help of doctors 'He just kept saying, 'no matter what happens to me, I'm going to be okay. I trust God.' And that was an inspiration for a lot of people around him,' Jason McEachron, a Pastor at Gravity Church told CBS Sacramento. The outcome was so profound that now doctors hope he will volunteer to be a part of their studies. Attendee Ryan Kimura agreed that prayer in numbers works: 'Paul's story just breathes hope.' Radiologists believed he had a tumor months later he was better A mother almost lost her sight after a masked thug threw acid in her face in a doorstep attack that also left her son with burns. Theresa McCann, 37, suffered burns to her face, neck and arms after she answered the door to a hooded man at her home in Gracemount, Edinburgh, at 8.30pm on Friday. The attacker launched a corrosive substance in her face before running off and and escaping in a getaway car. Theresa McCann, 37, suffered burns to her face, neck and arms after she answered the door to a hooded man The attacker launched a corrosive substance in Ms McCann's face before running off and and escaping in a getaway car Shocking attack happened at her home in Gracemount, Edinburgh, on Friday Acid was hurled in Theresa McCann's face as she answered the door A young boy suffered burns to his feet after standing in the liquid which had spilled on the floor (pictured, the liquid remains on the doorstep) A young boy suffered burns to his feet after standing in the liquid which had spilled on the floor. There's a suggestion Ms McCann may have been caught up in a gang feud. It's thought that she's in a relationship with Thomas Tams - an an associate of convicted fraudster Robert Kelbie, who has been involved in a feud with jailed drug dealer Mark Richardson - the Daily Record reports. The injured boy is believed to be Tams' son. Both victims were taken to St Johns Hospital in Livingston, which has a specialised burns unit, and stayed in overnight for treatment. A family friend told the Record: 'Theresa was left in agony with burns on her neck, arms and face. A boy - thought to be her son- suffered burns to his feet after standing in the acid which had spilled on the floor Police described the attacker as a slim-built man in his 20s, around 5ft 11in, in a dark tracksuit 'Thomas is upset and angry that someone could do this to his partner. People are already out trying to identify whoever did this. 'After carrying out a sick attack like this on a woman, they'd be better off in police custody.' Police described the attacker as early being in his 20s, 5ft 11in, slim build, wearing a dark coloured tracksuit, grey hooded top, gloves, and trainers with light reflective sections. The young woman who plunged to her death from an eighth-floor London flat in unexplained and suspicious circumstances has been pictured for the first time. Renata Poncova died with her boyfriend Tony Taylor, both 33, when they fell from their apartment block in Marchwood Close, Camberwell. Scotland Yard said detectives had uncovered evidence at their eighth-floor flat, as well as a 'possible disturbance' at the property before they fell, indicating that there were suspicious circumstances. Renata Poncova, who is originally from Eastern Europe, died last Friday after falling from her apartment in Peckham, alongside boyfriend Tony Taylor Ms Poncova was living with her boyfriend of about six months, Tony Taylor, 33 in Southwark, south-east London Ms Poncova had worked at a serviced apartment agency, but neighbours said she had recently lost her job. Mr Taylor, her boyfriend of about six months, had recently moved into her flat. The pair fell from the back of the building's second-highest storey, and landed inches apartment on the concrete in Peckham, south London, in a scene witnesses called 'ghastly'. Ms Poncova had worked at a serviced apartment agency, but neighbours said she had recently lost her job. Her former colleagues left moving tributes at the tower block where she died The deaths of Ms Poncova and Mr Taylor, who fell from a tower block in south London are being treated as suspicious after Scotland Yard detect a possible disturbance at the flat before the fall Police were called to Marchwood Close at 11.44pm on November 2 and cordoned off the area after receiving reports that a man and woman were injured after apparently falling from a height. Paramedics attended the scene, but pronounced Ms Poncova and Mr Taylor dead at short while later, at about 12.30am. A post-mortem found both had died as a result of multiple injuries 'consistent with having fallen from height'. Well-wishers and former coworkers have tributes including candles, flowers and pictures of Ms Poncova outside the apartment building. One reads: 'You will always be remembered in our hearts and thoughts, with love from your colleagues and friends at The Apartment Service.' Police say next of kin have been informed, and asked anyone with information to come forward. Detective Inspector Phil Coster said: 'I am appealing for anyone who knew Renata Poncova and Tony Taylor, and had contact with them in the days before their deaths, to call police. 'I also need to speak with anyone who either witnessed the incident or saw anything suspicious either during on leading up to the deaths. A shrine to Renata Poncova, who was pronounced dead at the scene in south London after falling from the eighth floor of a tower block Well-wishers and former coworkers have tributes including candles, flowers and pictures of Ms Poncova outside the apartment building 'Evidence at the flat and a possible disturbance at the flat prior to the fall leads us to believe there are suspicious circumstances. 'We need witnesses to come forward to help us build a picture of what happened before these deaths. If you know anything please call us.' Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should call the incident room on 020 8358 0400 or 101 quoting reference CAD 9264/02NOV. Alternatively, they can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Hate preacher Anjem Choudary has been spotted scoffing McDonald's amid claims he has been 'gorging on chocolate bars' following his release. Choudary was seen with his wife Rubana, in a branch of the popular fast food chain in London, however it was not known what he indulged on and whether or not it was Halal. Since his release Choudary spends his time at his bail hostel praying and gorging on chocolate bars and cakes. Scroll down for video Hate preacher, Islamist Anjem Choudary was seen with a person who is believed to be his wife Rubana enjoying a visit to a McDonald's restaurant. Choudary can be seen tipping fries onto his tray Anjem Choudary seen walking the streets of London and then enjoying a visit to a McDonald's restaurant Speaking to the Daily Mirror, one onlooker who spotted Choudary at McDonald's said: 'I couldn't see if it was a Happy Meal, but it certainly made Anjem smile. 'Given his apparent hatred for the West, it seemed ironic to see him inside one of its most celebrated symbols.' According to residents at the north London hostel, he prays seven times a day, starting before sunrise and finishing well after midnight. Anjem Choudary and his wife Rubana leave the McDonald's after eating a meal together. It is not clear what meal Choudary had, but he was spotted eating fries and opening a pot of sauce Hate preacher Anjem Choudary, 51 (pictured) spends his time at his north London bail hostel gorging on chocolates and sweets Choudary, 51, is believed to have put on two stone in weight while in Belmarsh prison for pledging allegiance to ISIS, because of his love of chocolates and sweet treats. And he is now regularly seen indulging his sweet tooth outside of jail, spending cash on soft drinks, chocolates and cakes at shops near his hostel. Choudary spent up to 25-a-week on chocolates from the Belmarsh Prison canteen, funded by loyal supporters who filled his prison bank account. Anjem Choudary was seen eating at a branch of McDonald's with his with Rubana The funds have now been transferred to him and he has gone back to treating himself to sweets and chocolate. Choudary also prays for most of the day according to other people at the hostel, starting before dawn. A source told the Sun: 'He starts before sunrise and it is well after midnight before he's done. Only for him to start again at about 5.50 am. 'He knows no one will say anything to him because they'll be accused of religious persecution or something outlandish so the rest of the residents just let him get on with it even though they can hear him reciting his prayers at all hours. Choudary was known for spending 25-a-week on chocolates while at Belmarsh prison - with his prison bank account filled by supporters 'And when he's not praying he's eating. He comes back with a bagful of chocolate or cakes most days and eats them in his room. He is not a sharing kind of guy and doesn't mix with the other residents.' Choudary is also believed to have applied for Jobseeker's Allowance and will have to take government lessons in moderate theology. The lessons are intended to combat extremism and Choudary will also receive mentoring. The programme is intended to target ex-prisoners whose extremist views may be a threat to the public. Facebook has been accused of encouraging grooming after an investigation revealed teenage girls are being offered middle-aged men as 'friend suggestions'. Young girls who join the social network are given up to 300 suggestions for who they should add as friends, an investigation by The Sunday Telegraph found. In some cases, the suggestions include middle-aged men who are topless in their profile pictures. Facebook has been accused of encouraging grooming after an investigation revealed teenage girls are being offered middle-aged men as 'friend suggestions' (stock image) Facebook says it has safeguards to protect children but campaigners warn the company must do more to stop groomers who use the site to become friendly with children. Andy Burrows, NSPCC Associate Head of Child Safety Online, told The Sunday Telegraph: 'Groomers are seeking to infiltrate children's friendship groups on social networks, often with the intention to move children to livestreaming or encrypted sites where it is easier for them to commit sexual abuse. 'Social media algorithms risk making it easier for groomers to find and contact children and 'friend of friend' or 'new follower' recommendations can add legitimacy to their requests, which is why we are calling for these features to be blocked for children. 'For too long social networks have failed to make their platforms safe for children, and that is why the Home Secretary must commit to strong and effective regulation to finally ensure that children's safety is non-negotiable.' A spokesman for Facebook said: 'Grooming is incredibly serious, and we have teams specifically focused on keeping children safe, informed by extensive research and outside experts. In some cases, the suggestions included middle-aged men who were topless in their profile pictures (stock image) 'We use artificial intelligence to proactively identify cases of inappropriate interactions with minors and we refer potential abuse to law enforcement. 'We limit how children can be found in search, we remind them to only accept friend requests from people they know and we caution them before making public posts.' Last month Facebook said company moderators during the last quarter removed 8.7 million user images of child nudity with the help of previously undisclosed software that automatically flags such photos. The machine learning tool rolled out over the last year identifies images that contain both nudity and a child, allowing increased enforcement of Facebook's ban on photos that show minors in a sexualized context. A similar system catches users engaged in 'grooming,' or befriending minors for sexual exploitation, the company said. She claims Oxford Fertility convinced her to pay an extra 7,000 for 'add ons' to boost her chances of having a baby, but they now believe they were worthless A couple who spent thousands of pounds on controversial add-on fertility treatments that experts say are useless and possibly harmful are set to become the first in Britain to sue a clinic for mis-selling therapies. Legal secretary Tracy Wint underwent two years of unsuccessful IVF treatment, spending more than 20,000 in her desperation to have a second child with her husband Mark. During that time she claims Oxford Fertility convinced her and her husband to fork out an extra 7,000 for add-ons doctors said would boost their chances of having a baby. However, the pair now believe they were worthless. Tracy and Mark Etheridge, who are considering legal action against IVF clinic Oxford Fertility. Legal secretary Tracy Wint underwent two years of unsuccessful IVF treatment, spending more than 20,000 Couples are often persuaded by private doctors to buy expensive top-up procedures such as glue to stick embryos to the womb, or genetic tests to screen for abnormalities. But a report last year by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said many such treatments have no scientific basis, are dangerous, and could even harm a womans chances of becoming pregnant. Mrs Wint, 41, said: We feel like weve paid out thousands for add-ons that are not proven to work and carry health risks. We were desperate. If they had said they could sprinkle fairy dust and it will make you pregnant we would have bought it. The couple, above, who spent thousands of pounds on controversial add-on fertility treatments that experts say are useless and possibly harmful are set to become the first in Britain to sue a clinic for mis-selling therapies [File photo] The couple are now planning to sue Oxford Fertility for mis-selling what they believe were pointless extra therapies. The legal action is the first known case of its kind. Vardags, the lawyers advising the Wints, also hope other couples will join in a class action suit to sue clinics offering treatments with no proven benefit. Mrs Wint started IVF in 2014 when she discovered she was unable to have a second child because her fallopian tubes were damaged. She and her husband attended the Cotswold Fertility Unit near their home in Cheltenham the unit is part of Oxford Fertility. After a miscarriage, Mrs Wint went on to have three cycles of IVF, all of which failed. The couple say the clinic then convinced them to spend 600 on embryo glue to boost their odds of conceiving. But the report by the HFEA said more evidence was needed to show that the glue increases a womans chance of having a baby. The pair also paid 300 for an endometrial scratch to the wombs lining, which helps the embryo nestle in the furrow created. A report last year by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said many such [IVF top-up] treatments have no scientific basis [File photo] The HFEA has said stronger evidence is needed to prove this raises the likelihood of pregnancy and has warned that it can cause infections to spread in the uterus. Mrs Wint then had a 400 experimental test to find out if her womb was harbouring natural killer (NK) cells, which were preventing her from conceiving. The clinic told the couple in a letter that these cells part of the immune system can increase the chances of an embryo failing to implant, but can be treated with steroids. But the HFEA states on its website that there is no evidence a womans immune system will reject an embryo and taking steroids could cause blood pressure or diabetes. Finally, the Wints paid 2,100 for Pre-implantation Genetic Screening (PGS) that tests embryos for genetic abnormalities to ensure the best ones are implanted. Yet Mrs Wint said that when the results came back, they were inconclusive so the exercise felt like a complete waste of money. The HFEA has warned this screening can show up non-existent problems and does not benefit women aged over 37. In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, the couple told how doctors dangled treatments in front of them when they were at their most vulnerable. During one IVF round, Mrs Wint recalled that Oxford Fertility staff told them its up to you, but they might look back and regret it if they did not use the embryo glue. On another occasion they received an information sheet which claimed that research showed an endometrial scratch boosted the odds of IVF resulting in a birth by up to 70 per cent. Those are big claims and youre not going to dismiss that so we bought the add-on, she said. Couples are often persuaded by private doctors to buy expensive top-up procedures such as glue to stick embryos to the womb, or genetic tests to screen for abnormalities [File photo] In February last year, the HFEA published a report stating that a number of the extra treatments being offered by fertility clinics carried serious risks, including kidney failure and septicaemia. Lawyer Louisa Ghevaert, of Vardags, said: Clinics have a duty to be vigilant and clear about the benefits of add-ons while they remain questionable. It also begs the question why they are being offered at all if they offer no benefit. A spokeswoman for Oxford Fertility said the HFEA did not advise against top-ups, adding: We are very clear with all of our patients on the pros and cons of treatments. The HFEA uses a traffic-light system to grade evidence for emerging techniques. It grades embryo glue, endometrial scratch and PGS as yellow, and states that research consistently shows benefit. However, further evidence is needed. ROBERT WINSTON: Doctors MUST stop cashing in on desperation of infertile couples seeking to have a child By Robert Winston, one of the UK's top fertility experts The desperation and vulnerability of infertile couples leads them to grasp at straws. There are many causes for infertility and just as there are different causes, so there should be different treatments. Each couple requires the most suitable, cost-effective and safe treatment depending on the cause for their failure to conceive. Increasingly, they are offered the treatment most convenient to the doctor. IVF the most complex, expensive and demanding of all infertility therapies is seen as the standard procedure. It is the treatment suggested before the specific cause of the infertility is investigated. IVF clinical fertility expert Robert Winston, above, writes: 'While the desperation of vulnerable patients is a fertile commercial opportunity, it may not improve their chance of a baby' There is no other medical therapy where treatment is offered before proper attempts at diagnosis are made. Such practice is seen as highly unethical and is likely to be found legally negligent. To make matters worse, because each cycle of IVF has such a high failure rate, there are many empty-handed women left distressed after their IVF has failed. They often find themselves confronted by a doctor trying to consider how their IVF treatment might be improved. Without the underlying cause of failure properly established, they are encouraged to buy one of many add-on treatments which mostly have little or no serious evidence for their effectiveness. Nearly all, for different reasons, add substantially to the costs that a couple has already incurred. In addition to IVF, there are also a variety of complex treatments offered. These treatments add several hundred pounds at least to the cost of the overall treatment [File photo] For example, pre-implantation genetic screening involves taking a few cells from the embryo during its first five days and analysing its chromosomes for abnormalities. If they appear normal, the embryo is assumed to be healthy and is transferred to the uterus. If abnormal, the embryo is discarded. Although the basic procedure was pioneered in my lab at the Genesis Research Trust, it was never intended to screen embryos and it angers me to see a scientific study misused for commercial purposes. In spite of the treatment having been in use for nearly 30 years, there are no conclusive, proper studies or good evidence that it improves the chance of a live birth. Some studies even show it reduces success rates because healthy embryos may be discarded. Endometrial scratching at least has the virtue of being cheap. A small wound is deliberately made in the womb lining a few days or weeks before embryo transfer. Initial reports from Israel suggested improved pregnancy rates, for reasons which are still unclear. More recently, Israeli scientists published conclusions suggesting no benefit. Now, 25 years since scratching was introduced, scientists from Utrecht in the Netherlands have initiated a huge randomised trial. So far, the evidence is dubious. Yet, according to a recent publication, up to 83 per cent of patients in New Zealand, Australia and the UK are advised to have the scratch. Embryo glue is also advocated by some clinics to help the embryo stick to the uterus after it is transferred. It involves dipping the embryo into a special fluid which may interact with the womb lining and some clinics in London only charge 250 for it. The problem is that it probably doesnt work and there are no definitive randomised trials which show otherwise. There are also a variety of complex treatments offered which are meant to change a patients immune system so an embryo is less likely to be rejected after transfer. The treatments add several hundred pounds at least to the cost of IVF. There are expensive tests on killer cells in blood taken from the patients arm, but it is doubtful whether this gives seriously useful information about what is happening in the uterus. Robert Winston notes that because each cycle of IVF has such a high failure rate, there are many 'empty-handed women left distressed' after learning that their IVF has failed [File photo] Steroids and drugs which could predispose to cancer are also occasionally offered. A recent study from Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam Universities showed no benefits to using steroids, and they may be occasionally associated with abnormalities in the developing baby. It is clear these immunological treatments have not been properly assessed by detailed randomised trials, and until they are, they should not be sold. This list of dubious treatments is only a few of those offered. Regrettably, the market in IVF has led to doubtful practice. Even the NHS, in its need for funding, is happy to profit from IVF. I am not against experimental treatments, but responsible, ethical approval is essential and couples should not have to pay for unproven therapies. But while the desperation of vulnerable patients is a fertile commercial opportunity, it may not improve their chance of a baby. Lord Winston has donated the fee for this article to the Genesis Research Trust. This is the shocking moment two men fired shots into a Beverly Hills, California estate with Nicki Minaj's dressing room, that was also hosting Kanye West and Tekashi 6ix9ine. In the surveillance footage from Thursday night it appears two men concealed in hooded tops got out of respective cars and attempted to enter the $80million property through a gate that was locked. One seemingly said: 'We got 30 seconds,' before the other responded 'OK', reports TMZ who obtained the video. Both men (whose shadows can be seen on the left) get out of the cars wearing hoodies Surveillance footage shows two men fired over a wall after trying to enter a gate to the property Thursday The men then got back in their respective vehicles before speeding away With no luck getting in the pair could be seen shooting over the wall. Appearing to be using two separate vehicles, one possibly U-turns to exit the scene off-camera. The other drives right by the camera. Police received a call of shots being fired at around 10.25pm. Crews on the scene reported hearing at least eight shots fired but it's quite possible 14 could have been fired. TMZ reported that Tekashi - real name Daniel Hernandez - and West were both inside the home when the shooting occurred. Tekashi, 22, was reportedly supposed to be in that room, but last minute decided Minaj should have it. The Pinkprint rapper was also scheduled to be at the video shoot but hadn't yet arrived when the gunfire rang out. No one was injured in the shooting but one bullet is went through a bedroom window. Fellow rapper 50 Cent, who didn't appear to be at the shoot, posted a photo on Friday morning of the bullet-shattered glass. He captioned the photo: 'now somebody done shot my son video up in LA.' The rappers have been trolling each other on social media and it appeared to be another mocking jab at him. Multiple shots were fired at an exclusive $80million estate in Beverly Hills on Thursday night where Kanye and Tekashi 6ix9ine were filming a music video. Above is a photo posted by 50cent of a bullet-shattered glass at the home Multiple shots were fired at an exclusive $80million estate in Beverly Hills on Thursday night where Kanye and Tekashi 6ix9ine were filming a music video West is said to have left the estate immediately after the shooting. It came as his wife Kim Kardashian and three children were given just one hour to evacuate their home as wildfires swept through the Calabasas area. He later tweeted, saying: 'Thank you for everyone's prayers. Our family is safe and close.' Tekashi had rented the estate as a backdrop to his new music video that features West and Minaj. The shooting happened near the famous Alpine Drive, which is one of the most expensive streets in Beverly Hills. Authorities were examining the home's surveillance cameras. Nicki Minaj was scheduled to be at the video shoot but hadn't yet arrived It comes soon after Tekashi was affiliated with a shooting in New York. The Brooklyn rapper was celebrating at a Manhattan restaurant last month after being given just four years probation for posting footage of a 13-year-old girl performing sex acts at a party. A brawl broke out between security for record label 10k Projects and Tekashi's entourage. A third party opened fire and struck the rapper's guard in the torso. A troubled former AFL star has been charged with assaulting police during a wild crime spree across a 40-kilometre area. Chris Yarran, 27, was arrested outside the Pan Pacific hotel in Perth on Friday after allegedly terrorising motorists, stealing two cars with one involved in a car accident. The former Carlton star, who previously admitted to ice addiction, was granted bail by Perth Magistrates Court on Saturday. Chris Yarran (pictured), 27, was arrested outside the Pan Pacific hotel, Perth, on Friday after allegedly terrorising motorists, stealing two cars with one involved in a car accident Police allege the 27-year-old received a lift from a man in his 60s at about 7.30pm on Friday before threatening the man and forcing him out of a Kia Rio at Alkimos, Perth's north. The Kia crashed into two cars an hour later (pictured) Police allege the 27-year-old received a lift from a man in his 60s at about 7.30pm on Friday before threatening him and forcing him out of a Kia Rio at Alkimos in Perth's north. The same vehicle was allegedly seen about an hour later running a red light and crashing into a black Holden Cruze and a Toyota Camry. According to police, the driver of the Kia fled on foot and attempted to carjack people who tried to assist at the crash scene. He then allegedly assaulted a man in his 40s and stole his Toyota Corolla. The car was found by police at about 10.15pm but the driver fled when approached by officers. Yarran was arrested a short distance away, at Adelaide Terrace, before being taken to hospital for treatment. According to police, the driver of the Kia fled on foot and attempted to carjack people who tried to assist at the crash scene Yarran was arrested a short distance away, at Adelaide Terrace, before being taken to hospital for treatment Yarran was unable to be woken at his bedside court hearing on Saturday but the magistrate proceeded. He was charged with the assault of a police officer but it is expected other charges will be laid. Police did not oppose bail and the police prosecutor said Yarran had a limited criminal record, Perth Now reported. It is understood Yarran received minor injuries from the crime spree and was expected to be released from hospital on Sunday. Police did not oppose bail and the police prosecutor said Yarran had a limited criminal record He is due to reappear in court on November 20. Yarran was the sixth pick in the 2008 draft and soon established himself as a star with Carlton, with his brilliant speed and neat ball use. He played 119 games but developed issues off the field and was eventually traded by the Blues to Richmond. However he never played a game for the Tigers and returned home to Perth. He is the cousin of former Fremantle Dockers player Shane Yarran who was found dead in April. It is being dubbed Date-gate a row within Sir Vince Cables Liberal Democrats about the boundaries of acceptable sexual behaviour in the wake of the #MeToo movement. A storm has erupted after one of the partys most senior advisers was subjected to an independent investigation into claims that he had tried to sleep with a female colleague under the pretext of holding a policy meeting in a low-lit restaurant. The woman told party bosses that she agreed to go to dinner with the staffer on the grounds that he had said they were going to discuss electoral strategy and Brexit positioning. However, she said they barely touched on the issues and complained that when the dinner concluded, the staffer asked her to sleep with him. A female Lib Dem staffer complained after an adviser to Vince Cable's (pictured) party took her to dinner to 'discuss electoral strategy' but then asked her to sleep with him The man, whose identity is known to The Mail on Sunday, is single and in his 30s, while the woman is several years younger and junior to him in the party hierarchy. Panicking Lib Dem bosses conscious of the Pestminster storm which swept politics last year immediately ordered an independent investigation. It concluded the mans actions did not constitute improper conduct and that he should be allowed to keep his job. It has led to a heated internal debate over whether a formal dating code of conduct should be drawn up to govern the behaviour of the primarily young, unmarried members of staff who fill most of the positions in the party. While many of Mr Cables female staffers have expressed disquiet about the decision, friends of the staffer say that he has been victimised for carrying out normal dating behaviour. One said: The main issue seems to be that she didnt fancy him. If he had been [actor] Ryan Gosling, I suspect it would have been a different matter. He didnt pretend that it was a purely work meeting it was semi-social. He didnt make any physical advances, nor did he do anything daft such as imply that she would lose her job if she did not comply. If you ask me, she just thought he was trying to punch above his weight. However, a friend of the woman claimed that the aides behaviour was part of a pattern and that a second woman had given evidence to the inquiry claiming that he had tried a similar tactic with her. The already thorny issue of workplace relationships at Westminster has become even more highly charged since the Pestminster scandal erupted in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations in Hollywood and the subsequent rise of the #MeToo movement. The publication of a redacted spreadsheet alleging various sexual improprieties by 36 individual MPs created a feeding frenzy which led to the resignation of Defence Secretary Michael Fallon over historic accusations of lunging at a journalist. The publication of a redacted spreadsheet alleging various sexual improprieties by 36 individual MPs led to the resignation of Defence Secretary Michael Fallon The Commons has acknowledged an institutional failure to tackle harassment by MPs, and has set up a new inquiry specifically into how MPs treat staff directly under their control. But it does not cover the staffing of political parties. Many private companies have introduced bans on workplace relationships in the wake of #MeToo. A Lib Dem spokesman said the investigation had found no evidence of wrongdoing, adding: All allegations are taken seriously. We endeavour to offer staff training to promote appropriate behaviour and to provide support to anyone wishing to make a complaint. Critics of the Saudi campaign - including Democrats who won control of the House of Representatives in elections on Tuesday - have long questioned U.S. involvement in the war, which has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than 2 million and led to widespread starvation in Yemen since it began in 2015. The coalition's request came amid the backdrop of U.S. media reports that Washington planned to cease its refuelling support to the coalition amid mounting criticism of the devastating Yemeni conflict, raging since 2015, and the killing of Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Turkey. "I call upon all free men ... to head to the fronts to defend the port city", he said in a speech aired by the Houthi-run Al Masirah satellite TV channel. The US and United Kingdom have both been criticized for continuing to sell arms to the coalition despite their targeting of civilians and alleged war crimes. Even as President Donald Trump's administration has condemned Khashoggi's murder, the White House has sought to preserve its relationship with Saudi Arabia. A coordinated decision by Washington and Riyadh to halt the refuelling could be an attempt by both countries to forestall further action by Congress. "Recently the kingdom and the coalition has increased its capability to independently conduct inflight refueling in Yemen". Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in August warned that United States support for the coalition was "not unconditional", noting it must do "everything humanly possible to avoid any innocent loss of life". Aid groups warned of the plight of civilians in Yemen's contested Hudaida where casualties are mounting as the Saudi-led coalition are fighting to take the port city from the country's Shia rebels. He also suggested plans to build up Yemeni troops. Mattis in August noted that United States support was conditioned on a Saudi commitment to doing "everything humanly possible" to avoid any loss of innocent life and Riyadh supporting a UN-brokered peace process to end the civil war. Mattis argued that halting United States military support could increase civilian casualties, since USA refueling had given pilots more time to select their targets. Mr. Mattis also argued it would embolden the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, who have fired missiles at Saudi Arabia and targeted commercial and military vessels off Yemens coast. The United States effectively gave a green light to the Saudi-led offensive when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on September 12 certified continued American support for the coalition's air campaign against the Houthis. A halt to refueling could have little practical effect on the war. In recent weeks, Mattis has appeared to voice a growing sense of urgency toward ending the conflict. That appeal came just days after the United States, in a significant shift, piled pressure on its Saudi ally to end the war by calling for a ceasefire and peace talks. "The Saudi-led Coalition and pro-Hadi forces, the Houthi forces a" and those who supply arms or other support to the parties to the conflict a" all have the power or the influence to stop the starvation and killing of civilians, to give some reprieve to the people of Yemen", Bachelet said in a statement on Saturday. Yemen has experienced a devastating civil war, which has led to the deaths of as many of 50,000 people and pushed the country to the brink of nation-wide starvation. Night club identity John Ibrahim's model girlfriend Sarah Budge is being given modelling work for fashion brand Rockmans despite facing gun charges. Budge, 28, is charged with possessing a loaded handgun after police allegedly found a Glock 26 in her Double Bay apartment in Sydney's eastern suburbs in August last year. Each of her charges carry a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail. Budge, 28, (pictured) is charged with possessing a loaded handgun after police allegedly found a loaded Glock 26 handgun in Budge's Double Bay apartment in Sydney's eastern suburbs in August last year The serious accusations haven't stopped the brand from taking Budge on as part of their summer advertising campaign. As well as featuring in Rockmans' in-store advertising posters, Budge also appears on their Facebook social media channel and posters. The Daily Telegraph reports the arrangement between the two parties is a temporary one and will be ended not long after her court case begins. Night club identity John Ibrahim's model girlfriend Sarah Budge (pictured) is being given modelling work for fashion brand Rockmans despite facing gun charges It is also understood the accused criminal had to be open about the impending court dates when she signed up for the contract. The 28-year-old is due to appear at a readiness hearing next month, having appeared in the New South Wales District Court for the first time in May. Budge is facing three charges: possessing an unauthorised pistol, possessing a prohibited weapon and possessing a defaced firearm. The last charge refers to an allegation the pistol's serial number had been removed. The court heard Budge, who was accompanied by her brother Jack, wanted to avoid further costs and delays. She was wearing a $600 purple-coloured Scanlan Theodore dress and a long black overcoat. Budge (pictured outside court in May) is facing three charges: possessing an unauthorised pistol, possessing a prohibited weapon and possessing a defaced firearm The 28-year-old (pictured with John Ibrahim in 2015) appeared in the New South Wales District Court for the first time in May Police allegedly found a loaded Glock 26 handgun in Budge's Double Bay apartment in August Budge is pictured with Kings Cross Identity John Ibrahim on a boat in Ibiza in 2015 Budge faces a hearing on firearm possession charges which carry a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison In May the 28-year-old waived her right to a committal hearing in the local court, instead electing to go straight to trial in the District Court. Her home was raided at the same time as search warrants were executed on a number of Sydney addresses as part of a major investigation into drug supply. It is not suggested the Budges gun possession charges are in any way related to that. Mr Ibrahim's brothers Fadi and Michael were arrested in Dubai as part of that investigation. Michael was charged with masterminding a drug and tobacco trafficking operation while Fadi was charged with financing a tobacco importation. The 28-year-old was wearing a $600 purple-coloured Scanlan Theodore dress and a long black overcoat during her court appearance in May Budge is not charged with anything related to the alleged smuggling syndicate. The semi-automatic handgun allegedly found in Budge's bedroom is a 9mm weapon with a 10-round magazine. It is known as a 'baby Glock' and is described by its manufacturer as 'the most sought-after concealed carry option since its release in 1994.' 'The highly accurate firing characteristics explain why the G26 is the mainstay backup option among security personnel and agencies worldwide,' Glock states. Budge (pictured) is not charged with anything related to the alleged smuggling syndicate Budge was first linked to Mr Ibrahim about three years ago. At the time of her arrest she was the managing director of the inner-city restaurant and music venue Crane Bar on Bayswater Road at Kings Cross. Three other charges Budge had been facing have been withdrawn. The semi-automatic handgun allegedly found in Budge's bedroom is a 9mm weapon with a 10-round magazine A female police officer who killed a male inmate at a Queensland hospital on Saturday night 'had to use lethal force' police sources have said. The man, who has not been identified but who had been in police custody since Friday, allegedly lashed out at the officer after being taken to hospital for a 'faked illness', the Courier Mail reported. The 28-year-old was being treated at Ipswich Hospital in Brisbane's southwest when he allegedly attacked an officer about 9pm. A man was fatally shot by a female police officer while was under guard at Ipswich Hospital (pictured) on Saturday night The officer fired her weapon at the man, who died shortly after despite medical treatment from staff at the hospital. A police source told the Courier Mail the female officer 'had to use lethal force'. Inspector Michael Trezise told reporters on Sunday he understood the man had been taken from his arrest to hospital, where he was separated from other patients and under guard from Friday afternoon. Mr Trezise said he had left the senior constable he attacked with 'relatively serious facial injuries'. '[It's a] very traumatic incident,' he said. 'Shes received significant support from the police union and family of police, but its a very upsetting incident for anyone to go through. '[Firing a weapon is] the most difficult decision an operational officer can make, Its made under stress and time pressure, and its extremely difficult.' The senior constable was expected to be interviewed late on Saturday night. The Ethical Standards Command is investigating the shooting on behalf of the State Coroner with the assistance of the Crime and Corruption Commission. Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart has been informed of the situation. Jenan Herzog Karagoli, Lady Beth's 21-year-old boyfriend, has admitted he was 'too gone' to save her The boyfriend of an 18-year-old aristocrat who died after a two-day drugs and alcohol binge has revealed how her heartbroken father told him: You could have taken better care of her. In an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, Jenan Herzog Karagoli described how the Marquess of Queensberry confronted him after his youngest daughter, Lady Beth Douglas, was found dead in a squalid flat. He told me that I could have looked after her better. I felt like her family were blaming me. There was a heavy sense of I could have done something, said Karagoli. The 21-year-old also revealed how their relationship revolved around cocaine and that Beth known as Ling Ling to friends and family had a history of self-harm. The tragedy emerged last week after an inquest heard how the teenager a talented musician from one of Britains most distinguished aristocratic families had been found unconscious with needle marks in her arm after taking cocaine and heroin. Last night, Karagoli insisted he had done everything he could to save Beth after finding her unconscious at a house party in the early hours of March 7. Lady Beth Douglas, 18, the youngest child of Lord David, the 12th Marquess of Queensbury, was found dead with needle marks in her arm The couple, who had been together for ten months, had gone to the flat in Notting Hill, West London, close to the flat they shared with his mother in the iconic landmark Trellick Tower. Karagoli described how he briefly left the party to buy a bottle of wine, but when he returned he found his girlfriend unconscious. He said: I saw her slumped on the sofa. I had a bottle of red wine in my hand and there was a guy next to us with a bottle of Hennessy. I just crashed with her on the sofa. She seemed snug, so I joined her and fell asleep. I woke up at 1.30am and tried to wake her, and she was not waking up. She was still warm, and thats when I started to panic. I saw this man taking crack and he said that it happens all the time. I asked him, What? What happens all the time? I dont know whats happened. The Marquess of Queensberry, with his Daughter Beth 'Ling Ling' (R) and his granddaughter Hero I told him to call the ambulance, and I called an ambulance as well from her phone. Then I told him, Heres a tenner, get me some cigarettes. Thats when he fled he probably told other dealers to toss their phones. Karagoli added: The ambulance took about 15 to 20 minutes. I was trying to put her in recovery. I was trying to resuscitate her, the paramedics tried to do CPR. They said she was deceased at the scene. Two weeks later, Beth was cremated in a Buddhist ceremony in London. Days afterwards, Karagoli was confronted by her father David Douglas, the 88-year-old 12th Marquess of Queensberry. Karagoli insists that he did not know what was going on that night, but admits that his own drug-addled state may have affected how he could have helped Beth. The squalid, now boarded-up flat in Notting Hill in west London, where Beth died at a party in March He said: David said I could have been a bit more conscious and taken care of her. I fully respect that I hold nothing against that. I fully believe I could have done more, but unfortunately at the time I was too gone. Karagoli also told The Mail on Sunday that Beth had recently set herself up as an online dominatrix using Twitter to advertise her services. In the months leading up to her death, she posted a series of disturbing selfies and videos, including some of her half-naked. Others appear to show her under the influence of drugs. She also offered to perform naked on Skype for 20 and tried to sell her underwear. Most of the other posts are too explicit to be included in a family newspaper. Both of the couples email addresses were posted publicly for clients to use when they were sending payments. Admitting he knew about the services, Karagoli said: It was funny. She would send people pictures, which was nice, and in reward [told them], You are going to send me money. She made about 500 from the whole thing. She ran it for two to three months. He denies that he personally took any of the money raised by her. Talented musician Beth, 18, was known as Ling Ling to friends and family and had a history of self-harm And he revealed that their relationship revolved around cocaine from the beginning, adding: For the first few months, everything was flowery. We were taking cocaine and going to parties. We were taking cocaine not on a daily basis, but every other day. Last weeks inquest at Westminster Coroners Court heard that Beth had a history of drug and alcohol addiction, and had been known to mental health services since the age of 13 when she had begun self-harming. At 17, she was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. At the hearing, the Marquess said he knew his daughter had a history of taking drugs but that he did not believe she had injected heroin before. He also criticised police for failing to identify the dealer who sold the lethal drug. The inquest listed cardiac respiratory failure and cocaine and heroin poisoning as the cause of death. Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said: The police found no needles or syringes. As far as they are concerned there is no further action they can take. I wish I could have saved her: Tragic teenage aristocrats niece HERO DOUGLAS pays tribute to beautiful, bright and cool aunt who was like a sister to her Ling Ling was my aunt but she felt more like a sister. We were born just eight months apart, were in the same school year, and both loved music beyond anything else. She was incredibly beautiful, bright and always seemed very sophisticated to me (who was a bit of a country girl). I loved it when I went to London to stay with grandpa (Ling Lings father) and got to hang out with her. Shed whisk me off to Covent Garden or Camden, and wed eat noodles and buy trinkets from stalls. She was great company and knew everything. I was like a sponge learning about what bands were cool, what was fashionable and what was not. It feels inconceivable that she is no longer here, showing me the way. I am overwhelmed by grief and the knowledge that Im leading the life that should be hers is almost too painful to bear. How is it possible that I am at university and she is not? I would give it all up to have her back here with us. I know my grandpa was an older father but he was the most wonderful one and my mum always said it was lovely, as he had more time to be there for every swimming lesson, concert and parents evening. Ling Ling was absolutely loved, with two of the most devoted parents imaginable. Hero remembers Beth (pictured) as a talented musician who joined the Royal Academy of Musics Junior Department and gained grade eight distinctions in viola, violin and piano. Beth persuaded her parents to send her to the Purcell School of Music, but in the last years of her life she told her niece that she was no longer interested in music She was my marker of what I should be achieving. I remember her reading the Harry Potter books and showing me a letter she had received from J. K. Rowling. She excelled academically and went to Latymer, a selective grammar school where she was top of the class. She also joined the Royal Academy of Musics Junior Department and gained grade eight distinctions in viola, violin and piano. When I was 11, I went to Chethams School of Music, which was hard for Ling Ling as she was desperate to go to a specialist music school. Her parents were unsure because she showed such academic potential. However, she was extremely persuasive and the following year she went to the Purcell School of Music. Worryingly shed recently become anorexic but it was managed well, and although everyone was concerned, I never thought that this was anything other than a blip. I really wish Id reached out to her more as she was showing a vulnerability that eventually led her into the wrong group of friends. I remember that we were messaging each other after our maths GCSE. I was checking my answers and had clearly got one question completely wrong. But she was really gentle and sweet in reassuring me that everything would be all right. It was uncanny how our lives mirrored each other as wed both decided to leave music school and wanted to live at home again for the last few years before heading off to university. She said something that really saddened me Music doesnt interest me any more and told me she was giving up. Music had been her whole life and I couldnt understand why it no longer made her happy. We had a falling out in the last year which led to her blocking me on social media. It was maybe inevitable because she was in a dark place but I wish more than anything that Id been able to support her, or at least be there as a friend, when she needed me most. Her mental health issues spiralled and she became unbearably unhappy and was sectioned for six months. However, there is no consistency of care between child and adult services, and just a few weeks before she was 18 she was deemed OK and let out. Months later she was dead. I am horrified that a girl who had never injected heroin before can die. No one trying heroin for the first time injects it themself someone must have helped her. But the police dont seem to care about finding out who that was. The inquest recorded her cause of death as cardiac respiratory failure her heart just gave up. I try to remember her, not from this dark period, but as the wonderfully academically and musically brilliant girl that she was. I will always miss her. Theresa May was on alert for Government resignations after Jo Johnson's shock departure on Friday Theresa May's hopes of striking a Brexit deal have been thrown into chaos after Brussels rejected an emergency plan designed to avert a Cabinet split which could bring down her Premiership. Downing Street had pinned its hopes of a breakthrough on a proposal drawn up by Attorney General Geoffrey Cox to placate Brexiteers fearful that the UK will be left as an EU 'vassal'. But last night, sources in London and Brussels said that the EU had dismissed the 'Cox compromise', increasing the risk that the UK will now be forced into a no-deal Brexit. No 10 sought to calm Tory MPs' nerves by insisting that the Government would not strike an agreement 'at any cost' and surrender to EU demands. However, Brexiteer Tories queued up to criticise Mrs May's handling of the negotiations as a 'shambles' which was turning the UK into an international 'laughing stock'. The tense deadlock came as: Jacob Rees-Mogg, the powerful leader of arch-Brexit Tory MPs, offered Mrs May a way out of the impasse by calling for her to pay 20 billion to Brussels to secure a 'No Deal Plus' arrangement; Mrs May was on alert for fresh Government resignations in the wake of Transport Minister Jo Johnson's shock departure on Friday over her 'deeply flawed' negotiations; he said yesterday that other Ministers were 'reflecting hard' on their position; The PM's allies said any chance of the Cabinet approving a draft deal in he next 48 hours were 'receding fast', potentially delaying the crunch Commons vote until 2019; No 10 pointed the finger at Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar for 'sabotaging' the process; Anti-May MPs told colleagues to redouble their efforts to force the Prime Minister to quit by submitting letters of 'no confidence' in her leadership. Outlining his surprise 'No Deal Plus' plan in today's Mail on Sunday, Mr Rees-Mogg who is chairman of the Tories' European Research Group whose 80 members hold the Prime Minister's fate in their hands suggests offering a sweetener to Brussels to 'make our departure as amicable as possible'. The Brexiteer, who has previously argued against paying any of the planned 39 billion 'divorce bill' to the EU, now argues 20 billion would be an acceptable sum to pay to mitigate against any unexpected effects of a no-deal Brexit The ex-transport minister Mr Johnson said other Ministers were now 'reflecting hard' on their position Fears have been raised of problems such as huge lorry queues leading into Dover and shortages of food and medicine. He writes in The Mail on Sunday: 'It is time for convinced Brexiteers like me to compromise. So at this late hour in the negotiations, we would like to make a new, generous offer to break the deadlock, to achieve a 'No Deal Plus'. It would cost us money but it would finally dispel the 'crash out' Project Fear nightmare scenarios.' Critics say the new plan still does not address the thorny issue of how to avoid a hard border in Ireland. Under its latest timetable, No 10 had hoped to reach an agreement with the EU by the end of last week, to allow it to be put before the Cabinet by Tuesday. Brussels has privately told the Government that if the green light is not given by Wednesday, it would be too late to trigger a vital EU summit before December meaning that the Commons vote on the deal would be pushed back until after Christmas and perilously close to Brexit day on March 29. Negotiations have been deadlocked over the EU's demand that the UK should stay within a temporary customs partnership as the 'backstop' to avoid a hard border in Ireland if a long-term free trade deal cannot be agreed after the end of the transition period in 2020. Mr Johnson said on Saturday: 'If others follow, good on them' Brexiteers want the right to leave the partnership as soon as possible and without Brussels' approval: the EU says that to do so would invalidate the 'backstop' protection. If Mrs May agrees to indefinite membership of the partnership which would mean accepting Brussels rules she faces the prospect of a mass Cabinet walkout and a likely leadership challenge. In an attempt to solve the problem, Mr Cox had drafted a proposal for an independent arbitration panel which would decide when the UK could leave the partnership without the EU having a right of veto. But senior Government sources say the EU has now made it clear that only the European Court of Justice could make a ruling on EU laws which would be unacceptable to Mrs May. Former Brexit Secretary David Davis condemned the EU position last night, saying it would 'completely betray the wishes of 17.4 million people' who voted Leave. Sources say Brussels is digging in on the issue at the behest of Mr Varadkar, who is 'sabotaging' the process because he is 'playing to the domestic gallery' in Dublin over a united Ireland. Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab alarmed the Irish last week by demanding any backstop should last just three months. This man started it... Jo Johnson's resignation caused chaos in Downing Street and even his father Stanley admits that it came as a surprise to him. Dismissing claims that the family held a secret summit before the shock move, environmentalist Stanley, pictured left with his son yesterday, said: I was actually making a speech about gorillas when I got a message. ... Will this one end it? Irish premier Leo Varadkar was still claiming publicly last week that a Brexit deal by Christmas was more likely than not. But Tory Brexiteers suspect that in private he is the roadblock preventing Brussels from making vital concessions and allowing a deal to be signed off. Advertisement Mr Varadkar rejected the idea that the UK could unilaterally call time on the Irish border backstop, and No 10 says any hope of reaching an agreement before the EU's Wednesday deadline now rests on being able to win him round. The DUP, which is helping prop up Mrs May's Government, has also stepped up the pressure by warning it will not tolerate any regulatory difference between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. Jo Johnson, the Remain-voting brother of former Foreign Secretary Boris, said yesterday that he knew some other Ministers were 'reflecting hard' on whether to accept Mrs May's position. He said: 'If others follow, good on them.' Last night, Tory arch-Brexiteer Peter Bone said: 'Handled the right way, Brexit represents a glorious future for our nation but the way some people in No 10 are handling it is turning us into a laughing stock.' Former Brexit Minister David Jones said Mrs May's original clarity on delivering Brexit 'has somehow been distorted into a plot so convoluted, it would have defeated the ingenuity of Lewis Carroll.' Last night, a No 10 source, who admitted that hopes of Cabinet agreeing to a deal by Tuesday were 'receding fast' said: 'We should aim to conclude the withdrawal agreement as soon as possible but we will not do this at any cost. 'There are a number of issues that need to be worked through on the Northern Ireland backstop and these are the most difficult. 'They include ensuring that, if it is ever needed, it is not permanent and there is a mechanism to ensure the UK could not be held in the arrangement indefinitely'. A cluster of fat cat private operators is creaming off hundreds of millions of pounds from the NHS after muscling in on the cruel but lucrative trade in locking up people with autism and learning disabilities. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that seven providers are charging taxpayers up to 730,000 a year for each patient held in controversial and secretive secure psychiatric units. There are 2,375 people with autism and learning disabilities held in assessment and treatment units (ATUs) at a cost of about half a billion pounds a year, with scores more held in other secure units. One man alone is thought to have cost taxpayers more than 10 million after being held against his familys wishes for more than 17 years. 39,528,000 said to have been made in a single year by Alan Miller boss of US giant Universal Health Services. Its UK operations are run by Cygnet Healthcare, whose best-paid director earned 508,000, a healthy 162,000 rise on the previous year Two giant US healthcare companies, a global private equity group and a Guernsey-based hedge fund have joined two British firms and a major charity operating in the sector and are giving their bosses massive pay packages. They are expanding operations despite Government pledges to move people with autism and learning disabilities out of secure units and into the community after a series of abuse scandals. Furious families says they are profiteering from misery and Labour is demanding an urgent statement from Health Secretary Matt Hancock after an investigation by this newspaper found half-a-million-pound pay packages and profit margins as high as 31 per cent. Its nothing short of a national scandal that private companies are being allowed to hive off millions of pounds of NHS money to detain people with learning disability and autism, some in such monstrous conditions, said Barbara Keeley, Labours Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Social Care. Two weeks ago, we exposed how hundreds of people with autism and learning disabilities are being routinely abused in some facilities, confined in horrific seclusion cells, fed through hatches like animals, aggressively restrained and forcibly drugged. The revelations led Mr Hancock to order an urgent inquiry into the use of segregation and long-term seclusion. The Equality and Human Rights Commission warned the NHS could face a formal investigation for human rights abuses of vulnerable people. Now The Mail on Sunday can reveal that firms in this sector include: An American healthcare giant whose boss earned 39.5 million in one year, despite his firm facing allegations of fraud and preying on vulnerable people to boost profits in secure units; Another huge US firm that handed five executives almost 15 million last year and has been snapping up British operators, including the Priory Group, famous for also treating celebrities; A controversial British company that paid one director more than 1 million over two years despite claims that their staff failed to stop patients self-harming, with one patient later dying, and allegations of a sex assault in a hospital; Groups controlling firms that run a secure unit in Norfolk which are owned by two families who pocketed 2,261,782 in pay and dividends over the past year; Another British firm, backed by private equity and formed only 23 months ago, which runs 55 units and turns over 176 million, with 31.4 per cent profit margins; A charity that is Britains biggest provider of specialist psychiatric care that gave its departed chief executive nearly 1 million over the past two years, despite being at the centre of claims that it fed teenagers in solitary confinement through hatches. Angry families complain their children are seen as cash cows and are milked by private providers that can charge the NHS more than 14,000 a week and whose own staff help make decisions on sectioning people under mental health laws. Its an outrage given the numerous cases of neglect, abuse and deaths of vulnerable people in their care, said Isabelle Garnett, an autism activist whose teenage son suffered badly during two years detained in secure units. This newspaper has revealed families are having teenagers and young adults with autism and learning disabilities taken away and stuck in supposedly short-stay ATUs and secure units for many years. 1,059,000 given over two years to the highest-paid director at Huntercombe. The chief executive is Valerie Michie, above. Huntercombe is owned by a Guernsey hedge fund and provides 91 beds for people with autism and learning disabilities Darren Slater, who has autism and learning disabilities, has been held for 17 years, despite having his own house bought with NHS compensation for a birth mistake. There is a lot of money being made out of all this, said his father Brian. Another mother said she was forced to feed sweets to her teenage son with autism through metal bars after seeing him transported between secure units in a cage in a van. I was so angry but so powerless, said Julie Newcombe, whose son is now free. She set up Rightful Lives with others to expose human rights abuses. How can the Government waste millions imprisoning children and tell families there is no money for support at home? There is a huge conflict of interest within the private sector because heads on beds equals money in the bank, which means profit becomes the ultimate barrier to discharge. The NHS spent 477.4 million in 2016 on people with autism and learning disabilities just in ATUs, which are meant to assess and treat psychiatric needs, rather than resolve care shortfalls. Instead, people are becoming trapped, often from adolescence, in an abusive, medicated and stressful system that can make conditions worse. The NHS spent 477.4 million in 2016 on people with autism and learning disabilities just in ATUs, which are meant to assess and treat psychiatric needs, rather than resolve care shortfalls Ministers have promised repeatedly since the 2011 Winterbourne View abuse scandal to move such people out of unsuitable secure units and into community care. Many units rely on carers paid only marginally above minimum wage levels. Yet the number of adults with autism and learning disabilities locked up in ATUs fell only slightly over the past three years, while the number of children more than doubled. Last year, there were 28,880 restraint incidents in England alone. One reliable source confirmed he had seen confidential data showing a health body paying average rates in 2016 of 2,007 per person a day. Over the past decade, the proportion in privately-run beds has soared from one-fifth to more than half, as new players such as Acadia, a Tennessee-based healthcare group, moved into the profitable trade in vulnerable people. Acadia spent 1.3 billion on the Priory Group two years ago. It now has 61 hospitals in Britain ten holding people with autism and learning disabilities in secure units and three ATUs among its 586 facilities and 18,000 psychiatric beds worldwide. Chief executive Joey Jacobs was reported to have earned 7.5 million last year alone in salary, bonuses and stock. One mother I spoke to was close to tears over treatment of her child in a Welsh unit run by Priory. Im fighting for her life, said Gillian Mead, whose daughter Lee, 43, was sectioned for the first time in April and claims to have been often restrained. Lee has lost about five stone, and says I want to come home all the time. Its awful. 362,000 collected by the highest-paid director at sector newcomers Elysium Healthcare last year. The chief executive is Joy Chamberlain, above. Elysium is backed by BC Partners, a private equity group, through low-tax Luxembourg, and operates in 55 UK locations Last year, the Priory Group made 62.2 million profit, with most revenues funded by taxpayers. It handed one director 243,000 in remuneration. The number of people with learning disabilities and autism placed in our secure hospitals by NHS England amounts to just two per cent of Priory Group beds and this number is falling, said a spokesman. He added that patient safety and family engagement were a priority and that all units were subject to regular official inspections. Universal Health Services is another huge US healthcare firm snapping up British psychiatric services. In June, it bought the Danshell Group, specialising in autism and learning disabilities at its 25 facilities. Universals founder is Alan Miller, reportedly the richest chief executive in the hospital industry in 2016 he collected more than 39 million in pay, bonuses and stock. Yet in 2016, a year-long Buzzfeed investigation in nine US states accused the firm of pressuring staff to fill beds in hospitals for financial gain, even by falsely making patients appear suicidal. The claims were strongly disputed by the firm. Its British operations are run by Cygnet Healthcare, which boasted in recent accounts of earning revenues from 220 NHS purchasing bodies a rise of 44 in a year and almost doubling income as profits surged to 40.4 million. The fast-expanding firm gave its highest paid director a 508,000 pay package, a 162,000 increase on the previous year. Yet at one unit, staff injected patients in face-down restraints with medication, against official guidance. A secure unit in Woking was put in special measures after 24 serious incidents in a childrens ward, including sexual assault and staff failures to stop significant self-harm including cutting and ligature-tying. 2,262,000 pay and dividends collected last year by two families from groups owning firms running a secure unit in Norfolk, and headed by chief executive Tugay Akman, above. The father of one man with autism there claims his son often sleeps 15 hours a day due to over-sedation A Cygnet spokesman said the Woking unit was now judged good with safe care, while the firm was making significant investments to ensure people with autism were treated in non-hospital environments if possible. British firms include Huntercombe, which ran the ATU since closed in which one young woman was fed so much in seclusion that she died from obesity in 2013. The firm handed its highest-paid director 1,059,000 over the past two years it is not known if this is chief executive Valerie Michie. Huntercombe runs ten hospitals, of which three units with 91 beds focus on patients with autism and learning disabilities. An inspection earlier this year into one of them, the 40-bed Cedar House in Kent, found services and safety required improvement. Serious incidents registered included three cases of patients swallowing batteries, two other cases of self-harm and an allegation of sexual assault, plus use of heavily soiled bed linen. One man also died in hospital after sticking batteries up his nose. 929,000 paid over two years to Gil Baldwin, former chief executive at St Andrews Healthcare, a specialist psychiatric provider accused of holding teenagers in seclusion and feeding them through hatches. It handed six-figure salaries to 73 employees Huntercombe is owned by hedge fund Terra Firma, registered in low-tax Guernsey and run by Guy Hands, one of Britains richest men, worth an estimated 265 million. We ensure no patient in our hospitals is isolated, said a spokesman, adding there had been no serious injuries caused by rarely-used restraint over the past year. The spokesman added: We are committed to supporting safe discharge to community-based support services. However, we have no influence over the availability of those services. The family-owned Jeesal Group runs Cawston Park in Norfolk. It holds one man whose father told me he is so powerfully sedated, he sleeps sometimes 15 hours a day and one source claimed such care is costing the NHS 12,000 a week. Accounts indicate two families called Akman and Subramaniam own one group holding company and shared 1.59 million last year in dividends, with another 52,684 paid to directors and 128,998 to family members. A linked company run by one of the founders paid her another 81,000 and 415,000 in dividends to five shareholders sharing her name, plus one trust. The firm did not respond last week to requests for comment. Previously it said typical rates for Cawston Park were 4,242 a week and the holding company paid chief executive Tugay Akman 1,596, with his family taking dividends of 60,000 last year. Since 2014, we have discharged over 100 people back into the community, said business development director Andrew Gordon, who insisted that the firms margins were 9.62 per cent last year. Other players moving into the sector include Elysium, which is backed by private equity group BC Partners through a firm in Luxembourg. It already operates at 55 English locations despite only launching in December 2016, and paid its three directors 726,000 last year. Three directors of Cheswold Park Hospital in Doncaster, which has been accused of over-use of restraint and medication errors, are also being investigated by the tax authorities over 24.9 million payments to a secret trust in Belize over seven years. St Andrews Healthcare is at the centre of some of the most distressing claims, including the case of 17-year-old Beth, locked up and fed through a hatch. Although a charity, its latest accounts show it paid 100,000 or more to 73 employees last year and shared 1,736,000 among seven directors. Anne Longfield, the Childrens Commissioner for England who has responsibilities for children in care, has written to the NHS asking how many children have been placed with the organisation. According to her data, 193 children were admitted to its low-secure unit in the year leading up to August 2017. The charity which has spent 45 million building the biggest adolescent unit in Europe at its Northampton hospital declined to comment. The Mail on Sunday has seen a letter from Norman Lamb, Care Minister in the Coalition, to a housing charity in May 2013 insisting Ministers were committed to ensure everyone inappropriately in hospital will move to community-based support no later than 1 June, 2014. Yet only last week a Government inspector backed the opening of a 54-bed facility in Wrexham operated by ASC Healthcare, which is controlled through a Jersey firm. The huge sums spent on these places would be far better used to support people to live longer, fuller and healthier lives in their local communities, said Chris Hatton, professor of public health and disability at Lancaster University. President Donald Trump discussed Jamal Khashoggi with Turkey's president hours after the nation passed on what it says is an audio tape of the journalist's murder to the United States. The men were pictured at a dinner in Paris seated next to one another in photos released by the Turkish government, revealing a lengthy conversation took place on Saturday evening at the event that was attached to a program commemorating the centennial anniversary of the end of WWI. I can confirm they sat next to one another and they discussed the ongoing tragic situation with Khashoggi, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told DailyMail.com. President Donald Trump discussed Jamal Khashoggi with Turkey's president hours after the nation passed on what it says is an audio tape of the journalist's murder to the United States The dinner for visiting leaders at Musee DOrsay was not open to the media. Reporters traveling in the motorcade with President Trump never laid eyes on him or first lady Melania Trump entering or leaving the museum The men were pictured at a dinner in Paris seated next to one another in photos released by the Turkish government that revealed a lengthy conversation took place Erdogan shared the photos of himself yakking with the American president from inside the dinner in a press release his government distributed before the gathering had even ended The dinner for visiting leaders at Musee DOrsay was not open to the media. Reporters traveling in the motorcade with President Trump never laid eyes on him or first lady Melania Trump when they were entering or leaving the private event. Erdogan said hours before that he has an audio tape of Jamal Khashoggi's murder that he shared with the U.S. government Turkey's Recep Erdogan shared photos of himself yakking with the American president from inside the dinner in a press release that his government distributed before the gathering had even ended. His portraits show Trump seated in the center at the dinners head table across from Frances Macron and Germanys Angela Merkel. A barely visible Melania Trump can be seen in two of the photos talking to an unrecognizable guest at the tables far end. Hours prior, as Erdogan was departing Ankara for Paris, he acknowledged the existence of a rumored audio tape that allegedly documents the final minutes of Khashoggis life as he was murdered by a Saudi Arabian hit squad at the country's consulate in Istanbul. Erdogan said he had provided a copy of the Oct. 2 recording to the United States, among other nations. We gave it to Saudi Arabia, Erdogan said of the tape that unnamed Turkish officials told media about weeks ago but had not released. We gave it to America. To the Germans, French, English, we gave it to all of them. The White House says that Trump and Erdogan discussed Khashoggi's death Here the Turkish president and his wife Emine Erdogan pose for a photo at the dinner in Paris with Donald and Melania Trump The dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron for visiting heads of states was part of a program in Paris commemorating the centennial anniversary of the end of WWI The White House has not released a statement about the tape that could prove that Khashoggi's death was an execution. Turkey has claimed that a 15-person hit squad came to Istanbul to assassinate the dissident who had defected to the United States and was living in Virginia. Saudi Arabia cops to the murder but claims it happened during an interrogation gone wrong. The kingdom that is allied with the U.S. claims it did not sanction the operation that resulted in Khashoggi's death. However, politicians in the U.S. have thrown cold water on the claims that neither the crown prince nor the king of the authoritarian nation was aware that Saudi security forces were planning to murder the journalist and decapitate him with a bone saw. A recording that the Turks have is said to capture the assassination in gruesome detail. The recording had not emerged, despite claims that it exists for nearly a month, until Erdogan was about to see Trump, Macron and Merkel on Saturday. A German official told The Washington Post, where Khashoggi was a columnist until his murder, that its intelligence service had reviewed the tape. The recording was very convincing,' the person reportedly said. It was not known on Saturday if President Trump, who suddenly cancelled an afternoon event in Paris, had also listened to it. Trump had promised a 'severe punishment' for Saudi Arabia if its leaders were complicit. But he begged lawmakers not to exact weapons sanctions that could hurt American defense companies. The U.S. on Friday went another route that had been recommended by lawmakers from both major political parties: it stopped refueling Saudi Arabian planes striking Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen. It continues to provide intelligence and logistical support to the group, though, that the Pentagon could cut off or Congress could prohibit in the future. Prime Minister Theresa May arrives for the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance The DUP and Jacob Rees-Mogg's group of Brexiteers have united and vowed to vote down Theresa May's Brexit deal. Fifty-one Tories have already signed a pledge opposing Mrs May's Brexit proposals - with concerns a no-deal insurance plan will lead to a border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. Now, the DUP and The European Research Group of backbenchers, chaired by Mr Rees-Mogg, have released an extraordinary joint declaration that they will stop a Brexit deal getting through Parliament if the Union is threatened. Steve Baker, the group's deputy chairman and Sammy Wilson, the DUP Brexit spokesman, wrote in The Sunday Telegraph: 'We share the Prime Minister's ambition for an EU free trade agreement, but not at any price and certainly not at the price of our Union. 'If the Government makes the historic mistake of prioritising placating the EU over establishing an independent and whole UK, then regrettably we must vote against the deal.' They added: 'If Parliament is forced to reject the Government's deal, then we will once again have called the bluff of vested interest lobbyists and Whitehall scaremongers.' The extraordinary moves ramps up pressure on Mrs May as she battles to agree a deal with the EU that will be acceptable to a majority of MPs. The DUP and The European Research Group of backbenchers, chaired by Mr Rees-Mogg (pictured), have declared they will stop a Brexit deal getting through Parliament if the Union is threatened Justin Greening last night joined the chorus speaking out against Mrs May's proposals, saying her potential deal represented 'the biggest giveaway of sovereignty in modern times' and demanded a second referendum. She told The Observer: 'The parliamentary deadlock has been clear for some time. It's crucial now for parliament to vote down this plan, because it is the biggest giveaway of sovereignty in modern times. 'Instead, the government and parliament must recognise we should give people a final say on Brexit. Only they can break the deadlock and choose from the practical options for Britain's future now on the table.' Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer, however, vowed Labour would work with any willing MPs to prevent a no-deal outcome. He told The Sunday times: 'The national interest must come first. And Labour will work with all sides to defend it.' Meanwhile, four Tory ministers are on the verge of resignation after rail minister Jo Johnson quit on Friday, the Sunday Times reported without naming them. The newspaper also said that the European Union had rejected May's plan for an independent mechanism to oversee Britain's departure from any temporary customs arrangement it agrees. Mrs May is trying to hammer out the final details of the British divorce deal but the talks have become stuck over how the two sides can prevent a hard border from being required in Ireland. Britain has proposed a UK-wide temporary customs arrangement with the EU to resolve the issue but Brexiteers in her party want London to have the final say on when that arrangement would end, to prevent it from being tied indefinitely to the bloc. On Friday the DUP vowed to torpedo the government if Mrs May bows to EU demands on the Irish border 'backstop'. Pictured: DUP leader Arlene Foster A senior cabinet minister was quoted in the paper as saying: 'This is the moment she has to face down Brussels and make it clear to them that they need to compromise, or we will leave without a deal.' An EU diplomat said earlier on Saturday that they were cautiously hopeful that an EU summit could happen in November to endorse the deal but that the volatile situation in Britain made it very difficult to predict. Other EU diplomats said several issues remained unresolved. Mrs May is expected to meet with her cabinet this week to set out her plans for the divorce deal. She was dealt a blow on Friday when junior minister Jo Johnston, who voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum, quit over her plan. To add to the pressure, a leading member of a group of Brexiteer lawmakers in parliament joined with the Brexit spokesman for the small Northern Irish party that props up May's party in government to warn that they could not vote for the deal as it currently stands. A spokeswoman for Mrs May's Downing Street office said the talks were going down to the wire. 'The prime minister has always said these negotiations are tough and toughest in the final stages. 'The prime minister has told colleagues this week we should aim to conclude the withdrawal agreement as soon as possible but we will not do that at any cost.' On Friday the DUP, whose ten MPs prop up Mrs May's government, vowed to torpedo the government if she bows to EU demands on the Irish border 'backstop'. Jo and his sister Rachel were remainers while older brother Boris campaigned for Brexit The party's leader, Arlene Foster, urged Mrs May to reflect on her Brexit stance as she warned the DUP will oppose her current proposals if they go to a parliamentary vote. She said 'no unionist' could back the apparent advocacy of a withdrawal treaty that includes a Northern Ireland specific backstop measure to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. In a letter to the DUP, which was leaked to the media, Mrs May insisted such a backstop would never come into force. Mrs Foster said her party was fundamentally opposed to any divorce deal that saw Northern Ireland operate under a different regulatory arrangement to the rest of the UK. Stormont's former first minister insisted there were 'many others' in the Conservative Party who could also not support the Prime Minister's proposals. 'We would not be able to support this if it came to Parliament in the form that it is in the letter,' the DUP leader said. Give the EU 20bn to leave as friends, says Jacob Rees-Mogg writing for Mail on Sunday Jo Johnson's resignation is the 'Emperor's New Clothes' moment in the Brexit process. He has stated clearly what everybody knows: that the negotiations satisfy no one and that we are hurtling towards making the UK a vassal state. Theresa May will understandably be dismayed by his resignation and by new reports that, in any case, there can be no progress this week for her preferred Chequers solution as Brussels will not accept it. However, it is time for the Prime Minister to be true to her mantra that 'no deal is better than a bad deal'. It is also time for convinced Brexiteers like me to compromise. So at this late hour in the negotiations, we would like to make a new, generous offer to break the deadlock, to achieve a 'No Deal Plus'. It would cost us money but it would finally dispel the 'crash out' Project Fear nightmare scenarios. It is true that with no withdrawal agreement at all, we legally owe the EU nothing despite misguided claims from the Chancellor that we do. It is time for the Prime Minister to be true to her mantra that 'no deal is better than a bad deal' But we should offer Brussels 20 billion to make our departure as amicable as possible. Under it, we would leave on schedule on March 29. However, for a 21-month transition period until the end of 2020, both sides would maintain a standstill with zero tariffs on either's goods and no additional barriers. This would be until the end of the EU's current multi-annual financial framework. In return, the UK would continue to make payments to the EU budget which are just under 10 billion a year, net. In total, that is half what the Government is currently prepared to pay for a deal. We would continue to apply existing EU rules and the Common Commercial Policy until the end of 2020. This would provide both sides with time to prepare for a departure on to World Trade Organisation terms, or for the activation of the comprehensive free trade deal that the EU has offered. The UK would be a third country, which would simplify the negotiations. It would be a generous offer from the UK especially as it would be combined with the protection of the rights of nationals from EU member states legally living in the UK. It would help the EU avoid a black hole in its budget and would avoid disruption to either side's trade. Mrs May is known to be both an honest and dutiful person. However, as the Brexit negotiations reach their denouement, her words and actions do not meet. This is particularly so regarding the recent stories in relation to a border in the Irish Sea and the vexed issue of fishing, where we hear the EU wishes to maintain their rights to our seas after Brexit. These are not the only issues where words and deeds no longer match. The implementation period, as the Prime Minister originally termed it, has evolved into a further time for negotiations. There is also the even more important issue of the customs union. Remaining in it is proposed as the back-stop plan in case nothing else could be agreed. However, it would prevent us from cutting tariffs, denying the nation one of Brexit's major benefits. It would hit the least well-off the most by keeping the pricing of food, clothing and footwear higher than necessary to protect inefficient continental businesses. The UK would also be prevented from making trade deals with other nations. It would also leave us more tied into the EU's customs union than we are today. In reference to the Prime Minister's own words, it is hard to believe that someone who so clearly stated that she would take the UK out of the customs union could be about to agree to so abject a surrender. The British have often admired noble failure but there is no nobility in this. It would not meet the requirements of the referendum for we would be more controlled by the EU, not less. It would cost billions of pounds for the privilege of servitude and further weaken trust in politicians. When Pandora famously opened the box the last thing remaining was hope. As the PM stubbornly refuses to accept the comprehensive free-trade deal offered by the EU, colloquially known as Super Canada, the final hope must be that when she said no deal is better than a bad deal, she actually meant it. It goes without saying that, given both main parties have vowed to uphold the result of the 2016 referendum, holding a second would cheat the electorate. So let us make the preparations now for as friendly and smooth a Brexit as possible. Harvey Weinsteins lawyers believe his chances of escaping jail have been boosted after a Bond girl who claims he attacked her has changed her account of the episode. French actress Lea Seydoux, 33, who played Dr Madeleine Swann in 2015s 007 film Spectre, gave a graphic description last year of how Weinstein allegedly attacked her. She had said he lost control after inviting her to his room after a fashion show and said she resisted his advances. But she has now said in a subsequent interview that she didnt need to defend herself. French actress Lea Seydoux, 33, (pictured with Daniel Craig) played Dr Madeleine Swann in 2015s 007 film Spectre. She gave a graphic description last year of how Weinstein allegedly attacked her In an article for the Guardian last year, Ms Seydoux said Weinstein invited me to come to his hotel room for a drink. We went up together. 'It was hard to say no because hes so powerful. All the girls are scared of him. Soon, his assistant left and it was just the two of us. Thats the moment where he started losing control. We were talking on the sofa when he suddenly jumped on me and tried to kiss me. I had to defend myself. Hes big and fat, so I had to be forceful to resist him. I left his room, thoroughly disgusted. I wasnt afraid of him, though. Because I knew what kind of man he was all along... I pushed him physically. I think he respected me because I resisted him. Harvey Weinstein was arrested and processed on charges of rape, committing a criminal sex act, sexual abuse and sexual misconduct earlier this year. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on 770,000 bail. He believes slight changes made to her story by French actor Lea Seydoux will help his case But Weinsteins lawyers are now seizing upon an interview Ms Seydoux gave in the November issue of French Marie Claire published just days ago. She told the magazine: If he wanted to rape me, he could have done, but he didnt. It never came to blows and I didnt have to defend myself or resist. Given his weight, he would have been able to pin me against a wall and force me to do something, but he didnt. Last month, Weinstein scored a major victory when one of his accusers, Lucia Evans, had her case thrown out after it was reported old personal writings emerged that suggested her encounter with the producer was consensual. Last night, Weinsteins lawyer Benjamin Brafman said: It does not surprise me that yet another accuser is now changing her story. Lea Seydoux had previously said that she had to defend herself against Weinstein (pictured in October at State Supreme Court in New York) but in a recent interview she said 'it never came to blows' Thats what happens when the media helps create a story that catches fire but then begins to be extinguished when hard exculpatory facts start to surface showing that the initial accusation was not true. A spokesperson for Harvey Weinstein said: 'Harvey appreciates Lea coming forward and recanting her accusation. 'He understands that people were pressured to make these claims. It is shameful that he was not given immediate access to his own files and information so he could have corrected false allegations. 'The Weinstein Company intentionally withheld this information as a negotiating tactic to get Mr. Weinstein's 23% equity share of the company in return. 'Only through the bankruptcy court was he able to obtain these important pieces of information. We hope others will come forth and correct false allegations.' Weinstein, who vehemently denies all allegations, still faces claims he raped an unidentified woman in his New York hotel room in 2013 and performed a forcible sex act on a different woman in 2006. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on 770,000 bail. He also faces charges of sex assaults in LA and London. Ms Seydouxs representatives did not respond to requests for comment last night. A hero RAF gunner who was shot down by the Nazis and avoided capture has been told to sell his house to pay medical bills because he has survived too long. Bob Frost, 95, was admitted to hospital after having a fall in March. But despite being placed on an end of life care programme after developing pneumonia and a kidney infection, Mr Frost confounded doctors to make a miraculous recovery. Now, given his good health, the NHS says they are withdrawing funding for his care and passed on the cost to his local council, who will demand he stump up the cash. Bob Frost, 95, was admitted to hospital after having a fall in March but has made a miraculous recovery. However, he has now had his funding taken away Mr Frost, who was the rear gunner in a Wellington bomber that was shot down in 1942 as it flew to raid the German city of Essen, faces having to sell his two-bedroom home in Sandwich, Kent, to pay the monthly 5,000 care fees. The property is worth around 300,000. The bed-bound veteran said: The NHS said Id survived too long and they were stopping my funding, That came as a mortal blow, it really did. After his fall, Mr Frost spent one night in the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent, before being moved to Ami Court, an NHS nursing home in the same county. Mr Frost said: I dont have a massive retirement plan. My pension wasnt adjusted for the cost of living, so I came off very thinly. All my life I tried to buy a house so Id have something to pass on to my children. But now theyre taking it away. Ive never been one to be greedy, but I worked hard for my house and I had hoped to be able to pass it on. Mr Frost was the rear gunner in a Wellington bomber that was shot down in 1942 as it flew to raid the German city of Essen After he was shot down over Belgium, Mr Frost went to ground, bought false identity papers and posed as a Belgian seaman visiting his elderly mother. Helped by the resistance, he was smuggled out of Europe via the Comet Line, a 1,200-mile escape route to neutral Spain organised by British spies. When he arrived at the British embassy in Madrid, he posted a pair of shoes he had borrowed from a supporter back to Belgium as a sign that he had made it. After the war he married, became a headmaster in Kent and adopted two children. But his wife, Daphne, died of motor neurone disease in 1995. He met his current partner, Mildred Schutz, 94, a former Special Operations Executive spy who served behind enemy lines, 20 years ago. Kent County Council said they were bound by government rules which mean anyone with assets of more than 23,250 must pay for their own care costs. But they added: Mr Frost has not yet been assessed by the council and is at present receiving continuing healthcare funding from the NHS. Jo Johnson's resignation is the 'Emperor's New Clothes' moment in the Brexit process Jo Johnson's resignation is the 'Emperor's New Clothes' moment in the Brexit process. He has stated clearly what everybody knows: that the negotiations satisfy no one and that we are hurtling towards making the UK a vassal state. Theresa May will understandably be dismayed by his resignation and by new reports that, in any case, there can be no progress this week for her preferred Chequers solution as Brussels will not accept it. However, it is time for the Prime Minister to be true to her mantra that 'no deal is better than a bad deal'. It is also time for convinced Brexiteers like me to compromise. So at this late hour in the negotiations, we would like to make a new, generous offer to break the deadlock, to achieve a 'No Deal Plus'. It would cost us money but it would finally dispel the 'crash out' Project Fear nightmare scenarios. It is true that with no withdrawal agreement at all, we legally owe the EU nothing despite misguided claims from the Chancellor that we do. But we should offer Brussels 20 billion to make our departure as amicable as possible. Under it, we would leave on schedule on March 29. However, for a 21-month transition period until the end of 2020, both sides would maintain a standstill with zero tariffs on either's goods and no additional barriers. This would be until the end of the EU's current multi-annual financial framework. In return, the UK would continue to make payments to the EU budget which are just under 10 billion a year, net. Mr Johnson stated clearly what everybody knows: that the negotiations satisfy no one and that we are hurtling towards making the UK a vassal state In total, that is half what the Government is currently prepared to pay for a deal. We would continue to apply existing EU rules and the Common Commercial Policy until the end of 2020. This would provide both sides with time to prepare for a departure on to World Trade Organisation terms, or for the activation of the comprehensive free trade deal that the EU has offered. The UK would be a third country, which would simplify the negotiations. It would be a generous offer from the UK especially as it would be combined with the protection of the rights of nationals from EU member states legally living in the UK. It would help the EU avoid a black hole in its budget and would avoid disruption to either side's trade. Mrs May is known to be both an honest and dutiful person. However, as the Brexit negotiations reach their denouement, her words and actions do not meet. This is particularly so regarding the recent stories in relation to a border in the Irish Sea and the vexed issue of fishing, where we hear the EU wishes to maintain their rights to our seas after Brexit. These are not the only issues where words and deeds no longer match. The implementation period, as the Prime Minister originally termed it, has evolved into a further time for negotiations. There is also the even more important issue of the customs union. Remaining in it is proposed as the back-stop plan in case nothing else could be agreed. However, it would prevent us from cutting tariffs, denying the nation one of Brexit's major benefits. It is time for the Prime Minister to be true to her mantra that 'no deal is better than a bad deal' It would hit the least well-off the most by keeping the pricing of food, clothing and footwear higher than necessary to protect inefficient continental businesses. The UK would also be prevented from making trade deals with other nations. It would also leave us more tied into the EU's customs union than we are today. In reference to the Prime Minister's own words, it is hard to believe that someone who so clearly stated that she would take the UK out of the customs union could be about to agree to so abject a surrender. The British have often admired noble failure but there is no nobility in this. It would not meet the requirements of the referendum for we would be more controlled by the EU, not less. It would cost billions of pounds for the privilege of servitude and further weaken trust in politicians. When Pandora famously opened the box the last thing remaining was hope. As the PM stubbornly refuses to accept the comprehensive free-trade deal offered by the EU, colloquially known as Super Canada, the final hope must be that when she said no deal is better than a bad deal, she actually meant it. It goes without saying that, given both main parties have vowed to uphold the result of the 2016 referendum, holding a second would cheat the electorate. So let us make the preparations now for as friendly and smooth a Brexit as possible. NCA demanded an explanation of money origin from a foreign citizen. The arrest is the latest legal woe for Zamira Hajiyeva who faces the loss of two United Kingdom properties worth 22 million (Dh106.1m) in the first use of a new British police tactic aimed at tackling high-level worldwide corruption. Hajiyeva, 55, is the first person to be subject to an Unexplained Wealth Order, a measure introduced by the United Kingdom at the beginning of the year in a bid to curb London's status as a haven for ill-gotten gains. Hajiyeva's husband, Jahangir Hajiyev, was chairman of the state-controlled International Bank of Azerbaijan from 2001 until his resignation in 2015. She is now in custody after having her bail request turned down. She will will appeal the decision to refuse her bail at London's High Court today, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. But prosecutors challenged the decision and she was detained in custody, being deemed a flight risk. This year, a court heard how Hajiyeva had spent more than 16m at Harrods over a 10-year period. Her legal team argued that she was a "spendthrift" - not "a fraudster". The orders allow authorities to seize assets from people suspected of corruption or links to organised crime until the owners account for how they were acquired. She has been ordered to explain how she funds her lifestyle, which includes a 16million bill at Harrods over ten years. Senior district judge Emma Arbuthnot agreed that Mrs Hajiyeva could be released on bail as long as she pays 500,000 as a guarantee, stays at her home in Knightsbridge, does not travel outside the M25 and reports to police every day. Mrs Hajiyeva, who lives in a 15m house near to the London store, is wanted by the authorities in Azerbaijan for an alleged conspiracy to defraud the Azerbaijani national bank. The wife of a crooked banker who blew 16million shopping at Harrods is fighting extradition to her homeland. Last week the agency, which investigates cross-border and organized crime, seized 49 items of jewelry worth 400,000 pounds from Christie's auction house, where Hajiyeva's daughter had taken them to be valued. Russian-Israeli billionaire Yuri Milner is planning the first private mission to deep space - and NASA is helping him. Milner hopes to for life on Saturn's moon Enceladus, which many experts believe is the most likely place in the universe to contain alien life. According to New Scientist, 'agreements signed by NASA and Milner's non-profit Breakthrough Starshot Foundation in September show that the organisations are working on scientific, technical and financial plans for the ambitious mission.' Scroll down for video Humanity's best hope for finding alien life may be Saturn's moon Enceladus (pictured). Scientists say the icy celestial body is the only world in the solar system other than Earth with all the ingredients needed for life. Now Russian-Israeli billionaire Yuri Milner is planning the first private mission to deep space to look for it. WHAT WOULD LIFE ON ENCELADUS LOOK LIKE? The types of life form that might be able to live on Enceladus would not be little green men but would be similar to microbes living in extreme conditions on earth such as volcanic vents on the ocean floor. The natural satellite pumps organic molecules - a precursor to microbial life - from its liquid subsurface ocean, readings from a NASA probe earlier this year revealed. Advertisement NASA has committed over $70,000 to help produce a concept study for a flyby mission, and will use the money to provide staff. Scientists say the icy celestial body is the only world in the solar system other than Earth with all the ingredients needed for life. The natural satellite pumps organic molecules - a precursor to microbial life - from its liquid subsurface ocean, readings from a NASA probe earlier this year revealed. Researchers said they were 'blown away' by the study, adding the results could direct future searches for extra-terrestrial life. Breakthrough is proposing another fly-by mission to sample the moon's plumes, but this time with equipment to detect extra-terrestrial life. The agreements make it clear that Breakthrough would be leading and paying for the mission, and have sole authority to determine whether it goes ahead. Both NASA and the European Space Agency are currently considering whether to fund their own missions to Enceladus. NASA's role in the Breakthrough mission will be to provide scientific and technical consulting, including 'expertise in the fields of astrobiology, planetary, biological, and Earth sciences, as well as planetary protection.' The natural satellite pumps organic molecules from its liquid subsurface ocean, readings from a Nasa probe show. The molecules are ejected via surface jets and hydrothermal vents (artist's impression) Researchers have previously speculated on a next generation mission to the moon. 'The findings have great significance for the next generation of exploration,' said study coauthor Dr Christopher Glein, a researcher at the Southwest Research Insitute in San Antonio, Texas. 'A future spacecraft could fly through the plume of Enceladus, and analyse those complex organic molecules using a high-resolution mass spectrometer to help us determine how they were made. WHO IS YURI MILNER? In 2012, Milner established The Breakthrough Prize - a set of international awards recognizing three fields of endeavour: Fundamental Physics, Life Sciences and Mathematics A onetime physics PhD student in Moscow who dropped out to move to the US in 1990, Milner is one of a handful of technology tycoons devoting time and money to space exploration. Yuri Milner was born into a Jewish family on 11 November 1961 in Moscow and studied theoretical physics at Moscow State University, graduating in 1985. He began his business career selling illegal DOS computers in the Soviet Union. When the national government collapsed, he enrolled at Wharton School of Business to earn an MBA. His real success came when he founded investment firms Digital Sky Technologies (DST) - now called Mail.ru Group - and DST Global. DST Global has invested in a number of major technology firms including Facebook, Spotify, Twitter and Alibaba. In 2012, Milner established The Breakthrough Prize - a set of international awards recognizing three fields of endeavour: Fundamental Physics, Life Sciences and Mathematics. Laureates receive $3 million each in prize money, making the Breakthrough Prizes the largest scientific awards in the world. Earlier this year, he teamed up with Stephen Hawking in the search for alien life as part of the 'Breakthrough Initiatives.' The $100 million quest will see telescopes scour one million of the closest stars to Earth for faint signals thrown out into space by intelligent life beyond our own world. As part of his long-term vision, Milner believes that the internet will develop into a 'global brain' that will work as a type of nervous system for Earth. Advertisement 'We must be cautious, but it is exciting to ponder that this finding indicates that the biological synthesis of organic molecules on Enceladus is possible.' Enceladus 628 million miles from Earth is extremely cold and features ice volcanos across its cracked surface crust. Scientists have long suspected the moon may host alien life since the discovered of its subsurface ocean by Nasa's Cassini probe in 2015. The moon regularly ejects plumes of water and ice particles from its global ocean via hydrothermal vents. The research team closely studied readings of one of these plumes that was collected by Cassini. Instruments on the probe made measurements within the plume and Saturn's E-ring, which is formed by plume ice grains escaping Enceladus' gravity. They found that complex, carbon-rich organic molecules are ejected from the cracks in Enceladus's icy surface. The molecules have masses above 200 atomic mass units - over ten times heavier than methane. WHAT IS ENCELADUS AND COULD IT HOST ALIEN LIFE? Enceladus (pictured) is Saturn's sixth largest moon, at 313 miles wide (504 kilometres) Enceladus is Saturn's sixth largest moon, at 313 miles wide (504 kilometres). It is an icy satellite with hydrothermal activity - a rare combination - with vents spewing water vapour and ice particles out from a global ocean buried beneath the moon's frozen crust. A handful of worlds are thought to have liquid water oceans beneath their frozen shell, but only Enceladus sprays its ocean out into space, where a spacecraft can sample it. According to Nasa observations, the plume includes organic compounds, volatile gases, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, salts, and silica. Microbes on our planet either produce these compounds or use them for growth, leading some to speculate that tiny organisms live in Enceladus's hidden ocean. This means that while Enceladus may look 'inhospitable' like Saturn's other moons, it is a prime candidate in our search for alien life. Advertisement Scientists think chemical reactions between the moon's rocky core and warm water from its subsurface ocean are linked to these complex molecules. 'Complex organic molecules do not necessarily provide a habitable environment, but on the other hand they are a necessary precursor for life,' Dr Frank Postberg from the University of Heidelberg, who led the research, told The Independent. 'Previously it was unknown whether complex organic chemistry happens on Enceladus and now we know.' Liquid water, hydrogen gas and simple organic molecules - all key ingredients for life - had been found on the moon before. Scientists have long suspected that Enceladus may host alien life since Nasa's Cassini probe discovered the icy body has a subsurface ocean in 2015. This artist's impression depicts the probe sailing through one of Enceladus's hydrothermal plumes Researchers said the results could direct future searches for extra-terrestrial life as the organic molecules may be the precursors for alien microbes. It suggests the moon's (artist's impression) subsurface ocean is a prime target for future searches for extra-terrestrial life But the discovery of complex organic molecules, the precursors to the evolution of simple microbes, means the moon now has everything needed to grow life. 'We are, yet again, blown away by Enceladus,' Dr Glein said. 'Previously we'd only identified the simplest organic molecules containing a few carbon atoms, but even that was very intriguing.' 'With complex organic molecules emanating from its liquid water ocean, this moon is the only body besides Earth known to simultaneously satisfy all of the basic requirements for life as we know it.' During Cassini's close flyby of Enceladus in October 2015, the probe detected molecular hydrogen as the spacecraft flew through the plume. The moon regularly ejects plumes of water and ice particles from its global ocean via hydrothermal vents. The research team closely studied readings of one of these plumes that was collected by Cassini (artist's impression) Previous flybys provided evidence for a global subsurface ocean residing above a rocky core. Molecular hydrogen in the plume is thought to form by the geochemical interaction between water and rocks in hydrothermal environments. 'Hydrogen provides a source of chemical energy supporting microbes that live in the Earth's oceans near hydrothermal vents,' said study coauthor Dr Hunter Waite. 'Once you have identified a potential food source for microbes, the next question to ask is 'what is the nature of the complex organics in the ocean?' 'This paper represents the first step in that understanding -- complexity in the organic chemistry beyond our expectations!' The full findings of the study were published in the journal Nature. Elephants are evolving to not grow their tusks after years of being hunted and killed by poachers, research reveals. Almost 90 per cent of African elephants in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park were slaughtered for their ivory to finance weapons in the country's civil war. But around a third of females - the generation born after the war ended in 1992 - have not developed tusks, recent figures suggest. Elephants are evolving to lose their tusks to avoid being hunted and killed by poachers, research reveals Almost 90 per cent of African elephants in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park were slaughtered for their ivory to finance weapons in the country's civil war Male elephant tusks are bigger and heavier, but due to increased poaching, hunters began to focus on females. Joyce Poole, scientific director of a nonprofit called ElephantVoices, told the National Geographic: 'Over time, with the older age population, you start to get this really higher proportion of tuskless females.' Other countries have also seen a shift in the number of elephants growing tusks. In South Africa 98 per cent of the 174 females in Addo Elephant National Park reportedly did not grow tusks in the early 2000s. Poaching has also cause the size of tusk to go down in some heavily hunted areas, such as southern Kenya. Scientists say that the elephants with this handicap may be altering how they behave. Tusks are used for digging water or getting bark of trees for food, so the mammals may be travelling further afield to find survive. Scientists say that the elephants with this handicap may be altering how they behave But researchers say changes in the way that elephants live could have larger implications for the ecosystems around them. Ryan Long, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Idaho, told the National Geographic: 'Any or all of these changes in behavior could result in changes to the distribution of elephants across the landscape, and it's those broad-scale changes that are most likely to have consequences for the rest of the ecosystem.' The number of tuskless elephants has indicated the lasting effect humans have had on animals. Swedish children grow up enraptured by trolls. Stories handed down the generations feature the big-nosed creatures, roaming from forest dwellings to make mischief in towns. Could it be that these rascals have scuppered my plans in Smaland, a wild region of southern Sweden? My troll-themed boat trip has been cancelled because a tree fell that morning, blocking the route. But eventually I arrive at the edge of a forest, where sunbeams break through the canopy to give an other worldly quality to silver cobwebs and birch trees creamy bark. A scarlet toadstool shines like a ruby in the moss. A fairy surely will soon fly past. Solitude: An island cabin on Orken lake, which is where Siobhan spent a night Swedes have a name for a place like this: Bauer forest. The artist John Bauer, born in 1882, captured a fantasy world of nature in his paintings for childrens fairy tale books, featuring giants, princesses and trolls. This month marks the centenary of his death. So, I have come to where he was born and died. Smaland is a land of vast spruce, pine and birch forests, bogs and swamps including a marsh sea called Storre Mosse around 5,000 lakes. My first base is the John Bauer Hotel in Jonkoping (pronounced Yon-sherping), 90 minutes from Gothenburg airport. Exploring its suburbs on the windswept shore of Lake Vattern, Swedens second largest lake, I learn that despite their fantasy worlds, Swedes have a deadpan side, too. This city has thousands of free parking spaces, my guide informs me. Smalanders are known as the Scotsmen of Scandinavia we dont like to pay. Free too, is the Jonkopings Lans Museum, where an exhibition is dedicated to the areas famous illustrator. It features singing moose stepping out of the walls. On November 19, 1918, a boat set off on the lake with John Bauer, his wife Esther, and their two-year old son Bengt. Next day, the only sign of it was a floating toddlers shoe. The steamer had sunk, along with 24 people on board. Locals have no qualms recounting this tale. But then, Smalanders have never been head-in-the-clouds types. One of these is Jan, an engineer who quit the rat race to build the Ramoa Adventure Village in the wilderness an hour and a half from the city. Jan explains his masterplan. For Swedes, being in nature is a spiritual experience. So we want people to feel as close to it as possible. Fantasy: John Bauer captured a fantasy world of nature in his paintings for childrens fairy tale books, featuring giants, princesses and trolls Theres adventure here, if you want it, with watersports on the lake in summer and ice-skating in winter. But the focus is on connecting with your surroundings. Accommodation takes different forms. Jan hands some people a map and they head off into the forest to find a hammock between the trees. I opt to stay on a tiny island in the wide Orken lake, alone, in a 2 metre by 2 metre wooden hut. Jan says: It was built for crayfish parties. (A Swedish tradition where everyone dons pointy paper hats to feast on their haul). The growl of Jans speedboat fades, not to return until daylight. I feel a twang of apprehension. But then, its so calm. No mod cons or distractions. No insects singing. The lake is still, with light from the full moon reflected onto it as if its rolled out a glittering VIP carpet, just for me. In the morning, seeing mist drift against the sunrise, I remember Jans departing words: If you see mist rising from the lake, it means elves have been dancing on it. Bauers friend believed the artist deep down thought the creatures he painted all truly existed. After my night on this fairytale island, I might be persuaded to agree. There are few better locations than the Blythswood Square Hotel to enjoy what Glasgow has to offer, a mere six-minute walk or so from George Square, where presumably to the chagrin of Nicola Sturgeon statues of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert stand near the central column celebrating Sir Walter Scott. The hotel used to be the HQ of the Royal Scottish Automobile Club and the square itself was the haunt of ladies of the night hence the red lights in the windows. A super-polite American (I come from a little west of here) shows us to our room, which has high ceilings, grey walls and a marble bathroom with huge shower. Location, location, location: Blythswood Square Hotel is close to the iconic George Square On the first floor running practically the width of the building is the Salon, with its snazzy cocktail bar. Its a Saturday night. Plenty of high heels, colourful shirts, bulging muscles. The restaurant is on the ground floor, where we order two dreary shrimp cocktails (watery and not nearly enough Marie Rose sauce) and a couple of goodish steaks. Service is slow. Then theres an unfortunate back-up in the morning. Too many people have come down for breakfast at the same time. We are asked to take a seat in a holding area. Our room number is noted. Well call you when a table becomes available. Thats not ideal at these prices. But once we are allowed down the sweeping red carpet, the buffet is generous. We wolf far more than is good for us before heading off to explore arguably the most self-deprecating city in the world. As Billy Connolly said: The best thing about Glasgow is that if theres a nuclear attack, itll look exactly the same afterwards. Nonsense, but refreshing that a Scot can joke about it so mercilessly. Stylish: One of the rooms at the Blythswood Square Hotel, pictured above Craig enjoying a drink on a Med cruise Continuing our series on the holiday experiences of famous people, BBC Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood, 53, recalls his lifetime of adventures The first holiday I remember It was a week in Forster, north of Sydney, when I was nine. It was pretty disastrous. On our first day on the beach, one of my sisters gashed her foot on a bottle. Then I got really bad sunburn surfing the waves and couldnt go back in the water for the rest of the holiday. My first trip abroad When I was three we moved from Australia and settled in Fareham, Hampshire, because my father was training to become an officer in the Australian Royal Navy. On my first day at primary school I remember being kitted out with plimsolls, because we didnt have those in Australia. I loved all the hot school dinners because we only had packed lunches back home. We stayed in England for two years, then returned to Australia. First school trip When I was 11 we went on a bushwalk in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. I hated every minute of it. We slept in tents on a beach and I freaked out because lots of crabs tried to join us. I also had to take salt tablets because I became dehydrated. To cap it all, a bull ant bit my toe, which swelled to triple its normal size, but I had to keep on walking. My mum didnt recognise me when I returned home Id lost a stone. My best holiday ever... Flying first-class to Australia for my sister Dis wedding in 2012. When I touched down, I did things on my bucket list, including a balloon ride over Melbourne and climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Close bonds: Craig, back row, pictured with his family in Australia and the worst Travelling to Mombasa with my then boyfriend about 15 years ago. Unfortunately, our hotel burned down when we were flying out, so our operator found us another one along the coast. Id planned a lazy break relaxing on lovely beaches. Instead, we spent the week fighting off monkeys who tried to steal our belongings from the hotel balcony. My essential holiday item My USB charger you cant do anything without internet access. Dream destination The Maldives, if I ever get any time off, darling! The white sands and crystal waters look so beautiful, like something in a Disney film. Bethenny Frankel made an appearance on Good Morning America in NYC on Friday. The 48-year-old reality star donned a furry, black trench coat and bedazzled denim post interview. This sighting comes just hours after Frankel attended the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in a sexy leather dress. Made for TV: Bethenny Frankel made an appearance on Good Morning America in NYC on Friday. The 48-year-old reality star donned a furry, black trench coat and bedazzled denim after her on-camera segment Bethenny paired her chic outerwear with a grey sweater and matching pumps. She carried her belongings in a quilted Chanel purse and accessorized with hoop earrings. Frankel, who wore her hair in glamorous curls, waved to fans before climbing into an idling vehicle. Celeb status: Frankel, who wore her hair in glamorous curls, waved to fans before climbing into an idling vehicle So chic: Bethenny paired her chic outerwear with a grey sweater and matching pumps The Real Housewives Of New York vet was invited to GMA to promote her new jean line. Skinnygirl Jeans launched back in January and is now available at Macy's. 'These jeans are for every body,' Frankel told PEOPLE in September. 'They are completely inclusive: They are for all shapes, sizes, women of all ages. There is a level of detail to the fashion combined with comfort that I haven't seen.' Boss babe: The Real Housewives Of New York vet was invited to GMA to promote her new jean line. Skinnygirl Jeans launched back in January and is now available at Macy's Despite her early call time, Bethenny stayed up to party with the Victoria's Secret Angels on Thursday night. The Bravo star had all eyes on her as she walked the pink carpet in a skintight, cutout dress by House Of CB. She paired her sultry ensemble with sky-high Gianvito Rossi heels and a Valentino clutch. Va-va-voom! Frankel attended the Victoria's Secret Fashion show on Thursday night in leather, cutout dress by House Of CB She has kept up her trademark glamorous image since leaving the villa in the summer. Yet Rosie Williams suffered a fashion fail when she got caught in the rain after leaving Sunset by Australasia with her girl friends, in Manchester on Friday. The Love Island bombshell, 26, could be seen fussing over her newly-dyed golden locks as she cowered under the umbrella with her pals. Freezing! Rosie Williams cowered under umbrella and fussed over her newly-dyed golden locks as she braved rainy weather on night out in Manchester on Friday Solicitor Rosie dressed for her lunch in a LBD, tan boots and a beige raincoat as she braved the rainy weather in the chilly city. As winter fastly approaches with temperatures plummeting and rainfall, the law graduate wrapped up snug as she added a tartan scarf to her look. Recently, Rosie has confirmed that she's in love with her new partner and already thinking about getting married and having babies but she won't confirm his name. Brr so cold! Solicitor Rosie dressed for her lunch in a LBD, tan boots and a beige raincoat as she braved the rainy weather in the chilly city The law graduate is said to be dating businessman Wayne Davies, 31, who is currently awaiting trial for causing the death of a navy recruit through careless driving. Rosie told MailOnline: 'All I want to say is I have a boyfriend. I havent said to anyone who he is, I am happy and I have found love. 'Ive known him for about 18 months, so we knew each other before Love Island. When I went onto the show, he was no longer part of my life in a romantic way. 'I dont think he quite liked me being on the show. When I came back, it gave us a chance and we started dating again.' Exciting times: Recently, Rosie has confirmed that she's in love with her new partner and already thinking about getting married and having babies but she won't confirm his name Solicitor Rosie said things are going so well, she is already thinking about settling down. She said: 'I feel like you are just ready when you are with the right person. I am in the position I would like to get married first. 'Obviously Ive just entered this new crazy world so I want to push my career as much as possible for a couple of years and then hopefully look to settle down.' According to The Sun, the Love Island's star new man currently faces charges of 'failing to stop after a road accident, failing to report an accident and possession of a class A drug'. They recently returned from a romantic break to Zante in Greece. Smitten: Rosie is reportedly dating businessman Wayne Davies who is reportedly awaiting trial for causing the death of a navy recruit through careless driving Rosie also touched upon her ill-fated fling with Adam Collard during her time in the villa. After they got intimate with one another, Adam's head was turned by Zara McDermott, who he is now in a relationship with. Rosie appears to have now moved on, saying: 'Obviously, everyone went through an emotional rollercoaster with Adam. He was everything I didnt want out of a relationship. 'You just want something thats going to last a long time, not just a fling. What I went through with Adam, he just highlighted everything I didnt want with somebody. Adam helped me find what I did want. Live and learn.' Dexter star Michael C. Hall revealed in a new interview that he does identify as a heterosexual, but he's not, 'all the way heterosexual.' 'I think theres a spectrum. I am on it. Im heterosexual. But if there was a percentage, I would say I was not all the way heterosexual,' Hall, 47, said in a new interview with The Daily Beast. The actor added that playing the emcee in Sam Mendes' 1999 Broadway revival of Cabaret, required him to, 'fling a bunch of doors open,' adding he has, 'always leaned into any fluidity in terms of my sexuality.' Hall opens up: Michael C. Hall (seen starring in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway in 2014) is not 'all the way heterosexual' Hall has been married to his third wife Morgan McGregor since February 2016, after marriages to his Dexter co-star Jennifer Carpenter from 2008 to 2011 and Amy Spanger from 2002 to 2006. When asked if he's actually had an intimate relationship with another man, Hall said he hasn't, but he has had a, 'craving for an emotional intimacy with a man.' 'I had an appetite to have emotional connections with men beyond beer, sports, and fist pumping that were considered "gay,"' Hall added. Opening up: 'I had an appetite to have emotional connections with men beyond beer, sports, and fist pumping that were considered "gay,"' Hall added The actor added that he thinks maybe these feelings are due to an, 'absent father,' since his father passed away from cancer when he was 11. 'I dont mean to suggest that an emotional relationship between a father and son is any way homoerotic,' Hall clarified. 'I mean an emotional intimacy or connection that at least in the milieu I grew up in was considered fey.' Husband and wife: Hall has been married to his third wife Morgan McGregor (seen at the Farm Sanctuary On the Hudson Gala in October) since February 2016, after marriages to his Dexter co-star Jennifer Carpenter from 2008 to 2011 and Amy Spanger from 2002 to 2006 When asked if he has ever been attracted to another man, Hall said, 'No, I mean, I was attracted to John Cameron Mitchell when I saw Hedwig. But no, as a rule I am heterosexual.' After playing the emcee in Cabaret, Hall would end up playing one of the most iconic gay TV characters of all time, David Fisher on Six Feet Under. 'That was something I was aware of when David Fisher was happening,' the actor said. 'For me, I was playing this aspirationally iconic gay role as a straight man.' All smiles: After playing the emcee in Cabaret, Hall would end up playing one of the most iconic gay TV characters of all time, David Fisher on Six Feet Under 'I felt all the more charged to do it justice. I certainly understand anyone who takes issue with the phenomenon,' he added. Hall recently starred on the Netflix series Safe, created by crime novelist Harlan Coben. He most recently had a cameo in the big screen comedy Game Night, playing a nefarious character called The Bulgarian. Kylie Jenner is worried Southern California wildfires are headed towards her home. The Woolsey fire has been raging across Ventura and LA County, forcing residents of Kylie's exclusive Hidden Hills neighborhood of Calabasas to evacuate. Taking to Instagram Friday afternoon, the concerned mother-of-one wrote: 'Fire is so close to my home [concerned emoji] Hoping everyone is staying safe. I'm hoping for the best.' Dangerous: Kylie Jenner worried about Southern California wildfires reaching her Calabasas home via Instagram on Friday The makeup mogul is currently out of town on tour with boyfriend Travis Scott. Earlier in the day Kylie sent another message that read: 'Thank you to all the brave fireman fighting this fire back home [broken heart emoji].' The Woolsey fire began Thursday afternoon and as of Friday had ravaged 14k acres of land, threatening over 30k residences. The nearby Hill fire has also caused its fair share of damage, scorching 10k acres since sparked on Thursday. Exit plan: The Woolsey forced residents of Kylie's exclusive Hidden Hills neighborhood of Calabasas to evacuate. Friday fires in Calabasas, pictured above Not present: The makeup mogul is currently out of town on tour with boyfriend Travis Scott but was worried from afar Flames reached half-sister Kim Kardashian's estate she shares with husband Kanye West, according to TMZ. Kim responded to reports on Twitter, telling followers that things were being 'contained' and the fires had been temporarily 'stopped.' 'It doesnt seems like it is getting worse right now, I just pray the winds are in our favor. God is good. Im just praying everyone is safe,' she continued. Kim also praised firefighters, writing: 'Firefighters, I love you and thank you for doing all that you can to keep us safe!' High drama: Kim Kardashian has asked her fans to 'pray for Calabasas' after the reality TV star was 'evacuated' from her home due to wildfires Halted: Kim responded to reports flames had reached her home on Twitter, telling followers that things were being 'contained' and the fires had been temporarily 'stopped' Worried sick: Khloe, who also lives in the enclave of Calabasas, shared her anxiety online Kardashian and her three children evacuated late Thursday. They were given just one hour to pack up and leave. Earlier while making her way back from Northern California Kim posted Instagram video to share aerial photos of the Woosley fire and to praise the efforts of firefighters. 'Pray for Calabasas. Just landed back home and had 1 hour to pack up & evacuate our home [prayer hands emoji.] I pray everyone is safe' she wrote over footage of flames. Khloe shared her anxiety online, writing: 'I cant believe this is happening!!! May God bless us all! I can not believe what is happening! Completely devastating for anyone who loses tangible memories and the security of their homes. Thank you to EVERYONE who has a hand in helping. Ive never seen anything like this' In addition to Hidden Hills, where sisters Kim, Kourtney, Khloe and mom Kris also live, the city of Malibu, where Kylie and Kendall's parent Caitlyn Jenner lives, was evacuated. Jenner's home has reportedly consumed by the fires, according to TMZ. She had been living there since 2015. Tom Cruise has always been one of Scientology's most prominent stars, and he tried to use his clout to convert cast and crew members on a movie set, according to a new memoir. Cruise's former agent, Michael Ovitz, revealed in his new memoir Who Is Michael Ovitz? A Memoir that Cruise tried to convert people to Scientology on his 2005 movie War Of The Worlds. 'Spielberg told me that on the set of their 2005 film War of the Worlds Tom set up a Scientology booth to proselytise,' Ovitz said in his memoir, Who Is Michael Ovitz, according to The Mirror. DailyMail.com reached out to Cruise's reps and has yet to hear a response. Director and star: Michael Ovitz reveals in his new memoir that Steven Spielberg told him Tom Cruise set up a booth to convert people to Scientology on the set of War of the Worlds Ovitz was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood when he represented Cruise and other A-list clients at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in the 1980s and 1990s. Cruise was first introduced to Scientology in 1990, when he was married to his first wife, Mimi Rogers. He quickly became a passionate advocate for the organization, but Ovitz says in his memoir that they advised Cruise to keep his work and his dealings with Scientology separate. Cruise tried to convert: 'Spielberg told me that on the set of their 2005 film War of the Worlds Tom set up a Scientology booth to proselytise,' Ovitz said in his memoir, Who Is Michael Ovitz, according to The Mirror 'We advised our clients to keep their heads low and mouths shut. In those days, Tom Cruises profile as a Scientologist was minimal because wed told him, Keep your religion and your work separate.' Once Cruise became involved in Scientology, Ovitz reveals in his memoir that they tried to prepare themselves for what they were going to be dealing with. 'I read Dianetics, by Scientologys founder, L Ron Hubbard, to better understand what we were up against and went to see David Miscavige, Hubbards successor, and explained we had a common interest: We dont want to see Toms name in the paper for anything but his career,' said Ovitz in his memoir, which was published in late September. Cruise and Scientology: Cruise eventually became more and more vocal about his involvement with Scientology, which even lead to a rift between Cruise and Speilberg Ovitz left the agency he helped create, CAA, in 1995, to take over as president of The Walt Disney Company, although he only lasted in that position until 1997. Cruise eventually became more and more vocal about his involvement with Scientology, which even lead to a rift between Cruise and Speilberg. A Page Six report from 2005 revealed Spielberg was angered that Cruise used promotional appearances to rant about the use of Ritalin, with a source stating 'they will never work together again.' At the time the New York Post publication received a response from Cruise's lawyer Bert Fields which said: 'We have received word that you are planning a report that Steven Spielberg was upset with Tom about Tom's speaking out about his views on children's use of drugs . . . and that now they are not speaking to each other.' The letter stated: 'Each of these statements is absolutely and demonstrably false. Steven is not upset with Tom . . . Tom and Steven remain close friends and are looking forward to working together again. The idea that they are not speaking is not only false but absurd. Actually Steven is shooting a movie in Budapest and Tom is shooting one [in the States].' No Spielberg: To date, Cruise has not appeared in another Spielberg film since War of the Worlds To date, Cruise has not appeared in another Spielberg film since War of the Worlds. Cruise is coming off the global blockbuster Mission: Impossible - Fallout, and he is currently filming the long-awaited sequel to Top Gun. The action icon will reprise his role as Maverick, with Val Kilmer also returning as Iceman in the sequel, slated for release next year. Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Riviera Maya Diego Jaramillio. Photo credit: Karisma Hotels & Resorts Karisma Hotels & Resorts, a luxury hotel collection that owns and manages properties across Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, has appointed Diego Jaramillio as the new general director of Karisma Latin America. Jaramillio brings more than 20 years of professional experience to his position, where he will play a role in Karismas expansion throughout the region.As a part of Karisma Hotels & Resorts global growth, the company led the opening and expansion of Allure Hotels by Karisma in Colombia and recently announced a strategic alliance with the Irotama Resort on Pozos Colorados Beach in Santa Marta, Colombia. Under Karismas management, the Irotama Resort will undergo a full renovation of all its guestrooms.We are proud to announce Diego as general director of Karisma Latin America, Sasa Milojevic, president of hotel operations and CEO of the Mexico and Caribbean region, said in a statement. With more than two decades of background and a deep understanding of development within Latin America, Diego brings exceptional experience and passion to his role. We are confident that he will be an integral part of Karismas continued growth in the region.As general director, Jaramillio will oversee expansion across Latin America with brands such as Nickelodeon and Margaritaville. In addition to driving development of new hotels in the region, he will lead sales and marketing strategies to drive Latin America-based guests to Karismas existing portfolio, including Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Punta Cana , El Dorado Spa Resorts, Azul Beach Resorts, Generations Riviera Maya, Karisma Villas, Allure Hotels, and Hidden Beach Resort.Karisma has established itself as a global leader in hospitality, Jaramillio said in a statement. I am delighted to join this accomplished organization and to build upon the impressive partnerships and portfolio of esteemed properties already in place. I look forward to supporting the forthcoming openings and identifying new opportunities for Karismas world-class hotel brands to have a presence in Latin America.Before joining Karisma Hotels & Resorts, Jaramillio honed his skills as chief financial officer of Hoteles Decameron in Bogota, Colombia. Having worked for Colombian companies since 1995, Jaramillio brings with him a wealth of experience in the Latin America market. He holds a master of business administration from Inalde Business School.Karisma Hotels & Resorts growth plans include the opening of Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Riviera Maya in 2019 and the first-ever Margaritaville by Karisma in 2020. Karisma now has 32 properties within its portfolio, surpassing its goal of owning and/or operating 30 hotels around the world by 2020. Kim Kardashian's Calabasas, California home is currently safe after Southern California fires threatened to overtake the estate. Taking to Twitter to update her fans Friday, the reality star said the though 'flames hit [the] property', things have since been 'contained.' Shortly after the 38-year-old star was seen leaving a Epione Skin Clinic in Beverly Hills with pal Larsa Pippen. Staying distracted: Kim Kardashian was seen at the spa with friend Larsa Pippen while firefighters fended off flames from her Calabasas home on Friday Under control: Earlier the reality star updated fans, telling them fires were 'contained' at her property Kim tried to remain under-the-radar in a black hoodie which obscured large amounts of her face as she was seen making a phone call outside the clinic. She looked less-than-worried about the dire situation at hand. Pal Larsa Pippen, who recently filed for divorce from husband Scottie Pippen, was also making a call through her headphones. She was wearing a Dior sweater and shiny, figure-hugging leggings along with sunglasses and black sneakers. Around the time of her pampering session, the star told Twitter things were 'contained' at her Hidden Hills home, situated in an upscale enclave of Calabasas. Incognito: Kim tried to remain under-the-radar in a black hoodie which obscured large amounts of her face as she was seen making a phone call outside the clinic Cool as a cucumber: She looked less-than-worried about the dire situation at hand Connecting: Pal Larsa Pippen, who recently filed for divorce from husband Scottie Pippen, was also making a call through her headphones The great escape: Kim's loaded Range Rover SUV was snapped driving away from the home on Friday 'I heard the flames have hit our property at our home in Hidden Hills but now are more contained and have stopped at the moment,' Kim wrote Friday, just a day after the forest fires were sparked. 'It doesnt seems like it is getting worse right now, I just pray the winds are in our favor. God is good. Im just praying everyone is safe,' her message continued. Kim also praised firefighters, writing: 'Firefighters, I love you and thank you for doing all that you can to keep us safe!' Before Kim's update flames reportedly breached her estate, according to TMZ. The night prior, Kim and her three children were given just one hour to evacuate her home as wildfires swept through Southern California. Hotel getaway: The socialite was snapped checking into the Bel Air Hotel after fleeing the fires High drama: Kim Kardashian has asked her fans to 'pray for Calabasas' after the reality TV star was 'evacuated' from her home due to wildfires Firestorm: Kim made sure to document the action, sharing pictures and videos of first responders to the tragedy The socialite was returning from a business trip when she spotted the fires from the air. Seen here with kids [L-R] North, Chicago and Saint. She shared this picture of her children last night Kim shared images of the fires late Thursday, prior to being evacuated by authorities. The 38-year-old captured images of the spreading flames as she came into land in her private plane following a trip to San Quentin jail, where she met with a death row inmate she is campaigning to have released. The star has asked her fans to 'pray for Calabasas' and revealed she and kids North, Chicago and Saint only 'had 1 hour to pack up & evacuate our home' once she came home. Once on the ground, Kim made sure to document the action, sharing pictures and videos of first responders to the tragedy. She captioned as video with: 'Fire fighters are arriving. Thank you for all that you do for us!!!' wrote the mother-of-three.' Kim and rapper Kanye West's 15,000 sqft estate in Hidden Hills is thought to be worth around $20million. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's $20m home in the Hidden Hills neighborhood in Calabasas. She was forced to flee with her children as wildfires swept Los Angeles and Ventura County The fire first erupted on Thursday afternoon east of neighboring city Chatsworth and has since grown to 4,000 acres in Ventura County. It rapidly burned down several houses as mandatory evacuations were ordered in areas like the Kardashian neighborhood of Hidden Hills. Kim and her sister Kourtney, 39, both live in exclusive Calabasas, near their mother Kris Jenner and brother Rob. Kourtney left her Calabasas home and posted an Instagram picture of suitcases in her car as she went to stay with sister Kendall Jenner's house in Beverly Hills and joked she was raiding her pantry for food. Kim posted an Instagram story from her private plane as she touched down in California of wildfires raging through the county The reality star also praised the emergency services as she was forced out of her home due to the encroaching flames Kourtney Kardashian's house in Calabasas, California. She also left her home and stayed with sister Kendall in Beverly Hills while she was at the Victoria Secrets fashion show in New York She wrote alongside the picture: 'I pray that everyone is kept safe and protected from these fires. No Calabasas tonight.' Kris Jenner's upmarket Hidden Hills neighborhood was evacuated, but she was also not at her $9.9m home as the drama unfolded as she was watching daughter, Kendall, take to the catwalk and star in the Victoria Secrets fashion show in New York. Kylie was not in California at the time as she was supporting boyfriend, Travis Scott, at his Astroworld tour in Baltimore, Maryland. Khloe Kardashian revealed that she and daughter True were staying with Rob Kardashian and his daughter, Dream, who live near Kris, but were not forced out of their home. She tweeted last night: 'I am with Rob, Dream and True and I am up keeping watch! Saying prayers and thanking all of the brave firefighters who risk their lives for us.' The Kardashian/West family live just around 13 miles from Thousand Oaks, where the night after a mass shooting left 12 dead, fires have threatened to rip through the community. Kourtney Kardashian shared an Instagram story of her belongings in the back of her car as she headed off to sister Kendall's house while she was away in New York Kourtney also raided her sibling's pantry for snacks while she was home alone in Beverly Hills Smoke could be seen over the area where a vigil was held last night for the victims of the shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Wednesday night. Dubbed the 'Hill Fire' the blaze quickly spread to cover between 8,000 and 10,000 acres on this morning, according to Ventura County Fire Department officials. The Hill fire, which began at around 2pm, was being spread by powerful winds that pushed it through canyons and to the edge of Camarillo Springs and Cal State Channel Islands, both of which were evacuated. Two large brush fires caused 75,000 homes to be placed under evacuation orders along the border of Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Los Angeles Fire Department Public Information Officer Erik Scott said the blaze destroyed or damaged many buildings. A second fire has been burning in the Santa Rosa Valley east of Camarillo, west of Simi Valley near Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks. Nearly 500 miles away in northern California, the town of Paradise was left 'pretty much destroyed by a raging wildfires. Model Kendall Jenner walks the runway during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last night while her sister Kourtney stayed at her home in Beverly Hills and ate her food Kim had been returning from a visit to one of the most notorious prisons - San Quentin State Prison in northern California - according to a Thursday report from TMZ. According to the publication's sources, she was on prison grounds for several hours as she met with inmates and staff. Death row inmate Kevin Cooper is currently in San Quentin though it remains unclear if they met during the visit according to the publication. Cooper been on death row for 33 years and will face the lethal injection for the murders of four people, including two ten-year-old children. The KUWTK star today urged California Governor Jerry Brown to allow the retesting of the prisoner's DNA on Twitter. In a tweet, the mother-of-two said: 'Governor Brown, please add Kevin Cooper to your legacy of smart, fair and thoughtful criminal justice reforms.' She retweeted an opinion article from the New York Times titled 'Justice Delayed, With a Life on the Line'. The piece argues that Cooper might have been framed for the heinous crime. Kardashian took to Twitter weeks ago, just months after she helped 63-year-old Alice Johnson be commuted from her life sentence after 20 years behind bars Brown was arrested in 1983 and convicted in 1985 for the gruesome murders of two children and two adults - but he has always maintained his innocence She kicked off her promotional campaign in support of her latest movie, The Favourite, this week. And on Friday, Emma Stone looked incredible as she braved the rainy weather to attend The SAG-AFTRA Foundation Center for a screening of The Favourite. The 30-year-old wore a khaki trench coat above her striped sweater and white pants as she made her way to the building with plenty of security in tow. Stunning: Emma Stone had a big smile on her face as she attended a screening in New York on Friday Emma added a pair of patent heels to her attire while a small black handbag appeared to have finalized her looks for the evening occasion. Given how well her career is going, it's no surprise that the Oscar winner would have a big smile on her face, on top of having her pretty facial features enhanced with a radiant touch of makeup. Despite the number of appearances she's made in the past couple of days, Emma appears to be holding up rather well. Fashionista in the making: The 30-year-old wore a khaki trench coat above her striped sweater and white pants as she made her way to the building with plenty of security in tow It's her big night: Emma added a pair of patent heels to her attire while a small black handbag appeared to have finalized her looks for the evening occasion In the early hours of Friday morning, the La La Land star cut a sophisticated figure in a maroon and black ensemble as she draped her frame in a taupe overcoat. The outing comes after Emma had revealed she changed her name in the second grade from Emily to match Baby Spice's name Emma Lee Bunton during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday. Daring to impress, the Maniac star swathed her enviable figure in the fabulous couture number as she exited the CBS Studios. Sophisticated: The Oscar winner cut a sophisticated figure in a maroon and black ensemble as she draped her frame in a taupe overcoat Impressive: Daring to impress, the Maniacs star swathed her enviable figure in the fabulous couture number as she exited the CBS Studios She carried a Louis Vuitton leather shoulder bag as she paired the elegant ensemble with a pair of light pink and silver tipped heels. During her visit to The Tonight Show, Emma opened up about her admiration for all things Spice Girls, the popular British singing group, when she was younger. And she had a special affinity for Baby Spice aka Emma Lee Bunton. 'I was super blonde, and my real name is Emily, but I wanted to be called Emma because of Baby Spice and guess what, now I am,' she explained. 'So, that's pretty messed up,' she laughed. 'It wasn't necessarily because of her, but yes, in second grade, did I go up to the teacher and ask her to call me Emma, yes I did. Luxury: She carried a Louis Vuitton leather shoulder bag as she paired the elegant ensemble with a pair of light pink and silver tipped heels Candid: During her visit to The Tonight Show, Emma opened up about her admiration for all things Spice Girls, the popular British singing group, when she was younger 'And was it because of Emma Lee Bunton from the Spice Girls? Yes it was,' she said. Emma revealed she has seen the famous girl group twice in concert and is looking forward to their new reunion tour. 'I saw them in concert in the '90s. I saw them at O2 Arena in 2008, and they recently announced a new tour and I will be going to that somehow. 'I don't think tickets are on sale yet, but I'm gonna figure it out.' Emma is currently promoting her new movie The Favourite due in theaters November 23. Danny John- Jules' wife Petula Langlais has accused Strictly Come Dancing of 'trying to DESTROY' her husband after claims emerged that he had been 'bullying' dance partner Amy Dowden. The Red Dwarf actor, 58, and Welsh dancer, 27, dismissed the reports on Friday's It Takes Two, although they did admit that 'tings did get a little intense' during rehearsals. Yet Danny protective wife also decided to clear up the claims as she took to her Twitter to furiously lash out at the hit BBC One dance show, accusing it of throwing her husband 'under the bus' and trying to 'destroy' him. Family: Danny John- Jules' wife Petula Langlais (centre right) has accused Strictly Come Dancing of 'trying to DESTROY' her husband after claims emerged that he had been 'bullying' Amy Dowden Petula, who has been with the actor for 17 years and has two children with him, tweeted: 'Wow @bbcstrictlyPR @bbcstrictly are really throwing #Dannyjohnjules under that bus!... Im in shock... Why are you trying to destroy him???' Meanwhile, a source told The Sun that show bosses have been left 'stunned' by Danny's attitude amid the claims, after he tweeted a meme of King Kong holding a distressed Ann Darrow, adding the caption: 'My new CV.....' A source told the publication: 'Hes shown no remorse. Its shocking.' MailOnline has contacted BBC for comment. What drama?: The Red Dwarf actor, 58, and Welsh dancer, 27, dismissed the reports on Friday's It Takes Two, although they did admit that 'tings did get a little intense' during rehearsals Hitting back: Petula, who has been with the actor for 17 years and has two children with him, furiously hit back with a tweet Danny and his professional partner Amy set the record straight on Friday's episode of Strictly Come Dancing's It Takes Two after it was claimed that he reportedly swore and shouted at her during training. The Red Dwarf actor and Welsh dancer were asked by host Gethin Jones: 'It has been a tough week of training for Danny and Amy. 'Been quite a lot of press about Strictly today and I know you guys would like to say a few words about it. How would you want to respond?' 'Intense': The Red Dwarf actor, 58, and Welsh dancer, 27, were asked by host Gethin Jones over the claims that he reportedly swore and shouted at her during training To which Amy said: 'Yeah, its our turn this time! Things did get a little intense the other day in rehearsals,' with Gethin adding: 'This was Wednesday?' 'Yeah, but do you know what we took a half an hour break and got straight to it,' the professional dancer continued. 'I've never felt threatened or bullied by Danny. I really want to get this man to Blackpool, and then to the final.' Making light of the situation, Gethin joked: 'She has said the B (Blackpool) word! What about you Danny?' Drama: To which Amy said: 'Yeah, its our turn this time! Things did get a little intense the other day in rehearsals,' with Gethin adding: 'This was Wednesday?' With the actor adding: 'Well, all I can tell you is that the only reason Im here, this far, is because of Amy and I would never bite the hand that feeds me. 'Im more than happy; its probably the best dancing we have done in the last couple of days since I have been on the show. And Im just happy to go along, she is the boss, she wears the pants. Why would I argue with a Welsh woman!' The interview comes after Danny was reportedly issued with a 'final warning' by show bosses over his 'bullying' behaviour. According to reports, the Red Dwarf actor allegedly left his professional partner Amy in tears during training, after shouting and swearing at the dancer, who is in her second series of the hit BBC show. Joking: In the early hours of Friday morning, he upload a meme of King Kong holding a distressed Ann Darrow, adding the caption, 'My new CV.....' Star: The Red Dwarf actor, 58, has allegedly left his professional partner Amy Dowden in tears during training, after shouting and swearing at the dancer Star-studded: Pictured leaving It Takes Two were celebrity guests for the evening Martin Kemp (left) and Georgia Toffolo (right) Stylish: Ashley Roberts also appeared on the spin-off show in a glamorous silver dress However, the screen star reacted shockingly to the allegations, taking to his Twitter account in the early hours of Friday morning to upload a meme of King Kong holding a distressed Ann Darrow, adding the caption: 'My new CV.....' He also wrote on the micro-blogging site that his 'conscience has never been clearer' as he lashed out at the reports and retweeted several supportive messages. The Sun reported Amy threatened to quit the show, while a source has told MailOnline it has been a 'tough' week for the pair. Sources have claimed that Amy, 27, stormed out of training this week after her partner swore and shouted at her. Dream team: Aljaz Skorjanec and his celebrity dance partner Kate Silverton were in good spirits on It Takes Two Angry scenes: Sources have claimed that Amy, 27, stormed out of training this week after her partner swore and shouted at her Threatened to quit? After fleeing to a cafe after a tense session on Wednesday, the Welsh dancer called producers to say she did not know if she could continue 'Amy's been crying constantly at the hands of Danny. He gets very angry in the training room and he swears and shouts at her a lot. He also makes a lot of snide comments about him being famous and her not. After fleeing to a cafe after a tense session on Wednesday, the Welsh dancer called producers to say she did not know if she could continue, leading bosses to step in and hold a series of meetings with the acclaimed actor. A source close to the show played down the bullying incident to MailOnline, explaining: 'Its been a tough week for Danny and Amy learning their challenging Samba routine.' 'After a long day training they had a minor disagreement but theyve put their differences behind them and were back in rehearsals today and are looking forward to performing on Saturday nights show.' The Sun's insider adds that popular Amy is being supported by her fellow dancers on the show, and alleges 'everyone on Strictly wants Danny to go.' Danny himself admitted in an interview with The Sun last week that he doesn't socialise with his Strictly co-stars, declaring: 'Anything that is part of our contract, for example It Takes Two, I'll do, but as far as socialising, I have not been out with one member of the cast.' While there is no suggestion Danny's arguments have got physical, in 2008 the star was ordered to carry out 120 hours community service for assaulting two dustmen, in an incident the district judge called 'ugly'. Danny hit the headlines last week after declaring that he thinks most celebrities these days are an 'insult' to real entertainers such as himself. Making amends: The pair were pictured looking in good spirits as they left filming for It Takes Two together on Thursday night, beaming for the cameras The 58-year-old compared himself to the likes of Cliff Richard and George Michael, claiming that he thinks of himself as an 'entertainer' rather than a celebrity. Danny confessed during an interview with the Sun that he considers himself in a different league, after the Strictly line-up was criticised for its lack of 'real' celebrities. He said: 'I'm a different level. I'm talking about variety artists. I came up working with people like Norman Wisdom, Bernie Winters, Freddie "Parrot-Face" Davies and Vince Hill and on and on and on... They're stars. Celebrities today are an insult to those guys.' However rather than blaming producers for the what he considers a lack of entertainers, he claims it is impossible to find a genuine star these days. The actor said that all you have to do to qualify as a celebrity is appear on a couple of episodes of Love Island, which causes confusion between a celebrity and an entertainer. Tough week: A source close to the show played down the incident to MailOnline , explaining: 'Its been a tough week for Danny and Amy learning their challenging Samba routine.' To clarify, he said that you know when a star is present because all of the celebrities in the room will be looking at the star. Danny and Amy scored the first ten of the 2018 series with their jive two weeks ago, but in a shock result the pair crashed to the bottom of the leaderboard during their latest performance on Saturday night with a score of just 22. Meanwhile Amy has been battling a nasty ankle injury after clashing with fellow pro Gorka Marquez during a group dance practice for the Halloween special of the show. While the dancer had to be strapped up for their American Smooth performance to Spirit In The Sky, Amy believes it actually helped Danny achieve a score of 30 the week before last, as he was so caring. She added: 'We didnt get to rehearsals at all on the Friday. I actually think it helped Danny. Going in and out of the lifts he was really acting. He was brilliant, he lifted me round that floor beautifully and I wasn't worried.' They've been fixtures at this year's Spring Racing Carnival. And on Saturday, Rebecca Harding and racing royalty Kate Waterhouse once again stepped out at the races, this time enjoying Stakes Day. The pair cut stylish figures as they headed to the race track at Melbourne's Flemington, with Rebecca wearing a floral dress and Kate opting for a black wide-brimmed hat and a plunging top with trousers. Blooming lovely! Rebecca Harding (pictured) looks stylish in a floral dress at Stakes Day... as racing royalty Kate Waterhouse looks glamorous in a black wide-brimmed hat and plunging top Colourful! Rebecca - who is the model girlfriend of comedian Andy Lee - looked chic in her blue frock, which featured a high-neck and short sleeves Rebecca - who is the model girlfriend of comedian Andy Lee - looked chic in her blue frock, which featured a high-neck and short sleeves. The brunette beauty opted for white accessories, wearing a white belt, pointed heels and a bag. Her accessories matched her white headpiece, which was a large bow. Finer details: The brunette beauty opted for white accessories including a white headpiece and belt Dolled up: She took to Instagram ahead of the event to share a snap of herself getting her hair and makeup done (pictured), looking flawless Chic: Kate Waterhouse (pictured) meanwhile, looked impeccable in a black Nerida Winter hat and a black silky top, with cropped beige trousers The yoga teacher pulled her locks back and off her face with her bow and had the rest of her locks out. Meanwhile, Kate looked impeccable in a black Nerida Winter hat and a black silky top. She teamed the look with cropped beige trousers and black chunky heels. Her accessories included a beige box clutch and diamond jewellery, including a stunning silver bow necklace. Her hair was out and neatly straightened and she wore natural-looking makeup. She attended the day with her mother, horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, and her daughter, Sophia, four, who celebrated her first ever day at the races. She's glowing! Her hair was out and neatly straightened and she wore natural-looking makeup Racing royalty! Kate is the daughter of horse trainer Gai Waterhouse So well-matched! Her accessories included a beige box clutch and diamond jewellery, including a stunning silver bow necklace Family affair! She attended the day with her mother, horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, and her daughter, Sophia, four, who celebrated her first ever day at the races (pictured) Stepping out: Meanwhile, Bachelorette couple Georgia Love and Lee Elliott (pictured) enjoyed a date day at the races Meanwhile, Bachelorette couple Georgia Love and Lee Elliott enjoyed a date day at the races. Georgia opted for colour, wearing a pink, blue and orange tartan-print minidress, custom-made by Atoir. The journalist wore a bright yellow headband by Sylvy Earl and carried a pink Saint Laurent clutch and red and yellow Aquazzura heels. She wore her short locks out and over her shoulders in loose curls and wore makeup including a bright red lip. The former reality star appeared in high spirits on the day and at one point, got tradesman boyfriend Lee to take pictures of her on a mobile phone. Eye-catching! Georgia opted for colour, wearing a pink, blue and orange tartan-print minidress, custom-made by Atoir Nice and bright: The journalist wore a bright yellow headband by Sylvy Earl and carried a pink Saint Laurent clutch and red and yellow Aquazzura heels All-smiles: The former reality star appeared in high spirits on the day He's an Instagram boyfriend! At one point, she got tradesman boyfriend Lee to take pictures of her on a mobile phone Going strong! The couple met on The Bachelorette in 2016 and have already publicly spoken about marriage A ray of sunshine! Sunrise's Edwina Bartholomew (pictured) wore a Rebecca Vallance dress and a black and white spotted hat by Murley and Co Millinery Meanwhile, model and WAG Dani Shreeve looked stunning in a red floral dress, which was off-the-shoulder. The brunette - who is the partner of AFL star and Hawks player, Jack Gunston, 27 - carried a black leather Saint Lauren bag and wore black shoes. But her most eye-catching accessory was a stunning gold and red jewelled crown. She drew attention to her embellished headpiece by slicking her dark locks down into a low bun, and teaming the look with gold chandelier drop earrings. Other celebrities and familiar faces at the event included the likes of Kris Smith, with the Myer ambassador looking dapper in a navy suit and a red tie. Sunrise's Edwina Bartholomew, The Bachelor's Emily Ghougassian and The Voice's Harrison Craig were also in attendance. Courting attention! Meanwhile, model and WAG Dani Shreeve (pictured) looked stunning in a red floral dress, which was off-the-shoulder. But her most eye-catching accessory was a stunning gold and red jewelled crown Boys' day out! Other celebrities and familiar faces at the event included the likes of Kris Smith (pictured), with the Myer ambassador looking dapper in a navy suit and a red tie Ladylike! The Bachelor's Emily Ghougassian (previously Emily Simms) wore a yellow and white floral dress with a Morgan and Taylor hat and white netting (Emily is pictured) Into the blue! The Bachelor's Florence Alexandra (pictured) looked gorgeous in a powder blue suit Quality time! Watch and jewellery retailer James Kennedy looked dapper in a bright blue suit with stunning blonde partner Jaimee Belle (pictured), who wore a pale blue and pink floral minidress Looking sharp! The Voice season two winner Harrison Craig (pictured) looked smart in navy trousers with a cream blazer Working for the Duchess of Sussex must be one of the most glamorous jobs, so how surprising to discover that shes apparently struggling to hold on to key staff members. I can disclose that Meghans personal assistant has quit suddenly, just six months after the American actress married into the Royal Family. Its a real shock, a source tells me. Why would she want to leave such a prestigious job so soon? Meghans personal assistant has quit suddenly, just six months after the American actress married into the Royal Family A Kensington Palace spokesman declines to comment on the departure of the PA, whose name is given only as Melissa. However, in a highly unusual move, a Palace source has been authorised to pay tribute to her. Melissa is a hugely talented person, the source says. She played a pivotal role in the success of the Royal Wedding and will be missed by everyone in the Royal Household. Melissa had to deal with the traumatic build-up to Meghan and Prince Harrys wedding in May, in which the Duchesss father, Thomas Markle, gave a running commentary to journalists on the likelihood of his attending the ceremony. He decided not to come just five days before the wedding, leaving Harry to ask Prince Charles to step in to the breach and walk Meghan up the aisle. Other members of Meghans family complained publicly that they had not been invited. Royal biographer Robert Jobson claims in his new book, Charles At Seventy, which was serialised in this newspaper, that Meghans wedding preparations were so stressful that Harry became petulant and short-tempered with members of staff. A Kensington Palace spokesman declines to comment on the departure of the PA, whose name is given only as Melissa. However, in a highly unusual move, a Palace source has been authorised to pay tribute to her He writes: Raising his voice on occasion, Harry would insist: What Meghan wants, she gets. Meghans former agent, Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne, described her before the wedding as unique in her determination to succeed. She said Meghan was ruthless with her time, her attention and her priorities. She was picky, not only when it came to her clothes but also her colleagues, instantly dismissing those who didnt share her vision. Meghan, said her former agent, likes to move on. Clearly her PA Melissa does, too. Zoe insists latest tax set-up is Strictly above board Are the BBCs promises about curtailing tax avoidance all they seem? For I hear that Radio 2s biggest female star, Zoe Ball, set up a controversial limited company just two days before it was revealed that she was to become the stations breakfast presenter. Corporation high-ups had vowed to cut down paying staff through such set-ups as it means that stars and the BBC pay less tax. Radio 2s biggest female star, Zoe Ball, set up a controversial limited company just two days before it was revealed that she was to become the stations breakfast presenter. Being paid through a company means profits are currently taxed at 19 per cent, considerably lower than a top-rate tax of 45 per cent Z Ball Ltd was incorporated on October 1 and she was revealed as the replacement for Chris Evans on the flagship BBC show on October 3. Ball insists her Radio 2 salary will be paid by PAYE, but has refused to say if the BBC will channel other fees to her through this company. She also presents the BBCs weekly Strictly Come Dancing spin-off It Takes Two. Being paid through a company means profits are currently taxed at 19 per cent, considerably lower than a top-rate tax of 45 per cent. It also allows the BBC to avoid paying National Insurance. Landmark Hyde Park stables forced to close Horses in Hyde Park are as much of a London landmark as red double-decker buses and black cabs, but they will now be a much rarer sight. Hyde Park Stables, used by royals including Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, has shut down and the steeds sold. Its very sad, but I can confirm we have closed the doors after 30 years, says socialite Basia Briggs, right, who owned the stables with her husband, Dick. Hyde Park Stables, used by royals including Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, has shut down and the steeds sold Famous figures including Donald Trump and Madonna have been for a ride in the park, where there are now cycle super-highways. Basia tells me: We just couldnt go on. Our insurers refused to continue insuring us. With all the cyclists now speeding around the park, it has become increasingly hazardous for horses. And people are more and more scared of falling off. Its pathetic; thats half the fun of riding you can boast about falling off afterwards. These days, customers are likely to sue you, so it makes insurers too nervous. The stables will be sold as property for 1.75 million. Hyde Park just wont be the same, Basia laments. One hundred years ago, there were more than 1,000 riders in Rotten Row each day. Rather ungallantly, historian Dan Snow, who is married to the Duke of Westminsters sister Lady Edwina Grosvenor, has been exhuming his own past conquests. I fell in love with a girl while travelling in Africa, the 39-year-old boasts to a magazine. I had a steamy affair with this older woman. Phew! When Rupert Murdochs ex-wife Wendi Deng, 49, split up this year with her 23-year-old toyboy, Bertold Zahoran, friends claimed the age gap was partly to blame. So lets hope the Hungarian hunk has better luck with his new, and much younger, girlfriend, Eniko Toth, a 29-year-old fashion blogger. Like model Bertold, she was born in Hungary, and theyve been showing off their romance on social media. Next to a picture of her new boyfriend, she gushes: You always make me smile. Rupert Murdochs ex-wife Wendi Deng, 49, (L) split up this year with her 23-year-old toyboy, Bertold Zahoran this year, and he has already moved on with a Hungarian fashion blogger (R) Cressida steps up her romance with new Harry Cressida Bonas is just wild about Harry and I dont mean the royal ex. Whispers are that an engagement is imminent between Cressie and bearded estate agent Harry Wentworth-Stanley. My exclusive pictures show the loved-up couple posing for a selfie in front of twinkling Christmas lights in Mayfair. Cressida, 29, stood on a step to make sure she could reach 6ft 4in Harry for a kiss. Whispers are that an engagement is imminent between Cressie and bearded estate agent Harry Wentworth-Stanley The son of the Marchioness of Milford Haven and debonair Old Etonian Nick Wentworth-Stanley, Harry, 29, is a talented polo player The pair were first a couple while students at Leeds University, but after graduation the romance cooled. The son of the Marchioness of Milford Haven and debonair Old Etonian Nick Wentworth-Stanley, Harry, 29, is a talented polo player and accomplished off-piste skier. Is there no end to Viscountess Weymouths talents? Not only has oil tycoons daughter Emma married the heir to Longleat, Ceawlin Thynn, and launched a cookery brand now she has ambitions to be a decorator. I love interior design, she says at the launch of Martina Mondadori Sartogos book, Cabana Anthology. I could imagine doing that. (Very) Modern Manners Emma Thompson wearing trainers at Buckingham Palace Right-on actress Dame Emma Thompson wore trainers to Buckingham Palace this week when she collected her gong. And now BBC bigwig Alan Yentob says such casual footwear should be accepted at events as grand as black-tie dinners. I hate formal shoes, he tells me at the launch party for Simon Jenkinss book, A Short History Of Europe. When I go to the Cannes Film Festival, and Im dressed immaculately with a bow-tie and everything, they look down and they see my black trainers and they dont let me in. Its ridiculous. Yentob, 71, who presents the Imagine arts series, adds: I went to a London restaurant to have lunch with Mick Jagger and I looked down and he was wearing bright, colourful trainers. I said: How the hell did you get in here with those on? Its only because of who you are. Supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is not just a pretty face but also the font of some invaluable beauty tips. The other day I left my eyelash curler at home and I was at a hotel and I was like, What the hell am I gonna do? I cant have straight eyelashes, warbles Devon-born Rosie, 31, who now lives in California with 51-year-old Hollywood hardman Jason Statham. So I called down for a teaspoon and I curled my eyelashes with a spoon and it worked perfectly. Has chisel-jawed Statham tried it, too? Little Mix has reportedly split from Simon Cowell's record label Syco after a 'row' just days before the release of their new album LM5. The girl group, who won The X Factor in 2011, are claimed to have grown increasingly frustrated with the company over the last year, which resulted in arguments. According to The Sun, Little Mix confronted Simon in an email, which reportedly caused a row between their management Modest and the music mogul. No More Sad Songs: Little Mix has reportedly split from Simon Cowell's record label Syco after a 'row' just days before the release of their new album LM5 With the Britain's Got Talent judge 'cutting all ties' with the company, which includes the girl group and Rak-Su. Little Mix is believed to stay within Sony, but will move to record label RCA instead of Syco. A spokesperson confirmed to MailOnline: 'Syco Music will no longer work with Modest Management and therefore any artists signed to that management company. 'We do, of course, wish all artists affected by this decision every future success. Consequently, LM5, the forthcoming Little Mix album A&Rd and released on Syco Music, is to be serviced by RCA at the request of Syco and Simon Cowell.' Power: The girl group, who won The X Factor in 2011, are claimed to have grown increasingly frustrated with the company over the last year, which resulted in arguments The reports come after Jesy Nelson appeared to like a cryptic Instagram post lashing out at record label Syco. She hit the heart button on a post by a fan account called @littleshadymix, who said: 'Theyre gonna leave Syco and then tell us what s*** Syco put them through.' Little Mix is made up of Jesy, 27, Perrie Edwards, 25, Jade Thirlwall, 25, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, 27. Wings: According to The Sun , Little Mix confronted Simon in an email, which reportedly caused a row between their management Modest and the music mogul (pictured on The X Factor in 2011) Ouch!: The reports come after Jesy Nelson appeared to like a cryptic Instagram post lashing out at record label Syco While their new album, LM5, is set to be released on Friday 16 November. The girl group's new music has been hitting headlines recently after Cardi B insisted the 2011 X Factor winners approached her before rival Nicki Minaj for a collaboration on their Woman Like Me single. To which Little Mix firmly denied the rapper's claims amid her bitter feud with their 'queen' Nicki. No more: With the Britain's Got Talent judge 'cutting all ties' with the company, which includes the girl group and Rak-Su Taking to Instagram last month, the girl group shared screengrabs from their WhatsApp conversation from July to confirm they wanted to seal the deal with the 35-year-old for their new hit single. In their first post, members Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall slammed Cardi's claims as they penned: 'Sorry Cardi hun but this is the T. We always wanted the QUEEN (no shade). In the second snap, the screengrab read: '[We need to] work on lyrics, change drop, confirm nick and then we're good to go. If none of those things happen, then it's not going to be released.' During an lengthy rant against Bang Bang rapper Nicki on Monday, the 26-year-old explained she 'declined' an offer to feature on the single: 'Im doing a lot of pop records so I cant over exaggerate myself but that came to me first.' Drama: The girl group's new music has been hitting headlines recently after Cardi B insisted the 2011 X Factor winners approached her before rival Nicki Minaj for a collaboration on their Woman Like Me single However, shortly after the claims, the British band shared a series of throwback clips where they displayed their long-awaited desire to collaborate with Nicki. Amid the feud, Little Mix took to Twitter to further clarify their previous social media posts as they penned: 'Both were approached by our label to work with us on Woman Like Me, Nicki then Cardi. 'We went with Nicki because like we've said over and over for years, it's been a dream of ours to work with her since the beginning.' 'We have nothing but love and positivity for both Nicki and Cardi. The girls x', they signed off. She made her last appearance as Clara Oswald in 2017. But Jenna Coleman is still very much part of the Doctor Who family, as she reminisced about her time on the cult classic show during a panel at AlienCon 2018 in Baltimore on Friday. The actress showed off her quirky sense of style in a dusty pink coat as she posed for photos and greeted fans. Memories: Jenna Coleman is still very much part of the Doctor Who family, as she reminicised about her time on the cult classic show during a panel at AlienCon 2018 in Baltimore on Friday Jenna, 32, looked effortlessly cool in her courdroy jacket in a pretty pink hue, which she teamed with loose fit jeans. The star ditched the glam heels in favour of chunky lace up boots. She wore her chestnut locks in a loose straightened look and let them naturally tumble past her shoulders. Keeping busy: Jenna has had a busy few months, also jetting around the world to promote her latest acclaimed performance in BBC One drama The Cry The natural beauty opted for a low-key make-up look, emphasising her brown eyes with a light line of black eyeliner. Jenna has had a busy few months, also jetting around the world to promote her latest acclaimed performance in BBC One drama The Cry. The BBC mystery drama is adapted from the novel of the same name, written by Helen FitzGerald. Natural beauty: The natural beauty opted for a low-key make-up look, emphasising her brown eyes with a light line of black eyeliner In the series, Joanna (Jenna), who is married to Alistair, travels from Scotland to a town in Australia, to fight for custody of Alistair's daughter, Chloe, against his ex-wife, Alexandra. As they drive from Melbourne to Geelong, their baby son Noah goes missing suddenly from the side of the road. In the aftermath of the tragedy, under public scrutiny, their marriage collapses and Joanna's psychology disintegrates. Effortlessly cool: Jenna, 32, looked effortlessly cool in her courdroy jacket in a pretty pink hue, which she teamed with loose fit jeans Awkward: Jenna was interviewed on stage by Doctor Who fanatic and writer Paul Booth Australian actress Ruby Rose has paid tribute to her hometown of Melbourne after a terrorist went on a knife rampage through Bourke Street. On Friday, Hassan Khalif Shire Ali deliberately crashed his car, loaded with gas canisters, onto the pavement and went into a stabbing frenzy, injuring two people and killing a 74-year-old man who was on the scene. Ruby, who is based in Los Angeles, took to her Instagram Story to share photos from the tragic event. 'It breaks me to keep seeing cities like this': Ruby Rose has penned an emotional tribute to her hometown of Melbourne following a terrorist's knife rampage through Bourke Street The 32-year-old wrote on one post: 'My hometown Melbourne. Sending my love and healing to you.' In another photo from the tragic scene, Ruby said: 'It breaks me to keep seeing cities like this.' 'Thinking of everyone that was there. My prayers to the life taken and their family and friends,' the Orange Is The New Black actress added. Emotional: In an Instagram post Ruby wrote, 'My hometown Melbourne. Sending my love and healing to you' Tribute: In another photo from the tragic scene, Ruby said, 'It breaks me to keep seeing cities like this. 'Thinking of everyone that was there. My prayers to the life taken and their family and friends,' she added Her emotional posts come just days after the tragic Southern California mass shooting. On Thursday, 12 people were left dead after a gunman opened fire at a country music bar in Thousand Oaks in Southern California. Ruby recently shared her own thoughts on the tragedy in a post, who wrote, '#timeforchange'. Devastating: Sharing her own thoughts on the tragedy, Ruby wrote, '#timeforchange'. 'Over 300 mass shootings in the US this year,' she added 'Over 300 mass shootings in the US this year,' she added, including a broken-hearted emoji. 'Love and prayers aren't enough.' In the past, Ruby has been an outspoken advocate for gun control in America. She retired from the Victoria's Secret runway in 2017. But on Friday, Alessandra Ambrosio appeared to be as busy as ever, as the 37-year-old was spotted readying for a photo shoot in Los Angeles. The model flaunted her gorgeous gams in a pair of Daisy Dukes. She works hard for the money: On Friday, Alessandra Ambrosio appeared to be as busy as ever, as the 37-year-old was spotted readying for a photo shoot in Los Angeles The mother-of-two paired the flattering garment with a black striped red T-shirt. Over her shoulder, the beauty had slung a leather jacket, and she wore a pair of chunky Vagabond ankle boots on her feet. Alessandra shielded her eyes against the Californian glare with a pair of round-frame shades. Well-heeled: Over her shoulder, the beauty had slung a leather jacket, and she wore a pair of chunky Vagabond ankle boots on her feet Pretty in pink: Alessandra Ambrosio took to her official Instagram page, letting her 9.6 million followers know that she's still busy as ever Later, the Brazilian beauty went on her Insta Story where she posted a video of herself rocking a multicolored matching ensemble. 'At work,' Alessandra had written in the caption. While seemingly walking through a corridor, the brunette dons several facial expressions while pointing the camera in numerous ways to flaunt her sensational outfit. It also went without saying that Alessandra's facial features looked ever-so-pretty in a radiant dusting of makeup. She oozes beauty: While seemingly walking through a corridor, the brunette dons several facial expressions while pointing the camera in numerous ways to flaunt her sensational outfit She knows a thing or two about cosmetics: It also went without saying that Alessandra's facial features looked ever-so-pretty in a radiant dusting of makeup The mother-of-two would go on to shock fans with her follow-up post on Instagram Story, showing her view of Malibu in a photograph with an enormous amount of smoke filling the air. The smoke had stemmed from the tragic Woolsey Fire, which had forced a whopping 250,000 people to evacuate their homes, according to CBS News. 'Malibu So Sad,' Alessandra captioned the photo with an accompanying 'Breaking News' logo. In the photo, Alessandra appeared to be the only person in the area while the usual blue clouds had been overshadowed with nothing but smoky clouds. Tragedy: The model took to Instagram Story again later in the day, showing her view of Malibu in a photograph with an enormous amount of smoke filling the air According to CBS, 'the entire city of Malibu was ordered to evacuate Friday morning as the Woolsey Fire roared toward the beachside community that is home for many Hollywood celebrities. 'A city-wide evacuation was ordered early Friday and then was scaled back, only to be reinstated. Fans seemed rather concerned when taking to Twitter to question Alessandra as to why she was so close to the wildfire, urging her to get to safety immediately. 'Omg. Can you please just get away from there and stay safe please? That looks so dangerous,' one user told the model. All good things come to an end: Alessandra announced her retirement from the Victoria's Secret runway following her last show in Shanghai, China in 2017 Another continued, saying: 'I love you girl, but this looks so dangerous. I hope you're doing okay.' Meanwhile, Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York on Thursday will not include Alessandra, who gracefully bowed out following her walk during last year's extravagant in Shanghai, China. 'Last night was so emotional to say goodbye to my #angel sisters but we put on the biggest and best show ever,' she told fans in an endearing Instagram post last year. But given her Instagram Story, it would seem Alessandra is doing just fine in finding work one year after retiring from the fashion house which ultimately made her a supermodel. What services does your agency provide, and who generally does it serve? We're an organization that matches a mentor and mentee that get together one hour a week on school grounds. It's meant for the mentee to have a positive role model in their lives. Mentees are children from grades 3-12. Georgia Love has been a fixture at Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival. So it was no surprise to see the former reality star stepping out for Stakes Day on Saturday. The 30-year-old took to Flemington in a retro ensemble, teaming a pastel mini-dress with a canary yellow headband. Scroll down for video Back to the future! Georgia Love opted for an 80's inspired ensemble as she attended Stakes Day with her boyfriend Lee Elliott at Flemington on Saturday Making sure she turned heads, Georgia's pink, blue and orange minidress was custom-made by Atoir. The frock featured one-sleeve and was cut off at the thigh, allowing the former Bachelorette to flash some flesh. Keeping things nostalgic, the stunner added a marshmallow pink clutch from Yves Sant Laurent and a pair of bright red Aquazzura heels. Bright and bold! Making sure she turned heads, Georgia's pink, blue and orange minidress was custom-made by Atoir Radiant and retro! Keeping things nostalgic, the stunner added a marshmallow pink clutch from Yves Sant Laurent and a pair of bright red Aquazzura heels Sock horror! Lee exposed his ankles by wearing his black loafers without a pair of socks. Meanwhile, Georgia's mechanical plumber boyfriend, Lee, also looked similarly stylish in a charcoal grey suit. The tradie completed the smart look with a matching tie and snazzy pocket square. Perhaps in ode to his days on The Bachelorette, the 37-year-old also wore a bright red rose on the lapel of his suit. True love! Georgia and Lee were looking loved-up on Stakes Day, with Lee even agreeing to take some Instagram snaps of Georgia Lee also exposed his ankles, by wearing his black loafers without a pair of socks. The look appears to be one of Spring Racing's hottest looks for men, with Married At First Sight star Telv Williams also opting to go sockless at the Melbourne Cup. Georgia and Lee were looking loved-up on Stakes Day, with Lee even agreeing to take some Instagram snaps of Georgia. Hot couple! Georgia has been a regular at Melbourne's Spring Racing Season The Bachelorette beauty was seen posing up against as a wall as her beau dutifully snapped away on his mobile phone. Georgia and Lee fell in love on the 2016 season of The Bachelorette, and have become one of the franchise's most beloved couples. The twosome currently live together in Melbourne. Her family has been evacuated from their homes due to the California fires. But on Friday, Kourtney Kardashian was able to enjoy a brief break away from her personal chaos while out in Beverly Hills. The eldest Kardashian left Alfred Coffee with daughter Penelope Disick and Fai Khadra. Peace of mind: On Friday, Kourtney Kardashian, 39, was able to enjoy a brief break away from her personal chaos while out in Beverly Hills Kourtney was casually dressed in a white hoodie, matching track pants and black sneakers. Despite her laid back look, the 39-year-old sported a full-face of make-up, and her hair was styled straight and down. Little Penelope was wore a simple T-shirt, skort and slides. Effortless look: Kourtney was casually dressed in a white hoodie, matching track pants and black sneakers Kourtney's male companion, Fai, looks similar to ex-boyfriend Younes Benjima. The 27-year-old previously hung out with Kourtney in September, as well as over Halloween. Aside from the mother-of-three, Fai has also posed for photos with Kendall Jenner and Jordyn Woods. Beautiful: Despite her laid back look, the 39-year-old sported a full-face of make-up, and her hair was styled straight and down Kourtney's eldest son Mason and youngest son Reign were not seen out with the star. Mason, eight, was spotted with dad Scott Disick and girlfriend Sofia Richie. Kourtney and Scott never married, but were together for around a decade. He was Australia's very first Bachelor, for obvious reasons it seems. And on the weekend, Tim Robards showed off his impressively toned physique as he enjoys a getaways in Fiji. Taking to Instagram on Friday, the 36-year-old Neighbours star shared a shirtless photo of himself relaxing in a swimming pool. Scroll down for video Anna Heinrich is one lucky lady! The Bachelor's Tim Robards shows off his impressive six-pack while enjoying a swim during Fijian holiday Wearing only a pair of light pink board-shorts, Tim's tanned washboard abs were on clear display as he leaned against the edge of the pool. It's been a busy few days for the star, who gave up his career as a chiropractor to undertake an acting career. On Saturday, he revealed he'd bought a house with his wife of five months, Anna Heinrich. The pair first met on The Bachelor back in 2013, and they've been together ever since. Home sweet home: On Saturday, he revealed he'd bought a house with his wife of five months, Anna Heinrich 'Love playing grown ups with you! #BoughtAHouse #SOLD,' Tim captioned a photo of himself holding his 31-year-old wife in front of a 'sold' sign. Anna seemed equally as excited by their property purchase. 'Welcome to our home sweet home,' she wrote on Instagram. According to 9Honey, the couple spent $1.9 million on a three-bedroom art deco apartment in Sydney's Rose Bay. Going it alone: The couple have spent much of their married lives together living in separate cities Despite this, the couple have spent much of their married lives together living in separate cities. Neighbours is filmed in Melbourne, while Anna has had work commitments keeping her in Sydney. But their latest purchase suggests they're keen to put some roots down in Sydney. She was one of the models strutting her stuff at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York on Thursday. And on Friday, Romee Strijd made sure to look her best when she attended the 2nd Annual Revolve Awards at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas to accept her prize for Model of the Year. With little time to rest, the 23-year-old still pulled it out of the bag in a stunning burgundy LPA thigh-high velvet dress with an accompanying pair of black strapped heels. Dressed to impress: Romee Strijd made sure to look her best when she attended the 2nd Annual Revolve Awards in Las Vegas to accept her prize for Model of the Year The supermodel oozed class and glamour, sharing somewhat of a relation to the popular animation figure Jessica Rabbit -from the classic comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit- in the process. Romee's hair was perfectly parted to one side, showcasing her silver dangling earrings, while other accessories that followed were a range of ornaments on her finger. A pair of black strap open toe heels apparently was all it took for the gorgeous star to finalize her ensemble and pose up a storm on the red carpet. Stunning: The 23-year-old still pulled it out the bag in a stunning burgundy LPA thigh-high velvet dress with an accompanying pair of black strapped heels. But she wasn't alone. At the occurrence, the blonde bombshell was accompanied by her dating boyfriend Laurens van Leeuwen, who looked ever-so-dapper in his black turtleneck sweater, which he'd worn underneath his tailored tuxedo. Taking to her official Instagram account to gush about the event, and seemingly winning Model of the Year, Romee had quite a lot to share with her 4.8 million followers. Separated at birth: The supermodel oozed class and glamour, sharing somewhat of a relation to the popular animation figure Jessica Rabbit -from the classic comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit- [pictured] in the process Date night: At the occurrence, the blonde bombshell was accompanied by her dating boyfriend Laurens van Leeuwen Overwhelmed: Taking to her official Instagram account to gush about the event, and seemingly winning Model of the Year, Romee had a lot to share with her 4.8 million followers. 'THANKS THANKS THANKS, everyone for voting and @revolve for having me and believing in me,' she started off her endearing post. 'BFF of the year with my babe @negin_mirsalehi and MODEL of the year, WHAT #revolveawards.' Walking the runway for Victoria's Secret Fashion Show appeared to have only been one of her highlights of the week. Romee will get to the fashion extravagant when it airs December 2 on ABC. David Campbell has revealed he was close to Melbourne terror attack victim Sisto Malaspina, who was killed during Friday's tragic rampage in Bourke street. The 45-year-old took to Instagram on Saturday to share a touching tribute to the 74-year-old cafe owner. The TV host revealed he was a regular at the famed Pellegrinis cafe, where Mr Malaspina worked. Devastating: David Campbell has revealed he was close to Melbourne terror attack victim Sisto Malaspina, who was killed during Friday's tragic rampage in Bourke street 'My deepest condolences go to the family of Sisto Malaspina. He was the victim in yesterdays terror attack in Melbourne,' began David's heartfelt post. 'Pellegrinis is my favourite place in the city, mainly due to him. He would yell when I came in "Here he is... the Artist!", ask about my family and my father (who also went religiously). 'An icon of Melbourne. You were never a stranger in his company... One person can be a huge loss to an entire city. RIP'. Heartfelt: The media personality took to Instagram to pay tribute to Melbourne terror victim Sisto Malaspina (pictured) Tribute: 'My deepest condolences go to the family of Sisto Malaspina. He was the victim in yesterdays terror attack in Melbourne,' began David's heartfelt post Mr Malaspina was murdered by Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, 30, as he ran to help what he thought was a car crash victim just blocks from his coffee shop at about 4.20pm on Friday. However, Khalif had deliberately crashed his Holden Rodeo that was loaded with gas canisters and set the car alight after mounting the pavement near the Swanson Street intersection. By trying to do a good deed, Mr Malaspina, who became a grandfather last Saturday, became the murderous knifeman's first victim. Missed: 'An icon of Melbourne. You were never a stranger in his company... One person can be a huge loss to an entire city. RIP,' David wrote on Instagram of Mr Malaspina (pictured) Tragedy: Mr Malaspina came to Australia from Italy and took over Pellegrini's Espresso Bar in 1976 with his business partner, Nino Pangrazio. Pictured: Tributes for the cafe owner Two others were also stabbed before Khalif then turned on police. Mr Malaspina came to Australia from Italy and took over Pellegrini's Espresso Bar in 1976 with his business partner, Nino Pangrazio, and maintained its original 1954 decor. The cafe, with its heritage-listed neon sign, became a popular haunt for urban professionals, tourists, and even politicians like former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. She made a name for herself in the role of Jessie Spano in Saved By The Bell. And Elizabeth Berkley was spotted enjoying a relaxed outing at Barneys New York in Beverly Hills, California, on Friday. The actress, 46, kept things casual, as she stepped out in a denim jacket which she teamed up with khaki green trousers that had a black racer stripe across the front. Heading out: Elizabeth Berkley kept things casual in a denim jacket and khaki trousers as she went shopping in Beverly Hills... as major wildfires continue to spread Elizabeth slipped on a sleet grey tank-top, which had a plunging neckline, and she added a glittering touch to her ensemble with a gold pendant necklace. Despite the Autumnal weather, the Showgirls star stepped out in a pair of black flip-flops, and she shielded her eyes with a pair of tinted shades. Her blonde locks were styled in loose waves, and she brushed her hair in a sideswept fashion for a stylish flair. Casual: Elizabeth slipped on a sleet grey tank-top, which had a plunging neckline, and she added a glittering touch to her ensemble with a gold pendant necklace Elizabeth first broke out onto the scene as a model before deciding to pursue a career in acting, and it was in 1989 that she made her debut in Saved By The Bell. She had originally auditioned for the role of Kelly Kapowski, but producers couldn't decide whether to cast her or Tiffani,Amber Thiessen as the character so they chose to create a new part for her: Jessie Spano. The actress played the part from 1989 to 1993, and she also appeared in both spin-off films, Saved By The Bell: Hawaiian Style and Saved By The Bell: Wedding In Las Vegas. Comfy: Despite the Autumnal weather, the Showgirls star stepped out in a pair of black flip-flops, and she shielded her eyes with a pair of tinted shades Elizabeth's outing in Beverly Hills comes as 16 fires rage through California, after spreading rapidly overnight, with two major wildfires taking place. Camp Fire is currently taking place in Northern California, while the Woolsey Fire is west of Los Angeles and has spread to Malibu, where many celebrities live. According to TMZ, the Woolsey Fire reached the Kardashian-West home in the Hidden Hills neighbourhood on Friday afternoon. Around the same time reports emerged that Caitlyn Jenner's 3,500 square foot, 4-bedroom pad overlooking the Malibu beach was destroyed by fierce flames from the same blaze. The Woolsey Fire has already scorched as least 9,600 acres north of Los Angeles since igniting near Rocketdyne at around 2pm local time Thursday. Both fires are zero percent contained as of 11am on Friday, and dozens of communities on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles counties have been ordered to evacuate as the flames approach. She has returned to Cornwall with her on-screen husband Aidan Turner to reprise her role as Ross Poldark's wife Demelza for the final time. And Eleanor Tomlinson took a break from filming new scenes of the hit BBC show to learn how to do the Floss dance from fellow actress Gabriella Wilde. The actress, 26, seemed to be in high spirits as she studied the dance that her co-star, 29, was doing before trying it out herself while they were in between takes, in Charlestown, Cornwall, on Wednesday. Dance off: Poldark's Eleanor Tomlinson did the Floss dance as she enjoyed a break from filming in the rain... as she's joined by co-star Aidan Turner in Cornwall on Wednesday Eleanor beamed as Gabriella started 'flossing', before attempting to join in with fellow cast-mate Beatie Edney, which made the pair burst into giggles. The actress was seen practising the dance, which went viral after Russell Horning performed it on Saturday Night Live, on a number of occasions before filming began. Also on set was Aidan Turner, who was filming in a separate area to his on-screen wife and so didn't join the impromptu dance number. Walking around: Also on set was Aidan Turner, who was filming in a separate area to his on-screen wife and so didn't join the impromptu dance number Let me try: The actress, 26, seemed to be in high spirits as she studied the dance that her co-star, 29, was doing before trying it out herself Practise makes perfect: Eleanor was seen practising the dance, which went viral after Russell Horning performed it on Saturday Night Live, on a number of occasions before filming began Advise: The actress could be seen discussing the dance moves with her co-star Having fun: Eleanor beamed as Gabriella started 'flossing' which made them burst into giggles After the storm: The crew could be seen removing protective tents after the rain subsided The cast were dressed in their period costumes and appeared in high spirits despite the rainy weather. While waiting to film, Eleanor wrapped up in a cosy purple dressing gown and black coat as they prepared. She layered the outerwear atop her green Georgian Regency dress, which had a white petticoat underneath it. The actress wore her fiery-red locks in an elegant chignon and finished off her costume with a green hat. Dance partners: Later on she was joined by fellow cast-mate Beatie Edney in doing the dance In character: Aidan had transformed into his character Captain Ross Poldark, donning the signature hat and brown full-length coat. Stylish: Eleanor wore a green Georgian Regency dress, which had a white petticoat underneath Ready to go: The cast were dressed in their period costumes and appeared in high spirits despite the rainy weather Stunning: The actress wore her fiery-red locks in an elegant chignon and finished off her costume with a green hat Staying warm: While waiting to film, Eleanor wrapped up in a cosy purple dressing gown and black coat as they prepared Aidan had also transformed into his character Captain Ross Poldark, donning the signature hat and brown full-length coat. As the rain got worse on set Aidan donned a large black waterproof coat over his costume, so that it didn't get damaged before filming could restart. The Hobbit star could be seen walking around with Luke Norris, who stood out in his military-print jacket that he wore over his ensemble. Filming kicked off last month after Poldark bosses confirmed series five will be the BBC One show's final series. Busy schedule: Filming kicked off last month after Poldark bosses confirmed series five will be the BBC One show's final series Preparing: As the rain got worse on set Aidan donned a large black waterproof coat over his costume, so that it didn't get damaged before filming could restart Filming underway: Aidan and the crew could be seen filming even as they wore their rain coats Getting ready: Aidan could be seen preparing for filming as he walked around Let's dance: Eleanor and Beatie were excited to get their dance moves on Inspiration: Talking about the upcoming series writer Debbie Horsfield revealed it will be based between 1800 and 1810, which takes place in between Winston Graham's seventh novel Talking about the upcoming series writer Debbie Horsfield revealed it will be based between 1800 and 1810, which takes place in between Winston Graham's seventh novel, The Angry Tide and The Stranger from the Sea. She said: 'In The Stranger from the Sea Winston Graham made many references to developments that happened in the 'gap' years. Much can also be inferred. 'There are, of course, also historical events and people of the time, both in Cornwall and in London. 'Series five will draw on all of these to follow the lives of the Poldarks, George Warleggan, the Enyses, and the Carnes in this intervening period.' Waiting: Aidan was patient as filming stopped while the rain continued Plotlines: Series writer Debbie said: 'Series five will draw on all of these to follow the lives of the Poldarks, George Warleggan, the Enyses, and the Carnes' Umbrellas up: Gabriella and Luke were spotted waiting to film as a member of crew made sure they were protected from the rain Covered up: The crew took their time dismantling the tents that they put up on set In high spirits: Eleanor and Gabriella appeared to be in a good mood even in the rain Ready to film: Another actor could be seen with make-up on his face that made it look like he had a bruise Fans were understandably devastated by the finale of the fourth series of Poldark, when Ross was left shattered after his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth Warleggan (Heida Reed) died. The fourth series of the hit BBC drama ended in tragedy when the popular character died shortly after the birth of her daughter Ursula with husband George. Viewers saw a desperate Elizabeth take drugs to induce an early birth, in an attempt to persuade husband George (Jack Farthing) that her son Valentine, was his and not Ross's. By trying to induce her second baby and have an early delivery, Elizabeth hoped her husband would be convinced her first child Valentine was also premature and end his suspicions for good. The dangerous plan at first worked, and Elizabeth gave birth to a healthy baby daughter but soon after she was found collapsed and in pain and died holding George's hand. Busy: The Hobbit star could be seen walking around with Luke Norris, who stood out in his military-print jacket that he wore over his ensemble Upsetting: Fans were devastated by the finale of the fourth series of Poldark, when Ross was left shattered after his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth Warleggan (Heida Reed) died Dramatic: The fourth series of the hit BBC drama ended in tragedy when the popular character died shortly after the birth of her daughter Ursula with husband George She is gearing up for the release of her eagerly anticipated flick, Mary Poppins Returns. And Emily Blunt looked absolutely ravishing as she arrived for a Q&A for the movie in New York on Friday night. The British actress, 35, showed off her flair for fashion as she clashed stripes in a turtleneck and flowing dress. Fashionista: Emily Blunt looked absolutely ravishing as she arrived for a Q&A for Mary Poppins Returns in New York on Friday night The star looked absolutely sensational in her navy dress which fetll at an ankle-grazing length to show off her angle boots. Emily's blonde locks were pulled back and her stunning features were enhanced with a striking coat of make-up. The beauty's sighting comes after she teased that there would be more Mary Poppins movies are in the pipeline. Chatting to American Vogue, Emily - who takes over the role of the iconic nanny from Dame Julie Andrews 54 years after the first movie - has said there 'are more stories to tell' and that she'd be more than open to another film. Eyes on her: The British actress, 35, showed off her flair for fashion as she clashed stripes in a turtleneck and flowing dress 'Oh, I would pay Rob [Marshall, director] to do it again with me,' she gushed to the publication for their December issue. 'Yeah, I would. Definitely. More stories left to tell.' Also in conversation with the magazine, director Marshall said: 'I do know that theres a lot of material there and its very rich with all kinds of adventures and ideas. Its certainly ripe for the picking.' Mary Poppins originates from a series of books by P L Travers, whom Emma Thompson portrayed in the 2013 film Saving Mr Banks, about the author's concerns about selling the movie rights of the stories to Disney. Onward and upward: The beauty's sighting comes after she teased to American Vogue that more Mary Poppins movies are in the pipeline There were eight books in the series, published between 1934 and 1988. Marry Poppins the movie - released in 1964 - was based on books 1-4, while the forthcoming Mary Poppins Returns is said to be an amalgamation of books 2-8, expanding the story beyond Travers' original stories. Of the role of Mary herself, Blunt, 35, added: 'Shes a superhero. You could say shes some sort of angel. She recognizes what people need, and she gives it to them. Yet they discover something about themselves in the process. 'I dont think she concerns herself with what she is. Theres nobody else like her - which she quite likes.' The actress - known for roles in the likes of The Devil Wears Prada, The Young Victoria and A Quiet Place - was shot for Vogue by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz. Coming soon: Set in 1935 London, 25 years after the events of the original film, the movie features Mary returning to visits a now-grown up Jane and Michael Banks, who have recently suffered a family tragedy In the images, she embodies the character of Mary Poppins, but with an almost couture twist. She is also snapped with co-star Lin-Manuel Miranda who portrays Jack - a lamplighter and the former-apprentice of Bert, played by Dick Van Dyke in the original. Set in 1935 London, 25 years after the events of the original film, the movie features Mary returning to visits a now-grown up Jane and Michael Banks, who have recently suffered a family tragedy. She is set to take on the lead role in a man's world Remembrance Day themed group dance on Sunday's Strictly Come Dancing. But professional dancer Amy Dowden, 27, looked far from nervous when stepping out amongst the BBC One stars in London, on Saturday. Leading the way, the Welsh beauty looked winter ready as she opted for a colourful striped scarf and white jumper. Trendy: Professional dancer Amy Dowden, 27, looked sensational when stepping out amongst the BBC One cast of stars in London, on Saturday While carrying her padded black coat over her arm, Amy was the epitome of comfort as she rocked a pair of brown UGG boots. Adding to her low-key look, the brunette styled her locks into a sleeked back ponytail and added delicate earrings to her ensemble. The dancer looked well in need of a caffeine boost as she carried a Starbucks order ahead of rehearsals. Keeping cosy: Leading the way, the Welsh beauty looked winter ready as she opted for a colourful striped scarf and white jumper So chill! While carrying her padded black coat over her arm, Amy was the epitome of comfort as she rocked a pair of brown UGG boots It comes as Amy and her star partner Danny John-Jules, 58, appeared on Friday's episode of Strictly Come Dancing's It Takes Two to set the record straight after it was claimed that he reportedly swore and shouted at her during training. The Red Dwarf actor and Welsh dancer were asked by host Gethin Jones: 'It has been a tough week of training for Danny and Amy. 'Been quite a lot of press about Strictly today and I know you guys would like to say a few words about it. How would you want to respond?' Cosy: Faye Tozer was prepared against the chilly autumn climes in a long black coat Ready to go! Stacey Dooley looked sporty in a black hoodie and matching leggings combo Thumbs up! Joe Sugg was all smiles as he left the hotel ready for Saturday night's show To which Amy said: 'Yeah, its our turn this time! Things did get a little intense the other day in rehearsals,' with Gethin adding: 'This was Wednesday?' 'Yeah, but do you know what we took a half an hour break and got straight to it,' the professional dancer continued. 'I've never felt threatened or bullied by Danny. I really want to get this man to Blackpool, and then to the final.' Low key: Lauren Steadman went casual in a grey hoodie and bright pink and black leggings Fun times! Judge Shirley Ballas was beaming as she left the hotel in a cool black beanie Getting down to business: The Queen of Latin opted for a smart two-piece suit Making light of the situation, Gethin joked: 'She has said the B (Blackpool) word! What about you Danny?' With the actor adding: 'Well, all I can tell you is that the only reason Im here, this far, is because of Amy and I would never bite the hand that feeds me. 'Im more than happy; its probably the best dancing we have done in the last couple of days since I have been on the show.' Casual: Dianne Buswell went for an equally low-key look and sported jeans and a denim jacket Two thumbs up from me! Aljaz Skorjanec looked ready ahead of his arrival on the dance floor All smiles! Oti Mabuse showcased her dance-toned figure in a bright orange jacket He continued: 'And Im just happy to go along, she is the boss, she wears the pants. Why would I argue with a Welsh woman!' The interview comes after Danny was reportedly issued with a 'final warning' by show bosses over his 'bullying' behaviour. According to reports, the Red Dwarf actor allegedly left his professional partner Amy in tears during training, after shouting and swearing at the dancer, who is in her second series of the hit BBC show. Wrapped up: Graeme Swann opted for a padded coat to combat the freezing November winds Smart: Giovanni Pernice will be taking to the floor with Faye Tozer again for the show The Sun reported Amy threatened to quit the show, while a source has told MailOnline it has been a 'tough' week for the pair. A source close to the show played down the bullying incident to MailOnline, explaining: 'Its been a tough week for Danny and Amy learning their challenging Samba routine.' 'After a long day training they had a minor disagreement but theyve put their differences behind them and were back in rehearsals today and are looking forward to performing on Saturday nights show.' What drama?: Danny John-Jules and his professional partner Amy set the record straight on Friday's episode of Strictly Come Dancing's It Takes Two Lou Ferrigno got to relive his days as the original Incredible Hulk as he celebrated his 67th birthday. The US actor marked the occasion while attending the launch of the For The Love of 80s Comic Con event in Edinburgh on Friday. He rubbed shoulders with a number of superhero greats for the much-loved shows of that era, including Flash Gordan's Sam Jones and former Doctor Who Sylvester McCoy, as he was treated to a hulk-inspired birthday cake. Blast from the past! Lou Ferrigno got to relive his days as the original Incredible Hulk as he celebrated his 67th birthday with a host of Comic Con greats on Friday Lou couldn't hide his delight as he was given the animated birthday cake, which saw the hulk's famous green first punching through a wall. Clutching onto the edible gift, the star flashed a huge smile as he rubbed shoulders with a slew of 80s legends at the star-studded bash held in Scotland. Despite looking less green that he did back in his Hollywood hey day, Lou no doubt recalled his past as the much-loved marvel character - now brought to life by Mark Ruffalo in the Avengers movies. The original Hulk: The US actor marked the occasion while attending the launch of the For The Love of 80s Comic Con event in Edinburgh on Friday Bringing back memories: Lou couldn't hide his delight as he was given the animated birthday cake, which saw the hulk's famous green first punching through a wall Together again: Lou joined a host of stars from much-loved sci-fi shows in the 80s (pictured above L-R Zach Galligan, Sam J. Jones, Herbert Jefferson jr, Sylvester McCoy, Lou Ferrigno, Gil Gerard, Ray Parker Jr) In his hey dey! The star looked a lot less green than he did back in his prime as The Hulk in 1977 Lou had first shot to fame as the original Incredible Hulk in the CBS television series aired in 1977. He continued as the character until 1981 and has since starred in many movies based on the Hulk both in person and as the character's voice. The Pumping Iron star's reunion with his fellow 80s stars is sure to give fans of the era a serious sense of nostalgia. Joining Lou's celebrations had been Sam Jones, who played Flash Gordon in 1980, Gil Gerard best known for his role as Captain Buck Rogers and Sylvester McCoy. Reminiscing? The acting talents appeared to share a joke as they caught up to celebrate Lou's birthday in Scotland Having a ball: Lou was seen deep in conversation with Gil Gerard (best known for playing Captain Buck Rogers) and Battlestar Galactica star Jack Stauffer Make a wish! Ferrigno posed with his Hulk inspired cake alongside his famous faced pals Sharing is caring! He appeared to be passing around the masterpiece so they could all get a closer look McCoy played the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running TV series Doctor Who - now with Jodie Whittaker at the helm - and was the final Doctor of the show's original run that came to a close in 1989. Gremlins star Zach Galligan also turned out for the occasion, alongside Ray Parker Jr - who is best known for writing and performing the theme song to the 1984 movie Ghostbusters. Speaking to Red Carpet News TV at an MCM Comic Con event last year, Lou revealed his connection to the Hulk and why he had been desperate to take on the green monster and portray him onscreen. He explained: 'We all have a little hope inside of us, we all want to break windows, we all want to throw people around when we get angry, smash up cars... we all want to express how we really feel and the Hulk does it for us. You know sometimes you're in a taxi cab and you get stuck in traffic, you're frustrated and you just want to scream and want to push the cars away or smash things because you're angry - also power. 'We all have this connection with power. That powerful thing inside of us, that's how we connect with the Hulk. The Hulk expresses all that anxiety, that emotion, the demon. 'I would fantasise when I was a kid, those were the things I wanted to do. You always want the opportunity to destroy everything on the set without paying for it - it's great, every time I did a scene the crew would clap. 'Now I get it, they would clap because I would express their anger. They would relate to it, when I was on set smashing through walls and breaking away glass, jumping out of helicopters - it was a great experience.' Green suits you: Lou first shot to fame as the Incredible Hulk in the CBS television series aired in 1977 and continued as the character until 1982, before starring in three Hulk movies Back in the day: Gil Gerard best known for his role as Captain Buck Rogers in the TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Is that you, Flash? Sam Jones played the role of Flash Gordon in the 1980 movie Remember him? Sylvester McCoy played the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in TV series Doctor Who and was the final Doctor of the show's original run that came to a close in 1989 Claim to fame: Ray Parker Jr is best known for writing and performing the theme song to the 1984 movie Ghostbusters Having an affiliation to the Hulk for his 'whole life', Lou insisted there was nobody better than him to bring the character to life. 'I was the Hulk my whole life. I used to read the Hulk comic all the time, for me, it was a chance to escape,' he revealed. 'I used to fantasise about the Hulk - all the other characters have a costume, the Hulk has muscle. 'For me, especially getting into bodybuilding, I wanted to be powerful, so powerful I could defend myself. 'When I went down for the audition I knew that nobody could play the Hulk better than I could, because I know how the Hulk thinks and feels.' The Hulk TV series aired on CBS and starred Ferrigno as the Hulk and Bill Bixby as his alter-ego Dr. David Bruce Banner. The franchise has since gone on to garner a worldwide fan base. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Donald Trumps new acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker ran for statewide office twice in Iowa, and lost badly both times. After the second defeat he finished fourth in a 2014 GOP Senate primary a group of conservative lawyers in Washington, D.C., approached with him with an idea. According to a GOP operative familiar with the discussion, the group recruited Whitaker into an effort to start a conservative counterpoint to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. For years, CREW had bedeviled the right with its crusades for good governance and its annual list of the most corrupt members of Congress. The Republican legal world saw the outfit as little more than a partisan operation masquerading as a government-accountability project, and they wanted their own version. Whitaker, a former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, took the job, dividing his time between Des Moines, where he was a partner in one of the leading Republican law firms in the state, and this new group, named Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, in Washington. Its fundraising was mysterious almost all of its money came from Donors Trust, an organization set up to shield conservative donors identities when they gave to a network of right-wing political organizations. Whitaker, according to tax documents, was paid more than $400,000 for his work for the group in 2016. Whitaker was unknown to most political and media types in Washington, and so set about meeting journalists and trying to get the groups work recognized. Prior to the presidential election, he promised the press corps tantalizing tidbits to come about Clintons nefarious doings. But the group never earned much respect in political circles in Washington, D.C. It was one of the hackier things I ever saw, said one GOP operative involved in some of the early efforts of the new group. If you wanted to be treated seriously you have to do serious work. The whole thing just became a chop shop of fake ethics complaints. Although the group took on the occasional back-bench Republican, it mostly became a repository of ethics complaints lodged against Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, and her presidential campaign. The group wrote to Eric Holder urging him to investigate Sidney Blumenthal for violation the Federal Agents Registration Act since Clintons emails revealed that he would email her while she was overseas. Whitaker wrote to the president of Harvard University demanding the school release minutes and transcripts of a 1973 meeting in which Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland was alleged to have pushed for a campus-wide ROTC ban. Failure to disclose would leave the American people with the inescapable conclusion that Garland has something to hide, Whitaker. He regularly filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission or the Office of Government Ethics about Clinton, although the regulatory agencies never did much with the complaints. Clinton campaign operatives though said that in the universe of right-wing opposition research firms, FACT was one that barely registered notice. There were a lot of groups out there that drew blood. It was bullshit, but they drew blood, said one former Clinton aide. All I mostly knew about these guys was that they were a couple of partisan hacks who considered themselves watchdogs. FACT landed what was probably its biggest hit when it submitted research to the FEC that detailed how Catalist, a progressive data and technology vendor founded by Clinton friend Harold Ickes was coordinating between outside groups in violation of federal law. The story received play in right-wing media, but the FEC took no action in the complaint. On FACTs website, news releases about the groups initiatives often feature Whitakers headshot a practice that has not been taken up by the groups new head, Kendra Arnold, a Whitaker protege. If the group didnt have much of an effect on Washington politics, it did however elevate Whitakers career. He used his perch to become a semi-regular on CNN, eventually becoming a paid contributor. On the network, his regular defense of Donald Trump and his castigation of the Mueller investigation caught the eye of the president, and last year Whitaker became the chief of staff of former attorney general Jeff Sessions, where according to the Times, he was regarded as the White Houses eyes and ears inside the Justice Department. People in Iowa political circles say that it is not that surprising that Whitaker became a favorite of the president, that he had a politicians glad-handing way of making people like him, and that he often wanted to talk about more than politics. But while many Democrats and some Republicans fear that he has been installed in the job just to protect Trump from Mueller, friends back home say they do not recognize the caricature that is being painted of him. We dont know the Matt Whitaker that MSNBC is painting of him, said Bill Gustoff, a former law partner of Whitakers who serves on the board of directors of FACT. Matt is a man of very high integrity, and an excellent attorney. I have always known him to be fair. In the relatively small world of Iowa politics, Whitaker was something of a player, someone who presidential candidates would court in the process of building support for the Iowa caucuses. He wasnt an early supporter of President Trumps, but told people that he thought Trump would win. Once his Senate race was over, the next thing I knew was that Whitaker was a guy with a regular cable news presence, said Craig Robinson, a close political observer in the Hawkeye State and the editor-in-chief of the Iowa Republican website. You always notice when something like that happens to someone from Iowa. Usually they go up the ranks bit by bit and get there but sometimes you cant explain it. Its who you know, I guess. She is set to tie the knot with her fiance John Noble, who she reconnected with two years ago after they bumped into each other on a train. And Vicky Pattison admitted that her preparation for the big day hasn't been smooth sailing, as she revealed her engagement party was 'a disaster'. Talking about the event in a column for The Sun, the reality star, 30, said: 'Everything went wrong that could have gone wrong.' Candid: Vicky Pattison admitted on Saturday that her engagement party was 'a disaster' and that she saw it as an audition to choose who can come to her wedding to John Noble She later added: 'I saw the engagement party as being like an audition and Im Simon Cowell. Unfortunately for a lot of the guests its going to be a no from me when it comes to the wedding. 'Im going to be savage, because a lot of people didnt add anything to my night other than stress. There were people who came I didnt even speak to!' Vicky also blasted claims that her and John's trip to Dubai last month was a 'make-or-break' holiday, by saying 'the wedding was never "off."' Brutal: Discussing the party, and how it will affect her wedding plans, she said: 'Im going to be savage, because a lot of people didnt add anything to my night other than stress' Their wedding planning has been a hot topic, with Vicky previously admitting she had to put all plans for the big day on hold. Last month, the star confessed she was 'fighting a battle' in her relationship after being plagued by rumours of strife following the death of her best friend Paul Burns and two of John's grandparents' passing earlier this year. Speaking to New Magazine, the former Geordie Shore star was typically candid about her battles as she admitted the couple are struggling. She said: 'We're going to Dubai, so we're out of the hardest bit. My birthday's coming up, his birthday is coming up, so we're on a nice run of seeing each other a lot. Everyone's fighting a battle to make it work.' Finding it ridiculous: Vicky also blasted claims that her and John's trip to Dubai last month was a 'make-or-break' holiday, by saying 'the wedding was never "off"' The couple, who got engaged in July 2017 - were apparently not on speaking terms before their romantic trip and had severed ties on social media, with sources claiming their relationship is 'hanging by a thread'. 'Vicky and John's relationship is hanging by the thinnest of threads, but they both think what they've got is worth fighting for,' an insider told The Sun. 'When they first rekindled their flame two years ago John was exactly the kind of stable man Vicky wanted, but as time's gone on she's found it harder to commit to a quiet life up North when all her mates are still down here in London. 'It's been causing massive rows and John has warned her if she doesn't start making him a priority over her pals and work it's over.' Tough: Last month, the star said she was 'fighting a battle' in her relationship after being plagued by rumours of strifefollowing the death of her best friend Paul Burns Vicky reportedly asked John to accompany her in Dubai where she was working at the time so they could 'talk things through'. John had allegedly felt like he was playing 'second fiddle' to Vicky's busy lifestyle in London. The businessman is also reportedly desperate to start a family while Vicky was said to be less keen. Vicky appeared to hint at troubles in their romance when she shared a cryptic post about the 'perfect relationship' on Instagram. Sharing a snap of the couple enjoying a rooftop dinner, she wrote: 'I can't promise you a perfect relationship, but what I can promise you is if you're trying, I'm staying.' She has come under scrutiny for revealing she has banned her daughter from seeing certain Disney films. And Keira Knightley cut a casual figure as she enjoyed a low-key autumnal stroll in London on Saturday. The actress, 33, looked sensational for her day off as she stepped out in an Adidas top, which was neatly tucked into a pair of high-waisted denims. Stepping out: Keira Knightley cut a casual figure as she enjoyed a low-key autumnal stroll in London on Saturday Keira's denims were held in place with a thick brown belt and rolled up at the bottom to show off her chunky lace-up boots. Keeping the chilly weather at bay, the star wrapped up with a chic navy coat which boasted gold button detailing down the front. The star sported a simple slick of make-up, and she opted to wear a pair of glasses which complemented her tousling brunette locks. Toting her belongings in an oversized shoulder bag, Keira looked deep in thought as she strolled along. Casual: The actress, 33, looked sensational for her day off as she stepped out in an Adidas top, which was neatly tucked into a pair of high-waisted denims Jean-ius! Keira's denims were held in place with a thick brown belt and rolled up at the bottom to show off her chunky lace-up boots Low-key: Keeping the chilly weather at bay, the star wrapped up with a chic navy coat which boasted gold button detailing down the front Stunning: The star sported a simple slick of make-up, and she opted to wear a pair of glasses which complemented her tousling brunette locks Solo outing: Toting her belongings in an oversized shoulder bag, Keira looked deep in thought as she strolled along Her sighting comes after she explained why she banned her daughter from watching the Disney classics Cinderella and Little Mermaid. Keria, who controversially revealed last month that she doesn't allow Edie, 3, to watch the films because the female characters are 'rescued by men', detailed the plight of those specific characters further - admitting that it didn't sit well with her. Oozing glamour at The Nutcracker And The Four Realms premiere in London on Thursday, the star admitted that the likes of Frozen and Moana were 'huge in her house' and the strong leads of those films would have 'words' with other Disney princesses such as Ariel. Giving context: This comes after Keira has explained why she banned her daughter from watching the Disney classics Cinderella and Little Mermaid Keira revealed: 'I love Frozen, I am 100% Team Frozen and Team Moana. Moana is big in our house, Inside Out is big in our house. 'I just wonder what Elsa (Frozen) would say to Ariel (The Little Mermaid) and Cinderella because Elsa has some serious opinions about Anna (her sister in Frozen) going off with a guy that she's only just met and saying she would marry him. Clearly frustrated, she continued: 'She's is like "absolutely that is not OK" and in fact everyone in Frozen is not OK with that. 'What would Elsa say to Ariel, who gives up her voice for a man? A man, by the way, she has only seen dance round a ship and then drown! Doesn't sit well: The actress, who revealed last month that she doesn't allow Edie, 3, to watch the films because the female characters are 'rescued by men', detailed the plight of those specific characters further Not all is banned: Speaking at The Nutcracker And The Four Realms premiere in London on Thursday, the star admitted that the likes of Frozen and Moana were 'huge in her house' 'Absolutely not OK': The beauty admitted that the strong leads of the films that were allowed in her household would have 'words' with other Disney princesses such as Ariel 'And it's 100% amazing of Ariel to save the guy, I'm totally up for that, but what would Elsa make of that? 'I think Elsa would be like, "Babe, you've got to get him know him better, don't give up your voice yet".' Last month, Keira revealed she banned her daughter Edie from watching Disney classics Cinderella and Little Mermaid because the characters are 'rescued by men'. During her appearance on Ellen, the screen star, 33, proved to be every inch the doting mother as she insisted she would support her daughter in 'anything she wants to do' with her future career. Bold decision: Last month, Keira revealed she banned her daughter Edie from watching Disney classics Cinderella and Little Mermaid because the characters are 'rescued by men' The Pride & Prejudice actress, who shares her only child with husband James Righton, detailed her thoughts on the award-winning movies. Keira proudly said: 'Shes banned from watching Cinderella, as the film is about waiting around for a rich guy rescue her no, rescue yourself! 'She's also banned from watching Little Mermaid - do not give your voice up for a man! But I do love the songs', she added. Doting mother: During her appearance on Ellen, the screen star insisted she would support her daughter in 'anything she wants to do' with her future career Admitting that she's allowed to watch some cartoon films, she said: 'She likes Finding Dory (the 2016 adventure film Ellen, 60, starred in).' The Bend It Like Beckham star, who is known for sustaining a private personal life, also lifted the lid on her daughter's desires to become a lion: 'She wanted to be a dentist, I'm not sure why, she loves Peppa Pig and fell in love with a dentist episode.' 'Now she wants to a be a lion, she roars very well! Even if she wanted to be an actress, I'm going to support her in anything she wants to do.' Candid: Keira touched on the difficulties of motherhood as she spoke about her Edie's sleeping pattern Keira touched on the difficulties of motherhood as she spoke about her Edie's sleeping pattern: 'My daughter is three and a half, shes only just sleeping through the night, a week ago she did for the first time.' Her appearance comes after she revealed musician James, 35, has put his 'life on hold' to care for their daughter so she can work. The former Klaxons star has put his 'life on hold' to care for their daughter so she can work. Keira praised her 'amazing' spouse for taking time out from his music career to take on as many parenting duties as he can when it comes to looking after their three-year-old girl. Speaking to OK! magazine, she said: 'He has been amazing. He's been travelling with me since we had her. He's largely put his life on hold to make sure that I'm still at work and that we're keeping together as a family unit. 'I'm super lucky, I can afford child care. I have a wonderful nanny that has travelled with us as well. When she's there, I feel completely safe that Edie is good. And my mum, whenever my husband can't be there, has flown to wherever we are. Adding: 'They say it takes a village to raise a child - it takes a village to keep a woman at work as well. But if that's where she should be then everybody is very supportive and it's possible.' She shot to fame on this year's hugely popular series of Love Island. And Alexandra Cane was every inch the star as arrived in Manchester, on Saturday, alongside fellow Islander Ellie Brown, ahead of boxer Tony Bellew's cruiserweight fight against Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk at the city's Arena. Fighting off the winter chill, the 27-year-old makeup artist rocked figure-hugging leather trousers along with a glamorous multi-coloured fur coat. Glamorous: Alexandra Cane was every inch the star as arrived in Manchester on Saturday The raven-haired beauty - who had a short-lived romance with Dr Alex George in the villa - added to her fierce look with a pair of studded black boots and a high-neck jumper. Alexandra let her long tresses tumble in loose waves as she carried her essentials in a black suitcase. The TV personality's pretty features were enhanced with smoky shadow, fluttery lashes and a soft pink lipstick. Casual: Ellie Brown forwent any glitz or glamour for a low-key ensemble with a comfy green coat and light wash jeans combo Sporting a more casual look, Ellie forwent any glitz or glamour for a low-key ensemble with a comfy green coat and light wash jeans combo. Going makeup free, the reality star, 20, kept her long blonde locks flowing freely, while she carried a brown handbag and cream suitcase. Meanwhile, Alexandra's outing came after she sparked rumours she is set to join the lineup for this year's I'm A Celebrity, after saying she would open to a new challenge by jetting to Australia. The curvy star said she hasn't let the 'humiliating' experience of being on Love Island put her off reality television after expressing an interest to head into the Oz jungle. Shy: Going makeup free, the reality star, 20, kept her long blonde locks flowing freely, while she carried a brown handbag and cream suitcase The boohoo ambassador confessed she loves a 'bit of danger' as well as claiming snakes and spiders don't bother her. Of the possibility, she told The Metro: 'I know I'm A Celeb don't like Love Island people but I'm determined! 'I will go on that show because I love everything they get involved in. Something where you're doing challenges or you're active or you have to rehearse. 'I love a bit of danger. I love snakes and I don't mind spiders so I think I'd be really good on the show. I'd win everyone meals in the camp. Lara Croft vibes!' Alexandra's representatives declined to comment on whether she would be appearing on I'm A Celebrity. Kim Kardashian had to evacuate her Hidden Hills, California, mansion after the wildfires got close on Friday. And the 38-year-old siren was quick to give an update on how she was doing. The TV star shared a photo to Instagram where she was holding Khloe's daughter True Thompson. Her caption read: 'Trying to get my mind off of this fire and snuggling with my niece. We are all safe and thats all that matters.' Meanwhile, her former step parent Caitlyn Jenner thought her Malibu mansion burned to the ground but new photo evidence shows it did not. And on Monday morning Caitlyn's son Brody Jenner shared a video of flames in his neighborhood. 'Fought as long and as hard as I possibly could but finally had a throw in the towel. Praying my house still there when I get back. Thoughts and Prayers are with everybody going through this tragedy.' Happy with her niece: Kim Kardashian had to evacuate her Hidden Hills, California, mansion after the wildfires got close on Friday. And the 38-year-old siren was quick to give an update on how she was doing Sad day: Meanwhile, her former step parent Caitlyn Jenner thought her Malibu mansion burned to the ground but it did not. Here she is seen with her friend Sophia Hutchins All OK: This image shows Jenner's house doing fine after a fire raged near her home Meanwhile, Kim's husband Kanye West took to Twitter to share his feelings. 'My sincere condolences to everyone suffering from the loss of their homes, loved ones and the unknown certainty of how much damage the fires will have caused.' The rapper added, 'In light of these situations, I am so inspired by the firefighters and first responders who are risking their lives to do whatever they can to help. They are our true heroes.' Khloe asked her fans to make a donation to help victims of the fire and to the California Fire Foundation in order to support the firefighters who are continuing to battle the deadly blaze; Kourtney also paid tribute to these brave men and women for doing all that they are doing to contain the flames. Kris Jenner added: 'We spent yesterday evacuating our homes and I want to take a moment to thank all of the incredibly brave firefighters, servicemen, first responders, volunteers and all of those who are working tirelessly to protect our lives and our homes. We are so appreciative of your bravery and everything youre doing for us. Im praying for everyones safety.' Ye's response is better than Donald Trump's: Meanwhile, Kim's husband Kanye West took to Twitter to share his feelings. 'My sincere condolences to everyone suffering from the loss of their homes, loved ones and the unknown certainty of how much damage the fires will have caused' More: The rapper added, 'In light of these situations, I am so inspired by the firefighters and first responders who are risking their lives to do whatever they can to help. They are our true heroes' The Kardashian-Jenner matriarch also called for people to make donations to the California Fire Foundation. Earlier Kim took to Twitter to says, 'Flames hit [the] property', things have since been 'contained.' She was also leaving a Epione Skin Clinic in Beverly Hills with pal Larsa Pippen so it's clear she is out of the region. Beverly Hills is an hour drive south east of Hidden Hills. Open your wallets: Khloe asked her fans to make a donation to help victims of the fire Thanks! And Kourtney thanked the firefighters for doing all that they are doing to contain the blazes So close to the flame: Brody Jenner shared images of flames in his neighborhood Under control: Earlier the reality star updated fans, telling them fires were 'contained' at her property 'I heard the flames have hit our property at our home in Hidden Hills but now are more contained and have stopped at the moment,' Kim wrote Friday, just a day after the forest fires were sparked. 'It doesnt seems like it is getting worse right now, I just pray the winds are in our favor. God is good. Im just praying everyone is safe,' her message continued. Kim also praised firefighters, writing: 'Firefighters, I love you and thank you for doing all that you can to keep us safe!' Before Kim's update flames reportedly breached her estate, according to TMZ. The night prior, Kim and her three children were given just one hour to evacuate her home as wildfires swept through Southern California. Her view top: Kourtney shared this image on Saturday morning. It is not known where she was taking the image from So close: Kourtney shared this image near her house the night before High drama: Kim has asked her fans to 'pray for Calabasas' after the reality TV star was 'evacuated' from her home due to wildfires Firestorm: Kim made sure to document the action, sharing pictures and videos of first responders to the tragedy The socialite was returning from a business trip when she spotted the fires from the air. Seen here with kids [L-R] North, Chicago and Saint. She shared this picture of her children last night Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's $20m home in the Hidden Hills neighborhood in Calabasas. She was forced to flee with her children as wildfires swept Los Angeles and Ventura County The fire first erupted on Thursday afternoon east of neighboring city Chatsworth and has since grown to 4,000 acres in Ventura County. It rapidly burned down several houses as mandatory evacuations were ordered in areas like the Kardashian neighborhood of Hidden Hills. Kim and her sister Kourtney, 39, both live in exclusive Calabasas, near their mother Kris Jenner and brother Rob. Kourtney left her Calabasas home and posted an Instagram picture of suitcases in her car as she went to stay with sister Kendall Jenner's house in Beverly Hills and joked she was raiding her pantry for food. Kim posted an Instagram story from her private plane as she touched down in California of wildfires raging through the county The reality star also praised the emergency services as she was forced out of her home due to the encroaching flames Kourtney Kardashian's house in Calabasas, California. She also left her home and stayed with sister Kendall in Beverly Hills while she was at the Victoria Secrets fashion show in New York She wrote alongside the picture: 'I pray that everyone is kept safe and protected from these fires. No Calabasas tonight.' Kris Jenner's upmarket Hidden Hills neighborhood was evacuated, but she was also not at her $9.9m home as the drama unfolded as she was watching daughter, Kendall, take to the catwalk and star in the Victoria Secrets fashion show in New York. Kylie was not in California at the time as she was supporting boyfriend, Travis Scott, at his Astroworld tour in Baltimore, Maryland. Khloe revealed that she and daughter True were staying with Rob Kardashian and his daughter, Dream, who live near Kris, but were not forced out of their home. She tweeted last night: 'I am with Rob, Dream and True and I am up keeping watch! Saying prayers and thanking all of the brave firefighters who risk their lives for us.' The Kardashian/West family live just around 13 miles from Thousand Oaks, where the night after a mass shooting left 12 dead, fires have threatened to rip through the community. Kourtney Kardashian shared an Instagram story of her belongings in the back of her car as she headed off to sister Kendall's house while she was away in New York She left too: Halle Berry said she was evacuating her Malibu home as well Blanca Blanco was told on Friday morning to leave her home in Malibu, which she shares with Deer Hunter actor John Savage. She packed only two outfits, an item from her late grandmother and her pet bunny. The actress waited in line for gas for nearly one hour only to be told they were out. It took her two hours to reach safety in Camarillo in Ventura County, California, as the narrow Pacific Coast Highway was clogged with cars. When Blanco - she has appeared in the films Mission Possible, Betrayed and Woman On The Edge - settled into her hotel, she saw her home burn to the ground on live TV. Here the star tells her story exclusively to DailyMail.com. Sad day: Blanca Blanco lost her Maliby home in the wildfire on Friday; here she shares her story with DailyMail.com 'On Friday I woke up at 6am to get ready to leave Malibu for my meetings. Clear skies nothing seemed abnormal except I saw a neighbor with U-Haul truck. 'I thought it was much too early to pack to move - it never crossed my mind we were being evacuated. 'I got in my car and exited my street to head to LA for meetings. As I sat in traffic down my street, on my left side I could see a huge cloud and bumper to bumper traffic. 'I was stopped on PCH. I knew this was not going to go well. So I turned around to go home. 'I asked a neighbor if he heard anything since it was bumper to bumper on PCH. He said three hours ago they gave him a mandatory evacuation. We never heard it. Her view: 'The skies have turned black. On the two lane PCH praying nobody gets in an accident since that is only road to safety. Ashes on my windshield. Fog so bad I could barely see lanes. Traffic stops bumper to bumper, right side on mountains, fire and left side water the beach' Madness: 'I grab my sweet bunny held it on my lap. I told her we will get through it, that she would be safe. I saw many horses on my left on the water being left there,' she said 'We didn't hear anything. Nobody came to our door and our phones off. 'When I got him, John was in deep sleep since we got home at 1am from AFI opening night premiere. He is always up by 6am but not on Friday. 'We packed for two minutes. His car and my car. We left. 'I went to gas station even though I had 80 miles left for gas - I wanted to prepare for bumper to bumper. 'At 8am at the gas station many people stole my spot but I waited. Finally 40 minutes later my turn to pump gas. I enter credit card No Gas -machine off. 'I asked the Chevron attendant what should I do. He told us - yelling - "We are out of gas and no electrify." We all panicked. I then decided to drive up north toward Oxnard since heading toward Santa Monica looked packed. 'Now it's 9am and I am on PCH but moving slowly. Safe: 'As we sat at Adolfo grill restaurant to watch the news I glanced at the TVscreens and I my house being burned. Slow motion. Crazy. I cried but reminded myself I escaped the fire and family safe. I will start from scratch but feeling blessed I had given an opportunity to do it,' she added 'The skies have turned black. On the two lane PCH praying nobody gets in an accident since that is only road to safety. Ashes on my windshield. Fog so bad I could barely see lanes. Traffic stops bumper to bumper, right side on mountains, fire and left side water the beach. 'My stress level elevated knowing I was not moving and lost John during the drive. 'I grab my sweet bunny held it on my lap. I told her we will get through it, that she would be safe. I saw many horses on my left on the water being left there. I had just rescued my bunny two weeks ago and now she is rescuing me keeping me company during the most traumatic experience in my life. I finally got through traffic after two hours of terror and panic attacks, 'Escaped to Camarillo. And got to safety by 11am. Got the only room left in hotel in Camarillo. 'As we sat at Adolfo grill restaurant to watch the news I glanced at the TV screens and I my house being burned. Slow motion. Crazy. I cried but reminded myself I escaped the fire and family safe. I will start from scratch but feeling blessed I had given an opportunity to do it. Only weeks ago: Blanca and John Savage attend the premiere of Amazon Studios Suspiria at ArcLight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood in late October 'Got back to hotel. Asked front desk the chances of fire coming close to us. He reassure me it was safe but he would be letting me know of any evaluations. Quiet night and no sirens. But couldn't sleep after I woke up so I thought I would share my back story. 'I am now homeless but reeving so much support that we feel blessed. 'I packed one small carry on suitcase since we didn't have time to pack but I made sure I took my grandmother;s red lipstick she gave me three yrs ago before she passed. At home: Here the actress cuddled her bunny in an image taken from her balcony in Malibu which has since burned down 'She wore that L'Oreal lipstick for years and that I kept safe as a memory of her. 'I took Star's food. I didn't take much clothes - only two outfits. I figure I could buy clothes if I survived. 'My early childhood experiences shaped me and prepared me for this. I learned to turn barriers into challenges at an early age and will apply same here. I am not afraid to start from zero I feel experiences give us growth. It is sad but feeling blessed to be alive with my family everything else can be replaced.' The Washington state native has been picking up several film roles lately - her next is Torch, which is directed by Christopher Coppola - Nicolas Cage's cousin - with Oscar-winner Rita Moreno as a co-star. The movie was shot in the jungle in Belize. She made her name in lights in 2007 as a Victoria's Secret Angels. And Miranda Kerr, 35, looked devilishly sexy when she power dressed at the Global Shopping Festival, in Shanghai, China on Saturday. The beautiful model looked stunning when she twirled on stage in her ivory white suit and stacked platform heels. Looking phenomenal: Miranda Kerr looked stylish as she paired her lingerie-inspired silk top with her ivory suit at a glitzy event, in China on Saturday For a feminine feel, the mother-of-two paired her two-piece with a lingerie-inspired silk vest top with a neckline edged with lace. Orlando Bloom's ex-wife injected a burst of colour into her ensemble with her striking shade of red lipstick and her locks were styled in soft waves. Miranda showed she was in touch with her emotions when she made a heart with her hands while on stage in China. Heart-stopping: Miranda showed she was in touch with her emotions when she made a heart with her hands while on stage in China Miranda has snapped back into shape after welcoming her second son Hart Spiegel into the world in May. The mother-of-two raises her son with her husband of more than a year and billionaire Snapchat co-founder/CEO Evan Spiegel. Love blossomed for Miranda and Evan shortly after they started dating in 2015 and they went onto get engaged in July the following year. Beautiful: Orlando Bloom's ex-wife injected a burst of colour into her ensemble with her striking shade of red lipstick and her locks were styled in soft waves So sensual: For a feminine feel, the mother-of-two paired her two-piece with a lingerie-inspired silk vest top with a neckline edged with lace They were married in a small but lavish ceremony at Evan's home in Brentwood, California, in May last year. The Victoria's Secret Angel fixed the shards of her broken heart after her first marriage with actor Orlando Bloom came to an end in 2013. Miranda and Orlando first laid their eyes on each other in late 2007 and they romanced for three years before the actor popped the question. Check her out: The beautiful model looked stunning when she twirled on stage in her ivory white suit and stacked platform heels Sizzling frame: Miranda has snapped back into shape after welcoming her second son Hart Spiegel into the world in May Swept up in a whirlwind romance, the couple were only engaged for a month before they decided to tie the knot in July 2010. The former flames may have gone their separate ways for good but they raise their seven-year-old son Flynn Christopher Bloom together. Orlando recently returned to the arms of his on/off girlfriend Katy Perry and they are very happy together. On point: The model looked devilishly sexy when she power dressed on stage at the Global Shopping Festival Danny John-Jules has now accused the BBC of 'bullying' him - after it was claimed he 'repeatedly shouted and swore' at Strictly Come Dancing partner Amy Dowden. The Red Dwarf actor, 58, was hit with allegations that he left Welsh dancer Amy, 27, in tears after their training session earlier this week. And after the pair denied the claims on TV on Friday, Danny liked a tweet accusing the Beeb of targeting him and creating a 'big stitch-up'. Not impressed: Danny John-Jules has now accused the BBC of 'bullying' him - after it was claimed he 'repeatedly shouted and swore' at Strictly Come Dancing partner Amy Dowden The actor approved a tweet from a fan that read: 'This woman [Amy] has 100% denied there is any issue between her and Danny, they make a great pair on the dance floor!' 'In my opinion its a damn big stitch up by the powers that be! Just the BBC doing what they do best, bullying others!' Danny also responded 'fake news' as he waded into a row between fans over the bullying claims. 'She said she never felt threatened by him. So how does that equate to bullying? Don't exaggerate things! Drama queen,' one fan told another as they discussed the claims. Claims: The Red Dwarf actor, 58, was hit with allegations that he left Welsh dancer Amy, 27, in tears after their training session earlier this week Hitting back: And after the pair denied the claims on TV on Friday, Danny liked a tweet accusing the Beeb of targeting him and creating a 'big stitch-up' Danny tweeted in response: '#FakeNews is in the mouth of the beholder' along with a face palming emoji. It comes after his wife Petula Langlais accused Strictly Come Dancing of 'trying to DESTROY' her husband after claims emerged that he had been 'bullying' dance partner Amy Dowden. The Red Dwarf actor, 58, and Welsh dancer, 27, dismissed the reports on Friday's It Takes Two, although they did admit that 'tings did get a little intense' during rehearsals. Yet Danny protective wife also decided to clear up the claims as she took to her Twitter to furiously lash out at the hit BBC One dance show, accusing it of throwing her husband 'under the bus' and trying to 'destroy' him. Family: It comes after his wife Petula Langlais (pictured) accused Strictly Come Dancing of 'trying to DESTROY' her husband after the claims emerged Petula, who has been with the actor for 17 years and has two children with him, tweeted: 'Wow @bbcstrictlyPR @bbcstrictly are really throwing #Dannyjohnjules under that bus!... I'm in shock... Why are you trying to destroy him???' Meanwhile, a source told The Sun that show bosses have been left 'stunned' by Danny's attitude amid the claims, after he tweeted a meme of King Kong holding a distressed Ann Darrow, adding the caption: 'My new CV.....' A source told the publication: 'He's shown no remorse. It's shocking.' MailOnline has contacted BBC for comment. What drama?: The Red Dwarf actor, 58, and Welsh dancer, 27, dismissed the reports on Friday's It Takes Two, although they did admit that 'things did get a little intense' during rehearsals Hitting back: Petula, who has been with the actor for 17 years and has two children with him, furiously hit back with a tweet Danny and his professional partner Amy set the record straight on Friday's episode of Strictly Come Dancing's It Takes Two. The Red Dwarf actor and Welsh dancer were asked by host Gethin Jones: 'It has been a tough week of training for Danny and Amy. 'Been quite a lot of press about Strictly today and I know you guys would like to say a few words about it. How would you want to respond?' 'Intense': Danny and Amy were asked by host Gethin Jones over the claims that he reportedly swore and shouted at her during training To which Amy said: 'Yeah, it's our turn this time! Things did get a little intense the other day in rehearsals,' with Gethin adding: 'This was Wednesday?' 'Yeah, but do you know what we took a half an hour break and got straight to it,' the professional dancer continued. 'I've never felt threatened or bullied by Danny. I really want to get this man to Blackpool, and then to the final.' Making light of the situation, Gethin joked: 'She has said the B (Blackpool) word! What about you Danny?' Drama: To which Amy said: 'Yeah, it's our turn this time! Things did get a little intense the other day in rehearsals,' with Gethin adding: 'This was Wednesday?' With the actor adding: 'Well, all I can tell you is that the only reason I'm here, this far, is because of Amy and I would never bite the hand that feeds me. 'I'm more than happy; it's probably the best dancing we have done in the last couple of days since I have been on the show. And I'm just happy to go along, she is the boss, she wears the pants. Why would I argue with a Welsh woman!' The interview comes after Danny was reportedly issued with a 'final warning' by show bosses over his 'bullying' behaviour. According to reports, the Red Dwarf actor allegedly left his professional partner Amy in tears during training, after shouting and swearing at the dancer, who is in her second series of the hit BBC show. Joking: In the early hours of Friday morning, he upload a meme of King Kong holding a distressed Ann Darrow, adding the caption, 'My new CV.....' Star: The Red Dwarf actor, 58, has allegedly left his professional partner Amy Dowden in tears during training, after shouting and swearing at the dancer However, the screen star reacted shockingly to the allegations, taking to his Twitter account in the early hours of Friday morning to upload a meme of King Kong holding a distressed Ann Darrow, adding the caption: 'My new CV.....' He also wrote on the micro-blogging site that his 'conscience has never been clearer' as he lashed out at the reports and retweeted several supportive messages. The Sun reported Amy threatened to quit the show, while a source has told MailOnline it has been a 'tough' week for the pair. Sources have claimed that Amy, 27, stormed out of training this week after her partner swore and shouted at her. Angry scenes: Sources have claimed that Amy, 27, stormed out of training this week after her partner swore and shouted at her Threatened to quit? After fleeing to a cafe after a tense session on Wednesday, the Welsh dancer called producers to say she did not know if she could continue 'Amy's been crying constantly at the hands of Danny. He gets very angry in the training room and he swears and shouts at her a lot. He also makes a lot of snide comments about him being famous and her not. After fleeing to a cafe after a tense session on Wednesday, the Welsh dancer called producers to say she did not know if she could continue, leading bosses to step in and hold a series of meetings with the acclaimed actor. A source close to the show played down the bullying incident to MailOnline, explaining: 'It's been a tough week for Danny and Amy learning their challenging Samba routine.' 'After a long day training they had a minor disagreement but they've put their differences behind them and were back in rehearsals today and are looking forward to performing on Saturday night's show.' The Sun's insider adds that popular Amy is being supported by her fellow dancers on the show, and alleges 'everyone on Strictly wants Danny to go.' While there is no suggestion Danny's arguments have got physical, in 2008 the star was ordered to carry out 120 hours community service for assaulting two dustmen, in an incident the district judge called 'ugly'. Teddy Geiger is engaged to Schitt's Creek star Emily Hampshire. The 30-year-old musician took to Instagram on Friday to share the news with her 106,000 Instagram followers. 'I love this woman so much she treats me like a lil princess and makes me laugh harder than anyone,' Geiger wrote.'Which is why...when she asked me if I wanted to spend the rest of our lives together I said...YES.' Happy news: Teddy Geiger is engaged to Schitt's Creek star Emily Hampshire. 'I love this woman so much she treats me like a lil princess and makes me laugh harder than anyone,' Geiger wrote on Instagram.'Which is why...when she asked me if I wanted to spend the rest of our lives together I said...YES' Bling! Hampshire proposed with a stunning heart-shaped diamond ring Hampshire proposed with a stunning heart-shaped diamond ring. '#shesaidyes...& she cried, then she made a video, then she posted it on insta and was glad she got her nails done today,' the TV actress wrote after popping the question. Emily added: 'My millennial girlfriend is now my millennial #fiancee & I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.' The couple took their romance public back in August and made their red carpet debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. '#shesaidyes...& she cried, then she made a video, then she posted it on insta and was glad she got her nails done today,' Emily wrote on Instagram after popping the question. 'My millennial girlfriend is now my millennial #fiancee & I feel like the luckiest girl in the world' Teddy's relationship with Emily is her first since transitioning. In October 2017, the New York native came out as transgender to her fans. 'I want people to see who I am and give them that window into what I've been through and how this all unfolds,' Geiger told Billboard in a recent interview. Lovebirds: The couple took their romance public back in August and made their red carpet debut at the Toronto International Film Festival (Photo taken September 2018) Geiger rose to fame back in the early 2000s as a teen pop star. And after an eight-year hiatus from music, she is making a comeback with her new single LillyAnna, released just days ago. 'That song is about the female side of me, but also more particularly going online and pretending to be a woman online and using that name,' Teddy told Beats 1 Radio's Zane Lowe. 'All my fake emails and stuff, that would be my alter ego.' Jack Whitehall reportedly joked about 'bad sex' with his ex-girlfriend during a gig at Hollywood Improv Comedy Club in LA on Friday night, where he tried out new material, just days after he was pictured kissing Kate Beckinsale. According to the Mirror, it is claimed that the British comedian, 30, revealed that he was 'single' as he spoke about his high-profile split just hours after he was spotted heading to a 2,000-a-night hotel with the Pearl Harbor actress, 45. The publication reported that Jack said during his comedy routine: 'She wanted kids now whereas I wanted to escape. Eek!: Jack Whitehall reportedly joked about 'bad sex' with his ex-girlfriend during a gig at Hollywood Improv Comedy Club in LA on Friday night, where he tried out new material, just days after he was pictured kissing Kate Beckinsale 'I hold my hand up, I let the spark go. The sex wasnt great, thats my fault. Im not good at sex.' The Mirror goes on to claim that Jack then spoke about his transition after their broke up, as they remained living together for six months.' 'It was so weird. She was trying to help me acclimatise to our new life as friends, she farted in front of me. I reacted as though she had punched me in the face,' the publication reported. Steamy: According to the Mirror, it is claimed that the British comedian, 30, revealed that he was 'single' as he spoke about his high-profile split just 'hours' after he was spotted heading to a 2,000-a-night hotel with the Pearl Harbor actress, 45 Former flame: The publication reported that Jack said during his comedy routine: 'She wanted kids now whereas I wanted to escape' (Jack's ex-girlfriend Gemma Chan pictured) MailOnline has contacted Jack Whitehall's representative for comment. It is not clear which ex he is referring to, yet he recently split with his ex Gemma Chan after six years together. However, the comedian has appeared to move on from the break-up as he was spotted sharing a steamy embrace with Kate Beckinsale and even heading to a 2,000-a-night hotel with her last weekend. The 45-year-old actress was seen relaxing into the comic's arms and kissing as they partied the night away at the exclusive Blind Dragon nightclub in Los Angeles. New romance? The publication claim he added: 'I hold my hand up, I let the spark go. The sex wasnt great, thats my fault. Im not good at sex.' Earlier that night, the pair dined at celeb hotspot Craig's in West Hollywood but left separately to avoid being photographed together. They then reconvened at the karaoke lounge, where they were seen laughing and joking around with each other before their passionate display. Following their date, the pair were pictured heading back to a 2,000-a-night hotel together. MailOnline contacted Kate and Jack's representatives for comment at the time. Liam Payne, 25, has told fans he fears he will lose his $10 million home in the wildfires currently devastating California. The Kardashians, Lady Gaga and Caitlyn Jenner have been forced to evacuate their homes after they burnt down in the blazing inferno. Reflecting on the situation on his Twitter account on Saturday, Liam also lamented he will lose happy memories from the house, which is where he first set up home with now ex girlfriend Cheryl. Horror: Liam Payne voiced fears he will lose his $10 million LA pad and his 'memories' with ex Cheryl in California wildfires... as fellow Brit Orlando Bloom shared blazing inferno snap Liam shared with his 32,400,000 followers on Twitter: 'My heart goes out to everyone caught in the fires please stay safe and dont take unnecessary risks. 'I think Im about to lose my house and its memories. Even worse tragically people have died thoughts and prayers with everyone. Its been a tough day, lets hope it gets better.' The Bedroom Floor hitmaker had been renting out his plush five-bedroom property for 46,000 ($60,000) a month. 'I will lose my house and its memories': Reflecting on the situation, Liam also lamented he will lose happy memories of living with his ex-girlfriend Cheryl if his house burns in the flames Destruction: British star Orlando Bloom also revealed how close the devastating fires have got to his property as he shared a snap of the huge fire burning on the street where his home is Liam, who has owned his home since late 2015, had a change of heart about selling his home after initially listing the pad for 9.8 million ($13.9million) in February. The dad-of-one once lived at the 4.69-acre secluded Californian mansion with his ex-girlfriend Cheryl when she was pregnant with their son Bear. British star Orlando Bloom also mused on the consequences of the devastating fires as he shared a snap of the huge fire burning on the street where his home is. Blast from the past! The dad-of-one once lived at the 4.69-acre secluded Californian mansion with his ex-girlfriend Cheryl when she was pregnant with their son Bear (November 2016) He wrote: 'This is my street as of two hours ago praying for the safety of all my malibu fam, grateful to our brave firefighters please stay safe.' (sic) American actor Will Smith also expressed his fears about the wildfire approaching his family home in Malibu. The infamous Bachelor Mansion and the set of West World have been consumed in the destructive flames of the wildfire. Pictured: Liam, who has owned his home since late 2015, had a change of heart about selling his home after initially listing the pad for 9.8 million ($13.9million) in February Supporters of Colorado governor-elect Jared Polis cheer during the Democratic watch party in downtown Denver on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Photo: AAron Ontiveroz/Denver Post via Getty Images Democrats made real gains in state government on Tuesday. The party nearly doubled its number of trifecta governments, where one party controls the executive branch in addition to each chamber of the state legislature. They now have total control in 13 states versus 21 Republican trifectas. Three other states now have divided legislatures, where one party controls one chamber but not the other. Other states, like Wisconsin, elected Democratic governors while Republicans retained control of state legislatures. The Democratic Partys weaknesses in state government are legendary and have probably contributed to its weaknesses at the federal level. State government is an important pipeline to higher office, and as Stateline reported this week, Democrats lost 900 legislative seats during the Obama administration. In many states, ineffective local parties have prevented Democrats from blocking Republican bills, like those that undermine abortion rights, and from advancing their own legislation, like Medicaid expansion. But now in states with Democratic trifectas or at least a significant number of lawmakers willing to work across the aisle Democrats will have opportunities to implement their policies, and demonstrate their effectiveness to voters. Here are some issues theyre likely to focus on. Reproductive Rights In Colorado, where Democrats picked up a new trifecta, they have a chance to loosen several existing restrictions on abortion access. Public employees insurance does not cover abortion, and public funds can only be used to cover abortion in cases of rape, incest, or life-threatening illness, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Plus, the state constitution does not explicitly acknowledge a right to abortion. Legislators cant unilaterally amend Colorados constitution to state an affirmative right to abortion, but they can put an amendment on the state ballot for voters consideration in 2020. Similarly, Democrats in other trifecta states could move to expand funding for abortion and enshrine an affirmative right to abortion in state law. For instance, now that Democrats have an outright majority in the New York State Senate, they could finally send the Reproductive Health Act to Governor Andrew Cuomos desk. That bill, if passed, would regulate abortion as health care; at the moment, abortion is regulated in the state criminal code. RHA would also amend state law that requires abortions to be performed only by licensed physicians, and not physician assistants and registered nurses, and it would expand the states 24-week cutoff for abortions to allow exceptions for fetal viability and damage to a womans health. Health Care In Maine, Medicaid expansion will likely go into effect as a result of Democrats winning the governorship and flipping the state senate. Voters had already chosen to expand Medicaid by referendum in 2017, but Republican governor Paul LePage refused to implement expansion. In August, the state supreme court ordered his administration to do so. Maines likely Medicaid expansion has received far more attention in recent days, but now state Democrats can also take steps to address the states severe opioid crisis, which LePage famously blamed, in racist terms, on out-of-state drug dealers with names like D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty, these types of guys. LePage also favored an enforcement-first approach to the crisis, while deprioritizing social spending as a means to address the issue. During his three years as governor, LePage has proposed or made significant cuts in the funding that supports drug intervention and treatment programs, especially for opiate addiction treatment under MaineCare, the states Medicaid program, the Portland Press-Herald reported in 2014. LePage didnt mellow toward the end of his tenure, either. In 2018, the Press-Herald reported that the administrations vaunted $4.8 million program to provide treatment to individuals with substance use disorders had resulted in five uninsured people and fewer than 50 Medicaid recipients receiving treatment. Maine Democrats now have the ability to increase public funding for medication-assisted treatment while patching other holes in the states withered safety net. In other states, where Democrats made gains in state legislatures but did not establish one-party rule, Medicaid expansion has still become a viable possibility. As Virginia demonstrated in 2017, Democrats dont necessarily require a trifecta to pass Medicaid expansion; the legislation passed the General Assembly after some Republican lawmakers voted with Democrats on the issue. In Maine, too, the legislature passed Medicaid expansion without a Democratic trifecta in place. Aside from expanding Medicaid, Democratic leadership may make it more accessible. In Wisconsin, incoming Democratic governor Tony Evers will likely reverse Medicaid work requirements and premiums that his predecessor, Scott Walker, passed before losing his bid for re-election. The states Republican legislature probably wont expand Medicaid, but Evers could make Republican intransigence on the issue a key talking point. If we learned anything from the midterms, its that voters want better health care. Democratic trifectas could even try to implement single-payer models at the state level there was some talk of the possibility in New York and California but theyd be chancing a risky legal backlash to do so. Education There are no Democratic trifectas in states where public educators walked out of classrooms in protest earlier this year. But Democrats elsewhere are well-positioned to prevent similar walkouts in their own states, by increasing funding for public K-12 schools while blocking voucher programs and charter school expansion. In New York, for example, Democrats could channel more public money into a new school funding formula created as a result of a lawsuit settled in 2006. Increasing funds for public schools could help resolve a national teacher shortage by giving districts room to fill vacancies and pay attractive higher salaries and its popular with voters, too. A 2018 poll of voters in 12 Southern states found that respondents overwhelmingly backed increased state spending for public schools. In Illinois, however, theres some doubt that a Democratic trifecta will advance all of these education priorities. The states new Democratic governor, J.B. Pritzker, says he opposes charter school expansion and a tax credit that funds scholarships for private schools, but he also told Chalkbeat, an education news website, that he believes some charter schools are worthy of support. Thats not what teachers unions or public education advocates want to hear especially since Pritzkers sister, former Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, is a major charter school donor. But Pritzker has said consistently that he intends to fully fund the states public university system, which is reeling from years of spending cuts by the administration of outgoing Republican governor Bruce Rauner. If he does, he may inspire other Democratic governors and legislators to do the same. Some might not need much prodding. The Wichita Eagle reported in 2017 that as a state senator, Kansas governor-elect Laura Kelly helped draft a budget proposal that partially reversed Republican governor Sam Brownbacks funding cuts for the University of Kansas and Kansas State University. In Wisconsin, similarly, Democrat Tony Evers made education funding a key plank in his platform. Kelly and Evers, unlike Pritzker, lack a Democratic state legislature. If they can get Republicans on board, however, increased funding for land-grant universities in particular could help the economies of rural communities. Previous research found that rural students are underrepresented in college populations a trend possibly exacerbated by Republican state administrations that bleed land-grant universities of necessary funds. Threats to pensions (in Illinois) and tenure (in Wisconsin) portend an exodus of faculty and their all-important research funding, and have already resulted in a frenzy of poaching by better-funded and higher-paying private institutions, industry, and international competitors, The Atlantic reported in 2017. Elsewhere, Democrats can expand satellite campuses, restore lost funding, and help bring tuitions down at public universities. Democrats in trifecta states are also in good position to experiment with free public college tuition though theyd have to avoid the failures of New York Governor Andrew Cuomos Excelsior Scholarship. Excelsior only provided funding to 29 percent of its applicants, according to Gothamist, and its retroactive requirement that students be enrolled in classes full time penalized lower-income students, who tend to balance part-time class loads with work in order to pay for school. If state Democrats prioritize public university funding, theyd create jobs and make college more accessible to rural students and low-income students in particular. They might even expand the partys base, as Democrats are struggling to win white rural voters and whites without college degrees. Voting Rights Several states expanded voting rights on Tuesday; Florida extended the franchise to people convicted of nonviolent felonies, and Michigan and Nevada implemented automatic voter registration. Since then, Republicans have doubled down on voter suppression as a strategy, suing to stop ballot-counting in Florida and Georgia. But newly empowered state Democrats have an opportunity to protect people of color from further disenfranchisement. New York and Connecticut are the only two trifecta states that do not allow early voting. Democrats could introduce early voting in these states, and expand it elsewhere. Cuts to early voting can cause long lines with a disparate impact on voters of color, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights wrote in a 2018 report. A study cited by the commission concluded that after Florida reduced early voting availability in 2012, lines lengthened at polling places and voters cast fewer ballots. Connecticuts new secretary of state, Denise Merrill, told the Danbury News-Times that early voting will be on her agenda. In New York, the state Assembly had already passed legislation to introduce early voting to the state, in addition to same-day registration, but those bills stalled in the state Senate. Now that Democrats control the legislature outright, these reforms could soon be reality. Tuesdays voting irregularities reinforced the urgency of voting rights reform. Georgia only sent three voting machines for an expected 3,000 voters in one Atlanta precinct which was only one of many low moments tarnishing the contest between Brian Kemp, the states Republican secretary of state, and Democrat Stacey Abrams. [Kemp] has purged 1.4 million voters from the rolls since he took office in 2010, and declined to update the states faulty voting machines, which have been known to change peoples votes unprompted, and which several security probes have demonstrated are vulnerable to cyberattacks, wrote New York s Zak Cheney-Rice. The midterms may not have given Democrats the blue wave they were dreaming of, but gains at the state level could have a significant effect on peoples lives, and be key to rebuilding the party as it works to counter the Trump administration. Fans were calling for American record producer Nile Rodgers to take a 'permanent' position on The X Factor judging panel. The musical legend kept Robbie Williams' seat warm on Saturday but the Feel hitmaker was gutted after the gig he missed the show for was cancelled. Social media was awash with glowing praise for the record producer as they remarked on his 'coolness' and 'big' reputation. The X Factor: Fans called for Nile Rodgers to be made a PERMANENT judge on the show as American record producer stands in for absent Robbie Williams on Saturday 'Can @nilerodgers just stay a permanent judge on @TheXFactor please??' One fan wrote, leading the troops on Twitter. Another added: '@nilerodgers bringing coolness to @TheXFactor as always.... #XFactor.' '@nilerodgers loving seeing you on Uk Xfactor Nile.' Others agreed. 'An we keep Nile Rodgers every week? #XFactor.' Replaced: The musical legend had stepped up to the challenge to keep Robbie Williams' seat warm for this week's live episode on Saturday 'Nile Rodgers is big and him coming and telling Dalton he's next level is amazing . @harrisdalton you really are next level.' Whereas Robbie was left disappointed when the festival he missed X Factor for was cancelled in Buenos Aires because of the terrible weather conditions. He tweeted: 'Tonights festival has been cancelled for health and safety reasons due to the terrible weather in Buenos Aries. Absolutely gutted.' Reaction: Social media was awash with glowing praise for the record producer as they remarked on his 'coolness' and 'big' reputation Gio got a standing ovation from the eager crowd when he put on an explosive show jam-packed with screaming and exaggerated dance moves. The rocker, who is part of Ayda's Overs category, showed he was a great showman as he performed the track from The Greatest Showman to open The X Factor. Of his performance, Simon said: 'You've got a sense of humour. You are a showman. This was a great choice of song. Love it.' Louis remarked: 'That was a perfect way to open the show.' Ayda joked: 'I thought it was so hot I thought I saw Simon's make-up melt.' Next up was Louis' act Dalton who put on a soulful performance of California Dreaming when he took to the stage. Starting out: Gio got a standing ovation from the eager crowd when he put on an explosive show jam-packed with screaming and exaggerated dance moves Performance: The rocker, who is part of Ayda's Overs category, showed he was a great showman as he performed the track from The Greatest Showman to open The X Factor 'It's hard to make a comment as the screaming is so loud,' Ayda complimented him. Nile commented, 'I first saw you in Ibiza, you are next level man. Every time you perform. You are unbelievable bro.' Simon praised Nial: 'One of the best producers in the world. Nial is a legend.' Great challenge: Next up was Louis' act Dalton who put on a soulful performance of California Dreaming when he took to the stage On the back of the success of Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga's film A Star Is Born, Scarlett Lee poured every inch of feeling into her version of the last hit in the movie. Simon's act dazzled in her tasseled dress as she commanded attention with her impressive vocals to I'll Never Love Again. 'You sing songs with heart and emotion. You did a beautiful job.' Louis said. Looking great: On the back of the success of Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga's film A Star Is Born, Scarlett Lee poured every inch of feeling into her version of the last hit in the movie Keep going: Simon's act dazzled in her tasseled dress as she commanded attention with her impressive vocals to I'll Never Love Again Brendan Murray clawed back from being in the bottom last week as he brought Nile to tears with his stellar performance. 'I would love to record you,' Nile gave him a huge compliment. Acacia and Aaliyah, who are the youngest acts in the competition as 14 and 15 years old, belted out Destiny's Child track Survivor. Double act: Acacia and Aaliyah, who are the youngest acts in the competition as 14 and 15 years old, belted out Destiny's Child track Survivor Nile praised them: 'You impressed the heck out of me and in this short time I have come to know you, I love you both.' Louis said: 'I think we forget how young you guys are. Everything you are doing is absolutely brilliant.' Also Bella Penfold picked out a song from Simon's favourite movie this year The Greatest Showman. Hitting the right notes: Also Bella Penfold picked out a song from Simon's favourite movie this year The Greatest Showman The blonde bombshell decided to drop her trademark rapping for the week as she showcased her sensational vocals. 'I thought you killed that song,' Nile remarked. 'I've watched your skill level since you've been here and you are very talented.' Having stressed it was his favourite movie of the year, it's no surprise Simon got Shan Ako to change her song choice to one from The Greatest Showman. Awkward: Misunderstood didn't impress Simon or Louis with their performance of Maniac fro the eighties movie Flash Dance Ayda couldn't resist making a cheeky quip after Shan performed Never Enough saying Simon feels that way about Botox. She said: 'Never enough, thats how Simon feels about Botox.' Misunderstood didn't impress Simon or Louis with their performance of Maniac fro the eighties movie Flash Dance. Danny Tetley really went to town on his rendition of Titanic's My Heart Will Go On, winning the applause and support from the audience. Hilarious: Ayda couldn't resist making a cheeky quip after Shan performed Never Enough saying Simon feels that way about Botox Anthony Russell pulled out all the stops on Survivor's chart-topping track Eye Of The Tiger which wowed all the judges. Simon advised: 'Be messy, be excited, put everything on the line. There is only one thing for me that is a risk which is you play safe. That wasn't safe. That was you as a performer and a person. I love you.' The stakes are higher than ever with two of the acts set to be booted off the competition in the double elimination this week. Battling it out this week to stay in the competition, the stars performed songs from popular film titles for Movies Week. Elsa Hosk had a great time in Las Vegas this week as she stopped by the Revolve party. The blonde bombshell shared a sultry image to Instagram where she wore a strapless NBD minidress in black as she sat in front of slot machines in a casino. 'When in Vegas,' the 5ft10in Swedish model wrote in her caption. Gambling woman: Elsa Hosk had a great time in Las Vegas this week as she stopped by the Revolve party. The blonde bombshell shared a sultry image to Instagram where she wore a strapless minidress in black as she sat in front of slot machines in a casino Heartfelt: Also on Saturday the Vogue model shared a note for the victims of the Malibu fire. 'This breaks my heart. Sending my love, donations and prayers to all the people, homes, animals and firefighters affected by the California/ Malibu fires Also on Saturday the Vogue model shared a note for the victims of the Malibu fire. 'This breaks my heart. Sending my love, donations and prayers to all the people, homes, animals and firefighters affected by the California/ Malibu fires. 'My dream place.... hope this ends very soon.' The star also shared an image of her House of Harlow 1960 polka dot dress she wore to the Revolve party. The catwalk princess was standing in front of a floor to ceiling window with a grand look at Sin City. Glammed: The star also shared an image of her House of Harlow 1960 polka dot dress she wore to the Revolve party. The catwalk princess was standing in front of a floor to ceiling window with a grand look at Sin City Earlier this week, she was a sight to behold as she stole the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show wearing the $1 million Fantasy Bra. All eyes were on the model as she worked her magic in the treasured piece of lingerie during Thursday's show in New York City. It is Elsa's first time wearing the coveted Fantasy Bra, and the Angel looked absolutely divine as she took the runway by storm in the statement-making piece consisting of more than 2,100 jewels. Dazzling: Hosk was a sight to behold as she stole the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in the $1million Fantasy Bra And the stunner looked to be in the celebratory mood as it was her birthday to boot. The gorgeous bra crossed over Elsa's physique and left very little of her gym-honed figure to the imagination. She strutted down the runway wearing a pair of glamorous and feminine feathered high heels with an array of sparkling jewels. Elsa showed off her figure in a tiny pair of lacy, light blue panties that clung to her hips. Heads turned as Elsa stormed the runway with her elaborate pair of wings, which consisted of delicate white feathers. Elsa was clearly honored to be wearing the Fantasy Bra. The Fantasy Bra is different every year, but one thing remains constant: It's worth a whole lot of money. Strut: She strutted down the runway wearing a pair of glamorous and feminine feathered high heels with an array of sparkling jewels This year's Atelier Swarovski-designed Dream Angels Fantasy Bra is worth $1 million and includes a matching body chain. It's made with over 2,100 Swarovski lab-created synthetic diamonds, as well as 'responsibly sourced' topaz and sterling silver. There are more than 71 carats, including a particularly large gem at the center. All in all, it took over 930 hours to make. Gangs all here! Taylor Hill, Jasmine Tookes, Elsa, Adriana Lima, Behati Prinsloo and Candice Swanepoel celebrated on the catwalk Elsa told People it was 'beyond exciting' to try on the bra for the first time, saying: 'It was just a sensation that Ive never felt before. 'My body was violently shaking. And it wasnt because I was nervous, I was just excited. It was a cool feeling that Ive never felt before. And it was definitely a moment that Ill never forget." 'Its definitely the most beautiful Fantasy Bra I ever saw, and when I saw it I was like, "You guys have got to be kidding me,"' she said. She added that if she were to have designed it, this is exactly the look she would have picked herself. What's more, this year the brand is doing something extra special: While the million-dollar bra is a one-off, shoppers who want the same glitzy look for themselves can buy a $250 Swarovski crystal version at select stores and online on November 29. BRIAN VINER: Dune is not the masterpiece some have proclaimed it to be, but it is the roaring, sprawling embodiment of a film that demands to be seen on the biggest screen available. Kelly Gale just stepped off the runway for her fifth Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. And now the 23-year-old has shown why she is repeatedly chosen to walk in the lingerie label's event of the year. The Swedish-Australian stunned in a figure-hugging h:ours dress that showed off her trim pins while attending the Revolve Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday. Legs for days! Swedish-Australian model Kelly Gale flaunts trim pins in black minidress... after wowing on the Victoria's Secret catwalk The dress was bedazzled with silver gems and also featured tie-up laces. Kelly paired the look with black sandal heels and silver jewellery. She styled her brunette hair in loose beach waves, framing her face. Flawless! Kelly stunned in a figure-hugging h:ours strapless dress while attending the Revolve Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada The model highlighted her features with a dramatic eyeliner, and plumped her lips with a nude tone. Kelly posed alongside fellow models Romee Strijd and Elsa Hosk at the awards show. Just one day before, Kelly was walking in the Victoria's Secret show, which also featured the likes of Georgia Fowler and Kendall Jenner. Model squad! Kelly posed alongside fellow models Romee Strijd (left) and Elsa Hosk (centre) at the awards show Before the annual event kicked off, Kelly revealed her pre-show ritual on her Instagram story. Sharing a video, Kelly can be seen planking with fellow models including Australian stunner, Shanina Shaik. 'Every year I hold a four-five minute plank before going out,'she wrote in the caption. Joe Guidice, the husband of Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Guidice, is fighting the deportation order sending him back to his native Italy. A spokesperson for the Department of Justice confirmed, 'records show that its appellate component, the Board of Immigration Appeals, received an appeal today, Nov. 9, 2018, pertaining to Giuseppe Giudices Oct. 10, 2018, removal order.' The appeal came on the last possible day before the deadline, according to Radar Online. Jailed: Joe Guidice, the husband of Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Guidice, is fighting the deportation order sending him back to his native Italy. Seen at Newark federal court in 2013 Immigration Judge John Ellington handed down the deportation order, after he determined that his crimes were considered an 'aggravated felony. In 2014 Teresa and Joe pleaded guilty to 41 counts of fraud. There were also unpaid taxes that totaled $200,000. Teresa served 11 months in 2015, with Joe currently serving 41 months. His sentence is up next year, and if this deportation order stands, he will be sent back to Italy. 'I get no joy in telling a family this news,' Judge Ellington said at the hearing last month. 'Mr. Giudice, no matter how this turns out, I wish you the best. I decided this case as a matter of law.' Staying together: A spokesperson for the Department of Justice confirmed, 'records show that its appellate component, the Board of Immigration Appeals, received an appeal today, Nov. 9, 2018, pertaining to Giuseppe Giudices Oct. 10, 2018, removal order' Bad news: Last month an immigration court ruled that Joe should be deported to his native Italy after his prison sentence. While Joe was born in the country, he moved to America with his parents as a young child, and does not speak Italian. Here she is seen on November 6 Teresa appeared on Good Morning America on Tuesday, stating her husband Joe's looming deportation is 'very sad.' The Real Housewives Of New Jersey star explained that while Joe was trying to 'stay positive', their four daughters were finding it very tough. 'It's heartbreaking,' she said, adding that their daughters 'are really upset.' 'Adults can handle anything. It's hard for children to go through this. They're asking themselves "Why is this happening to me? I want my daddy to come home."' Giudice says her husband's looming deportation is 'very sad' and 'heartbreaking' for their 4 daughters Last month an immigration court ruled that Joe, real name Giuseppe, should be deported to his native Italy after his prison sentence. Teresa explained that despite both his Italian parents becoming U.S. citizens, they never applied on behalf of their son, who was just a baby when they immigrated. 'I guess that is something you would have to ask his parents,' she said, as to their reasoning. 'His dad became an American citizen before he was 18 and then his mom did it after he was 18 and I don't know why they never made him an American citizen.' Not a citizen: Teresa explained that despite both Joe's Italian parents becoming U.S. citizens, they never applied on behalf of their son, who was just a baby when they immigrated Asked if she was angry with Joe, for not applying for citizenship himself, she said of her husband of nearly 20 years: 'He and I never thought I'd be in this position.' However Teresa admitted that their relationship was at times 'up and down.' But, she said: 'I have to stay strong. I have four beautiful daughters and they need their mommy.' The good ole days: Here Teresa and Joe are seen with their kids on RHONJ She shares Gia, 17, Gabriella, 14, Milania, 13, and Audriana, nine, with Joe. Asked how she and Joe broke the news of Joe's prison sentence to their girls, Teresa explained that they at first told them age appropriate explanations. Saying that her first three girls were 'old enough now' to understand, she said of Audrina: 'The baby, we keep saying that he's at work, but I'm sure she hears, and when he calls it says "Calling from a Federal prison" so I'm sure she hears that.' Luckily, Teresa has Gia, 17, to help her explain things to the younger girls. 'I tell [Gia] every day she's like the rock of her sisters and she's helping me explain things to them. My third daughter Milania, she's having a really hard time with this.' The couple plan to appeal the deportation, however if they fail, Teresa says they will be: 'Just taking it one day at a time, that's it.' When asked why she remains on reality TV, Teresa explained: 'This is how I make a living, I have four daughters to raise. I'm doing it all by myself. If I don't work, how are they going to live.' She added that her own father was currently unwell, saying: 'I just want to say my dad's in the hospital and I know he's watching me. Papa, I love you.' He is known for his trademark flashy white smile. And Simon Cowell, 59, sent his fans into a frenzy with his bright teeth when he took his place on the judging panel during the live shows on Saturday. Social media was awash with X Factor viewers commenting on the music mogul's 'prominent' and 'new' teeth. The X Factor: Fans joke they're 'blinded' by Simon Cowell's dazzling teeth as they speculated if he's had work done on his Hollywood smile 'Can we all take a moment to appreciate @SimonCowell new teeth #thexfactor #newteeth #xfactor @TheXFactor.' One fan wrote cheekily on social media, leading the troops on Twitter. Others remarked: 'What has Simon done to his teeth @TheXFactor.' '@TheXFactor has Simon has dental work. His teeth seem more prominent.' MailOnline reached out to Simon Cowell's representatives for comment. Going wild: Social media was awash with X Factor viewers commenting on the music mogul's 'prominent' and 'new' teeth Ayda couldn't resist making a cheeky quip after Shan Ako performed The Greatest Showman's Never Enough saying Simon feels that way about Botox. She said: 'Never enough, thats how Simon feels about Botox.' Simon wasn't the only one to catch eyes, Ayda Williams made quite the impression when she burst onto the screens for Saturday's The X Factor. Robbie Williams' wife, 39, looked amazing when she paraded her astonishing legs in her emerald green sparkling dress with a sexy split slashed to her thigh. The X Factor: Ayda Williams, 39, showed off her tremendous legs in a thigh-split emerald green sequinned dress on Saturday's live show The glamorous X Factor judge lengthened her phenomenal limbs by standing tall in her steep silver heels. A exaggerated frill was stitched into the right side of the dress to ensure all eyes paid attention to her slender waist. Ayda showed off her fashion credentials when she wore heavy green eye make-up to pick out the shade in her dazzling number. Turning heads: The glamorous X Factor judge lengthened her phenomenal limbs by standing tall in her steep silver heels Gorgeous in green: Ayda showed off her fashion credentials when she wore heavy green eye make-up to pick out the shade in her dazzling number Elsewhere, fans were calling for American record producer Nile Rodgers to take a 'permanent' position on The X Factor judging panel. The musical legend had stepped up to the challenge to keep Robbie Williams' seat warm for this week's live episode on Saturday. Social media was awash with glowing praise for the record producer as they remarked on his 'coolness' and 'big' reputation. Making an impression: Robbie's wife stormed the stage in her green number alongside her husband's replacement for the week Nile Rodgers The X Factor: Fans called for Nile Rodgers to be made a PERMANENT judge on the show as American record producer stands in for absent Robbie Williams on Saturday 'Can @nilerodgers just stay a permanent judge on @TheXFactor please??' One fan wrote, leading the troops on Twitter. Another added: '@nilerodgers bringing coolness to @TheXFactor as always.... #XFactor.' '@nilerodgers loving seeing you on Uk Xfactor Nile.' Others agreed. 'An we keep Nile Rodgers every week? #XFactor.' 'Nile Rodgers is big and him coming and telling Dalton he's next level is amazing . @harrisdalton you really are next level.' Replaced: The musical legend had stepped up to the challenge to keep Robbie Williams' seat warm for this week's live episode on Saturday Reaction: Social media was awash with glowing praise for the record producer as they remarked on his 'coolness' and 'big' reputation Gio got a standing ovation from the eager crowd when he put on an explosive show jam-packed with screaming and exaggerated dance moves. The rocker, who is part of Ayda's Overs category, showed he was a great showman as he performed the track from The Greatest Showman to open The X Factor. Of his performance, Simon said: 'You've got a sense of humour. You are a showman. This was a great choice of song. Love it.' Louis remarked: 'That was a perfect way to open the show.' Ayda joked: 'I thought it was so hot I thought I saw Simon's make-up melt.' Next up was Louis' act Dalton who put on a soulful performance of California Dreaming when he took to the stage. Starting out: Gio got a standing ovation from the eager crowd when he put on an explosive show jam-packed with screaming and exaggerated dance moves Performance: The rocker, who is part of Ayda's Overs category, showed he was a great showman as he performed the track from The Greatest Showman to open The X Factor 'It's hard to make a comment as the screaming is so loud,' Ayda complimented him. Nile commented, 'I first saw you in Ibiza, you are next level man. Every time you perform. You are unbelievable bro.' Simon praised Nial: 'One of the best producers in the world. Nial is a legend.' Great challenge: Next up was Louis' act Dalton who put on a soulful performance of California Dreaming when he took to the stage On the back of the success of Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga's film A Star Is Born, Scarlett Lee poured every inch of feeling into her version of the last hit in the movie. Simon's act dazzled in her tasseled dress as she commanded attention with her impressive vocals to I'll Never Love Again. 'You sing songs with heart and emotion. You did a beautiful job.' Louis said. Looking great: On the back of the success of Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga's film A Star Is Born, Scarlett Lee poured every inch of feeling into her version of the last hit in the movie Keep going: Simon's act dazzled in her tasseled dress as she commanded attention with her impressive vocals to I'll Never Love Again Brendan Murray clawed back from being in the bottom last week as he brought Nile to tears with his stellar performance. 'I would love to record you,' Nile gave him a huge compliment. Acacia and Aaliyah, who are the youngest acts in the competition as 14 and 15 years old, belted out Destiny's Child track Survivor. Double act: Acacia and Aaliyah, who are the youngest acts in the competition as 14 and 15 years old, belted out Destiny's Child track Survivor Nile praised them: 'You impressed the heck out of me and in this short time I have come to know you, I love you both.' Louis said: 'I think we forget how young you guys are. Everything you are doing is absolutely brilliant.' Also Bella Penfold picked out a song from Simon's favourite movie this year The Greatest Showman. Hitting the right notes: Also Bella Penfold picked out a song from Simon's favourite movie this year The Greatest Showman The blonde bombshell decided to drop her trademark rapping for the week as she showcased her sensational vocals. 'I thought you killed that song,' Nile remarked. 'I've watched your skill level since you've been here and you are very talented.' Having stressed it was his favourite movie of the year, it's no surprise Simon got Shan Ako to change her song choice to one from The Greatest Showman. Awkward: Misunderstood didn't impress Simon or Louis with their performance of Maniac fro the eighties movie Flash Dance Ayda couldn't resist making a cheeky quip after Shan performed Never Enough saying Simon feels that way about Botox. She said: 'Never enough, thats how Simon feels about Botox.' Misunderstood didn't impress Simon or Louis with their performance of Maniac fro the eighties movie Flash Dance. Danny Tetley really went to town on his rendition of Titanic's My Heart Will Go On, winning the applause and support from the audience. Hilarious: Ayda couldn't resist making a cheeky quip after Shan performed Never Enough saying Simon feels that way about Botox Anthony Russell pulled out all the stops on Survivor's chart-topping track Eye Of The Tiger which wowed all the judges. Simon advised: 'Be messy, be excited, put everything on the line. There is only one thing for me that is a risk which is you play safe. That wasn't safe. That was you as a performer and a person. I love you.' The stakes are higher than ever with two of the acts set to be booted off the competition in the double elimination this week. Battling it out this week to stay in the competition, the stars performed songs from popular film titles for Movies Week. Legendary actor Harrison Ford proved he's still in great shape at 76 years of age during a shopping outing in Brentwood, California. The Star Wars actor, who is normally clean-shaved, started sporting facial hair just a few months ago. Last month the husband of Calista Flockhart trimmed it down from a full beard to now just a goatee. Great shape: Harrison Ford still looks to be in great shape at the age of 76, seen out shopping in Brentwood on Saturday Ford kept it casual for this Saturday afternoon shopping outing, seen wearing a plain black t-shirt and dark blue jeans. The Indiana Jones star was also wearing a brown belt with matching brown shoes, completing his look with a pair of dark sunglasses and a silver watch. He was seen carrying a small brown bag that read 'Eat Sleep Read.' Shopping run: Ford kept it casual for this Saturday afternoon shopping outing, seen wearing a plain black t-shirt and dark blue jeans The actor recently signed on to star in Call of the Wild, alongside Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast) and Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy), which is currently filming. He is also getting ready to return as the iconic archaeologist Indiana Jones in the long-awaited Indiana Jones 5. The action icon will reunite with director Steven Spielberg, but it will still be several years until this hits theaters. Stepping out: The Indiana Jones star was also wearing a brown belt with matching brown shoes, completing his look with a pair of dark sunglasses and a silver watch Disney originally announced a July 19, 2019 release date back in 2016, but there have already been a number of delays that have pushed the date back. In 2017, the date was pushed to July 10, 2020, when Lawrence Kasdan (Solo: A Star Wars Story) came aboard to re-write the script. While promoting Ready Player One, director Steven Spielberg hinted this Indiana Jones sequel would be his next film, with production starting in April 2019. New film: The actor recently signed on to star in Call of the Wild, alongside Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast) and Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy), which is currently filming In July, Disney pushed the release once again to July 9, 2021, with the film delayed once again due to script issues, according to The Hollywood Reporter. On Friday, Ford reunited with his Blade Runner 2049 co-star Ryan Gosling at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation's 3rd Annual Patron of the Artists Awards. Ford will also have his first ever voice-over role in an animated film, portraying an unknown character in the Universal Pictures animated sequel The Secret Life of Pets 2, slated for release next June. Khloe Kardashian didn't want to just sit around watching the news as the California wildfires swept through Calabasas, Hidden Hills and Malibu on Saturday. So the 34-year-old slipped on a mask and went out shopping to buy necessities for firefighters like water, granola bars and Chapstick. And the mother to True Thompson, aged six months, shared the experience on social media. Good choice: Khloe Kardashian didn't want to just sit around watching the news as the California wildfires swept through Calabasas, Hidden Hills and Malibu on Saturday. So the 34-year-old slipped on a mask and went out shopping to buy necessities for firefighters Her camera never stops: And the mother to True Thompson shared the experience on social media Open your wallets: Khloe asked her fans to make a donation to help victims of the fire She wore a light blue hoodie and sunglasses with her hair up. The star had to leave her house in Calabasas - where Justin Bieber used to live - after a mandatory evacuation. The diva also asked her fans to make a donation to help victims of the fire and to the California Fire Foundation in order to support the firefighters who are continuing to battle the deadly blaze. Kris Jenner added: 'We spent yesterday evacuating our homes and I want to take a moment to thank all of the incredibly brave firefighters, servicemen, first responders, volunteers and all of those who are working tirelessly to protect our lives and our homes. We are so appreciative of your bravery and everything youre doing for us. Im praying for everyones safety.' She asks for more: Kris Jenner said the firefighters needed more help and they could use water, Chapstick and sunscreen She does good: The siren seems needed in Cali; she has yet to move to Cleveland for baby daddy Tristan Thompson Kourtney also paid tribute to these brave men and women for doing all that they are doing to contain the flames. Kim Kardashian had to evacuate her Hidden Hills, California, mansion after the wildfires got close on Friday. And the 38-year-old siren was quick to give an update on how she was doing. The TV star shared a photo to Instagram where she was holding Khloe's daughter True Thompson. Her caption read: 'Trying to get my mind off of this fire and snuggling with my niece. We are all safe and thats all that matters.' Meanwhile, her former step parent Caitlyn Jenner thought her Malibu mansion burned to the ground but new photo evidence shows it did not. And on Monday morning Caitlyn's son Brody Jenner shared a video of flames in his neighborhood. 'Fought as long and as hard as I possibly could but finally had a throw in the towel. Praying my house still there when I get back. Thoughts and Prayers are with everybody going through this tragedy.' Happy with her niece: Kim Kardashian had to evacuate her Hidden Hills, California, mansion after the wildfires got close on Friday. And the 38-year-old siren was quick to give an update on how she was doing Sad day: Meanwhile, her former step parent Caitlyn Jenner thought her Malibu mansion burned to the ground but it did not. Here she is seen with her friend Sophia Hutchins All OK: This image shows Jenner's house doing fine after a fire raged near her home Meanwhile, Kim's husband Kanye West took to Twitter to share his feelings. 'My sincere condolences to everyone suffering from the loss of their homes, loved ones and the unknown certainty of how much damage the fires will have caused.' The rapper added, 'In light of these situations, I am so inspired by the firefighters and first responders who are risking their lives to do whatever they can to help. They are our true heroes.' Ye's response is better than Donald Trump's: Meanwhile, Kim's husband Kanye West took to Twitter to share his feelings. 'My sincere condolences to everyone suffering from the loss of their homes, loved ones and the unknown certainty of how much damage the fires will have caused' More: The rapper added, 'In light of these situations, I am so inspired by the firefighters and first responders who are risking their lives to do whatever they can to help. They are our true heroes' Earlier Kim took to Twitter to says, 'Flames hit [the] property', things have since been 'contained.' She was also leaving a Epione Skin Clinic in Beverly Hills with pal Larsa Pippen so it's clear she is out of the region. Beverly Hills is an hour drive south east of Hidden Hills. Thanks! And Kourtney thanked the firefighters for doing all that they are doing to contain the blazes So close to the flame: Brody Jenner shared images of flames in his neighborhood Under control: Earlier the reality star updated fans, telling them fires were 'contained' at her property 'I heard the flames have hit our property at our home in Hidden Hills but now are more contained and have stopped at the moment,' Kim wrote Friday, just a day after the forest fires were sparked. 'It doesnt seems like it is getting worse right now, I just pray the winds are in our favor. God is good. Im just praying everyone is safe,' her message continued. Kim also praised firefighters, writing: 'Firefighters, I love you and thank you for doing all that you can to keep us safe!' Before Kim's update flames reportedly breached her estate, according to TMZ. The night prior, Kim and her three children were given just one hour to evacuate her home as wildfires swept through Southern California. Her view top: Kourtney shared this image on Saturday morning. It is not known where she was taking the image from So close: Kourtney shared this image near her house the night before High drama: Kim has asked her fans to 'pray for Calabasas' after the reality TV star was 'evacuated' from her home due to wildfires Firestorm: Kim made sure to document the action, sharing pictures and videos of first responders to the tragedy Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's $20m home in the Hidden Hills neighborhood in Calabasas. She was forced to flee with her children as wildfires swept Los Angeles and Ventura County The fire first erupted on Thursday afternoon east of neighboring city Chatsworth and has since grown to 4,000 acres in Ventura County. It rapidly burned down several houses as mandatory evacuations were ordered in areas like the Kardashian neighborhood of Hidden Hills. Kim and her sister Kourtney, 39, both live in exclusive Calabasas, near their mother Kris Jenner and brother Rob. Kourtney left her Calabasas home and posted an Instagram picture of suitcases in her car as she went to stay with sister Kendall Jenner's house in Beverly Hills and joked she was raiding her pantry for food. Kim posted an Instagram story from her private plane as she touched down in California of wildfires raging through the county Kourtney Kardashian's house in Calabasas, California. She also left her home and stayed with sister Kendall in Beverly Hills while she was at the Victoria Secrets fashion show in New York She wrote alongside the picture: 'I pray that everyone is kept safe and protected from these fires. No Calabasas tonight.' Kris Jenner's upmarket Hidden Hills neighborhood was evacuated, but she was also not at her $9.9m home as the drama unfolded as she was watching daughter, Kendall, take to the catwalk and star in the Victoria Secrets fashion show in New York. Kylie was not in California at the time as she was supporting boyfriend, Travis Scott, at his Astroworld tour in Baltimore, Maryland. Khloe revealed that she and daughter True were staying with Rob Kardashian and his daughter, Dream, who live near Kris, but were not forced out of their home. She tweeted last night: 'I am with Rob, Dream and True and I am up keeping watch! Saying prayers and thanking all of the brave firefighters who risk their lives for us.' The Kardashian/West family live just around 13 miles from Thousand Oaks, where the night after a mass shooting left 12 dead, fires have threatened to rip through the community. A new Anglican bishop has been elected for the Canberra-Goulburn diocese. Reverend Dr Mark Short was chosen as the eleventh bishop by a two-day gathering at the Electoral Synod in Goulburn, NSW, the Anglican church announced on Saturday afternoon. Rev Dr Short, who will replace Bishop Stuart Robinson, was selected by a synod of 124 clergy and 175 lay representatives from across the diocese. The new bishop, who is married with two children, currently serves as the national director of The Bush Church Aid Society and previously worked as the Rector of Turvey Park and Archdeacon of Wagga Wagga. "Mark brings to the position a wealth of experience in national ministry with oversight and pastoral care of gospel workers across the country, as well as in parish ministry to regional and rural areas," said Synod Chairman, Bishop Trevor Edwards. He was educated at Moore Theological College and the University of Durham, UK, and became an Anglican priest in 1997. Rev Dr Short has also worked as a journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald and as a graduate economist for the Commonwealth Department of Industrial Relations. He will assume responsibility for 62 parishes and mission districts, eight schools and agencies such as Anglicare following his consecration at the cathedral of St Saviours in Goulburn early next year. Crowds gathered at the famous cafe to lay flowers in remembrance of its proprietor Sisto Malaspina, who was stabbed to death in a terror attack Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe led tributes Saturday to "true gentleman" 74-year-old Sisto Malaspina, a doyen of Melbourne's thriving cafe culture who was stabbed to death in Friday's rush hour terror attack. As crowds gathered at Malaspina's "Pellegrini" cafe to lay flowers and tokens of remembrance, Australian acting legend Crowe led a flood of tributes online. "Il mio cuore si spezza" (my heart is broken) he wrote on Twitter in Malaspina's native Italian. "I've been going to Pellegrini's since 1987. Never been to Melbourne without dropping in on my man Sisto... My sweet loyal friend, stabbed in the street by a mad man." A map shows the location of the fatal stabbing in Melbourne Melbourne is Australia's second largest city, a thriving cosmopolitan metropolis of almost five million people famed for its cafes, bars, restaurants and high standard of living. Opposition leader Bill Shorten, who is from the city and has been visiting Malaspina's cafe since his schoolboy days, described the murder of Melbourne's adopted son as "shocking, unreal and heartbreaking." "I just saw Sisto on Monday morning. He insisted I try a slice of his almond cake. Hes a Melbourne icon and a true gentleman." Two other men wounded in the attack are still being treated and are expected to make a recovery. It was another foreign-born resident of the city, Somali-born Australian, Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, who carried out the deadly knife rampage. The 30-year-old fled with his family from war-ravaged Somali to Australia as a child in the 1980s. Sisto Malaspina (C) ran a popular cafe that counted actor Russell Crowe among its regulars He was killed on Friday afternoon after driving a 4x4 laden with gas cylinders into the city centre and stabbing three passersby before being confronted by members of the public and armed officers who eventually shot him in the chest. Unconfirmed local media reports suggested he may also have had problems with substance abuse and mental health issues. But he was known by intelligence services to hold extremist views and for now the authorities are treating the attack as a terrorist incident. They have questioned around 35 people who saw the daytime attack, which although crude, was said to have been designed to "cause terror and cause maximum casualties" in the heart of Melbourne. Armed officers raided two addresses in the west and northeast of the city, linked to the perpetrator's family and associates, although there is not thought to be an ongoing threat. - Difficult questions - Australian authorities now face difficult questions about how Shire Ali, who was known to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation for at least three years, was able to carry out an attack. He had his Australian passport revoked in 2015 amid fears he was trying to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) group. Knife-wielding Hassan Khalif Shire Ali fought with police before they shot him dead His brother will go on trial next year on separate terror-related charges -- accused of trying to acquire a firearm and kill people in a New Years' Eve crowd. "The assessment was made that whilst he had radicalised views he didn't pose a threat to the national security environment," Ian Mccartney, a federal police counterterrorism official said of Shire Ali. Mccartney described the attack as a "wake up call" even as IS loses territory in Iraq and Syria, where Australian forces are part of a coalition fighting the group. "The circumstances of how he and when he moved from having these radicalised views to carrying out this attack yesterday will be a key focus of the investigation," Mccartney added. IS -- which often claims responsibility for such attacks -- said via its propaganda arm that the perpetrator was an "Islamic State fighter and carried out the operation." It provided no evidence to back its claim. Witness Chris Newport, 60, who also moved to Melbourne decades ago from overseas, described how he had been returning from a job interview when he heard a loud noise and saw a truck on fire, rolling across the tram tracks before a second, louder bang. Witnesses said the man set fire to his vehicle before going on his knife rampage Police said that Shire Ali's improvised explosive device was made up of gas cylinders and some form of lighter and "certainly wasn't sophisticated". "In a split second everything changes" Newport told AFP, describing Shire Ali manically brandishing a knife. "You can't imagine someone deciding to do that." Police struggled for at least a minute to corral the towering man as he lunged, slashed and stabbed wildly at two officers. At least two members of the public stepped in to help police. One man was armed with a cafe chair while another -- swiftly dubbed an "Aussie hero" on social media -- repeatedly tried to ram the suspect with an empty metal shopping cart. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the country would be unflinching in the fight against "radical, violent... extremist Islam that opposes our very way of life". Shire Ali "sought to instil fear in our nation. Like those who tried before him, this terrorist failed," he said. He cited more than a dozen foiled terror plots as evidence that Australians could have faith in their counterterrorism authorities. Wrecked vehicles line the street outside the Abu Layla restaurant in Iraq's Mosul on November 9, 2018, after three people were killed in the first car bombing to hit the second city since its recapture from the Islamic State group in July last year A deadly car bomb in Iraq's Mosul, the first since the city was recaptured from jihadists, has left residents shaken and terrified that past nightmares are returning to haunt them. The blast late on Thursday hit the popular Abu Layla restaurant in Mosul, the northern city that for three years served as the Islamic State group's Iraq headquarters. When residents awoke to the scene of destruction on Friday morning, they feared their bloody past with IS was not yet behind them. "We were liberated, so we thought that security was back," Mossab, a 25-year-old restaurant employee, told AFP. "But now it's worse than ever." Three people were killed and 12 wounded in the bombing, medical and security sources said. The restaurant suffered significant damage. One side, which sits on a road junction, seemed to have its windows blown out and the facade partly sheared off. The cars in the street all had shattered or cracked windscreens and were covered in black ash and debris. Mossab's car, parked nearby, was one of them. "I've been working for four years to save up to buy it, but it all went in the blink of an eye," he said, devastated. Iraqi security forces deployed outside the restauarant on Friday, standing guard as cleaning crews worked to remove the debris. Residents nervously came to inspect the damage. Khodor Ali, a 38-year-old who lives nearby, was worried there would be more violence. "If the security situation stays like this, then our future is in the gutter," he told AFP. - 'They said IS was finished' - Troops and paramilitaries recaptured Mosul in July last year, months before the government declared IS had finally been defeated in Iraq. Residents of Iraq's Mosul have been left shaken by the November 8, 2018 car bombing and fearful that past nightmares are returning to haunt them more than 15 months after their city was recaptured from the Islamic State group But the group still carries out bloody hit-and-run attacks, mostly in the rugged mountains of the north and in desert areas along the western border with Syria. Security forces frequently arrest suspected jihadists or break up sleeper cells, and are still uncovering jihadist tunnels and hideouts in Mosul. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday's attack, but a statement by security forces blamed it on "terrorists." Ali said Iraqi officials were at least partly to blame for Thursday night's attack. "If they weren't able to protect the city, they shouldn't stay," he said angrily. "The only thing these officials want are senior posts. They told us, 'IS is finished' -- but then there's a car bomb that kills innocent people." City officials have pointed the finger at the security forces deployed across Mosul. "One of the main reasons we're seeing a deterioration of the security situation is that there are too many decision-makers," said member of parliament for Mosul, Ahmad al-Jarba. Between Iraq's central military command and the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force, both of which are stationed in and around Mosul, there were mixed signals on security, Jarba said. He said endemic corruption had also played a role. Iraq is the 12th most corrupt country in the world, according to monitoring group Transparency International. Mosul's residents have shouldered much of the rebuilding themselves, opening restaurants and shops along the Tigris river that divides the city in two. But after Thursday's blast, the spectre of IS seems closer than they had thought. Maithripala Sirisena signed a decree dismissing the island's 225-member assembly and scheduled parliamentary elections for January 5, nearly two years ahead of schedule Sri Lanka's largest party announced Saturday a legal challenge to President Maithripala Sirisena's sacking of parliament, a move that has plunged the Indian Ocean island nation into fresh turmoil and alarmed the international community. Sirisena announced on Friday night that he was dissolving parliament and called fresh elections on January 5, two weeks after sacking prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replacing him with the controversial Mahinda Rajapakse. Mangala Samaraweera, finance minister in Wickremesinghe's sacked cabinet, said Saturday that their United National Party (UNP) would file a challenge with Sri Lanka's top court next week, saying the president had "kicked the constitution in the teeth". "We will go to the courts," Samaraweera told reporters in Colombo. "We will fight in the courts, we will fight in parliament and we will fight at the polls." Shortly before sacking the legislature, Sirisena also took over the police department by attaching it to his defence ministry. He also took control of the state printer, a crucial institution that publishes decrees and proclamations. He had already taken control of all state media outlets soon after dismissing Wickremesinghe on October 26. Sirisena set the election date, almost two years ahead of schedule, after it became clear that his designated prime minister Rajapakse could not prove his majority when the assembly was set to reconvene on Wednesday. This is despite several legislators saying they were offered millions of dollars to switch allegiance. Sri Lanka's ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has refused to leave the premier's official residence amid the deepening power struggle Rajapakse, 72, was prime minister for two weeks without ever stepping into parliament. He will now continue as a caretaker premier until a new parliament meets on January 17. A leader of Rajapakse's party, Susil Premajayantha, said Sirisena sacked the legislature to end the power struggle and allow people to elect a new parliament. "Now we have a caretaker government with limited functions," Premajayantha said. "We will conduct a free and fair election." He accused Wickremesinghe of causing instability by refusing to vacate his official residence. - Power struggle - The president suspended parliament to give himself more time to engineer defections but failed, according to the opposition Rajapakse and the ousted Wickremesinghe have been battling for power for two weeks as international concern grew over the mounting turmoil in the strategically important island nation. Sirisena signed a decree dismissing the legislature in a bid to head off any revolt against his actions which included suspending parliament for nearly three weeks. Rajapakse was yet to address the nation after his disputed elevation, but early Saturday attempted to justify the dissolution. "... A general election will truly establish the will of the people and make way for a stable country," he said on Twitter. - US 'deeply concerned' - Washington's criticism of Sirisena's move was swift. "The US is deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis," the US State Department said in a statement. "As a committed partner of Sri Lanka, we believe democratic institutions and processes need to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity," it said. Just before sacking the parliament, Sirisena also inducted more ministers into his cabinet. The move was seen as giving them access to state resources in the run up to the January vote. The leftist People's Liberation Front (JVP), which regards the sacking of Wickremesinghe as unconstitutional, accused Sirisena of trying to consolidate his power grab. "Dissolving parliament at this time is illegal and goes against the constitution," JVP general secretary Tilvin Silva told reporters. Wickremesinghe had late Thursday thanked his supporters in a Facebook video for not letting Sri Lanka be "plunged into the darkness of dictatorship". It was not immediately clear if he would vacate the official Temple Trees residence following the dissolution of parliament. The power struggle on the island of 21 million people has paralysed much of the administration, according to legislators on both sides of the dispute. Africa's Great Lakes region includes the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the military is bracing for presidential elections on December 23, 2018 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday named a scholar who once called for the disintegration of the Democratic Republic of Congo as the new US envoy to Africa's Great Lakes region, tasked with encouraging stability in the conflict-ridden area. J. Peter Pham, now a vice president at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think-tank, will focus on "strengthening democratic institutions and civil society," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. He will also work to encourage "the safe and voluntary return of the region's refugees and internally displaced persons," she said, amid renewed tensions in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The appointment comes ahead of December 23 presidential elections that are seen as critical for the future of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the sprawling nation that has never experienced a peaceful transition of power since independence from Belgium in 1960. Pham, a frequent writer on African affairs, in a provocative 2012 article proposed that the DRC be allowed to split into smaller states, saying it was time to put an end to peace deals "with shelf lives barely longer than the news cycle." In an opinion piece in The New York Times headlined "To Save Congo, Let it Fall Apart," Pham said the world could then devote scarce resources to humanitarian relief and development instead of preserving the country's unity. He called the DRC "a fictional state that is of value only to the political elites who have clawed their way to the top in order to plunder Congo's resources and fund the patronage networks that ensure that they will remain in power." Pham holds a doctorate from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and later served as a diplomat for the Vatican around Africa and in the Philippines, according to James Madison University, where he is an associate professor. He was formerly a vice president of the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa, a group of scholars founded by two of the most prominent academics to support the US invasion of Iraq, Fouad Ajami and Bernard Lewis. Pham will fill a role empty for a year since the departure of Larry Wohlers, a veteran US diplomat who held a similar role as special coordinator for the Great Lakes. Atlantic Council president Frederick Kempe congratulated Pham, crediting him with producing "cutting-edge projects" about Africa. "It's difficult to imagine anyone with deeper subject-matter expertise on the challenges faced by Africans or US ties with the countries of the African Great Lakes," Kempe said. People rescue a wounded person after the triple bomb attack About 20 people were killed and dozens wounded Friday in a string of explosions near a popular hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu, police said. "We are getting (information that) about 20 people died in the attack and more than 40 others were wounded. Most of these people were civilians who were passing by the area when the attack occurred," Abdulahi Ahmed, a Somali security official, said. A Somali security officer looks on at the aftermath of two car bomb blasts, which occurred within moments of each other. A third blast was caused by a suicide bomber who detonated an explosives vest Twin car bombs exploded in the capital within moments of each other, followed by gunfire and a third blast, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the sky, according to an AFP reporter. Mogadishu faces frequent bombings at the hands of Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda affiliate which has been fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed Somali government for over a decade. The blasts occurred near the Sahafi hotel and Criminal Investigation Division (CID) police headquarters. "The target of the attack was the Sahafi hotel and even though the attackers used car bombs to make their way into the premises, the security forces stopped them," said Ahmed. "All of the four Shabaab attackers were killed outside" the hotel building, he stressed. An initial "two blasts struck the perimeter of the Sahafi hotel along the main road," said police official Ibrahim Mohamed, who earlier gave a preliminary toll of more than 10 dead. Witnesses said a third blast came from a suicide bomber who detonated an explosives-laden vest at the hotel's front entrance, as three attackers in Somali military uniform were shot at the rear entrance. - Fatalities - Abdulkadir Abdirahman, director of Mogadishus Aamin ambulance service, earlier said his team had recovered 10 bodies and 40 wounded. But Bashir Hassan Farah, another ambulance medic, later said he saw 20 dead bodies, most of them civilians. According to sources, the fatalities included the son of the owner of the hotel, Abdirashid Ilqeyte, who was killed in a Shabaab attack on the establishment in November 2015. The attack wrecked parts of the hotel's perimeter, as well as several buildings nearby, including shops The bombs destroyed parts of the hotel perimeter despite layered security, and several shops and other buildings nearby were destroyed. Sources said several civilian minibuses and rickshaws that were passing by when the blast occurred, were destroyed and passengers killed and wounded. "There was chaos after the blast. Some of the vehicles were buses, which caught fire. I could see people screaming as they fled the buses," witness Fadumo Ali told AFP. Map of Somalia locating the capital Mogadishu, hit by a triple bomb attack on Friday "This area is always dense and traffic jams are normal. This increased the casualties. Most of the dead and wounded were civilians," added Awil Mohamed, another witness. The Shabaab claimed responsibility. "Armed members from the Shabab Al-Mujahideen carried (out) a complex attack targeting Sahafi hotel in Mogadishu where senior Somali government officials stay," the militant group said in a statement quoted by a pro-Shabaab website. "The attack was opened with a martyrdom car bomb blast and the fighters made their way into the building." The Shabaab were forced out of the capital by African Union troops in 2011. But they still control parts of the countryside and attack government, military, and civilian targets, seemingly at will, in Mogadishu and towns in the region. Firebrand Boko Haram faction leader Abubakar Shekau (pictured January 2018) said his fighters were responsible for a raid on the Nigerian military in a village near the Cameroon border The leader of one of two factions of jihadist group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, claimed a series of attacks in northeast Nigeria in a video message obtained by AFP on Friday. The firebrand leader said his fighters were responsible for a raid on the military on Monday in Kumshe village, near the Cameroon border, and other attacks in recent days. "We are responsible for attacks such as those in Kumshe, Gulumba, and other villages where attacks are being carried out in recent days, with the help of Allah," Shekau said in the eight-minute recording -- his first public utterances since July. Boko Haram split into two -- Shekau's faction and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) -- in mid-2016 over ideological differences. Shekau has pledged allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, but the Middle Eastern group gave its formal backing only to ISWAP. ISWAP disagreed with Shekau's indiscriminate use of violence against civilians and vowed to only hit "hard" military or government targets. But the recent execution of two civilian aid workers and the alleged killing of ISWAP's de facto leader, Mamman Nur, has prompted speculation about a takeover by hardliners, and a possible reconciliation with Shekau's faction. In the new video, Shekau displays the Arabic logo and black flag of ISWAP, which had on Wednesday also claimed the Kumshe attack. The same video put out by both factions showed barracks on fire and fighters taking weapons and ammunition as spoils, although it was not possible to determine the location. If the two factions are reconciled, Boko Haram -- which President Muhammadu Buhari said was "technically defeated" three years ago -- could once again pose a serious challenge to the military counter-insurgency. The insurgency has killed more than 27,000 people since 2009 and some 1.8 million are still displaced. Attacks continue but the authorities claim Boko Haram is a spent force. BERLIN (AP) - Germany's foreign minister plans to discuss the treatment of China's Muslim minority during an official visit to Beijing next week. A spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Friday that the situation in China's far west region of Xinjiang is "cause for concern in our view." China has rejected accusations that large numbers of ethnic Uighurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities are being interned for the purpose of political indoctrination. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr told reporters that Maas "will raise the issue with his Chinese partners." She said that Maas, who flies to China on Sunday, will also discuss other topics including the trade dispute between China and the United States, the situation in North Korea and Berlin's bilateral relations with Beijing. A Goa-based activist on Friday threatened to go on a fast-unto-death if ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar did not resign and hand over the reins of the State administration to a "physically fit" successor. "Goa needs a fully fit Chief Minister who can dedicate his time and resources to find solutions to problems confronting the State. If Parrikar, who has been ill for a long time now, does not hand over charge by November 16, I along with my colleagues from other NGOs will sit on a fast unto death," Rajan Ghate, the Right To Information (RTI) activist said in a press conference here. The conference was also addressed by members of the Goa Citizen's Action Forum (GCAF) and representatives of another state-based NGO Nari Adhikar. "I am giving the BJP-led Goa government a notice of seven days' time to announce a solution to the issues like rising unemployment, loss of jobs, spread of gambling and casino culture and the failure of Parrikar to allocate important portfolios like Home, Finance, Industries," Ghate said. Parrikar is suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer and has been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, New York and Delhi for nearly nine months. He returned from New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences on October 14 and has not moved out of his private residence, for any official event since. He has however chaired meetings with top bureaucrats, party officials and local industrialists over the last few days. India and Singapore will hold the 25th joint naval exercise from November 10 to 21 in India to mark the silver jubilee of SIMBEX, an acronym for Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise and SIMBEX 2018 will be the largest edition since 1994 in terms of scale and complexity. The initial harbour phase will be held at Port Blair, November 10 to 12 followed by Sea Phase from November 12 to 16 November in the Andaman Sea. The second harbour phase from November 16 to 19 will be held at Visakhapatnam. Final sea phase would be held in the Bay of Bengal from November 19 to 21. High level delegations including respective Defence Ministries are also scheduled to observe the exercises including advanced weapon firings marking a new high in the series, navy officials said here on Friday. Giving details of the exercise, they said the 25th edition will witness a diverse range of exercises at sea ranging from live weapon drills including multiple missile firings, Heavy Weight Torpedo (HWT) and Medium Range Gun/ Anti Submarine Rocket firings; advanced Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) exercises, Submarine Rescue demonstrations; integrated Surface and Anti-Air Warfare (AAW); Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations and Cross Deck Helicopter flying among others. The number of missiles and torpedo firings being undertaken are in fact unprecedented and perhaps the largest the Indian Navy has undertaken with any foreign Navy till date, indicative of the growing trust and operational comfort between the two navies. This year would also witness the highest numbers and variety of platforms fielded by both sides. Over the years the two navies have increased their interoperability to a level that could be matched by few other navies. Bilateral cooperation between Singapore and India was first formalised when Singapore ships began training with the Indian Navy in 1994. What began as a modest endeavour to exchange best practices in the field of Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), has in the recent years evolved into a complex high stakes exercise with both nations attaching premium in terms of time, complex advanced exercises and type of platforms involved. Complementing India's 'Act-East' policy, there have been a number of agreements and high level visits in the recent past between the two countries. Indo-Singapore bilateral relations have been on an upswing in the recent past. Both countries have a full calendar of more than 20 bilateral mechanisms, dialogues and exercises, many of which take place annually. In November 2015, the robust relationship between the two countries was elevated to 'Strategic Partnership'. In June this year, on the side-lines of the Shangrila Dialogue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore inked many agreements including those under the 'Defence and Strategic Partnership Sectors'. Key among them is the 'Implementation Agreement between Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy concerning Mutual Coordination, Logistics and Services Support for Naval Ships', Submarines and Naval Aircraft (including Ship borne Aviation Assets) visits. The Implementation Agreement since coming in force has facilitated deployment of naval assets from bases of the other through logistics and services support. Both sides agreed to undertake continuous and institutionalised naval engagements in their shared maritime space including establishing maritime exercises with like-minded regional/ASEAN partners. On the occasion, the Prime Ministers of both countries had commended the Armed Forces for maintaining a high level of annual exercises, goodwill visits and professional exchanges. Both Prime Ministers also remarked that they looked forward to the 25th and enhanced edition of bilateral annual naval exercises SIMBEX. The previous edition of the exercise was held off Singapore in the South China Sea in May 2017. The 2018 edition will see the Indian Navy deploying the Ranvir class destroyer INS Ranvijay, two Project 17 multirole stealth frigates INS Satpura and INS Sahyadri, the Project 28 ASW corvette INS Kadmatt the Project 25A missile corvettes, INS Kirch, the OPVs INS Sumedha and INS Sukanya, the Fleet Support Ship, INS Shakti, a Sindhughosh Class submarine, INS Sindhukirti, the P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol and ASW aircraft from INAS 312, Dornier 228 Maritime Patrol aircraft from INAS 311, Mk 132 Hawk AJTs from INAS 551 and integral helicopters such as the UH3H, Seaking 42 B, Seaking 42C and Chetak utility helicopters. The Singapore Navy is being represented by two Formidable Class stealth frigates RSS Formidable and RSS Steadfast, one Littoral Mission Vessel RSS Unity, two Missile Corvettes, RSS Vigour and RSS Valiant, an Archer class Submarine, RSS Swordsman, 'Swift Rescue' a Deep Sea Rescue Vehicle (DSRV), a Fokker F50 maritime reconnaissance aircraft, embarked S70B helicopters and Scan Eagle unmanned aerial systems. Indian Navy has recently inducted its own DSRV and proved the capability at sea on the western seaboard. Yet another attempt by Dayanidhi Maran, former Union Minister for Information Technology and his elder brother Kalanidhi Maran came a nought as the Madras High Court dismissed their petition challenging the framing of charges against them by the CBI in the illegal telephone exchange case that had resulted in the exchequer losing Rs 1.87 crore. The Maran brothers are the grand nephews of late M Karunanidhi, the DMK chief and the sons of Murasoli Maran, former Union Minister. Justice A D Jagadish Chandira, who heard the Marans dismissed their plea and asked them to stand trial on the case which would be heard by one of the special courts set up to hear the CBI cases. This is the third attempt by the Marans to derail the case registered by the CBI after investigation based on revelations by S Gurumurthy, chief editor, Thuglaq, that Dayanidhi Maran, during his tenure as union minister for communications (2004 to 2007) had set up an illegal telephone exchange at his residence in Chennai misusing his official power. According to the CBI, Dayanidhi Maran used the network for the commercial telecasting business of Sun Network, owned by his brother Kalanidhi Maran. The investigating agency had told the trial court that exchequer had lost Rs 1.78 crore because of the illegal telephone exchange. The Special CBI court in Chennai had acquitted all the accused in the month of March 2018 telling there were not enough materials to frame charges. The CBI approached the Madras High Court against the trial court order . Justice G Jayachandran who heard the appeal by the CBI said : Error, illegality, and perversity all could be pointed out in the impugned trial court order. Though the Marans rushed to the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of the Madras High Court order, the apex court asked them to stand trial in the case. Following the dismissal of their petition in the Supreme Court, R Vasanthi, the XIV additional special judge for CBI cases, charged frames against the Maram brothers along with their five associates under Section 120-B of the IPC (Criminal Conspiracy), Criminal Breach of Trust (section 409), Cheating (section 420) and criminal misconduct by public servants (Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act). The trial was to begin on September 14 when the Marans in a last-ditch attempt approached the Madras High Court which dismissed their petition on Friday. Gurumurthy, the man who brought to light the illegal telephone exchange scam is of the view that there are more skeletons in the cupboards which has escaped the normal eyes. He said the Marans were using 764 illegal telephone lines for high speed data transfer to facilitate their private TV network business. The cost of installation of Rs 1.73 crore mentioned in the charge sheet is peanuts as compared to the unaccounted user charges on the 764 stolen lines, said Gurumurthy. He said that the investigating agency would be able to assess the gains made by the Sun Network and the losses suffered by the exchequer because of the misuse of these 764 lines with the help of the National Gateway. Taking note of arrest of six prominent human rights defenders and lawyers branded Urban Naxals the Special Rapporteurs of Human Rights Council (HRC) has written to Permanent Mission of India (PMI) in Geneva seeking information about Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen, Sudha Bhardwaj, Mahesh Raut and Sudhir Dhawale. In the letter sent to the Indian Government recently, the Special Rapporteurs said all six human rights defenders have been particularly active in defending the rights of marginalised communities, including in Naxal-hit areas. The communication has also sought details about their arrest in different places of India on charges of conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Terming them human rights defenders, Special Rapporteurs David Kaye, Clement Nyaletsossi Voule and Michel Forst have asked Indian Mission in Geneva to provide additional information about the factual and legal grounds for the arrest and explain how they are in conformity with international human right law, especially with regards to Articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In particular, provide information about the evidence used to substantiate the charges of incitement to violence and the charge of attempting to assassinate the Prime Minister. Please explain the reasoning behind the subjection of Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawale, Roma Wilson to solitary confinement and how this is compatible with international human rights norms and standards. We would like to have information concerning the arrest and detention of Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawale, and Mahesh Raut and allegations concerning a smear campaign targeting Sudha Bhardwaj, Special Rapporteur said in a letter. Special Rapporteur is a title given to individuals working on behalf of the United Nations (UN) within the scope of special procedure mechanisms who have a specific country or thematic mandate from the United Nations Human Rights Council. After intelligence inputs, a team of the Maharashtra Police had carried out synchronised raids in five States at the homes of Naxal sympathisers. All arrested activists have alleged Maoists links and are currently in jail. Taking note of this, the Ministry of Home Affairs has asked Governments of Maharashtra and Delhi to provide all details in the arrest of them. All such communications are required to be appropriately replied , on the basis of inputs received from the concerned state governments within stipulated timeframe, the MHA said in its communiques to Governments of Delhi and Maharashtra. The Special Rapporteurs letter further read kindly indicate what measures have been taken to ensure that human rights defenders in India are able to carry out their legitimate work in an enabling environment without fear of judicial harassment of any kind. Sudha Bhardwaj is a human right lawyer specialising on the rights of Adivasi people in the state of Chattisgarh and has been involved in several cases of alleged faked encounters while Mahesh Raut is a land rights defender who is also involved in the people movement against displacement . Suhir Dhawale is a dalit rights defender and is editor of the Marathi magazineVidrohi. Soma Sen is a women right defender while Rona Wilson is the Public Relation Secretary of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners which has actively opposed restrictive laws. Surendra Gadling is also a human rights lawyer, read the letter. A day after Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Sardhana in Meerut, Sangeet Som, raised the demand for renaming Muzaffarnagar district as Lakshmi Nagar, ruling partys legislator from Agra North, Jagan Prasad Garg, has asked the government to rename the City of Taj as Agra-van or Agra-wal. The ancient name of Muzaffarnagar is Shukrataal. After Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced the renaming of Allahabad as Prayagraj and Faizabad district as Ayodhya, the BJP leaders have also jumped on the name-change bandwagon. Garg said in Agra on Saturday that as people from Agrawal community used to live there, the name of the city should be Agra-van or Agra-wal. Agra has no meaning. You check the name Agra anywhere... what relevance does it have? he asked Garg, who represents the Agra North constituency in Uttar Pradesh assembly further said that he would meet the Chief Minister and demand that the name of Agra be changed. Sangeet Som has a demand of his own. The controversial MLA from Sardhana has demanded that the name of Muzaffarnagar be changed to Laxmi Nagar, saying this demand had come from the people. What I am saying is that we are trying to undo what the Mughals have done to erase the culture of India, especially Hindutva. Indias identity is its culture. We are working to safeguard it and the BJP will move forward on it, he said. These demands have come against the backdrop of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath renaming Allahabad as Prayagraj and Faizabad as Ayodhya and the ruling party justifying the change in the names by saying they are merely restoring the old names and correcting historical distortions. A BJP leader said that the two most-recent name changes Prayagraj and Ayodhya were politically very crucial for the BJP and thus needed to be done/ But if demands continue to pour in, we will have to see what we can do and what we cannot, he added. This name-changing spree has received mixed response with critics calling it an attempt to distract attention from the fact that there has been no real change on the ground. What kind of an agenda is this? How can you obliterate Faizabad and Allahabad? This is the politics of hate and polarisation, said Samajwadi Party spokesman and MLC Sunil Singh. The BJP government had earlier changed the name of Mughalsarai railway junction to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar junction. Taking a cue from Yogi Adityanath, the Gujarat government also wants to rename Ahmedabad as Karnavati. Its opponents have labelled the move as another poll gimmick of the ruling party. Congress workers torched an effigy of the Centre while staging demonstration at all the district headquarters of the State to mark the second anniversary of demonetisation on Saturday On the call given by the State Congress president Pritam Singh, the Congress leaders and workers assembled at the state party office on the day and marched to Astley Hall where they put an effigy of the Centre to flames by way of venting anger against the Centres demonitisation move made two years ago. The Congress leaders who participated in the protest march alleged that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Government have been fighting shy of the demonetisation issue both in the Parliament and outside. Recalling the public inconvenience triggered by the move which lasted for several days, resulting in many deaths, the Opposition party leaders said that the Centre had made the whole nation to stand in unending queues outside the banks for hours daily during the time. They also mentioned that as many as 165 people had died while waiting to withdraw their hard-earned money from the ATMs. They said that the move had resulted in the closure of many industrial units, throwing lakhs out of jobs. The State Congress vice- president Surya Kant Dhasmana said that the Congress has remained active in protecting the interests of the poor, labourers and farmers. By contrast, BJP is pandering to the interests of the rich. While the Congress-helmed United Progressive Alliance ( UPA) Government waived off loans of the farmers to the tune of Rs 70,000 crores the BJP-led NDA regime is busy aggravating the woes of the farmers. The demonitisation coupled with GST has crippled the growth of the economy, development has come to a standstill and people are being thrown out of jobs, he said. Other Congress leaders held the demonetisation and GST responsible for the spiralling prices of the essential commodities. They affirmed that their party would continue to protest whenever the BJP-helmed Government takes any step which goes against the interests of the common people. They also said that they would fight for the interests of the traders who are at the receiving end of the GST. Among the leaders present at the programme were the former Minister Matbar Singh Kandari, former MLA Rajkumar, chairman of disciplinary committee Pramod Kumar Singh, Prabhu Lal Bahuguna, Mahanagar president Lal Chand Sharma, chief programme coordinator Rajendra Shah and spokesperson Garima Dassauni. All India Congress Committee (AICC) President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that the Congress party, if voted to power in Chhattisgarh, would end outsourcing of personnel for Government jobs. Its been 15 years and 40 lakh youth are still unemployed in Chhattisgarh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised two crore jobs in the country but in Chhattisgarh, the youth did not get jobs and instead the State Government started hiring manpower through outsourcing, he said while addressing a public meeting at Charama in Kanker district. The people of Bastar had voted whole-heartedly for Congress party in the last Assembly polls but we could not win the polls. However, this time round, we will ensure victory, he said. The people of Chhattisgarh lost Rs 5000 crore in chit fund frauds and the chit fund companies disappeared. A total of 60 people lost their lives and 310 FIRs were lodged but no action was taken, Gandhi said. In PDS scam, Rs 36,000 crore was lost, he said. Every member of the tribal family will get land. We will come out with a Tribal Bill and Land Acquisition Bill. We also intend to open tribal hostels and provide scholarships to tribal children, Gandhi said. He promised that if voted to power, the Congress party will set up food processing plants in every district. Gandhi said, "Today Punjab and Haryana are known for their farming. I want both Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh also to become farming leaders in five years. Let people from across the country know that their food comes from Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh." He further said: "We have taken a firm decision to set up a food processing unit in every district of Chhattisgarh where farmers will get a good price for produce and not just that, your children will find employment in these factories", he told a large number of farmers present. Leader of Opposition T S Singhdeo said that in the Congress party's poll manifesto, it has been promised to provide Rs 2500 per month as unemployment allowance to 10 lakh unemployed under Rajiv Gandhi Mitra Yojana. Police on Friday night conducteda timely raid and foiled a major dacoity bid by arresting seven persons, who had congregated at a secluded spot to commit the crime. The accused were identified as Zakir Khan (31), Rakesh Behera (20), SK Sahir (20), Bimal Prasad Das (24), Yusuf Khan (22), Md Hamid (35) and Ranjan Kumar Sethi (38). Sources said on a tipoff police raided the miscreants hideout at around 1.30 am near Thakurpatna-Anlabanka road while the anti-socials were planning to commit a dacoity in the area. Police seized a USA made pistol, two live cartridges, a sword, four iron rods, two packets of chilli powder, two bottles of liquor, a toy pistol, seven mobile phones and three bikes from possession of the accused. Later, all the accused were forwarded to court. The Delhi Congress took out a candle march on the second anniversary of demonetisation on Friday to pray for people who died while waiting in queues outside banks and ATMs after the note ban was announced in 2016. The march started from Jantar Mantar towards the RBI office. However, police stopped it on Parliament Street. Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said the candle march was held to protest the impact of demonetisation on the common man and the countrys economy. Earlier in the day, Youth Congress members accompanied by senior party leaders staged a protest against demonetisation outside the RBI office and were detained by police. The protesters wore masks and shouted slogans against the the BJP-led government at the Centre. On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination bank notes would cease to exist as legal tenders. A 30-year-old Rajasthan based shepherd died after villagers of Bheelkheda attacked group of shepherd over the area of pasture for cattle in the morning on Saturday. Deadly clash between villagers and group of shepherds from Rajasthan proved costly for Manna Ram of Rajasthan who was attacked with wooden sticks. The injured was rushed to hospital where he died during treatment. In charge of Ratibad police Sub Inspector Sunil Bhadoriya said that the dispute was over pasture land. The shepherds from Rajasthan were living in temporary shelter and their cattle used to graze at the nearby land which led to the dispute as the villagers were against the grazing of cattle on their land and wanted to graze their cattle on the land. The deceased was identified as Manna Ram of Rajasthan. He was part of group of around a dozen shepherds which visits Madhya Pradesh with cattle for grazing and visit green pasture lands in the journey and later return to their state. Police said that case against both the groups would be registered in the further investigation. In the investigation police found that around half a dozen men attacked the deceased injuring him severely and later he died of the injuries in his head and other body parts. The body was sent for the post mortem after the preliminary investigation. The police have registered a case under section 302 of the IPC. Till the filing of the report no arrest was made by the Ratibad police and search is continued for the accused. Nishatpura police have nabbed four miscreants and Hanumanganj police have nabbed two miscreants who were engaged in illegal business of weapons and recovered country made pistol, 12 bore gun and live cartridges from their possession on Friday said DIG Bhopal Dharmendra Choudhary while speaking with the media persons on Saturday. The action by Nishatpura police was taken after receiving information of miscreants in TRUBA college road and acting swiftly two miscreants were nabbed who were identified as Ajju alias Azeem (27) and Munna alias Nadeem(22). One pistol and one country made pistol with one live cartridge was found from them. During the investigation two confessed that they bought three guns from Dhar worth Rs 14000 and sold them in the state capital to two persons at Rs 22000. The two persons were searched and nabbed, from Sohail Ahmed one gun and two live cartridges and from Sultan Khan one 12 bore gun and two live cartridges were recovered. Hanumanganj police nabbed two miscreants from Qazi Camp area after receiving information of carrying weapons illegally. The two were nabbed and two pistols and two live cartridges were recovered from their possession. The two were identified as Arshad alias Babba(32) and Arshad Ali (26). Arshad is a watch list criminal of Hanumanganj and has been booked for more than two dozen criminals. All the six accused have been booked under sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act. More crimes would be confessed in the further investigation and details of the source and customers would be revealed. The first-ever Art Residency Programme in the city under the aegis of the Centre for Excellence (CFE) Jamshedpur kicked off on Saturday. The 12-day Art Residency aims to offer a platform for artistic experimentation and social engagement with a selection of iconic artists in the field of painting, sculpting and ceramic art. The programme is designed to encourage demonstrations, lectures, workshops, presentations and community interactions with Art. The theme for this years edition is Dharti. The Residency is being curated by Lina Vincent, an Art Historian and Curator from Goa. In addition to the Padma Shri awardee, Paresh Maity, iconic canvas artists like S G Vasudev and Bose Krishnamachari will be a part of this event. Sculpting and Ceramics is being introduced for diversity. Renowned Sculptors Arun Kumar H G, Veg Prakash Gupta, Dimpy Menon along with Ceramic artists Vinod Daroz, Siraj Saxena, Aditi Saraogi, Neha Pullarwar and Arun Mukhuty from Jamshedpur will be a part of the proceedings. In alignment with our inclusive philosophy, four tribal artists will also be participating in the programme. The Centre for Excellence will host a total of 21 artists, who will create their art pieces and will also engage with the community and art students through various workshops and talks. Tata Steel is proud to put together the first-ever Art Residency at Centre for Excellence that brings together reputed painters, sculptors and ceramic artists from across the country on to a common platform. The Art Residency is also a reflection of Tata Steels long-standing patronage of the Arts. We welcome everyone to be a part of this signature event and interact with eminent artists through the workshops and talks that have been organised. said Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President, corporate services, designate Tata Steel. Tata Steel has a long-standing association with Arts. Apart from patronising several artists over the years, we also organised Art in Industry for the first time at Centre for Excellence in 1993, with 10 artists of national repute. This was a unique platform that connected emerging and eminent artists, youth, art connoisseurs and society at large. The endeavour aimed to foster participation in softer skills and community development. We are extremely delighted to be in Jamshedpur for the first Art Residency hosted by Tata Steel. It gives opportunity to the artists fraternity to exchange their world views and help evolve the level of art in the country. It is my hope the Residency will be a good learning experience for the art lovers of Jamshedpur. says Padma Shri awardee, Paresh Maity. In the case of Sabarimala, the restriction on women of certain age are not because they are considered inferior on any religious, spiritual or philosophical grounds but its because of the peculiar nature of the presiding deity. It is the same tradition which makes a woman as the chief priest of a temple at Mannarsala, which celebrates the festival at Koovaka temple through transgender devotees, which demands a man to impersonate and dress as a woman in order to carry the auspicious lamp at the Kottamkulangara temple. Lacking a holistic vision, one might mistake diversity as discrimination Many tempestuous debates are happening about the recent Supreme Court verdict on lifting the age restrictions for women entry to the famous Sabarimala temple. Most of these discussions whirl vehemently around the egalitarian axis of gender specific characteristics of the temple rituals and customs. However, on the flip side which could be the more important side, we are bound to address another major facet of the same issue: Dont a group of people have the freedom to worship a particular God who vowed to remain in Naishtika Brahmacharya (absolute celibate) form? Dont they have the rights to value and preserve their Gods shrine as per their belief systems or should they modify their concept of God as per the popular concepts of One and only True God? Going by the customary beliefs prevailing for last several hundred years, Sabarimala temple is dedicated to a deity who has taken a strict vow of Naishtika Brahmacharya, an intense kind of celibacy requiring the abstinence from eight types of contact with the opposite gender. Such strict austerities are practiced by several Sanyasi traditions of India from time immemorial till this day. Devotees believe that the young prince of the Pandalam kingdom, Manikandan, took this stern oath of remaining a Naishtika Brahmacharya, and left his kingdom to find a tranquil place in the deep forest to continue his eternal penance. He allowed his devotees to visit him only on certain days, demanding them to follow 30 to 41 days of rigid ascetic practices Vritacharya. For all these believers, Sabarimala is not just a place of worship, but the eternal abode of their living deity Ayyappa. Sabarimala temple stands at the top of a hill, in the deep dense jungles of the Western Ghats. Differing acutely from the other temple traditions of the country, Sabarimala temple has regular daily pujas and worship only on the first five days of every Malayalam calendar month, during the 41 days of Mandalakaala Mandala pilgrimage time and some other specific auspicious occasions. Otherwise, throughout the year on every single day, the Lord remains completely absorbed in the tranquil silence of the wilderness. On the worship days, he wakes up from the trance and blesses his devotees who seek him. It is no easy task for these devotees even to visit this celibate God. They have to be initiated into a 41-day period of strict austerities of Ayyappa worship, by any experienced devotee Guruswami who has visited the Lords shrine at least 18 times. The practices to be followed include abstinence from sensual pleasures of all kinds, maintaining celibacy, identifying oneself with the lord and recognising everybody else as reflections of Lord Ayyappa. On completion of the 41-day period, the devotee visits the abode of the Lord at Sabarimala under the guidance and companionship of his initiator Guruswami. Every year, lakhs of devotees who practice such strict austerities flock to this hill top sanctum. Respecting the celibate nature of the deity and the celibacy maintained by the devotees, young women do not normally visit the holy shrine. Though it is hard to determine the exact time period with regard to the origin of traditions and customs associated with this temple, there are a few early British records that shed light on this. Two British Lieutenants named Ward and Conner have done a research survey in the Travancore and Kochi provinces from 1810 to 1820. The survey report has references about Sabarimala temple and explicitly claims that they could find more than thousands of devotees both men and women visiting the temple, but there were no young women present among any devotee groups. The report also documents the belief among the devotees that the deity of the temple is a celibate and hence young women didnt visit this temple. According to Agamas, a sacred literature of Hindus, a temple is not just a place for worship, but it is, in fact, the holy abode of the presiding deity. In Hinduism, the God transcends all worldly qualities but unlike the God or Paramatman, a deity has its own characteristics, likes, and dislikes. Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi distinguishes between God and Deity with a beautiful example. Even though ultimately everything is the manifestation of one Supreme Consciousness, God and deity are different like a fish in the ocean and a fish in an aquarium, She says, We dont have to offer special care for a fish in the ocean, but one has to provide suitable environment for a fish in the aquarium as per the temperaments of each fish. Similarly in a temple where the deity lives, the priests as well the devotees have to follow specific dos and donts. The daily rituals and worship methodology of any temple primarily depends on the form and nature of the deity who presides there. Sparkling fireworks and elephant processions are integral to most of the temple festivals in Kerala. However elephants and fireworks are not allowed at Alamthuruthy temple located in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala since the Goddess is worshiped as an infant there. While the Hindu scriptures extol Goddess as the powerful feminine counterpart who create, nurture and destroy the universe with just a wink of her eye, at the same time we can witness her being adored and worshipped as a small infant who is scared of elephants, in this particular temple. The same ubiquitous, formless, attributeless God manifests through different unique forms as temple deities to uplift the common man. Such devatas (deities) are attributed with human qualities of likes and dislikes, joys and sorrows. While elephants are disallowed at the infant Goddess temple of Alamthuruthy, Goddess of Kumaranalloor temple forbid the entry of only male tusker elephants and prefers herself (the idol) to be taken on procession over female elephants. Another popular temple of Kerala at Chottanikkara has the Goddess who prefers to travel over giant tusker elephants exhibiting her splendour. It is the same Goddess, but as being worshipped with different attributes the customs, preferences and practices also differ. This is the degree of diversity demonstrated by our temples. One has to keep aside all his formal symbols of power and wrap his upper shawls around his waist in order to seek the vision of the deity of Thalipparambu temple. The temple homes Sri Rajarajeswaran, the king of kings, and the gesture the devotee displays denotes his immense respect and love for the God in that mighty kingly form. Subhramanya Swami Temple of Payyannoor restricts the entry of sanyasis. Shiva, as the lord of Vaikkom temple, is famous as the giver of food and boons while same Shiva as the lord of Ettumanoor takes a fierce form. Lord Ganapathy of Pazhavangadi temple is so delighted by coconut offerings, while Mutthappan of Parassinikadavu temple would rather prefer fermented palm toddy and sun dried fishes as his offering. So diverse are the God concepts and as diverse are the worship practices of this magnificent land! The sensible subtle understanding that every human beings are entirely different in multi aspects of physical-mental-societal-levels, have paved the way to this extraordinary concept of worshipping different God forms depending on ones inherent disposition. Yes, one can repudiate all these, stamping them as a mere doltish faith system, but nobody can dismiss the right of the believers to continue their belief systems. Is it appropriate for a country like India with her illustrious history of pluralism and coexistence to enforce a group of people to change their religious beliefs? Greek mythology speaks of Procrustes, a rogue bandit who hides in the dark forests of the countryside. He would bring any innocent travellers who walk by the forest to his house by any means and would rob them of all their belongings. Next he would tie down the unfortunate victim to his infamous bed and will mercilessly begin his cruel sport. If the guest proved tall, Procrustes would amputate the excess length of body and fit him to the bed or if the visitor is short in height, the man would work with his smiths hammer and beat stretch him to fit the bed. Procrustes continued his reign of terror until he was captured and killed by the brave prince Theseus. The numerous invasions that we faced resemble the scary Procrustess episodes. They rob the invaded lands of all its wealth and tie down the indigenous culture of the land to the Procrustean bed and stretch, amputate it to fit them into their iron beds. The colonial invasion and hundreds of years of foreign rule has gifted our nation with a thousand Procrustean beds! It is no anomaly that a country which stayed under any foreign rule would inherit the ethic concepts of the regnant and foster a certain affinity towards that non-native culture. The centurial years of such living has definitely re-moulded the social mind of this nation. We unknowingly installed the alien scale of ethical and moral values as our gauge of measure. In arts, literature, law, relations, philosophy and in many other spheres of existence, we tried to replicate the European models using an Indian mould. Even after seven decades of hard-earned freedom, we are still chained down to the ethics system of protestant reformation period. When in the middle age, as Europe was drowning in the murky high tides of religious sovereignty that portrayed woman as a creation for the mere benefit of man, it was the very necessity of that hour to re-evaluate every religious traditions based on a gender justice denomination. Well, that shouldnt be the same measuring meter to judge the widely diverse, remarkably intricate local traditions of India. In the case of Sabarimala, the restriction of women of certain age are not because they are considered inferior on any religious, spiritual or philosophical grounds but its because of the peculiar nature of the presiding deity. It is the same tradition which makes a woman as the chief priest of a temple at Mannarsala, which celebrates the festival at Koovaka temple through transgender devotees, which demands a man to impersonate and dress as women in order to carry the auspicious lamp at the Kottamkulangara temple. Lacking a holistic vision, one might mistake diversity as discrimination. These multifaceted pluralistic values, not the repressive commands of any religion, base the foundation of our nation. The Communist ideologies might fail awfully to accommodate for the diverse, pluralistic thought ideologies of the land. It is the same gene that impelled the colonial and other invaders to obliterate the indigenous culture of its natives elsewhere that camouflages underneath the Communist pneuma. For the same reason, it is mere futility to look forward to the colloquially fashioned but inherently inconsiderate Indian Communist organisations or their governments, for justice on this regard. Is the celibate concept of a God Ayyappa, shaking the supreme justice apparatus of this largest democratic nation which identifies herself as secular state granting freedom for all diverse communities to practice their traditional worship practices? In contrast with the single God who sits on a decorated golden throne in the seventh heaven, has the native God concepts of Ayyappan, Mariyamman, Yellamma, Hanuman and Bhairavan, etc, cherished by tens of thousands of locals, lost their glamour? Most of the present day media which blows its own trumpet for the strong unwavering stand it has taken several times on the individual and religious freedom sides has now dragged the Sabarimala issue to the shades of gender discrimination. Such media houses promulgate the view that there is no right for any individual or community to decide upon whom they wanted to worship and how! Still every second, they would want to celebrate the secular nature of the country. What an irony?! They are, in fact, no different from the Abrahamic mono theistic God systems who would want to crumble down all other religious practices and beliefs. Disguised in suits and coats of European attire, the Ethics and Justice system is inching into the sanctum sanctorum and sacred groves of our society. The culture that survived the iron boots of English are now facing a greater threat from the remnant shadows of the same. When the Procrustes are sharpening their blades and hammers to sever and beat down the customs and traditions under the guise of progressiveness measures, the time necessarily demands for a thousand Theseus. (The writer is an independent researcher from Kerala with keen interest in science, philosophy and the study of Indian civilisation) 19 minutes ago Asian shares mixed after China warning on risks, stagflation Stocks were mixed in Asia on Monday after ending the week mostly lower on Wall Street, despite the Nasdaq's first close above 16,000. A resurgence of coronavirus outbreaks in the U.S., Europe and some other regions is weighing on investor sentiment. Read Article American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. All rights reserved. 326 E 8th St #105, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 | U.S. Based Support Team at [email protected] | (844) 978-6257 MarketBeat does not provide personalized financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security. Our Accessibility Statement | Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Information 2021 Market data provided is at least 10-minutes delayed and hosted by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and is delayed. To see all exchange delays and terms of use please see disclaimer. Fundamental company data provided by Zacks Investment Research. 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 Xylem: Aanderaa Data Instruments AS, Beijing United Gas Meters Co. Ltd., Bellingham & Stanley Ltd., Bombas Flygt de Venezuela S.A., CMS Research Corporation, EmNet LLC, FARADYNE Motors LLC, Faradyne Motors (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Flow Control LLC, Flowtronex PSI LLC, Fluid Handling LLC, Godwin Holdings Ltd., Goulds Water Technology Philippines Inc, Grindex AB, Grindex Pumps LLC, HYPACK Inc, Heartland Pump Rental & Sales Inc., IMT b.v., Jabsco Marine Italia s.r.l., Jabsco S. de R.L. De C.V., Lowara UK Ltd, Lowara Vogel Polska SP ZOO, Lowara s.r.l., MJK Automation ApS, MultiTrode Inc., Multitrode Pty Ltd, Nova Analytics Europe LLC, O.I. Corporation, PCI Membrane Systems Inc., Pension Trustee Management Ltd, Pims Pumps, Portacel Inc., Pure Technologies, SELC Electronics Ltd, SELC Group Ltd., SELC Ireland Ltd, Safe Sea Services FZC, Sensus, Sensus (UK Holdings) Ltd., Sensus Australia Pty Ltd, Sensus Canada Inc., Sensus Chile SA, Sensus Espana SA, Sensus France Holdings SAS, Sensus France SAS, Sensus GmbH Hannover, Sensus GmbH Ludwigshafen, Sensus Italia SRL, Sensus Japan Kabushiki Kaisha, Sensus Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Sensus Maroc S.A.., Sensus Metering Systems (Fuzhou) Co. Ltd., Sensus Metering Systems (LuxCo 1) S.A R.L., Sensus Metering Systems (LuxCo 2) S.A R.L., Sensus Metering Systems (LuxCo 3) S.A R.L., Sensus Metering Systems (LuxCo 4) S.A R.L., Sensus Metering Systems (LuxCo 5) S.A R.L, Sensus Metering Systems IP Holdings Inc., Sensus Polska sp. zoo, Sensus Precision Die Casting (Yangzhou) Co. Ltd., Sensus SPA, Sensus Services Deutschland GmbH, Sensus Slovensko a.s., Sensus South Africa (Proprietary) Ltd., Sensus Spectrum LLC, Sensus UK Systems Limited, Sensus USA Inc., Sensus de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Sensus metrologicke sluzby s.r.o._Slovakia, Sensus Ceska republika spol. s r.o., Sentec Limited, Smith-Blair Inc., Texas Turbine LLC, Tideland Signal Corporation, Tideland Signal EMEA B.V., Tideland Signal LLC, Tideland Signal Limited, Tirinstal Investments Ltd, UGI Global Limited, Valor Water Analytics, Visenti Pte. Ltd, Water Asset Management Inc., Water Process Limited, Watercompany, Xylem (China) Company Limited, Xylem (Hong Kong) Limited, Xylem (Nanjing) Co. Ltd, Xylem Analytics (Beijing) Co. Ltd, Xylem Analytics Australia Pty Ltd., Xylem Analytics France S.A.S., Xylem Analytics Germany GmbH, Xylem Analytics IP Management GmbH, Xylem Analytics IP Management SCS, Xylem Analytics LLC, Xylem Analytics UK LTD, Xylem Australia Holdings PTY LTD, Xylem Brasil Solucoes para Agua Ltda, Xylem Canada Company, Xylem Delaware Inc., Xylem Denmark Holdings ApS, Xylem Dewatering Solutions Inc., Xylem Dewatering Solutions UK Ltd, Xylem Europe GmbH, Xylem Financing S.a.r.l, Xylem Germany GmbH, Xylem Global S.a.r.l, Xylem Holdings S.a.r.l., Xylem IP Holdings LLC, Xylem IP Management S.a.r.l, Xylem IP UK S.a.r.l., Xylem Industriebeteiligungen GmbH, Xylem Industries S.a.r.l., Xylem International S.a.r.l., Xylem Lowara Limited, Xylem Luxembourg S.a r.l., Xylem Management GmbH, Xylem Manufacturing Austria GmbH, Xylem Manufacturing Middle East Region FZCO, Xylem Middle East Water Equipment Trading & Rental LLC, Xylem Russia LLC, Xylem Saudi Arabia Limited, Xylem Service Hungary Kft, Xylem Service Italia Srl, Xylem Services Austria GmbH, Xylem Services GmbH, Xylem Shared Services Sp. Z.o.o., Xylem Technologies & Partners S.C.S, Xylem Technologies GmbH, Xylem Water Holdings Limited, Xylem Water Limited, Xylem Water Services Limited, Xylem Water Solutions (Hong Kong) Limited, Xylem Water Solutions Argentina S.R.L., Xylem Water Solutions Australia Limited, Xylem Water Solutions Austria GmbH, Xylem Water Solutions Belgium, Xylem Water Solutions Chile S.A., Xylem Water Solutions Colombia SAS, Xylem Water Solutions Denmark ApS, Xylem Water Solutions Deutschland GmbH, Xylem Water Solutions Espana S.A., Xylem Water Solutions Florida LLC, Xylem Water Solutions France SAS, Xylem Water Solutions Global Services AB, Xylem Water Solutions Herford GmbH, Xylem Water Solutions Holdings France SAS, Xylem Water Solutions India Private Limited, Xylem Water Solutions Ireland Ltd., Xylem Water Solutions Italia S.R.L, Xylem Water Solutions Korea Co. Ltd., Xylem Water Solutions Magyarorszag KRT, Xylem Water Solutions Malaysia SDN. BHD., Xylem Water Solutions Manufacturing AB, Xylem Water Solutions Metz SAS, Xylem Water Solutions Mexico S.de R.L. de C.V., Xylem Water Solutions Middle East Region FZCO, Xylem Water Solutions Muscat LLC, Xylem Water Solutions Nederland BV, Xylem Water Solutions New Zealand Limited, Xylem Water Solutions Norge AS, Xylem Water Solutions Panama s.r.l., Xylem Water Solutions Peru S.A., Xylem Water Solutions Polska Sp.z.o.o., Xylem Water Solutions Portugal Unipessoal Lda., Xylem Water Solutions Rugby Limited, Xylem Water Solutions Singapore PTE Ltd., Xylem Water Solutions South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Xylem Water Solutions South Africa Holdings LLC, Xylem Water Solutions Suomi Oy, Xylem Water Solutions Sweden AB, Xylem Water Solutions U.S.A. Inc., Xylem Water Solutions UK Holdings Limited, Xylem Water Solutions UK Limited, Xylem Water Solutions Zelienople LLC, Xylem Water Solutions(Shenyang) CO. Ltd, Xylem Water Systems (California) Inc., Xylem Water Systems Hungary KFT, Xylem Water Systems International Inc., Xylem Water Systems Japan Corporation, Xylem Water Systems Philippines Holding Inc., Xylem Water Systems Texas Holdings LLC, Xylem Water Systems U.S.A. LLC, YSI (China) Ltd., YSI (Hong Kong) Ltd., YSI (UK) Ltd., YSI Incorporated, YSI Instrumentos E Servicos Ambientais Ltda., YSI International Inc., YSI Nanotech Limited, and ylem Analytics Germany Sales GmbH& Co. KG. SemGroup Corporation provides gathering, transportation, storage, distribution, marketing, and other midstream services for producers, refiners of petroleum products, and other market participants. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Liquids, U.S. Gas, and Canada. The U.S. Liquids segment operates crude oil pipelines, truck transportation, storage, terminals, and marketing businesses; stores, blends, and transports refinery products and refinery feedstock through pipeline, barge, rail, truck, and ship; and operates a residual fuel oil storage terminal in the U.S. Gulf Coast. This segment has 18.2 million barrels of storage capacity on the Houston Ship Channel; and 7.6 million barrels of storage capacity at the Cushing Interchange. It also operates a 460-mile crude oil gathering and transportation pipeline system in Kansas and northern Oklahoma; 75-mile crude oil gathering pipeline system that transports crude oil from production facilities in the DJ Basin to the pipeline owned by White Cliffs Pipeline, L.L.C.; 2 parallel 527-mile pipelines that transports crude oil from Platteville, Colorado to Cushing, Oklahoma; 3 pipelines with an aggregate of 106 miles of pipe; 30-lane crude oil truck unloading facility in Platteville, Colorado; and crude oil trucking fleet of approximately 245 transport trucks and 235 trailers. The U.S. Gas segment provides natural gas gathering, processing, and marketing services. It operates 842 miles of gathering lines in Oklahoma; and a 53-mile high pressure gathering pipeline located in the STACK play. The Canada segment owns and operates natural gas processing and gathering facilities with approximately 530 miles of natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines in Alberta, Canada. SemGroup Corporation was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Read More Deutsche Telekom AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated telecommunication services. The company operates through five segments: Germany, United States, Europe, Systems Solutions, and Group Development. It offers fixed-network services, including voice and data communication services based on fixed-network and broadband technology; and sells terminal equipment and other hardware products, as well as services to resellers. The company also provides mobile voice and data services to consumers and business customers; sells mobile devices and other hardware products; and sells mobile services to resellers and to companies that purchases and markets network services to third parties, such as mobile virtual network operators. In addition, it offers internet services; internet-based TV products and services; and information and communication technology systems for multinational corporations and public sector institutions with an infrastructure of data centers and networks under the T-Systems brand, as well as call center services. The company has 242 million mobile customers and 22 million broadband customers, as well as 27 million fixed-network lines. Deutsche Telekom AG has a collaboration with VMware, Inc. on cloud-based open and intelligent virtual RAN platform to bring agility to radio access networks for existing LTE and future 5G networks; and partnership with Microsoft to deliver high-performance cloud computing experiences. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Bonn, Germany. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of PPG Industries: AIPCF V Texstars Blocker Inc., AkzoNobel, Alermac Inversiones S.A. de C.V., Alpha Coating Technologies LLC, Alpha Coatings Inc., Broad Range Development Limited, Brown Brothers Distribution Limited, CG Holdings Manufacturing Co., Centro de Investigacion en Polimeros S.A. de C.V., Chemfil Canada Limited, Chorlton Trade Paints Limited, Comercial Mexicana de Pinturas S.A. de C.V., Comex, Comex Industrial Coatings S.A. de C.V., Consorcio Comex S.A. de C.V., Cristacol S.A., Cuming Microwave Corporation, Deutek SA, Dexmet Corporation, Dexmet Holding Corporation, Distribuidora Kroma S.A. de C.V., EPIC Insurance Co. Ltd., Eberle Design Inc., Empresa Aga S.A. de C.V., Ennis Canadian Holding Company, Ennis Flint Soluciones Seguras Para Trafico, Ennis Highway Traffic Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Ennis Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, Ennis Paint Australia Holding Pty Ltd, Ennis Paint Boya Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., Ennis Paint Canada ULC, Ennis Paint Germany GmbH, Ennis Paint Netherlands Holdings LLC, Ennis Paint U.K. Holding Company Limited, Ennis Prismo Italio S.r.l., Ennis Traffic Safety Solutions Pty Ltd, Ennis Flint Mexico, Ennis Flint New Zealand, Ennis Flint New Zealand Holding Pty Ltd, Ennis-Flint, Ennis-Flint Africa (Pty) Ltd, Ennis-Flint Inc., Foshan Bairun Chemicals Co. Ltd., Fpu Industrial S.A. de C.V., Grupo Comex S.A. de C.V., Hemmelrath Automotive Coatings (Jilin) Co. Ltd., Hodij Coatings B.V., Homax Products, Industria Chimica Reggiana I.C.R. SPA, Johnstones Paints Limited, Kalon Investment Company Limited, Kalon South Africa Proprietary Limited, Manchester Thermoplastics LLC, Masterwork Paint, MetoKote Canada Limited, MetoKote Corporation, MetoKote Mexico Holding Inc., MetoKote UK Limited, MetoKote de Mexico S. de RL de CV, PPG AC - France SA, PPG ALESCO Automotive Finishes Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., PPG AP Resinas S.A. de C.V., PPG Aerospace Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., PPG Architectural Coatings (Puerto Rico) Inc., PPG Architectural Coatings Canada Inc., PPG Architectural Coatings Ireland Limited, PPG Architectural Coatings Italy S.r.l., PPG Architectural Coatings UK Limited, PPG Architectural Finishes Inc., PPG Asian Paints Private Ltd., PPG COATINGS SINGAPORE PTE. LTD., PPG Canada Inc., PPG Cieszyn S.A., PPG Coatings (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, PPG Coatings (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., PPG Coatings (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Thailand) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Wuhu) Company Ltd., PPG Coatings (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings B.V., PPG Coatings Belgium BV, PPG Coatings Danmark A/S, PPG Coatings Deutschland GmbH, PPG Coatings Europe B.V., PPG Coatings Manufacturing SARL, PPG Coatings Nederland BV, PPG Coatings S.A., PPG Coatings South Africa (Pty) Ltd., PPG DYRUP S.A., PPG Deco Czech a.s., PPG Deco Polska sp. z.o.o., PPG Deco Slovakia s.r.o., PPG Deutschland Business Support GmbH, PPG Deutschland Sales & Services GmbH, PPG Distribution S.A.S., PPG Europe B.V., PPG Finance B.V., PPG France Business Support S.A.S., PPG France Manufacturing S.A.S., PPG Guadeloupe SAS, PPG Hellas S.A., PPG Hemmelrath Coatings Inc., PPG Hemmelrath Lackfabrik GmbH, PPG Holdco SAS, PPG Holdings (U.K.) Limited, PPG Holdings Argentina USA LLC, PPG Holdings Latin America USA LLC, PPG Iberica S.A., PPG Iberica Sales & Services S.L., PPG Industrial Coatings B.V., PPG Industrial do Brasil - Tintas E. Vernizes - Ltda., PPG Industries (Korea) Ltd., PPG Industries (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., PPG Industries (UK) Ltd, PPG Industries Argentina S.R.L., PPG Industries Australia PTY Limited A.C.N. 055 500 939, PPG Industries Colombia Ltda., PPG Industries Czech Republic s.r.o., PPG Industries Delfzijl B.V., PPG Industries Europe Sarl, PPG Industries France S.A.S., PPG Industries International Inc., PPG Industries Italia S.r.l., PPG Industries Kimya a Sanayi VE Ticaret AS, PPG Industries LLC, PPG Industries Lipetsk LLC, PPG Industries Middle East FZE, PPG Industries Netherlands B.V., PPG Industries New Zealand Limited, PPG Industries Ohio Inc., PPG Industries Poland Sp. Z.o.o., PPG Industries Securities LLC, PPG Industries de Mexico S.A. de C.V., PPG Italia Business Support S.r.l., PPG Italia Sales & Services S.r.l., PPG Japan Ltd., PPG Kansai Automotive Finishes Canada LP, PPG Kansai Automotive Finishes U.K. LLP, PPG Kansai Automotive Finishes U.S. LLC, PPG Luxembourg Finance S.aR.L., PPG Luxembourg Holdings S.aR.L., PPG Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Mexico S.A. de C.V., PPG Packaging Coatings (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., PPG Paints Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Performance Coatings (Hong Kong) Limited, PPG Powder Coatings (Shanghai) Limited, PPG Romania S.A., PPG SSC Co. Ltd., PPG Switzerland GmbH, PPG Trilak Kft., PPG Vietnam Co. Ltd., PRC-DeSoto Australia Pty Ltd., PRC-DeSoto International Inc., PT. PPG Coatings Indonesia, Painter's Supply, Paintzen, Peintures de Paris SAS, Plasticos Envolventes S.A. de C.V., Polymeric Systems Inc., Prismo Road Markings Limited, ProCoatings B.V., ProCoatings BV, Protec Pty Ltd. A.C.N. 007 857 392, Reno A&E LLC, Revocoat France SAS, Revocoat Holding SAS, Revocoat Iberica SLU, Revocoat S.A.S, Road Infrastructure Investment Holdings Inc., SEM Products Inc., Sealants Europe SAS, Sierracin Corporation, Sierracin/Sylmar Corporation, Sigma Marine & Protective Coatings Holding B.V., SigmaKalon (BC) UK Limited, SigmaKalon Group, SigmaKalon Middle East B.V., Sikar (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Spraylat International Ltd, Texstars LLC, The Crown Group Co., The Crown Group Inc, The Homax Group, Tikkurila Group, Traffic Safety Intermediate LLC, Traffic Safety Parent LLC, United International Business NV, Vanex Inc., Vernisol S.p.A., Versaflex, Viasa S.A. de C.V., Whitford, Whitford B.V., Whitford Corporation, Whitford Jiangmen Ltd., Whitford Ltd. (HK), Whitford Ltd. (UK), Whitford Pte. Ltd., Whitford S.r.l., Whitford Worldwide Company LLC, Worwag Coatings, and Zaganite Industries Pty Ltd. Hannover RAck SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance products and services worldwide. It operates through Property & Casualty Reinsurance, and Life & Health Reinsurance segments. The Property & Casualty Reinsurance segment offers specialty lines comprising marine, aviation, facultative and direct business, credit, surety, and political risks reinsurance products; and treaty, catastrophe XL, and structured reinsurance, as well as insurance-linked securities. This segment also provides risk solutions for agricultural, livestock, and bloodstock businesses; aviation and space business; and marine and offshore energy business. The Life & Health Reinsurance segment offers group and individual credit life, enhanced annuities, group life and health, and Sharia-compliant Takaful reinsurance products. This segment also provides risk solutions in the areas of critical illness, disability, health, longevity, long term care, and mortality and morbidity, as well as underwriting services. In addition, it offers various financial solutions, including new-business financing; monetization of embedded value; reserve and solvency relief; and divestiture of non-core businesses. The company was formerly known as Hannover RAckversicherung AG and changed its name to Hannover RAck SE in March 2013. The company was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Hanover, Germany. Hannover RAck SE is a subsidiary of Talanx AG. Read More HDFC Bank Ltd. engages in the provision of banking and financial services, including commercial banking and treasury operations. The firm also provides financial services to upper and middle income individuals and corporations in India. It operates through the following segments: Treasury, Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking and Other Banking Operations. The Treasury segment consists of bank's investment portfolio, money market borrowing and lending, investment operations and trading in foreign exchange and derivative contracts. The Retail Banking segment provides loans and other services to customers through a branch network and other delivery channels. The Wholesale Banking segment provides loans, non-fund facilities and transaction services to large corporates, emerging corporates, public sector units, government bodies, financial institutions, and medium scale enterprises. The Other Banking Business segment includes income from para banking activities such as credit cards, debit cards, third party product distribution, primary dealership business, and the associated costs. The company was founded by Aditya Tapishwar Puri in August 1994 and is headquartered in Mumbai, India. Read More Toyota Motor Corp. engages in the manufacture and sale of motor vehicles and parts. It operates through the following segments: Automotive, Financial Services, and All Other. The Automotive segment designs, manufactures, assembles and sells passenger cars, minivans, trucks, and related vehicle parts and accessories. It is also involved in the development of intelligent transport systems. The Financial Services segment offers purchase or lease financing to Toyota vehicle dealers and customers. It also provides retail leasing through lease contracts purchase by dealers. The All Others segment deals with the design and manufacture and sale of housing, telecommunications and other businesses. The company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda on August 28, 1937 and is headquartered in Toyota, Japan. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Allstate: AIMCO Private Fund I Holding LLC, AIMCO Private Fund I LLC, AIMCO Private Fund II LLC, ALIC Reinsurance Company, ALINV Mosaic LLC, ANIHI Newco LLC, AP Real Estate LLC, AP Riverway Plaza LLC, AP Timber LLC, Allstate Assignment Company, Allstate Assurance Company, Allstate County Mutual Insurance Company, Allstate Digital Ventures LLC, Allstate Distributors L.L.C., Allstate Enterprises LLC, Allstate Exchange Services LLC, Allstate Finance Company Agency Loans LLC, Allstate Finance Company LLC, Allstate Financial Advisors LLC, Allstate Financial Corporation, Allstate Financial Insurance Holdings Corporation, Allstate Financial LLC, Allstate Financial Services LLC (1), Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company, Allstate Global Holdings Limited, Allstate Indemnity Company, Allstate Insurance Company, Allstate Insurance Company of Canada, Allstate Insurance Holdings LLC, Allstate International Assignments Ltd., Allstate International Holdings Inc., Allstate Investment Management Company, Allstate Investments LLC, Allstate Life Insurance Company (2), Allstate Life Insurance Company of Canada, Allstate Life Insurance Company of New York, Allstate Motor Club Inc., Allstate New Jersey Insurance Company, Allstate New Jersey Property and Casualty Insurance Company, Allstate Non-Insurance Holdings Inc., Allstate North American Insurance Company, Allstate Northbrook Indemnity Company, Allstate Northern Ireland Limited, Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Company, Allstate Settlement Corporation, Allstate Short Term Pool LLC, Allstate Solutions Private Limited, Allstate Texas Lloyds, Allstate Texas Lloyds Inc., Allstate Vehicle and Property Insurance Company, American Heritage Life Insurance Company, American Heritage Service Company, Answer Financial Inc., Answer Marketplace LLC, Arity 875 LLC, Arity International Limited, Arity LLC, Arity Services LLC, CE Care Plan Corp, Castle Key Indemnity Company, Castle Key Insurance Company, Complete Product Care Corp, Current Creek Investments LLC, E.R.J. Insurance Group Inc. (3), Encompass Floridian Indemnity Company, Encompass Floridian Insurance Company, Encompass Home and Auto Insurance Company, Encompass Indemnity Company, Encompass Independent Insurance Company, Encompass Insurance Company, Encompass Insurance Company of America, Encompass Insurance Company of Massachusetts, Encompass Insurance Company of New Jersey, Encompass Insurance Holdings LLC, Encompass Property and Casualty Company, Encompass Property and Casualty Insurance Company of New Jersey, Esurance Holdings Inc., Esurance Insurance Company, Esurance Insurance Company of Canada, Esurance Insurance Company of New Jersey, Esurance Insurance Services Company of Canada, Esurance Insurance Services Inc. (4), Esurance Property and Casualty Insurance Company, First Colonial Insurance Company, Identity Protection Strategic Solutions LLC, InfoArmor Aggra Inc., InfoArmor Inc., Insurance Answer Center LLC (5), Intramerica Life Insurance Company, Ivantage Insurance Brokers Inc., Ivantage Select Agency Inc., Kennett Capital Inc., NBInv AF1 LLC, NBInv AF2 LLC, NBInv AF3 LLC, NBInv AF4 LLC, NBInv AF5 LLC, NBInv AF6 LLC, NBInv AP1 LLC, NBInv AP2 LLC, NBInv AP3 LLC, NBInv AP4 LLC, NBInv AP5 LLC, NBInv AP6 LLC, NBInv AP7 LLC, NBInv AP8 LLC, NBInv APAF1 LLC, NBInv Riverside Cars1 LLC, NBInv Riverside Management LLC, North Light Specialty Insurance Company, Northeast Agencies Inc. (6), Pablo Creek Services Inc., Pafco Insurance Company, Pembridge Insurance Company, PlumChoice Business Services Inc., PlumChoice Inc., Protection Plan Group Inc., Right Answer Insurance Agency LLC, Road Bay Investments LLC, ST Product Care Corp, Signature Agency Inc., Signature Motor Club Inc., Signature Motor Club of California Inc., Signature Nationwide Auto Club of California Inc., Signatures Nationwide Auto Club Inc., SquareTrade Australia Pty Ltd, SquareTrade Canada Inc., SquareTrade Europe Limited, SquareTrade Holding Company Inc., SquareTrade Inc. (7), SquareTrade Insurance Services Inc., SquareTrade Limited, SquareTrade Protection Solutions Inc., SquareTradeGo Inc., Tech-Cor LLC, and West Plaza RE Holdings LLC. The following companies are subsidiares of Becton, Dickinson and: (Bard Istanbul Healthcare Limited Company), Accuri Cytometers, Accuri Cytometers Inc., Adaptec Manufacturing Singapore, Alverix, Alverix Inc., Atto Bioscience, BD Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., BD Infection Prevention BV, BD Kiestra BV, BD Kiestra Total Lab Automation, BD Rapid Diagnostic (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., BD San Luis Potosi S.A. de C.V., BD Switzerland Sarl, BD Ventures LLC, BD West Africa Limited, BDX INO LLC, Bard (Thailand) Limited, Bard ASDI Inc., Bard Access Systems Inc., Bard Acquisition Sub Inc., Bard Australia Pty. Limited, Bard Benelux N.V., Bard Brachytherapy Inc., Bard Brasil Industria e Comercio de Produtos Para a Saude Ltda., Bard Canada Inc., Bard Chile S.p.A., Bard Colombia S.A.S., Bard Czech Republic s.r.o., Bard Devices Inc., Bard Dublin ITC Limited, Bard EMEA Finance Center Sp.z o.o., Bard European Distribution Center N.V., Bard Finance B.V. & Co. KG., Bard Financial Services Ltd., Bard Finland OY, Bard France S.A.S., Bard Global Holdings I LLC, Bard Global Holdings II LLC, Bard Global Holdings III LLC, Bard Healthcare Inc., Bard Healthcare Science (Shanghai) Limited, Bard Hellas S.A., Bard Holding SAS, Bard Holdings Limited, Bard Holdings Netherlands B.V., Bard Hong Kong Limited, Bard IP Holdings Inc., Bard India Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Bard International Holdings B.V., Bard International Inc., Bard Korea Ltd., Bard Limited, Bard MRL Acquisition Corp., Bard Malaysia Healthcare Sdn. Bhd., Bard Medica SA, Bard Medical Devices (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Bard Medical R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Bard Medical SA (Proprietary) Limited, Bard Mexico Realty S. de R.L. de C.V., Bard Norden AB, Bard Norway AS, Bard Pacific Health Care Company Ltd., Bard Peripheral Vascular Inc., Bard Poland Sp. z.o.o., Bard Productos Plasticos e Medicos Ltda., Bard Reynosa S.A. de C.V., Bard S.r.l., Bard Sdn. Bhd., Bard Shannon Limited, Bard Singapore Private Limited, Bard Sourcing Office Singapore Pte. Ltd., Bard Sweden AB, Bard UK Newco Limited, Bard de Espana S.A., Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Holdings Ltd., Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Limited, Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Management Limited, Becton Dickinson (Mauritius) Limited, Becton Dickinson (Pty) Ltd., Becton Dickinson (Thailand) Limited, Becton Dickinson A.G., Becton Dickinson A/S, Becton Dickinson Argentina S.R.L., Becton Dickinson Asia Holdings Ltd., Becton Dickinson Asia Limited, Becton Dickinson Austria GmbH, Becton Dickinson Austria Holdings GmbH, Becton Dickinson B.V., Becton Dickinson B.V. Saudi Limited Company, Becton Dickinson Benelux N.V., Becton Dickinson Biosciences Systems and Reagents Inc., Becton Dickinson Canada Inc., Becton Dickinson Caribe Ltd., Becton Dickinson Croatia d.o.o., Becton Dickinson Czechia s.r.o., Becton Dickinson Dispensing Belgium BVBA, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Denmark A/S, Becton Dickinson Dispensing France SAS, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Ireland Limited, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Norway, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Spain S.L.U., Becton Dickinson Dispensing UK Ltd., Becton Dickinson Distribution Center N.V., Becton Dickinson East Africa Ltd., Becton Dickinson Euro Finance Sarl, Becton Dickinson Europe Holdings S.A.S., Becton Dickinson France S.A.S., Becton Dickinson GSA Beteilgungs GmbH, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings I Inc., Becton Dickinson Global Holdings II LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings IV LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings V LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings VI LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings VII LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Services Centre Sdn. Bdn., Becton Dickinson GmbH, Becton Dickinson Guatemala S.A., Becton Dickinson Hellas S.A., Becton Dickinson Holdings Limited, Becton Dickinson Holdings Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Hungary Kft., Becton Dickinson India Private Limited, Becton Dickinson Industrias Cirurgicas Ltda., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy AB, Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Holdings UK Limited, Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Systems Inc., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Systems Inc. S.A. de C.V., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy UK, Becton Dickinson Insulin Syringe Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings II Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings III Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Israel Ltd., Becton Dickinson Italia S.p.A., Becton Dickinson Ithalat Ihracat Limited Sirketi, Becton Dickinson Korea Holding Inc., Becton Dickinson Korea Ltd., Becton Dickinson Ltd., Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Finance S.a.r.L., Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Global Holdings Sarl, Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Holdings II S.a.r.L, Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Holdings III S.a.r.L, Becton Dickinson Malaysia Inc., Becton Dickinson Management GmbH & Co. KG, Becton Dickinson Matrex Holdings Inc., Becton Dickinson Medical (S) Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Devices (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Devices (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Products Pte. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Technology (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Global Holdings II C.V., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Holdings B.V., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Holdings II B.V., Becton Dickinson Norway AS, Becton Dickinson O.Y., Becton Dickinson Overseas Services Ltd., Becton Dickinson Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd., Becton Dickinson Penel Limited, Becton Dickinson Philippines Inc., Becton Dickinson Polska Sp.z.o.o., Becton Dickinson Portugal Unipessoal Lda., Becton Dickinson Pty. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Research Centre Ireland Limited, Becton Dickinson Rowa Germany GmbH, Becton Dickinson Rowa Italy Srl, Becton Dickinson S.A., Becton Dickinson Sample Collection GmbH, Becton Dickinson Scot Financing L.L.P., Becton Dickinson Scot Financing L.P., Becton Dickinson Sdn. Bhd., Becton Dickinson Slovakia s.r.o., Becton Dickinson Sweden AB, Becton Dickinson Sweden Holdings AB, Becton Dickinson Switzerland Global Holdings SarL, Becton Dickinson Technology Campus India, Becton Dickinson U.K. Limited, Becton Dickinson UK Financing I Ltd., Becton Dickinson UK Financing II Ltd., Becton Dickinson Venezuela C.A., Becton Dickinson Venture LLC, Becton Dickinson Verwaltungs GmbH, Becton Dickinson Vostok LLC, Becton Dickinson Worldwide Investments Sa.r.L., Becton Dickinson Zambia Limited, Becton Dickinson and Company Ltd., Becton Dickinson de Colombia Ltda., Becton Dickinson de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Becton Dickinson del Uruguay S.A., Benex Ltd., Biometric Imaging, Bridger Biomed Inc., C. R. Bard, C. R. Bard (Portugal)-Produtos e Artigos Medicos e Farmaceuticos, C. R. Bard Do Brazil Productos Medicos Ltds., C. R. Bard GmbH, C. R. Bard Inc., C. R. Bard Netherlands Sales B.V., CME America LLC, CME Ltd., CME Medical (UK) Limited, CME UK (Holdings) Limited, CRISI Medical Systems, CRISI Medical Systems Inc., Caesarea Medical Electronics, Cardal II LLC, Care Fusion Development Private Limited, CareFusion, CareFusion (Barbados) SrL, CareFusion (Shanghai) Commercial and Trading Co. Limited, CareFusion 213 LLC, CareFusion 2200 Inc., CareFusion 2201 Inc., CareFusion 302 LLC, CareFusion 303 Inc., CareFusion Asia (HK) Limited, CareFusion BH 335 d.o.o. Cazin, CareFusion Corporation, CareFusion D.R. 203 Ltd., CareFusion France 309 S.A.S., CareFusion Germany 318 GmbH, CareFusion Iberia 308 S.L., CareFusion Israel 330 Ltd., CareFusion Italy 312 S.p.A., CareFusion Manufacturing LLC, CareFusion Mexico 215 S.A. de C.V., CareFusion Netherlands 328 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands 503 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands 504 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands Financing 283 C.V., CareFusion Resources LLC, CareFusion S.A. 319 (Proprietary) Limited, CareFusion Solutions LLC, CareFusion U.K. 244 Limited, CareFusion U.K. 305 Limited, CareFusion U.K. 306 Limited, Carmel Pharma AB, Carmel Pharma Inc, Cato Software Solutions, Cell Analysis Systems Inc, Cellular Research, Cellular Research Inc., Clearstream Technologies Group Limited, Clearstream Technologies Limited, Clontech Laboratories Inc, Corporativo BD de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Cubex, Cytopeia, DLD (Bermuda) Ltd., DVL Acquisition Sub Inc., Davol Inc., Davol International Limited, Davol Surgical Innovations S.A. de C.V., Difco Laboratories Incorporated, Distribuidora BD Mexico S.A. de C.V., Dutch American Manufacturers (D.A.M.) B.V., Dymax Corporation, Embo Medical Limited, Enturia de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Enturican Inc., FJ International Inc., FlowCardia Inc., FlowCardia LLC, FlowJo LLC, Franklin Lakes Enterprises L.L.C., GSL Solutions, Gamer Lasertechnik GmbH, GenCell Biosystems, GenCell Biosystems Ltd., GeneOhm Sciences, GeneOhm Sciences Canada Inc., Gentest Corporation, Gesco International Inc., Gesco International LLC, HandyLab Inc, HandyLab Inc., IBD Holdings LLC, Ionotophoretics Corporation, JoHome LLC, Kabushiki Kaisha Medicon (Medicon Inc.), Liberator Health and Education Services Inc., Liberator Health and Wellness Inc., Liberator Medical Holdings Inc., Liberator Medical Supply Inc., LifeBond, Limited Liability Company Bard Rus, Loma Vista Medical Inc., Loma Vista Medical LLC, Lutonix Inc., Med-Design Corporation, Med-Design Investment Holdings Inc., Med-Safe Systems Inc., MedChem Products Inc., Medafor Inc., Medegen LLC, Medinservice.com Inc., Medivance Inc., NAT Diagnostics, NAT Diagnostics Inc., NOW Medical Distribution Inc., NOW Medical Distribution LLC, Navarre Biomedical LLC, Navarre Biomedical Ltd., Neomend Inc., Nippon Becton Dickinson Company Ltd., Omega Biosystems Incorporated, P.R.C.(Isialys)Societe a responsabilitie limitee(Societe a associe unique), PT Becton Dickinson Indonesia, PharMingen, PreAnalytiX GmbH, Pristine Access Technologies Inc., ProSeed Inc., Procesos para Esterilizacion S.A. de C.V., Productos Bard de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Productos Para el Cuidado de la Salud S.A. de C.V., Puls Medical Devices AS LC, PureWick Corporation, Roberts Laboratories Inc., Rochester Medical Corporation, Rochester Medical Ltd., Saf-T-Med, Safety Syringes, Safety Syringes Inc., Sendal S.L.U., SenoRx Inc., SenoRx LLC, Shield Healthcare Centers Inc., Sirigen, Sirigen II Limited, Sirigen Inc., Sistemas Medicos ALARIS S.A. de C.V., Specialized Cooperative Corporation, Specialized Health Products Inc., Specialized Health Products International Inc., Specialized Health Products International LLC, Staged Diabetes Management LLC, Straub Medical, Straub Medical, Straub Medical (US) LLC, Straub Medical (United Kingdom) Ltd., Straub Medical France, Surgical Site Solutions Inc., TVA Medical, TVA Medical GmbH, TVA Medical Inc., Tepha, Touchstone Medical Limited, Tri-County Medical & Ostomy Supplies Inc., TriPath Imaging, TriPath Imaging Inc., Vas-Cath Incorporated, Vascular Pathways Inc., Velano Vascular, Venetec International Inc., Venetec International LLC, Y-Med Inc., and Y-Med LLC. 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The following companies are subsidiares of Occidental Petroleum: 1PointFive Inc., 1PointFive P1 LLC, APC Aviation Inc., APC International Holdings LLC, APC Midstream Holdings LLC, APC Venezuela Srl, ARCO Long Beach, Altura Energy, Amarok Gathering LLC, Anadarko 20-25 Company, Anadarko 20-36 Company, Anadarko 20-47 Company, Anadarko 20-48 Company, Anadarko 20-49 Company, Anadarko Algeria Block 403 c/e Company, Anadarko Algeria Block 406B Company, Anadarko Algeria Company LLC, Anadarko Algeria Oil & Gas Company, Anadarko Brazil Investment I LLC, Anadarko Brazil Investment II LLC, Anadarko Canada E&P Limited, Anadarko China Holdings 2 Company, Anadarko Colombia Company, Anadarko Consolidated Holdings LLC, Anadarko Cote d'Ivoire Block 103 Company, Anadarko Cote d'Ivoire Company, Anadarko DBMOS Operator LLC, Anadarko Development Company, Anadarko Development Holding Limited, Anadarko E&P Onshore LLC, Anadarko Egypt Holdings Company, Anadarko Energy Holding Limited, Anadarko Energy Services Company, Anadarko Exploracao e Producao de Petroleo e Gas Natural Ltda., Anadarko Finance Company, Anadarko Gabon Company, Anadarko Ghana Mahogany-1 Company, Anadarko Global Energy S.a.r.l, Anadarko Global Funding 1 Company, Anadarko Global Funding II Ltd., Anadarko Guyana Company, Anadarko Holding Company, Anadarko International Development S.a.r.l, Anadarko International Energy Company, Anadarko International O&G Company, Anadarko International Trading Corporation, Anadarko Jordan Company, Anadarko Kenya Company, Anadarko LMM S.a.r.l, Anadarko Land Corp., Anadarko Mexico B.V., Anadarko Mexico S.a.r.l, Anadarko Midkiff/Chaney Dell BR Corp., Anadarko Midkiff/Chaney Dell LLC, Anadarko Natural Gas Company LLC, Anadarko New Zealand Company, Anadarko OGC Company, Anadarko Offshore Holding Company LLC, Anadarko Offshore Well Containment Company LLC, Anadarko Oil & Gas 5 LLC, Anadarko Peru B.V., Anadarko Petroleum, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Anadarko Realty LLC, Anadarko Rockies LLC, Anadarko Royalty Holdings Company, Anadarko UK Corporate Limited, Anadarko US Offshore LLC, Anadarko USH1 Corporation, Anadarko Venezuela Company, Anadarko Venezuela LLC, Anadarko Venezuela Srl, Anadarko WCTP Company, Anadarko West Texas BR Corp., Anadarko West Texas LLC, Anadarko Worldwide Holdings C.V., Atlantic Rim Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Aventine LLC, Baseball Merger Sub 2 Inc., Bear Branch Exploration LLC, Big Island Trona Company, Bitter Creek Coal Company, Bravo Pipeline Company, Cain Chemical, Cain Chemical Inc., Carbon Finance Labs LLC, Concord Petroleum Corporation, Conn Creek Shale Company, D.S. Ventures LLC, DMM Financial LLC, Deerwood Exploration LLC, Downtown Plaza II, Elk Hills Field, FLAG Development LLC, FP Westport Commodities Limited, FP Westport GmbH, FP Westport LLC, FP Westport Limited, FP Westport Services LLC, FP Westport Trading LLC, Fosters Mill Exploration LLC, Glenn Springs Holdings Inc., Globrep Representaciones S.A., Grand Bassa Tankers Inc., Grupo OxyChem de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Headwater II LLC, Houndstooth Resources LLC, INDSPEC Chemical B.V., INDSPEC Chemical Corporation, INDSPEC Chemical Corporation, INDSPEC Chemical Export Sales LLC, INDSPEC Holding Corporation, Ingleside Cogeneration GP LLC, Ingleside Cogeneration Limited Partnership, Interore Trading Ltd., Joslyn Partnership, KERR-McGEE TT E&P LTD., KM BM-C-Seven Ltd., KM International Insurance Ltd., Kerr-McGee Corporation, Kerr-McGee Natural Gas Company Inc., Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore LP, Kerr-McGee Shared Services Company LLC, Kerr-McGee Stored Power Corporation, Kerr-McGee U.K. Energy Corporation, Kerr-McGee Worldwide Corporation, Kerr-McGee do Brasil Ltda., Kerr-McGee of Canada Northwest Ltd., Laguna Petroleum Corp., Laguna Petroleum LLC, Liwa Oil & Gas Ltd., MC2 Technologies LLC, Mariana Properties Inc., Marico Exploration Inc., Miller Springs Remediation Management Inc., Moncrief Minerals Partnership L.P., NGL Ventures LLC, Natural Gas Odorizing Inc., New OPL LLC, OEVC Energy LLC, OEVC Midstream Projects LLC, OIH LLC, OLCV CE Holdings ULC, OLCV CE US Holdings Inc., OLCV Net Power LLC, OLCV Services LLC, OOG Partner LLC, OOOI Chem Holdings LLC, OOOI Chem Sub LLC, OOOI Chemical International LLC, OOOI Chile Holder LLC, OOOI Ecuador Management LLC, OOOI Oil and Gas Sub LLC, OOOI South America Management LLC, OPM GP Inc., OPM Holdco LLC, OTCF LLC, OTH LLC, OXY CV Pipeline LLC, OXY Campus LLC, OXY Inc., OXY LPG LLC, OXY Libya E&P Area 103 BR4 B.V., OXY Libya E&P Area 35 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P Concession 103 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P EPSA 102 B.V., OXY Libya E&P EPSA 1981 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P EPSA 1985 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P NC 143 144 145 150 B.V., OXY Libya Exploration SPC, OXY Libya LLC, OXY Little Knife LLC, OXY Mexico Holdings I LLC, OXY Mexico Holdings II LLC, OXY Middle East Holdings Ltd., OXY Oil Partners Inc., OXY PBLP Manager LLC, OXY Support Services LLC, OXY Tulsa Inc., OXY USA Inc., OXY USA WTP LP, OXY VPP Investments LLC, OXY West LLC, OXY of Saudi Arabia Ltd., OXYCHEM (CANADA) INC., OXYMAR, Oakwood Exploration LLC, Occidental (Bermuda) Ltd., Occidental (East Shabwa) LLC, Occidental Advance Sale Finance Inc., Occidental Al Hosn LLC, Occidental Angola Holdings Ltd., Occidental CIS Services Inc., Occidental Canada Holdings Ltd., Occidental Chemical Asia Limited, Occidental Chemical Belgium B.V.B.A., Occidental Chemical Chile Limitada, Occidental Chemical Corporation, Occidental Chemical Export Sales LLC, Occidental Chemical Far East Limited, Occidental Chemical Holding Corporation, Occidental Chemical International LLC, Occidental Chemical Investment (Canada) 1 Inc., Occidental Chemical Receivables LLC, Occidental Chemical de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Occidental Chile Investments LLC, Occidental Chile Minority Holder LLC, Occidental Colombia (Series G) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series J) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series K) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series L) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series M) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series N) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series O) Ltd., Occidental Crude Sales Inc. (Canada), Occidental Crude Sales Inc. (International), Occidental Dolphin Holdings Ltd., Occidental Energy Marketing Inc., Occidental Energy Ventures LLC, Occidental Exploradora del Peru Ltd., Occidental Exploration and Production Company, Occidental Hafar LLC, Occidental International (Libya) Inc., Occidental International Corporation, Occidental International Exploration and Production Company, Occidental International Holdings Ltd., Occidental International Oil and Gas Ltd., Occidental International Services Inc., Occidental Joslyn GP 2 Co., Occidental LNG (Malaysia) Ltd., Occidental Latin America Holdings LLC, Occidental Libya Oil & Gas B.V., Occidental MENA Manager Ltd., Occidental Middle East Development Company, Occidental Midland Basin LLC, Occidental Mukhaizna LLC, Occidental Oil Asia Pte. Ltd., Occidental Oil Shale Inc., Occidental Oil and Gas (Oman) Ltd., Occidental Oil and Gas Corporation, Occidental Oil and Gas International Inc., Occidental Oil and Gas International LLC, Occidental Oil and Gas Pakistan LLC, Occidental Oil and Gas of Peru LLC, Occidental Oman (Block 27) Holdings Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 51 Holding Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 51 LLC, Occidental Oman Block 65 Holding Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 65 LLC, Occidental Oman Block 72 Holding Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 72 LLC, Occidental Oman Gas Company LLC, Occidental Oman Gas Holdings Ltd., Occidental Oman North Holdings Ltd., Occidental Oriente Exploration and Production Ltd., Occidental Overseas Holdings B.V., Occidental PVC LLC, Occidental Peninsula II Inc., Occidental Peninsula LLC, Occidental Permian Ltd., Occidental Permian Manager LLC, Occidental Permian Services Inc., Occidental Peruana Inc., Occidental Petrolera del Peru (Block 101) Inc., Occidental Petrolera del Peru (Block 103) Inc., Occidental Petroleum (Pakistan) Inc., Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Occidental Petroleum Corporation Political Action Committee, Occidental Petroleum de Venezuela S.A., Occidental Petroleum of Nigeria, Occidental Petroleum of Oman Ltd., Occidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd., Occidental Power Marketing L.P., Occidental Power Services Inc., Occidental Qatar Energy Company LLC, Occidental Red Sea Development LLC, Occidental Research Corporation, Occidental Resource Recovery Systems Inc., Occidental Resources Company, Occidental Shah Gas Holdings Ltd., Occidental South America Finance LLC, Occidental Specialty Marketing Inc., Occidental Tower Corporation, Occidental Transportation Holding Corporation, Occidental West Texas Overthrust Inc., Occidental Yemen Ltd., Occidental Yemen Sabatain Inc., Occidental del Ecuador Inc., Occidental of Abu Dhabi (Bab) Ltd., Occidental of Abu Dhabi (Shah) Ltd., Occidental of Abu Dhabi Holdings Ltd., Occidental of Abu Dhabi LLC, Occidental of Abu Dhabi Ltd., Occidental of Bahrain Ltd., Occidental of Bangladesh Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Chipiron) Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Cosecha) Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Medina) Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Putumayo) Ltd., Occidental of Colombia (Teca) Ltd., Occidental of Colombia PUT-36 LLC, Occidental of Dubai Inc., Occidental of Iraq Holdings Ltd., Occidental of Iraq LLC, Occidental of Oman Inc., Occidental of Russia Ltd., Occidental of South Africa (Offshore) Inc., Occidental of Yemen (Block 75) LLC, Oceanic Marine Transport Ltd., Opcal Insurance Inc., Oryx Crude Trading & Transportation Inc., Oxy BridgeTex Limited Partnership, Oxy C & I Bulk Sales LLC, Oxy Canada Sales Inc., Oxy Carbon Solutions LLC, Oxy Carbon Storage LLC, Oxy Climate Ventures Inc., Oxy Cogeneration Holding Company LLC, Oxy Colombia Holdings LLC, Oxy Colombia TopCo Ltd., Oxy Delaware Basin LLC, Oxy Delaware Basin Plant LLC, Oxy Dolphin E&P LLC, Oxy Dolphin Pipeline LLC, Oxy Energy Canada Inc., Oxy Energy Services LLC, Oxy Expatriate Services Inc., Oxy FFT Holdings Inc., Oxy Holding Company (Pipeline) Inc., Oxy International Ventures Ltd., Oxy LPG Terminal LLC, Oxy Levelland Pipeline Company LLC, Oxy Levelland Terminal Company LLC, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures LLC, Oxy Midstream Strategic Development LLC, Oxy Oleoducto SOP LLC, Oxy Overseas Services Ltd., Oxy Permian Gathering LLC, Oxy Permian Plaza LLC, Oxy Petroleum de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Oxy Renewable Energy LLC, Oxy Salt Creek Pipeline LLC, Oxy TL LLC, Oxy Taft Hub LLC, Oxy Technology Ventures Inc., Oxy Transport I Company LLC, Oxy Vinyls Canada Co., Oxy Vinyls Export Sales LLC, Oxy Vinyls LP, Oxy Westwood Corporation, Oxy Y-1 Company, OxyChem Ingleside Ethylene Holdings Inc., OxyChem do Brasil Ltda., OxyChile Investments LLC, Oxychem Shipping Ltd., Permian Basin JV Tax Matters Member LLC, Permian Basin Limited Partnership, Permian VPP Holder LP, Permian VPP Manager LLC, Phibro, Placid Oil LLC, Ramlat Oxy Ltd., Rio de Viento Inc., Rodeo Midland Basin LLC, San Patricio Pipeline LLC, Scanports Shipping LLC, SequestCo LLC, Stetson Exploration LLC, Sun Offshore Gathering Company, Swiflite Aircraft Corporation, Transok Properties LLC, Troy Potter Inc., Turavent Oil GmbH [in liquidation], Tuscaloosa Holdings Inc., UP Petroleo III Ltd., Upland Industries Corporation, Venezuela US SRL, Vintage Gas Inc., Vintage Petroleum, Vintage Petroleum Argentina Ltd., Vintage Petroleum Boliviana Ltd., Vintage Petroleum International Finance B.V., Vintage Petroleum International Holdings LLC, Vintage Petroleum International LLC, Vintage Petroleum International Ventures Inc., Vintage Petroleum Italy Inc., Vintage Petroleum South America Holdings Inc., Vintage Petroleum South America LLC, Vintage Petroleum Turkey Inc., WGR Asset Holding Company LLC, WGR Canada Inc., Wardner Ranch Inc., Western Gas Resources Inc., Western Gas Resources-Westana Inc., Western Midstream Holdings LLC, Woodlands International Insurance Ltd., and YT Ranch LLC. The following companies are subsidiares of Bristol-Myers Squibb: 1096271 B.C. ULC, 345 Park LLC, A.G. Medical Services P.A., AHI Investment LLC, AbVitro LLC, Abraxis BioScience Australia Pty Ltd., Abraxis BioScience Inc., Abraxis BioScience International Holding Company Inc., Abraxis BioScience LLC, Abraxis BioScience Puerto Rico LLC, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Adnexus, Adnexus a Bristol-Myers Squibb R&D Company, Allard Labs Acquisition G.P., Amira Pharmaceuticals, Amira Pharmaceuticals Inc., Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Apothecon LLC, B-MS Generx Unlimited Company, BMS Benelux Holdings B.V., BMS Bermuda Nominees L.L.C., BMS Data Acquisition Company LLC, BMS Forex Company, BMS Holdings Sarl, BMS Holdings Spain S.L., BMS International Insurance Designated Activity Company, BMS Investco SAS, BMS Korea Holdings L.L.C., BMS Latin American Nominees L.L.C., BMS Luxembourg Partners L.L.C., BMS Omega Bermuda Holdings Finance Ltd., BMS Pharmaceutical Korea Limited, BMS Pharmaceuticals Germany Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals International Holdings Netherlands B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Korea Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Mexico Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Netherlands Holdings B.V., BMS Real Estate LLC, BMS Spain Investments LLC, BMS Strategic Portfolio Investments Holdings Inc., Blisa Acquisition G.P., Bristol (Iran) S.A., Bristol Iran Private Company Limited, Bristol Laboratories Inc., Bristol Laboratories International S.A., Bristol Laboratories Medical Information Systems Inc., Bristol-Myers (Andes) L.L.C., Bristol-Myers (Private) Limited, Bristol-Myers Middle East S.A.L., Bristol-Myers Overseas Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Israel) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (NZ) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Proprietary) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Singapore) Pte. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Taiwan) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (West Indies) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb A.E., Bristol-Myers Squibb Aktiebolag, Bristol-Myers Squibb Argentina S. R. L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Australia Pty. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Axia Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb B.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Belgium S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Business Services Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada International Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Delta Company Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Denmark Filial of Bristol-Myers Squibb AB, Bristol-Myers Squibb EMEA Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Egypt LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Epsilon Holdings Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Ltda., Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Portuguesa S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb GesmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb GmbH & Co. KGaA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holding Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings 2002 Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Germany Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Pharma Ltd. Liability Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Ilaclari Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb India Pvt. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Company Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Investco L.L.C., Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., Bristol-Myers Squibb Kft., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg International S.C.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb MEA GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Manufacturing Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Marketing Services S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Middle East & Africa FZ-LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Norway Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Nutricionales de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Peru S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (HK) Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (Thailand) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Holding Company LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Ventures Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Polska Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Products SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership Puerto Rico, Bristol-Myers Squibb Romania S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.A.U., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Service Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Services Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Spol. s r.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Theta Finance Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Trustees Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Colombia S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Costa Rica Sociedad Anonima, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Guatemala S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb/Astrazeneca EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership, Bristol-Myers de Venezuela S.C.A., CHT I LLC, CHT II LLC, CHT III LLC, CHT IV LLC, CR Finance Company LLC, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celem LLC, Celem Ltd., Celgene, Celgene A.B., Celgene AS, Celgene Ab (Finland), Celgene Alpine Investment Co. II LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. III LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. LLC, Celgene ApS, Celgene B.V., Celgene BVBA, Celgene Brasil Produtos Farmaceuticos Ltda., Celgene CAR LLC, Celgene CAR Ltd., Celgene Chemicals Sarl, Celgene China Holdings LLC, Celgene Co., Celgene Corporation, Celgene Distribution B.V., Celgene EngMab GmbH, Celgene Europe B.V., Celgene Europe Limited, Celgene European Investment Company LLC, Celgene Financing Company LLC, Celgene Global Holdings Sarl, Celgene GmbH [Austria], Celgene GmbH [Germany], Celgene GmbH [Switzerland], Celgene Holdings East Corporation, Celgene Holdings II Sarl, Celgene Holdings III Sarl, Celgene Ilac Pazarlama ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Celgene Inc., Celgene International Holdings Corporation, Celgene International II Sarl, Celgene International III Sarl, Celgene International Inc., Celgene International Sarl, Celgene K.K., Celgene Kft., Celgene Limited [Hong Kong], Celgene Limited [Ireland], Celgene Limited [New Zealand], Celgene Limited [Taiwan], Celgene Limited [UK], Celgene Logistics Sarl, Celgene Ltd, Celgene Luxembourg Sarl, Celgene Management Sarl, Celgene NJ Investment Co, Celgene Netherlands B.V., Celgene Netherlands Investment B.V., Celgene Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Celgene Pte. Ltd., Celgene Pty Ltd, Celgene Puerto Rico Distribution LLC, Celgene Quanticel Research Inc, Celgene R&D Sarl, Celgene RIVOT LLC, Celgene RIVOT Ltd., Celgene RIVOT SRL, Celgene Receptos Limited, Celgene Receptos Sarl, Celgene Research Incubator At Summit West LLC, Celgene Research S.L.U., Celgene Research and Development Company LLC, Celgene Research and Development I ULC, Celgene Research and Development II LLC, Celgene Research and Investment Company II LLC, Celgene S. de R.L. de C.V., Celgene S.L.U., Celgene S.R.L., Celgene SAS, Celgene Sarl AU, Celgene Sdn Bhd, Celgene Services Sarl, Celgene Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Celgene Sp. Z.o.o., Celgene Sro [Czech Republic], Celgene Summit Investment Co, Celgene Switzerland Holding Sarl, Celgene Switzerland II LLC, Celgene Switzerland Investment Sarl, Celgene Switzerland LLC, Celgene Switzerland Sarl, Celgene Tri A Holdings Ltd., Celgene Tri Sarl, Celgene UK Distribution Limited, Celgene UK Holdings Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing II Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing III Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing Limited, Celgene d.o.o., Celgene sro [Slovakia], Celmed LLC, Celmed Ltd., ConvaTec Divestiture, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals AB, Crosp Ltd., Delinia Inc., Deuteria Pharmaceuticals Inc., DuPont Pharmaceuticals, E. R. Squibb & Sons Inter-American Corporation, E. R. Squibb & Sons L.L.C., E. R. Squibb & Sons Limited, EWI Corporation, EngMab Sarl, F-star Alpha, FermaVir Pharmaceuticals L.L.C., FermaVir Research L.L.C., Flexus Biosciences, Flexus Biosciences Inc., Forbius, Galecto Biotech, GenPharm International L.L.C., Gloucester Pharmaceuticals LLC, Grove Insurance Company Ltd., Heyden Farmaceutica Portuguesa Limitada, IFM Therapeutics, Impact Biomedicines Inc., Inhibitex, Inhibitex L.L.C., Innate Tumor Immunity Inc., JuMP Holdings LLC, Juno Therapeutics GmbH, Juno Therapeutics Inc., Kosan Biosciences, Kosan Biosciences Incorporated, Linson Investments Limited, Mead Johnson (Manufacturing) Jamaica Limited, Mead Johnson Jamaica Ltd., Medarex, Morris Avenue Investment II LLC, Morris Avenue Investment LLC, MyoKardia, O.o.o. Bristol-Myers Squibb, Oy Bristol-Myers Squibb (Finland) AB, Padlock Therapeutics, Padlock Therapeutics Inc., Pharmion LLC, Princeton Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Receptos LLC, Receptos Services LLC, RedoxTherapies Inc., Route 22 Real Estate Holding Corporation, SPV A Holdings ULC, Seamair Insurance DAC, Signal Pharmaceuticals LLC, Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Societe Francaise de Complements Alimentaires(S.O.F.C.A.), Squibb Middle East S.A., Summit West Celgene LLC, Swords Laboratories, VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Westwood-Intrafin SA, Westwood-Squibb Pharmaceuticals Inc., X-Body Inc., ZymoGenetics, ZymoGenetics Inc., ZymoGenetics LLC, ZymoGenetics Paymaster LLC, iPierian, and iPierian Inc.. Serengeti Resources Inc. acquires and explores for mineral properties in Canada. It company explores for gold, copper, and silver deposits. The company's flagship property is the Kwanika project that covers an area of 25,928 hectares located in the northern Quesnel Trough, British Columbia. It also has an option to acquire 100% interest in Top Cat project covering an area of approximately 21,600 hectares situated in central British Columbia. The company was formerly known as Serengeti Minerals Ltd. and changed its name to Serengeti Resources Inc. in 2001. Serengeti Resources Inc. was incorporated in 1973 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Ingersoll Rand: 211 E. Russell Road LLC, Air-Relief, Belliss & Morcom Brasil, Belliss and Morcom, Boardwalk Enterprises, Charm Merger Sub Inc., CompAir, CompAir (Hankook) Korea Co. Ltd., CompAir Acquisition (No. 2) Ltd., CompAir Acquisition Ltd., CompAir BroomWade Ltd., CompAir Canada, CompAir Finance Ltd., CompAir GmbH, CompAir Holdings Limited, CompAir Holman Ltd, CompAir International Trading (Shanghai) Co Ltd, CompAir Korea Ltd, CompAir South Africa (SA) (Pty) Ltd., CompAir UK Ltd, CompAir USA, Consolidated Distribution Holdings Ltd., DV Systems Inc., Emco Wheaton, Emco Wheaton GmbH Branch, Emco Wheaton Gmbh, Emco Wheaton UK, Emco Wheaton USA Inc, Enza Air Propriety Limited (South Africa), GD Aria Holdings #2 Limited, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Investments Limited, GD First UK Ltd, GD German Holdings GmbH, GD German Holdings I Gmbh, GD German Holdings II GmbH, GD German Investments GmbH, GD Global Holdings, GD Global Holdings II, GD Global Holdings UK II Ltd., GD Global Ventures I B.V., GD Global Ventures II B.V., GD Global Ventures III B.V., GD Industrial Products Malaysia SDN. BHD., GD Investment KY, GD UK Finance Ltd., Gardner Denver (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Austria GmbH, Gardner Denver Bad Neustadt Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Belgium NV, Gardner Denver Brasil Industria E Comercio de Maquinas Ltda., Gardner Denver CZ + SK sro, Gardner Denver Canada Corp, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Ltd., Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Ltd. - US Branch, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Ltd., Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Ltd. - US Branch, Gardner Denver Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Engineered Products India Private Limited, Gardner Denver FZE, Gardner Denver Finance II LLC, Gardner Denver Finance Inc & Co KG, Gardner Denver France SA, Gardner Denver France SAS, Gardner Denver Group Services Ltd, Gardner Denver Group Svcs Ltd, Gardner Denver Hoffman, Gardner Denver Holdings, Gardner Denver Holdings Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Ltd, Gardner Denver Iberica, Gardner Denver Industries Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd. Branch, Gardner Denver International, Gardner Denver International Ltd., Gardner Denver Intl Ltd Middle East Regional Rep Office, Gardner Denver Investments, Gardner Denver Italy Holdings S.r.L., Gardner Denver Japan, Gardner Denver Kirchhain Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Korea, Gardner Denver Korea Ltd, Gardner Denver Ltd, Gardner Denver Ltd South Africa, Gardner Denver Ltd., Gardner Denver Ltd. Branch (Ireland), Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co, Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Gardner Denver Nash Brasil Industria E Comercio De Bombas Ltda, Gardner Denver Nash Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Nash LLC, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd., Gardner Denver Nederland BV, Gardner Denver Nederland Investments B.V., Gardner Denver Oberdorfer Pumps, Gardner Denver Oy, Gardner Denver Petroleum Pumps, Gardner Denver Polska Sp z.o.o., Gardner Denver Pte Ltd., Gardner Denver S.r.l., Gardner Denver Schopfheim GmbH, Gardner Denver Schopfheim Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Schweiz AG, Gardner Denver Slovakia, Gardner Denver SudAmerica S.r.l., Gardner Denver Sweden AB, Gardner Denver Taiwan Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas, Gardner Denver Thomas GmbH, Gardner Denver Thomas Pneumatic Systems (Wuxi) Co., Gardner Denver Thomas Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver UK, Gardner Denver Water Jetting Systems, Garo Dott. Ing. Roberto Gabbioneta S.r.l., Hamworthy Belliss & Morcom, ILMVAC (UK) Ltd., ILS Innovative Labor Systeme, ILS Inovative Laborsysteme GmbH, Indonesia Foreign Trade Representative Office, LeROI, LeRoi International Inc, MP Pumps Inc., Mako Compressors, Nash, Nash Elmo, Oina VV, Oina VV Aktiebolag, Robuschi, Rotary Compression Technologies, Runtech Systems, Runtech Systems (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Runtech Systems Inc., Runtech Systems OY, Shanghai CompAir Compressors Co Ltd, Shanghai Compressors & Blowers Ltd., Syltone, TCM Investments, TIWR Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, TODO AB, Tamrotor Marine Compressors AS, Thomas Industries, Thomas Industries Inc., Tri-Continent Scientific, Welch Vacuum Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zinsser Analytic, Zinsser Analytik GmbH, and Zinsser NA. Versum Materials, Inc. develops, manufactures, transports, and handles specialty materials for the semiconductor and display industries in the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Europe, and rest of Asia. The company operates through two segments, Materials, and Delivery Systems and Services (DS&S). The Materials segment provides specialty chemicals and materials used in semiconductors, as well as specialty gases used in the semiconductor manufacturing process, including high purity process materials for deposition, metallization, chamber cleaning, and etching; chemicals mechanical planarization slurries; organosilanes; organometallics and liquid dopants for thin film deposition; and formulated chemical products for post-etch cleaning primarily for the manufacture of silicon and compound semiconductors, and thin film transistor liquid crystal displays. The DS&S segment develops, designs, manufactures, and sells bulk gas, specialty gas, and specialty chemical cabinets and systems, which are used to manage the delivery of key materials into the semiconductor manufacturing process; and flow and temperature control systems and analytical systems to capture data. It is also involved in the project management for installation and startup of the gas and chemical delivery systems, and inventory management; and provision of spare parts, equipment upgrades, equipment maintenance, and training services. In addition, this segment offers on-site services to assist customers in managing the inventory of gases and chemicals comprising ordering, product changes and monitoring, quality assurance, operation of delivery systems, and managing the bulk gas and specialty gas operations. Versum Materials, Inc. was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. Read More Medtronic Plc is a medical technology company, which engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of device-based medical therapies and services. It operates through the following segments: Cardiac and Vascular Group; Minimally Invasive Technologies Group; Restorative Therapies Group; and Diabetes Group. The Cardiac and Vascular Group segment consists of products for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of cardiac rhythm disorders and cardiovascular disease. The Minimally Invasive Technologies Group segment focuses on respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, renal system, lungs, pelvic region, kidneys, and obesity diseases. The Restorative Therapies Group segment comprises of neurostimulation therapies and drug delivery systems for the treatment of chronic pain, as well as areas of the spine and brain, along with pelvic health and conditions of the ear, nose, and throat. The Diabetes Group segment offers insulin pumps, coninuous glucose monitoring systems, and insulin pump consumables. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Read More CONSOL Coal Resources LP produces and sells high- British thermal unit (Btu) coal in the Northern Appalachian Basin and the eastern United States. It owns a 25% undivided interest in the Pennsylvania mining complex, which consists of three underground mines and related infrastructure that produce high-Btu thermal coal located primarily in southwestern Pennsylvania. The company markets its thermal coal principally to electric utilities. CONSOL Coal Resources GP LLC operates as a general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as CNX Coal Resources LP and changed its name to CONSOL Coal Resources LP in November 2017. CONSOL Coal Resources LP was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Sealed Air: A.P.S. (Holdings) Limited, AFP Trading (China) Co. Ltd., AFPTOH LTD, APS Automated Packaging Systems GmbH & Co. KG, APS Verwaltungs-GmbH, Air Ride Pallets Hong Kong Limited, Austin Foam Plastics Inc. (dba AFP Inc.), Automated Packaging Systems, Automated Packaging Systems Asia Holding Company Limited, Automated Packaging Systems Comerciale Importacao do Brasil Ltda., Automated Packaging Systems Europe, Automated Packaging Systems LLC, Automated Packaging Systems Limited, Automated Packaging Systems Southeast Asia Co. Ltd., B+ Equipment, B+ Equipment SAS, Beacon Holdings LLC, Biosphere Industries, BluPack (New Zealand), Blue Dot Packaging Pty Ltd., Cactus (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Cryovac (Malaysia) SDN. BHD, Cryovac Brasil Ltda., Cryovac Holdings II LLC, Cryovac International Holdings Inc., Cryovac LLC*, Cryovac Leasing Corporation, Cryovac Londrina Ltda., Cryovac Packaging Portugal Embalagens Ltda., Cryovac-Sealed Air de Costa Rica S.R.L., DELTAPLAM Embalagens Industria e Comercio, Diversey, Diversey J Trustee Limited, Diversey Trustee Limited, Entapack Pty. Ltd., Fagerdala (Chengdu) Packaging Co. Ltd, Fagerdala (Shanghai) Foams Co. Ltd., Fagerdala (Shanghai) Polymer Co. Ltd., Fagerdala (Suzhou) Packaging Co. Ltd., Fagerdala (Thailand) Limited, Fagerdala (Xiamen) Packaging Co. Ltd., Fagerdala Leamchabung Limited, Fagerdala Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Fagerdala Mexico S.A. de C.V., Fagerdala Mexico Supply Chain S.A. de C.V., Fagerdala Packaging Inc. (Indiana), Fagerdala Singapore Pte Ltd, Fagerdala Singapore Pte. Ltd., Getpacking.com GmbH, Invertol S. de R.L. de C.V., JSC Sealed Air Kaustik, KRIS Automated Packaging Systems Holding Company, Kevothermal LLC, Kevothermal Limited, Nelipak Holdings, Pack-Tiger GmbH, Polyrol Limited, Polyrol Packaging Systems LLC, ProAseptic Technologies S.L., Producembal- Producao de Embalagens LTDA, Reflectix Inc., SLD Air Packaging Paketleme Malzemeleri Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Saddle Brook Insurance Company, Sealed Air (Asia) Holdings BV, Sealed Air (Barbados) S.R.L., Sealed Air (Canada) Co./CIE, Sealed Air (Canada) Holdings B.V., Sealed Air (China) Co. Ltd., Sealed Air (China) Limited, Sealed Air (Israel) Ltd., Sealed Air (Korea) Limited, Sealed Air (Latin America) Holdings II LLC, Sealed Air (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Sealed Air (New Zealand), Sealed Air (Philippines) Inc., Sealed Air (Singapore) Pte. Limited, Sealed Air (Ukraine) Limited, Sealed Air Africa (Pty.) Limited, Sealed Air Americas Manufacturing S. de R.L. de C.V., Sealed Air Argentina S.A., Sealed Air Australia (Holdings) Pty. Limited, Sealed Air Australia Pty. Limited, Sealed Air Australia Real Estate Pty Ltd, Sealed Air B.V., Sealed Air Belgium N.V., Sealed Air Central America S.A., Sealed Air Chile SpA, Sealed Air Colombia Ltda., Sealed Air Corporation (US), Sealed Air Cyprus Ltd., Sealed Air Denmark A/S, Sealed Air Finance B.V., Sealed Air Finance II LLC, Sealed Air Finance Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Sealed Air Funding LLC, Sealed Air General Trading LLC, Sealed Air GmbH (Germany), Sealed Air GmbH (Switzerland), Sealed Air Hellas SA, Sealed Air Holding France SAS, Sealed Air Holdings (New Zealand) Pty. Ltd., Sealed Air Holdings South Africa Proprietary Limited, Sealed Air Holdings UK I Limited, Sealed Air Holdings UK Limited, Sealed Air Hong Kong Limited, Sealed Air Hungary Ltd., Sealed Air Investment and Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Sealed Air Japan G.K., Sealed Air LLC, Sealed Air Limited (Ireland), Sealed Air Limited (UK), Sealed Air Luxembourg (I) S.a.r.l., Sealed Air Luxembourg (II) S.a.r.l., Sealed Air Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Sealed Air Management Holding Verwaltungs GmbH, Sealed Air Multiflex GmbH, Sealed Air Netherlands (Holdings) I B.V., Sealed Air Netherlands (Holdings) II B.V., Sealed Air Netherlands Holdings V B.V., Sealed Air Norge AS, Sealed Air OY, Sealed Air Packaging (India) Private Limited, Sealed Air Packaging (Shanghai) Co. Limited, Sealed Air Packaging (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Sealed Air Packaging LLC, Sealed Air Packaging Materials (India) LLP, Sealed Air Packaging S.L.U., Sealed Air Peru S.A.C., Sealed Air Polska Sp. Zoo, Sealed Air Pty Limited, Sealed Air S.A S., Sealed Air S.r.l., Sealed Air South Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Sealed Air Svenska AB, Sealed Air Taiwan Limited, Sealed Air UK Limited Partnership, Sealed Air US Holdings (Thailand) LLC, Sealed Air Uruguay S.A., Sealed Air Verpackungen GmbH, Sealed Air de Mexico Operations S. de RL. de C.V., Sealed Air de Venezuela S.A., Sealed Air s.r.o., Shanklin Corp, Shanklin Corporation, TTS-Ciptec, TXAFP Asia Pacific Ltd., TXAFP GP LLC, and Trigon Industries. The following companies are subsidiares of Ashland Global: 565 Corporation, ASH GP INC., ASHLAND SPECIALTY CHEMICAL (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD., ASHLAND SPECIALTY CHEMICALS (MALAYSIA) SDN.BHD, Adams Drive Totowa L.L.C., Alera Property Holdings LLC, Alera Technologies Inc., Alix Technologies LLC, Aloe Vemera S.P.R de R.L. de C.V., Ash (Gibraltar) One Limited, Ash B CIS 1 Limited, Ash B CIS 2 Limited, Ash B1 Limited, Ash B2 Limited, Ash B3 Limited, Ash B4 Limited, Ash B5 Limited, Ash CIS Canada Corp., Ash CIS Canada Holdings B.V., Ash CIS GmbH, Ash Global Holding Three GmbH, Ash Global Holdings Two B.V., Ash Junior Global Holding One LLC, Ash Junior Global Holding Two LLC, Ash Swiss Holding Two GmbH, AshLux Three S.a r.l., AshOne C. V., Ashland (Australasia) Pty. Limited, Ashland (Changzhou) Advanced Chemical Co. Ltd., Ashland (Changzhou) Specialty Chemical Co. Ltd, Ashland (China) Holdings Co. Ltd., Ashland (Gibraltar) One Holding Inc., Ashland (Thailand) Co. Ltd, Ashland Argentina S.R.L., Ashland CZ s.r.o., Ashland Canada Corp./Corporation Ashland Canada, Ashland Canada Holdings B. V., Ashland Chemco Inc., Ashland Chemical De Mexico S.A. De C.V., Ashland Chemical Hispania S. L., Ashland Chemical Trading (Shanghai) Company Limited, Ashland Chemicals (Nanjing) Company Limited, Ashland Colombia S.A.S., Ashland Comercio de Especialidades Quimicas do Brasil Ltda., Ashland Danmark ApS, Ashland Eastern Markets LLC, Ashland Ethanol Inc., Ashland Finance Limited, Ashland Finland Oy, Ashland France SAS, Ashland Global Holdings One C.V., Ashland India Private Limited, Ashland Industria de Ingredientes do Brasil Ltda., Ashland Industries Deutschland GmbH, Ashland Industries Europe GmbH, Ashland Industries France SAS, Ashland Industries Italia S.r.l., Ashland Industries Nederland B.V., Ashland Industries UK Limited, Ashland International Holdings LLC, Ashland Italia S.r.l., Ashland Japan Ltd., Ashland Korea Limited, Ashland LLC, Ashland Licensing and Intellectual Property LLC, Ashland ME Holdings Inc., Ashland Mexico Holdings One LLC, Ashland Mexico Holdings Two LLC, Ashland Nigeria Exploration Unlimited, Ashland Oil (Nigeria) Company Unlimited, Ashland Oil Inc., Ashland Pacific Pty. Ltd., Ashland Participacoes Ltda., Ashland Pharmachem International Holdings LLC, Ashland Polimeros do Brasil S.A., Ashland Services B. V., Ashland Services Mexico S.A. de C.V., Ashland Singapore Pte. Ltd., Ashland Specialties Austria GmbH, Ashland Specialties Belgium BVBA, Ashland Specialties France S.a.r.l., Ashland Specialties Hispania S.L., Ashland Specialties Holding C.V., Ashland Specialties Ireland Limited, Ashland Specialties Poland Sp. z o.o., Ashland Specialties Sverige AB, Ashland Specialties UK Limited, Ashland Specialty Chemical Korea Co. Ltd., Ashland Specialty Ingredients G.P., Ashland Technologies GmbH, Ashland-Alaskan Limited, Ashland-Plasticos De Portugal Lda., Ashmont Insurance Company Inc., Ashprop Two LLC, Avoca LLC, Avoele S.A. de C.V., Belleville Realty Corp., Bluegrass Insurance Company Limited, CLTA LLC, CVG Capital III LLC, Carol Clifton Inc., Clevedon Sp. z o.o., Curtis Bay Insurance Co. Ltd, East Bay Realty Services Inc., Ever Success Overseas Limited, FRJ Inc., Fospur, Hercofina, Hercules, Hercules Holding BV BVBA, Hercules Holding II Limited, Hercules Hydrocarbon Holdings Inc., Hercules International Limited LLC, Hercules Investment ApS, Hercules Investments Netherlands B.V., Hercules Islands Corporation, Hercules LLC, Hercules Paper Holdings Inc., Hercules Trading (Shanghai) Company Limited, ISP (Belgium) International N. V., ISP Alginates Inc., ISP Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd, ISP Biochema Schwaben GmbH, ISP Canada Corp., ISP Capital LLC, ISP Chemco LLC, ISP Chemical Products LLC, ISP Chemicals LLC, ISP Environmental Services Inc., ISP France Holding SARL, ISP France Marketing SARL, ISP Freetown Fine Chemicals Inc., ISP Freight Services N. V., ISP Global Operations (Barbados) Inc., ISP Global Technologies Deutschland Unterstutzungskasse GmbH, ISP Global Technologies Inc., ISP Global Technologies LLC, ISP HC Limited, ISP Holdings (U.K.) Ltd., ISP Hungary Holdings Limited Liability Company, ISP International Corp., ISP Investments LLC, ISP Lima LLC, ISP Luxembourg Canada S.a.r.l., ISP Management Company Inc., ISP Marl GmbH, ISP Marl Holdings GmbH, ISP Microcaps (U.K.) Limited, ISP Pharma Systems LLC, ISP Real Estate Company Inc., ISP Singapore Holding LLC, ISP Technologies Inc., ISP Technologies LLC, International Specialty Holdings LLC, International Specialty Products, International Specialty Products (India) Private Limited, International Specialty Products Funding Corporation, International Specialty Products Inc., Jiangmen Ashland Chemicals Company Limited, Nanjing Clear Environment Protection, Northwest Coatings, Oil Can Henrys, PT Ashland Asia, PT ISP Chemicals Indonesia, Pakistan Gum Industries (Private) Limited, Pharmachem Laboratories, Pharmachem Laboratories LLC, Pharmachem Laboratories Utah LLC, Prince Street Paterson LLC, Progiven S.A.S., Proprietary Nutritionals LLC, Ralop S. de R.L. de C.V., Saudi Industrial Resins Co. Ltd. (Polyester), Shanghai Ashland Industrial Trading Co. Ltd., St Croix Petrochemical Corp, Taiwan Ashland Co. Ltd., Techwax Limited, Vemera S. de R.L. de C.V., and WSP LLC. BT Group plc provides communications services worldwide. Its Consumer segment sells telephones, baby monitors, and Wi-Fi extenders through high street retailers, online BT Shop, and Website BT.com; and offers home phone, copper and fiber broadband, TV, and mobile services in various packages. The company's EE segment offers 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile network services; broadband, fixed-voice, and TV services; and postpaid and prepaid plans, and emergency services network. This segment also sells 4G mobile phones, tablets, connected devices, and mobile broadband devices from various manufacturers. Its Business and Public Sector segment provides fixed voice, mobility, fiber and connectivity, and networked IT services to retailers, utilities, public sector, healthcare, sports, construction, finance, and educational sectors. The company's Global Services segment offers business communications and ICT services comprising BT Connect, BT Security, BT One, BT Contact, BT Compute, BT Advise, and BT for financial markets. This segment serves approximately 5,500 customers in 180 countries. Its Wholesale and Ventures segment enables communications providers and other organizations to provide fixed or mobile phone services. Its ventures provide mass-market services, such as directory enquiries and payphones; and enterprise services comprising BT Fleet and BT Redcare. This segment also provides broadband and Ethernet, voice, hosted communication, mobile virtual network operator, managed solutions, machine-to-machine, roaming, and media services. The company's Openreach segment engages in the provision of services over the local access network; and installation and maintenance of fiber and copper communications networks that connect homes and businesses. The company was formerly known as Newgate Telecommunications Limited and changed its name to BT Group plc in September 2001. BT Group plc was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More GlaxoSmithKline Plc is a healthcare company, which engages in the research, development, and manufacture of pharmaceutical medicines, vaccines, and consumer healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceuticals; Pharmaceuticals R&D; Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare. The Pharmaceuticals segment focuses on developing medicines in respiratory and infectious diseases, oncology, and immuno-inflammation. The Pharmaceuticals R&D segment focuses on science related to the immune system, the use of human genetics and advanced technologies, and is driven by the multiplier effect of Science x Technology x Culture. The Vaccines segment produces pediatric and adult vaccines to prevent a range of infectious diseases including, hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella, polio, typhoid, influenza, and bacterial meningitis. The Consumer Healthcare segment develops and markets brands in the oral health, pain relief, respiratory, nutrition and gastro intestinal, and skin health categories. The company was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Middlesex, the United Kingdom. Read More USG Corporation, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells building materials worldwide. The company's Gypsum division manufactures and markets gypsum and related products to construct walls and ceilings of residential, nonresidential, and institutional buildings; and agricultural and industrial customers. This segment offers gypsum wallboards and compound portfolios, as well as corner beads, joint tapes, and plasters under the USG Sheetrock brand; glass mat sheathing portfolios under the Securock brand; construction plaster products under the Red Top, Imperial, Diamond, and Supremo brands; and lightweight gypsum panels under the USG Sheetrock brand, as well as ultralight panels, USG Sheetrock brand ecosmart panels, and industrial gypsum. Its Performance Materials division manufactures and markets products for interior and exterior building applications of residential and nonresidential buildings, as well as industrial applications. This segment provides cement boards, backer boards, shower systems, performance floorings, air barrier systems, roof board portfolios, and structural panels under the USG Durock, Fiberock, Levelrock, Securock, ExoAir, Securock, and USG brands. The company's Ceilings division manufactures and markets ceiling tiles under the Radar, Eclipse, Mars, and Halcyon brands; ceiling grids under the Donn, DX, Fineline, Centricitee, and Identitee DXI brands; specialty ceilings under the Curvatura, Compasso, Radians, Illusions, Multiples, Runways, Barz, Planx, Mirra, Corniche, Wallforms, and Parti brands; and acoustical drywall ceilings under the Ensemble brand. Its USG Boral Building Products division manufactures, distributes, and sells building products, mines raw gypsum, and sells natural and synthetic gypsum under the USG Boral Sheetrock, USG Boral NextGen, Elephant, Jayaboard, Durock, and Donn DX brands. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Read More Echelon Financial Holdings Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance products and services in Canada. It operates in two segments, Personal Lines and Commercial Lines. The Personal Lines segment primarily underwrites automobile and personal property insurance. The Commercial Lines segment designs and underwrites commercial property and automobile insurance. The company also underwrites liability insurance. It distributes its insurance products through a network of 17 brokers in 68 offices. The company was formerly known as EGI Financial Holdings Inc. and changed its name to Echelon Financial Holdings Inc. in May 2015. Echelon Financial Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Mississauga, Canada. Read More Wells Fargo & Co. is a diversified, community-based financial services company. It is engaged in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance. It firm operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, Wealth & Investment Management, and Other. The Community Banking segment offers complete line of diversified financial products and services for consumers and small businesses including checking and savings accounts, credit and debit cards, and automobile, student, and small business lending. The Wholesale Banking segment provides financial solutions to businesses across the United States and globally. The Wealth and Investment Management segment includes personalized wealth management, investment and retirement products and services to clients across U.S. based businesses. The Other segment refers to the products of WIM customers served through community banking distribution channels. The company was founded by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo on March 18, 1852 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. Read More iShares MSCI France ETF's stock was trading at $25.23 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, EWQ shares have increased by 56.8% and is now trading at $39.55. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. engages in the mining of copper, gold and molybdenum. It operates through the following segments: North America Copper Mines, South America Mining; Indonesia Mining, Molybdenum Mines, Rod and Refining, Atlantic Copper Smelting and Refining and Corporate, Other and Eliminations. The North America Copper Mines segment operates open-pit copper mines in Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita and Miami in Arizona and Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico. The South America Mining segment includes Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile. The Indonesia Mining segment handles the operations of Grasberg minerals district that produces copper concentrate that contains significant quantities of gold and silver. The Molybdenum Mines segment includes the Henderson underground mine and Climax open-pit mine, both in Colorado. The Rod and Refining segment consists of copper conversion facilities located in North America and includes a refinery, rod mills, and a specialty copper products facility. The Atlantic Copper Smelting and Refining segment smelts and refines copper concentrate and markets refined copper and precious metals in slimes. The Corporate, Other and Eliminations segment Read More Baker Hughes, a GE company provides integrated oilfield products, services, and digital solutions worldwide. Its Oilfield Services segment offers drilling, wireline, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention services; and drilling and completions fluids, completions tools and systems, wellbore intervention tools and services, artificial lift systems, pressure pumping systems, and oilfield and industrial chemicals for integrated oil and natural gas, and oilfield service companies. The company's Oilfield Equipment segment designs and manufactures products and services, including pressure control equipment and services, subsea production systems and services, drilling equipment, and flexible pipeline systems; and onshore and offshore drilling and production systems, and equipment for floating production platforms, as well as provides a range of services related to onshore and offshore drilling activities. Its Turbomachinery & Process Solutions segment provides equipment and related services for mechanical-drive, compression, and power-generation applications across the oil and gas industry, as well as products and services to serve the downstream segments of industry. Its product portfolio includes drivers, compressors, and turnkey solutions; and pumps, valves, and compressed natural gas and small-scale liquefied natural gas solutions. This segment serves upstream, midstream, onshore and offshore, industrial, engineering, procurement, and construction companies. The company's Digital Solutions segment provides sensor-based measurement, non-destructive testing and inspection, turbine, generator and plant controls, and condition monitoring, as well as pipeline integrity solutions for a range of industries, including oil and gas, power generation, aerospace, metals, and transportation. It serves through direct and indirect channels. The company is based in Houston, Texas. Baker Hughes, a GE company is a subsidiary of General Electric Company. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of HCA Healthcare: 2490 Church LLC, 360 Community Alliance LLC, 4600 Waters Avenue Professional Building Condominium Association Inc., 52 Alderley Road LLP, AC Med LLC, ACH Inc., ADC Surgicenter LLC, AOGN LLC, AOSC Sports Medicine Inc., AR Holding 1 LLC, AR Holding 10 LLC, AR Holding 11 LLC, AR Holding 12 LLC, AR Holding 13 LLC, AR Holding 14 LLC, AR Holding 15 LLC, AR Holding 16 LLC, AR Holding 17 LLC, AR Holding 18 LLC, AR Holding 19 LLC, AR Holding 2 LLC, AR Holding 20 LLC, AR Holding 21 LLC, AR Holding 22 LLC, AR Holding 23 LLC, AR Holding 24 LLC, AR Holding 25 LLC, AR Holding 26 LLC, AR Holding 27 LLC, AR Holding 28 LLC, AR Holding 29 LLC, AR Holding 30 LLC, AR Holding 31 LLC, AR Holding 4 LLC, AR Holding 5 LLC, AR Holding 6 LLC, AR Holding 7 LLC, AR Holding 8 LLC, AR Holding 9 LLC, ASD Shared Services LLC, Acadiana Care Center Inc., Acadiana Practice Management Inc., Acadiana Regional Pharmacy Inc., Access 2 Health Care Physicians LLC, Access Health Care Physicians LLC, Access Management Co. LLC, Ace Leasing II LLC, Acute Kids Urgent Care of Medical City Childrens Hospital PLLC, Acworth Immediate Care LLC, Administrative Physicians of North Texas PLLC, Advanced Bundle Convener LLC, Advanced Plastic Surgery Center of Terre Haute LLC, Advanced Practice Providers of Gulf Coast PLLC, Alaska Regional Medical Group LLC, Albany Family Practice LLC, Aligned Business Consortium Group L.P., All About Staffing (India) Ltd., All About Staffing Inc., All About Staffing Philippines Inc., Alleghany General and Bariatric Services LLC, Alleghany Hospitalists LLC, Alleghany Primary Care Inc., Alleghany Specialists LLC, Alliance Surgicare LLC, Alpine Surgicenter LLC, Alta Internal Medicine LLC, Alternaco LLC, Altitude Mid Level Providers LLC, Ambulatory Endoscopy Clinic of Dallas Ltd., Ambulatory Endoscopy Holdco LLC, Ambulatory Laser Associates GP, Ambulatory Services Management Corporation of Chesterfield County Inc., Ambulatory Surgery Center Group Ltd., American Medicorp Development Co., Anchorage Surgicenter LLC, AppleCare/Memorial Immediate Care Joint Venture LLC, Appledore Medical Group II Inc., Appledore Medical Group Inc., Appomattox Imaging LLC, Arapahoe Surgicenter LLC, Arlington Diagnostic South Inc., Arlington Neurosurgeons PLLC, Arlington Primary Care PLLC, Arlington Primary Medicine PLLC, Arlington Surgery Center L.P., Arlington Surgicare LLC, Arthritis Specialists of Nashville Inc., Ashburn ASC LLC, Ashburn Imaging LLC, Athens Community Hospital Inc., Atlanta Healthcare Management L.P., Atlanta Home Care L.P., Atlanta Market GP Inc., Atlanta Outpatient Surgery Center Inc., Atlanta Surgery Center Ltd., Atlantis Surgicare LLC, Atrium Surgery Center L.P., Atrium Surgicare LLC, Augusta CyberKnife LLC, Augusta Inpatient Services LLC, Augusta Management Services LLC, Augusta Multispecialty Services LLC, Augusta Primary Care Services LLC, Augusta Specialty Hospitalists LLC, Augusta Urgent Care Services LLC, Aurora Endoscopy Surgicenter LLC, Austin GI Surgicenter LLC, Austin Heart Cardiology MSO LLC, Austin Medical Center Inc., Austin Physicians Management LLC, Austin Urogynecology PLLC, Aventura Cancer Center Manager LLC, Aventura Comprehensive Cancer Research Group of Florida Inc., Aventura Healthcare Specialists LLC, Aventura Neurosurgery LLC, BAMI Property LLC, Backlogs Limited, Bailey Square Ambulatory Surgical Center Ltd., Bailey Square Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Bannerman Family Care LLC, Barrow Medical Center CT Services Ltd., Basic American Medical Inc., Basil Street Practice Limited, Bay Area Healthcare Group Ltd., Bay Area Surgical Center Investors Ltd., Bay Area Surgicare Center Inc., Bay Area Surgicenter LLC, Bay Hospital Inc., Bayonet Point Surgery Center Ltd., Bayshore Family Practitioners PLLC, Bayshore Multi-Specialty Group PLLC, Bayshore Occupational and Family Medicine PLLC, Bayshore Partner LLC, Bayshore Radiation Oncology Services PLLC, Bayshore Surgery Center Ltd., Bayside Ambulatory Center LLC, Bedford-Northeast Community Hospital Inc., Behavioral Health Sciences of West Florida LLC, Behavioral Health Wellness Center LLC, Bellaire Imaging Inc., Belleair Surgery Center Ltd., Belton Family Practice Clinic LLC, Big Cypress Medical Center Inc., Blacksburg Family Care LLC, Blossoms Healthcare LLP, Blue Ridge-TKC LLC, Bone & Joint Specialists Physician Group LLC, Bonita Bay Surgery Center Inc., Bonita Bay Surgery Center Ltd., Bountiful Surgery Center LLC, Boynton Beach EFL Imaging Center LLC, Bradenton Cardiology Physician Network LLC, Bradenton Outpatient Services LLC, Brandon Imaging Manager LLC, Brandon Regional Cancer Center LLC, Brentwood ASC LLC, Brigham City Community Hospital Inc., Brigham City Community Hospital Physician Services LLC, Brigham City Health Plan Inc., Brighton Surgicenter LLC, Brookwood Medical Center of Gulfport Inc., Broward Cardiovascular Surgeons LLC, Broward Healthcare System Inc., Broward Neurosurgeons LLC, Brownsville Specialists of Texas PLLC, Brownsville Surgery PLLC, Brownsville Surgical Specialists PLLC, Brownsville Surgicenter LLC, Brownsville-Valley Regional Medical Center Inc., Buford Road Imaging L.L.C., Byron Family Practice LLC, C. Medrano M.D. PLLC, C/HCA Capital Inc., C/HCA Development Inc., C/HCA Inc., CAREOS Surgicenter LLC, CC Clinic PLLC, CCBH Psychiatric Hospitalists LLC, CCH-GP Inc., CFC Investments Inc., CH Systems, CHC Finance Co., CHC Holdings Inc., CHC Management Ltd., CHC Payroll Agent Inc., CHC Payroll Company, CHC Realty Company, CHC Venture Co., CHC-El Paso Corp., CHC-Miami Corp., CHCA Bayshore L.P., CHCA Clear Lake L.P., CHCA Conroe L.P., CHCA Mainland L.P., CHCA Pearland L.P., CHCA West Houston L.P., CHCA Womans Hospital L.P., CHCK Inc., CJW Infectious Disease LLC, CJW Wound Healing Center LLC, CLASC Manager LLC, COL-NAMC Holdings Inc., COSCORP LLC, CP Surgery Center LLC, CPS TN Processor 1 Inc., CRMC-M LLC, CUC PLLC, CVMC Property LLC, Calder Immediate Care PLLC, California Imaging Center Manager LLC, California Urgent Care LLC, Calloway Creek Surgery Center L.P., Calloway Creek Surgicare LLC, Cancer Centers of North Florida LLC, Cancer Services of Aventura LLC, Capital Anesthesia Services LLC, Capital Area Cardiology, Capital Area CareNow Physician Associates, Capital Area Multispecialty Providers, Capital Area Neurosurgeons, Capital Area Occupational Medicine PLLC, Capital Area Primary Care PLLC, Capital Area Primary Care Providers, Capital Area Providers, Capital Area Specialists PLLC, Capital Area Specialty Providers, Capital Area Surgeons PLLC, Capital Division - CCA Inc., Capital Division Inc., Capital Network Services Inc., Capital Professional Billing LLC, Capital Regional Healthcare LLC, Capital Regional Heart Associates LLC, Capital Regional Psychiatry Associates LLC, Cardiac Surgical Associates LLC, Cardio Vascular Surgeons of North Texas PLLC, Cardiology Associates Medical Group LLC, Cardiology Clinic of San Antonio PLLC, Cardiology Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons of Texas PLLC, Care for Women LLC, CareNow, CareOne Home Health Services Inc., CarePartners HHA Holdings LLLP, CarePartners HHA LLLP, CarePartners Rehabilitation Hospital LLLP, CareSpot Professional Services of Middle Tennessee LLC, CareSpot of Brentwood (210 Franklin Road) LLC, CareSpot of Cool Springs (100 International Drive) LLC, CareSpot of Donelson (2372 Lebanon Road) LLC, CareSpot of Hendersonville (280 Indian Lake Boulevard) LLC, CareSpot of Hermitage (5225 Old Hickory Boulevard) LLC, CareSpot of Lebanon (1705 West Main Street) LLC, CareSpot of Mt. Juliet (S. Mt. Juliet Road) LLC, CareSpot of Murfreesboro (1340 Broad Street) LLC, CareSpot of Nashville (2001 Glen Echo Road) LLC, CareSpot of Nashville (West End Avenue) LLC, Career Staffing USA Inc., Carlin Springs Urgent Care LLC, Carolina Forest Imaging Manager LLC, Carolina Regional Surgery Center Inc., Carolina Regional Surgery Center Ltd., Cartersville Medical Center LLC, Cartersville Occupational Medicine Center LLC, Cartersville Physician Practice I LLC, Catalog360 Limited, Cedar Creek Medical Group LLC, Cedars International Cardiology Consultants LLC, Cedars Medical Center Hospitalists LLC, Centennial Cardiovascular Consultants LLC, Centennial CyberKnife Center LLC, Centennial CyberKnife Manager LLC, Centennial Heart LLC, Centennial Hospitalists LLC, Centennial Neuroscience LLC, Centennial Psychiatric Associates LLC, Centennial Surgery Center L.P., Centennial Surgical Associates LLC, Centennial Surgical Clinic LLC, Centennial Womens Group LLC, Center for Advanced Diagnostics LLC, Center for Advanced Imaging LLC, Center for Digestive Diseases LLC, Center for Occupational Medicine LLC, Centerpoint Cardiology Services LLC, Centerpoint Clinic of Blue Springs LLC, Centerpoint Hospital Based Physicians LLC, Centerpoint Medical Center of Independence LLC, Centerpoint Medical Specialists LLC, Centerpoint Orthopedics LLC, Centerpoint Physicians Group LLC, Centerpoint Womens Services LLC, Central Florida Cardiology Interpretations LLC, Central Florida Division Practice Inc., Central Florida Health Services LLC, Central Florida Imaging Services LLC, Central Florida Management Services LLC, Central Florida Obstetrics & Gynecology Associates LLC, Central Florida Physician Network LLC, Central Florida Regional Hospital Inc., Central Health Holding Company Inc., Central Pasco LLC, Central San Antonio Surgical Center Investors Ltd., Central Shared Services LLC, Central Tennessee Hospital Corporation, Central Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Physicians PLLC, Centrum Surgery Center Ltd., Charleston CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Chatsworth Hospital Corp., Chattanooga ASC Acquisition Inc., Chattanooga Diagnostic Associates LLC, Chattanooga Healthcare Network L.P., Chattanooga Healthcare Network Partner Inc., Chelsea Outpatient Centre LLP, Chesterfield Imaging LLC, Chicago Grant Hospital Inc., Childrens Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Chino Community Hospital Corporation Inc., Chippenham & Johnston-Willis Hospitals Inc., Chippenham & Johnston-Willis Sports Medicine LLC, Chippenham Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Chippenham Pediatric Specialists LLC, Chiswick Outpatient Centre LLP, Christiansburg Family Medicine LLC, Christiansburg Internal Medicine LLC, Christina Cano-Gonzalez M.D. PLLC, Chugach PT Inc., Church Street Partners, Citrus Memorial Hospital Inc., Citrus Memorial Property Management Inc., Citrus Primary Care Inc., Citrus Specialty Group Inc., Citrus Surgicenter LLC, City of San Antonio H2U Employee Health and Wellness Center PLLC, Clarksville Surgicenter LLC, Clear Creek Surgery Center LLC, Clear Lake Cardiac Catheterization Center L.P., Clear Lake Cardiac GP LLC, Clear Lake Family Physicians PLLC, Clear Lake Medical Tower Owners Association Inc., Clear Lake Merger LLC, Clear Lake Multi-Specialty Group PLLC, Clear Lake Regional Medical Center Inc., Clear Lake Regional Partner LLC, Clear Lake Surgicare Ltd., ClinicServ LLC, Clinical Education Shared Services LLC, Clinishare Inc., Coastal Bend Hospital CT Services Ltd., Coastal Bend Hospital Inc., Coastal Carolina Home Care Inc., Coastal Carolina Multispecialty Associates LLC, Coastal Carolina Primary Care LLC, Coastal Healthcare Services Inc., Coastal Imaging Center L.P., Coastal Imaging Center of Gulfport Inc., Coastal Inpatient Physicians LLC, Coliseum Health Group Inc., Coliseum Health Group LLC, Coliseum Medical Center LLC, Coliseum Park Hospital Inc., Coliseum Primary Care Services LLC, Coliseum Primary Healthcare - Macon LLC, Coliseum Primary Healthcare - Riverside LLC, Coliseum Professional Associates LLC, Coliseum Same Day Surgery Center L.P., Coliseum Surgery Center L.L.C., College Park Ancillary LLC, College Park Endoscopy Center LLC, College Park Radiology LLC, Colleton Ambulatory Care LLC, Colleton Diagnostic Center LLC, Colleton Medical Anesthesia LLC, Colleton Medical Hospitalists LLC, Colleton Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery LLC, Collier County Home Health Agency Inc., Collin County Diagnostic Associates PLLC, Colorado Health Systems Inc., Columbia ASC Management L.P., Columbia Ambulatory Surgery Division Inc., Columbia Arlington Healthcare System L.L.C., Columbia Bay Area Realty Ltd., Columbia Behavioral Health Ltd., Columbia Behavioral Healthcare Inc., Columbia Behavioral Healthcare of South Florida Inc., Columbia Call Center Inc., Columbia Central Florida Division Inc., Columbia Central Group Inc., Columbia Champions Treatment Center Inc., Columbia Chicago Division Inc., Columbia Coliseum Same Day Surgery Center Inc., Columbia Development of Florida Inc., Columbia Doctors Hospital of Tulsa Inc., Columbia Eye and Specialty Surgery Center Ltd., Columbia Florida Group Inc., Columbia GP of Mesquite Inc., Columbia Good Samaritan Health System Limited Partnership, Columbia Greater Houston Division Healthcare Network Inc., Columbia Health System of Arkansas Inc., Columbia Healthcare System of Louisiana Inc., Columbia Healthcare of Central Virginia Inc., Columbia Hospital Corporation at the Medical Center, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Arlington, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Bay Area, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Central Miami, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Corpus Christi, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Fort Worth, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Houston, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Kendall, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Massachusetts Inc., Columbia Hospital Corporation of Miami, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Miami Beach, Columbia Hospital Corporation of North Miami Beach, Columbia Hospital Corporation of South Broward, Columbia Hospital Corporation of South Dade, Columbia Hospital Corporation of South Florida, Columbia Hospital Corporation of South Miami, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Tamarac, Columbia Hospital Corporation of West Houston, Columbia Hospital Corporation-Delaware, Columbia Hospital Corporation-SMM, Columbia Hospital at Medical City Dallas Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Hospital-El Paso Ltd., Columbia Integrated Health Systems Inc., Columbia Jacksonville Healthcare System Inc., Columbia LaGrange Hospital LLC, Columbia Lake Worth Surgical Center Limited Partnership, Columbia Medical Arts Hospital Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center Dallas Southwest Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center at Lancaster Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of Arlington Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of Denton Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of Las Colinas Inc., Columbia Medical Center of Lewisville Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of McKinney Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of Plano Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Group - Centennial Inc., Columbia Medical Group - Daystar Inc., Columbia Medical Group - Parkridge Inc., Columbia Medical Group - Southern Hills Inc., Columbia Medical Group - Southwest Virginia Inc., Columbia Medical Group - The Frist Clinic Inc., Columbia Midtown Joint Venture, Columbia North Alaska Healthcare Inc., Columbia North Central Florida Health System Limited Partnership, Columbia North Florida Regional Medical Center Limited Partnership, Columbia North Hills Hospital Subsidiary L.P., Columbia North Texas Healthcare System L.P., Columbia North Texas Subsidiary GP LLC, Columbia North Texas Surgery Center Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Northwest Medical Center Inc., Columbia Northwest Medical Center Partners Ltd., Columbia Ocala Regional Medical Center Physician Group Inc., Columbia Ogden Medical Center Inc., Columbia Oklahoma Division Inc., Columbia Palm Beach GP LLC, Columbia Palm Beach Healthcare System Limited Partnership, Columbia Park Healthcare System Inc., Columbia Park Medical Center Inc., Columbia Parkersburg Healthcare System LLC, Columbia Pentagon City Hospital L.L.C., Columbia Physician Services - Florida Group Inc., Columbia Plaza Medical Center of Fort Worth Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Primary Care LLC, Columbia Psychiatric Management Co., Columbia Resource Network Inc., Columbia Rio Grande Healthcare L.P., Columbia Riverside Inc., Columbia South Texas Division Inc., Columbia Specialty Hospital of Dallas Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Specialty Hospitals Inc., Columbia Surgery Group Inc., Columbia Surgicare of Augusta Ltd., Columbia Tampa Bay Division Inc., Columbia Valley Healthcare System L.P., Columbia West Bank Hospital Inc., Columbia Westbank Healthcare L.P., Columbia-CSA/HS Greater Canton Area Healthcare System L.P., Columbia-CSA/HS Greater Cleveland Area Healthcare System L.P., Columbia-Georgia PT Inc., Columbia-Osceola Imaging Center Inc., Columbia-Quantum Inc., Columbia-SDH Holdings Inc., Columbia/Alleghany Regional Hospital Incorporated, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation of Central Texas, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation of Northern Ohio, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation of South Carolina, Columbia/HCA Heartcare of Corpus Christi Inc., Columbia/HCA International Group Inc., Columbia/HCA John Randolph Inc., Columbia/HCA Middle East Management Company, Columbia/HCA Physician Hospital Organization Medical Center Hospital, Columbia/HCA San Clemente Inc., Columbia/HCA of Baton Rouge Inc., Columbia/HCA of Houston Inc., Columbia/HCA of New Orleans Inc., Columbia/HCA of North Texas Inc., Columbine Psychiatric Center Inc., Columbus Cardiology Inc., Columbus Cath Lab Inc., Columbus Cath Lab LLC, Columbus Doctors Hospital Inc., Commonwealth Perinatal Services LLC, Commonwealth Specialists of Kentucky LLC, Community Hospital Family Practice LLC, Comprehensive Radiation Oncology LLC, Comprehensive Radiology Management Services Ltd., Concept EFL Imaging Center LLC, Concept West EFL Imaging Center LLC, Congenital Heart Surgery Center PLLC, Conroe Hospital Corporation, Conroe Montgomery Physicians Group PLLC, Conroe Orthopedic Specialists PLLC, Conroe Partner LLC, Conroe Specialists of Texas PLLC, Continental Division I Inc., Coral Springs Surgi-Center Ltd., CoralStone Management Inc., Corpus Christi Healthcare Group Ltd., Corpus Christi Heart Clinic PLLC, Corpus Christi Primary Care Associates PLLC, Corpus Christi Psychiatric Specialists PLLC, Corpus Christi Radiation Oncology PLLC, Corpus Christi Surgery Center L.P., Corpus Christi Surgery Ltd., Corpus Christi Surgicenter LLC, Corpus Surgicare Inc., Countryside Surgery Center Ltd., Crewe Outpatient Imaging LLC, Cumberland Medical Center Inc., Cy-Fair Medical Center Hospital LLC, DFW Physicians Group PLLC, DOMC Property LLC, DS Real Estate Holdings LLC, Daleville Imaging L.P., Daleville Imaging Manager LLC, Dallas CardioThoracic Surgery Consultants PLLC, Dallas Cardiology Specialists PLLC, Dallas Hand Surgery Center PLLC, Dallas Medical Specialists PLLC, Dallas Neuro-Stroke Affiliates PLLC, Dallas Pediatric Neurosurgery Specialists PLLC, Dallas/Ft. Worth Physician LLC, Davie Medical Center LLC, Daytona Medical Center Inc., Dean 4641 LLC, Deep Purple Investments LLC, Del Sol Bariatric Clinic PLLC, Delray EFL Imaging Center LLC, Denton Cancer Center PLLC, Denton County Hospitalist Program PLLC, Denton Pediatric Physicians PLLC, Denton Regional Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Denver Clinic Surgicenter LLC, Denver Mid-Town Surgery Center Ltd., Denver Surgicenter LLC, Derry ASC Inc., Diagnostic Breast Center Inc., Diagnostic Mammography Services G.P., Diagnostic Services G.P., Dickson Surgery Center L.P., Doctors Bay Area Physician Hospital Organization, Doctors Hospital (Conroe) Inc., Doctors Hospital Columbus GA-Joint Venture, Doctors Hospital Surgery Center L.P., Doctors Hospital of Augusta LLC, Doctors Hospital of Augusta Neurology LLC, Doctors Osteopathic Medical Center Inc., Doctors Same Day Surgery Center Inc., Doctors Same Day Surgery Center Ltd., Doctors-I Inc., Doctors-II Inc., Doctors-III Inc., Doctors-IV Inc., Doctors-IX Inc., Doctors-V Inc., Doctors-VI Inc., Doctors-VII Inc., Doctors-VIII Inc., Doctors-X Inc., Doctors Memorial Hospital of Spartanburg Limited Partnership, Dominion Hospital Physicians Group LLC, Dublin Community Hospital LLC, Dublin Heart Specialists LLC, Dublin Multispecialty LLC, Dura Medical Inc., E.P. Physical Therapy Centers Inc., EASTSIDE URGENT CARE LLC, EHCA Diagnostics LLC, EHCA Eastside Occupational Medicine Center LLC, EHCA LLC, EHCA Metropolitan LLC, EHCA Parkway LLC, EHCA Peachtree LLC, EHCA West Paces LLC, EIRMC Hospitalist Services LLC, EMMC LLC, EP Health LLC, EP Holdco LLC, EPIC Development Inc., EPIC Diagnostic Centers Inc., EPIC Healthcare Management Company, EPIC Properties Inc., EPIC Surgery Centers Inc., EPSC L.P., East Falls Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery LLC, East Falls Family Medicine LLC, East Falls Plastic Surgery LLC, East Florida - DMC Inc., East Florida Behavioral Health Network LLC, East Florida Cardiology Network LLC, East Florida CareNow Urgent Care LLC, East Florida Division Inc., East Florida Emergency Physician Group LLC, East Florida Healthcare LLC, East Florida Hospitalists LLC, East Florida Imaging Holdings LLC, East Florida Primary Care LLC, East Houston Primary Care PLLC, East Houston Specialists PLLC, East Layton Internal Medicine LLC, East Orthopedics PLLC, East Pointe Hospital Inc., Eastern Idaho Brachytherapy Equipment LLC, Eastern Idaho Brachytherapy Equipment Manager LLC, Eastern Idaho Care Partners ACO LLC, Eastern Idaho Care Partners Holdings LLC, Eastern Idaho Care Partners LLC, Eastern Idaho Health Services Inc., Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center Inpatient Services LLC, Eastside Behavioral Health Associates LLC, Eastside General Surgery LLC, Eastside Heart and Vascular LLC, Eastside Medical Center LLC, Eastside Surgery Center LLC, Edmond General Surgery LLC, Edmond Hospitalists LLC, Edmond Physician Hospital Organization Inc., Edward White Hospital Inc., El Paso CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, El Paso Healthcare Provider Network, El Paso Healthcare System Ltd., El Paso Healthcare System Physician Services LLC, El Paso Nurses Unlimited Inc., El Paso Primary Care PLLC, El Paso Surgery Centers L.P., El Paso Surgicenter Inc., Eldridge Family Practitioners PLLC, Elite Family Health of Plano PLLC, Elite OB-GYN Services of El Paso PLLC, Elite Orthopaedics of El Paso PLLC, Elite Orthopaedics of Irving PLLC, Elite Orthopaedics of Plano PLLC, Elstree Outpatient Centre LLP, Emergency Physicians at Wesley Medical Center LLC, Emergency Providers Group LLC, Emergency Psychiatric Medicine PLLC, Encino Hospital Corporation Inc., Endocrinology Associates of Lees Summit LLC, Endoscopy Surgicare of Plano LLC, Endoscopy of Plano L.P., Englewood Community Hospital Auxiliary Inc., Englewood Community Hospital Inc., Envision Stakes LLC, Eye Care Surgicare Ltd. a Missouri limited partnership, FHAL LLC, FMH Health Services LLC, Fairfax Surgical Center L.P., Fairview Medical Services LLC, Fairview Park GP LLC, Fairview Park Limited Partnership, Fairview Partner LLC, Family Care Partners LLC, Family Care of E. Jackson County LLC, Family First Medicine in Brownsville PLLC, Family Health Medical Group of Overland Park LLC, Family Health Specialists of Lees Summit LLC, Family Medicine of Blacksburg LLC, Family Practice at Forest Hill LLC, Family Practice at Retreat LLC, Family Practitioners of Montgomery PLLC, Family Practitioners of Pearland PLLC, Fannin MOB LLC, Fannin MOB Property Management LLC, Far West Division Inc., Fawcett Memorial Hospital Inc., Florida Care Partners LLC, Florida Care Partners Orlando LLC, Florida Home Health Services-Private Care Inc., Florida Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Flower Mound Surgery Center Ltd., Focus Hand Surgicenter LLC, Foot & Ankle Specialty Services LLC, Forest Park Surgery Pavilion Inc., Forest Park Surgery Pavilion L.P., Fort Bend Hospital Inc., Fort Chiswell Family Practice LLC, Fort Myers Market Inc., Fort Pierce Immediate Care Center Inc., Fort Pierce Orthopaedics LLC, Fort Pierce Surgery Center Ltd., Fort Walton Beach Medical Center Inc., Fort Worth Investments Inc., Forward Pathology Solutions LLC, Four Rivers Medical Center PHO Inc., Frankfort Hospital Inc., Frankfort Wound Care LLC, Freeport Family Medicine LLC, Fremont Womens Health LLC, Frisco Surgicare LLC, Frisco Warren Parkway 91 Inc., Frist Clinic Express LLC, Ft. Pierce Surgicare LLC, Ft. Walton Beach Anesthesia Services LLC, G. Rowe M.D. PLLC, G. Schnider M.D. PLLC, G. Voorhees M.D. PLLC, G.P. Martin Fletcher & Associates LLC, GA PHYSICIAN SERVICES LLC, GA Urgentcare Holding LLC, GHC-Galen Health Care LLC, GI Associates of Denton PLLC, GI Associates of Lewisville PLLC, GME Services of Osceola LLC, GPCH-GP Inc., GYN-Oncology of Southwest Virginia LLC, Gainesville GYN Oncology of North Florida Regional Medical Center LLC, Gainesville Physicians LLC, GalTex LLC, Galen (Kansas) Merger LLC, Galen BH Inc., Galen Center for Professional Development Inc., Galen College of Nursing, Galen Diagnostic Multicenter Ltd., Galen GOK LLC, Galen Global Finance Inc., Galen Health Institutes Inc., Galen Health Partners Limited, Galen Holdco LLC, Galen Hospital Alaska Inc., Galen Hospital of Baytown Inc., Galen Hospital-Pembroke Pines Inc., Galen International Holdings Inc., Galen KY LLC, Galen MCS LLC, Galen MRMC LLC, Galen Medical Corporation, Galen NMC LLC, Galen NSH LLC, Galen Property LLC, Galen SOM LLC, Galen SSH LLC, Galen Virginia Hospital Corporation, Galen of Aurora Inc., Galen of Florida Inc., Galen of Illinois Inc., Galen of Kentucky Inc., Galen of Mississippi Inc., Galen of Virginia Inc., Galen of West Virginia Inc., Galen-Soch Inc., Galencare Inc., Galendeco Inc., Galichia Anesthesia Services LLC, Galichia Emergency Physicians LLC, Garden Park Community Hospital Limited Partnership, Garden Park Hospitalist Program LLC, Garden Park Investments L.P., Garden Park Physician Group - Specialty Care LLC, Garden Park Physician Group Inc., Gardens EFL Imaging Center LLC, Gastroenterology Specialists of Middle Tennessee LLC, General Hospitals of Galen Inc., General Medical Clinics Limited, General Surgeons of Houston PLLC, General Surgeons of North Richland Hills PLLC, General Surgeons of Pasadena PLLC, General and Cardiovascular Surgeons of Conroe PLLC, Generations Family Practice Inc., GenoSpace LLC, Georgia Health Holdings Inc., Georgia L.P., Georgia Psychiatric Company Inc., Glemm SA, Good Samaritan Hospital L.P., Good Samaritan Hospital LLC, Good Samaritan Surgery Center L.P., Goppert-Trinity Family Care LLC, Grace Family Practice LLC, Gramercy Eye Surgicenter LLC, Gramercy Surgery Center Ltd., Grand Strand Regional Medical Center LLC, Grand Strand Senior Health Center LLC, Grand Strand Specialty Associates LLC, Grand Strand Surgical Specialists LLC, Grandview Health Care Clinic LLC, Grant Center Hospital of Ocala Inc., Grayson Primary Care LLC, Greater Gwinnett Internal Medicine Associates LLC, Greater Gwinnett Physician Corporation, Greater Houston Preferred Provider Option Inc., Greater Tampa Bay Physician Network LLC, Greater Tampa Bay Physician Specialists LLC, Greater Tampa Bay Physicians - Pinellas LLC, Green Oaks Hospital Subsidiary L.P., Greenview Hospital Inc., Greenview PrimeCare LLC, Greenview Specialty Associates LLC, Gulf Coast Division Inc., Gulf Coast Electrophysiology Associates PLLC, Gulf Coast Inpatient Specialists LLC, Gulf Coast Medical Center Primary Care LLC, Gulf Coast Medical Ventures Inc., Gulf Coast Multispecialty Services LLC, Gulf Coast Physician Administrators Inc., Gulf Coast Provider Network Inc., Gwinnett Community Hospital Inc., Gynecology Specialists of Utah LLC, H2U Wellness Centers - Del Sol Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers - Las Palmas Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers - Medical City Dallas PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers - St. Davids Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers LLC, H2U Wellness Centers Clear Lake Regional Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers Conroe ISD PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers Conroe Regional Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers Corpus Christi PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers El Paso PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers PISD PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers San Benito CISD PLLC, HBP Lone Star Inc., HCA - IT&S Field Operations Inc., HCA - IT&S Inventory Management Inc., HCA - IT&S PBS Field Operations Inc., HCA - IT&S TN Field Operations Inc., HCA - Information Technology & Services Inc., HCA - Raleigh Community Hospital Inc., HCA - Viera ALF LLC, HCA - WHS Progressive LLC, HCA - WHS Services LLC, HCA ASD Financial Operations LLC, HCA ASD Sales Services LLC, HCA American Finance LLC, HCA Carenow Limited, HCA Central Group Inc., HCA Central/West Texas Physicians Management LLC, HCA Chattanooga Market Inc., HCA Development Company Inc., HCA Eastern Group Inc., HCA Global Capital LLP, HCA Gulf Coast GME PLLC, HCA Health Services of California Inc., HCA Health Services of Florida Inc., HCA Health Services of Georgia Inc., HCA Health Services of Louisiana Inc., HCA Health Services of Miami Inc., HCA Health Services of Midwest Inc., HCA Health Services of New Hampshire Inc., HCA Health Services of Tennessee Inc., HCA Health Services of Texas Inc., HCA Health Services of Virginia Inc., HCA Health Services of West Virginia Inc., HCA Healthcare Mission Fund LLC, HCA Healthcare UK Limited, HCA Holdco LLC, HCA Human Resources LLC, HCA Imaging Services of North Florida Inc., HCA Inc., HCA International Holdings Limited, HCA International Limited, HCA LewisGale Regional Cancer Centers Clinical Co-Management Company LLC, HCA Long Term Health Services of Miami Inc., HCA Luxembourg 1 Sarl, HCA Luxembourg 2 Sarl, HCA Luxembourg Equities Sarl, HCA Luxembourg Finance Limited, HCA Luxembourg Investments Sarl, HCA Management Services L.P., HCA Medical City Limited, HCA Medical Services Inc., HCA Midwest Comprehensive Care Inc., HCA Outpatient Clinic Services of Miami Inc., HCA Outpatient Imaging Services Group Inc., HCA Patient Safety Organization LLC, HCA Pearland GP Inc., HCA Physician Services Inc., HCA Plano Imaging Inc., HCA Property GP LLC, HCA Psychiatric Company, HCA Purchasing Limited, HCA Realty Inc., HCA Richmond Cardiac Clinical Co-Management Company LLC, HCA SF LLC, HCA SFB 1 LLC, HCA Sarasota Orthopedic and Spine Clinical Co-Management Company LLC, HCA Squared LLC, HCA Staffing Limited, HCA Swiss Capital 1 LLP, HCA Swiss Capital 2 LLP, HCA Switzerland Finance GmbH, HCA Switzerland Holding GmbH, HCA Switzerland Limited, HCA UK Capital Limited, HCA UK Holdings Limited, HCA UK Investments Limited, HCA UK Limited, HCA UK Services Limited, HCA Wesley Rehabilitation Hospital Inc., HCA Western Group Inc., HCA-Access Healthcare Holdings LLC, HCA-Access Healthcare Partner Inc., HCA-California Urgent Care Holdings LLC, HCA-EMS Holdings LLC, HCA-EmCare Holdings LLC, HCA-Georgia Urgent Care Holdings LLC, HCA-HBPS Holdings LLC, HCA-HealthONE LLC, HCA-Solis Holdings Inc., HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of Continental LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of Gulf Coast LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of North Texas LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of TriStar LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Services LLC, HCA-Solis Master LLC, HCA-Urgent Care Holdings LLC, HCAPS Anesthesia Manager LLC, HCAPS Conroe Affiliation Inc., HCOL Inc., HD&S Corp. Successor Inc., HDH Thoracic Surgeons LLC, HHBY Holdings LLC, HHNC LLC, HICCH-SCL LLC, HM Acquisition LLC, HM OMCOS LLC, HMMG 1226 LLC, HPG Energy L.P., HPG Enterprises LLC, HPG GP LLC, HPG Solutions LLC, HSS Holdco LLC, HSS Systems LLC, HSS Virginia L.P., HTI Gulf Coast Inc., HTI Health Services of North Carolina Inc., HTI Hospital Holdings Inc., HTI MOB LLC, HTI MSO LLC, HTI Memorial Hospital Corporation, HTI Physician Services of Utah Inc., HWCA PLLC, Hamilton Memorial Hospital Inc., Hamsard 3160 Limited, Harley Street Clinic @ The Groves LLP, Hathor Chelsea Ltd., Healdsburg General Hospital Inc., Health Care Indemnity Inc., Health Insight Capital LLC, Health International Billing Partners Limited, Health Midwest Medical Group Inc., Health Midwest Office Facilities Corporation, Health Midwest Ventures Group Inc., Health Partners of Kansas Inc., Health Service Partners Inc., Health Services (Delaware) Inc., Health Services Merger Inc., Health to You LLC, HealthCoast Physician Group LLC, HealthONE Aurora Investment LLC, HealthONE Care Partners LLC, HealthONE CareNow Urgent Care LLC, HealthONE Clear Creek LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Bariatric Medicine LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Behavioral Health LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Cancer Care LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Cancer Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Cardiovascular LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Medical Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Neurosciences LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Occupational Medicine LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Oncology Hematology LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Orthopedic Specialists LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Otolaryngology Specialists LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Pediatric Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Primary Care LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Spine Specialists LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Spine Surgeons LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Surgery Neurological LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Surgical Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Transplant Services LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Womens Services LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Youth Rehabilitation LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services LLC, HealthONE High Street Primary Care Center LLC, HealthONE IRL Pathology Services LLC, HealthONE Institutes for Clinical Research LLC, HealthONE Lowry LLC, HealthONE Radiation Therapy at Red Rocks LLC, HealthONE Radiation Therapy at Thornton LLC, HealthONE Ridge View Endoscopy Center LLC, HealthONE Surgicare of Ridge View LLC, HealthONE Urologic LLC, HealthONE at Breckenridge LLC, HealthONE of Denver Inc., HealthOne Heart Care LLC, HealthOne Lincoln Investment LLC, HealthOne Westside Investment LLC, HealthTrust Europe Company Limited, HealthTrust Europe LLP, HealthTrust Locums Inc., HealthTrust Workforce Solutions LLC, Healthcare Oklahoma Inc., Healthcare Purchasing Alliance LLC, Healthcare Sales National Management Services Group LLC, Healthcare Technology Assessment Corporation, Healthco LLC, Healthnet of Kentucky LLC, Healthserv Acquisition LLC, Healthtrust Inc. - The Hospital Company, Healthtrust MOB Tennessee LLC, Healthtrust Purchasing Group L.P., Healthtrust Utah Management Services Inc., Healthy State Inc., Heart Specialist of North Texas PLLC, Heart of America ASC LLC, Heart of America Surgicenter LLC, Heartcare of Texas Ltd., Hearthstone Home Health Inc., Heartland Womens Group at Wesley LLC, Heathrow Imaging LLC, Heathrow Internal Medicine LLC, Hendersonville Hospital Corporation, Hendersonville Hospitalist Services Inc., Hendersonville OB/GYN LLC, Hendersonville ODC LLC, Hendersonville Primary Care LLC, Henrico Doctors Hospital - Forest Campus Property LLC, Henrico Doctors Neurology Associates LLC, Henrico Doctors OB GYN Specialists LLC, Henrico Surgical Specialists LLC, Heritage Family Care LLC, Heritage Hospital Inc., Heritage Medical Care LLC, Hermitage Primary Care LLC, Hidalgo County Family Practitioners PLLC, Hidden Lakes Health Center PLLC, Highlands Regional Medical Center, Hip & Joint Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Homecare North Inc., Hometrust Management Services Inc., Horizon Orthopedics LLC, Horizon Surgical LLC, Hospital Corp. LLC, Hospital Corporation of America, Hospital Corporation of Lake Worth, Hospital Corporation of Tennessee, Hospital Corporation of Utah, Hospital Development Properties Inc., Hospital Partners Merger LLC, Hospital Realty Corporation, Hospital-Based CRNA Services Inc., Hospitalists at Centennial Medical Center LLC, Hospitalists at Fairview Park LLC, Hospitalists at Greenview Regional Hospital LLC, Hospitalists at Horizon Medical Center LLC, Hospitalists at Parkridge LLC, Hospitalists at StoneCrest LLC, Hospitalists at Wesley Medical Center LLC, Hospitalists of the Wabash Valley LLC, Houston - PPH LLC, Houston CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, Houston Healthcare Holdings Inc., Houston NW Manager LLC, Houston Northwest Concessions L.L.C., Houston Northwest Operating Company L.L.C., Houston Northwest Surgical Partners Inc., Houston Obstetrics and Gynecology for Women PLLC, Houston Pediatric Specialty Group PLLC, Houston Urologic Surgicenter LLC, Houston Womans Hospital Partner LLC, ICU Associates of West Houston PLLC, IMX Holdings LLC, IRL Pathology Services MidAmerica LLC, Idaho Behavioral Health Services LLC, Idaho Physician Services Inc., Illinois Psychiatric Hospital Company Inc., Imaging Realty LLC, Imaging Services of Appomattox LLC, Imaging Services of Jacksonville LLC, Imaging Services of Louisiana LLC, Imaging Services of Louisiana Manager LLC, Imaging Services of Orlando LLC, Imaging Services of Richmond LLC, Imaging Services of Roanoke LLC, Imaging Services of West Boynton LLC, InVivoLink Inc., Independence Neurosurgery Services LLC, Independence Regional Medical Group LLC, Independence Surgicare Inc., Indian Path Hospital Inc., Indianapolis Hospital Partner LLC, Institute for Womens Health and Body LLC, Institute of Advanced ENT Surgery LLC, Integrated Regional Lab LLC, Integrated Regional Laboratories LLP, Integrated Regional Laboratories Pathology Services LLC, Intensive Care Consortium Inc., Internal Medicine Associates of Huntsville PLLC, Internal Medicine Associates of Southern Hills LLC, Internal Medicine of Blacksburg LLC, Internal Medicine of Pasadena PLLC, Internist Associates of Houston PLLC, Isleworth Partners Inc., J. M. Garcia M.D. PLLC, JCSH LLC, JDGC Management LLC, JFK Internal Medicine Faculty Practice LLC, JFK Medical Center Limited Partnership, JPM AA Housing LLC, Jackson County Medical Group LLC, Jackson County Pulmonary Medical Group LLC, Jacksonville CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Jacksonville Multispecialty Services LLC, Jacksonville Surgery Center Ltd., James River Internists LLC, John Randolph Family Practice LLC, John Randolph OB/GYN LLC, John Randolph Surgeons LLC, Johnson County Neurology LLC, Johnson County Surgery Center L.P., Johnson County Surgicenter L.L.C., Jordan Family Health L.L.C., Jupiter EFL Imaging Center LLC, KC Pain ASC LLC, KC Surgicare LLC, KPH-Consolidation Inc., Kansas CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Kansas City Cardiac Arrhythmia Research LLC, Kansas City Gastroenterology & Hepatology Physicians Group LLC, Kansas City Neurology Associates LLC, Kansas City Pulmonology Practice LLC, Kansas City Surgery Center Properties LLC, Kansas City Vascular & General Surgery Group LLC, Kansas City Womens Clinic Group LLC, Kansas Healthserv LLC, Kansas Pulmonary and Sleep Specialists LLC, Kansas Trauma and Critical Care Specialists LLC, Kathy L. Summers M.D. PLLC, Kendall Healthcare Group Ltd., Kendall Regional Medical Center LLC, Kendall Regional Urgent Care LLC, Kennedale Primary Care PLLC, Kingwood Multi-Specialty Group PLLC, Kingwood Surgery Center LLC, Kingwood Surgicenter LLC, Kissimmee Surgicare Ltd., Kyle Primary Care PLLC, L E Corporation, LAD Imaging LLC, LGMC Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, LOC @ The Christie LLP, LOC @ The London Bridge Hospital LLP, LOC Partnership LLP, LPN TeleBehavioral Health PLLC, Lafayette OB Hospitalists LLC, Lafayette Urogynecology & Urology Center LLC, Lake City Imaging LLC, Lake City Regional Medical Group LLC, Lake Forest Family Health PLLC, Lakeside Radiology LLC, Lakeside Womens Services LLC, Lakeview Cardiology Specialists LLC, Lakeview Hospital Physician Services LLC, Lakeview Internal Medicine LLC, Lakeview Medical Center LLC, Lakeview Regional Medical Center Inpatient Services LLC, Lakeview Regional Physician Group LLC, Lakeview Urology & General Surgery LLC, Lakewood Surgicare Inc., Laredo Medco LLC, Largo Medical Center Inc., Largo Physician Group LLC, Las Colinas Primary Care PLLC, Las Colinas Surgery Center Ltd., Las Encinas Hospital, Las Palmas Del Sol Cardiology PLLC, Las Palmas Del Sol Internal Medicine PLLC, Las Palmas Del Sol Urgent Care PLLC, Las Vegas ASC LLC, Las Vegas Surgicare Inc., Las Vegas Surgicare Ltd. a Nevada Limited Partnership, Lawnwood Cardiovascular Surgery LLC, Lawnwood Healthcare Specialists LLC, Lawnwood Medical Center Inc., Layton Family Practice LLC, Leaders in Oncology Care Limited, Leadership Healthcare Holdings II L.P. L.L.P., Leadership Healthcare Holdings L.P. L.L.P., Lees Summit Family Care LLC, Leslie Cohan M.D. PLLC, Lewis-Gale Hospital Incorporated, Lewis-Gale Medical Center LLC, Lewis-Gale Physicians LLC, Lewisville Primary Care PLLC, Lewisville Surgicare LLC, Lincoln Surgery Center LLC, Live Oak Immediate Care Center LLC, London Oncology Clinic LLP, London Pathology Limited, London Radiography & Radiotherapy Services Limited, Lone Peak Hospital Inc., Lone Star Intensivists at Gulf Coast PLLC, Lonestar Provider Network, Longview Regional Physician Hospital Organization Inc., Lorain County Surgery Center Ltd., Los Gatos Surgical Center a California Limited Partnership, Los Robles Regional Medical Center, Los Robles Regional Medical Center MOB LLC, Los Robles SurgiCenter LLC, Loudoun Surgery Center LLC, Louisiana Psychiatric Company Inc., Loveland Surgicenter LLC, Low Country Health Services Inc. of the Southeast, Lowry Surgicenter LLC, M. Jamshidi D.O. PLLC, MCA Investment Company, MCA-CTMC Holdings LLC, MEC Endoscopy LLC, MFA G.P. LLC, MFM Fact PLLC, MGH Medical Inc., MH Anesthesiology Physicians LLC, MH Angel Medical Center LLLP, MH Asheville Specialty Hospital LLC, MH Blue Ridge Medical Center LLLP, MH Eckerd Living Center LLLP, MH Highlands-Cashiers Medical Center LLLP, MH Hospital Holdings Inc., MH Hospital Manager LLC, MH Master Holdings LLLP, MH Master LLC, MH McDowell Imaging LLLP, MH Mission Hospital LLLP, MH Mission Hospital McDowell LLLP, MH Mission Imaging LLLP, MH Physician Services LLC, MH Transylvania Imaging LLLP, MH Transylvania Regional Hospital LLLP, MHS Partnership Holdings JSC Inc., MHS Partnership Holdings SDS Inc., MHS SC Partner L.L.C., MHS Surgery Centers L.P., MMC Sleep Lab Management LLC, MOSC Sports Medicine Inc., MOVCO Inc., MP Management LLC, MRT&C Inc., MSL Acquisition LLC, MVH Professional Services LLC, Macon Healthcare LLC, Macon Northside Health Group LLC, Macon Northside Hospital LLC, Macon Psychiatric Hospitalists LLC, Madison Behavioral Health LLC, Mainland Family Medicine PLLC, Mainland Multi-Specialty Group PLLC, Mainland Primary Care Physicians PLLC, Management Services Holdings Inc., Manatee Surgicare Ltd., Marietta Outpatient Medical Building Inc., Marietta Outpatient Surgery Ltd., Marietta Surgical Center Inc., Marion Community Hospital Inc., Mark Gottesman M.D. PLLC, Martin Fletcher & Associates L.P., Martin Fletcher Associates Holdings Inc., Mary Alice Cowan M.D. PLLC, Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialists of Corpus Christi PLLC, Maternal Fetal Services of Utah LLC, Maury County Behavioral Health LLC, Mayhill Cancer Center LLC, McAllen Comprehensive Upper Extremity Center PLLC, McKinney Surgeons PLLC, Mechanicsville Imaging LLC, Mecklenburg Surgical Land Development Ltd., Med City Dallas Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Med Corp. Inc., Med Group - Southern Hills Hospitalists LLC, Med-Center Hosp./Houston Inc., Med-Point of New Hampshire Inc., Medi Flight of Oklahoma LLC, MediCredit Inc., MediPurchase Inc., MediStone Healthcare Ventures Inc., MediVision Inc., MediVision of Mecklenburg County Inc., MediVision of Tampa Inc., Medical Arts Hospital of Texarkana Inc., Medical Associates of Ocala LLC, Medical Care America Colorado LLC, Medical Care America LLC, Medical Care Financial Services Corp., Medical Care Real Estate Finance Inc., Medical Care Surgery Center Inc., Medical Center - West Inc., Medical Center Imaging Inc., Medical Center Surgery Associates L.P., Medical Center of Baton Rouge Inc., Medical Center of Plano Partner LLC, Medical Center of Port St. Lucie Inc., Medical Center of Santa Rosa Inc., Medical Center of Southwest Florida LLC, Medical Centers of Oklahoma LLC, Medical City Dallas Hospital Inc., Medical City Dallas Partner LLC, Medical City Dallas Primary Care PLLC, Medical City Frisco, Medical City OB-GYN PLLC, Medical City Pediatrics PLLC, Medical City Specialty Surgicenter of Dallas LLC, Medical City Surgery Center of Alliance LLC, Medical City Surgery Center of Frisco LLC, Medical City Surgery Center of Lewisville LLC, Medical City Transplant PLLC, Medical Corporation of America, Medical Group - Dickson Inc., Medical Group - Southern Hills of Brentwood LLC, Medical Group - Southern Hills of Nolensville LLC, Medical Group - StoneCrest FP Inc., Medical Group - StoneCrest Inc., Medical Group - Stonecrest Pulmonology LLC, Medical Group - Summit Inc., Medical Imaging Inc., Medical Imaging of Colorado LLC, Medical Office Buildings of Kansas LLC, Medical Oncology Associates LLC, Medical Partners of North Florida LLC, Medical Plaza Ambulatory Surgery Center Associates L.P., Medical Specialties Inc., Memorial Family Practice Associates LLC, Memorial Health Primary Care at St. Johns Bluff LLC, Memorial Healthcare Group Inc., Memorial Neurosurgery Group LLC, Memorial Satilla Specialists LLC, Memorial University Medical Center, Menorah Medical Group LLC, Menorah Urgent Care LLC, Mercy ASC LLC, Metairie Primary Care Associates LLC, Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Center of Boerne LLC, Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Center of Landmark LLC, Methodist Cardiology Physicians, Methodist CareNow Physician Associates, Methodist CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, Methodist Healthcare System of San Antonio Ltd. L.L.P., Methodist Inpatient Management Group, Methodist Medical Center ASC L.P., Methodist Physician Alliance, Methodist Physician Practice Services LLC, Methodist Physician Practices PLLC, Metroplex Surgicenters Inc., Metropolitan Multispecialty Physicians Group Inc., Miami Beach EFL Imaging Center LLC, Miami Beach Healthcare Group Ltd., Miami Dade Surgical Specialists LLC, Miami Lakes Surgery Center Ltd., Miami-Dade Cardiology Consultants LLC, Michael Mann M.D. PLLC, Mid-America Surgery Center LLC, Mid-America Surgery Institute LLC, Mid-Cities Surgi-Center Inc., Mid-Continent Health Services Inc., MidAmerica Division Inc., MidAmerica Oncology LLC, Middle Georgia Hospital LLC, Middle Georgia Urgent Care Services LLC, Middle Tennessee Neurology LLC, Midtown Diagnostics LLC, Midwest Cardiology Specialists LLC, Midwest Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery LLC, Midwest Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons of Kansas LLC, Midwest Division - ACH LLC, Midwest Division - CMC LLC, Midwest Division - LRHC LLC, Midwest Division - LSH LLC, Midwest Division - MCI LLC, Midwest Division - MMC LLC, Midwest Division - OPRMC LLC, Midwest Division - RBH LLC, Midwest Division - RMC LLC, Midwest Division Spine Care LLC, Midwest Doctors Group LLC, Midwest Heart & Vascular Specialists LLC, Midwest Holdings Inc., Midwest Infectious Disease Specialists LLC, Midwest Medicine Associates LLC, Midwest Metropolitan Physicians Group LLC, Midwest Oncology Associates LLC, Midwest Trauma Services LLC, Midwest Womens Healthcare Specialists LLC, Mikrod Services Inc., Mill Creek Outpatient Services LLC, Millenium Health Care of Oklahoma Inc., Mission Bay Memorial Hospital Inc., Mission Community Anesthesiology Specialists LLC, Mission Employer Solutions LLC, Mission Health, Mission Health Partners Inc., Missouri Healthcare System L.P., Mobile Corps. Inc., Mobile Heartbeat, Mobile Heartbeat LLC, Montgomery Cancer Center LLC, Montgomery Hospitalists LLC, Montgomery Regional Hospital Inc., Montgomery Surgery Associates LLC, Mountain Division - CVH LLC, Mountain Division Inc., Mountain View Hospital Inc., Mountain View MRI Associates Ltd., Mountain West Surgery Center LLC, MountainStar Behavioral Health LLC, MountainStar Brigham General Surgery LLC, MountainStar Canyon Surgical Clinic LLC, MountainStar Cardiology Ogden Regional LLC, MountainStar Cardiology St. Marks LLC, MountainStar Intensivist Services LLC, MountainStar Medical Group - Cache Valley LLC, MountainStar Medical Group - Ogden Regional Medical Center LLC, MountainStar Medical Group - St. Marks Hospital LLC, MountainStar Medical Group Neurosurgery-St. Marks LLC, MountainStar Medical Group Timpanogos Primary Care LLC, MountainStar Medical Group Timpanogos Specialty Care LLC, MountainStar Specialty Services LLC, MountainStar Urgent Care LLC, MountainView GME Primary Care LLC, Mountainstar Brigham OBGYN LLC, Mountainstar Cardiovascular Services LLC, Mountainstar Ogden Pediatrics LLC, Movement Disorders of North Texas PLLC, Mt. Ogden Utah Surgical Center LLC, NPAS Inc., NPAS Solutions LLC, NT Urgent Care PLLC, NTGP LLC, NTMC Management Company, NTMC Venture Inc., NTX Pathology Program PLLC, Nashville Psychiatric Company Inc., Nashville Shared Services General Partnership, Nashville Surgicenter LLC, Natchez Medical Associates LLC, Natchez Surgery Center LLC, National Association of Senior Friends, National Contact Center Management Group LLC, National Patient Account Services Inc., National Transfer Center Management Services LLC, Navarro Memorial Hospital Inc., NeighborMD Management LLC, Network MS of Florida Inc., Network Management Services Inc., Neuro Affiliates Company, Neuro-Hospitalist of Clear Lake PLLC, NeuroHospitalist of McAllen PLLC, Neurological Eye Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Neurological Specialists PLLC, Neurological Specialists of McKinney PLLC, Neurology Associates of Hendersonville LLC, Neurology Associates of Kansas LLC, Neurosurgery Atlanta LLC, Neurosurgery of Kingwood PLLC, Neurosurgical Associates of North Texas PLLC, Neurosurgical Specialists of El Paso PLLC, Neurosurgical Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Nevada Surgery Center of Southern Hills L.P., Nevada Surgicare of Southern Hills LLC, Nevada Urgent Care Holdings Inc., New Iberia Healthcare LLC, New Iberia Holdings Inc., New Port Richey Hospital Inc., New Port Richey Surgery Center Ltd., New Rose Holding Company Inc., Niceville Family Practice LLC, North Augusta Imaging Management LLC, North Augusta Imaging Services LLC, North Augusta Rehab Health Center LLC, North Austin Plastic Surgery Associates PLLC, North Austin Surgery Center L.P., North Brandon Imaging LLC, North Central Florida Health System Inc., North Central Methodist ASC L.P., North Charleston Diagnostic Imaging Center LLC, North Florida Cancer Center Lake City LLC, North Florida Cancer Center Live Oak LLC, North Florida Cancer Center Tallahassee LLC, North Florida Division I Inc., North Florida Division Practice Inc., North Florida GI Center GP Inc., North Florida GI Center Ltd., North Florida Immediate Care Center Inc., North Florida Neurosurgery LLC, North Florida Outpatient Imaging Center Ltd., North Florida Physician Services Inc., North Florida Physicians LLC, North Florida Radiation Oncology LLC, North Florida Regional Company Care LLC, North Florida Regional Freestanding Surgery Center L.P., North Florida Regional Investments Inc., North Florida Regional Medical Center Inc., North Florida Regional Psychiatry LLC, North Florida Regional Trauma LLC, North Florida Rehab Investments LLC, North Florida Surgical Associates LLC, North Georgia Primary Care Group LLC, North Hills Cardiac Catheterization Center L.P., North Hills Catheterization Lab LLC, North Hills Orthopaedic Surgeons PLLC, North Hills Surgicare L.P., North Houston - TRMC LLC, North Miami Beach Surgery Center Limited Partnership, North Miami Beach Surgical Center LLC, North Palm Beach County Surgery Center LLC, North River Physician Network LLC, North Shore Specialists of Texas PLLC, North Suburban Spine Center L.P., North Tampa Imaging LLC, North Texas - MCA LLC, North Texas Cardiology PLLC, North Texas Craniofacial Fellowship Program PLLC, North Texas Division Inc., North Texas General L.P., North Texas Geriatrics PLLC, North Texas Heart Surgery Center PLLC, North Texas Internal Medicine Specialists PLLC, North Texas Medical Center Inc., North Texas Neuro Stroke OP PLLC, North Texas Pulmonary Critical Care PLLC, North Texas Sports and Orthopedics Center PLLC, North Texas Stroke Center PLLC, North Texas of Hope PLLC, North Transfer Center LLC, Northeast Florida Cancer Services LLC, Northeast Methodist Surgicare Ltd., Northeast PHO Inc., Northern Utah Healthcare Corporation, Northern Utah Healthcare Imaging Holdco LLC, Northern Utah Imaging LLC, Northern Virginia CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Northern Virginia Community Hospital LLC, Northern Virginia Hospital Corporation, Northern Virginia Surgicenter LLC, Northlake Medical Center LLC, Northlake Physician Practice Network Inc., Northlake Surgical Center L.P., Northlake Surgicare Inc., Northside MRI Inc., Northwest Fla. Home Health Agency Inc., Northwest Florida Healthcare Systems Inc., Northwest Florida Multispecialty Physicians LLC, Northwest Florida Primary Care LLC, Northwest Medical Center Inc., Notami (Opelousas) Inc., Notami Hospitals LLC, Notami Hospitals of Florida Inc., Notami Hospitals of Louisiana Inc., Notami Hospitals of Missouri Inc., Notami LLC, Notco LLC, Nuclear Diagnosis Inc., OB Hospitalists of Womans Hospital PLLC, OB/GYN of Brownsville PLLC, OB/Gyn Associates of Denton PLLC, OBS Diagnostic and Treatment Centre LLP, ODP Holdings LLC, ODP Manager LLC, ODP Properties LLC, OHH Imaging Services LLC, OPRMC-HBP LLC, Oak Hill Acquisition Inc., Oak Hill Family Care LLC, Oak Hill Hospitalists LLC, Oakwood Surgery Center Ltd. LLP, Ocala Health Company Care LLC, Ocala Health Imaging Services LLC, Ocala Health Primary Care LLC, Ocala Health Surgical Group LLC, Ocala Health Trauma LLC, Ocala Regional Outpatient Services Inc., Ocala Stereotactic Radiosurgery LLC, Ocala Stereotactic Radiosurgery Partner LLC, Occupational Health Services of PRH LLC, Occupational and Family Medicine of South Texas, Ogden Imaging LLC, Ogden Internal Medicine & Urology LLC, Ogden Regional Health Plan Inc., Ogden Regional Medical Center Professional Billing LLC, Ogden Senior Center LLC, Ogden Tomotherapy LLC, Ogden Tomotherapy Manager LLC, Okaloosa Hospital Inc., Okeechobee Hospital Inc., Oklahoma Holding Company LLC, Oklahoma Outpatient Surgery Limited Partnership, Oklahoma Physicians - Medical Specialties LLC, Oklahoma Physicians - Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, Oklahoma Physicians - Primary Care LLC, Oklahoma Physicians - Surgical Specialties LLC, Oklahoma Surgicare Inc., Old Fort Village LLC, On-Site Primary Care PLLC, Oncology Services of Corpus Christi LLC, Oncology Services of Corpus Christi Manager LLC, OneSourceMed Inc., Online Pathology Services Limited, Orange County Healthcare LLC, Orange Park Hospitalists LLC, Orange Park Medical Center Inc., Orlando CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Orlando Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Orlando Outpatient Surgical Center Ltd., Orlando Surgicare Ltd., Orthopaedic Specialty Associates L.P., Orthopaedic Sports Specialty Associates Inc., Orthopedic Hospital Ltd., Orthopedics Specialists LLC, Osceola Neurological Associates LLC, Osceola Physician Network LLC, Osceola Regional Hospital Inc., Osceola Regional Hospitalists LLC, Osceola Surgical Associates LLC, Outpatient Cardiovascular Center of Central Florida LLC, Outpatient GP LLC, Outpatient Services - LAD LLC, Outpatient Services Holdings Inc., Outpatient Surgical Services Ltd., Outpatient Womens and Childrens Surgery Center Ltd., Overland Park Cardiovascular Inc., Overland Park Medical Specialists LLC, Overland Park Orthopedics LLC, Overland Park Surgical Specialties LLC, Oviedo Medical Center LLC, Ozarks Medical Services Inc., P&L Associates, P/SL Hyperbaric Partnership, PET CT LLP, PMM Inc., POH Holdings LLC, PSG Delegated Services LLC, PTS Solutions LLC, Pacific Partners Management Services Inc., Palm Beach EFL Imaging Center LLC, Palm Beach General Surgery LLC, Palm Beach Healthcare System Inc., Palm Beach Hospitalists Program LLC, Palmer Medical Center LLC, Palms West Gastroenterology LLC, Palms West Hospital Limited Partnership, Palms West Surgery Center Ltd., Paragon Physicians Hospital Organization of South Texas Inc., Paragon SDS Inc., Paragon Surgery Centers of Texas Inc., Paragon WSC Inc., Paragon of Texas Health Properties Inc., Parallon Business Solutions LLC, Parallon Enterprises LLC, Parallon Health Information Solutions LLC, Parallon Holdings LLC, Parallon Payroll Solutions LLC, Parallon Physician Services LLC, Parallon Revenue Cycle Services Inc., Park Central Surgical Center Ltd., Park Ridge Surgery Center LLC, Park South Imaging Center Ltd., Park View Insurance Company, Parkersburg SJ Holdings Inc., Parkland Hospitalists Program LLC, Parkland Oncology LLC, Parkland Physician Services Inc., Parkridge East Specialty Associates LLC, Parkridge Hospitalists Inc., Parkridge Medical Associates LLC, Parkridge Medical Center Inc., Parkridge Professionals Inc., Parkside Surgery Center Inc., Parkway Cardiac Center Ltd., Parkway Hospital Inc., Parkway Surgery Services Ltd., Parthenon Insurance Company Limited, Pasadena Bayshore Hospital Inc., PatientKeeper, PatientKeeper Inc., Patients First Neurology LLC, Pavilion 2 Condominium Property LLC, Pavilion 2 Medical Office Building Condominium Association Inc., Pavilion Surgicenter LLC, Peach State Anesthesia Partners LLC, Pearland Institute for Womens Health PLLC, Pearland Partner LLC, Pediatric Anesthesia Consultants of San Antonio PLLC, Pediatric Cardiac Intensivists of North Texas PLLC, Pediatric Critical Care of Clear Lake PLLC, Pediatric Hospitalists of Conroe PLLC, Pediatric Intensivist Group LLC, Pediatric Intensivists of El Paso PLLC, Pediatric Intensivists of North Texas PLLC, Pediatric Specialists of Clear Lake PLLC, Pediatric Specialty Clinic LLC, Pediatric Surgicare Inc., Pediatrics of Greater Houston PLLC, Pensacola Primary Care Inc., Physician Associates of Corporate Woods LLC, Physicians Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Physicians West Surgicenter LLC, Pinellas Medical LLC, Pinnacle Physician Network LLC, Pioneer Medical LLC, Plains Healthcare System Inc., Plano Ambulatory Surgery Associates L.P., Plano Heart Institute L.P., Plano Heart Management LLC, Plano Surgery Center - GP LLC, Plano Surgery Center Real Estate LLC, Plano Surgicenter Real Estate Manager LLC, Plano Urology PLLC, Plantation General Hospital L.P., Plaza Medical Specialists PLLC, Plaza Primary Care PLLC, Plaza Transplant Center PLLC, Podiatry of Clear Lake PLLC, Poinciana Medical Center Inc., Port St. Lucie Surgery Center Ltd., Portland Primary Care LLC, Portsmouth Regional Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Portsmouth Surgicenter LLC, Preferred Hospitals Inc., Preferred Works WC LLC, Premier ASC LLC, Premier Medical Management Ltd., Primary Care Medical Associates Inc., Primary Care Plano PLLC, Primary Care Services of Orlando LLC, Primary Care South PLLC, Primary Care West PLLC, Primary Care of West End LLC, Primary Health Asset Holdings Ltd., Primary Health Group Inc., Primary Health Inc., Primary Health Network of South Texas, Primary Health Physicians PLLC, Primary Medical Management Inc., Proaxis Therapy HealthOne LLC, Provident Professional Building Condominium Association Inc., Psychiatry Services of Osceola LLC, Pulaski Community Hospital Inc., Pulaski Urology LLC, Pulmonary Renal Intensivist Group LLC, Putnam Community Medical Center of North Florida LLC, Putnam Hospital Inc., Putnam Radiation Oncology LLC, Putnam Radiation Oncology Manager LLC, Putnam Surgical Group LLC, Quantum/Bellaire Imaging Ltd., Quick Care Centers LLC, Quivira Internal Medicine Inc., RCH LLC, RMC - Pulmonary LLC, RMC Transplant Physicians LLC, RMCA Professionals Mgmt LLC, ROi CPS LLC, Radford Family Medicine LLC, Radiation Oncology Center of Thornton LLC, Radiation Oncology Manager LLC, Raleigh Community Medical Office Building Ltd., Rapides After Hours Clinic L.L.C., Rapides Healthcare System L.L.C., Rapides Regional Physician Group LLC, Rapides Regional Physician Group Primary Care LLC, Rapides Regional Physician Group Specialty Care LLC, Rapides Surgery Center LLC, Raulerson GYN LLC, Raulerson Gastroenterology LLC, Raulerson Primary Care LLC, Raymore Medical Group LLC, Red Rock Holdco LLC, Red Rock at Smoke Ranch LLC, Red Rocks Surgery Center LLC, Redmond Anesthesia Services LLC, Redmond Hospital Services LLC, Redmond Neurosurgery LLC, Redmond Park Health Services Inc., Redmond Park Hospital LLC, Redmond Physician Practice Company, Redmond Specialty Services LLC, Regional Hospital Healthcare Partners LLC, Research Cardiology Associates LLC, Research Family Physicians LLC, Research Internal Medicine LLC, Research Neurology Associates LLC, Research Neuroscience Institute LLC, Resource Optimization & Innovation L.L.C., Reston Hospital Center LLC, Reston Hospitalists LLC, Reston Surgery Center L.P., Retreat Cardiology LLC, Retreat Hospital LLC, Retreat Internal Medicine LLC, Retreat Surgical Associates LLC, Rhodes Limited-Liability Company, Richmond Imaging Employer Corp., Richmond Multi-Specialty LLC, Richmond Pediatric Surgeons LLC, Ridgeline Surgicenter LLC, Rim Building Partners L.P., Rio Grande Healthcare MSO Inc., Rio Grande NP Inc., Rio Grande Regional Hospital Inc., Rio Grande Valley Cardiology PLLC, Rio Grande Valley CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, Rio Grande Valley Urology PLLC, Riverside CyberKnife Manager LLC, Riverside Healthcare System L.P., Riverside Holdings Inc., Riverside Hospital Inc., Riverside Imaging LLC, Riverwalk ASC LLC, Roanoke Imaging LLC, Roanoke Neurosurgery LLC, Roanoke Surgery Center L.P., Roanoke Valley Gynecology LLC, Robotic Radiosurgery LLP, Rocky Mountain Pediatric Hematology Oncology LLC, Rocky Mountain Surgery Center LLC, Rome Imaging Center Limited Partnership, Roodlane Medical Limited, Rose Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Rose Health Partners LLC, Rose Medical Plaza Ltd., Rose POB Inc., Rosewood Medical Center Inc., Rosewood Professional Building Ltd., Round Rock Hospital Inc., Round Rock Trauma Surgeons PLLC, Royal Oaks Surgery Center L.P., S.A. Medical Center Inc., SAPN LLC, SCRI Global Services Limited, SCRI Holdings LLC, SCRI Scientifics LLC, SJMC LLC, SSHR Holdco LLC, SSJ St. Petersburg Holdings Inc., STPN Manager LLC, SWMC Inc., Sahara Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Salem Hospitalists LLC, Salem Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Salt Lake City Surgicare Inc., Samaritan LLC, San Antonio Division Inc., San Antonio Regional Hospital Inc., San Antonio Surgicenter LLC, San Bernardino Imaging LLC, San Joaquin Surgical Center Inc., San Jose Healthcare System LP, San Jose Hospital L.P., San Jose LLC, San Jose Medical Center LLC, San Jose Pathology Outreach LLC, San Marcos ASC LLC, San Marcos Surgicenter LLC, Sante Fe Family Practitioners PLLC, Sarah Cannon Development Innovations LLC, Sarah Cannon Research Institute LLC, Sarah Cannon Research Institute UK Limited, Sarasota Doctors Hospital Inc., Savannah Behavioral Health Associates LLC, Savannah Health Network LLC, Savannah Health Services LLC, Savannah Inpatient Services LLC, Savannah Multispecialty Associates LLC, Savannah Pediatric Care LLC, Savannah Primary Care Associates LLC, Sebring Health Services LLC, Selma Medical Center Hospital Inc., Senior Health Associates LLC, Short Pump Imaging LLC, Silicon Valley Health Holdings LLC, Silicon Valley Surgery Center L.P., Silicon Valley Surgicenter LLC, Sky Ridge Spine Manager LLC, Sky Ridge Surgery Center L.P., Skyline Medical Group LLC, Skyline Neuroscience Associates LLC, Skyline Rehab Associates LLC, Skyline Specialty Associates LLC, Smith Laboratories Inc., Solis Mammography at Bayshore Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Conroe Regional Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Denton Regional Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at HCA Houston Tomball LLC, Solis Mammography at Kingwood Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Las Colinas Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center Alliance LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center Arlington LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center of Lewisville LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center of McKinney LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center of Plano LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical City Dallas LLC, Solis Mammography at Pearland Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Rose Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Skyline Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at StoneCrest Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at West Houston Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Womans Hospital of Texas LLC, Solis Mammography of Cedar Hill LLC, Solis Mammography of CyFair LLC, Solis Mammography of Dallas LLC, Solis Mammography of Flower Mound LLC, Solis Mammography of Frisco LLC, Solis Mammography of Garland LLC, Solis Mammography of Grand Prairie LLC, Solis Mammography of Houston NW LLC, Solis Mammography of Katy LLC, Solis Mammography of Louetta/249 LLC, Solis Mammography of Mainland LLC, Solis Mammography of Mansfield LLC, Solis Mammography of Mesquite LLC, Solis Mammography of Montgomery LLC, Solis Mammography of North Cypress LLC, Solis Mammography of North Loop LLC, Solis Mammography of Sugar Land LLC, Solis Mammography of West Plano LLC, Solis Mammography of Womans Place LLC, South Atlantic Division Inc., South Austin Surgery Center Ltd., South Austin Surgical Management LLC, South Austin Surgicenter LLC, South Brandon Imaging LLC, South Florida Division Practice Inc., South Texas Surgicare Inc., South Transfer Center LLC, South Valley Hospital L.P., Southeast Georgia Health Services LLC, Southern Hills Medical Center LLC, Southern Hills Neurology Consultants LLC, Southern Kentucky Medicine Associates LLC, Southern Kentucky Surgicenter LLC, Southern Texas Physicians Network, Southpoint LLC, Southtown Womens Clinic LLC, Southwest Florida Health System Inc., Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center Inc., Southwest Medical Center Family Practice LLC, Southwest Medical Center Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Southwest Medical Center Surgical Group LLC, Southwest Medpro Ltd., Southwest Surgical Clinic Inc., Southwest Virginia Orthopedics and Spine LLC, Spalding Rehabilitation L.L.C., Specialists in Obstetrics and Gynecology PLLC, Specialty Associates of West Houston PLLC, Specialty Physicians of Northern Virginia LLC, Specialty Surgicare of Las Vegas LP, Spotsylvania Condominium Property LLC, Spotsylvania Medical Center Inc., Spotsylvania Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Spotsylvania Regional Surgery Center LLC, Spring Branch Family Practitioners PLLC, Spring Branch Medical Center Inc., Spring Hill Hospital Inc., Spring Hill Imaging LLC, Spring Hill Physicians LLC, Springview KY LLC, Spruce Pine Healthcare LLC, St. Davids Austin Area ASC LLC, St. Davids Cardiology PLLC, St. Davids CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, St. Davids Healthcare Partnership L.P. LLP, St. Davids Heart & Vascular PLLC, St. Davids Neurology PLLC, St. Davids OB Hospitalist PLLC, St. Davids Ortho Neuro and Rehab PLLC, St. Davids Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation PLLC, St. Davids Quality Alliance LLC, St. Davids Specialized Womens Services PLLC, St. Davids Trauma Surgeons PLLC, St. Lucie Hospitalists LLC, St. Lucie Medical Center Hyperbarics LLC, St. Lucie Medical Center Walk-In Clinic LLC, St. Lucie Medical Specialists LLC, St. Lucie West Primary Care LLC, St. Marks Ambulatory Surgery Associates L.P., St. Marks Gynecology Oncology Care LLC, St. Marks Investments Inc., St. Marks Physician Billing LLC, St. Marks Professional Services LLC, St. Marks South Jordan Family Practice LLC, St. Martins Healthcare Limited, St. Martins Ltd., St. Martins Medical Services Limited, St. Petersburg General Surgery LLC, Stafford Imaging LLC, Statland Medical Group LLC, Steamboat Springs Surgicenter LLC, Sterling Primary Care Associates LLC, Stiles Road Imaging LLC, StoneCrest Surgery Center LLC, StoneSprings Medical Office Building Property LLC, StoneSprings Surgicenter LLC, Stonecrest Medical Group - Family Practice of Murfreesboro LLC, Stonecrest Medical Group - SC Murfreesboro Family Practice LLC, Stones River Hospital LLC, Suburban Medical Center at Hoffman Estates Inc., Sugar Land Surgery Center Anesthesia LLC, Sugar Land Surgery Center Ltd., Sullins Surgical Center Inc., Summit Convenient Care at Lebanon LLC, Summit General Partner Inc., Summit Heart LLC, Summit Outpatient Diagnostic Center LLC, Summit Research Solutions LLC, Summit Surgery Center L.P., Summit Surgical Associates LLC, Summit Walk-in Clinic LLC, Sun Bay Medical Office Building Inc., Sun City Hospital Inc., Sun City Imaging LLC, Sun Towers/Vista Hills Holding Co., Sun-Med LLC, Sunrise Flamingo Holdings LLC, Sunrise Flamingo Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center LLC, Sunrise Mountainview Hospital Inc., Sunrise Mountainview Multi-Specialty Clinics LLC, Sunrise Outpatient Services Inc., Sunrise Physician Services LLC, Sunrise Trauma Services LLC, Surgery Associates of NTX PLLC, Surgery Center of Atlantis LLC, Surgery Center of Aventura Ltd., Surgery Center of Bay Area Houston LLC, Surgery Center of Greenview L.P., Surgery Center of Independence L.P., Surgery Center of Overland Park L.P., Surgery Center of Port Charlotte Ltd., Surgery Center of Rome L.P., Surgery Center of the Rockies LLC, Surgical Associates of Southwest Virginia LLC, Surgical Care Medical Group LLC, Surgical Center of Irving Inc., Surgical Facility of West Houston L.P., Surgical Park Center Ltd., Surgical Specialists of Clear Lake PLLC, Surgical Specialists of Conroe PLLC, Surgical Specialists of Corpus Christi PLLC, Surgicare America - Winter Park Inc., Surgicare Merger Company of Louisiana, Surgicare Outpatient Center of Baton Rouge Inc., Surgicare Outpatient Center of Jackson Inc., Surgicare of ADC LLC, Surgicare of AGI LLC, Surgicare of Alpine LLC, Surgicare of Altamonte Springs Inc., Surgicare of Anchorage LLC, Surgicare of Arapahoe LLC, Surgicare of Arlington LLC, Surgicare of Ashburn LLC, Surgicare of Augusta Inc., Surgicare of Aurora Endoscopy LLC, Surgicare of Aventura LLC, Surgicare of Bay Area Endoscopy LLC, Surgicare of Bay Area LLC, Surgicare of Bayonet Point Inc., Surgicare of Bayside LLC, Surgicare of Bountiful LLC, Surgicare of Brandon Inc., Surgicare of Brentwood LLC, Surgicare of Brighton LLC, Surgicare of Brooksville LLC, Surgicare of Brownsville LLC, Surgicare of Buckhead LLC, Surgicare of CAREOS LLC, Surgicare of Central Florida Inc., Surgicare of Central Park Surgery Center LLC, Surgicare of Central San Antonio Inc., Surgicare of Chattanooga LLC, Surgicare of Chippenham LLC, Surgicare of Citrus LLC, Surgicare of Clarksville LLC, Surgicare of Corpus Christi LLC, Surgicare of Countryside Inc., Surgicare of Dallas Specialty LLC, Surgicare of Denton Inc., Surgicare of Denver Clinic LLC, Surgicare of Denver LLC, Surgicare of Denver Mid-Town Inc., Surgicare of Dickson LLC, Surgicare of Eastside LLC, Surgicare of Evans Inc., Surgicare of Fairfax Inc., Surgicare of Florida Inc., Surgicare of Flower Mound Inc., Surgicare of Focus Hand LLC, Surgicare of Fort Worth Co-GP LLC, Surgicare of Fort Worth Inc., Surgicare of Ft. Pierce Inc., Surgicare of Good Samaritan LLC, Surgicare of Gramercy Inc., Surgicare of Greenview Inc., Surgicare of Hanover Inc., Surgicare of Houston Kingwood LLC, Surgicare of Houston LLC, Surgicare of Houston Womens Inc., Surgicare of Indianapolis Inc., Surgicare of Kansas City LLC, Surgicare of Kingwood LLC, Surgicare of Kissimmee Inc., Surgicare of Lakeview Inc., Surgicare of Las Vegas Inc., Surgicare of Laurel Grove LLC, Surgicare of Lorain County Inc., Surgicare of Los Gatos Inc., Surgicare of Los Robles LLC, Surgicare of Loveland LLC, Surgicare of Madison Inc., Surgicare of Manatee Inc., Surgicare of McKinney Inc., Surgicare of Medical City Dallas LLC, Surgicare of Memorial Endoscopy LLC, Surgicare of Merritt Island Inc., Surgicare of Miami Lakes LLC, Surgicare of Mountain West LLC, Surgicare of Mt. Ogden LLC, Surgicare of Nashville LLC, Surgicare of Natchez LLC, Surgicare of Newport Richey Inc., Surgicare of North Austin LLC, Surgicare of North San Antonio Inc., Surgicare of Northeast San Antonio Inc., Surgicare of Orange Park II LLC, Surgicare of Orange Park Inc., Surgicare of Orange Park Ltd., Surgicare of Orlando Inc., Surgicare of Overland Park LLC, Surgicare of Palms West LLC, Surgicare of Park Ridge LLC, Surgicare of Pasadena Inc., Surgicare of Pavilion LLC, Surgicare of Physicians West El Paso LLC, Surgicare of Pinellas Inc., Surgicare of Plano Inc., Surgicare of Plantation Inc., Surgicare of Port Charlotte LLC, Surgicare of Port St. Lucie Inc., Surgicare of Portsmouth LLC, Surgicare of Premier Orthopaedic LLC, Surgicare of Reston Inc., Surgicare of Ridgeline LLC, Surgicare of Riverside LLC, Surgicare of Riverwalk LLC, Surgicare of Roanoke LLC, Surgicare of Rome Inc., Surgicare of Rose LLC, Surgicare of Round Rock Inc., Surgicare of Royal Oaks LLC, Surgicare of Silicon Valley LLC, Surgicare of Sky Ridge LLC, Surgicare of Sky Ridge Womens Center LLC, Surgicare of South Austin Inc., Surgicare of Southeast Denver Inc., Surgicare of Southern Hills Inc., Surgicare of Southern Kentucky LLC, Surgicare of Southwest Houston LLC, Surgicare of Spotsylvania LLC, Surgicare of St. Andrews Inc., Surgicare of St. Andrews Ltd., Surgicare of St. Davids Austin LLC, Surgicare of Steamboat Springs LLC, Surgicare of StoneCrest LLC, Surgicare of StoneSprings LLC, Surgicare of Stuart Inc., Surgicare of Sugar Land Inc., Surgicare of Swedish LLC, Surgicare of Tallahassee Inc., Surgicare of Terre Haute LLC, Surgicare of Thornton LLC, Surgicare of Travis Center Inc., Surgicare of Tulsa Inc., Surgicare of Utah LLC, Surgicare of Wasatch Front LLC, Surgicare of West Hills Inc., Surgicare of Westlake Inc., Surgicare of Wichita Inc., Surgicare of Wichita LLC, Surgicare of Willis LLC, Surgicare of Wilson County LLC, Surgicare of Winchester LLC, Surgicenter of East Jefferson Inc., Surgicenter of Johnson County Ltd. a Kansas limited partnership, Surgicenter of Kansas City L.L.C., Surgico LLC, Swedish MOB Acquisition Inc., Swedish MOB I Ltd., Swedish MOB II Inc., Swedish MOB III Inc., Swedish MOB IV Inc., Swedish MOB LLC, Swedish Medpro Inc., TBHI Outpatient Services LLC, TCMC Madison-Portland Inc., THN Physicians Association Inc., TUHC Anesthesiology Group LLC, TUHC Hospitalist Group LLC, TUHC Physician Group LLC, TUHC Primary Care and Pediatrics Group LLC, TUHC Radiology Group LLC, Tallahassee Community Network Inc., Tallahassee Medical Center Inc., Tallahassee Orthopaedic Surgery Partners Ltd., Tampa Bay Health System Inc., Tampa Surgi-Centre Inc., Tarrant County Surgery Center L.P., Tchefuncte Cardiology Associates - Lakeview LLC, Teays Valley Health Services LLC, Telehealth Physician Services LLC, Tennessee Healthcare Management Inc., Tennessee Valley Outpatient Diagnostic Center LLC, Terre Haute Hospital GP Inc., Terre Haute Hospital Holdings Inc., Terre Haute MOB L.P., Terre Haute Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, Terre Haute Regional Hospital L.P., Texas CareNow Physician Associates, Texas HSS LLC, Texas Institute of Medicine and Surgery, Texas Psychiatric Company Inc., The Austin Diagnostic Clinic PLLC, The Cancer Care Center of North Florida LLC, The Cardiovascular Partnership for Quality LLC, The Charter Cypress Behavioral Health System L.L.C., The Christie Clinic LLP, The Glynne Medical Practice Limited, The Harley Street Cancer Clinic Limited, The London Breast Institute UK Ltd, The Medical Group of Kansas City LLC, The Neurohealth Sciences Center LLC, The Physicians Clinic Limited, The Prostate Centre Limited, The Rankin Foundation, The Regional Health System of Acadiana LLC, The Wasatch Endoscopy Center Ltd., The West Texas Division of Columbia Inc., Timpanogos Pain Specialists LLC, Timpanogos Regional Medical Services Inc., Total Imaging - Hudson LLC, Total Imaging - North St. Petersburg LLC, Total Imaging - Parsons LLC, Town Plaza Family Practice LLC, Travel Medicine and Infections LLC, Travis Surgery Center L.P., Tri Cities Health Services Corp., Tri-City Multi-Specialty LLC, Tri-County Community Hospital Inc., Tri-County Surgical Specialists LLC, TriStar Bone Marrow Transplant LLC, TriStar Cardiovascular Surgery LLC, TriStar Family Care LLC, TriStar Gynecology Oncology LLC, TriStar Health System Inc., TriStar Joint Replacement Institute LLC, TriStar Maury Behavioral Healthcare LLC, TriStar Medical Group - Centennial Primary Care LLC, TriStar Medical Group - Legacy Health LLC, TriStar Medical Network LLC, TriStar OB/GYN LLC, TriStar Orthopedics LLC, TriStar Physicians LLC, TriStar Radiation Oncology LLC, Trident Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Trident Behavioral Health Services LLC, Trident Eye Surgery Center L.P., Trident Medical Center LLC, Trident Medical Services Inc., Trident Neonatology Services LLC, Tulane Clinic LLC, Tulane Professionals Management L.L.C., Tuscan Imaging Center at Las Colinas LLC, U.S. Collections Inc., Ultra Imaging Management Services LLC, Ultra Imaging of Tampa LLC, University Healthcare Specialists LLC, University Healthcare System L.C., University Hospital Ltd., Uptown Primary Care Associates LLC, Urgent Care Enterprise LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Ann & Simmons LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Cactus & Southern Highlands LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Charleston & Decatur LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Charleston/Sloan LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Craig & Clayton LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Craig & Decatur LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Durango & Cheyenne LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Durango & Flamingo LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Eastern & Horizon Ridge LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Rainbow/Mardon LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Warm Springs & Green Valley LLC, Urgent Care Extra Silverado & Maryland LLC, Urgent Care Extra-Tropicana & Jones LLC, Urgent Care Nevada LLC, Urological Specialists of Arlington PLLC, Urology Associates (London) Limited, Urology Center of North Georgia LLC, Urology Services of El Paso PLLC, Urology Specialists Devonshire LLP, Urology Specialists London LLP, Urology Specialists of Kingwood PLLC, Urology Specialists of Richmond LLC, Urology Surgery Center of Colorado LLC, Utah CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Utah Imaging GP LLC, Utah Medco LLC, Utah Surgery Center L.P., VH Holdco Inc., VH Holdings Inc., VHSC Plantation LLC, VIP Inc., Valify, Valify Inc., Value Health Holdings Inc., Value Health Management Inc., Vascular and Endovascular Specialists LLC, Venture Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Venture Medical Management LLC, Village Oaks Medical Center Inc., Virginia Care Partners ACO LLC, Virginia Gynecologic Oncology LLC, Virginia Hematology & Oncology Associates Inc., Virginia Hospitalists Inc., Virginia Psychiatric Company Inc., Virginia Quality Care Partners LLC, Vision Consulting Group LLC, Vision Holdings LLC, W & C Hospital Inc., WCP Properties LLC, WHG Medical LLC, WHMC Inc., WJHC LLC, Walterboro Community Hospital Inc., Warren County Ambulance Service LLC, Wasatch Front Surgery Center LLC, Washington Holdco LLC, Waterway Primary Care LLC, Weatherford Health Services LLC, Weatherford Mammography JV LLC, Weatherford Regional Medical Center, Welbeck Street Diagnostic Centre LLP, Wellington Diagnostic Services LLP, Wesley Cath Lab LLC, Wesley Manager LLC, Wesley Medical Center LLC, Wesley Physician Services LLC, Wesley Physicians - Anesthesiologist LLC, Wesley Physicians - Cardiovascular LLC, Wesley Physicians - Medical Specialties LLC, Wesley Physicians - Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, Wesley Physicians - Primary Care LLC, Wesley Select Network LLC, Wesley Urgent Care LLC, West Boynton Beach Open Imaging Center LLC, West Creek Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, West Creek Medical Center Inc., West Florida - MHT LLC, West Florida - PPH LLC, West Florida Behavioral Health Inc., West Florida Cardiology Network LLC, West Florida Cardiology Physicians LLC, West Florida CareNow Urgent Care LLC, West Florida Division Inc., West Florida Gulf Coast Primary Care LLC, West Florida HealthWorks LLC, West Florida Imaging Services LLC, West Florida Internal Medicine LLC, West Florida PET Services LLC, West Florida Physician Network LLC, West Florida Professional Billing LLC, West Florida Regional Medical Center Inc., West Florida Specialty Physicians LLC, West Florida Trauma Network LLC, West Florida Urgent Care Network LLC, West Hills Hospital, West Hills Surgical Center Ltd., West Houston ASC Inc., West Houston Healthcare Group Ltd., West Houston Internal Specialists PLLC, West Houston LLC, West Houston Medical PLLC, West Houston Outpatient Medical Facility Inc., West Houston Surgicare Inc., West Jacksonville Medical Center Inc., West Jordan Hospital Corporation, West LPN Fort Worth Oncology PLLC, West LPN Inc., West Los Angeles Physicians Hospital Inc., West McKinney Imaging Services LLC, West Paces Services Inc., West Park Surgery Center L.P., West Valley Imaging LLC, West Valley Medical Center Inc., West Valley Medical Group LLC, West Valley Medical Group Specialty Services LLC, West Valley Therapy Services LLC, Westbury Hospital Inc., Western Plains Capital Inc., Westlake Surgicare L.P., Westminster Community Hospital, Westside Surgery Center Ltd., Wichita CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Wildwood Medical Center Inc., Willis Surgicenter LLC, Wilson County Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Womans Health Group PLLC, Womans Hospital Merger LLC, Womans Hospital of Texas Incorporated, Women Practitioners of Houston PLLC, Women Specialists of Bayshore PLLC, Women Specialists of Clear Lake PLLC, Women Specialists of Mainland PLLC, Womens & Childrens Center LLC, Womens & Childrens Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Center LLC, Womens & Childrens Pulmonology Clinic LLC, Womens Center at Brookside LLC, Womens Health Center of Central Florida LLC, Womens Health Center of SWVA LLC, Womens Hospital Indianapolis GP Inc., Womens Hospital Indianapolis L.P., Womens Link Specialty Obstetrical Referral Clinic PLLC, Womens Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Womens Surgical Specialists of Texas PLLC, Womens and Childrens Professional Management L.L.C., Womens and Childrens Specialists LLC, hInsight-Airstrip Holdings LLC, hInsight-BMA Holdings LLC, hInsight-Customer Care Holdings LLC, hInsight-Digital Reasoning Holdings LLC, hInsight-Healthbox Holdings LLC, hInsight-I2 Holdings LLC, hInsight-InVivoLink Holdings LLC, hInsight-LS Holdings LLC, hInsight-Loyale Healthcare Holdings LLC, hInsight-Mobile Heartbeat Holdings LLC, hInsight-NX LLC, hInsight-PWS I Holdings LLC, hInsight-Procured Holdings LLC, and hInsight-VAI Holdings LLC. There is not enough analysis data for Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Orchards. 4.3 Community Rank Outperform Votes Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Orchards has received 100 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.) Underperform Votes Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Orchards has received 54 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.) Community Sentiment Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Orchards has received 64.94% outperform votes from our community. MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Orchards and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe NNUTU will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe NNUTU will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days. Previous Next iShares China Large-Cap ETF's stock was trading at $38.80 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, FXI shares have increased by 4.4% and is now trading at $40.51. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. iShares Europe ETF's stock was trading at $37.19 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, IEV stock has increased by 46.6% and is now trading at $54.51. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Asia, Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; And Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment provides mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, group retirement and savings products, and institutional asset management services through agents and brokers affiliated with the company, securities brokerage firms, and financial advisors pension plan consultants and banks. The Insurance and Annuity Products segment offers deposit and credit products; individual life, and individual and group long-term care insurance; and guaranteed and partially guaranteed annuity products through insurance agents, brokers, banks, financial planners, and direct marketing. The Corporate and Other segment is involved in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance businesses; and run-off reinsurance operations, including variable annuities, and accident and health. It also manages timberland and agricultural portfolios; and engages in insurance agency, portfolio and mutual fund management, mutual fund dealer, life and financial reinsurance, and fund management businesses. Additionally, the company holds and manages oil and gas properties; holds oil and gas royalties, and foreign bonds and equities; and provides investment management, counseling, advisory, and dealer services. Manulife Financial Corporation was incorporated in 1887 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Read More Oil States International, Inc. engages in the provision of specialty products and services to drilling, completion, subsea, production, and infrastructure sectors of the oil and gas industry. It operates through the following segments: Well Site Services, Downhole Technologies and Offshore or Manufactured Products. The Well Site Services segment consists of completion and drilling services such equipment and services that are used to drill for, establish, and maintain the flow of oil and natural gas from a well throughout its life cycle focuses on completion-focused equipment and services as well as land drilling services. The Downhole Technologies segment provides oil and gas perforation systems and downhole tools in support of completion, intervention, wireline and abandonment operations. The Offshore or Manufactured Products segment designs, manufactures, and markets capital equipment utilized on floating production systems, subsea pipeline infrastructure, and offshore drilling rigs and vessels, along with short-cycle and other products. The company was founded in July 1995 and is headquartered in Houston, TX. Read More Nabors Industries Ltd. engages in the provision of platform work over and drilling rigs. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Drilling, Canada Drilling, International Drilling, Drilling Solutions, and Rig Technologies. The U.S. Drilling segment includes land drilling activities in the lower 48 states and Alaska, as well as offshore operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The Canada segment consists of land-based drilling rigs in Canada. The International segment focuses in maintaining a footprint in the oil and gas market, most notably in Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Argentina, Colombia, Kazakhstan, and Venezuela. The Drilling Solutions segment offers drilling technologies, such as patented steering systems and rig instrumentation software systems that enhance drilling performance and wellbore placement. The Rig Technologies segment comprises Canrig, which manufactures and sells top drives, catwalks, wrenches, drawworks, and drilling related equipment, such as robotic systems and downhole tools. The company was founded by Clair Nabors in 1952 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Read More There is not enough analysis data for Novation Companies. 4.7 Community Rank Outperform Votes Novation Companies has received 68 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.) Underperform Votes Novation Companies has received 29 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.) Community Sentiment Novation Companies has received 70.10% outperform votes from our community. MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Novation Companies and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe NOVC will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe NOVC will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days. Previous Next The following companies are subsidiares of AES: 25 Ashdown Road Solar LLC, AES (India) Private Limited, AES (NI) Limited, AES Abigail S.a.r.l., AES Accabonac Solar LLC, AES Africa Power Company B.V., AES AgriVerde Holdings B.V., AES AgriVerde Services (Ukraine) Limited Liability Company, AES Alamitos Development Inc., AES Alamitos Energy LLC, AES Alamitos L.L.C., AES Alicura Holdings S.C.A., AES Americas International Holdings Limited, AES Andres (BVI) Ltd., AES Andres BV, AES Andres DR S.A., AES Andres Holdings I Ltd, AES Aramtermelo Holdings B.V., AES Argentina Generation S.A. (1), AES Argentina Holdings S.C.A., AES Argentina Investments Ltd., AES Argentina Operations Ltd., AES Arlington Services LLC, AES Armenia Mountain Holdings LLC, AES Armenia Mountain Wind 2 LLC, AES Aurora Holdings Inc., AES Aurora Inc., AES BES Jordan B.V., AES Bainbridge Holdings LLC, AES Bainbridge LLC, AES Ballylumford Holdings Limited, AES Baltic Holdings BV, AES Barka Services Inc., AES Barry Limited, AES Barry Operations Ltd., AES Beaver Valley L.L.C., AES Belfast West Power Limited, AES Belleville Solar LLC, AES Big Sky L.L.C., AES Botswana Holdings B.V., AES Brasil Ltda, AES Brazil Inc., AES Brazil International Holdings Limited, AES Broadalbin Solar LLC, AES Bulgaria B.V., AES Bulgaria Energy Solutions EOOD, AES Bulgaria Holdings BV, AES Bussum Holdings BV, AES CC&T International Ltd., AES CLESA Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita de Capital Variable, AES Calaca Pte. Ltd., AES Calgary Inc., AES California Management Co. Inc., AES Caracoles SRL, AES Carbon Exchange Ltd., AES Carbon Holdings LLC, AES Caribbean Finance Holdings Inc., AES Caribbean Investment Holdings Ltd., AES Cartegena Holdings BV, AES Cayman Guaiba Ltd., AES Cayman Pampas Ltd., AES Central America Electric Light LLC, AES Central American Holdings Inc., AES Central American Investment Holdings Ltd., AES Central Asia Holdings BV, AES Ceprano Energia SRL, AES Changuinola S.R.L., AES Chhattisgarh Energy Private Limited, AES Chigen Holdings Ltd., AES China Generating Co. Ltd., AES Chivor & Cia S.C.A. E.S.P., AES Chivor S.A., AES Climate Solutions Holdings I B.V., AES Climate Solutions Holdings I LLC, AES Climate Solutions Holdings II LLC, AES Climate Solutions Holdings L.P., AES Climate Solutions Holdings LLC, AES Colon Development S. de R.L., AES Columbia Power LLC, AES Communications LLC, AES Communications Latin America Inc., AES Connecticut Management L.L.C., AES Coop Holdings LLC, AES Costa Rica Energy SRL, AES Costa Rica Holdings Ltd., AES DE AssetCo VI LLC, AES DE Class B Holdings LLC, AES DE Class B I LLC, AES DE Class B II LLC, AES DE Class B III LLC, AES DE Class B IV LLC, AES DE Class B V LLC, AES DE Class B VI LLC, AES DE Class B VII LLC, AES DE Construction LLC, AES DE DevCo I LLC, AES DE DevCo NC LLC, AES DE Holdings I LLC, AES DE Holdings III LLC, AES DE Holdings IV LLC, AES DE Holdings V LLC, AES DE Holdings VI GB LLC, AES DE Holdings VI GB Owner LLC, AES DE Holdings VI LLC, AES DE Manager LLC, AES DE RS IX LLC, AES DE RS VI LLC, AES DE RS VII LLC, AES DE RS VIII LLC, AES DE RS X LLC, AES DE RS XI LLC, AES DE RS XII LLC, AES DE Residential Holdings I LLC, AES DE Solar Access Holdings I LLC, AES DE-GIE LLC, AES DPL Holdings LLC, AES DPP Holdings Ltd., AES Deepwater LLC, AES Desert Power L.L.C., AES Development de Argentina S.A., AES Disaster Relief Fund, AES Distribuidores Salvadorenos Limitada, AES Distribuidores Salvadorenos Y Compania S en C de C.V., AES Distributed Energy Inc., AES Dominicana Cooperatief UA, AES Drax Financing Inc., AES Drax Power Finance Holdings Limited, AES EDC Holding L.L.C., AES ES Alamitos LLC, AES ES Deepwater LLC, AES ES Gilbert LLC, AES ES Holdings LLC, AES ES Tait LLC, AES Ecotek Europe Holdings B.V., AES El Faro Electric Light Ltd., AES El Faro Generating Ltd., AES El Salvador Electric Light LLC, AES El Salvador LLC, AES El Salvador S.A. de C.V., AES El Salvador Trust, AES Electric Ltd., AES Electroinversora B.V., AES Elpa S.A., AES Empresa Electrica de El Salvador Limitada de Capital Variable, AES Endeavor Inc., AES Energia SRL, AES Energy B.V., AES Energy Developments S.L., AES Energy Ltd., AES Energy Services Inc., AES Energy Solutions LLC, AES Energy Storage Arizona LLC, AES Energy Storage Holdings, AES Energy Storage Holdings LLC, AES Energy Storage LLC, AES Energy Storage UK Limited, AES Energy Storage Zeeland B.V., AES Engineering LLC, AES Europe Services EOOD, AES Finance and Development Inc., AES Florestal Ltda., AES Fonseca Energia Limitada de C.V., AES Forca Ltd., AES Foreign Energy Holdings LLC, AES GEI US Finance Inc., AES GEO Energy OOD, AES GPH Holdings Inc., AES Gabreski Solar LLC, AES Gas Supply & Distribution Ltd., AES Gener S.A., AES Generation Development LLC, AES Global Insurance Company, AES Global Mobility Services LLC, AES Global Power Holdings B.V., AES Globales B.V., AES Grand Dominicana Ltd., AES Grid Stability LLC, AES Griggs Solar LLC, AES Guaiba II Empreendimentos Ltda, AES Guayama Holdings BV, AES Hawaii LLC, AES Hawaii Management Company LLC, AES Highgrove Holdings L.L.C., AES Highgrove L.L.C., AES Hispanola Holdings BV, AES Hispanola Holdings II BV, AES Holdings B.V., AES Holdings B.V. - Vietnam Rep Office, AES Holdings Brasil Ltda., AES Honduras Generation Ventures Ltd., AES Honduras Holdings Ltd., AES Horizons Holdings BV, AES Horizons Investments Limited, AES Hungary Energiaszolgaltato Kft., AES Huntington Beach Development L.L.C., AES Huntington Beach Energy LLC, AES Huntington Beach L.L.C., AES IB Valley Corporation, AES Ilumina Holdings LLC, AES Ilumina LLC, AES Ilumina Member LLC, AES India Holdings (Mauritius), AES India L.L.C., AES Indiana Holdings L.L.C., AES Integrated Energy LLC, AES Intercon II Ltd., AES Interenergy Ltd., AES International Holdings II Ltd., AES International Holdings III Ltd., AES International Holdings Ltd., AES Investment Chile SpA, AES Italia S.r.l, AES James Baird Solar LLC, AES Johnsville Solar LLC, AES Jordan Holdco Cayman Limited, AES Jordan PSC, AES Jordan Solar B.V., AES Juniper Point Holdings LLC, AES K2 Limited, AES Kalaeloa Venture L.L.C., AES Kekaha Solar LLC, AES Keystone L.L.C., AES Keystone Wind L.L.C., AES King Harbor Inc., AES Kuihelani Solar LLC, AES LA FIT Dedeaux LLC, AES LA FIT Francisco LLC, AES LA FIT Sun Valley LLC, AES LATAM Energy Development Ltd., AES Landfill Carbon LLC, AES Latin America S. de R.L., AES Latin American Development Ltd., AES Laurel Mountain LLC, AES Lawai Solar LLC, AES Levant Holdings B.V., AES Levant Holdings B.V/ Jordan PSC, AES Lion Telecom Investments B.V., AES Lumos Holdings LLC, AES Maritza East 1 Ltd., AES Maritza East 1 Services Ltd., AES Mayan Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., AES Merida B.V., AES Merida III S. de R.L. de C.V., AES Merida Management Services S. de R.L. de C.V., AES Merida Operaciones SRL de CV, AES Mexican Holdings Ltd., AES Mexico Farms L.L.C., AES Mexico Generation Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., AES MicroPlanet Ltd., AES Mid East Holdings 2 Ltd., AES Mong Duong Holdings B.V., AES Mong Duong Project Holdings B.V., AES Monroe Holdings B.V., AES Mount Vernon B.V., AES NA Central L.L.C., AES NEXT Ltda. de C.V., AES Nejapa Gas Ltda. de C.V., AES Nejapa Services Ltda. de C.V., AES Next LLC, AES Nile Power Holdings Ltd., AES North America Development LLC, AES OPGC Holding, AES Oahu LLC, AES Oahu Wind Holdings LLC, AES Oasis Holdco Inc., AES Oasis Ltd., AES Oasis Mauritius Inc, AES Ocean Springs Trust Deed, AES Odyssey L.L.C., AES Ohio Generation LLC, AES Operaciones Laguna del Rey S. de R.L. de C.V., AES Operadora S.A, AES Orissa Distribution Private Limited, AES Overseas Holdings (Cayman) Ltd., AES Overseas Holdings Limited, AES Pacific Inc., AES Pacific L.L.C., AES Pacific Ocean Holdings B.V., AES Pak Holdings Ltd., AES Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd., AES Pakistan Operations Ltd., AES Panama S.R.L., AES Parana Gas S.A., AES Parana Holdings Ltd., AES Parana IHC Ltd., AES Parana II Limited Partnership, AES Parana Operations S.R.L., AES Parana Propiedades S.A, AES Parana Uruguay S.R.L, AES Pardo Holdings Ltd., AES Pasadena Inc., AES Peru S.R.L., AES Phil Investment Pte. Ltd., AES Philippines Power Partners Co. Ltd., AES Platense Investments Uruguay S.C.A, AES Puerto Rico Inc., AES Puerto Rico L.P., AES Puerto Rico Services Inc., AES Redondo Beach L.L.C., AES Renewable Power Group S.R.L., AES Renewables (India) Private Limited, AES Riverside Holdings LLC, AES SACEF Investment LLC, AES SEB Holdings (Delaware) LLC, AES SEB Holdings Ltd., AES Saint Petersburg Holdings B.V., AES San Nicolas B.V., AES SellCo III LLC, AES Services Inc., AES Services Ltd., AES Services Philippines Inc., AES Servicios America S.R. L., AES Servicios Electricos S. de R.L. de C.V., AES Servicos TC Ltda., AES Shady Point LLC, AES Silk Road Energy LLC, AES Silk Road LLC, AES Solar Energy B.V., AES Solar Energy Holdings B.V., AES Solar Energy LLC, AES Solar Espana S.L., AES Solar Holdings LLC, AES Solar Power PR LLC, AES Sole Italia S.r.L., AES Soluciones Limitada de Capital Variable, AES Solutions LLC, AES Solutions Management LLC, AES South America Holdings Cooperatief U.A., AES South America Holdings I B.V., AES South America Holdings II B.V., AES South American Holdings Ltd., AES South Point Ltd., AES Southland Development LLC, AES Southland Energy Company Holdings I LLC, AES Southland Energy Holdings II LLC, AES Southland Energy Holdings LLC, AES Southland Energy Investment LLC, AES Southland Energy LLC, AES Stonehaven Holding Inc., AES Strategic Equipment Holdings Corporation, AES Sul L.L.C., AES Summit Generation Ltd., AES Swiss Lake Holdings B.V., AES TEG Holdings I LLC, AES TEG Holdings LLC, AES TEG II Mexican Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., AES TEG II Mexican Investments S. de R.L. de C.V., AES TEG II Operations S. de R.L. de C.V., AES TEG Management Inc., AES TEG Mexican Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., AES TEG Mexican Investments S. de R.L. de C.V., AES TEG Operations S. de R.L. de C.V., AES TEG Power Investments B.V., AES TEG Power Investments II B.V., AES TEGTEP Holdings B.V., AES TEP Holdings I LLC, AES TEP Holdings LLC, AES TEP Management Inc., AES TEP Power II Investments Limited, AES TEP Power Investments Limited, AES Tamuin Development Services S. de R.L. de C.V., AES Texas Funding III L.L.C., AES Thames L.L.C., AES Thomas Holdings BV, AES Tiete Eolica S.A., AES Tiete Inova Solucoes de Energia I Ltda., AES Tiete Inova Solucoes de Energia II Ltda., AES Tiete Inova Solucoes de Energia Ltda., AES Tiete Integra Solucoes em Energia Ltda, AES Tonawanda Solar LLC, AES Transgas I Ltd., AES Treasure Cove Ltd., AES Trinidad Services Unlimited, AES Trust III, AES Tucano Holding I S.A., AES Tucano Holdings II S.A., AES U&K Holdings B.V., AES U.S. Holdings LLC, AES U.S. Investments Inc., AES U.S. Solar LLC, AES UCH Holdings (Cayman) Ltd., AES UK Datacenter Services Limited, AES UK Holdings Limited, AES UK Power Financing II Ltd, AES UK Power Financing Limited, AES UK Power Holdings Limited, AES UK Power L.L.C., AES UK Power Limited, AES US Distributed Solar Holdings LLC, AES US Generation Holdings LLC, AES US Generation LLC, AES US Services LLC, AES US Wind Development L.L.C., AES US Wind Generation Holdings LLC, AES Union de Negocios S.A. de C.V., AES Uruguaiana Empreendimentos S.A., AES Venezuela Finance, AES Volcan Holdings B.V., AES WR Limited Partnership, AES Waikoloa Solar LLC, AES Warrior Run L.L.C., AES West Oahu Solar LLC, AES Western Power Holdings L.L.C., AES Western Power L.L.C., AES Western Wind L.L.C., AES Western Wind MV Acquisition LLC, AES Wind Bulgaria EOOD, AES Wind Generation LLC, AES Wind Generation Limited, AES Wind Investments I B.V., AES Wind Investments II B.V., AES Yucatan S. de R.L. de C.V., AES Zephyr 2 LLC, AES Zephyr 3 LLC, AES Zephyr Inc., AES- IC Ictas Enerji Uretim ve Ticaret A.S., AES-3C Maritza East 1 Ltd., AES-RS Spanish Holdings LLC, AES-RS Sunshine Cooperatief U.A., AES-RS Sunshine Holdings LLC, AES-VCM Mong Duong Power Company Limited, AESCom Sul Ltda., AESEBA Trust Deed, AGV Solar IV Geradora de Energia S.A., AGV Solar V Geradora de Energia S.A., AGV Solar VI Geradora de Energia S.A., AM Solar B.V., AM Solar B.V. - Jordan Co., APR Walden Solar 1 LLC, ARNIKA Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH, AZ Solar I LLC, AZ Solar II LLC, AZ Solar Phase Zero LLC, AgCert Canada Co., AgCert Canada Holding Limited, AgCert Chile Servicios Ambientales Limitada, AgCert International Limited, AgCert Servicios Ambientales S.R.L., Agilion Energy Private Limited, Allis Medina Solar LLC, Altai Power Limited Liability Partnership, Alto Maipo SpA, Amaterasu LLC, Andes Solar SpA, Arizona B&GC Solar LLC, Assonet Solar 1 LLC, Atlantic Basin Services Ltd., B.A. Services S.R.L., Bakersfield Industrial PV 1 LLC, Bakersfield PV I LLC, Beals Medina Solar LLC, Boa Hora 1 Geradora De Energia Solar S.A., Boa Hora 2 Geradora de Energia Solar S.A., Boa Hora 3 Geradora De Energia Solar S.A., Bolton Solar I LLC, Brasiliana Participacoes S.A., Bridgeport Solar LLC, Buffalo Gap Holdings 2 LLC, Buffalo Gap Holdings 3 L.L.C., Buffalo Gap Holdings LLC, Buffalo Gap Wind Farm 2 LLC, Buffalo Gap Wind Farm 3 L.L.C., Buffalo Gap Wind Farm 4 L.L.C., Buffalo Gap Wind Farm LLC, Bullock Freetown Solar 1 LLC, Bosforo de Responsabilidad Limitada de Capital Variable, CCS Telecarrier, CDEC-SING Ltda, CIA.TRANSMISORA DEL NORTE CHICO S.A., CO-CA Wholly Owned LLC, Camille Ltd., Camille Trust, Cavanal Minerals LLC, Cayman Energy Traders, Cemig II C.V., Centrais Eolicas Ametista S.A., Centrais Eolicas Borgo S.A., Centrais Eolicas Caetite S.A., Centrais Eolicas Dourados S.A., Centrais Eolicas Espigao S.A., Centrais Eolicas Maron S.A., Centrais Eolicas Morrao S.A., Centrais Eolicas Pelourinho S.A., Centrais Eolicas Piloes S.A., Centrais Eolicas Seraima S.A., Centrais Eolicas Serra do Espinhaco S.A., Centrais Eolicas Tanque S.A., Centrais Eolicas Ventos do Nordeste S.A., Centrais Eolicas da Prata S.A., Centrais Eolicas dos Aracas S.A., Central Electricity Supply Company of Orissa Limited, Central Termoelectrica Guillermo Brown S.A., Cerulean Properties LLC, Clean Wind Energy Ltd., Coastal Itabo Ltd., Colon LNG Marketing S. De R.L., Compania de Alumbrado Eletrico de San Salvador S.A. DE C.V., Compass Circle Solar LLC, Compania Transmisora Angamos SpA, Compania Transmisora La Cebada S.A., Compania Transmisora del Norte Grande SpA, Costa Norte LNG Terminal S. de R.L., Cronin Road Solar 1 LLC, DPL Capital Trust II, DPL Inc., Daggett Ridge Wind Farm LLC, Delano PV1 LLC, Diamond Development Inc., Distribuidora Electrica de Usulutan Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, Domi Trading S.L., Dominican Power Partners, Dublin Solar I LLC, Dunstable Solar 1 LLC, EMLP Controladora S. de R.L. de C.V., ENERAB S. de R.L. de C.V., ENERGEN S.A., Eloy ESD Solar Holdings LLC, Empresa Electrica Angamos S.A., Empresa Electrica Campiche S.A., Empresa Electrica Cochrane II SpA, Empresa Electrica Cochrane S.A., Empresa Electrica Guacolda S.A., Empresa Electrica Ventanas S.A., Empresa Electrica de Oriente S.A. de C.V., Empresa Generadora De Electricidad Itabo S.A., EnerAB Cogeneracion I Laguna del Rey S. de R.L. de C.V., EnerAB Suministro Calificado S. de R.L. de C.V., EnerAB Tenedora S. de R.L., Energetica Argentina S.A., Energia Eolica Los Olmos SpA, Energia Eolica Mesamavida SpA, Energia Verde S.A., Energy Trade and Finance Corporation, Energia Eolica Curauma SpA, Energia Eolica Paposo SpA, Energia Natural del Este Enadom, Eolica Mesa La Paz S. de R.L. de C.V., FTP Power LLC, Finchville Solar LLC, Fluence Energy LLC, Founder's Homestead Farm Solar LLC, Fundacion AES Dominicana Inc., Fundacion AES Gener, GENERGIA S.A., GNRY Holdings & Investments Limited, Gas Natural Atlantico II S. de R.L., Gas Natural Atlantico S. De R.L., Gasoducto GasAndes Argentina S.A., Gasoducto GasAndes S.A., Gener Argentina S.A., Gener Blue Water Ltd., Genergia Power Ltd., Georgia Solar Holdings LLC, Georgia Solar Parent LLC, Global Energy Holdings C.V., Goller Enerji Uretim Ltd. Sti., Gray Springs Vista Solar LLC, Greenwich Solar 1 LLC, Guacolda Energy S.A., Guaimbe I Parque Solar S.A., Guaimbe II Parque Solar S.A., Guaimbe III Parque Solar S.A., Guaimbe IV Parque Solar S.A., Guaimbe Solar Holding S.A., Guaimbe V Parque Solar S.A., Health and Welfare Benefit Plans LLC, Hipotecaria San Miguel Limitada de Capital Variable, Hipotecaria Santa Ana Limitada de Capital Variable, INVERSIONES NUEVA VENTANAS S.A., IPALCO Enterprises Inc., Indianapolis Power & Light Company, Indimento Inversiones S.L., Instituto AES Brasil, InterAndes S.A., Inversiones Cachagua SpA, Inversiones Energia Renovable Limitada, Inversiones LK SpA, Inversiones Termoenergia de Chile Ltda., Inversiones Zapallar Limitada, Inversora de San Nicolas S.A., Itabo III S.R.L., Jemeiwaa KaI S.A.S., Johnstown Solar 1 LLC, KA Energy OOD, KMR Power Company, Kazincbarcikai Iparteruletfejleszt Kft., Kings Rooftop PV LLC, La Plata I Empreendimentos Ltda., La Plata II Ltd., La Plata III C.V., Lane Ave Solar LLC, Lemoore PV 1 LLC, MFP CO Holdings II LLC, MFP CO Holdings LLC, MFP CO I LLC, MFP CO II LLC, MFP CO III LLC, MFP CO Parent LLC, MM Solar Holdings I LLC, MM Solar Parent LLC, MSP Master Tenant I LLC, MSP Master Tenant II LLC, MacGregor Park Inc., Manteca PV 1 LLC, Maple Solar LLC, Maui 17-2 LLC, Mauka FIT Twenty LLC, Mercury Cayman Co II Ltda Agencia en Chile, Mercury Chile Co. II Ltd., Mercury Chile Holdco Ltd., Mercury Chile I Limitada, Mercury Chile II Limitada, Miami Valley Insurance Company, Miami Valley Lighting LLC, Mid-America Capital Resources Inc., Middletown Solar 1 LLC, Mong Duong Finance Holdings B.V., Motor EV LLC, Mountain Minerals LLC, Mountain View Power Partners IV LLC, Mountain View Power Partners LLC, Murcia Generation Holdings B.V., NY RNM Project1 LLC, NY RNM Project1A LLC, NY RNM Project2 LLC, NY RNM Project3 LLC, NY RNM Project4 LLC, Na Pua Makani Power Partners LLC, New Caribbean Investments SRL, Norgener Inversiones SpA, Norgener Renovables SpA, Norgener S.A., Nova Energia Holding S.A., Novus Barre Town Solar LLC, Nurenergoservice LLP, Oahu SPE 101-14 LLC, Oahu SPE 101-19 LLC, Oahu SPE 101-2 LLC, Oahu SPE 101-33 LLC, Oahu SPE 101-4 LLC, Oahu SPE 101-9 LLC, Odisha Power Generation Corporation Limited, Omega SpA, PARQUE EOLICO NOLANA SpA, PARQUE EOLICO TOPOLOA SpA, Parque Eolico Beata SRL, Parque Eolico Litueche SpA, Parque Eolico Campo Lindo SpA, Parque Eolico Los Cururos SpA, Parque Eolico Victoria SpA, Punta del Sol SpA, Quebrada Seca SpA, RMR Solar LLC, RT52 Walden Solar 1 LLC, Ransomville Solar 1 LLC, Remittance Processing Services LLC, Rep Office of AES Silk Road in Almaty, Rep Office of AES Silk Road in Tajikstan Republic, Richmond Solar Power 1 LLC, River Street Solar 1 LLC, Riverside Canal Power Company, Rosamond Solar LLC, Ryan Road Solar LLC, SD Solar I LLC, SEPV Imperial LLC, San Bernardino Solar LLC, Scituate Solar I LLC, Scottsdale Solar Holdings LLC, SeaWest Asset Management Services LLC, SeaWest Energy Project Associates LLC, SeaWest Properties LLC, SeaWest Wyoming LLC, Shazia S.R.L., Simple Energy Inc., Solar Access America LLC, Solar Access CA LLC, Solar Access California LLC, Southern Electric Brazil Participacoes Ltda., Store Heat and Produce Energy Inc., Stow Solar I LLC, Sudbury Ervin GMC Solar LLC, SunE Solar XVII Project5 LLC, SunE SunHoldings4 LLC, T&T Power Holdings I SRL, T&T Power Holdings II Ltd., TEG Business Trust, TEG/TEP Management LLC, TEP Business Trust, Tau Power BV, Tecnoma Energia Solar S.L., TermoAndes S.A., Termoelectrica Penoles S. de R.L. de C.V., Termoelectrica del Golfo S. de R.L. de C.V., Terneuzen Cogen B.V., The AES Barry Foundation, The Dayton Power and Light Company, Thermo Fuels Company Inc., Tozer Road Solar LLC, USVI Solar I LLC, University Solar LLC, Vientos Neuquinos I S.A., Village of Waterbury Solar I LLC, W. Orange RD Solar LLC, West Brookfield Boston Post Road Solar LLC, West Street Solar 1 LLC, Western Solar Parent LLC, Wilbur Woods Solar LLC, Wildwood Trust, Williamsburg East Street Solar LLC, Winchendon Ash Street Solar 1 LLC, Winchendon Lincoln Avenue Solar 1 LLC, Winchendon Lincoln Avenue Solar 2 LLC, Your Energy Holdings Limited, ZPD-PT Solar Project 2017-001 LLC, ZPD-PT Solar Project 2017-003 LLC, ZPD-PT Solar Project 2017-006 LLC, ZPD-PT Solar Project 2017-007 LLC, ZPD-PT Solar Project 2017-008 LLC, ZPD-PT Solar Project 2017-011 LLC, ZPD-PT Solar Project 2017-014 LLC, ZPD-PT Solar Project 2017-017 LLC, ZPD-PT Solar Project 2017-023 LLC, ZPD-PT Solar Project 2017-024 LLC, ZPD-PT Solar Project 2017-038 LLC, ZPD-PT Solar Project 2017-044 LLC, sPower, and sPower OpCo A Blocker LLC. Greene King plc operates as a pub retailer and brewer in the United Kingdom. The company operates through three segments: Pub Company, Pub Partners, and Brewing & Brands. Its brands include Greene King Local Pubs, Hungry Horse, Flaming Grill, Farmhouse Inns, and Chef & Brewer. The company is also involved in brewing, marketing, and selling beer under the Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale, and Belhaven Best brands. In addition, Greene King plc engages in the employment, financing, pension trustee, and property businesses. As of April 30, 2018, it operated 2,855 managed, tenanted, leased, and franchised pubs, restaurants, and hotels. Greene King plc was founded in 1799 and is headquartered in Bury St Edmunds, the United Kingdom. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Sysco: 2234829 Alberta ULC, 2234842 Alberta ULC, A. M. Briggs Inc., A.M. Briggs, Almacen Fiscal Frionet Caldera S.A., Almacen Fiscal Frionet Limon S.A., Appert's Foodservice, Arnotts (Fruit) Limited, Asian Foods, Bahamas Food Holdings Limited, Bahamas Food Services Limited, Brake Bros, Brake Bros Foodservice Ireland Limited, Brake Bros. Foodservice Limited, Brake Bros. Holding I Limited, Brake Bros. Ltd., Brakes Foodservice NI Limited, Buchy Food Service, Buckhead Beef Co., Buckhead Meat & Seafood of Houston Inc., Buckhead Meat Company, Buckhead Meat Midwest Inc., Buckhead Meat of Dallas Inc., Buckhead Meat of Denver Inc., Buckhead Meat of San Antonio LP, Buzztable Inc., CAKE Corporation, Central Seafood Co., Christys Wine & Spirits Limited, Clafra Aktiebolag, Colorado Boxed Beef Co - Specialty meat-cutting division, Corporacion Frionet Sociedad Anonima, Crossgar Foodservice, Crossgar Foodservice Limited, Crown I Enterprises Inc., Cucina Acquisitions (UK) Limited, Cucina Finance (UK) Limited, Cucina French Holdings Limited, Cucina Fresh Finance Limited, Cucina Fresh Investments Limited, Cucina Lux Investments Limited, Curleys Quality Foods Limited (Third Party), Davigel Belgilux S.A., Davigel Espana S.A., Desert Meats & Provisions, Distagro, Doerle Food Service, Doughtie's Foods Inc., Dust Bowl City LLC, Eko Fagel Fisk o mittemellan AB, Enclave Insurance Company, Enclave Parkway Association Inc., Enclave Properties LLC, European Imports, European Imports Inc., Figg Inc., Freedman Meats, Freedman Meats Inc., Freedman-KB Inc., Fresh Direct (UK) Limited, Fresh Direct Group Limited, Fresh Direct Limited, Fresh Holdings Limited, FreshPoint, FreshPoint Arizona Inc., FreshPoint Atlanta Inc., FreshPoint California Inc., FreshPoint Central California Inc., FreshPoint Central Florida Inc., FreshPoint Connecticut LLC, FreshPoint Dallas Inc., FreshPoint Denver Inc., FreshPoint Hawaii LLC, FreshPoint Inc., FreshPoint Las Vegas Inc., FreshPoint North Carolina Inc., FreshPoint North Florida Inc., FreshPoint Oklahoma City LLC, FreshPoint Pompano Real Estate LLC, FreshPoint Puerto Rico LLC, FreshPoint San Francisco Inc., FreshPoint South Florida Inc., FreshPoint South Texas Inc., FreshPoint Southern California Inc., FreshPoint Tomato LLC, FreshPoint Vancouver Ltd., Freshfayre Limited, Fruktservice i Helsingborg AB, GHS Classic Drinks Limited, Gilchrist & Soames Inc., Gilchrist & Soames UK Limited, Guest Packaging LLC, Guest Supply, Guest Supply Asia Limited, Guest Supply Singapore Pte. Ltd., International Food Group, Isakssons Frukt & Gront AB, J & M Wholesale Meats, J. Kings Food Service Professionals, J. Kings Food Service Professionals Inc., Kent Frozen Foods, Les Ateliers Du Gout, Liquid Assets Limited, M&J Seafood Holdings Limited, M&J Seafood Limited, Manchester Mills LLC, Mayca Autoservicio S.A., Mayca Distribuidores S.A., Menigo Foodservice AB, Mitshim Etatu Supply LP, Newport Meat Company, Newport Meat Northern California Inc., Newport Meat Pacific Northwest Inc., Newport Meat Southern California Inc., Newport Meat of Nevada Inc., North Star Holding Corporation, North Star Seafood, North Star Seafood Acquisition Corporation, North Star Seafood LLC, PFS de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Palisades Ranch Inc., Pallas Foods, Pallas Foods Farm Fresh Unlimited Company, Pallas Foods Unlimited Company, Pauleys Produce Limited, Promotora del Servicios S.A. de C.V., Restaurangakdemien AB, Restaurant of Tomorrow Inc., Rohan Viandes Elaboration SAS, SMS Bermuda Holdings, SMS GPC International Limited, SMS GPC International Resources Limited, SMS Global Holdings S.a.r.l., SMS International Resources Ireland Unlimited Company, SMS Lux Holdings LLC, SOTF LLC, SYY Netherlands C.V., SYY Panama S. de R.L., Serca Foodservice, Servicestyckarna I Johannes AB, Servicios Ameriserve S.A. de C.V., Shenzhen Guest Supply Trading Co. Limited, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Bianchi Montegut, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Boiseau, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Garcelles, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) J.D. Lanjouan, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Le Dauphin, Specialty Meat Holdings LLC, Stockflag Limited, Stockholms Fiskauktion AB, Supplies on the Fly, Sysco Albany LLC, Sysco Asian Foods Inc., Sysco Atlanta LLC, Sysco Autoservicio S.A., Sysco Baltimore LLC, Sysco Baraboo LLC, Sysco Bermuda Partners L.P., Sysco Boston LLC, Sysco Canada Holdings S.a.r.l., Sysco Canada Inc., Sysco Central Alabama LLC, Sysco Central California Inc., Sysco Central Florida Inc., Sysco Central Illinois Inc., Sysco Central Pennsylvania LLC, Sysco Charlotte LLC, Sysco Chicago Inc., Sysco Cincinnati LLC, Sysco Cleveland Inc., Sysco Columbia LLC, Sysco Connecticut LLC, Sysco Corporation, Sysco Corporation Director's Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Employee's 401(k) Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Executive Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Good Government Committee Inc., Sysco Corporation Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Executive Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Plan Trust, Sysco Detroit LLC, Sysco Disaster Relief Foundation Inc., Sysco EI VI S. s.r.l., Sysco EU II S.a.r.l., Sysco EU III S.a.r.l., Sysco EU IV Capital Unlimited Company, Sysco EU IV S. s.r.l.., Sysco EU V S. s.r.l., Sysco Eastern Maryland LLC, Sysco Eastern Wisconsin LLC, Sysco Foundation Inc., Sysco France Holding SAS, Sysco France SAS, Sysco George Town II LLC, Sysco George Town Limited S. s.r.l.., Sysco Global Finance LLC, Sysco Global Finance LLP, Sysco Global Holdings B.V., Sysco Global Resources LLC, Sysco Global Services LLC, Sysco Grand Cayman Company, Sysco Grand Cayman II Company, Sysco Grand Cayman III Company, Sysco Grand Rapids LLC, Sysco Guernsey Limited, Sysco Guest Supply Canada Inc., Sysco Guest Supply Europe Goods Wholesalers LLC, Sysco Guest Supply Europe Limited, Sysco Guest Supply LLC, Sysco Gulf Coast LLC, Sysco Hampton Roads Inc., Sysco Hawaii Inc., Sysco Holdings II LLC, Sysco Holdings LLC, Sysco Indianapolis LLC, Sysco International Food Group Inc., Sysco International Inc., Sysco Iowa Inc., Sysco Jackson LLC, Sysco Jacksonville Inc., Sysco Kansas City Inc., Sysco Knoxville LLC, Sysco Labs Europe Limited, Sysco Labs Pvt. Ltd., Sysco Leasing LLC, Sysco Lincoln Inc., Sysco Lincoln Transportation Company Inc., Sysco Long Island LLC, Sysco Los Angeles Inc., Sysco Louisville Inc., Sysco Memphis LLC, Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Canada Inc., Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Inc., Sysco Metro New York LLC, Sysco Minnesota Inc., Sysco Montana Inc., Sysco Nashville LLC, Sysco Netherlands Partners LLC, Sysco North Central Florida Inc., Sysco North Dakota Inc., Sysco Northern New England Inc., Sysco Philadelphia LLC, Sysco Pittsburgh LLC, Sysco Portland Inc., Sysco Raleigh LLC, Sysco Resources Services LLC, Sysco Riverside Inc., Sysco Sacramento Inc., Sysco San Diego Inc., Sysco San Francisco Inc., Sysco Seattle Inc., Sysco South Florida Inc., Sysco Southeast Florida LLC, Sysco Spain Holdings SLU, Sysco Spokane Inc., Sysco St. Louis LLC, Sysco Syracuse LLC, Sysco Technologies Cayman Ltd., Sysco Technologies LLC, Sysco UK Holdings Limited, Sysco UK Limited, Sysco UK Partners LLP, Sysco USA I Inc., Sysco USA II LLC, Sysco USA III LLC, Sysco Ventura Inc., Sysco Ventures Inc., Sysco Virginia LLC, Sysco West Coast Florida Inc., Sysco Western Minnesota Inc., The SYGMA Network Inc., Upsys, Victua SAS, Walker Foods Inc., Waugh Foods, and Wild Harvest Limited. Forces are acting against FATA merger,misleading the masses: Imran Khan ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday urged the masses to foil the nefarious designs of the forces acting against the merger of now-defunct Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Presiding over a meeting to review progress of administrative and other affairs relating to merged areas, premier Imran said: A few forces are acting against FATAs merger and misleading the masses for the sake of their ulterior motives, he said. Together we have to foil their designs. While briefing the prime minister, officials said that several departments, previously under the FATA Secretariat, including education, Zakat and Ushr, social welfare and population welfare had been handed over to the KP government. The transfer of other departments from the secretariat was also under way, they said, adding that a special committee to be headed by KP chief minister had been constituted for 10-year development planning of merged areas, the officials briefed the PM. They said that consultation was ongoing with the federation for allocation of three percent of National Finance Commission (NFC) award for these areas. The prime minister was also briefed on progress of judicial and other affairs in merged areas. Addressing the attendees, PM Imran Khan said the merger was aimed at bringing a visible change in the lives of the residents of the region. The administrative and other reforms should not cause difficulties for the people, he told officials. The prime minister said the merged areas were lagging far behind that other areas of the country in terms of development. Everyone will have to come together and struggle for bringing these areas on a par with the rest of the country. He also said the federal government would play its role in getting merged areas their share in the NFC award. Separately, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday reiterated his commitment to make Pakistan polio free. Taking notice of some of the reported instances of polio virus in the country, PM Khan said that polio eradication was a national cause and every effort would be made to make Pakistan a polio-free country. PM Khan chaired a meeting of the National Task Force on Polio Eradication at the PM Office on Friday. During the meeting, he said that the deadly disease could jeopardize the future of children. He promised complete support of the federal government in achieving a polio-free country. Chief ministers (CMs) of Punjab, Sindh and Giglit-Baltistan apprised the task force of the measures taken at the provincial level for polio eradication. Prime Ministers focal person on polio eradication Babar Bin Atta briefed the task force in detail about the prevailing situation and the future eradication strategy. He said that Pakistans efforts for polio eradication had been recognized world over and the number of cases had recorded an exponential decline since 1994. The participants were informed that the main factors contributing towards polio incidence in Pakistan were cross-border movement from Afghanistan, poverty, poor sanitation, low coverage of routine birth immunization, access and security threats and most importantly misconceptions that lead to refusal for immunisation. During the meeting, the prime minister urged the provincial governments to enhance efforts for complete polio eradication through spearheading of the campaigns preferably coordinated community level engagements by involving prominent local elders and religious scholars. He directed that meetings of the Task Force needed to be held more frequently to effectively oversee the progress and achieve zero incidence in the shortest possible time frame. Regarding future course of action the meeting was informed that the strategy needed to be implemented at the grass-root levels with targeted awareness campaigns, countering propaganda and high level engagements with decision makers and religious scholars. Pakistan Army Engineer-in-Chief Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal said that Pakistan Army would continue to provide security and an enabling environment for the success of polio eradication campaigns in areas with security issues. WHO Polio Eradication manager Dr Christopher Maher praised the high level presence, efforts and support of the government of the Pakistan, provincial governments and security forces regarding polio eradication. He also commended the integration of Polio Eradication Program with education, sanitation and other related sectors. The prime minister thanked the international partner agencies for their technical and financial support to Pakistans Polio Eradication Program. The following companies are subsidiares of Roche: 454 Life Sciences, Adheron Therapeutics, Adheron Therapeutics Inc., Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc., Ariosa Diagnostics, Ariosa Diagnostics Inc., Arius Research, Ascur Versicherungsvermittlungs GmbH, BINA Technology, Bina Technologies Inc., BioImagene, BioVeris, BioVeris Corporation, Biopharm AG, Boehringer Mannheim, Borean Pharma, Chemical Manufacturing and Trading Company Limited, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Disetronic Holding AG, Dutalys GmbH, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd / Jordan P.S.C., FLLC "Roche Products Limited", FMI Germany GmbH, Flatiron Health, Flatiron Health Inc., ForSight Labs, ForSight VISION4 Inc., Foundation Medicine, Foundation Medicine Inc., Foundation Medicine Securities Corporation, Galenus Mannheim Pharma GmbH, GeneWEAVE, GeneWEAVE Biosciences Inc., Genentech, Genentech Inc., Genentech P.R. Inc., Genentech USA Inc., Genia Technologies, Hoffmann - La Roche Ltd, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., Hoffmann-La Roche Limited, Hoffmann-La Roche Products Limited, I5 Surviving Corp., IGEN International Inc., IGEN LS LLC, IQuum, IQuum Inc., Ignyta, Ignyta Inc., Inflazome, Infogenetik Molekuler Bilgi Hizmetleri Anonim Sirketi, Institut Roche SAS, InterMune, InterMune Holdings Limited, InterMune Inc., InterMune International AG, Jecure Therapeutics Inc., Kapa Biosystems, Kapa Biosystems (Pty) Ltd, Kapa Biosystems Inc., Limited Liability Company Roche Diabetes Care Rus, Limited Liability Company Roche Diagnostics Rus, MTM Laboratories, Marcadia Biotech, Medingo Ltd., Medingo Medical Solutions, Memory Pharmaceuticals, Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp., Mirus, Museum Tinguely AG, N.V. Roche S.A., P.T. Roche Indonesia, PVT Probenverteiltechnik GmbH, Phaor AG, Piramed, Productos Roche (El Salvador) S.A. de C.V., Productos Roche (Honduras) S.A., Productos Roche (Nicaragua) S.A., Productos Roche (Panama) S.A., Productos Roche Dominicana S.R.L., Productos Roche Guatemala (Sociedad Anonima), Productos Roche Interamericana S.A. (PRISA), Productos Roche Quimica Farmaceutica S.A., Productos Roche S.A., Productos Roche S.A. Quimica e Industrial, Productos Roche S.A. de C.V., Produtos Roche Quimicos e Farmaceuticos S.A., Promedior, Rabbit-Air Ltd, RoDiagnostics Egypt for Trading S.A.E, Roche (China) Holding Ltd., Roche (Hellas) S.A., Roche (Hungary) Ltd, Roche (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Roche (Philippines) Inc., Roche (Shanghai) Pharmaceuticals Consulting Co. Ltd, Roche (Shanghai) Pharmaceuticals Trading Co. Ltd., Roche - Moscow Ltd., Roche AB, Roche Algerie SPA, Roche Austria GmbH, Roche Bangladesh Limited, Roche Beteiligungs GmbH, Roche Biomedical Laboratories Inc., Roche Bolivia SRL., Roche Bulgaria EOOD, Roche Cameroun SARL, Roche Capital Market Ltd, Roche Capital Services Ltd., Roche Catalyst Investments Ltd., Roche Chemische Unternehmungen AG, Roche Chile Limitada, Roche Cote dIvoire SARL, Roche DC Japan K. K., Roche DC Mexico S.A. de C.V., Roche Deutschland Holding GmbH, Roche Diabetes Care (Switzerland) Ltd, Roche Diabetes Care Argentina S.A., Roche Diabetes Care Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Roche Diabetes Care Australia Pty Limited, Roche Diabetes Care Austria GmbH, Roche Diabetes Care Brasil Ltda., Roche Diabetes Care Deutschland GmbH, Roche Diabetes Care France SAS, Roche Diabetes Care GmbH, Roche Diabetes Care Inc., Roche Diabetes Care India Private Limited, Roche Diabetes Care Italy S.p.A., Roche Diabetes Care Limited, Roche Diabetes Care Middle East FZCO, Roche Diabetes Care Nederland B.V., Roche Diabetes Care Polska sp. z o.o., Roche Diabetes Care South Africa Proprietary Limited, Roche Diabetes Care Spain S.L., Roche Diagnostica Brasil Ltda., Roche Diagnostics (Hellas) S.A., Roche Diagnostics (Hong Kong) Limited, Roche Diagnostics (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Roche Diagnostics (Shanghai) Ltd., Roche Diagnostics (Suzhou) Limited, Roche Diagnostics (Switzerland) Ltd, Roche Diagnostics (Thailand) Limited, Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Roche Diagnostics Australia Pty. Limited, Roche Diagnostics Belgium NV, Roche Diagnostics Corporation, Roche Diagnostics Deutschland GmbH, Roche Diagnostics France SAS, Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Roche Diagnostics Hematology Inc., Roche Diagnostics India Private Limited, Roche Diagnostics International Ltd, Roche Diagnostics K.K., Roche Diagnostics Korea Co. Ltd., Roche Diagnostics Limited, Roche Diagnostics Ltd., Roche Diagnostics Middle East FZCO, Roche Diagnostics NZ Limited, Roche Diagnostics Nederland B.V., Roche Diagnostics Norge A/S, Roche Diagnostics Operations Inc., Roche Diagnostics Oy, Roche Diagnostics Polska Sp. z o.o., Roche Diagnostics Proprietary Limited, Roche Diagnostics S.L., Roche Diagnostics S.p.A., Roche Diagnostics Scandinavia AB, Roche Diagnostics Turkey Anonim Sirketi, Roche Diagnostics a/s, Roche Ecuador S.A., Roche Eesti OU, Roche Egypt LLC, Roche Egypt for Manufacturing and Trading SAE, Roche Farma (Peru) S.A., Roche Farma S.A., Roche Farmaceutica Quimica Lda., Roche Finance Europe B.V., Roche Finance Ltd, Roche Financial Investments Ltd., Roche Financial Management Ltd., Roche Financial Services Ltd., Roche Forum Buonas Ltd, Roche Georgia LLC, Roche Glycart, Roche Glycart Ltd, Roche Health Solutions Inc., Roche Holding (UK) Limited, Roche Holdings Inc., Roche Hong Kong Limited, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen A/S, Roche Innovatis, Roche International Ltd., Roche International Ltd. (Montevideo Branch), Roche Intertrade Limited, Roche Ireland Limited, Roche Kazakhstan LLP, Roche Kenya Limited, Roche Korea Company Ltd., Roche Laboratories Inc., Roche Latvija SIA, Roche Lebanon S.A.R.L., Roche Long Term Foundation, Roche Makedonija DOOEL, Roche Molecular Systems Inc., Roche Myanmar Company Limited, Roche Mustahzarlari Sanayi Anonim Sirketi, Roche Nederland B.V., Roche NimbleGen, Roche Norge A/S, Roche Operations Ltd., Roche Oy, Roche PVT GmbH, Roche Pakistan Limited, Roche Palo Alto LLC, Roche Pars Co. (Ltd.), Roche Pharma (Switzerland) Ltd, Roche Pharma AG, Roche Pharmaceuticals (Israel) Ltd., Roche Pharmaceuticals Middle East FZCO, Roche Pharmholding B.V., Roche Polska Sp. z o.o., Roche Privacy GmbH, Roche Products (India) Private Limited, Roche Products (Ireland) Limited, Roche Products (Mauritius) Ltd, Roche Products (New Zealand) Limited, Roche Products (Proprietary) Limited, Roche Products Ghana Limited, Roche Products Inc., Roche Products Limited, Roche Products Ltd., Roche Products Pty. Limited, Roche Products Saudi Arabia LLC, Roche R&D Center (China) Ltd., Roche Real Estate Services Mannheim GmbH, Roche Registration GmbH, Roche Registration Limited, Roche Romania S.R.L., Roche S.A., Roche S.p.A., Roche SAS, Roche Sequencing Solutions Inc., Roche Services (Asia Pacific) Sdn. Bhd., Roche Services (Europe) Ltd, Roche Services Americas Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Roche Services Holdings Ltd., Roche Servicios S.A., Roche Servicios de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Roche Singapore Pte. Ltd., Roche Singapore Technical Operations Pte. Ltd., Roche Sistemas de Diagnosticos Sociedade Unipessoal Lda., Roche Slovensko S.R.O., Roche TCRC Inc., Roche Thailand Limited, Roche Tunisie SA, Roche Ukraine LLC, Roche Vietnam Company Limited, Roche a/s Medicinalvarer og Kemikalier, Roche d.o.o., Roche d.o.o. farmaceutsko drustvo Roche Ltd. Pharmaceutical Company, Roche farmacevtska druzba d.o.o., Roche mtm laboratories AG, Roche s.r.o., Santaris Pharma, Sapac Corporation Ltd., Seragon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Shanghai Roche Pharmaceuticals Limited, Signature Diagnostics GmbH, Spark Therapeutics, Spring Bioscience Corp., Stratos Genomics, Syntex Corporation, Syntex Pharm AG, Syntex Pharmaceuticals International Limited, Syntex Puerto Rico Inc., Tanox Inc., Tavero AG, Tensha Therapeutics, Tensha Therapeutics Inc., Therapeutic Human Polyclonals, Therapeutic Human Polyclonals Inc., Trophos, Trophos SA, Tusk Therapeutics, Tusk Therapeutics Limited, UAB Roche Lietuva, Ventana Medical Systems, Ventana Medical Systems Inc., Verum Diagnostica GmbH, Viewics, Viewics Inc., Viewics India Private Limited, mySugr, mySugr GmbH, and mySugr Inc.. Royal Dutch Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company worldwide. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Oil Products, Chemicals segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure necessary to deliver gas to market. The company also markets and trades natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, electricity, carbon-emission rights; and markets and sells LNG as a fuel for heavy-duty vehicles and marine vessels. In addition, it trades in and refines crude oil and other feed stocks, such as gasoline, diesel, heating oil, aviation fuel, marine fuel, biofuel, lubricants, bitumen, and sulphur; produces and sells petrochemicals for industrial use; and manages oil sands activities. Further, the company produces base chemicals comprising ethylene, propylene, and aromatics, as well as intermediate chemicals, such as styrene monomer, propylene oxide, solvents, detergent alcohols, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol. Royal Dutch Shell plc was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands. Read More Stantec Inc. provides professional consulting services in the area of infrastructure and facilities in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company provides consulting services in engineering, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, surveying, environmental sciences, project management, and project economics. It also offers water, transportation, and public works; transportation planning and traffic engineering; and resource assessment, mine development, reclamation, hydrology, and geotechnical and infrastructure engineering services, as well as urban planning, traffic assessments and optimization, environmental impact assessments, and public consultation services. In addition, the company provides structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and hydraulics engineering services. It serves urban regeneration, infrastructure, education, public and private sector, tourism and leisure, and waste and water sectors, as well as office and commercial, residential, and retail and town centers. The company was formerly known as Stanley Technology Group Inc. and changed its name to Stantec Inc. in October 1998. Stantec Inc. was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada. Read More Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. engages in global investment banking, securities, and investment management, which provides financial services. It operates through the following business segments: Investment Banking, Global Markets, Asset Management, and Consumer & Wealth Management. The Investment Banking segment serves public and private sector clients around the world and provides financial advisory services, help companies raise capital to strengthen and grow their businesses and provide financing to corporate clients. The Global Markets segment serves its clients who buy and sell financial products, funding and manage risk. The Asset Management segment provides investment services to help clients preserve and grow their financial assets. The Consumer & Wealth Management segment helps clients to achieve their individual financial goals by providing a wealth advisory and banking services. The company was founded by Marcus Goldman in 1869 and is headquartered in New York, NY. Read More Pakistan favours intra-Afghan agreement to end Afghan conflict ISLAMABAD: Pakistan favours an intra-Afghan agreement to the end the Afghan conflict, a senior Pakistani diplomat told representatives of regional countries, the United States and Taliban political envoys in Russia. The head of the Taliban delegation, Sher Abbas Stanekzai, in his address laid out the demand for the US forces to immediately leave Afghanistan, according to a delegate. A three-member Pakistani delegation was led by Additional Secretary at the Foreign Office, Muhammed Aejaz, who said at the conference, an intra-Afghan agreement on ending the conflict and initiating meaningful reconciliation can lay the foundation for a peace process to take shape, around which regional and international guarantees and support could ultimately coalesce to form a long-term sustainable solution. Representatives from 11 countries, including the US, attended the Moscow-format consultations that were held at a time when representatives of the Taliban and the US have held two meetings in Qatar over the past four months. Zalmay Khalilzad, Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador, has embarked on a visit to Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar with an interagency delegation from November 8-20, the US State Department says. He will meet with Afghan government officials and other interested parties to advance the goal of an intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations that include the Taliban and lead to a sustainable peace. A sustainable peace requires that all Afghans have a say in their countrys future, said the statement, posted online. Aejaz said Pakistan believes that there is no military solution available and only a political solution, fully cognizant of and responsive to the hard core socio-cultural, political and economic realities of Afghanistan, can restore peace in the country. We must admit that it remains a difficult goal to achieve because it demands flexibility from all sides, especially on the hardened positions and stances, and a willingness to negotiate without pre-conditions, so that new ideas and peace efforts could find greater space to emerge and steer the Afghan peace process, he went on to say. Head of the High Peace Council Haji Din Muhammad shook hands with leader of the Afghan Taliban Qatar office Abbas Stanekzai during the meeting. The HPC delegation told the Taliban representatives that it is ready for peace talks. We discussed the subject of direct talks with the Taliban and asked them to choose the place and the starting time, said Ehsan Tahiri, High Peace Council spokesman, according to Russias RIA news agency. The text of Aejazs address to the conference released by the Foreign Office shows that he argued that time has come for all stakeholders to directly and clearly engage among one another to understand each others positions and concerns for making such discussions purposeful. He said Pakistans desire to see complete peace and stability in Afghanistan emanates from a number of factors including its unique geographic position and border with Afghanistan; The heavy price we have paid due to unabated conflict in the country for 40 years; the resultant security concerns and a realisation that peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan is critical for Pakistans own stability and progress. He reminded the delegates that Pakistan has also kept urging all stakeholders over the years to work together for creating favorable conditions for a result-oriented peace process, as no single country has the ability to help in breaking the existing stalemate in Afghanistan. Such an approach is also necessary to cater the concerns and individual perspectives of immediate neighbors of Afghanistan, who have been most affected by the conflict. This is important for long-term sustainability of a solution agreed by the Afghans among themselves, he insisted. He reiterating Pakistans stated position that providing an enabling environment for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan remains a shared responsibility, adding Pakistan remains ready to wholeheartedly play its part in making this collective strategy a success. The Russian foreign ministry said earlier that invitations to attend the event had been sent to participating countries Afghanistan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the United States. President of Afghanistan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai had made a decision to send a delegation of the Afghanistan High Peace Council, which is mandated to hold peace negotiations with the Taliban. For the first time, a delegation of the Talibans political office in Doha, Qatar, took part in an event of this kind. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and special Representative of the Russian President on Afghanistan Amb. Zamir Kabulov also joined the delegates. SunTrust Banks, Inc. operates as the holding company for SunTrust Bank that provides various financial services for consumers, businesses, corporations, institutions, and not-for-profit entities in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Wholesale. The Consumer segment provides deposits and payments; home equity and personal credit lines; auto, student, and other lending products; credit cards; discount/online and full-service brokerage products; professional investment advisory products and services; and trust services, as well as family office solutions. This segment also offers residential mortgage products in the secondary market. The Wholesale segment provides capital markets solutions, including advisory, capital raising, and financial risk management; asset-based financing solutions, such as securitizations, asset-based lending, equipment financing, and structured real estate arrangements; cash management services and auto dealer financing solutions; investment banking solutions; and credit and deposit, fee-based product offering, multi-family agency lending, advisory, commercial mortgage brokerage, and tailored financing and equity investment solutions. This segment also offers treasury and payment solutions, such as operating various electronic and paper payment types, which comprise card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, check, and cash; and provides services clients to manage their accounts online. The company offers its products and services through a network of traditional and in-store branches, automated teller machines, Internet, mobile, and telephone banking channels. As of December 31, 2018, it operated 1,218 full-service banking offices located in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia. SunTrust Banks, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. 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 Accenture: 2nd Road, 2nd Road Pty Ltd., ?What If!, ?What If! China Holdings Ltd, ?What If! Holdings Limited, ?What If! Innovation Singapore Holdings Pte, ?What If! Limited, ?What If! Shanghai Co. Ltd, ?What If! USA LLC, ACN Consulting Co Ltd, AD Dialeto Agencia de Publicidade SA, AD.Dialeto (Digital Agency acquired by Accenture), AGS Business and Technology Services Limited, ASM Research Inc., ASM Research LLC, ATAN, Accenture (Beijing) Mobile Technology Co Ltd, Accenture (Botswana) (Proprietary) Limited, Accenture (China) Co Ltd, Accenture (Shenzhen) Technology Co. Ltd., Accenture (South Africa) (Proprietary) Limited, Accenture (South Africa) Pty Limited, Accenture (UK) Ltd, Accenture 2 Business Process Services S.A., Accenture 2 LLC, Accenture A/S, Accenture AB, Accenture AG, Accenture AS, Accenture Africa Pty Ltd, Accenture Australia Holding B.V., Accenture Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, Accenture Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture Azerbaijan Ltd, Accenture BPM Operations Support Services S.A., Accenture BPM S.C.R.L., Accenture BV, Accenture Branch Holdings B.V., Accenture Bulgaria EOOD, Accenture Business Services for Utilities Inc, Accenture Business Services of British Columbia Limited Partnership, Accenture Business and Technology Services LLC, Accenture C.A, Accenture CAS GmbH, Accenture Canada Holdings Inc., Accenture Capital DAC, Accenture Capital Inc, Accenture Central Europe B.V., Accenture Chile Asesorias y Servicios Ltda, Accenture Cloud Services GmbH, Accenture Cloud Software Solutions Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions LLC, Accenture Cloud Solutions Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Co Ltd, Accenture Co Ltd., Accenture Communications Infrastructure Solutions Ltd, Accenture Company Ltd, Accenture Consulting Services Ltd Tanzania, Accenture Consultores de Gestao S.A., Accenture Consultoria de Industria e Consumo Ltda, Accenture Consultoria de Recursos Naturais Ltda, Accenture Credit Services LLC, Accenture Customer Services Distribution SAS, Accenture Customer Services Limited, Accenture Danismanlik Limited Sirketi, Accenture Defined Benefit Pension Plan Trustees Ltd, Accenture Defined Contribution Pension Plan Trustees Ltd, Accenture Delivery Poland sp. z o.o., Accenture Dienstleistungen GmbH, Accenture Digital France Holdings SA, Accenture Digital Holdings GmbH, Accenture East Africa Limited, Accenture Ecuador S.A., Accenture Egypt LLC, Accenture Enterprise Development (Shanghai) Co Ltd., Accenture Federal Services LLC, Accenture Finance (Gibraltar) III Ltd, Accenture Finance GmbH, Accenture Finance GmbH in liquidation, Accenture Finance II GmbH, Accenture Finance II GmbH in liquidation, Accenture Finance II Ltd, Accenture Finance Limited, Accenture Finance and Accounting BPO Services S.p.A., Accenture Finance and Accounting Services Srl, Accenture Flex LLC, Accenture GP LLC, Accenture Ghana Limited, Accenture Global Holdings Ltd., Accenture Global Services Ltd, Accenture Global Solutions Ltd, Accenture GmbH, Accenture HR Services Ltd, Accenture HR Services S.p.A., Accenture Healthcare Processing Inc., Accenture Holding GmbH, Accenture Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Accenture Holding GmbH in liquidation, Accenture Holdings (Iberia) S.L., Accenture Holdings B.V., Accenture Holdings France SAS, Accenture Holdings plc, Accenture Hungary Holdings Kft, Accenture Inc, Accenture Industrial Software Limited Liability Company (Accenture Endustriyel Yazylym Cozumleri Limited irketi), Accenture Industrial Software Limited Liability Company (Accenture Endustriyel Yazlm Cozumleri Limited Sirketi), Accenture Industrial Software Solutions Kft, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions SA, Accenture Insurance Services LLC, Accenture Insurance Services SAS, Accenture Insurance Services SpA, Accenture International BV, Accenture International Capital SCA, Accenture International LLC, Accenture International Limited, Accenture International Sarl, Accenture Japan Ltd, Accenture Korea BV, Accenture LLC, Accenture LLP, Accenture Lanka (Private) Ltd, Accenture Limited, Accenture Ltd, Accenture Ltda, Accenture Maghreb S.a.r.l., Accenture Managed Services SRL, Accenture Managed Services SpA, Accenture Management GmbH, Accenture Middle East B.V, Accenture Middle East BV, Accenture Minority I BV, Accenture Minority III Ltd, Accenture Mozambique Limitada, Accenture Mzansi (Pty) Ltd, Accenture NV/SA, Accenture NZ Limited, Accenture Newco LLC, Accenture Nova Scotia Unlimited Liability Co., Accenture OOO, Accenture Operations Sp. z o.o., Accenture Outsourcing SRL, Accenture Outsourcing Services, Accenture Outsourcing Services S.A., Accenture Oy, Accenture Panama Inc, Accenture Participations BV, Accenture Participations II Limited, Accenture Peru S.R.L, Accenture Peru S.R.L., Accenture Post Trade Processing SAS, Accenture Post-Trade Processing Limited, Accenture Process Ltd, Accenture Product Lifecycle Services, Accenture Properties, Accenture Pte Ltd, Accenture Puerto Rico LLC, Accenture S.A., Accenture S.C., Accenture S.L., Accenture S.R.L., Accenture SAS, Accenture SG Services Pte Ltd, Accenture SRL, Accenture Saudi Arabia Limited, Accenture Sendirian Berhad, Accenture Service Center SRL, Accenture Services (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Services AB, Accenture Services AG, Accenture Services AS, Accenture Services GmbH, Accenture Services Ltd, Accenture Services Morocco SA, Accenture Services Oy, Accenture Services Pty Ltd, Accenture Services S.r.l., Accenture Services SRL, Accenture Services Sp. z o.o., Accenture Services Sp. z.o.o., Accenture Services and Technology Srl, Accenture Services fur Kreditinstitute GmbH, Accenture Services s.r.o., Accenture Servicos Administrativos Ltda, Accenture Servicos de Suporte de Negocios Ltda, Accenture Solutions Co Ltd, Accenture Solutions Private Limited, Accenture Solutions Pte Ltd, Accenture Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture Sp. z o.o., Accenture Sp. z.o.o., Accenture SpA, Accenture State Healthcare Services LLC, Accenture Sub II Inc., Accenture Sub Inc, Accenture Sub LLC, Accenture Systems Integration Limited, Accenture Sarl, Accenture Tanacsado Kolatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Accenture Tanacsado Kolatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag KFT, Accenture Technologia, Accenture Technologia Consultoria e Outsourcing S.A., Accenture Technology Infrastructure Services Pty Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions (Dalian) Co Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions (HK) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (Thailand) Co. Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions - Solucoes Informaticas Integradas, Accenture Technology Solutions - Solucoes Informaticas Integradas S.A., Accenture Technology Solutions GmbH, Accenture Technology Solutions Oy, Accenture Technology Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions S.A. de C.V., Accenture Technology Solutions SAS, Accenture Technology Solutions SRL, Accenture Technology Solutions Sdn. Bhd., Accenture Technology Solutions Slovakia s.r.o., Accenture Technology Ventures BV, Accenture Technology Ventures S.P.R.L., Accenture Uruguay SRL, Accenture Vietnam Co., Accenture Vietnam Co. LTD, Accenture Zambia Limited, Accenture do Brasil Limitada, Accenture plc, Accenture s.r.o., Acceria, Acquity Customer Insight Limited, Acquity Group, Adaptly LLC, Adaptly UK Limited, AddVal Technology, Adqptly, Advantium Inc., Agave Consultants Limited, Agilex Technologies Inc., Allen International, Allen International Consulting Group Ltd, Alnova Technologies Corporation S.L., AlphaBeta Advisors, Altima, Altima Asia Ltd., Altima SAS, Altitude, Altitude LLC, Analytics 8 LP, Analytics 8 Pty Ltd, Analytics8, Aorui Advertising (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Apis, Appaloosa Technology SAS, Arca, Ariba - BPO, Arismore, Aspiro Solutions (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Avanade, Avanade (Guangzhou) Computer Technology Development Co. Ltd., Avanade (Thailand) Co Ltd, Avanade Asia Pte Ltd, Avanade Australia Pty Ltd, Avanade Belgium SPRL, Avanade Canada Inc., Avanade Denmark A/S, Avanade Denmark ApS, Avanade Deutschland GmbH, Avanade Europe Holdings Ltd, Avanade Europe Services Ltd, Avanade Federal Services LLC, Avanade Finland Oy, Avanade France SAS, Avanade GZ Computer Technology Development Co. Ltd. (SH), Avanade Guangzhou, Avanade Holdings LLC, Avanade Hong Kong Ltd, Avanade International Corporation, Avanade Ireland Limited, Avanade Italy SRL, Avanade KK, Avanade Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avanade Netherlands BV, Avanade Norway AS, Avanade Poland Sp. z o.o., Avanade Poland Sp. z.o.o., Avanade Schweiz GmbH, Avanade South Africa, Avanade South Africa Pty Ltd, Avanade Spain SL, Avanade Sweden AB, Avanade UK Ltd, Avanade do Brasil Limitada, Avanade Osterreich GmbH, AvantBiz Consulting Limited, Avenai, Axia Ltd., BABCN LLC, BCT Solutions, BCT Solutions Pty Ltd, BPO Servicos Administrativos Ltda, BRIDGE Energy Group, Beacon Consulting Group Inc., Beijing Genesis Interactive Technology Co. 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Accenture, Phase One Consulting Group, Pillar Technology, Pollux, Pragsis Bidoop, Pragsis Bidoop UK Ltd, Pragsis Technologies S.L, PrimeQ, PrimeQ Australia Pty Ltd, PrimeQ Ltd, PrimeQ NZ Pty Ltd, Procurian Germany GmbH, Procurian Inc., Procurian International I LLC, Procurian International II LLC, Procurian LLC, Procurian Singapore Pte. Ltd., Procurian Switzerland GmbH, Procurian USA LLC, Proquire LLC, PureApps Ltd., Qi Jie Beijing Information Technologies Co Ltd, Radiant Services, Radiant Services LLC, Random Walk Computing Inc., Reactive Media Limited, Reactive Media Pty Ltd., Real Protect, Realworld OO Systems Ltd., Redcore, Redcore (Asia) Pte Ltd, Redcore (India) Private Limited (India), Redcore (New Zealand) Limited, Redcore Group Holdings Pty Ltd, Redcore Pty Ltd, Renacentis IT Services, Revolutionary Security, RiskControl, Rothco, Rothco Holdings Designated Activity Company, Rothco Unlimited Company, S.C. 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Ltd., Zielpuls GmbH, avVenta, designaffairs, designaffairs Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., designaffairs GmbH, designaffairs group China Co. Ltd., dgroup, i4C Analytics, iDefense, and solid-serVision.com GmbH. International Business Machines Corp. is an information technology company, which provides integrated solutions that leverage information technology and knowledge of business processes. It operates through the following segments: Cloud and Cognitive Software, Global Business Services, Global Technology Services, Systems, and Global Financing. The Cloud and Cognitive Software segment provides integrated and secure cloud, data, and solutions to the clients. The Global Business Services segment provides clients with consulting, application management, and business process outsourcing services. The Global Technology Services segment provides comprehensive IT infrastructure and platform services that create business value for clients. The Systems segment provides clients with innovative infrastructure platforms to help meet the requirements of hybrid cloud and enterprise AI workload. The Global Financing segment provides client financing, commercial financing, and participates in the remanufacturing and remarketing of used equipment. The company was founded by Charles Ranlett Flint and Thomas J. Watson Sr. on June 16, 1911 and is headquartered in Armonk, NY. Read More WellCare Health Plans, Inc. provides government-sponsored managed care services. The company operates in three segments: Medicaid Health Plans, Medicare Health Plans, and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs). The Medicaid Health Plans segment offers plans for beneficiaries of temporary assistance for needy families, supplemental security income, and aged blind and disabled residents; and other state-based programs, such as children's health insurance programs and long-term services and supports programs for qualifying families who are not eligible for Medicaid. The Medicare Health Plans segment provides Medicare, a federal program that provides eligible persons aged 65 and over, as well as some disabled persons with a range of hospital, medical, and prescription drug benefits; Medicare Advantage, a Medicare's managed care alternative to the original Medicare program, which offers individuals standard Medicare benefits directly through Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; and coordinated care plans that are administered through health maintenance organizations and require members to seek health care services and select a primary care physician from a network of health care providers. The Medicare PDPs segment provides Medicare part D PDP plans to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries. Its PDP plans offer national in-network prescription drug coverage, including a preferred pharmacy network. As of December 31, 2018, the company served approximately 5.5 million members in the United States. WellCare Health Plans, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Read More China Mobile Limited provides mobile telecommunications and related services in Mainland China and Hong Kong. The company offers local calls; domestic and international long distance calls and roaming services; and value-added services, such as caller identity display, call waiting, conference calls, and others. It also provides wireless Internet service, as well as digital applications comprising music, video, reading, gaming, and animation; wireline broadband services; and wireline voice services. In addition, it offers dedicated line and IDC services to corporate customers in a range of industry sectors; and basic corporate communication products comprising corporate VPMN and SMS, and tailor made solutions. Further, the company provides international telecommunications services, which includes IDD, roaming, Internet, MNC, and value added business services. Additionally, it offers telecommunications network planning, design, and consulting services; roaming clearance, IT system operation, and technology support services; value-added platform development and maintenance services; mobile data, and system integration and development services; network construction and maintenance, network planning and optimizing, and training services; electronic communication products design and sale of related products; and non-banking financial services. It also provides mobile cloud research and development services; call center services; e-payment, e-commerce, and Internet finance services; and mobile Internet digital content services, as well as operates a network and business coordination center. The company serves 950 million mobile customers and 187 million wireline broadband customers. The company was formerly known as China Mobile (Hong Kong) Limited and changed its name to China Mobile Limited in May 2006. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is based in Central, Hong Kong. China Mobile Limited is a subsidiary of China Mobile Hong Kong (BVI) Limited. Read More From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As... How many South Indian male actors do we know who have been part of Bollywood films and, mind you, successful ones? Very few would be the answer, though it is not for lack of trying. The reasons attributed are plenty. It could be the marked South Indian looks which do not work in Bollywood films or it could also be the language read heavily accented Hindi that acts as a deterrent. Martin Jishil from Kochi has made it to the list of those Malayali actors who have made a foray into Bollywood with the recently released Saif Ali Khan-starrer Baazaar, and it was his slang that helped him get the opportunity. A National School of Drama (NSD) pass-out, Martins visit to Mumbai for a one-week teaching assignment in a premium acting school paved the way for his big break. He explains the rest of the story, One of my seniors informed me about the role of a South Indian character in the film and I decided to give it a try. I went for an audition where I had to speak a couple of Hindi dialogues and within no time, I was selected for the role. The suddenness of it all did leave Martin perplexed, but he soon got the explanation. I was told that my South Indian slang - an important facet- was perfect for the character. That was followed by reading sessions and he was handed over the full script. It was during the reading sessions that he bonded with co-stars Radhike Apte, Vijay and Rohan Mehra (Vinod Mehras son). The film is about four friends and Martin played one of them. The reading classes helped break the ice and get him settled in fine. The actual shoot of the film gave Martin a lot more experiences all good. I entered this film as a rank newcomer with no experience. The language was alien and my co-stars were seasoned, so I was understandably nervous. But at the very first reading, director Gauravv K. Chawla sat on the floor and explained the scenes, which was an ice-breaker, he says. From then on, every scene was discussed with the actors ensuring that every actor was given value. Gauravv was clear about what he wanted, too. he adds. About his co-stars, he says, Though I did not have too many combination scenes with Saif, I can say that he is a professional. Radhika, too, was very cooperative and gave me advice. The language barrier provided some light moments. I was not sure about my Hindi grammar, especially the kis and kas, and mind you, it was sync sound; but my mistakes were all patiently dealt with, he recalls. For every successful foray into Bollywood, there are a number of hurdles that every newcomer has to face. Martin sheds light on them. There is an area called Aram Nagar in Mumbai which is choc-o-block with audition offices. Every aspiring actor begins his day early in the morning, armed with a bag filled with clothes, and moves from one audition office to the other. There are a few lucky hits and a lot many rejections, but these auditions ensure that every newcomer gets a fair opportunity. This kind of an audition culture is missing in Kerala, I feel, he opines. Baazaar proved to be a good luck charm opening up doors for him in Bollywod. I have received a couple of offers from Bollywood, he reveals. Martins next words also help bust a myth that South Indian actors have to work double hard to make a mark for themselves in Hindi. Yes, the language barrier is a reason why many actors from the South hesitate to try their luck in Bollywood; but by the same yardstick the relatively low number of South Indians ensures that for any film that requires a South Indian actor, I get called on a priority level. That, I feel, is a benefit! That does not mean that Martin is neglecting his chances in his home state. He reveals that he is busy with casting and acting training classes in Kerala. He has also groomed a number of newcomers. So, here is the obvious question. Why has he not tried his luck in Mollywood? Oh, I have, he affirms. I am part of the upcoming film Rameshan Oru Peralla. I also have some other offers. Martins interest in arts can be called an inherited faculty. His father was a circus artiste who worked with some of the best circuses in India. Martins love for acting found early expression in his church theatre group, where he participated in skits and then followed that up with dramas in his school. It was his stint at the NSD, where he did his BA in drama, that changed his perception to art and gave him the much-needed focus. Here, Martin began to study about theatre. The knowledge gained from books at NSD gave him theories and practices that opened up his mind, and thus his world. I never intended for acting to be my profession; I only knew that I derived great pleasure from acting in theatre. I had a regular job, but my heart was not in it. Theatre and acting were always uppermost on my mind and my stint at NSD made me realise that an actor was what I was destined to be! he explains. Not content with only theatre, Martin enrolled in Attakkalari in Bengaluru, a centre for movement arts, where he learnt contemporary dance also. Currently, Martin has a number of Bollywood offers including Crispy Rishta, of which he has finished shooting. The tiered dress dates back to the Victorian era where clothing represented wealth. The Victorian fashion comprises of many fashion trends that emerged in the British culture. Roughly from the 1830s through the first decade of the 1900s. Their dress styles reflected their lifestyle. Victorian fashion was not intended to be utilitarian. Clothes were seen as an expression of womens place in society and were hence, differentiated in terms of social class. Upper class women, who did not need to work, often wore a tightly laced corset over a bodice or and paired them with a skirt adorned with heavy embroidery and trims structured in tiers over layers of petticoat. Middle class women exhibited similar dress styles, however, the decorations were not as extravagant. The layering and tiering of these garments made them very heavy. These were attached to corsets which were also stiff and restricted movement. Although the clothes were not comfortable, the type of fabric and the in-numerous layers were worn as a symbol of wealth. In the 1850s, womens skirts were domed and bell-shaped. They often featured deep flounces or tiers.Tiered cape-jackets were also very fashionable. The 19th century saw the aesthetic movement which was sort of a counterculture where they viewed corsets, and the rigidity of the day as unattractive and artificial. It was, in essence, a fashion revolution. They saw the prim and proper Victorian society as rigid and the obsession with a false respectability as foolish and thus gave birth to the bohemian/gypsy style which was more casual & comfortable including colourful layers to their tiered dress/skirt. Armani once stated the Gypsy stereotype incorporates fringing, lace, layering, decoration, multiple colors and patterns all great tools for a designer to make an impact with. Curently tiered dresses have taken over the runways. Designers like Ralph & Russo, Carolina Herrera & Vivetta have showcased this trend playing with different versions & style. While we have already got a glimpse of it through the summer 2018, you will see this trend in full bloom and taking over the fashion scene big time in 2019. We promise you they are not going to be as dramatic and painful as they were back in the days. But they will continue to make the woman look and feel regal.... theres just that something about it. Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior, Stella McCartney were seen showcasing these designs for the resort 2019 trends through the fashion weeks. Its best to balance the femininity of the tiered skirt giving it a sophisticated upgrade with a sleek tailored blouse. Throw on some sock boots and a pair of chic earrings and youre ready to conquer the party with your stylish ensemble. The most recent to be talked about in this ensemble, just a few days back was Carol Vorderman, the former Countdown co-host who showcased her enviable curves in a stunning navy tiered dress. Back home, the fashion goddess Malaika Arora has been seen in the recent past wearing and looking stunning in short tiered dress more than a few times. Celine Bolton, a designer , says, Looking at a tiered dress all kind of questions start rushing through my mind. Even though it is very feminine and elegant, I keep thinking about women body shape for this dress and their height. Curvy or pear shape should stay away from this type of dress. Longiligne and tall...well yes perfect. Another aspect is the style, it does not scream modern and it reminds me a bit of Melissa Gilbert in little house in the prairie. Anastasiia Galle a fashion blogger from Cannes- France says, I find the tiered dresses very elegant and feminine. I think that girls are beginning to understand that very sexy dresses are no longer fascinating men, and that men want a little bit of mystery in a girl. Designer Runa Ray who has just returned from the New York Fashion week says, Tiered dresses for me are a reminiscent of my childhood days, the bohemian look and gypsy feel that these silhouettes Harbour. There was always something so pretty And carefree about these dresses that a girl always wanted to own one in her cupboard. And as women, are we not still pretty girls at heart? If this trend excites you, get yourself a tiered dress thats a midi length, slightly plunging V neckline in a white, red or any of the gorgeous pastel colour palettes. Make sure the cinched waist sculpts the figure into an hourglass shape, evoking the glamorous silhouettes of the 1950s. He was declared dead on Saturday and a priest was summoned to the home to perform the pensioners last rites. In a shocking incident, a 95-year-old man left his family stunned when he woke up at his own funeral saying he was just taking a nap. According to reports, a doctor had told the family that Budh Ram was dead after he fainted in his home in the north-western region of Rajasthan in India. He was declared dead on Saturday and a priest was summoned to the home to perform the pensioners last rites. Balu Ram, his eldest son, said the family were preparing the customary bath to clean the body before the funeral when he started shivering and when water was poured on his chest, the family were shocked to see him shaking so they took him to a bed and he started visibly breathing, reports say. Ram reportedly sat up and told his grieving relatives he had pain in his chest so he decided to take a nap. His son has hailed his back from the dead a miracle. High Prices Helping Iran Make Up For Loss Of Half Of Oil Exports: VP Eshaq Jahangiri 10/16/18 Source: RFE/RL Iran has lost some customers for its oil because of looming U.S. sanctions, but high prices are making up for the lost sales, Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri has said. "While some countries have stopped buying oil from Iran, we have found new partners," he was quoted as saying by Iran's IRIB broadcaster on October 15. Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri "America thinks Saudi Arabia can replace this oil. But right now Iran's oil has reached more than $80 [per barrel], and with half the previous exports we will have the same income as before," he said. Jahangiri said some countries that have stopped importing oil from Iran are looking for workarounds that would allow them to continue to import energy from Iran indirectly. He said the developments show that the United States "will definitely not be able to cut Iran's oil exports to zero" -- the goal set by U.S. officials -- when sanctions targeting the oil sector go into effect on November 5. But Jahangiri's remarks are indirect acknowledgment that Iran's oil exports have been effectively cut in half from a peak of about 2.5 million barrels a day in April as customers fled in anticipation of the U.S. sanctions. His comments come amid signs that Iran is scrambling to try to maintain its oil exports, which are declining so fast that the International Monetary Fund last week estimated they had already driven Iran's oil-fueled economy into recession. News reports and Iranian government documents indicate that Iran has in some cases lowered prices and offered discounts to maintain sales as sanctions loom. The National Iranian Oil Company announced that Tehran is resurrecting an oil exchange it used to sell oil during a last round of global sanctions four years ago, before most sanctions were lifted under Iran's 2015 nuclear deal in exchange for curbs on Iran's nuclear activities. The oil exchange is a mechanism that attempts to sidestep the U.S. sanctions, which are being reimposed following the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal, by allowing private companies to buy the crude at auction in Tehran and then resell it privately on the open market. The Times of Israel reported that Iran also may have reached a deal with Russia last month to take delivery of Iranian crude oil and then refine it and sell it to global buyers, in yet another possible scheme to bypass U.S. sanctions by "laundering" the oil through Russian markets. Reuters reported on October 15 that oil tankers continued to carry Iranian oil exports to China, India, Turkey, Italy, and a few other destinations earlier this month, one month ahead of the reimposition of oil sanctions. In the first week of October, Iran's crude exports averaged 1.1 million barrels per day, according to Refinitiv Eikon, an industry source of data on tanker traffic. While most oil analysts have attributed the sharp rise of premium crude prices since April to over $80 a barrel at least in part to the loss of Iranian exports, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, Brian Hook, told reporters in Paris on October 15 that the market is doing fine with less Iranian oil. "We are seeing a well-supplied and balanced oil market right now. We should focus on these fundamentals and not be distracted by the emotional and unbalanced claims coming from Tehran," he said. With reporting by Reuters, OilPrice.com, Times of Israel, and Vanguard Newspapers A member of Kejriwal's party, told Reuters that the chief minister was not in the city. He declined to elaborate or be identified because he is not authorised to speak to the media. (Photo: File) New Delhi: As pollution in New Delhi hit "severe" on the air quality scale on Saturday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal came under fire following reports he had left the city for an overseas family trip. For a second year the chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, has likened Delhi to a "gas chamber" because of the pollution. Seasonal burning of crop stubble and smoke from fireworks let off to celebrate Diwali on Wednesday have aggravated already high smog levels in the past few days from vehicle emissions, industrial gases and construction work. Local television news channels said Kejriwal had left the country on a private family trip to Dubai, triggering a backlash on social media and finger-pointing on Twitter by the Delhi arm of the BJP. "Arvind Kejriwal cares about his family so much that he urgently booked tickets and ran away to Dubai with them as soon as Delhi started choking with pollution," said one Twitter user. A member of Kejriwal's party, told Reuters that the chief minister was not in the city. He declined to elaborate or be identified because he is not authorised to speak to the media. A city government spokesman did not respond to telephone calls seeking comment. Neither the governing party at federal level nor the main opposition are in power in the capital, giving them little incentive to co-operate with city authorities. Environmental activists say residents need to be more vocal about holding political leaders to account over the pollution. "Public pressure has to be much sharper and demand compliance. Directions, policies have been issued but stringent implementation is needed," said Anumita Roychowdhury, an executive director at the Centre for Science and Environment, a think-tank. Still, there is little sign in Delhi that residents are doing much to protect themselves from the smog. Activists say the apparent lack of concern about the pollution gives federal and local politicians the cover they need for failing to adequately address the problem. The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority has banned all construction activity and ordered use of sprinklers in the city until Nov. 10, among other measures. On Saturday, it indicated the measures would be extended until Monday. The city government has banned heavy vehicles from entering Delhi until Sunday and it was not clear if that order would be extended. It had also urged drivers to avoid using private diesel-powered vehicles until Saturday, but there has been no ban. Measures of tiny poisonous particulate matter, or PM 2.5 particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter, reached an average of 401 across Delhi at 4 pm, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said. That touches the "severe" category between 401-500, defined by the CPCB as bad air that can seriously impact those with existing health conditions, such as asthma, and can affect healthy people. The capital's pollution hit emergency levels on Thursday, according to the US embassy. It followed Wednesday's Diwali celebrations, when revellers let off fireworks. Despite having extensive mineral deposits and forest wealth, Chhattisgarh remained 'poor, backward and a BIMARU state' during the Congress rule, he said. (Photo: Twitter | ANI) Lormi (Chhattisgarh): Raking up the Ram temple issue, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday sought to know whether the Congress was concerned about Lord Ram or Mughal emperor Babur. Addressing a poll rally here in Chhattisgarh on the last day of campaigning for the first phase of the state polls, he alleged that the Congress toyed with national security and actively and covertly supported Naxalism in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand for political gains. Despite having extensive mineral deposits and forest wealth, Chhattisgarh remained "poor, backward and a BIMARU state" during the Congress rule, he said. BIMARU - an acronym formed from the first letters of the names of the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh - was coined in the mid-1980s to refer to the poor economic conditions within those states. "Today, the forest wealth is being used for the welfare of locals. The adivasis (tribals) and forest dwellers are being given benefits of development schemes," the priest-turned-politician said. "The Congress encouraged Naxalism for its gains, but when it (Naxalism) became dangerous for the security of people, it was the BJP which had to deal with the issue sternly. The Congress has been encouraging Naxalism actively and covertly," he alleged. "The Congress, for its own gains, played with the security of the country. Be it Chhattisgarh or Jharkhand, where the issue was giving asylum to Naxalites or using states like Kashmir for political benefits. But for the BJP, national security is of prime importance, hence (it) never accepted toying with it," Adityanath said. He said no day passes when at least two to three terrorists are not gunned down by security forces in Kashmir or surrender to the armed forces. Similarly, no day goes by where people in Naxal-affected states are not being provided complete security by the state governments, the senior BJP leader said. While it is a known fact that Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya, the matter is pending before the Supreme Court. Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal had petitioned before the court that a decision should not been taken over the issue before 2019, he said. "The Congress should be asked if their relation is with (Lord) Ram or with foreign invader Babur. The Congress has no idea about the country's respect and 'swabhimaan' (self-respect). The Congress always played with the national security and is now coming in front of you for votes," the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said. He said Chhattisgarh could only develop when the BJP governments at the Centre and state worked together. The elections to the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will be held in two phases on November 12 and 20. Husband further said that he and his wife are having matrimonial discord since they got married and that he has not seen his mother for the last three months. (Photo: Twitter | @Satyavartkhunga) New Delhi: The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Friday rescued a 95-year-old woman who was allegedly being held captive by her daughter-in-law. The women's panel helpline received a call from a person complaining that his old mother was being held captive and tortured by his wife and in-laws. The complainant also informed that his mother is completely bed-ridden. He further said that he and his wife are having matrimonial discord since they got married and that he has not seen his mother for the last three months. The complainant mentioned that whenever he tries to meet his mother, he is forced to take help from the local police as his wife does not let him enter the house. The man also said that he got hopeful when he read in the news that Delhi Commission for Women had rescued a 50-year-old woman who was held captive by her brother for two years. Taking action on his plea, the Delhi Commission for Women team went to the location where the old woman was kept but his wife initially didn't let the team enter the house. However, after counselling, the team was allowed to enter the house only on the condition that her husband should give a written statement that after taking his mother from home he would never return to the house again. The man agreed to the terms and gave the statement in writing. When the Delhi Commission for Women team and police entered the room where the man's mother was kept, they were appalled to see the condition in which the old woman was kept. She seemed very ill and was covered with only a thin piece of cloth and had to relieve herself in a bucket placed near the bed. The team immediately called for an ambulance after which the old woman was shifted to the hospital where the doctor informed that she has a severe infection and needs to be treated immediately. Delhi Commission for Women Chief said, "It is really sad that the 95-year-old lady was kept in such poor conditions. The Commission shall work on her rehabilitation. I appeal to the people if they see any woman being ill-treated, they should immediately contact the Commission at its helpline 181". The old woman is still in the hospital and her son is looking after her. The Kochi corporation delegation with Vilnius officials after signing an MoU at Vilnius, Lithuania Kochi: As part of the European Union (EU) project International Urban Cooperation, Kochi Corporation and Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania, have signed a memorandum of understanding. The primary focus of the cooperation would be urban planning, corporate planning, transport, solid water management and water management. The MoU was signed during the visit of Kochi Corporation delegation which included deputy mayor T.J. Vinod, standing committee chairmen P.M. Haris, K.V.P Krishna Kumar and opposition leader K.J. Antony to Vilnius. The delegation held discussions on urban development policies, cultural heritage, democratic administrative system and modern technologies of both cities with Remigijus Simasaiusa Mbn, the Mayor of Vilnius. The Vilnius team will visit Kochi in January next year to identify more areas of cooeperation between the two cities. Thiruvananthapuram: A large section of employees of Thiruvananthapuram international airport as well as local residents are agitated over the Centres decision to lease out the airport to private parties. While the employees fear that the move will hit the existence of Airports Authority of India (AAI) in the long run, local people who expressed willingness to give land for the airport expansion are rethinking their decision. The airport employees are planning to launch a strong agitation against this. They already broug-ht the matter to the attention of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor. The union cabinet chaired by Prime Miniter Narendra Modi on Moday decided in-principle to lease out six airports, including Thiruvananth-apuram. Ahmedabad, Jai-pur, Lucknow, Guwahati, and Mangaluru were the other airports. Operati-on, management and de-velopment would be lea-der under Public Private Partnership. Airport Authority Emp-loyees Union, Thiruvan-anthapuram branch secretary A. Ajithkumar sa-id that the airport emp-loyees were upset over the decision as it would badly affect AAIs revenues. He also pointed out that though the Centre earlier planned to lease out Chennai and Kolkotta airports to private parties, it was dropped following strong resentment. Hence the employees will launch strong protest against the fresh decision to handover airports to private parties. Airport employees also alleged that the fresh decision of the Centre was a bid to pool funds. This could also pave the way for massive corruption. Meanwhile, the fresh decision of the Centre will also adversely affect the acquisition of 18 acres land for airport expansion. Owners of the land to be acquired had raised apprehensions over the decision to lease the airport for private party. Many land owners raised concerns on why they should give the land if the airport is being privatised. We will be conveying this concern to the government and would urge the government to reconsider the plans to acquire our land, said Vallakadavu-Vayyamoola Joint Action Council chairman Saifuddin Haji. The Centre decided to lease out the airport on the grounds that it would ensure efficiency and professionalism in services. The PPP model airports were also having high ranks with regard to quality of airport service. Nedumbaserry airport and the upcoming Kannur international airports are also in PPP model. Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderab-ad airports are also in PPP model. The decision to lease out the airport came at a time when the Airports Authority of India was planning to develop the existing international terminal as an integrated terminal for domestic and international services with two tier access. While the departure terminal will be on the first floor, the arrival terminal will be on the ground-floor. As per the plan, the existing ground floor area would be fully reserved for arrival passengers. The departure areas would be on the first floor. The main event in Bengaluru turned out to be lacklustre, attendees said, Kumaraswamy skipped the main event at Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat, citing advice by doctors to take rest for three days till November 11. (Photo: PTI) Bengaluru: Protests by the BJP and right-wing outfits coupled with the absence of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his deputy marked the 'Tipu Jayanti' celebrations in Karnataka Saturday, even as the event brought to the fore differences within the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition. The celebrations to observe the birth anniversary of 'controversial' 18th century Mysore kingdom ruler Tipu Sultan brought the state under a thick security blanket, amid protests by the BJP and other organisations. The main event in Bengaluru turned out to be lacklustre, attendees said, Kumaraswamy skipped the main event at Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat, citing advice by doctors to take rest for three days till November 11. Deputy chief minister G Parameshwara was reportedly in Singapore to visit an ailing senior politician from Karnataka. As BJP and other right-wing outfits protested against the Jayanthi, Vidhana Soudha turned into a fortress with multi-layer security arrangement. The police ensured nobody could carry medicines, perfumes or even water bottles inside the venue. Irrigation minister D K Shivakumar, minister for minority affairs B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan and MLAs Roshan Baig and N A Harris attended the main programme, where the BJP was accused of communalising the occasion. Voices of disapproval started emerging from within the ruling coalition over the chief minister and deputy chief minister's absence, with a Congress MLA terming it as an "insult" to the Muslim community. MLA and former minister Tanveer Sait requested the chief minister to at least attend a Tipu Jayanthi event at a place near to where he was taking rest. According to party sources, many Congress leaders, especially those from the Muslim community, are miffed with the CM and deputy chief minister for skipping the event. When in the opposition, Kumaraswamy had questioned the need for such celebrations which was started by the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress government. Kumaraswamy reportedly chose to skip the event to not antagonise voters in his party's bastion of old Mysuru region, as Tipu Sultan had seized power from Maharajas of Mysuru, who are virtually revered there. The Chief Minister's Office (CMO), however, issued a statement on Kumaraswamy's absence at the event. Wishing success for Tipu Jayanthi celebrations, the JD(S) leader said Tipu's progressive measures in administration and his quest for innovation were "commendable". He said as he was taking rest on doctor's advice. "It is far from the truth that the CM is not taking part due to fear of losing power, as he opposes such blind beliefs," the CMO statement said. This was the first Tipu Jayanthi celebration after the Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) coalition government came to power in the state. The previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah began celebrating Tipu Jayanthi on November 10 every year since 2015, amid stiff opposition from the BJP, several Hindu organisations and some individuals. BJP and several right-wing outfits held protests in different parts of the state opposing the celebrations. Calling Tipu a "religious bigot", the state BJP unit had urged the state government to drop its decision to celebrate the Jayanthi. In Kodagu district, where celebrations in 2015 were marred by widespread protests and violence, 'Tipu Jayanti Virodhi Horata Samithi' called for a bandh. VHP worker Kuttappa had died in Kodagu district during a clash that erupted during the Tipu Jayanthi that year. BJP workers along with MLA M P Appachu Ranjan were detained at Madikeri in Kodagu district for protesting the event after he allegedly had an argument with the police for not letting those without invitations to attend the event. Another BJP MLA and former assembly speaker K G Bopaiah was detained in Virajpet during the protest. In Mangaluru, some protesters tried to barge into the zilla panchayat office with black flags where the event was being organised. Police later detained the protesters. Similar protests were reported from Chikmagalur, Ballari, Karwar and various parts of the state. Prohibitory orders have been clamped in most of the districts as a precautionary measure, police said. Extra security arrangements were made in districts of Kodagu, Chitradurga, and coastal regions among others where local communities are opposed to the celebrations. Tipu was considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces. The ruler, however, is a controversial figure in Kodagu district as Kodavas (Coorgis), a martial race, believe that thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forcible conversion to Islam. He is also accused of execution of Mandayam Iyengars at the temple town of Melkote in Mandya district on the day of Diwali, as they supported the then Maharaja of Mysuru. However, the scale of such suppression is disputed by several historians, who see Tipu as a secular and modern ruler. Meanwhile, a group of Muslim leaders along with state minister Zameer Ahmed Khan Saturday met senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah and honoured him on the occasion of Tipu Jayanthi. Calling Tipu a "good administrator," Siddaramaiah hit out at the BJP for opposing Tipu Jayanthi celebrations, while reminding about the saffron party leaders attending similar events while in power. In Madikeri, various organisations, including BJP and Codava National Council, protested against Tipu Jayanti celebrations and called for a shutdown. (Photo: ANI/Twitter) Bengaluru: Security was tightened in parts of Karnataka on Saturday morning as the state government observed the birth anniversary of the controversial 18th-century ruler of erstwhile Mysore kingdom, Tipu Sultan. The BJP, which had appealed to the government to drop the celebrations, staged demonstrations at several places in the state. In Madikeri, various organisations, including BJP and Codava National Council, protested against Tipu Jayanti celebrations and called for a shutdown. Many groups were detained by the police. BJP workers also raised slogans inside the premises of Madikeri's Deputy Commissioner's office. The JDS-Congress coalition government led by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, last week, had said Tipu Jayanti would be celebrated on November 10 in continuation of the previous Congress government's policy, prompting the BJP to announce protests. (Photo: ANI/Twitter) In Hubli and Dharwad, Section 144, which prohibits an assembly of more than 4 people, was imposed from 6 am onwards. Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu, PI Srividya, said, "We have taken all precautionary measures. If somebody violates law and order the police will take strict action." Former CM Siddaramaiah, however, celebrated the ocassion by meeting Karnataka Minority Welfare Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed at his residence in Bengaluru. Hyderabad: Just as Hyderabad absorbed people from across the world, so is the city drawing influences from international cuisine. While biryani and Irani chai remain ever popular, the newer areas of the city are increasingly receptive to Japanese, Vietnamese, Turkish, Arabian and Lebanese cuisine. Jubilee Hills and Madhapur are where food lover can find restaurants serving cuisines from different countries. Japanese and Mexican eateries are limited to Banjara Hills, Jubilee hills and Hitec City. But those serving Arabian and Turkish cuisines are spread across the city including Tolichowki and Nampally due to the influences the city has from the past. Popular eateries serving Thai, Malaysian and Vietnamese food are found in malls around the western part of the city in Kondapur, Hitec City, Miyapur and KPHB. Mr Yashwanth Kumar, a foodie, said, The Arabian Mandi restaurants are nice places to enjoy and bond, and Tolichowki or Masab Tank are the places for fine dining. Even though some restaurants often boast of authenticity, they offer many other things. A Japanese restaurant has some Thai or Chinese food to offer and Arabian restaurant offers Manchurian. Italian influences in the form of pizza and pasta have become part of the domestic palate with eateries in every nook and corner of the city. American influences of burger and buffalo wings have taken as well. A techie working in Hitec City, Mr K. Srinivas, said, When I found buffalo wings in Hyderabad, I couldnt help but compare it to the Wild Wings chain in the US. One of the major differences is pricing as it is that of a premium food joint. But in the US it is just an ordinary eatery. Secondly, the presentation makes it look like you are shelling out more money for some tiny looking wings with hard texture. Experts opine that the citys openness to new cuisine comes from the dissemination of information, increase in buying capacity and the number of people travelling abroad. Masterchef fame chef Smita Dugar said, The palette of citizens is now more receptive to diversity. People are becoming more aware of international cuisines due to increase in international travel, social media and popular shows like MasterChef. She said the availability of international ingredients like specific greens and wasabi was adding to the acceptance of the global cuisine. However, the Indianisation of cuisine continues to happen with uniquely Indian versions. Celebrity chef Puneet Mehta said, The versions of food served in India are 30-40 per cent of the actual version. People in the city will not be able to accept the sushi made in Japan. But there is a small segment in the city which actually enjoys the authentic version. This niche segment is increasing in the city because of the increasing travel opportunities people are getting due to work and the standards of living. He said that ultimately the people would start embracing authentic versions of the dishes. Since people have accepted the desi version of American and Italian food, the authentic versions in form of Buffalo Wings and Little Italy are slowly penetrating into the city. Mr Mehta said, People tend to try new cuisine when served as part of a buffet and nobody objects. But when it is a la carte, people tend to read the entire menu and settle on Indian cuisine. Fusion will help soup up acceptance of international cuisine. Nonetheless, experts opine that love for Indian food will never fade and it will continue to stay. Ms Dugar said, International cuisines are evolving in the city, but these will only be adding to the new varieties. Irani chai and Hyderabadi biryani were there and will continue to be there. At service of insomniacs cravings It wont be uncommon to find people primarily in the age group of 18-40 years awake at 1 am, cramming for and stressing over deliverables. Often late-night working and clubbing leads to late-night snacking. Eating spots that are open at that hour provide comfort to the stressed mind and satisfy the hungry stomach. Streets at DLF Gachibowli, Madhapur, Yousufguda and Ameerpet are a great escape for late-night workers and insomniacs to satisfy their odd-hour cravings. Both vegan and non-vegan snack food, be it chocolate maggie, dosa, shawarma, bread omelette, bread jam or chicken tikkas, midnight eateries have everything to offer and certainly do not disappoint. Irani chai, water and fruit juices are also readily available. Mr Surya Vamsi, a resident of Madhapur, said, We often visit DLF or Madhapur for night food. The price is affordable, and it is not so light on the stomach. Due to the distance, we do not go often to Charminar to have dosa. But the little snack and bite we get each night is a ritual which our roomies wouldnt want to give a miss. Techies who work in night shifts and people who enjoy a drink or clubbing, tend to make a hard stop at these outlets. Those feeling extra stressed tend to treat themselves to some ice-cream. Night life is not just restricted to festive seasons but has now become a year-round saga. People are often seen satisfying the late night cravings through tiffin primarily. Even big cars like BMWs and Benzs tend to make a stop to relish the delicacies. Techies pointed that the eateries are closing down early Mr Shankar Reddy, a techie, said, Earlier we used to get food till 3 am but these days they shut it by 12:30 or 1 am. Chennai: The Madras high court has stayed the proceedings of the State Minorities Commission, asking three renowned autonomous colleges in the city, to furnish details of the admissions made, so as to verify whether 50 percent of seats are filled up with students from minority community or not. Justice SS Sundar granted the interim stay and ordered notice, returnable by 2 weeks, to state higher education secretary, State Minorities Commission (SMC) and two others on the petitions filed by Loyola College, Madras Christian College and Stella Maris College. The judge said senior counsel Isaac Mohanlal, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that it is practically impossible to admit 50 percent of students belonging to minority community in the petitioners institutions. It is undertaken that the institutions will not deny admission to any eligible candidate belonging to a minority. Hence, there shall be an order of interim stay, the judge added. In his petition, Andrew Francis, Principal of Loyola College, submitted that although the petitioner college was a minority educational institution, admission was not denied to anyone only on the ground of religion, caste or creed. Denial of admission to any candidate on the ground that such candidate does not belong to minority community would violate the right of the students to get admission. To the principals shock, the SMC issued a notice dated October 16, 2018 stating that the prime intention of minority educational institution was to uplift the educationally backward minority people. The notice went on to say that the sprinkling of non-minority students in the minority educational institution was to be only peripheral either for generating additional financial source or for cultural courtesy, and that it was brought to its notice that the admission of non-minority students were not peripheral but large in number in some of the educational institutions and thus reservation of seats for minority communities were not followed in reference to the guidelines prescribed in the 1998 G.O, he added. He said the SMC further directed the petitioner to appear for hearing with the details of the students admitted for the past three academic years. On inquiry, the authorities stated that the SMC was insisting upon the minority colleges to admit minimum 50 per cent of seats only with minority candidates. As the SMC lacks the authority to fix any such criteria in the matter of admission in minority institution, the petitioner avoided furnishing the details. The act of the SMC involving in the matter of admission of students in the minority educational institution was arbitrary, illegal, unconstitutional and without jurisdiction. The TN Private Colleges (Regulation) Act and Rules do not empower the SMC with any such power to direct the private minority educational institution to prescribe any percentage of admission in minority educational institutions, he added. First three public meetings will be held on November 25 in Nagpur, Ayodhya and Bengaluru. New Delhi: The Sangh Parivar will hold public rallies in all parliamentary constituencies to urge the government and pressure political parties to bring a legislation for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Vishwa Hindu Parishad working president Alok Kumar said on Saturday said they are meeting religious and social leaders, who in turn are meeting the Governor of their states to tell them that people want Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The Governors have assured us they will convey it to President Ramnath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added. We will hold public rallies and other programmes in all parliamentary constituencies and will meet all MPs to insist that they support the legislation on Ram Mandir. We will hold the first three public meetings on November 25 in Nagpur, Ayodhya and Bengaluru. The whole thing will culminate in a big public rally on December 9 at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, Mr Alok Kumar said. He said these developments will be reported to the Dharma Sansad (highest decision-making body of saints and seers) of on January 31 in Allahabad and the future course of action will be decided. Meanwhile, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at a meeting in New Dehli said there are several people in power who are willing to bring changes, but their hands are tied due to the existing system. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced at a public meeting on Tuesday that Faizabad will be renamed as Ayodhya. The VHP praised the UP governments decision and linked it to national pride. There was a kings road and a queens road, there was a Hardinge Bridge in Delhi. They were renamed to Rajpath, Janpath, and Tilak Bridge by the Congress. Restoring the old names or changing the names of places named after people who have attacked India is a sound thing to do for restoration of national pride, he said. The rallies would strengthen the government to bring a Bill and put pressure on parties to support or at least not to oppose it, Mr Alok Kumar added. Four Teachers Detained in Iran and Several Others Summoned to Court After Peaceful Sit-In 10/22/18 Source: Center for Human Rights in Iran Security Forces Hijack Teachers' Union Telegram Channel Two teachers who participated in a peaceful sit-in for teachers' and education rights in Iran this week remain behind bars five days after they were arrested. The Iranian Teachers' Trade Association (ITTA) reported on October 14 that the head of its secretariat, Mohammad Reza Ramezanzadeh, and a teacher, Mohammad Ghanbari, were arrested after the strike was launched on October 13, 2018. Unnamed state forces also hijacked another union's Telegram channel. "Following yesterday's successful sit-in, the channel belonging to the Teachers' Trade Organizations' Coordination Council (TTOCC) and the cloud space for the sit-in are no longer in the group's control because of the arrest of Mohammad Reza Ramezanzadeh," said the posting. The post added that threatening messages against teachers had been posted on the channel since it had been hijacked. In addition to Ramezanzadeh and Ghanbari, an unknown number of teachers have been summoned to Intelligence Ministry's offices in Tehran, Qazvin, Bojnourd, Saqqez, Marivan, Kermanshah and Aligoudarz, and have been ordered to appear on October 20 in court, a teachers' rights advocate based in Iran told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). "We only know that seven teachers have been summoned in Saqqez, but we don't know the exact numbers in the other cities. If the charges against them are serious, their names will be released," added the source who requested anonymity for security reasons. On October 17, ITTA member Mohammad Saleh Shokri was arrested by Intelligence Ministry agents in Saqqez. He has not been charged and is being denied legal representation. He has also been denied visits from his family but was allowed to make a brief phone call to inform his family that he had been detained. On October 11, Abbas Vahedian, a teacher and ITTA member, was arrested at his home in Mashhad on the eve of the sit-in strike by security agents who raided his house, confiscated his personal belongings and took him to an unknown location. In Aligoudarz, Lorestan Province, Amin Azimi, also an ITTA member, was freed on October 16, two days after being arrested. Teachers in several Iranian cities did not show up to class on October 13 to join a peaceful sit-in demanding a reformation of Iran's education system, which teachers argue is not meeting the needs of teachers or students. Participants posted photos and videos on social media holding signs with their demands, including: the reinstatement of free schooling for all levels, salary increases, ending the imprisonment of teachers' rights activists and being allowed to strike and organize without the threat of arrest. Some students at the universities of Tehran and Allah Tabataba'i boycotted classes and held sit-ins on October 14 expressing solidarity with the protesting teachers. They held up signs with slogans including "classes are closed as long as teachers are behind bars." Independent labor unions are not allowed to function in Iran, strikers are often fired and risk arrest, and labor leaders are consistently prosecuted under catchall national security charges and sentenced to long prison terms. The following four prominent teachers' rights activists were in jail in Iran serving long prison sentences when the teachers' held their sit-in. Esmail Abdi: A high school teacher and former ITTA secretary general, Abdi has been serving a six-year prison sentence since November 2016 in Evin Prison in Tehran for the charges of "propaganda against the state" and "collusion against national security." Mahmoud Beheshti-Langroudi: A former ITTA spokesman, Beheshti-Langroudi's most recent imprisonment began in September 2017. He is serving multiple sentences for his peaceful trade union activities in Evin Prison. Rouhollah Mardani: In June 2018, Mardani, a graduate student in Persian literature at the University of Tehran who had also worked as a teacher in the city of Nourabad in Lorestan Province, was sentenced by a preliminary court to six years in prison. He was also banned for two years from political and social activities and prohibited from leaving the country for two years. Mardani was imprisoned for taking part in peaceful protests on campus in late January 2018; the charges he was convicted of are unclear. He is in Evin Prison. Mohammad Habibi: Arrested for peacefully advocating teachers' rights, Habibi was sentenced by a preliminary court in August 2018 to seven years in prison and 74 lashes. He was also banned for two years from political and social activities and prohibited from leaving the country for two years. Habibi was convicted of the following charges: "assembly and collusion against national security," "propaganda against the state" and "disturbing public order." He is in the Great Tehran Penitentiary. Chennai: Several political parties in Tamil Nadu, including the main opposition DMK, on Saturday termed the dissolution of the Sri Lankan Parliament as murder of democracy and urged the Union Government to quickly intervene for the sake of Indias security and the welfare of the Tamils in the island nation. In a strongly worded statement here, DMK president MK Stalin said the atrocious dissolution of parliament amounted to trampling of the Constitution as the Sri Lankan constitution clearly says only a resolution by two thirds of its MPs can pave the way to dissolve the House within four and a half years of its convening. Terming the situation in Sri Lanka as a political emergency threatening the national stability and jeopardising the Tamils welfare, Stalin urged the Centre to condemn the murder of democracy and take steps forthwith to ensure that the Tamils there had a dignified life with peace and security. Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) leader Dr Anbumani Ramadoss said although it was Sri Lankas internal issue, the Centre cannot overlook the developments as the security of India and the welfare of the Tamil population of the island nation was at stake. It is a brutal murder of democracy since Parliaments tenure ends only in August 2020, said Anbumani, who is also the partys Dharmapuri Lok Sabha MP. He alleged that the Maithripala Sirisena-Rajapaksa combine would try to win the January 5 polls through intimidating tactics and by indulging in poll irregularities. If they succeeded, it would lead to both anti-Tamil and anti-India measures in Sri Lanka, said Anbumani. He alleged that strategic locations in Sri Lanka may be given on a platter to China, jeopardising Indias security interests. TTV Dhinakaran of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam too condemned the dissolution of parliament and demanded that the United Nations and the Indian government monitor the situation and ensure Tamils were not affected in any way. Accusing Rajapaksa of being responsible for the killings of Tamils in 2009, he said Parliament has been dissolved at a time when Tamils all over the world were expecting annulment of Rajapaksas appointment as the prime minister, an atrocious act that would root out democracy. MDMK general secretary Vaiko accused Sirisena of executing a treacherous drama to hand over full powers to Rajapaksa, who was allegedly responsible for the killings of Tamil people during the Eelam war in 2009. Sri Lanka is facing a major political crisis after President Maithripala Sirisena ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa and suspended Parliament. Days ahead of the floor test in the house, his spokesman Friday acknowledged that Rajapaksa remains short of the magic number 113 required to prove a majority in Parliament. And then the President dropped the final bombshell dissolving the Parliament altogether and announcing fresh elections on January 5 next year.The crisis erupted suddenly amid growing tensions between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe, with the former openly faulting the PM on several policy matters, especially on the economy and security. While BJP has fielded its candidates from all assembly seats, Congress announced candidates from only 229 seats and left one for Sharad Yadav's LJD for the upcoming polls. (Representational image) Bhopal: A total of 2,800 nominations have been filed for the 230 seats of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded its candidates from all the assembly seats, Congress announced its candidates from only 229 seats and left a seat for Sharad Yadav's Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) for the upcoming assembly elections in the state. The filing of nominations for the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections ended yesterday. A total of 162 nominations were filed from Rewa assembly constituency, while 156 were filed from Satna. This time, the BJP has fielded Usha Thakur from Mhow assembly constituency. Earlier, party leader Kailash Vijayvargiya used to contest from this seat. Opposing Thakur's nomination from the seat, five BJP leaders from the area have filed independent nominations from the same seat. Meanwhile, Congress leaders Nasir Islam and Sajid Ali have also filed nomination as independent candidates. Madhya Pradesh is slated to go on polls on November 28, while counting of votes will be held on December 11. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu with Congress leader and former chief minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot addressing media in Amaravati on Saturday. Vijayawada: Anti-BJP parties would meet in New Delhi on November 22 to create a common platform and chalk out their future course of action, TD president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said Saturday. Speaking to mediapersons after meeting Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, who came to the city as an emissary of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Mr Naidu said the endeavour was to bring everybody on board to on the slogan of Save democracy and save the nation. Replying to questions, Mr Naidu said there were only two platforms BJP and anti-BJP. Political parties should decide which side they are on. If they dont join us, it means they are with the BJP, he said. Mr Naidu said he had met Mr Rahul Gandhi as part of the effort to protect democracy and would meet Trinamul president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on November 19 or 20. He said he had met several leaders including Mr Farooq Abdullah, Mr I am not expecting anything from this, and it is in the interest of the nation. Save democracy and save the nation is the agenda for us, Mr Naidu said. Defending joining hands with the Congress, he said, I am appealing to all parties to forget our issues and to join together for a broader cause. He said the Delhi meeting would discuss all issues and chalk out programmes on how to take the movement forward and build an anti-BJP infrastructure. Now I have convinced everybody. Everybody is willing to cooperate with us. In this experiment, Congress is the main opposition party. They have more responsibility. We have to acknowledge that, Mr Naidu said. Some parties might join them after the Assembly elections in five states and one or two might come after the Lok Sabha elections. Our effort is to bring everybody on board to fight the BJP, Mr Naidu said. He held Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible for present state of affairs in the CBI and the RBI. The economy is in the doldrums because of the interference of the Centre. Mr Naidu said the BJP government at the Centre had been resorting to I-T raids on Opposition leaders for political gain. He said it was clear after two years that demonetisation was a failure. He said the BJP government had claimed that demonetisation would help tap resources and it had failed. The common man was inconvenienced by the hasty decision of the BJP government, he said. BJP state president Dr K. Laxman (centre) speaks to MLA Chinthala Ramachandra Reddy (right) at BJP State Office, Nampally. MLA G. Kishan Reddy (left) and other leaders were also present during the release of the charge sheet against TRS government. (Photo: DC) Hyderabad: The Telangana BJP on Saturday released a chargesheet against the TRS accusing caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao of failing to fulfil all promises he had made to the people of Telangana state. TS BJP president Dr K. Laxman said the party had placed the chargesheet in public domain for a trial of the ruling party in the peoples court. The BJP made more than 130 accusations against Mr Rao in its 11 page chargesheet, ranging from his failure in resolving Dalit issues and unemployment to not constructing 2BHK houses and alleged inefficiency in irrigation, power, health, local bodies, reorganisation of districts, not implementing the Centres Ayushman Bharat, Excise, tourism IT/industrial sector and socio-economic and farmers issue amongst others. Dr Laxman said Mr Rao had never gone to the Secretariat and had encouraged defections. He said Mr Rao had not bothered to visit Kondagattu where more than 60 people were killed in a bus accident. He said Mr Rao had not fulfilled his promise of creating urban infrastructure with specific focus on north Telangana districts of Karimnagar, Warangal and Adilabad. Hyderabad: The Congress high command has once again postponed the release if its candidates list and the party has now tentatively scheduled the event for the beginning of next week. According to sources, internal pressure for tickets and the stalemate in seat adjustments with the Mahakutami allies was delaying the list. AICC screening committee chairman Bhakta Charan Das said in Delhi said that the list would be released on November 12 or 13. The only bright spot seemed to be CPI Telangana state secretary Chada Venkat Reddys assurance that the party would not leave the alliance. Mr Das said the party would give about 25 seats to the BC community. He said 20 BC candidates had been selected, and it would not be possible to release a list till all of them were picked. AICC general secretary and TS Congress incharge R.C. Khuntia had announced two days ago that the first list would be released on November 10. AICC screening committee chairman Bhakta Charan Das in Delhi condemned reports that the party was selling tickets, he said there were allegations that he was himself collecting money to hand out tickets. He said the party was viewing these reports seriously, and said they were being made to defame him. Mr Das supported BC leaders who were staging a dharna at AP Bhavan demanding more seats for the community. Meanwhile, Mahakutami leaders Venkat Reddy and L. Ramana met for talks and then held a meeting with Telangana Jana Samiti president Prof. M. Kodandaram. After that, there was a meeting between Mr Venkat Reddy, Prof. Kodandaram Telangana Inti Party chief Cheraku Sudhakar and Congress leaders N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and R.C. Khuntia. The meeting failed to break the deadlock. Speaking to mediapersons, Mr Venkat Reddy said the CPI would not leave the Mahakutami. The party was unhappy with the Congress announcement on seat sharing without first discussing it with them. Mr Venkat Reddy said parties should have a give and take policy while sharing seats and expressed the hope that it would be finalised in a day or two. Mr Sudhakar said he had demanded three seats but the final decision was to allot Nakrekal to the party. He said his wife Lakshmi would contest from the seat. Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy and Mr Khuntia left the venue without speaking to the media. The very fact that nearly all of the demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes found their way back to the banks, some of them in ingenious deposits, proved the RBIs contention that black money in India is held in real estate, gold or foreign currencies. Setting aside the political chatter of its second anniversary, a dispassionate look at the facts proves that demonetisation was an economic misadventure. It was an overzealous measure born out of hubris and went against the cautious advice of the Reserve Bank which struck down at least two of the intended objectives as unjustifiable black money and fake notes. The very fact that nearly all of the demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes found their way back to the banks, some of them in ingenious deposits, proved the RBIs contention that black money in India is held in real estate, gold or foreign currencies. The justification about flushing out fake notes that are thought to support terrorism also proved to be too fanciful. Many ills of the current state of the economy, being buffeted now by the strong crosswinds of oil prices and declining rupee value, can also be adduced to hangovers of the note ban. Having had 86 per cent of the currency in circulation sucked out in a unilateral move executed very poorly in a state of unpreparedness with regard to printing replacement notes, the nation is still paying the price. This is evident not so much by a festering bank NPA problem that was a disaster waiting to happen as in the manner the government is pressing the RBI to unfasten at least a third of its considerable reserves to ease a liquidity crisis. The biggest drawback has been the slow recovery from demonetisation of the informal and MSME sectors, dependent on NBFC financing more than banks. And that is reflected in very poor employment generation, with one estimate showing 18 lakh new jobs surfaced when eight crore jobs were promised to sustain a burgeoning young workforce. H02 Even if the Russia-initiated talks lead nowhere, India would have abandoned its earlier formulaic stance on the Taliban and shown its willingness to engage with the Afghan armed insurgent outfit. India sending two eminent non-officials former senior diplomats Amar Sinha, a recently retired ambassador to Kabul, and T.C.A. Raghavan, until not long ago our high commissioner in Islamabad to participate in the Moscow Format talks with Taliban representatives on Friday has more than exploratory value. It breaks the mould which was in the shape of the proposition that we should have nothing to do with the Taliban, in part because they are deemed to be captive playthings of Pakistan, Islamabads agents practically, and because they are seen as a terrorist outfit indistinguishable from, say, the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba. This departure is a positive step. Even if the Russia-initiated talks lead nowhere, India would have abandoned its earlier formulaic stance on the Taliban and shown its willingness to engage with the Afghan armed insurgent outfit. It is not unlikely that in the foreseeable future, whether the Americans eventually depart Afghanistan or not (and it is unlikely they will), the Taliban could make a negotiated re-entry into the governing system of Afghanistan, possibly on a power-sharing basis. This is expected to be a complex, drawn out political process, and being at the Moscow conversation will give New Delhi a first-hand feel of how the Taliban seek to proceed and how their approach is received by Kabul. For about a decade, the standard line, ritualistically stated by all concerned, is that the conciliation talks with the Taliban should be Afghan-owned and Afghan-led. In reality, so far, it has been Pakistan-owned and US-led. There was no question of India being invited to such a table. Nor was India philosophically inclined to be in on such a venture. But in the Moscow talks, Russia has invited, besides the US and Pakistan, all of Afghanistans neighbours Iran, China, the Central Asian Republics, as well as India. Thus, this is a wide forum, strongly regional in character. Not accepting the invitation was unthinkable. India would have stuck out like a sore thumb, and would not have done justice to the immense, high-value political goodwill it enjoys across Afghanistan. New Delhi has rightly been careful to stitch its mast to the Afghan sail. Since Kabul sent a delegation of its High Peace Council, and not of the government direct, India too did not send an official delegation. Herein lies a message of solidarity and identification with the government of Afghanistan. India announced on Thursday that it sought not just an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process (the traditional formulation), but also one that was Afghan-controlled. This appears to be an expression of avoidable over-enthusiasm. H08 There is need for the government to sit with the RBI and find a way out. It is disconcerting that the new year, according to the Hindu calendar, has begun on a crisis note for the small and medium industries. The SME sector is the backbone of the economy, accounting for 30 per cent of the GDP, employing around 11 crore people through a little over 6 crore units. Their main source of funds are the non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) that provided for 12-15 per cent of the total credit generated in the last two years. Most NBFCs are facing a drought-like situation as far as funding is concerned. In fact the sparing witnessed recently between the government and the Reserve Bank of India was over the need for banks to release more funds to NBFCs. There are about 11,000 NBFCs operating in the country and the play a major role in lending to millions at the bottom of the pyramid, those who rarely get loans as they cannot afford the collateral. Admittedly, in the case of the troubled NBFCs it is the fact that their chickens are coming home to roost. They have been reckless in their efforts to grab market share and had been borrowing for short-term and lending long- term in sectors like infrastructure, something that even a novice in the money game would know is a disaster waiting to happen. Granted that they have been reckless, but the solution is not to throw the baby and the bathtub out of the window. There is need for the government to sit with the RBI and find a way out. At stake are several issues like the employment and livelihood of millions of people who keep the wheels of the economy turning and also the Prime Ministers vision of Housing for All. So also, women who profess that they are men trapped in womens bodies would not have to undergo plastic surgery to acquire mock penises. The moon, they said, was a woman With a dark side to her face The bright side has its dark spots Is the dark side such a disgrace? From Cleopatra Ni Machchhi by Bachchoo There has been an attempt by a minister in the present British government to introduce proposed legislation to allow citizens of the country to choose their gender. If the proposed legislation becomes law, a man could say he was a woman and, for all public and official purposes, he would have to be recognised as one. And women could assert they are men. This would absolve men who thought they were women trapped in the wrong body from having to undergo brutal surgery to have their genitals removed and suffer hormone treatment to grow the secondary sexual features of the female human. So also, women who profess that they are men trapped in womens bodies would not have to undergo plastic surgery to acquire mock penises. Declaration becomes all. The discussion on such a law would have to take into account the absolute fact that some humans are born with an XX chromosome in the DNA of the 40 trillion cells in their bodies which constantly reproduce, making them birth females; or they are born with XY chromosomes in the same number of cells, which makes them birth males. Whatever people think, that cant be altered. Yet. The principle of choosing your gender is predicated on the great principle of living your life without being constrained by what your DNA and nature bestowed on you. Libertarian freedom supported by the state will mean men who assert that they are women will be free to enter women-only facilities and stand for Parliament in seats reserved for women. This great step in the libertarian respect for choice should logically be expanded to embrace race and even species. I am not aware of anyone alleging that they were mistakenly born in a human body, when they are really crocodiles or unicorns. No plastic surgeon or DNA-transformation-therapist has yet offered assistance to any such individual to get them to grow scales, jaws, horns on their noses, etc. But watch this space! However, there has in Britain this week been an outcry over a race-swap issue. A man who calls himself Anthony Ekundayo Lennon, who acknowledges that his parents are both white Irish, has been given a grant of $406,500 from a foundation which gives grants to black individuals to train as theatre directors. The foundation which hands out these grants, the Artistic Director Leadership programme, had 113 applicants for three positions. Lennon got one of the three. When challenged after he had been granted the cash, he admitted that he was by birth a white man but had always felt black because his skin was slightly dark and he had been discriminated at school and through his life and had experienced the reality of living as a black man. He had changed his middle name to reflect the fact and had now been given the official stamp of being what he wanted to be by an institution that handed out money to try and compensate for and correct the supposed imbalance of black and ethnic people in the Arts in Britain. I must confess, gentle reader, to have played a small part in this battle for the new, non-white communities of Britain appearing on its creative platforms theatre and on its principle forum of national discourse, the box which brings the world into the room television. My first stage play, called Mama Dragon, was commissioned by a company which named itself the Black Co-op Theatre. The cast that performed it, at first in community venues and subsequently that and other plays in the West End were all but one young black of West Indian working-class parentage. It was at the time important that they performed in theatre and that writers from their background or parallel backgrounds wrote plays reflecting their experience. Theatre is about eternal values reflected in stories from anywhere in location and time but it also needs to be and can be about crystallising whats happening around us. Theres a long tradition of it. Though it may not have ever been said, Shakespeares Merchant of Venice is clearly about what Marx three centuries later characterised as the clash between usurers capital as embodied in Shylock and merchants capital as vested in Antonio. Restoration dramatists in their comedy of manners reflected the confidence and subsequent frivolous concerns of a nation which owned an empire. The plays of Oscar Wilde and Bernard Shaw reflected an unease with Victorian hypocrisy and in the modern era the Kitchen sink playwrights such as John Osborne and Arnold Wesker put on stage Britains thriving dilemmas of the new post-World War II meritocracy, of miners sons returning home as educated professionals. So it was apt and predictable that the new communities of Britain, immigrant labour from the West Indies, from the former colonies of the subcontinent, would demand a space on Britains thriving theatrical platforms to reflect their experience and struggles in a globalised and even resistant Britain. Again, gentle reader, with no intention of a boast, I can genuinely claim that I was appointed as a commissioning editor at Channel 4 in the UK and given the brief of incorporating the new ethnics of Britain into its national conversation and display. The enterprise has succeeded, but not in the form that penetrates the narratives and communities of ethnic Britain. It has succeeded in casting Julius Caesar as a black man, in casting several Asian and black actors in any and every Shakespearian role and in the initiation of programmes of promotion such as the one which accepted Mr Lennon as a black man because he said he was. Descartes said, I think, therefore I am. Now Rene Descartes should be updated. I am whatever I think I am! B09 Remarkably, this Sufi-Shaivite lady rendered deep mystical experiences into her poetry which reveals her limitless devotion, spiritual illumination and her ecstasy of the divine union. (Representational image) One of the preceptors of mysticism in Kashmir was the celebrated female Sufi poet Lalla Arifa, popularly known as Lal Diddi and Laleshwari. For around seven centuries, Lalla has been venerated both by Muslims and Hindus of Kashmir and is indisputably regarded a proponent of a plural ethos in the valley. Born in a brahmin family in 1335 AD near Srinagar, she renounced her domestic material life at the age of 24 after she suffered cruelty from her mother-in-law. Hence, she chose to be a devotee of the Shaivite saint Siddha Srikantha also known as Sed Bayu. She learnt from him high moral truths and thus practiced yoga philosophy. It is narrated that in her rebellious renouncement of domestic life, Lalla turned into a celibate mystic. However, when she met the Sufi mystic of the highest stature in Kashmir, Mir Syed Ali Hamadani, she gave up celibacy and began to wear purdah. Asked why, she said she had seen a man for the first time. Sheikh-ul-Alam, another prominent Kashmiri Sufi mystic of the 14th century, gave the first direct reference to Lalla in his verse: That Lalla from Padmaanpora (Pampore), did drink nectar tumbler after tumbler. She was a saint and she did bring up a saint, O God, give me her vision and knowledge. Remarkably, this Sufi-Shaivite lady rendered deep mystical experiences into her poetry which reveals her limitless devotion, spiritual illumination and her ecstasy of the divine union. She says in her Kashmiri poetry: yi yi karum suy artsun yi rasini vichoarum thi mantar yihay lagamo dhahas partsun suy Parasivun tanthar (Whatever work I did became worship of the Lord; Whatever word I uttered became a prayer; Whatever this body of mine experienced became the sadhana of Saiva Tantra illumining my path to Parmasiva). At the same time, Lallas poetry came crashing down on the parasitic forms of ritualism and false religiosity. She strongly believed in the Divine but equally discarded the priestly class. One of her verses reads: It covers your shame, keeps you from shivering. Grass and water are all the food it asks. Who taught you, priest-man, to feed this breathing thing to your thing of stone? In fact, the Shaivite mystics like Lalla and Sufi saints such as Shaikh-ul-Alam strengthened unity in diversity in Kashmirs plural society for centuries. While Shaikh was an ardent believer in Tawheed (monotheism), Lalla was a follower of the monotheistic Shaivism known as Turka Shastra. Albeit the difference in their spiritual disciplines, both believed in one Creator, loved all His creations, dismissed violent religious extremism, practised self-introspection and rejected all dogmatic and retrogressive ideologies. This was the result of an elevating experience of spiritual enlightenment. Prominent historian Azam Dedmari writes in his book, Waaqeaat-e-Kashmir (events in Kashmir): Lalla was buried in a tomb in the premises of the Sufi shrine of Baba Naseebuddin Gazi a disciple of Sultan-ul-Arifeen Sheikh Hamza Makhdumi. B09 Jamas nos callaran Fisica y culturalmente Nec plus ultra, nec variatur Precio del Brent To get the BRENT oil price, please enable Javascript. Precio del WTI To get the oil price, please enable Javascript. Paginas vistas en total Dolar USA Vs Euro Sin ellas, no seremos Deja vu Nada que celebrar Hasta cuando? Colombia Hoy Para nunca olvidar 'Parasite' painted on a statue of Queen, Elizabeth in Kent, England Sin palabras La UE le apunta a la paz Cada vez mas solo Precio del Oro To get the gold price, please enable Javascript. LULA y su Pueblo Bye Bye Homenaje al genial Quino Fueron ellos Una imagen que resume Tan bajo ha caido que se deja tocar el trasero? Porky y el Nene (archiconocido narcotraficante) Ladrones al poder Asi mira el perrito a su amo Crazy Clamor popular La nueva inquisicion Bolivia Chile Hoy Eso es todo amigos! Piensalo! Pinerachet No More Trump Adios Macri, hasta nunca La Marioneta se desinfla Asi o mas cinico Almugre Mexico en 1794 Mas arrastrado imposible Hasta cuando! La pura verdad Solidaridad con Palestina Serie Capitalismo Espejismos de la clase trabajadora Asi es! Comerciantes o delincuentes No pasaran! Asi es la vida USA HOY 01/01/1959 La avaricia no tiene limites AYUDA HUMANITARIA? Chile Hoy Asi son las cosas Mapa Electoral de Venezuela Patagonia argentina? Un aniversario mas del mayor genocidio de la Humanidad Retrato del franquismo en Espana Visca Catalunya! 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Por culpa de Chavez Cerveza Polar Algun dia Colombia volvera a la ideologia de Bolivar Translate LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares? Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano... Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos: Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias. Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera. No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje. En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio. Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida. Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella. Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal. Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista. Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen. Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che? Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio. Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora. Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo. Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo. Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania. No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar. Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga. Alguna duda? Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia. OZ1 OZ2 OZ3 OZ4 Homenaje a Jason Galarraga La Victoria de Samotracia Odalisca Mas fotos de la nevada del pasado agosto 2008 La Sierra Nevada de Merida Nuestro precioso Churum Meru Homenaje a Picasso Autoretrato Sabes lo que bebes en una Coca-Cola? La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar. Mi profesion? Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos. Sal en la Coca Cola? A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar. De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla: Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gusto Acido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido) azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa) Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantas Mucha Cafeina Conservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o Potasio Dioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebe Sal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracion El uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja. Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos. Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja. En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero). Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma. La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate. Bebidas Light? Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal. Publicado por loretahur En realidad, la formula secreta de la Coca-Cola se puede detallar en 18 segundos en cualquier espectrometro optico, y basicamente la conocen hasta los perros. Lo que ocurre es que no se puede fabricar igual, a no ser que uno disponga de unos cuantos millones de dolares para ganarle la demanda que te metera la Coca-Cola ante la justicia (ellos no perderian).La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gustoAcido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantasMucha CafeinaConservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o PotasioDioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebeSal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracionEl uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el aspartamo , despues de tres semanas mojado, pasa a tener gusto de trapo viejo sucio.Para evitar eso, se agregan una infinidad de otros productos quimicos, uno para alargar la vida del aspartamo, otro para neutralizar el color, otro para mantener el tercer quimico en suspension porque sino el fondo de la gaseosa quedaria oscuro, otro para evitar la cristalizacion del aspartamo, otro para realzar el sabor, dar mas intensidad al acido citrico o fosforito que perderia su sabor por el efecto de los cuatro productos quimicos iniciales... y asi sucesivamente.Un consejo final !!Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.Publicado por loretahur MARGARINA o MANTEQUILLA La margarina fue producida originalmente para engordar a los pavos; cuandolo que hizo en realidad fue matarlos.Las personas que habian puesto el dinero para la investigacion quisieronrecobrarlo asi que empezaron a pensar en una forma de hacerlo.Tenian una sustancia blanca, que no tenia ningun atractivo como comestible,asi que le anadieron el color amarillo, para venderselo a lagente en lugar de la mantequilla.Que tal esa?... Ahora han sacado algunos nuevos sabores para vender mas alos incautos como usted y yo.CONOCE USTED la diferencia entre la margarina y la mantequilla?Siga leyendo hasta el final... porque se pone bastante interesante!Comparacion entre mantequilla y margarina: 1.- Ambas tienen la misma cantidad de calorias. 2.- La mantequilla es ligeramente mas alta en grasas saturadas: 8 gramos,comparada con los 5 gramos que tiene la margarina. 3.- Comer margarina en vez de mantequilla puede aumentar en 53% el riesgo deenfermedades coronarias en las mujeres, de acuerdo con un estudiomedico reciente de la Universidad de Harvard. 4.- Comer mantequilla aumenta la absorcion de gran cantidad de nutrientesque se encuentran en otros alimentos. 5.- La mantequilla provee beneficios nutricionales propios mientras lamargarina tiene solo los que le hayan sido anadidos al fabricarla. 6.- La mantequilla sabe mucho mejor que la margarina y mejora el sabor deotros alimentos.7.- La mantequilla ha existido durante siglos mientras que la margarinatiene menos de 100 anos. Ahora... sobre la margarina: 1.- Es muy alta en acidos grasos trans. (Si, esos que recien ahora loscientificos descubrieron que son malisimos y los gobiernoscomenzaron a prohibirlos) . 2.- Triple riesgo de enfermedades coronarias. 3.- Aumenta el colesterol total y el LDL (el colesterol malo) y disminuye elHDL (el colesterol bueno). 4.- Aumenta en cinco veces el riesgo de cancer. 5.- Disminuye la calidad de la leche materna. 6.- Disminuye la reaccion inmunologica del organismo. 7.- Disminuye la reaccion a la insulina. Y he aqui el factor mas inquietante (AQUI ESTA LA PARTE MAS INTERESANTE! ):A la margarina le falta UNA MOLECULA para ser PLASTICO...!!Solo este hecho es suficiente para evitar el uso de la margarina de porvida, y de cualquier otra cosa que sea hidrogenada (esto significaque se le anade hidrogeno, lo cual cambia la estructura molecular de lassubstancias).Usted puede ensayar lo siguiente:Compre un poco de margarina y dejela en el garaje o en un sitio sombreado.Dentro de unos dias notara dos cosas: * No habra moscas; ni siquiera esos molestos bichos se le acercaran (esto yale debe decir a usted algo). * No se pudre ni huele mal o diferente porque no tiene valor nutritivo; nadacrece en ella. Ni siquiera los diminutos microorganismos puedencrecer en ella.Por que? Porque es casi plastico!! No a la guerra, Si a la Paz Misterios de la ciencia... Los costos de la guerra medicos y capitalismo... Capitalismo... medicos (2) Quien educa a nuestros hijos? Los Medios... Sin Palabras... Chistes feministas - Cual es el problema, Eva? - Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas. - Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas... - Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti. - Que es un hombre? - Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente. - Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente. - Cual es el truco?. - Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion. - Cual? - Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer. Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas? Porque todos son unos cerdos Un dia, en el Paraiso, Eva llamo a Dios: Tengo un problema.- Cual es el problema, Eva?- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.- Que es un hombre?- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.- Cual es el truco?.- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.- Cual?- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas? Porque todos son unos cerdos Ellas... Ellas (2)... Tres venganzas femeninas VENGANZA NUMERO 1 Hoy mi hija cumple 21 anos y estoy muy contento porque es el ultimo pago de pension alimenticia que le doy, asi que llame a mi hijita para que viniera a mi casa y cuando llego le dije: -Hijita, quiero que lleves este cheque a casa de tu mama y que le digas que: Este es el ultimo maldito cheque que va recibir de mi en todo lo que le queda de su puta vida!!! Quiero que me digas la expresion que pone en su rostro. Asi que mi hija fue a entregar el cheque. Yo estaba ansioso por saber lo que la bruja tenia que decir y que cara pondria. Cuando mi hijita entro, le pregunte inmediatamente: -Que fue lo que te dijo tu madre? -Me dijo que justamente estaba esperando este dia para decirte que no eres mi papa! VENGANZA NUMERO 2 Un hombre que siempre molestaba a su mujer, paso un dia por la casa de unos amigos para que lo acompanaran al aeropuerto a dejar a su esposa que viajaba a Paris. A la salida de inmigracion, frente a todo el mundo, el le desea buen viaje y en tono burlon le grita: - Amor, no te olvides de traerme una hermosa francesita Ja ja ja!! Ella bajo la cabeza y se embarco muy molesta. La mujer paso quince dias en Francia. El marido otra vez pidio a sus amigos que lo acompanasen al aeropuerto a recibirla. Al verla llegar, lo primero que le grita a toda voz es: - Y amor me trajiste mi francesita?? - Hice todo lo posible, - contesta ella - ahora solo tenemos que rezar para que nazca nina. VENGANZA NUMERO 3 El marido, en su lecho de muerte, llama a su mujer. Con voz ronca y ya debil, le dice: - Muy bien, llego mi hora, pero antes quiero hacerte una confesion. - No, no, tranquilo, tu no debes hacer ningun esfuerzo. - Pero, mujer, es preciso - insiste el marido - Es preciso morir en paz. Te quiero confesar algo. - Esta bien, esta bien. Habla! - He tenido relaciones con tu hermana, tu mama y tu mejor amiga. - Lo se, lo se Por eso te envenene, hijo de puta!!! machismo y cibernetica Chiste machista La NASA ha enviado al espacio una mision experimental tripulada por dos monos y una mujer.Apenas abandona la atmosfera, se establece comunicacion con Houston. -Atencion, simio 1, verifique sistemas hidraulicos, controle adecuada presion de los propulsores de arranque. A 60.000 pies disminuya un 25% la velocidad. El simio hace la sena de OK. -Atencion, simio 2, nivele al cruzar la estratosfera y active sistemas anticongelantes. No olvide monitorear sistemas de comunicacion e indicadores de presion. Comprendido?. El simio hace la sena de OK. -Atencion, Houston llamando a mujer: no se olvide. -Mujer: Si, si, ya se! -interrumpe enojada- que no me olvide darles de comer a estos monos de mierda y que no se me vaya a ocurrir tocar nada!. .Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti. Un abogado mantiene un romance con su secretaria.Al poco tiempo, esta queda embarazada y el abogado, que no quiere que su esposa se entere, le da a la secretaria una buena suma de dinero y le pide que se vaya a parir a Italia.Esta pregunta: Y como voy a hacerte saber cuando nazca el bebe ? El abogado responde: Para que mi mujer no se entere, tan solo enviame una postal y escribe por detras: Spaghetti. Y no te preocupes mas, que yo me encargare de todos los gastos. Pasan los meses y una manana la esposa del abogado lo llama al bufete, algo exaltada: Querido, acabo de recibir el correo y hay una postal muy extrana viene desde Italia. La verdad, no entiendo que significa.El abogado, tratando de ocultar sus nervios, contesta:Espera a que llegue a casa, a ver si yo entiendoCuando el hombre llega a casa y lee la postal, cae al suelo fulminado por un infarto.Llega una ambulancia y se lo lleva. Ya en el hospital, el jefe de cardiologia se queda consolando a la esposa y le pregunta cual ha sido el evento que precipito tan masivo ataque cardiaco. Entonces la esposa saca la postal y se la muestra diciendole: No me explico, doctor; el solamente leyo esta postal. Vea usted mismo lo que trae escrito.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti."Tres con salchicha y albondigas y dos con almejas Gol !!!! Chistes de Borrachos Entra un borracho a su casa todo manchado con lapiz labial por todos lados hecho un desastre, y la mujer le pregunta:-Hombre que te paso?Y el borracho le responde:-No me vas a creer, me pelee con un payaso! Este es un borracho que entra en un bar y le dice al camarero:-Me da cinco copas de whisky?Al rato:-Me da cuatro?Al rato:-Me da tres copas?Despues:-Me da dos copas?Luego le dice:-Me da una copa?Y le dice al camarero:-Ves? Cuanto menos bebo, mas borracho estoy! For Delhi BJP president MANOJ TIWARI, the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya is an issue that is larger than the saffron party. In an interview with SHASHI BHUSHAN, Mr Tiwari, who is also a Lok Sabha MP, says that PM Narendra Modis BJP government is committed to fulfil the demand of Hindus to build a grand temple at the birthplace of Lord Ram After four-and-a-half years of the Narendra Modi government, focus has suddenly shifted to the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Is there any specific reason or strategy behind this, perhaps the fact that Lok Sabha elections are to be held in 2019? Construction of the grand Ram temple at Lord Rams birthplace is not a new issue and this demand has been there since the last 68 years. Hindus, the most liberal and optimistic community, believe in the countrys judicial system and they have been waiting for justice. When they failed to get justice from the judiciary, there was an emotional outburst in 1992 in which the disputed structure at Lord Rams birthplace was razed to the ground. The nation is because of its citizens and its the prime duty of any country to fulfil the aspirations of its own people. Once again people have been waiting for justice since 1992, but all in vain. The Supreme Court is saying that the Ram temple case is not its priority, which is very unfortunate and has hurt the faith of millions of people. Not only Hindus, but a majority of the people of this country want a quick decision on the Ayodhya issue. When I talk about the majority of the people, it means the majority of countrymen, only a handful of people are opposing it for their petty interests. The BJP and its leadership is committed to the noble cause to build a grand temple in Ayodhya. You mentioned that due to the delay caused by the courts, the structure was brought down in 1992. Should we expect a similar agitation for the construction of the Ram temple in the coming days? I have already said that the majority of the people in our country want that a quick decision should be taken on this matter. But our Apex Court is saying that the Ram temple is not on its priority list, which has agitated the citizens of our country. Now Ram bhakts have to take a decision to finalise their future course of action. Personally, I feel that the country may witness a movement similar to that of 1992. Based on the technical and scientific survey by the Archaeological Survey of India, the high court has already said that a temple existed at the disputed site. But unfortunately, our top court is busy hearing matters other than the Ayodhya issue. Do you mean that the Supreme Court is transgressing its boundaries? Sometimes it seems so as there are several cases before the Apex Court which could have been disposed off by the lower courts. Why isnt the SC coming out with a solution on this matter? It should find a solution to function even if some judges are on leave. Even in Parliament, if members including the Speaker are not present, there is a procedure to conduct the proceedings in their absence. Similarly, in the absence of judges, the Supreme Court must not be closed and should rather function smoothly. There is a demand to bring in a law in Parliament to clear the obstructions coming in the way of construction of the Ram temple. Is the Union government planning anything of the sort? The BJP is in favour of a grand Ram temple at the birthplace of Lord Ram. Construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya is an issue which is bigger than the party and the BJP government under the leadership of Mr Modi is committed to fulfil the demands of Hindus. The Modi government will clear all obstructions that are coming in the way of the construction of the Ram temple. In the coming days, Ram bhakts will hear some good news from the Modi government. Is the Union government going to bring any law or ordinance in favour of the Ram temple? Wait for some time. The government will make everyone aware of its decision based on the sentiments of the people of our country. The Modi government is working for the people and its decision will be based on public sentiment. A section of Congress leaders are claiming that it was during Rajiv Gandhis tenure that the lock of the Ram temple was opened for devotees. Do you think the Congress is trying to make inroads into your core vote-bank? There is no doubt that Rajiv Gandhi allowed the opening of the lock of the temple for devotees but the question is that does his family and his son respect his decision? Giving respect to late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhis decision, Congress president Rahul Gandhi should support the construction of a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya. Not respecting the late Prime Ministers and also his fathers decision raises several questions about the Congress partys intentions. Is the outcome of the Karnataka by-polls a warning for Mr Modi that he is losing popularity ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls? If you analyse the Karnataka bypoll results, it is not 4-1 as shown by the media. All the parties, including the BJP, retained their seats except in Bellary, which the BJP lost after 14 years. Bellary was with the BJP since the last 14 years and earlier it was won by the Congress. If you analyse minutely, the BJP lost only Bellary, otherwise everyone has won their respective seats. Defeat in one seat doesnt reflect on the popularity of Prime Minister Modi. When bypolls are held in any seat, local issues come into play as it doesnt affect the state or Central government. Voters are smart. They know that whoever wins the Lok Sabha bypolls will get a term of only a few months. But when the same voters vote next year to elect the next Prime Minister of the country, they will once again cast their votes in favour of the BJP to elect Mr Modi as the Prime Minister. The Opposition should understand that Mr Modi is the most popular leader in the country and, since 2014, the BJP has formed governments in 20 states under his leadership, which establishes that his popularity chart has grown phenomenally, in India and in foreign destinations as well. Do you think bypoll results will harm the BJPs prospects in the five state Assembly elections to be held in November and December? The BJP is confident of forming a government in all the five states. A section of media are saying the party will lose in Rajasthan but mark my words, the BJP will form a government in the state (Rajasthan) in December. People are with the inclusive developmental agenda of Prime Minister Modi. The country witnessed overall development in the last four-and-a-half years and governments in BJP-ruled states are also growing tremendously with support from the Centre. Prime Minister Modi has the clear policy of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas and a special focus on states which need extra attention. Thats the reason why special attention was accorded to North Eastern states by the Union government. People will vote for development and that is possible only under BJP rule. In the run up to next years general elections, there is some trouble in the BJP-led NDA as some alliance partners are not happy with the treatment they are getting in seat-sharing negotiations. Is it a reason for concern for the BJP and its leadership? Our national president Amit Shah is leading the worlds largest party of over around 350 members of Parliament in both the Houses. Mr Shah is always ready to reach out to allies, whether big or small. Mr Shah met the leadership of a party with 10 or 15 members of Parliament in both the Houses. The BJP president is always ready to accept genuine demands but some people, ignoring his humbleness, are demanding things which are not right. Mr Shah is a modern age Chankaya and knows how to manage organisations and win elections. Despite this he is trying to reach out to everyone. There are some people who are making the wrong demands. Khashoggi was last seen entering the consulate on October 2 to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage. His body has never been found. (Photo: File | AFP) Ankara: The killers of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi poured his remains down the drain after dissolving him in acid, a Turkish newspaper reported on Saturday. Samples taken from the drains at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul showed traces of acid, pro-government daily Sabah said, without quoting sources. This led investigators to believe the dead body of the insider-turned-critic of the Riyadh regime was disposed of through the drains as liquid, the paper said. Khashoggi was last seen entering the consulate on October 2 to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage. His body has never been found. After repeated denials, Saudi Arabia finally admitted the 59-year-old had been murdered at the mission in a "rogue" operation. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the "highest levels" of the Saudi government of ordering the hit, while some officials have pointed the finger at the all-powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Yasin Aktay, an advisor to Erdogan, suggested last week the body may have been dissolved in acid. And on Monday, a Turkish official said Saudi Arabia sent two experts to Istanbul with the specific aim of covering up evidence after the murder. Khashoggi's Turkish fiancee Hatice Cengiz took to Twitter on Thursday writing, "I'm unable to express my sorrow to hear about dissolving your body Jamal!" "They killed you and chopped up your body, depriving me and your family of conducting your funeral prayer and burying you in Madinah as wished." A Turkish official this week confirmed a Sabah report that chemicals expert Ahmad Abdulaziz al-Janobi and toxicology expert Khaled Yahya al-Zahrani were among a team sent from Saudi amid investigations into the murder. The paper said they visited the consulate every day from their arrival on October 11 until October 17. Saudi Arabia only allowed Turkish police to search the building on October 15. Sirisena signed a decree dismissing the 225-member assembly and scheduled parliamentary elections for January 5, nearly two years ahead of schedule. In a bid to head off any revolt against his action he also suspended parliament. (Photo: File) Colombo: Sri Lanka plunged deeper into crisis on Saturday after President Maithripala Sirisena called a snap election, leaving the country facing a further two months of damaging political paralysis with a pair of bitter rivals claiming to run his government. In what opponents condemned as an illegal move, Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday and announced a January election after it became clear his designated Prime Minister -- former president Mahinda Rajapaksa -- would not be able to command a majority in the current legislature. Rakapakse and ousted premier Ranil Wikremesinghe, who has refused to leave his post, have been battling for power for two weeks as international concern grows over the mounting turmoil in the strategically important island nation. Sirisena signed a decree dismissing the island's 225-member assembly and scheduled parliamentary elections for January 5, nearly two years ahead of schedule. In a bid to head off any revolt against his action he also suspended parliament. There was no immediate comment from Wickremesinghe, but his United National Party (UNP) said it will challenge Sirisena's sacking of the legislature. "This dissolution by the President is illegal and goes against the constitution," the UNP said on Twitter. "We will be fighting this to ensure that democracy reigns supreme in the country." "He has robbed the people of their rights and the democracy that we have enjoyed," the UNP said. Sirisena had come under increased international pressure from the United States, the United Nations and the European Union to allow parliament to vote on which Prime Minister should form a government. Washington swiftly criticised Sirisena's latest move. "The US is deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis," the US State Department said in a statement on Twitter. "As a committed partner of Sri Lanka, we believe democratic institutions and processes need to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity," it said. 'Against the constitution' Sirisena's United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) admitted ahead of the president's stunning announcement that they had failed to secure enough cross-over MPs to win a confidence vote. By avoiding a test of his majority on the floor of the House, Rajapaksa will remain caretaker Prime Minister until elections are concluded and a new parliament meets on January 17. Before signing the order sacking the parliament with effect from Friday midnight, Sirisena also inducted more ministers into his cabinet. "At the moment we have 104 or 105 MPs," UPFA spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters, adding that the Sirisena-Rajapaksa group hoped to secure support from "crossover" legislators. The admission, which came despite Sirisena's earlier claim that he had the support of 113 legislators when he sacked Wickremesinghe, had fuelled speculation that he would go for snap elections. The leftist People's Liberation Front (JVP), which regards the sacking of Wickremesinghe as unconstitutional, accused Sirisena of trying to consolidate his power grab. "Dissolving parliament at this time is illegal and goes against the constitution," JVP general secretary Tilvin Silva told reporters. Sirisena suspended parliament to give himself more time to engineer defections, according to the opposition. Several legislators have said they were offered millions of dollars to switch allegiance and at least eight have already jumped to the president's side. Wickremesinghe, who has not left his official Temple Trees residence since his sacking, maintains that the action against him was unconstitutional and illegal, and insists his group can muster a majority. Image damaged Under pressure from the United Nations, United States and the European Union to allow a parliament vote, Sirisena agreed three times to lift the suspension but changed his mind each time. The EU said on Friday, before the dissolution, that the crisis had scarred the Indian Ocean island's international reputation. The EU, in a joint statement with Norway and Switzerland, called for parliament to reconvene and hold an immediate vote. "Any further delay could damage Sri Lanka's international reputation and deter investors," the statement said. Wickremesinghe late on Thursday thanked his supporters and urged them not to give up in the showdown. "You have not let this country be plunged into the darkness of dictatorship. For this inspiring effort, I want to thank everyone who has risen to fight for democracy and justice," Wickremesinghe said in a video posted on Facebook. The power struggle on the island of 21 million people has paralysed much of the administration, according to legislators on both sides of the dispute. A three-storey building in southern Bengaluru, being constructed with substandard material, collapsed on Saturday, killing a welder and injuring at least three others. The building at 1st Cross, Thyagarajanagar, tilted and fell on the neighbouring structure as supporting pillars on the ground floor gave away around 4.30 pm, the authorities said. At least four people were working on the first floor when the building started to fall. Pillars were the first to give away, throwing the entire building off balance and crushing the lowest floor. Three of them managed to escape with minor injuries, but Suhail, 29, a welder from Shivamogga who was working a window, got trapped. His body was retrieved only after two hours of heavy drilling through concrete. The death toll was fortunately low as many workers hadnt turned up because it was a holiday and some who showed up had gone out for tea, Chief Fire Officer Ravishankar said. Three people who sustained minor injuries were given first aid at a hospital and sent home. Five fire tenders and three rescue teams were pressed into the search operation. Sniffer dogs, too, were at work. The neighbouring structure was evacuated until the ill-fated building was fully cleared. Firefighters and BBMP officials, who inspected the building, agreed that substandard construction had led to the collapse. The jurisdictional Banashankari police have booked Kumar, the builder, for criminal negligence. Further investigations are ongoing. But Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun, who visited the spot in the evening, put the blame on something else. She quoted BBMP civil engineers as saying that an earthmover digging the foundation on an adjacent plot had touched a column of the ill-fated structure, leading to its collapse. She said the BBMP would file a criminal case to make the owner of the adjacent plot pay for the damage. Local corporator B S Sathyanarayana said BBMP, Bescom and police officers besides firefighters were working on a war footing to clear the rubble. BBMP south zone joint commissioner, Dr Vishwanath, said they would ensure no debris came in the way of pedestrians and motorists. Claiming that there has been a "dramatic increase" in the number of H-1B visas being held up, a coalition of American employers representing top IT companies like Google, Facebook and Microsoft has alleged that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is acting outside of its own regulations. The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. "We have observed three changes in H-1B adjudication practices under the current administration that seem to permeate most of the increased H-1B adjudication inconsistencies experienced by employers," Compete America said in a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and Francis Cissna Director, USCIS. Expressing concerns over legal issues regarding the recent changes in adjudication standards for H-1B non-immigrant visa petitions at USCIS, the coalition -- Compete America -- said the agency's current approach to H-1B adjudications cannot be anticipated by either the statutory or regulatory text. This leaves employers with a disruptive lack of clarity about the agency's practices, procedures, and policies. This lack of certainty and consistency wreaks havoc among the nation's employers which are hiring high-skilled Americans and foreign-born professionals, it said in the letter dated November 1. Compete America alleged that the agency appears to be acting "outside of its own regulations and the controlling statute" by requiring petitioners to comply with the agency's current view that a comparatively entry-level job, and corresponding wage level, cannot be a specialty occupation. The specific field of study requirement for a specialty occupation means the job must necessitate completion of a single major or qualifying degree, and the requirement for an occupation to usually carry a degree prerequisite means a degree must always be needed. In its letter, Compete America said that its members have reported dramatic increases in the issuance of Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and denials regarding H-1B petitions for the last 18 months. More recently they are experiencing a sharp increase in the issuance of Notices of Intent to Deny (NOIDs) and Notices of Intent to Revoke (NOIRs) concerning H-1B petitions. "These reported shifts in agency action have been perplexing to our coalition's members, especially because the agency's changes in approach were unannounced and unexplained and are not previewed in the regulations governing a qualifying H-1B specialty occupation that have been in effect since 1991," it said. According to Compete America, USCIS has been denying H-1B petitions exclusively because an entry-level wage is applicable for the specific position, even though the occupation itself is clearly a specialty occupation. "Nothing in the statute or regulations contemplates or suggests, much less states, that USCIS could ever take the position that it per se excludes or disfavours entry-level jobs in an occupation, or young professionals working in jobs in an occupation, as qualifying for H-1B specialty occupation approval," it asserted. Further, employers have reported repeated instances of USCIS denying an H-1B petition on the basis that the degree held by the sponsored foreign professional is not within a single field of acceptable study for an occupation. Employers are also reporting repeated instances of USCIS denying H-1B petitions for occupations that may have some limited instances of jobs where a bachelor's degree or higher is not required, even when those occupations normally do require that level of education for the majority of roles, as contemplated by the statute, Compete America said. Sri Lanka plunged deeper into crisis Saturday after President Maithripala Sirisena sacked parliament and called a snap election, leaving the country facing a further two months of damaging political paralysis. Political parties representing a majority of members in the 225-member parliament closed ranks to denounce the Friday night dissolution as illegal and unconstitutional. Shortly before sacking the legislature, Sirisena took over the police department by attaching it to his defence ministry. He also took control of the state printer, a crucial institution that publishes decrees and proclamations. He had already taken control of all state media outlets soon after dismissing Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26. Sirisena set elections for January 5, almost two years ahead of schedule, after it became clear that his designated prime minister -- former president Mahinda Rajapakse -- could not prove his majority when the assembly was set to reconvene on Wednesday. Rajapakse, 72, was prime minister for two weeks without ever stepping into parliament. He would now continue as a caretaker premier until a new parliament meets on January 17. A leader of Rajapakse's party, Susil Premajayantha, said Sirisena sacked the legislature to end the power struggle and allow people to elect a new parliament. "Now we have a caretaker government with limited functions," Premajayantha said. "We will conduct a free and fair election." He accused sacked premier Wickremesinghe of causing instability by refusing to vacate his official residence, a charge rejected by him as well as several other parties who together command a majority in parliament. Rajapakse and ousted Wickremesinghe have been battling for power for two weeks as international concern grew over the mounting turmoil in the strategically important island nation. Sirisena signed a decree dismissing the legislature in a bid to head off any revolt against his actions which included suspending parliament for nearly three weeks. Wickremesinghe's finance minister Mangala Samaraweera described the parliament sacking as a desperate move by Sirisena. "A desperate president without a majority now resorts to more desperate measures by illegally dissolving parliament," Samaraweera said. "All those who cherish democracy, decency and rule of law, must now rally around and defeat the emerging tyranny." Rajapakse was yet addressing the nation after his disputed elevation, but early Saturday attempted to justify the dissolution. "... A general election will truly establish the will of the people and make way for a stable country," he said on Twitter. There was no immediate comment from Wickremesinghe, but his United National Party (UNP) said it will challenge Sirisena's sacking while several civil society groups were also planning to petition the Supreme Court against what they see as an illegal action of the executive. The United States, the United Nations and the European Union have become increasingly concerned, and Washington's criticism of Sirisema's move was swift. "The US is deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis," the US State Department said in a statement. "As a committed partner of Sri Lanka, we believe democratic institutions and processes need to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity," it said. Australia's foreign minister expressed concern and said Sirisena's action "undermines Sri Lanka's long democratic tradition and poses a risk to its stability and prosperity". Just before sacking the parliament, Sirisena also inducted more ministers into his cabinet. The move was seen as giving them access to state resources in the run-up to the January vote. The leftist People's Liberation Front (JVP), which regards the sacking of Wickremesinghe as unconstitutional, accused Sirisena of trying to consolidate his power grab. "Dissolving parliament at this time is illegal and goes against the constitution," JVP general secretary Tilvin Silva told reporters. Sirisena suspended parliament to give himself more time to engineer defections but failed, according to the opposition. Several legislators have said they were offered millions of dollars to switch allegiance and at least eight had already jumped to the president's side. Under international pressure, Sirisena had agreed three times to lift the suspension but changed his mind each time. Wickremesinghe had late Thursday thanked his supporters in a Facebook video for not letting Sri Lanka be "plunged into the darkness of dictatorship". It was not immediately clear if he would vacate the official Temple Trees residence following the dissolution of parliament. The power struggle on the island of 21 million people has paralysed much of the administration, according to legislators on both sides of the dispute. The Congress will launch a public inquiry commission comprising apolitical people, including lawyers and journalists, to probe corruption in the 15 years of BJP rule in Madhya Pradesh, if voted to power. The promise is mentioned among 973 points of the Congress manifesto, which the party has described as "Vachan Patra." Releasing the manifesto in a press conference here on Saturday, Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee president Kamal Nath said that during the Shivraj Singh government, corruption has been rampant in all levels, from Bhopal to villages. The proposed commission will probe all the matters of corruption brought before it. The manifesto, which is divided in 50 sub-categories, has also promised building gaushalas (cowsheds) in every gram panchayat, and a reduction of electricity bill for farmers. "We will reduce the electricity bill of farmers by 50%, and also reduce diesel and petrol prices. Loan waivers for farmers, which is main plank of the Congress campaign, also prominently features in the manifesto. The party has further promised Rs 10,000 as unemployment allowance for one young member per family for a period of three years, and Rs 51,000 at the time of a girl's marriage. Besides this, a provision for an amount of Rs 2.50 lakh for the construction of houses of landless people on a plot of 450 sq feet has also been mentioned in the manifesto. The manifesto was prepared by a committee under the chairmanship of MP Deputy Speaker Rajendra Singh. Kamal Nath, campaign committee chairman Jyotiraditya Scindia, former chief minister Digvijaya Singh, former Union minister Suresh Pachauri, leader of Opposition Ajay Singh and former PCC President Arun Yadav, all came together to launch the manifesto and address the media. "This is a 'vachan patra' and not a 'ghoshna patra,' because we all have been hearing ghoshnas (announcements) for the last 15 years," said Jyotiraditya Scindia, taking a dig at Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has been accused by the Congress of making more than 21,000 announcements while in office. When asked if the Congress had budgeted on how it will fulfill so many financially burdening promises, Nath said, "We have thought about that." Fact Box An army soldier was killed due to sniper fire from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Sunderbani sector of border district Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday while two BSF personnel were wounded in a separate ceasefire violation. Army spokesman, Lt Colonel Devender Anand said that at about 9.45 am, Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing in Sunderbani sector in which one Indian soldier was shot by a sniper. The soldier identified as Rifleman Varun Katal (21) later succumbed to the injuries. Katal, a native of Mawa village in Sambhal district, is survived by his father Anchal Singh and mother Pinki Rani. Reports said Indian soldiers manning the fence retaliated the fire and intermittent exchange of fire continued for some time. Hours after the killing of an army soldier in cross-LoC sniper fire, Pakistani troops again violated ceasefire violation by firing at Indian border outposts (BOPs) in the same sector, reports said. Troops from both the sides exchanged heavy gunfire and shelling in which two BSF men were injured, an official said. The ceasefire violations and sniper attacks by Pakistani troops are on rise this year. On Friday, Pakistani troops fired at Indian posts along the LoC in Manajakote sector of the same district, injuring a BSF man. On November 6, a soldier was injured when he was hit by a sniper from across the border at Kalal in the Noushera sector of Rajouri. The number of ceasefire violations this year by Pakistan has been the highest in the past eight years. According to Union Home Ministry figures, the first seven months of this year saw 52 deaths and 232 people getting injured in 1,435 ceasefire violations by Pakistan army in Jammu and Kashmir. There is 198 km International Border and over 510 km of LoC with Pakistan in the state. Sources said Pakistani troops have positioned snipers at odd locations close to the forward posts to target Indian troopers proceeding on long patrols and forward locations. Pak Army relies on their team of snipers to target Indian positions and in the last one year, several Indian troopers have lost their lives in sniper shots," they revealed. We are looking for a reliable supplier of high-quality certificated pine pellets. The product should be delivered to Czech Republic. Waiting for your inquiry with photos of the product, certificates and price list attached. While the belief that a united Opposition can beat the BJP in 2019 is growing, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, an early unifier briefly spoken of as a potential prime minister, has receded into the shadows. About three months back it was the feisty Mamata who took it upon herself to rally the Opposition parties to put together a pan-India anti-BJP alliance. But things have changed in the last couple of months and the baton has moved into the hands of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Naidu has met several major Opposition leaders including DMK president M K Stalin, JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda, his son Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Mamatas last major meeting with Opposition leaders took place in August in Delhi. After that, apart from extending an invitation to Opposition leaders for her mega rally in January in Kolkata the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief has gone quiet. So what is the reason behind Mamata taking a back seat? First, the TMC chiefs immediate concern is the steady rise of BJP in West Bengal. This becomes evident as the focus of her attack has shifted from her traditional rival CPI(M) to BJP. From the National Register of Citizens controversy to the BJPs alleged attempts to create religious polarisation in Bengal, Mamata rarely misses an opportunity to target the saffron party. It seems that Mamata's current priority is to curb BJP's growth in Bengal rather than at the national level. Mamata also has reservations against being regarded as 'the face of the proposed anti-BJP alliance and has repeatedly avoided questions regarding the prime ministerial candidate of the alliance. She (Mamata) does not want to be seen as the only leader trying to unite Opposition parties against BJP. So her drive to meet other Opposition party leaders has slowed down a bit, a senior TMC leader close to Mamata told DH. Political analyst and faculty member of the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences in Kolkata Maidul Islam is of the opinion that Mamata has consciously taken a back seat in terms of unifying Opposition parties. I think she has adopted wait-and-watch tactics as she wants to see the outcome of the upcoming Assembly elections and how BJP performs there. She has probably understood that her acceptability is yet to reach the national level and hence is currently focusing on West Bengal, Islam said. Mamatas effort to unify the Opposition against the BJP is likely to face several hurdles in her own state. While it is very unlikely that her traditional rival CPI (M) will join forces with TMC to counter BJP, the state Congress is also not keen on working with TMC in West Bengal. Even as the CPI(M) is struggling to iron out differences within the Left Front regarding the proposed Left-Congress alliance in the state, its state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra has publicly asked party workers to vote for Congress where the Left Front does not have candidates, in order to keep the BJP at bay. The state Congress leadership also is keen on joining forces with the Left Front rather than the TMC in West Bengal. Tigress Avnis killing last week underscores the need for India to address human-animal conflicts. According to Maharashtra forest department officials, Avni had killed 13 villagers and was, therefore, a man-eater. That made her a marked animal. Over the past months, hundreds of forest officials and others had tried to hunt her down, while animal rights activists went to court, appealing for the tigress to be captured alive rather than shot dead. In September, the Supreme Court ruled that Avni could be shot dead. Six-year-old Avnis fate was now sealed. With forest authorities hiring private sharp-shooters, it was just a matter of time before Avni was eliminated. But Avnis death does not end this tragic tale. Her two 10-month-old cubs are now motherless and left to fend for themselves. They lack the skills to survive on their own in the jungle and are likely to end up getting killed, too. Avnis killing raises several questions. On the one hand, what options did forest authorities have? They could have captured her alive, and they indeed claim to have tried but failed. Even if they had captured her, sending a man-eater to a zoo would not have been a sensible option. Sending her off to a remote forest would have only geographically relocated the man-eater. However, details of forest officials accounts of what happened on the night of her killing do not add up. If she was as aggressive as they claim, why were they travelling in open jeeps? Use of tranquillizer darts at night is not standard operating procedure as a tranquillized cat is still difficult to nab, so did they start out to sedate her or were they determined to kill her? Why did the department hire big cat hunters if not to kill Avni? The latter have illegally killed several tigers, leopards and elephants and by hiring them, officials made them heroes in the eyes of local villagers. While villagers would have heaved a huge sigh of relief on hearing of Avnis death, their relief may be only temporary. Killing a tiger, even a man-eating one, does not solve the problem of rising human-animal conflicts. In the name of development, we are destroying forest cover and denying the big cat its sanctuary. We are driving tribals out of their traditional lands and forcing them into living on land close to forests and pushing them into conflict with the big cats and other wild animals. The number of tigers, leopards, elephants, humans lost in these conflicts is mounting. This must change. Avnis tale also underscores the need for clear rules and mandates on dealing with tigers outside protected areas. ALSO READ: Avni was hungry for days, says post-mortem report Wildlife lovers cry foul over shooting of Avni The state police have made elaborate security arrangements on the occasion of Tipu Jayanti. Around 54,000 civil policemen have been deployed across the state, with more personnel stationed in sensitive areas. Besides that, 107 platoons of KSRP personnel numbering 4,000 have been deployed. Three companies of RAF have been instructed to station themselves at strategic key locations, besides parading in sensitive areas like Kodagu, Bengaluru city and Chitradurga. The district administrations have been instructed to take note of sensitive areas and Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code has been imposed Friday night onwards till the end of celebrations on Saturday. Sensitive areas for imposing Section 144 have been identified in Chitradurga, Mangaluru, Shivamogga, Davangere and Kodagu. Kamal Pant, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), law and order, told DH that strictly no procession of any kind or rally will be allowed anywhere in the state. No processions or rallies, either by walk, bikes, cars or any other vehicles will be allowed, said Pant. All the districts will have a government-designated function. No elaborate decorations, banners or flexes will be allowed. All the decorations should be in accordance with the High Court guidelines on the use of banners and flex hoardings, he added. The Bengaluru city police too have made elaborate security arrangements, predominantly in the central division. As a precautionary measure, around 3,000 policemen, including KSRP and CAR platoons have been deployed. Tight security has been deployed around Banquet Hall of Vidhana Soudha, where the government function will be held. Thirty KSRP platoons and 20 CAR platoons have camped there. The police have not given permission to celebrate at any public area or open grounds in the city. Karnataka Irrigation Minister D K Shivakumar dared the BJP to get President Ram Nath Kovind to withdraw his praise for the 18th century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan, whose birth anniversary was celebrated here under heavy police protection on Saturday across the state. Tipu Jayanti, which the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government started in 2015, was held at the banquet hall, Vidhana Soudha. CM, DyCM absent Both Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara were absent. Also, no leader from the JD(S), the Congress coalition partner, attended the event. The event was held amidst stiff opposition from the BJP and with prohibitory orders clamped in parts of the state. In his address, Shivakumar referred to Kovinds address to the joint session of the Karnataka legislature, to mark the diamond jubilee of the Vidhana Soudha in October 2017, in which he hailed Tipu Sultan as a hero. President's praise He (President) came, showered praise on Tipu Sultan and left. Was he a fool to do that? Was he a fool to simply read out the speech? Let the BJP tell the President of India to withdraw his speech. Or, let them tell the Centre to issue a diktat against celebrating Tipu jayanti, Shivakumar said. Kovinds address had caused a major embarrassment to the BJP. Tipu Sultan died a heroic death fighting the British. He was also a pioneer in the development and use of Mysore rockets in warfare. This technology was later adopted by the Europeans, Kovind had said. Cong vote bank The Tipu Jayanti celebrations, which began in 2015 under the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, has been marked by protests every year. While the event was underway, the BJP tweeted a November 2017 video of Kumaraswamys news conference, in which he was critical of Tipu Jayanti. Its an insult to celebrate Tipu jayanti by imposing prohibitory orders under Section 144. This is just the Congress trying to create a vote bank, Kumaraswamy had said. Conspicuous by absence Officially, Kumaraswamy did not attend the event owing to poor health. Apparently, doctors had advised him rest till November 11. However, news of him skipping the Tipu Jayanti, led to speculation that he was not keen on attending an event he had opposed in the past. On the other hand, Parameshwara had to go to Singapore to visit ailing former minister C Chennigappa. Many special invitees to the event did not show up, including Legislative Council chairperson Basavaraj Horatti of the JD(S), Housing Minister U T Khader, former minister Tanveer Sait, MLC C M Ibrahim, former union ministers C K Jaffer Sharief and K Rehman Khan. Should Muslims seek permission of the BJP to celebrate Tipu Jayanti when theres a Congress-JD(S) coalition in power? A time will come when Tipu Jayanti will be celebrated in Delhi, former minister R Roshan Baig said in his address. The audience at the Tipu Jayanti event comprised mostly of Minority Welfare Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khans followers. Why did BJP leaders B S Yeddyurappa, Jagadish Shettar and R Ashoka celebrate Tipu Sultan in the past? Why are they opposing now? Tipu Sultan will continue to be celebrated irrespective of the opposition. I request the BJP not to spoil communal harmony, Khan said. RIDLEY TOWNSHIP A Springfield man is facing felony aggravated assault and related offenses after he allegedly punched and broke a mans nose during a confrontation in a township bar. Joseph Hansell, 32, of State Road, surrendered Nov. 5 on the charges in connection with the Oct. 28 incident, his defense attorney, Michael Dugan, said Friday. In reporting the incident to police on Oct. 29, the victim said he was assaulted sometime between 4-5 p.m. on Oct. 28 by an individual he did not know, but was later identified through a friend as Hansell, states the affidavit authored by township Police Detective Shawn McGee. The victim said he was at the bar with friends when he was approached by a man asking if he could speak with him over by the pool table. I think you owe my wife an apology, the man said to the victim, according to the affidavit. Acknowledging that he was confused given that he did not recognize the man or his wife, the victim then asked the man for what he specifically needed to apologize. Dont f around. This is going to go one of two ways, the victim said the man responded, the affidavit states. The victim told police that as he turned his back to walk away, the man struck him with a closed fist on his nose. As he was in the bathroom cleaning his bloody nose, the victim realized his nose was broken and had to go to the hospital. According to the affidavit, the victim spent five hours in the emergency room at Taylor Hospital. He also told police that he saw a specialist who indicated the injury requires surgery. As part of the investigation, police obtained and reviewed video from the bar. According to the affidavit, the video shows Hansell and the victim standing next to a pool table talking. Without any physical provocation, the defendant is observed punching the victim in the face using a closed fist. The victim appears to be seriously injured and walks away, leaving behind a trail of blood, the affidavit states. Video reportedly also shows that Hansell followed after the victim, but was stopped by other bar patrons. The defendant is then observed fighting with the bar patron that intervened, the affidavit states. A warrant for Hansells arrest was signed on Nov. 2. Hansell was accompanied by his attorney when he surrendered on the charges on Nov. 5, Dugan said. Dugan declined to comment on the allegations against his client. In addition to felony aggravated assault, Hansell is charged with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct involving fighting. He remains free on bail, which was set at 10 percent of $25,000. A preliminary hearing is listed for Nov. 19 before Magisterial District Judge Vincent D. Gallagher Jr. Polish company buys distillers grains with solubles with delivery. Contact us to define an acceptable price and discuss terms of delivery and payment. SALT LAKE CITY Ceremonies, concerts and parades are planned throughout the state to honor military members and the service they have done for our country. Special events to celebrate Veterans Day, Nov. 11, are Friday through Monday. Note: This list is not all-inclusive, and events and prices are subject to change. To submit an event listing, email features@deseretnews.com. St. George Veterans Day Ceremony with Josh Rock and Tasha Toy, Nov. 9, 11 a.m.-noon, North Encampment Mall, Dixie State University, St. George, free (dixie.edu) U. Veterans Day Commemoration Ceremony, Nov. 9, 11 a.m.-noon, Olpin Student Union Building, U., free (veteransday.utah.edu) Draper Veterans Day Ceremony with Sgt. 1st Class Vincent Rocco Vargas, Nov. 9, 11-11:30 a.m., Draper Park North Pavilion, 12500 S. 13200 East, Draper, free (draper.ut.us) Veterans Day Program with Ron Packard, Nov. 9, 11 a.m.-noon, Bennion Veterans Home, 1551 N. Main, Payson, free (801-465-5416 or facebook.com/bennionveterans) GREATful4VETS haircuts, Nov. 10-11, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Great Clips at Fort Lane Village, 210 S. Fort Lane, Layton, free for veterans and military (laytoncity.org) Serve Those Who Serve service project, Nov. 10, 9-11 a.m., City Hall, 8000 S. Redwood Road, West Jordan, free (801-569-5160 or westjordan.utah.gov) Layton Veteran's Day Parade, Nov. 10, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Layton Commons Park, 437 N. Wasatch Drive, Layton, free (801-393-3461 or laytoncity.org) Tooele Veterans Day Program, Nov. 10, 11 a.m., Utah Army National Guard Building, 16 S. First St., Tooele, free (tooelecity.org) WSU Family Day Celebration, Nov. 10, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Weber State University Davis, 2730 N. University Park Blvd, Building 3, Layton, free (801-395-3565 or weber.edu) Veteran Suicide Monument Unveiling, Nov. 10, 2-4:30 p.m., Veterans Memorial Park, West Vine Street and Main, Tooele, free (435-843-2104 or tooelecity.org) The Great War: Commemorating 100 Years Since WWI, Nov. 10, 7 p.m., Tabernacle, Temple Square, free (801-570-0080 or lds.org/events) Hogle Zoo Military Appreciation Day, Nov. 11, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Hogle Zoo, 2600 E. 840 South, free admission for military personnel, veterans and their immediate family including spouse and children ages 18 and younger, with ID (801-584-1700 or hoglezoo.org) Farmington Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 11 a.m., Farmington City Cemetery, 500 S. 200 East, Farmington, free (farmington.utah.gov) Magna Veterans Day Parade, Nov. 11, 11 a.m., Magna Elementary, 3100 S. 8500 West, Magna, free, staging at 9 a.m. (801-688-8485 or magnautah.org/veterans-day) Veterans windsock craft, Nov. 11, 1-3 p.m., Discovery Gateway Childrens Museum, 444 W. 100 South, $10 (801-456-5437 or discoverygateway.org) American Festival Chorus and Orchestra Veterans Day Concert, Nov. 11, 7:30 p.m., Chase Fine Arts Center, Daines Concert Hall, Utah State University, Logan, free, ticket required (americanfestivalchorus.org) Cedar City Veterans Day Observance, Nov. 12, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Randall L. Jones Theatre, SUU, Cedar City, free (435-865-8477 or visitcedarcity.com) Tracy Aviary Military Appreciation Day, Nov. 12, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Tracy Aviary, 589 E. 1300 South, $1 per person for military and family with ID (801-596-8500 or tracyaviary.org) Riverdale Veterans Day Ceremony with Colonel Regina A. Sabric, Nov. 12, 10 a.m., Riverdale Veterans Memorial, 4600 S. Weber River Drive, Riverdale, free (riverdalecity.com) Veterans Day at The Living Planet, Nov. 12, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, 12033 S. Lone Peak Parkway, Draper, free admission for veterans and their immediate family members with military ID (801-355-3474 or thelivingplanet.com) Washington Veterans Day Parade and Program, Nov. 12, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Veterans Park, 75 E. Telegraph St., Washington, free (washingtoncity.org) The Flying Tigers of World War II with Jim Luther, Nov. 12, 4-4:30 p.m., Hutchings Museum, 55 N. Center, Lehi, $4 for adults, $3 for children, free for veterans and active military (801-768-7361 or hutchingsmuseum.education/events) West Valley City Veterans Day Program with retired Brig. Gen. Dallen S. Atack, Nov. 12, 5:30-7 p.m., Utah Cultural Celebration Center, 1355 W. 3100 South, West Valley City, free (801-955-4000 orwvc-ut.gov) Riverton Veterans Day Program, Nov. 12, 6-8:30 p.m., Sandra Lloyd Community Center, 12830 S. Redwood Road, Riverton, free (rivertoncity.com) SALT LAKE CITY Permits to cut Christmas trees in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forests will go on sale Nov. 16 at ranger district offices and local vendors. Permits are $10 with one permit per household, and allow up to a 20-foot tree. Any species of tree may be cut, but lodgepole pine is the main species in the area. Evanston Ranger District, 1565 Wyoming 150, Suite A, Evanston: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Bear River Lodge, 30 miles south of Evanston on the Mirror Lake Highway, 435-642-6289: Call for operating hours. Last Chance Sinclair fuel station, 49 Aspen Grove Drive E., Evanston, 307-789-6872: Call for operating hours. Mountain View Ranger District, 321 Wyoming 414, Mountain View, 307-782-6555: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Benedict Thriftway Store, 950 N., Wyoming 414, Mountain View, 307-782-3581: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Access to the Mountain View Ranger District may require four-wheel drive or the use of snow machines, skis or snowshoes during this time of year. About Me Scott Because prophetic scriptures are found throughout the bible, it is obvious that a comprehensive, systematic approach would be useful, if not necessary, for the understanding of prophecy. Past prophecies have been fulfilled in a literal manner, as confirmed by the dating of these writings and historical records of confirmation. These past prophecies also serve as a model of how to interpret future prophecies. A literal view of prophecy clearly indicates a certain sequence of events will occur within a single generation, concluding with the Tribulation and Second Advent and these events will be obvious. The prophetic signs appear to be present in this generation and we believe these signs are revealed in the news from around the world. View my complete profile Results from the midterm elections dominated the news this week. Voters headed to the polls Tuesday and watched for the results on what many suspected would be a "referendum on the president." The results saw Democrats gain majority in the House while Republicans gained seats in the Senate. The elections saw major wins for women and LGBT candidates. A record number of women were elected to the House, including the first Native American women and first Muslim woman. Tennessee elected its first female senator. Colorado elected the first openly gay governor. There were also more young voters (18-29) than is normal, with 10 percent more turnout than in 2014 the highest number in 25 years. Regardless of the outcomes, many were just happy for an end to the political campaigns that have been filled with divisive rhetoric from both sides. Attorney General Jeff Sessions handed in his resignation letter, at the request of President Donald Trump, on Wednesday. This has led to speculation over the effect Sessions' leaving will have on ongoing investigations. As the migrant caravan approaches the border, Trump is seeking to prevent it from crossing into the United States. On Friday, the president signed a proclamation that will prevent those seeking entry from receiving asylum. Troops have also been sent to the southern borders and have begun setting up barbed wire fencing. A mass shooting in a bar in Thousand Oaks, California, left 12 dead. As the country grieves, police are still searching to determine the motivation of the shooter, who was found dead at the site. Thousands have lined up to donate blood, and the president offered his condolences to the victims' families. Daylight saving time ended Sunday. MINNEAPOLIS To some it's a threat, to others a godsend. Hundreds of marijuana plants are now growing legally in Minnesota inside a highly secure private facility on the fringes of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. "We're on camera now, probably from every angle," said Dr. Jay Westwater as he strolled through an indoor jungle of greenery watched over by banks of security cameras. Westwater is CEO of Minnesota Medical Solutions, one of only two companies in the state that are legally permitted to grow marijuana. In Minnesota, the two companies that grow marijuana also process the greenery into ordinary-looking pills, rubs, oils and vapors. Each company runs "clinics" or dispensaries where the drugs are legally sold to certified users. The plant has roiled Utah's political waters this year, and now the Utah Legislature is expected to meet in a special session in December to grapple with it. Nearly two-thirds of the states have already legalized medical marijuana. Their experiences provide some clues about what Utah can expect now that voters have approved, according to unofficial election results, Proposition 2. 'Meant the world' When the first cannabis-derived medicines went on sale in 2015, Kim Kelsey was waiting in line at midnight, the first customer in Minnesota for legal medical marijuana. "I won't fail to stop smiling," Kelsey said in a recent interview. "It has meant the world." She buys the medicine for her son, Alec. Encephalitis at age 5 left him with brain damage and an IQ below 75, according to his mother. She said he's suffered epileptic seizures almost daily for 22 years severe seizures. "Yeah, life-threatening, every single one that he has," she said on a recent visit to the clinic where she buys Alec's marijuana medicine. The cannabis has dramatically reduced the seizures and at age 27, he's "500 percent better," she said. "In the three-plus years that he's been on it, he has amazed us all, cognitively." In a suburb of Minneapolis on a recent autumn evening, 12-year-old Tyler Kennedy threw an angry tantrum in the driveway of his family's home. He was upset because his father closed the garage door. Tyler's fuss over such a small issue dramatically illustrated his medical difficulty he suffers from severe autism and Tourette's syndrome. And yet, since he began taking medical marijuana, his mother said his behavior has greatly improved. "It is dramatically better than it used to be," Katie Kennedy said as she watched Tyler's driveway tantrum die down. "I don't think we've seen a healthier Ty in 12 years. I really don't." 'An experiment' The Minnesota Legislature approved medical marijuana in 2014 after fierce debate much like in Utah today. "It's an experiment, really," said Dr. Tom Arneson of the Minnesota Department of Health's Office of Medical Cannabis. "We make clear in our warning materials that there's not a lot known about these products." Surveys by Arneson's department show that most users are happy with the results. Sixty-one percent of surveyed users report getting "a great deal of benefit." Only 10 percent say they derive "little or no benefit" from the cannabis drugs. Participating health care providers are somewhat less enthusiastic: 43 percent report "a great deal of benefit" for their patients; 24 percent say their patients receive "little or no benefit." The surveys fall a bit short of true scientific evidence. "People say it's doing them some good," Arneson said. "We don't have a control (group) here, so we aren't making statements about effectiveness." When growing marijuana, Minnesota Medical Solutions uses no pesticides. Tiny orange ladybugs patrol the marijuana leaves to gobble up pests. During the marijuana plants' 16-week growth period, each one is labeled with grocery-store style bar codes to keep any from getting diverted onto the streets. "We have inventory controls and we can track" the plants, Westwater said. "We know when something might be missing. Opportunities for diversion are really minimal." Minnesota law allows no marijuana plant material to be sold. No smoking is permitted. No gummies or brownies are sold. Only eight cannabis clinics are authorized in a state that is slightly larger than Utah. A licensed pharmacist advises each recipient. Patients suffering from one of several legally specified ailments must be certified to use cannabis by a participating health care provider. The list of approved uses has grown over the last three years as officials added other medical conditions. Currently approved medical conditions include cancer with severe pain or nausea, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Tourette's syndrome, ALS, seizures/epilepsy, severe spasms, Crohn's disease, PTSD, intractable pain and terminal illness. Medical practitioners must enroll in the program in order to certify patients for cannabis use. The Mayo Clinic at its home base in Rochester, Minnesota, allows its doctors to voluntarily participate. Maren Schroeder uses it to treat her PTSD. "My physician at Mayo is my certifying provider," Schroeder said. She is co-founder of a pro-marijuana group called Sensible Minnesota. "What we learned in Minnesota, when we legalized medical in Minnesota, the sky didn't fall." As in Utah, law enforcement agencies initially fought legalization in Minnesota. But they ultimately accepted a very strict compromise bill, according to Faribault Police Chief Andy Bohlen, who also chairs Minnesota's Violent Crime Coordinating Council. "So if that can help treat certain kinds of pain, certain types of terminal illnesses," Bohlen said, "law enforcement isn't going to stand in the way of that. And we haven't seen really any problems at all since that's been adopted by this state." But there are major worries, including criticism about astronomical costs, very low participation, and serious concern about whether a political door has been opened. "We continue to get the pressure in the state of Minnesota to just legalize marijuana: 'Why don't you just legalize it?'" Bohlen said. Cost factors An immediate concern of many users of medical marijuana in Minnesota is the cost. Kelsey said her son's condition now is "500 percent better than it was," but his vials of CBD oil cost plenty. "Per month, it's $707," she said. "The cost is absolutely a problem," Arneson said. "Insurance doesn't pay for this, and it costs people usually at least $100, maybe up to $1,000 per month." The high cost may be part of the reason the use of medical marijuana seems relatively low. Out of 5 million Minnesotans, less than 12,000 patients regularly use it. "Yeah, I think the cost is definitely a big factor in keeping the use down," Schroeder said. She blames the details of Minnesota's medical marijuana law widely considered the strictest in the nation. She says the law makes the medicine hard to get because only eight dispensaries are allowed. There are competing theories about what pushed costs so high. Schroeder believes it's because only two companies are allowed to grow, process and sell marijuana medicines so there isn't enough competition. But a spokesman for Minnesota Medical Solutions says the company hasn't even turned a profit yet. "There are high processing costs for us," Westwater said. The two marijuana companies are required to refine the weed into oils, liquids and pills, with careful testing. No plant material can be sold or smoked. It's a delicate political compromise to satisfy those who worried marijuana would be abused and find its way to the streets. Bohlen thinks those restrictions are appropriate. "I don't think the real experts would say that there's actually a health benefit to smoking the vegetative marijuana," he said. Another problem is that a minority of medical users report dizziness, nausea and other unpleasant side effects. "They're usually pretty mild to moderate severity," Arneson said. "But sometimes they're bad enough that people discontinue because of the side effects." In state surveys of certified users, a few patients do report feeling "high" or "stoned," but that doesn't seem to be the case for Alec Kelsey. "He's not high," said his mother, who believes medical cannabis is worth every penny. "You can't get high on the product that he's on. It's healing his brain. It's giving him quality of life." Culture change In Minnesota, opponents of medical marijuana have generally gone quiet since the law permitting the drug was passed four years ago. "I think that a lot of the fears have been dissipated," Westwater said. But there are echoes in Minnesota of concerns raised in Utah: Does approval of marijuana create political momentum that could push a state toward legalization of recreational marijuana? Surprisingly, Kim Bemis, who's organizing to lobby against recreational marijuana, actually believes Minnesota's law allowing medical marijuana is a good thing. "I wouldn't undo it, no, because I think we have done a good job of writing a very strong law," said Bemis, who chairs a group called Smart Approaches to Marijuana in Minnesota. What he does worry about is the growth of marijuana as a big industry, and he believes approval of medical marijuana may have nudged Minnesota more in that direction. Pro-marijuana activist Schroeder views that nudge approvingly. "I think when people start to see that the sky doesn't fall under medical, then it's OK to start having that discussion about adult use and kind of limiting the criminalization, and putting people in jail over marijuana," Schroeder said. Several statewide political candidates in Minnesota endorsed recreational marijuana this year. Bemis worries about where that could lead. "I don't care if someone smokes a joint in their home," Bemis said. "We just don't really want to have commercial marijuana available in the state of Minnesota." That view was echoed by Bohlen who said "Big Marijuana" is growing into a replay of "Big Tobacco." "We've fought this battle for many years against companies that target kids for smoking tobacco," Bohlen said. "You still see the ads on TV. Are we going to see the same fight 10 years down the road with marijuana? Bohlen and other critics point to Colorado, which legalized medical marijuana in 2000. Did that decision create a political climate of acceptance for marijuana that eventually led to approval of recreational marijuana? "I think it definitely changes the culture around marijuana in a state," said Mike Van Dyke of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. "I think as you legalize medical marijuana, it becomes more accepted." Door to recreation? When Colorado legalized recreational marijuana in 2012, many critics worried it would lead to much higher rates of marijuana use by teenagers. "I think that has not been what we've seen in Colorado," Van Dyke said. "What we've seen in Colorado is really adolescent marijuana use has been pretty flat since 2005." Still, other data from Colorado seems to strengthen the hand of marijuana critics. A recent report on Colorado's marijuana situation by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration has been circulated by critics in Minnesota. According to the DEA, overall marijuana use in Colorado went up 45 percent since recreational pot was legalized in 2012. Marijuana-related emergency room visits went up 52 percent. Traffic deaths involving drivers who tested positive for marijuana more than doubled to 138 killed in 2017. However, marijuana is not the biggest killer on Colorado highways. "Our data shows that alcohol remains the No. 1 substance detected in fatal car accidents, with marijuana as a distant second," said Dominique Mendiola, director of marijuana coordination for the Colorado Governor's Office. But there are other worrisome statistics in Colorado. "We have seen impacts," Van Dyke said. "We've seen increases in hospitalizations (that are marijuana-related). We've seen increases in child poisonings. Also, we've seen in Colorado that we have a higher number of pregnant women using marijuana than in other states where there's not this access to marijuana. So I definitely think there's a public health risk, and something to think about for Utah." Of course, there's no certainty that Minnesota or Utah will ever follow Colorado's lead. Medical marijuana may, or may not, be a step in the direction of legalized pot-smoking. "I don't think that's a good argument for restricting patient access to a potentially life-changing and life-saving medication," Schroeder said. Nevertheless, Bohlen is concerned that pressure is building. "Once you open the door and allow some part of it," the police chief said, "so even if we allow the liquids, the oils and the pills, there's always a lobbyist push to allow smoking the vegetative marijuana." Bohlen admits, though, it's a national trend. Regardless of what Minnesota or Utah does, polls show momentum across the country shifting more and more in favor of marijuana. Bohlen believes it's a dangerous political drift that's being pushed by a marijuana industry whose product is markedly different from the days of love-ins and pot parties in the hippie era. "I think the new stuff that's being produced, the THC levels are much higher," Bohlen said. "So the effects of the marijuana are being felt a lot stronger than they would've been 30 years ago." SALT LAKE CITY The wheelchair of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking just sold at an auction for nearly $400,000. What happened: According to Fortune, the motorized wheelchair, which Hawking used in the 1980s and 1990s, was expected to sell for somewhere between $10,000 to 15,000. It sold for a final price of $392,000. Quartz reported that the proceeds from the sale of the wheelchair will be donated to the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the Stephen Hawking Foundation. Several other items that belonged to Stephen Hawking were also sold during the auction. According to the Associated Press, Hawkings 1965 Cambridge University thesis, Properties of Expanding Universes, sold for 584,750 pounds (nearly $767,000 in U.S currency), over three times the pre-sale estimate. A collection of Hawkings medals and awards sold for nearly $392,000, perFortune. A bomber jacket once owned by Hawking sold for about $51,855. Hawkings production script from a 2010 episode of "The Simpsons" in which he appeared, sold for over $8,100. The Guardian reported that other items in the auction included personal copies of the British physicists papers, such as a copy of his 1974 article, "Black Hole Explosions?," in which he predicted that black holes would release blackbody radiation, known as Hawking Radiation. A copy of his bestselling "A Brief History of Time," signed with a thumbprint, sold for over $89,000. Other items sold in the online auction were linked to Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton. According to The Guardian, the auction brought in a total revenue of over $2.3 million. SNOWBIRD Being the brightest isn't the best in some circumstances, especially if you are talking light pollution and night skies. Utah has some of the best dark skies in the world, attracting visitors to state parks, national parks and rugged stretches of the state populated by few people. But preserving those dark skies isn't an easy endeavor, and researchers are still unlocking the mysteries of how dark skies influence the human psyche, the natural environment and even air pollution. "People come from all over the world to see our dark skies," said Justina Parsons-Bernstein, who leads the Utah State Parks dark skies initiative. The International Dark-Sky Association is having its 30th annual general meeting at Snowbird through Saturday, and the University of Utah-based Consortium for Dark Skies Studies is co-hosting global researchers with Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) for its first international meeting in the United States Nov. 12-14. John Barentine, director of public policy for the International Dark-Sky Association, said Friday that Utah is an ideal location for these meetings. "It is very important we are here in Utah, here in the American West," Barentine said because the region offers some of the best wide expanses of untouched land and dark skies. The Great Western Starry Way, an initiative of the Consortium for Dark Sky Studies, promotes what it says is the best concentration of night skies in the developed world and Utah is dead center, accounting for more than half of the 60-plus dark sky places between Glacier National Park and the Grand Canyon. Barentine added that mankind's relationship with night remains an abstract relationship still yet to be understood in terms of security, energy, the environment, health and crime. At the Friday conference, one researcher noted that it turns out having the brightest lights isn't always the best for human health and safety, although the gut reaction of most people would assume otherwise. Daniel Mendoza, research assistant professor of atmospheric sciences and pulmonary fellow in the University of Utah's School of Medicine, said researchers are working with Salt Lake City on a study that examines light glare and its impacts on motorists and how well they see pedestrians. The glare from too much artificial light, Mendoza said, puts pedestrians at risk much like a motorist staring into late afternoon sun. Local dark sky preservationists say the desire to curb light pollution is gaining momentum every year, especially as astro-tourism funnels dollars into Utah and elsewhere in the West. In 2017, Antelope Island State Park received an International Dark Sky designation and for years has been hosting late night parties that attract hundreds of visitors. The city of Syracuse passed a resolution supporting the dark-sky designation and pledged to help preserve those dark skies. Communities around the state want to do what they can to preserve the solitude of that darkness. The U.'s consortium is bringing a couple of dozen students to Escalante in January to help that town as it educates students in urban planning and architecture on what strategies to employ to reduce light pollution. The advocates say it is not about "turning off the lights" but preserving an indelible resource in jeopardy. Christopher Kyba, who chairs the international steering committee for Artificial Light at Night and is with the German Research Center for Geoscience, said people don't crave bright artificial light at night despite the dazzling glare of urban landscapes. "It is almost never about the amount of light," he said. "It is about the feeling of the place. It is not true that people want bright, they want something that makes them feel good." SALT LAKE CITY In the event Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams heads for Washington in January, 1,100 Democratic party leaders from within the county will decide who is best suited to serve out the remaining two years of his mayoral term. The congressional race is still too close to call, but as of Friday night, McAdams maintained a slim 2.3-percentage point lead over Rep. Mia Love. There are, however, thousands of District 4 ballots yet to be counted. It appears at least a few current county elected officials are expressing some interest in filling the mayor's seat, should he win and make an eastward exit. And recently defeated U.S. Senate candidate Jenny Wilson is one of them. Salt Lake County Democratic Party Chairman Q. Dang explained the replacement process, which the county party oversees, would begin with a notice from the Salt Lake County Council that they've accepted a resignation from McAdams. That notice would start a 30-day timer for the county party to return a name to the council. Dang said the party would give potential candidates 10 days to submit their names for consideration and about two weeks to campaign and lobby the leaders who comprise the party's central committee. The voters of that committee include Democratic elected officials whose constituencies fall within county boundaries, party elected officials and the chairs and vice chairs of county voting precincts. The race is wide open, so essentially any Democrat with established residency in Salt Lake County would be eligible to run. At the end of the campaign period, an election would be held to winnow the list of candidates down to one. Dang said, assuming there would be more than three candidates, the election would take place in two rounds, with the top two vote-getters from round one proceeding to a second round, where the winner wins with a simple majority of votes. The winning candidate would then be submitted to the County Council for its approval, which is essentially a perfunctory process. Dang said party officials are "very excited" about the prospect of a potential replacement election, as it is one that only becomes necessary if the party is successful in putting a Democrat back into the state's federal delegation. If successful, McAdams would be the first since Jim Matheson left office in 2012 after six terms in Congress. Democratic Councilman Jim Bradley, who was up for re-election this cycle and currently holds about a 13-point lead over Republican challenger Sophia Dicaro, said he may be interested in the mayor's job, should it become available. He also noted that two of his County Council colleagues are also likely poised to throw their names in the hat, should McAdams ultimately be victorious in his District 4 race. "I've heard from both Arlen (Bradshaw) and Jenny (Wilson) that they're interested," Bradley said. "I have to believe they would be front-runners if they decide to do it. I would describe myself as interested, but lukewarm at this point." Bradshaw said he's getting positive feedback from constituents and, if the opportunity arises, would consider chasing an open mayor's seat. Since Tuesday, I have received encouragement by many in our community to seek the county mayors office," Bradshaw said in a statement. "At this time, it is premature to assume there will be a vacancy, but if Mayor McAdams is ultimately sent to Congress, I would give serious consideration to pursuing appointment to his unexpired term. Wilson also noted her interest, pending a McAdams victory. "Having worked with Mayor McAdams for several years, I know he will be a wonderful congressman and look forward to a favorable outcome," Wilson said in a statement. "Once we have final results, I will certainly take a hard look at how I can best continue to serve Salt Lake County. Bradley said he expects there will be strong interest in filling McAdams' seat, should he vacate it, but isn't predicting the opening would draw a scrum of candidates. "I don't see more than a handful, maybe a half-dozen candidates for this," Bradley said. "Four or five solid candidates and maybe a couple long-shot hopefuls." SALT LAKE CITY Two men were shot and killed by police in separate incidents Friday night in Salt Lake City and Ogden. One man died following an officer-involved shooting around 8 p.m. at 800 N. Sir Michael Drive (1955 West) in Salt Lake City. Police said "at least one officer" fired at the man. He was transported to a hospital in critical condition and later died from his injuries. No other details about the fatal shooting were released. The West Valley City Police Department will investigate the shooting. In Ogden police were called to a Walmart at 1959 Wall Avenue on the report of a man acting violently. An officer arrived and stopped the man, who was leaving the parking lot in a vehicle, according to a news release from Ogden police. While the officer was talking to the man, the man "sped away and crashed the vehicle," police said. He then ran from the crash. Officers pursued and the man "turned aggressively towards the officers with a weapon. "The officers tried to use intermediate force, but it was unsuccessful. Two of the officers fired their guns killing suspect," the release states. No police officers were injured. The Weber County Attorney's Office will investigate the shooting. The man's name was not immediately released but police described him as white and in his late 30s. SALT LAKE CITY Investigators on Saturday released the identities of two men shot and killed by police Friday in separate incidents. Salt Lake police, however, are offering very few details about what led officers to shoot and kill Cody Paris Belgard, 30, about 8 p.m. at 800 N. Sir Michael Drive (1955 West) in Salt Lake City. West Valley police are investigating the shooting death. Court records show Belgard, of Salt Lake City, had an arrest record related to minor drug offenses. The second fatal police shooting occurred in Ogden. Police say he was shot after attacking officers with a rock. He was identified Saturday as a convicted felon with "white supremacist prison gang" tattoos. Ogden Police Chief Randy Watt said Christopher William Parrish, 33, came at officers in a violent, threatening manner prompting officers to take decisive action to stop the threat to protect their safety. Speaking to reporters, Watt explained that a patrol officer who happened to be at a Walmart at 1959 Wall Ave. on an unrelated matter was approached by two individuals who reported that a man was acting "suspicious, manic and threatening" to people in the area of the store. The witnesses provided a description of the man and a vehicle. The officer observed the vehicle leaving the Walmart parking lot, followed the car and conducted a traffic stop in the 200 west block of 20th Street and approached the vehicle. The officer tried to identify the driver and asked him to exit the vehicle. Instead, the man drove off rapidly but ended up on the shoulder of the road with the vehicle disabled. The driver got out of the vehicle and fled on foot across 20th Street and ran away as officers gave chase. "He entered a yard on the south side of west 21st Street, picked up a softball-sized rock and charged the officers," Watt said. "The officers deployed two Tasers, but the Tasers were ineffective and the individual continued to rapidly and violently attack the officers with the rock." "When the Tasers failed, the officers used their service firearms to stop this violent attack by the suspect," he added. "Once the suspect was down, Ogden Fire Department paramedics attempted to treat the subject but it was to no avail and the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene." No police officers were injured, Watt said. Using fingerprint analysis, investigators were able to identify Parrish, a paroled fugitive from Arizona with a significant felony record in Oregon and Arizona, including crimes of violence and lengthy prison stays, according to the chief. Parrish had two felony burglary convictions and a felony conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He had tattoos indicating involvement in a "white supremacist prison gang" called Supreme Allied Warriors as well as the Secret Aryan Culture, Watt said. The officers involved in the incident are on paid administrative leave pending the completion of the internal affairs investigation and external case review, Watt noted. No motive for the suspect's behavior has been determined as of yet, he said. "It's unfortunate that these kinds of events occur, but they do and such results are experienced," Watt said, adding that body camera footage of the incident is being reviewed. (Parrish) had approached some people in the Walmart and gave some indications that he wanted to fight people and was acting strange enough that (witnesses) felt compelled to report the behavior to the police, Watt said. An autopsy was conducted Saturday and a toxicology report is expected to take at least six weeks, he said. Police are interviewing the person who owned the car the that Parrish was driving, which they said was borrowed lawfully from an acquaintance. The Weber County Attorney's Office will lead the investigation into the shooting death. Mitchell Baker, the head of the non-profit Mozilla said that web users are being drawn into a relationship with the internet which closely resembles the relationship between a gambling addict and slot machines. During the Web Summit conference in Lisbon, she commented on how "...the biggest uses, the biggest companies, the biggest commercial uses, are built-in systems that look like addictions. She went on to say that "It's disappointing, the practice of 'Come to my site, keep you there, keep clicking, keep spreading this information as fast as possible...'". In her opinion, this is a very similar behaviour to when someone pulls the lever on a slot machine. Websites want to keep audiences longer on their domain as the longer one stays on a website, the higher websites can charge for ads. Entities like Facebook need users to stay longer on their platform so as to show higher stay-times to advertisers. The entire web currently relies on advertising to make revenue, including Mozilla and it is an arrangement that Baker admits to being very uncomfortable with. Katharina Borchert, Chief Open Innovation Officer at Mozilla, told AFP: "Advertising is still the model that fuels the vast majority of the web, so we're not against advertising or monetizing content." But she added: "We want to find a better balance between user agency, autonomy over data and user safety and security and monetization opportunity." Mozilla has for some time been against tracking practices, introducing an anti-tracking feature to appeal to users. The feature is designed to prevent much of the tracking practices employed by the Internets biggest trackers whose reach has become far too pervasive. We've seen how Facebook's data collection practices have led to a violation of user privacy, as highlighted in the Cambridge Analytica case. Amazon has struck a deal with Apple which will see the Cupertino company sell iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches directly on the online e-retail platform. According to CNET which broke the news of the deal first, Apple will directly sell some of its products directly on Amazons portal across 8 countries, including India. Apples products have long been available on Amazon Indias website, but that has always been through third-party sellers. Due to this, Apple products were often sold at a much lower price than their MRP, something that Apple started to have a problem with in India. According to the new deal, Apple (and its authorized resellers) will directly sell Apples products via Amazon, allowing for stronger price control. As part of the deal, only Apple or Apple authorized resellers will be allowed to sell Apple and Beats products on Amazon, meaning it is possible that the days of steep discounts on Amazon might be over. Unfortunately, as of now, the deal does not include Apples computers like the Macbook series or the iMac. Regardless, this deal could serve as a boost to both Amazon and Apple. Apple has seen the sales of its iPhones plateau across regions, with revenue only rising thanks to significantly higher prices. Increasing the reach of Apples devices to people via Amazon could serve as a boost in sales and control unwarranted price drops while also addressing buyers concerns about the authenticity and warranty status of whatever it is that theyre buying. It would be great to see the deal also include Apples genuine accessories such as cases, cables and Apple Watch straps also be sold on Amazon, given that they are generally limited to in-store purchase, and even then, stocks are very limited. According to CNET, the deal has only just been made and it will be a few weeks before we see Apple officially start selling its most popular products on Amazon. John Downey, granted bail on Thursday following his arrest earlier this week in relation to an extradition warrant for offences relating to a 1972 bombing in Enniskillen in which two members of the British Army were killed, was among the attendance today at a 10th Anniversary Commemoration near Ballintra. The 10th Anniversary Commemoration ceremony for the former Mayor of Ballyshannon PJ. Branley and Dessie McNulty, Ballintra, who lost their lives in a tragic accident at Ballymagroarty, Ballintra was attended by a large number of people. The ceremony included the immediate families, Deputies Pearse Doherty and Martin Kenny as well as Conor Murphy MLA and Gemma Dolan MLA. Sinn Fein councillors were also in attendance at a ceremony which was described as a "poignant occasion for all". Mr. Downey is challenging a European extradition warrant on suspicion of the killing of two soldiers 46 years ago. At his hearing on Thursday last, the court was told that Mr. Downey had worked in a positive manner for the peace process and has been involved in reconciliation work He told the Democrat that he felt that there was no case to answer but that he would strongly challenge the warrant. Asked how he felt, he joked "Well, I will have to say I was treated very well over the few days and had my breakfast every day, something I mightn't bother with at home. "I haven't felt as wanted for a long, long time." Bundoran RNLI has assisted a surfer safely to shore this afternoon after a member of the public raised the alarm having spotted someone they thought to be in difficulty and waving their arm off Rougey Point in Bundoran. The Irish Coast Guard requested the inshore lifeboat to launch at 3.28pm and 10 minutes later the lifeboat helmed by Killian OKelly was at sea. Weather conditions at the time were blowing a light south easterly wind and there was a 3m swell. Once on scene, the lifeboat crew observed that the surfer while not in difficulty or in any immediate danger, was in a challenging part of the sea and some distance away from the shore. The crew made the decision to take the teenager onboard and transport him safely back to Bundoran Lifeboat Station. Speaking following the call out, Bundoran RNLI Helm Killian OKelly said: "We would like to commend the member of the public who raised the alarm this afternoon, that is always the right thing to do if you see someone you think or know to be in difficulty. While this surfer was not in any immediate danger, he was some distance from shore so we made a call to assist him safely back to shore." St Michaels Parish, Enniskillen, together with other churches in Enniskillen will take an active part in the various events in the town tomorrow, Sunday 11 November to commemorate the centenary of the of the Armistice which brought the First World War to and end in 1918. Enniskillen was the first town in the United Kingdom to publicly proclaim the Armistice in 1918 and on this occasion it will be the most westerly location to host Battles Over a national tribute commemorating one hundred years of remembrance. Monsignor Peter OReilly, the Parish Priest of St Michaels Enniskillen & Lisbellaw and Archdeacon of the Diocese of Clogher, will be present at a wide range of events in the town on Sunday, beginning at 6am in Enniskillen Castle where special lamps will be presented to each of the churches in the town. He will also be participating in the short prayer service at the War Memorial in Belmore Street just before 11am, after which there will be a Service of Remembrance in St Macartins Cathedral, during which he will read from the Gospel according to John 15. At 6pm on Sunday, the Liturgy of Evening Prayer will be celebrated in St Michaels Church. The special guest will be Viscount Alan Brookeborough, who is H.M. Queen Elizabeth IIs Lord Lieutenant for County Fermanagh. He will be accompanied by Viscountess Brookeborough, together with Cadet W.O. Ciara McHugh and Cadet C.S.M Peter Watson. The attendance will also include the Church of Ireland Bishop of Clogher, Right Rev John McDowell and the leaders of the other Christian Churches in Enniskillen. Also in attendance will be Cllr Howard Thornton, the Chairperson of Fermanagh & Omagh District Council; Arlene Foster MLA; Bryan Wockley, the Deputy US Counsel General and his wife Sarah; Jerome Mullen, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland and his wife Margaret; and John Jones, Chairman of the Royal British Legion. This will be a Service of Light to which each church community will carry the symbolic lamp presented to them earlier and a prelude to the carrying of a candle flame across the street as a prelude to the lighting of a beacon in the grounds of St Macartins Cathedral. The event will also feature the participation of Fermanagh Massed Pipes and Drums. A bugle, provided by the Inniskillings Museum, will sound the Last Post before Viscount Brookeborough lights the beacon. Over this weekend Monsignor OReilly, the Church of Ireland Dean of Clogher the Very Rev Kenneth Hall, the Rev David Cupples, Presbyterian Church, and the Rev Lorna Dreaning, Methodist Church, attended a Service of Remembrance at Enniskillen Royal School, at which Rev Dreaning was the preacher. There was also a representation from St Michaels College. St Michaels is a Catholic Diocesan College which has a longstanding partnership with Enniskillen Royal School in the area of peace studies. In addition, Mgr OReilly and Dean Hall have conducted several media interviews which will be broadcast over the course of the weekend. Both St Macartins Cathedral (Church of Ireland) and St Michaels Church (Catholic) are on either side of Darling Street in Enniskillen. On 26 June 2012 Queen Elizabeth II crossed the street between the Cathedral and Church on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee visit. On 15 September 2015, President Michael D. Higgins also crossed the street, this time from the Church to the Cathedral. This crossing of the street is emblematic of the journey of reconciliation; the street is the place into which our witness to Christ and his way must be brought. The current Maruti share price (NSE) is undergoing a decent profit you can check the current market rate of Maruti Suzuki here. However, the company recently hit its first decline in 17 quarters, towards the end of October 2018. Rising fuel prices, heftier loan rates and some regional-level marketing problems were the reason. Speaking of the fuel prices in India , the country is witnessing record high figures for both petrol and diesel, in spite of the occasional dips. Owing to this, various petrol pumps have even upgraded the pumps to show the impending three-digit fuel prices. Experts have advised targetting around Rs 6600 for a Maruti share. Also, since the company is doing well on the share market, Maruti Suzuki introduced many discounts and offers for this festive season. The offers are applicable for most of the brand's best-sellers: Alto 800, Alto K10, Celerio, WagonR, Ertiga, Swift and the Dzire. The list of best-selling cars in India shows that the top five positions on the sales chart have been taken by Maruti models only. In fact, the most popular and best-selling car in India is the Maruti Alto hatchback, while the Baleno, Dzire, Swift and Vitara Brezza follow. All the previous lists of top selling cars also show that Maruti share a good majority of the budget-price car segment on the Indian market. The excellent service network and of course, the competitive prices are what which make Maruti, an unmatchable performer in the automotive sector. The officials at Maruti always share that price and quality are the two things which the company focusses on. The Maruti Vitara Brezza recently received a four-star safety rating by Global NCAP (New Car Assessment Program). This also helped in bringing down some of the accusations related to the build quality of new Maruti cars. The competition offered by its rivals is also strong. The new Hyundai Santro and some of the entry-level cars from Maruti share a similar price tag, and the former is doing quite well for its market age. But still, Hyundai has to go a long way to overtake the legendary Indian company in terms of sales. Thoughts On The Rising Maruti Share Price (NSE) The recent spike in Maruti share price (NSE) surely reveals the brand's market presence and success. For the common Indian, the best choice to make while buying a four-wheeler is a Maruti. In addition to this, no matter wherever you are in India, you will always see a Maruti on the road. However, do you think that only sales figures determine how good a company is? Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. 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. A service of remembrance has been held in Douglas ahead of Armistice Day Members of Isle of Man Post Office have laid poppy wreaths at their First and Second World War memorials to fallen colleagues, who lost their lives during the two conflicts. The ceremony was followed by the sounding of the Last Post and a 2 minutes silence. Argonne computer scientist becomes ACM Distinguished Member for work in enhancing end-to-end data transfer performance. The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has named Raj Kettimuthu as a Distinguished Member in recognition of his engineering contributions to advancing the field of computing. Kettimuthu, a computer scientist with the Department of Energys (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, is one of 49 members selected for their extraordinary array of achievement, reflecting the many distinct areas of research and practice in the computing information technology fields. The ACM Distinguished Member program, initiated in 2006, recognizes up to 10 percent of its top members worldwide who have at least 15 years of professional experience and have made significant contributions to the computing field. Kettimuthu was recognized for his development of tools to analyze and enhance end-to-end data transfer performance. I am proud to be selected by ACM for this recognition. I have found working at the frontiers of high-speed data transfer both exciting and challenging. Raj Kettimuthu, Argonne computer scientist The primary focus of Kettimuthus research has been the high-speed transfer of large-scale data, software-defined networking and rapid execution of data-intensive science workflows. He was technical lead of the Globus implementation of GridFTP, an extension of the traditional File Transfer Protocol (FTP) for grid computing, designed to provide a more reliable and high-performance file transfer. GridFTP has had an enormous impact, with tens of thousands of installations worldwide. Kettimuthu also was a leading collaborator in the development of Globus Online, a software-as-a-service solution that dramatically simplifies data movement, and was part of the Globus Online team that won an R&D 100 award in 2012. Recognizing the need for tools to manage terabyte-or-larger datasets, Kettimuthu also has recently served as co-principal investigator of two DOE projects on high-performance flows and intelligent network services. I am proud to be selected by ACM for this recognition, Kettimuthu said. I have found working at the frontiers of high-speed data transfer both exciting and challenging. I look forward to continued collaboration with colleagues on the development of techniques that will help scientists process huge amounts of data in real time. Kettimuthu received his B.E. from Anna University in Chennai, India, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the Ohio State University. Currently a computer scientist in Argonnes Data Science and Learning division, he joined Argonnes Mathematics and Computer Science division in 2003 as a predoctoral appointee. His research interests include autonomic science infrastructure, modeling and optimizing distributed science workflows, real-time high performance computing, streaming large-scale data and quantum networks. ### For the official press release of the 2018 ACM Distinguished Members, see https://awards.acm.org/distinguished-members. Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nations first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance Americas scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energys Office of Science. The U.S. Department of Energys Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit the Office of Science website. Privacy Settings This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. You may change your settings at any time. Your choices will not impact your visit. NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using. Blood type cards and face masks mean citizens are listening and learning how to respond and be responsive Looking for Wildfire Resiliency, California is on the move. Los Angeles City and County are prepared with the State and the Federal Government to respond to fire evacuation and disaster along with the Red Cross, the LA Mayor and the Supervisors because Californians are familiar with fire, flood, evacuation, winds, storms, earthquakes and such. We have 240 languages in Los Angeles and people who live, work, care for families, friends, children, foster youth, and teenagers as well as seniors everyday. We have a large body of citizens, schools and universities who train Angelinos to be ready, prepared and cooperative in case winds, heat, wildfire, earthquake or circumstances require quick movement for safety. Pacific Coast Highway closed to provide a route out of Malibu and Topanga or the hills yesterday. Friends, family, and cities cooperated by creating options for evacuation centers to parking in Santa Monica. We plan ahead to be resilient. Here despite Veterans Day, Armistice Day (End of WWI 100 years), Krystal Nacht (80 years), and the recent TO Borderline Grill tragedy, city and county residents were on the move to keep people, pets, elders, and friends safe. Below please find numbers to train for CERT, go give blood, call for directions, get online or on phone trauma and supply or animal care support. 21M people, 226 cities, So Cal is working with State, Regional, County, City Services to be there for our citizens. Thank you to the press, the webmasters, the phone operators, the information providers, and the agency staff members that have kept So Cal so safe. Thank you to voters, the governors, and the leadership/planning that is helping out across our state using GIS, cell phones, radio, social media, and ongoing information on TV, online, and by alerts to continue to update info for safety, health care, shelter, food, water, and information. We are all looking, listening and learning: https://www.fire.lacounty.gov/ https://www.fire.lacounty.gov/safety-messages/fire-safety-tips/ California Preparedness: http://www.caloes.ca.gov/ Big Data Maps: http://www.caloes.ca.gov/Cal-OES-Divisions/Geographic-Information-Systems OES Map: http://www.caloes.ca.gov/RegionalOperationsSite/Documents/Southern_OES_Assignments_20170501.pdf Overview: http://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/regional-operations/southern-region/southern-region-lepc Pierce College Equine Evacuation (closed) go to Hansen Dam: http://www.equinecenterpierce.org/emergency-evacuation http://animalcare.lacounty.gov/ https://lacountyanimals.org/way-to-give/disaster-relief/ PSA Hansen Dam: http://animalcare.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Woolsey-Update-11092018.pdf Two alternate centers: Hansen Dam, 11127 Orcas Ave, Lake View Terrace, CA 91342 Ventura County, Ventura County Fairgrounds, 10 W. Harbor Blvd, Ventura, CA 93001 Redcross: https://www.redcross.org Info Line 211 Emergency Line 911 Los Hills Sheriff Line 818-878-1808 www.vcemergency.com Wild Fires Info:Operations Valley Bureau encompasses the entire San Fernando Valley portion of Los Angeles. Battalions 10, 12, 14, 15 and 17 https://www.lafd.org/safety/fire-safety/evacuation-informatio https://www.lafd.org/news/woolsey-fire https://www.fire.lacounty.gov/lacofd-cert-program/ Website Quick Links at LAFD.org site: QUICK LINKS LOCAL Find Your Station Fire Safety Medical Emergencies Evacuation Info Disaster Readiness Volunteer Smoking Violation Fire Stat LA Los Angeles Community Resource Guide for Immigrant Angelinos STAY UP TO DATE Alerts News Facebook Twitter Flickr Instagram Reddit Red Flag No Parking FIRE PREVENTION Fire Code Brush View Parcel for Brush Clearance Status Public Assemblage Schools, Churches Development Commercial CUPA CalARP City of Thousand Oaks Info: Borderline Shooting Information: www.vcemergency.com. Hotline (805) 465-6650. A Fund has been set up at VCCF.org. More information at www.toaks.org/borderline Fast moving fire, evacuations and road closures throughout the area. Visit www.vcemergency.com, follow @vcfd on Twitter, or tune into local news for important information and shelter locations. https://www.toaks.org/ Ventura County Emergency Alert: https://www.readyventuracounty.org/vc-alert/ https://www.readyventuracounty.org/vc-alerta/ www.vcemergency.com https://www.readyventuracounty.org/indice/ Understanding Wildfires: https://media2.mofo.com/documents/180824-ca-wildfire-helping-handbook.pdf https://www.nwcg.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pms412.pdf https://www.fws.gov/fire/handbook/2018%20FMH%20AllChapters.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Fire_Department https://www.nifc.gov/nicc/logistics/references/Wildland%20Fire%20Incident%20Management%20Field%20Guide.pdf Tiffany Murgo and Katie Rakowitz met in an English class at Bradley Middle School and became fast friends. They remained close through high school and college, were in each others weddings and have raised their kids together. In 2011, after Rakowitz had her first child, she started looking for work she could do from home. She ended up acquiring a small baby-sitting business a year later from a woman she met through a moms group. At the time, the business had 35 baby sitters and was booking about 125 jobs a month. Murgo officially became a partner in 2014, and the best friends worked to rebrand and grow the business. Today, Time Out Sitters has about 250 babysitters and handle about 1,000 jobs a month. The partners also have added pet and house-sitting services. Theyve also expanded north up Interstate 35, adding Austin and Waco among other cities. Now theyre working to grow their presence in those markets and hire more sitters. Weve come a long way, Rakowitz said. Were thankful for the community. Were dealing with your babies, and thats a big deal. It really is very humbling. The name, Time Out Sitters, stems from when parents need time out, she said. People in need of child care register through the website and submit a request with the date, time and location. Rakowitz and Murgo match them with preselected sitters. The partners say the vetting process is part of what distinguishes Time Out Sitters from similar services. All sitters are 18 or older, have prior child care experience, are CPR and first aid certified, and undergo background checks. Rakowitz and Murgo, both 38, said they personally interview each candidate and call their references before they are hired. After being set up with a sitter, a client gets an email confirmation with a picture and biography of the sitter, who also calls them the day before the job to introduce themselves. Our rule of thumb is if we wouldnt have them come into our home to watch our children, then were not going to bring them on the team to watch other peoples children, Murgo said. Candidates, who are typically referred by other sitters, are independent contractors. Those using the service pay an annual membership fee of $50. Hourly rates are based on time, the number of children and other factors, such as a sick child or someone needs a sitter on holidays. In-home rates start at $13.50 an hour for one child, with another $1 per hour for each additional child and $3 per hour for each friend or guest. Job minimums start at three hours Monday through Thursday, with higher minimums on weekends and holidays. They have discussed surge pricing for busy times, Rakowitz said. There are group rates for outings and events. Time Out also has sitters who are able to care for children with special needs. They also have about 10 sitters who are certified to care for foster children. We talk a lot about the trust that the clients have in us, but its also the trust that the sitters have in us, Murgo said. We have two clients. Another factor they believe sets Time Out apart is their connection to the community, as longtime San Antonio residents. Before they teamed up on the business, Rakowitz worked in sales and catering. Murgo also worked in sales and helped manage her husbands business. The pair would often bounce ideas for businesses off each other. They talked about a child and pet boutique and a sandwich cookbook. Murgo typically handles job requests, invoicing and emails, while Rakowitz focuses on hiring and making sure sitters documents are up to date. As they approach the holidays, which are usually busy, they start accelerating hiring in October and November. Rakowitz and Murgo declined to disclose what cut they take from the fees. They compare managing a business together to a marriage: there are highs and lows, but working through the struggles is rewarding. They respect each other. And if they were too similar, they agree they would butt heads far more often. It makes it so much more gratifying because weve been through all these really hard things together, Murgo said. Eventually they hope to add a mobile app and expand to more cities, but for now they are focusing on Austin and Waco. We do want to keep on growing, but we also need to make sure we stick to how we hire and doing things the Time Out Sitters way, Rakowitz said. madison.iszler@express-news.net | @madisoniszler The trouble that eventually landed the Bright family in court started back in July. It was a hot, Texas summer day and Melissa Bright let her kids 2-year-old Charlotte and 5-month-old Mason play in the sprinkler outside their Tomball home. When she put the baby down on a lawn chair so she could help Charlotte strip off wet clothes, she heard a thud. Mason had fallen the 19 inches from the chair to the cement driveway below. The tumble launched a months-long legal case with Texas Child Protective Services that began with the removal of the children from the Brights' home and ended Thursday with a Harris County judge ordering what may be the largest-ever sanctions against the agency. After a five-day hearing, Juvenile Court Judge Mike Schneider ordered the state to come up with new regional training for workers and pay more than $127,000 for wrongfully removing the couple's children and allegedly lying about the case in court. Now, attorneys for parents Melissa and Dillon Bright are calling for the firing of the CPS workers involved and asking for prosecutors to investigate for possible criminal charges. "They lied in their affidavit, they lied in their sworn removal testimony and they have when questioned about those lies taken the Fifth," said family lawyer Dennis Slate. "When the Harris County District Attorney ran for office said that she would investigate perjury claims within the Harris County courts," he said. "She needs to live up to that campaign promise and look into this case and bring the appropriate action." The ruling late Thursday by the judge came weeks after caseworker Lavar Jones shocked the courtroom by pleading his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination repeatedly during a removal hearing in which the judge ordered CPS to stay away from the two young children before ultimately giving them back to the parents. It's an unusual case that offers repeated examples of CPS missteps, but the Brights' attorneys say it's also a sign of a "broken system" and highlights the need for more accountability from the agency tasked with making decisions as to whether parents are fit to keep their children. The agency offered a short comment on the decision. "In light of today's ruling, we are reviewing our options," said CPS spokeswoman Tejal Patel, "including our right to appeal." **** When she heard her baby fall, a panicked Melissa called her husband, then dialed 911. At the hospital, the child abuse prevention team at first told CPS that Melissa's explanation of the injury was a likely one, according to court records. But the next day, an MRI revealed that Mason had a second fracture a smaller, hairline crack and bleeding in his brain. The second fracture, the abuse team decided, would have come from a second incident. And when Melissa couldn't offer an alternate explanation, the team deemed the injuries were "consistent with child abuse." So, as the Brights struggled with medical decisions, the bills those would entail and the difficulties of parenting from the hospital, they also needed to fend off accusations of child abuse. They agreed to an in-home monitoring plan, but before Mason left the hospital, CPS supervisor Niesha Edwards instead decided the kids would have to go live with Dillon's mother in Baytown, more than an hour away. Meanwhile, the Texas Children's Hospital hematology department found that Mason likely had a blood clotting disorder. That could have explained how a fall from a lawn chair could generate so much bleeding and so many problems, but it also meant that there could be more problems ahead and there were. The head injury didn't heal as planned, so before baby Mason left the hospital, doctors drilled a hole in his skull to relieve pressure. Afterwards, according to the Brights, doctors warned that if the family wanted to avoid a second surgery it was important to keep the child from crying. But, the Brights said, that would require nursing, and CPS wouldn't allow Melissa to live with the child. The baby went to Baytown, but caring for a medically fragile child eventually became too much for Dillon's mother, and the Brights asked to move the baby closer to home with an aunt and uncle in Tomball. But the agency delayed its response, repeatedly promising answers and failing to deliver, records show. Eventually, Dillon called caseworker Jones, according to court records, and told him that since CPS hadn't followed through on getting approval and the current plan was quickly becoming infeasible, the Brights planned to bring the kids home. So they did. Twenty-two days passed. Then, on Sept. 18, Jones texted to ask how the kids were, and Melissa sent along happy photos and a health update. The next day, the state without notifying the Brights filed a petition asking for emergency custody of the children who, officials said, were in "immediate and continuing danger." The parents were never told that the court would hold a removal hearing the same day. Jones didn't tell the court about the diagnosed blood disorder, which could have explained some of the medical problems. And he didn't mention that the parents had gotten a second medical opinion that explained the second, hairline fracture. So, just after noon on Sept. 19, a court approved the removal. "It didn't even dawn on me that he was going to show up and take our kids," Melissa told the Chronicle. "It wasn't even on our radar, especially after it being so long." That night, the children were separated and both taken to foster care. The caseworker didn't even leave behind a copy of the order of removal as required by law, family attorney Slate said. *** A few weeks later, in early October, the parents, their lawyers, CPS workers and county attorneys showed up in court again for a three-day hearing to figure out whether the state had enough cause to keep the kids. When questioned about the earlier claims he'd made during the Sept. 19 emergency hearing and about the agency's reasons for removing the kids, Jones pleaded the Fifth, making for a case the judge found thoroughly unconvincing. "It is not possible," Schneider said in court last month, "to look at the facts and imagine that the agency actually felt there was any sort of urgent need for protection to remove the children." When Schneider sided with the Brights, the case moved to a November sanctions hearing, where Slate and fellow attorney Stephanie Proffitt argued that the agency's efforts to take the kids were based on such groundless arguments that they should be forced to pay the family for legal fees and other costs, a total of more than $127,000. Over the course of five days, the court heard testimony from the Brights, a program director and supervisor Edwards,who claimed so frequently that she didn't know, couldn't answer or didn't understand the questions that Slate eventually asked whether she had any knowledge that made her qualified to make decisions. Slate and Proffitt laid out a litany of accusations, including claims that workers had altered computer records to match an affidavit, intentionally failed to turn over incriminating text messages, and plowed ahead with the "bad faith" removal to avoid telling their program director they had not checked on the kids for 22 days. "We're not here to get a pound of flesh from CPS," Slate said. "I haven't solved the riddle of why they would knowing they were going to be caught in a perjury trap continue going on with the case, except that they didn't want to tell their program director. It's baffling to me." Stephen Dieu with the Harris County Attorney's Office, which represented CPS in the hearing, accused the family's attorneys of "cherry-picking" text messages and records, and argued repeatedly that the agency was protected by sovereign immunity. "There are legal remedies but this is not the one," he said. "The department cannot be sanctioned." But a look back at agency records would show that's not true. Seven years ago, Slate and Proffitt won a $32,000 sanction in another case involving a "groundless" removal where the agency didn't tell the parents about the emergency hearing and waited hours to take the kids after courts closed. "When we got the sanctions in 2011, we really thought that would open somebody's eyes," Proffitt said. "There are only a handful of cases in Harris County that have even filed for sanctions. There's no repercussions." This time, there were. In a scathing ruling from the bench on Thursday, Schneider dinged the agency for being "dishonest" and possibly "malicious," saying the entire removal and subsequent legal battle never would have happened if the agency had told the Brights about the emergency removal hearing and given them a chance to defend themselves at the start. "We do need to deal with the issue of how we make sure this doesn't happen again," he said, before ordering the agency to pay $127,000 and giving them two weeks to create the new training program for the Houston region. But, Schneider said, there was one thing the family requested that he said he could not order: an apology. keri.blakinger@chron.com @keribla Queta Rodriguez said she was pushed out of her job Friday as Bexar Countys veterans services officer in retaliation for running against longtime Commissioner Paul Elizondo in the primary election earlier this year. The Commissioners Court eliminated Rodriguezs job and replaced it with an expanded position with a slightly different name military and veterans services officer. The court tapped Karen Rolirad, currently the deputy director of the citys Office of Military and Veterans Affairs, to take that role beginning Dec. 3. The five-member court approved the action Friday by a 3-1 vote with Commissioner Tommy Calvert against it. RELATED: Trump, GOP press lame-duck Congress for border wall funding Elizondo abstained. He narrowly defeated Rodriguez in a runoff election in May and went on to win re-election Tuesday to his 10th term. Commissioner Kevin Wolff, who is the courts veterans liaison and recommended Rolirad for the position, said Friday it was clear when the new job was posted in October 2017 that Rodriguezs role would be absorbed into it. Rodriguez applied and was one of three finalists for the position, but she withdrew her name. I dont know if I can make it any simpler than that, he said, after Rodriguez and other veterans pleaded with the court to keep her. Rodriguez said she withdrew because she didnt think she would have enough time to launch the new office after running for county commissioner. But she said shes not upset that she wasnt chosen for the managerial role shes upset that she wont have any role at all, arguing that Wolff assured her in December that she would. Both the new job and her current one were included in the countys budget, she said. RELATED: Beto bump tightened race between Hurd and Jones Do not eliminate, but instead change the title of my current position as you originally indicated you would do, Rodriguez told Wolff and the court, so she could continue working with the cases she was actively handling until Thursday, when her access to files was revoked. The court did not do that. Wolff said he never assured her she would have a job after the new position was filled. He said the personnel move is part of a years-long effort to expand county services for veterans and soon-to-be veterans. Rodriguez saw it differently. Its absolutely politically motivated, she said. Wolff, a Republican and a Navy veteran himself, denied that charge. Elizondo, who did not speak while the court considered the change, declined to comment after the court session. When Rodriguez challenged Elizondo, a commissioner since 1982, in the Democratic primary in March, he faced the toughest contest of his tenure. Both received enough votes to require a runoff in May, which Elizondo, 83, won by fewer than four percentage points. Four years ago, Elizondo recruited Rodriguez to become the countys veterans service officer. Both are Marine Corps veterans. I find it curious that I would get that kind of payback from a fellow Marine, Elizondo said during the campaign. But life is life. Rodriguez said Wolff informed her that she wouldnt remain in veterans services during a meeting Thursday morning at Petes Tako House. She said he told her that she messed with his plan when she decided to run for office. You asked me yesterday, Commissioner Wolff, why I ran for office, she said. What you and the court have proposed here is a great example of why. During the court session Friday, Army veteran Steven Price grew emotional in vouching for Rodriguez, who has been helping him with an appeal of a disability compensation claim. Price has been trying to get the claim approved by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs since he left the Army in 1988. He said he has traumatic arthritis in the hips and a back injury from his service and is trying to get the federal agency to increase his benefits for post traumatic stress disorder. He said Rodriguez joined him at an appeal hearing Sept. 21 and has been helping him prepare paperwork due in the next couple weeks. Whos going to take care of me now, Price asked the court, crying and lifting a box of paperwork. Youre taking away the only person I trust to deal with my claim, thats about $500,000 in retroactive pay that Im about to lose if you mess this up. Later, Wolff said that was exactly why the county has expanded its services. The veteran who spoke earlier is a perfect example of why this county is more than doubling its investment in how it serves veterans, Wolff said from the dais. This is not about any one individual in any one job. This is about providing better service to our veterans and their families. Its unfortunate that individuals have tried and will continue to try to politicize something like this. I apologize to the community for that. Calvert asked whether Rodriguez could be hired as a consultant to continue handling Prices and other claims. The commissioners said they wouldnt have a problem with that, but it would be up to Rolirad. Dylan McGuinness covers local politics and the Bexar County government for the Express-News. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | dylan.mcguinness@express-news.net | Twitter: @DylMcGuinness Election officials in 29 Texas counties are furiously counting outstanding votes in the Congressional District 23 election, in which Republican Rep. Will Hurd holds a narrow lead with at least 859 ballots outstanding. Hurd, a two-term incumbent, thought he had a comfortable win Tuesday night, when the Associated Press called the race for him around 11 p.m. But the contest tightened in the early morning hours Wednesday, and it appeared for a half-hour that Democratic challenger Gina Ortiz Jones had pulled off an upset. Then the lead changed hands again, and the states unofficial results showed Hurd winning by 689 votes. Later Wednesday, a tabulation error in Jones favor was discovered in Culberson County. Once the error was corrected, Hurds margin had increased to 1,150 votes out of more than 200,000 cast. On ExpressNews.com: Hurds lead in CD-23 grows, Ortiz Jones says every vote will be counted Since then, the Jones campaign has vowed that it wont stop working until every provisional ballot, absentee ballot and military or overseas ballot has been counted. The Hurd camp doesnt think it will change the result. All ballots should be and will be counted in TX 23, said Justin Hollis, Hurds campaign manager. What Gina Jones fails to recognize is that there is no way she will win this race, given Will Hurds insurmountable lead. Elections administrators and county ballot boards have until Nov. 20 to certify their vote tallies and provide them to the governor, who has until Dec. 6 to certify the result of the election. On Friday, Bexar County which accounts for more than half the votes in the district updated its tally to reflect 446 ballots counted since election night. Hurd received 183, Jones 253 and Libertarian candidate Ruben Corvalan 10. Jones gained a net 70 votes, reducing Hurds overall margin to 1,080. Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen said theres been a steady stream of lawyers and campaign workers at the countys Elections Department asking questions about the uncounted ballots. We havent seen so many lawyers in here since forever, she said. At least 859 ballots are still outstanding, according to county elections officials across the district, but its unclear how many will ultimately be included in the final count. The San Antonio Express-News asked all 29 counties in the highly competitive swing district for their number of outstanding ballots. Sixteen provided figures. Those counties accounted for 87 percent of the total votes cast as of Tuesday night. They include the counties where Jones received some of her greatest support. In El Paso County, where Jones won 78.57 percent of the votes counted so far, elections administrator Lisa Wise said 256 ballots were outstanding. Of those, 138 were provisional ballots and 118 were mail ballots received Wednesday. The county was still waiting on eight overseas and military ballots. The types of outstanding votes vary greatly. Provisional ballots are cast by voters who did not bring acceptable ID to the polls or who had a problem with their registration. Those who didnt comply with ID requirements have until Tuesday to return to their county elections office and show a valid ID. If they do, their vote is counted. Otherwise, it isnt. Voters who had registration issues cant resolve the situation on their own, said Sam Taylor, communications director for the secretary of states office. Its up to the county voter registrar to determine whether the vote is valid and should be counted. In a separate category are ballots that were sent in advance to voters overseas or serving in the military. Those must be returned by 5 p.m. Tuesday. The 16 counties that provided figures to the Express-News are waiting for a total of 357 overseas or military ballots. Its anyones guess how many will be returned. At the Bexar County Commissioners Court on Friday morning, campaign staffers for Jones lambasted Callanen, the countys election administrator, for her refusal to release a list of voters who cast provisional ballots. Kristian Carranca Thompson, a field director for Jones, said the campaign wanted to inform those voters that they needed to cure their ballots so they would be counted. This is public record, so those public records should given to those who are requesting it, she said. Taylor said the lists of provisional voters do not become public until the countys early voting ballot board has completed its tally of provisional votes. In Bexar County, the board hasnt finished. Theyre asking me to break the law, and Im not going to do it, Callanen said. The voters should already have been notified, said Taylor of the secretary of states office. When those who didnt bring acceptable ID cast a provisional ballot, theyre given a written notice that they must return to verify their identity, he said. The final results of the election likely will be determined by the last week in November, Taylor said. Noelle Rosellini, Jones' communications director, said election officials should be working as hard as they can to get the votes counted. Its absurd and unfortunate that theyre not doing that right now, she said. We hope that theyll release the information before the deadline so all ballots can be counted. Rosellini also said Democratic Party lawyers sent Callanen a letter challenging her statements about which ballots can be cured election officials have said only those from voters who didnt satisfy ID requirements can be cured by the voters. Taylor said Callanen has been correctly interpreting the law. Dylan McGuinness covers local politics and the Bexar County government for the Express-News. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | dylan.mcguinness@express-news.net | Twitter: @DylMcGuinness A San Antonio federal jury today acquitted a Lubbock businessman charged with paying bribes to ex-lawmaker Carlos Uresti and a West Texas county official to land a lucrative medical services contract at a Pecos prison. Jurors took about 13 hours over two days to find Vernon Trey Farthing III, 45, not guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Farthing could have faced up to five years in federal prison on the bribery conspiracy charge and up to 20 years on the money laundering charge if he had been convicted. Uresti, the former San Antonio state senator who was indicted with Farthing, last month pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery rather than stand trial. Prosecutors have said they will recommend that Uresti serve whatever sentence he gets concurrently with a 12-year prison term he received in an unrelated fraud case. Uresti, 55, did not testify at Farthings trial. Jimmy Galindo, 54, who was county judge for Reeves County from 1995 to 2006, also pleaded guilty to the bribery charge and took the stand during Farthings trial. Uresti and Galindo will be sentenced separately in January. Uresti and Galindo should not second-guess their guilty pleas in this case because Mr. Farthing was acquitted, Senior U.S. District Judge David Ezra said after reading the 12-person jurys decision. The evidence, even though they were not on trial, was overwhelming as to their guilt. Galindo testified he persuaded Farthing to hire Uresti as a consultant at $10,000 a month so that Farthings company Physicians Network Association could get a contract in 2006 to provide medical services to prisoners at the Reeves County Correctional Center in Pecos. Galindo said he advised Farthing to raise the price PNA would charge the county per inmate, per day, to pay for the consulting agreement. The increased price came out of the countys end. Galindo negotiated the contract on behalf of the county. Uresti served as a conduit to hide Galindos involvement, prosecutors alleged. The pair split more than $850,000 in kickbacks over the course of a 10-year contract that ended in 2016, prosecutors said. Galindo did not seek re-election in 2006 and ingratiated himself with Uresti to do business with him, they added. Ezra surmised the jury did not believe Galindos testimony. Mr. Farthing, this should be a lesson to you, Ezra said after the verdict. You, at the very least, at the very least, involved yourself with some individuals here who were, to say the least, questionable. An emotional Farthing told the judge he would never see him again. Well, I dont mind seeing you, Ezra replied, sparking laughs in the courtroom. Farthing testified in his own defense Monday, saying he didnt know the $10,000 a month consulting fee that PNA paid Urestis Turning Point Strategies was being split with Galindo. I didnt have any idea what Uresti was doing with his money, Farthing said. I was aware that Galindo was working for him, but I had no idea that money allegedly was coming out of half of PNAs check. He was doing all kinds of work for Uresti. Prosecutors Joseph Blackwell and Sean OConnell said the case represented a violation of the public trust. When a public official uses their position to solicit something of value for themselves or somebody else, Blackwell said at the beginning of the trial, there is a corrupting influence over that official position. Gerald Gerry Goldstein, part of Farthings defense team, described Galindo as a con artist who sought to get out of other legal troubles by offering up the bribery scheme to federal investigators. It was a very hard-fought battle, said attorney Cynthia Orr, who also represented Farthing. We were very confident in our clients innocence, and were so glad that the system worked. Blackwell expressed disappointment with the trials outcome but said it shouldnt diminish the success of the case overall. A corrupt public official, Jimmy Galindo, was brought to justice due to the efforts of the FBI and the IRS, Blackwell said. He also noted Uresti accepted responsibility for his criminal conduct. Patrick Danner is a San Antonio-based staff writer covering banking and civil courts. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | pdanner@express-news.net | Twitter: @AlamoPD Texas Democrats may have fallen short in their efforts to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz or the Republicans top statewide leaders, but they managed to flip four influential state appeals courts in Houston, Dallas and Austin, and now hold majorities on half of the 14 obscure-but-vital regional courts. When we saw our huge turnouts in Dallas and Travis counties, and unprecedented numbers in Houston and Harris County, we knew it would be momentous. said Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party and himself a former appellate court judge. We were taking a lot of courts. Democrats swept all but one contested appeals court race last Tuesday, removing 19 incumbent Republicans. In the 1st and 14th courts of appeals, both of which cover Harris County, Democrats had been absent entirely. Now they have majorities on both benches. This is a very big deal, said Dallas appellate lawyer David Coale. In the 5th court (covering Dallas and five adjoining counties), we have eight new judges overnight. In Houston and Dallas, two of the most important cities to the American economy, the courts of appeal have changed character. On the 5th Court of Appeals, a Democrat had not been seated since 1992. The states highest courts, the Supreme Court and the Court of Criminals Appeals, did, however, remain firmly in Republican control. Democrats had dominated the statewide benches until the mid-1990s. By now the reasons for the massive Democratic turnout are familiar - U.S. Rep. Beto ORourkes aggressive race against Cruz and opposition to Donald Trumps presidency - but ultimately such tidal shifts among judges depend more on straight-ticket voting than innovative campaigns or judicial brilliance. This had nothing to do with Anglo or Hispanic, liberal or conservative, said St. Marys University School of Law professor Wayne Scott. This was all about party affiliation. We should have a separate ballot for judges and then only the most informed people would vote. Mark Curriden, a lawyer and editor of The Texas Lawbook, observed: I think even the Dems who won Tuesday would say they dont think partisan elections are all that great, but the leadership of both parties have not shown much desire to change the system. Texas is one of about seven states that still elect most of their judges in partisan elections that allow judicial candidates to seek campaign contributions, often from lawyers and special interests who may have cases before those judges. Its a controversial practice - corrosive, say many critics - that seems to invite potential conflicts of interest, but is often supported by factions in both parties that believe voters, not a governor or state commission, should determine who sits in judgement of the big and small cases that impact society. Across the state, most contested appellate court races won by Democrats saw victory margins of 4 to 6 percentage points. The closest appeared to be in the 13th Court of Appeals, based in Corpus Christi, where Democrat Rudy Delgado beat Jaime Tijerina by just over 3,000 votes out of 447,882 cast. Some reversals were dramatic. Ken Molberg, a former Democratic Party chairman, came up 70,000 votes short when he ran for the 5th Court of Appeals in North Texas in 2014. This time, he was the victor by more than 80,000. On the 4th Court of Appeals, based in San Antonio and covering 32 South Texas counties, Democrat Beth Watkins defeated incumbent Republican Marialyn Barnard by nearly 4 percentage points; Democratic incumbents Patricia Alvarez, Luz Chapa and Rebeca Martinez won with roughly 6-point margins and Democrat Liza Rodriguez won an open seat by 5 points. As in the previous election cycle, the 4th Court of Appeals will remain the only state appellate court that is all female. These benches are, in effect, the court of last resort for about 95 percent of the criminal and civil cases coming out of state district courts. They handle thousands of cases annually, while the state Supreme Court might only hear about 100 cases a year. Many of the Courts of Appeals civil cases would seem mundane matters about money and about half of them involve family law. But if its your child custody case, and the trial court made an error, its the most important thing in the world, said David Coale. If your small company has gone bankrupt because a bigger company wont fulfill their contract, these courts may be the only way you get justice. Hinojosa served on the 14th Court of Appeals and also is a former state district judge. He and other legal observers agree that Democrats on the bench in Texas tend to side with district courts and their juries more than Republicans. On the criminal side, its mainly law and order, and you see less ideology, Hinojosa said. But in areas like product liability, deceptive trade, personal injury law, labor law, discrimination Democrats are much more likely to hold corporations responsible for irresponsible behavior. Coale said another major area of contention at the state appeals level arises in cases involving parties bound by arbitration, a practice that legal studies indicate usually favor corporations over consumers and small business. I would say that in all of these new Democratic-controlled courts there will be increased scrutiny paid to private arbitration, Coale said. And you would expect them to be more deferential to trial judges. Former Republican State Supreme Court Justice Craig Enoch, now in private practice in Austin, suggested that the biggest change may be for the lawyers themselves whose work is evaluated by the appeals courts. It used to be that you might tailor some of your arguments based on how judges had ruled in the past, Enoch said. But now there are so many new faces, so many judges who we really know very little about. bselcraig@express-news.net Over the past decade, San Antonio artist Cruz Ortiz has been a huge asset to the Democratic Party cause. In 2008, Ortiz lent his irreverent Chicano pop-art sensibilities to Barack Obamas presidential campaign, hosting a bash at his home in which he silk-screened plain T-shirts with the message, Obama tiene ganas. He raised nearly $5,000 for Obama and later received a thank-you letter from the Obama White House. In 2016, Hillary Clintons presidential team tapped Ortiz to bring some hipness and Latino outreach to her campaign, and he complied by creating a flag with the word ganas under a series of right angles. RELATED: Trailing candidates not conceding yet in four close Texas House races This year, he produced silk-screen designs for Democratic hopefuls such as Gina Ortiz Jones and Beto ORourke, with the latter citing Ortiz during a February town hall at the Ella Austin Center as the embodiment of the energy that ORourkes Senate campaign wanted to generate. This history makes it particularly stunning to learn that Ortizs South Side design business, Snake Hawk Press, has filed a lawsuit against the Texas Democratic Party, claiming copyright infringement, trade dress infringement and breach of contract. The lawsuit was filed on Nov. 2 four days before this years midterm elections in U.S. District Court, with another prominent local Democrat, former congressional and judicial candidate John Bustamante, representing Ortizs company. The rift between Ortiz and the TDP revolves around the 2018 Texas Democratic Convention in Fort Worth. Two years earlier, the TDP had asked Ortiz to provide branding services for the party at the 2016 state convention in San Antonio. RELATED: Despite loss, Beto O'Rourke's run reveals a changing Texas Ortizs design business submitted a $15,000 proposal (with $10,000 of that fee being donated by Snake Hawk Press to the TDP as an in-kind contribution), stipulating that the designer shall retain ownership of the design and that the TDP had exclusive rights to use the final graphic art for 1 year. The contract proposal, submitted as an exhibit in Snake Hawk Presss court filing, also stated that any additional uses not identified herein require an additional license and may require an additional fee. In April of this year, the party again approached Ortiz, asking to reuse his 2016 convention logo and requesting a new longhorn logo for the 2018 convention. On the first day of this years convention, however, members of the Snake Hawk Press team were alarmed to see Ortizs designs altered and re-purposed, according to Olivia Ortiz, the design companys co-founder and CEO, and the wife of Cruz Ortiz. The work was manipulated, which they dont have the authorization to do, like every junior graphic designer knows that you are not to manipulate a design, she said. From our standpoint, it looks intentional. They knew the value, they knew that we were speaking to voters. So its hurtful. Its hurtful from our own party. Cruz and I are very involved in bettering our community. We bleed blue. But the great thing about being a Democrat is that right is right. RELATED: Texas farmers face changing of the guard in D.C. Crystal K. Perkins, the executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, provided a statement to the Express-News, saying the party will vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit. She added, We paid this vendor every dollar it was owed and were granted permission to use these works as part of the parties agreement. While Snake Hawk Press is seeking damages from the TDP, its clear that this lawsuit is driven less by monetary considerations than by the sense, shared by Cruz and Olivia Ortiz, that their companys work was misused and cheapened by the Democratic Party. The way they manipulated the design is not something Snake Hawk would have ever produced, Olivia Ortiz said. So in that instance, our brand was damaged. The conflict also speaks to organizational problems within the Democratic Party at local, state and national levels even as its candidates bask in the glow of major midterm successes. One of the partys biggest problems is the perceived disconnect between the inspiration provided by its best young political figures and the bureaucratic dysfunction of the party machine. In Texas politics, were starting to see change, Olivia Ortiz said. And this (lawsuit) is part of that change. She pushed back against the TDPs contention that Snake Hawk Press has filed a frivolous lawsuit. It is disappointing, she said, that anyone thinks it is acceptable to use material from Snake Hawk Press and Cruz Ortiz without permission, or try to copy his well-known style and we will simply no longer stand by when we see this occur. Memo to the Texas Democratic Party: If youre truly interested in expanding Latino and millennial turnout, and if you understand that its a bad idea to drive away influential loyalists eager to help your cause, you might not want to make an enemy of Cruz Ortiz. @gilgamesh470 Gilbert Garcia is a columnist covering the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470 AUSTIN At least four races for Texas House are so close that candidates are waiting on a final vote count to see whether the election tips in their favor. Three are Democrats looking to unseat GOP representatives, and the fourth is a Katy Republican hoping to keep his post. Counties have until Nov. 20 to tally accepted provisional, overseas and military ballots. Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, was ahead of Democratic challenger Adam Milasincic by just 72 votes on Friday, according to a preliminary tally on the Secretary of States website. Bohac has already claimed victory, thanking supporters on Facebook for the privilege to continue to serve you in the Texas House. But Milasincic says he is still waiting until the count is over before he decides what to do next. I was not expecting it would be this close, probably no candidate ever does, Milasincic said. Of course we were disappointed on election night that we were still a few votes down, but on the flip side of that, were excited about the fact this is a district where no Democrat was even on the ballot in 2016. Rep. Mike Schofield, R-Katy, trails Democratic challenger Gina Calanni by less than 100 votes according to preliminary results. He, too, isnt conceding. Tuesdays results are not yet final, he wrote in a Facebook post. The Harris County Clerk advises me that there are many votes yet to be counted - more absentee ballots and provisional ballots. We will continue to wait for a final vote count. A losing candidate can request a recount if they come within a certain margin of the leader. But they must pay a deposit up to $100 per precinct. If a recount doesnt tip the outcome, the candidate doesnt recoup the money. Both Houston-area districts count more than 40 precincts, making any recount a potentially costly endeavor. In Tuesdays election, Democrats picked up at least a dozen seats in the Texas House and narrowed the Republicans grip on the chamber, according to preliminary results. Republicans didnt flip any seats in House. The other close House races are in the Dallas area and are separated by a few hundred votes. Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, claimed victory, though Democratic challenger Sharon Hirsch isnt conceding. We will continue to allow the process to move forward as provisional ballots and final mail-in ballots are counted so that every voice can be heard. I am waiting until this process concludes before making any final remarks, she said in a statement on her campaign website. Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, thanked supporters on Nov. 7 for a win, though Democrat Joanna Cattanach said shes waiting until the ballots are all counted. We have to be patient, she said. The mail takes as long as mail takes, the counting takes as long as it does take, and there was a lot of people voting. Let me state unequivocally that the 14th Amendment was proposed, argued, rejected, proposed again, argued some more and then directed in order to protect the children of former slaves from harm. Their naturalization after years and years of servitude was the right thing to do, especially if they were also free and on their own. This amendment was never, ever intended to protect the human rights of children born to a woman who had surreptitiously entered the country without proper permission. Illegal immigration is, like the eminent Donald Mr. Trump says in such an elegant way, just another way of saying that we are being invaded by one or more foreign powers, and he is absolutely right. Unfortunately, up until this point in time, other leaders in this country have had ulterior motives for not enforcing the sovereign law, or were just too stupid to see what was happening. Being a citizen, naturalized or natural, is the most important point, and that means the person renounces all foreign alliances and wants to support the Constitution of the United States, and its language and customs not have long-lingering connections to the former one. If a person is here without permission, then that person is a criminal. In effect, the false assumption of the past, that simply being born here, by an illegal alien, makes someone a citizen and entitled to all the privileges of a natural citizen is a very poor one indeed. Why should a person who is a citizen of another country be allowed to enter this country and affect the behavior of the United States in the way of his or her official home country? Would we have allowed a small army of German citizens to enter this country in 1914 or 1932? Finally, what is wrong with the proper way of becoming an American citizen? My grandsons wife is going through that right now, and when she gets naturalized she will be an American. William D. Montjoye Wrong about Brooks Re: Divisive columnist, Your Turn, Nov. 2: The writer seems to jump to the wrong conclusion that columnist David Brooks is a Democrat. He actually is one of the dying breed of thoughtful Republicans willing to look at all sides of an issue. Sometimes he respectfully disagrees with Democrats, and sometimes he respectfully disagrees with Republicans. Our country needs more like him. Moderate Republicans should be added to the endangered species list. Jan Lawlor Just Americans Re: Reasons Latinos not supporting Democrats in midterms, by Ruben Navarrette Jr., Other Views, Nov. 1: I read Ruben Navarrette because he supports issues on their merit and the facts. He supports both Democratic and Republican positions, or just states an opinion on a particular issue being debated. This is refreshing. This commentary is a case in point. As a Never Trumper, Navarrette went after facts, and interviewed some folks and got comments on why Latinos are supporting President Donald Trump at a higher rate than prior Republicans. The comment that caught my attention: that Latinos saw themselves not as Latinos but as Americans. The Democrats love to characterize people as black, Latino, Asian or whatever. I hope most people consider citizens of the United States as Americans. It is difficult to make that point to Democrats. Thanks, Ruben. Phil Ferro Double standard Wheres the outrage? During a Hillary Clinton interview on Oct. 26, the hostess confused Sen. Cory Booker with former Attorney General Eric Holder. Clinton promptly replied, I know, they all look alike. Had anyone else made that comment, they would immediately be chastised in the main-stream media, and yet I have not seen any mention of it, except in online news reporting. D.K. Reynolds, Boerne Bad timing Re: Food banks now have too much on their plates, Front Page, Nov. 1: The Express-News seemed to throw the San Antonio Food Bank under the bus on the same day that it kicked off its Thanksgiving food drive while standing before empty shelves. A blazing lead headline of Food banks now have too much on their plates was ill-timed and terribly placed on the front page. A lead story supporting our food bank is need ASAP to counter this error. Beth Barron, Schertz Seek help for abuse Re: Priest accused of child sex abuse removed, front page, Oct. 26: I thank the person who had the courage to speak out, breaking the cycle of abuse and secrecy that is so often seen in clergy abuse. To those who trusted the Rev. Edward Pavlicek as their pastor, I offer words of wisdom that may help: The majority of abuse disclosures prove to be true. Abuse is quite common. One in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused in their lifetimes. Sexual abuse of children has terribly damaging effects. Much shame, confusion and fear afflict those who have been victimized by trusted religious authority figures. Victims may take years to disclose their abuse as they risk rejection and disbelief from loved ones. Ask your family and friends if they were victimized by the Rev. Pavlicek. It may be awkward, but in asking the question, other victims may find the courage to speak up and report abuse. SNAP Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and Pastors; www.snapnetwork.org is a peer network of adult survivors of sexual abuse by members of religious and institutional organizations. We advocate for stronger child protection laws and elimination or reform of statute of limitation laws. We share our stories and empower others to confront the truth. Together, we find healthy ways of healing. Patti Koo, SNAP volunteer leader, San Antonio-New Braunfels area, Canyon Lake BYRAM Greenwichs youngest, most diverse and lowest-income community cast the deciding votes in Tuesdays historic election of Democrat Stephen Meskers in the 150th state House District, according to official election results. Republican state Rep. Mike Boccino carried his home neighborhood of Byram by more than 100 votes in his first election in 2014 against Democrat Jill Oberlander, the only other race in which Bocchino had run opposed. This years election drew about 432 more Byram voters to the polls than in 2014, and the neighborhood went to newcomer Meskers by a small margin: 19 votes. With 52 percent of the overall vote, Meskers became the first Greenwich Democrat elected to the state House of Representatives in more than a century. During his concession speech on election night, Bocchino attributed his loss to the changing demographics of his coastline district, which includes South Center, Harbor, Chickahominy, Byram, Riverside and Old Greenwich. This year, Bocchino handily won Harbor and Riverside as he did in 2014. The only precinct that swung differently than in 2014 was Byram. I would love to make my strategy sound very clever, Meskers said after his win. But my focus was to relentlessly cover the entire town from top to bottom on a canvassing campaign. One aspect that might have helped Meskers, in particular, is that as a fluent Spanish speaker with a Colombian wife, he said he was able to connect with other Spanish-speaking residents in their neighborhoods. Were asking ourselves whether or not the Hispanic community showed up to vote, said Meskers. I think the answer is they did. I think they were happy to be connected with a candidate that spoke their language. An easy-to-navigate Spanish option on Meskers campaign website, paired with videos in Spanish about his platform, also helped the candidate reach out to Hispanic voters. Byram is home to most of Greenwichs Spanish-speaking community. The percentage of Hispanic residents in Byram has increased steadily since 2010, when 28.5 percent of Byrams residents identified as such in the census. In 2016, the census bureau reported that 39.4 percent of the population was Hispanic. In Byram, 33 percent of the residents are foreign born, and of those, 77 percent were born in Latin America. The percentage of Spanish-speaking residents in Byram is more than double that of the Stamford, Norwalk and Bridgeport metro area. Not only is it the towns most diverse neighborhood, but it is home to people who have been the hardest hit by the states economic woes. Byrams per capita income is $49,300, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureaus 2016 American Community Survey, which is lower than the 2010 Census by about $6,000 a year. One-third of Byrams households make under $50,000 a year, which is significantly lower than the $85,000 a year required to support a family of four in Fairfield County, according to the 2018 household survival budget calculated by the United Way. And nearly 11 percent of Byram households live below federal poverty guidelines, which is more than double the 5 percent United Way accounted for in all of Greenwich in 2018. Meskers, a retired financial analyst, focused his campaign on getting the economy back on track but not at the expense of taxpayers. This tactic may have resonated with voters who have seen their wages stagnate as the cost of living continues to increase. Victor Muniz, a 20-year-old who has lived in Byram for 11 years, said he voted for Meskers and the other Democrats on this years ballot. I just wanted to vote for the right person to be elected, he said. Knowing what they promised, I voted for Democrats. Muniz has already voted in three elections, and he has noticed that other young adults have become more involved in the democratic process. I heard a lot more [people] in my generation went out to vote, he said. While Greenwichs population has remained about flat since 2014, according to the census, there were about 5,683 more people registered to vote in Greenwich leading into this years election than there were in 2014, according to party enrollment statistics from the secretary of the states office. Of those registered, 67 percent voted in the 2018 midterms a significantly higher number than the 56 percent that voted in the 2014 midterms. iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF's stock was trading at $36.70 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 (Coronavirus) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, EWT shares have increased by 80.4% and is now trading at $66.20. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. Global X MSCI Greece ETF shares reverse split before market open on Tuesday, April 28th 2020. The 1-3 reverse split was announced on Monday, April 13th 2020. The number of shares owned by shareholders was adjusted after the closing bell on Monday, April 27th 2020. An investor that had 100 shares of Global X MSCI Greece ETF stock prior to the reverse split would have 33 shares after the split. iShares MSCI Spain ETF's stock was trading at $22.48 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, EWP stock has increased by 17.8% and is now trading at $26.49. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF's stock was trading at $25.60 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, EWU stock has increased by 28.9% and is now trading at $33.00. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. The following companies are subsidiares of Stryker: ActiViews, Aimago SA, Alcott Indemnity Company, Arrinex Inc, Arrinex Inc., Ascent Healthcare Solutions, Berchtold, Berchtold + Fritz GmbH, Berchtold Consulting GmbH, Berchtold Corporation, Berchtold GmbH & Co. KG, Berchtold Holding Switzerland GmbH, CHG Hospital Beds, Cactus LLC, Cardan Robotics, Changzhou Orthomed Medical Instrument Company Limited, Concentric Medical, Concentric Medical Inc., Entellus Medical, Entellus Medical Europe Ltd, Entellus Medical Inc., GYS Tech LLC, Gaymar Industries, Gongping (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd., Groupe Bertec, HeartSine Technologies LLC, HeartSine Technologies Limited, Howmedica International S. de R.L., Howmedica Osteonics Corp., Hygia Health Services, Hygia Healthcare Services Inc., HyperBranch, HyperBranch Technology Inc., ITAPCo Limited, Image Guided Technologies, Imorphics Limited, Infinity MSD Corp., Infinity MSE Corp., Infinity MSF Corp., Infomedix Communications, Instratek, InstruMedics L.L.C, Invuity Inc., Ivy Sports Medicine, Ivy Sports Medicine LLC, Jiangsu Chuangyi Medical Instrument Company Limited, Jolife AB, K2M Germany GmbH, K2M Group, K2M Group Holdings Inc., K2M Holdings Inc., K2M Iberia Medcomtech S.L.U., K2M Inc., K2M Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, K2M Spine Solutions (Schweiz) GmbH, K2M UK Limited, Loon Intermediateco LLC, MAKO Surgical, MAKO Surgical Corp, Memometal Technologies, Mobius Imaging, Mobius Imaging LLC, Muka Metal, Muka Metal Ticaret ve Sanayi Anaonim Sirketi, NV Stryker SA, Nettrick Limited, Novadaq Corp, Novadaq Hong Kong Ltd, Novadaq Technologies, Novadaq Technologies ULC, OOO "Stryker", Orneo Ozel Saglk Hizmetleri Medikal Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, OrthoSpace, OrthoSpace Ltd., OrthoSpace US Inc., Orthomed (Hong Kong) Medical Instrument Company Limited, Orthovita, Orthovita Inc., OtisMed, P.C. Sweden Holding AB, Patient Safety Technologies, Patton Surgical, Pficonprod Pty. Ltd., Physio-Control, Physio-Control (Shanghai) Sales Co. Ltd., Physio-Control Brazil Vendas Ltda., Physio-Control Czech Sales s.r.o., Physio-Control Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Physio-Control Holdings Inc, Physio-Control Hungary Sales Kft, Physio-Control Inc., Physio-Control India Sales Pvt. Ltd, Physio-Control Investments LLC, Physio-Control Lebanon Sales Offshore s.a.l., Physio-Control Manufacturing Inc., Physio-Control Operations Netherlands B.V., Physio-Control Sales Limited Liability Company, Physio-Control Singapore Pte. Ltd., Physio-Control South Africa Sales Pty. Ltd., Physio-Control UK Sales Ltd., Pivot Medical, PlasmaSol, Porex Technologies, SSI Divestiture Inc., SYK Costa Rica Services Sociedad De Responsabilidad Limitada, SafeAir AG, SafeWire, Sage Products, Sage Products Coperatief U.A., Sage Products Holdings II LLC, Sage Products Holdings III LLC, Sage Products LLC, Scopis GmbH, Sightline Technologies, Small Bone Innovations, SpineCore, Spirox Inc., Stanmore Implants Worldwide, Stanmore Implants Worldwide Limited, Stanmore Inc., Stryker (Barbados) Foreign Sales Corporation, Stryker (Beijing) Healthcare Products Co. Ltd., Stryker (Shanghai) Healthcare Products Co. Ltd., Stryker (Suzhou) Medical Technology Co Ltd, Stryker (Thailand) Limited, Stryker AB, Stryker Acquisitions BV, Stryker Asia Holdings CV, Stryker Australia LLC, Stryker Australia Pty. Ltd., Stryker Austria GmbH, Stryker B.V., Stryker Berchtold BV, Stryker Beteiligungs GmbH, Stryker Canada GP ULC, Stryker Canada Holding Company, Stryker Canada Manufacturing ULC, Stryker Canada ULC, Stryker Canadian Management ULC, Stryker Canadian Sales Holding Company ULC, Stryker Capital BV, Stryker China Limited, Stryker Colombia SAS, Stryker Communications Inc., Stryker Corporation (Chile) y Compania Limitada, Stryker Corporation (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Stryker Customs Brokers LLC, Stryker Czech Republic s.r.o., Stryker Delaware Inc., Stryker EMEA Supply Chain Services BV, Stryker Employment Company LLC, Stryker European Coordination Center BV, Stryker European Holdings Cooperatief U.A, Stryker European Holdings I LLC, Stryker European Holdings II LLC, Stryker European Holdings LLC, Stryker European Holdings V LLC, Stryker European Operations B.V., Stryker European Operations Holdings I BV, Stryker European Operations Holdings II BV, Stryker European Operations Holdings III BV, Stryker European Operations Holdings LLC, Stryker European Operations Limited, Stryker European Technologies C.V., Stryker Far East Inc., Stryker Foreign Acquisitions Inc., Stryker France Holding SNC, Stryker France MM Holdings SAS, Stryker France SAS, Stryker Funding B.V., Stryker GI Services CV, Stryker Global Technology Center Private Limited, Stryker GmbH, Stryker GmbH & Co. KG, Stryker Grundstucks GmbH & Co KG, Stryker Grundstucks Verwaltungs GmbH, Stryker Holdings BV, Stryker IFSC Designated Activity Company, Stryker Iberia SL Unipersonal, Stryker India Private Limited, Stryker International Acquisitions BV, Stryker International Holdings BV, Stryker Investment Holdings B.V., Stryker Ireland Holding Unlimited Company, Stryker Ireland Limited, Stryker Italia S.r.l. S.U., Stryker Japan Holdings BV, Stryker Japan K.K., Stryker Korea Ltd., Stryker Lebanon (Offshore) S.A.L., Stryker Leibinger GmbH & Co. KG, Stryker Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Stryker Luxembourg Sarl, Stryker Manufacturing S. de R.L. de C.V., Stryker Mauritius Holding Ltd., Stryker Medical London LP, Stryker Medtech K.K., Stryker Medtech Limited, Stryker Mexico Holdings B.V., Stryker Mexico SA de CV, Stryker NV Operations Limited, Stryker Nederland BV, Stryker New Zealand Limited, Stryker Osteonics AG, Stryker Pacific Limited, Stryker Performance Solutions LLC, Stryker Polska Sp.z.o.o., Stryker Portugal - Produtos Medicos Unipessoal Lda., Stryker Professional Latin America S. de R.L. de C.V., Stryker Puerto Rico Limited, Stryker Romania SRL, Stryker Sage Inc., Stryker Sales Corporation, Stryker Servicios Administrativos S.de R.L. de C.V., Stryker Singapore Private Limited, Stryker South Africa (Proprietary) Limited, Stryker Spine SAS, Stryker Spine Sarl, Stryker Sustainability Solutions Inc., Stryker Tibbi Cihazlan Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Stryker Trauma GmbH, Stryker Turkish Holdings BV, Stryker UK Ltd, Stryker Verwaltungs GmbH, Stryker Vietnam Company Limited, Stryker do Brasil Ltda, Surpass Medical, Synergetics, TG SP Holdings Corp, TSO3 Corp, TSO3 Inc, Trauson, Trauson (China) Medical Instrument Company Limited, Trauson (Hong Kong) Company Limited, Trauson Holdings (BVI) Company Limited, Trauson Holdings (Hong Kong) Company Limited, Trauson Holdings Company Limited, VEXIM SA, Vexim, Waterloo Bedding Co., Wright Medical Group, ZipLine Medical Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ZipLine Medical Hong Kong Limited, ZipLine Medical Inc., and eTrauma.com. The following companies are subsidiares of Mohawk Industries: A&S Energie NV, A&U Energie NV, Aladdin Manufacturing Corporation, Aladdin Manufacturing Of New York LLC, Aladdin Manufacturing of Alabama LLC, Alsace Logistique S.A., Avelgem Green Power CVBA, Avon Pacific Holdings Ltd, B&M NV, BGE Mexico S. de R. L. de C.V., Berghoef GmbH, Berghoef-Hout B.V., Bienes Raices y Materiales del Centro S. de R.L. de C.V., C.F. Marazzi S.A., Canterbury Spinners Ltd, Carpet Foundation Ltd, Cevotrans BV, Ceramus Bahia S/A Produtos Ceramicos, DT Mex Holdings LLC, DTM/CM Holdings LLC, Dal Italia LLC, Dal-Elit LLC, Dal-Tile Chile Comercial Limitada, Dal-Tile Colombia S.A.S., Dal-Tile Distribution Inc., Dal-Tile Group Inc., Dal-Tile I LLC, Dal-Tile Industrias S. de R.L. de C.V., Dal-Tile International Inc., Dal-Tile Mexico Comercial S. de R.L. de C.V., Dal-Tile Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Dal-Tile Operaciones Mexico S. De R.L. De C.V., Dal-Tile Peru SRL, Dal-Tile Puerto Rico Inc., Dal-Tile Services Inc., Dal-Tile Shared Services Inc., Dal-Tile Tennessee LLC, Dal-Tile of Canada ULC, Daltile, Daltile, Dekaply NV, Durkan, Dynea NV, Eliane Argentina Sociedad Anonima, Eliane S/A - Revestimentos Ceramicos, Emilceramica India Pvt Ltd., Emilceramica S.r.l, Emilgermany GmbH, Emilgroup Asia Ltd, Explorer S.r.l., F.I.L.S. Investments Unlimited Company, Feltex Carpets Ltd, Feltex Carpets Pty Ltd, Feltex New Zealand Ltd, Fibremakers Australia Pty Ltd, Flooring Foundation Ltd, Flooring Industries Limited S.a r.l., Flooring XL B.V., Floorscape Limited, Godfrey Hirst & Co Pty Ltd, Godfrey Hirst (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Godfrey Hirst Australia Pty Ltd, Godfrey Hirst Group, Godfrey Hirst NZ Ltd, Hytherm (Ireland) Limited, IVC BVBA, IVC Far-East Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., IVC France S.a r.l., IVC GROUP LIMITED, IVC Green Power NV, IVC Group, IVC Group GmbH, IVC Luxembourg S.a r.l., IVC Rus OOO, IVC US Inc., International Flooring Systems S.a r.l., International Vinyl Company - Vostok OOO, KAI Group, KAI Keramica Ltd, KAI Mining EOOD, KERAMA CENTER OOO, Kerama Baltics OOO, Kerama Export OOO, Kerama Marazzi OOO, Kerampromservis (LLC), Khan Asparuh - Transport EOOD, Khan Asparuh AD, Khan Omurtag AD, Koninklijke Peitsman B.V., Kraj Kerama OOO, MG China Trading Ltd., MI Finance SRL, MUD (Holding) Brazil Ltda., Management Co EAD, Marazzi Acquisition S.r.l., Marazzi Deutschland G.m.b.H., Marazzi France Trading S.A.S., Marazzi Group, Marazzi Group F.Z.E., Marazzi Group S.r.l., Marazzi Group Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Marazzi Iberia S.L.U., Marazzi Japan Co. Ltd., Marazzi Middle East FZ LLC, Marazzi Schweiz S.A.G.L., Marazzi UK Ltd., Mohawk Assurance Services Inc., Mohawk Australia Pty Ltd, Mohawk Canada Corporation, Mohawk Capital Finance S.A., Mohawk Capital Luxembourg SA, Mohawk Carpet Distribution Inc., Mohawk Carpet Foundation Inc., Mohawk Carpet LLC, Mohawk Carpet Transportation Of Georgia LLC, Mohawk Commercial Inc., Mohawk ESV Inc., Mohawk Europe BVBA, Mohawk Factoring II Inc., Mohawk Factoring LLC, Mohawk Finance S.a r.l., Mohawk Foreign Acquisitions S.a r.l., Mohawk Foreign Funding S.a.r.l, Mohawk Foreign Holdings S.a r.l., Mohawk Foreign Investments Inc., Mohawk Global Investments S.a r.l., Mohawk Holdings International B.V., Mohawk Industries Inc., Mohawk International (Europe) S.a r.l., Mohawk International (Hong Kong) Limited, Mohawk International Capital N.V., Mohawk International Financing S.a.r.l, Mohawk International Holdings (DE) LLC, Mohawk International Holdings S.a r.l., Mohawk International Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk International Netherlands B.V., Mohawk International Services BVBA, Mohawk KAI Luxembourg Holding S.a r.l., Mohawk KAI Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Capital S.A., Mohawk Luxembourg Financing S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Investments S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Pacific S.a r.l., Mohawk Marazzi International BV, Mohawk Marazzi Russia BV, Mohawk New Zealand Limited, Mohawk Operaciones Mexicali S. de R.L. de C.V., Mohawk Operations Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk Pacific Investments S.a r.l., Mohawk Resources LLC, Mohawk Servicing LLC, Mohawk Singapore Private Limited, Mohawk Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Mohawk Unilin Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk United Finance B.V., Mohawk United International B.V., Mohawk Vinyl Financing S.a r.l., Molber Beheer B.V., Monarch Ceramic Tile Inc., P.F. Onroerend Goed B.V., PF Beheer B.V., Pergo, Pergo (Europe) AB, Pergo Holding BV, Pergo India Pvt Ltd, Polcolorit S.A., Premium Floors Australia Pty Limited, RR Apex LLC, Rata International Pty Ltd, Recubrimientos Interceramica S. de R.L. de C.V., Riverside Textiles Pty Ltd, S.C. KAI Ceramics SRL, Sibir Kerama OOO, SimpleSolutions USA LLC, Soft Step (Australia) Pty Ltd, Spano Group, Spano Invest BVBA, Spano NV, Stroyagromekhzapchast ChaO, Stroytrans OAO Orelstroy, Summit Wool Spinners Ltd, The Flooring Federation Ltd, Tiles Co OOD, Unilin (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Unilin ApS, Unilin Arauco Pisos Ltda., Unilin BVBA, Unilin Beheer BV, Unilin Distribution Ltd., Unilin Distribution Ukraine LLC, Unilin Finland OY, Unilin Flooring India Private Limited, Unilin Flooring SAS, Unilin GmbH, Unilin Holding BVBA, Unilin Insulation BV, Unilin Insulation SAS, Unilin Insulation Sury SAS, Unilin Italia S.R.L., Unilin North America LLC, Unilin Norway AS, Unilin OOO, Unilin Panels SAS, Unilin Poland Sp.Z.o.o., Unilin SAS, Unilin Spain SL, Unilin Swiss GmbH, Unilin s.r.o., World International Inc., Xtratherm, Xtratherm Limited, Xtratherm S.A., and Xtratherm UK Limited. by Alex Murray | Warriors Correspondent | Fri, Nov 9th 5:37pm EST Draymond Green (foot) will not play in the Warriors' Saturday night matchup with the Nets. (Mark Medina on Twitter) (A feature story on this years two cooperator award winners will appear later.) SMITHVILLE, Ohio This years conservation Cooperator award winners in Wayne County went to two brothers who run two separate farms, but with a similar approach to conservation. Earl Jentes and his brother, Robert, were both recognized during the annual Wayne SWCD banquet Nov. 8 at The Barn Restaurant in Smithville. Earl and his family run 700 acres of crops, including corn, soybeans, small grain and alfalfa. Robert and his family operate Blue Ridge Farms, a 750-acre operation that includes similar crops. Both brothers practice conservation tillage, strip cropping, cover crops, tile drainage and nutrient management. They also both run dairy operations. Robert milks 100 head of Holsteins, and Earl milks 60, and feeds out about 100 head of steers. Robert farms with his wife, Jan, their son, Daryl, and daughter, Sheryl. Earl farms with his wife, Robin, sons Brian and Darren, and daughter-in-law, Lacey. Committed to conservation Tim Derickson, interim director at the Ohio Department of Agriculture, complimented the county for its commitment to taking care of the land, in the humble ways that farmers often are known for. He presented the Ohio Bicentennial Farm Award to the Baer family farm, run by Elmer and Carolyn Baer. Conservation means everything, Derickson said. We are stewards of the land for a short time. The farm traces its history to 1818, and many of the original farm buildings are still in use, including a bank barn and farm house. Now in their seventh generation, the Baers operate a 120-cow dairy farm, and three generations of Baer family are still actively involved. Carolyn Baer said they try to remind the younger generation, a lot of people have worked so that you can have this. The Conservation Education Award went to Pastor Paul Bartholomew, of the Mohican Church of the Brethren. He helps lead the outdoor education program at Northwestern schools, where he teaches youth about the importance of conservation and caring for wildlife. He raises monarch and swallowtail butterflies, and teaches about the importance of milkweed and habitat. Weather outlook During her keynote address, Sarah Jamison, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service, talked about how weather predictions are made. Like farming, she said forecasts are becoming more precise and more accurate, thanks to improvements in technology and data. However, forecasts, like farming, are never perfect. Weather forecasting has come a long way and I think even subconsciously, people are trusting the forecast more than they ever used to, because when were wrong, theyre more mad, she said. Theyre starting to depend on it more and more being right. Jamison tries to get it right, especially when it comes to weather events that can threaten life and property, like flooding or major wind storms. Our primary mission is the protection of life and property, she said. Overall, she expects a colder winter this year than the past few years, but winter does not begin until Dec. 21. Jamison also encouraged landowners to participate in a self-reporting program called CoCoRaHS, which stands for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow network. The program relies on precipitation data tracked by home-based reporters. To learn more, visit https://www.cocorahs.org. Election results. Matt Peart and John Redick were re-elected as district supervisors. (A feature story on this years two cooperator award winners will appear later.) The livestock sector has warned farmers to think carefully when importing animals from countries with known Bluetongue virus areas. Ten organisations, which includes the NFU, British Veterinary Association and National Sheep Association, have joined forces to warn farmers about the devastating virus. The call comes after the virus was found, following post-import testing, in imported animals for the third time in less than 12 months. The infected animals have been slaughtered and no compensation was paid. The midge-borne disease has been circulating around Europe with cases being reported in France, Switzerland, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy. A cross-industry statement said: Bringing in diseases into the UK such as bluetongue would have severe consequences on the health and welfare of our livestock, which can result in widespread movement restrictions and costly surveillance testing. In addition to these costs, if there is spread into the national herd or flock, the country loses disease-free status, which can have a significant impact on trade. In order to continue to protect our herds and flocks, both locally, regionally and nationally, we must be vigilant when importing livestock from high risk areas, and perhaps even reconsider importing animals from areas where BTV is present. The organisations call for importers to be aware of the risks to the national herd when importing animals from Bluetongue affected areas, and to take measures such as pre-export testing to minimise risks. They added: Such tests should provide confirmation of the BTV and vaccination status of the animals. The movement of herds or flocks should then be restricted until the required post-import testing is carried out. If imported animals are found to be infected with bluetongue, they will be culled, with no compensation. Any premises found to have bluetongue infected animals will then be placed under strict animal movement restrictions for a number of weeks, while extensive surveillance is carried out. The statement said: Our message to all livestock keepers is to discuss any imports with their vets and consider choosing non-BTV restricted areas for the supply of stock. Bluetongue does not pose a threat to human health or food safety, but the disease can have a serious impact on farming productivity by causing infertility in sheep, and reduced milk yields in dairy cattle. Farmers have been urged toremain vigilant and report any suspicions to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. 2020 was a year marked by hardships and challenges, but the Fauquier community has proven resilient. 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Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category KATHMANDU, Nov 10: The Ganesh Man Singh Foundation organized a programme at Shova Bhagawati here this morning, commemorating the 104th birth anniversary of commander of the 1990 democracy movement, Ganesh Man Singh. Rich tributes were paid to the late leader who is also known as the Iron Man of Nepali politics for his audacious struggle for overthrowing the Rana and the Panchayat dictatorships. Addressing the programme, Nepali Congress leader Prakash Man Singh said the late leader Singh has played a significant role in the democracy movement of Nepal. He recalled his father, the late leader Singh, as a dedicated democracy fighter steadfast in his principles. Commenting on the present state of affairs in the Nepali Congress, leader Singh said the party president was not functioning as per the party statute. He accused the party president of flouting the partys constitution, adding that he would continue his struggle for reforming the party. Partys central committee member Dila Sangraula, partys Kathmandu district committee president Sabuj Baniya, lawmakers from the party and presidents and office-bearers of the party various sister organizations were present on the occasion. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jollychic, the top-ranked mobile E-commerce platform in the Middle East, is gearing up its biggest ever "Black Friday" shopping season with its global suppliers. In its 2018 Black Friday Supplier Collaboration Conference which was held recently, more than 600 suppliers from East Asian countries participated to get detailed information and offer better support. "Black Friday is the largest shopping season every year. We usually start preparations two to three months in advance to ensure the fulfillment of customer orders even at the busiest time," said Hakam Baker, Logistic Business Development Manager of Jollychic. As a multi-category online shopping destination, Jollychic works to be the client's first choice for a convenient one-stop shopping solution. In the past five years, the sales volume has maintained an annual growth rate of over 300%. According to a report by BMI Research, The Middle East e-commerce market will grow by 16.4% over the next three and a half years, with a projected value of $48.6 billion in 2022. The Middle East has become the fastest growing area in global e-commerce business based on the high penetration rate of internet and smartphones. This momentum encourages business to invest more, said Hakam. Jollychic is cooperating with hundreds of global suppliers including famous brands, such as Apple, Huawei, Adidas, Pampers, Coty Group, etc., to bring a first-class shopping festival. Additionally, Jollychic launched a series of solutions for user experience. A new intelligent warehouse was built especially for Black Friday, working together with other five warehouses worldwide. "We have cooperated with several airlines and distribution centers and increased manpower in logistic and call centers to guarantee commodity transportation," said Hakam. Benefiting from technical advantages, Jollychic also works to stock appropriately to ensure that customers get their orders quickly. Aaron Li, Jollychic founder, said, "Jollychic is not just selling goods, but bringing quality products and service to customers. Black Friday is not just a promotion day, but also a big shopping holiday for everyone. You can enjoy as you wish and if there is any dissatisfaction, you can return to us with our favorable policy. This is a commitment of Jollychic and all suppliers." About Jollychic Jollychic is an online shopping platform in Middle East providing multi-category products. Click www.jollychic.com or download "Jollychic" in App store to enjoy more deals! By Dasha Afanasieva LONDON (Reuters) - SoftBank's Vision Fund is raising $4 billion to help finance acquisitions and has hired Goldman Sachs and Mizuho to work on the deal, a presentation seen by Reuters said. The transaction would be the first test of debt investors appetite for the Saudi-backed technology fund since the crisis triggered by the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist critical of Saudi authorities. Softbank's $98 billion Vision Fund has become one of the primary funding vehicles for technology companies around the world. By Dasha Afanasieva LONDON (Reuters) - SoftBank's Vision Fund is raising $4 billion to help finance acquisitions and has hired Goldman Sachs and Mizuho to work on the deal, a presentation seen by Reuters said. The transaction would be the first test of debt investors appetite for the Saudi-backed technology fund since the crisis triggered by the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist critical of Saudi authorities. Softbank's $98 billion Vision Fund has become one of the primary funding vehicles for technology companies around the world. Saudi Arabia provided $45 billion for the fund, and unease over Softbank's ties to the kingdom has weighed on the Japanese company's shares. Investors, which include other sovereign wealth funds such as Abu Dhabi's Mubadala, have a period of time to provide funds for a given acquisition from their undrawn commitment. The $4 billion credit facility outlined at a meeting at the Ritz in London on Thursday would bridge that gap, allowing the fund to swoop in quickly. The SoftBank Vision Fund, whose investments include ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc and shared-office space firm WeWork, declined to comment. Goldman Sachs and Mizuho did not immediately respond to requests for comment. PIF and Mubadala are not providing a formal, legal guarantee for the loan, but the attendance of senior officials from the funds at the meeting indicated implicit support. Earlier this year PIF raised $11 billion in a bid to boost its firepower to finance the kingdoms economic transformation plans. Debt raising at the SoftBank Vision Fund is part of a plan to start leveraging up the PIF's investment. SoftBank Group Corp on Monday reported a surge in second-quarter profit, helped by the rising value of its investments. (Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva, editing by Louise Heavens) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Giuseppe Fonte and Anne Kauranen ROME/HELSINKI (Reuters) - Italy stood by the main pillars of its 2019 budget on Friday, as a deadline neared for it to change what Brussels called overly optimistic economic assumptions or face penalties for breaking EU fiscal rules. Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio and Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said they were committed to respecting a maximum budget deficit of 2.4 percent of economic output next year. But the European Commission, which has given Rome until Tuesday to present a new budget, has forecast a deficit of 2.9 percent and a structural fiscal gap - excluding one-offs and business cycle swings - rising to 3.0 percent By Giuseppe Fonte and Anne Kauranen ROME/HELSINKI (Reuters) - Italy stood by the main pillars of its 2019 budget on Friday, as a deadline neared for it to change what Brussels called overly optimistic economic assumptions or face penalties for breaking EU fiscal rules. Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio and Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said they were committed to respecting a maximum budget deficit of 2.4 percent of economic output next year. But the European Commission, which has given Rome until Tuesday to present a new budget, has forecast a deficit of 2.9 percent and a structural fiscal gap - excluding one-offs and business cycle swings - rising to 3.0 percent. Under EU requirements, Italy should cut its structural deficit next year to 1.2 percent and continue reducing it every year until it reaches a balanced budget. Tria said the government was "busy drafting an answer to the European Commission with regards to the most contentious points of the budget". But Rome would confirm its "main pillars", as an economic slowdown had made fiscal expansion even more necessary, he told a parliamentary hearing. The government says it will introduce an income support programme next year to tackle growing poverty, and reduce the retirement age in an effort to free up the labour market and generate more job opportunities for the young. It is also promising tax cuts and offering a partial amnesty for citizens who settle tax disputes with the authorities. The Commission rejected Italy's 2019 fiscal plan last month, saying it flouted a previous commitment to lower the deficit and that it did not guarantee a reduction in the country's debt, the second highest in the euro zone as a proportion of GDP. ITALIAN BONDS In Helsinki, Valdis Dombrovskis, the Commission Vice President responsible for the euro, on Friday reaffirmed the EU executive was considering starting an excessive deficit procedure if Italy did not change the budget. He said Brussels believed Rome's fiscal calculations were "overly optimistic". "Basically the assumption is that if they ... increase public spending, it will stimulate the economy and thus will help to reduce the budget deficit. We see that this is actually not materialising," he said. The standoff between Rome and Brussels has spooked financial markets and, after Tria spoke, 10-year Italian bond yields climbed to 3.46 percent, their highest in over a week. That pushed the closely-watched gap over safer German Bund yields back above 300 basis points. Italy's central bank warned that the rise in borrowing costs over recent months risked impacting the economy and cancelling out the expansionary effects of the budget. "I hope for a solution that combines both Italy's respect for the rules it must abide with as a member of the monetary union... and the government and parliament pursuing their political goals," Luigi Federico Signorini, the Bank of Italy's deputy director general, told a parliamentary committee. Di Maio, whose anti-establishment 5-Star Movement governs in a coalition with the far-right League, said he believed market pressure would ease when investors realised the government was committed to holding the deficit inside its 2.4 percent target. But he gave no indication that the government was willing to change the 2019 budget draft. Asked if Italy would pay any fines the EU might levy, Di Maio told reporters in Rome "pacts must be honoured", but that he did not expect any charges to be levied and was confident an agreement with Brussels would be reached. (Reporting by Gavin Jones and Giuseppe Fonte in Rome and Anne Kauranen in Helsinki; writing by John Stonestreet) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than one percent on Friday, with U.S. crude on track for its longest losing streak since 1984 as global supply increased and investors worried about the impact of lower economic growth and trade disputes on fuel demand By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than one percent on Friday, with U.S. crude on track for its longest losing streak since 1984 as global supply increased and investors worried about the impact of lower economic growth and trade disputes on fuel demand. Benchmark Brent crude fell below $70 a barrel for the first time since early April, and was down nearly 20 percent since reaching four-year highs at the beginning of October. Brent crude futures fell 53 cents to $70.12 a barrel, a 0.8 percent loss. It was down about 3.7 percent for the week and more than 15 percent this quarter. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were on track for the 10th straight day of declines, the longest such streak since July 1984, according to Refinitiv data. WTI crude futures fell 48 cents to $60.19 a barrel, a 0.8 percent loss by 11:24 EST (1624 GMT), after dropping under $60 a barrel to its lowest in eight months. The U.S. crude contract had hit a low of $59.26, down $1.41 and off more than 20 percent since its peak in October. That put it in "bear market" territory, borrowing a definition used in stock markets. "What a difference a month makes," said Michael Tran, commodity strategist at RBC Capital Markets. "Market sentiment has shifted from the most bullish tone in years with many calling for $100 only weeks ago, to the weakest investor sentiment since the 2016 price trough" Oil peaked in early October on concerns that U.S. sanctions on Iran that came into force this week would deprive the oil market of substantial volumes of crude, draining inventories and bringing shortages in some regions. But other big producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Russia and shale companies in the United States, have increased output steadily, more than compensating for lost Iranian barrels. The United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia are pumping at or near record highs, producing more than 33 million barrels per day (bpd), a third of the world's oil. Inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for U.S. crude futures, have risen for seven straight weeks amid refinery maintenance and increased pipeline connections into the hub. The U.S. sanctions on Iran, meanwhile, are unlikely to cut supply as much as expected. Washington has granted exemptions to Iran's biggest buyers, allowing them to buy limited amounts of oil for at least another six months. A South Korean delegation including oil buyers is expected to head to Iran next week to discuss resuming Iranian oil imports after a three-month halt, sources told Reuters. China National Petroleum Corp said it was still taking oil from Iranian fields in which it has stakes. Washington has said it wants to force Iranian oil exports down to zero, but Bernstein Energy now expects "Iranian exports will average 1.4 million to 1.5 million bpd" during the exemption period, about half the volume in mid-2018. "As OPEC exports continue to rise, inventories continue to build, which is putting downward pressure on oil prices," Bernstein said. "A slowdown in the global economy remains the key downside risk to oil." Still, a return to oil production cuts by OPEC and its allies next year cannot be ruled out, two OPEC sources said this week, to avert a possible supply glut. A ministerial committee of some OPEC members and allies meets on Sunday in Abu Dhabi to discuss the market and outlook for 2019. (Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York, Christopher Johnson in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Bernadette Baum) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. In a series of tweets, Chidambaram said that the fiscal deficit in 2013-14 was 4.4 percent according to official data and not 5.1 percent as Garg mentioned on Friday. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has accused Economic Affairs Secretary SC Garg of fudging fiscal deficit figures. In a series of tweets, he said that the fiscal deficit in 2013-14 was 4.4 percent according to official data and not 5.1 percent as Garg mentioned on Friday. Fudging figures in a debate is neither good governance nor good manners! P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) November 10, 2018 On Friday, Garg tweeted government's FD (fiscal deficit) in FY 2013-14 was 5.1 percent. Governments FD in FY 2013-14 was 5.1%. From 2014-15 onwards, Government has succeeded in bringing it down substantially. We will end the FY 2018-19 with FD of 3.3%. Government has actually foregone 70000 crore of budgeted market borrowing this year. ( continued .....) Subhash Chandra Garg (@SecretaryDEA) November 9, 2018 How did EcoAffairs Secretary say that fiscal deficit in 2013-14 was 5.1 per cent? Official data says it was 4.4 per cent. P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) November 10, 2018 On Friday, Chidambaram said in Guwahati that "shockingly, government's paper calculated GDP growth in real terms and growth in money circulation in nominal terms, yet compared the two and reached absurd conclusions. So much for the competence of the government." He warned the NDA government against laying its hands on RBI reserves, saying it will have "catastrophic" economic consequences for the country. He also said the minutes of a Reserve Bank of India meeting on 7 November 2016 is a "comprehensive repudiation" of the government's "justification" for demonetisation. Talking to reporters in Guwahati, the senior Congress leader said it is clear that the BJP has no understanding of the role of the central bank and no respect for the independence of its governor. The government has already taken the "extraordinary step" of invoking Section 7 of the RBI Act (that empowers the government to issue directions to the RBI), he said. He also said the minutes of a Reserve Bank of India meeting on 7 November 2016 is a "comprehensive repudiation" of the government's "justification" for demonetisation. He alleged that the "immediate goal of the government is to lay its hands on the reserves of the RBI and appropriate a sum of at least Rs. one lakh crore to meet its fiscal deficit target and to increase spending in an election year". He also said that "according to reports the BJP government is planning to override the RBI governor through the board of directors in which it has planted its hand-picked nominees". Chidambaram warned the NDA government against laying its hands on RBI reserves, saying it will have "catastrophic" economic consequences for the country. He also said the minutes of a Reserve Bank of India meeting on 7 November 2016 is a "comprehensive repudiation" of the government's "justification" for demonetisation. Taking to Twitter, Chidambaram said the RBI Board had met on 8 November 2016 and "disagreed" with the key reasons given by the government, but "obediently endorsed demonetisation" and that was a "black day" in the central bank's history. He also hit out at the government over its claim to "fix appropriate economic capital framework of RBI" after it rejected as speculation reports that it was seeking the reserve bank's approval for release of Rs 3.6 lakh crore. "RBI minutes of 7-11-2016 is a comprehensive repudiation of government's "justification" for demonetisation. The RBI Board, with many members absent, met at 5.30 pm on 8-11-2016 and disagreed with the key reasons given by government, yet obediently endorsed demonetisation. That was a black day in RBI's history," he tweeted. In Guwahati, Chidambaram said he fears the worst at the next meeting of the RBI board on 19 November. "I consider it my duty to warn the people of the country of the catastrophic consequences of the BJP government's ill-conceived actions." I fear the worst at the next meeting of the Board on November 19, 2018, and I consider it my duty to warn the people of the country of the catastrophic consequences of the BJP governments ill-conceived actions. P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) November 9, 2018 Asked if the RBI governor would resign over the standoff with the Centre if the central bank fund is transferred to the government through the resolution, Chidambaram said, "Either way - whether the governor resigns or the money is transferred - it will be disastrous". --With PTI inputs The Karnataka government celebrated Tipu Sultan's birth anniversary on Saturday amid tight security despite stringent opposition by BJP and other organisations Editor's Note: Despite strong opposition from BJP and other factions, the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka is gearing up for Tipu Jayanti on 10 November. But the celebrations are likely to be muted this year; all events are being restricted to indoor facilities and the security apparatus is on high alert to prevent any violence. This is the final article in a three-part series of analyses of Tipu's reign and how the gaps in the narrative have driven the vitriol around the colonial-era hero among different communities. *** Mangaluru: The Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government celebrated the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan on Saturday amid tight security despite stringent opposition by the Bharatiya Janata Party and several other organisations, but it's the BJP which claims to have achieved success in the showdown. The Karnataka BJP unit claims that it has already proved its point by holding anti-Tipu Jayanti protests on Friday, a day before the celebrations, and thus ruffling quite a many political feathers with the move. We had definite information that the government had given instructions to selectively clamp prohibitory orders of various grades, particularly on the coast, Kodagu and old Mysore region. So, we organised the protests on 9 November and drove our point home in all the districts, Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha said. On Saturday morning, BJP leaders and workers across the state descended outside the venues where the celebrations were slated. Madikeri MLA MP Appachu Ranjan, Virajpet MLA K G Bopaiah and 21 other BJP leaders were detained for obstructing Tipu Jayanti celebrations organised by the taluk administration. Madikeri, the district headquarters of Kodagu, had seen violent clashes during the 2015 celebrations, during two people were killed. On Saturday, Hindu groups staged protests and offered prayers at several temples in the district, and raised slogans such as 'Kuttappa amar rahe', remembering VHP secretary D Kuttappa who died in the 2015 clashes. In Bidar, BJP workers defied government orders which had prohibited anyone from taking out processions to or against Tipu Sultan by taking out a march from Ambedkar Circle to the District Commissioners office. In Davangere city, BJP activists, led by district BJP president Yeshwanth Rao Jadhav, were arrested by the police near the Tipu Jayanti programme venue at the grounds of the government high school as they attempted to barge onto the podium of the programme. BJP, which has steadfastly opposed Tipu Jayanti since its conception by former chief minister Siddaramaiah in 2015, was expected to up the ante this year along with other pro-Hindu organisations as it's being played up as a major poll issue for next year. Several groups like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Sri Ram Sene have already observed separate protests against the state government on the matter. Leaders of the saffron party have been consistently categorising Tipu Sultan as an anti-Hindu and intolerant ruler and have accused the Congress of glorifying a tyrant to secure their vote bank. BJP also said that Tipu was not a freedom fighter since he took on the British for his own needs. The steady and sustained attack on Tipu by BJP galvanised several other factions like the Kodavas and Dakshin Kannada Christians, who have been trying to assert that the 18th-century ruler carried out massacres and destroyed their communities. Along with propagating their historical interpretations of Tipu Sultans rule, BJP leaders have also presented several other reasons why Tipu Jayanti should not be celebrated. Former deputy chief minister R Ashok, who led a group of protesters in Bengaluru urban on Saturday, alleged that the state government was creating a corridor for the Jihadis of Kerala to enter Karnataka by creating the occasion of Tipu Jayanti. The Tipu Jayanti celebrations might also become a source of conflict between coalition partners Congress and JD(S) after Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who is not known to be a supporter of Tipu Jayanti celebrations, chose to go for a three-day leave till 11 November giving the celebrations a miss. On the advice of doctors, the chief minister will take rest for three days till 11 November 11. He will spend time with family and there will be no official engagements on these days, the Chief Ministers Office said in a statement. Sources have told 101Reporters that celebrations this year would largely be a Congress show in most parts especially in districts like Mysuru, Mandya, Ramanagara, Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Uttara Kannada since Tipu Jayanti is a big draw in these regions. According to sources, JD(S) workers and leaders plan to resort to the disappearing act during the 2018 Tipu Jayanti. Majority of these areas are under old Mysore region where JD(S) is politically stronger than Congress. The JD(S) has understood that their political survival in this region could hinge on the stand taken by the party on Tipu Jayanti, said Nanjunde Gowda, a JD(S) leader of the old Mysore region. The party is playing safe with Congress as it was in the process electing a mayor for Mysuru City Corporation from JD(S) in November and cannot totally isolate itself from the Congress agenda including that of Tipu Jayanti, he added. Sources close to the HD Deve Gowda family also said that HD Revanna, state Public Works Department minister and Kumaraswamys brother, too gave the celebrations a miss saying he would be attending various programmes outside Bengaluru, in Puttur and Subramanya of the Dakshina Kannada district. Taking a departure from the traditional for or against viewpoints, some have also formulated their own stance on the issue. Tipu Jayanti is nothing but an appeasement by parties in power and the main opposition for their own vote bank. We are in support of permanent and living monuments like a university, or a chair in a university to study Tipus contributions to Karnataka and national history, said Athavulla Jokatte, a senior leader of the Social Democratic Party of India. The author is a Mangaluru-based freelance writer and a part of 101Reporters' grassroots network of journalists The CPCB has asked the district magistrate to submit a report on action taken to prevent the sale of unauthorised firecrackers in Gautam Buddh district along with the reason for non-compliance of the Supreme Court order. New Delhi: The Central Pollution Control Board has issued a notice to Noida district magistrate over the sale of unauthorised firecrackers despite a Supreme Court ban. The Delhi-NCR recorded its worst air quality in the 'severe' category a day after Diwali. Authorities attributed the spike in pollution level to the burning of toxic firecrackers. In a letter, CPCB chairperson SP Singh Parihar said it had been reported that firecrackers other than those permitted by the apex court were sold and burst on Diwali in Gautam Buddh Nagar district. "The above status indicates non-compliance of the Supreme Court order," the letter said. "Direction is hereby issued to the district magistrate to submit a report on action taken to prevent the sale of unauthorised firecrackers in Gautam Buddh district along with the reason for non-compliance of the Supreme Court order," it said. The pollution control board has sought the report within seven days. Meanwhile, the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration asked the city magistrates of Noida and Greater Noida along with all police station heads (SHOs) in the district to submit their action taken report within a week. The Supreme Court had in a recent ruling allowed people to burst firecrackers from 8 pm to 10 pm only on Diwali and other festivals. It also allowed the manufacture and sale of just "green crackers" with low-emission of light, sound and harmful chemicals. But despite the court order, certain places recorded violations wherein firecrackers were burnt before and after the set time frame. "As per the Supreme Court order, the strict implementation of the order is the responsibility of the SHO, city magistrate and deputy collector. In this situation, you are directed to report by 12 November what steps did you take to ensure action against violators of the court's order and under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986," District Magistrate Brajesh Narain Singh said in the letter. He also asked the officials to ensure the implementation of the court order, added the letter, a copy of which was sent to district police chief, SHOs and administration officials. Today's top stories: Amit Shah to unveil BJP's manifesto for Chhattisgarh today; Melbourne stabbing attacker identified; EC bans exit polls from 12 November to 7 December; and more. Karnataka gets ready for Tipu Jayanti showdown Section 144 has been invoked in six districts of Karnataka after the Congress-led Tipu Jayanti celebrations roused tensions on Friday. The move comes after the BJP on Friday staged protests against the Karnataka government-sponsored celebrations for the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan, a colonial-era hero which ruled erstwhile Mysore kingdom in the 18th Century. The BJP, which has appealed to the government to drop the celebrations, staged demonstrations at several places including Bengaluru, Mysuru and Kodagu, in the state. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is likely to give the event a miss citing health reasons. A press release issued by the chief ministers office on Friday said: On the advice of doctors, the chief minister will take three days rest till 11 November. He will spend time with family on these days and there will be no official engagements. Chhattisgarh polls: Amit Shah to unveil BJP manifesto today BJP will release its 'game changer' manifesto for Chhattisgarh today with special focus on farmers and youth, reports said. The 'Sanklap Patar' will be released by BJP president Amit Shah in Raipur. Congress promises farm loan waiver in Chhattisgarh, to release party manifesto for Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Rahul Gandhi Friday released the party's manifesto for Chhattisgarh which promises farm loan waiver, minimum support price for crops as per the Swaminathan Commission recommendations and ban on liquor sales. The state will go to polls in two phases on 12 and 20 November and counting of votes will take place on 11 December. Gandhi released the manifesto, titled "Jan Ghoshna Patra" in Rajnandgaon, which is the constituency of Chief Minister Raman Singh. The party is expected to unveil the manifesto for Madhya Pradesh today. Only Congress, Rahul Gandhi can anchor anti-BJP front: Chandrababu Naidu Continuing his efforts to forge a grand alliance against the BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday met DMK President MK Stalin and urged opposition parties to sink their differences in the interest of the nation and democracy. "We are all together in bringing parties on one platform. One or two may have differences of opinion. We (TDP) had differences with Congress for 40 years but at the same time now we are working how to bring together all. Democracy is important. It is for people to sink their differences. People are prepared now," he told reporters after an hour-long meeting with Stalin. Sirisena dissolves Sri Lanka parliament; fresh polls on 5 January Sri Lanka's political crisis deepened Friday as President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved the Parliament and announced snap polls on 5 January after it became evident that he did not have enough support in the House for Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was appointed by him under controversial circumstances. Sirisena signed a gazette notification to dissolve the nation's parliament with effect from Friday midnight, in another surprise move that comes after two weeks of political and constitutional turmoil. According to the gazette notice, nominations to contest in the snap election would be taken between 19 and 26 November. The election will be held on 5 January and the new parliament would be convened on 17 January. EC bans exit polls from 12 November to 7 December The Election Commission on Friday imposed a near month-long ban on holding exit polls beginning 12 November in the five poll-bound states. A notification issued by the poll panel said between 7 am of 12 November and 5.30 pm of 7 December, "conducting any exit poll and publishing or publicising the result of exit poll by means of the print or electronic media or in any other manner shall be prohibited". While Chhattisgarh is going to polls in two phases on 12 and 20 November, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram have elections on 28 November. Rajasthan and Telangana will go to polls on 7 December. Using powers under the Representation of People Act, 1951, EC bans exit polls from the time the poll begins till half-an-hour after the polling ends. The poll panel had proposed a prohibition on publication and broadcast of opinion polls results starting from the date of notification of elections, until the completion of the last phase of polls to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies. The proposal is pending with the government. Melbourne stabbing attacker identified Victoria Police on Saturday identified the man who set a car on fire and stabbed three people, killing one of them, before being fatally shot in Melbourne, as Hassan Khalif Shire Ali from Somalia. The police said it has executed search warrants in two properties and spoke to Ali's wife as part of the investigation. Ali, who was driving a ute loaded with gas bottles into Bourke Street, allegedly set it alight and began stabbing members of the public Friday. He was shot by police as he lunged towards them with a knife. He later died in a hospital. With inputs from agencies A Delhi Police deputy commissioner has tweeted he never imagined that bursting firecrackers could land somebody in jail, only to delete the post after it went viral New Delhi: A Delhi Police deputy commissioner has tweeted he never imagined that bursting firecrackers could land somebody in jail, only to delete the post after it went viral. The Delhi Police, however, on Friday said it had nothing to do with the tweet and the officer had posted it from his personal Twitter handle. "Bursting firecrackers on Diwali could land you in jail. Never imagined such a day would come. Am I in my country, Bharat? Jai Sri Ram. Jai Hind," Deputy Commissioner of Police(Southwest) Devender Arya, had tweeted in Hindi. He later deleted it. The officer, in another tweet on Friday, said, "It was a momentary inadvertent slip on my part. It does not reflect any opinion/view. I sincerely apologise for this inadvertent slip." The Supreme Court had allowed people to burst firecrackers from 8 pm to 10 pm only on Diwali and other festivals. The top court also allowed manufacture and sale of just "green crackers" which have low emission of light, sound and harmful chemicals The Delhi Police, in a statement, said it has nothing to do with the tweet. "The said tweet got posted from the personal handle of Devender Arya. It was immediately deleted by the officer. Delhi Police has nothing to do with that tweet. "We are committed to ensure that directions of Hon'ble Supreme Court on this issue are strictly complied with," it said. The apex court had also said police should ensure that there was no sale of banned firecrackers and in case of any violation, the station house officer (SHO) of the police station of the area would be held personally liable and this would amount to committing contempt of the court. Email me any time: farrorita@gmail.com Sewing + Thrift store shopping = Frankensewing. I love vintage linens, hanging my sheets out on the line to dry...and creating adventures for my two Grandchildren. Doing those very ordinary things -- and then BLOGGING about it -- is how I work things out. King Arthur Popover Recipe Preheat oven to 425 degrees... then preheat the Popover Pan...it needs to be screaming hot. Butter the sides generously -- right before you pour the batter. 4 eggs 1 1/3 c. milk 1 1/3 c. all purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt 3 tbl melted butter Whisk eggs into milk. Make sure everything is room temp. Whisk in the flour & salt, add the melted butter at the end. Pour thin batter into Popover pan (2/3 full) and bake for 30 minutes. DON'T OPEN THE DOOR. When the popovers are done -- get them out of the pan ASAP and prick the top with a sharp knife to prevent collapse. Serve with REAL BUTTER...that's mandatory. Homemade jam is optional... With seasonal crop residue burning, industrial and vehicle emissions and calm winds persisting, a thick layer of toxic smog settled over Delhi on Saturday. New Delhi: With seasonal crop residue burning, industrial and vehicle emissions and calm winds persisting, a thick layer of toxic smog settled over the national capital on Saturday. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi stood at 440 with Particulate Matter (PM) 10, which falls under the 'hazardous' category, said System of Air Quality and Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). An AQI in the range of 0 to 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 is marked as satisfactory, 101 to 200 is moderate, 201 to 300 comes under the category of poor, 401 to 500 severe and beyond 500 is contemplated as hazardous. At Dhirpur, the AQI was 420 at 8.30 am, while in Mathura Road area, it dipped to 'severe' category at 423. Furthermore, AQI near Pitampura, Airport Terminal 3 and Delhi University stood at 426, 472 and 433, respectively. Worried about the situation in the capital, medical practitioners have advised people suffering from breathing difficulties to avoid outdoor activities. They have also recommended people to use masks whenever they step out of their houses. Each year, farmers residing in the neighbouring states of Delhi are blamed for making the air toxic by burning stubble. This year, too, they are continuing to carry out this activity despite the state government imposing a ban. Last year, 50 percent subsidy was given to farmers willing to buy happy seeders but reportedly, the same year, the cost of machines increased from Rs 90,000 to Rs 1, 70,000, making it difficult for them to procure the new machinery. SAFAR said the national capital's air quality depends on the wind for the next couple of days. "Delhi Air Quality has improved significantly since 8 November but the recovery is slow due to low surface wind speed and it continued to be in the severe category. As per the satellite, heavy fire counts were recorded in the last 24 hour but presently the contribution of stubble fire emissions is marginal as upper winds are Northerly." Rising vehicular emission is also seen as a major contributor to air pollution in Delhi NCR. According to a report by the Ministry Of Earth Sciences (MoES), emissions from transport and industrial sectors have gone up by 40 percent and 48 percent, respectively. Surprisingly, windblown dust, which is often blamed for pollution in Delhi, reduced by 26 percent between 2010 and 2018. "Only Delhi has over 10 million vehicles and the number is going up every year. Of the total vehicular pollution, 40 percent to 45 percent comes from two-wheelers and another 30 percent to 35 percent from four-wheelers," the MoES report further stated. The local administration has enacted emergency measures in order to curb the menace of air pollution. Officials deployed across the capital halted construction activity for a couple of weeks, restricted vehicle traffic around the city and have halted operations of industries using coal and biomass as fuel between 1 November and 10 November. Furthermore, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) induced artificial rain in the polluted areas to wash away hazardous pollutants that are deteriorating the air quality. What the electoral transfer of power in Sri Lanka does is take away Indias imperative of having to choose between two sides and presents a more straightforward script. The developments in Sri Lanka are worrisome and push the island nation further into political instability. However, President Maithripala Sirisenas move to dissolve parliament and call for snap elections on 5 Januaryalmost two years ahead of schedulemight in a strange way suit Indias long-term strategic interests. Theres nothing like elections to clear up a constitutional crisis. Given the bad script unfolding in Colombo, an election might help India avoid choosing between two difficult options and solve its policy dilemma. This is not to say that questions around the legality of Sirisenas decision are invalid. The Sri Lankan president seems to have breached provisions in the 19th amendment of the Constitution that took away presidential powers of dissolving parliament within four-and-a-half years of its convening. A president may do so only if the decision is backed by two-thirds of its members. This fail-safe was inserted into the Sri Lankan Constitution to safeguard its nascent democracy from being manipulated by authoritarian rulers such as Mahinda Rajapaksa who removed the mandatory two-term limit for presidents during his tenure. Rajapaksa, a popular yet controversial figure, is once again on the ascendancy, backed ironically by Sirisenahis one-time rivalwho proved to be no less capable in misusing the powers of his office. The Sirisena camp claims that the president invoked Article 33(2) c of the Constitution, which gives him the authority to prorogue and dissolve parliament, but he is on weak legal ground and his decision will likely be challenged by Renil Wickremesinghes United National Party (UNP) and other civil society groups in the Supreme Court. According to The Hindu, UNP will also move an impeachment motion against the president. Wickremesinghes finance minister Mangala Samaraweera called dissolution of parliament an illegal and a desperate move by a desperate president and urged all Opposition parties who cherish democracy, decency and rule of law to rally around and defeat the emerging tyranny. His words were mirrored by Tilvin Silva of the leftist People's Liberation Front (JVP), suggesting a consolidation of Opposition bloc. Rival consolidation is the primary motivation behind Sirisenas issuance of an extraordinary gazette on Friday to dissolve the House from midnight and avoid a parliamentary resolution of the crisis. With sacked prime minister Wickeremesinghe and his camp holding on to the numerical advantage in a 225-seat Assembly despite strong-arm tactics and bribery attempts to lure away lawmakers, Sirisenas prime ministerial pick just didnt have the numbers to prove his majority. This was, in fact, admitted by the new government. Keheliya Rambukwella, a spokesperson of the Sirisena-Rajapaksa alliance, on Friday said the Rajapaksa government was eight shy of the 113-mark needed for simple majority. The decision to dissolve parliament and call for snap polls came soon after. Rajapaksa will now serve as the caretaker prime minister till the new parliament convenes on 17 January, unless the electoral process is successfully challenged in Supreme Court. The development has invited international opprobrium. The US, UK, Australia, United Nations and the European Union have all expressed their concerns with the US stressing on respecting democratic institutions and processes to ensure stability and prosperity of Lankan people. The US is deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka Parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis. As a committed partner of #SriLanka, we believe democratic institutions and processes need to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity. State_SCA (@State_SCA) November 9, 2018 Concerned by news that #SriLankas Parliament has been dissolved days before it was due to be reconvened. As a friend of Sri Lanka, the UK calls on all parties to uphold the constitution and respect democratic institutions and processes. Mark Field MP (@MarkFieldUK) November 9, 2018 Australias foreign minister was quoted by AFP as saying that Sirisenas action undermines Sri Lankas long democratic tradition and poses a risk to its stability and prosperity. Importantly, India has so far chosen not to react to the dissolving of Lankan parliament. It released only one statement since the crisis began unfolding weeks ago. Indias silence, though, must not be construed as inaction. It has been working behind the scenes ever since Sirisena fired prime minister Wickremesinghe on 26 October and triggered a constitutional crisis. Indias concern lies in a policy dilemma that has arisen due to the unique circumstances of having to deal with two claimants to the Lankan prime ministers chair. Rajapaksa, the controversial former president whose proximity to the Chinese has caused a rift between New Delhi and Colombo and plunged his country into a debt-trap, has mass backing and presents the new axis of power. His party SLPP (a faction of Sirisenas SLFP) returned with good results in recent local elections. Rajapaksa is touted to be the front-runner in upcoming general elections. On the other side is Wickremesinghe. The sacked prime ministerwho still holds the numerical advantage in 225-seat Assemblyis largely seen as a pro-India figure who has been trying to get Indian participation in a host of Sri Lankan infrastructure and connectivity projects. Indias role as a balancer in the power equation of Indo-Pacific is incumbent on taking decisions that go towards upholding the rules-based order and strengthening democracy and democratic institutions in South Asia. Yet this is not an absolutist position. Well may the US focus on upholding democratic institutions and processes in its reaction to Lankas constitutional crisis, as a key player in South Asia, India might be getting into a geopolitical blind spot if it refuses to engage with the Rajapaksa-Sirisena front and risk landing on the wrong side of public opinion in the neighbourhood. This might appear to be the more pragmatic option to counter Chinas influence (the only nation to have recognized the Rajapaksa government) and yet it may affect Indias long-term strategic interests. The sidelining of Wickremesinghe, who has clearly lost popularity and yet has legitimate claims over the prime ministers chair, risks undermining Indias own goal of upholding democratic institutions and processes in south Asia. As Brookings India fellow Constantino Xavier wrote in Hindustan Times, In the short term, New Delhi is tempted to close its eyes to the extra-constitutional moves that allowed President Sirisena to appoint Rajapaksa as prime minister. In the long run, however, New Delhi also realises that such blind engagement will legitimise this weekends soft coup, weaken Sri Lankas democratic institutions, and bolster Chinas divide and rule tactics to convert its economic leverage into political and security influence across the Indian Ocean region. India has, so far, been trying to follow the middle path. In its sole official statementwhere it professed to closely following the recent political developments in Sri Lanka. As a democracy and a close friendly neighbour, we hope that democratic values and the constitutional process will be respected. We will continue to extend our developmental assistance to the friendly people of Sri Lankathere was an obvious stress on democratic values and constitutional process. India, a democracy, was trying to brand itself differently vis-a-vis an authoritarian China. The effort to reinforce the nature of Indias ties with Sri Lanka was also to be noted. What the electoral transfer of power does is take away Indias imperative of having to choose between two sides and presents a more straightforward script. If Wickremesinghe comes out as winner, the task for India is simpler. Even if he loses to Rajapaksa, India will put in a quiet diplomatic effort to develop a working relationship. It has reasons to believe that Rajapaksa, too, is keen on a reset. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa met with Indian PM @narendramodi in New Delhi today. pic.twitter.com/ErFukZkqJx Mahinda Rajapaksa (@PresRajapaksa) September 12, 2018 To sum up, while Sirisenas move might extend the political uncertainty in Lanka, it has probably made things simpler for India. Deepak, the son of Om Prakash, an Uttar Pradesh Police personnel stationed in Sambhal, allegedly sexually assaulted a Dalit woman and threw acid on her. Bareilly: While the Uttar Pradesh government is renaming cities, law and order is deteriorating in the state. Adding to the already abysmal situation of crimes against women, a fresh incident has taken place in Nawabganj, Bareilly district. Deepak, the 27-year-old son of Om Prakash, a policeman stationed in Sambhal, allegedly sexually assaulted a Dalit woman and threw acid on her and her neighbourhood friends. The survivor said, Taking a break from working in the fields, I went to drink water nearby when Deepak came from behind, pulled my hair and tore open my blouse. He hit me on my chest and tried to violate my dignity. Her two sons, aged 10 and 12, ran to their mothers rescue and were said to have been physically assaulted by Deepak. The younger son managed to escape and ran to call his mother's friends from a nearby area. We went running to save her (the survivor), and on seeing the two of us, Deepak picked up the acid container and threw it on all three of us, burning us, said one lady. All three women and the young boy have sustained minor burns from the attack. The local clinic has now discharged them after providing basic medical attention. The three women went to the local police station to register a complaint against Deepak. We made a note of the complaint and promptly arrested Deepak, said Satish Kumar, Superintendent of Police, rural. At a press conference, Kumar said that the accused has been booked under Sections 324 and 354, for voluntarily causing hurt using a dangerous weapon and assaulting a woman with the intention to outrage her modesty, respectively. The accused Deepak, categorically denied all sexual assault and acid attack allegations against him. He said, I was not present at the spot itself, I went only in the evening. The acid container was kept on a wall, and the women must have accidentally dropped it on themselves by moving it with sticks. These allegations against me are baseless. The Superintendent of Police added that they suspect that the accused attacked the three women due to a previous altercation he had with them. We have arrested the accused on the basis of this information. The probe is on, he said. As per police records, this is not the first time Deepak has been booked for a crime. Previously, he was arrested under Section 302 and sent to jail for allegedly running over an individual with a tractor and killing him. Deepak, however, denied this. He said, I did not run over the child, and neither was I ever sent to jail. (The authors are Uttar Pradesh-based freelance writers and members of 101Reporters.com) The Karnataka government celebrated Tipu Jayanti on Saturday, bringing the state under a thick security blanket amid threats of protest by the BJP, Sangh Parivar and Kodava organisations The Karnataka government celebrated the birth anniversary of controversial Muslim ruler Tipu Sultan on Saturday, bringing the state under a thick security blanket amid threats of protest by the BJP, Sangh Parivar and Kodava organisations. Heavy security arrangement was seen across the state both near venues celebrating Tipu Jayanti as well in sensitive areas such as Madikeri, which has seen Tipu Jayanti-related violence in the past. Calling Tipu a "religious bigot", the state BJP unit had urged the JDS-Congress coalition government to drop its decision to celebrate 'Tipu Jayanthi'. Though officials had said that no processions, either in favour or against the event will be allowed, protests were held in several parts of Karnataka. The situation, however, remained under control with Section 144 been imposed as a precautionary measure in at least nine districts of the southern state. Several BJP workers were arrested in Madikeri, which serves as the Kodagu district headquarters in Karnataka, and has been at the centre of anti-Tipu protests since 2015 when the then Congress government led by Siddaramaiah announced its plans to celebrate Tipu Jayanti. Sangh Parivar workers staged a protest at a Ganpati temple in Kushalnagar, Kodagu, and raised slogans such as 'Kuttappa amar rahe', in reference to district unit VHP secretary D Kuttappa who died in the 2015 celebrations. Superintendent of Police of Kodagu Sumana D Pannekara told reporters that the situation was peaceful so far and security arrangements have been made to ensure that no untoward incidents took place. She said no one would be allowed to forcefully shut shops and business establishments. A bandh has been called by Tipu Jayanti Virodhi Horata Samithi. BJP activists, led by District BJP president Yeshwanth Rao Jadhav, were arrested by police near the Tipu Jayanti programme venue In Davangere city, at government High school ground, after they attempted to barge onto the podium of the programme. The sloganeering activists were protesting against Tipu Jayanthi and the state government. Protests were also held in Virajpet, where local MLA KG Bopaiah was also taken into custody. Bopaiah, claimed that that Tipu Sultan was "cruel" and a "fundamentalist". He also said that the BJP is not opposing Muslims, but is opposing a cruel king's celebrations. "The government doing wrong by celebrating Tipu Jayanti," he said, as Holy Quran forbids any kind of birthday celebration, even the Prophet's birthday. The state police also detained BJP workers led by MP Prahlad Joshi, who were heading towards Mini Vidhana Soudha to protest against Tipu Jayanti celebrations. In Bengaluru, over 15,000 policemen were deployed to prevent an untoward incident. Of them 500 were deployed in and around the Vidhana Soudha where Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, is expected to attend Tipu Jayanti celebrations. Wishing success for the Tipu Jayanti celebrations, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy in a statement Saturday said, "Tipu's progressive measures in administration, his quest for innovation are commendable". "It is unnecessary to add special meaning to it. It is also far from truth that he (chief minister) is not taking part due to the fear of losing power, as he opposes such blind beliefs," the statement said. It is the first Tipu Jayanthi celebration after the Kumaraswamy led Congress-JD(S) coalition government came to power in the state. Kumaraswamy, however, has decided to skip the celebrations at Vidhana Soudha citing health reasons. BJP's Karnataka unit, however, criticised Kumaraswamy, saying that the chief minister has "gone into hiding" because he cannot justify his decision of celebrating a "fanatic". The party also shared footage of Kumaraswamy opposing Tipu Jayanti and then embracing it. "What is the point of celebrating a fanatic when the chief minister himself abandons a government function," the party tweeted. The previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah observed Tipu Jayanthi on November 10 every year since 2015, amid stiff opposition by the BJP and several Hindu organisations. Tipu was a ruler of the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore and considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces. Tipu Sultan, however, is a controversial figure in Kodagu district as Kodavas (Coorgis), a martial race, believe that thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forcible conversion to Islam. He is also accused of execution of Mandayam Iyengars at the temple town of Melkote in Mandya district on the day of Deepavali, as they supported the then Maharaja of Mysuru. However, the scale of such suppression is disputed by several historians, who see Tipu as a secular and modern ruler who took on the might of the British. While BJP and some Hindu organisations sees Tipu as a "religious bigot" and a "brutal killer", few Kannada outfits call him "anti-Kannada", citing that he had promoted Persian at the cost of the local language. With inputs from PTI Ghanshyam Tiwari recently announced the Third Front in the form of a coalition with Rashtriya Loktantrik Party Earlier this year, former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Ghanshyam Tiwari formed the Bharat Vahini party after resigning from the BJP. He recently announced the Third Front in the form of a coalition with Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, launched by Hanuman Beniwal (another former BJP MLA). Tiwari spoke about his plans for Rajasthan: What response do you expect for the Third Front? The janata (residents) of Rajasthan want a change from both national parties. They needed a viable alternative for the required change. We have given them a programme and idea-based option. I am assuming that voters will accept this alternative. During the rally you spoke about how corruption was increasing. How do you plan to curb it? Corruption runs from the top through to the bottom, not the other way around. This also leads to exploitation because the person who is supposed to hear complaints against corruption is the one who is actually corrupt. This gives a free hand to the ones at the lower levels. So, if we only allow honest people at the top, corruption will be automatically restrained. In addition, changes need to be made in facilities and ways of working. What facilities and issues you are planning to address in your manifesto? We have talked about four issues in particular: a) Reservation: As far as arrangements and facilities are concerned, our prime focus is social issues and economic justice. All parties and castes have accepted our formula. For example, we will not mess with the current reservation system, but will get additional reservation for economically-deprived sections: poor Brahmins, Rajputs, Kayasths, and Muslims will get 14 percent reservation. Only 32% will be open for general category. The government has the authority to bring it under Aarakshan Adhiktam Seema Adhiropan Kanoon for the same. b) Debt-free farmers: The other thing we want is debt-free farmers who have a proper supply of electricity. We define debt-free in two ways: The total debt by farmers in Rajasthan is Rs 82,000 crore, this does not include debts with industrialists. We will only focus on agricultural loans and loans taken after giving land as security. We have given a bailout plan of Rs 60,000 crore to the Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam. The problem is not to make farmers free of debt once, it is to ensure that the same farmers do not become debt-ridden again. This can be solved by focusing on the inputs of agriculture: A farmer already has land, and has to pay for electricity, manure, seeds and labour. The biggest cost is electricity and labour, which if given free, the minimum support price will be achievable. We will transfer labour under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) being used for unimportant tasks, to agriculture. This will ensure 75 percent labour from the scheme. We will also draw solar power. This way, agriculture will become profitable. c) Water scarcity: Another thing we want to focus on is water. The government is not bringing out a long-term solution for the decreasing water table in Rajasthan. They only implement contingency plans and dig tubewells, which further decreases the water table. If we dont understand this as a problem now, the coming generation will face it in the next 10 years. We will collect flood water from eastern Rajasthan under a special scheme and prepare a long-term solution for the issue. d) Employment: The final thing to be worked on is employment. There are three types of resources. The first way is through government recruitment. Our national border runs about 746 kilometres in Rajasthan. We will build more police stations on the border, so we require more police strength. The other sectors with a lot of vacancies are education and health. We will increase recruitment by 2 lakh employees. A new battalion will be created for the border police. We will also train more people to be technicians. Which caste or section of Rajasthan will you focus on during elections? If someone is working in a politics, he should not have caste-related concerns but should focus on caste development. Brahmins, Rajputs, Vaishyas, Kayasths, Muslims not under OBC category, Sindhis, Punjabi and Jains, repeatedly highlight that even they are poor, and their children should also get reservation. The reservation we introduce will be sarv-jan-hitay-sarv-jan-sukhay. Other castes like SCs and STs too have received reservation, but there are many children who have been deprived of the benefits of the schemes. We will also give them priority. What is the aim of collaboration with Hanuman Beniwal? The collaboration aims to get Rajasthan out of the category of BIMARU states. In the past 20 years, Congress and BJP (each being in power for 10 years), have worked towards getting the state into BIMARU category. What were your reasons for leaving BJP? I became MLA seven times, but it is only counted as six times because once the Assembly got dissolved the day I was announced as a MLA. BJP left Janata Party on theoretical grounds, and I left BJP for the same reason. BJP has lost its internal democracy. What is now left is corruption, dictatorship and rule of just one person. A feudal system has been re-established in the party. We belong to the Jay Prakash government, we cannot bear such actions. What areas were not addressed by BJP in the past five years? There are several areas and castes for which the BJP did nothing in the past five years. For example, if they wouldve started the refinery on time and not shut it, Rajasthan would have benefited by Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 6,000 crore today. The second is the canal in eastern Rajasthan which they were reminded about several times, but did nothing about. They have disappointed government employees, the unemployed, Brahmins, Baniyas and Rajputs. They cannot claim economic development in any area because they have not done any work. They have only focused on revenue collection. BJP will get the least number of seats under Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in this election. Rangoli Agrawal is a Jaipur-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com The Congress provoked communal politics of 1980s by its highly questionable role in the Shah Bano and Ram Janambhoomi cases. As you read this, the BJP is rolling out a rath yatra and the Congress is holding several padyatras in Kerala to protect the Hindu faith amid the backdrop of the Sabarimala temple row. During the Diwali festival earlier this week, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath organised celebrations in Ayodhya and announced the construction of a grand statue of Lord Ram to honour the Hindu faith, at State expense, after offering prayers at the disputed site where the Babri Masjid once stood. Yogi has also changed Muslim names of places: Allahabad, Faizabad, Mughalsarai now have Hindu names. A few days earlier, his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya said no power can stop construction of a grand Ram temple at the disputed site and Union minister Giriraj Singh said the Hindus were running out of patience after the Supreme Court postponed hearings on the case to January. These activities point to a growing and disturbing trend of political parties and governments acting on behalf of the majority Hindu faith, against their avowed commitment to honour and uphold the rule of law and the secular character of the Constitution. Once the Supreme Court ruled that women of all ages can enter the Sabarimala temple, that becomes the rule of law and so long as it is seized of the Ram Janambhoomi dispute, all parties to the case are supposed to desist from doing anything that could have a bearing on the judgment. And the Constitution of India, which governs the central and state governments, is expressly secular in characterthe State has no official religion and equal rights have been granted to all citizens regardless of their caste, creed or genderto which the political parties and governments have sworn allegiance. Is it then the death of secularism and constitutionalism as we know it? The cavalier manner in which the two principal political parties and governments at different levels are operating to promote the Hindu faith certainly indicates this. The silence of the civil society and media have created a conducive environment for these political players to act with impunity and undermine the cherished ideal of Indias founding fathers, but they are not the focus of this article, the two principal political parties and their governments are. The BJP is not exactly known for secular politics and to that extent, some may argue that it is acting on the expected lines now that it has an overwhelming political dominance. However, what is of greater concern is the complicity of an avowedly secular Congress. The Congress has not only vacated the secular space, it is now actively engaged in promoting communal politics. In the Sabarimala case, it sided with Hindu orthodoxy instead of standing up for womens rights and the constitutional values on the basis of which the Supreme Court allowed their entry into the temple. The Congress has also desisted from questioning the Uttar Pradesh governments actions in converting the Diwali festivities into a State-sponsored programme, the announcement of building a statue of Lord Ram at State expense, which is not the business of a state government. Nor did it protest against a spree of changing only the Muslim names of cities, bazaars and railways stations. It did raise the issue of Ram temple, but not to object the role of the State or the propriety of it, but to say that this was a mere distraction to divert attention from the poor performance of the Centre. Many would argue that the Congress bears a far greater responsibility for undermining secularism and constitutionalism. In fact, it is the Congress which provided a fertile ground for and provoked communal politics of 1980s by its highly questionable role in the Shah Bano and Ram Janambhoomi cases. Since then, it has hardly done anything to retrieve the lost ground or secular space. In recent times, it started flaunting temple visits of its president Rahul Gandhi, projecting him as a janeu dhari and Shiv bhakt. While such acts could be justified on the ground of negating an anti-Hindu narrative being built around the party and its leaders, the Congress can certainly push back communal politics in the cases of Sabarimala, Ayodhya or replacement of Muslim names. As for the BJP, it is no revelation that secularism took a backseat once it established its political dominance and secular became a dirty word. Those who espouse the cause of secularism are now simply dismissed as sickular without sparing a thought for its consequences for India and its future. That was not the case when the party was launched in 1980 with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as its president. It put aside the communal politics of its precursor, the Bharatiya Jan Sangh and adopted positive secularism: describing it as distillation of common moral values whether derived from different religions or from other historical and civilisational experiences and approach which always remained integral to the Indian civilization as one of its five commitments. It was meant to be different from the secularism of the Congress which was criticised for being pro-Muslim and a vote bank politics. After its first electoral defeat in 1984 (when it won just two Lok Sabha seats), the BJP, however, abandoned this position and went back to the hardline Hindutva ideology of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh. With LK Advani at the helm, pseudo-secularism and Muslim appeasement replaced the narrative. Then came Advanis rath yatra to build a temple for the Hindus and the party went on to raise its Lok Sabha numbers to 85 in 1989. Since then, there has been no looking back. The partys constitution still retains the words positive secularism but is described differently as sarva dharma samabhav. But that is precisely what its positive secularism is not in its actions and political discourses. When the courts (Bombay High Court and Supreme Court) allowed Muslim women entry into Mumbais Haji Ali dargah in 2016, the BJP welcomed it saying that it was a fight for womens rights, supported by court judgment. Its government in Maharashtra told the court that the fundamental rights of citizens were above customs and traditions. A few days later, 400 women entered the dargah and offered prayers while the trustees of the dargah paid their courtesies to them. The party also championed the cause of the Muslim women in the triple talaq case. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, for example, said, It is not about caste or religion or faith but gender justice, dignity and equality for women One of his tweets read: The government of @narendramodi has stood firmly for safeguarding the rights of Muslim women in the triple Talaq matter. #ModiGovtEmpowersWomen. But when it comes to the Sabarimala case, these lofty ideals of gender justice, dignity and equality for women or the sanctity of court judgment are abandoned. The narrative turns to protecting the Hindu faith. No less than the party president Amit Shah threatened the Kerala government and reprimanded the Supreme Court by saying that you should issue orders that can be implemented, not the ones that break the faith of people... The BJP and Congress, or any other political party for that matter, and their governments are not supposed to play footsie to any faith: unless they are seeking to rebuild India into a theocratic State. Assuming that that is not the case now, the two principal political parties should do well to revisit their own party constitutions which solemnly declare that they shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. There is no allusion to theocracy anywhere. In fact, it is precisely this kind of behaviour of the BJP and Congress that BR Ambedkar warned against and described as grammar of anarchy in his speech while handing over the Constitution to the Constituent Assembly on 25 November, 1949. It is worth quoting the entire paragraph here. He said: If we wish to maintain democracy not merely in form, but also in fact, what must we do? The first thing in my judgment we must do is to hold fast to constitutional methods of achieving our social and economic objectives. It means we must abandon the bloody methods of revolution. It means that we must abandon the method of civil disobedience, non-cooperation and satyagraha. When there was no way left for constitutional methods for achieving economic and social objectives, there was a great deal of justification for unconstitutional methods. But where constitutional methods are open, there can be no justification for these unconstitutional methods. These methods are nothing but the Grammar of Anarchy and the sooner they are abandoned, the better for us. The constitutional way is the right way to resolve every conflict, at least so long as the Constitution of India continues to govern India. To cut air pollution, people in India first need to acknowledge, accept and realise that air pollution is going to kill them, says Dr Arvind Kumar who was part of the team which installed a pair of giant lungs outside Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi Delhi's air quality worsened in the last few weeks due to stubble burning in the neighbouring states, and just when it was beginning to show signs of revival, uncontrolled bursting of firecrackers during Diwali sent the air quality back to hazardous levels with certain areas like India Gate reporting AQI as high as 999 a day after Diwali. To show, just hw how alarming the air pollution situation is, Dr Arvind Kumar, chairman of the Centre for Chest Surgery at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital who also heads the Lung Care Foundation installed a pair of giant lungs outside the hospital. Dr Kumar recreated human lungs with the help of HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filters, which are used inside operation theatres to trap dust. And to imitate the working of a human lung, the lungs were fitted with fans. Six days later, the lungs turned completely dark. "We had thought it would take at least one month for the lungs to get dark but the lungs changed colour in just 24 hours. On day 6, the lungs had become completely dark," says Dr Kumar. Dr Kumar blames the worsening air quality of the national capital to the city's failure to tackle air pollution at multiple levels. He claims that throughout the year, Delhi is exposed to PM 2.5 levels that are above 200 which is the equivalent of smoking over ten cigarettes a day, even for newborn children. What this means, says the doctor is: "There are no non-smokers in India. We have all become a nation of smokers." "This is a failure on the part of individuals, officials, organisations to take cognisance of the fact that breathing is killing. The bottom line is that breathing is killing," he says. Dr Kumar says ever since he started heading the Lung Care Foundation, he has been appealing to politicians, religious organisations, state governments and central governments to take action, but in vain. "We are demanding immediate and serious steps to control pollution and not the adoption of cosmetic measures like the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)," he says. Dr Kumar claims that the pollution level reported on the the first day after Diwali this year was worse than the pollution reported on the first day Post Diwali in 2017. What's worse is that this has happened despite a clear diktat by the Supreme Court restricting the use of firecrackers. This takes one to the question, which several people have been asking since the Supreme Court gave its verdict on firecrackers. Was the SC order implementable at all? Dr Kumar refuses to get into the argument, however, he mentions that there has been a lot of misunderstanding about green crackers, and that the court was not made aware of everything about them. "The MoEF gave an affidavit to the Supreme Court that NEERI and CSIR are making green crackers that have a lesser percentage of particulate matter. We opposed this affidavit because the SC was not made aware of the fact that green crackers still had 30-40 percent PM levels. The courts should also have been made aware of the fact that green crackers were not available in the market. But the same was misrepresented by the media. What the Supreme Court did was put a ban on the use of crackers because if you see the ethos of the order, it had ordered a complete ban on all crackers given that no green crackers were available," he says. Dr Kumar rues that the SC order received no backing from politicians, religious leaders or other newsmakers. He claims to have tried to engage several influential religious leaders including Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Sri Jaggi Vasudev as well as head of the Radha Swami Satsang in Beas, but met with little success. "If political parties and religious leaders had appealed to the people, people might have had desisted from burning firecrackers. Also, the Delhi police could have been more stringent. Wherever the SHOs were proactive, there were practically no burning of crackers in that area. But above all, it was a callous failure on the part of the people who chose to have fun at the serious cost of their children," he says. Dr Kumar says that young children are most affected by air pollution as it can leave them with underdeveloped lungs, underdeveloped brains and cancer. In fact, a recent WHO report showed that 620,000 kids under five had died in India in 2016 because of air pollution. He says that India could learn a lot from China to tackle air pollution. "China has in a short span put in place policies to combat pollution and then ensured the ruthless implementation of these policies. Their cities Beijing and Shanghai had some of the worst air in the world but the situation there has improved significantly," he says. But to make that happen, the people to acknowledge, accept and realise that air pollution is going to kill them. "In order to reverse this, we may suffer inconvenience but we have to acknowledge that clean air is my fundamental right. It is only when we have it that things will start improving," he claims. Dr Kumar says tht plans like GRAP are emergency responses to an emergency situation, and won't help eradicate the disease. "GRAP will order stopping construction for ten days but can construction be stopped forever? Can schools be shut down forever? The permanent sources of pollution are dust and smoke. These need to be brought under control and for this, we do not need rocket science. They do however need some amount of money," he says. But equally important is political will without which even well-thought out plans go bust. "We have 500 coal-fired thermal plants whose emission standards were set up 30 to 40 years ago. The Ministry of Environment and Forests set down standards stating that emission levels be reduced by 31 December, 2017. But the Ministry of Power went ahead and deferred the reduction of emission standards and said these would be brought down only by 31 December, 2022," he says. Other areas where India can bring a change is moving the entire country to Euro 6 fuel emission standard and not just in Delhi. Also key to tackling air pollution is assessing environment impact of a project before it's approved. "In the US, when you start a plant, the first thing to check is to assess its environmental impact. Look at the construction going at Pragati Maidan. This is close to both the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court and just two kilometres away from the Parliament but no politician or judge has looked at how the environmental clearance was given to this construction. There is a lack of will. We choose to overlook this aspect for some other gain forgetting these gains at being obtained at the cost of our health. Pollution is a slow killer. When we wake up, it will be too late," he claims. Tipu Sultan Jayanti 2018 LIVE updates: Continuing its attack on Karnataka HD Kumaraswamy, the BJP said that the chief minister cannot justify his decision of celebrating a fanatic. The party shared footage of Kumaraswamy first opposing Tipu Jayanti and then embracing it, and said that he cannot be playing 'hide and seek.' Auto refresh feeds Security has been tightened in Karnataka's Madikeri town in the light of a shutdown called in the town against Saturday's Tipu Jayanti celebrations. The shutdown has been called by various organisations such as the BJP and the Codava National Council. After security was increased in Karnataka's Madikeri town in view of protests, the police began detaining protestors. Accusing the Congress of vote bank politics, Krishnan said, "everyone in Kodagu is opposing the celebrations." News agency ANI quoted BJP district secretary Sajjal Krishnan as saying: "The government is wasting public money in the name of Tipu Jayanti. Tipu is not a warrior, he killed so many Hindus and also attacked temples. Why are they glorifying a man like him?" No untoward incidents have been reported in Srirangapatna, the hometown of Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali. However, armed security forces have been employed in the area. No shops at Coorg's Madikeri Thimmaiah circle have started operations since 8 am on Saturday. However, some KSRTC buses are plying in the area. Amid stiff opposition from the Sangh Parivar, BJP and Kodava organisations, the district administration in Coorg has increased security measures for Tipu Jayanti celebrations. More than 1500 police personnel have been pressed into service and over 50 checkpoints have been established. "If somebody violates law and order, the police will take strict action," she added. "We have taken all precautionary measures," Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu PI Srividya told news agency ANI . Many Kodava elders still claim that the Tiger of Mysore killed and captured hundreds of people from the Kodava clan between 1784 to 1799. Some have claimed that he also forcibly converted thousands of Kodavas to Islam. The then-Congress-led state government declared that Tipu Jayanti would be celebrated in all taluk and district headquarters of the state including Kodagu a move which angered the native Kodavas, who believe that the 18th-century ruler carried out a massacre against their ancestors in 1785. Madikeri, which serves as the Kodagu district headquarters in Karnataka, has dealt with turmoil every November since 2015 , when former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah announced that the state would celebrate the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan. The police detained Virajpet MLA KG Bopaiah and 21 other leaders for obstructing Tipu Jayanti celebrations being organised by the area's taluk administration, Security forces were seen in increased numbers at the tomb Tipu Sultan, which is located at the Gumbaz mausoleum at Srirangapatna. The tomb also houses the bodies of his father Hyder Ali, and his mother Fakr-Un-Nisa. He also said that the BJP is not opposing Muslims, but is opposing a cruel king's celebrations. The government doing wrong by celebrating Tipu Jayanti, he said, as Holy Quran forbids any kind of birthday celebration, even the Prophet's birthday. Prior to his arrest, MLA KG Bopaiah claimed that that Tipu Sultan was "cruel" and a "fundamentalist", adding that those who organised Tipu Jayanti "would never develop". The sloganeering activists were protesting against Tipu Jayanthi and the state government. Near Jayadeva circle, a few yards from program venue, a large number of BJP workers had gathered to stage a protest. However police deployed near the circle managed to stop the protest. BJP activists, led by District BJP president Yeshwanth Rao Jadhav, were arrested by police near the Tipu Jayanthi program venue In Davangere city, at government High school ground, after they attempted to barge onto the podium of the program. In a fresh attack on the Congress on Friday, the BJP alleged that the opposition outfit and Tipu Sultan had a lot in common: Both were anti-Hindu, and working to divide them. "What is the point of celebrating a fanatic when the chief minister himself abandons a government function," the party tweeted. Amid reports of Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy citing health reasons to skip Saturdays events, the ruling BJP alleged that he has, in reality, gone into hiding. Though the subsequent years were not tainted with such casualties, the BJP and other right-wing elements obstruct the celebrations every year , oftenn calling for bandhs. Tipu Jayanti is opposed not only by the native Kodavas, but also by people from the Kodagu, who cite incidents of violence that occurred in 2015 during celebrations. While many parts of state witnessed protests during the 2015 Tipu Jayanti, things took an ugly turn in Madikeri leading to two deaths. Despite all private buses being asked to remain off the road, a few KSRTC buses ran as usual. However, all government offices, post offices, commercial establishments, shops remained closed Various Hindu outfits on Saturday called for a bandh in Karnataka's Siddapura town to protest against the celebration of Tipu Jayanti. He added that the Muslim community does not need this kind of celebration amid prohibitionist orders. The Kodagu Muslim Association objected that the district administration should not be celebrating Tipu Jayanti behind closed doors. KMA president PA Khasim said that the government should publicize the 18th-century leader's good work. Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa on Thursday tweeted his opposition of the celebrations, saying that the government's goal is only to satisfy the Muslim community. The party shared footage of Kumaraswamy first opposing Tipu Jayanti and then embracing it, and said that he cannot be playing "hide and seek." Continuing its attack on Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, the BJP said that the chief minister cannot justify his decision of celebrating a fanatic. Sangh Parivar workers staged a protest at a Ganpati temple in Kushalnagar, and raised slogans such as 'Kuttappa amar rahe', in reference to district unit VHP secretary Kuttappa who died in the 2015 celebrations. According to news agency ANI , state police have detained BJP workers led by MP Prahlad Joshi, who were heading towards Mini Vidhana Soudha to protest against Tipu Jayanti celebrations. Superintendent of Police of Kodagu Sumana D Pannekara told reporters that the situation was peaceful so far and security arrangements have been made to ensure that no untoward incidents took place. She said no one would be allowed to forcefully shut shops and business establishments, PTI reported. "Around 500 police personnel along with officials have been deployed in and around Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru). DCPs of different zones in the city will be in charge of security in their respective jurisdictions. About 15,000 police personnel will be manning the city," Bengaluru Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar said. However, he is also a controversial figure in Kodagu because the native Kodavas, a martial race, believe that thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forced conversion to Islam. Tipu was a ruler of the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore, who was considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces. However, several historians have refuted the claims against the 18th-century ruler, and have claimed him to be a secular and modern ruler who took on the might of the British. Tipu Sultan has also been accused of executing Mandayam Iyengars at the temple town of Melkote in Mandya district, because they pledged support to the then-Maharaja of Mysuru. While the BJP and some Hindu organisations see Tipu as a "religious bigot" and a "brutal killer", a few Kannada outfits have called him "anti-Kannada", citing that he had promoted Persian at the cost of the local language. The Hajarat Tippu Sultan organisation on Saturday took out a peaceful bike rally peacefully in Ballari, The Times of India reported. The Deputy Commissioner said that he found out about the rally, which is a violation of prohibition orders, via the media. Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday lauded Tipu Sultan before the Tipu Jayanti celebrations began."Tipu's progressive measures in administration, his quest for innovation are commendable," PTI quoted him as saying. Sangh Parivar workers staged a protest at a Ganpati temple in Kushalnagar, and raised slogans such as 'Kuttappa amar rahe', in reference to district unit VHP secretary Kuttappa who died in the 2015 celebrations. According to news agency ANI , state police have detained BJP workers led by MP Prahlad Joshi, who were heading towards Mini Vidhana Soudha to protest against Tipu Jayanti celebrations. Superintendent of Police of Kodagu Sumana D Pannekara told reporters that the situation was peaceful so far and security arrangements have been made to ensure that no untoward incidents took place. She said no one would be allowed to forcefully shut shops and business establishments, PTI reported. "Around 500 police personnel along with officials have been deployed in and around Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru). DCPs of different zones in the city will be in charge of security in their respective jurisdictions. About 15,000 police personnel will be manning the city," Bengaluru Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar said. However, he is also a controversial figure in Kodagu because the native Kodavas, a martial race, believe that thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forced conversion to Islam. Tipu was a ruler of the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore, who was considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces. However, several historians have refuted the claims against the 18th-century ruler, and have claimed him to be a secular and modern ruler who took on the might of the British. Tipu Sultan has also been accused of executing Mandayam Iyengars at the temple town of Melkote in Mandya district, because they pledged support to the then-Maharaja of Mysuru. While the BJP and some Hindu organisations see Tipu as a "religious bigot" and a "brutal killer", a few Kannada outfits have called him "anti-Kannada", citing that he had promoted Persian at the cost of the local language. Madikeri: BJP workers raise slogans in the premises of the Deputy Commissioner's office protesting against #TipuJayanthi celebrations being held there. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/VC4k1IPV3Y Hajarat Tippu Sultan organisation took out a Bike rally peacefully in Ballari. As it was violation of prohibition orders, Deputy Commissioner said, he came to know about Bike rally through media #TipuJayanti pic.twitter.com/IPzx1oCuSD The Hajarat Tippu Sultan organisation on Saturday took out a peaceful bike rally peacefully in Ballari, The Times of India reported. The Deputy Commissioner said that he found out about the rally, which is a violation of prohibition orders, via the media. Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday lauded Tipu Sultan before the Tipu Jayanti celebrations began."Tipu's progressive measures in administration, his quest for innovation are commendable," PTI quoted him as saying. Tipu Jayanti LATEST updates: Superintendent of Police of Kodagu Sumana D Pannekara told reporters that the situation was peaceful so far and security arrangements have been made to ensure that no untoward incidents took place. She said no one would be allowed to forcefully shut shops and business establishments, PTI reported. "Around 500 police personnel along with officials have been deployed in and around Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru). DCPs of different zones in the city will be in charge of security in their respective jurisdictions. About 15,000 police personnel will be manning the city," Bengaluru Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar said. According to news agency ANI, state police have detained BJP workers led by MP Prahlad Joshi, who were heading towards Mini Vidhana Soudha to protest against Tipu Jayanti celebrations. Continuing its attack on Karnataka HD Kumaraswamy, the BJP said that the chief minister cannot justify his decision of celebrating a fanatic. The party shared footage of Kumaraswamy first opposing Tipu Jayanti and then embracing it, and said that he cannot be playing "hide and seek." State police have detained BJP workers led by MP Prahlad Joshi, who were heading towards Mini Vidhana Soudha to protest against Tipu Jayanti celebrations. Sangh Parivar workers staged a protest at a Ganpati temple in Kushalnagar, and raised slogans such as 'Kuttappa amar rahe', in reference to district unit VHP secretary Kuttappa who died in the 2015 celebrations. Amid reports of Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy citing health reasons to skip Saturdays events, the ruling BJP alleged that he has, in reality, gone into hiding. "What is the point of celebrating a fanatic when the chief minister himself abandons a government function," the party tweeted. In a fresh attack on the Congress on Friday, the BJP alleged that the opposition outfit and Tipu Sultan had a lot in common: Both were anti-Hindu, and working to divide them. BJP activists, led by District BJP president Yeshwanth Rao Jadhav, were arrested by police near the Tipu Jayanthi program venue In Davangere city, at government High school ground, after they attempted to barge onto the podium of the program. The sloganeering activists were protesting against Tipu Jayanthi and the state government. Prior to his arrest, MLA KG Bopaiah claimed that that Tipu Sultan was "cruel" and a "fundamentalist", adding that those who organised Tipu Jayanti "would never develop". He also said that the BJP is not opposing Muslims, but is opposing a cruel king's celebrations. The government doing wrong by celebrating Tipu Jayanti, he said, as Holy Quran forbids any kind of birthday celebration, even the Prophet's birthday. Security has been stepped up across Karnataka in view of the birthday celebration (Jayanti) of the erstwhile Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan on Saturday by the ruling coalition partner Congress despite protests by the opposition BJP. "We have tightened security across the state and deployed additional forces in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Kodagu and Mangaluru for peaceful celebration of Tipu Jayanti," a police officer told reporters on Friday. The other alliance partner, the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), is staying away from the state-sponsored event, as evident from the absence of its Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy's name in the official invitation. The Chief Minister's office clarified that Kumaraswamy would be taking rest for three days from Saturday on the advice of his doctors. "Kumaraswamy will spend time with his family on these three days and there will be no official engagements till 11 November," said an official statement. Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara of the Congress will inaugurate the Jayanti at the state secretariat in the city centre in the presence of special invitees and dignitaries, including cabinet ministers from Congress side. The Congress began celebrating the birth anniversary of the 18th-century controversial ruler on 10 November since 2015 to honour him as a patriot and for his yeoman service to the people in the southern region. Eldest son of Sultan Hyder Ali, Tipu (1750-1799) is also hailed as the 'Tiger of Mysore' for fighting against the British East India Company to protect and enlarge his kingdom. Tipu was killed in a battle with the British army in 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna near Mysuru, about 120km from Bengaluru. Accusing the Congress of indulging in appeasement of minorities for vote-bank politics, the BJP said it was opposed to the celebration of a tyrant, who allegedly killed hundreds of Hindus and Christians in his kingdom. "We are opposing Tipu Jayanti. Nobody will appreciate this celebration. In the interest of the state, the state government must stop it. Government's intention behind celebration is to satisfy the Muslim community," tweeted BJP's state unit president BS Yeddyurappa. Defending the celebration, Parameshwara said Tipu was a patriot who fought against the British and protect the people from the invaders. "I have directed the police to maintain law and order and ensure peaceful celebration. Pro and anti-Tipu Jayanti processions will not be allowed. The event will be held only in community halls and auditoriums," said Parameshwara, who also holds the Home portfolio. Bhola Yadav told IANS Rabri Devi was unhappy over Tej Pratap's reported statement that he won't return home until his parents approved of his decision to divorce Patna: Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, upset over elder son Tej Pratap's planned divorce from his wife of six months, and his threat that he won't return home unless his parents supported his decision, will not celebrate Chhath Puja this year. "Rabri Devi will not celebrate Chhath this year because the family is worried over Tej Pratap's absence from Patna for the last one week," Bhola Yadav, a Rashtriya Janata Dal legislator considered close to party chief Lalu Prasad's family, said here on Saturday. Bhola Yadav told IANS Rabri Devi was unhappy over Tej Pratap's reported statement that he won't return home until his parents approved of his decision to divorce. "In such a situation, Rabri Devi will not celebrate Chhath," he said. He admitted that the family has been trying hard to persuade Tej Pratap to return home soon, but to no avail. RJD leaders said that Tej Pratap was camping in Haridwar after visiting Varanasi a few days ago. Tej Pratap, a former health minister in the Bihar government, has not returned home since he met his jailed father Lalu Prasad in Ranchi last week and discussed his decision to divorce his wife Aishwarya Rai. Tej Pratap married Aishwarya, daughter of RJD legislator and former minister Chandrika Rai and granddaughter of former Bihar chief minister Daroga Rai, on 12 May in Patna. Tej Pratap filed for divorce in a Patna civil court on 2 November citing 'mental cruelty'. With Rabri's decision not to celebrate ChhathBihar's most popular Hindu festivalpeople will miss a rare festivity at her sprawling official bungalow 10, Circular Road. Last year, Rabri Devi had said she would celebrate Chhath only after her two sonsTej Pratap Yadav and Tejashwi Yadavmarried. Tehashwi Yadav, the current Leader of Opposition and a former deputy chief minister, is the heir apparent of the RJD. The four-day Chhath starts on Monday with the 'Nahai-Khai' ritual. Devotees, mostly married women, will throng river banks early in the morning for a ritualistic bath, before preparing the traditional meal of boiled rice and pumpkin. RJD leaders said that Rabri Devi's Chhath celebration is popular as politicians, irrespective of party affiliation, and people from all faiths and communities visited for the traditional 'prasad' during the festival. "Till 2016, Rabri Devi, helped by Lalu himself, used to draw a large number of people during Chhath, but this year they will miss it," an RJD leader said. The 'Nahai-Khai' will be followed by 'Kharna', when 'Kheer' will be cooked and distributed among neighbours, friends and relatives. During the festival, married women observe a fast for 36 hours and devotees offer wheat preparations, milk, sugarcane, bananas and coconuts to the Sun God. Chhath is the only festival across India in which devotees offer salutations to both the setting and the rising Sun. PEOPLEaS UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS Press Statement Condemning the Continuing Violence by CPI (Maoist) in the Name of Election Boycott November 10, 2018 Peopleas Union for Democratic Rights condemns series of incidents triggered by members of CPI(Maoist) in Bastar Sambhag (region) of Chhattisgarh in just over a fortnight. November 8: Four civilians and one CISF Head constable were killed when an IED (improvised explosive device) exploded in a bus hired by CISF for their use during the election, near Bacheli in Dantewada. Two other CISF personnel were grievously injured. November 7: A former Sarpanch and a local member of CPI Dhurva Kalmu, out on election campaign, was killed in Bodko village under PS Phoolanbagdi, Dantewada. November 6: A bus carrying passengers on its way between Jagdalpur and Usoor was intercepted. The 35 passengers were asked to get off and the bus was set on fire. November 4: Two persons, Aaytu Hemla and Sonu Penam were abducted near Baddepara village, under P.S. Gangaloor. Aaytu Hemla was beaten to death while Sonu Penam was released. October 30: Doordarshan camera person Achyutnanda Sahu and Sub Inspector Rudra Pratap, Constable Manglu and Assistant Constable Rakesh Gautam died in an ambush in Aranpur sector of Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh. Although the Maoists have apologized for the killing of Doordarshan cameraman, they have defended the ambush, the IED explosion as well as the killings of Aaytu Hemla and Dhruva Kalmu. While it is not possible to ascertain the degree of association of these events with the upcoming Assembly elections and the Maoist opposition to the same, these events have occurred in the immediate run up to these elections. PUDR finds the Maoist defense specious and unacceptable. PUDR holds that contesting, campaigning, voting and boycotting are perfectly legitimate political activities and the use of force and violence in any of these is condemnable. For the Maoists who insist that they are waging a Peopleas War, these violent acts water down their claim. For long years the Adivasis of Bastar have been fighting the state over issues of forest land acquisition for mining, systematic dilution of constitutional and legal protection provided to Adivasis, filing of false cases and their prolonged incarceration in jails. The democratic space to raise these issues has already been heavily criminalized by the state. In this context, the wanton acts of the CPI (Maoist) give impetus to the state to further inflict harm through criminal and military means. The war being waged in Bastar by the Central and state governments against the CPI Maoist is now in its 14th year. According to a recent news report, athe CRPF has deployed close to a lakh armed personnel and a heavy assortment of weapons and gadgetsa in a bid to end Maoism in the country.a (PTI, September 2, 2018). This scale of militarisation is not conducive for the maintenance of peopleas constitutional rights, including the right to free and fair elections. PUDR hopes that saner counsel will prevail, and that at the very minimum both sides will abide by norms of International Humanitarian Law extended via common article 3 of the Geneva Convention read with Protocol II to ensure that civilians/noncombatants are not put to harm by any of their activities. Shahana Bhattacharjee and Sharmila Purkayastha Secretaries PUDR www.pudr.org 'Should we throw away the GT Road? Who built the Red Fort? Who built the Taj Mahal?,' Om Prakash Rajbhar asked, commenting on the BJP's name-changing spree. Lucknow: Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief and Uttar Pradesh Om Prakash Rajbhar on Saturday launched a scathing attack on his political ally Bharatiya Janata Party for their name-changing spree. He has asked the BJP to change the names of three of their Muslim leaders before changing the names of different towns and places in the state. He told ANI, "BJP changed the names of Mughalsarai and Faizabad. They say they were named after the Mughals. They have a national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Uttar Pradesh minister Mohsin Raza three Muslim faces of the BJP. They should change their names first." On Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath renamed Faizabad as Ayodhya. Further sharpening his attack on the BJP, he alleged that the names of places were changed just to divert attention of the backward and oppressed people from issues which concern them. "This is all a drama to distract the backward and oppressed people whenever they raise their voices for their rights. No one else has given the things which Muslims have given. Should we throw away the GT Road? Who built the Red Fort? Who built the Taj Mahal?," he asked. Rajbhar also attacked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre for demonetisation. "What was the use of demonetisation if all the money came back to the Reserve Bank of India? If they want to end corruption, then they should ban the use of Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes," he said. The war of words between the BJP and the Congress has intensified ahead of the 28 November polls in Madhya Pradesh with both parties raising a range of issues to attack each other. Bhopal/Indore: The war of words between the BJP and the Congress has intensified ahead of the 28 November polling in Madhya Pradesh with both parties raising a range of issues to attack each other. While the Congress accused the BJP of raking up the issues of Pakistan and Ram temple to ward off an impending electoral defeat, the ruling party said the main opposition outfit is feeling like a "fish out of water" since it lost power in Madhya Pradesh 15 years ago. Talking to reporters in Indore on Friday, Congress national spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad said the BJP starts taking the name of Pakistan whenever it senses defeat in elections. It also starts doing politics in the name of Lord Rama when elections are just around the corner, he said. Asked about the Congress' stand on the Ram temple issue, he said, "This matter is being heard at the Supreme Court. We will surely react if Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes any statement about the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya." The Congress leader said, "If the BJP government at the Centre wants to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya then why is it not bringing an ordinance? This government is only trying to deceive people in the name of Lord Rama." Ahmad said India's key defence needs were ignored in the controversial Rafale deal. Meanwhile, Union minister for minority affairs and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi hit out at the Congress. Talking to journalists in Mandsaur while accompanying local BJP candidate Yashpal Singh Sisodiya for filing his nomination papers, Naqvi said the Congress feels restless when out of power and flutters like a "fish out of water". Accusing the Congress of engaging in corruption and running governments in a dictatorial manner, Naqvi said the Rahul Gandhi-led party is spreading canards about Prime Minister Narendra and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Taking potshots at Congress and opposition leaders, Naqvi said there are two dozen candidates for the posts of prime minister and Madhya Pradesh chief minister, but there is no vacancy for these top positions. Union minister and BJP leader Suresh Prabhu said the Congress is running out of ideas in elections and hence it is doing politics on the country's security. He accompanied local BJP candidate Devendra Verma in Khandwa in a rally to file his nomination papers. Prabhu said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has given answers of all questions related to the Rafale fighter jet deal. There should be no politics on the issue of country's defence and security, Prabhu said. All the BJP candidates contesting from assembly seats in Bhopal district reached the returning officer's office in a rally to file their nomination papers. These candidates offered prayers at a temple in Bhopal's Somwara Chowk along with Chouhan before taking out the rally. At least 27 people mostly Congress leaders were killed in the Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh's Darbha Valley in May 2013, only a few months before the Assembly elections at the time. Insurgency-hit Chhattisgarh is one of the five states where Assembly elections will be held in November-December. As the state gears up for the two-phase polls on 12 and 20 November, tensions have been on the rise, with Maoists issuing warnings against voting, election booths being set up in villages for the first time in 20 years, and alliances between formed between regional and national parties. The conflict between security forces and the insurgents in Chhattisgarh is likely to escalate ahead of the polls, with both sides dialing up the pressure in terms of the strength of the forces and cadre, as well as arms and ammunition. In Naxal strongholds such as Bastar and Dantewada, security personnel, including jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been deployed aplenty. The government and police are expected to be on the highest alert in the run-up to the elections as insurgents have threatened to disrupt voting. Despite precaution, a Maoist attack on a Doordarshan crew and a convoy of police personnel on 30 October resulted in the death of the DD cameraperson, Achutyanand Sahu, and three policemen. They were attacked around Nilwaya village in the Aranpur area of Dantewada district. Another attack was also reported in Bacheli, where five people, including two Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, were killed. However, in a letter dated 2 November, the Communist Party of India (Maoist) expressed regret for Sahu's death and said "journalists were not enemies, but friends". Sainath of the CPI (Maoist)'s Darbha Divisional Committee said: "...There are daily attacks on villages; villagers are killed in fake encounters; they are slapped with fake cases, and fake surrenders are orchestrated. In this environment, work began on 1 October to build a road connecting Aranpur to Burgum. To protest this development, we ambushed a police unit on 30 October." The Dantewada incident not only highlights the significance of the elections being held at Maoist hotbeds, but is also a chilling reminder of the Darbha Valley massacre in 2013, in which much of the Chhattisgarh Congress' top leadership of the time was wiped out. The massacre At least 27 people were killed in the Naxal attack in May 2013, only a few months before the Assembly elections at the time. In a planned operation, the insurgents had ambushed and killed several Chhattisgarh Congress leaders, including state secretary Nand Kumar Patel, his son Dinesh, former Union minister VC Shukla and former state minister Mahendra Karma. The Congress leaders were on their way from Sukma to Jagdalpur after a rally, which was part of the party's 'Parivartan Yatra', when the attack took place. They had passed through insurgency-affected areas during the march. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi, who was a Congress leader at the time, had also been scheduled to travel with the convoy, but had changed his plan at the last minute and decided to travel by helicopter. The attack is believed to have been carried out with the signature simplicity Maoists used in past strikes. The militants used the thick forested area of the Bastar-Sukma border to their benefit and laid an ambush. After ambushing the convoy, they detonated an IED to create a crater and cut off the convoy's escape route. Once the vehicles slowed down, the Naxals opened indiscriminate fire on the Congress leaders. Mahendra Karma was the real target Mahendra Karma had been on the Maoist hit-list ever since he led the controversial anti-Naxal operation "Salwa Judum" in Chhattisgarh. An The Indian Express report from 2013 said: "Evidence indicates that rather than an attack to eliminate top Congress leaders, the Maoists' target was only two Pradesh Congress Committee chief Nand Kumar Patel and Salwa Judum architect Mahendra Karma. All the others probably died in the crossfire, as Maoists later let the survivors go. They even gave water to some, including Konta MLA Kawasi Lakhma, and administered a painkiller injection to Congress leader Dr Shivnarain Dwivedi." Patel and his son were reported missing, and their bullet-ridden bodies were found in the forest area the next day. Shukla is believed to have succumbed to his injuries on 11 June, 2013. A report in Hindustan Times described how the militants had celebrated Karma's death. Karma had surrendered to the insurgents after his security personnel ran out of ammunition. The report quoted Sattar Ali, a Congress leader from Konta in Sukma, as saying: "We were terrified and shocked to see the Maoists singing and dancing after killing Karma. They also trampled over his bullet-riddled body." "Karma raised his arms, surrendered before the Maoists and appealed to them not to kill any Congress workers. They dragged him a few metres and indiscriminately pumped bullets into him," he added. Conspiracy theory against Ajit Jogi Soon after the incident, The Times of India reported that the Madhya Pradesh BJP had accused Jogi "as the one who had a hand in the 'conspiracy'" of the Darbha Valley attack. Narendra Singh Tomar, the then Madhya Pradesh BJP president, made the accusation on 31 May, 2013. Even current Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was among the BJP leaders who had supported Tomar's allegation. The report quoted BJP leader Rakesh Singh as highlighting that "Jogi always said Maoism was a 'social movement' to scuttle all internal security operations" and demanding an investigation into his role "in this conspiracy". In May, Congress president Rahul Gandhi visited Chhattisgarh on the anniversary of the Darbha Valley attack. He tweeted: "Five years ago, on this day, I lost my friend Nand Kumar Patel in a frightening Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh. Senior leaders VC Shukla ji, Mahendra Karma Ji and many others, lost their lives and were injured... All these patriots gave their lives for the country. We salute their valour and courage." The threat of Maoists is bound to make the elections in Chhattisgarh a tense affair. It now remains to be seen what the insurgents have planned for the polls and whether the state and security forces are prepared to tackle them. Modi was unsparing when he referred to the urban Maoists, breaking into English to use this phrase in a speech otherwise delivered in Hindi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first electoral foray in Chhattisgarh Friday, attacking urban Maoists and the main Opposition party, the Congress, at a rally in Jagdalpur, the headquarters of insurgency-hit Bastar district. That sounds unexceptionable. It isnt, because what Modi said undermined some of the fundamental conventions of democracy. Modi was unsparing when he referred to the urban Maoists, breaking into English to use this phrase in a speech otherwise delivered in Hindi. Though he did not mention anyone by name, he made it pretty obvious that the context he had in mind was the arrest of civil society activists in two batches during this year. He told his audience that these supposedly clandestine Maoists destroyed the lives of tribal children by operating a remote control though they appeared to be sensible, lived clean air-conditioned lives, drove big cars and sent their children abroad to pursue their studies. He was equally scathing about the Congress. This party should not be forgiven, he declaimed with what has become signature theatricality, because they supported the urban Maoists; whenever the government took action against them, the Congress sprang up in their defence. Let us examine these wholly fanciful charges, without prejudice. To begin with, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Sangh parivar, more generally, and their fellow travellers who have coined this suggestively misleading (actually untruthful) phrase to describe activists, and others, who work closely for the uplift of tribal people, and to protect their rights, against a system, consisting of politicians, across parties, bureaucrats and entrepreneurs, who engage in their systematic rapine, to exploit the natural resources, mostly minerals and forest resources, that abound in the lands they live in. These supposed Maoists rarely live five-star lives, certainly none of the 10 targeted this year as cogs in the CPI (Maoist) machine. In fact, all of them inhabit a terrain on the opposite end of the spectrum. They lead simple lives and have experienced deprivation even though many of them could have lived fancy lives. One is reminded also of the arrest, in 2007, and incarceration of Dr Binayak Sen for two years on charges of sedition by the Chhattisgarh government until granted bail by the Supreme Court. With his qualifications, Sen could indeed have led a pretty fancy life as a paediatrician but chose to work with the tribal people of Chhattisgarh. His work was internationally recognised, including by the Madhya Pradesh government, which adopted a public-health system designed and operated by a group of people led by him. The point is not entirely Modis decision to so obviously peddle an untruth. It also lies in the fact that it is entirely unbecoming of a prime minister to step into such disputatious territory when no charges have been proved, and in some cases even formally made out, against the accused or impugned, depending on your political vantage. If nothing else, it could well have the effect of vitiating proceedings against people who must be deemed, as matters now stand, innocent. The charges against the Congress are equally trumped up. There is not even a scintilla of evidence that the party supports Maoist insurgents unless you count the statements issued by the partys president, Rahul Gandhi, and other leaders protesting the draconian measures undertaken by BJP governments to stifle dissent in any form. It would be wholly contextual to recall Rahuls ironical comment, made in August when five activists were held by the Maharashtra police in coordinated dawn raids in several cities spread over various states, to the effect that there was room for only one NGO in India: the RSS. There was so much of truth in that statement that it stung, provoking the usual hysterical reactions from the BJP. The point is that such verbal protests cannot be construed as constituting support for the Maoists, unless one has a taste for pretty bizarre logical calisthenics. As a matter of fact, the Congress is as anti-Maoist, and anti-tribal people, as the BJP. A Congress leader, Mahendra Karma, was, in fact, responsible for forming the Salwa Judum group of vigilantes to take on the Maoists in 2005. The group was disbanded following a Supreme Court order passed in 2011, declaring it illegal and unconstitutional. Karma was assassinated by Naxals in 2013. The record will show that Congress leaders have suffered more at the hands of Maoists than those of the BJP. There's more. While accusing the Congress of sabotaging the process of tribal uplift, Modi also claimed that only his party was committed to serving tribal people, while the Congress was interested only in dehumanising the underprivileged and poor by using them as vote banks, the nauseatingly familiar rhetorical charge deployed by the BJP in a variety of contexts. He also claimed that his government had done more in four-and-a-half year than what two previous, United Progressive Alliance governments had in ten years. This absurd claim overlooks, of course, the obvious fact that a BJP government has been in place in Chhattisgarh for 15 years, during which time, including in the last five years, there has been no perceptible improvement in the condition of tribal people. If anything, the incursions into and depredations on their lands and lives have intensified. A common thread ties all these elements in Modis speech and make them consistent and comprehensible. This thread is woven from the unreconstructed desire and willingness of BJP leaders, in both the party and government, to stretch and manipulate facts to suit themselves without the slightest concern for their truth value. The duopoly comprising Modi and BJP president Amit Shah have put in place an institutional framework and promoted a political cultureone has to admit with singular, ruthless and frightening successin which all that matters is winning elections and thereafter monopolising power, when the need arises by subverting every institution, convention and law available for manipulation. This is a problem in and by itself. What makes this unifocal political frame of reference ineluctably dangerous is the contribution of people who hold important, sometimes constitutional, positions to make it work. When the prime minister bends his energies towards this end, democracy, however otherwise flawed, is irretrievably compromised. It is most alarming (unfortunate, in this context, would be too anodyne a description) that Modi, as prime minister, should systematically work towards engineering and embracing a system whose proximate objective and likely end is the destruction of liberal, constitutional democracy. Perhaps such lamentation is pointless. It is widely known after all that the precise aim of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar that undergirds and nourishes it is the unmaking of all forms of liberal politics and the inauguration of a golden age of majoritarian authoritarianism in which dissentient voices will be silenced: once and forever. Kushwaha admitted that he had raised the demand for more number of seats with BJP general secretary and Bihar in-charge Bhupendra Yadav. If need be, he added, he would also speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the matter. Patna: Claiming that the RLSP has gained significantly in strength in Bihar, Union minister Upendra Kushwaha on Friday demanded that his party be allotted more than three seats in the state by the NDA to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Bihar has 40 Lok Sabha seats, of which Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samata Party had contested and won three seats in the 2014 general election. "My party had contested three Lok Sabha seats in 2014 but now this party's strength and base have increased... Our party should be given more than three seats after making a neutral assessment of its strength," Mr Kushwaha told reporters at his party office in Patna. Kushwaha, the Union minister of state for human resource development, said there is little doubt the RLSP has gained strength but how much could be a matter of debate. Replying to a query, Kushwaha admitted that he had raised the demand for more number of seats with BJP general secretary and Bihar in-charge Bhupendra Yadav. If need be, he added, he would also speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the matter. Kushwaha said the seat-sharing issue between NDA partners in Bihar - BJP, JD(U), RLSP and LJP - has not been finalised, or else it would have been announced. The BJP had won 22 seats in Bihar in the 2014 election, while Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP had contested seven seats and won six. On 26 October, BJP chief Amit Shah had announced that the BJP and the JD(U) would contest an equal number of seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election in Bihar. Kushwaha asserted his alliance with the BJP and LJP was intact but expressed displeasure over Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar's statement apparently directed at him. He said Kumar should retract the statement or explain what he actually meant. On the seat-sharing issue with particular reference to Kushwaha's RLSP, Kumar had told a television channel on 3 November, "Do not take the debate to such a low level". Kushwaha said he felt the remark was laden with casteist overtones. "I am extremely hurt and pained by Nitish Kumar's statement in which he referred to me as 'neech'. The kind of language Kumar has used for me is intolerable. Nitish Kumar should withdraw his statement," Kushwaha said. "I am being asked to make sacrifices for the new entrant JD(U) to the NDA fold, but RLSP was ignored when the benefits (in terms of ministerial berth in Nitish Cabinet) were to be distributed among the partners," he said. tech2 News Staff The Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 are barely a month old but the list of bugs and problems with either phone appears to be endless already. Customers who have purchased the Google Pixel 3 are now beginning to claim that the phone suffers from overheating issues while charging. Various users who have faced the problem claim that their units have heated to a point when the phone has shut down. As per a report by GSMArena, Pixel 3 owners have taken to Reddit and the Google product forums to highlight the issue. The problem is prevalent on both the standard Pixel 3 and the larger Pixel 3 XL variant. Some users claim that the problem persists regardless of whether the phone is being charged using the regular bundled adapter or a third-party adapter. Sometimes when I can't sleep I play chill music from my phone when it's on the Qi charger by my bed. Guess I can't do that with the Pixel just picked it up and it was seriously hot to the touch... Also it didn't charge very long so starting the day at 45% battery pic.twitter.com/KLUZJVF6Oc Tailosive Tech (@tailosivetech) November 6, 2018 Google is officially yet to acknowledge an overheating problem but the issue is currently restricted to certain units only. Tech2 checked for the issue on a unit of the Pixel 3 XL and there appears to be no issue of overheating of any manner with the unit. As pointed out by Android Authority in a report, Google Pixel 2 has also had similar issues. A thread on Google's Product forums also exists where users even until a week back have complained about an identical overheating problem. tech2 News Staff The Nokia 8.1 was spotted on Geekbench some weeks back without any codename. It gave out a few specs which included that the phone might sport a Snapdragon 710 SoC. Now the Nokia 8.1 seems to have surfaced on the National Communications Commission (NCC) of Taiwan as well. A new Nokia smartphone with the same model number as the Nokia 8.1 which is TA-1119 has been spotted to get certified. NCC which is a Taiwanese agency is similar to China's TENNA, certifying electronic devices which may launch in the country. According to a report by MySmartPrice, a handset was also spotted on the EEC portal in Russia with a Nokia TA-1087, back in July, but they couldn't get a sneak-peek into the spec sheet for any of the devices. Nokia 8.1 as per the previous rumours is speculated to be the Nokia X7 that was unveiled in China in October but is assumed to be called as Nokia 8.1 globally. The report by MySmartPrice further states that it could come with a ZEISS-certified dual 12 MP + 13 MP camera on the back along with a 20 MP selfie sensor. The phone is said to come with a notch and the traditional rear fingerprint reader. The phone might be powered by a 3,500 mAh battery pack and is expected to run on Android Oreo with a 6.18-inch display sporting a Full HD+ resolution. But as there is no official news yet, we may have to wait a little bit longer for some more information to spill out. Given the context in which blasphemy allegations are made including severe infringements to the right to a fair trial because of the threats to the accused, their families, judges and lawyers, as well as the bias against the blasphemy accused that impacts the impartiality of the process it is unlikely that the Asia Bibi judgment alone would make a difference in how future cases are decided It was the women refusing to drink water from the hands of Asia Bibi, a Christian, who insulted her religion and were no less blasphemous, according to Pakistan Supreme Court Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa. In his concurring and separate opinion to the final order announced on 31 October, acquitting Asia Bibi of blasphemy, he said, According to the Holy Quran a Muslims faith is not complete till he believes in all the Holy Prophets and Messengers of Almighty Allah including Jesus Christ (Isa son of Maryam) and all the revealed Holy Books of Almighty Allah including the Holy Bible. From that perspective insulting the appellants religion by her Muslim co-workers was no less blasphemous. Pakistan Supreme Court chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar and justices Khosa and Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel delivered a landmark order which castigated the investigation into the blasphemy case against Asia Bibi and reversed the judgments of the Lahore High Court and the trial court and the conviction of death sentence. The order said that when there is any doubt in the prosecution story, benefit should be given to the accused, which is quite consistent with the safe administration of criminal justice. Asia Bibi was freed from Multan jail on the night of 7 November, but the rumours that she has left the country are not confirmed. Her husband has been appealing for asylum abroad for herself and her family as it is dangerous for them to live in Pakistan. Her lawyer Saif-ul-Malook has already left the country. The main witnesses, Asma and Mafia, who learnt the Quran from the complainant Qari Muhammed Salaams wife, had conveniently omitted that there was a quarrel when Asia Bibi offered water to the Muslim women who along with her were plucking blue berries (falsa) in a field in Ittanwali village (Firozpur district, Punjab) on 14 June, 2009. They refused to accept water from the hands of a Christian, after which there was a fight. This fact is not mentioned in their testimonies and the first information report (FIR). It was thanks to the court witness and the investigating officer, who were independent witnesses, that this came to light, Justice Khosa noted. The court found that the case of blasphemy was riddled with inconsistencies and contradictions leading to her being set free. It also demolished with extensive quotes from the Quran and the scriptures that Islam was against Christianity. Nine long years after a case of blasphemy was filed against her, and three years after Asia Bibis appeal against her death sentence in 2014, she is finally free, but in the face of vicious protests and antipathy to her release, her freedom to continue her life in her own home with her husband and two children is in peril. After her acquittal which provoked widespread protests, there was a government deal reportedly with fundamentalists screaming for her blood, who demanded that she should not be allowed to leave the country. After the order, Qari Salaam has filed a review petition before the Supreme Court, challenging the acquittal, and asked for Asia Bibi to be placed on the exit control list pending the review proceedings. The court pointed out that since 1990, 62 people have been killed over allegations of blasphemy, and in 2017, Mashal Khan, a student of Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, was killed by a mob in the premises of the university after rumours that he posted blasphemous content online. In 2012, young Rimsha Masih, a mentally challenged girl was arrested on charges of blasphemy. She was also acquitted, and had to seek asylum abroad a year later. The complainant, a cleric, just as in this case, filed a false complaint that Rimsha tore up and burnt copies of the Quran. Former Punjab governor Salman Taseer was shot dead by his guard Malik Mumtaz Qadri on 4 January 2011 for demanding a pardon to Asia Bibi and attacking the blasphemy law. Months later, Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistans minorities minister, was also killed. There was a time when few lawyers were willing to represent Asia Bibi and despair after Qadri looked nowhere near getting punished till 2016, when he was executed. Under a large tree in Kohsar Market in Islamabad, every year in January, a small group of family and friends gather in commemoration at the spot under a tree where Taseer was pumped with bullets by his guard. He has been finally vindicated for backing Asia a stand which cost him his own life. Blasphemy is a serious offence but the insult of the appellants religion and religious sensibilities by the complainant party and then mixing truth with falsehood in the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad was also not short of being blasphemous. It is ironical that in the Arabic language the appellants name Asia means sinful but in the circumstances of the present case she appears to be a person, in the words of Shakespeares King Lear, 'more sinned against than sinning,'" Justice Khosa added. He invokes covenants, specially the Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad with the Monks of Mount Sinai, known as the Promise to St Catherine. Around the year 628 AD, a delegation from St Catherines Monastery, the worlds oldest monastery located at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt, came to the Holy Prophet Muhammad to request his protection and he responded by granting them a charter of rights, not limited to St Catherine alone. The promise is clearly violated in this and other cases. While the incident took place on 14 June 2009, the two women Mafia and Asma, both sisters and Yasmin (who was not made a witness later) reported this to the wife of Qari Salaam, who took five daysJune 19to file a police complaint at Sadar Nankana Sahib. That same day, Asia was summoned to a public meeting where she reportedly confessed her guilt. Reviewing the case, the court found many inconsistencies in the accounts of witnesses and the grave omission of the quarrel over water from their narratives. Under the law (section 156 A of the Criminal Procedure Code), cases of blasphemy are to be investigated by a police office of a rank of superintendent of police (SP) yet this case was inquired into by a police inspector and transferred to an SP Muhammed Amin Bukhari of Sheikhupura only on 26 June. The court said that Asia Bibi, in her statement recorded under section 342 of the CrPC, had expressed her full respect to the Holy Prophet and the Holy Quran and she offered to take an oath on the Bible to the investigation officer (IO) to prove her innocence which was refused by the IO. Therefore, the appellant being innocent deserves acquittal. Further, no prior permission of the Central/Provincial Government was obtained before the registration of the FIR, as in mandatory under the law. The case of the cleric Qari Salaam rested on the statements of Asma and Mafia who contended that Asia Bibi made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammed. However, they also mentioned that there were 25 to 30 women present, but none of them had come forward to give evidence. The judges found the delay of five days in registering the FIR casting a serious dent on the prosecution story, and added that keeping in mind the evidence produced by the prosecution against the alleged blasphemy committed by the appellant, the prosecution has categorically failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. The chief justice ended his part of the order with a quote from Prophet Muhammad: Beware! Whoever is cruel and hard on a non-Muslim minority, or curtails their rights, or burdens them with more than they can bear, or takes anything from them against their free will; I (Prophet Muhammad) will complain against the person on the Day of Judgment. Justice Khosa found that the evidence produced by the prosecution in respect of the said public gathering five days after the incident and about what transpired there was not only an afterthought but was nothing short of concoction incarnate. He also found it strange that Qari Salaam didnt remember who drafted the FIR and where he had presented it for filing. He was not present at the time of the incident. The complainant and the FIR lodged by him, thus, were not worthy of much credit, he said. The order is significant as Asia Bibis appeal was the first blasphemy appeal under 295-C (defamation of the Prophet Muhammad) being heard by the Supreme Court since 2002, said Reema Omer, International Legal Advisor, South Asia Programme, International Commission of Jurists. The Court has so far not upheld any convictions for blasphemy under section 295-C, though dozens of people have been convicted by trial courts and a number of appeals are pending before various appellate forums. High courts too, have only upheld blasphemy convictions under 295-C in a handful of cases. The Supreme Court also noted that the context indicates the charges could have arisen from a false allegation of blasphemy, echoing concerns also raised by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and others that the blasphemy laws in Pakistan have typically become an instrument of personal vendettas and malicious motivations. However, Omer said given the context in which blasphemy allegations are made including severe infringements to the right to a fair trial in such cases because of the threats to the accused, their families, judges and lawyers, as well as the bias against the blasphemy accused that impacts the impartiality of the process it is unlikely that this judgment alone would make a difference in how future cases are decided. By Melanie Burton and Tom Westbrook MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australian counter-terrorism investigators were searching two properties in suburban Melbourne on Saturday morning, the day after a man killed one person in what authorities said was a terrorist attack in the city. Police identified the attacker as 30-year-old Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, and said that his brother was arrested last year on charges of planning an attack in Melbourne. They had earlier said he was 31 years old By Melanie Burton and Tom Westbrook MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australian counter-terrorism investigators were searching two properties in suburban Melbourne on Saturday morning, the day after a man killed one person in what authorities said was a terrorist attack in the city. Police identified the attacker as 30-year-old Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, and said that his brother was arrested last year on charges of planning an attack in Melbourne. They had earlier said he was 31 years old. Shire Ali had set fire to a pickup truck laden with gas cylinders in the centre of Melbourne on Friday and stabbed three people, killing one, before he was shot by police. "Joint Counter Terrorism Team investigators are executing search warrants at two addresses in Werribee and Meadows Heights this morning" Victoria police said in a statement. "More information will be provided when it's appropriate to do so." Earlier, Victoria Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said in a television interview that Shire Ali was known to authorities because of his brother, and also had driving, theft and cannabis offences. "He is certainly someone who is known to both us and the federal authorities in relation to counter-terrorism and terrorism-related matters," he told Channel 7's Sunrise program. "He is the brother of an offender or a suspect that we arrested late last year in relation to the preparation of a terrorist event." His brother was arrested in a dramatic raid last November. Police said then they believed he was an Islamic State sympathiser and was planning an attack Melbourne's central Federation Square on New Year's Eve in 2017. He is in jail awaiting trial. Islamic State claimed responsibility for Friday's attack, but that could not be substantiated and police have not commented on it yet. The attack began just before the evening rush hour and lasted only minutes. While the utility truck carrying barbecue gas cylinders burned on busy Bourke Street, Shire Ali stabbed bystanders and attacked police. (https://tmsnrt.rs/2Qu5stX) The cylinders did not explode and the fire was put out in 10 minutes, by which point the attack was over, though not before one man was fatally stabbed. Video posted to Twitter and broadcast on television showed the man swinging a knife at two police officers, before he collapsed when one shot him in the chest. He later died in hospital. STREET REOPENS Bourke Street reopened on Saturday morning, and a Reuters reporter said there was an increased police presence in the area. A staunch U.S. ally, Australia has been on alert for such violence after a Sydney cafe siege in 2014, and its intelligence agencies have stepped up scrutiny, though Ashton said there was no warning of the latest attack. He said there was no longer a threat to the public, but that security would be boosted at horse races and Remembrance Day memorials over the weekend. Sunday marks 100 years since the armistice was signed that marked the end of World War One. Authorities say Australia's vigilance has helped foil at least a dozen plots, including a plan to attack Melbourne at Christmas in 2016, Shire Ali's brother's scheme and a plan to blow up a flight from Sydney using a bomb disguised as a mincer. In December 2014, two hostages were killed during a 17-hour siege by a "lone wolf" gunman, inspired by Islamic State militants, in a cafe in Sydney. (Reporting by Tom Westbrook in SYDNEY and Melanie Burton in Melbourne; editing by Richard Balmforth and Diane Craft) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Khashoggi was last seen entering the consulate on 2 October to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage. His body has never been found. Ankara: The killers of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi poured his remains down the drain after dissolving him in acid, a Turkish newspaper reported on Saturday. Samples taken from the drains at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul showed traces of acid, pro-government daily Sabah said, without quoting sources. This led investigators to believe the dead body of the insider-turned-critic of the Riyadh regime was disposed of through the drains as liquid, the paper said. Khashoggi was last seen entering the consulate on 2 October to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage. His body has never been found. After repeated denials, Saudi Arabia finally admitted the 59-year-old had been murdered at the mission in a "rogue" operation. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the "highest levels" of the Saudi government of ordering the hit, while some officials have pointed the finger at the all-powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Yasin Aktay, an advisor to Erdogan, suggested last week the body may have been dissolved in acid. And on Monday, a Turkish official said Saudi Arabia sent two experts to Istanbul with the specific aim of covering up evidence after the murder. Khashoggi's Turkish fiancee Hatice Cengiz took to Twitter on Thursday writing, "I'm unable to express my sorrow to hear about dissolving your body Jamal!" "They killed you and chopped up your body, depriving me and your family of conducting your funeral prayer and burying you in Madinah as wished." A Turkish official this week confirmed a Sabah report that chemicals expert Ahmad Abdulaziz al-Janobi and toxicology expert Khaled Yahya al-Zahrani were among a team sent from Saudi Arabia amid investigations into the murder. The paper said they visited the consulate every day from their arrival on 11 October until 17 October. Saudi Arabia only allowed Turkish police to search the building on 15 October. By Lisa Richwine and Simon Thompson LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 'up and working' and making jokes after being hospitalized with rib fractures, her nephew said on Thursday at the premiere of a new movie about her early career fighting for women's equality. By Lisa Richwine and Simon Thompson LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is "up and working" and making jokes after being hospitalized with rib fractures, her nephew said on Thursday at the premiere of a new movie about her early career fighting for women's equality. Daniel Stiepleman, who wrote the script for the film "On the Basis of Sex" about his aunt's work as a young lawyer, with input from the justice herself, told Reuters the 85-year-old Ginsburg was "doing great." "The last I heard she was up and working, of course, because what else would she be doing, and cracking jokes," he said. "I can't promise they were good jokes but they were jokes." Ginsburg was hospitalized in Washington after suffering three fractured ribs from a fall. Hours later, Hollywood got its first look at the new film about her pioneering work. "On the Basis of Sex" stars Felicity Jones as a young Ginsburg and Armie Hammer as her tax attorney husband Martin, in a story about a landmark discrimination case the pair argued in 1972. Director Mimi Leder described the movie as the "origin story" of the justice, who became a hero among U.S. liberals. "She is a woman who, like countless generations of women before her and since, withstood the subtle slights and overt discrimination of the culture around her," Leder told the audience at the movie's world premiere. "She is a woman who changed that culture with her." The film, which will debut in U.S. theaters in December on Christmas, depicts Ginsburg as one of just nine women at Harvard Law School in the 1950s, and later struggling to find a firm that will hire a Jewish woman as a lawyer. "I wanted to show someone who, when they're younger, didn't have all the answers," Jones told Reuters on the red carpet. "She was making mistakes, finding out who she was, had a very young family, her husband wasn't very well. "She was juggling a lot of difficult things at the same time," Jones added, "but always (had) this absolute commitment to the law." The film chronicles a case involving Charles Moritz, a single man who was denied a $296 tax deduction because he was a male caregiver. Ginsburg and her husband successfully argued that the denial represented gender-based discrimination. The real-life Ginsburg made a brief, surprise appearance in the film, drawing applause from the crowd. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Peter Graff) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Joseph Nasr and Francois Murphy BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has a moral duty to fight rising anti-Semitism, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday in an emotional speech at a Berlin synagogue to mark the 80th anniversary of a Nazi campaign of attacks on Jews. Dressed in black, Merkel told Jewish leaders that violence against Jews, blamed on far-right militants or Muslims, was growing in Germany now, eight decades later. 'Jewish life is blossoming again in Germany - an unexpected gift to us after the Shoah,' she said, using the Hebrew word for the Holocaust. By Joseph Nasr and Francois Murphy BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has a moral duty to fight rising anti-Semitism, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday in an emotional speech at a Berlin synagogue to mark the 80th anniversary of a Nazi campaign of attacks on Jews. Dressed in black, Merkel told Jewish leaders that violence against Jews, blamed on far-right militants or Muslims, was growing in Germany now, eight decades later. "Jewish life is blossoming again in Germany - an unexpected gift to us after the Shoah," she said, using the Hebrew word for the Holocaust. "But we are also witnessing a worrying anti-Semitism that threatens Jewish life in our country." Germany and Austria on Friday marked "Kristallnacht", a wave of killings of Jews and looting and destruction of property launched on Nov. 9, 1938. The name refers to the broken glass which littered streets outside synagogues and Jewish shops and homes. Shortly before Merkel spoke, an appeal court in Berlin overturned a decision by police to ban a far-right march in the capital planned for later on Friday. Police had barred the event on the grounds it would be unacceptable to hold a far-right march on the same day as the rest of the country was commemorating Jewish victims of Nazi violence. But the court was of the view that the constitutional rights to freedom of expression and assembly were paramount. Reuters eyewitnesses saw around 100 demonstrators take part in the far-right march in central Berlin with some 1,000 protesters joining a counter-demonstration by leftist groups. Police kept the two groups well apart. Merkel called for zero tolerance of attempts by far-right groups to hold Germany's large Muslim community responsible for violence committed by Islamist militants. MIGRANTS The chancellor's decision in 2015 to welcome almost a million migrants, most of them Muslim, has fuelled the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which says Islam is incompatible with the German constitution. Germans were shocked by images of skinheads chasing migrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz in September after the fatal stabbing of a man was blamed on two migrants. Far-rightists also clashed with police and attacked a Jewish restaurant. "This form of anti-Semitic violence reminds us of the beginning of the pogroms," Merkel said. In Vienna the head of Austria's government, which includes a party founded by ex-Nazis, pledged support for Israel's security on Friday as Austria marked the Kristallnacht anniversary. Austria for decades presented itself as a victim of Nazism rather than acknowledge its collaboration with its crimes, including the Holocaust. Conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that had changed. "We did it too late but we have grappled with our own history ... we do not simply suppress the events of the darkest hours of our history in the year 2018," he told a ceremony in parliament marking the anniversary. The event was attended by members of Kurz's coalition partner, the far-right Freedom Party. Although it was founded by ex-Nazis in the 1950s, the party says it opposes anti-Semitism and denounces the Holocaust. Party officials have, however, been embroiled in recent anti-Semitism scandals. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Friday anti-Semitic attacks had surged in his country in the past nine months. (Additional reporting by Reuters TV and by Francois Murphy in Vienna; editing by Andrew Roche and Toby Chopra) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By David Morgan and Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats are considering legal action over President Donald Trump's appointment of a new acting attorney general, congressional sources said on Friday, as some outside experts called Trump's move unconstitutional. Trump on Wednesday named Matthew Whitaker to replace former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was forced out after months of being attacked by Trump for recusing himself from an ongoing probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election By David Morgan and Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats are considering legal action over President Donald Trump's appointment of a new acting attorney general, congressional sources said on Friday, as some outside experts called Trump's move unconstitutional. Trump on Wednesday named Matthew Whitaker to replace former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was forced out after months of being attacked by Trump for recusing himself from an ongoing probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The move made Whitaker supervisor of the investigation, which has hung over Trump's presidency. Whitaker has criticized the probe in the past as too wide-ranging, a view that raised concerns among Democrats that Sessions' ouster and Whitaker's appointment might be a precursor to Trump moving to end it. Senate Democrats were pondering suing Trump, the sources said, on the grounds that, in naming Whitaker, the president ignored a statutory line of succession at the Justice Department and deprived senators of their constitutional "advice and consent" role on some presidential appointments. "The only two paths to that office are regular succession, and advice (and) consent," said a source close to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution states that some senior government officials, known as "principal officers," must be confirmed by the Senate. Democrats, as the minority party in the Senate, might need some Republican support to have legal standing to sue Trump under the Appointments Clause, said Andrew Wright, who was a White House lawyer under former President Barack Obama. The source close to the Senate Judiciary Committee said that Democrats were unsure whether they would reach out to Republicans to join the lawsuit, but said such a move was "not likely." Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Friday that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a career Justice Department official already confirmed by the Senate, should have been named the new attorney general after Sessions was removed. "You ignored the statutory line of succession," Schumer said in a Nov. 9 letter to Trump. "The appointment of Mr. Whitaker is further clouded by unresolved constitutional questions about the legality of such an action." John Yoo, a former Justice Department lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, said "the Supreme Court made clear that the Attorney General is a principal officer," in a 1998 case. "Therefore, Whitaker cannot serve as acting Attorney General ... Any other officer in the Justice Department who was appointed through advice and consent can serve, including the Deputy AG, the solicitor general, and the assistant AGs," said Yoo, now a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley. RUSSIA PROBE Trump's ouster of Sessions and appointment of Whitaker triggered concerns among lawmakers that the president planned to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 18-month probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and any collusion between Moscow and Trump's campaign. Republican Senator Susan Collins said in a statement on Friday that Mueller must be allowed to complete his investigation. "I am concerned about comments that Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has made regarding the Special Counsel and the parameters of his investigation," she said. "We should bring to the Senate floor legislation that would put restrictions on the ability of President Donald Trump to fire the Special Counsel," she added. Trump said on Friday, as he was departing Washington for a trip to Paris, that he had not discussed the Mueller probe with Whitaker before appointing him, and it was up to Whitaker whether he wanted to be involved with the investigation. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump defended his choice of Whitaker, saying the former U.S. attorney for the southern district of Iowa had an excellent reputation and came highly recommended by former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who is now Trump's ambassador to China. At the same time, Trump repeatedly emphasized in his remarks to reporters that he did not know Whitaker, whom he tapped to replace Sessions on a temporary basis. "Matt Whitaker - I dont know Matt Whitaker," Trump said. A Justice Department spokeswoman has said Whitaker would oversee all matters under the department's jurisdiction, including the Mueller investigation. Democrats have called on Whitaker to recuse himself. Trump said, "No matter who I put in, they go after him ... He's a highly respected man, especially by law enforcement, and I think he's going to do a great job." U.S. intelligence agencies have said Russia interfered in the 2016 election in an attempt to tip it towards Trump and away from his Democratic opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Russia has denied interfering, and Trump has repeatedly said there was no collusion between his campaign and Moscow, slamming the Mueller probe as a "witch hunt." "I didnt speak to Matt Whitaker about it," Trump said of the probe, adding he did not rule out sitting down for an interview with Mueller. "I haven't ruled out anything," he said. "I haven't even thought about it." (Reporting by David Morgan and Jonathan Landay; Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton, Jan Wolfe, Susan Cornwell, Amanda Becker and Susan Heavey; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Paul Simao) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Fireworks have been banned in Singapore since 1972. Singapore: Four Indian-origin men were charged by a Singapore court on Saturday for lighting fireworks on Diwali. Lighting of fireworks has been banned in the country since 1972. The four were involved in three three separate incidents: illegal fireworks in the housing estates of Yishun, Bukit Batok West and Joo Seng Road on Tuesday, the day Singaporeans celebrated Diwali or deepavali. A Hariprasanth, 18, Elvis Xavier Fernandez, 25, Jeevan Arjoon, 28, and Alagappan Singaram, 54, are accused of discharging dangerous fireworks, reported The Straits Times Saturday. On Wednesday, two other Singaporean men of Indian-origin were charged over their alleged involvement in an illegal fireworks display in Little India on Diwali eve. Thaigu Selvarajoo, 29, is accused of letting off dangerous fireworks while Siva Kumar Subramaniam, 48, allegedly abetted him. Jeevan allegedly let off fireworks at an open field in front of Block 504B Yishun Street 51 at around 3.30 am on Tuesday. Police said they were alerted to loud sounds in the area that morning and found cylinders containing explosive materials. They arrested Jeevan the next day. Hariprasanth and Singaram are accused of discharging a box of "25 Shot Cake" at an open space adjacent to Block 194B Bukit Batok West Avenue 6 at around 7.40 pm on Tuesday. According to court documents, Fernandez is said to have discharged a bundle of six "whistling fire sparkles" at Block 18 Joo Seng Road about three hours later. Officers arrested him on Thursday. The four men charged on Friday were each offered bail of SGD 5,000. Jeevan will be back in court on 23 November, while Fernandez will return five days later. The cases involving Hariprasanth and Singaram have been adjourned to 30 November. Selvarajoo and Siva Kumar have been remanded at Central Police Division and will be back in the court on 14 November. Court documents did not reveal how they obtained the fireworks, according to The Straits Times. The government started regulating the use of fireworks in 1968 when the practice of lighting celebratory fireworks became a serious public safety issue. A total ban was rolled out on August 1, 1972. Police said, "Members of the public are reminded that it is an offence to possess, sell, transport, send, deliver, distribute or import any dangerous fireworks." "The police have zero tolerance against acts that endanger the lives or safety of others as well as cause undue alarm to the public and will not hesitate to take action against those who blatantly disregard the law," they said. Offenders convicted of discharging dangerous fireworks can be jailed for up to two years and fined between SGD 2,000 and SGD 10,000. By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Justice Department attorney on Thursday spelled out the circumstances under which Special Counsel Robert Mueller could be fired in a court case that took on new significance this week after President Donald Trump ousted his attorney general. The case, argued on Mueller's behalf by Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben who is working temporarily on assignment in Mueller's office, started months ago as a challenge to the legality of Mueller's appointment and his authority. When Trump ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday and replaced him with Matthew Whitaker, Democrats in the U.S. Congress immediately warned that Trump might be moving to dismiss Mueller and squash his probe. The 18-month-old Mueller probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign has clouded the Trump presidency. Russia denies it meddled in the election. Trump, who frequently blasts the Mueller probe as a "witch hunt," denies any campaign collusion with the Russians. In May, Andrew Miller, who is an associate of long-time Trump adviser Roger Stone, refused to comply with a grand jury subpoena from Mueller. Miller was held in civil contempt. He filed a legal challenge, asserting Mueller has no authority to compel his testimony or to oversee the probe because he was illegally appointed. Dreeben told a three-judge appeals panel on Thursday that there are checks and balances on Mueller's activities that make his appointment lawful. One of these is that he could be fired by Whitaker, now acting attorney general, if Whitaker revoked department regulations governing Mueller's appointment to make him fireable without cause. The special counsel is not "off in a free-floating environment," Dreeben said in arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that attempted to show Mueller's power is circumscribed by the law. Central to the case is whether Mueller is an inferior or a principal officer under the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Dreeben argued Mueller is an inferior officer and subject to the direction and supervision of presidentially appointed officials. Miller's attorney Paul Kamenar argued Mueller is a principal officer and cannot be fired except for good cause. Mueller was named special counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein after Sessions recused himself from the probe. Rosenstein lost his role as Mueller's supervisor to Whitaker on Wednesday when Sessions was forced out by Trump. Whitaker has been critical of Mueller's probe in the past and Democrats in Congress have called on him to recuse himself. A Justice Department spokeswoman has declined to comment on whether he may recuse himself. Whitaker has not yet discussed how he may handle the Mueller investigation. The three-judge panel did not indicate when it may rule in the case. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Cynthia Osterman) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Idrees Ali and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Standing side by side, top U.S. officials urged their Chinese counterparts on Friday to halt militarization of the disputed South China Sea, drawing a rebuke from the Chinese for sending U.S By Idrees Ali and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Standing side by side, top U.S. officials urged their Chinese counterparts on Friday to halt militarization of the disputed South China Sea, drawing a rebuke from the Chinese for sending U.S. warships close to islands claimed by Beijing in the strategic waterway. During a round of high-level talks in Washington, the two sides aired in sometimes blunt terms many of their main differences, including a bitter trade dispute, freedom of navigation in Asia-Pacific waters, self-ruled Taiwan, and Chinas crackdown on its Muslim minority. Two visiting senior Chinese officials also seized the opportunity to warn publicly that a trade war between the worlds two largest economies would end up hurting both sides and to call for keeping channels of communication open to resolve an issue that has unsettled global financial markets. Despite the airing of grievances, the talks appeared aimed at controlling the damage to relations that has worsened in recent months and at paving the way for an encounter between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina at the end of November. "The United States is not pursuing a Cold War or containment policy with respect to China," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a joint news conference. Even as the United States and China confront difficult challenges, cooperation remains essential on many issues, he said, citing efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. The meeting paired Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis with Chinese Politburo member Yang Jiechi and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe. The annual U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue was originally set for Beijing last month but had been called off amid rising tensions. Pompeo took aim at China over its continued building of military installations on artificial islands and reefs in the South China Sea, where China insists it has sovereignty despite competing claims from some smaller neighbours. We have continued concerns about China's activities and militarization in the South China Sea, Pompeo said following the talks. We pressed China to live up to its past commitments in this area." Yang said China was committed to "non-confrontation but that Beijing had the right to build "necessary defence facilities" on what it considers its own territory and urged Washington to stop sending warships and military planes close to the islands that Beijing claims. Mattis made clear that this demand go unheeded by Washington, which insists it is acting under international law to preserve access for it and others to the South China Sea. TAIWAN Responding sharply to Pompeo's mention of Taiwan, which China considers a wayward province but which is armed by Washington, Wei said Beijing would defend its claim on the island "at any cost." But Wei and Mattis agreed on the need to lower U.S.-China military tensions to avoid unintended clashes, with the Chinese general saying confrontation "will spell disaster to all." Washington has protested to Beijing about recent behaviour by its warships that the U.S. Navy considered unsafe. While Pompeo spoke little about trade in his public comments, Yang said he hoped the two sides would find a mutually acceptable solution on the issue before long. China and the United States have slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other's goods, jolting global financial markets, and Trump has threatened to set tariffs on the remainder of China's $500 billion-plus exports to the United States if the trade dispute cannot be resolved. Trump's administration has also accused China of meddling in U.S. politics ahead of this weeks congressional elections, charges China strongly denies. Reflecting growing U.S. concerns about the Chinese cyber threat, a senior U.S. intelligence official on Thursday accused China of violating a 2015 agreement aimed at stopping cyber espionage through the hacking of government and corporate data. Pompeo also reiterated U.S. criticism of China's "repression of religious groups," citing treatment of Buddhists in Tibet and minority Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang region that has drawn condemnation from human rights groups. Yang defended China's policies in Xinjiang as measures against "ethnic separatist activities and violent terrorist crimes" but said it was a Chinese internal affair and foreign governments should not interfere. (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Idrees Ali; additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Mohammad Zargham; Editing by James Dalgleish and Tom Brown) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. However, a halt to refuelling could have little practical effect on the conflict, seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Washington/Cairo: Saudi Arabia and the United States have agreed to end US refuelling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi insurgents in Yemen, halting a divisive aspect of US support to a war that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. The move, announced by the coalition on Saturday and confirmed by Washington, comes at a time when Riyadh, already under scrutiny for civilian deaths in Yemen air strikes, is facing global furore and potential sanctions over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its Istanbul consulate on 2 October. The United States and Britain late last month called for a ceasefire in Yemen to support UN-led efforts to end the nearly four-year long war that has killed more than 10,000 people and triggered the worlds most urgent humanitarian crisis. Recently, the Kingdom and the Coalition increased its capability to independently conduct inflight refuelling in Yemen. As a result, in consultation with the United States, the Coalition has requested the cessation of inflight refuelling support for its operations in Yemen, it said in a statement. Saudi Arabia has a fleet of 23 planes for refuelling operations, including six Airbus 330 MRTT used for Yemen, while the United Arab Emirates has six of the Airbus planes, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya al-Hadath channel reported on Saturday. Riyadh also has nine KC-130 Hercules aircraft that can be used, it added. US defense secretary Jim Mattis said the US government was consulted on the decision and that Washington supported the move while continuing to work with the alliance to minimise civilian casualties and expand humanitarian efforts. Any co-ordinated decision by Washington and Riyadh could be an attempt to forestall action threatened in Congress next week by lawmakers over refuelling operations. However, a halt to refuelling could have little practical effect on the conflict, seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Only a fifth of coalition aircraft require in-air refuelling from the United States, US officials said. Battle for Hodeidah The Sunni Muslim alliance led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE has recently stepped up military operations against the Iranian-aligned Houthi movement, including in the main port city of Hodeidah, which is a lifeline for millions of Yemenis. The continued escalation of attacks... by the US-Saudi-Emirati coalition confirms that the American calls for a cease-fire are nothing but empty talk, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, head of the groups supreme revolutionary committee, wrote in a column published by The Washington Post on Friday. He said the ceasefire call was an attempt to save face after the humiliation caused by the murder of The Washington Post columnist Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi policy, that has strained Riyadhs relationship with the West. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for an immediate end to the military escalation in Yemen. The Saudi-led Coalition and pro-Hadi forces, the Houthi forcesand those who supply arms or other support to the parties to the conflictAll have the power or the influence to stop the starvation and killing of civilians, to give some reprieve to the people of Yemen, Bachelet said in a statement on Saturday. The statement also said there is concern over 900 detainees in the central prison in Hodeidah and six pre-trial detention facilities after it was hit on Monday by two mortar shells, injuring five and cutting off power and water to the prison. Hodeidah has become a key battleground in the war in which the coalition intervened in 2015 to restore the internationally recognised government ousted by the Houthis. UN bodies warn that an all-out attack on the Red Sea port, an entry point for 80 percent of Yemens food imports and aid relief, could trigger a famine in the impoverished country. The World Food Programme said on Thursday it planned to double food assistance for Yemen, aiming to reach up to 14 million people to avert mass starvation. Air strikes by the coalition, which relies on Western arms and intelligence, have often hit schools, hospitals and markets, killing thousands of Yemeni civilians. UN special envoy Martin Griffiths hopes to convene Yemens warring parties for peace talks by the end of the year. The coalition expressed hope in its statement that his efforts would lead to a negotiated settlement, including an end to Houthi missile attacks that have targeted Saudi cities and vessels off the port of Hodeidah. Mattis said all parties support Griffiths efforts. The US and the Coalition are planning to collaborate on building up legitimate Yemeni forces to defend the Yemeni people, secure their countrys borders, and contribute to counter Al Qaeda and Islamic State efforts in Yemen and the region, he said in a statement. The last round of peace talks in Geneva in September collapsed when the Houthis failed to show up, saying their delegation had been prevented from traveling. The Yemeni government blamed the group for trying to sabotage the talks. The Chinese official said Beijing is committed to peace and development in the Asia-Pacific and respect the US' interest in the region Washington: Asserting that US-China bilateral trade is "critical to the world economy", a top Chinese diplomat said Beijing has kept its door open for trade talks with the Trump administration, as the two top global economies are locked in a trade war. Addressing a joint press conference here on Friday, Chinese state councilor Yang Jiechi said, "According to the US-China Business Council, trade and economic relations with China help every American family save USD 850 annually and creates as many as six million jobs in this country." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, US defence secretary James Mattis and Chinese minister of national defence Wei Fenghe were also present at the press conference. China and the US are currently locked in an ongoing trade war as each country has introduced tariffs on goods traded between each other. Trump has promised to fix China's "longtime abuse of the broken international system and unfair practices". "Our (China-US) trade and economic relations are mutually beneficial by nature and have delivered tangible gains to both the countries and its people. As part and parcel of the global industrial chain, China-US trade and economic relations help allocate resources globally in a more efficient way, hence it is critical to the world economy," Yang said. He said the trade issues that exist between America and China are due to different economic structures and development stages in the two countries. "These issues can be resolved through dialogue and consultation. A trade war, instead of leading to any solution, will only end up hurting both sides and the global economy, Yang said. "The Chinese side has kept the channel of dialogue open. The door to negotiations remains open," the top Chinese diplomat said and expressed hope that the two sides find a "mutually acceptable solution" to the ongoing trade issue. US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet in Argentina later this month on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit. Pompeo, while interacting with the media, said, "President Trump has made it clear that the US seeks a constructive and results-oriented relationship with China grounded in fairness, reciprocity and respect." He also hoped for cooperation from the Chinese government and energy companies to address Iran's nuclear missile programmes. "Bringing Iran's oil export revenues to zero is a critical component of this campaign," he said. The US on 5 November imposed "the toughest ever" sanctions on a defiant Iran aimed at altering the Iranian regime's "behaviour". The sanctions cover Iran's banking and energy sectors and reinstate penalties for countries and companies in Europe, Asia and elsewhere that do not halt Iranian oil imports. However, it temporarily allowed India, China and five other major importers to continue buying Iranian oil as they showed "significant reduction" in oil purchase from the Persian Gulf country. "Even as the two countries (US and China) confront important differences in the bilateral relationship, their cooperation remains essential on many, many central issues," Pompeo said. Citing an example, he said the two sides should remain united "in pursuit of a final, fully-verified denuclearisation of North Korea". Yang said China supports direct dialogue between America and North Korea and hope that the two sides will "accommodate each other's legitimate concerns, build trust and advance denuclearisation process and the establishment of a peace mechanism in tandem". The Chinese official said Beijing is committed to peace and development in the Asia-Pacific and respect the US' interest in the region. However, at the same time, he said, Beijing expects Washington to respect China's security and development interests and sovereignty in the Asia-Pacific. The United States voiced concern on Saturday after Sri Lanka's president ordered snap elections, as lawmakers warned that US aid was in question. The incoming head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee warned Sirisena he was jeopardizing US assistance including a package under discussion through the Millennium Challenge Cooperation, which supports countries that observe democratic norms. Washington: The United States voiced concern on Saturday after Sri Lanka's president ordered snap elections, as lawmakers warned that US aid was in question. President Maithripala Sirisena, who two weeks ago sparked a crisis by sacking the prime minister and installing former authoritarian leader Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place, signed a decree for elections to be held 5 January, nearly two years ahead of schedule. "The US is deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis," the US State Department said in a statement on Twitter. "As a committed partner of Sri Lanka, we believe democratic institutions and processes need to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity," it said. The incoming head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee warned Sirisena he was jeopardizing US assistance including a package under discussion through the Millennium Challenge Cooperation, which supports countries that observe democratic norms. "Unfortunately, we fear that recent actions, if not corrected, will threaten your country's democratic development and derail the progress made in recent years," said the letter to Sirisena. It was signed by three lawmakers including Representative Eliot Engel, who is set to take charge of the House committee following the Democratic Party's election victory. Sri Lanka's relations with the West have warmed significantly since the 2015 electoral defeat of Rajapaksa, who as president crushed the long-running LTTE insurgency. He refused to acknowledge any human rights abuses in the final campaign, in which rights groups say up to 40,000 civilians died. But Rajapaksa is short of votes in parliament to return to power as prime minister and the sacked, Western-friendly premier, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has refused to back down. An ally of Wickremesinghe has accused China of financing defections toward Rajapaksa, who has pursued close cooperation with Beijing. China has denied the allegations. US and China aired in sometimes blunt terms many of their main differences, including a bitter trade dispute and freedom of navigation in Asia-Pacific waters. Washington: Standing side by side, top US officials urged their Chinese counterparts on Friday to halt militarisation of the disputed South China Sea, drawing a rebuke from the Chinese for sending US warships close to islands claimed by Beijing. During a round of high-level talks in Washington, the two sides aired in sometimes blunt terms many of their main differences, including a bitter trade dispute, freedom of navigation in Asia-Pacific waters, self-ruled Taiwan, and Chinas crackdown on its Muslim minority in Xinjiang. Two visiting senior Chinese officials also seized the opportunity to warn publicly that a trade war between the worlds two largest economies would end up hurting both sides and to call for keeping channels of communication open to resolve an issue that has unsettled global financial markets. Despite the airing of grievances, the talks appeared aimed at controlling the damage to relations that has worsened in recent months and at paving the way for an encounter between US president Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina at the end of November. The United States is not pursuing a Cold War or containment policy with respect to China, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a joint news conference. Even as the United States and China confront difficult challenges, cooperation remains essential on many issues, he said, citing efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. The meeting paired Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis with Chinese Politburo member Yang Jiechi and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe. The annual U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue was originally set for Beijing last month but had been called off amid rising tensions. Pompeo took aim at China over its continued building of military installations on artificial islands and reefs in the South China Sea, where China insists it has sovereignty despite competing claims from some smaller neighbours. We have continued concerns about Chinas activities and militarisation in the South China Sea, Pompeo said following the talks. We pressed China to live up to its past commitments in this area. Yang said China was committed to non-confrontation but that Beijing had the right to build necessary defence facilities on what it considers its own territory and urged Washington to stop sending warships and military planes close to the islands that Beijing claims. In a statement on Saturday, Chinas Foreign Ministry described the talks as frank, constructive and very fruitful. Taiwan Responding sharply to Pompeos mention of Taiwan, which China considers a wayward province but which is armed by Washington, Wei said Beijing would defend its claim on the island at any cost. But Wei and Mattis agreed on the need to lower US-China military tensions to avoid unintended clashes, with the Chinese general saying confrontation will spell disaster to all. Washington has protested to Beijing about recent behavior by its warships that the US Navy considered unsafe. While Pompeo spoke little about trade in his public comments, Yang said he hoped the two sides would find a mutually acceptable solution on the issue before long. China and the United States have slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each others goods, jolting global financial markets, and Trump has threatened to set tariffs on the remainder of Chinas $500 billion-plus exports to the United States if the trade dispute cannot be resolved. Trumps administration has also accused China of meddling in US politics ahead of this weeks congressional elections, charges China strongly denies. Reflecting growing US concerns about the Chinese cyber threat, a senior US intelligence official on Thursday accused China of violating a 2015 agreement aimed at stopping cyber espionage through the hacking of government and corporate data. Pompeo also reiterated US criticism of Chinas repression of religious groups, citing treatment of Buddhists in Tibet and minority Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang region that has drawn condemnation from human rights groups. Yang defended Chinas policies in Xinjiang as measures against ethnic separatist activities and violent terrorist crimes but said it was a Chinese internal affair and foreign governments should not interfere. Amazon has signed a deal with Apple to expand the companys products on its site worldwide. Amazon confirmed that it will soon start selling more Apple products directly and this will also include the latest iPad Pro, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and Apple Watch Series 4, as well as Apples lineup of Beats headphones. The Amazon-Apple deal is available in US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, and India. Only Apple-authorized resellers will now be allowed to sell Apple and Beat products on Amazons marketplace. Amazon currently sells some Apple devices such as MacBook laptops and Beats headphones. With the new deal, customers should expect to see a greater selection of new Apple products and at standard prices. The agreement also points to relations between the two tech giants improving, after Amazon removed Apple TV in 2015, then brought the devices back last year. However, it does not include Apples HomePod smart speaker. Independent sellers with Apple inventory in Amazon warehouses after Jan. 4 will have to remove the products with Amazon offering to reimburse return or disposal fees until early February. Those sellers wont be able to ship more Apple products to Amazon warehouses starting Dec. 1. An Amazon spokesperson said: Amazon is constantly working to enhance the customer experience, and one of the ways we do this is by increasing selection of the products we know customers want. We look forward to expanding our assortment of Apple and Beats products globally. Apple spokesman Nick Leahy said: Were working with Amazon to improve the experience for Apple customers on their site. We look forward to those customers having another great way to buy iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and more. Source TC PipeLines (NYSE:TCP) Q3 2018 Earnings Conference Call November 9, 2018, 11:00 a.m. ET Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks: Operator Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the TC PipeLines LP 2018 third quarter results conference call. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Miss Rhonda Amundson. Please go ahead. Rhonda Amundson -- Head of Investor Relations Thank you very much, Operator. Good morning, everyone. I would like to welcome you to our third quarter 2018 conference call. I'm joined today by our President Nathan Brown, our VP and General Manager Janine Watson, and our Principal Financial Officer Chuck Morris. Please note that a slide presentation will accompany their remarks and is available on our website at tcpipelineslp.com or it can be found in the investor section under the heading Events and Presentations. Nathan will begin the call today with a review of TC PipeLines' third quarter highlights and results. Janine will provide an update on the partnership's assets and the market environment as well as a brief regulatory update, following which Chuck will provide a more detailed review of our financial results for the third quarter. Nathan will return and wrap up our remarks and close with some key takeaways. Following the prepared remarks, I will ask the conference operator to coordinate your questions. We will take questions from the investment community, but if you are a member of the media, please contact Grady Semmens following this call and he will be happy to address your questions. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that certain statements made during this conference call will be forward-looking regarding future events and our future financial performance. All forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs as well as assumptions made by any information currently available to us. These statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are subject to various risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as discussed in detail in our 2017 10-K as well as our subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Please also note that we use the non-GAAP financial measures EBITDA and distributable cashflow during our presentation. EBITDA is an approximate measure of our operating cashflow during the period and reconciles directly to net income and distributable cashflow is presented to provide a measure of cash generated during the period to evaluate our cash distribution capability. These measures are provided as a supplement to GAAP financial results and we provide a reconciliation to the most closely related GAAP measures in our SEC filings. With that, I will now turn the call over to Nathan. Nathan Brown -- President and Director Thanks, Rhonda. Good morning, everyone and thanks for joining us today. As outlined this morning in our news release, I'm pleased to report that TC PipeLines had another very good quarter, with solid results and our portfolio of pipeline assets continue to perform as expected. We generated $62 million in net income during the third quarter of 2018, $8 million higher than the $54 million earned during the same period of 2017. This is primarily due to higher revenues of PNGTS and North Baja, together with increased equity earnings from Great Lakes, partially offset by lower net revenue at GTN. Our EBITDA was similarly higher year over year at $113 million for the quarter compared to $103 million in 2017. Our distributable cashflow was $83 million for the third quarter in 2018, an increase of $18 million from the comparable period in 2017. Our cashflow was bolstered by a reduction in distributions paid to our general partner, Class B unitholders, partially offset by an increase in maintenance capital expenditures on GTN. We paid out $47 million in distributions or $0.65 per unit to our common unit holders during the third quarter. The partnership also requires third quarter distribution of $0.65 per common unit, which consistent with our second quarter 2018 distribution. Chuck will discuss our financial results in more detail a little later on the call. On the regulatory side of the business, we have made good progress in response to FERCs ruling back in summer. As we reported in mid-October, GTN reached an uncontested settlement with the shippers and four of our other pipelines have already complied with FERC requirements leaving only Northern Border, Great Lakes, and Tuscarora left to file their Form 501-Gs in early December. We utilized our cash savings related to our reduced distributions to repay a portion of our indebtedness, reducing our leverage position from a covenant perspective to just over four times. Our distribution coverage was very healthy this quarter at just under two times. This puts us in a much stronger financial position and we are confident that we will not require additional equity, either discreet or via our ATM program to fund our ongoing organic growth opportunities. Further, due to our regulatory progress, our estimate of the tax-related impact to our business from the FERC actions improved to negative $20 million to $30 million on an annualized basis starting in 2019 from our previous estimate of negative $40 million to $60 million. Given this improvement, we do not see the need for corporate restructuring and we're confident that our distribution is sustainable at the current level without the need to consider any further reductions. With that I will turn the call over to Janine Watson, our VP and General Manager to provide an update on our partnerships asset and market outlook. Janine Watson -- Vice President and General Manager Thanks, Nathan and good morning, everyone. Moving to slide five, you will see that TCP continues to benefit from its diverse pipeline network, which is anchored on major regional hubs and key supply and demand markets. In the third quarter, our entire portfolio of assets continues to perform well, reflecting the fact that our pipelines are well-positioned in these key areas, are highly contracted and have seasonal opportunities to realize incremental revenue. On the East Coast, Portland benefited from increased contracting from its continent to coast customers as its legacy contracts mature. These are long-term transportation contracts, which together with Portland Express project contracts will serve to replace expiring legacy contracts and expand the Portland system to approximately 0.3 BCF per day. North Baja benefited from an increase in short-term transportation services sold during the quarter. This potential to deliver southbound gas into Mexico that can then be routed back into Southern California stimulated interest in this asset's available short-term capacity. We saw continued strong demand for transportation service on our GTN pipeline, serving energy needs in California and the Pacific Northwest. However, the incremental demand revenue earned by this asset was offset by the 2018 revenue refund agreed to with the shippers as part of GTN's recent uncontested supplement. Upstream debottlenecking on TransCanda's NGTL system continued as basic differentials between the Western Canadian sedimentary basin and Midwestern markets are very supportive of gas flows in those regions on TCP's assets. Great Lakes is benefiting from the strength of the supply push out of the WCSB, resulting in incremental short-term sales. Great Lakes revenues were also improved compared to Q3 of 2017 due to the elimination of the revenue sharing mechanism that was a feature of this asset's tolls and tariffs prior to the 2018 settlement with the shippers. Northern Border's capacities largely sold out until the end of 2019, as it continues to enjoy the advantage of both its upstream tie to the WCSB and its proximity to Bakken-associated gas. The remainder of our asset portfolio performed as expected, as reported continued stable results during the third quarter. Now, turning to our outlook. TC PipeLines' assets are geographically varied, strategically located, and enjoy many synergies with TransCanada's assets, allowing TCP to potentially benefit from some unique opportunities. First, because of the highly contracted nature of pipeline assets, we expect that they will continue to perform in a consistent manner with past periods and thereby produce steady, predictable results. Our Portland natural gas pipeline system is strategically located in a geographic area that is otherwise significantly bottlenecked, providing this asset with some relatively easy expansion opportunities to serve markets in New England and up in Atlantic Canada. Our Portland Express or PXP expansion project provides an example of the type of appropriately scaled, well-placed, and well-timed expansion projects that we are seeking out across TCP's footprint, providing a competitive path to market with a fairly minimal environmental and regulatory footprint. Work on the PXP project is currently on time and on budget. Phase one of the project came online in November of this year, bringing an incremental 40,000 dekatherms a day of flows onto Portland. Phase two of this project, which will extend or recontract existing legacy volumes on this line, is expected to be in service in November of 2019. This phase of the PXP project is supported by compression stabilities to be built on pipelines in conference, upstream of the Portland system. TransCanada has the regulatory approvals needed for the capacity additions in hand and construction of their facilities has commenced. The final phase of this project entails a fairly modest brownfield construction project entailing a compressor and associated facilities on Portland's joint facility at an estimated cost of about $80 million to be self-funded at the asset level. Permitting and preconstruction work is under way on schedule for the planned November 2020 in service day. In total, these three phases will add an incremental 70,000 dekatherms of firm, long-term contracting on the Portland system. Beyond this opportunity, the combination of ongoing permitting difficulties in the US Northeast, together with recent declines in Atlantic Canada's offshore gas production is driving additional market interest in the Portland system. The TransCanada main line has recently launched two open seasons to bring new capacity on the system, to bring natural gas to Northeast and Atlantic Canadian markets, the results of which are still pending and are expected to be announced by month's end. Portland is working with the main line to capture the next wave of growth opportunities on this path in response to these market drivers. At the same time, LNG-backed opportunities are arising in the west, creating potential for organic growth at North Baja. As in the news as recently as a few days ago, Sempra's LNG export project, located in Baja, California/Mexico appears to be going forward. If it proceeds, the North Baja pipeline's existing footprint could provide a competitive connection to this new export market. Great Lakes is well positioned to move incremental WCSB production to eastern markets as well. TransCanada's Canadian and US pipeline groups are working in tandem to explore alternatives that optimize the use in Great Lakes' existing capacity to markets that provide value to its shippers, as was the case with TransCanada's main line, long-term fixed price agreements that go back to November of 2017. In summary, we are working to identify the next wave of growth opportunities for TCP, taking advantage of the competitive strength and strategic importance of our major pipeline systems as a platform to develop low-risk, value-creating projects supported by long-term contracts. Now, turning to slide six, let me provide a little bit more detail on our regulatory developments during the third quarter. We continue to execute our regulatory strategy in response to the FERC actions earlier this year. Our Bison pipeline submitted its FERC Form 501-G, explaining that all of Bison's long-term firm contracts are at negotiated rates and no rate change is warranted. On October 17th, we announced that GTN had reached an uncontested settlement with its shippers, which was filed with FERC the day prior. This settlement is structured as an amendment to GTN's 2015 settlement with its shippers, addressing the FERC's recent actions in the context of that previous arrangement. Importantly, GTN and its customers have agreed upon a moratorium on further rate changes prior to January 1, 2022. North Baja and Portland filed their form 501-Gs on October 11th. On October 12th, Iroquois filed with FERC requesting a waiver of its requirement to file a Form 501-G based upon its existing moratorium to 2020. FERC's decision on this request is still pending. Our remaining assets as scheduled to file by December 6th, 2018. In light of our negotiated settlements on GTN and as we progress through the Form 501-G process and engaged in discussions with our shippers, management's views of the range of possible outcomes has improved. The impact in 2018 is expected to be limited to the $10 million payment to GTN's shippers this December. The full revenue impact of the FERC's recent initiative and Form 501-G process is now estimated at a negative $20 million to $30 million a year starting in 2019. We are very pleased with our progress on these matters thus far. I will now turn the call over to Chuck Morris, our Principal Financial Officer, to discuss our third quarter financial results in more detail. Chuck Morris -- Principal Financial Officer and Treasurer Thanks, Janine, and good morning, everyone. Moving on to slide seven, I'll now review the partnership's third quarter 2018 results. Net income in the third quarter was $62 million, up approximately 15% over $54 million in the third quarter of 2017. This equates to $0.79 per unit compared to $0.61 per unit in 2017. Several factors impacted our Q3 2018 results, the net effect of which led to the increase year over year. We experienced higher contracting on PNGTS, and higher demand for short-term services on North Baja, which resulted in higher revenues. Equity earnings on Great Lakes increased year over year due to the elimination of the revenue sharing agreements and incremental short-term seasonal sales. These increased results were partially offset by lower net revenue at GTN, resulting from a combination of its refund provision and its recent settlement and lower short-term sales. The partnership paid distributions of $47 million to common unit holders in the third quarter. The $27 million decrease over Q3 2017 was primarily due to a $0.35 decrease per common unit in the second quarter 2018 distribution that was paid in August of 2018. As Nathan mentioned earlier, we declared our third quarter 2018 distribution of $0.65 per common unit. This represents a decrease of 35% that declared in the third quarter of 2017 but is consistent with our first and second quarter distribution following the FERC actions. The partnership's EBITDA of $113 million in the third quarter was 10% higher than that of the same period in 2017. The distributable cashflows were $83 million in the third quarter of 2018, $18 million higher year over year. The increase was due to the same factors impacting net income, together with a reduction in distributions allocated to both our general partner and our Class B unit holders, partially offset by an increase in maintenance capital expenditures of $2 million on GTN related primarily to the timing of pipeline reliability work. Turning to slide eight, revenues from our consolidated pipelines of $103 million were approximately 3% higher than those in the same quarter last year. The increase was a result of the incremental contracting on both PNGTS and North Baja, partially offset by the lower revenue at GTN. Equity earnings in the third quarter of 2018 were $7 million higher than the same period in 2017, primarily due to the increased results at Great Lakes. Operating maintenance and administrative expenses, depreciation and financial charges during the third quarter were all comparable to the same quarter in 2017. Moving on to our financial position on slide nine -- our investment grade credit ratings provide us with the financial flexibility as we continue to fund our organic growth. Our liquidity position remains strong. The partnership has $430 million of undrawn and available capacity under our senior credit facility as of November 9th, 2018. As we continue to execute our deleveraging program, we've used our cash savings related to our reduced distributions to pay a portion of our outstanding borrowings and a revolving credit facility in advance of the anticipated reductions and future cashflows resulting from the FERC actions. As a result, our bank leverage ratio is approximately 4.1 times at September 30th, 2018. Similarly, our distributable cashflows this quarter resulted in a very healthy distribution coverage ratio of 1.8 times in the third quarter. This concludes my remarks on the third quarter financial results. I will now turn the call back over to Nathan. Nathan Brown -- President and Director Thanks, Chuck. I'll now refer to slide ten. This has been a very good quarter for our partnership. We've made a lot of progress on the regulatory front and believe that we can see a clear path forward and return to focusing on other parts of our business. Our assets are performing very well and we remain confident that they are well situated to benefit from solid underlying market fundamentals and will continue to generate value for our unit holders well into the future. We have taken a proactive approach to managing our financial position over the past few months and are happy to report that our leverage ratio is over four times and our distribution coverage ratio is solid as well. Going forward, we are targeting to maintain our coverage ratio in the 1.5 times area and our leverage ratio in the low four times range. With this solid financial position, we have no plans to access the equity capital markets to fund our current growth program. Our focus remains on the optimization of our asset portfolio and we are looking to secure the next wave of growth opportunities on our assets. These include organic growth projects on PNGTS, such as our current Portland Express project, as well as potential opportunities on our North Baja pipeline. All of these will be progressed in very disciplined manner, with near-term opportunities sized and sequenced so that we are in a position to be self-funding. We have a history of prudently managing our partnership and our confident that our portfolio of crucial energy infrastructure assets will continue to generate solid financial results with opportunities for organic growth in high quality, low-risk, value creating projects for our unit holders. I'll now turn the call back to Rhonda. Janine Watson -- Vice President and General Manager Thanks, Nathan. I'd now like to open the call up for questions. Operator, please go ahead. Questions and Answers: Operator Thank you. We will now take questions from the telephone lines. If you have a question and you're using a speakerphone, please check your handset before making your selection. If you have a question, please press *1 on your telephone keypad. If at any time you wish to cancel the question, you may press the # sign. Please press *1 at this time if you have a question. There will be a brief pause while the participants register for questions. Thank you for your patience. The first question is from Jeremy Tonet from J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead. Charlie -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst Hey, good morning. This is Charlie on for Jeremy. I was wondering if we could circle back to the regulatory update. It seems like a lot of operators are going with that third option, similar to what you did with Portland. I was just curious -- as we look forward to some of your remaining pipes that you still need to submit 501-Gs for in December, any thoughts there on expectations? Are you already speaking with shippers to come to a settlement prior to submitting that form similar to what you did on GTN? Nathan Brown -- President and Director This is Nathan. I'd say we're progressing through our regulatory strategy on a pipe by pipe basis. Each one has slightly different facts and circumstances that work in their favor. Certainly, reaching out to the customer group is something we do on a regular basis when we have something like this going on within the regulatory realm. So, communication will be ongoing in due course, but in terms of the actual approach, we're finalizing that and should be adding all that with the filings about this time next month. Charlie -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst Okay. Good thanks. Then just on some of these growth opportunities you outlined, specifically with North Baja -- can you just explain a little bit more in detail what the size and scope of this opportunity would be? Sorry, the Sempra LNG project, is this ECA? Janine Watson -- Vice President and General Manager Costa Azul. Charlie -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst Yes, right. Janine Watson -- Vice President and General Manager Well, it's early days on that front, but certainly there is some fairly easy brownfield compression we can do along that line to move even up to 400 or 500 a day to meet the needs of that new LNG export ability should it come to pass. Charlie -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst What's the expectation on timing on that? Janine Watson -- Vice President and General Manager I think we're working on these issues all the time. They come to market when the market is ready to sign up and when we have contracts under way. I think we should be pushing on this one fairly quickly over the next two quarters and we hope to have more news in the new year. Charlie -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst Thank you. Operator Our next question is from Matthew Taylor from Tudor, Pickering, Holt. Please go ahead. Matthew Taylor -- Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. -- Analyst Yeah, hey, guys. Thanks for taking my question. Still early stages on the ongoing open season. On those, do you need new capacity? Can you just remind us how much you can expand those systems if more volumes start showing up in the Eastern triangle? Janine Watson -- Vice President and General Manager Yes. TransCanada is open season. They have one that is still open and one that is closed but not yet announced. So, the amount of capacity needed in the triangle, I think, is unknown at this point. It seems like they've got a positive response, but we'll see when they're ready to come forward with what that looks to be. PNGTS and Iroquois both have some ability to -- PNGTS has quite a robust ability to add more compression to move more gas if that proves to be the direction those new shippers want to take. Then Iroquois as well has some potential, but I think it's a little bit more built out at this point. Matthew Taylor -- Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. -- Analyst That's helpful. A similar sort of conversation -- if something like East Coast Canadian LNG goes ahead, probably a similar conversation on ability to expand some of the systems there. Is the opportunity such that you could capitalize on that as well? Janine Watson -- Vice President and General Manager Well, I think TransCanada is talking to a lot of different LNG proponents out there and we're interested in being involved should that materialize, but I think it's very early days. We'd have to see what path those shippers want to take. Matthew Taylor -- Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. -- Analyst If I switch over to Northern Border, if you look at volumes on that system, I don't think you highlighted any growth opportunities there. I'm just thinking Canadian volumes are trending downward. Is there any opportunity to use some of that Northern latent capacity that otherwise would have been filled with Canadian volume that might not be seeing the same volume flow to connected bison or maybe not even bison but to do something else with that northern piece of Northern Border? Nathan Brown -- President and Director That's certainly something we're looking at. The dynamic you're describing is reflective of the rise in volumes that have flown on the Northern Border. Certainly, there's a regional solution to be had there among several different things. So, within the asset of Bison, we've got some open capacity, whether it's a reverse flow of gas or some other project conversion along the way. There are certain opportunities there we're pursuing. But again, it's fairly early days on those, but we do think the value of our assets and the value of pipe in the ground can be something we can capitalize upon. Whether that translates into another solution that involves Northern Border, that's certainly in the realm of possibility within the things we're going to pursue to try to manage the volumes we see in the Bakken and the dynamic that's happening right there around the intersection of the two pipes. Matthew Taylor -- Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. -- Analyst That's really helpful. With your messaging now more strongly about growth and no need for corporate restructuring, etc., can you give us what you're thinking on distribution, where now the FERC impact is supposed to be negative 20 to 30, trending in the right direction there. Can you give us some sense of how you're thinking of distribution? Are you in wait and see mode? Any color there would be helpful. Nathan Brown -- President and Director Sure. We're watching the outcomes of all the remaining FERC filings we have to do so we can get a little more precision around those. We're also evaluating these near-term growth opportunities that we have as they come to fruition and working through how our cashflow situation works through our distributions with a view on being self-funding, with a view of staying within our means and not counting on the additional capital coming from TransCanada. From that perspective, we're working through a lot of fairly significant moving parts that are yet to be finalized. We do feel confident that another distribution decrease isn't necessarily. In terms of an ongoing growth story from here, we think we've got some good underpinning dynamics that will push us in the right direction and look forward to finalizing those, putting some more precision around them and being able to have a very clear message when the time comes. Matthew Taylor -- Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. -- Analyst Great. That's helpful. Thank you very much. Operator Thank you. The call has now concluded. If there are any further questions, please contact investor relations at TC PipeLines LP. I want to turn the call over to Rhonda Amundson. Rhonda Amundson -- Head of Investor Relations Great. Thank you, everyone, for your participation today. We certainly appreciate your interest in TC PipeLines and we look forward to speaking with you again soon. Thanks. Operator Thank you. The conference has now ended. Please disconnect your lines at this time and thank you for your participation. Duration: 29 minutes Call participants: Rhonda Amundson -- Head of Investor Relations Nathan Brown -- President and Director Janine Watson -- Vice President and General Manager Chuck Morris -- Principal Financial Officer and Treasurer Charlie -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst Matthew Taylor -- Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. -- Analyst More TCP analysis This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister Puttipong Punnakanta said the cabinet approved the waiver to the fees for foreign tourists during the New Year season. A sum of 2,000 baht in fee for visa on arrival for each single-entry tourist with a maximum of 15 days validity will not be collected during December 2018 - January 2019. The new measure was designed to boost the number of foreign visitors by no less than 30%, which will contribute to more tourism revenue during the New Year holiday. According to the Immigration Bureau, the number of persons applying for Visa on Arrival at immigration posts has dropped since January 2016. - NNT/VNA The village of Vaimoso concluded their five day training on disaster preparedness with the Disaster Management Office (D.M.O.) yesterday. Part of the training included re-diverting traffic to allow for a drill. The Community Disaster and Climate Risk Management (C.D.C.R.M.) is a Government programme funded by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Education (M.N.R.E.), Economic Wise Adaptation for Climate Change (E.W.A.C.C.) and the United Nations. Disaster Management Coordinator, Lauvao Isara Iose said the C.D.C.R.M. is a community-based toolkit that was endorsed under the disaster management plan that every village in Samoa should have. It was an integrated approach from all agencies not only Red Cross but the Samoa Ministry of Police, Samoa Fire and Emergency Services, Samoa Ministry of Health and Nuanua O Le Alofa also known as Disability Advocacy Organization of Samoa, Lauvao said. The programme ran for two weeks, with the first week focused on training, and the second was given to the community to prepare, and the last day was to test and analyse the villages response. The training included demonstration of Government procedures in any disaster, starting with evacuation, registration of evacuation sites, providing first aid to the casualties, search and rescue then last, conducting an initial damage assessment. Vaimoso had been trained last week Monday to Friday and this week the village was initially in charge of preparing and allocating all the teams in the village for a response. Friday was the last day to test their response on how to cope with problems in times of disasters. Sixteen youths from the village have been certified for first aid and received 10 first aid kits to help respond to needs in the village. We are really happy with the outcomes today and how well the community has responded. So Vaimoso has completed their C.D.C.R.M. package, added Lauvao. Lauvao said the success of their training and programme all lies on the correspondence and support from the villages coordination and has made it a goal to have the same results from the next villages. The next training will be conducted at Anoamaa district before reaching Faatoia village in Apia. Czech President Milos Zeman has opposed the UN-backed migration pact. Speaking to the TV Barrandov broadcaster, the President noted that the document did not discriminate between legal and illegal migration. Washington withdrew from the talks on the deal in 2017, while Vienna followed its example last Wednesday. The compact itself represents the global communitys attempt to establish a common approach to dealing with international migration. Radio Sputnik discussed the growing opposition to the UN migration pact with the US-based immigration analyst Well, I think people are fond of reading the agreement and are starting to understand that when the agreement discusses controlling immigration or handling immigration to a comprehensive and holistic manner that really that it is a fascist idea frankly and leading the UN to a more global government.Yeah, and I think Croatia I am hearing is also headed in that direction. That seems that of course, the US got out very early, I mean never even got in, frankly. And your listeners should know that the whole concept came out of Obama's idea in the fall of 2016, in September 2016 at the United Nations. And I think one of the major sticking points, leaving the US out because we got out earlier, but the major sticking points as I understand it since the time is this idea that migration will be a human right and that it will be no distinction then, if migration is a human right, there would be no distinction between those who are coming into one's country illegally or legally, there would be no reason to have any further distinction. So, I think that is, I think, those countries are seeing that this is an effort at basically a borderless world.Oh, yes, absolutely. And let me just say, supposedly, well it is supposed to be the case, that the document is not legally binding then why bother? And let me just say on that, the reason that countries should be concerned besides with borderless world idea is that this compact will certainly in the future be used as a hammer over countries' heads by contract, and it isn't, your listeners should know, has a proposal in it to illuminate all forms of discrimination including racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against migrants. So, who's going to be the judge going forward if a country is being xenophobic or discriminating in some way, somebody in some bureaucrat in New York or some bureaucrat in Geneva?Oh, yes, let me just say, I just thought that Germany had a very contentious debate in the Bundestag over this issue with the Alternative for Deutschland saying that Germany should get out of this. And let me just say, with the US, Hungary, Austria, possibly Czech Republic, possibly Poland added these all together, why should any other country sign this document, any other, I should say, advanced first-world country sign such a document? It is going to be nothing but a hammer over these countries' heads going forward. And it's just one more little foot in the door, I believe, to a concept of a borderless world where migrants could just flow to whatever country they've felt to they wanted to go to.We have the United Nations where countries could be go together if they are having a dispute over those specific borders and fix migration in certain places. Can't those countries just go to the United Nations and have a discussion among themselves if they had a deal with this problem country by country, it doesn't have to be a worldwide compact. And as I said the compact even though non-binding it will be, that will be forgotten in the future and the compact will be used by the media to bash countries over the head that distance themselves in some way or do something that the lefts uses to say "it is racist!" This pact will just be used as a hammer to beat them over the head by the media.The views and opinions expressed by the speaker do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik. The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless. The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well. By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism. Painting of Niko Pirosmani to be sold at Sothebys - GeorgianJournal Specifications and Features The heart of the new A9F MASTER Series is the newly developed, next-generation Picture Processor X1 Ultimate. This chipset has the ability to detect and analyze each object in the picture through Sony's new Object-based Super Resolution' mechanism for best-in-class accuracy and detail. As for the panel, the A9F comes in two screen sizes- 55-inch and 65-inches. Sony has used BRAVIA OLED screens that have over 8 million self-illuminating pixels individually controlled by the new Picture Processor X1 Ultimate. The 55-inch panel offers a resolution of 4K HDR (3840x2160). The TV is HDR10 and Dolby Vision compatible for video and DTS Digital Surround compatible for audio. There's 16GB of onboard storage with an expandable storage option. The TV runs on Android TV 8.0 Oreo that allows you to take a great use of the Android ecosystem on big-screen. The A9F comes pre-installed with Netflix, Amazon Prime, Biglix and Sony Liv. For sound, the TV comes with Acoustic Surface Audio+ technology that makes up for a 3.2 channel sound delivery on the 55-inch variant. The TV requires a power voltage of AC 110-240V and consumes 380W of power in operation mode. The TV weighs 23.8 kgs without the TV stand and measures 1228 x 711 x 86 (8.1) mm (without stand). You get a standard Voice Remote Control with IR Blaster. Sadly, there's no Air remote in the package. Some other notable features include On/Off timer and sleep timer support. Work of Art? Sony has put a lot of efforts in designing the Master series A9F televisions. Built on the Soft Minimalism' approach, Sony wants the Master series televisions to come out as a meaningful asset instead of just a physical object placed in your living room. The A9F presents a neat and minimal outlook. The big 55-inch panel has a nearly bezel-less appearance which makes the TV viewing experience extremely vivid and beautiful. The TV is shipped with what Sony calls a BRAVIA stand. It is designed as a simple structure of square with metallic bars that come into contact with the underlying surface at individual points. The material used in constructing the stand is very sturdy and the inverted V-shape ensures stability while placing the TV a table. When placed on a table with the help of BRAVIA stand, the 9F looks just brilliant. This is the reason I wanted to place it on the table but due to space constraints, I had to mount the TV on the wall. Nevertheless, it still looks stunning. Overall, the new Master series A9F TVs from Sony is by far the best looking TV I have come across till now. The A9F has a solid premium visual presence and it also blends into the surroundings easily. Lean back stand that doubles up as a sound chamber The 55-inches A9F is made out of a single slate- the big 55-inch panel at front, and the entire structure only has a stand in the back to hold it up. Unlike any other television in the market, there's a lot more going in the stand placed at the rear panel. The stand does not just support the big slate; it also works as a sound chamber and connectivity hub. It houses the actuator and subwoofer and is covered with a fabric to maintain aesthetics. The TV frame is quite heavy, even without the stand and feels extremely robust. I mounted the unit on the wall and it looked just the best looking 55-inches TV I have reviewed so far. The bezels are extremely thin and all you get to see and experience is the endless OLED panel which is full of lively colors. Picture Quality- One word- Excellent Powered by Sony's latest chipset- X1 Ultimate, the Sony A9F produces most lifelike visuals on the OLED panel. Everything you see on this TV looks simply brilliant. The videos are full of contrast, clarity and true deep blacks that ensure best-in-class vivid colors. The chipset controls over 8 million self-illuminating pixels resulting in excellent detailing, depth and life-like textures in the scenes you are watching. For instance, I was able to see the most accurate and dramatic textures of leaves in Jungle Book, the fabric of Superhero's suits in Marvel and DC movies, and everything else in the most vivid representation that you could imagine watching on a big TV. The mind-blowing contrast on the OLED panel can be attributed to the Pixel Contrast Booster, which is Sony's original panel controller for OLED. It also does the job of maximizing the dynamic range making the TV a great screen for playing rich graphical intensive console-level games. Sony in conjunction with Netflix has also added a new picture mode called Netflix Calibrated Mode'. The mode presents the visuals in exactly the same way that an artist wants to show to the audience. It does add depth and detail to the visuals but also adds a slightly warmer color tone to the overall scene. The color hue will not be much of a problem as you have tones of picture settings to customize the scene output as per your requirement. Besides, the 4K HDR and Dolby Vision make everything just brilliant on this TV. With so much tech working in the background, the end result is the stunning and the most realistic and vivid movie viewing experience on a TV. Audio performance: You wont need a home theatre system The audio performance on the new Master series BRAVIA TVs is much better as compared to the company's previous Sony X9000 series TVs. The Master series TVs come equipped with Multi-Dimensional Sound with Acoustic Surface Audio+ technology. The TV also has an additional actuator in the center of the screen and an extra subwoofer channel that creates a 3.2 channel sound system. There's a TV Center Speaker Mode' that when enabled ensures you won't need an external home theatre system. The mode allows the Acoustic Surface Audio+ to be used as the center speaker of a home theater system, which enhances the overall audio clarity during dialogue delivery and instrumental audio playback. The audio setup also creates a cinematic sound delivery by converting the OLED panel into a sound chamber with the help of actuators. What you get as an end result is a powerful sound that reaches out to you in absolute sync with the object in the video. As a result, the audio sounds fulfilling and immersive. The bass levels are good and dialogues sound clear. You can make dialogues sound even better by tweaking the audio settings. Combined with the Netflix calibrated mode, the movie watching experience on A9F is simply unparalleled. The effective HDR capabilities and brilliant contrast levels of the TV make it perfect to watch horror flicks which usually are mostly shot in the darker environment. The Acoustic Surface Audio+ created a multidirectional audio environment that made the The haunting of the Hill' horror series worth every minute. Overall, Sony has produced its best-sounding TVs in the form of A9F Master Series TVs. User Interface: Android TV 8.0 Oreo Operating System The Master Series A9F BRAVIA OLED TVs run on Android TV 8.0 OS. The familiar Android TV UI on new Sony TVs feels faster, easier and more intuitive to use. There's no lag whatsoever and you can easily navigate throughout the UI despite the fact that the TV does not ship with an Air mouse. As the TV runs on Android, you can explore Google Play Store; install apps and even games to play on big OLED screen. The bundled remote control has a dedicated Hands-Free Voice Search' button that speeds up the navigation process. Press the button and command the TV to search or play the content of your choice. The whole process works seamlessly as the built-in microphone on the TV is quite powerful and gives back results instantly. The remote also has a dedicated Netflix button. Overall, I did not experience much trouble while using the TV with the bundled remote; however, I would still want to see an Air remote with Sony's smart TVs in the future. Verdict Sony has delivered a masterpiece of premium Smart TVs in the form of BRAVIA A9F OLED. The new TVs offer supreme picture quality and brilliant audio performance. The TVs run the Android 8.0 UI and are quite easy-to-use, plus the Netflix calibrated mode makes the A9F TVs just perfect for today's movie streaming content. If you have the kind of bank balance to spend the hefty amount of Rs. 4 lacs on a TV for yourself, the 55-inch A9F will simply leave you spellbound. These newly launched models will be available in Sony Centers and major electronic stores across India. Samsung OneUI might come to Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ News oi-Sandeep Sarkar As per a leakster @IceUniverse, the tech giant will certainly release the OneUI update for the last year's flagship Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8, and the Samsung Galaxy S8+. It has been only a few days since Samsung unveiled its One UI at the Samsung Developer conference held in San Francisco. Apart from the OneUI, the South Korean tech giant had also revealed the upcoming smartphones which it plans to bring along with some other major announcements. As for the OneUI, the company had officially announced that some of its flagship smartphones including the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, the Samsung Galaxy S9, and the Samsung Galaxy S9+ are lined up to receive the Android 9 Pie update in January 2019. The Android update for the aforementioned smartphones is expected to arrive post the launch of company's next flagship the Samsung Galaxy S10. While Samsung had confirmed the Android 9 Pie update along with the OneUI for the Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S9, and the Galaxy S9+, it was being reported that the last year's flagship offerings by the company including the Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ will not receive the OneUI update. This had left the owners of these devices baffled. However, some new reports suggest that this might not be the case going forward. As per a Samsung leakster @IceUniverse, the tech giant will certainly release the OneUI update for the last year's flagship Galaxy Note 8, Samsung Galaxy S8, and the Samsung Galaxy S8+. The leakster reportedly claims to have received this information from a Samsung official, thus, it would be safe to assume that the OneUI will be available for the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 smartphones. Samsung has primarily designed the OneUI so that the users can get an enhanced single-hand usage experience. Considering that all of the aforementioned flagship devices by Samsung boast a bigger display, the new UI should make it easy for the users to operate the device with a single hand. As of now, Samsung has not officially confirmed the reports of the availability of the OneUI for the Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ and it remains to be seen if the tech giant brings the UI for these devices anytime soon. We will keep you posted with the further information on the same, so stay tuned with us for more updates. 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 Samsung W2019 price and availability The Samsung W2019 will be available in the next few weeks and is expected to cost around $2000. As of now, there is no information on the launch of the Samsung W2019 in India what so ever. Samsung W2019 design Though the Samsung W2019 packs in the top of the line specifications, the smartphone stands tall in the crowd due to the design, that the smartphone offers. The smartphone has a full metal unibody design, with premium design choices, which makes it look like a premium device. The overall phone, including the t4 keypad, makes it a retro-looking smartphone, but the device is as powerful as the Galaxy Note9. Samsung W2019 specifications The Samsung W2019 comes with dual 4.2-inch AMOLED screens with 1920 x 1080p resolution, protected by the 2.5D tempered glass with the standard 16:9 aspect ratio. Under the hood, the smartphone runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC with 6 GB of RAM and 128/256 GB of internal storage. Similar to the Galaxy Note9, the Samsung W2019 has a dual camera setup with a 12 MP primary wide-angle lens with a variable aperture (f/1.5 to f/2.4) and a secondary 12 MP telephoto lens for 2x optical zoom and portrait mode. On the front, the device has a single 8 MP selfie camera. Just like the Galaxy S9, the W2019 can record 4K videos @ 60fps and can also record super slow-motion videos as well. The device has a 3070 mAh non-user replaceable Li-ion battery with a USB type C port for charging and data syncing. There is a dedicated Bixby button as well. The power button mounted on the right side of the smartphone doubles as a fingerprint reader. Amazon joins hand with Apple to sell iPhones, iPads and more in India News oi-Karan Sharma Amazon and Apple became friends again to boost some sale during the holiday season. All you need to know. E-retail giant Amazon on Friday joined hands with Apple Inc to carry more products globally for the holiday shopping season. Both the rival companies are putting their difference aside for boosting the sales. In about few weeks Amazon will sell the latest iPhones, iPads and other devices in the United States, Europe, Japan and India. Amazon uses to sell limited products from Apple including Mac computers and headphones. The arrangement underscores how top brands, for example, Apple and Nike, which since a long time ago opposed dispersing items by means of Amazon, are progressively swinging to the online business website since it has turned into a basic channel for reaching buyers. As of January 4, Amazon will get rid of Apple products from the third-party merchants which are not authorised by Apple. But that doesn't mean that you won't be able to buy non-branded accessories like headphone for your Apple products. Third-party merchants will also be able to sell their products through the holiday season. Meanwhile, the e-commerce giant will create an Apple product page which will be Apple's official page on Amazon. This dedicated page will lineup Apple Watch but not the Apple Homepod because as we know it is a direct competitor for Amazon's Echo devices. As we know last year search giant Google pulled its video streaming app YouTube from two Amazon device. The reason behind pulling off the app was several complaints against the online retailer. Moreover, the company has also refused to sell some Google products on their site. Apple is trying to get the support of Apple TV but this is only possible when it became compatible with Amazon's Prime Video. "We're working with Amazon to improve the experience for Apple customers on their site and we look forward to those customers having another great way to buy iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and more," News 18 quoted 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 Google's AI will digitize NYT's 5 million historic images News oi-Vishal Kawadkar Google AI will revive history at the New York Times The New York Times is said to have stored all its pictures under its Times Square office. The publication has around five to seven million images with information about when they were published and why. Now the newspaper is working closely working with Google to digitize its image collection. The basement area has pictures from the 19th century, many of which are exclusive to the publication. "[It's] a treasure trove of perishable documents," says the NYT's chief technology officer Nick Rockwell. "A priceless chronicle of not just The Times's history, but of nearly more than a century of global events that have shaped our modern world." To make this possible, the company has called Google, which will use its machine vision smarts to scan the hand- and type-written notes attached to each image and categorize the information they contain. Google said that NYT will also be able to make use of its object recognition tools. This will allow them to extract even more information from the photos, making it easier for use in the future. This move shows how AI can preserve the history and it more accessible. Besides, two AI researchers from Google have detailed their creation of an advanced offline AI for text classification. The AI can run on smartphones with basic specifications. During the simple data set, the AI showed an accuracy of 86.7%, while in case of more complex and multifaceted dataset it was 83.1 percent accurate. Google has also shown how an AI might be used in real life scenarios in its latest study of AI-based Lymph Node Assistant (LYNA). The research focuses on making it easier for human pathologists to diagnose metastatic breast cancer in lymph node slides. This is a followup of the research on the use of AI for detecting and diagnosing cancer which was reported earlier in 2018. Previously, Google demonstrated how its DeepMind could help pathologists in detecting cancer. 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 Samsung Electronics join hands with Partnership on AI for AI safety News oi-Priyanka Dua Samsung has been working to expand its gaming ecosystem to make Galaxy devices the go-to platform for gamers. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. joined the Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society (PAI) to Benefit People and Society (PAI). The partnership was established to serve as an open platform to discuss, study, and formulate best practices on AI technologies. "Samsung is dedicated to producing AI products and services that are reliable and safe for people and beneficial to society," said Seunghwan Cho, Executive Vice President of Samsung Research, the advanced R&D arm of Samsung Electronics' device business. Cho said, "As a member of the PAI, Samsung will strive to facilitate the ongoing progress of artificial intelligence and develop best practices on AI technologies." Samsung joined PAI to shape the direction of AI development along with global member companies, the statement said. As a member of PAI, Samsung will join one of its working groups, Collaboration Between People and AI Systems1, and research possible collaboration between humans and AI. The company also plans to participate in research on topics including safety, transparency, and the social and economic impacts of AI. Meanwhile, Samsung has been working to expand its gaming ecosystem to make Galaxy devices the go-to platform for gamers. The all-new Galaxy Store, for example, will become the single destination for all digital items related to Galaxy devices, making it easier and more convenient to discover and download everything from new games to applications, themes, fonts and more. With developers in mind, the company is enabling high-performance game development through its Galaxy GameDev program, which features exclusive tools and technical support. 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 BSNL launches alternate digital KYC process for issuing new connections News oi-Priyanka Dua The One Time Password (OTP) sent to the retailer and to customers alternate number verifies the point of sale and customer. State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has announced the launch of an alternate digital KYC process as per new guidelines issued by DoT for issuing new connections across pan India in all telecom circles. Anupam Shrivastava, Chairman, and Managing Director, BSNL said that "Keeping up to its commitment of Services for new mobile customer verification; the new digital KYC process is live and has been rolled out across all the telecom circles of BSNL according to latest DOT guidelines. It had been launched on 6 November 2018 i.e. the same day on which DoT had issued instructions regarding it." This alternate process for KYC which entails customer acquisition forms (CAF) to be embedded with live photos of the new customers and scanned images of original proof of identity(POI) and proof of address(POA). The One Time Password (OTP) sent to the retailer and to customers alternate number verifies the point of sale and customer, BSNL said. Earlier this private telecom players including Airtel, and Vodafone Idea informed that they have begun rolling out 'alternate digital KYC (know your customer) process. This is a completely paperless process which has digitized the end to end process for onboarding of new mobile customers. This digital KYC application is being made available at all BSNL mobile retailers, franchisee and customer service center for on-boarding of new customers or serving existing customers for changing the SIM etc. This comes after DOT in its notification said that all licensees are to discontinue the use of Aadhaar eKYC (electronic know your customer) service of UIDAI both for verification as well as for issuing new mobile connections to subscribers. DOT said that all licensee shall also delete the column of writing Aadhaar number on Customer Acquisition Forms for issuing the new mobile connections. 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 Gov. Larry Hogan --- a day after winning re-election in the Maryland governor's race --- held a celebratory press conference in the Governor's Reception Room of the Maryland State House on Wednesday, Nov. 7, in Annapolis, Maryland. (Photo by Brooks DuBose) ANNAPOLIS (November 09, 2018)A day after winning re-election in the Maryland governor's race, Gov. Larry Hogan held a congratulatory press conference in which he looked ahead to his next four years, and mused on the reasons for his win, including disconnection from the policies of President Donald Trump.While the governor won a historic victory, becoming the first two-term Republican since 1954 with his victory over Ben Jealous, several members of his party suffered losses elsewhere on the ballot, depleting what was once a strong bench of Republican leaders in the state.Hogan was not shy in naming the president directly as a reason for his party's losses."We had President Trump say the election should be about him even though he's not on the ballot in Maryland and that's exactly what happened," Hogan said.Three Republican county executive candidates, including Allan Kittleman in Howard County, Steve Schuh in Anne Arundel County and Al Redmer in Baltimore County, all lost to Democrats.The party added to their supermajority in the House of Delegates, and the "Drive for Fivean initiative to break the Democrats' ability to override any veto that Hogan issuesalso failed.With all precincts in, the GOP appears to have won two of those racesMary Beth Carozza defeated Jim Mathias in District 38; and Chris West, a Republican, won District 42, a seat previously held by Democrat Jim Brochin, who stepped down."It was a repudiation of the president, who lost this state by 30 points," Hogan said. "People came out to express their frustration in him against just about all Republicans except for us. It was a tough night."Though Jealous was unsuccessful in unseating Hogan, Fabion Seaton, communications director for the Maryland Democratic Party, said the party still achieved some of its goals of flipping county executive seats and maintaining supermajorities in the General Assembly."We said we would turn out 1 million Democrats to the polls, and return turnout to 50 percent, and we did," Fabion wrote in a text message. "While we came up short in our campaign to flip the governorship, Democrats delivered a Blue Wave in federal, state legislative and county offices."Hogan joked during his victory speech that he was able to surf that blue wave, navigating his first term by "reaching across the aisle.""I've been saying this for a long time to those who would take politics to the extremes of either party, I was concerned about the tone, concerned about the negative politics and the divisiveness and I think most people are sick and tired of it," Hogan said.At Wednesday's press conference, Hogan specifically mentioned Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Bakeranother popular Republican in a blue state who won re-electionas an example that moderate governance is an effective strategy.Todd Eberly, associate professor of political science and coordinator of Public Policy Studies at St. Mary's College of Maryland, told Capital News Service that last night's resultsspecifically Hogan's and Baker's victoriesshowed a path forward for Republicans that doesn't involve Trump."That's the message," Eberly said, "that there is another track that Republicans can take so the party isn't just surrendered to Donald Trump. Democrats say the only way to stand up to Trump is to leave the Republican Party. Well, that's sort of drastic."Now that Hogan doesn't have to worry about winning reelection, Hogan is free to criticize Trump as much as he wants, Eberly said."For him to have gone all in on criticisms would have risked alienating (Maryland) Republicans," he said. "He's done now. He's free to say what he wants."During Hogan's four years in office, the state's economy has remained relatively robust, making steady improvement since the 2008 recession, though other states have improved more. The state's budget is also working with a surplus.When asked if the state's Republican party is in need of self-examination, Hogan said: "There's no question not just in Maryland, but nationally."I think I will be a part of that discussion about how we move forward and maybe be a model for how they might win races and not lose races," Hogan said.Hogan will become the chair of the National Governors Association in Julywhich positions him within the party on a national level, he said."I'll have a national voice representing all 50 governors," Hogan said, adding that the association will gather soon and he plans to "(teach) them how to be governors."Hogan said he did not receive a phone call from the White House after he won re-election."My feelings aren't hurt," the governor said. Austria, Russia summon diplomatic representatives amid espionage allegations Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 11:23AM Russia and Austria have summoned each other's diplomatic representatives amid a dispute over allegations of Russian espionage involving a retired Austrian colonel. The diplomatic tensions came after Austrian foreign minister Karin Kneissl's demanded that Russia provide explanations about the case and canceled a scheduled trip to Russia. In a report citing the Austrian Ministry of Defense, Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung said a 70-year-old Austrian colonel had been transferring information about the country's migration crisis, military aircraft and artillery to Russian intelligence services since the late 1990s till 2018. The report further alleges that the suspect is said to have received 300,000 Euros from the Russian services and may now face a maximum two-year detention. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov rejected the allegations, saying that he was "unpleasantly surprised" by the news. Lavrov said Western powers are increasingly using "loudspeaker diplomacy" to publicly blame Russia for "an issue that we know nothing of." Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that "we are demanding transparent information from the Russian side," adding the country "will discuss the rest with our European partners," if the suspicions are proven to be true. Kurz's far-right associated government's claims may further instigate tensions with Russia, adding to a growing string of Western allegations of cyber attacks, espionage operations originating from Russia, which the Kremlin has dismissed as "Russophobic hysteria." Last month, British officials accused Moscow of carrying out a cyber attack on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). London alleged that the attempts to hack the organization showed that Russia was also behind the March attack in Salisbury, during which ex-spy Sergey Skripal and his daughter were targeted by nerve agent. The US and more recently the Netherlands have also accused the Kremlin of orchestrating similar attacks. Moscow has long been pressured by the West over a series of issues, including the 2014 reintegration of the Crimean Peninsula, and Russia's military assistance to Syria in its fight against foreign-backed terrorists in the war-torn country. Observers believe that the Trumps administration's recent decision to pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia and growing NATO presence and military activities in Eastern and Baltic regions near Russia's border signal higher tensions in the near future. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Retired Austrian Officer Suspected Of Spying For Russia By RFE/RL November 09, 2018 Austrian authorities have questioned a recently retired military officer under suspicion of spying for Russia for almost 20 years, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said. Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl has summoned the Russian charge d'affaires over the matter and canceled an upcoming trip to Russia scheduled for December 2-3, Kurz added. "We demand transparent information from Russia," Kurz said on November 9, adding that the Russian diplomat currently in charge at the embassy in Vienna was summoned to the Austrian Foreign Ministry. "If the suspicion is confirmed, such cases, regardless of whether they take place in the Netherlands or in Austria, do not improve relations between Russia and the European Union," he said. Kurz was referring to the expulsion of four Russian agents by the Netherlands in April for allegedly planning a cyberattack on the world's chemical-weapons watchdog in The Hague. "Russian spying in Europe is unacceptable and to be condemned," Kurz added. In response, Russia's Foreign Ministry summoned Austria's ambassador on November 9 to demand an explanation about the accusations, Russian news agencies reported. Later in a statement on its website, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the allegations were harming hitherto positive bilateral relations. The ministry said the allegations were based on suspicions rather than actual evidence and that it had expressed its protest to Austria's envoy when it summoned him earlier in the day. Austrian Defense Minister Mario Kunasek told the news conference that the case came to light "a few weeks ago" as a result of information from another European intelligence agency. Kurz said Austria was not going to withdraw its envoy from Moscow yet or expel Russian diplomats. "We will discuss our further steps with European partners as soon as we receive more accurate information. In such a situation it is necessary to make gradual steps," Kurz said. Austria is one of the few European countries that maintains close diplomatic contacts with Moscow despite Russia's actions in Ukraine, and even after the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain, which London has blamed on Russia. Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said she canceled her visit to Russia scheduled for December 2-3 due to the espionage case. Vienna, home to multiple international organizations such as the IAEA, OSCE and a branch of the United Nations, is known as a European espionage hub. The city also used to be a gateway to communist countries during the Cold War because of its proximity to Eastern Europe. With reporting by Kronen Zeitung, Reuters, Kleine Zeitung, dpa, AFP, and Die Presse Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/retired-austrian-officer -suspected-of-spying-for-russia/29591348.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Vienna's 'Russian Spy' Claims are 'Suspicions Without Any Evidence' - Moscow Sputnik News 18:29 09.11.2018(updated 19:19 09.11.2018) On Friday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz confirmed that a former colonel in the Austrian armed forces has been suspected of spying for Russia over the course of about two decades. Vienna's statements and actions surrounding the case of an ex-army colonel accused of spying for Moscow are based on suspicions, and there is no evidence backing them up, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a press statement Friday. "We have turned the Ambassador's attention to the statement made by Karin Kneissl, Austria's Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, that if the suspicions of espionage are confirmed, Russian-Austrian relations would be seriously aggravated," the statement, devoted to the Foreign Ministry meeting with Austrian Ambassador to Russia Johannes Aigner, says. "We emphasized that the steps taken by Vienna, based on suspicions without any evidence whatsoever, have already led to the complication of our relations, which until recently enjoyed a positive dynamic," the Foreign Ministry added. Ambassador Aigner was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry Friday afternoon over the diplomatic incident. The Foreign Ministry handed Ambassador Aigner an official note of protest, and informed him that Moscow is "puzzled" by the fact that its Austrian partners "chose not to discuss their suspicions with us through the established channels of dialogue, but instead resorted to what has unfortunately become the customary method for many Western countries the sensational injection of false information in the media and a public demand for an explanation from Russia. This approach is not acceptable," the statement stressed. Ambassador Aigner promised to "immediately inform" Vienna about the Russian protest, the statement concluded. On Friday morning, Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported that the country's intelligence services had detained a former army colonel suspected of spying for Russia over the course of twenty years. If convicted, the suspected spy could face up to 10 years in prison, according to the Austrian prosecutor's office. The Austrian Defense Ministry said it learned about the alleged Russian spy from a "friendly service" several weeks ago. Later in the day, Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz confirmed that Vienna had detained an ex-officer suspected of spying for Russia, and said he would discuss further steps with his fellow EU member partners if the suspicions proved to be true. Kurz urged Russia to provide "transparent" information on the situation. Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl summoned a Russian official and cancelled a scheduled trip to Russia over the incident. Commenting on the case, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Larvov said the allegations "unpleasantly surprised" him, and said he lamented that Austria seems to have resorted to what he called "megaphone diplomacy." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Vienna Learned About Colonel Allegedly Spying For Russia From 'Friendly Service' Sputnik News 13:04 09.11.2018(updated 16:03 09.11.2018) Earlier, Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that a former Austrian colonel was suspected of having conducted espionage for Moscow. Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov lambasted Vienna for using "megaphone diplomacy" instead of traditional diplomatic methods, adding that the Austrian Ambassador has been summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Austrian Defence Minister Mario Kunasek said that Vienna had learned about an Austrian retired colonel suspected of conducting intelligence activity for Russia from "a friendly service a few weeks ago". "After that, the ministry began to negotiate with a view to identifying and then talking with him. The former officer also handed over the equipment; these devices are now being evaluated a laptop, and so on," Kunasek told reporters. The statement came after Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that "Austria suspects that a retired colonel of the Austrian Armed Forces has worked with the Russian intelligence service for many years." "According to our information, it began in the 1990s and lasted until 2018," Kurz told reporters. He demanded "transparent information from the Russian side", saying that "the [Russian] ambassador or rather, an authorised representative, because the ambassador is not in Austria now was summoned to the Foreign Ministry." "We will discuss the rest with our European partners," Kurz noted. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, for his part, said that he was "unpleasantly surprised" by the news that an Austrian ex-colonel had been accused by Vienna of spying for Russia. He underscored that the Russian Foreign Ministry would explain to the Austrian Ambassador which methods should be used if Vienna has questions for Moscow, stating that Austria had resorted to "megaphone diplomacy" instead of traditional diplomatic methods. Lavrov added that Austrian Ambassador Johannes Eigner had already been summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Earlier in the day, the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung cited the country's Ministry of Defence as saying that Austria's intelligence services had detained on Thursday a 70-year-old ex-Austrian colonel who had allegedly spied for Russia for 20 years. The suspect reportedly received 300,000 euros from his alleged employers in Russia, and now faces a maximum sentence of two years in jail. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address When Equality Florida representatives met with me this summer and said they wanted to give SFGN their annual award, they indicated that it was because we had given them years of support. Uh-oh. My job, this newspapers job, is not to give any one, any organization, any public official, guaranteed, unadulterated, unconditional support. Our job is to report. Reporting, as you can see from the awards we have won again this week, means exposing the warts and wounds of our community, even it means revealing that a community leader in Wilton Manors in 2018 may have sexually abused his students in a preparatory school in New Jersey in 1978. Reporting the news means revealing the facts that even your cherished local community Pride Center carelessly employed a sexual offender to illegally work at their campus. Equal rights mean equal responsibility. Over the years, we have had some sad stories to report. Good people sometimes do bad things. Bad people always look for a way to enrich themselves at someone elses expense. If the story is newsworthy enough, we write about it, good, bad or ugly. Sometimes, it hurts. Other times, it heals. Even a bad review at a local restaurant can set off a reader. As a newspaper, you learn that sunlight is the best disinfectant. Nothing gives me more pride than doing our annual OUT50 issue, showcasing the good, the great, and the gallant amongst us. It does not always work that way, though. Life intervenes. At SFGN, we have been fortunate enough to illuminate many nonprofits in our community because they have done their jobs so well, with dignity and distinction. That is why accepting the award from Equality Florida is such an honor. Few nonprofits in this state have grown with such stature and success as Equality Florida. Few have done so much for so many. They have become a force for social justice and community outreach.Over the past two decades, EqualityFlorida has opened chapters in Gainesville, Key West, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Miami, Orlando, Tallahassee, Pinellas, Jacksonville, and Sarasota. Advancing the cause of creating a fair and safe environment for all Floridians, EqFL has endured adversity, challenged opponents, and questioned authority. They have met resistance with resolve, difficulty with determination. With your help, they have risen to the challenge, spread their message, and protected your standing. Whether our cause won or lost the midterms, they will be there for you tomorrow as they were yesterday. Regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression, EqFL has become spokespersons for our community. On almost every issue of importance to us, from banning conversion therapy programs to supporting marches for unity and pride, they make their voices heard. When fear grew that a serial killer was targeting Jacksonvilles transgender community in 2018, they alerted law enforcement about the need to protect potential victims. When Governor Scott refused to extend LGBT protections for state employees in 2017, they censured him. When the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act went before Congress in 2016, they lobbied our congressional representatives in Florida to support them. When reproductive rights of women became a campaign issue in the 2014 midterm elections, they stood up on behalf of those women. When the Lake County School Board threatened to end gay-straight alliance clubs in 2013, they spoke out loudly in opposition. Equality Florida has also fostered networking, training and development for young activists. They even run an internship program which delivers college credits for students Of course, there will be critics, saying they could have done better, should have done more. Who amongst us has not found something or someone to criticize at one point or another? At this newspaper, so too do we have voices that question our priorities and push our needle. The bottom line is we all belong to a community that needs our voices heard. Equality Florida has become that voice. Equality Florida has in fact become the LGBT communitys first responders. In this state, with so many lawmakers and legislators lined up against us, the Nadine Smith and Stratton Politzer leadership team heading Equality Florida has done us proud. I am proud to accept their award because I know SFGN will hold Equality Florida to its mission. They have been noble soldiers in the ongoing war for social justice in our lifetime. They have served us well. Equality Florida continues to do its best against the demons and demagogues populating our legislature. We dont win every election or prevail in each debate. But they have been there for us, and I hope SFGN has been there for you. The battle for human rights preceded our lifetime and will go on well beyond it. Never forget that while you may finally be standing on the shore in Dade and Broward, others can be drowning in the ocean in Ocala and Pensacola. The small plaque we frame in our office is simple testimony to the hundreds of reporters and thousands of words SFGN has published over the past nine years. Our hope is that each week we can showcase and illuminate our community as good people living honorable lives. This week, we thank Equality Florida for recognizing SFGN for trying to do our job, understanding each week, with every issue, we must rise to the challenge. Tides change. You ride with them, up and down, but you never give up. Our duty, however, is to report the news, like Jack Webb used to do on the old black and white television show, Dragnet, good or bad, Just the facts, maam, just the facts. One personal note, I might add in closing. Getting out of bed is half the battle. But its a whole start. Keen Sword 19: Historic first JGSDF jump from USAF C-130Js in Japan By Yasuo Osakabe, 374th Airlift Wing public affairs / Published November 09, 2018 YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNS) -- A 36th Airlift Squadron C-130J Super Hercules became the first U.S. aircraft to drop Japan Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers on Hiju-dai drop zone, Oita prefecture, Japan, Nov. 4, during exercise Keen Sword 2019. The JGSDF's 1st Airborne Brigade soldiers, observed by U.S. Army Alaska Soldiers, jumped from the C-130J Super Hercules, showcasing the exercise's capability to bring military power together to train. "It is great that we are finally able to drop JGSDF paratroopers from U.S. aircraft in Japan," said Capt. Jeffrey Larkin, 36th AS C-130J pilot and Keen Sword 19 C-130J mission commander. "Also, this is the first time that (the 36th AS) will fly over Hiju-dai drop zone. This is another exciting moment for us because we can fly in an atypical environment." Since 2015, the 36th AS and JGSDF's 1st Airborne Brigade have been conducting joint jump training during Red-Flag Alaska. This historic first combined jump training in Japan will allow for more opportunities for future training and collaboration to strengthen bonds between the two nations. "Working with the Japanese Airborne community increases bonds and friendships, and it also increases the understanding of the strategic value of both airborne communities," said Army Master Sgt. Nathan Greer, U.S. Army Alaska jump master. The jump highlighted the strong commitment of the U.S. and Japan to a free and open Indo-Pacific region, but the aircraft was just one moving piece in a large-scale area seizure scenario during Keen Sword 19. "We delivered service members, between U.S. and Japan Self-Defense Forces, from Okinawa to Misawa," said Larkin. "Also we conducted mass Container Delivery System drops at Hiju-dai (dropzone)." The scenario: The 120 JGSDF paratroopers at the Japan Air Self-Defense Force Tsuiki Air Base at Fukuoka prefecture conducted airdrop training from the U.S. C-130J aircraft at Hiju-dai exercise areas, Oita prefecture, located approximately 810 km from Yokota Air Base. "Everything was excellent." said Greer. "As a jump master, they jumped safely and accurately. This is most important thing for jumpers, and they were professionals during the airborne operation." Keen Sword gives U.S. and Japanese forces an opportunity to practice critical air, maritime and amphibious capabilities essential for Japan's defense and for regional security. The exercise is also the latest in a series of bilateral field training exercises that for more than 30 years have increased combat readiness and interoperability between the U.S. and JSDF. "The scenario gave us the opportunity to practice tactical airlift to deliver supplies and personnel at a moment's notice." said Air Force Staff Sgt. Brian Gates, 36th Airlift Squadron C-130J loadmaster. "Any joint training provides greater awareness of how U.S. military and JSDF train to prepare for future contingencies and it help us stay ready to provide joint support when we are called upon." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gen. Goldfein meets with Ukrainian air force chief By Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs / Published November 09, 2018 ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) -- In the latest example of the strong ties between the U.S. and Ukraine, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein held high-level discussions with his Ukrainian counterpart, Col-Gen. Sergii Drozdov, at the Pentagon, Nov. 8. Drozdov's visit underscored both Ukraine's central role in a range of regional security matters, including those connected to Russia, and the country's evolving relationship with the United States. Drozdov's appearance in Washington also came less than a month after the U.S. Air Force participated Clear Sky 2018, the first-ever multi-national joint military exercise held in Ukraine. While Goldfein and Drozdov discussed a range of issues, one topic was preeminent. "Russia's aggression is not simply a matter for Ukraine," Goldfein said in a public appearance, during which he and Drozdov met with Airmen and journalists. "It is a threat to the region, to Europe, to the United States and to the stability of the international order. Our growing partnership and security cooperation with Ukraine supports our national defense strategy and promotes regional stability, security and international trust," Goldfein said. Goldfein noted the recent exercise, saying it, "showcased the strong bond between the U.S. and Ukraine and how far the Ukrainian air force has come in their path towards NATO interoperability." Like Goldfein, Drozdov highlighted the two nations' resilient partnership and the shared desire to promote regional stability and security. "Together with Gen. Goldfein we had a positive discussion on points of common interest," Drozdov said through an interpreter. "We are finding new ways to support each other so we can withstand Russian aggression." Ukraine has expressed a desire to join NATO, which is one reason the security collaboration with the United States is important. The success of Clear Sky 2018 is significant, as well, since one important requirement for membership is demonstrating interoperability. Goldfein said that a considerable portion of the discussion between the air chiefs focused on interoperability to ensure that "our systems and tactics and operations" mesh. If there was any doubt about the bonds connecting the U.S. Air Force to Ukraine, the presence at the event of five Ukrainian-born U.S. Airmen provided a vivid and human face. Each Airmen was introduced to Drozdov and Goldfein and each brought a compelling story. Staff Sgt. Anastasia L. Rash came to the U.S. in 1996 and joined the Air Force because she "wanted to pave a path towards a better future and to serve the country" that she now calls home. Rash is currently assigned to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, and is a control and communications supervisor with the 621st Contingency Response Support Squadron. Senior Airman Lena Sanner was born in Ukraine and was adopted by an American family at age 14. She is an installation patrolman attached to the 87th Security Forces Squadron at JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Airman First Class Brayden Nolte joined the Air Force in 2017. He is attached to JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst's 87th Civil Engineer Squadron as a water fuels system maintenance apprentice. Like Sanner, he was born in Ukraine but adopted by an American family when he was 8 years old. Airman First Class Alina Klyuchnyk Proffitt, an imagery fusion analyst with the 30th Intelligence Squadron, came to the U.S. as a refugee when she was nine. Her career goal is to become a physical therapist working with military veterans. "It's pretty great knowing that where I'm serving now is helping the country I was born in," Proffitt said. "It's a great honor being here." Airman First Class Konstantin Zelenskiy arrived in the U.S. from Ukraine when he was 5 years old. Zelenskiy said he joined the Air Force to give back to the country that gave him "the opportunity to chase the American dream." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Department of Defense Press Operations News Release No. NR-317-18 November 09, 2018 Readout of Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis' Meeting with The Minister of National Defense of the People's Republic of China, General Wei Fenghe Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana W. White provided the following readout: Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis met with General Wei Fenghe, the Minister of National Defense of the People's Republic of China to reaffirm the importance of a constructive and results-oriented military relationship. Both agreed that the military relationship could be a stabilizing factor in the overall bilateral relationship. The Secretary and the Minister discussed several pressing regional security challenges, including North Korea and the enforcement of United Nations Security Council Resolutions. Secretary Mattis also raised the importance of all maritime forces conducting their operations in a safe and professional manner in accordance with international standards and norms. The Secretary and the Minister agreed to continue progress on a crisis communications and deconfliction framework to reduce risk. https://dod.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1688026/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address ICRC warns of Saudi coalition's attack on Hodeida in Yemen IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Nov 9, IRNA -- The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Friday warned against Saudi coalition's new attack on Yemen's Hodeida Port. A statement, posted on the ICRC official website, reads that as Hodeida sees a dramatic escalation in the fighting around the city, the ICRC calls on warring parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure from unnecessary harm, especially in the lead-up to potential talks between parties. "Hodeida is once again trapped in violence with hundreds of thousands of Yemenis caught in the middle. The upcoming talks cannot be an excuse to disregard the laws of war that protect the lives of the Yemeni people," said Fabrizio Carboni, ICRC's Regional Director for the Near and Middle East. 'Wars have rules and parties to the conflict must respect them, even in the fiercest battles,' according to Carboni. The ICRC teams on the ground have seen how fear is rising among Yemeni people of being accidentally hit or purposely targeted. Fighting is nearing health centers, which led to the interruption of services in Hodeida's 22nd May Hospital, said Carboni, adding that the city's biggest hospital, Al-Thawra, is mere meters from the frontline, and if more health structures are rendered dysfunctional, the remaining facilities might not have the capacity to provide regular services or cope with an influx of casualties. The ICRC encourages political efforts to put an end to a war that has caused intense misery for Yemeni families, said the official, adding that millions of people are displaced in the country and millions are battling extreme hunger as a direct consequence of the conflict. "This new attack on Hodeida is brushing away the hope sparked by the recent announcement of the peace talks," said Carboni. "Were running out of words to describe how wretched the situation is. Its time to see a glimmer of hope in Yemen,' said the ICRC official. The ICRC in Hodeida is providing support to Al-Thawra hospital and the Hodeida Water Authority to help keep basic services running. Since the escalation of the fighting in June, the ICRC has delivered more than 80 metric tons of medical supplies to health facilities in and around the city and food and household items to more than 48,000 internally displaced individuals, ICRC statement concluded. It is for more than three years that the people of Yemen are under the Saudi-led coalition attacks. The aim of Saudi attacks which began on March 2015 is to restore power to Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. Thousands of civilians including women and children have been killed or injured in the brutal attacks of Saudi Arabia and its allies on the impoverished country and many have lost their lives due to outbreak of diseases and lack of medicines and medical services. Many human rights groups across the world have expressed great concern over the horrible situation in Yemen caused by the bloody war imposed by Saudi Arabia and its Western and Arab allies. 9191**1420 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ronald Reagan Strike Group Concludes Keen Sword 2019 Navy News Service Story Number: NNS181109-09 Release Date: 11/9/2018 10:52:00 AM By Mass Communication Specialist Codie L. Soule, Commander Task Force 70, Public Affairs PHILIPPINE SEA (NNS) -- The Ronald Reagan Strike Group finished exercise Keen Sword 2019 with units from the U.S. Air Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force on November 8th. During the exercise, the Ronald Reagan Strike Group conducted several events over 13 days with the JMSDF including logistics exchanges, replenishments-at-sea, senior leadership engagements, air-defense exercises, anti-submarine warfare exercises and a three day war-at-sea exercise. "Keen Sword 2019 was a great opportunity to work with a country that has a well disciplined and highly motivated maritime force," said Cmdr. Kevin Lucas, the Commander, Task Force (CTF) 70 lead planner for Keen Sword 2019. During Keen Sword 2019, the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) hosted Rear Adm. Hiroshi Egawa, Commander, Escort Flotilla One and his staff, who acted as naval liaisons to increase the interoperability of the two maritime forces for the sea portion of Keen Sword. "Although our maritime forces operate differently, Keen Sword 2019 gave us the capability to integrate our strike group with our JMSDF counterparts," said Lucas. Approximately 10,000 U.S. service members from commands such U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. Force Japan, 7th Fleet, 5th Air Force, 374th Airlift Wing, 18th Wing, 35th Fighter Wing and III Marine Expeditionary Force took part. Keen Sword is a biennial exercise in a series of joint/bilateral field training exercises since 1980 designed to increase combat readiness and interoperability of U.S. force and the Japan Self-Defense Force. The Ronald Reagan Strike Group is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Car bombs rock Mogadishu, kill 17 people Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 04:17PM Seventeen people have been killed in two car bomb attacks at a hotel near the headquarters of Somalia's Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in the capital Mogadishu. Police said guards at Hotel Sahafi and CID officers opened fire after the explosions. According to witnesses, a third blast rocked the busy street about 20 minutes later. "So far we have confirmed 17 civilians dead. They were travelling in public vehicles at the scene when the blasts and gunfire occurred," said Ali Nur, a police officer in the city. He added that the number of deaths "is sure to rise." Earlier, Mohammed Hussein, another police officer, said the target of the attacks was Hotel Sahafi, which is just opposite the CID office. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks which bore the hallmark of al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militant group. Despite being ousted from large parts of the south and central Somalia, al-Shabab continues deadly attacks across the country, which has been ravaged by decades of war and poverty. The militant group aims to oust the Western-backed government in Mogadishu and drive out African Union peacekeeping troops. It has been carrying out militancy since 2006. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Saudi mercenaries launch new offensive to capture Yemen's Hudaydah Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 04:05PM Saudi-backed militiamen loyal to Yemen's former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi have launched a "vast offensive" to take full control of the country's strategic western city of Hudaydah as the Riyadh regime presses ahead with its atrocious bombardment campaign against its southern neighbor. Hadi loyalists said in a statement on Friday that they had begun a military operation, claiming that they had advanced towards the northern and the western flanks of the port city, located 150 kilometers southwest of the capital Sana'a. The statement further alleged that pro-Hadi forces were progressing from all fronts with the support of the Saudi-led military coalition. The report came on the same day that a girl lost her life and nine other civilians lost their lives when Saudi artillery rounds and mortar shells rained down on the 7th of July neighborhood in Hudaydah city. Yemeni army soldiers and allied fighters from Popular Committees also targeted the positions of Saudi mercenaries in the Nihm district of Yemen's mountainous northwestern province of Sana'a, inflicting heavy losses on them. Additionally, a woman was killed and two others were injured when Saudi forces launched a salvo of artillery rounds and mortar shells at residential areas in the Razih district of the same Yemeni province. Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating military campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the aim of bringing the government of Hadi back to power and crushing the country's popular Houthi Ansarullah movement. According to a new report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, the Saudi-led war has so far claimed the lives of around 56,000 Yemenis. The Saudi-led war has also taken a heavy toll on the country's infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN has already said that a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger. According to the world body, Yemen is suffering from the most severe famine in more than 100 years. A number of Western countries, the US and Britain in particular, are also accused of being complicit in the ongoing aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Western lawmakers call for 'free elections' in Bahrain Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 03:47PM The government of Bahrain has come under fire by Western lawmakers against the backdrop of a ban on an opposition party from contesting the upcoming elections in the Arab country. Bahrain is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on November 24. A cross-party group of British lawmakers, including Conservative MP Peter Bottomley, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, and Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake, said in a letter to the Foreign Office that Bahrain "effectively bans major opposition figures from holding political office." They added that a countless number of Bahraini individuals have been "incarcerated on charges that criminalize free expression and assembly." "Free and fair elections can only take place if citizens are able to express their views." The British lawmakers also referred to the forcible closure of the only independent newspaper, Al-Wasat, back in 2017 and the detention of at least 15 journalists and Bahrain's most prominent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab for comments deemed critical of the Bahraini state. "Bahrain may be a key strategic ally to the UK but human rights and democratic values are fundamental pillars of our society and foreign policy", the letter concluded. In Ireland, a cross-party group of lawmakers involved in foreign affairs urged the release of all political detainees in Bahrain and permitting international bodies to observe the elections. Members of the European Parliament also slammed the Bahraini regime for missing the opportunity of the elections "to ease tensions and allow space for open dialogue to take place." Some 40 members of the European Parliament composed a letter addressed to Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah which is to be published next week. The letter also points to "the enactment of increasingly repressive measures." "Under these conditions, Bahrain's elections cannot be recognized by the international community as free, fair, or legitimate." Last week, US Congressmen James McGovern and Randy Hultgren, who are co-chairs of the bipartisan Tom Lantos human rights commission in the US House of Representatives, stressed that it would be difficult for the international community to recognize the upcoming elections as legitimate, noting that Manama "has dissolved two major opposition political societies, barred all members of the societies from running for office on an individual basis, and imprisoned a number of key figures, as well as writers and civil society leaders." "In addition, Bahrain's electoral infrastructure inherently disadvantages the political opposition. There is no independent electoral commission and, to date, there has been no commitment by the government to permit either domestic or international observers," the letter added. In May, Bahrain's parliament approved a bill barring members of the al-Wefaq from running in elections, the latest step in Manama's political crackdown. Thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began in the kingdom on February 14, 2011. They are demanding that the Al Khalifah dynasty relinquish power and let a just system representing all Bahrainis be established. Manama has gone to great lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent. Scores of people have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained injuries or got arrested as a result of the Al Khalifah regime's crackdown. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Moscow hosts peace talks between Taliban, Afghan govt. Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 01:34PM Multilateral talks on Afghanistan peace opened in Moscow on Friday with the participation of the Taliban and the Afghanistan High Peace Council (HPC), which is said to be representing the Kabul government. Russia invited 12 countries and the Taliban to attend the talks aimed at restoring peace to the war-torn state, but the United States and the Afghan government declined to send official delegations to Moscow. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rejected the invitation on the grounds that talks with the Taliban should be led by the Kabul government. But the High Peace Council, a government body overseeing peace efforts, attended the talks with four representatives, AFP reported. The Afghan foreign ministry has emphasized that the HPC does not represent the Afghan government at the meeting, however. Representatives from Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan arrived for the talks, officials said. A Taliban statement described the gathering as a forum to lay out its demands for a peace process, including its objections to the presence of US and other foreign military forces in the country. A representative from the US Embassy in Moscow was due to attend, but only as an observer, State Department deputy spokesman Robert Palladino said this week. An HPC representative said at the conference in Moscow that the council was ready for talks with the Taliban and has asked them to pick a date to start the negotiations. "We discussed the subject of direct talks with the Taliban and asked them to choose the place and the time of their start," council spokesman Ehsan Tahiri said, according to Russia's RIA news agency. "We come for peace. We are the organization who works on peace. And this is the meeting also for peace, because we are the right people to come here," HPC deputy chairman Hajji Din Mohammad told reporters in Moscow. Asked if the HPC represents the Afghani government, Din Mohammad said, "We represent all our people." Addressing the talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said all the interested parties should take part in solving the Afghanistan crisis. "Afghanistan issues can be solved solely through political means, through finding all national concord with participation of all conflicting parties. Against this backdrop we especially welcome the delegation of High Peace Council of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Taliban," he said. "Their participation in today's event is aimed to make an important contribution into creating a proper environment for starting a direct dialogue between the government, the Taliban and wider representatives of the social and political circles of the country," Lavrov said. "I am counting on you holding a serious and constructive conversation that will justify the hopes of the Afghan people," he said before the talks continued behind closed doors. He emphasized that Daesh terrorists are being supported by "external sponsors" which are trying to "turn Afghanistan into a stronghold of international terrorism in central Asia." Lavrov said that "geopolitical games" are unacceptable in order not to make Afghanistan a "rivalry field between foreign players." This is the first time that a Taliban delegation is taking part in such high-level international meeting, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday. The Friday talks are the second meeting of the Moscow-format consultations at the level of deputy foreign ministers and special envoys. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Democrats warn president against blocking Russia probe Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 03:14AM Democrats have warned US President Donald Trump against making efforts to stop the Russia probe after he forced Attorney General Jeff Sessions out. Following Republicans claimed victory in midterm elections, Trump told Sessions to resign and replaced him with Matthew Whitaker, Sessions' chief of staff and a longtime critic of the Russia probe, Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader who could be the next speaker, said in a statement posted to Twitter that Sessions' ouster was a "blatant attempt" to undermine the Russia probe. Pelosi and some other Democrats advised Whitaker to recuse himself from supervising Mueller's Russia probe, as Sessions did. Whitaker wrote an opinion piece for CNN in August 2017 that argued Mueller had too much latitude in his investigation. The Mueller probe should not extend to the finances of Trump, his family or their business, the Trump Organization, he argued. "Given his previous comments advocating defunding and imposing limitations on the Mueller investigation, Mr. Whitaker should recuse himself from its oversight for the duration of his time as acting attorney general," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. Trump offers deal to Democrats Trump announced his readiness to reach potential deals with Democrats on any of their priorities, if they were willing to forget about the Russia probe. "It really could be a beautiful bipartisan situation," Trump said. However, he warned that any House investigations of his administration would be his red line and hurt prospects for bipartisanship. "They can play that game, but we can play it better," Trump said. "All you're going to do is end up in back and forth and back and forth, and two years is going to go up and we won't have done a thing." He said Pelosi had expressed to him in a phone call a desire to work together. With Democrats mulling whether to stick with Pelosi, who was speaker when the party last controlled the House, or go in a new direction, Trump wrote in a tweet earlier on Wednesday that she deserved to be chosen for the position. Pelosi, at a Capitol Hill news conference before news of Sessions' departure, said Democrats would be willing to work with Trump where possible. But she added: "We will have a responsibility to honor our oversight responsibilities and that's the path we will go down. We again (will) try to unify our country," she said. The Democrats fell short of a tidal wave of voter support that would have won them control of both chambers of Congress. But in the 435-member House, the party was headed for a gain of about 30 seats, beyond the 23 they needed to claim their first majority in eight years. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza. Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres. US weapons trade up 13% in 2018 Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 02:18AM The United States has sold $192.3 billion worth of weapons in international arms deals in 2018, showing a 13% annual rise in combined arms sales. Weapon purchases from US companies by foreign countries are done either through direct commercial sales, negotiated between a government and a company, or, foreign military sales, in which a foreign government works with the Pentagon on a potential deal. The State Department said on Thursday that combined weapon sales from American manufacturers for fiscal 2018 were up 13 percent over fiscal 2017 figures. The largest US arms manufacturers include Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, General Dynamics Corp and Northrop Grumman Corp. It is said that the increase in arms sales was a result of looser government restrictions coupled with high-level efforts to close deals. Despite due concerns by human rights and arms control advocates, US President Donald Trump helped the increase in arms sales by promoting the idea that "economic security is national security." The United States is already dominant in the global weapons trade, being the biggest arms merchant in the world since the late 1990s. Ban arms sales to S Arabia The biggest past, present, and possibly future international customer of US-made weapons and military equipment has been Saudi Arabia. In 2017, the Riyadh's rulers bought $18 billion worth of weapons mainly bombs and missiles used against innocent Yemeni civilians including women and children -- from the US. The US arms sales to Riyadh come despite international entities urging Washington to ban all sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia for launching its deadly war on the Yemeni nation since 2015. Back in 2016, the European Parliament had passed another resolution through which it had demanded the imposition of an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia as long as it spearheaded the war on Yemen. Trump, who has described Saudi Arabia as "a great ally of ours", has totally dismissed the idea of suspending weapons sales to the Arab country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US war on terror kills 500,000 in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 01:26AM A study has revealed that the so-called US war on terror has killed about half a million people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan over the past 17 years. The United States -- under Republican George W. Bush's presidency launched the war on terror by invading Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York. US officials assert that the attacks were carried out by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists but many experts have raised questions about the official account. They believe that rogue elements within the US government, such as former Vice President Dick Cheney, orchestrated the 9/11 attacks in order to accelerate the US war machine and advance the Zionist agenda. Following the 9/11 attacks, the US and its allies invaded and occupied Afghanistan, and Washington also started intermittent drone strikes inside neighboring Pakistan. In early 2003, the US invaded Iraq under the pretext that the regime of Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons, however, were ever found in Iraq. According to the study by Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, the war on terrorism has killed about 507,000 people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The study, released on Thursday, stated that many of the victims have been civilians. It added that the actual death toll is likely higher. The study said the new toll has shown an 110,000 increase compared with the last count which was carried out in 2016. The death toll in Afghanistan, as of October 2018, stood at about 147,000 people, including Afghan security forces, civilians and Taliban fighters. The figure also included the 6,334 American fatalities. The war on terrorism also left 65,000 people dead in Pakistan, including 90 American contractors, nearly 9,000 local security personnel and more than 23,000 civilians. The rest of the casualties were militants, according to the study. From 268,000 to 295,000 people died in Iraq following the US-led invasion and occupation, the study said. "Though the war on terror is often overlooked by the American public, press and lawmakers, the increased body count signals that, far from diminishing, this war remains intense," the report said. "This update just scratches the surface of the human consequences of 17 years of war," the study concluded. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taliban Says It's Not Ready For Talks With Kabul By RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan November 09, 2018 The Taliban are not ready to negotiate with the Afghan government, a Taliban member said at talks in Moscow on November 9. A Taliban delegation attended a diplomatic conference in Russia for the first time, but the Kabul government sent no official representative, and the sides reported no progress. At the end of the talks in the Russian capital, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanakzai, who led the Taliban delegation, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying the militants are not ready for direct talks with Kabul and will negotiate with the United States instead. Opening the meeting earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia hopes "through joint efforts to open a new page in the history of Afghanistan." The first Russian initiative to hold the conference in September was abandoned after the Afghan authorities refused to attend. This time, the Afghan government sent only members of the government-appointed High Peace Council to attend the event. Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry on November 9 issued a statement stressing that the High Peace Council is taking part in the talks "in its own capacity as a national but nongovernment institution, with a view to discuss the dynamics and details of initiating direct negotiations." The High Peace Council (HPC) is a body of the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Program, established by former President Hamid Karzai to negotiate with elements of the Taliban. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the militant group was sending five representatives, who will not hold "any sort of negotiations" with the Peace Council delegation. Informal contacts between the Taliban and members of Afghanistan's Peace Council have taken place at various forums in the past. Based on reporting by AP, TASS, and Interfax Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-tries-again-to-start -afghan-taliban-conference/29591483.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump Slams Macron For Suggesting Europe Create Its Own Army November 09, 2018 U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for suggesting that Europe should create its own army. "Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly," Trump said on Twitter as he arrived in France on November 9 to meet with Macron. Macron said on November 6 that Europe needed a real army to reduce reliance on the United States for defense. "We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America," Macron said on French radio, according to the Wall Street Journal. Trump has often complained that NATO member states are not living up to the commitment they made at their Wales summit in 2014 to spend two percent of their gross domestic product on national defense. Based on reporting by Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-nato-/29592378.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Protesters, Democrats Demand Protection For Russia Investigation By RFE/RL November 09, 2018 Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets of major U.S. cities to call for protection of the special counsel charged with investigating ties between Russia and President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign. The protests late on November 8 came as Democrats in Congress sought emergency hearings into Trump's ouster of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who Trump had criticized for recusing himself and refusing to interfere with Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian efforts to influence the election. Several hundred demonstrators gathered in New York's Times Square and chanted slogans, including "Hands off Mueller" and "Nobody's above the law" before marching downtown. In Chicago, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin joined several hundred protesters at Federal Plaza, while some 500 demonstrators gathered at a park near the White House in Washington. Crowds also turned out in Greensboro, North Carolina, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Las Vegas, Nevada, and many other places, AP reported. Protest organizers said Trump's naming of Matthew Whitaker, Sessions' chief of staff, to be acting attorney general on November 7 was a "deliberate attempt to obstruct the special counsel's investigation." Trump asked for Sessions' resignation and then replaced him with Whitaker, who has criticized Mueller's probe and called for limits on it. Trump, who has repeatedly said he has the authority for fire Mueller, an independent counsel appointed by the Justice Department, has frequently called the Russia investigation a "witch hunt" and complained that Sessions had done nothing to rein it in. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway earlier on November 8 said Trump has not instructed Whitaker to limit the Russia investigation. But those assurances did not appease the protesters or Democrats in the House of Representatives who are slated to take control of the chamber next year. In a letter saying Trump's ouster of Sessions has put the country "in the throes of a constitutional crisis," House Judiciary Committee Democrats demanded emergency hearings on the change of command at the Justice Department and called for bipartisan legislation to protect Mueller from any effort to stymie his investigation. A spokesman for the panel's Republican chairman, Bob Goodlatte, declined to comment on the letter. In the Senate, Democratic Senator Chris Coons and Republican Senator Jeff Flake said they would try to force a vote next week on legislation to protect Mueller from White House interference. The Senate Judiciary Committee already approved a bipartisan bill to do so in April. Meanwhile, a coalition of 18 state attorneys general has sent a letter to Whitaker calling on him to recuse himself from the special counsel probe like Sessions did, in light of his "widely circulated public comments criticizing" Mueller. The state attorneys said Whitaker's recusal is "necessary to maintain public trust in the integrity of the investigation." They said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should "continue to supervise" the Mueller probe as he has since last year. The letter was signed by the attorneys general of Massachusetts, New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia. With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-protesters- congressional-democrats-demand-protection-russia- investigation-mueller/29591029.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Normalization Talks Between Kosovo, Serbia Hit Snag Over Tariff Dispute By RFE/RL's Balkan Service November 09, 2018 An attempt by the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo to move closer to an agreement on long-standing disputes that would further their bids to join the European Union has sputtered after less than an hour of talks. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters after the EU-sponsored talks in Brussels broke up late on November 8 that for his negotiations with Kosovo counterpart Hashim Thaci to continue, Kosovo must first reverse its recent imposition of tariffs on Serbian and Bosnian imports. "There is no dialogue until Kosovo withdraws its decision on customs of 10 percent" tariffs, he said. Vucic later told Serbian national broadcaster RTS that "none of our people will show up here until they withdraw their illegal decisions." Vucic then referred not only to the 10 percent tariff on Serbian agricultural imports but to Kosovo's vow -- which Serbian media attributed to Kosovo's Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj -- to begin forming an army within a month. The Serbian president told RTS that the tariffs violated the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), while he maintained that Haradinaj's plan to build an army -- and particularly to deploy a garrison in the Serb-dominated north of Kosovo -- breached earlier agreements. Vucic also spoke out against Pristina's aspirations to join Interpol at the organization's general assembly later this month. "Serbia is always ready for dialogue, but before that one has to behave responsibly, fulfill one's obligations, not to threaten Serbs by sending troops, not to introduce new tariffs contrary to the CEFTA agreement," Vucic told RTS. "From any agreement we are miles, miles away," he said. Thaci after the talks accused Serbia of being "aggressive and arrogant." "If Belgrade thinks it will be easy with the Kosovar side, it is wrong," he said. "These are difficult topics, but the interest of both countries is that dialogue ends with an agreement that ensures mutual recognition." The EU's top diplomat and mediator in the normalization talks, Federica Mogherini, said in a statement after the talks that the two sides are expected to swiftly deliver on their commitment to reach a binding agreement. Mogherini said she urged Serbia and Kosovo at the meeting to "refrain from words, actions, and measures that are contrary to the spirit of normalization." She added that "they discussed the necessary steps for the way forward." It was "decided to remain in constant contact in the coming days to assess the follow-up of today's meeting," Mogherini said. Kosovo, with a 90 percent Albanian majority, declared independence from Belgrade a decade ago. The United States and more than 110 other countries -- including all but five EU member states -- have recognized Kosovo. But Serbia refuses to acknowledge the independence of its former province and is -- with the help of its ally Russia -- blocking it from UN membership. Still, Serbia has agreed to try to normalize ties with Kosovo as part of an EU-brokered process, which if successful would enable Belgrade to begin EU accession talks. Kosovo's prospects for joining the EU also have been linked to reaching agreement with Serbia on their outstanding disputes. Now Brussels is pressuring both sides to reach a binding agreement in order to allow both to move closer to membership. Vucic's lashing out after the talks on November 8 follows a break in the talks in September after he refused to hold face-to-face talks with Thaci. With reporting by dpa and AP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/normalization-talks -kosovo-serbia-hit-snag-tariff-dispute- kosovo-army-vucic-thaci/29590907.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S., Iran Condemn Bahrain's Imprisonment Of Shi'ite Opposition Leader November 09, 2018 The United States has voiced concern over Bahrain's sentencing of the head of the country's Shi'ite opposition movement to life in prison, a move which was also condemned by Iran. "The United States is concerned by the verdict sentencing Ali Salman to life in prison," State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said on November 8. Washington will not seek to impose sanctions over the matter, he said, but it will continue to raise concerns when human rights issues arise in the Persian Gulf ally. Bahrain, an island state across the gulf from Iran, is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. "The United States will continue to engage regularly with the government of Bahrain on a range of shared interests, including the importance of safeguarding fundamental freedoms and human rights," Palladino said. Bahrain on November 4 sentenced Salman, who headed the now-banned Al-Wefaq movement, for allegedly spying on behalf of rival gulf state Qatar. Bahrain has been ruled for more than two centuries by the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty, but has been hit by waves of unrest since 2011 among its Shi'ite majority population. During the so-called Arab Spring uprisings in 2011, Bahrain's security forces crushed the protests, which were demanding creation of a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister. Bahrain provides vital facilities not only for the U.S. Navy but for other Western military forces that patrol the oil-rich gulf region. It houses a permanent British military base. Despite human rights abuses documented among U.S. allies in the gulf region, U.S. President Donald Trump has argued against restricting arms sales, saying they provide the United States with jobs and security benefits. The Trump administration lifted restrictions on arms sales to Bahrain that former President Barack Obama imposed on human rights grounds. Based on reporting by AFP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-iran -condemn-bahran-imprisonment-for-life-shiite- opposition-leader-salman/29590903.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Yemen: Major UN aid boost for 'up to 14 million' as country risks becoming a land of 'living ghosts' 9 November 2018 - Efforts are being made to step up life-saving aid from eight million, to 14 million stricken Yemenis a month, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday, before urging warring parties to spare the key Red Sea port of Hudaydah, which is a lifeline for the whole country. The UN relief agency made the appeal amid a renewed spike of fighting around Hudaydah city and its port, which receives up to 70 per cent of the country's aid. In Geneva, WFP spokesperson cl said that Yemen risked becoming a nation of "living ghosts" unless the fighting ceased, in reference to Government forces supported by a Saudi-led coalition, who have been battling militia from the Houthi movement opposition, since conflict escalated in March 2015. "We are more-or-less confident that we can still import the food that we want," Mr Verhoosel said. "Obviously, the port needs to stay open. Today we have enough stock in the country for the urgent need for this month and next month. But for the future, (with) the plans we have to reach many more millions of people, we will need more access." Yemen is already the largest hunger crisis in the world, with millions of people living on the edge of famine in one of the poorest countries on the planet, the UN has warned repeatedly. The decision to try to almost double food aid to the country comes ahead of the release of new data - on the scale of food insecurity, known as an Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) assessment. The last IPC report in Yemen - from March 2017 found that an estimated 6.8 million people faced emergency levels of food insecurity and were close to famine. That number "could rise to 12 or even 14 million people", Mr Verhoosel told journalists, noting that "intense" fighting in and around Hudaydah in the west of the country has caused "major delays" in the delivery of humanitarian and commercial cargo. "Whatever the military situation is in and around the city, it is crucial that all parties involved leave the port functioning without any delay, avoid those delays and (the) eventual future closure of the port," Mr Verhoosel said. Echoing that message, Shabia Mantoo from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said that since June, the violence had forced 445,000 people to flee from Hudaydah Governorate. "Fierce clashes, airstrikes and shelling have inflicted scores of civilian casualties," she said. "In October alone, 94 civilians were killed and 95 were injured in the governorate." The number of those remaining in Hudaydah City is difficult to assess, according to UNHCR, which is worried that people may be trapped by military operations, "which are increasingly confining populations and cutting off exit routes". In a worrying development, the main road inland serving the capital, Sana'a, has been closed, "choking" aid operations and commercial markets for the governorate and its surrounding regions, the UNHCR spokesperson said. Amid unconfirmed reports that Houthi opposition militia have taken up defensive positions at a hospital in Hudaydah, UNICEF indicated that fewer people were now seeking help from medical facilities. "A doctor told us that usually there are 2,000, 2,500 patients every day that go to the hospital,"UNICEF spokesperson Christophe Boulierac said. "He didn't tell me clearly how many are coming now, but he told me that the number of patients that come to this Al-Thawra hospital, has reduced significantly." The UNICEF spokesperson added that children remained particularly at risk. Hudaydah and neighbouring governates account for 40 per cent of the 400,000 children in Yemen who suffer from severe acute malnutrition. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Afghan Government Distances Itself From Moscow Conference By Ayesha Tanzeem November 09, 2018 The Afghan government seemingly tried to distance itself from a conference in Moscow in which a Taliban delegation publicly appeared for the first time at an international forum. Despite a Russian foreign ministry announcement a day earlier that President Ashraf Ghani was sending a delegation of the High Peace Council to the meeting, an Afghan foreign office statement said Friday the government has "not sent any representative to the Moscow meeting." The High Peace Council, the statement read, was participating "in its own capacity as a National but non-government institution." The conference in Moscow, attended by delegations from 12 countries as well as the Afghan Taliban was an attempt to bring together all parties to the Afghan conflict to try to "make a conducive environment to promote a direct dialogue between the government, the Taliban, and wider representatives of other social and political circles of the country," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said opening the meeting Friday morning. The United States embassy in Moscow sent a representative to observe the discussions. Washington and the Taliban had both stayed away from the first meeting led by Moscow last year in which the Afghan government was officially represented. In spite of the Russian government announcing Friday's conference as the second round, the Afghan statement stressed this was "not a follow-up of the previous meetings (Moscow Format) held among sovereign states, as in today's meeting the Taliban have also been invited." Afghan reaction to the Moscow gathering may have been prompted by a Taliban statement emphasizing that Kabul was not chairing the conference and that its representatives would not negotiate with the Afghan delegation. The statement that was issued by Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid asserted it was a nod to the group's growing international legitimacy. "With participation in the meeting, the international status of the Islamic Emirate will be strengthened even further," he said. Islamic Emirate is a name the Taliban used for its government when they were in power in Afghanistan. "Such diplomatic efforts of the Islamic Emirate showcase the active, clear and independent diplomacy and policy of the Islamic Emirate in the political field," the statement said. Meanwhile, Zalmay Khalilzad, the special representative appointed by President Donald Trump to kickstart negotiations with the Taliban, was on a 12-day trip to the region. A state department press release said he intended to visit Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. On his previous trip to the region last month, Khalilzad held direct negotiations with the Taliban in Qatar. A New York Times story said he did not take Ghani into confidence about that meeting. "Mr. Ghani and his government heard of that meeting only through news reports, and found out further details not through his American allies even after he asked but through a Taliban statement, according to several officials with detailed knowledge of the developments," the Times story reported. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Three Explosions Rock Somali Capital; 27 Dead, Including Gunmen By Mohamed Olad Hassan November 09, 2018 Three car bomb explosions and gunfire rocked the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Friday, killing at least 23 people in addition to four gunmen, witnesses and health officials said. The blasts, which occurred within minutes of each other, targeted the Sahafi Hotel and its surroundings. The hotel is near the headquarters of the Somali Police Force's Criminal Investigations Department (CID). The head of a local ambulance service tells VOA his company transported 45 wounded people to the hospital. Somali security officials who responded to the attack say four militants entered the hotel and went to the roof, firing on people down below. They said the security forces eventually killed the assailants and rescued dozens of people from hotel rooms. The militant group al-Shabab, which has waged an insurgency for more than 10 years, said it carried out the attack. A witness who was inside the hotel at the time said on condition of anonymity that the front of the building was destroyed by the force of the explosions, which blew out windows. Former Somali lawmaker Abdi Barre Jibril said most of the people killed were passersby or passengers in buses or rickshaws. "Two women and an eight-year-old child were among the dead," he told VOA. Other witnesses reported seeing dead people in the hotel back alleys and that those people had been wearing government uniforms. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Mulls Ending Aerial Refueling For Saudi Coalition Jets Over Yemen - Reports Sputnik News 02:23 10.11.2018(updated 02:41 10.11.2018) US Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Todd Young (R-IN) said in a news release on Friday that according to a provision in the US defense budget law, the United States cannot refuel Saudi coalition planes in Yemen until Riyadh makes a good faith effort to end the conflict. "As a first step, we call on the Trump administration to immediately end US air refueling of Saudi coalition aircraft in Yemen," the senators said on Friday. "If the administration does not take immediate steps we are prepared to take additional action when the Senate comes back into session." Meanwhile, two US officials, on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Friday that Washington could completely suspend refueiling of aircraft from the Saud-led coalition engaged in Yemen. In particular, the report said that the issue was under consideration by both countries and suggested that such a decision could ultimately be made by Riyadh, given its own refueling capacity. The move comes amid a lasting outcry over Riyadh's actions in Yemen. In particular after consecutive coalition strikes that have reportedly killed scores of civilians, many of them children. According to a UN data, the estimates of civilian deaths in Yemen's civil war range from 10,000 to 16,000, most of which are blamed on Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on civilian targets such as hospitals, schools and open-air markets. The Pentagon has warned Saudi Arabia that it could withdraw its military and intelligence support for its operation against Houthi rebels in Yemen after dozens of civilians were killed in a strike on a school bus in August this year, CNN reported earlier, citing US officials. An airstrike carried out by the Saudi-led coalition in Saada, Yemen's northern province, hit a bus carrying children from a summer camp on August 9, killing 51 people, including 40 minors. Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich told Sputnik on August 16 that the US Department of Defense was working with Congress on the issue of US military involvement in attacks in Yemen. Last month, US State Secretary Mike Pompeo and US Defense Secretary James Mattis in the separate statements said that the Saudi-led coalition must cease all airstrikes in populated areas in the country, urging Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels negotiate a cessation of hostilities in Yemen within the next month. The Saudi-led international coalition has been carrying air strikes in Yemen in support of the country's government, fighting against the rebel Houthi group since 2015. Both sides have been accused by international organizations and rights groups of committing hostilities against Yemeni civilians. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump Says Macron's Idea for EU Army 'Very Insulting', NATO Share Should Be Paid Sputnik News 00:25 10.11.2018(updated 00:57 10.11.2018) WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump in a statement just minutes after landing in Paris said it was very insulting of French President Emmanuel Macron to suggest that Europe should build its own military to protect it from the United States, Russia, and China. "President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidizes greatly!" Trump said in a Twitter message on Friday. According to media reports, Macron has advocated for mobilizing a European military force since his election last year, but brought it up again while touring World War I memorials on Tuesday. Trump appears to have been responding to Macron's Tuesday statement that a "real European army" would protect the continent "with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America We will not protect the Europeans unless we decide to have a true European army." French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said Thursday that the potential EU joint military force could be used for tackling the consequences of natural disasters, for providing humanitarian assistance and in military operations. Trump has called NATO obsolete, but said after the alliance's summit in Brussels in July that the alliance is becoming strong again because of his efforts to hold member states accountable with respect to their defense spending commitments. Trump also said during a bilateral breakfast with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in July that many alliance members have not been contributing enough for years. The president's statements sparked a wave of criticism from US lawmakers, who argued that Trump should display more commitment toward European allies in light of growing threats from Russia, China, and other countries. According to NATO estimates issued earlier in July, in 2018, only five out of 29 NATO members Estonia, Greece, Latvia, the United Kingdom and the United States will spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense, the target set by the alliance. Macron has been long advocating for EU's greater military autonomy. He has also maintained that France could not rely on the United States when it comes to the European security. However, some prominent military experts doubt that EU countries could create an effective defense structure. In particular, a 1952 treaty established a European defense community, which never came into being. Other efforts were limited to one-off operations, like the Franco-German Brigade, which took part in the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996 and in military campaigns in Afghanistan. Trump is in France to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. The massive celebrations in Paris will be attended by a number of foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. On November 11, 1918, Allied supreme commander Marshal of France Ferdinand Foch, UK First Sea Lord Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss and German chief negotiator Matthias Erzberger signed an armistice in the Forest of Compiegne that ceased hostilities in World War I. The peace treaty was signed on June 28, 1919, in Versailles. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Cesar Altieri Sayoc Charged in 30-Count Indictment With Mailing Improvised Explosive Devices in Connection With Domestic Terrorist Attack FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, November 9, 2018 Sayoc Allegedly Mailed 16 IEDs to 13 Victims Across the United States and Now Faces Charges Including Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Interstate Mailing of Explosives, and Use of Destructive Devices During Crimes of Violence Cesar Altieri Sayoc, aka Cesar Randazzo, aka Cesar Altieri, and aka Cesar Altieri Randazzo, 56, was charged today in a 30-count Indictment for offenses relating to his alleged execution of a domestic terrorist attack in October 2018, which involved the mailing of 16 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to 13 victims throughout the country. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman for the Southern District of New York, Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. of the FBI's New York Office, and Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill of the NYPD made the announcement. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff. "According to court filings, Cesar Sayoc mailed 16 IEDs to more than a dozen victims throughout the country, including current and former elected leaders. Less than five days after the first IED was discovered, he was tracked down and arrested, thanks to the outstanding work of the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and other law enforcement partners," said Assistant Attorney General Demers. "Cesar Sayoc allegedly targeted former high-ranking officials such as President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and others, as well as CNN, by sending explosive packages to them through the U.S. Postal Service," said U.S. Attorney Berman. "Sayoc's alleged conduct put numerous lives at risk. It was also an assault on a nation that values the rule of law, a free press, and tolerance of differences without rancor or resort to violence. Thanks to the diligent and determined work of our law enforcement partners here and across the country, it took just five days to identify and apprehend Sayoc and end his reign of terror. He now faces justice from a nation of laws." "As alleged, Cesar Sayoc deliberately targeted 13 individuals with 16 improvised explosive devices, attempting to create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation from California to the eastern seaboard," said Assistant Director in Charge Sweeney. "Thanks to the seamless integration of FBI JTTFs across the country, working side-by-side with many other law enforcement agencies and first responders, his campaign of terror was brought to a rapid conclusion just five days after the discovery of the first device. The FBI remains steadfast in our mission to protect the American public, and we will move with speed to bring justice to anyone seeking to harm our communities." "I commend everyone involved in investigating and prosecuting this case, particularly the agents and detectives on the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York, which includes 56 agencies and 300 individuals 113 of them NYPD cops," said Commissioner O'Neill. "Standing shoulder to shoulder with the FBI, the ATF, the U.S. Marshals, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the New York State Police, and others, we said from the outset that we would identify and bring to justice the person allegedly responsible for these acts. We could make that promise because of our proven history of effective partnership. The public's vigilance also greatly assisted this investigation and helped lead to today's 30-count indictment. What is clear is that New Yorkers are always resilient in the face of threats we refuse to back down, and we will never be deterred." According to the Indictment, Complaint, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings[1]: Between Oct. 22 and Nov. 2, the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service recovered 16 padded manila envelopes containing IEDs allegedly mailed by Sayoc from Florida to addresses in New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Atlanta and California. Sayoc's alleged victims, listed alphabetically, were former Vice President Joseph Biden, Senator Cory Booker, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, CNN, Robert De Niro, Senator Kamala Harris, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former President Barack Obama, George Soros, Thomas Steyer, and Representative Maxine Walters. Each of the 16 envelopes allegedly mailed by Sayoc had similar features, including the return addressee "Debbie Wasserman Shultz" at an address in "Florids," six self-adhesive postage stamps bearing the American flag, and address labels printed on white paper with blank ink in similar typeface and font size. Each of the 16 envelopes also contained an IED. The 16 IEDs also had similar features, including approximately six inches of PVC pipe packed with explosive material, a small clock, and wiring. Some of the IEDs also contained shards of glass. Preliminary analysis by the FBI has revealed forensic evidence linking 11 of the 16 mailings to Sayoc. Specifically, latent fingerprints on two of the envelopes have been identified to Sayoc, and there are possible DNA associations between a DNA sample collected from Sayoc prior to his arrest in this case and DNA found on components from 10 of the IEDs (including one of the IEDs that was mailed in an envelope from which a latent fingerprint identified to Sayoc was recovered). The FBI arrested Sayoc in Plantation, Florida, on Oct. 26 less than five days after the Oct. 22 recovery of the first IED, which Sayoc allegedly mailed to Soros in New York. The FBI seized a laptop from Sayoc's van in connection with the arrest that contained lists of physical addresses that match many of the labels on the envelopes that Sayoc allegedly mailed. The lists were saved at a file path on the laptop that includes a variant of Sayoc's first name: "Users/Ceasar/Documents." A document from that path, titled "Debbie W.docx" and bearing a creation date of July 26, contained repeated copies of an address for "Debbie W. Schultz" in Sunrise, Florida, that is nearly identical, except for typographical errors, to the return address that Sayoc allegedly used on the packages. Similar documents bearing file titles that include the name "Debbie," and creation dates of Sept. 22, contain exact matches of the return address allegedly used by Sayoc on the 16 envelopes. Sayoc possessed a cellphone at the time of his arrest, and the FBI's ongoing forensic analysis of the device has revealed additional evidence. For example, Sayoc allegedly used the phone to conduct the following Internet searches, among others, on the dates indicated: July 15: "hilary Clinton hime address" July 26: "address Debbie wauserman Shultz" Sept. 19: "address kamila harrias" Sept. 26: "address for barack Obama" Sept. 26: "michelle obama mailing address" Sept. 26: "joseph biden jr" Oct. 1: "address cory booker new jersey" Oct. 20: "tom steyers mailing address" Oct. 23: "address kamala harris" Sayoc's phone also contained photographs of some of the victims. * * * Sayoc, a U.S. citizen, is charged in the Indictment with 30 counts: one count of six different offenses for each of the five IEDs that he allegedly mailed to Clinton, Brennan, Clapper, Soros and De Niro in the Southern District of New York. In aggregate, the 30 counts in the Indictment carry a potential maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and a mandatory minimum penalty of life imprisonment. A chart providing more information regarding the charges and potential penalties is set forth below. The statutory penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge. Counts Charge Penalties Per Count 1 5 Using a weapon of mass destruction Maximum per count: life 6 10 Interstate transportation of an explosive Maximum per count: 20 years 11 15 Conveying a threat in interstate commerce Maximum per count: 5 years 16 20 Unlawful use of mails Maximum per count: 10 years 21 25 Carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony Minimum for first conviction: 10 years Minimum for additional convictions: 20 years 26 30 Using and carrying a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence Maximum per count: life Minimum for first conviction: 30 years Minimum for additional convictions: life Mr. Demers and Mr. Berman praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI's New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents from the FBI and detectives from the NYPD, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Mr. Demers and Mr. Berman also thanked the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida for its assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg, Emil J. Bove III, Jane Kim, and Jason A. Richman of the Southern District of New York are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorneys David Cora and Kiersten Korczynski of the National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section. Attachment(s): Download Sayoc Indictment Topic(s): Counterterrorism National Security Component(s): National Security Division (NSD) USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 18-1487 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Bulgaria Detains Suspected Russian Hacker on US Request Sputnik News 17:17 09.11.2018(updated 17:18 09.11.2018) MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Bulgarian authorities have detained a Russian citizen for up to 60 days at the request by Washington over his suspected involvement in cyber-fraud, the man will be later extradited to the United States, the Bulgarian prosecutor's office said in a statement posted on its website on Friday. "On November 8, 2018, the Regional Court of Varna approved the request of the prosecutor's office for a temporary detention of Russian citizen Alexander Zh. for up to 60 days, followed by his extradition to the US," the statement said. According to the statement, the arrest warrant for the 38-year-old Russian national was previously issued by a New York court in connection with an investigation into a case of online fraud with estimated damages of almost $7 million. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Daesh Reportedly Claims Responsibility For Melbourne Attack Sputnik News 14:40 09.11.2018(updated 15:22 09.11.2018) Earlier in the day, a Somali man stabbed one person to death and wounded two more after torching his car, which was laden with gas cylinders, on Bourke Street in Melbourne. Daesh terrorist group* has stated that one of its fighters conducted a recent stabbing attack in Melbourne on Friday, Reuters reported, adding that no evidence for the claim has been provided. Prior to the statement, Victoria's Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said that police were treating the incident as a terror attack. Earlier on Friday, police shot a man who stabbed one person to death and wounded two more in the centre of Melbourne. The suspect reportedly died after he had been hospitalized following a confrontation with police. The local police have not yet publicly identified the man. However, the NZ Herald stated that in 2009, he was acquitted for his role in a terrorist plot; he'd aimed to launch a suicide attack at Sydney's Holsworthy army barracks. *Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New drone unveiled potentially for China's third aircraft carrier People's Daily Online (Global Times) 08:26, November 09, 2018 Unmanned aerial vehicle can take off with catapult launch A new drone with folding wings and the potential to be deployed on China's third aircraft carrier debuted at Airshow China 2018 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province this week. Previously only seen in an illustration released a week before the show, the HK-5000G unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) appeared on display at the booth of the Aeromarine Intelligent Equipment Company, a subsidiary of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. No detailed description was offered at the booth other than it was a medium- and high-altitude long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle. The technical details were not given as the company is still adjusting the vehicle, Liu Yubao, vice manager of the company's research and development department, told the Global Times. The HK-5000G is a vessel-based armed reconnaissance drone, Liu said. "It can carry a payload for scouting missions or missiles for combat." The vehicle has an endurance of 12 hours and weighs about 5 tons, Liu said, noting that this was only initial data and liable to change. Military observers speculated the folding wings on the drone indicate its potential for aircraft carriers. Folding wings save space on a flight deck and are less necessary on land. Liu confirmed the guess, saying the HK-5000G is indeed designed for aircraft carriers. "We have already made many pre-studies including takeoff and landing on an aircraft carrier and aircraft-vessel adaptation," he said. It's more difficult to take off and land on a flight deck at sea with the space, acceleration and deceleration requirements, Liu noted. Given the HK-5000G's size, its 5-ton weight and its engine, a ski jump takeoff was out, Liu said. The UAV must use a catapult. Aircraft carriers Liaoningand the Type 001A have ski jumps, not catapults. In June an illustration captured at a meeting of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation suggested that China's third aircraft carrier will use an electromagnetic catapult. As the technology matures, drones will be widely used on aircraft carriers, a military expert who asked not to be named told the Global Times on Thursday. "A vessel-based drone can expand the reconnaissance capability of its mothership and provide fire support," the expert said. Although exhibiting at the November 6-11 show, the drone is not for export, Liu said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address North Korea cancels high-level talks with US: Haley Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 07:36AM North Korea has cancelled a scheduled meeting between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean officials in New York, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley says. The talks were called off because Korean officials "weren't ready," Haley told reporters on the sidelines of a closed-door UN Security Council meeting on sanctions targeting Pyongyang on Thursday. The US ambassador, nonetheless, tried to put on a brave face, saying that the delay was not a "major issue" and that talks would be rescheduled. "There's no time to stall or no time to delay or try and get past not going through with what was agreed in Singapore," said Haley. The official meeting was planned to take place on Thursday but the US State Department announced the postponement just a day before, giving no reason for the decision. The North Korean mission to the UN also declined to comment on the matter. The ongoing nuclear negotiations between the two countries seek to further proceed with a summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore in June. The initial agreement lacked specific details and further negotiations have made little progress. North Korea denounces sanctions The cancellation of the talks came a week after Pyongyang threatened to resume nuclear development if the US failed to lift harsh sanctions on the country. North Korean authorities have complained about continued US and UN sanctions on their country, calling them a "source of mistrust." They have also denounced what they have called "gangster-like behavior" by the US. Pyongyang says Washington has betrayed the spirit of the June's summit by making unilateral demands on the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization, while putting the sanctions in place. Russia has, meanwhile, called for a softening of UN sanctions, arguing that Pyongyang needs to be given positive signals after opening up on negotiations over its nuclear and ballistic program. Moscow says the bans have been causing "serious humanitarian problems" for the country's population. "We consider such a situation to be absolutely unacceptable and actually violating the decisions of the council as they should not be directed against the population of the DPRK (North Korea) or the activity of humanitarian agencies," said the Russian UN mission shortly after Thursday's Security Council meeting. Several requests by humanitarian groups for approval to ship humanitarian aid to North Korea have been put on hold for months after the United States repeatedly asked for more time to consider them. The UN Security Council has backed sanctions since 2006 to choke off funding for the North's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. North Korea stresses that denuclearization will have to be phased, with each stage coming in return for reciprocal steps by the US, potentially including the removal of US forces from the South Korea and lifting rounds of sanctions one by one. Pyongyang has firmly defended its military program as a deterrent against the hostile policies of the US and its regional allies, including South Korea and Japan. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Blocks Russian Bid To Ease North Korean Sanctions At UN By RFE/RL November 09, 2018 The United States has blocked an attempt by Russia to ease UN sanctions on North Korea in what it claimed was an effort to deliver humanitarian aid to the impoverished nation. But U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley on November 8 accused Russia of cloaking an attempt to lift sanctions on North Korea's banking sector as a "humanitarian" gesture, and vowed to keep Moscow from succeeding. "What they're looking for is to lift banking restrictions," Haley said after a closed-door UN Security Council meeting sought by Russia to discuss its proposal. "So now we know what their agenda is. We know exactly why they're trying to do it, and we're not going to let it happen," Haley said. "They talk a lot about how they are concerned about the humanitarian situation in North Korea, but the truth always comes out at the end," she said. Haley accused Russia of "cheating" and not adhering to the sanctions imposed by the United Nations last year. "We have given a lot of carrots up until now. We're not going to get rid of the stick because they [North Korea] haven't done anything to warrant getting rid of the sanctions," she said. China and Russia have both publicly called for a relaxation of restrictions to recognize concessions North Korea has made to the United States in negotiations aimed at ridding the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons. But Britain and France have backed the United States in saying the sanctions should stay in place until North Korea actually starts to dismantle its nuclear-weapons program. Haley said that North Korea canceled talks that were scheduled to be held this week with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "because they weren't ready," and said she expected the negotiations to be rescheduled. "I don't think there was some major issue" derailing the talks, she said. Pompeo was expected to meet with North Korean negotiator Kim Yong Chol in New York on November 8 to discuss the North's commitment to eliminating its nuclear weapons and arrangements for a second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Russia denied Haley's claim that it is violating the UN sanctions and said it was seeking exemptions from the sanctions on Pyongyang for the delivery of tractors, spare parts, and other goods needed for humanitarian relief. It said the exemptions would allow deliveries of plumbing parts needed to repair North Korean health facilities as well as the farm equipment needed for harvesting food in a country that has experienced chronic food shortages. Around 10.3 million people, or 41 percent of North Korea's population, are undernourished, according to UN estimates. AFP, citing UN documents, reported that the humanitarian projects delayed by the United States are sponsored by European organizations such as Ireland's Concern Worldwide, Italy's Agrotec Spa company, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which AFP said was requesting sanctions waivers for water sanitation projects. AFP quoted a Red Cross official as saying that 40 percent of North Koreans lack access to safe water and are in danger of being exposed to water-borne diseases. U.S. officials maintain that any request for sanctions exemptions must be thoroughly reviewed to ensure that any equipment or goods shipped to North Korea are not diverted by the government, which has been accused of siphoning off food aid in the past. "Our goal is to make sure that we don't do anything if it's going to be compromised and not go to the people," Haley said. "If it can be used in a different way, if we think they'll use if for another purpose, we are taking our time in vetting that very carefully." With reporting by AP, AFP, dpa, and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-blocks-russian -bid-ease-north-korean-sanctions-un- security-council/29590983.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Remains Committed to N. Korea Sanctions By Steve Miller November 09, 2018 U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told reporters North Korea hasn't progressed enough on the denuclearization front to warrant lifting sanctions. She made the remarks prior to entering a closed-door U.N. Security Council session called by Russia to discuss the topic. "If you look at the resolutions, and the way they were set up was they specifically dealt with the threat to peace and security by weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles," she added. "That threat is still there, they still have their facilities, they have still not allowed inspectors to go and inspect the nuclear facility or the ballistic missile facility. And as long as that's happening, we need to stay the course." Haley said Washington had caught Moscow breaking North Korean sanctions and characterized the meeting as an attempt by Russia to strengthen ties with Pyongyang. Margaret Besheer at the United Nations Contributed. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address France's Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier Returns to Sea After Pricey Makeover Sputnik News 22:00 09.11.2018 France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier returned to the sea this week after spending more than a year undergoing upgrades that cost roughly $1.4 billion, the Direction Generale de l'Armement announced on Thursday. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was pulled from the ranks in May of 2017 so that officials could work to upgrade the vessel's combat systems, aircraft maintenance facilities and platform, according to defense website Jane's 360. New add-ons include a longer-range 3D surveillance radar, as well as modernized control rooms, telecommunication systems, automatic stabilization systems and steering control systems. Two cooling units were also replaced, and a control simulator was refitted. Per Reuters, the move to upgrade the carrier came after the vessel saw an uptick in usage between 2015 and 2016. Although the 850-foot vessel has technically rejoined the French Navy, it won't actually take part in any operations until 2019. Unidentified military sources told Reuters that the carrier is expected to be deployed to the Indian Ocean sometime in early February. Commissioned in 2001, the carrier will house French President Emmanuel Macron in the following week for a sole night ahead of its pre-deployment training phase, which will reportedly last for a period of five weeks. The carrier's return comes as France's government announced its plans on Tuesday that it's looking into building a new carrier that would ultimately replace the Charles de Gaulle, which is due to be retired in 2040, the Merco Press reported. "The Charles de Gaulle will need a successor," Florence Parly, the minister of France's armed forces, told reporters at the Euronaval industry expo in October. "The first step, which we're launching today, is a study period." "It's about deciding together what and how we want out future aircraft carrier to be," she added. The study, which will likely include a discussion of whether or not the new carrier will be nuclear-powered, is scheduled to last through 2020 with a budget of $45 million, according to the Merco Press. The replacement vessel is expected to operate within the French Navy until 2080. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address India's Home Grown Trainer Aircraft Successfully Completes Spin Test Sputnik News 17:47 09.11.2018(updated 18:26 09.11.2018) Manufacturer HAL has claimed that the HTT 40 exceeds Preliminary Services Qualitative Requirements (PSQR) on most fronts and offers a technologically more advanced product than its competitor. The firm is also aiming to export the weaponized version of the aircraft to Myanmar and African nations. India's home-grown HTT 40 (basic trainer aircraft) has successfully completed the two-turn spin test, which, according to the manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), has heightened hopes for final production clearance by year-end. "The successful start of the spin testing gives a boost to HAL and also restores the credibility of HAL in successfully designing a spin worthy aircraft," R Madhavan, CMD, HAL said in a statement. Spin testing is the most crucial and challenging aspect of flight testing of any aircraft development programme. HAL's Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) had conducted extensive wind tunnel testing and mathematical model analyses to arrive at the spin characteristics of the aircraft. HTT-40 would be used for basic flight training, aerobatics, instrument flying and close-formation flights whereas its secondary roles would include navigation and night flying. The project started its detail design in August 2013 with internal funding and quickly made its way to the spin tests in just a matter of five years. Indian Air Force (IAF) has a requirement of 183 basic trainer aircraft. The Defense Ministry has already approved procurement of 70 Basic Trainer aircraft from HAL. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A Gun for All Seasons: Indian Army Gets K9 Vajra, M777 Howitzers Sputnik News 14:59 09.11.2018(updated 16:50 09.11.2018) The K9 Vajra howitzer, designed to operate in the desert areas bordering Pakistan, will offer close fire support to the Indian Army's mechanised strike corps during deep thrusts into enemy territory. The M-777 will provide much-needed support in the Himalayan terrain along the border with China. India's Minister of Defense Nirmala Sitharaman has handed over three new artillery pieces and equipment, including K9 Vajra and M777 Howitzers, to the Indian Army. The Indian Army will deploy these guns along its borders with China and Pakistan. This is the first set of new Howitzers acquired by India in three decades; it had shelved all contracts for field guns after the Bofors scandal in the late 80's. "It is after 30 years that we are procuring such guns. Under the new government since 2014, procurement of Army equipment has been expedited. Under the Prime Minister's guidance, negotiations were started and within four years we inducted these guns and many more will be inducted in the future," Sitharaman said while handing over the howitzers to Army Chief Bipin Rawat on Friday. Sitharaman stated that 155mm M777 A2 Ultra Light Howitzer can be heli-lifted, even in mountainous areas. The ultra-light howitzer deal involved a partnership between BAE Systems and Mahindra. As per the agreement, 25 M777 howitzers are to be directly imported in ready-to-use condition from the United States and 120 more M777 artillery pieces will be assembled in partnership with Mahindra Defence at a BAE Systems Assembly, Integration, and Test facility in India. The 47-tonne K9 Vajra-T deal involved a $710-million partnership between Indian private sector giant L&T and South Korea's Hanwha Techwin. It is India's second biggest gun deal after the M777 purchase agreement. The induction of all the 100 contracted 47-tonnne K9 Vajra-T howitzers will be completed by November 2020. The first batch of 10 artillery pieces will be delivered this month, the next 40 will be delivered in November 2019, and India will get another 50 in November 2020. Compact gun tractors for towing 130mm and 155mm artillery pieces were also inducted during the ceremony. The units are fitted with a crane that can handle ammunition weighing two tons. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iraq to import electricity from Iran after US sanctions waiver IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Baghdad, Nov 9, IRNA -- Per the US sanctions waiver, Iraq will be entitled to import electricity from Iran. Based on reports available, the US has granted Iraq a waiver which allows the country to continue electricity imports from Iran. The US State Department's representative on Iran Brian Hook announced in Washington on Wednesday that his country had granted Iraq special permission to continue electricity imports. "We granted Iraq a waiver to allow it to continue to pay for its electricity imports from Iran. We are confident that this will help Iraq limit electricity shortages in the south. Iraq is a friend and a partner, and we are committed to its stability and prosperity.' The US President Donald Trump announced early May that Washington would pull out of Iran nuclear deal and reinstate sanctions, which had been lifted under the accord. The first round of the sanctions snapped back into place in August, with the second round which will target the energy and oil sectors taking effect on November 5. This is while other signatories to the deal (i.e. Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia) have thus far criticized Washington's unilateral move and repeatedly stressed their commitment to the deal. 1420 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address India welcomes US exemptions on Iran oil purchase despite sanctions Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 03:08PM India welcomes the United States' decision to grant exemptions to the country to continue the import of Iranian crude oil despite re-imposition of sanctions on Iran, saying New Delhi is examining the details of the waivers. "We appreciate the US government has taken into account our need for energy security. India is a major importer of crude from Iran and it is very important for our energy security requirement," spokesperson of India's Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar said on Friday in the country's first reaction after the US waivers. He did not give details about the quantum of oil which India will continue to import from Iran. The administration of US President Donald Trump announced on Monday the re-imposition of the "toughest" sanctions ever against Iran's banking and energy sectors with the aim of cutting off its oil sales and crucial exports. The bans had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Washington had been pushing governments to cut imports of Iranian oil to zero. However, it agreed to grant sanctions waivers to eight biggest importers of Iran's oil -- China, India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan and Turkey -- in fear of a price spike. Elsewhere in the briefing, Kumar commended the US move to allow his country to develop an Iranian port for trade with Afghanistan. "We have taken note of the US statement that exception has been provided under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 with respect to the development of Chabahar port and the construction of an associate railway line. We appreciate that the US recognizes the role which this port will play to bring strategic and long term benefits to Afghanistan," the spokesperson said. Two Indian government sources said on Tuesday that New Delhi aims to sign an initial agreement with Tehran this month to settle all their oil trade in rupees through India's UCO Bank. India had imported about 22 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran in 2017-18. During April-June quarter this year, India bought 5.67 million tonnes of oil from Iran, pushing Saudi Arabia to a third position. Tehran has lodged a complaint with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) against the US over the re-imposition of sweeping sanctions, which target scores of Iranian ships as part of Washington's much-criticized push to cut off the country's oil exports. In a tweet on Thursday, Iran's Ambassador to London Hamid Baeidinejad said the diplomatic mission under his watch submitted a letter to the London-based body to voice Tehran's protest at the return of the unlawful US sanctions. As a specialized agency of the United Nations, the IMO -- which has 174 member states -- is tasked with regulating international shipping. The organization works to promote "safe, secure, environmentally sound, efficient and sustainable shipping through cooperation," as its mission statement reads. In an online video message on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif lashed out at the United States for imposing "illegal and draconian" sanctions on Tehran, saying Washington would once again regret its "unwise measures." "The US administration appears to believe that imposing illegal, draconian sanctions on Iran will bring about such pain to our nation that it will force us to submit to its will no matter how absurd, unlawful or fundamentally flawed its demands are," Zarif said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. imposes new sanctions against Russia People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 07:20, November 09, 2018 WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The United States has imposed new sanctions against individuals and entities supporting Russia's role in Ukraine issue, according to a statement issued by the Department of the Treasury on Thursday. The Treasury Department said in the statement that the designations of sanctions are three individuals and nine entities, which engaged in "serious human rights abuses" or advanced "Russian interest in the Crimea region." All of these individuals' and entities' property and interests in property of the designated persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them, the statement said. The U.S. State Department also said on Tuesday that it might impose another round of sanctions on Russia over the latter's involvement in the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain in March. "We consider these restrictions imposed by the United States on Russia to be illegal, and we will also treat accordingly similar steps if they follow," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday. Amid the ongoing U.S. sanctions on Russia and Washington's recent stance on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the relations between Washington and Moscow have been strained. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia says US nuke policy 'playing with devil' Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 12:23AM Russia has warned that the United States will be "playing with the devil" by implementing President Donald Trump's new nuclear weapons strategy, which identifies Russia and China as main threats and calls for producing small nuclear warheads for "limited" operations. "Voices have been getting louder in the United States that seek to increase the role of nuclear weapons and expand the possibilities of the US nuclear arsenal," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Thursday. Zakharova added that Washington was justifying the desire to expand its nuclear arsenal by resorting to the "mythical Russian threat." Earlier this year, Trump unveiled a new nuclear strategy that revolved around countering Russia and called for the development of small tactical nuclear weapons that were cheaper to maintain and could be used in more realistic scenarios. The Trump administration has also accelerated long-running US military plans to develop new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and nuclear-capable cruise missiles. Elbridge Colby, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, has warned that Trump's plans to increase America's nuclear potential signals Washington's preparation to carry out "limited nuclear operations" against specific targets. "I want a clarification: where would these limited operations be carried out?" Zakharova asked. "On what continent would this strategy be fulfilled, if it was fulfilled?" "Using nuclear weapons in pinpoint attacks is tantamount to playing with the devil," she warned. Zakharova said such policies were barred in current deals with the US on curbing the nuclear threat, namely the 1971 Agreement to Reduce the Risk of Outbreak of Nuclear War Between the USA and USSR and the 1973 Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War. Nuclear tensions between Moscow and Washington peaked last month, after Trump announced his plans to pull the US out of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia, claiming that Moscow had been violating the Cold War-era deal, which limited the proliferation of intermediate nuclear missiles. Moscow hit back by threatening to respond in kind and act to restore the balance of military power should Washington choose to exit the agreement. Zakharova warned that the new US strategy showed that the country was "seriously considering the concept of a limited nuclear war." Calling the policy "irresponsible and very dangerous," the diplomat stressed that there were going to be no victors in a nuclear war. US spreading 'fake news' Zakharova also took a jab at Trump and his ongoing fight with what he refers to as "fake news" media, accusing him of ignoring the fake news that his "subordinates" were spreading about Russia. "While the US president is fighting fake news on CNN, he apparently does not notice in the heat of the struggle that his subordinates in his administration just continue to generate them, these bogus stories are already on an industrial level now," she said. An example, she said, was a map of NATO issued by the US State Department that showed the alliance's expansion on Russia's borders, making it look like that Russia was not concerned about it. "For whom is this intended? Is this intended for a kindergarten or a nursery? Or, perhaps, modern children are far more inclined to have analytical thinking than those who dream up these fake news stories," she said. Russia has repeatedly warned NATO against piling up weapons and equipment near its borders under the pretext of defending Europe against what the US and its allies call "Russian aggression." Thousands of fatalities due to US-led airstrikes in Syria Elsewhere in her remarks, Zakharova noted that Syria had unearthed the bodies of over 8,000 Syrians killed in bombing raids by the US-led coalition in mass graves in Syria's Raqqa. Damascus informed the United Nations of the US onslaught in letters sent last week, she said. The Russian official added that the massive number was in stark contrast with "the hysterical reaction expressed by the US and other Western countries with respect to protecting Syrians' rights," and "the information provided in recent reports by various Western NGOs on the situation in Raqqa." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Equips Cruise Missiles with Electronic Warfare Systems - Developer Sputnik News 06:35 09.11.2018(updated 07:43 09.11.2018) ZHUHAI (China) (Sputnik) - Russia has finished the development and started mass production of electronic warfare systems for cruise missiles in service with the Russian armed forces, Vladimir Mikheev, adviser to the first deputy general director of the Concern Radio-Electronic Technologies (KRET), told Sputnik. "Today, our cruise missiles have a fully-fledged airborne defense complex, because such strategic weapons must be very well protected. These [EW] systems have successfully passed all the tests and are already in mass production," Mikheev said on the sidelines of the Airshow China 2018 exhibition. Mikheev specified that EW systems were primarily being installed on X-101 and X-102 cruise missiles carried by Russian Tu-95, Tu-160 and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that advanced X-101 cruise missiles, used in Syria, showed a high degree of reliability. "Regarding the use of our weapons, including in the fight against terrorists in the Syrian Arab Republic, I would like to thank both the military and the designers of one of our state-of-the-art X-101 missile systems. This missile showed a very high degree of reliability," Putin said. X-101 is a newest Russian air-to-ground strategic cruise missile, designed with the use of modern technologies diminishing radar visibility. The missile can be equipped with a nuclear warhead and its range amounts up to 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles). Russia has repeatedly used X-101 cruise missiles to attack terrorists in Syria. Viktor Bondarev, the chairman of the Russian parliament's upper house Defense and Security Committee said earlier that X-101 air-launched strategic cruise missile are in full conformity with the START treaty's requirements. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Norway suspends licenses for arms export to Saudi Arabia Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 06:24PM Norway has suspended new licenses for arms exports to Saudi Arabia following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's consulate in Turkey and Riyadh's campaign against Yemen that has been devastating the poor country since March 2015. "We have decided that in the present situation we will not give new licenses for the export of defense material or multipurpose goods for military use to Saudi Arabia," Norway's Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide said in a statement on Friday. The decision was made after "a broad assessment of recent developments in Saudi Arabia and the unclear situation in Yemen," according to a statement by the foreign ministry. A foreign ministry spokesman declined to say whether the decision was partly motivated by the killing of Khashoggi in Istanbul on October 2. Last month, Germany said it would suspend arms exports to Riyadh until clear explanations were made about the murder. Norway has already summoned Saudi Arabia's ambassador to protest Khashoggi's killing. Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the aim of bringing the government of former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crushing the country's popular Houthi Ansarullah movement. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Khashoggi killed for disclosing Saudi funding of anti-Iran TV channel: Guardian Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 04:35AM Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed on October 2 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, might have lost his life for disclosing Riyadh's funding of an anti-Iran UK-based TV channel, the British daily Guardian suggests. In a report on Oct. 2, the Guardian cited a source close to the Saudi government as saying that the anti-Iran London-based TV channel Iran International received an estimated $250m (192m) from the Saudi royal court each year. Now the Guardian correspondent, in a Friday tweet, has revealed that his source was Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist who was assassinated on the same day as the report was published in a premeditated murder in Turkey blamed on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also known as MBS. The Guardian correspondent, Saeid Kamali Dehghan, later posted tweets that suggested he felt threats to his safety. "My request to all family and friends is not to contact me at this moment, except very trusted one. My mum knows how to contact me. I trust my mum and a few people here," he said in the tweet. However, he later deleted all his tweets regarding the case. Iran's Ambassador to London Hamid Baeidinejad praised the Guardian correspondent in a tweet and warned about the "risks" which he may encounter. "Mr. Kamali Dehghan, the Guardian correspondent, confirmed in a brave step that Khashoggi had revealed before his death to him information about the establishment of the Persian-language 'Iran International' network by Saudi authorities," he wrote. "The relevant authorities are aware of possible risks to Mr. Kamali and the embassy is also in contact with them," Baeidinejad added. Last month, the Guardian also reported that the Iran International was being funded through a secretive offshore entity and a company whose director was a Saudi Arabian businessman with close links to bin Salman. The source told the Guardian that Saud al-Qahtani, who served as media adviser to MBS and was among several senior officials removed in connection with Khashoggi's murder, was involved in the funding of Iran International. "It is money coming from the royal court," the source now revealed to be Khashoggi said, when speaking about the Saudi crown prince. Earlier this summer, the Iran International came under fire for praising a terrorist attack in Iran's Ahvaz and broadcasting live coverage of a rally by the anti-Iran terrorist group Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO). At the time, the Guardian took note of Press TV's complaint that the Western and Saudi media were refraining from terming the deadly attack as a terrorist act despite the large number of civilian casualties in the incident. Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of bin Salman, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, but never came back. The Saudi kingdom, after denying the murder for several days, finally admitted that Khashoggi had been murdered in the consulate during an interrogation by rogue operatives that had gone wrong after diplomatic pressure grew tremendously on Riyadh to give an account on the mysterious fate of its national. However, Saudi Arabia said that it did not know the whereabouts of the body, which is widely believed to have been dismembered. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan later announced the assassination had been ordered at the "highest levels" of the Saudi government. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address German shipyard halts production after Saudi arms ban as Riyadh turns to Spain, S Africa Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 03:02AM German shipbuilder Luerssen has put on hold the production of coastguard vessels ordered by Saudi Arabia due to the uncertainty surrounding the future of Berlin's arms deals with Riyadh. German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced last month that Berlin would no longer issue weapons exports licenses until Riyadh comes up with satisfactory explanation about dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khasoggi's murder at the kingdom's consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul. The decision affected Luerssen, a privately-owned firm commissioned five years ago to build coastal patrol vessels for Saudi Arabia. The company announced Thursday that construction at its Peene Shipyard had been brought to a halt nearly two years into the project and nearly all of the shipyard's 300 workers had been put on short hours. "Suspending construction and cutting working hours as a direct consequence is a heavy blow to us," shipyard official Harald Jaekel said in a statement. The uncertainty made production planning impossible, the company said. Saudi Arabia has been one of the major buyers of German weapons and military services. This year alone, Berlin has approved 400 million euros of exports to the oil-rich country which makes Saudi Arabia the second-biggest purchaser of German arms after Algeria. Saudi makes $1bn bid for S Africa military partnership It was also reported Thursday that Saudi Arabia had made a $1 billion bid for a broad partnership with South African state-owned defense group Denel. The deal would include acquisition of a minority stake in a joint venture with Germany's Rheinmetall. Unnamed sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia was targeting Denel's 49-percent stake in Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM). Formed in 2008, RDM specializes in the development, design and manufacture of medium and large-caliber ammunition including artillery shells. The offer also allows Saudi Arabia to invest in Denel Dynamics, which develops tactical missiles and precision guided weapons. The bid is part of Saudi Arabia's plans to develop its own domestic defense industry with the goal of localizing half of its military spending by 2030. The country is currently the world's third largest military spender. Riyadh begins joint warship production with Spain Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia and Spain signed an agreement to launch a joint venture to produce five Avante 2200 corvettes complete with Combat Management System for the Saudi military. The $2.2 billion deal was signed during Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman's visit to Spain in April last year, where he met with the Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles. Spain has continued military ties with the Riyadh regime in the wake of Khashoggi's murder. Back in September, however, Madrid said it was halting a 2015 deal to sell 400 laser-guided precision bombs to Saudi Arabia due to Riyadh's role in the Yemen war, which has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis since its beginning in 2015. The move enraged Saudi officials, who reportedly threatened to scrap the corvette deal with the Spanish state-owned military shipbuilder Navantia, endangering as many as 6,000 jobs in a country with one of Europe's highest unemployment rates. Spain backed off as a result, saying that it will proceed to deliver the bombs. When pressed to reveal what caused the U-turn, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said: "Saudi Arabia looks at its arms deals as part of its overall relations." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Norway Suspends Defense-Related, Dual-Use Exports to Saudi Arabia Sputnik News 22:57 09.11.2018(updated 23:03 09.11.2018) STOCKHOLM (Sputnik) - Norway has decided not to renew the license allowing the country to export defense-related and dual-use products to Saudi Arabia, the Norwegian Defense Ministry said on Friday. "We have decided that, in the current situation, no new licences are to be granted for exports of defence-related products or dual-use items for military use to Saudi Arabia. We stopped processing new applications some time ago, pending this decision. Norway has never allowed exports of arms or ammunition to Saudi Arabia," the ministry quoted Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide as saying. According to the press service, the decision was taken after taking into consideration "recent developments in Saudi Arabia and the region, and the unpredictable situation in Yemen." The ministry emphasized that it was not aware of the country's defense products being used in Yemen, but made the decision as a precautionary measure. According to the Norwegian NRK broadcaster, Oslo exported over $4.8 million worth of military products to Saudi Arabia over the past year. Riyadh's reported use of imported weapons and military equipment in Yemen against the civilian population has been a major issue of concern among Saudi Arabia's arms suppliers. According to a recent UN report, the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes were responsible for most of more than 16,000 civilians killed or injured in the Yemen conflict over the past three years. Saudi airstrikes have hit open-air markets, health clinics, schools, funerals and weddings, killing scores of civilians. An August attack on a school bus killed more than 40 Yemeni students who were on a field trip. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US airstrikes on Syria kill 26 civilians, mostly women, children Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 11:12PM The US-led coalition's airstrikes on Dayr al-Zawr, eastern Syria, killed 26 civilians, including 14 children, on Friday morning, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. According to the war monitor, the civilians including 14 children and 9 women, were all members of Daesh families. The airstrikes reportedly targeted a Daesh hideout in the town of Hajin, located along the Euphrates River, south of Dayr al-Zawr. The coalition's raids earlier killed another seven civilians in the nearby village of al-Shaafa on Thursday, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman. Hajin's civilians were also targeted by the airstrikes of the so-called military coalition's fighter jets last Saturday, when 15 people, mostly women and children, were killed. Late last month, Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar al-Ja'afari confirmed at a UN Security Council meeting that the US-led coalition had once again used white phosphorus bombs against Hajin. On October 13, SANA also reported that the US-led coalition, purportedly fighting the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, dropped internationally-banned white phosphorus bombs on Hajin. On September 8, two F-15 warplanes of the US Air Force targeted the same Syrian city with white phosphorous bombs. Both Hajin and al-Shaafa are in a last pocket under Daesh control in the eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr near the border with Iraq. 3222 civilians have lost their lives ever since the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group launched its aerial bombardment campaign in the conflict-plagued Arab country more than four years ago, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in September. There were 768 people under the age of 18 among the fatalities in addition to 562 female victims. The US-led air raids also resulted in the injury of hundreds of civilians, some of whom suffered permanent disabilities and had to have their limbs amputated. The monitoring group noted that the civilians were killed by US-led warplanes in Syria's northern province of Raqqah, northeastern province of Hasakah, northwestern Aleppo and Idlib provinces as well as Dayr al-Zawr province in the country's east. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian army retakes key position in heavy fighting in Hama Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 10:19AM In one of the heaviest clashes in northwestern Syria in a year, the army has retaken a key position and killed at least 22 militants in Hama province on Friday, a London-based observatory said Friday. The clash erupted when the Syrian army seized a position held by the Jaish al-Izza militants near Halfaya village on the edge of the northwestern Idlib province, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. At least 22 members of the militant group were killed in the clashes, and dozens more were wounded, the highest casualty toll of militants in the northwest in many months, it said. According to the Observatory, government forces moved in to take a high building held by the rebels in a rural area of neighboring Hama province. The Halfaya village, where the clashes broke out, is located in a planned buffer zone, which surrounds Idlib and also parts of the adjacent provinces of Aleppo and Hama. Under a deal reached following a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in September, all militants must have withdrawn from the demilitarization zone by October 15. However, the al-Qaeda-linked Takfiri terrorists said they refuse to either leave the buffer zone or hand over their weapons. Moscow believed that the 15-20 kilometer buffer zone would help stop attacks from Idlib-based militants on Syrian army positions and Russia's military bases in the flashpoint region. However, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday that terrorists were continuing to make provocative acts in the demilitarized zone. Zakharova said in her weekly press conference that in spite of the actual successes in establishing the demilitarized zone in Idlib and parts of Hama and Aleppo in accordance with the Turkey-Russia deal, it was premature to talk about completing this process. She added that Nusra Front terrorists and their allies of other illegitimate armed groups were committing daily provocations there, the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported. Idlib and some surrounding areas are the last major bastions of Takfiri terrorists and anti-government militants in Syria, where the Syrian government has in recent months retaken much of the territory it had lost since the conflict erupted in the country in 2011. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Humanitarian aid convoy to Syria's Rukban camp: Mission Accomplished 9 November 2018 - The United Nations and partners concluded a six-day humanitarian aid operation, providing lifesaving aid to around 50,000 mostly women and children living in southeast Syria's Rukban camp the first supplies they had received since January. "Children and women in Rukban have had extremely limited access to health services amid worsening conditions," Fran Equiza, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Syria said on Friday. UNICEF, along with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and other UN partners, completed one of the most complex humanitarian operations of the Syrian relief effort, with over 75 trucks and more than 100 aid and logistics workers involved. "I barely eat anything at all because my priority is to feed my children," a mother told UNICEF, saying "I get dizzy when I breastfeed these days." UNICEF's supplies sent with the convoy included much-needed health, nutrition, water and sanitation supplies in addition to winter clothing for children under-14 years old and basic medicines, including antibiotics. In a recent statement, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the long-awaited delivery "an important achievement," but underscored that the overall humanitarian access to the informal desert camp was "wholly inadequate." According to news reports, developments at Rukban, which borders Syria, Jordan and Iraq, are being watched closely around the region. Amidst security concerns, Jordan had closed the border as tens of thousands of Syrians trekked to the camp over the past three years, fleeing expanded Russian and US-led coalition air strikes against areas held by ISIL or Da'esh terrorist fighters, in central and eastern Syria. UNICEF sent 21 trucks of humanitarian assistance and supported 21 vaccinators with vaccines, cold chain refrigeration equipment and medical supplies to immunize 10,000 children against measles, polio and other childhood diseases in the camp. "UNICEF advocated extensively with all relevant parties to include vaccinators in the convoy to protect children against life-threatening diseases," added Ms. Equiza. Dr. Husam Eddine Baradee, UNICEF's Health and Nutrition Officer accompanied the convoy: "Most children under-five years old had never been vaccinated," he explained, saying that "despite the challenges, we were able to vaccinate 5,100 children in the few days we had access to the camp, yet we absolutely need sustained access as thousands more children still need to be immunized." UNICEF staff described the camp's conditions as dire, with many having to survive on just one meal a day. UNICEF called on all parties to the conflict to allow the voluntarily return of the displaced, either to their homes or to a place where they can live in safety and dignity; and to guarantee sustained humanitarian access to deliver assistance to all children in Rukban and elsewhere in Syria. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkey arrests dozens of on-duty soldiers over affiliation to Gulen movement Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 06:21PM Turkish security forces have arrested at least 74 on-duty soldiers on suspicion of affiliation to a movement led by US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the Ankara government accuses of having masterminded the July 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Judicial sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspects were detained in 32 provinces across Turkey on Friday. The sources added that the arrests came after Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office issued arrest warrants for 103 suspects, including colonels, lieutenant colonels and commanders. The search for others is underway. During the 2016 botched putsch, a faction of the Turkish military declared that it had seized control of the country and the government of Erdogan was no more in charge. The attempt was, however, suppressed a few hours later. Ankara has since accused Gulen of having orchestrated the coup. The opposition figure is also accused of being behind a long-running campaign to topple the government via infiltrating the country's institutions, particularly the army, police and the judiciary. Gulen has denounced the "despicable putsch" and reiterated that he had no role in it. "Accusations against me related to the coup attempt are baseless and politically-motivated slanders," he said in a statement. The 77-year-old cleric has also called on Ankara to end its "witch hunt" of his followers, a move he says is aimed at "weeding out anyone it deems disloyal to President Erdogan and his regime." Turkish officials have frequently called on their US counterparts to extradite Gulen, but their demands have not been taken heed of. Turkey has been engaged in suppressing the media and opposition groups suspected to have played a role in the failed coup. Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in Turkey on suspicion of having links to Gulen and the failed coup. More than 110,000 others, including military staff, civil servants and journalists, have been sacked or suspended from work over the same accusations. The international community and rights groups have been highly critical of the Turkish president over the massive dismissals and the crackdown. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkish court sentences Syrian correspondent to over 4 years in prison for insulting Erdogan Iran Press TV Fri Nov 9, 2018 02:21PM A court in Turkey has sentenced a journalist working for Syria's official news agency, SANA, to more than four years in prison for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but indeed exposing the Ankara government's support for foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists operating inside Syria. The Istanbul Criminal Court passed the ruling on Hosni Mahali after he was found guilty of "insulting Erdogan over his policies and blaming his government for letting terrorists cross into Syria." The court also charged Mahali, who suffers from multiple sclerosis (MS), with "offending senior Turkish officials" after he filed reports about Erdogan's policies that have resulted in domestic crises as well as internal and external problems for Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Mahali has reacted to the court ruling, saying, "All political leaders, ministers, former diplomats and even US former Vice President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Russian President Vladimir Putin, have stated that the Turkish regime supports terrorism in Syria and as a journalist, I refer to the statements of those officials". Turkey stands accused of supporting militant groups fighting to topple the Damascus government since March 2011. Back in May 2015, Turkey's center-left and opposition daily newspaper Cumhuriyet posted on its website footage showing Turkish security forces in early 2014 intercepting a convoy of trucks carrying arms for the militants in Syria. The paper said the trucks were carrying some 1,000 mortar shells, hundreds of grenade launchers and more than 80,000 rounds of ammunition for light and heavy weapons. Ankara denied the allegation and claimed that the trucks had been carrying humanitarian aid to Syria. However, lawmaker from the opposition Republican People's Party Enis Berberoglu defended the video, saying it was genuine. The leaked footage triggered a huge controversy in Turkey, with many bashing the government for explicitly supporting terrorism in neighboring Syria. Cumhuriyet's former editor-in-chief Can Dundar and the daily's Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul were among other defendants in the case. Dundar and Gul were sentenced to five years and 10 months in jail for "leaking secret information of the state." Dundar moved to Germany in June 2016, and stepped down from his position in August that year. An arrest warrant in absentia was issued in Turkey for Dundar on October 31, 2016. On July 16 this year, Istanbul's 14th Heavy Penal Court dropped espionage charges against Gul, who used to serve as the Ankara representative of Cumhuriyet. 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 wreaking havoc in the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkish-US Rapprochement Accelerates; Key Issues Unresolved By Dorian Jones November 09, 2018 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to meet his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of World War I commemorations in France. The meeting comes as the two NATO allies seek to reset relations after sustained tensions. A myriad of policy differences has plunged bilateral relations to record lows, but a Turkish court's release last month of an American pastor, Andrew Brunson, and his return home, appears to have been a turning point. Washington granted Ankara a six-month waiver on its Iran sanctions, creating further impetus. And Trump also said the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Riyadh's Istanbul consulate is resulting in close cooperation with Ankara. "We are working with Congress, working with Turkey, and working with Saudi Arabia," he said. Separately, Turkey's neighbor, Syria, is expected to top the talks between the two leaders. U.S. military support of the Syrian Kurdish militia, the YPG, in its war against Islamic State remains an open wound in bilateral ties. Turkey considers the YPG and its political wing, the PYD, affiliates of the outlawed PKK that has been fighting a decades-long insurgency. Turkey, the European Union and the U.S. all have designated the PKK as a terrorist organization. Despite Ankara's intense lobbying for Washington to change its stance toward the YPG and give it the same designation as the PKK, the U.S. appears unmoved. "We have not designated the YPG as a terrorist organization the way we have the PKK, and we never did," said Ambassador James Jeffrey, the U.S. special representative for Syria engagement. "We understand Turkey's concerns about its security," he said in a telephone briefing with reporters. "We understand Turkey's concerns about the links between the PYD and the PKK. Thus we're very, very careful in several areas." In a move widely seen as a gesture to Turkey ahead of the meeting, the U.S. State Department announced a multimillion-dollar bounty on PKK leaders. The step was met with a cool response by Ankara and open derision among pro-government media. "They are supposedly 'putting a bounty' on terrorist 'leaders,' who are already in their hands, who are their 'staff,' and what's more, whom they use as they please, and are actually mocking us," wrote Tamer Korkmaz of the pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak. "Very, very late," Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said in response as he called on Washington to adopt a similar policy toward the YPG. Turkey was also less than enthusiastic about another U.S. move to enhance trust. This past week, the U.S. and Turkish militaries carried out a joint patrol around the Syrian city of Manbij. The patrol is part of a road map agreed to in June between the two countries that ultimately will see YPG forces withdraw from the city it helped liberate from Islamic State. Erdogan, however, has repeatedly accused Washington of being slow to implement the deal. Erdogan is expected to push for expediting the road map and quick withdrawal of all YPG forces from Manbij during talks with Trump. Experts suggest the Turkish president has an opportunity to achieve a critical objective the removal of the YPG militia along its border east of the Euphrates River. "Now in Syria, the strategic priority switches for the U.S. from countering IS to containing Iran," said former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who served in the region. "So Turkey will get the green light to intervene in the eastern Euphrates. They may have already gotten it, or at least a wink." For the last few weeks, the Turkish military has been pounding YPG bases along its border east of the Euphrates. Washington has expressed "deep concern" at the strikes and deployed U.S. forces to patrol with the YPG in a move to deter such attacks. "This is not an acceptable thing," Erdogan told reporters Tuesday. "This can cause serious negative developments on the border. I believe Mr. Trump will stop this." Analysts say Trump will have his own demands. "Trump will ask Turkey to fall in line against Iran and to hold the ground," said Selcen. "This will push Turkey to distance itself from Russia and Iran altogether." But Erdogan has also criticized Washington for the reinstatement of sanctions against Iran. "U.S. sanctions on Iran are wrong," he said Tuesday. "For us, they are steps aimed at unbalancing the world; we don't want to live in an imperialist world." Turkey's relationship with Iran has deepened over cooperation to end the Syria civil war. Trump is expected to raise the ties with Iran during his talks with Erdogan. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EU Commissioner Urges Ukraine Not To Backpedal On Reforms By RFE/RL November 09, 2018 The EU commissioner in charge of enlargement has urged Ukraine to move forward on reforms, warning against any retreat from such efforts, especially on fighting corruption. Johannes Hahn made the remarks in Kyiv on November 9. He was in the Ukrainian capital to deliver a fresh EU report on Ukraine to Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman. Hahn said it's "crucial to maintain the reform momentum and to make these changes irreversible" in the run-up to March's presidential vote and the parliamentary elections in late 2019. Hahn stressed that "there can't be rollback on issues such as anticorruption efforts." In the report, the EU noted there have been only a few convictions in high-level corruption cases in the country. However, it said Ukraine has taken steps to reform its judiciary system. The EU emphasized that the establishment of a dedicated anticorruption court is crucial and that Ukraine's authorities must properly investigate attacks against civil society activists and punish the perpetrators. The fresh warning comes days after a prominent Ukrainian anticorruption activist died on November 4, three months after she was injured in an acid attack. The death of Kateryna Handzyuk sparked outrage in Ukraine and elsewhere. Several dozen local NGOs signed a letter earlier this week criticizing the "apparent failure" of Ukraine's law enforcement system to investigate attacks on civil society activists. They also called on Interior Minister Arsen Avakov and Prosecutor-General Yuriy Lutsenko to resign amid charges they have blocked the investigation. Lutsenko on November 7 did tender his resignation, but the bloc of President Petro Poroshenko did not support the call in parliament. Five suspects, including a police officer, have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack, but authorities have not described a specific potential motive for the attack. In September, Handzyuk posted a video in which she urged Ukrainians to fight rampant corruption. "Yes, I look bad now, but I'm being cured by good Ukrainian doctors. And I know this: I look a lot better than the state of Ukrainian fairness and justice today." On October 3, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, and Frontline Defenders said more than 50 attacks on activists and human rights defenders in Ukraine had been recorded by local human rights organizations in the the last nine months. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-commissioner-urges-ukraine -not-to-backpedal-on-reforms/29592223.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A familiar face to the fans at Fraser Downs for the track's biggest harness racing card of the year is once again making an appearance and looking to make an impact. Doug McNair, winner of the 2017 O'Brien Award as Canada's Driver of the Year and, more recently, 2018 National Driving Champion will fly out to British Columbia on Sunday morning for drives on BC Breeders Classic Day, this Sunday (November 11). McNair, who missed last year's event but captured stakes victories at Fraser Downs in 2014, 2015 and 2016, told Trot Insider that he's the 'hired gun' of horseman Jim Marino, who has eight horses entered in the lucrative stakes finals. The first of four $100,000 finals on the Remembrance Day card is the Betty Millbank Memorial Breeders Stakes Final for two-year-old pacing fillies, slated as Race Four. McNair has picked up the drive on Mrs Suhwiggins, but the talented filly has drawn the outermost post eight in the nine-horse field. Not finishing worse than second in six seasonal starts with a record of 4-2-0, Mrs Suhwiggins would have likely been made the favourite had she not drawn post eight and had her main competition not drawn the rail. The Blue Yak (PP1, Serge Masse) was unbeaten in the four preliminary legs of the Millbank, and handed Mrs Suhwiggins her two seasonal defeats. Stakes action continues in the sixth race with the $100,000 Robert Millbank Memorial Breeders Stakes Final for two-year-old pacing colts. McNair has picked up Marino-trained Bettor Cat, who swept the four legs of the Millbank and is listed at 6-5 on the morning line. Owned by Marino along with JJJ Stables, Bettor Cat drew the rail in Sunday's Millbank with stablemate and main rival stablemate Rockin N Talkin (Jim Marino, 4-1) saddled with post eight. Sophomores take centre stage next in Fraser's eighth race with Scardy Cat seeking the Breeders Classic Day repeat. Victorious in the 2017 edition of the Betty Millbank, Scardy Cat comes into the 2018 final of the $100,000 Mary Murphy Breeders Stakes Final for three-year-old pacing fillies card in career form with back-to-back 1:53.3 wins in the most recent prelim legs. McNair has picked up the drive on the Debra McCarthy trainee, listed at 6-5 on the morning line from post two. Second choice at 3-1 is Custard Lite (PP5, Preston Shaw), the richest filly in the race and unbeaten in the three Murphy legs she entered. Also seeking a second stakes score on BC Breeders Classic Day is Ron Bakardi. The winner of the 2017 Robert Millbank Memorial is favoured in the $100,000 Robert Murphy Memorial Breeders Stakes Final for three-year-old pacing colts. Another Jim Marino-trained and Doug McNair-driven entrant, Ron Bakardi is the 2-1 choice in the Robert Murphy and will leave from post three. Rail horse One Small Favour (PP1, Kevin Anderson) looms the danger, not missing the top three in his last five outings. He's at 7-2 on the morning line for the Robert Murphy, slated as Race 10. First race post time for the BC Breeders Classic card is at 12:45 Pacific Time (3:45 ET). To view the entries for the card, click on one of the following links: Sunday Entries - Fraser Downs Sunday Program Pages - Fraser Downs (courtesy TrackIT). Valtteri Bottas isn't concerned about the threat of rain during qualifying and the race in Brazil. The Mercedes driver bases this on good wet weather performances earlier this season. Lewis Hamilton put the Silver Arrow on pole in the wet Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session. And the Mercedes duo crucially gained places during a wet period in the German event. It looks like it might rain tomorrow, but weve had a good package in the wet all year, so I dont think that would be a big problem for us," Bottas said in an interview on the checkered flag. It is very close between the top three teams, so we cant feel satisfied about our results today; we know everyone else is going to be working on their performance overnight so we will have to keep pushing as well. Despite the jubilation in Hamilton's half of the garage, the last two race weekends haven't been positive for their car. They haven't been dominant in Mexico and Austin, but Hamilton said earlier how the car performance was improving. Bottas agrees with his team-mate saying the car really improved for a better FP2 on Friday. It was a bit of a mixed day; Free Practice 2 was much better than Free Practice 1. The morning was quite difficult, it was easy to make mistakes," Bottas added. I had a few lockups and aborted laps, so it was difficult to build a good rhythm. But we really improved the car for the afternoon and I managed to find a rhythm." Written in a period of four years, Roly Armitages Trilogy of The Way it Was and Now, Now About Yesterday and Straight From the Horses Mouth provides a glimpse of a bygone era to present day, covering the journey of a true and dedicated Canadian who was a force in Canadian harness racing. Written in his inimitable, folksy Ottawa Valley style, it traces a colourful career from farm boy to soldier at age 17, to veterinarian, energizing Standardbred industry leader, race track president, mayor and politician. He was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in the builder category in 1999. Roly Armitage had many roles in the sport - breeder, owner, administrator and racetrack manager. He served as president of the Canadian Standardbred Horse Society (1972-1974) and the Canadian Trotting Association (1974-1980). An innovator with foresight, and following a long battle with racing authorities, he was responsible for the removal of hub rails on race tracks, saving injuries and death to the nations harness trainers and drivers. Along with others he was instrumental in introducing electronic eligibility to the sport, putting Canada on the leading edge of technology in horse racing. He was also a strong proponent for the freeze branding identification technique that came to be employed by the breeding industry. His books are a wonderful reflection of an extraordinary veteran, a dedicated veterinarian and a grass-roots Canadian leader. His books capture his spirited childhood and early devotion to farm animals while growing up on the family farm in Dunrobin, Ontario. An accomplished wordsmith, his trilogy covers a multitude of subjects, none more fascinating and entertaining than his experiences with farmers and their animals during his 50 years as a practicing veterinarian. From his chance meeting with one of the heirs of the giant Heineken brewery in Holland following the war, to treating the horses of one of the Ottawa Valleys most notorious bank robbers, Paddy Mitchell, his books are an enjoyable read of both personal observations and sound country advice and wisdom. Roly Armitage served as the mayor of West Carleton from 1991 to 1994, managed the building of the Carp, Ontario airport, and for nine years was general manager of Rideau Carleton Raceway while maintaining his skills as a veterinarian. He also bred and raced Standardbreds, and his Armstead Farms campaigned several noteworthy horses over the years. He worked closely with the organizer of the 1979 Ice Races on the Rideau Canal, remembered as an iconic day in the long history of the trotting sport in Canada. He served with the Royal Canadian Artillery in World War 2, took part in the Normandy invasion and the liberation of France, and his many medals for meritorious service include the National Order of the Legion of Honour, Government of France. There is a story attached to each and every one of his successful undertakings which were always attacked with his inherent vigour. Sometimes heartwarming and sometimes heartrending, but always authentic and poignant. He is a man of intelligence, honesty and integrity who has seen and done it all. Now on the sunny side of 90 years of age, he has lived life to the fullest with a gusto and spirit that continues today as a Standardbred breeder and manager of a public stable at his Dunrobin, Ontario farm. Copies of Dr. Armitages books are available at the Ontario Harness Horse Association (OHHA) (905-854-6442), Central Ontario Standardbred Association (COSA) (905 854 2672), or by contacting Mick Armitage: 1-613-859-7741. On Thursday, November 8, Mary Lou Dondarski, 74, of Jackson, New Jersey, passed away at Centrastate Hospital in Freehold after a brief illness. A native of New Jersey, Dondarski was an accomplished artist, a skilled racing operations manager, and a creative force dedicated to preserving and enhancing harness racing history. Her friends and family are invited to join in a memorial celebration of her life on December 8, from 1-4 p.m. at the American Hotel, 18 E Main St, Freehold, NJ 07728. Without her contributions over the past 30 years, the Dan Patch Museum in Savage, Minnesota, the Round Barn/Stable of Memories in Lexington, Kentucky, the Greyhound exhibit at the Harness Racing Museum in Goshen, New York, and the offices of the Hambletonian Society would be lacking in their scope and depth of harness racing history. Dondarski began her career in harness racing when she transitioned from a local insurance office to the stable, working as a groom for entrepreneur and horse owner Bill Brooks and the Benny Webster Stable. She cared for open pacer Afella Rainbow (p, 4, 1:55.4M, $323,860) among many others in the late 70s. She then returned frontside, working in the race office at Freehold Raceway, at Los Alamitos Racecourse and at the Daily Racing Form before being hired at the Hambletonian Society in New Jersey in 1993, where she remained until her passing. She was also the assistant race secretary for the NJ Sire Stakes Fair program when New Jersey-breds had a flourishing state-bred program. Though she started as an accounts payable manager, there was very little that she didnt help expedite or execute at the society, from stakes payments to sponsorships. She was a detailed and thorough financial manager, but what she loved the most and was perhaps best recognized for was her tremendous creativity. I know its said that nobody is irreplaceable, said Tom Charters, former president of the Hambletonian Society. But the precision, talent and imagination that Mary Lou brought to the society over the past 25 years may be just that irreplaceable. She never failed to surprise us and we will miss her dearly. One of her most popular projects was the Hambletonian buttons, which she started designing in 1998. Months before the race she took the list of Hambo eligibles and pored over clip art and illustrations to create buttons specific to each horse that might enter the race. They were an instant tradition, and can be seen in every Hambletonian winner circle photo through 2018, adorning owners and fans lapel pins. An accomplished equine artist, Dondarskis portraits were highly sought after, and grace the walls of racetracks and homes of Hall of Famers as well as those who were simply fans of her portraits of champion Standardbreds, favourite racehorses, pets and glimpses of all facets of racetrack life. She was also an expert and dogged collector that spent weekends scouring flea markets and auctions for memorabilia, and when a fledgling site for collectors called ebay.com was created, Dondarski quickly had the internet at her mercy. Once she set her sights on a genre, harness racing postcards, or advertising, or cigar box labels, buttons, or matchbooks, she would soon have a museum-quality collection. Legendary Hall of Fame horses Dan Patch and Greyhound were her favourites, and her beautifully decorated office at the Hambletonian Society resembled a mini-museum of two of the most famous harness horses in history. Dondarski was a seemingly endless source of unique donations and often offered her own paintings for every charity auction, horse rescue group, museum event, fundraiser, retirement ceremony or any important event that followed her lifes work of supporting harness racing or marking harness racings historical importance. For her selfless and benevolent efforts, she was recognized by the U.S. Harness Writers in 2006 with the sports LeeAnne Pooler Memorial Unsung Hero award; in 2013 with a Presidents Award for support of the organization; and again as one of only 50 honourary USHWA members inducted since the organization was started in 1947, which is an honour that comprises 20 Hall of Famers past and present such as John Campbell, Delvin Miller, E. Roland Harriman and George Morton Levy. Despite failing health that made everyday tasks difficult, Dondarski spent her last weeks assembling and shipping a large collection of memorabilia and art to the Round Barn in Lexington, KY, for their Fall Stable of Memories fundraiser. She cherished her vacations in Lexington, and felt a personal responsibility to preserve the legacy and history of the Round Barn. She is survived by sons Anthony Dias, (and granddaughters Morgan, Jessica and Courtney Dias), Raymond Dias (and grandsons Quentin and Jake) and William BJ Richards and was preceded in death by her son Kevin Dias. Mary Lou will be sorely missed by her family, many friends and large network of passionate and like-minded collectors. Dondarski did not like the limelight and never sought credit or attention for her many, many acts of kindness and benevolence. Nonetheless, her harness racing family is determined to honour her memory with sadness but mostly joy for having known her. Please join us at the American Hotel in Freehold, NJ on Saturday, December 8 from 1-4:00 p.m. All those who knew her, or were the recipient of her unending largesse, or simply appreciate harness racing history, are welcome to attend. Donations can be made to her favourite causes: Stable of Memories PO Box 11073 Lexington KY 40512-1073 Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame 240 Main Street Goshen, NY 10924 Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Mary Lou Dondarski. (Hambletonian Society) Pastor-Mayor Comforts Thousand Oaks Community Contact: Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel, 407-875-1776, Liberty@LC.org VENTURA, Calif., Nov. 9, 2018 /Standard Newswire/ -- Pastor Rob McCoy, who is also a member of the city council and acting mayor in Thousand Oaks, California, has been ministering to hurting people in that community after this week's tragic shooting. McCoy is the pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel Church and also the chaplain of the local rescue unit. Ironically, despite the good work of the church, a lawsuit filed against the city of Thousand Oaks seeks to prevent the church from operating in a location formerly occupied by a YMCA. This week, Liberty Counsel filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by the Dos Vientos Community Preservation Association (Association) and Donald Armstrong. The frivolous suit attempts to force the city of Thousand Oaks to undertake environmental review and other procedures which are not required. The Association does not represent the neighborhood and is comprised of a handful of people which are mad that a church is replacing the YMCA, which went out of business. Liberty Counsel already had the suit dismissed one time and is now seeking to get the amended suit dismissed. In Dos Vientos Community Preservation Association v. City of Thousand Oaks, Liberty Counsel represents a religious nonprofit foundation (Foundation) which purchased a building and entered into an agreement to rent the facility to Calvary Chapel. The city of Thousand Oaks supports the use of the facility by the church. However, the so-called Association filed suit objecting to the church. The Association claims that the facility should be used for a YMCA, not a church. Watch Pastor McCoy's Interview with ABC News Pastor McCoy has been ministering to people in the community after the tragic mass shooting in which 12 people were killed at Borderline Bar & Grill on Wednesday night. In an emotional interview with ABC News, McCoy promised to be with those affected "every step of the way." "It is going to be a long, hard road, but this community will stand together, and we'll love on these folks. That's the only way to get through it. I imagine there's going to be a lot of funerals, and we'll be asked to officiate, and we'll be there with the families. It's not something that you do just once. You walk through them, and then you have to be there when you remember their birthdays and for some, it'll be anniversaries." said McCoy. "The way that Pastor Rob McCoy of Godspeak Calvary Chapel Church has been ministering to hurting people in Thousand Oaks after this week's tragic shooting shows the deep need for this church in this community," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. "Our prayers go out to the families and the community. This so-called association should take notice and drop this frivolous lawsuit against the city of Thousand Oaks. Now, more than ever, Pastor McCoy and Godspeak Calvary Chapel church are needed to bring hope and comfort," said Staver. Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics. Liberty Counsel provides broadcast quality TV interviews via Hi-Def Skype and LTN at no cost. GREENWICH Looking out over the packed crowd at Republican headquarters was an unfamiliar and strange feeling for Fred Camillo. We are starting to trend blue down here, and we, as Republicans, are going to have to adjust to that, Camillo told the stunned crowd at the Milbrook Club, the annual site of the Republicans election-night party, and the scene of early November celebrations for as long as anyone can remember. But Tuesday night was a Greenwich election night unlike any other. Camillo was essentially the sole survivor of an evening that saw the local GOP lose a seat in the state House of Representatives for the first time in more than a century and a seat in the state Senate for the first time since 1930. Only Livvy Floren, who ran unopposed, joined Camillo among town Republicans in holding onto a seat in the Legislature. The two representatives will return to Hartford for the next session as part of something that barely exists in memory a bipartisan delegation from Greenwich. This is not just happening here, Camillo said after the election dust had settled. There are Democratic strongholds that are turning Republican, and you have places like Greenwich that are far more competitive than they ever used to be. People are moving to Greenwich from blue states and theyre coming here to change things. Slow build For decades, Greenwich Democrats have been an Election Day afterthought. An occasional anomaly has poached an office, but the minority party has never managed to assemble a measurable challenge to the local control enjoyed by the Republican Town Committee. Signs of change began to appear last year, however. Camillo called it a perfect storm that might have Republicans looking for an umbrella. In the 2017 municipal elections, Democrats won control of the Board of Estimate and Taxation for the first time in history and cut significantly into the usual margin of victory for Republican First Selectman Peter Tesei, who had waltzed to wins in five earlier runs, while also winning the tax collectors job and outperforming expectations for the Board of Education. The results shocked many who did not see them coming. But Democratic Town Committee Chair Tony Turner said the seeds of the change were planted long before Tesei was made to sweat on election night. That fact leaves Democrats in position to build on Tuesdays historic victories by state Rep.-elect Stephen Meskers and state Sen.-elect Alexandra Bergstein, who defeated Republican incumbents Michael Bocchino and L. Scott Frantz, respectively. I wouldnt call any of this dramatic, Turner said. I think its been a step-by-step process. It hasnt been an overnight success by any stretch. Its been a gradual change, and one we are still working on. Last years gains and this years victories came after years of work by Democrats to narrow the gap in town voter registration. Republicans enjoyed a two-to-one voter advantage over Democrats in 2004. By Election Day 2018, that ratio had closed to 12,857 registered Republicans in Greenwich and 10,390 registered Democrats, with both parties trailing Greenwichs unaffiliated voters, who numbered 14,070. RTC Chairman Richard DiPreta is well aware of the shifting political lines in town, but he said more was at play Tuesday than just a change in the numbers. Greenwich traditionally has operated in somewhat of a political bubble, its voting booths untouched by goings-on in the state and country. But the last two elections in Greenwich were influenced by politics outside of town, DiPreta said. The partisan fights and anger that resulted from the 2016 election of President Donald Trump have had an impact on Greenwich, a town that Democrat Hilary Clinton carried that year. There is a changing climate, DiPreta said. Thats undeniable. ... Its certainly been suggested, and I believe there is a large degree of truth to it, that whats happening in Washington played a large part in what we saw happening in town and in a statewide basis. DiPreta said he was told by several people on Election Day that they considered the contests a referendum on Trump. I heard that many times, and it is disappointing to hear, DiPreta said. To hold Scott Frantz responsible for whats happening in Washington I believe is a terrible mistake. Still Republican DiPreta said it also would be a mistake for Republicans to look at Tuesdays results and see only doom and gloom. Not only did Camillo win comfortably, he said, but Floren had no Democratic challenger in her run for a 10th term. He credited Frantzs loss to Bergsteins overpowering showing in the Stamford portion of the 36th state Senate District, pointing out that Frantz carried the district in Greenwich and New Canaan. He also touted Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowskis easy win in Greenwich over Democrat Ned Lamont, despite the fact that Lamont, who won the state, lives in Greenwich. There is still a Republican stronghold in town, DiPreta said. Turner agreed, to a point, noting strong Republican performances in traditional GOP fortresses in central Greenwich, Riverside and the backcountry. But Old Greenwich and Pemberwick/Glenville, which have become swing districts, swung to Democrats this year a trend his party will work to solidify. National issues played a part in the Democrats strong performance over the last two election cycles, Turner agreed. But Democrats were able to connect with Greenwich voters on a level they havent before, which he attributed to the strong campaign work by Bergstein and Meskers. Bergsteins dominance was in Stamford, but Turner pointed out she was able to cut deeply into Frantzs Greenwich firewall, bringing in a much larger proportion of votes than Democratic candidate John Blankley had in 2016. On Friday, Bergstein attributed her victory to a growing desire for positive and productive political discourse from the voters in the district. Having run as a different kind of Democrat, who took no money from the state party she heavily self-financed her campaign and outspent Frantz Bergstein suggested neither party will be able to take voters for granted in the future. Regardless of party label, or any other label, we are all equals and neighbors, and are all invested in the success of this state, she said. Party labels are limited at best, and I dont subscribe to the us versus them mentality. I am solely focused on constructive dialogue about real solutions. And, it turns out, thats what the voters want, too. Indivisible As undeniable as the change in voter registration numbers is the fact that the two political parties are no longer the only players in local elections. Formed in the wake of the Trump victory, the groups March On Greenwich and Indivisible Greenwich made their voices heard in last years municipal elections, particularly Indivisible, which made formal endorsements and campaigned against a proposed Board of Education charter change. The groups were widely credited with energizing the Democrats uncommonly strong showing in the 2017 municipal elections. Indivisibles co-founders, Joanna Swomley and Nerlyn Pierson, were elected to the Greenwich RTM last year in a wave of new, mostly female, members. They said the group does not participate directly in individual campaigns, but stresses to its members the importance of running for office and becoming engaged in the election process. There is little debate over which side of the spectrum the group has succeeded in engaging. Indivisible Greenwich this year endorsed Bergstein, Meskers and Camillo foe Laura Kostin, because they espoused policies consistent with IGs missions, Swomley and Pierson said in a joint statement. IG also produced material attempting to educate the community about items such as the political state of CT, know your rights on election day, voting records of the Greenwich delegation on womens rights, education, the working poor, net neutrality, among others, they said. Finally, IG sponsored a general Get Out The Vote post card writing initiative highlighting the importance of voting. Both pledged to continue the groups efforts to fully participate in all upcoming elections. 2019 and beyond The close of polls Tuesday started the clock ticking on next years municipal elections. Tesei announced last month he will seek a seventh term in office. That will be on Turners mind as Greenwich Democrats seek to build on recent gains, which he said will require growing the partys infrastructure in town and bringing in new volunteers and new members. We have to harness and direct the energy of the voters in our direction, Turner said. That is still going to be a long job for us. For Republicans, DiPreta said the focus on analyzing the 2018 results and responding as a political party has already begun. He said a lot went right for Greenwich Republicans, who campaigned tirelessly and increased outreach into the community, particularly on social media. Obviously we need to do more, because I strongly believe our message is the correct message for this town, and we do need to ask ourselves if were doing a good enough job of getting that message out there, DiPreta said. How can we campaign better? When you lose, you feel theres obvious room to improve. Were taking a step back and seeing what we can do better. As the parties wrestle with challenges and questions, one thing remains certain: For two consecutive cycles, Greenwich has experienced widely competitive elections for the first time in many decades, if ever. Camillo, in assessing the new landscape, put out a warning both to Democrats and his own party: remember the unaffiliated voters, who made up Greenwichs biggest voting bloc in 2017, and grew in 2018. Going forward, I think everybody, and thats both Republicans and Democrats, need to pay attention to where the biggest number of voters are, Camillo said. That means you cant just keep relying on your base, and it means people need to be able to work from the center. That shouldnt just be a goal you talk about at election time. It has to be how you operate. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com STAMFORD Diane Sloyer interpreted three swastikas with the words good luck scribbled in chalk on downtown sidewalks this week as a challenge to the Jewish community. It is disturbing, said Sloyer, CEO of the United Jewish Federation of Greater Stamford, New Canaan and Darien. It is hard to wake up in the morning not knowing what we are going to see on that particular day. Police are looking for a man wearing a backpack who was caught on surveillance video near the Ferguson Library around 3:30 a.m. Thursday. One of the swastikas with the message good luck and a picture of a heart was drawn on the sidewalk outside the Broad Street library. Similar drawings were found Thursday morning in front of 285 Bedford St. and 11 Forest St. Sloyer called the swastikas blatant symbols of antisemitism and hate. It is disturbing and unnerving and I certainly hope they catch the person, she said. The incident occurred about two weeks after 11 people were killed during a service at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in the deadliest attack on Jews in the U.S. Stamford Assistant Police Chief Tom Wuennemann said the last antisemitic incident in the city occurred in August 2017 when swastikas and other graffiti were discovered spray painted on the walls of the Academy of Information Technology and Engineering on High Ridge Road. One month earlier, a Stamford man used his own feces to smear a swastika and a Star of David on a window near the entrance of the Rich Forum Media Center on Atlantic Street. Lt. Tom Scanlon said officers have been speaking to downtown business owners and examining security videos. Police have released pictures of the suspect, but have not captured an image of the persons face. Scanlon said police are also investigating whether the swastikas were related to the South Asian holiday of Diwali, known as the festival of lights that ended Thursday. In religions like Hinduism, the swastikas are drawn on doorsteps as a way of welcoming people into their homes. We need to identify who this person is and get an understanding of his background and try to understand his motivation before we can get a definitive idea of the meaning of the drawings, Scanlon said. Whether he was trying to cause alarm or whether there is a Diwali connection is relevant. Swami Balgopal, founder of the Wilton Hindu Temple, said the Hindu swastika is similar to the Nazi symbol, but turned slightly and usually includes dots. Balgopal said the swastikas drawn in Stamford appeared to be Nazi symbols. Police presence has been increased downtown and officers were stationed Thursday night at the library, which held the seventh annual Saul Cohen-Schoke Jewish Family Service lecture. Rabbi Daniel Cohen, of Congregation Agudath Sholom, said its important to bring the community together. Its another reminder for all of us of the importance of building bridges in our community, Cohen said. We need to rise above this divisivenessto fight the darkness and bring light. jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com PARIS - President Donald Trump flew 3,800 miles to this French capital city for ceremonies to honor the military sacrifice in World War I, hoping to take part in the kind of powerful ode to the bravery of the armed forces that he was unable to hold in Washington. But on his first full day here, it rained on his substitute parade weekend. Early Saturday, the White House announced Trump and the first lady had scuttled plans, due to bad weather, for their first stop in the weekend's remembrance activities - a visit to the solemn Aisne Marne American Cemetery, marking the ferocious Battle of Belleau Wood. It was not completely clear why the Trumps were unable to attend. The cemetery is 50 miles from Paris. Perhaps the president was planning to travel on Marine One, which is occasionally grounded by the Secret Service. But the sight of dignitaries arriving at other sites outside Paris, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, led some foreign policy analysts to speculate the U.S. commander in chief just wasn't up for it. "It's incredible that a president would travel to France for this significant anniversary - and then remain in his hotel room watching TV rather than pay in person his respects to the Americans who gave their lives in France for the victory gained 100 years ago tomorrow," David Frum, who served as a speechwriter to former president George W. Bush, wrote in tweets. Trump is actually staying at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Paris. So began a weekend in which Trump - battling on a number of political fronts in Washington - seemed distracted and disengaged. Trump left Washington as the list of White House worries piled up: newly empowered Democrats, criticism of his pick for acting attorney general and backlash over his personal attacks against journalists. Trump was in France in body but appeared unenthusiastic in spirit. The White House said Chief of Staff John Kelly and Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, would attend the Belleau ceremony in the Trumps' absence, but Frum suggested Trump could have tried to scramble a motorcade to keep his schedule. Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser under President Barack Obama, noted he helped plan Obama's foreign travel throughout his two terms and said it was common to have a backup plan to deal with inclement weather. "There is always a rain option. Always," he wrote in a tweet. "Trump will use the U.S. military for a pre election political stunt but sits in his hotel instead of honoring those who fought and died for America." The cemetery has 2,288 gravesites honoring those who died, including many Americans. The names of 1,060 more Americans who went missing and whose bodies were not recovered are engraved on the walls of the site. Trump held a bilateral meeting with Macron, but the U.S. president appeared subdued, almost sullen, as Macron tried to mask growing tensions between them. When Macron tried to pat Trump's thigh, the president ignored him and didn't acknowledge the touch or reciprocate it - a marked difference from their demonstrative power-grip handshakes and back slaps during previous meetings. Trump is still planning to attend the featured ceremony under the Arc de Triomphe on Sunday where more than 100 world leaders will pay homage to the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Great War. But he won't really get a parade. The event will not feature tanks or missiles like the parade Trump had envisioned on the streets of Washington on Veterans Day but canceled due to exorbitant costs. After another scheduled visit to a ceremony on Sunday, the president plans to fly home just as Macron's Paris Peace Forum kicks off for three days of meetings aimed at galvanizing global action on shared challenges, such as climate change. Thomas Wright, a Europe expert at the Brookings Institution, noted Trump announced he was going to France on a whim in August after abruptly canceling his order for the Pentagon to stage a parade. The Peace Forum was intended "a bit as a counterpoint to 'America First,' " Wright said, referring to Trump's nationalist foreign policy in which he has unsettled allies on trade and defense. "Now they have this weird situation of Trump being there [in Paris] but the forum going against everything he and [National Security Adviser John] Bolton stand for. . . . My impression is that he's going to pretend like it's not happening." In the evening, Trump tweeted that he had spent the afternoon in meetings and making calls, though he gave no details. He followed up with a tweet warning he is closely watching the election recount in the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races in Florida. "Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida!" he wrote, apparently referring to Democrats. Trump's critics, including former national security aides under President Barack Obama, piled on - payback, perhaps, for the times Trump ridiculed Obama by calling him feckless and weak on the world stage. In the two years since his election, Trump has not visited troops in an active war zone - an attempt to make a surprise visit to the Korean demilitarized zone in November 2017 was aborted when Marine One was forced to turn around due to bad weather. "Real low energy, @realDonaldTrump to not bother to honor the sacrifice of American soldiers in WWI due to some rain. Somehow everyone else was able to do so today. Obama never had this problem. He also visited our troops in war zones," Kelly Magsamen, who served as a high-ranking Pentagon official on Asia affairs, wrote on Twitter. On Instagram, Trump did make a statement to U.S. troops, posting a photo of himself speaking to service members at Air Station Miramar in San Diego. "Happy 243rd Birthday to the GREAT U.S. Marine Corps!" Trump wrote. But in Paris, there were some visible signs of strain between Trump and his host amid tensions over Macron's call for a "true European army" - remarks the U.S. president deemed "very insulting" moments after he landed here on Air Force One late Friday. Fearful of waning U.S. commitment, Macron hinted at a new path forward for Europe during a radio interview this past week in which he touted the "project of a sovereign Europe" and argued the continent would not be protected "if we don't decide to have a true European army." "We have to have a Europe that can defend itself alone - and without only relying on the United States - in a more sovereign manner," he said. That prompted an angry response from Trump in a tweet he sent as Air Force One touched down in Paris late Friday. Trump revived his frustration over countries in the NATO alliance that do not spend at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on their militaries. Ahead of their bilateral meeting at Elysee Palace, Macron attempted to soothe Trump by stressing publicly that European nations in the NATO alliance should pay more to defend themselves. Calling Trump "my good friend," Macron proclaimed "great solidarity" between the two nations and said the leaders will discuss a litany of issues during their one-on-one meeting, including Iran, Syria, Yemen, trade and climate change. Trump reciprocated Macron's warm tone, telling the French leader that we "have become very good friends" and that the two countries "have much in common in many ways." "I appreciate what you're saying about burden sharing. You know my view," Trump said. Later, he added: "We want to help Europe, but it has to be fair." Even as their words aimed to gloss over their differences, their body language betrayed the growing tensions. Foreign policy analysts said Macron and other European leaders have felt burned by Trump, who pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate accord, both negotiated by the Obama administration. "I think he has shed any illusion about Trump that flattering him will be a way of getting concessions," said Wright, the Brookings expert. "But he is hesitant to push back hard because he's not sure what that will get him. It's cautious realism." The Paris weather forecast shows more rain for Sunday. These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. Haiti - FLASH : More than 110,000 Haitians deported or turned back in Haiti ! The Directorate General of Migration (DGM) has informed that 12,300 Haitians were repatriated to Haiti in October 2018. 6,254 Haitians were intercepted and turned back at the border while attempting to enter the Dominican territory illegally and 6,046 others in an irregular migration situation were deported following migratory control operations throughout the Dominican territory https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-26061-icihaiti-social-756-haitians-deported-to-haiti.html About fifty foreigners in an irregular situation from Colombia, Cuba, Spain, the United States, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Vietnam were also deported to their country of origin. Since the beginning of the year more than 110,000 Haitians have been deported or deported to the Dominican border https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-25756-icihaiti-dr-nearly-11-400-haitians-deported-or-turned-back-to-haiti-sept-2018.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-25488-icihaiti-dr-more-than-10-000-haitians-deported-or-turned-back-in-haiti-in-august.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25188-haiti-dr-a-little-more-than-80-000-haitians-deported-or-turned-back-in-7-months.html The DGM report also indicates that at the land border, 21,725 entries and 17,586 exits had been recorded, mainly at the Jimani border crossing, where the greatest flow had been reported, followed by Dajabon, Elias Pina and Pedernales. See also : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-26061-icihaiti-social-756-haitians-deported-to-haiti.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-25756-icihaiti-dr-nearly-11-400-haitians-deported-or-turned-back-to-haiti-sept-2018.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-25488-icihaiti-dr-more-than-10-000-haitians-deported-or-turned-back-in-haiti-in-august.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25188-haiti-dr-a-little-more-than-80-000-haitians-deported-or-turned-back-in-7-months.html SL/ HaitiLibre We're a family of seven living in Georgia where Andrew's working as a professor at GSU. You can read more about us here SERVICES of remembrance will be held in Henley and the surrounding villages on Sunday. These will coincide with Armistice Day, which marks the official end of the First World War on November 11, 1918. In Henley there will be the usual service outside the town hall at 11am preceded by a parade with the air, sea and army cadets as well as scouts, guides and brownies who will gather at 10.40am. The service will be led by Rev Jeremy Tayler, the rector of Henley with Remenham. There will be a fly-past by a Sopwith triplane, a Fokker triplane and an SE5 biplane and another by two helicopters from RAF Benson at 10.55am. Residents attending are encouraged to wear family members medals. At 7pm, a beacon in Makins recreation ground, off Greys Road, will be lit. All are welcome to watch. In Benson, current and former servicemen and women will join residents of the village and neighbouring Ewelme and Dorchester in a parade that will assemble at 10.30am in High Street. At 10.43am the parade will set off for the war memorial at the junction of Oxford Road and Church Road with the marchers in order of RAF personnel, members of the Royal British Legion and then scouts, cubs, guides and brownies. The service of remembrance will begin at 10.52am. The names of all servicemen from the parish who died in the two world wars as well as those who have died while serving at RAF Benson since 1945 will be read out. At 10.58am the parade will be brought to attention for the Exhortation and Last Post, which will be sounded by a bugler of the Roke and Benson band, and the banners will be lowered. A two-minute silence will be observed from 11am followed by Reveille being sounded, the banners being raised and the Kohima Epitaph being read. At 11.04am there will be a fly-past organised by RAF Benson followed by the laying of wreaths, including those on behalf of Benson Parish Council, Benson Womens Institute and Benson Youth Club. Following a blessing, the parade will come to attention and march to St Helens Church for the service to be conducted by Rev Patrick Gilday. The service will be followed by refreshments in the Canons Room from noon. A joint service for Bix and Pishill will be held at St Jamess Church, conducted by Rev Chris Stott. Relatives of those who took part in any conflict are welcome to attend. The congregation is asked to assemble outside the church door to watch a fly-past at 10.45am, featuring two helicopters from RAF Benson. A Battles Over event will be held at Bix village hall. It has been organised by the Bix branch of the Royal British Legion with donations from Bix, Stonor and Swyncombe parishes. This is part of a nationwide community event starting at 6.45pm with a welcome by Brig Andrew Myrtle, president of the Bix branch, followed by a poem read by the Hon William Stonor. At 6.55pm The Last Post will be sounded and the standard dipped followed at 7pm by a beacon being lit by James Hunt, his son Charlie and Lee Vockins, who are relatives of those who suffered in the war. Bix and Pishill church bells will be rung simultaneously with bells in 1,000 churches and cathedrals across the UK. Mulled wine and nibbles will be available in the village hall afterwards. In Caversham, St Peters Church in The Warren and St Johns Church in Gosbrook Road will hold services beginning at 9.30am. These will end in time for worshippers to join the ceremony at the Caversham war memorial in Christchurch Meadows, which begins at 10.45am. In Checkendon there will be a remembrance service at 10.55am at St Peters and St Pauls Church at 10.55am, conducted by Rev Kevin Davies. The service at All Saints Church in Dunsden will begin at 9.15am and will be followed by a commemoration at the war memorial on Dunsden Green at 10.30am. In Goring, a lone piper will play a lament by the war memorial in St Thomas Church in Manor Road at 6am. A service will be held from 10.50am to 11.45 am. At 12.30pm, the church bells will be rung, timed to coincide with the march past the Cenotaph in London of 10,000 people. In Harpsden, a service will be held at St Margarets Church from 10am to 11am. At St Marys Church in Ipsden there will be an act of remembrance at 11am. In Kidmore End, a remembrance service will take place at the war memorial in Wood Lane. Spectators are asked to assemble at 10.50am. Afterwards there will be a service in St Johns Church at which the Royal British Legion colours, together with those of scouts, cubs and beavers, will be received into the sanctuary. All welcome. In Nettlebed, members of the village branch of the Royal British Legion will parade from the bus shelter to St Bartholomews Church at 10.30am. All welcome. Once the parade reaches the church lychgate, the villages war memorial, there will a short ceremony to remember those who gave their lives in the war. A bugler will sound the Last Post and a two-minute silence will be observed and wreaths laid in their memory. Afterwards everyone will be invited to go into the church for the remainder of the traditional service. At 3.30pm, a concert of music and poetry will be held in association with the Pangbourne Silver Band. Tickets are not required but seating will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Donations to the Poppy Appeal are encouraged. At 6.50pm, a beacon will be lit in the village to coincide with the lighting of more than 1,000 beacons across the country. At 7.05pm, the church bells will be rung. In Peppard, a service will be held at All Saints Church at 10.45am. In Rotherfield Greys, a service will be held St Nicholas Church, starting at 10.55am and followed by a ceremony at the village war memorial at noon. In Shiplake there will a service at St Peter and St Pauls Church at 10.50am, followed by a remembrance service at the war memorial in Lower Shiplake at noon. Those wishing to attend should arrive at about 11.45am. Parents and families of pupils at Shiplake College as well as visitors are welcome to attend the schools remembrance service inside the Great Hall at 10.45am. The speaker will be headmaster Gregg Davies. A parade will congregate at Pearson Hall in Sonning at 10am. This will be led by the Salvation Army band and supported by Reading Blue Coat School in the village as well as scouts and guides. A service will be held afterwards at St Andrews Church, conducted by the Rev Jamie Taylor. In Wargrave, there will be a parade of uniformed organisations led by the St Sebastians Band to arrive at St Marys Church at about 9.45am for the 10am remembrance service. The speaker will be the Rev Hugh Barne, curate of St Marys. At 10.45am, the congregation will move to Mill Green to mark the two-minute silence at 11am. All are welcome to attend. In Watlington, there will be a parade from the town hall to the war memorial in High Street, where a short service will be held, a two-minute silence observed and wreaths laid. All are welcome to attend. Residents of Whitchurch and Whitchurch Hill can attend a church service at St Johns Church at 9.30am followed by an act of remembrance at the war memorial in High Street, Whitchurch. In Woodcote, villagers will observe an act of remembrance at the war memorial from 10.30am, followed by a remembrance service at St Leonards Church. There will be a requiem mass at the Oratory School from 9.30am before its Combined Cadet Force and selected musicians go to the village war memorial to join in with the ceremony. The Aliquando Chamber Choir is staging a concert at St Marys Church in Henley in aid of the Poppy Appeal at 7pm tomorrow (Saturday) and not last Saturday, as was incorrectly reported last week. For tickets (25), call (01491) 578 238. We apologise for the error. A woman charged with the murder of a man in south Dublin has been further remanded in custody after she was deemed unfit to attend court. Grace Miano (50), who is accused of murdering Limbani Mzoma (27) in Foxrock, had the case against her adjourned in her absence for the directions of the DPP to be made available. Kenyan national Ms Miano, of Tudor Lawns, Foxrock, is all-eged to have killed Mr Mzoma, from Malawi, at her house on November 1. Mr Mzoma, also known as Robert, was found with several knife wounds. Ms Miano was due to appear in court yesterday, following her first appearance before Dublin District Court last Sunday. However, at Dun Laoghaire District Court, defence solicitor Jonathan Dunphy said he had received an email from the governor of the Dochas Centre at Mountjoy Prison, where Ms Miano is in custody. "The medical team deemed my client unfit to attend court for this morning's purposes," Mr Dunphy said. He had instructions to consent to a four-week adjournment. Judge Anne Watkin said she was remanding the defendant in custody for the preparation of a book of evidence. At Sunday's hearing, Det Sgt Colm O Giollain, of Cabinteely Garda Station, said Ms Miano made no reply when she was charged at 9.35pm the night before at Dun Laoghaire Station. The defendant confirmed her name to the court and nodded when asked if she wanted Mr Dunphy to represent her. Psychiatric Mr Dunphy said during the previous court appearance that his client had been living in Ireland for a number of years and was in receipt of social welfare. He also stated it was her wish that a psychiatric assessment be carried out. However, the presiding judge at the time, Grainne Malone, said she did not have the authority to grant this request and it was a matter for the Dochas Centre to consider. The court had heard Ms Miano complained of pains in her head and legs since being taken into custody. She had been seen by a doctor at the station "on several occasions". The accused was granted free legal aid and no bail application was made, as bail on a murder charge can only be granted in the High Court. It is understood Mr Mzoma, who had been in Ireland for a number of years, suffered stab wounds to his neck, chest and back in an upstairs room. Michelle Obama writes about everything from growing up in Chicago to confronting racism. Photo: Getty Michelle Obama has said she felt "lost and alone" after suffering a miscarriage 20 years ago, and revealed how she and her husband Barack underwent IVF treatment to conceive their two daughters. "We were trying to get pregnant and it wasn't going well," the former US first lady (54) writes in her new memoir, which is due to be released on Tuesday. "We had one pregnancy test come back positive, which caused us both to forget every worry and swoon with joy, but a couple of weeks later I had a miscarriage, which left me physically uncomfortable and cratered any optimism we felt," she writes. Anticipated Mrs Obama's memoir, Becoming, is one of the most avidly anticipated political books in recent memory. In it, she writes of being left alone to administer herself injections to help hasten the IVF process. Her "sweet, attentive husband" - who became US president in 2008 and served two terms - was a member of the state legislature at the time, "leaving me largely on my own to manipulate my reproductive system into peak efficiency". Memoirs by former first ladies, including Hillary Clinton, are usually best-sellers. Until now, Mrs Obama has offered few extensive comments on her White House years. IVF, a form of assisted reproduction, typically involves removing eggs from a woman, fertilising them with sperm in a lab and implanting a resulting embryo into the woman's uterus. It costs thousands of euro for every "cycle", and many couples need more than one attempt. "I felt like I failed because I didn't know how common miscarriages were, because we don't talk about them," Mrs Obama said in an interview broadcast yesterday on US TV. "We sit in our own pain, thinking that somehow we're broken." She said she and Mr Obama underwent fertilisation treatments to conceive daughters Sasha and Malia, now aged 17 and 20. In the memoir, she also writes openly about everything from growing up in Chicago to confronting racism in public life and becoming her country's first black first lady. She also lets loose a blast of anger at president Donald Trump. She writes in the memoir that Mr Trump's questioning of whether her husband was an American citizen was "crazy and mean-spirited, its underlying bigotry and xenophobia hardly concealed". "But it was also dangerous, deliberately meant to stir up the wingnuts and kooks," she writes. "What if someone with an unstable mind loaded a gun and drove to Washington? What if that person went looking for our girls? "Donald Trump, with his loud and reckless innuendos, was putting my family's safety at risk. And for this, I'd never forgive him." Mr Trump suggested Mr Obama was not born in the US but on foreign soil - his father was Kenyan. In fact, the former president was born in the US state of Hawaii. Misogynist Mrs Obama also expresses disbelief over how so many women would choose a "misogynist" over Mrs Clinton in the US election of 2016. She remembers how her body "buzzed with fury" after seeing the infamous Access Hollywood tape in which Mr Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women. She also accuses him of using body language to "stalk" Mrs Clinton during an election debate. She writes of Mr Trump following her around the stage, standing nearby and "trying to diminish her presence". She launches her promotional tour on Tuesday in Chicago, where tens of thousands of people have bought tickets - from $30 (26) to thousands of dollars - to attend. A doctor has said she would be prepared to go to jail rather than pay a 150 fine for parking in a disabled space in the course of her job, claiming she was "forced" to do so by the HSE. Dr Maeve White, a south Dublin-based community medical officer, said she was left with no choice but to park in the space outside a health centre. She said an ongoing parking problem in the area meant the disabled space was her only option and she had a duty of care to her patients. "I will never, ever pay this fine," she told Dun Laoghaire District Court. Judge Anne Watkin imposed the fine and warned she would go to prison if she did not pay it. Gun Dr White, of Brookvale Road, Rathfarnham, pleaded guilty to parking illegally in a disabled space. The court heard the offence happened on St Brigid's Church Road, Stillorgan, at 2.10pm on February 26. Dr White parked her car outside Stillorgan Health Centre, where she was due to carry out a clinic that afternoon, and maintains she could find no legal parking spaces. "I did knowingly park in the disabled space, so I am guilty, yes," Dr White told the judge. "The situation is I was forced by my employer, the HSE, to park there. The only other option is to drive away." The judge replied: "Nobody forced you. Did they have a gun to your head?" Judge Watkin appreciated that the doctor was "between a rock and a hard place." She said she was "in luck" as the fine had not increased and was 150. If it happened again, she said, it would be 250. "I will never, ever pay this fine," Dr White said, to which the judge replied: "I don't need to hear that you are going to be in contempt of court." Dr White told the court the HSE had "abused" her. However, the judge told her: "This is not a place to start dealing with your gripes against somebody else. This is a court of law." Dr White said she believed the HSE was responsible for paying the fine, but it had refused. She said there were no designated parking spaces for staff or patients at Stillorgan Health Centre and the disabled spaces were "rarely used". She had bags with heavy equipment, as well as having undergone knee surgery in recent months. "I was faced with a dilemma; should I break the law and park in the disabled parking space and do the clinic, or should I drive off and abandon children with appointments, whose parents take time off work to be there?" she said. "I chose to put patients first and I parked in the space." A spokesperson for the HSE said it could not comment on an individual case. A book of condolence at Good Shepherd Primary School, Churchtown, where John Curran used to be principal. Photo: Douglas O'Connor Detectives are trying to remotely access information on the missing phone of Irishman John Curran to establish if his killer contacted him. A murder investigation has been launched into the 60-year-old charity worker's death in South Africa. The retired school principal was discovered with multiple stab wounds at his flat in Buitengracht Street, Cape Town, at 10.30am on Wednesday. The Herald has learned that detectives are attempting to remotely access information on Mr Curran's mobile, which has not been found. Fingerprints The device, which was bought only hours before his death, was the only item taken from his home, leading police to believe he was murdered in a robbery for the phone. Police Captain Ezra October said examinations will help determine if he was contacted by his killer before he was murdered and help identify a perpetrator. It has also emerged that a bloodstained knife used in the killing was discovered at the scene. Fingerprints from the weapon were recovered. CCTV footage of a man fleeing the apartment complex is a main factor of the investigation. However, Capt October did not confirm if a chief suspect has been formally identified. A post-mortem on Mr Curran's body due yesterday has been postponed until Monday because of capacity issues at the city morgue. While local police believe he died from multiple stab wounds, they want to determine if he suffered other injuries during the attack. His body was identified by a colleague on Thursday. It is believed Mr Curran had been staying in Cape Town while on holiday in recent weeks. He had completed his contract with the South African-based non-profit organisation Mellon Educate. The charity, with which Mr Curran worked for two years, paid tribute to the "much loved" Dubliner. In a statement, the charity said: "With great sadness, we learned that our dear colleague and friend, John Curran, was killed during a robbery in his apartment in Cape Town, South Africa. "John only recently completed a two-year contract as director of education for Mellon Educate in South Africa and was staying on vacation in Cape Town for a number of weeks." Sadness Chief executive Niall Mellon expressed sadness at the murder and said the charity is helping Mr Curran's family. "I know our many volunteers and supporters will be very sad to hear this tragic news," he said. "John was much loved by everyone who met him and especially by the thousands of children he helped during his time with Mellon Educate. "We are assisting his family in every way we can." Mr Curran's son, Eoin, died in a sailing accident in New York in 2010. He is survived by his wife Liz, their children Darragh, Triona and Donal, six grandchildren and two sisters. Before moving to South Africa, Mr Curran was heavily involved with the Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN), which described him as "a highly esteemed colleague and friend". A student crashed her car into railings on a south Dublin flyover when she lost control while on a late night pizza run. Dervla Kennelly (21) was bringing food back to student residences when she took a turn on the bridge too fast and crashed into the barrier, sending it down an embankment. She was fined 450 but spared a driving ban after a court heard she made an "error of judgment". Kennelly, a TCD student from Springwood, Monkstown, Cork, admitted careless driving. Gda Anthony Moran told Dublin District Court he attended the scene of a single-vehicle accident at the UCD flyover, Stillorgan Road, at 2.20am last November 15. He saw a Ford Fiesta which had mounted the footpath and collided with metal railings on the dual carriageway. The railing had detached and fallen down the embankment. Distressed The driver had waited at the scene before returning to nearby student apartments. After viewing CCTV footage, the garda said she had taken the slip road and "was driving too hard" to make the right turn. She co-operated fully and what happened was a "once-off error of judgment", her barrister Martin Dully said. She had been alone in the car on a pizza run and was a short distance from the apartments. Given where the car ended up, she was "very shocked, anxious and distressed". Kennelly, who also had a job as a waitress, was a responsible, hard-working young woman who had learned an "important lesson", Mr Dully said. "It would appear she lost control of the vehicle and inexperience and speed were factors," he said. Kennelly had originally been charged with dangerous driving, but Judge Paula Murphy agreed to reduce the charge. Seven days of horror end with two ex-cops and two little girls dead news As an eight-year-old, paper artist Jaishree Pankaj Shah would watch intently as her grandfather made hand-cut paper designs or stencils to decorate the swing of Lord Srinathji. That was her first lesson in the Sanjhi paper craft. Sanjhi is an art form rooted in the folk culture of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, and later became an integral part of Vaishnavite traditions. It was patronised as a refined art form in the 15th and 16th century, and was practised by priests in Vaishnav temples. A Sanjhi depicting Lord Krishna, made by Jaishree Shah. (Courtesy: Artisans) During the Bhadrapad (monsoon) season, the temple floor would often be decorated with banana leaves cut into various shapes and sizes. The art later evolved into paper stencils with floral and geometric designs, says Shah, adding, Sanjhi artworks were used to decorate temples, nat-mandirs and kirtan sabhas during Vaishnav festivals such as Holi, Janmashtami and Jhulan. At an exhibition at Artisans in Kala Ghoda, Shah is showcasing 45 Sanjhi panels (some are three dimensional and as tall as 20 sq ft) depicting the Raas Leela, and inspired by the architecture of the Vaishnavite havelis and jharokhas of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The traditional art form was quite daunting as the paper cuttings were made directly without sketching or tracing. (Courtesy: Artisans ) To make a Sanjhi, Shah sketches a rough outline of the motif and then fills in the details while making cuts. She then glues the parts together on a coloured sheet of paper or silk before framing the work. Each work is intricate, and it takes between a week to two months to make a panel, she says. The traditional art form was quite daunting as the paper cuttings were made directly without sketching or tracing. The art form of Sanjhi still manifests itself in places where Vaishnav culture flourished. At Mathura, Vrindavan, West Bengal and Odisha which are home to Vaishnav communities and Radha Krishna lore in visual and performing arts you can find this art form reflected in various traditions that work with silhouette and stencil forms, says Shah. Sanjhi will be exhibited at Artisans, Dr VB Gandhi Marg, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, from November 22 to 24. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter You might have heard dastangos impressively narrate winding tales, but have you witnessed an 8-year-old perform dastangoi? For fans of literature, theres this and a world of books that will unravel at the Indian Languages Festival Samanvay. This festival was introduced in Delhis cultural calendar to promote Indian languages. This year, the event is focused on literature for young adults and children. And there will also be performances by children for children. Fouzia Dastango, who will present poetic stories at the event, says the act will open with kids performing dastangoi. Raghav Mehta, 8, will present Dastan-e-Mahabharat, as written in Urdu by Danish Iqbal, combining with Ramdhari Singh Dinkars Krishna Ki Chetaavanee and Mahua Agarwal, 10, will narrate the tale of a girl who has long hair. These are short stories for which the kids have been rehearsing for a month. Alongside these shows, there will be discussions by childrens authors, and a gamut of book stalls. Shantanu Duttagupta, publishing head, Scholastic India, says, India has a vast repository of languages. Our folklore and oral storytelling tradition has a lot of potential to be translated from regional languages to English or Hindi. Though we are publishing in regional languages, but certainly we can do more. CATCH IT LIVE What: ILF Samanvay 2018 Where: India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road When: Nov 10 and 11 Timing: 11am to 7pm Nearest Metro Station: Jor Bagh on Yellow Line, JLN Stadium on Violet Line Campaigning for first phase ends, Maoist issue dominates A high-decibel election campaign dominated by the Maoist issue with nearly half a dozen attacks by Left wing extremists during the period came to end Saturday evening in 18 Assembly seats spread across eight Maoist-affected districts of Chhattisgarh that will go to polls in the first phase on November 12, reports news agency PTI. Amit Shah seeks 70,000 victory margin for Raman Singh BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday called upon the voters to ensure the victory Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh from Rajnandgaon seat with a lead of over 70,000 votes against his rival in the ensuing Assembly polls. Singhs victory margin from Rajnandgaon was over 35,000 votes in the last polls. Rahul accuses PM of insulting Cong leaders with urban Naxals remark Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi by accusing him of insulting Congress leaders like Mahendra Karma and Narendra Kumar Patel, who fell to the bullets of Maoists in Chhattisgarh. Our leaders in Chhattisgarh have made the real sacrifice by standing up against the menace of Naxals, said Gandhi, while addressing a poll rally at Maoist-affected Jagdalpur, reports news agency ANI. Raman Singh has broken all development records in Chhattisgarh: Shah Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has broken all records of development during his tenure, BJP president Amit Shah claimed Saturday, and sought to know what the Congress has done for the state. Once counted among laggards, Chhattisgarh has now emerged as one of the most developed states in the country under the leadership of Singh, who became the chief minister in 2003, he said. Rahul promises all-loan waiver to farmers within 10 days of forming govt: ANI Congress president Rahul Gandhi promised all-loan waiver to poor farmers of Chhattisgarh within 10 days of forming the government if voted to power in the state, reports news agency ANI. Peoples affection and support is our strength: CM Raman Singh The people have faith in BJPs administration. Im glad at the large turnout during the roadshow in Rajnandgaon, their affection and support is our strength, tweeted Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh. Campaigning for first phase of Chhattisgarh elections concludes, reports ANI Campaigning for the first phase of state Assembly Elections in Chhattisgarh has concluded. Voting for 18 constituencies to be held on November 12, reports news agency ANI. Rahul addresses booth workers at Lal Bagh Ground Congress president Rahul Gandhi addresses booth workers at Lal Bagh Ground in Chhattisgarhs Jagdalpur. Congress has always used farmers as a vote bank: Raman Singh Congress has always used farmers as a vote bank, said CM Raman Singh. Congress is biggest obstacle in building Ram Temple: Adityanath The biggest obstacle in building the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is Congress. Congress doesnt want Ram Temple to be built in Ayodhya. If Congress cannot support Lord Ram, it cannot be of any use to the people either, said UP CM Yogi Aditynath while addressing a public meeting in Chhattisgarhs Kawardha. Bhagwan Ram ka bhavya mandir Ayodhya mein bane iss marg mein sabse badi baadha koi hai,toh Congress hai,kyunki Congress nahi chahati ki Ayodhya mein Ram Mandir bane. Jo Congress Ram ki nahi ho sakti woh hamare bhi kisi kaam ki nahi ho sakti: UP CM in Chhattisgarh's Kawardha pic.twitter.com/t9stJemXrO ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 Amit Shahs roadshow at Rajnandgaon Will be your soldier in Delhi: Rahul We have old relations with Bastar. You remember Indira Gandhi. I will be your soldier in Delhi. I will be with you whenever you need: Rahul Gandhi. Rahul targets BJP on Rafale Our PM speaks of nationalism. During our time, the Air Force decided on Rafale. They wanted 126 jets. We decided to give the contract to HAL. Air Force told us they needed Rs 526 crore. But then PM Modi goes to France. The Rafale deal price increases to Rs 1,600 crore. When I asked him the question in Parliament, he was not able to look me in the eye: Rahul Gandhi in Kondagaon. Thank people for Ram temple at Raipur: Yogi Would like to thank the people of Chhattisgarh for the Ram temple at Raipur: Yogi Adityanath Will make Chhattisgarh Maoist-free: Raman Singh We will make Chhattisgarh Maoist-free. We will create welfare board for journalists. We will create film city. All students till Class 12 will get free books and uniforms: Raman Singh, Chhattisgarh CM. We will open hostels, provide scholarships for poor: Rahul We will open hostels, provide scholarships for poor. We will work for all sections of people, not on the basis of caste or religion. PM does not speak of GST or note ban now.: Rahul Want to see MP and Chhattisgarh become food hubs of India: Rahul Want to see MP and Chhattisgarh become food hubs of India.China employs 25,000 youth every 24 hours. Modi govt can give jobs to only 450 in 24 hours. Banks Rs 12.5 lakh crore given to 15 richest industrialists . We want that money to be given to people. We want people to be self-employed. We brought land acquisition bill to protect land of farmers and tribals: Rahul Every block will have food processing units if we win: Rahul Will waive off farm loans in 10 days if we come to power. Will fulfil the promises made by BJP also. Lakhs of youths are unemployed. Farmers do not get proper price. Bastar does not have industries. Every block will have food processing units if we win. Farmers will sell directly to these units. These factories will employ your sons and daughters: Rahul Waived off farm loans in Punjab: Rahul PM Modi gave Rs 3,50,000 crore to his industrialist friends. But farmers of Chhattisgarh get no help from him. He did not fulfil any promise he made in the last four-and-a-half years. We promised loan waver for farmers in Punjab. We did it: Rahul Gandhi Will stop outsourcing of jobs: Rahul 40 lakh youth unemployed, tribal land given to industrialists, teachers posts vacant, no irrigation facilities in most lands despite 15 years of BJP rule. People of other states given employment here. We will stop it. People of Chhattisgarh will get jobs. Will give land to landless: Rahul Gandhi PM mum on corruption in Chhattisgarh: Rahul Chhattisgarh is rich, but people are poor. Your natural resources are distributed among the rich. Chhattisgarh is the poorest state in India. PM says he fights corruption, but when he comes to Chhattisgarh, he doesnt speak of corruption. Rahul Gandhi meets NGOs and civil society members Congress President @RahulGandhi meets several stakeholder groups in Chhattisgarh, including Satnami Samaj , NGOs, Civil Society members & party workers. pic.twitter.com/qGRLbW0VKj Congress (@INCIndia) November 10, 2018 Why no action against CMs son when his name appeared in Panama papers: Rahul If the CM doesnt want to answer that, then he should explain to the people of Chhattisgarh why no action has been taken against his son, whose name appeared in Panama papers? In Pakistan, the PM is jailed because his name appeared in Panama papers: Rahul Gandhi in Kanker, reports ANI. Rahul accuses BJP leaders of corruption Second is PDS scam. Rs 36,000 cr of the people of Chhattisgarh was looted. Diary mili, diary mein likha tha CM madam ko paisa diya. Dr sahab ko paisa diya. I ask Raman Singh ji who is this CM madam and Dr sahab whose names were found in the diary in connection with the scam: Rahul Gandhi, reports ANI. CM Raman Singh involved in chit fund scam: Rahul Gandhi Modi ji says hes fighting corruption. But when he comes to Chhattisgarh, he doesnt tell you the CM is corrupt. Your Rs 5,000 cr disappeared in chit fund scam, 310 FIRs were registered but no action was taken because CM was involved: Rahul Gandhi in Kanker, reports ANI. Congress toyed with national security: Yogi Be it Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Northeastern states or Kashmir, Congress did politics at the cost of national security. But for BJP, national security is top priority. We never tolerated threat to national security. No one has liberty to toy with national security: Yogi Adityanath, reports ANI. Congress promoted Maoism: Yogi Congress had promoted Maoism in this region for their own selfish motives. BJP govt is taking strict measures to combat it which has become a threat to people in this region. Congress toyed with national security for their political benefits: Yogi Adityanath, reports ANI. PM ensuring house for all: Yogi For the first time after independence, a PM announced that by 2022 no poor in India will be without a house. Had there not been a BJP govt at the Centre, people in Chhattisgarh wouldnt have received the houses which theyre receiving now: UP CM Yogi Adityanath in Lormi,reports ANI. Those who think Maoism is revolution can never work for Chhattisgarh: Shah Congress left a budget of Rs 9,000 crore for Chhattisgarh. Today, it is Rs 87,000 crore. Farm production has risen, irrigation has been developed, rural roads have been developed. Those who think Maoism is revolution, they can never work for Chhattisgarh: Amit Shah Amit Shah accuses previous UPA govt of neglecting Chhattisgarh Farmers should get proper prices for their produce. It never happened earlier, but was possible only after BJP came to power. From a little over Rs 48,000 crore during UPA rule, Chhattisgarh got more than Rs 1,37,000 crore during PM Modis rule: Amit Shah PMs focus on Chhattisgarh: Amit Shah 3,48,000 scheduled caste people will be given 7lakh acre land. Be it rural electrification or higher education, Chhattisgarh has excelled. After becoming PM, Narendra Modi focussed on Chhattisgarh. Small state like Chhatiisgarh got Rs 3,000 crore aid from Centre: Amit Shah Ensured no corruption in govt schemes: Amit Shah Today there are cement industries in Chhattisgarh. The state has moved forward in education and industry. Our focus was on Antodyay. We tried to benefit farmers. Chhattisgarh made law on skill development for the poorer sections. We ensured all govt schemes reach people without any corrupt practices: Amit Shah Raman Singh has dealt strongly with Maoism: Amit Shah Chhattisgarh is an example of how to go about development in democracy. The BJP under CM Raman Singh has moved positively. Chhattisgarh was known as under-developed. In 15 years, it has moved towards development. Biggest achievement was fight against Maoism, the way he has dealt with it: Amit Modi Rahul pays tribute to Mini Mata Congress president Rahul Gandhi pays floral tribute to Mini Mata in Rajnandgaon. Chhattisgarh: Congress President pays floral tribute to Minimata in Rajnandgaon pic.twitter.com/D2UPphnkl8 ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 Rahul Gandhi in gurdwara Congress president Rahul Gandhi visits gurdwara in Rajnandgaon and offers prayers. Chhattisgarh: Congress President Rahul Gandhi visited a Gurudwara in Rajnandgaon today and offered prayers. pic.twitter.com/yZd1UA823F ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 Yogis schedule tomorrow Tomorrow, Yogi Adityanath will address one public meeting at Baikunthpur Dham and three in Durg district. Yogi to address eight meetings UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath will address eight public meetings today and tomorrow. Todays meetings are scheduled at Lormi and Mungeli in Mungeli district, Saja in Bemetara district and Kawardha in Kabirdham district. Preparations in Bijapur ahead of first phase of polls #Chhattisgarh: Preparations underway in Bijapur ahead of the first phase legislative assembly elections on 12th November pic.twitter.com/pEtTSIRZEl ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 Maoist have struck thrice in Chhattisgarhs Bastar since elections to five states were announced on October 6, but their influence and ability to stage strikes appears to be waning with security forces turning up the heat, police data shows. Bastar will go to the polls on November 12. Till November 8 this year, 203 incidents of violence involving Maoists and security forces were reported from the state against 265 in 2017, according to police data. In this period, the number of rebels killed by security forces was 103, up from 77 last year an increase of about 33%. But the number of security personnel killed fell to 48 from 59 last year a decrease of about 18%. If compared to 2013 (the last state election year), the number of casualties have fallen dramatically. There were 143 incidents of violence that year, in which the Maoists killed 159 civilians and 111 security personnel. Among the civilian casualties were 24 Congress leaders, including then state party chief Nand Kumar Patel and former state minister Mahendra Karma, who were killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion in Sukma. According to special director general of police (anti-naxal operations) DM Awasthi, the Maoists have tried to step up violence ahead of this years polls primarily to scare voters but they have not been able to pull off a massive strike as they did during previous elections. Still it isnt for want of trying; in the past 52 days forces in the region have unearthed 42 IEDs, a security forces official said on condition of anonymity. On Thursday, the Maoists blew up a bus with an IED in Dantewada, killing four civilians and a CISF jawan. On October 30, three policemen and Doordarshan cameraperson Achyutanand Sahu were killed in a Maoist attack in Dantewada. Three days before that, four CRPF personnel were killed and two injured when the rebels blew up a bullet-proof bunker vehicle in Bijapur. In 2013, after the elections were announced, there were 35 incidents of Maoist violence, police data shows. The recent attacks this year were by the Maoist jan militias (foot soldiers), not by the battalions that are known for ambushes, Awasthi said. The number of security personnel killed has come down from 111 in 2013 to 48 till November 8, 2018. The police have listed multiple factors for the diminution in Maoists striking power. Better mobile connectivity has helped us to improve intelligence and roads have provided the forces access to new areas in the Bastar region, Awasthi said. According to police officers, the core areas of Maoist influence are now limited to three districts in Bastar region Sukma, Bijapur and Dantewada as compared to seven about a decade ago. But Alok Putul, a Raipur-based expert on Maoists, said confining the rebels to three districts did not mean they were getting weak. Since they are experts in guerrilla warfare, they know when and where to attack. Recruitment and training by Maoists is going on, he said. Congress spokesperson RP Singh accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of being ineffective in eradicating violence in Maoist-affected areas. In 2003, when the Congress was in power, there were only three blocks that were Maoist-affected. Now, 15 districts are under the grip of the Maoists. Even the chief ministers district Kawardha is affected, which reflects the intention and capability of the BJP government, Singh said. BJP spokesperson Sacchinand Upasane claimed that development reached Bastar for the first time under BJP rule and weaned away people from the rebels influence. They (Maoists) wanted to create hurdles in the election process but they will not be successful due to pressure by security forces, Upasane said. The Election Commission has deployed 65,000 additional security personnel for the two-phase Chhattisgarh elections on November 12 and 20. Campaigning ended on a combative note on Saturday for the first phase of polling in the Maoist stronghold of Chhattisgarh, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claiming to have almost ended left-wing extremism in the state and the Congress asserting it needed no lessons in patriotism from the BJP, in a riposte to Prime Minister Narendra Modis allegation that it backed Maoist sympathisers. BJP president, Amit Shah, spoke for the ruling party, taking over from Modi, who claimed on Friday that the Congress was soft on so-called urban naxals, or left-wing activists based in the cities sympathetic to the cause of Maoists, and accused it of describing the rebels as revolutionaries. The BJP government under chief minister Raman Singh has contained Naxalism and made the state almost free of it, Shah claimed, releasing the poll manifesto. A party that feels Naxalism is a medium for revolution cannot do any good for Chhattisgarh, he added in a reference to the Congress. Gandhi retorted: Dont teach us patriotism. There is a line of martyrs in our party. Mondays first phase of polling in Chhattisgarh, which will be held amid tight security assured by thousands of police and paramilitary troopers, will cover 18 of the 90 assembly seats in the state, where the remaining will vote on November 20. Twelve of the 18 are located in the Bastar region, a Maoist hotbed. The Congress won 12 and BJP six seats in the region, where polling was less than the statewide average of 77.12%, in the 2013 elections. Overall, the BJP got 49 seats and Congress 39 with one each to Bahujan Samaj Party and an independent. This time around, Modi has visited Chhattisgarh twice since the election was announced on October 6; Gandhi has been there three times. The first phase of polling is very important for both the parties. The pattern and polling will reflect the political wave in Chhattisgarh, said Ashok Tomar, a political commentator based in Raipur. Polling in Bastar will also raise the curtain on the elections that will take place over the next month in the Hindi heartland states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, besides Chhattisgarh, Mizoram in the northeast and Telangana in the south. The polls are crucial as a pointer to what could lie in store in next years general elections. Shah praised chief minister Raman Singh for the social welfare schemes he has introduced and for attracting industries to the state, and expressed confidence that the BJP will win a fourth consecutive term in Chhattisgarh. Gandhi accused Raman Singh of involvement in a 5,000 crore chit fund scam and a 36,000 crore fraud in the state subsidised public distribution system allegations denied by the BJP. BJP spokesperson Sacchidanand Upasana termed the allegations a bunch of lies. Congress spokesperson RP Singh said Shah and Raman Singh had nothing new to offer the electorate and were repeating bogus claims. Subrat Sahoo, Chhattisgarhs chief electoral officer, expressed confidence that polling in the first phase in areas where Maoists hold influence will be peaceful. We have deployed adequate security forces to ensure violence-free polling, he said. The Centre has provided an additional 65,000 security personnel, drones and helicopters ahead of the polling in the state , where three major attacks by Maoists have been reported since the elections were announced on October 6. We have got 650 companies for the first time for elections in the state, said special director general of police (Naxal), DM Awasthi. On Thursday, the Maoists blew up a bus with an improvised explosive device in Dantewada, killing four civilians and a Central Industrial Security Force jawan. On October 30, three policemen and Doordarshan cameraman, Achyutanand Sahu, were killed in a Maoist attack in Dantewada. Three days before that, four Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed and two injured when the rebels blew up a bullet proof bunker vehicle in Bijapur. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) filed a written police complaint against Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Friday, alleging that he incited violence at the inauguration of Signature Bridge on November 4. AAP leaders said that they decided to complain after the police failed to file an FIR against Tiwari. A delegation led by Rajya Sabha MP Narain Dass Gupta sought an FIR against Tiwari, MP from north east Delhi, during their meeting with Delhi police commissioner Amulya Patnaik. Gupta alleged that Tiwari, who was accompanied by his party workers, posed a threat to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia at the inauguration. I was seated on the dais along with my Rajya Sabha colleague, Sushil Gupta. The CM, deputy CM, ministers and senior officers of Delhi government were also present. No FIR has been registered even after four days, despite the fact that the premeditated criminal action of BJP leader Manoj Tiwari and his supporters had put the lives of the CM, the deputy CM and other ministers at risk, Gupta, as an eyewitness, stated in the police complaint. Minutes before the inauguration of the bridge, Tiwari and his workers were allegedly involved in a scuffle with AAP workers and the police. While Tiwari, who was not invited to the event, said he wanted to be present as it was being held in his constituency, the AAP alleged he and his workers had come to attack the CM and other leaders present there. In my view, the police was duty-bound to register an FIR against Manoj Tiwari and his hoodlums who committed this serious cognizable offence against police officers on duty. Unfortunately, this has not happened, the complaint read. The AAPs complaint comes days after the police booked several persons, including AAP lawmaker Amanatullah Khan, for allegedly threatening Tiwari. Khan, an MLA from Okhla, was seen pushing Tiwari away from the stage in a video. Khan, however, termed the police action biased, insisting he had no choice but to push Tiwari away because he was a threat to the CMs security. The AAPs national spokesperson Raghav Chadha and Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha accompanied Gupta on Friday. The complaint requested the police commissioner to register an FIR and provide them with a written copy. The police lodged an FIR against our MLA based on Manoj Tiwaris email. We hope an FIR will be filed against him after our written complaint, Chadha said. Earlier this week, AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh had written to the police commissioner seeking action against Tiwari. They (AAP leaders) had a meeting with Police commissioner. We informed them that three cases have already been lodged in the matter and Crime Branch is investigating it, said Delhi Police spokesperson Madhur Verma. When contacted, Tiwari said the police should look into videos of the event from beginning to the end to conclude who indulged in violence. Officials of the department of tourism, which organised the event, should be booked for breaking protocol. Arvind Kejriwal is out on bail and his MLA (Khan), a habitual offender, openly pushed and threatened me. The police should arrest them, he said. Delhis air quality remained in the severe category on Friday despite a slow but significant improvement in pollution levels with the AAP government restricting the entry of heavy and medium goods vehicles into the national capital as an emergency measure. Government-run agency SAFAR said that the citys air quality would remain in the severe category till Saturday, as the already toxic situation caused by smoke from fireworks is likely to aggravate further due to intensified stubble burning in neighbouring states. Despite severe pollution, stray incidents of firecracker burning were reported from various localities in the national capital on Thursday night. Over 400 heavy and medium goods vehicles were returned from Delhis borders after the city governments transport department banned their entry from 11 pm on Thursday night to 11 pm on November 11 in the wake of the worsening air quality. Delhis air quality on Thursday went off the charts to the severe plus emergency category. The city recorded the overall air quality index (AQI) of 642, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). It said the citys air quality has improved significantly since Thursday, but the recovery was slow due to low surface wind speed. The AQI was recorded in the severe category at 453 on Friday, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Twenty-six areas in Delhi recorded severe air quality, while seven areas registered very poor air quality, according to CPCB data. On Friday, the PM2.5 (particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres) level was recorded at 303 gm-3, five times the permissable limits. The PM10 (particles in the air with a diameter of less than 10 micrometres) level was recorded at 440 gm-3, four times the permissable limits, according to SAFAR. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe. AQI above 500 falls in the severe-plus emergency category. SAFAR said, As per satellite images, heavy fire counts were recorded in the last 24 hour and the latest SAFAR model results show a movement of cold front carrying heavy air mass towards Delhi region. Elaborating on it, the weather forecast system said the air in the surrounding stubble-burning areas is already heavy due to increased moisture and pollutants.This heavy air will travel towards Delhi, where a similar situations exists, in the next 24 hours. This combined effect might add to the pollution woes. There is a possibility that the wind may pick up at the upper level, late in the night and push the level of pollution and keep it in severe zone tomorrow with intensified fog which will further trap the pollutants, it said. The entry of heavy and medium goods vehicles into the national capital has already been banned for three days beginning 11 pm on Thursday night as a measure to check air pollution in Delhi. According to Alok Kumar, joint commissioner of police (Traffic), 1,008 vehicles were allowed in the national capital between 11 pm on Thursday and 6 am on Friday as they were carrying essential goods. As many as 445 vehicles were returned from Delhis borders, he added. Another officer said many trucks did not enter Delhi either by choice or because they were returned by police in neighbouring districts. The transport department had issued a notification regarding the ban. It has also appealed to private diesel vehicle owners to avoid using their vehicles during the period. A 38-year-old woman was killed and her 13-year-old daughter critically injured after a car jumped the divider on a Punjabi Bagh flyover and rammed their car late on Friday night. Police said the car that jumped the divider was being driven by a 22-year-old woman who was drunk. Police arrested the woman, but two men and another woman accompanying her fled the scene. According to the police, the incident took place around 11pm when two brothers Sudhir Sardana and Vimal Sardana, along with their wives and children, were returning home after visiting a temple in Chhatarpur. Senior police officers said that the moment the two families, who were travelling in a Mahindra Quanto car, reached a flyover adjacent to the Punjabi Bagh flyover, a car speeding on the opposite side rammed the divider and clambered onto the Quanto, in which eight members of Sardana family were travelling. Police said the woman, Shivani Malik, who was driving the S-Cross, and her three friends were on their way to a club in Gurugram from Connaught Place. Malik works a salon in Noida. Locals and witnesses said that the speed of the car approaching from opposite direction, a Maruti S-Cross, was so high that it went up in the air after hitting the divider and after hitting the Quanto, it turned turtle on another car that was passing by. Passersby stopped and helped the occupants of the cars get out. A PCR (police control room) call was then made and the police as informed, said a police officer. Police said there were eight people in the Quanto. While Poonam, Vimals wife, and their daughter Chetanya sustained critical injuries, their son Devik sustained minor injuries. Sudhir, his wife Vandana and their children Muskan and Dhruv also managed to escape unhurt. Both Chetanya and Poonam were rushed to a nearby hospital where Poonam was declared brought dead while her 13-year-old daughter, who sustained multiple fractures and head injury, was admitted for treatment, the police officer said. Police said Poonam and Chetanya were sitting right behind the drivers seat, exactly where the other car hit the Quanto. The family lives in Indra Nagar society in Adarsh Nagar in north Delhi. Deputy commissioner of police (west) Monika Bhardwaj said that Shivani Malik, a resident of Mohan Nagar in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, was found to be drunk at the time of the accident. Malik was inebriated at the time of accident. While Malik was caught from the spot, her friend Damini and two other men managed to escape. A case of causing death due to negligence, for rash and negligent driving, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and under other relevant sections has been registered at Punjabi Bagh police station. The matter is further being probed, the DCP said. Faizul Hasan Qadri, the 83-year-old retired postmaster from Kaser Kalan in western Uttar Pradeshs Bulandshahr district well known for constructing a mini Taj Mahal in memory of his deceased wife, succumbed to injuries after a road accident in Bulandshahr late Thursday night. According to his family, Faizul Hasan Qadri breathed his last at a private hospital in Aligarh where he was taken after being hit by an unidentified vehicle outside his house in Kaser Kalan village. He was taking a walk outside his house around 10.30pm on Thursday when some unidentified vehicle hit him. He was lying injured and I received information around 1am. I rushed him to a local hospital and later to Aligarh where he died around 11am on Friday. He got injured two years back as well after he had fallen from his bicycle and thereafter used a walker most of the time, Mohammad Aslam, Qadris nephew, said. Qadri had shot to fame for constructing a replica of the Taj Mahal adjacent to his house in the village and for donating his land for a government girls school, which is now fully constructed, adjacent to the structure. Qadris wife Tajamulli Begum had died due to throat cancer in December, 2011. The two had been married in 1953.The couple did not have any children. Qadri started the construction of a replica of the Taj Mahal after his wifes death. He buried his wife inside the structure and left a space alongside her grave where he had wished to be buried after his death. His dream, however, came to a standstill in February, 2014 when he ran out of finances but vowed he will complete the structure from his pension savings. In August, 2015 Qadri was called by former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav to Lucknow where the later had politely turned down financial assistance Yadav had offered for completing the structure. He had instead requested for the construction of a government-run girls inter college for which he later donated his four bighas of land. The school is now completed. He had saved nearly Rs 2 lakh and was about to go with me to Jaipur for purchasing marble stone which he wanted to be studded to his mini Taj Mahal to make it look like the original one in Agra, Aslam said. According to the police, the family had refused an autopsy. The family did not want the postmortem to be conducted, Yogendra Singh, SHO, Dibai police station, Bulandshahr, said. For the construction, Qadri had sold a piece of his agricultural land besides his wifes gold and silver jewellery and started work with the help of a local mason. The structure is built on my own land and I have tried to plant some trees around it and have a small water body at its rear side. However, work has mostly been held up due to finances as marble costs are high. A number of people have offered me money but I have refused to accept any so far. This is my personal endeavour for my late wife and embodies my love for her. So I should do this on my own, Qadri had told HT during a visit in August 2015. Now, Qadris nephew is keen to fulfil his uncles wishes. The structure is still waiting for the marble. We will now bury him beside his wifes grave inside the same structure. I will try to get the structure completed since he is no more now, Aslam said. Security officials at Delhi airport were panicked on Saturday after the pilot of a Kandahar-bound flight parked on the tarmac issued a hijack alert to Air Traffic Controllers (ATC). The pilot later told officials he had pushed the aircrafts panic button by mistake. Following the alert, security agencies said they towed the aircraft to a secluded bay and scanned it again. The flight, which had 123 passengers on board, took off for Afghanistan after a delay of over 90 minutes once it was established there was no threat. A senior officer deployed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport confirmed that a transponder code, a silent alert which enables pilots to alert the ATC in case of a hijack situation, was received around 3.30pm. At the time of the alert, the aircraft was parked at the apron. The moment the alert was generated, our ground radars highlighted Ariana Afghan flight FG 312. The team then conveyed the alert to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which guards the airport, and to the National Security Guards (NSG) and the Delhi Police. However, before any action could take place on the ground, the pilot informed the ATC that the alert had been issued by mistake, the officer, who is not authorised to speak to media, said. Confirming the incident, deputy commissioner of police (IGI airport) Sanjay Bhatia said that their anti-terror teams had been put on alert. Basic arrangements were made according to the standard operating procedures, but the pilot of the aircraft called back the emergency. However, taking necessary precautions, the flight was held back and all the passengers were frisked again. The luggage was pulled out and scanned all over again. The flight, originally scheduled to take off at 3.30pm, finally took off by 5.09pm with all 123 passengers on board, Bhatia said. An officer from Delhis ATC said that every aircraft has codes for emergencies like hijackings, communication (radio) failures and other situations. The moment the transponder releases any of these codes, the radar highlights that particular plane and ground controllers are silently alerted, the officer added, requesting anonymity. The incident was also reported to the Intelligence Bureau and other concerned agencies, officials said. A senior officer, who did not wished to be named, said the Directorate of Civil Aviation had conveyed the matter to the concerned department in Afghanistan to look into. Emails sent to Ariana Afghan Airlines on the matter remained unanswered till late Saturday. Nara Chandrababu Naidu, 68, is a serious politician. He is not given to political arm-twisting, knee-jerk reactions or fits of rage associated with most regional satraps. Proof of his maturity lies in the fact that rather than pulling the plug and forcing polls, he distanced himself from the AB Vajpayee government after the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader cut his teeth in political match-making during the 1996-98 United Front (UF) government. In those years that saw three short-lived regimes, he worked with VP Singh, HS Surjeet, Jyoti Basu, M Karunanidhi, SR Bommai and Lalu Prasad in the making of two Prime Ministers: HD Deve Gowda and Inder Gujral. That was after the end of Vajpayees 13-day stint for want of a majority. In his second avatar as a coalition builder, Naidu ploughs a lonely furrow. The stalwarts with whom he teamed up over two decades ago are either no more or are in semi-retirement. Prasad is in jail; Mulayam Singh has made way for his son Akhilesh in the Samajwadi Party. Even the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has had a generational change with MK Stalin succeeding the late Karunanidhi. The wheel, in fact, has turned full circle. Deve Gowda was PM with the outside support of the Congress, which now shares power with his son and chief minister HD Kumaraswamy in Karnataka. The national alliance Naidu seeks to build is an extension of sort of his Telangana experiment where he has a deal with the party headed by Rahul Gandhi. Regardless of the poll outcome, the Congress-TDP covenant is significant in that it marks a shift away from the party and the mans anti-Congressism of yore. Naidus test is in making the paradigm acceptable to players on the anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spectrum. The Congress, with which the Andhra chief minister dealt in the late 1990s, was falling apart under Sitaram Kesri, who had an unceremonious ouster when Sonia Gandhi entered active politics. That was shortly after the UF disintegrated and Vajpayee got his second shot at power in the February 1998 polls. Naidu didnt just exit as convener of the UF that was formed to keep out the saffron party. He swung far right by his standards, joining forces with the Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He gave it the lifeline till the 2004 polls which unexpectedly brought the Congress-headed United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to power. If his outside support kept the NDA-I alive, Naidus shoulder to Narendra Modis wheel in 2013 lent the latters campaign the credibility it needed to capture power in Delhi. Their partnership didnt last because the Modi dispensation had little use for the consensual approach Naidu shared with Vajpayee and wanted to with the current administration. On meeting Modi and becoming the first Opposition leader to express support for him, Naidu told this writer that his was but a fleeting acquaintance with the new BJP mascot. The lack of familiarity didnt matter as what guided him was the political necessity of a TDP-BJP pact. The tie-up cracked eventually for want of conviviality. What broke the camels back was the denial of special status to bifurcated Andhra. In another throwback to history, Naidu turned it into a fight for Telugu pride in the manner his late father-in-law, NT Ramarao, had against the Congress-controlled Centre in the 1980s. The political terrain today is vastly different and way more polarised. The threat to democratic institutions then perceived from the Congress under Indira Gandhi are exactly the same threats many opposition leaders believe these institutions face from the BJP under Modi. The big question is whether Naidu can replicate 1996 in 2019 by flaunting the green shoots in Karnataka and Telangana? Or will the void left by departed stalwarts who had the heft to join political fractures be too wide to fill? Whats required is not a replication of the jerry-rigged UF. The new political front wont be credible without a strong core that assures its longevity. The onus to realize that is on the Congress and the inheritors and successors of regional players, including Mulayam Singh and Prasad. The Bahujan Samaj Party wasnt part of the UF but will be a natural rather necessary component of a fresh non-BJP coalition. It was at Mulayams behest that Mayawati was left out in the cold. Two decades on, his son is in talks with her for an alliance that could be a game-changer in Uttar Pradesh. Friends or enemies, as they say, arent permanent in politics. Proof of that are the bedfellows in Telangana, Karnataka and possibly UP. A fortnight after an Iraqi national arrived in the city for cancer treatment, he was allegedly duped of $1,000 by an inter-city gang of four men, who posed as police personnel. The police said the accused asked the victim for his passport and checked his luggage for narcotics, claiming they were conducting an inspection in plainclothes. According to the police, the incident took place on October 20 evening when the complainant, Hussein Abdul Ameer Ali (46), who is suffering from cancer, and his friend were waiting for a third friend near Kamilia Palace Hotel opposite Medanta Hospital.The police said that as per the complainant, four men who claimed to be police officers stopped their car and asked for their passports. I did not have my passport with me. They (accused) asked me to hand over my handbag to check for drugs. My friend and I were scared. While going through the contents of the handbag, they stole $1,000 and threw the bag at me from the car. When the hotel guard walked towards them, they drove away, the victim stated in a written complaint at the Sadar police station. The police said the victim alleged that the car had a Delhi registration number and some digits had been scratched off the number plate. The victim had come to Gurugram on October 7 for cancer treatment. He did not report the incident earlier as he was undergoing chemotherapy, Matloob Alam, an advocate at district court Saket who offered legal assistance to the victim, said. A case has been registered against the unknown accused under sections 379 and 34 of the IPC at the Sadar police station, the police said. The investigating official, requesting anonymity, said that the police were seeking assistance from the police in Delhi, where a similar incident took place on October 19. In Lajpat Nagar around 8pm on October 19, a Baghdad-based couple was robbed of $3,000 by a man, who allegedly stole the money on the pretext of checking their bags for drugs. An Ariana Afghan Airlines flight from Delhi airport was today stopped from taking off and the plane cordoned off after its pilot sent a hijack alert. The captain later said the alarm had been sent by mistake The Delhi-Kandahar flight, with 124 passengers and nine crew members, was taxiing for take-off at at 3.30 pm when the airport authorities got the hijack alert from it. The plane was taken to the isolation bay and surrounded by security men. However, it later emerged that the captain was telling the co-pilot about the procedure for alert when the alarm was accidentally sent to the air traffic control (ATC). A civil aviation security official said the plane was cleared for departure once it was found that it was an error by the captain of the plane. Passengers had to go through secondary security checks before the plane was cleared for departure. Bureau of Civil Aviation security director general Kumar Rajesh Chandra told Hindustan Times that the planes captain Pokai Naomi told security officials that the airline staff in Delhi informed them of plans to hijack the plane. While briefing his co-pilot about entering Code 7500 to inform the ATC about the hijack, Naomi inadvertently entered the code leading to hijack scare, said the official, citing a letter by the captain about the incident. Parties opposed to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance will hold their first meeting in New Delhi on November 22 for talks on the proposed joint front for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP and Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot announced Saturday. Addressing a joint press conference with Gehlot, who had been sent by Congress president Rahul Gandhi to Amravati to discuss details of the meet, Naidu said, I have requested Rahulji to lead the initiative as a leader of the principal opposition party and he has obliged. The November 22 meeting will focus on the form and structure of the proposed anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forum and a course of action to take forward the initiative further. Besides, a plan of action will be drafted to fight the Narendra Modi government over its alleged anti-people policies such as use of official agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Income Tax department to settle scores with political rivals, dismantling of institutions and the ill-effects of the note ban, the leaders said. Naidu, who has met several opposition leader in the past few days, said he will be meeting West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on November 19. I am already in touch with her over phone and she will be part of the joint mission, he said. In two trips to Delhi - on October 23 and November 1, Naidu met leaders from a wide spectrum of opposition parties including Gandhi, Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and his father and party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam (DMK) leader MK Stalin and leaders of the Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist). He had visited Bengaluru on Thursday to meet Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (Secular) and his father and former prime minister HD Devegowda. Naidu, chief of the Telugu Desam Party, Saturday said that the outcome of assembly elections scheduled in five states in November-December will help crystalise realignment of political parties in favour of the alternative front. Chhattisgarh goes to the polls November 12 and 20, while voting will be held in Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram on November 28 and in Rajasthan and Telangana on December 7. Counting will be held on December 11. The TDP and Congress leaders said it became a democratic compulsion for all the responsible parties to come together to oppose the fascist rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After all, it is a call of the nation to save the country from the despotic rule of Narendra Modi who will never pay heed to others, Naidu said. Asked whether K. Chandrasekhar Raos Telangana Rastra Samithi (TRS) will be the part of the alternative front, Naidu said the whole polity is currently polarised between parties supporting NDA and opposing it. Alleging the TRS in Telangana and the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu are playing into the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said: If thats the case, how they could be taken on board. He appealed to the parties to decide on which side of the fence they would choose to remain. To questions over the election strategy to be adopted by the Congress and TDP in Telangana where the two parties are contesting together, Naidu made it clear that it is the democratic compulsions that made him keep aside his 35-year long anti-Congress policies to approach the party for a joint action against the NDAs misrule. Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain. Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred. For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here. An Army soldier was killed Saturday in sniper fire by Pakistani troops, while two BSF personnel were injured in cross-border firing along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Rifleman Varun Kattal (21), a resident of Mawa-Rajpura area of Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, was shot dead by a sniper from across the border in Sunderbani sector, the officials said. This was the second sniper attack along the LoC in two days. An Army porter lost his life in a similar attack in Akhnoor sector on Friday. At about 0945 hours, unprovoked ceasefire violation was initiated by Pakistan in Sunderbani sector in which one soldier was shot by a sniper from across the border and later succumbed to injuries at 11.10am, a defence spokesman said, adding his death will not go in vain. He said the Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively on Pakistan army posts. Two BSF personnel manning a border outpost in Sunderbani sector were also injured in an exchange of fire with Pakistani troops this evening and were hospitalised, the officials said. On October 21, three soldiers of J&K light infantry regiment and two heavily-armed infiltrators, believed to be members of the Border Action Team of the Pakistani army, and terrorists, were killed in Sunderbani sector. On Nov 6, a soldier was injured when he was hit by a sniper from across the border in Noushera sector of Rajouri, while a BSF jawan was injured in a separate incident of firing by Pakistan in the Manjakote area of the Rajouri-Poonch sector Friday. The number of ceasefire violations this year by Pakistan has been the highest in the past eight years. The first seven months saw 52 deaths and 232 people getting injured in 1,435 ceasefire violations in the state, according to an RTI reply by the home ministry. (With agency inputs) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is in Chhattisgarh for two days to campaign for the upcoming assembly elections in the state, on Saturday accused the Congress of putting national security at risk by promoting Maoism for political gains adding that the BJP would not tolerate any threat to national security as it was the partys top priority. Congress had promoted Maoism in this region for their selfish motives. The BJP government is taking strict measures to combat it as it has become a threat to people in this region, Adityanath was quoted by ANI as saying while addressing the public in the states Lormi district. Be it Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, north-eastern states or Kashmir, Congress did politics at the cost of national security. But for the BJP, national security is a top priority. We never tolerated threat to national security. No one has the liberty to toy with national security, he added. Adityanath will give further thrust to the campaign by addressing seven public meetings in the poll-bound state on Saturday and Sunday. His address at Lormi will be followed by another meeting in Mungeli district today. Yogis third public meeting will be held at Saja in Bemetara district. After addressing the days last meeting at Kawardha in Kabirdham district, Yogi will return to Lucknow in the evening. On Sunday, Yogi will address public meetings at Baikunthpur Dham and Durg in Bhilai in Bhilai district. The next meetings will be held at Anda Chowk in Durg and at Dhesera ground in Durg (rural) after which he will return to Lucknow. Earlier on October 23, Yogi had visited Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh to attend the filing of nomination papers by chief minister Raman Singh. He had also addressed a public meeting in support on Singh. A senior BJP leader, who did not wish to be named, said Yogi Adityanath was the star campaigner of the BJP and was much in demand in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The party plans to gain advantage from his popularity. Yogi will also address public meetings in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, he said. Union Minister Shripad Naik Friday said a change in leadership in Goa is a requirement today or tomorrow considering the health of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. Parrikar has been undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment for several months now and arrived in the state on October 14 post hospitalisation at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. We will have to have a change in leadership either today or tomorrow. It is a requirement. You all know that the chief ministers health is not well but still he is working under such circumstances, the Union AYUSH minister said on the sidelines of a press conference here to announce International Yoga Day. While there has been periodic talk about a change in leadership in the state, the BJP has consistently ruled it out. Concerned by increasing seizures of cash, precious metals, liquor and narcotics ahead of the year-end state elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has asked all state electoral offices to file reports on the follow-up action taken in such cases during past assembly polls, people aware of the development said. The poll panel has seized Rs 135.56 crore (as on November 5) of cash and other material from the five poll-bound states. The highest collection was from Telangana, Rs 61.08 crore and the lowest from Mizoram, Rs 4.10 crore. Undisclosed cash, precious metals, narcotics and liquor are used by candidates for influencing voters, which is not permitted under the law. The EC now wants to know the conviction rate in the cases that were following such seizures during the last round of polls in states such as Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, among others. As per EC data, during the assembly polls in Karnataka in May, over Rs 130 crore was seized. Karnataka was among the states with the highest cumulative seizures, but the state officials reported that cases were filed and action was taken in nearly 50% of the cases, said one official, requesting anonymity. The commission wants state election officers to follow up with the courts of the district magistrates, the official said. The increase in cumulative seizures is a trend that indicates the growing misuse of money during elections, said a second EC official. The Taliban listed four conditions for beginning peace talks at a meeting hosted by the Russian government even as the opposition criticised Indias perceived shift from a policy of not engaging directly with the Afghan insurgent group. India participated in the second meeting under the Moscow format on Friday at a non-official level its representatives were retired ambassadors TCA Raghavan and Amar Sinha and the Taliban sent a five-member delegation, led by Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai, from its political office in Qatar. According to a transcript of the speech delivered by the Taliban delegation, the group raised four conditions to begin peace talks removal from sanctions, release of all detained Taliban cadres, formal opening of an office and the stopping of what it described as poisonous propaganda against the group, including allegations of its involvement in attacks on students and civilians. The panel said the group does not allow anyone to use the soil of Afghanistan against other countries, including neighbours. It contended that establishing an Islamic system in conformity with the faith of its people cant be considered terrorism. India and Afghanistan, working in close coordination, decided to participate in Fridays meeting at a non-official level. The external affairs ministry said its participation was consistent with its policy of backing Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process for peace. Where did we say there will be talks with the Taliban?...We just said we will be participating in a meeting on Afghanistan, hosted by Russia, said external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. The Congress said the Centres decision amounted to a reversal of Indias stated policy of not engaging the Taliban. Sitting at the same table as Taliban, notwithstanding the chicanery of saying India was represented at a non-official level, has only served to legitimise Taliban, said party spokesperson Manish Tewari. The Karnataka government Saturday celebrated the 269th birth anniversary of erstwhile Mysore (Mysuru) ruler Tipu Sultan even as chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and his deputy G Parameshwara gave the event a miss, drawing sharp criticism from the BJP. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is opposed to the celebration, which was started by former chief minister Siddaramaiah in 2015, said the chief ministers absence was a U-turn. In a tweet, Bharatiya Janata Partys Karnataka unit said, chief minister @hd_kumaraswamy Missing! While Cong-JD(S) government is celebrating a tyrant Tippu, the chief minister himself goes into hiding, what is the point of celebrating a fanatic when chief minister himself abandons a govt function. Glorifying a mass murderer just for vote bank clearly shows mindset of this govt. While Siddaramaiah had headed the previous three celebrations, this time irrigation minister DK Shivakumar and food and civil supplies minister BZ Zameer Ahmed presided over the event. The chief ministers office confirmed that Kumaraswamy was advised rest as he has a history of heart-related ailments and hypertension. Parameshwara, meanwhile, is abroad, his office confirmed and is set to return late on Saturday. The chief minister had said that he is unwell and his health is very important. Parameshwara was delayed for some unforseeable reasons, and thats why he could not make even though he was expected to. I, too, am part of the government and decided to come here and take part at the event, Shivakumar said. Zameer Ahmed said Parameshwara had travelled to Singapore to visit the former minister C Chennigappa, who is undergoing treatment in there. There was some miscommunication becau- se he thought the event was in the evening. And despite his repeated attempts to make it to the event he has been unable to, Ahmed said. Meanwhile, a group of Muslim leaders, including Zameer Ahmed, felicitated Siddaramaiah by presenting him with a Tipu Sultan cap and sword at his residence. Tipu was born in this land, gave good governance and promoted unity between Hindus and Muslims, and had many Hindus in his administration. So, to call him anti-Hindu or anti-Kannada is completely baseless, Ahmed said. No processions either in support or opposing the event were allowed by the government. Protesters were detained by the police across the state to avoid any untoward incidents. Among those detained were BJP MP Prahlad Joshi and the partys state vice-president M Nagraj, besides from MLA A Appachu Ranjan and several worker across the state. However, the most trenchant criticism came from within the Congress as Tanveer Sait, a former minister and its MLA from Mysuru, called the chief minister and deputy chief ministers absence as an insult to the Muslim community. This is an insult to the community...My duty is to express the feelings of the community and not just the views of the party, he said. More senior Congress leaders in Andhra Pradesh have quit the party in apprehension of a tie-up with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the state, like in neighbouring Telangana. The Congress state unit, however, denied that any such alliance was planned. On Saturday, former minister Pasupuleti Balaraju quit and joined the Jana Sena party in the presence of its chief and actor Pawan Kalyan in Vijayawada. Earlier, Nadella Manohar, a former assembly speaker of undivided Andhra Pradesh, had shared the dais with Kalyan and termed himself as a true jana sainik. After TDP leader and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Congress president Rahul Gandhi met in Delhi and stressed the need for the opposition to unite against the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2019 general elections, two former Congress ministersVatti Vasanth Kumar and C. Ramachandraiah quit on November 4. Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president N. Raghuveera Reddy said he has no indications from his party top brass on any alliance with the TDP in the state. On the leaders leaving the Congress, he said it was their freedom and wisdom to remain in the Congress or to move out. Meanwhile, megastar and former Union minister K. Chiranjeevi, who is the elder brother of the Jana Sena chief, has been keeping away from active politics since the bifurcation of the state, even skipping rallies addressed by Gandhi in the state. His Rajya Sabha membership ended on March 31 this year and he was not fielded again by the Congress. Sources close to Chiranjeevi said the megastar is busy in shooting of the film Sira Narasimha which expected to hit the screens on Makara Sankranti. Asked whether Chiranjeevi, whose fans association has merged with the Jana Sena earlier this year, will quit the Congress, a party leader said, Is he in our party in the first place? Most of the leaders leaving the Congress now seem to be gravitating towards the fledgling Jana Sena, despite that the TDP and the YSR Congress being more established parties. Its because of the fact that Pawan has become a rallying point for youth and harbinger of change with the potential to alter the present political equations. Huge gatherings during Pawans events across the state send out clear signs in this direction, Manohar told Hindustan Times. Political analyst K. Nageswar however said the latest migrations from the Congress to Pawan Kalyans party are just part of seat-guarantee plans. When the TDP and the Congress are packed with several aspirants in each of 175 Assembly segments, Jana Sena is an unexplored terrain giving hope to turncoats with their future bleak in Congress, he said. Earlier, former union ministers Kavuri Sambhasiva Rao and Daggubati Purandhareswari switched from Congress to the Bharatiya Janata Party in a bid to revive their political careers, while JC Diwakar Reddy joined the TDP and Botsa Satyanarayana the YSR Congress with the same bid. After kicking up a row over his statement that the Sabarimala head priest had consulted him before threatening the closure of the Ayyappa shrine if women of menstrual age entered it, Kerala BJP chief P S Sreedharan Pillai Saturday made a complete volte-face saying someone else in the tantris family had sought his views. Pillai, who is on a Save Sabarimala Rath Yatra from Kasaragod to Erumeli along with Bharatiya Dharma Jana Seva president Tushar Vallapally, told reporters here that what he meant was that someone in the tantris (head priest) family had called him to seek clarification and not the tantri. Since the head priest has clarified that he had not called him up, there is no need to doubt it, Pillai said. Television channels had aired a video clip last week in which Pillai purportedly is heard saying at a yuva morcha meeting that the head priest Kandararu Rajevaru had consulted him before threatening to close the shrine in case women in the barred age group of 10-50 entered it to offer prayers. When the controversy broke out, Pillai had said as a lawyer practising in the Kerala High Court the priest had sought a legal clarification, which he had given. However, the tantri had denied having consulted Pillai and said he had only spoken to his senior tantri Kandararu Mohanararu. The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the shrine, has sought an explanation from the head priest. At the height of protests against entry of women of menstrual age into the hill shrine, Rajeevaru had on October 19 threatened to shut the sanctum sanctorum if two young women, then escorted by police, were allowed to reach the Sannidhanam (temple complex). Around 200 devotees tried to prevent a woman pilgrim from entering the hill shrine, suspecting her to be of menstrual age, and allegedly attacked a cameraman of a Malayalam television news channel when the shrine was opened for a two-day special ritual on November 6. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav Saturday said his elder brother Tej Pratap Yadavs divorce plea was not a matter of public interest and his family was capable of handling the situation. The former Bihar deputy chief minister made the remark when he was quizzed by the media whether Tej Pratap would agree to a compromise with his wife Aishwarya Rai. The divorce petition was filed recently. Tej Pratap, an MLA and a former Bihar health minister, had said Friday he would not return home till his family backed his decision to divorce his wife. He was last seen in Mathura from where he left for Delhi on Friday to celebrate Tejashwis birthday. Rai is the daughter of RJD MLA Chandrika Rai and grandchild of former Bihar chief minister Daroga Prasad Rai. She married Tej Pratap on May 12. Tejashwi, hit out at the reporters in Ranchi, saying The thing which is not in public interest, I will not tell. It is a family matter and the family members are capable of looking into whatever is going on. He was in the Jharkhand capital to meet his ailing father Lalu Prasad at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences. The RJD supremo is serving sentences in a number of fodder scam cases and at present, is admitted at the hospital. Tej Pratap had met Prasad at the medical institute a week ago. The RJD chief is learnt to have been upset over his elder sons decision to seek divorce. An apparently peeved Tejashwi told reporters: You tell me, who has prepared meals at your house. You prepared it or your wife? Was it good (taste) or bad (taste)? Did you eat together or not? On his visit to Ranchi, he said,Every Saturday family members get the opportunity to meet my father. Yesterday, was my birthday and obviously, I came to seek his blessings. I also came to enquire about my fathers health. His health is not well somewhat and we are concerned. We pray that doctors attending him will help him recover at the earliest, Tejashwi said. He also said the media has been his familys well wisher and asked reporters not to indulge in A to Z (regular) update. Earlier too, I had said that if you raise such issues nobody from the CM (chief minister) to PM (prime minister) will be spared... Therefore, let matters pertaining to home be at home. Our (politicians) responsibility is that what is happening in the interest of the people should be raised. Issues related to the interests of the people should be raised, Tejashwi said. I also say that I am more concerned with Bihar and the nation, he added. To a query on the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar, Yadav said the people will answer at the appropriate time. CMs absence not an insult: DK Shivakumar It cant be an insult. Karnataka CM and Deputy CM are occupied with their issues. We are also part of the govt. I dont agree with my friend Tanveer Sait, said DK Shivakumar, Karnataka minister on Tanveer Saits statement that CM and Deputy CM not attending Tipu Jayanti celebrations an insult to the community. To hold a state govt event on Tipu Sultan Jayanti, who is a symbol of hatred, is surprising: Javadekar To hold a state govt event on Tipu Sultan Jayanti who is a symbol of hatred, is surprising. We want to ask Congress how the one who destroyed Churches & temples & killed thousands of Christians & Hindus, is praised in a state govt event? said Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. CMs absence from Tipu Jayanti celebrations is an insult to Muslim community: Cong MLA This was the first Tipu Jayanthi of the new government. The information is that following doctors advice chief minister H D Kumaraswamy is not taking part (in the programmes). Deputy chief minister G Parameshwara is on a foreign tour. This development has somewhere come across as though the community has been insulted. There is no doubt about it, said MLA and former minister Tanveer Sait. BJP attacks Cong-JD(S) government in Karnataka after CM gives Tipu Jayanti celebrations a miss He then opposed Cong celebrating Tippu...Later he himself wanted to celebrate tyrant Tippu. He now goes into hiding...Watch the video as the Legacy of @hd_kumaraswamys U turn continues. Why play hide & seek when you cannot justify your decision of celebrating a fanatic Mr CM, tweeted the official handle of BJP Karnataka. He then opposed Cong celebrating Tippu Later he himself wanted to celebrate tyrant Tippu. He now goes into hiding Watch the video as the Legacy of @hd_kumaraswamys U turn continues. Why play hide & seek when you cannot justify your decision of celebrating a fanatic Mr CM. pic.twitter.com/rYwCFVsZKa BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) November 10, 2018 Police detain BJP workers led by Prahlad Joshi in Hubli Police have detained BJP workers led by BJP MP Prahlad Joshi heading towards mini Vidhana Soudha in Hubli to protest against Tipu Jyanti celebrations Karnakata Minister DK Shivakumar arrives for Tipu Jayanti celebrations Karnakata Minister DK Shivakumar arrives for Tipu Jayanti celebrations at Vidhana Soudha, amid protests by BJP. Bengaluru: Karnakata Minister DK Shivakumar arrives for #TipuJayanti celebrations at Vidhana Soudha pic.twitter.com/rFGjWtCtKH ANI (@ANI) 10 November 2018 Tipus progressive measures in administration, his quest for innovation are commendable: Kumaraswamy Tipus progressive measures in administration, his quest for innovation are commendable, said Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy in a statement, adding as he was taking rest on doctors advice, he was unable to take part in the programme.Kumaraswamys deputy G Parameshwara also skipped the Tipu Jayanti celebrations.Parameshwara did not attend the event as he was out of town, sources at his office told news agency PTI, without divulging any details. Visuals from outside Tipu Sultans Summer Palace in Bengaluru Visuals from outside Tipu Sultans Summer Palace in Bengaluru. The BJP on Friday staged protests against Karnataka government-sponsored celebrations for the birth anniversary of the controversial 18th century ruler of erstwhile Mysore kingdom, Tipu Sultan. BJP workers raise slogans in Madikeri Deputy Commissioners office Madikeri: BJP workers raise slogans in the premises of the Deputy Commissioner's office protesting against #TipuJayanthi celebrations being held there. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/VC4k1IPV3Y ANI (@ANI) 10 November 2018 Karnataka minority welfare minister meets Siddaramaiah Karnataka Minority Welfare Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan met former CM Siddaramaiah at his residence in Bengaluru today. A day before Tipu Jayanti, CM says he wont be able to attend celebrations The JDS-Congress coalition government led by chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, last week, had said Tipu Jayanti would be celebrated on November 10 in continuation of the previous Congress governments policy, prompting the BJP to announce protests. However, Kumaraswamy is not scheduled to attend main function here to be inaugurated by deputy chief minister G Parameshwara. The Chief Ministers Office in a statement said Friday that Kumaraswamy would not take part in any official function for the next three days in view of doctors advice. Section 144 imposed in 9 districts of Karnataka Prohibitory orders, high alert have been issued in Karnataka government after the government decided to go ahead with Tipu Jayanti celebrations amid protests. A day ahead of Tipu Jayanti, the BJP Friday staged protests against Karnataka government-sponsored celebrations for the birth anniversary of the controversial 18th century ruler of erstwhile Mysore kingdom, Tipu Sultan. Groups protesting against celebrations in Madikeri offer prayers at temple Groups protesting against Tipu Sultan Jayanti celebrations in Madikeri offer prayers at Sri Omkareshwara Temple in the town. They will then carry out a procession against the celebrations, which are being observed in the state today. Security tightened in Madikeri amid protests Madikeri: Security has been tightened in Madikeri in the light of a shutdown called in the town against #TipuJayanti celebrations being observed today. The shutdown has been called by various organisations, including BJP and Codava National Council. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/AjPIIAzUiN ANI (@ANI) 10 November 2018 Tipu Sultan jayanti is being celebrated in Karnataka today amid protests by BJP and other Hindu outfits as the state government deployed heavy security and imposed prohibitory orders in several districts where the celebrations were on. While most ministers and leaders of the ruling JD(S)-Congress coalition, including chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, stayed away from the celebrations, BJP leaders strongly voiced their opposition, saying the 18th century ruler of erstwhile Mysore kingdom had killed many Hindus and attacked temples. Security was tightened in Madikeri in the light of a shutdown called against Tipu Jayanti celebrations by various organisations, including BJP and Codava National Council. Several BJP workers were detained by police in Madikeri for protesting against the celebrations in the premises of deputy commissioners office. In Hubli, police detained BJP MP Prahlad Joshi and several workers for taking out a protest march towards the mini assembly. Karnataka minority welfare minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan met former chief minister Siddaramaiah at his residence in Bengaluru. Siddaramaiah was seen wearing a Tipu Sultan cap and holding a sword. Karnataka Minority Welfare Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan met former CM Siddaramaiah at his residence in Bengaluru. (ANI/Twitter) Chief minister Kumaraswamy is staying away from the celebrations because of health reasons. According news agency ANI, Section 144 (which prohibits assembly of more than four people in an area) has been imposed in Kodagu district. The prohibitory orders will also be in force in Hubli and Dharwad cities from 6 am on November 10 to 7 am on November 11. BJP Kodagu district secretary Sajjal Krishnan said the government was wasting public money in the name of Tipu Jayanti. Tipu is not a warrior. He killed so many Hindus and attacked temples. Why are they glorifying a man like him? This is only vote bank politics. Everyone in Kodagu is opposing the celebrations, he said. State minister DK Shivakumar of the Congress took part in celebrations at the state assembly. In Kodagu district, the native Kodavas (Coorgis) are opposed to the celebrations as Tipu is accused of torturing, killing and forcible conversion of thousands of people of the region during his reign. India may have finalised its chief guest for the next Republic Day, two people familiar with the matter independently said, and it is most likely someone from Africa, perhaps South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The announcement will probably be made shortly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, and perhaps on Twitter, one of the people added, asking not to be identified. This person said there was a shortlist of four India was working on and that President Donald Trump of the US had never been on it, although verbal, informal invites were extended to him .The White House confirmed recently that President Trump would not be making the trip to India for the January 26 Republic Day parade on account of other commitments, but the first person insisted that a formal invite had never been sent to the US leader. The chief guest will be a leader of global stature and from an important partner country, this person added. A second person said, also on condition of anonymity, that the idea was to get someone from a region unrepresented in terms of Republic Day chief guests for the past few years. The chief guests in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 were King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk of Bhutan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, US President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande, UAE Crown Prince Mohhamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the leaders of the 10 members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations. That leaves only South America and Africa unrepresented. The second person said that the leader is most likely to be someone from Africa, perhaps Ramaphosa. There was no confirmation on this from the ministry of external affairs, and a government official would only say that an announcement will be made at an appropriate time. India has been trying to build its presence and relationship with African countries. It has stepped up its outreach to African countries since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government came to power in May 2014 to boost ties with the resource-rich continent and counter Chinas growing influence there. The 55 countries on the continent also have a crucial say in Indias quest to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. India has extended 152 lines of credit worth almost $8 billion to 44 African countries for developing agriculture, infrastructure, public transport, clean energy, irrigation and manufacturing capacity. The outreach has included visits to several African states by President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu this year that raised the profile of bilateral ties. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday inaugurated the first India-bulit war memorial in northern France to pay tribute to thousands of Indian soldiers who fought selflessly and made supreme sacrifices during the World War I. Naidu, who is on a three-day visit to Paris starting Friday, also interacted with French armed forces veterans and children at the inauguration of the Indian War Memorial at Villers Guislain. Extremely happy to unveil the Indian Armed Forces Memorial at Villers-Guislain town in France today. Its a great tribute to several thousands of Indian soldiers whose gallantry and dedication have earned worldwide recognition, Naidu said in a tweet. Extremely happy to unveil the Indian Armed Forces Memorial at Villers-Guislain town in France today. Its a great tribute to several thousands of Indian soldiers whose gallantry and dedication have earned worldwide recognition. #VPinFrance @Indian_Embassy pic.twitter.com/cDB50qmElJ VicePresidentOfIndia (@VPSecretariat) November 10, 2018 The memorial is the first-of-its-kind built by India in France after the countrys Independence. The announcement to construct the memorial was made by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her last visit to Paris in June 2018. India contributed immensely to the war effort in terms of both men and material. Her soldiers served with credit and honour in numerous battlefields around the globe: in France and Belgium, in Aden, Arabia, East Africa, Gallipoli, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Persia and Salonika, he said. "India contributed immensely to the war effort in terms of both men and material.Her soldiers served with credit and honour in numerous battlefields around the globe:in France and Belgium,in Aden,Arabia, East Africa,Gallipoli,Egypt, Mesopotamia,Palestine,Persia & Salonika."(3/8) India in France (@Indian_Embassy) November 10, 2018 We therefore share a bond of sacrifice that joins us to French soil and society. The final resting places of these soldiers are spread over 158 cemeteries across various communes and cities of France. Their blood is permanently mixed with the soil here, he said. "We therefore share a bond of sacrifice that joins us to French soil and society. The final resting places of these soldiers are spread over 158 cemeteries across various communes and cities of France. Their blood is permanently mixed with the soil here."#VPinFrance(4/8) pic.twitter.com/zqCL7sOKkP India in France (@Indian_Embassy) November 10, 2018 Naidu said despite Indias significant role in the World War I, it was frequently overlooked as a result of the horrors experienced in trench warfare and by Europes tendency to home in on battles such as those fought at the Somme and Verdun, which many assume only Europeans fought in. India played a significant rolein World War One. However, it is frequently overlooked as a result of the horrors experienced in trench warfare and by Europes tendency to home in on battles such as those fought at the Somme and Verdun, which many assume only Europeans fought in. pic.twitter.com/USy6sbEe7E VicePresidentOfIndia (@VPSecretariat) November 10, 2018 Vice President Naidu also addresses local community and members of Indian Diaspora after inaugurating the memorial. I consider it my privilege to have this honour to be amongst you today and inaugurate the first War Memorial constructed by the GoI in France and to pay homage to the Indian soldiers who fought selflessly and heroically during World War I and made the supreme sacrifice, he said. Indian troops were on Western Front by winter of 1914 and fought at the first Battle of Ypres. By the end of 1915, they had sustained many casualties along with casualties from sickness, the decision was taken to withdraw Indian Corps from front line duty at the end of 1915. Naidu said 800,000 Indian troops fought in all the theatres of the war with 1.5 million volunteering to fight. They fought in most theatres of war including Gallipoli and North and East Africa. In all 47,746 were classed as killed or missing with 65,000 wounded, he said. The Indian Corps won 13,000 medals for gallantry including 12 Victoria Crosses. Khudadad Khan won the Corps first Victoria Cross. Such was the cost of the war, that Indias economy was pushed to near bankruptcy, Naidu said. Vice President Naidu is in Paris to represent India at the Armistice of World War I centenary commemoration. Heads of state or government of over 50 countries and their representatives are expected to participate in the centenary activities. On Sunday, the vice president will attend the ceremony to commemorate the armistice of World War I at Arc de Triomphe, presided over by French President Emmanuel Macron. He will speak at a high-level panel discussion titled Dialogue of the Continents on Global Governance and will also hold a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum, the Ministry of External Affairs said in statement. The decision of Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and his deputy G Parameshwara to skip government-sponsored Tipu Sultan Jayanti celebrations has drawn sharp attack from the BJP, which targeted the CM for going into hiding CM @hd_kumaraswamy Missing! While Cong-JDS govt is celebrating a tyrant Tippu, the CM himself goes into hiding, what is the point of celebrating a fanatic when CM himself abandons a govt function. Glorifying a mass murderer just for vote bank clearly shows mindset of this govt, the BJPs Karnataka unit tweeted. In another tweet, it put out a video, saying the Kumaraswamy had opposed the celebrations and then wanted to celebrate tyrant Tipu. He now goes into hiding. Watch the video as the Legacy of @hd_kumaraswamys U turn continues. Why play hide & seek when you cannot justify your decision of celebrating a fanatic Mr CM? the party asked. BJP leaders also reportedly said that Kumaraswamy had skipped the celebrations due to differences with the Congress. The JD(S) leader had, however, stayed away citing health reasons and said he would be taking rest for three days on the advice of doctors. His deputy Parameshwara was in Singapore on a personal visit. Wishing success for the Tipu Jayanti celebrations, Kumaraswamy in a statement on Saturday said, Tipus progressive measures in administration, his quest for innovation are commendable. Former chief minister Siddaramaiah, who had started the celebrations in a grand manner during his tenure, was seen wearing a Tipu Sultan cap and holding a sword at his residence along with food and civil supplies minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, who is leading the celebrations, and other Muslim leaders. Irrigation minister DK Shivakumar, who reportedly skipped an Tipu event at Ballari district, of which he is the in-charge minister, took part in celebrations at the state assembly secretariat in Bengaluru. Security was tightened and ban orders were imposed around the assembly building in Bengaluru, and celebration venues in Mysuru, Kodagu, Hubli, Dharwad and Mangaluru. Celebrations were also held across the states district headquarters despite the BJP-sponsored protests. Police detained several BJP workers and leaders, including MP Prahlad Joshi and party vice-president M Nagraj, in Hubli, Madikeri and Kodagu districts for protesting against the celebrations. BJP Kodagu district secretary Sajjal Krishnan said the government was wasting public money in the name of Tipu Jayanti. Tipu is not a warrior. He killed so many Hindus and attacked temples. Why are they glorifying a man like him? This is only vote bank politics. Everyone in Kodagu is opposing the celebrations, he said. In Kodagu district, the native Kodavas (Coorgis) are opposed to the celebrations as Tipu, who is otherwise hailed for taking on the mighty British, is accused of torturing and killing thousands and forcing conversion and imposing Persian in the region during his reign. However, the scale of such suppression is disputed by several historians. Tamil Nadus ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Saturday slammed superstar Rajinikanth for condemning protests by party activists against some scenes in actor Vijay-starrer Tamil movie Sarkar allegedly depicting former chief minister Jayalalithaa and her flagship schemes she had started. Attacking Rajinikanth, the AIADMKs mouthpiece Namadhu Puratchi Thalaivi Amma said that only a censor certification would not justify the controversial scenes. If you identify a lizard in a packed food item that has all the certifications, will you eat or throw it away, said a write-up in the partys daily. Among the scenes that had angered the AIADMK workers were one showing an actor throwing a mixer-grinder into fire, which was seen as an obvious reference to the late Jayalalithaas flagship schemes of providing these items free of cost, in line with an electoral promise in 2011. They had also protested a negative character named Komalavall, which party workers thought was a reference to Jayalalithaas original name. As the AIADMK workers tore the movie banners and started sit-in protests in front of theatres screening Sarkar, which released on Diwali on Wednesday, the film-makers agreed to three changes, removing the scene objected to by AIADMK and muting two words including the name Komala. Rajinikanth had on Friday strongly condemned the protests carried out by AIADMK activists to demand deletion of scenes. It is against the law to hold protests seeking removal of some scenes from a Censor board certified film and trying to stall the screening and damaging the banners, he tweeted. I strongly condemn these, he added. The write-up in the AIADMK mouthpiece came in response. It also urged Rajinikanth not to support such activities and asked him to advise his juniors in the industry not to repeat these mistakes. While the movie attacked the freebies scheme, the AIADMK has defended the scheme, saying it was brought to bridge the gap between poor and rich in the state. Vijay, director (AR) Murugadoss and Maran brothers who produced the movie could not expect freebies. But, thousands of poor people in the state are being benefited by these schemes. Amma canteens are the boons to the people who are stepping into Chennai..., the article reads. Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami also claimed that common public was also protesting along with AIADMK workers against Sarkar. If someone was making a film against the governments schemes and leaders, how their followers will remain calm, he asked, alleging some filmmakers are using this trick to increase their business. They are producing the films by spending several hundred crores. Where they are getting this money? Despite getting a huge sum of money as salary, actors are not coming out to serve the poor, Palaniswami said. He also claimed Murugadosss relatives too benefitted from the freebies schemes of the Jayalalithaa government. A woman farm labourer was mauled to death by a wild animal, suspected to be a tiger or leopard, at a forest in Maharashtras Chandrapur district, police said on Saturday. Sakhubai Kasture, 55, a resident of Pendhri village in Chandrapur, located around 160 km from Nagpur, had gone to work at a farm in the forest on Friday, an official at Patri police station said. When she did not return home till late night, villagers launched a search and spotted her body in a forest area in Sawali tehsil on Saturday early morning, he said. Also Read: Backlash over killing of tigress in Maharashtra: Two expert panels to probe incident There were injuries and animal marks on the body and some blood clots were also found on her clothes, he said. Pug marks of tiger and leopard were also noticed near the body, he said, adding that police and forest officials visited the spot and were investigating the incident. Tigers and leopards are often spotted in the forest area, he said. The Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, the oldest and largest national park in Maharashtra, is located in Chandrapur district. Also Read: Avni killing: Most allegations are baseless, says forest department Notably, a tigress named Avni, who was believed to have turned man-eater and killed 13 people in the last two years in Yavatmal districts Pandharkawda area, was shot dead in the Borati forest there last week. The killing led to outrage among animal lovers and wildlife organisations. Two persons who tested positive for the Zika virus died over the past week, as the number of positive cases in Madhya Pradesh climbed to 84. State health department officials familiar with the matter, however, said on Saturday that the deaths were not because of the virus but other diseases. Of the two deaths, the first was of a 21-year-old man on Tuesday night. The second was of a 19-year-old woman on Thursday, the officials said. But they refused to disclose where exactly the deaths had taken place to prevent the spread of panic. The deaths were not due to Zika virus. A 21-year-old man died as he was suffering from Japanese encephalitis while a young woman died as she was infected with diabetes mellitus. It is incidental that they also tested positive for Zika virus, said Dr Himanshu Jayswar, the official spokesperson for the department of health, Madhya Pradesh. The officials, however, conceded that the virus was spreading and 84 people, including 17 pregnant women, had tested positive over the last 10 days. The affected areas include Sironj in Vidisha district, a village in Sehore, three localities in Bhopal and a locality in Sagar, they said, refusing to give further details. The sudden outbreak happened in these areas. Health department teams are working 24x7 to contain the virus. We are hoping that it would be controlled in three or four days, Dr Jayswar said. On Saturday, about 200 people across the state were tested for the virus on the suspicion that they might be infected, the officials said. Three patients first tested positive for the Zika virus on November 1. In 10 days, the numbers have increased to 84. In Madhya Pradesh, testing facility is available only at AIIMS Bhopal. Many people in the affected areas are complaining of rashes on their body, fever and redness in the eye but due to infrastructure constraints, the testing process is very slow, said a health official who is not authorised to speak to the media. Officials of the emergency medical relief wing of the Directorate of General Health Services, Delhi, are camping in the affected areas. The health department has called a meeting on Sunday and chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will chair it, an official said. Muslims in Madhya Pradesh, looking for more political space, say they are disappointed by the candidate lists of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress ahead of the November 28 assembly elections in the state. The BJP has fielded only one Muslim candidate, Fatima Siddiqui, from Bhopal (north) in the elections to the 230-member assembly. Siddiqui is daughter of late Rasool Ahmed Siddiqui, a former state minister. The Congress has three Muslim candidates Arif Aqueel, the sitting MLA from Bhopal (north), Hamid Haji from Burhanpur, and Arif Masood from Bhopal (Central). Mohammad Mahir , convener of Madhya Pradesh Muslim Vikas Parishad, a non-political organisation that espouses the socio-economic development of the community, said Muslims had few expectations from the BJP, which has fielded only three Muslim candidates since 1993 (all three lost). He, however, said that they expected more tickets from the Congress. The Congress is seeking to end the three-term rule of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh in the elections. Muslims have only one member (Congresss Aqueel) from their community in the assembly even though they make up roughly 8-9% of the states 78 million population, say political analysts. In 2013, while the Congress gave tickets to five Muslims, the BJP fielded only Arif Beg, who lost to the Congresss Aqueel in Bhopal North. In 2008, the Congress gave tickets to five Muslim candidates and only Aqueel won from Bhopal North. Bhopal-based advocate Sajid Ali, who was also the Congress candidate from Bhopal in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, said: We need Muslims to represent Muslims. At present, Madhya Pradesh does not have a national-level Muslim leader who commands instant loyalty, for which we have to blame the Congress leaders whom we have traditionally backed and also ourselves. The reason for scepticism is natural. The Congress recently announced the post of Madhya Pradesh PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) president and four working presidents none of them were Muslims. This is all due to so-called soft-Hindutva where Congress leaders are wearing their religion on their sleeves, says Mahir. Congress leader Arif Masood says that while it is true that BJP has made some penetration among Muslims, they are still eyed with suspicion. In response to a question on whether the party gave fewer tickets to Muslims because of its soft-Hindutva approach, Congress spokesperson J P Dhanopia said: There is no soft Hindutva. Tickets have been given to candidates who have potential to win. The lone Muslim voice in the assembly, and four-time Congress MLA Aqueel ,is more positive about the chances of Muslims getting party tickets. There are nine seats in which Muslims are around 50% of the population and there are 10 seats in which they have population of 40,000 to 50,000 and can prove to be decisive during elections, he said. The Election Commission Saturday initiated the process of finding an alternative to Mizoram chief electoral officer who is facing a massive agitation for his ouster by a conglomerate of civil society and student organisations. A Commission spokesperson said that in a meeting held in New Delhi Saturday, the poll panel has only decided to call for a panel of names for the post of State CEO from chief secretary of Mizoram. The spokesperson said next steps will only be taken after receiving the report of the team led by deputy election commissioner Sudip Jain. State chief electoral officer SB Shashank had reportedly sought deployment of additional central armed police forces (CAPF) in the state and complained to the EC that the states former principal secretary Lalnunmawia Chuaungo was interfering with the poll process. Chuaungo, a native of Mizoram and a Gujarat-cadre IAS officer was relieved of his duties earlier this month. The NGO Coordination Committee - a conglomerate of civil societies and student organisations - along with other political leaders, had been demanding Shashanks exit from the state since then. The NGO also demanded that 11,232 Bru voters lodged in six Tripura relief camps be allowed to exercise their franchise at their respective polling stations in Mizoram and not in Tripura as committed by the poll panel in 2014. Meanwhile in Mizoram, the visiting Election Commission team led by Jain, has left for New Delhi on Saturday after holding talks with the stakeholders in view of the demands for removal of Mizoram Chief Election Officer Shashank, officials said. The team would submit its report to the Election Commission, they said. The EC team met the NGO Coordination Committee, church leaders, IAS Association leaders and visited the Myanmar border at Champhai in Mizoram before leaving for Delhi, they said. This was the second EC team to visit the state to find a solution to the situation arising out of the demand for the removal of the CEO. Thousands of people had protested and organised a picketing in front of the CEOs office for two days since Tuesday against the alleged intention of Shashank to facilitate exercise of franchise by Bru voters in the relief camps in Tripura. The protestors, under the aegis of the NGO Coordination Committee had also demanded the ouster of Shashank as CEO and to leave the state immediately which had prompted the EC to send the first team on Tuesday. He had left Mizoram on Wednesday after being summoned by Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat to Delhi which resulted in the withdrawal of agitation. The NGO Coordination Committee chief Vanlalruata had claimed on Friday that the visiting EC team during a meeting with the committee had agreed to its demand for immediate removal of Shashank, seen by the committee as a Bru sympathiser. He had also said that the EC team had agreed to stick to the commitment made by the poll panel in April 2014 that Bru voters who are staying in Tripura would exercise their franchise in Mizoram and not in the relief camps of that state. The four-member EC team, headed by Deputy Election Commissioner Sudeep Jain, did not speak to the press. Thousands of people from the Bru community had fled Mizoram in 1997 following ethnic clashes. They have since been lodged in six relief camps in Tripura. Election to the 40-member Mizoram Assembly will be held on November 28. As many as 211 contestants have filed nominations for the elections. A purchase manager of a Gurugram export house had a close shave when he was allegedly driven around on the roof of a car for around six kilometres near Sahibabad on Thursday evening. Stating that the man who drove him around has been arrested, the police said the incident was the result of a road rage case, when the victim had tried to stop the accuseds car after it hit his car. The incident was captured on mobile phones by onlookers who chased the Zen Estilo car the accused was driving with the victim 35-year-old Rajesh Diwan, a resident of Pitampura in Delhi clinging on to the roof of the car while holding on to the front windows. Police said the accused, Bhuwan Kumar Sharma (30), works as a legal practitioner and is a resident of Raj Nagar Extension. According to Diwan, the incident took place around 7pm on Thursday. Recalling his near death experience, he claimed, I had come to Ghaziabad to meet a friend and was waiting at a traffic signal in Sahibabad. The accused arrived in his car and banged my Swift Dzire from the rear. The accused started to reverse and flee. When I came out of the car and tried to stop him, he abused me and fled. I then decided to give chase, and soon, near Raj Nagar Extension, I overtook his car. Diwan said the scuffle turned ugly when he stood in front of Sharmas car and asked him to stop. Instead, Sharma accelerated and tried to mow me down. I climbed to the bonnet of his car but he continued to drive forward. In order to save myself, I climbed on to the roof of his car where I lay holding the windows. But he kept driving at a speed of 80kmph and above. I started shouting, hoping he may stop and also firmed up my grip on the upper panel of the door. He drove around vacant roads in the vicinity and commuters on motorcycles and cars chased us to have a look, Diwan claimed. Meanwhile, a group of commuters chased the speeding car while it raced on the Raj Nagar Extension Road towards GT Road. Diwan said he allegedly banged his knees repeatedly on the windscreen in order to persuade the accused to stop his car. But he would not stop and kept driving at a high speed. He even shut the window panes so that I withdraw my grip of pain but I did not. He told me that he was upset as his mother was unwell. All this time, the commuters followed us and made videos. One of the commuters also gave me the videos later, Diwan alleged. In between, the accused car driver also took sharp turns so that I lose my grip. The speed was high and I would have died had my grip not been secure, he further alleged. According to the police, the car came to a halt near the Meerut crossing due to a traffic jam. The onlookers pulled Sharma out of the car and beat him up him before handing him over to the police. Diwan alleged that he approached the local police but they sent him to the Sahibabad police station under whose jurisdiction the incident had initially started. An FIR pertaining to the incident was registered around 12.44am on November 9. Dinesh Yadav, station house officer, Sahibabad police station, said, We lodged an FIR against the accused, Bhuwan Kumar Sharma, and arrested him. Sharma allegedly drove the car at a high speed with the victim clinging on to the roof. He was nabbed near the Meerut crossing area where the car got stuck in traffic. He drove the victim on the roof of his car on different roads for around six-seven kilometers. The accused has been booked under IPC sections for attempt to murder, rash driving on public way, causing damage and causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others, Yadav maintained. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Patna register emphatic win Patna Pirates flexed their muscles and came up with the goods as they crushed Bengal Warriors by 50-29. Deepak Narwal and Pardeep Narwal were the stars of the show for the defending champions as they ended the match with 13 and 11 points respectively. Bengal all-out again! After Amit Nagars ouster, Deepak Nagar effects an all-out by getting rid of the final Bengal defender and Patna now lead 45-18 with five minutes left to be played in the match. Maninders sorry outing continues Maninder is taken down once more and this has become a regularity in this match. Deepak Narwal wins a raid point as well as bonus point to increase Patnas lead. After Amit Nagars empty raid Pardeep wins another raid point for Patna who now lead 40-18. Second all-out of the match Pardeep Narwal effects the second all-out of the match and wins three points for Patna. After Maninders empty raid, Pardeep is taken out and Bengal finally win a point. Maninder wins a raid point after Pardeeps ouster. But Vikas resumes normalcy as he wins a raid point for Patna who now lead 34-17. Pirates are on fire Amit Nagar is the latest Bengal raider to be caught and after a string of empty raids from both the teams, Pardeep wins a raid point in his do or die raid. Ran Singh is taken out by the Patna defenders as they take their lead to 29-14 Second half begins Maninder starts off win an empty raid but Vijay wins a bonus point for Patna to begin proceedings. Maninder goes too close to the defenders and is caught easily and is out of the court now. Patna lead 24-14 Half-time Maninder is having a horror outing as he is taken out once more by the Patna defenders. Pardeep wins a bonus point to increase his tally. Maninder finally wins a raid point just before half-time as Bengal go into the break trailing 13-22. Bengal on the back-foot Jan KUng Lee is taken out and Bengal have been all-out. Patna win two points to increase their lead. Pardeep Narwal is finally brought down by Bengal as the Patna defenders heads out. Deepak Narwal is also taken out but Maninder is caught by the Patna defenders and they lead 20-10. Patna stretch their lead The defending champions are starting to dominate proceedings as they take a big lead now. Maninder was taken out by their defenders and then Pardeep Narwal won a raid point again as they lead 13-7 Super tackle After Bengal took an one-point lead, Patna defenders come up with a Super tackle on Maninder as Bengal concede two point. Deepka Narwal then wins two raid point to stretch Patnas lead to 9-6. Bengal hit back Maninder wins a raid point for Bengal and then their defenders bring down Deepak Narwal. Pardeep is the next Patna raider to be taken out as the two teams are locked at 4-4 now. Patna take early lead Jan Kung Lee wins a bonus point but is taken down during his raid and both teams get one point each. Deepak Narwal opens his account by winning a bonus point for Patna. After Maninders empty raid, Pardeep wins a bonus point and they take an early 3-1 lead. Akshay Kumar in the house Bengal Warriors mentor and Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar is present at the venue and he will be cheering the team on as they clash against defending champions Patna Pirates. Pardeep Narwal wins the toss and chooses court which means that Bengal will raid first. Stat attack Maninder Singh (Bengal) is just 11 raid points away from reaching 400 raid points, he will be the fastest ever to do so. Pardeep Narwal (720 raid pts) is just 8 raid points away from Rahul Chaudhari (728 raid points) to become the top raider in the history of PKL. Head to head record Patna have dominate Bengal previously as in the 13 matches played between the two sides, the Pirates have been on the winning side as many as 8 times. While as for the Warriors, they have won twice and three matches ended in a tie. Hello and welcome A very warm welcome to the live blog of the Pro Kabaddi League match between Patna Pirates and Bengal Warriors. The blockbuster Zone B clash will be played at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium in Mumbai. The Kolkata International Festival was inaugurated on Saturday evening by Amitabh Bachchan as he was flanked by whos who of Hindi and Bengali cinema. In the presence of West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee, Bachchan lit the ceremonial lamp to open the 24th edition of the festival. In his speech, the actor spoke about the glorious 100 years of the Bengali cinema. The trailer of Shah Rukh Khans Zero was also screened at the event. SRK, in his speech said that he regrets not getting a National Award and he adds none of his films has ever been screened at any film festival of this stature. However, he added that Zero was a special film. Other actors who were present at the event include Jaya Bachchan, Waheeda Rehman, Soumitra Chatterjee, Majid Majidi and Mahesh Bhatt, among others. An array of diverse Australian films, cinema by Majidi and a centenary tribute to legendary Swedish director-producer Ingmar Bergman through the screening of eight of his outstanding movies are the highlights of the film festival. The eight day long movie extravaganza, considered to be the countrys second oldest film fest, also has a plethora of award winning international cinema from countries like the US, Spain, France and Russia on offer for the city film buffs. The festival features 171 feature films, 150 shorts and documentaries from 70 countries. With Australia being the focus country for this edition of the KIFF, screening of twenty six old and new films will take place across the venues. Australian director Philip Noyce, the maker of Angelina Jolie starrer Salt, is being honoured with a retrospective. ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Known for his adherence to traditional Hindu rituals, Telanganas caretaker chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday participated in a yagam in the ashram of prominent Vaishnavaite seer Sri Tridandi Chinna Jeeyar Swamy to seek divine blessings for his partys victory in the assembly elections next month. KCR, as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president is popularly known, spent close to two hours in the ashram at Muchintal near Shamshabad on the city outskirts, along with industrialist Jupalli Rameshwar Rao and Rajya Sabha member J Santosh Kumar. After participating in the yagam, he performed special prayers in the temple in the ashram premises. Amid chanting of Vedic hymns by his disciples, the Swami blessed KCR and wished all success to him and his party in the elections. Elections to Telanganas 119-member assembly will be held December 7. KCR is going to file his nomination papers for Gajwel assembly seat on November 14, after praying at Lord Venkateshwara Swamy temple at Konaipally village in Siddipet district - where he visits before doing any key work. The TRS chief has never hesitated to display his staunch belief in Hindu rituals and customs. It was Jeeyar Swami, his philosophical adviser for the past 30 years, who conducted the housewarming ceremony of KCRs Vaastu-complaint palatial official bungalow at Begumpet in November 2016. Such was the adulation KCR had for the Swami that he had made the seer sit in the chief ministers chair during the inauguration of the official chamber. In 2015, KCR performed the gigantic Ayutha Maha Chandi Yagam for five consecutive days at his farmhouse in Erravelli in Medak district from December 23 to 27. Over 2,500 priests participated in the yagam performed in 101 homa kundams (pyre constructed with bricks) in the sprawling 40-acre yagasala without any break. Several seers like Sankaracharyas, spiritual gurus like Sri Sri Ravishankar and a large number of VIPs and politicians attended the religious event. He also performed the Sudarshana Yagam in his assembly constituency Gajwel in Medak district in August 2016 to to invoke Sudarshana, the mythological disc associated with Lord Vishnu, for apparently warding off evil forces causing hurdles in implementing government programmes. KCR believes such rituals helped him in realising the dream of achieving a separate Telangana state. Also having a strong faith in Vaastu and astrology, he, after becoming chief minister in 2014, made quite a few changes to his office and residence in tune with his stars. Even during the ongoing Haritha Haram programme (tree plantation drive), his government has campaigned for planting of trees by people to suit their zodiac signs and stars. Earlier, he had appointed his Vaastu consultant Suddala Sudhakar Teja an adviser to the states Roads and Buildings department with all the privileges of a cabinet minister to ensure that all constructions undertaken in the state were compliant with the traditional Hindu system of architecture. In the last three years, KCR had presented gold ornaments to Lord Venkateshwara of Tirumala, Goddess Kanakadurga of Vijayawada and other deities in the state as he had vowed if his struggle for separate statehood to Telangana succeeded. The donation, using funds drawn from the public exchequer, had drawn severe criticism from the opposition parties. A police officer has been sentenced to 18 months in prison by a UK court for causing the death of an Indian-origin shopkeeper when his car crashed into his van. Balvinder Singh was driving his vehicle in Wolverhampton when he was hit head-on by a car driven by Staffordshire Police officer Jason Bannister, who was off-duty at the time. Singh, 59, was rushed to a hospital but died of his injuries in December 2016. Bannister, who had pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving in a hearing in September, was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment by a Birmingham Crown Court on Friday. The 45-year-old was himself treated for minor injuries after the collision and following an investigation by West Midlands Police, he was charged with causing death by dangerous driving earlier this year, according to local media reports. Bannister has also been banned from driving for three years and nine months and will be required to complete an extended driving test in order to obtain a licence again. He remains suspended from his job at Staffordshire Police. The force said now that the court case has concluded, it would launch misconduct proceedings against Bannister. Shortly after his death nearly two years ago, Singhs family said in tribute: He was the most loyal and hard-working family man, with three children and six grandchildren who were his everything one of which he never got to meet. He was loved throughout the community. US President Donald Trump played a central role in payments to two women to keep quiet about their alleged sexual encounters with him in the run-up to the 2016 election and knew of every development, contrary to earlier claims of not knowing anything about them, according to a report. Trump personally asked David Pecker, a long-time friend and chief executive of American Media, to quash a story that former Playboy model Karen McDougal was hawking about her alleged affair with him almost a decade ago, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. She was paid $150,00 for her story, which never ran. Later, Trump personally directed a payoff to Stormy Daniels, a porn star whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. The Journal described a meeting between Trump and Pecker in his Trump Tower office in August 2015, weeks after announcing his run for the Republican ticket for the White House. Trump had asked the publisher how he could help the campaign, and Pecker offered to use his publication, the National Enquirer, to quash claims of affairs by women. Trump took up that offer a year later. Trump was involved in every discussion and kept track of developments through phone calls and meetings, directly or indirectly, with his personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen. The attorney for the southern district of New York, which has prosecuted Cohen for wire fraud and election finance law violations, has gathered evidence of Trumps alleged participation in these payoffs. Trump has denied having an affair with both women and had at first also denied any knowledge of hush money payments to them. But as the case unfolded, with Cohen fully cooperating with investigators, Trump and his lawyers have confirmed the payoffs. He has not been named in court filings and indictments regarding the case against Cohen who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and campaign finance law violations and is awaiting sentencing but Trumps alleged role has been detailed. In Cohens indictment, prosecutors said the former attorney coordinated with one or more members of the campaign, including through meetings and phone calls, about the fact, nature, and timing of the payments. The unidentified campaign member is understood to be Trump. A sitting president cannot be indicted, under current justice department guidelines, and Trumps alleged involvement in the payments are not by themselves a crime. Wilfully skirting campaign finance laws, however, is, if it is proven. Trump slams yet another reporter Trump instructed journalists on Friday to show more respect in the sacred White House and moments later angrily refused to answer a reporters question because it was stupid. The latest clash between the president and the press corps assigned to cover him and the White House followed a meltdown on Wednesday when Trump lashed out at a star CNN reporter as a terrible person and had him barred from the White House. In Fridays incident, Abby Phillip, also from CNN, asked Trump whether he wanted his new attorney general to hold back an explosive probe into allegations that the presidents 2016 election campaign colluded with Russian agents. The topic has been one of the main headlines in Washington since Wednesday when Trump abruptly fired Jeff Sessions as attorney general and named Matthew Whitaker, who has strongly criticised the Russia probe, to replace him. Critics have accused Trump of placing an ally who will try to muzzle special counsel Robert Muellers investigation. Trump, speaking just before leaving for a gathering in Paris to commemorate World War I, refused to answer Phillip. What a stupid question that is, what a stupid question. But I watch you a lot. You ask a lot of stupid questions, he said, shaking a finger at the journalist, then walking away. Earlier, he defended his decision to bar CNN reporter Jim Acosta following their exchange at Wednesdays press conference, saying that Acosta is a very unprofessional guy. Asked how long Acosta will be denied permission to enter the White House, Trump said he hadnt decided and the sanction could be applied to other journalists. Turkey has shared recordings linked to the murder last month of journalist Jamal Khashoggi with Riyadh, Washington and other capitals, president Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday. We gave the recordings, we gave them to Saudi Arabia, we gave them to Washington, to the Germans, to the French, to the English, he said in a televised speech. They listened to the conversations which took place here, they know, he said. Officials added that no written documents had been shared. Khashoggi was last seen entering the consulate on October 2 to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage. After repeated denials, Saudi Arabia finally admitted the 59-year-old had been murdered at the mission in a rogue operation. However, Erdogan has accused the highest levels of the Saudi government with ordering the hit, while some officials have pointed the finger at the all-powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Some Turkish media and officials have said Ankara possessed an audio recording of the murder and it had shared it with the head of the CIA Gina Haspel when she visited Turkey in late October. But the existence of such a recording has not been officially confirmed. Khashoggis body has never been found, more than a month after he was killed. An advisor to Erdogan, Yasin Aktay, suggested last week that the body may have been dissolved in acid. Erdogan was speaking before flying to Paris to attend commemorations marking the anniversary of the end of World War I. The United States is halting refueling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen, the US and Saudi Arabia said on Friday, ending one of the most divisive aspects of US assistance to the Saudi war effort. Saudi Arabia, in a statement released by its embassy in Washington, said it had decided to request an end to US aerial refueling for its operations in Yemen because it could now handle it by itself. US defense secretary Jim Mattis backed the decision and said the US government was consulted. The move comes at a time of international outrage over the murder of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and after Democratic and Republican lawmakers threatened to take action in Congress next week over the refueling operations. Critics of the Saudi campaign including Democrats who won control of the House of Representatives in elections on Tuesday have long questioned US involvement in the war, which has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than 2 million and led to widespread famine in Yemen since it began in 2015. Ive been calling for this for over three years, said Representative Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California. We shouldnt be supporting coalition war crimes and I look forward to continuing to scrutinise the US role in Yemen when were in the majority next Congress. Even as President Donald Trumps administration has condemned Khashoggis murder, the White House has sought to preserve its relationship with Saudi Arabia. A coordinated decision by Washington and Riyadh to halt the refueling could be an attempt by both countries to forestall further action by Congress. Senators Todd Young, a Republican, and Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, had warned the Trump administration was running out of time to act. If the administration does not take immediate steps... we are prepared to take additional action when the Senate comes back into session, Young and Shaheen said. Continuing US support Beyond refueling, the United States provides limited intelligence support to the Saudi-led coalition and sells it weaponry used in Yemens war. Mattis said the United States would play a continuing role to help the Saudi-led coalition and Yemeni forces minimize civilian casualties and expand humanitarian efforts. He also suggested plans to build up Yemeni troops. The US and the Coalition are planning to collaborate on building up legitimate Yemeni forces to defend the Yemeni people, secure their countrys borders, and contribute to counter Al Qaeda and ISIS efforts in Yemen and the region, Mattis said in a statement. Earlier this year, Mattis had defended US military support to Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen, when lawmakers weighed forcing the Pentagon to end Washingtons involvement. Mattis argued that halting US military support could increase civilian casualties, since U.S. refueling had given pilots more time to select their targets. He told them cutting off support could jeopardize cooperation on counter-terrorism and reduce American influence with Saudi Arabia. Mattis also argued it would embolden the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, who have fired missiles at Saudi Arabia and targeted commercial and military vessels off Yemens coast. Still, a halt to refueling could by itself have little practical effect on the war. U.S. officials told Reuters only a fifth of Saudi-led coalition aircraft require in-air refueling from the United States. In recent weeks, Mattis has appeared to voice a growing sense of urgency toward ending the conflict. At the end of October, Mattis joined U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in calling for a ceasefire. United Nations Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths is aiming to convene the countrys warring parties for peace talks by the end of the year. Saudi Arabia, in its statement, said its coalition was hopeful that UN-sponsored negotiations would lead to a negotiated settlement and an end to the aggression by the Iranian backed Houthi militias against the Yemeni people and countries in the region. Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisenas decision to dissolve parliament, worsening an already major political crisis, has drawn criticism from Western powers, including the United States and Britain. Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday night, only five days before it was due to reconvene, but a new cabinet he installed was in danger of losing a vote of no confidence. Sirisena also called a general election for Jan. 5. The president triggered a power struggle when he sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe late last month and appointed the islands former leader, Mahinda Rajapaksa, a pro-China strongman defeated by Sirisena in an election in 2015, in his place. Sirisenas rivals are set to challenge his decision, which they describe as illegal and unconstitutional, in the Supreme Court on Monday. The U.S. Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs said in a tweet that the United States was deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka Parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis. It said democracy needed to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity. Mark Field, the British minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, tweeted his concern about the dissolution of parliament days before it was due to be reconvened. As a friend of Sri Lanka, the UK calls on all parties to uphold the constitution and respect democratic institutions and processes, Field said. Canadas Foreign Policy twitter feed said that it was deeply concerned about the decision and referred to the risks to reconciliation work after the nations civil war. This further political uncertainty is corrosive to Sri Lankas democratic future and its commitments on reconciliation and accountability, it said. Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne expressed both concern and disappointment in a statement, saying the move undermines Sri Lankas long democratic tradition and poses a risk to its stability and prosperity. Sirisena has said he fired Wickremesinghe because the prime minister was trying to implement a new, extreme liberal political concept by giving more priority for foreign policies and neglecting the local peoples sentiment. Parliament test Mangala Samaraweera, an ally of Wickremesinghe, said their party expects the court to rule that the dissolution of parliament was illegal and that eventually a vote in parliament will be held to test whether there is a majority. We will show that we have the parliament majority and we will show that the dictator president has dissolved a government which had a majority in the parliament, he told reporters. They were supported by the Tamil National Alliance, the main party representing ethnic Tamil groups in parliament, who said they too will petition the Supreme Court against the dissolution of the house. This is a clear violation of the constitution. The president cant do this, M.A. Sumanthiran, a spokesman for the alliance, told Reuters. India and the West have raised concerns over Rajapaksas close ties with China. Beijing loaned Sri Lanka billions of dollars for infrastructure projects when Rajapaksa was president between 2005-2015, putting the country deep into debt. Wickremesinghe refused to vacate the official prime ministers residence saying he was the prime minister and had a parliamentary majority. Before he signed the papers dissolving parliament and calling the election, Sirisena appointed allies of his and of Rajapaksa to cabinet positions. One of them said Sirisena was right to order an election to end the political crisis. Dinesh Gunawardena, a newly appointed urban development minister, said the president had handed the country back to the people. It is the peoples right to vote. We have gone before the people. No force can interfere. The peoples mandate is supreme, he said. Independent legal experts have told Reuters that parliament could be dissolved only in early 2020, which would be four-and-half-years from the first sitting of the current parliament. The only other legal way would be through a referendum, or with the consent of two thirds of lawmakers. Given those views, it was not immediately clear how Sirisena is on legal safe ground by dissolving parliament, though his legal experts have said there are provisions for him to do so. United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the suggestion of his French counterpart Emannuel Macron that Europe should build its own army was very insulting, asserting that Europe should first pay its fair share to NATO. Trump slammed Macron in a tweet, moments after he landed in Paris for a weekend trip to commemorate Armistice Day and attend the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, which is being attended by several world leaders, including Indias vice president Venkaiah Naidu. President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidizes greatly! he said in a tweet. Earlier this week, Macron had pushed for a true European Army that would address the threat posed by countries like Russia and China. We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America, he told French Radio Station One. Who is the main victim? Europe and its security. I want to build a real security dialogue with Russia, which is a country I respect, a European country but we must have a Europe that can defend itself on its own without relying only on the United States, Macron said. Trumps tweet just after landing in Paris that was highly critical of Macron is expected to strain the US-French relationship. Early this year, Trump had hosted Macron on the first State Dinner of his Administration. Trump and Macron are schedule to have bilateral meeting during his stay in France. Earlier leaving for Paris, the US President told reporters at the White House that it will be a great, really, commemorative service. I think its going to be something very special. Ive seen what they have planned, and I think its going to be something very, very special, he said. "No Jumper" interviews are usually worth watching as buzzing artists often pass by Adam22's shop to discuss their growing careers. His interview patterns usually focus on current events and things that are noteworthy in their lives. A lot of the time, that's beef. When Cuban Doll swung by his studio to chat, she wanted to focus on her music career. Adam, however, was more concerned about all the drama that Cuban has been involved with. The entire thing is awkward to watch as the artist fails to speak into the microphone a lot of the time. The most cringe-worthy moment though was when she walked out of the room after a question was asked about Trippie Redd, Chief Keef, and Tadoe's song "I Kill People." The song came out around the time Cuban accused her ex-boyfriend, Tadoe, of domestic violence. That was a few months ago but it's clearly still a touchy subject for the Dallas rapper. The Doll rolled her eyes after Adam22 warned her of a question that would be unrelated to music before asking, "'Shorty know I kill people, real people.' Do you feel responsible for that meme?" She paused for a moment before declaring, "we done," and walking out. Adam probably should have sensed that his guest wasn't feeling it before pushing even further with the "messy" questions. Cuban clearly wanted no part in the interview but she seemed a little standoffish from the beginning. Watch the video below. Toronto's Jazz Cartier had the good sense to add a few songs to his Fleurever project, in sensing it had become a crowd favorite. There's no point in leaving loosies on the table if there's something to gain from their exposure. When I think of Jazz Cartier of an artist with an amorphous quality to endure changes in the atmosphere, culturally speaking. On "Cuzzi Relax" he gets into a manic shouting match with a tempestuous voice creating confusion in his head. "Cuzzi Relax" is produced by Mathaius Young, a hip-hop practitioner that defies labels and simple conventions. Together they crafted an interesting type of record that belongs to the new age. Forget narrative structure, we-they-nobody does that anymore. It's kind of old-fashioned unless you're filing a missing person report, in which case I'm sure Jazz and Mathaius are wishful thinkers. Check out the four new adds to Fleurever right here. Better yet, give the whole thing a reload. Quotable Lyrics: Cuzzi ain't no Uncle Sam Fuck it man, I'ma finna tax She put that thing in my lap Ride with that thing in the lap They try to copy the cat But they can't do with like Jazz. Kim Kardashian has rounded up all of her children in an attempt to secure a family photo. Her move was short lived when Saint West wanted to switch up his pose last minute resulting in a blurry, but still post-worthy photo to the Gram', according to Kim. The photo below is missing just one key player, Kanye West, which is probably why North looks so vex. "North is always a mood ," Kim captioned the photo. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp8NRNPHAqo Khloe and I probably have the most similar parenting style, Kim previously stated when talking about motherhood. And I will usually go to one of my best friends Larsa Pippen, because she has four kids for mom advice. She added: I think were even closer now because Kourtney and I, even if we dont disagree on some parenting tips, well discuss them thoroughly and we respect each others rules, but we pick up the slack for each other, too." In other Kim news, she and her family have evacuated their homes due to the California wildfires. Kanye tweeted a thank you for prayers, letting everyone know he and his family are safe. Raekwon and Masta Killa stopped by Beats 1 Radio in New York City to converse with Ebro about their crew's classic album Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). On this day in 1993, the legendary album was released. Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) flipped the rap game on its head, and skyrocketed the members of the crew to superstardom. While Raekwon and Masta Killa spoke with Ebro, they revealed the reason why Logic was able to gather all the members of the Wu-Tang Clan. It was in the air that this youngster wanted us to be involved with the record, Raekwon stated. We was familiar with him and we liked him. We liked what he was about and instantly it was like, Yo, lets do it, and he was able to have the patience to get it because I know he was working on it for a second. And at the same time too, if you working, you working." He was able to reach out and one thing led to another and the next thing you know," continued Raekwon. "He even got one of the top MCs in the neighborhood that we looked up to on the track too. It was like, Wow, you even went and got Scotty Wotty. Why he on there? Howd that happen? But it happened. "The timing as well, you know what Im saying, to get it done because I remember Drake also reached out for us to get the same," added Masta Killa. "He wanted everybody. He even dedicated a song for Wu-Tang or whatever. But Logic was blessed to, I guess, the right timing and then he got it done. Peep the conversation at the 13:45 mark. Like a beloved athlete in his hometown watering hole, Too $hort never has to pay for a beverage. The legendary California icon has been graciously accepting praise from all walks of life, boasting collaborations with both Biggie and Pac, and an impressive repertoire of twenty studio albums to his name. Now, on the day The Pimp Tape has come to fruition, Too $hort once again showcases his curatorial prowess, bringing together fan-favorites ScHoolboy Q and Joyner Lucas for a reflection on street rules, police brutality, and occasional flashes of braggadocio. Though the latter topic remains imbued with sociopolitical connotations, all three parties bring a gravitas fueled by the credibility of experience. And quite frankly, it's refreshing to hear ScHoolboy Q once more, given his notable absence from both this year and the last. The passion in his authoritative voice is evident, as he spits about the dual dangers of both gang and police-related violence. Too $hort remains measured in his approach, graceful under pressure, yet no less assertive; his role as gatekeeper means he might have to slap a poser if need be. Joyner closes things out with a stroll down memory lane, with his presence feeling like somewhat of a torch-passing moment. An interesting combination, but the chemistry is welcome. Peep the deep cut now. Quotable Lyrics N***a gotta escape, I'm shakin' this place No matter how many damn L's I take Or Fs I get, we strive for excellence The cops supposed to protect the streets, but who protecting us from them? My pen got me above the rim Black creative minds jumping out the gym - ScHoolboy Q The Undead Archives I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world. Viggo Mortensen is apologizing after dropping the n-word during a Q&A panel for his upcoming film Green Book. The film is about an interracial friendship in the 60's, and Mortensen stars alongside Mahershala Ali. The two were together during the panel, and Mortensen used the derogatory term while discussing the differences between racism in the 60's and now. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mortensen said, For instance, no one says n anymore, to illustrate that the term is not used as loosely as it was fifty years ago. After the moment earned Mortensen a mountain of backlash online, he released a statement to THR apologizing for his actions. "In making the point that many people casually used the N word at the time in which the movies story takes place, in 1962, I used the full word," Mortensen said. "Although my intention was to speak strongly against racism, I have no right to even imagine the hurt that is caused by hearing that word in any context, especially from a white man. I do not use the word in private or in public. I am very sorry that I did use the full word last night, and will not utter it again." "One of the reasons I accepted the challenge of working on Peter Farrellys movie Green Book was to expose ignorance and prejudice in the hope that our movies story might help in some way to change peoples views and feelings regarding racial issues,' Mortensen continued. "It is a beautiful, profound movie story that I am very proud to be a part of." Although it took police a bit over a month to find all four suspects connected with XXXTENTACION's murder, they're now gearing up for the four men accused to stand trial. A judge ordered Michael Boatwright to undergo a mental examination before the case proceeds. After the results of the examination came in, it was determined that Boatwright will stand trial. According to The Blast, one of the four suspects in X's murder case, Michael Boatwright, has been determined to be mentally capable of being able to testify. A court-appointed doctor revealed that Boatwright was competent enough to stand trial and the criminal case against him will move forward. The judge in the case ordered the suspect to submit a mental exam in order to determine whether Boatwright fully understands the charges against him, if he's able to comprehend the penalties involved with these charges, if he's capable of behaving himself in court and if he's able to testify relevantly. Boatwright was arrested in July for an unrelated drug charge. However, a warrant was issued for his arrest for first-degree murder while he was in police custody. Boatwright is accused of being one of the two armed men who robbed XXXTENTACION outside of the Riva Motorsports on June 18th. We'll continue to keep you updated on more information pertaining to XXXTENTACION's murder trial. Houston-based LJA Infrastructure took the top spot on the Aggie 100 fastest-growing businesses. The company, a subsidiary of LJA Engineering that provides rail design and construction services, was among 21 companies in the Houston area were among the 100 companies honored Friday evening by the Texas A&M Mays Business School's McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship. The 14th annual Aggie 100, which identifies, recognizes and celebrates the 100 fastest-growing Aggie-owned or operated businesses throughout the world, was held at the Hall of Champions at Kyle Field. Local companies and their rankings are: 1. LJA Infrastructure 3. Cox Commercial Construction 7. JP Services 10. Big Data Energy Services 11. Eventellect 14. Sterling Structures 16. Price Wagener Services 19. SagisDx 32. Strategic Construction 37. Flocknote 38. Summit On Site Solutions 41. Cima Energy 43. J-Tech Digital 49. L Squared Engineering 55. Creekstone Outdoor Living 64. Accent-Western 67. Builders West 74. Asurint 91. Escondido Resources II 93. AEI Engineering 100. Arch-Con Construction U.S. oil prices dropped Friday for the 10th straight trading day the longest stretch in nearly 35 years falling to their lowest level since February over concerns of weakening demand, growing crude stockpiles and surging production by the worlds top producers. The plunge is a dramatic reversal from just over a month ago, when crude climbed above $75 a barrel on speculation of looming supply shortages and the return of $100 a barrel oil. Crude fell as low as $59.26 a barrel in intraday trading before settling at $60.19 in New York, down about 1 percent. It marked the longest losing streak for the commodity since 1984. Oil has plunged 21 percent since hitting its recent peak of $76.41 a barrel in early October. While the decline is good news for consumers benefiting from lower gasoline prices, Houstons energy sector is beginning to fret about declining profitability after just recovering from the worst oil bust in a generation. Oil has fallen pretty fast and furious, said James West, an energy analyst with Evercore ISI in New York. The market is showing a lot of nervousness. How did it happen so quickly? Analysts said that traders bid up crude on expectations of dwindling supplies as sanctions on Iranian crude exports took significant amounts of oil off global markets, pipeline shortages in the Permian Basin in West Texas slowed U.S. production, and worldwide demand grew. Global oil demand continues to rise, but it is being outpaced by supply. World oil production in September of about 100 million barrels a day was 2.6 million barrels per day higher than a year ago, according to the International Energy Agency. Thats double the estimated demand growth this year of 1.3 million barrels a day. The ongoing shale story Nowhere has production risen as quickly as in the U.S. shale plays, led by Permian, despite the predictions of a pipeline-induced slowdown. A year ago, U.S. oil production hit 10 million barrels a day for the first time since 1970. Now, U.S. output has reached a record of 11.6 million barrels a day, with nearly one-third produced in in West Texas. The Permian continues to grow despite the prevailing belief that the Permian cant grow, West said. Meanwhile, less Iranian oil is coming off the market following waivers granted by the Trump administration that would allow many of the worlds biggest energy consumers, including China, India and Japan, to continue to buy Iranian crude for at least six months. And, in anticipation of the sanctions taking a bigger bite from global supplies, both Russia and Saudi Arabia, the second and third biggest producers after the United States, kicked up their production. At $60 a barrel, oil prices remain relatively healthy, analysts said, and companies can still make money. Pavel Molchanov, an energy analyst for Raymond James, said a bottom to this latest sell-off doesnt appear too far off. He said the recent plunge is a temporary setback before oil prices resume an upward trajectory. Oil is having a normal correction within a bull market, he said. Looking overseas Oil markets have reacted in recent weeks to increasing U.S. stockpiles, which have climbed by millions of barrels, according to the U.S. Energy Department. But Molchanov said markets seem too focused on those increases some which are the result of normal refinery downtime for maintenance following the peak summer driving season and the output of largest producers. At the same time, markets are overlooking rapidly falling production in economically suffering countries like Venezuela. Even with the softening of the sanctions, Irans exports will continue to decline, Molchanov said . In addition, production in Mexico, Norway and the United Kingdom is declining, while political instability threatens production in Libya and Nigeria. And now theres talk that the Saudis and Russians may informally agree to curtail their production again to help stabilize crude prices, analysts said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries holds its next meeting on Dec. 6 in Vienna. Brian Youngberg, an energy analyst with Edward Jones in St. Louis, said prices in oil markets can quickly change their trajectory, since they often move on anecdotal evidence, conflicting reports and sentiment. A hint from OPEC that it might cut production can send prices soaring; a tweet from President Donald Trump calling on Saudi Arabia boost production can sent them sliding. Theres so many pieces around the world that go into oil prices that make it almost impossible to predict where theyll end up, Youngberg said. jordan.blum@chron.com twitter.com/jdblum23 WASHINGTON President Donald Trumps campaign to establish U.S. energy dominance was struck a blow after a federal judge in Montana blocked the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris ruled late Thursday the Trump administration had failed to conduct necessary environmental reviews, putting into question a project that had galvanized the environmental movement and which President Donald Trump made a cornerstone of his presidential campaign. Over almost two years in office, Trump has steadily rolled back one Obama-era policy after another in a push to expand oil and gas production, drawing criticism from many inside and outside Washington that he was not moving carefully enough in a system designed to limit policy changes from one administration to the next. The administrations decision on Keystone came four days after Trump took office. They wanted a quick reversal because thats what Trump wanted, said Victor Flatt, a law professor at the University of Houston. But it doesnt work when you dont follow the law. In 2015, after nearly seven years of review, the Obama administration rejected Canadian developer TransCanadas application to build an 1,100 mile pipeline from Albertas oil sands fields into the United States on the grounds it would increase greenhouse gas emissions and hurt U.S. leadership in climate change. In his ruling, Morris said the Trump administration had failed to provide evidence showing the pipeline would not contribute to climate change or that it presented an economic advanatge at a time U.S. oil production is booming through the shale drilling revolution. Outside the White House Friday, Trump suggested the government would appeal Morris ruling in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Everything ends up in the 9th Circuit, he said, with Marine One idling in the background. It was a political decision made by the judge. I think its a disgrace. TransCanada did not respond to a request for comment. The decision comes as a blow to an oil sector that has found building new pipelines increasingly difficult amid steady flow of litigation from environmental groups. Robin Rorick, a vice president at the American Petroleum Institute, said pipelines like Keystone are the backbone of our nations energy infrastructure and one of the most environmentally sound ways to transport the fuel and petroleum products that power America every single day, said . The Trump administration now faces the prospect of waiting out the appellate process or redoing the environmental review for Keystone, processes that could both potentially take years. An appeal of this order will likely go to the 9th Circuit, which has not been favorable ground for the Trump administration, Fred Jauss, a Washington-based attorney at Dorsey & Whitney, said in an email. A lengthy appellate process could delay TransCanadas goal of commencing construction in 2019. In the meantime, its unclear whether the pipeline, which could deliver more than 800,000 barrels of crude a day to Texas refineries, still makes economic sense today. TransCanada first filed the application for the $5.2 billion Keystone XL in 2008, when oil prices were over $100 a barrel. With West Texas Intermediate now trading at close to $60 a barrel, oil companies are already scaling back major capitol projects. Crude settled at $60.19 a barrel Friday in New York. TransCanada has yet to issue its final decision on building the last leg of the pipeline, which would run from Alberta to Steele City, Neb. A pipeline running from Nebraska to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast has already been constructed. For now, there remains enough demand for Canadian crude in the U.S. for the pipeline to ultimately go ahead, said Zachary Rogers, an energy analyst at Wood Mackenzie. While definitely a major setback in terms of timing, this is unlikely to be the nail in the coffin for Keystone XL, he said. james.osborne@chron.com twitter.com/osborneja There are a different set of security concerns because of who these people are, said Caleb Barlow, vice president of threat intelligence at IBM Security. Modern CEOs use email and search the web rare is the chief executive that has an assistant print out emails these days and so they are just as likely to run into malicious websites and phishing emails, Barlow said. And with CEOs at bigger companies, they are likely to be older and not immersed in digital culture. There is a generational gap there, he said. These people didnt grow up with computers. They know M&A, finance and corporate management because they came up learning these issues. But thats not always true with cybersecurity. Barlow said there are three types of cyberthreats CEOs and other C-suite executives face. Phishing attacks. Phishing involves sending an email that appears to come from a trusted source in an attempt to get the recipient to take some action. They may contain a link to a malicious website, or request personal or proprietary information, or may try to get the recipient to take some other type of imprudent action. Highly specific phishing emails, aimed at high-value targets, are known as spear phishing, and a target as big as a CEO is considered whale. CEOs meet a lot of people, Barlow said. A CEO might get an email that says, Hey, I met you at the XYZ conference, remember we talked about how your wife and mine both went to Stanford? Ive been meaning to talk to you about a deal. Its easy to figure out what a CEO is into, and get this kind of information about them. Business email compromise. Known by the acronym BEC, this involves a hacker getting into a companys email system, then using that access to spoof the CEO and order employees to perform some action. A 2017 FBI report indicated that this type of cybercrime is among the most rapidly growing, with a 1,300 percent increase in complaints and more than $3 billion in losses. The bad guy sends an email, it looks like it came from the CEO, and it says, Hey, I am working on a deal, please keep this confidential, and I need you to wire $2 million from this account to another account, Barlow said. This has resulted in some of the largest losses weve seen. Doxxing. This is the practice of digging up detailed personal information about a person and making it public. Because CEOs of larger companies have been in the corporate and public spotlight for a while, a lot is known about them. That makes them a target for doxxing, which can be used to gain leverage on a CEO. You can find out things like where their children go to school, you might post health records, or anything that could cause problems for a CEO, Barlow said. The best way to prevent these from happening to a CEO is a coordinated training effort not just for the chief executive, but also for the people around him, Barlow said. The CEO needs training similar to what all employees get, but it also needs to be coordinated with training for the people around him. For example, the direct reports to the CEO need to know that I am never going to ask you by email to wire money someplace, he said. Thats true of other C-suite executives and those who report to them. As part of its cybersecurity training products, IBM has built a mobile security command center that is aimed at teaching executives how to respond to a breach at their companies. Its similar to the mobile command operations set up by the military or police, complete with an 18-wheeler loaded up with computers and wall-sized screens. CEOs are used to making decisions slowly and deliberately, with lots of research and information available to them, Barlow said. This teaches them what its like to make important decisions in real-time when they are on the right side of a security breach. dwight.silverman@chron.com twitter.com/dsilverman For years, no one knew with certainty who created the moody painting, hanging in a River Oaks mansion, of a servant with her eyes cast downward pensively. While Kitchen Maid was clearly in the style of the 17th century Spanish master Diego Velazquez, experts long considered it a minor copy of Velazquezs larger Kitchen Scene at the Art Institute of Chicago and his Kitchen Maid with the Supper at Emmaus at the National Gallery of Dublin. All date to the artists early years in Seville, before he became a well-established painter for Madrids royal court. Carroll and Harris Masterson III donated the painting to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston soon after they bought it in the 1950s. Because of its questionable status, the work hung inconspicuously for years in a hallway at Rienzi, the former Masterson estate where the museum displays European decorative arts. When Soni Bomford joined the conservation staff six years ago, however, Kitchen Maid caught her attention, even though it looked less than thrilling, she said. An expert who has restored several significant works by Velazquez, Bomford saw the canvas was damaged but recognized the brushwork of the subjects white headwear and the sensitivity of her expression. She also saw what looked like a pentiment, a visible trace of change made by the artist, near the subjects hand. As soon as she saw it, Bomford thought Kitchen Maid could be authentic. That was an audacious hunch; but if she was right, the MFAH would join just a handful of U.S. museums that own a Velazquez. More Information Museum of Fine Arts, Houston When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursdays, 12:15-7 p.m. Sundays Where: 5601 Main Details: $7.50-$15 (free on Thursdays); 713-639-7300, mfah.org See More Collapse When time between other projects allowed, Bomford began to dive into the painting with all the tools of the 21st century conservators trade. For about two years, off and on, she analyzed it with with X-ray florescence to confirm that the pigments were consistent with Chicagos Kitchen Scene, which was restored about a decade ago. She also used infrared spectrometry to see changes beneath the surface layers. She and her staff also made perfect tracings of the figure, took them to Chicago and compared them with the other canvas. To Bomford, that element of the project is perhaps the most important: It changes perceptions about how Velazquez and other 17th century artists worked. As she reported in a scholarly study published last month, he very likely used tracings, or cartoons, to reproduce elements of compositions more than once. For generations, there was this post-Romantic bias that a brilliant artist can only make one great version of a painting that sense of the fury of creation, she said. In the early 17th century, a young Velazquez in Seville did need to make his living. If youve come up with a lovely composition, it makes a lot of sense to keep a method for replicating it. Why do all the work over again? By 2014, Bomford and others were convinced Kitchen Maid was high quality, in all likelihood a work by Velazquez that warrented a full restoration. Any 400-year old painting has been through a lot of hands, locations and even climate changes. Most Velazquez paintings from this period have got a lot of condition issues. Ours is no exception, Bomford said. Even in the mid-20th century, techniques were not as advanced as they are now. Ideas about how much to mess with a canvas have evolved. The MFAH sent Kitchen Maid to Americas top conservators in the 1950s, but the industry wisdom of that day was to stabilize a work by coating it with about a millimeter of wax resin, not removing a glue lining applied sometime during the 19th century. Through about 300 hours at her easel, Bomford undid as much of that as she could and retouched Kitchen Maid with her own tiny brushes, dot by dot. It was a balancing act in terms of making the damaged bits seem less important so that the well-preserved bits could come through, she said. She finished the restoration in the spring of 2017. Its no fluke that the face and headwear still look the best. White remains stronger because its composed of lead salt that shifts less than other pigments, Bomford said. Even if a picture is never touched by anyone in 400 years, the whites come forward because all the other colors turn more transparent. That just happens with the aging of an old painting. Friday, Kitchen Maid finally was hung in the main museums European galleries alongside treasures by other Spanish masters, with a label that reads, attributed to Diego Rodraguez de Silva y Velazquez the full name of the painter who lived from 1599 to 1660. It looks crisp and beautiful in Velazquezs signature, limited palette. Part of his conceit was, look what nice art I can make using just a few basic colors, Bomford said. Visitors to the San Antonio Museum of Art last summer actually had the first preview. Kitchen Maid appeared there until mid-September in a landmark show of about 40 Spanish masterpieces. Katie Luber, that museums director, had the good fortune to visit Bomfords studio more than a year ago when Kitchen Maid was on an easel. Luber was there for another project, but also in the throes of securing works for her Spanish show. She remembers Bomford initially explaining it as just a little project Im working on. Luber applauded the MFAH for being so generous. What a fantastic opportunity for our visitors to get to see it, she said. Velazquez paintings are always prized but not easily acquired, she added, because museums dont let go of them. You can still go buy a Monet, but not a Velazquez. Cairah Watt and her two youngest daughters gravitated toward Kitchen Maid Friday because they were curious about the figure in the painting. They had just passed Murillos The Virgin of the Annunciation, which Watt declared the first pretty woman she had seen that day on their annual home school field trip to the museum from Plantersville. But that Virgin is lily white, and the subject of Kitchen Maid is clearly not. Like Watt and her daughters, she is woman of color. Watt checked the label, surprised to see that it dated to the early 17th century. It looks like a more modern piece, she said, not like my stereotype of what an African woman would have looked like then. Minutes before, Natalia Calderson and her home school teacher Olivia Gross, from Cypress, had the same reaction. Was the figure Moorish? African? Was she a model or was the scene real? Velazquez did indeed paint people of all classes, treating them with great respect; and Seville was the epicenter of the world slave trade during his time there. More curators will likely need to see and write about Kitchen Maid before the attributed to phrase on the label goes away. It needs to kind of build up its CV again, Bomford said. The Dublin version is undergoing technical study now. Luber said she is not the only curator who finds Bomfords scholarship convincing. Her chops for this are very, very strong, she said. Mike Anderson and his wife, Fanny Rodriguez-Anderson, who live in Atlanta, were among those at the MFAHs galleries Friday. Anderson said he has been an avid fan of Spanish masters since the late 1970s, when he first visited the Prado Museum in Madrid. He estimates hes seen 95 percent of Velazquez known works in the years since, including the kitchen servant paintings in Chicago and Dublin. He didnt know Kitchen Maid had just been attributed, but he recognized the style immediately. You look at it one second, and it doesnt take much to figure out its Velazquez, he said. GLORIA FERNIZ/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS I didn't how much a pet's death would impact me until it happened. My beloved black Cocker Spaniel, Misty, a rescue from a Missouri shelter, died more than a decade ago, and I still can feel her paws on my leg. She lived until about age 12. Richwood, TX (77531) Today Rain showers this evening with clearing overnight. Low 56F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with clearing overnight. Low 56F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%. At 34, Danny Nguyen knows hes living his best life. Hes a fashion designer with a boutique offering mens suits and womens party wear that hes operated for 10 years. He also owns a bridal shop, LAltelier, next door that he opened in June. Nguyens gowns are bold and colorful, his suits trim and sleek, and his bridal wear looks like something out of a French fashion magazine. In fact, several of his most over-the-top gowns with layers of lace and sequins were shown in Paris earlier this year. His growing fashion empire is located inconspicuously in a strip center just south of Beltway 8, bustling with a variety of Vietnamese businesses. On Thursday, Nguyen unveils his new bridal collection at a fashion show at The Carriage House Weddings. Ive been doing alterations since I was 9, says the dapper Nguyen in a three-piece suit and sporting a handlebar mustache. I figured Id be a tailor. I didnt know what a fashion designer was. I actually had to look it up. I didnt know Chanel, Dior or Balenciaga. I didnt even know what haute couture was. He chuckles at the thought and says hes come a long way. Nguyen moved with his family from Vietnam to Kentucky when he and his identical twin, David, were barely 4. Like many immigrants, they were looking for a better life in the United States. My mom tells me when she was young in Vietnam they had a good life and nice clothes, but after the war, her family struggled to survive, he said. After two years in Kentucky, they relocated to Houston, which had a burgeoning Vietnamese population. His parents opened their own business and began a new life. Being an immigrant, your childhood isnt a regular childhood, Nguyen says. My parents had an alterations shop that they opened without knowing any English. Not knowing English was also tough for Nguyen and his brother, who graduated from Kerr High School. They were teased for their accents, and they struggled to do their homework on their own because their parents could offer no help. Even their teachers did little to assist the young brothers in mastering English, Nguyen says. He seems almost apologetic about his rich Vietnamese accent today. As a child growing up in southwest Houston, Nguyen says, he felt most safe in his Vietnamese community surrounded by family and other relatives. He was encouraged to attend college to become a doctor, lawyer or engineer because his parents didnt want to see him struggle. So Nguyen studied biology at the University of Houston and continued to work in his parents alterations business. He had no interest in medicine, so he switched to psychology, then architecture. He finally took some art classes and fell in love with sculpting, but you cant make a living at that, he says. Nguyen learned about the fashion-design program at Houston Community College and enrolled in history, textile and design classes. He was nurtured by the programs former chair Kay King, who encouraged him to enter a mohair fashion-design competition. He won first place. I really didnt know I could make a living at being a fashion designer, but Ms. King was the only one who pushed me and saw my talent, he said. Though Nguyen dropped out of the program, he secured a loan to open his first store, DNC Design and Tailor, and spent the first two years living at the store because he couldnt afford to live elsewhere. It didnt look anything like this, says Nguyen, who settles back into a plush blue sofa inside the store. The walls were bare white. There was one mannequin and a clothing rack. Thats all I had. It felt like I was digging a deeper hole financially. In 2016, Nguyen paid off his business loan and, for the first time, began to see a real profit. He even saved enough money to open the bridal shop next door. He also plans to take his entire family to Vietnam next spring when he shows his collections at Vietnam Fashion Week. Itll be their first trip back to their native country since they moved to America. Nguyen now knows Chanel from Balenciaga and Prada from Pucci, but he says his favorite designer is Japans Yohji Yamamoto because he integrates the discipline of martial arts into his designs. Nguyen himself has studied Vovinam, a Vietnamese martial art, since age 12. Last year, his mother, Le Nguyen, closed the family alteration shop and now works in Nguyens shop full time. His brother is a filmmaker with his own video-production company. Nguyen hopes to eventually get into accessories and open a fabric store and manufacturing factory. He says hell continue to do alterations, which he refers to as fixing clothes. I have no problem doing a $10 hem because the clients who come for alternations may eventually buy a gown or two, he said. Theyll see something and want me to make it for them. joy.sewing@chron.com PARADISE, Butte County The Camp Fire that devastated this bucolic Butte County town has claimed the lives of at least nine people, grown to 90,000 acres and destroyed more buildings than any other wildfire in California history. By Friday evening, the fire had incinerated 6,453 homes and 260 commercial buildings in and around Paradise. The blaze was only about 5 percent contained and was threatening another 15,000 structures. Some 52,000 people remained evacuated from various towns. Authorities expect the death toll to increase in the coming days. Before the Camp Fire, last years 36,807-acre Tubbs Fire was the most destructive wildfire in state history for destroying 5,636 structures in Napa and Sonoma counties. Twenty-two people died in that fire. The nine people killed in the Camp Fire included four victims found in vehicles burned by the blaze in the area of Edgewood Lane, according to the Butte County Sheriffs Office. Another individual was found outside a vehicle there. Three bodies were found outside homes and one was found inside a home. None of the victims has been identified. In addition to the lives lost, three firefighters have been injured. It took less than 48 hours for the Camp Fire to hit historic levels of devastation. The worst of the destruction was in Paradise, a town of 27,000 about 90 miles north of Sacramento that was overwhelmed by flames so quickly that many residents were barely able to grab car keys in their rush to escape. It was only as the sun came up Friday that the full scope of the damage was exposed. Now Playing: The Camp Fire burns in Paradise on Nov. 8, 2018. Video: San Francisco Chronicle The burned walls of churches poked through ash. The blackened skeletons of gas stations, fast-food restaurants and supermarkets wobbled amid strong winds. Block after block, entire neighborhoods lay in ruin. Abandoned cars, charred to their frames, lined the two-lane roads in and out of town. Beneath the smoke-filled sky, sheriffs deputies continued to search for bodies amid the rubble while residents, scattered across the region at evacuation centers or in the homes of family and friends, wondered how they could possibly recover from such loss. I guess there wont be much of my town left, said Scott Lotter, a Paradise Town Council member and former mayor. Its too soon to tell how much weve lost. The cause of the fire, which started Thursday morning, remains under investigation, but Pacific Gas and Electric Co. informed regulators Friday that a high-voltage power line near the area experienced a problem prior to the first flames. Meteorologists were anticipating a lull in the extreme fire conditions Friday night to Saturday afternoon, but the winds were expected to pick up again Saturday and continue through the weekend. The number of people battling the blaze increased to 3,223 by Friday evening, the 67 fire crews helped by 440 fire engines and 23 helicopters, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. Help was requested from nearby states, including Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming and Washington. We are at a pivotal moment, said Cal Fire Division Chief Todd Derum. We are trying to take advantage of this moment and make the most progress we can. But the red flag warnings will come. It will kick this fire up, start new fires, or a combination of both. Dense smoke blanketed much of Northern California, including the Bay Area, nearly 200 miles away, where air quality was so bad that flights were canceled at San Francisco International Airport and residents were advised to stay indoors. The blaze has been an extremely challenging fire and has resulted in significant and catastrophic loss in that community, said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the state Office of Emergency Services. We are literally in a statewide red flag weather. We are basically looking at a very significant dangerous weather pattern through the rest of this weekend. Named the Camp Fire because of its proximity to Camp Creek Road near Highway 70 in the Feather River Canyon, the inferno started at 6:30 a.m. Thursday and quickly barreled through Paradise. Many of the evacuees had to leave without cell phones or identification, and have had difficulties reconnecting with friends and family. On social media, scores of people have posted photos and last known addresses of missing relatives, many of them older or disabled individuals who may have had a hard time evacuating on their own. Officials did not not have any immediate numbers on how many people were unaccounted for, though the Butte County Sheriffs Office said it had 35 official missing person reports. The American Red Cross issued an alert for residents to register as safe and well on its website. Im pretty sure my home is burned to the ground, said Debbie Teter, 53, who was at work at her real estate office Thursday before she hastily evacuated to nearby Chico. Im pretty sure I wont have a job either. My workplace is probably gone and selling property just wont be happening. At my age, she added, I dont want to have to start from scratch. The tree-lined houses and familiar shops and businesses that made Paradise a draw for retirees and a magnet for lifelong residents were hardly recognizable after the flames tore through town. Most of the business district along Skyway, the main drag, and the surrounding neighborhoods of single-family homes were burned. Only the street-side signs of a Burger King and Jack in the Box revealed what the nearby piles of twisted steel and soot had once been. The First Assembly of God church and a Mormon church were charred. The Atria Paradise retirement community was destroyed. A few motels, a muffler shop and a used car lot were among the many other losses. The magnitude of the destruction we are seeing is really unbelievable and heartbreaking, Ghilarducci said. Our hearts go out to everybody whos been affected by this. Some residents already were talking about rebuilding their tight-knit community. Others, though, were less confident. Theyd lost not only homes, but the places where they shopped, got a cup of coffee or met friends for lunch. Many people said they wouldnt know how to begin to recover what theyd lost. Donny Veteto, 43, had moved to Paradise only a month ago. The home in which hed rented a room burned down while he was at work in Chico. He was lucky he happened to be driving his motor home that day but he lost everything else. Id like to go back to Paradise, but I dont know when that will happen, Veteto said. Nobody can go back right now. Lotter, the former mayor, evacuated with his wife, daughter and son-in-law, along with their pet rabbit and two dogs. As he drove away with his family, flames were just 50 feet from City Hall, Lotter said. It took him nearly two hours to go a half-mile. He learned on Friday that hed lost his home to the fire, and found little consolation in news that the movie theater he owns in town survived. He said it was easier to count the number of homes and businesses that were untouched than those that were destroyed. If you have a perfectly good business in the middle of a desert, it really doesnt do you any good, Lotter said. Butte County schools were closed Friday and will remain so through Nov. 23, according to the county Office of Education. Officials said they need time to assess the damage to school buildings and determine how best to support families affected by the fire. November is remarkably late in the fire season for such an intense blaze, fire officials said. And at least two more massive fires were threatening communities in Southern California, including one that forced evacuation of the entire city of Malibu. The late-season wildfires fueled by dry conditions represent Californias new normal, officials said. Every day is fire season somewhere in California, Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott said. Bob Schofield, 54, has lived in the Paradise area for 26 years and spent 23 of those years as a volunteer firefighter. Among the worst blazes he responded to was the Humboldt Fire in 2008, which burned 23,000 acres in three days, he recalled. The Camp Fire burned three times that in 24 hours. I dont have much hope that the house is there, Schofield said Friday from a friends house in Marysville, where his family was staying after evacuating Paradise. If it was there it would be by the grace of God. It was right in the path of the fire. Schofield, a music teacher, was at the middle school campus Thursday morning when the district announced it was shutting down all Paradise schools. He turned on a radio to learn more about the fire and heard that his home was in an area being evacuated. Students whose parents couldnt get to them quickly enough were put on buses or in teachers own cars and taken to a shelter in Chico. Schofield called his wife and 15-year-old son, both at the high school, and told them to meet at their house on Woodglen Drive. They were packing when someone knocked on their door and told them the fire was close. They left with their three dogs and two rabbits around 9:15 a.m., leaving behind keepsakes such as photos, school awards and Schofields collection of nearly 300 fire engine replicas. The first one had been a gift from his grandmother when he was 4. You cant replace the awards or the photos, you cant replace all of that, he said. But we have insurance on everything else. Santa Rosa Fire Capt. Jack Thomas, who on Thursday led a strike team against the Camp Fire, couldnt help but have flashbacks to last years deadly Wine Country fires, which flattened entire neighborhoods. When I got here, I thought, Oh my God, this is exactly what we saw in Santa Rosa, he said. We got churches down, a mobile home park burned and a retirement home halfway involved. Its really the same situation. Chronicle staff writers Lizzie Johnson and Kimberly Veklerov contributed to this report. Kurtis Alexande, Sarah Ravani and Erin Allday are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com, sravani@sfchronicle.com, eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KurtisAlexander @SarRavani @ErinAllday ANKARA, Turkey - An audio recording tracking the dying moments of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul has been shared with Saudi Arabia, Britain, France and Germany in addition to the United States, the leader of Turkey said Saturday. "We gave it to Saudi Arabia," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the Ankara airport before departing for Paris for commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. "We gave it to America. To the Germans, French, English, we gave it to all of them." It was the first time that Erdogan has publicly acknowledged the existence of an audio recording that Turkish officials say backs the assertion that Khashoggi, a contributor to The Washington Post World Opinions section, was killed by a 15-member Saudi hit team after he entered the consulate on Oct. 2. Wider access to the recording could increase pressure on the Trump administration to take stronger measures against Saudi Arabia in response to Khashoggi's killing. Although Erdogan said he "gave" the tapes to those countries, it was unclear whether he meant that he had physically passed them on. A senior German official said that the head of the Federal Intelligence Service received a briefing and listened to the audio recording during a trip to Ankara. "The recording was very convincing," the official said. The White House and Elysee Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The British foreign office said it was "not confirming or denying" Erdogan's comments. U.S. officials have said that CIA Director Gina Haspel listened to the recording during a trip to Turkey last month. Two Turkish officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic, said the audio makes clear that Khashoggi suffered a drawn-out death. He is choked for about seven minutes before he dies, they said. One said he had been told directly by Erdogan that the killers took 7.5 minutes to choke Khashoggi. The other said he had been briefed by someone who had listened to the recording. Neither said they had heard the tape themselves. Turkey has not said how it obtained a recording from inside the consulate. Wiretapping of foreign missions breaches the Vienna Convention. Turkish newspapers had run stories on how the recording was made by Khashoggi's Apple watch, a scenario that was met with skepticism by experts. Saudi Arabia now acknowledges that Khashoggi was intentionally killed in the building and says it has arrested 18 people. It also has fired two senior officials close to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The crown prince has not been directly implicated by Turkey, but Erdogan has said that the order to kill Khashoggi came from the "highest levels" in Saudi Arabia and that he doesn't think King Salman is responsible. Erdogan said that he may meet President Donald Trump during his Paris visit. Two Turkish officials said they expected a meeting to take place, with discussion to include U.S.-Turkish relations, Iranian sanctions and the Khashoggi case. As Turkey has increased pressure on the Saudis through leaks to the news media on the gruesome killing, Saudi Arabia has been forced to shift its story. Saudi officials had initially insisted that the journalist left the consulate alive. Analysts and Western diplomats say that Erdogan may be using the carefully orchestrated leaks to leverage Turkish interests internationally. "Erdogan can afford for this crisis to play out in a number of different ways, given the strength of his position," said one Western diplomat who declined to be named, citing protocol. "He has a media infrastructure that works for him, and power is pretty much centralized." Turkish officials had repeatedly complained about a lack of Saudi cooperation in the investigation, saying that Saudi Arabia's top prosecutor, who visited Istanbul last month, did not share any information. The Turkish official who said he had been briefed on the tape said the prosecutor had been more interested in finding out what evidence Turkey already had than in offering information. He also asked for the dead journalist's cellphones, the official said. Erdogan said the Saudi prosecutor was obstructive during his visit. "And then they invite our chief prosecutor there," he said. "The scene of the crime is here." "The murder or murders are definitely within this 15," he said, referencing 15 members of an alleged hit team identified by Turkish authorities. "The Saudi Arabian administration will succeed in revealing this by making these 15 people talk." Speaking at an International Peace Institute event in New York on Friday evening, Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former head of Saudi's intelligence service and ambassador to Washington and London, rejected calls for an international investigation into the killing. "The kingdom is proud of its legal system," he said. "It will never accept foreign interference in that system." He said he expects Saudi Arabia to "put all the facts on the table." "The kingdom wants to show the rest of the world exactly what happened and to go on from there," he said. He said he hoped that would mean an improvement in the conduct of the Saudi security forces and also in the image of the kingdom, "which has been tarnished by this tragic and extraordinarily painful incident in all of our lives." However, Turkish officials say that they do not trust Saudi Arabia to try the suspects or hold accountable the person responsible for giving the order. They say Saudi Arabia has rejected Turkish requests to extradite the suspects to be tried in Turkey. "They are not telling the whole truth," said another Turkish official. "There is an important person behind this and they have to explain." - - - Mekhennet reported from New York. The Washington Post's Zeynep Karatas in Istanbul, and James McAuley and Seung Min Kim in Paris, contributed to this report. BOERNE - Raymond Lunsford is no visionary. Hell tell you that himself. A man with a plan? Not really, he says. And yet if you happen to be on Main Street in this pleasant Hill Country town northwest of San Antonio and you wander into a venerable stone building called the Dienger Trading Co., you might question Lunsfords veracity. Surely, the bustling bakery and bistro, the adjoining boutique featuring stylish apparel for men and women, the small book store in honor of the buildings public-library past, plus the beautifully restored meeting room upstairs, represent the culmination of a carefully considered business plan. A thriving business in a Boerne landmark, an enterprise at the heart of a prosperous community working to preserve its history against the onslaught of growth and change - somebody had to know what they were doing. Owner Lunsford grins, ducks his head and insists thats not exactly what happened. Hell tell you that what he and his wife Lisa have accomplished with invaluable help from a young designer who got her start in Houston - was originally more whimsy and happenstance than planning. Sit down with a gourmet sandwich in the bistro or cut into a slice of Lisas amazing coconut-cream pie in the bakery, and this congenial fellow is likely to drop by your table and tell you his story. Lunsford, 62, grew up in Olney, a little town south of Wichita Falls. After graduating from Abilene Christian University in the 1970s, he went back home and started a small oil business. After a divorce in 1999, he moved to San Antonio to be closer to his children and remarried in 2002. In San Antonio he and a friend started a business supplying modeling clay to schools and potters; he also happened to buy a daycare center in Boerne for Lisas daughter to run. And he happened to notice in the San Antonio Express-News that Sammys Mexican Restaurant in Boerne was for sale. He happened to buy it. If we had ever been a waiter or a waitress, wed of never done it, he said. The restaurant business, he soon discovered, turned out to be the hardest industry in the world. Sammys became Mama Lucitas, which eventually became Main Street Cafe. About that time Hitchin Post Liquor next door came up for sale, so the Lunsfords bought the building, asked Boerne what it needed and the answer was, a ladies shoe shop. My wife and I, with zero retail experience, fly to New York and buy a bunch of shoes, put in a little place called Head Over Heels, he recalled. A couple of months later, a house came open down the street. The Lunsfords bought it and put in a dress shop called Wear Its At. Meanwhile, the couple moved the shoes to the dress shop, which meant they had an empty building. Lisa suggested that since she loved to bake, they ought to open a bakery. They called it Dough, Ray & Me Coffee and Sweets. As we talked, Lunsford remembered they also opened a sandwich shop near Boernes WalMart, as well as a pizza place in San Antonio that lasted a couple of years. Doing all that in such a short period of time just wasnt smart, Lunsford said, but I didnt know any better. The Lunsfords adopted town was laid out by German immigrants in 1852 and named for Ludwig Boerne, a Jewish German author and political activist. By 1884, the little town on Cibolo Creek - Texans pronounce it Bernie -- boasted five hotels, various business and 250 residents. That same year, Joseph and Ida Dienger (pronounced Dinger) built a limestone and rock building with gingerbread embellishments on Main Street, or Hauptstrasse. The ground floor was a grocery store; the couple and their seven children lived upstairs. A portion of the upstairs area became a meeting room for lodges and clubs. Joseph Diengers sisters, Lina and Louise, ran a dry goods store in a later addition to the building. In recent decades the building has been Antlers Restaurant, named for Diengers collection of 2,000 deer and moose antlers found in the basement; Boernes public library; a bank; and office space for geologists. It had been vacant for four years when Lunsford realized he needed to consolidate his various enterprises closer to the heart of downtown. In 2014, he acquired the 12,900-square-foot building, now on the National Register of Historic Places. We thought wed just bought an old, dirty, vacant building in Boerne, Lunsford said. Wed bought a treasure and didnt even know it. It took a young woman from Houston to show the Lunsfords what they had - and what they could do with it. Michelle Ernst and her husband Paul were living in the Heights, and she was doing business development and marketing for Montgomery Roth, a Houston architecture and interior design firm, when the couple decided to move to Boerne, where Pauls family lived. She wandered into the Lunsfords Main Street Cafe looking for office space for a nonprofit group she was helping. Lunsford told her about the old building he had just acquired, and she realized she had been driving by the place for years. Its one of those buildings where you see it, the shades are drawn, and you dream about what you would do for that building, she recalled. Maybe I could use somebody like you, Lunsford told her. It was very vague, some kind of interior design, Ernst recalled, laughing. The first day on the job, he told me, I want you to turn this into your dream. No budget. Just do what you want. Ernst, now 35 and the mother of two youngsters, insisted that Lunsford draw up a budget and explained that he needed to consolidate his businesses under one name (Dienger Trading Co.). She upgraded the clothing lines and applied not only her design skills but also her marketing experience as she oversaw the buildings revival. Even as she opened up the old, neglected structure and let in the light, Ernst made sure to remain as true as possible to its past. She knew she had been successful when she overcame the initial suspicions of the Dienger Belles, a group of local women dedicated to the buildings preservation. Shes now a partner in the business - and the youngest member of the Dienger Belles. The Lunsfords superb restoration is one victory in the towns daunting struggle to preserve its German heritage, its 19th-century architecture, its small-town sense of community. With a population thats tripled in the last 20 years to nearly 16,000 and with downtown traffic congestion getting worse by the day, holding on to heritage is a challenge, to be sure. More growth is on the way: a $45 million Buc-ees, a Hilton-branded luxury hotel on Main Street and housing developments sprawling into the surrounding Hill Country. Signs in shop windows urge residents to Keep Boerne Quaint. Plenty of struggling towns across this state would love to have Boernes problem, and yet dealing with rampant growth requires as much planning and attention as battling a small towns demise. Even Raymond Lunsford, Boernes quintessential man without a plan, would agree that happenstance wont get the job done. djholley10@gmail.com Twitter: holleynews Dee Behn has a gorgeous smile, with two straight rows of small white teeth. But back in the back of her mouth, theres trouble: Two of her top back teeth have chips, and shes missing a molar on the left side. Ive been blessed I think its just in the genes that I have decent teeth, she said. But even so, its been several years since she last saw a dentist. Behn, 58, and Marine Corps veteran, got a free dental exam Friday at the UTHealth School of Dentistry, along with about 100 other military veterans. In the coming weeks, she may be able to get her dental issues fixed for good and free of charge. Fridays event, called Give Vets a Smile, brought in veterans from across the Houston area for urgent, palliative, therapeutic and preventive dentistry. For the fourth year in a row, a group of uninsured vets got the dental work they needed, free of charge. The first floor exam space a room full of dental chairs sectioned off by cubicles was filled with scrapes from dental scalers and the whirring of suction wands. Vets lined up in the hallway for their turn in a chair. Some were young and tattooed, some older and in poor health. A few had amputated limbs, sacrificed in service to their country. Behn spent three years in the Marines, stationed part of that time in Okinawa, Japan, as a supply administration and operations specialist. In other words, shes not intimated by a little dental work. When it was her turn Friday morning, she reclined in the chair and calmly folded her hands. Maria Osypova, a second-year dental hygiene student, gave Behn a paper bib and a pair of protective glasses as her classmate, Lisa Nguyen, turned on the bright lamp above her head. Ill feel around, Nguyen said, her purple-gloved fingers probing at Behns gums. Let me know if anything is sore or tender. Give Vets a Smile is a program with a lot of partners. UTHealths School of Dentistry and School of Nursing team up with seven local agencies that work with vets. Those agencies including New Hope Housing, Camp Hope and Easter Seals Greater Houston help find veterans who are uninsured and need dental care. On Friday, UTHealths dental residents, dental students and dental hygiene students gave them cleanings and exams. Usually, the goal is to give exams and cleanings and treat whatever is causing immediate pain, said Dr. Kimberly Ruona, associate dean for patient care at the school of dentistry. But this year, a $100,000 grant from the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation will fund follow-up care for the vets who need follow-up treatment, everything from fillings and crowns to dentures and extractions. And thats important, because they might not get that care anywhere else, said Dr. Margo Melchor, director of community outreach for the dental school. Veterans are known now as an underserved population, she said. The VA doesnt provide routine dental care, so a lot of veterans end up neglecting their teeth for financial reasons, Melchor said. If they dont get into a work force that provides them that insurance, theyre not going to get it. Behn said she has looked at dental insurance plans, but she has limited income and the plans she has considered dont seem to be worth the monthly premium. But a couple of months ago, she called Harris Countys Precinct 2 about another matter, and someone on the phone mentioned the Give Vets a Smile Program. She thought it might be a good chance to get someone to look at her molar, which was pulled out years ago after a hairline crack started pinching a nerve. The first Give Vets a Smile event in 2015 treated 35 veterans, Ruona said. By last year, that number had grown to 70. On Friday, Ruona expected about 100 veterans to come through the door for treatment. With the additional funding, we should be able to treat 100 vets with more comprehensive care, she said between $1,000 and $2,000 per veteran for whatever they need. Thats enough to get them out of pain and get their mouths back in order, she said whether that requires crowns or bridges or extensive fillings. Behn needs a crown for her missing molar and some work on her two chipped teeth. That couldnt be completed Friday, but shes planning to come back after the holidays. Youve never had braces before? Nguyen asked Behn as she finished her cleaning. You have really great teeth. Beautiful. That was one thing my mother always told me, Behn said to take care of her teeth and to never let a dentist pull them out. Shes lost one molar, but Behn said shes happy to be getting her teeth cared for now. My mom, shes not here anymore, she said, then looked up at the ceiling. But hey, Mom I listened. Alyson.Ward@chron.com Even at 100 years old, retired Lt. Col. Leslie Thompson still honors his country faithfully. Each morning, he rises from bed, walks over to the window and salutes the American flag that flies in his Spring-area backyard. Showing patriotism is personal for this centenarian. Hes a U.S. Air Force veteran who served in military conflicts spanning a quarter century: World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. His mind may wander, but Thompson still has clear memories of his service. Although hes glad to have had the experiences, he said war was awful. To see your buddy flying a bomber and getting hit by GermansIt was rough. Youd lose two, three, four airplanes a night to the bombs, Thompson said. I wouldnt want to go through it again. There are only about 2,000 living veterans in Texas and just 16,000 nationwide who have served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Stories like Thompsons are important to hear and share as the nation pauses on Sunday, Veterans Day, to honor service personnel both living and deceased, veterans advocates say. This Veterans Day is noteworthy as it marks the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice ending World War I, also known as the Great War, on Nov. 11, 1918. Some 8.5 million soldiers died as a result of wounds or disease in the bloody conflict, including 116,516 Americans. Veterans Day originated as Armistice Day, and President Donald Trump departed Friday for Paris to join other world leaders to mark the occasion. Its been six years since the last living World War I veteran died, and veterans groups stress the importance of honoring those who served in World War II nicknamed the Greatest Generation and other 20th Century conflicts. The men and women of the Greatest Generation are now in their late 80s, 90s and even 100, said Thomas Palladino, executive director of the Texas Veterans Commission. We should be thanking them personally for their service and sacrifice. Soon we will no longer be able to collect their oral histories, their personal experiences the sights, the sounds, the smells they remember. Thompson is now a resident of Assisted Living by Unlimited Care Cottages along Cherry Laurel Road in Spring. He has a simple room there a bed, two chairs, a side table, two dressers and a TV that is decorated with his service memorabilia. I salute that flag every morning, I go to the window and salute the flag. Its out there flying right now. Its the only one around here, Ill tell you that, he said from a chair as he pointed out the window at an American flag hanging from a tree outside. While Thompson ended up flying a total of 29 total missions in B-17 bomber planes and leading a crew of 11 men through World War II the hallmark of those missions being the last one of the war over Pilsen, Czechoslovakia he didnt set out to become a storied pilot. Just before the outbreak of World War II, Thompsons uncle recommended that he join the military. He did, and Thompson was inducted into the Calvary but he wasnt a fan of horses. So one day, when Thompson found himself in close proximity to a U.S. Army Air Corps general, he jumped at the chance to express his interest of learning how to fly. The general took Thompson up on his offer, and after Thompson passed a flight physical, he officially became a member of the Army Air Corps, a precursor to the Air Force . He ended up staying in the service for 35 years, earning two Distinguished Flying Cross medals, along with other honors. He was just a bomber pilot in World War II, said Thompsons daughter, Sharon Howerton. In Korea, he was flying the Pinetree Line in the Arctic to drop supplies to the radar stations up there. While he was up there, he got his second Distinguished Flying Cross. In Vietnam, he was with the Defense Intelligence Agency, a liaison from the Air Force to the Defense Intelligence Agency. He was also an Assistant Air Attache in India in the 60s. Medals aside, Thompson is in a special class. By Veterans Affairs projections, there are only 97,000 veterans in Texas who are 85 years or older including 11,000 in Harris County and about 2,000 in Montgomery County. Nationwide, there are only about 2,000 veterans who are 100 years of age or older and are enrolled in VA compensation or pension benefits, according to the departments public affairs office. When Thompson celebrated his 100th birthday last month, he received letters from U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Greg Abbott and even Trump congratulating him on his achievement and service. Dwain James is a volunteer with the Austin-based Texas Honor Flight Connection, a program that offers Texas veterans an all-expense-paid trip to see their war memorials in Washington, D.C. James said they used to offer the flights to World War II veterans only, but have opened the opportunity up to veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars. We started having trouble finding (World War II veterans). Theyre fading, and we lose their oral histories whenever they pass, James said. Howerton, his daughter, created a scrapbook of Thompsons war memorabilia complete with photos and newspaper clippings. From her research, she said that the average life-span for an armed forces pilot at the time was only one mission. Thompson credits his survival to God. (My crew) saw me pray when I got ready to go on a mission, he said. I sure believed in a war prayer. As a child of the Depression, Thompson said that his mother made sure he knew how to do two things, cook and dance. He said that both skills served him well despite all of the innovations and advancements during his lifetime. Thompson was married twice; both are deceased. His advice to the younger generation? Dont worry. Worry kills more young peoples marriages than any other thing, Thompson said. They worry, and they cant sit down and talk it over and try to save the marriage. He also has three children, eight stepchildren, 26 grandchildren and more than 20 great-grandchildren. Howerton shares a special bond with her father, and said that his experience and wisdom have formed her whole life. He taught me patriotism, and that this country is the best country in the world. There is no other like it. jane.stueckemann@chron.com Vanessa Forbes fumes as she passes a massage parlor tucked away in a shopping center off Mason Road in a Katy area full of pristine homes, high quality schools and safe neighborhoods. A similarly named spa in Spring had employees arrested for prostitution earlier this year, and this shop sits next door to the constables office. As soon as I saw the sign, I called the constables office, Forbes said during a van tour for Elijah Rising, a nonprofit that aims to fight human trafficking. I was livid. I was like My kids went to martial arts right here. The serious problem of human trafficking must spill into the suburbs, Forbes remember thinking after she took a similar tour of Houston. Informational van tours, which began in the Katy area in March 2015, show volunteers and potential volunteers spots around town, like massage parlors, suspected to harbor human trafficking. Now the 37-year-old mother leads the tours around the sprawling suburb. She also serves as interventions director for Elijah Rising, a non-profit that formed in 2012 to stop trafficking by raising awareness and doing outreach across the city. When we think about women being prostituted or sold out of homes or apartments, we often think of that as being an inner-city issue, said Forbes. Thats not the case. That happens here in the suburbs too. Holy cow, in Fort Bend County? As the van winds down Mason Road, she explains to the handful of participants how to tell which shops are suspected as undercover trafficking spots. She said customers should take note if massage businesses have signs or curtains over the windows, making it hard to peek through. Businesses with the prices listed on the window could be illicit, noting that higher-end massage parlors dont do that. If you think about it, Katy is this nice wholesome family community, said Forbes. Its the majority of lunch hour when youll see the business of massage parlors going. Forbes, who has assisted with monthly interventions at the Katy area massage parlors since 2016, notes that many of the women working are from China and are usually in their late 40s. A lot of them have children. Theyre promised work. Theyre promised a better life here in the United States, said Forbes. When she started working for Elijah Rising, she said the Katy area had 22 massage parlors, 14 of which were unlicensed. Many have obtained licenses since but Forbes said trafficking still remains a problem in the area. Assistant Chief Tim Tyler, with the Katy Police Department, said he is not aware problems of human trafficking in the city of Katy but notes that parts of Katy are still considered to be in Fort Bend County or Harris. In the city of Katy, we havent noticed a problem yet, said Tyler. He acknowledge that there still could be trafficking hes unaware of, Im sure it exists out there. Trafficking isnt a new phenomenon to the suburbs. In 2015, a prostitution raid at Oasis Foot Reflexology in the affluent neighborhood Cinco Ranch made residents realize it could happen in their backyards. Holy cow, in Fort Bend County? Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Constable Rob Cook recounted reporters saying when the news broke in a previous Houston Chronicle article about trafficking. Then the following year, 36-year-old Willie Honable was found dead inside his home on Ellerbe Springs in Cinco Ranch. During the murder trial earlier this summer, women testified about living in the wealthy neighborhood and working for him as a prostitute. Non-profits like Not In Our City and Childproof America have sprung up to address the problem. Human trafficking interventions are scheduled to start in League City in November and in Atascocita next spring 2019. If they see someone who is on the outskirts, or see someone who is vulnerable, theyll befriend that person, said Forbes about traffickers. They have people in high school. They have recruiters that stand in malls. They have recruiters that stand in shopping centers. Robert Henslee, a spokesperson for the Harris County Precinct 5 Constables Office, said they have not received any reports of human trafficking or prostitution from the Katy area business that sits next to the constables office. Sheriff Troy Nehls in Fort Bend County has also said there is little evidence of human trafficking in the area. He acknowledge there have been several spas shut down in Fort Bend County over the last two years for prostitution, but said the individuals arrested have provided little evidence that theyre forced into the crime. It just seems now that the word is being pushed around and all of a sudden if you found a day spa and someones giving massages and doing some sexual favors, are they automatically now being human trafficked? said Nehls. Are they prostitutes or are they prostitutes out there being forced to behave this way? Nehls also said that the sheriffs office has good relationships with shopping center owners in the area, and he will contact them if they hear a complaint of illicit activity. He notes, that most of the times the landlord will evict the business if suspicious activity is happening. He said his office also monitors businesses before making an arrest. He notes that hes sensitive to the issue because he has three daughters of his own and commends non-profit organizations for educating the community about the issue. I truly love the children that call Fort Bend County home, said Nehls. If we had a human trafficking issue in Fort Bend County, I would be the first one out there addressing the issue. We dont have it. We have very little data. Now they own you Kathy McGibbon, program director at Kendleton Farms, a restoration program created by Elijah Rising, knows how valuable healing can be after surviving trafficking herself. She said it took seven years before she could speak openly about her experience. When she was 21, she was swept up in the world by her boyfriend an aspiring rapper in Houston. He whisked her away to Dallas while recording his album. The trip quickly turned into something different when he began posting pictures of her on websites and forcing her to perform sex acts on clients. She also was forced to work as a prostitute on the street. Her boyfriend isolated her from friends and family, which McGibbon notes is typical behavior by pimps toward the women they traffic. Its strategic, said McGibbon, now 38. They dont need any of your friends talking in your ears, anything positive influence. They need to remove you from whats normal because now they own you. McGibbons boyfriend told her the trip to Dallas would only be three months but it stretched to nine. The mother of her boyfriends child eventually fell ill and they returned to Houston. When she arrived back in Houston, McGibbon called her brother to pick her up. She managed to escape her toxic life with her ex-boyfriend, but it would be years before she experienced true healing. I shut down because the shame, No. 1, said McGibbon. I cant believe I did that. Theres a lot of self-blame. If I had a place like Kendleton, I couldve called someone and gotten help with that. Elijah Risings restoration program will be held at Kendleton Farms, a sprawling 84 acre campus in Fort Bend. It first opened in 2015 as an emergency shelter for women, but has since expanded. The 15- to 24-month program will offer women trauma-informed therapy, housing, life skills and job training, which McGibbon said are necessary to those trying to cope after the trauma of trafficking. The grooming process and the process of being trafficked is so grueling, said McGibbon. These traffickers and these predators, they specialize in breaking you down. They specialize in making you feel worthless. They specialize in dehumanizing you. At Kendleton Farms, were trying to help reverse that process. brooke.lewis@chron.com Lizzie Pannill Fletcher began her run like so many other Democrats who unseated House Republicans Tuesday: as a reaction to the 2016 election. A Houston corporate attorney, Fletcher considered running for something after Trumps victory, she said and why not the seat held by her own congressman, GOP Rep. John Culberson, who Democrats deemed vulnerable after the district showed slight preference for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. When Fletcher unseated Culberson Tuesday night by a relatively comfortable five points, however, she did so behind a Houston-centric campaign that emphasized her local roots and pulled in right-leaning independents and disillusioned Republicans. Now, having flipped a seat controlled for the last 52 years by Republicans, Fletcher heads to Washington with a target on her back, but also a desire to legislate with the same moderate approach she used to build her campaign. Whether people voted for me or not in this election, I hope they will watch what I do as their member of Congress, Fletcher said. I hope to earn their vote in 2020, because my job is to represent everyone. My office doors will be open to everyone. A GOP target If Republicans are searching for a roadmap to unseat Fletcher, they might turn to Rep. Will Hurd, a Republican from Helotes who represents a perennial swing district running from San Antonio to El Paso. In 2016 and again this year, Hurd who appeared likely to win a third term with several hundred ballots outstanding Friday rebuked Trump on high-profile issues and presented himself as a moderate, a strategy that also played well for Fletcher in the mostly suburban 7th Congressional District. Culberson at times referenced his work across the aisle, but did not run as a moderate or publicly oppose Trump to the same degree as Hurd. Like Hurd in his first term, Fletcher has good odds of receiving favorable committee assignments and a steady flow of fundraising dollars from her party to help protect the seat, said University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus. The more coveted committee spots typically do not go to freshman legislators. She's definitely going to be a Republican target in the next election, he said. She will not be treated like your average first-year member of Congress. In an interview, Fletcher indicated she would look to dodge the partisan rancor now commonplace in Congress and be willing to work and take ideas from anywhere. She vowed to partner with local industries that received strong support from Culberson - such as the energy and aerospace sectors - and seek major upgrades to Metro, calling transit issues paramount. In the wake of Culbersons loss, NASA employees and stakeholders grew concerned about the loss of a key ally. For the last four years, Culberson led the Appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA, and generally served as a staunch advocate of science and human spaceflight over his nearly two decades in office, said Keith Cowing, editor of NASA Watch, a website devoted to space news. I absolutely will support NASA, Fletcher said, emphasizing support particularly for the Johnson Space Center. It's critical that we support scientific research and exploration. I think that it's something that we don't see as much in this administration and this Congress. There's really a kind of antipathy for science. Notably, Fletcher declined to say whether she would support Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi for House Speaker, holding off until she meets with various leadership hopefuls during orientation for new members starting Tuesday. However, Fletcher said the next speaker should be willing to work in a bipartisan manner and not punish people who are not in the majority. As for committee assignments, Fletcher said many people had suggested she aim for a spot on the Judiciary Committee, though she had not set her sights on it yet. She said she was looking recently at the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, perhaps to help Metro receive federal dollars. The winning strategy A key moment in Culbersons loss came months before Election Day, when Fletcher won her primary runoff against activist Laura Moser. Running as the more progressive candidate, Moser indicated she would not moderate her message to attract Republicans turned off by Trump. The primary in effect became a referendum on whether Democrats should oppose Culberson by whipping up the dormant part of their base or, by nominating Fletcher, pull in centrists and ex-Republicans. Tuesdays election results proved they could do both: In beating Culberson with more than 52 percent of the vote, Fletchers winning coalition included right-leaning moderates, but also hardline progressives who turned out in droves to support Democrat Beto ORourkes turnout-driven Senate campaign. A moderate Democrat can win a swing district in the right circumstances, but two factors have to be at play, Rottinghaus said. No. 1, it has to be clear that the candidate is truly a moderate and ... willing to work in a bipartisan fashion. But none of that works if Democrats don't turn out. If you don't have a Beto O'Rourke at the top of the ticket with clear progressive ideas to activate the more liberal-leaning voters, you won't even have a chance." In Texas, Fletchers win served as the exception for otherwise unsuccessful centrist Democrats targeting traditionally Republican congressional seats. Democrats claimed another seat in Dallas, with civil rights attorney Colin Allred knocking off Republican Rep. Pete Sessions, though Allred ran as a far more progressive candidate than Fletcher. Fletcher deliberately positioned herself to the middle, developing an ideological brand that resonated in the swingy suburban district. She rejected calls for single-payer health care and said she accepts the role of fossil fuels in Houstons economy, while focusing on issues specific to the area such as flood control. "There were a lot of people who told me throughout the campaign that they had always seen themselves as Republicans but that they really felt like they were people without a party right now, and they were looking at the candidates to see who best represented their views, Fletcher said. The win provided some validation to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of House Democrats who in February made the uncharacteristic move of dumping opposition research on Moser in an effort to deny her the nomination. Fletchers moderate approach appeared most effective in harnessing anti-Trump energy among white, educated suburban women, a group that swung toward Democrats nationwide. Culberson, who declined to comment for this story, lost the most ground from 2016 in the same areas where he outperformed Trump by the widest margins that year, suggesting that Fletcher picked up voters who split their ticket between Hillary Clinton and Culberson. The handful of precincts where Culberson performed worst relative to 2016 were clustered within about a mile of the affluent and highly educated Bellaire and West University Place suburbs, according to unofficial results. Culberson won 55 percent of the vote in those precincts two years ago, but only 42 percent this year, in line with Trumps 43 vote share there. That was definitely a part of our strategy, because I knew I had to win those people - people who voted for Culberson and Clinton in 2016, Fletcher said. My goal was to really talk about my background here and my view of our Houston values, what I think we do here so well and I think that really resonated with a lot of people. Fletchers campaign also targeted densely populated, deep-blue areas where Democrats are prone to staying home for midterms. She concentrated on suburbs north of Addicks Reservoir, including a pair of precincts near FM 529 that voted by more than 70 percent for Clinton. One of those precincts ultimately went 77 percent to Fletcher and produced by far her highest vote total of any precinct districtwide. Meanwhile, Culbersons most problematic precincts relative to 2016 also fell inside House District 134, where Republican state Rep. Sarah Davis staved off Harris Countys blue wave to win re-election by almost seven points. The unique pocket of District 7 that overlaps with Davis district was all but built for candidates seeking crossover support in either direction. Fletcher and Davis both won more than 50 percent of the vote in 21 of the 36 precincts that cover their two districts. In 10 of those precincts, both candidates received more than 55 percent of the vote, indicating ticket-splitting was a common practice. Though Fletcher found success in particular areas, the district-wide results suggest Culberson was in trouble from the start. He received a smaller share of the vote relative to 2016 in every precinct, indicative of the strong headwinds he faced from Trump and ORourke. Fletcher, boosted by massive outside spending and her own robust fundraising, also ran TV ads across the district, another element she said was key to winning. I wanted to talk to every single voter in Congressional District 7, because my view is that when you are the representative, you represent everyone, whether they vote for you or not, Fletcher said. I wanted to ask every single person in CD-7 for their vote. Staff writers Alex Stuckey and Jordan Rubio contributed to this report. jasper.scherer@chron.com | Twitter: @jaspscherer A teenage passenger is dead after an apparent road rage shooting Friday in southwest Houston. Another teenager was also injured in the shooting, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. The incident started by a gas station near the intersection of Beckford Drive and Lima Drive around 12:30 p.m. IN OCTOBER: Man charged in deadly road rage crash in north Houston A car driven by a 15-year-old girl pulled out of the gas station onto Beckford Drive where her passenger a 17-year-old boy in the backseat started yelling at the driver of an Audi SUV who was apparently driving slowly, Gonzalez said. The 17-year-old pulled a pistol and pointed it at the 39-year-old driver of the SUV, Gonzalez said. The 39-year-old, a licensed concealed handgun carrier, pulled a gun of his own and started shooting at the moving vehicle. That gunfire peppered the teenagers' car, fatally striking an 18-year-old passenger in the front seat and injuring the 17-year-old with the gun in the back seat. The 15-year-old driver was not injured, Gonzalez said. She drove the car to a nearby home in the 13000 block of Dawn Hollow Lane, where paramedics and deputies responded. They pronounced the 18-year-old dead and rushed the 17-year-old to an area hospital. He was in surgery as of 3:30 p.m., Gonzalez said. Both drivers called 911 to report the shooting. The driver of the Audi is cooperating with Harris County Sheriff's Office homicide detectives, Gonzalez said. It is unclear if he will be charged. Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Submit More than a century ago, with the First World War raging and Allied powers in desperate need of manpower, the U.S. Army activated two divisions comprised of black National Guard units and dispatched the men to France. There, barred from serving alongside all-white U.S. military units, the black men known as the Buffalo Soldiers wore French uniforms, carried French firearms and fought in trenches alongside French soldiers. As a result, France awarded the black Americans several honors, including some who received Frances equivalent of the U.S. Medal of Honor. At home, the soldiers received no such recognition. No awards. No parades. No monuments. A few hundred people gathered in Houston on Saturday to help correct that injustice. On the eve of both Veterans Day and the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum and the French Veterans of Texas unveiled a new monument honoring black American soldiers who fought in WW I and returned to a nation unwilling to even acknowledge their service. The monument, erected outside the Buffalo Soldier museum near Third Ward, was commissioned as part of the national Cities/100 Memorials program sponsored by the U.S. World War One Centennial Commission. This is part of the story that hasn't been told, said Paul Matthews, a Vietnam War veteran who established the Buffalo Soldiers museum nearly two decades ago. For whatever reason, it just didnt get told. Matthews, 73, became interested in the history of African American military service as a student at Prairie View A&M and read a few paragraphs about Buffalo Soldiers in a textbook. He couldnt believe how little hed learned about the service of African American troops in the decades following the Civil War, when Congress set aside specific units for black troops. Nicknamed Buffalo Soldiers by Native Americans who encountered the service members on the battlefield, the name stuck. Despite victories in battle, the all-black units faced relentless discrimination in the communities where they were based and marginalization from the military leaders who commanded them, Matthews said. When the U.S. entered WW I in 1917, black soldiers expected they would be deployed to France as part of American Expeditionary Forces. Instead, Matthews said, white politicians and military commanders dispersed the original Buffalo Soldier Army regiments to menial assignments across the central U.S. and along the U.S.-Mexico border. But with WW I battles claiming tens of thousands of American troops, the National Guard eventually was forced to conscript thousands of black men into service and deploy the men to France. Commanders still didnt want them serving with white units, Matthews said. France said, Hello, well take them. The people of France embraced and formed a kinship with the Buffalo Soldiers and awarded them numerous military honors, said Pulcherie Gueneau, a French teacher who served on the committee that established the new World War I monument. But back in the U.S., more than seven decades passed before a pair of Buffalo Soldiers were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their service in WWI. Dozens of children from three Fort Bend County elementary schools attended Saturdays ceremony. Afterward, the children toured the museum. Desmond Bertrand-Pitts, the museums executive director and Matthews grandson, said Buffalo Soldiers are largely overlooked in history textbooks. Thats part of the reason we do this, Bertrand-Pitts said, gesturing toward the children. Were giving them the opportunity to experience a history that doesnt get told in schools. mike.hixenbaugh@chron.com twitter.com: Mike_Hixenbaugh Nathan Johnson may now be the only Texas legislator who has compared politics to Dragon Ball Z, one of most popular anime television series in the world. The Dallas attorney who beat Republican State Senator Don Huffines in the 2018 Midterms happened to compose the score to multiple Dragon Ball Z episodes in the early 2000s. He also scored five of the series' films, according to the Dallas Morning News. In a 2018 Midterm election that resulted in an avalanche of "firsts" for minority and female candidates, Johnson's victory added one more unusual story to the list. "One of the things that is comparable to my political philosophy, is that in Dragon Ball you have episodes that deal with a set of very different kinds of peoplesometimes different species and people from other planetsbut they have to work together," Johnson told fansite the Dao of Dragon Ball during his campaign. MIDTERM ELECTIONS: Here's how your neighbor voted in the Ted Cruz, Beto O'Rourke race Johnson will now represent Texas Senate District 16, which includes much of north Dallas. A graduate of the University of Texas School of Law in 1993, he worked as an attorney in Dallas for seven years before he quit and devoted himself to music full time, he told the fansite. He said he studied song composition for opera, film and television. Eventually, Johnson started looking for a building to open his own private law practice after he said his music career was going nowhere. That's when he said he met the owner of a prospective property, Robert Cocanaugher, who also happened to be a co-founder of anime distribution network Funimation, according to Polygon. The studio produced Dragon Ball Z, and Johnson said Cocanaugher was looking for a composer for the show. Johnson said he got the job after showing some samples of his work. "It was one of the most bizarre collisions of circumstance I've ever experienced," Johnson told the Dao of Dragon Ball. He eventually returned to law in 2007, but his connection with the show lives on in his political philosophy. "Tell me, how many times do we see a character's unusual characteristic become vital due to a combination of unusual characteristics in the team that ends up winning the day?" he asked in the interview. "I like that about the Dragon Ball spirit, or model." Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message A woman was shot by a stray bullet allegedly intended for a Harris County deputy constable Friday. The shooting happened in along Gears Road around 4:30 p.m., according to the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office. A deputy constable was in his patrol car when he heard gunshots coming toward him someone, according to Constable Mark Herman. A stray bullet from that gunfire struck a woman at a nearby bus stop. Deputies responded and helped the woman as other deputies chased after the shooter. The vehicle reportedly crashed out during the pursuit. The victim was treated by EMS. Herman told Chron.com, "She's in pretty bad condition, she's lost a lot of blood." Three suspects are involved in total, according to the constable's office. Deputies chased them east on Gears Road to an apartment complex, where the three bailed out. Two of them are in custody while one is still on the run, authorities said. Deputies were still searching for the third suspect as of 6:30 p.m. They know the identity of that third suspect, deputies said. Authorities did not release the identities of the three suspects but said they will likely face several aggravated assault charges. No other information was available. Check back for updates as they come in. Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message AUSTIN Texas never sent a Latina to Congress before, but voters opted to send two in last weeks election. Voters in Michigan and Minnesota elected the nations first Muslim women to Congress. And New York is sending a 29-year-old woman to join them, making her the youngest female elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. All those firsts are just the beginning of historic wins that will send more women to Congress than ever before, and twice as many women from Texas, with six in the states 2019 congressional delegation. Other states made their own landmarks. Iowa, which had never sent any women to Congress, voted to send two. And two states New Mexico and Kansas elected the nations first Native American women to Congress. I think the last presidential election was a gut-check, said Shelia Patrick, a project manager from Round Rock as she and thousands of women gathered Friday at the 19th Annual Texas Conference for Women in Austin. Its a widening awakening of saying, what is our worth? It was an election in which health care became a leading issue and suburban women were a prized demographic for Democrats. People in the crowd at the Conference for Women pointed to President Donald Trumps election the me too movement and the confirmation battle over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as having propelled more women into office. I think its about time, said Sharon Fisher, of Cedar Park, who works with environmental, health and safety sectors of the semiconductor industry. As time goes on, were going to see more women infiltrating Congress, Senate, more women CEOs, more women businesses because already women have surpassed men in going to college and getting educated. Women won in races all over Texas, turning around a decade-long slump. After Texans elected an all-time high of 50 women to serve in state office and Congress in 2008, female candidates lost seats in the Texas House for four elections in a row while the number of Texas women in Congress remained stuck at three. Big winners here included Democratic state Sen. Sylvia Garcia in Houston and El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar. Both Latinas easily won their bids for office in Democratic strongholds. Attorney Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, a Democrat, also won in an upset in Houston over longtime GOP congressman John Culberson. Other Texas women running for Congress came close. Gina Ortiz Jones, who has yet to concede defeat, is within 1 percentage point of unseating a Republican incumbent in a district spanning from San Antonio to El Paso, according to unofficial election results. MJ Hegar a Williamson County Democrat whose candidacy was boosted by a viral campaign ad revealing she and her mother fled from domestic violence when she was a girl lost her race north of Austin by 3 percentage points. Hegars ad highlights how Tuesdays elections are transforming the expectations of how women can campaign, said Joanne Green, a political science professor at Texas Christian University. Not only were many of the female candidates veterans this year, but they also ignored longstanding taboos for women seeking office. Women candidates historically showed no vulnerability theyre supposed to be like superwomen, Green said. That they could be mothers, but dont remind us that theyre mothers. That they could be married, but dont remind us theyre married because people will wonder if their husbands are going to be too influential or if they have their husbands permission. Thats really shifting, I think, and really allowing women to show the multiplicity of their life. For subscribers: Texas women can gain political clout in 2018, after 20-year slump Still, the Institute for Womens Policy Research predicts it will take another century for women to take half of the seats in the U.S. House and Senate. After Tuesdays election, women are claiming 23 percent. That ratio was on actress Reese Witherspoons mind as she addressed the crowd of 7,500 in her keynote speech at the Conference for Women. Now its our job to be the boundary-pushers, the first in our families and our communities, in our government. I think its amazing to see how many women came out to run for office because we are not well-represented in our government, said Witherspoon, who launched her own company to give more authentic voices to female characters. I think we need to do more and we need to step up as leaders. Voters this year elected 101 female representatives in the U.S. House, 40 of whom are women of color. No more than 85 women have ever served in the 435-member House of Representatives at one time, a record set two years ago. Its a slow ripple, said Amber Bogie, 30, who works in software marketing in Austin. Its a more and more normal conversation for women to be front and center. In the Texas Legislature, 37 women won seats, many of them newcomers bumping off incumbent Republicans. I started running and a lot of people want to make you into a mold, said Michelle Beckley, who ran for office as an underdog and won in a state House race north of Dallas. Shes a bird store owner and Democrat motivated by the 2016 election. She said her goal was to run an authentic campaign. People want real people as politicians. They want somebody they can relate to. I think thats more the mindset than anything else right now. Most of the women who claimed victory in Tuesdays election were Democrats. In Congress, Democrats gained a majority in the U.S. House and the Democrats in the Texas House gained 12 seats. Republicans maintain majorities in the U.S. Senate and both houses of the Texas Legislature, as well as controlling every executive office in state government. In a national environment where so much feels threatened, having these fresh voices talking about the issues they care about that actually improve quality of life and build stronger communities and create equal opportunities, that connected, said Kimberly Caldwell, program director of Annies List, a group that supported 37 female candidates for statewide, legislative and local offices this election cycle. Thirty-one of those candidates won. Despite the gains, women make up just 47 of the 219 Texas legislative elected offices at the state and federal level. Its this message of empowerment thats starting to really spread, said Anne Grady, an author and TEDx speaker who focuses on communication, leadership and emotional intelligence. Its been building. Its this momentum of women starting to feel more confident. I think were starting to see women who are trying to model the behavior they want their daughters to see. andrea.zelinski@chron.com This story first was published at texastribune.org by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Imperial Valley News Center Acting Governor Newsom Declares State of Emergency in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties Due to Fires Sacramento, California - Acting Governor Gavin Newsom today issued an emergency proclamation for Los Angeles and Ventura counties due to the effects of the Hill and Woolsey fires, which have destroyed homes, threatened critical infrastructure and caused the evacuation of residents. Yesterday, Acting Governor Newsom issued an emergency proclamation for Butte County due to the effects of the Camp Fire, and sent a letter to the President and Federal Emergency Management Agency requesting a Presidential Emergency Declaration for Direct Federal Assistance to support the communities impacted by wildfires burning across the state, including the Camp, Hill, Woolsey and Nurse fires. PROCLAMATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY WHEREAS on November 8, 2018, the Hill Fire and Woolsey Fire began burning in Ventura County and continue to burn; and WHEREAS the Woolsey Fire has crossed into Los Angeles County; and WHEREAS these fires have destroyed homes and continue to threaten additional homes and other structures, necessitating the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents; and WHEREAS these fires have forced the closure of roadways and continue to threaten critical infrastructure; and WHEREAS high temperatures, low humidity, and erratic winds have further increased the spread of these fires; and WHEREAS the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved a Fire Management Assistant Grant to assist with the mitigation, management, and control of the Hill Fire and Woolsey Fire; and WHEREAS the circumstances of these fires, by reason of its magnitude, are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of any single local government and require the combined forces of a mutual aid region or regions to combat; and WHEREAS under the provisions of Government Code section 8558(b), I find that conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exists in Los Angeles and Ventura counties due to these fires; and WHEREAS under the provisions of Government Code section 8571, I find that strict compliance with the various statutes and regulations specified in this order would prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of these fires. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Acting Governor of the State of California, in accordance with the authority vested in me by the State Constitution and statutes, including the California Emergency Services Act, and in particular, Government Code section 8625, HEREBY PROCLAIM A STATE OF EMERGENCY to exist in Los Angeles and Ventura counties due to the Hill and Woolsey Fires. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: All agencies of the state government utilize and employ state personnel, equipment, and facilities for the performance of any and all activities consistent with the direction of the Office of Emergency Services and the State Emergency Plan. Also, all citizens are to heed the advice of emergency officials with regard to this emergency in order to protect their safety. The Office of Emergency Services shall provide local government assistance to Los Angeles and Ventura counties, if appropriate, under the authority of the California Disaster Assistance Act, Government Code section 8680 et seq., and California Code of Regulations, Title 19, section 2900 et seq. As necessary to assist local governments and for the protection of public health and the environment, state agencies shall enter into contracts to arrange for the procurement of materials, goods, and services necessary to quickly assist with the response to and recovery from the impacts of the Hill Fire and Woolsey Fire. Applicable provisions of the Government Code and the Public Contract Code, including but not limited to travel, advertising, and competitive bidding requirements, are suspended to the extent necessary to address the effects of the Hill Fire and Woolsey Fire. The provisions of Unemployment Insurance Code section 1253 imposing a one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance applicants are suspended as to all applicants who are unemployed as a direct result of the Hill Fire or Woolsey Fire, who applied for unemployment insurance benefits during the time period beginning November 8, 2018, and ending on the close of business on May 8, 2019, and who are otherwise eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. Vehicle Code sections 9265(a), 9867, 14901, 14902, and 15255.2, requiring the imposition of fees, are suspended with regard to any request for replacement of a drivers identification card, vehicle registration certificate, or certificate of title, by any individual who lost such records as a result of the Hill Fire or Woolsey Fire. Such records shall be replaced without charge. The provisions of Vehicle Code sections 4602 and 5902, requiring the timely registration or transfer of title are suspended with regard to any registration or transfer of title by any resident of Los Angeles County or Ventura County who is unable to comply with those requirements as a result of the Hill Fire and Woolsey Fire. The time covered by this suspension shall not be included in calculating any late penalty pursuant to Vehicle Code section 9554. Health and Safety Code sections 103525.5 and 103625, and Penal Code section 14251, requiring the imposition of fees are hereby suspended with regard to any request for copies of certificates of birth, death, marriage, and dissolution of marriage records, by any individual who lost such records as a result of the Hill Fire or Woolsey Fire. Such copies shall be provided without charge. I FURTHER DIRECT that as soon as hereafter possible, this proclamation be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State and that widespread publicity and notice be given of this proclamation. IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 9th day of November 2018. __________________________ GAVIN NEWSOM Acting Governor of California ATTEST: _________________________ ALEX PADILLA Secretary of State FTC Chairman Joseph J. Simons Meets with Counterparts from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to Discuss Antitrust Enforcement Mexico City, Mexico - Antitrust agency heads from the United States, Canada, and Mexico meet in Mexico City to discuss their ongoing work to ensure consistent and effective antitrust enforcement and increased cooperation among the three nations. The meeting includes Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph J. Simons, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Canadian Acting Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell, and President Alejandra Palacios of the Mexican Federal Economic Competition Commission. FTC Chairman Joseph J. Simons meets with antitrust counterparts in Mexico City. The discussions will cover a wide range of topics including developments and priorities, challenges for enforcers in times of antitrust populism, and procedural fairness in antitrust investigations. The officials also are exploring ways to deepen cooperation and convergence on sound antitrust principles. Strengthening ties with our closest neighbors is always a top priority, and I look forward to exploring additional avenues for cooperation, said FTC Chairman Simons. Coordination and continued dialogue are essential to ensure that vigorous competition benefits consumers in all three countries. The Divisions close relationship with our antitrust colleagues in Mexico and Canada is critical to sound antitrust enforcement in North America, said Assistant Attorney General Delrahim. We look forward to our continued efforts to work with our international partners to promote competition to the benefit of consumers. The 1995 cooperation agreement between the United States and Canada, the 1999 agreement between the United States and Mexico, and the 2001 agreement between Canada and Mexico laid the foundation for these meetings. The agreements commit the agencies to coordinate and cooperate with each other in an effort to ensure the most consistent and effective antitrust enforcement. Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek. We're coming to that time of year where we pretend that all humans have hearts and love will find a way. That time when we give each other gifts, sometimes reluctantly, and hope to get better gifts in return. That's somewhat the logic of companies that release warm, emotional Christmas ads. They hope that, on giving you such a gift, you'll immediately rush over to their store to buy lots of things you don't need. Still, the UK's Iceland supermarket chain thought it would raise the tone a little. It released an ad all about a cuddly baby orangutan and a little girl. What was the baby orangutan doing in her room? Running away from the nasty humans who are destroying its forest, in search of palm oil to put in foods. Naturally, the little girl takes up the orangutan's cause. She'll fight for its survival. She'll presumably make a plea to Santa that he should fly his reindeer over the nasty humans and drop coal all over their rapacious heads. You might be wondering what all this has to do with Iceland. Well, the chain is taking this opportunity to say it's removing palm oil from all its own-label products. A very Christmassy gesture, you might think. Not according to the UK authorities who approve ads, it isn't. You see this ad was originally a Greenpeace film. Iceland merely asked if it could use it and change the ending a little. Which the UK ad authorities deemed political. So they banned it from UK screens. One can't let British children hear political messages, you know. They might grow up wanting to be part of Europe again. Iceland insists it's not anti-palm oil, merely anti-deforestation. You can imagine, though, that it knew what the rules were and that the ad might be banned. Which would then create huge publicity. Which would perfectly serve Iceland's purposes and perhaps even save it a little money along the way. Indeed, as Richard Walker, son of chain's founder Malcolm, told the Guardian: "We always knew there was a risk [the clip would not be cleared for TV] but we gave it our best shot." Oh, I think you gave it a very fine, cost-effective shot indeed, Richard. BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM / BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM While the most memorable war poem in the literal sense must be credited to Blackadders Baldrick, the First World War which ended 100 years ago this Sunday produced some of the most enduring lines in the English language. A combination of modern sensibilities and mechanical slaughter upended the epic tradition of using poetry to glorify warfare. In its place, came the visceral rage of poems like Wilfred Owens Dulce et Decorum Est, which described marching in a row of broken down blood-shod soldiers and watching the guttering, choking, drowning death of a man from mustard gas. Recommended The 10 best First World War films The Latin title and final line are taken from an extract by the poet Horace which translates into: It is sweet and right to die for your country. Owen, who was killed a week before the fighting ended, used his haunting talent to tear down this old lie. Siegfried Sassoon, a shell-shocked survivor, was equally scathing in poems such as Suicide in the Trenches: You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye Who cheer when soldier lads march by, Sneak home and pray youll never know The hell where youth and laughter go. The Battle of the Somme 1916 (Getty) There is a special bite to poems written by young men who were fighting and dying, a clash between the breathing humanity of their poetry and the barbarity of war. But what about the poetry of peace? Or the many voices beyond the heroic figures on the front lines? Step forward Carol Ann Duffy, who has released an anthology called Armistice: A Laureates Choice of Poems of War and Peace for the centenary of the end of the First World War. Disclaimer: I love Carol Ann Duffy. Anyone who can write a poem about an onion and make it sing has a special place in my heart. She is both brilliant and breezy, and this collection reflects her approach with a range of poems that broaden our understanding of what war poetry can be. As Duffy writes in a foreword: The poets of these pages write, across centuries, of the grief of war and bruised grace of peace. Around a third of the 100 poems in the collection are by female writers, including Sappho on ancient Greek military glory and Jo Shapcott on the chilling euphemisms of the Gulf War. They capture everything from bereavement to the boring mundanity of carrying on and cleaning up. In The End and the Beginning, the Polish Nobel prize-winning poet Wislawa Szymborska writes: After every war someone has to tidy up. Things wont pick themselves up, after all The Polish Nobel prize-winning poet Wislawa Szymborska (AFP/Getty Images) Its a poem that wears its profundity lightly, capturing the fact that war is constant (All the cameras have gone / to other wars) and ultimately meaningless, as the memories fade out through the generations until we understand nothing less than nothing about its causes. In a similar vein Dorothy Parker, best known for her flip epigrams, imagines Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, stranded a long way from heroism: I shall sit at home and, and rock; Rise, to heed a neighbours knock; Brew my tea, and snip my thread; Bleach the linen for my bed. From stifling domesticity to distant violence: a highlight of the collection is Pomegranates of Kandahar, by Sarah Maguire. Written in 2007, against the backdrop of the war in Afghanistan, it draws parallels between a landmine and a pomegranate to capture the way violence becomes encased in the everyday: thrust your knife through the globe then twist till the soft flesh cleaves open Baldrick's world war 1 poem The German Guns While military language deliberately deadens empathy enemies and targets are easier to kill than people, after all poetry makes you feel the twist of the knife, the blast of the bomb. It also makes you feel the luxury of normality. The Iraqi poet Saadi Youssefs Night in Al-Hamra, translated from Arabic, tells the story of an embattled district in Beirut as an incantation that includes everything from a candle for the sky that has folded to a candle for a bottle of water. There are poems that strike a hopeful note: Sassoon is on gentler form here in Reconciliation, as he imagines bereaved English and German mothers finding common ground; while Emily Dickinson writes in Hope is the thing with feathers of a bird that sings in the chillest land. But some of the most memorable poems confront the impossibility of hope. In Progress, Alan Gillis writes about his home town Belfasts supposed recovery with finely pitched sarcastic rage: So I guess we can look forward to taking boxes from the earth. I guess that ambulances will leave the dying back amidst the rubble to be explosively healed. As in Northern Ireland, so in Vietnam. John Balaban, a conscientious objector who was injured by shrapnel while teaching in Vietnam, captures the grotesque aftermath of the conflict. In his poem In Celebration of Spring, he describes a marine rotting in a swamp as an eel / slides through the cage of his barred ribs, while all across the USA / the wounded walk about and wonder where to go. A hundred years after a conflict that tore Europe apart and killed around 40 million people, this excellent collection explores the gamut of human emotions and responses to warfare. Nature is soothing or savage, reconciliation is plausible or impossible. The one thing binding these poems together is the human empathy at their heart. As Duffy writes: If war is the messenger of hate, poetry is the messenger of love. Spice Girls have added four new dates to their upcoming UK tour after the initial batch of tickets sold out in minutes. The iconic girl group will play twos additional shows in Manchester (on the 29 and 31 May) and two in London (on the 13 and 14 June). Tickets are on sale on now BUY HERE Fans of the group complained online that they were unable to purchase tickets as seller Ticketmaster struggled with demand for tickets. The site posted on Twitter: Its a VERY busy morning and were selling tickets fast. To ensure fair access some of you may see queue pages, please follow the instructions. Four of the original girl groups members Geri Horner, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, and Emma Bunton are returning for the tour, while Victoria Beckham has opted not to rejoin. They will be joined by special guest Jess Glynne at the shows. Rumours about a possible tour had been swirling for years, with some of the groups members giving increasingly strong hints over the past few months that plans to revive the 90s group were indeed in the pipeline. Spice Girls in pictures Show all 23 1 /23 Spice Girls in pictures Spice Girls in pictures 1997 Spice Girls performing at the Brit Awards ceremony PA Spice Girls in pictures 1996 PA Spice Girls in pictures 1997 Spice Girls outside the Martinez Hotel in Cannes, during the 50th Cannes Film Festival PA Spice Girls in pictures 1996 PA Spice Girls in pictures 1997 Prince of Wales with the Spice Girls at the Royal Gala celebrating the Princes Trust 21st Anniversary in Manchester PA Spice Girls in pictures 1997 Spice Girls arriving at the Empire, Leicester Square, for the gala premiere of the film Spice - The Movie PA Spice Girls in pictures 1997 Prince Harry with Mel B, Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham PA Spice Girls in pictures 1997 The Prince of Wales and Nelson Mandela with the Spice Girls at the presidential residence Mahlamba Nalopfu in Pretoria, South Africa PA Spice Girls in pictures 1998 PA Spice Girls in pictures 1998 Modena, Italy PA Spice Girls in pictures 1999 Unveiling of their wax doubles at Madame Tussaud's Rock Circus in Piccadilly PA Spice Girls in pictures 1999 Mel B, Victoria Beckham, Mel C and Emma Bunton launching their book 'Forever Spice' PA Spice Girls in pictures 2000 Posh, Scary, Sporty and Baby arriving at the launch party of their new album 'Forever PA Spice Girls in pictures 2000 Emma Bunton, Mel C, Victoria Beckham and Mel B celebrate after their finale performance at the Brit Awards where they received the Outstanding Contribution to British Music Award PA Spice Girls in pictures 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards in Stockholm PA Spice Girls in pictures The Spice Girls kicking off their reunion tour in Vancouver in 2007 Reuters Spice Girls in pictures 2007 PA Spice Girls in pictures The Spice Girls perform at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2007 Reuters Spice Girls in pictures PA Spice Girls in pictures 2012 Spice Girls performing during the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 London Olympics PA Spice Girls in pictures 2012 The Spice Girls perform during the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games Reuters Spice Girls in pictures 2012 The launch of Viva Forever, a musical featuring songs from the Spice Girls PA Spice Girls in pictures Geri Horner, Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton and Melanie Brown announced they will kick off a six-date UK stadium tour in June 2019 in Manchester as a four-piece without Victoria Beckham Dawbell/PA Spice Girls will play the following dates: NEW: 29 May 2019 Manchester Etihad Stadium NEW: 31 May 2019 Manchester Etihad Stadium 01 June 2019 Manchester Etihad Stadium 03 June 2019 Coventry Ricoh Stadium 06 June 2019 Sunderland Stadium of Light 08 June 2019 Edinburgh BT Murrayfield Stadium 10 June 2019 Bristol Ashton Gate Stadium NEW: 13 June 2019 London Wembley Stadium NEW: 14 June 2019 London Wembley Stadium 15 June 2019 London Wembley Stadium Got sweaty palms already? Check out our handy tips for dealing with the demand: 1) Make sure you are ready and waiting with the web page up at least five minutes before sales open on Saturday at 10:30am. 2) Do not let your computer, phone or whatever device holds the key to your happiness run out of battery. 3) Register your details with the website you are booking from in advance, if you can, but dont panic if you havent left enough time as your tickets will be held while you fill out your information 4) Check how many tickets you are allowed to buy in one purchase. If you try to buy more than the limited number, your booking may be cancelled without notice, meaning no-one gets to go. Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up 5) Get your friends to try too, but stay in contact in case you all succeed and end up with a bunch of tickets you didnt want. If you do need to sell any on, do so at face value. No-one likes a tout. 6) Be patient and avoid refreshing or switching between browsers. Stick with one tab and have some faith! Be prepared to wait for an hour to get tickets. National treasure doesnt even begin to do justice to David Attenborough. The natural history presenter is at once the countrys favourite beloved uncle, a lion of broadcasting and a voice in the wilderness warning that our addiction to plastics and other pollutants jeopardises the myriad of lifeforms with which we share the planet. At age 92, Attenborough continues to push boundaries. He returns to the airwaves on Sunday with a landmark new BBC series, Dynasties. Echoing past triumphs beginning with Life on Earth (1979) and leading up to last years Blue Planet II, the show is being hailed as a leap forward in natural history television, combining state of the art filmmaking with life-and-death drama straight out of Shakespeare. It undoubtedly promises to be a gripping watch. Having told the story of evolution and of natures ability to adapt to the most challenging environments, Attenborough now gives us a ground level view of life in the wild even as human population growth and the attendant environmental destruction hurtles towards a cataclysmic tipping point. And thats just the start. In 2019, he reunites with the creators of Planet Earth and Blue Planet for the Netflix eight-parter Our Planet a collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund that will see Attenborough once more taking advantage of his unique profile to caution that humanitys devastating impact is reaching a point of no return. A young Attenborough in 1950s series Zoo Quest (BBC) But first there is the small matter of Dynasties, a globe-trotting project four years in the making. Each episode tracks the day-to-day experiences of a different animal beginning with chimpanzees and taking in emperor penguins, hunting dogs, tigers and, fascinatingly, a female lion who must assume control of her pride when it is abandoned by its adult males Dynasties is far from a one-person show (for Sundays first instalment, the camera crew trailed the chimp protagonist for up to 15 miles each day, often in 40 degree heat). Yet it simply wouldnt work without Attenborough and his remarkable voiceovers which convey the tooth-and-claw tumult of life in the wild, without anthropomorphising the animals or condescending to the viewer. It is precisely this blend of drama and authority that has made Attenborough a singular presence in British broadcasting all the way back to the Fifties. From the beginning of his life before the camera, he has demonstrated a striking, almost uncanny, talent for communicating the awe-inducing majesty of nature, along with its visceral lack of sentimentality. The real secret ingredient, however, was the humanity with trace elements of bone-dry humour he brought. This shines through the grainy black and white footage of Zoo Quest, one of the first shows he worked on after joining the BBC in 1952. The powers that be hadnt been particularly keen on Attenborough, whod given up a steady job editing childrens textbooks to take a punt at broadcasting. One manager went so far as to note the young mans large teeth made him ill-suited to a career on TV. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up Planet Earth II was another hit for the beloved naturalist (BBC) Indeed, the plan was for Attenborough to produce Zoo Quest with presenter duties carried out by London Zoo curator of reptiles, Jack Lester. It was only when Lester fell ill with malaria after the first episode that Attenborough was promoted and only because part two had already been advertised in the Radio Times, meaning it was too late to bin the project. Yet with Zoo Quest, which ran from 1954 to 1963, he showed he could both educate the public about nature and also convey what a jolly time he was having. The premise was simple: he would join keepers from the London Zoo as they travelled to exotic locations and captured animals for their collection (this was the era when animal rights was a contradiction in terms). Most zoos assumed that there was an unlimited supply of exhibits in the wild. No one seemed to suspect that a time might come when that supply might be in danger of exhaustion, Attenborough wrote of Zoo Quest in his 2002 autobiography Life on Air. So it was not uncommon for big zoos to send out expeditions to look for rare creatures that had seldom if ever been seen before in captivity. The BBC had been cautiously supportive rather than gung-ho, as was made clear when Attenborough was taken aside by the television units head of departmental finances and told that, as a member of staff, he would receive no additional fee for stepping in as presenter. The first inkling Attenborough would have that the series was making waves came outside the corporation when he was driving down Regent Street in London and a bus driver pulled alongside and loudly inquired as to what animals would feature the following week. However, it was a charming encounter with an orangutang named Charlie which confirmed his natural affinity with all creatures furry and adorable. Having been rudely plucked from its home in the Borneo jungle and thrown in the cage, Charlie found a friend in Attenborough, whom he befriended to the point of allowing the eager young presenter to apply ointment to a minor injury . Planet earth II: Meet the local project saving baby turtles A glorious future would await both. Charlie would become the father of the first Orangutang born in London Zoo, while Attenborough was to utterly transform natural history programming. It was with 1979s Life on Earth that he first demonstrated his ability to weave stunning footage and a deep knowledge of wildlife into a compelling overall narrative. The 20-plus year gap between Zoo Quest and Life on Earth is explained in part by an ongoing suspicion among senior figures at the BBC that nature was not a suitable subject for serious television, but even more so by a detour into management, which saw Attenborough become the first controller of BBC2. In this capacity, Attenborough was, in 1969, instrumental in bringing to the screen one of the BBCs most important ever documentaries, Kenneth Clarkes Civilisation. One of the things we developed was to take a really important subject and give it proper treatment, he would recall. It would be 13 parts because that was a quarter of the year. People were a bit suspicious about it. To everyones surprise.[the public] was delighted to make an appointment for 13 weeks. Encouraged by its success, he went on to commission Alistair Cooks America: A Personal History of the United States (1972), and Jacob Bronowskis The Ascent of Man (1973). The show he really dreamed of bringing to the screen, however, was a chronicling of the evolution of life on the planet, from single-cell organisms to human beings. Dynasties is Attenboroughs new landmark BBC series (BBC) The problem was that, if such a series was to be made, he couldnt reasonably commission it and then expect to be the presenter too. So he took the dramatic step of stepping down from BBC2 so that he could do Life On Earth before anyone else had the notion. Natural history programming and British broadcasting more broadly would be very different had he stayed. My worry was someone else would do it, he recalled. They would bring this idea to me what about telling the story of life on Earth in 13 parts. I managed to resign in order to do that series. Life on Earth was history-making in its scope and ambition and brimming with moments that lingered with the viewer, especially if the viewer had been allowed stay up past bedtime on a Sunday to watch this show thrillingly swarming with bugs, lizards and African hunting dogs. There was that shot of Attenborough between the jaws of a huge extinct shark; those still gobsmacking images of frogs and flying squirrels soaring in achingly beautiful slow motion. But most enduring of all was the visit Attenborough paid to a family of silverback gorillas in Rwanda. There is more meaning and mutual understanding in exchanging a glance with a gorilla than any other animal I know, he said, as he snuggled between two huge apes who appeared quietly thrilled to be appearing in a BBC documentary. Were so similar. Their sight, their hearing, their sense of smell is so similar to ours. We see the world the same way as they do. Attenboroughs gorillas in his midst moment was to become one of the iconic images in British broadcasting up there with Del Boy looking shifty behind a stall and Gazza bursting into tears. Life on Earth would take three years and two round the world trips to complete. It was an enormous hit and a showcase on the world stage for both the BBCs fledgling Natural History Unit in Bristol and Attenborough personally. Still, there were hiccups. When the series was sold to PBS in America, it was suggested that Attenboroughs voiceover be removed, for fear he would not be comprehensible to Middle Americans, and that Robert Redford narrate instead. But PBS ultimately backed down and, both home and abroad, Life on Earth was soon on its way to blockbuster status. Life on Earth was gratifyingly well received, Attenborough would write. Its ability to take the viewer in a fraction of a second from one continent to another, the systemic way and serious way in which we had surveyed the natural world, not taking short cuts and featuring groups of animals that that had been largely neglected sea slugs, legless amphibians, naked mole rats and other creatures made a great impression. Last year, Attenborough collaborated with the Queen on an ITV documentary Anyone else might have looked on such an achievement as their legacy. Attenborough, however, was merely getting started. He followed with the 1984 sequel, The Living Planet, which examined a different environment every week. This culminated in the nightmare-fuelling episode in which Attenborough scrutinised creatures that had adapted to living amongst humanity, and which presented a shiver-inducing tableaux of bed bugs, creepy crawlies in the carpets, spiders in bedroom corners and so forth. Thus began an unparalleled streak of award-winning programming, including 1990s The Trials of Life, with its famous/notorious footage of a killer whale springing on a sea lion colony in Patagonia and playing with its prey before devouring it. He also had the privilege of crawling inside a termite mound a space so cramped he couldnt turn around and so had to back in and out painstakingly between shots. This was followed by Life in the Freezer (1993), a study of animals in arctic environments that featured a distressing sequence in which a leopard seal killed and dismembered a young penguin (Attenborough has always insisted that it would be wrong to step in and interfere, no matter how harrowing the events caught on camera). Then came The Private Life of Plants (1995) and the The Life of Birds (1998), the latter of which provided a flash of Attenboroughs underrated wit as he struggled to keep a straight face as an agitated bird-of-paradise constantly interrupted with its excited hoots. Technological advancements meant that the sophistication of the images Attenborough and the BBC could present increased over time. With 2001s The Blue Planet, he stunned audiences with revolutionary aerial footage of migrating whales and dolphins. And 2006s Planet Earth set jaws agape with its images of giraffes sweeping across the Savannah. He also sat down with then US President Barack Obama in 2015 (with lifelong fan Obama interviewing Attenborough rather than the other way around), narrated an Adele video for BBC Radio 1s Greg James and, last April, nattered with the Queen for an ITV documentary. Trailer for David Attenborough series Dynasties But it was with the 2017 Blue Planet follow-up the imaginatively titled Blue Planet II that Attenborough confronted the lasting damage humanity was inflicting upon the environment. His warning about the threat posed by plastics had a genuine impact with the subject raised in the House of Commons and the European Parliament voting to ban single use plastics such as straws. It is now increasingly apparent, cautioned Attenborough with uncommon severity, that one species, our own, has developed the unique ability of so altering its surroundings it can destroy whole species, whole environments. The theme will be returned to in Dynasties, though Attenborough would seem to view it as his task to persuade rather than lecture the viewer. The series will reference the tension between humanitys desire to raise itself up and the impact this is having on the natural world though there is to be no preaching to the punter. Its a very difficult thing to deal with men, women and children need space too, Attenborough commented recently. Look at tigers in India. Tigers eat human children, they hunt them, they do. So people living alongside tigers have got a very, very tough problem. They have to be very strongly convinced that tigers have a right to live. Our job is to raise peoples passion and belief and desire to recognise that animals have a right to some sort of space. Its a testament to Attenboroughs authority that he can convey a stark message about the environment without coming across as superior or all-knowing. Perhaps that is because his journey from observer of nature to advocate on its behalf has been ongoing and intensely personal. I was interested in the natural world, but it was nothing to do with saving the planet. There were people who thought the country had been desecrated in terms of putting up pylons and things like that. But the idea that you could actually destroy the Earth didnt really occur.It was assumed the world was big enough. Maybe it was. But when I was a kid there were only a third of the people on the planet that there are today. It doesnt seem big enough any more. Dynasties begins on BBC1 on Sunday at 8.30pm The sets of Westworld and The Bachelor have been damaged by wildfires in California. Westworld a science-fiction show about a robot uprising was partly filmed at Paramount Ranchs Western Town, Agoura Hills. The set has been almost completely destroyed by one of three wildfires causing damage in the state. The network behind the series, HBO, has issued a statement, reading: Paramount Ranch was one of the locations used during seasons one and two of Westworld, in addition to the primary location at Melody Ranch in Santa Clarita. Westworld is not currently in production, and as the area has been evacuated, we do not yet know the extent of the damage to any structures remaining there. Most importantly, our thoughts go out to all those affected by these horrible fires. The same Woosley blaze has also caused damage to the set of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. The two series primarily take place in a mansion, with sources telling EW that the second house of which has been destroyed. Its unclear whether the main house has been damaged as it was completely evacuated when the blaze reached the patio. Wildfires spread across California in pictures Show all 32 1 /32 Wildfires spread across California in pictures Wildfires spread across California in pictures Firefighters battle a blaze at the Salvation Army Camp in Malibu Getty Wildfires spread across California in pictures Flames from the Camp fire burn near a home atop a ridge near Big Bend AFP/Getty Wildfires spread across California in pictures Cathy Fallon (centre) who stayed behind to tend to her horses during the Camp Fire, embraces Shawna De Long (left) and April Smith who brought supplies for the horses Reuters Wildfires spread across California in pictures A helicopter drops flame retardant on a wildfire in Malibu Getty Wildfires spread across California in pictures An air tanker drops water on the fire along the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Simi Valley AP Wildfires spread across California in pictures An abandoned car from fleeing residents of Paradise in the Pentz road area EPA Wildfires spread across California in pictures A firefighter tackles the fire along the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Simi Valley AP Wildfires spread across California in pictures A Jack In The Box fast food restaurant burns as the Camp fire moves through Paradise, California AFP/Getty Wildfires spread across California in pictures Yuba and Butte County Sheriff officers label a body bag AFP/Getty Wildfires spread across California in pictures Firefighters hose down trees on Bell Canyon Road, near Malibu AFP/Getty Wildfires spread across California in pictures A fire burns at the Salvation Army Camp Getty Wildfires spread across California in pictures A firefighting DC-10 makes a fire retardant drop over a wildfire in the mountains near Malibu Canyon Road AP Wildfires spread across California in pictures A house burns in Paradise, California AFP/Getty Wildfires spread across California in pictures Bins have melted and ballooned in the heat in Magalia, Butte County EPA Wildfires spread across California in pictures Satellite image taken on 8 November shows plumes of smoke from the Camp Fire stretching across portions of Northern California AFP/Getty Wildfires spread across California in pictures Firefighters battle the Camp Fire AP Wildfires spread across California in pictures Firefighters battle the Woolsey Fire Reuters Wildfires spread across California in pictures Deputy Coroner Justin Sponhaltz, of the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office, recovers human remains found at a home destroyed by the Camp Fire AP Wildfires spread across California in pictures Buildings burn in Paradise, California EPA Wildfires spread across California in pictures Local residents bring their horses to Zuma Beach and away from the Woolsey Fire in Malibu Reuters Wildfires spread across California in pictures A used car dealership burns in Paradise, California Reuters Wildfires spread across California in pictures Yuba and Butte County Sheriff officers inspect a burned vehicle after discovering remains nearby in Concow AFP/Getty Wildfires spread across California in pictures Firefighters battle the flames in Thousand Oaks Reuters Wildfires spread across California in pictures A house burns in Paradise, California AFP/Getty Wildfires spread across California in pictures A house burns in Paradise, California AP Wildfires spread across California in pictures Search and rescue teams work to evacuate patients from the burning Feather River Hospital in Paradise, California AFP/Getty Wildfires spread across California in pictures Embers blow in the wind in Paradise, California AFP/Getty Wildfires spread across California in pictures In Butte County, the sky is filled with the smoke of the Camp Fire EPA Wildfires spread across California in pictures Firefighters at work in Thousand Oaks Reuters Wildfires spread across California in pictures A house burns in Paradise, California AP Wildfires spread across California in pictures The burned remains of a house and car are left after the Camp Fire in Paradise, California AFP/Getty Wildfires spread across California in pictures A shop burns in Paradise, California AFP/Getty Over 88,000 people have been evacuated from their homes after wildfires ravaged California. Reports confirm that at least five people dead and acting governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency. Its as if you can smell the cordite, such is the atmosphere as we approach the centenary of the armistice that ended the Great War. The Queen and the massed ranks of the old British establishment will gather, as ever, for the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, exactly a century after guns finally fell silent on the western front. This being a special anniversary, theres also a special Songs of Praise from the BBC (which in 1918 was still four years away from its birth, and so couldnt cover the actual arrival of peace). This is followed by Home Front Heroes, in which celebrities, inevitably, reflect on the familys wartime history. Then theres another service at Westminster Abbey, plus a special documentary about that installation of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London in 2014. But the televisual guns do not fall silent, such is the abiding fascination with the war to end all wars. Theres 100 Year of the RAF, tail-end johnnies flying in on Friday night; and Dan Cruickshanks Monuments of Remembrance on Tuesday, which tells the story of the architecture of all those gracious cemeteries and memorials that have been such centres of attention again. Probably the best, and most original, of the many documentaries devoted to the First World War is They Shall Not Grow Old. This is more of a feature film in fact, created as it is by Peter Jackson (best known for directing the Lord of the Rings trilogy). You may have seen the advance publicity: original film has been cleaned up, colourised, converted to 3D and rendered with an almost contemporary look. Thus that faded, jumpy black-and-white conflict is transformed into something that might have been videoed last week (not that we have any shortage of wars nowadays anyway). Of course, something of the same has been done with The Second World War in Colour and similar series, but nothing as ambitious as this, nor so well put together with audio from old soldiers remembrances. Even those suffering from a touch of war weariness after four years of anniversary broadcasting will appreciate the depth of effort that has gone into this. Now all we have to do is get ready for the 1939-45 show. People Just Do Nothing was, and is, one of the funniest things to come out of Hounslow, or anywhere. Its about a bunch of idiots in a UK garage (or something) crew who run a pirate radio station. The police raided them at the end of that last series but, as one of the mugs tells us in this (sadly) the final series, the audience was so pitifully small that he virtually let them off. By the way, a feature film is on the way, plus a tour or two. People Just Do Nothing, a great success from that mighty digital comedy incubator BBC3 (BBC) In mockumetary style, PJDN is a superbly scripted and enacted chronicle of fecklessness, corruption (ironically or not), drug abuse, evil, delusion and, above all, astonishing stupidity. Its hard to pick out one of them who are last among equals, so to speak, but I suppose it has to be the scene-stealing Chabbuddy G, aka the Mayor of Hounslow, aka the Brown Casanova, aka the Ultrapaneer, aka Alan Brown Sugar, aka Asim Chaudhry. By the way, Chabuds has a girthy book out, How To Be a Man, in such he celebrates his success, especially as a lover: Hey, sugar face, wanna make some beige babies and live the Ukip nightmare? Chabuds joins MC Grindah (Allan Mustafa), Mish (Lily Brazier) CJ Beats (Hugo Chegwin), and DJ Steves (Steve Stamp) also try to pit their minuscule wits against a hostile world. So bad are they at it that the BBC has even promoted them to BBC2, from their previous existence on BBC3, which transformed itself into a mighty digital comedy incubator when most expected it to curl up and die (This Country and Murder in Successville were other great achievements). This week Kurupt FM try to replace their pirate radio kit that the police confiscated. In a small homage to Only Fools and Horses, Chabuddy styles himself as Dahl Boy goes hustling. The genius of the British has always been improvisation... Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up I can easily recommend The Little Drummer Girl, which maintains its high standards in this, the third episode. Obviously, rather like the real-life Mossad officers and Palestinian terrorists that feature at the heart of this drama, I cant reveal too much about what youre going to see, but you may rest assured it is gripping, beautifully shot and stylishly acted, with standout performances from Michael Shannon (Israeli spymaster Martin Kurtz) and Florence Pugh (a high-tensile alloy of petulance and steel as the reluctant spy/terrorist). Though I suppose nothing will surpass the 1979 dramatisation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, this Le Carre dramatisation is certainly a fine piece of craft, on a par with The Night Manager. Fine viewing, then: no secret about that. Michael Shannon stars in The Little Drummer Girl, based on the John le Carre book (BBC) The animal kingdom is full of endearing creatures that are more or less endangered. (In fact we homo sapiens are actually the most pathetic, seeing as we know we will die out because were killing our own planet, but cant be bothered to do much about it. But I digress.) There can be few more charming things on four trotters than the tapir, and specifically the rare Malaysian tapir, which is basically a pig with a gigantic schnozzle. They look stupid, and they are, and the pair featured in The Secret Life of the Zoo dont even seem too much keen on mating. No wonder theyre dying out. Last, theres no shortage of sport out there if you want to desert the western front. International rugby kicks off on Saturday, with England playing the All Blacks maybe the highlight. Sky is also offering, live, the United/City Manchester Derby on Sunday. Should be fun, at leastways for Pep. World War One Remembered (BBC1, Sky News, Sunday 10am); Songs of Praise (BBC1, Sunday 1.45pm); Home Front Heroes (BBC1, Sunday 2.20pm); World War One Remembered: Westminster Abbey (BBC1, Sunday 5.10pm); 100 Years of the RAF (Channel 5, Friday 8pm); Dan Cruickshanks Monuments of Remembrance (Tuesday, BBC4 9pm); They Shall Not Grow Old (BBC2, Sunday 9.30pm); People Just Do Nothing (BBC2, Monday 10pm); The Little Drummer Girl (BBC1, Sunday 9pm); The Secret Life of the Zoo (Channel 4, Wednesday 8pm); International Rugby (Sky Sports, BBC1, Saturday from 2pm); Manchester City v Manchester United (Sky Sports, Sunday 4pm) An ambitious campaign has been launched to ban animal cages on all farms across Europe, days after California passed a similar historic measure. The move would affect at least 350 million hens, pigs, calves, rabbits and ducks in Europe that are held in cruel cages that activists say at worst are filthy and barren and at best restrict animals natural roaming instincts. Farmers in California opposed the plan, warning it would force up prices of food from farmed animals, ranging from eggs to ham. But voters in the US state last week passed a measure obliging farms to give more space to certain animals and banning cages for egg-laying hens. By 2022, female pigs used for breeding must by law have at least 24 sq ft of space each, and hens must have cage-free housing offering at least a square foot of space each. Products from farms where the requirements are not met will not be allowed on sale in California, even if the farms are outside the state. Campaigners hailed the historic step forward for animal welfare. The drive for similar legislation across Europe is being organised by more than 130 charities and groups, who say most EU citizens oppose confining animals to cramped cages. They are using a European Citizens Initiative mechanism, which allows people to suggest specific legal changes to EU institutions if a million signatures are gathered within a year. If that number of signatures is reached, the commission must consider taking action. British charity Compassion in World Farming, which is lobbying the British, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish agriculture ministers, said: Cages inflict immense misery on enormous numbers of farm animals every year. They are cruel and unnecessary, as higher-welfare cage-free systems are viable. This cannot be the future of British farming. In many cases animals never see an open field or straw-covered floor. They may spend their whole life trapped, perhaps unable to turn around. Yet most people have no idea that animals are caged to produce cheap food. The activists plan to launch a series of roadshows to show the public the hidden cruelty of cages and to win support. They say that in Britain alone, 16 million animals are kept in cages. However, at 37 per cent of hens and 53 per cent of sows, the UK is not the worst offender. Figures from CiWF show the worst is Malta, where all sows, 97 per cent of hens and 96 per cent of meat rabbits are reared in cages. Portugal, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Spain also all keep high proportions in cages. The "End the Cage Age" campaign has just been launched in the Czech Republic, where all sows and 84 per cent of hens are caged. But poultry industry chiefs there have warned a cage ban would significantly drive up the cost of eggs and animal agriculture companies could go out of business. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events In the UK, the new Agriculture Bill sets out how farmers will be paid to be environmentally friendly, taking measures such as curbing flooding and improving access to the countryside after Brexit, and environment secretary Michael Gove will face pressure to outlaw cages in future legislation. A federal judge has ordered that construction on the Keystone XL pipeline should be halted immediately - earning a rebuke from Donald Trump over a project that had been key to his economic programme. The judge ruled that the government did not do the necessary environmental assessment before beginning construction. US District Court Judge Brian Morris wrote that a State Department environmental analysis of Keystone XL fell short of a 'hard look' at the cumulative effects of greenhouse gas emissions and the impact on Native American land resources. The Keystone XL pipeline has been a matter of contention between the Trump administration and environmental groups, resulting in protests around the country. In 2016, protests over the pipeline even became a national movement among Native Americans. Recommended South Dakota regulators could revoke Keystone permit after spill Now, Judge Morris in Montana has declared that the project violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Former analyses of the impact of the pipeline on the environment and wildlife had been simply discarded, the judge wrote. According to federal law, scientific analyses of environmental impact must be considered when construction projects like the pipeline occur. Mr Trump approved the pipeline shortly after taking office and he called the decision by Judge Morris a political decision" and a "disgrace". The function of the 1,200-mile Keystone XL pipeline is to bring crude oil from Alberta, Canada to the United States. President Trump argued that the project would bring jobs to Americans and then appointed Scott Pruitt, a supporter of the pipeline, to run the Environmental Protection Agency before Mr Pruitt later left his post. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The plaintiffs in the lawsuit were the Indigenous Environmental Network, North Coast River Alliance, and North Plains Resource Council. The defendants were the United States Department of State et al, Transcanada Keystone Pipeline, and Transcanada corporation. Opponents to the pipeline include organisations concerned over climate change, land degradation, and the digging up of private land, including that which belongs to Native Americans. The Trump administration tried to force this dirty pipeline project on the American people, but they can't ignore the threats it would pose to our clean water, our climate, and our communities, said the Sierra Club. The ruling does not mean that the Keystone XL Pipeline is cancelled. It means that the Trump administration needs to re-evaluate the environmental impact and ensure that they are following regulations before they proceed. The State Department is reviewing the judge's order and made no comment due to ongoing litigation. British actor Emily Blunt has appeared on the December cover of American Vogue dressed as Mary Poppins. Dressed in character as the eponymous nanny, the British actor is in an all-red ensemble by Dior, complete with a full tulle skirt and a form-fitting blazer and an open umbrella by London Undercover. The cover was photographed by Annie Leibovitz and has been widely praised by fans on social media, with people gearing up for the new film, which comes out in the UK on 19 December. Can we do @Disney themed photo shoots for every magazine cover? enthused one person on Twitter. This is spectacular, as is Emily Blunt. (and all things Mary Poppins). Another teased: Well this is an uncomfortable combination of my teen and childhood crushes." The cover image marks a move away from the traditional portrait-style photography that most fashion magazines, including Vogue, usually favour. Recommended Everything we know so far about Mary Poppins Returns Instead of a classic, close-up studio shot, we see Blunt in full length, with just a blue and cloudy sky behind her. The shoot is accompanied by an in-depth interview in which the 35-year-old actor discusses her role in Mary Poppins Returns, which sees her taking on the beloved nanny character famously played by Julie Andrews, who won an Oscar for her performance in the 1964 film. Blunt tells the magazine that she did not re-watch the classic film in fear that it might put her off. I knew that if I watched Julie Andrewss version, maybe I would take the edge off of what my instincts were telling me to do, she said. Also, I didnt want to be completely intimidated by the brilliance of her voice. Scientists have created a piece of music from the 5,000th Martian sunrise photographed by Nasas Opportunity rover. A technique known as data sonification was used to reinterpret the image into a two-minute soundtrack to be played while viewing the image. The photo was scanned from left to right and each element of brightness and colour information was converted into a specific pitch and melody. Recommended Mars dust storm clears and raises hope for lost Nasa rover Their resulting piece, dubbed The Mars Soundscapes, is set to be played at the Supercomputing SC18 Conference in Dallas next week. Besides the sounds, the audience will be exposed to vibrational transducers that will allow them to feel vibrations in their hands as they listen. Image sonification is a really flexible technique to explore science and it can be used in several domains, from studying certain characteristics of planet surfaces and atmospheres, to analysing weather changes or detecting volcanic eruptions, said Dr Domenico Vicinanza of Anglia Ruskin University. Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Show all 30 1 /30 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An image from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows a 200,000 mile long solar filament ripping through the Sun's corona in September 2013 Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa Celebrates 50 Years of Spacewalking For 50 years, NASA has been "suiting up" for spacewalking. In this 1984 photograph of the first untethered spacewalk, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless is in the midst of the first "field" tryout of a nitrogen-propelled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Hubble Cosmic Couple The spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427 more commonly known as WR 124 and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the Veil Nebula - expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago Nasa's most stunning pictures of space The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launch The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, carrying three new astronauts to the International Space Station. It also took caviar, ready for the satellite's inhabitants to celebrate the holidays Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth from the ISS From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts took this photograph of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast at sunset Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Black Hole Friday Nasa celebrated Black Friday by looking into space instead sharing pictures of black holes Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space NuSTAR X-rays stream off the sun in this image showing observations from by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Cassiopeia A c A false colour image of Cassiopeia A comprised with data from the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and the Chandra X-Ray observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Orion Capsule splashes down The Orion capsule jetted off into space before heading back a few hours later having proved that it can be used, one day, to carry humans to Mars Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth Observations From Gemini IV in 1965 This photograph of the Florida Straits and Grand Bahama Bank was taken during the Gemini IV mission during orbit no. 19 in 1965. The Gemini IV crew conducted scientific experiments, including photography of Earth's weather and terrain, for the remainder of their four-day mission following Ed White's historic spacewalk on June 3 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Frosty slopes of Mars This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. The image was taken by Nasa's HiRISE camera, which is mounted on its Mars Reconaissance Orbiter Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Yellowstone from space NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Yellowstone via his twitter account Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Saturn This near-infrared color image shows a specular reflection, or sunglint, off of a hydrocarbon lake named Kivu Lacus on Saturn's moon Titan Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Worlds Apart Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. Pandora, "small" by moon standards (50 miles or 81 kilometers across) is elongated and irregular in shape. Mimas (246 miles or 396 kilometers across), a "medium-sized" moon, formed into a sphere due to self-gravity imposed by its higher mass Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An X1.6 class solar flare flashes in the middle of the sun in this image taken 10 September, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Mars Rover Spirit Nasa's Mars Rover Spirit took the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Morning Aurora From the Space Station Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station Nasa/Scott Kelly Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Launch of History - Making STS-41G Mission in 1984 The Space Shuttle Challenger launches from Florida at dawn. On this mission, Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk and Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space. The crew of seven was the largest to fly on a spacecraft at that time, and STS-41G was the first flight to include two female astronauts Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Fresh Perspective on an Extraordinary Cluster of Galaxies Galaxy clusters are often described by superlatives. After all, they are huge conglomerations of galaxies, hot gas, and dark matter and represent the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Pluto image Four images from New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with colour data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced colour global view of Pluto Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Fresh Crater Near Sirenum Fossae Region of Mars The HiRISE camera aboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Peers into the Most Crowded Place in the Milky Way This Nasa Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way NASA & ESA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space An Astronaut's View from Space Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on 2 September 2014 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Giant Landform on Mars On Mars, we can observe four classes of sandy landforms formed by the wind, or aeolian bedforms: ripples, transverse aeolian ridges, dunes, and what are called draa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Expedition 39 Landing A sokol suit helmet can be seen against the window of the Soyuz TMA-11M capsule shortly after the spacecraft landed with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Jupiter's Great Red Spot Viewed by Voyager I Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and perhaps the most majestic. Vibrant bands of clouds carried by winds that can exceed 400 mph continuously circle the planet's atmosphere Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Chandra Observatory Sees a Heart in the Darkness This Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of the young star cluster NGC 346 highlights a heart-shaped cloud of 8 million-degree Celsius gas in the central region In health science, it can provide scientists with new methods to analyse the occurrence of certain shapes and colours, which is particularly useful in image diagnostics. Opportunity has been capturing images on the surface of the red planet since 2004. The rover was only ever meant to last 90 days on Mars, but it has now been there for 14 years. Earlier this year, Nasa lost communications with it when a massive dust storm struck, but the team hope to re-establish contact once conditions are more stable and it has had a chance to recharge its batteries. Every year on 11 November, millions of people in China and other parts of the world celebrate Singles Day. What started as an anti-Valentines Day celebration invented by young Chinese singletons has gone on to become the largest shopping day in the world. While Singles Day is usually a 24-hour affair, in 2020, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba gave shoppers discounts from 1 November until 11 November. Over this period, it generated $71.4 billion (52.6bn) in sales. Here The Independent examines the phenomenon. What is Singles Day? An unofficial holiday that is primarily celebrated in China, it was created in 1993 as an antidote to Valentines Day, giving young Chinese singletons the chance to celebrate at events across the country and meet one another. Major retailers quickly caught on to the fact that they could target young consumers by offering discounts across their stores and online. It always takes place 11 November, a date which was chosen because of the sequence of 1s, which represent single people. How did it start? Thought to have originated at Nanjing University in 1993, Singles Day was initially only celebrated by male students. But the day soon became popular among young and single Chinese people, who saw it as an opportunity to meet other singletons and began organising events and meet-ups to mark the event. It became the global shopping event it is today in 2009, when e-commerce giant Alibaba, who make the majority of its sales via apps, began offering special discounts on the day. How much money does it generate? Last year, Alibaba generated more than $71 billion (52bn) in sales, making it the biggest shopping event in the world. Other large shopping days include Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which originated in the US. Amazon said that independent businesses on its platform had made $4.8 billion (3.5bn) in sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2020. Although this represented a 60 per cent increase from the previous year, the figure was still dwarfed by sales on Alibaba during its Singles Day promotion. The great shift in retailing is not confined to Britains high streets. I was in New York last week, and could not help but notice that while the streets of Manhattan were heaving, it was only the coffee bars that were doing brisk trade. The pavements were crowded but, by and large, the shops were eerily quiet. A robot on a mission to Mars to search for signs of alien life, has after years of discussion, has had its landing site selected more than four years of discussion. Due to land in 2021, the ExoMars rover will drill into the surface of the red planet to search for evidence of ancient life buried underground. The team behind the joint European-Russian project has selected a spot called Oxia Planum, which scientists think was the site of a large body of water billions of years ago. Experts had previously been wavering between that site and another called Mawrth Vallis, which also bears signs of a wetter past on Mars. Now the Landing Site Selection Working Group has opted for Oxia Planum as their preferred site, a decision that will be officially confirmed next year. Group member Professor John Bridges from University of Leicester said after four years of careful study they had selected the area because its fine sediments would be perfect for the rovers drill. With an enormous catchment area the sediments will have captured organics from a wide variety of environments over a long period of time, including areas where life may have existed, he said. Oxia Planum close up (NASA/JPL/University of Arizona) A large group of scientists have been working on proposing, characterising and down selecting the sites, all of which had fascinating aspects, but Oxia Planum is the clear winner on both science and engineering constraints. The goal of the mission is to drill two metres below the surface, hunting for signs of life from around four billion years ago when the planet contained water. Life as we know it on Earth requires liquid water to exist, and Oxia Planum lies at a boundary where many channels appear to have emptied into lowland plains. Layers of clay-rich minerals at the site provide further support for the idea that it was once home to a massive lake. Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Show all 30 1 /30 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An image from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows a 200,000 mile long solar filament ripping through the Sun's corona in September 2013 Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa Celebrates 50 Years of Spacewalking For 50 years, NASA has been "suiting up" for spacewalking. In this 1984 photograph of the first untethered spacewalk, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless is in the midst of the first "field" tryout of a nitrogen-propelled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Hubble Cosmic Couple The spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427 more commonly known as WR 124 and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the Veil Nebula - expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago Nasa's most stunning pictures of space The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launch The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, carrying three new astronauts to the International Space Station. It also took caviar, ready for the satellite's inhabitants to celebrate the holidays Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth from the ISS From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts took this photograph of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast at sunset Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Black Hole Friday Nasa celebrated Black Friday by looking into space instead sharing pictures of black holes Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space NuSTAR X-rays stream off the sun in this image showing observations from by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Cassiopeia A c A false colour image of Cassiopeia A comprised with data from the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and the Chandra X-Ray observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Orion Capsule splashes down The Orion capsule jetted off into space before heading back a few hours later having proved that it can be used, one day, to carry humans to Mars Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth Observations From Gemini IV in 1965 This photograph of the Florida Straits and Grand Bahama Bank was taken during the Gemini IV mission during orbit no. 19 in 1965. The Gemini IV crew conducted scientific experiments, including photography of Earth's weather and terrain, for the remainder of their four-day mission following Ed White's historic spacewalk on June 3 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Frosty slopes of Mars This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. The image was taken by Nasa's HiRISE camera, which is mounted on its Mars Reconaissance Orbiter Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Yellowstone from space NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Yellowstone via his twitter account Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Saturn This near-infrared color image shows a specular reflection, or sunglint, off of a hydrocarbon lake named Kivu Lacus on Saturn's moon Titan Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Worlds Apart Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. Pandora, "small" by moon standards (50 miles or 81 kilometers across) is elongated and irregular in shape. Mimas (246 miles or 396 kilometers across), a "medium-sized" moon, formed into a sphere due to self-gravity imposed by its higher mass Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An X1.6 class solar flare flashes in the middle of the sun in this image taken 10 September, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Mars Rover Spirit Nasa's Mars Rover Spirit took the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Morning Aurora From the Space Station Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station Nasa/Scott Kelly Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Launch of History - Making STS-41G Mission in 1984 The Space Shuttle Challenger launches from Florida at dawn. On this mission, Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk and Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space. The crew of seven was the largest to fly on a spacecraft at that time, and STS-41G was the first flight to include two female astronauts Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Fresh Perspective on an Extraordinary Cluster of Galaxies Galaxy clusters are often described by superlatives. After all, they are huge conglomerations of galaxies, hot gas, and dark matter and represent the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Pluto image Four images from New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with colour data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced colour global view of Pluto Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Fresh Crater Near Sirenum Fossae Region of Mars The HiRISE camera aboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Peers into the Most Crowded Place in the Milky Way This Nasa Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way NASA & ESA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space An Astronaut's View from Space Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on 2 September 2014 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Giant Landform on Mars On Mars, we can observe four classes of sandy landforms formed by the wind, or aeolian bedforms: ripples, transverse aeolian ridges, dunes, and what are called draa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Expedition 39 Landing A sokol suit helmet can be seen against the window of the Soyuz TMA-11M capsule shortly after the spacecraft landed with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Jupiter's Great Red Spot Viewed by Voyager I Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and perhaps the most majestic. Vibrant bands of clouds carried by winds that can exceed 400 mph continuously circle the planet's atmosphere Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Chandra Observatory Sees a Heart in the Darkness This Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of the young star cluster NGC 346 highlights a heart-shaped cloud of 8 million-degree Celsius gas in the central region With ExoMars we are on a quest to find biosignatures, said the European Space Agencys (ESA) ExoMars project scientist Jorge Vago. While both sites offer valuable scientific opportunities to explore ancient water-rich environments that could have been colonised by microorganisms, Oxia Planum received the majority of votes, Landing on Mars has proved notoriously difficult, so the scientists have had to balance the selection of the most promising site with chances of the rover arriving safely. The low elevation at Oxia Planum should provide more time for the rovers parachute to slow its descent to the planets surface. The recommendations came after a meeting in Leicester that saw Mars experts convene together with industry figures and the ExoMars team. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events They must now be signed off by the heads of the ESA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos The UK space agency has made the second largest European contribution to ExoMars, pumping 287m (251m) into the mission. I have been working on ExoMars for over ten years and am amazed at the ingenuity and dedication of UK engineers and scientists in building the rover and instruments that will work in the extreme environment of Mars, said Sue Horne, the agencys head of space exploration. Our end goal is in sight and it is getting very exciting. A prisoner serving 15 years for robbery and theft has absconded from a Suffolk prison, police said. Gerry Sergeant, 61, was due back at Hollesley Bay prison on Friday night after attending a work placement but failed to return, Suffolk Constabulary said. He had been due to come back from the work placement in Bury St Edmunds by motorbike. Recommended Jailbreak king Redoine Faid recaptured after helicopter prison escape The force has urged members of the public not to approach Sergeant. Hollesley Bay is a Category D prison, where more than a hundred prisoners work in the community as part of their sentence. Prisoners in Category D prisons are generally thought to be at low risk of trying to escape. Sergeant is described as five foot 11 inches, thin, with brown eyes, white hair and tattoos on both forearms. He was riding a red Honda 125 cc motorbike, with the registration AO11 VMZ. Anyone with information should contact Suffolk Constabulary on 101. Press Association A firefighter turned up to tackle a blaze with a half-shaven head after receiving a 999 call while at the barbers. Joe Cartwright, 31, was five minutes into a hair cut when he was alerted to a fire at a farm in Ashburton, Devon. To the delight of his colleagues at Buckfastleigh station, he arrived with a strip of hair sheared off around head. It was only five minutes in, shed just started cutting the sides, he said. The call was to some bales of hay piled up next to a barn that were smouldering. They get very hot this time of year and sometimes they self-ignite. I ran out of the barbers with tissue still hanging out of my t-shirt after taking the apron off. Joe Cartwright has been a retained firefighter for two-and-a-half years (Joe Cartwright) Mr Cartwright drove to the station and picked up a wildfire 4x4 pump to back up the main fire engine in Ashburton, on the edge of Dartmoor. He said his colleagues were amused when he turned up with his half-finished cut. Some of the older ones thought I was trend-setting and it was some modern new look, he added. When I told them what had happened they said, Oh my God I thought youd just got a naff haircut. My boss just thought it was hilarious, he laughed and laughed. Ill never live it down. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events After the fire was safely extinguished, Mr Cartwright went back to finish his trim. He has been a retained firefighter for two-and-a-half years, meaning he is on call for 84 hours a week while also working his day job as a student paramedic. In a statement Buckfastleigh fire station said: To be a retained firefighter takes a certain type of person. To respond to your alerter 24 hours a day, seven days a week takes dedication, stopping what youre doing no matter what. However, leaving a haircut half-way through when your alerter goes off is on another level. EU leaders have thrown Theresa Mays hopes of a Brexit deal this month into fresh jeopardy, after warning that crucial obstacles remain. A meeting in Brussels was told there had been no significant progress on how to settle future disputes over the Irish border, with the two sides also still far apart on fishing rights. The verdict, delivered at a briefing of EU27 ambassadors by the Brussels negotiating team, cast fresh doubt on the prime ministers hopes of agreeing an outline deal by the middle of next week. Recommended Johnson insists May can be forced into Final Say referendum on Brexit If that deadline is missed, it is unlikely that an emergency summit to sign it off can be held in November throwing back a final agreement until the middle of December. That would leave the UK having to ramp off hugely expensive no-deal preparations and in danger of being unable to pass all necessary legislation before Brexit day next March. An optimistic timetable, floated by Downing Street, imagined Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, and Michel Barnier, the EU negotiator, was presented with a legal text agreed by officials on Tuesday. But the ambassadors meeting was told, by Mr Barniers deputy Sabine Weyand, that there was no agreement on a joint review mechanism to allow the UK to break free of the Irish border backstop. Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, raised the stakes when he insisted that decision must be made alone by the sovereign British government, without EU involvement. The fear of pro-Brexit Tories is that the UK will be locked indefinitely into the EU customs union unable to sign its own trade deals unless it can end the backstop unilaterally. A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Show all 65 1 /65 A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit An estimated 700,000 people marched through London to demand a final say on the withdrawal agreement Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Red smoke from a canister hangs in the air as around 100,000 demonstrators march through London during a People's Vote anti-brexit demonstration savings banners and placards Anti-Brexit People's Vote March for the Future in London Rex A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Mayor of London Sadiq Khan takes part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 Protesters wearing final Say shirts and holding placards Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit MP Chuka Umunna (left) and MP Vince Cable (right) as MP Anna Soubry (centre) addresses Anti-Brexit campaigners at a rally after the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A Peoples Vote march attendee calls for a Final Say Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators with banners 'We're with EU' during the People's Vote March for the Future in London, Britain, 20 October 2018. Reports state that the 'March for the Future' is to be led by a column of young people and call for a Peopleas Vote on the Brexit deal. After marching through central London, there will be a rally on stage in Parliament Square, including speeches from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. EPA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Protesters at Londons march for the future in October The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Editor of The Independent Christian Broughton speaks to demonstrators in Parliament Sqaure after they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A poster at the March for the Future in October The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators hold placards as they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 campaigner wrapped in EU flag Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators pass Trafalgar Square as they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators wave Union and European flags and hold up placards as they pass Trafalgar Square, taking part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators hold placards as they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A demonstrator holds a message during a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators take part in the 'People's Vote March for the Future,' in central London, Britain, 20 October 2018. Reports state that the 'March for the Future' is to be led by a column of young people and call for a Peopleas Vote on the Brexit deal. After marching through central London, there will be a rally on stage in Parliament Square, including speeches from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan EPA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A protester brandishes an Independent t-shirt during the Brexit March Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Tens of thousands of people take part in People's Vote March for the Future in central London. The march organised by the People's Vote campaign is led by young people calling for a People's Vote on the Brexit deal Rex A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum PA That is unacceptable to Brussels, which according to one report has also rejected Britains proposal of independent arbitration, to decide when technology is available to avoid border checks. The EU is believed to have insisted it would be legally impossible for such a crucial decision to be made by a body other than the European Court of Justice which is equally unacceptable to the UK. Britain has also demanded that the fishing sector be excluded, even as it seeks for the entire UK to stay in the customs territory if the backstop is required after the transition period, at the end of 2020. EU member states with big fishing industries have protested they must still have access to British waters, in return for the UK enjoying tariff-free access to EU markets, where it exports 75 per cent of its total catch. The backstop would also require the UK to retain Brussels competition, state aid and tax rules, effectively staying in the EU single market, say Brexiteers. It was also reported that the ambassadors have told the European Commission they must scrutinise any deal reached before it is made public and a special summit called. If the member states insist on several days to go through the text, that would appear to kill off a summit this month 25 November having been put forward as the last possible date. The EU has said it requires close to a fortnight for its capitals to prepare, although Downing Street has suggested a week should be sufficient. Jeremy Corbyn has rejected growing calls for a Final Say referendum, despite a backlash from his own MPs for saying Brexit cannot be stopped. The Labour leader faced strong criticism including from a shadow minister after an interview in which he insisted the process of EU withdrawal could not be halted. Matthew Pennycook, a Brexit spokesman, took to Twitter to point out that Labours agreed policy is to leave the door open to another referendum in which Remain cannot be ruled out as an option. Recommended Johnson insists May can be forced into Final Say referendum on Brexit Pro-EU backbenchers accused Mr Corbyn of a dereliction of duty and warned he would never be forgiven for ignoring the overwhelming wishes of Labour members. But the party leader was defiant when asked if he could agree with the call by former Tory minister Jo Johnson for a fresh referendum, replying: Not really, no. The referendum took place. The issue now has to be how we bring people together, bring people together around the principles of our economy, our rights and that we dont turn this country into some kind of offshore tax haven on the lines that Donald Trump might want us to. Speaking after an event in Middlesbrough, Mr Corbyn said any Brexit deal brought to the Commons by the government would be measured against Labours six strict tests. A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Show all 65 1 /65 A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit An estimated 700,000 people marched through London to demand a final say on the withdrawal agreement Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Red smoke from a canister hangs in the air as around 100,000 demonstrators march through London during a People's Vote anti-brexit demonstration savings banners and placards Anti-Brexit People's Vote March for the Future in London Rex A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Mayor of London Sadiq Khan takes part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 Protesters wearing final Say shirts and holding placards Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit MP Chuka Umunna (left) and MP Vince Cable (right) as MP Anna Soubry (centre) addresses Anti-Brexit campaigners at a rally after the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A Peoples Vote march attendee calls for a Final Say Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators with banners 'We're with EU' during the People's Vote March for the Future in London, Britain, 20 October 2018. Reports state that the 'March for the Future' is to be led by a column of young people and call for a Peopleas Vote on the Brexit deal. After marching through central London, there will be a rally on stage in Parliament Square, including speeches from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. EPA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Protesters at Londons march for the future in October The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Editor of The Independent Christian Broughton speaks to demonstrators in Parliament Sqaure after they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A poster at the March for the Future in October The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators hold placards as they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 campaigner wrapped in EU flag Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators pass Trafalgar Square as they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators wave Union and European flags and hold up placards as they pass Trafalgar Square, taking part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators hold placards as they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A demonstrator holds a message during a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators take part in the 'People's Vote March for the Future,' in central London, Britain, 20 October 2018. Reports state that the 'March for the Future' is to be led by a column of young people and call for a Peopleas Vote on the Brexit deal. After marching through central London, there will be a rally on stage in Parliament Square, including speeches from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan EPA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A protester brandishes an Independent t-shirt during the Brexit March Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Tens of thousands of people take part in People's Vote March for the Future in central London. The march organised by the People's Vote campaign is led by young people calling for a People's Vote on the Brexit deal Rex A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum PA Our six points will be put to them and we will vote accordingly. If it means we vote against the government, we vote against the government. If its defeated, it means theyve got a choice either go back and negotiate something better or resign. The tests covered the benefits to every part of the UK, including the Northern Ireland border and the kind of regulatory framework in which well live. Mr Corbyn faced questions after telling the German newspaper Der Spiegel: We cant stop it. The referendum took place. Article 50 has been triggered. What we can do is recognise the reasons why people voted Leave. He also expressed sympathy for the prime minister over the impossible task of reaching an agreement with Brussels and uniting the Tory party, adding: I am a decent human being, I feel sorry for anyone in distress. But Mr Pennycook sought to reassure Labour supporters who, polls show, overwhelmingly back another referendum by saying the policy decided at Septembers Liverpool conference was clear. He tweeted: If parliament rejects Mays deal and we are unable to secure a general election, all options must be on the table and that includes campaigning for another referendum in which Remain cannot be ruled out as an option. Underlining the backlash, Wes Streeting, a Labour backbencher, called on the party to make the full-throated case for a peoples vote. Labour cannot sit by and allow the choice to be between the economic ruin of a hard Brexit or the loss of sovereignty under Theresa Mays deal, with Britain subjected to EU rules but with no say over them, he said. Chris Leslie, another pro-EU MP, said: With even Tory ministers recognising Brexit threatens the poorest in society, our public services and Britains place in the world, to have a Labour leader just shrug about it, then go awol, is nothing short of a dereliction of duty, he said. And a third, Chuka Umunna, said: We can stop this Tory Brexit but, ultimately, it should be for the people to decide. A large majority of Labour members, supporters and voters not only want a peoples vote but to change our country in the EU. If the party sets its face against this, it will never be forgiven. Health chiefs are preparing for hospitals to run out of imported food for patient meals if the UK crashes out of the EU without an agreement. Caterers have been told to hunt for substitute foodstuffs to maintain nutritional balance of meals, amid fears that supplies will be cut off by a no-deal Brexit, a government letter reveals. Schools, the armed forces and any kind of mass catering will also be affected, a committee of MPs has been told. Recommended Johnson insists May can be forced into Final Say referendum on Brexit The head of the body that represents catering associations for the public sector, said he was very, very concerned that supplies would be hit, even if the back-up plans worked for a few weeks. Andy Jones, of Public Sector 100, told The Observer that about 40 per cent of food for hospital patients is imported from the EU, including chicken and salad, much of it just-in-time to ensure speedy delivery. It is not just of case of whether we will be able to get enough, if there is no deal, but also whether we will be able to afford it, he said. Good food is vital for patients. Food is like medicine. If patients dont get it then in some cases they will not get home. One thing we will see I think is disappearing choice. People will just be given what we can get our hands on. Sarah Wollaston, the Conservative chair of the all-party health select committee, which was sent the letter, said: It is becoming ever clearer that we are not just facing a shortage of drugs but also many other things that hospitals need to function. A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Show all 65 1 /65 A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit An estimated 700,000 people marched through London to demand a final say on the withdrawal agreement Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Red smoke from a canister hangs in the air as around 100,000 demonstrators march through London during a People's Vote anti-brexit demonstration savings banners and placards Anti-Brexit People's Vote March for the Future in London Rex A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Mayor of London Sadiq Khan takes part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 Protesters wearing final Say shirts and holding placards Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit MP Chuka Umunna (left) and MP Vince Cable (right) as MP Anna Soubry (centre) addresses Anti-Brexit campaigners at a rally after the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A Peoples Vote march attendee calls for a Final Say Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators with banners 'We're with EU' during the People's Vote March for the Future in London, Britain, 20 October 2018. Reports state that the 'March for the Future' is to be led by a column of young people and call for a Peopleas Vote on the Brexit deal. After marching through central London, there will be a rally on stage in Parliament Square, including speeches from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. EPA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Protesters at Londons march for the future in October The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Editor of The Independent Christian Broughton speaks to demonstrators in Parliament Sqaure after they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A poster at the March for the Future in October The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators hold placards as they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 campaigner wrapped in EU flag Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators pass Trafalgar Square as they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators wave Union and European flags and hold up placards as they pass Trafalgar Square, taking part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators hold placards as they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A demonstrator holds a message during a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators take part in the 'People's Vote March for the Future,' in central London, Britain, 20 October 2018. Reports state that the 'March for the Future' is to be led by a column of young people and call for a Peopleas Vote on the Brexit deal. After marching through central London, there will be a rally on stage in Parliament Square, including speeches from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan EPA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A protester brandishes an Independent t-shirt during the Brexit March Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Tens of thousands of people take part in People's Vote March for the Future in central London. The march organised by the People's Vote campaign is led by young people calling for a People's Vote on the Brexit deal Rex A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum PA Food is one them. The cost and work involved in dealing is staggering. Surely there is a better use of time and money. The letter, released to the committee, has been sent by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to all hospitals, saying the potential food shortage will be managed centrally. It reads: Instructions will be given to major producers of patient meals to put in place contingency arrangements, to account for short supply of certain ingredients. Guidance will be provided to hospital caterers, procurers of patient food and catering services, and PFI providers on actions to take in preparing to use substitute foodstuffs to maintain nutritional balance of patient menu/meal offerings. In recent evidence to the committee, Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS providers, the trade association for NHS trusts, explained: It is a widespread issue it will not just be about catering for hospitals. This will be any kind of mass catering, so schools and the armed forces. We will be looking across the piece. Ms Cordery said the preparations would not be simply for a matter of weeks, adding: We are talking about contingency arrangements over a period of time. And, asked about medicine shortages, she told the MPs: I have a number of worst nightmares actually. The timing and the timescales are critical. There has not been sufficient time for nationallevel planning, frankly, although it is speeding up now. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: As part of our contingency planning, we are taking all necessary steps with NHS England, suppliers and pharmaceutical companies to ensure patients continue to receive the high standards of care they expect. Patients with a serious eye condition fear losing their sight if there is a no-deal Brexit because the government is refusing to say if an essential drug will still be available. Ministers will not reveal which medicines are being stockpiled, leaving sufferers from glaucoma who require daily drops of a medicine imported from the EU facing huge worries. The threat comes after similar fears were raised by diabetics who need insulin. Theresa May has refused to guarantee the supply of all medicines if there is no deal and health organisations have warned of widespread shortages unless plans are beefed up. The situation has prompted an outcry from health experts and charities, who said patients should not be left with the distress of not knowing if their medicines will be available. Chrissie Pepper, policy manager at the Royal National Institute of Blind People, said: People with eye conditions deserve to be safe in the knowledge that they will be able to continue accessing the medication that will save their sight. During this period of uncertainty, the government should consider how it can reassure people and make sure they have the information they need. Niall Dickson, co-chairman of the Brexit Health Alliance, which brings together the NHS, industry and patients during the negotiations, said: We need to avoid a position where patients are in any doubt that the drugs they need will be available. The government needs to provide that assurance and it needs to provide it soon, whatever the outcome of the negotiations. Two patients treated with Ganfort, the common treatment for glaucoma, told The Independent they feared going legally blind because their supplies come from Ireland and Spain. A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Show all 65 1 /65 A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit An estimated 700,000 people marched through London to demand a final say on the withdrawal agreement Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Red smoke from a canister hangs in the air as around 100,000 demonstrators march through London during a People's Vote anti-brexit demonstration savings banners and placards Anti-Brexit People's Vote March for the Future in London Rex A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Mayor of London Sadiq Khan takes part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 Protesters wearing final Say shirts and holding placards Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit MP Chuka Umunna (left) and MP Vince Cable (right) as MP Anna Soubry (centre) addresses Anti-Brexit campaigners at a rally after the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A Peoples Vote march attendee calls for a Final Say Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators with banners 'We're with EU' during the People's Vote March for the Future in London, Britain, 20 October 2018. Reports state that the 'March for the Future' is to be led by a column of young people and call for a Peopleas Vote on the Brexit deal. After marching through central London, there will be a rally on stage in Parliament Square, including speeches from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. EPA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Protesters at Londons march for the future in October The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Editor of The Independent Christian Broughton speaks to demonstrators in Parliament Sqaure after they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A poster at the March for the Future in October The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators hold placards as they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 campaigner wrapped in EU flag Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Angela Christofilou/The Independent A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Final Say campaigners take part in the peoples vote march for the future in London 20/10/2018 Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators pass Trafalgar Square as they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators wave Union and European flags and hold up placards as they pass Trafalgar Square, taking part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators hold placards as they take part in a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A demonstrator holds a message during a march calling for a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, in central London on October 20, 2018. - Britons dreading life outside Europe gathered from all corners of the UK to London on Saturday to try to stop their country's looming breakup with the EU. AFP/Getty A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum. PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Demonstrators take part in the 'People's Vote March for the Future,' in central London, Britain, 20 October 2018. Reports state that the 'March for the Future' is to be led by a column of young people and call for a Peopleas Vote on the Brexit deal. After marching through central London, there will be a rally on stage in Parliament Square, including speeches from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan EPA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit A protester brandishes an Independent t-shirt during the Brexit March Angela Christofilou A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum PA A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Tens of thousands of people take part in People's Vote March for the Future in central London. The march organised by the People's Vote campaign is led by young people calling for a People's Vote on the Brexit deal Rex A historic moment: thousands march to demand Final Say on Brexit Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum PA Patrick Cosgrove (below), a retired former civil servant, submitted a freedom of information (FOI) request asking which drugs will be stockpiled but was told the government does not hold information. The 69-year-old, living in Shropshire, said: Its a dereliction of duty to put us in a situation where a hard Brexit is possible and the supply of medicines could dry up. I dont know if they know or not. If they do know what medicines are being stockpiled, why are they not telling me and reassuring me about this? Gill Sellen, a 63-year-old charity worker in Dorset, said: Eye drops such as Ganfort have saved my sight so far, but the feeling of almost 25 years of care being ruined beyond 29 March 2019 is actually very real. If I do not use them, I will more than likely go blind. I might have 30 years ahead of me yet and it is a very hard thing to contemplate. The government conceded in July that medicine and food were being stockpiled, to guard against crashing out of the EU without an agreement, but controversy has raged ever since. NHS providers, pharmaceutical companies and patient groups have joined forces to warn that ministers have failed to prepare adequately to ensure the flow of medicine. We do not believe that the current medicine supply plans will suffice, and we will have widespread shortages if we do not respond urgently, their leaked letter said. In the Commons, on 31 October, the prime minister refused to guarantee the supply of medicines, saying only that the government was making contingency arrangements should no deal occur. In a TV interview, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said refrigerated capacity was being built to ensure unhindered flows of medicines to people in any scenario denying he was panicking. But the government is refusing to release any information about a company or a specific medicine into the public domain and has forced drug companies and industry bodies to sign gagging clauses. Mr Cosgrove said he put in his FOI to the cabinet office because the Ganfort he is prescribed for his hereditary glaucoma is imported from southern Ireland. He was told to submit a second FOI to the Department for Exiting the European Union, which replied that it does not hold information relevant to your request. The department warned that an identical request to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) could be subject to exemptions and directed him to a technical notice on no-deal preparations, which says nothing about drug stockpiling. Mr Cosgrove said he would be stuffed if his sight deteriorated to the point of legal blindness, adding: I would have to give up driving, which means I would have to sell my house and move to a town. Asked by The Independent, the DHSC refused to say if Ganfort was being stockpiled, adding it was preparing for a range of potential outcomes in the unlikely event of a no deal. As part of our contingency planning we continue to work closely with pharmaceutical companies and storage providers to ensure the continued supply of all medicines that could be affected, a spokesman said. Nikki Joule, of Diabetes UK, said it was worried that only some pharmaceutical companies had said they were stockpiling insulin for a minimum of 12 weeks, as instructed. We are concerned that government havent communicated their plans regarding the continued supply of insulin in the event of a no-deal Brexit, which is causing unnecessary concern for people living with diabetes, she said. Humanitarian organisations have warned they are playing catch-up as an Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo threatens to become the largest in the countrys history. The outbreak, which is centred on the eastern city of Beni, has already seen 191 deaths and more than 300 confirmed or probable cases of the haemorrhagic fever identified since August. Aid workers fear an ongoing armed conflict in the North Kivu province, where Beni is situated, could hamper efforts to reach and treat those living in remote areas. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the epidemic is likely to become the countrys deadliest-ever, surpassing the Yambuku outbreak in 1976 the first time the virus appeared anywhere in the world. Beni, a city of 800,000 people where around half of the cases have been identified, has seen its existing treatment centre overrun with patients in recent weeks. The situation has led humanitarian medical organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) to hastily build a new clinic to help deal with the outbreak. The current treatment centre is overrun and I dont think anyone expected things would move this quickly in Beni, MSF project coordinator John Johnson told Sky News. What were really trying to do now is play catch-up with the epidemic. The rate at which new casualties are identified in North Kivu appears to be accelerating, with the city of Butembo, around 35 miles south of Beni, now also increasingly affected by the outbreak. Neighbouring Uganda has said it will begin to vaccinate some of its health workers against Ebola to prevent the disease spreading across the border. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The WHO has deployed some 280 staff in North Kivu to support Congolese medical workers, who have administered a new Ebola vaccine to 27,000 people. The fact that we have so far prevented Ebola from spreading into neighbouring countries is a testament to the hard work and determination of staff from all partners, WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. The US said it was concerned by the outbreak and has sent more than 20 medical workers to Congo to monitor the situation. However, USAID officials do not believe the situation is currently comparable to the 2014 epidemic in West Africa, where more than 28,000 cases of the disease were identified and 11,000 people died. Additional reporting by Reuters President Donald Trump issued a proclamation to deny asylum to migrants who enter the country illegally as caravans of Central American migrants slowly approach the US-Mexico border. The plan was immediately challenged in court by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other legal groups who swiftly sued in federal court in Northern California, generally seen as a liberal federal court district. The arrival of large numbers ... will contribute to the overloading of our immigration and asylum system and to the release of thousands ... into the interior of the United States, Mr Trump said in the proclamation, calling it a crisis. The new regulations are intended to circumvent current US law which states individuals fleeing violence or persecution must enter the country in order to apply for the protected status. About 70,000 people per year who enter the country illegally claim asylum. We need people in our country, but they have to come in legally, Mr Trump said ahead of a trip to Paris for ceremonies to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. Migrants who cross illegally have been arrested but in the past were released and monitored as they awaited court hearings to determine their eligibility for asylum. Donald Trump: immigrants to 'present themselves legally' at border or void asylum claim The president is simply trying to run roughshod over Congresss decision to provide asylum to those in danger regardless of the manner of ones entry, ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt told the Associated Press. The litigation also seeks to put the new rules on hold while the case progresses. The regulations in Mr Trumps executive order go into effect 10 November 2018. They would be in place for at least three months but could be extended, and dont affect people already in the country. The Department of Justice, which has a new chief in Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, said in a statement the regulations were lawful. Senator Jeff Merkley on Trump Administration is taking money away from fema so that they can pay to put more asylum seekers in detention centers Mr Trumps announcement was the latest push to enforce a hard-line stance on immigration through regulatory changes and presidential orders, bypassing Congress, which has not passed any immigration law reform. But, those efforts have been largely thwarted by legal challenges and, in the case of family separations this year, stymied by a global outcry that prompted Mr Trump to retreat. The asylum law changes are meant to funnel migrants through official border crossings for speedy rulings instead of having them try to circumvent such crossings on the nearly 2,000-mile (3,200 km) border. The US Border Patrol says it apprehended more than 50,000 people crossing illegally in October 2018, setting a new high this year. However, overall, illegal crossings are well below historical highs from previous decades. Busy ports of entry already have long lines and waits, forcing immigration officials to tell some migrants to turn around and come back to make their claims. Backlogs have become especially bad in recent months at crossings in California, Arizona, and Texas, with some people waiting five weeks to try to claim asylum at San Diegos main crossing. Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Show all 14 1 /14 Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Immigrant children, many of whom are separated form their parents, are housed in Texas' tent city Reuters Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the US-Mexico border Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Undocumented migrants ride on the top of a freight train referred to as the beast, or La Bestia Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border A cage inside a US Customs and Border Protection detention facility in Texas Reuters Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US Border Patrol Academy All new agents must complete a months-long training course at the New Mexico facility before assuming their posts at Border Patrol stations, mostly along the US-Mexico border Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US-Mexico border fence A group of young men walk along the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border fence in a remote area of the Sonoran Desert Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US-Mexico border fence in the US Man looks through US-Mexico border fence into the US in Tijuana, Mexico Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US-Mexico border fence US Border Patrol agent Sal De Leon stands near a section of the US-Mexico border fence while stopping on patrol on in La Joya, Texas Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US Border Patrol Academy US Border Patrol instructor yells at trainees after their initial arrival to the academy Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Memorial service in Guatemala Families attend a memorial service for two boys who were kidnapped and killed in San Juan Sacatepequez, Guatemala. Crime drives emigration from Guatemala to the United States, as families seek refuge from the danger Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Arrests on the border Undocumented immigrants comfort each other after being caught by Border Patrol agents near the US-Mexico border Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Detention holding facility A boy from Honduras watches a movie at a detention facility run by the US Border Patrol Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Mexican farm workers Mexican migrant workers harvest organic parsley at Grant Family Farms in Wellington, Colorado Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Mexican family in Arizona A Mexican immigrant family sits in the living room of their rented home in Tuscon, Arizona. The family that Arizona's new tough immigrant law had created a climate of fear in the immigrant community. Getty Administration officials said those denied asylum under the proclamation may be eligible for similar forms of protection if they fear returning to their countries, though they would be subject to a tougher threshold. Those forms of protection include withholding of removal which is similar to asylum, but does not allow for green cards or bringing families or protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture. US Department of Homeland Security officials said they were adding staffing at the border crossings to manage the expected crush, but its not clear how migrants with families, would be held as their cases are adjudicated. Family detention centers are largely at capacity and Mr Trump has said he wanted to erect tent cities, but nothing has been funded after the massive outcry over the administrations family separation policy earlier this year. Because children are not allowed to enter the US criminal justice system, parents or guardians were detained for illegally entering the country and more than 2,000 children were housed in separate detention centres until another executive order ending the policy. The US is also working with Mexico in an effort to send some migrants back across the border. Right now, laws allow only Mexican nationals to be swiftly returned and increasingly those claiming asylum are from the Central American countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala where gang violence is rampant. Mr Trump pushed immigration issues hard in the days leading up to 6 November midterm elections, railing against the caravans which were still 1,000 miles from the border. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events At various times he referred to them as criminals and groups which contain unknown Middle Easterners. He has made little mention of the issue since the election, but has deployed more than 5,600 US troops deployed to the border mission, with about 550 actually working on the border in Texas. Mr Trump also suggested he would revoke the right to citizenship for babies born to non-US citizens on American soil in an attempt to stop chain migration, or those entering the country and bringing family members to come be with them later. There has been no executive order issued on that as yet, but the president has said: Were signing it. Were doing it. Mr Trump invoked the same powers he used last year to impose a travel ban on travellers from Muslim-majority countries Iran, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, and Syria as well as Venezuela and North Korea. After several challenges from federal courts, it was upheld by the Supreme Court earlier in the year. Agencies contributed to this report Amid Republicans warnings about targeting the president, Maxine Waters said the new Democrat-controlled US House looking into Donald Trumps finances should be considered ordinary. Ms Waters is likely to be the chair of the House Financial Services Committee in the next Congress, giving her oversight power of the banking industry and the ability conduct investigations into Mr Trumps dealings with Deutsche Bank in particular. House Republican Patrick McHenry, who is set to be the ranking Republican on the committee, said if Ms Waters goes after Mr Trumps personal finances he would stop her, warning Democrats they cannot use the committee as the launch pad for endless, partisan investigations. She told The Hill newspaper: Deutsche Bank is key to understanding the relationship between the president and members of the presidents family and money laundering and all of that. We hope that we can move forward in a responsible way. Deutsche Bank has had to pay penalties imposed by the Department of Commerce for laundering money from Russia. Ms Waters and other Democrats have repeatedly requested documents from Deutsche Bank and the Treasury Department regarding Mr Trump and his familys personal financial records because they think it could prove the president has deeper ties to Russia. Congresswoman Maxine Waters was shamed by Fox News. Everyone should see her response Thus far the requests have been rebuffed but once Ms Waters becomes chair of the committee, she would have the power to subpoena the records. Mr Trump has said if Democrats do pursue this investigation, he would refuse to cooperate on crucial matters like infrastructure funding. This includes his tax returns, which Mr Trump has also refused to have reviewed repeatedly saying he cannot because he is being audited by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He went as far as saying should Democrats use that subpoena for his tax records, he would have them investigated. US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Show all 20 1 /20 US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democratic candidate Ilhan Omar is celebrates with her husband's mother after she won a congress place, becoming the first Muslim woman to be elected into congress alongside Rashida Tlaib Reuters US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democratic House candidate, from Kansas, Sharice Davids (left) and her mom Crystal celebrate after she won. Davids is the first lesbian Native American Congresswoman by beating Republican incumbent Kevin Yoder. Davids is one of several first-time female candidates that helped the Democratic Party takeover in the House of Representatives EPA US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Republican Marsha Blackburn celebrates after winning the race for senate in Tennessee. In doing so she became that states first female senator AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Democratic House candidate Sharice Davids cheer and cry after learning she won EPA US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Ayanna Pressley beaome Massachusetts first black congresswoman by defeating 10-term Republican Michael Capuano AFP/Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Republican candidate Young Kim has become the first Korean-American woman elected to Congress AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democrat Jared Polis won his seat and became the USs first ever openly gay governor AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Jean Kasselman (left) and Teresa Booker, supporters of Democratic candidate for Kansas' 3rd Congressional District Sharice Davids, react to election results Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Republican Kristi Noem hugs a supporter after being announced as the new governor of South Dakota. Noem made history by being the first female governor of the state AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Gabierla Martinez and Cesar Delgado cheer on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jared Polis REUTERS US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest women ever elected to Congress, representing New Yorks 14th congressional district AFP/Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democratic congressional candidate Rashida Tlaib celebrates with family and friends at her midterm election night party in Detroit after won and also became the nations first Muslim woman to congress alongside Ilhan Omar who was also elected Reuters US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Democratic candidate for Kansas' 3rd Congressional District Sharice Davids react to election results Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Already having become the first Native American woman to chair a state political party, Deb Haaland has now become the joint-first Native American woman to be elected to congress, alongside Sharice Davids Reuters US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cheer during her election night party in the Queens Borough AFP/Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Young Kim hugs her son Alvin after she won a seat in congress AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cheer AFP/Getty Images US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Asma Mohammed and Ashley Fairbanks celebrate as results come in at Democratic congressional candidate Ilhan Omar's election night headquarters AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democrat Deb Haaland hugs a voter REUTERS US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Democratic House candidate from Kansas Sharice Davids cheer and cry after learning she won her race EPA Theres ample justification for the Ways and Means Committee to go after Mr Trumps personal and business tax returns, Texas Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett has said. He added: We need to act on this promptly. Mr Trump has all but dared the new Congress to try to impeach him, saying he would adopt a warlike posture against any new investigations. He added: They can play that game, but we can play it better because we have a thing called the United States Senate...I could see it being extremely good for me politically because I think Im better at that game than they are, actually, but well find out. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Ms Waters, though, maintained nothing the new committee will do should be considered outside the course of normal operations. We dont want that determined as investigation so that we create the kind of retaliation the president is talking about. We think it is improper for anybody to be talking about retaliation, she said of Mr Trumps threat of non-cooperation. Ms Waters and other House Democrats will likely have to play it cool on her previous calls for impeachment and even the investigations in order to make deals with the Republican-controlled Senate. Leader Nancy Pelosi said told PBS Newshour: For those who want impeachment, thats not what our caucus is about. Ms Pelosi added that she will wait for the outcome of Special Counsel Robert Muellers federal investigation into the election meddling and possible collusion before deciding what move to make. She noted that a call for impeachment would have to be bipartisan, and the evidence would have to be so conclusive. And, Democratic congressman Elijah Cummings CNN that although Democrats were eager to get to work, he did not want to give voters the impression the new House would rush in and beat up on Trump. Three days after the election, Florida has ordered a machine recount to be done in the gubernatorial race between Democrat Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis as well as the US Senate race between Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Rick Scott, who is also the current governor. Mr Scott currently leads Mr Nelson by just 12,500 votes or 0.15 per cent while Mr DeSantis holds a 0.41 per cent, or approximately 34,000 vote, lead over Mr Gillum, who is attempting to become the states first African American governor. Both races were originally called for the Republicans but as a result of the recount Mr Gillum has withdrawn his concession. A third race, for agricultural commissioner, will also be recounted, which requires a machine recount when candidates are separated by less than 0.5 per cent and a recount by hand if that difference is less than 0.25 per cent. The deadline for the machine recount to be completed is 15 November at 1500 local time [2000 GMT]. For Mr Scott and Mr Nelsons race, the hand count will take place after the machine recount and will be focused on ballots with overvotes, when voters selected more than the maximum number of candidates or options in a particular category, and undervotes, when voters have chosen less than the required number of candidates or options in that ballot section. Its time for Senator Nelson to accept reality and spare the state of Florida the time, expense and discord of a recount, Mr Scotts spokesperson Chris Hartline said, noting Mr Nelson can choose to opt out of a recount. Governor Rick Scott: Floridians should be concerned about 'rampant fraud' during midterm vote counting There are no indications from Mr Nelsons camp that he will do so. Cries of voter fraud and voter suppression have rung out from Republicans and Democrats respectively. Mr Nelsons campaign has filed a lawsuit against the state which alleged its process for validating vote-by-mail ballots relied too heavily on the untrained opinions of poll workers to match signatures on such ballots, according to his campaign lawyer Marc Elias. Mr Elias said it led to complete lack of uniformity in judgement if the ballot matched the signature on file with the state, adding: This serves as an outright disenfranchisement and burden on the right to vote. Democrat candidate for Flordia governor Andrew Gillum rips into opponent Ron DeSantis over racism Mr Scott fuelled the tensions further with a televised press conference ahead of the machine recount decision. He called out rampant fraud but offered no proof it was a problem in the election. He added: Every Floridian should be concerned there may be rampant fraud happening in Palm Beach and Broward counties. He and the National Republican Senatorial Committee are suing the counties boards of elections supervisors, seemingly for following state law regarding vote recounts. US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Show all 20 1 /20 US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democratic candidate Ilhan Omar is celebrates with her husband's mother after she won a congress place, becoming the first Muslim woman to be elected into congress alongside Rashida Tlaib Reuters US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democratic House candidate, from Kansas, Sharice Davids (left) and her mom Crystal celebrate after she won. Davids is the first lesbian Native American Congresswoman by beating Republican incumbent Kevin Yoder. Davids is one of several first-time female candidates that helped the Democratic Party takeover in the House of Representatives EPA US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Republican Marsha Blackburn celebrates after winning the race for senate in Tennessee. In doing so she became that states first female senator AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Democratic House candidate Sharice Davids cheer and cry after learning she won EPA US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Ayanna Pressley beaome Massachusetts first black congresswoman by defeating 10-term Republican Michael Capuano AFP/Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Republican candidate Young Kim has become the first Korean-American woman elected to Congress AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democrat Jared Polis won his seat and became the USs first ever openly gay governor AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Jean Kasselman (left) and Teresa Booker, supporters of Democratic candidate for Kansas' 3rd Congressional District Sharice Davids, react to election results Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Republican Kristi Noem hugs a supporter after being announced as the new governor of South Dakota. Noem made history by being the first female governor of the state AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Gabierla Martinez and Cesar Delgado cheer on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jared Polis REUTERS US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest women ever elected to Congress, representing New Yorks 14th congressional district AFP/Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democratic congressional candidate Rashida Tlaib celebrates with family and friends at her midterm election night party in Detroit after won and also became the nations first Muslim woman to congress alongside Ilhan Omar who was also elected Reuters US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Democratic candidate for Kansas' 3rd Congressional District Sharice Davids react to election results Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Already having become the first Native American woman to chair a state political party, Deb Haaland has now become the joint-first Native American woman to be elected to congress, alongside Sharice Davids Reuters US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cheer during her election night party in the Queens Borough AFP/Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Young Kim hugs her son Alvin after she won a seat in congress AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cheer AFP/Getty Images US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Asma Mohammed and Ashley Fairbanks celebrate as results come in at Democratic congressional candidate Ilhan Omar's election night headquarters AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democrat Deb Haaland hugs a voter REUTERS US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Democratic House candidate from Kansas Sharice Davids cheer and cry after learning she won her race EPA Mr Scott alleged Dr Brenda Snipes in Broward has not properly turned over ballot count information to the state and claimed Susan Bucher in Palm Beach County did not allow observers to watch absentee ballots being counted. Voter fraud does not appear to be a problem according to the Brennan Center at New York University, which found through its research that there have been only 31 instances of voter fraud in the last one billion votes cast. Mr Scott did not want a recount at all since his lead was decreasing as more and more absentee and provisional ballots were counted. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events He said: Every day since the election, the leftwing activists in Broward County have been coming up with more and more ballots out of nowhere. We all know what is going on. Every person in Florida knows exactly what is happening. Their goal is to mysteriously keep finding more votes until the election turns out the way they want. The governor then asked the Florida state police to investigate the matter, adding: No ragtag group of liberal activists or lawyers from DC will be allowed to steal this election from the voters of this great state. Donald Trump, who had campaigned more in Florida than in any other state because it is crucial to his 2020 re-election bid, also weighed in on the matter, saying those counties were finding votes ... Out of the wilderness in Florida and Arizona, where another incredibly narrow Senate race is taking place between Republican Martha McSally and Democrat Krysten Sinema. He also said Republicans won easily in Florida and pointed to the horrible history in Broward County, in particular. Broward County is infamously where the incident of hanging chads on paper ballots occurred during the 2000 presidential election between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W Bush. The chaotic recount that year took days and ultimately ended with Mr Bush becoming president after a Supreme Court ruling. Donald Trump's visit to a World War One cemetery was called off by the White House because of poor weather. The US leader was set to visit the Aisne-Marne American cemetery in the French village of Belleau - the site of a 1918 battle in which the American and French repelled German forces. More than 1,800 Americans died there. More follows The Houthis, a Shia religious-political movement in Yemen, swept into control of the country at the start of 2015 by ousting recognised president Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies launched a bombing campaign in March 2015 to reinstate their ally Hadi and three and half years later the war is dragging on with no end in sight. More than 23 million people, two-thirds of Yemens population, now rely on aid to survive and 13 million could die from famine, according to the United Nations. The current battleground is over the strategic Red Sea city of Hodeidah, home to one of Yemens main ports through which more than 70 per cent of the countrys food and medical supplies enter. UN-brokered talks which were supposed to take place by the end of the month have now been postponed until the end of the year. Who are the Houthis? The name is taken from the groups founder, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a prominent and influential north Yemen cleric and former member of parliament. The group, which was created in the 1990s, is officially known as Ansar Allah, or supporters of God, and is affiliated with the Zaydi sect of Shia Islam. The doctrines and beliefs of the Zaydiyyah, which takes its name from Zayd bin Ali, the great-grandson of Ali, the Prophet Mohammeds cousin, are significantly different from the Shiites who dominate Iran, though Iran is a major ally of the group. Instead experts say Zaydi beliefs are closer to Sunni Islam. The Houthis really gained prominence in the early 2000s with a revival of the Zaydi sect, which its supporters feared was being eroded by then-president Ali Abdullah Salah, a leader they regarded as a being corrupt and too close to Saudi Arabia and the United States. The tipping point came with the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, which radicalised the movement. That same year the Houthis slogan became God is great, death to the US, death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory for Islam. They later changed their name to Ansar Allah. Alexander Weissenburger, a researcher at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, said it was at first unclear how strongly opposed to the Yemeni government Hussein wanted to be. His speeches focused on US and Israeli force, he even apparently wrote a letter to Salah declaring his allegiance, Weissenburger said. But everything changed when Saleh launched a series of military campaigns against the Houthis after 2003. Hussein and several aides were eventually killed by government forces in 2004 and so the leadership of the movement passed to Husseins younger half-brother, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, who remains the head today. When did they become so opposed to the government? Between 2004 and 2010, there were six different rounds of war between the Houthis and government forces. By the time the Arab Spring rolled through the region, the Houthis found themselves fighting alongside other regime opponents, including their traditional enemies the Muslim Brotherhood, against Salehs administration. Houthi women followers rally to mark the day of Ashura and the 4th anniversary of their takeover of the Yemeni capital, in Sanaa, Yemen September 20, 2018. (REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah) But even after Saleh was toppled the Houthis remained in opposition to the new authorities, after Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, a Sunni from the south, was appointed president. A National Dialogue Conference, created to address the future of Yemen after Saleh, saw the unpopular president press ahead with the creation of a federal structure for Yemen. The six provinces would have split Saada, the Houthi heartland, from nearby Jawf and Hajjah provinces meaning the Houthis would have lost their access to the sea and to swathes of their supporters. They allied with their old foe, the former president Saleh, in what Adam Baron, a visiting fellow at ECFR, calls a temporary alignment of interest. Backed by Salah, who still had support from sections of the presidential guard and the army, the movement easily swept through the country. Sanaa fell to the Houthi-led alliance in January 2015 just as King Salman took the throne in Saudi Arabia. Large parts of the rest of Yemen quickly followed. The Saudis and their staunchest ally, the United Arab Emirates, launched a bombing campaign in March to reinstate Hadi, who had been forced to flee the country, and the war began Late in November 2017 Saleh signalled he would be interested in swapping sides again and joining the government forces. He was killed by the Houthis just a few days later. Right now the war continues to rage, devastating the impoverished country. Houthi followers demonstrate to show rejection of an offer by the Saudi-led coalition to pay compensations for victims of an air strike in Saada, Yemen (REUTERS/Naif Rahma) (Reuters) The United Nations has accused both the Gulf coalition and the Houthis of being responsible for the massive humanitarian crisis and of committing possible war crimes. Whereas the Saudi coalition has been criticised for devastating airstrikes and its land, sea and air blockade, the Houthis have faced a fierce backlash for their battlefield tactics. In an August report the UN highlighted their siege on the government-held province of Taiz and the fact that they have shelled and shot at civilians. The report also said there was evidence of widespread arbitrary detention, and torture. The Houthis have separately been accused of withholding aid. How big are the Houthis? No one truly knows, but experts estimate they have anywhere between 1,000 and 10,000 hardcore fighters. They also have tribal forces that have been semi-recruited under duress swelling their numbers into the tens of thousands. They are also heavily armed: when they took over Sanaa they took everything the Yemeni military had. They have also made significant sums of money from taxes and imports since wresting control of the country. Whats their relationship with Iran? Despite their religious differences, the Houthis and Iran are very close. Iran is believed to have armed the Houthis as well as to have provided technical assistance. After the Houthis swept control of Yemen they did briefly open direct air traffic between Sanaa and Tehran which promised cheap oil deals. In June the United Nations released a report saying that parts of missiles the Houthis fired at Saudi Arabia in 2017 had components manufactured in Iran, though experts were unable to determine if the technology or parts had actually been transferred from Iran. Leader of the Shiite Houthi movement, Abdul-Malik Badruddin al-Houthi, addresses supporters via a screen (REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah) Who is the leader? Little is known about any of the Houthi leaders as they do not give interviews. Abdul Malik al-Houthi, who is believed to be aged between 35 and 40, is the current head and said to be religious, less politically inclined and studious. Alexander Weissenburger says he is the outward spiritual leader, but it is unclear how much influence he has internally. His cousin Mohamed Ali al-Houthis is believed to be the real political leader of the group. The Houthi family are still at the heart of the movement; all the top political and military positions are staffed by members of the family. There is no incentive for either side to surrender Alexander Weissenburger, Yemen researcher So, what is next for them? There is little hope that the peace talks the UN hopes to restart at the end of the year will produce a meaningful agreement. Weissenburger said that the Houthis are currently preparing for a fierce house-to-house battle inside Hodeidah. They have apparently withdrawn their artillery to the mountains behind the city so they can shell it. The fear now is that a stalemate develops, with neither side able to move from their positions. There is no incentive for either side to surrender, Weissenburger said. The decision to award the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize to Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege two campaigners against sexual violence in war has rightly been hailed as a much-needed signal that the international community recognises the severity of this problem in an increasingly conflict-ridden world. Violence against women has been a topic engaging feminist legal scholars and international lawyers for a long time. A sustained feminist advocacy emerged around widespread reports of sexual violence experienced by women during the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda in the early 1990s. This culminated in the creation of the International Criminal Court in 2002, whose statute enables the prosecution of a range of sexual harms. So giving this prestigious prize to two frontline human rights activists does highlight the growing global recognition of the widespread and endemic sexual harms women suffer during wartime. But despite this welcome recognition and the widespread reporting of sexual violence incidents in conflict the international legal system lacks a binding convention on the prohibition of violence against women. There is therefore a gap between symbolism and legal reality. Personal ordeals Murad was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy work in relation to her experience as a Yazidi-Kurdish woman who had survived sexual violence and assaults including numerous rapes and prolonged sexual enslavement at the hands of Isis in northern Iraq in 2014. In 2016 she became UN goodwill ambassador for the dignity of survivors of human trafficking, using her appointment to raise awareness of the trafficking of women before the United Nations Security Council. Nadia Murad was kidnapped from her hometown Kojo and held by Isis for three months (Getty) In 2017 she published her memoir, The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State, in which she recounts her ordeal at the hands of Isis and advocates for the prosecution of Isis fighters before the International Criminal Court. She has also continually reiterated the idea that rape and sexual slavery need to be conceptualised as weapons of war and treated as such by international criminal law. In a recent interview she said: Rape has been used throughout history as a weapon of war. I never thought I would have something in common with women in Rwanda before all this, I didnt know that a country called Rwanda existed and now I am linked to them in the worst possible way, as a victim of a war crime that is so hard to talk about that no one in the world was prosecuted for committing it until just 16 years before Isis came to Sinjar. Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Show all 15 1 /15 Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Isis in Sinjar town, walk towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Isis in Sinjar town, walk towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community settle at a camp at Derike, Syria. In the camps here, Iraqi refugees have new heroes: Syrian Kurdish fighters who battled militants to carve an escape route to tens of thousands trapped on a mountaintop Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis A pilot based at RAF Marham entering a Tornado GR4 prior to taking off for the reconnaissance mission over Iraq. Several RAF Tornado jets set off from RAF Marham in Norfolk this afternoon to travel to a "pre-position", from where they will fly to northern Iraq to provide improved surveillance of the situation on the ground. The jets, fitted with Litening III targeting and surveillance pods, will be able to fly over the crisis area to provide intelligence and help with the delivery of humanitarian aid Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis A British Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado GR4 aircraft equipped with the Litening III pod from RAF Marham, eastern England, on their arrival at RAF Akrotiri Cyprus for their reconnaissance mission over Iraq Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Aid inside a Royal Air Force (RAF) Hercules C130 J aircraft before being airdropped to civilians in Iraq Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis A Royal Air Force (RAF) Hercules C130 J military transport plane at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. Britain made a third round of airdrops of supplies to aid refugees stranded on a mountain in northern Iraq, officials said, as Tornado fighters arrived at an RAF base in Cyprus preparing to provide surveillance support for the humanitarian effort Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado GR4 aircraft, flown in from Britain, stand on the tarmac at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis A displaced man helps a woman, both from the minority Yazidi sect fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Isis in Sinjar town, as they make their way towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Iraqis including Turkmen, Shabaks, Kurds, Yezidis and Christians, fleeing from assaults of army groups led by Isis, take shelter at Bahirka Camp in Arbil Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community look for clothes to wear among items provided by a charity organization at the Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community gather for food at the Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community gather for food at the Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Syrian Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take a sick Iraqi Yazidi woman to the clinic at Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Sick displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community wait for treatment at a clinic at Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria Mukwege gained worldwide acclaim for his work as a surgeon, gynaecologist and womens rights activist. He founded the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1999 as a clinic specialising in gynaecological and obstetric care, performing complex surgeries on women who had been raped and suffered vicious sexual assault during armed conflict in the DRC from 2003 to 2016. Having treated 40,000 survivors of sexual violence, he is today considered one of the worlds leading experts on repairing the internal physical damage caused by gang rape. In addition to restorative surgery, the hospital also provides psychological support for victims and offers a one-stop hospital for rape survivors, as well as providing financial support for the women affected in order to enable them to reintegrate into society. Both activists have brought to the worlds attention the gendered nature of armed conflict and have shone a light on a pervasive phenomenon of modern wars. This has also been one of the central concerns of the UN Security Council, which has passed eight resolutions on its Women, Peace and Security agenda since 2000. Nigeria: more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014. Many are still missing and some are reported to have had children by their abductors (EPA/Hannibal Hanschke) Time for action But despite the powerful symbolic victory of the Nobel Peace Prize, the reality on the ground remains that a binding convention on the prohibition of gender-based violence in all its forms is still lacking. The 1979 Womens Convention (CEDAW), often heralded as the most significant treaty for the elimination of discrimination against women, does not contain a specific prohibition against gender-based violence. Neither does the 1992 CEDAW Committee Declaration No 19 a landmark declaration defining gender-based violence, which is symbolic rather than binding in nature. The UN resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, such as UN Resolution 1325 which calls on all state actors and those involved in post-conflict reconstruction efforts to incorporate a gender-based perspective into the transitional peace process and emphasises the full and equal participation of women in all peace-related efforts have not led to the securing of a binding resolution on the prohibition of gender-based violence. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events There remains a persistent moral gap between rhetoric and practice when it comes to addressing gender-based violence. What is lacking is a clear political will to implement a multilateral convention that would impose obligations on state parties. As former UN special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo told me when I interviewed her in 2015: One of the challenges is that, whereas the rhetoric is that violence against women is a human rights violation, the reality is that there is an absence of responding to that in a deeper way that demands a different response. So when the rhetoric is that it is a human rights violation, and we do not acknowledge that it is pervasive, that it is systemic and that it has numerous structural causes, including socioeconomic causes, then actions must reflect this reality. This is especially important in light of the fact that gender-based violence almost always exists on a continuum of violence. Frequently, there is a link between the prolonged incidents of domestic violence in peacetime and the levels of sexual violence seen in armed conflict. This has been seen time and time again, in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, as well as in the DRC. The recent recognition of the advocacy efforts of the two Nobel laureates therefore serves as a vital reminder that the actual work of drafting and putting into effect a binding convention for the prohibition of violence against women is an urgent priority, which can no longer go unaddressed by the international community. Daniela Nadj is a lecturer in public law at Queen Mary University of London. This article first appeared on The Conversation (theconversation.com) Sri Lankas President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday dissolved Parliament and called for fresh elections amid a deepening political crisis. An official notification signed by Mr Sirisena announced the dissolution of parliament effective at midnight Friday. The notice said the names of candidates for new elections will be called before 26 November, and the election will be held on 5 January. The new parliament is to be convened on 17 January. Sri Lanka has been in a political crisis since 26 October, when Mr Sirisena fired his prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. Mr Wickremesinghe has insisted his firing is unconstitutional. He has refused to vacate his official residence and demanded that parliament be summoned immediately to prove he had support among its members. Mr Sirisena had suspended parliament for two weeks in a move Mr Wickremesinghes backers said was designed to buy time to shore up support. There were calls both locally and internationally to convene Parliament to end the impasse. Amid the pressure, Mr Sirisena announced parliament would be summoned on 14 November. He maintained his choice for prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, had a majority in parliament. However, the decision to dissolve parliament shows that is not so, observers say. The dissolution clearly indicates that Mr Sirisena has grossly misjudged and miscalculated the support that he might or could secure to demonstrate support in the parliament, said Bharath Gopalaswamy, director at New Delhi-based analyst group Atlantic Councils South Asia Centre. At the end of the day, he is a victim of his own homegrown crisis. Mr Wickremesinghes camp is likely to contest Mr Sirisenas move because of constitutional provisions stating a parliament cannot be dissolved until four and a half years after its inception. The current parliament was elected in August 2015. Its totally unconstitutional, said Harsha de Silva, a member of Mr Wickremesinghes United National Party and a former minister. Mr Sirisena has relegated the constitution to toilet paper. We will fight this dictator to the end. The party said in a Twitter message that it will meet the elections commissioner to discuss the constitutionality of Mr Sirisenas move. The US State Department said on its Twitter page that it is deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis. As a committed partner of Sri Lanka, we believe democratic institutions and processes need to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity. Earlier, US congressman Eliot Engel, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and two other lawmakers wrote to the Sri Lankan president warning that actions circumventing the democratic process could impact US assistance including a planned five-year aid package from the Millennium Challenge Corporation worth hundreds of millions of dollars. We fear that recent actions, if not corrected, will threaten your countrys democratic development and derail the progress made in recent years, the three lawmakers said in a letter. Mr Rajapaksa indicated what was coming hours before the dissolution in a speech. He said the government must go to the people for confirmation on whether the president made the correct decision when he appointed him as prime minister. Figures released this week by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency showed that 305 people died by suicide in Northern Ireland during 2017. That amounts to six deaths a week by suicide, a slight increase from the 2016 figure of 298 but tragically double that recorded 20 years ago in 1998, the year the Good Friday Agreement was signed. Although meant to signal renewed prosperity in Northern Ireland, the years that followed brought with them a drastic increase in lives lost due to suicide. From 2016 onwards the number of deaths by suicide since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement has outstripped the total number of people killed during the Troubles. In contrast, over the same time period the rest of the United Kingdom has witnessed a steady downward trend in suicide rates. Commenting on the 2017 suicide registrations, the Office for National Statistics remarked that it was one of the lowest annual rates recorded since records began in 1981. Not only do suicide rates look different in Northern Ireland, so too do those taking their own lives. In the rest of the UK those most at risk are men aged between 40 and 44; in Northern Ireland, its men between 25 and 29. They have grown up under the shadow of the Troubles, and come of age in the years of austerity and increasing precarity. NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday Show all 18 1 /18 NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday Nurses test the hearing of a newborn child Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday The waiting room is busy in Milton Keynes University Hospital Reuters NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday On Ward 24, two nurses work at the nurses station Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday In A&E, a porter rushes a patient through the corridor Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday A surgical team prepares a patient for their operation Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday In the physiotherapy department, patients are treated in the hydrotherapy pool Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday On Ward 8, an inpatient awaits visitors Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday In the physiotherapy department, amputees take a class Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday A junior doctor is at work in the staff room Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday A surgical team prepares a patient for their operation Reuters NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday An inpatient has her hair washed by the staff hairdressers Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday In the audiology department, a mother watches on as her son is given a hearing test Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday On Ward 8, staff serve lunch to the patients Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday On Ward 24, a patient waits on their bed Reuters NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday On Ward 8, a cleaner is at work Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday A nurse takes blood from a patient Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday On Ward 8, an inpatient receives a visitor Reuters/Hannah McKay NHS at 70: Pride and worry as free health service celebrates birthday Inpatient Donald Ritson lies in bed in Ward 24 in Milton Keynes University Hospital Reuters Suicide is multifaceted, and no single explanation can be given for someone taking their own life, but research has consistently attested to the experience of deprivation, poverty and mental health problems as key risk factors. Research by Siobhan ONeill, a professor at Ulster University, has looked into the impact intergenerational trauma has on this generation, many of whom may have grown up in poverty in a post-conflict society and are still struggling to process the violence they experienced and witnessed. This weeks figures will not be news to many in Northern Ireland who are well aware of the toll mental distress and suicide has on their communities, and are also aware of the lack of political wherewithal to deal with this. To coincide with World Mental Health Day on 10 October, Theresa May announced that every local area would be provided with its own effective suicide prevention plan. This statement might have been of some solace to those in Northern Ireland had such a document not already been drafted almost two years ago, which is currently awaiting ministerial signature and executive sign off. Recommended The government has hit a new low with hypocrisy around mental health The suicide prevention strategy Protect Life 2 is just one of numerous bills unable to be implemented since the collapse of talks at Stormont in January 2017. The strategy aimed to address repeated self-harm as a risk factor for suicide, as well as focusing on supporting those who have been bereaved by suicide and improving responses to those experiencing suicidal behaviour. Reassuring though it might be to believe, a sitting Stormont and the enactment of Protect Life 2 would be unable to adequately deal with the levels of mental distress currently being experienced across the country. Concerns were previously raised that the draft strategy was too narrow in focus, with a primary emphasis on people already in contact with mental health services. Research has suggested that of those who take their own lives, only a third will have previously been under the care of mental health services. And despite having levels of mental distress 25 per cent higher than the rest of the United Kingdom, Northern Irelands mental health services receive 20 per cent less funding, meaning many of those most at risk may never even encounter these overstretched services. Those who do may be faced with underfunded services ill equipped to provide the time and space to implement trauma-informed approaches to mental distress. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events In addition, despite the best of intentions, any suicide prevention strategy aimed at supporting those who repeatedly self-harm will be unable to address the root cause of the 35 per cent of the LGBT community who self-harm (compared to 13 per cent in the rest of the UK), in a country where 33 per cent of the population rejects their right to equal marriage. And while all of Northern Ireland bears the burden of the Troubles, women, who are 66 per cent more likely to be prescribed antidepressants than men, must face archaic anti-abortion legislation that still treats them as second class citizens, reminding them their bodies are not their own. At a time when Brexit negotiations remain at an impasse, and fears that a bad deal or misstep on the Irish border risk opening old wounds, were seeing a narrative where violence in Northern Ireland is continually bubbling under the surface. What this weeks figures highlight is that for decades now a slow form of violence has already been playing out across Northern Ireland. The underfunding of vital services and a political culture based on stubborn us v them attitudes leaves no space for distress to be heard or trauma to be addressed. These are the wounds that need to be focused on now more than ever. Nic Murray is a mental health researcher and convener with the London Irish Abortion Rights Campaign If you have been affected by this article, you can contact the following organisations for support: Mind.org.uk nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth mentalhealth.org.uk samaritans.org State talks: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon and Chief Minister of Jersey John Le Fondre at the British-Irish Councils summit on the Isle of Man. Photo: PA DUP leader Arlene Foster said yesterday her party has "only one red line" which is that Northern Ireland cannot be distanced from their "precious union". At the same time, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said this week: "We haven't had many red lines in these negotiations, but one we have had is that we must have a legal guarantee that a hard border will not emerge on the island of Ireland." As the clock ticks on towards a 'no deal' scenario, British Prime Minister Theresa May appears unable to make those red lines meet. Foster and Varadkar can't both get their way, which means the prime minister must decide who she needs more. Did we make any new progress on Brexit this week? This was hyped as the week we would finally see the UK's withdrawal agreement. What happened? Theresa May pulled back from briefing her cabinet on the full plan because she is still unsure it will approve. She needs ministers to back it or the country could be heading for a 'no deal' scenario and possibly a general election. Had they reached a compromise on the Irish Border question? The EU has conceded to the idea of a UK-wide customs arrangement rather than one that applies exclusively to the North. However, the Irish Government insists a 'backstop' for the North must also be agreed in case the UK leaves the customs arrangement at some stage. Mrs May admitted this could see the North operate under different regulatory rules. But the DUP made it clear a year ago that it wouldn't tolerate any regulatory divergence from the rest of the UK? DUP leader Arlene Foster has been consistent in saying any deal to maintain frictionless trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic cannot lead to checks on the Irish Sea. Can Theresa May just ignore the DUP? Any deal will have to be passed in the UK Parliament, which means the PM needs to count her numbers carefully. Ideally, she needs the DUP's 10 MPs on board. Will a 'review mechanism' help Theresa May get this over the line? The PM rang Leo Varadkar to ask if he would be open to including an exit clause in the 'backstop'. He agreed to look at the idea - but made it clear the backstop must be in place "unless and until" a better arrangement is devised. Brexit has thrown up all manner of challenges. Where share sales and purchases are settled is just another one of them. Regina Breheny said that while it shouldn't be an onerous task to transfer the settlement of shares to Brussels, the time line could be an issue. "It will be resolved, but it's tight," she said, adding that it had taken quite a bit of prodding to get this issue moved up the agenda. "It is going to be a major issue come March if something doesn't happen." However, she's optimistic a solution will be implemented. For Irish shareholders, the behind-the-scenes machinations will most likely go largely unnoticed. "Most ordinary shareholders probably don't even realise where their shares are held," said Ms Breheny. Jo Johnson has signalled that more ministers may be poised to quit over Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plans. Mr Johnson, whose bombshell resignation as transport minister took Westminster by surprise, said if other senior Tories followed suit, "good on them". Calling for a second referendum to be held on Brexit, Mr Johnson denounced the choice between Mrs May's deal plans or a no-deal scenario as a "failure of British statecraft on a scale unseen since the Suez crisis" that had left Britain facing "vassalage" or "chaos". However, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn distanced himself from Mr Johnson's demand for a new Brexit vote. Asked whether other ministers should quit over the issue, Mr Johnson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think this is so important that it's up to MPs to take a stand. "I've done so, if others feel that it's right for them to do so, good on them." He added: "It's for each MP to come to his or her own view. "This is one of the most momentous questions we will ever face in our political careers. "And everybody is thinking very hard about it. "Of course I talk to colleagues across Parliament and those conversations always remind me of how deeply MPs think about their responsibilities, and I know many are reflecting hard about the deal that's looming and how they will respond to it. "But it's obviously for each of them to work out how best to respond to those questions." Mr Johnson insisted his resignation was not an attempt to oust the PM. "My priority is really just to do my bit as a now backbench MP to try and encourage the country to pause and reflect before we do something that is irrevocably stupid." Calling for a new referendum, Mr Johnson said: "My view is that this is so different from what was billed that it would be an absolute travesty if we do not go back to the people and ask them if they actually do want to exit the EU on this extraordinarily hopeless basis." Asked if his brother Boris Johnson had lied to voters during the referendum about Brexit, the former transport minister said: "In the campaign there were undoubtedly promises made that have shown to be undeliverable. No one can dispute that." Mr Johnson said his role as transport minister had caused him concern about the impact of a no-deal outcome. Asked if he could agree with Mr Johnson's call for a new referendum, Mr Corbyn said: "Not really, no." Speaking during a visit to north-east England, the Labour leader added: "The referendum took place. "The issue now has to be how we bring people together, bring people together around the principles of our economy, our rights and that we don't turn this country into some kind of offshore tax haven on the lines that Donald Trump might want us to." Mr Corbyn was dismissive of the Chequers Brexit plan put forward by Mrs May in the summer, saying: "After all, most of the Cabinet don't agree with Chequers. "Seven ministers have already resigned over Chequers, and we've got two Johnsons at war with each other over Chequers. "Maybe three Johnsons. Dad's joined in as well, I understand." Mr Corbyn said any Brexit deal presented to the Commons would have to be measured against six tests already set out by Labour on issues like a customs union and the Northern Ireland border. Mrs May is also under pressure from the DUP over her Brexit plans, as well as Eurosceptic Tories. But calls for a second Brexit referendum have been attacked by ex-first secretary of state Damian Green. He told the Today programme: "My basic disagreement with Jo is about the need for a second referendum. "I think a second referendum would be divisive, but it wouldn't be decisive. "All the evidence is that the country is still, more or less, split down the middle." Prominent Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg also criticised attempts to force a new poll on EU membership. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox told Sky News: "The Government is planning for no deal as we have for some time. "It has always been clear that the European Union might not agree to what Britain thinks is a fair and equitable solution to our leaving the European Union. "There have always been some who want to punish Britain for our decision to leave the EU which, of course, was our legal right." Commissioner Hogan said it was unacceptable that only 6pc of the European Union's farmers are under 40 years of age. EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan was blunt in his speech at the presentation of the Paddy Fitzgerald Memorial Community Award in Limerick recently in stating the importance of generational renewal in agriculture. "The member states will not get approval for their plans in the future under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and you will not get your money, unless we have a very ambitious programme put forward by the Irish Government in relation to helping young people into agriculture directly or indirectly," he said. There has been an increasing focus on the greying of Europe's farmers, in part due to successful campaigns by CEJA, the European Council of Young Farmers, in Europe and Macra na Feirme at home - even if the problem is not as severe as the commissioner stated in his speech. Commissioner Hogan said it was unacceptable that only 6pc of the European Union's farmers are under 40 years of age. However, the latest Eurostat figures for 2016 show that the proportion under 40 years of age (the official definition of a young farmer) is 11pc on average in the 28 Member States. At the other end of the scale, 58pc of EU farmers are over 55, while 33pc are over 65. Ireland has a broadly similar age structure to the EU average. In 2016, just 9pc of Irish farmers were under 40, while 54pc were over 55 and 29pc were over 65. However, this is not the case for all EU member states. The striking feature about the age structure of farmers in the EU is how different the situation can be from one member state to another. In Austria and Poland, more than 20pc of farmers are under 40, and in Germany the figure is 15pc. In Austria, only 7pc of farmers are over 65 and in Germany only 8pc. At the other extreme, Portugal has only 4pc of its farmers under 40, with 52pc over 65. The UK also has a very low share of young farmers, at 5pc, although its share of farmers over 65 at 34pc is similar to the EU average. These national differences point to the importance of national regulations around access to land and land mobility, inheritance laws, taxation provisions and pension rules and entitlements rather than CAP policies. In Germany, for example, its 'Hofabgabeklausel' social security scheme, which requires farmers to relinquish their farm in order to receive their old-age pension, plays a major role in successful generational renewal in the farming sector. In its June 2018 CAP legislative proposals for the period post-2020, the Commission proposes that member states must spend at least 2pc of their Pillar 1 direct payment national envelopes on assistance for young farmers. Member states will be given flexibility to decide if they want to use this allocation as a top-up of the basic income support decoupled payment in Pillar 1, or to use it to support an installation aid package for young farmers under Pillar 2. The maximum amount of installation aid is increased to 100,000 paid as a lump sum and can be combined with financial instruments such as a loan guarantee. Member states will be allowed to use loan guarantees to assist young farmers in the purchase of land. The top-up would be like the current Young Farmer Scheme, whereby a farmer under the age of 40 gets a payment of 25pc of the national average basic payment per hectare on a maximum of 50 entitlements for five years after their date of setting up in farming. It will be up to a member state in future to decide on the size of the top-up and the number of hectares to which it would apply. Member states will be required to outline their generational renewal strategy in their CAP strategic plans based on a SWOT analysis. Importantly, they must explain the interplay with national instruments with a view of improving the consistency between EU and national actions in this area. Providing additional support to young farmers when setting up can make good sense. But just as a young farmer would not expect a bank to lend him or her money without a business plan, the public should also be assured that support of this magnitude will be sensibly used by linking it to a requirement to submit and follow a business plan. Additional support does not address the key problem in increasing the proportion of younger farmers, which is access to land. Commissioner Hogan in his address suggested the re-introduction of an early retirement scheme to get more younger people involved in farming. A significant criticism of previous early retirement schemes was that the benefits were essentially short-term. This is supported by the evidence that Ireland has a lower share of young farmers today than the EU average, even though it was one of only a handful of member states that seriously embraced the scheme. An early retirement scheme would also have to be funded from additional national Exchequer funds as it is not a possible intervention measure permitted under the proposed CAP legislation. One reason why older farmers remain farming is the easy access to direct payments. If Commissioner Hogan really wants to help new entrants into farming, tapering these payments according to age would be a good place to start. Alan Matthews is Professor Emeritus of European Agricultural Policy at Trinity College Dublin Shareholders - including the eldest son of the late Taoiseach Charles J Haughey - and managers at the One4All gift card company are set to share a massive windfall from the sale of the business. The An Post-controlled company has now been sold in a deal valuing it at 100m to US technology investor Blackhawk. State-owned An Post has a more than 53pc stake in Gift Voucher Shop (GVS), the company behind the One4all business, and its share of the proceeds will be ploughed back into its operations. Other shareholders include GVS founder, businessman Michael Dawson, with a 10.56pc stake and early backer Conor Haughey, son of the late Taoiseach, who has a 9.96pc stake, according to the latest company filings. GVS financial director Paul Larkin has a 7.95pc stake and former Fexco executive Pa Nolan has a 9.80pc stake. Former Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist Mr Dawson founded GVS in 2001 and has led it through a succession of investments. Fexco held a 76pc stake at one point, followed by a management buyout and the later sale to An Post. The latest financial accounts for the business recorded profits of 7m in 2017 on sales of 16.4m - which were up nearly 20pc compared with 2016 revenues of 13.8m. The One4all gift card can be used to buy things at a multitude of participating retailers. It operates in Ireland, Malta and the UK. The business in Ireland received a massive boost two years ago when then finance minister Michael Noonan lifted a tax-free ceiling on gift vouchers that companies give their staff to 500 each, making it a popular and low-cost alternative to cash bonuses. GVS makes its turnover from commission from retailers when vouchers are used. The sale of the business is subject to regulatory approvals. Blackhawk said buying the Irish business would strengthen its position in the emerging digital gift card market. "This acquisition is an exciting expansion of Blackhawk's business footprint in Europe and nicely complements Happy Cards and our strategy to expand original, aggregated retail content globally," said Talbott Roche, chief executive officer and president of Blackhawk Network. An Post bought a majority stake in GVS in 2009. GVS's corporate customer base includes 6,000 clients who use the gift card product for staff rewards. IPL Plastics will start a new process designed to boost its margins. The company's large format packing and environmental solutions division will be targeted in particular, but all divisions will be examined. Job losses are not expected, in the initial phase of the programme at least. Chief executive Alan Walsh said the company was "very confident" the programme would boost profitability. IPL's adjusted Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) was down 20pc year-on-year in the third quarter. That's despite a 7.5pc revenue boost. It has been hit by rising input costs. Mr Walsh said the company would look to implement price increases for its products in order to claw back the increased input prices. He said the transformation programme does not preclude the company from making further acquisitions. Ryanair has paid 525,000 in subsidies back to French authorities to end a tarmac standoff that forced 149 passengers to disembark from an impounded plane. The French civil aviation authority said it had seized the plane at Bordeaux-Merignac airport as a "last resort", after France repeatedly tried to get Ryanair to pay back regional funds given to the airline in 2008 and 2009. The European Commission later ruled those funds illegal, saying they gave Ryanair an unfair economic advantage. The aviation authority called it "regrettable that the state was forced" to evacuate the plane yesterday. It said the passengers were put on another Ryanair flight five hours later. Ryanair did not respond to queries regarding the incident. Aviation authority spokesman Eric Heraud said the airline had paid back the funds and the plane would be released. Last month, the European Commission said it had opened an in-depth probe to determine if measures that favoured Ryanair at Frankfurt-Hahn airport in Germany are aligned with state-aid rules. "We will investigate whether regional and local authorities in Germany, against the rules, gave an unfair advantage to Ryanair over its competitors," EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. Under the deal, Ryanair received between 2009 and 2017 training aid and funding for a crew and pilot school and for a maintenance hall at the airport, the European Commission said. Ryanair said it believes the Frankfurt-Hahn agreement fully complied with EU state aid rules. An EU-backed fund designed to invest in Irish startups and SMEs is to double in size to 40m. The extra funding comes from Enterprise Ireland and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The European Angels Fund Ireland provides money to invest alongside a number of so-called angel investors who take stakes in Irish companies. The first 20m has now been allocated. In Ireland there are nine approved angel investors under the scheme. The scheme promoters believe that in total the 40m fund will support investments in 100 companies. EIB vice president Andrew McDowell said doubling the fund would "enable Irish Business Angels to significantly increase investment activity and help world-class companies to grow." Kevin Sherry from Enterprise Ireland said angel funding "provides both essential capital and hugely valuable industry experience" to help early stage companies grow. Central Bank Governor Philip Lane addressed the issue of SME funding in a speech yesterday. He told an audience at the Dublin Chamber of Commerce that loan application rates from SMEs had not increased despite the improving economy. "As many as half of SMEs currently report that they are not applying for credit because they hold sufficient internal funding," he said. "One interpretation is that this simply reflects limited funding needs due to the nature of the activities undertaken by these firms. "A possible alternative interpretation is the scarring effects of the crisis has increased risk aversion in the business community, limiting the appetite to undertake riskier or more ambitious investment programmes." French finance minister Bruno Le Maire took aim at Germany as his bid for an EU tax on technology giants floundered yesterday. As probably the keenest supporter of the proposed EU digital tax, he'll have been disappointed by the level of opposition the measure faced at a meeting of European finance ministers earlier this week. The French are hoping the law will be backed at a meeting next month - and are willing to have its implementation then suspended until as late as the end of 2020. It would only come in at that stage if the issue hadn't been tackled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Delaying the implementation is a serious concession by France - but it wants agreement quickly to stop other member states from going off and imposing similar digital taxes on their own, like Britain now plans to do. The measure needs unanimity to pass and while the opposition of Ireland won't have been a surprise, it appears Mr Le Maire is now getting nervous about Germany's backing. The ministers' meeting broke up with the proposal looking like a dead duck. Ireland, Sweden and Denmark were opposed - and some countries said they would press ahead on their own. Austria said divisions now appeared to be so deep that chances for a deal had narrowed considerably, while Danish finance minister Kristian Jensen said: "It is very difficult to see an agreement on the digital tax because so many technical issues are not solved yet." One such issue sprung from Germany. It sought a revision to the terms of the tax which would protect car-makers like Volkswagen from coming under the tax's scope. Mr Le Maire tried to put a positive spin on things, saying the debate was moving in the right direction. He made a joke about Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, saying: "It just remains for me to offer Paschal a beer in a Dublin pub, and then I think we'll be able to move toward a decision." But on Friday his rhetoric was not so jocular. "Germany's failure to back a proposed EU tax on big internet companies would damage trust between France and Germany. "We can't imagine for a second that Germany does not stick to its commitments and decides not to adopt the directive in December," Mr Le Maire said in an interview with 'Les Echos'. "That would be a breakdown of trust between France and Germany". Whether that has the desired effect in Berlin may well be moot. Paschal Donohoe declined to specify whether he would use a veto against the tax, but made it very clear that as far as he was concerned the OECD is the place to sort this all out. The opposition posed by other countries should help mitigate against any attempt to link the tax with support on Brexit, as has been hinted at by anonymous officials in media reports. Such reports no doubt served to focus Minister Donohoe's mind, but maintaining his opposition in any case looks now to have been the right call. It looks like France may have lost this particular battle - but there will be many others. Mr Le Maire's strident comments against Germany are perhaps a reflection of that country's waning influence - and a concomitant growth in French power in Brussels. German chancellor Angela Merkel and Britain are on the way out, Italy is not quite a basket case but looks like it could become one, and so the French look poised to take the ascendancy among the EU nations. That might spark a bit of nervousness for Ireland, which is losing its biggest ally and has just helped thwart the French on one of their flagship initiatives. BEHIND the scenes coverage of the NYPD in action have been recorded in a new book by Irish Independent photographer, Mark Condren. The book which contains more than 100 images showcases the crime fighting of the New York city cops over a two year period. It also provides a unique insight into the intelligence work and technology that goes into police investigations. Speaking at the New York book launch, Commissioner of the NYPD, James ONeill said there are images of heartbreak and heroism and of melancholy and surprising beauty. We're proud to be documented in this book "NYPD: Behind the scenes with the men and women of the New York City Police Department," by Mark Condren. For more information visit the @nycpolicefdtn website at: https://t.co/0bNhZn0RsX pic.twitter.com/buTbjzYbRA NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) November 9, 2018 What I like most about these photos is that they capture such a wide array of the many functions of the New York citys police, he said. Because so much of it might seem routine to us in the moment. Because in that instant, it is sometimes difficult to recognise the gravity of a singular situation or to maybe realise what a positive, lasting effect a simple interaction with a young person in an impoverished neighbourhood might have on that boy or girl, he added. On his book, Mr Condren from Castletownroche, Co. Cork - said no image could ever capture the scale and breadth of the work they do for New York city. These images have brought me closer to an understanding of what it means to be a cop in the city that never sleeps I am truly humbled and thankful to have witnessed the commitment of New Yorks finest first hand, he added. Susan Birnbaum of the New York City Police Foundation said: We are proud to support this effort and celebrate the work of the NYPD, and are grateful for the collaboration with Mark Condren who captured so many incredible images. Video of the Day To order please visit https://markcondren.com/ Associated with anti-Semitism and not regarded as an author of the highest reputation, was the damning verdict of Britains Royal Mint on Roald Dahl. As we learnt earlier this week, the sub-committee that decides who gets to be honoured with commemorative coins chose not to nominate Dahl in 2016, the year of his centenary. Not an author of the highest reputation? It depends on how you look at it. His standing as a favourite author of millions of children, already established before his death in 1990, has only increased in the years since, as has his status among critics. But it is as what the BFG would call a human bean that his reputation starts to become problematic. When I first began to read about Dahls life, having devoured his books as a child, I was not surprised to discover he was a difficult man who liked to shock people with his outrageous opinions. And it is the nasty bits of his books that come to mind most vividly when thinking back on them: Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker being crushed to death in James And The Giant Peach; Mr Twit making his wife think she is shrinking by adding tiny pieces of wood to her walking stick and chair legs every day. If Dahl had been a nice man, I dont suppose he would have been able to inflict such refreshingly transgressive views on his young readers. Christopher Hitchens once wrote an essay examining the truth of the accusation that Dahl was an adulterer, bully and anti-Semite. Of course its bloody well true, he concluded. How else could Dahl have kept children enthralled and agreeably disgusted and pleasurably afraid? By being Enid Blyton? There is no doubt that he was extremely anti-Semitic. In the 1980s, he made several inflammatory statements in articles and interviews about Jews. Our hearts bled for the Lebanese and Palestinian men, women and children, and we all started hating the Israelis, just as our hearts bled for the Jewish men, women and children, and we hated the Germans 40 years previously, he declared in an article he wrote in 1983 on the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. He declared of the Jews that even a stinker like Hitler didnt pick on them for no reason and suggested they were easy to kill en masse because they were always submissive. Dahl sometimes peddled Jewish stereotypes in his fiction. His biographer Jeremy Treglown notes that in his first novel, Sometime Never (1948), plentiful revelations about Nazi anti-Semitism and the Holocaust did not discourage him from satirizing a little pawnbroker in Hounsditch called Meatbein who, when the wailing started, would rush downstairs to the large safe in which he kept his money, open it and wriggle inside on to the lowest shelf where he lay like a hibernating hedgehog until the all-clear had gone. There is also the short story Madame Rosette in which the title character is described as a filthy old Syrian Jewess. Perhaps the most insidious example of Dahls anti-Semitism was his screenplay for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). Dahl invented a character who did not appear in Ian Flemings original novel The Child Catcher. The mannerisms of Robert Helpmanns performance, combined with his black hat, long black coat and huge pointy nose, suggested a Jew who seemed to have taken on the role of a Nazi, exercising power over a town in which children are not permitted to live and dragging those whose hiding places are discovered off to be imprisoned. Dahls own books for children are not notably anti-Semitic, although his publishers are said to have cut racist and misogynist content from Matilda (in which the title character was originally not a proto-feminist heroine but a devilish little hussy), The BFG, The Witches and the Charlie Bucket books. The delightfully naughty Dahl we all enjoy is a watered-down version, made palatable by publishers who knew that cask-strength Dahl would be beyond the pale. Dahl still has high-profile defenders, even among the Jewish community. Steven Spielberg, who directed the The BFG, has said that nothing in anything hes ever written has held up a mirror to some of the statements he made in 1983... I dont truly believe somebody with such a big heart, who has given so much joy and so much epiphany to audiences with his writing, was an anti-Semitic human being. Video of the Day But Dahl certainly caused pain along with joy. In April 1990, he received a letter from two San Francisco schoolchildren that read: Dear Mr Dahl, We love your books, but we have a problem... we are Jews!! We love your books but you dont like us because we are Jews. That offends us! Can you please change your mind about what you said about Jews. Dahl sent a message back saying it was injustice he hated, not Jews; but in this instance, he had let his readers down. His childrens books, allegedly purged of his more extreme views, will always inspire delight in young readers, I hope; but one can see why the great and the good are very careful about how they choose to honour him. It takes a minute or two to adjust to the sight of Claire Foy sporting cropped hair and body tattoos, charging about on a motorbike and knocking seven bells out of numerous assailants. This, after all, is the woman who gave us The Crown, and a portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth so refined and lady-like it would make a geisha feel uncouth. But Foy is utterly convincing as the psychologically damaged Swedish hacker Lisbeth Salander in The Girl in the Spider's Web, offering further proof of her rare talent, and range. Since she finished shooting The Crown early last year, Foy has concentrated on film, and appears to have the happy knack of choosing projects well. She played Andrew Garfield's heroic wife in Andy Serkis's moving biopic of polio victim Robin Cavendish Breathe, and was a revelation as a woman wrongfully incarcerated in a mental asylum in Steven Soderbergh's gritty thriller Unsane. And she can currently be seen in your local multiplex in Damien Chazelle's First Man, a sweeping recreation of the Apollo 11 moon landings in which she plays Neil Armstrong's long-suffering spouse. Her performance, and the film, are sure to figure largely in what American commentators like to call 'the Oscar conversation'. Her latest film, though, is definitely a change of pace. "Well that was part of the allure really," she tells me, "because I knew if I took it on that I would be pushed into doing stuff I hadn't done before. You want to keep learning really, and testing yourself, and this film definitely gave me that opportunity!" Expand Close Claire Foy attends The Girl In The Spider's Web" New York screening at Henry Luce Theater on November 4, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Claire Foy attends The Girl In The Spider's Web" New York screening at Henry Luce Theater on November 4, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images) The Girl in the Spider's Web is the fifth movie built around the character of Lisbeth Salander, originally the protagonist of the late Stieg Larsson's Stockholm-set crime novels. In 2009, Noomi Rapace played her in an acclaimed and very disturbing trilogy of films, and in 2011 Rooney Mara starred in a David Fincher remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. This film is a kind of sequel to that, though it effectively stands alone. What, I wonder, was it like to take on a role so memorably played by others? "I had watched the other films, as a civilian as it were, and I'd read all the books, and I knew that you can't try and be anyone else, you can only be yourself, so I didn't re-watch them - I just knew it wouldn't be a very nice thing to do to myself, there was nothing much I would have learnt. So really it was the books, I think that was probably the same for Rooney and Noomi, because that's where she existed and that's where I got all my information." Salander, for those unfamiliar with her, is a moody and reclusive Gothic avenging heroine, a survivor of sexual violence who detests and targets abusive men: she's also a brilliant computer hacker, which greatly helps her in her work, and in the original stories she joined forces with a campaigning journalist called Mikael Blomkvist to out high-ranking bullies. "The other films did focus a lot on Lisbeth's past because that's what's important about the character, the amount of tragedy and pain that she's been through. But her childhood was never really investigated, and so I think this film looked at the possibility of exploring her childhood to show how what you're like as a kid decides who you are as an adult." Expand Close Claire Foy in First Man / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Claire Foy in First Man Lizbeth has problems all right, finds it very hard to relate to others and is worryingly keen on resorting to violence. Was she hard to get a handle on? "I think the thing to remember is that you know why the character's acting like that but they don't, and I mean Lisbeth would be pretty unself-aware. Self-exploration is not something that she ever is likely to want to do because it's too painful. So you just try and be aware of all that, and then forget it." Video of the Day In Spider's Web we find out that Lisbeth had a sister, who hasn't turned out all that well, and in one of the film's more moving moments, they meet. "With that scene on the cliff, that wasn't necessarily how it was going to go, there were different versions and I didn't know that one was going to end up in the film. "I was very surprised by my response in that scene, because getting all that emotion was not something I thought would happen, but in doing it I realised she was faced with the person who understood her background more than anyone else, with someone who she now realised she loved more than anyone else, and only then did she understand how much she'd hidden it all, and suppressed it." Expand Close Claire Foy has discussed her latest film role in The Girl In The Spiders Web (Willy Sanjuan/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Claire Foy has discussed her latest film role in The Girl In The Spiders Web (Willy Sanjuan/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images) Does she tend to work in the moment like that? "No! I'm a real preparer, I really believe in doing your work. But you never know what's going to happen on the day, and that's the beauty of it, that is what I love so much about what I do for a living, and it challenges me to be more like that as a person. So you have to be incredibly prepared, but also open to then throwing that out the window and just going with what's happening at that moment." Born in Stockport, Lancashire in 1984, Claire Foy began acting seriously while at university and got an early break when she landed the lead role in the BBC's 2008 adaptation of Little Dorrit. Critics commented on her stillness, and a rare ability to convey strong emotions while saying nothing. These qualities were on full display in Wolf Hall, where she brilliantly portrayed the haughty and embattled Anne Boleyn. She won a BAFTA for that, and Wolf Hall also helped her land an audition for Netflix's big budget period drama, The Queen. Over two seasons, Foy marvellously inhabited the slender frame of the young Elizabeth II, as she battles with bullying politicians and her husband's boredom to establish herself as a dependable and dutiful monarch. Does she miss that all-consuming role? "I don't ever really miss my characters, which sounds a bit heartless doesn't it? I miss the experience, but I don't long to play the person again. If I do it's because I haven't really done something that I wanted to do or, you know, that there were bits that I regret. By the end of something I'm normally very much like, it's time to go." Filming the series was, at times, rather surreal. "There were definitely moments where you would have an out of body experience: you'd be shooting a scene about, say, the significance of Ghana within the Commonwealth and you'd look at yourself in a dress, in a wig and go, 'What are you doing?' It could have been absolutely farcical if we hadn't all committed to it, and we were very, very lucky that viewers accepted what we were doing and wanted to watch." Claire is proud of her strong links with Ireland. "Both my mother's parents were Irish. My nan and grandad lived over here in England but they were always hosting: my family is huge, and all our Irish relatives were always over, and we were always having parties and things like that. But it wasn't until I was a teenager that I came over really, and I went back to Naas and I went to Dublin, where they're all from. "Ireland and being Irish is something that's very important to me. I'm entitled to an Irish passport, which is something that fills me with hope!" 'The Girl In The Spider's Web' is in cinemas on November 21 Joe Duffy was nine years old when his teacher told him that he was the most curious boy in the class. Fifty-three years later and he's certainly one of the most inquisitive people that I've interviewed. We're sitting in the RTE Radio canteen for what is supposed to be an interview, yet Joe is the one doing the investigating. Where are you living and what are you working on and how are you recording this - is that an app you're using? Maybe he's trying to break the ice. Or maybe he's just used to asking the questions... It's a busy time of the year for the broadcaster. He's gearing up for the Liveline Christmas Eve special on Grafton Street and he has just finished filming a new series of Liveline: Callback. In his spare time, he's working on a book about The Troubles with ex-BBC journalist Freya McClements and rehearsing for the panto (we'll get to that). Expand Close Joe wears: jacket, 495, Louis Copeland. Shirt, 159, Stenstrom. Cord trousers, 189, Hilt. All from Louis Copeland. Hat, Joe's own. Photo: Fran Veale / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Joe wears: jacket, 495, Louis Copeland. Shirt, 159, Stenstrom. Cord trousers, 189, Hilt. All from Louis Copeland. Hat, Joe's own. Photo: Fran Veale It's a demanding schedule by anyone's reckoning, especially when you couple it with his 6am wake-up time and his early morning swims in Westwood gym in Fairview. The broadcaster takes his health and fitness seriously - largely because he knows he can't afford to get sick. He drinks a Rubex [Vitamin C] solution every morning and he is seldom if ever waylaid by cold or flu. "Touch wood," he says, before giving the table a hearty smack. "You're conscious of your voice as well," he adds. A few weeks ago he went to an Abba tribute night and the next day his voice was breaking "because you had to shout it was so loud". Is his voice insured? "No it's not," he scoffs. "I'm not Lady Gaga!" It was Gay Byrne who gave Joe the tip about Rubex. He also got him into the habit of washing his face as a pre-broadcast ritual. Joe often credits Gay for showing him the ropes of live radio and the importance of routine. However, he'd have to give himself a little bit of credit too. After all, it takes relentless drive to go from a childhood of poverty to a salary of almost 400,000 a year. The second eldest of six children, Joe was born in a one-room home in a building on Dublin's Mountjoy Square and brought up in a corporation house in Ballyfermot. His father - who died at 58 - had an alcohol problem; his brother, Brendan, had his own addiction issues and his younger brother, Aidan, died in a car crash in 1991. Expand Close Joe Duffy: 'I absolutely love the panto'. Photo: Brendan Lyon / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Joe Duffy: 'I absolutely love the panto'. Photo: Brendan Lyon Video of the Day The broadcaster sat his Leaving Cert twice. He was determined to get enough points to study Social Work in Trinity College - and even more determined to defy statistics and prove that a working-class person could progress to third-level education. Joe started his degree in Trinity College in 1977. A couple of years later he was elected president of the Trinity College Students' Union and four years later he became a very outspoken president of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). The young Ballyfermot man had fire in his belly, especially when the then Minister for Health, Barry Desmond, announced in late 1983 that third-level students wouldn't be entitled to medical cards in their own right. Incensed by the discrimination, Joe and a group of students organised a number of protests, which culminated in the occupation of the Eastern Health Board headquarters on Thomas Street. Joe and four others were arrested the following day and brought to Mountjoy Prison where they were incarcerated for the next two weeks. After completing his degree in Social Work, Joe trained as a family therapist. "I was in the first batch of family therapists qualified in Ireland," he says, "and that was a pretty intense course. "There would have been an awful lot of intensive supervision and checking yourself - not just knowing what the next question is but knowing what does the next question elicit and in what direction is it likely to go after that." If his experience as a student activist taught him how to rouse listeners on Liveline, his training as a family therapist taught him how to really listen. Joe was working as a probation officer when RTE announced an open call for a radio producer training programme. "I remember when I applied for the job I said to them, 'I didn't do media studies in DCU, or journalism in Rathmines or whatever.' I had never used a tape recorder; I didn't know shorthand. I said, 'If you're taking 20 people, maybe take one person who is not a journalist - one person from a different background.' And that's what I tried to sell them - my difference." The powers that be in Montrose obviously liked the cut of his jib. Joe joined RTE radio as a producer in 1989 before becoming an accidental reporter on Gay Byrne's morning radio show. One of his first reports was from the top of a double-decker bus. "Mobile phones had only come out - they were these big bricks - and somebody was worried about something in Malahide and it involved a bus journey from Malahide into Dublin. I said, 'Why don't I try to get one of those mobile phones off tech services?' "It was more about the fun of me being upstairs on a bus," he continues. "I remember describing going by Charlie Haughey's house and his washing being out and all that carry on." Listeners seemed to like the 'difference' that Joe had pitched as his USP. RTE radio bosses did too. Before long, the accidental reporter became an accidental presenter. He took over Liveline in December 1999. Joe describes the show as a "platform for the powerless" - a show where the listeners do the talking. "I want people interacting with each other," he says. "I want conversations. I want people being able to hear different points of view. "Irish people are very radio literate," he adds. "If you tune into BBC4's Any Answers?, the opening remark [from listeners calling in] is, 'Hello? Can you hear me?'. Of course we can hear you! It's very sedate and you don't get people interacting with each other." The broadcaster adds that he doesn't just listen to radio. He "monitors" it. "I could have two stations on the go at the same time," he admits, "and my iPad never leaves my side." As for podcasts, he likes true crime - West Cork especially - but he doesn't see them overtaking radio. "I don't see that as taking away a slice of the cake," he says. "I think that it's all adding to discourse." Besides, it's all part of his preparation before arriving into the studio every day at 1.30pm. At that point he reads over the briefs prepared by the show's four producers and two researchers, and readies himself for a live broadcast that, more often than not, goes completely off-script. "The nature of the programme is that you have a bit of an idea of where it's going to start but no idea where it's going to end," he says. "Last month someone called in about a dog running wild in Naas. Then a farmer rang in with an idea of how to catch it. Then another farmer rang in and said you know those dogs are used for hunting hares. Within three minutes we had people phoning in about coursing - and then a big debate on coursing and cruelty to animals began." The Liveline team don't always know who's going to call in. Dublin criminal John Daly - who was shot dead in a gangland feud in 2007 - called Liveline from his prison cell in Portlaoise a few months before his death. The infamous broadcast led to a clampdown on mobile phones in prisons. More recently, Dean Russell, a man with a history of criminality, called the show to complain about five Gardai arriving to his home at 3.55am with an arrest warrant for a speeding charge. "One thing I was very conscious of when he phoned in - and I said it to the lads - was 'has he got current convictions?'" says Joe. "From my background in probation and prison services, I know that a lot of people grow out of crime. They get married and their kids grow up. So I said, 'Let him have his say and let people make up their own minds'." Of course, for every person pushing for airtime on Liveline, there's another who point blank refuses to go on the show. Joe says it's the "default mode" of PR companies to advise their clients not to go on Liveline. "It's terrible advice," he adds. "If Micheal O'Leary - the biggest, most successful businessman ever to come out of Ireland rings Liveline - why can't the head of the HSE or a bishop come on?" More than 370,000 people tune into Liveline every day, but the show has its fair share of critics too. Some deride it as an echo chamber for whingebags - or 'Whineline' as they prefer to call it. Comedian David McSavage took it a step further when he portrayed the broadcaster as a bondage gear-wearing sadomasochist who got turned on by the trials and tribulations of listeners. Yet even the show's loudest detractors can't argue with Liveline's vast influence. And while there are certainly moments of anger, bigotry and vitriol, it is balanced by moments of common humanity and kindness. Earlier this year, two anonymous Liveline listeners donated 8,000 to a man with spina bifida so he could buy a new wheelchair. In 2009, more than 5,000 people applied to carry organ donor cards after writer Frank Deasy's emotional appeal for a life-saving liver transplant. "It just goes to show, if someone is in difficulty, we will rally around and help," says Joe. "We're still good at that in this country." Liveline fans can expect stories of a similar vein in Liveline: Callback. Now in its third series, the television show revisits the people that struck a chord with listeners, from 25-year-old Taekwondo star Conor Grassick who gave up on his Olympic dream to care for his mum and brother, to Derek Burnett, the British man who wanted to find the Good Samaritan who stepped in when he was subjected to racist abuse in a Limerick restaurant. Joe says he still finds it hard to comprehend the abuse that was levelled at Derek. "What surprised me was that in a group of five men, not one man took a leadership position and said, 'You're out of order there - give it a rest'. I always say to my kids, when someone gets messy, someone has to take a leadership position and say, 'Right lads, we're out of here'." The broadcaster mentions his children, triplets Ellen, Sean and Ronan (23), throughout our chat. Ellen is a 2nd class teacher and, according to her dad, "very opinionated". Sean is completing a Masters in Public Policy in UCD and is Joe's go-to person for anything to do with foreign affairs. Ronan recently started working with a biotech start-up firm. "He has explained to me what he's doing but I can't understand!" All three children live at home, much to Joe and his wife June's delight. "I'm glad they're all still at home," he says, "and they will be for a while I'd say. "They'd be a good social conscience in the house," he adds "They're all involved in Saint Vincent de Paul and June is the chair of different things." There's also a strong work ethos. "I'm a great believer in work - keeping busy and everyone having their routine," he says. "I don't like my kids sleeping in. I like everyone pulling together." If the children complain about long work hours, their dad reminds them that they're not "digging coal in Arigna". If they complain about a rude customer or client, he reminds them that they can never truly know what's going on in someone else's life. "If people go down, you try and go up," he counsels. When the children were younger, they would walk 100 yards behind Joe and June when they were out as a family. "People would walk by and they'd hear them say, 'Is that Joe Duffy from the radio?', or someone else might say, 'Is that that dope Joe Duffy?' Whatever it was, they'd get a bit of a laugh out of it." If all goes to plan, they'll be laughing even harder at the opening night of the Cheerios Panto of Snow White and the Adventures of Sammy Sausages & Buffy after their dad agreed to play the role of Magic Mirror. "I absolutely love the panto," says Joe, "and we've been going to that panto since it started. We were one of the few people who turned up in the big snow in 2010 - and we walked halfway to get there!" Joe won't be treading the boards every night - his performance will be filmed in advance and appear as a hologram on the stage - but he's taking his rehearsals as seriously as any other performer. "I remember Brian Dowling did it before and it was absolutely hilarious," he says. "I said I'll have a go at it but I'm not as good an actor as Brian. "Anyway, we did a bit last week and Karl [Broderick, director] said, 'On the basis of that rehearsal, you'll be up there with Brian'." "Look," he concludes, "once you say you're performing, you just go for it. That's showbiz, isn't it?" 'Liveline: Callback' resumes on RTE One on Thursday, November 22 at 7pm Photography: Fran Veale Styling: Roxanne Parker Shot at The Viking Theatre, Clontarf, vikingtheatredublin.com A doctor has said she is prepared to go to jail rather than pay a 150 fine for parking in a disabled space in the course of her job, claiming she was "forced" to do so by the HSE. Dr Maeve White, a south Dublin-based community medical officer, said she was left with no choice but to park in the space outside a health centre. She said an ongoing parking problem in the area meant the disabled space was her only option and that she had a duty of care to her patients. "I will never, ever pay this fine," she told Dun Laoghaire District Court. Judge Anne Watkin warned she would go to prison if she did not pay it. Dr White, of Brookvale Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin, pleaded guilty to parking illegally in a disabled space. The court heard the offence happened at St Brigid's, Church Road, Stillorgan, Dublin, at 2.10pm on February 26 last. Dr White parked her car outside Stillorgan Health Centre, where she was due to carry out a clinic that afternoon, and maintains she could find no legal parking spaces. "I did knowingly park in the disabled space, so I am guilty, yes," Dr White told Judge Watkin. "The situation is I was forced by my employer, the HSE, to park there. The only other option is to drive away." "Nobody forced you," the judge replied. "Did they have a gun to your head?" The judge appreciated that the doctor was "between a rock and a hard place". Dr White said: "I will never, ever pay this fine," to which the judge replied: "I don't need to hear that you are going to be in contempt of court." The judge added: "This is not a place to start dealing with your gripes against somebody else." Judge Watkin said Dr White should take advice "if you think you are making a statement against the HSE by not paying a fine owed to another organisation". Dr White said she believes the HSE is responsible for paying the fine, but it has refused. "I chose to put patients first," she said. The HSE cannot comment on an individual case, a spokesperson said. A solicitor who overcharged a publican by 650,000 for legal work verbally abused his former client during a hearing over the disputed bills, the High Court has said. Stock Image A solicitor who overcharged a publican by 650,000 for legal work verbally abused his former client during a hearing over the disputed bills, the High Court has said. The court said solicitor Joe Buckley called the client "names of a most insulting and reprehensible nature" during a break in a hearing in front of Taxing Master Declan O'Neill in April 2014. Details of the shocking incident were given in a judgment by Mr Justice Donald Binchy. The judge dismissed a challenge by the Wicklow-based solicitor to the Taxing Master's decision to cut bills charged to publican Denis Doyle. Separate proceedings by Mr Doyle against Mr Buckley, seeking a sum of 565,000 in a client account, are set to go ahead following yesterday's ruling. Mr Buckley represented Mr Doyle and member of his family in a number of matters, including the sale of property, over 10 years from 1998. But the publican became concerned about overcharging and the alleged use of money in the client account to discharge fees. The overcharging concerns went before the Taxing Master, who decides on disputes over legal costs arising from litigation. According to the judgment, Mr Buckley initially denied the outburst at the hearing. However, he was contradicted by a stenographer who overheard what happened. The Taxing Master later listened to a digital audio recording of the proceedings, which confirmed Mr Buckley had made the remarks. Mr Buckley "immediately apologised" for what he had said and for misleading the Taxing Master, claiming he made the comments out of frustration at evidence given by Mr Doyle. However, the outburst led Mr O'Neill to doubt the solicitor's evidence in relation to a number of bills. Mr Buckley had alleged the Taxing Master did not have jurisdiction to tax some of the bills and sought a review of the examination conducted. But in his ruling yesterday, Mr Justice Binchy rejected the solicitor's objections. The judgment outlined several instances of overcharging. These included occasions where the solicitor billed for time spent in court when he was not actually present. In one matter, the sale of landfill lands, Mr Buckley issued invoices totalling 111,250 for what he claimed was 145 hours' work. However, Mr O'Neill estimated the amount of time involved was 52.75 hours and ruled that the appropriate fee was 40,000. A MANHUNT is continuing this morning for a Dublin criminal serving a jail term who escaped from a Dublin courthouse on Friday morning. The man, who is aged in his late 20s and has close to 100 previous convictions, managed to escape from prison officers at the Cloverhill court complex. He is currently serving a five year jail term for a serious road traffic incident and was being brought before the court on separate charges when he escaped. Gardai were immediately informed and searches are ongoing for the dangerous thug. He cannot be identified for legal reasons. A spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said: "We can confirm that a prisoner has absconded today from the confines of Cloverhill courthouse while being transported back to Wheatfield prison." On Saturday, gardai confirmed that the manhunt is still underway. Two men have been jailed for sexually assaulting a teenager while she was asleep on a couch in a private room in the Wright Venue nightclub. (stock image) Two men have been jailed for sexually assaulting a teenager while she was asleep on a couch in a private room in the Wright Venue nightclub. Joshua Sykes (22) and Adam McCabe (21) both claimed they had no memory of the offence, but pointed themselves out on CCTV footage that showed them sexually assaulting the woman. Garda Shane McGuinn said though McCabe admitted he could be seen performing a sex act on the woman, he told gardai: "I don't know where the sexual assault was though." He said the woman had been "well able to move around" and had been kissing him previously, but accepted that she was "drunk probably". Sykes described the footage of him assaulting the woman as "disgusting". He had denied taking the woman's phone and money, as shown in the CCTV, but later admitted having the items and not being able to account for them. McCabe, a father of one of Clusker Park, Navan, Co Meath, and Sykes, of Ardlo Manor, Mullagh, Co Cavan, both pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the 19-year-old woman at the Wright Venue, Swords, Co Dublin, on a date in July 2017. Each man had one previous conviction for minor offences. The court heard they were attending a friend's 21st birthday party at the nightclub. Judge Cormac Quinn said it was a "shocking case" and imposed a three-year sentence, with the final 18 months suspended, on each man. Gda McGuinn told the court that the woman had become separated from friends while on a night out and recalled feeling "giddy and lightheaded" after a few drinks. She told gardai her memory was hazy, but she recalled kissing a stranger and being in a room with two males. Her next memory is crying in a room with gardai. In her victim impact statement read out in court, the woman said that the incident led her to self-harm as she couldn't stop thinking about what happened. She added that she suffered panic attacks and didn't drink or socialise anymore, because it would make her cry. Gda McGuinn agreed with barristers for McCabe and Sykes that their clients had both entered early guilty pleas. He accepted that the men had been intoxicated on alcohol and drugs on the night. Patrick McGrath SC, defending McCabe, submitted to Judge Quinn that his client's "shame is accompanied by deep remorse". He said the offence was "totally out of character" and a "once-off spontaneous act" for McCabe. Michael Bowman SC, defending Sykes, submitted that his client has been described as caring, hardworking and loyal by his former partner. Mr Bowman said Sykes had owned up and taken responsibility for the offence. Judge Quinn noted that the woman was "a vulnerable person at the time, who was preyed upon by both accused". He took into account the men's young ages, early guilty pleas and their co-operation with the Probation Service. He further noted that McCabe had since been "vilified and ostracised on social media" and that Sykes had lost his job. David Boland (34) from Nurney, Co Kildare was fatally injured on Duke Street in the Kildare town of Athy. TWO men who were arrested as part of a murder investigation into the fatal stabbing of a man in Kildare earlier this month have been released without charge. David Boland died after suffering multiple stab wounds during a row in Athy in the early hours of November 1. Two men, aged in their 20s, were arrested in Athy on Friday afternoon and held at Kildare and Newbridge Garda Stations. They were both released without charge this afternoon. A garda spokesman said a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Last week, Calvin Cullen (20), of Greenhills, Athy, Co Kildare was arrested and subsequently charged with Mr Bolands murder. Expand Close David Boland was killed / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp David Boland was killed Mr Cullen appeared in Naas District Court on Thursday and has been remanded in custody. In total four people have been arrested by gardai in relation to the murder investigation. Another man arrested in relation to the investigation was released without charge last week and a file was prepared for the DPP. Mr Boland was laid to rest in his hometown of Nurney, Co. Kildare yesterday. A man was rushed to hospital this morning after he sustained serious injuries to his wrist on a fishing vessel off the coast of Cork. The man, believed to be a Spanish fisherman, called emergency services in Madrid after he began to lose the blood supply to his hand. The Valentia Coastguard was called and the man was rescued from the fishing vessel. We got the request from Medico Madrid the medical centre there, could we do this because it was urgent, a spokesperson for the Irish Coastguard told Independent.ie. It was just a hand injury but there was a big swelling on the hand and they were worried that maybe the blood supply was cut off and if that happened of course he could lose a hand. He was about 75 miles south of Mizen Head, south of the Cork coastline." The spokesperson for the Coastguard said that the man arrived in Castletownbere this morning around 5.30am after poor weather conditions rendered attempts to lift him in a rescue helicopter impossible. They actually sent out one of the Waterford Coastguard helicopters, Rescue 117, but the weather was atrocious. There was a big swell out there and high seas so they couldnt lift him off. They had to come into Castletownbere then. After the helicopter was forced to return to shore, a local man launched a smaller boat and collected the injured man in the harbour. There was an ambulance waiting on the dock for the injured man and he was transported to Cork University Hospital. The mans condition is not known. After finally making it through a rugged three-year Oireachtas obstacle course, the Public Health Alcohol Bill was finally signed into effect this week by Health Minister Simon Harris. The easy bits anyway. After fighting a fierce rearguard action, the drinks industry faces curbs on advertising to be phased in over three years. From the end of next year alcohol advertising close to schools, playgrounds and public transport will be banned. Over the following two years measures will be introduced to lower the visibility of alcohol products and branding. Advertising was always going to be the low hanging fruit. The drinks lobby has lived to fight another day on the two proposals that would have hit them hardest in the pocket, the one to include stark cancer warnings on labels, and the one that would raise prices to a minimum set by the State. Both require separate government green lights, and both would fall by the wayside if the current minority arrangement collapses. Opposition to the incoming curbs centred on the arguments that they will hurt business, and that nanny state bans not only trample personal freedoms but are often counter-productive. The first stems clearly out of self-interest, but the second can't be denied. The history of Irish politics is the story of backfiring bans. A very early ban on "immoral literature" led to a roaring under-the-counter trade in racy books. A ban by the State broadcaster on 'race music' (ie jazz) and 'crooning' imposed in the 1940s boomeranged to the point that you couldn't turn on Irish radio from the late-1950s without hearing Frank Sinatra or Acker Bilk. Later efforts to keep a State stranglehold on broadcasting produced a wild pirate radio boom. The trouble for all governments everywhere is that prohibitions create black markets and dark webs which wrest control and all important income streams out of State hands. Advertising, on the other hand is, by definition, highly visible. So when it's banned it can be seen to be banned (or not seen, same thing). So that's a box easily ticked. But if there's a public demand for something, does banning ads make much difference at all? If an individual craves a drink or a cigarette, will they be put off one iota by the fact there's no billboard guiding the way, or, indeed, one telling them to have a cup of tea instead? "The great thing about Catholicism," reasoned Father Ted, "is that it's so vague". The same holds true of advertising which is so in-your-face and yet so ephemeral. We know that it must be effective because it makes untold billions and it's everywhere. On the other hand, for every proof of its potency to change behaviour, there's another proof that it's completely ineffective unless it tells us what we want to hear. Take one iconic Irish product. For two centuries Guinness thrived here with no domestic advertising. The firm's first ad campaign in 1959 celebrated 200 years in business, and made no difference to sales. Then in 1979 it launched Guinness Light with an astronomical budget. Guinness Light went straight down the spout. In the western world advertising has been part of the clutter of daily life for over a century. Generations have evolved to take what they want and filter out the rest. It is window dressing. Take it or leave it. No government has ever been punished for taking away window dressing. But taking away the thing itself, through higher prices or outright prohibition, is another matter. Inspired by notions of Gaelic nobility, the first proto-Fine Gael government of independent Ireland went on a banning spree, making sure the people got what was best for them. The electorate repaid them with long spells in the wilderness. Politicians have taken note, and the history of laws supposed to protect the public from themselves is of false starts and glacial progress. They're not shouting it from the rooftops, but many in the drinks industry are hopeful, that the sections that will really hurt them won't see action in this Dail lifetime, so the whole rigmarole will have to start again. Our lawmakers will counter that, even with the best will in the world, legislation is painstakingly tricky and time-consuming. And maybe there really is more at work than a basic instinct for self-preservation. For instance, for the first 51 years of the Irish State, they left legislation on the books allowing for a TD or Senator to be expelled by reason of being mad. The Lunacy (Vacating Of Seats Act) was scrapped in 1983, very quietly, and with no declarations the move was "groundbreaking". Most people like where they live. They enjoy their home, and generally get on with their neighbours. But some don't like change. They don't want new housing in their area, whether on an open field or an infill site. In the case of broadcaster Pat Kenny and his neighbours, they don't like the prospect of 26 houses and apartments being built on a 0.6 hectare site at the rear of their south Dublin homes. This week, it emerged that a company called Bartra Capital Property had bought two sites adjacent to the Kenny home and sought planning permission for 19 apartments and seven houses. The lands comprise two plots, both previously owned by members of the Charlton family. The late Gerard Charlton, a well known solicitor, was embroiled in a row with the Kennys back in 2006 over a strip of land in what became known as the 'Battle for Gorse Hill'. The first site was home to a property called 'Yonder', since demolished, and the Kennys had previously opposed plans to build two houses there. The second site hosts Maple Tree House, Gerard Charlton's family home, built in the 1960s. The Bartra plan has met with stiff opposition on a number of grounds - density, traffic and impact on existing properties, among other issues. But are the concerns from the 17 residents justified? Planning is an inexact science. There are frameworks, strategies and guidelines underpinned by legislation, but these rules are open to a huge degree of interpretation. While a 12-storey apartment block may be acceptable in the Dublin Docklands, it would cause consternation if proposed for Ballsbridge, home to historic properties. But planners did grant permission for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road stadium back in 2007, almost 48 metres tall at its highest point and 200 metres wide. Land zonings also allow for flexibility. The Dalkey site is zoned 'A', to protect and/or improve residential amenity. Housing is permitted, but open space too. Or a car park, caravan park, creche, funeral home, hotel, office, church, garage or shop. On the face of it, this plan is making best use of land, and will provide much-needed homes. But will they help solve the housing crisis? Bartra paid 3.17m for the Maple Tree House site - the price paid for 'Yonder' is not clear - so the land cost per unit is at least 122,000. These homes will not be cheap, but that's not the concern of the developer. They will sell at prices the market can afford. And in Dalkey, housing comes at a premium. The units will be fully accessible and age-friendly, and provide an opportunity for older people to downsize which will free up family homes, the developers say. This is good. Close to the Dart and public transport links, national policy is that these sites be intensively used. And this is the problem. The Bartra proposal equates to building around 43 units per hectare. The Dun Laoghaire Rathdown development plan says unless there are "exceptional" circumstances, minimum residential densities are 35 units per hectare, rising to more than 50 units if good public transport is in place. Residents claim this is over-development. The developer says "careful consideration" has been given to the issue. Both sides are far apart. On the face of it, this plan complies with national policy and provides homes in an existing built-up area. But it's a big development in a low-density suburb. Would it be proposed in a less expensive area? "I know some people think this area is wealthy people who want to keep others out," one resident's submission notes. "I am not wealthy and...would support a well-reasoned development of single family homes or a development with less units. This is merely an effort by a developer who is trying to cram as many units in as possible to make money." Possible financial gains are not supposed to be the concern of planners. They are tasked with making the right decision. This case sums up the difficulties they face on a daily basis. Detectives are trying to remotely access information on the missing phone of Irishman John Curran to see if he was contacted by his killer. A murder investigation into the charity worker's death in South Africa is ongoing, with a number of lines of inquiry being pursued. The 60-year-old retired principal was found with multiple stab wounds at his apartment in Buitengracht Street, Cape Town, at 10.30am on Wednesday. The Irish Independent has learned that homicide detectives are trying to remotely access information on Mr Curran's phone, which has been missing since his murder. The phone - which was bought just hours beforehand - was the only item taken from his home. This led officers to believe he was murdered over a robbery for the phone. Capt Ezra October said that examinations of the device may determine if Mr Curran was contacted by his killer before he was brutally murdered, which could help identify the perpetrator. It has also emerged that a bloodstained knife used in the murder of the retired school principal was found at the scene. Fingerprints from the weapon have been recovered, which will help Cape Town detectives identify the murder suspect. CCTV footage of a man fleeing the apartment complex is already a main factor of the investigation, but Capt October did not confirm if a chief suspect has been formally identified. A post-mortem examination of Mr Curran's remains was due to take place yesterday, but has been postponed until Monday due to capacity issues at the city morgue. While local police believe he died from multiple stab wounds, they want to determine if he suffered other injuries during the attack. His body was formally identified by a colleague on Thursday. It is believed he was staying in the Cape Town apartment while on a holiday in recent weeks, having completed his contract with a South-African based non-profit organisation. Sadness The Mellon Educate charity, with whom Mr Curran worked for two years, has paid tribute to the "much-loved" Dublin man. "With great sadness we learned yesterday that our dear colleague and friend John Curran was killed during a robbery in his apartment in Cape Town South Africa," a statement from the charity read. "John only recently completed a two-year contract as director of education for Mellon Educate in South Africa and was staying on vacation in Cape Town for a number of weeks." Chief executive Niall Mellon also expressed his sadness at the murder and said they were helping Mr Curran's family. "I know our many volunteers and supporters will be very sad to hear this tragic news. John was much loved by everyone who met him and especially by the thousands of children he helped during his time with Mellon Educate," he said. "We are assisting his family in every way we can and your warm wishes of empathy are sincerely appreciated." He confirmed the charity's 'building blitz' will still take place from November 17-24. In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the situation and providing consular assistance. Mr Curran was predeceased by his son Eoin, who died in a sailing accident in New York in 2010. He is survived by his wife Liz, their children Darragh, Triona and Donal, six grand-children and his two sisters. Before moving to South Africa, he was heavily involved with the Irish Primary Principals Network who described him as a highly esteemed colleague and friend. Brian Gartland of Dundalk lifts the FAI Cup. He has backed Knocklyon United in their fight against the development Dundalk star Brian Gartland has rallied behind a south Dublin football club as they look to save their pitches from being taken for a social housing development. The double-winning defender spoke at a meeting of more than 400 locals who turned out to support Knocklyon United at a meeting on Thursday night. Club officials say that up to 500 children between the ages of seven and 11 use the pitches every weekend. The club has more than 700 children playing in total and fear that if the proposal goes ahead they face closing down entirely. A South Dublin County Council (SDCC) development proposal looks to build 42 social housing units where the club's pitches are located in Ballycullen Park. "It's a sad state that it has come all this way," Gartland said of the proposal to develop in the park. "I wouldn't have had the opportunity to literally live out a dream for the last few years if it hadn't have been for Knocklyon United when I was a kid and the same goes with [Dundalk player] Dane Massey, he started with the club." Addressing the councillors present, Gartland said "you're literally taking children's fun away...if you take the pitches away". The fight to save the pitches has seen Fine Gael TD Colm Brophy back the club - despite the pressure on the Fine Gael-led government to tackle the housing crisis and build much needed homes. He said there is enough land elsewhere to build homes. Fianna Fail TD John Lahart told the meeting he also supported the club. However, Sinn Fein TD Sean Crowe was heckled by the crowd when he said he supported social housing. He said that when he was a councillor he never voted against social housing, but insisted there was no party line on this among the council. "Would I make a decision on this, I probably would yeah. I probably would vote in favour of social housing," he added. It's expected that the decision for the development will come down to a vote among the 40 SDCC councillors. When asked about the development, SDCC said: "The proposal ...is at a preliminary stage and is subject to more detailed assessment and drafting of final plans. "Local Elected Members will be informed in advance of a consultation process commencing for the proposal. "The site is one of 27 sites across the County that were considered for the current social housing development programme in South Dublin," he added. The Welsh government has announced that it will offer free abortions to women from Northern Ireland through the NHS. Following Friday's announcement Wales has joined England and Scotland in offering the service. Abortion is currently illegal in Northern Ireland in all but the most extreme cases and as a result on average 28 women a week travel to England for terminations. Campaigns for abortion legislation to be introduced in Northern Ireland have ramped up in the wake of the successful Abortion Referendum in the Republic of Ireland. Last month an amendment to a bill by Secretary of State Karen Bradley by Labour MPs Stella Creasy and Conor McGinnn calling on Mrs Bradley to issue guidance on abortion law in Northern Ireland was passed in the House of Commons. Welsh Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said he did not expect a large number of women to avail of the service. "Our view has always been a woman from Northern Ireland, in Wales, should be able to access termination of pregnancy on the same basis as women in Wales," he said. "We anticipate the number of women from Northern Ireland accessing these services to be low and health boards have assured us they are able to absorb this provision within existing resources. "I have asked my officials to conduct a review of the position after six months." Andrea Rowsome was browsing in a health food shop with her husband when suddenly she was overcome with a sudden breathlessness. As she attempted to gasp for air, she grew dizzier and dizzier. She thought she might faint and she couldn't tell her concerned husband what was happening The shop assistant scrambled to find her a chair, while her husband raced to get their car which was parked minutes away. All the while, Andrea sat in the health food shop, trying to grab puffs of her blue Ventolin inhaler. The 46-year-old mother from Bray was suffering a severe asthma attack. She'd had mild asthma throughout her life. And what she thought was a cold and a chest infection in December 2016, was actually an extreme form of asthma with an accompanying, incurable severe cough. It took ten puffs until she could at least catch her breath once more. Andrea spent the following eight days in hospital, and had a month-long recovery at home. Severe uncontrolled asthma is a form of the condition where its difficult to ascertain situations that will trigger the person's asthma. Now, Andrea is on a daily regimen of four different preventative inhalers, a nasally-administered steroid, antihistamines, antibiotics and daily oral steroids. I actually thought I could have died then because it came on very, very quickly... I went into A&E and they put me on a big dose of steroids which is the normal course when you have an attack, but it wasnt really helping. Im on the maximum dose for all of my medications, Andrea says, and the objective of them all is to become symptom-free. But Im not symptom-free, and they cant increase the dosage any further, so I have to work with what I have and manage the condition as much as possible with the assistance of my consultant." Andreas own grandfather died during an asthma attack, so she is acutely aware of the seriousness of her illness. Everyday, seemingly innocuous, things can spark a coughing fit. The smell of scented candles and cleaning products, the frozen mist from supermarket freezers, or even when she raises her arms over her head. You cant plan for the triggers, Andrea explains, but you can prepare for and work around them. The nature of my condition means that I cant do many outdoor activities, such as walking in certain weathers or environments, but I try and keep active indoors line dancing is a particular hobby of mine. Ireland has the fourth highest prevalence of asthma in the world with an estimated 470,000 people in the country living with the condition. One person dies from an asthma-related illness every week here, and asthma also accounts for around 20,000 emergency department attendances and 5,000 hospital, according to the Asthma Society of Ireland. People think asthma is a little bit of a wheeze," Andrea explains. But now I know its an emergency. I hadnt been well over Christmas and I didnt go to the hospital, I learned from Dr Butler that really I should have gone in to hospital. "Asthma is treated as a medical emergency, its not treated as a sore foot or arm." But she added: Im a bit less worried now because Ive more education behind me; an asthma nurse has gone through everything with me; Dr Butler has a plan in place for me a green, yellow and red. When I go into yellow, I know my coughing has increased, and when I go into a red, I know what Ive to do immediately. I know when its a dont hang around and wait. Weve a plan in place in the house as well, theres an emergency bag for the hospital as well; in it will always be my ventillator and my emergency plan. Im also more inclined to go to hospital and to see the GP if I need it. For now, Andrea is taking it one day at a time, minimising all risks that could cause flare-ups, and dedicating as much time as she has to her family. Genomics Medicine Ireland is currently conducting a genomic research study into asthma and Asthma-COPD Overlap (ACO), the first of its kind in the world. Genomics involves the study of a persons whole genome that is, their entire set of DNA and other non-coding elements of their genes (such as RNA), and studying this data alongside participants clinical phenotype, background and lifestyle factors, provide a more complete picture for genetic research. Andrea's brothers also suffer with asthma, and so the Bray native is hopeful that eventually asthma can be eradicated. My dad didnt have asthma at all. His father would have had asthma and died of an asthma attack, he had emphysema as well, but he died from an attack. He was only in his 40s. More than three decades after Ulster first began to say 'no', the DUP is yet again chanting Ian Paisley's slogan. It was last December when Arlene Foster first stormed into Downing Street to warn she could not countenance anything that would create an effective border down the Irish Sea. Nearly 12 months on, UK Prime Minister Theresa May has indicated that scenario is still on the table - and Foster is again threatening to pull the support of her 10 MPs who prop up the Conservative government. The situation is as predictable as it is intractable. The DUP leader said yesterday her party has "only one red line" which is that Northern Ireland cannot be distanced from their "precious union". At the same time, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said this week: "We haven't had many red lines in these negotiations, but one we have had is that we must have a legal guarantee that a hard border will not emerge on the island of Ireland." As the clock ticks on towards a 'no deal' scenario, May appears unable to make those red lines meet. Foster and Varadkar can't both get their way, which means the prime minister must decide who she needs more. The DUP has kept her in power, but if she fails to do a deal with the EU, she will most likely become powerless anyway in the face of an economic collapse. "She has to do the maths around all of that to see whether she can proceed without our support in parliament," Foster said last night. The numbers don't look good and the prime minister's cause wasn't helped by the resignation of Boris Johnson's brother Jo from cabinet yesterday. He voted 'Remain' but now feels the two options on the table - a UK-wide customs arrangement with a Northern Ireland backstop, or no deal - represent "a failure of British statecraft on a scale unseen since the Suez crisis". Varadkar spent most of the week in Helsinki, where he enjoyed sharing a stage with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Council President Donal Tusk. The future of the European Union was very much on the agenda at the European People's Party (EPP) conference. Much of the talk focused on the threats to the EU from populism, with chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warning: "There is a now a Farage in every country." Brexit was far from top of the agenda but it lurked ominously in the background. A high level of solidarity and sympathy is being afforded to Ireland - but there's no doubt EU leaders really want a deal in the coming days. Pressure is coming down on the Irish to show some flexibility to May if it helps her "land the plane safely". Varadkar said he was willing to use "creative language" to pacify Brexiteers. For some reason, he was surprised when this sparked alarm in Dublin. His openness to discuss a "review mechanism" under which the backstop could be ended may have been motivated by the desire to help May - but it came a day after it was revealed UK Brexit secretary Dominic Raab wanted any customs arrangement to last just three months. Varadkar quickly went back to his original script - the Northern Ireland backstop must stay "unless and until" a new trade deal which ensures an open Border is agreed. Meanwhile at the British-Irish Council, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon found herself in a "heated debate" with Theresa May's deputy over how the whole mess is playing out. So after another whirlwind of activity, everyone has retreated back to their trenches, rehashing the same old arguments again. Q&A: Have we made any new progress on Brexit? This was hyped as the week we would finally see the UK's withdrawal agreement. What happened? Theresa May pulled back from briefing her cabinet on the full plan because she is still unsure it will approve. She needs ministers to back it or the country could be heading for a 'no deal' scenario and possibly a general election. Had they reached a compromise on the Irish Border question? The EU has conceded to the idea of a UK-wide customs arrangement rather than one that applies exclusively to the North. However, the Irish Government insists a 'backstop' for the North must also be agreed in case the UK leaves the customs arrangement at some stage. Mrs May admitted this could see the North operate under different regulatory rules. But the DUP made it clear a year ago that it wouldn't tolerate any regulatory divergence from the rest of the UK? DUP leader Arlene Foster has been consistent in saying any deal to maintain frictionless trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic cannot lead to checks on the Irish Sea. Can Theresa May just ignore the DUP? Any deal will have to be passed in the UK Parliament, which means the PM needs to count her numbers carefully. Ideally, she needs the DUP's 10 MPs on board. Will a 'review mechanism' help Theresa May get this over the line? The PM rang Leo Varadkar to ask if he would be open to including an exit clause in the 'backstop'. He agreed to look at the idea - but made it clear the backstop must be in place "unless and until" a better arrangement is devised. The recent announcement by Bord na Mona of its plans to cease exploitation of several bogs for peat harvesting has to be welcomed from an environmental point of view although it comes at a high price in terms of job losses and the resulting body blow to the economy and social fabric of the Midlands. The announcement coincided with the promotion by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its series of lectures and national dialogue on climate change and global warming. Since we have evolved to respond quickly to immediate threats, as a people we are better at dealing with fire brigade events that long-term planning. If houses flood, people are great at rallying to assist neighbours, help man the pumps, make sandwiches, fill sandbags and contribute to charities. We are not as good or as focused when it comes to anticipating the consequences of building houses on flood plains. Consider the long-term overview for a moment. For 350 million years carbon dioxide was drawn out of the air by plants and locked away underground as peat, coal, oil and gas. We only started extracting and burning these fossil fuels in a significant way some 250 years ago. Most of the growth in emissions of harmful greenhouse gasses has been in the last 50 years. The greenhouse gasses in the air trap heat energy making the planet warmer. Energy is being added to our atmosphere at a rate equivalent to that of five Hiroshima-style atomic bombs exploding every second. Energy in the atmosphere makes weather. And since more energy makes worse weather, extreme events like storms, damaging winds, heavy rain, floods, drifting snow and summer droughts are all likely to become more frequent, more serious and more damaging with obvious implications for human survival, safety, health and wellbeing. For a wildlife point of view, failure to address global warming and climate change in a meaningful way is resulting in global mass extinction of biodiversity. The EPA notes we have halved the number of back-boned animals on the planet since only 1970. The starkest statistic is that we are losing species at the rate of eight every hour, the greatest and fastest rate of extinction the planet has ever seen. And we are causing it. The aforementioned EPA's series of public lectures and national dialogue on global warming and climate change is broadcast to the web. For information on the lectures and related climate science information go to www.epa.ie/climate/communicatingclimatescience. Dundalk student Maria Dawe has returned from a 'tough, but inspiring' voluntary project, teaching in an Indian school, as part of a voluntary project run by Irish charity Suas. A student at Trinity College, Dublin, Maria travelled to Kolkata, a rural part of India with a group of Irish students to volunteer as a teaching assistant in some of the most disadvantaged and under-resourced schools. 'I spent eight weeks teaching the most beautiful, lovable, lively and inspiring children that I have ever met,' said Maria. She added that since returning home 'not a day goes by that I don't think of the children that I was teaching and the people that I met in the village that I was living in. The whole experience made a profound impact on me.' But, she admits 'It was tough work! Myself and my teaching partner taught in the same school We taught the same group of children each day too and they ranged from 3-11 years old. Class sizes were big and classroom rules aren't really a thing in India!! So we had to lay down the rules from the beginning.' 'The level of English in my school was quite poor for the most part so we had to start off with the basics and the abcs! By the end of the 8 weeks, the kids knew the Hokey Pokey off by heart, were confident having a basic conversation in English with one another and even learned the phrase 'Mon the town'! She thanked 'absolutely everyone who supported me over the last few months in any way. Your love and support allowed me to invest time and effort into these children's lives and to give them the confidence and encouragement that they unfortunately don't always get, but need going forward in school.' 'I will definitely return to India sometime in the future! I have never felt so welcomed and appreciated within a community, and was constantly thanked by the locals for the work that I was doing with their children. Everything about the country was amazing - the culture, the food, the relaxed and laid-back attitude and especially the people!' The fun was put into learning at St Mary's College recently as students took part in a host of activities including games and trips for English Week and Maths Week, Highlights for English week included trips to An Tain Arts Centre for first year students and to Macbeth in Dublin for the sixth years. The week also saw the launch of the school's lunchtime Reading Room, a place for students to relax and enjoy their favourite book in the quiet surrounds of the school library. A whole-school edition of popular television show 'Catchphrase' was positioned around the school daily, so students could partake during and after school to 'say what they saw' and enter their answers at the end of the week. Dr. Ronan Lynch gave the Transition Years an intensive short-story writing clinic, The Marist's sister schools, Catholic University School (C.U.S), Leeson Street, and Chanel College, Coolock, paid the college a visit to partake in the annual inter-school public speaking debate. The standard was exceptionally high from all participants, but finished with Noah Aigbodion (TY) placing second in his category, and Beth McMahon (second year) placing third in hers. National Maths Week also kept students and teachers very active with well attended lunch time activities, fun events in class, Maths Club, and a treasure hunt, culminating with all classes having a Stop and Sudoko challenge. Fears over an increase in cross border smuggling were raised during a Dail debate on the proposed new Sale of Illicit Goods Act. The bill was tabled by Louth TD Declan Breathnach, who claimed that 1.7 billion has been lost to the exchequer since 2010, which he said could have built 8,400 social houses. Deputy Breathnach said: 'Brexit has created a political atmosphere that will likely make cross-Border smuggling more lucrative due to a fluctuating sterling and potential tariffs. Extra resources and protections are needed for small legitimate retailers who operate along the Border to ensure there is no increase in smuggled goods entering Ireland.' He said that the Bill ensures that a major gap in the legislation surrounding illicit trade is closed. The bill essentially aimed to impose fines on people who bought illicit goods. The Louth TD raised concerns about what he saw as a lack of readiness to fully combat smuggling in the event of a hard Brexit. 'It is alarming news that only one third of the required extra 600 customs officials will be operational next year. Smuggling takes huge volumes of business away from legitimate retailers every year. This problem will only be exacerbated by Brexit.' 'Indeed, a 2018 survey conducted by Retailers Against Smuggling found that Border retailers are 63% more concerned about the likely impact Brexit will have on their communities with regard to smuggling than they were this time last year.' 'While An Garda Siochana and the Revenue Commissioners are doing a good job in catching those involved they undoubtedly need more resources to tackle smuggling in border communities.' 'Currently there is no deterrent to purchasing smuggled goods as it is not a crime. The aim of the Bill is to deter people from buying illicit alcohol, solid fuel and tobacco by introducing on-the-spot fines for buying goods where taxes have not been paid and is a necessary measure to protect small Irish retailers. Former Tanaiste Joan Burton also called for greater resources for the border area in the fight against smuggling. 'We are in the middle of a discussion about technology being the way to a frictionless, seamless border that will properly provide for the passage of goods and services back and forth over the Border in Ireland. Notwithstanding that, there is a great risk of illicit activity increasing in the event of a difficult Brexit.' 'In places such as Dundalk and Letterkenny, we need more specialist staff, whether they be formally allocated to customs or Revenue staff, to crack down on these Border gangs. The same is true of policing services. We need to recognise that what is happening along the Border is undermining our efforts to achieve a fair and balanced taxation system which allows the kind of services that we all want to be available.' We are approaching Christmas, which is the most important period for many retail businesses in Ireland for selling goods and making a living, yet due to the illicit trade, especially along the Border, many people's livelihoods effectively will be wiped out, destroyed or reduced to a feebleness that means their long-term viability is at stake. It is essential that we are very clear-eyed that, no matter what type of Brexit emerges, we must address smuggling and contraband.' Ciara Tinnelly who will be travelling across Europe as part of the convoy A convoy of three lady truck drivers are getting ready to bring a cargo of aid to Romania on behalf of the CrossCause charity. Among them is Ciara Tinnelly who drives for James Quinn Transport. She will be travelling across Europe in convoy with Joanne Laverty of Graffin Transport and Martina McNally at A&M Commercials to the poverty stricken village of Nicoresti in Romania. While there have been a number of aid convoys to Nicoresti in the past, this is the first time that a group of lady truckers have undertaken it. The trip will see them travelling to England and then getting a ferry before driving down through Europe. Ciara, who hails from Rostrevor, has been driving for Quinns since March 2017 and is well used to long distance driving so the trip holds no fears for her. 'My father is a lorry driver and my granddad used to own trucks,' she says. 'A lot of my family drive for a living and ever since I was young it was always what I wanted to do.' The drivers are appealing for aid supplies to bring out to Nicoresti, which has a small population of roughly 6,000 people, many of whom are living in impoverished conditions. They are now looking for donations of clothing, footwear, medical supplies,non-perishable food, cleaning and hygiene products, bedding and household supplies, farm machinery, building materials and plumbing fittings. The aid will be given to the special needs residents, the Day Centre children and around 1,000 villagers who are supported by CrossCause. Any who would like to donate items for the convoy can do so by leaving them at the collection point in Earl Street on Saturday from 11am to 3pm. They also have a JustGiving page for donations which will be used to help with the expences of getting the convoy to Romania, with remaining money going to CrossCause. Beleaguered Fine Gael councillor John McGahon has declined to comment on media reports that he has been asked to stand down from the party's general election ticket after he was arrested and questioned about an alleged assault. According to an article in The Sunday Times, the 27 year old councillor was asked by the party's general secretary Tom Curran to take his name off the Fine Gael ticket for the next general election. The newspaper reported that the Dundalk councillor has refused to withdraw his name and Cllr McGahon declined to comment when contacted by The Argus. Party officials were likewise tight-lipped with the Press Office saying that they had no comment to make on the issue. According to The Sunday Times article, a supporter of Cllr McGahon's said 'He's a young man with a lot to offer and he wants to get on with it now. If they want to deselect him, they might end up in the courts. That didn't go too well for them last time.' However, it's understood that at local level, senior party members are concerned about the publicity surrounding Cllr McGahon after he gave an interview to LMFM last month in which he admitted that he had been involved in a fight and that he had a long standing problem with alcohol. In the course of the frank interview, he said that what happened was 'totally and utterly unacceptable' and was the result of his 'unhealthy relationship with alcohol'. He said that if elected to the Dail, he intended to use his position to raise awareness about mental health issues among young people. Cllr McGahon was elected to Louth County Council on his first attempt in 2014 when he was just 23 years of age and was elected Cathaoirleach of the Dundalk Municipal District for 2017/18. He is a member of the McGahon dynasty that have dominated Fine Gael in Louth for generations. His father Johnny and grandfather Owen B served as councillors and his uncle Brendan was TD for Louth. While his involvement in a disturbance outside a nightclub earlier this summer was widely known in Dundalk, Cllr McGahon received the party nomination at the Louth convention in September, defeating fellow Dundalk councillor Maria Doyle. It's likely that Cllr Doyle would receive the nomination should Cllr McGahon lose the nomination as the party would be conscious of needing a candidate which would appeal to Dundalk voters following the resignation of Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick. The Authentic Food Company (TAFC) which called in liquidators to its Dundalk facility last month, benefited from a number of government grand aids, it has emerged. Having bought the former Heinz plant in 2015, the UK based Authentic Foods were awarded state grant supports, which were outlined by Minister Heather Humphries in the Dail. Speaking on the government's response to the closure,the Minister said: 'The announcement by the Authentic Food Company that it is to close down is very disappointing. The Government's immediate concern is for those workers directly affected by this announcement in this very difficult time for them and their families. The Government will make every State support available to these employees.' My Department, through Enterprise Ireland (EI), has had a strong active engagement with the Authentic Food Company before, during and since they acquired their Dundalk facility. EI has supported the company with grant aid in the forms of Lean Transform, multiple Technical Feasibility Studies and an Innovation Partnership with Dundalk Institute of Technology. The EI Brexit Unit services were also made available to the company. She outlined seven meetings between EI and the Authentic Food Company held in 2017 and three meetings have taken place to date in 2018. 'In addition, as Mr Basran is based in the UK, two phone calls were held recently with Mr. Basran,' said the Minister. 'We will collectively, across Government, do our utmost to help these workers transition and find new employment opportunities. Notwithstanding this extremely disappointing news, it's important to remember that the overall trend in terms of job creation in the region is positive. There is every reason to be confident that we will find new investment and new opportunities for the employees of the Authentic Food Company.' Pizzas 'n' Cream closed its doors on Monday night for the last time, after 33 years of serving food in Bray. A huge outpouring of good will followed the announcement, and the restaurant had a packed house for the evening, with queues down the lane and no food left by 7 p.m. The Albert Walk restaurant, reportedly Ireland's first pizzeria, made the unexpected announcement on Monday afternoon on social media that it would close within hours. The pizzeria is on the market for 370,000 or a lease of 30,000 per year. People made their way to the restaurant in large numbers on Monday night to get the very last of the food served there. 'It has been a lovely surprise. We didn't expect so many people would come and have such nice things to say,' said Mary Nolan, one of the co-owners. Ann Nolan, whose late husband Seamus founded the business with Andy Holman said that Monday was an emotional evening for them all, and a bitter-sweet end to the three-decade partnership. Seamus and Andy came up with the idea over a pint in the Harbour bar. They believed there was an opening for great quality pizza in Ireland and Bray, and the rest is history. The three were overwhelmed by the massive turnout on Monday, which they said was way beyond their expectations. 'We did a Saturday night's business in three hours,' said Andy. They made the difficult decision to close due to a slowdown in trade in recent years. There was a warm and loving atmosphere, but a sad one too. 'We really want to thank all our customers and our staff. It's been like a big family here, with even generations of the same family coming to work here,' said Andy. They intend to hold a party for all staff from the restaurant's history in Bray soon, with the date and venue yet to be decided. 'People had their first jobs, first dates here,' said Andy. 'There is a lot of history involved. The amount of stories we heard last night was incredible.' Bray residents over the past three decades have attended children's birthday dinners, Christmas parties, quick catch-ups, gigs, and much more at the Albert Walk eatery. Wicklow TD John Brady and his wife Gayle had their first date there 29 years ago. TV presenter Laura Whitmore is a former employee, and sometime customer when she's home, as is comedian Dara O Briain. Globe-trotters have often admitted that despite travelling all over the world, the best pizza to be had was still the old reliable Pizzas 'n' Cream. A massive outpouring of regret followed the announcement. Many recalled first dates at Pizzas 'n' Cream. There were plenty of other happy memories, and there were several calls for the secret sauce recipe. Hundreds of people, some of whom have presumably been bringing their patronage to other pizza-joints in recent years, expressed sadness online at the closure. One lady, now living in Leixlip, said she was sending her boyfriend on the drive to get one last taste of the local fare. The Dublin/Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team has scooped a National Lottery Good Cause Award for its work keeping people who climb mountains safe. The group of 60 committed DWMRT volunteers won the sport and recreation category in the inaugural awards which took place in Dublin on Saturday. The rescue team received 10,000 in prize money to go back into the service. The new awards are aimed at honouring the extraordinary work impacting on communities all over Ireland thanks to National Lottery Good Causes funding. There were 36 finalists from all over Ireland at the dinner, with the awards ceremony hosted by TV presenter Karen Koster. The awards will be shown on Virgin Media next Sunday, November 11, at 9.30 p.m. Bray Cardiac First Responders were also finalists at the awards at the weekend. They congratulated Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Ireland for their win in the Health & Wellbeing section, as well as their neighbours Dublin/Wicklow Mountain Rescue for winning their section. 'It was a wonderful experience seeing the great work done by so many voluntary groups across the country and continued success to every one of them - we are all winners and its proof of the power of volunteering in Ireland,' said a spokesman for Bray CFR. The Dublin/Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team is on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. From responding to one or two incidents a year when it first established, last year it dealt with more than one call-out a week. And this year it is on course to exceed that figure. The service responds to all sorts of incidents whether lost walkers, those who sustain injury or medical emergencies such as cardiac arrest. The benefit of National Lottery Good Causes funding on the service has been immense. Over the years it has helped DWMRT buy vital medical equipment but most recently funded the first mountain rescue stretcher capable vehicle in Ireland, reduced the amount of time an injured or ill patient has to be manually carried over uneven terrain. When Storm Emma hit this year, DWMRT did 28 medical emergency call outs to people inaccessible due to the snow. In October the DWMRT was called to four different incidents on one Saturday alone. It assisted a hillwalker who had collapsed in Fraughan Rock Glen while climbing Lugnaquilla; responded to an injured mountain biker; helped a climber in Glendalough who fell about 30 metres and a paraglider who sustained multiple injuries on the great Sugarloaf. National Lottery CEO, Dermot Griffin, congratulated the Dublin/Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team on winning its prize. 'These committed volunteers risk their own lives to ensure walkers and mountaineers can be safe. 'It is fitting that Ireland's unsung heroes who work quietly under the radar to improve lives and make a difference are honoured in these inaugural National Lottery Good Cause Awards. Their work often goes unrecognised - but it is so valued.' St Catherine's Grief Centre in Limerick was the overall winner. St Cronan's pupil Eric Zhi Ying Xue (9) does not face an imminent threat of deportation, Minister for Health Simon Harris has confirmed. School principal Maeve Tierney said that the family now has a little bit of time in order to provide new information for the Minister for Justice. 'It's a pause,' she said. 'And that was the first thing that's needed. We are working very hard with the family to put a case together.' Minister Harris was speaking on The Last Word on Today FM recently when he said that there would be a review of the case. Eric's mother is from China, and not living in Ireland legally. However, Eric has never lived anywhere else. 'I've just got some good news very recently from the Department of Justice, which I've conveyed to Eric's family, that there is no imminent threat of deportation,' Minister Harris told Matt Cooper. 'That's all I ever called for, that's all Eric's family ever asked for, was an opportunity for a humanitarian review of the case to take place. 'The idea that a nine-year-old boy who is as much from Wicklow as I am, as much from Ireland as I am, would be told that he is "going back" to China, a country he had never been to, was simply ludicrous.' More than 50,000 people had signed a petition appealing to Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan to revoke the deportation order. While the department has indicated that petitions will have no bearing on such cases, Ms Tierney believes that without the petition and subsequent media attention there would not have been a reprieve. If Eric was deported, he would have no access to China's health or education systems because he is not a Chinese citizen. Eric's mother Leena Mei Mei Xue, was 19 when she arrived in Ireland illegally in 2006. She has been appealing a deportation order for the past three years with the final appeal rejected in June. The legislation behind this predicament dates back to the 27th amendment of the Constitution Act of 2004. This amended the Constitution of Ireland to provide that children born on the Ireland to parents who were both foreign nationals would no longer have a constitutional right to Irish citizenship. A big belly bin was removed from the Little Tern playground in Kilcoole due to consistent vandalism. There have also been reports of underage drinking, fireworks being set off, and intimidatory behaviour towards parents with young children who are trying to use the play equipment. Residents said that youths are bringing bags of alcohol in the evenings, playing loud music and having all-night drinking sessions. The matter was raised at a meeting of Greystones Municipal District last week when Cllr Tom Fortune was asking if a bin could be found for La Touche place in Greystones. District engineer Ruari O'Hanlon said that the Kilcoole playground bin had been set on fire and 'absolutely trashed'. Each big belly bin in the district came at a cost of 5,000, he said. Cllr Jennifer Whitmore asked if CCTV at the playground was an option. She said that a small number of people have caused problems at the playground. 'No matter what people do - call the community garda or talk to them - it doesn't seem to solve any issues. This is behaviour which is difficult to stop.' District manager Michael Nicholson said that there must be caution with CCTV at playgrounds. 'There was a time we were told we could never do it. Not apparently it can be used in certain circumstances.' Cllr Derek Mitchell asked if it could be put on the agenda for next month's garda meeting. Cllr Grainne McLoughlin said that a couple living nearby said they would never have bought their house had they known what they faced. She said she tried to speak to youths there and they told here to f-off. She has also rang the gardai numerous time. Cllr Tom Fortune said that it is a smashing playground, and it's a shame this is happening. 'It's being destroyed by a handful of people,' he said. Cllr Gerry Walsh mentioned a sub-committee for CCTV funding, looking at locations for installation. He and Cllr Lawless are members. Cllr Lawless said that they would get a report from that committee for the next meeting. Members mentioned the possibility of banning over-12s, which Cllr Whitmore said would be a shame. Parents of children at North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School in Bray are demanding answers as they await construction of a permanent school building. NWETSS is currently on Putland Road, in premises also used by Bray Adult Education Centre and formerly part of the Presentation College campus. In letters sent to ministers, TDs and government officials in Wicklow, Dun-Laoghaire-Rathdown and nationally, parents have expressed their frustration about what they say is a 'lack of progress' in building an appropriate school for their children. A Department of Education spokesperson said that a major capital project to provide permanent accommodation for North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School is being addressed through the Department's Capital Programme. 'It is envisaged that this accommodation will be provided through a campus arrangement with a local Institute of Further Education on its current site,' said the spokesperson. 'This project will also include the redevelopment and provision of enhanced accommodation for the Institute. In the context of initiating architectural planning for the project, the department is liaising with Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board. The department will continue to liaise with the school's patron in this regard.' In a statement last week, the parents said: 'We expect the Department of Education and Skills to uphold its commitment to build a permanent school. Instead it appears that no progress has been made at all on the development, design and construction on the site identified officially almost 16 months ago, on the Novara Road campus. 'Now we find that the there has been no provision made to house the school once the lease on the temporary premises expires a month before the end of the current school year and before the Junior Certificate exams. This neglect of our children's education and welfare is utterly unacceptable.' The parents said that the Department of Education and Skills and the KWETB have failed to sort out any difficulties, to provide students with appropriate facilities in the interim and to proceed with construction of a building. In July 2017, the school's board of management confirmed the location of the forthcoming building, while principal Jonathan Browner said that they had no further information at that time regarding when to expect a move. The project had originally been earmarked to begin in 2018. The Labour Party's general election candidate in Wicklow, Jack O'Connor, said that the lack of a permanent home for NWETSS has left the school management and parents alike with little security for the education of students into the future. 'It must be remembered that the North Wicklow Educate Together community were awarded the patronage of a new secondary school as far back as November 2013, five long years ago,' said Mr O'Connor. The lease for the current premises expires in April 2019, weeks before the start of the school's first ever Junior Cert. 'I understand that a lot of communication has taken place with the Department of Education and the Kildare Wicklow Education Training Board but no assurance has yet received from either body to allay the fears for the future of the school,' he said. 'It is my understand that there were plans to locate the ET Secondary School in a new school building on the grounds of BIFE on Novara Avenue.' Bray vet, and columnist for this newspaper, Pete Wedderburn, has swept the boards at the 2018 Blog Awards Ireland. The blog 'Pete The Vet won first prize in the 'Science and Education (Business)' category, 'Lifestyle (Business), and 'Blog of the Year'. Pete said that his blog has been a labour of love since he started writing about it over a decade ago. 'My mission in life is to spread good quality information about animals and pet care, and my own blog has been at the epicentre of my efforts,' he said. Pete said that it was a huge surprise to hit the big time at the national blog awards, now in its seventh year. His was one of 1,200 entrants, and 300 finalists. The judging included three rounds; the first two of which were judged by peers and the final round was judged by media/journalism and PR professionals. Pete was represented at the awards by his daughter Ella and her friend, as he was on a trip which included visiting the UK's biggest cat rescue centre. 'I kept in touch by WhatsApp as I travelled home!' He managed to get from the airport to the ceremony in time to find out the extent of the blog's success, and to get in to an official photograph. 'I was almost overwhelmed with delight and surprise. For a blog, accolades and awards really can't get any higher,' said Pete. 'Thank you so much to everyone who helped, from my website designers to those of you out there who read my blog and give me helpful feedback. And particular thanks are due to my assistant, Jen, who calmly and efficiently helps to manage blog postings behind the scenes,' said Pete. 'It's a great honour to achieve recognition like this, and it's all the more thrilling because it was so unexpected.' A project to get a business to take over the toilets at Greystones Harbour is not as simple as originally thought. District administrator Myra Porter explained at last Tuesday's meeting of Greystones Municipal District that officials decided ultimately to get procurement consultants to prepare a brief with regard to how to proceed. 'This is an important site and we have to be careful about procurement and ensure that the council's interests are covered.' She said that the brief is with Wicklow County Council's procurement officer, who will advise district officials. The aim is to have a commercial enterprise take over use of the building, operating a business there, while providing and maintaining public toilets on the site. Ms Porter said that it appears that they won't have the resources to manage that from the Greystones office. Members heard that the project will require a solicitor to ensure a robust contract. Cllr Jennifer Whitmore wondered if there might be national funding to go down the route of providing accessible, full hoist, facilities, rather than going private. District Manager Michael Nicholson said that it is a relatively small site. The council itself doesn't have the money to build, or indeed maintain, the toilets. He said that the skillset is not available in the municipal districts for awkward projects, so they may need the county council to take over and run this. He said that it is a landmark site in the middle of the harbour development so they need to exercise caution. Cllr Derek Mitchell said that he is worried about spending a lot of money on fees for a very small site. He said also that Bray has a very large toilet building. 'The fact that we have nothing is pathetic,' said Cllr Mitchell. Aubane Community Centre has seen its fair share of dancing over the past number of years. And with that considered, it's probably no surprise that its latest Afternoon Tea Dance staging saw a large attendance convene. To strains of music from Pat Bucke, the dancers tripped the light fantastic with plenty of quicksteps, foxtrots and a waltz or two. It had to be said that the event left patrons satisfied, much to the delight of Aubane Social Club Chairman John F Kelleher. "We're thrilled by the response," he said. "Where else could you go on a damp and dreary November afternoon and meet up with your friends and dance to some fabulous music." Aubane is more associated with its weekly set dancing on Monday nights, which often sees patrons drawn from Duhallow, Muskerry and East Kerry to drop in for the kind of gathering that has put Aubane on the map. "Anybody that comes to Aubane enjoys themselves; our set dancing continues to thrive, and given the success of the Afternoon Tea Dance, we plan for a similar event in the New Year", said John. In between the dancing, visitors savoured a welcome cuppa thanks to the hospitality of the hosts. Meanwhile Aubane Social Club is planning a hectic schedule to the end what's been a fantastic year. Its annual Christmas Morning climb to Mushera will support the Irish Community Air Ambulance Service base at Rathcoole. A two-day film making workshop is scheduled for the Cork Film Centre Gallery, The Powdermills, Ballincollig on Saturday and Sunday, November 17/18. Running from 10.30am to 4.30pm, the two-day course is designed for young people, aged between 14 & 18. There are 12 places in total and they are ideal for those who are creative and have a genuine interest in film making, both in front of and behind the camera. Working as a group you will learn and enhance film-making techniques. You will script your own drama, shoot the scenes, act, direct and crew a short film under the guidance of professional experienced filmmakers from Cork Film Centre. Applications are now open but just five places remain available. No experience is necessary, but early booking is essential as places are strictly limited. The only charge is a 20 booking fee. To apply, simply e-mail corkyoungfilmmakers@gmail.com - ASAP. Your short film will be premiered on the big screen at an exciting Film Gala event hosted by Cork County Council on November 23rd at Vertigo, Cork County Hall, Cork. 'Cork Young Filmmakers' is a Cork County Youth Arts Training Programme managed by Cork Film Centre and funded by Cork County Council and SECAD. Over the past 25 years there have been many sterling performances by both amateur and professional companies and actors at the Schoolyard Theatre in Charleville. Who can forget the acting of Jon Kenny in his role of the Bull McCabe with the Shoestring Theatre Company in John B. Keane's 'The Field,' or that of Martin Hennessy as the Bird O'Donnell in the same production, or William Lyons as Kenneth McAlister in 'A Night in November' by Marie Jones, a performance which won him the best actor award at the All-Ireland Drama Festival of 2008. Both of these were homegrown productions directed by Kevin O'Shea, whose fertile theatrical mind brought some innovative touches to the works, such as the outdoor murder scene in the 'Field', that enhanced the end product. Other notable presentations through the years by the same director include Jimmy Murphy's 'The Kings of Kilburn High Road' where the performance of the late John Butler earned plaudits all over the country and best actor awards at the festivals. Another one was his acting in Jim Nolan's 'The Salvage Shop,' in which he partook, shortly before he succumbed to cancer, lighting up the stage with his performances. Another young actress who distinguished herself in the Schoolyard Theatre and beyond is Katie Holly, who has gone on to make a name for herself as a playwright of note. Her latest work, 'The Crowman', is due to open shortly in Dublin starring Jon Kenny and herself. Since it opened in 1993, the Schoolyard Theatre has had an enormous impact on the people from Charleville town and the greater North Cork area, as they have been afforded the opportunity of seeing both amateur and professional presentations staged by the country's most prestigious theatre companies, as well as individual performers. The theatre is housed in a beautiful cut stone building, built as the town's national school in 1833, and set in a walled courtyard on Charleville's Old Limerick Road. It consists of an entrance hall, foyer, and the original pine floor boards, which were restored and polished. The 14-foot high ceiling is supported by the pillars installed over 180 years ago, and the atmospheric decor is enhanced by antique furnishings. A mahogany stairs leads to the intimate 102 seat theatre where the atmosphere is magic both for the audience and performers on stage. The raked seating system ensures that everybody has an excellent view of the stage in comfortable seats. The stage itself is a director's dream and its 31 feet wide and 19 feet deep. The dimensions mean that productions of any size may be accommodated. This is complimented by a computerised lighting board and a built-in sound system. A walkway at the rear of the stage leads to a spiral staircase to the dressing rooms on the second floor. This floor also contains a spacious rehearsal room and a prop room, the contents of which are the envy of every amateur and professional group in the country. Many of the props have been used by professional theatre and film companies in their productions. Charleville is indeed fortunate to have such a facility on its doorstep, and long may it continue to flourish. Ballydesmond village will get a very welcome makeover of over 400,000 as its roads and footpaths are a "key priority for Cork County Council." At the Kanturk Mallow municipal meeting, councillors heard how the roads were dug up to accompany the windfarm which got planning permission but as they had to lay cables this caused huge delays. This was further compounded when the roads had to be re-dug up again to redo the cabling, which was done over the summer months. Jim Moloney of Cork County Council explained that the cables had to be pulled through the ducts and, into the bargain, Irish Water had to put in place a new water mains - but this "must now be connected to the houses" in the region. Mr Moloney told The Corkman that council officials met with the local community on the streetscape and architects plans, and it is hoped that these will be approved after public consultation has taken place so it will enable the Part Eight process to then take place. Municipal District Officer Liz Donovan told councillors that in 2019 work will be done on the street and the footpaths and there is 120,000 from the Town and Village Fund to undertake this work. Mr Moloney also told the meeting that the road in Ballydesmond will get 300,000 for works. "In total and over a two year period of works there will be 420,000 available to Ballydesmond village for these works," he said. Cllr Timmy Collins (Ind) said the people of Ballydesmond must have "pure patience" as they are waiting so long to have work done. He described the condition of the road and footpaths as being in a "very bad condition." "Really, the state it is in now, it could cause an accident," he said. Cllr Bernard Moynihan (FF) said it was great that so much money was going to Ballydesmond village to get works done. At the end of the meeting, Mr Moloney again said the ducting has now been completed but not the water works fully, and it will be next year before they will get the prospective contractors on board to get the works done. Employers who work in the steel industry in Duhallow are finding it next to impossible to get staff locally and instead joined forces to attain the services of a Polish employment agency to bridge that gap. That was the scenario outlined by Cllr Gerard Murphy (FG) at the Kanturk Mallow municipal district meeting this week. He was speaking on the plunging unemployment rates throughout North Cork and said that local employers "just cannot get workers." "I am aware of employers who work in the steel industry and they all joined up and turned to an employment agency in Poland to get 40 staff in" he said. He was speaking on the effectiveness of Community Employment (CE) schemes in the Duhallow region but it was now at stage where it was "next to impossible" to get staff due to the falling unemployment rates. The ethos of the CE programme is designed to help people who are long term unemployed and other disadvantaged people to get back to work by offering part-time and temporary placements in jobs based within local communities. Regarding the plunging unemployment rates in Duhallow, on the CSO website there are 151 less people on the Live Register in Newmarket since last year, which represents a 20% reduction in one year. Figures from the most recent CSO Live Register statistics in the area there is a total of 328 males on the register in Duhallow. There are 19 males under 25 years and aged 25 years and over there are 309. For females aged under 25 there are just 19 on the Live Register and aged 25 and over it is 273, which gives a combined total of 292. In Mallow, there is a 12% reduction and in Macroom there is a 10% reduction in the live register over the last year. It was the view of Cllr Murphy that "every effort must be made" to encourage people to go on the available schemes. Chairing the meeting, Cllr Gearoid Murphy (FF) said he completely agreed with Cllr Murphy's stance. However, Cllr Timmy Collins (Ind) said that there has been "cuts made to Fas and cuts made to CE schemes." Cllr Murphy said he is also aware of vacancies on schemes in both Newmarket and in Kiskeam on Tus schemes. "It isn't a question that there isn't vacancies - there is but these just need to be filled," he said. Cllr Bernard Moynihan (FF) said that there are "plenty of students" who are doing courses such as Civil Engineering and construction in CIT and they should look towards the colleagues to get workers for the summer months. A man has denied the murder of mother of three Nicola Collins (38) who was found with fatal injuries in a Cork flat last year. Charleville-native Cathal O'Sullivan (44) was arraigned before the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Cork, and formally pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Collins. The young mother, who was originally from Kerry, was discovered unresponsive in a flat at 6A Popham's Road, Farranree, Cork in the early hours of March 27 2017. Ms Collins was pronounced dead at the scene before she could be transferred to Cork University Hospital (CUH). O'Sullivan, who is originally from Charleville in north Cork, was charged with Ms Collins murder before Cork District Court in August 2017. In response to the murder charge yesterday (Wednesday) he told Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and the Central Criminal Court jury of eight men and four women he was "not guilty". The defendant appeared in court wearing a dark pin-stripe suit, white shirt and grey tie. The Central Criminal Court jury was told the murder trial is expected to require two weeks at hearing. Tom Creed SC, for the State, told Ms Justice Creedon that a significant number of witnesses were involved in the case. The court was told Mr Creed and Ray Boland BL were discussing the witness schedule to facilitate the trial with defence counsel Colman Cody SC and Peter Flynn BL. However, the jury sworn in to hear the trial was later discharged for legal reasons by Ms Justice Creedon. A new jury will be sworn in today (Thursday) when the trial is scheduled to formally open. The defendant did not speak in court yesterday beyond confirming his not guilty plea. The body of Ms Collins, a native of St Brendans Park in Tralee, Co Kerry but who had been living at Clashduv Road in the Togher area of Cork over recent years, was found in an upstairs flat at Popham's Road, Farranree on Cork's northside last year. The discovery was made at around 3am on March 27 after the alarm had been raised by a local resident. Ms Collins was found with serious injuries when the emergency services were called to the flat which was located directly over a local grocery store. Paramedics were unable to revive her and she was pronounced dead at the scene. The Garda investigation was upgraded to a murder probe following a post mortem examination at Cork University Hospital (CUH) by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster. When Martin Tangney was growing up in Macroom, it was safe to say that he was guaranteed to be found in the lab of the secondary school, peering at micro organisms from the Gearagh rather than togged out on the football pitch. The GAA fever which engulfs so many young boys simply never took hold and, he told Martin may have started off in his early boyhood years peering at mirco organisms but just where did his interest stem from? Without missing a beat, he pointed to his former teacher, Kevin Corcoran, who is a well known environmentalist who is passionate about the Gearagh. "When I think about it now, even back then Kevin was so passionate about conservation, as I am now so many years later," he said. In a snapshot, Martin went from looking at micro organisms at school to UCC where he obtained a first class honours degree in Microbiology and then a PhD and along the way became a professor. And right now? He is the founder and president of Celtic Renewables Ltd, which is in the advanced stages of building a ground breaking world first for Scotland in advanced sustainable biofuel plant. He also set the wheels in motion for the first car to be fuelled by a whiskey residue biofuel and just recently he was awarded an honorary OBE - but more on all of that later. As touched upon, while the GAA didn't tickle his fancy growing up on Main Street in Macroom, music certainly did and he played the guitar in a band - the Holy Orders. While that band has obviously now had its last orders, he pointed out that his much beloved Macroom was at the epicentre of all this music back in the 1980s as it held the famed Mountain Dew Festival. It was also the era of the devilishly delightful guitar legend Rory Gallagher, who Martin tips his hat to in appreciation. When he got his Leaving Certificate, it was time to say slan to Macroom and he set "off to the bright and big lights" of Cork city, where he obtained a First Class Honours Microbiology degree, which included taking Biochemistry and Chemistry to general degree level. "Cork was really buzzing back then. The city was so vibrant with all the bands. Sure, everybody was in a band - myself included," he laughed. The brilliance of U2 was emerging as was the Boomtown Rats, but at the back of his mind he said he knew "that a degree would have to be got". During his time at UCC his much loved father, Donal, passed away when he was in his 60s and his passing left a mark on Martin. "I became more grounded after my dad passed and felt there was a strong need for less of the music and more of the books," he said. That little equation worked very well as he topped his class with a First Class Honours degree. "It was emotional as I knew my dad would have been very proud of me," said Martin. After he had obtained his primary degree he went to Trinity College, Dublin, and along the way he became involved with a Danish company, Novozymes, and went on to do a PhD through a university in Scotland. There were also stints spent working in industry in Copenhagen and Finland. While he was in Copenhagen - "ironically enough, in an Irish bar" - he met his future wife, Anna Hyde. They have one son, Cian who is 14 and who has obtained a strong gra for Macroom and he gets to meet his cousins and his granny, Martin's mother Mary Theresa O'Sullivan, who is 90 years old and is known to all Tess. Ironically, Martin pointed out that after he and Anna had married, "many years later" they discovered that Anna's father, Daniel, used to sup a few pints with Martin's dad, Donal, when they were in their younger years. To bring the equation even closer to home, Anna's aunt lived at Castle Street in Macroom, while Martin and his family were brought up on Main Street. As the crow flies you wouldn't even have to flap a feather. "It just goes to show that it really is a tiny world after all," said Martin. For his working life Martin also spent time in Helsinki in Finland and then he began to move away from industry and towards academia and research, and moved to Scotland "for only a few years". That was in 1996, where he has been in situ in Edinburgh ever since. And it really has been quite an adventure since then. The Information Superhighway went into code red mode when Celtic Renewables Ltd set the wheels in motion of the first car to be fuelled by a whiskey residue biofuel. The fuel - biobutanol - is a new advanced and sustainable biofuel, which is a direct replacement for petrol and diesel. It is produced from draff - the sugar rich kernels of barley which are soaked in water to facilitate the fermentation process necessary for whiskey production - and pot ale, the copper containing yeasty liquid that is left over following distillation. At that time, the Edinburgh based company received 9 million funding support from the Scottish government as a co-investment to build a commercial demonstrator plant in Grangemouth. Martin, as the company's founder and president, along with his colleague Mark Simmers, make a great team and Martin is quick to heap a deluge of praise on staff. "The work which I am doing it really is all consuming and I mean it is 24 hours, seven days a week. It really never stops. You just have to be prepared all the time but you must also get and take others' advice. "Things must be solution driven and my mindset was always to fix it - but, in reality, you can only fix so much. So, what I now do is recognise the gaps. "What my work has shown me is that you get to meet such interesting people and I am blessed with the quality and calibre of the staff," he said. "Of course, we have great days at work when there is a breakthrough and we duly celebrate but equally so there are days when things do not go well and that is how it is." Does he think about home? He stops but only for a quick second and said, that for him, home will always be Macroom, as "an Irishman" - it was where he was born and raised, it is where his family live. He said while he cannot get home that much due to his hectic work cycle it does make him smile to see his son, Cian, spend time with his first cousins - some of whom are his age. "They are all in a way growing up together and Cian loves going to Macroom," he said. It is fair to say that Martin has come a long way from his days peering at micro organisms in a lab at secondary school to his recent OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire). But just how did that come about? "I have absolutely no idea who nominated me; the letter came in the door. It is an honorary OBE and I am an Irish citizen so I got permission from the Irish government to accept it," he said. There was equally something incredibly sweet that he received it in Edinburgh, where he has built up such a career and reputation. For the presentation ceremony he was surrounded by 30 members of his family and close friends. On the day, two close friends made the journey - Deirdre Lynch and Cathal Buckley - who met Martin on his very first day of college at UCC and they have all remained close friends for all of these years. "It really was an immense honour and I really was so proud and humbled by it all. We had great fun on the day and, really, it was so very very special," he said. When pointed out by this reporter that Martin has now joined the OBE ranks of F1's Eddie Jordan and Hollywood actor Pierce Brosnan, he laughed and said that, for him, receiving the OBE in Edinburgh will always be something very special. "It's my home from home," he said. A jeweller who conned an 84 year old North Cork woman out of almost 20,000 when selling a valuable Cartier brooch at auction at Sotheby's has been given a suspended prison sentence after a judge heard that he made good progress on a course aimed at addressing a number of mental health issues. Michael Wall, who had been in the jewellery business for around 12 years, had been convicted by a jury at Cork Circuit Criminal Court in June 2017 of a total of five offences relating to his handling of the sale of a valuable Cartier brooch belonging to an elderly woman from Kanturk in North Cork. Wall (40), with an address at Marionville, Alexandra Road, St Luke's, Cork, had denied the charges but the jury delivered unanimous guilty verdicts on four counts and a majority 10-2 guilty verdict on a fifth charge of producing a fake Sotheby's document in the course of the fraudulent transaction. The main charge concerned the theft of over 16,000 which represented the difference between the sum of approximately 44,000 Sotheby's paid to Wall for a Cartier brooch obtained from the pensioner and the 27,800 he subsequently paid her for the piece. The court heard how the woman's daughter had made contact with Wall and travelled to Mallow to collect him and bring him to their home in Kanturk where he told them that the Cartier brooch was worth anything up to 70,000 or 80,000 and he promised to contact Sotheby's on their behalf. He later contacted them to say that he had spoken to Sotheby's about selling the jewellery and they later met him at a restaurant in Cork where they handed over the Cartier brooch and two other brooches to auction them at Sotheby's. Wall later rang them to say the brooch had sold for 40,000 Swiss Francs at a Sotheby's at auction in Geneva and in December 2012 the woman and her daughter met Wall in Cork city and he gave them a bank draft for 27,801, and she gave him a cheque for 500, even though he said he didn't want any money. The woman said that she got a bill from Wall for 2,251 and he also sent her a receipt which he said came from Sotheby's which showed the hammer price of the brooch was 44,000 Swiss Francs. However, when the woman's solicitor, Michelle O'Mahony, checked on-line she found the brooch sold for 71,000 Swiss Francs. Arabel Bishop, director of Sotheby's in Ireland, told Wall's trial at Cork Circuit Criminal Court that the document that the woman received, which purported to be a receipt issued by Sotheby's, was a fake and not issued by the company. Wall agreed the document appeared to be fake but he denied generating or sending it and claimed he told the owner and her daughter he would put the brooch on sale in his own name for the Swiss auction and would pay them the euro equivalent of stg25,000 if the brooch reached its reserve price. Wall denied in cross-examination by prosecution counsel Imelda Kelly BL that he had betrayed the family's trust by pocketing over 16,000 for himself after they had taken him into their home and their friendship, trusting him to get them a sale at auction. Addressing the jury, defence barrister Donal O'Sullivan BL said the fact that his client may have made a good deal for himself did not mean he had committed a crime and he pointed out that the Sotheby's catalogue listed the Cartier brooch lot as being owned by "a gentleman". However, prosecution barrister Imelda Kelly submitted to the jury: "The understanding at all times was that he would place the items for auction on her behalf. That was fundamental. Any other suggestion simply does not hold water." The jury found Wall guilty of stealing over 17,000, forging the Sotheby's document and that, in giving the woman a bank draft for 27,800, he was inducing her to believe it was the true proceeds of the sale in order to make a gain for himself, as well as two other theft charges of brooches worth 385 each. Detective Garda Padraig Reddington, who investigated the case, read a victim impact statement on behalf of the elderly woman at an earlier court hearing where she told how Wall's deceit had impacted on her and her family. The woman said that she had brought the case simply to get "justice for being wronged" by someone whom she had trusted and brought into her family home to help when she decided to put the valuable brooch for sale. 'I have had so many sleepless nights. I now feel very vulnerable in dealing with people. It has, after 84 years of life, changed how I view and interact with people. I am now, more than ever, aware that you can no longer take someone at their word and that trust needs to be earned,' her statement read. The woman pointed out that she was at a loss of over 17,000 as a result of Wall's deceit and she told of her shock when she learned that Wall had conned her out of the money while all the time pretending to have done his best for her by selling the brooch at Sotheby's auction in Geneva in 2012. 'My solicitor looked up the sale on the internet and that was the first time I heard the true value of the sale of the brooch. I felt I could have died with the shock and couldn't believe someone could be so dishonest I felt stupid for trusting someone who has, now so clearly in hindsight, done me so wrong.' Judge Sean O Donnabhain remanded Wall in custody for eight weeks in June 2017 to see if a place was available for him on the HSE Endeavour Programme, which deals with people with personality disorders, and last week at the resumed hearing he heard Wall had made good progress on the 12 month course. "This was a mean, despicable offence where he gained the trust of his victim and then abused it," said Judge O Donnabhain before noting the progress he had made on the Endeavour course, which was a first step towards rehabilitation, and he imposed a three year sentence but suspended it in full. In the past 12 months Munster Vales has reached over 10 million people worldwide with the message that this unique region is a vibrant holiday destination. Munster Vale sis a branding initiative to promote North Cork and parts of Limerick, Tipperary and West Waterford. Over the past year, 30 media trips with high profile media personnel from print, broadcast and online channels across the world resulted in extensive coverage for the area. Some of these businesses and locations include Longueville House, Springfort Hall, Charleville Park Hotel, Ballyhass Adventure Group, Bluebell Falls Goats Cheese Newtownshandrum, The Donkey Sanctuary, Doneraile Park and Cafe Townhouse. The equivalent advertising value of this reach is estimated at over 2.5 million, the small to medium enterprises would not have the opportunity to avail of such international exposure without the marketing efforts of Munster Vales. Munster Vales has partnered with National Geographic, Norwegian Airlines, RTE, Europcar, Cork Airport and more in order to establish the region as a vibrant holiday destination in order to attract more visitors. This week, Munster Vales announced details of an upcoming networking event: the 'Munster Vales Summit'. The event is taking place on Thursday 15th November from 10.30am to 1pm, just over a year since the official launch of this pioneering tourism initiative. The event offers an opportunity for stakeholders from across the region to meet and network with other tourism providers and also discover how they can work with Munster Vales to increase their online presence and be represented on a national and international level. Commenting on the initiative Pat Slattery, Chairperson of Munster Vales, said "Munster Vales reaches across and into the real authentic Irish heartland, bringing together four unique yet related individual regions encompassing five spectacular mountain ranges and vales. It accommodates a legendary series of trails, activities and experiences from land to sea. Munster Vales acts as a consistent brand increasing the socio-economic benefits of tourism in the region but more importantly providing an enhanced visitor experience, by co-operating and collaborating as one entity." For more information contact Triona O'Mahony, Destination and Marketing Manager on 087 1189206 or email info@munstervales.com North Cork Fine Gael councillor and general election candidate for Cork North West Councillor John Paul O'Shea officially opened his new constituency office on Strand Street in Kanturk on Monday morning. An Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade, Simon Coveney TD, was present to cut the ribbon and was among the first to congratulate his party colleague on his new constituency office. Tanaiste Coveney highlighted his faith in Cllr O'Shea, describing him as a 'fantastic candidate' for Fine Gael ahead of the next general election, and said that Cllr O'Shea has "the talent, the drive and the ability" to become an important part of the next Dail. Cllr O'Shea and Tanaiste Coveney were joined by a large number of supporters which included Cllr Gerard Murphy and former TD for Cork North West Frank Crowley. Speaking on Monday, Cllr O'Shea said his constituency office is open to everyone within the Mallow/Kanturk Municipal District and the Cork North West constituency. He said it is crucially important to work together for the benefit of Kanturk and the people living in North Cork. "I think the Government, since returning to office in 2016, has done extremely well to combat a lot of the economic uncertainties that we have seen and to bring this country back to almost full employment, and make sure that we have a government that does the best for the people right across this country. So it's all really important that we work together to make sure that this continues into the future," he said. Speaking to the crowd outside Cllr O'Shea's new constituency office, Tanaiste Coveney said he wanted to attend the official opening for a number of reasons. As well as having family connections in Kanturk, he said "we also have political business to do here to put right the loss of a seat in the last general election." He said Fine Gael in government is working to build a stronger country for everyone and that Cllr O'Shea's election as a TD will play an important role in that. "I have to say that a combination of John Paul O'Shea and Minister Michael Creed is a very dynamic combination going into the next general election," said Minister Coveney. He encouraged Cork North West constituents to elect Cllr O'Shea to represent them in the next Dail and allow Fine Gael to continue the work it has being doing since 2011. "We're trying to build something stronger, we're trying to ensure that we get out of this cycle of boom and bust, which populist politics in Ireland has led to, over and over again. We've fixed it now and we're going to stay in charge to make sure it doesn't get broken again and that is what electing John Paul O'Shea is all about. Yes it's about him and his personality and his drive, his family and his success in politics to date, being extended now into the Dail from Cork County Council," he said. Is it Hollywood or Ardmore movie studios? No - it's actually the Barbican Centre, Drogheda, where members of Ablevision are making a film under the direction of local film-maker Frank Kelly. Written and developed by members themselves, 'Little Fairy Tree' is a fantasy magic mystery love-drama with time-travel built in, and is very relevant to the modern world! The film will be screened early 2019, but before that, a preview will be screened at Ablevision's 4th international film festival in Droichead Arts Centre on Friday 9 November. Participating are films from America, England, Australia, Belgium, South America, Italy, Scotland and Holland, with the cast of some films actually attending the festival. All feature young adults with intellectual disability. Ablevision is a creative programme in film production for and by people with intellectual disability. 'It gives these young people the chance to be part of movies, to make and act, to be seen and heard on screen,' explained parent Patricia Delany, who explained how Drogheda Ablevision began. 'A cousin over in Boston had heard of it and suggested it to myself and my husband John. We flew the head of Ablevision, Alissa Carbone over to Drogheda to explain how to set it up and run it. We then attended our first festival, Oskabright, over in Brighton, and based our own festival on this. We ran our own festival in Drogheda 8 years ago.' Ablevision's first film, 'Joe & Sarah' was also produced by Frank Kelly. Again, devised by members, it was shot in Drogheda and was shortlisted for awards! Film-maker Frank meets with the Ablevision members, listens to their ideas and draws the story together. 'Even though they have intellectual disability, they still have plenty to say!' said Patricia. 'This is lifelong learning, it's expressive and creative.' Nessa Delany, now 36, loves the freedom of Ablevision. 'She is out and about with it, participating, being heard. We would love to have a Centre for the Arts for those with intellectual disability. When they leave school there are not many options. It's hard to find learning with progression,' said Patricia. Ablevision's Jason McGivern loves acting. 'I like to meet my friends and particularly, my girlfriend at Ablevision. I love watching films and acting in them. I was in all four films we made. The film talks about things I am interested in.' Jason has to admit that he has to study a lot to remember the script! Photography fan, Conor O'Dowd loves the camera! 'I love acting and have learned a lot about film-making. I practice the script and follow the clips on You Tube. Look us up!' Describing 'Little Fairy Tree', Brendan O'Shea said, 'We are making a film about a girl who goes missing. I love acting, and was in the other films we made. I enjoy going to the public screenings.' Nessa Delany, who plays Niamh in this film, said, 'My stage-mammy is Eimear O'Kane! David McArdle and Megan McMcCormick are my brothers and sisters.' Another Ablevision parent is recently retired teacher, Audrey Jackson. 'This is brilliant for Megan who is involved with everything from set-up to camera work. It's great for communication as it elicits their own ideas which they have to verbalise. Ablevision gives these young people a voice, so it's so very important that the films reflect their thoughts and ideas. Sometimes it's difficult to find the language, but through Ablevision they devise it together and act it out. It gives them the chance to shine.' Admitting to being a very proud mom when she sees her daughter on screen, Audrey finds the progression in making the film is hugely beneficial. 'To see them progress in their own way through this programme is fantastic. Each person is treated with such respect, despite their level of intellectual disability.' Ablevision is seeking to be involved across the community and is always open to new ideas. Members learn acting and film, dancing and drama. Another project is an experimental dance piece facilitated by Cathy O'Kennedy,well-known for her innovative dance styles, is an inclusive work and will showcase in Duleek and Drogheda in November 2018. Megan, who attends Malta Services, loves acting and does some with Brenda Gogan and The Little Duke too. 'I will be in CinderElf at our Christmas show!' No stranger to the stage, Megan is a regular model on the catwalk for Drogheda's Daffodil Day fashion show, along with Jason. 'I love to dress up!' she said. 'I like acting and meeting my friends here,' said David McArdle. 'It's nice to see myself on the big screen.' Playing the on-screen mother is Eimeal O'Kane. 'I have no kids in real-life but now have 3 stage-kids!' she quipped. 'My daughter Ella (Megan) sees everyone on their phones and is getting no personal response, there's no communication in everyday life. So that's the basis of the story, then comes the magic and the mystery! As well as the time-travel!' Eimear's involvement with Ablevision began through meeting a similar group in Scotland, 'Indepen-dance'. 'I started by doing some dance work with Ablevision, then got involved in the film-making. I actually wrote a song 'Little Fairy Tree' that will be used in the film - yes, I got it from the fairies! Ablevision has given me purpose and a sense of wellbeing, inclusiveness, acceptance, dignity and respect. They are affectionate, friendly, loving and positive - never any bad vibes here! I love this crowd and we have great laughs.' Eight years ago Frank Kelly made Ablevision's first film. 'The invitation came out of the blue as I had never worked with a group with intellectual disability before. It ended up being one of the most remarkable, inspiring and fulfilling projects I have ever worked on! These young people are easy to work with - there are no egos here!' Explaining the genesis of the movie, Frank said that on Day One the group brainstorms and themes emerge. 'Their interests and tastes appear. So this time romance and music emerged as did time travel. Social issues that bother people came up. Phones too. We discussed what would work. The story is about a girl who likes books, conversation and creatures - but she is ignored as everyone is on phones. So she time travels!' Ablevision meets in The Barbican Centre weekly, where Declan Power and staff give huge support, according to the parents. The group also has close connections with Droichead Arts Centre. 'Collette Farrell, Director of Droichead has been steadfast in her support over the years and Tony Conaghy has helped us spearhead our Film Festival since its inception,' said Patricia Delany, who along with other mothers, Audrey O'Dowd and Audrey Jackson, ensure the smooth running of all activities and workshops. Ablevision is a registered charity and has a board which meets regularly. Over the past few years it has received generous support from Drogheda and Navan Lions, Drogheda Rotary Club, Indaver's Carranstown Community Development Fund, 'Me Time Training' owners Colm and Jane who ran a fundraiser, the Ireland Fund, Louth County Council, Orlaith & Gavin Duffy, and other fundraisers. Funding for this movie was achieved by crowd fund sourcing, via a Go Fund Me page set up by Frank, with the first pledge secured within minutes of going live! 'I could shoot a film for very little on a mobile phone or could spend millions of euros,' explained Frank - who incidentally is shooting this film on his mobile phone using a special app which gives Ultra HD quality. 'Many directors use this now as it's cheaper and accessible. I can edit on the phone - it's really a mobile movie studio! This film will take 8 weeks from start to finish, meeting once a week.' A short preview of 'Little Fairy Tree' will be shown at the Ablevision International Film Festival in Droichead Arts Centre on Friday 9 November. In the coming weeks, Ricky Gerrard will have his new publication on the shelves and to say it's special would be an understatement. 'Industries and Places of Employment of old and no so old Drogheda' is an absolute treasure of information and has taken years to put together. And such are the array of businesses featured, the publication will be made up of three volumes in a book, at a cost of 40. For that, you'll get a lifetime of information on so many great firms and names, from Woolworths to Mosney, the DI, the Plug Factory, Coca-Cola, Cairnes, the railway, Bissell, Gina G, IFF, BD, Cisco, Poclain, Cement, Tapestries Ireland, the list just goes on and on. Ricky gave me a peak at some of the pages recently and this publication won't disappoint anyone. But like all publications with such a diverse range of content, it needs funding and that's where the public come in. Ricky is seeking people to sponsor pages or sections or pre-purchase copies, everything will help to get it done and dusted before Christmas. More details from Ricky at 0879763689 or email: ricky_gerrard@yahoo.co.uk. Some Guys have all the luck is a show dedicated to the great Rod Stewart and it's coming to the TLT on November 10th next. This brand new theatre production celebrating the life and career of Rod Stewart, stars Paul Metcalfe and featuring a fantastic live band with impeccable credits, the show takes the audience through Rod's incredible story from his humble beginnings street busking and singing in the R 'n B clubs of the 60's through to worldwide superstardom and record sales in excess of 100 million! Details from the TLT Irish chat in Ardee The Irish language conversation group which meets in Full of Beans Cafe, Ashwalk, Ardee (opposite Super Valu) is inviting new members to join them every Thursday morning at 10.45 a.m. to practise speaking Irish in an informal setting. As well as general conversation, the group focuses on a different topic each week and participants get a list of sample sentences to bring home with them, some popular Irish songs are also included. There is no charge to attend and newcomers are welcome every week. Just come on the day or phone Tom on 087-9895542 for more information. Beidh failte romhat. Polar Plunge Special Olympics Ireland is calling on hardy souls from Co. Louth to accept the challenge and take the Polar Plunge for local athletes this December. The plunge returns to Clogherhead on Saturday 1st December 2018. Register at www.specialolympics.ie/polarplunge. Registration costs just 20 History course A new five-week Local History Course on getting to know more about Drogheda`s fascinating history & heritage will once again be delivered at the Drogheda Museum. The `Know Your Drogheda` course will be presented each week in a relaxed and laid-back manner at the Drogheda Museum Millmount and will be presented by renowned Community Historian Brendan Matthews in association with the Old Drogheda Society. Beginning on Thursday evening November 1st from 7.45pm to 8.45pm and ending on Thursday evening November 29th; this course is designed for anyone interested in the town`s historic past and would be deemed ideal for both adults and students alike and also for those who may be already employed in the tourism/hospitality sector in the north-east region. The Course fee is 60 and is payable on the first night of the course. Early booking is advisable as places on this course are limited. To book your place contact the Drogheda Museum at 041-9833097 or Community Historian Brendan Matthews at 086-2260158 or by e mail to info@droghedamuseum.ie The success of a Drogheda-based brand of cooking oil has proved to be extraordinary, with its latest success coming at the acclaimed Blas na hEireann in Dingle. Collar of Gold was awarded the 'Chef's Choice' - and that above all in a highly competitive field - was some achievement. Peter McCloskey is the brains behind the brand and it has a simple message - "It allows you to taste the goodness of your food only and does not add a smell, taste, colour, or aroma, typical of other pure oils,' Peter remarks. Collar of Gold can be found in stores throughout the country - including SuperValu - not bad for a brand that was only founded last year. Collar of Gold is a rapeseed oil and is suitable for cold and high-temperature uses, and is sourced from Irish farmers. It is used in a number of top restaurants in Ireland and the UK. It is 100% Natural and high in Omegas 3 and 6. There are big plans to take Collar of Gold on a bigger journey in the years ahead. The hundreds of soldiers from the region who fought and died in World War I were remembered in a heartfelt ceremony at the Great War Memorial at the bottom of Mary Street on Saturday. This weekend marks the 100th anniversary of the day the guns fell silent and Saturday's ceremony focused on remembrance and thanksgiving and a hope of peace across the world. Many people there had their personal memories, not least local poet Bridie Maxwell. Her husband, Paddy, attended the ceremony each year to honour his own links to the names etched on the cross. He sadly passed away some months ago, but Bridie attended and paid tribute in true fashion, with words from the heart. Jimmy Duffy told of the days when old soldiers would march in unison to the memorial. 'My grandfather, James McQuillan, fought', he stated. He said the memorial should also honour the many who returned from the war and lived with the impact for the rest of their lives. Fr Phil Gaffney, Rev Katherine Poulton and Archdeacon James Carroll concelebrated the ceremony and wreaths were laid by the likes of Mayor Godfrey, Col Darren Doherty of the British Army, Supt Andrew Watters, and representatives of other units and groups. Lucita Shorter also took part, in honour of her own descendants. The ONE provided the colour party. Neil O'Kennedy, Maria Clarke, Hannah O'Brien, performing The Hills and Michael Holohan, drawing from the words of Francis Ledwidge, completed the ceremony. Later, Fiona Ahern from Bellewstown, gave a talk on the men of the region who took part in the war. 'We must remember the millions of soldiers and thousands of Irishmen - especially the 320 officers and men from Drogheda & District - who gave their lives during The Great War,' Mayor Godfrey remarked. 'We are proud of our local soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice and whose names are inscribed on the bronze panels of this memorial, erected in 1925 in their honour. 'The First World War was indeed a global conflict, but still one which has a local resonance, with names such as local poet Francis Ledwidge, lost in battle. The human impact of the conflict was enormous - and had its effects right here in Drogheda too. 'By laying a wreath annually, we honour their sacrifice - the ultimate sacrifice of their lives - and show solidarity with and support for their families, many of whom attend this ceremony each year.' When it comes to coastal erosion and how best to protect areas, it can take years for projects to be planned and completed and success stories can be rare - but then along comes Laytown. Last week, Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran paid a visit to officially unveil the new promenade and defences erected in co-operation between Meath County Council and the OPW. For years, the land beneath the road at Laytown, opposite O'Reilly's and the Tara Guesthouse, was giving way under the pounding of the Irish Sea. It was felt something had to be done and along came engineer Jim Colwell, his team from Meath CC, the OPW planners and Carty Construction. With a plan, designed by the Marine Institute and University College Cork, a rock armour design was undertaken and over the course of 2018, put in place. Today, it looks the part and now the aim of the local community is to see the other stretches of the coastline, from Laytown to Bettystown and beyond, also reinforced against the elements. Speaking at the launch, Area Manager Fiona Lawless said the final product showed what can be achieved when two authorities work together on a project. Cathaoirleach of the council, Tom Kelly, said sea defences dated back 120 years in the area and part of the original walls were still there. 'Following years of lobbying, we have achieved, what I consider, to be a very successful outcome. Laytown suffered badly from the effects of storms and the OPW vowed to help,' he stated. He said it was a tribute to Jim Colwell, Meath CC, Cartys and the OPW that it came to fruition. Minister Moran said that he sought funding for such projects and was delighted to be in Laytown - for the first time - to celebrate the success of the venture. He said the authorities and Cllr Kelly deserved great credit for pushing it. 'More work is needed and I will help when I can,' he added. To mark the event, Cllr Kelly presented the minister with a copy of the recently published history of the Laytown Races, the minister remarking, 'I hope there's a few tips in it for next year!' Fiona Lawless explained that there were huge plans ahead for the whole Bettystown coastal area - costing millions - and it would be great for local residents. She also lauded the efforts of volunteers who assisted with the upkeep of the beach, saying they were invaluable to the council. She also thanked engineer Christy Clarke and the outdoor staff for their enormous efforts. The recent baggage handlers strike at Brussels airport played absolute havoc with the very best laid plans for Enniscorthy Choral Society, leading them to embark on an adventure that involved four countries, fourteen cities and one Mass! The group were travelling to Ghent in Belgium over the bank holiday weekend to perform the Saint Oliver Plunkett Mass by Belgian composer Ernest de Regge in St Bavo's Cathedral. While some of the early travellers made it to the destination and were enjoying a coffee at the hotel, reports began to come in of irretrievable luggage and frantic visits to various retail clothing outlets in Ghent. Those still to travel, at this stage, were advised to bring carry-on luggage only. The Friday saw the remaining choir members make their way to Dublin Airport. 'Most were en route when the email arrived to say that flights had been cancelled,' said Choral Society chairperson Judy Pomeroy. 'Eventually gathering at Desk 11 in Departures, discussion took place with regard to the alternatives. A couple of resourceful members were swiftly using up their phone credit on hold to the airline and soon had organised flights to Dusseldorf and Frankfurt the following morning. Some, understandably, decided to go home and one lucky soprano who had forgotten her passport, had time to nip back home to retrieve it!' Aer Lingus provided the group with a hotel room and evening meal and at 4.15 a.m. they were shuttled back to the airport and were on their way. Arriving in Dusseldorf, one group travelled by train, via Cologne, Aachen and Leuven to Brussels and onward to Ghent arriving at their hotels by 3 p.m. The group due to have travelled on Saturday morning were also cancelled and rerouted first via Amsterdam and then via Dusseldorf. They arrived in Ghent at 9 p.m. The Frankfurt pair followed, only to have their train from Cologne to Aachen cancelled so they were diverted via Neuss, missing their connection but eventually arriving in Ghent at 10 p.m. There was an audible sigh of relief when the choir gathered for dinner in Ghent on Saturday night and on the Sunday, they delivered a wonderful performance of the mass in the iconic St Bavo's Cathedral, gaining some fantastic feedback from their Belgian audience. More difficulties awaited for the return journey, however. 'Fifteen members had a hair-raising taxi ride to Brussels Airport, and, as there was no Aer Lingus desk there, phones were getting hot on hold again as re-routing was organised by members,' Judy said. 'This group travelled to Amsterdam, via Antwerp, Breda (where the train was diverted due to a fatal accident up the line) Dordrecht and Rotterdam and stayed overnight in Amsterdam. There was talk of kissing the ground when we finally landed in Dublin the next day!' By Tuesday of last week, almost everyone had returned to Enniscorthy, however, some are still waiting on their luggage to follow! A public history research project website detailing 866 people from County Wexford who died in World War I will go live this Sunday. The website www.wexfordgreatwardead.ie, has been developed based on work undertaken by Hazel Percival and Susan Kelly of Wexford County Council in conjunction with local historians. County Librarian Eileen Morrissey said: 'This Sunday, November 11, marks the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. To commemorate this anniversary and to pay tribute to those men and women from County Wexford who lost their lives in this war, Wexford County Council Public Library Service has developed a public history research project.' Ms Morrissey said the aim of the project is to engage with the public online and to deliver a comprehensive list of persons from County Wexford who died in the Great War, while the long term objective is to tell the unique stories and to commemorate the loss of the over 800 Wexford men and women who lost their lives as a result of the war. The criteria set for inclusion in this list of Wexford Great War dead, are persons who were: born in Wexford, lived in Wexford and were casualty (Wexford) of the Great War 1914-1918, persons who were injured in the war and died later from wounds or illnesses relating to their time of service are included. Ms Morrissey said: 'This research provides the basic data to invite people to participate in an Online Public History Project for County Wexford. We now encourage the wider public to add to this record by telling Wexford Libraries the life story as they know it, of their family member, or neighbour who died as a result of the war. People can leave a comment on the website or email Wexford County Council Public Library Service at libraryhq@wexfordcoco.ie.' The starting point of this project was to collect names from all published and online sources available. A team of library staff worked with Jimmy Taylor, military historian to research and verify the Wexford casualties. 'We are indebted to the many research hours put into this project by Jimmy Taylor, author of 'The Royal Irish Rifles in the Great War'.' The team consulted with other local and national historians in the development of the website. Dr Joseph Quinn, PhD, military historian provided expert assistance to the development of the project. Historian Tom Burnell provided advice and permission to extract the Wexford names from his recently published 15 volume series, 26 County Casualties of the Great War. 'This comprehensive publication was invaluable to the work of the project team. We also thank Patrick Lynch and Hugh McShane for providing County Wexford names from their research.' Records used include Ireland's Memorial Records, published in eight volumes in 1923, It recorded that 18,946 died from the twenty-six counties of Ireland. However over the years, with the release of other records online, historians realised that while Ireland's Memorial Records was valuable, it was not complete. It did not record Royal Airforce, US, Canadian and other Commonwealth casualties nor Mercantile Marine casualties. The researchers also used www.findmypast.ie, Ireland's Memorial Records 1914-1918, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. ancestry.co.uk UK, Royal Navy War Graves and the National Archives Soldiers' Wills website. 'These latter two sites were invaluable as they enabled us to verify place of birth and age in many instances. Records were also consulted and cross checked against the online databases newly released pension records and additional sources to increment that research,' Ms Morrissey said. There are many lessons we can take from the recent presidential election and blasphemy referendum which have helped shatter some of the easy assumptions and myths that have sprung up about 'progressive' Ireland in recent years. As a society we have most certainly moved on but the presumption - now the overriding media narrative - that we have irrevocably transformed and abandoned some of our long held conservative tendencies has been dealt a huge blow. In voting to remove the criminal offence of blasphemy from the constitution, voters have continued the trend towards the complete separation of church and state. The legalisation of gay marriage; the repeal of the eighth amendment and now the de-criminalisation of blasphemy are steps in a new direction and evidence of a rapidly changing society. The next referendum on woman's place in the home - another archaic sexist hangover from darker times - is next on the list and it is hard to see voters electing to keep the grossly sexist clause in our constitution. Hopefully in the not to distant future there will no longer be a reference to ensuring that woman don't feel obliged to enter the workforce and to "neglect their duties in the home". That dreadful clause - with all its misogynist echoes of the Handmaids Tale - should have been shorn from the constitution long ago and, if all goes as expected, it soon should be. All of that is well and good and it goes some way to supporting the narrative that, in societal terms, Ireland has again 'changed and changed utterly'. But has it really? We are certainly more progressive - and far less servile when it comes to religious doctrine and dogma - but polling day also proved that many old prejudices still remain. The large vote for Peter Casey - which in reality should have surprised precisely no-one familiar with day to day realities in rural Ireland - shows that when it comes to the less fortunate in our society many of us remain less than sympathetic. Mr Casey's surge in support came on the back of his appalling comments about Travellers and those on welfare. His comments provoked outrage, particularly among the more left leaning commentators in the national media but the vote showed that many people, especially in rural areas, agreed with him. One in five voters backed Mr Casey on the day and it should be noted that many of those who voted for him also voted to remove the offence of blasphemy. In the privacy of the polling booth these people first voted to take religion out of the constitution. Seconds later, with the same pencil, they ticked the box of a candidate whose comments saw him accused of inciting race hate to win votes. What does that tell us about modern Irish attitudes? The simplest narrative is rarely the most accurate. If we can take one thing from the election and referendum it is that we need to radically reassess some of our more comfortable notions. The family of David 'Motcha' Walsh have spoken of how their worlds were turned upside down upon learning he had been stabbed to death by his fiancee in Australia. Tina Cahill from New Ross pleaded guilty to the Moran Park father of three's manslaughter at New South Wales Supreme Court and last week victim impact statements were read aloud. David's brother Jonathan said that the heartbreaking ordeal had contributed to his father John 'Jonners' Walsh's death from cancer ten months later, on his birthday. 'My father's words the night we learned that Motcha was murdered will forever haunt me,' his victim impact statement read. 'He told me: "I don't want him to be up there on his own, son. I'm going to be with him soon." It killed my father. It knocked the fight out of him.' Jonathan also described the devastating impact it had on his mother, leaving her 'a shell of a person'. He said his brother was 'a true gentleman' and a devoted father. He said his brother's children 'wanted for nothing' and the carpenter was constantly sending money home for them. Describing the toll his brother's death took on him, he said: 'I lost everything. My business, my relationship, my dream family was ripped from me - of no fault of my own.' He said that the family only found out that Tina Cahill's murder charge was downgraded to manslaughter when they heard it on a news report. 'My mother found out over local media and had a panic attack,' he said. In another statement David's younger brother Stephen said he feels like a 'zombie' every day since his brother and best friend was killed. 'On numerous occasions I've tried to hurt myself because I wanted to be with David,' he said. 'When my brother was murdered, I went with him that night - the only difference is my body is still here. Having to bury my father John and brother David in the same year - I'll never be able to describe that pain.' 'My brother was murdered by a woman who he asked to marry him five weeks earlier To think he died with no-one around who cared for him.' Finally, David's brother Patrick told the court he suffers from nightmares ever since he lost his brother. 'I cannot explain the feeling of loss and emptiness that has consumed us. My brother's last breath was taken from him.' He described David as 'the most hard-working person' he knew and a 'funny joker, who say humour in everything'. 'I am not making my brother out to be a saint,' he said. 'He was a lost little boy who needed help and guidance behind the tough man facade he portrayed.' The Walsh family were not present in court as they provided their statements from Ireland, however, they were read aloud by David's former house-mate Isobel Jennings. The previous day Ms Jennings had provided shocking evidence that Cahill had stabbed Mr Walsh in the back of the head more than 18 months before his death. She testified that the couple were arguing before she saw Cahill come up the stairs with her hand behind her back and then suddenly stab David Walsh in the head three or four times. Under cross-examination from Cahill's barrister, James Trevallion, Ms Jennings denied lying about the incident in which she said Cahill had stabbed Mr Walsh in October 2015. This was eventually put to Cahill when she took the stand on Friday and she said that she and Mr Walsh had argued that night before he blocked her at their bedroom door with knife in his hand. She said that she went to grab it, cut her hand and then cut the back of his head. It was put to her that she was lying because the house-mate's evidence of her going downstairs to get the knife and attack her partner was 'damning'. 'That isn't true.' Cahill replied. The court was also told Ms Cahill was charged with one count of reckless wounding of Mr Walsh in relation to him being injured after she threw a large candle at him in November 2015. She was convicted of the offence in her absence and placed on a two-year bond in April 2016 at Waverley Local Court. Speaking from the stand on Friday, Cahill broke down on a number of occasions as she spoke of her relationship with David Walsh. She told the judge of repeated violence, including punching strangers and biting her all over her body, as well as regularly accusing her of sleeping with other men and taking photos of her in compromising positions without her knowledge. She said that things were so bad, she couldn't even look in the rear-view mirror while driving as there might be a male driver behind. If she did, she said, Mr Walsh would say 'I hope you got a good look, slut.' The New Ross woman denied a suggestion from prosecutor Nanette Williams that she wanted to minimise any violence she had done to Mr Walsh and maximise what he had done to her when describing their relationship. 'There's not a day that goes by when I don't think about David's family,' she said in court. 'I loved him so much. He told me no matter what I did I would never get away from him and if I ever got with anybody else he would make my life hell.' She said that Mr Walsh blocked people from her Facebook account, deleted texts and numbers from her phone and was convinced she was having an affair with her boss. Cahill referred to incidents when Mr Walsh punched men, after claiming she had been with them or they had looked at her, and said he wanted her to take a lie detector test when she denied being with her brother-in-law. She added that he would constantly break things in the house and would grab her face and 'constantly bite me, that was his thing'. The hearing is set to continue on Friday before Justice Peter Johnson, who said that he expects to sentence Cahill before the law terms ends on December 14. Now five years in, it seems that the Wexford Literary Festival is really beginning to come into its own. Not only does it provide some really fascinating talks and workshops with authors and people in the publishing industry, but it has also spawned its own community. People return to Enniscorthy each year especially for the event, joining new festival goers and meeting even more new people. In fact, at the Literary Festival, it's entirely possible that you could find yourself chatting over a cup of coffee to a multi-award winning, multi-million selling author without even realising it! One of the growing features of the annual festival is the array of awards up for grabs, marketed to an international community of writers and bearing the names of literary heavyweights. The Billy Roche Short Play Award, The Colm Toibin International Short Story Award, The Anthony Cronin International Poetry Award - all saw entries from across the world. The festival launched with the Billy Roche Short Play Award at The Presentation Centre on Friday night with four of the shortlisted plays being read by the Wayside Players and Enniscorthy Drama Group. While the standard was extremely high and all four were unique and engaging, it was Declan Dempsey from Wexford who scooped the prize with his play 'A Sergeant and A Gentleman'. On the night, award-winning author Carmel Harrington announced that this would be her last year as Festival Chairperson, making way for fellow author Caroline Busher. 'I feel the festival is really alive now,' she said. 'A lot of people think literary festivals are not for them, but what we've built here is a festival that's about great books, great writers and great readers.' Carmel, however, was determined to finish on a high with this festival, and it's safe to say she was successful to this end. Saturday saw a range of fascinating talks such as a fascinating author talk with international best-seller Adele Parks, a masterclass in sci-fi with Dr Sarah Cleary, Caroline Busher and 'Doctor Who' writer Andrew Cartmel and a fascinating discussion on 'writing crime' with Jane Casey, Shane Dunphy and legendary crime journalist Paul Williams, all expertly chaired by Karen Tomkins. Finally, there was great excitement at The Athenaeum on Sunday as the awards winners were announced. UK based Jupiter Jones was declared winner of the Colm Toibin Award for his short story 'The Moth', while the Anthony Cronin Award went to Kerry native and Dublin based poet Joan Morrissey for 'Wash Day'. Concluding matters for this year, Ms Harrington thanked everyone for their support of the festival during her time in the chair and wished her successor Caroline Busher the very best for the event's continued success. The red carpet will be rolled out and hearts are set to be racing at The Presentation Centre next Monday as it hosts the premiere of a film project fronted by locals Michael J and Donna Marie Cloke. While the original idea had been for a straight up horror, 'Slab' has become so much more and also ticks all the boxes of a gripping thriller. Originally conceived and written by Michael in April of this year, in a relatively short period the film has really taken on a life of its own and he is looking forward to screening it for a audience for the first time. 'The idea is from a thought that came into my mind one day - how far would you go for the ones you love?' Michael explained. As with all good ideas, he ran things by his other half Donna Marie. 'In a way I don't proceed with anything without her approval,' he laughed. 'We work great as a team. She related to it straight away and we decided we would pursue this adventure.' 'Slab' is a gritty tale of kidnapping, butchery and blood all in the name of love. Alex and Laura live in a small shack away from society. Laura becomes gravely ill from the poor living conditions, which leaves Alex no choice but to doctor himself in the desperate hope of saving her life. While Laura pleads to seek help, Alex takes it upon himself to fix what he has done. While he agrees to get her help, it's not in the way she expected and things don't go smoothly and although his mind is in the right place, his mind goes beyond reason. Operating with a tight budget, the crew faced some major challenges, however, Michael is confident that the finished product speaks for itself. 'One of the main features in this movie was a leg being severed from a body and we found this to be a huge challenge,' Michael said. 'So before we could go into pre-production, we had to figure out how we'd accomplish that scene. With that, Donna dived into prosthetic special effects and after three or four trials with the help of Leanne Byrne from Wexford, they managed to make a prosthetic replica of our lead actor's leg!' From there, it was more plain sailing and, after two and a half months to get the set ready, the gang shot the film in just four days at the end of July with Michael Benson as Director of Photography. Being an actor himself, Michael took on the role of Alex, with Ella Marie Carmen as Grace, Sinead Farrell as Laura, Katie Cloke as the younger version of Laura and Aoibhinn Hyland as Jessica. Michael pulled off a coup for the score of the film. The music was provided by Ana Ortiz Wienken who has scored music for films like 'How to Train Your Dragon' and 'Hugo'. 'Slab' will have its official premiere at The Presentation Centre next Monday at 7 p.m. Tickets are priced at 10 on the door or at presentationcentre.ie. This event is strictly for over-18s. Michael wished to thank all of the local sponsors who've shown their support for the premiere as well as everyone who worked tirelessly on the film. It was the first time Fingal's Festival of Fire had come to Balbriggan and came with a bang! The festival that began in Swords was expanded to include Balbriggan and Blanchardstown this year and the good people of Balbriggan embraced it. Fingal County Council worked with the local Summerfest committee to make it all happen with the support of other agencies like the Dublin Fire Brigade and Gardai. It was a safe and 'spooktacular' alternative to the illegal bonfires and meant families could come out and enjoy the fiery fun of Halloween in complete safety. It seemed like the Balbriggan Lighthouse Dome had been put back in place just in time for this event as it provided a great backdrop for the fireworks over the harbour. Fingal County Council Chief Executive Paul Reid said: 'I am delighted to see that we are building on the success of Swords and that we are replicating the event in Balbriggan.' And it seems Balbriggan was delighted too. Whether you would like to show off your skills as Gaeilge, practice your cupla focal, or even get your first taste of the language, Blanchardstown Library is the place to be on Tuesday, November 13, as they present their second annual 'Blas Baile Bhlainseir' event. A day-long celebration of the Irish language, the event begins at 10am with story-teller extraordinaire Niall de Burca, who has taken his fantastic tales all over the world. At 11am, teams from a number of local primary schools will gather in the Lecture Room for a test of their knowledge - and their Gaeilge - with a special Trath na gCeist, compiled by library staff. For the first public event of the day, Blanchardstown Library are thrilled to welcome Giggles the Clown, who puts all the fun into learning Irish, using puppets, balloons, magic, and more! This free show will take place from 2pm until 5pm, so make sure to check out this excellent Fear Grinn. Fingal Libraries are making a special effort this year to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) subjects and activities, and that's reflected in the programme for 'Blas Baile Bhlainseir'. From 4pm - 5pm, and again from 5:30pm until 6:30pm, participants will work with Susan Boyle on making frozen yoghurt using dry ice, in a workshop for ages 9 and over, that can only be described as educational and delicious! Special guests on the day will be the students and teachers of Colaiste na Tulchann, who will join staff in Blanchardstown Library in attempting the Gaeilge 24 challenge - to speak Irish for the entire day. As a special treat for their help and dedication on the day, the students will enjoy an afternoon of coding 'as Gaeilge', thanks to the expertise of the phenomenal Academy of Code. Arguably, the best is saved for last, with a performance by the incredible Fanzini Brothers bringing this day to a close. From 7pm until 8pm, this funny and crazy show will leave the whole family stunned and amazed, both by the unbelievable stunts and the delivery of the show through Irish! All are welcome for what promises to be a fun-filled day in Blanchardstown Library. For more information, or to book your place for any of the above events, please call 01 890 5560, or email blanchlibrary@fingal.ie. There will be a Bliain na Gaeilge Social evening in the Atrium, County Hall, Swords that evening also, with Sean-Nos Singing & Traditional Music from 7-9pm by Antaine O Farachain (Songs/Fiddle) & Nollaig Mac Carthaigh (Uilleann Pipes). The insurance renewal is due on my car on December 1. It's 18 years old with 99,000 miles on the clock. It has never let me down. It was two years old when I bought it. The question is whether or not to insure the car and keep driving. I'm on the brink of trying to live life without the use of my own personal car. As with so many aspects of my life I am the supreme procrastinator. Financially it's a waste of money for me to own a car. In the last 12 months I drove the car 800 kilometres, which means it's a nonsense to have it parked outside my door. Insurance is approximately 350, the same again for tax. Before I ever turn the ignition key I am down 700. The decision what to do has set me thinking about our attachment to cars and the worldwide motor industry. At present I live within six kilometres of Dublin city centre, have an adequate to good bus service. I'm three minutes to the nearest bus stop with a bus service that operates every 10 minutes during peak times and the Luas stop is a 15-minute walk away. I walk to work, which takes 10 minutes and going most other places I cycle. Ok, I'll be honest and say, I also have a motorbike. As I write these words, talking to myself, it's as clear as day that I do not need a car. What about the rainy day, what about an emergency? Has the worldwide motor industry seduced us all to believe that we must have at least one car outside our door? With the abysmal public transport system in rural Ireland and poor planning laws that have houses scattered to the four winds a car is an essential for most people. Every day we are learning of the adverse effects that petrol an diesel fumes have on the environment and on our health. And what about the aggression that cars bring out in drivers? Cars can be lethal machines. Think about it, the purpose of a car is simply to get us from A to B. There is something wildly disproportionate about the attention we give to a car and the actual purpose it serves. We have given a status to the car that it does not deserve. Sleek expensive brands make most of us turn our heads in admiration. Why? Is the money they cost in anyway commensurate to the purpose they serve? Or is it that they are just fashion accessories? When Pope Francis was in Dublin it made headlines that he was driven about in an ordinary small family car. It made the news because he was not travelling in a sleek black Mercedes, BMW or Audi. It's always interesting watching on television 'important people' arriving and departing from meetings, whether in Brussels, Strasbourg, Berlin or Dublin, they are in top of the range cars. I can't help thinking that we have been fooled by the motor industry. The average annual cost of running a car in Ireland is 10,670. Some years ago a family in New York, on an experimental basis, forewent their car for a year. They saved approximately 4,000. I can always call a taxi or hire a car. I'd still have change out of my 700 and I'd be helping make Ireland a cleaner and healthier place. The more I think about it the more I am inclined to say 'bye bye car'. Aer Lingus has launched a recruitment drive as part of its continued expansion, to fill new cabin crew positions for its Dublin and Cork bases with positions commencing March, April and May 2019. Aer Lingus cabin crew are famous for their warmth and professionalism, the successful candidate will have the chance to fly to over 100 destinations throughout UK, Europe and to 15 North American destinations on Ireland's only 4 Star airlines. Candidates should be highly motivated and flexible, excellent communicators, professional with a positive attitude to work and a strong team player. urthermore, aspiring candidates must be 18 years or over; eligible to live and work in the Republic of Ireland; fluent in English including spoken and written, with an additional European language a bonus; they must hold a valid EEA Passport allowing unrestricted worldwide travel and have 12 months combined experience in face-to-face customer service/sales role. Successful candidates will complete cabin crew training at Aer Lingus' in-house Training Academy, located in Dublin Airport where they will learn a wide range of topics from theoretical and practical components, health and safety procedures, to grooming and guest experience. The application process for the 2019 programme is now underway at http://careers.aerlingus.com. Applications are open until mid-November. The contract has been awarded for the construction of Dublin Airport's new North Runway. The daa has awarded the main construction contract for Dublin Airport's new North Runway to a joint venture comprising Irish firm Roadbridge and Spanish infrastructure company FCC Construccion (FCC). The contract is for the design and construction of the new 3.1km North Runway at Dublin Airport. Mobilisation and preparatory site works will begin immediately, and ground works will start in January. According to daa, Construction of the new runway is due to be completed in early 2021 and commissioning will then take place. The contract includes building 306,000sq metres of new runway and taxiways, and 6km of new internal airport roads, as well as installing new drainage and pollution controls, 7.5km of electrical cable, and more than 2,000 new runway and taxiway lights. According to daa, North Runway will be built at no cost to the State - as daa is not funded by the taxpayer - and will support the creation of 31,200 new Irish jobs and 2.2 billion in additional economic activity by 2043. 'We are delighted to award this key contract to Roadbridge FCC and to move to the next phase of our plans to deliver the new North Runway,' said daa Chief Executive Dalton Philips. 'North Runway is an essential project for Ireland, as it will position the country for future economic growth for many decades to come,' Mr Philips added. 'North Runway isn't Dublin's new runway; it is Ireland's new runway and it will boost the performance of Irish tourism, trade and foreign direct investment in a post-Brexit world,' he said. Roadbridge Managing Director, Conor Gilligan said the Limerick-based company was honoured to be part of the consortium that will build North Runway. 'We are thrilled to be involved with such a prestigious and vital national project,' Mr Gilligan added. FCC Construccion's UK & Ireland Director Miguel Angel Mayor said FCC had a strong track record in Ireland and looked forward to working closely with daa to build the new runway. 'We have been operating successfully in Ireland for many years and also have significant experience of runway construction both in Europe and South America, having built more than 4.5 million sq m of airport runways,' he added. About 300 construction jobs will be created on site during the project, with hundreds more in sub-supply firms off-site, according to daa. The commissioning phase of the runway project will also create additional employment both on site and off-site. To maximise local employment opportunities in the project, Roadbridge FCC will be working closely with Fingal-based development company Empower and daa to fill as many positions as possible from within the local community. The controversy about night time flying from the new runway goes on and is at the route of concerns expressed by locals about the development. The daa said it is 'mindful of its local communities and mitigation measures such as a voluntary house purchase scheme, and a sound insulation programme for homes that will be affected are already in place'. The airport authority said: 'Dublin Airport is also investing 10 million in a Community Fund that will support a wide range of local initiatives over the next 25 years and has also bought land in the area, where it will create a new public park.' However, the daa remain committed to overturning planning conditions that would not only restrict night-time flying at the new runway but across the airport. While construction of North Runway is proceeding, daa confirmed it will separately seek to have what it called 'the two onerous conditions attached to the project' amended. The daa argues: 'These conditions would limit flights at the airport's busiest time of the day, which is between 6am and 7am, and also at night. 'Legislation is currently being drafted for an independent noise regulator at Dublin Airport, and daa will make its case in relation to the conditions via this new process.' The new runway will be located about 1.6km north of Dublin Airport's current main runway and will be entirely built on land owned by the airport. The daa says that developing a new runway at Dublin Airport is a key part of the Government's National Aviation Policy, as it will allow the airport to develop its hub business and enable airlines to offer connectivity to more destinations. The airport authority says that Dublin Airport's existing runway system is 'effectively full at peak times' and the new North Runway is also needed to reduce delays and congestion and to allow for future growth at Dublin Airport which the authority describes as 'Ireland's key international gateway'. Construction started on the North Runway in late December 2016 and the initial package of works supported about 100 construction jobs, acording to the daa. A pensioner who had an air pistol shaped like a handgun without a firearms certificate while he was on a train has been convicted and fined 200. Brian Kinsella (71) told gardai he had the gun as he was using it in a movie he was producing. The gun was a Swiss + armed 6mm calibre air pistol which had a muzzle energy over 1 joule - which requires a firearms certificate. Sergeant Eoin McDonnell gave evidence at Balbriggan District Court that gardai received a call that a man was reported to have had a handgun while he was getting off a train at Skerries Train Station. The defendant was stopped and searched and the weapon was located and seized by gardai. The defendant, of St Catherine's Green in Rush pleaded guilty to being in possession of the firearm without a firearms certificate at Thomas Hand Street on November 13, 2017 His solicitor said the defendant, who is an active member of a Battalion Association and is involved in voluntary work is 'embarrassed' to be in court. 'He says he made enquiries about a gun licence but his enquiries were not comprehensive enough,' the solicitor said, adding that the defendant accepts he made a mistake. 'He has now made an application for a firearms licence which is pending,' the solicitor said. 'He is a member of his local residents association and is involved in beach clean-ups and likes to think he is a good member of the community,' the solicitor added. Judge Dermot Dempsey imposed the fine and conviction. Gardai are anxious to trace the whereabouts of a 15-year-old boy who was last seen on Main Street in Swords. Gardai in Coolock are investigating the disappearance of Adam Darcy, aged 15 and are seeking the public's assistances in tracing the whereabouts of the teenager. Adam was last seen on October 28 on Main Street in Swords at approximately 6pm. Adam is described as being about 5ft 8" with brown hair and blue eyes. When he was last seen on Main Street in Swords, he was wearing a grey tracksuit, black and white Nike runners and a black puffer jacket. Adam is known to frequent the Darndale area Dublin 17, and Gardai are appealing to anyone who may have information to contact Coolock Garda Station on (01) 666 4200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station. Dublin Airport is delighted to welcome Laudamotion's new service between Dublin and Vienna. The Austrian airline will operate its year-round, daily service with an Airbus A320 aircraft. 'Laudamotion is Dublin Airport's fifth new airline customer this year and we are delighted to welcome it to Dublin and Ireland,' said Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison. 'Vienna is a beautiful city that is rich in culture and history and I have no doubt it will be a very popular destination. We wish Laudamotion every success with its new route and we will work closely with its management team to promote this new service.' Laudamotion's Managing Director Andreas Gruber said: 'Laudamotion's new route between Dublin and Vienna will increase the connectivity between the Ireland and the Austrian capital significantly. The new connection supports the economy as well as offers the opportunity to visit Vienna for reasonable prices. We offer our passengers a customer-oriented tariff concept with an unbeatable price-performance ratio and we are very happy to offer our flights from now on also from Dublin.' Laudamotion is an Austrian low-cost carrier focussing on European city shuttle routes from Vienna which is part owned by former Formula 1 racing driver Niki Lauda. Almost 24.2 million passengers have travelled through Dublin Airport in the first nine months of the year, a 6% increase when compared to the same period last year. Dublin Airport has welcomed an extra 1.4 million passengers in the first nine months of the year. Dublin Airport has flights to almost 190 destinations in 43 countries, operated by 56 airlines. One brave and dedicated Rush mother has won a special award in recognition of her strength and unconditional love in caring for her disabled son. Marie O'Toole Wyer from Rush, was awarded North Dublin Carer of the Year 2018 by Fingal Carers Ireland. Marie was nominated by her husband, and although she knew he was sending in an application, she soon forgot, being so wrapped up in daily turmoil. Marie's 20-year-old son Karl, was diagnosed with Angleman Syndrome when he was one year old - a rare genetic disorder that affects the nervous system and causes severe disability. Marie has faced years of heartache during times when doctors were often unsure if her son would live. Speaking to The Fingal Independent, Marie explains: 'When Karl was one he had uncontrollable seizures, and they had to put him into a coma. He had a stroke from the seizures and lost the power on his left side. He ended up with severe brain damage and they didn't think he'd make it. So from a very young age there were some really tough times.' She says: 'Something had to give, so I left work to care for him full-time. Obviously as he was getting older, there were more complications, he developed severe scoliosis, chest problems, he couldn't swallow and he was getting severe pneumonia - that's to name just a few things that have happened over the years. 'We never had any help up until he was nearly eighteen. He was very sick in hospital, touch and go basically. His chest was really bad and they wouldn't do surgery to put a tube in for feeding because he was too high risk for anaesthetic. They weren't sure if he'd come around after the anaesthetic, if he would wake up.' Marie has a nurse who calls to the house twice a week, from 11pm to 7am. As appreciated as it is, it is still little respite in what is always a challenging and exhausting week. She says: 'Karl transferred from children's services to adult services, but it took a long time. He's gone from Temple St. to Beaumont Hospital in the last year-and-a-half or so. The transition was very difficult because it was our second home really. In Beaumont, he was constantly on antibiotics for his chest; I had to do physio at home with him every day, and he'd have it in his day centre in St. Michael's House too.' Incredibly, Marie (41) has three other children to take care for. Of these, Ryan (15), has been diagnosed with autism and is partially blind. Marie considers herself 'very lucky' to have secured a place for Karl in St. Michael's House, although inexplicably, transport for him had been refused, despite Ryan also needing his mum at home. Undoubtedly a very hard working and devoted mother, it's hard to see how Marie still manages to cope. But, she says there are certain times when it all seems worthwhile, when just for a moment she can simply enjoy her son: 'It's the little things that help. It could be just a good day when he's laughing, and enjoying life and that makes it all better. It could be nothing to someone else, but it's the tiny little things that me-an the most. 'Once he's comfortable and happy and not in pain, that's the main thing. He loves life, he loves people, he loves being out there socializing, he's just a really happy young man, and that makes me happy.' The Gender pay gap and gender equality in the workplace issues have attracted increased attention over the past number of years, and have made some companies rather nervous. With mandatory pay disclosure due to come in within the next two years, the pressure is now on for full transparency. In Ireland, female employees earn approximately 13.9% less than their male counterparts, and are less likely to be appointed to senior management positions. In fact, female representation on publicly-listed companies in Ireland accounts for just 13.2% of board members. It was these, and many other issues which prompted designer, businesswoman and Malahide native Sonya Lennon to launch the #WorkEqual campaign through her charity 'Dress for Success', to help raise awareness and combat pay disparities and inequality in the workplace. The charity was set up by Sonya in 2011 to help support women to secure employment, promote economic independence and campaign for workplace equality. As part of the #WorkEqual campaign, the charity has designated Tuesday November 13 as #WorkEqual day of action, to highlight Ireland's gender pay gap, with the campaign itself running through the month of November. Speaking to The Fingal Independent, Sonya explains the reason for launching the #WorkEqual campaign: 'We realised as an organisation we could help a woman to achieve her own success at interview, and to change her future, but we felt that we had an obligation to draw attention to the fact that she was going to face inherent inequality of pay when she got there. 'When we started four years ago with our first campaign, nobody wanted to talk about it, everybody was basically denying that it was an issue, and over the course of the three campaigns that we've run, we've really seen a huge shift in public opinion, appetite and interest to the point now that we have engaged with a number of companies who are interested in publishing pay data early before mandatory disclosure. 'It's grown every year in terms of how we roll out the campaign. Last year, we founded and joined the cross-party committee on workplace equality, so we've been growing our numbers with each meeting. We've already held two events in Leinster House, with a third event in Leinster House to be held to launch the campaign, and we brought some people over from the UK to look at the pay disclosure initiative in the UK and how we can do better.' The #WorkEqual day of action on November 13 will see the campaign visit Leinster House, where TDs and Senators will be invited to 'publicly demonstrate' their support for ending the gender pay gap. There will also be a 'Banter' panel discussion at the Liquor Rooms in Dublin City Centre, which will see Sonya, Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee, journalist Mark Paul and activist Deborah Somorin put forth their proposals on the issues, as well as an online awareness campaign encouraging members of the public to show their support. Does Sonya feel the previous campaigns were successful? She said: 'The first mission of any campaign is to make people aware of the issue. You can't do anything about it if nobody knows. So the previous campaigns were hugely successful. It's a topic that's on the agenda of everything, from recruitment agencies through to financial services and with people who wouldn't have wanted to address it at all. 'It's really about more than just pay and equality. It's about humanity in the workplace, and creating an environment where people can feel fulfilled and respected. We spend most of our working life in work, and it should be a place where we feel we're making an impact, and where we're respected. And one of the ways we can dramatically impact that is to create more equality amongst the genders.' According to Sonya, the campaign's new Pay Disclosure Pioneers initiative is an important step towards pay equality, which will see Dress for Success working with a number of companies that want to drive towards gender equality by publishing pay data before mandatory implementation comes in in 18 months: 'The gender pay gap is linked to a wide range of cultural, legal, social and economic factors. It is a much more complex issue than the concept of 'equal pay for equal work'. To truly tackle the gender pay gap, we need to look at cultural conditioning and stereotypes, childcare supports, equal parental leave, salary negotiation skills, and the barriers to women's progression at all levels of their career. 'Disclosure is basically a very detailed report into pay rates from entry level right up to board and executive level across a company. There's a number of different ways in which this is being carried out already, and it was done for the first time in the UK last year. The Australian model for pay disclosure has been widely accepted as the most fit for purpose, so we're looking to that to collect the data, so that these companies can publish early and say this is where we're at. It also gives them a march on everyone else, who will have to publish in between eighteen months and two years time. 'There is also a disparity in the employment rates, between men and women. Even though we're technically reaching full employment, the increase in employment for men is double that of women, and I think there is a large cohort of women who are available to return to the workplace but who don't have the confidence to do so. They are widely regarded as the key to unlocking the economy, but if we don't give them the tools, the powers, and the mindset to rejoin the workplace they're not going to do it.' So why does Sonya think the gender pay gap exists? She said: 'It's to do with historic legacy issues, around men being the gender who created the workforce. When you look back at the first and second world wars, when women entered the workforce, it was radical at that time. When men returned from the wars, women were displaced again and there was huge unease amongst women who had felt purposeful and engaged in the economy but were suddenly ousted again. 'So this is historical, and I think also unfortunately, the workplace is designed for men. I do think now though, is a very interesting time - people are really looking at humanist business, like the younger workforce now coming through are interested not just in the 'How much?', but the 'Why?', 'Why are we doing that?', 'Why are we doing it this way?', 'Is there a better way?' 'It's not through any malice that this has continued, it's actually through a lack of awareness, where if you're not impacted by these invisible obstacles, you just don't know they exist. And I think that's why it's so important to have these open conversations now.' When asked what measures could be put in place to combat gender inequality, instead of offering the expected bullet-point list of points, Sonya instead gave a very refreshing and humorous anecdote of occasions she's confronted senior male corporate leaders, demonstrating her honest, forthright manner: 'I've had a lot of conversations with very senior male corporate leaders and said this is a real issue. I've asked them: 'Have you got a daughter?' When they say they do, the minute you start to say 'your daughter's going to face a number of invisible obstacles in the workplace, which may preclude her from succeeding as well as your son or a male counterpart', then it becomes real, and they can contextualize it and say 'I don't want my daughter to face that and what can I do to fix it?' It takes active measures to make change, so everything from making sure you have a 50/50 male/female panel coming to the interview table. So don't say you can't female candidates for the role, make sure you have 50% male 50% female candidates, and then choose the best person for the job.' She added: 'I think there is a great will politically to look at this. I think there is a will in business to look at it, but I think people are terrified of it, because they're afraid of what's going to happen. It's happening all over the place. The question is not 'is it happening?', it's what you can do to fix it.' A Dublin teacher who appeared before a court charged with alleged sexual offences against a teenage boy been remanded on bail with strict conditions. The 24- year-old woman, who cannot be named as reporting restrictions are in place, was arrested at Dublin Airport as she returned home from abroad. She was charged and brought before Swords District Court the next day, while in custody. Garda Stephen Hughes gave evidence he arrested the woman at Terminal 1 at Dublin Airport on Monday, October 29 at 5.20pm. He cautioned her and conveyed her to Balbriggan Garda Station where she was interviewed. He said the Director of Public Prosecutions gave directions to charge her with two counts of defilement. He said she made no reply to the charges. The woman is charged with two counts of defilement of a 16 year old boy on dates in February at a location not disclosed. He sought strict bail conditions including an independent surety of 2,000 - of which 1,000 in cash to be lodged in court. Defence counsel told the court the accused has 2,000 in cash which can be lodged for her bail and Gda Hughes said there was no objection to that. Other conditions of her bail include surrendering of her passport and not to apply for new travel documents; to have no contact directly or indirectly with the alleged injured party or any other person involved in the case. She has also to provide gardai with a new contact phone number within 24 hours as her mobile phone has been seized by gardai. Gda Hughes also made an application for anonymity preventing the accused name to be published. This application was granted by Judge Dermot Dempsey. Judge Dempsey also granted the accused legal aid after her counsel said the accused has 'lost her job as a result' of the charges. Judge Dempsey remanded the accused on bail on her own bond of 2,000 to appear before the court in December. Ballyboughal Airfield will be showcased on the national stage this week when it appears in the second of a series of books aimed at creating increasing awareness of science among 8-12-year-olds. Children from St Brigid's Senior Girls National School in Finglas West spent two busy days creating, observing, experimenting, recording and analysing for Up in the Air - the second book in the Science Apprentice series which is out on Saturday November 10. The kids from St Brigid's were introduced to the idea of how airplanes work and then were able to explore that theme more during a site visit to Ballyboughal Airfield. ;We spent a full day there, being introduced to different kinds of planes, old and new. They were able to see inside the cockpits of an aircraft and see wings and engines up close,' said fifth class teacher Cathriona Lynch. 'It was a thrilling trip and it really encouraged the children to view different kinds of science as an exciting career for both men and women. It made a big impression on the kids.' The 20 Wellmount Avenue students spent the first of two days of study at their school finding out about medical devices and the muscular-skeletal system. 'The main focus of the workshop was the things the children could do to help the environment,' said Ms Lynch. 'The first thing the Science Apprentice team did was explain how walls in urban areas work to limit air pollution and so they had them building walls out of Lego to show the effect. 'Another group worked on how air filters can work to improve the air quality on farms. It was really fascinating stuff. The Science Apprentice books will encourage children and adults alike to explore the science, technology, engineering and mathematics of the world around us. Throughout the new four-part series we follow characters Izzy and Phil and the wonder panellists on an interactive journey exploring the human body, our environment, how things are made and why everything is not always as it seems. The books Super Bodies, Up In The Air, Illusion and How It's Made are produced by University College Dublin and partners and supported by the Science Foundation Ireland Discover Programme and the Environmental Protection Agency. This series has also been co-produced by schoolchildren around the country through interactive workshops and discovery tours. Irish experts are on hand explaining concepts and answering questions as we delve into big ideas that are improving our lives. Written by science journalist and writer Dr Claire O'Connell, the books open children's minds to a world of potential careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The Science Apprentice books are now available to order for schools and the books are free to collect with the Irish Independent in your local SuperValu store every Saturday for the month of November. Trasna, a new Irish healthcare company, has been set up to provide patients with direct access to some of the best medical care and hospitals across Europe. With over 700,000 people on national waiting lists - and thousands of those are located across Leinster, including Fingal. Trasna is the brainchild of Martin O'Rourke, BUPA Ireland founder, who commented: 'There are waiting lists throughout the EU, including over 700,000 patients in Ireland. Trasna offers a light at the end of the tunnel for thousands of patients, many of whom are suffering needlessly, by giving them direct access to medical care across Europe.' In 2015, the EU Cross-Border Healthcare Directive (CBH) was transposed into law by all 28 Member states. Since then, all EU citizens are automatically entitled to seek healthcare in any other EU state and be reimbursed by their own state, up to the cost of the treatment at home. For example, a patient requiring a hip or knee replacement, can travel within the EU to get the procedure done, pay for it themselves, and on returning home get reimbursed by the HSE up to amount the treatment would have cost in Ireland. Ireland is part of this EU healthcare system which gives Irish citizens access to EU private and public medical facilities. The HSE has put administrative systems in place to enable use of the new benefits. There is unused capacity in the EU along with the skills, technology and experience in caring for people from other EU states. Trasna helps patients who, by choice or because they have long waiting times, wish to avail of access to care elsewhere in the EU. Trasna has partnered with HCA, the world's largest private healthcare company which gives Irish patients access to UK based hospitals. Additionally, it has partnered with The Capio Group, the leading Pan-European Healthcare company with hospitals across France and other EU countries. In total, Trasna now has access to 33 top quality accredited hospital and clinics. 'Our team, which includes four senior ex BUPA directors will expand within the EU, but for now our focus is very much on Ireland. Early marketing efforts will concentrate on the South/South West region, which has some of the longest waiting times. Demand for orthopaedic procedures, in particular hip replacements, is high. Our plan is to increase our marketing activity nationwide early in the new year and expand our network to include partner hospitals in additional member states.' said Mr O'Rourke. The company describes itself as a 'facilitator that helps patients avail of state-of-the-art treatments and hospitals across Europe. It navigates the journey with patients from the initial enquiry. It presents suitable hospital options and assists with the practical details of travel, finance and returning home'. The organisers of a recent church gate collection in Gorey have expressed gratitude to everyone who supported it. The collection, which is an annual initiative, took place outside St Michael's Church and was organised to raise money for Self Help Africa. Throughout the weekend 15 different volunteers collected money and a record 1,191.50 was raised for the organisation - much to the delight of all involved. 'The record amount of 1,191.50 was collected by 15 different volunteer collectors over the weekend,' said Jim Kirwan, who organised the collection. 'This money goes towards projects in nine African countries supporting small farmers and their families.' Mr Kirwan pointed out that many of the farmers are women and the organisation gives them assistance in various ways. He said: 'Sincere thanks to all who assisted in the collection and indeed, to those who contributed so generously.' Organ builders Gary Crean, MD of Neiland and Creane organ builders, Killincooley, Danny Creane, Daniel Spencer and Daniel Neiland, MD of Neiland and Creane organ builders Pipe organ music can be heard once again at St Mary's Church in Kilmuckridge since the reconstruction of an old Telford & Telford organ dating back to 1926. Last week the parish committee organised a celebratory concert. They nvited special guest Dr Richard Dunster-Sigtermans from England who demonstrated the capability and versatility of the new organ installed by Wexford based company Neiland & Creane from Newtown, Killinick. The programme of music included pieces from Elgar, Bach, Hayden just to name a few. Local flute player Gavin Blake joined Richard for some duet performances, followed by some sweet music from the Blackwater choir. In a welcoming speech, Patrick Chawke, chairman of the Parish Finance Committee of Kilmuckridge Church, said that the inaugural concert was a particularly proud occasion for the parish adding that commissioning the new organ had received widespread and generous support from the local community and seasonal visitors. Gary Creane of Neiland & Creane expressed his gratitude to the Parish Finance Committee for entrusting the project to his company, noting that it gave him particular satisfaction to undertake the commission in his native parish. Gary also spoke of the challenges of replicating the original 1926 Telford & Telford organ. Fr Frank Murphy, parish priest, said the tonal and build quality was highlighted and admired by organist Dr Richard who complemented Neiland & Creane for producing an instrument of remarkable quality. The story of the pipe organ in St Mary's Church dates back to the year 1926. Nicholas Power of Kilmuckridge made a bequest to the parish for the commissioning of a church organ. It was fortuitous that this occurred during the pastorate of Fr John Brown, a man who had a considerable impact on the parish of Kilmuckridge. During his pastorate, Fr Browne enlarged the church, building the nave of the present church; he enlarged the 'high altar' and installed two stained glass windows; he installed new altar-rails and commissioned Telford & Telford of Dublin to build an organ for the church. This organ was designed for the bell-tower gallery which was quite a restricted space. The organ was formally launched by the noted Wexford musicologist Dr William Grattan Flood in 1927. William was a organist and a musical director at Saint Aidan's Cathedral, Enniscorthy and the author of The History of the Diocese of Ferns. The organ was serviced in 1945. In 1957 the bell tower gallery was removed and the organ was transferred to the current gallery where it remained until about 1975 when the organ, altar rails and stained glass were removed. Although the organ was severely mutilated during its removal, the remnants were taken into storage, where they lay for 40 plus years. Although the worst for wear, the parts were sufficient to provide a clear picture of the design and specification of the original organ. In April 2017, the Parish Finance Committee decided to undertake with a restoration/reconstruction project of the organ, awarding the contract to organ builders Neiland & Creane of Wexford. Initially it was thought that some original parts, especially the soundboard, were sufficiently intact to be usable in a refurbishment. However, this was not the case. Parts that were unfit for re-use provided a pattern and model for new parts to be constructed. The organ as it stands today is, in most respects, an exact copy of what was built by Telford & Telford. To avoid height restriction, the Parish Finance Committee originally decided to situate the organ on a platform in the transept at the 'mortuary entrance'. This was eventually reconsidered in favour of locating the organ on the gallery. However, the lower roof height necessitated a re-design which was done very sympathetically and aesthetically Today's organ is inspired in its specification and tonal quality by the original Telford & Telford organ, and has been built to the same quality standards and attention to detail that is exemplified in the work of Neiland & Creane. The quality of build and workmanship is unsurpassed and everyone attending last week's concert was delighted to hear the organ ring out again in the church. An evening with motivational speaker Bibi Baskin in the Ashdown Park Hotel last week was a sell-out, with 120 people travelling from near and far to attend the event. Drawing from her experience living in India the last 15 years, the former RTE television and radio presenter spoke about wellness, life lessons, wisdom and all things life affirming. Bibi, who is now back living in Ireland, took to social media after the event to thank Bernie Kirwan for organising the talk in Gorey. She added it was 'a great turnout and a most attentive audience'. 'I regularly listen to her inspirational podcasts and sent her a message about coming to Wexford to do an event,' said Bernie. 'She replied saying let's make this happen.' Bibi grew up in County Donegal. She presented a television programme called Evening Extra from 1986 to 1988 and then had her own chat show named Bibi. She left RTE in 1994 to work in New York and Britain. Bibi returned briefly to RTE in 1998 to present The Saturday Show before working on different projects. Bibi is an advocate of healing medicine and therapies. She visited India in 2001 and discovered a property which she turned into a heritage guest house and hotel. The property opened for business in 2003 with 10 bedrooms, offering yoga and treatments. Students from Creagh College and Gorey Community School at the Hatch Lab Two of Gorey's most well-known schools have focussed attention on producing some of the most technically proficient second-level students in the country. Gorey Community School and Creagh College have positioned themselves to be national leaders in the area of digital engagement through partnerships with local technology hubs and did so to coincide with Gorey being named Ireland's Digital Town for 2018. Gorey hosted national Internet Day last week, which was aimed at acknowledging the digital transformation of the town. Creagh College is a fully iPad-based school, where students create new and exciting ideas in the world of IT including their own VPNs, apps and in some cases automated systems. To date the school's students have produced timed reaction games, created their own bleep tests, made weather stations, GAA score counters and mock-up traffic light systems for the town. All the classrooms are essentially computer labs and staff share fully interactive resources with the students. Commenting on new programmes offered in the school Computer Science teacher, Tony McGrath, said: 'We are already offering the new Leaving Certificate Computer Science course where students cover a vast quantity of computational concepts including programming in Python, JavaScript and HTML, analytics, robotics, data mining, networks and embedded systems.' In addition, Creagh College offers an Embedded Systems module to Transition Year students and this will also be phased in for all students. 'This involves programming Raspberry Pi and BBC Microbit and comprises programming, technology, robotics and artificial intelligence,' said Mr McGrath. 'Students build and develop a range of physical computing devices such as line-following robots, motion activated alarm systems, and environmental interactive systems,' he added. Mr McGrath said the module is a great way for pupils to understand how inputs and outputs work. After-school coding and technology clubs are also provided. Both schools have also seen a significant rise in students' interest in third-level STEM courses. A unique IT hub has been created in Gorey Community School and both facilities are among the first schools nationally to teach computer science as a subject. They also have links with local companies and that has given the pupils the opportunity to accelerate their own IT skills. The Educate to Innovate fund set up by technology company Innovate was utilised to assist with the setting up of the computer science lab in Creagh College and the IT Hub in Gorey Community School. Part of the pilot Digital Learning Framework Programme, the school's integrated digital plan is seen as a template for schools all over the country. All of the staff and students are connected through the Microsoft Office 365 for Business platform which the school says has transformed teaching and learning there. 'The Educate to Innovate Student Hub is an amazing student-only space where small groups of students can meet, collaborate, create and learn,' said Brendan O'Sullivan, the school's IT Coordinator and Digital Technology Leader. 'Innovate's investment in the school feeds into Gorey's vision of connecting local businesses, schools and community organisations to provide for a growing technology-based town where people can opt to de-commute and work in their own area,' he added. Mr O'Sullivan said that in addition to the advice and support offered through the Hatch Lab the pupils also benefit from coding programmes run by IT Tallaght. Mr O'Sullivan is due to attend the Erasmus eTwinning Conference in Poland this week which will provide an opportunity for Gorey Community School to work with others throughout Europe on eProjects in language, culture, history, geography and IT. Gorey Chamber is also closely involved in the tie-up between the schools and general digital infrastructure and that was emphasised by the CEO of Gorey Chamber, Diarmuid Devereux: 'We have set out a 30-year strategy for Gorey with education at its heart.' Irish Water has declared its commitment to providing wastewater treatment systems in six areas of County Wexford by 2021 - Enniscorthy, Arthurstown, Ballyhack, Duncannon, Fethard-on-Sea and Kilmore Quay. The upgrade of the wastewater infrastructure in these locations will help to improve water quality, enhance the attractiveness of the areas and promote economic development, according to Niall O' Riordan, Wastewater Infrastructure Lead. The utility company said its ongoing investment in wastewater treatment is being felt by communities throughout the country including Wexford as new wastewater plants are built and more are upgraded. In 2016, Irish Water invested 7.2 million in upgrading the Courtown Wastewater Treatment Plant, ensuring that treated effluent standards are met and maintained to ensure a high quality of water in Courtown's coastal areas. The increased capacity allows all wastewater from both the Courtown and Gorey catchment areas to be treated. A 16.3 million project to upgrade wastewater treatment facilities in Enniscorthy started last year. It involves the expansion of the existing Enniscorthy wastewater treatment plant and the decommissioning of the existing Kilagoley plant along with extensive upgrade work to three pumping stations, the construction of a new foul sewer and sewer rehabilitation works. The new plant will be fully operational by the middle of next year and will ensure that waste water from Enniscorthy is fully treated and is compliant with all licence requirements and environmental regulations before being discharged into the River Slaney, according to Mr. O' Riordan. In partnership with Wexford County Council, Irish Water is also working to end the discharge of untreated wastewater to the Barrow/Nore/Suir Estuary. The building of a new wastewater treatment plant and associated network infrastructure in Arthurstown, is expected to be completed in 2021. The new plant will stop the discharge of the equivalent of an estimated 1,500 wheelie bins of untreated wastewater and sewage in Arthurstown, Ballyhack and Duncannon per day. Plans are also being put in place to construct new wastewater treatment plants in Fethard-on-Sea and Kilmore Quay before 2021. Mr. O'Riordan said Irish Water is on track to deliver on approved investment plans which will result in no areas of the country having any form of untreated wastewater discharge by 2021. Since 2014 Irish Water has upgraded or built new wastewater treatment plants in 55 locations across the country including 12 towns where raw sewage was going directly into the water. Several wastewater projects are currently in the design and planning stage and expenditure during this stage is significantly lower than during construction. Consequently there will be a large increase in wastewater expenditure over the next few years up to the end of 2021. 'In Wexford we are committed to providing appropriate wastewater treatment in six areas by 2021 - Enniscorthy, Arthurstown, Ballyhack Duncannon, Fethard-on-Sea and Kilmore Quay', said Mr. O'Riordan. The upgrade of the wastewater infrastructure in these areas will help to improve water quality, enhance of the area's amenity value and will act as a platform for social and economic development', he added. St Joseph's Primary School in Gorey has been cleared to open without any internal or external intervention following a nationwide probe into work carried out by construction firm Western Building Systems (WBS). The school, which opened yesterday (Monday) after the midterm break, was the only Wexford school included on the list which was published last week by the Department of Education. WBS was involved in constructing an extensions to the main school of St Josephs Primary School. To date, one school in county Dublin inspected as part of the probe has been closed. Five teams involving 250 workers were on site throughout the weekend to facilitate the reopening of all schools around the country. The implementation of these measures follows the programme of structural assessments conducted on schools constructed by WBS. School principals were kept fully informed of progress and received written confirmation as the works were completed. The assessments took place throughout the mid-term break in order to minimise disruption to the schools involved. Dr Rizwan Khan is proud to call himself an Irish Muslim. As Chairman of the Kerry Islamic Outreach Centre in Tralee, Rizwan is an enthusiastic promoter of integration between Tralee Muslims and the town they now call home. In the past decade or so the rise in secularism and Western modernity has meant every religion now seeks to promote its message in a rapidly changing world. This is something Muslims in Tralee have done by being visibly proactive in the community. It's achieved by promoting openness through community activism and by providing knowledge on the many positives of Islam. I sit for tea with Rizwan at the Kerry Islamic Outreach Centre on Main Street. Our chat takes place in a spacious room with a row of beautifully embroidered prayer mats in a line on the floor. Religious scrolls, written in Arabic, hang from the wall, while a bookshelf occupies a corner of the room where a large and decorative copy of the Quran rests. It's a warm and convivial setting that is ideal for people looking to understand a little more about Muslims, their faith and their culture. Rizwan lives in Tralee with his family and is a Consultant Paediatrician at University Maternity Hospital in Limerick. He also runs a private clinic in Scotia House, Tralee. But even though life is busy for Rizwan, he is steadfast in his desire to share the positive message of Islam and work closely for the greater good of his community. "We have got such positive feedback from the people in Tralee in the last couple of years; it's been wonderful. We enjoy this interaction with the community through initiatives like the Tidy Towns and by also helping local charities. This is important for us," he said. Rizwan believes that it's people's perceptions of Islam that pose the biggest challenge for Muslims living here. An example of this happened in 2015 when planning permission for a new mosque in Killerisk was sought. Locals voiced concern over what they thought would be the installation of a minaret for the traditional call to prayer. But conspiracy theories and stereotyping can often gather pace when people find it difficult to cope with the emotions that surround change. "I was working on the media side of things at the time when people said 'there was going to be two Mosques and a minaret'. This simply wasn't true. The council knew this as the plans and stipulations were there for everyone to see. All during that period our key message was to keep explaining what and who we are by having a weekly information stall in town, hosting public exhibitions, and keeping up our involvement in local charities and Tidy Towns. This has proven to be very fruitful." One can say with certainty that England is a classic template for Ireland on how to avoid the pitfalls of segregation between ethnic and religious groups. The UK is currently wrestling with integration strategies and looking at ways of reversing decades of division caused by poor policy - the seeds of which were sown by an unwillingness, by all communities, to understand each other. Rizwan agrees that the UK remains a valuable case study for Ireland on how to avoid similar problems from happening here. Rizwan said one of the biggest challenges for the Muslim community in Tralee and Kerry is communication. "This is a challenge within the Muslim community, as well as outside it. There are huge influences coming from outside the community from mainstream media which can feed certain things that can be believed. What we try to do is host various events with the wider community. Even within the Muslim community itself there are some individuals, who are not well informed and who are not very confident to go on this route. There is a comfort zone for some Muslims in that they are comfortable in their own life among their family and friends. Islam commands that one of the biggest obligations of a Muslim is to make sure the society you live in, regardless of what faith you are, there is no suffering. Islam believes that on the day of judgement the question asked to each individual is not about you and your family alone, but about your neighbours. This concept is all about looking after the community. Nowhere does it say this has to be about what faith you are. It doesn't matter." Prejudice and ignorance are not always easy to dislodge from a mindset once entrenched. To untie this knot both sides must be willing to understand each other. Only then will barriers dissolve and ignorance give way to optimism. Rizwan talks about the importance of language and communication in the integration process. For example, some within the Muslim community that arrived in the UK during the 1950s never learned English. This led to generational difficulties when trying to achieve a seamless integration policy. "Not learning the language is often the biggest and first step towards not integrating at all," Rizwan said. "An example would be places like Belgium today where there are ghettos of North African Muslims that are side-lined from society as a direct policy. Whereas in Ireland, Muslims came here as very skilled and educated workers from day one. If you have such prominent people like this in the community, then others will tag along. It's a proud thing to say about Tralee and Killarney today that the majority of Muslim school-going children are going to Catholic schools. We are thankful to them. Parents are parents, and regardless of faith they will always look for the best education for their children." But breaking down barriers between Islam and Christianity has never been more difficult for 21st century Muslims in light of recent extremism and terror attacks. This has created deep division and has heightened misconceptions surrounding Islam. Following the Manchester bombing of May 2017, Rizwan came out strongly condemning the attacks and sought to distance the true and compassionate teachings of Islam from terrorism. "It was really after the Paris attacks of 2016, and Manchester in 2017, that we felt people were starting to believe that all Muslims were the same. This was a small minority that didn't exist before then. Thankfully, the wider majority is still very sympathetic and friendly to us. People are also influenced by events that happen closer to home. These terrorists can just as easily kill peaceful Muslims in these attacks. If a Muslim does wrong he should be prosecuted like anybody else, and if he is doing something good he should be praised like everyone else." I ask Rizwan how he feels about the recent referendum where citizens voted overwhelmingly to abolish Ireland's blasphemy law from the Constitution, a law that deemed any publication or utterance of blasphemous matter against a religion a criminal offence. Muslims believe that the concept of 'Peace be Upon him' should not be mocked. And while Rizwan accepts a person's right to abolish the law by vote, he believes it doesn't have to be at the expense of basic compassion and understanding. "People are insulting the faith for the last decade anyway, so what's new for the Muslims and the Prophet Muhammed from that point of view? Not so much in Ireland, but certainly in countries all over the world. I do know that a majority of Muslims here are concerned about the abolition of the blasphemy law. The point at the end of the day is freedom of speech. I'm completely supportive of this. But we should not incite hatred or hurt to anybody." Rizwan continued: "For example, we all love our mother and father. Speaking as someone whose mother has passed away, if someone said something bad you are naturally going to be hurt. A person who is genuinely nice would be sensitive in such situations. If something is published that is untrue, you are going to hurt a billion people on this earth. Like it or not, we love him [Allah] more than our mother and father. It's a reality, and there is no question about it. "We would love to tell everyone about his life. If someone wants to criticise him then it should be a bilateral discussion. I have no issue with that. But a person who is happy about changing the blasphemy law should also have a responsibility, and the intellect, in their mind to be humane." Finally, does Rizwan believe there is a vibrant future for Tralee's Muslim community? "Education and communication matter and I'm very optimistic that the next generation of Muslims, who are born here, are going to play a more fruitful and positive role for the Irish community as a whole. I'm optimistic that the next generation of the Muslim community will be much better integrated because they are all very proud of belonging to this land, and the sense of ownership that comes that." It was by no means a fast process but very much a labour of love for Tim Horgan, who recently launched his book, 'Fighting for the Cause' , which provides another source of information on Kerry's part in the fight for independence. Providing an account of some fascinating, untold stories of Kerry men and women who took up the Republican cause, the almost 400-page final product is the latest project by the respected Tralee historian. Among the stories included those of fenian Jerry O'Sullivan, who attempted to free two prisoners from Clerkenwell in 1867 by blowing up a prison wall; John Cronin, whose attacks on British forces in 1920 were considered audacious even by his own brigade; and Bridget Gleeson and Nora Brosnan, both incarcerated for their republican acts. The book had its launch earlier this month at The Pavilion at Ballygarry Hotel, Tralee, and Mr Horgan's interest in these topics ties in with his family history. His grandmother, Madge Clifford, was a secretary to both Ernie O'Malley. He previously authored 'Dying for the Cause' and was co-editor of 'The Men Will Talk To Me: Kerry Interviews by Ernie O'Malley'. "I began researching this book in 2015," he told The Kerryman. "While accumulating material for that book, it became apparent that there were many men and women who contributed significantly to Ireland's fight for independence and that over time had been forgotten by the people of this county. "This, I considered to be somewhat of an injustice to their memories and indeed a deficit in the heritage that we hand on to future generations." As an opthalmoligist in Tralee since the mid-'90s, Mr Horgan said he has met many thousands of people, many of whom shared stories of their family members who lived through and were involved in events during the 1916 to 1923 period. This, he feels, was an invaluable help to his work. "Without such assistance, my research could never have resulted in this book which I hope will also be a source of history for future generations. "The book features not only men but also the stories of four forgotten women that shaped our counties history. "Also described is the remarkable life of Fr Joe Breen, a rebel priest for whom the GAA field in Kenmare is called, but about whom the present generation will know little or nothing." At a cost 19.99, 'Fighting for the Cause' is available in all good book stores nationwide and online. They could have filled it twice over as the greater Tralee public came out in droves to support a fundraising event in aid of establishing a special community room at Curraheen Church. The Church, which is part of the Catholic parish of St John's Tralee, has embarked on a campaign to improve the existing community facility where all manner of local groups meet regularly. To that end, they hosted a Monster Bingo afternoon at the KDYS on Denny Street on Sunday amid a host of great door prizes, all sponsored by a business sector that rowed in behind the campaign as much as the bingo-playing public. "On behalf of the Curraheen Community Room Extension Committee, we wish to express our sincere thanks to everyone for supporting this fundraising event and we also wish to express our sincere gratitude to all who sponsored prizes and gifts," Fr Francis Nolan said. The proceeds of the event will now go towards the work, which is already underway. "The work has commenced recently and its hoped will be completed early in the New Year," committee member Ann O'Shea Daly said. The work entails bringing the facilities up to Health and Safety Standards and will also include a kitchenette and wheelchair-accessible toilet. The room is presently being used by many community groups such as the ICA, the Community Council, the GAA, the First Responders, the Church Liturgy Group, the Senior Citizens as well as the parents' councils of Derryquay and Blennerville. "It is hoped that the newly developed room will generate further community activity and will be of special benefit to all families." Arthritis sufferers in Kerry are deeply concerned after UHK Consultant Rheumatologist Dr Muhammad Haroon told Arthritis Ireland Kerry Branch that he had resigned. Branch chairperson Tom Barrett said the committee understood that Dr Haroon had stepped down due to a long-running disagreement with hospital management relating to his need for temporary humanitarian leave to care for his seriously ill father in Pakistan. In communications with Arthritis Ireland that were seen by The Kerryman, Dr Haroon who had worked at University Hospital Kerry since 2013 and oversaw a significant expansion of Rheumatology services at the hospital said he didnt want to quit. "I simply was looking for extension of unpaid leave and would have been happy to return in few months time," he said. He also expressed concerns about the recruitment of his successor and said it would have been easier for the HSE to find cover for the temporary absence he had been seeking rather than finding a full-time replacement. "From what I have heard there will be much longer delay in getting a permanent resident rheumatologist, probably years, rather than allowing me few months of unpaid leave," said Dr Haroon. "For example, Limerick's Rheumatologist resigned probably five years ago, and the post has not been filled since. Galway's rheumatologist resigned probably two years ago, and in spite of very serious efforts, the post was only advertised couple of weeks ago. Probably it will take much longer to find someone to start this post (at UHK)," he added. Behind the news of Dr Haroon's resignation, there are personal stories, both Ger Collins and Mr Barrett of the Arthritis Ireland Kerry Branch explained to The Kerryman. James Maher and Caroline Kennedy are two such people. All four are seeking reassurance that a replacement will be appointed promptly, while Mr Maher and Ms Kennedy, both of whom were rich in praise for Dr Haroon, explained that travelling long distances for crucial treatment is not workable. Caroline was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2000 and received injections which can only be prescribed by a Rheumatologist. She saw Dr Haroon every three months, had operations on her hand and shoulder from him, and said that without her injections she would not be able to walk. "If he goes, I don't know where I'll be," she said. "I won't walk; I've been diagnosed in my spine recently. "We fought for this Rheumatologist; we did everything. I hope we're not waiting five years for another one." "I need to see a specialist quite regularly, and travelling up to the likes of Cork would not be suitable," Mr Maher, who has arthritis and psoriasis, said. "I get up in the morning, put on my heat packs, and do exercises, so travelling would be a nightmare." Mr Barrett and Mr Collins said they hold the staff and services at UHK in high regard and that their fight is not against management but for their own well-being. They also want to see services going forward, not backward. "Some people are on waiting lists for a year and a half," said Mr Barrett. "Inflammatory arthritis can damage your heart, your lungs, your kidneys, your liver. "We don't know how many people exactly are on waiting lists, we think it's around 500, but we can't get the figures. We'd like people to message Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArthritisIrelandKerryBranch/ to get some idea." Just before going to print, a spokesperson for South South West Hospital Group said: "University Hospital Kerry can confirm that there is a locum consultant rheumatologist in place. The hospital is currently in the process of recruiting to fill this post." A judge in Dublin has labelled statements made in the case of two Tralee-based Romanians as "incredible" and "unreal" as he dismissed their personal injury claims against Aviva Insurance. Mother-of-four Maria Petronela Moisa of Tralee, and Sorin Moisa, also Tralee, had made claims for 60,000 each against Aviva Insurance following a car crash at Phibsboro Avenue in Dublin in March 2012. At the hearing last week Circuit Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke said he found evidence of the car mysteriously filling up with dense smoke - to such a degree as to blind the driver and cause him to crash into a tree - to be incredible. A man injured in the crash had maintained the driver had been blinded by oncoming bright headlights and had not mentioned smoke until cross-examined by barrister Paul O'Neill, counsel for Aviva Insurance, which fought the claims. "It's incredible unreal if these stories are untrue," Judge Groarke said. Detective Sergeant Mark Ashford told the court he had been unable to find trace nor sign of smoke or fumes in the car following the crash at Phibsboro Avenue, Dublin, in March 2012. Det Sgt Ashford said his suspicions had immediately been aroused when the allegedly injured passengers kept moving in and out of ambulances that had been called to the scene. The trio were taken in ambulances to three Dublin hospitals and subsequently "disappeared". Letters to an address given to Gardai were not returned, and the address - 64 Racecourse Lawn Tralee - was later found to be fictional. Judge Groarke dismissed 60,000 claims by mother-of-four Maria Petronela Moisa, and Sorin Moisa, and awarded Aviva their costs against them. Mr O'Neill also successfully applied for a costs order against a third individual who had withdrawn a 60,000 claim just before the trial opened. Tributes have been pouring in for the Dublin kayaker who lost her life in a tragic accident just outside Kilgarvan on Sunday afternoon. At around 12pm on Sunday gardai, ambulance, Kenmare Fire Service, Killarney Water Rescue, Kerry Mountain Rescue and the coastguard were all called to the aid of a group of five kayakers who got into trouble at a popular kayaking spot on the Roughty River just outside Kilgarvan. The group had entered the water at Loobridge just outside Kilgarvan and were making their way down the river when they got into difficulty. Despite efforts to rescue her she tragically lost her life and was pronounced dead at the scene. The 35-year old woman has been named as Brita Waters, who was originally from Dublin and who was a member of the Lir Canoe Club. Tributes have been pouring in for Ms Waters. She was accompanied on the trip by her partner and friends; they were too devastated to speak at the scene of the incident on Sunday afternoon. The woman's body was removed from the scene around 2pm on Sunday afternoon and taken to University Hospital Kerry, where a post-mortem was carried out. The Marine Investigation Unit will also carry out an investigation into the circumstances of the accident. Kenmare Gardai remained at the scene along with some members of the group following the removal of her body from the scene on Sunday. They were left with the task of taking the kayaks out of the water. Locals also came to the scene to offer their support to the search and rescue crews. The River Roughty is a popular kayaking waterway with kayakers regularly coming to the river which runs through Kilgarvan. Kilgarvan TD Michael Healy Rae, said that the whole community was shocked to learn of the accident. "It is sad day for everyone. We in Kilgarvan are always so welcoming to the kayakers that come to use the River Roughty," he said. "They are safety conscious and competent, and this was an accident that could not be avoided. We are all heartbroken for the family." He also praised the emergency services and locals who assisted. A local mother who could not get a GP in New Ross for two years - including in recent weeks for her seriously ill daughter - has finally won her battle for healthcare. Sonata Mycko, 31, from Barrow Hall, Mount Garrett, moved to New Ross two years ago and tried to get a GP for her son Gustaf but was unable to. She tried all doctors surgeries in the area, including in Waterford, but was told that she could not get one there as she was a County Wexford resident. She then tried three GP surgeries in Wexford town, but was refused at each turn. Sonata, 31, welcomed her daughter Meta into the world less than five months ago. Born a healthy child, Meta developed silent reflux leaving her severely short of breath. 'She would turn blue in my arms. Can you imagine trying to care for a child who can't breathe and is turning blue. I was living in fear of my baby dying,' Sonata, who is originally from Lithuania, said. Sonata, who doesn't drive, eventually had no choice but to bring Meta to A&E where she got rolling appointments every three weeks for prescriptions and check-ups. 'She is still on medication and will recover, hopefully, by 18 months. I was sent an email today (Monday) that I have been assigned a family doctor after two years as I applied for a GP Visit Card.' Sonata said she was told in no uncertain terms by a HSE nurse that the care of her daughter was up to her having pleaded for a doctor for a prescription for Meta a few weeks ago. 'It has been so hard. I don't mind having to wait for a doctor for a small matter but when it's life and death. Meta was hospitalised three times and I didn't have a GP or anyone around me to help me to manage the prescriptions and tell me what to do. I was literally giving a five week old baby a tablet. I eventually found out what to do with silent reflux babies on an Irish Facebook page because I was abandoned by the health service here.' Sonata lived in Dublin for 11 years prior to moving to New Ross and had no problems accessing a GP there. 'It never happened to me there. I never imagined a system like this could exist in the 21st century. It was far easier to get good healthcare in Lithuania.' She said: 'My baby was born and needed a prescription but there was nowhere to get one. I ended up having to go to CareDoc which is for emergencies.' Meta had to wait 16 weeks for her injections because she had no GP, when she should have gotten them after eight weeks. 'I also have a seven-year-old son who would have had temperatures over the past few years and I had to take him to CareDoc.' In June this newspaper highlighted how some GP surgeries in the area are telling patients they have to wait up to six weeks to be seen and newcomers that they cannot come under their care. A crisis situation has emerged whereby doctors are overworked. In a letter to New Ross Municipal District Council - following a request for an update on the lack of GPs working in the New Ross area on foot of the article - the Head of Primary Care Service in the area said there are six GPs working in the town and surrounding areas, including one GP working independently in New Ross, one working independently in Rosbercon and four work in the North Gate Medical Centre. The HSE statement said the organisation has received no formal notification of any impending resignations or retirements in the area at present. 'If the HSE receives a resignation or retirement notice the normal recruitment process will commence to ensure normal GP numbers are maintained.' The loss of 48 jobs at the iconic BASTA factory in Tubbercurry has been described as a hammer blow for the South Sligo town. The factory, which has been operating since 1955, shut its doors for the last time last Thursday. Standing orders at the monthly meeting of Sligo County Council on Monday were suspended to discuss the job losses. Independent Councillor Margaret Gormley said that while a number of jobs were lost at the factory in October, last Thursday's announcement was the "hammer coming down". "The final blow came last Thursday when the hammer came down and the door was closed, and the famous factory is no more. "This is another blow for Tubbercurry and my thoughts are with those who lost their jobs." Cllr Gormley said this shocking news came after the loss of 100 government jobs from the town and the transfer of 55 jobs from Tubbercurry to Sligo and the loss of jobs in Aurivo. "Basta came to Tubbercurry in 1955 and was established by the Gallagher family and gave great employment to many families in that area and surrounding areas. "It made hinges and locks and the brand was known all over the world," she said. Cllr Gormley said it was "now important that a replacement industry is found for the workers". She proposed a motion calling on the relevant Minister Heather Humphreys to ensure that those lost jobs are regained and to give help and support to find a replacement industry. She hoped the Minister would work closely with the IDA to ensure that Tubbercurry got a replacement industry. "This is a body blow for Tubbercurry and I am calling on all our public representatives to put their shoulder to the wheel and ensure we have that replacement. In seconding the motion Independent Councillor Michael Clarke said it was a "sad day for rural Ireland and a total of 200 jobs had now gone from Tubbercurry in recent times." He added: "The government will need to sit up and see that rural Ireland is dying." Acting Chairperson Fianna Fail's Paul Taylor, who agreed to a suspension of standing orders to allow councillors discuss the motion, said some members of his family had worked in Basta. He said the community in Tubbecurry had worked so hard to develop the town and it was now time to bring it back from the brink. "Generations of my own family have worked in Basta. "The loss of 48 jobs in Tubbercurry would be the equivalent of several thousands of jobs in Dublin". Cllr Taylor said Tubbercurry and Sligo were treated the same when it came to paying taxes, but we don't compare "at times like this". "It is beyond belief that this can happen," he said. Cllr Gormley's motion was passed unanimously. A 37-year-old man who was highly intoxicated and failed to comply with a garda in the early hours of the morning, Sligo District Court heard. The defendant, Martin Ward, with an address at The Parklands, Tubbercurry, was before Judge Kevin Kilrane charged with public order, intoxication and failing to comply with gardai on Markievicz Road, Sligo on December 20th 2017. Inspector Donal Sweeney told the court that at 3:30am on the date in question, Garda Dolan observed a number of males outside Robertos take-away on High St and they then left the area. A short while later, around 4am, there were four people on Markievicz Road shouting and acting in an aggressive manner. One of the men identified as Martin Ward was extremely abusive to Garda Dolan and said threatening things towards him including that he was going to rape his partner. He kept making derogatory remarks towards him and continued to strike Garda Dolan. The defendant repeatedly failed to comply and was intoxicated and unsteady on his feet. He was subsequently arrested at 4:30am and brought to Ballymote Garda Station, Inspector Sweeney said. He told the judge that Ward had 42 previous convictions, dating back 5 years or more. Mr Tom MacSharry, solicitor (defending) said that Ward had not been in trouble for some time and that his client had written a letter to garda Dolan and also met with him and apologised. Mr MacSharry described what happened as being very nasty and said Ward was a man who has had difficulties with alcohol and the incident happened around Christmas time when he was highly intoxicated. Ward said in court that he told Garda Dolan he was very sorry for what had happened. He told the judge that he had since given up drink and agreed with Mr MacSharry that he had been clean and sober for a number of years but had relapsed over the Christmas period. He acknowledged that he has a problem and said that he hasn't drank in a couple of months. The father of four children has a keen interest in sport, the court heard. Ward told Judge Kilrane: "I know it is very serious and it was terrible what I said. "I don't want to go to jail," he added. Mr MacSharry said it was a very serious offence and said in fairness to Garda Dolan he accepted Ward's apology and asked the court to consider community service in lieu of a custodial sentence. Judge Kilrane asked Ward if he ever worked and he said mostly abroad and he did a bit of building work in Ireland. The judge said he should be put in prison for three months and the only matter that persuaded him not to put him in prison was to adjourn the matter for one week with the defendant to come to court with 700 of a fine. Ahead of the launch of 'Be Winter Ready' this week, Minister of State for the Office of Public Works and Flood Relief, Kevin 'Boxer' Moran has revealed that the recruitment of specialised expertise to support the development of the National Flood Forecasting Service is well advanced. The five-year development plan for the establishment of this service is being implemented by Met Eireann, the OPW and local authorities. "When established this service will be a significant resource to support the management of flood risk, especially those areas that it is not feasible to protect through major flood relief schemes," the Minister said. Minister Moran has also praised Local Authorities for taking a proactive approach to address flood risks in their areas. The Minister, who was speaking in Carrick-on-Shannon on Monday revealed that flood relief schemes will be progressed for the town along with Leitrim, Mohill and Dromod. The 9m schemes will be advanced by Leitrim County Council as the lead agency working in collaboration with the OPW as part of the Government's investment of 1 billion on flood relief over the next decade under Project Ireland 2040. The Minister said: "Good progress has been made to date between the OPW and Local Authorities in agreeing the arrangements to progress the schemes nationally to ensure that the delivery of flood relief solutions in the shortest possible timeframe and here today we have mapped a way forward for the advancement of flood relief schemes in Leitrim." The Minister also took the opportunity to set out the other co-ordinated initiatives by members of the Shannon Flood Risk State Agency Co-ordination Working Group, to help to further manage the flood risk for those living and working near the River Shannon navigation requirements. Sligo University Hospital "switched off" last weekend in the final phase of a major energy saving competition. The Big Switch Off is a staff energy awareness campaign run by the Office of Public Works as part of the Optimising Power at Work Programme. In partnership with the HSE's National Health Sustainability Office, six hospitals are participating in the competition, aiming to be named Energy Saving Champion. The competition challenges participants to change their approach to energy usage and conserve as much electrical and thermal energy as possible in their hospital during the August and October Bank Holiday weekends. In doing this, the campaign aims to demonstrate the cumulative impact of small individual savings across the workplace. During the August Bank Holiday weekend, enough electricity was saved across the six hospitals to power more than 28 standard Irish homes for a month. Domhnall Mc Loughlin, Assistant General Manager at Sligo University Hospital said: "The hospital is very happy to take part in this campaign in order to create and enhance awareness in relation to energy saving awareness. Staff throughout the hospital enthusiastically participated in the campaign and contributed to the many initiatives over the weekend. We therefore sincerely thank staff for their input and we are also indebted to the support of the HSE North West Estates staff, the Office of Public Works and the National Health Sustainability Office for their expertise , guidance and advice with the campaign." A Sligo barman had a quarter of his skull surgically removed to allow his brain to swell - in a bid to minimise brain damage - after he was assaulted while trying to protect a young woman on a Galway street. Wesley Wilders told Galway Circuit Criminal Court last Friday that he had a great job in Busker Browns pub in Galway city, had a lovely girlfriend, was about to choose which college course to do, and was looking forward to celebrating his 25th birthday when his whole life was suddenly turned upside down by an unprovoked, one-punch assault. He said he could not forgive Sultan Sarumi (19), who had ruined his life and left him with life-threatening injuries. Sarumi, with addresses in Gleann Rua, Ballybane, and Harolds Cross, Dublin 6, pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Wilders, causing him harm, at Bohermore on October 7 last year. Sergeant Noel Sweeney, prosecuting, said the accused fled the scene after the assault and did everything he could to evade Gardai on the night. Mr Wilders hit his head off the ground following the punch and never regained consciousness at the scene. A passer-by placed him in the recovery position. "After seeing the victim lying on the ground, he (Sarumi) fled the scene without any regard for the man, who suffered serious life-threatening injuries," Sgt. Sweeney said. Gardai had to launch an extensive search on the night to locate the culprit. Sgt. Sweeney said that following his arrest later that night, Sarumi showed no remorse and tried to blame the victim. He claimed he had sustained injuries while being arrested, but in actual fact, he had injured himself while on the run that night from Gardai. Sgt. Sweeney said Mr Wilders suffered a fracture to his skull and had spent six weeks in Beaumont Hospital before being transferred to Sligo University Hospital. He said the victim had a large section of his skull removed to allow his brain to swell in the immediate aftermath and a titanium plate was fitted to seal the area in September. A medical report handed into court, stated Mr Wilders had a large visible scar across his skull as a result of the operation. His speech is sometimes slurred and his gait unsteady due to right-side weakness in his body, the report stated. Sgt. Sweeney said Sarumi was well known to Gardai in Galway over the years and he had seven previous convictions for drug dealing, criminal damage, robberies, and one for another serious assault for which he received a three-month prison term last April. Defence barrister, Garry McDonald said Sarumi had come to Ireland from Nigeria when he was nine years old and was estranged from his family. He said his client had expressed remorse during his final Garda interview. Mr Wilders, who is a native of Strandhill, Sligo, read his own victim impact statement into evidence. He became emotional on several occasions as he recalled his injuries, particularly how part of his skull had to be removed to allow his brain to swell. "All I was trying to do was help a lady. I ended up in ICU fighting for my life and was in a coma for two weeks. "I couldn't talk or move or recognise anyone. I went down to seven and a half stone. "I'm afraid all the time now. My mother had to give up her job to mind me. I broke up with my girlfriend. "I cannot work any more. I'm so afraid to go outside the house. All my past memories are gone. "I don't know if I will ever recover because my right side is so weak. "I don't know if I will ever get back to the way I was before," he sobbed. Addressing the accused, he said: "I really hope you do not hurt anyone else like you have hurt me. "You will never realise the suffering you have put me through. How can I forgive?" he asked. Mr Wilders explained he now lived in a constant state of fear, even while in his own home. Judge Rory McCabe said the offence carried a maximum five-year sentence and given Sarumi's extensive range of previous convictions, some of which involved violence, the headline sentence in this case, he said, was five years. The judge noted from a prison governor's report, that Sarumi had been in an altercation with other prisoners while awaiting sentence and his involvement with the probation service had been superficial. The early plea of guilty, he said, was a mitigating factor because it had spared the victim the trauma of having to give evidence at a trial. Noting Sarumi was deemed by the probation service to be at a moderately high risk of reoffending, Judge McCabe said the appropriate sentence was three years and six months in prison with the final six months suspended for 12 months. A 51-year-old man charged with falsely imprisoning another man has been sent forward for trial to this week's sitting of Sligo Circuit Court. The accused Stefan Schaufler, with an address at River Road, Cartron Point, Sligo had the Book of Evidence served on him at last Thursday's sitting of Sligo District Court. He was sent forward for trial in custody. The accused is charged with a number of offences including falsely imprisoning Michael Lally on June 20th 2018 at the same address in River Road, Cartron Point and taking his car, stealing a wallet with 200 cash belonging to Mr Lally along with a bank card and car keys and damaging his iPhone. Schaufler, who had a German interpreter in court, was further charged with stealing 200 in cash from the Bank of Ireland, Stephen St, Sligo belonging to Mr Lally on the same date and a further charge of stealing 200 in cash belonging to Mr Lally from the Bank of Ireland in Rosslare Harbour on June 21st 2018. The defendant was sent forward for trial in custody to appear at this week's sitting of Sligo Circuit Court. A man who was walking home after a night out with his fiancee ended up before Sligo District Court on Thursday charged with stealing two flower pot plants belonging to his neighbour because his fiancee took a shine to them. The defendant, Algis Mikelionis, (54) of Mulberry Park, Ballinode, was charged with the offence on September 4th 2017 at Seaview Drive, Cartron. Inspector Donal Sweeney told the court that Mikelionis who pleaded guilty was found with the plants in his house the following day. The owner discovered them missing from outside her home at 10pm the previous night. Mr Mark Mullaney, solicitor (defending) told the court his client, who was a native of Lithuania but living in Ireland for year, was returning from a licensed premises with his fiancee and there was a lot of alcohol taken. The woman expressed an interest in the flower pots and he brought them to their own house. The following morning he woke up and couldn't remember where he got them and when gardai arrived it was too late to bring them back. Mr Mullaney said his client was really ashamed of what he had done. The judge asked Mikelionis if he had intentionally come to Ireland from Lithuania to commit crime and if he wanted to go to prison. He put the matter back to April 2019 for monitoring and he told Mikelionis behaved himself in the meantime he would deal with it with a fine of 300. Members of Square One Theatre Group in final rehearsals for Unbroken Circle, which is on at the Mermaid Arts Centre this week The latest production by Square One Theatre Group has hit the stage at the Mermaid Arts Centre. Unbroken Circle by James Wesley opened on Tuesday night and continues nightly at 8 p.m. until Saturday, November 10, at the Bray venue. Paul Flynn directs Square One Theatre Group in what is a new play that recently premiered on Broadway. Set in 1970 Galveston, Texas, a family is brought together for the first time in years on the day of it's patriarch's funeral. As the day turns into night, the impact of the man on his family, unfolds in surprising ways leaving each member grappling with the truth. It is hilarious and disturbing as it explores how family secrets affect every person in each generation differently. Inspired by a true story, it's content is not suitable for under 16s and may offend. Tickets cost 18 (16 concession) and are available from the Mermaid. Filmmaker Terence White has been unveiled as the Artist in Residence for 2018/2019 at the Courthouse Arts Centre in Tinahely. Terence has made numerous short narrative films and documentaries in the past and has worked on several projects with the Courthouse previously. In 2004, he received Wicklow County Council funding to make a short film with the Courthouse youth theatre group and in 2006 he was awarded an Arts Council funded commission to make ten short documentaries to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of the arts centre. He was recently commissioned by Wexford Arts Centre to make a short documentary about cultural heritage, funded by the government's Creative Ireland initiative. While Terence is working on several projects during the residency, his main focus will be a feature film screenplay. He plans to have the script complete by the end of April next year. 'I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity the Courthouse Arts Centre has provided me to progress my filmmaking practice,' he said. 'I am able to allocate more time to my creative work each week, thanks to the financial support from the Courthouse, and the arts centre is a very supportive space to work in.' Artistic Director at the Courthouse Hannah Mullan said she was delighted to welcome Terence as Film Artist in Residence for the next twelve months. 'Assisting in the development of local artists is central to the ethos of The Courthouse and I very much hope that he will enjoy his time working here,' she said. Actress Aoibhin Garrihy and her husband John Burke in the Wicklow uplands in Tracks and Trails The Wicklow Uplands played a starring role in the latest episode of 'Tracks and Trails' as actress Aoibhin Garrihy and her husband John Burke paid a visit to the garden county. The couple started at the JB Memorial in Ballinastoe and covered a distance of 30km along the Wicklow Way, passing Luggala House on their journey. On their way they met world mountain bike champion Robin Seymour, who trains regularly on the designated mountain bike tracks, which have been separated from the walking trails. In the forest they met local historian Sean Byrne who remembered when times were very different and tells them about a deserted village, which the last residents left in 1954. Having walked a further 6km of country roads, the couple stopped for lunch in Roundwood village, then completed a 2km looped walk around the lakes at the Vartry reservoir. There, local engineer Ned Fleming told them about the reservoir's water connection into Dublin and its history and Edwardian architecture. The episode remains available on RTE Player for the next four weeks. Greystones primary school Gaelscoil na gCloth Liath has re-opened following mid-term structural inspections. The school was one of 42 built by Western Building Systems between 2009 and 2013 which was assessed in the past week. 'I am pleased to confirm that the Department of Education has now completed the assessment of Gaelscoil Na gClocha Liatha,' said Minister Simon Harris on Friday. The school opened on Monday following the mid-term break with no additional works needed. 'We were very happy to receive confirmation from the Department of Education and Skills, following a structural inspection, that our building does not require remedial works. We opened as normal on Monday following the mid-term break. The structural inspection took place over the mid-term, and no disruption was caused to our school community,' said principal Rita Ni Thuathail. The inspection was carried out the Saturday before last, with the report then sent to the Department of Education before the school was given the green light last week. 'Obviously this has been a very worrying time for the staff and parents of the school so I am pleased that assurances have now been given,' said Minister Harris. Deputy Stephen Donnelly said that he is sure that pupils, parents and teachers will have been extremely relieved to learn that no major problems were found. The checks included a camera survey of the external walls, along with internal openings within the building. Fire safety works to bring the school up to code were carried out earlier in the year, pending new fire certificates from the chief fire officer. 'Parents have been worried since claims emerged last month that the builder responsible for Greystones' gaelscoil was allegedly responsible for serious structural problems elsewhere,' said Deputy Donnelly. 'In fairness to the principal Rita Ni Thuathail though, she helped to ease a lot of fears by quickly contacting all parents, explaining the situation and showing how seriously they were taking their concerns by taking urgent action.' Nationally, 19 schools were cleared to open without intervention. Nineteen other schools required precautionary measures in the form of a fence around the building, or part of the building, and protective decking. Three schools opened initially at ground floor level only, following theimplementation of internal engineering solutions and external precautionary measures and one building (part of Ardgillan Community College in Dublin) has been closed. Western Building Systems is currently building the new Greystones Community National School premises. Chair of the board for that school Cllr Jennifer Whitmore said that they have sought assurances from the Department of Education and project managers KSNPM regarding the build in terms of fire safety and structural issues. Matthew Whitakers future at the US Justice Department already appears uncertain after President Donald Trump denied even knowing the man he had named acting attorney general just two days earlier. The Senates top Republican predicted a permanent replacement could be named soon for Mr Whitaker, who is now overseeing the Trump-Russia probe. The comments from President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell came as Mr Whitakers past business ties and remarks on special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation and other topics were drawing scrutiny from Democrats and ethics groups. Speaking to reporters, President Trump said, I dont know Matt Whitaker. That contradicted President Trumps remarks on Fox News last month, when he called Mr Whitaker a great guy and said, I mean, I know Matt Whitaker. Late on Friday, President Trump said in a tweet Mr that Whitaker was a highly respected former US Attorney from Iowa chosen by former attorney general Jeff Sessions to be his chief of staff. But President Trump emphasised again that he did not know Mr Whitaker. He also said Mr Whitaker was well regarded by various Iowa Republican leaders and added: I feel certain he will make an outstanding Acting Attorney General. Mr McConnell, meanwhile, said, I think this will be a very interim AG. Another Republican senator, Susan Collins of Maine, said she was concerned by some of Mr Whitakers past comments and called for legislation that would place limits on his ability to fire special counsel Mr Mueller. Expand Close Protesters gather in front of the White House in Washington (Andrew Harnik/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Protesters gather in front of the White House in Washington (Andrew Harnik/AP) That would include specifying that only a Senate-confirmed Justice Department official which Mr Whitaker is not could dismiss Mr Mueller. Mr Whitaker, a Republican Party loyalist and chief of staff for Mr Sessions, was elevated on Wednesday after his boss was forced from his job by President Trump. The new position handed him oversight of Mr Muellers investigation into possible ties between Russia and Mr Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. Since Wednesday, Mr Whitaker has faced pressure from Democrats to recuse himself from overseeing Mr Mueller based on critical comments he made about the investigation before joining the Justice Department last year. Those included an op-ed article in which he said Mr Mueller would be straying outside his mandate if he investigated Trump family finances and a radio interview in which he maintained there was no evidence of collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign. He also tweeted an ex-prosecutors opinion piece that described a Mueller lynch mob, which he said was worth a read. There have also been reports about past comments questioning the power and reach of the federal judiciary, and about his ties to an invention-promotion company that was accused of misleading investors. A man went on a stabbing spree in the centre of Melbourne yesterday after apparently setting a car alight, killing one person and bringing the city to a standstill A man went on a stabbing spree in the centre of Melbourne yesterday after apparently setting a car alight, killing one person and bringing the city to a standstill. Police believe the deadly attack by a Somali-born Australian was an act of terrorism, possibly designed to destroy a vehicle filled with gas cylinders in the city centre. The man, who died after being shot by police, set a four-wheel drive car on fire before stabbing three men, including one who died in hospital. Isil claimed the attack, its propaganda channel said. "The perpetrator of the operation... in Melbourne... was an Islamic State fighter and carried out the operation... to target nationals of the coalition" fighting Isil, Amaq reported a jihadist security source as saying. Graham Ashton, chief of Victoria State police, said the man was known to counterterrorism agencies through his "family associations". "His family members are certainly known to us from a terrorism perspective," he said. Mr Ashton said the man moved from Somalia in the 1990s to Melbourne's north-west suburbs. He had convictions for cannabis use, theft and driving offences but not for violent offences. Some witnesses claimed he was yelling "Allahu akbar", though police said this was not confirmed. They added they did not believe there was an ongoing threat. According to 'The Herald Sun', the man had his passport cancelled several years ago. Victoria's premier, Daniel Andrews, condemned the "act of evil" and pledged the city would "go about our business this weekend and every weekend". "This is an evil, terrifying thing that's happened in our city and state," he said. "We condemn it We'll not be defined by this act of evil." Police said the car was parked before being set alight. "There were gas bottles - I understand at this stage they are barbecue-style gas bottles - within the vehicle," Commissioner Ashton said. Footage taken by witnesses showed police shooting the man after he threatened them with an object that appeared to be a knife. Witnesses said the car exploded before the man began stabbing people. "He seemed to be waving something, people around me screamed that he had a knife, but I couldn't see clearly from where I was," a witness told ABC News. "And then I heard one loud bang. It sounded like a gunshot." Sarah Werkmeister, a witness, told 'The Herald Sun': "All I saw was the car on fire, and the police cuffing someone on the ground. People who'd seen it told me they heard shots being fired, and everyone heard an explosion that was like the petrol exploding." ( Daily Telegraph, London) A wildfire that tore through Malibu mansions and working-class suburban homes in southern California has killed two people and more than doubled in size. Officials took advantage of temporarily calm conditions to assess damage from the blaze that has burned 109 square miles north and west of Los Angeles. Firefighters were searching burned-out neighbourhoods after two blazes that have already destroyed 150 homes. Los Angeles County sheriffs chief John Benedict said two people have been found dead but provided no details on the deaths. Wildfires burning across California have now killed 11 people, including nine found dead in a massive fire in northern California that destroyed the town of Paradise. In the south, a smoky haze still hung in blue skies, with the vicious winds that drove the flames in their first two days gone and expected to stay away until Sunday. Firefighters scrambled in the narrow window of calm to try to block the two wildfires that have blazed a path of destruction toward the sea. Expand Close Araya Cipollini cries near the remains of her familys home burned in the Camp Fire, in Paradise (John Locher/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Araya Cipollini cries near the remains of her familys home burned in the Camp Fire, in Paradise (John Locher/AP) In less than two days, the Hill and Woolsey fires had prompted evacuation orders for more than 250,000 people, including the entire city of Malibu, which is home to some of Hollywoods biggest celebrities. The lull on Saturday could give firefighters a chance to control the edges of the blazes and to swap fire crews, replacing firefighters who had worked for two days without rest, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said. But with the winds returning, it is likely more homes would be lost, Mr Osby warned. Theres not going to be any relief in this firefight, he said. By late Friday night, the smaller Hill fires advance had halted, but the Woolsey fire kept surging. The two fires erupted on Thursday as warnings of extreme fire danger covered much of the state because of dry weather and blowing winds. Expand Close A home burns in the Calabasas section of Los Angeles (Mark J Terrill/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A home burns in the Calabasas section of Los Angeles (Mark J Terrill/AP) In northern California, a wildfire killed some in their cars as they tried to flee the racing flames. The states most destructive fire in at least a century has burned down more than 6,700 buildings, almost all of them homes. President Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration providing federal funding to help firefighters battling the wildfires across California. In the south, flames leapt and raged from Thousand Oaks south through the north-western San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles and appeared to be heading towards the Pacific Ocean. Thousand Oaks already was reeling from a shooting at a country music bar that killed a dozen people this week when it was besieged by fire. It raged on both sides of the city and shut down part of the main freeway into town. Its devastating. Its like welcome to hell,' resident Cynthia Ball said about the dual disasters outside a centre serving as a shelter for evacuees. I dont even know what to say. Its like were all walking around kind of in a trance. Three-quarters of the city of 130,000 was under evacuation orders and that probably included people affected by the shooting, Mayor Andy Fox said. The entire coastal enclave of Malibu also was ordered to flee, with Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian West and Guillermo del Toro among the celebrities forced to abandon their homes. The Woolsey blaze also destroyed the home of Dr Strange director Scott Derrickson and the historic Paramount Ranch where HBOs Westworld and many other shows have been filmed. Expand Close The charred remains of a burned-out home in Malibu (Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The charred remains of a burned-out home in Malibu (Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP) The flames spread so fast that firefighters could not be everywhere at once and residents took matters into their own hands. People tried to save a mansion by hurling buckets of water from a swimming pool on to burning brush over a fence. Firefighters pleaded with people to heed mandatory evacuation orders. Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said some firefighters were literally pulling people out of burning homes. Even though the wind has died down, stay on guard, he urged. Were in the seventh year of a drought. Our weather conditions out there, and our fuel conditions are absolutely right for fire when we ask you to leave, please leave early. Unfortunate: Claire Busby was paralysed by the fall from the bed while she was having sex with her partner. Photo: Stefan Rousseau A woman left paralysed after being "catapulted" from her new bed during a sex act has lost her seven-figure claim for damages against the bed supplier. Claire Busby, of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, suffered a serious injury to her spine when she fell from the super king-size double divan as she changed position. The 46-year-old claimed the bed was in a "defective state" at the time of her accident and took legal action against Berkshire Bed Company, trading as Beds Are Uzzz, which supplied it. But, rejecting her case, Judge Barry Cotter found the bed was "not defective" and that Ms Busby's fall was a "tragic accident". The judge said: "As a result of the matters set out above, the claim in relation to this tragic accident, which is what I find it was, a simple accident, fails." The judge said he was not satisfied the bed was "defective", even taking into account "reasonably foreseeable misuse". He added: "It required a most unfortunate and unusual combination of positioning on the bed and movement which I do not believe would have been foreseeable by any reasonable person prior to the incident." During the trial, the court heard that Ms Busby was injured a week after the bed's delivery while having sex with her then partner, John Marshall. She told the court she was kneeling in the middle of the bed performing a sex act when she decided to move position and "swung her legs" from underneath her, before lying back on the bed with her head towards the bottom end. At that point, she claimed, the bed gave way and she toppled off the end, landing on her head. The death toll from flash floods in Jordan has risen to 12 after what local officials said was the biggest deluge in the area in decades. The kingdoms main tourist attraction, the ancient city of Petra, has also been closed for clean-up operations. Fridays floods struck several areas of Jordan. Rescuers continued the search for missing people around the Wala reservoir in central Jordan on Saturday. Notice: All touristic excursions for Saturday the 10th of November have been put on hold due to weather conditions. Ministry of Tourism (@MOTA_Jordan) November 9, 2018 In the southern town of Maan, authorities opened a shelter for dozens of people whose homes were surrounded by water. In all, 12 people were killed, including two children and a diver who had been involved in rescue efforts, according to state media and Jordanian government spokeswoman Jumana Ghuneimat. Separately, Israels public radio said contact had been lost with three Israeli tourists in southern Jordan. The Arabic-language Makan Radio said the tourists had last been heard from in the Wadi Rum area, another major tourist attraction. Expand Close Jordanian rescue teams search the area (Raad Adayleh/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jordanian rescue teams search the area (Raad Adayleh/AP) The torrents came two weeks after 21 people, most of them children, were killed in flash floods near the Dead Sea. The tourism and education ministers resigned over the Dead Sea flooding. In Petra, the ancient trade hub carved into rose-hued rocks, heavy rains began at around 1pm on Friday and last for about 40 minutes, said Rafael Dorado, 41, a tourist from Spain. At about 3pm, a torrent of water came gushing through the sites steep and narrow access canyon, flooding the area within minutes, he said. Mr Delgado said he was observing from a hilltop temple in the area, but saw other visitors scrambling to higher ground. He said some visitors were later evacuated by trucks and others made their way out on foot. Suleiman Farajat, the chief administrator in Petra, said the site would remain closed on Saturday, but would likely reopen Sunday. He said he has never seen flooding of such intensity in the area. Its really, I wouldnt say scary, but surprising how huge the flood was, he said. A burnt out vehicle is seen on Bourke Street in Melbourne (James Ross/AAP Image via AP) Australia police said a man who fatally stabbed another and injured two in what they described as a terrorist attack in central Melbourne had also planned to set off an explosion. Hassain Khalif Shire Ali, 30, had his passport cancelled in 2015 after it was learned he planned to travel to Syria, police said. The attack occurred on Friday when Shire Ali got out of a pick-up vehicle, which he then set on fire, and stabbed three men, one of whom died at the scene, horrifying hundreds of onlookers during the afternoon rush hour in Australias second-biggest city. Victoria state Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said that Shire Ali, who was shot by police and died in a hospital, had also planned for his vehicle to explode, but barbecue gas cylinders in the back of his pick-up failed to ignite. Expand Close Police on street corner after the incident in Melbourne, Australia (Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Police on street corner after the incident in Melbourne, Australia (Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP) It looks like hes attempted to ignite a fire in the car, we believe at this stage with a view to igniting those canisters with some sort of explosion, but that didnt eventuate, Mr Ashton told reporters. Shire Ali, who moved to Australia with his family from Somalia in the 1990s, was known to police and the federal intelligence authority ASIO. He had a criminal history for cannabis use, theft and driving offences,Mr Ashton said. Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Ian McCartney told a media briefing on Saturday it was believed the attack was inspired by IS, though it was thought Shire Ali had no direct links to the organisation. Its fair to say he was inspired. He was radicalised, with the rise of the caliphate and the propaganda that was put out on the internet. Were not saying there was direct contact. Were saying it was more from an inspirational perspective, Mr McCartney said. Mr McCartney said the incident was a reality check for security agencies that even with the fall of the (IS) caliphate the threat continues to be real. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said radical, violent, extremist Islam poses the greatest threat to Australias national security. Here in Australia, we would be kidding ourselves if we did not call out the fact that the greatest threat of religious extremism in this country is the radical and dangerous ideology of extremist Islam, he said. Mr Morrison said he had long-standing relationships with the Muslim community and it was them who had raised with him concerns about radicalism in recent years. Shire Ali had family and associates who were also known to police. His brother Ali Khalif Shire Ali is currently on remand awaiting trial next year for allegedly planning an attack, Mr Ashton said. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released through its Aamaq media arm, but provided no evidence. It said the man was an Islamic State fighter and had responded to IS calls for attacks in countries that are part of the international coalition fighting the militants in Syria and Iraq. Police and civilians had tried unsuccessfully to subdue Shire Ali during Fridays attack, before police shot him in the chest. A man aged 74, who had been stabbed in the face, died at the scene. Two other men, aged 26 and 58, are in a hospital with what police describe as non-life threatening injuries. Mr Ashton also said police had searched two Melbourne properties on Saturday in relation to the attack, but that police did not believe there were any ongoing threats to the public. French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron accompany U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump after a meeting at the Elysee Palace REUTERS/Vincent Kessler French President Emmanuel Macron kisses U.S first lady Melania Trump at the Elysee Palace in Paris (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron gesture during their meeting inside the Elysee Palace in Paris (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump at the Elysee Palace REUTERS/Vincent Kessler TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron have sought to ease tensions over comments by both leaders that threatened to cast a shadow over a weekend marking 100 years since the end of World War One. The American and French leaders, who have had somewhat of an up-and-down relationship, worked to project unity of opinion over whether Europe should create an army of its own. Their meeting got off to a testy start. President Trump unleashed an angry Twitter jab at his French host as he arrived in France late on Friday. He tweeted that Macron "has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of Nato, which the US subsidises greatly!" President Macron's office said President Trump misunderstood the comments. The leaders met at the Elysee Palace and, asked about the tweet, President Trump said President Macron "understands that the United States can only do so much", adding that the US wants to help. President Trump added that he and President Macron are "getting along from the standpoint of fairness". President Macron defended his viewpoint, saying: "I do share President Trump's views that we need a much better burden sharing with Nato and that's why I do believe that my proposal for a European defence is utterly consistent with that." An official in President Macron's office said President Trump lumped together two different comments by the French president, and that the comments would be on the table for today's meeting. President Macron said in an interview earlier this week that Europe needs to protect itself against "China, Russia and even the United States" in terms of cyberspace. Later, President Macron reiterated that Europe needs to build up its own military because it can no longer depend on the US for defence. President Trump has made similar arguments, particularly in urging Nato's European members to increase its share of defence spending. President Macron greeted President Trump with a handshake and pats on the arm as the American president arrived at the Elysee Palace in a cool drizzle. Both leaders flashed a thumbs-up to waiting reporters, but ignored their shouted questions about President Macron's remarks and President Trump's reaction. In comment before the leaders went behind closed doors for talks, President Macron referred to President Trump as "my good friend" and appeared to tap him on the thigh. The comments by Trump were a fresh sign that the "America first" president was ready to chart his own course yet again as world leaders gathered to remember the coalition that brought an end to the first global war in which millions were killed. President Trump will join scores of other world leaders on Sunday for a ceremony in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe to mark the WWI centennial. He had planned to visit the American cemetery in Belleau, France, to pay respects to US soldiers who died on French soil but the White House scrapped the visit because of rain. Mr Trump is scheduled to visit a different American cemetery in France on Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he leaves after a meeting at the Elysee Palace REUTERS/Vincent Kessler Donald Trump has come under fire for cancelling a visit to a cemetery in France due to rain. The US president was due to visit Belleau to pay respects to American soldiers killed during the First World War. However, the White House cancelled the trip because of bad weather which grounded the presidential helicopter that was due to fly him to the cemetery about a two-hour drive east of Paris. The president sent a delegation that included chief of staff John Kelly instead. David Frum, once a speechwriter for President George W Bush, tweeted that he thought it was "incredible" that a president would not pay respects to the US servicemen who died in France during the First World War. Mr Trump is due to visit a different cemetery on Sunday. The battlefield of Belleau Wood is where US troops stopped a German push for Paris shortly after entering the war in 1917. The fighting proved America's mettle to allies and foes alike, and by the time the war ended US forces were at least an equal to any of the other major armies, which were exhausted and depleted. Ben Rhodes, who served as deputy national security adviser in the Obama administration, said the White House should have had a fallback plan for the president. "There is always a rain option. Always," Mr Rhodes said. Officials from Saudi Arabia have listened to audio recordings related to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkeys president has said. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also told reporters that Saudi Arabia had to act fairly and disclose those responsible for the October 2 killing of The Washington Post journalist to rid itself of suspicion. We gave them the tapes. We gave them to Saudi Arabia, to America, to the Germans, the French, to the British, to all of them, Mr Erdogan said before departing for Paris to attend ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One. Expand Close Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Burhan Ozbilici/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Burhan Ozbilici/AP) They [Saudi officials] also listened to the conversations and they know. There is no need to distort this. They know for certain who among the 15 is the killer or are the killers, he said. He was referring to an alleged 15-member assassination squad that Turkey believes was sent to kill Mr Khashoggi at the consulate where he had arrived to obtain papers to marry his Turkish fiancee. CIA director Gina Haspel, who visited Turkey last month for information on the investigation, is reported to have heard the audio recordings of the killing. The existence of the recordings was leaked to the media, but never openly confirmed until now. Turkey says Mr Khashoggi, who was critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was strangled and dismembered at the consulate as part of a premeditated killing. Media reports have suggested that his body could have been chemically dissolved. Turkey is seeking the extradition of 18 suspects who have been detained in Saudi Arabia, so they can be put on trial in Turkey. They include the 15 members of the alleged assassination squad. Saudi Arabia had insisted for weeks after Mr Khashoggi disappeared that he had walked out of the consulate, before changing its account to say he died in a brawl. Last month, Saudi Arabia acknowledged that Turkish evidence indicates that Mr Khashoggis killing was premeditated, shifting its explanation in an apparent effort to ease international outrage over the death. Saudi officials characterise the killing as a rogue operation carried out by Saudi agents who exceeded their authority. Yet some of those implicated in the killing are close to the crown prince, including a member of the princes entourage on foreign trips who was seen at the consulate before Mr Khashoggis slaying. Mr Erdogan accused Saudi Arabias chief prosecutor, who was sent to Istanbul last month as part of a joint probe, of employing delaying tactics. Saudi Arabia needs to accept that [the killer] is among the 18 and needs to get rid of the suspicion by responding to Turkeys good will and acting fairly, Mr Erdogan said. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron have sought to ease tensions over comments by both leaders that threatened to cast a shadow over a weekend marking 100 years since the end of World War One. The American and French leaders, who have had somewhat of an up-and-down relationship, worked to project unity of opinion over whether Europe should create an army of its own. Their meeting got off to a testy start. President Trump unleashed an angry Twitter jab at his French host as he arrived in France late on Friday. He tweeted that Macron has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of Nato, which the US subsidises greatly! President Macrons office said President Trump misunderstood the comments. The leaders met at the Elysee Palace and, asked about the tweet, President Trump said President Macron understands that the United States can only do so much, adding that the US wants to help. President Trump added that he and President Macron are getting along from the standpoint of fairness. President Macron defended his viewpoint, saying: I do share President Trumps views that we need a much better burden sharing with Nato and thats why I do believe that my proposal for a European defence is utterly consistent with that. Expand Close The leaders gave a thumbs-up salute to reporters (Thibault Camus/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The leaders gave a thumbs-up salute to reporters (Thibault Camus/AP) An official in President Macrons office said President Trump lumped together two different comments by the French president, and that the comments would be on the table for Saturdays meeting. President Macron said in an interview earlier this week that Europe needs to protect itself against China, Russia and even the United States in terms of cyberspace. Later, President Macron reiterated that Europe needs to build up its own military because it can no longer depend on the US for defence. President Trump has made similar arguments, particularly in urging Natos European members to increase its share of defence spending. President Macron greeted President Trump with a handshake and pats on the arm as the American president arrived at the Elysee Palace in a cool drizzle. Expand Close French President Emmanuel Macron greets President Donald Trump (Kamil Zihnioglu/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp French President Emmanuel Macron greets President Donald Trump (Kamil Zihnioglu/AP) Both leaders flashed a thumbs-up to waiting reporters, but ignored their shouted questions about President Macrons remarks and President Trumps reaction. In comment before the leaders went behind closed doors for talks, President Macron referred to President Trump as my good friend and appeared to tap him on the thigh. The comments by Trump were a fresh sign that the America first president was ready to chart his own course yet again as world leaders gathered to remember the coalition that brought an end to the first global war in which millions were killed. President Trump will join scores of other world leaders on Sunday for a ceremony in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe to mark the WWI centennial. He had planned to visit the American cemetery in Belleau, France, to pay respects to US soldiers who died on French soil but the White House scrapped the visit because of rain. Mr Trump is scheduled to visit a different American cemetery in France on Sunday. The most awaited wedding of Btown is now just three days away. Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh will tie the knot on 14th and 15th of November at Villa Del Balbianello, Italy. The couple was spotted today at the airport and god, they became a magnet for our eyes. Twinning in white, both Deepika and Ranveer had happiness smitten all over their face and it was evident from the way they were smiling. Deepika was dressed in a white turtle neck and a skirt with a side slit. Her style game was sky high as she opted for nude makeup and nude heels. Ranveer Singh too was dapper as he wore a sparkling white bandh gala along with drop crotch dhoti pants. The couple was mobbed by fans but they were humble enough to stop and pose for the media. Have a look: It takes a lot of courage and bravery to come out and share stories of mental and sexual harassment. Tanushree Dutta became the torch-bearer of the #MeToo movement in India and we're sure there are many women who want to thank her to begin this in India. A lot of sexual predators in the industry were called out and dismissed from their respective jobs. The industry stood in solidarity with the movement proving that better working standards should be set for everyone. Joining the #MeToo movement in India, Former Miss India, and actor Niharika Singh has come out to share her ordeal and story. In a long-post penned by Singh, she has shared experiences of her stint with the glamour industry. Journalist Sandhya Menon took to Twitter to share Niharika's story and she wrote how she was writing the piece to expand my own understanding of what constitutes abuse, who we choose to punish and whom we are willing to forgive. In her story, she wrote about her experiences as a model, becoming a beauty queen and then struggling as an actor. Niharika begins with accusing T-Series head, Bhushan Kumar. She writes, Bhushan Kumar called me to his office to sign A New Love Ishtory where he gave me an envelope as a signing amount for the film. It contained two 500 Rupee notes (less than 14$). I got a text from him later that night- I would love to know you more. Lets get together sometime. I wrote back saying- Absolutely! Let's go on a double date. You bring your wife. Ill bring my boyfriend. He never wrote to me again. She then mentions her ex-boyfriend and actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, with whom she came across on the sets of the film, Miss Lovely. Twitter One morning, when I was home and he had been shooting all night, Nawaz sent me a text saying he was near my building. I invited him over and asked him to come and have breakfast with me. When I opened the door, he grabbed me. Silverscreen I tried to push him away but he wouldnt let go. After a little coercion, I finally gave in. I wasnt sure what to make of this relationship. He told me it was his dream to have a Miss India or an actress wife, just like Paresh Rawal and Manoj Bajpayee. I found his little confession funny but endearing." She further alleges how Nawazuddin Siddiqui used to engage himself in multiple women. She adds, GQ India "Nowaz(Nawaz) had engaged multiple women, giving each one a different story; one of them even called me from his phone and started yelling at me. I also found about out about a woman he'd married in Haldwani whose family sued him for making dowry demands. I told him to clean up his mess, be honest with himself and everyone around him." In her note, she further mentions her brief interaction with Sajid Khan. She mentions, "Last but not the least, filmmaker Sajid Khan, who I met a couple of times while he was dating an actress I knew years ago, made a few predictions when a close friend of ours was opening her second restaurant - This place will shut down within a year, mark my words. To his actress girlfriend he said, She wont survive a day without me in Bollywood. And, this one, looking at me straight, will soon commit suicide." Read Niharika's full-confession in these following tweets: In a shocking set of allegations against the actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, his ex-girlfriend Niharika Singh, former Miss India and actress came out with her side of the story. Niharika came into the spotlight when Nawazuddin courted controversies during the launch of his autobiography. While the matter had fizzled out, today, in some fresh set of allegations against the Manto actor, Singh has managed to cause a stir. Sharing her #MeToo story, Niharika alleged that apart from sharing a failed relationship with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, the actor was involved with a number of women and that he had married someone else in Haldwani. (Also read: Calling Nawazuddin Siddiqui A 'Sexually Repressed Man', Model-Actor Niharika Singh Shares Her #MeToo Story) Journalist Sandhya Menon has carried Niharika's detailed ordeal on Twitter stating, "2005 Miss India Niharika Singh's experiences in Bollywood but especially with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Mayank Singh Singvi Niharika and other women accused Siddiqui of making up lies in his autobiography, due to which he withdrew the book. This is her side of the story." "One morning, when I was home and he had been shooting all night, Nowaz sent me a text saying he was near my building. I invited him over and asked him to come and have breakfast with me. When I opened the door, he grabbed me. I tried to push him away but he wouldnt let go. After a little coercion, I finally gave in. I wasnt sure what to make of this relationship. He told me it was his dream to have a Miss India or an actress wife, just like Paresh Rawal and Manoj Bajpayee. I found his little confession funny but endearing." While Nawaz has continued to maintain silence over it, his Sacred Games co-star Kubbra Sait has stood up for him. Taking a stand for him, she explains how there should be a thick line drawn between a failed relationship and sexual harassment. Twitter Gaslighting cannot be equated to #MeToo, she adds. In series of tweets, she wrote, A relationship gone sour, isnt #MeToo someone needs to recognise the toxic difference before we go picking sides. I stand by #NawazuddinSiddiqui or #Nowaz as a man. Kubbra Sait (@kubrasait) November 10, 2018 I stand by the fact that although Niharika Singh may have had a tough time in the industry, categorising her once personal relationship as a #MeToo statement is incorrectly placed. We as humans are flawed. That isnt gender specific. Kubbra Sait (@kubrasait) November 10, 2018 Not many understood her point of view and started backlashing her. Reacting to all the negative comments she received after voicing her opinion, Kubbra wrote, They met. They fell in love. And here they are, after six years of dating, all set to take the final plunge to spend their rest of the lives together. He is Bollywood's Bajirao and she is Bollywood's Mastaani. Two of Bollywood's most loved celebrities are all set to solemnize their steady-relationship of six years. Confirming the reports of their destination wedding in Italy, the couple made an appearance at the airport in the wee hours of the morning as they headed to Italy via Dubai. Twinning in white, the couple was all smiles as they met and posed for the paps and crowd that was gathered to cheer for the couple. Instagram The couple was accompanied by Ranveer's Singh family that included his mother Anju Bhavnani, father Jagjit Singh Bhavnani, and sister Ritika Bhavnani. Instagram As per reports, the couple will exchange wedding vows in Italys Villa Del Balbianello in Lake Como. Take a look at their airport pictures that prove how loved Deepika and Ranveer are two of most loved celebrities in the industry. #1 Instagram/Ranveer Fan Clubs #2 Instagram/Ranveer Fan Clubs #3 Instagram/Ranveer Fan Clubs #4 Instagram/Ranveer Fan Clubs #5 Twitter #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 On 21st October, Deepika, and Ranveer took to their social media accounts to make an official announcement of their wedding. They wrote, Instagram/Ranveer-Deepika With the blessings of our families, it gives us immense joy in sharing that our wedding is set to take place on the 14th and 15th of November, 2018. We thank you for all the love you have showered upon us over the years and seek your blessings as we embark on this incredible journey of love, loyalty, friendship and togetherness. Lots of love, Deepika and Ranveer." As we head inches closer to Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh's D-day, the excitement is doubling up every single day too. After their appearance today at the airport, it has suddenly gotten more and more difficult for all the single people who are eagerly awaiting for the cupid to change their lives. Vogue Well, the cupid stuck for Ranveer and Deepika six years ago on the sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Ram Leela and their life changed forever. Viral Bhayani The lovelorn couple has flown down to Italy for exchanging vows and we can only sit back with bated breaths to catch glimpses of what fans call #DeepVeer's wedding. Well, thanks to paps who click these celebrities that we are able to feed our curiosity. Twitter Apart from getting a confirmation that it indeed is a destination wedding for Deepika and Ranveer, looks like we have decoded another mystery. Image for representational purpose only. One of the biggest questions has been: What will Deepika and Ranveer wear? While we were relying on Nitasha Gaurav and Shaleena Nathani (Ranveer and Deepika's stylists) to spill the beans, looks like we at least now know what label the couple will be donning. A video that is now being circulated on social media gives us a major hint that Deepika and Ranveer might have zeroed down Sabyasachi for their wedding. Elle India A few paper bags in the middle of their luggage and suitcases were spotted, hinting that the couple might have chosen Sabyasachi for the functions in Italy. Also, considering how Deepika chose Orange Sabyasachi suit for Nandi Pooja in Bangalore, we are not really surprised. While we will eagerly wait for Ranveer and Deepika's official wedding pictures to melt our hearts in a few days, for now, we can only wish them good luck for the years filled with romance and love that lie ahead of them. During a surprise check, 24 health institutes were found locked and 30 officials found absent from their duties in Jammu and Kashmirs Rajouri district. The special visit was taken to find out whether officials are punctual or not. Special teams led by additional deputy commissioners inspected a total of 120 health institutions, including 26 in Nowshera, 25 in Sunderbani, 19 in Kalakote, 20 in Darhal, 26 in Manjakote and four in Kandi, he said. During the surprise checking, six health institutions in Nowshera, five in Sunderbani, five in Kalakote, two in Darhal, one in Kandi and five in Manjakote were found locked. Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Suresh Gupta has been asked to initiate strict disciplinary action in this regard, the official said. The salaries of block medical officers (BMOs) in Sunderbani, Nowshera, Kalakote and Manjakote have been withheld until further orders, he said. Meanwhile, 30 employees at the health institutes were found absent from their duties and 94 were on leave, the official said. An explanation is being sought from the CMO and BMOs whether they followed the leave rules in sanctioning leave of such a large number of employees. The deputy commissioner said the surprise checking was to ensure punctuality and discipline in the government-run health institutions. He said action shall also be initiated against authorities who have sanctioned leaves in an irrational and casual manner. Two organisations have held 32 Indians captive in Malaysia and now a Kolkata based NGO has sought intervention by Ministry of External Affairs to rescue the people who are mostly from West Bengal. The National Anti-Trafficking Committee has also written to the Prime Minister's Office and the West Bengal Chief Minister's Office to come to the rescue of the people, whose plight came to light through a video shared on WhatsApp, an official of the NGO told PTI Friday. In the video, two people from the group claimed that after reaching Malaysia, passports and visas were snatched and they were taken to Kuching, capital of the Malaysian state of Sarawak. "The two said that they, along with 23 others, were locked in one room in Malaysia by a casino staff, while seven others were held captive in another room," Sheikh Jinnar Ali of the NGO said. The group of 32, including two children, belong to the districts of North and South 24 Parganas, Hooghly and Birbhum, he said. Ali said Indian High Commission officials have informed the NGO that Malaysia police have started a probe into the matter and were able to locate their whereabouts at Kuching. He said the 32 people were initially lured with a hefty pay package in Malaysia by a man named Kabir Hussain, who runs a job consultancy firm at Gopalnagar in North 24 Parganas district. "They were made to pay Hussain around Rs 80,000 to Rs 90,000 before they were taken to Malaysia under tourist visa in September," Ali said. Following this, some of the people were "sold to a casino, while the others were sold to a construction company" in that country, the two said in the video message. They also claimed that the casino staff have threatened the people that only their "bodies would reach home". Ali said they were denied food and medical assistance in captivity, according to the video message. "When we contacted members of their respective families, they claimed to have paid agents of Hussain a hefty amount to bring the group back from Malaysia. Despite paying the sum, they were not allowed to return to India," he said. The National Anti-Trafficking Committee had played a big role in bringing back home a few goldsmiths stranded in Iran recently. In a move, which may pave way for revolutionary change in lives of the LGBTQ community, Scotland is making mandatory for its government schools to teach about LGBTQ community in order to tackle the homophobia and Scotland is the first country to do it. The government said schools would be required to adopt an LGBT+ inclusive curriculum, including tackling homophobia, biphobia and transphobia and promoting awareness of the history of LGBT+ movements. Scotland will become the first country in the world to have LGBTI inclusive education embedded in the curriculum, said a statement released on Thursday. Deputy First Minister John Swinney added that it was vital the curriculum is as diverse as the young people who learn in our schools. Campaigners said the move sent a strong and clear message that LGBT+ pupils were valued in Scotland. This is a monumental victory for our campaign, and a historic moment, Jordan Daly of the Time for Inclusive Education Campaign, which had lobbied for the change, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. reuters This sends a strong and clear message to LGBTI young people that they are valued here in Scotland. (With Reuters inputs) Jammu and Kashmir received snowfall in November bringing cheer to tourists. However, the off-season snowfall has been declared as state-specific "special natural calamity," by the Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday. This has been done to streamline providing relief and assistance to farmers affected by the unexpected event. The State Executive Committee of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) headed by Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam took stock of the extensive damage caused due to the intense snowfall on November 3 and 4 in Kashmir division, the spokesperson said. Kashmir Valley/Rediff The SEC approved notifying the snowfall as a state-specific-special natural calamity, he said. On Tuesday, Subrahmanyam said preliminary assessment suggested that nearly 53,000 hectares of horticulture and 9,000 hectares of agricultural crops have been damaged and the losses were estimated at over Rs 500 crore. Photo: BCCL On Friday, the SEC enhanced the relief amount from Rs 18,000 per hectare to Rs. 36,000 per hectare for damage to perennial crops, the spokesperson said. It also decided to categorise apple as a perennial crop. The compensation amount at enhanced rates will not exceed Rs 4,000 per affected farmer(s) having land less than one hectare and shall cover sown and planted areas only, he added. Photo: AP The chief secretary also directed officials that Rs 10 crore should be kept at the disposal of deputy commissioners for immediate disbursement as a relief as per SDRF norms. The SEC approved the allocation of Rs 28 crore for procurement of machines by the PW(R&B) department, the spokesperson said. Indian cinema, post-Independence, brought out the brilliance of cinematography skills and the art of telling stories on a global scale. The industry sure has had a glorious past. This past, sadly, seems to be fading away to oblivion. To leave us a reminder of what the Indian cinema left for us, photographer Nandita Raman has captured a compelling series. .sepiaeye.com/Nandita Raman .sepiaeye.com/Nandita Raman Her series titled, ''Do Not Forget Me, is now on display at the sepiaEYE gallery in New York and it showcases the Indian film industry's forgotten past. The pictures include sound consoles and projectors, equipment and even India's iconic film director, Satyajit Ray's chair and camera that he used to shoot. sepiaeye.com/Nandita Raman Raman captures the spirit of Indias cinema industry in the years after Independence. SepiEYE Gallery on their website say, "In Manik-das Camera, there appears to be three floating cameras enveloped in a haze achieved by using the image multiplier filter from the floating cameras kit. These filters were once popular for depicting fantastical dream sequences in Indian films. nanditaraman.com/sepiaeye.com .sepiaeye.com/Nandita Raman Satyajit Ray, the famous filmmaker, was known amongst his friends and the industry as Manik-da. sepiaeye.com/Nandita Raman In a press release Nandita Raman said, "When I went back to Kolkata in 2013 a few years after photographing the cinema halls there, it was evident to trace the footsteps of film backwards from the cinema hall to film studio. sepiaeye.com/Nandita Raman "The old filmmaking gear was stored in corners of the shooting floors and in dark rooms shrouded under blankets. When this equipment was uncovered, I sensed the spirit of experimentation and whim of post independence (50s and 70s)." .sepiaeye.com/Nandita Raman "It is this spirit that I pursued while photographing these machines of optics and sound," says Nandita Raman. According to her website, Nandita Raman works with a range of mediums including photography, video, drawing and language. Her work has most notably been exhibited at Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University and Columbia University. Apart from being a popular dating app, Tinder seems to have some other benefits too; this US girl is showing the world how. For someone who hates math and struggles with it, this is an ingenious solution. 19-year-old Madeline McMaster, a second year student in the University of Minnesota, was about to appear for her Midterm exams and she took to Tinder to seek help for an upcoming Calculus test. She clicked a photo of herself holding a placard with the words "I need help with math" handwritten on it. Madeline McMaster also made it clear to eligible matches know that she was only here to learn math. The photo went viral on the microblogging site with many people loved Madeline's unique use of the dating app. #1 This is amazing Bonnie Kavoussi (@bkavoussi) 8 November 2018 #2 this reached my country... so did you pass the exam in the end? su- qo (@milanist77) 10 November 2018 #3 teach me your ways Ive been trying to do this for years demitria (@tsabanty17) 8 November 2018 #4 What problems do you have in calculas? kshitizrocking@gmail (@kshitiz_Youtube) 10 November 2018 #5 Actors Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone arrive at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport as they leave for their wedding in Italy. They will tie the knot in a ceremony which will take place over two days on Nov. 14-15. (IANS photo) Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of State for Defense Subhash Bhamre and Army Staff Chief General Bipin Rawat at the induction ceremony of three major artillery gun systems, including the M777 American Ultra Light Howitzers, K-9 Vajra and the Composite Gun Towing Vehicle into the Indian Army in Deolali, Maharashtra, Nov. 9. (IANS/DPRO photo) Switch the Market flag Open the menu and switch the Market flag for targeted data from your country of choice. for targeted data from your country of choice. By Eamon Quinn Many of the adverse trends leading to multiple closures of shops in the UK will likely accelerate in Ireland too, a retail researcher has said. Gordon Fletcher, of the University of Salford Business School, said the UK retail shakeout will affect Ireland and that commercial landlords will unlikely cut rents on Irish main streets without a fight. His comments come after PwC said its latest study showed that every day 14 shops closed on British high streets in the last six months, a record level of closures. A combination of growth in online shopping, shift to in-home leisure, heightened restructuring activity and ongoing digitisation of services has seen the half-year net reduction in stores on Britains high streets reach record levels, the report shows. In Ireland, the retail trade groups have hailed third-quarter sales and predict that many retailers are looking forward to strong Christmas sales. However, Salford Business Schools Mr Fletcher said there is some evidence that some retail landlords in Ireland and the UK will be forced to adopt the US-model of pricing rents on the basis of turnover. In the UK, the worst affected are retailers in the direct firing line of online retail rivals, including fashion and electrical stores, the PwC report shows, but UK restaurants are also going under, as an increasing consumer preference for in-home leisure eating, drinking and entertaining at home hits pubs and restaurants which are struggling with rising prices and too many rivals. PwC said 1,123 stores closed in Britains top 500 high streets in the first six months, with 1,569 shops opening and 2,692 shops closing. And new store openings fell by a third from a year earlier. Our latest research highlights the challenges facing the retail and leisure sectors on Britains high streets. The continued rate of store closures reflects the new reality that many of us prefer to shop online and increasingly eat, drink and entertain at home. The high street is adapting to an overcapacity in retail and leisure space resulting from these channel shifts, said Lisa Hooker at PwC. Openings simply arent replacing the closures at a fast enough rate. Specifically, the openings across experiential chains, such as ice-cream parlours, beauty salons, and vape shops, havent been enough to offset closures in the more traditional categories. Looking ahead, the turmoil facing the sector is unlikely to abate, she said. PwC said: The British high street is in urgent need of new ways of thinking and new forms of retail. Encouraging this should be a priority, and it remains to be seen if recent packages of support for the high street and reductions in business rates for smaller retailers will be sufficient to stimulate this. Just under 200 Irish farms will be affected by one of the main proposals to reform the EUs Common Agricultural Policy which will set a cap of 100,000 on payments to farmers. Research by the Oireachtas Parliamentary Budget Office shows the proposed introduction of a 100,000 ceiling from 2020 has the potential to directly impact on only 199 out of more than 124,000 Irish farmers who received payments under CAP. However, they are threatened with losing more than 6.6m in income each year under the proposed reform of CAP, with an average annual reduction of 33,211. Half of the total is accounted by farmers from five counties: Cork, Meath, Wexford, Tipperary and Kildare. They include 27 farmers based in Cork who are set to lose more than 1.1m in income an average of 40,994 each. There are also plans to allow individual EU states to lower the level of subsidy to farmers receiving over 60,000 per annum in direct payments from the EU. The main aim of the proposal which will see the overall CAP budget reduced by at least 5% is to cut the size of financial supports to the EUs largest farmers. It comes after figures showed that 20% of farmers received around 80% of direct payments under the previous reform of CAP introduced in 2013. Only 1.4% of Irish farmers get payments over 50,000 but they account for almost 10% of all such payments. The research shows that more than 40% of all payments go to less than 12% of farmers while almost 70% of all farmers receive less than 10,000 per annum from the EU. Ireland received 1.54bn under CAP last year (2.6% of the entire CAP budget) of which 1.2bn was in direct payments to farmers. It is estimated that the impact of Brexit with the loss of the UK contribution will reduce the annual CAP budget, which was 58.9bn last year, by around 3bn. The figures show 80% of CAP funding for Ireland goes towards direct payments to farmers. Irish farmers are heavily dependent on EU subsidies with 56% of average family farm income coming from direct payments from CAP funds. The figure ranges from 22% for dairy farmers to over 100% for farmers rearing cattle and sheep. A dependency that is over 100% of income indicates that this sector is economically vulnerable and is trading at a loss, the report said. Several counties including Leitrim, Longford, Sligo, Donegal, Westmeath and Laois are almost entirely dependent on CAP direct supports for income. The latest figures show average family farm income in Ireland is 31,442 of which CAP contributes 17,569. It compared to the national average wage of 37,646. There are also regional variations in dependence on EU subsidies with farmers in Connacht and Ulster entirely dependent on CAP payments compared to 83% of farmers in Leinster and 65% of farmers in Munster. The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now. Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market. In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender. India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex. Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted. But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted? Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner. If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems. I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now. I want more variation in masturbation I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own. If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end. What is sex toys for Indian? Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation. It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms. They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable. Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner. The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner. It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past. In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping. Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order. In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing. Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome. Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own. But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance. More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around. Sextoy situation in India Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years. In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India. Mumbai Kolkata Bangalore Delhi Chennai Hyderabad These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India. In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well. If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too. If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it. What are Sextoys for beginner? Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms. Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy. I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion. I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy. If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma. Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it. Advantages of using sextoy for Indians There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways. Can have stimulating sex Can develop new sexual zones If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern. However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways. You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation. Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever. There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure. This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it. When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems. It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms). For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles [Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou... Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India. Sextoy for beginner men in India So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners. For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men! The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men Masturbator Cock rings Love Doll Sex Lubricants Toys for the prostate Lets check each one in detail. Masturbator The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products. It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands. Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands. They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.) Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much. Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! ! Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa SEXToys India PR (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018 Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood. If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ... [For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien... Cock Ring A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis. It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow. It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber. In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection. Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction. It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it. Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time. Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function. Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy. You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect. [Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat... Love Doll Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex. There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women. Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price. The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true. You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste. There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice. You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls. If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to... Sex lubricants Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules. It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution. Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse. There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent. Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent. If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here. What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many... Toys for the Prostate Another sextoy for men is prostate toys. The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line. Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men. Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men. What is the prostate? The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm. You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus. By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms. Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.) The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation. Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure. sextoy for beinner women in India The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy. The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy. Vibrator. Dildo Electric Masserger Lets check out what each one is in detail. If you want to check out womens toys, click here. [BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm... Vibrators A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator. Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy. It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy. Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women. For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators. Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex. Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself. This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual. Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men. When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons. Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most... Dildo A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis. It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass. A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it. They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well. It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device. A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo. Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands. For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis. This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one. To learn more about dildo, please click here. What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th... Electric Masserger A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores. It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low. Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels. Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation. It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure. For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm. It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out. If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager? To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here. What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th... How to choose a sextoy for Indian Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one. Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points: Does the size fit you (the partner)? Does the size fit you (your partner)? Is the environment able to produce sound without problems? Price range First of all, the choice of size is quite important. Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women. For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage. Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems. Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise. If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level. Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it. Finally, there is the price range. The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest. Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy. Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy? I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance. For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics. If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out. How to buy sextoys in India The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping. For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below. Sextoy is one of them. Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping. SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India. They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry. Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card. To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy. ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal. Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on. Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture. Cautions for Indians using sextoy When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind Keep sex toys clean Watch out for electrical leakage Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone. Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there. It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case. In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness. Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful. If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it. You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly. Summary What did you think? In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India. The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future. As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values. However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health. If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try? Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women. I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it. My thong days are long gone. But for women everywhere this week the revelation that a teenagers choice of underwear in this case a thong with a lace front signalled an availability for sex, was simply too much. The episode surrounds a 27-year-old-man who had denied raping a 17-year-old girl in a laneway in Cork. He was found not guilty by the jury of eight men and four women at the Central Criminal Court. In her closing address, senior counsel Elizabeth OConnell told the jury they should have regard for the fact that the girl was wearing a thong with a lace front. Upon first reading it I had this crazy image of women everywhere, first thing in the morning, arranging an array of underwear on the bed. Needless to say they would range in size, style and colour. The internal female monologue would consist of asking themselves which of their many knickers would suit the day/activities to come. Would it be a regular briefs kinda day or maybe a Sunday where they were going to stay at home on the sofa, lessening the chances of meeting anyone, so opt for a big, comfy pair, or alternatively a thong/rapey kind of day/night. Perhaps, covering all bases, theyd opt for a more bikini style in a bright colour purely on the basis that you can never really predict what any day is going to bring in terms of potential underwear action. After the sarcasm/anger stage came the despair. It was fuelled by imagining a maternal conversation with daughters coming into teenagehood and the sort of advice necessary, based upon what gets said in courtrooms, on underwear choices. Should it be as basic as no matter what, always, always, to avoid allegations of sluttery, have your bottom cheeks fully covered, and under no circumstances whatsoever opt for lace, it is seen as a true enticement? Sitting at my computer screen yesterday, writing this, and at the back of my mind having that female thing of not being seen to overreact, up pops another court case on the Irish Examiner website. It involved two men jailed for sexually assaulting a teenager while she was slumped over on a couch in a private room in a Dublin nightclub. The 21 and 22-year-old both claimed they had no memory of the offence, but pointed themselves out on CCTV footage that showed them sexually assaulting the woman. One admitted to gardai he could be seen performing oral sex on the woman. As well as being disgusted by the details I found myself wondering sardonically if, by chance, her underwear choice had played a part. Just two weeks ago I wrote a column about the daily dose of court cases and news reports involving women who had been raped and abused and murdered that I had noticed over a particular two-week period. Things have not improved since then. On the thong case, in her closing address to the jury what Elizabeth OConnell SC told jurors was that they should have regard for the underwear the complainant wore on the night. Does the evidence out-rule the possibility that she was attracted to the defendant and was open to meeting someone and being with someone? You have to look at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a thong with a lace front. It is indeed the job of any defence barrister to defend their client to the best of their ability. The reality also is that such remarks are not entirely uncommon in court rooms, and elsewhere around Ireland, with victim blaming at their heart. Its hugely depressing. Cork City Council is complicit in businesses not being able to pay their rates as a result of the daily afternoon car ban. That was the argument put forward by one businesswoman who was among a number of traders in court yesterday for rates arrears some as much as 74,000 and she blamed the car ban on the citys main street as the last straw. Susan Ryan, a respected beauty therapist and beauty educator who runs a salon on South Main St, told Judge Con OLeary yesterday that the council, which reintroduced time-regulated bus lanes on St Patricks St on August 9, is complicit in her inability to pay. The pressure they are putting on small businesses like me is unacceptable. They need to listen. Her comments come amid reports that up to 50 city traders are poised to set up a new business group in frustration over the impact of the daily 3pm to 6.30pm car ban on the citys main street. Ms Ryan said her trade is virtually nonexistent from 3pm and said she felt compelled to speak out for other small, independent traders. Judge OLeary heard several arrears cases throughout the day, with amounts ranging from 1,000 to 74,000. He was told that Ms Ryan was issued with a summons for 9,747.40 earlier this year and has previous decrees for just over 26,000 in arrears. She told the judge she did not dispute the amounts and is not ignoring the issue. I did commit to pay it off, and I am paying 500 a month. But I cant magic it out of thin air. We came through the tough times, but they put bike lanes outside my premises, and now the car ban on St Patricks St, she said. I am in business for 38 years. I have five people working full-time for me. They have mortgages. But I have zero business from 2pm or 3pm. I do believe that the city council is complicit in my inability to pay. Judge OLeary said he couldnt discuss how the city is being run and asked Ms Ryan if she had contacted public representatives. You have to twist their arm, he said, before adjourning her case until February. Speaking afterwards, an emotional Ms Ryan said self-employed traders like her are very proud, very self-reliant, and just get on with it. But the city council depends on us shutting up and saying nothing. Im hoping that if I speak out, others will pop their heads up, she said. Ms Ryan has been in the beauty business since 1981, and has run her disabled-friendly salon on South Main St for the last 18 years. She said her priority during the downturn was to pay PAYE, Vat, USC, rent, and service charges and her business survived, despite no rates reduction. She said she was laughed at when she asked City Hall for a reduction. So I knuckled down and did the best I could. I just got on top of the bill when the council moved the goalposts and restricted traffic into the city. The final nail was when the council restricted cars through the city, she said. Many of my clients are old and infirm so those trying to get to me from the edges of the city are finding it almost impossible to get to me. These clients depend on a driver who has nowhere to stop and wait. My business has been reduced by at least a third. I actually could close at 3.30pm any afternoon. Ive done all things right, honest, and to the best of my ability. Ive had a business in Cork city since 1981, starting with one room without any help or funding from the council and built it to what it is now. I can do no more than Im doing. Im almost 60, I love my work, dependent on nobody, contribute a huge amount to the economy, have staff with mortgages, and Im the one in court. The council has said that summons are only issued if, after exploring a number of avenues, the business owner is still not paying their arrears. Council figures show footfall on St Patricks St has remained steady since August. Bus Eireann said passenger journeys in Cork were up 8% last month compared to October 2017, and that it has seen improvements in trip times and average speeds for bus services operating through St Patricks St. Commercial rates account for just over 40% of the councils income. The 2019 rate will be set next Thursday. The rate was increased by 1.25% in 2016, the first increase in eight years. The car ban is expected to be discussed at Mondays city council meeting. Nurses emerged disappointed from talks with the Department of Health and HSE yesterday aimed at averting a strike over unsafe staffing levels. Members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation are due to begin voting on strike action from Monday week, November 19. The INMO said they left a two-week cooling off period to allow the employers to make realistic proposals to avert a dispute. The union was disappointed that no proposals were made at the meeting but reaffirmed they were available to meet any day before balloting began. Officials from the department and HSE are committed to further talks next week. Nurses and midwives are concerned that pay is too low to recruit and retain enough staff for safe care. Last month, INMO members overwhelmingly rejected proposals from the Public Service Pay Commission. The commission recommended increases in some allowances and greater access to promotional posts but did not find there was a case for addressing the pay issue. The Psychiatric Nurses Association also rejected the commissions proposals in a vote last month. The association has asked for a down payment while issues around the retention allowance and parity with therapy grades are discussed. Officials from the department and HSE said they would come back to them next Tuesday afternoon with a response ahead of the PNA executive meeting on Thursday. The PNA has also warned of ongoing disruption to ambulance services as an overtime ban by 500 ambulance personnel continues into the second week. The chairwoman of the Nasra branch of PNA, Sinead McGrath, said it was time for Health Minister Simon Harris to intervene. The dispute is over the refusal of the HSE to engage in negotiations with the PNA when representing the interests of ambulance personnel. By Niall Murray Children from the western and central suburbs of the southside of Cork City will be eligible to apply for places in a primary school to open next year. The patron of the start-up school has yet to be decided, in a process involving local parents about to get under way soon, but the catchment area has been outlined in a map from the Department of Education. It covers areas south of the River Lee in the city, and bounded to the east by South City Link Rd to take in areas like the south inner city, Turners Cross, and Ballyphehane. The catchment will also include areas such as Glasheen and Wilton to the west and generally to the north of Corks South Ring Rd, but also including parts of Togher south of the national route. The western boundary of the schools catchment will run from Waterfall to the western end of the Carrigrohane Rd, taking in the Curraheen and Bishopstown residential areas. The area is one of 12 where prospective patrons have been invited to nominate themselves for possible selection by parents. The schools are set to open in temporary accommodation next autumn, the others being seven in Dublin city and county, two in Co Kildare, and one each in Meath and Wicklow. After the invitation period for patrons closes next Tuesday, parents of pre-school in the south of Cork city and the other areas can go online to find out which patrons want to start the primary school locally. The process is likely to remain open for at least a month before Department of Education officials compile a report for the New Schools Establishment Group to recommend to Education Minister Joe McHugh which patron should be selected, with the successful applicants likely to be named in spring 2019. The 12 areas are among the 42 named last March where the Department of Education plans to open primary and second-level schools in the next four years. A process to select patrons of four second-level schools was concluded last week, with the announcement that multi-denominational group Educate Together will open each of the four. The Irish Examiner reported last week that the Department of Education has increased limits on spending by an applicant promoting themselves as patron from 300 to 500 in each area. Among nine different organisations that applied this summer to be the patrons of the four new second-level schools, the department said two unnamed bodies breached the previous limit. A special tribute will be paid to the late Emma Mhic Mhathuna at St. Patrick's College in Maynooth later today. Archbishop Eamonn Martin will make the tribute as part of a graduation ceremony at the college. Update: Two men arrested in relation to a drugs seizure in Cork have been released without charge. They were detained after drugs worth an estimated 180 thousand euro was found during planned searches of two houses in Passage West last night. Cannabis resin, ecstasy tablets, cannabis herb and cocaine was seized along with some cash. Both men were released without charge this evening - a file will now be prepared for the DPP. Two men arrested after drugs worth 180,000 seized in Cork city Earlier: Two men have been arrested after drugs with an estimated value of 180,000 were seized in Cork city. Gardai conducted a planned search of two houses in the Maulbaun Estate, Passage West, last night at 11pm. During the search, cannabis resin, ecstasy tablets, cannabis herb and cocaine were seized along with some cash. The men, aged in their late 40s and early 50s were arrested at the scene and are currently detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Drug Trafficking Act, 1996 at Bridewell Garda Station. They can be held for up to seven days. The search was part of an operation targeting the sale and supply of drugs in Cork City. Digital Desk Des ODriscoll offers a round up of what's going on around the country GIG WISE: Whatever about making plans for summer, one of the big announcements over the past few days was for a gig that is over a year away. Sigrid will play the 3Arena on November 22, 2019, near the end of what will be a huge year for the ascendant Norwegian. Tickets went on sale this morning, but it really is probably too early to include them is this years batch of Christmas pressies. Meanwhile, The Specials have added a second night to the their Dublin visit, now appearing at the Olympia on April 11 and 12. Bon Jovi also had a second gig up their sleeves, which they unveiled yesterday. The New Jersey band will now play the RDS on June 15 and 16. There are still some tickets left for Microdisneys last ever gig, at Cyprus Avenue in Cork, on Feb 19, while Gavin James is also heading to Leeside for a concert at Cork Opera House on April 12. DANCE FLOOR: He usually comes just once a year in late December, and those annual visits always bring much joy to the boys and girls of Cork. Yes, Kerri Chandler is back in town. The American house supremo makes an appearance at Cyprus Avenue on December 28, and will also play the previous night at Resident 8 in Dublin. Of course, his first visit to Ireland was way back in the 20th century to play at Sir Henrys, and the countdown is very much on for the sold-out Sweat/Go Deep 30th anniversary events being held on Nov 23-24. Among the related fare is an exhibition at the BDSM bar of pictures Luke OBrien took in the South Main Street venue. FILM TIPS: All eyes in Cork are on the citys film festival which kicks off tonight, and runs until Sunday 18th. The event really does seem to have upped its game further this year, particularly with some films that have already created a stir on the international festival circuit. Meanwhile, UK director Steve McQueen is one of those film-makers whos kept up the quality quotient in his transition from arthouse to mainstream cinemas, and his latest offering, Widows, arrives today with a heap of lavish praise. Co-written by Gillian Gone Girl Flynn, it features four women who plan a heist. And if youve any Harry Potter fans in your house, assure them its just seven more sleeps to the arrival of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. ON THE TELLY: Peter Jacksons, below, war documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old, is getting a limited cinema release as well as being shown on BBC on Sunday, and the Lord of the Rings director is also the subject of a doc himself on BBC Four on Monday. What Do Artists Do All Day follows the Kiwi film-maker through some of the cutting-edge techniques he used to enhance the archive footage of the Great War. Art fans should check out Egon Schiele: Dangerous Desire on BBC Two tomorrow, all about the Austrian artist who stirred controversy with his nude paintings before he died in 1918 of Spanish flu. And those who like something a bit lighter may be interested in Graham Nortons guestlist tonight, led by Michael Buble and Ian McKellen. ALL AND SUNDRY: For artsy and craftsy gifties, the Glucksman in Cork is one of the venues hosting sales fairs over the next few weeks, with textiles, jewellery, ceramics, etc. Admission 5. Also in Cork, Jorg Widmann conducts the Irish Chamber Orchestra at the CIT School of Music on Friday, Nov 16. Upcoming theatre offerings include Peter Coonan of Love/Hate starring in Recovery, described as a fusion of music and movement at Cork Arts Theatre on Wednesday, November 14. Theres also plenty movement in Soldier Still at the Everyman on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a speaking part for army whistleblower Tom Clonan. By Rachel Marie Walsh On the red carpet this week... Emily Blunt Emily Blunt wore a white Khaite dress to the CFDA / Vogue Fashion Funds 15th anniversary event in New York on Monday. The local brand does pretty stuff and she picks up the sparkles on her dress with Sophia Webster sandals. Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld hosted the MTV European Music Awards in Bilbao on Sunday. She wore this super-cute Armani Prive dress to walk the red carpet, pairing them with crystal-covered Louboutins. Nicki Minaj Nicki Minaj chose a silvery white Atelier Versace look for the same event. Shes worn a bodysuit with a long see-through skirt so often already but the mask and harness are new. Iman Iman chose a striking Zac Posen gown for the Elton John AIDS Foundations 17th Annual An Enduring Vision Benefit in New York. With a caped back, fishtail skirt and sculpted bodice, this look surely required all her supermodel powers. A Brady Bunch-style home with an Out of Africa look this Tipp home still making Banner headlines, says Trish Dromey. Elegant and extra spacious with a distinctive African twist, Ballycuddymore House in Tipperary might be described as a Brady Bunch-style home. The five-bed house is, like the one in the US sit com, designed to accommodate a blended family one which came about when an Irish man with two children met and married a Zimbabwean woman with three children and who, together, went on to have two more of their own. In 2005, they bought this renovated and extended farmhouse in Tipperary, and then they extended and renovated some more. When we moved in we had six children under the age of 11 and have had another since then. The family was growing and the house had to grow with it, says the owner Shane Moran who, very fortunately, happens to be a builder. Even before they moved to Ireland from South Africa, his wife Caron had spotted and admired Ballycuddymore on the internet. A 19th century stone farmhouse which had been renovated by a carpenter from New Zealand in the 1990s, it had great charm as well as over an acre of land with space for both children and horses. Months later, while looking at other houses in the area, they were delighted to discover that Ballycuddymore was still available. We saw it, loved it and put in an offer the next day, reveals Shane. Thirteen years on, the house extends to over 3,800 sq ft and has an estimated three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two sitting rooms and a sunroom/dining room more than it had when they bought it. It also has a cedar clad one-bed cottage as well as stables and a sand arena. Still very much a traditional style property, it has been given a very distinctive look by Caron who filled it with African paintings, furniture and animal skin rugs and also added on two African style verandas. We didnt want sharp edges or modern glass we wanted to keep the traditional nature of the house and expand on it, says Shane explaining that he renovated a tongue and groove ceiling in one of the rooms and added ceiling beams in the main living areas. While Shane took care of the alterations and the additions, Caron handled almost everything else. I love to collect bits and pieces from antique stores, charity shops, second hand stores to combine old and new and to find love for the unwanted. She chose white for the majority of the walls, decorating with colorful furniture and a multitude of paintings and photographs. The tiled entrance at the front of the house has a piano, a seated teddy bear and like almost every room in the house, walls covered with framed photos and artwork. Located at the centre of the extra spacious property is a traditional style sitting room which has a large fireplace with a stove, white walls, timber ceiling beams and mostly red furniture including a sofa rescued from a charity shop. A striking painting of Nguni African cattle and a large animal skin rug show the strong African influence. An archway with a sliding door connects the sitting room to the kitchen, which has recently been redone with cream units, granite worktops, a large oak topped island unit with a breakfast bar. Adjoining the kitchen is a spacious bright, highly glazed sunroom/dining room with a ceiling beam and a huge old table from a Limerick rectory, which Caron purchased at auction. To the rear theres a lounge which the family call the Africa room. The walls are covered in painting from Tendai, a self-taught artist who uses vibrant colours in his African scenes, explains Caron. The first project carried out after they moved in, was the addition of a large master bedroom on the ground floor. This has an en suite with a free-standing bath and a shower as well a dressing room with a fireplace which was once the parlor. Other rooms at this level include another living room, a laundry room, a mudroom, an office and a guest WC. At the top of the stairs is an oak floored games room with extensive shelving. The first floor also has the main bathroom and four bedrooms, two en suite and one with a walk in wardrobe. Theres also a small study/family photo gallery. Outside there are two blue-pillared verandas one over the entrance and another at a gable end with a decked seating area. Fitted with oil heating and double glazing, the house has an air to water heat pump which provides a plentiful hot water supply for a family of nine. Much of the site is given over to paddock but the Morans put in a sand area, as well as a stable block and tack room. Two years ago Shane added on a modern cedar clad 680 sq ft cottage for Carons parents which has a bedroom, a bathroom and kitchen/diner and living area. Located around eight kilometers from Nenagh and 30 from Limerick, Ballycuddymore is also within 15 kilometres of Lough Derg. Seeking offers of 765,000, selling agents DNG Michael Gilmartin says its a unique property with stylish and comfortable living space which beautifully combines old world features and contemporary design. Mr Gilmartin expects it to have strong appeal to executive buyers in Shannon and Limerick. VERDICT: Spacious enough for even the largest of families. Nenagh, Co Tipperary 765,000 Size: 358 sq m (3,853 sq ft) Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 5 BER: C1 As a massive Samcro fan, from the first day he set foot on a racecourse, I will be surprised should he be good enough to win the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March. My doubts surfaced after he landed the Grade 1 Ballymore Novices Hurdle at this years Cheltenham festival. I know there were plenty raving about him following the contest and what wasnt to like, considering he won comfortably by two and three quarter-lengths? On top of that the form has worked out reasonably well, with Black Op (second) and Next Destination (third) going on to win at Aintree and Punchestown respectively. To my eyes, however, the performance left plenty to be desired. It was of the workmanlike variety and the wow factor many of us had come to expect, seemed to be missing. Samcro just didnt lengthen away, as he had done in his three previous races over flights in Ireland, and the air of invincibility he had leaving this country for the first time wasnt there anymore. In fairness the horses owner, Michael OLeary, was at pains one-day, in an interview with Matt Chapman on At The Races, well before Cheltenham, to stress we were all essentially guilty of getting carried away with Samcro. Said OLeary: All this hype is rubbish, he is not the second coming of Jesus Christ. They were prophetic words, particularly in the light of Samcros shock defeat by Bedrock on his seasonal debut at Down Royal eight days ago. The decision to train Samcro for the Champion Hurdle was no great shock and, reading between the lines, and listening to Gordon Elliott, it seems this was always the favoured route for connections. But beaten a length and a half into second by Bedrock was not a good start, even accepting the winner had a huge fitness edge, as had the disappointing third, Sharjah, who was well backed on the day to turn over Samcro. Elliotts charge did little wrong through most of the race, jumping and travelling nicely within himself. But from the second last flight there was no real spark and he was readily outpointed. Now it is obvious he was a long way removed from being at peak fitness and is entitled to come on a bundle for the outing. The Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown tomorrow week has been mapped out as next and a much-improved effort can probably be anticipated. The worry, though, with a Champion Hurdle challenge by this horse is that it is clearly very much ground dependent. All the evidence tells us he loves a soft or heavy surface and I would not back anything to beat him, over two miles, on such ground. The odds, however, are against him being facilitated in such a manner at Cheltenham and that is the problem. Realistically, the only justification for delaying Samcros graduation to his true vocation, jumping fences, will be if he wins the Champion Hurdle. This week he was available for the Champion Hurdle at between 7-2 and 9-2, with one firm offering 5-1. You can make the argument, as many have, that there are practically no top-class hurdlers about, but I still say to the layers thanks, but no thanks. THE politically correct were out in force on twitter, and elsewhere as well, whingeing about Christophe Soumillons use of the whip, after he had ridden Thunder Snow to finish third in the Classic, the final race of the Breeders Cup, at Churchill Downs last Saturday night. Those who claim to be good at counting say he hit the horse 18 times from the turn in, although watching it back I couldnt quite get to that figure. There is no doubt it was unedifying and he would have been suspended in Europe. But the Americans saw nothing wrong and it was enlightening to read the comments of the legendary Steve Cauthen, as told by Richard Forristal in Mondays Racing Post. Cauthen came over from the States to ride in Britain in 1979 and was at this side of the pond throughout the 80s and into the 90s. He was one of the best jockeys of all time and I have very fond memories of pay days he provided, especially his Epsom Derby successes aboard Slip Anchor (85) and Reference Point (87), when beating the bookmaker wasnt just important, it was a matter of life and death! Cauthen had a terrific clock in his head and was a magnificent pilot. He has long returned home and his comments on Soumillon, and the use of the whip in general, made delightful reading for those of us who believe this issue is blown out of all proportion. This is how Forristal quoted Cauthen: In my personal opinion, Soumillon is a heck of a good rider-the best rider in France. It really doesnt matter how many times you hit them, as long as you are not hurting them and theyre running for you. If theyre not responding, you quit hitting them. You cant put a number on it. As a guy who rode for 17 years, all this is hogwash. Forty years ago, when they started talking along such lines in Britain, it made me laugh, it really did. Thoroughbreds are the most pampered animals in the world. They are cared for, fed and loved the best and, for those two minutes they are out there, theyve got to lay it on the line. I dont agree with all the soft sell these days. Im not close-minded in trying to improve things, but it is almost impossible to leave a welt with the whips now. What a breath of fresh air from a man who knows what hes talking about, as brilliant on the ground as he was in the saddle. AIDAN OBrien failed to hit the jackpot with multiple runners over the two days of the Breeders Cup, but will surely have been greatly encouraged by the displays of two of his inmates in particular, the fillies, So Perfect and Magical. So Perfect was noted staying on strongly at the end of the five and a half furlongs of a Listed event, finishing third, and, hopefully, will train on over the winter. It was Magical, however, who was the real star of the show for Ballydoyle, giving the superb Enable a real battle, in a mile and a half Grade 1, before going down by three parts of a length. The fact it was nine lengths back to the third tells us all we need to know. Magical, a daughter of who else, Galileo, will make some four-year-old. On Thursday they downed tools on a site in Dublins Aungier St. In recent months their colleagues working on the Macroom bypass staged a similar protest. They want collective bargaining with the employer, Irish Archaeological Consultancy, which is doing very well for itself on the back of a construction boom. Whats the big deal about another group of workers looking to improve their lot? The protest by archaeologists is instructive because these people with a professional qualification, doing important cultural, historic and commercial work, are part of the precariat. They are forced by working conditions to live week to week. Their work involves delving into the past but they can do precious little to plan for the future. The precariat is that section of the Irish economy hidden from view in the bright, shining statistics. The term, popularised in a 2014 book by economist, Guy Standing, defines those whose precarious employment has serious repercussions for their lives, and by extension for society as a whole. Standing defined the precariat as those having lives dominated by insecurity, debt, uncertainty and humiliation. They are becoming denizens rather than citizens, losing cultural, social political and economic rights built up over generations. Weekly now, we are reminded how the economy in this country is flying. The latest congratulatory note came from Mario Draghi, the head of the European Central Bank. He told an Oireachtas committee on Thursday that the Irish economy is in danger of overheating. Ireland is now growing at the fastest pace of any euro area country, he said. But what of the fruits? One section of society that is not surfing the wave of prosperity is the precariat. Those in precarious work are spread right across the economy, through retail, hospitality, media, teaching, academia and particularly the likes of construction. Through these and other sectors people are routinely employed on if and when contracts which effectively mean that on Sunday you might find out how much work you have the following week. Bogus self-employment is the other method of precarious work. Here workers are told to class themselves self-employed even though they are effectively employed. This deprives workers of all the benefits of employment but forces them to endure the precarious nature of self-employment without enjoying the possible monetary benefits of that status. In this world, holidays are something to be hoped for rather than expected. Complaints about conditions or other normal workplace issues are simply not entertained. To complain is to put oneself in a position where there may be no work next week and no obligation on an employer to explain why. And basic life planning is simply put on hold. Nobody knows how many are actually being subjected to this. Some estimates put it at one-fifth of the workforce. At an Oireachtas hearing on Thursday, an assistant secretary for the Department of Social Protection told parliamentarians that bogus self-employment is not as big an issue as some suggest. She then admitted that the department doesnt know how many people have been forced into bogus self-employment. A major report into the challenges faced by the precariat, Precarious Work, Precarious Lives, by the thinktank Tasc was published on the same day. It provided a window into some of the lives of those who live week to week. Heres Elaine, a commercial archaeologist. At the moment, I dont have a contract and Ive been working for this company for a year. Tomorrow they could tell me anything. Flexible working conditions is great for them but it just means total uncertainty for me. Louise is a shop assistant who has been working in the business for 10 years. You never know from week to week what hours youre in. Youre always in different hours on different daysbut you have to be 100% flexible, she told the reports authors. Martin is a bar worker on an if and when contract, told if he will be needed week by week and when during the week he will be needed: Especially at this time of year were all conscious of homeless people on the street and you can see how a few bad months that could be me. Its not a problem that is a million miles away from home. The impact of this creeping casualisation of work, as described by Labour senator Jed Nash at the reports launch is felt right through peoples lives. Starting a family must be postponed or foregone. The prospect of owning a home is beyond reach. The whole concept of laying down roots and contributing to a community is shaky. At the moment there is precious little acknowledgement at official level that huge numbers are now living precarious lives. Nash admits that its difficult to get most politicians to focus on it. Instead, the stats are held up as proof positive that there is plenty of work out there for anybody who wants it. Its as if the Government is acutely aware that the current prosperity is itself precarious. If, for instance, action were to be taken to address problems in the workplace, would this contribute to shaking the edifice that has been built coming out of recession? Employers who are benefiting from the current system would be loathe to have it changed in a manner that would affect the complete imbalance of power they enjoy over workers. Yet this is not something that can continue to remain hidden. There is a societal cost for the continuance of a system in which considerable numbers of people are prevented from having a stake. The political upheaval in places like the USA, with the election of Donald Trump, and Britain, with the Brexit vote, have, to a large extent, origins in a feeling of rootlessness among sections of the population. Much of this originated with a changed workplace in which old certainties no longer applied. The disillusionment that resulted went unaddressed by governments and, in turn, the response was to effectively lash out by voting for Trump and Brexit. We in this country have largely been insulated from such upheaval. Interestingly, not even the spectacular economic crash and subsequent austerity led to a political explosion of a similar order. Fianna Fail got annihilated in 2011, but the main thrust of politics remained in the centre. Perhaps that has led to a false sense of security in the main parties. Perhaps there is a belief that because the precariat is forced to exist in silence that there will be no repercussion for what is obviously an injustice. One can only hope that wiser heads than that prevail. For this is an issue that will not go away. You cannot hope to maintain any semblance of a status quo if a large cohort is increasingly left unmoored. By Trend Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have 30 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Nov. 10. Armenian armed forces were using heavy machine guns. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Saturday, November 10th, 2018 (11:31 am) - Score 3,789 The Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) project and UK ISP Gigaclear have issued a new joint statement, which states that the provider has yet to demonstrate a credible approach for each area in their revised roll-out plan. As a result their state aid supported deployment of 1Gbps FTTP broadband remains on hold. At present the CDS project is working with Openreach (BT), Gigaclear and wireless ISP Airband to extend the reach of superfast broadband (30Mbps+) connectivity the two rural counties and overall they aimed to cover 96% of premises by 2020 (currently around 86%). A mix of FTTC, FTTP full fibre and wireless based broadband technologies are being used (see here and here). Unfortunately it was last month revealed (here) that Gigaclears part of this project (i.e. a roll-out of full fibre to cover nearly 50,000 premises) had fallen significantly behind schedule (around 2 years by the looks of it) due to fundamental issues including management of subcontractors, build methodology and capacity within the team. In response the ISP promised to produce a new roll-out plan and to resolve the problems. Reasons for the Delays (CDS) There are five main reasons for Gigaclears delayed roll-out in the CDS programme, exposed by the collapse of Carillion telent: Poor operational capacity and decision-making within Gigaclear. Lack of contractor capacity Slow deployment by contractors. Lack of detailed planning. Failure to redesign the build methodology. One month has now passed and the CDS team recently received a copy of the providers new plan, but they are far from satisfied. According to the latest statement from CDS, Gigaclear has not yet provided enough detail and clarity for each Lot area to demonstrate a credible approach and they are thus continuing to withhold payment (i.e. the ISP remains on notice of default while more work is undertaken to fully develop a final plan). Weve posted a summary of the latest statement below, which focuses upon on what has happened since the announcement of a significant delay and what needs to happen next in order for the project to continue. CDS & Gigaclear Statement (Extract) On October 31st Gigaclear presented CDS officers and BDUK with a broad plan on how the company can address its shortcomings and provide a firm completion date for 100% coverage against its contract. Gigaclear advanced the view that progress is being made in addressing the need for improved capacity and resources. The company proposed a new build methodology that it believes will provide a robust plan whilst reducing traffic disruption to Devon and Somerset communities. In broad terms, and based on the above, Gigaclear has proposed the following: A commitment to continuing its investment of 127.8 million in the CDS region. This comprises 60.5 million in the CDS contracts and 67.3 million in the companys commercial build. NB The total public subsidy is 31 million of which only 537,200 has been paid to Gigaclear to date. It will continue to provide full fibre-to-the-premise technology. There will be no reduction in the broadband speed made available to homes and businesses. Gigaclear is contracted to deliver superfast broadband of at least 30mbps download. The company says its service can deliver symmetrical ultrafast speeds up to 900mbps. It will continue to deliver the full coverage agreed in the contracts with CDS. That is 47,810 homes and businesses across the region. There will be no reduction in the companys commercially-funded network. That is around 43,000 homes and businesses in the region. The proposed build methodology is based on a spine and spurs approach that will reduce disruption to communities and deliver superfast broadband access to between 40% and 50% of the CDS contracted premises by June 2020 with the remaining coverage completed by June 2022. However, the company has not yet provided enough detail and clarity for each Lot area to demonstrate a credible approach is in place. Whilst coverage and a full fibre solution remain firm commitments, the proposal indicates significant delays will be felt across the CDS region. CDS therefore continues to withhold payment to Gigaclear and the company remains on notice of default while more work is undertaken to fully develop a final set of plans. Gigaclear and CDS are maintaining a dialogue and are committed to work as quickly as possible to get the best outcome for residents and businesses. A key issue to address will be whether the Government and other partners are willing to extend the time in which their funding can be used to subsidise the current contracts with Gigaclear. Currently, Government funding must be spent by March 2020. If the deadline cannot be extended it is unlikely the current contracts with Gigaclear will continue. CDS is continuing to explore with BDUK the potential for finding a solution to this issue. Similar discussions may also be required with the Heart of the South West LEP, which is being kept informed of developments, and other funders. In the meantime, CDS and Gigaclear will continue to meet in an effort to make progress on the required level of detail and clarity for each Lot area. When this work is completed CDS and BDUK will need to consider the remedial plans in detail. Separately CDS said they were also working with Openreach (BT) to extend superfast broadband coverage to those areas not included within current publicly-subsidised or commercially-funded roll-out plans. This extension of broadband coverage will be financed by a 4.7m investment, the first of a series of repayments from BT [phase 1 clawback / gainshare], said the CDS team. Apparently the plan for Openreachs extension will be announced sometime in the New Year and options are also being considered to increase the level of funding, which could support an even larger extension. Meanwhile Gigaclear said they would focus on making good its current commitments to CDS before bidding for further new BDUK contract areas, though the company and its backers reserve the right to do so (this might rule them out of the Scotland R100 contract). Design International, an innovative architectural practice with vast experience on a global scale, has appointed Mark ONeill RIBA as the new office director for its Dubai office. Regarded as one of the industrys leaders in retail architecture, Design International has a strong presence worldwide. Originally founded in Toronto, Canada, in 1965, it is now headquartered in London (UK), with offices in Milan (Italy) Shanghai (China) and Dubai. The move comes as part of its ongoing commitment to business operations in the Middle East, Africa (MEA) and India, said a statement from the company. Led by energetic and creative partners Paul Molle, Davide Padoa and Lucio Guerra, Design International is investing in the future growth of the business from its headquarters at Tower Bridge Road, it stated. Following relocation and opening of its new office in Milan, the Design International has shown the industry once more that it is as much about encouraging and developing creative talents as it is about pushing the boundaries of design to meet new standards and expectations. The Milan office hosts its very own innovation hub called DI Campus open to eight international architectural and real estate universities. This ethos is reflected in the international diversity of ts staff. A truly multi-disciplinary design studio, Design International employs interior designers, landscape architects, lighting engineers as well as graphic and branding specialists to ensure that a truly inclusive design approach can be delivered across all aspects of a particular building or development. On the appointment, the UK compoany said ONeill's appointment will help further grow and strengthen its position worldwide. He is from within the senior management team with over 30 years industry experience and has worked with Top Tier contractors, developers and AJ100 practices to develop client and project directorship across several developments in the residential, hospitality, transportation, commercial and public sectors. On his new role, ONeill said: "I am delighted to accept the exciting challenge of directing and expanding our operations within the Dubai Office." "This position will bring with it a significant and important opportunity to work with our clients in the Middle East and Africa and I Iook forward to working with DIs Dubai office team to expand the influence and capability of the company across the Middle East, Africa and India regions, he added.-TradeArabia News Service Today A few clouds. Low 52F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight A few clouds. Low 52F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow Intervals of clouds and sunshine in the morning with more clouds for later in the day. High near 80F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Nasser at the ground breaking ceremony in Moscow. Saudi Aramco, a global petroleum and natural gas company, has broken ground on a new upstream research and development (R&D) centre in Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia. The centre is Saudi Aramcos ninth R&D facility outside the kingdom and will focus on upstream technologies in simulation and modeling, advanced materials, data analytics and artificial intelligence. It promotes collaborative research activities primarily with MSU and other entities in Russia. The groundbreaking at MSU Science Park follows the announcement of a MoU signed in August by the two partners.At the event, a research agreement between Saudi Aramco and MSU was sealed to enable collaborative research projects between the two entities. Strategic collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Russia continues to progress with Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser attending the groundbreaking ceremony of a new Saudi Aramco Research Center at the MSU Science Park. Lauding the partnership, Nasser said: "Saudi Aramco welcomes the collaboration with Lomonosov Moscow State University, an institution globally renowned for its centuries-old tradition of academic excellence, and its importance to the oil and gas industry." "Strong partnerships between industry and academia are key to addressing societys energy challenges, and Saudi Aramcos global research center at MSU Science Park will help drive research and innovation to develop new technology solutions," stated Nasser. "Our ongoing strategic engagements and discussions with partners in Russia are taking our relationship to new heights. We advance our shared interests in stewarding our nations rich hydrocarbon resources, providing reliable energy sources to the world," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Damen Shipyards Group said it has delivered the third and fourth units in a four-vessel contract to Rotterdam-based Smit Lamnalco, a leading towage company. All four vessels are Damens popular and powerful ASD Tug 3212 class with a bollard pull of 80 tonnes, said a statement from the company. The order was placed in November 2017 and, with stock boats available, the first two were delivered in June and these latest arrivals in October, it said. The SL Thunggun and SL Irrong have arrived at Darwin in Australias Northern Territory and will shortly be heading east to the Weipa bauxite mine on the Cape York Peninsular, Queensland. Owned and operated by mining giant Rio Tinto, the mining complex exports around 30 million tonnes of bauxite each year via its own port. Currently a third site, the Amrun mine, is being constructed in an A$2.6 billion ($1.89 billion) project due for completion in 2019. The new infrastructure being built to support the mine includes a processing plant and a second terminal. Around 10, very large bulk carriers currently enter the existing port facilities each week to take on bauxite. The SL Thunggun and SL Irrong have been finished to meet Australian standards including AS 3000 electrical compliance and are certified Asbestos Free. With the tugs being kept on offshore moorings in a remote location Damen will be supplying a comprehensive support package to ensure maximum reliability. Smit Lamnalco is a long-standing client of Damen, with nearly 60 Damen vessels in its fleet. Damen also has a long history of providing tugs supporting other Rio Tinto terminals in Australia, including a number of ASD Tugs 3111 in Dampier, WA, plus a Stan Tug 2207 at Cape Cuvier, WA, and three additional ASD Tugs 3111 at Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal, Queensland. Vincent Maes, area sales manager for Benelux, said: The success of this project is based on Damens long-lasting relationships with both Rio Tinto and Smit Lamnalco. These are built on trust, reliability and quality. We are confident that these new tugs will be effective and efficient in their role, he added. David Fethers, regional managing director for Smit Lamnalco in Australia/PNG, said: The 3212 class was an obvious choice given the exposed location and strong currents. The fit and finish of these vessels is testament to Damens outstanding attention to detail. We are very pleased to be continuing our long relationship, he added. TradeArabia News Service Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA) has announced the arrival of two SD40-2 shunting-locomotives that will be used on its under-construction bauxite mining project in the West African country of Guinea. The largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, EGAs subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC) is building a bauxite mine and associated export facilities in Guinea in the largest greenfield investment in the country in the past 40 years. The shunting-locomotives will be used to move rail wagons around GACs loading area at its mine location and at its unloading platform at Kamsar port on the Guinean coast, said a statement from the company. The locomotives were manufactured in the US, with each power-rated to 3,000 horsepower and can shunt and manuvre up to 120 fully-laden wagons (weighing more than 10,200 tonnes). First bauxite exports from Guinea Alumina Corporations project are expected to start during the second half of 2019, it stated. GAC is expected to produce some 12 million tonnes of bauxite per year once fully operational, said its top official. The total budgeted project cost of the GAC project is around $1.4 billion, remarked the CEO Paulo Castellari. He said the arrival of these shunting-locomotives was another milestone in the development of the project, which will boost the mining sector and the economy of the area and of Guinea as a whole. "Our infrastructure for the mining of bauxite and delivery to ships for export is rapidly taking shape. We are focused on completing our work safely and efficiently," he stated. GAC said it will use existing railway lines and hauling-locomotives for most of the 90-km journey from the mine to the port. The company is building rail spurs at both ends of the line to connect the existing rail network to its facilities, it added.-TradeArabia News Service The per-capita international tourism spending from the Gulf visitors was 6.5 times higher than the global average last year, with expenditure estimated to be more than $60 billion last year, up from $40 billion in 2010, said a new report from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the European Travel Commission (ETC). The outbound tourism from the fast-growing markets of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE has been growing strongly in the recent years, stated the report. The report, entitled 'The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) Outbound Travel Market, which has been prepared by UNWTO and ETC with the support of Value Retail, examines the fast-growing GCC outbound market with an additional focus on the image of Europe as a tourism destination. "GCC countries constitute a fast-growing market with the potential to make a significant contribution to European tourism, diversifying demand and promoting new tourism segments," remarked UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili after launching the report. Amongst the key findings in the report are that outbound travel from GCC countries to European destinations has benefited from the unprecedented growth in air travel during the past decade, with Gulf carriers becoming major players in long-haul aviation. Air connectivity between Europe and the GCC has seen exponential growth, providing easy access to travel between the two regions, it stated. The report also pointed out that the GCC travellers were mostly young and family-oriented, with large disposable incomes, and looking for high-quality accommodation, food and retail services. These familes value Europes variety of attractions and landscapes, developed infrastructure and common visa and currency systems, which make multi-destination travel easier, it added. "These nations remain a growing source market for European destinations, which should themselves capitalize on the potential of a younger, value-driven, well-informed and technology-savvy GCC traveller," remarked ETC President Peter de Wilde. According to the report, Europe is seen by these GCC families as offering diversity in experiences as well as opportunities to shop for luxury and designer fashion. The report pointed out that the key barriers for GCC visitors while booking a trip to Europe include safety and security concerns, the language barrier and the high cost of holidays. The report concludes with specific recommendations on how to position and market Europe to GCC tourists. It also finds that destinations should focus on promoting specific tourism products and develop pan-European themes to attract tourists looking to visit multiple destinations. The launch of the study will be supported by a webinar providing an overview of prospects in the GCC outbound travel market, insights into the profile and behaviour of GCC travellers, and appropriate targeted marketing strategies and messages for GCC consumers, it added.-TradeArabia News Service Service Today Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High around 55F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Hard freeze expected. Low near 25F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow Sunny skies. High near 50F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph. VANCOUVER, Nov. 9, 2018 /CNW/ - NorZinc Ltd. (TSX: NZC; OTCQB: NORZF) ("NorZinc" or "the Company") reports its interim financial results and development activities for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2018 ("Q3 2018"). (All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. M = million). Q3 2018 Results & Recent Highlights Financial $20M financing closes (July) Company repays US$10M loan to become debt free (July) Cash at September 30, 2018 $13.0M Permitting Positive decision to resume All Season Road permitting at Prairie Creek (July) Positive recommendation adopted by responsible ministers on All Season Road (Oct) Project related Prairie Creek Project summer program (Aug-Oct) New resource at Lemarchant Newfoundland (Sept) Corporate Completes corporate reorganisation (Sept) Company renamed as NorZinc Ltd. (Sept) New listing symbols NZC (TSX), NORZF (OTCQB) (Sept) Loss for Q3 2018 $3.3M Liquidity At September 30, 2018, the Company a positive working capital balance of $11,733,000 which included cash and cash equivalents of $7,960,000 and short-term investments of $5,026,000. The Company is debt free, having repaid the US$10 million Project Bridge Loan, including accrued interest, in full on July 10, 2018. Prairie Creek Positive EA Recommendation Adopted On September 12, 2017, the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board ("Review Board") recommended approval of the proposed All Season Road for the Prairie Creek Mine. The Review Board issued its Report of Environmental Assessment and Reasons for Decision for the Prairie Creek All Season Road Project for the Prairie Creek Mine ("EA Report") and submitted the EA Report to the Federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs. The Review Board recommended that approval of the All Season Road be granted subject to implementation of the measures described in the EA Report, which it considers are necessary to prevent significant adverse impacts on the environment and local people. On October 9, 2018, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, on behalf of the Responsible Ministers, issued a decision adopting the Review Board's recommendation that the All Season Road for the Prairie Creek Mine be approved subject to the Review Board's conditions. Prairie Creek Plans Going Forward The permitting process has now entered the regulatory phase, conducted by the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board ("Water Board") which will receive input from territorial and federal agencies, culminating in road permits being issued by the Water Board and by Parks Canada. These permits will incorporate the recommended mitigation measures included in the EA Report. The regulatory phase is expected to be completed the mid-2019. The All Season Road follows the general alignment of the already permitted Winter Road, while reflecting the terrain, site characteristics, and road specifications suitable and preferred for an all season road. The road from the mine to Km 37.4 is permitted for all season use but needs upgrading along this section, including realignments and new watercourse crossings. NorZinc plans to construct the road over a period of three years. Prior to construction activities, the Company plans to conduct field investigations and prepare site plans (including detailed road design) and award construction contracts. Dependent on the permitting and financing timeline, construction of the All Season Road is planned to commence from a winter road in early 2020 and continue into 2022, in parallel with continuous and ongoing site construction and mine development. Newfoundland Properties - Mineral Resource Estimate Update NorZinc owns an extensive mineral land package in central Newfoundland that includes three large volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") projects, each with defined mineral deposits, and excellent exploration potential. On September 20, 2018, the Company reported an updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate for the 100% owned Lemarchant zinc-lead-copper-gold-silver VMS deposit and results of the recent barite metallurgical study. The Lemarchant deposit is part of NorZinc's 140 km2 land package in Newfoundland, located 20 km from Teck's past-producing Duck Pond copper-zinc mine. Highlights of the update include: Indicated Resource of 2.42 million tonnes grading 6.15% zinc, 1.60% lead, 0.68% copper, 1.22 g/t gold, 64.0 g/t silver and 23.5% barite (at 4.0% Zinc Equivalent cutoff) Inferred Resource of 0.56 million tonnes grading 4.68% zinc, 1.08% lead, 0.45% copper, 1.06 g/t gold, 44.7 g/t silver and 13.1% barite (at 4.0% Zinc Equivalent cutoff) Total contained metal in the Indicated Resource has increased by 123% zinc, 162% lead, 129% copper, 136% gold and 111% silver from prior 2012 resource estimate. Barite metallurgical study produced a 97.75% barite concentrate in bench scale tests. Additional drilling since the last resource estimate has improved the understanding and modelling of the deposit which now can be applied to further exploration. Details of the new Mineral Resource Estimate at a cut-off grade of 4% Zinc Equivalent ("ZnEq") can be found in the Technical Report filed on October 24, 2018 on SEDAR. Financial Results for Third Quarter of 2018 For the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2018, the Company reported a net loss and comprehensive loss of $3,450,000 and $7,916,000 respectively compared to a net loss and comprehensive loss of $2,456,000 and $8,256,000 for the same periods ended September 30, 2017. Outlook NorZinc's focus for 2018 is to continue the development of the Prairie Creek Project and advance the Prairie Creek Mine towards production. At September 30, 2018, the Company had cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling $13.0 million and a working capital balance of $11.7 million. The long-term price outlook for zinc and lead remains positive. Supported by the robust economics indicated by the 2017 Prairie Creek feasibility study, NorZinc will continue to pursue all alternatives for raising the senior financing necessary to complete the development and construction and put the Prairie Creek Mine into production. At the Prairie Creek Mine Site, various care-and-maintenance programs have been completed over the summer. A helicopter supported road program to provide additional baseline studies and data collection for the All Season Road has also been completed. Further de-risking programs, initiated at the end of the second quarter, continue and include detailed engineering and design of the mine facilities, assessment of, and proposals for, rehabilitation of certain site facilities in anticipation of construction, including site cranes, accommodation, the mill roof and some electrical facilities. The company will be considering refurbishment of some of those items in the 2019 site season prior to main construction activities planned for 2020. On the permitting and environmental side, the Company received a positive recommendation of the EA Report by the Responsible Ministers in October 2018 and has now moved from the EA process to the permitting phase for the issue of the land use permits for the All Season Road by the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board and Parks Canada. The regulatory phase is expected to be completed mid-2019. The Company continues its engagement with Indigenous groups on the implementation of various mitigation measures recommended by the Review Board in the EA Report of the All Season Road to seek agreement on the incorporation of Dene traditional knowledge and the inclusion of the Indigenous groups in environmental monitoring. About NorZinc NorZinc is a TSX-listed development company trading under the symbol "NZC". The Company's key project is the 100%-owned Prairie Creek Project, an advanced-stage zinc-lead-silver property, located in the Northwest Territories. The Company also owns an extensive land package in Newfoundland that it is exploring for zinc-lead-copper-gold-silver deposits. This news release should be read in conjunction with the Company's unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2018 and the related management's discussion and analysis which are available on the Company's website at www.norzinc.com, under the "Financials" section, or under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Cautionary Statement Forward-Looking Information This press release contains certain forward-looking information, including, among other things, the expected completion of acquisitions and the advancement of mineral properties. This forward looking information includes, or may be based upon, estimates, forecasts, and statements as to management's expectations with respect to, among other things, the completion of transactions, the issue of permits, the size and quality of mineral resources, future trends for the company, progress in development of mineral properties, future production and sales volumes, capital costs, mine production costs, demand and market outlook for metals, future metal prices and treatment and refining charges, the outcome of legal proceedings, the timing of exploration, development and mining activities, acquisition of shares in other companies and the financial results of the company. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred mineral resources are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that mineral resources will be converted into mineral reserves. Cautionary Note to United States Investors The United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") permits U.S. mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms in this press release, such as "measured," "indicated," and "inferred" "resources," which the SEC guidelines prohibit U.S. registered companies from including in their filings with the SEC. TCN News with inputs from IANS Bengaluru: Security has been stepped up across Karnataka in view of the birthday celebration (Jayanti) of the erstwhile Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan on Saturday by the ruling coalition partner Congress despite protests by the opposition BJP. We have tightened security across the state and deployed additional forces in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Kodagu and Mangaluru for peaceful celebration of Tipu Jayanti, a police officer told reporters of IANS on Friday. Support TwoCircles Section 144 has been imposed in Hubballi and some other district of Karnataka. The other alliance partner, the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), is staying away from the state-sponsored event, as evident from the absence of its Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamys name in the official invitation. The Chief Ministers office clarified that Kumaraswamy would be taking rest for three days from Saturday on the advice of his doctors. Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara of the Congress inaugurated the Jayanti at the state secretariat in the city centre in the presence of special invitees and dignitaries, including cabinet ministers from Congress side. The Congress began celebrating the birth anniversary of the 18th century controversial ruler on November 10 since 2015 to honour him as a patriot and for his yeoman service to the people in the southern region. Eldest son of Sultan Hyder Ali, Tipu (1750-1799) is also hailed as the Tiger of Mysore for fighting against the British East India Company to protect and enlarge his kingdom. Tipu had learnt several languages and also excelled in Mathematics and science. He introduced new administrative reforms and had his own coinage. He also began a new land revenue system which contributed to the growth of the Mysore silk industry.He expanded the iron-cased Mysorean rockets and commissioned the military manual Fathul Mujahidin, and is considered a pioneer in the use of rocket artillery. He deployed the rockets against advances of British forces and their allies during the Anglo-Mysore Wars. Tipu donated generously to major Hindu temples and monasteries which is recorded in the Persian language which was the court language. Tipu was killed in a battle with the British army in 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna near Mysuru, about 120km from Bengaluru. The right winged parties however oppose these celebrations calling Tipu Sultan a tyrant who repressed Hindus and Christians. This is not recorded anywhere except in English writings by the Britishers. Academic Michael Soracoe has drawn attention to the extensive phobic material on Tipu created by the English officials, writers, painters, and cartoonists in the last two decades of the 18th century with the intention of creating a rift between his Hindu subjects and capture Mysore state. An interesting fact is when B.S. Yeddyurappa quit Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and formed his own party in 2012 known as Karnataka Janatha Paksha, had donned Tipu Sultans headgear and held a mock sword praising Tipu Sultan with the intention of seeking Muslim votes. But now that he is back in the BJP and is the State president, Yeddyurappa is at the forefront opposing the celebration of Tipu Jayanthi in Karnataka on November 10. Another fact worth mentioning is that the RSS published a series called Bharata- Bharathi in kannada on the most influential personalities of India. And Tipu Sultan is one among these personalities. The Bharata- Bhatathi series have called him a patriot and a hero and there is nothing negative about him in the series. But today it is the RSS and all its affiliated groups who are opposing the celebration of Tip Jayanti. By Daisy Katta, TwoCircles.net The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is one of the largest and richest Municipal corporations in the country, with an annual budget of Rs. 27,000 crore and employing 28,000 people as sanitation workers. However, despite the manpower and the money, the condition of over 15,000 of these sanitation workers who work as contract labourers, is dismal . Recently, three sanitation workers died while cleaning a manhole in Thane in the Greater Mumbai area. Manual cleaning and scavenging without safety equipment still remains rampant practice, not only in rural but also in urban areas of Mumbai. Given the negligence of the government and the media towards the plight of these sanitation workers, Sunil Yadav from Mumbai came up with an idea of a magazine which will be run completely by sanitation workers, under the name Kaamgar Patrika (Workers Magazine). Sunil Yadav, who is currently a PhD student and an activist who has constantly been raising issues faced by a sanitation worker, works with the BMC in the motor loading department and has the first-hand experience of the issues and stigma faced by sanitation workers. Twocircles.net has previously covered Sunils journey and achievements as a scholar. Support TwoCircles I had this idea of starting a magazine by sanitation workers for a long timeI also did a degree in journalism, and one of the main objective for that was to articulate and voice the kinds of injustices faced by us. Even Babasaheb Ambedkar used writing as a weaponI met a few people who were like-minded and most importantly they were Ambedkarites. Although there is a lot of advocacy done and journalists and academics write about sanitation workers, we have not witnessed any change. That is because the narratives of sanitation workers themselves are always missing. So I thought if we have a magazine where the sanitation workers write for and about each other, it would be much more helpful to coordinate and collectively voice our issues, Yadav says in a conversation with TwoCircles.net. Yadav, who will also be heading the magazine, further added that the goal of Kaamgar Patrika is to raise the issues that concern sanitation workers. Mainstream newspapers and TV channels have failed to give us the voice we need to carry out our movement for justice. Whenever some sanitation workers die cleaning sewer lines, septic tanks, or sewage plants, the mainstream newspapers report it only once and briefly. There is hardly any follow-up done to find out if the family members of the victims got justice. Their stories of sufferings never come out. These newspapers never report that most of the sanitation workers are forced to do this work because they dont get any other job due to the stigma of caste. These newspapers celebrate only if a student tops an exam, but for us even passing an exam is an achievement. Kaamgar Patrika will tell our side of the stories, Yadav adds. The magazine is not only meant for the sanitation workers working in the municipal corporation but is open to all people involved in any kind of sanitation work. This magazine will focus on the narratives of sanitation workers, written by the workers themselves. For those who are not able to write, the editorial team will be helping them with the writing. Kaamgar Patrika also aims to encourage the children of sanitation workers to write. Kaamgar Patrika is supported by a team of people from different fields like science, finance and IT some of them are also students working on the subject. The interviews and narratives of sanitation workers will be translated in English, Hindi and Marathi with help of volunteers. Yadav also informs that the entire workload of the magazine will be handled by an editorial team of four people. The initial issue will be published online four times a month, and later in print. Speaking about the circulation of the magazine, Yadav said that as of now the magazine will be launched in Mumbai because cities like Mumbai are seen as role models for other cities. But we need to understand that violations are taking place even in cities like Mumbai. There is a large workforce who is working in private sector of Mumbai, especially on a contractual basis and we also want to connect with such people, he adds. Yadav also pointed out that very few people were educated, so they were stuck in a chain of slavery, but now many of the sanitation workers are pursuing higher education especially in fields like law. He added, Recently a Combined Law Admission Test (CLAT) exam was introduced as a mandate to pursue law from open universities, but no one will write about how such measures create exclusion for us workers who wish to study lawno one will write about how even such things are affecting us, he informs. The magazine is expected to be launched before the end of November 2018. Kaamgar Patrika team can be contacted at [email protected] GRANTS PASS, Ore. Josephine County has every intention of moving forward with a new ordinance aimed at mitigating opt-out fees for Pacific Power's smart meters, according to a statement released on Friday. Just days ago, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) threatened to take "appropriate legal action" against the county if they persisted with the ordinance. The PUC is again taking the side of Pacific Power and not our citizens, said Commissioner Simon Hare. We are more than willing to listen and work with the PUC. We remain dedicated to ensuring that Josephine County citizens have the right to consumer choice, even when dealing with utility providers. The Board of Josephine County Commissioners said that they adopted the ordinance to "protect citizens of Josephine County from arbitrary and excessive charges by providing consumer choice." Nevertheless, Pacific Power customers are indeed presented with a choice they may accept smart meter installation and see their rates stay relatively flat (public opinion has varied widely on whether customers have seen their usage rates rise, fall, or remain unchanged following installation), or persist in keeping the old, hand-read meters and pay a monthly fee. That fee is currently set at $36. Smart meters have already been rolled out and installed throughout Oregon. The County says that their "carefully crafted" ordinance goes into effect on January 29 of 2019. However, they also say that "consumers will be required to pay all portions of their electricity bills unless otherwise notified by PacifiCorp." As that date looms and Pacific Power attempts to finish their installation of the new devices, disagreement over the ordinance between Josephine County and the PUC seems destined for litigation. It is unfortunate that, after the county acted to protect citizens from suffering economic hardship, the Public Utility Commission is apparently choosing to respond by suing the county, said Wally Hicks, Josephine County legal counsel. The Portland Business Journal reports that Portland General Electric (PGE) rolled out smart meters for their customers several years ago, receiving relatively little pushback at the time. It also costs more to opt-out for PGE customers $45 per month compared to Pacific Power's $36. Pacific Power has said that Josephine County is alone in adopting an ordinance flouting smart meter installation. GLENDALE, Ore. -- Firefighters from all over the country are learning the art of cutting down hazardous trees right here in Southern Oregon. It's part of a training program called 'The Art of Felling Timber,' which is based on a book written by Grants Pass resident Roy Hauser. He spent 15 years writing the book and has 30 years' experience working on fires and falling trees. The training brings arborists and firefighters from all over the U.S. to learn the science behind the dangerous profession. The program begins in a classroom where participants go over safety and techniques. It also takes the group deep in a forest to put the skills to the test. Medford Crew 10 Firefighter Page Bisenieks said the skills are extremely important for for firefighters to have. "Just being on the saw is so much fun and so when we get the chance to come out here and cut a bunch of trees this big, we don't really get to do anything like this and spending a whole two days just cutting big timber is a blast," Bisenieks said. Hauser said about 45 people, including members of the BLM, Forest Service, and arborists, did this month's training. His daughter, Victoria, said the training aims to give crucial, first-hand experience to the group that they can take back with them all over the country. "There are too many people out there losing their lives in this workforce, this is a very dangerous workforce, and that's what we're trying to prevent," Victoria Hauser said. Medford- The American Legion is holding an event tomorrow at Hawthorne Park. The even starts at 11:00 there will be vendors, food, and a speaker. Klamath Falls- On Monday The 173rd Fighter Wing will be doing flyovers tomorrow. F-15 Eagle Fighter Jets are scheduled to do flyovers from Kingsley Field. They'll do a couple of passes between 11:00 and noon on Monday. The jets will be about 1,000 feet above ground level and traveling at about 400 mph. Merlin- Walk of Honor at the community park on Sunday starting at 11 am. Ashland- Monday November 12th Southern Oregon University will celebrate Veterans Day. The event will be 12:30-1:20pm in the Rogue River Room of the Stevenson Union. Those who have served or are currently serving are invited to participate and be recognized, and dependents of veterans are also encouraged to attend. By Imran Inamdar, TwoCircles.net In a heart-warming story of Dalit-Muslim unity from Maharashtra, an NGO managed to rebuild homes of 74 Dalit families who lost their homes to a fire with the help of generous contributions from the Muslim community in and around Pune. On April 24, the slum near Ambedkar Nagar in Pune caught fire due to a short circuit and gutted around 74 homes in just a few minutes. Thankfully, due to the help of locals and fire personnel, no lives were lost but the residents lost all their possessions. Support TwoCircles Bandhubhau Bhaichara Foundation (BBF), an organisation set up in 2014, was one of the first to come to the help of the victims, says Swati, a resident who lost all her belongings in the fire. It was a horrible daywe were on roads with kids with nothing to eatMembers of BBF came to help and provided us with food, she says in a conversation with TwoCircles.net. Shabbir Sheikh, the president of BBF, says that this effort is in line with the teachings of Islam. Our religion teaches us humanity, and to help the poor. After visiting Ambedkar Nagar slums post-fire, we decided to build the homes. We announced our intentions in some of the mosques in Pune City and stood outside the mosques to collect charity. Alhamdulillah, we received a very good response. Our community donated cash and cement, sand and other construction material. Seeing our efforts, many people volunteered as labour also while others made several anonymous contributions. Within a very short period, we met our target and it is because of the communitys efforts that we managed to hand over the keys of all the 74 homes within seven months of the fire, Sheikh adds. Meena Shinde, another resident, said she had lost all hopes after the fire. But thanks to the help of our Muslim brothers, I am happy to have returned to my home after seven months, she adds. The efforts of BBF has also helped changed the image of the Muslim community in the eyes of some of the residents. Swati adds, Earlier, I had misconceptions about Muslims as I used to here many negative things about the community. But the generosity of BBF during a period when we lost all everything and their commitment to give a roof to us once again has cleared my mindI shall never think bad about the community again. 117 Shares Share Recently, several high-profile institutions have called attention to the issue of inclusion and equity when artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are applied in medicine. Leaders from the law, medicine, social sciences and computer sciences are speaking out about the challenges of using smart algorithms to solve social problems. While this topic might easily be dismissed as anti-progress by the tech community, it should be reexamined as a genuine offer to partner leading human slow-thinkers with intuitive fast-thinking machines. Collaboration can improve the impact of AI on society. How cognitive algorithms can be biased The terms slow-thinking and fast-thinking were coined by psychologist Daniel Kahneman who shared a 2002 Nobel Prize for identifying routine cognitive biases in humans including academics trained in statistics. Kahnemans work replaced prevailing theories of humans as fully logical, utilitarian decision-makers with a more compassionate view of choices made using flawed, altruistic and often irrational cognitive algorithms. The takeaway should not be that humans are stupid, but rather to acknowledge that rational thought and cognitive biases coexist in all of us despite our best intentions. We need to design independent safeguards to protect our decision-making from sloppy heuristics. Recently, leading scientists at the Stanford Presence Centers AI in Medicine: Inclusion and Equity (AiMIE) symposium pointed out that this process applies to machines as well as humans. Current controls on human cognition Intuition evolved to be the quick-and-dirty substitute for thought when speed was necessary for survival. Although efficient, intuition is also subconscious, illogical and biased by experience. The Implicit Association Test from Harvard identifies subconscious biases from microsecond delays in choice. It was publicized on the web so scientists, public servants and policymakers can be more aware of and compensate for prejudice. A societal example of formalized processes for the same includes research ethics boards whose members are recruited from diverse sectors in society to analyze the ethical implications of proposed research projects. So how is this relevant to AI? We might assume that machine learning is better at solving problems with emotionless intuition. However, it is designed to mimic human cognitive processes, which makes it as susceptible to fast-thinking bias as human thought. I think we need to move beyond assuming that technology can inherently solve social or economic problems, says Dr. Sanjay Basu an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, And instead ask why these problems persist and whether our technology or other tools are really being designed to reinforce or challenge these problems. How machine learning algorithms can be biased At the AiMIE symposium, several luminaries weighed in on potential sources of AI bias that need to be intentionally corrected: Access to data. Because there is a digital divide in access to smartphones and computers, disadvantaged populations are persistently underrepresented in public datasets. Just like human intuition, if the data is biased, so are the algorithms. As Dr. Nirav Shah, Stanford professor and former COO of clinical operations for Kaiser Permanente in Southern California artfully suggested, Maybe data should be considered a determinant of health. Failure in algorithm design. One of the values of lean computer programming is to release early, release often, but executing prototypes in social sciences can be disastrous. As Dr. Mark Cullen, director of the Stanford Population for Health Studies, dryly commented, Intelligence rather than artificial intelligence might be more useful in reducing disparities in the short run. Positive-feedback loops. Flaws in AI design may compound. As Judge Mariano Cuellar, a California Supreme Court justice explains: If we train the machines only on the data we have today we will end up with machines that deepen the inequities of our system. Failure to adjust. While humans can comprehend outliers and tailor solutions, machines are universally merciless. Personalization can very easily become persecution. explains Virginia Eubanks, a professor of political science at the University of Albany and author of the recent book Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor which illustrated several recent injustices from poorly-designed AI algorithms used in disadvantaged populations. So how do we prevent bias? Machine bias can be addressed with the same mechanisms we use to compensate for human bias: structured thought, written logic and checking assumptions with diverse representation. In conclusion, we need humans and AI Just like human thought, intuitive decision-making and strategic decision-making coexist and each has benefits in different situations. While we need the analytical tools that AI and machine-learning can give us, we also need human capacities for messy debate, structured thought and the willingness to face uncomfortable realities. Humans trained in this type of cognition often work in public roles such as social sciences, law and medicine. These partners are willing and able to collaborate with industry often without compensation. These collaborations may take time and effort and require clear negotiation of competing interests up front; however, they make innovative products more robust, valuable and available to a broader audience. Perhaps what we need is not more human thinking or more AI, but better integration of the two heuristics so that we can achieve a cognitive stereovision. In closing, we offer a quote by Glenn Cohen, JD, a Harvard law professor and another speaker at AiMIE. William Gibson once said something along the lines of The future is already here, it is just not very evenly distributed. If the use of AI in health care is going to improve care for everyone, we have to make sure its starting assumptions, training sets and cascade effects reduce not exacerbate existing divisions. Drea Burbank is a physician-entrepreneur. Ayo Roberts and Chandi Broadbent also contributed to this article. Image credit: Shutterstock.com In order to maintain this blog I have to pay for its upkeep including a hosting company, support services, virus and other malicious hackers. If you appreciate what I write please make a donation. A report of the event by Afzal Usmani I had this title in my mind since long. And the reason is that my family was called a Sarkari Mussalman, meaning those who worked for the government, my ancestors for the British and later my grandfather, my father and I worked for the Government of India, hence our family is called Sarkari Mussalmans. This is how Lt. Gen. Zameeruddin Shah, former Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), India, explained the title of his memoir, The Sarkari Mussalman, in response to a question posed at his reception that was hosted by the Aligarh Alumni Association, Washington DC (AAA) on 21st October 2018. Gen. Shah is in the United States to attend the Sir Syed Day celebrations organized by Aligarh Alumni Associations in major US cities. He has attended events in New York, Washington DC, Cleveland and Chicago. Support TwoCircles Traditionally, the AAA, since its inception in 1975, has welcomed all the AMU vice-chancellors, which includes Prof. Ali Mohammad Khusro (1974-79), Mr. Syed Hamid (1979-84), Mr. Syed Hashim Ali (1984-89), Prof. Naseem Farooqui (1990-94), Mr. Mahmudur Rahman (1995-2000), Mr. M. Hamid Ansari (2000-2002), Mr. Naseem Ahmad (2002-2007), and Prof. P.K. Abdul Aziz (2007-2012). The reception for Gen. Shah was only the latest. The event was held at the residence of Dr. Fazal and Fathun Khan, who are long-standing members of the Association and have generously made the facilities at their home available for AAA functions. The guests were welcomed by Afzal Usmani, secretary of the Association, while Dr. Abdullah, one of the founders of the Association, formally introduced Gen. Shah and his wife, Ms. Sabiha Simi Shah. He briefly recounted major projects accomplished during Gen. Shahs Vice-chancellorship, which included beautification of the campus, renovation of its historical buildings, including the Jama Masjid, Strachey Hall, the establishment of the Musa Dakri Museum, the construction of an Olympic-size swimming pool, Riyadh Hall of residence for students, a new Community College, and fifteen Smart Classrooms supported by donations from the Alumni in the US. Dr. Abdullah revealed that the AAA had played an important role in encouraging one of its life members, Mr. Frank Islam, to donate two million US dollars for the establishment of Frank and Debbie Islam Institute of Management at AMU. Mr. Kaleem Kawaja, the executive director of the Association of Indian Muslims of America (AIM), presented a bouquet to the chief guest and Dr. Rafat Husain and Mrs. Aisha Khan presented on behalf of the AAA a plaque of appreciation to him. Addressing the audience, Gen. Shah emphasized the need for the revival of the Aligarh Movement in our time and designated it the Aligarh Movement 2. Working under the banner of the Sir Syed Education Trust, he and associates have established a school in Saharanpur district of UP, India, and aspire to open similar schools in different parts of the country, designed to cater to the needs of the underprivileged segments of society. He appealed to the alumni in diaspora for financial assistance to fulfil his dream. The talk was followed by a question and answer session which was moderated by Dr. Fazal Khan. Harris Usmani concluded the event by thanking the guests and volunteers who made the evening a memorable occasion. The author signed copies of his book which was very popular with the audience. The writer is the secretary Aligarh Alumni Association, Washington, DC CORVALLIS, Ore. -- A bomb threat was reported on the Oregon State campus Friday afternoon. Officials say the threat was written in a women's bathroom stall at the Beth Ray Center for Academic Support. The threat said a bomb would explode on Veterans Day, which is Sunday. Law enforcement officials are investigating, but no buildings are closed at this time. If you have any information regarding the message, please contact the OSU Department of Public Safety at 541-737-7000. Stay with KEZI 9 News for updates. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Portland City Council heard testimony on an ordinance that would give Mayor Ted Wheeler immense new powers to regulate protests, an idea that residents told city officials is wrong. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Thursday that Wheeler said frequent protests that predictably erupt into brawling fistfights between demonstrators have driven him and Police Chief Danielle Outlaw to seek the new restrictions. If enacted, it would allow him to dictate, for example, where and when certain groups could rally. Kimberly McCullough, policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union office in Oregon, told the council her organization believes the ordinance is vague, does too much to limit free speech and vests unnecessary power in the mayor. It's unclear if Wheeler and Outlaw have enough support from council members to enact the proposal, and the mayor and city commissioners did not vote on it Thursday. AUSTIN, Minn. A Mower County man is accused of raping a 19-year-old female. Steven Edwin Simon Jr., 40 of Austin, was arrested Tuesday and booked into the Mower County Jail on charges of 1st and 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct. Austin police say they were contacted late Tuesday afternoon by an adult friend of the victim who suspected she had been sexually assaulted. According to court documents, the victim told investigators Simon raped her in her home earlier on Tuesday. The victim told authorities she threw her clothes in the garbage after the attack, then took a bath because she felt dirty. After complaining of pain in her vaginal area, the victim was taken to the hospital. Investigators then say they went to speak with Simon about the incident and he reportedly described what happened between he and the 19-year-old female as an affair. Simon is being held in the Mower County Jail on $25,000 unconditional bond. CLARION, Iowa A Wright County man is pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor. Timothy Ray Roberts, 49 of Rowan, was charged with 10 counts of the crime after he was arrested in August. Authorities accused him of using a social media service to transmit photos of nude underage females and that a search of his computer found images of nude minor females with exposed genitals. Roberts entered a guilty plea Friday to five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. His sentence has been set for January 11. The investigation into Roberts began with a cyber tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. ALBERT LEA, Minn. A man accused of threatening a Freeborn County employee is pleading guilty. Brian George Boettcher, 64 of Walters, has entered a guilty plea to one count of threats of violence. Authorities say he had a confrontation with a county employee on July 16. Court documents state Boettcher pulled in front of the employee as he was mowing along County Highway 17. Authorities say after the county employee took a photo of him, Boettcher began yelling about grass in the road and waving a claw hammer at the employee. The employee told investigators he was afraid Boettcher could have seriously injured or killed him. A sentencing date has been sent for January 11, 2019. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa Pointing a gun at a females head is sending a Mason City man to federal prison. Brandon Lee Hadacek, 28, was sentenced Friday in Cedar Rapids Federal Court to two years behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release. Hadacek was arrested in Mason City on January 15 after police says he pointed a .22 caliber pistol at the head of a female. State charges were eventually dismissed to allow for federal prosecution. He pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon. Hadacek was convicted of forgery and 3rd degree burglary in Cerro Gordo County in 2011. CHARLES CITY, Iowa- Driving in downtown Charles City it is hard not to notice the boarded up walls and plastic covered windows of the McQuillen Place Apartments. A project that started in 2013 and would mean over 30 new rental units and retail space on Main Street. Im sure hoping they get a developer to finish this, said Joyce Hinz of Charles City. Hinz, a realtor herself, said the unfinished business doesnt look good for progress downtown and the city needs those rental spaces. We have calls to our office every day for rentals, she said. We just dont have enough to go around. The developers of the project, McQuillen place Company, said funding through the states Housing Enterprise Zone was stripped of them forcing construction to stop last fall because of a lack of funding and leaving the building 90% completed. We have an argument with the IEDA on whether the funds should be available, said Charles Thomson, the McQuillen Place Company Managing Member. We will likely have to settle this in court. Thomson said the state never told them there was a time limit on the funding and now they are short $700 thousand. They mentioned nothing about it in their original letter, he said. They knew we were relying on those funds. But those with the IEDAs Office said otherwise in a statement to KIMT on Friday: The Iowa Legislature repealed the Housing Enterprise Zone (HEZ) Program in 2014 and adopted the Workforce Housing Tax Incentives Program that same year. This program is designed to help alleviate the shortage of affordable, livable housing stock and our rules for this program are tailored to make development in smaller communities more attractive. The program has been so successful, it is oversubscribed, and we have had to stop accepting applications. Assistance was requested for McQuillen Place under the HEZ Program administered by IEDA in 2013. It is clearly stated in the Iowa Code that, to receive assistance under the HEZ Program, the developer must complete the project within two years from the time the business begins construction. But those in the Community like Hinz are still holding out hope. Were going to see big changes in the next year possibly, she said. Were going to have a lot of tenants and some new stores. We really need it. Thomson said they dont have a timeline of when they will have the additional funds necessary to finish the project. Those with the IEDA said they have assisted Charles City with over $5 million over the last ten years with various grants. ROCHESTER, Minn. A man is pleading guilty to both a beating and a robbery. Yiep Mathiang Lam, 23 of Rochester, pleaded guilty Friday to 3rd degree assault. He was arrested on September 21 and charged with 1st degree aggravated robbery after Rochester police say he dragged a boy from a car and severely beat him two days earlier. He also entered a guilty plea to 2nd degree aggravated robbery for an incident on September 11 where authorities say he robbed a man after leaving a bar, forcing his victim to withdraw cash from an ATM. Lams sentencing is scheduled for January 7, 2019. ROCHESTER, Minn. A drug search warrant being executed Thursday led to a discovery a methamphetamine and charges against two men. Rochester police arrested James Johnson, 39, of Rochester, and 20-year-old Jessie Anderson-Spear, of St. Paul. Johnson is facing charges of first-degree possession and sales of a controlled substance after he was found with 85 grams of meth. Anderson-Spear was found with 1.73 grams of meth and had warrants out of the Twin Cities. Baggies and a digital scale were found at the residence at 2315 Park. Ln. SE. Lot 22A. ALBERT LEA, Minn. A man is pleading guilty a second time for the same car chase. Jacob Aaron Eberly, 33 of Lake Stevens, Washington, entered a guilty plea Friday to one felony count of receiving stolen property. Law enforcement in Albert Lea went looking for Eberly on June 22 after he reportedly stole a car, resulting in a 100 mile per hour chase that ended when Eberly crashed just outside Clear Lake. Eberly previously pleaded guilty in Cerro Gordo County to leaving the scene of an accident and eluding. He was sentenced to 52 days in jail and three years of probation. No sentencing date has been set in Freeborn County. A guest post by David Garrett: At 11am on the 11th of November, it will be 100 years since the guns went silent in what those taking part thought of as the war to end all wars. For the historical pedant, 11 November 1918 was not the end of the war, it was an armistice only; the war didnt actually end until the Treaty of Versailles was signed the following year. So what can we say now about WW I as it became 20 years later when the next war to end all wars broke out which is in any way new? Lets look at technological developments, both on and off the battlefield. Significant wars always lead to dramatic improvements in military and related technology, but WW I was arguably the most significant example ever seen, before or since. Perhaps the greatest advances came in the air WW I was the first war which extended hostilities upward into the sky; all previous wars had been fought on land or sea or both. In my view, the pace of advancement in the air between 1914 and 1918 was equivalent to that of the middle years of the space race 50 years later. At the beginning of 1914 aircraft could barely carry a pilot, much less guns and bombs. At the start of the conflict men in flimsy contraptions made of canvas and wire built to resemble birds literally tried to shoot each other down with pistols, and threw small bombs directly at their opponent, or in an attempt to hit ground targets. At the beginning, army generals who conceded aviation had any part to play at all in the conflict were convinced that the only role for aircraft was as observers of what was happening on the ground. A fighter in late 1914 might fly at 80 miles per hour, and have a ceiling (maximum operating altitude) of perhaps a few thousand feet. Many more men were lost to aircraft failure than enemy action. Aircraft often literally fell apart in the air if they had managed to take off at all, and many more deaths occurred through accident than actual conflict. But developments were rapid. Less than six months after hostilities began in August 1914, Dutch aircraft engineer Anthony Fokker had invented an interrupter mechanism that allowed a machine gun and then very quickly two of them to fire through the propeller without hitting the blades. That revolutionized air combat: the pilot just had to point his aircraft at his adversary, get and stay within range, and fire. Although the aircraft of what became known as the Fokker Scourge of mid 1915 were monoplanes, and both sides mainly the British were experimenting with pusher aircraft with rear facing propellers, by 1916 a mere 18 months after the conflict had begun, single seater bi-planes with one or two machine guns firing through the propeller became the pattern of the fighter aircraft types which would continue to be used to the end of the war, albeit with rapidly increasing levels of performance in terms of speed, ceiling, hitting power, and reliability. By the beginning of 1918, single seater fighters capable of 120 mph, with a ceiling of 20,000 feet, and armed with two forward facing machine guns had been developed by both sides. Such an advance in performance in such a short time would not be seen again until near the end the Second War, when jet fighters made piston powered aircraft obsolete. While everyone knows a bit about WW I fighter aircraft, the significant part bombers played in the aerial war is less well known. Until 1917, bombing raids on Britain were carried out with airships usually but not always the famous Zeppelins but by late 1917 twin engined Gotha bombers had begun to carry out what later become known as the first blitz a slight foreshadow of what was to come 20 odd years later. On 13 June 1917 Gothas bombed London in daylight, causing 600 casualties, many of them school children. In 1938, a high ranking RAF officer called the raid the beginning of a new epoch in the history of warfare. On the ground, as every fan of Blackadder goes forth will recall, nothing much was happening. Both sides occupied trench systems behind layers of barbed wire not invented until 1865, after the American Civil War which stretched all the way from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. Both sides used machine guns, a terrible advance on the gatling gun first used in the American Civil War. Poison gas was also used by both sides, but such attacks could quickly turn into catastrophes for the attackers if the wind changed. Nevertheless, the horrible injuries caused by gas arguably led to it never being used in the Second War, although there is evidence that both the Germans and the allies considered doing so. Both sides undertook big pushes to gain territory the usual result being huge casualties for little or no gain. The new machine guns, set up behind layers of barbed wire, together with what in hindsight were ridiculous tactics more suited to the Crimean war led to casualties that now seem literally unbelievable. The British suffered 60,000 casualties on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. In a war in which records were broken regularly, the Somme Offensive was a new level of horror: three million men fought the battle, with one million of them being killed or wounded. All for little gain in territory. And then a new weapon arrived the tank. While he is in my view wrongly blamed for the disaster that Gallipoli became, few know that the WW I tank was Winston Churchills brainchild, and he is rarely given credit for it other than among the well informed. He rightly saw that without some dramatic advance in technology or tactics that would neutralize the deadly combination of barbed wire and machine guns, the war might continue indefinitely, with the blood of young men on both sides being shed for virtually nothing. The first landships as they were called are virtually unrecognizable as the weapons which enabled the Germans to conduct blitzkrieg lightning war 20 years later. They were slow lumbering beasts prone to breakdown with limited armament, and carrier pigeons for one way communication. But they were immune to machine gun fire, and when they were first used in numbers at the First Battle of Cambrai in November 1917, they caused widespread panic among the Germans who had never seen such a frightening beast, off which their bullets literally bounced, but which continued to spit fire at them. While the battle was in my view a breakthrough equivalent at least to the first bomber raids on London, this first use of tanks wasnt decisive: there werent enough of them, they were prone to breakdown, and the Germans quickly learned how to combat them with artillery and tactics which exposed the landships weaknesses. However the Second Battle of Cambrai which occurred less than a year later was a decisive battle, although by then the Americans had belatedly arrived to join the allies. Military historians remain divided on whether tanks or yanks were the most significant factor in a battle in which significant territory was taken in a short time with relatively light casualties. What is significant is that many of the tanks used in the second battle of Cambrai resemble battle tanks today: a hull with caterpillar tracks surmounted by a rotating turret, with a large calibre gun and a machine gun, rather than the rhomboid shapes surrounded by tracks of only a year before. As WW I saw huge and terrible advances in military technology, it also gave rise to horrendous wounds among survivors, with men having half their faces blown off as well as losing limbs. The facial injuries were so horrible that many survivors must have wished they were dead. Before the War, plastic surgery was seen as the province of the frivolous rich and famous who were dissatisfied with the shape of their noses or the size of their breasts. It was regarded perhaps as lipo-suction is now a somewhat disreputable and not-really-serious branch of medicine. WW I changed that forever, and the central figure in that transformation was a New Zealander, Harold Gillies. Gillies saw the dreadful wounds caused by the new high explosive artillery shells wounds so bad that often the best that could be done for the victims was a phantom of the opera type mask to wear in public and he determined to use his skills to help the afflicted men to be able to lead as normal lives as possible. Gillies biographies include many before and after photos of his patients; men who came to him without a nose, their eyelids burned or blown off, and with an open gash where once had been a mouth. Gillies transformed them, often after many months and numerous operations, into figures that at least looked human, albeit rather damaged ones. After the war, Gillies returned to tending mainly to the rich and famous, but when WW II broke out he again began working on war wounds victims, now aided by his cousin and pupil Archie McIndoe, another New Zealander, who became famous in his own right for his work rebuilding the faces of pilots severely burned in the Battle of Britain. Other than the developments in reconstructive plastic surgery, nothing in this piece should be taken to suggest there was anything good about the technological developments in the First World War. By and large, they were developments aimed at more efficient killing; in the case of the bombers the more efficient killing of civilians, who were brought directly into war as unwilling participants for the first time. For all that, it was a quite remarkable four years, with at least as many significant technological developments as the second world conflict which was to follow. How sad that it is major wars which always see the fastest and most far reaching advances in technology. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Partly to mostly cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High around 35F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low 23F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Angola, IN (46703) Today Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High near 35F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Mostly clear skies. Low 23F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The member of a violent St. Joseph, Mo., gang pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a RICO conspiracy that involved acts of murder, attempted murder, drug trafficking and armed robberies, among other crimes, as part of a criminal enterprise. Luis Calderon-Oliveras, 27, of St. Joseph, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to the charge contained in a Jan. 12, 2017, federal indictment. By pleading guilty today, Calderon-Oliveras admitted he was involved in a conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in 2012 and 2013. The criminal enterprise engaged in acts of violence, including murder and attempted murder, armed assault, armed robbery, extortion and witness intimidation. The gang trafficked in heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. Although members of the St. Joseph gang were often referred to as Latin Kings, the enterprise was not formally affiliated with the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation. Members of the enterprise enriched themselves and funded their operations with the proceeds of drug trafficking, robbery, burglary and extortion. They targeted rival drug dealers for robbery, not only to obtain the robbery proceeds, but to eliminate and deter competition in the drug trade and, at times, to extort a financial stake in future drug sales from the rival by offering protection. Members of the enterprise also extorted money from innocent victims by offering protection from future robberies and acts of violence. Leaders and members of the enterprise promoted a climate of fear in the community through repeated waves of gunfire, beatings and destruction of property, among other crimes of violence and intimidation. The gang was based in St. Joseph but also operated in Kansas, Iowa and Massachusetts, among other places, and recruited many of its members and associates from Puerto Rico. Calderon-Oliveras admitted that he and several of his co-conspirators agreed to physically assault and attempt to murder by gunfire the person identified in the indictment as Co-Conspirator #3. Calderon-Oliveras participated in the physical assault on Sept. 10, 2012, in Estherville, Iowa, and helped his co-conspirators involved in the shooting avoid arrest after the fact. Calderon-Oliveras also admitted that he and a co-conspirator robbed Sack-N-Save grocery store in St. Joseph at gunpoint on Sept. 28, 2012, a crime for which he pleaded guilty in in 2013 in state court. Under the terms of todays plea agreement, Calderon-Oliveras will be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office. Third Graders from the Kincaid Elementary School honor Alaska's hero veterans, showing their patriotism through music. Channel 2 photojournalist AJ Lucero captured the concert in video. New Delhi, November 10: After President of United States Donald Trump turned down Indias invitation to be the chief guest at the 70th Republic Day celebrations in January, there are reports that Indian may invite someone from Africa. According to a report by Hindustan Times, India is more likely to invite South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to the ceremony. The report further added saying that the announcement will probably be made shortly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump had said that he would not attend Indias Republic Day celebrations due to prior commitments. It is likely, that by now, India may have finalized the new chief guest for the Republic day celebrations. "President Trump was honoured by Prime Minister Modi's invitation for him to be the chief guest of India's Republic Day on January 26, 2019, but is unable to participate due to scheduling constraints," a White House spokesperson told PTI on Monday. Donald Trump Will Not Attend India's Republic Day 2019 Celebrations Due to 'Scheduling Constraints', Confirms White House. Every year, India invites world leaders to attend its Republic Day celebrations. Earlier, former US president Barack Obama had also attended the Republic Day celebrations in 2015 as the chief guest. Meanwhile, in 2016, the then French president Francois Hollande was the chief guest while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the chief guest at the celebrations in 2014. Apart from these leaders, Nicolas Sarkozy, Vladimir Putin, Nelson Mandela, John Major, Mohammed Khatami and Jacques Chirac were the others who attended the Republic Day celebrations in India. Donald Trump Turns Down PM Narendra Modi's Invite! US President Will Not Attend India's Republic Day 2019 Celebrations, Here is Why. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his talks in Washington last year, had invited President Trump for a bilateral visit to India. However, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders had, in July, said that Trump received an invitation to visit India, but no decision was taken then. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 10, 2018 06:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Jammu, November 10: An Army jawan was martyred on Saturday in sniper fire during a ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the Line of Control in Sunderbani sector of Jammu and Kashmir. According to a tweet by ANI, Pakistan violated ceasefire in Sunderbani sector around 9.45 am on Saturday. As per initial reports, the jawan was injured in the unprovoked firing by Pakistan but later succumbed to his injuries. The identity of the martyred soldier has not been revealed yet by the army. According to a report by Hindustan Times, an unprovoked ceasefire violation was initiated by Pakistan in which a soldier was shot by a sniper who succumbed to his injuries. In another similar incident on Friday, an army porter identified as Deepak Kumar was killed in Pakistan sniper fire in Akhnoor sector of Jammu and Kashmir. #JammuAndKashmir: Pakistan violated ceasefire in Sunderbani sector around 9.45 am today. One Army jawan was injured in the unprovoked firing by Pakistan & later succumbed to his injuries. ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 Earlier in the day, two terrorists, belonging to Hizbul Mujahideen outfit were gunned down by security forces in Pulwama. According to details by SP Pani, IGP Kashmir, arms and ammunition have been recovered from the terrorists. Pani added that there was no collateral damage in the encounter. In October, security forces had gunned down two intruders from Pakistan in a gunfight along the Line of Control in Sunderbani sector. The Indian Army had asked the Pakistan military to take back their bodies. According to a report by PTI, two heavily armed Pakistani intruders and three soldiers were killed in the gunfight. The intruders were believed to be members of a Border Action Team (BAT) comprising Pakistan Army jawans and trained militants, an Army officer said on condition of anonymity. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 10, 2018 03:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). New Delhi, November 10: Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravishankar's Art of Living (AoL) has organised a three-day workshop at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) headquarters from Saturday. The workshop aims to enhance synergy, improve positivity, generate a healthy atmosphere in the department and motivate the staff to achieve their full potential. CBI Corruption Accusations: Alok Verma Counters Charges Before CVC Panel; Rakesh Asthana Could Not Get an Audience. The AoL workshop, at the CBI's headquarters in south Delhi's Lodi Road area, will be attended by more than 150 CBI officials from the rank of an in-charge director up to inspectors. CBI Bribery Case: Chief Alok Verma Meets CVC, Denies Corruption Charges Against Him. Delhi: Officials at CBI headquarters attend three-day Art of Living (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar) Synergy Workshop. pic.twitter.com/VWLgSGkF5b ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 "The CBI is organising the workshop under AoL's Synergy programme of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The purpose is to improve positivity, enhance synergy, generate a healthy atmosphere in the agency and motivate the staff to achieve their full potential," a CBI statement said. This comes after the top CBI officials, Verma and Asthana were relieved from their duty and sent on leave following the corruption charges hurled by them against each other. The matter became public after a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against Asthana and others on the statement of Sathish Babu Sana, a Hyderabad-based businessman. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 10, 2018 11:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Nagpur, November 10: Two suspected agents of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) were arrested from Bhaldarpura in Nagpur on Friday. The ISI agents were arrested in the joint operations by Military Intelligence (MI) along with Anti-Terrorist Cell (ATC) of Nagpur and a Special team from Mumbai. According to the Times of India, the agents were preparing to target key and sensitive installations in the city. The security forces have seized materials found at their residence and are being investigated. It is further reported that three more Pakistani agents are active in the area and the search operations are underway. In this matter, police have also taken some people into custody. ISI Agent Arrested From BrahMos Missile Unit In Maharashtra's Nagpur. Earlier in October this year, a BrahMos scientist Nishant Aggarwal was arrested for leaking sensitive information to the ISI. According to reports, Aggarwal had plans to carry out terror activities on Ganesh Chaturthi. Similarly, in May UP ATS and the Indian Army Intelligence, arrested an ISI agent from Didihat area of Uttarakhands Pithoragarh. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 10, 2018 10:15 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Kanker, November 10: As Chattisgarh Assembly Elections 2018 are around the corner, the political atmosphere in the poll-bound state have started to heat up already. While addressing a rally in Kanker, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has launched a fresh salvo at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister of the state Raman Singh. Gandhi alleged that Singh was involved in Rs 5,000 crore chit-fund scam. He said, Modi ji says he's fighting against corruption. But when he comes to Chhattisgarh, he doesn't tell you the CM is corrupt. Your Rs 5000 Cr disappeared in chit-fund scam, 310 FIRs were registered but no action was taken because CM was involved. Modi ji says he's fighting against corruption. But when he comes to Chhattisgarh he doesn't tell you the CM is corrupt. Your Rs 5000 Cr disappeared in chit-fund scam, 310 FIRs were registered but no action was taken because CM was involved: Rahul Gandhi in Kanker #Chhattisgarh pic.twitter.com/kwJOfnTmtJ ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 The Congress president also accused the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government of looting the people of the state through PDS scam. During the rally, he said, 2nd is PDS Scam. Rs 36,000 Cr of the people of Chhattisgarh was looted. Diary mili, diary mein likha tha 'CM Madam ko paisa diya. Dr sahab ko paisa diya.' I ask Raman Singh ji who is this CM Madam & Dr sahab whose names were found in the diary in connection with the scam. Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections 2018 Full Schedule And Dates: Polling in 2 Phases, November 12 & 20, Counting of Votes on 11 December. 2nd is PDS Scam. Rs 36,000 Cr of the people of Chhattisgarh was looted. Diary mili, diary mein likha tha 'CM Madam ko paisa diya. Dr sahab ko paisa diya.' I ask Raman Singh ji who is this CM Madam & Dr sahab whose names were found in the diary in connection with the scam:R Gandhi pic.twitter.com/QoObtfFDza ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 The Congress president attacked the chief minister for not taking action against his son after his name appeared in Panama papers. Gandhi stated, If the CM doesn't want to answer that then he should explain to the people of Chhattisgarh why is no action taken against his son, whose name appeared in Panama papers? In Pakistan, the PM is jailed because his name appeared in Panama papers. If the CM doesn't want to answer that then he should explain to the people of Chhattisgarh why is no action taken against his son, whose name appeared in Panama papers? In Pakistan the PM is jailed because his name appeared in Panama papers: Rahul Gandhi in Kanker #Chhattisgarh pic.twitter.com/syv4uf8oYN ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 Earlier in the day, the BJP released the manifesto in Chhattisgarh ahead of the assembly elections in the state. Part president Amit Shah and the CM of the state were present at the event. Shah, speaking at the manifesto conference, came down heavily on the Congress party for terming Naxals as "revolutionaries", taking a dig at Congress leader Raj Babbar's recent comment on Naxals. The BJP President praised Raman Singh government for the "development" in the state. The first phase of assembly elections in the state will take place for 18 constituencies on November 12, while the second phase for the remaining seats will be held on November 20. The result of the elections will be declared on December 11, along with other four states Rajasthan, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 10, 2018 02:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Paris, November 10: The French and US Presidents said on Saturday they agreed that Europe needed to increase its contribution to common defence spending and work towards reinforcing the continent's military capabilities. Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump -- who spoke with the former in Paris during his trip to attend commemorations of the end of World War I -- reached the common position after a bilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace. Macron told journalists that Europeans needed to share the burden of defence spending, Efe news reported. Trump had earlier in the day slammed his French counterpart on this issue in one of his characteristic, unorthodox tweets. "President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia," Trump tweeted. "Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidizes greatly!" However, at the start of their meeting, the pair seemed to gloss over their differences on European military cooperation, saying they were aligned on burden sharing, according to CNN. US President Donald Trump Heads to Paris Post-Midterm Referendum. "We're getting along from the standpoint of fairness and I want to be fair. We want to help Europe but it has to be fair," Trump said. "Right now, the burden sharing has been largely on the US as the President will say and he understands that. He understands the US can only do so much." Macron said his "proposals for European defence were consistent" with Trump's views. Trump was also due to mark to centenary of the World War I armistice with visits to burial grounds for some of the 117,000 American military personnel who died in the war. On Saturday, he will visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, near where the Battle of Belleau Wood was fought in 1918. He will deliver remarks from Suresnes American Cemetery on Sunday -- Veterans Day in the US. "Is there anything better to celebrate than the end of a war, in particular that one, which was one of the bloodiest and worst of all time?" the US President tweeted on Saturday morning. Both the leaders began their relationship as fast friends, extending invitations to each others' capitals for ceremony-filled visits. But differences on trade, climate change and the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal have soured their ties. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 10, 2018 06:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). New Delhi, November 10: Search giant Google has paid tribute to Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu, the first ever female member of the General Association of Romanian Engineers (A.G.I.R). Google dedicated a doodle to Elisa Leonida on her 131st Birth Anniversary. Google Doodle said in its description that "Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu oversaw numerous Economic Studies analyzing Romanias supply of natural resources like coal, shale, natural gas, chromium, bauxite and copper." Doodle also mentioned Elisa Leonida's contribution in training staff and her meticulous work and dedication in training young chemists. Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu was born on November 10, 1887, in the Romanian port city of Galati. She graduated from the Central School of Girls in Bucharest and earned her baccalaureate from the Mihai Viteazul High School. Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu was rejected because of her gender when she applied to the Royal Technical Academy in Berlin. Doodle mentions that one of the deans at the school said that she would be better off focusing on "Church, children, and cooking." However, Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu fought against all odds and became the first ever female member of the prestigious General Association of Romanian Engineers. She also taught physics and chemistry at the Pitar Mos School of Girls and then taught at the School of Electricians and Mechanics in Bucharest. She has a street named in her honour in Romania's capital. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 10, 2018 09:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). - British envoy to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, has called for respect for the rule of law - He gave this advice following the recent clash between security agencies and the Shiites - According to him, the Shiites have right to peaceful demonstration while the security agencies have right to ensure peace Following the recent bloody face-off between the security agencies of the country and the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) popularly known as Shiites, the outgoing British high commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, has urged the warring parties to have respect for the rule of law. The Punch reports that Arkwright, who stated this in Abuja on Thursday, November 8, while speaking with the journalist on the clashes between the Shiites and Army in which hundreds were reported dead, also commended the federal government's effort in ensuring that all hands are on deck. He also added that although the Shiites have the right to protest peacefully, the security agencies must toe the soft peddler to avoid unnecessary killing of innocent people. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Legit.ng gathers that the envoy also attributed the incessant clashes between the herdsmen and farmers to the issues of climate change and desertification, contrary to religion people associated the crisis with. He said: "Just as the IMN must obey the rule of law by using their rights to demonstrate peacefully, and the key word here is peacefully, so also it is important for the security forces in Nigeria to respect the rule of law." On farmers-herdsmen crisis, the British envoy said: "This is a conflict that is driven by complex reasons of climate change, pressure on resources, land and desertification of northern Nigeria. PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Femi Falana, human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has petitioned the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) demanding a probe into alleged killings of about 492 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, also known as Shiites, by both the Nigerian Army and the Police since 2014. Falana in his petition dated November 2, 2018 and addressed to the executive secretary of the NHRC, Anthony Ojukwu, gave seven days ultimatum to the commission to accede to his demand. The human rights lawyer threatened that should the commission fail to grant his request before the expiration of the ultimatum, he would report what he described as the genocidal acts and crimes against humanity being allegedly committed by officials of the federal governments security agencies to the special prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in contravention of Article 7 of the Rome Statute. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) upgrades to Legit.ng to serve its readers better. British Council Rewards Nigerians | Legit TV Source: Legit By now, most people who have caught a glimpse of musician Eddy Kenzo's songs are familiar with the popular dance group Ghetto Kids. The adorable siblings are super flexible and can drop it like it's hot! The talented kids who are based in Uganda have gained so much around the world that even US-based rapper, French Montana, could not help but search for them as he thought their talent was one to watch out for. Recently, he traveled to Uganda and shot his song titled Unforgettable featuring the skilled dancers. The music video which was loved by of people around the world gained over 800 million views on Youtube. Let us just say the world was completely taken by the triplets and as fate would have it, French changed their lives. READ ALSO: Stunning new photos of actress Omotola Jalade Ekeinde The iconic star bought them a house and managed to keep it on the down low before the kids decided to share the exciting news on social media. The massive mansion could leave most people in shame as no one would even guess it belongs to kids. For a home like that, one would have to work for years before erecting it and managing to live in it eventually. The kids penned a sweet message for the musician as they continuously thanked him for changing their lives for the better. "2018 has been a great year for us! We thank the Almighty God for the blessings and we pray he continues blessing us more and more. French Montana and the whole team We cannot thank you enough! We only pray to God to continue blessing you guys and we shall always be proud of you. Words cannot express how happy we are but only God knows what is inside our hearts. May God bless you more and more," the triplets penned. So heart-warming! Hello, NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better. Nigeria Celebrities: How Much Do They Spend On Luxury Life? on Legit TV: Source: Legit Instead of defending Israel's efforts to defending itself and leaving it at that, Michael Brown, a conservative radio host and a Jewish believer in Jesus, went on the offensive. Brown, who spoke at the conference on May, 29,2018, began by describing his problems with the conference. "I have already been grieved by things I heard from leaders in private, comparing Israel to Hamas, vilifying Palestinian Christians who have a different perspective, CATC encouraging tours of the blatantly propagandistic Walled Off Hotel, which distorts the past and the present and accuses Israel of ethnic cleansing," Brown said. Brown didn't stop there. He challenged Palestinian Christians, especially the folks who organized the CATC conference, to Openly express your disagreements with the Palestinian Authority and Fatah and Hamas. Otherwise, the feeling is that youre in harmony with them.? It was a legitimate challenge, because, as in year's past, the first night of this year's conference (which continues until Friday) was dedicated to Palestinian Christians saying nice things about the Palestinian Authority leadership and allowing the PA to attack Israel. (And this year, one Christian from outside the region, Bishop Efraim Tendero, secretary-general of the World Evangelical alliance called Mahmoud Abbas, a man of peace in this land.? High praise for a man who complained about Jews desecrating the Temple Mount with their filthy feet? a few years ago.) Brown didn't just chide CATC organizers for their apparent submission to the PA. He called on conference organizers to condemn the tendency of Palestinian leaders to celebrate the murder of Israelis in terror attacks. He made this plea after recounting the details surrounding the murder of Fogel family in 2011: "Rabbi Yaakov Cohen, a neighbor who entered the house with their 12-year-old daughter (who returned from a youth event to find her slaughtered family), told the Ynet website that her two-year-old brother 'was lying next to his bleeding parents, shaking them with his hands and trying to get them to wake up, while crying The sight in the house was shocking.'" Brown said. "Today, the families of the murderers, Amjad Awad and Hakim Awad, receive regular payments from the PA as part of their pension. In fact, it is reported that PA payments to families of terrorists and prisoners amount to roughly 10 percent of the PA budget," he added. Then Brown made a direct plea: "Will you join me today in renouncing this?" He also described how Israelis respond to the deaths of civilians at the hands of their government when in 2002, Israeli forces killed Salah Shehade who according to one source, had direct involvement in attacks that killed 474 people and wounded 2,649 between July 2001 and July 2002.? But in killing Shehade, Brown reported, they also killed his wife, his daughter, his assistant, plus ten other civilians, including seven children, the youngest less than one year old. One hundred fifty people were wounded. Israeli intelligence relied on bad information, as a result of which so many others were killed or wounded, since he alone was targeted.? Brown continued: "When word of this got out, there were national protests in Israel, including the rebellion of air force pilots who had been involved in previous bombing missions. The nation rose up to protest the shedding of innocent Palestinian blood even in the process of killing a mass murderer." Brown then asked the Palestinian Christians to follow the example set by the Israelis and hold their leaders accountable. "The least you could do as followers of Jesus is stand with me in denouncing your governments celebration of terrorism," he said."I understand you have challenges as a Christian minority in a Muslim society, but somehow, your voices of dissent must be heard." It was a powerful speech. In addition challenging CATC organizers to confront Palestinian violence, Brown asked them to condemn replacement theology and to put Jesus at the center of the conflict? and to demonstrate this action, by expressing love for the Israeli people.? This is a tough challenge, because as Brown declared, CATC is far better known for standing against Israel than standing against Hamas and for the Gazan Christians.? Conference spokesperson Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac knew the challenge was coming (he even had a copy of Brown's speech before it was given) and should have been able to provide an irenic and substantive response. Instead, he reacted with shocking disdain for the issues Brown raised, saying he and his colleagues were tired? of having to deal with the issues and questions Brown raised in his talk, because they seem to place all the blame on us, the oppressed.? Isaac went on to say that he too could talk about the suffering endured by his community and could show pictures of the victims of Israeli violence but that he didn't want to get into a competition about who suffered more. He also declared that radical Jewish groups and politicians celebrate when Palestinians are killed, as if there were an equivalence between the incitement in Palestinian and Israeli society when there isn't. Hamas- and PA-run television stations regularly demonize Jews and the Palestinian Authority (and the Jordanian government) regularly allows for call of incitement on the Temple Mount. Demonization of the other permeates Palestinian society in ways that it simply does not in Israel. Instead of confronting the problem of incitement and the celebration of murder by both the PA and Hamas who use antisemitism as a unifying political agenda, Isaac tried to change the subject. The real question we should be asking asking as followers of Christ,? Isaac said, is 'What drives people to do these violent things?' This is the real question you should be asking. The question you should be asking is how do we together work to address the systems and structures of injustice and oppression that create these violent actions of some Palestinians. How do we as followers as Christ come together in humbleness and deal with the causes and ideologies that exclude and demonize?? Isaac also complained about a double-standard used to judge Palestinian violence. Why is every Israeli violence self-defense? Why is every Palestinian violence terrorism?? How ironic that Evangelical Christians that supported the war in Iraq and support a war in Iran condemn and criticize the Palestinian people for violent acts of certain groups among us.? He also said that the Christ at the Checkpoint has previously condemned all forms of violence but that it's just that people are not listening. Isaac, who like many other CATC speakers, has repeatedly and regularly condemned Christian Zionism at conferences over the past decade, simply couldn't be bothered to repeat these previous condemnations of Palestinian violence. In his response, Isaac missed an opportunity to send a message to Israelis and Jews throughout the world that yes, he and his fellow Palestinian Christians understand how frightening it is for them to see Palestinian leaders laud and reward the killers of Israeli women and children. Instead of acknowledging the obligation of his fellow Christians to speak truth to power in Palestinian society and not just condemn Israel Isaac spoke in vague terms about systems? and structures? that cause people to engage in acts of terror, as if the concept of sin which CATC speakers use so often to condemn Israel should not be used to assess Palestinian behavior. Apparently, in Isaac's world, it's theological condemnation for Israel, sociological explanations for the Palestinians. Brown's direct challenge to Palestinian Christians highlighted this troubling double-standard. In sum, Michael Brown did Christians throughout the world a great service by highlighting the inability of Palestinian Christians to speak truth to power in Palestinian society. Hopefully, conference organizers will take Brown's message to heart in the days ahead. Barack and Michelle Obama are no doubt one of the most respected couple in the world. Despite being the ex-president of the United States of America (USA), the family is still well respected in Washington. In a recent interview, the former first lady of the United States revealed how she and her husband welcomed their beautiful daughters with the help of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). She added that this was opted for after she suffered a miscarriage about 20 years ago. Describing her feeling after the miscarriage, the 54-year-old woman disclosed that she felt lost, broken and alone. This was said during Michelle's interview broadcast on Friday on ABCs Good Morning America breakfast show. READ ALSO: 24-year-old air hostess breastfeeds strangers baby during a flight (photos) Michelle said: I felt like I failed because I didn't know how common miscarriages were because we don't talk about them. We sit in our own pain, thinking that somehow we're broken. I realized that as I was 34 and 35. We had to do IVF. It could be recalled that on Tuesday, November 13, Michelle will release her long awaited memoir Becoming, where she wrote openly about everything from growing up in Chicago to confronting racism in public life and becoming the country's first black first lady. Legit.ng earlier reported that in June 1989, Obama met Michelle Robinson when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin. She was assigned for three months as Obama's adviser at the firm and joined him at several group social functions. They began dating later that summer, got engaged in 1991 and on October 3, 1992, the lovebirds walked down the aisle. PAY ATTENTION: Get your daily relationship tips and advice on Africa Love Aid group Six years after they walked down the aisle, the couple welcomed their first daughter who is now 20-year-old, Malia Ann, in 1998. Also in 2001, Barack and Michelle welcomed their second daughter, Natasha popularly known as Sasha. Sasha is now 17-year-old. Nice one! NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better 'My daughter's husband used her for money rituals' - Nigeria Street Gist | Legit TV. Source: Legit - Woman who plotted the murder of husband's secret lover after finding intimate text messages has been arrested - She revealed that she decided to contact the woman and set her up with another man who acted as her boyfriend - The man lured her to a lodging in River Road and strangled her to death after she got drunk - She later separated with her husband who was among suspects who were arrested after secret incident - The woman said she bribed lodging attendants to switch off CCTV cameras to conceal evidence - Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss George Kinoti said the woman identified as Linda Urandu was arrested in Kasarani estate Police in Nairobi have arrested a woman who recently called a local radio station confessing to killing her former husband's secret lover. The anonymous woman called in during a popular breakfast show in October 2018, and confessed to have committed the offence 6 years ago as a way of geting revenge on the woman for breaking a home she had given her all to build. Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss George Kinoti told Citizen TV the woman identified as Linda Namukuchu Urandu was arrested in Kasarani estate in Nairobi on Thursday, November 8. Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss George Kinoti said the woman identified as Linda Urandu was arrested in Kasarani, Nairobi. Photo: DCI/Twitter. READ ALSO: 16-year-old John Ogunjobi becomes another victim of knife murder in London In the chilling audio recording from Radio Jambo which circulated across social media, the woman is heard narrating how she used another man to lure the deceased who used to live in Mombasa to a Nairobi lodging where she strangled her to death. "I noticed there was woman who my husband had started seeing though he denied it every time. She could boldly call him late at night making my man to forget about me. I secretly took her phone number and when I called she insulted me," the woman narrated. She explained that she hired a man to seduce the woman by lying to her he was interested to be her boyfriend. "The woman who proved to be a home wrecker gave in to the hired man's advances. I financed the man to host her on a date at a joint where I went and secretly identified her. I paid for a second date and directed the fake boyfriend to make sure she was drunk and booked her in a River Road lodging," she narrated. PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigeria's #1 news app Urandu narrated that she paid the man for getting the woman into the lodging, bribed the attendants to switch off CCTV cameras and went ahead to strangle the helpless woman in the booked room before disappearing and moving from Nairobi. The woman said she left her husband who was arrested over the killing since his phone contact was among those regularly contacted by the deceased. The police said Urandu's former husband Benson Muthine and his current wife Margaret Tata were arrested and detained at Central Police station. PAY ATTENTION: Get your daily relationship tips and advice on Africa Love Aid group Kinoti said: "She will be in custody for 10 days for further questioning over her claims. Meanwhile, we appeal to any family that may have lost a female relative in a manner corresponding to the suspect's narration to report to Central Police station." NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better See the faces of newly arrested criminals in Lagos State - on Legit TV Source: Legit - Ahead of the 2019 general elections, more opposition parties in Lagos have denied involvement in the endorsement of Lagos APC governorship candidate Jide Sanwo-Olu, for 2019 - About 45 opposition parties under the Coalition of the Progressive Peoples Party were reported to have endorsed Sanwo-Olu - However KOWA and PPA have since denied involvement in the endorsement More opposition parties in Lagos on Friday, November 9, denied involvement in the endorsement of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Jide Sanwo-Olu, for 2019. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that 45 opposition parties under the Coalition of the Progressive Peoples Party were reported to have endorsed Sanwo-Olu at a meeting on November 2. According to the media reports, some of the listed parties in the endorsement of Sanwo-Olu include Progressives Peoples Alliance, New Nigeria Peoples Party, Kowa Party, Independent Democrats, Accord, Action Alliance, and Peoples Redemption Party. Also named were the Coalition for Change, Young Democratic Party, Action Peoples Party, Youth Progressive Party and Better Nigeria Peoples Party and Peoples Democratic Movement. READ ALSO: INEC releases governorship list ahead of 2019 KOWA and PPA have since denied involvement in the endorsement, saying they were wrongly listed. At a news conference on Friday in Lagos, a group of other opposition parties, including Independent Democrat, Accord, C4C, AA and PDM also denied attending the endorsement meeting. The state chairman of ID, Mr. Kolawole Sunday, who spoke on behalf of the group, said the inclusion of their parties in the endorsement was wrong. He said all the chairmen of parties in the group were not a part of the deal, adding that those who claimed to have represented their parties at the endorsement ceremony were clear impostors. Sunday described the endorsement as a charade, saying it was a propaganda ploy by the APC to project Sanwo-Olu as a popular candidate. We are referring to the news making the rounds suggesting that 45 political parties operating in the state have endorsed the candidature of Babajide Sanwo-Olu of APC as the consensus candidate of opposition parties. For the avoidance of doubt, we must also say that people have the right to take any decision they wish to take, as this is the fundamental right to be enjoyed by Nigerians as guaranteed in the constitution. What we find objectionable is the attempt to hoodwink unsuspecting members of the public with falsehood. A careful look at those who participated in the charade will reveal that the ruling party is desperate and looking for cheap popularity by embarking on propaganda with fake endorsement, he said. Sunday said that he got the news about the inclusion, pointing out that he was not part of the deal to endorse Sanwo-Olu. The party chairman said the endorsement was not sanctioned by the party, saying whoever claimed to have represented his party in the deal was a fraud. He urged members of the public to be wary of people impersonating leaders of the party for personal gains, as ID is not factionalised. Also, speaking, the state chairman of Accord, Joseph Beckley, said Accord was not part of the arrangement because it was fielding a governorship candidate. We are not part of the endorsement. We were not at the meeting. It was all propaganda. We have a governorship candidate and we cannot leave our candidate for another partys, he said. Beckley urged members of the public to disregard the news of the partys involvement, saying Accord would not compromise its ideology for anything. NAN reports that the state chairman of C4C, Hawau Adenekan; chairman of AA, Daud Magaji; Akintola Bello of Nigeria Peoples Congress; and Kolawole Ajayi of Alliance for Democracy were present at the news conference. The state chairmen of Democratic Alternative, Uduak Archibong; and Allied Peoples Movement, Dr. Ebere Imusehwere, among others, were also present. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app In a previous report by Legit.ng, the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) has denied its involvement in the endorsement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, by some opposition parties. The state chairman of the party, Olumide Oguntoyinbo, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, November 5, in Lagos. According to media reports, 45 opposition parties in the state, including Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), Young Democratic Party (YDM), Accord Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and Action Peoples Party (APP), adopted Sanwo-olu for the 2019 polls at a meeting on Friday, November 2. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have updated to serve you better. Lagos Governor: Is Sanwoolu a better candidate than Ambode? - on Legit TV Source: Legit - Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai has accused Peter Obi of being a tribal bigot - El-Rufai said Obi was widely quoted on national TV saying the DSS was right to detain him in Anambra in 2014 - The governor made the statement while reacting to a tweet accusing Obi of deporting northerners from Anambra during his tenure as governors The Kaduna state governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has accused the former governor of Anambra state and the running mate of Atiku Abubakar on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi, of being a tribal bigot. El-Rufai, made the accusation in a tweet while reacting to another tweet from a group, Coalition of Buhari-Osinbajo Movement, quoting an article from Leadership accusing Obi of deporting northerners from Anambra state during his tenure as governor. READ ALSO: Nigeria Prisons Service wins multiple international awards, enrolls 465 prison inmates for degree Governor El-Rufai said Obi was widely quoted on national TV saying the Department of State Service was right to detain him for visiting Anambra in 2014. He tweeted: "Peter Obi is a tribal bigot. He was widely quoted on national television that the SSS was right to detain me for 48 hours in an hotel in 2014 on the grounds that El-Rufai has no business being in Anambra State as it is not Katsina State! I sued the SSS and awarded N4m damages." PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that following report that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vice presidential candidate, Peter Obi, demolished mosques and sacked non-indigenes, especially northerners, from Anambra when he held sway as governor, three ex-commissioners of police in the state have exonerated him. The three former commissioners of police in the state, who spoke on different occasions, said Obi never demolished mosques nor sacked non-indigenes from the state. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better Is Atiku the Right Man to Defeat President Buhari? 2019 Election - Nigeria Street Gist | Legit TV Source: Legit - The fate of the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, will be determined next week - The leadership of the party will be meeting to determine the fate of the embattled chairman - Recall that Oshiomhole was questioned by the Department of State Services before leaving the country The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will be meeting with state governors next week to determine the fate of the embattled national chairman of the ruling party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. Punch reports that a prominent member of the party, who spoke to the newspaper on Friday, November 9 on condition of anonymity, stated that as a precursor to the meeting, the partys national leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, and Oshiomhole, met in Paris, France, on Thursday, November 8. Legit.ng notes that an APC source said: Tinubu and Oshiomhole met in Paris on Thursday over attempts by governors and some members of the NWC to remove the party chairman. You will recall that it was Asiwaju who paved the way for the emergence of Oshiomhole as the chairman when Chief Oyegun wanted a tenure extension. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Now that he has come under probe by the DSS and is being asked to step aside, he has run to Tinubu to save him. It remains unclear what their strategy will be to put a stop to the probe. A member of the partys NWC, who craved anonymity, said: The fact that Oshiomhole is under investigation for allegedly collecting money from aspirants is bad for the image of the APC government which claims to be fighting corruption. It is for this reason that the NWC members are being asked (by interested parties) to push for the suspension of the APC chairman pending the outcome of the probe. The Presidents body language and actions in the coming days will determine Oshiomholes fate. For now, we are still considering it but we dont want to make any hasty decision until we are sure that we have the presidents backing. Others expected to be at the meeting include: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Chief Bisi Akande, the minister of science and technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu and Prince Tony Momoh. Another party source said: The matter is receiving attention at the highest level. We cannot pretend, the situation involving our national chairman is already in public domain. His invitation and subsequent interrogation by the Department of State Services, is an indictment if you ask me; but you cannot pronounce a man guilty without giving him the right of fair hearing. The leadership meeting will take place because as you know, we dont have a Board of Trustees in place. Mr. President as the leader of the party, who in fact, has personally taken over the process of dealing with the post-primary crisis, is convening the meeting to deal with all these issues. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the embattled national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, was expected to resume questioning at the Department of State Services (DSS) anytime he returned to the country. This was disclosed by security sources on Thursday, November 8. According to report, President Muhammadu Buhari was aware of the investigation of the national chairman of his party by the DSS. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better Why President Buhari May Not Defeat PDP In 2019 - Agbor Residents Speak | Legit.ng TV Source: Legit - A retired justice has warned against disobeying court orders by the federal government - The justice who is also the Emir of Gummi said the citizens can only follow suit when the government of the day practices what it preaches - Gummi said the disobedience to court orders, non-compliance with electoral regulations by political parties dwindles confidence in the justice system The Emir of Gummi, Justice Lawal Gummi (retired), has warned that the refusal to obey court order is a form of corruption. Gummi said the federal government must govern by example through living the change it promised Nigerians before assuming office in 2015. Speaking at at the Barewa Old Boys Association annual lecture, held at the Umaru Ali Shinkafi Polytechnic, Sokoto, the emir said the citizens can only follow suit when the government of the day practices what it preaches. Gummi who was the keynote speaker on, The challenges of the judiciary to democracy: The Nigeria perspective', said disrespect for the rule of law, bad governance, disobedience to court orders, non-compliance with electoral regulations by political parties dwindles confidence in the justice system. READ ALSO: You are a tribal bigot - El-Rufai attacks Peter Obi He also said that such attitudes poses as threats to Nigeria's democracy. Describing the judiciary as the watchdog of democracy, Gummi said court orders must not be disobeyed in the name of fighting corruption. Gummi said: Orders of court are disobeyed at will in the name of fighting corruption. No one institution, no matter how highly placed, should flout the laws of the land, not even under the guise of fighting corruption. Refusing to obey an order of court is another form of corruption in itself." The executive cannot play the role of both the accuser and that of the judge at the same time. It is an aberration in a democracy. National security cannot take precedence over the rule of law; rather, it should be guided by the rule of law. READ ALSO: How DSS allegedly detained Oshiomhole for 8 hours Any democracy where the executive tries to intimidate and harass the legislature and/or the judiciary into doing its bidding is a democracy under threat. In the same vein, it is not right in a democracy for the National Assembly to make governance difficult for the executive for pecuniary reasons. We all agree that we need change as promised by the government, but that change must first begin with them, then, you and me," Gummi noted. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigerians to continue to support the fight against corruption to accelerate Nigerias development. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app President Buhari made the call in Abuja on Saturday, July 8, at the presentation of two books by Major General Sam Momah rtd, a former minster of science and technology. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the books, Restructuring Nigeria beyond Oil, and Pulling Nigeria off the Brink, were presented to the public to mark the 75th birthday of the author. Abacha Loot: The Federal Government To Share $322M To Nigerians on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit Newspaper - The United Nations have said that over 30,000 Cameroonians refugees have arrived Nigeria - UN said the needs on the ground to cater for the refugees in Nigeria were outpacing donor efforts - According to the international organisation, most refugees are sheltering in Nigerias south eastern areas, hosted by local communities The number of Cameroonians fleeing violence and seeking refuge in Nigeria has crossed the 30,000-mark, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has said. Babar Baloch, a spokesperson for UNHCR, highlighted that the needs on the ground to cater for the refugees in Nigeria were outpacing donor efforts. Baloch said reports indicated that scores of people had been killed in English-speaking areas of Cameroon and thousands forced from their homes, including many who have sought refuge in Nigeria. He said the situation was particularly worrying for women and children - accounting for close to 80 per cent of arrivals and most refugees are sheltering in Nigerias south eastern areas, hosted by local communities. READ ALSO: You are a tribal bigot - El-Rufai attacks Peter Obi The UNHCR boss said the refugee agency was facilitating voluntary relocation of refugees to settlements in Cross River and Benue provinces, which provide better security, shelter and access to essential services. Currently, more than 9,000 Cameroonian refugees have been moved to new settlements, where they receive food as well as essential items such as mattresses, mosquito nets, stoves and cooking utensils, as well as equipment to build shelters, Baloch said. The UNHCR spokesperson added that women and girls were also being provided with dignity kits, including among other items, buckets, soap and towels In some instances, cash assistance is provided to enable refugees buy food directly from the markets in host communities, helping facilitate the integration of those forced to flee and those welcoming them, he stated. READ ALSO: How DSS allegedly detained Oshiomhole for 8 hours However, despite the work of UNHCR and other aid organizations, the needs are far from being met and there are several challenges, including education opportunities for refugee children. The rainy season and harsh road conditions to remote areas makes the assistance to the refugees outside of the newly-developed settlement very difficult, with acute needs for food, shelter, water and sanitation, he said. Baloch explained that discussions were ongoing with the government for improved access to the displaced population. The spokesperson for the UN refugee agency said many of those who had fled so far, had to rely on trails and informal paths to make the crossing, as official border entry points remained closed. Together with their partners, UNHCR staff are present at access points often used by refugees to assess the situation and the needs of new arrivals, Baloch added. People are telling us they were ordered to leave their houses due to increasing violence in their home areas, he said. Baloch said violence in Cameroons primarily English-speaking north-west and south-west areas has worsened over the past year and recent violence uptick followed clashes between armed groups and security forces. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that an advocacy group known as Stefanos Foundation, has revealed that the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) has risen. PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet! The advocacy group reported that the number of IDPs after the June 23 and June 24, attacks on about 15 communities in Plateau state has risen to 11,515, adding that the IDPs were taking refuge in 13 locations in the state. The foundation revealed that a total of 233 persons were killed in the two-day attacks perpetuated by suspected herdsmen, while those that are badly injured are hospitalised in various medical centres in Jos, with their families left to struggle with the hospital bills. Osinbajo highlights Reasons for Incessant Herdsmen Troubles, Proffers Solution | Legit.ng TV Source: Legit.ng - The herdsmen crisis in Benue state have reportedly left over 50 schools in the state destroyed - This was disclosed by the executive chairman of Benue State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr Philip Tachin - He also says the herdsmen crisis in the state forced over 20,000 pupils out of school Herdsmen in Benue reportedly destroyed over 50 public schools in the state in 2018, the executive chairman of Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr Philip Tachin says. According to Tachin, over 20,000 pupils were also forced out of school by the herdsmen attacks. He said 16,000 of these pupils were taking refuge in the internally displaced persons camps in the state, Vanguard reports. Legit.ng gathers that made the disclosure in Makurdi, the state capital. He called on the federal government to assist the state government in overcoming the burden the development has placed on the latter. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda He said: The development has obviously distorted the education of the affected children and it is indeed a sad development for our primary educational system. That is the price our children are paying for the herdsmen attacks which have left over 50 public primary schools in ruins and our children displaced. We will no doubt require the intervention of the federal government to rebuild the destroyed structures if our children must go back early to school in a convenient learning environment. And as it stands today, the scope of work required to get the destroyed schools running again is beyond the state government, hence we appeal to the federal government to urgently intervene to save our primary school system. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Major General Adeyemi Yekini, the theatre commander of the military unit known as Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), revealed that troops were placed on red alert in an effort to subdue any inkling of attack on locals throughout Benue state and neighbouring towns. Briefing newsmen on Thursday, September 6, Yekini disclosed that troops of the OPWS had intensified patrols within and around the state as far as Nasarawa border to forestall killings by criminals. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better Herdsmen attacks: Benue's Attorney-General explains anti-grazing law | Legit.ng TV Source: Legit Newspaper - Four Catholic priests abducted by unknown gunmen in Abraka, Delta state have regained their freedom - The priests were rescued by officers of the Nigeria Police Force on Friday, November 9 - They were on their way to the Seminary of All Saints Uhiele-Ekpoma in Edo when they were abducted Four Catholic priests who were abducted on November 6 by unknown persons in Delta have regained their freedom, the News agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. The Nigeria Police, Delta Command, confirmed on Saturday that the priests were rescued near Abraka, Ethiope East local government area of the state. According to the Police commissioner , Muhammad Mustafa, the victims were rescued on Friday evening at a location he did not disclose. READ ALSO: You can't win election in Imo state - Okorocha blast Uzodinma The victims were: Rev. Fathers Victor Adigboluja of the Ijebu Ode Diocese; Anthony Otegbola, Abeokuta Diocese; Joseph Ediae, Benin Archdiocese; and Emmanuel Obadjere, Warri Diocese. They were said to have been on their way to the Seminary of All Saints Uhiele-Ekpoma in Edo on November 6 when they were kidnapped. The police boss, who earlier said that one of the suspects had been apprehended in connection with the crime, also assured that the police command was trailing the others. He assured that the other suspects would be arrested and prosecuted. They were rescued on Friday and we are on the trail of the other suspects. We do not encourage ransom, so no ransom was paid, Mustafa said. A reliable source told NAN that the priests were taken to Benin City for medical attention immediately they regained their freedom. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app According to the source the priests were escorted to Benin City by the joint police and military team that rescued them. The captors had earlier demanded for N4 million as ransom to effect their release. Legit.ng earlier reported that the Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom, condemned the kidnap of four Catholic priests by unknown gunmen suspected to be armed herdsmen in Umutu/Abraka, Ethiope East local government area of Delta state. In a statement sent to Legit.ng by his chief press secretary, Terver Akase, Governor Ortom described the abduction of the four Reverend Fathers as barbaric, dehumanizing and shameful. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better Victims of Herdsmen killing buried in Benue State | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng Broughal Middle School Principal Rick Amato recently encountered a student wearing his jacket inside the school building. That's a violation of the school rules. Three years ago, Amato might have taken a hard line with the boy, demanding he take the coat off. But that was before Amato knew what trauma -- exposure to abuse, neglect, family dysfunction, drug abuse or mental health issues -- does to a child's brain. Now, Amato knows that when a child experiences trauma it causes the child's stress hormones to rise, literally turning off the part of the brain that facilitates learning. This knowledge has led to a school-wide culture transformation at the Bethlehem school as Broughal became the first school in the region to integrate trauma-informed practices. "Sometimes in schools when students are exhibiting behavior problems we look at the behavior, not what is causing the behavior, and we tend to take it personally," Amato said. Located in South Bethlehem steps off of Lehigh University's campus, Broughal is one of Bethlehem's lowest-performing, poorest and most diverse schools; 92 percent of children are economically disadvantaged and 87 percent are minorities, according to state data. There's an army of community supports trying to lift the students out of poverty and close the achievement gap. It is a United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley community school, which includes a partnership with Just Born Inc. Lehigh students work as tutors and there's a health clinic. But none of that was making a dent in the academic performance or student behavior, said Beth Tomlinson, director of education for the United Way. "We really dug deep and realized it was really a lack of trauma awareness in the staff that was at the root cause of our academic indicators not moving," she said. The United Way offered trauma training that explained when a student is in survival mode from stressors his or her brain is not primed for learning. Something clicked for the staff and it's manifesting results. "Kids that live in this constant, chaotic, hurtful, frightening environment, they are stuck in that survival mode, so those stress hormones are gong all the time," Tomlinson said. "That literally changes the way the brain develops." Two years later, the number of failing students has dropped from 12 percent to 7 percent and the number of office discipline referrals plummeted by 39 percent. The average student GPA rose from 2.17 to 2.51 and out-of-school suspensions dropped by nearly 17 percent. What does a trauma-informed school look like? It all starts with a corner in every Broughal classroom known as the peace corner, a quiet space where students who are struggling can go for 10 minutes to calm down and reset when they get into the yellow zone, Amato explained. Staff and students alike commonly shout out numbers meant to gauge their mental health: "I'm a three," means it is a good day. I'm calm and ready to learn. But if you're a six, you might need to go visit the peace corner and reset before you're ready to learn. "For too many of our kids, they are sitting in the classroom, but their brains are stuck in survival mode, which turns off the learning brain," Tomlinson said. "If I am ready to defend myself at any time, I am not focusing on the ABCs and 123s. Survival trumps learning." If a student gets into the red zone -- that's a score of 7 to 10 -- or they're dealing with major upheaval at home, Broughal has a classroom dedicated to mindfulness, manned by a staff member with special training. If a student shows up in the morning and reports a major trauma over the weekend, like a parent getting incarcerated, they will start and perhaps spend their day in that class, Amato said On Friday afternoon, the Just Born Peeps Chick mascot delivered plush Peeps to all 60 Broughal classroom's peace corners to use as soothing objects. Research shows that someone experiencing trauma is six times as likely to experience behavior problems and 2.6 times more likely to fail a grade, said Meg Dowd, Just Born corporate communications specialist. In the workforce, if a coworker experiences a traumatic event, you'd send them home or suggest they take the day off, but we don't do the same for our children, she said. "We need to support (our children) and let them know we care about them," Dowd said. "Hopefully, when they look at things like this Peep they know people care about them." It is growing in popularity While the Bethlehem Area School District is the first in the Valley to embrace this trauma-informed approach, districts across the region are exploring it, Tomlinson said. Allentown has gone through training and Easton is providing training for teachers in its neediest schools. But it is not just the urban schools, East Penn, Parkland and several other suburban school districts are exploring it as well, Tomlinson said. "We began this in our urban school districts but our suburban school districts see the same needs, maybe not to the same percentage, but they are also seeing students struggle and they don't feel equipped to really accurately address those issues." Research has shown two out of three adults have been exposed to childhood trauma; one in 8 have toxic stress exposure that affects long-term brain development and physical health, Tomlinson said, the study looked at a largely white, fully-employed population. When the research was replicated in Philadelphia communities, which more accurately reflect the Lehigh Valley's high poverty neighborhoods, the figures jumped to 80 percent of adults experiencing childhood trauma and 37 percent exposed to toxic stress levels, Tomlinson said. All children, but especially those who have experienced trauma, need to feel safe, loved and supported before they can learn, Tomlinson. They thrive in a respectful, nurturing environment. Broughal staff are committed to being stable, caring adult figures in their students' lives. "A lot of our kids come from very great homes," Amato said. "Sometimes the environment around them also causes that trauma too, even with great parents." Supporting students and allowing them to take a timeout from learning results in children spending more time in the classroom engaged, Amato said. "We need to keep a safe learning environment to keep the learning brain on so they can take part in the content," he said. Teachers and students are connecting on a new level. "We are understanding the stories of our kids because we are allowing them the opportunity to share," Amato said. "It is bringing the human side to education." Both the staff and students have gone through their own trauma screenings, so they know what their own Adverse Childhood Experience score is, bringing awareness to the table. This allows the staff in the building to model regulating their own feelings and navigating tough emotions, Amato said. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. UPDATE: Motorcyclist killed in crash along with elderly couple was pilot, father of 2 A third motorist has died in Thursday afternoon's three-vehicle crash in Lehigh Township, according to township police. Police Chief Scott Fogel said he learned late Friday afternoon from the Lehigh County Coroner's Office that 91-year-old John Fisher, of Salisbury Township, had died. Fisher was pronounced dead at 3:45 p.m. Friday at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township, according to First Deputy Coroner Eric Minnich. The cause was multiple blunt force injuries suffered in the crash, and the death was ruled an accident. Fisher's wife, 86-year-old Joanne Fisher, died at the scene of the Route 145 crash, Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek had said. Kellen Kuhn, a 63-year-old motorcyclist from Walnutport, was pronounced dead at St. Luke's Hospital in Palmerton, according to Carbon County Coroner Robert Miller. Witnesses told police a silver Chevrolet Impala driven by John Fisher, with Joanne Fisher as a passenger, was headed south when the car swerved suddenly and collided, head-on, with the black Harley-Davidson carrying Kuhn and a red Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by 53-year-old Gloria Fisher, of Aquashicola outside Palmerton. John and Joanne Fisher were trapped in their car and had to be cut free by the Lehigh Township Fire Department. John Fisher was flown by Lehigh Valley Health Network MedEvac to Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township. Gloria Fisher was not wearing a seat belt and suffered a head injury from striking the windshield, police said. Kuhn was wearing a helmet and eye protection at the time of the crash about 2:45 p.m. on Route 145, also known as Riverview Drive, near Birch Drive, police said. In addition to the medical helicopter, coroners' offices and Lehigh Township Fire Department, Lehigh Township police were assisted on the call by township fire police, Pennsylvania State Police, Northampton Regional EMS, Northern Valley EMS and the Walnutport Fire Department, including fire police. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. "Stunning and majestic" is how Pennsylvania state Sen. Lisa Boscola described FedEx Ground's new Lehigh Valley hub on Willow Brook Road in Allen Township. Business leaders and elected officials joined FedEx executives and employees on Friday for a grand opening and ribbon cutting for the new facility that opened in September. "When you work together, good things happen and you can see that in this building today," state Sen. Mario Scavello, R-Monroe/Northampton, said alongside Boscola, D-Lehigh/Northampton. The 850,000-square-foot warehouse and shipping center can process 45,000 packages an hour through a mix of automation and workforce of more than 1,000, said Scott Burns, FedEx Ground's vice president for its eastern region. Complementing hubs in Harrisburg and Hagerstown, Maryland, the new Lehigh Valley facility has space to grow into one of FedEx Ground's largest centers in the United States, Burns said. FedEx Ground has added 36 million square feet of logistics space in five years, including nine new hubs like the Lehigh Valley one, according to Burns. The opening comes as FedEx Ground shifts to six-day-a-week delivery and 15 years after the company began preparing for the new home-delivery economy that has hit hard legacy department stores like Sears, Kmart, Bon-Ton and others. UPS has also moved into the Lehigh Valley in a big way in order to meet demands of its shipping customers, with the opening this week of a 1 million-square-foot warehouse on Van Buren Road in Palmer Township. The attention by delivery companies has not gone unnoticed, said Don Cunninghman, president and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. "From the early days when FedEx started to talk about doing this, we all started to get inquiries from manufacturers and retailers who want to be close to this because in the new retail, it's a race to your doorstep," he said at Friday's opening. "The closer facilities are to an operation like this the quicker, the package comes to you. We want the Lehigh Valley to be at the forefront of that." The FedEx hub was built by Rockefeller Group Development Corp., which broke ground in August 2016 on land purchased from the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority for $9.8 million. With UPS, the FedEx facility's opening marks the third by a major employer this fall in Northampton County. Specialty chemical manufacturer Air Liquide Advance Materials Inc. celebrated the grand opening of its newest facility Oct. 19 at 1379 S. Delaware Dr. in Upper Mount Bethel Township, creating 188 jobs in a nearly $45 million facility spanning 105,000 square feet. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. The purchase of a large Laois nursing home could be followed by a major extension and extensive renovation. Brindley Healthcare, a privately-owned nursing home group, has announced the acquisition of Kilminchy Lodge Nursing Home in Portlaoise, off the Dublin Road. Kilminchy Lodge has 44 single and four twin rooms, and employs 77 staff. The acquisition brings to eight the number of Hiqa registered residential care centres owned and operated by Brindley Healthcare in Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Kildare and now Laois. Brindley currently has over 400 nursing home beds, with an acquisition pipeline of more than 200 nursing home beds over the next 12 months and aims to increase this number to 1,000 over the next 24 months, with the support of a 25m finance facility from Ulster Bank. Donegal woman Amanda Torrens is founder and CEO of Brindley Healthcare. Our acquisition of Kilminchy Lodge Nursing in Laois is the next step in our ambitious growth plans and we are delighted to have the support of Ulster Bank as we seek to expand further to meet the needs of those in residential care, she said. The Health Information and Quality Authority regulates nursing homes. It says the single-storey purpose-built centre is staffed by qualified nursing and care staff at all times and caters for residents whose dependency levels range from low to maximum. Hiqa says it accommodates both female and male residents over the age of 18 years with a wide range of care needs. It can accommodate up to 52 residents. Of its 44 single rooms, 36 of which have ensuite facilities. Hiqa's most recent inspection report on the home was published on November 2. Overall, a good service was being provided to the residents. The centre had an established management team in place and was well run for the benefit of the residents who lived there, said the report. It was found to be compliant with nearly all areas apart from the premises category. Hiqa reported that plans are in place to address this. The registered provider representative discussed plans afoot to address the shortcomings in the premises. This included a major extension to, and complete renovation of, the existing premises, said the inspection report. Laois Fianna Fail TD Sean Fleming called on the new owner to ensure investment is maintained in Kilminchy Lodge and that conditions for residents and staff will continue unaffected. He said a local group of medical professionals have agreed to sell the nursing home which they have successfully operated for a number of years. He looked forward to the benefits that such a large group can bring to the provision of care and services in Laois. Eddie Cullen, Managing Director, Commercial Banking Division, Ulster Bank said Brindley is an important part its business. Ulster Bank is a strong supporter of the residential care sector in Ireland and Brindley Healthcare is a significant part of that. Our sectoral experts listened to Brindleys specific requirements and tailored finance to meet their unique needs, while also offering support on future expansion plans, he said. The funding and acquisition process was supported by Neal McGroarty (PKF OConnor, Leddy & Holmes) and Neil Keenan (Byrne Wallace). Two more businesses closed in Naas recently. The Five Lamps pub, which employs five people, including those on a part-time basis, did not reopen after the bank holiday weekend. There are suggestions that the premises, leased from the developers of the shopping centre which was built behind it, could reopen. But the proprietor, a well-liked man who has spent much of his life in the licenced trade, couldnt be contacted because he is on holiday. Soon afterwards, the Beloved shop, a charity retail enterprise on the other side of the street, also closed. The Beloved shop is one of three operated by Focus Ireland as means of raising funds for its work in providing services for homeless people. One swallow a summer does not make. And two more closures, even if they follow the closure of the upmarket Candied Walnut restaurant, an economic collapse does not make. Its undeniable, though that its a struggle for some to keep businesses going in Naas town centre. At the same time, many houses are being built along with apartments, and market forces dictate that theyre selling at prices that are out of the reach of many young people growing up in Naas. Rent prices in Naas are among the very highest in County Kildare. There are some obvious explanations for all of the closures, starting with the attractions of the Monread shopping centre, anchored by the huge Tesco store. And the McDonalds restaurant is among the busiest of any franchise in Ireland. But the economic prosperity of Naas has not really improved when set against the growing population and the money that people are prepared, or feel compelled, to pay for residential property. Contrast the buzz on the streets of Newbridge when compared with Naas most Saturdays. There is a view, too, among people with some experience of retail business and retail development in the town that if the Naas shopping centre which is bigger than Whitewater in Newbridge opened tomorrow choc full of retail units, it would likely cause serious damage to the existing retailers. So, some feel, this should be developed as an educational campus and perhaps a car park in the interim to provide parking spaces in the middle of the town. There was a little good news last week with the release of unemployment fixtures. Sen. Anthony Lawlor o f Johnstown, Fine Gaels candidate in Kildare North come the next general election, said there has been a consistent decline in the live register figures for Co.Kildare and the numbers claiming unemployment payments last month was the lowest for just over a decade. What the figures dont tell us is how many are on minimum wage or less than minimum wage and there are people working for less than the minimum entitlement. Neither do they tell us about the security of employment or whether those not claiming benefit are working in the so-called gig economy (zero hours contracts) with little security in terms of how many hours theyll be required for or how long the job may last. Dunnes Stores is said to be developing a new store at the former Superquinn plant. An announcement was to have been made about this in September but this didnt happen, even if work appears to be still continuing on the site at the heart of the town. A Dunnes opening would be a welcome vote of confidence in the town and powerful antidote to the impact, visual and financial, of the many empty buildings. There was huge support for the recent launch of Liam Powers book titled Liams Tales and Trails at Toughers ballroom near Naas. Read also: Kill musician comes home to release EP A compilation of the authors articles from Irelands Own, short stories, Toastmasters speeches and other works, all proceeds from its sale will go to Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Ireland (SBHI). He chose this charity because of his connection with the Murphy family, who organise regular dances at Toughers. Joe and Margaret Murphy are dedicated members of the SBHI Kildare branch. Liam has been a member of Scribblers Writers Group in Newbridge for the past 11 years and enjoys the joy of writing. He has spent considerable time going back through all his works to select the best pieces for his publication. It was a great night. It was great to see everyone and to have the book so well supported. I really appreciated it, he said. The book is 10 and can be purchased by contacting Liam on 087 9547839. Spina Bifida Ireland aims to foster an environment in which every person affected by spina bifida and hydrocephalus can lead a fulfilled life. It provides essential information, support and advice to everyone living with spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus. The group enables its members to get the very best from health, education, and social services and lobbies the Government to significantly improve services and all necessary access for people living with disabilities. No requests for funding to provide CCTV systems have been made from groups or organisations in Naas. Over a year ago the Department of Justice announced a grant-aid scheme to assist community groups in establishing community-based CCTV systems. Eligible community groups can apply for up to 60% of the total cost of a system up to a maximum of 40,000. The scheme works by giving the applicant a 50% up front payment with the balance paid after the system is fully operational and complies with regulations. The scheme aims to enhance existing policing provision within the community to help prevent and reduce local crime, disorder and anti-social activity as well as encouraging community involvement in providing responses to prevent and reduce crime locally in conjunction with appropriate agencies. The scheme runs for three years and is funded to the tune of 1m annually. It seeks to enhance policing, assist in crime prevention and reduction, including disorder and antisocial activity. It also aims to involve the community, facilitate crime investigation, reduce the fear of crime and assist in possible prosecution of offenders. Applications must be approved by the local joint policing committee, made up gardai, politicians and county council officials as well as complying with various regulations. In August the Kill Johnstown Community Text group held a public meeting at which there was support for a CCTV system. The garda station in Kill closed in January 2013, though gardai say there has been in increase in mobile patrols in the area since then. The closure of the station, one of 90 around Ireland including Ballymore Eustace, Ballytore, donard and Hollywood, was criticised by Fianna Fail TD James Lawless. Mani, otherwise known as Gary Mounfield, the bassist of supergroup Stone Roses is the latest artist to be honoured for his links to Athy as part of the Made of Athy initiative. Last week was the turn of Johnny Marr, the guitarist of the Smiths, and Mani, whose family were near neighbours of Marrs in Maganey, was similarly honoured earlier today in Athy. When completedly, there will be 24 Made of Athy plaques around the town, honouring musicians who have a link to the town. It is expected to be a huge tourism draw to the south Kildare town. In the hours before the unveiling of a plaque in his name, Mani, his wife and two young sons visited the cemetary in Maganey to place flowers on the graves of his mothers family. He told his sons that part of his mothers ashes, were buried. Her heart is in Ireland, he told them. Read also: WATCH: Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr says he never forgot his Athy roots as he is honoured in the Kildare town Shortly after, accompanied by relatives including his cousin Geraldine, he visited the house his mother, Anne Patricia Farrell, and her six siblings grew up in. The current owner of the house, Adrian Lee, was there to welcome them. Colm Walsh outlines reason for putting Manis plaque outside the Emigrant Bar. #madeofathy pic.twitter.com/iqDqCWlSnj Conor McHugh (@Leader_Conor) November 10, 2018 A few doors down was where the Doyles lived, one of whom was Johnny Marrs mother, Francis. Soon after 3pm this afternoon, Mani was feted in Athy, where Arts Officer Luccina Russell admitted she was a bit star struck because the Stone Roses got her through her three years of college. Mayor Aoife Breslin said she hoped it was the first of many many visits and that the door is always open. And local Athy man Colm Walsh, who initiated and has organised the Made of Athy project, told him that Emigrant Bar at Emily Square, where the plaque in his honour has been placed, was once the location of the bus stop in the town and it is likely that his mother caught the bus from that spot on her way to Manchester. The plaque outside the Emigrant Bar to honour Mani Welcome back, he told the pop star who has also played with Primal Scream and Ocean Colour Scene, Travel the world, be famous, be a Lillywhite and be proud, Mani told a crowd of more than 100 who attended the occasions. You know what, that was absolutely bloody amazing, he told the Leinster Leader later on over a pint. In a non-America plastic Irishman kind of second generation returnee, I do feel very welcome. Theres always been an attachment for me here, even though all my family have moved from Maganey to Manchester, theres always still been a connection there.Usually when we come back here its to bury people, but to come back and celebrate. Its the first time Ive been here for a non-funeral reason. And I brought my kids here with me. Its important for me that they know and for them to know where their family is from, so we took them to the graveyard and said Look, theres your auntie, theres your uncle and so on. Its important because if you dont know your history, you have no future, you dont know your direction. Its great to be here. And he revealed that he has begun the process of getting his Irish passport. I was always going to do it, pre-Brexit, but now the Brexit thing has really pushed my buttons. I want to be European, Im not English. Manchester people arent English. Firstly Im a Mancunian, secondly Im a northerner and third Im second generation Irish. So, we dont consider ourselves to be English. English people are in London - where the Queen and all of them are! I suppose its the same in Liverpool, he reflected. He explained that all of his mothers family moved to England. Except for uncle Christy, who was the youngest of the kids, and when Grandad Michael died, he was so young they farmed him out to a family who lived in Moone. And when he was buried, it was in the graveyard of who he considered to be his mother. Johnny Marr told me that his mother was farmed out and it was my family who brought her up, or something along those lines. It was big Irish families back in those days with no tv and the rhythm method obviously doesnt work, he laughed. So three of me uncles, me mum and a sister all moved to England to make something happen. There was no work here, and a tie was lost in many ways. Uncle Christy ended up moving to Thurles, in Tipperary, where the Trip to Tipp happened and we played there and I never even knew. We had lost contact with him, but we eventually found him again, which happens. He was amazing! What a guy that man was. He only died a couple of years ago. Its good to make a connection, and good to make a connection with my kids. Its important that they know - not in a cheesy American kind of way - that theyve f**king Irish blood in their veins, and for me thats important. It was always important to me. This visit will reinforce that for them, and theyll know where it all started. THE EARL of Limerick, the man spearheading proposals for a World War One memorial in Peoples Park, says it is a shame that the city does not have a monument to commemorate more than 1,350 people who made the ultimate sacrifice. The Earl Edmund Perys proposal to construct a memorial wall in the Peoples Park was rejected by Limerick City and County Council planners on October 16, and that decision has now been appealed to An Bord Pleanala. The family of Earl Edmund Pery donated the lands of the Peoples Park for civic use for Limerick, which is why it has his name on the application. In the absence of having a commemorative space for the Limerick people who died during the Great War, Limerick Civic Trust has published a list of names of the 1,350 fallen men and women in this weekends Limerick Leader. Mr Pery said it is very important that the many millions who fought and fell during World War One are honoured. Its a shame that a city the size of Limerick does not have a physical monument to honour the 1,350 who made the ultimate sacrifice during that war. One of Mr Perys relatives was killed, aged 23, in 1918. The deceaseds mother founded the Shamrock League to support those returning from the Front. But this is not about me and my family. This is about everybody. This is about the many families in Munster who do not have a physical monument or grave to remember their forebears. Limerick Civic Trust CEO, David OBrien said the proposed memorial wall is to simply to commemorate Limericks war dead, who tragically died in such large numbers. Supporting the project is Hugh Elliot, of EML architects, saying that there is hardly a person in Limerick whose family does not have some connection with the war, adding that many military families survived on army pensions. In the not too distant past these families were harassed for attendance at memorial services or wearing a poppy in public. It is time for the city to make amends for these indignities and provide a respectful memorial in the heart of the city, he added. Dr Tadhg Moloney, historian and former chairperson of the Munster Fusiliers Association, said that Limerick needs a memorial which lists the individual names of the civilians and soldiers who died in alphabetical order with no rank or serial number and no discrimination. Castletroy man Tony Thuillier, who was a member of the reserve Defence Forces for 41 years, said the Irish joined the British army for a number of reasons and they didnt join for King and country. Most of them were ordinary Joe Soaps who were poor and needed the money for their families, or wanted an adventure or went because of peer pressure. Sgt Francis Thomas Hayes, Hospital, was the first Limerick man to die in battle on August 23, 1914. Mary Danaher, nurse, was the first Limerick woman to die in the war, in Gaza on October 12, 1918. A JUDGE has said that peoples lives were at risk after an electricity meter was tampered with at a popular restaurant and bar in Limerick, resulting in more than 11,000 worth of unpaid electricity being used. Turn Key Ventures Ltd, trading as Russells Bar, appeared before Judge Marian OLeary last Friday afternoon, accused of removing wires from an electricity meter in June 2017. The company was charged with interfering with an article belonging to the ESB, under Section 15 of the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995. ESB inspector Keith McCarthy told Limerick District Court that the act as unacceptable and that there was a safety risk for staff, members of the public and emergency services. He said that a total of 78,095 units of electricity were used, amounting to 11,290.04, which has since been repaid, the judge was told. Judge OLeary asked defending solicitor John Herbert how many staff did his client have, and she was then informed 30. Peoples lives at risk, the judge said. Mr Herbert said that the embarrassment is palpable...the sheer ridiculousness of it all and told Judge OLeary that it wont happen again. Prosecuting solicitor Aileen Mee said the penalty is a maximum six-month prison sentence and a class-A fine not exceeding 5,000 and not less than 4,000. The inspector, however, told Judge OLeary that it was at her discretion. The judge asked Mr Herbert: Tell me why your client should not get jail for this? Mr Herbert said the offence occurred in the face of financial difficulty and it just shows the blind stupidity that it can cause. He added that it was thoughtless. It beggars belief, Judge OLeary said to Mr Herbert. The price is being paid now and he is facing the threat of jail, Mr Herbert told the court. Judge OLeary fined the accused 4,000, which is to be paid within eight months. ALL INVOLVED with Childrens Grief Centre in Limerick must feel like they have won the Lotto. The Limerick Bar Association will be presenting them with a cheque for over 10,000 from their Strictly Legal Eagles event on Thursday night. Then, two days later the centre was named as National Lottery Good Cause of the Year at a gala ceremony in Dublin. The new awards shine a light on the extraordinary work impacting communities all over Ireland. The Childrens Grief Centre was chosen out of 36 finalists. They were also named as the winner of the youth category. The six category winners received 10,000, whilst the overall Good Cause of the Year received an additional 25,000. The 35,000 will help the charity to continue and expand their supports to children who suffer loss from bereavement, divorce or separation Sr Helen Culhane, who founded Childrens Grief Centre in 2009, said they were overjoyed at the award. Congratulations again to @children_grief in Limerick @NationalLottery #GoodCausesAwards which I was delighted to present to them. Over 5b has been raised for good causes all over Ireland since the National Lottery began 31 years ago Well done all @virginmediaone tonight pic.twitter.com/jdAC4qeEaK Josepha Madigan (@josephamadigan) November 11, 2018 Children often find it difficult to express their feelings through language so by providing them with clay and paint, sand and crayons, we allow them to choose their own form of expression. The impact of this work with children is incredible. As a result of attending the Children's Grief Centre it has been shown that children are happier, more calm, and have less feelings of anger, guilt and sadness, said Sr Helen, who is a Croom lady. Art plays such a big part of their life-changing work that they have organised their own awards. Over 250 primary schools from County Limerick and Clare have been invited to participate in an art competition. See www.childrensgriefcentre.ie for more information. Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan presented the award to Sr Helen. Loss, whether through death, separation or divorce, can be devastating, especially for the young. This award goes to a dedicated voluntary organisation which provides comfort and support to grieving children. Its committed volunteers work tirelessly all year round to provide an oasis of calm for those who have lost loved ones, helping them find their voice, said Minister Madigan. The ceremony will be shown on Virgin Media One on November 11 at 9.30pm. WEST Limerick couple, Pat and Nuala Geoghegan, staged a protest outside the Department of Health in Dublin this Wednesday to highlight their claims of a cover-up over vital samples given by them as part of the Askeaton animal and human health investigation in the 1990s. The Geoghegans were one of the families at the centre of that EPA-lead investigation as their livestock were badly affected and the family also suffered ill-health. They believe the samples of hair, blood etc which they gave were crucial to that investigation and could have helped provide the answers to the wider puzzle of animal and human ill-health in the area. But those samples, they were told almost 20 years ago, had been lost through human error. Now, the Geoghegans believe they have put together sufficient evidence to demonstrate that this so-called loss was part of a cover-up in which different Ministers of Health were misled but high-ranking officials were protected. They have compiled the evidence and given it to Dr Michael Harty, the Independent TD for Clare who is also chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health. Dr Harty gave the material to Health Minister Simon Harris last month and asked him to have these documents assessed and a response in detail given to the Geoghegan family. In a reply to Dr Harty this Wednesday, Minister Harris said he was having the issues raised examined and would reply to the deputy shortly. Meanwhile, the Geoghegans have travelled to Dublin this week to highlight their case. After they were told the samples had been lost, Mr Geoghegan explained, they campaigned for the matter to be investigated but were very unhappy with the results of an internal review, arguing that it was neither independent nor transparent. A key argument and conclusion of the review was that the samples were not germane to the wider investigation. Since that internal review, we have been getting Freedom of Information material which has disclosed to us that we were in fact correct, Mr Geoghegan told the Limerick Leader. Letters, which they now possess, contradict the conclusion of the internal review, he argued, and show that the EPA enquiry was misled and subsequently a Minister for Health was also misled. He also contended that a high-ranking official played a role in preventing the further investigation, which they had sought, from going forward. After 19 years, we feel the evidence is there, handed over to Dr Michael Harty and now to Minister Harris, Mr Geoghegan said. We feel an enquiry needs to be opened because there are major questions to be answered regarding senior officials who dealt with our case. Lack of accountability is going back a long way, Mr Geoghegan claimed, arguing that had their case been dealt with differently, the lack of accountability displayed in the cervical cancer scare might have been uncovered sooner. Commenting on the matter, Fianna Fails Willie ODea said he had received documentation from the Geoghegans. It does appear to raise very serious issues which would warranet investigation, if the evidence is there to back them up, he said. He looked forward to meeting the Geoghegans on the issues they have raised, he added. ON A RECENT visit to Cappamore, Limerick IFA chairman Shay Galvin said he overheard someone say the only thing Pat Fogarty has not been involved with is the ICA! Mr Fogarty was one of nine nominees for the annual Paddy Fitzgerald memorial awards held in the Dunraven Arms Hotel. The ceremony was started 20 years ago by IFA members in Limerick in honour of the late Caherconlish man. Mr Fitzgerald served as Munster vice-president and was also a founding member of FBD, marking 50 years in existence this year. IFA farm business chair and Oola man, Martin Stapleton said the Paddy Fitzgerald awards are an opportunity to celebrate those who put themselves forward on behalf of their neighbours and their communities. Every rural community can point to achievements that would not be possible without people stepping up to make it a better place. The Paddy Fitzgerald awards celebrates those who can say they left their mark, said Mr Stapleton. That sums up Mr Fogarty from Portnard. In a presentation on the night, Mr Galvin described him as a person who has been passionate about the welfare of rural Ireland for almost 50 years. Pats mottos is never expect a person to do something that you are not prepared to do yourself. It is safe to assume that Pat was influenced by a former champion for the cause of rural Ireland namely the late Canon John Hayes, founder of Muintir na Tire, in whose local area Pat was born and reared, said Mr Galvin. Within the IFA, Pat was involved in forming the Cappamore branch of the IFA in the early 1960s. He was elected as branch chairman, president and delegate to the county executive. He was actively involved in setting up IFA branches in neighbouring parishes. Pat helped secure compensation for farmers regarding ESB pylons which were creating a nuisance in the Cappamore area. Pat was amongst the youngest to participate in the 1966 Farmers Rights walk to Dublin and was prominent in numerous rallies and demonstrations most notably the 1967 road blockade and produce blockade. In recognition of his contribution to IFA he has been awarded honorary life membership. His contribution at branch level was similarly acknowledged in 2017 by way of an inscribed plaque, said Mr Galvin. Outside of the IFA, Mr Galvin had a long list Mr Fogartys accomplishments, projects and organisations that he was involved with to read out. They are Macra na Feirme, Ballyclough Dairygold committee, Mulcair drainage co-op, Glenstal group water scheme, Cappamore Show, Ballyhoura, Cappamore Development Association, St Michaels Day Care Centre, purchase of Cappamore creamery site for the development of social housing, Ballinure Cemetery, Cappamore GAA, schools board of management and Community Alert. Married to Mary, they have four adult children -Michael, Elaine, Maria, and Aine. In Mr Fogartys spare time, which Mr Galvin cant imagine there being very much of, he Pat spends it farming. Originally dairy farming Mr Fogarty changed to sucklers. Without fear of contradiction I can say that the late Paddy Fitzgerald would justifiably be proud of Pat Fogarty and what he has achieved for the Cappamore area. Pat has been involved in many committees spanning many areas almost from the cradle to the grave and everything in between, said Mr Galvin. And anybody that knows Mr Fogarty will tell you he is a gentleman to his fingertips. The special guest at the ceremony in Adare was EU Commissioner Phil Hogan. Travelling throughout Europe in my role as Agriculture Commissioner, I am struck by the fact that in every rural region of every EU member state, farmers are at the heart of volunteerism and community life. Paddy Fitzgeralds spirit lives on in communities across Ireland, and indeed across the EU, and the nine nominees can be very proud of their immense contribution to rural life, said Commissioner Hogan. IFA president Joe Healy said the awards represent the spirit of volunteerism and the selfless dedication of people to the betterment of their communities. Each of the nine nominees had the honour of being chosen by their county executive. The cornerstone of IFAs work is the willingness of farmers to give of their time in representing their fellow farmers. It is only fitting that this should be recognised and I would like to thank FBD for their support for this prestigious event, said Mr Healy. FBD chairman Liam Herlihy said the late Paddy Fitzgerald worked unselfishly to better the life of farmers, first through his work with Macra in County Limerick and then in the NFA and Cork Marts IMP. We at FBD Insurance try to embody a bit of Paddys spirit by working closely with agricultural organisations the length and breadth of the land to make life better for farmers. We are working hard to reduce accidents on farms every day through our farm protect programme, but it is down to individuals to make changes and to encourage farmers to adopt best practice now in order to set a good example for the next generation of Irish farmers, said Mr Herlihy. The winner of the Paddy Fitzgerald award was Michael Davoren of Clare IFA. A MOTHER-of-three has objected to the renewal of a county pubs licence after an incident on the night of Limericks All-Ireland final win. Teresa Nolan, of Main Street, Hospital took the case against Scobys Bar in the town. In Kilmallock Court, Mrs Nolan alleged she was assaulted in the pubs toilets. Mrs Nolan said that after the incident bar staff wouldnt ring gardai or phone for an ambulance. Proprietor of Scobys Bar, Mary OCallaghan denied this. She said Mrs Nolan didnt ask them to call emergency services. She was asking for cameras. She was wiping blood all over her face. She and her friends were like drama queens, said Mrs OCallaghan. Mrs Nolan denied she acted like a drama queen and also denied she was wiping blood on her face. Mrs Nolan, who represented herself in court, said on the evening of Sunday, August 19, she and her husband attended Scobys Bar. She alleges that she was viciously assaulted in the ladies bathrooms by two female customers. Gardai are investigating this complaint. It was the way I was treated after. I went to the bar to get help. My face was opened. The bar man said out, out. Then Pat OCallaghan [husband of the proprietor] brought me into a room behind the bar. I said, Will you please call an ambulance and gardai. The girls were still on the premises. I said, Do you have cameras? Pat said, No and he didnt have a number for the gardai. I lost consciousness behind the bar, said Mrs Nolan. Judge Timothy Lucey said most people have mobile phones. Most people were intoxicated. The bar staff are sober. They refused to leave my husband in to me. Blood was pouring out of me. I knew I was getting no help, said Mrs Nolan. She said her husband called gardai, she attended Shannondoc before being sent to UHL for a suspected fracture to her face. Mrs Nolan said she knew the alleged assault was not their fault but I cant understand why I wasnt helped and a garda, ambulance, doctor called. Mrs Nolan said if the pub had cameras it would have assisted the garda investigation. Judge Lucey asked Mrs Nolan why she wanted to take away Mrs OCallaghans pub licence. The way I was treated. I dont want to see another woman in the condition I was in treated like that, said Mrs Nolan. Judge Lucey said it is quite possible they did not have the garda number. People can be shocked, said Judge Lucey. Mrs OCallaghan took the stand and confirmed to their solicitor, Kevin Power, that she and her husband have run Scobys Bar for 18 years. Prior to that she worked in a hotel for 13 years. The court heard Scobys Bar is a successful enterprise, has won awards and has no endorsements on its licence. Mrs OCallaghan said Mrs Nolan arrived in to the bar at 9.20pm on the Sunday of the All-Ireland hurling final. She looked for a girl. She didnt look to be served. She wasnt drunk. I didnt see her until ten to 11. She had blood over her eye. My husband brought her into the kitchen. She was wiping blood all over her face. She was asking for cameras, said Mrs OCallaghan. Mr Power asked the proprietor if Mrs Nolan asked for gardai or an ambulance. No. There was no need for an ambulance. She was running around. Her husband was trying to get in behind the bar. We didnt know it was her husband, said Mrs OCallaghan. Mr Power asked what happened next. I went out of the kitchen. She followed out with her two friends. After that her brother led her out and her husband followed, said Mrs OCallaghan. Mr Power asked if that was the end of it? People were panicking. She and her friends were like drama queens. We have cameras installed since, said Mrs OCallaghan. Mrs Nolan denied they behaved like drama queens and said gardai were appalled that they werent rung. Mr Power said Mr and Mrs OCallaghan brought Mrs Nolan in to their kitchen and offered help. They are very well regarded in the community and it is a very well run bar. I ask that the objection to the renewal of the bar licence be refused, said Mr Power. Judge Lucey said he was very sympathetic to Mrs Nolan but refusing the pub licence doesnt help. If you think you have a claim that they did something wrong you can sue them. Taking a licence away is a lose lose, said Judge Lucey. He said the licensees recollections are not the same as the objectors. Im not happy with the fact the licensee is being blamed for not doing something when her husband, brother, friends could have rang [gardai, ambulance]. If you were on your own I would have more sympathy, said Judge Lucey. He said he was refusing Mrs Nolans objection and that Scobys Bar licence should be granted. Mrs Nolan said she would appeal the decision. An image of the mountains in the Shackleton Range, bordering Recovery Glacier, East Antarctica, snapped during a NASA IceBridge flight on Oct. 18, 2018. An icy mystery brewing under Recovery Glacier in Antarctica has scientists scratching their heads. Where researchers once thought there was a network of under-ice lakes, there now seem to be none. Antarctic researchers have long believed that large lakes lie hidden beneath the glacier in East Antarctica, trapped between the base of the ice and the bedrock of the Antarctic continent. A new study, though, failed to find any evidence of such large bodies of water. "They're probably not there," said the study leader, glaciologist Angelika Humbert of the Alfred Wegener Institute's Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research in Germany. This apparent lack of lakes is very weird. Without these bodies of water, researchers can't easily explain other observations made about the ice, like the pockets where the surface of the ice rises and falls in cycles or the glacier's flow toward the sea. [Photos: Meltwater Lake Hidden Under Antarctic Ice] "It's hard to understand how it couldn't be water," said Ted Scambos, a research scientist at the Earth Science and Observation Center at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences in Boulder, Colorado who was not involved in the new study. Mystery on ice The glacier in question is an enormous river of ice in East Antarctica called Recovery Glacier; its basin stretches 621 miles (1,000 kilometers) inland from the sea and drains 8 percent of the volume of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. This is currently "a calm glacier," meaning it's not undergoing any dramatic speedup, Humbert told Live Science. But it has great potential for change as global temperatures rise, she added. The Recovery Ice Stream flows out of the Shackleton Range Mountains and meets the vast Filchner Ice Shelf atop the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. (Image credit: NASA) Unraveling how the glacier moves and what influences the speed at which it flows will help researchers understand the whole ice sheet's response to climate change, Scambos said. Satellite observations had revealed isolated pockets where the ice rises and falls by several meters over months or years. "The vertical motion has always been attributed, and in some other places proven, to be associated with water bodies beneath the ice," Scambos told Live Science. Humbert and her colleagues conducted an airplane-based survey of the glacier in 2014, using radar waves to penetrate the surface. As the waves bounced back to a receiver in the airplane, they could reveal things like the thickness of the ice, the presence of water, and the location of boundaries between ice, water and rock. The goal of that survey wasn't necessarily to search for subglacial lakes, Humbert said; the whole region was a blank spot on the map, and the scientists wanted to know what kind of topography sat under the glacier. Lost lakes The data, though, revealed something unexpected. In areas where satellite data suggested lakes should be, the radar revealed no water. [Antarctica: The Ice-Covered Bottom of the World (Photos)] "There have been four really large lakes suggested and 11 smaller lakes, and we found by far less," Humbert said. "There is one larger area where you could consider a lake to be, but it could also be a swampy area" of wet sediment. The researchers reported their findings Wednesday (Nov. 7) in an open-access article in the Journal of Geophysical Research. Scambos isn't ready to rule out the existence of lakes entirely. The deep troughs under the glacier suggest flowing water, he said, and there's no good explanation for why the ice surface rises and falls in some areas, unless there are lakes under the ice draining and filling in some sort of cycle. Complicating the issue is that radar is a tricky tool for measuring ice, Humbert said. The imaging of the subsurface that radar provides is dependent on how the waves travel through the ice, water or rock. This movement is partially dependent on the temperature of the ice, she said. And researchers don't know much about the ice temperature within Recovery Glacier. This makes it tougher to differentiate between true lakes and areas where the glacier might sit atop very wet sediment or mud, she said. Finding answers may take time. Humbert and her team are planning a trek to the glacier with explosives, which they'll detonate in small batches to create seismic waves. As the waves rebound back to the surface, they will carry information about the structures below the ice. But Recovery Glacier is wildly remote, and supplies must be carried nearly 500 miles (800 km) from the nearest scientific outpost, Humbert said. The mission will happen in 2021, at the earliest. In the meantime, the best place to find clues is in satellite data, Humbert said. ICESat-2, a satellite that uses laser pulses to measure changes in the ice, launched this year and will provide a sharper-than-ever picture of how the glacier is changing, Scambos said. He and his collaborators also want to work with Humbert's team to piece together all the disparate evidence for what's going on beneath the glacier. "Hats off to them for getting the data," he said. "And now, we've got some reconciling to do." Originally published on Live Science. CHICAGO Late-night meals may take a toll on heart health, a new study suggests. The research, presented here today (Nov. 10) at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions annual meeting, found that eating more later in the evening was associated with an increased risk of heart disease. People in the U.S. now have a "delayed lifestyle" they go to sleep later at night and get fewer hours of sleep, said lead study author Nour Makarem, a postdoctoral fellow in cardiology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. And with that delayed lifestyle, you also see higher rates of late-night eating, she said. [9 New Ways to Keep Your Heart Healthy] Makarem and her colleagues thought that this meal timing may play a role in the rise in rates of obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes seen in recent years. So, they set out to see if that's the case. In the study, the researchers used a database called the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos to look at information on more than 12,700 Hispanic and Latino adults ages 18 to 76. (Though the study looked at just one specific population in the U.S., the Hispanic and Latino population, "we do expect to see similar associations in other populations in the U.S.," Makarem told Live Science. Indeed, several studies conducted abroad have shown that meal timing may be associated with developing risk factors for heart disease, she added.) In the study, the team looked at data from two separate days in which participants reported their eating habits, and compared this information with measurements such as blood pressure and blood sugar. They found that over half of the people in the study consumed 30 percent or more of their daily calories after 6 p.m. Those participants had higher levels of fasting blood sugar (a measure of the amount of sugar in the blood when someone hasn't eaten in hours), higher levels of insulin (the hormone that regulates the amount of sugar in the blood), higher levels of HOMA-IR (a marker of resistance to insulin) and higher blood pressure than participants who reported eating less than 30 percent of their daily calories after 6 p.m. A high fasting blood sugar level can be considered a sign of prediabetes, according to the Mayo Clinic. (Prediabetes means that a person's blood sugar levels are abnormally high, but not high enough to be considered diabetes.) Indeed, the researchers found that those who consumed 30 percent or more of their daily calories after 6 p.m. were 19 percent more likely to develop prediabetes than those who ate more earlier in the day. Seventy percent of people with prediabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes, which is a risk factor for heart disease, Makarem noted. [Where Is Heart Disease Risk Highest and Lowest? (Maps)] Those same participants were also 23 percent more likely to develop hypertension, compared with people who ate more earlier the day. These associations were especially common in women, Makarem added. The late-night link The study only found an association between meal timing and a person's risk of certain medical problems; it didn't prove a cause-and-effect link. However, Makarem said that one possible explanation for the link is that problems can arise when our body clocks aren't synced to our environment. Almost every cell in the body can tell time, following a roughly 24-hour cycle. A small part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus serves as the body's master clock, receiving external light cues (ideally from the sun) and sets the rest of the clocks in the body's cells accordingly, telling people when to wake up, sleep and eat, Makarem said. "These clocks are regulated by bright-light exposure, but also by behaviors, particularly food signals," Makarem said. So, when we eat at unconventional times for example, by consuming more calories in the evening the body's clocks can become misaligned with the master clock, leading to problems in metabolism and increasing the risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, she said. "The evidence is fairly consistent that eating more, later in the day, seems to be worse metabolically," said Kristen Knutson, an associate professor of neurology and preventative medicine at Northwestern Univeristy Feinberg School of Medicine who was not involved with the research, but attended Makarem's talk. These problems arise because "you're not eating at the time that's optimal for your circadian system," she told Live Science. The findings have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. Originally published on Live Science. One of the true big-name guest artists of the San Antonio Symphonys season, cellist Lynn Harrell, proved his stature Friday night by conquering a 20th century masterpiece concerto. Dmitri Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 is perhaps the Soviet composers most personal piece, but Harrell strove to make it his own, too. Every time I go to the Gulag with this piece, I feel a few years older, Harrell, 74, quipped to the audience after his intense performance. The concerto revolves around Shostakovichs own four-note initials, D-S-C-H, in the German transliteration. Harrell expressed the anxiety and paranoia of Soviet life with a raw edge to his playing in the first movement. But his tone became smooth and warm in the second-movements themes of sorrow and mourning. Shostakovich was still haunted in this 1959 concerto by the specter of Josef Stalin, the composers critic, nemesis and sometimes censor, who had died in 1953. Stalins voice from the grave could be heard throughout the concerto when principal horn Jeff Garza loudly and repeatedly played the same D-S-C-H motif, as if saying, Dmitri Shostakovich, you had better watch yourself. But the concerto ended with Harrell emphasizing the individualistic victorious stance that Shostakovich took with the rondo finale, as if shaking his fist at the evil dictator. Harrells extended soul-baring cadenza during the concerto was masterful. Harrells heartfelt encore was Robert Schumanns Kinderszenen No. 7, Traumerei. After intermission, the Danube River bubbled along as the orchestra launched into Beethovens popular Symphony No.6, Pastorale, which balanced the evening with its scenes from nature. The string and woodwinds sounded luxuriant as Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing let the orchestra breathe in and out as the radiant themes intertwined. Lang-Lessing, conducting without a score, shaped the melodies with his left hand while negotiating tricky tempo changes with his right hand. The symphonys famous storm scene in the penultimate movement sounded reminiscent of the loud one that had banged through San Antonio on Thursday night. Riely Francis on timpani created ear-splitting thunder while the strings and winds sonically sprayed sheets of rain water. But the climax came in the idyllic passages that expressed the comforting calm after the storm. It was a precise and well-thought-out performance. Not ever able to let a concert end softly, Lang-Lessing led the orchestra in Johann Strauss IIs Thunder and Lightning Polka as an encore to the delight of the audience of nearly 1,200 at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. The concert opened with an exciting rendition of Carl Maria von Webers Overture to Der Freischutz, complete with magical pauses and growling trombones. The program repeats at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Tobin Center downtown. hendrickd53@yahoo.com Albany The mass shooting Thursday in California was a relatively minor news story. The country woke up to the tragedy, shook its head and went on with its day. By nightfall, the cable news networks had mostly moved on. And why not? Mass shootings don't feel unusual anymore, so the paucity of attention makes a kind of grim sense. Events that happen routinely aren't as newsworthy. They don't shock us. We've seen worse, really. The attention that was given to the massacre in Thousand Oaks, Calif., tended to focus on the heroism of police Sgt. Ron Helus, who died as he rushed to rescue others, and the fact that the killer responsible for 12 deaths in a bar popular with college kids is a military veteran who served in Afghanistan. He was a former Marine machine gunner who may have suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. The killer was hardly the first veteran responsible for a mass killing in recent years. There have been eight since 2001, in fact, and it is tempting to assume that military service had something to do with what those men did. We figure they learned how to kill overseas, never recovered from the trauma of the experience, and that led them to kill again when they returned home. But that's dumb, or at least simplistic. We've always had veterans, but never a problem like this. No, the problem isn't veterans. The problem is the country to which those veterans come home. As the writer Sebastian Junger has detailed, soldiers at war experience a tribal closeness. They eat together and sleep together. They have a common mission and sense of purpose. They trust and rely on each other. Then, when their service is over, they come home to a society marked by historically abnormal loneliness and alienation. To a country with sky-high rates of depression, addiction, anxiety and isolation, where neighbors are strangers and strangers aren't to be trusted. To communities where the bonds between people have grown weak and families, generally speaking, are in crisis. The problem, Junger says, is that vets get an unusual perspective. They see us for who we really are. They know what we're missing, and that helps explains why they struggle with PTSD, with depression, with suicide. More Information Contact columnist Chris Churchill at 518-454-5442 or email cchurchill@timesunion.com See More Collapse "Veterans have gone away and are coming back and seeing their own country with fresh eyes," Junger says in a TED Talk available on YouTube. "And they see what's going on. This is the country they fought for. No wonder they're depressed. No wonder they're scared." Veterans have special concerns and needs, for sure, but the alienation Junger describes is common among mass shooters. Nearly all are relatively young men, lost victims of a great disconnect from nature, place, family, community, spirituality. They know too little of the warmth of connection and humanity but are overly familiar with the meanness of the cold virtual world. There's a special irony in all this for recent military veterans, though. When they were sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, they were given an imperialistic mission that included remaking those distant societies in our image. We spent trillions rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan but neglected the society here at home. The idea, we were told, was to spread democracy, but I don't know anyone, liberal or conservative, who believes our own democracy is in great shape. The idea, we were told, was to thwart terrorism, but we have own our terrorists to worry about. What was the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting if not terrorism? The idea, we were told, was to spread peace. But what peace do we have? Consider that some of the survivors in Thousand Oaks also lived through the mass shooting that killed 58 men and women in Las Vegas. Try convincing them that they live in anything better than a battlefield. Or consider that 51 people have been shot in Albany in a year, including the 22-year-old shot Friday just blocks from the governor's mansion. That isn't peace. How about this. How about we worry less about what's happening in the Middle East and more about the decay in our own neighborhoods. How about we stop pretending we have solutions for the world, when we are so obviously failing to solve our own problems. And why don't we stop creating veterans in wars far from home until we've figured out what's making lost young men turn bars, schools, churches and movie theaters into war zones of their own making. cchurchill@timesunion.com 518-454-5442 @chris_churchill A second man has been arrested in connection with the double shooting on East Saunders Street that left one man dead and another wounded, Laredo police said. LPD identified him as Victor Sauceda, 19. On Thursday afternoon, he was served with arrest warrants charging him with murder and aggravated assault. READ MORE: Mother accused of leaving children unattended in vehicle while inside bank Custody records show he remained behind bars at the Webb County Jail as of Friday. LPD released a photo of a third suspect who they said is linked to the case. Police identified him as Hector Rivera Jr., 20. He is facing the same charges as Sauceda. "The crimes against persons, or CAPERs, division of the Laredo Police Department was able to identify Victor and Hector as suspects through the course of the investigation from various witnesses," police said in a statement. To report Rivera's whereabouts, call police at 795-2800 or Laredo Crime Stoppers at 727-TIPS (8477). Callers may remain anonymous. Information provided through Crime Stoppers may be eligible for a cash reward. Police first arrested Norberto Adame Rivera, 21, on Nov. 2 due to witness testimony, according to police. LPD further stated that Adame admitted to the shooting. At about 2 a.m. Nov. 2, police officers responded to multiple reports of shots fired between the 800 block of Olive Street and the intersection of McClelland Avenue and Travis Street. As officers were en route, Lesther Julian Castro Jr., 25, called police saying he and his friend had been shot at. Authorities identified his friend as Jose Jesus Martinez, 24. Officers said they found Castro and Martinez in a black Chrysler 300 in the 3800 block of Logan Avenue by East Saunders. The driver, Castro, had an apparent wound to his left arm. Martinez was bleeding in the backseat of the vehicle, according to police. Paramedics took Castro to a local hospital. He was then airlifted to a San Antonio hospital for further care. He remains in San Antonio. Martinez was unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. READ MORE: Laredo PD opens registration for Blue Santa charity program Authorities recovered multiple casings from the intersections of East Saunders and Tilden Avenue and East Saunders and McClelland, according to police. No motive has been established. Martinez's death marked the city's ninth homicide. By West Kentucky Star Staff Nov. 07, 2018 | 06:28 PM | PADUCAH Police are still searching for David Boggs, the Barbecue on the River employee who was reported missing and may have taken money from the organization.The Paducah Police Department issued a press release Thursday evening saying very few leads have been received in the case. However, they did say that Boggs may have been seen Sunday in a gold or tan car near 25th and Jackson Streets.Police asked anyone with information - no matter how insignificant it may seem - to call them at 270-444-8550.Original Story from Wednesday:A high-profile employee and the money he allegedly took from his employer are still missing.Police documents obtained by West Kentucky Star show that Barbecue on the River employee David Boggs is facing a charge of theft by unlawful taking. It's estimated that he allegedly took $20,000 from the organization's operating fund.David Troutman, the organization's attorney, told West Kentucky Star that police took all of the records pertaining to Barbeque on the River as part of their investigation.Troutman said, "From what we had heard so far and seen so far is that the checks that they had seen that were unauthorized checks - if you want to call it that - had occurred just recently. They haven't found anything that goes back months or years. So we're hoping it's a contained period of time that he was allegedly doing this."Boggs was reported missing by a friend Monday morning, and a short time later the Barbecue on the River board issued a press release saying they believe Boggs had stolen from them.The police report says that as executive director of the non-profit organization, Boggs had access to its accounts, and wrote multiple checks to himself. The report says the exact amount of missing money was not yet known.Boggs and Susie Coiner have been the faces of Barbecue on the River for several years, working with cooks and vendors at the annual festival, and running the downtown store bbQ & More at 321 Broadway.Troutman echoed the sentiment in Barbecue on the River's press release about the situation."Mr. Boggs has worked for the organization for several years, so obviously he's someone they trusted and cared about, so for him to supposedly do this, they're certainly floored by it," he said.Troutman said at this point, the number one priority is that Boggs is found safe and sound.Troutman said, "You know, people make mistakes and people steal money sometimes, but it's not worth losing your life over. Hopefully he's safe and sound somewhere, and he's found pretty soon or he comes back if he's left, we just don't know." On the Net: A man is wanted for stealing a laptop from the Office Depot on 5718 San Bernardo Ave., according to Laredo police. Authorities said the theft occurred Oct. 11. Police said he is about 5 feet 5 inches and weighs about 130 pounds. Brett Kavanaugh must have been smiling as the returns came in on Election Day, because it is now clear that the Democrats campaign to destroy him will go down as a massive blunder. It failed to keep Kavanaugh off the court. It cost Democrats their chance to regain control of the Senate. And it gave Republicans an expanded Senate majority that will allow them to confirm an even more conservative justice next time around. Today, Kavanaugh sits on the Supreme Court hearing cases. Meanwhile, Democratic Sens. Heidi Heitkamp, N.D., Joe Donnelly, Ind., and Claire McCaskill, Mo., are packing up their Senate offices thrown out by voters furious over their partys brutal campaign of character assassination against Kavanaugh. Sen. Joe Manchin, W.Va., was the only Democrat who voted for Kavanaugh, and he survived but just barely. Two weeks before Election Day, Manchin was leading by double digits, but on Tuesday night he won by just over three points. Had he voted against Kavanaughs confirmation, he would likely have been toast as well. The Democrats smear campaign also cost them the chance to pick up GOP seats. In Tennessee, Rep. Marsha Blackburn was trailing former Democratic governor Phil Bredesen by five points in a CNN poll before the Kavanaugh hearings. She ended up winning by just under 11 points, as the Democrats mistreatment of Kavanaugh united Tennessee Republicans behind her. The Kavanaugh smear no doubt also played a role in energizing GOP voters in Arizona, where Republican Rep. Martha McSally appears to have squeezed out a narrow victory, and in Texas, where Sen. Ted Cruz defeated Rep. Beto ORourke by just 2.6 points in one of the reddest states in the union. None of that might have been possible had it not been for the Democrats horrific treatment of Kavanaugh. As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put it, the failed effort to stop Kavanaugh was like an adrenaline shot for the GOP base. Republican voters were outraged to see a good man accused, without a shred of corroboration, of sexually assaulting a teenage girl, exposing himself to a college classmate and participating in gang rapes in high school. They were disgusted by Senate Democrats insistence that the burden was on Kavanaugh to prove he didnt do it and by Democrats blatant disregard for the presumption of innocence. They were energized by Kavanaughs willingness to fight back and declare his treatment by Democrats a national disgrace. And they punished the perpetrators of that disgrace at the polls on Tuesday. Now Republicans have not only an expanded Senate majority but also a pro-life majority. Reports indicated that Trump was close to nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a devout Catholic and mother of seven, to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. Barrett became a folk hero among religious conservatives after Diane Feinstein of California, ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, grilled her over her Catholic faith during her confirmation hearings as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit last year. The dogma lives loudly within you, Feinstein told Barrett, suggesting that her faith disqualified her. That outraged conservatives, who rightly castigated Feinstein for applying an unconstitutional religious test on Trumps nominee. As Harvard Law School professor Noah Feldman explained, Feinstein insinuated an anti-Catholic stereotype that goes back at least 150 years in the U.S. that Catholics are unable to separate church and state because they place their religious allegiances before their oath to the Constitution. Barrett was confirmed for the Circuit Court. But when it came to the Supreme Court, Trump calculated that with a razor thin-GOP majority he needed what was supposed to be a safer pick and went with Kavanaugh instead. Now, with an expanded, pro-life Senate majority, Trump no longer has to worry about losing a few GOP votes next time around. At every stage of recent Supreme Court fights, Democrats have miscalculated. Their mindless decision to filibuster Neil Gorsuch paved the way for Senate Republicans to get rid of the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees which made it possible to confirm Kavanaugh by simple majority. And if Barrett ever makes it onto the Supreme Court, Democrats can thank their horrific, defamatory treatment of Kavanaugh. The lesson for Democrats should be clear: Character assassination does not pay. Quite the opposite, it backfired big-time. Follow Thiessen on Twitter, @marcthiessen. Social Democrats candidate Fiona Lynam who is a native of Athlone is throwing her hat into the political ring not just in the forthcoming local elections but into the General Election one too! The local woman says her eyes were opened during the last political campaign when she canvassed for a yes vote in the Referendum to remove the Eighth Amendment. She also says that during the last local elections in Athlone there wasnt one woman on the ticket, a scenario she deems to be unacceptable. I got involved with the Social Democrats on the back of the Repeal the Eight Referendum, she told the Leader this week. I was one of the founder members of the Together for Yes campaign in Athlone. Meanwhile, she says it was the level of activism she experienced during the campaign that encouraged her to dip her toe into the political arena. I really became aware of how people are feeling about local and national politics, and how powerful people can be when it comes to change, she added, before pointing out that she also found it disgraceful that there were no female candidates on the ticket during the last local elections in Athlone. Apart from the fact that there was no women on the local election ticket, when I was out and about during the Repeal the Eight Campaign I realised that there was a real appetite for change in this country. It is this window of change where she sees the Social Democrats fitting in. The Social Democrats is a fresh, new party and it is very focused on how we all what to see Ireland, Ms Lynam added. I intend to run as Social Democrats candidate in the General Election in the Longford/Westmeath Constituency and while I understand that there is still a lot of support out there for the well established political parties in this country, it remains to be seen what the outcome will be next time round. The local election candidate says that very often rural Ireland gets painted with a highly conservative brush, but after her recent experience on the campaign trail with the Repeal the Eight Referendum, that may no longer be the case. The last referendum indicated to me that there is willingness for change among the Irish electorate and while I have no doubt the established parties will hold candidates in many areas, I believe the Social Democrats has the fresh voice that people now want. I am a good candidate; my role as an IT programmer means that I am also a problem solver with the ability to identify difficulties very early on. Ms Lynam, meanwhile launched her election campaign at the Sheraton Hotel in Athlone last weekend. There is huge support out there for me and there is a genuine interest in my candidacy, she added, before pointing out that a fundraising table quiz will take place at The Junction in Athlone on December 6 next. I will be knocking on doors and chatting to people in earnest over the coming weeks months, she concluded. Read Also: Joe Flaherty 'deeply honoured' to win Longford Fianna Fail nomination and vows to reclaim Dail seat Micheal Carrigy wins right to stand for Fine Gael in Longford at next general election The findings of a nationally representative survey recently conducted by iReach highlight the pessimism of Irish people about the current state of housing and homelessness. The results also demonstrate a lack of faith from the public in the Governments approach to the issue. 66% of people were not confident that Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphys most recent plan would be a successful mechanism to combat problems in the housing market. Under the proposal set to come into effect next June, landlords will be banned from renting properties on Airbnb in areas of high housing demand. Furthermore, only 10% of respondents answered that the Government is doing sufficient work in ending the housing crisis, with 46% of the population who dont think that housing and homelessness are among the Governments priorities. The most popular potential solution to tackle the housing crisis among all tested demographics is that of increasing housing supply building more accommodation (68%), with stricter rent controls (52%) also seen as a viable option alongside more co-operation with local authorities (53%). 53% of those asked feel that the Take Back The City housing protest organisation has been successful in raising questions about the Irish property sector. The Connacht/Ulster the region views this question most favourably, with 62% believing in the groups success. Notably, only 28% of people agree with the occupation of private or public property as a form if demonstration, a method used frequently by the organization in recent months. Of older adults, 64% disagree with such occupations as a means of protest. Fianna Fail TD for Roscommon/Galway Eugene Murphy has said that the 250 million deal to support the Spanish coal mining industry as it comes to an end is exactly the type of deal with the Midlands needs to help it transition away from its reliance on peat-harvesting based employment. Last week, Spains new Government secured agreement between management, unions and other stakeholders for a 250 million deal that will see investment in Spains northern Asturias, Aragon, and Castilla y Leon regions and support for miners who may see their employment end. The Spanish situation is very similar to that of the Midlands. The numbers losing their jobs in Spain is estimated at just over 600. The expected Bord na Mona direct job losses is in the same range with a similar number of indirect jobs in the region expected to be lost. The agreement in Spain demonstrates that it is possible to make progress on the Paris 2020 targets but without wholescale damage to communities and regions. Fianna Fails proposal for a Sustainable Transition Forum, underpinned by funding from the EUs Globalisation Fund, is exactly what the Midlands needs to allow it move away from its dependency on jobs associated with peat harvesting. The question, is how do we replace these jobs with well-paying, sustainable jobs that will keep our communities thriving and prosperous, concluded Murphy. Tuesdays midterm elections were much more than a national repudiation of President Donald Trump, a reminder that the president is still strong in red states or a return to the divided government that Americans so often favor. They were a sign of the political nightmare that will define a generation of millennial politics. The Democrats took the House thanks to an anti-Trump surge not just among traditional Democratic groups such as minority voters, but also among college-educated people, particularly women, in Americas sprawling suburbs. Republicans expanded their Senate majority as they ran up the score in red states such as Indiana, Missouri and North Dakota. Democratic incumbents lost big in each of these states. The immediate conclusion is that Trump has effectively divided and inflamed the country, pushing more urbane suburban types away from the stupid party, to quote former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, R, yet driving rural and less educated voters to the polls by appealing to fear and prejudice. But there is a trend at work bigger than the president. The nation is diversifying. Its cities are growing. Its coasts are increasingly vibrant, diverse and open to the world. These values better fit educated suburbanites than Trumps xenophobia. These facts suggest that the Democratic coalition is likely to win more votes nationwide, as it has in every presidential election but one since 1992. Virginia, whose northern suburban districts turned the state from red to purple to blue over just a decade, is a harbinger. Given time, as electoral votes and congressional seats shift to these areas, the House and presidential elections are likely to be the Democrats to lose. Tuesdays results are an early indication of this shift. But the Senate is different. The chamber was never meant to reflect the will of the American majority, and it increasingly will not. In the past, Democrats and Republicans regularly won Senate seats in states usually associated with the other party, creating a centrist power bloc that could bridge partisan divides and promote legislative compromise. This era is ending. Republican tribalists will not suffer a Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota or a Joe Donnelly of Indiana representing their states, no matter how centrist their records. Both lost, and by unexpectedly wide margins. The survival of West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin and Montana Democrat Jon Tester look like ever-rarer aberrations. Democrats will eventually pick off Senate seats that Republicans still hold in bluer territories, such as Susan Collins seat in Maine. But for electoral purposes, Republican voters are much more efficiently distributed across the country. No matter how many people vote in California, they still get only two senators, the same as tiny Idaho, South Dakota and Wyoming. The Founders imagined that the Senate would check and cool the impulses of the majority. But the body is poised to serve as a reactionary rural veto on a center-left country, routinely thwarting efforts to address major issues such as immigration, climate change, the national debt, health care, international cooperation and wealth inequality. Staffing the government and the courts could become impossible, as GOP senators refuse to approve Democratic appointees. The judiciary could become more politicized and even more conservative. The United States could fail to compete in providing the sort of modern, competent and responsive government that fosters economic prosperity and attracts foreign talent and investment, unless Republicans start electing moderates who will compromise with Democrats. With the increasing geographic and identity-based divisions in the country, it is more likely that Republican voters will prefer candidates who will promise to take nothing over a compromise. My elementary school teachers taught me and my fellow children, succored as we were on multicultural urbanism while growing up in Los Angeles, that we benefited from a symbiotic relationship with the rural Americans who grew our food, watched over our nations vast open spaces and defined so much of the American experience for so long. We, by contrast, provided a market for their products, connected them to the rest of the world and provided the economic innovation that underpinned national progress. Neither could exist without the other, and both deserve respect. Increasingly, the relationship will not be defined by respect, but by resentment. The result will be a toxic stalemate. SPRINGFIELD -- A contractor has paid fines totaling $16,775 relating to alleged plumbing violations and two stop-work orders at the SilverBrick Square housing redevelopment project in the past month. With the fines paid, and new plumbing permits pulled for the project at 122 Chestnut St., renovations were allowed to resume in the building, except for plumbing work that could resume Monday, said Steven Desilets, the city's code enforcement commissioner. "It's a shame we had to go this route," Desilets said. "Hopefully, we are done with it and the project will now run smoothly." Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, who has been sharply critical of the project and plumbing issues, said the project and city tax incentives that were granted to The SilverBrick Group, the developer, remain under review by city departments. Desilets said that plumbing work had been done in 26 of the 94 apartments without needed permits, and with some unlicensed plumbers, leading to the stop work order on Wednesday. The stop order was issued on all work being done in the building. The stop order was lifted Friday after the permits were taken out by a recently hired plumbing company, 413 Plumbing and Heating, of Pittsfield, to correct all work, and after the fines were paid by 413 Plumbing. Desilets said 413 Plumbing was not responsible for any violations, but paid the fines and would be reimbursed by either the developer or the general contractor, A&G Contracting, of New Haven, Connecticut. Aaron Papowitz, founder and managing principal of The SilverBrick Group, issued the following statement after not commenting Wednesday or Thursday: "A stop work notice was issued for 122 Chestnut Street on November 7th, 2018. On November 8th, 3 Chestnut, LLC representatives met with city representatives to give a comprehensive on-site tour and help ensure code compliance. On November 9th the stop work notice was lifted. An engineer stamped drawing for a specific scope of work will be submitted to the City for approval before that work begins. We thank the Building Commissioner, Inspector and their team for their swift action. We look forward to the successful completion of the project and its positive impact on the Springfield community." He declined further comment regarding the fines and the alleged violations. Throughout his lifetime, Orson Welles often found himself at odds with the suits, the powerful studio executives who recut his movies and assailed his character. So, it's ironic that three decades after Welles' death, it was Netflix executives who stepped up and gave one of his unfinished movies the sweetest deal since George J. Schaefer welcomed the Citizen Kane director to RKO Radio Pictures. Netflix committed several million dollars to the completion of The Other Side of the Wind without knowing whether or not there was a complete movie in the 1,083 reels that had been locked inside a Paris film laboratory since the 1970s. In addition, the streaming giant took a hands-off approach to its editing, allowing producers Frank Marshall and Filip Jan Rymsza to shape the movie in accordance to Welles' wishes. more In an interview just days after The Other Side of the Wind's worldwide launch on November 2, Ian Bricke, director of content acquisition for Netflix, recalled a summer 2015 conversation with Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer, after reading about the film's crowdfunding effort. Sarandos was a longtime Welles fan and Bricke was curious after reading a Vanity Fair article by Josh Karp on The Other Side of the Wind. "We were separately intrigued by the efforts of Filip, Frank and company to complete the film. We ran into each other in the hallway at a meeting, chatted about it briefly and from there I tracked down Filip. I introduced myself and asked where they were with the project, how things had progressed and that started the conversation," Bricke said. "In September of that year, we got into discussing more brass tacks. Filip and I sat down at the Toronto Film Festival and really got into it from there. A lot of it was figuring out where the various rights stood and what needed to happen to release the materials. It was an involved process." He added, "Really, Filip and Frank did the heavy lifting, we were able to help here and there. They carried the weight on this one." The Netflix offer was a watershed moment. With the exception of an ill-fated Showtime deal 20 years ago, no Hollywood studio has been willing to undertake the project. Marshall and Rymsza had been stymied since prospective studios wanted to see edited footage from the negative before committing funds. (The Netflix deal provided not only for finishing The Other Side of the Wind, but funding Morgan Neville's feature-length documentary, They'll Love Me When I'm Dead, and Ryan Suffern's documentary short, A Final Cut for Orson.) "(With) our relative scale and ability to fund something like this [The Other Side of the Wind], it felt like something we should do. It was a gamble we were willing to take because this was a truly a one-of-a-kind project, a unique opportunity," Bricke said. "It was a great relief when the material arrived in Los Angeles, was logged and scanned. At various points along the way we realized, 'Yes, it is all here.' It was a huge relief." Had that not been the case, Bricke speculated a documentary could have been made from what was available. "We entered into this with our eyes wide open ... Even if we had not been able to fully realize the film, we would have had something remarkable -- a slice of film history," Bricke said. "It was a fantastic outcome that it was all there and the team was truly able to finish the film." Netflix did not involve itself in the editing or creative decision-making process, he said. "You had a team of folks, many of whom were intimates of Welles, working to execute his vision as best as they could identify it," Bricke said. "Notes from us wouldn't really have added to that creative process. It was more about us facilitating, monitoring and keeping out of the way (laughs)." Bricke kept in touch with the team throughout the process, watching files of the digitally scanned footage and screening cuts. "The first time I saw images or scraps of scenes, it was just incredible," he said He took part in at least least weekly conversations with Rymsza, Marshall or associate producer Ruth Hasty, who supervised post-production. "'It was a pure pleasure working with them," Bricke said. "They had such a deep commitment to the project and doing it right. It was an easy collaboration." The project was initially budgeted at $5 million, but completion costs reportedly exceeded $6 million. Marshall and Rymsza say Netflix remained supportive. "When we had an unanticipated cost, they told Filip and me that they knew they had bought an 'old house' and that we would have 'old house problems,' which was pretty amazing and enabled us to finish the picture in the best possible way," Marshall said. "The finished film is the best it could possibly be and we could not have done that without Netflix. They have been incredibly supportive on every level, even if it meant spending more money to deal with unforeseen problems, and they never interfered creatively." Rymsza agreed. "From our first conversations in July 2015, when we conceived of the 'three picture event,' through Netflix's commitment to the projects in September 2015, to March 2017, when we finally announced the deal, and, ultimately, May 2018, when we finished the picture, Ian's enthusiasm and support remained steadfast. It was a complicated, at times frustrating, three-year journey, but I couldn't have asked for a steadier, more supportive partner." He added, "The same goes for our post-production coordinator, David Farley, who helped navigate the project through all of its post complexities. David consulted on every aspect of the post process. The Other Side of the Wind debuted at the Venice Film Festival on August 31 and was featured at several other prestigious festivals before a brief, limited theatrical release by the streaming giant. "Obviously our core business is making films, shows and content available to 137 million subscribers worldwide," Bricke said. "Certainly for films, the theatrical experience is something that's very important to filmmakers and audiences. For us, it is about finding the right balance." Netflix does not reveal how many subscribers watch individual offerings, though Bricke acknowledged The Other Side of the Wind performed well in its first week on the platform. "I think it is a film that will continue to find and grow audience over a very long period of time," Bricke said. "We're patient. We are not about the opening weekend." The film has received generally positive reviews from critics with a 82 percent "Certified Fresh" aggregate rating from Rotten Tomatoes. "The response has been fantastic, all that we could have hoped for," Bricke said. "I love scrolling through social media and reading the comments from people coming to it fresh on Netflix: The first time they saw it they were baffled and then the second time they were thrilled." As for Bricke, who worked at Sundance Channel for a decade before coming to Netflix in 2011, the completed The Other Side of the Wind gets a thumbs up. "It's a wild, slightly ragged, visionary movie. Having had the pleasure of watching it seven or eight times in different forms, I find it is incredibly rich. It's a challenge for some to come into cold, which is why I am glad we have Morgan's film. I think it does a wonderful job, among other things, of setting the table for the feature," Bricke said. "The Other Side of the Wind is a film that rewards with repeat viewings... Every time you watch it, you find something new." Netflix's size and vast subscription base allow it to finance niche films like The Other Side of the Wind. "We are very creative-friendly for maverick projects, but we are also making movies with Michael Bay, who is doing fine in the system," Bricke said. "We are home for all kinds of filmmakers. I love that we can be a partner for a wildly commercial film and the partner for an Orson Welles film." Would Netflix consider taking on another unfinished or unrealized Welles project? "We would always take a look," Bricke said. "This film was somewhat unique with its history and the probability that all the elements were there." The Welsh Society of Western New England will have its annual Christmas holiday luncheon on Dec. 1 at the Storrowton Tavern in West Springfield. A social hour will begin at 11 a.m. followed by the festive luncheon. Welsh music and songs will include traditional "Plygain," from 13th-century, pre-dawn, candle-lit Welsh Christmas morning services. In the early hours of Christmas morning, men gathered in the rural churches to sing. They sang, mainly unaccompanied, three- or four-part harmony carols in a service that lasted about three hours. At the luncheon, a duo -- siblings Straford and Andrea Wild (she of the band The Stomptowners of Portland, Oregon) -- will sing a couple of Plygain carols plus a few other better-known favorite Welsh songs. Participants at the luncheon also will share stories from their Welsh Christmases -- either in Wales or brought here by their immigrant ancestors. Susan Davies Sit, Welsh society president, will tell that when she was growing up in Wales, Christmases were simple affairs because money was tight as post World War II rationing had recently just ended. "A favorite item in our stockings was a tangerine orange as they were such a treat after World War II," she said. "A cherished toy when I was a young child was a wooden farm, complete with a barn with horses, cows and sheep, a white picket fence. I loved that farm." She grew up in Wales and recalls that Santa there is called Father Christmas. "He came down the chimney to fill our stockings and leave presents. We pulled Christmas crackers (poppers) before dinner, and inside would be a joke, a little gift such as a pottery animal or a puzzle and a paper crown/hat which everyone wore while at the dinner table," she said. Dinner was alwaysa roast turkey with cranberry sauce, bread sauce (flavored with cloves and onions), Brussels sprouts and her Uncle Eric's roast potatoes. Her family always had a flaming Christmas pudding with a hidden silver sixpence coin for the lucky finder, plus Stilton cheese and a glass of port too. "Although I've mainly had to give up the roast turkey for dinner because Thanksgiving owns that tradition, I try to recreate a Welsh Christmas in my home as much as possible, such as the flaming Christmas pudding and the Christmas crackers," she added. At the Storrowton Tavern event, there will be Christmas decorations and the popping of Christmas crackers. A selection of Welsh Christmas gifts will be for sale, including Welsh key chains, T-shirts, mugs, Christmas tree ornaments and framed posters by Welsh artists. "Storrowton Tavern is a wonderfully central location for our Connecticut and Massachusetts members and guests," Sit said. "It is warm and inviting, and everyone enjoyed the luncheon there last year. We are so happy to be returning." Following the luncheon, participants will have free admission to "Yuletide," Storrowton's annual winter holiday festival. All of Storrowton's 18th- and 19th- century buildings will be decorated - inside and out - for the holiday season. There are musical performances, storytelling, old-fashioned craft demonstrations (blacksmithing, hearthside cooking, spinning, quilting), ice sculpting, a Sweet Shoppe, children's crafts and an old-fashioned Santa. For more information, go to storrowtonvillage.com. The Welsh Society of Western New England currently is based in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Once a month a group of members and guests meet at a workshop to research their Welsh genealogy; some are learning the ancient, but living, Welsh language. Two or three times a year there are luncheons, in Massachusetts or Connecticut, to celebrate Wales with speakers on subjects such as the literature of the Mabinogi, Welsh history, music and poetry. The purpose of the society, according to Sit, is to enable and encourage anyone with Welsh roots, or simply a love of Wales to gather to celebrate all things Welsh including language, culture, food, history and genealogy. Welsh Society of Western New England luncheon tickets are available in advance only: $32 for guests, $29 for members. RSVP and get more information at InfoWelshWNE@gmail.com. A Boston University graduate student from China has been identified as the victim in a fatal bicycle crash Friday morning in Boston. Meng Jin, a 24-year-old from Shanghai, China was identified by the university as the victim in the crash, BU Today reports. Jin was living in Cambridge as he studied economics at Boston University. Jin was struck by a dump truck at the at the intersection of Museum Way and Monsignor O'Brien Highway around 8:12 a.m. Friday, State police said. The truck was driven by a 50-year-old man from Leicester. Jin was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was pronounced deceased, as a result of injuries sustained from the incident. State police said a preliminary investigation shows the truck was stopped at the intersection of Museum Way and O'Brien Highway, waiting to take a right turn onto Museum Way from O'Brien Highway. Jin was also stopped, on the right side of the truck, and waited to take the same turn. "When both the truck and bicyclist began to make their right turn, the bicyclist was struck by a tire of the truck," State police said. The crash remains under investigation. READING -- Police locked down a private preschool Friday afternoon following an overseas phone threat demanding cash. Deputy Police Chief David Clark said in a news release that the 5 Senses School at 1382 Main St. received a telephone call at about 3 p.m. demanding cash. The caller said if the money was not wired to a Jamaican address, people at the school would be harmed. Authorities immediately locked down the school and searched it for anything dangerous. Nothing was found in the interior or exterior building. Police said they are working in consultation with the FBI. After the search, police began releasing children to their parents and school officials said regular school hours will resume next week. Reading police traced the telephone call to a Jamaican number. Authorities say a JetBlue gate agent took advantage of a special company code to convert low-cost flights made by friends, family and acquaintances to flights to more expensive destinations. Tiffany Jenkins, 30, of Chelsea, was arrested Thursday and has been charged with wire fraud, following an investigation. She appeared in federal court in Boston on Friday and was released with conditions. The U.S. Department of Justice District of Massachusetts claims that between July 1, 2016 and Sept. 27, 2017, Jenkins entered a special code in the airline's computer reservation database that enabled her to take low-cost flights booked by her family, friends and acquaintances and change them to different, and much more expensive flights. The code is intended to be used by agents to change flights for customers who missed their flights or experienced a death in the family. The U.S. Attorneys office alleges Jenkins didn't just do this a few times, but in fact, had changed 505 flights for more than 100 passengers. "Many of those exchanges occurred after the passenger was first booked on domestic flights at one of the airline company's lowest available fares -- often, roundtrip flights between Las Vegas, Nevada, and Long Beach, California," The U.S. Attorney's Office stated in a press release. "A short time later, Jenkins exchanged those tickets for a completely different city pair, generally involving much more expensive international locations, for friends, family and acquaintances." The U.S. Attorney's office referred to Jenkins as a "former" gate agent. JetBlue on Friday responded to a MassLive inquiry on whether Jenkins was still employed with the company stating that it does not comment on ongoing litigation or investigations regarding current or former crew members. "We will fully cooperate with any external investigation brought by the DOJ if asked," JetBlue said in a statement. The charge of wire fraud can carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. SPRINGFIELD -- The president of the East Springfield Neighborhood Council said she is ready to hear plans and ask questions about a proposed retail marijuana shop on Cottage Street, but considers the time chosen by the developer "very inconvenient" for the public. The community outreach meeting, which is required by state law for any proposed recreational marijuana retail facility, is scheduled Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the John Boyle O'Reilly Club, 33 Progress Ave. "That's a very inconvenient time for community members, but we're going to go," said Kathleen Brown, neighborhood council president. "We need to listen to what their plan is." Springfield Cannabis Co. is proposing a retail cannabis business at 732 Cottage St., at the corner of Brookdale Drive. The vacant building is the former Thorn Industries property. After the community meeting, the company will need to seek approvals from the city and state, including a public hearing before the City Council for a special permit. Brown said the developer has not reached out to the neighborhood council. She is encouraging anyone interested to attend the community outreach meeting. The proposed retail business is in an industrial area, she said. She said word is spreading about the meeting, including on the social networking website for East Springfield known as Nextdoor. Brown said one of the issues she expects will be discussed is traffic and if the company has a traffic mitigation plan. The site is across the street from the new Pioneer Valley Transit Authority maintenance and storage facility, and is near the intersection of Cottage Street and Berkshire Avenue. The proposed site is a half-mile from the INSA medical marijuana dispensary on Cottage Street. Brown said she does not know if there would be any concern about saturation of marijuana businesses in the neighborhood. Springfield Cannabis Co. lists Steven Mrowzinski and Michelle Mrowzinski, both of Middle Island, New York, as the corporate officers and directors. Steven Mrowzinski is listed as company president. WORCESTER -- "Taken" star Liam Neeson has arrived in town to begin filming scenes for the action-thriller "Honest Thief." The Oscar and Golden Globe nominated actor started filming scenes in Massachusetts on Monday and production is slated to wrap sometime in mid December. Helmed by Mark Williams ("A Family Man"), "Honest Thief" casts Neeson as bank robber who tries to go straight, only to find out that federal agents are more corrupt than he. Kate Walsh will play Neeson's wife with Anthony Ramos and Osmani Rodriguez all cast in the film. Williams penned the script with Steve Allrich. Motorists and pedestrians can expect some delays Monday with exterior scenes will be filmed from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the 200 block of Commercial Street. The roadway will be closed between Front and Mechanic streets, while Commercial Street at Foster Street will have intermittent traffic control. NORTHAMPTON -- As NETA prepares to become one of the first retail marijuana dispensaries in Massachusetts, the Conz Street business says it is collaborating with local officials to mitigate the expected traffic influx that will come with opening. NETA, which opened its Northampton medical marijuana dispensary three years ago, has been preparing for months to launch its retail service. The company also has a location in Brookline. Just when the new business will launch isn't entirely clear. The company is waiting to hear from the Cannabis Control Commission -- the state's official marijuana regulatory body -- about a final inspection, said Amanda Rositano, director of compliance for NETA. However, Rositano said Friday that staff are "hopeful" that retail marijuana sales can launch before the new year. With that opening, large crowds and local enthusiasm are anticipated. "We expect it to be busy but well managed," Rositano said. The company will be hiring police details and individual officers to assist with increased traffic during the initial launch, as well as on an ad hoc basis in the future, said Capt. John Cartledge of the Northampton Police Department. Conz Street is already a fairly busy place. With the launch of retail marijuana sales, more regular traffic would be a predictable result. Rositano said that the collaboration with police will be on an ongoing basis as needed. "For as long as we need to manage heavy volume (of traffic), we will do so in close coordination with the police department in Northampton," she said. The company reached out to local officials -- including the mayor's office and the police department -- several months ago about coordinating the launch, she said. The company has built a strong relationship with the city's police department since first opening in 2015, Rositano said. "We've maintained that relationship," she said, "so we were able to call on them within the last month so that we could dial in on our plans" for the launch of retail sales. NETA is also in talks with some of its neighbor businesses to see if parking options may be expanded for customers during the initial launch. Rositano said that the opening days will likely be quite busy. "We're expecting that there will be crowds in the beginning -- I think that goes without saying," she said. In addition to help with vehicular traffic, NETA has also attempted to mitigate the increased flow of customers by doubling the number of service stations in the dispensary where products can be purchased. A new system will be in place wherein medical and retail customers will be directed to different service stations and the lines for merchandise will be "managed by a heavy NETA staff presence to ensure smooth operations," she said. "Northampton is a great community to be the leader in this," she said. "I think they've really allowed us to come in and build our reputation and show everyone how this can be done professionally. We're really excited to get started." NORTHAMPTON - "He's an authoritarian, he's the President, and he has semi-dictatorial powers," said Bill Newman, standing before a crowd of dozens in Pulaski Park Saturday morning. Newman, who is director of the state's Western office of the American Civil Liberties Union, was speaking on a familiar topic for the crowd of some 100 people who gathered at the downtown park. The object of Newman's ire, Donald Trump, has been the subject of much anger and activism in Northampton. So it was again Saturday, with the city's version of the "Nobody is Above the Law" rally. Despite cold weather, residents flocked to the park to hear speakers like Newman rail against the President. The rally was one of many that have taken place across Massachusetts and the country in recent days--a response by a coalition of liberal organizations to Trump's recent decision to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The President has replaced Sessions with a skeptic of the Robert Mueller probe, Matthew Whitaker. Critics view this move as a means for Trump to tamper with the neutrality of the investigation, which is--among other things--probing potential collusion between Russia and the President's 2016 campaign. Northampton's rally--which was very similar to a rally held in Springfield days before--painted a dire picture of American politics, with the President smeared as a quasi-fascist by most who spoke. "This is not an authoritarian government, not yet! You can do something," Newman shouted to the crowd, asking rally attendees to get involved in activism in order to "resist" Trump. As such, the rally acted as a call for local residents to get involved in activism associated with certain local groups, such as the Women's March, Moveon.org, and Indivisible. Jennifer Taub, a law professor at Vermont Law School, was also among Saturday's speakers and encouraged attendees to stay angry and engaged about the Mueller probe. "People keep asking me how I'm doing and I say, 'I feel like I've been hit by a truck, but I'm still standing,'" she said. "We've gotta keep standing," she offered, to a cheering crowd. "I am so happy to be in America where we can stand up in small towns and on national television and speak truth to power," she said, arguing that angry citizens should take advantage of the open political system to fight for change. Taub also said that liberals should be happy about the "blue wave" that occurred Tuesday, when Democrats took back the House, becoming a majority in the House of Representatives. However, she said, further action is needed. Also speaking Saturday was Lindsay Sabadosa, the progressive political newcomer recently elected state representative of the 1st Hampshire District. Sabadosa encouraged the audience to stay involved politically as a means of affecting the change they want in the country. "We have work to do," she said. "I know that you are tired but I also know that you are going to stand up for this issue. As John said, this is the bedrock of our country, this is about who we are as a people," she said, in regards to the issue of the Mueller probe. The new representative characterized the Democrat's ability to "flip the House," as a "step in right direction," but said that there was ultimately more work to be done. "What do we do? We organize," she said, encouraging political activism. CHICOPEE - A Chicopee woman charged with plowing into a parked police cruiser while driving drunk has been released on $1,000 bail and ordered to wear a high-tech bracelet that provides continuous alcohol monitoring. Melissa Paradysz, 37, pleaded not guilty in Chicopee District Court Nov. 1 to charges of operating under the influence of liquor, negligent operation, a marked lanes violation and possession of an open container of alcohol. The charges were filed on the night of Halloween after Paradysz allegedly slammed into the rear of a cruiser stopped on Chicopee Street with its emergency lights on, according to the arrest report. Officer Ryan Moran, who suffered knee, back and neck injuries, jumped from his cruiser as Paradysz's car caught fire. Moran and another officer who arrived on the scene extinguished the fire, the report said. Paradysz, who was wearing a zebra-striped outfit and had black stripes faintly visible on her cheeks, said she had just left home and was going to her ex-boyfriend's house. When police pointed out her zebra-themed appearance, she acknowledged that she was coming from a Halloween party where she had a couple of drinks, the report said. Her eyes were glassy, her breath smelled of alcohol and an alcoholic beverage was found in a large bottle in her car, the report said. She was arrested after performing poorly on a field sobriety test, and her blood alcohol level was later measured at 0.24 percent, or three times the legal limit for driving, the report said. Both the cruiser and Paradysz's Nissan Altima suffered extensive damage, the report said. Judge Kevin Maltby set bail at $1,000 and ordered Paradysz to remain drug and alcohol free, report once a week to her probation officer and submit to a mental health evaluation. The judge also ordered Paradysz to wear a so-called SCRAM bracelet, which allows probation officials to check for the presence of alcohol in sweat every 30 minutes. Following her arrest, she was initially charged with operating under the influence of liquor (second offense). At a prosecutor's request, that charge was reduced to a first offense at her arraignment. A Holyoke native, Paradysz has two children and works between 32 and 40 hours a week as a personal care attendant, according to court records. She is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on Nov. 30. Sutton police are chiming in after photos of a bus crossing a center line and blocking both lanes of traffic made rounds on social media. They posted the photos to their Facebook page Friday morning, saying they understand the frustrations the bus driver must endure when motorists don't stop, despite flashing red lights. "With that being said, if positioning a school bus in this fashion causes motorists to stop, and a child to safely board or disembark their school bus, we're in favor of it," they wrote. However, they added that although the tactic would force motorists to stop, they need to make clear that it's illegal to do so. We received a message asking us to chime in on this lively thread from The Sutton Site. The original post was regarding... Posted by Sutton Police Department on Friday, November 9, 2018 Several people commented on the post in favor of the tactic. "I have seen a few in Spencer. Leicester and oxford on my way into work do the same great job protecting the children," wrote Patty Dipadua. "Thank you to that bus driver for putting the children's safety first," wrote Trudy Beique Plante. Not all of the responses have been positive. "So just to add a counter point," wrote Tony Veale. "Bus stops diagonally across the road. Fire truck or ambulance appears with flashing lights. Bus stalls or breaks down. Emergency services cannot get past. Unlikely scenario I know but has a finite possibility and is completely avoidable." Police say all vehicles must stop for a school bus with flashing red lights and not proceed until flashing lights are deactivated. The only two exceptions to the law are if a police officer signals an operator to proceed or cars are approaching from the opposite direction on a divided highway. SPRINGFIELD -- Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said Friday he has directed city officials to revoke a $150,000 tax incentive granted to the SilverBrick Square housing project after two stop-work orders in the past month related to plumbing violations. "The City is not in the business of rewarding developers who continue to cut corners, especially while receiving tax incentives, only to build substandard housing for our residents," Sarno said. On Friday, the city allowed renovation work to resume at the 99-unit housing project at 122 Chestnut St., except for plumbing, after a recently hired plumbing company obtained new plumbing permits and paid fines totaling $16,775. But Sarno said the issue was not over. "I have directed City Solicitor Ed Pikula, Chairman of the Board of Assessors Richard Allen and Chief Development Officer Kevin Kennedy to move to revoke the housing tax incentives from the 122 Chestnut Street Silverbrick development, after their continued and multiple missteps on not following proper and standard building codes," Sarno said. The SilverBrick Group, of New York, is the owner and developer of the Chestnut Street property. In May the City Council and Sarno approved a housing tax incentive intended to save Silverbrick $150,000 over the next 10 years. According to Steven Desilets, the city's code enforcement commissioner, plumbing work done in 26 apartments was done without permits, and by some unlicensed plumbers. The $16,775 in fines was the combined amount from stop-work orders in October and again this Wednesday, he said. The contractor, A&G Contracting of New Haven, Connecticut, denied breaking any rules on Thursday in advance of the fines being paid. The plumbing company that paid the fines, 413 Plumbing and Heating, was not responsible for violations, Desilets said. He expected the company would be reimbursed by either SilverBrick or A&G Contracting. Michael Brown Exposes Double-Standard at Christ at the Checkpoint | Main | Wheres the Coverage? 14 Members of Congress Call to Halt PA Aid May 30, 2018 Some Real Self-Criticism at CATC < Activists attending the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference in the West Bank view anti-Trump graffiti on the security barrier near the checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Speakers at the conference, which began on Monday, May 28, 2018 and will last until Friday, June 1, 2018, have lamented the role American Evangelicals played in putting Donald Trump into the White House. They have been less vocal about the lack of democratic institutions in Palestinian society. (Photo: Dexter Van Zile) The central problem with Palestinian Christian witness about life in the Holy Land is that its criticism is almost invariably directed at Israel and its supporters in the West. Very little is said about the misdeeds of Palestinian elites even though the decisions they have made have contributed greatly to the continued existence of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. The people who are most responsible for Palestinian suffering Palestinian leaders are not subjected to the type of prophetic criticism that Christians are called to provide. This problem is clearly on display at the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference taking place this week in Beit Jala. At this conference, organized by Bethlehem Bible College, there has been very little criticism of the misdeeds of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip at the ongoing Christ at the Checkpoint Conference organized by the Bethlehem Bible College. There is, however, a huge amount of criticism of Evangelicals in the U.S. for helping President Donald Trump get elected to the White House in the 2016 election. Trump's election and his decision to move of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is clearly a shock to CATC conference organizers and attendees. One conference organizer, Alex Awad (a Palestinian Christian who now lives in the United States) described Trump's election as a dark cloud brought about by White Evangelicals who put him into office. They helped elect a president who dashed our hopes as Palestinians,? Awad said the first night of the CATC conference which began on Monday. He brought us a nightmare.? Awad went onto encourage Evangelicals in the audience to increase their efforts to put pressure on Israel to end the occupation and to change American foreign policy in the Middle East. The irony is palpable. Christians who are not free to speak their mind in Palestinian society and haven't been able to vote in a presidential election since 2005 are effectively telling Christians in the U.S. how they should have voted in the 2016 election. To a certain extent, the failure of Christians to speak truth to the powers that be in Palestinian society is understandable because neither the PA nor Hamas tolerate public criticism from anyone, Christian or Muslim, in the areas they control. To confirm just how dictatorial political life is in Palestinian society, in 2017 the PA just imposed laws regarding social media. These laws make criticizing the Palestinian Authority a criminal act. One report indicates that these new laws gives the public prosecutor's office unlimited powers to surveil Palestinian citizens, intercept their online communications, and arrest them for airing their opinions and political views online.? People who are convicted of using the internet to undermine social harmony? can be sentenced to 15 years hard labor. Such tyranny in Palestinian society is a huge obstacle to peace in the Holy Land because it allows both the PA and Hamas to put Palestinian young people into harm's way without being held accountable by their parents or by the young people themselves. Palestinian elites can effectively send young men into violent confrontations with the IDF without any real public debate over whether or not it's a good idea to do so all because the people who hold power in Palestinian society will not tolerate the humiliation of being criticized in public. Polling data indicates that many Palestinians support a two-state solution, but because democratic institutions are non-existent in the West Bank and Gaza, rank-and-file Palestinians have no mechanism to make it happen. All they can do is worry about who will replace the ailing Mahmoud Abbas and hope that the process to find his successor does not descend into civil war. These are not subjects being discussed at the current Christ at the Checkpoint conference even though they are the most crucial issues facing the Palestinian people. Ironically enough, one institution in Palestinian society where leaders are willing to subject themselves to public criticism is its Evangelical community. While most of the CATC conference has been devoted to condemning Israel and its Evangelical supporters in the U.S. one speaker did speak prophetically, calling on Palestinian and Israeli Evangelical churches to accord greater power and influence to women. Shireen Awwad Helal, the dean of students and an instructor at the Bethlehem Bible College which organizes the CATC conference used the story of Hagar in Genesis to highlight the suffering of women in society. The story of Hagar, Helal said, showed God's concern for the welfare of women even when the people in their lives disdain them. She spoke of some of the anti-women sayings that permeate Palestinian society such as Women are born with half a brain,? A woman's anxiety over her daughter goes to the grave,? and No matter what you do or where you go, you'll always end up in the kitchen.? These anti-woman ideas affect the life of churches in Palestinian society, Helal reported. Palestinian Christian schools have it written in their employee contracts that women teachers will be dismissed if they become pregnant, Helal reported. To confront the problem, Helal declared, it's time for Christian churches and to bring women into leadership positions. You can enforce our inferior status or you can help us overcome it by insisting that women should be equally represented among the speakers, theologians, and figures you meet when you come here,? she told the audience, which gave her a standing ovation after she gave her speech on Wednesday night. Helal's speech forcefully and courageously challenged the elites in the Palestinian Christian church, some of whom were in the audience in front of her. It was a gutsy act. Hopefully, Helal's example of courageous public speech and tolerance for public criticism on the part of elites will someday become the norm in Palestinian society and then maybe peace will have a chance. One can hope. Posted by dvz at May 30, 2018 05:24 PM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment , Mediapool.bg, , - . - , . 18:00 . by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, November 8, 2018 With more than 700 million devices running Windows 10, which support Cortana and Bing, Microsoft has been able to automate advertising across its network of applications and platforms. Microsoft made this possible by integrating data from Bing and its Audience Network into a variety of consumer and business applications, such as LinkedIn, across its network of sites. Bing, Microsofts largest artificial intelligence-based application, continues to define the companys advertising strategy. It does so with help from the Microsoft Graph, pulling in and sharing data from Outlook, MSN, LinkedIn, Skype and many of its other platforms to drive audience-based targeting rather than keyword attribution. For example, using the graph data to target consumers or audiences in the market for specific products allows advertisers to identify more than 200 categories where consumers have signaled an intent to purchase a product. Weve seen over 50% higher conversions and 20% higher click through rates for this in-market targeting experience, said Steve Sirich, general manager at Microsoft on the global search ads business team. advertisement advertisement The Microsoft Audience Network introduce in May also leverages the Microsoft Graph to use native advertising across consumer-based products like Outlook and MSN. Campaigns running in Bing Ads on the search engine also can extend into the Microsoft Audience Network. Both would operate as one campaign. Then Microsoft offers specific audience campaigns, buying audiences across MSN, Edge and other Microsoft platforms in which several hundred advertisers are piloting. Were seeing a lift of searches on brand terms relative to post exposure, he said. Advertisers will use keywords, but remain part of a portfolio of targeting tools. I dont think we will ignore the intent signals in keywords, he said. If you have additional data from targeting profiles within LinkedIn, for example, it allows advertisers to isolate the intent. Microsoft also announced this week Bing Ads Scripts, now rolling out in beta, lets advertisers access and manage campaigns using simple JavaScript in the Bing Ads browser-based script editor. The move lets advertisers perform highly customized tasks without having to rely on technical developers or extensive API coding. Its all about automation. Many people face hair loss, but only a few experience it from as early as childhood. This occurs in a rare hereditary condition called hypotrichosis simplex. Now, finally, researchers have been able to identify the gene responsible for this form of hair loss. Share on Pinterest One gene may drive the mechanisms behind a rare form of hair loss. Individuals with hypotrichosis simplex have a normal amount of hair after birth, but they start losing it in early childhood. This loss continues to progress with age. Although researchers know that this is a hereditary condition, so far, they have only identified few of the potential genetic culprits. One of these is a mutation in the APCDD1 gene, which interferes with a signaling pathway that influences cell function and regeneration. Now, researchers from the University Hospital of Bonn in Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from other institutions in Germany and Switzerland, have closed in on another gene that plays a crucial role in this rare type of hair loss. Their study, the findings of which appear in The American Journal of Human Genetics, indicate that mutations in the LSS gene drive the mechanisms that characterize hypotrichosis simplex. A mutated gene plays a key role The scientists analyzed the genetic information of people from three families that were not related in any way. In total, eight relatives experienced hair loss symptoms. Looking at their genetic makeup, the investigators found that they all had mutations in the LSS gene, which normally encodes a specialized enzyme. This gene encodes lanosterol synthase LSS for short, notes study author Prof. Regina C. Betz. The enzyme, she adds plays a key role in cholesterol metabolism. However, this has nothing to do with blood cholesterol levels. Instead, LSS influences a metabolic pathway that impacts the health of hair follicles. There is an alternative metabolic pathway for cholesterol, which plays an important role in the hair follicle and is not related to blood cholesterol levels, says Prof. Betz. However, the researchers did not stop at this finding. Instead, they collected tissue samples, which they analyzed in an effort to find out where exactly in hair follicle cells LSS appears. The team was able to confirm that, if a person carries the regular LSS gene, the enzyme appears in the endoplasmic reticulum. This is a set of tiny channels within the follicle cells. REPORTER: We have the honour to host the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Giorgos Katrougalos. Good morning Mr. Katrougalos. G. KATROUGALOS Good morning, to you and your listeners. REPORTER: Mr. Katrougalos, I wonder what it is like to be the Alternate Minister now that the Chief Minister is also the Prime Minister of the country? Is it different from what it was like before? REPORTER: Better, worse? What is it like? G. KATROUGALOS As one of your colleagues said jokingly, now I am no longer an Alternate Minister, but a substitute of the Minister. Seriously now, I feel a real responsibility on my shoulders, because my duties have been upgraded at an extremely difficult Ministry which is crucial to our national interests. REPORTER: Since, Mr. Tsipras, as Prime Minister, does not have too much time to deal with matters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as we understand, you are the person who does most of the work. So it has more... G. KATROUGALOS: I can assure you that it is the Prime Minister who deals with all the serious and strategic matters. He holds regular meetings with the Ministrys officials because he does not want to hear only the opinion of the political leadership. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is, in essence, its diplomats. And for this purpose, thematic meetings are convened every week. The Prime Minister is the person who gives instructions. He is responsible. It is he who runs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. REPORTER: To speak seriously, as you said earlier, yesterday, during his interview on ALPHA, the Prime Minister seemed to have backtracked a little from what Nikos Kotzias said on 20 October, during the ceremony of the Ministrys handover, about the extension of territorial waters. First of all, Mr. Tsipras, said that this announcement was made in a clumsy way. G. KATROUGALOS I also paid attention to the interview, as you can see. He said that we shall not budge on the strategic question. The extension of territorial waters is a strategy which favours our national interests. As for the tactical question, he deems it appropriate, on such major issue, to allow for a public debate and consultations with the political parties. And he said, and that is exactly what he characterized as clumsy, that during the handover and takeover, the announcement was made without a prior process of discussion. REPORTER: So when do you think the extension will take place? When do you see it happening? G. KATROUGALOS As the Prime Minister said, this discussion will have to take place with the political parties. Our line has already been determined. I do not see new changes happening because systematic work has been done over the past 2 to 2.5 years. You know, it is not merely a matter of announcement. Greek and foreign experts have drawn up maps which duly respect International Law, and are also based on the specific requirements of the cartographic science. Therefore, all these elements are ready. International Law has given us this possibility since 1995. REPORTER: So when will it come before the Parliament? G. KATROUGALOS I told you, immediately. As soon as the process will have been completed. The consultation process must take place before. Possibly, the Prime Minister will also convene the National Council on Foreign Policy, so that this process can also have an institutional character. REPORTER: In one or two months, let's say? G. KATROUGALOS I imagine that the two months period you have mentioned is a very reasonable amount of time. REPORTER: Lets now cover the rest, because there is this talk about new recruitments, and the agreement with the Church, etc. You intend on carrying out new recruitments. Where will you find the money? It is a legitimate question. Are you counting on a miracle? Because we have also heard about miracles yesterday. G. KATROUGALOS What some people would count as miraculous is that we are no longer subjected to the Memoranda. That we have a fiscal manoeuvring space and that our economy is going well. Last year, we had a 1.8% growth rate. This year, our growth rate will be around 2.2%, and next year, it will be up to 2.5%. This means that while we keep our finances stable and healthy - since this is a prerequisite for not sliding back in high debt, for this is where bipartisanship led us, - we now have a financial manoeuvring space to be able to do something good for society, to hire teachers in schools, and nurses and doctors in hospitals. It is something good for society. REPORTER: Does your positive frame of mind lead you to believe that we will find the money? G. KATROUGALOS No, it has nothing to do with being in a positive frame of mind. The money already exists. The money truly exists. You know, precisely because we are in this regime of post-program supervision, we are under the same control that all the countries of the European Union are. This means that every six months the countries of the European Union must submit their budgets to the so-called European Semester. But we also have the magnifying glass of this post-program supervision which cannot easily... No, contrary to what happened in the past, no one can give money which does not exist anymore. REPORTER: In fact, that is how it sounds now, because while we were listening to the Prime Minister yesterday he did not say anything specific. G. KATROUGALOS And you believe that the Commission has suddenly softened, and whereas it used to be the guardian of budgetary discipline now it has adopted a SYRIZA policy line? I am telling you clearly that what we are doing is in the interest of the country twice, because I repeat.... REPORTER: Now, the way you put it, someone might hear us and believe that SYRIZA is not a guardian of budgetary discipline. G. KATROUGALOS Why? I have already repeated this. We do everything we do within the financial space that our people paid for with their sacrifices. REPORTER: There is money, in short. G. KATROUGALOS For good purposes, there must be money, otherwise the state is not doing its job well. REPORTER: Can you comment on the agreement with the Church? How will the disputed property enter in one treasury Minister? That is, disputed in the sense that we are speaking of trampled areas, or areas of land that have been illegally developed. These are cases that have been placed under Justices scrutiny. G. KATROUGALOS This is a very good question. First of all, the implementation of all that has been agreed derives essentially from this institutional change of principle which we plan to bring to the Constitution, namely, the neutrality of the State vis-a-vis the Church and the separation of roles. If that is the case, it is obvious that the State will no longer continue to remunerate the clergy as if they were public servants. And at that stage the problem cropped up that these people will be left out in the cold, and how we can continue to guarantee their rights? And precisely because these questions should not be left to the last minute, as you heard from the Prime Minister, sustained efforts are being pursued to speak with the Church, which also accepts the need for a consensual settlement of these questions. So we have reached the conclusion that there is Church property which has yet to be recorded. Alas, as you probably know already, some State property has yet to be fully recorded also. These are the biggest difficulties of the Land Registry. So, in order to avoid doing things in an amateurish manner, we decided to put in place a registration scheme of the ecclesiastical property that was actually funded by the NSRF (National Strategic Reference Framework). Thus, it becomes more scientific, it has available resources, and it has precisely undertaken to record what this property is about. 22 Metropolises and the Archbishopric have already been included in this program, and gradually the entire ecclesiastical property will be recorded. In any case, in the future, the wages of the clergy will begin to be fully covered by the Ecclesiastical Property Development Fund. Precisely because we do not have a full recording, and we do not know how much revenue can currently flow from the property, thats why, for a transitional phase, we will have a transfer from the State budget to the Church of the amount necessary to pay the salaries of the clergy, until we have found a clear solution. REPORTER: However, the priests are not happy with this situation, you are aware of this. You can see their reactions, they feel that, in the end or later, the State might sell them out. G. KATROUGALOS No big change happens easily. Without there being some people who will inevitably complain. I would say in a well-intentioned way. Many are terrified by change. But, personally, I dont think that it is normal for a clergyman to be a public servant. His work is not the work of a public servant. He must have guarantees. He must feel secure. Anyone should feel secure, but this will be ensured by the institutional interventions we plan to make. REPORTER: Due to your position, you will need now to collaborate a little more with the Minister of National Defense, Panos Kammenos. I will not ask you if there had been prior consultation between you and Mr. Kammenos before he said that the Turks had asked for permission to fly within the Athens FIR. On the other hand, an announcement was made from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, today, this morning, and I would like you to comment. So the Turks have stated that they recognize six miles of airspace, and of course, they ask for flying permission for all their military or commercial aircraft which enter the Greek airspace they recognize. Is this true? And what comment would you make? G. KATROUGALOS I will not comment on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the radio. The comments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are made via the diplomatic route. What you have read to me, however, is the long-standing position of the Turks, and that is why we have the interceptions in the Aegean between 6 and 10 nautical miles. We, as you know, have expanded our airspace to ten miles, which the other side - in the same way as it questions other rights of ours which clearly derive from International Law - rhetorically denies us. However, there cannot be any challenge to this right of ours, precisely because we have applied what International Law imposes. And we do not say this merely in words. Fortunately, we have the armed forces that can confirm in practice this right of us, and it is for this reason that we have all these constant interceptions that confirm our sovereign rights. REPORTER: Are you worried by Turkish activities in Cyprus? G. KATROUGALOS They keep us on the alert. I would not worry, for the simple reason that we have taken our measures, both we and the Republic of Cyprus. And at the diplomatic level, these tripartite or triangular partnerships with Israel and Egypt, have particularly upgraded our diplomatic strength, both of our own country and that of the Republic of Cyprus. And as the past showed, when an attempt was made to question the right of Cyprus to its Exclusive Economic Zone, this contestation was repelled. Because, as I said, the Republic of Cyprus fully respects International Law when it exploits its natural resources, and because we have taken the necessary measures to ensure that the law has also the power to defend itself. REPORTER: And, very briefly, I would like an answer to the question of what happened at the Ministerial Cabinet of 16 July, because we have a question from a listener. Did Kammenos actually say that Soros finances the Greek Government? G. KATROUGALOS I was not present at this Ministerial Council because I was at the European Council in Brussels. But I think that a full answer has already been given about what was said and what was not said. REPORTER: We would like to thank you very much, Mr. Katrougalos. G. KATROUGALOS Thank you. PORT AUSTIN -- There will be a home-cooked Italian spaghetti dinner benefitting Michigan House of Hope and the Kramer family on Nov. 16 at the Port Austin United Protestant Church. Michigan House of Hope is an addiction recovery program for the Thumb area. It is faith-based, long-term and hands-on, focused on healing the person from the inside out. HARBOR BEACH During this week's council meeting, the Harbor Beach City Council moved to help stop a potentially dangerous situation at the local school. Action from the council came at the request of Harbor Beach Police Chief Todd Bucholtz after he received a letter from the school. Harbor Beach Community Schools is seeking help with signs for the 'bus loop,'" stated the letter from Harbor Beach Community School Superintendent Shawn Bishop. "Far too often, we have parents mix in with our busses during the day within the bus loop. This can be very dangerous for our students. The letter requested to have signs prohibiting parking between 7:15 and 8 a.m. and 2:30 and 3:15 p.m. on school days. During council's meeting, Harbor Beach Mayor Gary Booms told the audience that parents are supposed to unload children north of the bus loop in front of the old two story building. Council approved the request and instructed the police chief to go ahead with the signs. It was noted the school must also officially approve this measure. In unrelated business, council discussed a water drainage problem on the north end of Lincoln Park. City Director Ron Wruble previously contacted several tiling companies for prices. After discussing the situation, council agreed to hire Talaski Tiling to tile the area at a cost of $4,803.24. Council also agreed to hire Townley Engineering as the prime professional for the city's marina grants projects. The city has received notice of the grants approvals. Part of the grant requires the city to hire a certified engineer to assist with the process. Booms explained Townley had previously been hired by the city to help obtain the grants, and the firm did a great job. In other business: After receiving a request from Wastewater Treatment Plant Supervisor Nick Roggenbuck, the city will purchase a reactor block from USA Bluebook at a cost of $1,432. According to Roggenbuck, the device is one of the machines used in a process to read oxygen levels in the waste water. Council authorized the Harbor Beach Fire Department to help clean the 500,000 gallon clear well concrete storage tank at the Harbor Beach Water Treatment Plant. According to plant Supervisor Clark Cregeur, the plant is required to inspect the well every five years. It is cleaned when necessary. After receiving a letter from the local American Legion, council agreed to allow the group to hold its ninth annual cart derby on July 20. The proposed location for the go-cart races will be Trescott Street, east of M-25 (Huron Avenue). Booms told the audience two Harbor Beach employees/residents had been selected as the recipients of this years Huron Daily Tribune Readers Choice Awards. Sgt. Glen Cook was chosen as the favorite police officer and Jason Lermont was chosen as the readers favorite firefighter and EMT. Councilman Robert Swartz said this years Halloween festivities were a big success. He also informed everyone of the upcoming breakfast fundraiser for Allen Cole. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the Saint Anthony Hall in Helena. The next Harbor Beach City Council Meeting is scheduled for Nov. 19 at City Hall. TUSCOLA COUNTY Another option is being considered to provide dental care to indigent or uninsured Tuscola County residents. Ann Hepfer, health officer for both the Tuscola and Huron county health departments, explained she is exploring working with Great Lakes Bay Health Centers because an agreement with My Community Dental Center (MCDC) could not be reached. They (Great Lakes Bay Health Centers) asked us to take another look at what they have to offer. They are a federally funded non-profit organization, so there would be no matching funds for the county (to pay), she explained, noting some initial start up funds might be needed. We met last week. They looked at what space is available in the county in Caro because they do not want to build or restore a building," she added. The Great Lakes Bay Health Center, located at 876 N. Van Dyke Road in Bad Axe, has been open for about five years. They provide comprehensive family dental care including cleanings, x-rays, restorations, oral surgery, dentures, root canals, crowns, emergency dental care, and more. The Bad Axe clinic serves Huron, Sanilac and Tuscola counties. Great Lakes Bay Health Centers formerly Health Delivery, Inc. began as a very small migrant health clinic in 1968, when the Saginaw County Health Department received a $75,000 grant to provide health care to farm workers. Today, Great Lakes Bay Health Centers operate more than 250 sites across the state helping patients access quality, comprehensive, affordable health care, regardless of insurance status or income level using a sliding fee schedule, according to their website. The dental clinic in Huron County and the new MCDC in Sanilac County each has a long waiting list, and each serves Thumb area residents. This shows there is a need for this, Hepfer said. There is no dental clinic in Tuscola County that takes those on adult Medicaid. Children who are on Medicaid are covered by Delta Dental, and most of those children can go to a local dentist who accepts the Delta Dental for services. If an agreement is able to be reached with Great Lakes Bay Health Centers, the start up would be slow. It would begin with one dentist and a couple of hygienists, she said. This all depends if something can be worked out. It would be overseen by the health department. Although an agreement could not be worked out with MCDC, they opened a clinic at 35 W. Sanilac Avenue in Sandusky in September to provide dental services to Medicaid enrollees and low-income, uninsured. Contact information for that clinic is 989-623-0137 and 989-623-0137. Contact information for the Great Lakes Bay Health Centers in Bad Axe is 989-331-0555. Six years ago Tuscola County officials tried to work out an agreement with Huron and Sanilac counties for a Tri-County dental clinic. It didnt work out because officials from the three counties could not reach an agreement. The proposal for such a clinic came from a group of about 30 dentist from the three counties to form a non-profit group. That proposal languished and fell by the wayside. The Upper Thumb is always ahead of state average when it comes to voter turnout. And once again, we did not disappoint, as the Huron County Clerks Office told the Tribune this week that more than 50 percent of registered voters participated in Tuesdays election. It was 56 percent, to be exact. And that is higher than the 52 percent reported statewide. While most Huron County voters didnt necessarily agree with the statewide decisions, we certainly came out in large numbers to make our voices heard. The clerks office numbers show there are a little more than 25,000 registered voters in Huron County, and more than 14,000 of them came out to vote. While its something to celebrate, its also something that can be improved upon in future elections. We are proud of local voters for taking the time to head to the polls and do their civic duty. We hope they can be examples for voters who sat Tuesdays elections out. That it will inspire others to get on board and participate in democracy. Likewise, we hope to continue to see numbers statewide increase. The Associated Press reported this week voter turnout for Michigans midterm election was the highest in 56 years. More than 4 million people cast ballots, according to unofficial results. That is at least 52 percent of the voting-age population the most since 1962. Indeed, the people have spoken. We hope voters keep the conversation going into future elections. SAND POINT Many area churches celebrate special events associated with the church calendar. Among the most notable are Christmas and Easter. They are known worldwide as the two most defining events in the Christian religion; the birth of Christ, and His resurrection. Both are outlined through prophesy in the Old Testament and in detail in the New Testament. Because these events happened according to New Testament scripture, and are so important to Christians, some people may tend to believe the Old Testament isnt relevant any more. However, most Christian church services involve readings from both the New Testament and the Old Testament of the Holy Bible, and some celebrate Old Testament events. One area congregation, the parishioners of St. Johns Episcopal Church, on Sand Point, recently celebrated one such event, the Feast of Tabernacles, by building a sukkah. The Feast of Tabernacles is an important event in the history of the Jewish people, and is mentioned numerous times in both Old Testament and New Testament scriptures. It is basically a harvest festival, although the reasons for the event go much deeper. The festival celebrates Gods continuous care for the Jewish people as they lived in the wilderness, while leading them to their homeland. Called the Festival of Tabernacles, the Sukkat, or the Festival of Booths, the event is celebrated by constructing a sukkah, a sort of primitive booth, as a reminder of how the Israelites lived during this period of history. The festival dates vary from year to year, based on the Jewish calendar. In 2018, from Sept. 23-30, a sukkah stood on the grounds of St. Johns Episcopal Church. It has three walls and a roof, said Virginia Moor, of Pigeon, a member of St. Johns Episcopal Church. The roof is made of leafy vines and poles, with harvest fruits, vegetables, and flowers. During the time they were in the wilderness, they had to live in tents. A sukkah is a sort of remembrance of that time, when they were in temporary shelters. The sukkah was constructed by parishioners of St. Johns Episcopal Church. During the process, something interesting happened. The man who did the poles on top has always had a very bad back, Moor said. Hes under a doctors care, and has been on medication for years. He put the poles on top of the sukkah. When he got up the next morning, he didnt have any pain. He hasnt had any pain since. Parishioners placed a small table with two chairs inside the sukkah. The structure was used throughout the week. Some people prayed, others enjoyed a simple meal or celebrated the feast by singing and playing instruments. The sukkah is a reminder that our bodies are temporary shelters, Moor said. St. Johns hope is to build unity in the community through the sukkah. Its a practice for when the Lord returns . . . this is something He says will be done forever . . . I dont know if well have sukkahs, but the Bible says the Feast of Tabernacles will be celebrated forever. The materials for the sukkah were stored, and St. Johns Episcopal Church plans to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles again next year. Perhaps celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles will become as widespread as the celebration of Christmas and Easter. BRIDGEPORT A local man has been charged with choking and raping a Massachusetts woman he met on an online dating website. Gimel Anderson, 25, of Hawley Avenue, was charged Friday with aggravated first-degree sexual assault, first-degree strangulation, second-degree assault and first-degree unlawful restraint. He was being held in lieu of $750,000 bond. On Oct. 20, Springfield, Mass., police were called to a hospital there for an assault victim. Police said a young woman had bruises on her face and throat and cuts on her head that requires stitches. Police said the woman told them she contacted Anderson through the dating website Tagged and arranged to come to Bridgeport to meet him. The woman picked up Anderson at his home. Police said he was carrying a bottle of beer, got into the womans car and then directed her to drive to Seaside Park, ostensibly so they could watch the sunset. However, once they parked there, police said, Anderson began choking the woman and hit her in the head with the beer bottle. He then pulled off her clothes and raped her, police said. Before leaving the victims car, police said, Anderson took a photo with his cell phone of her drivers license and threatened that he would come to her home and kill her if she went to police. The woman then drove to the hospital near her home in Springfield. PORTLAND A portion of Route 17A is currently closed because of water flooding over the road, according to the Department of Transportation. The road is shut down between between Route 17 and Summer Street, according to the DOT. The Marine veteran of Afghanistan blamed for a killing rampage that left 12 dead in a California bar never sought help from the Department of Veterans Affairs for post-traumatic stress or any other mental condition, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said Friday. However, he said the shootings late Wednesday in Thousand Oaks, California, at the Borderline Bar & Grill suggest the department needs to do more outreach to troubled veterans. "The veteran in question was not in the VA system, so we don't know what his status was, what his mental condition was," Wilkie said following an address at the National Press Club on his first 100 days in office. He was responding to a question on President Donald Trump's remarks earlier Friday calling Ian David Long, a 28-year-old former Marine corporal, a "very sick puppy" who was probably suffering from PTSD after deployment to a combat zone. Wilkie said he had no information on Long's condition, but noted he is working with the Pentagon to "try to catch the signs" of mental health problems "before a veteran leaves the service." He cited VA figures showing that about 20 veterans take their own lives daily, and 14 of those never asked the VA for help. "We have to get those people into our system," Wilkie said. "I need help in finding our veterans who are not in our system" and may be suffering from PTSD or traumatic brain injury. Earlier, Trump said on the White House lawn before departing for Paris to attend World War I centennial events that Long was "a very sick puppy. He's a very, very sick guy." "Not too many people knew about it but, now that they're looking, they're starting to see he had a lot of problems, a lot of trouble," Trump said of Long, who apparently killed himself after opening fire on bar patrons with a handgun. California authorities have yet to establish a motive for the shootings or say that Long had a mental condition, but Trump indicated that he might have been a veteran who came home troubled after a deployment. "Look, it is a problem. It is a disastrous problem," he said, according to videos posted by several news outlets. "It makes you sick to look at it. But he was a very, very mentally ill person." Trump said that post-traumatic stress may have been a factor in the shootings. "Well, he was a war veteran. He was a Marine. He served time; he saw some pretty bad things," he said. "And a lot of people say he had the PTSD, and that's a tough deal." Trump did not cite sources for his claims about Long's mental health. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Editor's Note: The Department of the Navys Board for the Correction of Naval Records ultimately determined that Col. Morgan Mann was unjustly removed from command by Lt. Gen. Rex McMillian. On Feb. 22, 2021, the BCNR directed the Commandant of the Marine Corps to remove all adverse material from his official record. Three Marine leaders who were fired from their Reserve command last year failed to address low morale and a poor command climate, caused in part by the mistreatment of at least one unit member who was dealing with a medical issue, according to an investigation obtained by Military.com. Col. Morgan Mann, Sgt. Maj. James Boutin and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Hoy were relieved of their duties in October 2017 by Lt. Gen. Rex McMillian, then-commander of Marine Forces Reserve. Mann was the 25th Marine Regiment's commanding officer, Boutin served as inspector-instructor, and Hoy was a personnel officer. Mann has remained in the Marine Corps Reserve and is now assigned to the Inactive Ready Reserve, Maj. Roger Hollenbeck, a spokesman for MARFORRES, told Military.com. Hoy is also still in MARFORRES and currently assigned to Reserve Base Support, he said. Boutin retired from the Marines on June 1. McMillian lost confidence and trust in the Marines' ability to command and lead members of regiment, which is based out of Fort Devens, Massachusetts, according to documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request. The investigation was launched after a complaint was filed about the unit. When the investigator was conducting interviews, several Marines said they did not want to include criticisms of their command in written statements, citing concerns about career fallout or creating more tension in the workplace. "I found this to be indicative of an underlying fear of retribution from leadership," the investigating officer wrote. Command leadership were also found to have mishandled a Marine's medical case with "reckless indifference," after the person was ordered to return to duty against doctor's orders. The investigating officer found that the mishandling of that incident was brought about by a host of factors, including a lack of basic leadership, a lack of moral courage, poor communication and an extremely high operational tempo. Despite two command-climate surveys and a preliminary inquiry into a hostile work environment that "documented a significant volume of problems," according to the investigation, Marines in the unit felt that no improvements were being made. "I received multiple comments to the effect that 'all these surveys and all these investigations don't make a difference anyway,' " the investigating officer wrote. Members of 25th Marines complained of too much work that was unevenly distributed inside the Reserve command, according to the report. Senior staff noncommissioned officers were not present and didn't contribute to the success of the unit, it said. There was poor communication, little concern for Marines' well-being, and a drive to accomplish the mission that came with the threat of formal counseling or adverse fitness reports, the investigation states. "Several Marines spoke of sleeping at the unit and working through many weekends due to operational requirements, funerals, community-relations events and drill weekends," the investigator wrote. "... Additionally, recommendations for improvements were dismissed by leadership." 'A Pattern of Negative Leadership' When a November 2016 command-climate survey of about three dozen full-time active and active-Reserve Marines showed a significant trend of low morale and dissatisfaction, leaders held a town hall meeting to address the results. "However, there is no record of a formal corrective action plan," according to the report. About six months later, a second command-climate survey found the trend applied to a wider pool of Marines within the regiment when about 125 respondents also reported low morale and dissatisfaction. In both surveys, according to the investigation, Marines reported extremely long duty hours, too much work to be accomplished with on-hand personnel, a disregard for staff members' recommendations, and a lack of time for military occupational specialty training. "Several statements from Marines indicated widespread low morale and a pattern of negative leadership and intimidation," the investigating officer wrote. Several key billets were gapped when some 23 members of the regiment participated in a deployment to Central America with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Southern Command from March through November 2017. One leader, whose name was redacted in the report, said they were aware of the morale problems in the unit and were "systematically addressing the issues." That included improving training during drill weekends; conducting fresh command-climate surveys; directing reinstatement of a unit professional military education program that allowed the staff to build camaraderie while exploring local history; and responding quickly to allegations of a hostile work environment by directing a preliminary inquiry into the claims. Some of these measures have been effective, according to Hollenbeck. "There are indicators of improved command climate within the Regimental Headquarters, as reflected in a recent (Oct 2018) Organizational Climate Survey," he said in a statement. "One focus area of the survey is equal opportunity/fair treatment; it specifically addresses inclusion, discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual harassment retaliation. In each of these categories, the unit scored above both the service and the unit type (infantry) average." Hollenbeck added that the unit continues to run at a high operational tempo. "But the ability of the unit to manage all requirements has improved by an infusion of new and additional personnel, as well as a leadership focus on maintaining a positive command climate and enabling the balance of work and non-work (family) requirements," he said. The investigation also found that a lack of formalized procedures led to confusion on roles and responsibilities between the battalion's headquarters company and regimental staff. That led to confusion about who should've been notified about a Marine's medical condition, which the investigating officer found had been mishandled. In that case, two staff NCOs were told to make a health and welfare visit to a Marine's residence to instruct them that the command was directing them to return to duty. On the way there, "both SNCOs expressed misgivings to each other about the appropriateness of this directive," the investigation states, "but continued with their mission with a stated assumption that the 'colonel' gave this order." If the Marine didn't return to duty, at least one of the staff NCOs told them, they'd be charged with "unauthorized absence," despite that going against doctor's orders. The investigating officer found that members of the command handled the situation with "callous disregard for the Marine's health and well-being." The two staff NCOs also "displayed a lack of leadership and moral courage by executing the duty-status notification order that they both judged as wrong," the report states. As a result, the officer recommended that the personnel with 25th Marines receive additional training about dealing with Marines' medical situations. The investigating officer also recommended that the regiment publish guidance to clear up confusion on duties, authorities and chains of command, along with a policy letter on basic leadership principles, emphasizing morale and welfare of their Marines. Hollenbeck said the unit had received a new senior enlisted Navy medical professional over the last year to provide guidance on the handling of medical issues. "Orders stipulate that a service member's commanding officer bears overall and final responsibility for the well-being of each member of the unit; it is the responsibility of unit Navy medical professionals to ensure that appropriate information is conveyed to the commanding officer to ensure he/she effectively carries out their responsibilities in all medical matters," Hollenbeck said. As a result of problems and concerns identified in the October 2017 climate survey, he said, the command team led several unit-wide discussions to improve unit functions and cohesion. "Additionally, the command took a number of steps to improve information sharing, and to better designate roles and responsibilities, including the publication of letters of instruction for each month's drill period that detailed commander's intent, the concept of operations, and specific roles and responsibilities," he said. The current commander of 25th Marines, Col. Justin Dunne, published a letter on leadership that reinforces Marine Corps leadership traits and principles, Hollenbeck said, in keeping with the investigation's recommendations. "Additionally, the command has made a concerted effort over the course of the last 12 months to emphasize fair and equal treatment, to bolster unit cohesion, and to establish a positive command climate," he said. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ginaaharkins. Veterans come first, and if dogs have to be sacrificed in potentially fatal VA medical experiments to find cures for sick and disabled veterans, so be it, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said Friday. "The previous management authorized it. I will re-authorize it," Wilkie said of the research program that now involves a total of about 92 dogs at several VA facilities. He did not give any figures on the number of dogs that may have been killed or harmed in the experiments. According to a USA Today report published this month, at least some of the experiments involve removing a portion of the dogs' brains before killing them by lethal injection. "So I'm going to do everything that's ethical to make sure that our veterans come first. I love canines. I was raised with them. I've seen them in the military life perform miracles," Wilkie said in response to questions after an address at the National Press Club. "But we have an opportunity to change the lives of men and women who have been terribly hurt, and until somebody tells me that that research does not help in that outcome, I will continue." The VA's experiments on dogs are supported by veterans service organizations, including the American Legion and the Disabled American Veterans, Wilkie said. There have, however, been periodic attempts in Congress to stop the practice. "My charge is to make life easier for those who have borne the battle and there is nothing more tragic to me in 2018, at this stage in the development of medical science, that we haven't been able to find that cure to address spinal cord injuries and paralysis, and early death from that," Wilkie said. The research complies with all legal standards and "is conducted under strict supervision," Wilkie said. Wilkie pointed out that the VA was not alone in using -- and killing -- dogs in the interest of medical research. "Let me put this in perspective first," he said. "We have 92 canines. Every day, 2,000 dogs are euthanized in this country." In addition, the VA has a long history of research that has produced medical breakthroughs, such as the development of the pacemaker and the first liver transplant, Wilkie said. He did not directly relate those breakthroughs, though, to experiments involving dogs. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at richard.sisk@military.com. China's Sub Force Is Growing More Powerful. This Is What the US Navy Needs to Do to Stay Ahead ANN ARBOR, MI - After rejecting a controversial proposal for a large student apartment complex off Pontiac Trail, the city of Ann Arbor is facing a lawsuit brought by the out-of-state developer. The City Council voted 10-0 Thursday night, Nov. 8, to approve a $150,000 contract for outside legal help to defend the city against the developer's claim that the city wrongfully denied the project. Suing the city is Indiana-based Trinitas Development LLC, which proposed a project called the Cottages at Barton Green on 32 acres next to M-14, north of Skydale Drive at 2601 Pontiac Trail. Neighbors have argued it amounts to dorm-style housing for University of Michigan students in a location where it doesn't belong, too far from campus, and they don't want it in their neighborhood. The City Council rejected it in a 10-0 vote on Sept. 17, but the developer argues the project complies with the city's zoning and is asking the court to order the city to approve it. Trinitas claims the project complies with all applicable local, state and federal regulations. City officials disagree with the developer and remain opposed to the development. Some have argued the project does not meet the city's requirement for new developments to limit the disturbance of natural features to the minimum necessary to allow a reasonable use of the land, a point on which the developer disagrees. Council Member Zachary Ackerman, D-3rd Ward, said he was encouraged when the council rejected the project. "Because it did not meet our zoning requirements as it pertains to the protection of our natural features," he said. "Unfortunately the developer has decided to sue the city," he added, expressing support for the $150,000 legal defense contract. "In order to protect the best interests of the public safety, health and welfare of the people, I think it's absolutely critical that we get the best legal support we can to win this court case. It's a small amount of money to take an important lawsuit very seriously." The council's decision to reject the development in September was applauded by neighbors, some of whom spoke before council again Thursday night in support of an aggressive legal defense. The developer's claim of appeal was filed Oct. 22 and is pending before Judge Tim Connors in Washtenaw County Circuit Court. "I don't think the city did anything to deserve the Trinitas lawsuit. It did exactly the right thing," said Hilldale Drive resident Ken Garber, one of the neighbors opposed to the development. "I can't begin to express how grateful I am to the City Council for your no vote on the Cottages at Barton Green site plan in September," he told council members. "You showed a lot of courage and integrity knowing that Trinitas might sue. Now they have." Skydale Drive resident Deborah Katz said spending the money to fight the developer is worth it. "We are at a point, I think, where we really need to take a goal line stand against developers who think that they can come into Ann Arbor and do whatever it is they choose," she told council members. "I think that we're at a spot where, if you hold fast on this, that we can make a difference in terms of what comes into our city and how we're treated as a community by developers." The City Council's vote to reject the development plans from Trinitas Ventures on Sept. 17 came after a half-hour meeting behind closed doors with the city's legal counsel. Not satisfied with earlier plans for a 710-bed housing project geared toward UM students, the City Council sent the developer back to the drawing board in July, asking Trinitas to work with neighbors and make significant changes. Mayor Christopher Taylor had suggested he wanted to see a greener project with a greater diversity of housing types, and fewer dorm-style apartments with four, five and six bedrooms. Trinitas had been proposing 221 apartments with 710 beds in 92 buildings. The plans presented in July included more than 550 surface parking spaces, a clubhouse, pool and other amenities. Still not satisfied with proposed modifications in September, which included elimination of some units and changes in the housing mix, neighbors again spoke out against the project, and council members shared their own concerns before voting it down. The changes offered by the developer in September included elimination of 10 housing units, including all of the six-bedroom units, eliminating a total of 28 beds, as well as eliminating 28 car parking spaces and deferring 26 other car parking spaces. To increase the mix of housing types, the developer proposed adding eight single-family homes, though some questioned whether that really would be single-family housing, as the units could just be rented out by the bed, which the developer indicated was a possibility. To reduce individual vehicle trips, Trinitas also said it would provide two private shuttle buses for use by tenants, transporting them to and from UM campus areas. Trinitas also offered to provide five ride-share/carpool parking spaces near a proposed clubhouse. In its new complaint filed in court, Trinitas argues what it proposed is a permitted, by-right project under the city's zoning, one recommended for approval by the city's planning staff, and that the council's rejection of it was unconstitutional. The complaint states Trinitas offered the city 9.86 acres to be dedicated as parkland, and a payment of $346,000 for traffic improvements over and above the traffic improvements to be constructed at the developer's expense. The developer also proposed "full mitigation and monitoring of a 2,200-square-foot wetland as recommended for approval by planning staff," the complaint states, further adding that the proposed project contained 75.9 percent open space and exceeded all landscaping requirements, site design and engineering requirements, parking requirements, and other zoning requirements. Traver Street resident Tom Stulberg, another resident opposed to the development, told council members Thursday night the lawsuit shouldn't be a surprise to the city. By being overly permissive in approving past developments, he argued, the city has created an environment that invites this type of lawsuit from developers when plans are rejected. "We've made some mistakes in the past and we've set some precedents," he said. "If you approve something that's not legal because you like it, you have to be very careful because you have to follow the exact same rules for everybody. So the next guy comes in with something you don't like, you can't turn him down without expecting a lawsuit." If the city doesn't change that environment, he said, it better be ready for more lawsuits from developers. Trinitas is asking the court to reverse the city's decision on the development and to consider granting the developer further relief "as may be equitable and just." City Attorney Stephen Postema said the city has not yet responded to the complaint and he had no comment. The developer is being represented by attorney Timothy Stoepker of Dickinson Wright PLLC in Grand Rapids. Ann Arbor has hired the Rosati, Schultz, Joppich and Amtsbuechler law firm with offices in Farmington Hills, Lansing and Marshall. ANN ARBOR, MI - Ann Arbor Public Schools has released its latest round of test results for lead in the drinking water at schools, showing some with levels requiring mitigation action. According to the school district, 456 drinking water source locations were tested at 10 schools in the Phase 1 testing for 2018-19. At 95 percent of the water fountains and faucets tested, lead levels were at 5 parts per billion or below, the district's new standard. Samples taken at five locations exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's action level of 15 ppb, and 18 other locations had levels above the AAPS action level but below the EPA action level. The district used to take mitigation action at 15 ppb, but in response to parent concerns it has set 5 ppb as a new threshold. Some concerned parents have pointed out the 15-ppb action level the district followed in the past is not a health standard and the EPA actually has set a maximum contaminant level goal for lead in drinking water at zero, because lead is a toxic metal that can be harmful even at low exposure levels, and children are particularly vulnerable. In children, low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells, according to the EPA. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality recommends taking action if the lead concentration is above 5 ppb. The district says drinking water sources that test below the AAPS action level are left in service for drinking consumption, while sources with levels above 5 ppb are taken out of service. "Appropriate remediation/mitigation/replacement activities are then completed," the AAPS website states. "Once replacement activities are completed, further testing is done to ensure the new drinking water fixture tests below the threshold of >5ppb. Only when this level is demonstrated, the fixture is returned to service." The latest tests were conducted from mid to late October. Where lead was detected, the results showed the following readings: Westerman Preschool and Family Center -- 1-5 ppb Abbot Elementary -- 1-16 ppb Bach Elementary -- 1-5 ppb Dicken Elementary -- 1-4 ppb Eberwhite Elementary -- 1-14 ppb Haisley Elementary -- 1-17 ppb Lakewood Elementary -- 1-7 ppb Lawton Elementary -- 1-123 Pattengill Elementary -- 1-10 Pathways high school-- 1 ppb At Lawton, there were five flagged readings from various faucets and drinking fountains -- 6 ppb, 7 ppb, 14 ppb, 21 ppb and 123 ppb. The 123 ppb reading was from a drinking fountain in Room 312 that was observed to be bagged and was out of service for an unknown period of time prior to sampling, the results note, indicating the high reading was likely due to stagnant water. At Abbot, there were three flagged readings -- one at 8 ppb from a kitchen faucet, one at 16 ppb from a room faucet, and one at 16 ppb from a drinking fountain in a room. At Eberwhite, there were seven flagged readings from various faucets and drinking fountains -- three at 6 ppb, one at 7 ppb, one at 9 ppb, one at 12 ppb and one at 14 ppb. At Haisley, there were four flagged readings from various faucets at 6 ppb, 7 ppb, 12 ppb and 17 ppb. At Lakewood, there was one flagged reading from a faucet at 7 ppb. And at Pattengill, there were two flagged readings -- 6 ppb from a room faucet and 10 ppb at a teachers lounge kitchen sink. AAPS plans to share results for Phase 2 testing at remaining elementary and K-8 campuses in December, followed by Phase 3 results for middle and high school locations in January. A comprehensive report is expected to be shared with the school board in late January. According to the district, water bottle filling stations with lead filters are now installed in all AAPS schools and the district encourages students and staff to use those locations for drinking water. The district also is installing signage in low-priority locations such as custodial closets to remind everyone that water in those locations is not intended for consumption, and the district plans to continue to flush all water systems following school breaks. FLINT, MI -- More testimony was taken Friday in the preliminary examination of four people facing criminal charges in the Flint water crisis. The hearing for defendants Stephen Busch, Michael Prysby, Liane Shekter Smith and Patrick Cook, each of whom worked at the DEQ while the city struggled to process river water, resumed the morning of Friday, Nov. 9, in the courtroom of Genesee County District Judge Jennifer J. Manley. Prosecution witness Daugherty Johnson, former Flint utilities administrator, returned to the stand for cross-examination. He ended up being the lone witness of the day. First to question Johnson was attorney Deday Larene, representing Busch. Johnson said that in April 2014, a water treatment plant began operating on the Flint River, though a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system was not fully operational. Johnson said the water was softened with lime to make it more palatable for citizens. He wanted to put the resultant sludge in the Bray Road Lagoon. Busch told him he would not be able to do that until the site's notices-of-warning were addressed, Johnson testified. Johnson said this discussion happened "early on in the design phase, I'm not sure when." Questioned by Chris A. Bergstrom, representing Prysby, Johnson said he had been criminally charged for his involvement in the crisis. Initially charged with false pretenses and conspiracy to commit that crime, both 20-year felonies, he in November 2017 pleaded no contest to a reduced misdemeanor count of failing to furnish public records upon request. The city began using Flint River water on April 25, 2014, though some of the reservoirs would have still contained Detroit Water and Sewer Department water, Johnson said. Still, the city began receiving complaints of the water the same day, Johnson continued. Under re-cross, special prosecutor Todd Flood asked Johnson if he had ever engaged in conversation pertaining to switching the city's water source that involved which was more important, health or saving money. "Health is always more important than saving money," Johnson replied. No other witnesses were called Friday. Flood said he plans to call several more witnesses next week when the hearing resumes. Busch is charged with involuntary manslaughter, misconduct in office, tampering with evidence, conspiracy to tamper with evidence, and two misdemeanor counts related to an alleged treatment and monitoring violation of the Michigan Safe Water Drinking Act. Shekter-Smith, the only state employee fired by the state for her role in the Flint water crisis, also is facing a charge of involuntary manslaughter. Flood has argued that as chief of the DEQ Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance, Shekter-Smith was also in a position to order the Flint water treatment plant shut down for failure to produce safe water. In addition to involuntary manslaughter, she is charged with misconduct in office and willful neglect of duty. Prysby, an environmental engineer, is charged with two counts each of misconduct in office, tampering with evidence and violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Cook, a specialist for the DEQ's Community Drinking Water Unit, is charged with willful neglect of duty, misconduct in office and conspiracy. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Some 22 years after her father retired as a sheriff, Michelle LaJoye-Young has reached the same "top cop" level in Kent County. She was sworn-in Friday, Nov. 9 as the Kent County Sheriff, taking the reins from retiring Sheriff Larry Stelma. She was proud that her father, retired Shiawassee County A.James LaJoye, was able to pin her badge on her uniform during the ceremony. "If you've ever heard me speak about what brought me to law enforcement, you've heard me talk about my dad and the influence my dad has had on my world," LaJoye-Young said. Stelma swore-in the new sheriff in front of a large audience filled with law enforcement personnel and their families, but also local judges and assistant prosecutors. She said the fact she's the first female sheriff in Kent County is not lost on her. "If I can be a mentor to young women who are considering getting into law enforcement, that's inspiring to me," she said. Still, her goal is to be a good leader first. And she hopes she can do that by making a good connection with her staff "I've got almost 30 years of service in and I've worked in almost every part of the department," she said. "So I understand what they're going through and I feel like I can encourage them and help them grow." Judge Sara Smolenski with the 63rd District Court in Grand Rapids Township was among the judges to attend Friday's ceremony. "Michelle Young is such a good person, always has been," she said. "All my connections with her have been nothing but positive. She's just a quality person and leader." HOLLAND TOWNSHIP, MI -- Police are investigating a fatal shooting of a 29-year-old man in the 10000 block of Campanel Drive. Ottawa County sheriff's deputies were called to the street about 9:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9 on a report of a man with a gunshot wound to the head. Deputies arrived to find the man dead. They said he was in possession of a firearm and that one shot was fired from that weapon, but police gave no other details. The man's name has not been released. An autopsy is planned. Anyone with information about the shooting can call police at 1-877-88-SILENT or go online at mosotips.com University of Michigan student Rebecca Harley is concerned about climate change and feels one way to make those worries known is to vote. "Political activism is on the rise right now," said Harley, 19, who is studying environmentalism at U-M in Ann Arbor. Harley was part of a surge in voting among Michigan college students Tuesday. In places like East Lansing, home to Michigan State University, turnout far exceeded previous midterm elections, and were more on par with what is seen during a presidential election year, according to East Lansing Clerk Jennifer Shuster. East Lansing had about a 56 percent turnout rate compared with 37 percent in 2014, Shuster said. "Our 20 percent increase is definitely attributed to our campus precincts," she said. In 2014, there were 1,162 votes cast in six student-heavy precincts in the city of East Lansing. On Tuesday, there were 3,963 votes in those same precincts. The turnout rate for all of East Lansing during the 2016 presidential election was 64 percent, Shuster said. East Lansing is still calculating the number of registered voters so per-precinct percentages were not available for Tuesday's midterm election. It should be noted that all figures for the 2018 midterm elections are unofficial. The phenomenon follows a national trend of increased youth voting in 2018. The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University estimates 31 percent of Americans between 18-29 turned out to vote in the midterms. This is up from the midterms in 2014 when just 21 percent of eligible young voters cast a ballot. Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor also saw increased voting rates in Michigan, specifically within student-heavy precincts. At Kalamazoo's Precinct 2, located in Western Michigan University's Bernhard Center, there were 625 votes cast in 2014 compared to 1,625 in 2018. In Ann Arbor's student-heavy precincts there were 4,977 votes cast on Tuesday compared to 1,541 during 2014's midterms. These numbers come from seven precincts in 2014 and eight precincts this year. The city has split a First Ward precinct since 2014. So what's changed in four years? "I think Trump becoming president ... caused a lot of people to vote this time," said University of Michigan student Emily Meza-Wilson. The 20-year-old chemistry student from Dexter said she made sure to cast her vote on Tuesday. "There are a lot of really important issues that I wanted to vote on," she said. University of Michigan graduate student Aaron Drenth, 27, said his friends are more involved in politics than ever before. He said they connect over social media on issues. "I think there's a lot more awareness given our political climate," he said. "I am concerned with the current administration that's in Washington. I think by voting, that's the main way we can make change as individuals." Since the election of President Donald Trump, the progressive organization NextGen has been working to register young voters with the knowledge they tend to sway liberal and Democratic. NextGen, funded by billionaire activist Tom Steyer, spent $3.5 million in Michigan registering students on 33 college campuses this year. The group sent 500,000 text messages to young voters on Election Day and knocked on 125,000 doors overall, according to Michigan's NextGen spokesperson Janet Williamson. "We registered almost 40,000 people in Michigan this year," said Williamson "(This) is significant. Donald Trump only won Michigan by 10,704 in 2016. We registered almost four time the margin he won by." Trump's presidency is the fuel behind the rise in youth voting, according to Williamson. "It's a huge factor," she said. "I think that young people are really angry and that we've built a movement of young people who are now politically engaged and politically activated." Williamson said the youth vote was integral in getting a Democratic female slate elected governor, attorney general and secretary of state in Michigan on Tuesday. College voters also helped propel Elissa Slotkin to victory over incumbent Republican Mike Bishop in the 8th Congressional District, which covers East Lansing, according to Williamson. "They want to make sure what happened in 2016 never happens in Michigan again," she said. "I think we saw he results of that on Tuesday." The day after voters legalized recreational marijuana in Michigan, Christopher Martinez got a surprise when he went to court. Six felony charges on marijuana-related crimes had been dismissed in Allegan County. Allegan County Prosecutor Myrene Koch said the dismissal was signed before the election, and that it was unrelated to Proposal 1. Martinez doesn't believe it was unrelated to the vote. "They shouldn't have had these charges to begin with," Martinez said, who runs PureWest Compassion Club in Holland Township. "Here in these small communities in West Michigan, they don't have a leg to stand on." Across Michigan, elected prosecutors are reviewing pending marijuana cases in light of the passage of Proposal 1, which legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 and over. The law doesn't take effect until 10 days after election results are certified, which likely will occur in mid-December. Proposal 1 is already having an impact on the criminal justice system. The will of the voters -- 56 percent said yes to legalization -- may be the start of a culture shift among prosecutors and judges in Michigan when it comes to marijuana crimes. Governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer has already indicated she will consider pardoning those serving time for marijuana crimes early in her term. "In any change in the law, or any legislation that change the dynamic of a criminal statute -- it doesn't mean that the pending cases or open cases are null and void," said D.J. Hilson, president of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan and Muskegon County prosecutor. "Because those cases happened when the statute wasn't in place, it comes down to prosecutorial discretion." That discretion will vary for people in courts across the state. "At this point I am reviewing the law as it's written and I've not made any determination yet how we'll handle pending cases," said Koch, the Allegan County Prosecutor When it comes to authorizing new warrants for marijuana crimes, Koch said she'd have to first review the circumstance and date of the request. "Some offices may choose to look at it differently," Koch said. In Kent County, Prosecutor Chris Becker said his office will likely dismiss pending cases regarding marijuana possession or use, according to media reports. A judge in Kent County chose to adjourn three marijuana-related cases this week to allow the prosecutor to review them, according to media reports. Ingham County is no longer accepting warrant requests for marijuana crimes, unless it regards a violation of the future law passed by voters, said Mike Cheltenham, chief assistant prosecuting attorney. Pending marijuana cases that have not yet reached a plea deal or jury trial may now be dismissed, Cheltenham said. However, for cases in which a plea deal has been entered or are about to reach a sentencing decision, prosecutors face a more difficult legal decision. Steve Hiller, Washtenaw County chief assistant prosecutor, said pending marijuana cases would be reviewed individually. "Every case is going to be treated on its own merits," Hiller said. "There are lots of questions that need to be answered and we're working our way through the new statute and trying to figure out answers." Elected prosecutors across the state are talking to each other as they navigate the new legal landscape. "They can do nothing and proceed as if it's a normal case, or dismiss charges or dismiss files in their entirety," Hilson said. Cases where marijuana charges are tied to other criminal activities would likely not be dismissed, Hilson said. "I think judges are going to be looking at this appropriately -- and I think you're going to see lenient sentences," Hilson said. "I'd be shocked to see any new folks getting on probation for this." Nevertheless, marijuana is still illegal federally. This week, the U.S. Attorney's offices in Michigan said Proposal 1's passage does not immunize anyone from being prosecuted under federal laws. "Our offices have never focused on the prosecution of marijuana users or low-level offenders, unless aggravating factors are present. That will not change. Nevertheless, crimes involving marijuana can pose serious risks and harm to a community," U.S. Attorneys Matthew Schneider and Andrew Birge said in a lengthy joint statement. "We will continue to work closely with our federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners to assess the federal law enforcement interest for every case as it comes in. When we act, we will act in the interests of public health and safety," the statement concludes. -- Amy Biolchini is the marijuana beat reporter for MLive. Contact her with questions, tips or comments at abiolch1@mlive.com. Read more from MLive about recreational marijuana. KALAMAZOO, MI -- A Department of Justice grant could be the first test of Kalamazoo's will to defy the federal government on illegal immigration. The Kalamazoo City Commission did not act on a scheduled vote Monday, Nov. 5, regarding a $92,200 grant that prohibits staff from interfering with the interrogation, arrest and removal of undocumented immigrants. Commissioners discussed whether the requirements violate two resolutions prohibiting city resources from aiding the separation families at the U.S. border and affirming the city is a welcoming community. Similar Department of Justice grants are accepted each year without controversy. But this year's agreement includes new stipulations requiring Kalamazoo to comply with immigration enforcement officials. Grant documents presented to the Kalamazoo City Commission in 2015 and 2016 made no reference to undocumented immigrants. Commissioner Shannon Sykes Nehring said the city should find the money elsewhere. "We had conversations about the fact that we were likely going to have to ... start considering how to handle funding that we receive from the federal government, understanding there's good chance funding could be withheld from us," she said. "It was a reality we knew may be coming. My feeling is, for me, that reality has come." Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety and the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Department submitted a joint application to purchase equipment to support local law enforcement. KDPS Chief Karianne Thomas said the funds would help the department upgrade video equipment used in interviews and purchase a powerful police microscope to test drugs. Commissioner Don Cooney said the grant's requirements are "unjust." "My bottom line is: I am not interested in cooperating with any action that lead to the deportation of innocent people from our community," Cooney said. "Why should this be required of us to receive funds that are going to be used for public safety in our community? These are tax dollars which our people paid ... I think we have to make a statement to the federal government." City Manager Jim Ritsema said the requirements only apply to programs funded by the grant. Commissioners disagreed how that would affect police operations as a whole. Kalamazoo County government adopted a similar policy to the city of Kalamazoo's, prohibiting government resources from assisting family separation. "We have concentration camps in our country right now," Sykes Nehring said. "This is not something we can play with. I would argue that when our country has concentration camps and we are looking at a document splitting hairs (saying) 'well it could mean it's dangerous it could not,' we err on the side of caution." With the next City Commission meeting set for Nov. 19, commissioners would need to take action at special meeting before Nov. 16 in order to receive the funds. A special meeting had not been called as of Friday, Nov. 9. Commissioner David Anderson said the Department of Justice grants have been beneficial. But Anderson did not take a firm stance, saying there are unanswered questions that should be researched by the city attorney. If the grant is approved, City Attorney Clyde Robinson and Mayor Bobby Hopewell would sign a document confirming compliance with the Department of Justice requirements. During Monday's meeting, Robinson expressed concern that signing the document could open him up to perjury. Zachary Lassiter, a Kalamazoo resident and frequent critic of the commission, challenged elected leaders Monday to live up to statements they made when the resolutions were passed. "I guess it's time to see if we take the high road or the low road," Lassiter said. "If we hold to our values, or if it's just another political lie to quiet upset citizens in our city." MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - A man accused of a "severe assault" on his then girlfriend - including bites all over her body and hand-print bruising over her mouth -- that left her with a brain injury has been sentenced to 30 months. Brian Curtis Vink, 31, of Laketon Township pleaded no contest to assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder. Muskegon County Circuit Judge Timothy Hicks sentenced him as a third-time habitual offender to a minimum of 30 months in prison - with credit for 216 days - and a maximum of 20 years. Hicks denied a request from Vink's attorney to delay sentencing so Vink could undergo a psychiatric evaluation. The judge told Matthew Miller, Vink's third attorney, that he could appeal on those grounds if he wanted. Hicks added that none of Vink's previous lawyers raised a concern about Vink's ability to help with his own defense, which would be what an evaluator would be looking for. Hicks also was somewhat critical of statements made by Miller and Vink at the sentencing, including suggestions that a victim impact statement wasn't really written by the victim. Police were called to a Muskegon Township business on April 18 where an employee was reported to be incoherent, according to a Muskegon County Sheriff's report. First responders noticed several bruises on her body, and she was taken to the hospital where she underwent emergency surgery for a brain bleed, according to the report. Among bruises were some consistent with fingermarks around her mouth, suggesting it had been held shut by a hand, the report states. Police recovered text messages the victim sent Vink saying "u really f----d me up this time...in intense pain" and "I cant cover what u did to me," according to the report. She tells him she can't cover her bruises and "I ask u not to bit and hit me," the report states. In an interview, Vink told sheriff's investigators that the victim "bruises easier than a banana," according to the sheriff's report. He blamed her bruises, including on her mouth, on rough sex, and biting her all over her body, the report states. The 40-year-old victim was in the intensive care unit --in a medically-induced coma and on a ventilator -- for several days and had to have a second surgery on April 20 due to uncontrolled brain swelling, according to the report. At his sentencing, Vink again denied the assault. "I never hit her. This is more of her condition," Vink said, mentioning alcohol use. "This is crazy ... I've been in the jail cell suffering." He continued that a "light head bump" along with alcohol consumption caused her brain to swell. "I apologize for pushing her out of bed," Vink said. Muskegon County Assistant Prosecutor Rachael McEnhill described the victim's injuries, saying her vaginal area was "deep blue," her breasts were covered with bruises, and she had bruises consistent with attempted strangulation. "She sustained a huge, horrible assault and her life will be forever changed by that," McEnhill said. She was particularly outraged by suggestions made by Miller that the victim did not write her impact statement that was submitted to the judge. Implying that the victim didn't write the statement "further belittles" her, McEnhill said. Miller had told the judge that the letter was "very well-written for a person who just had brain surgery," later adding "it was written by Every Woman's Place," which is a nonprofit agency serving victims of domestic violence. Hicks told Miller he was not swayed by his arguments on behalf of his client. "This was a severe assault," the judge said. "I don't think the presentation here has helped you out much." Some Real Self-Criticism at CATC | Main | U.S. Official: Irans Support for Hezbollah Greater Than Previously Thought June 01, 2018 Wheres the Coverage? 14 Members of Congress Call to Halt PA Aid In a widely underreported move, fourteen members of the United States Congress called upon the U.S. State Department to immediately suspend all aid payments to the Palestinian Authority.? The PA is dominated by the Fatah movement and rules the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). The Congressional members sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on April 27, 2018. Highlighting the PAs policy of paying terrorists and their families for carrying out attacks, the letter requested that the U.S. cease U.S. aid payments to the authority. The representatives noted: In March 2018 Congress took a clear and bi-partisan stance on how aid dollars are to be used by the PA by passing the Taylor Force Act. This law prohibits U.S. taxpayer funds from being made available to the PA if they continue their practice of paying terrorists and their families. Yet, despite clear Congressional intent, media reports have stated that the PAs 2018 budget has codified this practice. The budget sets aside 8% of its total to the so-called martyrs fund, which amounts to over $350 million in U.S. taxpayer funded aid.? Further, the 14 signatories cited a report by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), a non-profit organization that monitors Arab media in eastern Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. PMW had translated a Jan. 14, 2018 speech by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, in which the Palestinian leader declared: There is something that the Americans are telling us to stop - the salaries of the Martyrs and the Martyrs' families. Of course, we categorically reject this. We will not under any circumstances allow anyone to harm the families of the prisoners, the wounded, and the Martyrs. They are our children and they are our families. They honor us, and we will continue to pay them before the living." Citing these disturbing? comments, the Congressional members wanted to know how many foreign aid dollars went to the PA that were then used to fund terrorists prior to the passage of the Taylor Force Act,? as well as what measures are you planning to take to enforce the law and suspend aid to the PA?? The PAs policy of offering financial incentives to commit acts of terror is frequently ignored or obfuscated by major media outlets. For example, prior to the passage of the Taylor Force Act, The Washington Posts Fact Checker? column minimized and misled about the PAs Pay to Slay? programprompting a rebuttal from CAMERA in the Washington Examiner (U.S. Media Are Covering Up Palestinians Pay to Slay Policy,? March 21, 2018). A letter from more than a dozen members of Congress to a U.S. Secretary of State calling to cut aid to a nominal ally should be newsworthy. However, many major news outlets, such as The Washington Post, USA Today, The Baltimore Sun, Politico, among others, ignored it. By contrast, The Washington Free Beacon provided a full-length report (Congress Seeks Showdown on Ending U.S. Aid to Palestinians,? May 1, 2018). Posted by SD at June 1, 2018 10:57 AM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment US_China_Trade_Trade war_Tariff Asserting that US-China bilateral trade is "critical to the world economy", a top Chinese diplomat said Beijing has kept its door open for trade talks with the Trump administration, as the two top global economies are locked in a trade war. Addressing a joint press conference on November 9, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi said, "According to the US-China Business Council, trade and economic relations with China help every American family save $850 annually and creates as many as six million jobs in this country." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, US Defence Secretary James Mattis and Chinese Minister of National Defence Wei Fenghe were also present at the press conference. China and the US are currently locked in an ongoing trade war as each country has introduced tariffs on goods traded between each other. Trump has promised to fix China's "longtime abuse of the broken international system and unfair practices". "Our (China-US) trade and economic relations are mutually beneficial by nature and have delivered tangible gains to both the countries and its people. As part and parcel of the global industrial chain, China-US trade and economic relations help allocate resources globally in a more efficient way, hence it is critical to the world economy," Yang said. He said the trade issues that exist between America and China are due to different economic structures and development stages in the two countries. "These issues can be resolved through dialogue and consultation. A trade war, instead of leading to any solution, will only end up hurting both sides and the global economy, Yang said. "The Chinese side has kept the channel of dialogue open. The door to negotiations remains open," the top Chinese diplomat said and expressed hope that the two sides find a "mutually acceptable solution" to the ongoing trade issue. US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet in Argentina later this month on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit. Pompeo, while interacting with the media, said, "President Trump has made it clear that the US seeks a constructive and results-oriented relationship with China grounded in fairness, reciprocity and respect." He also hoped for cooperation from the Chinese government and energy companies to address Iran's nuclear missile programmes. "Bringing Iran's oil export revenues to zero is a critical component of this campaign," he said. The US on November 5 imposed "the toughest ever" sanctions on a defiant Iran aimed at altering the Iranian regime's "behaviour". The sanctions cover Iran's banking and energy sectors and reinstate penalties for countries and companies in Europe, Asia and elsewhere that do not halt Iranian oil imports. However, it temporarily allowed India, China and five other major importers to continue buying Iranian oil as they showed "significant reduction" in oil purchase from the Persian Gulf country. "Even as the two countries (US and China) confront important differences in the bilateral relationship, their cooperation remains essential on many, many central issues," Pompeo said. Citing an example, he said the two sides should remain united "in pursuit of a final, fully-verified denuclearisation of North Korea". Yang said China supports direct dialogue between America and North Korea and hope that the two sides will "accommodate each other's legitimate concerns, build trust and advance denuclearisation process and the establishment of a peace mechanism in tandem". The Chinese official Beijing is committed to peace and development in the Asia-Pacific and respect the US' interest in the region. Arun_Jaitley_Urjit_patel_RBI The government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have a week to go before a showdown takes place in the central bank's Board meeting on November 19. In what looks like easing of tensions, the government has denied making any proposal to RBI asking to transfer Rs 3.6 or 1 lakh crore surplus. The denial comes after days of speculation. Further, "Discussions are underway with the RBI to decide the appropriate economic capital framework of the central bank," Subhash Chandra Garg, secretary of the department of economic affairs, ministry of finance, said on Twitter. The statement comes at a time when the government and RBI are at loggerheads over a range of issues, including norms regarding weak banks, the liquidity problem faced by non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), as well as pressures on the central bank to transfer more of its surplus to the government. Former RBI board member YH Malegam told CNBC TV18 that there is no provision in the RBI Act that says the central bank's reserves can be paid to the government. However, the Act would have to be amended for the RBI to start transferring its surplus from previous years to the government. Every year, the central bank, after making provisions for bad debts, contribution to staff, depreciation of assets and superannuation funds, transfers balance of its profits to its owner i.e. the government. However, there is no standard benchmark followed by the RBI for the transfer so far. Ahead of every union budget, a discussion takes place between the government and the central bank on the surplus capital. Thereafter, the surplus expectations are put in the budget by the government, while the central bank comes out with the announcement on the amount to be transferred in August after doing its calculations. Economic capital framework refers to the capital required by the central bank while taking into account different risks. Once this is finalised, excess reserves could be transferred to the government, providing the latter with a fiscal cushion. In FY18, the RBI had transferred Rs 50,000 crore surplus in two installments, Rs 10,000 crore in March 2018 and the remaining amount in August. This was over 63 percent higher than the Rs 30,659 crore which it transferred a year back. Amid speculation of RBI Governor Urjit Patel's likely resignation, the meeting of the central board of the RBI on November 19 is likely to be stormy. In a speech in late October, RBI deputy governor Viral Acharya batted for autonomy of the RBI and "effective independence" of the RBI. He said, Having adequate reserves to bear any losses that arise from central bank operations and having appropriate rules to allocate profits (including rules that govern the accumulation of capital and reserves) is considered an important part of central banks independence from the government." The reserves in the RBI balance sheet are used for dealing with volatility in foreign exchange holdings and government securities, asset development reserves for taking care of depreciation and other asset-related costs, and a contingency reserve to take care of any unforeseen emergencies. As of June 2018, the total amount in dealing with these three types of reserves exceeded Rs 9 lakh crore with more than Rs 6.9 lakh crore in valuation reserves, RBIs annual accounts data showed. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More A senior manager of the Tata Steel Processing and Distribution (TSPDL) office at Faridabad was shot dead reportedly by a former employee on November 9, ANI reported. The 35-year-old senior manager, Arindam Pal, was rushed to Fortis Escorts Hospital in NIT but he died on the way. Doctors say that he was shot with five bullets. #Haryana: Senior Manager of Tata Steel shot dead by former employee in Faridabad. Mujesar SHO says,Bullets were shot at senior manager by a former employee.He died on the way to the hospital. In initial reports,doctors say he was shot with 5 bullets. Post-mortem reports awaited pic.twitter.com/CNWhngKhAJ ANI (@ANI) November 9, 2018 Police suspect that Tata Steel's former employee Vishwash Pandey was behind the crime. Pandey, who worked with TSPDL from 2015-2018, is said to have been fired from his post as 'executive' in August 2018. "At around 1:10 pm today, an unfortunate incident took place at Faridabad office of Tata Steel Processing & Distribution Ltd (TSPDL), wherein Mr Arindam Pal, Senior Manager was shot dead with a firearm by Mr Vishwash Pandey, an ex-employee of the company," Tata Steel said in a statement released on November 9. The accused fled the scene after the incident, and police have initiated efforts to nab him. "The company had started an inquiry against Pandey and relieved him of his services four to five months ago, on grounds of indiscipline. The report of the inquiry, on the basis of which he was sacked, was submitted by the deceased," Sube Singh, PRO of Faridabad police told The Indian Express. Singh added that other employees who were on the premises during the incident have identified Pandey, and that an FIR has been registered against him. According to the report, the accused entered the premises through the main gate and went into Pal's cabin, where he allegedly opened fire and shot him "five times in the stomach" before escaping through another gate at the yard. "As of now, it is unclear how long the victim and the accused had been employed with the company. We intend to access company records to get a clearer picture of this. We hope to nab the accused soon," Ashok Kumar, station house officer (SHO) of Mujesar police station, where an FIR has been registered, told the paper. Depressed Woman. (Photo By BSIP/UIG via Getty Images) Moumita Mazumdar, a 30-year old marketing professional was diagnosed with clinical depression almost three years ago. With active medical intervention and regular therapy sessions, her condition has been stable. However, there are still some days that she finds it impossible to even get up from bed. But, she is unable to take sick leave for her mental health because her employer requires a medical certificate for every leave taken. The Mental Healthcare Act 2017 looks at providing mental healthcare and services for persons with mental illness. All related services like hospitalisation and treatment are covered under the Act, which also prohibits discrimination against people with mental health issues. This could also be interpreted to allow employees to take time off to manage mental health. But Indian organisations are not fully equipped to deal with it. Depression and mental health are taboo subjects discussed in hushed tones at Indian workplaces. Support groups for mental health say that India Inc is not just ignorant about the seriousness of the issue, they also discriminate against those who are open about their needs. A Mumbai-based mental health firms senior director recounts an incident where an employee was taken off a project, because he took sick leaves quoting depression as the reason. The company decided that he was incapable of making sound decisions. As per law, this could be termed as a crime, the person quoted above added. Depression, similar to all other physical ailments, requires supervision and medical attention. Those undergoing treatment have their ups and downs, but this is no way deters them from carrying out their professional responsibilities. According to the National Mental Health Survey of India (2015-16), nearly 15 percent of Indian adults are in need of active interventions for one or more mental health issues. The survey said the middle-aged working populations are most and that urban metros are witnessing a growing burden of mental health problems. In countries like the United States, law makes it illegal to discriminate against any employee with a mental health issue. India does not have any steadfast regulation dealing with the issue. At a time when companies are recognising the need to reduce workplace stress and improve emotional well-being of workers, having a formal policy for mental health would be a step in the right direction. Enabling employees to take time off to deal with anxiety/depression would help them improve their emotional capabilities and contribute in an effective manner to the workplace requirements. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More In the short term, we are expecting some relief in the market given a big correction in the last two months and rebound in technical factors, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said in an interview with Moneycontrols Kshitij Anand. Q) What is your assessment of the market at current level? A) Currently, we have one-year forward base-target of 10,250 for Nifty50, which is reduced from 10,400 in Q1FY19. This is based on 12.5 percent earnings growth in FY19 and 15 percent earnings growth in FY20, which is lower than the market forecast of 15 percent and 22 percent respectively. In the last two quarters, the market has reduced the earnings growth for FY19 from 20 percent to 15 percent, while we have reduced from 15 percent to 12.5 percent. Our reduction is based on H1FY19 numbers which are likely to be in a range of 5 percent to 10 percent as per the actual result of Q1FY19 and on-going Q2FY19. We are valuing the market on one year forward P/E of 17.5x while the market is trading today at 16.4x. The intrinsic value of equity as an investment asset is under evolution. In the world, we are seeing changes in the value of different assets like currencies, debt, equity, commodities, and others. This adjustment may take some more time. But in the short term, we are expecting for some relief in the market given a big correction in the last 2 months and rebound in technical factors. We were deeply below the 200-days moving average and oversold region. Indias VIX had risen to one year high of 22.8 and receding, similarly Governments 10-year yield, rupee and oil are curbing. Consensus between Government and the Reserve Bank of India, possible deal between US and China and global cues are helping the market. Q) Sensex and Nifty are up slightly from last Diwali but a carnage has already happened in small & mid-caps. Do you think the selling pressure will continue in the broader market until next Diwali? A) We see a bounce in the near term. However, the extension of the rally will depend on all the factors mentioned above. Valuation of the broad market continues to be on the higher side and need to settle as earnings growth is likely to downgrade further. We feel that this phase can continue for the next one to three quarters, bringing room for SIP type strategy in the market and create a value portfolio to generate wealth in the long-term. ALSO READ: Want to grow your portfolio to Rs 100 crore? Follow these 6 tips by Ramesh Damani Q) What are the major factors which will impact markets till next Diwali? A) Rising Yield: The yields in the global market are surging and currency is getting very volatile. Today, we are quite unsure of the possible rate hikes going forward, and the magnitude of its impact on the financial market, especially on NBFCs in the domestic market. As a result, FIIs have turned cautious on the emerging markets and selling in India too, whether it will impact the domestic inflows and fiscal math in the future is a risk to the domestic market. The Elections: History teaches us that general elections have never impacted the intrinsic value of the country in the long-term, but definitely brings volatility in the short to medium-term depending on the stability of governance, macro, and micro situations. This time we have important state elections before the national election which could have a drag effect on the market. Oil prices: Oil prices after hitting a high of $86/barrel in early October declined to ~ $73-$70/barrel as production from major producers like Saudi Arabia, Russia and the US are increasing. Additionally, concerns over trade war between the US and China and slower growth in the global economy is also dragging prices. Till the oil prices get stabilised, its going to have an impact on related sectors and fiscal target. ALSO READ | Top 10 stocks that have surged the most since demonetisation Q) Top five stocks which investors could buy on this Muhurat Trading of 2018 with an investment horizon of 2-3 years? A) HDFC Bank: We are structurally positive on HDFC bank given its top-notch asset quality, robust retail franchise and strong balance sheet growth. Further, with the banks superior liquidity positioning (liquidity coverage ratio of ~118 percent as compared to 90 percent required), the bank would benefit from the credit squeeze to NBFCs and consolidation of PSU banks. Escorts: We believe the long-term fundamentals of the tractor industry is solid. Though in the near-term the pace of central & state governments policy may slow down due to elections and fiscal shortage. But, we expect the status quo on the Governments fiscal discipline in the long term and 25 percent earnings CAGR over FY18-20E, inducing confidence in the stock. Asian Paints: We expect volume to grow at double-digit ahead of festival season and reduction in GST rate. Margin pressure may remain in the short term due to the rise in oil prices. We, therefore, expect one more price hike in the coming quarter which will negate higher input price. Cadila Healthcare: The launch of new products such as gAsacol had (not expecting further competition in the next two years) and gToprol xl, will ramp up sales in the US market. Management has guided for ~50+ launches in FY19 which is expected to improve their margins. Considering their strong financials, low valuations and aggressive expansion plans we believe that Cadila Healthcare will continue its steadfast growth rate. HCL Technologies: We believe, healthy outlook for IMS, strong deal signings and growth momentum in mode 2 and 3 are expected to be the drivers for the long-term growth. In addition, HCL has a lower onsite risk as 65 percent of its workforce in the US is locals. On a 1-year forward basis, the stock is currently trading at 13.5x which is a 27 percent discount to IT bellwethers (Infosys and TCS). ALSO READ: Top MFs that beat volatility to return 20% in 2018, have you invested in any? Q) Which sectors are likely to remain in focus till next Diwali? A) Certainty in business will be the key factor influencing the markets sustainability and attractiveness of the respective stocks and sectors. Stable names are likely to do better or outperform in the market. Sectors like FMCG or Consumption oriented IT and possibly Pharma too assuming that the worst is over in terms of pricing issue in the US market can do better. At the same time, we also feel that export-oriented stocks & sectors will also perform well like Chemicals and Auto & Ancillaries. The sectors which are likely to be under pressure are those which lack financial stability like Financials, NBFCs, and Infrastructure. Q) What should be the ideal portfolio construction methodology for investors for Diwali 2019? Do you think investors can look at cutting down on equity exposure because the most portfolio of investors have turned red in 2018? What should be the ideal percentage of equity, debt, gold, and cash in your portfolio? (Age of investors is 35-40 years) A) Given the conservative view on the market, the exposure to equity for an average risk-averse investor may be in a range of 40 percent to 60 percent (including direct & MF investments in the domestic and international market). Whereas, the rest can be largely spread on short-term debt and gold as per their objective and risk-taking ability. Even though equity is likely to be volatile in the next one to three quarters, it will generate wealth in the long-term creating opportunity to own brands at attractive valuations. Q) What is your advise to investors this Diwali considering the fact every trick in the book seems to have failed to protect portfolio destruction? A) Though ups and downs are part of the investment process, in which timing is a secondary factor while the ability to understand the change in risk and churn as per the need of the market is more important. To build a portfolio with key brands, sectors, and leadership with a well-diversified mix of Large and Mid-caps and patience to stick with the objective is the key. Equally to understand the mistakes and reduce or book losses & gains, improves the portfolios objective. Q) How are you reading September quarter results from India Inc? A) Considering Nifty50 as a benchmark, Q2 has been a slippage against the high expectation. The market started this quarter with an expectation that Nifty50 index stocks will earn about 15 percent growth in PAT on a YoY basis. As on November 2, 38 stocks have given results where PAT is down by -2 percent. If we remove the loss-making companys like Tata Motors, PAT is up by 4 percent on a comparable basis of 10 percent. This is more like a replica of Q1 result which had a growth of about 5 percent. We are bound to see a further downgrade in earnings growth over the next one to two quarters. Though market seems to have factored some part of the cut in earnings growth, for example; we had started this year with an expectation of 20 percent growth in FY19 which has reduced to 15 percent, but it has more to go. Rahul Jain Last week, I finally caught up on the Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli. I had been procrastinating over the book for a while now and on completing it, I wish I had done it sooner. Throughout the book, the author covers the most common errors in judgement that people make and simple ways to avoid them. We often invest excessive time effort in something, which in hindsight doesnt seem worth it. We take credit for success, but blame failure on external elements. In one of the chapters the author covers a phenomenon called the outcome bias; where people tend to evaluate decisions based on the result rather than on the decision process. I see it occur almost every day in the stock market; where while picking a stock, people are so fixated over the returns, that they skip through their basic investing checklist. They fail to look at the companys financial statements; the industry, the management track-record and most importantly the prospects of growth. Additionally, when it comes to investing their capital, people are in imminent haste to see it manifold with time. In the words of Warren Buffet No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time - you cant produce a baby in one month by getting 9 women pregnant. Last week, I chanced upon meeting an old client of mine, who worked with the army. He told me that he started investing in mutual funds with a sum of Rs 5,000, way back in 1997 (back then the industry was still in its nascent stage). As time progressed, he spread out his investments into some blue-chip stocks but never did the investment amount exceed more than Rs 20,000 a month. He retired a few months back, with a neat corpus of Rs 3 crore; the wealth he solely created by investing in mutual funds and some equity stocks. Mind you, the gentleman was no stock market wizard just a diligent investor, who regularly placed a part of his corpus in investment instruments and saw his returns gradually grow with time. He, as Rolf Dobelli put it, did not base actions on the outcome but based his decisions on the fact that money invested smartly will multiply with time. I truly believe that investing and finance is not as complicated as it is made out to be. You dont need large wealth to create wealth, you simply need focus and discipline with the money you earn and manage. If you manage to control these two aspects then you need not control the outcome; even investing Rs 500 every month will help you generate a steady corpus over time! The author is Head, Personal Wealth Advisory at Edelweiss. This week was marked by Diwali celebrations. The festival of lights is a time when you end up spending a lot of money on festivities, and in gifting to your close relatives, friends, and professional acquaintances. However, amid all the fun, you should not lose track of your finances. While spending your hard-earned money during the festive season you should also think of saving and investing some money so that you create a corpus for your future. A little thought on money management today will help you remain solvent for the long run and create a fund for you to dip into when you need extra money. This involves having a long term view of your finances for which you need to save and invest early and for the long haul. By investing for a little longer, you let compounding play in your favour. The longer time frame you keep, the better off you are. While hoping that you had a fun-filled Diwali, we remind you of a few things you can do with your money to make positive changes to your personal finances. The practice of gifting is an integral part of Diwali. It is a way of expressing your gratitude towards friends and family. Companies too give expensive gifts to their employees to celebrate Diwali, which at times can even be expensive ones, such as cars. While gifts up to a certain limit are exempted from taxation, the tax department will keep an eye out for expensive ones that breach the stipulated threshold. Heres a detailed look on the provisions of taxability of gifts received from various persons into the income tax returns (ITR). In the run up to the Diwali week, stock markets in India were highly volatile, dipping sharply from their highs touched recently. However, the US market is passing through its longest bull run, providing huge returns to investors. Should you invest all your money in India or diversify across global markets? In our guest column, we argue why a globally diversified portfolio could be beneficial for you. Again, investing in the present volatile market can be a difficult task for those who are not experts at reading the market. In these times, the mutual fund route is the best option for those seeking to invest in equities and that too through the Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) route. If you are looking to invest in mutual funds during current times, here are some recommendations by experts based on several parameters. While managing your money and investments, you should not take your eyes off loan repayments. Defaulting on loans can lead to trouble with your lender. Often, defaults happen on home loans which have a large EMI requirement compared to other smaller loans. While banks will give you some leeway after defaults, they would take action for recovery after some days including sending their agents to your doorstep for recovery. However, the lender cannot go overboard on their recovery efforts. In case the debt collectors comes knocking on your doors, here are some of your rights that you should be aware of. With stocks witnessing volatility, investors can opt for arbitrage funds - a type of equity mutual fund, which invests in the disparity in prices in the cash (spot) and derivatives markets. The arbitrage opportunities bring relatively risk-free returns to investors. Arbitrage funds can get you returns that are comparatively higher than common debt instruments like bank fixed deposits. Also these have favourable tax treatment as they are taxed in the same manner as equity funds (STCG is taxed at 15 percent as per current rules). This week we review the Reliance Arbitrage Fund, which has been performing well over the last one to three years compared to peers in this category. Read to know whether it suits your portfolio. Turkey has given recordings related to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia, the United States, Germany, France and Britain, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday. Turkish sources have said previously that authorities have an audio recording purportedly documenting the murder. "We gave the tapes. We gave them to Saudi Arabia, to the United States, Germans, French and British, all of them. They have listened to all the conversations in them. They know," Erdogan said. Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist critical of the Saudi government and its de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, disappeared at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Saudi officials said initially that Khashoggi had left the consulate, later saying he died in an unplanned "rogue operation". The kingdom's public prosecutor, Saud al-Mojeb, has since said he was killed in a premeditated attack. Speaking ahead of his departure for France to attend commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One, Erdogan called on Saudi Arabia to identify the killer from among a 15-man team that arrived in Turkey some days before Khashoggi's killing. "There's no need to distort this issue, they know for certain that the killer, or the killers, is among these 15 people. Saudi Arabia's government can disclose this by making these 15 people talk," Erdogan said. Erdogan also accused Mojeb - who visited Istanbul to discuss the investigation with his Turkish counterpart and make inspections in the Istanbul consulate-- of refusing to cooperate, in turn delaying the inquiry. Following a meeting on Saturday in Paris, US President Donald Trump and French leader Emmanuel Macron agreed that the Saudi authorities needed to shed full light on Khashoggi's murder, a French presidency source said. They also agreed that the matter should not be allowed to cause further destabilisation in the Middle East and that it could create an opportunity to find a political resolution to the war in Yemen, according to the official. The Election Commission on November 9 imposed a near month-long ban on holding exit polls beginning November 12 in the five poll-bound states. A notification issued by the poll panel said between 7 am of November 12 and 5.30 pm of December 7, "conducting any exit poll and publishing or publicising the result of an exit poll by means of the print or electronic media or in any other manner shall be prohibited" . While Chhattisgarh is going to polls in two phases on November 12 and 20, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram have elections on November 28. Rajasthan and Telangana will go to polls on December 7. Using powers under the Representation of People Act, 1951, EC bans exit polls from the time the poll begins till half-an-hour after the polling ends. The poll panel had proposed that there should be a prohibition on publication and broadcast of the results of opinion polls starting from the date of notification of elections till the completion of the last phase of polls to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies. The proposal is pending with the government. vidhana saudha bengaluru, twitter The Karnataka government on November 10 celebrated the birth anniversary of the controversial 18th century ruler of the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom, Tipu Sultan, bringing the state under a thick security blanket amid threats of protest by the BJP and many Hindu outfits. Calling Tipu a "religious bigot", the state BJP unit had urged the JDS-Congress coalition government to drop its decision to celebrate 'Tipu Jayanthi'. As a precautionary measure, prohibitory orders have been clamped in many districts of the southern state. No processions, either in favour or against the event will be allowed, officials said. Elaborate security arrangements have been made in districts like Kodagu and Chitradurga, coastal regions among others, where local communities are opposed to the celebrations. In Kodagu district, which was marred by widespread protests and violence during the first official celebration in 2015, Tipu Jayanti Virodhi Horata Samithi has called for a bandh Saturday. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) worker Kuttappa had died in Kodagu district during the clash that erupted during the celebrations in 2015. Superintendent of Police of Kodagu Sumana D Pannekara told reporters that the situation was peaceful so far and security arrangements have been made to ensure that no untoward incidents took place. She said no one would be allowed to forcefully shut shops and business establishments. "Around 500 police personnel along with officials have been deployed in and around Vidhana Soudha (Bengaluru).. DCPs of different zones in the city will be in charge of security in their respective jurisdiction. About 15,000 police personnel will be manning the city," Bengaluru Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar said. Tipu Jayanti celebration at the Vidhana Soudha will be held in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, as Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy will not be present due to health reasons. Wishing success for the Tipu Jayanti celebrations, Kumaraswamy in a statement Saturday said, "Tipu's progressive measures in administration, his quest for innovation are commendable". He also stated that as he was taking rest on doctor's advice, he was unable to take part in the programme. "It is unnecessary to add special meaning to it. It is also far from truth that he (chief minister) is not taking part due to the fear of losing power, as he opposes such blind beliefs," the statement said. It is the first Tipu Jayanthi celebration after the Kumaraswamy led Congress-JD(S) coalition government came to power in the state. The previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah observed Tipu Jayanthi on November 10 every year since 2015, amid stiff opposition by the BJP and several Hindu organisations. Tipu was a ruler of the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore and considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces. Tipu Sultan, however, is a controversial figure in Kodagu district as Kodavas (Coorgis), a martial race, believe that thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forcible conversion to Islam. He is also accused of execution of Mandayam Iyengars at the temple town of Melkote in Mandya district on the day of Deepavali, as they supported the then Maharaja of Mysuru. However, the scale of such suppression is disputed by several historians, who see Tipu as a secular and modern ruler who took on the might of the British. While BJP and some Hindu organisations sees Tipu as a "religious bigot" and a "brutal killer", few Kannada outfits call him "anti-Kannada", citing that he had promoted Persian at the cost of the local language. Supporters of Congress party are framed by the party's symbols installed at the venue where Rahul Gandhi is addressing a rally at Bardoli The Congress on November 10 promised to write off farm loans of up to Rs 2 lakh and provide a "salary grant" for five years to industries offering jobs to the youth if elected to power in Madhya Pradesh. Releasing its manifesto for the November 28 Assembly polls, the main opposition party also promised a slew of benefits for other sections of the society in the state where it is making a renewed bid to dislodge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power. Aggressively wooing farmers, who had launched a statewide protest last year, the party promised a social security pension to them and a rebate in the registration fee of land documents, besides a financial help of Rs 51,000 for the marriage of daughters of small cultivators. In its manifesto titled "Vachan Patra" (document of promises), the Rahul Gandhi-led party, out of power in Madhya Pradesh since 2003, also promised a minimum support price (MSP) for crops in accordance with the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations. Releasing the 112-page manifesto at a press meet here, state Congress chief Kamal Nath described it as the "voice of the people of Madhya Pradesh", saying the document was prepared after consultations with every section of the society. The manifesto offers sops to every section of the society, including government employees, homemakers, the common people, women and journalists, but the focus is largely on farmers and young people. Among the plethora of measures for farmers mentioned in the document, the Congress has promised a social security pension of Rs 1,000 per month to farmers who attain the age of 60 and whose land holding is below 2.5 acres, besides writing off farm loans of up to Rs 2 lakh. Other sops promised to farmers include a 50-per cent subsidy on loans for agriculture equipment, halving the power bill rates for them, a bonus on the MSP of some crops and a subsidy of Rs 5 per litre on milk procurement among others. The opposition party also promised a re-investigation into the Mandsaur police firing incident, in which six farmers were killed in June, 2017. It also promised a rebate in diesel and petrol prices. Professionals like tourist guides and lawyers would be provided an "encouragement fee" of Rs 4,000 per month for five years for settling down in their respective professions. The Congress also promised a "salary grant" of Rs 10,000 per job to the industries offering employment to the youth of the state. It promised the constitution of a Yuva Aayog (Commission for the Youth) to look into the problems of young men and women. The Congress also promised several sops, including a rebate in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and subsidised loans for setting up industries with an investment of at least Rs 100 crore. Those covered under the existing social security pension scheme would get Rs 1,000 per month, instead of Rs 300 now, if the Congress was elected to power in the state, according to the document. A subsidy of Rs 100 on gas cylinders to poor families and free education to girls up to the post-graduation level were also promised by the party. In a bid to appease the agitating general category people, the opposition party promised the constitution of a Samanya Varg Ayog (General Category Commission) to look into their issues. The state recently saw a series of protests by people from the unreserved (general) category communities. Besides, the Congress promised regularisation of daily wagers, 30 per cent government contracts to tribals, setting up of a Senior Citizen Board, a law to protect journalists and lawyers, honorarium to journalists above 60 years of age, tele-medicine facility in rural areas and four new medical colleges. Nath said a Jan Aayog (People's Commission) would be constituted for investigations into scams like Vyapam. A "jan jababdeh kanoon (public accountability law) would be enacted to hold the government departments responsible for providing public amenities, he added. The manifesto has 973 points on 50 subjects. State Congress Campaign Committee chief Jyotiraditya Scindia and former chief minister Digvijay Singh were also present at the press meet. Taking potshots at the BJP, Scindia said the Congress's manifesto was not like the saffron outfit's "jumla patra" (document of rhetoric) as the party would honour every promise made in the document. "We are bringing a vachan patra and not a jumla patra like the BJP. Our document of promises has something for everybody," the former Union minister said. you are here: Four car bombs by Islamic extremists exploded outside a hotel in the capital, Mogadishu, killing at least 20 people and injuring 17, said police. After the three explosions in front of the hotel, a fourth blast hit as medics attempted to rescue the injured. The suicide bombs detonated near the perimeter wall of the Sahafi Hotel, which is located across the street from the Somali Police Force's Criminal Investigations Department, said Capt. Mohamed Hussein. Some of the victims were burned beyond recognition when one car bomb exploded next to a minibus, he said. Somali security forces shot dead four gunmen who tried to storm through a hole blown into the hotel's wall but did not succeed in entering, he said. "Although they failed to access the hotel, the blasts outside the hotel killed many people," said Hussein. "The street was crowded with people and cars, bodies were everywhere," said Hussein Nur, a shopkeeper who suffered light shrapnel injuries on his right hand. "Gunfire killed several people, too." Somalia's Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for the bombs, according to the group's Adalus radio station. Among the dead was the manager of the Sahafi Hotel, whose father was the owner of the hotel before he was killed in an al-Shabab attack on establishment in 2015, said police Capt. Hussein. US Vice President Mike Pence and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would discuss India-US defence cooperation and bilateral relationship during their meeting in Singapore next week, the White House said on November 10, asserting that "sky is the limit" for New Delhi's role in the Indo-Pacific region. "They would be talking about the bilateral relationship and a defence cooperation in the kind of larger context. I can't really say if they'll get into trade (ties) specifically at this time," a senior administration official told foreign journalists during a conference call Saturday. Modi and Pence are scheduled to meet during the ASEAN and East Asia Summit in Singapore next week. Pence leaves on a four-nation Asia trip over the weekend, that would take him to Japan, Australia, Singapore and Papua New Guinea. He will be representing President Donald Trump at the ASEAN and East Asia Summit in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Papua New Guinea. Responding to a question, the official said the two leaders would be talking about "a common vision" for maintaining what the US refers to a free and open Indo-Pacific as India has talked about the Act East policy and their "enormous convergence" in these two approaches. In some respect, these are different names for common approach and talking about some of those common principles that "we share, seeks to promote and sustain including a freedom of navigation and overflight, sustainable development for the region; the importance of ASEAN and the role that they play, as well as a major democracy in the region that we have very good relations in common with like Japan," the senior administration official said. "Really the role for India (in Indo-Pacific region), the sky's the limit,"he said, when asked about what role the US sees for India in the region and President Trump's Indo-Pacific policy. Noting that India is "such a huge component" of the Indo-Pacific region, the official said, "It is the second largest population, the world's largest democracy, while the United States is the world's second largest democracy." He added that India is not only the dominant feature geographically, but also politically and culturally in the Indian Ocean. "With this administration there is a significant increase in quality and tempo of interaction from the top leadership on down," the White House official said. Referring to the recent two plus two dialogue in New Delhi, he said Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a "very, very good" meeting. "It was amazing to see the amount of progress that's been made in areas of cooperation as part of our partnership," said the official, who spoke with foreign reporters on condition of anonymity. Saudi Arabia, leading a Sunni Muslim military coalition had intervened in Yemen in 2015 against the Houthis. The Houthis had tried to overthrow the government headed by Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. (Image: Reuters) Saudi Arabia and the United States have agreed to end U.S. refuelling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi insurgents in Yemen, halting a divisive aspect of U.S. support to a war that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. The move, announced by the coalition on Saturday and confirmed by Washington, comes at a time when Riyadh, already under scrutiny for civilian deaths in Yemen air strikes, is facing global furore and potential sanctions over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its Istanbul consulate on Oct. 2. The United States and Britain late last month called for a ceasefire in Yemen to support U.N.-led efforts to end the nearly four-year long war that has killed more than 10,000 people and triggered the world's most urgent humanitarian crisis. "Recently, the Kingdom and the Coalition increased its capability to independently conduct inflight refuelling in Yemen. As a result, in consultation with the United States, the Coalition has requested the cessation of inflight refuelling support for its operations in Yemen," it said in a statement. Saudi Arabia has a fleet of 23 planes for refuelling operations, including six Airbus 330 MRTT used for Yemen, while the United Arab Emirates has six of the Airbus planes, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya al-Hadath channel reported on Saturday. Riyadh also has nine KC-130 Hercules aircraft that can be used, it added. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. government was consulted on the decision and that Washington supported the move while continuing to work with the alliance to minimise civilian casualties and expand humanitarian efforts. Any co-ordinated decision by Washington and Riyadh could be an attempt to forestall action threatened in Congress next week by lawmakers over refuelling operations. However, a halt to refuelling could have little practical effect on the conflict, seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Only a fifth of coalition aircraft require in-air refuelling from the United States, U.S. officials said. Battle for Hodeidah The Sunni Muslim alliance led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE has recently stepped up military operations against the Iranian-aligned Houthi movement, including in the main port city of Hodeidah, which is a lifeline for millions of Yemenis. "The continued escalation of attacks ... by the U.S.-Saudi-Emirati coalition confirms that the American calls for a cease-fire are nothing but empty talk," Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, head of the group's supreme revolutionary committee, wrote in a column published by the Washington Post on Friday. He said the ceasefire call was an attempt "to save face after the humiliation" caused by the murder of Washington Post columnist Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi policy, that has strained Riyadh's relationship with the West. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for an immediate end to the military escalation in Yemen. "The Saudi-led Coalition and pro-Hadi forces, the Houthi forces a and those who supply arms or other support to the parties to the conflict a all have the power or the influence to stop the starvation and killing of civilians, to give some reprieve to the people of Yemen," Bachelet said in a statement on Saturday. The statement also said there is concern over 900 detainees in the central prison in Hodeidah and six pre-trial detention facilities after it was hit on Monday by two mortar shells, injuring five and cutting off power and water to the prison. Hodeidah has become a key battleground in the war in which the coalition intervened in 2015 to restore the internationally recognised government ousted by the Houthis. U.N. bodies warn that an all-out attack on the Red Sea port, an entry point for 80 percent of Yemen's food imports and aid relief, could trigger a famine in the impoverished country. The World Food Programme said on Thursday it planned to double food assistance for Yemen, aiming to reach up to 14 million people "to avert mass starvation". Air strikes by the coalition, which relies on Western arms and intelligence, have often hit schools, hospitals and markets, killing thousands of Yemeni civilians. U.N. special envoy Martin Griffiths hopes to convene Yemen's warring parties for peace talks by the end of the year. The coalition expressed hope in its statement that his efforts would lead to a negotiated settlement, including an end to Houthi missile attacks that have targeted Saudi cities and vessels off the port of Hodeidah. Mattis said all parties support Griffiths' efforts. "The U.S. and the Coalition are planning to collaborate on building up legitimate Yemeni forces to defend the Yemeni people, secure their country's borders, and contribute to counter Al Qaeda and ISIS efforts in Yemen and the region," he said in a statement. The last round of peace talks in Geneva in September collapsed when the Houthis failed to show up, saying their delegation had been prevented from traveling. The Yemeni government blamed the group for trying to sabotage the talks. U.S. President Donald Trump waves prior to departing on a trip to Wisconsin from the White House in Washington, U.S., October 24, 2018. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC13580F4390 The United States (US) is halting refueling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen, Saudi Arabia said on November 10, a move that would end one of the most divisive aspects of US assistance to the Saudi war effort. Saudi Arabia, in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), said it had decided to request an end to US aerial refueling for its operations in Yemen because it could now handle it by itself. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington supported the Saudi decision. The change comes at a time of international outrage over the murder of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and after Democratic and Republican lawmakers threatened to take action in Congress next week over the refueling operations. Critics of the Saudi campaign - including Democrats who won control of the House of Representatives in elections on Tuesday - have long questioned US involvement in the war, which has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than 2 million and led to widespread famine in Yemen since it began in 2015. "I've been calling for this for over three years," said Representative Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California. "We shouldn't be supporting coalition war crimes and I look forward to continuing to scrutinize the US's role in Yemen when we're in the majority next Congress." Even as President Donald Trump's administration has condemned Khashoggi's murder, the White House has sought to preserve its relationship with Saudi Arabia. Any coordinated decision by Washington and Riyadh to halt to refueling could be an attempt by both countries to forestall further action by Congress. Senators Todd Young, a Republican, and Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, had warned the Trump administration was running out of time to act. "If the administration does not take immediate steps... we are prepared to take additional action when the Senate comes back into session," Young and Shaheen said. MORE TIME FOR BOMBERS The Pentagon, State Department and White House declined to comment. Earlier this year, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis defended US military support to Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen, when lawmakers weighed forcing the Pentagon to end Washington's involvement in the conflict. Mattis argued that halting US military support could increase civilian casualties, since US refueling had given pilots more time to select their targets. He told them cutting off support could jeopardize cooperation on counter-terrorism and reduce American influence with Saudi Arabia. Mattis also argued it would embolden the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, who have fired missiles at Saudi Arabia and targeted commercial and military vessels off Yemen's coast. A halt to refueling could have little practical effect on the war. US officials told Reuters only a fifth of Saudi-led coalition aircraft require in-air refueling from the United States. In recent weeks, Mattis has appeared to voice a growing sense of urgency toward ending the conflict. At the end of October, Mattis joined US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in calling for a ceasefire. Dismissing reports that the government sought Rs3.6 lakh crore from the RBI reserves as "misinformed speculation", Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg on Friday said there was no such proposal and that the country's fiscal deficit target was on track. The government will meet its budget gap aim of 3.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product for the current financial year ending March, he stressed. He, however, said that the proposal under discussion between the government and the Reserve Bank of India is to fix "appropriate" economic capital framework of the RBI. "Lot of misinformed speculation is going around in media. Government's fiscal math is completely on track. There is no proposal to ask RBI to transfer (Rs) 3.6 or (Rs) 1 lakh crore, as speculated," Garg said in a tweet. Asserting that the government's fiscal deficit target was on track, another tweet from him said: "...Government has actually foregone Rs 70,000 crore of budgeted market borrowing this year." Reports last week said that the government had proposed that the RBI transfer Rs 3.6 lakh crore from its reserves, which the central bank refused. We had mentioned in last weeks closing report that Nifty, Sensex were on an uptrend. The major indices of the Indian stock markets were range-bound during the week and closed with small weekly gains on Friday over last Fridays close. The trends of the major indices in the course of the weeks trading are given in the table below: The major indices of the Indian stock markets were range-bound on Monday and closed with small losses over Fridays close. On the NSE, there were 870 advances, 887 declines and 318 unchanged. Negative Asian markets and profit booking checked the upmove of equity indices on Monday. Except for IT (information technology), selling pressure was witnessed in almost all the counters led by the oil and gas stocks. Consumer durables, banking and finance stocks also traded lower. The investor sentiments were also weighed down ahead of the release of the key macro-economic data (PMI service data) and a declining rupee. The domestic currency was trading 59 paise lower, at 73.03 to a US dollar, from its Friday close of 72.44. In addition, the benchmark Brent crude was below the $73 a barrel. The US on Monday unleashed its "toughest ever" sanctions against Iran, a move that has already sparked mass protests in the oil-rich nation. US President Donald Trump's administration reinstated all sanctions removed under the 2015 nuclear deal, targeting both Iran and states that trade with it, reports the BBC. More than 700 individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft were now on the sanctions list, including major banks, oil exporters and shipping companies. Before travelling to a campaign rally for the US midterm elections, President Trump said Iran was already struggling under his administration's policies. State Bank of India (SBI) reported Q2FY19 standalone results with net interest income (NII) at Rs20,905.69 crore (Rs18,585.90 crore), up 12.5% year-on-year. Net profit was at Rs944.87 crore (Rs1,581.55 crore), down 40.3% year-on-year. Provisions were at Rs10,184.50 crore (Rs16,715.20 crore). Gross non-performing assets (GNPA) were at 9.95% (9.83%) and Net non-performing assets (NNPA) were at 4.84% (5.43%). Indraprastha Gas reported Q2FY19 results with revenues at Rs1,568.73 crore (Rs1,231.35 crore), up 27.4% year-on-year. Profit after tax was at Rs187.23 crore (Rs168.87 crore), up 10.90% year-on-year. Earnings per share were at Rs2.68 (Rs2.41). The major indices of the Indian stock markets were range-bound on Tuesday and ended flat. On the NSE, there were 856 advances, 856 declines and 345 unchanged. Amid a slight recovery in the domestic currency and mixed global cues the benchmark Sensex gained over 200 points during the afternoon session of the trade on Tuesday. Buying was witnessed in the metal, capital goods and telecom counters whereas auto and metal counters were under selling pressure. By the end of the days trading, the gains made during the day were shed and the major indices ended flat. The domestic currency was at 72.97 to a US dollar, from its Monday's close of 73.12. In addition, the benchmark Brent crude was below the $73 a barrel. Manappuram Finance reported Q2FY19 consolidated results with total revenue at Rs1,014.43 crore (Rs830.61 crore), up 22.1% year-on-year. Net profit was at Rs222.19 crore (Rs159.80 crore), up 39% year-on-year. Earnings per share were Rs2.66 (Rs1.89). Interim dividend of Rs0.55 per share was declared. Graphite India reported Q2 FY19 consolidated results with revenue at Rs2,345 crore (Rs528 crore), up 344.1% year-on-year. Net Profit was at Rs1,113 crore (Rs103 crore), up 980.6% year-on-year. Earnings per share were Rs56.87 (Rs5.25). Interim dividend of Rs20 per share was declared. In Muhurat trading on Wednesday, the major indices of the Indian stock markets rallied and closed with gains over Tuesdays close. On the NSE, there were 1,405 advances, 279 declines and 75 unchanged. Thursday was a trading holiday for the stock markets in India. The major indices of the Indian stock markets were range-bound on Friday and closed with minor losses over Wednesdays close. On the NSE, there were 940 advances, 843 declines and 77 unchanged. The Securities and Exchange Board of India on Friday said Reliance Communications (RCOM) has settled its case with the regulator by paying Rs62.40 lakh over alleged non-cooperation with credit rating agencies and debenture trustee. Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier? Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News N Augusta Breaking News Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up! Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page. Small Bites returns with restaurant and food trend news in West Texas. Got a tip or photo? Send to jrlopez@mrt.com. Appetizers See photos from Thursday's Coffee with a Cop at Whataburger here. H-E-B announces its second Selena tote bag with some heavy customer reactions. Learn how StreetBound can help you find where your favorite food truck is located. Now Open The new breakfast and brunch bar Toast is now open in One Wall Plaza in the former Mercy Eatery location downtown. Per its Instagram account, the menu gives focus to its namesake with a variety of bread-based offerings from sweet flavors such as fruit toast with Nutella and house made pop tarts to savory items like avocado toast and green hatch chili burgers. The restaurant is open 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. Featured Bites Downtown's newest nightlife offering is near its opening. The Buffalo Nickel by Cibolo Creek is gearing up for a December grand opening. In the meantime, owners Michele Kettle and Crystal Wright along with general manager Michael Mielnik are putting the finishing touches on the place with both decor, spirits and staff. More Information by Cibolo Creek bar See More Collapse "I'm working to hire bartenders and train them so we can all be on the same page and have consistency to our product," Mielnik said. Thanks to the mixologist Mielnik, the bar will have a strong focus on craft cocktails offering a selection of both classics like Old Fashioneds and Champagne Cocktails as well as twists on drinks like the Moscow Mule and margaritas. Mielnik was formerly with Opal's Table mixing cocktails before he was hired on as Buffalo Nickel's general manager. Like its former Cigar Frogs incarnation, the spot will have a humidor to purchase cigars along with a selection of wines and beers on tap. A private room is expected to give the option of indoor smoking along with poker play or gathering for reserved parties. Otherwise, the bar is a non-smoking establishment with a patio. The bar is a family affair with owners' husbands Ryan Kettle and Michael Wright pitching in. The former was last viewing the art to be hung in the patio and will facilitate the ventilation of the private room. "We want this to be a place to enjoy some great drinks in a nice environment. You can come here on a date or with some friends or plug in to the wifi," he said. He added that with women owners, a big emphasis on Buffalo Nickel will be to have a comfortable space for women to come. "There are a lot of bars that are for the guys. This place is for everyone but definitely an inviting spot for women to not have to deal with certain elements," he said. Part of that includes keeping a diligent eye out on the crowd as well as attention to safety with lighted areas outside the bar and security cameras in and out. As the final touches are put in place, a soft opening is expected for Nov. 19 with a grand opening Dec. 1. "The decor is nice. We have great drinks and a great manager and I think it's really exciting," co-owner Crystal Wright said. The Buffalo Nickel is located at 216 N. Main St. Hours will be 3-11 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 3 p.m.-midnight Fridays and Saturdays; noon-9 p.m. Sundays. Small Bites Calendar Today | Adult Paint and Sip: "Fall Scenery." 7-9:30 p.m. at Kidds and Canvas Parties, 3300 N. Midkiff Road. $35. kiddsart.com. Today | Live Event Trivia. 7 p.m. through Jan. 25 at Twist Restaurant and Bar, 5518 Starboard Drive. Saturday | Midland Downtown Farmers Market celebrates its 11th season. Along with a variety of vendors, the market will include Music on the Porch, DELL workshops and onsite food trucks. Visit the calendar online for details and changes. 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Museum of the Southwest, 1705 W. Missouri Ave. midlanddowntownfarmersmarket.com. Saturday | Adult Paint and Sip: "Happy Scarecrow." 7 p.m. t Kidd's and Canvas Parties, 3300 N. Midkiff Road. $35. kiddsart.com. Sunday | Pint Nights featuring one-dollar pints. 5-9 p.m. Sundays and Wednesdays through Dec. 30 at Double Dave's Midland, 3208 N. Loop 250 W. Wednesday | Trivia Game Night, 7 p.m. at True Texas BBQ, 5407 Andrews Highway Free. Nov. 16 | Mommy and Me Cookie Decorating Class: Thanksgiving. 5:30-7 p.m. at Kidd's and Canvas Parties, 3300 N. Midkiff Road. $45 for half-dozen. $20 for child cookie pack. kiddsart.com. Nov. 17 | Big Bend Brewing Company sixth anniversary party with music by Brice Daniels Band. 1-8 p.m. at the Taproom, 3401 W. Highway 90, Alpine. Nov. 18 | Friendsgiving Feast with Young Professionals of Midland. Noon-4 p.m. at Shack in the Back, 11610 W. Highway 80 E., Odessa. $10. ypmidland.org. Nov. 19 | Grub Give Back benefiting Centers. Proceeds from orders will benefit the organization. Let the cashier know you are there for Centers. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Through Nov. 23 at Grub Burger Bar, 4400 N. Midland Drive. Nov. 20 | Adult Cookie Decorating Class: Thanksgiving. 6:30-8 p.m. at Kidd's and Canvas Parties, 3300 N. Midkiff Road. $45 for half-dozen; $20 cookie add-on. kiddsart.com. Nov. 24 | Small Business Saturday Urban Market Brunch. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at 300 N. Colorado St. WAPELLA (AP) As the wife of a farmer, Kathie Wickenhauser of Wapella knows the dangers of the fall harvest. Almost daily, somewhere in central Illinois, a combine catches fire in the middle of a field. Last month, it happened to her husband, Ron, also known as Gene. It was very scary and we are very, very lucky, she said. I said from the beginning that he must have had an angel pushing him out the door, because if he had been in there much longer, it would have been a lot worse. About 3:30 p.m., Gene Wickenhauser was harvesting soybeans about four miles west of Wapella off of Green Valley Road. It was very windy, and its likely that at some point, a spark ignited some dust. By the time he could get out, it was pretty much engulfed, said Genes son, Robert Wickenhauser. Gene Wickenhauser suffered burns on the left side of his body, including his leg, arm and some on his face. His grandson, Austin Winckenhauser, was working on the other side of the field, saw the fire and immediately headed to the scene. He didnt waste any time, Kathie Wickenhauser said. He loaded him in a truck and transported him to (Warner Hospital & Health Services) Clinton. The Wapella Fire Department responded to the scene, but by that time, some of the crops were burning. Crews from Clinton, Kenney and Waynesville responded, too, and helped save the rest of the field. The combine was destroyed. In the emergency room at Warner Hospital & Health Services in Clinton, Gene Wickenhauser received initial treatment for the wounds, but was later transferred to the Regional Burn Center at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield. There, doctors reported he had first- and second-degree burns on about 15 percent of his body. The burns to the hand were the most serious, his wife said. He is a more of a recuperate-at-home type of guy, and they treated his wounds and showed my mother how to take care of them, Robert Wickenhauser said. So he was ready to leave pretty quickly, and they asked her if she was up to taking care of him, and she said she was, so he returned home late Sunday afternoon. By the time they did, more angels had arrived, Kathie Wickenhauser said. Neighboring farmers had finished harvesting the field, which included about another 90 acres and the other remaining field, closer to Clinton, of about 60 acres of beans. Thank God for friends, was the message from Gene Wickenhauser. I am not usually at a loss for words, Robert Wickenhauser said. There were about 16 people or so, that helped out. When people come out to help you like that, you are just humbled. Nowadays, you dont realize how good you have it. You think people dont care, but they show you that the farming community around here, sticks together. A portion of the field was damaged by the fire, and insurance adjusters were at the site on the Monday following the fire, estimating the cost of the damage. But the work that was done to harvest the crop will forever be appreciated, Kathie Wickenhauser said. That made us feel blessed, truly blessed, she said. People need to quit taking friends for granted, because you forget how wonderful they are. They just all showed up, took over and got it all done in one day. They are great people. Small communities are great, she continued. People dont understand how wonderful they are. That wouldnt have happened in a big city. Artie Bennett, a Marine from Clinton, was cut down by a hail of bullets 100 years ago in a far-flung foreign field, giving his life for his country in Americas first global war. A letter home from a fellow soldier said Bennett, 18, had been attacking a machine gun nest as the Marines fought, successfully, to stem a German advance threatening the French capital of Paris in June 1918, the last summer of World War I. The fallen Marine had lingered for an hour before dying, one of the first casualties from Illinois. The letter honoring him, typed by fellow Marine Pvt. John W. Olsen, read: He passed away quietly, without a complaint, and was laid to rest near where he fell. Immaculately tended American cemeteries in France, and faded memorials at home, are among the few tangible reminders of the Great War that began on July 28, 1914, and ended, after 18 million soldiers and civilians had died on all sides, with an armistice that went into effect at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918. Now, nearing the 100th anniversary of the wars end, the push is on to recall and honor the men and women of Illinois, and all across America, who suffered and sacrificed for their nation. Congress has created a United States World War I Centennial Commission, which is overseeing commemorations and fundraising for a World War I memorial in Washington, D.C. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a proclamation announcing the Illinois National Guard and Chicagos Pritzker Military Museum & Library will lead the effort to ensure the Land of Lincoln remembers its role in the Great War. A World War I Centennial Committee has been drafted to aid in that state mission and its chaired by Jeanne Hamacher, who has taught high school history classes. She said the key lesson to learn is that Illinois went to extraordinary efforts to support a war that shaped the world we live in, right up through today. When I was teaching, I did a lesson where I could link basically every conflict the United States has had (since World War I) back to World War I in some shape or form, Hamacher said. She said Illinois had helped win the war, and the war changed the world forever. Schools need to teach this, we need to remember, she added. The United States declared war on Germany and its Central Powers allies on April 6, 1917, and Illinois became part of the vast conflict that would mark Americas emergence as a global superpower. The United States sent 4,734,991 soldiers and sailors to Europe and suffered 116,516 deaths, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Records from the Illinois Office of the Adjutant General list more than 351,000 Illinois men who served in the Army, Navy and Marines during World War I, and some 5,000 of them died. One of every 12 enlistees in the Army hailed from Illinois, and each left a mark. The American Legion Post in Clinton is Crang-Bennett Post 103, named for the fallen Marine and also Army Sgt. 1st Class Welby Crang, who lived about a block from Bennett and died in France in 1917 from pneumonia. Ron Devore, 86, is a member of the Post 103 executive board and a former post commander who has fought to keep the memory of the World War I soldiers alive. He said the post was founded in 1919 not just to honor fallen veterans, but to help and lobby for those who returned home alive, if not always in one piece. Some of these guys had been gassed, their lungs were burned, they had missing limbs and disabilities; they were messed up for life, and they werent getting anything from the government, Devore said. Veterans knew that, if there was a bunch of them banded together, they could have a voice in Washington, D.C. Devores wife, Marjorie, whose father was a World War I veteran, vividly recalls the returned soldiers sense of pride despite all their trials and tribulations. She said that pride had been matched by the patriotic fervor of their communities at home. My dad always said everybody had supported the war effort, she said. The civilian push to buoy the troops with maximum support on the home front was extraordinary. Illinois mobilized vast forces of industry, and especially industrialized agriculture, and turned them into an arsenal of democracy that flooded the American war effort with food, war material and cash. Illinois created the State Council of Defense, the job of which was to persuade, corral and control civilian production, from engineering to seed corn, to fuel the war machine. When the council produced its wrap-up report in 1919, it was suffused with pride at the sheer wartime output from the people of Illinois. It pointed out that the states agricultural production for 1918 had been geared to meet the needs of the wartime national food authorities and had been the third-largest crop harvest in state history, worth close to $880 million (about $15 billion in todays dollars). Notwithstanding the drain upon manpower, the state in 1918 turned out manufactured products valued at $6 billion. Of these, $2 billion-worth were on direct war contracts, but virtually all were war contributions, for Illinois factories are not largely given to the production of luxuries or non-essentials, the council reported. It also lauded the generosity of Illinois citizens, who raised $45 million during the war to support everything from the Red Cross to the YMCA and the Salvation Army. Timothy Kovalcik, associate professor of history at Millikin University, said its important to understand the wartime atmosphere gripping Illinois and the entire nation. Support for the war was at fever pitch and the propaganda was incredibly successful, Kovalcik said. A state with a significant population of Germanic ancestry (Teutopolis in Effingham County, for example, means City of the Teutons, or Germans, and is typical of many towns founded by German settlers) had no trouble raising troops. The population of German ancestry volunteered at massive rates to show their patriotism, Kovalcik said. They wanted to prove they were true Americans. With troops rushing forward and humming factories full of nose-to-grindstone workers who had shunted aside labor grumbles for the greater patriotic good, the State Council of Defense believed it had glimpsed capitalisms promised land. All war undertakings succeeded by virtue of the spirit of cooperation, it concluded in its final 1919 report. Since this unity of thought and purpose can be achieved under stress of war, why can it not be approximated, at least, in time of peace? But it was not to be. Kovalcik said a big influence that had pushed President Woodrow Wilson to steer America into the war is that much of it on the British side had been financed by American banks. They stood to lose their shirts big time if Britain and its Allies, fatigued with crippling losses by 1917, were defeated. And yet when the American intervention was over and the war won, the demand that had quadrupled the U.S. economy between 1914 and 1917 suddenly collapsed, taking jobs with it. By the dawn of the Great Depression in the 1930s, jobless and hungry World War I veterans and their families, some 17,000 of them, had marched on Washington, D.C. They were demanding early payment of war service bonuses promised by Congress but not due to be distributed until 1945. On July 28, President Herbert Hoover ordered in the Army to help the police clear the protesters and, in street battles that followed, two veterans were killed. Finally, in 1936, Congress overrode the veto of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the veterans were paid their bonuses nine years early. Butte County, CA CAL Fire reports the number of dead has climbed in the Camp Fire burning in Butte County, but crews are making some progress on the flames, while PG&E admits a power line problem in the area shortly before the flames broke out. The fires containment grew to 20 percent and the acreage rose to 100,000 acres in the blaze now given the title of most destructive wildfire in California history. This morning CAL Fire relayed that nine people have died. Five victims were found in their cars while the others were discovered outside of burned out buildings. The death toll is expected to climb with a number of elderly residents still missing. As reported here yesterday, Mother Lode crews were dispatched to help battle the flames that have now destroyed over 6,700 structures including 6,453 residences and 260 commercial structures while another 15,000 remain threatened. Evacuation orders remain in place as well as road closures. President Donald Trump who earlier issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds to help firefighters, today threatened to halt those payments. The President claims the states forest management is so poor. Via Twitter he wrote, there is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly fires in California. Trump added, billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments! That set off a fire storm of twitter responses. On Friday, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. notified state regulators that one of its high-voltage power lines in the area where the fire began had malfunctioned shortly before the flames broke out. CAL Fire reports the fire will continue to burn to the northwest impacting the communities of Magalia and Paradise Lake while the community of Stirling City is still threatened. The fire is also continuing to burn to the northeast on both sides of Highway 70 and southwest into the Chico city limits along the east side of Highway 32. There is also a hike in the number of resources on scene including: 3,223 fire personnel, 440 engines, 18 water tenders, 67 hand crews, 23 helicopters and 67 dozers. What ignited this deadly and devastating fire remains under investigation. AFP Captions Whitewash Berlin Al Quds Rally | Main | CNN's Ben Wedeman Falsely Reports No Soldiers Injured in Gaza Border Violence June 12, 2018 Wheres the Coverage? Hezbollah Helps Hamas Build Terror Camps, Israel Calls for U.N. Help Hezbollah, the Lebanese-based, Iranian-backed terrorist group is helping Hamas build rocket factories and terror training camps in southern Lebanon, according to a Jerusalem Post report. Hezbollahs assistance violates several United Nations Security Council Resolutions. But it does not, apparently, merit news coverage. A June 10, 2018 dispatch by Jerusalem Post military correspondent Anne Ahronheim noted that Israel has called for the U.N. to intervene. Israels Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said: Hamas is strengthening its ties with Hezbollah. With the approval and support of Iran, Hamas is working to establish its capabilities in Lebanese territory as well. The cooperation between Hezbollah and Hamas crosses borders. Israel does not intend to sit idly when facing new and old threats and will do whatever is necessary to protect its citizens.? Like Hezbollah, Hamas is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Both groups call for Israels destruction and are fiercely antisemitic and anti-American. Israel noted that Hezbollahs decision to aid the Gaza Strip-based Hamas violates UNSCR 1701 which, among other things, calls for the full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, and of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), that require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that, pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision of 27 July 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese State.? That is, Hezbollahs decisionindeed the existence of Hezbollah itself in Lebanon, where it exerts de facto control of the governmentis a violation of the Taif Accords, and other United Nations resolutions. As CAMERA noted in a March 28, 2018 Washington Examiner Op-Ed entitled Israel may be facing a five-front war,? Iran and its terror proxies, including Hezbollah and Hamas, may be preparing to attack the Jewish state from several different fronts. Yet, the media has largely ignored this growing security challenge. Many major U.S. news outlets, including The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, Politico, and others, failed to report Israels request for U.N. intervention. Hezbollah has a long history of working with and training Palestinian terrorist groups. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) trained Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as CAMERA documented in a May 16, 2018 Jerusalem Post Op-Ed (How the PLO Helped Create Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards?). The IRGC itself trainedindeed, largely createdHezbollah, which later worked with the Guards to train operatives from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and al-Qaeda in Lebanons Bekka Valley. As Ronen Bergman recounted in his 2018 book Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israels Targeted Assassinations, Hezbollah passed its knowledge of suicide and car bombingsemployed in Lebanon in the 1980sto the other terrorist groups. The head of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, declared on May 22, 2018 that his group had excellent? relations with Hezbollah. The presswhich at the time was busy omitting Hamass role in orchestrating violent demonstrations at the Israel-Gaza borderlargely failed to report Sinwars comments and also downplayed Irans support for the violent protests? which themselves mimicked a tactic employed by Hezbollah on Israels northern border on May 15, 2011 (The Palestinian Return March: A Futile Publicity Stunt,? Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, March 28, 2018). Posted by SD at June 12, 2018 03:54 PM Complaining to the UN is useless. What direct action, if any, should Israel take? Posted by: Guahan at July 3, 2018 11:05 AM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment To Bridgette Dorian, Houston's Fifth Ward isn't just her childhood neighborhood. It's where her father opened a shoe repair business that employed former boxer, George Foreman, and the late congressman, Mickey Leland. It's where businesses sponsored events for local schools, including the historic Phillis Wheatley High School. It's where Houston's African-American middle class thrived. And it's all about to change. Dorian, together with a handful of other Fifth Ward business owners, has formed a Chamber of Commerce which must walk the line of bringing needed development into the neighborhood, while also preserving the neighborhood's history and pushing against gentrification. The bar for the new Chamber is high. A developer who called the area "the next Heights" last year, bought hundreds of lots in the Fifth Ward and is drawing urban professionals to the area. Residents who refused to sell their homes years ago are getting older each day. The Chamber wants to ensure that the neighborhood renaissance doesn't drown out the mostly black and Latino family-owned businesses in the area nestled between the Near Northside to the north and EaDo to the south. Read more about the Fifth Ward Chamber of Commerce's efforts to preserve the Houston neighborhood's past while welcoming its future on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. Click through the gallery above to view the Fifth Ward's transformation. *** Ileana Najarro covers race, labor and immigration for the Houston Chronicle. She formerly covered small business and the intersection of immigration and the economy. The Laredo Police Department is asking the public's help in locating a number of wanted individuals. Authorities released information and photos of five individuals who are wanted on charges of sexual assault, burglary or theft. On July 27, surveillance video recorded two suspects jumping a fence and entering a shed in an east Laredo property, according to police. This week, authorities said that the two men are wanted for suspected burglary. READ ALSO: LPD: Woman allegedly left man with facial injuries following verbal dispute More recently, a man was caught on camera in the 1500 block of Lafayette Street on Oct. 24. Police said this man is wanted for allegedly stealing a German Shepard. Sandra Rocio Garza, 41, is also wanted for theft charges and has an active warrant for her arrest. Police said she has targeted several citizens in the community. Another individual, Juan Manuel Ramos, 50, is wanted for sexually assaulting a child, LPD said Thursday. Ramos is is facing charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child. Scroll through the gallery above for more information on each suspect. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the individuals is asked to call Laredo Crime Stoppers at 727-TIPS (8477). Information leading to an arrest may eligible for a cash reward. JeriLynn Thorpe is a digital reporter for the Laredo Morning Times. Read more of her stories on LMTonline.com | jerilynn.thorpe@lmtonline.com The two boys involved in an apparent murder-suicide in Houston on Thursday have been identified as 15-year-olds Pierce Schwartz and Samuel Yeargain, according to records from the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. RELATED: Two Lamar High School students dead in apparent murder-suicide at Upper Kirby-area apartment The two were found dead inside an apartment at The Park at River Oaks along Buffalo Speedway, near West Alabama Street. The mother of one of the boys found them when she came home around 5 p.m., but it's unclear which of the two were her son. It's also unclear which boy shot the other then himself. At the time of the incident, Houston police Assistant Chief Henry Gaw said the shooting appeared to be a murder-suicide. Police described the boys as best friends, and the mother told police her son had been "going through chronic mental issues." Houston ISD released a statement about the incident on Thursday. "We extend our deepest sympathies to each student's family and friends, as well as the school community," according to the statement. "The district is making grief counselors available at Lamar to assist school administrators and students." Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message Jose R. Gonzalez contributed to this report. A 17-year-old was arrested Friday afternoon following reported incidents of indecent exposure on Thursday morning in New Braunfels. Seth Wade Dyal was arrested on a New Braunfels Police Department warrant charging him with indecency with a child, according to a news release. In early fall, polling showed the Go Vote No campaign upside down with voters. All three proposed charter changes from the fire union had overwhelming support, especially Proposition B, which will limit the compensation and tenure of future city managers. Go vote no? Public sentiment was more like Hell, yes! People had been simmering about City Manager Sheryl Sculleys compensation for years. Proposition B wouldnt affect her, but it sure would send a message to City Hall. Proposition A had its own seductive powers, appearing to give more voice to the people by dramatically lowering the signature threshold for referendums. And Proposition C was probably confusing to many voters. It will allow the fire union to go straight to arbitration rather than negotiate a new contract. The financial ramifications were never clear to voters. Looking to shift sentiment, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg asked the Texas Organizing Project for help. The advocacy group had been on a winning streak. It had backed defense attorney Joe Gonzales, who crushed District Attorney Nico LaHood in the Democratic primary. It had collected 144,000 signatures to put paid sick leave for all employees in San Antonio on the ballot, forcing Nirenberg and City Council to approve the measure despite business opposition. At the same time, TOPs members had been hammering Bexar County commissioners about criminal justice reform. Dressed in either their distinct teal-shirts or orange inmate jumpsuits, TOPs members would flood public meetings and share moving and dramatic testimonials about the inequities of cash bail. They were anywhere and everywhere. Knocking on doors to reach unlikely voters. Standing on the steps outside the Bexar County Adult Detention Center to bail out minority women. Protesting child-family separation. Without TOPs involvement, all three charter changes most likely would have sailed through. Instead, Prop A went down in flames. Prop B was always a tall order, but still, the needle moved. And, of course, Prop C barely passed. But TOP never opposed it. If it had, that vote almost certainly would have gone the other way. In an interview in late September, Michelle Tremillo, TOPs executive director, downplayed the organizations ability to turn the tide. Our program is not big enough to overcome the deficit from which (the Go Vote No campaign) starts from, she said. The plan was to reach 36,000 voters. She characterized TOPs opposition to Propositions A and B as a principled stand. Proposition A was a threat to progressive policies, she said. Proposition B, she said, was an imperfect way to capture City Halls attention. But the organization had serious debate about it. Our members definitely want to see change, she said. Still, its impossible to ignore the political magnitude. A vulnerable mayor had asked for help and TOP either made a difference or could have. The implications are clear. If TOP can flip a DAs race and Gonzales is the next DA it can flip a mayors race, too. They were very strong in going out to the neighborhoods and reaching people, Gonzales told me in early October. In some ways, it has felt as though TOPs influence manifested overnight, starting with Gonzales primary win. Jaws dropped when the early votes posted. But this has been a steady march. TOP will turn nine this winter. It was born out of the ashes of ACORN, which disbanded following the infamous pimp video. If you ask them, they will say they have nothing to do with ACORN, said Rice University Political Scientist Mark P. Jones. They are a different organization, but their origins are with ACORN. Rebrand or rebirth, TOP was started with seed money from the late Steve Mostyn, a trial attorney out of Houston who was a Democratic megadonor. Its also leveraged funding from various liberal sources, including George Soros Open Society Foundations, Jones said. Soros, of course, backed Gonzales. To date, TOPs influence has been limited to local issues and races, but the potential is far bigger. With a focus on equity through the lenses of race and class, TOP is growing the electorate and, in turn, influencing policy and politics in Dallas, Harris and Bexar counties. Thats roughly one third of the Texas population. It has flipped major races in Harris County by engaging unlikely voters. By 2022, the organization hopes to add 850,000 new voters to the electorate. After Tuesdays fairly close statewide races, influence at City Hall just might be the beginning. jbrodesky@express-news.net For as long as there have been wars which in human history is forever there have been stories about war. They stretch back to Homers riveting epic songs of the battlefield the Iliad and of returning home from it the Odyssey. They come forward in truly sensitive films like Richard Linklaters Last Flag Flying and Ricardo Ainslies The Mark of War, and wide-ranging books like Larry Tritles and Jason Warrens The Many Faces of War, officially being released this Veterans Day. We should approach Veterans Day with reverence, a sense of irony and even bewilderment. After all, on the original Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1918, civilized Europeans, Americans and Turks decided that 21 million casualties was enough. This Veterans Day, we should pay attention to the stories old and young warriors tell us about their time in service and try to figure out what points their stories are making, what the service we always thank them for was, and what purpose it served. We will find as one common takeaway that many service members and veterans tell stories to try to figure out themselves what it all meant and means. Why did so many men and women suffer and die? Why did some make it home and so many others did not? Why do they still think about, in some cases persistently, the things they did and the things that were done to them and their friends, and even their once-upon-a-time enemies? There are so many stories of war that there is a whole scholarly and popular industry of studies of these stories. I have taught honors and graduate courses about war stories for more than 25 years. They are an inexhaustible well. One great study is by Samuel Hynes, The Soldiers Tale (1997). Hynes flew in combat as a Marine pilot at Okinawa, the last of the truly hellish fighting by American troops in amphibious landings during World War II. For 20 months, island by island across the Pacific, dug-in Japanese soldiers swore to die fighting and did. The fighting at Okinawa went on for 80 days, April through June 1945. It exceeded predictions by military planners that it would be horrendous worse than Iwo Jima. If you want good war stories, a place to start is with Eugene Sledges With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. Sledge was there in the fighting, and he attests that it was an environment so degrading I believed we had been flung into hells own cesspool. More than 150,000 casualties, American and Japanese, on a small island will produce the effect described by a U.S. Marine sergeant using Sledges metaphor, You could smell the front long before you saw it; it was one vast cesspool. Hynes says that his book really began at Okinawa, when I saw that war was not what I had expected. The stories veterans of war tell have no magic. Shakespeare scholar Alvin Kernan, who served as a bombardier in the Pacific in World War II and wrote his memoir, told it like it is when critiquing Hynes book in 1997: They always say there wont be another war, but there always is. We seem now to have reached the point with what war correspondent Dexter Filkins calls our forever war on terror, where we dont even pretend there wont be another war. So, we had better read and listen to and watch and hear what those who fight in our name are telling us, unromantically, removing any stars still left in our eyes, or never placing them there to begin with. Here is one story from war to ponder on Veterans Day: During World War I, 23,000 Australian soldiers died horribly during the Battle of the Somme. One history states that some intelligent men developed a bitter conviction that they were being uselessly sacrificed. One of them even believed in magic: For Christs sake, he wrote, write a book on the life of an infantryman and by doing so you will quickly prevent these shocking tragedies. Many, many such books were published in the past century. Today? Tom Palaima is the Armstrong Centennial Professor of Classics at the University of Texas at Austin and academic adviser to the veterans-run NEH-Aquila Theatre Project The Warrior Chorus, warriorchorus.org/blog/. Whatever other problems we may have faced with the 2018 midterm elections, voter apathy was not one of them. The electorate was on fire. Americans are painfully divided, and they often seem to live on different planets. But the good news is that nearly the whole solar system turned out to vote. More than 38 million Americans cast their ballots early or absentee, a huge jump from the more than 21 million who voted early or absentee in the 2014 midterm elections. You can credit President Trump or blame him depending on your politics. A poll taken before the election showed that Trump was on the minds of around 70 percent of those who planned to vote. Still, while voter participation was higher than normal, you did hear in the days and weeks leading up to the vote many of the usual jabs at non-voters. Even Oprah Winfrey piled on. While campaigning in Georgia for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Winfrey told an audience: For anybody here who has an ancestor who didnt have the right to vote and you are choosing not to vote wherever you are in this state, in this country, you are dishonoring your family. Ouch. Thats a heavy load to dump on someone. But Ill allow it. Winfrey is absolutely right. All Americans should make an effort to vote. Our self-preservation depends on it. Im a disciple of Alan Simpson, my friend and graduate school professor. The former Wyoming senator likes to say: Politics is a contact sport. Take part, or get taken apart. But while were on the subject of dishonor, lets save a little indignation for the folks whove created a system that is dishonest, corrupt and self-serving. In this election cycle, I was especially attuned to efforts by candidates to deceive their own voters on hot-button issues like immigration and health care. What upsets me in every election is that those who, for whatever reason, choose not to participate are held in such disdain by political junkies, journalists and every other elitist with an opinion. The non-participants are no small tribe. Many analysts agreed that turnout in this weeks elections could approach 50 percent. That would be the best showing in midterms since the 1960s. But our expectations are so low that we applaud when only half of registered voters turn out to vote. And besides the no-shows, there are also the non-registered. Generally, only about half of eligible voters even bother to register. I follow Simpsons law. I take part. As a journalist, my Election Day is busy. So, I make sure to vote in the morning. And yet, as a journalist, I also make it my business to understand the disgust of non-voters. In fact, in recent presidential elections, I have been so disappointed in the choices that I opted for none of the above. In 2012, with Barack Obama and Mitt Romney each pretending to be something they werent, I urged readers to skip the (top) line i.e., vote for every office and initiative on the ballot, but not for president. Thats what I did. In 2016, I resolved not to be bullied into choosing between arsenic and cyanide. On Election Day, I entered the booth and wrote in a name. Its liberating to not to have to defend your vote for the lesser evil which, by definition, is still evil. This year, evil was back on the ballot along with incompetence. In recent months, both of the major parties showed, at times, that they are not mature enough to handle unbridled power. Democrats hurt themselves with the disrespectful way they treated Brett Kavanaugh. And for what? A report released this past weekend from the Senate Judiciary Committee concluded that there was no evidence to substantiate any of the claims of sexual misconduct leveled against the Supreme Court nominee. On immigration, Republicans likewise behaved atrociously. They went from misleading voters about whether there are sanctuary cities where illegal immigrants live happily ever after to stoking fear over an invasion of migrants and refugees armed only with despair and desperation. Things are bad out there, folks. So, going forward, lets cut the non-voters a break and worry more about electing the kind of people who are worth voting for. ruben@rubennavarrette.com Local attorney JoAnn De Hoyos has been a workhorse in Judge Wayne Christians criminal court. Between 2013 and 2017, De Hoyos earned more than $75,000 in court-appointed attorney fees for work in his court. De Hoyos, a former County Court-at-Law judge, has earned appointments in numerous other misdemeanor and felony courts. But her work in Christians court, which includes specialty work for veterans, stands out for several reasons. First, it was disproportionately large, comprising nearly half of her total court-appointed attorney fees of more than $158,000 over the five-year period. And 2017 was a particularly big year for her in Christians court. She earned more than $23,000 in fees. That same year, she also made a $1,000 political contribution to Christian, who did not respond to interview requests. It was her only judicial contribution. In an email, De Hoyos told us she supports the work Christian is doing on behalf of veterans. She acknowledged campaign contributions for judges can be a bit awkward, describing it as the worst part of the job. But she also said there was absolutely no quid pro quo. Her contribution had nothing to do with her appointments. I contributed to Judge Christians re-election campaign because I believe in the work he is doing in the Veterans Treatment court, she wrote. We are not saying anything untoward happened. This is all perfectly legal. Attorneys can contribute to judges, even though they might appear before those judges or even receive court appointments. And many judges are quick to point out how the county works on a wheel system, in which appointments are arbitrary and made from a rotating list of attorneys. But judges do have discretion about making appointments and replacing assigned attorneys. But when judges talk about how political contributions can create the appearance of impropriety, this is it. An attorney who is also a former judge does a significant amount of work in a particular judges court and then donates back to that judges political coffers. Its a dynamic that raises inherent questions of fairness in the justice system and undermines public trust. While judges and attorneys tend to say political contributions dont influence decisions or lead to bias, the academic research generally says otherwise. People are appearing before judges to whom they have donated money, and most of the evidence suggests that, on average, judges treat those people more favorably than do the ones that dont give the money, said Mark P. Jones, a political science professor with Rice University. This means it can corrode public confidence in the courts, said Vincent R. Johnson, a law professor with St. Marys University. It could influence decisions and distort the way the courts could do the job. For these reasons, and others, we view this issue as a crucial piece to our ongoing Unequal Justice series, which studies inherent inequalities and issues of fairness in the criminal justice system. The concern is that political cash is an invisible force potentially at play in the court system that can lead to varying and uneven outcomes for defendants. In a general sense, we have four main concerns: First, large contributions could influence outcomes. They could tilt a case toward the defense or prosecution. Second, contributions could also lead to different outcomes for different defendants. Imagine two defendants charged with the same crime, but one receives a court-appointed attorney who does not make contributions while the other hires an attorney who makes significant contributions. Third, that some court-appointed attorneys might receive a substantial amount of work in one particular court. And fourth, through contributions, private defense attorneys might influence judicial policy decisions. Consider some of the resistance to expanding the Bexar County Public Defenders Office, or even having that office provide basic representation at bail hearings. To achieve a better understanding of political money in our judicial system, we reviewed all campaign contributions in the misdemeanor, felony and civil courts from 2013 through the end of October, just days before the election. Far more money is donated from attorneys and law firms to judges in civil courts, but we looked particularly close at the criminal courts because they handle cases where a persons liberty is at stake. Compiling data for the countys misdemeanor courts was particularly time-consuming because campaign finance reports are often handwritten, meaning we had to manually input thousands of contributions. Some of these reports were missing names and occupations of donors. Some were so illegible they undermined the value of the public record. Still, we tallied and cross-referenced these contributions with court appointments between 2013 and 2017 using data provided by Bexar County through a records request. In broad strokes, here is what we found: Attorneys and law firms made up more than half of the political contributions to judges in Bexars felony and misdemeanor courts between 2013 and summer 2018. Of the nearly $1.3 million contributed, roughly $725,000 came from attorneys. But that number is likely low since some contributions didnt include professions, some were illegible, and we did not include contributions from office staff, paralegals and spouses. The biggest donors are attorneys who do not take court appointments. For example, the prominent law firm Ramos & Del Cueto, as well as its previous incarnation as LaHood & Del Cueto, contributed more than $30,000 to various criminal judges. Defense attorney David Christian has contributed more than $18,000. Joe Gonzales, just elected as Bexars next district attorney, contributed more than $14,000. Of these larger donors, only Gonzales responded to our interview requests. Gonzales said his only aim is to support judges he thinks embody the qualities of impartiality and fairness. He has donated to Democrats and Republicans, and he has supported judges who have ruled against him. The people I have supported in the past are the people that I think are qualified and reasonable on the bench, he said. What I am looking for is a fair shake for my client. He said any idea of quid pro quo is a misperception, and yet he also said the system was unfair to the poor client who might not be able to afford an attorney who can make large contributions. Were still trying to square that one. If the big contributors make up one end of the spectrum, the court-appointed attorneys are on the other. Most attorneys who receive appointments do not make any contributions. And when they do, these contributions tend to be significantly smaller often so small its hard to view them as carrying any influence. That said, we also found plenty of examples where attorneys made their largest donations to the judges who oversee the courts that have provided significant work. For example, attorney Charles Rubiola, who did not respond to our interview request, made a $500 contribution in 2017 to Christian, the judge who oversees County Court 6. Rubiola also made two $250 contributions to Christian in 2014. Rubiola was paid for $11,170 in appointment work in Christians court in 2017, and $13,590 in 2016. John Economidy made a $1,500 contribution to felony court Judge Melisa Skinner in January. That is far bigger than other contributions he has made over the years. Economidy told us this is because Skinner is an outstanding judge and he did not want her to lose re-election (she did). Still, Economidy did a significant amount of appointment work in Skinners court. Of the more than $314,000 in appointment fees he accrued between 2013 and 2017, about $120,000 came from Skinners court. This includes more than $18,000 in 2017 and more than $38,000 in 2016. Again, we are not saying there is anything untoward here. Just that the system invites controversy. Consider the example of Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolffs DWI case. As many readers recall, in March 2017, Wolff pleaded no contest to driving while intoxicated and was placed on probation. But what readers might not know is that in September 2017, Wolffs attorney, J. Charles Bunk, held a fundraiser for Judge Jason Garrahan who handled the case. Bunk made a $467 in-kind contribution. Later, it was revealed that Wolff had missed 24 breathalyzer tests and failed a drug test, violating his probation. Only then did Garrahan recuse himself. Bunk, who also contributed $250 to Garrahan in 2015, told us there was no conflict of interest and that Wolff did not receive favorable treatment. And Garrahan told us he recused himself once issues arose with Wolffs probation. I knew Kevin Wolff, Garrahan said. I had been around him. Hes a commissioner and I felt that at this time, I need to recuse myself. But Alfredo Ximenez,who defeated Garrahan this election, was perplexed about how Wolffs attorney could do a fundraiser for Garrahan and why Garrahan belatedly saw any conflict. If the conflict existed when the water got hot in terms of punishment, the conflict existed at the beginning, he said. Several judicial candidates this election year all challengers vowed to not take political contributions from attorneys because of these potential conflicts. It was a commendable display of principle, but its also important to note a key dynamic. Attorneys, generally, support incumbents. One of those challengers, Ashley Foster, told us its unethical and needs to be discussed. Foster unsuccessfully challenged Judge David Rodriguez, who has long held a county civil bench. Rodriguez has received nearly $142,000 in contributions through October. Attorneys gave $136,500 of that amount. Foster raised this issue during an Editorial Board meeting this summer, and Rodriguez expressed surprise about the amounts. He also said contributions dont influence his decisions. But Foster said even if thats the case, contributions affect other dynamics in court in terms of how attorneys approach judges or opposing attorneys. It goes into every single other aspect of a way a case is tried and looked at, she said. Every attorney knows who the people are who give money. The very issue Foster is raising is magnified in the criminal courts, where a persons liberty is at stake. I hate the system we have, said Judge Scott Roberts, who lost his bid for re-election, a system where we have to run at the bottom of the ticket. ... I hate raising money. I hate it. But you gotta do it. Jones, the political scientist from Rice University, didnt pull his punches. Texas has the worst possible system in the world in that we have partisan judicial elections, he said. That will change somewhat in 2020 when Texas eliminates straight-ticket voting, but Jones said he expects money will become more important to judicial races because incumbents and challengers will need to stand out on the ballot. For these reasons, we believe the ultimate solution resides in transitioning to retention elections where judges dont have to run as Democrats and Republicans or rely on contributions from the people who appear before them. But we also recognize that it would take a legislative miracle for this to occur, so we have some suggestions for county officials to bring greater transparency and independence to the local system. The county desperately needs to make campaign finance reporting more open to the public. At present, candidates for county offices simply upload PDFs of campaign finance reports. Contributions are often illegible, and key information is sometimes omitted. For example, in 2014, Judge Celeste Brown failed to include names of several donors who made contributions of $3,000 and $1,000. How does that happen? A better system would make these contributions immediately accessible in Excel files. Likewise, the county should also make appointments available to the public in Excel files. This would allow the public to easily track the nexus of appointments and contributions, or even if certain attorneys are receiving inordinate appointments in certain courts. The very fact that, at best, the Bexar County criminal justice system operates under the appearance of conflict is itself a reason for reform. Why would we settle for such a system when there are better ways? Once again, we call on Bexar County to consider switching to a managed-assigned counsel program similar to what occurs in Lubbock County. This would take the appointments out of the hands of the courts and place them with an independent office. And, once again, we call on Bexar County to track case outcomes for appointed attorneys and their counterparts at the public defenders office. The appearance of conflict might simply be just that: an appearance. But there has to be a better way. This editorial is part of the Unequal Justice series, which explores the inequities in Bexar Countys criminal justice system and how they can be fixed. San Antonio voters delivered a split decision on the fire unions three charter change propositions and injected chaos into the city. Voters shot down Proposition A, which would have lowered the signature threshold for referendums from 75,000 to 20,0000. and opened the door for special interests to have their way with city policies. It was pitched as giving voice to the people, but kudos to voters for seeing through this. It would have opened the door for special interests to have their way at City Hall on any issue, including taxes and utility rates. This vote was crucial for preserving the citys AAA bond rating and maintaining economic vitality. Voters overwhelmingly endorsed Proposition B, which will cap the compensation and tenure of the next city manager. And they narrowly endorsed Proposition C, giving the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association the sole right to declare an impasse in contract negotiations with the city, sending the matter to arbitration. Residents will have to live with the repercussions of these decisions, which might take years to truly manifest. Proposition B had strong populist appeal, and was almost certain to pass. But lets be clear-eyed about its impact. Proposition B will make it incredibly difficult for the city to attract and retain future management talent. Who would take a job that at maximum will last eight years and has an artificial salary cap? Someone, no doubt. Time will tell if thats the best someone. Proposition C is a giveaway to the fire union. It means the fire union will never have to negotiate with the city on a new contract. This only applies to the fire union, but it will have major consequences for the citys budget in terms of health care and pension costs. But these two propositions have passed, so now what? The most pressing question relates to the future of City Manager Sheryl Sculley. Should she stay on? One of the ironies of this split decision is that Proposition B does not apply to Sculley. That means Mayor Ron Nirenberg and City Council could renew Sculleys contract and delay the effects of Proposition B. This has merit. It would provide stability, but it also would come with political risk. In the eyes of many, Proposition B was very much a referendum on Sculley, and Nirenberg is up for re-election in May. Sculley has been an effective and visionary city manager, but the political dynamic is inescapable. Then again, who would take this job with such arbitrary caps on salary and tenure? The other lingering question is what happens with the fire contract. As of this writing, its unclear if Proposition C applies to this contract, or the next round of negotiations. Its also possible Proposition C might be subject to a legal challenge. Whatever the case, in an ideal world, both sides would look at this split decision, sit down and come to a contract agreement. After all, the margin for Proposition C was razor thin. You have to squint to see a mandate. But city politics is hardly ideal. In four years, the union has never agreed to negotiate with the city. It should have. But the city and Nirenberg are hardly blameless. Nirenberg should have prioritized this contract when he was elected two years ago. Meanwhile, the city stuck with a lawsuit over an evergreen clause in the fire unions contract and lost. It could have dropped the suit and negotiated. But hindsight is always crystal clear. The challenge now is to find a way forward after this vote. Mayor, Council: What are the citys options to mitigate the damage? HIGH Court judge Justice David Mangota has implicated Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga in the August 1 post-election shooting, ruling that the former Defence minister deployed the soldiers, who killed seven civilians in Harares central business district. Chiwenga was the Vice-President in charge of the Defence and War Veterans ministry when the soldiers opened fire in Harares crowded streets, killing seven and injuring several others. Mangota nailed Chiwenga, while dismissing a case in which Allison Charles and Counselling Services Unit had dragged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to court seeking the disbandment of the Commission of Inquiry led by former South Africa President Kgalema Motlanthe on the grounds that the appointing authority was conflicted in the matter. Charles claimed Mnangagwa had the constitutional powers to deploy soldiers and could not set a commission of inquiry into his conduct. But Mangota said Charles was simply trying his luck because facts on the ground and at law exonerated Mnangagwa and that the unfolding of the events were as clear as night followed day. He said the claim that Mnangagwa was conflicted was frivolous and not backed by facts. The circumstances of the events of August 1, 2018 unfold themselves in a manner which is as clear as night follows day. They run in the following order, Mangota ruled. (a) a commotion started in the central business district of Harare; (b) the officer who commands the district assessed the magnitude of the commotion as measured against the strength of the personnel which was then at his disposal; (c) he approached the Police Commissioner-General whom he appraised of what was obtaining; (d) the Police Commissioner-General approached the minister under whose supervision he operates; (e) the minister, in turn, approached his counterpart in the Defence ministry; (f) he, in turn, dispatched members of the defence forces who worked under the command of the regulating authority of the district of Harare. Mangota added: The above-stated matters expose the incorrectness of the applicants syllogism. They proceed on the premise that, because the Constitution confers power on the President to deploy, he deployed members of the Defence Forces on August 1, 2018. The correct position of the matter is that he did not. He said Mnangagwa did not deploy the soldiers and thus did not violate section 214 of the Constitution. He (Mnangagwa), in other words, did not owe a duty to report to Parliament matters which did not arise out of the power which the Constitution confers upon him. His moral duty which arises out of what occurred on 1 August 2018 was/is to set up the commission of inquiry which he established on September 14, 2018. He remained alive to the fact that Zimbabwe and the world deserve a clear statement of the causes of the violence and the need on the part of the country to define as well as prevent such unfortunate occurrences in all future elections. The commission which he set up will, in the fullness of time, unearth those. He said a finding has been made to the effect that the first respondent Mnangagwa did not deploy members of the defence forces onto the streets of Harare. Justice Mangota also defended the inclusion of University of Zimbabwe lecturers Lovemore Madhuku and Charity Manyeruke. He said Madhuku had nothing to benefit or lose by being part of the commission. NewsDay Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News Malawis government is headed for a constitutional crisis following President Peter Mutharika decision to sack Vice President Saulos Chilima on Wednesday in a cabinet reshuffle. Chilima is seen as the biggest threat to Mutharika ahead of next years presidential election, having resigned from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) party, accusing it of breeding nepotism, cronyism and corruption. In July, the presidents office withdrew Chilimas security clearance, saying he would only have that privilege when performing government duties. Chilimas name was not on the list of members of cabinet which the chief secretary to the government, Lloyd Muhara, released. No replacement for him was named either. The Malawian constitution provides that the country shall have a Cabinet consisting of the President, the First Vice President, the Second Vice-President and such Ministers and Deputy Ministers as may, from time to time, be appointed by the President. The vice president, who is elected along with the president is therefore considered to be an automatic member of the cabinet. Leaving Chilima out of the cabinet may be interpreted as being against provisions of the constitution, which president Mutharika has no power to amend. Opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), called out the president for disregarding the law, as he conducted his latest reshuffle. Pointing out that Mutharika has no powers to fire Chilima, Chakwera added that the cabinet also falls short on the constitutional provision for 40% female representation. Mutharikas 20-member cabinet has three female ministers. Africa News Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News By Paul Rogers, professor in the department of peace studies at Bradford University, northern England. He is openDemocracys international security adviser, and has been writing a weekly column on global security since 28 September 2001; he also writes a monthly briefing for the Oxford Research Group. His latest book is Irregular War: ISIS and the New Threat from the Margins (IB Tauris, 2016), which follows Why Were Losing the War on Terror (Polity, 2007), and Losing Control: Global Security in the 21st Century (Pluto Press, 3rd edition, 2010). He is on Twitter at: @ProfPRogers. Originally published at openDemocracy A decade after the financial crash, an epic repeat is on course. Two reports by Swiss banks, published within a week of each other, offer further revealing evidence on the growth of a wealthy transnational overclass. Credit Suisse finds that the fortunes of the very wealthiest people in the United Kingdom (those owning over $50 million) have been growing at a much faster rate than the general population. These ultra-high-net wealth individuals (UHNWI) number 4,670, an increase of 8.5% over the year. In the United States, the number is 70,540, with over 6,000 joining that group, making it the largest such category in the world; the next is in China at 16,510. In global terms the richest 1% own just under half of total assets (see Grainne Gilmore, The worlds super rich populations are growing but where is growth strongest?, KnightFrank, October 2018). In parallel, a joint UBC-PwC report focuses less on UHNWIs overall than on the seriously super-rich, the worlds dollar billionaires. They now number 2,158 and collectively increased their wealth by $1.4 trillion in the past year. Much of the growth in wealth is taking place in the United States and western Europe, but a huge change in recent years is the increasingly transnational spread of the extremely wealthy, China again being a prime example. Twelve years ago, there were just 16 billionaires in the PRC; today there are 373. Perhaps most significant is the rate of increase in wealth. In the UK in 2017, the richest 1,000 people increased their wealth collectively by 66 billion ($85bn), meaning the average individual rise in wealth was 66 million. Moreover, that figure was not exceptionally high the previous annual jump had been even higher. The British government has long insisted that the financial crisis of 2008 and subsequent years meant that there was no alternative to its austerity policies, although the impact of that crisis had at worst a temporary and limited impact on the super-rich. Now, prime minister Theresa May saysthat austerity is over, but few believe her. The mood is more one of there never was any austerity for the wealthy, only for the rest, where that is still the order of the day. Just one canard of British politics, which in this case took root after the financial crash, was that it was all the Labour governments fault. That version of events was consolidated in the three months following the general election of 2010, when Labour was preoccupied with electing a new leader after its loss of power. Where Labour really had been in error, especially in the early years of its governance from 1997, was the vacuum where effective financial regulation of the City of London should have been although any such attempt would have met huge resistance from the Cityand the Conservative opposition. The age of casino capitalism The origins of the 2008 crisis actually lie nearly four decades earlier, when the election of Ronald Reagan as United States president in 1980 ushered in the era of neo-liberal economics. An important measure of the Reagan administration was the Garn-St Germain Depository Institutions Act (1982), which opened to a far laxer era of financial regulation. Among its effects was the partial dismantling of the Franklin Roosevelt-era Glass-Steagall Act (1933), whose separation of commercial from investment banking had in turn been prompted by the Great Crash of 1929. As the US pushed through more deregulation in the 1980s, the Margaret Thatcher Government in Britain followed a similar path, especially with the big bang bonfire of regulations in 1986. It was this pattern that Labour failed to alter, thus permitting a culture of light-touch treatment of the City to become embedded. The neo-liberal system came to dominate economic analysis, and was given an immense boost by the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the cold war in 1989-91. At the end of the 1990s, the international-relations scholar Susan Strangepinpointed the dangers lurking beneath the surface. In her last book Mad Money: When Markets Outgrow Governments(1998) published only two weeks before her death, coincidentally in the very midst of the financial panic she identified five key issues: money dominates politics; state control of economies has lessened; taxes are not effectively collected; inequality is rising; greed rules. Strange had earlier published Casino Capitalism(1986), a prescient study of how the financial markets escape from democratic accountability prefigured major problems. It is sad that she did not live to see what she had so assiduously warned against. (Her LSE colleague Fred Halliday recalled a person of indomitable optimism, humour and mordant tongue whose favourite slogan was: Always attack the economists! [see The revenge of ideas: Karl Polanyi and Susan Strange, 24 September 2008]). Even without the benefit of her analysis it should not have been hard to read the signs in the early 2000s at latest, but most analysts contrived to miss them. The origins of the 2008 crisis layspecifically in the hugely risky toxic loans made to low-income house-owners, especially in the United States, and the manner in which they were bundled into credit-default swaps (CDSs) and traded as investments, as well as being further bundled into collateralised debt obligations (CDOs). By the time that Lehman Brothers failedin September 2008, the domino effect of unsustainable mortgages was unstoppable. Despite the many warning signs of crisis, as far back as the collapseof Baring Brothers in 1995, the whole system was unprepared. The explanation lies partly with the five factors listed by Strange, but to these must be added two more. First, the detailed quantitative analyses of risk that were key parts of the system, but not fully understood by senior management; second, and perhaps most important of all, the sheer arrogance and hubris that permeated the entire, inadequately regulated system. Ten years later, there are many claims that lessons have been learned. To a certain extent that is true of the mortgage industry, yet the overall hubris persists. Those two Swiss bank reportsare evidence enough that this remains an exceedingly good time to be part of the high-end overclass. Once more, the signs of a gathering storm are being ignored. In several areas of the world, managerial arrogance continues to exceed any kind of good sense. CDOs, for example, may now be traded more cautiously, but that is far less true for collateralised loan obligations (CLOs): invested bundles of loans to a wide range of businesses, many of them as shaky as the toxic mortgage loans of a decade ago. The core problem, as Susan Strange wrote twenty years ago, is that no one is in control of financial markets: neither governments nor major intergovernmental organisations such as the International Monetary Fund and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). The risk now is of a repetition of 2008, quite possibly on an even larger scale. Both past experience and current evidence suggest that the super-rich will come out of it even richer not a good way to run the world. The Royal Anguilla Police Force is investigating the circumstances surrounding a shooting incident which occurred in Garlin Bottom, Island Harbour on Wednesday 7th November, 2018 around 5:45pm. As a result of the incident the victim, 35yr. old Lofton Foreman, a St. Kitts National who resided in Sachasses received gunshot wounds to his upper body. He was transported to the Princess Alexandra Hospital for medical attention where he was later pronounced dead. 31 yr. old Salim Richardson of The Corpse, East End and 23 yr. old Shaquille Gumbs of Garlin Bottom, Island Harbour who were named as persons of interest in the ongoing investigation and who were wanted by police, turned themselves in on Friday. The Royal Anguilla Police Force reported that at 9:30am on Friday 9th November, 2018 Salim Richardson of The Copse, East End voluntarily surrendered to the police at The Valley Police Station accompanied by his lawyer Michael Bourne. Later in the day Mr. Shaquille Gumbs reportedly surrendered into police custody accompanied by his lawyer. The Commissioner of Police and members of the Royal Anguilla Police Force has extended sympathy to the grieved family and friends of the deceased. A Family Liaison Officer has been appointed to the family. Kids accused of crimes in the Bay Area are being confined in secure detention facilities at high rates pre-trial, even when risk assessments find theyre eligible for release, an NBC Bay Area investigation found. Probation departments refer to those cases as detention overrides, and since 2017, nearly 2,000 juveniles determined to be safe for release based on their risk assessment score were locked up nonetheless across four Bay Area counties with the highest override rates. Most juvenile probation departments in the Bay Area use a Detention Risk Assessment Instrument (DRAI) to determine whether juveniles who are arrested should be held in detention while their cases move through the court system. Kids are scored using the same criteria, mostly to determine if they pose a threat to the community or themselves. Depending on the score, the risk assessment gives a recommendation to either detain or release them. Juvenile justice reform advocates say the tool helps remove bias from detention decisions and keep kids out of juvenile hall who dont need to be there. But an NBC Bay Area analysis of juvenile detention data found that in four out of five counties that use risk assessments, more than 80 percent of kids whose score indicated they were release-eligible were detained anyway. Although reform efforts over the past decade, such as the embrace of community-based alternatives to detention, have led to a significant drop in the number of juveniles kept in detention across the Bay Area and much of the country, high detention override rates mean there are still many kids being held in detention who likely dont need to be, experts warn. I think that you would want to aim for a 10-to-15 percent override rate, said Dr. Angela Irvine-Baker, a juvenile justice reform expert who has validated risk assessment instruments. I think that would indicate the department is following the rules. When Overrides Become the Norm, Rather than the Exception Probation departments argue overrides are often necessary to protect the safety of the community or the health of the juvenile. In many cases, county or state policies mandate that a juvenile be locked up regardless of what they score on a risk assessment, such as when theyre accused of a serious felony or have a warrant. In those cases, probation departments say their hands are tied policy dictates they have to use an override. But other times, probation departments use their own discretion to place a kid eligible for release into detention, such as when probation officers cant locate a juveniles parents, or believe the juvenile may be a flight risk. When NBC Bay Area removed cases from the equation in which policies mandated the detention of a youth despite their risk assessment score, San Francisco, Alameda, Sonoma, and Santa Clara Counties still had discretionary detention override rates above 60 percent. Commonly accepted best practices recommend a detention override rate should fall below 20 percent for juvenile probation departments. Anything greater, some warn, is a sign that either the risk assessment tool needs to be overhauled, or probation departments need to place more trust in what the assessment is telling them. Reform advocates and attorneys familiar with the juvenile justice system said that in many counties, the category of offenses that mandate detention is too broad, contributing to high numbers of mandatory overrides. Some cautioned against placing kids in detention in instances where their parents could not be located, or their home environment wasnt safe. In those cases, they argue, social services agencies or community organizations that deal with foster youth would be more appropriate placements than a secure detention facility. Irvine-Baker said its problematic when detention overrides become the norm, rather than the exception. It does seem like if there is that high of an override rate, the risk assessment becomes useless, Irvine-Baker said. I believe in risk assessments, because if a risk assessment is clearly and thoughtfully constructed, I think it provides an opportunity to release a large number of youth because were triaging the most important factors. Mixed Responses from Probation Departments Probation chiefs who spoke to NBC Bay Area said most juvenile offenders accused of minor crimes go straight into diversion programs, so kids given risk assessments are typically facing more serious charges. They argue that could partially explain high override rates in the Bay Area. They also say that while detention overrides are a concern, its important to keep overall declining juvenile detention levels in perspective. There is a wide universe of young people who are referred to us, San Franciscos Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Allen Nance said. The only ones for whom that instrument has been conducted are the ones where we are ultimately at the point where we believe they should be detained. Most kids given a risk assessment in the Bay Area do, in fact, score high enough to warrant detention. In San Francisco, 3,159 risk assessments were given to juveniles between 2012 and 2017, according to data provided by the Juvenile Probation Department. Of those, most received scores recommending detention. But there were 1,221 kids whose score recommended either outright or conditional release, and most of them 1,009 in all were detained anyway. Thats an override rate of nearly 83 percent. The discretionary override rate for that period was 65 percent. Nance said his department has not consistently tracked override rates because they've been satisfied with a juvenile hall population that's shrunk by two-thirds over the past decade. The reduction in that number has been an indication to us that the process has been working, Nance said. But after gathering data for NBC Bay Area, he says his department is going to take a closer look at its risk assessment tool and how it uses detention overrides. Some of the data we pulled together for your agency suggests that there are a sizable number of overrides, but its not data that we have done a deep analysis of, and its something that based on your inquiry is something we want to look at, Nance said. A 15-year-old teenager held in detention last year by San Franciscos Juvenile Probation Department recently sued the agency, claiming he was locked up on charges related to a non-violent property offense, despite a risk assessment score indicating he should be released. Even after a judge ordered the juvenile released at a detention hearing the following day, the lawsuit alleges he was kept in detention for several more days. Finding out my son was supposed to be released really hurt, Tureko Straughter, the teens mother said. He could have been home with me and his brothers. I was scared for him. My son had never been in trouble before and you hear all these stories about what goes on in there. To know my child was there, and didnt have to be is just not right. Nance said he couldnt comment on pending litigation. Meredith Desautels, a youth justice attorney at Bay Area Legal Aid, is representing the Straughter family in their lawsuit. The rate of overrides raises concerns that youth are being detained without justification, Desautels said. That should be an alarm bell for all of us because the research shows that any amount of incarceration is harmful to our youth. The research shows that it exacerbates mental health issues, it pulls kids out of school, and separates them from their family at a time that is a crisis moment in their lives, And research shows that being detained at the front end of a case, Desautels said, leads to longer sentences and worse outcomes for juveniles later on. Of the five Bay Area counties that use Detention Risk Assessment Instruments to inform their detention decisions, Solano County is the only county with an override rate within the recommended range. The countys probation department, which detained just two kids out of 129 eligible for release since 2017, has an override rate of less than 2 percent. I think [our low override rate] is because were using the tool the way its designed, said Solano Countys Chief Probation Officer Christopher Hansen. If you are using the tool the way its designed, you shouldnt have a lot of overrides. Of the remaining Bay Area counties, Marin County declined to provide data to NBC Bay Area, while Contra Costa County, Napa County and San Mateo County do not use Detention Risk Assessment Instruments. Santa Clara County In Santa Clara County, the number of youth detained in Juvenile Hall dropped by 44 percent between 2012 and 2016, according to a recent county report. Even so, Juvenile Probation Chief Laura Garnette said her department is exploring ways to reduce its detention override rate. Our override rate is higher than best practice standard and is currently being examined by a committee of juvenile justice stakeholders that reviews data on a semi-annual basis, Garnette wrote in a statement to NBC Bay Area. Through our ongoing analysis the Department has continuously identified areas where increased training and policy changes can address the use of discretionary overrides. The Department is in the midst of a validation study that will reevaluate the scoring mechanism of the instrument. Garnette said they will begin exploring next steps by spring 2019. Alameda County Alameda County was the only county to entirely dispute NBC Bay Areas findings. When NBC Bay Area asked the Juvenile Probation Department about a total override rate of about 90 percent, and a discretionary override rate of about 65 percent, the Department said their override rate is actually significantly lower than those figures. The Department says it calculates its override rate by dividing the number of overrides by the total number of juvenile hall book-ins. But experts say the override rate should be calculated by dividing the number of overrides by the total number of juveniles whose assessment score makes them release eligible. Alameda Countys method, they say, produces a falsely low override rate. Despite the countys high override rate, a recent report by Impact Justice credits the county for making reductions in racial disparities in its juvenile justice system, which juvenile probation departments across the country continue to struggle with, despite overall declining detention numbers. Sonoma County NBC Bay Area calculated Sonoma Countys override rate to be 88 percent, which drops to 71 percent when excluding mandatory detention cases. The county doesnt dispute NBC Bay Areas methodology, but says it calculates its override rate differently. The county said it does not classify cases in which a youth scores low enough to be eligible for release, but is detained anyway because of mandatory detention criteria, as an override. The county also calculates its override rate by dividing the total number of overrides by the total number of risk assessments, producing an override rate of 27 percent. Again, experts warn that methodology produces a falsely low override rate. The Department, which saw its total number of bookings into custody fall from 623 in 2015, to 492 in 2017, said its currently exploring ways to reduce the number of both mandatory and discretionary overrides. Sonoma County's Declining Juvenile Hall Population: Juvenile justice reform advocates like Irvine-Baker said theres a lot riding on the decision to release or detain juveniles as they await the outcome of their case. Even one night in detention, she said, can do lasting harm. We have seen one day in detention can disrupt family relations and can very severely disrupt school, Irvine-Baker said. Even just one day, weve seen can really disrupt the long term outcomes for young people, so we want to avoid it. Wildfire smoke from the Camp Fire in Butte County continues to blanket the Bay Area with unhealthy air, prompting a Spare the Air alert through Friday, air quality officials said. The hazardous smoke has created unhealthy conditions for much of the region over the past few days, although there were pockets of moderate conditions Sunday morning, said Lisa Fasano, spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality District. The district's air quality map, updated every hour, showed much of the region in "unhealthy" red on Saturday. Sunday, however, the map shows a mix of the the unhealthy red zones, "unhealthy for sensitive groups" in orange and others in "moderate" yellow. "There has been a little bit of a respite for some areas," Fasano said. But the weather conditions that are blowing the wildfire smoke to the region from the Butte County blaze and trapping it here are expected to persist through Tuesday, she said. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has called a Winter Spare the Air alert through Friday. Wood burning, including manufactured fire logs or any other solid fuel, is banned. Residents are advised to reduce outdoor activities and to limit exposure to unhealthy air by closing windows and doors. Those with heart or lung disease should stay inside and limit their physical activity, Fasano said. Smoke from wildfires contains chemicals, gases and fine particles that are harmful. The biggest hazard is from breathing in the fine particles, which can reduce lung function, worsen asthma and exacerbate existing heart and lung conditions, officials say. Many activities and sporting events have been canceled, including the Veterans Day Parade in Fairfield. The Oakland Raiders, however, still played their home game against the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday afternoon. San Francisco Fire Department recommends contacting your health care provider if you experience the following symptoms: Repeated coughing Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Wheezing Chest tightness or pain Palpitations Nausea or unusual fatigue Lightheadedness The latest experimental near-surface smoke forecast continues to show smoke from the #CampFire impacting much of the Bay Area today and possibly into Sunday. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/eMq6rwYfCH NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) November 10, 2018 California will see a #RedFlagWarning once again Saturday night through Sunday afternoon bringing another round of #CriticalFireWeather. Gusty winds & low humidity can contribute to extreme fire behavior. Please use caution when outdoors. #OneLessSpark. https://t.co/UNM0xbVv9n pic.twitter.com/86YuwW9oEA CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) November 10, 2018 SHELTERS St. Anthony's, a nonprofit social services organization in San Francisco, converted its dining room (121 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102) into an emergency shelter on Saturday to welcome the homeless population who are in higher risk of exposure. The Emergency Shelter will be open from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. through Sunday, closing the morning of Monday, Nov. 12. In San Mateo County, Human Services Agency Center on Homelessness activated the Inclement Weather Program for the weekend through Tuesday morning, according to Redwood City Parks, Recreation & Community Services. People can access an indoor shelter cot through Fair Oaks Community Center Saturday until 5 p.m., or via a public safety officer (Redwood City Police Department or San Mateo County Sheriff's Office) after 5 p.m. or over the weekend. Police in San Jose this morning said a felony warrant for kidnapping has been issued for the woman suspected in the abduction Friday of her two children. An amber alert has also been issued for the minors, according to California Highway Patrol. Diana Moreira, 33, could be headed to Colorado Springs in a gray 2012 Mini Cooper, according to the San Jose Police Department. On Friday at 5:22 p.m., officers responded to a welfare check at Emma Prusch Farm Park at 647 S. King Road. Police said Moreira was with her 1-year-old son, 11-year-old daughter and a Child Protective Services social worker for a supervised visit with the children. The social worker took the 11-year-old daughter to the restroom, and when she came out, the mother was gone with the 1-year-old son. While the social worker was looking for the mother and son, the daughter also went missing. Police said they believe both children are with their mother. Moreira is described as Hispanic, 5 feet 4 inches tall, 120 pounds, with a medium build and with brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a black tank top and black leggings with neon stripes. Police have identified the victims as Priscilla and Alexander Penaloza. Priscilla Penaloza is described as Hispanic with light brown/blond with pink tips, 4 feet 7 inches tall and 80 pounds. She was wearing a green jacket with fur on its hood and black Adidas pants. Alexander Penaloza is described as Hispanic with black hair, 201/2 inches tall and about 24 pounds. He was wearing a gray puffy coat, blue jeans and black vans. Moreira is belived to be driving a gray 2012 Mini Cooper with CA license plate 6UWL251 Anyone with information on this parental abduction is asked to call 911 or the police department's robbery unit at (408) 277-4166. Police in Northwest Indiana are searching for a man suspected of murdering his elderly father earlier this week. According to Hobart police, officers were called to St. Mary Medical Center to investigate after 80-year-old John Kakubec was admitted to the hospital with multiple injuries to his skull, Kakubecs son Michael told investigators that his father had fallen in the shower, but medical personnel told authorities that the mans injuries were not consistent with a fall, and that they suspected foul play. During an interview with an investigator, Michael Kakubec became defensive and asked if he needed to speak to a lawyer, and when the investigator went to talk to doctors the suspect fled the hospital. Police later obtained a warrant and found blood evidence in the bathroom, as well as multiple rifles on the premises. Police are now searching for Michael Kakubec as a murder suspect after his father succumbed to his injuries on Thursday night. He is described as a 50-year-old man, standing 5-foot-8 and weighing 175 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes, and was last seen driving a 1998 black Ford Mustang, with Indiana plate AKC439. If anyone has information on Kakubecs whereabouts, they are encouraged to call Hobart police. As the U.S. Catholic Bishops prepare to gather in Baltimore this week, bishops nationwide are releasing the names of more priests accused of abuse. The meeting, expected to spark protests from victims, comes three months after the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report rocked the church. It provided details of more than 300 priests who had abused 1,000 victims for more than 70 years. Allegations have also surfaced that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick had abused a minor and seminarians dating back 50 years leaving questions as to whether the Vatican was aware when it promoted the former Washington D.C. Cardinal. McCarrick has denied the allegations, though Pope Francis accepted his resignation this summer. The fallout from the McCarrick controversy has left American bishops divided over what should be done to restore their credibility. In 2002, the Catholic bishops were faced with a similar crisis over widespread priest abuse and drafted a Dallas Charter that called for zero tolerance, removing priests from ministry when allegations were found credible. But the bishops themselves are not held to the rules of the charter and critics say they have failed to police themselves as they report only to the Pope. There is a call to amend the Dallas Charter at the Baltimore conference and include strict guidelines for bishops who ignore abuse allegations. With Catholics calling for transparency, in the past six weeks there have been announcements from the following groups: Washington D.C. Archdiocese named 31 clergy Jefferson City, Missouri Diocese named 33 priests or religious brothers The Atlanta Archdiocese released the names of 15 priests, seminarians and those under the direct authority of a religious order The Minneapolis Archdiocese released the names of 30 priests it believes sexually abused children between 1950 and 2013 Las Cruces, New Mexico Diocese identified 28 clergy as credibly accused Youngstown, Ohio Diocese named 31 clergy or religious brothers Indianapolis Archdiocese identified more than 20 priests San Jose Diocese named 15 priests Buffalo Diocese released new list of 36 priests Memphis Diocese revealed 13 priests In 2014, Chicago's Cardinal Francis George released the names of 36 more priests as he prepared to retire. In September of this year, the Chicago Archdiocese added two more names as well. BishopAccountability.org names a total of more than 90 Chicago priests accused of sexual abuse over 50 years. The Chicago Archdiocese as of four years ago according to published reports, had paid about $130 million dollars to settle claims by victims. Authorities say nine people have been confirmed dead in the raging Camp Fire in Northern California, which has become the state's most destructive wildfire. Butte County Sheriff Korey Honea said Friday that some people were found inside their cars and others were found outside vehicles. He says he doesnt have all the details on the circumstances of the deaths. Sheriffs officials earlier had reported six deaths. The wildfire burning in the town of Paradise late Friday had charred at least 100,000 acres and is 20 percent contained, Cal Fire officials said. At least 52,000 people have been evacuated. In addition, Cal Fire reported more than 6,400 residential structures have been destroyed and 260 commercial structures are lost. Paradise is 180 miles northeast of San Francisco. All of the city's 27,000 residents were ordered to evacuate on Thursday as the wildfire quickly turned into an inferno, setting off a desperate exodus in which many motorists got stuck in gridlocked traffic and abandoned their vehicles to flee on foot. People reported seeing much of the community go up in flames, including homes, supermarkets, businesses, restaurants, schools and a retirement center. "Pretty much the community of Paradise is destroyed. It's that kind of devastation," said Capt. Scott McLean of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The massive blaze spread north Friday, prompting officials to order the evacuation of Stirling City and Inskip, two communities north of Paradise along the Sierra Nevada foothills. The wind-driven flames also spread to the west and reached the edge of Chico, a city of 90,000 people. Firefighters were able to stop the fire at the edge of the city, where evacuation orders remained in place Friday, Cal Fire Cpt. Bill Murphy said. Heavy smoke from the fire prompted the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to issue an air quality advisory and a Spare the Air alert for Friday. The agencys advice: "If the smell of smoke is present, it is important that Bay Area residents protect their health by avoiding exposure. If possible, stay inside with windows and doors closed until smoke levels subside." The winds calmed down in the valley, but they were still shifting and erratic, with speeds of up to 45 mph along ridge tops, he said. Meanwhile, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said it experienced a problem on an electrical transmission line near the site of the massive fire before it exploded in size. The company said in a one-paragraph summary filed Thursday with state utility regulators that it had experienced an outage on the line about 15 minutes before the fire started. The company said it later observed damage to a transmission tower on the line near Paradise. In Southern California, about two-thirds of the city of Malibu was ordered evacuated early Friday as a ferocious wildfire roared toward the beachside community that is home to about 13,000 residents, some of them Hollywood celebrities. The Los Angeles County Fire Department tweeted that the fire raging through the Santa Monica Mountains was headed to the ocean. Another fire was burning farther west in Ventura County, also moving toward the ocean. The National Weather Service issued extreme fire danger warnings in many areas of the state, saying low humidity and strong winds were expected to continue through the evening. Those looking for loved ones can check with safeandwell.org or contact the Sheriff's Office at 530-538-7322 to request a welfare check or file a missing person report. Statue of anti-fascist hero breaks leg of fascist trying to destroy it To Split, Croatia, where a man broke his leg when a statue to an anti-fascist fell on him after he pushed it over. Centrist Croatian politician Kreso Beljak quipped on Twitter: Rade Koncar breaks the legs of fascists 76 years after they shot him. Rade Koncar was a Yugoslav resistance fighter who took on Croatias pro-Nazi Ustasha regime. Milost ne trazim niti bih vam je dao!Rade Koncar lomi noge fasistima i 76 godina nakon sto su ga strijeljali! https://t.co/cdhBScboVW Kreso Beljak (@KBeljak) November 7, 2018 Its what Mr Koncar would have wanted. Anorak Posted: 10th, November 2018 | In: Key Posts, Strange But True Comment | TrackBack | Permalink Editor's Note: This story is no longer being updated. For the latest updates on the Woolsey Fire visit this page. A destructive 83,275-acre brush fire, pushed by strong Santa Ana winds, marched through Los Angeles and Ventura counties Friday and Saturday toward the sea, destroying at least 177 structures, forcing the evacuation of more than 250,000 people and leaving at least two people dead. Firefighters are looking ahead to a narrow window of calm wind Saturday as they battle to gain ground on the Woolsey Fire, which forced closures Friday and Saturday on the 101 Freeway and Pacific Coast Highway. After a brief respite from the strong winds, firefighters achieved at least some level of containment on Saturday before the fire a red flag warning goes into effect early Sunday and isn't set to expire until Tuesday evening. "Mother Nature has given us a little reprieve today," Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said on Saturday. "The winds have stopped. It gives us some opportunities. But please don't let your guard down." CAL Fire announced that the fire had grown from 70,000 acres on Saturday morning to 83,275 acres by Saturday night, with 5 percent containment. However, numerous hot visible hot spots in the affected areas warned of potential future danger. The fire indiscriminately consumed multi-million dollar mansions and mobile homes alike Friday night into Saturday morning, turning what it touched to ash as it forced a citywide Malibu evacuation and sent residents scrambling to find a way out of the burn area. The fire, which erupted Thursday afternoon in Ventura County but raced into Los Angeles County, chewed its way through brush and into neighborhoods of Westlake Village and Malibu. The fire was zero percent contained as of Friday evening and reportedly jumped Pacific Coast Highway about 10 p.m., moving toward Malibu Colony. Two people were found severely burned inside a car on a long residential driveway in Malibu, Los Angeles County sheriff's Chief John Benedict said. The home is on a winding stretch of Mulholland Highway with steep panoramic views, where on Saturday the roadway was littered with rocks, a few large boulders and fallen power lines, some of them still on fire. Most of the surrounding structures were leveled. As three large fires burned in California Saturday morning, President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal payments to California, claiming its forest management is "so poor." He said on Twitter that "there is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly fires in California." An estimated 75,000 homes were under evacuation orders in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, with over 250,000 people displaced due to the conflagration. The entire city of Malibu was placed under an evacuation order late Friday morning and remained under that order throughout Saturday and into Sunday, with residents directed to southbound Pacific Coast Highway, creating miles of stand-still traffic along the scenic route. Authorities wound up closing the road to all northbound traffic up PCH out of Santa Monica, allowing southbound motorists to use all four lanes under the famous California Incline in Santa Monica. Authorities later ordered mandatory evacuations for the West Hills area of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley, not far from the fire's origin. Driven by 50- to 60-mph winds, the flames jumped south across the 101 Freeway in the Liberty Canyon area early Friday, sending it on a course through Malibu and its exclusive celebrity enclaves -- Caitlyn Jenner's home was reportedly among those destroyed. It was unclear how many homes were lost as the fire relentlessly advanced, but on-scene crews reported dozens of structures burning in various canyons. There also were reports of flames ripping through an apartment building and a mobile home park, along with people calling authorities to say they were trapped in burning structures. National Park Service officials reported that the famed Western Town at Paramount Ranch, a filming location for hundreds of TV and movie productions, including HBO's "Westworld," had burned to an unknown extent. The devastation has been swift since the fire broke out about 2:25 p.m. Thursday in Ventura County south of Simi Valley, pushed by strong Santa Ana winds. Early Friday, the whipping winds prevented fire commanders from ordering aerial assaults in the early morning hours. Some flights began at 5:30 a.m. as the wind died down, but winds quickly began picking up again as dawn broke. "We have fuels that are in a critical drought state," said LA County Fire Chief Daryl Osby. "Our firefighters have been facing some extreme, tough fire conditions that they said they've never seen in their life." Heavy smoke and strong winds hampered visibility for crews on the fire lines and residents trying to evacuate fire zones on Friday, but Saturday brought in a flurry of fire retardant attacks from the air. Three large wildfires burned early Saturday in California, including the 100,000-acre Camp Fire -- the most destructive on record in the state. With the two deaths in the Woolsey Fire, the death toll grew to 25 for the state's current burning fires, with over 100 people considered missing in the record-setting Northern California fire. So far this year, Cal Fire has reported more than 5,600 wildfires that have burned 621,700 acres. Last year during the same period, the agency reported 5,800 fires that burned about half that acreage. Airstrikes by Saudi Arabia and its allies in Yemen are on a pace to kill more civilians than last year, according to a database tracking violence in the country, despite the United States' repeated claims that the coalition is taking precautions to prevent such bloodshed. The database gives an indication of the scope of the disaster wreaked in Yemen by nearly four years of civil war. At least 57,538 people civilians and combatants have been killed since the beginning of 2016, according to the data assembled by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, or ACLED. That doesn't include the first nine months of the war, in 2015, which the group is still analyzing. Those data are likely to raise the figure to 70,000 or 80,000, ACLED's Yemen researcher Andrea Carboni told The Associated Press. The organization's count is considered by many international agencies to be one of the most credible, although all caution it is likely an underestimate because of the difficulties in tracking deaths. The numbers don't include those who have died in the humanitarian disaster caused by the war, particularly starvation. Though there are no firm figures, the aid group Save the Children estimated hunger may have killed 50,000 children in 2017. That was based on a calculation that around 30 percent of severely malnourished children who didn't receive proper treatment likely died. Renewed uproar over the destruction has put Washington in a corner. The U.S. has sold billions of dollars in weaponry to Saudi Arabia, backing the fight to stop Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who Washington and the coalition consider a proxy for Iran. That along with tensions over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the country's consulate in Istanbul may be key factors why Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Oct. 30 made their biggest push yet for an end to the war, calling for a ceasefire within 30 days and resumed negotiations. Only a month earlier, Pompeo gave a powerful show of support to the coalition by certifying to Congress that Saudi Arabia and its allies were taking measures to prevent civilian casualties. Certification was a required step in continuing U.S. aid, which includes providing intelligence used in targeting and mid-air refueling for coalition planes. But deaths from the coalition campaign show no sign of slowing. Coalition airstrikes and shelling killed at least 4,489 civilians since the beginning of 2016 nearly three-quarters of all known civilian deaths, according to ACLED's figures. As of Nov. 3, at least 1,254 civilians were killed by the coalition this year, a rate of four a day. In comparison, 1,386 civilians died in strikes the previous year, or 3.79 a day. Asked about the finding, the U.S. State Department said in an emailed reply, "Throughout this conflict, the United States has urged all parties to abide by the Law of Armed Conflict, work to prevent harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure, and thoroughly investigate and ensure accountability for any violations." Bloodshed has surged from fierce fighting at the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, which coalition forces have been trying to retake from the Houthis since June. Civilians have been killed in airstrikes as well as by Houthi shelling and landmines. Since June, more than 4,500 people including 515 confirmed civilians have been killed in Hodeida, nearly triple the number from the first five months of the year. Aid agencies fear worse is yet to come. The coalition appears to be accelerating its assault before any cease-fire. Its forces have nearly encircled the city, where tens of thousands of people are trapped along with thousands of Houthi fighters. The port is Yemen's main point of entry for food and humanitarian aid, so any cutoff could push millions into starvation. The coalition launched its air campaign in March 2015 after the Houthis took over northern and central Yemen, driving out the internationally recognized government. The rebels were prevented from overrunning the south only by the coalition's bombardment and support for militia forces. Tracking casualties is enormously difficult. The few independent monitors on the ground do not have wide access; officials on both sides have an interest in manipulating figures; deaths often take place in remote areas and even in populated areas, confusion of battle makes confirming numbers hard. The most widely used estimate has been 10,000 dead, made in January 2017 by the United Nations. In October, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator said at least 65,000 people have been killed or injured since 2016, including 16,000 civilians killed, based on data from health centers. U.N. officials did not reply to queries to elaborate on the figures. ACLED builds its database on news reports from Yemeni and international media and international agencies. It covers everything from airstrikes, shelling and ground battles between the various forces to militant bombings and violence at protests. The group receives funding in part from the U.S. State Department and Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Because of its transparency, its figures are often cited by U.N. agencies and non-governmental organizations. But they caution that even ACLED's data cannot give the full picture only "the least bad best guess" as an official at one agency put it. Pinning down how many of the dead are civilians is even tougher. ACLED counted 6,242 civilians killed since 2016 by "remote violence" on civilian targets meaning airstrikes, artillery or shelling by either side. Of those, shelling by the Houthis or their allies killed 977. The full toll is likely much higher. The vast majority of deaths more than 34,000 are categorized by ACLED as resulting from battles. But it is impossible to determine whether those are combatants or civilians, Carboni said. "It's likely an underestimate," he said of the civilian toll. "The numbers caught in the crossfire are not known." Volunteers spread out Friday trying to find any ballots that could help Democrat Stacey Abrams close the gap against Republican Brian Kemp in their unsettled, too-close-to-call race for Georgia governor. Unofficial returns show Kemp with an advantage, and he's already resigned as secretary of state to start a transition with the blessing of the outgoing GOP governor, Nathan Deal. President Donald Trump weighed in with a tweet that said Kemp "ran a great race in Georgia he won. It is time to move on!" Yet Abrams, who hopes to become the nation's first black woman governor, sent out volunteers and campaign staff in search of votes that she hopes could still tilt the margin toward her. In a frantic effort to make sure every possible vote is counted, dozens of volunteers converged on a warehouse-turned-phone bank near downtown. The goal: reach voters who used a provisional ballot to make sure they take steps to ensure their vote for Abrams or Kemp is counted by Friday evening, the deadline. Helen Brosnan of the National Domestic Workers Alliance shouted, "How many calls do you think we can make? Can we make hundreds of calls? Let's do this!" A majority-black county with more than 750,000 residents in metro Atlanta, DeKalb, said it would remain open past normal hours Friday to accommodate provisional voters who needed to provide identification so their votes could be counted. But two groups supporting Abrams' call to count all votes, ProGeorgia and Care in Action, said at least 12 other counties had certified election results before Friday, a move that could leave provisional ballots uncounted. The secretary of state's office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Abrams' lawyers are exploring options to ensure all votes are counted. Her campaign leaders say they believe she needs to pick up about 25,000 votes to force a runoff. At least 2,000 people across the nation are involved in that effort, said state Sen. Nikema Williams, the Georgia director for Care In Action, which advocates for more than 2 million domestic workers and care workers nationwide. "We're in the cradle of the civil rights movement, the home of Congressman John Lewis who literally bled on the bridge at Selma to make sure that everybody had the right to vote," she said. Marisa Franco, 27, saw a friend's Facebook post about the effort, then showed up at the warehouse to volunteer Friday morning. "I think that it's really central to democracy that everybody who is eligible to vote can vote and has the least amount of barriers possible, so I'm just here to make sure that every vote counts," she said. On Friday night, a judge ordered Dougherty County to accept absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day and received by Friday. The Abrams campaign filed a complaint in federal court asking for an injunction to direct the board of elections to count any absentee ballots received between 7 p.m. on Election Day and close of business Friday, which is consistent with the way that counting overseas military and overseas citizens' ballots is handled. Races for governor and U.S. Senate also are tight in Florida, which Trump referred to in a tweet that said: "You mean they are just now finding votes in Florida and Georgia but the Election was on Tuesday? Let's blame the Russians and demand an immediate apology from President Putin!" Trump's message refers to allegations that Russian interference helped him win in 2016, but it wasn't clear exactly what the president meant about votes being found. Returns show Kemp with 50.3 percent of almost 4 million votes, a roughly 63,000-vote lead over Abrams. That's a narrow sum, considering the near-presidential election year turnout, though sufficient for the majority required for outright victory. The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the race for Georgia governor. The AP will reassess the race Tuesday, the deadline for counties to certify election results to the state. With legal wrangles opening and Abrams showing no signs of conceding, the dispute is prolonging a bitter contest with historical significance and national political repercussions. Abrams' campaign manager, Lauren Groh-Wargo, said Kemp was to blame for problems because he was the secretary of state, Georgia's top election official, and tried to tamp down minority votes. "These suppressive tactics are reminiscent of the Old South, tactics that have been resurrected by Brian Kemp, who forced the state to allow him to oversee his own election, and had him be the decider on who was the winner," she said at a news conference. Kemp contends he did his job properly and has argued that Abrams wants to help noncitizens vote illegally. Kemp, who has echoed Trump's immigration rhetoric, cited a speech in which Abrams said "undocumented" people were part of her coalition. Abrams would become the first black woman elected governor of any U.S. state. Kemp seeks to maintain Republican dominance in a growing, diversifying Deep South state positioned to become a presidential battleground. The key question is how many uncounted ballots actually remain. Kemp said Thursday that it's fewer than 21,000 almost certainly not enough to force a runoff. Abrams' campaign argues the total could be higher, and the secretary of state's office has shared scant details as officials in Georgia's 159 counties keep counting. Abrams' campaign has reserved television advertising time and started sending vote-by-mail information to supporters in case she forces a Dec. 4 runoff with Kemp. Its been a long road for Lawrence Alpert who moved from Minneapolis to Connecticut. The Danielson resident said he had to wait months for some of his personal belongings to be delivered. Theres family heirlooms, pictures, said Lawrence Alpert. This is just a lot of anguish. Last June, Alpert contracted the Florida-based Discount Interstate Moving, which, according to corporate records, also goes by the name Fara Trucking, to transport his furniture, clothing, electronics and family mementos. When the movers showed up, they didnt even know how to make an inventory list nor did they have enough labor to move his stuff, according to Alpert. So, he pitched in to get it onto the truck. They were in no way prepared to do that, said Alpert. And at that time, I needed to get out of the house that we were renting. So, I was kind of stuck. The contract gave the company a window of up to one month to deliver Alperts goods. Alpert said he received a text message a month after the truck was loaded that his delivery would be arriving on July 12 or 13. But he said it never came. Over the next few weeks, Lawrence made numerous calls, sent emails and text messages, but still heard nothing from the company. I have no idea whats going on with it. I dont know if its sitting in a warehouse somewhere. I dont know if it was taken off the truck and sold piece by piece, said Alpert. Alpert filed multiple complaints with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration against Discount Interstate Moving and Fara Trucking, which are the same company using two different names. FMCSA told NBC Connecticut Responds, U.S. DOT# 3000641 has no current for-hire operating authority with FMCSA. FMCSA added the carriers Bodily Injury and Property Damage (BI&PD) insurance was canceled on Aug. 30, 2018 and, as a result, its operating authority was revoked. In August, Alpert added that a Fara Trucking dispatcher texted him claiming that they were trying to locate his shipment. Alpert said dispatch told him his things were in Columbus, Ohio, and he offered to pick it up. He then called the company asking for information. But Alpert said he got no response. Responds also reached out through phone calls and emails to both Discount Interstate Moving and Fara Trucking. But to no avail. We found out that there were four complaints filed with Floridas BBB against Discount Interstate Moving by customers alleging that the company stole their belongings and did not return phone calls. Two similar complaints were filed against Fara Trucking. In September, the company sent Alpert a photo, asking if items in the picture belonged to him. He confirmed they did and a month later a rental truck showed up at his Danielson home with the TVs and 50 boxes of items. But Alpert said the master bedroom set and half of his clothing were missing. The Dispatcher told him they couldnt fit all of it on the truck. But Alpert hasnt heard from the company since. While the Better Business Bureau couldnt comment on this specific case, Luke Frey offered advice on what consumers should do. Dont go with the first or the cheapest estimate you get. Watch out for movers who pose as someone else. Keep an inventory list especially on high ticket items. Be leery of movers who show up with rented vehicles. And offer you a discount for a large down payment or the entire amount upfront. Alpert said he filed complaints with a police department in Florida, Floridas Attorney Generals office and the BBB. Alpert said he hasnt heard back from police or the AGs office. But said Floridas BBB closed his complaint stating its unresolved. Dozens of people came out to support our veterans in Rocky Hill for the second annual Veterans Day Classic Walk and Run. The event raises money to give back to the veteran community in Connecticut and throughout New England. Saturday's race was led by 96-year-old Purple Heart recipient Armand Jolly. His destroyer, the U.S.S. Emmonds, was sunk during the Invasion of Okinawa during World War II and he was wounded in the attack. Jolly was given a police escort to kick off the walk. "I was surprised. They didn't tell me about this. They said you're going to go there and walk, walk a mile, but they didn't say all this was going to be there. I don't think I'm worth something like this, but this was really a big, big surprise to me," Jolly said. "It's emotional, it's uplifting and it's an honor for us to have him lead us in this race today," said Commissioner Thomas Saadi, of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Connecticut. All of the proceeds from the walk will go to support veterans outreach programs. Amy Juan drove two hours north from her remote community on the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona to rally against the deployment of troops there. She's one of many residents of the Southwest who oppose and are speaking out against President Donald Trump's deployment of over 5,000 military troops to the border to fend off a slow-moving caravan of Central American migrants headed to the U.S. In El Paso, Texas, a march is planned to protest the deployment this weekend. In Laredo, the city's mayor released a statement referring to the deployment as "false efforts" that will "harm morale and damage the economy of our region." "Even though our communities are all very different and diverse, we all experience the same thing, which are the effects of militarization at the border," said Juan, who was one of several speakers at a news conference in Phoenix on Thursday. "Having an increased presence of military is scary, you know. It's scary." Juan is a member of the Tohono O'odham Nation, which sits on about 75 miles along the international border. Residents of the reservation have long had a complicated relationship with the U.S. Border Patrol, and its leadership has been vocal about its opposition to the president's plans for a border wall. "I find the fact that the military is being deployed absolutely terrifying. The amount of militarization that we already experience on a daily basis and that we are currently living under is like living in a waking nightmare," said Eva Lewis, a resident of the small town of Arivaca just north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Many residents of Arivaca have spent years battling the Border Patrol's checkpoints, which require everyone who cross them to stop and declare whether they are citizens. Trips to school or the grocery store require passing through checkpoints, and many residents say that agents discriminate against Latinos in the area. In Nogales, Arizona, which shares a name with its neighbor to the south, residents said they were distressed, confused and shocked when the military showed up on election day to install barbed wire on a border fence, according to the Nogales International newspaper. As of Thursday, there are over 5,600 troops deployed at the border. There are 2,800 in Texas, while 1,500 are in Arizona and another 1,300 are in California. The military expects to have most of the over 7,000 troops planned for the mission deployed by Monday. But not everyone opposes the military presence. Jim Chilton, an Arizona border rancher and staunch Trump supporter, said in a news release to the AP this week that he looks forward to the arrival of more troops. Chilton said the 25 miles of international border in Arivaca is poorly secured and actively sees drug smuggling and human trafficking. "The lack of access and infrastructure, cartel scout presence, and rough terrain and inefficient `defense in depth' strategy creates a de facto `no man's land' in which border ranchers live and work," Chilton said. Despite rhetoric about the Central American migrant caravan, illegal immigration to the U.S. is at historic lows, with only a fraction of arrests made by the Border Patrol -- and twice the number of agents -- made this year compared with 2000, at the height of illegal activity. Tarrant County held its Veterans Day Parade on Saturday to honor our military veterans. The parade is put on by the Tarrant County Veterans Council in association with the Fort Worth World War I Centennial Commission. This year's theme was "The War to End All Wars." The parade started near Panther Island Pavilion and made its way through the streets of downtown. "It's nice to see that a lot of people appreciate what the veterans have done and the sacrifices that we've made," said Air Force veteran Doc Lambert. Parade-goers lined the streets to watch decorated floated and cars pass by. Many veterans participated in the parade, including Steve Williams, a U.S. Navy veteran. "It's a tough life... you're separated from your family and everything, but we have some dedicated people who are doing what they believe in," Williams said. The Grand Marshal of this year's parade was Jim Hodgson, a Texas WWI Centennial Commemoration Director. Just in time for Veteran's Day weekend, some members of the Texas Air National Guard returned home to North Texas Friday. Men and women of the 136th Airlift Wing have been deployed to the Middle East. "Feels great to be home," said Lt. Greg Sillivent, a father of two young boys who was gone a little more than two months. "Actually, when the plane touched down it was such a relief," said Jamie Sillivent. "You know we've waited for this day for a long time so, it's real exciting to have him back." Loved ones lined up at Carswell Field in Fort Worth to welcome their loved one's home. Some, like Senior Airman Elijah Logan, had been in Kuwait for four months. He and his wife Angela are newlyweds who got married in March. "Everyone's asking how's married life, and I'm like 'well I don't know yet,'" said Angela Logan. Logan said he's really looking forward to good Mexican food and sleeping in his own bed. "A joyous feast is coming, I need sustenance," he said. Whether it's the first time away from home, or the fourth time, some say coming home always feels the same. "It's been a long four months," said Captain Meagan Kemp who has been deployed four times. "I knew it was part of the job, it just doesn't make it any easier, anytime you have to go away." "It's hard with my mom being gone, because I don't really feel the same without her," said Kemp's young son Ethan Whitlock. Being a part of the Texas Air National Guard is a part-time job with a big impact. "There are so many people who have this drive to serve and we're very lucky to have them" said Col. Keith Williams, the Vice Commander of the Texas Air National Guard's 136th Airlift Wing. Friday's homecoming is the first wave of more than 100 airmen to return home. The rest will arrive over the next several days. A driver was sentenced to 55 years in prison Friday for causing a church bus crash in South Texas that killed 13 people. Jack Dillon Young, 21, of Leakey, was sentenced after a three-day hearing. He had faced up to 270 years in prison for the March 2017 collision. Young was driving his pickup after smoking marijuana and taking the prescription drug clonazepam, a sedative used to treat panic disorders and seizures, when he collided with the church bus on U.S 83 near Uvalde, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of San Antonio, according to testimony. He pleaded no contest in May to 13 counts of intoxication manslaughter and one count of intoxication assault. Defense attorney Rogelio Munoz asked for mercy and said doctors didn't properly monitor Young's prescription drug use. Young's family members testified that the family was rendered dysfunctional by alcohol and drug abuse. Young told state District Judge Camile DuBose that a man was sentenced to a lengthy prison term for sexually abusing him and numerous other boys. Young testified that he had struggled since that episode with mental and emotional trauma, contemplating suicide and taking prescription anti-anxiety medication as well as self-medicating with marijuana and alcohol. "You can never get the feeling of dirtiness off of you," he said. The occupants of the bus into which Young's pickup truck slammed head-on were members of the First Baptist Church of New Braunfels returning from a senior retreat. Young told relatives of those killed that he wished he could ease their pain. "They were beautiful people, beautiful families, and I wish every day that it was me" who died, he said. Its been two months since Nikki Lewiss life turned upside down on a beach in Maui, where she was boogie boarding with her new husband when a wave knocked her head into the ocean floor breaking her neck in two places. Since then shes undergone surgery, worked to get off a ventilator and trained to regain the use of her arms and legs. But through it all, her number one request was to track down the man who helped save her life. Chad Harkins had also been on the beach that day. In town for work, the trained EMT said he and a friend had stopped by to catch a quick glance of the ocean. He was only a few steps in when he heard screams and found Will Lewis pulling his wife from the water with her brothers doing all they could to help. While Lewis initially resisted a stranger trying to interfere with their efforts to save his wife, the protective husband quickly realized that Harkins had the skills necessary to save his wife by stabilizing her neck until the ambulance arrived. The whole entire scenario leading up to the accident, all the things that have happened and occurred I wish the accident wouldnt have happened, obviously, but God put all the right people in the right place at the right time, said Nikki Lewis. But once they left for the hospital, they lost track of Harkins. Lewiss family used social media and the news for weeks to try to track down the mystery man who jumped in to help when they needed it most. Eventually they tracked him down in Arizona. And then Tuesday, on the night Nikki thought she was pulling off a surprise birthday party for her husband, she found the tables had turned. Instead she was the one being surprised with a face to face meeting with the man who saved her life. To actually have him here in person and to be able to talk through what happened and to be able to close that raw chapter and to be able to start the new chapter with our friendship is important, said Lewis. For Harkins, it was an equally emotional moment. He said not a day has gone by that he hasnt thought about those moments and reflected on what strangers were able to accomplish working together. I just think with everything going on in the world the way things are, humans are humans and humanity is humanity and it will always prevail, said Harkins. It was a perfect union in the midst of Nikkis greatest storm. And while some may call it coincidence, she believes its something much greater. I call that God. Right place. Right time. He had everything in place to make sure I was going to be taken care of, said Lewis. While Nikki remains in rehab, doctors say theyre hopeful shell make a full recovery. NASA is monitoring how residents living near the Texas Gulf Coast react to quiet sonic booms as the space agency works on an experimental aircraft that could significantly reduce commercial flight times. NASA launched a two-week research project Monday on quiet supersonic research flights near Galveston, the Houston Chronicle reported. NASA is flying an F/A-18 jet in a unique maneuver over the Gulf of Mexico to assess the community's response to the noise. A spokesman said NASA officials hope the tests will produce data that can be used by the agency when testing the X-59 low boom flight demonstrator, the experimental aircraft it hopes could eventually reduce commercial flight times by half. The Concorde, an airplane tested decades ago, could cross the Atlantic in just over three hours by traveling twice the speed of sound. But federal aviation officials banned it after residents complained about the plane's sonic boom. NASA recruited about 500 volunteers from the Galveston area to give feedback and define the level at which they were able to hear the sonic booms from the F/A-18. The project marks "the first time in decades that we have reached out to a large community as part of our supersonic research," said Peter Coen, NASA's commercial supersonic technology project manager. Atmospheric turbulence and humidity can affect how some areas perceive the "quiet thumps" made from the jet's special maneuver, according to NASA officials. NASA will provide the collected public response data to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA has banned supersonic passenger flights over land partly because of concerns about how they'll affect communities and infrastructure. Some Galveston residents posted on Facebook about the sonic booms on Monday, the first day of testing. "I heard the `quiet thump' this morning," resident Jeff Daniels wrote. "It's definitely much better than a traditional sonic boom but I wouldn't want to listen to it all the time such as regular commercial air flights. It still rattles the windows." Several Democrats gained ground Friday against Republican incumbents in closely contested U.S. House races in California, where votes continue to be counted. Fifteen-term U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher fell farther behind Democrat Harley Rouda, a real estate executive, in Orange County's coastal 48th District. Rouda extended his lead to 7,300 votes, or nearly 52 percent, returns showed. In the neighboring 45th District, Democrat Katie Porter inched closer to Republican U.S. Rep. Mimi Walters, whose lead shrank to 2,020 votes, or 1 percentage point, out of about 205,000 ballots tallied. Two days earlier, she led by about 6,000 votes. And in the Central Valley's 10th District, Democrat Josh Harder grabbed a nearly 2-point lead after trailing Rep. Jeff Denham. In retiring GOP Rep. Ed Royce's 39th District, the race was also tightening. Republican Young Kim held about a 2,600-vote edge over Democrat Gil Cisneros, or 2 points, with about 164,000 votes counted. If elected, Kim would become the first Korean-American immigrant woman elected to the House. At midweek, she had a 3-point edge. Tens of thousands of provisional and late-arriving mail-in ballots remain to be counted in each district. Like Royce, Rohrabacher and Walters represent districts in Orange County, a one-time Republican stronghold where Democrats are attempting to capture as many as four GOP-held districts. They already have won one -- retiring U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa's seat went to Mike Levin, a former Orange County Democratic Party official. And Democrats also have picked up the last Republican-held House seat anchored in Los Angeles County. First-time candidate Katie Hill, 31, ousted Republican Steve Knight, who was seeking a third term in the 25th District in northern Los Angeles County and a slice of Ventura County. Hill's victory gave Democrats a 40-13 advantage in California's congressional delegation. The Republican-turned-Democrat Rouda has depicted Rohrabacher as the face of gridlock on Capitol Hill. Rohrabacher, first elected as a Reagan Republican, had been campaigning as a maverick willing to buck both parties. Porter is a law professor and a protege of Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Denham, known for his involvement in water issues vital to agriculture, has proven tough to beat, despite the Democratic registration edge in the 10th District. But after taking a 1,300-vote lead on Election Day, he fell behind Harder by 3,200 votes on Friday, when about a third of the 174,000 votes were counted. Harder says Republican policies in Washington have hurt many residents in a region known as the state's fruit-and-nut basket. Hill stressed her centrist politics: She's a gun owner, and her Republican father is a police officer who had never voted for a Democrat before her primary. Her mother, a Democrat, is a nurse. Hill, who worked as an executive for a group providing services for the homeless, supports universal health care and counts Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a liberal favorite, among her supporters. But she also highlighted her family's military service and says immigration policy must start with securing the nation's borders, echoing a familiar Republican refrain. Her endorsements run from firefighters to unions to Equality California, an LGBT advocacy organization. Hill is married and openly bisexual. The United Way set up a Southern California Disaster Relief Fund Friday to support long-term recovery from the Hill and Woolsey wildfires for low-income individuals and families. Relief funds will assist fire victims in re-establishing their lives, and the fund will be updated as needed to include individuals and families in other affected areas, according to the nonprofit. The fund -- created by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles in partnership with United Way of Ventura County and United Ways of California -- can be accessed via the United Way of Greater Los Angeles website. "For low-income individuals and families, a wildfire can mean the difference between staying housed and becoming homeless. Affected families need support to rebuild their lives, and we are proud to help give them a lifeline in this critical time,'' said Elise Buik, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles. United Way of Greater Los Angeles and Ventura County will work collaboratively to identify and vet organizations best positioned to serve those who are most in need, and United Way of Greater Los Angeles will distribute the funds, according to Buik. Any additional major blazes in Southern California would be added to the Disaster Relief Fund as need dictates. Updates will be posted at https://www.unitedwayla.org/en/give/disaster-relief-fund/. In addition, immediate donations can be made directly to those impacted in Ventura County by texting UWVC to 41444. Check the text link for processing details. Last year, United Way of Greater Los Angeles worked with United Ways across Southern California to provide relief for victims of devastating fires and mudslides, raising more than $800,000. What to Know Thomas Kolding, 15, has been missing since he took a train to NYC the day before Halloween, his family says Kolding took a train to New York's Penn Station, and was spotted at a train station in New Jersey on Nov. 3, prosecutors say Anyone with information is asked to call the Mountain Lakes Police Department at 973-334-1413 A teen from New Jersey who has been missing since he took a train to New York City on Oct. 30 may be in Ohio, police said. Police in Miami Township in Ohio have received several reports from people who believe they may have spotted Thomas Kolding, 15, in the area, the department said on Facebook. Kolding left his Mountain Lakes home at the end of last month. Prosecutors say he traveled to Newark before heading to Penn Station. He was last spotted at the Walter Rand Train Station in Camden, New Jersey on Nov. 3. Kolding left home with around $1,000 after "an argument with his father about his grades," according to NorthJersey.com. Anyone with information about is asked to call the Mountain Lakes Police Department at 973-334-1413 or Miami Township police at 937-225-4357. What to Know Six friends threw their friend a party on the J-train in Brooklyn for $200. They dined on lobster, linguine, and white wine, and unwrapped gifts together while decorations of confetti and streamers hung around them. Seyf says that for some weird reason, the group did receive a lot of social media backlash chastising the girls for putting on the event. Whether youve been a New Yorker for years or have only been in the city once, its safe to say that a ride on the subway will put you in contact with some pretty interesting characters. But you probably havent seen a birthday party on a train -- until now. Los Angeles-based photographer Amber Asaly got a different kind of celebration for her 26th birthday when her cousin Samantha Seyfert, an event planner, decided she needed a next-level kind of party. "[Amber] is obsessed with her birthday," Seyfert said. "And her birthday was her thing with her dad before he passed away, so each year, we love to show the love, and do something big for her." Asaly was in New York working the 2018 Victoria Secret Fashion show and spent the majority of her actual birthday at work, so Seyfert planned a secret birthday party -- on the subway. "I love to come with originals ideas made to go viral, and this was really my first time planning something like this, though," Seyfert said. "I had never done something this big before." Six friends and $200 later, they hoped on the J train in Brooklyn and helped themselves to a decadent lobster and linguine feast paired with white wine on top of a yellow wooden table they bought specially for the occasion. The party wasn't complete without confetti, colorful streamers, a construction paper banner spelling, Go Girl, Its Ya BDay, and of course, a pinata. There were even little couch cushions to make the subway car a little cozier. "(Amber) was so confused when we told her to come over, and then immediately started packing suitcases," Seyfert said. "When we finally told her, she was so happy. She kept saying this was her best birthday, and to see all the love and effort we put into it meant a lot to all of us." The photos of the party went viral when Asaly, Seyfert, and her friends shared them on Instagram. Seyfert said they did get a lot of social media backlash chastising the girls for putting on the event, but she has no idea why. "We were harmless. We were making people laugh," Seyfert said. "I live out here. I take the train. Way crazier stuff happens than that. There are definitely more offensive things than six girls having fun on a train." What to Know A New York City police officer channeled his inner Spider-Man to rescue a cat that got stuck on a fence in Brooklyn A video posted to the NYPDs Facebook page shows the officer scaling a fence and grabbing the cat by its scruff After a brief struggle to keep clinging to the chain link, the cat ultimately lands on its feet on a police car A New York City police officer channeled his inner Spider-Man to rescue a cat that got stuck on a fence in Brooklyn. A video posted to the NYPDs Facebook page shows the officer scaling a fence and grabbing the cat by its scruff. After a brief struggle to keep clinging to the chain link, the cat ultimately lands on its feet on a police car. No ladders and no New York City Fire Department (FDNY) needed for this cat rescue! the NYPD wrote. Thanks to our Brooklyn cops for stepping up (literally) and channeling their inner Spider-Man. It wasnt immediately clear where in Brooklyn the rescue took place. What to Know A dog attack in New Jersey left a 17-year-old boy and owner injured and the canine dead from a gunshot to the head The alleged incident happened Friday morning in an apartment complex in Hasbrouck Heights Its unclear what prompted the attack A dog attack in New Jersey left at a 17-year-old boy taking out the trash injured, its owner with more than 100 stitches and the canine dead from a gunshot to the head. The alleged incident happened around 8 a.m. Friday in an apartment complex in Hasbrouck Heights. The pitbull allegedly attacked as it was being taken out by its owner, according to a neighbor. Allegedly, when the dog's owner pulled on the leash to get him away from the teen, the dog turned on her as well. When the authorities arrived, they shot the dog when it became aggressive toward them. The dog was described by neighbors in the building as friendly and well-mannered, until Friday morning, when it snapped. In an interview with our sister station Telemundo 47, a neighbor said that she had pleasant interactions with the pitbull adding that the dog jumped on her many times in a friendly manner. At the scene, blood could be seen on the floor and walls. In photos shared by the victims father, Guido De Castro, with NBC 4 and Telemundo 47, bloodied, open wounds can be seen on the victims arm. Another photo shows the sweater the victim was wearing during the attack a portion of one of the sleeves missing, presumably where the allegedly bit the teen. The bite of the dog was so powerful and deep, it tore muscle in the teen's arm, his father said. De Castro, who is the super of the building says that only small dogs are allowed in the building, adding that there have been complains on the dog that carried the attack. De Castro says his son is expected to stay overnight at the hospital. The owner is also at the hospital, undergoing plastic surgery, after, according to De Castro, receiving 180 stitches to her head, face and arm where the dog turned on her. Its unclear what prompted the attack. There were widespread reports of malfunctioning ballot scanners and long lines at polling places on Tuesday, prompting calls for lawmakers to update the state's antiquated election and voting laws. Now it's up to lawmakers to review the complaints and figure out what to do. The Assembly's Standing Committee on Election Law will hold a public hearing Thursday in Manhattan to review Election Day operations and possible ways to improve the voting experience. Advance voting will likely be at the top of that list. New York is now one of a minority of states that don't allow voters to cast an early ballot, either in person or through the mail. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said his chamber is determined to take action this year to overhaul the state's election rules, many of which have been largely unchanged for decades. "We have legislation ready to ensure every eligible voter has ample opportunity to vote, including the establishment of an early voting period and no-excuse absentee voting," Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Wednesday in a statement. "We also plan to pass legislation to combine federal and state primaries, bringing New York State in compliance with federal law. We want to modernize and streamline voter registration by establishing an online registration process." Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, also listed voting reform as one of his priorities for the year. Other proposed changes intended to make it easier to vote include overhauling the state's onerous registration deadlines, which can force people to affiliate with a party in some cases more than a year before the primary to cast a ballot. "It is so hard to vote in this state," Cuomo said on the radio Thursday. "It is a joke. ... Early voting! Make it easier." The United States will soon suspend its mission to re-fuel Saudi Arabias military aircraft flying in Yemen, according to two U.S. officials and one Senate staffer. Saudi Arabia is expected to announce it no longer needs U.S. tankers for the mission, placing the decision for the change on Riyadh rather than Washington, NBC News reported. A Senate staffer said the decision is a means to pre-empt a potentially damaging debate and vote in Congress. Fifteen students were hospitalized and a campus police officer was injured when a Lincoln University dance party devolved into chaos and fighting Friday night. Bedlam broke out around 10:50 p.m. as a large crowd of students waited in line to enter the party at the universitys Student Union building, said Johnny Whitehead, the universitys interim director of safety and security. Some pushing and shoving quickly turned into full-blown fights, with one officer being assaulted in the melee, Whitehead said. Things went left real quick. The lines were real packed, said Brashon McRae, who attended the Sweats and Spandex dance. Thats when police decided to use pepper spray to disperse the crowd. Fifteen students were hit by the spray, with 10 of them taken to Jennersville Hospital and five to Chester County Hospital. Some of them were treated and had already been released by Saturday morning, Whitehead said. Whitehead said security was heightened for the dance, with the school using contracted security guards in addition to its campus police force in expectation of the more than 1,000 students in attendance. Students themselves, however, say security was lax. A lot of people showed up this year and the school didnt support enough security, so it got real wild, McRae said. Two students were arrested and will be charged with disorderly conduct. They will also face judicial review by campus deans, Whitehead said. What to Know Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman initially said, "We have nothing to hide" Saudi Arabia describes claims in the media that there were "orders to kill (Khashoggi)" as "lies and baseless allegations Saudi Arabia then said preliminary investigations show an "altercation" and "fistfight" led to Khashoggi's death at the consulate The official Saudi statements on the fate of journalist Jamal Khashoggi have changed several times since he mysteriously disappeared after entering his country's consulate in Istanbul earlier this month. The latest announcement on Saturday, declaring that Khashoggi had died in a "fistfight" with officials that came to see him there, increased criticism over Saudi's handling of the case and concern over the kingdom's possible complicity in the killing of the prominent Washington Post columnist. Here is a look at the Saudi narrative regarding Khashoggi, as it developed. ___ Oct. 2: Khashoggi enters the Saudi consulate in a leafy neighborhood in Istanbul at 1.14 p.m. on Tuesday. He had left his mobile phones with his Turkish fiance, who waited for him outside the consulate. She calls friends hours later to tell them that Khashoggi never emerged from the consulate. Oct. 3: In a wide-ranging interview, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman tells Bloomberg he understands that Khashoggi left the consulate after "a few minutes or one hour." Bin Salman says his kingdom's authorities are in talks with the Turkish government to determine what happened. He insists Khashoggi is no longer inside the consulate and says Turkish authorities are welcome to search the diplomatic mission. "We have nothing to hide," says the crown prince. Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post contributor, is feared dead after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week and has not been seen since. Khashoggi has been a vocal critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Khashoggi went to the consulate to pick up paperwork in order to marry his fiancee. Oct. 4: On Twitter, the Saudi consulate in Istanbul says it is following up on media reports of Khashoggi's disappearance "after he left the building" of the consulate. Oct. 4: Turkey summons the Saudi ambassador. Oct. 6: Saudi Arabia says it has dispatched a team to "investigate and cooperate" with Turkish officials over Khashoggi's case. Oct. 7: Turkish officials say Khashoggi has been killed at the consulate. A Saudi government statement describes the Turkish allegations as "baseless." Oct. 9: Turkey says it will search the consulate. Oct. 11: Turkey says it has agreed with Saudi Arabia to form a joint group to shed light on the disappeared journalist's fate. The Saudi team arrives in Istanbul a day later. Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post contributor, is missing and feared dead after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week. President Donald Trump says he wants to learn more about the incident but does not want to place sanctions on Saudi Arabia. Oct. 13: Saudi Arabia's interior minister describes claims in the media that there were "orders to kill (Khashoggi)" as "lies and baseless allegations." Turkish media quote officials as saying Khashoggi has been killed and dismembered inside the consulate. Oct. 14: Turkey's Foreign Ministry renews calls on Saudi Arabia to allow investigators to search the consulate. Oct. 15: Nearly two weeks after Khashoggi's disappearance, teams of Turkish investigators enter the consulate to start their search. Oct. 15: A Saudi-owned satellite news channel says the 15-member team referred to by Turkish media as Khashoggi's "hit squad" were "tourists" visiting Turkey. Oct. 16: Without warning, the Saudi consul in Istanbul, a key witness in the case, leaves Turkey to Saudi Arabia. Some members of Congress say the U.S. must act against Saudi Arabia if the country's leaders are responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but they differ on exactly what that action would entail. Oct. 17: Turkish authorities begin searching the consul's residence in Istanbul. Oct. 19: In a late-night announcement, Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor says preliminary investigations show an "altercation" and "fistfight" led to Khashoggi's death shortly after he arrived at the consulate. He adds that 18 Saudi nationals were detained. A Saudi foreign ministry official says the kingdom is investigating the "regrettable and painful incident of Jamal Khashoggi's death" and forming a committee to hold those responsible accountable. Outgoing Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal stood before a bank of cameras and welcomed into his office a man he recognized as his successor. "The governor-elect," Deal called Brian Kemp on Thursday, accepting his fellow Republican's resignation as secretary of state and promising the two would begin work immediately on transition business ahead of a January transfer of power. All of it would be a routine scene two days after an election except that Kemp's opponent, Democrat Stacey Abrams, maintains that enough ballots remain uncounted to force a runoff, and she's dispatched her legal team to explore every option to see if she's right. "We won a clear and convincing victory," Kemp said of returns showing him with 50.3 percent of almost 4 million votes, about a 63,000-vote lead over Abrams. That's a narrow sum considering the near-presidential election year turnout, though sufficient for the majority required for outright victory. The Associated Press has not called the governor's race. President Donald Turmp stood behind the Republican candidate, saying Kemp "ran a great race in Georgia - he won. It is time to move on!" Trump also tweeted: "You mean they are just now finding votes in Florida and Georgia - but the Election was on Tuesday? Let's blame the Russians and demand an immediate apology from President Putin!" Trump's message refers to allegations that Russian interference helped him win in 2016. With legal wrangles opening and Abrams showing no signs of conceding, the dispute is prolonging a bitter contest with historical significance and national political repercussions. Abrams would become the first black woman elected governor of any U.S. state. Kemp seeks to maintain Republican dominance in a growing, diversifying Deep South state positioned to become a presidential battleground. The key question is how many uncounted ballots actually remain. Kemp said on Thursday morning that it's fewer than 21,000 almost certainly not enough to force a runoff. The elections chief from the secretary of state's office which Kemp ran until noon Thursday said in an afternoon federal court hearing that the number is 21,190. "Even if she got 100 percent of those votes, we still win," Kemp said. Abrams' campaign argues the total could be higher, and the secretary of state's office has shared scant details as officials in Georgia's 159 counties keep counting. "This is about the integrity of the election in the state of Georgia," said Abrams' campaign manager, Lauren Groh-Wargo. "Brian Kemp can't just walk away from that. ... Our governor (Deal) can't just walk away from that." John Chandler, one of several attorneys for Abrams, promised to "litigate until we have determined that every person's vote has been counted." A runoff, if needed, would be Dec. 4. County authorities must certify final returns by Tuesday. The state must certify a statewide result by Nov. 20. Deal appointed one of his Cabinet members to oversee the process in Kemp's place. One of the lawsuits heard Thursday in federal court requested Kemp be barred from overseeing the rest of the certification procedure a request pre-empted by Kemp's resignation. Abrams, other Democrats including former President Jimmy Carter and voting-rights activists had for months called for Kemp to step down amid charges he was abusing his office to make it harder for some Georgians, particularly minorities, to vote. Kemp said his resignation "will give confidence to the certification process." He maintained he wasn't bowing to pressure but preparing to be governor. "That was all political," Kemp said, dismissing the criticism. He said Tuesday's turnout about 1.4 million more than in Deal's last election proves it. Leaders of Abrams' campaign said they believe she needs to pick up about 25,000 votes to force a runoff. Offering examples of potential ballots Democrats say Kemp isn't contemplating, Groh-Wargo said four counties reported considerably fewer early votes in the governor's race than the number of early ballots cast. Groh-Wargo said it seemed implausible that voters cared enough to cast ballots early but not in the hotly contested governor's race. She added that officials in suburban Atlanta's Cobb County added several hundred votes to that count Thursday morning from absentee ballots. That came after the secretary of state's office said all absentee and early ballots had been counted. Abrams' lawyers also said they plan to sue officials in Dougherty County because absentee ballots were delayed after Hurricane Michael devastated parts of south Georgia. Separately, the American Civil Liberties Union raised concerns over 1,200 absentee ballots in Gwinnett County, northeast of Atlanta, which it said were rejected because of missing birthdate information. "Brian Kemp owes voters an explanation," Groh-Wargo said, demanding to see lists and names. "We do not believe any of these numbers are credible." When Kemp's campaign declared victory Wednesday, his aides cited a statewide estimate of uncounted ballots from the secretary of state's office. But that office had not publicly offered a county-by-county breakdown to Abrams' campaign or to the news media at that point. The provisional vote total is considerably higher than in 2016, when a slightly larger electorate yielded 16,739 provisional ballots. Of those, 7,592 were counted. State and campaign officials have said they expected a much higher proportion to be counted this year. In federal court Thursday, a secretary of state's representative said the provisional count included at least some votes cast late at a handful of metro Atlanta precincts that courts ordered to stay open past Tuesday's 7 p.m. poll closing time. As the Florida Secretary of State called for recounts in three key statewide races Saturday, gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum withdrew his concession from Election Night and called for all votes to be counted. The Secretary of States office ordered recounts for the Florida governor, U.S. Senate and commissioner of agriculture seats after reviewing the unofficial election results submitted from each county by Saturday's noon deadline. According to Florida law, a machine recount is ordered if races are within 0.5 percent. A hand recount is ordered if the margins are within 0.25 percent after the machine recount results are reviewed. Scott's campaign Saturday night announced more than 7,500 volunteer recount representatives had been "secured to monitor the recount process and ensure election officials are following the law." "Volunteer recount representatives will be deployed to Supervisors of Elections offices across the state and are trained to report any witnessed issues regarding machine set up and testing, ballot storage and transportation, the counting of votes and more, so that any potential issues can be quickly reviewed and resolved," the campaign said in a statement. In the official tally released Saturday, outgoing Republican Gov. Rick Scott had 4,098,107 votes and Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson had 4,085,545 votes a difference of 12,562 votes with a 0.15 percent margin, which falls under the threshold requiring a manual recount. In the governor's race, Republican Ron DeSantis had 4,075,879 votes and Democrat Andrew Gillum had 4,042,195 votes. That's a difference of 33,684 with a difference of 0.41 percent. "I'm replacing my earlier concession with an unapologetic call to count every vote," Gillum said in a press conference Saturday. The Florida Cabinet position of agriculture commissioner is also being recounted. Nikki Fried is leading Matt Caldwell with a 0.07 percent margin. Broward County will also recount the races for mayor of Plantation, mayor of Pompano, the West Park Commission and the Walnut Creek commission. Canvassing boards across the state have until 3 p.m. on Thursday to complete the machine recounts and submit those results. A manual recount would then be ordered if any of those races have the candidates within a margin of 0.25 percent of one another. In that case, the supervisors of elections in each Florida county would hand-check any ballots. As scheduled, the entire recount process must be completed by Nov. 18. U.S. Navy Veteran, Daniel "Doc" Jacobs, of Scripps Ranch, was awarded the Bronze Star Medal of Valor for his service on USS Midway Friday. Representative Scott Peters presented the honor to Jacobs in front of his friends, family and other Midway visitors. "It was unreal," Jacobs said of receiving the award on Friday. "Being here on the Midway with the beautiful San Diego sun and the breeze, it felt like something out of a Steven Spielberg movie." Jacobs served during the Iraq war and had to have his left leg amputated after an explosive device destroyed his vehicle. Most of the fingers on his left hand were also blown off. Despite being gravely injured, he refused treatment at a hospital and helped other wounded servicemembers. The award was years in the making after an administrative error delayed the process for Jacobs to receive it. "I would like to thank Representative Peters for all his help during that time," said Jacobs. "It was tedious but it was worth it." The Bronze Star is awarded to servicemembers for heroism against an enemy of the United States. It is the fourth-highest military combat decoration that can be awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces. The International Association of Fire Fighters is calling President Donald Trump's comment about massive wildfires burning throughout California "irresponsible, reckless and insulting." Trump said Saturday via Twitter that "there is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly fires in California." He added that "billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!" On Sunday morning, Trump tweeted again about the fire, saying "with proper Forest Management, we can stop the devastation constantly going on in California. Get Smart!" The firefighters union responded to what were Trump's first words about the wildfires, including a blaze that incinerated most of the Northern California town of Paradise and killed at least nine people, saying that his "crass" suggestion in cutting off federal payments to the state "shows a troubling lack of real comprehension about the disaster at hand." "The early moments of fires such as these are a critical time, when lives are lost, entire communities are wiped off the map and our members are injured trying to stop these monstrous wildfires," Harold Schaitberger, General President of the IAFF, said in a statement. Brian Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters Association, called President Trump's statements about forest management "dangerously wrong." "The presidents assertion that Californias forest management policies are to blame for catastrophic wildfire is dangerously wrong," Rice, head of the 30,000-member organization, said. "Wildfires are sparked and spread not only in forested areas but in populated areas and open fields fueled by parched vegetation, high winds, low humidity and geography. Moreover, nearly 60 percent of California forests are under federal management, and another two-thirds under private control. It is the federal government that has chosen to divert resources away from forest management, not California." California Governor-elect Gavin Newsom responded to the president's tweet saying that right now is not a time for partisanship. "Lives have been lost. Entire towns have been burned to the ground. Cars abandoned on the side of the road. People are being forced to flee their homes," Newsom tweeted. "This is a time for coordinating relief and response and lifting those in need up." California Rep. Henry Stern (D-27th district) addressed Trump's tweet Friday afternoon during a press conference in Southern California, saying "Fires don't respect politics or jurisdiction." Stern requested that the president "pursue a major disaster declaration and not make this a political incident. We have many parties, many views out here, and this is not about politics. It's about people." Trump took a more empathetic tone later in the day, tweeting sympathies for firefighters, people who have fled their homes and the families of those killed by the flames. Wildfires also raged in Southern California, including the town of Thousand Oaks, where a gunman days earlier killed a dozen people at a local bar. Trump earlier issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds to help firefighters. Thousands of IAFF members have assisted in rescuing and evacuation people in direct path of the flames, according to the organization. What to Know The Woolsey fire began Thursday east of Chatsworth and spread quickly due to strong winds The fire jumped Highway 101 near Chesebro Road Friday morning in the Agoura Hills area Tens of thousands of homes remained threatened by the flames The Los Angeles County Coroner's office said it is investigating two deaths possibly related to the Woolsey Fire that's been burning a destructive path across two counties since Thursday. The 70,000-acre fire has consumed untold numbers of homes and forced evacuations as it cut a path from Simi Valley to the sea. At a Saturday news conference, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said the bodies were found in the 33000 block of Mulholland Highway. "Sadly and tragically, I'm reporting today that we have two fatalities that occured in the fire area," Osby said. "That is currently under investigation. We have our homicide investigators on scene, and we'll treat that as a fatality at this point, and we'll have more to talk about that later on as the investigation unfolds." A cause of death was not immediately available. Osby did not say whether the deaths were fire-related. The Woolsey Fire erupted Thursday afternoon in Ventura County. It raced into Los Angeles County, chewed its way through brush and into neighborhoods of Westlake Village and Malibu. As of Saturday morning, containment of the 70,000-acre fire was at 0 percent. No injuries were officially reported, but reports began circulating late Friday afternoon about a possible civilian burn victim in the Woolsey Canyon area. There was no immediate confirmation of the report. An estimated 75,000 homes -- although likely many more -- were under evacuation orders in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The entire city of Malibu was placed under an evacuation order late Friday morning, with residents directed to southbound Pacific Coast Highway, creating miles of stand-still traffic along the scenic route. Evacuations had been expanded in Simi Valley. Acting Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Friday due to the destructive Woolsey Fire and nearby Hill Fire. A state of emergency was declared Thursday for the monster Camp Fire in Northern California. "The wind-whipped conditions ... this is ripe conditions for explosive fire behavior," said LAFD Capt. Erik Scott. "This is the new normal. When we have conditions like this, when it's such incredible wind, that brings us in to a different caliber, so it's become a much more challenging condition." A Los Angeles County Fire Department battalion chief told NBC4 the flames could burn "for days." Dominic Oliveri fled from his home in the Decker Canyon area with his wife. They were stopped along Mulholland Highway near Little Sycamore Canyon Road. "We waited as long as we could and the flames were coming down the hill opposite of us, and we just aid we had to go," he said. "I've been here 40 years, and I've seen it all. This is the first time I had to leave my house ever." Power outages were reported in parts of Calabasas. The fires burned in a community that was already reeling from a mass shooting that left 12 victims dead Wednesday night at a Thousand Oaks bar. The Thousand Oaks Teen Center was a family unification center Thursday, a place where families anxiously waited for updates on loved ones who were at the Borderline Bar. On Friday, the center was an evacuation center for people fleeing the fire. "I think a lot of people should realize this is what your valuable life leads to," said a man from Ventura County as he pointed at his truck. "Plastic bags on the back of your pick-up truck." Along with assisting the growth of the fire, the high winds also deterred air support in battling the flames. The Woolsey Fire was first reported around 3:30 p.m. and by 4:45 p.m. It started east of Chatsworth near a former Rocketdyne facility. The Hill Fire burned just five miles away in Newbury Park, forcing more than 1,200 homes to evacuate and prompting the closure of the 101 Freeway. For coverage of that fire, click here. Fall is historically one of the most dangerous times of the year for wildfires in California. Seven of the state's 10-most destructive wildfires occurred in October -- many fueled by monster winds, including Santa Ana gusts. Through Nov. 4, Cal Fire has reported about 5,600 fires that burned more than 621,700 acres. During that same period last year, the agency reported 5,800 fire that burned 316,600 acres. Over the last five years, California has averaged 5,293 fires that burned 231,400 acres during that interval. NBC4's Jonathan Lloyd and Heather Navarro contributed to this report. East Coast residents who awake early Thursday morning and look eastward may be able to see a rocket blasting into space. NASA has scheduled a launch of the Antares rocket for Thursday, Nov. 15. The vehicle at the Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island could deploy as early as 4:49 a.m. Thirty seconds after launch, space gazers on Wallops Island and nearby Chincoteague Island will have the view. About 90 seconds after launch, those in Washington, D.C.s Metro area may be able to see the rocket. Near Leesburg and further west, the rocket will be visible about 120 seconds after launch. NASA released a map detailing when you may be able to see: Reutter-Adamek family Break out your smartphone and open up a GPS application to make sure youre facing the right direction: about 115 miles southeast of D.C. Wallops Island is near Chincoteague Island in Northampton County. Visibility depends on weather and other factors, NASA says. Dedicated fans can travel to NASA Wallops Visitor Center and view the launch about 4 miles away from the actual site. The visitors center will open at 1 a.m. Thursday. Its recommended that spectators arrive at least three hours before launch time. The rocket will resupply the International Space Station with tools to enable research on projects including how gravity affects concrete hardening and how to turn waste plastic into material for 3D printers, according to NASA. It will carry 7,500 pounds of groceries, hardware and research, the Associated Press reported. This mission is aerospace and defense company Northrop Grummans 10th commercial resupply effort, NASA says. Metro closed the station serving Reagan National Airport on Friday ahead of Veterans Day weekend, spurring a traffic and commuting mess that spilled into Arlington and other Metro stations. The head of security at the posh Neiman Marcus store in D.C. is facing prison time for fleecing the store of more than $130,000. Alexander Gulino is scheduled to be sentenced in a D.C. court on Friday for a three-year scheme to pocket store money. According to memos submitted by prosecutors, Gulino used his authority as head of security and supervisor of the Wisconsin Avenue NW stores customer service department to create hundreds of fictitious returns. Prosecutors said Gulino gained access to Neiman Marcus computer systems to enter fraudulent returns and take cash from the registers for himself. "[Gulino] used his status as loss prevention officer to access Neimans retail tracking computer system, which stores sales data for every item sold, returned or otherwise at any retail location in the United States," according to prosecutors. To execute his scheme, prosecutors said Gulino identified older purchases and those handled by salespeople who no longer worked for Neiman Marcus, assuming they would be less likely to get flagged. According to prosecutors' memos, Gulino entered those purchases fraudulently into a store computer system, removed cash from store registers and shredded refund receipts to conceal the crimes. According to court filings, Neiman Marcus uncovered Gulinos scheme through "elaborate measures to catch [Gulino] in the act," including through the use of surveillance cameras to monitor Gulinos movements in back offices, and through a "key stroke" device that recorded his computer usage. Prosecutors are recommending a 10-month jail sentence and an order for Gulino to make $132,054 in restitution. Gulino managed a staff of investigators and security personnel responsible for identifying thefts by customers and employees at the store, according to court filings. An attorney for Gulino declined to comment. A Neiman Marcus spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an inquiry. In a letter to the court, Gulinos brother asked a judge to hand down a lenient sentence. "My big brother is in trouble for some decisions that there is no question he wishes he had back. There are bad people and there are bad decisions. [He] is a great person that made a bad decision," Nick Gulinos letter said. Neiman Marcus operates 42 stores nationwide. Its D.C. location operates amid a group of luxury stores in an exclusive section of the District. Neiman Marcus' corporate profile said the chain offers a "best-in-class assortments of upscale apparel, accessories, jewelry, beauty and decorative home products." People walked to Reagan National Airport and waited in hourslong lines for Metro bridge bus service as the rain, the holiday weekend and the closure of two Metro stations contributed to a nightmare Friday evening commute. The National Airport and Crystal City stations along the Blue and Yellow lines are closed through Monday, with shuttle buses replacing trains between Pentagon City and Braddock, but riders shared photos of huge crowds waiting to get on those buses. More Metro buses were added Saturday morning, with some bypassing Crystal City to serve the airport more quickly. The worst traffic had subsided, but travelers should continue to budget extra time to get to and from the airport. WMATA apologized in a statement, saying the mix of traffic and weather caused shuttles to be delayed as the backups rippled through Arlington. Traffic is terrible, and you know its really bad when theyre talking on the radio and the news shows up, said one man trying to pick his brother up at the airport. Im probably going to tell him to take a cab and go the other way, he said. Riders didn't move much faster once they got on the buses or in cabs as major gridlock affected Crystal City and the George Washington Parkway at National Airport. The airport pointed to the Metro closures as the cause of the gridlock there. Passengers arriving on flights and trying to depart from the airport should use caution on the curb and only cross at marked crosswalks. Consider meeting your ride in a terminal garage where parking is free up to 60 mins. Reagan Airport (@Reagan_Airport) November 9, 2018 At the airport, people sprinted from cars to the terminals and gates to get to their flights on time. Some travelers decided to walk to the airport, with people dragging their luggage on the GW Parkway. Jackie Bensen spoke to a woman pushing a shoulder to Reagan National Airport after the Friday evening commute became a nightmare with gridlock around Reagan National Airport and long lines for Metro shuttle buses as Metro closed two stations for weekend maintenance. We had to wait for the elevator, said Elizabeth McDowell, who decided to walk to the airport from a Metro station, pushing a baby in a stroller. They werent letting people up the escalators unless you were getting on the shuttle buses. So they were trying to manage that, but I dont think this system was working that well. So I tried to get an Uber. It was like $70. And I have to catch a flight in an hour and 20 minutes, so I just started hoofing it, hoping to catch a taxi. I havent caught one yet. People walking to the airport can use a tunnel from Crystal City that goes under the train tracks to a ramp over the GW Parkway. "I know youve got a lot of work going on, @Reagan_Airport, but this is a madhouse," said Twitter user @CGsquiggles. He said he was told by Metro employees that the wait to ride a shuttle out of the airport would be more than two hours. "Im a patient person, but this is ridiculous. Maybe some rope & stanchion to create an actual line. #wmata," said Twitter user @aej_dc. "Finally got to National Airport and It. Is. Chaos. Good luck getting a ride out in under two hours. Will shortly be coming back to all this. #wmata," said Twitter user @MSalt69. Huge Lines Form as Commuters Wait for Metro Shuttle Buses Traffic finally started to ease about 8 p.m. Metro tweeted an update about the same time. "Our operations team is currently monitoring the shuttle crowding between Pentagon City and Braddock Road, including National Airport," Metro said in the tweet. "The mix of traffic and weather are impacting our ability to continuously move our shuttles." Our Operations team is currently monitoring the shuttle crowding between Pentagon City & Braddock Road, including National Airport. The mix of traffic & weather are impacting our ability to continuously move our shuttles. We apologize for the delays this is causing. #wmata 1/2 Metro (@wmata) November 10, 2018 Workers are installing new concrete grout pads beneath the rails, which means trains can't move over the tracks, WMATA says. Metro says the work was rescheduled from Nov. 2 through Nov. 5 to reduce the impact on commuters. They chose the holiday weekend for the four-day project so only one commuting day would be affected. I know youve got a lot of work going on, @Reagan_Airport, but this is a madhouse. pic.twitter.com/rLvKvIt0uZ Chris Geoghooligan (@CGsquiggles) November 9, 2018 You can find more information on the WMATA website. Metro released a list of alternate bus and rail routes that may be more convenient for those traveling to Crystal City or Reagan National Airport. Note that regional lines will observe alternate schedules for Veterans Day. Check your local bus lines before traveling. The following information is courtesy of WMATA: Metro Metroway - Braddock Rd - Crystal City - Pentagon City 10A - Huntington - Braddock Rd - Old Town - Pentagon 10B - Hunting Point - Braddock Rd - Ballston 11Y - Mt. Vernon - Old Town - Farragut Sq 23A - Crystal City - Tysons Corner 23B - Crystal City - Ballston Fairfax Connector Route 393, 394, 395 - Springfield - Pentagon (via Saratoga Park & Ride) Route 494 - Lorton - Springfield - Tysons Route 495 - Burke Centre - Tysons Route 599 - Pentagon - Crystal City Express Alexandria DASH AT2- Lincolnia -Braddock Rd - Old Town Alexandria AT3 - Braddock Rd - Pentagon AT4 - Braddock Rd - Pentagon AT5 - Eisenhower Ave Metro (weekend only) - Braddock Rd - Old Town Alexandria - Van Dorn St. Arlington Transit (ART) ART 43 - Crystal City - Ballston PRTC - OmniRide Dale City - Downtown Washington Dale City - Pentagon/Rosslyn Dale City - Navy Yard Lake Ridge - Downtown Washington Lake Ridge - Pentagon/Crystal City Woodbridge - Tysons Corner Virginia Railway Express (VRE) Fredericksburg Line - Commuter rail service between Spotsylvania and Union Station, connecting Franconia-Springfield, Crystal City, King St. (Alexandria) to L'Enfant Plaza and Union Station in Downtown DC. Manassas Line - Commuter rail service between Broad Run/Manassas and Union Station, connecting King St (Alexandria) and Crystal City to L'Enfant Plaza and Union Station in Downtown DC. A woman who confessed to the brutal revenge killing of a 15-year-old girl from Maryland was sentenced Friday to serve 40 years in prison. Venus Romero Iraheta is the second-to-last of the 10 young defendants convicted in the MS-13 murder of Damaris Alexandra Reyes Rivas to learn their fate. She told police that she told her victim, "You're going to remember me until the day we see each other in hell." Reyes Rivas was killed in January 2017 and buried in her quinceanera dress. Sitting just a few feet from her daughter's killer, Reyes Rivas's mother, Maria Reyes, spoke in court Friday. "She destroyed my life," Reyes said about Iraheta. Then, she looked straight at the killer and told her that she knew her daughter was in heaven, not in hell like Iraheta said as she killed her. "Hell will be lived by you, not by her," she said. Iraheta sobbed in court and pleaded for mercy. "I would give my life to bring her back. I am sorry. I am so sorry," she said. Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Morrogh said her sobs struck him as "crocodile tears." Earlier this year, News4 obtained video of Iraheta confessing to stabbing and killing Reyes Rivas. Iraheta, now 18, believed the teen was responsible for the death of her boyfriend, Christian Sosa Rivas. In an interrogation video from Fairfax County police, Iraheta told investigators in Spanish that she told Reyes Rivas, "You're going to remember me until the day we see each other in hell. Don't forget my name. And I told her my full name and I told her my nickname. And I told it to her and I told her to never forget who I was. I told her someday we're going to see each other again." The investigator then asks, "And then what did you do?" Iraheta responds in English, "I killed her." She goes on to say she stabbed Reyas Rivas about 13 times. Reyas Rivas' mother said she did not want to believe her daughter was dead when investigators discovered her body. "I couldn't believe it. I would tell them they were lying," Reyes said. "I was looking for her, and I looked for her for a long time, but I didn't want to find her dead." The brutal killing was recorded on cellphone video and shown in court. Iraheta also told investigators she sliced off the girl's tattoo, according to testimony. "I remember that before stabbing her, Jose Torres told me to cut her tattoo off," she said. The detective later asked her if the killing bothered her. With a straight face, she shook her head, signaling "no." Reyes Rivas left her home in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on Dec. 10, 2016. She had told her mother she was being threatened by gang members at school. On the night of Jan. 8, 2017, Iraheta and nine other young people allegedly took Reyes Rivas to an area near Lake Accotink Park. They then assaulted and interrogated her about the recent murder of Christian Sosa Rivas, whose body was found Jan. 12 along the Potomac River in Dumfries, Virginia, police said. The group recorded the attack on Reyes Rivas to send to MS-13 leaders in El Salvador with hopes of being promoted in the gang, Morrogh said. "It's kind of like a trophy they take," he said. "They show it off to the other gang members." Investigators portrayed Iraheta as bent on revenge and wanting to inflict some of the fatal wounds herself. The FBI special agent who questioned Iraheta after her arrest testified that Iraheta blamed Reyes Rivas for luring her boyfriend to his death. The night they took Reyes Rivas, the group forced her to stand in the snow with no shirt or shoes so she would "feel as much pain as Christian." Reyes said her daughter's murder devastated the family, including Reyes Rivas' grandparents. "My life is no life without my little girl. My girl is always on my mind, all the time," Reyes said in court. "All the time, I remember what this young girl did to my daughter." The natural gas company at the center of September's gas explosions and fires north of Boston hosted a series of community meetings. Columbia Gas of Massachusetts held open house events Saturday in Andover, Lawrence and North Andover to answer questions about the gas restoration process and other related efforts, and those affected spoke up. Lawrence resident Thomas Barksdale said he's sick of taking cold showers. "I just want to have our gas back," Barksdale said. The Sept. 13 incident destroyed or damaged more than 130 structures, injured dozens and left at least one person dead. Gas service isn't expected to be fully restored in the three communities until early December. But officials say it's possible restorations will come sooner. If we continue at an escalating pace like this, I think were going to see a betterment over that date, said Pablo Vegas, chief restoration officer at NiSource. Columbia Gas is offering a Thanksgiving meal to those affected by the September blasts. To make a reservation for the complimentary dinner, visit ColumbiaGasMa.com/Thanksgiving or call 1-877-399-0506. Reservations will be accepted through Nov. 16. The Lawrence pickup location will be at the Elks Lodge at 652 Andover St. The Andover pickup location will be at Andover Town Hall at 36 Bartlet St. The North Andover pickup location will be at First & Main Marketplace at 115 Main St. A former Rhode Island police officer has pleaded guilty to sending sexually explicit pictures and videos of himself to a 15-year-old girl. Federal prosecutors say 51-year-old Matthew Riley pleaded guilty Thursday to transfer of obscene material to a minor. The former Narragansett officer faces up to 10 years in prison at sentencing scheduled for Feb. 1. Prosecutors say Riley started communicating with the girl in late 2015 or early 2016 through text messaging technology. They say the girl made her age clear. During his communications with the girl, Riley identified himself as Chris M. and told her he was 29 years old, lived in Boston, was in the Navy, and worked as a physical therapist. Authorities say over the course of several months, Riley sent the sexually explicit communications. Police in Hudson, New Hampshire, are reminding residents not to feed coyotes after a recent autopsy on one of the animals found dog food inside. The coyote, which had to be euthanized, is just one of what police say are many well-fed coyotes in the area. The department shared a photo of one of the animals on their Facebook page. Theyre very large, so theyve been eating very well, said Sgt. Roger Lamarche. Police are concerned the coyotes wont be shy about approaching people, and could attack small animals. One resident, Matt Ross, said coyotes live in his yard, and while he doesn't feed them, he said the coyotes do get curious when he grills outside. Theyre big. Theyre definitely big and sometimes I just let them know this is my property and Ill run them off, Ross said. The Hudson Police Department advises residents if they have any concerns or problems with the coyotes to call Animal Control at 603-889-7387. Advocates for immigrants and their families are pushing back against a proposed rule from the Trump administration that could affect who stays in the countryeither temporarily or permanently. We believe that this rule will have a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of children and families both in this state and across the country, warned physician Dr. Rebecca Bell of the University of Vermont Medical Center. The Trump administration is now proposing to block lawful immigrants from getting visas or green cards if theyve ever relied on certain benefits including food stamps or public housing assistance. Advocates are concerned such a rule could lead to people forgoing nutrition for their families or other basic needs in order to not run afoul of immigration policies. Eve Dolkart is a U.S. citizen living in Burlington who married a man from Central America. They met while Dolkart was doing poverty aid work there, she said. Because the couple needed temporary help with food when Dolkart lost work, she said she worried her spouses residency re-certification could be in jeopardy if the White House proposal takes effect. Its dehumanizing, Dolkart said in an interview with necn about the proposed federal rule change. The scariest thing was feeling like we could lose each other. I would move back to Guatemala to live with my husband to have our family stay together. In statements read at a press conference Friday by representatives of Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, both senators described the Trump administration proposal as harsh and accused the White House of demonizing immigrants. For its part, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security wrote on its website that it merely wants to reaffirm existing policies, noting that personal finances were a common reason for turning away immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the move is designed to promote immigrant self-sufficiency and protect finite resources by ensuring that they are not likely to become burdens on American taxpayers. Refugees would be exempt, DHS noted. A coalition of Vermont groups that calls food and housing basic human rights, and considers immigrants vital to Vermont communities and the economy, are now fighting back against the proposal. We need to restore our humanity, said Cindy Reid of the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition. This administration has shown again and again that it wants to keep immigrants out of this country, and not provide them with basic needs, added Jessica Radboard of Vermont Legal Aid. Radboard pointed out the proposal is not in effect currently, and would not be retroactive if it ever does take effect. The coalition encouraged the public to weigh in on the proposal with online comments to the government, which can be submitted until Dec. 10. The Fountain of Life Church in Ashill is bringing Christmas alive with an all-senses journey through the Christmas story. The Fountain of Life Church in Ashill is bringing Christmas alive with an all-senses journey through the Christmas story. Care home careers at MHA Cromwell House, Norwich MHA Cromwell House in Norwich has career opportunities for a Care Assistant and Senior Care Assistant. Read more Norwich synagogue giving away free clothes this Sunday The Adat Yeshua Messianic Jewish congregation in Norwich are giving away clothes for free this Sunday, November 21, as part of the national Jewish Mitzva Day. Read more TimeNorfolk seeks volunteer practitioners TimeNorfolk are running a training course in 2022 for people interested in volunteering as a practitioner supporting the charity's clients. Read more Advent Angels set to land in Norfolk churches Churches in the Aylsham area will be visited by Advent Angels during December, created by churches and schools in the district. Read more Norwich Community Gospel Choir brings comfort and joy The Norwich Community Gospel Choir is fully up and running again, and welcoming new singers. Read more Crowdfunding appeal to fix Wiveton Church St Mary's, Wiveton has launched a CrowdFunding appeal for urgent roof repairs following storm damage two years ago, and Emma Bridgewater is supporting the campaign. Read more Help us to stage the Norwich Passion Play Would you like to be part of a professional Passion Play being staged on the streets of Norwich city centre next Easter and see the Gospel story performed in public? Read more Chance to meet new YMCA Norfolk CEO New YMCA Norfolk CEO, John Lee, will be the speaker at the next Transforming Norwich lunch to which local Christian leaders are invited to share lunch and to encourage and pray for one another. Read more Worshipping God in a draughty church Robert Ashton is concerned about the environmental impact of trying to heat the large number of historic, but often draughty, churches in Britain. Read more Finance and Administration Assistant needed The Catholic Diocese of East Anglia is looking to appoint a part-time Finance and Administration Assistant, based at Poringland near Norwich, to support the Diocesan Accountant in accounting for the finances of the Diocese. Read more Norwich Christian writer publishes poetry on dogs Gail Halley has captured her admiration of God in a poetry book about dogs. She explains what motivated her to do it. Read more Norwich Mothers' Union needs part-time Administrator Mothers Union Norwich Diocese requires a Part-time Administrator required to provide secretarial and administrative support for the activities of the charity, based at Diocesan House, near Norwich. Read more Christmas rhymes for Norfolk writer Matthew Pickhaver, who lives in North Norfolk, has just published two books of poetic plays on the theme of Christmas, and they are now available to buy. Read more Diocese of Norwich grows chaplaincy team for older people The Diocese of Norwich has appointed four Anna Chaplains to provide pastoral support to older people in Norfolk. Read more Mulbarton mum offers a guided approach to Advent Sarah Miller, a vicars wife from Mulbarton in south Norfolk, will be hosting a gentle evening to help you settle into Advent. Read more Church and Tenant Empowerment Worker Hope Into Action are looking for someone to join the Norwich team for 18 hours a week as an Empowerment Worker. The primary work location is Great Yarmouth but you will also need to work in Norwich. Read more Discover the benefits of giving Andrew Frere Smith describes how a generous spirit can benefit the giver as well as those who receive the gifts. Read more Brazil's Ministry of Health received reports of 11,524 outbreaks of foodborne diseases between 2000 and 2015, with 219,909 individuals falling sick and 167 dying from the diseases in question. Bacteria caused most outbreaks of such illnesses, including diarrhea and gastroenteritis. The most frequent were Salmonella spp., with 31,700 cases diagnosed in the period (14.4% of the total), Staphylococcus aureus (7.4%), and Escherichia coli (6.1%). According to a survey by the Ministry of Social Development, bacteria of the genus Salmonella were the etiological agents in 42.5% of the laboratory-confirmed foodborne disease outbreaks reported in Brazil between 1999 and 2009. Whole-genome sequencing of the main bacteria that cause acute diarrhea is the research focus for a group at the University of Sao Paulo led by Juliana Pfrimer Falcao, a professor at the university's Ribeirao Preto School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FCFRP-USP). In an article published in PLOS ONE, biomedical scientists Amanda Aparecida Seribelli and Fernanda Almeida, who belong to Falcao's lab, describe how they sequenced and investigated the genomes of 90 strains of a specific serovar of Salmonella enterica known as S. Typhimurium (an abbreviation of Salmonella enterica subspecies serovar Typhimurium). The 90 strains were isolated between 1983 and 2013 at Adolfo Lutz Institute in Ribeirao Preto (Sao Paulo State, Brazil) and Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in Rio de Janeiro. They provide a portrait of the epidemiology of salmonellosis in Brazil in the last 30 years, coming from all regions of the country and having been collected from patients with foodborne infections or from contaminated food such as poultry, pork, or lettuce and other vegetables. "From humans, we received samples of blood, brain abscesses, and diarrheic feces," Seribelli told. When the action of antibiotics in each of the 90 strains was tested, it was discovered that the vast majority were resistant to different classes of antibiotics that are part of the arsenal of medicine. The study also identified 39 genes responsible for resistance to antibiotics. Researchers affiliated with Fiocruz, Sao Paulo State University's School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (FCAV-UNESP) and Adolfo Lutz Institute participated in the study. The 90 strains of S. Typhimurium were sequenced at the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) during Almeida's doctoral stay. The comparative analysis of the genomes, transcriptomes, and phenotypes of S. Typhimurium strains isolated from humans and food in Brazil was supported by Sao Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP, the FDA, and the Ministry of Education's Office for Faculty Development (CAPES). Salmonellosis Salmonella comprises two species, S. bongori and S. enterica. The latter is the type species, with a large number of subspecies and serovars that cause more foodborne infections than any other species in Brazil and worldwide. The human and animal intestinal tract is the main natural reservoir for this pathogen, with poultry, pork and related food products serving as major transmission vectors. The six subspecies of S. enterica are subdivided into 2,600 serovars. A serovar (short for serological variant) is a distinct variation within a species of bacteria or virus characterized by having the same number of specific surface antigens. The most important subspecies of S. enterica from the epidemiological standpoint is S. enterica subspecies enterica, which causes the foodborne infection known as salmonellosis. The symptoms are diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps, and vomiting. S. enterica subsp. enterica was the main cause of the 31,700 cases of salmonellosis reported in Brazil between 2000 and 2015. The most frequently isolated serovars of this subspecies are S. Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis. S. Enteritidis is one of the leading salmonellosis-causing serovars. It first spread in a pandemic that started in Europe in the 1990s. S. Typhimurium was the most prevalent serovar before the pandemic and has continued to cause infections. According to Almeida, all 90 strains analyzed in the study belonged to S. Typhimurium. Another researcher at FCFRP-USP (also working at the university's Clinical, Toxicological and Bromatological Analysis Laboratory) is currently sequencing and analyzing samples containing the serovar S. Enteritidis. Almeida took the 90 strains of S. Typhimurium to the US in 2015. "Their genomes were sequenced at the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in Maryland under the supervision of researcher Marc W. Allard," he said. S. Typhimurium's genome contains 4.7 million base pairs. Brief reflection tells us that the study generated a mountain of data, more specifically 423 million bases corresponding to the sum of 90 genomes. After his return to Ribeirao Preto, Almeida worked with Seribelli on a comparative analysis of the various strains' genomes to understand their diversity and the evolutionary relationships between them. According to Almeida, the technique used was high-throughput genotyping with SNPs (pronounced "snips" and short for single-nucleotide polymorphisms), which enabled them to identify the genetic composition (genotype) of each strain by means of DNA sequencing. SNPs are the most common markers of genetic variation. The phylogenetic results separated the 90 strains of S. Typhimurium into two groups, A and B. "The group of samples collected from food differed from the group collected from humans," Seribelli explained. "Food isolates were distributed between groups A and B in relatively similar numbers, suggesting that more than one subtype is circulating in foods in Brazil. Human isolates were more prevalent in group B, suggesting that a specific subtype has probably adapted to humans." In another important part of their research funded by FAPESP, the scientists measured antibiotic resistance in each of the 90 strains. According to the study, 65 (72.2%) of the strains proved resistant to sulfonamides, 44 (48.9%) to streptomycin, 27 (30%) to tetracycline, 21 (23.3%) to gentamicin and seven (7.8%) to ceftriaxone, a cephalosporin antibiotic. Origin of resistance The analysis of SNPs identified 39 genes for resistance to different classes of antimicrobial or antibiotic, such as aminoglycoside, tetracycline, sulfonamide, trimethoprim, beta-lactam, fluoroquinolone, phenicol and macrolide. Point mutations were also found in some of the genes, such as gyrA, gyrB, parC and parE. "It's striking that S. Typhimurium is resistant to antibiotics that can be used to treat the disease," Seribelli said. "These drugs are available to physicians for use in combating infections that display resistance. They're a second line of defense when microorganisms aren't killed by the patient's immune system since salmonellosis is normally self-limiting and doesn't require the use of antibiotics. The main problem is when this fails and the bacteria become invasive." Another point that drew the scientists' attention was the difference between the strains' resistance over the 30-year sample collection period. "The samples of S. Typhimurium collected in the mid-1990s showed more resistance to antibiotics than samples from later years. This could be explained by the emergence in the early 1990s of the serovar S. Enteritidis, which has since become one of the main causes of salmonella infection," Seribelli said. S. Enteritidis has been known since the 1950s, but for a time, it caused fewer cases of the disease. This was radically changed by the S. Enteritidis pandemic, which began in the late 1980s and early 1990s in Europe and then spread around the world. "Since then, S. Enteritidis has been one of the most prevalent serovars in Brazil and worldwide. As a result, it's a serovar that can also be combated with antibiotics if necessary," Seribelli said. According to Almeida, S. Typhimurium remains one of the main serovars isolated from humans, animals and food in Brazil and worldwide. As of the S. Enteritidis pandemic in the mid-1990s, the number of resistant strains apparently decreased compared with the number prevalent before the 1990s, but whether the virulence of these strains increased to allow them to adapt to this new niche is unknown. "The key finding of this research is the discovery of a large number of resistance genes in the samples, considering that they were isolated from humans and food. This points to the very significant risk of contamination in Brazil today from food containing strains of Salmonella that are resistant to antimicrobials," Almeida said. A high-tech form of brain surgery that replaces scalpels with sound waves improved quality of life for people with Parkinson's disease that has resisted other forms of treatment, a new study has found. Further, the University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers conclude their study offers "comprehensive evidence of safety" in terms of the approach's effect on mood, behavior and cognitive ability, areas largely neglected in previous research. "In our initial study that looked at the outcomes of focused ultrasound surgery in Parkinson's disease, we primarily described post-operative improvements in motor symptoms, specifically tremor," said Scott Sperling, PsyD, a clinical neuropsychologist at UVA. "In this study, we extended these initial results and showed that focused ultrasound thalamotomy is not only safe from a cognitive and mood perspective, but that patients who underwent surgery realized significant and sustained benefits in terms of functional disability and overall quality of life." Focused Ultrasound and Parkinson's Disease Focused ultrasound, as the procedure is known, has already been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of essential tremor, the most common movement disorder. That approval came after a pioneering international study led by UVA neurosurgeon Jeff Elias, MD. He and his colleagues have since demonstrated the technology's potential in reducing tremor in people with drug-resistant Parkinson's disease. The goal is to use focused sound waves to interrupt the faulty brain circuits responsible for the uncontrollable shaking associated with the disease. The new study looked at the effects on 27 adults, all with severe Parkinson's tremor that had not responded to previous treatment. The study participants were initially divided into two groups. Twenty received the procedure, while seven received a fake procedure, to serve as a control group. (The seven in the control group were later offered the opportunity to receive the real procedure, and all but one did.) After receiving the procedure, study participants reported improved quality of life at both three months and 12 months. "After surgery, patients experienced significant improvements in multiple aspects of quality of life, including their ability to perform simple daily tasks, emotional well-being and the sense of stigma they experienced due to their tremor," Sperling said. "Our results suggest that post-operative improvements in tremor lead to very meaningful improvements in day-to-day functioning and, subsequently, to better overall quality of life." The Effects on Mood and Memory The study was notable for its in-depth examination of the psychological and cognitive effects of the procedure, areas that have received relatively little attention in previous research. The researchers found that mood and cognition, and the ability to go about daily life, ultimately had more effect on participants' assessment of their overall quality of life than did their tremor severity or the amount of tremor improvement seen after the procedure. "A person's perception of their quality of life is shaped in many different ways," Sperling said. "Mood and behavioral symptoms, such as depression, anxiety and apathy, often have a greater impact on quality of life than the measurable severity of one's tremor." The only cognitive declines seen in participants followed through the study were in how quickly they were able to name colors and think of and speak words. The cause of this was unclear, though the researchers suggested this could be a result of the natural progression of Parkinson's. (Focused ultrasound is being tested to address the tremor associated with the disease, not its other symptoms.) The researchers noted that their study was limited by its small size and the fact that participants' medication dosing varied, among other factors. To become available as a treatment for medication-resistant Parkinson's, the approach would need approval from the FDA. UVA's new research is an important step in that process. Federal regulators want to ban the sale of most flavored e-cigarettes at retail locations like gas stations and convenience stores. They also want to require anyone buying e-cigarettes online to verify their age. The new restrictions come as the Food and Drug Administration has been trying to rein in a dramatic increase in vaping by young people. Smoking of traditional tobacco cigarettes has fallen to a record low, but the popularity of e-cigarettes among youth is raising alarm bells. Colorado Public Radios John Daley reports on the effort for Kaiser Health News and NPRs All Things Considered. KHN's coverage of children's health care issues is supported in part by the Heising-Simons Foundation. "It will be harder to feed 9 billion people in 2050 than it would be today," says Gibran Vita, a PhD candidate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology 's Industrial Ecology Program. According to WWF, the world's greatest environmental problem is the destruction of wildlife and plant habitat. A large part of the devastation is due to the demands of an ever-growing human population. On the other hand, "Zero Hunger" is the second UN Sustainable Development Goal and its challenge is to meet a global growing food demand. The world's population could level off at around nine billion in a few years, compared to just over 7.6 billion now. But an average person in the future will require more food than today. Changes in eating habits, attitudes towards food waste, increases in height and body mass, and demographic transitions are some of the reasons. People are changing Professor Daniel B. Muller and colleagues Felipe Vasquez and Vita analyzed changes in the populations of 186 countries between 1975 and 2014. "We studied the effects of two phenomena. One is that people on average have become taller and heavier. The second is that the average population is getting older," said Vita. The first phenomenon contributes to increased food demand. The second counteracts the former one. An average adult in 2014 was 14 per cent heavier, about 1.3 per cent taller, 6.2 per cent older, and needed 6.1 per cent more energy than in 1975. Researchers expect this trend to continue for most countries. "An average global adult consumed 2465 kilocalories per day in 1975. In 2014, the average adult consumed 2615 kilocalories," says Vita. Globally, human consumption increased by 129 per cent during this time span. Population growth was responsible for 116 per cent, while increased weight and height accounted for 15 per cent. Older people need a little less food, but an aging population results in only two per cent less consumption. "The additional 13 per cent corresponds to the needs of 286 million people," Vasquez says. This in turn corresponds approximately to the food needs of Indonesia and Scandinavia combined. Major differences Considerable variations exist between countries. Weight gain per person from 1975 to 2014 ranged from 6 to 33 per cent, and the increased energy requirement ranged from 0.9 to 16 per cent. An average person from Tonga weighs 93 kilos. An average Vietnamese weighs 52 kilos. This means that Tonga people need 800 more kilocalories each day - or about four bowls of oatmeal. Some countries are changing quickly. On Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, the average weight rose from 62 kilos in 1975 to 82 kilos 40 years later. The lowest and highest changes are found in Asia and Africa, reflecting the disparities between the countries of these continents. Not previously calculated "Previous studies haven't taken the increased demands of larger individuals and aged societies into account when calculating the future food needs of a growing population," said Vasquez. Most studies estimate that an average adult's food needs remain constant over time and fairly similar across nations. But that's not how it is. "These assumptions can lead to errors in assessing how much food we'll actually need to meet future demand," Vasquez says. This study provides relevant information for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is a leader in the struggle to ensure food security for all. Vasquez and Vita say that we have to look at more than just the number of people in an area to understand the mechanisms behind their consumption. This requires a multidisciplinary approach that considers both social and physiological factors. This study's analysis involved bio-demography, a hybrid of biology and demography. The researchers adapted a model for dynamic systems that is often used in industrial ecology to study resource stocks and flows. Newsweek Headline Fail on Israeli Attacks in Syria | Main | PCUSA Stands By While Palestinian Activist Harassed by Extremist June 19, 2018 AFP Whitewashes Gaza's Serial Arsonists as 'Activists' June 20 Update: Multiple Media Outlets Amend Captions Calling Gaza Arsonists 'Activists' Numerous Agence France-Presse photo captions in the last couple of days misidentify Gazans responsible for airborne arson attacks which destroyed 28,000 dunums of Israeli farmland and nature reserve land. The smoke from these deliberately set fires two days ago caused 1000 turkeys to choke to death. The arsonists also launched explosives-laden kites and balloons across the border, reaching a highway and even the roof of a home. AFP captions misidentified these serial arsonists as "activists" or "protesters." A sampling of these erroneous captions follows: Palestinian activists fill hilum [sic] gas in a ballon [sic] that will be attached to flammable materials to be flown toward Israel, at the Israel-Gaza border, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 17, 2018. SAID KHATIB / AFP A Palestinian protester holds a bag containing with flammable materials that will be attached to ballons [sic] and flown toward Israel, at the Israel-Gaza border, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 17, 2018. SAID KHATIB / AFP An Israeli man and a boy extinguish a fire in a filed next to Kibbutz Beeri reportedly caused by inflamable [sic] material attached to kites and flown across the border to Israel by activists in the Gaza strip on June 18, 2018. Kite-borne fire bombings have reportedly caused significant damage to Israeli fields. MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP "Arson" refers to the very specific crime of purposefully setting property on fire, which is precisely what these people are doing. But AFP did not once use this clear and accurate terminology, and instead opts for the misleading and grossly inaccurate terms: "activists" and "protesters." Haaretz's English print edition yesterday published one of the AFP captions which had referred to "A masked Palestinian activist launches a balloon with flammable material . . . " Haaretz editors went to the trouble of amending the caption: changing the wording from "activist" to "protester." See also: "CAMERA Prompts Improved Reuters Captions on Palestinian Arson Attacks," June 5 Posted by TS at June 19, 2018 03:04 AM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment Inside the best The Flash story of all time with Mark Waid, Greg Larocque, and Brian Augustyn Looking back at the greatest Flash story of all time Sorry! This content is not available in your region Sanjay Khan, the swashbuckling yesteryear actor talks about his autobiography, family and his journey through the years. Once dubbed as one of the most flamboyant men in Bollywood, veteran actor and director Sanjay Khans palpable superstar persona is still as good as new. As he takes his seat at the table, he is delighted to inform that his autobiography, evocatively titled The best mistakes of my life is at third position on the Amazon bestseller list preceded only by Salman Rushdie and another American author. Our conversation starts with Khan on the defence, as I provocatively ask him how honestly, he has written his autobiography and question the possibility of being unequivocal. He answers without hesitation, The world knows whenever an autobiography is written, it has to reveal the facts. It cannot be otherwise, because it has to be proven. The art of autobiography, he says in a prolific manner, is done by an author who honestly delves back into his life and relives his life and captures all those moments of excitement, adventure, thrills, romances, the aroma of those times and shares it with the world in descriptive, interesting and vivid detail. While a lot has already been written about Sanjay Khan, on and off the screen, this autobiography is sure to set the record straight about the star and his ebb and flow. Sanjay says with conviction that his life has been multi-faceted and not just confined to acting and directing. It has been filled with exciting moments, Im very proud and very satisfied to tell you I have captured my entire life, my family, my background, my work, my directing. Ive met superb men of the world like kings and presidents, and big politicians, warlords in Iran, cocaine kings and even so called godfathers. Ive had interactions with some of the top most political personalities internationally and nationally and some of them have been my great friends including godmen, he reveals. His book is decorated with many such interesting anecdotes, but these are certainly not the mistakes hes talking about. Prod him once more and he grins, Its like asking a film producer on the day of the premiere what is your climax. Would he tel l his viewers and deprive himself of the pleasure? So, the best mistakes unfold with each chapter and each paragraph pertaining to the best mistakes and it gives the reader an insight into my writing and circumstances and the extraordinary times Ive had and very challenging times, life threatening situations, meeting some of the most exciting people of the world, says the veteran actor who is best remembered for his performances in films such as Ek Phool Do Mali and Abdullah as well as his portrayal of the great Tipu Sultan on television. The Best Mistakes Of My Life by Sanjay Khan Pp. 288, Rs 599 The tone of the title could also draw analogies to finding the silver lining over every cloud. And even if an autobiography is supposed to talk about life itself, Sanjay goes on to pen the excruciating details of his near-death experiences. Ive lived a life of peace and happiness and I have enjoyed friendships. Im a loyal man. I value time, commitment and keep my word. So, these are the values the youth of India will pick up from my book and it will help them in their lives. Ive gone through five life threatening circumstances in a major way one of them is a fire, the other one is a helicopter crash, another is a knife attack on me, while yet another is when my ship nearly sank in the Indian ocean off the coast of Mauritius. All these things have been interestingly captured in my book, he assures. Much too his chagrin, he has also been dubbed as aggressive, but he says he is neither of those things. At heart, he claims, to be a simple man, I am nobody, I have no airs, no ego, Im neither aggressive, even if people term me sometimes as aggressive. If my aloofness from somebody is called aggression, then I cannot help it. I leave it to their judgement, he comments. For most part of his life Sanjay has taken recourse to directing films and writing this book was a result of peer pressure, My friends urged me to write my autobiography, this impetus has driven me to write this book and my very good friend, the former chief justice of India Mr. Thakur asked me to write it before I forget all the details he was implying before I get too old, he laughs. I got the message and you know, one cannot draw the contempt of court and I agreed. Then, I was called by my publisher asking me to write my autobiography, he narrates. The 78-year-old actor took almost 11-and-half months to write this book, and proudly claims to have edited it himself. But of course, not without the help of his beloved family, My family is my treasure, Ive always given copies of my chapters to my children to read and give me a feedback and they always came and applauded my efforts. My wife did remind me of certain incidents, which may have slipped my mind, so that was her contribution. Some of my very close friends also have read my manuscript and gave me thumbs up before I sent it to the publisher. Being akin to film making, Sanjay certainly knows how to tell a story and keep the audiences hooked. He therefore deliberately kept the language of his book as simple as possible, to not intimidate the reader. He eloquently puts it, I wanted my book to be a ride in a Rolls Royce. So smooth that you can only hear the clock ticking, but you cant hear the engine. New Delhi : On the last day of campaigning for the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Chief Minister Raman Singh of direct involvement in Rs 36,000 crore PDS scam and Rs 5,000 crore chit-fund scam. Addressing a rally in poll-bound states Kanker, the Congress chief also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and questioned his morality on corruption. Modi ji says hes fighting against corruption. But when he comes to Chhattisgarh he doesnt tell you the CM is corrupt. Your Rs 5000 crore disappeared in chit-fund scam, 310 FIRs were registered but no action was taken because CM was involved, Gandhi said. Also Read | Chhattisgarh Elections: Raman Singh government made the state almost Naxalism-free, says Amit Shah Raking up the infamous PDS scam, the Gandhi scion claimed that a diary was recovered during the investigations. In the diary, it was mentioned that Money was paid to CM madame and Dr Sahab. I ask Raman Singh ji who is this CM Madam and Dr sahib? Whose names were found in the diary in connection with the scam, he said. The Congress leader also fired more salvo at Raman Singh for not taking any action against his son, whose name, Gandhi claimed, was appeared in the Panama papers. If the CM doesnt want to answer that then he should explain to the people of Chhattisgarh why is no action taken against his son, whose name appeared in Panama papers? In Pakistan the PM is jailed because his name appeared in Panama papers, he added. Also Read | Congress releases manifesto for Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls; know key takeaways Chhattisgarh will go to polls in two phases. The first phase of voting is scheduled to be held on November 12. As many as 190 candidates, including state Chief Minister Raman Singh, will be in the fray for 18 seats in the first phase. Air India has pressed into service its permanent employees to handle the ground handling operations at the Mumbai airport. AIATSL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the national carrier, provides ground handling services to Air India across airports in the country. Mumbai: As many as 37 Air India flights, including some international ones, were affected on Thursday after a section of employees of the national carriers ground handling subsidiary, Air India Air Transport Services (AIATSL), went on a flash strike against non-payment of Diwali bonus and other issues, an official said. The employees of AIATSL struck work at the Mumbai airport from the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, demanding payment of Diwali bonus and reinstatement of three of their colleagues whose contracts were not renewed by the company, he said. AIATSL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the national carrier, provides ground handling services to Air India across airports in the country. It has about 5,000 employees, including those on contract. Some AIATSL employees at the Mumbai airport are on strike since Wednesday-Thursday (intervening) night over non-payment of Diwali bonus and reinstatement of the services of some of their former colleagues. This stand-off has resulted in flight operations getting hampered, the official said. He said around 37 flights, including international ones, were delayed by 2.5 hours-3 hours till 1500 hours on Thursday. However, no flight has been cancelled so far, he added. Air India has pressed into service its permanent employees to handle the ground handling operations at the Mumbai airport, the official said. The company has already paid the bonus after negotiations but the employees are now insisting that the services of three of their colleagues, whose contracts were not renewed last month, be restored, he said. Negotiations are going on between the striking employees and the AIATSL management to resolve the issue, the official added. New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said the Congress was the biggest hurdle in construction of the grand Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya, and sought to know whether the Rahul Gandhi-led party was concerned about Lord Ram or Mughal emperor Babur. Addressing a rally in Kawardha of Chhattisgarh on the last day of campaigning for the first phase of the state polls, Adityanath said: "The Congress should be asked if their relation is with (Lord) Ram or with foreign invader Babur. The Congress has no idea about the country's respect and 'swabhimaan' (self-respect). The Congress always played with the national security and is now coming in front of you for votes." Adityanath also alleged that the Congress encouraged Naxalism in the state and it was the BJP which had to deal with it. Also Read | Ball tampering again? Adam Zampa reportedly under the scanner after Adelaide win "The Congress encouraged Naxalism for its gains, but when it (Naxalism) became dangerous for the security of people, it was the BJP which had to deal with the issue sternly. The Congress has been encouraging Naxalism actively and covertly," he said. "The Congress, for its own gains, played with the security of the country. Be it Chhattisgarh or Jharkhand, where the issue was giving asylum to Naxalites or using states like Kashmir for political benefits. But for the BJP, national security is of prime importance, hence (it) never accepted toying with it," Adityanath said. In a similar statement against the Congress, BJP president Amit Shah, earlier in the day, said a party that thought the rebel movement was a medium for revolution could not do any good for the state. He also lauded the Raman Singh government for making Chhattisgarh "almost free" of Naxalism. "A party that feels Naxalism is a medium for revolution cannot do any good for Chhattisgarh," he said, while attacking referring to Uttar Pradesh Congress president Raj Babbar's remarks last week. Also Read | Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone leave for their destination wedding in Italy The elections to the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will be held in two phases on November 12 and 20. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister also slammed the Congress for not utilising the natural resources in Chhattisgarh. Despite having extensive mineral deposits and forest wealth, Chhattisgarh remained "poor, backward and a BIMARU state" during the Congress rule, he said. "Today, the forest wealth is being used for the welfare of locals. The adivasis (tribals) and forest dwellers are being given benefits of development schemes," the priest-turned-politician said. (With PTI inputs) New Delhi: The high-decibel political campaign for the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections on Saturday came to an end, with the BJP and the Opposition Congress blaming each other over various issues, including that of NaxaliteMaoist insurgency in the state. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally on Friday accused the Rahul Gandhi-led party of backing "urban Naxals", the Congress alleged that it was an attempt to hide the "failure" of the BJP government in combating Naxalism and bringing development to the state. Polling to 18 constituencies of eight Naxal-affected districts in Chhattisgarh will take place Monday, November 12, 2018. "Chhattisgarh: Campaigning for the first phase of state Assembly Elections concludes. Voting for 18 constituencies to be held on November 12," the news agency ANI reported. #Chhattisgarh: Campaigning for the first phase of state Assembly Elections concludes. Voting for 18 constituencies to be held on November 12. ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 Read | Madhya Pradesh Polls: Shivraj Singh Chouhan dismisses Congress manifesto; criticises former PM Rajiv Gandhi Out of 18 constituencies, in 10 Maoist affected assembly segments, the campaigning ended at around 3 pm while in other 8 places the party leaders continued to hold rallies till 5 pm this evening. As part of the last round of campaigning for the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly polls, BJP president Amit Shah and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi Saturday addressed public meetings at various places including Gariabandh, Rajnandgaon, Bastar among others. Other prominent figures from both the parties such as Union minister Sushma Swaraj, Babul Supriyo, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, senior Congress leader and actor Raj Babbar also hold rallies in a bid to woo voters for their respective candidates in the state. Read | Telangana Assembly Polls 2018: Congress finalises seat-sharing deal with alliance partners; to contest from 93 seats A total of 190 candidates, including Chief Minister Raman Singh from Rajnandgaon, will be in the fray during the first phase of voting in the state. The BJP had lost 12 of these 18 seats in the last polls in 2013. An estimated 31,79,520 voters, including 16,21,839 male, 15,57,592 female and 89 of third-gender, are eligible to vote. As many as 4,336 polling booths have been set up for this phase. Polling to the remaining 72 constituencies, in the second and final phase, will be held on November 20, 2018. Counting of votes will be taken up on December 11, 2018. For long, Chhattisgarh has been a straight fight between the BJP and the Congress while this time a third front comprising Ajit Jogi's Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J), Mayawati's BSP and the CPI has been emerging to make some significant changes in the poll-predictions of the state. Read | Chhattisgarh Election: Ram or Babur? Yogi Adityanath seeks Congress response on Ram temple Talking about the last Assembly Polls in Chhattisgarh, out of the total 90 seats, the BJP had won 49 seats, Congress 39, BSP 1 and independent 1. The Saffron Party has won three consecutive elections in the state. New Delhi: BJP President Amit Shah Saturday said the Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh had made the state "almost free" of Naxalism and developed it as a hub of power and cement production. Shah was releasing his party's manifesto ahead of the first phase of polling on November 12. Chhattisgarh was the first state to have a legislation on skill development, he said while addressing media in Chhattisgarh's Raipur. Raman Singh government has changed the state in the past 15 years and has been successful in containing Naxalism: BJP President Amit Shah in Chhattisgarh's Raipur pic.twitter.com/Kgzf3FZAzc ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 ALSO READ | Congress releases manifesto for Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls; know key takeaways While attacking the Congress, he said a party that felt Naxalism was a medium for revolution could not do any good for Chhattisgarh. The BJP government under Chief Minister Raman Singh has contained Naxalism and made the state almost free of it Shah exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would win this month's Assembly polls in the state for the fourth straight time. Earlier known as a BIMARU state, Chhattisgarh was now a "power and cement production hub", he said and lauded the Raman Singh government for initiating several welfare measures for the state's prosperity. "Taking on the Congress's propaganda and working tirelessly for the state's development for the last 15 years is a big challenge. I am confident that the BJP will win a straight fourth term in office," Shah said. ALSO READ | Jammu and Kashmir: Two militants killed in Pulwama encounter The state government had initiated several welfare measures and made the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme corruption-free, he added. The 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will go to the polls in two phases -- on November 12 and 20 -- and the results will be announced on December 11. (With inputs from agencies) New Delhi: Bharti Airtel on Saturday said it will pre-pay USD 1.5 billion debt with its subsidiary Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands), using the proceeds it got from six global entities investing in its Africa unit. Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B V commenced cash purchase of USD 1.5 billion, 5.125 per cent Guaranteed Senior Notes which were due in 2023, Bharti Airtel said in a regulatory filing. ALSO READ | Congress releases manifesto for Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls; know key takeaways This offer, it said, has been made with a view to "proactively manage its capital structure, reduce gross debt and leverage by acquiring the Notes funded out of equity proceeds and also provide liquidity to Noteholders at a premium to the market." Bharti Airtel group continues to deleverage and pursue its strategies towards that end, it added. "In line with this, it has been actively exploring various equity driven initiatives, including those previously announced regarding its Africa business, so as to proactively manage its balance sheet and capital structure to align them to the group's core conservative philosophy," it said. Bharti Airtel International's (Netherlands) parent Airtel Africa Ltd, a UK incorporated subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited, recently made a successful primary equity issuance of USD 1.25 billion to six leading global investors, including Warburg Pincus, Temasek, Singtel, SoftBank Group and others. "The proceeds of this equity issuance are intended to be used to reduce Airtel Africa's existing debt of approximately USD 5 billion on the date of the announcement," it said. The proceeds of this equity issuance are now fully realized and available as cash. The company also carries organic cash on its balance sheet. "The company wishes to utilize the proceeds of this equity issuance and the cash available to it to reduce its existing debt by offering to purchase 'any and all' of the Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer. ALSO READ | Jammu and Kashmir: Two militants killed in Pulwama encounter "Via the Tender Offer, the company is also providing liquidity to the Noteholders at a specified premium over the market price at launch," the filing said. This offer is in addition to the previously announced tender offer cum repayment of EUR 1 billion 4 per cent notes maturing December 2018, for which funding has been drawn and available as cash with the company. Earlier this week, Moody's Investors Service had placed Bharti Airtel's rating on review for downgrade on low levels of profitability and expectation of weak cash flow. Moody's had placed on review for downgrade the 'Baa3' issuer and senior unsecured rating of Bharti Airtel and the ratings on the backed senior unsecured notes issued by Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands). For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A centrally funded apparel and garments manufacturing unit in Meghalaya has started production and it will cater to the demands from the country as well as neighbouring Bangladesh. Located in South West Garo hills district covering an area of 45,000 square feet, the unit was set up at a cost of Rs 14.26 crore, funded by the Ministry of Textiles under the central governments North East Region Textiles Promotion Scheme (NERTPS), a press release said. The unit has three production lines, two of them housing 105 sewing machines each, and the third one with seventy machines. They are equipped with facilities for designing, hank dyeing, warping, jacquard weaving, fabric finishing and sewing which make it sustainable in long run, the release said. Also Read | Karnataka government celebrates Tipu Sultan Jayanti amid tight security, protests by BJP The unit has been made operational by the School of Livelihood & Rural Development (SLRD), an autonomous institution working with the Government of India and various state governments. About 300 youths will get direct employment initially and the number is expected to grow to 2,000 artisans by the time production goes to optimum capacity. The factory will cater to the demands of the domestic market as well market in neighbouring Bangladesh, the release said. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Agartala: The Tripura government will soon start dialogue for purchase of 26 per cent equity shares of the Palatana gas thermal power project from the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS). The 726.6 mw gas-based power project, run by ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC), was formally started in 2014 as a joint venture of the ONGC, the IDFC, the IL&FS and the Tripura government. Also Read | Karnataka government celebrates Tipu Sultan Jayanti amid tight security, protests by BJP The state of Tripura owns 0.5 per cent share in the project. We have come to know from the central government that the IL&FS will offload its entire 26 per cent share. We are in the process of opening dialogue with them to buy all the shares because the Palatana power project is a very profitable company, Law Minister Ratan Lal Nath told reporters on Friday. The ministry of power allocated over 58 per cent energy from the Palatana project to north eastern states. Out of Tripuras share in the projects output, the state government is selling 160 mw on a daily basis to neighbouring Bangladesh. Read More | Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone leave for their destination wedding in Italy The IL&FS purchased 26 per cent equity shares at Rs 291.20 crore. With increase in value, the equity shares are now estimated at Rs 300 crores, Nath said. The minister claimed that the value of the shares is likely to appreciate in future. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi : National capital Delhi continued to grapple with rising air pollution as the air quality remained in aseverea category on Saturday morning as well. A thick blanket of smog engulfed the city and brought the visibility down to as low as 200 meters. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, major pollutant PM 2.5 was recorded at 431 (severe) category and PM 10 at 283 (poor category) in Delhi's Lodhi Road area. the overall air quality index stood at 533 in Anand Vihar and 422 around PGDAV College under the 'hazardous' category. #Delhi's Anand Vihar at 533 and area around PGDAV College, Sriniwaspuri at 422 under 'Hazardous' category & RK Puram at 278 under ' Very Unhealthy' category, in Air Quality Index pic.twitter.com/6vVxnkUHFj a ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 The authorities have warned that the situation was likely to worsen more due to intensified stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, sources said that the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi was mulling to roll out the successful odd-even car rationing measure to control vehicular pollution. The Delhi government has reportedly completed all the preparations required for this. The odd-even scheme had, in the past, proved significant in controlling the air pollution by bringing down the levels of major pollutant PM2.5. However, experts said that the scheme may not give the expected results if it is implemented with too many exemptions. New Delhi : A senior Tata Steel Processing and Distribution Ltd (TSPDL) manager was shot by a fired former employee of the company in Delhis adjoining Faridabad on Friday. The incident took place at around 1:10 pm in TSPDLs Faridabad office where a former employee Vishwash Pandey pumped five bullets into senior manager Arindam Pals body. Pandey fled the scene immediately after firing while Pal succumbed to injuries on his way to the hospital. The victim hailed from Kolkata and was a senior manager (supply chain) at the companys Faridabad office. He is survived by his wife and a daughter. Also Read | Jammu and Kashmir: Two militants killed in Pulwama encounter Police said that Pandey was fired from his job in August this year on basis of a report submitted by Pal. They suspect that Pandey held a grudge against the victim manager for this reason and killed him to take revenge. They have also registered an FIR against Pandey and launched an investigation into the incident. The company had started an inquiry against Pandey and relieved him of his services four to five months ago, on grounds of indiscipline. The report of the inquiry, on the basis of which he was sacked, was submitted by the deceased, Faridabad police PRO Sube Singh said. Also Read | Earth has three moons; scientists confirm after decades of speculations Agartala: Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Saturday appealed to the students of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) here to take up entrepreneurship and contribute in developing Tripura as a model state. Deb expressed happiness that 70 per cent of its students got placement through campus interviews. But I shall appeal to the students to be job creators instead of being employees. We are trying to create a model state in Tripura. The youth force should think about the country, he said while addressing the 11th convocation of the Agartala NIT. Indian students have made Make My Trip and Ola. If they can do, then why cant you do something similar? Be entrepreneurs. The state government will extend all sorts of cooperation, he said. Read | Biplab Kumar Deb slips again; says Rabindranath Tagore returned Nobel Prize after Jallianwala Bagh massacre He said Tripura is going to be developed as a major transit and logistics hub in the North East in six months as the Centre has finalised an agreement with Bangladesh for access to Chittagong port. The state government is also building a bridge with the neighbouring country on the river Feni in South Tripura, the chief minister said. Deb said the state would soon start BPOs, call centres, startup centres to assist aspiring entrepreneurs. Read | PM Narendra Modi summons Tripura CM Biplab Deb over controversial comments Tripura Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki was awarded an honourary D.Litt at the convocation. New Delhi: The fuming rage of #MeToo has not yet left the country after gaining huge momentum in India since 2018. Owing to this movement, many prominent Bollywood names have been called, leaving the industry in bewilderment. The latest addition to this list is Former Femina Miss India beauty pageant winner and actor Niharika Singh who has accused Nawazuddin Siddiqui and few others of sexually harassing her. Also Read | After Vijay's Sarkar, TamilRockers threaten to leak THIS movie Niharika, in her statement, revealed how award-winning actor Nawazuddin forced her into a relationship which later became abusive. The model also accused Nawazuddin of spreading stories about her to ensure that she wouldnt get work elsewhere after she broke up with him. She writes: In 2013, Nawaz was offered a film by Buddhadeb Dasgupta titled Anwar ka ajab kissa and he called me to ask me if I would do a small role in that film. I would only be required to shoot for 3 days. I gladly agreed and went to Shimultata where the shoot was scheduled. He tried to re-engage me sexually, begging me to be with him but I refused, saying I was happy to be his friend and nothing else. After coming back from the shoot, I didnt take his calls and maintained my distance. I met Nawaz again in 2014 at the Miss Lovely India release. This time he came in an SUV, with an entourage as the star of the film. He was constantly throwing tantrums, upset with the way the promotions were being handled. He complained that the director shouldve just made a painting at home if he didnt care much about box-office. He was very awkward around me so I tried to overcompensate by praising him in media interactions and indulged him to make him feel secure. One evening, after a promotional event in Ahmedabad, he tried to grab me again. I just walked away. Anwar ka ajab kissa didnt get a theatrical release and I heard from various sources that Nawaz had started telling people that I was a terrible actress. I didnt get too many films offers after that," added the actor model. Niharika mentioned how such abuse has been normalised in the glamour industry. The actor further pointed to the chairman and Managing Director of T-Series, Bhushan Kumar, who allegedly sent a suggestive text to her, but once she showed her disinterest, he never tried again. However, this affected her movie co-starring Himesh Reshammiya, which was produced by Bhushan Kumar. She explained how it took years for the film to be complete and she was compelled to shoot a couple of songs without director John Matthew Mathans involvement. Also Read | Shweta Tripathi goes bold and steamy in Mirzapur's opening scene In 2017, Nawazuddin Siddiqui wrote a memoir called An ordinary life, with writer Rituparna Chatterjee, which was published by Penguin Random House. Under the title Relationships, he wrote a completely fabricated account of their relationship without her knowledge or consent. Niharika goes on to talk about how the media chose to sensationalise Nawazuddin's fabricated account about his relationship with her while Penguin Random House remained silent. Here is the complete statement by Niharika: 2005 Miss India Niharika Singh's experiences in Bollywood but especially with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Mayank Singh Singvi Niharika and other women accused Siddiqui of making up lies in his autobiography, due to which he withdrew the book. This is her side of the story. pic.twitter.com/XBVGgE3r0c Sandhya Menon (@TheRestlessQuil) November 9, 2018 The #MeToo movement was triggered in India after Tanushree Dutta accused Nana Patekar of sexually harassing her on the sets of 2008 film Horn Ok Pleasss. This movement gave courage to the many feared voices in the show-biz industry and also across different fraternities. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The disposal rate of GST refunds is 93.8 per cent as on October 31. As much as Rs 3,096 crore worth of IGST refund claims are held up on account of various deficiencies. New Delhi: The goods and services tax (GST) refund of Rs 82,775 crore to exporters has been cleared as on October 31, which is 93.8 per cent of the total such claims with tax authorities, the finance ministry said on Thursday. In a statement, the ministry said Rs 5,400 crore worth GST refund is still pending with the government and that is being expeditiously processed. As on October 31, 2018, total GST refunds to the tune of Rs 82,775 crore have been disposed by the central board of indirect taxes and customs (CBIC) and state authorities out of the total refund claims of Rs 88,175 crore received so far, the ministry said. The disposal rate of GST refunds is 93.8 per cent as on October 31, it added. Giving the refunds break-up, the ministry further said that Rs 42,935 crore of IGST refunds have been disposed of as on October 31, which is 93.27 per cent of the total such claims. As much as Rs 3,096 crore worth of IGST refund claims are held up on account of various deficiencies, which have been communicated to exporters for remedial action. With regard to refund of input tax credit claims, the ministry said of the total claims of Rs 42,145 crore, the pendency as on October 31 stood at Rs 2,305 crore. Provisional/ final order has been issued in case of refunds worth Rs 34,602 crore. In claims amounting to Rs 5,239 crore, deficiency memos have been issued by respective GST authorities, the statement said. The ministry said there are concerns that there is a growing pendency of GST refunds and sought to assure the exporters that there is no let up in the sanction of GST refunds. The pending GST refund claims amounting to Rs 5,400 crore are being processed so as to provide relief to eligible exporters. Refund claims without any deficiency are being cleared expeditiously, it said. New Delhi: Bollywood stars Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh were spotted leaving Mumbai on Saturday morning along with their family members days ahead of their wedding. The couple will be tying the knot on November 14 and 15 in Italy. Earlier, the Bollywood couple took to their respective social media accounts to reveal the much-awaited news about their wedding. In a Twitter post shared by Deepika Padukone, the wedding celebrations will take place on November 14 and 15. "With the blessings of our families, it gives us immense joy in sharing that our wedding is set to take place on the 14th and 15th of November 2018. Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh spotted at the Mumbai airport, reportedly leaving for their destination wedding in Italy Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/m038QNLFbp pic.twitter.com/lg3dpmtMgT ANI Digital (@ani_digital) November 10, 2018 ALSO READ | Tipu Sultan Jayanti LIVE: Protests in Madikeri against celebrations of 18th century ruler's birth anniversary Reports have it that the so-in-love couple will be having their dream wedding at the Italys Lake Como. It has now, however, been confirmed that the couple will be tying the knot in the breathtaking and picturesque Villa del Balbianello near the famous Lake Como in Italy. This is, however, not the first time, Italy has been the pick for the Bollywoods A-listers. There was the Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli's wedding at Tuscany's Borgo Finocchieto, then the recent Isha Ambanis engagement party at Lake Como. Italy sure has gotten the better charm for these Tinsel Towners. ALSO READ | Delhi air quality remains in severe category; government may roll out odd-even scheme The couple worked together in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Ram-Leela, Bajirao Mastani and blockbuster Padmaavat . For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Sooraj Pancholi celebrated his birthday on Friday with his family in Mumbai. While the actor had a perfect family lunch date, he also took to his Instagram handle to express gratitude to people who stood by him. The Hero actor also ended his silence on Jiah Khans suicide case in his heartfelt and emotional post. Also Read | Ahead of children's day, THESE star-kids are ruling the internet already The actor has been fighting a six-year-long court case and during the time this is the first time that Sooraj has voiced the matter. He shared a picture of his hands holding candles with a caption that read, I wanted to wait to speak out until the case ended, but its taken longer than expected. I dont know where to start from. It is difficult to express some feelings when so many people, so many emotions are involved. First, I want to thank those who have stood by me like a pillar of strength. It has been a long journey that started when I was still trying to understand life. I have been fighting the case in court for the last 6 years, with patience and respect, waiting for the trial to be completed. In this process, I have been called a murderer, a criminal, an abuser and so much worse. I read these things about me almost every single day. And my heartfelt effort has always been to be strong, respectful and ignore it. But they still fill my and my loved ones heart with so much sadness. I dont blame the people who call me names, because thats how i have been portrayed in public, but im not the monster that has been portrayed in headlines. I know how easy it is to think the worst of someone and accuse them but it is exceptionally hard to prove myself innocent as theres a procedure that we need to follow. Also Read | Thugs Of Hindostan Day 2 collection dips by 50%, Aamir-Amitabh charm seems to fade A procedure that has taken long enough that i have been made to feel guilty without even being given a fair chance to prove my innocence. There have been accusations and assumptions but there has been no validation, added the actor. Sooraj expressed in his post that his only dream was to make his parents proud of him, but in the last six years, he had to try harder every day to achieve this dream and to remain positive. On the occasion of his birthday, he extended his prayers that he and his family could move forward and wished the trial to come to a fair end. He thanked everyone who constantly supported the actor and brought positivity in his life. Here's the complete letter: Sooraj made his Bollywood debut with 2015 release Hero co-starring Athiya Shetty. He was charged with abetment to suicide as Jiah Khan in her suicide note, accused Sooraj of ruining her life. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi : At least 15 infants have died at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH) in Assam in less than a week, officials said on Friday. Taking cognisance of the matter, the state health department rushed a team to investigate the matter. The 15 newborns who died between November 1 and 6 were admitted at the special care newborn unit of the hospital, JMCH Superintendent Saurav Borkakoti said, adding that the deaths were not due to medical negligence. Also Read | Thumping victory for Congress in Rajasthan, simple majority in Madhya Pradesh: Opinion poll Sometimes the number of patients coming to the hospital may be large and so the figure of death of newborns may also be large. It depends in what situation the patients have come to the hospital. They may have come with prolonged labour, with low birth weight. In such circumstances, those newborns may die, PTI quoted Borkakoti as saying. Borkakoti also said that the JMCH Hospital has also formed a six-member committee to look into the matter. He said that after the civil hospital was converted into a full-fledged medical college and hospital, the number of patients has gone up, exceeding the available 141-bed SNCU capacity. Also Read | What is 'Sarkar' film controversy? Why four scenes deleted from Tamil action flick? Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters that the health department has sent a team of experts to investigate the deaths. The team that will probe the matter included doctors from Gauhati Medical College and Hospital and Assam Medical College and Hospital, Dibrugarh. The director of medical education assisted by UNICEF is also the part of the team probing the matter, Biswa Sarma said. (With inputs from agencies) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi : Ahead of Sabarimala temple reopening for the two-month long mandalam-makaravilakku pilgrimage season next week, over 5o0 women aged between 10 and 50 have registered for darshan through Kerala Polices online booking system - Sabarimala Virtual-Q. The booking comes amid the threat of violent protests by right-wing groups who are against the entry of women of menstrual age despite the Supreme Court order to allow them. Also Read | Karnataka government celebrates Tipu Sultan Jayanti amid tight security, protests by BJP The Kerala police, however, said that the identities of the women cannot be identified as it doesnt ask them for an identification card before registration. To regulate and streamline the devotees at Sabarimala temple, the Kerala Police had designed and developed a special software titled "Sabarimala Virtual Q-System". The portal provides people with an online facility to reserve their place in the queue at the Sabarimala temple for Lord Ayyappa Darshan at their desired time on any day when the shrine is open. Also Read | Congress releases manifesto for Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls; know key takeaways For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Security officials at Delhi airport had some anxious moments when the pilot of an Ariana Afghan Airlines flight sent a hijack alert on Saturday afternoon. Soon, the flight was stopped from taking off and the plane was cordoned off. Later, it was found that the pilot "mistakenly" pressed the 'hijack button' when it was taxiing for take-off, according to reports. Hindustan Times reported that the Delhi-Kandahar flight carrying 124 passengers and nine crew members was taxiing for take-off at 3.30 pm when the airport authorities got the hijack alert from it. Soon, security men cordoned off the plane. Sources told the newspaper that it was later found that the captain was telling the co-pilot about the procedure for alert when the alarm was accidentally sent to the air traffic control (ATC). News agency PTI reported that the plane took off nearly two hours later after "satisfactory" security checks. While there was no immediate official reaction, the sources said the pressing of hijack button had pushed all agencies concerned, including the anti-terror force National Security Guard (NSG), into action. NSG commandos and officials of other agencies swiftly responded to the situation and surrounded the aircraft, they said. In December 1999, militants of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, a Pakistan-based extremist group, had hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814, in Indian airspace and took it to Kandahar in Afghanistan. Then Indian government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had to surrender before the terrorists and agreed to release three of their members. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi : Despite protests by the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Karnataka government on Saturday celebrated Tipu Sultan Jayanti amid tight security. The BJP had staged protests across the state over the birth anniversary celebrations of Tipu Sultan - the 18th-century ruler of Mysore kingdom. In wake of the shutdown called by the various right-wing organisations, including the BJP and Codava National Council, security has been tightened in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Kodagu and Madikeri. The police have also detained several people protesting against the Tipu Jayanti Celebrations. Meanwhile, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has decided to skip Saturdays events to celebrate the Tipu Jayanti. The event will be launched by Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader G Parameshwara. On the advice of doctors, the chief minister will take three days rest till November 11. He will spend time with family on these days and there will be no official engagements on these days, a statement from Kumaraswamys office said. Tipu Sultan Jayanti Celebrations Live Updates: 10:58 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Madikeri: BJP workers raise slogans in the premises of the Deputy Commissioner's office protesting against Tipu Sultan Jayanti celebrations being held there.

Madikeri: BJP workers raise slogans in the premises of the Deputy Commissioner's office protesting against #TipuJayanthi celebrations being held there. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/VC4k1IPV3Y

ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018
10:49 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Karnataka Minority Welfare Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan met former CM Siddaramaiah at his residence in Bengaluru today. Tipu Jayanti celebrations are being observed by the state govt today. Karnataka Minority Welfare Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan met former CM Siddaramaiah at his residence in Bengaluru today. #TipuJayanthi celebrations are being observed by the state govt today. pic.twitter.com/IakUU4o8zQ ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 10:48 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In We have taken all precautionary measures. If somebody violates law & order the police will take strict action: PI Srividya, Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu on security arrangements for Tipu Jayanti. 10:44 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Govt is wasting public money in the name of Tipu Jayanti. Tipu is not a warrior, he killed so many Hindus & attacked temples. Why are they glorifying a man like him? This is only vote bank politics. Everyone in Kodagu is opposing the celebrations: Sajjal Krishnan, BJP District Secretary 10:44 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Madikeri: Security has been tightened in Madikeri in the light of a shutdown called in the town against Tipu Jayanti celebrations being observed today. The shutdown has been called by various organisations, including BJP and Codava National Council. Madikeri: Security has been tightened in Madikeri in the light of a shutdown called in the town against #TipuJayanti celebrations being observed today. The shutdown has been called by various organisations, including BJP and Codava National Council. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/AjPIIAzUiN ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 10:43 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Karnataka: Various groups protesting against TipuJ Jayanti celebrations in Madikeri offer prayers at Sri Omkareshwara Temple in the town. They will then carry out a procession against the celebrations, which are being observed in the state today. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to visit Maldives to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih as the island nations new President on , New Delhi has hinted out categorically that it will reclaim its political, diplomatic and economic influences in the strategically important country where under the Abdulla Yameen regime, China ruled the roost. To the extent that Maldives was facilitated to become part of Chinas complex and impervious Belt and Road Initiative in the Indian Ocean region. In the past five years, while island nations traditional India-first policy was diluted, the pro-China Yameen regime also ensured that Indian companies didnt matter in any infrastructure project nor any individual who had a slightest leaning towards India was allowed to rest in peace. In , the Indian Prime Minister cancelled his visit to Maldives in the last minute as the country had plunged into political turmoil; former President Mohamed Nasheed had been sentenced to 13-year jail term. Maldives relations with India nosedived further when Abdulla Yameen imposed emergency in the country in after the Supreme Court ordered release of a group of opposition leaders from jail. Apex court judges, including Chief Justice who formed part of judgment on political prisoners release, were also put behind the bars. Completely darkened by arrogance, President Abdulla Yameen didnt spare even his step brother and former Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom from thrusting into jail in his attempt to suppress dissent in the country. Male rejected visa renewals for Indians who were legally working. Also Read | Rajasthan Assembly Elections: Why odds are stacked against BJP, in favour of Congress This year, it turned down Indias invitation to participate in biennial eight-day Milan naval exercise and asked India to take back two helicopters it had gifted to the island country for its maritime security. The presidential polls, however, took wind out of Yameens sail when electoral outcome went in favour of opposition presidential candidate Mohamed Solih. India was the first country in the world to welcome the polls outcome. China which pumped in huge amount of money in Maldives to deepen its political, economic and strategic footprint, had not realised that the table would turn against Abdulla Yameen in such a manner by the people of the island nation. It grudgingly welcomed Mohamed Solihs election as the new President of Maldives. Former Maldivian president Nasheed whose supporters played a crucial role in creating an atmosphere in favour of opposition candidate Mohamed Solih, has already declared that all infra projects handed over to China during Abdulla Yameens presidency will be reviewed. An estimated $1.3 billion is owed by the island nation to China--more than a quarter of its GDP. Of the total Chinese investment in the Indian Ocean archipelago, $830 million was pumped in to upgrade the Maldives airport and build 2-km bridge to connect the capital Male with the airport island. Several critics have warned that the debt-ridden island nation may see its situation turning like Sri Lanka, which was forced to give away Hambantota port on a 99-year lease to China in in exchange for $1.8 billion loan it had taken to develop the project. China is also engaged in the construction of 25-story hospital and other infra projects in Male. But construction exercise was not only business China was prepared to limit itself, it had its eyes on the countrys islets also. Also Read | Two years after DeMo: Is government using demonetisation as a postdated cheque? According to Nasheed, China has taken on lease not only Feydhoo Finolhu islet but also 15 other islets of 1,192 scattered coral islands which make up the country. In 2017, to the detriment of India, Maldives signed Free Trade Agreement with China. But patience paid dividend. The just concluded presidential polls brought a major relief to India. It had, though, voiced its concern when the presidential election was announced. It feared that a free and fair election in the island nation would not be possible unless democratic institutions, including parliament and judiciary, were allowed to work in a free and transparent manner. Nonetheless when results were out, Maldivian opposition camp found to its dismay the outcome coming beyond its expectations-- Solih had clinched his victory from the jaw of Yameen-dictated imperious regime. Relieved India has now its task cut out: The election has allowed Delhi to wrest control of the strategically significant nation from China and an encore to this will be completed when Modi joins the swearing-in ceremony of Solih as new Maldivian President next week. No Chinese leader has been invited for the ceremony. However, beyond diplomacy and politics, India needs to understand that Maldives expectations from Delhi are very high. It needs money to build infrastructure and security from external aggression. Is India ready for such task? New Delhi: The Earth doesnt have just one Moon but three, a group of Hungarian scientists have confirmed - although the two newest ones are made entirely of dust. The discovery is confirmation of work that stretches back decades to the early 1960s when the clouds were first spotted. The research published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society says that the new moons are entirely made up of extremely tiny dust particles of less than one millimeter size and reflect light rather faintly. This is the reason why they were difficult to observe and study in the first place even when they are located at around the same distance as the Moon from the Earth400,000 kilometers. ALSO READ | Rajasthan Assembly Elections: Why odds are stacked against BJP, in favour of Congress It is very difficult to detect the clouds against the galactic light, star light, zodiacal light, and sky glow, coauthor of the paper Gabor Horvath, a physicist at Eotvos Lorand University, told the media. The research team has captured snapshots of the mysterious clouds lurking just 4,02,336 km away which is almost the same distance as the moon, they said in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. In 1961, Kazimierz Kordylewski, a Polish scientist had observed these moons for the first time and they were later named after him as Kordylewski Dust Clouds (KDCs). But their existence has been questioned by astronomers for the past six decades. ALSO READ | Thumping victory for Congress in Rajasthan, simple majority in Madhya Pradesh: Opinion poll Kordylewski had discovered the dust clouds close to a special point in space known as L5 which is a Lagrange point of the Earth-Moon gravitational system. Lagrange points are places of equilibrium in space where gravitational forces of two large and solid astronomical objects like the Earth and the Moon cancel out the centrifugal forces. (With agency inputs) For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Samsung has finally revealed its groundbreaking foldable phone at its 2018 developers conference. Samsung hasnt revealed major specifications about the upcoming flagship. However, the device is rumored to be called the Galaxy X or Galaxy F, according to reports. Samsung teased its foldable phone through a short video. The company presented it under the cover of darkness to hide its design. The flexible device eschews glass for a composite polymer that's capable of being folded "hundreds of thousands of times", according to Samsung. ALSO READ | Earth has three moons; scientists confirm after decades of speculations "Our innovation pipeline includes rollable and stretchable displays," Samsung's Denison said during the presentation. Samsung foldable phone expected features: The screen size of the smartphone is 4.5 and 7.3-inches. The phone looks like a tablet when it's full opened and can close to look like your usual phone. It appears to have unibody displays that fold at the midpoint. Samsung announced that the foldable phone, and future phones, will run on a redesigned version of Samsung's custom software called One UI. Samsung is making the One UI beta available this month, but only for Android 9 Pie users. ALSO READ | Delhi air quality remains in severe category; government may roll out odd-even scheme Samsung's foldable display will let you multitask in three areas at once. The foldable phone automatically transfers the app or screen you're looking at in the folded-up position to the open position, and vice versa. The foldable smartphone is likely to go sale early in 2019. The price of the phone for the base variant is likely to be around Rs 90,000, according to CNET website. The 'Love, Sonia' star will play young Sivagami in Netflix's ambitious live-action series 'Baahubali: Before the Beginning'. Mumbai: Actor Mrunal Thakur, who will star as a young Sivagami in Netflix's ambitious live-action series "Baahubali: Before the Beginning", says it would be challenging to measure up to Ramya Krishnan's portrayal of the queen. Also Read: Mrunal Thakur to play Sivagami Krishan was a the parallel lead in Baahubali: The Beginning and its sequel The Conclusion apart from Prabhas. Now the team behind the Telugu blockbuster has reunited for a series in the same universe. Speaking at a session during the See What's Next: Asia event here, Mrunal said she is aware of the expectations from her. "For me, when I gave the audition, it was not easy. When I saw both the films, the benchmark was there. To match up to Ramya who played Sivagami was a challenge. It's a big treat to work with this team. When I got to know that it was a Netflix project, I was even more excited. I was very fascinated with the dialogue Mera Vachan, Mera Shasan'. That really attracted me," she said. Mrunal said she is living a dream through the project. "The process wasn't easy as well. It was a little difficult but somewhere down the line in my head, I knew I was going to be Sivagami because she is a strong character who rules the entire Mahishmati. She's got the sense of motherhood at the same time she is got the sense of what is right and what is wrong. She treats everybody equal no matter who it is. Through this project I'm living my dream, she said. The live-action series, based on Anand Neelakantan's book, will also feature Rahul Bose, Atul Kulkarni, Vaquar Shaikh, Jameel Khan, Siddharth Arora and Anup Soni in pivotal roles. The series, being co-directed by Deva Katta and Praveen Sataru, will trace the dramatic rise of Queen Sivagami and her empire. The story backtracks about 50 years from the beginning of Baahubali story. The movie was a singular emotion and singular conflict, now we are exploring it in a deeper way.You will also get deeper into the street level life and multi-layer life in the kingdom, Deva Katta said. He also said that being a Netflix project allowed them the opportunity to explore different characters and their individual stories, "When we have consciously evolving characters throughout unpredictable eventualities, we relate to those stories a lot. Those are epic stories like Ramayana and Mahabharata. They stand in time and are relevant to us. When you dig deeper and make the characters more dimensional with root stories and root psyche, that's what this platform gives us. We grew up watching a lot of Hollywood films and that's what ignited our passions to become storytellers. Co-director Praveen Sataru said the series is being shot in different locations in India and stressed that the show will have a pan-India appeal. "We are covering the length and breadth of India. This is not just a south or north series. It's a pan-India series and you have characters from all across India. "Baahubali: Before the Beginning , which was announced by the streaming giant in August, has already been given a two-season order. NEW FAIRFIELD Voters will get the final say on whether the towns fourth attempt at an anti-blight ordinance to control properties that have become health or safety hazards will be the one to stick. The proposed rules faced their final public hearing this week and will likely head to a machine vote sometime after Thanksgiving, First Selectman Pat Del Monaco said. New Fairfield is one of only two towns in the Danbury area that doesnt have an anti-blight ordinance rules on the books. The newest proposal addresses some of the concerns of the past attempts, Del Monaco said, such as ensuring it is focused on hazards rather than aesthetics and creating a blight prevention board to work with homeowners toward a solution. It was important to all three of (the selectmen) to make the definition of blight less subjective and more specific, Del Monaco said. Also, we want to have a process where we could try to work with residents to correct whatever issues we could. But, that doesnt mean this draft still hasnt faced its share of pushback. Authority or overreach? Most residents who spoke against the proposal at recent hearings said it was an example of government overreach. They contended that the towns current departments should be able to handle code violations that would qualify as blight. But, Del Monaco said that under the current rules, the town does not have the authority to step in and fix a hazard if a homeowner refuses to do so or cannot be reached. Many of the properties that might qualify as blight have absentee owners that would force the town to refer the property to the state if it cannot reach them. With the ordinance, the town would be able to at least fix the hazard instead of leaving it unresolved during the lengthy process. Newtown Anti-blight Enforcement Officer Steve Maguire added that anti-blight ordinances speed up the process because they address issues that beforehand would have required individual citations across multiple departments. Newtown passed its anti-blight ordinance in 2013. It basically pulls all departments together so we can have more leverage, Maguire said. Its been helping out a lot with vacant properties. Its a good tool. Safety vs. beauty Another major debate about the ordinance has been whether it will allow the town, or neighbors with a vendetta, to dictate what homeowners can do on their properties. Blight is very subjective, what is blight to one is not blight to another, one resident said this week. But Del Monaco and the selectmen contended that the most recent draft uses only criteria based on health, fire or building code violations. Neighbors can write a formal complaint, but it will be up to an investigation by the blight prevention board to determine if it actually qualifies as blight. Maguire said in Newtown, neighbor and aesthetic complaints havent gone away, but the ordinance has protected them from being pursued as incidents of blight. Once we passed the ordinance people called in left and right to say, my neighbor is a blight, Maguire said. (But), for it to rise to that level it has to be pretty significant. The level has to be pretty high for it to go into the blight ordinance. In New Fairfield, the selectmen made changes this week to its ordinance to further guard against aesthetics coming into play, including adding a spot for a resident on the blight prevention board. The prevention board includes the volunteer and the towns fire marshal, health director, building officer, zoning enforcement officer, director of social services and first selectman. Special circumstances Residents have also worried about whether the ordinance would place an unfair burden on the towns most vulnerable residents. The elderly, disabled or those with lower income might not be able to afford fixing what qualifies as blight on their property, they said. Del Monaco contends that the ordinance makes it so these special circumstances will be considered and allows for extensions or financial assistance in those cases. (The social services director) will always be part of the process so that we do not overlook those circumstances, she said, adding that officials hope most cases of blight can be resolved before a citation or fine is needed. Were usually able to work through violations of our ordinances with residents without ever getting to that point. aquinn@newstimes.com The Supreme Court had directed that the CVCs inquiry into the allegations against Verma. New Delhi: CBI director Alok Verma on Friday appeared before a panel headed by the Central Vigilance Commissioner K.V. Chowdary and countered the corruption charges levelled against him by his deputy and special director in the probe agency, Rakesh Asthana, for the second consecutive day. Mr Verma is understood to have given point-wise refusal to all the allegations levelled by Mr Asthana before the panel comprising Vigilance Commissioners T.M. Bhasin and Sharad Kumar, sources said. However, Mr Rakesh Asthana, who followed Mr Verma to the office of the anti-corruption watchdog could not get an audience, as reported by a news agency. Mr Asthana came to the CVC office at around 4.45 pm and stayed there for around 10 minutes, but could not meet any senior official as there was no scheduled appointment. Mr Verma came to the CVC office early Friday morning and stayed there for about an hour. Justice A.K. Patnaik, a retired Supreme Court judge, who has been asked by the apex court to supervise the CVC inquiry, was also present in the meeting. Mr Verma did not speak to the media waiting outside the CVC office. The Supreme Court had on October 26 asked the Central Vigilance Commission to complete within two weeks its inquiry into the allegations against Verma levelled by Asthana. The two-week time limit ends on Sunday and the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the matter on Monday. Feuding officers Verma and Asthana have been sent on leave by the government. Besides Verma, Asthana also had on Thursday met Chowdary. Asthana, who also met Vigilance Commissioner Sharad Kumar on Thursday, is understood to have given documentary evidence in support of his charges levelled against Verma, sources said. The Commission had recently examined some CBI officials probing crucial cases which figured in Asthanas complaint of corruption against the probe agencys chief Verma, sources said. The officials said CBI personnel from the rank of inspector up to superintendent of police were called and their versions recorded before a senior CVC official. These officials, who had recorded their statements included those who had handled the Moin Qureshi bribery case, IRCTC scam involving former railway minister Lalu Prasad, and the cattle smuggling case in which a senior BSF officer was caught with wands of cash in Kerala. The Supreme Court had directed that the CVCs inquiry into the allegations against Verma. Advanced Micro Devices launched its first 7-nm CPU and GPU at the lucrative target of the data center. The working chips deliver comparable performance to Intels 14-nm Xeon and Nvidias 12-nm Volta. AMD is back from the near dead. AMD is competitive with Nvidia and Intel will get a significant market share. A single 7-nm Epyc x86 processor narrowly beats a system with two Intel Skylake Xeons in a rendering job. AMD benchmarks have the 7-nm Vega GPU on par with a Nvidia V100 in inference tasks. The existing 14-nm Epyc, launched in May 2017, boosted AMDs negligible 0.5% share of x86 servers to 1.5%. With its customer relationships now back on track, the 7-nm version could push AMD up to high single digits in x86 server market share by mid-2019. The Zen-based x86 chips have boosted AMDs share of overall microprocessor units to 9.23% in the second quarter of this year. AMD continued its proactive use of creative packaging to deliver a lower-cost Epyc. A single module includes up to eight 7-nm processor die linked with AMDs Infinity fabric to a single 14-nm I/O chip with memory controller. The approach is an extension of the 14-nm Epyc that uses four die on a single package. AMD is providing a head-to-head alternative to Nvidias Volta for machine learning and commercial graphics. The 7-nm AMD Vega has 13.2 billion transistors. AMD said Vega delivers 25% more performance than the previous 14-nm chip. The high-end MI60 version of it for GPU computing have 64 compute units, 4,096 streaming processors, and up to 32 GBytes HBM2 memory as well as support for PCIe Gen 4. The AMD chip delivers within 7% of a Nvidia Voltas performance with less than half the die area. Vega will deliver 29.5 Tera FP16 operations/second for AI training. In inference jobs, it can hit 59 TOPS for 8-bit integer and 118 TOPS for 4-bit integer tasks. AMD claims that its 7-nm x86 chips will beat Intels 10-nm versions now expected late next year. From January to November 9, 2018, a total of 7,579 fires had burned an area of 1,564,609 acres (6,332 square kilometers), according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the National Interagency Fire Center. The fires caused over $3 billion (2018 USD) in damages, including $1.37 billion in fire suppression costs so far. Major fires are burning and barely contained. Homes in Malibu and Chico are being destroyed. There are 129 million dead trees in Californias forests. In 2016, the estimate was 100 million dead trees. The Butte county Fire (Campfire) has burned 100,000 acres and threatens 15,000 buildings. It is 20% contained. The Woosley fire has burned 70,000 acres and threatens 3500 buildings. Through the end of August 2018, Cal Fire alone spent $432 million on operations. The Mendocino Complex Fire burned more than 459,000 acres (1,860 square kilometers), becoming the largest complex fire in the states history, with the complexs Ranch Fire surpassing the Thomas Fire and the Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889 to become Californias single-largest recorded wildfire. There were also large fires in 2017 in California. At least 245,000 acres (99,148 ha) were burned and $14.5 billion in damage was caused. 8900 buildings and 44 people were killed. In August, US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, surveying fire damage near Redding recently, called for culling more trees from national forests and slammed environmental groups for blocking timber harvesting. Republican Rep. Tom McClintock, whose district stretches from Lake Tahoe to Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Park, is repeating his longstanding arguments that forests are too thick with trees and that conservation rules are too strict. McClintock, whose district stretches from Lake Tahoe to Kings Canyon National Park, spoke to The Sacramento Bee after meeting with officials battling the Donnell Fire in Stanislaus National Forest on Thursday. Its the same old story. I asked them what the tree density was in the forests where the fire is, McClintock said. Its about 300 trees per acre. A healthy density in the Sierra is about 80 to 100 trees, McClintock continued. In September, California passed a $1 billion fire risk reduction package. It give grants over five years to communities to cut fuel breaks, thin flammable brush, and educate firefighters. The bill also relaxes rules on logging to make it easier to get to some of the most flammable trees. The bill also allows Pacific Gas and Electric to pass off some its liabilities to customers. The utility is facing billions of dollars in damage payouts after its power lines were blamed for starting some of the fires in California last year. the Emmerson family is the third largest landowner in California. They have a net worth of $4 billion. They own Sierra Pacific. Sierra Pacific has operating profits of approximately $375 million annually on sales of $1.5 billion. They perform most of the logging in California. A 1990 law prohibits bidding from any lumber companies that export logs. Rivals like publicly traded Weyerhaeuser and Rayonier as well as big Canadian firms are not allowed into California. Recommended Forest Management plan from 2014 There needs to be a large and aggressive program of controlled burning. More logging should be permitted while getting the lumber companies to help with clearing the dead trees. Forest managers need to create new zoning plans for national forests, the way Parks Canada does. Forests near populated areas would be managed through a mix of mechanical thinning and fire suppression. Remote forest areas could be thinned via prescribed fires or by letting smaller natural fires burn themselves out, so long as weather conditions are right. Dedicated crews that work on reducing fuel build-up in forests crews that dont get diverted into suppression during wildfire season, as currently happens. There need to be large anti-fire areas around cities, towns and communities. There needs to far larger fire-barrier zones around communities. Housing needs to have more treatments to make them less ignitable and easier to defend. Rhode Islands early success with electronic truck tolls on several highways may offer a road map for Governor-elect Ned Lamonts plan to generate revenue in Connecticut. Since two toll gantries were installed over a section of I-95 in June, Rhode Island has exceeded revenue projections, bringing in $1.9 million in the first quarter from big rigs almost $87,000 more than expected. The state plans to eventually place12 overhead toll gantries on six highway corridors to generate $450 million over 10 years. The gantries use overhead cameras to read license plates and send bills to the registered owner. Democratic leaders who hold a majority in the Connecticut House and Senate said they are open to Lamonts campaign pledge to install truck tolls on the states highways and major routes. The new Democratic governor predicted truck tolls could generate a $100 million a year for road, rail and bridge repairs. "Im sure he will introduce [truck tolls] and I will support that," said Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven. "If the governor wants to begin with that as an incremental step, I would support that." A potential obstacle is ongoing court challenges. The American Trucking Association has sued Rhode Island, arguing that truck tolls violate the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. "Truck tolls are discriminatory," said Joe Sculley, president of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut, which represents more than 1,400 trucking companies. Right now there are two separate truck tolls on I-95 between the Connecticut/Rhode Island border and Warwick, R.I. One toll is $3.25, and the other is $3.50. Bigger plan The revenue Rhode Island is collecting from truck tolls is just the beginning of a long range plan to fund bridge repairs and other work. Over the next decade, the state plans to spend $5 billion to fix an aging transportation system. "Each [toll] location is associated with a bridge or bridge group," according to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. "The Rhode Island DOT will repair or replace bridges with this revenue." The rationale behind truck fees is to "toll the vehicles that caused the damage that needs to be repaired," the DOT said. Rhode Island expected 568,876 transactions, or toll charges, for the initial two tolling locations during the first quarter of operation. The state recorded 36,432 more transactions than expected. A main argument against tolls in Connecticut aside from opposing the levy as another tax is concern that cars or trucks would find ways around the toll gantries and create congestion on local roads. Rhode Island officials say they are not seeing that trend. The states DOT expected that some 300 trucks on average would divert onto Rt. 3 to avoid tolls in Washington County, but so far only an average of four trucks during the period examined took a different route, the state DOT said. Lot of damage More Information Here's a look at Rhode Island's truck tolling program: Two highway toll corridors operating in Washington County 12 highway corridors will be tolled. $1.9 million collected since June; $87,000 more than expected. Projected yearly revenue $7.2 million for two corridors $25 million a year expected when all tolls are operational See More Collapse The General Assemblys Democratic majority last session supported tolls for everyone driving on state highways and four-lane state routes, which officials believe could generate as much as $1 billion a year. The effort stalled in the House and there was no chance of overcoming steadfast Republican opposition in the Senate, which was tied evenly between the two parties. But the political landscape changed this week as Democrats significantly expanded their majority in the House and retook the state Senate by a comfortable margin. During the campaign, Lamont said trucks cause the most damage to Connecticuts highways and major roads and should be slapped with extra fees to repair that damage. "That starts with electronic tolling, when some of our biggest trucks, coming in from out-of-state, using our roads, tax-free, create tons of maintenance issues, and well see where it goes from there," Lamont said. Lacey Rose, Lamonts spokeswoman, said the governor-elect remains committed to truck tolls. "Governor-elect Lamont has a plan for electronic tolling of heavy trucks, as he proposed during his campaign," Rose said. House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said he expects truck tolls will come before lawmakers next year. "The governor-elect thought out the idea of truck tolls," Ritter said. "That seemed to have widespread support. [Trucks] do a lot of damage to the roads, no doubt about that." Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, is already criticizing Lamonts truck toll proposal, saying the numbers dont add up. "Where did the $100 million figure come from?" Fasano said a statement. "In Rhode Island, they are anticipating net revenue of $121.8 million, but that is over a 5-year period," Fasano said. "That results in $24.36 million in revenue a year. Lamonts pie-in-the-sky, $100 million number is pure fiction." Its not clear how far lawmakers will go stop at truck tolls or toll all vehicles and whether Lamont is willing to expand his modest proposal. House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, said he regrets the legislatures failure last session to set the state on a path toward tolls for all drivers. "The real issue is how are we going to come up with the money to fix our failing infrastructure," Aresimowicz said during a press availability last week. "A report that came out said the rating of our bridges and roads is bad," Aresimowicz noted. "That will be in the discussion." Court challenge Sculley said truck tolls would be challenged in court if authorized in Connecticut. "They say truckers tear up the roads, highways and bridges but its the chemicals they apply during the winter that tears up the roads," Sculley said. "I think a number of groups would sue if we do something that is near Rhode Island." Tolls are simply not fair because they target one segment of the motoring public, Sculley noted. "You are saying that five percent of the people who use the road will pay 100 percent of the cost," Sculley said. "We now pay six times our fair share in taxes." Truckers pay an estimated $17,000 a year per big rig in federal and state taxes, according to industry estimates. The American Trucking Associations lawsuit against Rhode Island argues that truck tolls discriminate against out-of-state truckers and asks a judge to block Rhode Island from operating the tolls. bcummings@ctpost.com Modi called upon the people of Bastar to vote for the BJP and teach the Congress a lesson for its double standards on Naxalism. The campaigning on Friday was Mr Modis sixth visit to Bastar, known as the Maoist hotbed, after he became Prime Minister in 2014. (Photo: PTI) Bhopal: Hitting the campaign trail in Chhattisgarh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday slammed the Congress for backing urban Maoists who lead luxurious life and drive big cars in cities but ruin lives of poor tribals in the Bastar region by instigating them to take up arms against the government. Addressing a rally in Jagdalpur ahead of the first phase of Assembly polls scheduled on Monday, Mr Modi regretted that urban Maoists live in air-conditioned houses, roam in luxury cars and send their children abroad for education, but they play havoc in lives of poor adivasis of Bastar by remote-controlling their life. Urban Maoists hit the streets whenever the state government takes action against Naxals, he said. Why is the Congress supporting them? Will you forgive the Congress for supporting urban Naxals? he asked the gathering. Mr Modi called upon the people of Bastar to vote for the BJP and teach the Congress a lesson for its double standards on Naxalism. I want to ask the Congress why it supports urban Maoists when the government takes action against them and comes to Bastar and speaks against Naxalism, he said. The PMs remarks came in the wake of a recent statement by Congress campaigner Raj Babbar in Chhattisgarh describing Maoists as revolutionaries who seek to bring changes in the society. BJP leaders regularly use the term urban Maoists to refer to people in the cities who they allege are involved in carrying out anti-national activities. The term urban Naxal/Maoists had come into prominence in August following the arrest of Left-leaning activists on charges of abetting Maoists. Following the arrests, BJP president Amit Shah had accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of raising a hue and cry over the arrest of urban Naxals. The Opposition says Mr Modi cannot stomach criticism and the action against the activists is aimed at silencing them. The campaigning on Friday was Mr Modis sixth visit to Bastar, known as the Maoist hotbed, after he became Prime Minister in 2014. He said that the previous governments run by the Congress had done little to improve the condition of tribals of Bastar and used to blame the Naxal problem for not being able to undertake developmental works. But, the state BJP government has undertaken development of the region in a massive way by spreading road and rail networks despite facing resistance from Maoists, he said. I appeal to you to ensure that the BJP wins all the 12 Assembly seats in Bastar in the coming polls. If anyone else wins, then Bastar youths dreams of a bright future will be derailed, he said. The Prime Minister also accused the Congress of mocking adivasis (tribals) and dehumanising the dalits, underprivilged, victims and poor. I dont know why the Congress makes fun of adivasis. Once I had gone for a rally in Northeast India and wore a traditional adivasi headgear but Congress leaders made fun of it. This was an insult of adivasi culture, he said, adding that the Congress is not ready to see adivasis as humans. Mr Modi also paid tributes to Doordarshans cameraman Achyutanand Sahu, who was killed by Naxals last month in Chhattisgarh. Sahu and two security personnel were killed on October 30 in a Naxal attack in Dantewada district, located around 450 km from the state capital Raipur. Twelve Assembly seats in the Bastar region and six in Rajnandgaon district are going to polls in the first phase of elections in Chhattisgarh on November 12. People in the remaining 72 constituencies will vote on November 20. Counting of votes is on December 11. Out of 12 Assembly seats in Bastar, the Congress won eight seats leaving the rest four to the ruling BJP in the 2013. We forget the meanings of things we see and use everyday. The Merritt Parkway is a national treasure that has never ceased to evolve, and that evolution has had its share of irony. Governor Wilbur Cross announced the creation of the Merritt Parkway in 1934. The road was intended to take traffic off of hugely congested Route 1, and the proposed divided highway roamed through The Gold Coast of Connecticut, to Stratford, to the Housatonic River where the Wilbur Cross Parkway now begins. Named after then U.S. Rep. Congressman Schuyler Merritt, the 37 mile road was initially finished in 1940, extending the Hutchinson River Parkway, and then later further extended by the Wilbur Cross Parkway. Rumors fly about that the 69 concrete bridges were designed by Yale students, but in truth, George L. Dunkelberger was the architect, much of which was paid for by the New Deals WPA (Works Progress Administration) and PWA (Public Works Administration) at a time when the Federal Highway System was not even envisioned and World War II was yet to force America into being a world power. Like other WPA projects, the goal was to sop up the Depression Era unemployed, but all American roads were almost always locally designed and funded (tolls were installed in 1940) and the notion of park was as important to the proposal as any sense of increased mass transit. After all, the Merritt went through largely failed farmland, way north of even the nascent suburban extension of New York City, and including 22,000 trees and 40,000 plantings. The Merritt, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, and was declared by the state of Connecticut to be a State Scenic Highway and by the national government to be a National Scenic Byway courses through some of the most expensive residential real estate in the country, including towns like Greenwich. The road has also been declared to be endangered by some as new roads like Route 8 and Interstate 91, which now dump ever increasing waves of traffic onto its four lanes. One element of the connection to Route 8 that had to be remade was rendered into a place called No Mans Land as the park disappeared in favor of the highway. The roads tolls are 30 years gone (but may return), and we are seeing the endgame of a decades worth of renovation. The rethinking of the Merritt had begun in 1992, with the Department of Transportation introducing a program for improvement in 1994. After the good work of private consultants such as landscape architect Shavaun Towers and architect Herb Newman, the shovel ready status of the Merritts rejuvenation made it a prime candidate for federal stimulus spending. In February of 2009, President Barack Obamas American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allowed for an initial award of $36 million to improve on and off ramps, install sinuous Cor-Ten Steel and wood guide rails, and gentle concrete curbing, which combine with new trees and signage, per drawings of Milone and MacBroom site engineers and landscape architects. One month after Obama took office in 2009, $126,000 worth of signs proclaimed that the final tally of $69 million worth of stimulus was real and immediate. But like the original push to build the Merritt, this road serves people, not industry (commercial vehicles are illegal) and the road is fully set in the lap of The 1 percent. To me, the aesthetic benefits are undeniable, but the broad social intentions are less evident. Much was done in the last decade, including removal of a separating earth berm installed a generation before, and dozens of bridges being repaired. The remaining old galvanized steel guardrails are being removed, and the new curbing being installed, bit by bit perhaps promising some form of completion before new tolls perhaps reemerge. Since the stimulus funded effort, there was a privately financed recreation of the rest stops, including solar-paneled gas pumps. The devastating hurricanes of the past decade made federally funded resilience trimming and culling of some of those 1938 trees changed the face of the highway though still more verdant than when it originally opened. But in truth, the slower, more curvy, beautifully bridged road stands in contrast to the radically reforming Eisenhower Interstate Highway system built 20 years later. It could be said the haste makes waste, and the incredible speed and effectiveness of the Eisenhower Federal Highway System often ripped through towns and divided established communities. The dramatic creation of the Connecticut Turnpike (Interstate 95) not only separated towns from Long Island Sound, but the subsequent I-91 facilitated huge public migration from city centers to the fallow farmland and created huge new suburban sprawl north of New Haven. These huge ribbons of concrete and steel gutted city centers, bulldozed neighborhoods, deflated downtowns of residents, businesses, and churches, and devalued areas of urban property that ultimately encouraged blight to become part of New Englands list of concerns. Abandoned farms now had a new crop: suburbia. One-quarter acre lots sprouted facsimiles of Colonial forms, Capes and center halls in mass infection of a cul-de-sac landscape not only in Connecticut but in New England. Like the poisoning pollution that wrecked any number of local ecosystems during the Industrial Revolution of the last century, the destructive impact of highways was unintended, but pervasive. Certain local connections to the incidental off-ramp became prosperous gas bars for thirsty cars. However, the spine of New England, U.S. Route 1, was rendered into the ultimate off-ramp, spawning Big Box stores that killed the local merchant. So while waves of renovation have renewed and restored the Merritts park presence, the blitz of road building of I-95, I-91 and I-84 in the 60s through 80s transformed Connecticut in ways no one could have predicted. Factories fled all during the building of these highways, as have many of the children of the Baby Boomers that remained, on that well-worn path of egress of institutions of commerce like General Electric. What are left are legacy institutions of property taxes and Real Estate firms hawking the homes that popped up apace with all those highways. Amid all these ebbs and flows sits the Merritt. Flowing as it has for the last 80 years, what was a radical departure from agrarian and shop life before World War II this parkway has become a constant stream of bucolic energy and artistic preservation that has served federal economic needs. The essence of New England itself can be said to be manifest in the abiding places like the Merritt as we engage in the inevitable radical reinvention we have always experienced. There is no better reality of the distilled beauty of history than the Merritts 37 miles. Editors note: A change this post was made to correct the reference to the Housatonic River. It originally erroneously said Hammonasset River. Duo Dickinson, FAIA, graduated from Cornell, is an architect of over 800 things and has written 8 books. He writes for Common Edge and Mockingbird and teaches at the Building Beauty Program in Sorrento, Italy and will be an adjunct instructor at The University of Hartford next spring. Imelda Marcos, the widow of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, has been found guilty of graft and is facing arrest and a jail term of at least six-years. The incumbent lawmaker -- known for her collection of more than 1,000 pairs of shoes -- was found guilty of seven counts of graft for allegedly maintaining Swiss accounts as a Cabinet member during her husband's rule, the country's anti-corruption court decided on Friday. Marcos plans to appeal the ruling. The court's decision came 27 years after the case was first filed. Marcos, 89, faces imprisonment of between six and 11 years for each count of graft -- the second time she's been convicted out of dozens of cases filed against the family. She was first convicted by the anti-graft court in 1993, seven years after the popular revolution that ousted her husband and sent the family to exile in Hawaii. In 1998, the Supreme Court acquitted Imelda from allegations that she entered anomalous contracts during her husband's term, reversing the anti-court's ruling. She can also elevate this latest case before the top court and post bail. Her lawyer is studying the decision "and has advised us that he intends to file a motion for reconsideration," Marcos said in a statement. The Marcos family is a known supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte. The Philippine leader had said that he wants to be succeeded by the late dictator's son, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, who has a pending electoral protest after losing the vice-presidential vote in 2016. Duterte also has the power to pardon Marcos after a final court ruling. "While we note that there are still legal remedies available to Congresswoman Marcos, this latest development underscores that our country currently has a working and impartial justice system," Duterte's spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement. Duterte had been accused of targeting his enemies, including Senator Leila de Lima who's been in jail since last year. The Supreme Court in June junked a case that alleged the Marcos widow accumulated ill-gotten wealth. Friday's decision bars the former first lady from any public office unless she pursues an appeal with the top court. Imelda Marcos returned to the Philippines in 1991, during the administration of Corazon Aquino, to face more than 100 criminal and civil cases on charges that she and her husband siphoned off $5 billion-to-$10 billion and committed human rights violations during the 20-year dictatorship. Instead, she and two children -- Bongbong and Imee -- were later elected to office. Bongbong became a senator in 2010. Imelda and her children have always denied any wrongdoing. NEW HAVEN Suspended Yale University student Saifullah Khan did not get his scheduled day in court Friday, but his attorney continued to criticize Yale officials over their Oct. 7 decision to again bar him from campus. The hearing in Superior Court in New Haven on whether Yale should be able to keep Khan out of classes has been rescheduled to Jan. 8. We dont think Yale had credible grounds to remove him, defense attorney Norm Pattis said Friday. Yale spokesman Tom Conroy said the university had no comment. Khan, 25, a Yale senior, became a controversial figure when another student alleged he had sexually assaulted her in her dormitory in the early-morning hours of Nov. 1, 2015, after an off-campus Halloween party and concert at Woolsey Hall. Khan was then suspended for the first time; Pattis said this first suspension also was unjust. The case finally came to trial last March. After both Khan and his accuser testified at length, a New Haven jury found him not guilty of sexual assault in the first, second, third and fourth degrees. Khan then was allowed to resume taking courses this fall because the University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct has not ruled on whether he is guilty or not guilty of such misconduct. Pattis said the panel held another hearing Tuesday of this week and he expects a decision by the end of the month. That may or may not have a bearing on the court hearing, Pattis said. If theres a finding hes not a harm to himself or others, that would strengthen our case. Khans situation became more tangled after the Yale Daily News published a long, front-page story Oct. 5, reporting new sexual assault allegations against Khan by a young man who is not a Yale student. The news story said Jon Andrews in recent months had developed with Khan an emotional bond that evolved into a romantic relationship. Andrews told the student newspaper that Khan sexually assaulted him and a woman in a three-way sexual encounter in Washington, D.C., last June. Andrews also alleged Khan physically attacked him on two other occasions, striking him across the face and suffocating him. But Pattis has noted no criminal charges have been filed in any of these alleged attacks. However, after the Yale Daily News story was published, the newspaper ran a follow-up article reporting they had interviewed students about Khan. Because of the new allegations, the report noted, Khans presence on campus made many members of the Yale community feel uncomfortable. Another attorney for Khan, Margaret Valois, told the student newspaper that Khan has had no sexual contact with Andrews. She called the allegations ridiculous and false and defamatory. When Yale College Dean Marvin M. Chun suspended Khan in October, he wrote to Khan that it was an emergency suspension. Chun explained: An emergency suspension may be imposed when it appears necessary for your physical and emotional safety and well-being and/or the safety and well-being of the university community. Chun wrote that Khan was being suspended based on allegations that you engaged in violent behavior toward Jon Andrews and another person. The latest written allegation came Wednesday of this week when university lawyers filed a Superior Court memorandum defending Yales decision to suspend Khan. The lawyers stated Khan would not be able to make up the work he has missed in his courses. They wrote he was seriously delinquent on course assignments and had a poor attendance record in them. The memorandum also alleged Khan Oct. 5 told Deputy Secretary and Senior Director of Corporation Affairs Martha Schall that he had attempted suicide in the past and was again having thoughts about suicide. Khan allegedly told Schall that Yales legal moves involving him had made him belligerent. Schall reportedly viewed this as a veiled threat and so she asked Yale police to protect her office. In addition, the Yale memorandum reported that Yale Daily News Editor-in-Chief Britton ODaly also asked for Yale police protection after Khan allegedly came into the newspapers office and made threatening comments about a news story they were preparing regarding him. When reached for comment Friday, Pattis first noted the issue of Khan being allowed to resume his fall classes is moot because the semester is almost over. Pattis said the case has not been resolved by now because it took so long to get it scheduled on the court docket. Pattis said the court hearing also has been delayed because both sides have agreed Khan should undergo a psychiatric examination by an independent examiner. Pattis added: Is he under stress? Yes, because hes been ostracized on campus. Hes been treated as though he were a criminal. When he walks across campus, people say: There goes the rapist. If he belches or passes gas in class, hes committed a crime against the environment. But is he suicidal? Pattis continued. Not at all. He was distressed but had not contemplated killing himself. He may have just uttered words to that effect. Pattis added, Yale thought Sai was a threat based on that ridiculous report (in the Yale Daily News) about a threesome in a hotel room. Asked about the Yale memorandum concerning the alleged veiled threat toward Schall, Pattis said, Yale has had a month to go fishing for everything it can. He said he doubts the report is true. Pattis said, I remain hopeful he can resume his studies. He wants that Yale degree and hes instructed me to fight for it. And I will. randall.beach@hearstmediact.com NEW HAVEN In the mind of Charles Salerno, he and his 13 siblings are and forever will be the Salernos on Atwater Street. So on Friday, a few days before Veterans Day when a plaque at the Fair Haven School they all attended was dedicated to six of the 14 Salernos including Charles who served in the military between 1942 and 1952, Charles said it blew his mind. Its a real honor, he said. Principal Heriberto Cordero led a brief ceremony with student songs and presentations honoring the Salernos for being school alumni and veterans. Its an honor we have American heroes right here who graduated from Fair Haven School, he said. Charles Salerno said he remembers being a musician in his boyhood and singing Old Man River on the very stage at the school where he sat for Fridays ceremony. It brings back memories, he said. Mary Ellen Collins, a former teacher and a niece of the Salerno brothers, conceived the idea to commemorate her uncles service. Initially she thought about renaming the Grand Avenue Bridge in their honor, but an aide in U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauros office suggested a plaque at their childhood school. Two of the brothers left the school early to enlist in the war before they were old enough to serve, she said. The plaque in the school seemed like the most permanent memorial, she said. Charles, the youngest of the siblings, served in the Army between 1950 and 1952 and was awarded the Korean Service Medal with one Bronze Star and the United Nations Service Medal. His older brothers, John, George, Daniel, Francis and Giacchino, served in the Army and Navy and earned a number of medals between them, including two Purple Hearts. George, who served with the 2nd Infantry Division, was a POW for six months in a German camp. Thankfully, they all returned home safely, said Matthew Collins, a great-nephew of the Salerno brothers. The 14 Salerno siblings were first-generation Americans, born to two Italian immigrant parents. As students at Fair Haven School said the Pledge of Alliegance in both English and Spanish, Cordero said it was the freedom of the schools predominantly bilingual population, among others, that the Salerno brothers were protecting when they fought for the countrys interests. Theyre just like you, New Haven Public Schools Chief Operating Officer Will Clark told students. When the time came to do something extraordinary, they stepped up. Clark told the students he looks forward to seeing the world they create. brian.zahn@hearstmedia- ct.com NEW HAVEN The Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, commonly known as the Q Bridge, will be lit up in red, white and blue on Saturday and Sunday evening in honor of Veterans Day. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced the plan in a Saturday release. According to the release, beacons capable of projecting lights nearly six miles into the clear night sky will shine on the bridge from sunset until 1:00 a.m. both evenings. Americas men and women in uniform and their families have made immeasurable sacrifices in the course of their service. We are grateful for the steadfastness with which they have performed their duties to protect the United States at home and overseas, and for their unfaltering response to the call to duty whenever the country requires, said Malloy in the announcement. As we thank our veterans for creating a safer world, we are mindful that we have Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines stationed around the globe, thousands of miles away from their families for extended periods of time. We pray for their safe and speedy return and continue to keep them in our thoughts every day. On this Veterans Day, the State of Connecticut honors the service and sacrifices that the men and women of our military have made to protect our freedom and way of life. We will reflect and be forever grateful to our Veterans and their family members for their bravery and courage, said Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman in the release. We will continue to pray for our active troops overseas and ask for a quick and safe return home to their families. Economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said that the government has not asked the RBI to transfer Rs 3.6 lakh crore to it. Garg said that the only proposal concerning the reserves that the government is discussing is to fix the appropriate economic capital framework of the RBI. New Delhi: Amid a face-off with the RBI, the government on Friday said it is discussing an appropriate size of capital reserves that the central bank must maintain but denied seeking a massive capital transfer from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said that the government has not asked the RBI to transfer Rs 3.6 lakh crore to it. Confident of meeting fiscal deficit target, Mr Garg tweeted, Lot of misinformed speculation is going around in media. The governments fiscal math is completely on track. There is no proposal to ask the RBI to transfer Rs 3.6 or 1 lakh crore, as speculated. On the fiscal road map, he said, the government will stick to the fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent for the current financial year. Mr Garg said that the only proposal concerning the reserves that the government is discussing is to fix the appropriate economic capital framework of the RBI. The RBI has a massive Rs 9.59 lakh crore reserves and the government, if reports are to be believed, wants the central bank to part with a third of that fund an issue which along with easing of norms for weak banks and raising liquidity has brought the two at loggerheads in recent weeks. The Congress had alleged that the money was being sought by the BJP-led government allegedly to dole out freebies ahead of the 2019 parliamentary election and had called it the great Indian robbery. Former finance minister P. Chidambaram on Friday warned the NDA government against laying its hands on RBI reserves, saying it will have catastrophic economic consequences for the country. He said that the minutes of an RBI meeting on November 7, 2016, is a comprehensive repudiation of the governments justification for demonetisation. Talking to reporters in Guwahati, the senior Congress leader said it is clear that the BJP has no understanding of the role of the central bank and no respect for the independence of its governor. Former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian had in Economic Survey 2016-17 said that the RBI was already exceptionally highly capitalised and nearly `4 lakh crore of its capital transfer to the government can be used for recapitalising the banks and/or recapitalising a public sector asset rehabilitation agency. Earlier this year, the RBI decided to pay `50,000 crore as dividend to the government in line with the Union Budget provisions, helping the Centre to stick to its fiscal road map. The issue of RBIs capital needs may come up at the next board meeting on November 19. The RBI and the government have not been on the same page on different issues for some weeks now. The disagreements came out in open when RBI deputy governor Viral Acharya, in a hard-hitting speech, on October 26 said that failure to defend the central banks independence would incur the wrath of the financial markets. It later emerged that the government had invoked a never-before-used provision of the law Section 7 of the RBI Act to seek from the RBI discussions on easing non-performing asset (NPA) norms so that banks can kick start lending and support growth, and transfer more dividend to boost liquidity. WEST HAVEN The city has sold the city-owned Bayview Park to the developers seeking to build The Haven luxury outlet mall for $257,500, moving the mall project one step closer to reality, Mayor Nancy Rossi said Friday. But city officials were unable to say when construction might begin on the long-delayed, $200 million, 261,182-square-foot luxury outlet center along the West River, which obtained its final city development approvals over the summer. A spokesman for the developer did not immediately return a call for comment. The outlet mall will cover 26 waterfront acres and will feature dozens of luxury retail shops, restaurants, a waterfront promenade and a 200-seat amphitheater. It is expected to generate between 800 and 1,200 jobs and several million dollars in municipal tax revenue and fees. The project, along New Haven Harbor at the mouth of the West River between Elm and Main streets, began back when John Picard was mayor and was first announced just over four years ago by then-Mayor Ed OBrien. Rossi presented a check to Finance Director Ronald Cicatelli during a brief ceremony in City Council chambers Friday afternoon. State Reps. Michael DiMassa, D-West Haven, and Charles Ferraro, R-West Haven, and city Treasurer Michael Last attended the announcement. The price the city got is slightly higher than the appraised value, said Rossi. She thanked the developer for agreeing to the terms. She thanked Commissioner of Planning & Development Fred A. Messore and Corporation Counsel Lee Tiernan for their efforts to keep pushing and work with the developer to make it happen. In order to sell the 0.87-acre parcel at Water and Main streets, which the developer needs for the project, the city needed approval from the National Park Service, which had jurisdiction as a result of federal grants used to develop the park. A development agreement between West Haven and The Haven Group reached more than three years ago by the OBrien administration included the sale of the waterfront park. But the city had to resolve several issues related to the propertys title before the sale could take place. Before it gave the OK, the federal agency needed assurances that the developer will fund improvements at another city park, city officials said. One of my first actions as mayor was to demand that the corporation counsel do what was necessary, as quickly as possible, to complete the sale of this park because The Haven Group told me it was a necessary component for the development of the upscale waterfront shopping experience, Rossi said. The Haven Group has made clear that the sale of the park by the city of West Haven was necessary before any development would take place, she said. The city will now make improvements to the city-owned park on Contact Drive, off South Street in West Shore, as part of the approval with the federal agency, Rossi said. That came as bittersweet news to City Councilman Aaron Charney, D-3, in whose district Bayview Park is located. Its great news that this holdup has been solved, but Im disappointed the Third District is losing a park and the money from this sale is not being used to improve parks in this part of town, Charney said in an email. Third Ave Park, which is the only other park in this district, could desperately use this money, Charney said. Morse Park, which is near by, could have used it as well. For $257,500 we could build a splash pad at Morse. Rossi and Tiernan, who negotiated along with Messore to have the federal restrictions lifted, said the city was limited in what it could do to satisfy the park service. Our park space has to serve a need and theres a greater need in other parts of the city, especially considering that there are fewer children in the neighborhood around The Haven as a result of the homes that the developer acquired to assemble the site. But the concept thats approved provides for unlimited access to the water from what essentially will be a park-like space that will be much larger than the current Bayview Park, said Tiernan. According to Messore, the project still needs approval from the Office of the State Traffic Administration, or OSTA, for improvements to Elm Street, which is a state highway, before it go forward. The developer currenly has an application pending, which has passed the first step, gaining state Department of Transportation Approval for the traffic volumes it estimates the project would generate, Messore said. DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick confirmed that information and said the developers representatives came in for a Step 2 meeting two weeks ago and got comments on a preliminary mitigation plan, but still had to submit a formal mitigation plan that the OSTA must consider. That plan arrived on Friday, Nursick said. Once a formal mitigation is submitted, there probably would be approval within 60 days, he said. The Haven Group received site plan approval from the city Planning and Zoning Commission in July. Two months later, the state Bond Commission approved $5 million for the reconstruction of Elm Street the future entrance of the center. The National Park Service granted the city relief from its Urban Park and Recreation Recovery grant obligations regarding Bayview Park in August. The Park Services approval process required the city to prepare and file an application package earlier this year with its Philadelphia office. It also required compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act and approvals from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Haven Group recently agreed to reimburse West Haven for the cost of city attorney fees for the project as part of the negotiated sale, Rossi said. After a comprehensive review, Bayview Park was found not to have any significant historic value. Only a half-acre of the parcel is land that can be developed, city officials said. State and federal funds for the site included a $200,000 environmental cleanup in 2007, a $2 million bulkhead reconstruction in 2012 and a $2 million brownfield cleanup in 2016, as well as the recent state bond money. In addition, a real estate property tax abatement agreement was negotiated in 2015. All of our state delegation, the governor, the federal delegation and other public partners have been helpful and essential, and we are grateful, Rossi said. For its part, the developer has spent in excess of $32 million on the project since it was first pitched to then-Mayor John M. Picard in 2012 by Sheldon M. Gordon, who is now deceased. The Haven had been in the property acquisition stage for four years as the developers negotiated with 57 property owners. The developers submitted the application for site plan approval to the city in May, nearly four years after first announcing plans to build it. Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group has joined The Haven Group as a partner in the project. The change was announced several months after the death of The Haven partner Sheldon Gordon in late September 2017. Simon, owner of the Clinton Crossing outlets in Clinton and the Crystal Mall in Waterford, is one of the largest shopping center developers in the world. The Haven Group, originally a partnership led by Ty Miller, the Dallas-based president of the Haven Group LLC, and Gordon, is affiliated with the family that owns Highland Park Village in Dallas. mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com The US embassy in Moscow has also sent a diplomat to observe Fridays discussions at the meeting. In his opening remarks at the conference, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia and the countries of the region will continue to do everything possible to launch dialogue between Afghan government and the Taliban, which is banned in Russia. (Photo:PTI) New Delhi: India on Friday attended in a non-official capacity a conference on bringing back peace in Afghanistan, which was hosted by Russia and participated by the Taliban as well as representatives from several countries including Pakistan, China and Iran. Hours after the multi-lateral conference began in Moscow, India made it clear that its participation was in sync with its Afghan policy and asserted that attending the meeting did not amount to talking to the Taliban. The ministry of external affairs (MEA) said that it was the considered decision of the Government of India to participate at a non-official level at the Moscow conference on Afghanistan organised on Friday but made it clear that it would not hold any talks with the Taliban which is participating in the conference. Indian non-official participation at the conference is through two retired diplomats former Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Amar Sinha and former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan T.C.A. Raghavan. They will return to New Delhi on Saturday and are expected to brief the MEA on the developments at the conference hosted by Russia. In his opening remarks at the conference, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia and the countries of the region will continue to do everything possible to launch dialogue between Afghan government and the Taliban, which is banned in Russia. We are determined to make every possible effort to facilitate the opening of a new page in the history of Afghanistan, he was quoted as saying by the state-run Tass news agency. The US embassy in Moscow has also sent a diplomat to observe Fridays discussions at the meeting. Indian government sources had told this newspaper earlier that New Delhis non-official participation at the conference was linked to Afghanistan presence at a non-official level. India has also not been able to ignore the conference since it has a had a decades-long time-tested friendship with host Russia. Asked why India sent representatives to the meeting when the Taliban was participating in it, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in New Delhi that India will be a part of any peace process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled. We will participate in any process which is consistent with the policy we have for Afghanistan... It was decided by the government that our participation will be at non-official level, he said. To a question on participation of Taliban in the meeting, he said, Where did we say that there will be talks with Taliban? We did not say that. Initially, the meeting was proposed for September 4 but it was called off after the Afghan government pulled out of it. India had also declined an invitation to the meeting then. The MEA had earlier said, India supports all efforts at peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan that will preserve unity and plurality, and bring security, stability and prosperity to the country. Nevertheless, New Delhi is worried since Russia is seen to have suddenly gone soft on the Afghan Taliban and its main backer Pakistan. The Taliban has carried out several terrorist attacks in Afghanistan in recent times and had even captured power in Afghanistan with Pakistani support from 1996 to 2001 when it was driven out of Kabul by the US following the 9/11 attacks. An inmate at the Atlantic County Jail committed suicide earlier this month. According to an Open Public Records request obtained by NJ Advance Media, an inmate committed suicide in the Hamilton Township facility Oct. 15. It was the first suicide in the jail since July 2017, and the sixth that has occurred in the jail since 2015. Three of the inmates were identified as Ashley Gladney, Troy Bowser, and Laura Semprevivo. Relatives of the three have each filed lawsuits against the county. The Atlantic County Jail joins the Cumberland County Jail in having a period in which six inmates committed suicide while incarcerated in the facility. The last suicide at the Cumberland County jail happened May 2017. Conrad J. Benedetto of The Law Offices of Conrad J. Benedetto represents Semprevivo's family in the lawsuit against Atlantic County, as well as families of inmates who committed suicide in Cumberland County. "Based on the number of inmates that have died over the past few years while incarcerated in county jails up and down the state of New Jersey, we think there is a public health crisis in the state. It seems that many counties apparently lack the ability to, or interest in, tending to the mental health needs of some of its own citizens," Benedetto said. "Unfortunately, we are not surprised by news of another inmate death at a New Jersey county jail. We are hopeful that the many lawsuits we and other law firms have brought against New Jersey counties regarding these inmate deaths will help shine a spotlight on this crisis and put an end to it." NJ Advance Media reached out to Atlantic County for comment about the situation and any measures the jail is doing to prevent suicides in the wake of the reported incident. However, our request for comment was not returned. Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips A missing 2-year-old boy was found dead in a pond near his Southampton home Friday, police said. The body of Adam Reed, 2, was pulled from the water and he was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, New Jersey State Police Sgt. Lawrence Peele said. Peele said police were called to the area at 11 a.m. by "an adult" in Reed's home saying that they could not find the boy. After a short search they found Reed unresponsive in the pond, which is about 200 yards from his home, police said. The state police were still investigating how the boy found his way from his home to the water, Peele said. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook. Media Largely Ignore Alleged Hamas Payment to Dead Baby's Family | Main | One Haaretz Page-One Sentence, Lots of Errors June 26, 2018 'Fake News' Catches Up With Haaretz's Chemi Shalev Yesterday, Haaretz ran a news analysis by veteran reporter Chemi Shalev which, in part, castigated President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for depicting "the media's reports and opinions . . . as 'fake news'" ("By Bashing the Media, Trump and Netanyahu Foster Their Tribalist, Right-wing Support"). Ironically, Haaretz today published a correction about that very column, clarifying that "a quote was attributed erroneously to Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, which she did not say." What exactly was the quote "which she did not say"? Shalev wrote: Reacting to allegations made last year by Police Chief Roni Alsheikh that police officers investigating Netanyahu were being harassed and followed, Shaked noted that the police commander was "the new protected darling of the left and the media." But as Israeli journalist Amit Segal (of Channel 2 and Makor Rishon) tweeted, the quote, in fact, derives from an anonymous talkback to an article in Rotter, an Israeli news site, which mentions both Alsheikh and Shaked in the context of investigations of Netanyahu. That Haaretz was compelled to correct a fake quote in a news analysis, which ironically dismissed complaints about "fake news" as a deplorable political ploy, is reminiscent of a recent New York Times correction later dubbed "the correction of the year." Haaretz deleted the fake quote from its digital article, but, contrary to standard journalistic practice, did not alert readers to the change. Posted by TS at June 26, 2018 05:02 AM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment Earlier on Saturday, Reddy, in a video message posted on YouTube, said he was not on the run. Bengaluru: After remaining elusive for three days, former Karnataka minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy Saturday appeared before the police here in connection with an alleged ponzi scam, and denied the allegations as a "political conspiracy". Reddy, who the police said had been absconding, came in a car to the Central Crime Branch office, along with his advocates, after releasing a video message from an unknown location, saying he would appear before it. After arriving at the office, Reddy claimed that there was a "political conspiracy" and added that he had faith in the police. In his video message, he said he was not absconding and was very much in the city, while asserting that there was no need for him to flee. "I have not committed anything wrong. The police do not have a single document to prove that I am wrong. They are misleading the media," he claimed in his message telecast by TV channels. Reddy, who was a minister in the erstwhile Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka, said he never panicked as neither his name figured in the first information report (FIR) nor was any notice served on him. "Now that the notice has been issued by the police, I have decided to appear before the Central Crime Branch today itself though the notice says I should appear on Sunday," Reddy said. "I decided to make this video to let people know the truth. I have faith in the police and believe that they would not succumb to any political pressure," he added. The CCB police had launched a hunt for him since Wednesday in connection with a money transaction worth crores of rupees, allegedly linked to a ponzi scheme. The CCB was also on the lookout for Reddy's close aide, Ali Khan, who had allegedly struck a Rs 20-crore deal with Syed Ahmed Fareed of Ambidant Marketing Pvt Ltd. -- a company accused of involvement in the ponzi scheme -- to bail him out from the Enforcement Directorate investigation. Bengaluru Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar had said on Wednesday that Reddy was absconding and the police were looking for him to question him in the case. With at least 6,400 provisional ballots still left to be counted, it's looking unlikely -- but not impossible -- that incumbent Republican Tom MacArthur will be able to take back the 3rd congressional district from current front-runner, Democrat Andy Kim. It will be early next week by the time election workers in two New Jersey counties finish counting the remaining ballots, and despite Kim declaring a victory on Wednesday, MacArthur has not conceded. As of late Friday, Kim held a lead of 3,424 votes over MacArthur -- 150,311 to 146,887. Those figures included mail-in ballots but not the provisionals. After trailing the GOP congressman on Election Night, Kim pulled ahead late this week after the counties concluded counting mail-in ballots -- 25,000 in Burlington, and nearly 31,000 in Ocean. A new state law allows up to 48 hours to count ballots postmarked by Election Day. "It is an honor and a privilege to be the next congressman of the New Jersey 3rd District," Kim said Wednesday to boisterous cheers from supporters when he claimed victory. "I'm so proud of this community and what we have put together, words right now can't express to you what is going on in my mind right now." We did it! Posted by Andy Kim for Congress on Wednesday, November 7, 2018 In addition to the mail-in ballots, about 6,400 provisional ballots still remain to be counted in both counties. Officials said they expected those votes to be counted by Tuesday. Provisional ballots are issued on Election Day for voters who experience discrepancies, such as their names not being on the registered voter list at the polls. This year, many voters who were registered to vote by mail and either didn't receive the ballot or didn't send it in were also given the option of a provisional ballot. For MacArthur, it's not over until it's over. "This has been a hard fought campaign and like Andy Kim, I'm ready to see it come to an end," MacArthur said in a statement Wednesday. "I have always said that I will be guided by the voters of the district and there are nearly 7,000 more of them who haven't been heard from yet. We must ensure that their votes - and all votes - are counted in a transparent way that protects the integrity of the election." MacArthur swept Ocean County, winning 16 of the 17 towns, taking 61 percent of the vote. In Burlington County, however, Kim had 59 percent of the vote. A town-by-town vote in Burlington County wasn't available as of late Friday. It will be an incredibly close finish. Here's our back-of-the-napkin math: There were about 220,000 votes cast for the congressional seats in Ocean County -- about 58 percent of them were in the 3rd district race. The rest were for the 2nd and 4th district races. There are about 2,400 provisional ballots in Ocean County. Based on the district size, that is roughly 1,400 votes that could go to Kim or MacArthur. MacArthur got about 61 percent of the vote in Ocean County. If the same percentages hold up for the provisional ballots, he stands to gain about 850 votes. In Burlington County, there were about 185,000 votes cast for congressional seats in the 1, 2 and 3rd districts and about 95 percent of them are for the MacArthur/Kim race. If the same percentage of 4,000 provisional ballots there go to that race, 3,800 more votes will be divided between Kim and MacArthur. If MacArthur takes 40 percent of that vote as he has throughout the county, that would up his total by 1,500 votes. Between the two counties, that could be another 2,500 votes -- still shy of the 3,400 vote lead Kim has. Democrat Andy Kim continues to lead in the 3rd District over incumbent Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-3. AP Two years ago, MacArthur took home about 53 percent of the vote in Burlington and 68 percent in Ocean. The district stretches between Burlington County in the Philadelphia suburbs and Ocean County along the shore and has largely been held by the GOP for the past three decades. Kim's strength in Burlington County was part of a wave that will put Democrats into control of county government for the first time in 45 years. County Clerk Timothy Tyler lost his race to a Democratic challenger who carried nearly 60 percent of the vote. "Everybody hates Donald Trump," Tyler said Friday when asked what fueled the clean sweep of he GOP county ticket. MacArthur backed Trump more often than any other member of the New Jersey congressional delegation, according to Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight. He helped save the president's attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, by crafting a compromise for states to opt out of ending preexisting-condition requirements for insurance companies. The provision enabled patients with chronic, ongoing illnesses to not be denied insurance coverage. MacArthur, 58, is a former health insurance executive. Kim, 36, who had never run for elected office before, was a civilian advisor to military leaders in Afghanistan and Iraq and national security aide in Democratic President Barack Obama's administration. If Kim's lead holds up, he will become the first Korean-American to represent New Jersey in Congress. 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 A national Mexican food chain which filed for bankruptcy this year has closed one of its locations in the state. According to the Don Pablo's Mexican Restaurant in Moorestown's Facebook page, the chain restaurant has officially closed its doors. The number to the restaurant is no longer in service. In 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported the chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to the emergence of a number of "fast casual" Mexican restaurants such as Moe's and Chipotle, more Mexican food offerings from other restaurants such as Applebee's, Chili's and TGI Fridays, and the decline of people heading to casual dining locations. With the Moorestown site no longer in operation, the Deptford Center Road restaurant in Deptford is the only remaining Don Pablo's restaurant in the state and one of five remaining locations nationwide. NJ Advance Media reached out to Don Pablo's parent company Food Management Partners for comment about the restaurant closing. However, our requests were not answered by the time of this posting. Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips TORONTO -- Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier, Keith Kinkaid, Sami Vatanen and the New Jersey Devils will continue their seven-game road trip when they visit John Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. on Friday at Scotiabank Arena. The Devils (6-6-1) will be aim to bounce back from a 7-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. They have lost four of five games on their current road trip. Keith Kinkaid will make the start in goal for the Devils. Join NJ.com's live chat in the comment section, and follow along with live updates in the box below. Here is everything you need to know about the home game: What: New Jersey Devils (6-6-1) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (10-5-0) When: 7 p.m. EST, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada TV: MSG+ Live stream: MSG Go Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com Devils on Facebook. Newark isn't throwing in the towel, yet. As new reports rule out New Jersey's largest city as one of two locations for Amazon's second headquarters, state and local officials are going for a Hail Mary. Reacting to national reports saying Amazon will split its HQ2 between Long Island City in New York and Crystal City in Virginia, Newark is buckling down on its pitch to convince the online commerce behemoth to give Newark a piece of the pie, two sources involved in the negotiations confirmed to NJ Advance Media. The individuals did not want to be named to not jeopardize their relationships with Amazon. ROI-NJ was the first to report that officials were angling for a partnership with New York City. "Newark could be an ace up New York's sleeve," one source told NJ Advance Media. "The idea that the horse has left the barn and both of these two cities got it and started running away with it," isn't definitive, the person added. Though both Virginia and New York are in "advance talks" with Amazon, the company has not informed finalist cities of its decision, the sources said. "This is all speculation, there's been no official communication," one source said. Even before news broke that Amazon was leaning toward Virginia and New York, state and local officials in New Jersey began offering the possibility of partnering with their neighbor 11 miles across the Hudson River, both sources said. They said though they still believed Newark a strong contender on its own, the stakes were too high to miss out on the opportunity. "No other city on the list can be transformed like the city of Newark can," one source said. "Strategically, it makes sense for the region to come together so no city is taking the brunt of the development but Amazon gets the bests of both worlds." Recent reports of Amazon narrowing the field to Virginia and New York forced state and local officials to double down on that pitch -- and offer Newark as a "release valve" amid rising concerns about whether New York can absorb the developmental impact, they said. One source said Newark has existing real estate ready for Amazon and is more malleable for any new construction. New Jersey, the person said, can help sweeten the deal for the company with its offer of a $7 billion incentive package, though that will be pared down accordingly. It's still not clear how -- or if -- Amazon will split its HQ2 which officials promised would bring 50,000 jobs and a $5 billion investment. Aisha Glover, CEO of the Newark Alliance and the city's point person for its Amazon bid, said Newark still had the most to gain and stood out for the social impact the company can have in New Jersey's largest city. "We still see this as an opportunity, not just tell the equity story but see it play out intentionally. If we have this opportunity, we're going to leverage it for all its worth," she said. She declined to speak about any ongoing negotiations but said Amazon had not confirmed any official decisions regarding Newark. Glover confirmed to NJ Advance Media that Newark received a second visit from Amazon in the late summer but city officials were not involved this time. Only a handful a cities received second visits, according to media reports. One source said though they're hoping they'll work out an agreement with New York, should Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos say "Newark is my guy, we're ready for that, too." One source said Amazon recently asked officials for the cell phone numbers of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Gov. Phil Murphy, a likely sign that the decision is coming soon. Amazon has only said they will decide by the end of the year. Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. JERSEY CITY A man who seemed to be "high off something" struck multiple cars Saturday morning, a witness said. A worker at A & L Auto Body & Towing, who didn't want to give his full name, said that the man hit cars on Kennedy Boulevard, three cars on Western Avenue and four cars on Lincoln Street in the Heights neighborhood. There were close to 20 cars involved, the man said. "He was high off something," he said. "Like angel dust." The man -- who had to tow the struck cars returned to the Tonnelle Avenue location where the man was stopped in the parking lot of the White Mana Diner. The workers at the diner had no information about the incident. Cops caught and handcuffed the driver against a black Mustang, which is parked outside of A & L, the A & L employee said. "Wherever it started, it ended here," the worker added. Information from the Jersey City Police Department was not immediately available. The city and a local community center are coming together to bring more awareness and support to an issue for the first time. The city of Jersey City and Hudson Pride Center are partnering to recognize Transgender Awareness Week, which will run from Nov. 12 to 19 and will lead up to Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) on Nov. 20. "Jersey City stands with all members of our diverse community and is proud to partner with Hudson Pride Center to officially recognize Transgender Awareness Week," Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop said in a statement. The first official awareness week will celebrate transgender, and gender non-conforming people as well as address the challenges they face. Following the week, TDOR will honor the memory of those lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. The community center is also sponsoring events, including a press conference, a community discussion and various events, with proceeds to benefit their Transgender Legal fund. Hudson Pride Center is the only full-service LGBTQ+ community center in New Jersey. Hudson Pride addresses social issues facing the LGBTQ+ community and advocates for change through community education, rallies, and creating spaces for members of their community to live their lives. Hudson Pride Center offers the following services for the transgender community: HRT Counseling HRT Appointments Name Change PrEP HIV Testing "Over the last five years, we've implemented programs to provide healthcare coverage for transgender public employees and incorporated LGBT sensitivity training for new police officers," Fulop said in a statement. "The city will continue our efforts to advance diversity, equality and advocacy." To learn more about Hudson Pride Center, attend an event, or get involved, visit their website at hudsonpride.org. JERSEY CITY Lawyers for a longtime Jersey City community leader and her sister are arguing that statements the women gave to police regarding an alleged incident of bias intimidation should be thrown out and the indictment against them dismissed. Prosecutors allege Tinia and Vera Bland, along with a third woman, Deborah Alston, lied to police when they claimed one of their neighbors uttered a racial slur at them during a February court proceeding. But attorneys for the women say their statements to police, which led to false incrimination charges against them in May, were obtained improperly. The women have been involved in a yearslong feud with the neighbor, Glen Trickel, and the man he lives with, Fidel Hernandez, one that has resulted in numerous court hearings, a simple assault conviction against Hernandez for biting Vera Bland during a fight in August 2016 and assault allegations against Vera Bland's son, Richard, who authorities allege paid two men to assault Trickel in October 2017. Trickel alleges his attackers hurled a homophobic slur at him while they beat him. All the parties live on Astor Place in Jersey City. Tinia Bland is the head of the Astor Place Neighborhood Association. In Hudson County Superior Court Judge Sheila A. Venable's courtroom on Friday, lawyers for the women grilled the police detective, Jessica Fernandez-Cruz, who took their Feb. 12, 2018 statements. The roughly two-hour hearing was a pretrial proceeding, one attorneys for the women hope will lead to Venable dismissing the charges. Videos of the February statements the women gave police were played Friday. In them, they offer slightly different versions of the alleged incident. Alston says Trickel mouthed the words "I will kill you" followed by the racial slur. Vera Bland says Trickel used the slur first, adding, "I'm going to kill you." Tinia Bland says Trickel used the slur first, then said, "I will kill you ... and if you report it, I'll kill the police too." Lawyers for the women say those statements should be quashed, arguing that because the detective who took their statements knew that prosecutors believed they were lying, she should have told them they were potentially targets of an investigation. The detective "tricked" at least one of them into giving a self-incriminating statement, the lawyers say. "Did you tell them that it is a crime to falsely incriminate another individual?" Alston's attorney, Sarah Seelig-Walsh, asked the detective. "Did you tell any of them that?" "Not on the video but I'm pretty positive I mentioned that to them," Fernandez-Cruz said. "I'm pretty sure they're aware of that." "You're pretty sure that they're aware of that?" Seelig-Walsh asked her, in an incredulous tone. "I think most people are," Fernandez-Cruz said. No decisions were made Friday on the motion filed by attorneys for the women to suppress their police statements and dismiss their indictment. The parties are due in court again in about two months. Asked to comment, Trickel noted the "inconsistencies" in the statements the women gave to police. "Once again, they get away with telling lies," he said. Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. Federal authorities arrested a man in Trenton early Friday who was wanted on murder charges in York, Pennsylvania. Legette, police photo Myannh "Milo" Legette, 21, was apprehended at about 6 a.m. in a home in Trenton, according to the U.S. Marshals, who said an agency task force tracked him to the city. Authorities did not say exactly where in Trenton he was apprehended. Legette will be charged with homicide, robbery and related charges when he returns to York, several York-area media outlets reported. He's implicated with two other men in an Oct. 7 shooting that killed a York man in that city, media in York reported. Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Police in Miami Township, Ohio, reported a possible sighting of missing New Jersey 15-year-old Thomas Kolding on Friday. The Mountain Lakes High School freshman is believed to have left home on Oct. 30 with $1,000, leaving his cellphone and other electronics behind. In a Facebook post, the Miami Township police department asked for the public's assistance in locating the teen, noting there had been multiple reports of Kolding in the area. In the post, he was described as carrying a blue Adidas backpack and might be wearing a camouflage jacket. He is 5 feet 3 inches tall, 120 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. Miami Township police have received reports of possible sightings in our area of a teenager that is reported missing out... Posted by Miami Township, Montgomery County, Ohio Police Department on Friday, November 9, 2018 Kolding was last seen Nov. 3 at the Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden, where he was picked up on a surveillance camera. His parents previously told police their son had a strong interest in traveling to California, possibly the Bay Area. Anyone with information about Thomas Kolding is asked to contact the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Missing Persons Unit at 973-285-2900, or email Detective/Supervisor Leah Atterbury at latterbury@co.morris.nj.us. Tipsters can also contact Mountain Lakes police at 973-334-1413 and ask for Detective John Hukowski. 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 Editor's note: Do you have a family member on the pediatric unit at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, or a child who has been affected by the viral outbreak there? NJ.com would like to hear from you. You may reach us at (732) 902-4559, or write to Susan Livio at slivio@njadvancemedia.com, Spencer Kent at skent@njadvancemedia.com, or Ted Sherman at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. The kids started getting sick on an unseasonably warm day in late September. Yet it would not be until Oct. 9 -- and after the death of two children -- when the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation notified the state Health Department of a viral outbreak inside the long-term care facility in northern New Jersey. And then another 12 days before state inspectors walked in the door. The devastating adenovirus outbreak at the Wanaque Center in Haskell has so far led to the deaths of 10 children and infected 23 more. How the outbreak began remains unknown. But an examination of how the outbreak unfolded and spread rapidly has raised questions over why state health officials waited two weeks before deploying a team to see for themselves how Wanaque was managing the crisis. The state's response will be part of what the state Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee will examine when it holds a hearing on Dec. 3 to discuss the outbreak, said Sen. Joseph Vitale, the committee chairman said. "We will ask as many questions as we are able to, but this will be one of them," said Vitale, D-Middlesex. "We want to know when it was reported, how the department responded and how the facility responded," Vitale said, adding he wanted to be cautious "until we know all of the facts." "No doubt we are all concerned about this, and as a layperson, I say something is amiss here," he said. Wanaque notified the state and local health departments about the outbreak after business hours on Oct. 9., according to Health Department spokeswoman Donna Leusner. "The state immediately counseled the facility on infection control protocols, to be implemented immediately," Leusner said. The next day, the department's Communicable Disease Service -- along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the local health department began working with Wanaque to recommend infection control practices, she said. The state dispatched two registered nurses from its Health Facilities, Survey and Field Operations office on Oct. 21 and conducted a surprise inspection. A state inspection specialist has remained on site. The state conducted a second surprise inspection on Friday after a report by NJ Advance Media citing workers at the Wanaque Center who alleged that administrators delayed sending critically ill kids to the hospital because they did want to lose Medicaid funding if a pediatric bed went empty. The decision to wait two weeks before sending in state health employees was based on the science of allowing one incubation period to elapse to see whether Wanaque's handling of the outbreak was working, Leusner said. The incubation period of the adenovirus virus is two weeks, the department said. "It would have been impossible to determine that an on-site presence could have been useful before an incubation period's worth of time," health department spokeswoman Dawn Thomas said. "It should be understood that while on-site inspections, infection control consultations and the daily monitoring that are in place now are useful for information-gathering and determining possible enforcement, they do not have direct impact on containing the spread of the virus or preventing harm to patients," Thomas said. "Containing the virus ultimately depends on facility management and clinical staff following these protocols under all circumstances, for every patient, and Department of Health is taking every action it can to hold the facility accountable for this," she added. Wanaque Center's for-profit owner, Continuum Healthcare, which has repeatedly refused comment, did not return calls on Friday. "The Commissioner believes that DOH staff responded appropriately at each time point, given the information we had," she said. Adenovirus is actually a group of viruses that are rarely fatal. They mimic symptoms of the flu and common cold, often attacking the respiratory tract, but can also cause gastroenteritis and conjunctivitis. They tend to affect infants and children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Illnesses from the virus are usually mild and people typically recover in a matter of days. But in some cases, infections from adenovirus can be potentially life-threatening, particularly those with weakened immune systems. All of the pediatric patients at Wanaque Center are medically fragile. Most need ventilators to help them breathe. Some had severe birth defects and significant health problems. Why these died, however, remains puzzling to some. "These kids were really fragile and severe adenovirus certainly can be fatal," observed David Cennimo, an epidemiologist at University Hospital in Newark and a professor of medicine at Rutgers University Medical School. "It's a bad respiratory illness and you can end up on a ventilator. But these kids were already on a ventilator and I wonder why they couldn't support them through this." Not involved directly or knowing specifics about their cases, he said he wondered if there were secondary infections. There are many unanswered questions, he added. "I don't understand it. It's a medical care facility. These kids are monitored. I can't explain it," he said. State health officials, while they continue to investigate, said they may never know the answer to how the virus spread. "It's impossible for us to know what exactly were the factors related to the spread," said Christina Tan, the state's epidemiologist who heads the health department's Communicable Disease Service. "There are many factors." Adenovirus is not an airborne threat. It does not get spread through a building's heating and ventilation system, like Legionnaire's Disease, explained Tan. Rather, the virus moves through respiratory droplets or contact. The state inspects these facilities every nine to 15 months, Leusner said. The Wanaque Center had been repeatedly cited for deficiencies in handwashing and infection control, both before and after the outbreak, according to state and federal inspection reports. During an inspection last month, the state said there were germicidal disposable wipes, sanitizers, masks, gloves, and gowns available on every wing, and mostly in every room for the staff and visitors to use prior to entering the room. The report said there were also guidelines regarding adenovirus for visitors visible in each room, warning visitors not to visit if they are sick, and observed staff cleaning the rooms with germicidal cleaning solutions. But the report noted deficiencies in handwashing procedures, where members of the staff did not wash their hands long enough. Washing hands is imperative. Not a quick rinse, but for at least 20 seconds. They teach health care professions to sing "Happy Birthday" to themselves about twice. At Wanaque Center, state inspectors found that some nurses were not getting even through the first verse, in terms of timing. Cennimo said there was a high likelihood that the only way it would have moved from one bed-bound patient to another was by someone who was caring for the kids. "I would be concerned that whoever was caring for the kids was the contact vector between them," Cennimo said. Vitale, the health committee chairman, said the he hopes to find out whether the outbreak spiraled because of human error or systemic weaknesses. Maybe it's both. he said. "These children are medical fragile and depend on other people for their survival," Vitale added. "It shouldn't have happened to this degree. One child gets sick and maybe two, but this many? (This story was originally published Saturday, Nov. 10, and has been updated to reflect the latest number of children infected by the virus.) NJ Advance Media Staff Writer Spencer Kent contributed to this report. Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Lalu Prasad is learnt to have been upset over his elder sons decision to seek divorce. Patna/Lucknow: RJD chief Lalu Prasads son and MLA Tej Pratap Yadav, who has been in the news for his failing marriage, Friday said he was currently putting up in Haridwar and would not return home till his family backed his decision to divorce his wife of six months. Talking to a regional news channel here over telephone, he extended his greetings to younger brother Tejashwi Yadav on his birthday, but said he would not be able to join the celebrations in New Delhi, where the RJD heir apparent has gone to meet their sisters. The mercurial RJD leader was last seen in Bodh Gaya on Saturday where he had checked in at a hotel after meeting his ailing father at a hospital in Ranchi. Lalu Prasad is learnt to have been upset over his elder sons decision to seek divorce. Prasad is serving sentences in a number of fodder scam cases. At present, he is lodged at a hospital in Ranchi on medical grounds. Tej Pratap Yadav and Aishwarya Rai daughter of RJD MLA Chandrika Rai and grandchild of former Bihar chief minister Daroga Prasad Rai had tied the knot on May 12. Our differences are irreconcilable. I had said this to my parents before the marriage was solemnized. But nobody listened to me then and nobody is listening to me now. Until they agree with me, how can I return home? Yadav said. The former Bihar minister also expressed displeasure over the role played by some of his close relatives, including in-laws, in his marital dispute. Mr Yadav, the elder son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, was recently seen in Mathura with a group of friends, visiting various temples and chanting Radhe Radhe. According to reports, Mr Tej Pratap Yadav who had been reported missing since the past few days had been staying at Vrinda Palace since Thursday. This story was updated to include comment from federal monitor Peter Harvey. As his last act as Attorney General, Jeff Sessions limited federal authorities' ability to crack down on problem police departments by using consent decrees, but officials have said it won't have any impact in Newark. Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said that no matter what the memo says, his police department will continue to comply with the consent decree it entered into in 2016 with the U.S. Department of Justice to improve training, accountability and more under the watch of a court-appointed monitor. The consent decree came after a federal probe uncovered civil rights abuses by Newark officers. Between 2009-12, 75 percent of pedestrian stops with a documented reason were unjustified, the probe found. And contrary to Sessions' position, Ambrose said that federal oversight can be a good thing in policing. "So no matter what, we're going to continue to follow what the consent decree says and change the mindset in the police division. It didn't get this way overnight and won't end overnight," Ambrose said Friday. "But I'd have to say that oversight and the consent decree of the feds helped this police division get back on track." Sessions signed the memo before resigning Wednesday at the direction of President Donald Trump. Now, to enact a consent decree, the Department of Justice to provide more evidence of wrongdoing besides unconstitutional behavior, get additional approval from government officials, according to the New York Times. The memo also says a police department should be released from the consent decree if it can prove it has made the required improvements. Generally, an agreement should be limited to three years, "absent a compelling justification" for it to be longer, the memo says. The former Attorney General had already made his position on consent decrees clear, ordering staff last year to review existing agreements including those in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland to see if the DOJ was overstepping and infringing on local police department's right to govern themselves. At that time, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka vowed that Newark would continue to abide by the consent decree. He said that since the agreement was approved by a U.S. District Court, any changes would require court intervention. The federal monitor appointed to oversee Newark Police Department's progress, former New Jersey attorney general Peter Harvey, said the same thing Friday. "It will have no impact at all on our work with the consent decree or oversight of the Newark police. Remember, the Consent Decree is a court order, supervised by a very good judge, [Madeline Cox] Arleo, and for the Department of Justice to modify that decree in any respect, they have to present the proposal to the district judge, who would then rule upon on it. So I read that directive as an attempt to guide the [Justice] Department with respect to future consent decrees." Harvey also said he expects that in the future, there will be more consent decrees between state attorneys general and local police, where the DOJ is not involved. That's what's happening in Chicago police, he said. "It's not the end of consent decrees, put it that way," he said. In an interview Friday, Ambrose said that consent decrees are a useful but costly way to fix "systemic issues" in police departments. In Newark, he said, the total cost will be $7.4 million over five years. "We are lucky to have a firm but fair monitor in Peter Harvey. And retraining is always good, just to follow up and see if it's working," he said. "And on the other hand, what [Sessions'] memo says makes some sense: Rather than going right to the federal government, there is a pecking order in municipal policing, and it's not a bad idea to have the county and the state AG looking at your practices." New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal -- who was among 18 attorneys general who have called on Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to recuse himself from the special counsel's Russia probe -- slammed Sessions' decision. "Consent decrees are one of the many tools available to the federal government to strengthen trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. It is deeply disappointing that, on his way out the door and apparently over the objection of the Justice Department's career attorneys, former Attorney General Sessions imposed new rules that undermine such efforts," Grewal said in a statement. "In New Jersey, we will continue to work collaboratively with our county and local law enforcement agencies to strengthen police-community relations and find other, innovative solutions to build community trust." In his two-year review of the Newark Police Department, federal monitor Peter Harvey said the department had made progress in implementing body-worn and dashboard cameras but noted it lacked personnel with appropriate expertise in areas like data gathering, training, community engagement and domestic violence to create lasting reform. Staff member Dave D'alessandro contributed to this report. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips 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 A 29-year-old man thwarted a burglar in Algiers by grabbing the barrel of the intruders gun, New Orleans police said Saturday (Nov. 10). The burglar fled after a tussle with him. The victim responded to a knock at the door of his residence in the 3330 block of Behrman Highway on Friday at 7:20 p.m. The burglar kicked in the door, entered with a black pistol and demanded property. But the vicrim grabbed the barrel of the gun, spurring a brief battle over the firearm, before the burglar fled the location, police said. No further information was immediately released by the Police Department. A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed in Gentilly Friday night (Nov. 9), according to New Orleans police. The shooting took place in the 4700 block of Demontluzin Street. At the scene, police had cordoned off a section of that block, which sits between Carnot Street and Mirabeau Avenue. Police said two 17-year-old boys were handling guns when one of them pointed his loaded gun at the other. The gun fired and a bullet hit the other boy. The suspected shooter, 17-year-old Jermaine Shields, was booked with negligent homicide, Orleans Parish court records show. His bond was set at $50,000. At the scene of the shooting, officers were congregated in the roadway near a light-colored house where a man stood on the porch. As an Orleans Parish Coroners Office van pulled onto the scene, a woman in a car parked near the police tape could be heard sobbing. It was the fourth shooting of the night in the New Orleans area. Two men were wounded in separate shootings in the Florida neighborhood, and another man was shot in Harvey. No further information was immediately available. In the second Florida neighborhood shooting of the night, a 23-year-old man was wounded at the intersection of N. Tonti and France streets, New Orleans police reported. According to an initial police report, the man was driving northbound on France Street, near North Tonti Street, when he heard a loud bang. The man then noticed his drivers-side window was shattered and pulled over to realize he had been shot. EMS transported the wounded man to a local hospital, where he was listed in stable condition Saturday morning, police said. Earlier Friday night, a man was shot in the foot in the 2200 block of Desire Street, police said. Man shot in the foot in Florida area of Upper 9th Ward A guest at a Royal Street bed and breakfast faces a terrorizing charge related to a May encounter with staff at the New Orleans lodging business. Cody Yankee, 32, of Manitou, Colo., threatened to burn down the B&B, shouted a racial slur at a staffer and was keeping in his room a cooler containing a rifle, ammunition, marijuana and other items, according to his arrest warrant. The Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office booked Yankee on Tuesday (Nov. 6) on a warrant stemming from the May 4 incident at the Balcony Guest House, 2483 Royal. He had been transported from Colorado to face the charges, booking records show. In addition to the terrorizing charge, he was booked with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and illegal carrying of a weapon with controlled dangerous substances. At his first court appearance Tuesday, Yankee was represented by private attorney Robert Toale, court records show. Toale could not immediately be reached Saturday. According to a sworn affidavit from New Orleans police officer Christle Young, the innkeeper reported Yankee to police because he felt threatened by the guest. The innkeeper said Yankee used a racist slur against one of his employees and told the employee, Im gonna burn this place down! according the warrant, which cited the innkeepers interview with police. A maintenance worker told police that at some point during Yankees stay at Balcony Guest House, he went to Yankees room to fix the air conditioning and saw several drugs and bullets all over the place, the warrant states. Yankee told the worker to, Get the f--- out! the warrant states. A cleaning staffer told police he went into Yankees room on May 1 because water was flooding from his upstairs hotel room into the B&Bs dining room. When the staffer entered Yankees room, he told police, he saw, the room was trashed and the guest had batteries connected together as if he was trying to hook something up. The staffer also noticed containers were all over the place. On May 4, the same cleaning employee saw Yankee standing in front of his room with a cooler, the same blue and white cooler that the innkeeper said was later placed in an exterior storage closet. Also that day, a kitchen staffer told police that Yankee told the staff, You n-----! I dont want to talk to you. The innkeeper showed police the cooler in the exterior closet. According to the warrant, the top of the cooler had writing and drawings all over it, including the words: Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Do not open of [sic] you are the police...because f--- the police, dont take my box police. Inside the cooler was an AK-9 Luger, a laser scope, a spit fire 3X scope, a can of gun cleaner, a can of WD-40, a loaded magazine, an unloaded magazine, more than 60 different kinds of bullets, three bags of vegetable matter and a toothbrush. The vegetable matter tested positive for marijuana, the warrant said. The cooler included three bags of the vegetable matter: one large, full unopened bag; a large opened half-full bag; and one nearly empty large bag. Magistrate Commissioner Brigid Collins signed the warrant May 4. On Tuesday, Yankee was transported to Orleans Parish from Colorado Springs, where he had been arrested on the warrant, booking records show. Magistrate Commissioner Albert Thibodeaux set his bond at $15,500 and issued a non-domestic stay-away order. A hearing was scheduled for Nov. 13 on Yankees request to leave New Orleans. Jail records indicate he was released on bond sometime before Friday afternoon (Nov. 9). New Orleans Crime Map by District . . . . . . . Emily Lane covers criminal justice in New Orleans for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Reach her atelane@nola.com. Follow her on Twitter ( @emilymlane) or Facebook. Shantel Parria appeared in Jefferson Parish commissioners court Friday (Nov. 9) and pleaded not guilty to the shooting death of her husband, Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office Sgt. Troy Smith. A grand jury on Thursday handed up an indictment charging Parria, 35, with second-degree murder. Smothered Terrytown homicide victim had duct tape wrapped around his entire head: JPSO Authorities have accused her of shooting Smith, 44, in the head on Fathers Day, June 17 and staging it as a suicide. Smith died one week later on June 24. Sheriffs Office detectives who investigated the case determined that Smiths injury wasnt self-inflicted based on forensic evidence and interviews, authorities said. Detectives arrested Parria on July 11. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up But Parrias defense attorneys, Leo Palazzo and Wiley Beevers, contend that Smith took his own life. Smith was suffering from PTSD, was depressed and had financial troubles. Smith, who worked as an instructor at the JPSO Academy, had drugs and alcohol in his system at the time of the shooting and had threatened to kill himself in a text message one day earlier, Parrias attorneys allege. Palazzo filed a motion Monday (Nov. 5) to reopen his clients preliminary exam based on Smiths amended autopsy report, according to court records. The amended report notes that what was initially thought to be an exit wound on the top of Smiths head was actually a drainage site put there by surgeons who were repairing the injuries. The states case relied heavily upon trajectory theories which were based on incomplete and inaccurate forensic opinions, Palazzo wrote. Jefferson Parish Magistrate Commissioner Patricia Joyce continued the motion without date in the wake of Parrias indictment. She returns to court for a status hearing on Dec. 13. Deputy chief minister G Parameshwara was reportedly in Singapore to visit an ailing senior politician from Karnataka. The main event in Bengaluru turned out to be lacklustre, attendees said, Kumaraswamy skipped the main event at Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat, citing advice by doctors to take rest for three days till November 11. (Photo: PTI) Bengaluru: Protests by the BJP and right-wing outfits coupled with the absence of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his deputy marked the 'Tipu Jayanti' celebrations in Karnataka Saturday, even as the event brought to the fore differences within the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition. The celebrations to observe the birth anniversary of 'controversial' 18th century Mysore kingdom ruler Tipu Sultan brought the state under a thick security blanket, amid protests by the BJP and other organisations. The main event in Bengaluru turned out to be lacklustre, attendees said, Kumaraswamy skipped the main event at Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat, citing advice by doctors to take rest for three days till November 11. Deputy chief minister G Parameshwara was reportedly in Singapore to visit an ailing senior politician from Karnataka. As BJP and other right-wing outfits protested against the Jayanthi, Vidhana Soudha turned into a fortress with multi-layer security arrangement. The police ensured nobody could carry medicines, perfumes or even water bottles inside the venue. Irrigation minister D K Shivakumar, minister for minority affairs B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan and MLAs Roshan Baig and N A Harris attended the main programme, where the BJP was accused of communalising the occasion. Voices of disapproval started emerging from within the ruling coalition over the chief minister and deputy chief minister's absence, with a Congress MLA terming it as an "insult" to the Muslim community. MLA and former minister Tanveer Sait requested the chief minister to at least attend a Tipu Jayanthi event at a place near to where he was taking rest. According to party sources, many Congress leaders, especially those from the Muslim community, are miffed with the CM and deputy chief minister for skipping the event. When in the opposition, Kumaraswamy had questioned the need for such celebrations which was started by the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress government. Kumaraswamy reportedly chose to skip the event to not antagonise voters in his party's bastion of old Mysuru region, as Tipu Sultan had seized power from Maharajas of Mysuru, who are virtually revered there. The Chief Minister's Office (CMO), however, issued a statement on Kumaraswamy's absence at the event. Wishing success for Tipu Jayanthi celebrations, the JD(S) leader said Tipu's progressive measures in administration and his quest for innovation were "commendable". He said as he was taking rest on doctor's advice. "It is far from the truth that the CM is not taking part due to fear of losing power, as he opposes such blind beliefs," the CMO statement said. This was the first Tipu Jayanthi celebration after the Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) coalition government came to power in the state. The previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah began celebrating Tipu Jayanthi on November 10 every year since 2015, amid stiff opposition from the BJP, several Hindu organisations and some individuals. BJP and several right-wing outfits held protests in different parts of the state opposing the celebrations. Calling Tipu a "religious bigot", the state BJP unit had urged the state government to drop its decision to celebrate the Jayanthi. In Kodagu district, where celebrations in 2015 were marred by widespread protests and violence, 'Tipu Jayanti Virodhi Horata Samithi' called for a bandh. VHP worker Kuttappa had died in Kodagu district during a clash that erupted during the Tipu Jayanthi that year. BJP workers along with MLA M P Appachu Ranjan were detained at Madikeri in Kodagu district for protesting the event after he allegedly had an argument with the police for not letting those without invitations to attend the event. Another BJP MLA and former assembly speaker K G Bopaiah was detained in Virajpet during the protest. In Mangaluru, some protesters tried to barge into the zilla panchayat office with black flags where the event was being organised. Police later detained the protesters. Similar protests were reported from Chikmagalur, Ballari, Karwar and various parts of the state. Prohibitory orders have been clamped in most of the districts as a precautionary measure, police said. Extra security arrangements were made in districts of Kodagu, Chitradurga, and coastal regions among others where local communities are opposed to the celebrations. Tipu was considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces. The ruler, however, is a controversial figure in Kodagu district as Kodavas (Coorgis), a martial race, believe that thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forcible conversion to Islam. He is also accused of execution of Mandayam Iyengars at the temple town of Melkote in Mandya district on the day of Diwali, as they supported the then Maharaja of Mysuru. However, the scale of such suppression is disputed by several historians, who see Tipu as a secular and modern ruler. Meanwhile, a group of Muslim leaders along with state minister Zameer Ahmed Khan Saturday met senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah and honoured him on the occasion of Tipu Jayanti. Calling Tipu a "good administrator," Siddaramaiah hit out at the BJP for opposing Tipu Jayanthi celebrations, while reminding about the saffron party leaders attending similar events while in power. Oregon's House majority leader said her Democratic caucus will attempt to scrap the state's unusual jury system during next year's legislative session. Lawmakers plan to introduce two bills in 2019 in an effort to overturn Oregon's non-unanimous jury law, Jennifer Williamson, D-Portland, told The Oregonian/OregonLive. The first would seek a legislative fix to the law that allows juries in most felony cases -- aside from murder -- to convict defendants with a 10-2 vote, she said. The second would refer the issue to voters, who would then decide whether to overturn an amendment in the state constitution enacted more than eight decades ago. Her announcement, first reported by OPB, came after voters in Louisiana this week overwhelmingly rejected their system of split-verdict convictions, making Oregon the only state to have such a law. The federal government and all other states require a 12-0 verdict for crimes such as manslaughter, rape and arson. "With the dubious distinction of now being the only state to have non-unanimous juries, there's a sense of urgency around this issue you wouldn't have found a couple of years ago," said Williamson, who plans to sponsor both bills. "It's one of the most racist parts of our criminal justice system." Critics have claimed that non-unanimous juries are deeply flawed and punitive toward nonwhite defendants, remnants from an era when discrimination toward racial and religious minorities was endemic to public life. Louisiana's majority verdict system, a relic of the Jim Crow era, was adopted during the state's 1898 constitutional convention to diminish the influence of black jurors upon verdicts, scholars say. In Oregon nearly four decades later, it was a sensational murder trial involving a Jewish suspect that prompted voters in 1934 to enshrine a non-unanimous jury system into the state constitution, according to advocates and legal scholars. That analysis captured the attention of state lawmakers last year after Lewis and Clark law professor Aliza Kaplan published an influential article in the Oregon Law Review. The article argued how non-unanimous juries undermined the state's criminal justice system and is a vestige of Oregon's less-tolerant past. Since then, the Legislature has held multiple hearings on non-unanimous juries, and Williamson began crafting potential legislation. In January, Oregon's powerful district attorneys association said it would lead a ballot initiative fight to repeal the state's split verdict jury system, though it abandoned its plans only weeks later. A number of Oregon district attorneys, including Multnomah County's Rod Underhill, remain vocal in their support of ending non-unanimous juries in the state. Others, however, embrace the current system and reject the characterization that it's rooted in racism. They say it helps reduce the number of hung juries, which ultimately benefits crime victims. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum as well as the Office of Public Defense Services have both indicated they would like to see the state's jury law change. And with Democrats holding a three-fifths supermajority in both legislative chambers after this week's elections, the likelihood of such a change has increased. As for Oregon voters supporting an initiative to overturn non-unanimous juries, Williamson said she's optimistic. She pointed to the electorate's decision this week to reject a repeal to the state's pioneering sanctuary law that proponents say reduces racial profiling of immigrants and nonwhite residents. "I think that was an indicator that people believe we need to continuously improve our criminal justice system, especially when it disproportionately impacts on people of color," she said. "It was a resounding rejection of racism in our criminal justice system." -- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh skavanaugh@oregonian.com | @shanedkavanaugh New Orleans is not the only Louisiana city getting a new airport terminal. Lafayette Regional Airport broke ground Thursday (Nov. 8) on construction of a new 120,000-square foot terminal, according to the Daily Advertiser. Construction on the more than $80 million project is estimated to take two years, airport Executive Director Steven Picou said. The new terminal will replace one that opened in 1930. Lafayette taxpayers contributed some $32 million through a temporary 1-cent sales tax to the project. You cannot be a major city without a major airport period, end of story. The city of #Lafayette and the people of Lafayette stepped forward. They stepped forward to an economic vision which has Lafayette as a major city," U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., wrote on Twitter. The New Orleans Aviation Board recently delayed the opening of its new $1 billion, 35-gate terminal at Louis Armstrong International Airport in Kenner. The new terminal was first set to open in May 2018, then October, then February 2019 and now May 2019. New Orleans' new airport terminal opening delayed to May 2019 During his Senate confirmation hearings in January 2017, Jeff Sessions, who had been nominated by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. Attorney General, suggested that people were automatically suspicious of him because his full name is Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III. You have a Southern name, he said. You come from south Alabama. That sounds worse to some people, south Alabama. But Sessions has it wrong. People arent suspicious of him because his name is Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III but because his politics so often seem to honor the Confederates after whom he was named. In one of Sessions last official acts as attorney general this week he yielded to President Donald Trump demand for his resignation he wrote a memo that begins by declaring, State governments are sovereigns with special and protected roles under our constitutional order. When a reputed civil rights adversary named for Jefferson Davis and P.G.T. Beauregard starts sermonizing about sovereignty, be afraid. Theres a good chance that by sovereignty he means freedom to oppress. In that memo, dated Nov. 7, Sessions is trumpeting a new Department of Justice (DOJ) policy that will limit the use of consent decrees to rein in rogue law enforcement agencies. Its like its 1877 all over again, and the federal government is expressing exhaustion at protecting people whose rights have been trampled. If the Justice Department doesnt make abusive law enforcement agencies behave, then it is putting people in those jurisdictions at risk. New Orleanians owe much of the recent improvement at the New Orleans Police Department to the intervention of DOJ. But its not just us. All across the U.S., DOJ has brought or is bringing out-of-control police departments to heel. Somehow Sessions sees that as problematic. Going forward, his memo says, the Department should exercise special caution before entering into a consent decree with a state or local governmental entity. While such consent decrees can be appropriate settlement vehicles in limited circumstances they should be employed carefully and only after review and approval of senior leadership of the Department of Justice. Its impossible to miss what Sessions is implying. If his memo calls for DOJ to exercise special caution with consent decrees, then he is suggesting that his predecessors entered into such agreements rather recklessly. They did not. The New Orleans Police Department was put under a consent decree after federal investigators found: Basic elements of effective policing clear policies, training, accountability, and confidence of the citizenry have been absent for years. Far too often, officers show a lack of respect for the civil rights and dignity of the people of New Orleans The deficiencies in the way NOPD polices the City are not simply individual, but structural as well. For too long, the Department has been largely indifferent to widespread violations of law and policy by its officers. Those investigators also wrote, We found that officers in NOPD routinely use unnecessary and unreasonable force in violation of the Constitution and NOPD policy. In Ferguson, Mo., federal investigators wrote, The harms of Fergusons police and court practices are borne disproportionately by African Americans, and there is evidence that this is due in part to intentional discrimination on the basis of race. In a report published the week before Trump took office, the feds found that the Chicago Police Department has engaged in a pattern or practice of unreasonable force in violation of the Fourth Amendment and that the deficiencies in CPDs training, supervision, accountability, and other systems have contributed to that pattern or practice. Those are just three of the many police departments across the country the federal government has investigated and overseen. Two months after that report on the Chicago Police Department, Sessions, then attorney general, wrote in a memo, It is not the responsibility of the federal government to manage non-federal law enforcement agencies. Also, The misdeeds of individual bad actors should not impugn or undermine the legitimate and honorable work that law enforcement officers and agencies perform in keeping American communities safe. He was deliberately ignoring the findings that the law enforcement agencies in question were systematically problematic, that is, that the problem wasnt individual bad actors but entire agencies in need of comprehensive reform. So the Nov. 7 memo wasnt a surprise, just a reminder that he didnt take his role as civil rights enforcer seriously. And we knew he wouldnt. No less an authority than Coretta Scott King derailed Sessions appointment to the federal bench in 1986 with a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee: I do not believe Jefferson Sessions possesses the requisite judgment, competence, and sensitivity to the rights guaranteed by the federal civil rights law to qualify for appointment to the federal district court. She said Sessions appointment would have a devastating effect on the progress made toward fulfilling her husbands dream. We should be thankful that the federal investigation into police abuse in New Orleans was conducted while somebody who cares about unconstitutional policing was in office. Who knows what state NOPD would be in or how much confidence in the department wed have if Sessions had been in office then. Jarvis DeBerry is a columnist on the Latitude team at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Latitude is a place to share opinions about the challenges facing Louisiana. Follow @LatitudeNOLA on Facebook and Twitter. Write Jarvis at jdeberry@nola.com or @jarvisdeberry. The BJP, which had appealed to the govt to drop the celebrations, staged demonstrations at several places. In Madikeri, various organisations, including BJP and Codava National Council, protested against Tipu Jayanti celebrations and called for a shutdown. (Photo: ANI/Twitter) Bengaluru: Security was tightened in parts of Karnataka on Saturday morning as the state government observed the birth anniversary of the controversial 18th-century ruler of erstwhile Mysore kingdom, Tipu Sultan. The BJP, which had appealed to the government to drop the celebrations, staged demonstrations at several places in the state. In Madikeri, various organisations, including BJP and Codava National Council, protested against Tipu Jayanti celebrations and called for a shutdown. Many groups were detained by the police. BJP workers also raised slogans inside the premises of Madikeri's Deputy Commissioner's office. The JDS-Congress coalition government led by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, last week, had said Tipu Jayanti would be celebrated on November 10 in continuation of the previous Congress government's policy, prompting the BJP to announce protests. (Photo: ANI/Twitter) In Hubli and Dharwad, Section 144, which prohibits an assembly of more than 4 people, was imposed from 6 am onwards. Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu, PI Srividya, said, "We have taken all precautionary measures. If somebody violates law and order the police will take strict action." Former CM Siddaramaiah, however, celebrated the ocassion by meeting Karnataka Minority Welfare Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed at his residence in Bengaluru. Shah blamed previous governments under the Congress for failure to curb the Naxal insurgency and neglecting the region. Bhopal: BJP national president Amit Shah on Saturday declared that Chhattisgarh is almost Naxal-free due to the efforts of the ruling BJP and targeted the Opposition Congress, saying a party which thinks that the rebel movement is a medium for revolution can never do any good for the state. Addressing an election meeting at Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh, Mr Shah said incidents of Naxal violence have witnessed a downward trend in the past several years and credited the Raman Singh government for developing the state as a hub of power and cement production. He also credited the state government for helping Chhattisgarh get rid of the sick state tag. Chhattisgarh is now almost Naxal-free, he said, releasing the partys manifesto for the state where the BJP has been in power for three successive terms, since 2003. Figures on Naxal violence and casualties in the Bastar region indicate that over the past three years more rebels have been killed in the state as compared to security personnel. In 2016, 222 Naxals were gunned down while the security forces lost 65 men in operations against the rebels. In 2017, 150 Naxals were killed as against 74 security personnel. In 2018, so far 21 Naxals have been killed as compared to 16 jawans. At the peak of Naxalism in 2010, 277 security personnel were killed as compared to 172 Naxals. Mr Shah blamed previous governments under the Congress for failure to curb the Naxal insurgency and neglecting the region. Chief minister Raman Singh has launched determined efforts to free the entire Bastar region of the Maoist problem, he said, adding, Bastar will develop very fast once the region is free of insurgency problem completely. Attacking the Congress, Mr Shah said, A party that feels Naxalism is a medium for revolution cannot do any good for Chhattisgarh. Mr Shah was referring to Uttar Pradesh Congress president Raj Babbars remarks last week in which he had reportedly said that Naxals have launched a revolution that cannot be stopped through guns and the issue should be resolved through talks. Mr Shah said that for the BJP, revolution means providing gas connections, electricity, education, employment to the poor and deprived sections of the society. The Congress ruled the country for 55 years, but it is the BJP which is working hard to ensure that the fruits of development reach the last person in society, said Mr Shah. As many as 18 Assembly constituencies, including Rajnandgaon from where chief minister Raman Singh is seeking re-election for the third time, are going to polls in the first phase of elections in Chhattisgarh on November 12. Campaigning for the first phase of voting came to an end on Saturday. The rest 72 seats will go to polls in the second phase of voting on November 20. Managing Editor Having lived and worked in Indy on and off since 1977, and currently living in Carmel, I've seen the city change a great deal. I love covering the arts in all its forms, and the places where the arts and broader cultural issues intersect. Terms & Agreements These Terms of Use apply to all websites maintained, owned and operated by NUVO Cultural Foundation, including, but not limited to, nuvo.net. 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(Photo: File) New Delhi: With results of assembly polls in five states including the politically crucial Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan scheduled to be announced on December 11, the Winter session of Parliament is likely to be a curtailed one and could be held from December 10 till December 21, having a total of only 10 sittings. According to highly placed sources, the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh will meet on November 12 to finalise the dates for the Winter session. They added that the committee is likely to finalise the December 10-December 21 set of dates during the meeting. The CCPA is also likely to discuss some more dates like holding the session between December 15 and January 5, 2019, just like it happend last year when the previous Winter session had taken place between December 15, 2017 and January 5, 2018. However there is a strong likelihood that the panel may stick with December 10-21 set of dates, sources said. With the results of the five assembly polls likely to coincide with the Winter session, political observers said that their ramifications could lead to high drama as the Congress has upped the ante against the BJP over the Rafale deal and the party's president Rahul Gandhi has been constantly raising it in all his rallies in the poll-bound Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where the elections are to be held this month itself. The Opposition led by the Congress has been seeking a joint Parliamentary committee's probe into the Rafale deal and in case the party manages to put up a good show in the forthcoming polls, then it could go ballistic against the ruling BJP during the Winter session. Considering the fact that it could be the last major session of Parliament prior to the Lok Sabha polls of 2019 and the government may only come out with an interim budget in February next year, sources privy to developments said that there is not much keenness within the government spheres to have a three-week long session. At the same time though the Winter session assumes significance as an ordinance for the Triple Talaq Bill is on the Centre's legislative agenda. The bill has already been passed by the Lok Sabha but is hanging fire in Rajya Sabha. Besides, the ordinance for disbanding the Medical Council of India is also on the list. While Chhattisgarh will have elections in two phases i.e. on November 12 and November 20 respectively, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram will go to polls on November 28. Rajasthan and Telangana will have assembly elections on December 7 while results for all the five states will come out on December 11, 2018. Home Minister Rajnath Singh heads the CCPA which also comprises of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Minister for Chemical & Fertilisers as well as Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar, Consumer Affairs Minister Ramvilas Paswan, Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot, and HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar. When Michelle Robinson first heard her fellow lawyers swooning over a new summer associate named Barack Hussein Obama, she was dubious. In my experience, you put a suit on any half-intelligent black man and white people tended to go bonkers, she writes. Other than registering his rich, even sexy baritone on the phone, she wasnt all that impressed, especially when he showed up for his first day at work irritatingly late. The toppling blast of lust, gratitude, fulfillment, wonder would come later. But she would always find it hard to adjust to his tardiness, his constant belief that things would simply work themselves out, and the way his ambitions often dictated the course of their lives. Becoming divulges some details that the Obamas havent discussed publicly before: the fertility treatments they used to conceive Malia and Sasha; the miscarriage that left her with a pang of longing followed by a bruising wallop of inadequacy whenever she saw women walking with their children in the street; the couples counseling that saved their marriage when she felt as if his political career would end up steam-rolling our every need. She talks about the wardrobe that attracted so much scrutiny, explaining the great pressure she felt as the only African-American first lady so far in a culture addicted to image and double standards. She also includes some requisite ticking off of her achievements from inside the White House, including her initiatives against childhood obesity and in favor of veteran support. But its the moments when Obama tries to make sense of what shes seeing now, in the country, that are among the most moving if only because shes so clearly struggling to reconcile the cleareyed realism of her upbringing, brought about by necessity, with the glamorous, previously unthinkable life she has today. During her entire time in the White House, she says, I had lived with an awareness that we ourselves were a provocation. She unequivocally calls the new president a bully and a misogynist, watching him do everything he can to roll back her husbands legacy and replace carefully built, compassionate policies with what seems to be brazen cruelty. I sometimes wonder, she writes, where the bottom might be. My grandfather lived with the bitter residue of his own dashed dreams, she recalls; like many African-American men of his generation, she says, his stymied aspirations left him with a basic level of resentment and mistrust. Her life has been different, filled with possibility, wealth and achievement. She insists on enumerating the gains the country made in the eight years before 2016, however incremental, because it would be too easy, she suggests, to succumb to despair. Progress is slow, she tells young people nowadays; they need to rely on their persistence, self-reliance and ability to overcome. For all the attempts by conservatives a decade ago to paint her as a radical, Obama seems to be a measured, methodical centrist at heart. But hers isnt a wan faith in expanding the pie and crossing the aisle. Her pragmatism is tougher than that, even if it will come across as especially frustrating to those who believe that centrism and civility are no longer enough. As she writes in Becoming, she long ago learned to recognize the universal challenge of squaring who you are with where you come from and where you want to go. THE YELLOW BIRDS By Kevin Powers 230 pp. Little, Brown & Company. (2012) This novel (which was also made into a film) follows two young soldiers, 18-year-old Pvt. Daniel Murphy and 21-year-old Pvt. John Bartle, as their platoon prepares to attack the city of Al Tafar in Iraq. Powers, a veteran of the Iraq war, shows how their bond formed when Bartle promised Murphys mother that he would bring him back alive is tested by the stress and tragedy of war. Our reviewer said this book is as compact and powerful as a footlocker full of ammo. Image YOU KNOW WHEN THE MEN ARE GONE By Siobhan Fallon 226 pages. Amy Einhorn Books/G.P. Putnams Sons. (2011) In this collection of eight loosely connected short stories, Fallon writes about military wives in Fort Hood, Tex. (where she has lived as an Army wife). In one story, Leave, a suspicious soldier stealthily returns home and breaks into his basement, where he begins covert surveillance of his wife and daughter. In Inside the Break, the drama centers on a threat that never occurred to any of the wives when they thought of their husbands leaving: the 15 female soldiers being deployed with them. Ms Fallons emphasis is not on the negative, wrote our reviewer. Its just that life is tough at Fort Hood. We are concerned about Wells Fargo, said Ms. Waters, who is planning to meet with the banks executives and could call them to testify at a hearing. She said she also plans to look carefully at the efforts of Mick Mulvaney the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to weaken the bureaus enforcement activities and at Mr. Trumps ties to Deutsche Bank, which has faced legal trouble for laundering money for Russian entities. Well work on trying to find out more about the relationship with Deutsche Bank, with him and his family and money laundering, Ms. Waters said, referring to Mr. Trump. She insisted that, in exercising oversight authority, she is not engaging in retaliation for being disparaged as low I.Q. by the president. It has nothing to do with what he said about me, she said. Thats meaningless. Ms. Waters said she hopes to find common ground with Republicans, including on an overhaul of federal flood insurance. But her priorities, for the most part, stand in stark contrast to those of her predecessor, Representative Jeb Hensarling, Republican of Texas, who spent the past two years pushing to water down the new rules created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank law and to neuter the consumer finance watchdog set up by the Obama administration. This year, Mr. Hensarling helped shepherd through a bill that relaxed some of those rules. The 2010 law, for example, established stricter regulations for banks with at least $50 billion in assets. The new legislation raised the threshold to $100 billion and instructed the Fed to consider leniencies for even larger banks. Last month, the Fed complied, proposing to divide the biggest banks into four categories. Under the proposal, only a few top-tier behemoths like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America would still be subject to the toughest rules. Under Ms. Waters, the committee which has oversight of the Fed as well as the banking industry is likely to scrutinize the Feds plans to soften regulations. [Updated: Why does California have so many wildfires?] Want climate news in your inbox? Sign up here for Climate Fwd:, our email newsletter. A pregnant woman went into labor while being evacuated. Videos showed dozens of harrowing drives through fiery landscapes. Pleas appeared on social media seeking the whereabouts of loved ones. Survivors of a mass shooting were forced to flee approaching flames. This has been California since the Camp Fire broke out early Thursday morning, burning 80 acres per minute and devastating the northern town of Paradise. Later in the day, the Woolsey Fire broke out to the south in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, prompting the evacuation of all of Malibu. What is it about California that makes wildfires so catastrophic? There are four key ingredients. The (changing) climate The first is Californias climate. In a landmark move bound to further shake the tobacco industry, the Food and Drug Administration plans to propose a ban on menthol cigarettes next week as part of its aggressive campaign against flavored e-cigarettes and some tobacco products, agency officials said. The proposal would have to go through the F.D.A. regulatory maze, and it could be several years before such a restriction took effect, especially if the major tobacco companies contest the agencys authority to do so. None of the major tobacco companies would comment on the possibility of barring menthol cigarettes at this early stage. But such a move has been long-awaited by public health advocates, who have been especially concerned about the high percentage of African-Americans who become addicted to menthol cigarettes. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the agencys commissioner, would not comment publicly on the proposal on Friday. But in a recent interview, he said the F.D.A. was revisiting the issue, one that had been weighed in previous administrations. It was a mistake for the agency to back away on menthol, he said earlier this fall. One case each has been registered on complaints of BJP and AAP workers. An aerial view of the iconic Signature Bridge over the Yamuna river in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: A delegation of AAP leaders met Delhi police commissioner Amulya Patnaik on Friday demanding registration of a case against the BJPs city unit chief Manoj Tiwari in connection with ruckus during the inauguration of the Signature Bridge last week. In a complaint letter, AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member N.D. Gupta provided an eyewitness account of the incident, alleging that Mr Tiwari and his supporters entered the Signature Bridge as part of a pre-planned conspiracy with the intention of committing violence and assaulting chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his council of ministers. The Delhi police has registered three FIRs in connection with the incident, including one against AAP legislator Amanatullah Khan, who was accused of pushing Mr Tiwari and threatening him at the event. One case each has been registered on complaints of BJP and AAP workers. Alleging police inaction, Mr Gupta said he and another party legislator, Sushil Gupta, witnessed the incident and were ready to record their statements. In my view, the police is duty-bound to register an FIR against Mr Tiwari and other hoodlums who committed serious cognizable offence by obstructing public servants on duty and assaulting them, Mr Gupta said. The delegation also offered to provide whatever evidence police required for a speedy probe into the incident. Senior AAP leader Raghav Chadha and party legislator Sanjiv Jha were part of the delegation. Mr. Sayoc was charged in the indictment in connection with what the authorities have called a domestic terrorist attack that involved the mailing of the crude pipe bombs to more than a dozen targets around the United States. Image Cesar A. Sayoc Jr. Credit... Broward County Sheriffs Office Mr. Sayocs federal defender, Sarah Baumgartel, declined to comment on Friday. Though the bombs were mailed to targets across the country, the indictment charges Mr. Sayoc only in connection with five devices sent to victims in Manhattan and Westchester County, N.Y., which are both part of the Southern District of New York. Those packages were sent to Mrs. Clinton; Mr. DeNiro; John O. Brennan, a former C.I.A. director; George Soros, a billionaire Democratic donor; and James R. Clapper Jr., a former director of national intelligence. The top counts contained in the indictment, such as use of a weapon of mass destruction, carry a potential maximum life sentence; and if Mr. Sayoc were to be convicted on a combination of certain of the counts, he would face a mandatory life term, prosecutors said. The indictment also charges Mr. Sayoc with using a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence; interstate transportation of explosives; unlawful use of the mails; and other counts. The Great War was ending so New York City went wild, from its harbors to churches and streets and skyscrapers. The electric charge of that moment can still be felt a century later in a letter from Captain John F. Sweeney of the 15th Precinct in Manhattan, who described the scene to one of his men serving overseas. A police officer at 14th Street and Third Avenue called the station house at 3:30 a.m. to say that he had spotted an extra edition that eras version of a news alert announcing the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. At 4:15 the first steam whistle was going, to be followed by another, first from one section of the city and then another, then the church bells to peal out the wonderful news, heads began to appear from the windows and people would say, hey cop, what is it all about, Captain Sweeney wrote, breathless in punctuation, and if I answered one, I answered 150 that the war was over. Stay tuned. We wont know for sure about anything in Florida for a while, and probably a very messy recount or two or three. Pop Quiz: Why do they keep having election crises in Florida? A) The ghost of Ponce de Leon haunts the polling places. B) Floridians just like to watch people count stuff. C) Too much distraction from Gov. Rick Scotts shiny head. D) None of the above. I know you liked C, but the answer is none of the above. Floridas biggest problem is close elections. We almost never have these crises in New York because we have very few actual competitions. Believe me, if Kirsten Gillibrand had not gotten two-thirds of the vote in our Senate race, you would have a lot more complaining about the way damp ballots in New York City jammed the election machines. But about third parties. There are ways to deal with them without totally discounting a lot of votes. Maine has come up with a system where everybody can rank their preferences on the ballot. If nobody gets over 50 percent of the first choices, the last candidate gets tossed out and her supporters next preferences come into play. Why didnt anybody think of this before? Well, its been used in Australia for 100 years, said Lee Drutman, a senior fellow at New America, a nonpartisan think tank. If we talk about this long enough we will have to go back to the 2000 election where Ralph Naders third-party run gave Florida to George W. Bush. I have talked with Nader about this a number of times, and he still feels O.K. about it. He refrained from running in 2016, but he didnt vote for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. Of all the ways in which Donald Trumps presidency has made America worse, nothing epitomizes it quite so fully as the elevation of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general of the United States. Intellectually honest conservatives the six or seven who remain, at any rate need to say this, loudly. His appointment represents an unprecedented assault on the integrity and reputation of the Justice Department, the advice and consent function of the Senate, and the rule of law in the United States. How so? A first-pass list: Unqualified. Until this week, perhaps the least qualified attorney general in living memory was Alberto Gonzales, who served unhappily in George W. Bushs second term before he resigned under a legal cloud. Yet Gonzales could still be credited for service in the Air Force, a Harvard law degree, four years of service as White House counsel, and a two-year stint as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court. That makes Gonzales the intellectual equivalent of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. next to Whitaker, whose legal credentials include a little more than a year at the Justice Department as Jeff Sessionss chief of staff, a couple of unsuccessful political runs in Iowa, a stint as a U.S. attorney, and work at regional law firms. Never in the history of the Justice Department has so much rested on the shoulders of someone who can boast of so little. Shady. Kudos to Brittany Shammas of the Miami New Times for breaking the story that Whitaker served as a paid board member of World Patent Marketing, which was shut down in May by a federal court in Florida and ordered to pay a $25 million settlement following a complaint by the Federal Trade Commission that it was a business scam. Whitaker wrote at least one bullying email to a customer who threatened to complain to the Better Business Bureau about the companys business practices. SAN FRANCISCO Facebook said on Friday that it would no longer force employees to settle sexual harassment claims in private arbitration, making it the latest technology company to do away with a practice that critics say has stacked the deck against victims of harassment. Facebook acted one day after Google announced similar plans. Last week, 20,000 Google employees staged a walkout from the companys offices around the world to demand that it change the way it handled sexual harassment incidents. Microsoft changed its arbitration policy about a year ago, as did the ride-hailing company Uber six months ago. The technology industry, known for its groundbreaking products as well as its trendsetting office culture, has gone to considerable lengths in recent years to keep work-force disputes out of the court system. Forcing employee complaints into arbitration has become as common as free lunches and shuttle buses to the office. In arbitration, employment experts say, the playing field shifts toward businesses. Cases are decided by arbitrators instead of judges, and the more cases that companies take to arbitration, the better they fare, according to a 2011 analysis by Alexander J. S. Colvin, a professor at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. The photo was unforgettable: 19 black women, all dressed in black, gathered in a mock courtroom in Thurgood Marshall School of Law. All of them were running for judgeships in November. On Tuesday, 17 of them won their races by double-digits in Harris County, Tex., the nations third largest county, which includes Houston. Each of the lawyers, all Democrats ranging in age from 31 to early 60s, will join the bench in January for four-year terms in the civil, criminal, family and probate courts. Although we were doing everything we could block walking, phone banking I wasnt confident that it would turn out the way it did, said Latosha Lewis Payne, 44, a longtime lawyer in Houston who was one of the 17. Each of the women decided individually to run. Some in the group had to win primary races in March. But once they realized they were all running against Republican incumbents in the fall, they rallied around a slogan called Black Girl Magic to celebrate the accomplishments of black women. ATLANTA The allies of Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate trailing in the Georgia governors race, hit the streets and the phones on Friday in a vigorous last-minute push to get anyone who cast a provisional ballot to ensure that their vote would count, in the hopes of forcing the close, bitter and expensive contest into a runoff. It was a dramatic and unorthodox political effort, a kind of post-campaign campaign to give Ms. Abrams the chance to go into a Dec. 4 overtime round with Brian Kemp, her Republican adversary. Earlier this week, Mr. Kemp declared victory in the race and argued that no math could bring his total to less than 50 percent, which would automatically force a runoff. Mr. Kemp currently has 50.3% of the 3.9 million total votes cast, leading Ms. Abrams by about 63,000 votes. President Trump, who has endorsed Mr. Kemp, declared him the victor on Twitter Friday. It is time to move on! he said. Not all of the dogs will be retired from racing. When the ban takes place theyre not all going to be pets, said Dennis Tyler, the co-chairman of the Greyhound Adoption Action Alliance, a group of 12 adoption agencies. Im assuming 1,500 to 2,000 will go to race somewhere else. But for those that do become available, some Florida greyhound owners are already stepping up, at least to provide foster homes. Gene Majka adopted a greyhound that had raced in Iowa about three years ago, as a companion after the death of his husband. He fell in love with Hughey, whom he described as 70 pounds of quiet sweetness. Mr. Majka and Hughey stood on street corners in Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors holding signs in support of Amendment 13. I have been telling everyone what wonderful dogs they are, said Mr. Majka, a retired nursing professor. We have to do whatever we can to make sure these dogs find loving homes. For people outside Florida who are interested in adopting, Mr. Tyler suggested contacting local greyhound adoption groups. He has been preparing to contact every adoption group around the country to prepare for the final push at the end of 2020, he said. But until then, he added, most of the big tracks are going to continue to race. Floridas tracks remained in part because of state laws that require them to continue racing in order to keep their lucrative gambling operations. In Florida, only existing parimutuel facilities like dog tracks and horse tracks could obtain licenses to operate card rooms and slots. A 2015 report from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Grey2K found more than 11,000 greyhound injuries nationwide and more than 900 deaths between 2008 and 2015. Some are found dead in their cages, others sustain serious injuries while racing or are electrocuted while chasing a mechanical rabbit around the track. In Florida, nearly 500 greyhounds died since the state started tracking deaths in 2013. Over all, the data shows that Border Patrol agents apprehended 50,975 people last month, the beginning of the 2019 fiscal year. Customs and Border Protection quietly released the new data on its website on Friday evening without comment. The new data also follows Mr. Trumps ordered deployment of 5,600 active-duty military troops to the southwest border. They are there to help stop what had been estimated as 6,000 migrants heading to the United States after fleeing the grinding poverty and violence of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Many of the migrants, currently traveling through Mexico, have said they intend to seek asylum in the United States. The number of people in the caravan has declined in recent days, and it is unclear how many will reach the border. The group is still weeks away. The increase in migrants is certain to put more pressure on Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary whose job security is seen as increasingly vulnerable. Mr. Trump has repeatedly complained that Ms. Nielsen has failed to stem the flow of illegal migration that rose after the administrations first year. It was unknown if Mr. Trump, who was traveling to Paris, had been briefed on the new apprehension numbers. The president has made clear that he is frustrated by the rising border numbers. Hi. Welcome to On Politics, your guide to the day in national politics. Im Lisa Lerer, your host. We warned you 2020 wasnt far off: Before the race to replace him has even been called, Jeff Flake, the retiring Arizona senator, told Politico today that a Republican needs to challenge President Trump in the next election. And he didnt rule out that he might be the one to do it. What a way to end the week. Some my colleagues in the D.C. bureau and I were marveling at all the news of the past few days: the firing of Jeff Sessions; the (maybe unconstitutional?) appointment of an acting attorney general; Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized; and oh right, a midterm election with record turnout. Its a lot to process, even for those of us whose job is reporting it all. But, as we said when we started this newsletter, were here to help! So today, were going to answer a few of your questions from this week. Jeff Gordon writes: I would love to know how Beto ORourke spent $68 million on his campaign. Thats something Id like to know, too! As many of you know, Mr. ORourke, a Texas Democrat, raised nearly $70 million for his Senate campaign. Unfortunately, we dont have a complete picture of his spending quite yet. The last disclosures candidates were required to file to the Federal Election Commission covered spending only through mid-October. Soon after, the Delhi police issued a statement, it said that the said tweet got posted from the personal handle of Devender Arya. New Delhi: A deputy commissioner of police has mocked the Supreme Court order of banning fire crackers during Diwali in a tweet on microblogging site Twitter. The tweet stated that he didnt foresee that such a day would come when fire crackers would be banned in India. The tweet left the police department in a spot. Though the tweet was later deleted, its screenshots went viral on social media, which made the cops to issue a clarification and distanced themselves from the tweet. IPS Devender Arya, posted as DCP (southwest), tweeted from his personal handle saying Diwali pe bamb/pataka bajane se jail ho sakthi hain, Kabhi socha nahi k yeh din aayega. Kya me apna Bharat desh me hi hoon. Jai Sri Ram. Jai Hind, he said. However, Arya deleted the tweet after it was pointed out to him. Soon after, the Delhi police issued a statement, it said that the said tweet got posted from the personal handle of Devender Arya. It was immediately deleted by the officer. Delhi police has nothing to do with that tweet. We are committed to ensure that directions of Honble Supreme Court on this issue are strictly complied with, said the statement. Senior officers have, however, asked the officer to clarify his position on the tweet. It was a momentary inadvertant slip on my part. It does not reflect any opinion/view. I sincerely apologise for the inadvertant slip, Arya later tweeted from his handle on Friday night. Arya, a 2008 batch IPS officer, was earlier posted with the PCR unit and was given the charge of the re-constituted southwest district. WASHINGTON The Trump administration is ending air refueling flights for the Saudi military campaign in Yemen and preparing sanctions against Saudis linked to the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, current and former American officials said on Friday. The moves would impose a limited punishment on the kingdom. The steps appear calibrated to respond to international outrage over the death of Mr. Khashoggi and to thousands of civilian deaths in the Yemen war, but avoid directly punishing the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and could head off tougher congressional action. Mr. Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government who wrote for The Washington Post and lived in Virginia, was killed last month in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul by what the Turkish government has described as a kill team dispatched from Riyadh, the Saudi capital. President Trump has called the killing of Mr. Khashoggi a very sad thing, very terrible thing, but his administration has signaled it intends to continue working with Prince Mohammed. Jared Kushner, Mr. Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser on the Middle East, is the princes biggest supporter in the White House. On Friday night, hours after The New York Times and The Washington Post reported on the Trump administrations decision to end the air refueling flights, the Saudi-led coalition waging war on Houthi rebels in Yemen announced that it would do the refueling on its own. This came after consultation with the United States, it said. WASHINGTON In the three days after the Democrats captured the House, President Trump fired his attorney general and replaced him with a loyalist critical of both the courts and the Russia investigation. He banned a CNN correspondent from the White House, while threatening he would do the same to other journalists. And he accused election officials in Florida and Arizona of rigging the vote against candidates he had campaigned for. It was a remarkable assault on the nations institutions, even by a president who has gleefully taken a hammer to the press, to judges and prosecutors he does not like, and to an electoral process he has denounced as fraudulent since the day he took office. Mr. Trumps actions suggested a president lashing out after a midterm election loss that he had initially cast as a victory. Now he is girding for battle with a newly empowered Democratic opposition one armed with subpoena power and a long list of questions about his conduct in office and ties to Russia and it has brought out a fresh aggressiveness in him. While each of his actions rattled Washington, Mr. Trumps appointment of Matthew G. Whitaker as the acting attorney general, replacing the ousted Jeff Sessions, raised the thorniest ethical and legal questions, according to lawyers and former Justice Department officials. The famed Paramount Ranch, which served as a set for numerous Hollywood television shows and films over almost a century, was destroyed in the so-called Woolsey Fire in California, the National Park Service, which operates the site, said in a social media post on Friday. We are sorry to share the news that the #WoolseyFire has burned Western Town at #ParamountRanch in Agoura, the post said. We do not have any details or photos, but it is our understanding that the structures have burned. This area is an active part of the incident and we cannot access it. The 2,700-acre site, which offered lush panoramic views of the Santa Monica mountains, was a shooting location for the first two seasons of the HBO show Westworld. Westworld is not currently in production, and as the area has been evacuated, we do not yet know the extent of the damage to any structures remaining there. Most importantly, our thoughts go out to all those affected by these horrible fires, the network said in a statement. The primary shooting location for the show is at the unaffected Melody Ranch in Santa Clarita, which is where its Main Street scenes are filmed. Melody Ranch is also where the Deadwood movie is being filmed. Facebook Fends Off the Trolls Facebook claims to have won its latest battle against fake news. Its war room of employees working around the clock to fight false news stories collaborated with the F.B.I. last week to thwart a Kremlin-backed group of trolls that had meddled in the 2016 election. As a result, Facebook says, the midterms were relatively free of smear campaigns from foreign entities, at least on its platforms. But are Facebooks efforts sustainable and are they enough? The network also released an independent report on its role in deadly hate crimes in Myanmar, and admitted that it can and should do more to prevent being used to foment division and incite offline violence. Tech Giants Think Bigger After a yearlong (and much-publicized) quest to find a home for HQ2, Amazon may split its second headquarters between two new locations. The two are expected to be New York City namely, the Long Island City neighborhood in Queens as well as Crystal City in Arlington, Va. (In other offline news, an Amazon toy catalog in print! is scheduled to thump on your doorstep this month.) Meanwhile, Google is quietly buttoning up a deal to grow its Manhattan footprint, potentially adding space for more than 12,000 additional workers. The company also announced an overhaul of its sexual misconduct policy. Nov. 1117 Whats Next? Pence Heads to Asia On Monday, economic leaders from 21 nations will gather for the weeklong Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Papua New Guinea. China will have a flashy presence, literally, as it has given tens of millions of dollars for a swish renovation of the summits convention center, as well as the countrys main highway. Mr. Trump, who made his America first stance clear at last years APEC meeting, will not attend; instead, hes sending Vice President Mike Pence. Which is just as well, perhaps, since the conventions hottest topics will include trade and climate change, and the presidents views on these issues are not winning the United States many friends these days. The Fate of the New Nafta On Thursday and Friday, the United States International Trade Commission will hold a hearing on the likely impact of his United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on the economy and American consumers. This replacement of Nafta needs congressional approval to pass, which may be tricky now that the Democrats are about to have a majority in the House. The agreement focuses mainly on new rules for exporting cars, dairy products, wine and pharmaceutical drugs, but critics worry that some provisions will backfire. Auto production is one concern: If the deal makes this more expensive, it could raise prices for American car buyers and give incentives to manufacturers to move production elsewhere. Carolyn Bratton Community Service Society Ms. Brattons gift for listening, she said, comes from being denied care and attention herself when she was growing up. As an adult, she took on part-time weekend work with children in foster care in Brooklyn. Some of them were difficult to connect with, until Ms. Bratton shared her own story. I sit back and explain to them that I do understand, she said. I earn their respect, because they know that I came out of the system. At home, Ms. Bratton focused on raising her two children, and in her 40s, she attended New York University, where she had previously worked as an office supervisor, and received a bachelors degree. Soon after, she began a career as a social worker for the citys foster care system. Now retired, Ms. Bratton sought to continue improving the lives of others in whatever way she could. In 2015, she became a volunteer with the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, housed at the Community Service Society and was placed at the Elmcor Senior Center. We are on this earth for a short time, and if we can make a difference, why not? she said. At the nursing home, Ms. Bratton works as a public benefits counselor, helping older New Yorkers understand benefits like Medicare and working to solve problems like unpaid bills. What makes me keep going is when somebody comes back to me and says, Thank you, I got it, Ms. Bratton said. If it wasnt for you, I wouldnt have it. Ms. Kellys win is notable not for being out of keeping with the political spirit of the state but for representing the end of what many Kansans woefully call the Brownback era after the former governor Sam Brownback when religious conservatism and free-market extremism made the state synonymous with far-right politics in national headlines. Mr. Kobach is a different creature from Mr. Brownback, who for all his terrible ideas comes across as a man who believes in something larger than himself. Mr. Kobach, rather, is Trumpian from disregard for the Constitution to grotesque displays of bravado, as when he joined a suburban summer parade in a Jeep mounted with a realistic replica of a .50-caliber machine gun. But the Kelly campaign rightly linked Mr. Kobachs government-strangling economic vision to the unpopular Mr. Brownback, whose own voters turned against his 2012 live experiment with deep tax cuts once they saw what it wrought on public schools and roads. Mr. Kobach ran ads that turned liberal into a pejorative and pledged to shield Kansas from outside forces like the federal government and immigrants. Ms. Kelly said shed put political labels aside and work to build a better Kansas from the inside out. At her election-night watch party, before Ms. Kellys race was called, the crowd cheered when a fellow pragmatist and the first-time candidate Sharice Davids defeated a four-term Republican in Kansass Third Congressional District. But a more staunch progressive did not fare as well. In the Fourth Congressional District, the civil rights attorney and military veteran James Thompson spent 20 months unapologetically championing Medicare for All and marijuana legalization. He won over leftist populists and fed-up conservatives alike but came up short in his effort to flip one of the nations most conservative districts, home to the billionaire Charles Koch and Koch Industries. Kansass big Democratic wins, it turned out, were by women with less bold platforms who emphasized working across the aisle. It seems that if Midwestern states are bound for a return to their democratic-socialist roots prairie populism, it was once called they will first require a return to center in female form. Regional wins by moderate Democrats prompted one writer to suggest that the next Democratic presidential nominee be a steaming pot of Midwestern Nice. Midwestern Nice, this Midwestern woman must note, is not necessarily lacking in radical ideas or competitive fire but is never mean or flustered. It is kind yet often plainly unimpressed. Think of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings in September when the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh disrespected the authority of Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Her pained smile conveyed that she was having precisely none of it, but she avoided being reactive. Later, Judge Kavanaugh offered an apology, and Senator Klobuchar who won re-election this week by a landslide accepted. Laura Kelly, whose campaign emphasized public schools, Medicaid expansion and infrastructure, does her job with the same steadiness. So did Kansas last Democratic governor, Kathleen Sebelius, the former Department of Health secretary and an Affordable Care Act architect. Kansas elected Ms. Sebelius twice, not so long ago, along with a lieutenant governor she poached from the Republican Party for the sake of getting things done. To the Editor: Re A Democratic Institution Is Forced Out of Hungary (news article, Oct. 26): In the early 1990s my husband and I taught at the Prague campus of the Central European University, founded by the philanthropist George Soros. Our class, called Civic Education, was intended to inform students about the system of voting, how honest policing works and some of the benefits of a democratic state. After the separation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993 , we taught similar courses in Slovakia, Estonia and Lithuania, as the Soviet control of those places retreated. These were again funded by Mr. Soros. Many students in Prague proudly told us of shaking their keys in Wenceslas Square as part of the Velvet Revolution, which drove the Communists from power. In Estonia, citizens marched in the park with signs saying Russians, go home. On all campuses, these young people were optimistic about a better future, and eager to learn about a world that had been pretty much shut off from them under Russian influence. Democracy was also challenged by the deep hatreds stirred up by four years of total war. Many Germans were not ready to absorb the news of armistice, after years of propaganda about inevitable victory. One soldiers reaction was visceral: In a hospital in Pomerania , Adolf Hitler wept when he heard about the monstrous event and became so distraught that he temporarily lost his eyesight (everything went black before my eyes, he wrote). Ominously, he resolved to go into politics. It would be a politics of blame, castigating Jews and leftists for the defeat. In 1940, he forced the French to surrender in the same railroad car. In America, too, democracy was a challenging word to live up to. All Americans had contributed to victory, including African-American soldiers, women working on the home front and recent immigrants who volunteered for service in every way they could. They were in no mood to accept second-class citizenship. W.E.B. Du Bois wrote: Make way for democracy! We saved it in France, and by the Great Jehovah, we will save it in the United States of America . That was not exactly what Wilson had in mind. Around the same day as the armistice, a young African-American named William Bird was lynched in Sheffield, Ala. In other ways we live with the failures as well as the successes of 1918. Earlier that fall , Wilson wrote to an Arizona senator, Henry Ashurst, that he was working with the future in mind: I am now playing for 100 years hence. He would be dismayed at all the ways in which our world resembles his. In some ways, it is worse. A recent Pew Poll showed a rapid decline in admiration for the United States. For 12 years in a row, according to Freedom House, democracy has been on the wane. In the Middle East, Ottoman memories are back, feeding the sultanic ambitions of Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In Russia, Vladimir Putin revisits the past in his own curious way, merging Soviet nostalgia with the czars role as the defender of the Russian Orthodox Church. It will be surreal to see him among world leaders in Paris this weekend. Few have done less than Mr. Putin to make the world safe for democracy. We only know war lasts. Of course we should honor the sacrifice of a generation who did all they were asked, and then some, to build a better world. That honor will be solemnly bestowed in Paris on the centenary of the armistice. As French jets streak over a military parade, perhaps the quiet voice of Wilfred Owen will be heard. He was killed in the final week of the war his parents received the news as the church bells were ringing, in celebration of armistice. Owens precision with words suggests his revulsion at the undisciplined ways leaders spoke, then as now, dividing people. A century later, it is unlikely that we can escape the theater of grandiosity, with leaders crowding the stage for their photo op. But as the world prepares for Armistice Day, a sense of self-restraint would be the most fitting way to remember the tragedy that ended in 1918. Ted Widmer is a distinguished lecturer at the Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York and a fellow of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. By the end of the night, it was clear that Democrats won the House, but not by how much. In the following days, however, new races kept being called. McBaths victory was especially sweet. Shed become an activist after the 2012 murder of her son, Jordan Davis, by a white man who, angry over loud music, shot up a car Davis was riding in. Running in her sons memory, she beat an incumbent with a top rating from the National Rifle Association in a largely white district. As I write this, Democrats have flipped at least 30 House seats, and their total haul could go as high as 40. Democrats virtually wiped out the Republican Party in the Northeast, but they also won new seats in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and South Carolina. The party is on track to make more gains in the House than it has in any election since Watergate's aftermath. Across the country, Democrats flipped at least 333 statehouse seats, a third of all those lost over the course of Obamas presidency. The seeds of this success were planted after Trumps election, when all over America scared, angry people searched for mechanisms that could constrain him. The democratic institutions that should have thwarted an authoritarian demagogue like Trump had failed, said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, which would quickly become one of the most important Resistance groups. People were looking around to see who or what was going to come and save them, Levin said. And the answer was nothing. The answer was that they had to do it themselves. So newly mobilized activists got to work, and quickly realized that Trump was as much a symptom of American democratic rot as its cause. In many places Democrats had neglected local organizing, allowing the party to wither at the state and local level. Throughout Barack Obamas presidency, Republicans had built up tremendous power in the state legislatures , which theyd used to making voting harder. In the 2010 redistricting the once-in-a-decade process of redrawing electoral maps a significant degree of Republican gerrymandering gave the party an enduring advantage in the House of Representatives. Indeed, its hard to remember now, but last year, many people thought it highly unlikely that Democrats could win the House, since Republicans had engineered a significant structural advantage. Ultimately, Trumps approval rating probably needs to be at or below 35 percent for the House to flip, said The Cook Political Report. Levin recalled a meeting last year with allies and supporters in California. He told them that because grass-roots passions had grown so intense, I think we can take the House. But the notion felt so wishful, he recalled, You had to say it in hushed tones. You couldnt say it out loud. Since then, Resistance energy has kept building on itself. Last year, Erin Zwiener, a childrens book author, three-time Jeopardy champion, and Indivisible activist in Texas, launched a campaign for state representative in her Republican-controlled district south of Austin. Particularly at the beginning, it definitely seemed uphill, she told me this week. But while her district had voted for Trump, the margin had been only about 4.5 percentage points, and we were seeing folks rise up against the presidency. Michelle Obama has written in her memoir that she will never forgive Trump for pushing the birther movement. Yet the Pygmalions of Palin, who backed Trump on the birther filth, are now among the most celebrated voices in Michelles party. The architects and enablers of the Iraq war and Abu Ghraib are still being listened to on foreign policy, both inside the administration (John Bolton and Gina Haspel) and out. NeverTrumper Eliot Cohen wrote the Washington Post op-ed after the election telling conservatives not to work for Trump; Max Boot, who urged an invasion of Iraq whether or not Saddam was involved in 9/11, is now a CNN analyst, Post columnist and the author of a new book bashing Trump; John Yoo, who wrote the unconstitutional torture memo, is suddenly concerned that Trumps appointment of his ghastly acting attorney general is unconstitutional. MSNBC is awash in nostalgia for Ronald Reagan and W. So its a good moment for Adam McKay, the inventive director of The Big Short, to enter the debate with a movie that raises the question: Is insidious destruction of our democracy by a bureaucratic samurai with the soothing voice of a boys school headmaster even more dangerous than a self-destructive buffoon ripping up our values in plain sight? How do you like your norms broken? Over Twitter or in a torture memo? By a tinpot demagogue stomping on checks and balances he cant even fathom or a shadowy authoritarian expertly and quietly dismantling checks and balances he knows are sacred? McKay grappled with the W.-Cheney debacle in 2009, when he co-wrote a black comedy with Will Ferrell called Youre Welcome America. A Final Night With George W Bush. In the Broadway hit, Ferrells W. dismissed waterboarding as a Bliss spa treatment and confided that he had once discovered Cheney locked in an embrace with a giant goat devil in a room full of pentagrams. When McKay was home with the flu three years ago, he grabbed a book and began reading up on Cheney. He ended up writing and directing Vice, a film that uses real-life imagery, witty cinematic asides and cultural touchstones to explore the irreparable damage Cheney did to the planet, and how his blunders and plunders led to many of our current crises. With an echo of his Batman growl, Christian Bale brilliantly shape-shifts into another American psycho, the lumbering, scheming vice president who easily manipulates the naive and insecure W., deliciously played by Sam Rockwell. While W. strives to impress his father, Cheney strives to impress his wife, Lynne, commandingly portrayed by Amy Adams. This year, the maximum decibel level was recorded at 114.1 dB, lower than last years maximum of 117.8 dB. Seven people were detained for allegedly flouting the apex courts guidelines and bursting crackers beyond the permissible time limit of 10 pm, according to the Mumbai police. Mumbai: City activists have said that though several places in Mumbai flouted the Supreme Court order of the two-hour time period for bursting firecrackers this Diwali, police action helped curb the bursting of noisy crackers beyond 10 pm at many places. NGO Awaaz Foundation, which records noise levels during festivals in Mumbai, stated that there was less noise pollution in the days before Diwali and fewer crackers were burst overall on all days. The trend of reduction in noise pollution over the last several years continued in Mumbai this year. This year, the maximum decibel level was recorded at 114.1 dB, lower than last years maximum of 117.8 dB. The police implemented the Supreme Court deadline of 10 pm at Marine Drive on Diwali day. Although there were some violations, the police shut down firecracker use at 10 pm and also took action against those still bursting firecrackers after the deadline, said Sumaira Abdulali, founder, Awaaz Foundation. Meanwhile, seven people were detained for allegedly flouting the apex courts guidelines and bursting crackers beyond the permissible time limit of 10 pm, according to the Mumbai police. They were taken to the concerned police station and fined as per provisions of the Bombay Police Act before being let off. Ms Abdulali said, The government did not release the test results of the chemical composition of firecrackers prior to Diwali, and so, it could not be acted upon. The result of Awaaz Foundations tests which showed high levels of toxic chemicals was also not acted upon. It would be understandable if you assumed that the Anti-Merger Act of 1950 had been repealed. But in fact it remains on the books. It has merely been evaded, eroded and enfeebled by the corroding effect of decades of industry pressure and ideological drift, yielding hesitant enforcers and a hostile judiciary. Consequently, over the last two decades we have allowed successive waves of mergers that make a mockery of the 1950 law, and have concentrated economic power in ways that are dangerous to the polity. In recent years, we have allowed unhealthy consolidations of hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry; accepted an extraordinarily concentrated banking industry, despite its repeated misfeasance; failed to prevent firms like Facebook from buying up their most effective competitors; allowed AT&T to reconsolidate after a well-deserved breakup in the 1980s; and the list goes on. Over the last two decades, more than 75 percent of United States industries have experienced an increase in concentration, while United States public markets have lost almost 50 percent of their publicly traded firms. There is a direct link between concentration and the distortion of democratic process. As any undergraduate political science major could tell you, the more concentrated an industry the fewer members it has the easier it is to cooperate to achieve its political goals. A group like the middle class is hopelessly disorganized and has limited influence in Congress. But concentrated industries, like the pharmaceutical industry, find it easy to organize to take from the public for their own benefit. Consider the law preventing Medicare from negotiating for lower drug prices: That particular lobbying project cost the industry more than $100 million but it returns some $15 billion a year in higher payments for its products. We need to figure out how the classic antidote to bigness the antitrust and other antimonopoly laws might be recovered and updated to address the specific challenges of our time. For a start, Congress should pass a new Anti-Merger Act reasserting that it meant what it said in 1950, and create new levels of scrutiny for mega-mergers like the proposed union of T-Mobile and Sprint. But we also need judges who better understand the political as well as economic goals of antitrust. We need prosecutors willing to bring big cases with the courage of trustbusters like Theodore Roosevelt, who brought to heel the empires of J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller, and with the economic sophistication of the men and women who challenged AT&T and Microsoft in the 1980s and 1990s. Europe needs to do its part as well, blocking more mergers, especially those like Bayers recent acquisition of Monsanto that threaten to put entire global industries in just a few hands. The United States seems to constantly forget its own traditions, to forget what this country at its best stands for. We forget that America pioneered a kind of law antitrust that in the words of Roosevelt would teach the masters of the biggest corporations in the land that they were not, and would not be permitted to regard themselves as, above the law. We have forgotten that antitrust law had more than an economic goal, that it was meant fundamentally as a kind of constitutional safeguard, a check against the political dangers of unaccountable private power. As the lawyer and consumer advocate Robert Pitofsky warned in 1979, we must not forget the economic origins of totalitarianism, that massively concentrated economic power, or state intervention induced by that level of concentration, is incompatible with liberal, constitutional democracy. Tim Wu (@superwuster) is a law professor at Columbia, a contributing opinion writer and the author of the forthcoming book The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age, from which this essay is adapted. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. Today, a single researcher, Jeff Roth, oversees the collection. If a photo editor needs an archival image, he or she contacts Mr. Roth. He searches the card catalog and returns with a stack of pictures. Photo editors, who wanted to search the image archive by computer and take the task off Mr. Roth helped push the digitization project forward. Its The New York Timess capsule of history, said Nakyung Han, a photo editor at The Times. Having it digital does kind of open up the possibilities, Ms. Han said. Currently, on the second floor of The Times, in a white room, decorated with a single television and a floor lamp, a team of six employees is scanning all six million images individually. Megan Paetzhold, who works on this team, said she scans about 1,500 images a day. They show a range of subjects: markets in Rio de Janeiro; women exercising at Columbia Universitys Teachers College in 1904; Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio hanging out in a dugout. Many of the prints are yellowed, their edges worn. Others are covered with crop marks from photo editors and stamped with publication dates. Ms. Paetzhold recently found an old illustration of the moon, or what people thought it looked like in the 1930s. It brought to mind for me how imaginative humanity is, Ms. Paetzhold said. And how we were having that desire to go to the moon and to imagine what it looked like before we had been there. These are the sort of ideas and images Veronica Chambers, who is leading the Past Tense team, hopes to explore. She said California was an intriguing subject because in the 20th century, the state was fertile ground for innovation. WASHINGTON Under a canopy of poplar and oak trees, a team of geophysicists surveyed the forest floor for century-old wartime relics. They positioned an electromagnetic scanner atop the carpet of leaves while the delicate instrument harvested data about objects in the soil beneath. In 1918, mortars and artillery shells arched toward this spot near the Dalecarlia Reservoir, one of the main water sources for the nations capital. But no armies fought here and no soldiers charged up the embankment. Rather, the shells were launched from the wartime research campus to the east at American University, where scientists developed chemical weapons, explosives, bombs and gas masks to use on the battlefields in World War I. In this centennial of the wars end, the team working in the woods was a reminder that the Great War had another name the Chemists War, a sobriquet reflecting the crucial role of science in the conflict. Alex Zahl, a project manager for the United States Army Corps of Engineers and a self-described World War I buff, mused over the state-of-the-art science detecting remains of experiments dating to 1918. With everyone buckled in, they drove to the Upper West Side to pick up four more dogs. Among those waiting was Elena Atkin, 59, a homemaker who works with various charities. She and her husband, Doug, a venture capitalist, adopted Emy, a Labrador mix, from a rescue organization in Sag Harbor, N.Y., but they didnt want her sitting around the apartment all day. So eight years ago, they signed Emy up for three hikes a week with My Dog Hikes. (She recently scaled back to once a week. On her off days, Emy goes running with a professional dog runner along the East River promenade.) One of the programs perks is an annual pawrent teacher conference, where owners and their dogs meet at a bar to mingle and talk about each dogs behavior. It had taken place the previous night at Black Door, a dog-friendly bar in Chelsea. I got to meet Emys playmates, Ms. Atkin said. Emy has her own life outside of the home. Who knew? Once the dogs are comfortably situated, the team drives about 45 minutes to South Mountain Reservation in West Orange, N.J., a pristine 2,100-acre nature preserve with rigorous trails marked by a collection of miniature fairy houses. In the gravel parking lot, the dogs disembark one by one, so Ms. Klein and Ms. Godwin can sort them into groups and escort them onto the trail. Or rather, so the dogs can escort them. In most other countries, young and old freely mix together, with several generations often living under one roof. But in the United States, that mostly happens in the workplace. Even so, millennials and baby boomers tend to stick with their same-aged cohort, rarely associating out of the office. This is a limited way of socializing that cross-generational groups seek to expand. A lot of people think if theyre mothers they can only be friends with mothers; if theyre single they can only hang out with single people, said Shasta Nelson, 41, the author of Frientimacy, a book about deepening friendships that was published in 2016. But research suggests that it doesnt matter what commonality we have, only that we find a couple of commonalities. If I say, Im in my 40s and I only want to meet people in my 40s, its as much of a predictor of friendship as saying I can only be friends with people born in September or who like Madonna or who have my name. According to Ms. Nelson, only three things are necessary for a relationship to flourish: positivity (it has to feel good); consistency (you have to be in touch on a regular basis); and vulnerability (you have to feel safe with each other). None of them has to do with age. A friendship is any relationship where two people both people feel seen in a safe and satisfying way, she said. Ten years ago, Ms. Nelson created GirlFriend Circles, a kind of match.com for women to meet online and take it offline if they choose. She later started Travel Circles, which helps women of all ages take trips to meet other women around the world. Angela Wilkinson, 48, a self-described suburban housewife in Middle America (in this case, Marion, Iowa), went to Greece, Italy, Rwanda and Peru with Ms. Nelson. With two sons now in their early 20s, one of whom has special needs, Ms. Wilkinson said she always felt isolated at home, and unable to meet new people. After years of romances with a series of fabulously wealthy Nigerian boyfriends, the flamboyant Canadian sisters Jyoti and Kiran Matharoo needed somewhere to store the pricey spoils of their dating careers. So they converted a bedroom in their Toronto home into a large walk-in closet that resembles a luxury boutique. An entire wall is lined with more than 70 pairs of designer high-heeled shoes. Glass wardrobes display dozens of handbags and purses from brands like Hermes, Celine, Gucci and Saint Laurent. Equally pricey clothing drapes tightly from hangers and fills trunks stacked up to the ceiling. There are separate drawers for belts, rings, earrings, bracelets, silver necklaces and gold ones. They own a collection of rose gold and diamond-encrusted watches easily worth several cars. And the white Mercedes-Benz sedan parked outside? Its their third paid for by a wealthy paramour, they said. Did they even pay for any of this stuff? Not really, no, said Jyoti, 34. Her sister responded similarly. The only time I go shopping is when someone gives me their credit card, said Kiran, 32. Most Americans will go their entire lives without ever holding a piece of paper that is more than three times longer than a normal piece of paper, but of standard width. Try, for a moment, to envision such a sheet. Does the paper of your reckoning curl inward at both ends , like an ancient scroll? Or is it flat and unwieldy, like a rather small, very thin door with no knob that is attached to nothing? Is it more like something out of Kafkas nightmares, or Picassos dreams? For New York voters in four of the citys five boroughs on Tuesday, this Frankensteinian concept of ultralong paper was made manifest, as they were handed midterm election ballots measuring 34 inches in length, and then left to contemplate them for hours while they waited for technicians to repair the vote scanning machines being jammed by 34 inch midterm ballots all over the city. ( Staten Island , which had fewer candidates and races, distributed a shorter ballot. The executive director of the citys Board of Directions said there were far fewer problems reported there.) For reference, thirty-four inches is the number, from withers to paw, of what the American Kennel Club would classify as a show-worthy adult male Irish wolfhound, as well as the height of a three-story Barbie Dream House. Elsewhere in the country, localities plagued with Election Day calamities are still scrambling to determine the victors of their highly contentious races, but most New York City contests were far from competitive. Frustrations arose not from close margins, but from the ballots themselves. The 116th Congress will have a record number of women. So that means more women will bring their vaunted ability to compromise and work across the aisle. Right? No, as it turns out, women are no more immune to the forces intensifying partisanship than men. Thats what political scientists have found. And some of the positive qualities women are praised for bringing to public office collegiality, collaboration, relentless work ethic arent born of some sort of innate gendered goodness. Chalk it up to self-preservation. As in other fields, women in politics often feel that they are held to a higher standard than men and that they may lose their seats if they dont deliver legislation. Rather than an outbreak of bipartisanship, party polarization among women could well increase. Thats because the majority of women elected are Democrats, many Republican women elected are conservatives whove embraced President Trump, and both parties face pressures from their base to tack left or right. It is true that women in Congress play on softball teams that include Democrats and Republicans with no fewer than four captains last year, two Democrats (Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida) and two Republicans (Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida). The men, on the other hand, play partisan ball. Women in the Senate gather for a regular dinner, and there is a longstanding bipartisan Womens Caucus. But that doesnt necessarily translate into bipartisanship on votes or even sponsoring bills. Rates $159 and up. The Basics Founded in the once-rough East London district of Shoreditch in 2006 and rapidly expanding to progressive cities like Amsterdam and Portland, Ore., the Hoxton is like a naughty little sister to the popular Ace chain, replete with rose-colored velvet and china bunny sculptures. There is a certain inevitability to its arrival in Williamsburg, on a site formerly occupied by the Rosenwach Tank Co., which made the wooden water towers that are a familiar sight on the New York skyline. Damaged in a fire reportedly started by 20-somethings hurling Roman candles in 2009, the building was sold for millions and has been demolished and the space reconfigured, with help from the hospitality group behind the Soho House, as a sprawling playground for Generation Laptop. Location The hotel is steps from McCarren Park, with its large swimming pool, and a more modest park on the East River that hosts Smorgasburg, a crowded outdoor food market, from April to October. The Museum of Food and Drink is another local attraction, with exhibits like Knife-Wielding Girls: Popular Representations of Women and Butchery. The Music Hall of Williamsburg, a rock club, is also nearby. The Hoxton is a six-minute walk from the Bedford Avenue Station though beware the looming L train shutdown in April, 2019 and twice as long from the Nassau Station stop on the G train, which runs in Brooklyn and Queens only. But street parking is plentiful. In a state that is home to conservative icons like Joe Arpaio and Jan Brewer, the power struggle is revealing one potential path forward for Democrats fighting to win elections in a state where they havent won an open Senate seat since 1976: embrace the center. [Heres a look at how close the results are in Arizona, Georgia and Florida.] Kyrsten Sinema, 42, the Democrat in the race, started out as a liberal but moved hard to the middle after winning a seat in the House of Representatives in 2012. She drew attention for staking out relatively conservative positions on various issues, sometimes siding with Mr. Trump and other Republicans. Some liberal Democrats were left aghast by such positioning, but it seems to be working for Ms. Sinema, who is currently ahead of her rival by about 29,800 votes. About 150,000 voters who cast ballots for Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican who sailed to re-election this week, also voted for Ms. Sinema, tallies show, suggesting that her strategy of appealing to moderate Republicans and independent voters may be working. At the same time, her Republican opponent, Martha McSally, 52, a congresswoman and former United States Air Force pilot, drifted away during the campaign from centrist positions to a more energetic embrace of Mr. Trump on issues like building a wall on the border with Mexico. It was only after the police went through the CCTV footage that they came to know about the theft and registered a case. Mumbai: The Panvel Government Railway Police (GRP) has registered a case against an unidentified person in connection with snatching the mobile phone of restaurant manager, Sachindra Kumar Singh, while travelling from Thane to Panvel recently. The thief snatched Mr Singhs mobile phone and made good his escape by jumping from the moving train. Mr Singh, too, jumped from the moving train to chase the robber but lost his balance and suffered serious injuries. He is recuperating in a private hospital. Sitaram Mali, police sub-inspector of Panvel GRP, said, Taking suo moto cognisance of the incident, we have registered a case under sections 356 and 379 of the IPC on November 7. The incident took place on November 2, in a moving local train at Belapur station. The police rushed Mr Singh to MGM Hospital in Panvel after they found him injured on platform number one. However, since Mr Singh was unconscious, the reason for his condition was not known. It was only after the police went through the CCTV footage that they came to know about the theft and registered a case. Panvel GRP officials said that the accused is yet to be identified. The CCTV footage only shows the accuseds rear and two witnesses confirmed that the accused was wearing a red shirt and track pant and his height was around 5.6 feet. When Joe Neguse discussed his newborn child on the campaign trail in his congressional race in Colorado, he found himself empathizing with constituents concerned about early education for their own children. In his chats with millennials, the conversation inevitably veered toward their worries about student loan debt, which, as a 34-year-old who went to law school, is a reality for Mr. Neguse as well. And when he talked to potential voters about his parents journey to the United States, people often recalled their forebears struggles upon arriving at Ellis Island. As I talked about my experiences on the campaign trail based on who I am and my familys story, it resonated with broad swaths of folks, said Mr. Neguse, whose parents were refugees from Eritrea. And so it was that Mr. Neguse, a black state regulator, won the election this past week in a House district that is more than 90 percent white and became Colorados first black congressman. As California has become more liberal in recent decades, and especially after President Trump was elected, gun control is one of several issues along with climate change, immigration and health care that have placed the state firmly in opposition to the federal government. In the wake of mass killings, the states political leaders often find themselves pushing for more gun control within California while speaking out against the federal governments unwillingness to take up the issue, and against the National Rifle Associations positions. The National Rifle Association Ill say this is bankrupt, morally, and they need to be held to account to their rhetoric and their actions, Mr. Newsom said. He said of his own state: California will do its job. I have all the confidence in the world. We have an extraordinary Legislature; they get it. Theyve gotten a lot done on gun safety, and theyve got a governor who wants to raise the bar. Kevin de Leon, the former Democratic State Senate leader who on Tuesday lost his bid for the United States Senate to the incumbent, Dianne Feinstein, wrote on Twitter this week: Congresss great shame is their willingness to give the N.R.A. an outsized voice on how we enact gun safety. We will keep marching, legislating, advocating, and pushing Congress until they finally deliver gun safety laws that will keep our communities protected. Mr. Newsom did not this week offer specific new measures that he would push for, but he did say that he would have signed some gun control bills that Gov. Jerry Brown had vetoed in recent years. Among those were bills that would have expanded restraining orders, to allow co-workers, school employees and mental health providers to ask courts to take away guns from someone. Even with the countrys toughest gun laws, California has still had the most deaths from mass shootings since 1982, according to a database compiled by Mother Jones 128 people killed. Florida, with roughly half the population of California, has the second most deaths from mass shootings over that time, 118 killed. After the deadly and fast-growing wildfire began to threaten his hometown, Paradise, Calif., on Thursday, Al Silva got in his four-door Buick sedan and fled west. His family made contact with the 91-year-old on Thursday night, when he was at a parking lot in Chico, Calif., Mari Irby, Mr. Silvas great-niece, said. And then, silence. For nearly two days, Mr. Silvas family called shelters, hospitals and filed a missing persons report with the police, Ms. Irby said. She posted a plea on Twitter for help. She said Mr. Silva had left his cellphone in his home, which was almost certainly destroyed. What everybody is trying to figure out is: Would he have gone back to try to get stuff? Did he realize he left his cellphone and went to go get it? Ms. Irby said on Saturday. PARADISE, Calif. Rex Stewart was broke when he landed in Paradise, Calif., more than 40 years ago. But he found work as a carpenter, helping build parts of this mostly modest town of retirees and commuters tucked away in the Sierra Nevada foothills. On Saturday, after escaping what is now the most destructive and one of the deadliest fires in California history, he stood outside an evacuation shelter with no more to his name than the coat he had on and a winter cap with a peace symbol on it. Paradise is gone, Mr. Stewart, 66, said, pulling on a cigarette. Theres nothing to go back to. Fires continue to rage on both ends of California, spreading with breakneck speed and displacing hundreds of thousands of people in a state where a once-seasonal worry has become a near-constant terror. At least 23 are dead in the so-called Camp Fire, about 100 miles north of Sacramento, and two others have died in fires near Los Angeles. With the discovery of 14 more bodies on Saturday, the Camp Fire surpassed the death toll in last years Tubbs Fire, which killed 22 people and was the third-deadliest fire in the states history until now. The deadliest, the Griffith Park Fire in 1933, killed 29 people. But in an ominous result for Democrats, two swing states Iowa and Ohio appeared to move decisively away from them, and Florida, the countrys largest swing state and another state Mr. Trump won in 2016, remained agonizingly elusive. Should those three states tilt toward Mr. Trump in 2020, it would leave Democrats squeezed across the rest of the map. To win the upper Midwest and Florida we have to do two things Obama was able to do: get exceptionally strong African-American turnout and also get a higher proportion of noncollege whites, said Robby Mook, who ran Mrs. Clintons campaign, adding that Mr. Obamas success was a reminder that there doesnt have to be an either-or solution to the partys goal of defeating Mr. Trump. Barack Obama was not an old white guy but he checked these boxes, Mr. Mook said. Because of the melange of results Tuesday, there was little to deter ambitious Democrats from moving ahead with preparations for 2020, most of them eyeing early announcements to avoid letting any competitors catch fire. Ms. Harris, the senator from California, is seen by allies as likely to announce a campaign early in next year, after the release of a book due out in January. Her sister, Maya Harris, a former top adviser to Mrs. Clinton, has already been quietly gauging the intentions of some influential Democrats in order to have an early roster of supporters ready. The Harris camp has also been reaching out to potential campaign staff members who could manage fund-raising operations and a strategy for amassing convention delegates over a long primary while the senator herself has been courting Democrats in the states that begin the nominating process, such as Mr. Vilsack and former Gov. James Hodge of South Carolina. Allies of Mr. Booker, the senator from New Jersey, spent this week highlighting his efforts to help candidates in states crucial to the presidential nominating process, while he began considering staffing decisions. Multiple Democrats said that Addisu Demissie, who just ran the campaign of Gavin Newsom, the governor-elect of California, could potentially serve as a top official in either Mr. Bookers campaign or a super PAC that allies of the senator may launch. Another idea is for the federal government to provide money to states to help pay the largest medical claims. Such assistance, which provides insurance for insurance carriers, has proved effective in reducing premiums in Alaska and Minnesota, and several other states will try it next year. In addition, many Democrats say they want to provide more money to help consumers enroll in health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Over the last two years, Mr. Trump has cut the funds for insurance counselors and enrollment assistance by 84 percent, to $10 million. Reining In Drug Prices Mr. Trump said he believed he could work with Democrats in Congress on lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said the issue was sure to be on the agenda. Democrats have praised two of the proposals Mr. Trump has advanced in recent weeks. One would require drug manufacturers to include the list prices of drugs in television advertising. The other would reduce Medicare payments for certain high-cost drugs by using the average of prices in other advanced industrial countries as a benchmark in deciding what Medicare should pay. Drug companies oppose both ideas. They say the price disclosures would confuse consumers, who often pay less than the full list price. And drug lobbyists say Mr. Trumps proposal for an international price index would just import price controls from other countries. Lawmakers from both parties could also find common ground with the administration on a bill that requires manufacturers of brand-name drugs to make samples available to generic drug companies trying to develop inexpensive copies of those medicines. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, says some drug makers have tried to stifle competition by blocking access to samples. KANDAHAR, Afghanistan At just 2 years old, Madina had been vaccinated seven times. It was not enough: When she fell ill this fall, a trip to the doctor in Kandahar City confirmed that she was among the latest Afghan toddlers to contract polio. Almost a million children in Kandahar Province alone, like Madina, need at least one dose of oral vaccine a month to head off the disease, health workers say. But many of them also live in the most violent and socially disrupted parts of southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban control large areas and do not want government health workers going door to door. These realities make a sustained vaccination campaign brutally difficult for health workers here. And Afghanistan, one of three countries where polio is still endemic, is losing ground. Officials have registered 19 cases of polio so far this year, up from 13 each of the previous two years, according to World Health Organization figures. In August, I followed a polio vaccination crew in Kandahar and saw how, even in areas where health workers have been able to function, many things stand in their way: security fears and drought, deep poverty and stifling tradition, widespread illiteracy and superstition. He later said on Twitter that he would be speaking at the festival as a novelist, which is my only identity, and that he was not a politician. But anyone who has ever read me knows that my books are deeply political, and China Dream is no exception, he added. All literature is political, whether the writer intends it to be or not. Phillipa Milne, the festivals director, told reporters on Saturday that its goal was to promote Hong Kongs literary arts while also supporting the principles of free speech by providing a platform for a diverse spectrum of inspirational local and international writers. She did not take questions. The festival came amid growing concerns about Hong Kongs future as a haven for rule of law and civil rights in Asia. Last week, for example, the political cartoonist Badiucao, whose works satirize leaders of mainland China and Hong Kong, called off a solo exhibition in Hong Kong after receiving threats from the Chinese authorities. On Thursday, the Hong Kong authorities denied entry as a visitor to Victor Mallet, an editor at The Financial Times, a few weeks after he was expelled from the city. Mr. Mallets expulsion was widely seen as retaliation for his role in hosting a talk with a local independence advocate at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong in August. On Saturday, Mr. Ma declined to directly answer a question about whether he felt safe in Hong Kong, but he noted that he had informed the British authorities of his travel plans. I know if I ever disappear, they will look for me, he added. Emily Lau, a former Democratic Party member of Hong Kongs Legislative Council, said the back-and-forth over Mr. Mas appearances created an emotional roller coaster for many people in the city. Ms. Lau said she believed the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which finances and operates the Tai Kwun center, had faced political pressure to cancel Mr. Mas visit, and that the reversal of the cancellation was not much of a victory because it had already set a damaging precedent. The major threat of Europe at the moment is not Orban or Salvini, the major threat is that the E.U.s institutional arrangement is unstable, Mr. Ferguson said. Mr. Macrons ambition has been to fix that; but there is no consensus backing him. Whatever the future of Europes institutions, one big difference from 100 years ago is that the Continent is no longer at the heart geopolitics. "A century ago, Europe was the center of the world even if it was the dark tragic center of the world, said Dominique Moisi, a French author and thinker. Today we might be back to tragedy but not to centrality. History is moving elsewhere, he said. That, too, should be a motivation to shore up European integration, says the Reverend Musser in Alsace. One of his grandnieces is doing an internship in China, not Europe. Bones, bombs and bullets remain in the soil of Alsace, a region switched back and forth between various incarnations of France and Germany five times between the Thirty Years War that ended in 1648 and the devastation of World War II. Local residents joke that Alsatians still keep German street signs in their basements, just in case. The Reverend Musser puts it this way: Alsace is a reminder of how much has been won in Europe and how much can be lost. PARIS They shook hands politely and patted each other on the arm stiffly. Their tight-lipped smiles appeared strained and forced. No cheeks were kissed, no friendly rubs were given, none of the bonhomie of their earlier meetings was on display. So much for the bromance. After a promising start, the relationship between President Trump and President Emmanuel Macron of France has soured. By the time they met in Paris on Saturday, the trans-Atlantic alliance that was to be showcased by this weekends commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I appeared to be fraying instead. The honeymoon is well and truly over, said Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Trumps visible contempt for allies over trade and the Iran nuclear deal are humiliating for Macron. There were high hopes of Macrons charm offensive, but Trumps actions have shown that it had no policy impact and that it is dangerous for any political leader to tie his reputation to the mercurial mood swings of the American president. It did not help on Saturday that Mr. Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery at the foot of the hill where the Battle of Belleau Wood was fought. Aides cited the rain; the Marines who pilot presidential helicopters often recommend against flying in bad weather. But that did not convince many in Europe who saw it as an excuse and another sign of disrespect. After Eid criticized the PCUSAs failure to hold Palestinian elites accountable for their misdeeds while testifying before commissioners at the PCUSAs General Assembly on Monday, June 18, 2018, Masri followed him out of the convention center and onto the street. As he followed Eid, Masri called the Palestinian reformer a number of ugly epithets including traitor,? collaborator? and spy.? He did this in the convention center itself and also out on the street outside the building. It is all caught on video that Masri himself posted on the internet. A previous blog post about this can be seen here. It was a shocking display of hostility that the PCUSA failed to address in a responsible manner. Masri should have been barred from the convention center and from the proceedings of the General Assembly. Eid and the other people attending the meetings of the GAs Middle East Committee should have been protected from Masris abusive behavior. Unfortunately, he was allowed to remain in meeting room where he sat with anti-Israel activists including people from the denominations very own Israel-Palestine Mission Network (IPMN). Interestingly enough, the security staff at Americas Center Convention Complex seemed intent on taking a harder line with Masri than the PCUSA itself. This can be discerned from a video posted by Masri himself on Twitter. In this video, which can be seen here, a woman, presumably from the PCUSA, makes a heartfelt plea for Christian hospitality to make sure that everyone here is safe and taken care of everyone.? Its hard to know exactly what the woman wanted security officials at the convention center to do, but her request would seem to militate in favor of Masris expulsion from the convention center. If thats the case, her message was undermined by Fahed Abu Akel, a past moderator of the PCUSAs General Assembly (and one of the people who helped turn the denomination into a strong hold of anti-Zionism). Akel, amazingly enough, defended Masris right to attend the proceedings at the convention center, despite the awful behavior on the video. This is what he said: My request would be as a past moderator, Ive known him since he was a teenager, I think. He is a guest of our group. He ate lunch with us and I dont see in the video any threatening and I dont think hes a threat. At this point a security official from the convention center says, reasonably enough, But what I do see is him disturbing the peace of someone else, so? Masri then interrupts the official and states that he has a first amendment right to do what he did. He adds that he was one of the voices of the Ferguson Movement? and that Ive done this all the time to people, to police officers and stuff and I never get arrested for disturbing the peace.? This prompts Fahed Abu Akel to chide Masri. But right now if I invite you to my Presbyterian Church and [you] speak without my permission You dont have the right.? Masri declares, I was outside,? prompting Ahed to speak. He knows the law. OK,? he said before chuckling. I know the law,? Masri declares. I am a candidate for State Representative.? At this point the participants of the discussion talk over each other, but the security officer can be heard to say, I hear all that, but actually you were in the building when the video started.? Then Fahed Abu Akel speaks to Masri. For the sake of reconciliation. I heard the man [Eid] and he lied like hell. Im not going to say anything else but still Id like for you to feel welcome and theres no need for us to do this stuff in public.? Later, after Masri reaffirms his right to behave the way he did (and in passing calls Eid a collaborator with Israel?) Abu Akel states Id like for you not to do it. After we leave town, do anything you want.? This is what the video reveals: First, for all his bluster, Masri has only lived in Jerusalem for two years while the man he insulted and harassed has lived in Jerusalem and the West Bank all his life. This raises a question: Who is more qualified to speak about what is happening in Palestinian society? Masri who lived there for two years as a teenager? Or Eid who has lived there all his life? Who has more at stake, really? Second, we learned that Fahed Abu Akel, a former PCUSA moderator, and well-known partisan in the debate over Israel, lobbied security officials to allow Bassem Masri to continue to attend the proceedings of the PCUSAs General Assembly. He offered this defense despite the terrible abuse Masri heaped upon someone who had been invited to speak by a group opposed to the denominations anti-Israel agenda. This same moderator said that Bassem Eid, the man who Masri abused, had "lied" even after declaring he was speaking in the spirit of reconciliation.? And he still told Masri he wanted him to feel welcome? despite his abusive behavior. Apparently, the offer of safe spaces? is not extended to people who criticize Palestinian leaders at the PCUSAs General Assembly. *(Clarification: An overture which deals with the violence in the Gaza Strip declares that the church does not "condone" the misdeeds of Hamas. It doesn't flat-out condemn Hamas, but it doesn't condone its actions.) Calls committee appointed by state government a farce. Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday demanded an inquiry by retired high court judges into the killing of the tigress Avni. He called the current state government appointed committee a farce and attacked forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for the killing of the tigress. Mr Mungantiwar responded by stating that he was ready to face any probe and that he had already asked the chief minister to initiate a probe by five retired judges of the Supreme Court into the case. The committee, which has been appointed by the state government to investigate the killing, is nothing but a farce. People who gave supari (contract) for Avnis killing are the same people who will conduct the investigation now. They are the same people and the state government is trying to project it as an impartial inquiry. A retired justice of the high court must probe this killing. The truth in this case needs to be put before all, said the Sena chief. Mr Thackeray also took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Fadnavis on the issue. Mr Fadnavis had given Mr Mungantiwar a clean chit in the case. Mr Thackeray said, The surgical strikes were conducted by the soldiers but you gave credit to PM Modi. Was he there in the team, which fired against the enemy? Then how can you give Mr Mungantiwar a clean chit? The forest minister replied to Mr Thackerays demand. Uddhavji is senior leader of our alliance. If he thinks that there is something suspicious and if he is ready to lead then we are also ready to form a committee under his leadership. If he refuses to lead the probe committee, then there should be an inquiry by five retired justices of the Supreme Court. I have already made a similar request to the CM, said Mr Mungantiwar. The 5-year-old big cat, Avni, officially known as T1 was shot dead in cold blood on bait without any tranquilizing efforts by Hyderabad-based sharp shooter Nawab Shafath Ali Khans son Asghar around 11 pm on Friday. Avni is survived by her two cubs who are 10 months old. The whereabouts of cubs of T1 are unknown. Avni was first spotted in the forests of Yavatmal in 2012. There were 15 of them. Most arrived in the dead of night, laid their trap and waited for the target to arrive. That target was Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi critic of his countrys government and its young crown prince. Since his killing in Istanbul, Turkish media has released a steady drip feed of evidence implicating Saudi officials. Weeks of investigation by The Times builds on that evidence and reconstructs what unfolded, hour-by-hour. Our timeline shows the ruthless efficiency of a hit team of experts that seemed specially chosen from Saudi government ministries. Some had links to the crown prince himself. After a series of shifting explanations, Saudi Arabia now denies that this brazen hit job was premeditated. But this reconstruction of the killing, and the botched cover-up, calls their story into serious question. Its Friday morning, Sept. 28. Khashoggi and his fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, are at the local marriage office in Istanbul. In order to marry, hes told that he needs Saudi paperwork and goes straight to the consulate to arrange it. They tell him to return in a week. It all seems routine, but its not. Inside theres a Saudi spy, Ahmed al-Muzaini, whos working under diplomatic cover. That very day, he flies off to Riyadh and helps concoct a plan to intercept Khashoggi when he returns to the consulate. Fast-forward to Monday night into Tuesday morning. Saudi agents converge in Istanbul aboard separate flights. Muzaini, the spy, flies back from Riyadh. A commercial flight carries a three-man team that we believe flew from Cairo. Two of the men are security officers and theyve previously traveled with the crown prince. A private jet flying from Riyadh lands around 3:30 a.m. That plane is often used by the Saudi government, and its carrying nine Saudi officials, some who played key roles in Khashoggis death. Well get to Team 3 later on, and for now focus on these men from Team 2. This is Salah al-Tubaigy, a high-ranking forensics and autopsy expert in the Saudi interior ministry. Turkish officials will later say his role was to dismember Khashoggis body. Another is Mustafa al-Madani, a 57-year-old engineer. As well see, its no accident that he looks like Khashoggi. And this is Maher Mutreb, the leader of the operation. Our investigation into his past reveals a direct link between Mutreb and the Saudi crown prince. When bin Salman toured a Houston neighborhood earlier this year, we discovered that Mutreb was with him, a glowering figure in the background. We found him again in Boston, at a U.N. meeting in New York, in Madrid and Paris, too. This global tour was all part of a charm offensive by the prince to paint himself as a moderate reformer. Back then, Mutreb was in the royal guard. Now, he would orchestrate Khashoggis killing. And his close ties to the crown prince beg the question, just how high up the Saudi chain of command did the plot to kill go? Early Tuesday morning, Khashoggi flies back from a weekend trip to London. He and the Saudis nearly cross paths at the airport. The Saudi teams check into two hotels, which give quick access to the consulate. Khashoggi heads home with his fiancee. Hed just bought an apartment for their new life together. By mid-morning, the Saudis are on the move. Mutreb leaves his hotel three hours before Khashoggi is due at the consulate. The rest of the team isnt far behind. The building is only a few minutes away on foot, and soon, theyre spotted at this entrance. Mutreb arrives first. Next, we see al-Tubaigy, the autopsy expert. And now al-Madani, the lookalike. The stage is almost set. A diplomatic car pulls out of the consulate driveway and switches places with a van, which backs in. Turkish officials say this van would eventually carry away Khashoggis remains. From above, we can see the driveway is covered, hiding any activity around the van from public view. Meanwhile, Khashoggi and his fiancee set out for the consulate, walking hand-in-hand. In their final hour together, they chat about dinner plans and new furniture for their home. At 1:13 p.m., they arrive at the consulate. Khashoggi gives her his cellphones before he enters. He walks into the consulate. Its the last time we see him. Inside, Khashoggi is brought to the consul generals office on the second floor. The hit team is waiting in a nearby room. Sources briefed on the evidence, told us Khashoggi quickly comes under attack. Hes dragged to another room and is killed within minutes. Then al-Tubaigy, the autopsy expert, dismembers his body while listening to music. Maher Mutreb makes a phone call to a superior. He says, Tell your boss, and The deed was done. Outside, the van reportedly carrying Khashoggis body pulls out of the side entrance and drives away. At the same time, the Saudis begin trying to cover their tracks. While Khashoggis fiancee waits here where she left him, two figures leave from the opposite side. One of them is wearing his clothes. Later, the Saudis would claim that this was Khashoggi. But its al-Madani, the engineer, now a body double pretending that the missing journalist left the consulate alive. Yet theres one glaring flaw: The clothes are the same, but hes wearing his own sneakers, the ones he walked in with. Meanwhile, the van thats allegedly carrying Khashoggis body makes the two-minute drive from the consulate to the Saudi consuls residence. Theres several minutes of deliberations but the van eventually pulls into the buildings driveway. Again, its hidden from public view. Its now three hours since Khashoggi was last seen. The body double hails this taxi and continues weaving a false trail through the city. He heads to a popular tourist area and then changes back into his own clothes. Later, we see him joking around in surveillance footage. Over at the airport, more Saudi officials arrive on another flight from Riyadh. They spend just five hours in Istanbul, but were not sure where they go. Now we pick up Maher Mutreb again, exiting from the consuls house. Its time for them to go. Mutreb and others check out of their hotel and move through airport security. Al-Muzaini, the spy, heads to the airport too. But as theyre leaving Istanbul, Khashoggis fiancee is still outside the consulate, pacing in circles. Shell soon raise the alarm that Khashoggi is missing and shell wait for him until midnight. The alarm spreads around the world. Nine days later, the Saudis send another team to Istanbul. They say its to investigate what happened. But among them are a toxicologist and a chemist, who also has ties to the hit team. He and Tubaigy attended a forensics graduation days before Khashoggi was killed. Turkish officials later say that this teams mission was not to investigate, but to cover up the killing. Now the Saudi story has changed, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for several suspects in Khashoggis killing. But that doesnt include Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who many Western government officials are convinced authorized the killing. Khashoggis remains still havent been found. Over the past 25 years, Republicans have methodically consolidated power in state legislatures, taking both chambers in every Southern state, flipping long-Democratic Midwestern strongholds and claiming new territory like West Virginia. Heading into the midterm elections, they controlled two-thirds of all state legislative bodies. Newly energized activists and donors on the left had hoped to begin rolling back that trend this year, and on Tuesday Democrats took a big step, netting about 250 state legislative seats. But their major victories all came in states Hillary Clinton won in 2016. Their road back to simple parity remains long: Who controls state legislatures State legislatures controlled by Republicans Democrats or were split. States highlighted in bold changed status from the previous two years, including in off-year and special elections. Nebraska is not included because it has a nonpartisan legislature. Minnesotas legislature was nonpartisan until 1972. States in bold changed status in the previous two years, in some states including off-year and special elections National Conference of State Legislatures, Ballotpedia Democrats took outright control of seven chambers in six states, leaving Minnesota as the only state with a divided legislature. Those wins are modest compared with 2010, when Republicans captured two dozen chambers ahead of the once-a-decade redistricting process that state legislatures largely control. Part of the reason Democrats did not do better on Tuesday was because Republicans mostly drew the lines of the districts theyre still running in, said Tim Storey, the director of state services for the National Conference of State Legislatures. That has haunted Democrats the entire decade, getting wiped out in 2010. Redistricting is around the corner again, and thats partly why Democrats have made a bigger push this year. Theyre reacting, too, to much of what Republican majorities produced: stand-your-ground gun laws, voter ID requirements, bills limiting the power of unions, and social policies like governing who can use public bathrooms. Over the last decade, because theres no policymaking in Washington, the state of policymaking in America has been set at the state level, and its been set by Republicans, said Drew Morrison, the co-founder of EveryDistrict, a group helping Democratic candidates. And its been set with a pretty aggressive conservative vision of what the world should be. Mr. Morrison called Democrats gains on Tuesday a generally impressive haul. But he said they came on ground the party shouldnt have ceded in the first place. And Republicans have shrugged off the losses, pointing out that they still hold legislative majorities in all six battleground states Donald J. Trump flipped in 2016. The battlefield is very deep into their turf, said Matt Walter, the president of the Republican State Leadership Committee. Theyre still trying to chip away at the thousand seats they lost over the course of the decade, to crawl out from those historic lows. Democrats more impressive gains this week came in governors races, which will help them blunt the effect of some legislatures still in Republican control: Which party holds the governor's office Governorships that were held by a Republican , Democrat or a third party candidate . States highlighted in bold changed status from the previous two years, including in off-year and special elections. *Races are still undecided. National Conference of State Legislatures, Ballotpedia Democrats won seven governors offices (with races in Florida and Georgia still undecided). They now claim the governors mansion in the swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin heading into the 2020 election. And theyll take unified control of the legislature and executive branch in six new states. Illinois, with its Democratic-controlled legislature, will now have a Democratic governor. In New York, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo remains in power, the Democratic Party will now control the state Senate for the first time in a decade. (Democratic candidates won a majority of Senate seats there in 2012, but a group of them formed a coalition with Republicans, giving them control of the chamber, and our charts here reflect that Republican control). As a testament to their dominance over the past two decades, Republicans entering this election held unified power in 25 states a remarkable shift from when they controlled no single state in 1976. (Last year, they picked up West Virginia when its Democratic governor, Jim Justice, switched parties). Democrats held complete power in just eight states entering this election, after off-cycle elections in New Jersey and Washington in 2017. Where parties have unified state control State legislatures and governorships controlled by Republicans Democrats or were split. States highlighted in bold changed status from the previous two years, including in off-year and special elections. Nebraska is not included because it has a nonpartisan legislature. Minnesotas legislature was nonpartisan until 1972. States in bold changed status in the previous two years, in some states including off-year and special elections. *Governors races are still undecided. National Conference of State Legislatures, Ballotpedia Political scientists say that Republicans have become so dominant at the state level because of their focus on organization and alliances with well-funded pro-business groups, like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). And theyve risen to power in the states during a time, since the 1980s, when responsibilities have increasingly shifted to the states to set rules for federal programs. Most state legislatures have no filibuster, making action easier there, too. By the time that progressives wake up to the fact that conservative networks have been so successful, they are now starting from behind, said Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, a political scientist at Columbia University who has written a forthcoming book, State Capture, covering this period. Republican state legislators have had more power than Republicans in Congress to derail parts of the Affordable Care Act, by refusing its offer to fund most of a Medicaid expansion. Across a range of other conservative priorities, model bills advocated by groups like ALEC have been adopted in states across the country. As Republicans have become more dominant in states, the legislation theyve advanced has also become more similar across state lines, a trend Mr. Hertel-Fernandez and Konstantin Kashin, a data scientist, have tracked with plagiarism detection software. They have found a growing share of bills introduced and enacted with text copied nearly verbatim from outside groups, particularly ALEC but also organizations on the left. What weve seen effectively is the nationalization of state politics, said Gordon Lafer, a political economist at the University of Oregon. All those old cliches that states are laboratories of democracy, that all politics is local it has been the opposite in the last decade. Scholars suggest that Democrats and their donors might have been slow to respond to these trends in state politics because theyre philosophically more inclined to focus on what the federal government can do and to be suspicious of state control. That stems from how Democrats view how government should work, said Mr. Morrison, the Democratic activist. Government should work for the broadest group of people. And the best way to ensure that policy works for as many people as possible is to have it happen at the federal level. Unfortunately, no such law has ever been enacted by successive governments since the commencement of the Constitution. In response to the question about the law/statute which gives R&AW the powers/authority to discharge its functions/mandate efficaciously and efficiently, the government did not try and hide behind any obfuscation but candidly admitted, There is no separate/specific statute governing the functions/mandate of the R&AW. In my last column, I had queried whether the CBI is a legal entity. This time around Id like to focus on the legal foundations of our intelligence structures the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) and a bunch of other acronyms. What triggered this column was a public statement by one of the commissioners of the Central Information Commission, Divya Prakash Sinha. He ostensibly stated that intelligence and investigative agencies need to be brought within the purview of the Right to Information Act. He supposedly said that keeping security agencies on a different pedestal with certain riders is difficult to understand. There are exemption provisions under Section 8 and 9 of the RTI Act that take adequate care of information which these (security) organisations may not like to disclose in the public domain. He added that the applicability of the enabling provisions of the RTI Act should be all-pervasive for public authorities. Transparency is the anti-thesis of corruption My experience in the commission gives me an impression that exemption of security, intelligence and investigative agencies has a significant negative impact on the right of the people to information under the Act. Brave words at a point in time when the NDA/BJP government is proposing both profound enfeeblements to the RTI Act and a step-down even in the status of information commissioners through the Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2018. However, before these entities are brought under the ambit of the RTI, it is far more imperative to put them on proper legal foundations. To understand the context, there is a need to rewind back to 2009. On July 14 and July 29, 2009, I asked two separate questions on the legal status of the IB and the R&AW respectively in the Lok Sabha. Both came up as unstarred questions. The difference between starred and unstarred questions is that while the former are answered orally by the minister in charge, only written replies are provided for the latter. Both the minister and the ministries concerned usually treat unstarred questions with less seriousness. Unlike starred questions, where the minister is subject to the scrutiny of the whole House and has to answer a bunch of supplementary questions from other members too, in the case of unstarred questions, there is no such pressure. In response to the question pertaining to the legislative act or legal architecture from which the IB draws its legal/statutory authority or right to function, the then minister of state for home affairs came up with a very quixotic response: The Intelligence Bureau figures in Schedule 7 of the Constitution under the Union List. When pressed that possibly this may not be the appropriate response, the government emphatically reiterated, The Intelligence Bureau finds mention at S. No. 8 in the Union list under the 7th Schedule of the Constitution of India. Even an aspiring student of law knows that Article 246 (1) gives Parliament the exclusive right to make laws on matters enumerated in the Union List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. In other words, Entry 8 in the Union list enunciated in the governments response merely gives it the legislative power to enact a statute to bring a Central Bureau of Intelligence to be called by whatever name (IB or BI) into existence. A mere mention of a subject in the laundry list of legislative powers neither gives an organisation life or legitimacy. Unfortunately, no such law has ever been enacted by successive governments since the commencement of the Constitution. Similar is the case of Indias external intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing. In response to the question about the law/statute which gives R&AW the powers/authority to discharge its functions/mandate efficaciously and efficiently, the government did not try and hide behind any obfuscation but candidly admitted, There is no separate/specific statute governing the functions/mandate of the R&AW. However, in 2000, following the report of the task force on Intelligence Apparatus which examined the entire intelligence system in the country, a formal charter listing the scope and mandate of the R&AW was formally approved by the Government of India. Contrast this with the position in various other countries of the world. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States was created by the National Security Act of 1947 and specifically empowered by the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 (CIA Act) to carry out the duties assigned to it by the 1947 Act. MI5, the domestic intelligence service of the United Kingdom, draws its legal authority from the Security Services Act, 1989, and its sister organisation, of James Bond fame, MI6, or the SIS, from the 1994 Intelligence Services Act, thereby subjecting its activities to the scrutiny of the British Parliaments Intelligence and Security Committee. The Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia draws its legal basis from the Law on Foreign Intelligence Organs, 1996. The German Federal Intelligence Service, Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), draws its legal sustenance from the Federal Intelligence Service Law, 1990. Its activities are supervised by the Parliamentary Control Commission (PKK) for intelligence services which in turn is empowered by the law as per the Parliamentary Control of Intelligence Activities, 1978. Even in Japan, the Public Security Intelligence Agency, that, after its reorganisation in 1996, started focusing upon foreign intelligence collection, is empowered by the Subversive Activities Prevention Law that came into force on July 21, 1952. Both from the national security and the civil liberties point of view, it is inappropriate to allow law enforcement and intelligence services to function without a sound and well-defined legal basis. There can be no case that an equivocal or indeterminate legal mandate gives greater operational flexibility. In fact, in an information and litigation age, it has both, an inhibiting and, worse, a debilitating impact as a lot of people who have spent a lifetime doing cloak and dagger stuff admit with some degree of caveats. In order to surmount this lacuna, after structured consolations with a host of former intelligence Czars (facilitated by the Observer Research Foundation), I moved a Private Members Bill entitled, The Intelligence Services (Powers and Regulation Bill), 2011, on August 5, 2011. The bill unfortunately lapsed when I moved to government in October 2012. However, this is an idea whose time has come. This bill or a variant needs to be introduced as a government bill post the 2019 elections. That Khashoggis premeditated killing and alleged dismemberment was a clear violation of international law is not disputed. Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident, contributor to the Washington Post and vocal critic of the Saudi regime, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 and was killed therein, allegedly by a team of 15 Saudi operatives. That Khashoggis premeditated killing and alleged dismemberment was a clear violation of international law is not disputed. In addition to being a violation of international human rights law, the killing also contravenes the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, whose language largely mirrors that of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. While consular and diplomatic premises are inviolable under the 1963 convention, they remain within the territory of the host state, which retains the right and obligation to enforce its laws throughout its domain. Of the suspects arrested by Riyadh, it must be stressed that, though several members of the 15-person team directly implicated in the Khashoggis killing have been identified as belonging to the Saudi General Intelligence Directorate, they were not diplomatic or consular agents and are thus not entitled to the protections of the Vienna conventions. Further, while Saudi Arabia has not claimed diplomatic immunity for the 18 suspects, including three consular staff who fled Istanbul following the killing, such immunity would not be applicable in any event because, unlike diplomatic agents like ambassadors, consular agents are not entitled to absolute immunity under the Vienna conventions and may be prosecuted by the host country if suspected of committing a crime. The perpetrators would also not be immune to civil liability should Khashoggis family choose to sue them. Further, the mere fact that the crime was committed by Saudi nationals within the Saudi consulate in Istanbul does not exclude Turkeys territorial jurisdiction over the matter. The inviolability of consular premises does not preclude Turkey from prosecuting the criminal act of murder committed on its soil under its domestic criminal legal system. The extra-legal killing of Khashoggi has, ironically enough, built momentum for justice to be meted out through a legal framework, with the European Parliament issuing the strongly worded Resolution 2018/2885 (RSP) calling for an international, independent and impartial investigation into the extrajudicial killing of Khashoggi, and for the establishment of a dedicated team with extensive experience in international investigations to produce a public report with its findings and recommendations to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. An international inquiry into assassinations or terrorism is not without precedent; following the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, the three-year joint British and American investigation, backed by UN sanctions, pushed the recalcitrant Libyan government into handing over the two suspects. A similar investigative process was initiated by the UN after the killing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Given the brazenness of Khashoggis killing, and the deleterious effect it is likely to have on regional peace and security, the UN Security Council may, in exercise of its powers under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, establish a tribunal to investigate the premeditated assassination of a journalist in one state by agents of another. The findings of such a tribunal could result in sanctions on the kingdom or key members of the Saudi regime, trade boycott, and diplomatic isolation, pushing Saudi Arabia into cooperating with the investigation, much like the probe into the Lockerbie bombing pushed Tripoli into cooperating with the trial. As no extradition treaty exists between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, Istanbul formally requested Riyadh to have the 18 suspects extradited, a request which Riyadh rejected. Turkeys President Recep Erdogan has initiated a domestic inquiry into the incident and wants the suspects prosecuted in Turkish courts. Istanbul may yet opt to approach Interpol in the event that Riyadh refuses t o cooperate with its investigation and in turn obtain a Red Notice from Interpol, whereby the Interpol General Secretariat issues a request to locate and provisionally arrest individuals pending their extradition. This has the effect of flagging the individuals to border officials around the world, making it difficult for them to travel. This also provides countries with a means to share information on the individuals in question, facilitating Turkeys efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice. Istanbuls desire for a trial may, however, prove problematic in terms of the potential geopolitical and economic ramifications for Turkey. After all, Saudi Arabia remains a key investor in Turkey and a significant influence in West Asian politics. By arrangement with Dawn The Rafale issue cant put the Modi government in deep trouble, though it has the potential of giving some anxious moments for the government. Corruption is normally an election issue in the minds of Indian voters, but when it becomes a major controversy, it ends up dislodging the government in power. An extremely popular Congress government, headed by the young and dynamic Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was defeated in 1989 over the issue of Bofors. The party which had won 414 Lok Sabha seats and polled 47.87 per cent votes during the 1984 Lok Sabha polls ended up with only 197 seats with 39 per cent votes. A decade-long Congress-led government (2004-14) got badly mauled by the BJP in 2014 largely over the corruption issue. The Congress won only 44 Lok Sabha seats and its voteshare declined to 19.3 per cent. Now, questions are being asked why a popular government led by Narendra Modi cant be defeated in 2019 over the issue of the Rafale fighter jet deal? Some people believe that Rafale would seal the fate of this government while others feel this is not an issue over which people are likely to vote in 2019. The Rafale issue cant put the Modi government in deep trouble, though it has the potential of giving some anxious moments for the government. We all know that Rajiv Gandhi lost the election only due to Bofors, but I believe the incumbent Narendra Modi-led NDA government cant be defeated simply over the Rafale issue, and I would like to offer my explanation for that. Though the Congress has been campaigning hard trying to convince voters about the BJPs and more so Narendra Modis involvement in corruption related to the Rafale deal, it is yet to become as emotive an issue as Bofors was before the 1989 elections. The reasons are simple. At the time of the Bofors controversy, almost all major political parties raised the issue and were united about the matter, charging then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of receiving kickbacks in the Bofors deal. The Opposition parties charged the Congress government on compromising the countrys security and were able to convince large sections of voters. There is a difference in the Oppositions campaign now against the Rafale deal. While the Congress has been continuously and systematically campaigning against the government and accusing it of being involved in corruption over the Rafale deal, other Opposition parties have mostly kept silent on this issue. The failure of all the Opposition parties to jointly put the government on the mat on the Rafale deal has prevented it from making Rafale as big an issue today as was Bofors before the 1989 Lok Sabha election. Second, there is a difference in the leadership at the time of the 1989 Lok Sabha elections and of the present. The Bofors controversy was raised by V.P. Singh, a leader who was finance and then defence minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government, who quit the Congress and the government and charged the Prime Minister with having received kickbacks as he launched his campaign against corruption. It was more convincing for people to believe the charges the former defence minister (V.P. Singh) was then making than those levelled today by Rahul Gandhi, who is not yet fully acceptable as a leader by senior figures in several other Opposition parties, particularly the regional parties. This is in fact one of the principal bottlenecks standing in the way of a full-fledged anti-BJP front. In the late 1980s, on the other hand, V.P. Singh was the leader around whom many leaders cutting across parties rallied around, as he was seen as an honest leader of that time, and received enormous support for his crusade against corruption. At the moment, there is a crisis of leadership: neither is Rahul Gandhi acceptable among leaders of various regional parties, nor is any regional leader (like Mamata Banerjee, N. Chandrababu Naidu, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, etc.) acceptable to the leaders of the other parties. In the end, therefore, the BJP stands to benefit from the prevailing situation. The third explanation of why Rafale isnt Bofors is the difference in leadership against whom the charges of corruption are being levelled. In the Rafale case, these are being levelled against Narendra Modi, while in the case of Bofors it was against Rajiv Gandhi. There seems to be a big difference in how people perceive the two. While Mr Modi is largely seen as an honest leader, a man who has risen to power from a humble background, Rajiv Gandhi was seen as a man who became the Prime Minister only because he belonged to the Nehru-Gandhi family. While a large section of Indians do admire the contributions of the Gandhi-Nehru family in the nations development, there are also other voters who are bitter critics of the family partly over corruption, but also on other issues. As Mr Modi has been able to keep his family members away from sharing political power even after becoming Prime Minister, people have more faith in his credentials, and the Opposition may find it far more difficult to mobilise public opinion against him in comparison to what was possible against Rajiv Gandhi during the 1989 Lok Sabha election. Surveys have repeatedly indicated that corruption is not on top of the mind of the Indian voters as they decide which party to vote for except for when it really becomes the talk of the town. The surveys conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in the recent past suggest its the biggest concern for less than 10 per cent voters. Voters are far more concerned about unemployment, development, the price rise and poverty. The corruption issue only works as the icing on the cake. It can become a bigger issue in 2019 only if the government fails over development, jobs and price rise. The Opposition is as yet unable to convince voters that the Narendra Modi government has really failed on all these fronts. The day the Opposition is able to convince voters about the governments failures in these areas, even Rafale will become a much bigger issue than it is at present. UTICA, N.Y. Darlene Stromstad, FACHE, has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS), effective Jan. 1, 2019. Current MVHS President/CEO Scott H. Perra, FACHE, announced his retirement in January 2018. Perra began his work at St. Lukes-Memorial Hospital Center more than 30 years ago in 1985. He served in a leadership role through the consolidation of Faxton Hospital to form Faxton St. Lukes Healthcare (FSLH) and again with the affiliation of FSLH and St. Elizabeth Medical Center to form MVHS. Perra was instrumental in bringing together two extraordinary healthcare organizations to form MVHS and has helped create the opportunity for MVHS to build a new, regional healthcare campus that provides a state-of-the-art setting for medical staff, employees and volunteers to provide care and serve the community for generations to come. Following Perras announcement, the MVHS Board of Directors formed a search committee to find a new CEO and after nearly a year of searching and vetting extremely qualified candidates, selected Stromstad. In announcing her appointment, Joan Compson, chair of the MVHS Board of Directors, said the Board Search Committee had been looking for a high-caliber leader for the growing organization and they found that in Stromstad. We look forward to a future under Darlenes leadership and are excited about the key role she will play in advancing our health systems mission of providing excellence in healthcare for our communities, said Compson. With Darlenes dedicated service and extensive healthcare knowledge and experience, we are confident that the Mohawk Valley Health System will continue to thrive. Stromstad has decades of experience in healthcare and has led a variety of healthcare organizations across the country. She most recently was in Boston, Mass., where she served as interim CEO of Fenway Health, one of the nations premier and largest federally qualified health centers. Prior to that, Stromstad was in Connecticut where she served as president/CEO of Waterbury Hospital and the Greater Waterbury Health Network (now known as Waterbury HEALTH). During her six-year tenure at Waterbury Hospital, Stromstad helped to stabilize the organizations financial position, rebuild its employee culture and morale, and assure its future through a strategic partnership and acquisition. Prior to that she served as president and CEO of Goodall Hospital in Sanford, Maine, where she also was instrumental in strengthening the hospitals finances and expanding healthcare services for the community. Stromstad is known nationally for her leadership and active engagement in organizations such as the American College of Healthcare Executives where she served as a member of the Board of Governors. She also served on the American Hospital Associations Metropolitan Advisory Council. She served at the statewide level on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Hospital Association and the Maine Hospital Association, and at the local and regional levels as a Board member for the Greater Waterbury United Way, Greater Waterbury Chamber of Commerce, Naugatuck Community College, and Sanford Downtown Legacy. I am delighted to be joining MVHS at this exciting time in its history, said Stromstad. Its amazing how this organization has evolved from three distinct hospitals into a robust health system and is now on the precipice of building a new, state-of-the-art medical center. My congratulations to MVHS president/CEO Scott Perra and the board, and to all the stakeholders who had the vision and worked tirelessly to make this happen. This is a time of tremendous opportunity and a true milestone in healthcare services for our community and for Central New York as a region, she continued. There is much work ahead. I am eager to begin working collaboratively with, employees, physicians, unions, community leaders and the board in building a new era in healthcare in the region. I look forward to quickly getting acquainted with the community and all the people who will be instrumental in charting the next course for the future of MVHS. Stromstad received her Master of Business Administration from Rivier College in Nashua, N.H., and her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D. BJP-ruled states slashes petrol, diesel rates further: New price to come into effect from today 15 newborns die at Assam hospital in 6 days; govt orders probe India oi-PTI Jorhat, Nov 10: At least 15 newborns died at the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH) in Assam in one week, prompting the state health department to launch a probe into the matter. The hospital authorities have also formed a committee to look into the matter, officials said on Friday. According to JMCH Superintendent Saurav Borkakoti, 15 newborns have died at the special care newborn unit of the hospital between November 1 and 6. Borkakoti, however, claimed the deaths were not due to medical negligence or neglect of the hospital. "Sometimes the number of patients coming to the hospital may be large and so the figure of death of newborns may also be large. It depends in what situation the patients have come to the hospital. They may have come with prolonged labour, with low birth weight. In such circumstances, those newborns may die," Borkakoti said. He said ever since the civil hospital was converted into a full-fledged medical college and hospital, the number of patients have soared, exceeding the available 141 bed SNCU capacity. This has forced the hospital to sometimes accommodate more babies, he said. The hospital has formed a six-member committee to probe the deaths, Borkakoti said. Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters that a team of experts, including the director of medical education assisted by UNICEF and a paediatric doctor from Gauhati Medical College and Hospital along with another doctor of Assam Medical College and Hospial, Dibrugarh have proceeded to Jorhat to investigate the deaths. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 9:07 [IST] After MP, kith and kin of senior BJP leaders of Rajasthan too demand Assembly tickets India oi-Vinod Kumar Shukla New Delhi, Nov 10: Demand for tickets to kith and kin of senior leaders has been met in Madhya Pradesh when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has given ticket to daughter-in-law of former chief minister Babu Lal Gaur and son of party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, party is feeling similar pressure in Rajasthan where demand of ticket for son and grandsons is increasing but magnitude is little less. However, the party has been opposed to it in principal. Congress may storm to power in Rajasthan; BJP likely to retain MP, Chhattisgarh: Survey There are several leaders in Rajasthan who are making such demands. Actually there is no clear guideline and criteria for tickets in Rajasthan and for the party winability seems to be the only consideration. Rajasthan BJP president Madan Lal Saini already made it clear that there was no such criteria made by the party that other members of the family won't be considered for ticket or given ticket. He said that people having the maximum chances of winning seat would be given tickets even if the person is son of any senior leader of the party. Leaders demanding tickets to their family members included Bikaner (East) MLA Gopal Joshi who is looking for ticket for his grandson Vijay Mohan Joshi; Dungargarh MLA Kishna Ram Nai also wants ticket for his grandson Nitin Nai and so is the case with Gurjant Singh MLA Sadulshahar who wants ticket for his grandson Gurveer Singh. An independent MLA supported by the BJP, Manakchand Surana from Lunkaransar is looking for ticket for his grandson Sidhdharth Sarana. Pilani MLA Sunder Lal Kaka wants ticket for his son Kailash Meghwal. Minister in the Vasundhara Raje government Nandlal Meena wants ticket for his son Hemant Meena while another minister Amra Ram Choudhary wants son Arun Choudhary to contest Assembly election. Another minister Jaswant Yadav is looking for ticket for his son Mohit Yadav. Gudamalani MLA Laduram Bishnoi is looking for ticket for his son and grandson both. BJP core committee member Rajendra Rathor said that if anyone was active in the party for, s/he will be considers as party worker even if they are relatives of senior politicians of the party. So the party has made it more or less clear that they don't have any objection giving ticket to relatives of senior leaders. BJP and Congress accuse Sachin Pilot and Vasundhara Raje being outsiders respectively Sources said that but there is another reason for senior leaders of the party proposing names of their sons and grandsons because due to heavy anti-incumbency many senior leader might loose election but with young and dynamic faces in the fray might improve the chances of the BJP and seat remaining in the family only. Some of them have the threat of getting ticket declined also. But the list for the demand of ticket by relatives of senior leaders of the party is not big as they are well aware about the anti-incumbency factor in the state. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 10:04 [IST] Over 3.5 lakh registered Close to 3.5 lakh people have registered in the last few days alone through the virtual queue system, 40,000 of them have booked bus tickets of Ksrtc from Nilakkal to Pamba, the two base camps of the hill shrine. The number is in stark contrast to the fewer than 10 women in the 10-50 age group who had made a vain bid to reach Sannidhanam earlier. The police still has no clear-cut strategy in ensuring the safety of young women, whose numbers might go up. Identity undisclosed To regulate and streamline the devotees, the online registration designed and developed by the police was opened to weed out trouble makers who have created disturbances in the last two months in and around the temple. The police are not sure about the identities of the 550 women' who have registered through the facility. Since the website does not ask for an identification proof, it cannot be ascertained if these people are indeed who they claim to be. Virtual queue to manage crowd Sabarimala online queue booking is being offered by Kerala Police for the purpose of crowd management at Sabarimala. This system was put in place a few years ago to control and channel the huge crowds that stream into the temple especially during this period. The opening of the virtual queue system this year comes barely two months after the Supreme Court lifted restrictions on the entry of women of all age groups at Sabarimala. Between October 17 and 22 and again in November when the temple opened for a day, women devotees faced stiff resistance at Sabarimala. Till date, no woman in the previously restricted age group has been able to climb the hill. Ticket Booking details The online booking for darshan at Sannidhanam started on October 30. Pilgrims can book darshan time and date as well as KSRTC bus tickets from Nilakkal through sabarimalaq.com The portal is promoted on official websites of Andhra, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry police. The authorities expect to see massive rise in the number of pilgrims who opt for the virtual queue facility this year. Around 16 lakh people had visited Sabarimala in 2017. Vehicle passes, ID cards made mandatory The Kerala Police have directed that all vehicles arriving at Sabarimala should carry a 'police pass.' Vehicles without the pass will not be allowed parking in Sabarimala. Meanwhile, identity cards have been made compulsory for all employees of shops and eateries functioning in Sabarimala and nearby places. These stringent measures are planned against the background of the violence witnessed at Sabarimala and its adjoining areas during the rituals held during the Malayalam month of Thulam and Chithira Atta Thirunal' fete. All eye on Nov 13 Ahead of the next pilgrimage, the Supreme Court on November 13 will hear a batch of petitions against its September verdict. The present government has made it clear that it will do everything possible to implement the ruling of the top court and ensure safety and security of women devotees. Both the opposition BJP and the Congress have set off street protests and agitations against the stand of the state government. No going back, says CM Vijayan Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that there was no going back for the government in the case of entry of women of all ages at Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple. "Opposition to changes in customs is quite natural. But there is no going back. Toilets, bathing facility and accommodation facility at Nilakkal will be set up for women devotees. The present crisis is temporary," he said at weekly media interaction programme. Photo credit: PTI Anant Kumar Hegde not invited for Tipu Jayanti celebrations India oi-Chennabasaveshwar P Bengaluru, Nov 10: Firebrand BJP leader and Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde's name hasn't been mentioned in the invitation card for the celebration of Tipu Sultan Jayanti. This year, the district administration did not mention his name in the invitation card as per the request of the minister. In his letter to the administration, he writes, "The Karnataka coalition government has decided to celebrate Tipu Jayanti on November 10, amid strong opposition from the people. I condemn this celebration widely opposed by public and intellectuals alike. History shows that Tippu was anti-Kannadiga and anti-Hindu. Besides, earlier sporadic protests in the state have led to violence. I condemn glorification and celebration of the birth anniversary of an anti-social person. So, do not mention my name in the list of invitees." Tipu Jayanti: CM to take rest, Karnataka on high alert The letter was addressed to Vijayakumar Thoragal, OSD(Officer on Special Duty), the Chief Secretary of Karnataka asking the government not to invite him for the event. Last year, Anant Kumar Hegde wrote a letter to the district administration not to include his name in Tippu Jayanti's invitation card. However, the district administration included his name as per the formalities, saying it was up to the minister to attend or give a miss to the programme. Despite the minister's opposition to the programme his name was printed. Bengaluru CCB issues notice to Janardhan Reddy The BJP has vehemently opposed the move to celebrate Tipu Jayanthi ever since the move was proposed by former chief minister Siddaramaiah. Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde has gone a step ahead and his OSD(Officer on Special Duty) has written to the Chief Secretary of Karnataka asking the government not to invite him for the event. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 9:34 [IST] Ayodhya always remains important for all but even nawabs preferred Lucknow over Faizabad India oi-Vinod Kumar Shukla New Delhi, Nov 10: After Allahabad has been renamed as Prayagraj, Faizabad district too has been renamed as Ayodhya. The name of Ayodhya is first mentioned in ancient scriptures like Atharv Veda and Taitraiya Brahmin where Ayodhya has been likens to the body of God. But the city is not only important to Hindus but it is equally important to Budhdhists and Jains in many ways. Budhdhist and Jain scripture too find mention of Ayodhya. Professor D P Dubey, department of Ancient history art and archeology, Allahabad University told Oneindia, "Ayodhya was present at the time of Gautam Budhdha in its developed form. When Budhdhists made a settlement close to Ayodhya and called it Saket, Ayodhya was already there from very long. Saket was the city inhabited during the time of Budhdha. There are several Budhdhist scripture that talk about Ram like Budhacharit of Ashwaghos which describes about Ram's exile to the jungle in this book with a similar eloquent as of Valmiki Ramayan. Bhas in his Pratimanatakam also talks about Ayodhya. Actually, it was known as Koshal Prant of which Ayodhya was the capital during ancient time. Professor Dubey further said that the city is not only important to Hindus and Budhdhists but it is equally important to Jains whose first five Teerthankers were born in Ayodhya right from Aadinath while three were born in Varanasi. They too call it by the same name as Ayodhya. Ayodhya remains wherever it is but the name of district has been changed to Ayodhya. Now the name of Faizabad has been made Ayodhya which remains the same with all its importance and grandeur. [Let Ayodhya disputed site become playground for children, feel many residents] The district under which Ayodhya comes is Faizabad which is made up of two words faiz + abad. Faiz means gift or prize as the area was gifted and settlement was made by the person who had got the gift. The first Subedar (governor) of Awadh was Saadat Khan as the Mughal emperor of Delhi had made him the first governor of Awadh. He had gone there in 1722 and had set up the city that he had got as prize and named it as Faizabad. So a small establishment was made 7-8 kilometers away from the ancient Ayodhya so both the places are different and are at a certain distance. His son-in-law Safdar Jung was constantly busy fighting battles. But its development was actually started by Safdar Jung but done during the time of Sujauddaula when major development took place like erecting new buildings and Gulab Badi etc. [Yogi in Ayodhya: Faizabad district to be called Ayodhya] But in 1775 the capital of Awadh was transferred from Faizabad to Lucknow as wives and mother of Suzaudaula had captured most of the buildings and land in the city. So the administrative headquarters became Lucknow leaving Faizabad as any other city but its important is only for Ayodhya. So the new district is made Ayodhya. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 22:30 [IST] BJP's varied data about providing employment in Rajasthan being mocked India oi-Vinod Kumar Shukla New Delhi, Nov 10: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan has claimed providing around 44 lakh jobs in the state in past five years which was one of the most important commitment made by the state government in the last elections. But the claim made through twitted is not only being disputed but the government claim is mocked by many. Recently the national president of the BJP Amit Shah has claimed in Bidla Auditorium while addressing worker of Shakti Kendra that the state government provided around 26 lakh jobs and similar statement was given by state chief minister Vasundhara Raje. State BJP president Madan Lal Saini has given the figure at 35 lakh when he said that 35 lakh youths have been provided job by the Rajasthan government. [BJP to retain MP, Chhattisgarh, Cong will take Rajasthan: Survey] Sources said that the state BJP president did not talk about only government employment but said that after the implementation of skill development programme, the number of people getting employed reached to 35 lakh. But as per the government data only 2.70 lakh youths have got employment in the state in past five years. The BJP in its 2013 election manifesto made a commitment of providing employment to 15 lakh youths but people are taking dig on the BJP after the tweet about employment. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 21:43 [IST] Chhattisgarh polls: Rahul attacks Raman Singh on chit fund, PDS scams India oi-Deepika S Raipur, Nov 10: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Chief Minister Raman Singh of direct involvement in Rs 36,000 Crore PDS scam and Rs 5,000 crore chit-fund scam. Addressing a rally in poll-bound state's Kanker, the Congress chief also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not taking action against the chief minister's son. "Modi ji says he's fighting against corruption. But when he comes to Chhattisgarh he doesn't tell you the CM is corrupt. Your Rs 5000 Cr disappeared in chit-fund scam, 310 FIRs were registered but no action was taken because CM was involved," Gandhi said. "Raman Singh's son's name appears in Panama Papers but no action is taken against him because CM Raman Singh and Modi are corrupt , he said adding that If the CM doesn't want to answer that then he should explain to the people of Chhattisgarh why is no action taken against his son, whose name appeared in Panama papers? In Pakistan the PM is jailed because his name appeared in Panama papers. Chhattisgarh Assembly Polls: Amit Shah releases BJP's manifesto Raking up the infamous PDS scam, the Gandhi scion claimed that a diary was recovered during the investigations. In the diary, it was mentioned that "Money was paid to CM madame and Dr Sahab". "2nd is PDS Scam. Rs 36,000 Cr of the people of Chhattisgarh was looted. Diary mili, diary mein likha tha 'CM Madam ko paisa diya. Dr sahab ko paisa diya.' I ask Raman Singh ji who is this CM Madam and Dr sahab whose names were found in the diary in connection with the scam," he said. Survey gives majority to Cong in Rajasthan, MP; close fight in Chhattisgarh, Mizoram "CM Raman Singh had promised MSP of Rs 2100 for paddy, but today, farmers get only Rs 1500. Congress govt will provide MSP of Rs 2500 for paddy. We will also give bonus to farmers that BJP promised and failed to fulfill," he added. The campaigning for the first phase will end on Saturday. The first phase on November 12 will see 18 seats of eight Maoist-affected districts go to polls. Of these, 12 are Scheduled Tribe seats while one is a Scheduled Caste-reserved seat. The remaining 72 constituencies will go to polls on November 20 and counting of votes will be held on December 11. A total of 1,291 candidates are in the fray for the two-phased state polls. Congress MLA slams CM, Dy CM for skipping Tipu Jayanti event India oi-Chennabasaveshwar P Bengaluru, Nov 10: Congress MLA Tanveer Sait slammed Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Dy CM Dr Parameshwara for skipping Tipu Jayanti celebrations. Tanveer Sait said they have insulted the religion by giving the event a miss. Karnataka marks Tipu Jayanti amid tight security; several BJP leaders detained HD Kumaraswamy stayed away citing health reasons. In a statement, the CM's office said that Kumaraswamy would not take part in any official function for the next three days in view of doctor's advise. "On the advice of doctors, the chief minister will take three days rest till November 11. He will spend time with family on these days and there will be no official engagements on these days," the communique said. Minister for Minority Welfare, Haj and Wakf B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan said the chief minister had told officials before hand that he would be away for medical check-up and hence, his name should not be mentioned in the invitation. Karnataka Minority Welfare Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan met former CM Siddaramaiah at his residence in Bengaluru today. #TipuJayanthi celebrations are being observed by the state govt today. pic.twitter.com/IakUU4o8zQ ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 G Parameshwara flew to Singapore to visit former Minister C.Channigappa who is hospitalised there. In the end, Food and Civil Supplies Minister B. Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan led the event as government representative. In Madikeri, Kodagu district in-charge minister S.R.Mahesh (JD-S) also stayed away from the official event. The district is the hotbed of BJP protests. Yogiji, Ram statue is not need of the hour The birth anniversary celebrations of Tipu Sultan, the 18th century ruler of the princely state of Mysore, have been held on November 10 by the state government since 2016. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 13:38 [IST] Congress to release manifesto by early 2019, says Rajeev Gowda India oi-Chennabasaveshwar P Bengaluru, Nov 10: The Congress party is set to release its manifesto for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in February or March next year. Rajya Sabha MP Prof. Rajeev Gowda in a press conference held in KPCC office, said, " The AICC research wing is collecting suggestions in every state. The Manifesto Committee will be conducting consulting events till at the end of the year or 2019 January. By February-March, the manifesto will be ready. We are expecting elections in April-May. If time permits, we want as many towns/city possible." "We value and welcome suggestions from all walks of life. Dignitaries, students and also common people are taking part in this exercise. We are confident that if Mahaghatbandhan became a reality our Common Minimum Programme will be agreed upon by our partners, " said Rajeev Gowda who is Chairman, AICC Research Department. Survey gives majority to Cong in Rajasthan, MP; close fight in Chhattisgarh, Mizoram The Manifesto Committee, under the Chairmanship of former Union Minister P Chidambaram, has been holding consultation events for the last one month. Prof. Rajeev Gowda is the Convenor of the committee. Since October 1, 2018, and over the next two months the 20 working groups of the Manifesto Committee including senior party leaders like Shri. P Chidambaram, Shri. Shashi Tharoor, Shri. Jairam Ramesh, Shri Anand Sharma, Prof. Rajeev Gowda, Prof. Balachandra Mugenkar, Kum. Selja, Kum. Meenakshi Natarajan, Adv. Bindhu Krishna, Shri Manpreet Singh Badal, among others will hold a series of public meetings and closed-door expert consultations. People can send their inputs: The committee already completed many consultation events like Ex-Servicemen, MSME's, Education, Environment, SC/ST and OBC, Healthcare, Food Security and Nutrition, and Banking in cities like Aligarh, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Mangalore, Guwahati, Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Vishakapatnam, and other cities across the country. Also, urges the public to send their inputs to manifesto@inc.in or through its Website: manifesto.inc.in. In this consultation, the party received valuable suggestions from representatives of various organisations for the "People's Manifesto". For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 18:50 [IST] Hawkings 117-page dissertation Properties of expanding universes from 1965 sold for 584,750 pounds. Famed for his work exploring the origins of the universe, Hawking died in March at the age of 76 after spending most of his life confined to a wheelchair with motor neurone disease. A motorized wheelchair used by the late British physicist Stephen Hawking sold at auction on Thursday for almost 300,000 pounds ($391,740.00) while a dissertation raised nearly twice that at a sale to raise money for charity. Famed for his work exploring the origins of the universe, Hawking died in March at the age of 76 after spending most of his life confined to a wheelchair with motor neurone disease. Some of his belongings including essays, medals, awards and a copy of his book a Brief History of Time signed with a thumbprint were sold online on Thursday alongside letters and manuscripts belonging to Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein. Hawkings 117-page dissertation Properties of expanding universes from 1965 sold for 584,750 pounds, well ahead of the estimate of up to 150,000. Medals and awards sold for 296,750 pounds, compared with an estimate of 15,000 pounds, while the red motorized wheelchair sold for 296,750 pounds, also compared with an estimate of 15,000 pounds. Auction house Christies ran the nine-day online auction called On the Shoulders of Giants to raise money for the Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association. It also offered fans of the physicist known for his electronic voice synthesizer a chance to buy some of his possessions. Stephen Hawking was a huge personality worldwide. He had this amazing ability to connect with people, Thomas Venning, head of the Books and Manuscripts department at auction house Christies London, told Reuters ahead of the event. Cracks within coalition widen over Tipu Jayanti, DK Shivakumar comes to the rescue India oi-Vikas SV Bengaluru, Nov 10: Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and his deputy G Parameshwara giving Tipu Jayanti event a miss has sent the political temperature soaring in Karnataka. Tipu Sultan is a controversial figure and Congress' move to venerate him is being seen as an attempt to appease the minority. While the right-wing groups and the BJP see Tipu as a tyrant who murdered Hindus, Congress sees him as a freedom fighter and a patriot who fought the British. With Kumaraswamy giving Tipu event a miss, the speculations are rife yet again that all is not well in the Congress-JD (S) coalition in Karnataka. Congress MLA Tanveer Sait asked why Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, who is a Congress leader, could not attend the event. He said it was an insult to the community. Congress leader DK Shivakumar came to the coalition's rescue and said he does not agree with what Sait has said. "It can't be an insult. Karnataka Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister are occupied with their issues. We are also part of the govt. I don't agree with my friend Tanveer Sait," Shivakumar said. The BJP has not only been branding Tipu Sultan as a 'tyrant' and a 'mass murderer', it has also tried to highlight Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and his deputy G Parameshwara giving Tipu event a miss. With Sait openly expressing displeasure over G Parameshwara not attending the event, the BJP will most likely sharpen its attack on the Congress-JD (S) coalition government. [Karnataka marks Tipu Jayanti amid tight security; several BJP leaders detained] "I have information that Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy couldn't attend the Tipu Jayanti celebrations due to health issues. Deputy CM G Parameshwara also couldn't attend. Somewhere it seems like it's an insult to the community. There's no doubt about it," Tanveer Sait had said. BJP has already alleged that Kumaraswamy was skipping the Tipu Sultan celebrations event because of differences with the coalition partner. While Cong-JDS govt is celebrating a tyrant Tippu, the CM himself goes into hiding, what is the point of celebrating a fanatic when CM himself abandons a govt function. Glorifying a mass murderer just for vote bank clearly shows mindset of this govt, the BJP had tweeted earlier today. [Tipu killed thousands of Christians and Hindus, how can Congress glorify him: Javadekar] Meanwhile, hours before the celebrations on Saturday, protests broke out in Madikeri against the state-sponsored Tipu Jayanti event, with protesters and police personnel clashing. Congress' Brijesh Kalappa alleged that the protest was sponsored by the BJP. Section 144 has been imposed in the area after the protests. Security has been tightened in Madikeri town in the light of a shutdown called in the town against Saturday's Tipu Jayanti celebrations. The shutdown has been called by various organisations such as the BJP and the Codava National Council.The police have detained various groups members protesting against Tipu Jayanti celebrations in Madikeri. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 20:29 [IST] No Bitcoin scam, says ruling BJP; No foul play in investigation: Bengaluru police Bengaluru Apartment Fire Accident Today: Fire breaks out at building in Electronic City, no causality reported Ambident Group bribery case: Bengaluru's Crime Branch questions Janardhan Reddy India oi-Chennabasaveshwar P Bengaluru, Nov 10: Former Minister Janardhan Reddy, who was evading arrest in Ambidant Group alleged bribery case, arrived at CCB office on Saturday. Reddy arrived with his lawyer Chandrashekar at the CCB office. According to reports, Reddy arrived at CCB office from senior counsel Hanumantharaya's residence. Hunumantharaya's junior drove Reddy to CCB office. The CCB sleuths to record written and visual statements of Janardhan Reddy during questioning. The entire questioning procedure to be video recorded. Questioning of Janardhan Reddy is on. At appropriate time, appropriate decision will be taken as per provisions of law: Alok Kumar, Addl CP Crime, on Janardhan Reddy's questioning at Bengaluru's Crime Branch office in connection with Ambident Group alleged bribery case.#Karnataka pic.twitter.com/govyspLWjs ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2018 Earlier, he released a video from an undisclosed place. In the video, Janardhan Reddy claimed that he is in Bengaluru and has not gone anywhere. He added that lawyer Chandrashekar advised him on visiting the CCB to discuss the issue. Janardhan Reddy plays hide and seek as cops land in Hyderabad to nab him He said that the state government and CCB are trying to malign his image and the allegations made against are baseless. The Bengaluru CCB on Friday had issued notice the mining baron asking him to appear for inquiry on November 11. Also, the City Civil Court had adjourned Reddy's anticipatory bail plea to Monday. The case was adjourned after CCB sought time to file an objection. Goal is to serve country; time to focus on my journey in politics: Leander Paes Goa needs a new leader, CM Manohar Parrikar is unwell: Union minister India oi-PTI Panaji, Nov 10: Union Minister Shripad Naik Friday said a change in leadership in Goa is a "requirement" "today or tomorrow" considering the health of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. Parrikar has been undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment for several months now and arrived in the state on October 14 post hospitalisation at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. "We will have to have a change in leadership either today or tomorrow. It is a requirement. You all know that the chief ministers health is not well but still he is working under such circumstances," the Union AYUSH minister said on the sidelines of a press conference here to announce International Yoga Day. While there has been periodic talk about a change in leadership in the state, the BJP has consistently ruled it out. Parrikar suffering from pancreatic cancer, wants to be with family: Goa minister Naik is one of the first Goa BJP leaders to demand a change of leadership in Goa, even as the state BJP has come under immense flak over the CM's prolonged absence due to illness. Parrikar is in an advanced stage of pancreatic cancer and is resting at his Dona Paula residence in Goa. He hasn't attended his office at Porvorim since June and had been shuttling between New York, New Delhi and Goa for treatment. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 10:48 [IST] Issues pertain, but Congress to release first list for Telangana polls India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Hyderabad, Nov 10: The Congress in Telangana has decided to go ahead and announce the list of 74 candidates. The decision was taken despite the unhappiness expressed by its allies which have come together to take on the TRS in the Telangana assembly elections 2018. There still appears to be some disgruntlement among the allies comprising the Telugu Desam Party, TJS and CPI. The CPI has said that it would contest in 5 seats although 3 were allotted to it. 75 per cent say KCR will rule Telangana again: Poll The final round of talks would be held today by Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee Chief, Uttam Kumar Reddy and Telangana Congress in-charge, R C Khuntia with the alliance partners. The meeting would also be attended by AICC screening committee member, Jothimani Sennimalai. He has been directed by the high command to go to Hyderabad and assist in the talks. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 10:22 [IST] With 2 more arrests NIA steps up heat on terrorists targeting civilians in J&K Cleaning up the inside rot: The importance of gunning down Kashmirs white collared terrorists Hyderpora encounter: Bodies of two civilians exhumed, to be handed over to families J&K: 2 terrorists killed by security forces in Pulwama India oi-Deepika S Srinagar, Nov 10: At least two terrorists were gunned down on Saturday during an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. The militants were killed after a joint team of ADGP's 55RR, 180/183 BN CRPF & SOG cordoned-off the area. Army soldier killed in Pakistan sniper fire in J&K's Rajouri As the joint team of forces approached the suspected spot the hiding militants fired upon goverment forces triggering an encounter. A senior Police official said that contact has been established with the hiding militants and exchange of firing is going on. Earlier on Friday, at least one Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorist was killed by security forces in an encounter in Tral, Pulwama district. One police personnel had also sustained injuries. Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Dar-Ganiegund area of Tral, based on credible inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area. During the operation, a terrorist holed up in a house fired on the forces. In the retaliatory fire, the terrorist was gunned down. The body of the terrorist was recovered from the site along with incriminating materials including arms and ammunition. Maharashtra woman held captive for 16 months, raped and forced to bear child by couple Maharashtra: Woman mauled to death by wild animal, suspected to be tiger or leopard India oi-PTI Mumbai, Nov 10: A woman farm labourer was mauled to death by a wild animal, suspected to be a tiger or leopard, at a forest in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, police said on Saturday. Sakhubai Kasture, 55, a resident of Pendhri village in Chandrapur, located around 160 km from Nagpur, had gone to work at a farm in the forest on Friday, an official at Patri police station said. When she did not return home till late night, villagers launched a search and spotted her body in a forest area in Sawali tehsil on Saturday early morning, he said. There were injuries and animal marks on the body and some blood clots were also found on her clothes, he said. Tigress Avni killed: Post-mortem report reveals she hadn't eaten for days Pug marks of tiger and leopard were also noticed near the body, he said, adding that police and forest officials visited the spot and were investigating the incident. Tigers and leopards are often spotted in the forest area, he said. The Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, the oldest and largest national park in Maharashtra, is located in Chandrapur district. Tigress Avni killed: NGO writes to PM Modi, demands CBI probe Notably, a tigress named Avni, who was believed to have turned man-eater and killed 13 people in the last two years in Yavatmal district's Pandharkawda area, was shot dead in the Borati forest there last week. The killing led to outrage among animal lovers and wildlife organisations. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 15:26 [IST] Madhya Pradesh crisis over for now? Six back, four MLAs still missing Missing Sharda university student case handed over to J&K cops India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Nov 10: The Noida police have handed over a probe relating to a Kashmiri student joining a terror group to their counterparts in Jammu and Kashmir. The probe relates to one Ahtesham Bilal Sofi, 17, a resident of downtown Srinagar joining the Islamic State Jammu and Kashmir. He was a first year graduation student at Greater Noida's Sharda University. He went missing on October 28 after he left the university with official permission to go to Delhi, days after he was mistakenly roughed up during a scuffle between Indian and Afghan students in the campus. A missing complaint was registered in the case in Greater Noida as well as Srinagar, officials said. Sharada University student from Kashmir joins Islamic State J&K The Noida police had scanned the CCTV footage and even questioned several people about his whereabouts. It was found that he had left on his own will. The case now falls under the jurisdiction of the J&K police, officials said. A team of the police had returned from Srinagar recently after handing over the case files. The pictures on social media showed Sofi dressed in a black outfit and claimed he had joined terrorist group ISJK, an outfit influenced by ISIS ideology. The UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) said it has been tracking the case since October 28 and has taken cognisance of the photos. The Jammu and Kashmir police said they were "ascertaining" Sofi's presence in the Valley. The Gautam Buddh Nagar police, who had traced the last location of Sofi's mobile phone to terrorism-hit Pulwama district in South Kashmir, is also probing the matter. "A missing complaint was registered and police teams are working on the case," a senior official said. According to the police in Noida, Sofi had left for Srinagar from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport in the afternoon of October 28 and reached Pulwama a few hours later. They said his mobile phone details showed that he last spoke to his father, who lives in Srinagar, at 4.30 pm, when his location was traced to Pulwama. However, he had told his father that he was is Delhi and was returning to the university by metro, the police said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 6:42 [IST] The bridge has history In fact, the bridge was built to avoid traffic congestions after an unfortunate accident in which 28 school students died in an accident on the narrow Wazirabad bridge in 1997. Courtesy: ANI news To avoid traffic congestion Since then, the Delhi government had plans to build another parallel wide bridge nearby to alleviate traffic congestion. By the end of 1998, the Delhi government finalised the draft plan for this bridge. The bridge was inaugurated on 4 November 2018 by the Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal with the aim to ease the burgeoning traffic congestion on the existing Wazirabad bridge. Courtesy: ANI news If the Delhi government If the Delhi government should wake up before any mishaps from Signature bridge hit the headlines. If not, the main purpose behind the construction of an engineering marvel will go in vain. Courtesy: ANI news Signature Bridge during a laser show A view of the newly inaugurated Signature Bridge during a laser show, at Wazirabad in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov 4, 2018. The Signature Bridge, India's first asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge, will be opened for public from Monday, November 5, 2018. (PTI Photo/Vijay Verma) India's first asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge A view from the newly inaugurated Signature Bridge, at Wazirabad in New Delhi, Monday, Nov 5, 2018. The Signature Bridge, India's first asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge opened for public . (PTI Photo) AP EAPCET Round 1 seat allotment delayed again: New date to be announced soon Chandrababu Naidu cries at press meet; vows to step into Assembly again only after returning to power TDP leader killed over political revenge in Kurnool India oi-Chennabasaveshwar P Kurnool, Nov 10: A TDP Vice President of Devanakonda mandal was killed allegedly over political revenge in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh. Someshwar Goud, TDP Vice President of Devanakonda mandal, was killed allegedly over political revenge, in K. Venkatapuram village of Kurnool district. The police investigation is underway. 'Urban Naxals remote control naxals', says Modi in Jagdalpur rally Early this week, a local leader of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Narayana Reddy was allegedly stoned to death at Sultanpur village of Pargi in the state's Vikarabad district. The police have ruled out any political involvement and said personal enmity was the reason behind Narayana's killing. According to CNN-News18, he was "involved in a scuffle with a rival gang" in the village. Narayana's supporters have alleged that the Congress could be involved in his death, the report said. Narayana's death, just ahead of the Assembly elections, turned the political heat in Parigi constituency and also in the district, forcing police to deploy additional forces all over Parigi and intensify patrolling. Telangana elections: KCR returns in style and here is how he did it Telangana polls: TJS to contest with Cong symbol? What the laws state India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Hyderabad, Nov 10: The Telangana Jana Samithi candidates are likely to contest the Telangana elections under the Congress symbol-the hand. The TJS candidates are unlikely to contest under their party symbol, which is a matchbox. Leaders of both the TJS and Congress met with the Central Election Commission officials in New Delhi and sought an opinion to this effect. They wanted to discuss the legal issues behind this. Telangana polls: Illicit cash being transported in police vehicles? They sought to know if the candidates would be treated as TJS or Congress legislators, if they won. The EC officials told them that this would be decided by the speaker of the legislative assembly. The Congress is understood to have advised the TJS candidates to contest on the hand symbol as people were more familiar with it. The symbol is known to all when compared to the symbol of the TJS, the Congress leaders also said. While the TJS is yet to take a decision in this regard, the Congress continues to insist that the candidates use its symbol in the forthcoming elections. In the event of these candidates winning on the hand symbol, they would not attract the anti-defection law in so far as quitting the alliance is concerned. This is however subject to the Speaker recognising them as a separate group. Issues pertain, but Congress to release first list for Telangana polls It may be recalled that in the 1983 elections in Andhra Pradesh, the Sanjay Vichar Manch contested 5 seats under the symbol of the TDP. Following the elections they were considered as a separate group in the assembly. Officials say that if any political party in a pre-poll alliance wants to contest with another party's symbol, the election commission will allot a common symbol. The candidates however in the B-form would have to mention which party they belong to. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 13:34 [IST] In the audience to the members of the Pontifical Council for International Eucharistic Congresses, Pope Francis urges the next Eucharistic Congress in Budapest (in 2020) to be a witness in modern and secularized society, where faith has become marginal. "Spreading a "Eucharistic culture", of "communion", "service", "mercy" in a Europe sick with indifference". Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The Eucharist " paschal mystery that can enhance the baptized as individuals, but also the earthly city in which they live and work ": said Pope Francis this morning meeting the participants in the plenary session of the Pontifical council for international Eucharistic Congresses, about to prepare for 2020 the Eucharistic Congress in Budapest (Hungary). In this "great European city" the Eucharistic event will meet the challenges of secularized modernity and a globalization that risks eliminating the unique features of a rich and variegated history", of the Church and of the congresses, which have been taking place for over 100 years. "What does it mean - asks Francis - to celebrate a Eucharistic Congress in the modern and multicultural city, where the Gospel and the forms of religious affiliation have become marginal?". The answer: "in a Europe sick with indifference and crossed by divisions and closures", it means spreading a "Eucharistic culture", of three attitudes. The first is "communion": " Communion with Christ is the real challenge facing Eucharistic pastoral activity, since it entails helping the faithful to communicate with Jesus present in the Sacrament in order to live in him and with him in charity and mission. A powerful contribution to this is also made by Eucharistic worship outside of Mass, which has always been an important moment in these ecclesial gatherings. Prayer of adoration teaches us not to separate Christ the Head from his Body, our sacramental communion with him from our communion with his members and from the missionary commitment that follows from this". The second attitude is "service": "The Eucharistic community, communicating to the fate of Jesus Servant, becomes itself" servant ". The Pope explains that "Christians serve the cause of the Gospel by entering the places of weakness and the cross to share and heal" and lists some of these places: " We think of families in difficulty, young people and adults without work, the sick and the elderly who are abandoned, migrants experiencing hardship and acts of violence, and so many other forms of poverty". In all, "the baptized spread the seeds of a Eucharistic culture by becoming servants of the poor, not in the name of an ideology but of the Gospel itself, which becomes a rule of life for individuals and communities. We see this in the constant witness borne by so many saints of charity, men and women alike ". The third attitude is "mercy": " Everyone laments the corrosive river of misery flowing through our society. It is made up of different kinds of fear, oppression, arrogance, cruelty, hatred, forms of rejection and lack of concern for the environment, not to mention others. And yet, Christians realize every Sunday that this swollen river is powerless against the ocean of mercy that inundates our world. Mercy thus enters the veins of this world and helps to form the image and structure of the People of God suited to our modern age". Karnataka marks Tipu Jayanti amid tight security; several BJP leaders detained India oi-Deepika S Bengaluru, Nov 10: The Karnataka government Saturday celebrated the birth anniversary of the controversial 18th century ruler of the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom, Tipu Sultan, bringing the state under a thick security blanket amid threats of protest by the BJP and many Hindu outfits. Meanwhile, Speculations are rife about cracks within the alliance government as Chief Minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy has decided to skip the state event to celebrate birth anniversary of erstwhile Mysuru's ruler, Tipu Sultan, on Saturday. BJP has alleged that Kumaraswamy was skipping the Tipu Sultan celebrations event because of differences with the coalition partner. While Cong-JDS govt is celebrating a tyrant Tippu, the CM himself goes into hiding, what is the point of celebrating a fanatic when CM himself abandons a govt function. Glorifying a mass murderer just for vote bank clearly shows mindset of this govt, the BJP tweeted. CM @hd_kumaraswamy Missing! While Cong-JDS govt is celebrating a tyrant Tippu, the CM himself goes into hiding, what is the point of celebrating a fanatic when CM himself abandons a govt function. Glorifying a mass murderer just for vote bank clearly shows mindset of this govt. BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) November 10, 2018 Many BJP legislators have asked the Congress-JD(S) government to not invite them for the function celebrating the 18th-century ruler's birth anniversary. The BJP and right-wing organisations believe that Tipu Sultan was a "bigot" and "anti-Hindu" even as the Congress honours him for fighting against the British. Protests erupt; several detained Meanwhile, hours before the celebrations on Saturday, protests broke out in Madikeri against the state-sponsored Tipu Jayanti event, with protesters and police personnel clashing. Congress' Brijesh Kalappa alleged that the protest was sponsored by the BJP. Section 144 has been imposed in the area after the protests. Tipu Jayanti: CM to take rest, Karnataka on high alert Security has been tightened in Madikeri town in the light of a shutdown called in the town against Saturday's Tipu Jayanti celebrations. The shutdown has been called by various organisations such as the BJP and the Codava National Council.The police have detained various groups members protesting against Tipu Jayanti celebrations in Madikeri. BJP leaders raise slogans after being barred from entering venue of Coorg celebrations The Coorg district administration on Saturday stopped BJP taluk panchayat members from entering the venue where Tipu Jayanti celebrations were ongoing, as they arrived without an invitation. Madikeri MLA MP Appachu Ranjan, MLC Sunil Subramani and others even wore black clothes in protest. Virajpet MLA KG Bopaiah, 21 others detained The police detained Virajpet MLA KG Bopaiah and 21 other leaders for obstructing Tipu Jayanti celebrations being organised by the area's taluk administration, The previous Congress government, led by Siddaramaiah, began celebrating "Tipu Jayanti" on November 10 every year since 2015, amid stiff opposition by the BJP, several Hindu organisations and some individuals. Widespread protests and violence had marred the celebrations during the first two years. Anant Kumar Hegde not invited for Tipu Jayanti celebrations Tipu was a ruler of Mysore and considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces. While BJP and some Hindu outfits see Tipu as a "religious bigot" and a "brutal killer", some Kannada outfits call him anti-Kannada, saying that he had promoted Persian at the cost of the local language. Tipu killed thousands of Christians and Hindus, how can Congress glorify him: Javadekar India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, Nov 10: Amid massive protests and uproar over the state-sponsored Tipu Jayanti event in Karnataka, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar has fired a fresh salvo at the Congress. The BJP has not only been branding Tipu Sultan as a 'tyrant' and a 'mass murderer', it has also tried to highlight Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and his deputy G Parameshwara giving Tipu event a miss. Stepping up the attack on Congress, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar asked how can the grand old party glorify someone who has killed thousands of Hindus and Christians. "To hold a state govt event on Tipu Sultan Jayanti who is a symbol of hatred, is surprising. We want to ask Congress how the one who destroyed Churches and temples and killed thousands of Christians and Hindus, is praised in a state govt event?" Javadekar said. BJP has alleged that Kumaraswamy was skipping the Tipu Sultan celebrations event because of differences with the coalition partner. While Cong-JDS govt is celebrating a tyrant Tippu, the CM himself goes into hiding, what is the point of celebrating a fanatic when CM himself abandons a govt function. Glorifying a mass murderer just for vote bank clearly shows mindset of this govt, the BJP tweeted. [Karnataka marks Tipu Jayanti amid tight security; several BJP leaders detained] Meanwhile, hours before the celebrations on Saturday, protests broke out in Madikeri against the state-sponsored Tipu Jayanti event, with protesters and police personnel clashing. Congress' Brijesh Kalappa alleged that the protest was sponsored by the BJP. Section 144 has been imposed in the area after the protests. Security has been tightened in Madikeri town in the light of a shutdown called in the town against Saturday's Tipu Jayanti celebrations. The shutdown has been called by various organisations such as the BJP and the Codava National Council.The police have detained various groups members protesting against Tipu Jayanti celebrations in Madikeri. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 19:22 [IST] Is the Congress govt in MP on the verge of a collapse Verma vs Asthana: How the CBI officers countered the allegations levelled against each other India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Nov 10: CBI director, Alok Verma who appeared before the Central Vigilance Commission denied all charges of corruption levelled against him. He gave a point wise refusal to all the charges levelled against him by special director, Rakesh Asthana, who incidentally had followed him to the office of the CVC, but could not get an audience, officials said. Asthana came to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) office at around 4.45 PM and stayed there for around 10 minutes, but could not meet any senior official as there was no scheduled appointment. CBI wars: Acted against Asthana to maintain integrity of agency says Verma Verma is understood to have given point-wise refusal to all the allegations levelled by Asthana before the panel comprising Vigilance Commissioners T M Bhasin and Sharad Kumar, they said. Justice A K Patnaik, a retired Supreme Court judge, who has been asked by the Supreme Court to supervise the CVC inquiry was also present, the officials said. Verma came to the CVC office early Friday morning and stayed there for about an hour, they said. He did not speak to the media waiting outside the CVC office. Meanwhile, Rakesh Asthana in his defence stated that he was in London in December 2017, when the alleged bribery incident with businessman Satish Sana involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi took place. The Supreme Court had on October 26 asked the Central Vigilance Commission to complete within two weeks its inquiry into the allegations against Verma levelled by Asthana. The two-week time limit ends on Sunday and the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the matter on Monday. Feuding officers Verma and Asthana have been sent on leave by the government. Besides Verma, Asthana also had on Thursday met Chowdary. Asthana, who also met Vigilance Commissioner Sharad Kumar on Thursday, is understood to have given documentary evidence in support of his charges levelled against Verma, the officials said. On Friday, the CBI Special Director again visited the CVC office. "He could not meet Central Vigilance Commissioner Chowdary or any of the Vigilance Commissioners as they, along with other senior officials of the commission, were in a meeting," one of the officials said, requesting anonymity. CVC violating rules, PMO trying to influence autonomous bodies: Kharge The Commission had recently examined some CBI officials probing crucial cases which figured in Asthana's complaint of corruption against the probe agency's chief Verma, they said. The officials said CBI personnel from the rank of inspector up to superintendent of police were called and their versions recorded before a senior CVC official. These officials, who had recorded their statements included those who had handled the Moin Qureshi bribery case, IRCTC scam involving former railway minister Lalu Prasad, and the cattle smuggling case in which a senior BSF officer was caught with wands of cash in Kerala. The feud between Verma and Asthana escalated recently leading to registration of an FIR against the latter and others including Deputy Superintendent of Police Devender Kumar, who is in CBI custody in an alleged bribery case. The CBI had on October 15 registered the FIR against Asthana for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 2 crore from Hyderabad-based businessman Sana Sathish Babu which was given through two middlemen Manoj Prasad and Somesh Prasad to sabotage the probe against meat exporter Moin Qureshi. On August 24, Asthana, in his complaint to the Cabinet Secretary, had levelled allegations against Verma that he got a bribe of Rs two crore from Sana to help him get some relief from questioning in the matter. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 15:19 [IST] VHP to organise a rally on December 9 in Delhi; a week-long public awakening from December 18 India oi-Vinod Kumar Shukla New Delhi, Nov 10: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) plans to celebrate the occasion of demolition of Babri structure on Gita Jayanti instead of December 6 that they call Shaurya Diwas. The demolition took place on Gita Jayanti. The VHP has now decided to follow Vikram calendar for all its programmes. The day of demolition on December 6 1992 being on Gita Jayanti, so public awakening for the construction of Ram Temple will start from December 18 (Gita Jayanti) to December 26 across the country. The VHP also has a plan to organise a rally in Delhi on December 9. Vishwa Hindu Parishad spokesperson Vinod Bansal told Oneindia, "Initially the programme of public awakening has been decided for a week but it is likely to go one till we reach out to maximum number of people. In this week-long programme spiritual powers will be invoked as per instructions from our revered saints." Advani celebrates his 91st birthday; the BJP has come a long way from two to 282 seats Bansal said, "This programme is the last of the four tier programme decided by saints on October 5 in Delhi and will take place after the programme of meeting with MPs is over. We will be visiting every household to appeal every Hindu to organise religious rituals to support construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya as per their own belief wherever they want to do it be it at home, temple and public place. Jains, Budhdhists, Sikhs, Valmikis. Arya Samajis and Therapanthi all sects belonging to larger Hindu umbrella will be participating in this programme." The VHP has also decided to organise three big rallies in three different parts of the country - one in Ayodhya, the other in Bengaluru and one in Nagpur - on October 25 together in which lakhs of people will participate. It has also been decided organising a huge rally in Delhi on December 9. The VHP has plans to show its strength in the Delhi rally to the government that now people are really angry with delay in construction of Ram Temple. The VHP has already started its public awakening programme across the country which was decided by saints on October 5 in Delhi. They had met President of India Ram Nath Kovind immediately after the meeting. They have already met governors in October and meeting with MPs cutting across party lines just started. On Sardar Patel's birthday, VHP wants a Somnath for Ram Temple from Chhote Sardar Bansal said, "The public awakening programme has been given a week's time but it is expected to continue at least for a month. The month of December will be spent on these programmes. Meanwhile, Awadheshanand Giri Mahraj has decided to go on hunger strike from December 6 for demand of construction of Ram Temple. If no result has been achieved till that time saints will decide the next course of action at the Dharma Sansad on January 31 and February 1 at Prayagraj during Kumbh Mela where lakhs of saints will gather." For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 11:44 [IST] Our Lady of Remedies Church The Christians of Mangalore still do not forget that the torture and oppression carried out by Tippu Sultan. The Our Lady of Remedies Church Kirem church bears testimony to the story of oppression carried out by Tipu Sultan. Tipu Jayanti: CM to take rest, Karnataka on high alert The bloodshed in coastal Karnataka: According to historical records, Tippu is said to have demolished 25 churches out of 27 along the coastal line of Mangalore. He built Bawutegudde mosque using the stones of demolished churches in Mangalore. The Catholic Association claims that Tipu had imprisoned over 50,000 Catholics on the suspicion that they were spies of the British. Several Catholics have also raised the point that Tipu was responsible for the death of nearly 4,000 Catholics. The Christians who were apprehended by Tipu Sultan's soldiers were slaughtered on the way to Srirangaptna. The Catholics till date observe one day of mourning for those who died as a result of Tipu Sultan's actions. Anant Kumar Hegde not invited for Tipu Jayanti celebrations Church saved by Hindu families The Our Lady of Remedies Church Kirem was attacked by Tipu Sultan's army in 1784. Then three families of the local 'Banta' community succeeded in foiling the attack. The local Christians still grateful to Hindu families who stopped the destruction of the church. Till date, the family members of three Bant community are honoured by Our Lady of Remedies Church Kirem which is 30 km from Mangalore. This church is one of the oldest churches in Mangalore Diocese, which is under the Aikala Grama Panchayat. BJP Party leaders protest Various groups protesting against Tipu Jayanti celebrations in Madikeri offer prayers at Sri Omkareshwara Temple in the town. They will then carry out a procession against the celebrations, which are being observed in the state today. BJP Party leaders and workers raise slogans against the State Government as they oppose the celebration of 'Tipu Jayanti', in Bengaluru, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (PTI Photo) Yogiji, Ram statue is not need of the hour India oi-Chennabasaveshwar P Bengaluru, Nov 10: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the auspicious day of Diwali confirmed that Ayodhya will get a statue of Lord Ram, but he did not provide any fresh details on the project. Yogiji, who is in buoyant mood after PM Modi inaugurated the statue of Sardar Patel in Gujarat, said, "The statue (Lord Ram) will be placed indoors, inside a temple. It will be a grand statue and it will become a signpost for Ayodhya." He stated that the statue will be a 'tourist attraction' in Ayodhya. Looks like the Centre and the state BJP government are in competition to woo Hindu constituency in the country and Uttar Pradesh respectively. The project was proposed by Yogi Adityanath after the central government earmarked funds for 'Ramayana museum' in Ayodhya in 2016. Let Ayodhya disputed site become playground for children, feel many residents As per the Central Government, the museum will be a part of the Ramayana circuit for which the Centre has sanctioned Rs.225 crore, with Rs.151 crore exclusively for Ayodhya, which is the hub of the circuit. The state government has identified a 25-acre plot for the museum which is some 15 km away from the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid complex. Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma during his visit Ayodhya in 2016, (few months before UP assembly elections) played down the political agenda behind the proposed project. Yogi Adityanath may announce Ram statue during grand Ayodhya Diwali celebrations What surprises is when the political and legal fight is on for Ram temple, another grand statue for Lord Ram in Uttar Pradesh sounds unnecessary. Or looks like an attempt to console Hindu-right wingers who are increasingly growing impatient with the delay in the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya dispute. Development of historical sites is the duty of the government but that can be done without proposing grand statues, especially in a state like Uttar Pradesh considered as one of the poorest states of the country. World Bank report published in 2016, Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India and is home to 200 million people, 60 million are poor. The pace of poverty reduction in the state has been slower than the rest of the country. The central and eastern districts, in particular, have very high levels of poverty. According to the UNDP report released in the month of October, multidimensional poverty is particularly acute -- and significant -- in the four states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh ( BJP is in alliance with JDU in Bihar and three other states are ruled by BJP). These accounted for 196 million *MPI poor people -- more than half of all MPI poor in India. Given the harsh reality of poverty in UP, another round of spending on statue looks a misplaced priority. * The MPI looks beyond income to understand how people experience poverty in multiple and simultaneous ways. It identifies how people are being left behind across three key dimensions: health, education and living standards, and 10 indicators - nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, school attendance, sanitation, cooking fuel, drinking water, electricity, housing and assets. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 8:34 [IST] India concerned? After Pakistan, Sri Lanka, China to set up port in Myanmar now International oi-Shubham Ghosh Beijing, Nov 10: China has decided to set up yet another port in India's vicinity and the strategic move will certainly make India's foreign-policy decision-makers anxious. Beijing is set to develop a multi-billion-dollar deep sea port in Myanmar's Kyaukpyu town in Rakhine state in western Myanmar along the Bay of Bengal. China and Myanmar signed the deal on Thursday, November 8, which was stuck for years because of financial reasons. The port at Kyaukpyu is the third the Chinese are influencing close to India, after the Gwadar Port in Pakistan which they have helped building and the Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka which they have taken for lease for 99 years. It is also funding a port at Chittagong in Bangladesh, another of India's neighbours. Poop in hand, Bill Gates backs China's toilet revolution The Chinese media said the port deal with Myanmar was a significant step under the BRI initiative and informed that China will fund 70 per cent of the project while the responsibility of the remaining part will be taken up locally. "The signing of the framework agreement marks a significant step for the port project, which has been stalled since 2015, and for the continued implementation of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has come under increased scrutiny because of cases such as the Kyaukpyu port project," a report in the country's Global Times said. India has long been concerned over China's plans to expand its influence in South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region and eclipse New Delhi's shadow in these areas. Consequently, it has grown closer to India's various neighbours in the region including Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal and Bangladesh while it always had a good relation with Pakistan. India and China are also in a race to gain the upper edge in influencing the Indian Ocean region by befriending various Asian and African states in the region. China: Employees made to drink urine, cockroaches, whip each other for failing sales target However, it seems the Chinese have been playing the game more proactively while India has a catching up to do. However, some of the smaller countries that China has eyed to win over under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have also expressed worry over falling into a debt trap from which they might find it impossible to come out. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 12:21 [IST] Collapse of Kabul will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history: Donald Trump Trump is never short of opponents: US Prez targets French counterpart after reaching Paris International oi-Shubham Ghosh Paris, Nov 10: French President Emmanuel Macron has a peculiar relation with his American counterpart Donald Trump. While the latter had hosted the former for his presidency's first state dinner in April this year, Macron was also heard once that his phone calls with Trump are like sausages and it is better not to know what's inside them. The two leaders had their differences over issues like Iran or climate change and here is the latest happening in their relationship and it is again a reason to feel less friendly towards each other. Trump, who landed in Paris on Friday, November 9, to commemorate the completion of a century since the conclusion of the First World War (1914-1918), revealed in a tweet soon after landing that he was not impressed with Macron. Michelle Obama slams Trump The reason? Trump felt Macron's suggestion that Europe build its own military to protect itself from countries like Russia, China and even the US was "very insulting" and asked Europe to first pay its fair share of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) which he said, is subsidised significantly by the US. President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018 Macron said on Europe 1 radio on Tuesday, November 7, the need for a "real European army" within the European Union, according to AFP. "We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America," he said. The French president also added that since Trump took over as the leader of the US, the latter has been a less reliable ally. CNN reporter barred by White House for confronting Trump finds support in media "When I see President Trump announcing that he's quitting a major disarmament treaty which was formed after the 1980s euro-missile crisis that hit Europe, who is the main victim? Europe and its security," he said, referring to Trump's announcement last month that the US would pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty which it had concluded with Russia in 1987 as a major step towards curbing arms race. Trump said this for he thought the Kremlin was not honouring the treaty. 'Trump took it out of context' A senior French official said Trump targeted Macron "out of context" and that the latter was likely to respond to the American president's tweet on Saturday, November 10, CNN reported. Now, US wants to cut off Iran from global banking system The official said Macron did not say about a European army but that Europe should form an army, adding that it is an idea complementary to Nato and not distinct from it, the CNN added. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, November 10, 2018, 12:41 [IST] by Melani Manel Perera New elections set for January 5. The parties accuse the president of having carried out two illegal acts: making Premier Wickremasinghe resign and dissolving the parliament. Concerns of US and Britain. Sri Lanka, the oldest democracy in Asia, "put to the test". Colombo (AsiaNews) - President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved parliament last night and called a general election for next January 5. Candidacies will be accepted between 19th and 26th November. The decision to dissolve the parliament took place after Sirisenas party, the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), realised it would not have majority support for the new prime minister, the former dictator Mahinda Rajapaksa, chosen by Sirisena to replace Ranil Wickremasinghe, who had refused to leave the post. The United National Party (UNP) of Wickremasinghe has criticized what it calls "two illegal acts" by the president: the resignation of Wickremasinghe and the dissolution of the parliament. The UNP has promised to bring the matter to the Supreme Court. The discontent towards the presidents illegality is also widespread in other parties. Vijitha Herath, of the JVC (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, Party for the Liberation of the People), has accused Sirisena of being "anti-democratic". "It is the first time in history [of Sri Lanka] - he said - that such a crisis has happened and that the country's highest authroity does not respect the fundamental law". Criticism and concerns also come from the US State Department and the British government. In a tweet, Jayathma Wickramanayake, a youth representative at the UN, recalls that Sri Lanka is the oldest democracy in Asia. " Constitution & Democratic institutions are challenged. Few old men behind closed doors are deciding the countrys fate". The data is collected in a study by the Brown University and examines the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan. The author, Neta Crawford, a professor in Boston denounces that data "are hidden by governments, determined to paint an overly optimistic picture". Iraq is the place with the highest number of victims: at least 300 thousand, of which 200 thousand civilians. Washington (AsiaNews / OLJ) - The war that the United States and its allies launched against terrorism in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan has caused between 480,000 and 507,000 dead, with an enormous number of civilians, according to a report published two days ago by the Brown University (Rodhe Island). The study examines the wars that the US launched since September 11, 2001 (terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York), first in Afghanistan against the Taliban; then in Iraq against Saddam Hussein and, after his fall, against Al Qaeda and then against the Islamic State; and therefore against Pakistani terrorists. The half a million deaths include the military, but also civilians, journalists, humanitarian workers, collateral victims of the conflicts. According to the report, Iraq is by far the site with the highest number of victims, with around 300,000 deaths recorded since 2003, the year of the anti-Saddam invasion. Of these, at least 200,000 are civilians: five times more than the dead in Afghanistan and eight times more than in Pakistan. The study does not take into consideration the conflict in Syria, which has made at least 500 thousand deaths of which more than half are civilians. And it does not even consider the war in Yemen, with nearly 20,000 deaths, which has links to the US war on terrorism, for spreading cells of the Islamic state in the Middle East. Neither does the toll take into consideration indirect victims of conflicts and the humanitarian and health consequences that derive from them and which last even beyond confrontation. On the American side, 7,000 soldiers died in anti-terrorist operations. The number of victims among US soldiers has fallen more and more because gradually "the United States - explains the report - have transferred most of the land fights to their allies". The author of the report, Neta Crawford, professor of political science at the University of Boston, says laconically that "we will never have a full toll of these wars" because the real data "is hidden by governments, determined to paint an overly optimistic picture ". Former PCUSA Moderator Advocates for "Activist" Who Harassed Palestinian Reformer | Main | 'Fake News' Catches Up With Haaretz's Chemi Shalev June 25, 2018 Media Largely Ignore Alleged Hamas Payment to Dead Baby's Family A New York Times caption which definitively claims that Layla Ghandour "fell ill after inhaling tear gas," despite the fact that the accompanying article itself acknowledges that the story involving tear gas was disputed Western media outlets have largely ignored a significant development in the story of eight-month-old Layla al-Ghandour of the Gaza Strip, whose May 15 death was widely reported when her family claimed that she accidentally ended up at the border clashes and was killed by Israel's use of tear gas. According to the indictment of Layla's relative, Mahmoud Omar, Hamas paid the family to claim that tear gas caused her death though the real culprit was a blood condition, which also killed her brother the year before. According to Haaretz ("Hamas Paid Gaza Family $2,200 to Blame Israel for Baby's Death, Indictment Says"): Under interrogation in Israel, Omar, who is Layla al-Ghandour's cousin, said Hamas leader Sinwar paid the baby's family 8,000 shekels ($2,200) to accuse Israel of the death of the 8-month-old. The claim came despite the fact that members of the family had previously said that she died of a blood disorder, a condition that the baby's six-month-old brother apparently also died of last year. When news surfaced of the claim that Layla al-Ghandour had died from inhaling tear gas, Israeli army officials cast doubt on the allegation, saying that the army had evidence that called the family's claim into question. According to the indictment against Omar, on the day that Layla al-Ghandour died, Omar's mother called him while he was participating in a demonstration near the border fence and told him about the child's death. Omar is said to have been told on returning home that the baby had died of the same blood disease that took the life of her brother. Numerous media outlets which dedicated entire stories to the disputed circumstances of Layla's death, and others which unequivocally blamed it on tear gas, despite the fact that the Associated Press had reported that a Gaza doctor noted the preexisting condition and expressed doubt that she was killed by tear gas, have ignored the new information concerning Hamas' alleged payment to the family. Exceptions to the vast majority of Western media outlets which ignored the development, UPI and Agence France Presse did commendably report that Omar said Hamas leader Yihya Sinwar paid his family to falsely blame Layla's death on tear gas. Posted by TS at June 25, 2018 05:53 AM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment Global Cloud Robotics Market Size, Share, Trends, SWOT Analysis, Professional Service, Latest trend, Top key players like Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Sorin, Overview and Forecast 2018-2023 http://www.qyreports.com/request-sample/?report-id=97999 http://www.qyreports.com/enquiry-before-buying/?report-id=97999 http://www.qyreports.com/ask-for-discount/?report-id=97999 www.qyreports.com Cloud robotics is a field of robotics that attempts to raise cloud technologies such as cloud computing, cloud storage, and other internet technologies centered on the benefits of converged infrastructure and shared services for robotics. Cloud robotics is an upcoming trend in the intelligent system of an industry.The Cloud robotics Market is expected to grow with a CAGR of +32.4% and is expected to Forecast Period. 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It provides overview and forecast of the global cloud robotics market based on by type, services, connectivity type and vertical.Table of Content:Cloud Robotics Market 2018Chapter 1: Industry Overview of l Cloud Robotics MarketChapter 2: Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of MarketChapter 3: Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Cloud Robotics MarketChapter 4: Overall Market Overview of Global Cloud Robotics MarketChapter 5: Global Cloud Robotics Market AnalysisChapter 6: Major Manufacturers Analysis of Cloud Robotics MarketChapter 7: Development Trend of Analysis of MarketChapter 8: Global Cloud Robotics Marketing Type AnalysisChapter 9: Conclusion of Global Cloud Robotics Market Report 2018Early buyers will receive up to 30% Discount on this report:About QYReports:We at QYReports.com, a leading market research report publisher cater to more than 4,000 prestigious clients worldwide meeting their customized research requirements in terms of market data size and its application. Our list of customers includes renounced Chinese companies multinational companies, SMEs and private equity firms. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering you accurate, in depth and reliable market insight, industry analysis and structure. QYResearchs specialize in forecasts needed for investing in an and execution of a new project globally and in Chinese markets.Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com Retail Analytics Market Trends Factor By Top Companies: Adobe, HCL Technologies, IBM, Information Builders, Microsoft, MicroStrategy, Oracle, Qlik, Salesforce, SAP, SAS, Tableau Software, Teradata, FLIR Brickstream, 1010data U.S. Retail Analytics Market Size, By Function, 2016 & 2024 ($Mn) https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/319 https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/319 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/retail-analytics-market www.gminsights.com Retail Analytics Market growth will be driven by increasing adoption of analytics solutions to help gain competitive advantage, reduce operational costs, and increase profitability. With the increasing technological advancements such as big data analytics, retailers are increasingly focusing on enhancing customer experience. Retailers are expected to use these solutions on a large scale, owing to ease in the decision-making process. Increasing penetration of data-intensive solutions, due to the increase in usage of e-commerce and social media will encourage retailers to adopt retail analytics market solutions.Retail analytics market is expected to grow at a significant rate, owing to the emerging e-commerce trend across the retail sector. The new generation of highly informed and demanding customers are encouraging the retailers to adopt technologies that will satisfy the evolving demands. The inclination of retailers to implement technologically advanced and intelligent solutions to attract new customers, retain old customers, and improve profit margins is expected to drive the retail analytics market growth.Request for a sample of this research report @Retail Analytics Market is set to exceed USD 13 billion, and is predicted to grow at around 19% CAGR from 2017 to 2024. Growth in demand for easy-to-use and easy-to-decipher solutions are compelling companies to implement modern technologies such as machine learning in the analytics software. The trend of extraction of consumer data from e-commerce portals and social networking websites to gather insights is expected to bode well for the market, owing to the increasing internet penetration.Growing demand for customized products and constantly changing consumer requirements is expected to drive the supply chain analytics software demand. Lack of inventory space has compelled retailers gather insights from the supply chain data to optimize operations and reduce costs. Reporting and visualization tools are anticipated to witness increase in demand, owing to the growing need to analyze data in an easy-to-read format in lesser time. Smart visual insights and implementation artificial intelligent dramatically reduces the time to insight and arrive at decision. Companies are inclined towards developing such tools that make data access and visualization easy contributing towards the retail analytics market growth.Company profiled in this report based on Business overview, Financial data, Product landscape, Strategic outlook & SWOT analysis:1. Adobe2. HCL Technologies3. IBM4. Information Builders5. Microsoft6. MicroStrategy7. Oracle8. Qlik9. Salesforce10. SAP11. SAS12. Tableau Software13. Teradata14. FLIR Brickstream15. 1010dataBy Function Customer management Merchandising In-store operations Supply chain Strategy & planningBy Solution Softwareo Data management softwareo Analytical toolso Mobile applicationso Reporting & visualization Serviceso Managedo professionalMake an inquiry for buying this report @The demand for on-premise solutions is expected to gain momentum from the small and unorganized retailers which is expected to drive the market. These solutions are ideal for the organization with limited customer foot-fall and limited geographical presence. Increasing competition among the solution providers has compelled them to introduce customized on-premise solutions that cater to specific demands of the retailers.The Asia Pacific retail analytics market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast timeframe, owing to the expansion of organized retail sector. In India, the exponential increase of e-commerce industry size and smartphones to buy consumer goods has prompted the need for data-driven business intelligence solutions. This has attracted big players such as HCL and IBM, in addition to the emergence of regional players including Manthan Systems, BRIDGEi2i Analytics Solutions, and Fractal Analytics.Some of the prominent vendors in the market include 1010data, Adobe, Bedrock Analytics, FLIR - Brickstream, HCL Technologies, IBM, Information Builders, Microsoft, MicroStrategy, Oracle, Qlik, Salesforce, SAP, SAS, Tableau Software, and Teradata.Browse key industry insights spread across 180 pages with 133 market data tables & 26 figures & charts from the report, Retail Analytics Market in detail along with the table of contents:About Global Market InsightsGlobal Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact UsArun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb: Global Vaginal Pessary Market 2023 Global Analysis By key Players CooperSurgical, MedGyn, Personal Medical Corp, Integra LifeSciences, Panpac Medical, Medesign, Smiths Medical, Thomas Medical, Kangge Medical, Dr. Arabin Vaginal Pessary Industry, Global Vaginal Pessary Market, Vaginal Pessary Market Size, Vaginal Pessary Industry Growth https://www.marketstudyreport.com/request-a-sample/1130719 https://www.marketstudyreport.com/check-for-discount/1130719 https://www.marketstudyreport.com https://www.marketstudyreport.com/blog/ The latest Global Vaginal Pessary Market Research Report 2023 contains complete Industry outlook, market manufacturers and key statistics analysis. The industry sales & Share, industrys trends are all discussed, explained and analyzed. It provides marketing strategy analysis, distributors/traders list, raw materials analysis, import and export analysis, Key success factors and Supply Chain Analysis.Request a sample of this premium report atPessary is device inserted into the vagina to support sagging organs that have dropped down (prolapsed) or to help control urine leakage.To treat POP, vaginal mesh is a medical device that is used to provide extra support when repairing weakened or damaged vaginal wall. Surgery can be done through the abdomen (transabdominal) or through the vagina (transvaginal).This report focuses on the Vaginal Pessary in global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.The global production volume of vaginal pessary was 9305 K Units in 2016. The two regions are expected to dominate both the production and consumption of vaginal pessary in the years to come. Overall, the vaginal pessary products performance is positive with the global economic recovery.The technical barriers of vaginal pessary are high, resulting in fewer manufacturing enterprises. For vaginal pessary market, the key players are CooperSurgical, MedGyn and Personal Medical Corp. The market of vaginal Pessary is more separated, with the top four players takes 37.53% of global production market share in 2016.In the past few years, the price of vaginal pessary has slightly increased and we expect the price will keep increase slightly as the growing of raw material cost.The application of vaginal pessary can be broadly classified as Stress Urinary Incontinence, Severe Pelvic Organ Prolapse, and Mild Pelvic Organ Prolapse in terms of function. Mild Pelvic Organ Prolapse is the major application of vaginal pessary which takes consumption share of 75.68% in 2016.Vaginal pessary can also replace surgery in Severe Pelvic Organ Prolapse occasions. Polypropylene mesh (PPM) was never shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of Pelvic Organ Prolapse.Although PPM had been used for decades in the treatment of abdominal hernias, it was dangerous to assume that it would be fine to use in the vagina. Generally, vaginal pessary is the most safe way for Pelvic Organ Prolapse in the current situation.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Vaginal Pessary Market, especially in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, types and applications.Vaginal Pessary Market Segment by Top Manufacturers Including: CooperSurgical MedGyn Personal Medical Corp Integra LifeSciences Panpac Medical Medesign Smiths Medical Thomas Medical Kangge Medical Dr. ArabinVaginal Pessary Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers:North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, covers Ring Pessary Shelf PessaryMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into: Mild Pelvic Organ Prolapse Stress Urinary Incontinence Severe Pelvic Organ ProlapseRequest a discount on standard prices of this premium report atThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Vaginal Pessary market.Chapter 1, to describe Vaginal Pessary Market Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Vaginal Pessary, with sales, revenue, and price of Vaginal Pessary, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Vaginal Pessary, for each region, from 2013 to 2018;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2013 to 2018;Chapter 12, Vaginal Pessary market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2018 to 2023;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Vaginal Pessary sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceAbout Us:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Contact Us:Market Study Report4 North Main Street,Selbyville, Delaware 19975USAPhone: 1-302-273-0910US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email:sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:Blog: By Lynne Hasselman The American aircraft carrier USS Lexington, known as the Lady Lex, was torpedoed and sunk more than 500 miles off Australia during the Battle of the Coral Sea some 76 years ago. More than 40 Oregonians were aboard May 8, 1942, when Japanese torpedo planes and dive bombers made a beeline for the Lady Lex. As the command came over the loudspeaker, "Pilots, man your planes," the Lady Lex's crews waited tensely for the signal to launch. In quick succession, they were signaled for takeoff and the planes ascended into the clear sky to find the Japanese. The blistering attack and its aftermath lasted more than six frantic hours. Nearly 2,800 enlisted men and officers worked to save their ship and one another. On this Veterans Day, at least three Oregonians remain entombed in the submerged wreck, finally located this year by an expedition funded by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen. That hot May morning, the Japanese were looking for the Lady Lex and the USS Yorktown. As the anti-aircraft crews carefully stacked rounds of ammunition next to their weapons, Gun Captain Robert B. Leonnig from Haines, Oregon, reviewed his crew and weaponry. Ashland's Anthony J. Kanclier, gun captain with a 20-mm gun group positioned near the stern, was doing the same. Gunners Wesley J. Chapman, a 17-year-old from the Willamette Valley town of Creswell, and 23-year-old John W. Swartley, from Corvallis, had taken their positions at the many anti-aircraft guns, cannons, and machine guns lining the flight deck's perimeter. James V. Grizzell Jr., from Milwaukie, was dressed in a bulky flameproof suit and asbestos gloves to protect him from being burned. He was responsible for grabbing used cartridge cases as they ejected from the cannons, making sure they didn't contact the fresh powder cartridges and explode. At 10:57 a.m., the announcement that radar had picked up enemy aircraft 65 miles away was greeted with cheers by those eager to see action. Capt. Frederick C. Sherman gave the order and metal hatches in more than 600 compartments slammed shut to make the ship as buoyant and watertight as possible. As the Lady Lex picked up speed and continued a zigzagging course, Admiral Wags, the captain's beloved dog was shut a room off the bridge where he hid under the bed. The pooch was terrified of gunfire. At 11:13 a.m., Japanese planes loaded with torpedoes were taking a long, low approach straight toward the Lady Lex. When they were 700 yards of the Lady Lex, the torpedoes launched. One sailor panicked when he saw the white bubble trail coming toward him, ran to the ship's railing, and jumped overboard. He landed in the water at the same time the torpedo detonated. Enemy dive bombers also roared in for attack. "Every gun we had was firing back at them," Wesley Chapman told The Oregonian. "The scream of the attacking planes, the thunder of the guns, the exploding bombs, and the moaning of the ship's sirens all combined into the most hellish din I ever heard." The gunners manning two of the anti-aircraft guns died when an armor-piercing bomb detonated beneath them and set off an explosion in the ammunition locker. All 21 men in the Marine detachment lost their lives. Allen M. Patten, a machinist's mate, was working on the air compressors for the gun recoil systems when shrapnel the size of a silver dollar blasted into the room and embedded in wooden bunks. No one was hurt. Allen was one of six Patten brothers, ranging in age from 19 to 31, serving on the Lady Lex. Named Portland's "All American Defense Family," the Pattens won national acclaim for being the largest military family in the country to serve together. Their previous assignment had been on the USS Nevada, which was attacked by the Japanese on Dec. 7, 1941, while steaming away from Pearl Harbor. All the brothers escaped without injury. Now they hoped to be as lucky. Of the seven Patten brothers, six served on the USS Lexington and all survived. Another bomb penetrated the Lady Lex's smokestack and exploded inside, spraying shrapnel and killing six of the men manning the machine gun platforms. Ken Schiel, a cook from Portland, remembered the attack sounded so loud below deck, it was like all the torpedoes hit at once. Radioman 2nd Class William S. Hibbard, a 20-year-old from Oregon City, was in the Air Control Station and had to grab the typewriters and equipment to keep them from smashing to the floor. A bomb concussion killed the senior supply officer and the chief dental surgeon. They were found dead in a passageway without a mark on them. The ship's medical officer was thrown 15 feet through the hospital doors, breaking his collarbone and injuring his ankle. He got up and continued treating the wounded. By the time the attack was over, the Lady Lex's flight deck was pockmarked by shrapnel, empty shell casings, and airplane parts. Bodies of crew members had been hastily covered with tarps, and the wounded were on mattresses, given morphine, plasma, and tannic acid for burns. A damaged fighter plane had to be pushed over the side to clear the deck for the incoming planes to land. The fight to save the Lady Lex had just begun. Crews battled fires started by fuel vapors and fed by the ship's combustible oil-based enamel paint that had been thinned with turpentine. Explosions shook the ship. Men covered with oil and gasping from smoke inhalation tried to make their way up top. There weren't enough gas masks to go around. When Allen Patten got to the hangar deck, it was nearly impossible to see through the smoke. He joined others who paired up to find their way to the stern. Two who were with him became disoriented and headed back into the fire to their deaths. The USS Lexington burns after its crew evacuated. Fires sealed off some of the exits in compartments below the waterline trapping the men there. Though all attempts were made for a rescue, they were unsuccessful. "Although we knew the Lex was doomed a few hours after the Japanese attacked, there was no panic," remembered William Hibbard. One by one, the ship's systems went down. Bombs in the torpedo room were in danger of exploding from the heat. It was clear the Lexington would have to be evacuated. As the exhausted men waited, they comforted one another, prayed, and sat in silence looking out to sea. Someone remembered there was ice cream in the snack bar, and a group went to get it and brought it back to share. At 5:07 p.m., the captain gave the orders to abandon ship and lower the life rafts. The wounded were loaded onto medical ships. Anthony Kanclier, who had sustained a concussion and severe injuries to his legs, was one. Robert Leonnig, Boatswain's Mate first class Robert Leonnig climbed down a rope from the flight deck and dropped into the ocean. Seeing a man floundering in the water, he gave up his life jacket and swam for a nearby rescue destroyer. Leonnig had almost reached the other ship when another wave of Japanese aircraft flew in and the destroyer pulled away. He swam in the oily, debris filled water for two hours before he was pulled to safety. Wesley Chapman placed his shoes carefully on the deck, put down his blackout flashlight, and went down the rope. When he was rescued 45 minutes later, he was covered with heavy crude oil but grateful to be alive. Allen Patten and his brothers, Marvin and Ray, were picked up by the USS Morris. Their brothers, Clarence, Bruce and Gilbert, were evacuated on the USS New Orleans. They didn't know what had happened to the others for four days until they were all reunited in Tonga. James Grizzell Jr. swam for two hours before he was rescued. His classmate from Milwaukie High School, on a troopship heading to Australia, watched the Lexington's final moments not knowing his friend had been aboard. Walter Thompson, a signalman first class from Portland, brought with him the Lady Lex's official logbook, now in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Admiral Wags, the ship's mascot, was collected from his cabin, wrapped in a life preserver, and delivered safely to a waiting destroyer. About 6:30 p.m., the ship's commander put on his formal captain's hat and left the ship. Then the USS Phelps, ordered to sink the Lexington so she wouldn't be captured, launched five torpedoes, four of which detonated. At 7:52 p.m., the ship sank on nearly an even keel beneath the waves. The Lady Lex's location remained a mystery until March 2018, when the wreck was found by Allen's research vessel R/V Petrel. Eleven of the 35 aircraft that went down with the ship were nearby. Lying upside down on top of another plane was the Douglas TBD-1 Devastator bomber that had been crewed by Aviation Ordnanceman Third Class Theodore R. Wiebe of Dallas, Oregon. His pilot had dropped one of the torpedoes that helped sink the first Japanese aircraft carrier of the war. The Lady Lex remains in her resting place on the seabed floor, a war grave to the 216 men who died that day. At least three were from Oregon: Commander William B. Ault from Enterprise, the senior flying officer of the Lexington's air squadron; Seaman 2nd Class Harold V. Bahr, age 20, from Medford; and Seaman 1st Class Warren W. Page, age 19, from Salem. # # # Lynne Hasselman is a writer from southern Oregon. Oregon has led the country in many areas. It's now time to lead in one more. All those who've devoted their lives to the political arena should gather together -- regardless of party -- to make "robocalls" illegal in the state of Oregon. Len Ufford, King City It's been nearly three years since Bundy, 43, led a group of protesters to occupy the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge -- first in protest of the government's treatment of a fellow ranching family, then in protest of federal land ownership. It's been 11 months since his charges for his family's 2014 confrontation with federal agents on their Nevada ranch over cattle grazing ended in a mistrial. The judge ruled prosecutors committed "gross misconduct" when they withheld evidence from the defense. Bundy said his priority now is spending time with his wife and six children. But remnants of the standoffs still bubble up each day. "I'll always get someone that calls me," Bundy said at his home in mid-October, after catching up with a friend calling from federal prison. "Life has never, ever been the same -- in a good and a hard way. I think it'll take years and years to kind of dissolve." And in many ways, he doesn't want it to dissolve. Bundy accepts speaking engagements across the West at conferences and rallies that touch on gun rights, environmentalism and agriculture -- some of them controversial. He often tells the stories of the standoffs and the subsequent trials. And, of course, he advocates the view that has come to be synonymous with the Bundy family: that the federal government has no authority to own or manage land in the states. That's not to say he's anti-government, Bundy said. He reached out to the Statesman in September to dispute that characterization in an article on a local Second Amendment rally. "I believe that we have to have government," Bundy said. "I believe that it has to be accountable, and it has to be limited, and it has to be for the purpose of protecting the individual. Otherwise there's no need for it, and actually becomes more destructive than not having it in the first place." Bundy espoused some variation of these principles in Bunkerville and Burns. Now he takes the message to Utah, Montana, Idaho. At an April stop in Modesto, California, Bundy called the state's well-documented water issues "a lie," claimed ice from asteroids replenishes the Earth's water and said environmentalists are out to "entirely destroy the happiness of human life," the Modesto Bee reported. "My only goal in speaking is to give people a choice," Bundy told the Statesman. He doesn't feel like he had a choice -- not "when you see an army come against your family." "It pushes you to do something," Bundy said. And when faced with the choice to stand against the federal government, Bundy said he'd do it again. "When a circumstance comes up, I believe that you'll know and feel whether it's time to stand or not. There is proof that saying no and meaning no (works). So if it comes to that, I'll keep making that stand. Because that's how I believe things are really changed," he said. Bundy points to Martin Luther King Jr. and to Rosa Parks, both arrested in the pursuit of civil rights. "That is the way you change government," Bundy said. MAKING A MOVEMENT The Bundys have become the latest face of a movement that traces back to the Sagebrush Rebellion of the 1970s. But Ammon Bundy said he never meant for that to happen. That's despite calling others to the Malheur Refuge through the Bundy Ranch website. And, it's despite counseling other ranchers -- like the Hammond family, whose imprisonment was at the center of the Malheur standoff -- to stand their ground when the federal government comes knocking. "I haven't wanted to say I'm creating a movement or my family's creating a movement. It was really just an effort to survive," Bundy said. But that's how many others in Idaho see it -- supporters and critics alike. Mike Stickler is a Nevada consultant who was convicted of fraud and met Cliven Bundy in prison. Stickler wrote a book on the Bundys' experience in Bunkerville, where federal agents tried to round up Cliven Bundy's cattle after he refused to pay fees for grazing them on federal land -- to the tune of about $1 million, his lawyer estimated last year in an interview with the Las Vegas Sun. "There's Bundy fans and there's Bundy haters," Stickler said. "Then there's this vast middle that just doesn't know much about them." The Bundys' "fans" are fanatic. They're savvy on the details. At an October stop in Marsing on Stickler's book tour, the 30-plus attendees readily jumped into the discussion to talk trials, sentences and standoffs. Some of them witnessed it firsthand. "I went up to (Malheur) to be peaceful, not to get into a gun battle," said Robert Jones after Stickler's presentation ended. "Now everything has changed." Jones said all his misconceptions of the protesters operating a "crazy militia" went out the window during his visit. The Bundys, he said, understood the frustrations he'd always had with government entities. "I would say that you have a movement among the people in the Northwest who feel disenfranchised," said Kevin Miller, a friend of Ammon's and a conservative talk show host on Boise's 580 KIDO. "Their story resonates with the self-reliance (Idahoans have). Many people have dealt with the (Bureau of Land Management) and want to stand up like Cliven did," Miller said. Erik Molvar, director of grazing watchdog Western Watersheds Project, said some ranchers are following in Cliven Bundy's footsteps. "It's not just the Bundys. Trespass grazing is becoming increasingly relevant across the West, and the federal government is doing precious little to enforce the terms of its agreements with ranchers," Molvar said. The outcome of the Bundys' trials, he said, "make others feel that there is a lack of enforcement out there, and that's problematic." POLARIZING PRINCIPLES The Bundy family's core view of federal land ownership has been rejected multiple times in U.S. courts. But it resonates with certain Idahoans already worried about government overreach. "I think our government has gotten so far away from its purpose in every aspect of our lives," said Thelma Davis, a family friend of the Bundys who now lives in Caldwell. Davis attended Stickler's Marsing book tour date and later spoke to the Statesman via phone. "Everything we start to do (on our land), the government tells us we can't do it. You own the land, but the government controls it," Davis said. Marlene Moore, of Marsing, also attended Stickler's talk. In a phone interview, she said she backs the Bundys completely. In an interview that referenced a long-running conspiracy theory involving the U.N., Moore said she worries private land will be seized by the government and rural Idahoans will be slowly pushed toward urban centers. "The government, the BLM think they own these lands, and they don't," Moore said. "If we allow the government to continue in this manner, it's going to affect all property." Federal skepticism is a bedrock of Idaho politics, but most don't follow it to the extent the Bundys do. While in Congress, current Gov. Butch Otter regularly resisted new Idaho wilderness proposals. But as governor, he's opposed transferring Idaho's federal lands to state ownership and has recently supported collaborating with the Forest Service and other agencies on lands issues. "If you are not going to obey the rule of law, then you can't expect the rule of law to work for you," he told the Statesman while Bundy still held the Malheur refuge in January 2016. Stickler, however, said he believes those who don't accept the Bundys' views on the law can still find common ground. "If you don't agree with their constitutional stand, that's fine. But you should be upset about what (law enforcement and prosecutors) did to them," he said, referencing the misconduct during the Bunkerville trial. Some Idaho lawmakers were. Last fall, U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador warned Attorney General Jeff Sessions of a possible "miscarriage of justice" in a letter about the treatment of Ammon Bundy and three other Idahoans connected to Bunkerville. His letter came on the heels of a similar one authored by state Rep. Dorothy Moon, R-Stanley, and signed by dozens of members of the Idaho Legislature. Those signatures included Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, who lost a bid this spring to replace Labrador in Congress. "I don't agree or disagree with what they did. But I look at the interactions between government and its people and I see a growing disconnect," she said in a phone interview Oct. 29. She called the standoffs "this unwillingness on both sides to come to the table to address the issues" but said the blame "lies squarely in the government's hands by not being in touch with people, and not being transparent and accountable." In a phone interview, Moon recounted the botched prosecution that led to a mistrial on the Bunkerville charges. "I think people who have researched and followed the court proceedings are sympathetic to the Bundys," she said. "It's making criminals out of people who aren't criminals." Backcountry Hunters & Anglers doesn't see it that way. The 20,000-member organization, which held its annual rendezvous in Boise in April, strongly rejects the Bundys' arguments and helped protest a Montana visit by Cliven Bundy in January. "I grew up on a ranch," Ryan Busse, the organization's national board chairman, said in a press release about the protest. "When someone stole things or grazed cattle on a place they did not have permission, we called them thieves." "Some people would see (the mistrial) as a proclamation that the Bundys are right," Josh Kuntz, regional director for the group's Idaho chapter, told the Statesman on Wednesday. "But there are legal reasons that it's declared a mistrial." THE 'RIGHT WAY' TO DO THINGS Ammon Bundy knows the standoffs likely lost his family some supporters, that the method wasn't a perfect means of getting the message out. But he said he sees both incidents as necessary and the outcomes of both trials as victories, confirmation of the innocence he and his fellow protesters claimed all along. Further, he said, he can't take his complaints about a corrupt government to a courtroom and judge he views as equally corrupt. "The Bundys may feel that they did (things) civilly. I think that was an escalated conflict. But it's difficult, and that is a perspective that is certainly subjective," Perry said. "I don't necessarily agree with the way they went about it, but I don't fault them for their choice." She said their frustration is something she hears from her own constituents, a feeling that the government is shirking its responsibility to work for its people. They're the people who champion the Bundys' decision to "say no," as Ammon puts it. Even other ranchers have criticized the Bundy family's methods. In 2016, then-leader of the Idaho Cattle Association Wayne Prescott told KTVB he believed the refuge occupiers had some good points -- but their "takeover of buildings at the wildlife refuge is not representative of our ranching community." "Eighty percent of the people (who support them) share the view that the Bundys are heroes. The vocal 20 percent believe they should've gone through the process (before the standoffs)," KIDO's Miller said. Kuntz said supporters themselves are just a small, vocal minority in the West. But he worries about the makeup of the group. "It's concerning to see some Idaho legislators support (the Bundys' stance) when evidence shows people are happy with the current (land management) system," Kuntz said. Still, he thinks the standoffs have done more good than harm when it comes to public lands policy. "Due to the publicity, it helped the public understand what they have. A lot of people may have been taking (public lands) for granted, so this can remind them there are people who would try to strip that away," Kuntz said. ANOTHER STANDOFF - THIS TIME, OF IDEAS Ammon Bundy said Kuntz's interpretation is just another of the misunderstandings he's tried to combat since the Bunkerville incident. "I've had to almost get calloused to people just not understanding, because there hasn't been a whole lot better way (to explain it)," Bundy said. "Either they won't listen, or you just can't get them (that much) information. I think that if intelligent people would look at the situation and put aside their biases for just a little bit, they would see the true danger not only to us and the agricultural community, but also to them." That's why he thinks education is his way to propel the "non-movement" forward and avoid the what he sees as the true danger to the American people: federal overreach. (His brother Ryan, another main figure in both standoffs, is running for governor of Nevada as his part. Recent polls quoted in news media show him far from the lead.) In addition to speaking engagements, Ammon Bundy has thought about social media as a tool, pointing to the millions of views on the Bundy Ranch Facebook page and protesters' YouTube accounts during the Malheur occupation. It's one means of getting word out directly to skeptics, but Molvar isn't sure that will help the Bundys' cause. "I don't think the Bundys are misunderstood at all. If anything, I think people understand the Bundys all too well," he said. Even with frustrated Westerners on his side and new avenues through which to share his views, Bundy may find himself in another standoff -- an intellectual one, where he and his family refuse to budge on their interpretation of the Constitution and many Americans refuse to consider it as a valid viewpoint. "Just because I believe I have the right to do something doesn't mean that I do," Kuntz said. Bundy said he's confident that people can come to understand him as long as he shines a light on his experiences and lets everything be seen. "I'm fine with what people conclude, but now when their conclusions are made without the proper information. You can't force people to love you," he said. "You can't force people to even like you." -- The Idaho Statesman via The Assoiated Press With the election over, Oregon lawmakers and Gov. Kate Brown are turning their attention to the 2019 legislative session a little more than two months away. Raising billions of dollars in taxes to pour into improving schools is at the top of legislative Democrats' to-do list and there's one company in particular they see offering help: Nike. The state's largest company played a central role in the election and is now poised to have significant impact shaping tax policy in 2019. Big companies go to great lengths to minimize their tax bills. By supporting Democrats' drive for revenue, Nike is in the catbird seat to push for tax policies that would be less of a financial hit to the company's bottom line. Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, said he doesn't expect the broader business community to support lawmakers' push to raise business taxes. He accused businesses of burning him "very badly" when they stalled Democrats' attempt to pass a gross receipts tax in 2017 by insisting public pension savings were a prerequisite. Enter Nike and a small group of other businesses that are meeting with public employee unions and soon also the governor's administration to craft tax policy for the 2019 legislative session. At the center of the group is Julia Brim-Edwards, Nike's senior director of government and public affairs. It was Brim-Edwards who assembled a small group of businesses over the summer to fund a political action committee called the Common Good fund: Nike, Portland tech company Cloudability, an association that represents long-term care facilities, Genentech and Comcast also took part. "Julia Brim-Edwards, to her credit, at Nike, is one of the ones we're really looking to ... They're really going to try to say, 'Alright, this is what we're going to do,'" Courtney said. Brown's spokesman Chris Pair never responded to a request for comment. Greg Rossiter, a spokesman for Nike, wrote in an email that "Nike works to find common ground with businesses of all sizes, community members and groups, public employees and elected leaders. We want Oregon to be a great place for our employees to live and work, and for businesses to grow and thrive, which includes strong, healthy schools, safe neighborhoods, places to play, and other essential public services." Brim-Edwards' involvement dates back to June when she asked the governor to intervene to keep the public employee unions' so-called corporate transparency initiative off the ballot. It would have forced Nike and other companies to reveal closely held tax information in state filings, although they could have avoided doing so by paying a fine. As public employee unions considered how to defeat four conservative ballot initiatives and re-elect Brown, Nike offered its support. The unions agreed to play ball, tossing out the thousands of signatures their contractor had collected to get the initiative on the ballot. Brim-Edwards formed the Common Good Fund and it chipped in to help re-elect the governor and defeat two anti-tax ballot initiatives: Measures 103 and 104. Those initiatives would have banned future grocery and soda taxes and made it more difficult for the Legislature to trim tax breaks. In Oregon's no-limits campaign finance environment, Nike and the other Common Good Fund members' spending was relatively moderate. Nike has reported putting in $225,000, the bulk of the fund's roughly $300,000 in reported fundraising. The company also contributed directly to the political action committee Defend Oregon, which is affiliated with the unions, and spent more than $100,000 on Brown's campaign. The nursing home industry's political action committee reported giving $150,000 directly to Brown's campaign. The group's bigger contribution could turn out to be their support for raising taxes. And they haven't just come to the table: Nike hired Paul Warner, the Legislature's well-respected former top economist, to help the group develop tax policy. Brim-Edwards' strategy could benefit Nike in a couple ways. With Nike co-founder Phil Knight putting millions of dollars behind Republican Knute Buehler's campaign for governor, the company risked creating ill will with Brown who as a Democratic incumbent was the odds-on favorite to win re-election. By helping to defeat the two anti-tax initiatives, Measures 103 and 104, Nike and the other Common Good Fund businesses were also able to keep more taxing options on the table going into 2019. Since the amount of tax revenue generated depends on both the rate and who pays, a low rate charged to broader base of businesses and other entities can generate the same amount of money as a higher tax rate on a smaller group. According to Courtney, the two types of taxes Democrats favor are a gross receipts tax and a value-added tax. Both are similar to a sales tax in that they tax consumption, but they would be charged to businesses rather than consumers. A gross receipts tax, which is what unions proposed and voters rejected in Measure 97 in 2016, could apply to all goods and services sold in the state and thus expand the state's tax base to include companies from outside Oregon with sales in the state. The tax disproportionately hits companies that purchase a lot of goods or services from in-state vendors, since it is charged at each sale. A company with multinational manufacturing operations such as Nike is less likely to feel that impact. A value-added tax can be formulated in many different ways, so its impact on Nike would depend on the specifics. Nicole Kaeding, an economist with the conservative leaning Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C., said New Hampshire is currently the only state with a value-added tax and it is calculated on multiple factors including compensation and dividends paid by the business. "Under this sort of approach, you'd look at more than just sales in the state," Kaeding wrote in an email. "A firm with a lot of sales, but no compensation in the state would pay less than a firm with a lot of compensation and limited sales." Nike opposed Measure 97, which would have added a relatively large gross receipts tax on top of Oregon's existing corporate income tax. But in 2017, the company joined other businesses in signing letters of support for lawmakers working on gross receipts tax proposals, including Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, who wanted to replace the corporate income tax with a gross receipts tax. Nike's history of obtaining a special tax agreement from the state six years ago is likely to breed skepticism among observers who see the company once again calling the shots. Courtney said he's unsure how to respond to those questions. "I'm not going to have the luxury to say, 'You're not a saint, so I don't' want your help,'" Courtney said. "I'll take their help. The bottom line to me is the children." In December 2012, then-Gov. John Kitzhaber ordered lawmakers back to Salem on four days notice to pass legislation allowing the governor to sign a contract guaranteeing the method of Nike's income tax calculation for 30 years to come. Oregon currently uses a "single-sales factor" approach, which taxes profits on sales only within the state, for multistate corporations. The agreement enshrines that method for Nike, even if the state adopts a new calculation for other companies; a year later, the Legislature and Kitzhaber gave Intel the same deal. Rossiter, with Nike, would not say whether the company's single-sales agreement with the state would impact its tax liability under tax policies the company and unions are discussing with the state. He pointed out Nike's headquarters expansion "far exceeded the commitment of new jobs created and capital investment" required in the state agreement. It does not appear Nike's agreement would apply to a gross receipts tax. Chris Allanach, the state's legislative revenue officer, said it does not appear Nike's agreement would apply to the calculation of a value-added tax, but he could not rule it out. "Conceptually, the issue of apportionment could arise with a (value-added tax), depending on how it's structured," Allanach wrote in an email. "But it's not clear to me that the current laws of the income/excise tax would automatically apply to a new tax. However, I can see the argument for structuring the policy that way." Jody Wiser, a registered lobbyist with Tax Fairness Oregon, said she expects Nike would be subject to any tax plan that would come from the discussions. "There's nothing we could raise that they wouldn't pay," Wiser said. Although just a handful of businesses are in Nike's discussions, the company remains a member of multiple business associations including the state's largest such group, Oregon Business & Industry. "I'm sure they're going to have discussions with us in good faith," Oregon Business & Industry Chief Executive Sandra McDonough said. Nike has four registered lobbyists in Oregon yet Brim-Edwards isn't among them, a reflection of how some of the state's most powerful political players aren't in the lobby's rolls. "Our registered lobbyists are those that are engaged in the day-to-day work with the Oregon Legislature," Rossiter wrote in an email. Brim-Edwards Tweeted photos from a ceremonial bill signing earlier this year with the governor, Portland students, lawmakers and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. A Portland school board member, Brim-Edwards has a strong connection to the public education system. Now a Democrat, she was a longtime Republican despite being married to Democratic state representative and then state treasurer Randall Edwards. "She's formidable," Courtney said of Brim-Edwards, whose husband he served with in the Legislature. "And she has the trust of Nike and Phil Knight ... She goes wherever she wants within the Nike structure. She is that kind of player." This story has been updated to reflect the following corrections: an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Nike was a member of Business for a Better Portland in 2017, which the company did not join until 2018, and also incorrectly described Nike as a private company. -- Hillary Borrud 503-294-4034; @hborrud A Vancouver man injured last month in a shootout with police in Portland was released from a hospital and booked into jail Friday. Jason L. Hansen, 29, was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on suspicion of attempted aggravated murder, first-degree theft, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, unlawful use of a weapon, possession of methamphetamine, attempt to elude and being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to police, Hansen sped away from a Clackamas County deputy trying to pull him over in Happy Valley on Oct. 19. Authorities chased Hansen into Portland, and he later crashed in Southeast Portland. Hansen ran from the car, abandoning a woman who was riding with him inside. Police found Hansen a few blocks away from the crash, and both sides opened fire on each other. Hansen was hit twice and later taken to a hospital. No one else was injured. Clackamas County Deputy Jon Campbell and Portland Police Officer Kameron Fender, who both fired at Hansen, remain on paid administrative leave as an investigation of the shooting continues. The case will be reviewed by a Multnomah County grand jury. Fender was also bitten by a Clackamas County Sheriff's dog at some point during a search for Hansen before the shooting, Portland police said. He was treated and released. Everton Bailey Jr. Wildfires burning across California have now killed 11 people, including nine found dead in a massive fire in Northern California that destroyed the town of Paradise. We'll be following developments closely today. Keep checking this post for the latest. 4:51 p.m.: From the Associated Press: When the fire broke out in Paradise, state Fish and Wildlife warden Jake Olsen was one of many law enforcement agents who rushed to a retirement home to evacuate the infirm. He crammed three patients into his pickup, and his partner rode under a fire blanket in the bed with a fourth patient. Meanwhile, the Paradise home where he and and his wife and four children lived burned to the ground. So did Olsen's parents. And his wife's parents' home is gone, too. His sister-in-law's Paradise home was also destroyed. On Saturday, his colleague helped him sift through the rubble and found his wife's wedding ring. A few minutes later, she called to check in and he tearfully told her the good news. 'It's something," he said with a sad smile. His wife told Olsen where she left her ring in their bedroom, and that's where it was found next to his gun locker containing guns melted in the fire. 3:40 p.m.: From the Associated Press: The Camp Fire roaring through Butte County is already the most destructive fire in California history, killing at least nine people, consuming 100,000 acres and destroying nearly 7,000 structures in its first 48 hours. And with heavy winds forecast for Saturday night, fire officials feared that the fire is far from finished. Air crews took advantage of calmer winds Saturday afternoon to attack the fire burning about 100 miles north of Sacramento. Dozens of people are reportedly still missing and about 15,000 structures remain threatened, with new mandatory evacuations ordered Saturday in Brush Creek and Berry Creek, just northeast of Lake Oroville, home to the nation's tallest dam. 3 p.m.: From the Associated Press: President Donald Trump is taking a more empathetic tone in tweeting about California's devastating wildfires. Early Saturday, the president threatened to withhold federal payments to California, claiming its forest management is "so poor." He also remarked that "there is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly fires in California." And he blamed what he called "gross mismanagement of the forests." By late Saturday afternoon, Trump's tone had changed. In a tweet, he noted that tens of thousands of acres had been burned and said, "Our hearts are with those fighting the fires, the 52,000 who have evacuated, and the families of the 11 who have died." Trump closed by saying, "God Bless them all." The president is in Paris for events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. 2:58 p.m.: From the Associated Press: The president of the California firefighters union says President Donald Trump's threat to withhold federal funds to California is "shameful" and "dangerously wrong." In his first comment on the massive wildfires, Trump tweeted Saturday "so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!" California Professional Firefighters President Brian Rice says the "shameful attack" on California is an attack on the thousands of firefighters on the front lines. Rice says Trump's assertion that California's forest management policies are to blame for catastrophic wildfire is "dangerously wrong." He points out wildfires are sparked and spread "by parched vegetation, high winds, low humidity and geography." Rice says natural disasters are not red or blue, "they destroy regardless of party." 1:41 p.m.: From The Washington Post: Before officials announced the latest grim statistics and rising death toll on Saturday, President Donald Trump fanned an ongoing dispute with California leaders, blaming mismanagement of state resources for the destruction and death. "There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor," Trump tweeted Saturday morning. "Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!" California officials have countered Trump's claims in the past, saying that ever-intense fires are the result of global warming, which dries up vegetation and turns fire-prone areas of the state into a tinderbox. Saturday morning was the first time Trump has spoken publicly about the California blazes. 12:57 p.m.: 12:45 p.m.: From the Associated Press: Lady Gaga, Martin Sheen and Kim Kardashian West were among the celebrities who joined thousands of others in evacuating from Malibu. The stars went online to share their own distress and dismay for others as the fate of many properties remained unknown Saturday. "I am thinking so deeply for everyone who is suffering today from these abominable fires & grieving the loss of their homes or loved ones," Lady Gaga tweeted. "I'm sitting here with many of you wondering if my home will burst into flames. All we can do is pray together & for each other. God Bless You." There were shout-outs as well to the firefighters struggling to contain the fires in what were described as especially difficult conditions. "These guys are heroes," filmmaker Guillermo del Toro posted on Twitter. His so-called "Bleak House," which contains his collection of items too scary to be kept in the family home, was endangered. Sheen ("The West Wing," ''Apocalypse Now"), interviewed by a TV station on the beach Friday night after fleeing his home, said the fire was the worst he's ever seen. He said he expects his house was destroyed. 12:29 p.m.: 11:57 a.m.: Another surreal image from #Woolseyfires Llamas tied to a lifeguard tower on Malibu Beach. Photo Wally Skalij / LA TIMES pic.twitter.com/1Rj19x708Y Andrea Jackson (@AJacksonTV) November 10, 2018 11:44 a.m.: From the Associated Press: A fire official says homes and other buildings in the town of Paradise are still burning and that crews are working to put out those blazes. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Cpt. Scott McLean said Saturday a deadly wildfire is still burning in parts of Paradise and the nearby community of Magalia. The blaze has destroyed more than 6,400 homes and killed at least nine people. He says heavy smoke hampered aircraft from dropping fire-suppressing liquid Friday but that thinning smoke will allow crews to battle the blaze from the air before winds pick up Saturday night. McLean says more than 3,000 firefighters are making progress and more personnel is on the way. 11:43 a.m.: From the Associated Press: A farm owner says she stayed behind during evacuations for a raging wildfire in Northern California so she could try to save her 14 horses and other animals. Cathy Fallon says she was able to save all her horses and her barn using a water hose. But two of her dogs and nine cats died in the fire that decimated the town of Paradise. Fallon says her house burned down and her husband was hospitalized after fears he had a heart attack. She says he will be OK. Fallon said she and her son, Gabriel, have been sleeping in a horse stall since the blaze swept through Paradise on Thursday. 11:41 a.m.: Caitlyn Jenner's Malibu Mansion Spared the Flames of Woolsey Wildfire https://t.co/iXZOMFJzhH TMZ (@TMZ) November 10, 2018 11:37 a.m.: 11:22 a.m.: 11:09 a.m.: 11:06 a.m.: From a former "Grimm" cast member: Parts of Northern California are also on fire. These images are from the #CampFire, which has claimed 5 lives thus far and injured 3 firefighters. Here is a link to the NorCal fire evacuation centers that also includes donation info: https://t.co/NKTMciOFz6 #CaliforniaFires pic.twitter.com/YnvANy6sKz Elizabeth Tulloch (@BitsieTulloch) November 9, 2018 11:05 a.m.: 11:03 a.m.: Thank you to our teams in California helping our neighbors during this tough time, and to all the brave firefighters working hard to protect the affected communities. Stay safe. #CampFire https://t.co/Dv1an76yYZ Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) November 10, 2018 10:51 a.m.: 10:47 a.m.: From the Associated Press: A fire official says there have been significant losses from a pair of Southern California wildfires but thousands of homes have been saved. Los Angeles County fire Chief Daryl Osby said Saturday that firefighters told him they were working in the toughest, most extreme conditions they had seen in their lives on Friday night. He says conditions are far better Saturday, with a lull in winds that are expected to return Sunday. Osby did not say how many homes have burned. Officials have said 150 homes had burned, and the number would rise. The fire chief urged thousands of people ordered to evacuate to stay away from Malibu and other communities outside Los Angeles. Authorities say two people have been found dead in the fire zone. 10:44 a.m.: Incredible footage of people trying to flee before the #WoolseyFire sweeps through. UPDATE: The fire has now grown from 14,000 acres to 35,000 acres per @CAL_FIRE #CaliforniaWildfires pic.twitter.com/zEpzDYyRxT WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) November 10, 2018 10:39 a.m.: 10:35 a.m.: Over more than a decade of helping animals, Amanda Giese has learned a lot about what it takes to provide support for pets with special needs, medical conditions and other challenges. In the Animal Planet series, "Amanda to the Rescue," viewers can watch Giese in action. Giese's Panda Paws Rescue is located at the Washougal, Washington home she shares with her partner, Gary Walters, her son, Beast, and daughter, Jade. "Amanda to the Rescue," which premiered Oct. 28 on Animal Planet, shows Giese and her family contending with animals in need of care, in addition to the family's own "pack" of pets. On a visit to Giese's home, we met the exuberant star of "Amanda to the Rescue," along with furry members of the family pack: Rogue, a hairless Chinese crested dog (sporting a bit of purple hair, colored with non-toxic vegan dye); the spaniels Garnet, Bullfrog and Groot; and Lapua, a black cat who weighs 22 pounds. "He's bigger than the dogs," Giese says of the mellow Lapua. The dogs have special needs or characteristics that might make others reluctant to adopt them. But Giese clearly revels in being surrounded by her pets. Another pack member, the two-legged boxer Duncan Lou Who, is absent today, away with Walters on a business trip to Southern Oregon. Giese is making plans to pick up two Bernese Mountain Dog puppies, who have a genetic disorder than causes them to be paralyzed. Working with area shelters, Giese's goal is to find homes for animals, no matter what challenges they may face. As she took a break from the organizing, planning and emailing that are all part of Panda Paws Rescue's work, Giese shared some thoughts about what she does, and lessons learned. Animal Planet star Amanda Giese Panda Paws pet rescue in Washougal is on Animal Planet. Posted by The Oregonian on Thursday, November 8, 2018 1) The public needs to do more than repeat the motto, "adopt, don't shop." Some breeders are mercenary, Giese says, and others are responsible. Exercise the same due diligence if you're adopting from a rescue. 2) Do your research about the pet you want to bring into your home. "If you're going to be a person who sees a dog online, and you buy it impulsively, you're part of the problem," Giese says. Adding a dog to a household is a big decision. Giese stresses knowing as much as you can about where the animal has come from. If you're buying a dog from a breeder, for example, it's important to visit the breeder and see what kind of conditions exist for the animals. "Ask for referrals," Giese says. 3) You have to take responsibility for bringing an animal into your home, and giving the pet the care it needs. "There's a problem when a lot of the general public is not responsible for spaying and neutering," Giese says, emphasizing that owners need to act to prevent pet overpopulation. 4) Know what you're capable of. "Rescue within your means," Giese says, "adopt within your means." It's OK, she says, to know if you're not going to be able to handle administering medications to a special needs dog multiple times a day. 5) Everyone can make the world a better place. Giese says she hopes that "Amanda to the Rescue" will demonstrate how anyone can make a difference. Even if you're not a dog person, but are interested in working with veterans, seniors or causes related to the environment, for example, you can "pick a mission, tackle it and just, you know, run full speed ahead," Giese says. "Amanda to the Rescue" will also include episodes in which Giese travels to California to help animals affected by wildfires; to Puerto Rico, to work with a dog rescue operation in the wake of Hurricane Maria; and to Hawaii, to visit shelters crowded with dogs following the eruption of Kilauea. The series continues with new episodes airing at 9 p.m. Sundays on Animal Planet. -- Kristi Turnquist kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist At the statewide meeting of the Michigan Professional Insurance Agents, Karl Ieuter of Ieuter Insurance Group in Midland was honored as the Insurance Agent of the Year. The award is given to an agent who has shown both good character and aptitude in the industry. The kindergarten class at St. John's Lutheran School recently had a corner of their classroom turn into a castle for a lesson on Martin Luther's Reformation.This year marks the 501st anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, which started Oct. 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany. The children dressed as knights, peasants, and even a monk. They practiced using the quill of a feather to write as well letter stamps to produce printed documents. Gail Kundinger, the kindergarten teacher at St. John's who set up the castle, said the children were able to learn about this important part of Lutheran history by dressing the part and performing tasks from that era. The Midland Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the 33rd annual Leadership Midland Program in October. The intense, three-day program exposed leaders to current Midland issues, community resources and leaders, and many thought-provoking experiences. The participants visited about a dozen different sites and engaged with more than 60 different presenters throughout the program. This year's class included 34 participants from various companies and professions representing both large and small local businesses. The program was planned by a 27-member steering committee, chaired by Scott MacNellis, owner of LaLonde Foods. The committee is comprised of Leadership Midland alumni, designs program curriculum and recruits presenters. After their selection in the spring, class members spend several months preparing for the participation in the program. Participants included: Sharon Alfano--CBM Services, Inc. Matthew Bednorek--Members First Credit Union Denise Berry--Family and Children's Services of Mid-Michigan Melissa DeBoer--Northwood University Scott Dondineau--Garber Chevrolet Lori Flippin--Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance Coty Gould--United Way of Midland County Myron Greene--Midland County Sheriff's Office Katie Guyer--City of Midland Thomas (Tom) Harrison--Midland Cogeneration Venture Patrick (Paddy) Hobohm--SPACE, Inc. Shea Hollenbeck--Astrike Financial PLLC Caleb Hortop--Mackinac Center for Public Policy Karen Huber--The Dow Chemical Company Terrah Johnson--Greater Midland Family Centers Julia Kepler--Serendipity Road Douglas Kries--MidMichigan Health Poonam Kumar--Saginaw Valley State University Brandon Lewis--Ayre/Rhinehart Realtors Emily Lyons--Midland Area Chamber of Commerce Jai Mahabir--City of Midland Police Mike McLaren--Fisher Sand & Gravel Chris Moultrup--Three Rivers Corporation Grant Murschel--City of Midland Megan Pellerito--Midland Country Club Tyler Porter--The ROCK Center for Youth Development Susan Prill-Wallace--Windover High School Tracy Quinlan--Midland Tomorrow Jessica Rausch--MidMichigan Obstetrics and Gynecology Camille Secor-Konkus--Jones & Jones, DDS, PC Helen Szabo--Ieuter Insurance Group Patrick Tobin--Delta College Jennifer West--Chemical Bank Kim White--Lifestyle Garment Care A program of the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce division of the Midland Business Alliance, Leadership Midland curriculum focuses on leadership, Midland history, teamwork skills, economic development, communication skills, education, volunteerism, service organizations, government and community issues. Participants and their sponsoring organizations gain a better sense of personal leadership potential, enhanced leadership skills, greater understanding of community issues, truly prepared leadership to ensure effective engagement, and a diverse, growing network of alumni and resources. A graduation banquet included a keynote address from Steve Poole, principal of H.H. Dow High School. Presidential-level sponsors for this year's program were the Greater Midland Community Center, Midland Daily News, MidMichigan Health, Rider Type & Design, Northwood University, Three Rivers Corporation and the Leadership Midland Alumni Association. Leadership Midland has graduated 1,077 community leaders since its inception in 1986. With the graduation of the class members of 2018, 34 new community leaders will join their ranks. Eagle Village's executive leadership along with Kermit and Jean Hainley met at a recent reception to honor Midland families, foundations and organizations that were instrumental in the founding of Eagle Village in 1968. Eagle Village is celebrating 50 years of serving Michigan's at-risk youth and families. "Fifty years ago my parents asked the question, 'If you could change the life of a child, would you?' and gratefully many of you responded. Your responses have enabled us to provide hope and healing to at-risk youth, to give families connections and to model a spiritual foundation in our youth's every day life," said Cathey Prudhomme, Eagle Village president. While Eagle Village initially served as a place for delinquent youth, today the "kids" are there more because of their circumstances rather than their choices, Eagle Village stated. The organizations said it helps them learn and develop their responses so they can have the best outcomes and find their true potential. Eagle Village's programs include residential care, foster care and adoption, for youth in the DHHS system, Victors Edge Resiliency Training, retreats, specialized summer camps and short-term intervention programs for all youth and communities. Eagle Village plans for future growth allowing residential youth the ability to become certified in vocational training certifications, and additions to the experiential approach with expressive therapies to include drama, music and dance, giving the participants the strong foundation for a successful future and a successful career. "Because of all of the acts of kindness, encouragement and support from the earliest founding years, it is our goal today to recognize many that made an impact. We are grateful for the investment everyone has made and continues to make, in supporting and growing Eagle Village for the past 50 years." said Jim Borin, master of v]ceremonies and Eagle Village Foundation Board member. Kermit Hainley presented Jim Kendall with the Eagle Award to honor a legacy with an impact that is heard around the world. Kendall believed in the vision of Eagle Village and opened many doors within the Midland community to garner the support needed in the earliest days. Other notable recognition and awards were given to the following families and organizations: Memorial Presbyterian Church Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation Charles J. Strosacker Foundation Alden and Vada Dow Family Foundation Allen Foundation Inc Dow Chemical Foundation Dow Corning Foundation Kiwassee Kiwanis Stuart and Katherine Branson family Helen Burns estate Sheldon and Mildred Putnam family William and Ruth Caldwell family Gilbert and Eleanor Currie and family Richard Thrune family Henry and Kathryn Gray Pauline Roberts Drake To learn more about Eagle Village, visit www.eaglevillage.org Connections: People with whom one has social or professional contact or to whom one is related, especially those with influence and able to offer one help. That's exactly what 200 people had the opportunity to make happen on Wednesday at Project Community Connect. Sponsored by the Continuum of Care, the one-day event brought together 38 area agencies and organizations to help local people that needed assistance, all at one spot --Trinity Lutheran Church. "This is all about connecting people to the resources," said Meredith Sweet, ministry support coordinator for Midland's Open Door. "The resources are there, we just can't see them." Sweet and event chair Renee Pettinger helped enlist 125 volunteers to hand out food and perform various other duties at the event. "It's a big community effort. We've had multiple churches involved in getting all the backpacks and laundry baskets together," said Pettinger, the executive director of Midland's Open Door. However, those that missed Wednesday's opportunity to connect, there is still on-going help through the generosity of many local organizations. Those people who need help are encouraged to contact what Sweet called, "overarching agencies," such as Midland's Open Door, the Salvation Army, Caregiving Network or Home to Stay. "Those are the agencies that meet needs in multiple categories," she said. "Get in touch with an overarching agency and connect with a caseworker that can direct you to resources." Services at the Project Community Connect included a haircut station, birth certificate table, health screening booth and a food truck in partnership with the Emergency Food Pantry Network and Food Bank of Eastern Michigan. All products and services offered at Project Community Connect were free and will be open to the public. For those who were able to attend Wednesday's event, it was a tremendous opportunity to make many contacts within a short time frame. "It's one day to be able to talk to a lot of agencies and get some of your questions answered," Pettinger said. "We have encouraged some of our guests from the shelter or the Open Door that if they have questions, this is a great place to find out what the individual agencies have to offer and to sign up for services." Beside the opportunity to connect with agencies, attendees were treated to a free meal and left Trinity with free items such as cleaning supplies and loaded backpacks from Trinseo. "This is a great opportunity, not to just get some food in your belly and to take home, but to see faces and to tell people your story. It is important to connect with another face and say, 'I need this help,'" Sweet said. This year's number of agencies and organizations was almost double last year's number. "Last year we had less than 20," Sweet said. "It was getting the word out. We have people from Midland, Bay and Saginaw counties." To contact the overarching agencies: Midland's Open Door: 989-835-2291 or www.midlandopendoor.org The Salvation Army: 989-496-2787 or https://bit.ly/2RMeF1f Caregiving Network: 989-837-9757 or https://caregiving.network/ Home to Stay: 989-496-9550 or http://www.myhometostay.org/ The Veterans of Foreign Wars Chemical City Post No. 3651 in Midland is hosting a public Veterans Day Ceremony on Sunday at the Midland County Courthouse. The event recognizes veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces who have served our country with dignity and honor. The date of Veterans Day is of significance as it symbolizes the Armistice of World War I. The armistice was called the end of "the war to end all wars," and the cessation occurred at the 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. The first Armistice Day was commemorated Nov. 11, 1919, and later the commemoration became Veterans Day, which is recognized at 11 a.m. every Nov. 11. There were hundreds of super-charged Apple fans in Bangkok Thailand that lined up overnight to be the first to visit Apple's first Apple Store in that country. As morning broke there were thousands waiting to get in as you can see in the photo below. The insane joy of being greeted by 100 Apple employees and receiving a gift box has the first customer to enter the store completely ecstatic. Our report covers six jumbo photos covering opening day. Click on any of the photos to enlarge. Apple Iconsiam's First 'Today at Apple' Sessions The first 'Today at Apple' sessions at the new Apple Iconsiam covered a training session for Creative Pro software and a local music group Polycat Performing Videos Apple Iconsiam Polycat Performs Tour of Apple Iconsiam (in Thai) by YouTuber Ceemeagain Chatpawee Apple Iconsiam Pre-Opening Time Lapse Opening Day at Apple Iconsiam as filmed by a local Apple Fan TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) The Florida secretary of state ordered recounts in the U.S. Senate and governor races on Saturday, an unprecedented review of two major races in the state that took five weeks to decide the 2000 presidential election. Secretary Ken Detzner issued the order after the unofficial results in both races fell within the margin that by law triggers a recount. His office was unaware of any other time either a governor race or U.S. Senate race required a recount, let alone both in the same election. The unofficial results show that Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis led Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by 0.41 percentage points. In the Senate race, Republican Gov. Rick Scott's lead over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is 0.14 percentage points. Detzner ordered machine recounts in both races. Once completed, if the difference in the races are at 0.25 percentage points or below, a hand recount will be ordered, said Department of State spokeswoman Sarah Revell. Saturday's development's return Florida to the center of a major political drama 18 years after an infamous presidential recount left control of the White House undecided for more than a month. The latest recount underscores the deep divides plaguing one of the most critical states in American politics. Beyond determining the governorship, it will decide whether Nelson returns to Washington for a fourth term or whether Republicans will pad their majority in the Senate. Floridas 67 counties will decide when to begin the recounts. They could start the moment Detzner issued his order, or elections officials can wait until Sunday or Monday. But they must finish the machine recounts by 3 p.m. Thursday. Gillum conceded to DeSantis on Tuesday night, but when the results began to narrow, he said every vote should count. DeSantis has said little about the recount and is instead proceeding as if he won the election, appointing a transition team and preparing to take office in January. The battle for Nelsons Senate seat has been much more heated, with both sides filing lawsuits and trading verbal jabs. Scott has said Nelson is trying to steal the election, while Nelson is accusing Scott of trying to stop elections officials from counting every ballot. President Donald Trump has weighed in on behalf of Scott, calling the situation a disgrace. During a conference call Saturday on behalf of Scott, U.S. Sen Lindsay Graham said the voting problems in Florida undercuts confidence in the electoral process. When it comes to these shenanigans, enough is enough, he said. We believe Rick Scott won fair and square. Scott had asked Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate elections departments in South Floridas Democrat-leaning Broward and Palm Beach counties after his lead narrowed in ballot-counting that continued through the week. However, a spokeswoman for the agency said Friday that there were no credible allegations of fraud; therefore, no active investigation. A large crowd gathered outside the Broward elections office holding signs, waving American flags and chanting USA USA. A man with a bullhorn repeatedly yelled for elections supervisor Brenda Snipes to come out. The governor, meanwhile, filed lawsuits in both counties seeking more information on how their ballots were being tallied. Nelson filed his own federal lawsuit Friday, seeking to postpone the Saturday deadline to submit unofficial election results. Judges sided with Scott in rulings late Friday ordering election supervisors in the two counties to release information on ballot-counting sought by the governor. Meanwhile, the Broward Canvassing Board met Friday to review ballots that had been initially deemed ineligible. Lawyers from the campaigns, journalists and citizens crowded into a room to observe the proceedings. Scotts lead had narrowed by Saturday afternoon to 0.15 percentage points a lead of less than 13,000 out of nearly 8.2 million ballots cast below the threshold for a recount. Florida law requires a machine recount when the leading candidates margin is 0.5 percentage points or less, and a hand recount if its 0.25 or less. In the race for governor, DeSantis was leading by 0.41 percentage points. A third statewide race that could go to a recount the agriculture commissioner race between Democrat Nikki Fried and Republican Matt Caldwell is the tightest of all, with Fried holding a 5,326-vote lead, a margin of 0.07 percent. Commuters heading to State College for the Penn State game against Wisconsin may need to take a different route if using Interstate 99. A section of the southbound lanes are closed due to a crash, according to 511PA.com. All lanes are closed between Exit 68 (GRAYS WOODS/WADDLE) and Exit 62 (US 322 - EAST PHILLIPSBURG). It is not currently known if there are any injuries in the crash, or when the roadway will be reopened. LOCK HAVEN - Jury selection in a 27-year-old Clinton County homicide case will begin Tuesday as scheduled despite a judge finding the attorney general's prosecution team had acted inappropriately. Lycoming County Senior Judge Kenneth D. Brown on Thursday denied defense motions to dismiss the charges against Loyd W. Groves and to move his trial to another county. Whether an impartial jury can be obtained in Clinton County will be assessed during the selection process that begins Tuesday, Brown said. Nearly 90 prospective jurors have been told to report to the courthouse Tuesday. They will be questioned individually although this is not a death penalty case. The selection process will continue through the week unless 12 jurors and four alternates are picked earlier. Loyd Groves Groves is accused of killing Katherine Dolan Heckel, who was last seen leaving for lunch from the former International Paper Co. mill in Lock Haven on July 15, 1991. According to testimony at court proceedings, Heckel was trying to end an extramarital affair she was having with Groves, who was an industrial hygienist at the mill. Brown's order dealt with issues raised by the defense after reporters for the Lock Haven Express were made aware that investigators following a June 26 court hearing were going to search a property outside Lock Haven formerly owned by Groves. The Express' editor, Lana Muthler, testified during a Sept. 11 hearing she was told investigators were going to the property to "look around" and gave her directions. The search was described in an article published June 28 that was accompanied by photographs. What the prosecution team did was an intentional and reckless act to taint the jury pool, defense attorney David I. Lindsey charged. He claimed the conduct was egregious. Brown disagreed, although he said creation of publicity by the commonwealth's actions concerned him. "We do not believe the commonwealth has engaged in a willful attempt to prejudice the jury panel in this case," he wrote. However, he continued, "the court does not believe it was appropriate for the commonwealth to tell the reporters they were about to engage in a search of the defendant's former property and, by implication, invite or allow the reporter to follow them to the search scene." The conduct was inconsistent with the verbal admonishment the court gave to both parties on June 18 about speaking to the media, Brown wrote. The judge found the article about the search was factual and did not engage in prejudicial opinions about Groves' innocence or guilt. He also pointed out members of prosecution team that included state police and FBI representatives did not make any prejudicial statements to the media. The written order refusing to dismiss the charges supports one the judge made verbally at the September hearing. Groves is charged with first- and third-degree murder and has been in jail without bail since his arrest in January 2015 in Beaver, where he was living. Although Heckel's body has never been found, a statewide grand jury presentment states DNA evidence established to a mathematical certainty that blood found in the area where carpet was removed from Groves' van belonged to the woman. He gave different accounts to the grand jury on why he discarded the carpet sections, the document states. That report also states that witnesses observed Groves' hostile behavior toward Heckel prior to her disappearance but a lack of dismay or concern after she went missing. At the time of her disappearance, Heckel's husband, John, was on duty with the National Guard at Fort Drum, New York. The couple was married in 1973. He told the grand jury he suspected his wife was having an extramarital affair but was unable to confirm it. WILLIAMSPORT - A Lycoming County woman has been acquitted of charges stemming from the death of a 4-year-old girl left for hours in a sweltering SUV on a hot July day in 2016. A jury of seven men and five women deliberated about three hours Friday before finding Brittany Renee Borgess, 30, of DuBoistown, innocent of charges of involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering. Senior Judge Dudley N. Anderson found her guilty of the summary charge of leaving a child unattended in a car and fined her $25. Family and friends of the victim, Samaria Motyka, erupted when the verdict was read, some using profanity. Sheriff's deputies escorted several from the courtroom. Samaria Motyka was found unresponsive around 3:30 p.m. on July 22, 2016. They continued to voice their displeasure standing outside the courthouse in the rain. Deputies escorted Borgess and her family from the building. Borgess had no comment about the verdict but her lawyer, Peter T. Campana, said justice was served. He had asked jurors to base their verdict on the evidence not emotion. "No matter your verdict, Samaria will not be brought back," he said. District Attorney Kenneth Osokow remarked it was a very difficult case. Jurors had to decide whether leaving Samaria in the SUV was a criminal act or lapse of memory. There was no dispute that the morning of July 22, 2016, Borgess took her 2-year-old son, Isaac, to a day care just north of Williamsport. Instead of taking Samaria to a day care in South Williamsport, she then drove to work. She backed into a parking stall at the rear of the downtown business where there was no shade and went inside, leaving Samaria buckled into a booster seat in the back seat. The young girl was found unresponsive 61/2 hours later about 3:30 p.m. on the floor with her head on the front passenger seat. She had gotten out of the booster seat. The mercury hit 97 that day in Williamsport. Samaria's internal temperature taken at Williamsport Regional Medical Center was 110 degrees. First Assistant District Attorney Martin Wade told jurors there was no reasonable explanation why Borgess left the girl in the SUV. Campana contended a brain malfunction caused her to lose awareness. Borgess did not consciously disregard or knowingly forget Samaria was in the SUV, he argued in his closing. She was chronically sleep deprived and under stress because she was about to get married, he said. There was testimony saying that Borgess would be the one who got up in the middle of the night if the children needed anything. Campana relied on the testimony of David Diamond, a professor of neuroscience at the University of South Florida, who has done extensive research on the brain and why someone's prospective memory suddenly fails. Diamond described how the habit-based memory system suppresses other memory systems in explaining why Borgess likely drove to work instead of to the South Williamsport day care. Nationally, between 30 and 50 children die annually from heat stroke from being in a hot vehicle, he said. Samaria's death was the only one in Pennsylvania in 2016. Wade, in his closing, questioned how Borgess could forget about Samaria when she spoke to her three minutes earlier when she dropped off her son at the other day care. Forgetfulness is not a reasonable excuse for what she did, he argued. "It's absurd to leave a child to die in a car," he said. READ MORE: Was death of 4-year-old in hot SUV a crime? Jurors must wait a few days to render verdict The fact that previously she had driven almost to work before realizing she had children in the back should have been a signal to her, Wade said. Borgess cried briefly when he accused her of being reckless and not fulfilling her duty to care for Samaria, who she had taken to the same day care for two years. In July 2016, Borgess was living in DuBoistown with Samaria, her father, William Motyka, his older daughter and her son. Borgess and Motyka are no longer in a relationship. SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) A Southern California man pleaded not guilty on Friday to the murder of a gay University of Pennsylvania student in a hate crime. Samuel Woodward, a 21-year-old from Newport Beach, California, entered the plea during a hearing in Orange County Superior Court. Bail was previously set at $5 million but Judge Kimberly Menninger ordered Woodward held without bail at prosecutors' request, saying she believed he would be a danger to the community if released. Woodward is charged in the January stabbing death of 19-year-old college sophomore Blaze Bernstein, who was home visiting his family on winter break. Bernstein, who was gay and Jewish, went missing after he went out with Woodward to a park in Lake Forest, California. His body was found days later buried at the park in a shallow grave. According to authorities, Woodward picked up Bernstein from his parents' home and stabbed him nearly 20 times in the face and neck. DNA evidence links Woodward to the crime and his cellphone contained troves of anti-gay, anti-Semitic and hate group materials, prosecutors have said. Authorities submitted as evidence in the case images of a knife, a bloodied sleeping bag and propaganda for Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi group. The materials include swastikas and urge violence against gay people. Defense attorney Robert Kohler, who argued for $1 million bail, said on Friday that there was no evidence that Woodward posed a threat to anyone, and he hadnt been able to make his previous bail anyway. Bernstein was studying psychology and had been chosen to edit a campus culinary magazine. He and Woodward both attended the same high school in Orange County. Woodward, who appeared in a shirt and jacket in a caged area of the courtroom, is due back in court Jan. 25. If convicted of first-degree murder and the hate crime allegation, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. Accused of wrestling a state police trooper to the ground after a traffic stop, a Maryland man faces criminal charges in Adams County. The man also asked the trooper to shoot him, according to police. Demitrious A. Royster, 23, of Wakersville, Md. faces charges of aggravated assault, fleeing and eluding, disarming law enforcement, DUI, recklessly endangering another person and resisting arrest, as well as a number of vehicle code violations, police said. Royster was driving erratically on U.S. Route 15 about 10:43 a.m. Friday in Mount Joy Township, when a trooper attempted to pull him over, police said in a Friday afternoon release. Royster refused to stop, fleeing from police even as the trooper activated his emergency lights, police said. Eventually, Royster came to a stop, but he refused to obey requests and began to walk toward the trooper, who drew his gun, police said. Police said Royster continued to walk toward the trooper, and, when he was close enough, he grabbed the officer. Royster and the officer then fought, and both fell to the ground, according to the release. During the altercation, the accused told the trooper to shoot him and continued to grab at the troopers gun belt, police said. The trooper was assisted by other officers, who arrived during the altercation, and Royster was arrested, police said. The trooper sustained minor injuries in the fight. A Berks County man has been charged with taking upskirting photos of 31 unsuspecting women in stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Texas, Eric James Milius, 57, of Sinking Spring, finally came under investigation when he tried to do the same to a woman in a Lowes store in June, county Chief Detective Michael Gombar said Friday. According to Gombar, another shopper at the Spring Township store saw what was happening and confronted Milius, who fled the store. The witness followed Milius and he and several others detained Milius until police arrived, the detective said. Milius immediately admitted he had been taking upskirt photos and surrendered his smart phone, Gombar said. He said an examination of that phone revealed about 7,500 photos taken of women in Berks, Lancaster, Montgomery and Chester counties and out of state. One victim was just 15, he said. Three of the victims have been identified. Investigators are still trying to locate the victims in photos taken at the following locations and dates: May 12 at Target in Exeter Township (pink skirt) May 12 at PetCo in Spring Township (blue dress with pink flowers) May 21 at Giant in Sinking Spring (gray dress with white dots) May 25 at Walmart in Exeter Township (black dress with white flowers) May 25 at Berkshire Mall (black dress) May 25 at Berkshire Mall (black and white striped skirt) May 26 at Berkshire Mall (black dress with white flowers) May 26 at Lowes in Sinking Spring (blue dress) May 27 at Dicks in Spring Township (purple skirt) May 27 at Giant in Wyomissing (white skirt) May 27 at Berkshire Mall (red shorts) May 28 at New York Bagelry in Spring Township (tan skirt) May 28 at Giant in Wyomissing (orange shorts) June 7 at Giant in Lancaster (black shorts) June 7 at Park City Mall (black skirt) June 9 at Dicks in Spring Township (white, grey and black shorts) June 9 at Berkshire Mall (grey dress) June 9 at Mamas Pizza in Sinking Spring (black dress) June 14 at Home Goods in Lancaster (white dress) June 16 at Wegmans in Collegeville (blue jean skirt) June 16 at Nordstroms in King of Prussia (blue, white and orange dress) June 16 at King of Prussia Mall (black dress) June 16 at King of Prussia Mall (black and white dress) June 16 at King of Prussia Mall (black skirt) June 16 at Wegmans in Malvern (black dress) June 16 at Penn Avenue in West Reading (black and pink print dress) June 16 at Penn Avenue in West Reading (black dress) June 16 at Penn Avenue in West Reading (yellow dress) Anyone who believes she might be a victim or has information on the case can call county detectives at 610-478-7171. Milius surrendered to authorities Friday after being charged with possessing child pornography, criminal use of communication facilities, attempted invasion of privacy and 30 counts of invasion of privacy, Gombar said. Three men walked in a line near the entryway of a Mechanicsburg home Friday afternoon, commenting as they remembered similar walks taken more than 40 years before. But the order in which they lined up Friday didnt quite match the way they did it during the Vietnam War, they joked. Michael Miller, 68, was joined at his Cumberland County home by friends Rene A. Guillemette Jr., 69, and Kevin McCarthy, 69. It was the first time they had all been in the same room since 1980. I thought, We are all getting older," Miller said. "Its time that we see each other because, at our age, who knows? The three men served together in the Army on the Cambodian border during the Vietnam War, and, while sipping coffee, they discussed memories, starting with when they met. Miller and Guillemette said they knew each other prior to landing overseas, but when they arrived in Vietnam, they found they became fast friends with McCarthy, who was stationed in the same location. Their friendship, McCarthy said, was based in trust. You know whos got your back, he said. Friends and Vietnam veterans Rene A. Guillemette Jr., Michael Miller and Kevin McCarthy reunite in Mechanicsburg after more than 30 years apart. As members of the First Cavalry Division, the three men worked the Vietnam-Cambodia border, often using a machete to cut a path as they searched for enemy weapons caches, Guillemette said. Guillemette said he typically took point during those mission, meaning he was the first person in line, swinging the machete and counting steps. Youre the first one to shoot or to get shot, he said. It was during one of those missions that the men found themselves ambushed while traveling a low-lying area, McCarthy said. It is exactly the place not to be for an ambush, he said, describing their poor location. Guillemette said he was commenting on the bad location to a fellow soldier when enemy shots were fired. I was shot and he was dead, Guillemette said, explaining that he had to be evacuated by a military helicopter, as others, including McCarthy, used machine guns to hold off the Vietnamese. Guillemette was taken back home to the United States after he was shot, he said. And that wasnt the only harrowing attack that the men would face while in Vietnam. Miller recalled a time when an attack left his officers killed and wounded, leaving him to take charge, leading his fellow soldiers to safety and even calling in artillery. McCarthy remembered hearing Millers voice over a radio. It wasnt his job to do that, McCarthy said. Miller called the ordeal intense and explained that it earned him a Silver Star medal. The next day was very intense also, he said, describing a scene where he and his compatriots were surrounded by enemies. I mean we were shooting all day. All told, Guillemette spent five months in Vietnam, Miller spent 11 and McCarthy spent 12. After the war, the trio stayed in contact, though they admitted it was mostly through Christmas cards sent by wives. In 1980, they reunited for a few days, but, since then, all three men had not been in the same room before they met Friday. McCarthy traveled to Mechanicsburg from Philadelphia, and Miller drove all the way to Massachusetts to pick up Guillemette. The men said they have a weekend of sightseeing planned, both locally and in Washington D.C. That includes a trip to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on Sunday, Veterans Day. Guillemette admitted it may be an emotional trip. We have a lot of friends on that wall that we are going to go see, he said. By Froma Harrop In recent months, the political leadership of two neighboring countries with large immigration programs issued very different messages. They would be the United States and Canada. In the United States, President Donald Trump and his Republican allies vilified the caravan of Central Americans making their way toward the border. They are a gang of diseased criminals and Middle Eastern terrorists, he said without evidence. Democrats stayed mostly mum about the thousands seemingly intent on entering the United States illegally. A few had reacted to the barbaric policy of separating parents from children with radical calls to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (That stance could be what sank Andrew Gillum in Florida.) Democrats lucked out in having Trump to run against. And they were smart in the final days of the campaign to ignore Trumps desperate fear-mongering against immigrants. They stuck to safe issues for them, such as health care. But now that they will control the House, Democrats need a coherent immigration policy right away. It cant be -- or even appear to be -- favoring open borders. Listen to how Canadas minister of immigration, Ahmed Hussen, responded to a convoy of Haitians headed toward the Quebec border: We dont want people to illegally enter our border, and doing so is not a free ticket to Canada. We are saying, You will be apprehended, screened, detained, fingerprinted, and if you cant establish a genuine claim, you will be denied refugee protection and removed. See? No attacks on the Haitians' character. No racial smears. Hussens message was clear. In no uncertain terms, Canadas immigration laws would be enforced. And thats a big reason Canadas large immigration program is less controversial than ours. Polls in the United States show large support for giving legal status to the Dreamers, immigrants brought into the country illegally as children. They show widespread horror at the administrations policy of separating undocumented immigrant parents from their children. They also show overwhelming support for immigration enforcement. These views are not contradictory. One could look at the caravan and see young, able-bodied people of faith willing to work hard in the United States. You could also see the danger in spreading the idea that, in Hussens words, illegally crossing the border is a free ticket into the United States. Democrats, your dream of expanding health care security is incompatible with opening the door wide to the worlds poor. Canada immediately enrolls immigrants in its national health care system, another reason for enforcement. We should want some of the impoverished strivers, but we must also rebalance the entry requirements to, like Canada, favor entrants with needed skills. The hope of restoring blue-collar America is futile if we flood the labor market with low-skilled competitors. When Barack Obama tried to enforce our immigration laws by removing many undocumented entrants, ethnic advocates bashed him as deporter-in-chief. Many Democrats were too cowardly to defend the president. Hillary Clintons campaign, drowning in identity politics, seemed unable to squeak out an opposition to open borders. That almost certainly contributed to her loss in key Rust Belt states. Trumps racist attacks on immigrants understandably sicken many Latinos. But that doesnt quite translate into a passion for open borders. A 2014 Pew Research Center poll found that 54 percent of Hispanic registered voters did not regard a candidates view on immigration as a deal breaker. They put education, jobs and the economy, and health care higher on their list of concerns. Its socially disrupting when only right-wingers seem to support defending the borders. Democrats must make clear that they want an immigration system that is generous and welcoming but also wedded to enforcing the laws. Now is the time to do it. Froma Harrop is a syndicated columnist. Follow her on Twitter at @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. COPYRIGHT 2018 CREATORS.COM By Marc A. Thiessen Brett M. Kavanaugh must have been smiling as the returns came in on Election Day, because it is now clear that the Democrats campaign to destroy him will go down as a massive blunder. It failed to keep Kavanaugh off the court. It cost Democrats their chance to regain control of the Senate. And it gave Republicans an expanded Senate majority that will allow them to confirm an even more conservative justice next time around. Today, Kavanaugh sits on the Supreme Court hearing cases. Meanwhile, Democratic Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.) are packing up their Senate offices thrown out by voters furious over their partys brutal campaign of character assassination against Kavanaugh. Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) was the only Democrat who voted for Kavanaugh, and he survived but just barely. Two weeks before Election Day, Manchin was leading by double digits, but on Tuesday night he won by just over three points. Had he voted against Kavanaughs confirmation, he would likely have been toast as well. The Democrats smear campaign also cost them the chance to pick up GOP seats. In Tennessee, Rep. Marsha Blackburn was trailing former Democratic governor Phil Bredesen by five points in a CNN poll before the Kavanaugh hearings. She ended up winning by just under 11 points, as the Democrats mistreatment of Kavanaugh united Tennessee Republicans behind her. The Kavanaugh smear no doubt also played a role in energizing GOP voters in Arizona, where Republican Rep. Martha McSally appears to have squeezed out a narrow victory, and in Texas, where Sen. Ted Cruz defeated Rep. Beto ORourke by just 2.6 points in one of the reddest states in the union. None of that might have been possible had it not been for the Democrats horrific treatment of Kavanaugh. As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put it, the failed effort to stop Kavanaugh was like an adrenaline shot for the GOP base. Republican voters were outraged to see a good man accused, without a shred of corroboration, of sexually assaulting a teenage girl, exposing himself to a college classmate and participating in gang rapes in high school. They were disgusted by Senate Democrats insistence that the burden was on Kavanaugh to prove he didnt do it and by Democrats blatant disregard for the presumption of innocence. They were energized by Kavanaughs willingness to fight back and declare his treatment by Democrats a national disgrace. And they punished the perpetrators of that disgrace at the polls on Tuesday. Now Republicans have not only an expanded Senate majority but also a pro-life majority. Reports indicated that Trump was close to nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a devout Catholic and mother of seven, to replace retiring Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. Barrett became a folk hero among religious conservatives after Diane Feinstein (Calif.), ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, grilled her over her Catholic faith during her confirmation hearings as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit last year. The dogma lives loudly within you, Feinstein told Barrett, suggesting that her faith disqualified her. That outraged conservatives, who rightly castigated Feinstein for applying an unconstitutional religious test on Trumps nominee. As Harvard Law School professor Noah Feldman explained, Feinstein insinuated an anti-Catholic stereotype that goes back at least 150 years in the U.S. that Catholics are unable to separate church and state because they place their religious allegiances before their oath to the Constitution. Barrett was confirmed for the Circuit Court. But when it came to the Supreme Court, Trump calculated that with a razor thin-GOP majority he needed what was supposed to be a safer pick and went with Kavanaugh instead. Now, with an expanded, pro-life Senate majority, Trump no longer has to worry about losing a few GOP votes next time around. At every stage of recent Supreme Court fights, Democrats have miscalculated. Their mindless decision to filibuster Neil M. Gorsuch paved the way for Senate Republicans to get rid of the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees which made it possible to confirm Kavanaugh by simple majority. And if Barrett ever makes it onto the Supreme Court, Democrats can thank their horrific, defamatory treatment Kavanaugh. The lesson for Democrats should be clear: Character assassination does not pay. Quite the opposite, it backfired big-time. Marc A. Thiessen is a columnist for The Washington Post. His work appears on Saturdays on PennLive Opinion. By Eugene Robinson In mob movies they call it going to the mattresses getting ready for war. One day after voters put an end to unaccountable, strongman-style, one-party rule in Washington, Trump moved to cover his flank. He shoved out Attorney General Jeff Sessions and installed a replacement, Matthew G. Whitaker, who has publicly warned special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to stay away from Trump family business dealings. The sudden switch was clear proof of who was the big winner in Tuesdays election and who was the big loser. Trump understands power. He knows now that the resistance has a lot of it. Pay no attention to anyone who whines that well, yes, the Democrats did manage to take the House, but they didnt . . . and then goes on to bemoan Beto ORourkes loss in Texas or one of the other near misses. A bigger wave would have been nice, but control of the House was the big enchilada of this election, and Democrats grabbed it. Trumps life is about to change in ways he will not like. I saw what looked like panic in that bizarre post-election news conference Trump held Wednesday. Predictably, he was full of bluster. The results were very close to complete victory, he claimed. It must have been studied professionalism that kept the assembled reporters from bursting into laughter. For the first time, Democrats have the power to hold Trump accountable. The next House speaker almost surely the current minority leader, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will name a new set of committee chairmen who can call hearings, compel testimony and subpoena documents. Pelosi indicated Wednesday that oversight of the administration will be surgical rather than scattershot but that it will indeed be performed. She and her leadership team have been plotting their first steps. This will be fun to watch. Consider the House Intelligence Committee. The outgoing chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), did everything in his power to protect Trump from any serious investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion by the Trump campaign. The likely incoming chairman, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), is a Harvard Law graduate and former federal prosecutor who knows how to systematically peel away layers of obfuscation and deception to reach the truth. Think of the Government Oversight Committee under the leadership of Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), who will conduct actual oversight of an administration that plays fast and loose with the rules. Think of the Financial Services Committee under Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), whom Trump describes as low IQ in racist tweets and who is set to plumb the Trump Organizations cozy relationship with Deutsche Bank. Perhaps prospects such as these were what put Trump in such a bad mood on Wednesday. He came into the news conference obviously determined to pick a fight. Why else would Trump have called on CNNs Jim Acosta, who has been the presidents most visible antagonist among the White House press corps? You are a rude, terrible person, Trump told Acosta, amid some back-and-forth snarling. You shouldnt be working for CNN. When Yamiche Alcindor of PBS inquired whether Trumps rhetoric might embolden racist white nationalists, Trump accused her of asking such a racist question. It was all straight from the Trump playbook: Attack the media, encourage whites to feel aggrieved, display a cartoonish toughness, never give an inch. But it all seemed frantic and overdone, as if Trump were trying to convince himself that he could handle the difficulties to come. Law Enforcement is looking into another big corruption scandal having to do with Election Fraud in #Broward and Palm Beach. Florida voted for Rick Scott! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018 Trumps massive insecurities were on full display. He blamed Republicans who lost for rejecting the embrace distancing themselves from Trump in their campaigns because of his unpopularity among their constituents. They had voted loyally for Trumps agenda, mind you, but his idea of gratitude was cruel derision. Among those he singled out was Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah): Mia Love gave me no love and she lost. Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia. Trump made reasonable-sounding noises about working with a Democratic House majority on issues such as infrastructure, health care, a middle-class tax cut and environmental policy. But then he took it all back, saying if Democrats actually try to perform their constitutional duties of oversight and accountability, there will be no cooperation on a legislative agenda. Just hours later, Sessions was gone. The battle was joined. Tuesday was a turning point because now the majority of Americans, who reject Trump and Trumpism, have real power. The president acted Wednesday as if he knows the second two years of his administration will be nothing like the first two years. He is right. Eugene Robinson is a columnist for The Washington Post. His work appears on Saturdays on PennLive Opinion. History museum to host 'market at the museum' for holiday shopping The Harbor Springs Area Historical Society will soon be hosting two holiday markets to help shop local this holiday season. Last month The School at Jacobs Pillow announced a major change to its historic summer ballet program, which boasts alumni at companies including American Ballet Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet and Dutch National Ballet. This summer, rather than focusing on coaching dancers in the traditional, story-driven classical repertoire, the intensive makes the shift to contemporary ballet. Directed by former Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet director Alexandra Damiani and BalletX co-founder Matthew Neenan, the Contemporary Ballet Program will work to engage students in the development of new work and the ever-adapting repertoire (including pointe work) it requires. Former New York City Ballet prima and longtime Jacobs Pillow participant Wendy Whelan played a large role in the decision making process. We touched base with Whelan to hear about what went into this decision, and whether she thinks that this focus on contemporary training represents a growing trend in the ballet world. What was the review process like? The Pillow did an external review with a bunch of top level artists who shared their observations with the advancement committee, including myself and Kyle Abraham. Kyle and I really sat down and talked it all over. We came up with the thought that to make Jacobs Pillow very special and unique and to strengthen what it has to offer, it would be an interesting idea to really focus on uniting ballet and contemporary. Students of the School at Jacobs Pillow performing on the Inside/Out stage. Photo by Brooke Trisolini, Courtesy Jacobs Pillow. The ballet program has been a staple of the School at Jacobs Pillow for a long time. Do you think that this shift represents trends in ballet training today? I feel like ballet in general is shifting in a contemporary direction. Most companies have a repertoire of contemporary work, and are bringing in contemporary voices to make work. I think that the doors and the windows of the ballet world are opening in that way, and theyre inviting much more well rounded ideas of dance into the repertoire. Your training was very classical, though all of your projects since leaving NYCB have fallen into more of a contemporary realm. What do you think that you could have gained from contemporary training earlier on in your career? As a younger performer I felt like I was improvising myself into contemporary understanding, and really seeking to understand how to move my body in that way. Only after I was doing my own project, Restless Creature, did I actually learn how to do a body roll, and I was in my late 40s. I was constantly wanting to learn how to move my spine in different ways. I think ballet dancers are hungry for that kind of ability to transform and jump from extreme to extreme. Do you have any advice for young dancers who are hoping to get into companies that have a really diverse repertoire? I think that the eye of directors and people in charge is opening up, and that theres more of a quality of movement that theyre looking for rather than someone who can just balance or turn or jump. Theres more of an interest in honoring a dancer being able to link up the steps and move with a liquid quality. Directors are seeking real movers. 237 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard By Alex Dobuzinskis THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (Reuters) Even as Thousand Oaks grieved over a mass shooting in which a gunman killed 12 people in a bar packed with college students, the South California city faced the threat of a spreading wildfire that forced thousands to flee their homes in nearby communities on Friday. Evacuation centers were set up in Thousand Oaks, including a teen center where during Thursday frantic parents waited for news of their children after Wednesday nights massacre at the Borderline Bar and Grill. The fire broke out to the northeast of Thousand Oaks, a suburb 40 miles (64 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, on Thursday afternoon, forcing mandatory evacuations of 75,000 homes and shutting highways as the fire raged close to the city. The FBI was seeking a motive for the countrys latest shooting rampage. Former U.S. Marine combat veteran Ian David Long, 28, entered the bar and opened fire, shooting 12 people dead before apparently killing himself, law enforcement officials said. One of the dead, Telemachus Orfanos, had survived the mass shooting at a country music concert in October 2017 in Las Vegas that killed 58 people, the worst such incident in modern U.S. history, ABC News said, citing a friend. It was time for politicians to act, Orfanos mother, Susan Schmidt-Orfanos, told ABC News. I dont want prayers. I dont want thoughts. I want gun control and I hope to God nobody else sends me any more prayers, she said. Victims included an 18-year-old freshman student at Pepperdine University, a security guard at the Borderline, a graduate of California Lutheran University and a Marine Corps veteran. California Lutheran University, which just the day before canceled classes, announced that although the school had not been ordered to evacuate because of the fire, it would close Friday and was monitoring the situation closely. Pepperdine University, which had held a prayer service in Malibu following the shooting, announced Friday that it was closing its Malibu and Calabasas campuses due to wildfires. The fire near Thousand Oaks was one of three fast-moving wildfires burning in California on Friday morning that had caused tens of thousands to flee. Fierce winds were expected to keep fanning the flames during the day. DISTURBANCE CALL The Thousand Oaks massacre took place less than two weeks after a man shot dead 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue. Paul Delacourt, assistant director in charge of the FBIs Los Angeles office, said on Thursday evening it was too early to speculate on the shooters motives but he appeared to have acted alone. We will be sure to paint a picture of the state of mind of the subject and do our best to identify a motivation, Delacourt said, adding the FBI would investigate any possible radicalization or links to militant groups. Long, who served a tour in Afghanistan as a machine gunner, fired seemingly at random inside the Western-themed bar with a .45 caliber Glock handgun equipped with a high-capacity magazine, Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said. Officers had gone to Longs home in Newbury Park, about 4 miles (6 km) from the bar, in April to answer a disturbance call and found him agitated, Dean told reporters. Mental health specialists talked with Long and determined that no further action was necessary, the sheriff said. He was raving hell in the house, you know, kicking holes in the walls and stuff and one of the neighbors was concerned and called the police, Richard Berge, who lived one block away from the home, told Reuters. Berge, who looked after Longs mothers dogs, said she told him following that incident she worried her son might take his own life but did not fear he would hurt her. The Ventura County Sheriffs Department said 21 people had been treated for injuries at area hospitals and released. Ventura County Sheriffs Office Sergeant Ron Helus, a 29-year veteran, was killed during the shooting. He and a California Highway Patrol officer were the first to arrive to confront the gunman. Thousand Oaks, a leafy, sprawling suburb of 127,000 people, was named the third safest city in the United States for 2018 by the Niche research company. (Additional reporting by Brendan OBrien in Milwaukee; Writing by Nick Carey; Editing by William Maclean and Frances Kerry) 2.2k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Frank Figliuzzi, the former Assistant Director for Counterintelligence at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said he thinks special counsel Robert Mueller is ready to indict some folks. Figliuzzi, who worked with Mueller at the FBI, said he believes Mueller is soon going to make public more of his findings from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Appearing on MSNBC, Figliuzzi set forth what he believes is a possible plan that Mueller is following. Im not saying hes indicting the president. Im saying theres a middle ground where he tells us the story, locks it into the court system by indicting others, then files a report with acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, he said. Figliuzzi then said that Mueller would be able to use the new indictments as a way to illustrate and make public wrongdoing by President Donald Trump. Perhaps what well see is Bob Mueller telling us the story of a corrupt president through indictments, Figliuzzi said. Figliuzzi admitted that since Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions and appointed Whitaker, the Mueller investigation is at risk more now than it was before. I think the Whitaker appointment steps up the timeline, and I think perhaps if Mueller sticks to the strategy of telling us the story through indictments the indictments speak to us that hell speak to us soon, very soon, with additional indictments, perhaps that tell the story of a corrupt president, he said. In announcing his appointment as acting Attorney General, the Justice Department said Whitaker will have oversight of Muellers investigation. Whitaker has previously written that he felt Muellers investigation is going too far. Mueller has come up to a red line in the Russia 2016 election-meddling investigation that he is dangerously close to crossing, Whitaker wrote, calling for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to limit the scope of the investigation. On Friday, President Trump said he has not spoken to Whitaker about the Russia investigation. Some commentators believe that at this late stage it is too late to stop the Mueller investigation. 107 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Democratic House Rep. Henry Cuellar represents a southern Texas district that includes more than 290 miles of the U.S. border with Mexico. As a result he is very familiar with border issues, including the influx of undocumented immigrants, what to do with them, and how they are treated. In his district he has national guard troops, U.S. army troops, and white militias operating as vigilantes to enforce their own version of border justice. And on Friday he said that the much-ballyhooed migrant caravan of Central American asylum seekers is not even coming to Texas. According to Cuellar the refugees appear to be headed toward California. Cuellar is a member of the House Appropriation Committees Homeland Security subcommittee, so he receives briefings from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). After talking to them on Friday he issued a statement saying: This caravan with over 6,000 migrants has departed Mexico City en route to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. This caravan will likely follow the Viacrucis caravan that made its way to the California border in April 2018. It is expected that it will take approximately two weeks before a significant portion of the caravan will reach the U.S. border near San Diego, California. There are another 4,000 migrants headed north in three additional caravans, according to the International Organization for Migration. My District is also home to about 736,150 hard-working citizens and 8 major ports of entry between the U.S. and Mexico, making border and national security a top priority of mine. In response to the impending migrant caravan, I want to provide my constituents with as much information as possible, including a map, to help them understand and assess the current situation regarding the migrant caravan. As Cuellar issued his statement thousands of Central American migrants continued their journey toward the United States. Given the level of violence in their home countries, it is expected that most of them will attempt to seek asylum after arriving at the U.S. border. The Trump administration has changed its policy and is cracking down on asylum claims. President Trump has been using the caravan as political fodder in his war on immigrants, and is continuing to demand that the U.S. build a wall along the southern border.and stronger immigration policies. On Friday Trump signed a directive aimed at curbing asylum claims from those entering the U.S. illegally. A group of civil rights organizations filed a lawsuit against the rule on Friday. There have been previous legal challenges to Trumps asylum policies. We want people to come into our country, but they have to come into the country legally, Trump told reporters before leaving the White House for a trip to Paris. The directive enacted a new rule the Trump administration rolled out on Thursday that would limit asylum claims to migrants who enter the U.S. through legal ports of entry. 1.9k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Russian controlled social media accounts are trying to influence the close and still contested Senate and gubernatorial elections in Florida. Look at the trending topics and hashtags that are being tweeted about most often by Russian controlled accounts. (All data from the alliance for securing democracy): The Russians are trying to divide the US while helping Trump The Russians tried to influence the midterm election, but they were not successful because social media companies made a better effort to keep their propaganda from gaining traction, and more importantly, the American people have learned what to look for and are more suspicious. However, the Russians have seized on the controversy surrounding Florida and attempting to exploit it do divide the American people. As has become the norm, the Russians appear to be mostly targeting Republicans after Trump has spent years making his party receptive to their message. As passions get more heated in Florida, it is important to scrutinize information on social media. The Russians are still trying to mess with our democracy, but the defense remains informed American voters and news consumers. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook. 43.8k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard While other world leaders attend memorials honoring those who fought and died in World War I, Donald Trump is sitting in his hotel room. Trump and first lady Melania Trump had planned a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial in France but backed out due to scheduling and logistical difficulties caused by the weather. In Trumps place, the White House sent chief of staff John Kelly and secretary of state Mike Pompeo. Apparently, only these two men could withstand rain. Meanwhile, Trump is holed up in his hotel room presumably doing what he always does: Watching cable news and putting the finishing touches on some unhinged Twitter rants. According to ex-Obama foreign policy advisor Ben Rhodes, the reason for Trump ditching the event just ahead of Veterans Day is bogus because the White House always has a backup plan in the event of bad weather. In a tweet, Rhodes said, There is always a rain option. Always. I helped plan all of President Obamas trips for 8 years. There is always a rain option. Always. https://t.co/exZNlONQOp Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) November 10, 2018 Rhodes further piled on Trump for missing the event, saying the president is happy to use American troops as a pre-election political prop, but when it comes time to actually honor them, he cant be bothered. Trump will use the US military for a pre election political stunt but sits in his hotel instead of honoring those who fought and died for America. Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) November 10, 2018 Other world leaders werent afraid of the rain Its also important to note that other world leaders went forward with plans to visit World War I memorials, even while Trump said the weather made it impossible for him to do so. According to Axios, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau all appeared to go ahead with plans to visit World War I memorials. Trump may blame the rain for ditching an event to honor U.S. troops, but its clear that hes simply a lazy president who enjoys having the title and attention of the office without actually putting in any meaningful work. Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook. On November 5, the Twitter account of the Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom commented on a story in The Times which was headlined: Half of us are informants, say Russian expats in UK. The tweet asked: Dont you think this is political paranoia? The actual claim is extrapolated from statements made by wealthy Russian expats in Britain who were interviewed in a report prepared by the Henry Jackson Society, a British think tank often referred to as neoconservative. The subject of the report is Russian intelligence operations on British soil. Russias intelligence and security agencies including, the FSB (Federal Security Service), the GRU (Main intelligence Directorate of the general Staff), and the SVR (Foreign intelligence Service) are used to support the Kremlins wider geopolitical objectives, the reports executive summary begins. Well-funded and increasingly active, they are engaged in campaigns of domestic repression and foreign adventurism. All three are active in the U.K. The report describes the various types of intelligence operatives Russia has in the Britain -- for example, declared operatives working in the Russian embassy, undeclared operatives working under diplomatic cover who typically pose as embassy staff, and illegals, who are undeclared spies living under false identities. It also explains the difference between case officers, who manage agents, and the agents, who gather intelligence to report back to the case officers. It mentions informants, who are ordinary Russian expats that case officers or their agents can call upon for information when the need arises. In the executive summary, the Henry Jackson Society report claims well-placed intelligence sources estimate that Russia has 200 case officers in Britain, who manage as many as 500 agents. It does not estimate the number of informants (who are much harder to identify), but estimates that 150,000 Russian expatriates live in London alone. According to the report, during the Cold War the Soviet Union had an estimated 39 case officers in Britain a number that remained the same in 2010. It quotes, Oleg Gordievsky, a former KGB officer who was a double agent for Britains Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6, as having claimed that Russia increased its number of case officers in the Britain to 51 in 2013. However, when it comes to the claim of 200 case officers running as many as 500 agents in the U.K., the only sources cited are an ex-British intelligence official and a current one. The report also cites a story in The Guardian newspaper about a Royal Navy submariner who claimed in court to have met with Russian agents. In fact, the agents were working for the British government as part of a sting operation to catch the defendant, who offered to sell them classified information. Nothing is mentioned in the article about actual Russian informants. The statement about half of the Russian expat community being informants comes from interviews with Russian expats, and is based on their opinions. Here is how the claim actually appears in the Henry Jackson Society report: Perhaps reflecting the level of paranoia within Londons Russian community, interviewees and interlocutors suggested that anywhere between a quarter and a half of Russian expats were, or have been, informants. Thus, even the report itself acknowledges that the estimates of some Russian expats may reflect paranoia. However, the report itself makes no specific claims about the number of informants. This is particularly important to note, because shortly after the report was released, another British newspaper, The Telegraph, reported on it in an article headlined: Half of the Russians in London are spies, claims new report. This is not what the report claims. But while some media outlets may have sensationalized the Henry Jackson Society reports findings, it is clear the report has flaws. In addition to the above-mentioned problems with citations and anonymous sources, the estimate of 200 case officers currently working in Britain seems dubious. In March of this year, the British government expelled 23 Russian diplomats in response to the Skripal poisoning, the largest expulsion in 30 years. At that time, the British government listed 58 Russian diplomats in the country. Therefore, after the expulsion, Russia would have been left with approximately 35 diplomats in Britain, and since the ambassador cannot be a case officer himself, that would have left 34 potential case officers with official diplomatic cover. Since the report doesnt provide more details about its sources and claims, its difficult to say whether the figure of 200 case officers in Britain, which is considerably higher than the number during the Cold War, is accurate. 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. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 66F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A few clouds. Low 37F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Paul Bowers is an education reporter and father of three living in North Charleston. He previously worked at the Charleston City Paper, where he was twice named South Carolina Journalist of the Year in the weekly category. Assistant Columbia bureau chief Adcox returned to The Post and Courier in October 2017 after 12 years covering the Statehouse for The Associated Press. She previously covered education for The P&C. She has also worked for The AP in Albany, N.Y., and for The Herald in Rock Hill. The city of Charleston's famous portrait of George Washington first hung in the Great Hall of the Old Exchange Building, a new exhibit there details the mystery over whether artist John Trumbull deliberately slighted the city in his final work (at right). Robert Behre/Staff Gregory Yee covers the city of Charleston. He's a native Angeleno and previously covered crime and courts for the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, CA. He studied journalism and Spanish literature at the University of California, Irvine. Los Angeles Times Errs on Argentina Cancellation | Main | AFP Whitewashes Gaza's Serial Arsonists as 'Activists' June 18, 2018 Newsweek Headline Fail on Israeli Attacks in Syria A grossly misleading Newsweek headline ("Israel Bombs Syria to Stop Refugees Fleeing to Europe, Netanyahu Says," June 14) falsely suggests that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is bombing Syria in order to stop refugees from fleeing to Europe. He did not. According to Haaretz, he did cast Israeli attacks on Syria -- meant to prevent the flow of Iranian weapons to Hezbollah and to curb Iranian entrenchment in Syria -- "as potentially helping to stem a Syrian Sunni Muslim refugee exodus to Europe." In other words, Israel's attacks, meant to curb Iran in Syria, also may have the by-product of slowing the tide of refugees, he reportedly stated. Haaretz elaborated: Netanyahu accused Iran, which has been helping Damascus beat back a seven-year-old rebellion, of bringing in 80,000 Shi'ite fighters from countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan to mount attacks against Israel and "convert" Syria's Sunni majority. "That is a recipe for a re-inflammation of another civil war - I should say a theological war, a religious war - and the sparks of that could be millions more that go into Europe and so on ... And that would cause endless upheaval and terrorism in many, many countries," Netanyahu told an international security forum. "Obviously we are not going to let them do it. We'll fight them. By preventing that - and we have bombed the bases of this, these Shi'ite militias - by preventing that, we are also offering, helping the security of your countries, the security of the world." CAMERA has contacted Newsweek to request clarification of the headline. Stay tuned for an update. June 19 Update: Amended Headline is No Improvement Newsweek yesterday amended the flawed headline, but unfortunately the newer version is neither more clear nor more accurate. It states: "Israel Bombs Syria, Stopping Refugees Fleeing to Europe, Netanyahu Says." CAMERA notes Haaretz's straight-forward and accurate headline on the very same subject: "Israeli Strikes on Iranian Targets in Syria Slowed Refugee Flow to Europe, Claims Netanyahu." Haaretz's reference to "strikes on Iranian targets" makes clear that Iran was the target of the Israeli strikes. In contrast, both the original and the amended Newsweek headlines mislead, falsely suggesting that Israeli bombings of Syria were directed at refugees, or at stopping them from fleeing to Europe. CAMERA continues to call on Newsweek to clarify its headline. Posted by TS at June 18, 2018 02:36 AM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment Jeff Sessions returns to his home in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018. Sessions was pushed out Wednesday as Attorney General after enduring more than a year of blistering and personal attacks from President Donald Trump over his recusal from the Russia investigation. Sessions told the president in a one-page letter that he was submitting his resignation "at your request." (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Political Editor Schuyler Kropf is The Post and Courier political editor. He has covered every major political race in South Carolina dating to 1988, including for U.S. Senate, governorship, the Statehouse and Republican and Democratic presidential primaries. LAKE CITY The public is invited to a community supper from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. Marks Episcopal Church. Youre welcome to enjoy camaraderie, ecumenical conversation, friendship, family, music and home cooking. Betty Smith will entertain playing her piano selections. The menu includes baked ham, mashed potatoes, vegetable, salad, dinner rolls, desserts and beverages. Admission is free, but a free-will donation is welcome. The church is at 110 S. Oak St. in Lake City. Please enter at the side entrance located at the end of the parking lot. This is handicap accessible and leads into McNair Hall, where the supper will be served. Church Disaffiliation: Whats Next? A discussion called "Church Disaffiliation: Whats Next?" will be presented 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Assisi Heights Spirituality Center. A great number of people are choosing movement away from traditional forms of worship, finding themselves opting out of organized religion and feeling spiritually homeless. Yet, many are still hungry to grow and engage their faith, searching with other like-minded spiritual curiosity seekers. This is an opportunity to consider the questions, find deeper meaning as part of a larger story, and engage in a community. The Rev. Katy Lee, youth and young adult pastor and justice coordinator at Christ United Methodist, and Sister Marlys Jax, program coordinator at Assisi Heights Spirituality Center, will facilitate the roundtable discussion. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. Family Promise Concert set for Friday Bethel Lutheran Church will host its annual Family Promise Concert on Friday, beginning with a silent auction at 6 p.m. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m., featuring choirs from seven local churches, Lourdes High School Choir, Rochester Area Handbell Choir and Rochester Pops Orchestra. Admission is free. A free-will offering and proceeds of the silent auction go to Family Promise Rochesterto continue its work serving homeless families. Bethel Lutheran Church is at 810 Third Avenue SE. Faith Lutheran to hold holiday bazaar ST. CHARLES Faith Lutheran Church will hold its annual Holiday Bazaar and Bake Sale from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 17. The event features Thanksgiving and Christmas crafts, Norwegian baking, pies and coffee. Faith Lutheran Church is located at 648 E Fifth St. in St. Charles, along U.S. Highway 14, across from the high school. For more information, call 507-932-3344. Four-week meditation class offered A four-week series on meditation begins Nov. 20 in Crawford Hall at Calvary Episcopal Church. Doug McGill from the Rochester Meditation Center will offer meditation instruction, guided practice, and review with one theme per week, including meditation the breath, meditation on the body, compassion meditation and loving-kindness meditation. The class, which is appropriate for teen and adult beginners, will be held 6 to 7 p.m. Nov. 20, Nov. 27, Dec. 4 and Dec. 1. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. You may register by calling 507-282-9429. Calvary Episcopal Church is located at 111 Third Ave. SW in Rochester. Calvary Episcopal host Advent Quiet Day The public is invited for a morning of quiet, contemplation and prayer at the start of Advent from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Dec. 1. The Advent Quiet Day includes a prayer bead workshop, and an open labyrinth walk. Clergy counsel, confession and companionship will be offered in the candle-lighted sanctuary. To register for the prayer bead workshop, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., call 507-282-9429. Religious buildings like churches, synagogues, temples and mosques are sometimes referred to as "houses of God." In both the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible, there are a multitude of occasions upon which the Creator interacts with human beings, and the physical space of the interaction is then referred to as Gods house. On Saturday, Oct. 27, an act of violent anti-Semitism took place at a house of God. It was during a service at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh that 11 people were killed and seven were injured. In the week after the shooting, the Bnai Israel Synagogue in Rochester hosted a Gathering of Reflection and Response. All community members were invited to attend. As I looked around the synagogue during the gathering, surrounded by an immense crowd of peace-loving people from a multitude of faith traditions, I had a permeating sense of sitting inside Gods house. Prayers of healing, grief and peace were offered. Children and adults read passages from holy texts. Poems were recited. Songs were sung. Gods spirit was woven like a thread through the whole service. At the beginning of the evening, Rabbi Michelle Werner, the leader of the community, encouraged us to be explicit in our naming of the shooting as anti-Semitic. She reminded us that what happened was more than a tragedy. It was an act of anti-Semitism directed at Jewish people. The definition of anti-Semitic is, "hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group." In naming the root of the violence for what it was, we as a society can face it more honestly and address the underlying causes more directly. In these days since the service at Bnai Israel Synagogue, Ive been thinking a lot about anti-Semitism. Growing up in a very small town in Iowa, I never knew a Jewish person or had much exposure to Jewish traditions. It wasnt until I attended seminary in Chicago that I started to learn more about Jewish history and customs. It was during those years that I first began to comprehend the ways that the New Testament of the Bible and Jesus teachings have been used in anti-Semitic ways to oppress and discriminate against Jewish people for many hundreds of years. Discrimination, threats and violence continue to be part of the lived experience of Jewish people in our country and around the world. For those of us who identify as Christian, it is very important that we keep alert to the ways our religious texts, history, practices and customs have been harmful to Jewish people. Not only must we pay attention to these injustices, we must repent and do what we can to chart a different path. I give profound thanks to Rabbi Werner and the members of Bnai Israel Synagogue for creating a holy space of community and connectedness during the Gathering of Reflection and Response. It was a gift to be together and to sense Gods nearness with us. One of the songs that we sang during the service was called, "Olam Chesded Yibaneh." The lyrics were an encouragement to build always from a foundation of love. May they be our collective prayer and our ongoing hope: Olam chesded yibaneh I will build this world from love And you must build this world from love And if we build this world from love Then God will build this world from love. Researchers will be keeping an eye on Southeast Minnesota caves this winter. Bat populations that are being ravaged by a fungal disease spend much of the winter hibernating in area caves. The disease, called white nose syndrome, has killed hundreds, likely thousands, of Minnesota bats. Bats hibernate at Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park and Crystal Cave in Spring Valley. The number of bats that hibernated at Mystery Cave was down 70 percent last winter, said Andrew Herberg, a mammalogist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. At Crystal Cave last winter, an estimated 200 bats hibernated there down from more than 800 the year before. Various species use the caves as hibernaculum. Little brown bats, northern long-eared bats and tricolor bats share the space. However, the deadly fungus is equally inclusive in which species it affects. Over the winter, the caves offer a snapshot at how the disease is progressing and signs have not been good the last few years, MnDNR officials said. It is also a chance to do research including possible treatments to fight the disease. Having the populations in one place is helping naturalists and scientists understand how the fungus spreads and is offering opportunities to test treatments. The white nose fungus was first confirmed in Minnesota bat populations at Lake Vermillion in the winter of 2015-2016. Since then, the colony that hibernates at Soudan Underground Mine has declined by an estimated 90 percent. The fungus usually takes hold in the winter. It causes bats to rouse too frequently when they should be hibernating, causing them use their energy and starving to death because food isnt available. Researchers from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the University of California, Santa Cruz brushed bats with fluorescent dust right before they retired to hibernation. In spring, after the bats left their hibernaculum, researchers explored the cave with ultraviolet lights to see what had happened. They discovered the marked bats had transferred their fluorescent dust to others in the cave during the hibernation period. Crystal Cave is an ideal spot for research, including private ownership, multiple caves on the 100-acre site and consistent oversight from Eric McMaster, Crystal Caves executive director, who protects the bats from human activity while theyre hibernating. Some possible treatments including ultraviolet light exposure have been tried. "Theres really been no silver bullet yet," Herberg said. Crystal Cave can offer researchers a place to test such treatments if the bat populations there dont disappear entirely. Last year, Minnesota libraries created MN Writes MN Reads as a resource to support writers, providing tools for authors and readers to share, create, and read ebooks. Last month, they announced the winners of their first self-published author contest. Two regional residents were honored in the adult fiction category: Lizbeth Selvig, of Webster, won first place for "Betting on Paradise," a Western romance, and Chris Norbury, of Owatonna, was named a finalist with his suspense novel, "Castle Danger." Selvig has been writing short stories since age 11. However, with a degree in journalism, she began her career working for a weekly newspaper, writing feature stories, taking a few photos, and writing a column about backyard horse care. While raising her children, she spent 10 years working on a novel. "I set it aside until I joined the Romance Writers of America organization in 2005," she said. "I got serious about writing novels and won a national contest for unpublished writers." Selvig acquired an agent and sold her book in 2012. That novel was the beginning of the "Seven Brides for Seven Cowboys" series, set on a fictional ranch in Wyoming. The first three books were published by Avon Books. However, Selvig said, "their publishing focus shifted and they decided not to contract the last four books." At a publishing crossroads, Selvig chose to self-publish "Betting on Paradise" (Book 4 in the series) and will do the same with the remaining books in the series. "When you publish yourself, you have total creative power and arent constrained by what editors and corporate bean counters think they can sell," she said. "Authors also retain all their rights when they publish on their own, and it turns us into business people as well as writers." As a romance writer, Selvig aims to dispel the stereotypes of the genre. "Its empowering for women, heroines are strong and self-sufficient and can hold their own in any kind of world," she said. Norburys career has been a circuitous journey. From wine consultant to private investor to freelance writer, he now finds himself writing novels at home in Owatonna. His description of creating fiction: "Novel writing is total make-believe; a chance to create my own plots, characters, and settings. Ultimately, I get to play God because I can decide who wins or loses, lives or dies, gets the girl or doesnt." Writing what he knows, Norburys novel relies heavily on setting. He said, "Minnesota is huge in this book. Intentionally so. We have some of the most fascinating, unpredictable weather in the world in this state. How can one not include it as a significant character?" Working on both a prequel and a sequel to "Castle Danger," setting continues to play a part in Norburys suspenseful writing. The impact of the internet on the publishing industry has been significant, especially with the advent of electronic books. Norbury said, "I self-publish (author-publisher is the term I prefer) because I dont need to deal with deadlines, loss of editorial control, and the long wait to get a manuscript published. Castle Danger is exactly the book I wanted to publish." In addition to writing, Norbury is passionate about volunteering, specifically with Big Brothers, Big Sisters. "Ive been a Big Brother in Owatonna since 2000," he said. "It has been a life-changing experience for me and positive beyond words, even though it can be mentally and emotionally exhausting because we Bigs tend to get wrapped up in the daily dramas that are the normal lives of our Littles." Norbury donates a percentage of his book sales to the organization. Both Selvig and Norbury recognize the role libraries have played in their lives. Selvig said, "I doubt Id be a writer if it hadnt been for my local library in Minneapolis. It was one of my favorite places in the world I can still picture every bit of the building and smell the wonderful scent of books, papers, and creaky old wooden floors!" Norbury, fondly recalling his childhood, said, "I literally cannot remember not reading. We got library cards as soon as we were old enough for books. Going to the library was a weekly ritual. Same day, same time (after dinner)." NORRISTOWN A day after he collapsed onto the courtroom floor while delivering his closing argument to a jury, a Pottstown man was convicted of raping an 11-year-old girl two decades ago. Louis Henry Branch, 51, of the 300 block of North York Street, bowed his head on Friday as a Montgomery County jury convicted him of felony charges of rape of a child under 13 and aggravated indecent assault of a child under 13 in connection with multiple incidents that occurred in Pottstown between 1996 and 1997. The jury of nine men and three women deliberated about 90 minutes before reaching the verdict after hearing testimony during a three-day trial. Judge Thomas C. Branca deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigation report about Branch, including a psychosexual risk assessment and a mental health evaluation. Branch, who remains in the county jail without bail pending sentencing, faces a possible maximum sentence of 30 to 60 years in prison on the charges. However, state sentencing guidelines could allow for a lesser sentence. The judge set a Feb. 6, 2019, sentencing date. We will be seeking as long a state sentence as is applicable under the law. We intend to ask for a sentence that reflects the seriousness of the crimes that he committed against this young woman all those years ago and that shes had to live with for a long time, said county Assistant District Attorney Matthew Brittenburg, who prosecuted the case. The victim, now an adult woman, wept in court as the first guilty verdict was announced and was consoled by her friends and relatives. As he was escorted from the courtroom by sheriffs deputies Branch, who represented himself at the trial, ignored a reporters questions and did not react to the verdict. Branchs exit from the courtroom on Friday was in stark contrast to the way he left a day earlier. On Thursday, Branch left the courtroom with the help of emergency medical officials who were summoned to the courtroom when Branch appeared to collapse after delivering his closing argument to the jury. Branch was taken to a local hospital for evaluation but was back in the courtroom on Friday when Brittenburg presented his closing argument to jurors and deliberations began. With the charges, prosecutors alleged Branch sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl on multiple occasions while she was in his company at locations in the borough in 1996 and 1997. Branch knew the victims family and he told the victim not to tell anyone, according to an arrest affidavit. Brittenburg argued Branch exploited his relationship with the girls family in order to gain access to the girl. An investigation by Pottstown detectives began in 2015 when the victim, now a woman in her 30s, confided in others about the assaults. The child for a number of reasons that the jury heard evidence about buried that painful memory for a long time, Brittenburg said. Their verdict recognized that she was truthful, honest and forthcoming and had gone through a lot. During the trial, Branch implied the woman lied about the incidents. Despite the fact the assaults occurred in the 1990s, the statute of limitations allowed for the charges to be filed. The victim testified during the trial and during uncomfortable moments had to endure being cross-examined by the very man she accused of abusing her. She put herself through a very difficult process which included the fact that the defendant represented himself and cross-examined her. You think about that dynamic, the defendant challenging the victim, the person he victimized all those years ago, said Brittenburg, who characterized the victim as courageous. Brittenburg also commended Pottstown Detective Heather Long for her investigation. The result that we were able to bring about would not have been possible without the dedication of Detective Heather Long from the Pottstown Police Department. This case, like so many others, just goes to show her commitment to seeking justice and supporting victims of sexual violence, Brittenburg said. She sought out other leads and information in order to corroborate the victim in this case, had to travel long distances to meet with witnesses and the result that we got today would not be possible without her hard work, Brittenburg added. CONSHOHOCKEN Even on days when I am able to smile, my chest feels the sinking weight of my childs absence. And sometimes I feel like I will explode from the grief. Lisa Varelli described the grief of losing her child at the hands of a drunk driver during a ceremony Thursday honoring victims and their families. The ceremony, held by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, offered families a chance to grieve, remember and share stories of their children or family members who were lost at the hands of drivers who were under the influence. The evening, held at Spring Mill Fire Company, began with a short welcome and an address by Claire Drexler from the Center for Loss and Bereavement. Drexler took her time at the microphone to discuss grief and how the process is unique to each person. In her address, Drexler encouraged families dealing with loss to help others learn about their specific needs while grieving. Unfortunately we live in a world that is somewhat death-denying. Because people dont want to think about death very often, it somehow becomes the job of the people who have experienced the loss to teach the helpers how to help. I call this the burden of the bereaved, said Drexler. Its an interesting position to be in but I encourage all of you to take on this task; to tell people what you need, what helps you You know that grief never ends, that its always with you but others do not, and not surprisingly, they will look to you to tell them what is helpful and what is not. Following Drexlers address, Lisa Varelli and Linda Sposato addressed the room with readings. Readings focused on the loss of loved ones and put a fine point on what it means for families dealing with tremendous loss. What I know to be true or right or fair about the world has been challenged so Im finding a way, my way, moment to moment in this new place, read Varelli. There are so many things about the world which I now struggle to understand. Why do children die? There are so many questions, Ive learned, that are simply unanswerable. The West Chester University a cappella group, Under A Rest performed Hear You Me following readings. Families then had the opportunity to place a candle on the table set at the front of the room and say a few words about the person they were there to remember. While many chose to share happy stories about their loved ones, others chose to place a candle and simply tell the room who they were there to honor. The Mission of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which began in 1980, is to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support victims of such crimes and prevent underage drinking, according to the organizations website. To learn more about Mothers Against Drunk Driving visit www.madd.org. SOUTH COVENTRY Owen J. Roberts High School celebrated servicemen and servicewomen on Friday in honor of Veterans Day. Veterans and Owen J. Roberts students gathered in the schools auditorium to take part in the schools 13th annual Veterans Day ceremony and luncheon. Opening remarks from David Schwenk, the schools head of social studies, kicked off the event with additional comments from Superintendent of Schools Susan T. Lloyd. Today in all seven of our schools, teachers and students pause to honor every man and woman who has ever worn the uniform of our nation; those who selflessly secured Americas promise throughout our history, a history that teaches us that security doesnt just happen, said Lloyd. As NJROTC cadets stood at attention along the edges of the auditorium, the NJROTC Drill Team and Drum and Bugle Corps played a tribute to the armed forces. Speakers at Fridays event included Cadet/Lt. Commander Eric Friedeman, an NJROTC senior office, Pennsylvania State Rep. Tim Hennessey, Phil Innamorato, standing as a representative for Sen. Patrick Toomey, as well Owen J. Roberts student government president Ahmed Alveed. My gratitude extends past a traditional appreciation expressed today, said Alveed. As a second generation American and proud United States citizen, I have first-hand experience with the tears someone will cry or the distance someone will go to have the opportunity to raise a family under the flag that our veterans defend It is because of the work you do on the battlefield, around the world and even at home that allows me to continue to grow and take advantage of the opportunities that you all have made available. Following a rendition of God Bless America performed by the Owen J. Roberts High School Choir, Master Gunnery Sgt. Andrew Worley, head of the NJROTC, took the opportunity to speak to students about what Veterans Day means on the other side of the fence. Ive learned that you push and push and push and you never give up, said Worley about his experiences in the Navy. Ive used what I learned in the service to pass on to my cadets. I tell them, One bite at a time.' The ceremony was attended by several World War II veterans as well as others. It concluded with a rendition of Battle Hymn of the Republic. Veterans were then invited into the schools large group instruction room to enjoy a catered lunch in appreciation for their service. Xem them ... Tin bai cuoi cung Khong con du lieu e load DOUGLASS (MONT.) A standoff at a Douglass (Mont.) Township home ended peacefully Thursday night after several area police departments responded to the home. According to reports at the scene, police from at least five area departments were involved in a stand-off Thursday night at a house at the intersection of Montgomery Ave. and 4th St. in Douglass (Mont.) Township. Police at the scene said a man who was wanted for a hit-and-run crash and other charges ran into the house after police tried to stop his car near the Town Center Shopping Center. The man, who was not identified by police, later exited the home and was taken into custody. Police were aided by a K-9 unit as officers surrounded the house trying to talk the man out. The situation ended peacefully around 9:30 p.m. Dartmouth College has a disgraceful record when it comes to protecting students and others from thuggish behavior from leftists. Dartmouths president, Phil Hanlon, seems indifferent at best to the right of students to hear conservative speakers and, indeed, to the right of all students to be free from left-wing bullies. The latest shameful episode at Dartmouth involved David Horowitz, a well-known conservative public intellectual. Horowitz provides the dismal details in an open letter to Hanlon: On October 23, I spoke at your college. I was invited by members of College Republicans and Students Supporting Israel. They probably wanted to hear what I had to say because I am one of the most prominent conservative intellectuals in America, having published over twenty books, three of which were New York Times best-sellers and one of which was nominated for a National Book Award. . . . Despite my credentials, and even though these conservative students pay the same tuition $75,000 per year as your leftwing students, I was forced to raise the money to underwrite my visit and lecture. This was particularly galling to the Dartmouth conservatives who invited me, because the previous spring Dartmouths Office of Pluralism and Leadership sponsored a visit by notorious anti-Semite and terrorist supporter Linda Sarsour who has no academic credentials to speak of underwriting her expenses and paying her a reported $10,000 honorarium for her talk. My hosts were also probably interested in what I had to say because over the preceding decades, Dartmouth has purged conservative intellectuals from its faculty so effectively that the students could only name two Dartmouth liberal arts professors who were conservative. This reflects a collective faculty attitude that intellectual diversity is dangerous and unwanted. This is a disgraceful fact of academic life, which could easily be remedied, which prevents Dartmouth students from getting a decent liberal arts education where all issues are controversial and intellectual diversity. . .guarantee[s] that students are being educated rather than indoctrinated. . . As it happens my visit elicited a professorial outburst showing just how far leftwing bigotry and anti-academic discourse can go on your campus. I will come to this in a moment. Before my arrival, an anonymous leaflet was circulated, apparently by the Dartmouth Socialists club. It was filled with lies about my work, calling me a racist, sexist and ignorant bigot. These slanders were drawn from the Southern Poverty Law Center, an institution so discredited that it recently had to pay a devout and moderate British Muslim $3.4 million after it libeled him as a violent anti-Muslim extremist. None of the students behind this slander sheet was apparently aware that I have a 50-year public record as a civil rights activist, or that I have published three books in the last 20 years dedicated to Martin Luther Kings vision of an America in which people are judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. And why should Dartmouth students be aware of my views since Dartmouths leftwing faculty obviously has no respect for conservative perspectives, which is why conservatives are as rare as unicorns on your faculty. Leading the pack of Dartmouth character assassins who mobilized to combat my presence was Professor Annelise Oreleck, an out-of-control Gender Studies professor who tweeted: Long-time hater, Islamophobe and anti-intellectual David Horowitz is speaking today in Rocky 3 at 6pm. He is a hater of the first order. If youre so inclined, support students who are organizing a protest Bring signs. Turn your back. Stage a walkout. What justification can there be to have such an angry, close-minded individual teaching Dartmouth students? Professor Orelecks protest instructions happened to be and surely this was no coincidence exactly what the Dartmouth Socialists were planning to obstruct my lecture namely to turn an academic talk into a circus so that no one would pay serious attention to anything that was said. They came in force to play loud porn videos, put on headphones to block out my words, unfurl distracting banners with slogans like Trans Rights Are Human Rights and ICE is the Gestapo, and to periodically walk out of the room throwing jibes in my direction as further distractions before they left. One transgender person, dressed as though she was going to Mardi Gras, sat herself near the front and eyed me intensely in the hope I guess that I would find her disturbing. All the disrespectful antics of the protesters were in fact disturbing not least because they were displays of Ivy League students wasting what could have been a valuable educational opportunity, and demonstrations of their total lack of interest in what someone who disagreed with them, and was far more educated, might be saying. When I was a college radical, as I told them to no effect, I always wanted to hear what our opponents were saying because I thought it would make me a better radical. Apparently, todays radicals are so dedicated to self-righteous know-nothingism that they couldnt care less what they are fighting against. As for the transgenderism, like many other conservatives, I am actually a very tolerant person. I happen to have a transgendered grandson who graduated from an Ivy League school and would never think of attending a college lecture only to mock it. Wondering how students paying $75,000 a year for a Dartmouth education could throw away such an opportunity, it occurred to me that maybe they were not paying anything at all, but were so-called marginalized and under-served affirmative action scholarship cases. What a travesty that Dartmouth would encourage them to squander the opportunity their scholarships provided by not insisting on behavior appropriate to an academic community. When educators encourage closed minds, what is left of the learning process? As it happens there were several Dartmouth administrators overseeing this event, including Keysi Montas, the Director of Safety and Security who was in charge. Unfortunately, they were not there to enforce an educational decorum but to encourage the protesters by tolerating their antics and refusing to eject them. The whole travesty was sealed by the school newspaper, The Dartmouth, which bills itself as The Oldest College Newspaper, and which sent a reporter named Andrew Culver to cover the event. Before I began speaking, I gave Culver a recorded interview at his request. In it, I defended myself against the slanders in the anonymous leaflet, and showed him exactly how and why they were gross misrepresentations of the facts. For example, I was called a sexist for pointing out the scientific fact that men score higher on mathematical aptitude tests than women. What the slander sheet left out was that I also said, women score higher than men on verbal aptitude tests, and that I brought up these facts in defense of Harvards liberal president, Larry Summers, who was under fire for stating them first. I also described my public record as a civil rights activist, mentioned the fact that I had three black grandchildren, and was probably the only conservative in the country to defend Trayvon Martin during the trial of his killer George Zimmerman. The Dartmouth reporter Andrew Culver failed to print a single word of my interview. Instead he opened his article by repeating the lies in the leaflet namely that I was a racist, a sexist and a bigot. Culvers mis-reporting of the event closed off the possibility that anyone in the Dartmouth community at large would be exposed to anything I had actually said. Only the slanders would remain. This is the state of education at a once admired Ivy League institution, where students can go four years without encountering a conservative adult. Moreover, if one is invited to campus to speak, he will be drowned out by students who shouldnt be in college in the first place. You had no personal role in these travesties, but you are president of the institution that made them possible. Im not going to ask you to have your Office of Pluralism (how Orwellian is that) sponsor a return visit from me, since it might well provoke a faculty riot. I just want you to think about these signs of a damaged institution. and the warping of the educational experiences of your students. I would like an apology from you on behalf of the Dartmouth community. I would also like to see some instruction from you to your staff on the importance of promoting educational values rather than encouraging close-minded political bigotry at your school. Perhaps hiring a dozen or so conservative administrators might help. In my view, Hanlon, as Dartmouths president, is responsible for the sad state of affairs Horowitz describes. It stems from his failure to stand up to the rabid, fascistic left. Unless Hanlon changes course promptly, I dont see how anyone who values free expression and a true liberal arts education can support Dartmouth College. How could the rancor of the current political moment get worse? We could have recounts and disputed election results, which, unfortunately, is what is happening. On Tuesday the Republicans appeared to net three Senate seats, but two of them are now being challenged. In Arizona, for reasons I dont know, there apparently were a lot of uncounted ballots at the end of Election Day. As those ballots have been tabulated, Martha McSallys narrow lead over dippy leftist Kyrsten Sinema has evaporated, and Sinema now has a slight lead. Meanwhile, a dispute arose because counties favorable to Sinema were giving voters who mailed in their ballots the opportunity to fix defects in them, while rural voters, on the average more likely to favor McSally, were not getting the same chance. Republicans sued Wednesday night, and the lawsuit has already been settled. Rural voters will be given an equal right to correct their ballots. Reportedly there are still 400,000 uncounted votes, and the race is a virtual tie. The situation in Florida, where Governor Rick Scott apparently defeated incumbent Bill Nelson, may be more sinister. Authorities in Broward County have failed to comply with Floridas election lawsby no means for the first timeand Republicans are crying foul. Marco Rubio has weighed in: This video,posted by an Independent Cong candidate in 18 (who was endorsed by Bernie Sanders in 16) purports to show BrowardCounty ballots being transported from polling places in private cars. Has anyone in local media looked into this claim or asked elections dept about it? https://t.co/1JztfdRudn Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018 A new & troubling allegation has emerged. A statement under penalty of perjury that #PalmBeachCounty filled out new ballots to replace damaged ones without allowing campaign representative to witness the process of creating the new ballot as required by #Florida law Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018 Scott, currently Floridas Governor, has opened fire on his enemies: I will not sit idly by while unethical liberals try to steal this election, he said. He has also commenced two lawsuits, both of which he has already won. Broward County Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes has a poor track record when it comes to legal compliance. Republicans not unreasonably suspect that she and her fellow Broward County Democrats are up to no good. Some are claiming that ballots are turning up where they should not be, somewhat like Al Frankens notorious re-election. See Senator Rubios tweet above, also this: A teacher in Florida found a container labeled Provisional Ballot Box in a storage area of her elementary school on Thursday. I have no idea how deep the voter fraud runs, or how these races will turn out. For whatever reason, Republicans rarely seem to win contested, recounted races. Hence Hugh Hewitts book If Its Not Close, They Cant Cheat. Time will tell whether the Democrats are cheating, post-election, in Florida and Arizona. But the more important point is that voter integrity is so lax that any number of illegal votes have been cast and irretrievably counted. Those illegal votes may, in the end, give unearned victories to goofy leftist Kyrsten Sinema and inert incumbent Bill Nelson. Yesterday morning John and I spoke to a group of Republican businessmen and attorneys (Minnesota Rough Riders) about this past Tuesdays election results. As I recall below, John and I last spoke to the group about Rathergate in November 2004. This year we were invited to provide our retrospective on the elections. John looked back at the national results; I looked back at Minnesotas. Today the Star Tribune runs reporter Stephen Montemayors story Minnesota Republicans puzzle over how to break statewide losing streak. I had intended to keep my remarks off the record, but Montemayors story has triggered me. Montemayor and the Star Tribune featured prominently in my remarks. My theme was anyone who gets his news from the Star Tribune I spoke from these notes: Introduction When John and I spoke to you last 14 years ago, back in 2004 we had just lived through Rathergate. We related our involvement in the story, but we didnt really know what had happened inside CBS News. I wanted to get into my remarks this morning by updating the Rathergate story briefly. CBS commissioned an internal investigation by former AG Richard Thornburg and former AP head Lou Boccardi to determine what had happened. Their report was published in January 2005. If you want to know what happened, the story is set forth in two chapters of the report, which is still available online. Later that year Mary Mapes published the memoir Truth and Duty. Mapes was the producer and writer of the Rathergate segment. Dont read her book if you want to know what happened. In 2014 Dan Rather published the memoir Rather Outspoken. I think it should have been called Rather Full of It. Dont read his book if you want to know what happened. Despite themselves, these are both important books in their own way. They are symptomatic; they both seethe with hatred of Republicans and conservatives. In 2015 the movie Truth came out. Its based on Mapess memoir. It stars Robert Redford as Dan Rather and Cate Blanchett as Mary Mapes. Dont see the movie if you want to know what happened. But the books and the movie illustrate a point. The left is unrelenting. It dominates the media and the culture. This is the point I want to pursue in my comments on our election in Minnesota this past Tuesday. Minnesota The story of the 2018 election in Minnesota from my perspective as a Republican is an almost comprehensive disaster. We lost both Senate races by wide margins. We lost the governors race by a wide margin. Indeed, we lost every constitutional office. We lost our majority in the Minnesota House of Representatives. I think there are a few obvious explanations. One is a function of Presidents Trumps negative effect on metro area suburban voters. You could see the effect in the loss of Jason Lewis in the Second District and Erik Paulsen in the Third District. A second is the DFLs enormous spending advantage. Republicans were vastly outspent. A third is the use to which the money was put, hammering a potent message based on a persistent lie regarding health care. Alliance for a Better Minnesota spent more than $5 million saturating television with the ads from the first day of the general election campaign. [Below is Louises story, the ABM ad I saw most frequently. Message: GOP gubernatorial nominee Jeff Johnson will kill you.] I was interested in two races in particular: Keith Ellisons for attorney general and Ilhan Omars to succeed Ellison in Congress. These races are related. The DFL had endorsed Ellison for reelection as the Fifth District congressional representative and endorsed gay millennial Matt Pelikan for attorney general at their state convention. At the last minute Ellison filed to run in the DFL primary to run against Pelikan for the DFL attorney general nomination. That opened the door for Ilhan Omar to seek the DFL endorsement to succeed Ellison at the specially convened Fifth District DFL endorsing convention on June 17. It was obvious to all informed observers that Ellison had engineered his move in a manner calculated to ensure Omars endorsement at the special June 17 endorsing convention. Keith Ellison Ive been writing about Ellison for 12 years. My work on Ellison has been based on archival newspaper sources. A source got me started when he asked me to meet him on foot for a handoff at the corner of a busy intersection in downtown Minneapolis. Ellison was a committed and active member of the hate cult known as the Nation of Islam from his time in law school at the University of Minnesota roughly until he ran for the legislature the second time around in 2002. The first time around in 1998 he ran as Keith Ellison-Muhammad, a self-avowed and well known member of the cult. As a member of the cult he had supported and spoken up on behalf of cop killers including the murderers of Officer Jerry Haaf here in Minneapolis. HIs vocal support of cop killers is shocking by itself, but in the context of his race for the top law enforcement job in Minnesota, it is almost unbelievable. Its hard to imagine a candidate less fit for the office he sought than Ellison. I had hoped the Star Tribune would perform the traditional journalistic function of the candidates local newspaper either before the DFL primary in August or after in the election, but it never did. Whatever exposure there was to be would have to come from the opposing candidate. This is where Doug Wardlows lack of funding really hurt. He had low name recognition to begin with and the Star Tribune simply failed to perform the function of a newspaper. Instead, the Star Tribune performed as a public relations arm of the Ellison campaign. Allegations of domestic abuse dogged Ellison and the Star Tribune covered them. How could it not? But even here its coverage was pathetic. The 15-page investigative report of the most recent charge found it to be unsubstantiated, which the Star Tribune always emphasized without further explanation, but the report was full of corroborating evidence that in fact substantiated it. Its not clear that their reporter [here Im referring to Montemayor] ever read it. The Star Tribune ultimately withheld its editorial endorsement from either candidate. As to Ellison it said: His history with Louis Farrakhans Nation of Islam remains controversial even though Ellison has long since renounced the groups anti-Semitic views. [The editorial omitted Ellisons incredible assertion that Ellison was ignorant of the hate cults anti-Semitic views.] His previous support for gang members and fugitive Kathleen Soliah create [sic] further doubts and would make it challenging to build a strong relationship with law enforcement. Wait, what? Here the editorial linked to Montemayors story on Wardlows allegations regarding Ellison. The allegations become a ball of confusion in Montemayors hands. Any reader who got his news from the Star Tribune would have no idea what the editorial was referring to. Ellison performed the poorest of all the DFL candidates running statewide. He only beat Wardlow by three points and failed to clear 50 percent. The narrow margin is attributable in part to the performance of the Grassroots Legalize Cannabis candidate, Noah Johnson. Johnson had withdrawn and endorsed Ellison, but he still drew more than 145,000 votes, or just over 5.7 percent. We are lost in a haze in more ways than one. Ilhan Omar I started writing about Ilhan Omar when she knocked off 22-term incumbent state representative Phyllis Kahn in the DFL primary in 2016. A source inside the Somali community pointed out to me information online suggesting that she was married to two men. Husband number 1 was the man she advertised as her husband and father of her children. She married him in 2002. Husband number 2 was a guy who seemed to be her brother. She married him in 2009 and just got around to divorcing him at the end of last year. The story blew up into a major crisis that August. A Democratic crisis manager was airlifted into her campaign for a few days to help her weather the storm. He put out a few statements explaining that she had never legally married husband number 1 and that husband number 2 was someone she had met along the way. At the time she was still married to him. The story made its way onto page one of the Star Tribune. Star Tribune reporter Patrick Coolican called me for a comment on Omars statement. He told me they say husband number 2 is not her brother. I asked him who he is. They wont tell me, he said. And that is where the Star Tribune has left the story, even as Omar emerged as the endorsed DFL candidate to succeed Keith Ellison in Congress. Well, you might say, so what? The Fifth District is one-party territory. Omar was never going to lose to a Republican. So what if the Star Tribune refused to dig into the story or into other relevant issues such as Omars view of Israel as an apartheid regime, an issue of interest to thousands of Fifth District voters. Omar faced a competitive DFL primary in August. Among her opponents was former Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Kelliher is a woman of real political substance. She is a formidable politician. Having seen the DFL candidates speaking before a huge audience at Beth El Synagogue the week before the election, I can tell you to a certainty that the Star Tribunes failure to cover the candidates in depth shortchanged its core Fifth District DFL readership more than anyone else. The Star Tribune endorsed Kelliher in the DFL primary, but any Star Tribune reader who got his news from the Star Tribune would have had no idea of the gulf among the candidates or of the skeletons in Omars closet. The Star Tribune made no editorial endorsement in the Fifth District election between Omar and her nominal GOP opponent. Again, any reader who got his news from the Star Tribune would have no idea why the editors might have exercised their right to remain silent. The Star Tribune Rene Sanchez is the top dog on the news and opinion side of the Star Tribune. He is the editor of the paper. I made the points above in email correspondence with him before and after the August 14 DFL primary. I find his emails responding to me incomprehensible. Media bias is an old and tired subject. In Left Turn: How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind, economist Tim Groseclose brings the methodology of quantitative social science to bear on measuring the political tilt and political impact of the mainstream media. Published in 2011, Grosecloses book takes analysis of the problem to the next level, from anecdotes and case study to a general theory of the case. The most important part of Grosecloses book is Part IV, where he assesses the effects of media bias. Measuring the effects of media bias is difficult. What would voters views be in the absence of the bias in which we are suffocating? Groseclose is not certain of the precise magnitude, but he draws on three studies to make an estimate. One of the studies he draws on is based on an experiment conducted in northern Virginia by three Yale researchers with a view to the 2005 Virginia gubernatorial election. For their experiment they recruited hundreds of participants and bought them subscriptions to the Washington Post or the Washington Times. They randomly chose which subjects would receive which subscription and compared those two groups with a control group. Professor Groseclose inferred from the result of the experiment and other data that media bias aids Democratic candidates in a typical election by about 8-10 percentage points. Our problem in Minnesota is reflected by the difficulty of conducting a comparable experiment using local newspapers of contrasting viewpoints. We are stuck with the Star Tribune. Its owner is a nominal Republican, but if he gets his news from the newspaper, he has no idea how pitiful his product is. MRRSE PR-Inside.com: 2018-11-10 10:26:30 Press Information MRRSE State Tower 90, State Street Suite 700 Albany, NY - 12207 (United States) Abhishek Budholiya Marketing Manager +1-518-730-0559 email https://www.mrrse.com/ # 632 Words State Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207(United States)Marketing Manager+1-518-730-0559 Rapid adoption of automotive tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) to limit occurrences of road accidents has gained reasonable traction. Additionally, factors such as need for reduced carbon dioxide gas emissions, and need for adequate fuel economy further catapult growth in automotive tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) market. Also, stringent safety stipulation is also accounted to drive market growth in automotive tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) market. 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Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), has urged Nigerians to be in fellowship with God, in order to get His attention. Mr Adeboye spoke on Saturday at the 17th Annual Abuja Special Holy Ghost Service, held at KM 23, Auta- Gurgu village, Keffi, Nassarawa State with the theme: Divine Choice. According to him, fellowship with God is the security of Christians in the days of trouble, because it makes them more than conquerors. Ministering on the theme, Mr Adeboye said divine choice influences other choices, and makes believers conquerors. When men make their choice, error are bound to occur. But when the choice is from the Almighty God Himself, be it spiritual, political, professional, it is perfect and settled, he said. According to him, when there is Divine Choice, the permutations of men become irrelevant. And the purpose of Divine Choice will manifest and make believers conquerors. Being with God is the peak of relationship and it makes Christians become supernatural. Mr Adeboye said that to make a Divine Choice, a believer must not just serve God casually, but must be done delightfully and excitedly, so that it will trigger supernatural favour. He will silent every instrument of pain, shame and mockery over your life, he said. Mr Adeboye also said that God often chose to accomplish his works through those the world regarded as foolish, weak, unimpressive, or ordinary, but who would diligently call on God for everything. According to him, God has two main purposes for doing that: First of all, to accomplish great things through unexceptional people, and to prove that the worlds wisdom is foolishness. And second, Gods people dont have any reason to boast: They have no power to save themselves and no ability to serve Him apart from His strength and wisdom. God isnt interested in impressive human talent and natural ability. He is looking for humble people, who are totally dependent upon Him, and willing to make themselves available for whatever He calls them to do, he said. According to him, our God is all knowing, powerful and self-existing, hence making up His mind on anything does not have human influence or interference, therefore His choice is always just. Mr Adeboye said that Gods choice is based on the finished work of calvary, which is also His divine provision. To enjoy Gods provisions, the cleric urged Christians to recommit themselves to pleasing God and work out their salvation. He said: having come to the salvation knowledge of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, you need to walk out your salvation daily with fear and trembling, to enable you qualify to dwell and reign with God in His eternal abode-heaven. It is exactly 23 years today since Ken Saro-Wiwa, a playwright, environmental activist and Ogoni leader was brutally executed. He was executed on November 10, 1995, by the Nigerian government under the leadership of the then military dictator, Sani Abacha. Mr Saro-Wiwa and eight of his kinsmen, who became popularly known as the Ogoni Nine, were sentenced to death by a special military tribunal set up by Mr Abacha who later died in June 1998 inside the presidential villa under mysterious circumstances. Most people considered the sins of the Ogoni Nine majorly to be their very impactful non-violent campaign against oil-extraction and the continuous degradation of the Ogoni land by the government-backed multi-national oil companies, especially the Royal Dutch Shell. But the military government had accused Mr Saro-Wiwa and others of being responsible for the murder of five Ogoni chiefs at a pro-government meeting. Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations for over three years after Mr Saro-Wiwa, 54, and his group were hanged to death. The world was outraged by the execution. This heinous act offends our values and darkens our hope for democracy in the region, the then American Ambassador to the United Nations, Madeleine Albright, was quoted as saying, immediately the news of the execution went out. Shell is facing a civil suit in Netherland over its alleged complicity in the killing of Mr Saro-Wiwa and the eight other Ogoni activists. The suit was filed on June 28, 2017, by four of the widows of the Ogoni Nine, led by Esther Kiobel. A renowned environmental activist, Nnimmo Bassey, said the federal government should exonerate Mr Saro-Wiwa and others of the charges levelled against them. His death remains a matter that is yet to be resolved because the state necessarily has to exonerate him of the false charges and the kind of kangaroo judgment that was given by that tribunal, Mr Bassey said on Saturday in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES. Besides, the state has to apologise to the victims and to the Ogoni people for executing them when the appeal period had not even elapsed, he said. After the return of democracy in Nigeria in 1999, the country has had four presidents so far, including the current President Muhammadu Buhari, yet the Niger Delta has remained a troubled region, owing largely to unresolved environmental issues and widespread poverty. The Buhari administration in June 2016 launched a campaign to clean up the Ogoniland. But the campaign, to the consternation of many interested people, appears to be too slow. As we speak, there has been no serious effort to manage the expectations of the Ogonis. While some believe that the clean-up process is a money-making venture, others are facing difficulties to pursue the clean-up process, Godwin Ojo, Executive Director of The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, ERA/FoEN, said last year. Authorities responsible for the clean-up should come up publicly, provide a template for the clean-up and a step by step blueprint on how it would progress. The media is even kept in the dark, for example, no one knows the effective date of the clean-up process, and this is not good enough to manage the peoples expectations. Not everyone is being carried along at the moment, Mr Ojo said. As part of the federal government effort to build trust with the Ogoni people and other people in the Niger Delta, the Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, toured the oil-producing communities last year and had interactions with the people affected by long years of oil exploration. Mr Osinbajo told the people how corruption among the elites was also responsible for the lack of meaningful development in the oil-producing communities. I have looked at some of the issues of abandoned projects. I can tell you precisely how much have been voted or spent in several of our communities. And there is no sign of development in those areas. I can tell you how many of these projects are supposed to have been completed, and when you looked in the books, they say they have been completed. But they have not been completed. They havent even been done. Many have not even been started at all, he said in Benin City, Edo State, in March 2017. It does not make sense for leadership not to look at the plight of the people, especially in the oil-producing areas. This is the source of the wealth of the nation. Even if you ignore the people for a while, a time will come when you can no longer ignore them. So, theres no question at all that we are committed to doing the things we say we will do, and that is the pledge coming directly from President Muhammadu Buhari himself. We must make the oil producing communities become hubs for petroleum refining, Mr Osinbajo said. Nigerians will be electing a new set of leaders three months from now, in February 2019. The Niger Delta question, as usual, is most likely going to be among the top campaign issues. Oby Ezekwesili, a presidential candidate in the forthcoming election, said last year on Twitter in remembrance of the death of Mr Saro-Wiwa, 22 years ago, Ken Saro-Wiwa + 8 other leaders who dared to take a stand paid with their lives hanged by then FG of Nigeria. A season of anomie to which we must NEVER return. Ken & our other compatriots are #NeverToBeForgotten. A PREMIUM TIMES review of the tax papers submitted by ministers during nomination process in 2015 shows how some of them complied with income tax regulations; while others either did not present evidence of compliance or paid whatever they felt was convenient. To be considered for government contracts and appointments into government positions, beneficiaries are usually expected to present evidence of tax payments for the preceding three years. Ministerial nominees are usually expected to fulfill that requirement as proof that they are responsible citizens worthy of being trusted with government positions. It was to fulfill that requirement that the ministerial nominees submitted evidence of their tax payments for three years. Mr. Shittu submitted receipt. Of the 20 ministerial nominees who fully declared what they earned in a three-year period preceding 2015, only 18 had full declaration for both earnings and total taxes paid. The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, submitted the most ludicrous evidence of tax payment. To proof his tax compliance status, Mr. Shittu submitted a receipt issued to him by the Oyo State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development for a N5000 payment for miscellaneous services. A copy of the #5,000 tax declaration Mr Shittu submitted to the Senate for clearance in 2015 The Attorney-General Abubakar Malami declared N2,187,159 as his earnings from 2011-13, paying only N140,000 in the same period. The tax clearance certificate Mr Malami presented in October 2015 expired since December 31, 2014. He was a senior Nigerian lawyer practicing in Kano prior to his appointment as minister. All the 19 who presented three years clearance, including Mr Malami, earned a combined sum of N792,526,462.43, of which they paid N114,972,997.88, representing 14.5 percent. The Nigerian income ranges from seven percent for the first N300,000 in earnings per year to 24 percent for those who earned N3.2 million and above in a year. Ibe Kachikwu [Photo Credit: THISDAYLIVE] Ibe Kachikwu, the minister of state for petroleum appeared to have paid the highest amount based on documents reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES, remitting a total N52,877,303.47 in taxes between 2012 and 2014. He was a senior executive at Mobil Nigeria at the time, earning N198,882,134.92 in those three years. Okechukwu Enelamah, the minister of industry, trade and investment, was a prominent player in the financial services sector until he joined public office in 2015. He declared a three-year income of N51,618,570.91, and paid N7,959,210.89 in income taxes on it. Minister of Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah From 2012-14, Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, earned N81,233,799.75 as the executive secretary of NEITI, paying N7,797,593.31 under the pay-as-you-earn scheme of the Nigerian government. Several others who transited directly from public offices to the federal cabinet also presented evidence of tax compliance under the PAYE scheme. A copy of Babatunde Fasholas tax declaration But ministers like Tunde Fashola and Rotimi Amaechi, who were former governors in Lagos and Rivers, respectively, did not attach their three-year tax clearance to the Senate during nomination process. Mr Fashola presented a letter from the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) which attested to his full compliance. Folarin Ogunsanwo, the revenue offices chairman, affirmed the minister of power, works and housing paid his taxes under PAYE. He did not say in the October 9, 2015 letter how much the former governor declared for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014. Lai Mohammed, the information minister, was nominated as minister from his previous capacity as spokesperson of the APC. Although he is from Kwara State, the minister has lived in Lagos for decades, and served as the chief of staff to then-Governor Bola Tinubu between 1999 and 2003. He attached a copy of his electronic taxpayers identification card issued by Lagos State with the documents he presented to the Senate for screening. Amina Mohammed, who has since resigned from the cabinet for a top job at the United Nations, did not present evidence of tax compliance. She worked at the United Nations prior to her nomination in 2015. L-R: Min of Communications, Adebayo Shittu; Min of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali; Min of Education, Adamu Adamu; Min of State Education, Prof Anthony Onwuka; Min of State Environment, Ibrahim Jibrin; outgoing Min.of Environment Mrs Amina Mohammed; FCT Minister Mohammed Bello; Min of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; and Min of Foreign Affairs Godfrey Onyeama during the Valedictory session at the Council Chamber, State House, Abuja, 22nd Feb 2017. Photo by: Novo Isioro Geoffrey Onyeama, the foreign affairs minister, declared 177,354,551 in earnings between 2012 and 2014, but only clarified a N50,000 payment as part of his taxes. Mr Onyeama, who was an executive at the UNs World Intellectual Properties Organisation (WIPO), indicated he had declared his taxes under the PAYE scheme, but did not specify amounts paid in each of those years. Heineken Lokpobiri, the minister of state for agriculture, presented a three-year tax clearance, but it was too fuzzy to read. He was a serving senator until his appointment as minister, and declared his earnings under PAYE. Mansur Dan-Ali, the minister of defence, retired from the Nigerian Army as a brigadier-general in 2013. He did not attach evidence of tax payment. No declaration? PREMIUM TIMES was unable to ascertain whether four ministers presented their tax clearance to the Senate before their confirmation in 2015. They are Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture; Mustapha Baba Shehuri, minister of state for power, works and housing; Adamu Adamu, the minister of education; and Ibrahim Jibril, the minister of environment. Messrs Ogbeh, Baba Shehuri, Jibril and Adamu did not return PREMIUM TIMES requests to clarify their income tax certificates. Evidence of three-year tax payments by Buhari's ministers S/N NAME Year Salary (Naira - N) Tax (naira - N) 1 Aisha Abubakar 2012 3, 429, 880.00 420,654.48 2013 3, 622, 100.00 420,654.48 2014 4, 415, 624.95 552,279.48 Total 11,467,604 1,393,588.44 2 Khadija Bukar Ibrahim 2012 13,598,706 2,327,522.04 2013 13598706 2,327,522.04 2014 13598706 2327522.04 Total 40796118 6982566.12 3 Aisha Alhassan 2012 16920440.4 3324138.12 2013 16920440.4 3324138.12 2014 16920440.4 3324138.12 Total 50761321.2 9972414.36 4 Zainab Ahmed 2012 24365899 2673460.56 2013 22243740.75 2450672.18 2014 34624160 2673460.57 Total 81233799.75 7797593.31 5 Anthony Anwukah 2012 6485541.24 1201041.96 2013 6485541.24 1201041.96 2014 6485541.24 1201041.96 Total 19456623.72 3603125.88 6 Abubakar Malami 2011 296250 40000 2012 840909 40000 2013 1050000 60000 Total 2187159 140000 7 Ibe Kachikwu 2012 93107698.25 14545505.72 2013 137,381,265. 23 22388276.32 2014 105774436.67 15943521.43 Total 198882134.92 52877303.47 8 Osagie Enihare 2012 473750 72000 2013 1158334 73000 2014 1166666.6 74000 Total 2798750.6 219000 9 Hadi Sirika 2012 16920440 3324138.12 2013 16920440 3324138.12 2014 16920440 3324138.12 Total 50761320 9972414.36 10 Suleiman Hussaini 2012 1177000 150000 2013 2092150 200000 2014 2157900 210000 Total 5427050 560000 11 Okechukwu Enelamah 2012 24064602 3601518.25 2013 24,064, 602.00 3,777,08.09 2014 27553968.91 4357692.64 Total 51618570.91 7959210.89 12 Muhammed Bello 2012 13576880.04 2350760.97 2013 13576880.04 2179227.91 2014 13576880.04 1764994.44 Total 40730640.12 6294983.32 14 Usani Uguru Usani 2012 840109.09 40000 2013 1133333.33 70000 2014 1300000 90000 Total 3273442.42 200000 15 Ogbonnaya Onu 2012 3000000 350200 2013 3892000 500000 2014 3000000 350200 Total 9892000 1200400 16 Isaac Adewole 2012 11,209,761.58 1,588,025.91 2013 11,209,761.58 1,588,025.91 2014 11,209,761.58 1,588,025.91 Total 33,629,284.74 4,764,077.73 17 Bawa Abubakar Bwari 2012 1,216,680 80,000 2013 1,845,394.6 162,500 2014 2,092,105.2 200,000 Total 5,154,179.8 442,500 18 Claudius Daramola 2012 242,000 25,000 2013 760,000 33,000 2014 960,000 50,820 Total 1,962,000 108,820 19 Geoffrey Onyema 2012 58,800,000 PAYE 2013 58,800,000 PAYE 2014 59,754,551 50,000 Total 177,354,551 50,000 20 Solomon Dalung 2012 1,383,333.3 100,000 2013 1,664,473.7 135,000 2014 2,092,105.25 200,000 Total 5,139,912.25 435,000 21 Suleiman Hussaini Adamu 2012 1,777,000 150,000 2013 2,092,150 200,000 2014 2,157,900 210,000 Total 6,027,050 560,000 Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has reacted to a report by a House of Representatives committee indicting him for allegedly approving funds illegally. PREMIUM TIMES published the report which accused the vice president of acting illegally in approving N5.9 billion for emergency operations of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) whose head was being investigated by the lawmakers. Mr Osinbajos response is contained in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES by his spokesperson, Laolu Akande. These presidential approvals were well within the clear constitutional authority of the Acting President, who needed to take emergency steps to forestall acute food shortages in the affected States and there was nothing illegal or unconstitutional about them, Mr Akande wrote. Read the vice presidents full reaction to the report below. Our attention has been drawn to a report of the House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness issued on Thursday, November 8, 2018, particularly in respect of funds released for emergency intervention of food security to the North-East in June 2017, when the Vice President was Acting President. In its report, the Committee alleged that a sum of N5,865,671,939.26 was approved and released in June 2017 vide a Memo raised from the Office of the Acting President, directing the Honourable Minister of Finance and the Accountant General of the Federation to so act. The House Committee also concluded that the payment made was in contravention of approval of the National Assembly. This conclusion is both false and misleading. To start with, it is important to understand the context of the transaction. This was at a time when internally displaced persons and their host communities faced very severe food shortages throughout the North East, as a result of successive poor harvests and abandoned farmlands, minimal cross-border cash crop trade and lost economic opportunities. On 15th April 2017, the United Nations World Food Programme (UN WFP), a major aid organisation and food supplier to the region, had issued a warning that it would be reducing its vital support to about 1.8 million IDPs by as much as 85%, due to corresponding reduction in funding by the donor countries. Around the same time, the United Nations Commission for Refugees in Geneva also warned of the growing risk of mass deaths from starvation among people living in the conflict areas. The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) moved urgently to prevent the looming disaster by establishing a strategic food intervention plan for the affected States. A Presidential Committee on Emergency Food Delivery to the North East was convened and the Committee met on the 13th of May, 2017 to kick off the process, with the then Acting President as Chairman. Other members of the Committee included: (i) Minister of Finance; (ii) Minister of Budget and National Planning; (iii) Minister of State for Budget and National Planning; (iv) Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; (v) Governor of Central Bank; (vi) Deputy Chief of Staff to the President; and (vii) Senior Special Assistant in the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President. Resulting from the deliberations of this and subsequent meetings, the approval referred to in the House Committees Report was, in fact, based on a request raised by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria as facilitator of the National Food Security Programme, vide a letter dated May 25, 2017. As explained in the said letter, there was an immediate need to distribute grains, including rice, maize, soya beans and sorghum, to Internally Displaced Persons through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). The only way to obtain the quantity of grains required was to resort to the National Food Security Progamme (NFSP) earlier established by the Federal Government as a means of shoring up its strategic grain reserves. It was in consequence of the Federal Government decision to urgently purchase the stored grains for distribution to Internally Displaced Persons that the CBN made the proposal for approval of 30,905.08 Metric Tonnes at N5,229,685,333.26. Of that amount, the then Acting President eventually approved N5,036,644,933.26, after excluding bagging costs. This was pursuant to the recommendation that bagging, transportation and other logistics were best handled by NEMA. NEMA also originated a request to the Acting President, dated May 25, 2017, requesting the sum of N829,026,456.00 for general logistics, branding & packaging, tracking, security, personnel, media & publicity and contingency costs of taking the grains from their respective locations in Kano, Kaduna, Funtua, Ibadan and Gombe to Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba and Jigawa States. These presidential approvals were well within the clear constitutional authority of the Acting President, who needed to take emergency steps to forestall acute food shortages in the affected States and there was nothing illegal or unconstitutional about them. The approvals were duly communicated by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor of Central Bank, Director General of NEMA and the Minister of Finance for implementation. On account of the emergency nature of the procurement, the House Committees assumption that the ordinary rules of procurement would apply was wrong. Section 43 of the Public Procurement Act makes provision for emergency procurement, in which case the procuring entity is allowed to engage in direct contracting for goods and file a report thereafter with the Bureau of Public Procurement. It is also wrong to assume that taxes and interests accruable to government from these transactions in food items were deliberately ignored or waived by neglect. Of course, we expect that any loans advanced to any of the companies would be recovered with the agreed interests, and that any profits made by such companies would be liable to tax in the usual manner. The suggestion that the grains were never delivered to the target States is also blatant falsehood. In actual fact, in order to ensure effective distribution of the grains, an Emergency Food Intervention Project Team was established, consisting of the Director General of NEMA and representatives of the National Security Adviser, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Department of State Security, Nigeria Police and the Presidency. The Committee also worked with respective State Emergency Management Agencies, as well as humanitarian agencies such as World Food Programme, International Committee of the Red Cross, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Deliveries were publicly made directly to the intended beneficiaries. In fact, the then Acting President personally inspected the electronic truck-tracking unit established in Maiduguri for the purpose of monitoring the transportation, and flagged off the food distribution on the 8th of June, 2017. Besides, there was the integration of a robust monitoring and evaluation system into the operation in order to facilitate a transparent and accountable process. Therefore, all insinuations on this matter regarding purported indictments and perceived violations of due process or the constitution are baseless and totally false. Such interpretations are flawed and should be utterly ignored. Laolu Akande Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President Office of the Vice President 9th November, 2018 What is perhaps the biggest racket at the Lagos International Airport is being orchestrated by toilet cleaners and touts. While the cleaners merely beg for tips upon attending to passengers, whats perhaps unknown to many is that they collaborate with touts to issue fake yellow cards to willing passengers inside airport toilets. In the middle of October, PREMIUM TIMES reporter disguised as a potential applicant of the card and approached a cleaner at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of the Lagos airport. Yellow cards are normally issued after vaccination against yellow fever. Some countries require travellers from Nigeria and other yellow fever prone nations to present the card at their ports of entry. First, the cleaner directed this reporter to the training school junction where the airport health facility is located. But upon further probing, he admitted that cleaners do act as agents for yellow card collection but they are mostly those working at the international wing of the airport. Na this thing na, na wetin them dey call them sef like say you dey go International airport, tell them say you want (to) come down (at) training school, said the cleaner, whom PREMIUM TIMES later identified as Godwin. Upon further enquiry, he gave an insight into how one could secure the card through the cleaners, his explanation mixed with Nigerian pidgin. Na for International, no be local; this (is) local airport, he said. If you go (to the international wing) just meet any cleaner say you need yellow card, he said. Code, no loud am. The word code, in Nigerian pidgin, is often used to represent activities done discreetly, especially if considered illegal. When this reporter asked again whether it would be easy to locate a willing cleaner, Godwin gave his reassurance. You go see. Just go International, go departure, he said, rather confidently. No tell any security o, if you tell security, dem go tell you make you go that side (training school/health centre). Just enter any toilet, follow any cleaner yarn (talk), them go give you. E no go pass 3k (three thousand naira). Immediately he gave the hint, this reporter moved to the toilets at the arrivals lounge of the international wing of the airport, located at the lower rung of the main airport facility. The first cleaner this reporter approached said he could only help facilitate the collection of the card at the health centre, by acting as middleman. If you want original yellow card, I can help you and connect you with staff of the health centre and youd get it without much stress, he said. But if you want express, I dont know much about it these days but there are guys who can help. The express option meant getting the card issued as fast as possible with no hassleright inside the airport toilet, this paper later found out. When cajoled to help link this reporter with the guys who can help, he simply told the reporter to act as a toilet user, go into the toilet and negotiate with the cleaners. Just go to the toilets and talk to guys, they will help you sharp-sharp if you have your money; It is not difficult, he added and walked away. Soon, this reporter moved to the main entrance of the toilet and met another cleaner. Na 3k (3 thousand), the second cleaner, short and dark-skinned, said once told of the need. With that declaration, the next minutes were spent haggling prices and other logistics, with revelations into details of their illegal operation. Shebi na yellow card you want, said the dark-skinned cleaner. Ehn ehn na, We dey do na, talk na, I wan help you na. Sensing the worrisome look on this reporters face, the lead cleaner interjected: He wan even do am express for you. Again, this reporter expressed worries about the 10-day difference often given before the card is issued but the dark-skinned cleaner quickly allayed all fears, assuring that the card would be backdated. I wan fast do am for you. No worry, them go do everything there na. Them go backdate am, he said. The other cleaner, to ensure that the deal was successfully struck, again interjected: Them go backdate am for you. To reassure of the swiftness of the deal, the dark-skinned cleaner said the card would be issued and could be used for travel same day. If you want travel today-today, you go use am today now, now, now, he said. After back and forth deliberations, the cleaners subsequently gave a list of what is needed to have the card issued: applicants passport number, names as written on the passport and applicants date of birth. These, of course, to be backed by N3,000 (about $8). After the details had been settled and it was time for payment, the reporter again asked if the card would be promptly issued and can be used that day. Ooooooh, you dey talk too much, I say you go collect am now, now, said the dark-skinned cleaner, apparently frustrated. No be say I wan collect your money carry go anywhere. If you sit down here; within 10 minutes you go see am now, now. In the guise of going for withdrawals of the charged amount, this reporter moved away from the midst of the cleaners, with a promise to return afterwards. He never did. INFOGRAPH INVESTIGATION Inside Nigerian airport where cleaners touts issue fake yellow cards to travelers 2 [Infograph by George Kaduna] Yellow Card The yellow card, otherwise known as the International certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP), is a card that stores record of an applicants vaccination details. The card is usually requested at immigration points and without it, travellers are not allowed into or out of some countries susceptible to yellow fever. Nigeria, Africas largest country by population, falls within the yellow fever endemic zone. Yellow fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes which can become deadly for people who are not vaccinated. A single dose of the yellow fever vaccine provides lifelong protection against the disease. It is also effective for 99 percent of persons vaccinated. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that to travel to countries where there is evidence of persistent or periodic yellow fever virus transmission, people need to be vaccinated and obtain the yellow card. For years, issuance of yellow cards in Nigeria has been marred by fraud and irregularities. In 2012, about 125 Nigerians were denied entry into South Africa because the South African Port Health Authority was not satisfied with the authenticity of the travelers yellow fever vaccination cards. Last August, the Nigerian government as part of moves to curtail issuance of fake cards introduced the electronic version, which is machine-readable. Original and Fake cards But despite efforts to control the issuance of fake cards, PREMIUM TIMES investigation showed that toilet cleaners at the airport still have a field day issuing it to passengers. It is part of the rot at the nations top airports, where procedures are circumvented and rules violated. In the first part of this series, PREMIUM TIMES showed how airport officials routinely extort travellers and make them part either with money or personal belongings. Departure Toilets The next day after speaking with cleaners at the arrival lounge, our reporter went back to the airport but this time to the departure toilet. This time he met a middle-age female cleaner moving out of the section. Upon being told what the reporter was looking for, she signaled to the entrance of the toilets, without uttering any word. At the toilet entrance were young men and women, numbering up to five, moving suspiciously around with different sheets of paper in their hands. Seconds after, one of the boys whom PREMIUM TIMES later identified as Muri moved closer to this reporter and said, in hushed tone: How far? Yellow card? Inside of the fake yellow card obtained Yes, PREMIUM TIMES reporter said. Then, in split seconds, he and another colleague gently dragged the reporter into the toilet for negotiation. Express Issuance At the port health centre, the yellow card is issued after an applicant completes online registration, queues for vaccination. But at the airport toilets, the process is done on express mode: applicant pays the agreed fee, writes his details on a sheet of paper and awaits issuance inside the toilet before he appends signatureall within minutes. After long deliberations over price, PREMIUM TIMES reporter paid the agreed fee of N2, 500 and supplied his details. Then, the cleaner in charge of issuance, named Julius, told the reporter to move out quietly and hang around for some minutes. In the intervening minutes, two middle-age men came and he handed them tightly enclosed parcels on the two occasions. He would later reference the presence of the two peoplewho came in a spate of four minutes as proof of his expertise and reliability. Soon, another young man, a tout wearing no uniform, surfaced and they both spoke in hushed tone and moved into the toilet, with Julius the issuance officer wielding a pen. After some minutes, this reporter was called upon to verify some of the details, including the passport number. Pronto, after verification, he was asked to go out again and await further directive. Two minutes afterwards, he was finally invited by Julius to append his signature on the fresh yellow card. And so without registration, vaccination or any form of due process, this reporter was handed a fresh Yellow card, with assurance that it can be used to travel across the world. Attempts to interrogate Julius inside the toilet was cut short as he claimed he might be apprehended by some of the un-cooperative security operatives. He then gently led this reporter outside. In a conversation outside the toilet, to elicit more response, this reporter promised to bring more applicants and Julius gladly accepted the offer, beaming with smile. According to the World Health Organizations rule on vaccination against yellow fever, the vaccine must be administered at least 10 days prior to the travel. But when PREMIUM TIMES expressed reservation over the concern with claims that he was travelling that day, Julius assured that it had been backdated. The way I do am (Yellow card), you have been travelling with it; this is not the first time. Even if you go to Port Health Centre, its backdate. he said. I backdatethey backdate. To reassure this reporter of his expertise, Julius said he had been in the business for more than five years and none of his clients had had issues. We have been here more than five years; more than. No issue, he said, quite confidently. Yellow cards obtained from the airport He explained, however, that one would need to be bold to defend the card if confronted by officials at airports in some countries, citing example of a clients experience in Kenya. He advised that if confronted, the applicant should boldly refute all allegations of shady acquisition and insist that it was properly issued after appropriate vaccination. At least, you be Nigerian nashey you wan go dey dull yourself? he said, smiling. Extortion, Regulatory Failure at Nigerian Port Health Authority While the cleaners inside the airport toilets issue fake yellow cards, PREMIUM TIMES investigation further revealed that there is a breach of WHOs regulation in the issuance of genuine cards by officials at the port health authority, too. When this reporter visited the port centre, findings showed that the security officers at the gate act as middlemen for selected staff of the health centre by bringing in applicants who are charged between N3,000 and N4,000, far higher than the N2,000 it takes to get the card. The first security official approached by PREMIUM TIMES, an old man, directed this reporter to a staff of the centre immediately he was told of the application. At the vaccination points were many applicants, a few sitting on benches and many standing in the crowded space provided, awaiting vaccination. After haggling about price, the staff finally directed this reporter to pay N3,000 for registration and bank charges by sending his details to a WhatsApp number she provided. The N1, 000 is for processing, she explained, adding that the card goes for N2,000. The port centre, often crowded, is the only authorised point yellow cards are issued in the airport, the staff explained. The most brazen violation of basic yellow card rule at the port health centre, PREMIUM TIMES observed, was in the practice of backdating the issuance date to allow passengers use the card for travelling as soon as they wish. This reporter observed that many passengers came with their passports and other travelling documents, panting, pleading with the officials to quickly issue the card to them as they were already late for boarding. The health officials largely succumbed to the pressure by backdating the issuance, in flagrant abuse of international best practices. Many people want to do the right thing but look at the crowd, Clement Ogu, an applicant told PREMIUM TIMES. I have been coming here and going back for the last three days because of the queue and all. I understand this is the only place they issue the card; it is bad. Thats why there is huge agitation and you see people struggling to bend the rules. It is why many choose to go get from illegal means if the country you are travelling to is not that strict about it. Although officials at the port centre backdate the cards upon request, PREMIUM TIMES on multiple occasions however confirmed that they ensure that the applicants are vaccinated before the cards are issued. When PREMIUM TIMES contacted Henrietta Yakubu, FAAN spokesperson, to intimate her of the sharp practices inside airport toilets, she feigned ignorance of the development. Upon being told that cleaners issue fake yellow cards in the toilets, she said it was not possible. No, no, no, no, we have roller banners all over the airport, telling passengers where to go to, to get those cards, she said. The Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos I am sure passengers know too well they are not supposed to just get cards off the counter like that. You are supposed to be immunized; you are supposed to go to the office of the Port Health Authority to get your yellow card. No, no, no, I dont believe that. That passengers will get yellow cards from just airport workers like that, no, no, no. Nigerian passengers are enlightened; they know they are supposed to go to port health to go and pick up their cards. Fake and original yellow cards: Spotting the differences PREMIUM TIMES findings show that in the past, many travelers had their yellow cards delivered to them through third parties. This practice is often traced to the proliferation of fake cards, often carried about unknowingly by a few travellers out of ignorance. The practice has now been eradicated with the issuance of the new electronic card, as applicants are given on the basis of on-the-spot identification and vaccination. So while it may be difficult to distinguish between fake and genuine yellow cards in the past, the new electronic card may have erased that possibility as checks revealed that the new cards issued at the port centre is clearly different from the one issued inside airport toilets. The most glaring difference on the two cards is that although both have yellow design, the fake toilet card appears faded and whitish while the one issued at the port health centre is not. Also, the design is quite different: while the Nigerian coat of arm is placed at the topmost part of the front-page in the electronic card, it is placed somewhere in the middle on the fake one. Also, the new electronic card contains scan QR Code for verification, unlike the fake one which does not. Similarly, the portion where applicants name is written is boxed in the new card, while it is not in the fake one. Original yellow card issued at port centre However, PREMIUM TIMES findings showed that the fake card was designed as a cloned version of the old yellow card, used by passengers before the introduction of the new electronic version in August. Tha fake yellow fever card According to official information obtained at the port centre, yellow cards issued before the introduction of the new one are still valid, if the issuance was after 2015. By this development, those carrying fake cards can still use it to travel without hassle, especially to countries where the checks are not rigorous. In the absence of thorough surveillance, toilet cleaners in Nigerian airports issuing fake yellow cards will continue to have a field day doing business despite the introduction of the new electronic card. LISTEN TO AUDIO HERE: READ PART 1 OF THIS INVESTIGATION HERE The Peoples Democratic Party has submitted Razak Atunwas name to the Independent National Electoral Commission as its gubernatorial candidate in Kwara State, weeks after the politician was caught in a brazen act of forgery. Coming after Nigerians mounted calls on the PDP to reject Mr Atunwa, Fridays development showed the main opposition party was indifferent to the manipulation of a national document by one of its own, and even complicit in the desperate moves the politician has been making to escape the consequences of his act. Mr Atunwas name was listed amongst over 30 candidates presented by political parties in Kwara for the 2019 governorship election. INEC published the list on Friday afternoon, and it showed Mr Atunwa listed Oladipo Muyiwa as his running mate. The list came out three weeks after PREMIUM TIMES published an investigation exposing how Mr Atunwa sidestepped the national service after graduating from the university and then forged a discharge certificate of the National Youth Service Corps which he presented to the PDP to prove his eligibility for political office. Mr Atunwa, who chairs the Justice Committee of the House of Representatives, also obtained a sworn affidavit notarised at the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin, the state capital, saying under oath the forged document he presented was genuine. A clause in the PDP nomination forms says an aspirant stands automatically disqualified if any of the credentials presented were later found to be counterfeit or misleading in any way. But since October 22 when Mr Atunwas forgery was laid bare, the opposition party has ignored calls to speak on the matter, focusing instead on shielding the politician from both political and legal consequences the forgery poses. The PDP is protecting Mr Atunwa even though the party was the earliest and most vocal of all opposition elements in demanding the resignation and criminal prosecution of former Nigerias finance minister, Kemi Adeosun. Mrs Adeosun stepped down from office in September, over two months after PREMIUM TIMES reported she did not serve the nation after graduating from the university, opting instead to forge an exemption certificate of the NYSC in other to take employments in the country, including the ministerial position. Mrs Adeosun has since departed Nigeria, minimizing the chances of being prosecuted. Former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun (Photo Credit: Chronicle.ng) There are also no indications that law enforcement agencies would arrest Mr Atunwa for forging a national document, an uncertainty that the politician has exploited to continue his scheming to become a governor. PREMIUM TIMES found in late October that Mr Atunwa was plotting to substitute documents he presented to the PDP to win the partys primaries. Although the embattled politician has, for years, claimed to have obtained both bachelors and masters degrees from two universities in the United Kingdom, he believes submitting only a high school certificate would extricate him from the NYSC Act that requires a university graduate to participate in a year long national service. Since 1973, every Nigerian who attends a university or polytechnic has been mandated by the NYSC law to participate in the national youth scheme for one year after graduation, provided the person finished before age 30. Failure to serve would prohibit such an individual from employment in Nigeria, and making false claims about serving attracts up to 14 years in jail. Also, anyone who graduates before 30 but deliberately declines to serve has committed a crime that attracts 12-month imprisonment, even if the person did not forge NYSC documents. Only a person who obtained a degree after 30 or served in the military or won national honours medal qualifies for exemption certificate under the NYSC law. But even if Mr Atunwa presents his high school certificate, he would still run into legal troubles for committing perjury. He had sworn under oath at Kwara State High Court in Ilorin that he had university degrees and participated in NYSC between 1995 and 1996. The two universities he attended in England and his qualifications were also still available on his page at the National Assembly website as of 10:40 a.m. on October 29. Mr Atunwa forged his certificate even as Mrs Adeosuns scandal was still generating storms across the country. He also took the step even though communications minister, Adebayo Shittu, whom PREMIUM TIMES found did not also present himself for national service after graduating, was disqualified from the governorship race in Oyo State by the ruling All Progressives Congress even though he did not forge a certificate. Sinking Together Analysts say that coming amidst a looming general election, Mr Atunwas forgery scandal marks a major test for the PDP. The party lost the centre after 16 years in 2015, largely on allegations of gross incompetence and corruption. But the party has made concerted efforts to demonstrate redeeming values in its nearly three and a half years of opposition. After a protracted internal wrangling that nearly consumed it but for the intervention of the Supreme Court, the party has held two national conventions that political analysts commended for enriching Nigerias political space. The convention that produced Atiku Abubakar as the partys presidential candidate a month ago particularly received encouraging reviews from political commentators, who saw it as free and fair, away from past conventions that often ended with a band of disgruntled politicians revolting. For a party grappling with a bleak future as recently as two years ago, Mr Abubakars candidacy appears to have elevated the PDP to the same political stature as the ruling APC, but Mr Atunwas scandal is capable of derailing that trajectory, said political commentator Abubakar Usman. For any serious organisation, Razak Atunwas case is not even up for any argument as to whether he should be immediately discarded as a governorship candidate, Mr Usman told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday. It is either the PDP has changed or it has not. The party apologised to Nigerians only a few months ago, promising that it would not run government the way President Buhari has made everything about us as a nation into a big joke, the analyst added. Even if Nigerians believed the party at the time and were open to giving them a second chance, this matter about the man in Kwara may sink all of them together in 2019. Mr Usman said there is little wisdom in keeping Mr Atunwa as a candidate in the wake of the scandal. There is already free evidence to nail him in court, which I have seen on PREMIUM TIMES, I cannot imagine any candidate for political office escaping the legal arsenal that would be unleashed by opponents, Mr Usman said. If for any reason that Atunwa man is not caught and disqualified from the race, there are several pre-election rulings that the PDP could learn from and see that it cannot help its candidate get away with this level of criminality. I emphasise, if nothing is hastily done, both the party and the candidate are going to sink together because Nigerians home and away are fed up with being taken for fools by politicians on both major parties, he said. It is a simple task to remove that Atunwa man and the baggage he now constitutes, but they seem too feeble to do that. Mr Atunwa is favoured by Senate President Bukola Saraki, who recently became a national leader of the PDP after rejoining the party late July. The candidate has been campaigning fervently across the state in apparent defiance of the scandal over his credentials. The lawmaker has been promising residents during campaign stops that he would open up the states economy in order to engender an upward mobility for the largely agrarian population. He also promised to run an inclusive government that would put youth at the centre of most policy decisions, citing his own achievement of when he was first appointed a commissioner at 36. Party insiders told PREMIUM TIMES Mr Saraki, who is in control of the PDP structure in Kwara, has been reluctant to drop Mr Atunwa, fearing he might not find someone as loyal to replace him. Our leaders know that Mr Atunwa cannot get anywhere because of the forgery case, but they are afraid of offending the Senate President, a senior official at the partys national secretariat told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday. They are still begging him to let go of this problematic choice and immediately pick another one. There is still an opening for substitution of candidates, we still have some weeks to go and we are hopeful something would be done before the deadline so that we can build our chances of overcoming this disastrous APC at the upcoming elections, the source added, preferring his identity be concealed to avoid being sanctioned for disclosing internal information without authoritisation. Kola Ologbondiyan, the partys national spokesperson in Abuja, did not return PREMIUM TIMES messages seeking comments on the partys handling of Mr Atunwas forgery scandal. Hundreds of residents, mostly women and children, are currently fleeing into Maiduguri, Borno state capital, as suspected Boko Haram gunmen attack Judumri, a village on the outskirt of the city. Residents of the city started hearing gunshots Saturday evening as Muslims were concluding their prayers. About an hour later, groups of men, women and children began to flock into the Maiduguri city centre on foot, fleeing the attack by Boko Haram. Ahmed Ibrahim, a 21-year-old man, who was seen dragging two of his younger siblings, said their village, Juddumri, was being attacked. It started at about 6.30 p.m. when we began to hear heavy sounds of shooting coming from the bush area behind our community which is not far away from the Federal High Court, he said. Initially we thought of running into our houses but soldiers guarding the parapets asked everyone to leave at once. That was why we had to leave en masse. Most of the fleeing residents said they would have to pass the night on the streets, despite the chilling harmattan. The attacked location which is popularly known as Polo Area, has suffered repeated Boko Haram attacks in recent months. By 7.30 p.m., a PREMIUM TIMES reporter sighted several military and police trucks filled with armed personnel driving at top speed towards the attacked location. The police and the military did not comment at the time of filing this report. Details later President Muhammadu Buhari has set ambitious targets for a national broadband network to harness the potential of the internet and digital access for jobs, education, healthcare, identity management and to increase productivity in the public sector. To this end, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and the Nigeria Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, have jointly launched the National Broadband Penetration Programme, a public-private initiative to ensure the deployment of 18,000km of fibre infrastructure to Nigerias existing stock of 38,000km of fibre cabling. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, stated this at the just-concluded 5th World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, China. He explained that the goal is to, within four years, provide fibre connectivity to all 774 Local Government Areas of Nigeria. Governments role is to provide the right licensing framework as well as the necessary subsidies to encourage investment. He revealed that two additional infrastructure companies have been licensed in 2018, to roll out broadband infrastructure in Nigeria. Together with previous licensees, and other private sector players, these companies will help implement the Governments vision of total national broadband connectivity, he said. The Senior Special Assistant to the President told the conference that Nigerias Social Investment Programme, including the N-Power Youth Employment Scheme, has provided 500,000 beneficiaries with electronic tablet devices for learning and self-development. Another aspect of the N-Power focuses on training young software engineers and coders, he said. The presidential aide further told the international gathering that the Buhari administration has begun the development of Technology & Innovation Hubs across the country, in partnership with the private sector, adding that a total of eight these hubs are planned across the country, with four already functional. He also spoke about partnerships between the Nigerian government and Facebook, Google, and Huawei to roll out high-quality Internet across the country, adding that the recently established Technology Advisory Body chaired by the vice president will provide support to tech companies and initiatives. He specifically thanked Chinese Companies like Huawei for being supportive of the Nigerian governments efforts at digital inclusion and expanding access. The Senior Special Assistant to the President lauded Huawei for sponsoring Nigerian students for ICT training in China, recalling that in 2016 the company opened a Technology Hub, the Huawei Innovation and Experience Centre, in Lagos with a pledge to train 12,000 Nigerians, including 2,000 civil servants. Four Catholic priests who were abducted on November 6 by unknown persons in Delta have regained their freedom, the News agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. The Nigeria Police, Delta Command, confirmed on Saturday that the priests were rescued near Abraka, Ethiope East Local Government Area of the state. According to the Police Commissioner , Muhammad Mustafa, the victims were rescued on Friday evening at a location he did not disclose. Those rescued are: Rev. Fathers Victor Adigboluja of the Ijebu Ode Diocese; Anthony Otegbola, Abeokuta Diocese; Joseph Ediae, Benin Archdiocese; and Emmanuel Obadjere, Warri Diocese. They were said to have been on their way to the Seminary of All Saints Uhiele-Ekpoma in Edo on November 6 when they were kidnapped. The police boss, who earlier said that one of the suspects had been apprehended in connection with the crime, also assured that the police command was trailing the others. He assured that the other suspects would be arrested and prosecuted. They were rescued on Friday and we are on the trail of the other suspects. We do not encourage ransom, so no ransom was paid, Mr Mustafa said. A reliable source told NAN that the priests were taken to Benin City for medical attention immediately they regained their freedom. According to the source the priests were escorted to Benin City by the joint police and military team that rescued them. The captors had earlier demanded for N4 million as ransom to effect their release. (NAN) A renowned environmental activist, Nnimmo Bassey, has said the controversy over the death of Ken Saro-Wiwa still remains unresolved, 23 years after the environmental activist and Ogoni leader, together with eight of his kinsmen, was executed by Sani Abacha-led military administration on November 10, 1995. His death remains a matter that is yet to be resolved because the state necessarily has to exonerate him of the false charges and the kind of kangaroo judgment that was given by that tribunal, Mr Bassey said on Saturday in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES. Besides, the state has to apologise to the victims and to the Ogoni people for executing them when the appeal period had not even elapsed, he said. Mr Bassey said November 10 has always been a day for sober reflection for him. The day he was executed in 1995, I was at that time, the secretary-general of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). We were having our annual conference at the University of Lagos, and we were debating whether to issue a statement pleading with Abacha to have mercy and cancel the death sentence or to issue a hard-line statement condemning the atrocities of his dictatorship. Why that debate was going on, we got the news that they had been executed. So, it is always a very sad day for me. The campaign of Ken Saro-Wiwa was focused on environmental justice. And the injustice meted out on him and the Ogoni people is one of the major reasons I have made environmental justice campaign my lifetime cause. Mr Bassey said the Nigerian state was yet to learn lessons from the killing of Mr Saro-Wiwa and the other Ogoni leaders. He said, Just looking back and reading the justification for that action by the state, Nigeria still thinks it can settle social and ecological issues by suppressing the people who are complaining, and by also allowing the issues to evolve into a major crisis. The Niger Delta is still heavily militarised, and this is not a solution. It creates more tension, more insecurity, and breads further injustices. The environmental activist said cleaning-up of Ogoni land would be a measure of atonement for the injustices done to Mr Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni people, followed by a thorough implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland. Righting the wrongs done to Saro-Wiwa, and others, including the Ogoni people, Mr Bassey said, is low-hanging fruit for the Buhari administration. And if they dont do it, it would be a lost opportunity, he said. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has attributed the high cost of conducting elections to prevailing insecurity in most parts of the country and called for peaceful coexistence amongst Nigerians. The INEC national commissioner in charge of Benue, Enugu and Anambra states, Festus Okoye, said this on Saturday in Makurdi during an interaction with leaders of political parties, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the Media. He acknowledged that though such huge deployment of security personnel during elections helped in stabilising the electoral process, it was also capital intensive. Mr Okoye, a civil society activist, called on the stakeholders to mobilise the electorate against electoral violence and general insecurity in the country. He said the commission was working hard to ensure Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living in various camps are not disenfranchised. The conditions of the IDPs are horrible, no Nigerian deserves to live in a camp. I call on all including the media to mobilise the people against insurgency. No matter how bad their conditions are, we will make sure they vote during the elections. We are working with State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA) to capture their details. All registered IDPs will vote, he assured. He said no Nigerian who has attained the voting age and possesses a valid voter card would be denied the right to exercise their franchise. It is only through voting that they can take ownership of the electoral process by voting those they want. He called on the electorate to check their names in the ongoing display of voters register to avoid omissions and spelling errors. He also warned political parties to avoid wrong substitution of candidates names, saying only list of candidates duly signed by party chairmen and secretaries will be accepted by the commission. Mr Okoye appealed to parties to respect their internal democratic principles to avoid litigations after party primaries and assured that efforts had been intensified to ensure the credibility of the polls. (NAN) The Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Rafiu Ibrahim, has explained that the Senates decision to rescind and revise the means of funding of the supplementary budget of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies for the conduct of the 2019 general elections, was done in good faith, after due consultation with the executive. Mr Ibrahim in a statement on Friday said that the Senate already passed the N242, 245, 050,100 supplementary budget on Tuesday, October 16 with the stipulation that it should be funded from the service wide vote, but had to rescind and revise its position following pressure on members of the Senate Appropriations Committee by the executive. The Senate on Wednesday approved that half of the N242 billion budgeted for the 2019 election be removed from the 2018 budget of 30 federal agencies. Presenting a motion, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Danjuma Goje, said the election could not be funded entirely from the service wide votes as earlier approved. The deduction was greeted by criticism by Nigerians who questioned why the lawmakers decided to cut budget of key agencies rather than cut their allowances. Reacting to this on Friday, Mr Ibrahim said the idea of slashing budgets of these minitsries, departments and agencies (MDAs) emanated from the executive. The insinuations being peddled that the Senate single-handedly and unilaterally cut the budgets of critical MDAs is false. Such actions are uncharacteristic of this 8th Senate. The facts remain that on Tuesday, October 16th, the Senate approved a report that stipulated that the supplementary funding for INEC and security agencies to conduct the 2019 election should be sourced from the Service Wide Vote of the Executive through virement. This information is out everywhere. However, the Executive came up with a counter-proposal that asked that the election be funded through both the Service Wide Vote and the budgets of 30 MDAs on a pro rata basis. This is why, the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Danjuma Goje, had to come up with a Motion to rescind, reconsider and revise the source of funding contained in the original approval granted by the Senate. So, if you take a close look at the Senates Order paper of Wednesday, November 7, 2018, you will see that N121,122,525,050, which represents half of the entire supplementary budget, was sourced from 30 MDAs chosen by the Executive, while the other N121,122,525,050 was taken from the Service Wide Vote. As always, all senators remain committed to ensuring that Nigeria has free, fair and credible general elections next year, and they will continue to collaborate with the Executive, members of the public and all other stakeholders to ensure that this happens, Mr Ibrahim stated. After the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari to include his academic credentials in the list of documents submitted to Nigerias electoral umpire, (INEC) in October, the debates about the presidents certificates which started in 2015 re-emerged albeit with new twists. Mr Buhari is contesting for a second term in office under the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). His inability to present in particular, his West African Secondary School Certificate left him open, like in 2015, to verbal attacks from opposition politicians who accused him of not possessing the certificate in the first place. In a reaction to the the development largely described as a duplication of the pre-2015 election controversy, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) issued an attestation certificate to the president, to confirm that Mr Buhari indeed obtained a secondary school certificate from the examination body in 1961. Mr Buhari, in defending himself from attacks, explained the impact of his WAEC result in his military and political career, after receiving the attestation in a well celebrated event. Mr Buharis explanation strengthened the general perception that the latest development from the examination body is to prove to Nigerians that the president truly has a secondary school certificate as required by law, and this qualifies him to contest in the 2019 general elections. In all of this, what does the law say? According to section 131 of Nigerias constitution, Mr Buhari is expected, among other criteria to include a document indicating that he had obtained a minimum of a Senior Secondary School certificate to qualify to contest for election into the office of President. The section contains the following: A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the President if -(a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; (b) he has attained the age of forty years; (c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and (d) he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent. Based on the above provision, Mr Buhari is expected by law to provide documents that prove his compliance with subsections (a) to (d) of the section 131, mentioned above to the Independent National Electoral Commission, Nigerias electoral body for the regulation of the said elections. A Matter Of Integrity? In a previous response to raging criticisms, especially by the former administration of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2015, Mr Buhari, who ran for president in 2003, 2007 and 2011, repeatedly declared that copies of his academic records were with the military. The former head of state also said original copies of his credentials were lost when his house was raided while he was in detention during the administration of Ibrahim Babangida, who toppled his regime. Some lawyers however suggest that the matter was not purely legal, but more of integrity. An Abuja-based lawyer, Folarin Aluko, said the law does not mandate the aspirant to compulsorily submit their results to INEC. From a legal point of view, the brouhaha surrounding the Presidents certificate is a non sequitur. Section 131 (d) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) provides that a candidate vying for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria must have been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent. There are many ways this requirement can be established outside the production of a School Leaving Certificate. The issue of his level of education has been established by virtue of the courses he took during the course of his career in the military. Looking at ancillary legal issues that may arise, for example, we understand from the media that the president deposed to an affidavit to explain the whereabouts of the certificate. In these instances, proving that a person lied would require proof of his state of mind, which can be quite difficult. In my humble opinion, this certificate storm is more of an integrity issue for the president. I do not think it rises to the level of a legal issue, Mr Aluko told PREMIUM TIMES. In a similar opinion, another lawyer, Ejeh Monday, said the president had sufficient information in his educational qualifications to douse any iota of doubt that he may not have attained a secondary education. This matter for me, is no longer a live issue. President Muhammadu Buhari joined the Military and rose to the rank of a General before he retired. He also served in the following capacities: the military Governor of the North-eastern State: 1975-1976; Federal Commissioner (position now called Minister) for Petroleum and Natural Resources: 1976-1978; pioneer Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation: 1977-1978; General Officer Commanding, in the Nigerian Army: 1981-1983; Military Head of State and Government of Nigeria: 1984-1985; democratically elected President, 2015 to date, Mr Ejeh said. The lawyer added that Mr Buhari had evidently taken part in a number of courses, while he served at the military that should leave Nigerians satisfied about his educational qualifications. I do not think our military system is so porous to allow an uneducated person into the system as an officer. Besides, the above qualifications are more than what Section 131 of the Constitution termed the equivalent of WASSCE, Mr Ejeh said in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES. In a similar opinion, another lawyer, Mojirayo Ogunlana-Nkanga, cited previous court judgement to prove that the matter was purely political, and not necessarily legal in nature. The prerogative is with the INEC to determine what qualification is satisfactory for the post of President and in so doing it must remain within the purview of the Constitution, Mrs Ogunlana-Nkanga said. In any case, it is not a requirement of the Constitution for the candidate to necessarily present the certificate to qualify for election to the office of governor of a state. Submission or presentation of certificate is not the requirement of S. 177(d) of the Constitution as regards the gubernatorial screening process. The process of screening which the appellant and the 4th respondent requires the candidate to fill in his qualification in the form and to swear to a verifying affidavit that the information contained in Form CF001 was true. This takes away the necessity of presentation of the actual certificate to the 1st and 2nd respondents. According to Mrs Ogunlana-Nkanga the above excerpt from a previous Supreme Court ruling implies that; a candidate is mandated to swear to an affidavit stating he has complied with the constitutional requirements for election into office and also state his particulars within the affidavit. It is left for the candidate to attach documents to their affidavit as this is not mandatory. Mrs Ogunlana-Nkanga cited section 318 (1) of the Constitution to explain the meaning of certificate level required in section 131. According to the section, a certificate is defined as the following: (a) a Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent, or Grade II Teachers Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate; or (b) education up to Secondary School Certificate level; or (c) Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent and- (1) service in the public or private sector in the Federation in any capacity acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for a minimum of ten years, and (11) attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for periods totalling up to a minimum of one year, and (111) the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English language to the satisfaction of the Independent National Electoral Commission; and (d) any other qualification acceptable by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Both Sections 131(d) and 318 (1) must be read together as the latter section contains the interpretation of terms referred to in the former section. Hence, the provision of Section 131(d) should not be interpreted in isolation of the intention of the drafters of the Constitution who took the pain to interpret the meaning of school certificate in Section 318, she added. Dust Yet To Settle Despite the temporary lull in the controversy, a Nigerian, Itsede Kingsley has filed a suit in court, challenging Mr Buharis repeated failure to submit the said certificate to INEC. Mr Kingsley wants the court to declare that Mr Buharis failure to submit the certificate, in relation to section 131, of the constitution has rendered him ineligible to partake in the forthcoming general elections. With the 2019 polls less than four months away, the presidents team has however continued to urge all those not satisfied to head to court like Mr Kingsley. The chairman of the All progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, on Saturday raised concerns over an encounter he said he had with the State Security Service recently. Mr Oshiomhole said he was questioned by the secret police last weekend in Abuja on issues bordering on the partys recent primaries. Mr Oshiomhole said he did not believe the SSS was the appropriate agency for such interrogation in a constitutional democracy. The conversation centred around APC primaries, TheCable reported Mr Oshiomhole as saying after debunking reports that he was arrested and detained by the secret police. The question now is whether or not it is the DSS (SSS) job to interfere in a political partys issues. And if there is an allegation of corruption, it is the responsibility of EFCC and ICPC, Mr Oshiomhole added according to TheCable, which said the former Edo State governor met with editors in Lagos on Saturday. PREMIUM TIMES was not at the meeting. Mr Oshiomhole also said he drove himself out of the SSS facility following interrogation, denying he was collected by Governor Yahaya Bello. Mr Oshiomhole said he traveled out of Nigeria on Tuesday, and responded to an alarm raised by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party that he had absconded. The party also urged the Interpol and other security agencies to launch a manhunt for Mr Oshiomhole. The former governor accused the opposition party of being petty, saying it would not have tolerated its leaders being grilled by security agencies like he was made to endure, TheCable reported. Mr Oshiomholes meeting with the editors comes a day after he returned to Nigeria from the United Kingdom, where PREMIUM TIMES learnt he met with Bola Tinubu, a leader of the ruling party who had been undergoing treatment for undisclosed ailments in London. TheCable reported earlier this week that Mr Oshiomhole was questioned by the SSS for nine hours on suspicion he had taken humongous bribes from APC politicians to manipulate the partys primaries in favour of persons he preferred. The exercise held between September and October, producing the partys candidates for presidential, governorship and legislative offices. Several APC governors whom Mr Oshiomhole apparently truncated their plans to nominate successors have been publicly fuming with the party chairman. Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha and Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun have been particularly furious, publicly accusing Mr Oshiomhole of disregarding partys constitution in conduct of primaries and demanding his immediate removal. Both Messrs Amosun and Okorocha believe Mr Oshiomhole has the backing of Mr Tinubu, whose influence over party affairs is widely acknowledged even though he does not hold a formal position. Mr Oshiomhole has denied allegations of fraud against him, and challenged those who have issues with his leadership to leave the party. But law enforcement and intelligence sources have told PREMIUM TIMES Mr Oshiomhole has become a person of interest in recent weeks. We have received strong new materials which suggested him as an interesting individual who should be thorough investigated, an intelligence source said. We have commenced work in that regard. Mr Oshiomhole, who became the partys chairman amidst controversial atmosphere in June, has been accused of taking bribes through political allies and blood relations to admit some politicians as the partys candidates in 2019. Some of his alleged proxies have been identified by law enforcement officers, but the political undertone of the probe has made it difficult to determine when they would be called in for questioning, especially as it would require approval up to the presidency level move against those involved, sources said. Mr Amosun has strongly denied involvement in the SSS investigation of Mr Oshiomhole. A spokesperson for the SSS would not comment on its findings into Mr Oshiomholes activities when reached by PREMIUM TIMES. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said no fewer than 375, 142 persons were affected by flood disaster across 10 local government areas of Anambra. Idris Abubarkar, NEMA Incident Commander in Awka, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Saturday. Mr Abubarkar said out of the number, no fewer than 18, 144 persons were in the category of People in Need, while 973 persons were either injured or sick as a result of the disaster. According him, Ogbaru Council Area has the highest number of affected persons with 131, 175, followed by Anambra West with 100, 775 while Onitsha South has the least of 1, 005 people. The NEMA official said the agency would distribute relief materials to the affected persons next week with the assistance of Anambra State emergency Management Agency (SEMA). He said in addition to food items, building materials would be given to those whose homes were destroyed by the disaster to enable them to begin life again. Mr Abubarkar, however, noted that the relief materials to be distributed were not compensation but palliatives aimed at cushioning the impact. He further said that NEMA had not come to take over the duties of the state government in providing for its people but to support it. He said disaster management was everybodys business and enjoined everyone to help in the efforts to restore the livelihood of the people. We in collaboration with SEMA are coordinating an actionable and assessment report that can guide the Federal Government to intervene, he said. By next week we will go to these communities and directly handover the relief materials to them. I must say that this is not compensation but a way of helping them to stand on their feet. We shall give out food items and building materials to people whose homes were destroyed, he said. Mr Abubarkar blamed the flood on poor management of the environment and warned people to stop building structures and felling trees on flood plains. He said the high number of dams were impeding the free flow of waters and causing siltation and called for massive dredging and de-silting works on natural water channels. People are encouraged to stop construction of structures on flood plains; they are also to respect early warning signals whenever they come and move up to higher lands. A major cause of flooding is the siltation resulting from a number of dam and cutting down of trees on flood paths, so we need dredging and de-siltation so that water can remain in its natural course, he said. (NAN) The Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has distanced himself from the crisis which erupted at the House of Assembly on Friday, which saw the removal of the speaker and his deputy. Although fingers were pointed in the direction of the governor and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress in the state, both of them have denied that they had anything to do with either the removal or the reprisal attacks by thugs on the lawmakers. Bamidele Oleyelogun, who served as speaker until Friday morning, was removed along with his deputy, Iroju Ogundeji, in a rowdy closed-door plenary. Not less than 18 of the 26 members of the assembly supported the removal of Mr Oleyelogun, who was elected in a similar circumstance at the dawn of the Rotimi Akeredolu administration. Olamide George from Akure North and Abimbola Fajolu from Ile oluji/Okeigbo constituency were immediately named speaker and deputy respectively as replacements. The removed lawmakers were accused of gross misconduct, incompetence, financial misappropriation, high handedness and enriching themselves through corrupt means. Jumoke Akindele, who was earlier removed as speaker to pave the way for Mr Oleyelogun, midwifed the process of electing the new leadership presiding over the session as acting speaker. Mr Oleyelogun had attempted to stall the process of removal by attacking Ms Akindele, the act which resulted in a fisticuff. He was finally subdued and the removal went on successfully. Shortly after the conclusion of the process, political thugs invaded the assembly complex and assaulted lawmakers in the presence security officials, who did little to prevent them. Journalists and some security agents were also not spared in the mayhem as some of them sustained varying degrees of injuries in the process. However, the removed speaker later mobilised his loyal members of the house and announced the suspension of the new speaker and 14 other lawmakers who participated in the impeachment process. He said he remained the authentic speaker of the house as his traducers failed to muster the required two thirds majority required by law. The attack by the hoodlums is believed by most of the lawmakers to have been masterminded in favour of the impeached leadership of the house by the chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state, Ade Adetimehin, and the governor. PREMIUM TIMES, however, gathered that the hoodlums were misinformed about the lawmakers intentions, thinking they wanted to impeached the governor. According to a source at the APC secretariat, the thugs were out to stop the alleged attempt by the lawmakers to impeach Mr Akeredolu. They broke through locked doors chasing the lawmakers out of the complex, injuring some of them and destroying their vehicles. Security operatives led by the state Commissioner of Police, Gbenga Adeyanju, watched the scenario of attacks without any effort to stop them. Speaking with journalists, the chairman House Committee on Information, Fatai Olotu, said the removal of the speaker was done in good faith and in the interest of the state. The two- third of the members of the Ondo State House of Assembly today removed the speaker and his deputy over their incompetence to run the affairs of the house, he said. I want you to know that changing leadership is an inherent right of members of the house. The two officials have shown great incompetence in running the affairs of the house. They ran the house aground financially and committed a lot of financial impropriety that members can no longer condone. As at June this year, they have exhausted all the budgetary allocation for the house which runs to the tune of N1.5 billion without the knowledge of the House of Assembly. Mr Olotu said the removal of the two principal officer would not affect the relationship between lawmakers and the executive. He denied plans to impeach the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, saying the governor has not committed any impeachable offence and there was no justification for us to impeach the governor. The lawmakers also suspended the sacked speaker, his deputy and two other members. Speaking on the development, the Commissioner for Information, Yemi Olowolabi, told PREMIUM TIMES that the governor had no hand in the crisis of the assembly. According to him, impeachment squabbles were not new at the house, adding that it was the business of the house to determine the tenure of its leaders. What the governor does is to invite the warring parties and try to find amicable solutions to the crisis, he said. And that is what the governor has been doing and will do. Mr Olowolable stated that the executive arm of government was not and would not be involved in the politics of impeachment of a speaker, adding that the allegations that it was involved was untrue. The APC Publicity Secretary, Alex Kalejaye, said the Chairman of the APC, Mr Adetimehin, was only at the assembly to pacify the lawmakers, but he was assaulted and told that it was not a party affair. The chairman got the information that the lawmakers were conducting an impeachment, and being that majority of the lawmakers are APC members, he went there to try to stop the process, but they attacked him and told him that it was not a party affair, he said. He said the chairman returned to his office and was not in any way part of those who masterminded thugs to attack the assembly. It is not something we are happy about that hoodlums would invade the state House of Assembly, the chairman cannot be involved in such a thing, he added. The current crisis in the house may not be unconnected with the outcome of the APC primaries where only seven, including the impeached speaker and his deputy, out of the 18 party members, have tickets to contest the next assembly elections. For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME. Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire. Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever. Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation. View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union. Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history. Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words. MONTREAL, Nov. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Alain Letourneau is recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Pinnacle Professional in the field of Law in recognition of his role as an Attorney at Cain Lamarre S.E.N.C.R.I. Having gathered over 55 years of experience in courts of law including the Supreme Court of Canada, Alain Letourneau is revered for his remarkable contributions to the legal profession. A venerated professional, throughout his illustrious career Mr. Letourneau has attained extensive experience in the areas of mediation and arbitration, insurance law (builders' risk insurance, directors and officers, professional liability insurance, statutory examinations, obligation to defend, fraudulent claims); and litigation (insurance, construction, disciplinary, civil liability, medical and hospital responsibility). While pursuing his educational endeavors, Mr. Letourneau earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at the A., College Brebeuf and College Sainte-Marie of Montreal. Thereafter, Mr. Letourneau would go on to obtain his LL.B. at the Universite de Montreal in 1958 and attended McGill University in 1959 for Bar Studies. To further enhance his professional development, Mr. Letourneau was an esteemed member of several elite organizations including the American College of Trial Lawyers; Quebec Bar Motions Committee; Quebec Bar Association Foundation; Foundation du patrimoine Quebecois; Association of Defense Attorneys; and Quebec Bar Civil Code Reform Committee. Mr. Letourneau has served as the past president of the Montreal Bar in the early 1990s and served as chair of the Quebec Bar Foundation for approximately 15 years. In recognition of his professional accolades, Mr. Letourneau was the honorary recipient of the Best Lawyers in Canada designation since 2006, and Quebec Bar Merit Award (awarded to group); President of the Montreal Bar Association (19901991). Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected] SOURCE Continental Who's Who Related Links http://www.continentalwhoswho.com WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and member countries of the Coalition to Support legitimacy in Yemen continually aims to improve its military professionalism and self-sufficiency. Recently, the Kingdom and the Coalition increased its capability to independently conduct inflight refueling in Yemen. As a result, in consultation with the United States, the Coalition has requested the cessation of inflight refueling support for its operations in Yemen. The Coalition Command expresses its hope that the upcoming UN sponsored negotiations in a third country will lead to a negotiated settlement in accordance to UNSCR 2216 and see an end to the aggression by the Iranian backed Houthi militias' against the Yemeni people and countries in the region, including the threat of ballistic missiles and UAVs. SOURCE Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Information Office CHICAGO, Nov. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrity Financial, Inc/Midwest Equity Mortgage announced today Chris Norris has joined the firm as Vice President of Sales. Norris has a history of building strong origination teams throughout Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana is tasked with doing the same in his new role. Norris brings 20 years' experience to his new role, having previously served in a business development capacity at Caliber Home Loans. In speaking to his ability to build upon his talents and previous success in mortgage lending, Norris stated, "I am very excited about all we have to offer as a company. We have the right tools, operational support, and compensation structure for any true mortgage professional to build a career to be proud of and excited about." Eric Meadow, Midwest Equity Mortgage President, stated, "I speak for the entire Executive Team when I say we feel very fortunate to welcome Chris to the Company. Landing a true professional as Chris speaks directly to the changes we have made since our acquisition by Celebrity Financial and the direction this Company is headed. Chris had standing offers to join some of the largest lenders in the country. People in the industry are definitely taking note of where Chris landed." Additional inquiries can be directed to Eric Meadow at: [email protected] About Midwest Equity Mortgage, LLC MEM is an independent mortgage lender which celebrated its 10th anniversary in April of 2017. Licensed in 15 states with multiple offices in the US, MEM originates and funds residential mortgage loans through three distinct business channels and under the DBA's of Midwest Equity Mortgage, eClick Lending, Capital Financial Group, and JVM Lending. About Celebrity Financial, Inc. Celebrity is a duly organized, privately held diversified financial services holding company based out of the US Virgin Islands. Celebrity has holdings in mortgage lending, vendor services, and fintech. Additional inquiries related to Celebrity, its holdings and future opportunities can be directed to David Robnett, President at [email protected]. Related Links Website SOURCE Celebrity Financial/Midwest Equity Mortgage NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In a debut reveling in ecological inspiration, ethically sourced materials, and a passion for social responsibility, Devil's Tear announced the launch of an on-line shop featuring four luxury jewelry collections. The company will also host a New York City Launch Party featuring many of the pieces from their line that can be purchased during the event. The seductive designs were inspired by the world-wide journey of both of the company's founders who had to develop new skills to further their careers especially after facing the challenges women in the workplace may often face of being undervalued, unsupported and without mentorship. One of the founders, Nataly Glushko who oversees design and creation began the line with a focus on creating a bejeweled accessory that would help women channel their passions and fuel their desire to succeed. "In addition to providing women and men with an amulet or a talisman they can wear on everyday basis, we see our business as a stepping stone to use our professional experience and knowledge as charitable efforts," shared the company's co-founder and CEO, Natalie Solak. "Devil's Tear will work within the New York City Community, teaching real-life business skills and entrepreneurship to those who need it most. We will be able to help mold their long-term success just as we create our jewelry out of the mold for long-wear." Devil's Tear features a variety of creatures that have been depicted in protective amulets, talismans or good luck charms since pre-historic times and have been crafted in consultation with Feng Shui masters to achieve the most appropriate and comforting combination of creature and color. One highlight of the collections is the bestselling, stunning dragon bracelets, which were chosen as the symbol of protection, strength and success. Most of the people who wear one of Devil's Tear dragon bracelets refer to them as the amulets that always ensure "a sense of security, comfort, etc..." This is also reflected in the company's motto: "I am not what I appear to be...I've been forged by my inner demons and purified by my passions..." This highly collectible jewelry line will have pieces that range from $349 to $1499 and features precious, semi-precious stones and metals. Devil's Tear will donate 10% of their launch sales to the anti-human trafficking non-profit organization, Life Preservers Project. The company will hold their launch event on Friday, December 14, 2018 in New York City. For those who purchase a ticket to the event, the $40 ticket price will be discounted off any purchase during the event. Purchase a ticket to the event at https://bit.ly/2yZx1Vo. About Devil's Tear Devil's Tear was founded in 2018 and is a new, luxury jewelry company known for captivating designs handcrafted and spiritually purified in Bali giving its wearer a talisman, a good luck object that can be worn from the office to after hours, showing understated elegance for its male and female wearers. Devil's Tear was founded by Natalie Solak and Nataly Glushko to provide a luxury jewelry piece that could be used as a sacred token to encourage and celebrate every part of the life journey. Learn more at www.devilstear.co or follow us on Instagram. Media Contact: Maribel Rivera Phone: (347) 871-6632 Email: [email protected] Natalie Solak Phone: (718) 406-2087 Email: [email protected] Related Images image1.jpg image2.png devils-tear-launch-event.png Devil's Tear Launch Event Launch event will be held on Friday, December 14, 2018. SOURCE Devil's Tear Related Links http://www.devilstear.co The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) announced that the airport to be rebuilt is in the historic city of Marib, east of the capital Sanaa. Once complete, it will provide a critical infrastructure hub for the country and region. Whilst underway, it will create approximately 1,000 permanent jobs upon completion, 5,000 jobs during construction, and some 10,000 indirect jobs in ancillary sectors. The work is to be carried out by the same company that built and designed a Chicago airport. Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al Jaber, the director of SDRPY said, "This is an exciting project that gets to the heart of what Yemen needs right now in terms of employment and economic opportunities. Its proximity to the capital means it could also revive the efforts to join the regions of al-Jawf, Shabwah and Hadramaut. This essential work, and many projects like it, can't wait the people of Yemen need it now, even as we tirelessly strive for a political solution to the conflict." SDRPY is also working on the following projects across the country: King Salman Educational and Medical City, Seiyun Hospital, al-Ghaydah Schools, al-Ghaydah Water Project, well-drilling project, two power stations in Socotra, a kidney dialysis centre, petroleum derivatives project, residential complex project, border posts, national security and a counterterrorism centre. Saudi Arabia provided $2 billion in monetary aid to Yemen's central bank to help bolster the country's currency only a few months ago. Notes to editors: Twitter: @SaudiDRPY Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaudiDRPYEN YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2T60Y_ZB9ta5PLRaCJbZ4Q LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/saudi-reconstructions-program-in-yemen/ SOURCE The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen CHICAGO, Nov. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC), an inclusive organization dedicated to eliminating disparities in cardiovascular diseases, and Quantum Genomics , a biopharmaceutical company that developed a new drug class that directly targets the brain to treat hypertension and heart failure, today announced excellent short-term results from its Phase 2b NEW- HOPE trial of firibastat, a first-in-class brain aminopeptidase A inhibitor (BAPAI). The results of the trial were delivered by Dr. Keith Ferdinand in a Late-Breaking Clinical Trials presentation at the 2018 American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions which is being held from November 10 through 12 in Chicago, IL. "We have been enthusiastic about the collaboration with Quantum Genomics on the NEW-HOPE study, due to the incorporation of traditionally underrepresented minorities in this trial and the potential for addition of a new drug-class to the current treatment armamentarium in the management of hypertension. Enrollment of the minority patient population required utilization of the vast minority physician resources that ABC has and the willingness that these physicians demonstrated in their ability to recruit eligible patients from their communities. Participation of minority patients in clinical trials is an important part of ABC's Collaborative Value Based Care initiative, a critical component of ABC's mission," said ABC President John Fontaine MD, MBA, FACC, FHRS. "The ABC is dedicated to lowering the high rate of cardiovascular disease and hypertension, the most common cause of death, in underserved and at-risk populations. Minority participation in the early stages of clinical trials can yield important data needed to favorably impact decision-making, individualize treatment and allow broad application of guideline recommendations to a diverse patient population." Primary endpoint met: A significant decrease in systolic blood pressure of 9.7 mmHg (p < 0.0001) utilizing automated office blood pressure measurement The principal investigator of the study Professor Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, FACC, FAHA, FASH, FNLA, of Tulane University School of Medicine and past Chairman of the Board of the ABC, presented the results from the Phase 2b trial. Results showed that eight weeks of treatment with firibastat led to a statistically significant decrease of 9.7 mmHg in systolic automatic office blood pressure (AOBP) from baseline (p < 0.0001), which was the primary endpoint of the trial. Diastolic AOBP, a secondary endpoint, showed a reduction of 4.3 mmHg (p < 0.0001). Firibastat proved efficacious in all subgroups The efficacy of firibastat in lowering blood pressure (BP) was proven in all subgroup analyses, including age, sex, ethnic origin and weight. In particular, a statistically significant decrease in systolic AOBP was found in obese patients (-10,4 mmHg, p < 0.0001), as well as in blacks (-10,5 mmHg, p < 0.0001), a high-risk population in which angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin receptor blockers are marginally effective and not recommended as first-line monotherapy according to current European and US guidelines. Firibastat was clinically and biologically well-tolerated Overall, firibastat was well-tolerated. The most common side-effects were skin reactions and headaches, which had occurrence rates of 4% and 3% respectively, similar to that observed with other classes of antihypertensive drugs. Importantly, no incidence of angioedema was reported. No changes in serum potassium or sodium levels were observed. Blood glucose levels and renal function remained stable. The Phase 2b NEW-HOPE ( NCT03198793 ), a multicenter, open-label, dose-titrating safety and efficacy study enrolled 256 overweight or obese patients with primary hypertension from populations known to have increased incidence of treatment-resistant hypertension, included 53% African-American and Hispanic individuals. After a 2-week wash-out period, subjects received firibastat for 8 weeks (250 mg twice-a-day orally for 2 weeks, then 500 mg twice-a-day if AOBP>140/90 mmHg; hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg once daily could be added after 1 month if systolic AOPB160 mmHg and/or diastolic AOBP 100 mmHg). The primary endpoint of the trial was a change from baseline in systolic AOBP after 8 weeks of treatment, and key secondary endpoints include diastolic AOBP, ABPM and safety. About ABC Founded in 1974, the ABC is a nonprofit organization with an international membership of more than 1,800 healthcare, lay professionals, corporate and institutional members. The ABC's mission is to promote the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, including stroke, in Blacks and other minorities and to achieve health equity for all through the elimination of disparities. For more information on the NEW- HOPE study and the Association of Black Cardiologists, visit http://www.abcardio.org . SOURCE Association of Black Cardiologists, Inc. Related Links http://www.abcardio.org LOS ANGELES, Nov. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- United Way of Greater Los Angeles announced today that it has opened a Southern California Disaster Relief Fund to support long-term recovery from the Hill and Woolsey wildfires for low-income individuals and families throughout Southern California. Relief funds will assist those in re-establishing their lives, and the fund will be updated as needed to include individuals and families in other affected areas. This new United Way of Greater Los Angeles fund is in partnership with United Way of Ventura County and United Ways of California. The fund is live on the United Way of Greater Los Angeles website and can be found here: https://bit.ly/2DwhVKU "For low-income individuals and families, a wildfire can mean the difference between staying housed and becoming homeless. Affected families need support to rebuild their lives, and we are proud to help give them a lifeline in this critical time," said Elise Buik, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles. United Way of Greater Los Angeles and Ventura County will work collaboratively to identify and vet organizations best positioned to serve those who are most in need and United Way of Greater Los Angeles will distribute the funds. "United Way of Greater Los Angeles is helping us to reach low-income families and individuals whose lives are changed by these disasters," said Eric Harrison, President and CEO of United Way of Ventura. "The funds will allow us to hit the ground running to help the most vulnerable members of our community in this time." Disaster relief is a critical component in United Way of Greater Los Angeles' fight to end poverty. Last year, United Way of Greater Los Angeles worked with United Ways across Southern California to provide relief for California's most destructive fire season through the Southern California Wildfire Mudslide Relief fund, which raised more than $800,000. This new fund will continue United Way's work in serving vulnerable members of our community through one of their most devastating life events. United Way of Greater Los Angeles is continuing to monitor the other fires in Southern California and will add them to their Disaster Relief Fund when need dictates. Updates will be posted at https://www.unitedwayla.org/en/give/disaster-relief-fund/. In addition, immediate donations can be made directly to those impacted in Ventura County* by texting UWVC to 41444. Please check text link for processing details. About United Way of Greater Los Angeles: United Way of Greater Los Angeles is a nonprofit organization fighting to end poverty by preparing students for high school graduation, college, and the workforce, housing our homeless neighbors, and guiding hard-working families towards economic mobility. United Way identifies the root causes of poverty and works strategically to solve them by building alliances across all sectors, funding targeted programs and advocating for change. For more information, visit UnitedWayLA.org and EveryoneInLA.com About United Way of Ventura County: Since 1945, United Way of Ventura County has advanced the common good by creating opportunities for a better life for all. Our focus is on education, income and health, because these are the building blocks for a good quality of life. We support local services and programs that are more than just 'stop gap' measures, but rather solutions that help create lasting change. We invite everyone to be part of the change by giving, advocating and volunteering. When we work together in common purpose, we LIVE UNITED. For more information about United Way of Ventura County, visit www.vcunitedway.org . About United Ways of California: United Ways of California improves health, education and financial stability results for low-income California families by coordinating the statewide community impact and advocacy work of California United Ways. For more information about United Ways of California, visit www.unitedwaysca.org . *includes all income levels Contact: Melissa Gersh, 213-808-6479 United Way of Greater Los Angeles [email protected] SOURCE United Way of Ventura County Related Links http://www.vcunitedway.org Srinagar, Nov 10 : Security forces on Saturday gunned down two heavily armed terrorists hiding in a village in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said. Receiving information about their presence in Tekkin village, a cordon and search operation was started that led the militants to fire at the forces. Both were killed in the ensuing gun battle. Their identities were yet to be established. Washington, Nov 10 : US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that Washington was not trying to contain China, but rather to persuade Beijing to adjust its approach in matters related to military expansion and respect for human rights. "The US is not pursuing a cold war or containment policy with China. Rather, we want to make sure China acts responsibly and fairly in support of security and prosperity in each of our two countries," Pompeo told a press conference at the State Department on Friday. He appeared with Defence Secretary James Mattis; the director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China, Yang Jiechi; and Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe following their second round of talks about security and diplomacy, reports Efe news. The conversations were held in an atmosphere of responsibility and respect, according to Pompeo, who acknowledged that China and the US face "significant differences between our nations" in such areas as trade, due to the mutual imposition of billions of dollars in tariffs. In that regard, Yang believed their differences can be settled through dialogue. "These issues," Yang said, "can be resolved through dialogue and consultation. A trade war, instead of leading to any solution, will only end up hurting both sides and the global economy." The representatives of the US and China agreed on the need to work together toward the "denuclearization" of North Korea, a regional ally of Beijing, but clashed on such subjects as Taiwan and the South China Sea. Pompeo expressed concern about the building of military installations on artificial islands and reefs of the South China Sea, while Yang asserted that Beijing has sovereignty over those waters even though other countries, including some allies of Washington, reject China's claims. On the other hand, Pompeo demanded that China respect the human rights of Buddhists and Muslims, for which Yang told the US not to interfere in "China's internal affairs". The talks held on Friday in Washington were meant to prepare the way for a meeting of President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this month at the G20 summit in Argentina. New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) 4-1 defeat in the Karnataka by-elections has further lengthened the list of the party's reverses in more than 20 by-polls spread across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Kerala, Punjab, Maharashtra and elsewhere. The winners include the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Rashtriya Lok Dal, the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. In all these seats, what has led to the BJP's defeat is a one-to-one contest against it by a combined opposition. It is obvious that if such unity is achieved in the forthcoming elections, the BJP's chances of success are minimal, notwithstanding its claims about booth-management tactics of party president Amit Shah and the party's seemingly huge resources. The idea of a one-to-one contest against the BJP was first floated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, but she appears to have taken a back seat lately after the collapse of a federal front proposed by her in the company of the Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, who has now distanced himself from taking on the BJP along with other "secular" parties. Instead, his place has been taken by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu, who has been contacting various leaders in the anti-BJP camp -- H.D. Deve Gowda, H.D. Kumaraswamy, Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar -- to stitch together an alliance against the Narendra Modi government. There is little doubt that the success of the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress combine in Karnataka will give a boost to Naidu's efforts, not least because the earlier signs of tension between the two parties had led to doubts about their electoral success. However, the large margins of their victories, especially in the supposed BJP stronghold of Bellary, have shown a popular acceptance of the ruling alliance, encouraging Chief Minister Kumaraswamy to predict that the combine will win all the 28 parliamentary seats in the state in 2019. For the secular camp, what must have been most reassuring about the Karnataka outcome was the clear indication about the durability of the ruling alliance at a time when the BJP continues to harp on the "khichdi" or hodge-podge nature of the opposition formations and their hedging on the question of who will be the leader at the national level. There is no definite answer to this question as yet with the opposition leaders saying that they will cross the bridge when they come to it. But this indecisiveness is bound to remain a potent weapon in the BJP's armoury when it comes to needling its opponents. It is also clear that the cohesion of the Karnataka alliance is not reflected in a state like Madhya Pradesh, where the Congress appears to be as much preoccupied with keeping peace among the three bigwigs of the party -- Kamal Nath, Digvijay Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia -- as in fighting the BJP. For the Congress, it is an acid test in Madhya Pradesh, for if it cannot take advantage of the inevitable anti-incumbency sentiments against chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan after three successive terms, then the party would have only exposed its own fatal weaknesses. As it is, the Congress failed to bring the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on board in Madhya Pradesh and could not dissuade the BSP supremo, Mayawati, from aligning with the breakaway Congress leader, Ajit Jogi, in Chhattisgarh. As a result, the Congress has been left with its only best hope in Rajasthan whereas it was earlier expected to have an easy run in all the three states. Notwithstanding the series of by-election successes, the opposition's expectations of making an impact in 2019 will depend on the outcome in the three states and on whether the tie-up between the Samajwadi Party and the BSP remains intact in U.P. By breaking away from the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, Mayawati has raised doubts about her commitment to the idea of opposition unity. Although she played a proactive role last May to bring the Congress and her ally, the Janata Dal (Secular), together when the Karnataka assembly elections produced a hung verdict, she has remained silent about the latest by-election results. Instead, she is apparently concerned about the bonhomie between the Congress and the Bhim Army leader of the Dalits, Chandrashekhar Azad "Ravan". It is possible that the Congress-BSP negotiations failed in the three states which are going to the polls this month because of Mayawati's fear of the Congress poaching on her territory by wooing the Dalits and rebuilding its old Brahmin-Muslim-Harijan base, which paid handsome electoral dividends for the party in the past. Clearly, Naidu's unity efforts will have to focus much more on Mayawati than on any other leader, nearly all of whom can be said to have already climbed on board the opposition bandwagon. (Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com) Malappuram (Kerala) : Malappuram (Kerala) Nov 10 (IANS) A Kerala minister facing nepotism charges received support on Saturday from the Communist Party of India-Marxist that heads the ruling coalition. It was nothing but a politically motivated protest against K.T. Jaleel, CPI-M secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told the media here as he supported the Independent MLA. "If anyone has a problem they can approach the court and raise the issue. "Jaleel is hugely respected by the Muslim community here. And that is what has irked the IUML, hence they are against him," said Balakrishnan. He was just facing the wrath of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) but has done nothing wrong, the CPI-M secretary said. For the past one week the IUML -- the second biggest ally of the opposition Congress-led UDF has been up in arms against the Higher Education Minister stating that his close relative has been appointed General Manager in a state-owned corporation. Jaleel's wife was also appointed principal surpassing the seniority list. Things came to blows as several other irregularities in appointments made by the minister were apparently unearthed. The Congress has demanded Jaleel's resignation and a probe. The CPI-M state secretariat met on Friday, discussed the allegations and gave Jaleel a clean chit. The IUML-Youth League on Saturday promised to give Jaleel a hard time if he landed in his home district here. Jaleel met with violent protests as he reached here and police had a tough time managing the crowd. A few were taken into custody. The minister, however, appeared unfazed. Jaleel told the media here: "What happened was just a deputation. No wrong has been done." Islamabad, Nov 10 : A Pakistani court has launched a fresh corruption case against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif, officials said on Saturday. Sharif has been in the National Accountability Bureau's custody since October 5 in another case of alleged corruption related to the Ashiana Iqbal Housing Scheme. "The NAB ordered the arrest of Shehbaz Sharif in another case of Ramzan Sugar Mills," the spokesperson of the anti-corruption body in Lahore, Muhammed Waqarm, told Efe news. According to Waqarm, there were accusations that Sharif, during his tenure as head of the government of Punjab province, "used public funds to benefit Ramzan Sugar Mills, which belongs to his family". The NAB court also summoned his children -- Salman Shehbaz and Hamza Shehbaz -- who are directors of the sugar mill, for investigations into the case. "Salman did not appear before the court and Hamza Shehbaz appeared and he is now on a pre-arrest bail," the NAB spokesperson said. Meanwhile, the NAB was granted a further 14-day extension in the physical remand of the PML-N President in the Ashiana Iqbal Housing Scheme case. The anti-graft body had said that Shehbaz Sharif was involved in corruption in the housing scheme during his tenure as the Punjab Chief Minister from 2013 to May 2018. It said that he had "misused his powers" and granted contracts to unqualified companies of his friends, causing "losses of millions of rupees to the national exchequer". However, Shehbaz Sharif has denied the allegations as "false and baseless". Kochi, Nov 10 : The Centre should provide "liberal assistance" to boost deep sea fishing, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday. "The Centre has to provide liberal assistance to boost deep sea fishing by equipping traditional fishermen. Kerala government plans to introduce new schemes for enhancing the skills and capabilities of the traditional fishermen to undertake and popularise deep sea fishing, but assistance from the Centre is required to materialise this plan," he said while inaugurating a two-day conference of fisheries ministers from nine south Indian states and union territories at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) here. Vijayan also sought the Centre's intervention to develop a holistic plan for the utilisation of resources in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), taking into consideration the requirements of coastal states and union territories. "The Centre, states and the union territories should act together to agree upon the management policies and measures for a sustainable utilisation of living resources in the EEZ and for the effective and sustainable growth of fisheries sector in every region," the Chief Minister said. Kerala Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma expressed her concern over the National Marine Fisheries Policy (NMFP), as it pushes for private investments in deep sea fishing and allows public-private partnership (PPP) in the marine fisheries sector. "The state is of the firm view that instead of the PPP model, the traditional deep sea fishermen must be trained and equipped to undertake deep sea fishing through fisheries cooperative societies," she said. Kolkata, Nov 10 : Iterating that India's narrative cannot be reduced to one colour, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt said on Saturday that the plurality of the diverse country needs to be celebrated. "We cannot reduce the narrative of India into only one colour. It is a diverse country and we need to celebrate the plurality," Bhatt said at the opening ceremony of the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival here. Bhatt said the festival commits itself only to the idea of India "which says all make it together or none of us makes it together". Expressing his gratitude for being invited to the event, Bhatt said: "In these changing, shifting times, I believe that the filmmakers and storytellers will hold the world together. It is the occasion to realise that one of us is much lesser than all of us." Bhatt spoke about the Chinese mystical bird which has one eye and one wing, and is incomplete till it meets the other half to complete it. It is only when they come together that they can fly and see. "This happened to us in Hindi cinema. It is when Bengal came to us with its wisdom and sensitivity that we in Mumbai bloomed. Let this stream grow more intense so that we as a nation can bring out all the colours," he said. Bengaluru, Nov 10 : Karnataka on Saturday celebrated the 269th birth anniversary (Jayanti) of erstwhile Mysore (Mysuru) ruler Tipu Sultan amid protests by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, an official said. "Tipu Jayanti was celebrated peacefully on his birth anniversary under tight security despite protests by BJP leaders and cadres in the state," a Kannada and Culture Department official told IANS. State Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of the JD-S and Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara of the Congress were conspicuously absent at the main event, held in the legislative building in the city centre. "Kumaraswamy is unable to attend the function, as he is taking rest on doctor's advice," said a statement from the Chief Minister's office, explaining his absence and denying that he kept away from the event due to the fear of losing power, as he is against such blind beliefs. Parameshwara also could not be present at the main function as he was out of the country. "Parameshwara could not be present at the function as he flew to Singapore to visit our ailing party leader Chennigappa, who is undergoing treatment in a private hospital there," state Water Resources Minister and Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar told reporters after inaugurating the Jayanti. Congress ministers, including Jayamala, Zameer Khan, U.T. Khader and party legislator Roshan Baig also participated in the event. JD-S Ministers, however, kept away from the day-long state-sponsored celebrations, held in all the district headquarters, including Ballari, Mysuru, Kodagu, Mangaluru, Raichur and Hubbali. Eldest son of Sultan Hyder Ali, Tipu (1750-1799) is also hailed as the "Tiger of Mysore" for fighting the British East India Company's advances and protecting his kingdom. Tipu was killed in a battle with the British army in 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna near Mysuru, about 120km from here. "Tipu's birth anniversary is being celebrated all over the state. His progressive measures in administration and quest for innovation are commendable," said Kumaraswamy in a message on the occasion. In a related development, about 70 BJP men, including its Virajpet legislator K.G. Bopaiah, were detained by the police at Somwarpet in Kodagu district for protesting against the event. "The BJP protesters were taken away from the function venue and detained due to ban order imposed in the district to maintain law and order," a police official told IANS from Madikeri, about 270km from here. Commenting on the absence of the Chief Minister and his Deputy at the main event, the BJP's state unit said in a tweet: "CM Kumaraswamy missing! While the Congress-JD-S coalition government is celebrating a tyrant Tipu, the CM himself goes into hiding, what is the point of celebrating a fanatic when CM himself abandons a government function." "Glorifying a mass murderer for vote bank clearly shows mindset of this government," said the opposition party in another tweet. The Congress began celebrating the birth anniversary of the 18th century ruler in 2015 to honour him as a patriot. Zamir Khan, along with a few Muslim clerics including Hazrat Maulana Saheb Rasadi Sagir Ahmad Khan visited former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah's official residence in the city and presented him a sword and a traditional headgear similar to that worn by Tipu. "We are celebrating Tipu's Jayanti to mark a patriotic, secular, and a generous king. Tipu is not confined to any one religion, but to the nation," tweeted Siddaramaiah later. Accusing the BJP of politicising the event, Shivakumar said Tipu was a great warrior who had struggled for the freedom of his kingdom. "History of Tipu and his greatness was endorsed by President Ram Nath Kovind while addressing us on October 25, 2017 in the same place (Vidhana Soudha). I don't know why the BJP is making an issue of it," said Shivakumar. Kolkata, Nov 10 : Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan on Saturday called for restoring old Bengali films on a war footing and urged the industry and the public to come together in building a movement on the issue. Delivering his inaugural speech at the opening ceremony of the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival here, Bachchan also expressed his happiness at the West Bengal government's initiative. "If we don't take urgent steps, in hundred years very few Bengali films will be left to celebrate. We must save a hundred Bengali films. This works should be taken up on a war footing. The film industry and public should come together and join this movement," Bachchan said as the capacity crowd at the Netaji Indoor stadium listened to him in rapt attention. Bachchan said it was heartening that the state government has entered into an agreement with the Film Heritage Foundation for training 60 resource personnel. Calling cinema an important part of Bengal's cultural ethos, he said the state produced some of the greatest film directors over decades, with great works and accolades in numerous international film festivals. "As we celebrate the 100 years of Bengali Cinema, there is a need to talk about those who work behind the scenes of these celebrated film productions, accomplished technicians and creative minds that are never truly given their due." "Depending on what your job is you are doing your part to get a shot ready. In all probability the camera caretakers are busy loading the film in the camera, the makeup and hair stylists are getting the actors ready in the makeup room and so on." He said very few movie enthusiasts were aware that several famous directors began their careers on very humble circumstances working behind the scenes almost unknown and unrecognised, he said. To buttress his point, Bachchan referred to celebrated director Bimal Roy who entered the cinema world as a camera assistant, while another famous film maker Rishikesh Mukherjee began working initially as a cameraman and then as a film editor. Similarly, the legendary actor-director Guru Dutt struggled as a telephone operator at the Lever Brothers factory in (erstwhile) Calcutta. Turning to contemporary filmmakers, he said Rajkumar Hirani slogged away as a film editor, Sanjay Leela Bhansali started as an assistant to Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and Farah Khan was a choreographer for several years before becoming a director. Bachchan said many top stars began their careers as faceless assistants. "The star kids work as assistants to learn the art of filmmaking. Hrithik Roshan assisted his father (Rakesh Roshan) in four films, Siddharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan worked as assistant director to Karan Johar for 'My name is Khan'. Parineeti Chopra was an unknown marketing intern in Yash Raj Film studio." He said while Satyajit Ray's films are applauded for the craftsmanship and content, the contribution of cinematographer Subrata Mitra cannot be undermined. He said a film unit extends much beyond the stars, the director and the producer. "There is the clapper boy, sound mixer, boom operator, the gaffer, the special effect supervisor and so on," he added. The Most Extensive and Reliable Source of Information Related to the Mexican Drugs Cartels. You will not find this level of coverage anywhere else, join us! Send information, pictures or videos, you remain 100% anonymous. Envia fotos, videos, notas, enlaces o informacion todo 100% Anonimo. Want to be a contributor or citizen reporter for Borderland Beat? We love to have you in our team, send Sol Prendido or HEARST an email! WARNING: Posts may contain strong violent material, discretion is advised. COMMENTS: We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. GeneTether, a gene-editing company, announces that it has moved its operations to new laboratory space at MBC BioLabs in San Francisco after having been selected by MBC BioLabs, a well known San Francisco Bay Area incubator, as a new resident company. I am pleased to announce our collaboration with MBC BioLabs. stated Geoff Sargent, PhD, CEO of GeneTether. It has with a very well equipped lab and other facilities to accelerate our growth. But, most importantly, I am finding that the talent and energy of fellow scientist/entrepreneurs stimulates our mind-set and energizes our creative process. Dr. Sargent will be a speaker in a panel discussion on gene editing at the CEO Life Sciences & Pharmaceuticals Symposium hosted by YJP on November 13-14, 2018 in New York City. GeneTether will also be hosting a meet and greet at its new space at MBC Biolabs on November 28, 2018. Parties interested in attending this event should contact GeneTether below. Contact Geoff Sargent 510-207-2046 geoff(at)genetether.com About GeneTether GeneTethers initial patent-pending technology is focused on improving the efficiency of CRISPR, TALENS, and Zinc Finger Nucleases by a factor of at least 10x while reducing unwanted DNA mutation. Longer term, GeneTether plans to develop its technology by eliminating genetic defects in large farm animals, such as pigs and cattle. This will pave the way for correcting genetic defects in human cells. About MBC BioLabs MBC BioLabs provides space as small as a single bench in fully-equipped labs. Scientists can conduct experiments on their first day, cutting months and millions of dollars off the time and cost necessary to gather data. MBC BioLabs facilities in San Francisco and San Carlos are home to 61 energetic young companies. Since opening its doors five years ago, MBC BioLabs tenant companies have raised over $2.4 billion dollars. http://www.mbcbiolabs.com About the CEO Life Sciences & Pharmaceuticals Symposium and YJP This annual symposium convenes a group of industry-leading executives, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors to explore solutions to the most pressing problems surrounding the research and development process - such as reducing the time and cost of drug development, drug pricing, raising capital, and more - while celebrating the advancements currently being made and encouraging the life sciences leaders of tomorrow. This symposium will be a unique opportunity to candidly share knowledge and engage in innovative solutions that will stimulate positive change within the life sciences industry. YJP is a not-for-profit organization focused on providing business, educational, and mentoring opportunities for the new generation of Jewish business leaders. About Gene Editing Gene editing (also called genome editing) is a group of technologies (CRISPR/Cas; TALENS; and ZFNs) that enable scientists to change an organism's DNA. These technologies allow genetic material to be added, removed, or altered at particular locations in the genome and work by creating site-specific DNA strand breaks to increase the frequency of gene editing. CRISPR gene editing is modeled after the way that certain bacteria naturally alter genes in response to viruses and other organisms. Many scientists believe CRISPR/Cas systems offer significant advantages over preceding gene editing technologies, such as Zinc-Finger Nucleases (ZFNs) and Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases (TALENs) because they are more easily modified to recognize. Even me and my siblings get into heated discussions as to what happened, declares author, N.K. Parten, a direct decedent of Samuel Mims who built the fort to protect his family and property. The debate is so provocative that the Creek War has been sanitized in grade school history books. On August 30, 1813, the Red Stick Faction of the Creek Native American Tribe attacked Fort Mims slaughtering the Mississippi Volunteer Militia, as well as hundreds of innocent men, women, and children who crowded into the fort for protection. Within a year, General Andrew Jackson defeated the Red Sticks forcing the Creek Confederacy to surrender more than 21 million acres of their ancestral homelands in what is present-day Georgia and Alabama. Anglo-Americans settlers from the United States flooded into the region, bringing with them hatred and prejudice against Native Americans, African Americans and mixed-race Metis who called the land their home for generations. After Alabama gained Statehood in 1817, the laws governing slavery changed and the port city of Mobile became a major slave trading hub. The fame General Andrew Jackson gained from his victory over the Creeks propelled him into the United States Senate, then into the Presidency in 1829 where his most significant piece of legislation was the Indian Removal Act which forcibly uprooted thousands of Native Americans from their ancestral homes to reservations in the west. Historians debate the controversial factors leading up to the 1813 Fort Mims Massacre. However, how the Mims Family escaped the attack became an enigma. Red Tears is a historical novel based on family lore about the events leading up to the 1813 Massacre written through the eyes of Samuel Mims youngest daughter, Prudence. Contact: nkparten@redtearsnkparten.com +1 (713) 301-0835 For More information Visit: redtearsnkparten.com To Purchase Copy of Red Tears visit: Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com For Distribution Information Visit: BookBaby.com This weekend, Due Quach, author of "Poor and Traumatized at Harvard" and "Calm Clarity: How to Use Science to Rewire Your Brain for More Wisdom, Fulfillment, and Joy" will lead a workshop for first-generation college students at Villanova University. The Calm Clarity workshop is a neuroscience-based leadership training that offers mind-hacking techniques that rewire the brain to break self-limiting patterns linked to trauma, toxic stress, and poverty. Students from eight Philadelphia-area universities - including Arcadia University, Bryn Mawr College, Cabrini University, Drexel University, Haverford College, Temple University, Villanova University, and the University of Pennsylvania - will learn new skills and habits that support resilience, academic success, well-being, and forming healthy relationships. The training draws from Quach's personal experience. Twenty years ago, as a refugee from Vietnam who grew up in Philadelphia, Quach struggled with culture shock, PTSD and financial worry as a first-generation college student at Harvard. She felt isolated and depressed and wondered whether she really belonged and if she could be successful there. Quach turned to neuroscience and positive psychology and developed mind-hacking techniques to heal her brain, graduate with honors, go on to earn her MBA from Wharton, and build a successful business career. Due's story of struggle as a first-generation college student from a low-income community is not an isolated one and continues for many young people to this day. Out of 100 Philadelphia high school students, only 24 enroll in college. Of the 24 who enroll, 14 drop out of college, with debt, but no degree. Only 10% or 10 of these students earn a college degree. [Philadelphia Public School Notebook, New data: only 10% of Philly students earn a degree, 2010.] "My personal mission is to share what I learned with first-generation college students, so no one has to struggle like I did," says Quach. The workshop will take place at Villanova University Saturday-Sunday, November 10-11, 2018, from 9AM-5PM each day. For more information about the event, call +1 (267) 521-2463 or email info(at)calmclarity.org. About Calm Clarity Calm Clarity is a pioneering social enterprise that uses science to empower people of all backgrounds to overcome adversity and develop a mindset for growth, leadership, and resilience. We are committed to fostering socioeconomic inclusion and addressing unconscious bias, social narratives, and limiting patterns that prevent people from realizing their full potential and becoming the highest expression of who they can be. Through our social impact initiatives, we make sure that under-served groups facing extreme adversity, as well as elite professionals, have access to world-class leadership training. In addition to enabling senior leaders to improve their performance and impact, the effective tools and leadership development we provide has helped many people in very challenging circumstances break self-limiting patterns arising from toxic stress, trauma, and poverty. The Calm Clarity book, our corporate training, weekend workshop programs, and speaking engagements support our social impact initiatives to deliver Calm Clarity training to low-income first-generation college students, workforce development programs, and non-profit organizations and schools serving low-income communities. Useful Links: Calm Clarity: http://www.calmclarity.org Calm Clarity College Scholars Program: http://www.calmclarity.org/students Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/calmclarityorg Workshop and Training Inquiries: Please contact Calm Clarity at +1 (215) 490-9583 or training(at)calmclarity.org Source: Calm Clarity Ernest LaMont Greer, co-president of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, hosted the Out Leadership Atlanta VIP Reception Nov. 1. The event, held at the firms Atlanta office, focused on LGBT+ as a business driver in Atlanta and the South. A panel discussion with regional executive leaders discussed the importance of equality and inclusion in the workplace. Diversity and inclusion are fundamentally important to Greenberg Traurig, Greer said. It is a way of life for us, and it has been since the beginning because it is the cornerstone on which the firm was built. Our diverse culture contributes perspectives that furnish our success. We understand the challenges of diversity, and we are proud of our relationship with Out Leadership and our commitment to create opportunities and a sense of harmony for diverse individuals within our firm and the community. Greenberg Traurig Labor and Employment Shareholder John R. Richards has been a member of the Out In Law Leadership Council since 2015. Through organizations like Out Leadership, members of the LGBT+ community, as well as other diverse groups, are encouraged to be their authentic selves, Richards added. I am honored to be part of an organization that is focused making equality a priority and on accelerating diverse talent in businesses. Greenberg Traurig is a 2018 Global Sponsor of Out Leadership, which is a global LGBT+ business network that provides guiding principles for many of the worlds top business leaders to understand the positive business impacts of inclusion. The firms CEO Brian L. Duffy is on the Out Leadership Global Advisory Board, and several Out Leadership events, including Senior Leader Summits, have been hosted by Greenberg Traurig since 2015. About Greenberg Traurigs Diversity Initiative: From its inception, Greenberg Traurig has been committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Greenberg Traurig is a uniquely empowering and diverse firm built on a foundation of fairness, equality, and authenticity. The firm's efforts have been recognized by local, national, and global publications and organizations including, Chambers and Partners. About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and is among the Top 20 on the 2018 Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com; Twitter: @GT_Law. This November, Free People will exclusively sell three limited-edition Citizens of Humanity embroidered pieces by Jenny Hart. The collection will be featured online at FreePeople.com and in store locations West Broadway, Studio City, and Austin Domain starting the week of November 12th. The concept for the collection Desert Aura is inspired by the mystique of the desert and its promise of freedom for those who dare to venture into its wilds. Jennys concept highlights the magic of the desert, with symbols of freedom, solitude, sunrises and energy emanating from the plants that thrive there. The collection will feature the Estelle Embroidered Flare, Astrid Mini Skirt, and the Nica Jacket. Here at Citizens of Humanity, we had partnered with Jenny Hart for previous events and were so enthralled with her incredible talent and the detail that went into her work. After seeing it first hand, we knew we wanted to collaborate with her on a larger scale and felt Free People would make for the perfect partner to bring everything to life. We worked closely with our embroidery technicians in order to replicate Jennys designs where our entire team pushed their skills further than ever before to successfully achieve the organic feel of handmade embroidery. Alaina Miller, Citizens of Humanity Womens Design Director Jenny Hart was born in 1972 in Iowa City and raised in rural Illinois. She is best known for her work in hand embroidery and her design and supply company Sublime Stitching, founded in 2001. Harts work has been published in numerous books and magazines including Vogue, NYLON, Spin, The Face, Juxtapoz, The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, FLOW, Little Thing, Uppercase and others. She has exhibited in Los Angeles, Paris, London, Tokyo and New York. To celebrate the collaboration, Free People will host three in-store events throughout the US. On Thursday November 15th, at Free Peoples Studio City location, attendees can stop in for a meet and greet with Jenny Hart, light bites, Moon Juice cocktails and a Sublime Stitching gift. The brand will host two additional events at their West Broadway, NYC and Austin locations. Both events will serve light bites and cocktails and have giveaway with purchase of collection items. Jenny Hart will make an appearance at both events to meet with attendees and discuss her creative process. The Austin event will be on Saturday November 17th and NYC will be on Sunday November 18th. For those who are unable to make upcoming events, the limited-edition collection will be up for sale on FreePeople.com. For more information, images, to request an interview, or to discuss a TV opportunity, please call Katerina Patouhas at 215-454-3871 or email kpatouhas(at)freepeople.com. About Free People Free People is a global lifestyle brand defined by femininity, creativity, curiosity and adventure, with offerings in unique apparel, intimate wear, shoes and accessories. As an expansion of our lifestyle FP has moved into wellness, fitness, travel and curation of beauty starting from the inside out. The Philadelphia-based retailer is available via our global, UK and China sites, top department and specialty stores, as well as via Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter About Citizens of Humanity Established in 2003, Citizens of Humanity has captivated the fashion world with a rigorous commitment to cutting edge denim styling, comfort and fit without compromise. The company designs, markets and produces Citizens of Humanity in a full vertical facility to ensure the product is unparalleled. Citizens of Humanity is distributed in more than 35 countries including high-end specialty boutiques such as 10 Corso Como, Club Monaco, Trilogy, Free People, and Anthropologie; online at Moda Operandi, Shopbop.com, SSENSE, Revolve, Need Supply, and MyTheresa.com as well as in luxury department stores Nordstrom and Selfridges. For more information, please visit http://www.citizensofhumanity.com. JP and Associates REALTORS comes out at the National Association of REALTORS annual convention to announce its expansion within Texas and the USA. The REALTORS Annual Conference & Expo is the largest event for the most successful real estate professionals. Held in Boston, 20,000 REALTORS and 400 vendors from across the USA and the world attended. CEO and Founder JP Piccinini said, NAR was the perfect place for our national expansion coming out party. JPAR is on the move and we have big plans to better serve the consumer, the agent and the industry. If your desire is to grow and be part of something special, we should talk! Year over year, REALTORS who attend the REALTORS Conference & Expo report making twice as much income from real estate as the typical NAR member. The typical conference attendee works in real estate full-time and has an average of 17 years of industry experience. Attendees are sales agents, associate brokers, broker-owners and real estate office staff, and they represent a variety of different office sizes and business franchises. Visitors come from all 50 U.S. states and several U.S. territories. The event also welcomes 1,500 international real estate professionals from over 60 countries. Mark Johnson, COO stated, We had a full contingent representing all the aspects of JPAR. Frank Gay our CEO of JPAR Franchising LLC, Howard Ashkinos, Vice President of JPAR Franchising LLC, Keisha York, Texas Managing Broker and Shannon Ashkinos Director of Career Development all attended the conference. The JPAR team, staff and agents are committed to exceeding expectations and serving our local communities. If your desire is to grow and be part of something special, we should talk! JP And Associates REALTORS (JPAR) is one of the top 100 real estate brokerages in the US. A full-service transaction fee based real estate brokerage, it has been recognized as one of the top 10 fastest growing brokerages in the country by REAL TRENDS as well as also being a back to back INC5000 nominee. It operates multiple offices across Texas and is expanding nationwide offering franchising opportunities for entrepreneurial real estate professionals. Read more about JP and Associates REALTORS: http://JPAR.net Benzer Pharmacy proudly welcomes pharmacy operations veteran Tony Marakas to the fold as the companys new franchise vice president. A former regional director for a well-known big-box competitor, the appointment of Marakas signals the continuation of efforts to hire the best and brightest in the industry. That Marakas also had the right intangibles, in terms of his mindset for service and passion for people, were other key factors that contributed to the decision to bring him on board, according to Alpesh Patel, Benzer Pharmacy President. Tony is a seasoned drugstore and retail leader who knows how to develop internal teams and drive results from a P&L perspective, Patel said. In the past, hes held high-ranking positions where he was responsible for sales, ROI and market share for as many as 240 stores in four statesprecisely the kind of perspective were looking for, as we look to expand in similar number, size, and scope. If past performance is any indication of future success, Marakas pedigree is one that inspires great confidence in his potential to make a difference, even at first glance. Across the better part of four decades, Tony has held positions ranging from district manager to regional director, while providing key support to the opening of more than 80 new stores in diverse markets in Louisiana and beyond. Perhaps more importantly, Patel reasoned. Tony has led independent buyout efforts of numerous independent pharmacy enterprises and have been a key decision-maker from a site-selection standpoint. In my conversations with him, he has shared his excitement to have this opportunity and contribute to Benzers success in the months and years ahead. That feeling is clearly mutual. A California Coast University graduate, Marakas earned his Bachelors Degree in Business Management in 2010 and is looking forward to making a positive impact on behalf of the company and the health of its customers. Hes a visionary in his own way, concluded Patel. But what he needed was a mission. Thankfully, hes found it in Benzer Pharmacy. RX marks the spot. To learn more about Benzer Pharmacy, visit http://www.benzerpharmacy.com. ### About Benzer Pharmacy. Founded in 2009, Benzer Pharmacy is a chain of independent retail pharmacies specializing in compounding and specialty medication. Currently, there are 66 corporate-owned and 26 franchise locations situated throughout 23 states, including Florida, Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Nevada, Louisiana, New York, Missouri, Mississippi, Maryland, Indiana, and Idaho. Projections call for continued rapid growth as the organization seeks to substantially increase its customer base while ensuring experiences match expectations at every touchpoint. Benzer Pharmacy has made four straight appearances on Inc. 5,000 list of the fastest growing private companies in America from 2015-2018; correspondingly, the company earned a 39th place on the 2015 Florida Fast 100 list, while concurrently placing 67th on the 2015 TBBJ 200 list of Tampa Bays largest private companies. Benzer was also voted favorite pharmacy in 2015 Best of Fuquay Varina in North Carolina and achieved PCAB compounding accreditation with the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC). All Benzer Pharmacy medications require a doctor's prescription. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BenzerPharmacy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/benzerpharmacy Instagram: https://instagram.com/benzer_pharmacy David H. Faux, Esq. Trademark is about business reputation, whereas copyright tends to impact the integrity of artworks and, ultimately, the integrity of art itself. On October 30, 2018, the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund (DLDF) submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Ninth Circuit in support of a trial decision that authors of Jersey Boys did not infringe the copyright of an unpublished biography. Corbello v. Valli et al., Case 17-16337, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. It really comes down to a doctrine called copyright estoppel, said David Faux, Of Counsel to the DLDF and principal to the Law Office of David H. Faux, P.C.. Copyright estoppel means that nonfiction authors, including biographers, cannot market their works as true, but retract those claims later." As Dave Faux, intellectual property attorney, explains, neither facts nor ideas based on those facts are protected by copyright, only the expression of those facts. Courts do not allow authors to use the sheen of truth as a mere marketing tool, only to recant once a subsequent author has relied on those claims. Even with books where the initial author claimed the ideas were channeled by alien beings, says Faux, the author cant retroactively claim that its ridiculous for people to believe in aliens or channeling. The Courts have said that if you make truth claims, then people are allowed to rely on those claims and incorporate those facts and ideas into their own work without fear of violating someones creative property. Amicus Curiae means Friend of the Court, and such friends are non-parties to court cases that offer expertise in a particular area. While Faux co-authored this Ninth Circuit brief, he has authored others, including one on the Fair Use defense recorded in the Second Circuit. Whether dealing with trademarks or copyrights, Faux explains, it's important to know both what to protect and where your intellectual property ends, its experience in copyright is extensive. Trademark is about business reputation, whereas copyright tends to impact the integrity of artworks and, ultimately, the integrity of art itself. All intellectual property is of high value to its owner, says Faux. But history, facts, ideas: these things belong to all of us. Ann Goldsteins dog is not happy about having a visitor. As Goldstein opens the door to her Greenwich Village apartment, an elderly corgi appears by her side, barking furiously. Before we can discuss 69-year-old Goldsteins distinguished career as a translator of Italian literature, Tomaso must be placated with a few tosses of his favorite toy, after which he keeps a suspicious eye on me as we stand in her kitchen while she makes espresso. Watching Goldstein gently soothe her anxious pet makes it easy to understand why she found it distressing to translate the passage in Elena Ferrantes The Days of Abandonment describing the death of the narrators dog. Goldstein also translated Ferrantes subsequent Neapolitan Novels quartet, whose success led indirectly to Goldsteins latest project. Coming off Ferrante fever, it seemed like this was a good time for translating Italian women writers, and Morante is a great writer who is not well known here, she says, finally seated in her book-lined living room with Tomaso panting quietly at her feet. Elsa Morante (19121985) was a prominent figure in postwar Italian literary circles. In 1957, she won the prestigious Strega Prize for Arturos Island, which Liveright will publish in Goldsteins new translation in February. Set on the island of Procida, off the coast of Naples, the novel chronicles the painful coming-of-age of a 14-year-old boy who slowly discovers that his adored father has shameful secrets, while the young stepmother he once despised shows unexpected strength and resolve. It was Bob Weils idea, Goldstein says. We had such a good time working together for 11 years on the collected works of Primo Levi that we said, Lets find something else. He looked into the Morante situation, and this was the one that was available. Actually, Jenny McPhee is doing her other big early novel, Menzogna e sortilegio [Lies and Sorcery, Morantes debut], for New York Review Books, so were having a little Morante moment. What struck me most about Arturos Island was, heres this woman, in her second novel, writing in the voice of a 14-year-old boy about a place she doesnt really know; shed stayed on Procida for a while, but it wasnt her native place the way Rome was. I found the book astonishing and difficult; I didnt realize that until I started translating, which happens all the time. In this case, Morantes sentences are very complicated and full of wordsthere are so many words! Arturo describes his emotions, physical reactions, and the physical manifestation of emotions in so much detail. In Italian, thats fine, you can be a little bit dramatic, but in English, to get all those details in without sounding melodramatic, to make it sound good and reasonableI found that hard. When I ask Goldstein whether she discussed her difficulties with Weil, she shakes her head. I didnt talk to anybody; I just grappled with the words. Im always mostly worried about the words. To me, fidelity is the most important thing, but fidelity does not necessarily mean literal. Primo Levi, who translated Kafka from German, says, I think in his introduction to The Trial, that he tries to steer a middle course between word-for-word literalness and something that really has nothing to do with the text. He goes on to say that what a translator has to have to find that middle ground is something called linguistic sensibility. I think what he means is a feeling for the original text that is conveyed in some way that is not exactly literal, but it is the textits not taking off from the text. Goldstein, who retired in 2017 after more than four decades in the New Yorkers copy department, fell into her parallel career as a translator more or less by accident. Beginning in 1987, she studied Italian with other New Yorker staffers in an after-hours class; they read Dante for two years, and the class eventually morphed into a conversation group with their teacher. In 1992, when a short story by Aldo Buzzi, Chekhov in Sondrio, was submitted to the magazine in Italian, then-editor Bob Gottlieb asked Goldstein to read it, and she decided on the spur of the moment to translate it. The New Yorker published the story, and Goldstein went on to receive PENs Renato Poggioli Prize for her rendering of Buzzis collection, Journey to the Land of the Flies. I was totally surprised to find it as a second career, but I was glad about it, Goldstein says. Translators and copy editors share certain qualities: attention to words, attention to language, attention to the style of the writereven though people always say everyone in the New Yorker writes the same, they actually dont. Goldstein worked under four editors: William Shawn, Tina Brown, Gottlieb, and David Remnick. The New Yorker was a very eccentric place when I started in the 70s, but it became less eccentric. Now, its differentmore like other magazines. David had to make it survive, and he did that very well. But its kind of too bad that it had to lose something in order to survive. Asked if she ever thought about giving up her day job, Goldstein replies, How could I? You cant afford to live on translations. Almost all translators have other jobs. PEN did a study last year; they surveyed all the member translators to get a sense of what people were paying and whether they paid royalties. It wasnt very inspiring. A lot of publishers wont give royalties at allnot that you expect that youre ever going to get anything, but you want the acknowledgment. Many of the publishers that do translations are small and dont have any money. I always said my New Yorker job supported my translating habit. Goldstein did get royalties in her contracts with Europa, Ferrantes publisher. I had them only as a matter of principle, she says. She doesnt go into detail, but presumably the Neapolitan Novels bestselling success eased her move into retirementfrom copyediting. Shes busier than ever as a translator, she says ruefully. Things happen, Goldstein adds. Like Ferrantes columns in the Guardian and her screenplays for the television series; I translated all of those. Theres been a lot of stuff like that. You dont expect it, but you dont want to say no. Im currently translating a very strange book called The Fragile Landscape, about these lost villages in Italy. It probably wont have a publisher until I finish the translation and show it to people, but I thought it sounded so interesting. Then Im translating this book called Ten Lessons on the Classics, which is fun because its like being able to read The Odyssey, The Iliad, Virgil, Ovid all over again. Then Im going to be starting on the book that won the Strega prize this year, Girl with a Leica, about a young woman photographer who was killed at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. Its way too much! I am always getting myself into these situations of having too much to do. If somebody has an idea and it looks interesting, Im in. More than a decade ago, the success of Stephenie Meyers Twilight series showed that YA romance novels could attract hordes of teen and adult readers alike. The strong crossover appeal of adolescent love stories extends beyond the paranormal to realistic fiction, including tearjerkers such as John Greens The Fault in Our Stars and Rainbow Rowells Eleanor & Park. Now, with the success of the recent Netflix adaptation of Jenny Hans rom-com To All the Boys Ive Loved Beforewhich the streaming service called one of its most widely viewed original films to dateaudiences appear to be clamoring for more contemporary love stories starring teenagers of all backgrounds and orientations. Here are five of the buzziest YA romance offerings pubbing this season. 96 Words for Love Rachel Roy and Ava Dash. Little, Brown/Patterson, Jan. 2019. Ages 15up. Roy, a prominent fashion designer and a UN Women Champion for Innovation, teams up with her 17-year-old daughter for a modern retelling of the Indian legend of Shakuntala and Dushyanta. In the #OwnVoices novel, American teen Raya journeys to the ashram in India where her grandparents first met, finding clarity and a new love of her own. Dont Date Rosa Santos Nina Moreno. Disney-Hyperion, May 2019. Ages 1418. Pitched as Gilmore Girls meets To All the Boys Ive Loved Before, Morenos #OwnVoices debut follows the 18-year-old daughter of Cuban immigrants as she sets out to break the curse that has doomed the love lives of three generations of women in her family, including her mercurial mother and loyal abuela. Field Notes on Love Jennifer E. Smith. Delacorte, Mar. 2019. Ages 12up. The author of several beloved YA rom-coms, Smith delivers a dual perspective tale about two teenagersboth reeling from rejectionwho meet-cute on a cross-country train ride. The book is based on the true story of a Canadian man who advertised on Reddit for a woman with the same name as his ex-girlfriend to join him on a nonrefundable trip hed booked before his breakup. Smiths work has been translated into 33 languages, and her novel Windfall has been optioned for film. In Paris with You Clementine Beauvais. Wednesday, Jan. 2019. Ages 14up. When Eugene and Tatiana are reunited in Paris after years of separation, the two find a second shot at love in this sweeping story reminiscent of romance flicks One Day and Before Sunrise. Beauvais has written more than 15 books for young readers in English and French, including the Royal Babysitters series and, most recently, Piglettes. The Meaning of Birds Jaye Robin Brown. HarperTeen, Apr. 2019. Ages 14up. This LGBTQ love story unfolds in chapters that alternate between past and present, exploring the relationship between Jess and Vivi, and Jesss emotional breakdown after the sudden death of Viviher artistic muse and first love. Brown is the breakout author of Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit, which was selected for ALAs 2016 Rainbow List and named among the best YA rom-coms of 2016 by the B&N Teen blog. Return to the main feature. If the U.S. publishing business is mired in a slow-growth environment, you wouldnt know it from the third-quarter results of four of the countrys largest trade houses. All three of the companies that reported sales as well as earnings saw profits grow at a faster rate than revenue, improving operating margins at the publishers. Strong backlist sales were an important factor in boosting revenue and profits in the quarter, especially at HarperCollins. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rose nearly 42% at the company compared to the third quarter of 2017, and Susan Panuccio, CFO of HC parent company News Corp, said this was largely due to strong backlist sales led by The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and The Hate U Give. Backlist sales contributed 55% of total revenue in the most recent quarter, Panuccio noted. Overall, sales were led by a better-than-expected performance in the U.S., she added. Digital audiobooks also had another great quarter, with sales up 55% over the same period last year. The growth in audio offset soft e-book sales, resulting in a 12% increase in total digital sales in the quarter; e-book and digital audio represented 22% of total HC revenue in the period. Solid backlist sales were also a key factor in lifting sales at the Hachette Book Group. Sales at HBG were up 5.1% in the quarter over last year, said HBG parent company Lagardere, driven by the continued success of the Perseus backlist, especially Jen Sinceros You Are a Badass, and by a strong release schedule at Grand Central Publishing, including Sally Fields In Pieces. The release earlier this year of The President Is Missing also added to the third-quarter gain. The novel, by James Patterson and Bill Clinton, did particularly well in the e-book and digital audiobook format. HBG CEO Michael Pietsch noted that third-quarter results also benefited from continued strong sales of digital audiobooks. In addition, HBG completed the purchase of the Worthy Publishing Group in the period. The U.S. was a bright spot for the Lagardere publishing group, as sales in other regions were down. Worldwide sales at the company were 607 million in the quarter, down 6.1% from last year. Sales were down 14.7% in France, 6.7% in the U.K., and 8.2% in Spain and Latin America. At Simon & Schuster, sales of three backlist young adult books by Jenny Han (To All the Boys Ive Loved Before, P.S. I Still Love You, and Always and Forever, Lara Jean) were boosted by the August release of the To All the Boys Ive Loved Before film. S&S CEO Carolyn Reidy said the success of the Han titlesthe three books have over three million copies in print and sold as e-bookshelped to increase third-quarter revenue in the childrens group 7% over last years third quarter, while sales in the adult group rose 6.5%. Adult group sales were led by a mix of political titles (Fear and Unhinged) and new fiction and nonfiction titles. Reidy noted that the adult group was facing tough comparisons with last years third quarter, when Hillary Clintons What Happened and Stephen Kings It were big sellers. It did particularly well in digital audio, limiting the audio sales increase in the most recent quarter to 15%. For the year to date, audio sales rose 27%. The large increases in sales and earnings in the third quarter at Houghton Mifflin Harcourts trade group were mainly due to a renewal of its licensing agreement for paperback rights to 1984 and Animal Farm. In addition to the licensing deal, HMH said revenue in the period benefited from strong sales of the latest edition of The Fall of Gondolin as well as from Instant Pot Miracle. Sales of the backlist title Beautiful Boy rose in the quarter thanks to the release of a film adaptation. Higher print sales at the company were offset by a decline in e-book sales. Third Quarter 20172018 ($ in millions) If the recent on-screen successes of Crazy Rich Asians and To All the Boys Ive Loved Before are any indication, the romantic comedy is back. Based on Kevin Kwans 2013 novel, Crazy Rich Asians is one of the years few examples, amid the superhero and horror flicks, of a big-screen rom-com, and its among the top-grossing films in the U.S. for 2018 to date. I think people are ready for romantic comedy, just because it had been absent for so long, says Cindy Hwang, v-p and editorial director at Berkley. Netflix announced in October that more than 80 million people watched its summer slate of rom-coms, with To All the Boys Ive Loved Before, adapted from Jenny Hans 2014 YA novel, becoming one of its most-viewed original films ever, with strong repeat viewing. (For more on young adult romance novels, see Teen Spring Fling). Im happy to see these stories come back, says Monique Patterson, editorial director at St. Martins Paperbacks. Not that they ever went away completely, but now we all get to enjoy them collectively again. The popularity of recent rom-com screen adaptations suggests a desire for funny, sweet stories that end in a happily ever after. The films, and the books theyre based on, have something else in common: characters who tend to be underrepresented in romance fiction. Crazy Rich Asians has an all-Asian cast, and in To All the Boys, Vietnamese-American Lana Condor plays protagonist Lara Jean Covey, who is biracial. We spoke with romance publishers about the resurgence of the romantic comedy and the significance of giving characters of all types their happily ever afters. A Safe Place In tough times, rom-com novels can serve as the literary equivalent of comfort food. Forthcoming titles incorporate real-life issues that concern many readersmoney problems, the gig economy, social justice issues, and morewhile still giving them the happy outcome they crave and the hope that their own problems are going to work out. Right now, were living in a time for many people in generaland certainly many people in the queer communitywhere every day you wake up to a new horror, says Ruth Sternglantz, editorial and marketing consultant at Bold Strokes Books. Because the real world is uncertain, she notes, a few hours with a book can remind the reader that there are many paths to happiness. Shut Up and Kiss Me by Julie Cannon (Bold Strokes, Feb. 2019), a story of rich girl meets poor girl, delves into social and economic dividesand, because its a romance, its no spoiler to disclose that they find their way to each other despite the obstacles. In the #MeToo era, rom-coms sometimes offer another sort of solace: the idea that things dont have to be this way. We need to believe that there are good men in the world, says Tessa Woodward, senior editor at William Morrow; supportive romantic heroes can offer a model for how a real-life partner should behave. Carrie Feron, senior v-p and executive editor at Morrow, says the hero of Sally Thornes 99 Percent Mine (Feb. 2019) is one of those models. Sally says that Tom is the guy so many women wish they had in their life. The books heroine, Darcy, feels as though she peaked in her photography career at age 20, and she has yet to meet a guy as good as Tom, her childhood crush. As she and her twin brother fight over how to deal with a house they inherit, Tom resurfaces to help them flip the house, and sparks fly. Thornes first novel, 2016s The Hating Game, which PWs review praised for its Hepburn-and-Tracy-esque banter, was popular among millennial readers, Feron says. She expects that demographic to embrace the somewhat bawdy 99 Percent, too. Darcy strings together several gigsbartender, product photographer, unpaid Etsy store helperjust like many in her age group. Of the myriad permutations of romance novels, Feron says, rom-coms are among the best at distracting readers from their troubles. 99 Percent Mine, for instance, is a locked-room romanceone in which characters are forced by circumstance to be under the same roofand its both funny and sexy. Its a safe place to be. The best rom-coms not only make readers laugh, says Amy Pierpont, editor-in-chief at Forever and Forever Yours, but they invite them to take themselves and their circumstances less seriously. Jenny Hales The Summer House (Forever, May 2019), which is being published in partnership with U.K. digital publisher Bookouture, introduces characters who are struggling just like we are, Pierpont saysbest friends who put their life savings into a bed-and-breakfast, and meet a local heartthrob in the process. Half the time, I feel like rom-coms are not so much about the LOLsthats hard, she adds. Its really that knowing smile, the I get you; I hear you. Its that kind of knowing nod you make to yourself. A lighthearted attitude can make even dark situations rom-com fodder. In Grace After Henry (Putnam, Mar. 2019) by Irish author Eithne Shortall, Graces fiance, Henry, is killed in a freak accident. Naturally, she feels a bit lostuntil his long-lost twin brother shows up. Irish authors have this amazing capacity for humor that maybe is in their blood, says Tara Singh-Carlson, executive editor at Putnam. Theyre able to write their female characters with the right amount of edge and vulnerability and self-deprecation. Its getting the lead woman just rightto have her be strong but relatable, and insecure in the ways that were all insecure. Getting the lead woman just right is doubly hard when the rom-com stars two women of different ages and backgrounds. In One Summer in Paris by Sarah Morgan (HQN, Apr. 2019), the unlikely friendship between a newly single 40-something woman and a rebellious teenager in Paris helps each find a new path, and the potential for new love. Sarah is brilliant at writing multigenerational female relationships, which strikes a real emotional chord, says Flo Nicoll, senior editor at Harlequin. Reading about women forging life-changing friendships, regardless of age, is inspirational. HEAs for All Hired (Kensington, Mar. 2019) is the second book in Zoey Castiles Happy Endings series, a Magic Mikeinspired romance fantasy that Norma Perez-Hernandez, assistant editor at Kensington Publishing, says is millennial-focused, modern, and multicultural. She acknowledges that the return to romantic comedies has been brewing for a long time, and that the books particularly resonate now. The climate, no matter what your political affiliation, can be a little stressful, and you just want to see something happy and something fun. Perez-Hernandez says readers responded to 2018s Stripped, which PWs review called thoroughly entertaining, in part because of the variety of ethnicities and sexual orientations of the characters. In Hired, the male lead is Colombian and the female lead is black. That diversity is important, the author notes, but its not the only issue: Ultimately, were reading to escape. Angela James, editorial director at Carina Press, says the romance readership has always included readers from all backgrounds, and those readers have been waiting to see themselves in stories. As the genre tries to pull in younger readers, she adds, publishers should look to the inclusivity of YA novels. Those younger readers have been seeing themselves in stories, James notes. YA has done a much better job than the adult market of showing more representation, so if we dont expand, well fail to gain that readership. The idea that everyone deserves the escapism that comes from seeing themselves in a happily ever aftercommonly known as an HEAwas the message at Julys annual conference of the Romance Writers of America, as Suzanne Brockmann took the stage to receive a Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. She used her platform to call for inclusion in romances. When you grow up in a world where you learn, just from watching, that you are let in, but others are not, you often accept it as your truth, Brockmann said. So when you write what you see and what you know and what youve been told to believe, like books set in a town where absolutely no people of color or gay people live? You are perpetuating exclusion. Its a conversation thats been happening for a long time, and its only getting louder. Also at RWA 2018, A Bollywood Affair author Sonali Dev gave her thoughts on the importance of representation during a speech at Librarians Day. She asked librarians to amplify voices that arent always heard, using the power they have when they decide which books to order for their libraries. In Devs forthcoming Jane Austen riff Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors (Morrow, May), the heroine, Tricia, is a neurosurgeon whose Indian immigrant family is descended from royalty, and her love interest, DJ, is an up-and-coming chef of South Asian and black heritage from a less-privileged background. Interactions between various characters yield some comical situationsthe oh-so-serious Trisha isnt quite sure what to do when DJs artist sister gives her one of her signature vagina paintings, which she says Trisha inspiredbut the book also addresses broader issues. In one scene, the couple gets locked out of a car DJ borrowed from a friend, and he has to explain to Tricia, in a turning point for their relationship, that he cannot be seen breaking into the car because hes black. Its really a slice of real life, Morrows Woodward says. Not everybody is white, and this is what they have to deal with. Writing in the Margins Annie Harper, executive editor at Interlude Press, says that in the past, when books included characters with different gender identities or sexual orientations or other points of diversity, it didnt always end well for those characters. Even if they did end up having a relationship, one or both members of the couple would be killed off, or some other tragedy would strike. Thats why diverse romantic comedies are so important, she says: readers see things work out for a character whose story, in earlier days, may not have had a happy conclusion. Harper edited the queer romantic comedy Jilted by Lilah Suzanne (Nov.), which features a character, Link, who is nonbinary but whose gender identity doesnt drive the story. When Link is left at the altar, Link meets Carter, also recently dumped. After being mistaken for newlyweds, the two decide to spend Links already-paid-for honeymoon together. Thats extremely valuable, Harper says, when the narrative changes and youre looking at a fun romance, not just a story that speaks to challenges readers may be experiencing in everyday life. Helen Hoangs 2018 debut, The Kiss Quotient (Berkley), starred a woman who, like the author, is on the autism spectrum. PWs starred review cited the diverse cast and exceptional writing, and Roxane Gay called it a fun read and its also quite original and sexy and sensitive. The follow-up, The Bride Test (Jove, May 2019), also addresses neurodiversity and issues relating to immigration. Hoang, a second-generation American, created more than one barrier to communication for her lead characters, Khai and Esme. Neither speaks the others native language very wellKhai grew up in the U.S., Esme in Vietnamand because Khai has autism, he isnt certain hes capable of love. They are perfectly imperfect, and definitely perfect for each other, says Berkleys Hwang. The couple has to work hard and compromise for their HEA, but, as in all rom-com romances, eventually they get there. Melissa Umbarger is a freelance writer and editor by night and fights poverty at a nonprofit in North Carolina by day. She gets her romance fix on her daily commute. Below, more on the subject of romance novels. Return Engagements: Romance Novels 20182019 In romance novels, everything old is new again, and again, and again. Teen Spring Flings: Romance Novels 2019 Here are five of the buzziest YA romance offerings pubbing this season. YOLO actress Fella Makafui has been caught up in the centre of the break up as she's accused by her social media fans of 'snatching' Sister Deborah's boyfriend. Sister Deborah, in her last single titled "Kakalika Love", threw shots at Medikal and his alleged new lover Fella Makafui. Derby described the two as cockroaches and further revealed that Medikal saved Fellas name as 'carpenter' when they were still dating. Fella Makafui was quick to respond to her with a cryptic message via Facebook and Instagram saying: "Maturity is the ability to think, speak and act your feelings within the bounds of dignity. The measure of your maturity is how spiritual you become during the midst of your frustrations!!!" Commenting on their break up, Juliet Ibrahim tweeted at Sister Deborah: "Kakalika everywhere." The Ghanaian actress also recently broke up with her Nigerian boyfriend Iceberg Slim. She failed to reveal what led to their breakup but was quick to mention that people who were close to her are aware of what caused it. Iceberg Slim took to Instagram and shared a post that somehow sort to suggest the reason for their breakup. READ MORE: Medikal fires back at Sister Deborah According to him, Juliet Ibrahim was a toxic person and always wanted to control him whiles they were dating but hope people would see the truth in what he was saying. In a new post on Instagram, Efia Odo wrote that her sins and worship are all done in public and stealing meat from a soup is also a sin; an indirect to Fella for stealing Medikal from Sister Derby. READ ALSO: undefined My sins and worship are all done in public.. how bout yours? Lol you think the meat you stole from the soup no bi sin?? stealing is a sin oooo, Efia Odo wrote. ece-auto-gen The feud between Efia Odo and Fella Makafui started when Efia Odo claimed Fella is a cheap girl who sleeps with politicians and other rich men in society for money and other material stuff. She even alleged Fella Makafui is equally fake including her big butt. In her defence, Fella Makafui on Snapchat revealed that Ghanaians should ignore Efia Odo because although she looks old, she has the brain of a child so people should not take her seriously. In response to this, AMG Business rapper Medikal speaking in an interview on Hitz FM indicated that her celebrity girlfriend, Sister Deborah is aware that he is friends with Fella Makafui and is okay with his relationship with the YOLO star. But it seems things have now turned against Sister Derby as her lovely days with Medikal is now over after Medikal gathered some courage and has officially announced Fella Makafui as his new girlfriend in a Tweet after Sister Derby fired shots at him, for acting like a cockroach whos in love and scared to let people know. The highway became a scene of a riot on Thursday after a taxi driver knocked down an 18-year-old girl who was crossing the road. Police say at least 24 people have been killed by motorists while over 160 have been injured on the Adenata-Madina highway since January 2018. Six different contractors are going to move in to work on these bridges. Each contractor will tackle one footbridge because time is of the essence now," Amoako-Atta told journalists when he visited the scene of Thursday's tragic knockdown. In an opinion piece published on citifmonline, Ghana's first special prosecutor said the resignation of the United States (US) Attorney General (AG) Jeff Sessions and the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting AG has reinforced his conviction that the effective way to stifle the fight against corruption is to apply "Whitakers scenario." Whitaker is a chief critic of a special investigations into alleged Russian meddling into the US 2016 election led by special council Robbert Muller. The opposition Democrats fears his appointment will affect Muellers investigations because of his previous pronouncments. Whitaker once opined about a scenario in which Trump could fire Sessions and then appoint an acting attorney general who could stifle the funding of Muellers probe. In that scenario, Muellers budget could be reduced "so low that his investigation grinds to a halt," Whitaker said during an interview in CNN in July 2017 before he joined the Justice Department. "Whitakers scenario which I have just read reinforces my own conviction that the effective way to stifle the fight against corruption is to apply Whitakers scenario. It also reminds me of the almost utter hopelessness in which the newly established Office of the Special Prosecutor finds itself almost one year after the President caused its establishment as his flagship and vision to fight corruption in Ghana with an overwhelming national consensus and support," Martin Amidu wrote. He revealed that one year after his appointment, his office has only a small three bedroom house as an Office woefully inadequate for lack of sheer physical space to accommodate any reasonable number of employees, lack of subsidiary legislation, and consequently also financially crippled without any ability to acquire the requisite expensive operational anti-corruption and other equipment for the Office let alone to function efficiently. "Creating unilateral unrealistic and crippling budget ceilings for such a deprived agency has same effect as the Whitaker scenario. By analogical reasoning, the Whitaker scenario reported by the Associated Press resembles the situation of the Office of the Special Prosecutor since its establishment in spite of the Presidents sincere commitment to his vision," he further noted. Read his article published in full below. THE WHITAKER SCENARIO STIFLING INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATIVE AGENCIES OF FUNDS: BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU The former United States Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, on 7th November 2018 announced his resignation as US Attorney General and made it clear it was at the request of the President at your request. The Chief of Staff of the Justice Department, Matthew Whitaker, whom Jeff Session appointed in September 2017, was appointed the Acting Attorney General to the displeasure of the opposition Democrats because of the likely effect of the new acting appointment on Robert Muellers investigations into the allegation of Russian meddling into the 2016 US elections. The opposition Democrats fear that the new Acting Attorney General will assume full oversight over Muellers investigations and is demanding that like Jeff Sessions, he recuses himself from those investigations because of his previous comments on the probe. Acting Attorney General Whitakers comments were made before he joined the Justice Department. Whitakers comments before Sessions appointed him to the Justice Department has just opened my eyes to how an independent investigation and prosecutorial agency such as Ghanas Office of the Special Prosecutor can be disabled from effectively and efficiently performing its mandate without direct interference with its so calledindependence and impartiality. The Associated Press of 8th November 2018 has an article captioned: With new Justice Official, fate of Russia probe in question. That caption has no relevance to how to disable an independent investigation institution from performing its duties but what is attributed to the new Justice Official, Whitaker, has. The Associated Press article says: Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney from Iowa who twice run unsuccessfully for statewide office., once opined about a scenario in which Trump could fire Sessions and then appoint an acting attorney general who could stifle the funding of Muellers probe. In that scenario, Muellers budget could be reduced so low that his investigation grinds to a halt. Whitaker said during an interview in CNN in July 2017 before he joined the Justice Department. Whitakers scenario which I have just read reinforces my own conviction that the effective way to stifle the fight against corruption is to apply Whitakers scenario. It also reminds me of the almost utter hopelessness in which the newly established Office of the Special Prosecutor finds itself almost one year after the President caused its establishment as his flagship and vision to fight corruption in Ghana with an overwhelming national consensus and support. One year down the line it has only a small three bedroom house as an Office woefully inadequate for lack of sheer physical space to accommodate any reasonable number of employees, lack of subsidiary legislation, and consequently also financially crippled without any ability to acquire the requisite expensive operational anti-corruption and other equipment for the Office let alone to function efficiently. Creating unilateral unrealistic and crippling budget ceilings for such a deprived agency has same effect as the Whitaker scenario. By analogical reasoning, the Whitaker scenario reported by the Associated Press resembles the situation of the Office of the Special Prosecutor since its establishment in spite of the Presidents sincere commitment to his vision. The Whitaker scenario appears to be taking shape in November 2018 in the United States of America. Here in Ghana I see the absolute need for all citizens, particularly the electorate who brought the President personally to power to support him to ensure that his promised vision of fighting corruption materializes during his first term in Office. The 1992 Constitution supports the Presidents vision and every patriotic citizen is mandated by the Constitution to support him. I know for a fact that our President means business but there is a missing link provided by the Whitaker scenario to which civil society should wake up now or forever stop blaming the President. We are going into his third year in Office and we must all be stakeholders in the fight against corruption. This is not politics. This is a fundamental patriotic obligation enjoined by the 1992 Constitution for its defence and to save our dear country of a malignant canker of corruption that has ravaged it since independence. Join the citizen patriotic fight against corruption in Ghana now! Prevent corruption now! Act now! Save Ghana now! Martin A. B. K. Amidu North Legon, Accra Wheres the Coverage? Israel Foils Assassination Plot Targeting Netanyahu and Others | Main | AFP Captions Whitewash Berlin Al Quds Rally June 07, 2018 Palestinian Fire Kites Are No Child's Play Palestinians set Israeli fields ablaze with fire kites Much of the media has been either ignoring or minimizing the incendiary kites launched by Palestinians into Israeli territory. The New York Times, for example, describes them as "flimsy-framed sails with tails meant to carry crude incendiary devices" -- part of a "David vs. Goliath" "protest" against Israel.... Newsweek describes them as a non-lethal response by Palestinian protesters to those Palestinians who have been "shot dead by Israel Defense Forces" during "demonstrations"... But an article by Gatestone Institute's Bassam Tawil tells it like it is: *There are two important factors that the international community needs to notice regarding the fire kites that the Palestinians are sending to Israel from the Gaza Strip. First: those who are launching the kites are making it clear that their ultimate goal is to kill as many Jews as possible and bring about the obliteration of Israel. Second: the Palestinians see all Jews living in Israel as "settlers. *The Palestinians are now also telling us that the terror kites they are sending to Israel accord with what the Quran orders Muslims to do in the fight against the "infidels." They apparently see the flaming kites as part of the jihad (holy war) against the enemies of Allah and Islam. *The jihad of the Palestinians against Israel is the same jihad that ISIS, the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamic jihadi groups have also been waging on the "infidels" and "enemies of Islam" in the US, EU and other non-Muslim countries. We are witnessing a well-organized campaign of terror orchestrated by terrorists and activists belonging to Hamas and other Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip. Posted by rh at June 7, 2018 12:11 PM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment The young lady was knocked down by a taxi in front of her school on the Madina-Adentan highway. This led to a demonstration and the blocking of the road by residents of the area. "I express my deep condolences to the family of the student who lost her life yesterday at Adenta, after being knocked down by a taxi, as she attempted crossing the road on her way from school," president Akufo-Addo said in a statement. He continued: "Our nation has suffered an unnecessary loss. The scenes that played out in its aftermath are regrettable, and should not happen again. "The Ministry of Roads and Highways is ensuring that work begins on completion of these bridges in the course of the coming week, and has put together a comprehensive plan to address systematically all these infrastructural problems, which are legacies of a past decade of neglect.READ MORE: Driver who killed WASS student on Adenta highway arrested The victim, said to be in form two at the Ponaa Junior High School, is currently staying at home with abdominal complications and genital pains, following the sexual attack by the soldier. Starr FM reports that the alleged incident occurred on Monday at about 9pm when the victim and her colleagues were about to depart to their houses after closing from a regular night preps. The victim narrates that she and her colleagues were studying in a classroom when they saw the soldier patrolling. Because of the curfew, residents in Bimbilla are not allowed to stay outside beyond 9:00pm so she attempted to hide from the the soldier who allegedly raped her. Her phone rang and the soldier saw her, she said. I and my colleagues went to preps, and If we go to prep we close around 9.30pm. So, 9.30pm was over and I my colleagues we were going home and someone went to buy water and some of my colleagues got up and saw the soldier and said that the soldiers are coming, run. So I went and hid someplace, my colleagues called to see where I was hiding; they called me and the phone belled and the soldier saw me, the victim told Starr FM. She adds that the soldier grabbed her up and asked her to follow him. She said he took her to another school compound, which had no electricity, where he undressed her himself and had sex with her for nearly 5 minutes while she groaned in pains. The victim reported the abuse to her mother when she got home immediately after the soldier freed her. The girl's family is pushing for the soldier to be brought to justice I want them to arrest him and to face the law to serve as a deterrent in the future. She is a still child, she is only 16 years. There is a lot of diseases out there, may she has been inflicted, father bemoaned. READ MORE: 46 policemen interdicted over sexual exploitation charges The father said he has spent more than Gh400 on medical bills since the incident was reported to him, Starr FM reports. According to him, the aspirants are taking "jabs" at him to "ostensibly" prop up their campaigns, adding that, they are "desperately" seeking his attention. He was speaking at the University for Development Studies, Tamale in the Northern Region. He said: "I am sure you have seen and heard some of the presidential aspirants of the leading opposition party taking jabs at my government in order, ostensibly, to prop up their campaigns. And, whilst at it, they desperately trying to get me to respond to them. "Let me state here and now, for the record, president Akufo-Addo will not respond to presidential aspirants. He will respond to presidential candidates that have been duly elected by their parties. "Then, he will engage those who think Ghanaians have short memories." Although the president was addressing all the 13 NDC flagbearers, it was his concluding comments that made it obvious he was responding to former president John Mahama. The ex-president was in December 2013 reported by the Daily Graphic to have said Ghanaians have short memories. On Wednesday night at 11:20 p.m., a gunman that authorities have identified as Ian David Long entered the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, and began shooting. By early Thursday morning, the former US marine had killed 12 people, injured 15 others, and taken his own life. The shooting is considered the 15th deadliest in recent US history, yet Long's victims join a growing number of people killed by guns in the US. Wednesday's mass shooting follows the murder of 17 people at Stoneman Douglas High School in February and the killings of 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in October. This week's attack also happened a little more than a year after the deadliest in America: the Las Vegas Strip shooting, which left 58 people dead and 850 others injured. By chance, dozens of people who had survived the Las Vegas attack were also present for this week's shooting and several of them were shot to death. : Millions of people marched against gun violence this year, and Congress voted to loosen a restriction on the CDC's research of gun violence, which has been in effect for about 22 years. Below is some of the most recent data available on gun violence in the US (highlighted in red; suicides and accidents excluded), and how it compares to other causes of death over the lifetime of an average American. BusinessInsider According to this analysis, assaults by firearm kill about 13,000 people in the US each year, and this translates to a roughly 1-in-315 lifetime chance of death from gun violence. The risk of dying in a mass shooting is about 35 times lower than that, with a 1-in-11,125 lifetime chance of death. The chance of dying from gun violence overall is about 50% greater than the lifetime risk of dying while riding inside a car, truck, or van (a category that excludes pedestrian, cyclist, and other deaths outside of a motor vehicle). It's also more than 10 times as high as dying from any force of nature, such as a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, flood, or lightning strike. These measures suggest Americans are more likely to die from gun violence than the combined risks of drowning, fire and smoke, stabbing, choking on food, airplane crashes, animal attacks, and natural disasters. Where the data comes from BusinessInsider The chart above does not account for a person's specific behaviors, age, sex, location, or other factors that could shift the results; it's an average of the entire US population. But it clearly shows that gun violence in the US is a leading cause of death, which is how the CDC describes firearm homicides in its National Vital Statistics Reports. Most of the data comes from an October 2017 report by the National Safety Council and a November 2017 report by the National Center for Health Statistics on causes of death in the US, primarily those that occurred in 2015. (The NSC report uses 2014 data wherever newer data was unavailable.) Mass shootings aren't part of the data sets above, but the Gun Violence Archive project keeps a sourced tally, which we've independently counted. The organization considers any event where four or more victims were injured (regardless of death) to be a mass shooting. In 2015, some 333 mass shootings left 367 people dead, according to their tally. The statistics rose in 2016 to 383 mass shootings that killed 456 people. In 2017, there were 346 mass shootings that led to 437 deaths, and so far this year, we've seen 307 mass shootings. Foreign-born terrorism data comes from a Cato Institute terrorism report, and some natural-disaster data comes from Tulane University. We calculated the lifetime odds of death by applying 2015 life expectancy and population numbers in the US, and our analysis assumes each cause of death won't change drastically in the near future. (Mortality data from previous years suggests these rankings are relatively consistent, with the exception of skyrocketing accidental poisonings due to the opioid epidemic.) You can view our full dataset and sourcing here. A dearth of US gun-violence research BusinessInsider Although gun violence is one of the leading causes of death in America, it is also one of the most poorly researched, according to a January 2017 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "In relation to mortality rates, gun violence research was the least-researched cause of death and the second-least-funded cause of death after falls," the study's authors wrote. The study ascribed this dearth of research to restrictions namely an addition to a 1996 congressional appropriations bill called the Dickey Amendment, which stipulated "none of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control." This is the rule that Congress recently voted to weaken with its new funding bill, which Trump signed in March. The new provision gives the CDC explicit permission to research the causes of gun violence, though it maintains a ban on "using appropriated funding to advocate or promote gun control." BusinessInsider The previous lack of clarity on researching gun violence has hindered many scientists from better understanding the problem. "The fundamental, foundational work of documenting the full scale of the health consequences of firearms has not been done," Sandro Galea, an epidemiologist and the dean of the Boston University School of Public Health, told Mother Jones in January 2017. "It's the kind of project that we do all the time. It just hasn't been done with firearms because there haven't been resources." Although the Dickey amendment has been weakened, Republicans in Congress are reportedly uninterested in restoring $2.6 million in annual funding for CDC research into gun violence. "[T]op GOP appropriators say they have no interest in funding new federal research into gun violence," The Hill wrote in April. The research that has been conducted by private institutions like the Harvard Injury Control Research Center show a clear connection between gun ownership, gun availability, homicides, and violent death. A roundup of gun-control and gun-violence studies by Vox shows that Americans represent less than 5% of the world population but possess nearly 50% of the world's civilian-owned guns. The data also reveals that police are about three times more likely to be killed in states with high gun ownership, countries with more guns see more gun deaths, and states with tighter gun control laws see fewer gun-related deaths. She led the special prayer for the nation on Friday night during the 17th Annual Abuja Special Holy Ghost Service at RCCG Camp, KM 23, Auta-Gurgu Village, Abuja-Keffi Expressway, Nassarawa State. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that thousands of faithful called on God to defend the country against enemies fighting against its peace and to intervene in the overall affairs of the nation. Fondly called as Mummy G.O., led the congregation to pray for President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) and those in authority at all levels for God to give them direction in leading the affairs of Nigeria. O God intervene and direct the government to make policies that will benefit your people and our nation, she prayed. Adeboye urged Christians to pray for peace and tranquility of the nation, especially as the nation was preparing for the forthcoming general elections. Prince of Peace, please let your peace reign in Nigeria. Arise oh Lord and defend Nigeria, she said. She prophesied that Nigeria would arise again to glory and honour for other nations to see. Mummy G.O. enjoined Christians to pray to God for forgiveness of sins that had befallen the nation and to have His mercies on the people. We plead for the forgiveness of ancestral sins, idolatry, murder, stealing, greed, selfishness and other sins that might be working against our progress as a nation; we ask for forgiveness in all realms for our nation. Imbibe in us the spirit of the fear of God in all our undertakings as leaders and citizens of this nation and let Nigeria be Gods own nation with peace, progress and prosperity in Jesus mighty name, she prayed. Adeboye enjoined Christians to embrace righteousness for the country to move forward. Earlier, the Coordinator of Northern Region of the Church, Pastor Ezekiel Odeyemi, urged Nigerians to always be grateful to God for His protection upon their lives because they were His divine choice. Odeyemi, who is also the Pastor-In-Charge of Region 10 of RCCG, was ministering on the theme of the 17th edition: Divine Choice. According to him, Nigerians must continue to thank God for His preservation and purpose upon the nation because Nigeria is a divine choice of God. Therefore, our destiny depends upon whether we live in harmony with God, follow His moral teachings. It is our responsibility to decide our destiny to find our inspiration to live righteously to be Gods divine choice, he said. He said Kano State Government has set aside N2.5 billion to complete abandoned projects in primary schools in the state. The contracts were awarded five years ago and we reviewed the contracts because prices have changed. I request you to do quality job and finish in good time, as I have directed primary education board to pay all contractors with certificate once you resume to site. Ganduje restated his commitment to develop education sector for effective learning in the state. The Chairman of State Universal Basic Education Board, Alhaji Zakari Bagwai, said that the governor had considered recalling to site the contractors handling the work of 44 schools across the state. According to him, out of the 44 schools, 12 have been completed and the governor is considering completing 14 out of the remaining 32. He also said that 13 other critical education related projects would be completed. According to the Daily Trust News, the suspect was reportedly nabbed on Monday, November 5, 2018, in a brothel located in the city. In the report, a man who invited Omika to his residence believing him to be a woman called the police after confirming from his body features that he only looked like one. I have slept off and the man started touching my (point at his private part) and when he noticed I was a man, he called the police and I was arrested," the suspect mentioned while responding to newsmen. ALSO READ: 41 suspected homosexual persons caught while having fun at a birthday party The suspect who denies being gay told the Daily Trust that his host promised him a sum of N3,000 to be able to return to Lagos. Mrs Buhari, who presented the award at a brief reception in the State House, Abuja, urged Nigerians to emulate the uncommon honesty and incorruptible disposition exhibited by Miss Ishaya. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had on Sept. 11, 2018 on its official tweeter handle @FAAN_Official tweeted: we celebrate Miss Mary Ishaya who works for Lakewood Company, the cleaning contractor responsible for cleaning Abuja Airport. She found the following valuable items in the toilet: 2,000 dollars, 140 Canadian dollars, eight pieces of coins, N21,850, two international passports, four ATM cards, four bus cards and baggage claim tags. The owner, an employee of Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Imade Uhunwagho, has since collected his valuables. NAN also recalled that the cleaning firm had in appreciation, promoted Miss Ishaya from being a janitor to a supervisor. Ishaya thanked the wife of the President for recognising her action, adding that the award would encourage her to do more. The Vice Chairman of the Company, Mr Jonathan Irafor, expressed gratitude to Mrs Buhari for finding Ishaya worthy of the award. According to him, the honour is not just on Ishaya alone but the entire company because that is what it preaches to its workers. Various groups in the ruling party have also called for his resignation. Some state Governors have also accused Oshiomhole of working for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Bribery allegations According to Vanguard, Oshiomhole was reportedly invited by the DSS for questioning on Sunday, November 4, 2018. The daily also said that the spy agency told the APC chairman that some Governors wrote a petition against him. The Cable reports that Oshiomhole was quizzed for nine hours on the allegations that he received bribe to manipulate the APC's primary elections across the country. On the bribery allegation Speaking to Punch, a member of the APC National Working Committee (NWC), said The fact that Oshiomhole is under investigation for allegedly collecting money from aspirants is bad for the image of the APC government which claims to be fighting corruption. It is for this reason that the NWC members are being asked (by interested parties) to push for the suspension of the APC chairman pending the outcome of the probe. The Presidents body language and actions in the coming days will determine Oshiomholes fate. For now, we are still considering it but we dont want to make any hasty decision until we are sure that we have the Presidents backing. Tinubu meets Oshiomhole in France A source who also spoke with Punch, revealed that Tinubu went to France to meet with Oshiomhole on Thursday, November , 2018, ahead of the planned APC leaders meeting. The source said , Tinubu and Oshiomhole met in Paris on Thursday over attempts by governors and some members of the NWC to remove the party chairman. You will recall that it was Asiwaju who paved the way for the emergence of Oshiomhole as the chairman when Chief Oyegun wanted a tenure extension. Now that he has come under probe by the DSS and is being asked to step aside, he has run to Tinubu to save him. It remains unclear what their strategy will be to put a stop to the probe. Tinubu had publicly endorsed the leadership style of the embattled APC chairman, saying that he cannot be removed. There had been reports in the media that some Governors were gathering the support of other top lawmakers to push for Oshiomholes sack. Buhari is very interested There are reports also, that President Buhari is very particular about solving the ongoing crisis in the ruling party. According to the source, The matter is receiving attention at the highest level. We cannot pretend, the situation involving our national chairman is already in public domain. His invitation and subsequent interrogation by the Department of State Services, is an indictment if you ask me; but you cannot pronounce a man guilty without giving him the right of fair hearing. The leadership meeting will take place because as you know, we dont have a Board of Trustees in place. Mr. President as the leader of the party, who in fact, has personally taken over the process of dealing with the post-primary crisis, is convening the meeting to deal with all these issues. Oshiomhole is back in town In his reaction to reports that Oshiomhole might have absconded from Nigeria, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu said that the APC chairman has returned. The APC chairman is back in the country as scheduled. This is contrary to speculations that he was running away. He has been postponing the trip due to the party primaries and submission of candidates names to INEC, he added. Adams Oshiomhole was reportedly asked to resign as the APC chairman by the DSS. Audu made the call at the inaugural meeting of the group held on Saturday in Abuja. Audu said that the association had vowed to do everything within the laws of the land to galvanise and mobilise over 50 million Nigerians to vote for Atiku/Obi in 2019. I urge all our members to brace up to the challenge ahead of us. Audu said that Abubakar became the flag bearer of PDP not by chance, but by hard work and dedication. It is the responsibility of all our members to go to all the nooks and crannies of our country, Nigeria by campaigning based on issues for Atiku/Obi ticket. He said that the aims and objectives of the group were to canvass and solicit for support across the 774 Local Government Areas in the country for the election of Atiku/Obi in 2019. To create a dynamic platform for the mobilisation of grassroots supporters for Abubakar in all the wards and Polling units in Nigeria. To create awareness for proper election processes and procedures. To promote easy data analysis and accessibility for the purpose of a successful Presidential election by 2019 in Nigeria, he said. Audu expressed confidence in the leadership quality of Abubakar to lead Nigeria, saying he had demonstrated his leadership qualities in government and private sector. That is why we all spent our time and resources to gather here today because of the 100 per cent trust we all have in the Atiku/Obi Ticket. He expressed confidence in the current leadership of the PDP, saying I will be bold to say PDP is wearing a new garment which Nigerians have to believe in. The National Coordinator of the group, Mr Peremobowei Ebebi, advised members of various support groups for Abubakar to make the neccessary sacrifice including their time and resources to ensure the emergence of Abubakar as president of Nigeria. We need to sacrifice everything we need to put in to actualise the success of Atiku come 2019 and not expecting anything from Abubakar to do the work. Ebebi, a former Deputy Governor of Bayelsa, advised political parties and their support groups to key into peaceful and issue-based campaigns as Nigeria approached the 2019 general elections. It is not worth it that a supporter dies in the course of campaigns. Even the supporters I want to advise them to keep to the rules. Let them not take laws into their hands and die in the process. Also speaking at occasion, former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Aba Gana, expressed confidence that Abubakar would win the 2019 presidential election. The former minister urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that the 2019 elections were credible, and also called on security agencies to be neutral. Dr Nentawe Tilwatda, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Benue, said this on Saturday in Makurdi during an interactive session with journalists, political parties and civil society organisations toward ensuring peaceful 2019 polls in the state. Tilwatda said the commission discovered about 1,300 of such voters cards hidden in two locations in some local government areas of the state. He said such cards were obtained from owners under various pretexts, one of which was to help process fertilizers or other scarce commodities and deliberately kept them away from their owners. They plan to mop up voters cards to disenfranchise electorate in places where they are not strong, said the INEC boss. He, therefore, appealed to voters not to surrender their voters cards to politicians or sell them to anyone. The INEC commissioner denied claims that the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue did not hold its governorship primaries. The APC held primaries by consensus, I was given a letter of consensus endorsed by all aspirants. That was what I relied on to do my report. Yes, the primaries was shifted a couple of times but they eventually held it. This I can testify, he said. He said the commission was yet to compile a list of candidates vying for elective offices because the window for substitution was still open to political parties. In a remark, INEC National Commissioner overseeing Benue, Enugu and Anambra, Mr Festus Okoye, said the commission had evolved strategies in ensuring the credibility of the 2019 polls and charged stakeholders to support the efforts by reporting malpractices. Uzodinma was recently picked as the Imo state governorship candidate by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC. The Imo Governor made this known in a statement which was issued by his media aide, Sam Onwuemeodo on Friday, November 9, 2018. He said Even when we have not said or written anything about Chief Hope Uzodinma since the controversy over the governorship ticket of All Progressives Congress, APC, for the State began, he took up the Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha in the media, claiming that the governor underestimates his unpopularity among other insulting remarks. And we swiftly want to say interalia: We wont honour Chief Hope Uzodinma with response because even when politics today seems to be all comers affair people should be humble enough to know their superiors in certain areas of life. Uzodinma is not an APC member According to Vanguard, Okorocha said that he is seen by APC members in the state as a core Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member. The statement said Chief Hope Uzodinma is not a member of APC in Imo State. His purported membership of the Party was announced in Abuja. He has never attended any APC meeting either in his ward or in his Local Government, Oru-East or at the State level. And that is why no APC member in the State was excited when the Partys National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole announced him as his preferred governorship Candidate of the Party in the State. APC members in Imo see Chief Uzodinma as still a staunch member of PDP and that was the reason behind the dead silence in Imo over the announcement of his name as the governorship Candidate of the party. If Chief Uzodinma was to be a known member of the Party, there would have been celebration in Imo. The Chieftains of the Party in Abuja backing him are elite Politicians who have no relationship with the grassroots. Governor Rochas Okorocha won his election in 2011 on the platform of APGA through the ballot box. Ditto, in 2015 on the ticket of APC. And in the two cases, the parties were not in Power at the Federal level. So, he did not enjoy any Federal might. Imo people voted for him for whom he is. And the love is still intact. In 2011, he defeated an incumbent governor of PDP extraction and in 2015 he also defeated a sitting Deputy-Speaker of the House of Representatives also of the PDP stock. How else do you measure popularity? In the case of Chief Uzodinma, the story is totally different. In 2011, he took the Senate Seat for Orlu zone from Chief Osita Izunaso through the Court. In 2015, Nigerians knew what transpired in Imo. The State was invaded with armed Security Personnel by the PDP leaders like Chief Uzodinma and the rest is history. Dont throw stones Chief Uzodinma can never win election in Imo in a fee and fair election. And that is why the PDP and APGA members are those celebrating his K leg governorship Candidature for Imo APC. Since Chief Uzodinma has begun to throw stones, not considering the fact that he lives in a badly constructed glass house we challenge him to publish his profile for the public to see and let Rochas also publish his own. Rochas Okorocha was born in Ogboko and he grew up in Jos. He attended St. Joseph Primary School, Barkin Ladi Jos, and Juladaco High School Jos. He has LLB and LLM of the University of Jos, Post Graduate Diploma in Management, of the Benue State University. By 1984 Rochas Okorocha had opened Kings Commercial College Jos. In 1996, he founded the Rochas Foundation Inc and Rochas Foundation Colleges. He founded the Rochas Group of Companies with interest in Real Estate, Aviation, Banking, Hotels, Construction, Commerce and so on. Rochas Okorocha has investments and Commercial buildings in Imo before becoming governor. He has two Rochas Foundation Colleges, one in Owerri and one in Ogboko. Has a Printing Press, and a Hotel. Has some of the biggest Commercial buildings in Owerri, and all before becoming governor. Let Chief Uzodinma mention any building he owns in Owerri or any investment he has in any part of the State no matter how small, then we take off from there. Those who write these things for people like Chief Uzodinma should always count their teeth with their tongues before taking up other people in the media. You do not do such thing knowing the deficiencies of the man you are writing for. A reasonable someone who lives in a glass house does not throw stones at all, and not to talk of doing so indiscriminately, the statement added. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has published the name of Senator Uzodinma as the governorship candidate of the APC in Imo state. Okorochas son-in-law, Uche Nwosu had earlier filed a suit stopping INEC from accepting any other persons name as the APC governorship candidate in Imo. Radev used the speech, given to mark the eve of the 29th anniversary of the fall of communism, to mount a scathing attack on the right-wing government led by Boyko Borisov. Radev has been a thorn in the side of Borisov since he was elected in November 2016 with the backing of the opposition Socialist Party (BSP). Although the presidency is a largely ceremonial role, according to the constitution it is meant to "embody the unity of the nation". Radev said that "lobbying and corruption have permeated the entire system of government and have made it arrogant. "Corruption and the arbitrary exercise of power will endure... as long as society remains indifferent," he added. Radev also had harsh words for the press in his speech, arguing they had abandoned their role as a check on power. "Professional standards in the media have collapsed, and so has citizens' trust in the information they receive," he said. Bulgaria languishes in 111th place in the latest World Press Freedom Index compiled by journalism watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the worst score in the EU. An RSF report last year described Bulgaria's press industry as mired in "corruption and collusion between media, politicians and oligarchs". Radev's intervention comes just days before the European Commission is due to publish an annual report assessing the efforts of the Bulgarian justice system to fight corruption. Bulgaria, along with neighbour Romania, is subject to special judicial monitoring by Brussels, which has demanded tougher action on both organised crime and corruption among high-ranking officials. In recent weeks, prosecutors have begun proceedings against several businessman for fraud and money laundering. They have also asked for the parliamentary immunity of six MPs -- one of them from Borisov's GERB party -- to be lifted as part of an investigation into alleged tax fraud and racketeering. A range of sensitive issues remain to be settled between the erstwhile foes, including the question of their common frontier. This summer, Thaci and Vucic both raised the possibility of redrawing the border, comments that alarmed some observers. But Thaci, in Paris for WWI commemoration ceremonies this weekend, was clear on one point. "We will work together to define the borders, just like we did with Macedonia and Montenegro, but there will be no borders based on ethnic lines," he said. AFP "Kosovo will stay multi-ethnic, Serbia as well, no population displaced. The region will be safer thanks to this agreement." The countries are seeking an agreement to end a diplomatic deadlock that has lasted for years. In 2008, a decade after the 1998-1999 war between Serbia's forces and pro-independence ethnic Albanian guerrillas, Kosovo broke away from Serbia. Serbia -- and its main ally Russia -- refused to recognise Kosovo's independence, although more than 100 countries, including the United States and most EU member states, have done so. A 'multi-ethnic' army Despite a tense start to the talks, Thaci remained cautiously optimistic. "Last evening's meeting was difficult but important for the final phase of the agreement for the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia," he said. "I think it is the right momentum and the right leadership to reach an agreement." Such an agreement would be "about the mutual recognition of Kosovo and Serbia, (a) legally binding agreement, an opportunity for Kosovo to join the UN because Russia will be lifting its veto at the Security council...," said Thaci. Kosovo's recent decision to create its own army, has provoked anger from its own ethnic Serb minority as well as from Serbia. NATO, which leads the KFOR military force that ensures Kosovo's security, has also expressed serious reservations. "I am the president of a sovereign country," Thaci told AFP. "The armed forces of Kosovo will be created. This is a done deal. "Nobody in Serbia can put a veto on this, whether they like it or not. "Everything we'll do will be constitutional and legal. This will be a gradual process, coordinated with our partners in NATO and the US," he added. The meeting is intended to "cement the outcome of the Horn of Africa economic integration agreement," Ethiopia's state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported. The three leaders had in met in September to lay the groundwork for the agreement, the details of which remain vague. "This is a testimony, this is a witness for everyone that the history of the Horn of Africa has changed," the Somali president told officials during a speech in Gondar. "Now we are moving for regional collaboration in economic development in order to be sure that we fight poverty in this region," he added. A former province of Ethiopia, Eritrea broke away in 1993 but was back at war with its southern neighbour five years later when a border dispute sparked fighting. A peace deal ended the war two years later, but Ethiopia and Eritrea remained bitter foes after Addis Ababa refused to accept a United Nations-backed boundary demarcation. Shortly after his April inauguration, Abiy reversed that policy, leading the two neighbours to sign a peace deal last July. Abiy and Isaias have since met repeatedly around the region, and the speed of the rapprochement has surprised even veteran Ethiopia politicians. "There are things you think are impossible like normalisation with Eritrea," Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde told the South African Broadcasting Corporation on Thursday. "For Ethiopia, this normalisation is helping a lot, not just for Ethiopia and Eritrea, but the region as a whole," she said. "Our vision is to have the same kind of relationship with all our neighbouring countries." "The continuing and threatened mass migration of aliens with no basis for admission into the United States through our southern border has precipitated a crisis and undermines the integrity of our borders," Trump said in the order. Trump used his emergency powers for the order, which critics said violates international law protecting asylum seekers. "US law specifically allows individuals to apply for asylum whether or not they are at a port of entry. It is illegal to circumvent that by agency or presidential decree," said Omar Jadwat of the American Civil Liberties Union. But US officials said that as Mexico is the first safe country US-bound migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras arrive in, the asylum claims should be presented there. "Mexico is undoubtedly a safe country for these individuals fleeing persecution," an administration official told journalists Friday. "They should be seeking protection in Mexico." Trump's order was explicit in wanting Mexico to deal with the problem. It said the automatic denial of asylum claims to illegal border-crossers would continue for 90 days or until there is an agreement which "permits the United States to remove aliens to Mexico." The United States regularly sends Mexican undocumented entrants back across the border to their country, but has had difficulties gaining cooperation to repatriate Hondurans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans. The move came as a caravan of thousands of migrants, which Trump has branded an "invasion" of "criminals," makes its way northward through Mexico toward the border. The US order says asylum requests will continue to be accepted from migrants who seek to cross at official US ports of entry. But directing the migrants to the official ports could create massive backups among applicants on the Mexican side of the border. US officials indicated Saturday that they had no plans to expand staffing of asylum claim facilities at the ports. They said staff already had other duties processing legal travellers, inspecting cargoes and policing for drugs. "The United States government is deeply concerned over escalating attacks and legislative actions by the Government of Tanzania that violate civil liberties and human rights, creating an atmosphere of violence, intimidation and discrimination," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. "The deteriorating state of human rights and rule of law in Tanzania inhibits development, economic prosperity, peace and security," she said. "We call on Tanzanian authorities to act decisively to safeguard the rights of civil society organizations, human rights defenders, journalists, health workers, political activists and all people," in accordance with local and international law, she said. She added that the United States was "troubled" by arrests and harassment of the LGBT community. "The irregularities were very minor and won't have any impact on the election's outcome," said the head of the European Union's monitoring mission Cristian Preda. Two cases of ballot stuffing were reported out of nearly 25,000 polling stations nationwide in Wednesday's vote, he said. "What we are describing are difficulties and anomalies, which is to say logistical issues that wouldn't have affected the credibility of the elections," Preda told a media briefing in the capital Antananarivo. But the camp of former president Ravalomanana insisted that slow counting threatened the fairness of the process. "We are protesting the slow pace of vote counting by the electoral commission," said Ravalomanana campaign director Anisoa Tseheno Rabenja. "Two days after the vote, we only have six percent of results. But our teams already have (unofficial) results from half of polling stations." Rabenja also alleged that journalists from the state broadcaster had been bribed to leave the offices of the electoral commission, although his claim could not be independently verified. "We are warning all the individuals and institutions responsible for managing this election over any attempt to steal it," he added. African Union (AU) observers called on the three leading contenders, all former presidents, to "show restraint and respect the law". "It's not in their interests to act in a way that causes tension or trouble," said the AU's observer mission chief Ramtane Lamamra. Rajaonarimampianina, who ruled from 2014 until September this year when he had to resign to contest the election, said on Thursday that there were "numerous irregularities" in the polls. "We will not let the people be robbed of their vote," he warned. Preda, the EU mission chief, said that any irregularities which came to light should be investigated. 'Last chance poll' "It's important not to cheat. For me, people are attempting to cheat when they make (unfounded) allegations of irregularities, I don't like it," he said. Lidia Geringer, the head of the European Parliament delegation, described the election as "something of a last chance poll" for Madagascar's democratic and economic development prospects. Madagascar is one of the world's poorest countries, according to World Bank data, with almost four in five people living in grinding poverty. The former French colony has struggled to overcome political divisions after a disputed 2001 election that sparked clashes and a 2009 military-backed coup. AFP The Southern African Development Community regional bloc, which also deployed observers, said that Madagascar had made "improvements to the electoral system" before Wednesday's vote. "Generally no major incidences of concern were observed," it added. According to provisional results released by the election commission on Friday, former president Andry Rajoelina was leading the tally of votes counted so far with 42.86 percent. Fellow ex-president Marc Ravalomanana was close behind with 40.18 percent, according to the results based on 1,350 polling stations out of 24,852. Rajaonarimampianina trailed on 4.38 percent. Both Ravalomanana and Rajoelina were banned from contesting the last elections in 2013 under international pressure to avoid a repeat of political violence that engulfed the island in 2009. But despite the "intense attacks", loyalist forces made fresh advances in eastern sectors of Hodeida. The rebels, for their part, said their fighters had cut off government supply routes in four sectors of Hodeida province. On Thursday, after a week of intense battles on the outskirts of the city, loyalist troops entered residential neighbourhoods, using bulldozers to remove concrete road blocks installed by the rebels. Military sources said government forces and their coalition allies were edging towards the city's vital port through which nearly 80 percent of Yemen's commercial imports and practically all UN-supervised humanitarian aid pass. The Saudi-led military coalition which supports the government carried out air raids on rebel positions as the ground forces advanced. The Huthis have controlled Hodeida since 2014 when they overran the capital Sanaa and then swept though much of the rest of the country, triggering the coalition's intervention the following year and a devastating war of attrition. AFP The rebels have since been driven out of virtually all of the south and much of the Red Sea coast. Government forces launched their offensive to retake Hodeida in June backed by significant numbers of Emirati ground troops. Their advance into the city of some 600,000 people has been slowed by trenches and minefields dug by the rebels around their last major coastal stronghold. The months-long battle for Hodeida, which has intensified since November 1, has killed a total of 250 combatants this month -- 197 Huthis and 53 loyalists, according to medical and security sources. 'Mass starvation' Human rights groups have voiced fears that a protracted battle for the city will also exact heavy civilian casualties and force a halt to vital food shipments. UN agencies say some 14 million people are at risk of famine in Yemen, which they have described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The World Food Programme said Thursday it will nearly double food aid to Yemen to reach 14 million people a month -- almost half the population. The WFP is providing food assistance to about seven to eight million people every day, "but the situation has now got so dire that WFP is preparing to scale up", spokesman Herve Verhoosel told journalists in Geneva. "Indications are that even greater efforts will be needed to avert mass starvation." The WFP said the violence must stop immediately to give Yemen "a chance to pull back from the brink". "Unless it does, this will become a country of living ghosts, its people reduced to sacks of bones." Vice President Inonge Wina told parliament that "xenophobic attacks on Chinese (are) politically motivated because of the utterances that politicians make". Her intervention follows sporadic rioting in the towns of Buchi and Kawama this week when millers took to the streets to protest after rumours that a Zambian timber company had been sold to Chinese buyers. Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo blamed opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema for that unrest which erupted on Monday. "(Hichilema) made slanderous and untruthful statements... that culminated in the looting of businesses owned by Chinese," Kampyongo told parliament. Last month youths looted Chinese shops in the northern mining town of Kitwe after a Chinese employee accidentally shot a Zambian worker. "There are riots that start at universities and other learning institutions but those against the Chinese are politically motivated," added Wina. Emerging details reveal that Kenyans may have been duped by Silicon Solutions Limited that was behind the Pepea na Finje lottery in which one lucky Kenyan was to walk away with a Beechcraft Baron 58 aircraft valued at not less than Sh 140 Million along with Sh 2 Million in cash prize. To stand a chance of winning, one was required to buy a ticket for Sh 50 with a maximum of 30 tickets a day. With flashy advertisements, many Kenyans were lured into spending their hard earned cash, hoping to win an aircraft in a lottery who winner is yet to be established. However, the firm went silent a day before the winner was to be unveiled and has since been dodging the media with the winner yet to be made public several months later. ece-auto-gen Employees at the firm divulged that they were equally in the dark on who won the aircraft and they got no answers when they asked who won the lottery. While the company allege that the winner chose to remain anonymous, it is curious that it did not inform the public of the winners decision and raising questions as to whether the prize was won or not. Interestingly, Mr Antony Kimani, the chairman of the Betting Control and Licensing Board did not have the details of the winner and did not see the aircraft itself, a clear indication that his office may have slept on the job or conspired with the company. Following the scandal, Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) has written to Kimani Kungu, chairman of the Betting and Licensing Board and the Attorney General Paul Kihara expressing fears that Kenyans may have been swindled by the betting firm. ece-auto-gen The letter read in part that "That winner is yet to be made public. It is wrong. This is a fraud that must, with immediate effect, be unmasked and perpetrators brought to book. Investigations further reveal that the firms website has been suspended and its once active Facebook page has since gone silent with the last post made several months ago a day before the winner of the lottery was to be announced. The burial in Rurii village, Nyandarua County which was attended by a host of other leaders saw the Nairobi County boss confess that inefficiency in the Judiciary made him resort to other means to gain freedom, making a daring escape from prison. I escaped from prison to bury my mother when a magistrate denied me bail, Sonko said. Sonko, Nominated MP Maina Kamanda, Nyandarua Woman Rep Faith Gitau and County Assembly Speaker Ndegwa Wahome blamed the judiciary for Gakuos death, maintaining that he would still be alive had he been granted bail. The leaders blasted the judiciary for failing to grant the deceased bail, arguing that he deserved it given his age, health status and service to the nation. ece-auto-gen Gakuo alongside others were handed a three-year sentences after being found guilty of participating in contributing to the loss of public money during the purchase of a 120-acre cemetery land in Mavoko in 2008, where Sh238 million was paid irregularly. Gakuo who died on 30 October 2018 at the age of 70 was also fined SH 1 Million. The Supreme Court has ruled that banning prisoners from their right to vote in New Zealand is inconsistent with the countrys Bill of Rights. In its judgement on Friday, the Supreme Court upheld an earlier decision from the High Court that courts had jurisdiction to make a declaration of inconsistency on the Bill of Rights. Prisoners serving a sentence of three years or more were banned from voting in a unanimous decision from Parliament in 1993. But in 2010, a law change banned all prisoners serving a sentence from voting. Veteran criminal Arthur Taylor was in a group of prisoners who went to the High Court to argue that the law change contradicted basic human rights. In 2015, Justice Paul Heath declared the ban to be inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The Crown appealed that decision all the way to the highest court, and lost. Justice Minister Andrew Little says he also disagrees with the 2010 law change. I think prisoners who are sentenced to less than three years should be able to vote... because at some point theyre going to be released from prison within that electoral term, he told RadioLIVE. Parliament's Privilege Committee will now work out how and if to respond to the Supreme Court's ruling. Listen to the full interview with Justice Minister Andrew Little above. Drive with Ryan Bridge , 3pm - 6pm Weekdays and streaming live on 'rova' channel 9 - available on Android and iPhone. RadioLIVE. By Rodney Hide, former ACT Party leader. OPINION: The trouble with KiwiBuild is that it is helping the few, not the many. Thats because its not making housing affordable for everyone. Its just benefiting the lucky homeowners who win the ballot. It would be far better to deal to the problem of affordability rather than buying houses off-plan to ballot. That would mean opening up land for housing, and perhaps streamlining the consenting process. That's how it was done back when houses were affordable. That way everyone could benefit, not just the lucky few. We cant really blame the government for the KiwiBuild shemozzle. Minister Phil Twyford is doing what he promised, albeit a bit slower and at a higher expense. The trouble is that the policy was never a fix. It was a bandaid and now we have bandaids on the bandaid. The celebration of the first KiwiBuild home collapsed into an explanation that KiwiBuild was never meant for people properly priced out of the housing market but rather people just ever-so slightly priced out. The trouble with creating winners is that it creates losers. That was always going to be the case but pre-election that was never made clear. The impression was created and then left that everyone could have an affordable home. And 100,000 homes sounded like an awful lot. The impression was also that Government was going to build the 100,000 in addition to what was already being built. The reality is that the Government is simply buying houses that are already being built. The houses aren't extra. The boost is not quite the bang everyone expected. In case you missed it, here's a look back at the best bits from Weekend Life with Carly Flynn for Saturday, 10th November. This week in politics Credit: Getty. Newshub reporter Jenna Lynch talks Ian Lees-Galloway, an update on the teachers strike, changes to Kiwibuild and Jerry Brownlee and Trevor Mallard's flighty decison to to spend $24k watching rugby in Japan. Why Kiwis should care about responsible investing Credit: Unsplash. Kiwiwealths Joe Bishop, discusses the term responsible investing and the role providers play in investing KiwiSaver money in companies that manufacture undesirables such as cluster munitions. Cooking, christmas and charity Credit: File. Michele Crashaw discusses Annabel Langbein's new book, getting ready for christmas and John Campbell's reasons to be grateful. The dangers of drinking while pregnant Credit: Getty. Newshub senior journalist Ruwani Perera talks about the damaging impact the consumption of alcohol can have on a child during pregnancy. Air New Zealand video gains views, loses meaning Has Air New Zealand's newly released flight video, lost it's safety message to commercialism? Newshub travel editor, Dan Lake speaks with Carly Flynn. 'Kiwibuild helps the very few and not the many' Credit: Newshub. Former ACT Party leader Rodney Hide joins Carly Flynn to discuss issues with KiwiBuild. Diabetic-friendly recipe book Credit: Getty. Author Claire Turnbull joins Carly Flynn to discuss her new diabetic-friendly recipe book Eat Well, Live Well and facing the stigma behind diabetes. Proceeds go to Diabetes New Zealand. Expert tips for furniture arrangement Its time to get the lounge of your dreams! Katie Tomasi-Edwards, cowner of MJT Property Styling, shares the common faux pas to avoid made when arranging furniture. Motoring: Driving ages and strange motoring rules around the world Credit: Getty. New Zealanders are encouraged to be conscious of the types of companies they want their money invested in. Kiwi Wealths Joe Bishop tells RadioLIVE that a KiwiSaver fund could be invested undesirable industries depending on the provider and fund manager. There are lots and lots of grey areas that the fund managers must navigate, Mr Bishop said, citing tobacco as a particularly grey area because the product is legal. While responsible investing may not be black and white, Kiwi Wealths KiwiSaver scheme is certified as responsible investor. Fund managers never invest in tobacco, controversial weapons, and whale meat processing. Kiwi Wealth is a big believer in full transparency, Mr Bishop said. With so many opposing ethical views, Mr Bishop emphasises that KiwiSaver investors should talk to their fund manager about where they want their money invested. Listen to the full interview with Joe Bishop above. Money Chat on Weekend Life with Carly Flynn is sponsored by Kiwi Wealth. Weekend Life with Carly Flynn,10am - 2pm on Saturday and streaming live on 'rova' channel 9 - available on Android and iPhone. RadioLIVE. NIGERIA: Alongside the many projects to develop new 1 435 mm gauge railways to augment and gradually replace Nigerias 1 067 mm gauge network, the government has unveiled plans for a line running north into the neighbouring Niger Republic. , We're sorry, this article is not currently available Since serving in the military post 9/11, veterans Michael Thomas, Tiara Boehm and Jay Murray have endured losses they attribute to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder including destroyed marriages, friendships and careers. PTSD, a debilitating mental health condition, afflicts between 5 and 23 percent of the 3 million veterans who have served since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It costs the federal government more than $2 billion just in the first year of PTSD care for veterans, according to a 2012 Congressional Budget Office study. But, 17 years into the current conflicts, the link between PTSD and life consequences in this cohort of veterans is still unproven because there havent been longitudinal studies on it. Veterans advocates say this is a symptom of national indifference to the ongoing wars. Theres no national focus, said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America or IAVA. So, some are speaking out about their experiences to raise awareness. Thomas, 49, a Milford veteran with PTSD and traumatic brain injury, graduated from Yale Law School before he spent 17 years in the Navy and Navy Reserve, working in intelligence. He was deployed twice to Afghanistan, where it was routine to be banged around in Humvees while ducking explosives and to be constantly trying to save others from death and injury. At home, Thomas was angry and drank like a fish, he said. His first marriage dissolved. In his second marriage, with PTSD symptoms including hypervigilance, he slept with a loaded gun under his pillow and had ammunition all over the place. One night his wife woke him as he screamed during a nightmare. Lost in his flashback dream, he didnt recognize her and nearly hurt her. Really bad things could have happened, he said. Thomas, who spent about seven years in cognitive behavioral therapy at the VA, is now pursuing his fifth career since he left the Navy in 2008. He recently started a waste-to-energy company. Rand Corp., a nonprofit policy think tank, has done dozens of research reports on veterans for the government and other entities, but hasnt received a request to pursue the PTSD-life consequences connection in the post 9/11 cohort. There are not many funders who prioritize that type of work, said Terri Tanielian, a Rand expert on veterans mental health. Tanielian is an author of a 2008 study on consequences of post-combat mental health. It relied mainly on data from veterans of previous eras and on civilians experiences and called for additional research on post 9/11 veterans, which hasnt happened. The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine is doing a study of the effectiveness of programs that these veterans access. A 2017 survey of IAVA members found that mental health and suicide prevention, jobs and reform of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs were top concerns. The organization has referred 62 Connecticut veterans to 96 resources for help with employment, finances, education, disability claims, mental health and community involvement. State Veterans Affairs Commissioner Thomas J. Saadi said he has seen many veterans go on to rebuild what theyve lost in their lives once they receive the support services they need. Boehm, 34, a Meriden veteran, lost out on a career as a lab technician, a job she held in the Army. She planned to continue that work after discharge, but after being raped twice in the military, she couldnt mentally separate the Army job from the rapes. After her discharge, she lined up interviews for lab tech jobs, but couldnt go through with them. I started having flashbacks, crying, she said. After the rapes, Boehm became suicidal, drank excessively, and was angry. She was diagnosed with PTSD. Friends dropped her and family walked on egg shells around her, she said. She plans to graduate from Southern Connecticut State University in May. She said her PTSD deprives her of getting high grades because of related anxiety, depression and problems concentrating. She works as a nanny and co-owns a business that makes mermaid-themed items. She hopes to pursue graduate school. She receives individual counseling at the Rocky Hill Vet Center and last month started taking new medications. Im in a better head space than I was, she said. Jason DeViva, a VA Connecticut Healthcare clinical psychologist, said with effective treatment, we can remove some of the obstacles that stand in the way of veterans living the kind of life they want to live. But access to treatment is still a hurdle for veterans with PTSD, ranging from long waits for VA appointments to distance to receiving private care, said Hannah Sinoway, an IAVA services officer. Murray, 44, a Bridgeport Army and National Guard veteran, faces other obstacles. He is living in VA transitional housing in Leeds, Mass., after being in prison for two years. Murray said he was convicted of violating a protective order initiated by his ex-wife and for threatening. He attributed his marital problems to PTSD caused by his exposure to death and ambushes in Afghanistan. He said sometimes he shut down and didnt talk to his wife for weeks. He had road rage. His wife accused him of hitting her when he was having nightmares. PTSD ruined my life, said Murray, who has an associates degree in business management from Sacred Heart University and was active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars. A longtime truck driver, he lost his commercial drivers license and job after he was arrested. Thomas Burke, co-founder of High Ground Veterans Advocacy and pastor of Northfield Congregational Church in Weston, said long wars and public indifference can cause veterans with PTSD to feel hopeless. Because our nation doesnt take the end of the war seriously, that graduates to why would my PTSD ever end? he said. This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team ( c-hit.org ), a nonprofit news organization dedicated to health reporting. SALISBURY Connecticut boasts some of the oldest and most distinctive architecture in New England, from Colonial churches and Modernist houses to refurbished 19th-century factories. The states built environment includes landscapes of small farmsteads, country churches, urban streets, tobacco sheds, maritime villages, and town greens. In this newly released guide to this rich and diverse architectural heritage, Christopher Wigren, Deputy Director of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, introduces readers to 100 places across the state. HARTFORD Described as a survivor and crusader, Tracey Motuzick of Torrington was honored Friday in Hartford by a statewide coalition for her decades of support for victims of domestic violence. The awards ceremony, sponsored by the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, presented Motuzick with the Coalition Crusader Award. The program booklet notes that she was honored for her experience and action (which) forever changed the landscape of domestic violence laws in Connecticut and the nation. Motuzicks last name was Thurman when she came to national prominence in 1983 for her successful civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the domestic violence meted out by her estranged husband, Charles Buck Thurman Sr. His final brutal attack left Motuzick partially paralyzed and hospitalized for eight months, she said on Friday. Once she was released, Motuzick said she had to use a wheelchair for a year. She now relies on a wheeled walker. I would not be here without your support, Motuzick said in her remarks to the audience. I will speak about this so others can be helped. I wish when I went through this in 1983, there was a group like Susan B. Anthony (Project) , Motuzick said in her presentation speech. The Torrington-based nonprofit organization, which supports survivors of domestic abuse, was a nascent group, with just one part-time organizer, when the domestic violence against Motuzick began. The Susan B. Anthony Project now provides services to residents in 20 communities in Litchfield County. We pay homage to the survivors for all the years youve endured, Jeanne Fusco, the organizations executive director, told the assembled group. This event is for the thousands whove come before, Fusco said. Many police departments changed their policies and regulations based on the countless organizations who emulated Traceys advocacy. Those changes stemmed from a civil rights lawsuit Motuzicks attorneys filed in 1984 against the Torrington Police Department for the nonperformance or malperformance of official duties by the defendant police officers, according to court records. Court documents state that between early October 1982 and June 10, 1983, the plaintiff, Tracey Thurman, a woman living in the City of Torrington, and others on her behalf, notified the defendant City through the defendant police officers of the City of repeated threats upon her life and the life of her child, the plaintiff Charles J. Thurman, Jr., made by her estranged husband, Charles Thurman. The record continues, Attempts to file complaints by plaintiff Tracey Thurman against her estranged husband in response to his threats of death and maiming were ignored or rejected by the named defendants and the defendant City. Motuzick said on Friday that her ex-husband was only jailed for eight years, despite the repeated attempts on her life and that of their son. The lack of response by the citys police department in 1983 would not and could not occur now. In 1986, the state enacted a comprehensive family violence act, which sets standards for police officers and the courts on how to respond to domestic violence cases. There is an evolution of training in police academies, Fusco said after the awards event. Experts in domestic violence are invited into the academys classes to discuss the crime, she said. A spokesman for the Torrington Police Department could not be reached for comment late Friday afternoon. However, police Lt. Michael Emanuel, who is now retired, previously discussed the evolution an interview with the Register Citizen . We follow the law (the family violence act) by the letter, he said. The change in survivor support is rewarding, Motuzick said. Advocates work day in and day out. She said her role is a personal one Ill talk to survivors anytime they ask me. Ill talk to someone in the grocery store if they ask me. Motuzick remarried 33 years ago to Michael Motuzick. He said they met because his brother married her best friend. I was the best man and Tracey was supposed to be the maid of honor, but she was in the hospital, Michael Motuzick said. Everyone says shes lucky to have me. But, Im the one who is lucky. MORINO/SERYODKA, Russia -- Colorful Christmas lights festoon the streets of the remote Pskov Oblast village of Morino from October until May. The cheerful decorations look more than passing strange against the background of ramshackle wooden houses and unpaved streets, but they serve a purpose. Locals are convinced the bright and blinking decorations help keep the wolves away. Wolves have been a growing nuisance in this corner of Russia for the last three years, but this year, locals say, the problem is worse than ever. "They dragged my dog Gavryushka off," said local retiree Aleksandr Loginov. "In the morning, some hunters and I went looking, but we only found her head." Dozens of local dogs have been killed since the end of the summer. Although no people have been attacked, many locals are scared to go to work in the mornings or take their children to school. The streets are empty when darkness falls around 5 p.m. "The school bus comes to us around 8 in the morning," said local resident Marina Ivanova. "The driver told us how when he was driving past the village store he saw wolves walking along the side of the road. They weren't frightened by the headlights or the driver's shouting. They just walked along calmly." "I'm not just scared for the children," she added. "If I met such a beast, I don't know what I would do." Vladimir Kargapolts says the wolves have visited him three times. Only the chain was left of his first dog, while he found the head of his second in a bush out in the fields. "The wolves aren't afraid of anything," he told RFE/RL. "They walk through the village just like they were in the forest." Morino resident Valery Krotov is a hunter, but he says locals are not allowed to shoot wolves. "If the wolves become more numerous, they will attack people. You can count on that," Krotov said. "But we don't have permission to shoot them. This is a populated village, after all. We would be fined, for sure." He added that officials never paid him or his hunting comrades for the wolves they shot last year. Nikolai Volkov, the region's hunting inspector, said hunters won't be able to go after the wolves until there is a substantial snowfall. "Without some snow, we are completely blind," he told RFE/RL. "We can't see or even guess where the wolves might be during the day." The winters lately, he added, have come late and been mild. Locals in the neighboring village of Seryodka don't use Christmas lights, preferring the traditional defense of leaving pitchforks along footpaths for people to use in the event of an attack. "An army of wolves came to Lena Vasilyevna on Soviet Army Street," said local resident Irina Ustinova. "They weren't afraid of lights.... One man yelled at one and the wolf got scared and ran off." Wolves have been a problem in Seryodka since September, locals told RFE/RL. They have been seen on every street in town. Fences are useless and dogs have reportedly been snatched out of sheds and garages. So far, officials have only advised residents to build better fences and sturdier doghouses, advice that locals scoff at. Almost all of them are either pensioners or are working for minimum wage at one of the few village jobs. They don't have the means even to repair their drafty homes. So they continue to devise their own solutions. "I walk to work in bright red mittens," said schoolteacher Svetlana Andreyeva. "I hold flashlights inside to produce a sort of red flare. Maybe that will frighten them." The European Union has issued a statement rejecting "elections" scheduled for November 11 in the separatist-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine, saying that they are a breach of international law and undermine the Minsk agreements aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine. "The EU considers the 'elections' planned for November 11, 2018, in the nongovernment-controlled territories of the so-called 'Luhansk People's Republic' and 'Donetsk People's Republic' as illegal and illegitimate and will not recognize them," the November 10 EU statement said. It also called on Russia "to make full use of its considerable influence over the separatists it backs" to ensure the speedy and complete implementation of the Minsk agreements "starting with a comprehensive cease-fire and the withdrawal of heavy weaponry." The European Union, the United States, and UN Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo have previously rejected the planned votes. Ukraine has also denounced the polls, which according to the 2015 Minsk agreements should be held under Ukrainian law. "I expect that the fake elections that Russia decided to hold on November 11 will prompt the imposition of new sanctions and show that the West's patience is not unlimited," said Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on November 7. "It is time now to talk not about easing the sanctions on Russia but about tightening them." Poroshenko added on November 10 that we are absolutely sure that no one will recognize these elections. They fall outside the standards of the Ukrainian legislation." He added that the elections "are absolutely unacceptableSecurity conditions have not been created." Johannes Hahn, the European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiation, echoed those comments while speaking in Kyiv, saying the EU is committed to the Minsk accords and reiterating that the bloc will not recognize the election Ahead of the vote, four Ukrainian soldiers were reported killed in or near separatist-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine. Two soldiers died after being ambushed by separatists near the city of Luhansk, the Ukrainian military said. In a separate incident, two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and two wounded in an explosion near Svitlodarsk in the nearby Donetsk region. Russia provides military, political, and economic support to the separatist-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine. In November 2016, the International Criminal Court (ICC) determined the conflict to be "an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation." More than 10,300 people have been killed since the violence erupted in April 2014, as Russia was fomenting separatism in eastern Ukraine after pro-European protests drove Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych from power. It's bad enough that Russias only aircraft carrier was damaged in a mishap involving the countrys largest floating repair dock -- the only one big enough to maintain the flagship of the Russian Navy. What's worse is that the decades-old dock is now sitting on the bottom of Kola Bay, not far from the major Arctic Circle city of Murmansk. But even that may not be the extent of the bad news. The dock, even if it is raised to the surface, may be beyond repair, meaning Russias only aircraft carrier, several of its largest naval ships, and at least one ballistic-missile submarine may not be able to be serviced for months, if not years. Thats a not-insignificant setback for Kremlin efforts to upgrade the countrys fleet, experts say, an effort that parallels a larger ongoing modernization of Russia's armed forces. That is a very serious problem for the Russian Navy because they dont have another thing like that, says Pavel Felgenhauer, a longtime Russia military analyst. Known as the PD-50 and built in Sweden in the late 1970s, the floating dock sank on October 30 as repairs were being made on the Admiral Kuznetsov, an aging 50,000-ton, Soviet-designed aircraft carrier whose frequent breakdowns and aircraft mishaps, including during recent operations over Syria, have made it an object of derision among Western observers. In the incident, a heavy crane toppled onto the Kuznetsov, poking a hole in the ships deck. It was unclear what caused the incident. Some Russian press accounts suggested that the Kuznetsov might have suffered greater damage if it hadnt pulled away from the PD-50 in time. Four workers were injured in the accident and one person remains missing and is presumed dead. Due to its size, the dock serviced not only the Admiral Kuznetsov but other warships, like the heavy cruisers Pyotr Velikiy and Admiral Nakhimov. It was also used for repairs on the ballistic nuclear-missile submarine Dmitry Donskoi, according to Felgenhauer. Russia has other floating docks, but they can only handle smaller ships like cruisers or cruise-missile submarines. The floating dock in the White Sea port of Severodvinsk, 800 kilometers to the southeast, is smaller but capable of hosting ballistic-missile submarines, and even the Admiral Nakhimov, though press reports said workers had great difficulty just getting the Admiral Nakhimov into the dock in the first place. Meanwhile, the closest other dock in comparable size is located in the Pacific port of Bolshoi Kamen, near Vladivostok, a 10,000-kilometer overland journey to the east -- and a vastly greater distance by sea -- a journey the Admiral Kuznetsov is in no shape to make. The story is likely to become infamous in the annals of Russias notorious shipbuilding and ship repair industry, Michael Kofman, an analyst with the Washington-area think tank CNA, wrote in an analysis published the day after the incident. In comments on November 7 to the TASS news agency, Aleksei Rakhmanov, the head of the state-run United Shipbuilding Corporation, said other ships had other alternatives for repairs, except for the Admiral Kuznetsov. We dont feel any special problems in this regard," Rakhimov was quoted as saying. With state coffers filled by years of high oil prices, President Vladimir Putin had sought to rebuild Russias military capabilities. That effort took on greater urgency after the 2008 war with Georgia, which showcased major shortcomings in operations, tactics, and weaponry. The Russian Navy was included in this accelerated modernization effort and was given priority in the Kremlins State Armament Program for 2010-20, according to a newly published report by Anton Lavrov, an independent defense analyst affiliated with the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. That, he said, included construction of 24 submarines -- 16 of them nuclear -- and 54 large surface ships. However, as of May 2018, the ambitious plan remains largely unfulfilled, Lavrov wrote. There are no indications that by 2020 there will be major improvements or that the rest of planned ships will be completed. Plans for the modernization and overhaul of combat ships were also unsuccessful. Dmitry Gorenburg, an expert on the Russian military at Harvard Universitys Davis Center, says the PD-50 accident will likely cause delays in the repairs not only of naval ships but civilian vessels, as well. If the dock is unsalvageable, Moscow will have to have another dock of comparable size built. However, Russia doesnt have the infrastructure to build one. Nearby Sweden, or even Norway, could, but the Western sanctions imposed in 2014 on Russia for its annexation of Ukraines Crimea Peninsula could prevent them from doing so. That would leave other countries like China or South Korea, both of which have infrastructure and deep experience building massive oceangoing ships and oil-rig platforms. But even if construction on a new dock was begun immediately, it would take months if not a year or more. And then the dock would have to be towed from the Pacific, through the Indian Ocean, around Africa, through the Atlantic Ocean and Barents Sea, to Murmansk. Another shipyard that might be capable of handling a heavy warship like the Admiral Kuznetsov is the Mykolaiv yard, where the biggest Soviet naval ships were built, located near Ukraines Black Sea coast. But Kyiv has all but ended any defense-related trade with Moscow in the wake of the Crimean annexation and the Russia-backed war in its eastern Donbas region. Kosovo's President Hashim Thaci has said that any revised border with Serbia that comes out of the two neighbors' normalization talks will not be drawn along ethnic lines. "We will work together to define the borders, just like we did with Macedonia and Montenegro, but there will be no borders based on ethnic lines," he said In an interview with AFP published on November 9. "Kosovo will stay multiethnic, Serbia as well, no population displaced. The region will be safer thanks to this agreement," Thaci said one day after a short, tense meeting with his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic, in Brussels that was hosted by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. The two Balkan countries are both pursuing normalization in hopes of furthering their bids to join the European Union, and Mogherini has made clear that they must reach a binding agreement on sensitive issues such as their common border and whether Serbia will recognize Kosovo's independence, which it declared 10 years ago. This summer, Thaci and Vucic both raised the possibility of redrawing their border in comments that alarmed some observers who feared it might revive the ethnic divisions that fed the 1990s Balkans war. Thaci's comments to AFP suggest that whatever changes in the border the two are contemplating would not include a simple swap of ethnic territories, with Albanian-majority Kosovo getting Albanian-dominated areas of Serbia in exchange for Serbia gaining Serb-dominated areas of Kosovo. While the two countries' normalization talks have been marked by tensions and fits and starts, Thaci remained cautiously optimistic in his interview with AFP. "Last evening's meeting was difficult but important for the final phase of the agreement for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia," he said. "I think it is the right momentum and the right leadership to reach an agreement." Thaci told AFP his agreement with Serbia would meet many goals Kosovo has sought, among them "mutual recognition of Kosovo and Serbia, a legally binding agreement, an opportunity for Kosovo to join the UN because Russia will be lifting its veto at the Security Council." Serbia has never recognized the independence of its former province although more than 110 other nations have done so. Serbian ally Russia has for years blocked Kosovo's recognition at the UN. Kosovo's recent decision to create its own army has provoked anger from its own ethnic Serb minority as well as from Serbia. NATO, which currently leads the KFOR military force that ensures Kosovo's security, has also expressed reservations. "I am the president of a sovereign country," Thaci told AFP. "The armed forces of Kosovo will be created. This is a done deal... Nobody in Serbia can put a veto on this, whether they like it or not." "It is a new army, peaceful, multiethnic, with over 10 percent minority representation," he said. "Everything we'll do will be constitutional and legal," he told AFP. "This will be a gradual process, coordinated with our partners in NATO and the U.S." With reporting by AFP Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has told his Austrian counterpart that Russia was unfairly being accused of espionage after Vienna said it was probing a former Austrian colonel for allegedly spying for Moscow for decades. According to a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov spoke of unsubstantiated accusations while speaking by phone on November 10 with Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl. Lavrov said Vienna should have discussed the allegations privately and directly with Moscow and not aired them publicly. The spy dispute risks damaging ties with one of Russia's few European allies. It is the latest in a string of cases where Moscow has been accused of espionage in EU states and elsewhere. On November 9, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Defense Minister Mario Kunasek revealed that an Austrian colonel who retired five years ago is suspected of having worked for Russian intelligence from the 1990s until this year. "Espionage is unacceptable, and Russian espionage in Europe is also unacceptable," said the chancellor. Kneissl reacted to the scandal by cancelling an upcoming trip to Russia. "Should the suspicions be confirmed, it would seriously strain the bilateral relations between Austria and Russia," she said. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Kneissl told Lavrov during their phone call on November 10 that she hoped the affair would not damage bilateral ties. Kneissl raised eyebrows in August when she waltzed with Russian President Vladimir Putin and bowed to him at her wedding. According to reports, Vienna suspects a 70-year-old army official of working with Russian intelligence for several decades and is investigating him for allegedly revealing state secrets. An Austrian Defense Ministry spokesman told the Kurier newspaper on November 10 that the information allegedly passed on by the suspect "ranged from unimportant things to more sensitive information." However, other media reports suggested that the colonel wasn't in a position to reveal the highest levels of classified data. The Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper reported that he is alleged to have passed on information from NATO seminars and courses he had attended, as well as information available on the army's intranet system. Austria is not a member of NATO but cooperates closely with the Western military alliance. With reporting by AFP and dpa Reuters is reporting that Russian military veterans will ask the International Criminal Court to investigate Russia's alleged secret deployment of civilian contractors to fight in Syria, Ukraine, and Africa. Reuters quoted Russian paramilitary leader Yevgeny Shabayev as saying on November 9 that more than a dozen Russian veterans organizations plan to write to Fatou Bensouda, prosecutor at The Hague-based court, which investigates war crimes, about Russia's alleged illegal recruitment of civilians to fight in the Kremlin's wars abroad. Russia has repeatedly denied reports that thousands of Russian private contractors have fought alongside government forces in Syria, eastern Ukraine, and elsewhere. But contractor sources maintain that more than 100 Russian civilians have been killed in Syria alone. One of the most prominent Russian mercenary companies, ChVK Vagner, is owned by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has close personal ties to President Vladimir Putin. On November 9, the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported on a video that was posted by the Libyan Defense Ministry of a November 7 meeting in Moscow between top military officials of the two countries, including Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Although Russian media did not report it, the Libyan video clearly shows Prigozhin participating prominently in the talks. The Reuters report said the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Syrian war and has never handled cases like the one Shabayev's groups intend to present. Reuters said Moscow recruits mercenaries mostly from among the hundreds of thousands of combat veterans it has from its interventions in Syria and Ukraine, as well as earlier wars in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and elsewhere. "The Russians fight abroad as 'volunteers' and without an official recognition from the Russian government," Shabayev told Reuters. He once served as a representative of one of the self-proclaimed, Russia-backed separatist formations in eastern Ukraine. The veterans say in their letter they are unhappy with the fact that private contractors operate illegally and enjoy no social benefits or protection afterward, Reuters said. Mercenary activity is illegal under Russian law. The Kremlin and the Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately reply to Reuters' requests for comments. Bensouda's office declined to comment. Shabayev told Reuters that several hundred delegates plan to discuss the letter at a forum on November 18 in Moscow and mail it to The Hague court the next day. The involvement of Russian mercenaries in Kremlin-backed conflicts has been widely reported, but is usually denied by the Kremlin. Russian citizens have been seen in large numbers taking part in the fighting in eastern Ukraine on the side of Russia-backed separatists. Moscow has insisted they went there of their own volition as volunteers. Last year, a Russian private security company called RSB-Group Oleg Krinitsyn claimed it carried out a demining mission in Libya. This year, the Kremlin has officially deployed 170 civilian instructors in the Central African Republic and plans to send 60 more to reinforce them -- a mission that Moscow says has been approved by the UN Security Council. The veterans organizations claim that Russian contractors have also worked in Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen, and Gabon. Shabayev told Reuters that some former Russian private military contractors who have fought abroad would be ready to testify if The Hague court offered them protection. "It will depend on whether the West is really interested in examining the situation," Shabayev said. It was not immediately clear whether or how the ICC would respond to the groups' petition. The ICC has jurisdiction only when a countrys own government is unwilling or unable to prosecute an extremely grave crime, and only over crimes committed on the territory of its member states. Russia is not a member. With reporting by Reuters and Novaya Gazeta The Russia-installed mayor of the capital of the annexed Ukrainian region of Crimea has resigned at the request of the head of the region's Russian administration. Simferopol municipal head Igor Lukashyov and his seven deputies stepped down on November 9, according to a press release from the office of the head of the Russian administration of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov. Moscow annexed the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and installed its own administration there, even though the takeover has been rejected by most of the international community. Aksyonov said a new administration would be named next week. Late last month, Aksyonov promised the shakeup, saying that the Simferopol authorities had overseen the "collapse" of city transport and waste management. The leaders of France and Germany have marked the centenary of the armistice that ended World War I by unveiling a new message of peace. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on November 10 visited a site north of Paris where the defeated Germans and victorious Allies put an end to World War I. Merkel and Macron unveiled a somber memorial lauding Franco-German reconciliation "in the service of Europe and of peace." It was fixed on the base of a monument that still bears an older, more triumphalist message boasting of victory over "the criminal pride of the German empire." The two leaders also climbed aboard a replica of the train wagon where the armistice was signed a century ago on November 11, 1918. Among the missing at ceremony, however, was U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House said his trip from Paris to the ceremony was canceled because of bad weather that grounded the presidents helicopter. More than 60 heads of state and government were expected in Paris on November 10-11 for the events, which will culminate at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the exact moment of the war-ending armistice 11 minutes after the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Around 9 million soldiers and about 6 million civilians died during the 1914-18 war, which involved some 40 countries. The war rewrote the map of Europe, leading to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian empires. Earlier, Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump attempted to smooth over tensions during a meeting in Paris. Earlier, Trump described as "very insulting" a proposal by Macron to create a European defense force. Macron's office said the U.S. president misunderstood his proposal, which was aimed at reducing Europe's reliance on the United States for defense. After the November 10 meeting, Macron said it's "unfair to have European security today being assured just by the United States." Trump stressed that the United States wants to "absolutely be there" to help defend Europe, but renewed calls for NATO members to increase defense spending. "We want to help Europe, but it has to be fair," Trump said. "Right now, the burden-sharing has been largely on the United States." Macron said he shared Trump's assessment. "We need a much better burden sharing with NATO and that's why I believe my proposal for a European defense [is] utterly consistent with that," the French president said. Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters The United States has once again postponed the enforcement of sanctions against Russian aluminum giant Rusal and two other companies to allow their top shareholder time to carry out a plan to pare down his holdings. The U.S. Treasury Department late on November 9 said it was giving Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska an additional four weeks, until January 7, to reduce his holdings in EN+, RUSAL, and GAZ, extending its previous deadline of December 12. EN+, RUSAL, and GAZ are proposing substantial corporate governance changes that could potentially result in significant changes in control of these sanctioned entities," the Treasury Department said in a statement. Rusal, En+, and GAZ declined to comment. Deripaska has hired influential lobbyists in Washington to negotiate with the Treasury over the sanctions in hopes of having them eventually lifted. The Treasury Department originally imposed the sanctions in April on Deripaska and several companies in which he is a large shareholder, citing "malign activities" by Russia, as well as allegations of past crimes by Deripaska himself. The sanctions announcement roiled the global stock and aluminum markets, causing a run on Rusal's shares and an exodus of customers that led to fears the world's second-largest aluminum producer might be forced out of business. With the markets in turmoil and Rusal's future in doubt, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin shortly after announcing the sanctions said Washington's intent was not to destroy the company and the thousands of jobs it provides in Russia and elsewhere around the world. He has since then postponed the sanctions several times as the Treasury Department considers plans by Deripaska to divest shares in the companies so that he no longer controls them, among other moves. Rusal and its parent company En+ in the meantime have recruited directors and management not linked to Deripaska in moves apparently stemming from the companies' talks with the Treasury over easing the sanctions. Rusal named Yevgeny Nikitin, who has been acting chief executive since May and previously headed its aluminum division, as its chief executive on November 2. En+ also appointed a new CEO. The latest move by the Treasury Department extends licenses enabling the sanctioned firms to authorize activities needed to wind down operations or contracts, according to the department's website. It also extends licenses to authorize transactions needed to divest debt, equity, and other holdings. Rusal is the worlds second-biggest aluminum producer after Chinas Hongqiao. Japans top aluminum rolling company, UACJ Corp, said on November 1 that it was removing Rusal from its 2019 suppliers list due to uncertainty over the sanctions. With reporting by Reuters and TASS Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Carol Hagan McEntee with her son Rory McEntee, after the election results came in Tuesday night. Carol was re-elected to the Dist. 33 Rep seat, and Rory was elected for the first time to the South Kingstown Town Council. The first threat took place during a break in the meeting where Eid was testifying and the second threat took place as he went down an escalator in the Americas Center Convention Complex in St. Louis, Missouri. (This writer attempted to contact Masri through Twitter for a response, but has yet to receive a reply.) Masri was not in the room when Eid testified before Committee 12 (the Middle East Issues Committee) on Monday, June 18, 2018, but Eid thinks that someone who was in the room during the proceedings called Masri to the convention center where the PCUSAs General Assembly was taking place. During a 15-minute break, Eid went to a water cooler for water where Masri first confronted him. Eid reported that Masri said, Are you Bassem Eid? I'm going to kill you.? Masri then followed Eid down the escalator out of the building and started filming him after he made a similar threat. Eid says Masri followed him until he got to his hotel where he called people from Presbyterians for Middle East Peace (PFMEP), the organization that had invited him to speak at the General Assembly. After speaking with PFMEP leaders, Eid spoke to the security officials at the convention center and also to the police. Masri showed up again at the convention center after his confrontation with Eid and upon his arrival, he was told not to approach Eid during the proceedings of the PCUSAs Middle East Committee. He was also told that Eid was free to say whatever he wanted during the meetings. Eids friends and supporters are criticizing the denomination for failing to protect Eid from further harassment after the initial confrontation. In particular, they are condemning the PCUSA for not banning Masri from the GA proceedings. Instead of ejecting Bassem Masri, an intersectionality? activist known for popularizing the chant Pigs in a blanket smell like bacon,? that was heard at anti-police rallies in 2014, PCUSA officials allowed to attend the proceedings of the Assemblys Middle East Committee where Eid had testified and where he was still present. Masri was seen talking and interacting with Anna Balzer, an activist with the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, which along with IPMN, has been agitating in favor of anti-Israel overtures at the PCUSAs General Assembly. Neveem Ayesh, an activist who took a selfie with Baltzer reposted a video from Masris Facebook page in which Masri accuses Eid of being a collaborator and called him an Uncle Tom. (This link has apparently been deleted, but a screenshot can be seen below.) People from Presbyterians for Middle East Peace kept asking PCUSA staffers to have Masri removed from the room where Committee 12 (the committee charged with dealing with overtures related to the Middle East) was meeting, says Luke Moon from the New York-based Philos Project who is attending the General Assembly. This guy threatened one of our guys and here he is walking around,? Moon said. PCUSA staffers never acted on this request. He was sitting with IPMN, Sabeel and U.S. Campaign [for Palestinian Rights] staffers. They were all together.? In a Times of Israel blog, PFMEP member Michael Gizzi provides some information about what happened after Masri returned to the convention center after harassing Eid. Gizzi reports that PCUSA officials would not bar Masri from the proceedings for reasons of free speech. At no point was Masri barred from attending the Middle East Committee meeting, which ended yesterday. People in the pro-Palestinian activist community who are attending the PCUSAs General Assembly, and who apparently have the denominations ear when it comes to setting policy, have a fair degree of contempt toward Bassem Eid. In a batch of photos and videos that the previously mentioned Neveen Ayesh posted on her Facebook page, she typed My lights at the end of dark tunnels Minus Bassem Eid, we don't claim you. According to the Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, the Stated Clerk of the PCUSA, Masri was attending the proceedings of the PCUSAs General Assembly at the invitation of one of the our official networks,? a reference to the Israel-Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA), an organization with a sordid history of promoting anti-Israel (and in some instances, antisemitic) propaganda in its efforts to educate? Christians about the Arab-Israeli conflict. In a public statement published in the General Assembly newsletter, Nelson appears to excuse Masris naked hostility and obvious attempt to intimidate Eid into silence. In the statement, Nelson declared that when passion? about controversial issues boils over? at the PCUSAs General Assembly, we have to deal with the results.? Nelson continued: "This appeared to be the case as Mr. Masri perceiving Mr. Eid (representing an advocacy group often seen as slow to criticize Israel) to be a Palestinian traitor to the Palestinian cause, became abusive and threatening." The PCUSA took the strongest measures that seemed advisable, short of banning Masri, who was the invitee of one of our official networks [the IPMN], from the committee or from the convention center,? Nelson wrote. Eid reports that acts of intimidation like what he endured outside the PCUAs General Assembly in St. Louis are routine under the rule of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This makes him wonder why the Palestinian elites in both the PA and Hamas are so often supported by the PCUSA in its statements about the Israel-Palestine conflict. How can it be you are supporting my oppressors?? he asked. This is what God said?? Georgia man arrested at Cancun airport after federal inspection reveals gun Cancun, Q.R. A man from Atlanta has been arrested at the Cancun International Airport when found trying to enter the country with a firearm. The American man, who is from Atlanta, Georgia, was arrested in Terminal 4 of the Cancun airport when federal police discovered a .40 S&W Semi Auto Pistol and magazine with 13 cartridges. Photo: Policia Federal Mx Authorities were performing a routine luggage inspection when the gun was found. The man was taken into custody and placed before the Public Ministry. It is illegal to bring firearms into Mexico without a specialized, government-issued permit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi & US Vice President Mike Pence Washington, Nov 10 (PTI): US Vice President Mike Pence and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would discuss India-US defence cooperation and bilateral relationship during their meeting in Singapore next week, the White House said Saturday, asserting that "sky is the limit" for New Delhi's role in the Indo-Pacific region. "They would be talking about the bilateral relationship and a defence cooperation in the kind of larger context. I can't really say if they'll get into trade (ties) specifically at this time," a senior administration official told foreign journalists during a conference call Saturday. Modi and Pence are scheduled to meet during the ASEAN and East Asia Summit in Singapore next week. Pence leaves on a four-nation Asia trip over the weekend, that would take him to Japan, Australia, Singapore and Papua New Guinea. Advertisement He will be representing President Donald Trump at the ASEAN and East Asia Summit in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Papua New Guinea. Responding to a question, the official said the two leaders would be talking about "a common vision" for maintaining what the US refers to a free and open Indo-Pacific as India has talked about the Act East policy and their "enormous convergence" in these two approaches. President Donald Trump In some respect, these are different names for common approach and talking about some of those common principles that "we share, seeks to promote and sustain including a freedom of navigation and overflight, sustainable development for the region; the importance of ASEAN and the role that they play, as well as a major democracy in the region that we have very good relations in common with like Japan," the senior administration official said. Advertisement "Really the role for India (in Indo-Pacific region), the sky's the limit,"he said, when asked about what role the US sees for India in the region and President Trump's Indo-Pacific policy. Noting that India is "such a huge component" of the Indo-Pacific region, the official said, "It is the second largest population, the world's largest democracy, while the United States is the world's second largest democracy." He added that India is not only the dominant feature geographically, but also politically and culturally in the Indian Ocean. "With this administration there is a significant increase in quality and tempo of interaction from the top leadership on down," the White House official said. Mike Pompeo Advertisement Referring to the recent two plus two dialogue in New Delhi, he said Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a "very, very good" meeting. "It was amazing to see the amount of progress that's been made in areas of cooperation as part of our partnership," said the official, who spoke with foreign reporters on condition of anonymity. Friday, November 9, 2018 at 5:35PM The New York Times has a big task ahead for Google. It wants the tech company to help digitize its expansive photo collection in its morgue (a.k.a. the basement where it keeps its photo archive). With photos dating back to the 19th century, the morgue has a collection of between five to seven million images, along with information about when and why these were published. Googles machine vision and AI technology will not only help them digitize the photos, but also use its object recognition tools to extract information from the images to make these easier to catalog. The tech will help them categorize semantic information that can be lifted from the images and link these to data like locations and dates. [Its] a treasure trove of perishable documents, says the NYTs Chief Technology Officer Nick Rockwell. A priceless chronicle of not just The Timess history, but of nearly more than a century of global events that have shaped our modern world. Source: The Verge The quality of medical certificates written by students of medicine was better when they were taught by using the flipped classroom approach instead of traditional lecturing. A randomly selected student from the flipped classroom group had an 85% probability to receive a better total score than a student from the traditional teaching group, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland. One of the goals of medial training is to provide students with good skills in writing medical certificates and medical statements. In Finland, permanent residents are covered by social security insurance administered by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. In accordance with this social security scheme, patients with certain illnesses are entitled to special reimbursement of their medical costs. The procedure for obtaining this entitlement is initiated by a medical certificate written by the treating doctor. Hence, doctors must have good certificate writing skills and knowledge of the content and goals of the insurance scheme. Nowadays, medical education is increasingly geared towards methods that activate students, such as flipped learning in which students prepare for classes by, for example, viewing video materials in advance. The effects of flipped learning on medical certificate education hasn't been studied much before. The study compared the writing skill scores of students attending traditional lectures and students participating in flipped classroom teaching in medical certificate education. In medical education offered in Finland, skills in medical certificate writing are taught to fourth-year students as part of a more extensive introductory course in general practice. In 2015, teaching was delivered through traditional lectures. In 2016, the flipped classroom approach was used, and students familiarised themselves with video materials independently before each class. In both years, students used the same background material to write a medical certificate on the entitlement of a fictional patient to special reimbursement of diabetes medication. A random sample of 40 students from each year was selected for analysis, and two experts assessed the students' statements by giving scores to different sections. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a life-threatening disease transmitted by the bite of a sand fly. Between 3,700 to 7,400 people in Ethiopia are infected annually, particularly in the northern, agricultural regions with favorable climate and environment to sand fly vectors. A study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases by Rebecca Coulborn from Epicentre, France, and colleagues suggests that transitory populations in Ethiopia may be particularly vulnerable to acquisition of and death from VL infections. Transitory populations may also face greater obstacles to accurate diagnosis. Without treatment, VL is nearly always fatal and may increase risk of transmission to others. Using qualitative methods, researchers endeavored to learn more about mobile workers' exposure to VL and obstacles to diagnosis and treatment. A sample of mobile workers, VL patients, community leaders and healthcare workers participated in focus groups and in-depth interviews to discuss VL in mobile worker populations, including questions regarding disease risk and healthcare access. The authors found that mobile workers faced exposure to sand flies, due to sleeping outside and inconsistent use of protective clothing and bed netting in VL endemic areas. Once infected with VL, symptoms could be misdiagnosed or undetected due to a lack of diagnostic test kits available in rural health centers. Although the research sample comprised only 137 participants, it is the first of its kind in Ethiopia. The researchers suggest their results may lead to interventions tailored to the particular healthcare needs of mobile populations and others at risk for VL: "Our results may offer strategies allowing for earlier diagnoses and better prognoses for VL patients." There is widespread concern that global warming will have a strong negative effect on crop yields. Recent research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on historical maize yields across the U.S. Corn Belt suggests that a continuation of the historical yield trend will depend on a stable climate and continued farmer adjustments. This research, conducted by Ethan Butler, postdoctoral associate in the Department of Forest Resources in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota and his colleagues from Harvard University and University of California, Irvine, analyzes how both climate and management have influenced the increase in yields. Overall, the research shows farmers have adapted to historical climate change. The combination of changes in climate, primarily cooling of the hottest temperatures, and farmer adjustments, including earlier planting and planting longer maturing varieties, increased maize yield trends 28 percent since 1981. "We wanted to add the farmer into the picture of how climate change will affect crops," said Butler. "Sometimes, it feels like climate change is a juggernaut that is going to trample our way of life. In this research we've shown that farmers have already made adjustments to better align their planting practices with historical climate changes, and we hope this can be a guide to changes in the future." Butler and the research team used a statistical model to study how rainfed maize yields reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are affected by temperature using three crop development phases: vegetative, early grain filling and late grain filling. They found that planting is occurring earlier and that the late grain filling phase lasts longer. At the same time, the hottest temperatures have cooled. The earlier planting and longer grain filling are primarily associated with management decisions, while the cooling of hot temperatures appears to be an unintended benefit of widespread planting of high-yielding modern cultivars. "One of farmers' biggest decisions is what they plant and when they plant it," said Butler. "We are seeing that farmers are planting earlier -- not only because they have hardier seeds and better planting equipment -- but also because it's getting warmer sooner." The research also suggests the adjustments farmers have made have increased yields more than they would have in the absence of the historical changes in climate. However, in the Corn Belt, this means accentuating a surprisingly beneficial climate trend rather than reducing damages from a harmful change. This implies farmers have proven adept at adjusting to environmental changes, but that these benefits may evaporate in a warming climate. It is unclear whether these historical patterns of adaptation will be maintained in a hotter environment, but farmer decisions must be considered in future analyses of how crop yields will be affected by a changed climate. The team hopes that by studying farmer adaptations, which have received relatively little attention, they will help to improve concrete actions that can be taken to reduce damages from a hotter world in the future. This research was funded by the Packard Foundation, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation. At 1 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 11, 1918, San Francisco held one of the greatest celebrations in its history. Shouting and singing, an army of men and women flowed up and down Market Street, waving flags and banging on drums. Tens of thousands massed in public places to attend religious services and hear dignitaries give patriotic speeches. Exuberant drivers careened through the streets, honking their horns and dragging tin cans. The bash didnt run out of steam until well into the next night. The event that prompted this vast celebration and brought the city to a standstill: the armistice that ended World War I. The Great War, as it was called, was the most brutal conflict in human history to that point. In four-plus years, an estimated 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians were killed. It was optimistically labeled the war to end all wars, perhaps an attempt at justifying the appalling slaughter. Yet in just 21 years, a rabble-rousing nationalist vowing to make Germany great again would hurl the world into an even bloodier conflict. San Francisco, like other American cities, was deeply affected by the Great War. The U.S. was in the conflict for just a year and a half, and didnt actually fight in major battles until early 1918. But in that short time, 116,000 U.S. soldiers died twice as many as in the Vietnam War and 200,000 were wounded. Hundreds of San Franciscans were among the casualties. As word of the impending armistice spread, crowds gathered near City Hall. At 1 a.m., it was 11 a.m. in France the hour and place set for the armistice signing. What followed was no ordinary civic celebration. At 2 a.m., with the Civic Auditorium filled as it was never filled before, a womans voice was heard, asking for a prayer for the dead. Off came hats and ten thousand heads were bowed in the instant, The Chronicle reported. Silence cut clean across pandemonium a silence without a voice for human ears. Then the city of 500,000 people let loose. Crowds filled Market Street all day long and into the next night. Stores and shops were closed. The great purpose to join in the joy of it all swept away all other purposes. Men and women walked the streets, signing, shouting, waving flags and ringing bells, The Chronicle reported. Employees crowded onto company trucks and took their part in the never-ending joy of victory over the unspeakable Hun. Union members paraded up and down Market, including 1,000 members of the Piledrivers and Warehousemens union and their band. There was never a moment when there was not some parade on Market as confetti rained down. Included in the throngs were people of varied national origin Italians, Serbs, Britons and French all marching under the flags of their native lands. The downtown hotels were filled with people singing patriotic songs. The one that drew the wildest cheers was Over There, with its chorus, We won't come back til its over, Over there. Trivia time The previous trivia question: Where was the first indoor swimming pool in San Francisco? Answer: The Lurline Baths at Bush and Larkin. Saltwater was piped there from Ocean Beach. This week's trivia question: What loud nighttime noises assaulted dwellers on eastern side of Telegraph Hill until 1993? Editor's note Every corner in San Francisco has an astonishing story to tell. Gary Kamiya's Portals of the Past tells those lost stories, using a specific location to illuminate San Francisco's extraordinary history - from the days when giant mammoths wandered through what is now North Beach to the Gold Rush delirium, the dot-com madness and beyond. His column appears every other Saturday, alternating with Peter Hartlaub's OurSF. See More Collapse After 2 a.m., the throng left Civic Center and headed down Market to the Ferry Building. Mayor James Rolph, with a soldier on one arm and a sailor on the other, was supposed to be at the head of the procession but was swept up into the center. The municipal band was also supposed to be at the front, but in the frenzy marched off with the North Beach contingent. Unlike the World War II peace riots that resulted in death and destruction, these celebrations were overwhelmingly peaceful. The police had virtually nothing to do. One or two infractions of the peace were noted in the din. The belligerent in one received, modestly, the earned congratulations of the policemen, read a less-than-objective piece in The Chronicle. It happened in the alley skirting the Tivoli. Thither repaired two persons, one of which, with that incapacity of the German to understand psychology, had made a remark casting no credit upon American arms. The argument of persuasion was brief and to the point of the chin. They took the skeptical one to the Emergency Hospital to ponder on the consequences of Teutonic maladresse. More from the Archive The Vault Home of the San Francisco Chronicle's archive and more than 150 years of journalism covering the Bay Area and beyond. After the celebration ended, news of San Franciscans who had been killed in the war continued to trickle in. There was Mike Sutter, a hotel cook who had shipped out to Europe in July. There was Cpl. Chauncey Frank, who had gone to Lick Wilmerding and Lowell High and was on the first train of San Francisco contingents who were sent to basic training in September 1917. He was killed in France, as was Cpl. Harry Dawson, who worked for the Municipal Railway. For San Francisco, fall 1918 was a fraught time. The city had to deal not only with the death of its boys over there, but with a devastating epidemic that was killing even more of its citizens at home. The great Spanish flu epidemic had just struck the city. On Oct. 9, 169 cases were reported; one week later there were 2,000. Before the epidemic ran its course, 45,000 San Franciscans would fall ill and 3,000 would die. By happy coincidence, just as the fighting ceased, the epidemic eased. On Tuesday, Nov. 12, The Chronicle reported that only 15 new cases had been reported Monday, compared with 81 on Sunday. On Nov. 21, the city declared the epidemic over. It was premature the disease flared up again in January with 600 new cases but the worst of the crisis had passed. Six months after the armistice, on Memorial Day in 1919, a 15-acre plot in Golden Gate Park hidden away near 10th Avenue and Fulton, called Heroes Grove, was dedicated to the memory of the American troops who were killed in the Great War. Thirteen years later, an 18-ton granite boulder, purchased by the San Francisco Chapter 1 of the Gold Star Mothers of America, was unveiled there. One of the lesser-known monuments in the city, it is inscribed with the names of the 761 San Franciscans 748 men and 13 women who gave their lives in the war that was supposed to end all wars, but didnt. Gary Kamiya is the author of the best-selling book Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco, awarded the Northern California Book Award in creative nonfiction. All the material in Portals of the Past is original for The San Francisco Chronicle. To read earlier Portals of the Past, go to sfchronicle.com/portals. For more features from 150 years of The Chronicles archives, go to sfchronicle.com/vault. Email: metro@sfchronicle.com Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, praised and vilified in equal measure nationally for her pro-immigration moves, got a vote of confidence from her city on election day. But by rejecting two of her preferred candidates for City Council on Tuesday, the electorate put some constraints on Schaafs power. With the exception of the top office, voters across the board eschewed incumbents in favor of newcomers who promised to change the status quo and take swifter action on affordable housing, homelessness and other stubborn problems. How do we preserve what everyone loves about Oakland the history, heart, soul, culture and how do we be inclusive and welcome everyone in a way thats equitable and doesnt displace our longtime communities? said one of the victorious challengers, City Councilwoman-elect Nikki Fortunato Bas. Part of what the election results mean to me is a mandate for more collaboration and a clearer vision for moving Oakland forward. The three new council members are likely to alter the dynamics of City Hall governance come January. Two of them defeated incumbents, and one ran against a large field of candidates to win an open seat. City Auditor Brenda Roberts was ousted by her predecessor, Courtney Ruby, who was seen as a more aggressive watchdog and will now get her old job back after a stint with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. This rarely happens. Oakland has a very stable City Council. It was a big deal when there were two new ones four years ago, said Oakland political consultant Jim Ross. These three council members were really elected to get things done for their constituents. They have real pressure to produce results for their districts. Loren Taylor beat 16-year incumbent Desley Brooks to take over the District Six seat of East Oakland. Bas edged out one-term incumbent Abel Guillen in District Two, which covers neighborhoods around Lake Merritt and Chinatown. And in District Four, the citys hills, Sheng Thao won the seat held by Annie Campbell Washington, who didnt seek a second term. The group checks a number of firsts. Bas will be the first person of Filipino descent on the Oakland council; Thao will be the first Hmong woman elected to a city council post anywhere in California. The biggest stylistic and tonal change may be the Brooks-to-Taylor switch. The longtime council member was seen as a fierce legislator who often publicly clashed with Schaaf, her colleagues, police officials, city attorneys and staff. Part of Brooks undoing was probably her 2015 altercation with former Black Panther leader Elaine Brown. The physical fight turned into a legal one and cost the city $2.2 million. Taylor, a business consultant, biomedical engineer and third-generation Oakland native, said he was expecting a close race and was surprised when he got an early lead in the returns, ultimately winning by a 21-point margin over Brooks after ranked-choice tabulation. There is a clear mandate from residents of Oakland, in each of the districts, that we deliver real results that align to our values and not get bogged down by personality disputes or baggage, Taylor said. The main focus is making sure were creating a shared vision for the city that includes District Six. To date, District Six has been left out and left behind. Taylor called the district this island, this wasteland, and said it would no longer be forgotten. Neighborhoods there do not have the same grocery stores, banks or job opportunities as the rest of the city, he said. Residents want to be safe and able to work, live, eat, shop and play in their neighborhoods instead of driving to Alameda, San Leandro, Emeryville or elsewhere, he said. Taylor had Schaafs backing in the race; the two met when he served as president of the parent-teacher association of the elementary school both their children attend. But the mayors favored candidates in Districts Two and Four were defeated. In the latter contest, her first- and second-choice picks dropped out before election day. The third, Pam Harris, lost to Thao. Schaaf said the changes on the council Guillen and Campbell Washington often partnered with her office wont stymie her legislative priorities. We all hold very similar values, Schaaf said. We will have a group of people thats able to better work together. Thao, chief of staff to Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan, and Bas, a longtime Oakland nonprofit leader, both had strong support from labor groups, although the city firefighters union had backed Guillen over Bas. 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. Obviously were excited that we have two women who have a natural connection with todays workforce, said Liz Ortega-Toro, executive secretary-treasurer of the Alameda Labor Council. With both of these candidates, we feel like they have those shared values with us. The citys relationship with its unions has been strained in recent months. Workers went on a weeklong strike last year, and contract negotiations with the firefighters sputtered. The two sides went to arbitration a route not taken in decades and they are awaiting results from those hearings. In the District Two race, issues of affordable housing, development and a short-lived plan to build a new Oakland As ballpark near Laney College were salient. In Bas, Guillen met an extraordinarily strong challenger, Ross said. I dont think his position on policies or issues really brought him down, Ross said. People want City Council members who will be actively part of the community and fight for the community, and I dont think he projected that image. In interviews with The Chronicle, Bas, Thao and Taylor said they will bring fresh energy to the council and are looking forward to building coalitions and consensus. In addition to the new seat occupants, voters approved an array of progressive ballot measures, some of which will give their new leaders a bigger budget to work with. One measure will tax vacant properties and use the revenue to fund homeless services and the clearing of illegal dumping and other blight. It is expected to raise as much as $10.6 million annually and creates a Commission on Homelessness. Another will graduate the real estate transfer tax thats currently flat at 1.5 percent, so that buyers of pricier homes pay a larger percentage, and low-income, first-time home buyers fork over less. Because of volatility in the real estate market, the tax is expected to raise anywhere from $1.7 million to $17 million a year. Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov Sunday is the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended the war that was supposed to end all wars. A solemn day, often forgotten, mixed up with other observances and holidays. They called it the Great War back then. It changed the world, and for years people paused for a minute of silence to remember the moment the war ended the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918. The United States sent a million soldiers to France. Now those soldiers are gone and the war is ancient history, a tale of battles, generals, statesmen and heroes. The ordinary people of those times the men who served and those who loved them have mostly been forgotten. Joseph Bosque was one of those ordinary people caught up in the war. He was a San Franciscan, born in the Ocean View neighborhood. His father was of Mexican descent, and his mother was Irish. He went to Sacred Heart high school and worked in a downtown office. He met a girl at work named Annie Corbett, She was a native San Franciscan like himself, and a Catholic as well. They fell in love, perhaps on what he called that memorable night on Valentines Day 1917. The United States entered the war at the beginning of April that year, and by late fall, just after he turned 23, Joe Bosque was a private in the U.S. Army. He served briefly at the Presidio of San Francisco, and just after Christmas shipped out for basic training in Florida before being sent to France. He promised to write. He wrote more than 140 letters to Annie, low-key love letters, signed As ever, your Joe. Bosque came home after the war and they were married and spent the rest of their lives together. They are both long gone, but Annie kept the letters, and the family had them privately published in a book called Letters from France. One function of the letter, Tom Bosque wrote in the introduction, is to reveal to us the littleness underlying great events and to remind us that history was once real life. My grandfather never became a famous writer, nor fought in any battles, yet in these letters you can see the First World War, he wrote. The letters are from another time. Bosque had never been out of California until he joined the Army, and he wrote with amazement that his troop train is hitting it up at 40 miles an hour. He was surprised by desert country and chilly weather at boot camp in Florida. On the way to France, he stopped off in New York. Take it from me, it is some town, he wrote in May 1918. You know I have always been a booster from San Francisco, but we surely have to hand it to Gotham. He traveled across the Atlantic on a troopship without incident and landed in France. Europe did not impress him, though the country was beautiful, and picturesque. The people all seem to be pretty poor, most of them wearing wooden shoes and as most of the women are dressed in black it brings home the sacrifices made by the French in this war. It was a sobering thought. Hardly a single home in France is without its mourners. All available men have been rushed to the front. You never see a man between 15 and 50 years. Though Bosque was ready and willing and enthusiastic, he never got to the front. He heard tales of American bravery and daredevilness, but he was sent to Marseille, on the Mediterranean, to work in the Service of Supply. 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. He worked long hours in Marseille, mostly in clerical and financial jobs. He was very good at what he did and was steadily promoted and ended up as a senior sergeant. In words that would be familiar to anyone who ever served in the military, he wrote: In the Army, you learn to go where they tell you, do what you are told and ask no questions. The war ended on Nov. 11. Bosque wrote from the South of France: I dont expect to see such a sight if I live to be 80 years of age. Everyone nearly went crazy. Men, women and children were running around, kissing each other and yelling, Vive la France! and Vive lAmerique. American troops marched through the streets. We got the reception of our lives, he wrote. The war was over, but not for Bosque, who stayed behind in France and Luxembourg until October 1919. The love and affection he had for Annie is hard to see in those letters, but it was there, between the lines. He was lonely despite being in the Army, where you are never alone. On April 30, 1919, he wrote Annie of my deep affection and love for you. I remain yours, as ever, Joe. My grandfather was a very reserved man, said Tony Bosque, another grandson. Besides, he knew the censors were reading all the letters. Joe Bosque worked in San Francisco for years, moved with Annie to Novato in 1951 and died in 1965 at the age of 70. Annie died a year and a half later. They left behind eight children and 43 grandchildren, and the memory of a wartime love affair that lasted a lifetime. Carl Nolte is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. His column appears every Sunday. Email: cnolte@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @carlnoltesf Rep. Nancy Pelosi nailed it when she predicted a week before the election that Democrats would win back the House. Even the doubters now have to admit: She knows her stuff. President Trump, of all people, acknowledged that her hard work had earned her the right to be the next speaker. Im not sure how much weight a Trump endorsement is going to carry with Democratic lawmakers. But Im going out on a limb and predicting that when the caucus votes Nov. 28, Pelosi is going to win the party leaders post. Thats going to make her the most powerful Democrat in D.C. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer lost seats in the election, while Pelosi won them. He can be her Uber driver. Of course, Pelosi isnt the only California Democrat whos moving up. Reps. Adam Schiff of Burbank and Maxine Waters of Los Angeles will chair committees that can make Trumps life hard. Our own East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell, who is looking hard at a run for president, will be a leading voice in Trump investigations as well. But dont expect any serious moves toward impeaching the president. For starters, its a waste of time: The GOP-run Senate would never convict. And Pelosi is smart enough to know that its in Democrats best interest for Trump to be president in 2020 and not Mike Pence. After all, Trump himself said the midterms were a referendum on him, and Republicans House losses look like theyll be north of 30 seats. Imagine the bloodletting when Trump is actually on the ballot. Kavanaugh kickback: Democratic losses in the Senate three seats for sure, maybe four, with one and perhaps two pickups may be the result of the debacle that was the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation process. Republicans in the heartland had not been feeling particularly motivated to get out and vote. Then came the Senate Judiciary Committees hearings for Kavanaughs Supreme Court nomination, the allegations of his attempted rape as a teenager and the resultant Democratic pile-on. For Republicans, that turned Kavanaugh into a victim. And they got mad. One of the more interesting places the Kavanaugh kickback showed itself was here in California in the race for U.S. Senate between Sen. Dianne Feinstein and fellow Democrat state Sen. Kevin de Leon. De Leon, who ran to Feinsteins left, actually won far more counties than Feinstein did, even though he lost the race by nearly 10 points. And all those counties were in places where the Republican Party still has strength away from the Bay Area and Los Angeles. Its not like de Leon is well known in those places. I asked some of my Republican friends in red areas how theyd voted. I voted against Dianne. I voted for the Italian guy, one said. I voted for the French guy, another said. They had no idea that de Leon is Latino, let alone that hes the guy who wrote Californias sanctuary state law. Maybe it is a new day. Benioff force: Years ago, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg began spending money all over the country to help good causes. Now the billionaire is being looked at as presidential material. Could this be an avenue for Salesforce founder Marc Benioff? 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. His multimillion-dollar campaign to pass San Franciscos initiative to tax businesses for homeless services, Proposition C, put him at odds with fellow tech titan Jack Dorsey. But also put him in the national spotlight as leader in the movement for corporate social responsibility. Plus, Benioff has a sense of humor and a personality that doesnt repel people, two things we could use more of in politics. Thank you: John Konstin and others hosted the election day lunch at Johns Grill, and theres never been a better one. More than 1,000 people of all walks of life walked through just to see who showed up. This one must have cost Konstin a fortune in key lime pie alone. Sea change: In conversation at Kokkari with a couple of surfers, I asked, What do you call a blue wave in surfing? The answer was very simple: Unless its a major wave, its a blue micro. Clearly, this election cycle for Democrats was, at best, a blue micro. Want to sound off? Email wbrown@sfchronicle.com The sprawling Bishop Ranch office park in San Ramon is the home of corporate giants Chevron, IBM and SAP. Now, its 30,000 office workers will be joined by trendy food, drink and retail offerings from the likes of the Slanted Door, Boba Guys and Fieldwork Brewing. The new arrivals are part of the $300 million City Center Bishop Ranch shopping mall, designed by world-famous architect Renzo Piano, which opened Thursday. Its the culmination of Bishop Ranch owner Sunset Developments efforts to bring elements of the city to the suburbs. Unlike a traditional enclosed suburban mall with acres of ground-level parking, City Center has separate entrances to retailers that are reminiscent of an urban street, arranged around a central courtyard. Parking and service entrances are hidden in upper floors. About 75 percent of the 300,000-square-foot center is leased, and Sunset Development expects the rest of the space to be filled by early next year, totaling around 70 stores. Stores such as Starbucks, Equinox and Williams-Sonoma, along with its sister brands Pottery Barn and West Elm, have signed leases. Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Another centerpiece is a 1,000-seat high-end movie theater and food center called the Lot, which will have 10 cinema screens with food service, along with a separate bar and restaurant space. We really see ourselves more as a boutique hotel. We run it as so instead of rooms, we have seats and auditoriums, with a call button to call the waiter, said Carlos Wellman, co-owner of the Lot. City Center is one of the largest Bay Area retail projects in years, and a major investment in the troubled retail sector, which has seen dozens of major bankruptcies in recent years as shoppers move online. But the concentration of highly paid employees and residents in San Ramon, along with a dearth of eating and shopping options in the Tri-Valley area, means the project is drawing dozens of tenants, according to Sunset Development. People dont want to be in a nondescript suburban office building, said Alexander Mehran Jr., president of Sunset Development. Because of how much office we own, its worth it. Asking rents range from $75 to $100 per square foot, along with some revenue sharing with tenants. Thats less than top retail rents in nearby Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek, which can exceed $130 per square foot, according to brokerage John Cumbelich & Associates. Fieldwork Brewing began selling 18 beers on tap Thursday, with 200 seats. Barry Braden, owner of Fieldwork Brewing, said he knew that San Ramon and the Tri-Valley area were thirsting for a new shopping nexus. Its a place maker. Its going to be a real destination, I think, for not only for this community but on a wider scale as well, said Braden. Fieldwork Brewing started in Berkeley and now has six locations in Northern California. Paul Chinn / The Chronicle The Tri-Valleys job growth rate has outpaced the rest of the Bay Area, and the area is well educated and affluent, with 60 percent of residents having a college degree, according to the Bay Area Council, a business group. Those demographics are a boost for City Center, but the malls focus on urban design and local boutiques gives it an additional edge over older malls, said John Cumbelich, founder of John Cumbelich & Associates. Theyve been able to craft a tenant mix that stays away from what Ill call formulaic brands ... that are selling something that you can easily get online, said Cumbelich, whose firm represented Roam Artisan Burgers in a lease at City Center. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes One of City Centers biggest coups was luring the celebrated Vietnamese restaurant the Slanted Door to expand there. The San Francisco mainstay, whose first location is in the Ferry Building, will open in San Ramon in December. Charles Phan, the Slanted Doors founder, was struck by the accessible design of City Center, with its individual entrances for each retailer. I just cant stand malls, Phan said. Im directionally challenged, so I get lost. If you look at this building. ... Its very straightforward. Roland Li is a Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf Hundreds of flights scheduled to depart or land at San Francisco International Airport were delayed Friday due to poor air quality conditions caused by the Camp Fire in Butte County. About 25 percent of flights were running behind Friday afternoon, with an average delay of 45 to 50 minutes, according to an airport spokesman, and at least 19 flights were canceled. The official Twitter account of SFO issued an alert that the airport is experiencing some delays and cancellations after smoky, smoggy conditions made it unsafe for department and inbound flights. Butte County wildfires are impacting some flights at SFO, the airport said in the tweet. The devastating wildfires are causing unhealthy air quality conditions, reduced visibility, and widespread smoke and haze. The wildfire started Thursday morning and sped up overnight, burning 70,000 acres by Friday. Officials have confirmed five fatalities and the fire is only 5 percent contained, according to Cal Fire. Flights departing for other California cities or cities on the West Coast are experiencing the worst of the delays, according to Doug Yakel, the airports public information officer. United Airlines, the largest operator at SFO, has canceled two flights and delayed another 50 flights Friday. An airline spokesman said it expects the number of delays to grow to about 70 before the end of the day. People coming in from as far north as Eugene, Ore., can expect delays, the spokesman said. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Alaska Airlines said it has seen at least a dozen flights delayed, for an average of about an hour, but so far, no cancellations. Operations at Oakland International Airport and San Jose International Airport are unaffected, an Alaska spokesman said in an email. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an air quality alert Thursday night as the level of particulates in the regions air rose to unhealthy levels due to smoke coming from the Camp Fire. The alert is in effect through Friday. Melia Russell is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: melia.russell@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meliarobin Pacific Gas and Electric Co. told state regulators Friday that a high-voltage power line near the origin point of the devastating Camp Fire experienced a problem just before the first flames appeared. The public utility, already facing billions in potential liability for earlier wildfires, is under scrutiny from regulators for possibly causing the latest fire, which broke out early Thursday. That same day, PG&E canceled plans to shut off power as a precaution against fires in parts of Butte County, where the fire is burning. In a filing to the California Public Utilities Commission, PG&E stated that it noted a power outage on the line at about 6:15 a.m. Thursday about 20 minutes before the fire was reported. Christopher Chow, a commission spokesman, said the agency would incorporate the incident report into its investigation into electric infrastructure in the fire area. PG&E sent an aerial team to the area Thursday and noticed damage to a transmission tower on the affected line, according to the filing. The tower is about a mile from Pulga, one of several small towns in the region affected by the Camp Fire. That day, PG&E announced it would not turn off power in eight Northern California counties, as it had previously warned it might do in response to dangerous weather conditions. In October, PG&E cut off power to 60,000 customers in 12 counties as a preventive measure. The utility has historically resisted such measures, saying power cutoffs pose other risks for residents and first responders, such as shutting down hospitals and fire stations. But in December it began considering adopting shut-offs as part of its wildfire response, and in March, it made switching off power lines part of a formal plan. In a statement, PG&E spokesman Jason King said that the cause of the Camp Fire has not yet been determined. Fire officials also have said that the cause remains under investigation. Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers, employees, contractors and the communities we serve, he said. PG&E has provided an initial electric incident report to the Safety and Enforcement Division of the California Public Utilities Commission. The information provided in this report is preliminary and PG&E will fully cooperate with any investigations. Now Playing: The Camp Fire burns in Paradise on Nov. 8, 2018. Video: San Francisco Chronicle PG&E shares fell 16.5 percent Friday, wiping $4 billion off the companys value. The disastrous spread of the latest California wildfire could pile large additional liabilities on top of PG&E, already threatened by 2017 fire damages, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts wrote in a report on Friday. Now Playing: Listen to the initial Cal Fire dispatch audio from Camp Fire in Butte County from around 6:30 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. Video: via Broadcastify The question of PG&Es liability has hung over the company since devastating fires broke out last year in the Wine Country and other parts of Northern California served by the utility. State investigators previously said PG&E equipment flaws led to at least 16 fires in Northern California. Investigators said the company violated state safety laws in 11 of the fires. The cause of the Tubbs Fire, which ravaged Santa Rosa and was the states most destructive fire in history, hasnt been determined. Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California PG&E plans to invest $6 billion to install 1,300 weather stations and 600 cameras over four years in response to wildfires. Driven by the growing threat posed by extreme weather, PG&E is making critical investments and further enhancing our operations so that our communities are safer and more resilient, CEO Geisha Williams said in a statement earlier this week. In September, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill that enables PG&E to use bonds to pay off potential lawsuits related to fires. The bonds would be paid off over time by customers, as long as state regulators found that the company properly maintained its equipment prior to fires. PG&E previously estimated that each customer would pay an extra $5 per year for each $1 billion in bonds. If, however, the California Public Utilities Commission finds that PG&E acted negligently in any of the fires, the bonds to settle lawsuits related to those fires would be paid off by the company and its shareholders. Former San Francisco Chronicle staff writer David R. Baker contributed to this report. Roland Li, Erin Allday and Jill Tucker are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com, eallday@sfchronicle.com, jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf, @erinallday, @jilltucker RealtyShares of San Francisco, one of the legions of companies trying to shake up the real estate industry with technology, has laid off most of its people and will no longer seek new business but continue to manage existing deals. Started in 2013, RealtyShares is one of the oldest and largest companies involved in real estate crowdfunding. Its website let people find and invest directly in commercial real estate projects, such as existing apartment buildings and hotels, anywhere in the country. On the flip side, it opened up new sources of capital to operators seeking money to buy real estate. It raised $58 million in venture capital from leading firms including Menlo Ventures, General Catalyst and Union Square Ventures. But in a note to investors Wednesday, it said it was unable to secure additional capital to fund its growth. As a result, we will not offer new investments or accept new investors on the RealtyShares platform. In an email, the company said it will continue to service existing investors and deals through a combination of vendor and in-house resources. A year ago, RealtyShares had about 100 full-time employees, said Nav Athwal, who founded the company and was its CEO until last November and a board member until the summer. Before its latest round of layoffs, it had 75 employees and contractors, the company said. It retained a team to handle existing investors and about $400 million of assets under management, but it would not say how many. RealtyShares was part of a cohort of companies that sprang up in response to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act in 2012. The measure created exemptions to the securities laws that let private companies raise money over the internet and social media. One provision let privately held companies raise relatively small sums from any individual investors. Another made it easier to raise larger amounts of money from accredited investors those who meet certain income and asset requirements by letting them advertise deals online, said Douglas Ellenoff, a New York City attorney with Ellenoff Grossman & Schole. RealtyShares has always worked exclusively with accredited investors. At first, it raised money for contractors and others who wanted money to fix and flip homes. At the time, real estate was still reeling from the recession and capital was hard to come by. In 2014, it moved into commercial real estate, which would be more feasible to scale up. Wealthier investors could always invest directly in commercial real estate, but such deals were hard to find. People might hear at their country club about a local office building that needed financing, for instance. RealtyShares was taking a country club model of fundraising and using technology to build tremendous scale, Athwal said. The bulk of the technology was to find people who needed money and connect them with people who had money, and allow the people who had money to complete the investment process in a minute and three clicks of the button. The company wanted to eventually create technology to value and underwrite deals and create a sort of stock market for commercial real estate, but it never got that far, he added. As the company grew, so did its minimum investment level from $1,000 to $5,000, then to $10,000, although some large projects required even bigger minimums. It got out of financing individual homes. Its projects were almost exclusively existing buildings, not ground-up developments. Investors could put money in projects seeking debt or equity financing. Most projects were existing apartment buildings worth up to $50 million. The company made money from a variety of transaction and management fees paid by investors and real estate operators. On its website, RealtyShares said its investors have put more than $870 million into 1,160-plus projects, but that includes individual homes from the early days. This is separate from the venture capital it raised to run its business. Athwal said that when he left last November, the company had just raised $28 million in its third round of financing. He was replaced by Ed Forst, who had been CEO of Cushman & Wakefield, the giant commercial real estate broker, in 2014 and 2015. In June, Alexis de Belloy took over as CEO and Forst remained chairman. DeBelloy referred my request for comment to a company spokeswoman, who would answer questions only by email. None of the firms major venture investors replied to requests for comment, and Forst could not be reached. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Athwal, who is still a minority shareholder, is not sure what happened after he left the board over the summer. He believes the concept is still attractive to investors. For commercial real estate deals, he said, We were projecting returns north of 10 percent, often north of 12 to 15 percent, on equity deals and 7 to 11 percent on debt deals. From 2014 to 2016, venture capital was flowing into crowdfunding firms and their close cousins, peer-to-peer lending companies. But interest in the sector has since waned, especially after LendingClub, which started as a peer-to-peer lender, hit what Athwal called a very major road bump in 2016, from which its stock has still not recovered. Venture-backed companies with similar business models include Fundrise, RealtyMogul and CrowdStreet. David Claffey, who was RealtyShares public relationship manager until he left in March, said Athwals departure kind of kicked off a lot of turnover. But he said he thinks the core problem was technology and user acquisition. Getting investors was capital intensive, and I think they werent able to streamline the acquisition of properties. In the end, it was an inability to scale. Asked what other startups could learn from this, Athwal said, Dont let your burn rates get really large, strive for cash-efficiency or profitability sooner rather than later. Build a resilient business that can continue growing, regardless of where the venture capital markets are. Know whether your investors are aligned with your strategic direction of the company and understand the limits of growth and what smart growth is, he said. Too many entrepreneurs value raising money instead of building a good business, he added. Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender It might rain in a week. Thats a best-case scenario for fire-ravaged Northern California, albeit one that is not very likely. Confidence is pretty low well actually get some rain, said Duane Dykema, meteorologist for the National Weather Service. On the off chance it does rain, it wont rain a lot, Dykema added. Normally, the first good rain would hit the Bay Area around Halloween. Were getting well past that already, Dykema added. The weather models are showing that there could be a break in the current pattern of dry weather next weekend, but that far out in the future, forecasters hedge based on what should be happening. I should caution that these models a lot of time, when you get that far out, they can trend ... more toward what you would typically expect this time of year, Dykema said. Now Playing: The Camp Fire burns in Paradise on Nov. 8, 2018. Video: San Francisco Chronicle In other words, dont expect rain anytime soon. Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California Instead, much of California will be under yet another Red Flag warning Saturday night into Sunday afternoon, stretching from the Oregon border through Santa Cruz County, and then down in the Southern Sierra foothills and down into Los Angeles. That means lots of wind and low humidity resulting in severe fire danger. Its really exceptionally dry right now, Dykema said. I think its just important that people continue to be careful with fire in these conditions. Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker A finger of red swirling flames materialized amid a scorched section of Butte County as the Camp Fire cut a harrowing path across Northern California on Thursday. KGO reporter Laura Anthony captured video of the fire tornado on a roadway near Paradise, a small California town that has been consumed by the late season wildfire. The fiery vortex appears to whirl dozens of feet into the sky, above the skeletal trees lining the thoroughfare. ALSO READ: Photos show burned-out vehicles abandoned on road in Butte County Fire tornados, sometimes called "firenadoes" or fire whirls, are rare natural phenomena, and it's even rarer to capture them on camera. They form when cool air collides with rising heat, often in conjunction with extremely high winds. Since the Camp Fire started at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, it has grown to nearly 110 square miles more than double the size of San Francisco. More than 52,000 people in Northern California have been ordered to evacuate. The fire is at 5 percent containment as of Friday morning, Cal Fire said. Sheriff's officials in Northern California said at least five people were found dead in vehicles on a main thoroughfare heading out of Paradise. The roadway was consumed by flames. Authorities said the victims could not immediately be identified because of the burns they suffered. With fires burning in both Northern and Southern California, the director of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services put the number of people forced from their homes at 157,000. The massive blaze that hit Paradise spread north Friday, prompting officials to order the evacuation of Stirling City and Inskip, two communities north of Paradise along the Sierra Nevada foothills. The wind-driven flames also spread to the west and reached the edge of Chico, a city of 90,000 people. Firefighters were able to stop the fire at the edge of the city, where evacuation orders remained in place Friday, Cal Fire Cpt. Bill Murphy said. Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California The winds calmed down in the valley, but they were still shifting and erratic, with speeds of up to 45 mph (72 kph) along ridge tops, he said. For The San Francisco Chronicle's full wildfire coverage, click here. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Read Michelle Robertson's latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com. Start receiving breaking news emails on wildfires, civil emergencies, riots, national breaking news, Amber Alerts, weather emergencies, and other critical events with the SFGATE breaking news email. Click here to make sure you get the news. OROVILLE, Butte County Diane Franklin awoke to a screeching smoke alarm in her trailer parked at the end of a dusty country road near the community of Concow in the Sierra foothills. Still in her flannel Star Wars pajamas, she ran out to her car with her three small dogs and gunned it. Franklin, 65, drove until she reached a fallen tree blocking the road. She couldnt pass, and the flames were so close she felt they were likely to burn her to death. So she left her dogs in the car, scrambled down a bank beside the road to Cirby Creek and hopped in the water. Two other people were already there, seeking refuge. Franklin waited two hours in the cold stream, dunking her purple hair in the water so embers wouldnt light it. The trees were on fire. Im gonna die, she recalled thinking. Now Playing: The Camp Fire burns in Paradise on Nov. 8, 2018. Video: San Francisco Chronicle Franklin, whose dogs survived in the car, was among countless residents who jumped in their cars Thursday morning to escape the Camp Fire as it roared through the communities above Chico, only to later abandon their stalled or trapped vehicles in a last-ditch effort to live. Cars, trucks and buses, many burned-out hulls, were found Friday abandoned, left in the middle of the road as evacuees fled on foot rather than remain trapped in unmoving traffic. Along Edgewood Lane, a dead-end country lane lined with houses on large, tree-filled lots, the bodies of four victims were found in their cars and one just outside a vehicle, presumably overcome by the smoke and flames before they could make it to safety, authorities said. They were burned so badly that it was impossible to immediately identify them, according to the Butte County Sheriffs Department. Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle The victims were the first confirmed fatalities from the Camp Fire, which broke out at 6:30 a.m. Thursday. The bodies of an additional four victims were found in or around homes, officials said Friday night. Authorities were looking into 35 reports of missing persons on Friday and expected that number to grow. The Coroners Office organized a team to investigate and identify additional fatalities. On Friday, Franklin sat in an evacuation center in Oroville, her dogs at her side. Firefighters pulled her out of the creek after the fire had passed and loaded her and the dogs into the back of a rig. She had escaped with her life, her pets and her pajamas. She lost everything else. Other survivors recounted how close they came to being among those fatalities as they fled along roads just like Edgewood, isolated lanes and loops that were choked with cars and overwhelmed by smoke and burning embers as people tried to drive to safety down the few exit routes. Many recounted watching bumpers catch fire and cars stalling out. Christine Fitzsimmons, 50, and her husband, 48-year-old David Fitzsimmons, evacuated Thursday morning along Skyway, one of the handful of paved routes out of Paradise. With flames on both sides of the road, the heat was so intense that the cars paint began bubbling. At one point, an electrical pole slammed onto the road. They swerved around it. They made it out, as did Bob Schofield, who left his house at Glenwood Drive at 9:15 a.m., not far from where the five victims were found a day later. When he fled with his wife, 15-year-old son, three dogs and two rabbits, the fire was burning just behind them. The smoke was so thick and it dropped down so low that when we finally got down on the road, you could barely see the houses on the side of the road because of how dark it was, he said. Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California His home, which hes had for two years, was on a little side road. With spot fires heating their car, they made it to the first intersection, where a police officer or town volunteer was directing traffic. They followed a stream of cars down the hill and away from the flames. Not far from Schofield, cars full of parents and children fleeing Ponderosa Elementary School found themselves stuck on Pentz Road as spot fires and embers surrounded them, said Melissa Schuster, a Paradise City Councilwoman, adding that her daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were among them. Her daughter-in-laws phone died after she told her husband the car was on fire, Schuster said. People ran out of gas, their calls stalled, you get stuck in traffic and you cant get out, the councilwoman said. The fire department was actually hosing down the cars to keep them from going up in flames with the people in them. Those fire hoses saved her family, and the lives of countless others, Schuster added. It wasnt about saving homes, she said of the firefighters efforts. It was about saving lives. Sarah Ravani, Lizzie Johnson, Jill Tucker and Gwendolyn Wu are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com; ljohnson@sfchronicle.com; jtucker@sfchronicle.com; gwendolyn.wu@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sarrav @jilltucker @lizziejohnsonnn @gwendolynawu There was no way I was going to let election night 2018 happen the same way election night 2016 did. OK, so maybe I didnt have any more control over Tuesday nights results than I had two years ago. But if I couldnt influence the results, at least I could choose the environment in which I heard them. I knew from past experience that sitting around, waiting for returns even with good food and good wine would only make me (more) anxious and agitated. So when Zyzzyva, the San Francisco literary journal, asked me to participate in an election night reading at City Lights Bookstore, I jumped at the chance. First of all, it was City Lights. In anxious political moments, there are few better places in San Francisco to be than our most celebrated bookstore also known as the bare-knuckled winner of national censorship battles, also known as the home to book sections with names like Pedagogies of Resistance. Secondly, doing a reading would give me something to do besides checking Twitter all night. Better to suffer from anxiety about public speaking, I decided, than to suffer small heart attacks from constantly refreshing multiple news websites for updates. When I arrived Tuesday night, there was pizza and beer, and a room full of equally nervous people. City Lights booksellers popped in and out, offering water and more beer, and lots of reading recommendations. I was surprised and touched to see that more than half of the people in the crowd were in their 20s and early 30s. When I spoke to them, I learned that many of them were graduate students or publishing interns. They, too, felt like City Lights was the right place to be on a night like this. None of them was responding to the political situation with youthful insouciance, either. Every single one of them said they had cast a ballot. I read from American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time, a new collection from U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. There were six readers, and all of us had independently decided to read poetry. It felt like the closest choice to prayer. Between readings, Oscar Villalon, Zyzzvyas managing editor, called out the latest political results as they rolled in around the country. There were a few disappointments, but for once the polling had been solid. And over the course of the evening, the expected results became the actual results. There were even results to celebrate, like the fact that more than 100 women were elected into the House of Representatives, and many of them were firsts two Muslim women, two American Indian women, etc. These women won their races by embracing their stories and by issuing a challenge to the voters about what real leadership looks like. Finally, the rest of the country was listening. Slowly, the sense of dread Id been carrying around for weeks began to lift. It didnt last long. Just two days later, the nation was engulfed in grief and chaos again. A gunman had massacred 12 people in a bar in Thousand Oaks (Ventura County). Across the country, people were back in the streets, protesting President Trumps decision to replace his attorney general, allegedly in the hopes of impeding Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation. There were voting shenanigans in Georgia and recounts in Florida that demanded alarm and attention. But there was also hope. Thats what Ill take away from this week. During the election, native San Francisco son Marc Benioff became a populist hero for his full-throated support of Proposition C, for the joy he took in pillorying fellow tech billionaires on Twitter about their stinginess, and for his shocking! willingness to pay taxes. Benioff has always been generous with his charitable impulses, but his transformation has been something else entirely. Maybe hes seeing the writing on the wall. Theres more impatience with tech titans than Ive ever seen, and its all coming from the grass roots. Mountain View and East Palo Alto both passed new taxes that were designed specifically to capture tech wealth. Meanwhile, theres been a global employee revolt at Google over the way that company handled sexual harassment allegations against executives. Thats a huge deal because quite frankly employees are one of the few groups to whom these companies are willing to listen. In this climate, it behooves even billionaires to be benevolent. Buckle up, folks. Change is on its way. Caille Millner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cmillner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @caillemillner Hours after President Trump barred asylum Friday for thousands of undocumented immigrants entering the United States at the Mexican border, advocates for the migrants filed a federal lawsuit in San Francisco saying Trumps order violates long-standing U.S. law. This action undermines the rule of law and is a great moral failure because it tries to take away protections from individuals facing persecution, said Omar Jadwat, chief immigration attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents asylum support groups in the case. Asylum allows immigrants to remain in the country if they can show a well-founded fear of persecution in their homeland for reasons such as race, religion or political views. Trumps proclamation, which takes effect Saturday, would allow only those entering the U.S. at designated ports of entry currently overcrowded, with substantial waiting periods to apply for asylum, and would deny it to those who entered anywhere else. The continuing and threatened mass migration of aliens with no basis for admission into the United States through our southern border has precipitated a crisis, Trump said. He cited presidential authority to prevent entry by groups of foreigners whose presence would be harmful to the United States, the argument the Supreme Court accepted in June when it upheld his ban on U.S. entry by people from a group of mostly Muslim countries. But the lawsuit said Trump was flouting a law first enacted as the Refugee Act of 1980, designed to bring the U.S. into compliance with international treaties dating back to 1951. The law specifies that any foreigner who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival) ... may apply for asylum. The president is acting in direct violation of Congresss clear command that manner of entry cannot constitute a categorical asylum bar, the suit said. It also said Trump, in ordering the ban to take effect immediately, is violating laws that require at least a 30-day waiting period and an opportunity for the public to comment on new federal regulations. The suit seeks an injunction halting enforcement of the order. The lead plaintiff is East Bay Sanctuary Covenant in Berkeley, founded in 1982 to assist refugees fleeing civil wars in El Salvador and Guatemala. The opposing sides presented dramatically different accounts of the situation at the Mexican border. Trump said about 2,000 inadmissible aliens a word he used 40 times in his four-page proclamation have been crossing the border each week, overwhelming the system and putting lives of both law enforcement and aliens at risk. But the lawsuit said migration at the southern border has been declining, and the number of immigrants arrested by the Border Patrol in 2017 was the lowest since 1972. Meanwhile, the suit said, asylum-seekers at the San Ysidro port of entry in San Diego County, the busiest land crossing in the Western Hemisphere, have to wait four to six weeks in Tijuana before entering. Border Patrol agents are using threats, intimidation and coercion to turn back asylum applicants at the ports of entry, the suit said. It said immigrants seeking asylum are fleeing some of the most dangerous countries in the world. Trumps order applies only to those who enter the United States in the future and not to those already here. It would allow immigrants who were newly barred from claiming asylum to still avoid deportation by proving that they would face persecution or torture in their homeland. But the suit said those requirements are more demanding than the well-founded fear of persecution standard for asylum, which also provides protection for a successful applicants spouse and children. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko Raymond Plank, a son of a coal miner and a former combat pilot who witnessed the atomic-bomb attack on Nagasaki and then returned from the war to help found one of the nations largest independent oil and gas companies, Apache, died Thursday at his home in Ucross, Wyo. He was 96. His death was confirmed by his son Roger. World War II provided an impetus for Planks career. Back home in Minneapolis after his service and armed with a degree from Yale, he saw a postwar surge in small businesses on the horizon. And those businesses, he knew, would need accounting and tax services. He and two business partners rented a tiny third-floor walk-up apartment in Minneapolis for $10 a month, bought a war-surplus Jeep on a New Jersey dock, and began prospecting for customers. Before long, the venture, which they called Northwest Business Service, was selling insurance, mutual funds and, most auspiciously, interests in drilling oil wells. With growing expertise in the kinds of investment being offered in oil and gas exploration and production, Plank and his partners, in 1954, formed the Apache Corp., which was originally set up to raise investor funds for oil and gas drilling. It ultimately expanded into exploration and production itself, becoming one of the nations largest independent oil and gas companies, with reported revenue of almost $6 billion in 2017. At Apache, Plank pioneered the use of what came to be known as master limited partnerships, an investment vehicle that can be traded publicly and offer significant tax advantages to investors. Planks Apache definitely had the first partnership that was publicly traded, said Mary Lyman, executive director of the National Association of Publicly Traded Partnerships. In doing so, she added, Plank was responsible for democratizing and popularizing investments that until then had been largely confined to the rich. Oil exploration in the 1950s offered huge tax advantages at a time when the top federal income-tax brackets were 91 or 92 percent. Moreover, after the war had depleted energy resources, the government was encouraging domestic oil and gas exploration to fuel a booming postwar economy and a society increasingly dependent on automobiles, with Americans fanning out to the suburbs on newly built interstate highways. The master limited partnerships helped Apache reach what Plank called critical mass. But when oil prices fell in the 1980s and tax laws made public drilling programs less appealing, Apache dropped them. (They still thrive elsewhere, mainly for pipelines, other energy infrastructure businesses and to some extent in financial services.) Apache, Plank wrote in a memoir, A Small Difference (2012), was the first to create and enter the (master limited partnership) field and the first to leave it. A weakened Apache moved to Denver with a plan to transform itself into a company that owned and operated oil properties for its own account. After doubling its assets and balancing its oil and gas holdings through deals with Amoco, Shell and BP, the company began to exploit a large concession in Egypt, with the help of the countrys president at the time, Hosni Mubarak. That was an absolute diamond in the rough, David Higgins, a 30-year Apache executive, said in an interview. Its stake in the Egypt concession prompted Apache to establish the nonprofit Springboard Educating the Future, which, together with an initiative by Suzanne Mubarak, Egypts former first lady, builds and staffs one-room schools for rural Egyptian girls. Plank retired from Apache in 2009. Raymond Norwood Plank was born on May 29, 1922, in Wayzata, Minn., a small city on the shore of Lake Minnetonka, about 13 miles west of Minneapolis. His father, Raby, was a farmer, printer and coal miner; his mother, Maude (Howe) Plank, was a homemaker. Raymond grew up on a farm. He was in his senior year at Yale University in 1941 when the United States entered World War II. He left before graduation to join the Army Air Forces. Flying B-24s, he went on 40 missions in the South Pacific. On Aug. 9, 1945, Plank risked court-martial when he made an unauthorized lunchtime flight to witness the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. Coming three days after the strike against Hiroshima, it was the second, and last, atomic bomb attack by American forces. Plank was one of the last surviving Americans to directly observe atomic war. With the war over, he returned to graduate from Yale in 1946 and become an entrepreneur. From its humble bookkeeping and tax-advisory infancy, Northwest Business Service built a smartly growing mix of managed assets and insurance, real estate and other interests. From this evolved Apache. (The first three letters of the name were derived from the surname initials of Plank and his partners, Truman Anderson and Chuck Arnao.) When some clients sought more liquid investments, Apache overcame a series of regulatory rebuffs to establish master limited partnerships. As the companys chairman, Plank moved the company to Houston in the mid-1990s. There, he determined that Enron Corp., also based in Houston, was riddled with fraud and concluded that huge profits were to be made by short-selling its stock. I knew I could make a lot of money, Plank said in an interview for this obituary in 2014. We didnt have any inside information, he added. These guys were sitting ducks. Plank was ahead of the curve on that one, Higgins said. He nailed it. Enron collapsed in scandal in 2001. In addition to his son Roger, Plank is survived by three other sons, Michael, Raby and Dana; two daughters, Kate Plank Sage and Pamela Plank Thaut; 12 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. His marriages to Sally Bovey Stevens, Lollie Benz and Heather Burgess ended in divorce. Planks philanthropy was wide-ranging. In addition to the girls schools in Egypt, he created the Ucross Foundation in northeastern Wyoming in 1981 and set up a conference center on a 20,000-acre working ranch there. Its artist-in-residence program has included winners of five Pulitzer Prizes among them Annie Proulx, author of the best-selling novel The Shipping News and five MacArthur Foundation genius grants. Another best-seller written in part at Ucross was Elizabeth Gilberts Eat, Pray, Love. In 2001, Plank established the Fund for Teachers, a Houston foundation that each year awards fellowships to some 500 public- and private-school teachers for summer study in the United States or abroad. He also established a professorship of global energy policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and was a major supporter of numerous charitable causes in Minneapolis and Wyoming, including on behalf of ranchers and farmers in his adopted state. Robert D. Hershey Jr. is a New York Times writer. Wheres the Coverage? 14 Members of Congress Call to Halt PA Aid | Main | Wheres the Coverage? Israel Foils Assassination Plot Targeting Netanyahu and Others June 06, 2018 U.S. Official: Irans Support for Hezbollah Greater Than Previously Thought The Islamic Republic of Irans support for Hezbollah might be greater than previously thought. Tehran gives the Lebanese-based terrorist group $700 million a year, according to recent remarks by the U.S. Treasury Departments undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Sigal Mandelker. Mandelkers comments were made on June 5, 2018 at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington D.C.-based think tank. The figure supplied by the treasury official is three times? what was previously estimated,? according to a report by The National, a daily newspaper published in the United Arab Emirates (Iran pays Hezbollah 700 million a year, says U.S. official,? June 5, 2018). As CAMERA noted in its 2016 backgrounder on the terror group, Hezbollah calls for the destruction of Israel and has carried out attacks against Jewish people throughout the world. The organization exerts de facto control over the Lebanese state and has launched wars against Israel, most recently in 2006. The group is also deeply anti-American; prior to the Sept. 11, 2001 al-Qaeda terrorist attacks, Hezbollah was responsible for murdering more Americans than any other terror group. Hezbollah engages in illicit activities to raise funds, including narcotics trafficking and smuggling arms, ivory, and diamonds. In a June 2016 speech, Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah stated: We are open about the fact that Hezbollahs budget, its income, its expenses, everything it eats and drinks, its weapons and rockets, come from the Islamic Republic of Iran.? Prior to Hezbollahs involvement in the Syrian civil warin which the terror group and Iran fought to keep Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in powerthe group was thought to receive $200 million a year from Tehran. However, Mandelkers comments indicate that Hezbollah is thought to receive at least three times that figure. Joyce Karam, a reporter for The National, noted that Ms. Mandelker also "accused the Iranian regime of using shell and front companies, and forging documents to conceal its tracks in order to fund terrorists, support weapons of mass destruction proliferation or exploit its own people through corruption and human rights abuses.? The U.S. Treasury official also stated that Irans Central Bank is guilty of moving funds on behalf of Hezbollah and Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, which is responsible for training terror groups abroad. In previous years, the IRGC Quds Force has trained operatives from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas and al-Qaeda, among other U.S.-designated terrorist organizations. Posted by SD at June 6, 2018 12:53 PM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment In a pre-midterms interview with a Washington radio station, President Trump allowed that one of his regrets was that he would have liked to have conveyed a much softer tone in his first two years. That comment was taken by some to suggest he might dial back his combativeness if humbled in Tuesdays election. He experienced a sharp repudiation, with Democrats regaining control of the U.S. House. But Trump has been anything but chastened by the voters verdict. If anything, he has been as tempestuous, truth-challenged and autocratic as ever. Recklessly so. Dangerously so. This is not a moment for Americans, desensitized by the craziness and cynicism he has projected on our politics, to retreat into rationalization: Oh, thats Trump being Trump. It doesnt really matter. It matters. Trumps attacks on American institutions and mores, only intensifying since the election, are reminiscent of what the world has seen when nations are pulled away from democracy. It was no surprise that Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whom he had been hectoring for many months, the day after the polls closed. Trump had made no secret that he wanted Sessions out, in large part because the attorney general and 2016 campaign surrogate had (quite properly) recused himself from oversight into the investigation into whether the Trump campaign had colluded with the Russians. Trumps choice to replace Sessions should set off alarms for anyone who respects the rule of law and the concept that no one should be held above it: Matthew Whitaker, chief of staff under Sessions, is an outspoken critic of the scope and findings of the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Now, as supervisor of Mueller, Whitaker will be in a position to know exactly what the special counsels team is finding, with the authority to limit its scope and to alert the president, a potential target, to inside information about where the probe is headed. Whitaker also will be the one with the authority to decide what, if anything, the public should know about Muellers final report. Independence and integrity of that critical investigation into a foreign attack on American democracy has just been compromised. Trumps contempt for democratic values does not end there. Consider his other post-midterms moves against: President the enemy of the free press Trump goes off the rails in post-midterms encounter with reporters. Yamiche Alcindor "PBS NewsHour" She asked: Whether Trump's description of himself as a nationalist on the campaign trail was "emboldening white nationalists," as some have suggested. Trump replied, interrupting: "That's such a racist question. ... What you said is so insulting to me." Upshot: The question was legitimate, especially in view of the history and connotation of the word "nationalist" and after the recent shootings of two African Americans in Kentucky and 11 Jewish worshippers in Pittsburgh are being investigated as hate crimes. April Ryan American Urban Radio Networks She asked: She tried to squeeze in a follow-up question about voter suppression. Trump replied, interrupting: "Sit down, please," he said, pointing. "Sit down. I didn't call you. I didn't call you. I didn't call you." Upshot: The question was legitimate; the president was losing control. Jim Acosta CNN He asked: Why the president characterized a caravan of Central American refugees headed to the U.S. in a quest for asylum as "an invasion." Trump replied, interrupting: "Honestly, I think you should let me run the country, you run CNN," adding that Acosta was "a rude, terrible person." Upshot: The White House then suspended Acosta's press pass, claiming falsely that the reporter had placed "his hands on a young woman" who was assigned to pass the microphone to journalists. See More Collapse Separation of powers: One of the responsibilities of Congress is to provide oversight over the executive branch, a duty that has been all but abdicated by GOP sycophants such as Rep. Devin Nunes as chair of the Intelligence Committee. That will change in January, when Democrats take control of the House, and thus will chair every committee. Its highly likely they will commence genuine investigations not only into the Russia investigation, but into an array of ethics and policy concerns with the Trump administration. The president fired off a warning shot on Twitter: If the Democrats think they are going to waste Taxpayer Money investigating us at the House level, then we will likewise be forced to consider investigating them for all of the leaks of Classified Information, and much else, at the Senate level. Two can play that game! In his news conference Wednesday, Trump threatened a warlike posture against Democrats if they investigate his financial and political dealings. An American president has just invoked the term war against a co-equal branch of government fulfilling its constitutional obligation. Representative democracy: Among the most revealing passages of the news conference were Trumps response to his fellow Republicans fate in the election. He ticked off a series of victories without necessarily naming the names of the victors. But he did name names and impose shame on Republicans who lost because in his view they failed to sufficiently embrace him. Im not sure that I should be happy or sad, he said. But I feel just fine about it. It apparently did not matter that those lawmakers had voted for his agenda, or that the decision to keep their distance from the president seemed right for their districts. They lost and he mocked. He also bragged that I retired Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., in a seat that may yet go Democratic as votes are still being counted in a tight race. Trump seems to have missed President Ronald Reagans 11th commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican. For Donald Trump, its always about loyalty to Trump and his loyalty to none. Truth and a free press: Trump opened his post-midterms news conference with a softer tone, talking bipartisanship and even praising Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader he had disparaged throughout the campaign. His graciousness did not last long. Trump quickly went into combat mode. He accused Yamiche Alcindor, an African American reporter for PBS, of asking a racist question when she sought his response to concerns that his self-description of being a nationalist had emboldened extremists. He pointed and sneered at April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks when she tried to work in a follow-up question about voter suppression. Sit down, please, he thundered. On Friday, he snapped at another African American reporter, CNNs Abby Phillip, for asking a stupid question about whether he wanted Whitaker to rein in the Mueller probe. You ask a lot of stupid questions, Trump said. It actually was the most important question of the day. But his news-conference pique peaked when CNNs Jim Acosta tried to press the president over his characterization of the caravan of Central American refugees as an invasion. Acostas hey, look at me style does go overboard at times, but a reporters job is to ask the tough questions of people in power. The presidents duty is to answer them. Acostas question was legitimate. The White House does not get to choose which questions are fair game or which journalists or organizations get to cover the president of the United States. Yet within hours of that exchange, the White House suspended Acostas press credentials, falsely accusing Acosta of placing his hands on a young woman staffer who reached out to retrieve his microphone. The video showed no such misconduct. Then White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders doubled down on the propaganda campaign against Acosta by retweeting a doctored video that speeded up Acostas hand movement to make it appear more aggressive. Sanders said the White House would not tolerate the inappropriate behavior clearly documented in this video. On Friday, Trump hinted that more press credentials could be revoked. These tactics to selectively smear and banish journalists for doing their jobs are not uncommon in the world. They are standard fare in authoritarian regimes. They have no place in a democracy. President Trumps tone has changed, all right. Its gone from bad to worse. John Diaz is The San Francisco Chronicles editorial page editor. Email: jdiaz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnDiazChron Now Playing: Scenes of destruction in Paradise, Calif. Video: Gabrielle Lurie Californias fire records are beginning to mirror global climate records in that most of them have been set recently. The past two years have seen the states most destructive wildfire, five of its 20 deadliest fires, and its largest twice. The conflagrations now clearing whole towns around Chico and Los Angeles, and the vast smoke plume darkening Bay Area skies more than 150 miles from the burning Sierra Nevada foothills, affirm that a new climate has brought a new kind of Western wildfire: faster, more frightening and more likely to occur throughout the year, making the term fire season increasingly quaint. None of that means Californians have to throw up our hands or resort to wringing them while we wait for Washington to join Sacramento in taking climate change seriously and hope humanity can one day temper rising temperatures. Rather than absolve us of responsibility for the growing human and material devastation of wildfires what might be called the PG&E Postulate global warming should spur more urgent efforts to mitigate the danger with policies that make sense in any weather. Forget blue waves or red waves. The real story out of the 2018 midterm elections is the pink wave. Female voters, female campaign volunteers and female candidates turned out in unprecedented numbers . The number of women elected to office set records . They took seats away from men and Republicans and infused the political conversation with a new energy. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Republican women actually lost seats in Congress, a disturbing trend for that party and American democracy. We need women on both sides of the aisle, said Anne Moses, founder and president of Ignite, which recruits young women to run for office. We need to elect a new crop of people close to the issues on the ground. The midterm elections mobilized many first-time voters, typically young voters of color. Womens motivation to run for office and get involved in politics stemmed from many things, but President Trumps misogynist attitudes and dissing of the #MeToo movement certainly were key. While the testimony of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh animated Republican voters, the testimony of Kavanaughs accuser, Palo Alto psychology Professor Christine Blasey Ford, set off a firestorm among Democrat-leaning female voters. The result: 21 of the 23 seats the Democrats needed to retake power in the U.S. House of Representatives were won by women. Women will be 23 percent of the 116th Congress, which will welcome its first two Muslim women and its first two Native American women in history. And women got them there: A majority of women, 59 percent, compared with 47 percent of men, cast ballots for Democratic congressional candidates, according to the national exit poll conducted by Edison Research. It is established that women (except for women 65 and older) vote at higher rates than men. The pink wave was not solely a phenomenon of Washington. A record eight or more women joined the California Legislature, including four new Latina senators. The previous record was five. The voters got a chance to choose from a pool more richly diverse and representative of who we are than they have before, said Susannah Delano, executive director of Close the Gap, which is working to achieve gender equality in the Legislature. Despite this bump, gender balance in U.S. legislative bodies is below international norms. The U.N. Commission on the Status of Women notes that typically 30 percent of parliamentarians are women, with Rwanda and Bolivia exceeding 50 percent. Thirty percent is the tipping point to change the political conversation. And thats what we need to achieve through more widespread civic engagement. Women elected to office By the numbers In Washington 99 at least, a record for women in the House In the nation 9 or more, female governors (an increase of at least 3) In Sacramento 8 or more, women joined the Legislature - a historic gain 28%, women in the Legislature, up from 21% 24%, the national average of women in state legislatures Source: Close the Gap California See More Collapse The issues these women ran on are as diverse as they are but tended to be grassroots concerns water and climate, health care, the cost of living, aging, education. Voters noticed. Jocelyn Yow worked for Nancy Pelosi before returning to her hometown of Eastvale in conservative Riverside County to run for City Council. On Tuesday, she won. We are changing the conversation, she said. One election at a time. This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters. Democrat Josh Harder pulled ahead of GOP Rep. Jeff Denham on Friday evening in the closely watched contest for a Central Valley seat. The 1,300-vote lead that Denham, R-Turlock (Stanislaus County), had held disappeared when the results of late-arriving ballots were released. Harder, a former venture capitalist making his first run for office, now has about a 3,200-vote advantage, with an unknown number of votes still to be tallied. The Central Valley contest is one of four California congressional races that will help determine the strength of Democrats control of the House for the next two years, but were too close to call Friday, three days after election day. With piles of late-arriving mail and provisional ballots left to count, the campaigns were being cagey about making any predictions. No statement yet, said Luis Vizcaino, a top consultant for Democrat Katie Porter, who was running about 4,000 votes behind Republican Rep. Mimi Walters of Irvine (Orange County). Lots of votes still to be counted. Thats a tale that can be told across California. On Friday morning, the secretary of states office reported that there were more than 4.8 million votes left to count in the state. In Orange County alone, Registrar Neal Kelly said as many as 450,000 ballots were left to tally after election day, leaving some of the states hottest congressional races in a vote-counting limbo. We could be counting past Thanksgiving, he said. That makes for nervous times in some of the states most closely contested congressional contests. Democrats targeted seven GOP seats statewide because Hillary Clinton won those districts in the 2016 presidential election, but so far the results are clear in only three. Two have gone to Democrats and one to the Republican incumbent. Three of the four seats that are still up in the air are in Southern California. In the 39th District, Republican Young Kim of Fullerton (Orange County), a former assemblywoman, has seen her lead shrink since election day as more of those late votes have been counted. The five-point margin she held over Democrat Gil Cisneros is now just over two points, 51.1 to 48.9 percent, a lead of about 3,400 votes. The seat is now filled by retiring GOP Rep. Ed Royce. Democrats hold a growing lead in the 48th District, where businessman Harley Rouda is challenging 30-year GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa (Orange County). Rouda is ahead by about 4,700 votes, 51 to 49 percent, a lead has nearly doubled since election day. Walters holds a 51 to 49 percent edge over Porter, a UC Irvine law professor, but that difference has shrunk as well since election day. There are an estimated 70,000 votes or more to count in those Orange County districts. Californias tightest congressional race remains the one in the Central Valley. This race is still too close to call. That means we still have a fight ahead of us and we still need your help, Harder said in a post-election fundraising email to supporters. Well need to keep our staff on for a little longer, hire a lawyer and make sure we have everything we need to win this fair and square. The prospect of a long count in tight races has tempers fraying. In an email Friday, the Cisneros campaign charged that the Democratic candidates home in Yorba Linda (Orange County) home was vandalized and that someone shot out the window of a campaign office on election night. The huge number of uncounted ballots also leaves a couple of statewide races in play. In the contest for state insurance commissioner, Democrat Ricardo Lara leads independent Steve Poizner by about 120,000 votes. In the nonpartisan contest for state superintendent of public instruction, educational businessman Marshall Tuck holds a 69,000-vote lead over Assemblyman Tony Thurmond, D-Richmond. John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth Stephen Lam / Special to The Chronicle The standings of the five district races for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors have barely budged since Tuesdays election. And there are still 124,000 votes to count. As they held clear leads over their competitors, incumbent Supervisor Catherine Stefani in District Two, Gordon Mar in District Four, Matt Haney in District Six, incumbent Supervisor Rafael Mandelman in District Eight and Shamann Walton in District 10 have already claimed their victories. SACRAMENTO As a troubling history emerged of the killer who took 12 lives in a Southern California bar, a San Francisco lawmaker said Friday he would renew efforts to pass a twice-vetoed bill that would broaden courts ability to temporarily take away guns from unstable people. Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, said he believes he has a better chance of passing the bill next year for one reason: the election of Gavin Newsom as governor. Gov. Jerry Brown twice vetoed Ting-authored bills that would have allowed a broader range of people to petition a court for gun restraining orders against unstable people. Newsom said this week he wants to pursue additional gun-safety bills, including some vetoed by Brown, leaving Ting hopeful. The states seldom-used gun-restraining-order law now allows law enforcement officers, immediate family members and roommates to petition a court to remove guns from a person for 21 days. Such restraining orders can be extended for a year. Ting plans to reintroduce a version of his vetoed bills next month. It would allow teachers, co-workers and employers to request the orders. Im convinced this is a good tool, Ting said. This weeks massacre was committed by a man who opened fire in a bar in Thousand Oaks (Ventura County) with a handgun that had an extended magazine, authorities said. He killed 12 people, including a sheriffs sergeant and a Pepperdine University student from Napa. Those who knew the killer, who was found dead after the massacre, have said he was prone to angry outbursts and possibly suffered from post-traumatic stress from service in the Marines. A former high school teacher told the Los Angeles Times that he assaulted her when he was a student in 2008. In April, officers responded to a disturbance call at the killers home and found him acting irrationally, said Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean. But, after a mental health evaluation, the man was deemed not eligible for an involuntary psychiatric hold. Mental health experts say too many people who are unstable but not enough so for an involuntary hold are able to possess guns. The states gun violence restraining order is intended to bridge that gap, but the law is seldom used. I dont know why his guns werent taken away, Ting said. And now 12 people have paid with their lives. The first-of-its-kind law was written by state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, after a 22-year-old man killed six people in Isla Vista near UC Santa Barbara in 2014. Before those slayings, the killers mother had expressed concerns about his mental health after seeing his online postings. That prompted a wellness check by police, but law enforcement officials said there was little else they could do. Since California passed its gun-restraining-order law, 13 states have enacted similar policies, including eight states this year, said Garen Wintemute, an emergency room doctor at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento and director of the University of California Firearm Violence Research Center. The center is collecting and evaluating data from gun-restraining-order cases in California. It has found a steady increase each year since the law took effect in 2016. Still, the law is vastly underused, Wintemute said. It is effective in the cases in which it has been invoked, he said. I am personally aware of two mass shootings that did not occur because of gun restraining orders, Wintemute said. He said that in those cases, both in Southern California, a person made a credible threat and then tried to buy guns. During the states 10-day waiting period, officers filed gun restraining orders that prevented the two from buying firearms. California has been behind the curve in getting the word out that these even exist, Wintemute said. Weve had maybe 300 over the three years, and we are a state with 40 million people. The gun restraining order is similar to obtaining a domestic violence restraining order. People who are subject to one are also barred from buying firearms or ammunition. Statewide, 189 petitions for gun violence restraining orders were granted in 2016 and 2017, state Justice Department figures show. Data from 2018 were not available Friday. Family members accounted for just 12 of those requests in 2016 and 2017 the rest came from law enforcement. In Ventura County, where the bar massacre happened, law enforcement officials used the law four times in 2016 and 2017. None of the gun restraining orders came at the request of family members or roommates. Ting said the state needs to do more to ensure that officers and the public know that the law exists. His previous bills have faced opposition from both the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Rifle Association, an unlikely pairing in the state Capitol. The ACLU opposed the measure because it feared it could be used against people who werent actually unstable. Craig DeLuz, a spokesman for the Firearms Policy Coalition, a gun-rights group in Sacramento, said gun restraining orders are unfairly granted before a person has a chance to respond. People have a right to due process, DeLuz said Friday. If we get rid of due process in this case, what is prohibiting that from happening in other instances? Melody Gutierrez is The San Francisco Chronicles Sacramento bureau chief. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez More than into the teeth of the wind, CHP's Golden Gate Air Operations is flying into the face of death and has the pictures to prove it. Giant plumes of smoke have created flying conditions with almost no visibility at the site of the Camp Fire in Butte County, but operations are continuing to help those on the ground. The CHP Golden Gate Air Operations posted photos on its Facebook page on Friday from inside the cockpit of aircraft that showed what what looked like impossible flying conditions. Come January, the banking industry is going to be on Rep. Maxine Waters time. With Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives in last weeks election, Waters is expected to become chairwoman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, which oversees the nations banking system and its regulators. Waters is no friend to the nations biggest banks and Wall Street, and has been a vocal critic of President Trump and his administration. The congresswoman from Los Angeles has called for more regulation of banks, and has opposed Trumps political appointees moving to roll back regulations on banks and other financial services companies. For example, Waters, along with several other Democrats, were no votes on a banking industry bill that rolled back several parts of the Dodd-Frank Act, the law passed under President Barack Obama that more tightly regulated banks after the financial crisis. In the Senate, the bill was supported by several Democrats and was signed into law this summer by Trump. With a Republican-controlled Senate and Trump in the White House, it is unlikely Waters proposed regulations on banks will make it into law. However, its also much less likely that any substantial new deregulatory bills get through, either. Where Waters and Democrats will likely have the most power will be in her subpoena and investigatory powers that come as head of the committee. One particular target for Waters will likely be the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Since Republicans took over the watchdog agency last year, the CFPB has made many about-faces on rules and regulations that it wrote under the Obama administration. The CFPB has not faced much congressional oversight since Mick Mulvaney, Trumps budget director and acting director of the CFPB, took over. Trump has nominated Kathy Kraninger, who worked under Mulvaney in the Office of Management and Budget, to be the next permanent director of the bureau. If she is confirmed, which is likely since Republicans currently have a majority in the Senate and extended their gains in the election, any moves she and the bureau make will likely come under increased scrutiny of Waters committee. Indeed, Waters indicated in a statement last week that a priority will be ensuring that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can be allowed to resume its essential role of protecting consumers from harmful practices without interference from the Trump Administration. Banks and their executives also are more likely to be called to testify in front of Congress. Democrats both in the House and Senate have been increasingly vocal about bringing scandal-plagued Wells Fargo in front of Congress again to discuss some of the banks more recent missteps. Theres also likely to be more scrutiny of Deutsche Bank, which had been the primary financier of Trumps business entities since before he became president. Banking groups have said in interviews that they are eager to work on banking issues both parties can agree on. That could include student loans and other minor changes to laws on the books that govern how much capital banks are required to carry. But there are things that will be outside of the control of Waters and congressional Democrats. Most banking laws give the regulators who oversee the industry the Federal Reserve, CFPB, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and others wide authority to tailor regulations as needed. Nearly all of the positions at those regulators are now filled by Trump appointees. Democrats could investigate and scrutinize any regulators changes. To do anything more substantial, like using the Congressional Review Act as Republicans did last year, would require cooperation from the Republican-controlled Senate and Trumps signature. Ken Sweet is an Associated Press writer. In a remote corner of the Sierra Nevada, a financial experiment is about to begin. Once this winters snow melts, workers will cut down small trees and burn undergrowth across 5,000 acres of the Tahoe National Forest. But those workers wont be paid by the U.S. Forest Service or any other public agency that typically funds forestry projects. Instead, the roughly $4 million will come from two foundations, an investment firm and an insurance company which hope to make money on the deal. The forestry project, set to begin next summer, is the first financed by a forest resilience bond created by the nonprofit World Resources Institute and startup Blue Forest Conservation. The San Francisco firm was founded by a group of UC Berkeley business school graduates with the goal of persuading profit-seeking investors to pay for work that reduces the risk of costly wildfires and potentially eases the risk of drought. The Tahoe project is a big deal for Blue Forest and is the culmination of more than three years of work. But its also a first step, one that the companys founders hope will lead to much larger projects costing tens of millions of dollars and covering vast parts of overgrown, fire-prone forests in Western states. Just signing the contract is already a success, said Leigh Madeira, a Blue Forest founder. But we dont want to be doing just one project. We want to be doing this on a bigger scale in multiple watersheds in multiple states. The forest resilience bond works like this: Investors put up the cash to pay for forest thinning. Theyll be repaid over time, with interest, by public agencies or other entities that want the work done but cant pay for it all at once. In this case, the roughly $4 million comes from CSAA Insurance Group part of AAA and investment firm Calvert Impact Capital, the Rockefeller Foundation and Palo Altos Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. They will lend that money to the National Forest Foundation, which will hire the contractors and manage the forestry work. CSAA and Calvert will earn 4 percent on their money more than the 3 percent they might earn on government bonds while the foundations will earn 1 percent. The money to repay the bonds will come from annual payments from the Yuba Water Agency, a public water utility, and a grant from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire. For the investors, the appeal of the fire bond is more than just the return on investment. Linc Walworth, vice president of investments for CSAA, said the insurance company last year alone had 5,000 wildfire-related insurance claims. Investing in a healthier forest could mean having to pay fewer claims. To the extent we can reduce the risk of wildfire in California, thats good business for us, he said. For Calvert, a Maryland firm that specializes in what it calls impact investments ones that earn financial returns but also promote environmental stewardship, community development or other social benefits the bond fits with its goals. There are air quality benefits, water quality benefits, job creation, said Jacqueline Westley, a senior investment officer at Calvert. Its exactly the sort of thing we want to invest in. Just as important, though, money is lined up to repay the investors. Theyve built something we can channel capital to, Westley said. We see a lot of programs come across our desk that are not investable theyre entirely too risky or theres no source of repayment. A key benefit of the bond program is that, by using private financing on the front end, it allows work to happen now instead of waiting for public resources to become available. The U.S. Forest Service, which maintains the health of national forest land, has a backlog of tens of millions of acres worth of forest rehabilitation work that could cost billions of dollars to complete. Jason Ko, a Forest Service program manager, said if it were left to his agency alone, the project being financed through Blue Forest would take seven to 10 years. With Blue Forest, it should be done in less than four. This would have waited until we had more money, Ko said. This allows us to do it now. Yuba Water, which has pledged $1.5 million over five years to help repay the bonds, is spending an unprecedented amount for a utility on a project of this type, said Sherry Reckler, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Services California operations. This is the first time weve had a water agency willing to invest such a large sum, she said. The water agency hopes to get benefits from the project that could more than offset its financial contribution. Less debris and sediment can translate into big savings for Yuba Water. After heavy rains in the spring of 2017, the agency spent more than $5 million removing debris and sediment from its reservoirs. Cal Fire already pays for forest thinning through grant programs aimed at reducing fire risk and protecting watersheds. But those grants are not paid until work is completed, so the agency or nonprofit doing the work usually has to front the money itself, said Marcus Selig of the National Forest Foundation. That limits the amount of work the foundation and others can do. On this project, a Cal Fire grant will ultimately cover much of the cost of the work, but it will be private investors, not the National Forest Foundation, that will pay for the work up front. That frees up our resources so we can get more work done, Selig said. We do around $15 million to $20 million of work a year, and its not uncommon for us to get pretty strained. Yuba Water is willing to pay into the program because it wants the fire bond idea to take off. If more utilities, other public agencies or companies that benefit from healthy forests pay for forestry work, it could defray the cost for all parties and lead to more work being done in less time. Blue Forest hopes the Tahoe pilot project will help show that thinner forests use less water and allow more water to flow downstream. With enough data, co-founder Zach Knight said, Blue Forest may be able to persuade big water users such as farms, breweries and beverage bottling companies and power companies that generate electricity with hydroelectric dams to pay into future bond projects. The company may even be able to sell carbon credits if it can measure the carbon benefit of a forest that is less prone to burn. There is just so much interest from investors, Madeira said. Investors want to be funding things like this, but they dont exist. James Rufus Koren is a Los Angeles Times writer. Who would have predicted two years ago that free credit freezes would become the law of the land after the Equifax hack, with business-friendly Republicans controlling Congress? Or that a $350 million fix for the troubled federal public service loan forgiveness program would emerge even as the White House proposed killing off the program? Because Washington is so unpredictable these days, we see no reason to give up hope that sensible efforts to improve the personal finances of millions of people might somehow bear fruit. Here are six initiatives with support from both parties that are worth watching especially closely in the next two years: Better data on college graduate earnings: There is little insight into how much money people with different majors make, and whether different kinds of people with the same major end up earning different amounts. Lets say youre trying to figure out whether people with a particular major from an expensive private college earn more money than people who went to a nearby state university. Or youre a minority student who wants to know how minority science majors fare after graduation. Schools tend to track these kinds of things carefully, but it is often impossible to get such data on every student. A variety of bills, like last years College Transparency Act, have tried to change this, with a wide range of bipartisan supporters. In any search for compromise amid the current discussion about reauthorization of a major higher education bill, this might be the moment that transparency wins the day. Reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers: Under federal law, companies dont have to make any adjustments for their pregnant employees. They are under no obligation to provide an extra break, for example, unless the company already does so for other workers. A bill called the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would change that at organizations with more than 15 employees. Companies would be required to make reasonable accommodations to workers affected by pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition, as long as those accommodations did not cause an undue hardship for the business. That means workers might be able to get a different assignment, receive additional breaks or not lift items over a certain weight. Employers would also be barred from denying job opportunities to people who needed such modifications. That is one that should be a no-brainer for Democrats and Republicans to come together on, said Vicki Shabo, vice president at the National Partnership for Women and Families, an advocacy group. Expanded tax breaks for paid family or medical leave: The vast majority of American workers do not have access to paid family leave. The Family Medical Leave Act allows certain workers at larger employers and public agencies to take up to 12 weeks off each year but the leave is unpaid, and only about 59 percent of workers qualify for it. State paid-leave programs are up and running only in California, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island, though three states more will add them in the next few years. The big tax overhaul passed last year included a tax break to encourage employers to provide paid leave for at least two weeks for at least half of the workers pay to those who earn $72,000 or less and have worked for at least a year. The tax credit covers up to 25 percent of the money paid out during a workers leave. But few businesses are likely to have established a program; the IRS came out with guidance only in September. A new bill would extend the credit through 2022, giving businesses more time to adopt leave programs and provide Congress with more data to determine whether the tax credit really encouraged employers to provide paid leave. Though the idea has received some bipartisan support, critics arent optimistic that dangling a tax credit in front of employers will go far enough. Anna Chu, vice president for strategy and policy at the National Womens Law Center, said tax credits rarely prodded businesses particularly those that employ lower-income workers to create a new benefit. What happens is you are simply rewarding businesses who are already doing this, she said. Expansion of medical expense tax deductions: When they began to rewrite the tax code last year, Republicans opening gambit was to do away with tax deductions for medical expenses. But that prompted howls of outrage from people with disabilities, parents of special-needs children and older Americans (whose nursing home costs are generally deductible). Republicans reversed themselves, and then some: The final bill allows people to deduct any such costs that exceed 7.5 percent of their adjusted gross income; the previous threshold was 10 percent. There is a catch, though: That 7.5 percent was only for 2017 and 2018. Next year, absent legislative action, the hurdle will revert to 10 percent. If that happens, it will feel uncomfortably like a tax increase on the old and the sick. So look for a compromise here, too. Elimination of surprise medical bills: While the Affordable Care Act generally caps what consumers must spend out of pocket when using providers in their plans network, it doesnt protect consumers from large bills from outside providers. Those providers may be free to charge the consumer for the balance of the bill that the insurer did not pay, known as balance billing. In some cases, those charges can run into six figures. A proposed bill with bipartisan support would help patients in a few different situations. For example, youd be responsible only for what you would pay under your insurance plan when treated for an emergency by an out-of-network provider at an out-of-network facility. The same logic would apply if you were treated at a hospital in your plans network but saw a doctor who was out of network. Curbs on black marks from medical debt: Medical debt is part of a toxic stew of error-prone providers, outsourced billing, inscrutable so-called explanations of benefits and high costs for people who lack insurance (or good insurance). Because of this, lenders who dont believe the data is useful can and do ignore this debt altogether when making a credit decision. But it can still hurt your credit score, and you cant be sure which lenders will end up caring about that. One new law, which passed while Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate, removes many kinds of medical debts from the credit reports of veterans if the debts are less than a year old. And a recent legal settlement should keep any such debt off everyones credit reports if its less than six months old. Ed Mierzwinski, senior director at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, noted that there had been a history of bipartisan support for even broader restrictions. So there is reason, given the recent momentum, to believe that a new bill could gain traction even if there isnt one currently in the works. The new Congress could work across the aisle to further limit the harms caused by medical debt, he said. Ron Lieber and Tara Siegel Bernard are New York Times writers. An iconic Butte County bridge that connected Chico to Paradise was destroyed in the Camp Fire. It is thought to be the last surviving structure a three-span Pratt-style truss bridge of its kind in the United States. The Honey Run Covered Bridge was built in 1886 as a crossing for Butte Creek. In 1988, the structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places. By Friday, the popular gathering and photo spot was reduced to a pile of ash. All that remained of the structure were its bright red trusses that lifted the bridge a few feet above the creek. The bridge served as the first road between Chico and Paradise, a necessary crossing after the discovery of gold in Butte County in the late-19th century, according to the website of the Honey Run Covered Bridge Association. After the wooden cover was added in 1901, the bridge was in continuous use until a panel truck slammed into the creaky structure in 1965. Because the damage was so extensive, the county decided to build a new bridge a few yards upstream. Residents were so disturbed by the idea of tearing down the bridge, they formed the Honey Run Covered Bridge Association to preserve and maintain it. When the 2008 Humboldt Fire threatened the bridge, firefighters reportedly told their managers that they would save the bridge over the nearby fire station, according to the Chico Enterprise Register. Both were saved from the conflagration thanks to a low-flying tanker's timely retardant drop. The bridge would not survive a second tango with wildfire, nor would the caretaker's house nearby, the Register said. It is not known if the fire station survived. Read Michelle Robertson's latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com. Start receiving breaking news emails on wildfires, civil emergencies, riots, national breaking news, Amber Alerts, weather emergencies, and other critical events with the SFGATE breaking news email. Click here to make sure you get the news. Actor Martin Sheen says the Southern California wildfire that's ravaged the coastal community of Malibu is the worst he's ever seen. The "West Wing" actor was interviewed by Los Angeles Fox affiliate KTTV Friday night on the beach after evacuating from his nearby home. He says he expects his house has been destroyed and that he's never seen a fire that has burned with such intensity. As the Camp Fire rages on in Northern California, the Oakland A's have stepped up to make a substantial donation to those affected by the Camp Fire near Chico. The baseball team set up a GoFundMe page late Friday afternoon. "The Oakland Athletics Community Fund will donate all proceeds from this campaign to the American Red Cross of Northern California to assist in short-term and long-term recovery efforts by providing critical services including emergency food distribution, shelter, and healthcare," the fundraiser description reads. RELATED: How you can help those affected by the Camp Fire in Northern California The A's hope to raise an additional $10k from members of the community. The San Francisco 49ers also announced Friday that the football team would be "supporting our Bay Area neighbors by contributing to the North Valley Community Foundation who are helping support on the ground." Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira. Street lamps flickered on and drivers activated their headlights as a disconcerting darkness hovered over Chico, California, on Friday afternoon. Earlier in the week, the forecast promised sunshine and 70-degree temperatures, but residents on Friday largely stayed indoors, their lights turned on, as wildfire smoke choked the air and blocked out sunlight. "It's similar to a total eclipse," said Matt Johnson on Twitter. He said it felt "very cold ... like 50 degrees." FULL FIRE COVERAGE HERE Chico is just miles from the Camp Fire, which started early Thursday morning and had consumed more than 70,000 acres by the next day. Officials have confirmed five fatalities, and said at least 2,000 structures were destroyed. More than 52,000 people evacuated Thursday and Friday as the fire continued to burn with just 5 percent containment. In Chico, officials ordered evacuations for the Canyon Oaks subdivision and the area east of Bruce Road between Highway 32 to E. 20th Street. BIZARRE WEATHER: Dryer than Sahara, temps plunging to 20s, 60MPH wind: California is becoming Mars University officials canceled classes at California State University-Chico for Friday. Those who remained in the Butte County city said daytime looked like night, the sun blocked by heavy sheaves of smoke. "Think about lighting right after the sun sets and add a sepia filter and that's what Chico looks like," one woman remarked on Twitter. Another resident said on Twitter that the smoke muffled sound so severely, she could barely hear the rumblings of firefighting aircraft taking off from the airport a mile away. Even in San Francisco, roughly 180 miles southwest of the Camp Fire, the smoke layer from the wildfire was so thick on Friday afternoon, 3 p.m. felt more like 7 p.m. The sun peeked through the thick grayness only intermittently throughout the day. The air in the Bay Area was more hazardous than notoriously smoggy Beijing's, prompting officials to warn people to avoid going outside. Schools in several districts canceled classes because of the smoke. Pedestrians wearing masks and scarves on their faces were common sights on city streets, as people did what they could to avoid breathing the small, hazardous particles contained in wood smoke. "We're going to have smoke throughout the day and probably into early next week due to the weather pattern," said Kristine Roselius, a spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Forecasters see no fundamental shift in the weather over the next several days, and warned of a possible return of fire-watch weather in the Bay Area this weekend. The agency rated Bay Area air quality as "unhealthy." It advised people to limit their time outdoors, keep windows closed and set air conditioners to recirculate. Winds from the north-northeast will continue to push smoke from the Camp Fire to the Bay Area for several days, officials said. The air will be smokiest in the North and East Bay and in San Francisco, Roselius said. For The San Francisco Chronicle's full wildfire coverage, click here. Ashley McBride, a Chronicle staff writer, and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Read Michelle Robertson's latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com. Start receiving breaking news emails on wildfires, civil emergencies, riots, national breaking news, Amber Alerts, weather emergencies, and other critical events with the SFGATE breaking news email. Click here to make sure you get the news. PARADISE, Butte County Fourteen more bodies were recovered Saturday by coroners search crews, bringing the total number of people killed in the Camp Fire to 23, officials said at an evening news conference. The Camp Fire in Butte County grew to 105,000 acres, or 164 square miles, by Saturday evening and fire officials warned that weather conditions were changing for the worse, with high winds through Monday morning pushing the blaze and firefighting even more difficult. The blaze, which ignited Thursday, still threatens 15,000 structures. The fire has destroyed 6,453 single-family homes and 260 commercial buildings, making it the most destructive in California history. The new death toll also makes the Camp Fire the third-deadliest in state history. The 1933 Griffith Park Fire in Los Angeles claimed 29 lives, while 25 died in the 1991 Oakland hills firestorm. County officials said they have four coroners search and recovery teams working to find remains and are adding an additional team on Sunday. More than 100 people remained missing Saturday night. Officials are also bringing in a DNA lab truck so that people with missing relatives can provide DNA samples to help identify recovered remains. Anthropologists are helping identify bones and bone fragments sifted from scorched rubble. The blaze grew by about 5,000 acres Saturday, mostly around the fires heel, near Highway 32 and along the Feather River Canyon. Containment levels held steady at 20 percent for most of the day, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. An estimated 52,000 people have been forced from their homes. Deteriorating weather conditions could make it harder to contain the blaze in coming days. Cal Fire and the National Weather Service were particularly wary of Saturdays overnight forecast, which called for blustery winds from the northeast of up to 50 miles per hour in some regions. The prospect of gusting winds pushing the fire across Butte Countys parched terrain prompted officials to issue a red-flag warning that will remain in effect until 7 a.m. Monday. Conditions are ripe to produce extreme fire behavior, including dangerous rates of spread, Cal Fire said in an incident report Saturday night. Officials warned that the conditions could mirror those that pushed the blaze through the town of Paradise Thursday, ravaging the community. Fire officials said another flank of the blaze continues to burn to the southwest, toward Big Bend and Berry Creek. The cause of the fire remains unknown. The fire is currently under investigation, said Janet Upton, a Cal Fire spokeswoman. Investigators are looking into potential causes, including the possibility the fire was sparked by electrical equipment. On Friday, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. informed state regulators that a high-voltage power line near the area where the fire started experienced a problem just before the first flames appeared. PG&E also said Friday that it would not preemptively cut power in the area as a safety precaution, though the utility has turned off electricty in some locations at the request of of first responders, PG&E spokeswoman Angela Lombardi said. On Saturday morning, new evacuation warnings were issued for the communities of Berry Creek, Brush Creek, Mountain House and Bloomer Hill. Downtown Paradise was an eerie gray heap of ash and debris, although the fickle nature of the firestorm left a Walgreens and a Starbucks largely intact while, nearby, a Burger King and Jack-in-the-Box were leveled and gone. How to help Evacuees are in need of warm clothes, shoes and socks, and donations of such items are being accepted at the Hope Center in Oroville at 1950 Kitrick Ave., Suite A. Monetary donations may be made to the North Valley Community Foundation through its website (www.nvcf.org/fund/camp-fire-evacuation-relief-fund), according to Butte County's website. Monetary donations may also be made to the American Red Cross. Visit www. redcross.org, call 800-733-2767 or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. See More Collapse The Attic Treasures antique store remained standing, with its treasures still on display through gritty windows. But businesses alongside were destroyed. Downed power lines lay in tangles on the street while PG&E crews worked to clear them. On Lisa Lane, a half-mile northeast of downtown, a 63-year-old man and his roommate stayed put and battled the blaze for 14 hours because his 90-year-old mother refused to leave. Brad Weldon said he and Mic McCrary stayed behind because Weldons mother, Norma, who is blind and immobile, told him, F you, Im not leaving. Using garden hoses and five-gallon buckets, Weldon said he kept his home intact but could not save his his neighbors homes, which burned. I felt like I was fighting an elephant with a piece of spaghetti, Weldon said. I know many of you are worried whether you have a home, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told a weary, quiet crowd that packed a Chico State University auditorium Saturday night for an update on the fire. There were sighs and a few tears when Honea told them the death toll had risen to 23. One man stood to ask whether anyone had seen his mother and gave her name. Im hoping she is listening or is here, he said. A voice from the crowd replied, I saw her today at Walmart. Five emergency shelters, including the Butte County Fairgrounds in Gridley and the Glenn County Fairgrounds in Orland, were full and accepting no additional evacuees. Space remained at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds in Yuba City and at the Chester (Plumas County) Memorial Hall in Chester. Veterans Affairs clinics in Chico and Yuba City were closed until Tuesday for the Veterans Day holiday weekend, but the VA mobile centers are available in the fire zone to help veterans, the VA said. About 4,000 firefighters are battling the blaze, using 512 fire engines, 79 bulldozers and 23 helicopters. President Trump, in a tweet Saturday, said with no supporting evidence that the cause of the fire was gross mismanagement of the forests and threatened to withhold federal funds from the state. A spokesman for Gov. Jerry Brown called the presidents statements inane, uninformed tweets. Steve Rubenstein, Melody Gutierrez and Dominic Fracassa are a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com, mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @melodygutierrez @dominicfracassa In airline route news, low-cost Level will boost capacity at San Francisco and add an East Coast gateway; Lufthansa swaps planes on its SFO routes; China's Hainan plans new service to Seattle and Taiwan's EVA increases its schedule there; American unveils a number of new domestic regional routes; Alitalia is coming to the nation's capital; and Etihad adds more extra-legroom seats. Level, the low-cost affiliate of British Airways/Iberia parent International Airlines Group, plans to increase its new San Francisco-Barcelona schedule from two flights a week to three next summer, effective July 28. The airline recently moved its Barcelona flights to SFO from Oakland, where it was competing directly against Norwegian on the route. And Level will launch new Barcelona service on July 27 from New York JFK with three A330-200 flights a week. The carrier recently broke into the New York market by starting a route from Newark to Paris Orly. Level A330s have two classes: premium economy (recliner seats) and regular economy. See the layout here on SeatGuru. It's been offering remarkably low fares ($300-$400 roundtrip SFO-BCN) on and off over the last few weeks. The Airbus A340 wide-body flying Lufthansa's San Francisco-Munich route has been replaced with a larger A380. And on its SFO-Frankfurt route, the airline has done the reverse, putting an A340 into service in place of an A380. (It's the same change Lufthansa made at LAX last spring, replacing the LAX-Frankfurt A380 with an A340, and vice-versa for LAX-Munich.) However, Routesonline.com reports that the German carrier will make some temporary changes to that mix this winter, replacing the SFO-Frankfurt A340 with an A380 between December 18-23 and with a 747-8 from January 5-8. China's Hainan Airlines plans to begin service next month on a pair of new U.S. routes. On December 12, it will start flying out of Seattle three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) to Chongqing via a stop at Shanghai Pudong. And on December 11, it will inaugurate service on a Boston-Shanghai-Chongqing route with BOS departures on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Hainan will use a two-class 787-9 on the new routes. It already flies from Chongqing to Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Toronto. Also at Seattle, Taiwan's EVA plans to boost its SEA-Taipei schedule on July 7 of next year from daily service to 10 flights a week. The extra three flights will depart Seattle on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 1:40 a.m. using a 777-300ER. EVA is a member of United's Star Alliance. American Airlines has filed plans to start flying in a number of new regional domestic markets next spring. The biggest schedule bump will be at its Chicago O'Hare hub. On March 9, it will introduce weekly service from ORD to the Florida destinations of Destin/Ft. Walton Beach, Panama City and Pensacola with partners Envoy Air and Skywest. On April 2, American will start daily flights from ORD to Allentown/Bethlehem, Pa., and twice-daily service from O'Hare to State College, Pa., both with Envoy Air ERJ-145s; and on May 3 it begins daily ERJ-145 service from Chicago to Erie, Pa. Also on May 3, American will begin twice-daily flights from Erie to its Charlotte hub, a day after it terminates its existing Erie-Philadelphia service. At Los Angeles, American will add new daily service to Louisville with a mainline A319 and to Tulsa with a Compass Airlines E175, both starting April 2. American's Philadelphia hub will get new daily flights to Asheville, N.C. and to Chattanooga, Tenn., both with Piedmont Airlines ERJ-145s. And the airline will offer seasonal service from Washington Reagan National to Hilton Head Island, S.C., operating twice a week from May 4 through September 1 with a Republic Airlines E175. This week, American brought commercial airline service back to Cheyenne, Wyoming by introducing daily American Eagle CRJ-200 non-stops to Dallas/Ft. Worth. The Wyoming airport has been without commercial service since last spring when Great Lakes Airlines ended its turboprop flights there. Etihad Financially troubled Alitalia plans to start its first new U.S. route in eight years next spring by launching service five days a week between Rome and Washington Dulles. It previously operated Dulles-Milan flights until 2006. The new route will begin May 2 with a three-class A330-200. Alitalia, which filed for bankruptcy last year, could learn more about its fate next week when an Italian government commission is due to consider bids to take over the airline. One bidder is said to be Delta, another is the European carrier EasyJet, and a third is Italy's national railroad. The government is expected to retain a minority stake in the carrier. Alitalia is a member of Delta's SkyTeam alliance, along with Air France-KLM. Abu Dhabi's Etihad, which still flies to New York JFK, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington Dulles after dropping its San Francisco and Dallas routes, said it is refitting its long-haul fleet to add more extra-legroom seating in the main cabin, a product it calls Economy Space. The seats in this category provide seat pitch of up to 36 inches. The airline said that by next month, its 10 Airbus A380s will offer 80 Economy Space seats, up from the previous 20. By the end of next year, it will have expanded the extra-legroom section on its 777s and 787s as well, "increasing the total number of extra legroom seats by 560 percent," the airline said. Read all recent TravelSkills posts here Get twice-per-week updates from 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. Six suspicious fires that sparked inside Golden Gate Park over the course of just 24 hours prompted officials to boost police presence in the park. All fires, ranging from tiny blazes up to one that burned an acre, were in an isolated area near the Polo Field and the angling and casting ponds, between Metson Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. None of the fires threatened nearby residential and commercial neighborhoods, and no injuries were reported, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. San Francisco fire investigators (are) investigating (the) Golden Gate Park fires as suspicious, San Francisco fire Lt. Jonathan Baxter said in a statement. Two blazes broke out near the Polo Field on Friday afternoon, when the larger fire burned 1 acre, officials said. Both blazes were contained before 7 p.m. On Saturday morning, joggers lingered on the trail overlooking the scene where blackened branches twisted up from black soil. A single sprinkler in the middle of the debris showered water in a circular motion on surrounding dead branches and shrubs located between the Polo Field and the fly-casting pools. Some passersby, such as Elliott Lane of San Francisco, braved the rotating sprinkler and climbed to the base of the blackened earth, burned leaves crunching beneath his shoes with every step. He snapped some photos behind a charred tree. I live a mile away and heard about the fires from my roommate, so I came here to check it out, Lane said. Yellow caution tape circled a fire scene near the angling and casting ponds, where a bike frame and lottery tickets were found among scattered papers. It is unclear if that area cordoned off by tape is a separate scene or connected to the roughly 1-acre blaze beside the trail. More than a dozen people lined the nearby ponds and cast their lines into the blue pools, despite the thick wildfire smoke swept in from the Camp Fire that blanketed the sky. Park rangers and police officers from Richmond Station will patrol the area where the blazes originated, park officials said. Fire officials are coordinating the investigation with the San Francisco Police Department and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. Anyone with information about the fires may call the San Francisco Fire Department at 415-920-2933 or email firepio@sfgov.org. Callers may remain anonymous. Fire officials advise parkgoers to call 911 if they see anything suspicious. Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor LOS ANGELES A wind-driven wildfire raged through Southern California communities on Friday, burning homes and forcing thousands of people to flee as it relentlessly pushed toward Malibu and the Pacific Ocean. Fire officials couldnt estimate how many buildings were lost from the Woolsey Fire burning in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, but said they were expected to be significant. Tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate, but there were no injuries to residents or firefighters, said Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief Dave Richardson. The fire was one of two that broke out Thursday in Ventura County even as the area was reeling from the deadly mass shooting at a crowded bar in Thousand Oaks. Another California fire 475 miles to the north leveled much of the town of Paradise (Butte County) as it quadrupled in size. Firefighting resources were stretched thin. The challenges are, number one, competing resources, Richardson said. We all know this is the second fire that occurred in Ventura County, and its on the heels of whats happened up in Northern California where theyve had devastating loss in Butte County. Firefighters had hoped to stop the Woolsey Fires march south at the wide expanse of Highway 101, but it jumped the freeway as the regions notorious Santa Ana winds spiked in the early morning hours Friday. The fire then climbed rapidly into the Santa Monica Mountains and raced toward the coast. The perimeter is now the Pacific Ocean, Richardson said. Evacuations were ordered for all communities south of Highway 101, including Malibu, where the population of 13,000 includes many celebrities. The Hill Fire, farther west in Ventura County, was also moving toward the ocean, but its pace was slowed as it moved into the footprint of a 2013 wildfire that devoured vegetation on the far end of the Santa Monica range. John Antczak is an Associated Press writer. Photo: Kirk Penton The Business Development Bank of Canadas chief economist says its crucial for Okanagan businesses to invest in technology. Before they do that, however, they must come up with a calculated plan of attack. Pierre Cleroux, the vice-president of the government agency, was in Kelowna Thursday for a chamber of commerce breakfast at the Best Western Hotel, where he provided evidence that investing in technology is a good way to make money. It pays, Cleroux told the room full of business leaders. Companies in Canada who have invested in technology have higher sales growth, higher profit growth, are more likely to export and to innovate more. Frankly, as a researcher, I was surprised by that, because I thought it was important to invest to be competitive in the next five years. Well actually, the research is showing that companies that are investing today are already performing better. For more on this story, visit Okanagan Edge. I spent 40 years in Saskatchewan and am now a B.C. resident for 18 years. I believe whole heartedly in not changing our time here in B.C. Humans are wired for routine. Changing the time messes with peoples routine and their psyche. I noticed the sun going down the other night, and in my mind I instinctually started to prepare for the night. But it was only 5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan has not changed its time since 1961 and survives just fine with the rest of the world. Ben Franklin proposed that DST gave farmers more time during the summer to tend to their crops. In Saskatchewan, during the summer, the sun comes up about 4:30 a.m. and stays up till about 9:30-10 p.m. How the heck does switching the time for one hour help anyone who already has sun for 18 hours a day? I know the world is 25,000+ miles around, but for the sake of argument lets say its 24,000. And there is 24 hours in a day. So, logically, there should be a time zone every 1,000 miles. If Saskatchewan finds the sun at high noon every day of the year, then here in B.C. you will find the same thing happening (more or less). I call it daylight balancing. Whats there not to like about keeping our time the same all year long? Just because the majority of Canada and the U.S. change their time, doesnt make it right or smart. It's OK to be different. One province or state will start to realize the benefits, and then the next, and the next. That's how change happens. Bill Ferguson SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, announced today he plans on reintroducing a gun violence restraining order bill--vetoed twice now by Gov. Jerry Brown--in light of the mass shooting in Thousand Oaks this week. On Wednesday, a gunman shot and killed 12 people at the Borderline Bar and Grill, including a Ventura County sheriff's sergeant. The gunman also reportedly died in the shooting. The bill would expand the list of people who can file for a gun violence restraining order, in which a person's firearms are taken away for 21 days, or in some cases for up to a year, if they're proven to be a lethal threat to themselves or someone else. The current law allows only law enforcement and close family members to file for a gun violence restraining order. Ting's bill would allow employers and coworkers to file, as well as the employees of high schools and colleges that the person in question has attended within the last six months. The original bill was introduced in February, following a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, which killed 17 students and faculty members and wounded 17 others. With Brown's term ending and Gavin Newsom set to be sworn-in as governor in January, Ting said he's hopeful the bill can pass now. "Gun Violence Restraining Orders are one of the most effective ways to prevent tragedies," Ting said in a statement. "With an incoming governor who is open to sensible gun regulations, the Thousand Oaks shooting has compelled me to try again and reintroduce legislation that gives more people access to this lifesaving tool." Ting is set to reintroduce the legislation on Dec. 3 when the California State Assembly meets again. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) A lawsuit filed today in federal court in San Francisco challenges an executive order issued today by President Donald Trump allowing migrants to seek asylum in the U.S. only if they enter lawfully at a port of entry. The executive order may stop people from illegally entering the U.S. from the Mexican-U.S. border. The suit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, as well as the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, Al Otro Lado, Innovation Law Lab and the Central American Resource Center in Los Angeles. "President Trump's new asylum ban is illegal. Neither the president nor his cabinet secretaries can override the clear commands of U.S. law, but that's exactly what they're trying to do," Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, said in a statement. "This action undermines the rule of law and is a great moral failure because it tries to take away protections from individuals facing persecution--it's the opposite of what America should stand for." Trump wrote in the executive order, "The U.S. has a long and proud history of offering protection to aliens who are fleeing persecution and torture and who qualify under the standards articulated in our immigration laws, including through our asylum system and the Refugee Admissions Program. But our system is being overwhelmed by migration through our southern border. "Crossing the border to avoid detection and then, if apprehended, claiming a fear of persecution is in too many instances an avenue to near-automatic release into the interior of the U.S. Once released, such aliens are very difficult to remove," he wrote. According to the lawsuit, federal law guarantees that anyone who is not a citizen but arrives in the U.S. or at a designated port of entry is entitled to apply for asylum and that Trump's executive order violates the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 and the Administrative Procedure Act. In a statement, Melissa Crow, senior supervising attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center said, "The asylum ban, coupled with CBP's (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) widespread practice and policy of turning back individuals attempting to seek asylum at ports of entry, would effectively deny protection to thousands of vulnerable individuals. The government's blatant disregard for the rights of asylum seekers cannot stand." Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Photo: The Canadian Press New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, centre, with the members of his executive council. New Brunswick's new Tory government has taken power, with a 17-member cabinet that includes four women and the party's lone francophone MLA as deputy premier. "Today it has been entrusted upon us for the next chapter in New Brunswick's story," Premier Blaine Higgs said after being sworn-in as the province's 34th premier. The ceremony, in the provincial legislature Friday, came just a week after the Liberal government of Brian Gallant was defeated on a confidence vote. At the age of 64, Higgs is the oldest person to assume the job of premier in a province with a history of choosing young leaders. Higgs thanked friends, family and supporters, and asked for the help of all New Brunswickers to fix the problems facing the province. "I humbly ask each and every one of you to help me in meeting that responsibility. This cannot be accomplished alone," he said. Higgs named a cabinet of 17 ministers, including himself. Robert Gauvin, the Tories' lone member in northern New Brunswick, has been named deputy premier and minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage. The entertainer and playwright said while he's a francophone from the north, he looks forward to working with people from across the province. "We'll have to roll up our sleeves and talk to each other, find ways to respect each other, and get the job done," he said. There are four women in cabinet, including rookie Andrea Anderson-Mason, who becomes minister of Justice and Attorney General. Ted Flemming returns to cabinet as minister of Health a position he held under the former government of then-premier David Alward. Flemming said he'll work quickly to help find a solution to the paramedic shortage that has impacted ambulance service in the province. "I'm going to study the situation, and we're going to move forward, and you're not going to have to wait around a long time," Flemming said. On Friday, Higgs repeated a pledge to find a solution in a week, saying he'll be able to make an announcement by next Friday. At the age of 71, former member of Parliament Greg Thompson has been named minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. Dominic Cardy, the province's former NDP leader who ran for the Tories in September's election, was named minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. Standings in the 49-seat legislature are 22 Tories, 21 Liberals, three Green party members and three People's Alliance MLAs. The three members of the People's Alliance party have committed to supporting the Tory government on votes of confidence for at least 18 months, but have not signed any formal agreement with them. SAN JOSE (BCN) Striking Marriott hotel workers have ratified an agreement to end their 37-day labor dispute, union leaders announced Friday on social media. No details about the agreement with Unite Here Local 19 in San Jose were immediately available. Marriott workers in Oakland ratified their contract earlier this month, but hotel workers in San Francisco remain on strike. "We congratulate our brothers and sisters in San Jose on a life-changing contract that makes one job enough for hotel workers," Anand Singh, president of Unite Here Local 2 in San Francisco, said in a statement. "We've always known that Marriott has the means to settle this strike, and we're prepared to fight for as long it takes. "It's past time for Marriott to get serious about fair wages, affordable health care, safe workloads and job security for the 2,500 San Francisco workers who are now in their sixth week on strike." Marriott confirmed today that the contract with San Jose workers has been ratified. "We look forward to welcoming our associates back at work," a company spokesman said in a statement. Workers at the hotels went on strike to demand higher pay, more job security and smaller workloads. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. OAKLAND (BCN) The Port of Oakland is on track in 2018 for its third straight year of record container cargo volume despite a tit-for-tat tariff spat between the U.S. and China, port officials said today. However, the consensus of experts at the quarterly meeting of the port's Efficiency Task Force this week is that cargo volume is spiking now but could drop by January, according to port officials. The task force consists of 40 trade and transportation executives ranging from longshore labor representatives to cargo owners. Among the trends that task force members noted are that warehouses are filling up as U.S. retailers import merchandise from Asia, shipping lines have added more than 30 extra voyages to regularly scheduled Transpacific services to transport larger container volumes and ports up and down the West Coast have reported unprecedented cargo volume growth since mid-summer. The shipping experts said the reasons for the cargo spike vary, including the possibility that it could be the result of a continued strong U.S. economy and that this is also peak season when importers order heavily for holiday merchandising. But task force members also said the spike could be the result of "frontloading," with shippers accelerating orders to beat the imposition of new tariffs on Chinese imports. "Imports are a good story, but the reason for the growth is still something of a mystery," Port of Oakland maritime director John Driscoll said in a statement. Driscoll said, "We suspect frontloading is part of the answer." Port officials said their import volume is up 2.7 percent over 2017, which was a record year for containerized cargo at the port. They said imports from China have increased 5 percent this year despite the tariff skirmish. However, Oakland exports to China have declined 33 percent in 2018, according to port officials. The officials attributed the decline to tough new Chinese restrictions on wastepaper shipments, which are an Oakland export staple. However, as Oakland's exports to China decline, other Asian nations are picking up the slack, the officials said. Export shipments to Vietnam soared 96 percent in September and exports to Taiwan increased 37 percent. Port officials said they expect to release its October cargo volume results next week. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. An existing $12 per year parcel tax that funds wildfire protection and other public safety efforts of the East Bay Regional Park District in western Alameda and Contra Costa counties was extended Tuesday due to broad voter support. Measure FF, which has been characterized by the East Bay Regional Park District as an extension of Measure CC from 2004, was on the ballot in Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Emeryville, Kensington, Oakland, Richmond, Piedmont and San Pablo. It required 66 percent support, but passed with more than 84 percent of the vote. In addition to funding the removal of potentially dangerous or flammable vegetation from 500 acres of land per year, Measure FF will also fund sustainable forest management, public access to trails and visitors' facilities, as well as restoration of habitat, shorelines and creeks. The money will be put to use in roughly 20 park areas including Redwood Regional Park and Tilden Regional Park, as well as numerous regional shoreline areas and other recreational areas. A full list of commitments funded by Measure FF is available online at https://www.ebparks.org/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?blobid=30516. East Bay Regional Park District General Manager Robert Doyle thanked the voting public for their support and participation in this week's election. "Measure FF will provide essential funding for wildfire protection and public safety, improving public access, and restoring natural habitat," Doyle said. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. OAKLAND (BCN) A reputed gang associate who started a life of crime at the age of 13 was sentenced at an emotional hearing today to 25 years to life in state prison for fatally shooting a mural artist in Oakland three years ago. Marquise Holloway, 23, pleaded no contest June 4 to first-degree murder for the shooting death of 27-year-old Antonio Ramos of Emeryville in the 3500 block of West Street in Oakland at about 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 29, 2015. Ramos was shot while he was working on a mural underneath an Interstate Highway 580 overpass that was part of the Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project, collaboration between artists and students. Oakland police said they believe the gun that Holloway used to kill Ramos was stolen earlier in September 2015 from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in San Francisco. After Holloway was arrested in November 2015, Oakland police Lt. Roland Holmgren said Holloway was associated with a West Oakland gang called Ghost Town and described him as "very much a threat to the community" because police believe he committed a number of bank robberies during the same period when Ramos was killed. At Holloway's sentencing hearing today, prosecutor Matthew Golde said, "Antonio (Ramos) was an artist and a cherished member of our community who dedicated is life to beautifying our city and healing our community but at the same time Mr. Holloway was damaging our community." Golde said although Holloway began committing robberies and other crimes when he was only 13, he rarely spent much time in jail and was "given every chance to rehabilitate" at group homes and other facilities. In a sentencing memorandum, Golde wrote, "All types of people tried to help Holloway: teachers, probation officers, police officers, judges, psychologists, therapists, group home counselors, etc. No matter who tried to help or what was offered, Holloway rejected any help and actively pursued a life of non-stop crime." Holloway's lawyer Annie Beles admitted that Holloway has made bad choices throughout his young life and failed to take advantage of the opportunities that were offered to him. But Beles said, "Humans have the capacity to change" and she hopes that Holloway "can be a better man as he grows older" and have a chance of being paroled after he's been in prison for 25 years. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson told Holloway, "You have thrown your life away" but will "have a chance at redemption" because the law has changed and youthful offenders can now have a parole hearing after 25 years. Jacobson said to Holloway, "It's up to you and how you perform in prison." Jacobson, who appeared to be emotional at times, said he's handled a lot of homicide cases during his long career as a prosecutor and a judge but Ramos' death "is especially sad because he was such an addition to our community and our culture." Ramos' sister Ilena Ramos said his death "has been very difficult for all of us and we will never be the same." Fighting back tears, Ramos said her brother "enjoyed life to the fullest and made other people laugh" also was "a friend and feeder to the homeless." Ramos said her brother's life "was taken so senselessly and so quickly" and that if Holloway had just asked him for some money instead of shooting him "he would have given him something from his pocket." Oakland police said Antonio Ramos had taken a break from working on the mural and was taking pictures of his work to memorialize it to update the mural artists' website when Holloway came by and noticed his camera equipment, sparking a confrontation that ended in the fatal shooting. After Ilena Ramos, who was accompanied in court by her parents and her brother, spoke, Holloway turned to them and said, "I apologize for my senselessness and selfishness." At the end of the hearing, as deputies were leading Holloway away, his sister said to him, "I love you, brother." In addition to murder, Holloway was charged with the special circumstance of committing a robbery during a murder, as well as three counts of second-degree robbery and two counts of attempted second-degree robbery for incidents on Sept. 29, 2015, the same day that Ramos was killed, and between Oct. 1 and Oct. 5 of 2015. But as part of Holloway's plea agreement the Alameda County District Attorney's Office agreed to dismiss the special circumstance allegation and the robbery counts. Holloway would have faced life in prison without the possibility of parole if he'd been convicted of murder with special circumstances. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. MENLO PARK The Menlo Park Police Department has hired Rich Struckman as police commander to oversee the patrol division, the police chief announced today. Struckman, who retired from the San Francisco Police Department last year, will begin his new assignment Tuesday. Struckman is a longtime resident of San Mateo County and began his life in public service in 1984 when he joined the U.S. Army. He joined the SFPD in 1990 where he served with distinction for 27 years, Menlo Park Police Chief Dave Bertini said. "We are very fortunate to have Rich join our team," Bertini said in a statement. "His breadth of experience will benefit the department and he will be a great addition to our command staff." Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay Area high school students will hold a summit today in San Jose for their peers to learn about climate change and talk about what they can do to alleviate it, organizers said. The summit starts at 9 a.m. at The Tech Museum of Innovation at 201 S. Market St. The Tech for Global Good Youth Climate Action Summit is expected to draw hundreds of students and comes following a United Nations report that Earth faces tremendous consequences from climate change as early as 2040, according to organizers. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo will give the closing remarks. An outage on a PG&E transmission line in Butte County occurred less than a half hour before the start of the Camp Fire, according to a report the utility sent to the California Public Utilities Commission. The report was sent Thursday to the commission by Meredith Allen, senior director of regulatory relations. PG&E officials also said that Thursday afternoon a PG&E crew on aerial patrol saw damage to a transmission tower on the transmission line that had the outage Thursday morning about 15 minutes before the Camp Fire is said to have started. The line is located about one mile northeast of the town of Pulga, which is close to the origin of the Camp Fire. Allen said in the report that this information is preliminary. A judge has denied a motion by Ghost Ship master tenant Derick Almena that would have reinstated a plea bargain in the case against Almena and creative director Max Harris on 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for the fire at the warehouse two years ago. The judge made the decision Friday. Almena, 48, and Harris, 28 pleaded no contest on July 3 to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for the fire during a music party at the warehouse at 1309 31st Ave. on Dec. 2, 2016, in a deal brokered by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson that called for Almena to serve nine years in the county jail and for Harris to serve six years. But Jacobson wasn't available for the sentencing hearing on Aug. 9 and 10, and Judge James Cramer substituted for him. In a surprising move, Cramer rejected the plea agreement, saying he couldn't accept it because he thinks Almena hasn't fully acknowledged his responsibility for his role in the fire or shown sufficient remorse. Almena's lawyer, Tony Serra, argued in court papers and in court Friday that Cramer acted improperly in rejecting the agreement and was unduly influenced by the emotions of the fire victims' family members who spoke at the sentencing because he said in court that he sympathized with them because he also had lost a child. In an unusual move, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued a Winter Spare the Air Alert through Monday because of heavy smoke and particulates drifting into the Bay Area from the so-called Camp Fire, which continues to rage in Butte County. In addition, the National Weather Service has simultaneously issued a red flag warning and a frost warning for the region this weekend -- fire danger is high for the Santa Cruz Mountains, the North Bay and the East Bay hills because of windy, dry conditions, yet frost is also likely because of overnight temperatures dropping into the low 30s this morning, mainly in the North Bay and southern Salinas valleys. The extended air quality alert was issued because smoke from the Camp Fire continues to cause elevated levels of particulate pollution in the region, especially affecting the North Bay and East Bay, officials said. Unhealthy air quality conditions are expected to persist through Monday and perhaps longer as northeasterly winds, forecast for the weekend, will continue to drive smoke this way. In addition, a continuing high-pressure system over Northern California is trapping the bad air at ground level. Outdoor and indoor burning of wood or any other solid fuel is prohibited for the duration of the alert. A reputed gang associate who started a life of crime at the age of 13 was sentenced at an emotional hearing to 25 years to life in state prison for fatally shooting a mural artist in Oakland three years ago. Marquise Holloway, 23, was sentenced Friday. Holloway pleaded no contest June 4 to first-degree murder for the shooting death of 27-year-old Antonio Ramos of Emeryville in the 3500 block of West Street in Oakland at about 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 29, 2015. Ramos was shot while he was working on a mural underneath an Interstate Highway 580 overpass that was part of the Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project, a collaboration between artists and students. Oakland police said they believe the gun that Holloway used to kill Ramos was stolen earlier in September 2015 from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in San Francisco. After Holloway was arrested in November 2015, Oakland police Lt. Roland Holmgren said Holloway was associated with a West Oakland gang called Ghost Town and described him as "very much a threat to the community" because police believe he committed a number of bank robberies during the same period when Ramos was killed. Two small wildland fires in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park have been contained, fire officials said. The fires were contained Friday evening. As of 6:46 p.m., a fire near the polo field and a fire near the casting pools were contained and no one was injured. No structures were damaged. Fire spokesman Lt. Jonathan Baxter said both fires together burned no more than one acre. The causes of the fires are under investigation. The city of Lafayette is mourning the sudden passing of Councilman Mark Mitchell. Mitchell died Monday of natural causes. He was 61. Mitchell had a long history of public service in Lafayette, his life-long home. He began on the planning commission, serving from 2001 to 2012 until he was elected to the Lafayette City Council in 2012. While on the council, he served as mayor from 2015-16. Mitchell was known throughout the community for his love of Lafayette. A 20-year-old Elk Grove man was the driver of a Hyundai sedan that crashed and killed him and two other occupants on Interstate Highway 80 in Solano County, the California Highway Patrol said. The crash happened before 5:50 a.m. Friday morning, CHP Officer David Harvey said. The blue sedan was speeding east on Highway 80 when it left the road, clipped a guardrail and overturned, then struck a support pillar of the state Highway 12 over-crossing, Harvey said. The driver and two female passengers were killed. The Solano County coroner's office said it would not release the names of the victims until Monday. Harvey said the victims were in their 20s. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. ANTIOCH (BCN) Police in Antioch are investigating a shooting that sent one person to the hospital Friday night. Officers with the Antioch Police Department responded at 7:30 p.m. to the 2500 block of D Street on a report of a shooting and located a 20-year-old man on the sidewalk suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Police said evidence at the scene suggested several shots were fired into an occupied residence by someone in a passing vehicle. The victim was struck by the gunfire while he was inside the home. The victim was transported to the hospital with injuries that were not considered life threatening. No information on a suspect was immediately available. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Two small wildland fires this evening in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park have been contained, fire officials said. As of 6:46 p.m., a fire near the polo field and a fire near the casting pools were contained and no one was injured. No structures were damaged. Fire spokesman Lt. Jonathan Baxter said both fires together burned no more than one acre. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. SAN JOSE (BCN) A woman was rescued last week and her captor has now been charged after he allegedly prostituted her in ten different cities over several months, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said today. Anthony Wright Thomas Jr., a 33-year-old from Stockton, was arrested Nov. 2 and has been charged with three counts of sex trafficking, in addition to pimping and pandering charges. He first contacted the young victim last year on Instagram and bought her a train ticket to Stockton, according to prosecutors. He then allegedly abducted her and forced her into prostitution in Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento, Stockton, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Oregon and Washington. Prosecutors said the victim contacted the National Human Trafficking Hotline for help after the suspect choked and beat her in Las Vegas, but hotline workers were unable to find her. She contacted the hotline again last week and sheriff's deputies and FBI agents in San Jose were able to track her down to a Motel 6 at 2081 N. First St. Thomas was arrested and taken to the Santa Clara County jail. He's being held without bail. "Human traffickers will have no haven in Santa Clara County. At the heart of this case is a terrified young woman, who was threatened, beaten and exploited for cash," Deputy District Attorney Patrick Vanier said in a statement. "Protecting her safety and her rights are why we on this task force do what we do." Copyright 2018 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Photo: The Canadian Press Maxime Bernier An alleged white supremacist who was kicked out of Alberta's United Conservative Party found a new political home in Maxime Bernier's fledgling People's Party of Canada at least briefly. Adam Strashok's name has vanished from the membership list on the "People's Network Alberta" Facebook page, along with virtually all other evidence of his previously active life on social media. But a cached version of the page from mid-September shows that he had joined the party and signed up two others. A party spokesman did not directly answer when asked if Strashok is still a party member and, if so, whether his membership would be revoked. "I can tell you he has not been elected to any interim EDA (electoral district association) board and, as far as we know, is not involved in organizing," Martin Masse said in an email. In a bid to insulate itself from extremists, the People's Party is asking all members of its riding associations across the country to sign a pledge promising that they "have done or said nothing in the past and will do or say nothing in the future that would embarrass the party." But Masse said that vetting system applies only to riding-association board members, "not to our 32,000 members or to the thousands of people who've been attending a meet-up or commenting on Facebook." However, he added: "We've always been very clear that anyone with extreme views was not welcome in the party." Asked again whether the People's Party would cancel Strashok's membership should it discover he is still a member, Masse said: "I repeat: We've always been very clear that anyone with extreme views was not welcome in the party." The Canadian Press couldn't reach Strashok to ask him about his party affiliations. Alberta UCP Leader Jason Kenney last month disavowed Strashok after reports by online media outlets Ricochet and Press Progress revealed he had posted anti-Semitic and white supremacist messages on social media sites and was involved in an online store that sells memorabilia glorifying white minority-rule in Rhodesia, the colonial precursor to Zimbabwe. Kenney, who had employed Strashok to run his call centre during the UCP's leadership contest last year, issued a statement saying he was "shocked and disturbed" by the reports. He said he'd been unaware of Strashok's "extreme views" and had instructed party officials to revoke his membership. It appears that at least until last August, when Bernier split with the Conservatives to form his own party, Strashok was actively involved with the federal Conservatives. He had served on the executive of the party's campus club at the University of Calgary and worked for Calgary MP Bob Benzen. He spent a summer working as an intern for Calgary MP Michelle Rempel when she was minister of state for western economic development and posted photos of himself with groups of Conservatives, including Rempel, Benzen and MP Blake Richards. Conservative party financial records filed with Elections Canada show that Strashok donated $290 to the party in May 2016 and $532 in June of this year. Party spokesman Cory Hann said those donations were the registration fees paid to attend party conventions the last one held in Halifax in August. Hann said Strashok's views "obviously do not reflect the views of our party." Photo: The Canadian Press The head of the B.C. company that scooped up Bombardier Inc.s Q400 turboprop business has pledged to keep all manufacturing already in Canada within the country. The Q400 series is a "natural fit" for Longview Aviation Capital, chief executive David Curtis said in an interview. "We like to say, 'It's the same colour of paint.' In other words, the same production processes." Bombardier announced on Thursday it is selling the Q400 program to a Longview subsidiary for about US$300 million, on top of the sale of its flight training business to CAE Inc. for about US$645 million. The Montreal-based company manufactures roughly 28 to 30 Q400 aircraft annually at its Downsview property in Toronto, land that the company sold earlier this year to the Public Sector Pension Investment Board. Bombardier has a lease on the property until 2021, with a two-year extension option. "There's no question, the writing's on the wall we've go to move," Curtis said. "We don't know yet what we're going to do, and until we get in there and talk with the folks about what's the market opportunity, we don't have any decisions." Any future production site will "absolutely not" leave Canadian soil, he said. "We wouldn't outsource it." Longview, whose subsidiary Viking Air Ltd. makes turboprop aircraft such as the Twin Otter, intends to maintain supply chains for the Q400 series that currently stretch from China to Ireland to Mexico, he added. The deal, which is slated to close in the second half of 2019, positions Longview to more than triple its annual revenue to $1 billion, Curtis said. Union and opposition leaders in Quebec spoke out against Bombardier's move Thursday to lay off 5,000 workers, including 500 in Ontario and 2,500 in Quebec, as part of a restructuring plan that cuts more than 12 per cent of its Canadian positions. Mary Ellen McIlmoyle, president of a Unifor local that represents some of the 2,100 workers at Bombardier's aerospace wing at Downsview, said her members feel "betrayed." "During bargaining in April, the company said they were keeping the Q400," she said. "It was a huge shock when we found they turned around and sold it." Workers' lack of certainty about the Downsview facility which makes cockpits and wings, among other components after 2021 is their "biggest concern," she said. "Our members are worried about it being moved to B.C." U.S. Official: Irans Support for Hezbollah Greater Than Previously Thought | Main | Palestinian Fire Kites Are No Child's Play June 06, 2018 Wheres the Coverage? Israel Foils Assassination Plot Targeting Netanyahu and Others Israeli authorities uncovered and thwarted a terrorist cell that planned to murder top governmental officials, including the countrys prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat. However, many major U.S. news outlets have ignored the story. On June 5, 2018, the Shin Bet, Israels domestic intelligence agency that is akin to the FBI, announced that they had arrested three member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP-GC), in connection with the case. The three men had been indicted two days prior. Ynet reporter Yoav Zitun noted: One of the suspects is Muhammad Jamal Rashdeh, 30, from the Shuafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem, who holds an Israeli identity card and has served time in prison in the past for terrorist activity. The investigation revealed that he had planned the attacks with guidance from terrorist elements abroad, including a terror operative from Syria.? The terror cell had also planned terror attacks against buildings belonging to the American Consulate and against a delegation of Canadian representatives staying in Jerusalem in a bid to train the Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank.? Rashdeh was arrested on April 24, 2018, according to a Times of Israel report (Shin Bet says it thwarted plot to assassinate prime minister, Jerusalem mayor,? June 5, 2018). The PFLP-GC is a U.S.-designated terrorist group that is based in Damascus, Syria and receives Iranian support. The group has carried out numerous attacks against Israelis and was active in the Syrian civil war, fighting on behalf of dictator Bashar al-Assad. A foiled terror plot to murder Israels prime minister and other top Israeli officials, as well as Americans and Canadians, is certainly newsworthy. However, as of this writing, many major U.S. news outlets have failed to cover the story. The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, USA Today, The Baltimore Sun, Politico, and others have failed to cover the story. By contrast, The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, the U.K.-based Express, and The New York Post, provided coverage. This is not the first time that the Western media ignored a story about a thwarted Palestinian plot to murder Israeli government officials. As CAMERA noted at the time, U.S. press outlets also ignored a foiled Feb. 2018 plot by Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives to murder Israeli defense minister Avigdor Liberman (The Media Ignores Foiled Plot to Assassinate Israels Defense Minister,? Feb. 20, 2018). By failing to cover advanced terror plots targeting the country's leadership, the media effectively minimizes the security challenges facing the Jewish state. Posted by SD at June 6, 2018 01:58 PM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment Photo: Mission Hill Winery The bells of Mission Hill Family Estate Winery will toll 100 times as the sun sets on Sunday. The ringing will mark 100 years since the end of the First World War and is part of a nationwide effort by the Ladies Auxiliaries of the Royal Canadian Legion to commemorate the centennial. The Bells of Peace initiative recalls the moment 100 years ago when church bells across the land rang out to let Canadians know the armistice had been signed and the First World War was over, says Westbank Branch spokesperson Cindal McCabe. As the sun goes down this Remembrance Day, each participating Legion branch will ring bells 100 times to honour those who lost their lives. The Mission Hill bells can be heard across much of West Kelowna, from their tower on Mount Boucherie. They are expected to ring about 4:20 p.m. MOGADISHU, Somalia Four car bombs by Islamic extremists exploded outside a hotel in the capital, Mogadishu, Friday afternoon killing at least 20 people and injuring 17, said police. After the three explosions in front of the hotel, a fourth blast hit as medics attempted to rescue the injured. The suicide bombs detonated near the perimeter wall of the Sahafi Hotel, which is located across the street from the Somali Police Forces Criminal Investigations Department, said Capt. Mohamed Hussein. Some of the victims were burned beyond recognition when one car bomb exploded next to a minibus, he said. Somali security forces shot dead four gunmen who tried to storm through a hole blown into the hotels wall but did not succeed in entering, he said. Although they failed to access the hotel, the blasts outside the hotel killed many people, said Hussein. The street was crowded with people and cars, bodies were everywhere, said Hussein Nur, a shopkeeper who suffered light shrapnel injuries on his right hand. Gunfire killed several people, too. Somalias Islamic extremist rebels, the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for the bombs, according to the groups Adalus radio station. Among the dead was the manager of the Sahafi Hotel, whose father was the owner of the hotel before he was killed in an al-Shabab attack on establishment in 2015, said police Capt. Hussein. Farah Abdi and Abdi Guled are Associated Press writers. Photo: California DMV The gunman who killed 12 people at a country music bar in Southern California went on social media during the attack and posted about his mental state and whether people would believe he was sane, a law enforcement official said Friday. Also, one of the possibilities investigators are looking into is whether gunman Ian David Long believed his former girlfriend would be at the bar, the official said. Authorities have not determined a motive for Wednesday night's rampage at the Borderline Bar and Grill. The official was briefed on the investigation but not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The official would not give additional details on what the 28-year-old former Marine posted on his Facebook and Instagram accounts. A second law enforcement official said that when Long was inside the bar, he apparently stopped shooting and posted to Instagram, based on the time stamps of the posts. Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Garo Kuredjian also said he didn't know the content of the posts. Neither Facebook nor Instagram responded to a request for comment Friday. Long's social media accounts have been taken down. Long, a former machine-gunner who served in Afghanistan, opened fire with a handgun during college night at the bar, then apparently killed himself as scores of police officers closed in. As investigators worked to figure out what set him off, President Donald Trump blamed mental illness, describing the gunman as "a very sick puppy" who had "a lot of problems." Investigators have not commented on whether mental illness played a role in the rampage. But a mental health specialist who assessed Long after sheriff's deputies responded to a call about his agitated behaviour last spring worried he might be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The incident happened in April, when yelling and loud banging noises coming from the home Long shared with his mother prompted a next-door neighbour to call authorities. The mental health specialist concluded there were no grounds to have him involuntarily committed. Several people who knew Long a decade ago as a high-schooler in the suburb of Thousand Oaks said in interviews that he made them uncomfortable, sometimes through aggressive behaviour. At the White House, Trump touted his efforts to fund work on PTSD among veterans. He declined to engage on questions on whether the nation needs stricter gun control laws. The dead in the shooting rampage included sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus, a 29-year veteran gunned down as he entered the bar, and Telemachus Orfanos, 27, who survived last year's massacre in Las Vegas, where a gunman in a high-rise hotel killed 58 people at an outdoor country music festival. Authorities in Thousand Oaks described an attack of military efficiency. None of those injured was hurt by gunfire, authorities said. Instead, when Long shot, he killed. "Every Marine is trained in urban warfare and indoor gun fighting," said Marc Bender, an instructor for emergency responders in Riverside County, California. "Every Marine is a marksman." HONG KONG The Asia editor of the Financial Times has been refused entry to Hong Kong, weeks after he was denied a new work visa in what critics call an ominous sign of Beijing encroaching on the semi-autonomous Chinese territorys civil liberties. The newspaper reported that Victor Mallet was turned away at the border on Thursday after being questioned for several hours. He had sought to enter as a visitor. MANILA A Philippine court on Friday sentenced Imelda Marcos, the countrys flamboyant former first lady, to a minimum of 42 years in prison for creating private foundations to hide her unexplained wealth. But it is unlikely that Marcos, a 89-year-old widow, will see any jail time. The court, which handles graft and public corruption cases, said the ruling could be appealed, and legal experts have said Marcos could fight a prison sentence because of her advanced age. The sentence comes as Marcos and her family have seen a political resurgence in the Philippines, having gained favor under the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte. The court found Marcos guilty of seven counts of graft, with each count punishable by a minimum of six years in prison. The ruling also automatically disqualifies Marcos, who is a congresswoman, from holding any public office. Marcos did not appear in court for the sentencing, and a warrant was issued for her arrest. In a statement later Friday, Marcos said her lawyer was studying the ruling and intended to file a motion asking the court to reconsider it. The sentence drew praise from some leading opponents of Duterte, who has in the past praised the brutal dictatorship of Marcos deceased husband, Ferdinand Marcos. The charges against Marcos took more than a quarter-century to prosecute, largely because many people who could have been witnesses had died or were too old to testify. The charges were filed in 1991, when state prosecutors accused her of creating private foundations in Switzerland and having financial interests in several companies when she was governor of Manila between 1978 and 1984. Prosecutors said the fake firms hid money that her family stole from the government. Jason Gutierrez is a New York Times writer. CAIRO Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the Hodeida area have been forced to flee amid a Saudi-led coalition offensive to take the key Red Sea port city from Shiite rebels, the United Nations refugee agency said Friday, as fierce battles continue to rage in the area. Some 445,000 of the Hodeida governorates residents have fled since June, a figure that underscores the dire situation in and around the city that serves as the main entry point for food and aid, the UNHCR said. The governorates population is around 3 million, according to figures from the Norwegian Refugee Council. The UNHCR also expressed concern over the safety of those trapped in Hodeida as the intensified military operations are increasingly confining populations and cutting off exit routes. Figures on those still in Hodeida are difficult to gauge, the agency added. Yemeni government forces supported by the coalitions air and naval forces continue to engage in heavy fighting with the rebels, known as Houthis. The fighting has killed dozens of combatants from both sides, with dozens of military vehicles destroyed or burning along the front lines. In a Friday statement, Yemens internationally recognized government based in the southern city of Aden said its forces are advancing toward the north and west of Hodeida and across all fronts with cover from the coalition. The Saudi-led coalitions latest push toward Hodeida comes as Yemens civil war is a few months away from entering its fourth year. The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 with the aim of defeating the Iran-aligned rebels and to restore the government of Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi. But the coalition has recently come under mounting international pressure to end the war that has resulted in what the United Nations says is the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. On Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition said it has requested cessation of inflight refueling by the U.S. for its fighter jets. The announcement came after U.S. officials said the Pentagon was moving to stop refueling Saudi aircraft. The move comes amid increased criticism of Saudi jets indiscriminately striking markets and hospitals, killing civilians. The U.S. and Britain., major arms suppliers to the Saudi coalition, have recently called for a cease-fire in Yemen and the launch of U.N.-led political talks to end the Saudi-Iran proxy war. The fighting around Hodeida, a vital lifeline for most of Yemens population, threatens to worsen Yemens already-dire humanitarian situation and risks the obstruction of crucial assistance to the country endangering the lives of millions of Yemenis. The Norwegian Refugee Council warned of the repercussions the continued fighting may have on millions of Yemenis. We are now warning that by allowing this to go on, parties to the conflict and their international backers will be responsible for the death, injury and suffering of millions of people, Mohamed Abdi, the councils director in Yemen, said in a statement. Menna Zaki is an Associated Press writer. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Maldivian president-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih next week, the Ministry of External Affairs announced Friday. The prime minister will also visit Singapore to take part in the 13th East Asia Summit and other meetings on November 14 and 15, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a media briefing The prime minister has accepted the invitation extended by Maldives' president-elect Solih to attend his swearing-in ceremony on November 17, he said On the US waiver to India from Iran sanctions, Kumar said the US has shown understanding of India's position on the issue India, China and Japan were among eight countries temporarily allowed to continue buying Iranian oil as they showed significant reduction in oil purchase from the Persian Gulf country after the US reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said earlier this week. -PTI STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The head of an Albanian drug gang and some of his associates have copped to their roles in the crew that peddled heroin and fentanyl throughout the area, including Staten Island, authorities said. West Brighton resident Medin (Dino) Kosic -- considered the crew leader-- and borough residents Mirsad Bogdanovic, Joseph Cucciniello and Alexander Bucci recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute narcotics in Manhattan federal court. Kosic and his co-conspirators were busted in January for drug trafficking, along with Jasmin (Min) Cejovic, Paul Van Manen, Shaun Sullivan, Theodore (Freddy/Eduardo) Banasky, Anthony Francese Kenneth Charlton and Jennifer Bogdanovic, officials said. The cases against the remaining defendants are ongoing. The suspects are from Staten Island, except Van Manen, who is from South Amboy, N.J. Kosic headed the operation and obtained the narcotics from a Brooklyn supplier. The drugs were then stored and packaged on Staten Island before being sold in the borough, Brooklyn and New Jersey, said the indictment. The gang allegedly peddled one kilogram, about 2.2. pounds, of drugs a week, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Authorities seized several glassines of heroin stamped with Pray for death from Kosics home on Post Avenue in January, said the agency. The feds claim the crew knew how potent the heroin-fentanyl mix was when one of their own overdosed. On Oct. 5, 2017, Sullivan overdosed on a fentanyl-heroin batch he got from Kosic before he was revived with Narcan, the anti-overdose spray, authorities allege. Kosic asked Van Manen if it was surprising Sullivan overdosed, and he replied, not surprising, no, said the indictment. Five days after Sullivan's episode, Van Manen allegedly told one of his customers that the stash laced with fentanyl comes out clear like champagne. Wow, thats why its so potent, the customer replied, according to the indictment. The defendants had specific roles in the drug ring that began operating as early as 2015, said the indictment. Kosic allegedly supplied the heroin to Cejovic, Van Manen, Mirsad Bogdanovic, Sullivan, Banasky, Francese, Bucci and Cucciniello for distribution. Banasky and Francese managed the "stash houses" on Staten Island and Brooklyn, where the drugs were stored and packaged, according to court documents. Charlton, officials allege, recruited customers for the gang from various places, including drug treatment programs. Kosics lawyer could not immediately be reached Saturday. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Census 2020: What Does It Mean For Staten Island -- the boroughs first ever information session and panel discussion regarding the topic -- is scheduled for the College of Staten Islands Recital Hall on Thursday. The event, cohosted by Move Forward Staten Island and the New York Public Interest Research Groups (NYPIRG) College of Staten Island chapter, will discuss the importance of the census, what changes to expect in 2020 and how residents can ensure a fair count for Staten Islanders. The U.S. Census counts every resident in the United States with collected data used to determine the number of seats states have in the House of Representatives, as well as how federal funding is allocated. On the state level, information is used for redistricting. The census impacts our lives in unimaginable ways, said Julienne Verdi, chair and founder of Move Forward Staten Island. The census helps dictate how federal funds are allocated, how communities are represented on the state and federal levels, and how social assistance programs are funded." The discussion will be moderated by Donna Scimeca, Core Program coordinator and adjunct lecturer from the College of Staten Island, with confirmed panelists Nisha Agarwal, senior advisor to deputy mayor Phil Thompson and Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York. The event, co-sponsored by Congressman-elect Max Rose and Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island), is free to the public with tickets available on Eventbrite. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Come December you can look up a food carts Health Department letter grade, like you can for brick and mortar restaurants. The new city Health Department program introduces a scoring system similar to that used in restaurants. Mobile food vendors will now receive points for violations at their food safety inspections, and their total inspection score will correspond to an A, B or C grade, which will be posted on the unit. Food carts and trucks will be getting new permit decals that can accommodate the letter grade. It will take two years for all 5,500 food carts and trucks authorized to operate in New York City to be graded -- similar to the rollout for restaurant grading in 2010. Letter grades on food carts and trucks will help New Yorkers see how these businesses fared on their latest inspection, right when they want to place an order, said Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot. Just as diners appreciate letter grading in restaurants, we expect this program to be popular among customers of food carts and truck." LOCATION SHARING DEVICE In order to locate carts and trucks when they are due for inspection, the Health Department will attach a location-sharing device on every unit. This data will only be accessible to Health Department staff or agents, and will be protected from disclosure in all instances except where ordered by a court. The Health Department further detailed the precautions it will take to protect the cart and truck location information. Specifically, the Department will delete all location data within 24 hours; protect data during transmission and storage; and make the location-sharing device identification number different from the units permit, decal and license number. The Health Department will host several food safety education workshops for mobile food vendors in the coming months. Participants will learn about the new grading program and review how to prepare and handle food safely and avoid common violations. The workshop dates and locations will soon be posted on the Health Departments website, nyc.gov/health/foodservice. FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK and TWITTER STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The NYPD is asking the publics assistance locating a missing man from Mariners Harbor. It was reported to police that 58-year-old Bernabe-Reyes Meliton, who also goes by El Bigote, was last seen leaving Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton at 1 p.m. on Oct. 25. He was reported missing on Oct. 29, police said. Melitons last known address is listed as the 50th block of Simonson Avenue in Mariners Harbor, according to police. He is described as a Hispanic male, 54 and 160 pounds, who has a birthmark under his left eye. He was last seen wearing a grey sweatshirt and blue jeans. Anyone with information in regard to the missing is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS, or for Spanish dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public also can submit tips via the Crime Stoppers website, or by texting 274637(CRIMES), then enter TIP577. All calls are kept strictly confidential, according to the NYPD. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Students at PS 60, Graniteville, are usually surprised when they learn their assistant principal, Doreen Seaman, is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. And with their surprise comes questions of all sorts that the Rossville resident answers with pride, as she tells stories of her time in the Air Force. Theyre very curious so I love when they ask me questions, she said. They love the fact that I went through survival school. I always tell them about basic survival because back then I was almost always the only female. Because I was the only girl, I worked that much harder. Seaman does not usually tell students shes a veteran, but it sometimes comes up in class in the days leading up to Nov. 11, which is Veterans Day -- a day that marks the anniversary of the end of World War I and honors all U.S. veterans. So every November, it is not uncommon for students to approach Seaman during a lunch period or in the hallway to ask her about her time in the Air Force and what it means to be a veteran. The older students even describe her as cool. I love the Air Force, Im a proponent of it, Seaman said. Im a very patriotic person. I have a love for my country. Ive been many places so I know what being in the United States affords us. Im very proud of it." JOINING THE AIR FORCE Seaman first joined the Air Force when she was 23 years old, when she decided to quit her job working as a sales assistant on the trading floor for investment bank Salomon Brothers. Looking for a new adventure and challenge, she enlisted, and was selected to become an aerospace physiologist at an Air Training Command Unit in Columbus, Miss. After attending instructor school and technical training school, she worked as a platform instructor, teaching Air Force members about the physiological effects of altitude on their bodies. I taught air crew members, and anyone who ever had to be in some sort of military aircraft, the physiological effects of altitude on their bodies, Seaman said. [I taught] how to egress safely if theres a decompression, and how to survive. We taught parachute landing falls, water survival and arctic survival. After two years in the Mississippi unit, she decided to transfer to a Strategic Air Command unit in Germany. While stationed in Germany, she began taking college courses at the University of Marylands overseas campus. When the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act passed -- when budget cuts forced the military to cut costs by discharging military members -- Seaman left the Air Force at 28 years old. She returned to Maryland to finish earning her bachelors degree at the University of Marylands main campus. BECOMING AN EDUCATOR In 1994, Seaman left Maryland as a single mother and returned to Staten Island -- where she was born and raised. Her father suggested she become a teacher, and she soon received her masters degree in education at Wagner College. She began her career with the Department of Education (DOE) at PS 8, Great Kills, as a student-teacher, and was then placed as a full-time teacher at PS 69. She was a kindergarten, first-, and second-grade teacher at the New Springville school for more than 12 years. She will begin her eighth year as assistant principal at PS 60 in January, after more than 20 years working for the DOE. FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The Democrats have control of the House of Representatives for the first time in eight years. Are they going to blow it? If the Democrats are truly committed to forging a new path, they simply cannot endorse Nancy Pelosi for another term as Speaker of the House. Staten Island Congressman-elect Max Rose is already on record as saying that he will not support Pelosi for Speaker. Hes one of several Dems either in the House already or headed there in January who have called for new leadership. Theyve got it right. The Democratic Party is changing in a lot of ways. Youve got moderate, Bluedog types like Rose having flipped red districts all over the country. Youve got left-wing and even socialist members like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the rise. Pelosi, the former Speaker who was at the top of the pyramid when the Dems got swept from control of the House in 2010, is not their idea of a leader. Pelosi may as well be from the Gilded Age for all she has in common with what could be a very restive bunch of House members who are going to want to have their say and who are unlikely to observe speak when spoken to, wait your turn decorum. Thats not how they got elected. Once-and-future-Majority-Leader Steny Hoyer needs to go too. How long has Hoyer been around? He was a top dog when he campaigned in Tottenville with Mike McMahon when McMahon was running for Congress back in 2008. He vetted borough Dems for potential House runs as far back as 2005. His day as an agenda-setter has passed. Problem is, the Dems look headed for a fight no matter what Pelosi does. The Congressional Black Caucus has already put its foot down: They want one of their own as Speaker or Majority Leader. Good luck showing that group the back of your hand. So, will Democrats in typical fashion devour each other? Or will people like Pelosi show real leadership and step aside so the party can truly grow? Establishment Dems may not think they need to change anything. After all, here they are back in control of the House. But they simply have to evolve in order to keep up with their own voters and members, more and more of whom are growing increasingly disenchanted with the political status quo. If establishment types have any doubt, all they need to do is look at 2016. Hillary Clinton was supposed to coast to the presidency. It didnt happen, in part because too many progressive Democrats didnt see fit to pull the lever for her, including those whod voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary. Pelosi is cut from the same cloth as Clinton, and carries the very same baggage. Shes a one-percenter. Shes too long been part of the Democratic establishment. She hasnt ventured outside the Beltway bubble in decades. Her bid for another term as Speaker is akin to Hillary seeking just one more shot at the White House. Sorry, no sale. But Pelosi remains a mega fundraiser. It was partly through her efforts that newly minted House members got the financial and logistical support that they needed in order to run winning campaigns. Washington runs on money. Nancy has a lot of chits out there to cash in. And Pelosis not dumb. She knows that there are House members who ran on opposing her. Shes said that those who see fit can vote against her when the caucus meets in private later this month to choose the Speaker. Once the deal is done, though, and Pelosi has the votes she needs, she expects full-throated support on the House floor when the public vote in held in January for all the world to see. Thats not going to fly with voters in districts where candidates pledged to vote against her, like the 11th Congressional District. No means no to those voters. It will be a litmus test. Pelosi has to know that too. So is the next Congress going to be about her, or about really moving the Democratic Party forward? Its up to Pelosi to truly lead. By standing down. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! India Friday hit back at Pakistan for expressing concern over the recent deployment of nuclear submarine INS Arihant, saying the comments come from a country for whom the "tenet of responsibility" does not exist. Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal, at a media briefing Thursday, said: "This development marks the first actual deployment of ready-to-fire nuclear warheads in South Asia which is a matter of concern not only for the Indian Ocean littoral states but also for the international community at large." Responding to a question on Faisal's remarks, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, during a media briefing here, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made India's stand clear on the issue. Modi has made it clear that India's nuclear arsenal was not a part of an aggressive policy, but it was an important means for peace and stability. Kumar said,"We are a responsible nation and I think these comments are coming from a country for whom the tenet of responsibility does not exist." Marking the country's nuclear triad, Indian nuclear submarine INS Arihant, or the "destroyer of enemies" has successfully completed its first deterrence patrol. On the issue of opening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, Kumar said Pakistan had not officially communicated anything to India on the issue. Asked about Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh writing to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on the issue, he said he would have to look at the contents of the letter and then could comment on it. He, however, said India has taken up the matter with Pakistan in the past on the opening of the border for Sikh pilgrims to go and visit the Gurdwara on the other side. "We have heard from Pakistan that this is something that they want to do, but I am not aware of any official communication which we have received from Pakistan that they are keen to work with us on this matter," Kumar said. On whether there was any development on the issue of waiver for India in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act after its S-400 missile systems deal with Russia, Kumar said India was engaged with different stakeholders on this matter. "We have explained our objectives and position to the US side at different levels. We feel that it has contributed to a better understanding by the US about our concerns, about our objectivities and expectations. "We do intend to continue to remain engage with the US side, but it is important to note that our defence purchases and acquisitions are dictated by our national interest," he said. Asked about the political turmoil in Sri Lanka, Kumar said India continues to closely monitor the situation. "At this situation, I think the situation remains unclear. We do hope the democratic values and the constitutional process in Sri Lanka will be respected," he said. -PTI Brisbanes community apathy is killing Moreton Bay, a $7.5 billion asset that attracts almost as many visitors as the Great Barrier Reef, leading environmental scientists believe. That view is based on the results of the report card into the health of south-east Queenslands waterways, released by Healthy Land and Water on Monday. Public apathy towards Brisbane River is putting the environmental health of Moreton Bay in peril, senior ecologists warn. The 2018 report card gives south-east Queenslands rivers an overall grade of D+. That reflects a river system that is poor, mostly because of choking sediment and pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus flowing downstream from the Lockyer and Bremer river valleys. It can take more than 20 years to feel really accepted in a small town. Its one of the not-so-great joys of living in a rural and regional town in Australia: unless your great-great-grandfather is buried in the towns cemetery, youre considered a blow-in. This kind of reaction, just one of many throughout my life living in rural and regional Australia, is one reason the Federal governments proposal to force migrants and refugees to live in country towns to ease congestion in cities like Sydney and Melbourne is so short-sighted. Locals won't consider you a local. And if people dont freely choose to live in a place, then its unlikely theyll feel like they belong either and theyre unlikely to stay. Loading I say that as someone who had a mostly positive experience growing up in the NSW Upper Hunter. My family made the move from Sydney to Muswellbrook in 1984 when Dad landed a job at Bayswater Power Station. My Dad piled my brother, my baby sister who was born in Sydney, my mother and I into his second-hand Datsun and drove us all the way to the Hunter Valley town. My youngest brother was born there. The first time we went there, Dad missed it completely. He only realised when he looked in the rear-view mirror and saw a sign bidding us goodbye. "I remember vividly talking among my other young non-mother women colleagues at the bank that I worked with at the time, and we all wondered how we were going to do 'this' [the crazy long hours, the politics and the travel] after our babies came along. No one knew the answer and this frightened me a little bit. "Fast-forward a few years and I had one, then two babies under the age of 2. I was back at work for three days a week, then four, and feeling like a failure both at work and at home. Neither place could get enough of me and there just wasn't enough of me to go around." Kim describes the shock at realising her career would be significantly impacted by children. "Growing up, teachers, family, the media they had me believe I could have it all," she says. "Who the hell are they kidding? "I thought I was completely equal to a man in every way. So, when it came to pass that something had to give, I was initially outraged. I pondered this lots and then knew I had to do things my own way "For me, to be a happy mother, I need to be hands-on it's just that simple. My new barometer for measuring my success in life is now based on how I structure my life to find the balance between being the mother that I want to be and being the successful businesswoman that I want to be. "Prioritising motherhood has led me in a different direction. When I look to take on something new, the first thing I consider is, how do I fit motherhood around this?" Kim believes women should keep looking for alternatives to find the balance that works for them. She found that balance by becoming her own boss. She began her first business while still in the corporate world and her mantra is, "Don't give up your day job until your side hustle can pay its own way." ZOE NAYLOR, 41 Zoe is best known for her role in McLeod's Daughters. She is currently co-producing the documentary Birth Time with her children, Ella-Blu, 15, Sophia, 6, and Beau, 2, by her side. Naylor: "Prioritising wise and appropriately informed mothering skills is the single most important job I have" The birth of Zoe's children came as a complete shock to the system, and left her questioning her long-held beliefs about women and work. "As a former head girl of a prestigious private girls' school in Sydney, I believed we were framed to become prime ministers, not mothers," she says. "It's an issue that's contributing to a gross dismissal of the most important role on the planet. "Nowadays we are expected to be a mother and more. But no degree, no accolade, no red carpet, no Hollywood career can or will ever come close to the achievement I felt birthing my 10-pound [4.5-kilogram] posterior baby at home. "I want more women to know that deep place of self-worth and inner power and how their birth experience informs their experience of motherhood, and to truly relish in their career of motherhood rather than striving to rush back to work." Being a high achiever has made surrendering to a focus on motherhood an ongoing journey for Zoe, with help from therapy and parenting classes. "Success to me is measured by the degree of internal ease a child feels to navigate the world an inner peace. Prioritising wise and appropriately informed mothering skills is the single most important job I have." That's led to a trade-off with her ambition, an approach she calls "more realistic I really don't mind if it takes me 20 years, not three years, to achieve everything." She has reshaped her career to align with her primary role as a mother by selecting projects which won't disrupt the harmony of her family. One of these projects is the co-production of the documentary Birth Time, which allows her to take her children around the country while it's being filmed. Zoe says prioritising motherhood has impacted family finances, but they chose to live more simply by moving out of a capital city, buying second-hand and taking camping holidays all designed to minimise financial stress. ANGELA BLAKE, 37 Angela is an actor and the co-founder of SmartFone Flick Fest. She assesses the impact of any potential role on her time with her children Wolfie, 3, and Lucy, 11 months. Blake: "Why does our society expect women to be locked away and never leave the house with their children?'" "I love my kids and definitely put them above my career," Angela says. "I am still working and I will always work, but now, with anything that takes my time and energy, I weigh it against this scale: whatever I am offered, it has to be worth not spending that time with my children. If it's not worth missing out on this precious time, then I don't do it. "When I decided to have kids, my husband and I were both clear we wanted to raise them ourselves. I knew that I didn't want to have kids and then send them off to spend most of the week with strangers who would experience many of their firsts and help shape them." Angela gave up her career touring in stage shows and now travels to castings and jobs with her children. "My son even had a cameo with me on Top of the Lake: China Girl," she says. "That's the ultimate combination of motherhood and career. I played his mum. I am very lucky I have a wonderful friend, Christina, who comes along and walks my kids around, so I can audition. "I have started writing a lot more. I am even doing my master's in creative writing. It is all about finding ways to still be creative while being a stay-at-home mum. I want my kids to be surrounded by creativity so it's important that I do my things too. It's just about fitting them all in." Before having children, Angela started the film festival, SmartFone Flick Fest (SF3), which she manages from home when the kids are asleep. "It means I can still work and be a mum; it's hard, and tiring and sometimes impossible to find the work hours, but I manage on less sleep." Construction could begin on Canberra's newest mosque in Narrabundah as early as the first half of next year. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Association has been offered a block of land near the Narrabundah ball park for the place of worship, pending development application approval, community services minister Chris Steel told the Economic Development Directorate annual reports hearing. Ahmadiyya Muslim Association ACT president Khalid Syed said the mosque could be approved as early as January. Credit:Jay Cronan The decision comes after a five-year search by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association for a site in Canberra for a dedicated facility. After years of uncertainty, the association's ACT president Khalid Syed said the news came as a relief. The Great War claimed Arthur the following June. He was killed in action at what appears to have been the early days of the Battle of Messines, described at that time as "the biggest bang in history". He was shot through the heart. Imagine the despair of their parents, dairy farmers George and Mary of Woodhill, Berry. You'll need to imagine it because the extent of their grieving isn't documented. It was an era when personal emotions weren't openly displayed. They had three other sons and a daughter, all anxious for news. All three were unmarried with their lives ahead of them. All the records reveal are a few matter-of-fact letters in George's fine handwriting to the authorities trying to track down missing military service scrolls, evidently misplaced. Today John De Boynton, a great nephew of the boys, and his wife Marie live in Woonona, north of Wollongong. They have a pile of cuttings and papers on the table in front of them. Arthur is buried at Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, Belgium. Francis is named on the memorial wall at Villers-Bretonneux and William is buried at Courcelette in France. No unity, then, even in death. John De Boynton holding a keepsake of, left to right, William, Arthur and Francis. Credit:Fairfax Marie said: "We went to Villers-Bretonneux cemetery. As I walked up towards the wall, I'd looked at so many names, it was late in the afternoon and there was a storm brewing. I wondered how on earth we would ever find his name. "As I was standing, I looked up above me and his name was right above my head. That was Francis. It was the eeriest feeling. It was overwhelming." John added: "It was a very emotional time when we found William's headstone at Courcelette. I attached a photo of the three brothers to his headstone." There are more names duplicated on the Berry war memorial. There are four named Boxsell. Two died, two came home. There are three named McClelland. Three Sackleys, three Shepherds, four Peppers. Evidence, if it were needed, that the small dairy farming community was doing its bit. The Berry Cenotaph lists the three De Boynton brothers. Credit:Fairfax The appalling statistics of loss in Berry emulates much of what happened throughout the country. Three years before the outbreak of war, the 1911 census showed Berry to have a population of 1621. Assuming an equal divide between males and females, 202 men enlisted which equates to 25 per cent of the population. Of those men, 54 were killed. That means about 27 per cent of the young men who left Berry never returned home. Robyn Florance, a local historian and author, writes in Berry Remembers the First World War: "Six nurses from the David Berry Hospital also enlisted. They wanted to be there, with their boys, when they went to war." She states that in 1915 the Waratah Recruitment March, which commenced in Nowra, passed through Berry on its way to Sydney. It began with 50 marchers but by the time it reached Sydney, 120 had volunteered. It was reported that nine recruits came from Berry, not bad for a country town serving the needs of the dairy farming community. "Most of the women worked really hard with fundraising, the Red Cross and knitting all the time to send socks over. They lost sons but they still wanted to help," she said. "Here we are, from a little town in Berry, with all these deaths that really impacted on their families, but we are still impacting on our families because we are still sending our boys to war. That's what saddens me." Dr Kerry Neale, curator of the After the War exhibition at the Australian War Memorial, said research indicates about 150 families lost at least three sons. Five families lost four or more sons. "You can't begin to imagine the amount of grief that comes with such devastating losses," she said. "Every loss is significant and if you sent your only son and he didn't come back, and that's only one, but that loss is your world." She cited the story of brothers Stephen and Robert Allen from Manly, which is included in the exhibition. They enlisted as privates within a week of each other in July 1915, both with the 13th Infantry Battalion. They were first sent to Egypt for several months, then found themselves on the Western Front. The constant shelling and horrendous conditions at the front did not prevent the brothers remembering their sister Minnies birthday. They both sent ornate birthday cards from the front. The Allen family. The two boys (Robert, left, and Stephen) were killed by same shell in the First World War. Credit:Australian War Memorial. On August 14, 1916, in the midst of the fighting around Mouquet Farm in France (which claimed William De Boynton's life), the brothers failed to report back after fatigue duty. Originally listed as missing in action, it took several months and several witness testimonies to ascertain their fate. Eventually a letter from Private Will Hale to one of the Allen sisters described what happened. He has been called a glamour banker and Sydneys most eligible bachelor who makes headlines in the social pages as well as the business section. Jon Adgemis, who arrived at the Melbourne Cup last week in a helicopter, also has an eye for a good deal and in Sydneys eastern suburbs that means real estate, even if it provokes controversy. Jon Adgemis, pictured at Derby Day in Melbourne, said there could be some opportunities to re-activate the former Paddington Bowling Club site. Credit: Mr Adgemis said he was aware of the history of the former Paddington Bowling Club, including a corruption investigation, when his company Quarry Street Limited took over the long-term lease earlier this year. That said, it appeared to me disappointing that the site was effectively dormant and that there could be some opportunities to reactivate the site but subject of course to the planning law and community engagement, he said. But Scenic World's cable car, railway and walking trails through the Jamison Valley are a far cry from leading social and celebrity climbers up and down one of Sydney's most recognisable landmarks. Prince Harry climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge in October during the royal visit. Credit:AP Hammons Holdings took over climbing operations on the Harbour Bridge on October 1 after it was awarded the contract by Roads and Maritime Services. The company won a competitive tender against the incumbent operator, BridgeClimb Sydney, as well as other major Australian and international companies, to run the lucrative tourist attraction which gained worldwide attention last month thanks to the royal visit. "I think Harry and David Beckham were a great bit of advertising for us in some key markets there in the UK and America," David said. An RMS spokesman would not say how much Hammons paid for the 20-year contract, citing "commercial-in-confidence" reasons. "Hammons Holdings outlined a strong, clear, and exciting vision for developing new climb routes, improving accessibility and introducing new technologies for a more interactive and innovative visitor experience," the spokesman said. David Hammon, pictured in 2013, on the Scenic Railway at his family-run tourist attraction in the Blue Mountains. Credit:Sahlan Hayes He added that BridgeClimb had turned the Harbour Bridge into an "internationally renowned attraction". However, visitors to online forums have complained about the high cost of climbing the bridge. Adult prices range from $263 and $388 depending on the time of day. Visitors can also climb halfway up the bridge for $168. The Hammon siblings are guarded about the future of BridgeClimb, but said their plans "potentially" included cutting the cost of climbing the bridge. "We want to find other ways of creating different accessibility at different price points," David said. Visitors will soon be able to climb the bridge from its northern side at Milsons Point, although a start date is yet to be confirmed. Anthea Hammon, pictured in 2006, says she and brother David have "amazing memories" of Scenic World. Credit:Adam Hollingworth Other sections could also be opened up to climbers, David said. "We want to make it the people's bridge." More than 4 million people have climbed the bridge since BridgeClimb began operating in 1998, including celebrities Oprah Winfrey and Hugh Jackman as well as Prince Harry and Prime Minister Scott Morrison. A Scenic World spokeswoman declined to reveal how many people climbed the Harbour Bridge each year. But the number of climbers may increase dramatically under its new operators. "We do know that something like 2 million people go to Taronga," Anthea said. "So there's an awful lot of people that aren't climbing the bridge at the moment." Hammons Holdings also has a stake in Sydney Zoo, which is due to open in western Sydney next year and will feature exotic and Australian animals. The company has floated the idea of "a corridor of iconic visitor experiences" from the Bridge to Scenic World. Fond memories Anthea said she "shadowed" her father at Scenic World from an early age, and recalled the friendships she developed with employees. "David and I both have amazing memories of playing pinball machines and being down in the valley," she said. "Our mum used to take us bushwalking on Sundays and she'd take us down the Furber Stairs and we'd catch the train back up." The pair might have fond memories of Scenic World, but their childhood relationship was far from harmonious. The oldest of five children, David admits he was not the model brother to his four younger sisters. Loading "I picked on all of them, yeah," he said. The siblings' relationship was mended during a long conversation: "I basically apologised and said sorry for all the horrible things I'd done, all the teasing and everything that had happened as children," David said. The apology was an important step "because it allowed us to forget all the stuff that happened as kids and to be adults together". Anthea joined the family business in 2004 as a maintenance engineer, while David became chief financial officer in 2006. The pair joined the board in 2009 and became joint managing directors two years later following the retirement of their father Phil. "In the 10 years that we've worked together, we've never shouted at each other in that office," David said. "Not once." Anthea said she believed it was "helpful" that the siblings were apart for almost 10 years after David left to go to university. "That gap allowed us to have enough of a break, especially as David said he apologised, that we could go 'Well, let's respect each other as adults'." Family affair The intricacies of running a family business require a great deal of diplomacy. David and Anthea run Hammons Holdings and sit on the board of directors alongside father Phil. Loading Phil took control of the family business after a long-running dispute with his sister Julie caused by an "ambiguous" will left by their father Harry, the founder of Scenic World, who died in 2000. Brother and sister also answer to a family council that includes their three sisters and parents. "They're all very engaged with the business," Anthea said. "All very excited about what's going on, but they're not involved in the day-to-day operations." Hammons Holdings recorded a profit of $6.3 million for the year to May 2017, compared to $10.1 million the previous year, according to financial statements lodged with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. The siblings acknowledge the responsibility of managing the family legacy in the Blue Mountains and climbing operations on the iconic Harbour Bridge. "We see ourselves as custodians for the next generation," Anthea said. "I don't think the family put expectations on us. If anything we put expectations on ourselves." David has fond memories of the "smell of angle grinders" and the "amazing equipment" used to operate the cable car and railway, but he said tourism was not always family-friendly. "You're at work when everyone else is on holidays," he said. "What happened to us as children is we didn't actually have very many holidays. And I noticed I was doing the same thing." David paid back the time owed to his family by taking a 12-month sabbatical from the business to live in Spain with wife Kellie and their three children. Anthea, in contrast, doubts she will take much time off following the birth of her second child; her three-year-old daughter Hazel often accompanied her to work when she was a baby. In a piece posted to her blog in April, Barker argued that proselytising by attachment parents had caused an upswing in anxiety among parents and that sleep had gone from being a practical issue to a flag waving cause. She received a vicious response from some readers. Its identity politics on the raising of children," she says. "Now everybody is giving advice on the raising of children, including people who dont have any practical experience - academics, people like that - and theres this kind of thing where they want to convert parents to a particular way of thinking. Thats what I mean when I say its political. Attachment theory was formulated by psychiatrist John Bowlby based on his work with psychologically disturbed children in London in the 1930s and popularised by paediatrician William Sears in 2001 when he published The Attachment Parenting Book. Sears encourages mothers to carry their babies next to their skin, sleep with them, breastfeed them long-term and respond quickly to their cries. But some of the researchers whose work Sears has cited have rejected his claims that babies will suffer psychological harm if their parents do not respond instantly to their cries, saying the work referred to babies in neglected homes. Barker, a former midwife and child health nurse, has witnessed first-hand the entrenchment of parenting philosophies and all the angst that followed. Studies on the psychological needs of babies started to emerge during the 1980s and there was a shift away from the routine-based care that had dominated the middle of the century to a more flexible model. No longer were mothers prescribed four-hourly feeding routines, but rather to respond intuitively to their babies' needs. A lot of that research was really good and it pointed in the right direction, and then as humans do people went over the top with it and suddenly it transferred from being a practical thing to a moral thing. Those who described themselves as attachment parents boasted that their method would lead to more empathetic, confident, intelligent children and that sleep training techniques which involved leaving babies to cry were a form of child abuse. Increasingly, the educated, middle class and loving parents who conscientiously attended their baby health appointments were obsessing about "detachment disorder" - a phenomenon that had been observed in relation to Romanian orphans. Pinky McKay is among those whose work Barker cites as alarmist in its claims about the harms done by controlled crying. McKay, a lactation consultant and baby care author, is also concerned by the rise in anxiety, which she attributes to a "pathologisation of normal baby behaviour". But she is concerned that babies are the last ones whose needs are considered when parents think about sleeping strategies. "You put it through the check list: is it safe? Is it respectful? Does it work for me? If there's distress for the parents, there has to be distress for the baby." She questions the validity of studies that indicated controlled crying works because they are carried out in a clinical environment and not a home where myriad variations occur. There are some winners in this skirmish of the culture wars. The ensuing confusion has created fertile conditions for an emerging industry in baby sleep consultants, who range from sole practising mothercraft nurses, to web-trained whisperers and multimillion dollar businesswomen. Their market is middle-class parents who are as anxious to do the right thing by their children as they are desperately tired. The fees for an overnight consultation range from about $800 to $2000. Woolloomooloo mother Marie Gallien employed a sleep consultant to help with her daughter Ziggie when the baby was four-months-old. Gallien hated the idea of controlled crying but was at her wit's end with a baby waking every two hours, and found a mothercraft nurse through a mother's group on Facebook. The nurse quickly wrote her a referral to a residential stay at Karitane. Marie Gallien and Ziggie, aged 8 months. Credit:James Alcock "I was at the peak of my sleep deprivation and I was totally lost and very emotional and crying and not especially liking motherhood anymore," Gallien says. "Julyanne came and I think she identified the issue was more me than Ziggie. I had reached my breaking point." Not all sleep consultants are trained in nursing or mothercraft. One sleep consultant contacted by The Sun-Herald said she had decided to do an internet course after she had success with her own son and other parents were asking her advice. Sarah Blunden, director of the Australian Centre for Education in Sleep, describes the urge of mothers to outsource sleeping decisions as the "professionalisation of motherhood". "They will ask if they should give their babies a dummy or they should co-sleep and I say, 'Do you want to?' and they say, 'Well I haven't had that thought, it's whether we're allowed to or not'." But she worries about the lack of qualifications held by some consultants. She is aware of one consultant offering sleep plans by algorithm if parents submit their child's age and problem. "I can only think that people are desperate so there's certain money to be made," she says. Kylie Barlow has seen three sleep consultants for her daughters, now aged five and three. The first two were trained mothercraft nurses and she credited them with identifying problems that were later solved with medical intervention. But the third charged $2500 for a three night stay and made no difference to her child, who has since been treated for sleep apnoea. "We should never have gone with a non-professional but we were desperate," she says. Loading "She'd been on TV and radio and I thought surely she must be good." The handwringing over sleep settling techniques has percolated into research. In 2004 The Murdoch Children's Research Institute carried out the worlds largest study of infant sleep strategies, comparing babies who had no intervention to those who were subjected to controlled crying or camping out. It found that babies who had been taught to sleep through either method slept longer than those who had no intervention and their mothers reported significantly lower postnatal depression symptoms. Five years later, a second study indicated there was no difference between the children in the long term. Harriet Hiscock, who led the first study and supervised the second, said the critics only became more shrill between the studies. They just have very strong beliefs and I dont think that any amount of evidence will convince them otherwise, Hiscock says. But she worries about the effect on mothers, and spends a lot of time at the Unsettled Babies Clinic at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne trying to undo the harm. I think theres a lot more information and misinformation out there that makes parents feel guilty and adds to their anxiety, she says. Theyre terrified that theyre going to do long term damage to their children, that theyre bad parents and theyre failing because they cant get their babies to sleep. And then if they want to do something they feel they cant tell anyone about it because people are so judgmental. Its terrible. To Barker, the trend in sleep consultants is more confirmation of parental anxiety. Can I arks you a question? How funny is Catherine Tate? Tate will perform around Australia in coming weeks. Credit:ABC She is so talented, according to Dawn French, she must be destroyed. But dont take Dawns word for it. Just ask anyone lucky enough to catch the first live show of the award-winning British comedians Australian tour last night. The Tate juggernaut landed in Perth on Saturday evening for the first of two shows at the Riverside Theatre, and what a ride it was. A van belonging to one of Australia's most well known bookstores, which was stolen in Fremantle this week, has been recovered more 2700km away in South Australia. The Elizabeth's Bookshops van - a 2006 Mercedes Vito - was stolen on Monday morning from outside its Fremantle warehouse on Queen Victoria Street. The van in question which was stolen on Monday. Credit:Elizabeth's Bookshops Alex Taylor, who runs the business with her husband Harry, said the van was stolen about 11am as they were loading it with books. "We were loading it up to go to our Fremantle store...we came in to get something else and someone just walked past and took the opportunity in that split second to take it," Ms Taylor said. Police have found a man who was missing since early Saturday morning. Missing man Peter Cox. Credit:WA Police Peter Cox, who suffers from dementia, was last seen at 4.30am in his room at St Ritas Nursing Home in North Perth. He was missing for hours before police located him on Saturday evening. The guns fell silent 100 years ago today. Four years of the Great War, as it was known, ended. The bloom of national manhood had been mown down in France, Germany, Britain, Russia and countless other places. Seventy million were mobilised across the world for the conflict. By November 1918, between nine and 13 million would be dead. Australian commander in World War I, General Sir John Monash. Credit:Fairfax Media The new nation of Australia tallied 61,560 dead, more than all the other wars fought in the history of white settlement. Over 150,000 were "wounded, gassed ot taken prisoner", according to Australian War Memorial records. Many returned soldiers would die in the early postwar years, others would remain haunted by the carnage they witnessed. Families were shattered. Today we again bear witness to their sacrifice. Today, on the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice, we remember. Developing better unmanned vehicles for the Chinese military is precisely what Wang now aspires to do, having benefited from ANUs world-class experts, resources and facilities. Wang Xiangke Credit:AP Unmanned combat is the commanding height of applied artificial intelligence; we must rush to occupy it! Wang told Chinese reporters in 2017. Wang is now an associate professor at the NUDT, where the military has explicitly designated him as a scholar of exceptional potential. He is chief technician of a classified military project whose name and subject have not been released to the public. His PhD thesis, in part the product of his work at ANU, has also not been released publicly, suggesting its contents are also classified. But simple internet searches indicate that he is part of the PLAs Drone Swarm Autonomous Combat Team, which works to perfect drone swarms. What does that look like? A Chinese media article on his work paints the following picture: Dozens of rows of fixed-winged aerial drones take off from a runway. At speed, they form ranks and fly towards a designated battlefield area for their reconnaissance mission. Besides battlefield reconnaissance, swarms of drones can overwhelm existing air defences and destroy aircraft carriers. Flying one of these inexpensive devices into the air intake of an F-22 fighter jet could take down the plane. A drone swarm test via an NUDT WeChat post. Wangs story is just one among those of the estimated 2500 scientists and engineers "selected" by the Chinese military to study and work abroad in the last decade. This global phenomenon is detailed in my report for the Australian Strategic Policy Institutes International Cyber Policy Centre, "Picking flowers, making honey: the Chinese militarys collaboration with foreign universities". The reports title comes from a saying used by the Chinese military to describe stories like Wang Xiangkes picking flowers in foreign lands to make honey in China. Using Chinese-language sources and analysis of papers published by Chinese military scientists, the report presents the first detailed analysis of the nature and scale of the PLAs presence in overseas universities and research institutes. It finds that the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and Germany are, in that order, the top countries for research collaboration with the PLA, by number of co-authored papers. Globally, the number of peer-reviewed articles published as part of this collaboration has grown sevenfold in a decade. Per capita, though, the situation is particularly extreme in Australia. Australian collaboration with the PLA has produced over 600 peer-reviewed articles and has likely involved around 300 Chinese military scientists coming to Australia as PhD students or visiting scholars. Australia engages in the most research collaboration with the PLA among Five Eyes nations on a per capita basis, at six times the level of that in the US. A J-20 stealth fighter jet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force performs at Airshow China 2018 on Tuesday. Credit:AP Researchers at the University of New South Wales publish more peer-reviewed articles with the PLA than any other university in the West. Two professors at Australian universities even serve as doctoral supervisors at NUDT. My report also uncovers two dozen new cases of Chinese military scientists concealing their military affiliation to travel abroad, including 17 who came to Australia, going to Curtin University and UNSW as visiting scholars to work on satellite navigation technology. PLA rocket scientists have also used cover to work on hypersonic missiles in Norway, Britain and Germany. Hu Changhua, for example, is head of a PLA universitys missile testing centre. Claiming to be from the Xian Research Institute of High Tech - which doesnt actually exist - he visited a university in Germany for four months and didnt publish any research while there. Its difficult to say what he did in Germany, but the fact that his work for the PLA focuses on missiles should offer some indication. Zhu Xinhui, a lecturer at the PLA Information Engineering University, and trains geospatial and signals intelligence officers, was a visiting scholar at UNSW in 2016. Yet in numerous journal articles and the program of a conference held at UNSW she is instead described as being from the Zhengzhou Institute of Surveying and Mapping, which appears to only exist on paper. Who benefits? In Wang Xiangkes case, Australia gained a handful of research papers that he wrote when he was at ANU. The Chinese military gained a researcher who is developing technologies that might one day allow it to take out aircraft carriers and fighter jets. The Chinese military benefits far more than we do from activities driven by a recognition that the PLAs scientific talent and universities are behind our own. Openness and cooperation is fundamental to the progress of science. But as Steve Tsang, head of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London, observes: Conducting research for the sake of advancing science does not fall within the remit of PLA research scientists. Chinese army research is focused on one goal: to support the Chinese Communist Party and its interests, and collaboration with the Chinese military poses substantial risks to security and Australias interests, as Chinas strategic and security interests often do not align with our own. Collaboration with the PLA on technologies which have valuable military applications also raises moral concerns. Some of those studying abroad work on surveillance and artificial intelligence technologyat the same time that China is greatly expanding its use of these technologies to monitor and suppress dissent. Meanwhile, it currently interns an estimated one million Uighurs in a rapidly growing network of re-education camps. Some collaboration between Chinese military scientists and overseas scientists falls into areas such as hypersonic missiles, supercomputer technology and navigation systems. With hypersonic aircraft technology, on which Britain has collaborated with Chinese military scientists, China could send nuclear warheads across the globe at six times the speed of sound. With supercomputers, an area in which UNSW has extensively collaborated with the PLA, the Chinese military develops nuclear weapons and designs advanced aircraft. With navigation systems on missiles the PLA could better track and strike targets in Taiwan or ships in the South China Sea, where Australia conducts exercises and patrols. These findings call into question the way Australian universities have been collaborating with China on research. Responding to my reports discovery of a PLA scientist who spent a year at Curtin University working on satellite navigation while claiming to be from the Zhengzhou Institute of Surveying and Mapping, Curtin University told Fairfax that "he does not deal with military information or technology". Fields such as satellite navigation have both military and civilian uses. Moving forward, it will be important to make a clear distinction between beneficial research collaboration with China, of which there is much, and collaboration with the Chinese military that ultimately may harm Australias interests. If universities fail to make this distinction, they risk tarring all their collaboration with China with the same brush. The issues raised by collaboration that harms Australia's interests have not yet been addressed by governments or universities here, or globally. My report recommends that they work together to advance scientific progress and foster cooperation while ensuring that any research collaboration is in the national interest. The Australian government can start by developing a clear policy on collaboration with the Chinese military a policy that should inform legislative and other responses. The government has a number of tools at its disposal for dealing with the PLAs activities. The Defence Trade Controls Act, which is currently undergoing a review described as "timely and necessary" by one expert, could be amended to restrict transfers of sensitive technologies, which include training, to members of non-allied militaries such as the PLA when theyre in Australia. Under current legislation it might be illegal for someone in Australia to remotely train a PLA scientist in China in a field such as navigation technology, but it would be perfectly legal for that same PLA scientist to come to Australia for the same training. More effective immigration vetting could be applied to members of the Chinese military who intend to use knowledge and skills gained in Australia to develop military technology back home. Universities, as publicly funded bodies, are obliged to take a more proactive approach to their engagement with China, ensuring that it does not compromise their own security and Australias interests. Australians will be asked to vote on a republic in a $160 million national plebiscite under a Labor plan that rejects a postal survey in favour of a public ballot to resolve decades of dispute. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has signed off on the funding plan to ask voters a "yes or no" question in the next term of Parliament, without any funding for official campaigns for or against the change. The plan assumes the same cost as the federal governments original plebiscite on same-sex marriage but is double that of the postal survey eventually adopted and run last year. The Labor spokesman on an Australian head of state, Matt Thistlethwaite, said the recent visit to Australia by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would not hurt the case for a republic but the nation needed stronger political leadership to make the change. "Im conscious that if you talk to the average Australian at the moment its probably not in their top 10 list of priorities and I understand that," he said. Unfortunately this means we never get to the part where I'm comfortable saying what I feel: "The whole thing felt like total bullshit and like we didn't accomplish anything. It felt like the reason these people were trying to blow us up in the first place was as a negotiating tactic with an Australian polity that was so nervous about casualties they took our rifles off us after each patrol in case we hurt ourselves." If they asked me how to spend $500 million - the amount being spent on an expansion of the Australian War Memorial - on how to better address the needs of veterans today, this is what Id say. I'd like to see more money spent on fixing the Department of Veterans Affairs. They are understaffed and have terrible systems and processes, particularly their computer systems. They know it, and they do their best, but they don't get the support they need. I can see it getting fixed eventually, but it's largely too late to mitigate the worst of the damage done to this generation of veterans and families. I can't see how such a spend is justified on the Australian War Memorial when this is the case. I see a lot of opinions saying that the money could be better spent on services for veterans, but not much about what those services might be beyond vague notions of counselling or crisis support. NSW Corrections Minister David Elliott has belatedly apologised to the ABC journalist at the centre of the harassment allegation involving Luke Foley, as he faced a furious backlash over his decision to raise the allegation under parliamentary privilege. Mr Elliott, in a statement released on Saturday afternoon, said he was "deeply sorry for the hurt my comments have caused Ms Raper" and said it was "completely unintentional". NSW Corrections Minister David Elliott, right, has apologised for raising allegations of harassment under parliamentary privilege. Credit:Janie Barrett "I have every intention of respecting Ms Rapers wishes and letting her get on with her life and will be making no further comments," the statement said. It was Mr Elliott's second statement in 24 hours, after journalist Ashleigh Raper said he had used her situation for "political point scoring" without her consent. Colombo: Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved Parliament at midnight on Friday and called for fresh elections amid a deepening political crisis. An official notification signed by Sirisena announced the dissolution of Parliament. The names of candidates will be called before November 26, and the election held on January 5. The new Parliament is to be convened on January 17, the notification said. Sri Lanka's then-incoming President Maithripala Sirisena in 2015. Credit:AP Sri Lanka has been in a political crisis since late last month, when Sirisena sacked his prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. Wickremesinghe has insisted his dismissal is unconstitutional. He has refused to vacate his official residence and demanded that Parliament be summoned immediately to prove he had support among its members. London: Four British ministers who back remaining in the European Union are on the verge of quitting Prime Minister Theresa May's government over Brexit, the Sunday Times reported. British PM Theresa May with French president Emmanuel Macron at an Armistice Day commemorations in Paris. Credit:Bloomberg The newspaper also said that the European Union had rejected May's plan for an independent mechanism to oversee Britain's departure from any temporary customs arrangement it agrees. Loading Brexiteers in May's Conservative Party insist Britain must have control over when it leaves a customs arrangement as it moves towards a new trading relationship with the bloc. Istanbul: Officials from Saudi Arabia, the United States, Germany, France and Britain have listened to audio recordings related to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey's president said Saturday, in the first public acknowledgement of the existence of tapes of the slaying. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also told reporters that Saudi Arabia had to "act fairly" and disclose those responsible for the Oct. 2 killing of The Washington Post journalist to rid itself of "suspicion." Turkey has given recordings related to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia, the United States, Germany, France and Britain, Erdogan said. Turkish sources have said previously that authorities have an audio recording purportedly documenting the murder. Paris: France's Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump have agreed on the need for Europe to bear more of the burden for defence, papering over an earlier Trump tweet that described Macron's call for a European army as "very insulting". Meeting for talks at the Elysee palace ahead of commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, Macron welcomed Trump with a firm handshake, but there appeared to be less immediate warmth between them than in the past. Macron placed his hand on Trump's knee and referred to him as "my friend". Credit:AP Seated on gilded chairs, Macron placed his hand on Trump's knee and referred to him as "my friend", while Trump too sought to find common ground on an issue that has caused friction. "We want a strong Europe, it's very important to us, and whichever way we can do it the best and more efficient would be something we both want," said Trump. "We want to help Europe but it has to be fair. Right now the burden sharing has been largely on the United States." The Operational Land Imager aboard the NASA-USGS Landsat 8 satellite captured this image of California's Camp Fire on Nov. 8, 2018, around 10:45 a.m. local time (1845 GMT). California is burning again, and satellites are showing the scope of the damage. The Landsat 8 spacecraft, which is run jointly by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), captured dramatic imagery Thursday (Nov. 8) of the Camp Fire. The fast-moving blaze has destroyed the Northern California town of Paradise, killed at least nine people and sent smoke billowing across much of the state. NASA's Terra satellite also snapped a photo of the Camp Fire's plume, in a wide shot that included a view of the Hill and Woolsey fires in Southern California. [In Photos: The 2018 California Wildfires as Seen from Space] The Camp Fire started at about 6:30 a.m. PST Thursday. By Friday evening (Nov. 9), it had scorched about 90,000 acres (36,400 hectares) and remained just 5 percent contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). Together, the Woolsey and Hill fires had burned nearly 40,000 acres (16,200 hectares) in Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles, by Friday evening. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer on NASA's Terra satellite captured this natural-color image of California wildfires on Nov. 9, 2018. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS/LANCE and GIBS/Worldview ) For the latest updates about these and other California blazes, go to Cal Fire's "Incidents" page. This has been a particularly destructive and tragic year for wildfires in the Golden State. Over the summer, for example, the Mendocino Complex Fire burned 459,123 acres (185,800 hectares) more ground than any other wildfire in the state's history. Also this summer, the Carr Fireraged through Shasta and Trinity counties, destroying more than 1,500 buildings and causing eight deaths, according to media reports. Mike Wall's book about the search for alien life, "Out There," will be published on Nov. 13 by Grand Central Publishing. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us @Spacedotcom or Facebook. Originally published on Space.com. Ghosts was written by Lyla Oliver and directed by Rob Greenlea. As so often with this clever show, the title resonates on several levels as Elizabeth (Tea Leoni) deals with a ghost writer but both Henry (Tim Daly) and Jason (Evan Roe) deal with ghosts from their past. The cat is slowly making its way out of the bag as Elizabeth finally starts letting her family in on her running for President. I have to admit that Im not as interested in the campaign as I am in seeing Elizabeth actually as President, so Im hoping that most of the campaign will take place between seasonsMost of the political action of this episode takes place with Henrys trip to Thailand rather than with Elizabeth in Washington. As the episode opens, Henry is packing for his trip and Elizabeth is uncharacteristically jealous and insecure over the fact that Henry will be meeting up with an old girlfriend Rochana Arak (Kimiko Gelman). It doesnt help that shes also recently divorced. Its actually a nice way to really humanize Elizabeth even someone who is about to run for President can lack self-confidence.Elizabeth and Henry have to meet with Jasons school counsellor, Colleen (Michelle Wilson) before he leaves. Jason has managed to earn scholarships to three colleges. He has his pick between Vaser, Northwestern, and Vanderhoff. Given that only one of these is made up, Im betting he goes to Vanderhoff Jason has a limited amount of time to claim the scholarships, however.Blake (Erich Bergen) is waiting for Elizabeth with a scone when she arrives (yes. Im jealous of that scone!) and news that he also has an invitation for Henry to attend the King of Thailands birthday reception. Mike B (Kevin Rahm) is also waiting for Elizabeth in her office. He is super excited about the not yet campaign and the money the superpac is already generating. Hes there to pester Elizabeth into writing a memoir to create the myth. Hes lined up Lorraine Sheridan (Susan Blackwell) to ghost write, promising it will mean almost no additional work for Elizabeth.In Thailand, Henry meets Rochana for dinner. As it turns out, shes from Thailand. They talk about old times and catch up as they havent seen each other in 25 years. Henry says hes sorry about her marriage, and she assures him its ok. Its like getting a second chance. Henry is clearly a bit uncomfortable when she lays her hand on his after thanking him for coming to support her while she gives her speech. He pulls away, but it seems clear she may have been hoping for the old spark.When Rochana makes her speech, she is clearly trying to provoke the government. I liked how the show had Elizabeth reading Henry his White House brief on Thailand etiquette in the opening scene so that we know that Free Speech does not exist in Thailand and it comes as no surprise when the police rush in and take her off to jail when she demands people stop worshipping the King.She is sentenced to 60 years in jail, and Henry appeals to Elizabeth. He had no idea that she was going to say what she did, and he hopes theres some re-course through diplomatic channels. However, Elizabeth is constrained by the fact that Thailand is one of their biggest trading partners, so she cant do much more than insure that Rochana is treated well. I liked that they take a realistic view here at least in this scene. Henry wants to try to appeal directly to the King at the birthday reception. Elizabeth tells him that officially, he is there as a representative of the President, but unofficially, if he gets his moment he should use it wisely.Henry does ask rather boldly for the pardon as hes being introduced to the King and he persists even as the interpreter tells him to stop. Its a bit of a shock when Henry has barely left the room and the interpreter tells him the pardon has been granted. The next unexpected obstacle is that Rochana doesnt want to leave. It will make her action meaningless. Henry points out that shed never see her kids again.He doesnt understand her quest for martyrdom and tells her this quest for ideological purity is a dead end. She accuses him of suffering from the same inclination shes not wrong but Henry has tried to learn from his mistakes. Since the end of her marriage, Rochana has felt that her life lacked meaning and this was a way do something meaningful with it. Henry tells her to be brave and stay in the fight. I was rather disappointed in this rather dreary plot turn that she would consider her life over without her marriage.Unfortunately, the King dies before he can get Rochana out of the country and they are both taken to prison. Elizabeth lies to the kids when they are alarmed about the uprising and tells them that Henry is already in the air before heading to the Oval office to sort it out. Dalton (Keith Carradine), Gordon (Mike Pniewski), Ellen (Johanna Day), and Ephraim (Clifton Davis) are all there, working on the solution. Dalton opts for a military extraction.I really liked this op as the soldiers go in pretending to be Thai. Rochana is reunited with her kids at Joint Base Andrews, and Henry tells her that shes not lost. Jay (Sebastian Arcelus) briefs Elizabeth that the Thai arent happy about the extraction but the military has at least stabilized the area.Elizabeth meets with her ghost writer several times. During the first meeting, she asks Elizabeth to think of the first time the earlier the better that she thought she could be a leader. Once Elizabeth jots down a few points, shell flesh them out. I loved the scene between Elizabeth and Will (Eric Stoltz). He has to remind her that she took over parenting him when their parents died thats pretty significant leadership! Shes thinking of a protest she staged with her lacrosse team she tries to spin it as getting the girls bench closer to the water, but Will calls her on it she really wanted to be closer to the boys bench! Hes thrilled that shes running.On their second meeting, it becomes clear that Lorraine isnt doing more than flattering her into writing. She calls Mike B and chews him out, telling him that there wont be any book.Meanwhile, Matt (Geoffrey Arend) has seen Lorraine meeting with Elizabeth and knows who she is. He thinks hes being fired. We get a really nice scene at the end of the episode in which Elizabeth tells Matt that shes grateful every day for the soul and grace that he brings to his work. Matt offers to do the book and I really thought that might be where they were going but again, the show throws us a really smart curve ball. Elizabeth says maybe someday when she doesnt need him in the trenches every day. And thats another ghost dealt with.Finally, Jason ends up not submitting an acceptance for any of the scholarships. He initially tells everyone that hes just decided that he doesnt want to go to college yet. However, he and Stevie (Wallis Currie-Wood) and Allie (Kathrine Herzer) have figured out that Elizabeth is running for President after Stevie sees the Superpac ad. Eventually, Jason admits that its his own ghosts of failure that made him not send in his acceptance. He feels like he fails at everything at first, and he doesnt want to be an embarrassment to Elizabeth. I am enjoying seeing how Elizabeths decision really affects the entire family.I liked the final family scenes quite a lot in this episode. I liked that Henry admitted the Rochana had given him a glimpse of his own behavior and that he promises to offer guidance when Elizabeth needs it. I also really liked how excited everyone is that Elizabeth has decided to run. I do wonder if that enthusiasm will fade. What did you think of the episode? Are you hoping to see an in-depth look at the campaign trail or are you hoping to mostly jump ahead to Elizabeth being elected? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! What Comes After marked the end of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) story on the show but as weve since learned not the end of his story. I think that the show is going to struggle without the character, but I am glad that they didnt kill him and fyi? I totally called how it would work out in my last review! This episode was, not surprisingly, written by the team of Scott M Gimple and Matthew Negrete and was directed by Greg Nicotero (who you can also see in the field of bodies if you look closely!). I loved seeing some old friends back in the hallucinations. And of course, there were more throwbacks to the very beginning of the series.I loved that the episode began back in Ricks hospital room with him in a coma. The birds weve been seeing all season morph into helicopters like the ones from the bombing of Atlanta but also like the one thats going to save him. We get a voice over that also takes us back to season one as Morgan (Lennie James) asks what Ricks wound is is it a bite? Comatose Rick wakes up and tells hallucinating Rick to wake up, asshole as the walkers are closing in on him.We might not like that horse much for dumping Rick, but he did wait for him. Of course, Rick would be able to do the superhuman thing and use his own belt to pull himself off that rebar! And just as an aside? That horse was not especially cooperative if you watch closely (and know horses) he just about goes off bucking on several occasions!I was pretty sure that the early scene with Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) was not unfolding chronologically with Ricks but later. Jadis tells the helicopter people that she needs to leave, where she is, and that she has an A. Of course, shes lying but I dont doubt her when she tells them that shes ready and waiting.Ricks life continues flashing before his eyes as hes in and out of consciousness and the walkers continue to get closer. In a nice parallel, Maggie (Lauren Cohen) and Dianne (Kerry Cahill) continue on their way to Alexandria. Maggie stops to kill a walker and in a nice parallel to Michonnes (Danai Gurira) scenes in the last two episodes, wipes the walker blood off her arm.Rick tries to take refuge in a cabin, and at least manages to slow the bleeding a bit. He discovers a typical scene inside tied up turned person and then the person who shot them with a self-inflicted kill shot. It takes real strength to be able to kill your friends and loved ones to truly let go of them as weve seen so many struggle with.We get a beautiful shot that re-imagines Ricks initial entry into Atlanta. This time hes on a white horse and followed by a huge herd of walkers. The voice over tells us hes looking for his family and he finds Shane (Jon Bernthal) and it was a delight to see these two together on screen again. The scene parallels the scene from the first season which we can assumed happened many times during the time they worked together. The two are having lunch in their squad car and having a serious conversation with a lot of teasing. The bond between the two is clear to see. They discuss the third man who changed everything who was the one to shoot Rick in the first place.Rick tells Shane that hes looking for his family, and Shane is brutally honest as he says it could be argued that Rick is looking for Shanes family. And Shane claims Judith as his own. I loved the banter over whether she had his eyes and how it was really good that she didnt have his nose! Shane wants to take full credit for turning Rick into an asshole for turning him more to Shanes way of doing things. Shane tells him that its glad it was him that killed him. And he tells Rick that the only way hes going to get out of the mess hes in now is to dig deep to the place where Rick finds the strength to do what has to be done like when he bit out Joes throat, when he killed Garth with the red machete. He tells Rick to find the rage, hatred, and loyalty thats buried deep down. Shane absolves Rick of what he had to do and tells him to wake up! Just in time to avoid being bitten.Back in Alexandria, Michonne is working and watching over Judith (Chloe Garcia-Frizzi) when Scott (Kenric Green) shows up to tell her that Maggies in town. Michonne is waiting for Maggie to stop her. Maggie tells her that shes there for herself. Michonne asks her if she thinks that Glen would want Maggie to do it and at this point its killing someone in cold blood. Maggie is brutally honest when she says that she has no idea what Glen would have wanted because she never had a chance to say goodbye and thats a nice bit of foreshadowing for Michonne not to have that chance either.Michonne also brings up Hershel (Scott Wilson) and its a nice reminder of the bond that existed between Michonne and Hershel too. Michonne is quite right in surmising that neither Glen nor Hershel would want Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) to be executed and certainly not like this. Maggie is bitter that the one thing that she had to hold onto was that Glens murderer would die, and Michonne took that from her. Maggie is sure that killing Negan will start things over, but again, I think Michonne is quite right that it will start things over. If you are going to die either way, why bother worrying about the consequences to your actions? You might as well just do what you want and hope you kill the other person first.However, Maggie also knows where to push Michonnes buttons. She knows that if Negan had killed Rick and left Michonne alone to raise a family, Michonne would have killed Negan herself. Its an interesting echo of Michonnes conversation about her sons with Negan in the last episode. It also raises the question of whether Michonne is currently pregnant with Ricks child is this more foreshadowing? And Maggie isnt wrong either. Maggie tells Michonne to tell her to stop telling her to just turn it off and we finally see that Maggie has been struggling with this for a year and a half. Shes tried to put it all behind her. And she cant. Gurira and Cohen are simply wonderful in this scene as both reveal the characters pain and turmoil.Michonne tells Maggie that shes just going to have to find a way to put it behind her, and Maggie asks quite reasonably for Michonne to tell her how. The scene is so much more powerful because Maggie is completely reasonably, not hysterical. Maggie confesses that she just cant keep living the way she is and Michonne finally says that she cant tell her a way. Maggie tells her that thats because its not what you say, but what you do. Michonne asks her if she can live with what comes after another nice nod to the title. Maggie tells her that shell have to live with what comes after because she cant live the way things are now. Michonne gives her the keys.I absolutely adored the scene between Maggie and Negan. Again, Cohen and Morgan are spectacular. Negan is happy to see Maggie because while Michonne has the blade, Maggie has the fire. Negans end game is to die, and he thinks that it will be easy to get Maggie to do it. But Negan misreads Maggie and this time his tongue gets him in trouble. He thinks to goad her by reminding her of how he killed Glen and disrespecting him by not even remembering his name. Negan asks her if shes finally come for revenge, and Maggie clarifies, calling it justice.Negan thinks that Maggie has waited so long because shes had to screw up her courage to do it not that she finally was no longer able to prevent herself from doing it. He gruesomely describes how he killed Glen. Negan goes on to say that he really enjoyed killing Glen. He tells her to do it. Have her justice. Kill him it was worth it.Maggie has the key in the lock when she suddenly starts to get suspicious. He keeps telling her to kill him, and Maggie tells him to come into the light. The light/dark metaphor is a bit on the nose. When he wont come out on his own, Maggie drags him into the light and he continues to beg her to kill him. She wants to know why she should, he tells her so that he can be with his wife and Lucille. Hes supposed to be dead. He tells her that he cant be like this, and Maggie suddenly realizes that Negan is just as tormented as she is. She tells him that she came to kill Negan, but hes already worse than dead. Rick was right this is actually a worse punishment. Life will get better for Maggie but its more likely to get worse for Negan. Leaving him alive is a much worse punishment.We get a close up of Maggies non-bloody crowbar as she leaves the prison. Michonne is surprised to say the least. There are no words in this scene just two actors at the height of their game. Cohen is brilliant as you can see the change in her face a burden has been lifted. She understands now that Rick was right or at least shes satisfied that Negan is paying a heavy price for what he did. The two are interrupted by Dianne who tells them something is up at the camp and the three women immediately go to take care of it.Rick continues to bleed as he rides slowly in front of the herd. He continues to slip in and out of consciousness as he looks for his family and of course members of that family appear in his visions. The dialogue is so short Whats your wound? that I didnt realize at first that the different voices are also family members who hes lost. Its Beth (Emily Kinney) who asks just as Rick finds himself back in the barn on the farm with Hershel. This must have been the final thing that Wilson shot before his death making it even more bitter-sweet to see his kind and wise face again.Hershel is happy to see Rick and urges him to the very spot where Rick once sat with Carl during an iconic scene. Hershel wants Rick to see the beauty that still exists in the world. Rick has a chance to apologize for what happened to Hershel, and for what happened to Glen and all that Maggie has lost. But Hershel tells Rick that Maggie is strong and his grandson will make her stronger Rick doesnt need to worry about her.Rick tells Hershel that he needs to find his family and keep them together but Hershel tells him that he doesnt. Hershel knows its been hard and Rick admits that the vision of the future that little farm in the prison that was a seed planted from Hershels farm that was the seed for Alexandria and Hilltop a world where things grow again thats the future that Carl saw too Rick has had a hard time getting there. Hershel tells him they will get there. Rick wonders if he can find his family with Hershel but he too wakes Rick up and sends him back to the fight.Im pretty sure that the next voice is Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), which is fitting because when Rick opens the door from the first episode that now says Open Dead Inside with the Dont crossed out, Rick enters a field of the dead and finds Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green)! Which was a terrific surprise. I could likely write an entire essay just on the bodies lying in the field its worth pausing. You see Carol (Melissa McBride), Jerry (Cooper Andrews), and Maggie lying in Glens arms though it isnt Steven Yuen and looks more like a dummy. The message on the door is also, of course, an echo of what Rick is doing hes actually reflecting on and visiting the dead instead of locking their memories away and moving on. The fact that theres no Carl in this episode has to be because Chandler Riggs declined to come back because its a huge hole not to have him have a scene with Lincoln.Other bodies of note we come back to Maggie alone, Greg Nicotero, Beth, Daryl (Norman Reedus), and Jesus (Tom Payne). And then Sasha rises out of the dead. She is clearly at peace. Rick is horrified that they are all dead, but she tells him that its ok because he did his part like she did her. The dead have already given them what they needed the strength to do what they had to for the others. Sasha tells him that they change each other to help each other, to make each other better. Rick tells Sasha that it feels like its ending.But Sasha tells him that its ok. Little things end, but they dont die. Its not about only one person its about all of us its about the survival of the species. She tells him that she thinks its the good and the brave who will prevail and it crosses over toward love. She tells him that hes not going to find his family because they arent lost and neither is he but he needs to wake up. And that stupid horse takes off again!Rick finds himself in the camp with his wound running blood again. The camp is full of dead people the fight clearly escalated but we dont find out exactly what happened. Even almost dead, Rick is deadly accurate with his gun but there are too many of them. We also see him kill the girl who was riding the white horse in the first place. Once hes dealt with the new walkers, the herd is there.Rick limps toward the bridge, and we get one rather unforgiveable tease as we see Ricks family lead in the charge by Daryl all run past him to take on the herd and save him. Michonne kneels down with him. She tells him its ok, theyll get him out of there. She tells him that its not over, that they dont die. She tells him that she fell in love with him because hes a fighter and he never gives up she tell him to fight for all of them. Rick acknowledges that they are all his family and he found them but he knows that this isnt real. Michonne tells him that it is and kisses him and then tells him to wake up.Rick does wake up and continues to bleed and limp over the bridge hes going to do what Daryl wanted him to do lead the walkers over so the bridge will collapse. But what Ricks built is too strong and the bridge holds. And just as we think that Rick IS going to go out by walker, Daryl is there to protect him and takes out the walker with an arrow. And then the rest of them ARE there. They all rush to try to save Rick.Rick sees what the others are doing, but he knows that there are too many walkers and he doesnt want them to die just for him. As the others run to try to save him, Daryl stays by him, still using arrows to try to protect him, but Rick has seen the spilled dynamite and shoots it (which wouldnt really set it off but go with it). Michonne and Daryl both see what Rick is about to do. Daryl acknowledges it and Michonne screams for him to stop but it seems that Rick is going out a hero. We get a wonderful shot of Reedus as Daryl mourns his friend alone. Michonne is supported by Carol and Maggie. Daryl is clearly devastated and simply walks away.And then were back with Jadis, and the timeframe is confirmed as she turns and sees the smoke from the bridge. The helicopter is there and she sees the burnt walkers floating down the river. More importantly, she sees a still alive Rick on the bank of the river. She tells the helicopter that she has a B she admits that she never had an A. And this leaves us still wondering about what A and B stands for. Last week, it seemed like an A was a leader or someone that she turned? And why did she say she thought Gabriel was a B but now was an A? Does B mean wounded? I have to say that Im pretty curious to have this explained!!!Jadis pleads that its not a trick. Shes trying to save a friend who saved her. She tells them that hes hurt, but hes strong. And we see Rick flying off in that helicopter that he saw so long ago. Did they know even then? Still, it seems highly implausible that Rick wont be trying to get back to Michonne and Judith and the rest of his family but maybe that will be the focus of the movies of his continuing story that weve been promised.I would have considered this to be a very satisfying episode had it simply ended there instead of introducing us to the new characters. And the time jump. And having Judith (Cailey Fleming) show up with Carls hat and a mini-me Michonne katana and Ricks cowboy boots? No thanks. Frankly, not one of them impressed me with their acting skills. What did you think of the episode? Are you looking forward to "what comes after?" Was this a fitting send of for Rick? Are you looking forward to the movies following his story or is this the end for? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Cadiz (Andalucia), November 08, 2018 (SPS) - The Municipalism towards the decolonization of Western Sahara conference has organized a panel on the experience and role of Saharawi women in the struggle for Sahrawi self-determination and independence. The panel opened with the presentation of the delegate of the Frente POLISARIO in Spain, Jira Bulahi, addressing the determination of the Saharawi woman to be an active actor in the struggle and the achievements of more than 4 decades of resistance in difficult conditions. She highlighted the policy of the Frente POLISARIO and the Saharawi State to grant women a vanguard papal, guaranteeing their political and social rights. the activist Aalia Ajyarhum has also briefed the attendee on the situation of Sahrawi women in the occupied areas of Western Sahara, making known the difficult situation that everyday lives women as victims of the constant violations of human rights by the Moroccan regime. Ajyarhum has requested the urgent intervention of the international community to put an end to the current situation and ensure respect for the human rights of the civilian population living under Moroccan occupation. Other speakers are those of Habiba Salama, coordinator of the UESARIO in the Spanish State, and Geli Sanchez, Jerez platform with Palestine and the Sahara, who highlighted that the Sahrawi woman enjoys great recognition for her career and the role played in the resistance. The days "Municipalism towards the decolonization of Western Sahara" meet in Cadiz, Andalusia, and come to strengthen and organize political support for the struggle for the total decolonization of Western Sahara.SPS 125/090/TRA Connecticuts George Jepsen was among several state attorneys general to ask acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to recuse himself from any role in overseeing special counsel Robert Muellers investigation of possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Whitaker took over as the Department of Justices acting attorney general on Wednesday after Jeff Sessions submitted his letter of resignation at President Donald Trumps request. Whitakers appointment to acting attorney general by Trump raised concerns among critics that Whitaker would attempt to curtail Muellers investigation. A letter addressed to Whitaker was initiated by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and is dated Nov. 8. Other than Healey and Jepsen, signatures on the letter included attorney generals from New York, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, California, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C. Your recusal is necessary to maintain public trust in the integrity of the investigation and to protect the essential and longstanding independence of the department you have been chose to lead, on an acting basis, the letter said. In the letter, the attorney generals said Whitakers public comments criticizing Mullers investigation have been widely circulated, including his suggestion to cut the special counsels budget or limit Mullers authority to follow lines of inquiry. We believe that the independent special counsel must have the full authority to investigate and, if warranted, prosecute any violations of federal law, the letter goes on to say. Healey shared the letter on Twitter, though it was unclear if Whitaker issued any kind of response to it on the platform because he set his account to private earlier this week. A Washington Post report from Thursday said Whitaker has no intention of recusing himself from overseeing the special counsel probe. The information was attributed to people close to Whitaker. STAMFORD Sharon Joy Workman wears many hats. The 88-year-old Stamford woman, who says shes too active, has served in the United States military during the Korean War, written for Life and People magazines, raised four children and now organizes events, serves on committees and directs and stars in plays at Edgehill, the retirement community where she resides. And she has a collection of more than 100 hats. Known affectionately by Edgehill residents as the Hat Lady, Workman has always stood out, from her humble beginnings in Kentucky, to her stints as a reporter for Life and People magazines. When she was 22 years old, the ambitious Workman was itching to travel, having only been about 40 miles from her hometown in Kentucky. She was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency during her senior year of college at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va. To this day, Workman doesnt know why the intelligence agency pursued her, but she quickly realized the organization wasnt the right fit. She desperately wanted to travel, but the CIA told her You have to go where we tell you, she said, and they had plans to assign her to Washington to study the Siamese language, the national language of Thailand. So, Workman decided to go to the Army offices in Washington to inquire about service. They said, If you go to Japan, well send you in 30 days, Workman recalled. She agreed, and she was soon stationed in Tokyo, where she lived in a womens hotel across the street from the Imperial Palace. Workman was an intelligence analyst for the psychological warfare unit of the U.S. armed forces. She monitored communist radio broadcasts emanating from the Soviet Union and provided written reports on the transcripts. You could see the communist movement being spread all over the place, she said. Workman was adept at the job and received a commendation for meritorious service for performing her duties at a high level. She recalls her time in the service as an adventure. Far removed from the combat in Korea, Workman lived comfortably, and turned heads in Tokyo. It was like being the belle of the ball, she said. I was this red-haired, ponytailed American girl. There werent many of those wandering around in the Far East in 1952. Once she returned to the U.S., Workman found employment in New York City for Life magazine. Before entering the military, Workman was the associate editor of the college newspaper at Marshall University and worked as a feature writer and columnist for the Herald-Advertiser in West Virginia, where she wrote a series called How Huntington Lives. I love to learn, Workman said. My mother was a teacher and I think thats why I was interested in journalism. As a reporter for Life, Workman contributed mostly to the publications high-society pages during the mid- to late-1950s, but workplace sexism prevented her from getting more acclaim. You didnt write (the articles), she said. You did the interviews and you turned them over to a man and he got the byline. Workman knew the male writer sitting next to her made twice as much as her, but she was still thrilled to be working for one of the most important publications of the time. I was so proud and thrilled that I just didnt care because it was the best social credential in that area in that time, she said, referring to her title as a reporter. While at the magazine, Workman met and worked with famous photographers like Margaret Burke-White, Alfred Eisenstaedt and Cornell Capa, who founded the International Center of Photography. Once she had her first child, Workman left her job and was unemployed for 14 years, living in Darien. She returned to the workforce in 1974 when she received an offer to be one of the founding reporters for People magazine. She worked at the magazine until 1988. Workman became an Edgehill retirement community resident eight years ago, after raising her four children in Darien. At the retirement community, Workman has become one of the most popular residents. She has served on the resident council and the council executive committee, and has introduced a number of programs and activities, including a Spanish class, New Yorker and short story discussion groups, and she even came up with the concept for Table 61, an open table in the dining hall for people to eat if theyre alone. She has also directed and performed in plays as part of the Edgehill Players, including a performance of Love Letters that earned a standing ovation. If Im going to live this long, I dont want to just take up space on the planet, so I thought, you should try to be useful in your last years, she said. So thats why Ive done all the things Ive done. ignacio.laguarda @stamfordadvocate.com ANSONIA City/Town Clerk Janet Vitarius Waugh on Friday asked the State Elections Enforcement Commission to investigate irregularity in the counting of absentee ballots for the 17th state Senate District vote that led to incumbent George Logan first apparently losing the election, then moving ahead by 65 votes. But Waugh wants the investigation to include all races on the Nov. 6 ballot. She sent a letter Friday by certified mail to Michael J. Brandi, the SEECs executive director and general counsel. Hearst Connecticut Media has a copy of the letter. In her letter Waugh informed Brandi that representatives of the Logan re-election campaign advised her Thursday that absentee ballots were counted improperly, resulting in Senator Logans opponent Jorge Cabrera receiving in excess of 200 double-counted votes. Waugh said Logans representatives also brought their concerns to Ansonias registrars of voters, who recounted and revised their numbers Thursday. As a result Logan went from being 187 votes behind which is one vote more than the maximum 186 for a required recount to 65 votes ahead. There will be recounts next week in each of the 17th Districts municipalities. Based on the significance of the irregularity described above and the failure of an adequate explanation of the double-counting error, I am requesting that the State Elections Enforcement Commission conduct an investigation into the Ansonia Registrar of Voters handling of the November 6, 2018 election, inclusive of all races featured on the ballot, Waugh wrote. She suggested to Brandi that such an investigation is necessary to identify the cause of the double counting error and to ensure the credibility of all results reported by the Ansonia Registrars Office in this years election. Like all municipalities, Ansonia has two registrars. Thomas Maffeo, represents the Democrats while Nancy Valentine, a former two-term Republican mayor, represents the Republicans. Earlier this year, the Republican Town Committee endorsed David Papcin, its 20-year-old town chairman, as its Registrar candidate. He defeated Valentine 371-303 in the August primary. Valentine chose to run as a write-in candidate in Tuesdays election and again lost. Contacted Thursday about the change in vote counts, the SEEC referred questions to Secretary of the State Denise Merrills office. Gabe Rosenberg, a spokesman Merrill, confirmed there was an error in Ansonias counting. Just how it happened, Rosenberg said, he was not sure. Logan, who lives in Ansonia, was seeking a second term as the only black Republican state senator in the legislature. He is the director of environmental management for Aquarion Water Services. Cabrera, who lives in Hamden, is a union organizer for the United Food and Commercial Workers. His wife is the principal of Madison School in Bridgeport. The Supremes Any number of girl groups on the Motown label in the 60s could have made the list, not least Martha and the Vandellas and The Marvelettes, but The Supremes are certainly one of the most influential groups of all time and thoroughly deserve to be recognised as such. The group enjoyed 12 number ones between and 1964 and 1969, becoming the most popular Motowns most successful act of the decade. Songs like Baby Love, Stop! In the Name In Love and You keep Me Hanging On are pop at its purest, and while Diana Ross went on to leave the group and become a huge star in her own right, theres a timeless nature to the music of The Supremes that will endure for decades to come. F east on empanadas, snack on the finest Ecuadorian chocolate and tour the trinket-crammed markets, before heading off to the incomparable Galapagos islands. Katie Law has your perfect Ecuador itinerary... 1. Its on the Equator It may seem obvious, but the name of the country derives from the fact that Ecuador straddles the equator, one of thirteen countries to do so, with the zero latitude line itself running less than 20 miles north of Quito. The site is marked by the Ciudad Mitad del Mundo (the city in the middle of the world), an enormous stone monument surrounded by a series of smaller ones. A popular tourist destination, you can feel the magnetism as you cross from south to north or vice versa, the guides are likely to tell you, hopefully. Technically speaking, the true line runs a few hundred yards further north, but the land on the actual spot is so unstable that plans to build a 5,000 foot monument, costing over 200million, were shelved a few years ago. No matter; join the hundreds and thousands of zero latitude seekers who flock here every year. 2. A taste of Spanish colonial history Originally inhabited by the peace-loving Quitu people, by the time the Spanish invaders arrived in 1526, Quito had become an Inca city. But rather than allow themselves to be captured, the Incas razed Quito to the ground, so most of what you see in the old town today, actually began in 1534 under the direction of conquistador, Sebastian de Benalcazar. His ambitious building programme included accommodating the influx of Dominican, Jesuit, Franciscan and Augustinian's, which you see reflected in the abundance of monuments, monasteries, convents and churches. The city continued to grow and prosper throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, and in 1830, Quito became the capital of the newly-formed Republic of Ecuador. La Compania, Quito / Supplied 3. The culture The religious buildings and monuments are the key sights and main legacy of the capital's Spanish colonisation, which lasted from 1563 -1830. For sheer baroque bling, the Jesuit Church, built in 1602, with its intricate, twiddling carved stone facade and gilt-encrusted interior, wins hands down. The choir gallery of the still working San Franciscan Monastery, has a wonderful line-up of carved and painted wooden saints, while its beautifully tended cloisters are home to several friendly parakeets, rescued by resident monk, Father Wilson. The nearby Casa del Alabado has an outstanding collection of pre-Columbian art and artefacts, displayed by theme, rather than chronology, from birth to death. The Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus, with its green and gold domes is another must-see and if you're in Quito on a Monday, don't miss the colourful spectacle of the changing of the guards outside the presidential palace, at 11am. 4. The eating and drinking Start the day with coffee or a traditional ponche', made with milk, egg and cinnamon, and a pastry at Dulceria Colonial on the main square beneath the cathedral. For a light lunch, try the Tanguez cafe on the magnificent Plaza San Francisco, for a humita, a dumpling-like snack made from corn meal, egg and cheese, or a pork- stuffed empanada, washed down with a locally brewed pilsner. For a glimpse of the capital's high life, Zazu is a $5 cab ride to the new town and serves killer Pisco Sours, delicious shrimp ceviche, lightly grilled tuna and meaty guinea pig empanaditas. Quito has also become home to dozens of microbreweries; brands to look out for include Zambo Creek (made by an-female team of brewers), Cherusker, and Bandido Brewing. 5. The markets For a flavour of how the locals live, start at the Mercado San Francisco on the corner of on Rocafuerte and Chimborazo. Inside, Senora Rosa's is one of many tiny stalls, piled high with potions, lotions and stacks of fresh herbs. Try her invigorating nettle, rose petal and bittersweet herb body rub and stock up on homemade remedies such as valerian drops for insomnia and a balm for aches and pains made from coca and cannabis leaves. You will also be able to find booths selling cheap bowls of food for around 1.50. For cheap and cheerful souvenir-hunting, for things like alpaca blankets , leather bags and woven bracelets, try the trinket-packed Mercado Artesanal La Mariscal and expect to have to bargain. The colourful streets of Quito / Shutterstock 6. The shops At nearby Sombrereria Bencalazar on Bencalazar Street are Senor Cesar's classy handmade felted and Panama hats, straw-soled espadrilles and hand painted masks. For the best artisan souvenirs, make sure you go into the shop next to Tianguez, beneath the main church of San Francisco. Locally-made crafts, from jewellery and textiles to pottery and paintings are displayed in a series of tunnel-like underground corridors, and everything you see is fair-trade and a cut above the usual tourist tat. Otherwise Calle la Ronda is a charming cobbled street full of interesting small boutiques and old Spanish homes, which is quiet by day but springs into life in the evenings. 7. The chocolate Learn all about the Ecuadors justly famous chocolate industry, from bean to bar, at Chez Tiff, a tiny shop and artisan maker on Calle la Ronda. Watch chocolate being tempered on marble slabs and learn why some cocoa plantations fare better than others, while sampling to your hearts content everything from Tiffs signature chocolate and passion fruit pralines to hardcore 100% Arribas cacao chocolate. No need to spit anything out and you can buy bars to take home. 8. The sleeping With its creamy white stucco facade, ornately plastered interiors, rich velvet furniture, silk drape curtains, winding polished stone staircases and bowls of long stemmed roses, the Italianate Casa Gangotena is a taste of old-fashioned luxury. Slap bang in the centre of San Francisco square, it's within easy walking distance of all the sights and has truly fabulous rooftop views across town. Hang out in the quaint palm court-style conservatory or the dark clubby cocktail bar. Enjoy a bowl of hearty potato soup with corn, avocado and cheese or spicy green plantain and fish stew in the elegant restaurant. There are 31 bedrooms, with plush carpets, huge beds and wall to wall white marble bathrooms. At the time of writing the construction of a new metro means most of the square is closed off. To celebrate this years 40th anniversary of Quito being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the hotel is offering guests a number of private tours including one to the Museo del Carmen Alto, a 1653 convent and home to an Order of Carmelite Cloister Nuns and San Francisco Church, one of Quitos best examples of Baroque and Mannerist architecture. Casa Gangotena / Supplied 9. The Andean Cloudforest at Mashpi Immerse yourself in nature for a couple of nights at Mashpi Lodge. The modernist glass, wood and concrete eco-haven-cum-luxury boutique hotel is discreetly nestled in lush, tropical foliage in the Andean cloud forest, a three hour drive north of Quito. Delve deep into misty forests of ferns, lichens, moss-covered magnolias and strangler vines and seceropias; peddle on a sky bike in thin air, your feet barely skimming the vast tree canopy, 80 metres above ground and take an exhilarating dip in spectacular gushing waterfalls. Get close up hummingbirds, toucans and butterflies, spot a Tyra weasel battle a red squirrel for the best bananas and don't forget Mashpi's superb round the clock service and ambitious cooking and especially delicious mini portioned desserts. Sleep in the clouds at eco haven Mashpi Lodge / Mashpi Lodge 10. The Galapagos Islands P upils are being offered refuge in local shops after the school day in areas of London blighted by gang violence, it has emerged. One school in the capital has ordered Ubers for students deemed most at risk as headteachers attempt to stem the tide of violent crime among youths, the Times reported. It comes after five fatal stabbings on the citys streets in just six days , including a 16-year-old in Tulse HIll, a 15-year-old in Bellingham, a 17-year-old in West Hampstead and another 17-year-old outside Clapham South tube station. Their deaths have brought the total number of murders in London this year up to 119. Many have involved schoolchildren. At Harris Boys Academy East Dulwich, pupils are encouraged to make use of safe havens on their way home if they feel vulnerable. These are local shops where a member of staff has been trained by police, and will lock the premises if required. The scheme was initially launched after the death of Lewisham schoolboy Jimmy Mizen, 16, in 2008. A police officer also regularly briefs staff at the school on gangs in the area and their spheres of influence, so that pupils in danger can be identified, according to the Times. Victim: Malcolm Mide-Madariola was killed in Clapham Chris Everitt, the head teacher, told the paper: We have to tackle this head on. We cant shy away from it when we know pupils are at risk. When they come through the school gate they can leave this behind, but they have to go back out again. We want to give them the best possible chance not to be sucked into gangs. Boys at the school are often given workshops and lessons on gang behaviour in a bid to deter them. Jai Sewell, 15, was stabbed to death 100 yards from his home in Bellingham / **FACEBOOK IMAGE** Mr Everitt added: Kids are told about the amount of money they can make by trafficking drugs, hundreds of pounds a time to buy whatever trainers they want. They dont understand the consequences, that they will be indebted to the gangs, owned and exploited. Thats how it is. In west London, the headteacher at Hurlingham Academy is known to cycle around the streets near the school in order to move on any loitering pupils. P olice are investigating the suspicious deaths of a man and woman who were killed in a fall from the eighth floor of a block of flats in south London. Renata Poncova and Tony Taylor, both 33, died after falling from a block in Marchwood Close, Camberwell, Scotland Yard said. Detectives have uncovered evidence at their eighth-floor flat and believe there may have been disturbance at the property before they fell, that indicated there were suspicious circumstances. Scotland Yard is appealing for witnesses but said it is not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths. Police were called to Marchwood Close at 11.44pm on November 2 after receiving reports that a man and woman were injured after apparently falling from a height. Paramedics were called to the address, although Ms Poncova and Mr Taylor were pronounced dead at the scene at 12.30am. A post-mortem found both had died as a result of multiple injuries "consistent with having fallen from height". Detective Inspector Phil Coster said: "I am appealing for anyone who knew Renata Poncova and Tony Taylor, and had contact with them in the days before their deaths, to call police. "I also need to speak with anyone who either witnessed the incident or saw anything suspicious either during on leading up to the deaths. "Evidence at the flat and a possible disturbance at the flat prior to the fall leads us to believe there are suspicious circumstances. "We need witnesses to come forward to help us build a picture of what happened before these deaths. If you know anything please call us." Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should call the incident room on 020 8358 0400 or 101 quoting reference CAD 9264/02NOV. B ig Ben will sound on Remembrance Sunday to mark the centenary of the Armistice. The bell will chime despite the clock tower being covered in scaffolding for conservation works. The 13.7 tonne bell, which hangs in the Elizabeth Tower in Westminster, will sound 11 times at 11am on Sunday for the traditional two minutes of remembrance, the Government has said. It will strike a further 11 times at 12.30 with bells across the UK and worldwide as part of a programme of events to mark the end of the First World War 100 years ago. Big Ben is currently in the middle of four years of restoration work / PA Archive/PA Images Londons iconic bell, Big Ben, did not ring throughout the war but finally chimed again on Armistice Day amid an outpouring of relief. It will ring out at 11am on Remembrance Sunday, marking the moment the war ended. What was the Armistice? This will be followed by the international bellringing at 12.30pm which is a joint campaign organised by the British and German governments. As part of the initiative, 1,400 new bellringers have been recruited to honour the 1,400 who lost their lives during the war. Big Ben bongs again in test for Remembrance Sunday Bells will ring out from churches and cathedrals in cities, towns and villages across the country and around the world. It is designed to not just symbolise the end of the First World War, but also as a conclusion to four years of centenary commemorations. The 159-year-old clock tower is currently undergoing renovation work, meaning the famous bells have been silent since August 2017 after being disconnected from the clock mechanism. The bells were reconnected briefly to ring in the new year in 2018, but the entire clock mechanism has since been removed for repair and maintenance works. T he first batch of Spice Girls tour tickets sold out within minutes as extra dates were added due to overwhelming demand. Many fans of the 90s girl band were left waiting in online queues as thousands of people rushed to get tickets to the anticipated tour. Extra dates were added in London, Coventry and Manchester with the first batch of tickets for the original six dates selling out in just minutes. As soon as the tickets went on sale, secondary ticketing websites such as Viagogo and Stubhub began selling pitch standing tickets for at least 186. The face value is 82.50. The four reuniting Spice Girls on Heart Radio last week / PA The Spice Girls are reuniting without Victoria Beckham and embarking on a 11 date UK tour in June. Spice Girls - In pictures 1 /48 Spice Girls - In pictures Spice Girls at Wembley in 2019 Andrew Timms Best looks Sporty, Baby, Scary, Ginger and Posh sing as The Spice Girls PA The Spice Girls reunite for tour rehearsals Spice Girls Instagram Spice Up Your Life The Spice Girls officially launch Channel Five at Marble Arch in 1997 Rex Viva Forever The Spice Girls - Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham AT 'Viva Forever!' Spice Girls musical launch in 2012 The Spice Girls reunite for the first time since 2012 Victoria Beckham/Instagram Prince Harry meets The Spice Girls PA Reuniting Victoria Beckham, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Melanie Brown pose for a photocall at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich ahead of their news conference on June 28, 2007 in London Getty Images Doppelgangers The Spice Girls with their wax doubles at The Rock Circus In The West End, London in 1999 Jeremy Selwyn Book launch The Spice Girls launch their book 'Forever Spice' PA Summer ball The Spice Girls at Capital Radio Summer Jam, Clapham Common in 1996 Rex Patriotic Geri Halliwell at The Brit Awards in 1997 wearing her famous Union Jack dress Rex Features Movie stars Spice Girls 'Spice World' Los Angeles Premiere in 1998 Rex Going for gold The Spice Girls performing at The 2012 London Olympic Games, Closing Ceremony Rex Charitable Spice Girls pose for Comic Relief Red Nose Day Launch in 1997 Alex Lentati Iconic Auction of outfits owned by Geri Halliwell. Her Spice Girls memorabilia auctioned at Sotheby's. All proceed's for The Sargent Cancer Care For Children in 1998 David Crump/Daily Mail Onset The girls filming Spice Girls: Spice World Spice Productions Undercover Ginger and Baby Spice star in Spice Girls: Spice World Spice Productions On tour British pop band, The Spice Girls, perform the first concert of the UK leg of their world tour at the O2 Arena, 15 December 2007 Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images Flying high The Spice Girls pose after naming a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 plane "Spice One" in their honor at Los Angeles International Airport, 12 December 2007 AFP/Getty Images Jet setters The Spice Girls unveiling the new name, Spice One, of a Virgin Atlantic Jet at the Flight Path Museum at Los Angeles Airport PA Model looks The Spice Girls, Emma Burton, Melanie Chisholm, Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham (L to R) perform during the Victoria's Secret fashion show at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California, 15 November 2007 AFP/Getty Images West End debut Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown attend the press night of 'Viva Forever', a musical based on the music of The Spice Girls at Piccadilly Theatre on December 11, 2012 in London Stuart Wilson/Getty Images Selfie stick The Spice Girls: Victoria Bekcham, Melanie Chisholm, Emman Bunton, Melanie Brown and Geri Halliwell Stage stars Spice Girls - Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham during 'Viva Forever!' musical press night at The Piccadilly Theatre, London, Britain MTV Europe Music Awards Spice Girls at the Globe Arena in Stockholm. PA Throwback The Spice Girls: Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice), Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) Victoria Adams (Posh Spice) Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) and Melanie Brown (Scary Spice) Girl power The Spice Girls in Spice World (1997) London calling Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls performs during the first date of their 17-date residency, part of their reunion world tour Getty Images Raising money The Spice Girls raise money for Children in Need First reunion The Spice Girls reunited in 2007 Jeremy Selwyn Fashionable flare The Spice Girls at 12th Annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles in 2007 Spice and Vinegar Gary Lineker with the Spice Girls promote Walkers Crisps with limited edition Spice Girls range Mini me's The Spice Girls Dolls hit the market in 1997 Rex Risque Victoria Beckham (Adams) and Geri Halliwell perform with The Spice Girls in Dublin in 1999 Rex One down British pop band The Spice Girls. Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham), Sporty Spice (Melanie Chisholm), Baby Spice (Emma Bunton) and Scary Spice (Melanie Brown) Virgin Records BRIT Awards The Spice Girls perform at The Brit Awards in 2000 and win an award for thier outstanding contribution to British music Back stage snaps The Spice Girls take a twitter snap at Olympic Games London 2012 Closing Ceremony. Charming the royals Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls greets Prince Charles at the Prince's Trust Charity Concert Gala at the Manchester Opera House Rex The Spice Girls meet Prince Charles Prince of Wales with the Spice Girls at the Royal Gala celebrating the Princes Trust 21st Anniversary PA The Spice Girls World Tour Melanie Chisholm, Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown perform The Spice Girls World Tour in 2008 Rex The Spice Girls at The MTV Europe Awards The Spice Girls at The MTV Europe Awards in Sweden IN 2000 Rex Award winners The Spice Girls at The Brit Awards in 1998 Rex Collecting gongs The Spice Girls at The Brit Awards in 1997 Rex With her majesty Queen Elizabeth II meeting Emma Bunton, Victoria Adams, Mel C, Geri Halliwell, Mel B of The Spice Girls at The Royal Variety Performance in 1997 Rex Film debut The Spice Girls take center stage in their feature film debut, the Columbia Pictures Presentation of 'Spice World' in 1997 Getty Images Meeting Mandela Spice Girls Mel B and Geri Halliwell meet Nelson Mandela in 1997 as part of the British Royal tour in 1997 Rex Pepsi promotions The Spice Girls promote Pepsi in 1997 Rex The Spice World tour will now kick off at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on May 29 2019, instead of June 1. They will play an additional two dates at Wembley Stadium in London on June 13, and 14 before bringing the tour to a close at the same venue the following night. The band will play dates at Sunderland, Wembley, Manchester, Coventry, Bristol, Edinburgh and Sunderland and will be accompanied by Jess Glynne. Many fans took to Twitter to share their angst at trying to get a ticket to the reunion tour. While others complained that tickets were already on sale at secondary ticketing website Viagogo and Stubhub. During the announcement, they said: "We are beyond excited to be reuniting next year for a stadium tour," the group said in a statement. "Bringing girl power and our message of friendship and love back to the stage feels more relevant than ever. We hope everyone can join us for one big Spice Girls party." Mel B spoke about Beckham's absence on the tour on Loose Women, saying: "Its just the four of us, but she might join us at some point. I hope so. I think it would be a shame if she didnt. D onald Trumps visit to a US war cemetery in France was called off by the White House because of bad weather. The US President was scheduled to fly in Marine One to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial near Belleau Wood on Saturday afternoon. He was due to take part in a wreath-laying event and a minute's silence at the site, which is about 55 miles away from Paris, but heavy rain stopped him from arriving via helicopter. It is thought that White House chief of staff John Kelly, who is a retired Marine Corps general, his wife and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit instead. French President Emmanuel Macron and French First Lady Brigitte Macron greet US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump as they leave the Elysee Palace / EPA The cemetery is the site of a 1918 First World War battle in which the American and French troops repelled the German forces and more than 1,800 US soldiers died. Earlier on Saturday, Mr Trump was meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. It came after he attacked Mr Macron on Twitter and said he had suggested that Europe build its own military to protect itself from the US, China and Russia. French President Emmanuel Macron pats Donald Trump on the knee / EPA Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of Nato, which the US subsidises greatly! In their meeting, Mr Macron defended his push for more robust European defence. Brigitte Macron, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, greets US first lady Melania Trump / REUTERS As the two men met at the French presidential palace, Mr Macron called Mr Trump "my good friend" and even appeared to tap him on the thigh. The two men have had an up-and-down relationship. Their meeting got off to a tense start after Mr Trump called it "insulting" that Mr Macron wants a European army. But Mr Macron defended the idea, saying: "It's unfair to have European security today being assured by the US." US President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with French president Emmanuel Macron / AFP/Getty Images "That's why I believe we need more European capacities and more defence to take this part of the burden," he said. He said the states in the US do not ask France or Germany or other countries to finance their armies. Mr Trump assured that the United States will "help" with European defence but repeated his insistence that nations on the continent pay their fair share. The US President said that Mr Macron "understands that the United States can only do so much." But he also made clear that the US was not disengaging, declaring "we want to help." T urkey has shared recordings related to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi with Saudi Arabia, the UK, US and other countries. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also repeated his belief that Saudi Arabia knows who is responsible for the October 2 killing and must disclose them. "We gave them the tapes. We gave them to Saudi Arabia, to America, to the Germans, the French, to the British, to all of them," Mr Erdogan said before departing for Paris to attend ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. "They [Saudi officials] also listened to the conversations and they know. There is no need to distort this. They know for certain who among the 15 is the killer or are the killers," he said. He was referring to an alleged 15-member assassination squad that Turkey believes was sent to kill Mr Khashoggi at the consulate where he had arrived to obtain papers to marry his Turkish fiancee. Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee on Saudi columnist's murder CIA director Gina Haspel, who visited Turkey last month for information on the investigation, is reported to have heard the audio recordings of the killing. The existence of the recordings was leaked to the media, but never openly confirmed until now. Turkey says Mr Khashoggi, who was critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was strangled and dismembered at the consulate as part of a premeditated killing. Media reports have suggested that his body could have been chemically dissolved. Jamal Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 / PA Turkey is seeking the extradition of 18 suspects who have been detained in Saudi Arabia, so they can be put on trial in Turkey. They include the 15 members of the alleged assassination squad. Saudi Arabia had insisted for weeks after Mr Khashoggi disappeared that he had walked out of the consulate, before changing its account to say he died in a brawl. Last month, Saudi Arabia acknowledged that Turkish evidence indicates that Mr Khashoggi's killing was premeditated, shifting its explanation in an apparent effort to ease international outrage over the death. Saudi officials characterise the killing as a rogue operation carried out by Saudi agents who exceeded their authority. Yet some of those implicated in the killing are close to the crown prince, including a member of the prince's entourage on foreign trips who was seen at the consulate before Mr Khashoggi's slaying. Mr Erdogan accused Saudi Arabia's chief prosecutor, who was sent to Istanbul last month as part of a joint probe, of employing "delaying tactics". A t least 12 people have died after flash floods hit Jordan and forced 4,000 tourists to evacuate the ancient city of Petra. Visitors were forced to run for higher ground as a deluge of water surged through a narrow canyon and flooded the historic site in minutes. Tourists were taken to safe areas while residents were also urged to evacuate their homes, with more heavy rain expected. The floods also hit several other areas of Jordan, with rescue teams searching for five people whose car was swept away in the town of Madaba, south west of the capital Amman. Rescue teams at the scene of an accident where a family of six died due to floods in Madaba / EPA A state of emergency was declared in the port city of Aqaba, while a shelter was opened for dozens of people whose homes were surrounded by water in the southern town of Maan. Those killed in the floods include two children and a diver who had been involved in rescue efforts, according to Jordanian government spokeswoman Jumana Ghuneimat. Separately, Israel's public radio said contact had been lost with three Israeli tourists in southern Jordan. The Arabic-language Makan Radio said the tourists had last been heard from in the Wadi Rum area, another major tourist attraction. A deluge of water surged through a narrow canyon and flooded Petra within minutes / AFP/Getty Images The torrents came two weeks after 21 people, most of them children, were killed in flash floods near the Dead Sea. In Petra, the ancient trade hub carved into rose-hued rocks, heavy rains began at around 1 p.m. Friday and last for about 40 minutes. Suleiman Farajat, the chief administrator in Petra, said the site would remain closed Saturday, but would likely reopen Sunday. He said he's never seen flooding of such intensity in the area. A ctor Russell Crowe has led tributes to a much-loved cafe owner who was killed when a knifeman went on a stabbing rampage in a terror attack in central Melbourne. Sisto Malaspina, 74, was killed by a man who set fire to a truck laden with gas cylinders just outside Pellegrini's cafe before stabbing him and two other people. His business partner Nino Pangrazio confirmed to local newspaper The Age that he had been killed in the attack and said: Many, many tears have been shed. Many of the popular cafe's customers including Gladiator star Crowe paid tribute to Mr Malaspina who took over the restaurant with Mr Pangrazio in 1974. Sisto Malaspina enjoying a lighter moment with his staff in Pellegrini's Espresso Bar in Melbourne / AFP/Getty Images He said: Ive been going to Pellegrinis since 1987. Never been to Melbourne without dropping in on my man." Crowe went on: "My sweet, loyal friend, stabbed in the street by a mad man." Other friends described Mr Malaspina as "the happiest person you could imagine" and "bon vivant". Floral tributes have been left outside the cafe on Bourke Street. It is reported that Mr Malaspina approached his killer and offered to help him. The suspect who has been named as Hassain Khalif Shire Ali, 30, launched his attack at 4.20pm on Friday. Floral tributes left outside the cafe on Bourke Street / AFP/Getty Images Police shot the suspect after he lunged at officers and tried to stab them. He died of his gunshot injuries in hospital. Police confirmed it was terror-related and that the culprit was known to officers. Police said Shire Alis Australian passport was cancelled in 2015 after an intelligence report that he planned to travel to Syria, but an assessment was made that while he had radical views, he posed no threat to national security. Knifeman stabs police in vicious Melbourne attack Islamic State have claimed responsibility for the attack. Australian Federal Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney told reporters: I think it is fair to say he was inspired. He was radicalised. Were not saying there was direct contact. Were saying it was more from an inspiration perspective. Police said that counter-terrorism investigators were searching two properties in suburban Melbourne in connection with the attack, but there was no immediate word on what the searches yielded. Melbourne Stabbing - In pictures 1 /9 Melbourne Stabbing - In pictures A screenshot taken from a supplied video made available to AAP shows an incident n which a man armed with a knife attacked several people on Bourke Street in Melbourne, Australia EPA A screenshot taken from a supplied video made available to AAP shows an incident n which a man armed with a knife attacked several people on Bourke Street in Melbourne, Australia EPA A screenshot taken from a supplied video made available to AAP shows an incident n which a man armed with a knife attacked several people on Bourke Street in Melbourne, Australia EPA Emergency workers are seen on Bourke street in Melbourne EPA Police respond to an incident at the intersection of Bourke Street and Swanston Street in Melbourne EPA Policemen block members of the public from walking towards the Bourke Street mall in central Melbourne Reuters Policemen stop members of the public from walking towards the Bourke Street mall in central Melbourne Reuters A burning car is seen near the Bourke Street mall, in Melbourne Reuters A burning car is seen near the Bourke Street mall, in Melbourne Reuters Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the national terrorism advisory remained at "probable", the midpoint of a five-tier system, and told reporters in Sydney that radical Islam was the issue. Authorities say Australia's vigilance has helped foil at least a dozen plots, including a plan to attack Melbourne at Christmas in 2016 and a plan to blow up a flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi using a bomb disguised as a meat mincer. D onald Trump has hit out at the French president for suggesting Europe needs an army for protection from the US, China and Russia. Mr Trump posted about the insulting comments from Emmanuel Macron on his Twitter account. He wrote: President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly! Although President Trump said that President Macron just said the idea, it was reported on Tuesday he made the statement. "We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America," Macron said on French radio, the Wall Street Journal reported. He said Europe needed the army so as to reduce reliance on the United States for defence. Donald and Melania Trump disembark Air Force One in Orly, France / EPA On Friday night, President Trump arrived in France, where he is to attend armistice day services. He and the First Lady, Melania, were seen disembarking Air Force Once, around the time of the Tweet being shared. During his visit to France, President Trump has planned to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron for talks on topics expected to include European security, Syria and Iran. As well as Mr Trump, Russian leader Vladmir Putin is also to visit Paris for Remembrance Sunday. As well as the army plans, President Macron has banded around the idea of building a coalition of pro-EU lawmakers in the European Parliament election next spring. P resident Trump has asked his Twitter followers is there anything better to celebrate than the end of a war as he prepares to mark the armistice centenary in France. The president wrote on Twitter that he was in Paris and getting ready to celebrate the end of World War One. It comes after Mr Trump attacked French President Macron on the social media site saying that Mr Macron has just suggested that Europe build its own military to protect itself from the US, China and Russia. "Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of Nato, which the US subsidises greatly! Mr Trump will join President Macron and other world leaders in commemorating the 100 year anniversary of the armistice. Before the commemorations get under way, Mr Trump will meet Mr Macron to discuss European security, Syria and Iran. He will also visit several memorial sites to pay tribute to American service members with First Lady Melania. The pair will meet ahead of the commemorations in Paris / AFP/Getty Images It has been a week of turmoil for Trump as he sparred with journalists following the mid-term elections. He attacked CNN reporter Abby Philip, accusing her of asking him a stupid question and telling her that she asks a lot of stupid questions. Mr Trump added: I watch you a lot. You ask a lot of stupid questions. He also defended his decision to revoke a White House hard press pass from CNN reporter Jim Acosta after a heated exchange at a press conference after the midterm election results. Mr Trump called Mr Acosta a "rude, terrible person" after he asked him about the probe into possible Russian interference in the presidential election. I think Jim Acosta is a very unprofessional man, he said. R ocking around the Christmas tree isnt just one of our favourite holiday songs, but an essential festive activity too. Bringing a tree indoors for the winter is a tradition dating back to 16th century Germany, although some could argue even farther back to Pagan roots. While those folks risked an arson charge by decorating their firs with lit candles, today weve adopted an alternative approach that meets health and safety criteria. All part of the festive fun, the ritual of draping trees with yards of shiny tinsel, fairy lights, dotting weird and wonderful baubles on its branches and topping off things with a fairy or a star are one of the best ways we know to build giddy excitement for the big day. Really, can you picture tearing into your pile of presents underneath anything else? The question though, isnt how youll decorate your tree. Its which to get in the first place. Faux trees can be all kinds of fabulous, but if youve been craving that real Christmassy feeling, nothing beats the fresh scent of a real evergreen standing pride of place in the heart of the home. We know real tree buying is an exciting festive must-do all of its own (with trips bookended by mince pies and mugs of mulled wine), but if youd rather save yourself the ordeal of hauling one onto a car roof or wrestling spiky branches into the back of an Uber, weve found online vendors who will deliver your Christmas decor centrepiece right to your door. From ceiling-scrapers that look plucked straight out of Lapland to cute versions that arrive through a letterbox, weve gathered the nicest, leafiest versions below. Pre-order now for delivery close to Christmas A t a Google conference last year, the companys then head of artificial intelligence (AI) said we dont need to worry about killer robots, instead, we need to worry about bias. The real safety question, if you want to call it that, is that if we give these systems biased data, they will be biased, said John Giannandrea. This is something Google has struggled with in the past. There was one particular incident where an algorithm in Google Photos was mistakenly classifying black people as gorillas. As a result, everyone from IBM to Airbnb is trying to ensure that the algorithms they are creating are not incorporating similar biases. For Jen Gennai, Googles head of ethical machine learning, trust and safety, preventing bias is literally in the job description. In this role, Gennai leads a cross-company team that analyses and interrogates new products and services to ensure that all new Google products are adhering to this ethical standard. If were going to set up a new technology, we need to make sure that technology is right from the start, she tells the Standard. Here are the ways Google is tackling bias in AI. The AI terms to know AI computer intelligence, with machines doing things that we associate with humans, such as problem-solving and learning Machine learning often used as a synonym for AI but actually referring to a specific type of process where a computer can get better at something, often by using lots of data to train the system to get smarter Algorithm a process or a set of rules to be followed by a computer in order to solve a problem Creation of AI principles In June this year, Googles CEO Sundar Pichai published the companys AI principles that guide Googles work and research covering these areas, including ensuring that Googlers dont create or reinforce unfair bias. How AI is developed and used will have a significant impact on society for many years to come. As a leader in AI, we feel a deep responsibility to get this right, he wrote at the time. The catalyst for this new stance on AI was affected by the instances where Google had got things very wrong. As well as the gorilla incident, work by the Harvard researcher Latanya Sweeney found instances of racial discrimination on Google Search. When you searched black-sounding names, arrest-related ads were more likely to show up than when you searched white-sounding names. Both of those [incidents] were triggers for us that it shouldnt be our users seeing this, we need to stop them from happening in the first place, explains Gennai. Putting ideas through rigorous testing Now, whenever a new product is launched at Google it undergoes rigorous testing by Gennai and her team. This brings together experts from areas such as tech, legal, privacy and social sciences to analyse each product against Googles AI principles. This testing focuses on the benefits and negatives of a product. Were not the scary police force in Google, says Gennai. Were like, I want you to launch the best product you possibly can, so Im going to identify all the holes that could possibly go wrong so you can fix them. With the case of Duplex, which allows the Google Assistant to make calls and book appointments on your behalf, there were several ethical considerations taken before the tech was previewed at the I/O developer conference earlier this year. Google Assistant making phone call to real person In this instance, the team had done a lot of work on how the AI would deal with different accents but Gennais team raised some other issues. We looked at how our users would interact with it, how would [the tech] mitigate against bias. We asked, how would you know someone with a stutter or a speech impediment is received as well as someone who didnt have one, she explains. The team had done a lot of work, but we try and close all the gaps and raise it. Improve datasets One way to improve bias is to improve the datasets. Gennai uses the examples of weddings to illustrate this. It used to be that if you searched weddings on Google Images, you would be served pictures of white people in wedding dresses because the algorithm was trained on Western-driven data sources. Yet this wouldnt suit Googles users in India or China, for instance. Google asked for people to submit pictures of weddings around the world to improve the data set. Now, were getting a lot of input from our Indian users in particular where they are sending us so many colourful, great wedding pictures, she explains. We want to understand how bias our existing sources are and create new sources that are a bit less biased to get it to a different position. Understanding the algorithms Understanding how Googles algorithms work in-house helps the team at Google to make changes for the better. There was the case of the Google Search CEO problem when you typed CEO into the search bar, you would see images of white men in suits and Barbie, though not in the same image. When Gennais team looked into the data, it wasnt a human bias that caused it but a technological one. The algorithm had learned that navy blue pixels equals CEO, and because white men are more likely to wear navy blue suits, it was purely how the model had learned. But, [it shows] you need to scrutinise and interrogate your data, she says. Its also important that Google users understand how the companys algorithms work. As a Google user, you can now check why an ad was served to you and see the decision the algorithm made. You can also check why you saw a certain link on Google Search, depending on your previous search history. Gennai says this is about helping users understand Google more so they can trust the platform. Transparency is part of the companys AI principles too. Sharing a full algorithm with a user is not helpful at all it will probably cause more confusion and feel like were deliberately obfuscating. [But] an explanation in readable language will help people understand what Google is trying to do, even if we get it wrong, says Gennai. Google cant solve all the biases At the end of the day, the problem with bias is that it comes from humans. Were all horribly biased, says Gennai. We all have our biases, all our existing data sources are built on everyone before us and their historical biases." But, just because we can blame humans for everything wrong with algorithms, it doesnt mean we cant do anything to stop it. Instead, Google tries to investigate and account for the biggest sources of bias as possible, and try to change them. Thats why the AI principles are so important inside Google and also why the company has created Responsible AI practices for people outside the company who are using its open source software to build AI and machine learning algorithms. Media Story About Ultra-Orthodox Responsibility for Lengthy El Al Delay Disputed | Main | AP Avoids Calling Farrakhan Comments "Anti-Semitic" July 26, 2018 Israeli Peace Offers, Palestinian Rock Throwing Are M.I.A in Post Report A June 28, 2018 Washington Post report, Prince William visit Jerusalems holy sites, concluding historic visit, omitted key context and details about the Duke of Cambridges trip to Israel and areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA). Prince William was the first member of the British Royal Family to make an official trip to Israel since the Jewish state was recreated in 1948. Washington Post correspondent Ruth Eglash noted the significance of the Princes visit and claimed that it comes at a time when peace seems more elusive than ever for Israelis and Palestinians. The Post, however, failed to provide readers with details as to why that might be the case. As CAMERA has detailed, the PA has refused numerous U.S. and Israeli offers for a Palestinian state in exchange for peace with the Jewish state. More recently, the PA refused offers in 2000 at Camp David, 2001 at Taba, and 2008 after the Annapolis Conferenceas well as U.S. proposals to restart negotiations in 2014 and 2016. Yet, not only did the PA reject these opportunities, its leaders refused to so much as make a counteroffer. The Washington Post failed to mention this historydespite its obvious relevance to their report. Indeed, Eglash reported that some Israelis were upset that the Jerusalem portion of the Princes itinerary was billed as part of a visit to the occupied Palestinian territories. Much of the world, the reporter wrote, does not recognize Israels sovereignty over the eastern parts of the city, which Palestinians hope will become the capital of the future state. Yet, the 2008 offer, among others, would have provided the Palestinians with a state with its capital in eastern Jerusalem. It is odd that The Post chose not to mention that the PA rejected precisely what they claim Palestinians hope to obtain. The Post also omitted other aspects of the Princes visit. According to Khaled Abu Toameh, an Arab Israeli journalist, on June 27, 2018: Palestinian children threw rocks at Prince Williams convoy in Jelazoun refugee camp, north of Ramallah. No one was hurt and there was no damage. That same day, the Israeli Knesset approved a law that would deduct funds to the PA commensurate with the amount of money the Palestinians pay to terrorists and their families, the writer Bassam Tawil noted. The PA responded to the Israeli law by vowing that it would not abandon the prisoners and the families of the martyrs. The martyrs that the PA is talking about are in fact Palestinian terrorists, who were killed by the Israeli army or police during attacks on Jews, Tawil noted in a June 28, 2018 Gatestone Institute report. The PAs promise to pay terroristsand the passage of an Israeli law to discourage the policywas not mentioned in The Posts report. Indeed, although the paper noted that the Prince visited [PA President Mahmoud] Abbas in Ramallah, they failed to report the Palestinian leaders comments during the meeting. On the same day that his government vowed to keep paying terrorists, Abbas told the Prince he was serious about reaching peace with Israel and Palestinians were committed to combating terrorism. Apparently, The Post didnt deign the PAs duplicityor its support for terror and rejection of peaceto be worth reporting. Posted by AS at July 26, 2018 01:35 PM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment Countries & Areas Search for country or area A Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan B Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi C Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cote dIvoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia D Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia F Fiji Finland France G Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary I Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy J Jamaica Japan Jordan K Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg M Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique N Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway O Oman P Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Q Qatar R Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda S Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria T Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Y Yemen Z Zambia Zimbabwe President Klaus Iohannis stated, on Saturday, that Romania needs a far more stable framework, so that youths studying abroad return home. "We have all we need. We have educated people, possibilities, the desire of society, what probably needs to be studied is how we bring it all together, which is the catalyst. It's like we're preparing to make a very good cake and we have all the ingredients on the table: flour, sugar, nuts, butter, what have you, and we look at them and somebody asks: do you have all that you need? Yes, but from there comes the most important step - which is to put all the ingredients together so that it yields a delicious cake and not something burnt which is embarassing. We are oscillating between burnt product and very delicious cake. This is the evolution of Romania in the past century. We have gone through extremely good periods for Romania, obviously the Greater Union is the first extremely positive of the series, then we lost ourselves a bit, we went through the hardest dictatorships, with terrible results, we came back with a very positive event in December '89 and since then we're leading the path that was defined by all generations as a European and Euro-Atlantic path and I believe in some domains we are up to the challenge, but there is still a lot to be done," said the head of state at the Romanian Embassy in Paris, when asked a question in regards to the way in which youths studying abroad could be convinced to not leave the country anymore. He emphasized the necessity to create a more stable framework, one predictable and solidly leading to meritocracy."We have valuable youths and you are living proof. We have very valuable youths in the country as well. The phenomenon that saddens me every time is that those in the country would come here, but you would not return and then the role of politicians is to analyze why it is so and what framework must be created in order to have the exchange. (...) We must have in view creating a more stable, predictable, more solid framework in Romania, we must go towards something that I and many others have called meritocracy, so that the youths who come back can make a simple calculation - what career they would have, what chances they'd have in their career, what stability they would have in their career, what chances they would have to progress significantly in that career and then surely some of you would start thinking if it would not be good idea to return to the country. We are in the midst of the process," said Iohannis.The head of state participated, on Saturday, at the Romanian Embassy in Paris, at event dedicated to the Romanian contribution to the development of science and technology in the year of the Centennial of the Greater Union.The event at the Romanian Embassy, hosted by the Romanian ambassador in Paris, Luca Niculescu, also saw the attendance of Professor Gerard Mourou, a Nobel Prize laureate, as well as Romanian students, graduate students and Ph.D. students in the region of Paris involved in scientific research. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Carmen Dan, had a meeting, in Washington, with the Acting United States Attorney General, Matthew Whitaker, in the context of the EU - US ministerial meeting in the context of the EU - US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) informs, on Saturday, in a release sent to AGERPRES. The reunion in Washington, hosted by the Acting United States Attorney General, emphasized the landmarks of the cooperation in the security and internal affairs domain between the United States of American and the European Union, the quoted source mentions. The meeting with Matthew Whitaker is the first meeting of a Romanian official with the Acting United States Attorney General. According to the MAI, Romania participated as an observer, in the perspective of taking over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in January 2019, having as a main objective presenting the priorities in the security and internal affairs domain, one of the topics discussed being cybersecurity, namely the prevention and combating of online terrorist content and combating radicalization on the Internet. "I fully agree that, presently, the battlefield against radicalization is the virtual space, as the European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos noted, and Romania will prioritize this domain during the presidency of the Justice and Home Affairs Council. Obviously this implies identifying a balance between procedures to block online content relating to terrorist propaganda and freedom of speech, but radicalization should not be encouraged or protected," said, on the occasion of the reunion, the Romanian Minister of Internal Affairs, quoted in the release. The EU - US Ministerial Meeting also saw the attendance of the Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, the EUROPOL director Catherine De Bolle, the EUROJUST President Ladislav Hamran, the Austrian Federal Minister of the Interior Herbert Kickl, the Austrian Federal Justice Minister Joseph Moser and representatives of the European Commission. The next high-level reunion EU - US in the Justice and Home Affairs domain will take place at the beginning of next year in Bucharest. AGERPRES . The votes were barely counted before US President Donald Trump fired his Attorney General Jeff Sessions and began to prepare a showdown with the Deep States effort to dethrone him. As Patrick Buchanan describes the stakes: For two years, Trump has been under a cloud of unproven allegations and suspicion that he and top campaign officials colluded with Vladimir Putins Russia to thieve and publish the emails of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. It is past time for Mueller to prove these charges or concede he has a busted flush, wrap up his investigation and go home. And now, in T.S. Eliots words, Trump appears to have found the strength to force the moment to its crisis. His attitude toward Muellers probe is taking on the aspect of Andrew Jacksons attitude toward Nicholas Biddles Second Bank of the United States: Its trying to kill me, but I will kill it. But oh wait the votes arent counted yet. In Arizona and, more dangerously, in Florida votes from Democratic precincts seemingly have appeared out of thin air to deny the Republicans additional seats in the Senate. (The governors races in Florida and Georgia drag on as well, with Trump mockingly suggesting its the Russians fault.) In any US election now the side favoring the historic American nation must win big enough to overcome the growing, built-in advantage of an unknown number of illegal votes cast by non-citizens. But even thats not enough of a handicap, so the Evil Party of Certified Victims also gets to trot out for days and even weeks after election day however many provisional ballots, mail-in ballots, absentee ballots, and any other verkackte concoctions they can. Its the business end of multiplying measures supposedly designed to increase voter participation, like automatic registration, same-day registration, online registration, and at-home voting, the cumulative impact (and no doubt intent) of which is not-quite knowing whos voting or how often an old tradition of the Democratic Party. Above all, no ballot security measures can be implemented to require proof of citizenship to vote, as that clearly would be voter suppression and, it hardly needs to be added, racist (though demanding documentation of citizenship seems to work just fine in Mexico). Trimming Trumps Senate advantage might be the least of his worries, though. Since he took office its been clear that large parts of the Executive Branch nominally under his total control are instead part of the so-called Resistance dedicated to removing him. Most dangerously, this includes much of the Department of Justice and the intelligence agencies. (One can almost hear an audible sigh of relief from the rogues gallery of criminal conspirators behind the phony Russiagate collusion story cooked up in the bowels of the US-UK Deep State with the aim of overturning the 2016 election. Now, after two years of the GOPs dithering in the area of investigations and hearings relevant to how the Trump campaign was put under politically motivated surveillance, those peccadilloes will be forever buried.) The Resistance also includes most of the judiciary, which can be counted on immediately to block any use of Trumps Executive authority individual judges dont like, even uses within his plenary Constitutional power, like command of the armed forces (for defending the US? No!) or immigration and border enforcement. Finally, a Senate Democratic block has existed in what is erroneously referred to as the filibuster, with which the GOP majority could dispense with but wont. Now, however, with House of Representatives flipped, we are about to see the consolidation in all three branches of what amounts to a rival government under incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Gathering all resistance forces to herself Sauron-like as the focus of rival authority to Trump, she will hope first to render him powerless, then eliminate him. Accordingly, we can be sure that, both with the medias active complicity and via direct leaks, the House will receive a steady stream of confidential, politically valuable information from within the administration; collusion with the courts to further nullify Trumps actions will be standard operating procedure. Its important to understand that the division of power confronting America in January 2019 will not be the usual circumstance of government divided on a partisan basis, checks and balances, gridlock, and all that sort of thing familiar from our history but the next phase of a second American civil war (or third, if we count Patriots vs. Loyalists during the War for Independence). Pelosi will lead the next revolutionary phase in which one part of the apparatus of government becomes what Alexander Shtromas called the Second Pivot, an alternative, opposing source of official power. (Contrary to the Marxist myth, revolutions happen not when The People rise up spontaneously in righteous anger but when some part of the ruling establishment defects to the revolt (or Resistance) and becomes the new conferrer of legitimacy. There are obvious historical examples: Parliament in the English Civil War, the Third Estates declaring itself the National Assembly of France, the Petrograd Soviets coup against the Provisional Government, Boris Yeltsins Russian government when Mikhail Gorbachevs Soviet government was under threat of the State Committee on the State of Emergency (itself an aspiring second pivot that failed), and the communist cabals in the various Warsaw Pact countries that ousted little Brezhnevs and installed little Gorbachevs.) In seeking to overthrow the constitutionally elected president who was himself an insurgent against the cozy duopoly in Washington, it might seem the Democrats and their GOP Never Trump fellow travelers are actually the counterrevolutionaries against the populist revolution two years ago. However true that observation might be in a mechanical sense, it fails to encompass the anti-American, revolutionary indeed, Leninist substance of the party that has just captured the House. Like the bush-league Bolshies they are, the Democrats have already dropped the sotto voce tone they adopted during the closing weeks of the campaign concerning impeaching Trump and now are all-in to get rid of him. In doing so, not only can they guarantee the perpetual dominance of their replacement voting bloc, the GOP establishment can purge the Republican party of Trump populism and dare we say the word! nationalism once and for all while happily settling in as a permanent, pampered minority with a share of the spoils. An early test will be if Trump can resist calls for acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to recuse himself from the Mueller probe as Sessions had, leaving in charge Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein the fox watching the henhouse. Mueller is widely expected to wrap up before the end of the year and hell look for some additional scalps to hang to the wall to justify his existence. But the Democrats, now that theyve taken the House, are more anxious to get on to other things that they can use to justify impeachment. This will of course not be found in any phony Russian collusion (the Democrats will play out the hand, just to keep their base on the edge of hysteria) but the real meat and potatoes will be elsewhere: Trumps tax returns and his business life back in New York. Contrary to most assurances that a Republican Senate guarantees Trumps survival, take note that it was Richard Nixons own party that threw him to the wolves. In two months the Second Pivot under Pelosi will rapidly become a state-within-a-state, a Petrograd Soviet at one end of Pennsylvania Avenue, with a Provisional Government alas, thats all it is headed by Trump at the other end. Hopefully the rivalry between them will not turn out as bloody as the one in Russia a century ago. But in terms of the gulf in values and identity that separates the two sides, it is no less of another phase of a civil war, a cold one for the time being. In any case, the country those of us of middle age grew up in is gone. The question now is what comes next: consolidation of a restored American order or some sort of collapse? Russia and Venezuela are among the countries the EU, including Great Britain, has imposed sanctions on. Both nations have been targets of Londons vigorous attacks, being blamed for numerous nefarious things they have allegedly done. The UK insists that everyone play by the rules. Meanwhile, London is making mockery of commonly accepted norms in the international relations. The government of Venezuela is seeking to eventually repatriate at least 14 tons of gold held at the Bank of England (BOE). It has recently asked to release the gold bars worth about 420 million or $550 million. This is the right and timely move as the new round of punitive measures recently imposed on Caracas by Washington showed. The Bank has refused to do so! UK officials have reportedly insisted that Venezuela clarify its intentions for the gold. Venezuelan President Maduro is suspected by London of harboring plans to sell the national treasure for personal gains. There is also a subterfuge used to explain why the Venezuelan property has not been returned to the owner. The UK says its very hard to obtain insurance for the shipment to move the large cargo. Even if Venezuela gets the gold back, itll be a large order to use it for raising hard currency because of the new round of US sanctions announced on Nov.1. With the penalties in place, its impossible to sell the gold straight from the Bank of England. The UK knows better who should be suspected of what and who can be trusted to have ones own property returned. If its not theft, then what is? The rules of civilized behavior, you say? Forget about it, its up to London, faithfully complying with the instructions coming from Washington, to decide whats civilized and whats not. According to US National Security Adviser (NSA) John Bolton, The new sanctions will target networks operating within corrupt Venezuelan economic sectors and deny them access to stolen wealth. The NSA explained that Most immediately, the new sanctions will prevent US persons from engaging with actors and networks complicit in corrupt or deceptive transactions in the Venezuelan gold. So, the US administration is the supreme judge to decide what exactly transactions are corrupt or deceptive. London snaps to attention, salutes and rushes to do what it is told by superiors. Today its Venezuela; tomorrow it could be any other holder on the list of more than 30 nations keeping gold reserves in BOE vaults. Venezuela, a member of the troika of tyranny, is trying to become a major gold exporter. It is engaged in certifying some 32 gold fields, and building 54 processing plants. The flagrant encroachment on the rights of the sovereign state affects other nations, which also have their interests damaged. Russia is among them. Moscow prefers the precious metal to greenbacks, so it has become a major world gold importer. Last year, it purchased a record 92, 2 tons to make the reserves exceed 2 thousand tons. It may soon catch up with Italy (2451, 8 tons) and France (2436 tons) the third and fourth world gold holders. The illegal British activities are a direct threat to Russias national interests. Germany, the second biggest holders of gold in the world after the US with 3,378 tons, finished repatriating 300 tons from the US last year. It had taken the United States several years to do it! It was reported that the gold bars received by Bundesbank had different labels to make one think that US might have replaced the German bullion with different gold bars bought from the market. It means the gold was not in place when the Germanys request for return was made. Perhaps, the UK is not able to comply with Venezuelas request for the same reason the gold is not in vaults and London needs time to purchase it. Koos Jansen, a contributor to BullionStar, has questioned whether Fort Knoxs gold is still there. Former Representative Ron Paul tried to figure out some of the mysteries around the Federal Reserve by questioning the organization and interrogating representatives of the Fed. He never received a clear answer. The US government does not audit the gold. There is another reason why Russia is affected Venezuela is its big economic partner. Caracas pays its bills. Moscow wants it to be solvent. The very fact that Great Britain asked Venezuela what do you need your gold for? is preposterous. This kind of behavior is unacceptable and outrageous. Will London refuse to pay for Russias gas deliveries asking Moscow what do you need your money for? This time Great Britain has gone too far. This precedent is important enough to justify ringing alarm bells across the international community. Its either we have commonly accepted norms of behavior respected or live in a jungle. Instead of attacking Russia and other nations without any proof to substantiate the claims, the UK government would have done better by looking at itself in the mirror. Now everyone can see that the UK is an unreliable partner to deal with. Itll take a long and hard effort to restore Londons reputation. The outcome of the American midterm elections gives us an even more divided country, confirming that the United States is in the midst of a deep crisis within its establishment. The midterm elections represented a substantial draw for Democrats and Republicans, a defeat for the Trump administration and a clear victory for the war party in Washington. The House of Representatives ended up in the hands of the Democrats, who managed to overturn the results of 2016 by winning 26 seats and bringing their majority to 219, with the Republicans with 193 seats. The Republicans, despite the feared blue wave, have increased their representation in the Senate, with 51 senators against the 45 of the Democrats. In terms of governors, Republicans remain ahead, with 25 red states against 21 blue. After two years of fake investigations on Russiagate, continuous attacks by the US media (except for the few pro-Trump channels like Fox News), the blue Democratic wave seemed inevitable. Instead, we witnessed a minor repetition of the 2016 elections, with Trump managing to perform above expectations. The House of Representatives performs functions mainly related to domestic politics, while the Senate is responsible for confirming important appointments such as those to the Supreme Court. The Democrats holding the majority in the House makes Trumps 2020 presidential campaign an uphill battle. Trump will need to be able to present to his constituents from 2019 with a series of 2016 promises fulfilled. Getting ones legislative agenda passed with the House in the hands of ones opponents is difficult at the best of times. For Trump the task becomes almost impossible. For this reason, we are faced with a scenario that delivers the country to the war party, that faction composed of Republicans and Democrats who respond to the interests of specific conglomerates of power and not to the citizens who elected them. The real winners of the midterms appear to be the intelligence agencies, Wall Street and the banks, the ratings agencies, the Fed, the mainstream media, think-tanks, policy-makers, and the military-industrial complex. Donald Trump has come to discover, in his first two years as president, how little autonomy he has in foreign policy, thanks to the warmongering of the US establishment. The realist view of foreign policy on which Trump based his election campaign was swept away just a few days after his victory. Hoping to bribe the hawks in Washington, Trump surrounded himself with neoconservatives, who only ended up trying to box him into something that resembles the Washington Consensus, where every attempt at dialogue with opponents is seen as a surrender or sign of weakness. Washington and its elites live trapped in a unipolar bubble, still convinced that the United States is the only world power left on the geopolitical chessboard. Even the Pentagon's military planners have confirmed in two official documents (the Nuclear Posture Review and National Defence Review) how international relations have shifted into a multipolar reality where the United States will have to deal with peer competitors like Russia and China. Washingtons neoliberal inner circle views international relations in a very unrealistic and ideologically spoiled manner. This was masterfully explained by Mearsheimer in his latest book, suitably entitled The Great Delusion, where he compares the three most important isms of nationalism, liberalism and realism. Those who make up the overwhelming majority of the foreign-policy establishment are convinced that the United States is a benign hegemon that has a moral duty to remake the world in its own image and likeness. In the process, bombing a country, destroying its social fabric and killing hundreds of thousands of innocents is justified by this supposedly noble end. This is end-justifies-means mentality is behind the overwhelming majority of Washingtons foreign-policy actions. Of course only people who are victims of their own propaganda can really believe that they are acting in the greater good by bringing about so much chaos and destruction. On the contrary, the rest of the world has for decades observed with disgust and dismay the imperialism of a warmongering country committed to consuming the resources of others, vainly hoping, especially since 1990s, that the unipolar moment would be cut short through the counterbalancing effect of other powers. Ultimately, it is not only Russia and China that awaits a multipolar world, but all those countries that do not intend to submit to American diktats over how they conduct their own foreign or domestic policies. The outcome of the midterm elections could speed up this process. With the House of Representatives in the hands of the Democrats, Trump will have to abandon his realist foreign policy even more so than he has done over the last two years. The accumulation of foreign-policy concessions is starting to become disturbing. Just think of the enmity towards Iran, fomented by Israel and Saudi Arabia, the main partners of the Trump administration. The same goes for China, with the antagonism fomented by Trump himself to justify the impoverishment of the US middle class who voted in force for him to change this situation. And of course there remains the endemic hatred of Russia, a sworn enemy of the Washington establishment. Trump still seems to possess a bit of Mearsheimerian realism in foreign policy. But following his defeat in the House, if he wants to get anything passed, he will need to grant much more of a free hand in foreign policy to the neoliberals, who are chomping at the bit to revive the Bush and Obama foreign policy. Without any concessions from the House, all of Trump's domestic promises to his constituents will be hobbled. The permanent political civil war in the United States seems destined to intensify over the next two years, and the prospect of an even less independent administration in foreign policy will impel the rest of the world to rely less and less on Washington and begin to look elsewhere. Even European countries like France, Germany and Italy seem to have understood that an exclusive alliance with Washington is not beneficial and is in fact destined to fail as a result of of the chaos in US politics. In this context, the events of the past few days are particularly important and certainly worthy of elaboration in a future article. While many Eurasian countries like India, Japan, Turkey, Iran, Russia, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan try to overcome their differences by creating international cooperation frameworks, Washington pushes unnecessarily on the accelerator of disorder. A shining example of what Washington's decline means can be clearly seen in Korea. Without the direct involvement of the United States, Seoul and Pyongyang seem to be heading towards peaceful reconciliation. Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un interact every day, and the progress made on the DMZ speaks for itself, such as with renewed railway connections. Such an example, reflecting the global model that tends towards resolving problems, represents the basis on which to build bilateral, direct and negotiated solutions between relevant parties. Such examples are numerous and concern, for example, the disagreements between India and China, as well as the territorial disputes between Japan and China and Japan and Russia. The goal is always the same: to overcome obstacles that stand in the way of mutual gain. It is a way of approaching international relations that differs from the bipolar past, but above all from the unipolar one where the attention of all international actors has been focused on the interests of Washington above even ones own. The continuing division within the American political class will only accelerate the loss of Americas pre-eminence in the existing the world order. The United States finds itself in the middle of an evident decline, without even a united and compact political front as was the case during the days of Bush and Obama. But with Trump in office, the House in the hands of the Democrats, and the Senate in the hands of Republicans, we are facing a situation that is set to downsize Washington's role in international affairs. There is still an even crazier and more devastating scenario for Americas role in the world. Trump's impeachment, which can be initiated by the House of Representatives, would significantly add to the chaos in the United States and risk bringing the country to the brink of socio-political collapse. While this scenario is very unlikely, it cannot be totally excluded, especially given the ideological folly of the Washington establishment. A Pence presidency would best represent the interests of evangelical conservatives, who are closely linked to Israeli Zionism. For this reason, the impeachment of Trump could find allies in the Republican minority, not to mention the fact that such a move by the Democrats would open the way for the Republicans to win in 2020, stamping the Democrats as spoilers only able to oppose and unable to build anything. Such a possibility cannot be excluded, and with the victory of the war party in the midterms, a President Pence would represent the greatest effort of the American establishment to impose its will on the rest of the world on the basis of American exceptionalism. Prolonging the unipolar dream seems to be the new goal of the war party, and the reconquest of the House is the first step in this endeavour. Trump can adapt or give battle, but observing how he immediately came to terms after his victory in 2016, it is no surprise that if he stays in charge and tries to win the 2020 election, he will cede foreign policy to the neocons, neoliberals, Zionists and Wahhabis. Allies and enemies alike must prepare to withstand the shock waves emanating from the struggle between the elites in Washington, understanding that it is not possible to rely on Trump, let alone the war party, especially when the damage produced by both has negative effects on even allies. Europe, for example, suffers from the blowback of a Middle East and Africa sunk into chaos by the war party, and also suffers economically from the sanctions placed on Russia and Iran. What is more, Trumps economic warfare, using tariffs and sanctions, has only worsened the international financial economic arrangement, accelerating the complete de-dollarization of world economies. The midterms were what Washington's allies and enemies had been waiting for in order to understand the direction of US foreign policy in the next few years. The election results present allies and enemies with an even more divided and chaotic United States, suggesting that it is time for them to stop waiting for Washington. Given that Trump does not control his foreign policy, any attempt to engage in dialogue with him is pointless. The sooner allies and enemies realize this, and act accordingly, the better off they will be. Washington and her elite seem too caught up in domestic dynamics to notice that their behaviour is only accelerating the transition to a multipolar world order The next two years will settle the question over whether our present reality is already multipolar, or whether the unipolar order remains, with Washington the indispensable nation for friends and enemies alike. The U.S. Army has called on five manufacturers to deliver six competing designs for the new SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon, or light machine-gun) and M4 assault rifle replacements chambered for a new 6.8mm round. Current rifle and SAW designs in development or production can be offered as long as they accommodate new 6.8mm round. Prototypes will be delivered in 2021 and a winning design will be selected for low rate production a year or two after that. Apparently, the 6.8mm round is also subject to further development and those firms willing to offer weapons prototype are expected to deliver a novel and practical 6.8mm cartridge design. The army is taking advantage of the substantial innovation in SAW and assault rifles design that has taken place since the 1990s. There has also been a lot of new ammo, of various calibers, designed. However, the new weapons and ammo may not displace the current weapons unless there are demonstrable improvements in performance without incurring loss of reliability. The new 6.8mm round may be caseless or have non-metallic (and lighter) cartridge case. In some respects this is back to the future because in the 1930s the United States was developing a new combat rifle and weapons using both 6.8mm and 5.56mm rounds were evaluated. The winning American rifle design was the M1 Garand, which was originally designed to use the .270 Winchester cartridge. This was a 6.8mm round and was preferred because it was more accurate than the then standard 7.62mm 30-06 round. There were also proposals to use the 5.56mm 220 Swift (or similar rounds similar to the current 5.56mm rounds). In the end, it was all about money, or the lack of it. The army wanted to get the Garand into mass production as soon as possible and it was noted that there was lots of World War I surplus 30-06 ammo available and that this was also the standard ammo for army rifles and light (the BAR) and medium machine-guns. So the 6.8mm and 5.56mm military rounds would have to wait for a chance to see what they could do in combat. The 5.56mm got its chance starting in the 1960s but it looks like the 6.8mm will end up waiting nearly a century. There is some commonality here. The 6.8mm, 5.56mm, and 7.62x39 AK-47 round are all considered "assault rifle" rounds. This concept of a less powerful rifle round came out of research begun towards the end of World War I. During the 1930s, the Germans studied their World War I experience and concluded that a less powerful and lighter rifle round would be more effective. This resulted in research on a smaller 7mm round, but with World War II fast approaching this effort eventually produced a shortened regular (7.92mm) rifle round. During World War II the Germans developed the first modern assault rifle, the SG-44. This weapon looked a lot like the AK-47 and that was no accident. The SG-44, like the AK-47, used a shortened rifle cartridge that was developed before the war. These were 7.92mm for the Germans, 7.62mm for the Russians, which is still used in the AK-47, and after 2000 the similar 300BLK was an option for the M4. Assault rifles gave the infantryman an automatic weapon that could still fire fairly accurate single shots at targets 100-200 meters away. The SG-44 and the AK-47 had about the same stopping power as the 6.8mm SPC and 300BLK at those shorter ranges. What a coincidence. The AK-47 didn't have the accuracy of higher powered bullets but the Russians didn't see this as a problem, because most troops using it had little marksmanship training. If they had to kill someone they could fire at full auto. The U.S. M-16 and its high-speed 5.56mm round, was more accurate than the AK-47 when firing individual shots at shorter ranges. But the wounding power of the 5.56mm (.223 caliber) bullet fell off rapidly at ranges over a hundred meters. The American military, and especially SOCOM, train their troops to fire individual shots and do it with great accuracy at any range. A number of new rifle sights have made it even easier to do and makes first round hits at longer ranges easier to make. This made the longer range shortcomings of the 5.56mm round more obvious. After 2001 there were several attempts to get the United States to replace the 5.56mm rifle round with something more powerful. A 6.8mm round was popular for a while but never caught on. There was even a new round for the M16, the 300BLK. This was a 7.62 bullet using a similar size (35mm long) cartridge as the 5.56mm round. Thus, all you needed was a new barrel for your M-4 or M-16 rifle. The larger and heavier 7.62mm round was more effective at blasting through walls and doors and many troops believe it has better stopping (of soldiers it hit) power. American troops would sometimes use captured AK-47s (and their 7.62mm ammo) to test this theory. This fed the demand for something like the 300BLK. In 2010, the 300BLK was approved for manufacture, and tests both on and off the battlefield were carried out. The 300BLK could use the same magazines as the 5.56mm round. The 300BLK was found to be useful for some SOCOM (Special Operations Command) operations but was not enough of an improvement to replace the 5.56mm round in general use. The fate of the 6.8mm SPC round should be considered before declaring the new 6.8mm round has a bright future. In 2005 a 6.8mm rifle round developed for SOCOM became available commercially as the 6.8mm Remington SPC (Special Purpose Cartridge). There were some problems in manufacturing the 6.8mm SPC. Remington began work on the new round in 2002. It used the case from the old Remington .30-.30 (which was not a true .30-.30, as it was rimless). SOCOM began testing the 6.8mm round in M-16s and M-4s modified to accommodate it. The 6.8mm round was more accurate at longer ranges and had more hitting power than the 5.56mm round the M-16 was originally designed for. Out to about 600 meters the 6.8mm round had about the same impact as the heavier 7.62mm round used in sniper rifles and medium machine-guns. But the 6.8mm SPC was found to be less accurate than 5.56mm rounds in some situations and put more stress on some rifle components. SOCOM used the 6.8mm SPC round in Iraq and Afghanistan and the troops liked it, but not enough to create a clamor for widespread adoption. There was also resistance from senior (non-SOCOM) generals to any consideration for replacing the 5.56mm round with the 6.8mm. To further complicate matters, there was a new 6.5mm Grendel round being tested as well and some troops preferred it to the 6.8mm SPC. This was because the 6.5mm round is more accurate than the 6.8mm one at ranges beyond 500 meters. The army is depending on the many recent (since the 1990s) improvements in technology (for cartridge and bullet design as well as new propellants) will produce a 6.8mm round able to demonstrate sufficient superiority and reliability to current ammo to justify the switch. This effort will be aided by adopting new weapons designs, especially ones that have built on new tech successfully implemented in combat over the last decade or so. For the last three weeks the Memorial Hall in Waihi has been a centre of activity as residents and visitors of the town, have attended various functions and activities to learn more about the towns contribution to World War One. The walls of the hall feature images of Waihi men and over 2,800 poppies, each individually crocheted or knitted for these events. The culmination of these activities happens this Friday and over the weekend. Kicking off the celebrations has been a dedication of the Peace Wings installation, which took place at the Cornish Pumphouse on Friday November 9. The wings are more than four metres in width, have been painted by students from local schools, many of whom have been part of the dedication. The event is followed by another dedication today, of the Tunnelling Company embroidered and quilted cloak, created by local embroiderers. The dedication takes place outside the Memorial Hall this morning before being flown to Wellington to be worn in official Armistice commemorations. The culmination of commemorative activities will take place on Sunday November 11, starting at 6.00am and running through to mid-afternoon. Members of public are invited to join in all of them or pick a selection. Details can be found on Facebook. Project Coordinator Sue Baker Wilson says Waihi Heritage Vision has set up a special Waihi Armistice 100 group that has been working for the last six months to prepare for the weekends events. A hundred years ago local men left their wives, sweethearts and families to serve in a war on the other side of the world. Many did not return. November 11 of this year is the centennial of the Armistice which ended the War to End all Wars. The Memorial Hall has been decorated by the Waihi Armistice 100 committee with help from a huge number of local groups, individuals and businesses. Members of the public are invited to attend any of the events starting this Friday and continuing through to Sunday afternoon. A church group using Greerton Community Hall has had to relocate to another venue after 66 noise complaints almost all from the same person were received regarding various groups using the hall. The complaints have resulted in eight excessive noise directions issued by Tauranga City Council and the possibility of a $600,000 bill to soundproof the building. Andrew McMath, manager of environmental protection for Tauranga City Council, says the first noise complaint about the hall was received in September 2017, and there has been regular complaints 66 in total since December 2017. We served Greerton Hall with eight excessive noise directions after finding that 41 of the 66 complaints were justified, says Andrew, meaning that the noise levels were unacceptable. We carried out noise monitoring, which showed that the noise level was above the Tauranga City Plan limits. Bay Venues chief executive officer Gary Dawson confirmed that a church group using the hall has been relocated to another venue following the complaints. A church group was issued with two excessive noise directions, says Gary. It is believed they were using drums, so we have relocated to them another facility within our network. Bay Venues has put notices up around the hall reminding users to keep noise to a minimum and has advised, via their website, that it is unable to accept bookings with music after 10pm. Gary says hall users are doing their best to be quiet. But its not like it is one oclock in the morning and theres a wild party going on, he says. Greerton is a hall that, until this individual moved in, there had been no complaints about at all. As well as raising revenue for the upkeep of the facilities, hiring them out to community groups at a low cost is a key part of Bay Venues service to Tauranga residents. As a result of the complaints, Bay Venues has had detailed testing of the hall and identified where noise is leaking. An estimate from a quantity surveyor has put the cost of soundproofing at $600,000, says Gary. Were now having to decide if we go to council asking for $600,000 to bring the hall up to a standard where people can turn the stereo up and not cause issues for neighbours, or do we restrict the usage of it? Gary says there have been no noise complaints from other small Bay Venues facilities in the city and even Baypark Stadium, which operates under a strict noise limit, rarely receives noise complaints. Childcare noise irks neighbour I just want it to stop. Greerton resident Suzanne Lankshear has made multiple noise complaints against the childcare centre over her back fence, and insists the noise is driving me crazy. Despite the complaints, Tauranga City Council has confirmed The Tot Spot early learning centre has not been served with any excessive noise directions, and centre owner Michelle Hodge says she has spent thousands trying to mitigate the noise for Suzanne in a bid to be a good neighbour. Suzanne, 73, and her 52-year-old son, who is currently undergoing dialysis, are at home all day and say they cant get away from the noise of children playing and loud music. These people have got a pergola that lifts the noise up over their sound barrier fence and straight at us, says a tearful Suzanne. Its like someone having a stereo on all the time and its just totally stressing us out. Were trapped here. We cant sell because of the noise, but we cant have the doors and windows open from now until March. We cant even hear our TV inside the house. I just want the noise to stop. Suzanne admits the childcare centre was already established before she moved into her home five years ago, but feels the noise levels have increased during that time. The Resource Management Act (RMA) defines excessive noise as any noise that is under human control and of such a nature as to unreasonably interfere with the peace, comfort and convenience of any person. Suzanne says she wants the council to enforce the RMA and give residents a fair go. Michelle Hodge, owner of The Tot Spot, says while the centre is in a commercially-zoned area, it tries to be respectful of its residential neighbours. She says noise control officers have visited the centre multiple times to measure noise levels and they have all been compliant. Ive spent thousands of dollars putting mats over our deck so the kids arent running straight on wood, says Michelle, and weve stopped a lot of noisy activities out of respect for our neighbours, rather than being forced to by the council. At the end of the day, were licenced for 84 children and theyre our priority, however weve got to respect our neighbours and maintain our professionalism, and thats what weve done. What is excessive noise? People are entitled to make a reasonable amount of noise, but if its excessive you can make a complaint. Tauranga City Council has a 24-hour noise control service handled by a security company. A noise control officer is dispatched after two complaints, either from separate people or the same person an hour apart. If the noise is too loud, an enforcement officer can issue an excessive noise direction (END). This notice requires the noise to be reduced immediately and is effective for 72 hours. If further complaints are received and the noise level has not been reduced, an enforcement officer, accompanied by a police officer, can enter the premises and remove whatever is making the noise or make it unusable. A breach of an END can attract a fine of $500. Andrew McMath, manager of environmental protection for TCC, says noise can disturb or annoy some people and not others. Everyone has the right to have excessive noise stopped or reduced, he says, provided the noise is under human control. If the noise being generated by a property is clearly audible from the neighbours boundary, it may be considered excessive. It is important for people's wellbeing that they are not negatively affected by noise, and noise control balances the need for people to make noise and the needs of people who may be affected. The Tauranga City Plan stipulates permitted noise levels within defined zones. Under New Zealand's Resource Management Act, people are not allowed to make excessive noise, and must ensure that noise from their property does not reach an unreasonable level. In the Tauranga City Plan, the sound levels in both residential and commercial zones should not exceed 50 dBA Leq during the day and between 40 dBA Leq and 70 dBA Lmax at night. Tauranga residents will have a chance to walk for those who no longer can this weekend, at the annual Walk 2 DFeet Motor Neurone Disease. Motor Neurone Disease is a fatal neuro degenerative disease and often strikes active Kiwis in middle age. The muscle wasting disease progresses quickly, robbing people of their movement, speech and eventually their lives. New Zealanders have the highest known rate of motor neurone disease of any county in the world, with more than 100 deaths from MND each year. The Motor Neurone Disease Association of New Zealand provides free personalised support and advocacy for people living with MND and their families. Its a difficult time for families and our services are highly valued, says chairperson Lucy Haberfield. Delivering services costs money and unfortunately, our contribution from government funding agencies makes up less than six per cent of what it costs us to deliver those services. Walks 2 DFeet MND fundraising events are held all over New Zealand, with half of the funds raised going towards providing support for people with MND and their carers, and the other half to support MND research. The Tauranga event, including a 3km or 5km walk, will be held at Fergusson Park in Matua from 10am on Sunday, November 11. Local MND walk organisers Tanya Gilchrist and Richard Kluit say everyone is welcome to take part, whether its wet or fine. The theme for the walk is blue, and its about having fun, they say. The Kaimai Express band will play, and a sausage sizzle, coffee cart, Mr Whippy, lamb burgers, Christmas cakes and more will be available for purchase. A silent auction will also take place, along with a dog parade and a corporate challenge. Register or donate online at: www.mndwalk.org.nz The walk is suitable for dogs, children, prams and wheelchairs. They wander down the gangplank, often forgotten. Theyre invisible men, lonely men. Theyre merchant seamen, and when they land back on terra firma they walk straight into the arms of the flying angel. Or in this case, a tall, lean, softly spoken angel with a ZZ Top beard, a big heart and oodles of understanding and compassion. A lot of the guys are really missing their families after long periods at sea, says Murray Smith, manager of the Mission to Seafarers. Occasionally they will sit down with you and cry. Cry because of all sorts of family situations. The seamen just need to off-load, to share and have someone listen. Murray Wilson and his chorus of volunteer mission angels are those ears. They will share and they will listen, and last month they gave comfort and support to an all-time record number of seamen through the Port of Tauranga. Thats 16,566 seafarers for the year ended October, says Murray, way over and above our best ever. An extra 570-plus ships have brought another 1283 seamen, and more ships and bigger ships have brought with it a greater call on the missions services. Thats both a blessing and a blight. We cant carry on at 1600 or 1700 a month for a whole year with the current staffing levels and facilities, says Murray. It would put considerable strain and stress on the system. The Port of Tauranga told The Weekend Sun it is willing to discuss those problems and any proposal the mission might put it, because it believes the Seafarers Mission does a great job. Port of Tauranga leases premises to the mission at a heavily discounted rental. Unlike many ports, they are accommodated on the port precinct, and the company provides free shuttle transport for crew from their ship to the mission. The Mission to Seafarers has an address, but its beyond reach for most except those who need it most. Suite 2, Oceania House, 127 Hull Road is an austere, two-storey grey building just inside the security gates to the Port of Tauranga. Yeah, theyre basic facilities, admits Murray. But after 50 days at sea, basic is a godsend for seamen, like 27-year-old fourth engineer Rolan Praveen Mathias. He sailed from New Zealand to Australia, onto Korea and then back without one day of shore leave. The mission looks after you, says the native of Karnataka on the Arabian Sea on the south-west coast of India. He always wanted to go to sea, and never ever entertained the thought of a shore job. He speaks of nice people, kind people, all over the world. The guardian flying angels operate in more than 100 ports around the world, supporting 1.5 million men and women who keep the high seas economy afloat. And on any given Sunday, there can be 25 or 30 seamen sitting around in the Hull Street mission for the best part of an evening. Theyll all be on their phones, says Murray, and you cant hear yourself think a good number of Filipinos, a good number of Chinese, a good number of Indians and the rest from everywhere. Youll have the seamans mum calling out from the other side of the world. You can hear kids crying, dogs yapping and theyre going for it. Full, unbridled family sessions. Its Sunday night at the mission. Suddenly, Murray is a best friend for five minutes. Theyll come to me with their phones and get me to say hello to mum, the wife or the kids. I have never met them, but the seamen just want to share the moment, with anyone. Yes, I am a best friend for five minutes. And the mission man will take that. Its quite moving, and quite brilliant. The seamen are considered big spenders by some at the local mall. Judging by the US dollars the mission converts to Kiwi currency, the seamen pump $500,000 into the Bayfair economy alone each year. The missions free bus drops them off at the shopping precinct and they buy up multiple bags of fruit, wine, infant formula, chocolate, soap powder, meat and toiletries. A seamen like Rolan Praveen Mathias earns US$2,400 a month for his six-month contract. Most of those dollars are for discretionary spending. There are no expenses at sea, he says. We get everything - pay, food, accommodation. Often its money that draws men to sea. They earn money they couldnt earn via a shore job, so their wages are making life so much better for so many people back home. It can be a romantic notion that turned them to seafaring the call of the sea. They saw the sea for the first time when mum and dad took them on holiday to Goa as kids, and from that moment there was nothing else in life. At the mission, the seamen are provided with free Wifi. There are pool tables, they can top up their phones and theres the shop selling soda, chips, chocolate and mementos. Its also a sanctuary where they can escape the ship and where understanding and support is offered up free of charge. There are also three chaplains on call to deal with all the tricky stuff. Occasionally, the mission sees merchant seamen who are unhappy about conditions, thanks to captains who arent paying them sufficiently or a lack of adequate down time. Recently we were alerted to a problem aboard a ship in Australia, says Murray. By the time it berthed in Wellington, everyone was primed to go - Maritime NZ, Seafarers Union, The International Transport Federation, the works. They checked all the terms and conditions and it was coming up short. It was put right for the seamen. Some statistics put suicide amongst merchant seaman at three times higher than any other shore-based occupation, and there are claims life as a seafarer is more dangerous, harder, longer and dirtier than many other jobs. But most of our work is family situations like family sickness. They just need to offload, to share. On a recent Sunday evening, at around 6.30pm on the ground floor at 127 Hull Road, just beyond those security gates - Taurangas own take on Checkpoint Charlie - the merchant seamen are gathering. By the time they left at 8.30pm, they were all hugs and handshakes and thank yous. Theyd had a brilliant night and said so. In just two hours, we had become best mates. Hours later their ship would slip its moorings and head out through the cut. We may never see them again, says Murray, but it makes us feel that what we do is very worthwhile. Bay of Plenty We are looking for a storeman with an OSH forklift license. You will need to be physically for as the job is about 70% forklift... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz THERESA, N.Y. -- A Watertown man was arrested Friday after shooting another man with a rifle during an argument, according to New York State Police. Gerald A. Woodard III, 22, of 150 South Massey St. in Watertown, was charged with first-degree assault, police said. Police responded to 230 Riverside Avenue in Theresa at 4:54 a.m. to a call about a shooting with injuries, police said. An investigation found Woodard was in a car with three other passengers when he had "a confrontation" with 29-year-old Henry J. Dusharm, police said. The two argued outside a house at 230 Riverside Avenue, police said. Woodard got out of the car and fired several rounds from a .22-caliber rifle, police said. Dusharm was hit twice, once in the bicep and once in the shoulder blade, police said. Dusharm was taken by ambulance to Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown, where he was treated and released, police said. Police are still investigating the shooting. UTICA, N.Y. -- A suspect is in custody following an incident that prompted a police response on Saturday at Mohawk Valley Community College, according to the college's social media feed. Students at the college were told to shelter in place around 11:15 a.m. due to the possibility of an armed gunman on campus. About 10 minutes later, students got a text giving the all-clear, the newspaper reported. Utica police were called at 9:30 a.m. to help Oneida County deputies with reports of a suicidal, armed man. His car was found unoccupied on the MVCC campus, according to Utica police. Around 11 a.m., the man was found in the parking lot of a Family Dollar at Culver Avenue and Albany Street, police said. He was taken into custody without incident. Police recovered a handgun from inside the man's vehicle police said. The man never made threats to members of the public, police said. Police did not release his name or say whether he's facing any criminal charges. A student who was off campus at the time said the "shelter-in-place" order was called off around 12:13 p.m. The text about the suspicious person came in at 11:09 a.m., and the all-clear was given about 15 minutes later, the student said. "Mohawk Valley Community College would like to thank the authorities on the incredible speed of response and efficiency," college spokesman Alen Smajic said in a statement. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. The news of the armistice came to the United States on the morning of Nov. 11, 1918. What followed in Syracuse was the greatest single day of civic celebrating in the city's history. The party lasted from sunrise to almost 10 p.m., and only ended when everybody decided, "hoarse and tired," that they could "celebrate no more." The front page of the Nov. 11, 1918 Syracuse Herald announces that World War I had ended. Of course by the time readers saw this evening edition, they had already celebrated most of the day. "Rome never howled as Syracuse did," the Syracuse Herald said on Nov. 12, "All the pent-up anxiety of years was released in an undammed flood of joy as Syracuse marched in celebration of peace and victory and the downfall of a dastard dynasty." It was the "day of days," the one people had been praying for. Many had gone to bed with rumors that the war might end while they slept. "Through the night many had been unable to sleep. Mothers and fathers, sisters, sweethearts and wives prayed that the armistice would be signed, that Germany would give up in defeat." Telephones rang throughout the night. "Hear anything?" was the only question. News arrived in Syracuse at 2:50 a.m. Mrs. Charles Cornelius, the night telephone operator at the New York State railways, received the news on a wire, and passed it along to the Syracuse police. From there the news spread. Police officers and firemen sent out with the news, yelling and blaring their sirens, milkmen shouted it at houses and Syracuse Mayor Walter Stone had the bells at City Hall start chiming at 3:15 a.m. Men fired revolvers with blank cartridges into the air. Motorists blew the horns on their automobiles and tied cans to their bumpers. A cartoon from the Nov. 11, 1918 Syracuse Herald shows the world finally smiling after the First World War ended. The whistles at Solvay Process, and other businesses, started at 4 a.m. All work and school were to be suspended. Employees at the Dey Brother store arrived for work as usual. Robert Dey, the store's owner, had the doors locked and the workers gathered on the main floors to sing patriotic songs. The store closed for good at noon. With no work, trucks carried workers to the heart of downtown where a spontaneous celebration was started. "Truck after truck came to the common center. Flags were draped all over them," the Herald reported. The men and women carried horns and flags, pans and tin covers and cans. They waved their flags and shouted and sang. A factory truck loaded with workers pulled an old-fashioned bathtub down the street. In it, two "newsies" (newspaper delivery boys) sold the latest news in special "extra" editions. Horns were the most popular noise maker. Red Cross Canteen girls ditched their duties and piled into their truck to join the celebration were "amply supplied with all sorts of squawkers." Pots and pans were used to make a racket and there was a run on them at the local Five and Ten cent stores. The Herald joked that many Syracuse mothers would be looking in vain for their pots come supper time. War time anger was part of the celebrations. "An Italian delegation bore the Kaiser on a slab and bore him with all due respect to the 'dead,'" the Herald noted. Behind the "funeral procession" the Kaiser's dented helmet was carried on a stick, which "everybody agreed was a more honorable place for it than on his head." The Herald made an unofficial count of 24 Kaiser effigies, 18 coffins and six goats labeled "The Kaiser's, which were popular at hotel barrooms. "Gone to see the Kaiser go to hell" was the sign at one downtown merchant's shop, another said the store was closed because they were the Kaiser's funeral. The celebrations at the Yates Hotel and the Onondaga were "riotous scenes that baffle description: "Long streams of men and women, girls and youths, shrieking in ecstasy and hammering on tin pans, cow-bells, wash boilers and metal of any description that came to hand, marched through lobbies acclaiming peace. Men stood on the gilded davenports at the Onondaga and cheered. They lined the railing at the mezzanine floor and showered down confetti on the seething mass below." Women, tangled in paper streamers and waving the flag, followed the parades into the bars as well. "It was a day of equal rights," the Herald joked. At 4 p.m., Syracuse had its "official" parade. The Herald called it the "greatest, biggest, most fantastic, varied jubilant parade ever Syracuse had known or will know." Street cleaners work to clean Syracuse streets following celebrations after the end of World War I. Scene is looking south on Salina from Fayette. It united all the downtown parades together, stretched for two miles and completely choked all of downtown's streets. "Every band in the city played. It seemed as if everyone in the city marched, but there were spectators by the thousands," a reporter wrote. It was "two miles of noise and rejoicing, two miles of smiles, two miles of music and din of raucous horns, of tin pans and cans, two miles of flags. "To tell all the details of that mammoth parade would fill pages," the exhausted Herald reporter wrote. A hotel manager said simply that "Peace Day" was the "Fourth of July and New Year's Eve, magnified to the nth power." While the noisy celebrations continued into the night, there were some who chose to have a quiet solemn remembrance of what was lost. Thousands attended church services to pray and give thanks. Small parties were held in homes among relatives and friends. Some went to the theater. Audiences were "happier and merrier" than they had been in months. "Everywhere the tension was relaxed," the Herald said. The grieving though would continue for some time. On the day that Syracuse celebrated, three local soldiers, Private Archie Sill, Private Dominick Patalino and Corporal Albert Mason, were reported as killed in action. The United States lost more than 116,000 soldiers in just over a year and a half of combat. This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle: In an analysis of ancient DNA, an international team of researchers discovers new information about the history of the people in Central and South America. The study titled "Reconstructing the Deep Population History of Central and South America" looked at ancient DNA data from 49 individuals some of which are as old as 11,000 years. This is the first analysis of high-quality ancient DNA from South and Central America. The findings were published in the journal Cell. The team included researchers from the Harvard Medical School, the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Pennsylvania State University, the University of New Mexico, the University of Sao Paulo, and the University of California, Santa Cruz. The Ancient History Of People Of Central And South America Scientists have long suspected that the Clovis culture of North America migrated farther down south thousands of years ago. Previous researches found spear points, known as Fishtail, in Central America that looked similar to the ones associated with the Clovis culture called Clovis Point. Now, the international team of researchers found new evidence of this migration. A distinctive DNA type associated with the Clovis culture was also present in the remains that were dug up in excavation sites in Chile, Brazil, and Belize. They dated the ancient remains at about 11,000 years old. "This supports the hypothesis that the expansion of people who spread the Clovis culture in North America also reached Central and South America," stated Cosimo Posth, co-lead author of the study. Major Population Replacement In The Americas However, something major happened around 9,000 years ago. The DNA type that was associated with the Clovis culture disappeared. A number of other individuals who lived in Belize to Patagonia between 9,000 and 3,000 years ago have a different genetic lineage. There is, however, a genetic continuity between the people who lived in South America 9,000 years ago and in the present day, according to Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The identity of the group that replaced the Clovis culture in the Americas between 3,000 and 9,000 years ago remains a mystery, something the researchers hope to further explore in the future. California-Peruvian Link The research also revealed that ancient Californians from the Channel Island share the same ancestry as the groups that lived in the southern Peruvian Andes about 4,200 years ago. The researchers believe that this happened not because the people from the Channel Islands migrated from South America but people expanded, with some ending up in the north and others to the south. To create a complete history of the movement of the people into Central and South America, the researchers said that they need to obtain DNA data older than 11,000 years. David Reich, the co-senior author of the study, added that the study also lacks ancient DNA data from Amazonia, northern South America, and the Caribbean. "Filling in these gaps should be a priority for future work," he stated. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Baton Rouge Bishop Michael Duca has hired a law firm and an auditing firm to scrutinize clergy files and to help the Catholic Diocese complete a list of clerics who were credibly accused of sexual abuse, which should become public by the end of January 2019. Catholic bishops across the state have announced intentions to release names of credibly accused clergy members, but Duca is the only one thus far who has announced a third-party review of files. Duca said in an interview Saturday that he wants the Diocese of Baton Rouge to receive the equivalent of a clean audit once all records have been inspected. +8 How a priest accused of abuse preyed on the deaf community in Baton Rouge, New Orleans A Catholic priest who ingratiated himself with the deaf community and who helped to open Catholic deaf centers in both Baton Rouge and New Orl The Catholic Diocese has retained Baton Rouge-based Hebert, Spencer and Fry law firm to review files going back to the beginning of the diocese in 1961. The firm brought in auditors from Postlethwaite & Netterville to help. My concern was that this is a difficult process in so many ways, Duca said. And I wanted to do it in a way that would have as much credibility as possible. ... This will give us a chance to know every file was looked at, at least two sets of eyes on everything, sometimes three sets of eyes. Auditors began work this week, and Duca said neither he nor his staff is involved in the outside review. The diocese will not hold back any information from auditors, he said. They maintain two sets of files regular personnel files and a separate, more confidential set that detail accusations of abuse against clergy members. Auditors will review both sets, as well as the list of New Orleans accused clergy members who had ties to Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge list of priests credibly accused of abuse to come within 'next few months' A list of Roman Catholic clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse within his diocese should be released within the next few months, Bishop of B The review will take several a minimum of four to six weeks, and Duca said he will use the work from the law firm and auditors to create the list of "credibly and substantially accused clergy." He wants to release the list after U.S. bishops go on a retreat in early 2019. All U.S. bishops will meet in Baltimore next week to vote on a series of reforms meant to make bishops more accountable for abuse and cover-ups. Duca has thrown his support behind those measures. Duca said a victims assistance coordinator for the diocese stays in touch with those who have been abused long after an initial accusation. He encouraged those who want counseling and other help to reach out to the diocese. As Pope Francis says, we really take seriously that we accompany them on their journey, we continue to offer support, he said. +5 'Sinister forces at work': 8 Salesians accused of abuse at Hope Haven and Madonna Manor campus The grand Spanish Colonial Revival buildings of Madonna Manor and Hope Haven that stand on opposite sides of Barataria Boulevard in Marrero ar Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Duca said the diocese is still working through the definition for credibly accused, and said they will likely categorize their list similarly to the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The Archdiocese divided its list of 57 credibly accused clerics into sections for those who are still alive but removed from ministry, those who were accused after their deaths and others. The potential number of clergy members on Baton Rouges list remains fuzzy. In 2004, the Diocese of Baton Rouge reported that 10 diocesan priests and 13 priests from religious orders who served in Baton Rouge had been accused of sexual abuse. The list should include former Bishop Joseph Sullivan, as the diocese has settled at least two lawsuits related to his abuse. Another who will likely be named is Christopher Springer, who was accused by at least 30 people by 2010 of sexual abuse. Springer admitted his abuse in a 2009 affidavit from a lawsuit against the diocese. Lawsuit records and newspaper archives show that he was supposed to be defrocked in 1985. +11 List of clergy sex abusers in New Orleans archdiocese leaves gaps, questions for survivors The list of alleged clergy sex abusers that New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond released on Friday has foisted difficult questions on local In 2002, the diocese settled a lawsuit related to Daniel Lemoine, who was accused of abusing a teenage boy in the 1990s. And in 2004, the diocese settled a lawsuit about John Berube, when four men said he abused them as children in 1965. The eight credibly accused Archdiocese of New Orleans priests with ties to Baton Rouge were Pierre Celestin Cambiaire, John Franklin, Lawrence Hecker, Gerard Jerry Howell, Michael Hurley, Ralph Lawrence, Malcolm Strassel and John Weber. Half spent time in Baton Rouge before the Diocese of Baton Rouge existed separately from the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Yes, its hard to see, its hard to face our responsibility at first, Duca said. And now we have the power to have healing and to work unbelievably hard in the future to keep this from happening again in our church. Duca wrote a letter to Catholics about the abuse crisis and review process that will be read at all masses this weekend. In the letter, Duca said he wanted to update parishioners on my progress on the list of clergy who have been credibly accused of wrongdoing in the Diocese of Baton Rouge from the diocese's founding in July, 1961. I do not mean to be disrespectful regarding the seriousness of this matter by simply calling it wrongdoing, but I do so with an awareness of sensitive young ears attending Mass today." Can't see letter below? Click here. Louisiana leaders hosted Mexican officials this week after the two governments and their respective law enforcement agencies worked together to bring justice in the 2011 death of a Brusly High School teacher and ensure her daughter's safety. The governor of Coahuila, Mexico, and members of his staff as well as Mexican-based U.S. officials convened at the Louisiana Governor's Mansion where state leaders recognized their international partners in the September arrest of Oscar Lozada, in the killing of his wife more than seven years prior. "I think this gathering is an impressive showing of collaboration and cooperation across not only state lines, but across national borders, said East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux in a statement. "Without the assistance of these men and women I doubt Lozada would be in prison awaiting trial today; nor would Angelina be home safe with her mothers family in Belgium." Oscar Lozada is accused of second-degree murder in the killing of his wife, Sylviane Finck Lozada, who disappeared under suspicious circumstances in 2011 in Baton Rouge. At that time, Oscar Lozada fled the country with the couple's daughter, Angelina, to his home country of Venezuela. Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up For years, detectives tracked Oscar Lozada, noting when he recently moved in 2016 to Mexico a country that cooperates with U.S. teams. Then, law enforcement teams began working to arrest the man while keeping Angelina, now 12, safe. He was arrested on Sept. 13 in Mexico, and later extradited to Louisiana. Angelina is now living with her mother's family in Belgium, her mother's home country. Sylviane Finck Lozada's body has still not been recovered. Miguel Angel Riquelme Solis, the governor of Coahuila, Mexico, joined the reception on Wednesday with the state's sub-secretary, Eduardo Olmos Castro, and Yezka Garza Ramirez, of the state's Family Protection Services. The officials also toured the State Police crime lab, where much of the evidence in the Lozada case was tested and analyzed. "We welcome the recognition given by the government of Louisiana to my government ... for the work done in favor of the protection of Angelina," Miguel Angel Riquelme Solis wrote in Spanish on his Facebook page. "The possibility of scientific, academic and training exchanges in the forensic area is open to the Coahuila and Louisiana authorities." Despite the current spike in Baton Rouge gun violence that has claimed six lives in less than two weeks, the homicide rate has fallen significantly in recent months, leaving authorities confident that 2018 won't see a repeat of last year's unprecedented numbers. +4 New crime fighting initiative in Baton Rouge focusing on gun violence, reshaping communities A new crime fighting initiative in Baton Rouge is positioning itself to address gun violence from the ground up, hoping to change the culture The homicide rate in 2017 was the highest in recorded history for East Baton Rouge Parish even surpassing Chicago's as more than 100 people were killed, the vast majority of them shot to death. Law enforcement officials were quick to acknowledge the problem and pledge what resources were available to combat it. But authorities also stressed the importance of help from the community, reminding the public that police can't solve the city's crime problem on their own. Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul and other department leaders have since credited the public with helping authorities achieve a positive impact on violent crime. They're hoping that trend will continue during the final weeks of 2018 and beyond. So far this year 71 people have been killed in what authorities consider intentional and unjustified homicides across the parish, according to Advocate records. Those numbers could change if investigators later rule some incidents unintentional or justified. The total for 2017 was 106, which easily toppled the former record of 96 homicides in 2007 and presented an alarming increase of 70 percent over the 62 homicides counted in 2016. Paul, who took office in January, called a press conference in August to emphasize a drop in violent crime over the summer typically the most violent months. Department leaders pointed to a decrease of more than 60 percent in homicides compared to summer 2017. They also touted improved clearance rates, which brought the department well above the national average of around 60 percent during those months when killings were down. The summer of relative peace followed a more violent start to 2018. Thirteen people were killed in May, which saw the highest monthly total so far this year and seems to have marked a turning point. July and August then saw three and four homicides respectively. And September's number rose to nine before falling drastically to just one in October. But deadly gun violence is up already this month as six people have been killed since the beginning of November. That includes kindergartener Jaheim Holliday. The boy was playing outside with his friends and siblings Nov. 2 when one of the other children pulled out a gun and shot him in the head. Another fatal shooting occurred two days later and claimed the life of Ketron McDonald, 22, who driving on Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge when someone from a passing vehicle shot into his car. No arrests have been made in connection with that shooting. Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up +7 Baton Rouge police chief says violent crime down in recent months, but 'we need to do better' With more than six months under his belt leading the Baton Rouge Police Department, Chief Murphy Paul is thanking the public for its role in h Baton Rouge police Deputy Chief Robert McGarner described the recent spate of killings as "one of those anomalies that gives me gray hair." He and other law enforcement leaders are optimistic that this year's homicide rate when calculated at the end of December will nonetheless reassure Baton Rouge residents whose cries of alarm were heard loud and clear following 2017's unprecedented violence. McGarner said he's confident the overall downward trend will continue "if we don't take our foot off the accelerator." He said the department has been "policing better and smarter," sending out proactive patrols into neighborhoods with increased reports of violent crime. But McGarner said cooperation from the public is also key. "What the department is doing and what the community is doing have to go hand in hand," he said. "It's not just us it's offense and defense. We're successful when we're able to work together." East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore III commended the new police chief for his efforts to connect with residents and build trust between his officers and the public. +4 'Brown-eyed angel': 6-year-old boy gunned down in Baton Rouge had big personality, dance moves On Friday at Park Elementary School, Jahiem Holliday had announced that he wanted to be a teacher when he grew up. So his own first grade teac Moore noted that the decrease in homicides over the summer coincided with events hosted by the nonprofit Truce program, which replaced the Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination program after federal funding ended last summer. Truce is following in BRAVE's footsteps with its mission of targeting potential gang members and showing them an alternative to violence. Moore also mentioned the social disorganization theory, which he has often raised as a possible explanation for 2017's uptick in violent crime following the difficult summer of 2016 when Baton Rouge experienced the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling and subsequent protests, the deadly ambush on law enforcement and then the August floods. Those challenges could have created a chaotic social environment that spurred the violence in subsequent months. But Moore said it's possible that now more than two years after the region and its law enforcement agencies faced a series of traumatic events the effects are finally wearing off. When Tuesdays election gave the Democrats a majority in the House, it also shifted around some positions in the Republican leadership, but some of those changes were expected. House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin was stepping down regardless, and the implication of that for Louisiana was a potential promotion for Steve Scalise, the congressman from Jefferson Parish who was majority whip. Now that his party is in the minority, he runs again for whip, which is the No. 2 position for the smaller party in the House. He is likely to win, although there may be a challenge to Kevin McCarthy of California for minority leader. Another Louisiana Republican, Mike Johnson of Benton, was also planning to run to head the Republican Study Committee, a conservative caucus in the GOP. As a second-termer, he may not be a slam-dunk for the position but we nevertheless wish him well. Heading the RSC is not formally part of the leadership. Like U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmonds position as head of the Congressional Black Caucus, it is nevertheless an influential role. Louisianas small delegation in the House, only six members and only Richmond in the majority party, means we need all the influence we can get. Pearl River will roll out the red, white, and blue carpet on Nov. 13 when "The Wall that Heals" passes through town on its way to a scheduled display in Franklinton. The exhibit, a -size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., will be on display Nov. 15-18 at the Washington Parish Fairgrounds in Franklinton. But first, the traveling exhibit will make a brief stop at Poitevent Park, 66306 La. 41 in Pearl River. It's expected to arrive in Pearl River at about 10 a.m. on Nov. 13 The caravan is expected to continue to Franklinton no later than noon. Although the exhibit will remain enclosed in the truck carrying it through town, Pearl River Mayor David McQueen and Alderwoman Bridget Bennett wanted to be sure to offer a communitywide welcome. They will come off Interstate 12 and head through town, Bennett said. We will have schools, businesses, and residents waving flags to pay tribute. We wanted to get all involved with the welcome through town, McQueen added. Bennett said officers with the Pearl River Police Department will escort the truck to Poitevent Park. Everyone traveling with the exhibit will have time to have a snack, take pictures and listen to an invocation from the Rev. Terry Hoyt, of Jesus Name Apostolic Church, Bennett said. Pearl River High Principal John Priola said his students will be among those out on the route to welcome The Wall That Heals. In addition, he said, some AP history students will take a field trip to see the wall and take in the educational exhibits that go along with it. The town asked if some of the schools would be out for The Wall that Heals, and students are looking forward to it to show support," he said. Bennett said it's an honor to have The Wall That Heals make a stop in Pearl River. Wherever the exhibit goes, it is visited by locals and visitors from neighboring areas, including veterans. For many, it's a chance to see the closest thing to the real memorial without traveling to Washington, D.C. We are very excited about it, Bennett said. We started talking about it in June (when we learned it would stop here briefly on its way to Franklinton.)" The Pearl River/St. Tammany connection will continue once the exhibit is in place at the Washington Parish Fairgrounds. McQueen said he will be honored to read some of the Louisiana names on the wall during ceremonies at the Fairgrounds on Nov. 17. I was very honored to be asked, he said. I will be happy to be there. We do everything we can to support our veterans. St. Tammany top stories in your inbox A weekly guide to the biggest news in St. Tammany. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up State Sen. Beth Mizell, whose District 12 encompasses parts of St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes, said it was a Vietnam veteran who asked her to look into bringing The Wall That Heals to Franklinton. A friend, a Vietnam veteran, came to my office for a visit, she said. It was kismet. I asked if he was watching the series on PBS about the (Vietnam) War and suddenly he asked her about the exhibit. He said, If we could get that wall, I think it could help a lot of us heal. Mizell applied to have the wall visit Franklinton, and the town was chosen to be one of 38 U.S. towns in the to host the exhibit this year. It has been an incredible experience for all of us, Mizell said. Glen Rester, the Vietnam veteran who visited Mizells office, agreed. He said he had wanted to see the Vietnam memorial in Washington, D.C., for many years. A year ago in August, my wife and daughter surprised me with a trip," said Rester, who served in the 101st airborne in Vietnam in 1968-69. "(But) a lot of veterans wont ever get to go see that, so I asked Sen. Mizell (about bringing the traveling wall here.) And now its happening. "I hope more will come and see the wall," he added. It is, after all, a wall that heals. The whole purpose is to make sure we never forget those who served. The Wall That Heals will be assembled on Nov. 14 at the Washington Parish Fairgrounds, and public viewing will begin at 5 p.m. The exhibit will be open around the clock until closing ceremonies at 1 p.m. on Nov. 18. A candlelight memorial and reading of the names on the wall will take place Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.thewallfranklinton.com Jurors at Orleans Parish Criminal District Court are regularly called upon to puzzle through crimes that happen elsewhere in New Orleans. But on Friday, authorities uncovered an unsolved crime inside the courthouse itself. Someone broke into an evidence room in the buildings attic, Clerk of Court Arthur Morrell said. The room, which stores guns and other items from closed crime investigations but not narcotics, was being inventoried on Friday to determine if anything was taken, Morrell said. We didnt notice anything missing, he said of an initial sweep. Nothing looked disturbed or altered or changed. Morrell said he thought the break-in happened on Thursday before 7 p.m. The door, which was protected by a single, weak lock, appeared to have been pried open with a crowbar, he said. The clerk said he does not anticipate that any upcoming trials will be affected because the room contained evidence only from closed cases. Most of the evidence was being stored ahead of disposal, he said. We dont see any possibility of any case being jeopardized, he said. The Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office is responsible for security at the courthouse building, but an official there said the New Orleans Police Department was leading the investigation into the break-in. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Andy Cunningham, a Police Department spokesman, said, Theyre going to be doing a more detailed inventory just to make sure, but at this time we dont believe anything was taken. The probe could be hampered by the fact that there were no security cameras trained on the room. We are reviewing our facilities and making sure that the safety precautions and security are updated. This area doesnt have cameras, but were going to have them installed, Morrell said. This isn't the first time a local evidence room has been targeted. In October 2006, a city janitor was arrested for raiding cocaine, cash and ammunition from an evidence room at Orleans Parish Civil District Court, where prosecutors were storing evidence for the District Attorney's Office's Juvenile Division. The janitor, Craig Alton "Poncho" Thompson, said he opened the room on a lark, according to a Times-Picayune article at the time. He burned through most of the cash in the slot machines at Harrah's Casino. Thompson pleaded guilty to simple burglary and cocaine possession in 2008, court records show. One of the best reasons to be a reader this decade has been the rediscovery of an American writer who published much of her best work in the 1970s and '80s: Lucia Berlin. Berlin (1936-2004) was a writer of tender, chaotic and careworn short stories. Her work can remind you of Raymond Carver's or Grace Paley's or Denis Johnson's; her stories mine a blue-collar vein even when she's writing about men who went to Harvard and drive Porsches. Lucia Berlin managed to write, beautifully, about the hard and the awkward things. Credit:Buddy Berlin She published 76 stories during her lifetime. Many of these were collected and issued in book form by California-based Black Sparrow Press, which also published Charles Bukowski. They've begun to be reissued in the US by Farrar, Straus & Giroux The book to find first is A Manual for Cleaning Women, an important selection of her stories that appeared in 2015. Rereading my review of that collection, I'm embarrassed to see that I said of it, "This book would have been twice as good at a bit more than half the length". I regret any implication that her work was already, in that book, beginning to thin out. In part this is because of another potent selection of her stories, published under the title Evening in Paradise. There is little if any diminishment in quality or intensity. GOD FRIENDED ME *** three stars 9pm, Seven Dripping with saccharine, this spiritual dramady calls upon the divine powers of Hollywood to force the waterworks from the most cynical of viewers. As unwitting seeker, atheist podcaster, Miles Finer (Brandon Michael Hall, Search Party) keeps discovering, no good deed goes unpunished. And yet he is propelled to virtually stalk a woman because his mysterious Facebook friend called "God" has pulled her into his orbit. In an exciting twist, the Devil materialises as a podcast producer. God Friended Me. Credit:David Giesbrecht BLIND DATE ** two stars 7.30pm, Ten Catering to a wider age range than its naughty little sister show on Seven, Take Me Out, this snazzy Julia Morris vehicle strikes a harmonious chord between risque and romantic. The revival of the Perfect Match formula is an amusing reminder that blind dating is not something invented by Tinder. And Morris is made for the role of campy den mama. Things turn a little bit country tonight, with an ex-rodeo rider throwing his hat into the ring. TATTOO AGE Double episode 5.30pm, SBS Viceland A bit of ink by Japanese American tattooists Taki and Horitomo (profiled in the second of this double billing) is not something you get done after a night on the sauce. These dudes take their art seriously, and potential clients must convince them likewise. This is an illuminating presentation of the cult of body art, the misunderstanding the artists fled in their homeland, and the unique and binding relationship between master and apprentice. Tattoo Age is an illuminating presentation on the cult of body art. VICTORIA 7.30pm, ABC The young Queen has her Marie Antoinette moment as she throws a costume ball to promote the silk of Spitalfields over the influx of cheap imports from the Continent, while the starving peasants revolt at the palace gates. Although she has yet to display any particularly chameleonic acting abilities, Jenna Coleman makes a fine, relatable Victoria for this sudsy period drama. Her grief at the terribly sad ending of this episode is palpable. WACO Miniseries double episode premiere 8.30pm, SBS Lesser-known Culkin brother Rory plays the conduit between the sceptical and the succumbed in this intelligent treatment of the 1993 Texas tragedy. As David Thibodeau, a young inductee into the cult of the Branch Davidians, on whose memoir this series is based, Culkin is every wanderer looking to belong. As cult leader David Koresh, Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights) is devastatingly charming. Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire) as the FBI negotiator, is also brilliant. The most interesting part of The Bachelorette Australia is the hair. ORANGE IS THE NEW BROWN 8.30pm, Seven This cheeky, lavishly produced sketch series is fast finding its feet. Two episodes in and a much-needed pair of scissors appears to have been put to use. Situational and concept gags have stopped running too far past their punch lines. The content is universally appealing; the race angle played just enough so as too be effective, but not alienate a wider demographic. Guest-star highlights include Gary Sweet and Kamahl. The recurring prison scenes need polish. ASK THE DOCTOR Season final *** three stars 8pm, ABC Telling us more of what we already know and really should have done something about by now, this motivational trio tackle the new smoking: sitting. Unless you're a full-time aerobics instructor you will probably relate to at least one of the three guinea pigs who submit to 24-hour monitoring of their sedentariness. The good news is, as Shalin and Sandro enthusiastically demonstrate, the problem can be turned around reasonably quickly with minimum effort. Ask the Doctor. SMARTPHONES: THE DARK SIDE **** four stars 10pm, SBS Dismiss the impact on the mind of that pocket-sized portal to social media at your peril. As reporter Hilary Andersson discovers in this alarming documentary, some of the people who helped create the beast knew exactly what they were doing and won't let their children near it. Of course this horse has well and truly bolted, and scare tactics aren't likely to have any real impact on our techno-habits. But hearing a few harm minimisation tips from insiders can't hurt. FAMILY RULES Series return 8.30pm, NITV The large, all-female Rule family return to show us more of their everyday ups and downs in suburban Perth. There is a real sense that nothing is manufactured here, and that can mean a lack of fizz. Still, it's a refreshing change to watch a reality show without tears and tantrums, and among the domesticity lurk occasional nuggets of wisdom. Grandma, who's always a laugh, adds some spark to this episode. With no tears or tantrums, Family Rules is a refreshing reality show. SISTERS 8pm, NITV The toast of New Zealand's hip-hop scene, Brooke and Starce O'Neil can bust a move, but until now haven't incorporated vocals into their act. Luckily, their tonsils aren't too shabby, and they chase their dream of international stardom with a vengeance. The first stop is Sydney, where their manager, X Factor discovery and fellow Kiwi Vince Harder, puts them to work in the recording studio. They're so sweet, you'll be gunning for them, even if hip-hop isn't your thing. One of my favourite hymns, by George Matheson, I call the paradox hymn because it contains truths in tension that seem to me to go not only to the heart of religion but of that human reality that cannot be completely encapsulated by reason. The first verse reads: Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free; /Force me to render up my sword, and I shall conquror be. / I sink in lifes alarms when by myself I stand; / Imprison me within / Thine arms, and strong shall be my hand. Matheson suggests our will is only free when it is in tune with Gods, that to reign we must surrender our sovereignty, that our strength is made manifest in our weakness, and more. A 19th-century Scot, Matheson wrote from his own suffering. He was a gifted scholar who went blind at 20 and was abandoned by his fiance, but became a Church of Scotland minister and fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The hymns power for me lies in the fact that it recognises our lives are complicated and in many ways opaque to our own understanding, and we live with tensions or paradoxes between many priorities and principles. Picture this: the days are short and the weather cold and bleak. (You have imagination, don't you?) You are desperate for a "winter sun" holiday but prices have shot opportunistically up during the short period schools are on Christmas vacation and you know if you take your kids out to go in term time, you'll pay an extra 60 ($108) ... per day, per child. Both you and your partner also, technically, risk a fine. The financial mark-up for travel destinations in school holidays is huge. Credit: That's what parents in England have to contend with at this time of year and, festive season aside, they get pretty cranky. Often, the fine cancels out the off-peak holiday savings ... and among my friends and family, most instead swallow a second type of "festive fare" at Christmas. Dr Nalini Pati remembers seeing a young woman at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara having difficulty breathing because her lymph node had swollen to such a size it was restricting her airway. She had been diagnosed with a type of lymphoma, a treatable cancer, Dr Pati said. But sadly it was at such a progressed stage that treatment was no longer an option. Professor Desmond Yip, clinical nurse consultant Wendy Spencer, haematologist Dr Nalini Pati and oncology pharmacist Beth Hua from the Canberra Hospital have returned from a trip to set up the Solomon Islands' first ever oncology department. Credit:Elesa Kurtz Thankfully, the introduction of the Solomon Islands first ever oncology unit means that hopefully won't happen again. Dr Pati was part of a four-person team from the Canberra Hospital that recently returned from setting up the cancer treatment unit, bringing a whole new range of treatment options to the Pacific Island nation. Abbotsleigh's class of 2009 was always a close-knit group, and in the years since the students left the all-girls school, they have strived to live out the ideals of their alma mater. So when the school's headmistress, Megan Krimmer, signed a letter with 33 other Anglican principals arguing for the preservation of laws giving schools of the Sydney Anglican Diocese to discriminate against gay students and teachers there was instant mortification. "As an all-women's college we were encouraged to be the best people we could be, and that letter did not make me proud to be an Abbotsleigh girl," Annemeike Tierney said. No room for discrimination at Abbotsleigh, says the organisers of the Let's Educate Equality. From left, Gabrielle Timmins, Felicity Wilson and Annemieke Tierney. Credit:Wolter Peeters Tierney, an events planner, contacted her old classmates: Felicity Wilson organised an online petition calling for the headmistress to rescind the letter's sentiments; Freya Seale wrote an open letter to the school community; Gabbi Timmins brought her expertise from the non-profit sector. A woman has died and two others were seriously injured after a minivan left the road and rolled in Coffs Harbour on Saturday afternoon. The van, which was reportedly carrying six people, rolled on Bucca Road, near Hallgaths Road in Coffs Harbour about 3.30pm on Saturday. A rear passenger of the Honda Odyssey, a woman, died at the scene. Two people - the driver and a male passenger - were airlifted to hospital in a serious but stable condition. The remaining passengers escaped the crash with minor injuries. It is currently unknown what caused the minivan to crash and roll, but no other cars were involved, police confirmed. The age and identity of are as yet unknown. A woman has struggled to fend off a thief while he was trying to steal her handbag in Brisbane's CBD. The man had forcibly taken the woman's handbag on Adelaide Street about 9.10am on Thursday before trying to flee, police said. However, a good Samaritan who saw the attack unfold came to the womans aid and was able to retrieve the handbag. The man fled the scene on foot without the handbag. I am still haunted by the battle of the Nek at Gallipoli, in the early hours of August 7, 1915, when four waves of Australian soldiers that is 600 Diggers, including Hugo Throssell followed orders and charged straight at Turkish machine guns just 40 yards away, only to be cut down like young blades of wheat before deaths swinging scythe. Before the third wave went out, the Turks themselves were shouting at the Australians a strange ... pleading .. call. Dur! Dur! Dur! (Stop! Stop! Stop! Do not keep running into our guns, slaughtering yourselves.) Too late. The whistle blows, and with a cheer for the ages ... for all eternity ... the vast wave of Australian humanity rolled out, eager to crash upon the enemy trenches, even as the five Turkish Maxim machine guns started chattering at the oncoming wave, and some 500 Turkish soldiers all around kept loading again and again the five-bullet magazines into their Mausers and firing into the throng. They just couldnt miss. In the space of mere minutes, no fewer than 372 of those Australian soldiers went down. Australian troops at Gallipoli. Credit:Phillip Schuler, Australian War Memorial. I am infuriated by what happened at Fromelles on the Western Front where, again following orders, 7000 Australian soldiers charged across low swampy grounds at German machine guns as far as 400 yards away. Our blokes never had a chance and in just 14 hours there were 5500 casualties, including 1900 Diggers killed. Yes, that many, in 14 hours, for not a metre of ground gained. The sight of our trenches that next morning is burned into my brain, one Corporal Knyvett would recount. Here and there a man could stand upright, but in most places if you did not wish to be exposed to a snipers bullet you had to progress on hands and knees. In places the parapet was repaired with bodies bodies that but yesterday had housed the personality of a friend by whom we had warmed ourselves. If you had gathered the stock of a thousand butcher shops, cut it into small pieces and strewn it about, it would give you a faint conception of the shambles those trenches were. Out in No Mans Land, hundreds of wounded Australian soldiers lay dying. A brave Australian officer waved a white flag with a red cross on it and walked out to successfully arrange a truce with his German counterparts so that both sides could retrieve their own and get them to medical help they so desperately needed. But the orders from higher came back to the Australian officers on site. No truce. "[British] GHQ orders and all subordinate orders, the Australian commanding officer General James McCay would later explain, were extremely definite, to the effect that no negotiations of any kind, and on any subject, were to be had with the enemy ... Orders were at once sent to put an end to the 'truce'." Men lie dead at Montbrehain, scene of the last battle involving Australian infantry on the Western Front. Credit:Australian War Memorial I shudder at the story of what happened in the French village of Allonville, in the early hours of May 31, 1918, when the Diggers of A Company of the 14th Battalion Jackas Mob were in a barn just back from the Western Front, either asleep or talking. Their numbers include the company bugler, Bertie Englert, and his lifelong mate Willie Wooton, both from Sydney, lying in their swags softly talking of home and particularly of their wives, Ruth and Ina Willie having married Ina between enlisting in March 1917 and leaving Australia the following June. Theyd had such a short time together before hed had to go. Twelve miles away, at a spot called Bray-sur-Somme, the German artillerymen prepare to unleash a few high-explosive shells in the general direction of where they were told the Australians were. Following their strict routine, the German officer yells, Feeertig! as in Reeeeady, and then ... Feuer! Fire! The gun gives an almighty blast, exploding like an angry volcano, and an instant later the first shell the size of a child roars forth and soars to the west, lobbing towards the Allied lines and revolving clockwise more than 100 times a second as it goes. Those Diggers not asleep could hear it approaching a screeching, getting louder now, squealing ... is this it? ... as they grit their teeth, and involuntarily flex their whole bodies and cover their ears, as if that might possibly save them. And now its starting to roar like a train coming down the bloody Bulli Pass, coming straight for them, getting louder and louder and louder. The first shell lands right at the apex of the barn, hitting the very beam that holds the whole roof together. On the instant, all is blown asunder as the shell explodes with 48 pounds of TNT, sending not only the heavy beams tumbling down, not only the shattered shards of the shell scything off in all directions but, most damaging of all, the razor thin slates from the roof tumbling down like so many hundreds of guillotine blades onto the Australians below. Only a few seconds later, another shell hits another nearby barn, the one occupied by C Company, for a similar result. The first shell kills 13 men outright, while another 12 die from their wounds. The second kills four. And Bertie and Willie? As one of their comrades Private Clarence Carroll, will note, [Bertie] and his pal were dead alongside one another in their billet. He was much torn about on the whole of one side of his body ... His mate Wooton only got shifted from another [company] about a week previously so as to be with Englert and they both died at the same time alongside one another buried alongside each other. Berties crushed bugle lies by his side. He has played his last Last Post. The trenches at Lone Pine. Credit:Australian War Memorial Look, of course the war was not all such terrible disasters and useless deaths. It is important to note that, by and large, the Australians fought magnificently well throughout the war and there were both individual feats of extraordinary valour and vast collective Australian actions that take the breath away for their audacity and courage. I have been proud to help bring more focus on some of them. But overall, looking back, 100 years on, I keep going back to something I saw when I was just 23 and playing rugby in Italy, when I took my little Fiat 127 through the Iron Curtain and all the way to Gallipoli for the first time. At Lone Pine Cemetery, amid all the gravestones marked with such words as Duty Nobly Done, He Died In A Far Country/Fighting For/ His Native Land, A Mothers Thoughts Often Wander To This Sad And Lonely Grave, I noted an epitaph that quite shocked me, recording the name and date of death of a Digger above the words, as I remember them: Died In A Foreign Field. And For What? After all the books, all the research, all the field trips, all the talking to the descendants of the shattered families, I am still not sure there is a satisfactory answer to that question. In fact, I go a fair bit of the way with PJK Paul Keating in his assertion five years ago today at the Australian War Memorial that: The First World War was a war devoid of any virtue. It arose from the quagmire of European tribalism. A complex interplay of nation-state destinies overlaid by notions of cultural superiority peppered with racism. And I am all the way with Professor Scates, that our primary emotion on this centenary of Armistice should be enduring grief not just for those that were killed and maimed but for what it did to the families left behind. And just be glad that 100 years ago today it really was, at last, over. Lest we forget, indeed. They were hopeful his "situation would improve" after he married, but the imam said in recent weeks he had given them fresh cause for alarm. "[He was] complaining he was being chased by unseen people with spears," Imam Musse said. "They don't know if he's taking drugs or what." He said they had been worried about the 30-year-old for some time. The imam described the attacker's family as "very decent" and said they came to Australia more than two decades ago. Police say Shire Ali was known to ASIO. Authorities had cancelled his passport in 2015, when ASIO received information he was planning to travel to Syria. Police on Saturday raided the home of Hassan Khalif Shire Ali's parents in Werribee, along with another property in Meadow Heights. Credit:Luis Ascui While he held radicalised views, federal police didn't believe he posed a serious threat, said AFP acting deputy commissioner for national security Ian McCartney on Saturday. He said Shire Ali was not being actively monitored at the time of the attack. How he came to pose a threat to national security will be investigated by police. Initial investigations have revealed Shire Ali had links to the Islamic State terrorist group, Mr McCartney said. "It's fair to say he was inspired," he said. "We're not saying it was direct contact, we're saying it's from an inspiration perspective." A police officer speaks to a woman who arrived at the Werribee home of Shire Ali's parents on Saturday. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui Imam Musse said Shire Ali's family worshipped at the Virgin Mary Mosque, which he once headed. But the spiritual leader said Shire Ali himself had not visited the Hoppers Crossing mosque for decades. "[He came] many years ago [to the mosque], when he was 11-years-old or so," the imam said. "He hasn't been coming for many years." Neighbours who live near the Werribee home said the Shire Ali family had lived there for at least decades. Loading One woman, who spoke to Fairfax Media on the condition of anonymity, said she thought the parents and one daughter live in the house. Shire Ali and other family members would often visit, she said. There was always cars coming and going, she said. They were always very smartly dressed and seemed to be polite and educated people. Id often see the father and would wave to him across the street but they mostly kept to themselves. Neighbours remembered Hassan and his siblings riding down the street on their bikes. They were always playing in the street and laughing," one neighbour who has lived in the street for almost 30 years said. "[They were] very well-mannered kids. A family friend talks to police outside a house being raided in Werribee in connection to Hassan Khalif Shire Ali. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui On Saturday afternoon, family friends a man arrived at the house in a dark coloured sedan but was ushered away by police. The man said he was a friend of Shire Alis father. Ive known him 30 years, he is a kind and respected man in the Somali community, he said. I came here today because I know he is so upset about what has happened and I wanted to visit to see if he was OK. On Saturday, Imam Musse said he had spoken to the family in the hours after the attack. "They were in shock, unbelievable shock," he said. "They shared the pain of the victim that victim had a family too ... the two families are sharing in the grief and pain." Imam Musse, who is head of the Board of Imams in Victoria, said he was personally "angry" after the terrorist attack. Isse Musse, an imam who knows Shire Ali's family, said the Somali community deplored the attack. Credit:Rebecca Hallas "The Somali community is deploring this incident," he said. "They are a law-abiding community, [they are] hard-working, they look after their families and put their children through school." He said Shire Ali was "deluded". "If a person is Muslim and has a mental health problem, then Islam will be one of the things they may speak," Imam Musse said. A source close to the family said the attacker had mental health and substance abuse issues and was kicked out of the house on numerous occasions. He had a troubled relationship with his parents. He had a difficult time in his life the last couple of years and spun out of control, said the source. At the Meadow Heights property, one neighbour said that Shire Ali moved into the granny flat and at the back of the property about a year ago with his wife and young boy. Police seized what they called a breadth of evidence from Alis Meadow Heights home, a converted garage. He said that Shire Ali drove a tradesman ute, and that he had tools in the back including a wheelbarrow. Almost 50 kilometres away, his parents home, a modest brick house on a quiet street in Werribee in the city's west, was also raided in the early hours of Saturday by police for more than 12 hours. The family was originally from Somalia and moved to Australia in the 1980s. It's understood Shire Ali had three brothers and two sisters who attended the Al-Taqwa Islamic College in Truganina. All are believed to have grown up in the family's home in Werribee. An armed police officer speaks to a woman as she arrives at the home of Shire Ali's parents in Werribee. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui But Isse Musse, an imam and a friend of Shire Ali's family, said Hassan had broken with Somali tradition by moving out of the family home before he was married, raising concern among his family. They were hopeful his "situation would improve" after he married, but the imam said in recent weeks Shire Ali had given them fresh cause for alarm. "[He was] complaining he was being chased by unseen people with spears," Imam Musse said. "They don't know if he's taking drugs or what." He said Shire Ali had become more and more "deluded". "If a person is Muslim and has a mental health problem, then Islam will be one of the things they may speak," Imam Musse said. Another source close to the family said Shire Ali had mental health and substance abuse issues and was kicked out of the family home on numerous occasions. He had a difficult time in his life the last couple of years and spun out of control, said the source. Meadow Heights neighbours recalled seeing Shire Ali "storm out" of the property less than a week ago with his wife in pursuit. He appeared agitated, one neighbour told The Age. Shire Ali lived with his wife and son in a bungalow at the back of a property in Meadow Heights. Credit:Chris Hopkins While it was known he held radicalised views, federal police didn't believe he posed a serious threat, and revealed he was not being actively monitored at the time of the attack. Authorities, however, had cancelled his passport in 2015 when ASIO received information he was planning to travel to Syria. Imam Musse described Shire Ali's family as "very decent" and said they worshipped at the Virgin Mary Mosque in Hoppers Crossing. Isse Musse, a former imam a Werribee mosque, said Shire Ali had become "more and more deluded". Credit:Rebecca Hallas But the spiritual leader said Shire Ali himself had not visited the mosque for decades. "[He came] many years ago [to the mosque], when he was 11 years old or so," the imam said. "He hasn't been coming for many years." Neighbours who live near the Werribee home said the Shire Ali family had lived there for more than 30 years. One woman said she believed the parents, a daughter and a son still lived at the house. Shire Ali and other family members would often visit, she said. There was always cars coming and going, she said. They were always very smartly dressed and seemed to be polite and educated people. Id often see the father and would wave to him across the street but they mostly kept to themselves. Neighbours remembered Hassan and his siblings riding down the street on their bikes as children. They were always playing in the street and laughing ... [he seemed like] just an ordinary kid," one long-time neighbour said. "[They were all] very well-mannered kids. On Saturday, as investigators searched the family home, carloads of distressed relatives arrived at the house only to be turned away by heavily armed police guarding the driveway. Police seached cars at the Werribee home of Shire Ali's parents on Saturday. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui Family friends say those close to Shire Ali are devastated by Friday's attack. Ive known [his father] for 30 years, he is a kind and respected man in the Somali community, one said. I came here today because I know he is so upset about what has happened. Imam Musse said the family were in "shock, unbelievable shock". "They shared the pain of the victim - that victim had a family too ... the two families are sharing in the grief and pain," he said. Just before 2pm, a young man, believed to be a relative of Shire Ali, came out of the house with his face hidden beneath a grey hooded jumper. He quickly got into a silver car parked in the driveway and sped off. 'Fake News' Catches Up With Haaretz's Chemi Shalev | Main | Media Story About Ultra-Orthodox Responsibility for Lengthy El Al Delay Disputed July 11, 2018 One Haaretz Page-One Sentence, Lots of Errors One sentence in a page-one article of Haaretz's's English print edition yesterday packed in multiple errors. Headlined "Netanyahu: Israel to close commercial Gaza crossing over airborne firebombs," the article erred: Palestinians began flying the devices into Israel after many weeks of protests at the Gaza-Israel border in which over 130 demonstrators were killed by Israel Defense Forces sharpshooters and some 4,000 were wounded by live fire. This sentence is wrong on multiple counts. First, as Haaretz itself has previously reported, the kite attacks began less than two weeks after the "March of Return" events began on March 30, not after "many weeks of protests at the Gaza-Israel border." As Almog Ben Zikri reported April 16 ("Gazans Fly Firebombs Tied to Kites Into Israel, Sparking Several Blazes"): Gaza Palestinians have begun flying kites with firebombs attached to them over the border fence into Israeli territory. Officials from the Eshkol region adjacent to the border informed residents on Sunday that the firebombs had caused several fires but had not caused injuries. In the first incident last Wednesday [TS: ie April 11], a blaze was put out in the vicinity of Kibbutz Beeri, where fire investigators found a burnt kite. Two days later, on Friday, the Israeli army reported that demonstrators on the Gazan side of the border fence had attempted to fly a kite with a Molotov cocktail attached to it into Israeli territory. The kite fell to the ground in the Gaza Strip and caused no injuries. On Saturday, a kite string was found in the vicinity of another fire near Kibbutz Beeri. That was followed on Sunday by a kite in the colors of the Palestinian flag that fire investigators found at a blaze near Kibbutz Kissufim. The Israeli army spokesmans office said on Sunday that three kites with Molotov cocktails attached to them have been located, and that two of them started fires near the border fence. Second, at the time that Palestinians started launching the kite attacks, at most 33 Palestinians had been killed and some 1000 reportedly wounded; not 130 and 4,000, respectively, as reported. As Ben Zikri reported (ibid): Thirty-four Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army weapons fired near the border fence and more than 1,000 have been wounded by live weapons fire. In last Fridays protests, one Palestinian was killed and more than 230 wounded. Third, even until now, it is not true that "130 demonstrators were killed," because as even Hamas acknowledges, active and armed combatants were among the casualties. Among those killed were those who attacked Israelis with firebombs, gunfire, rocks, grenades and pipe bombs. On June 21, The Los Angeles Times corrected the identical error, stating: Gaza kites: In the June 19 Section A, an article about the use of kites as weapons in the Gaza Strip said the Israeli military has killed about 130 protesters in Gaza. Those killed include armed militants, as well as one press photographer and one medic. The error-ridden sentence does not appear in the online version of this article. Nor does it appear in the Hebrew edition. CAMERA alerted editors about the inaccuracies. As of this writing, they have yet to publish a correction. Posted by TS at July 11, 2018 02:58 AM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment Amanda Howard was a 17-year-old school girl when Silence of the Lambs was playing at the cinema. While most people saw a horror show, Howard whod grown up thinking shed be a singer and dancer saw a new career opportunity. Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs. I wanted to be Clarice Starling, she says, referring to the FBI trainee (played by Jodie Foster) assigned to enlist the help of Hannibal the cannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to track down a serial killer who wears the skin of his victims. Now, 28 years later, the criminologist and true-crime author has two telephones in her home: one for her friends and two teenage children; the other for killers who want to share or vent from the payphone in prison. In an age where everyone has a brand, Howard is the serial killer whisperer a name that she suggested in a throwaway comment, and of course it stuck. At this very moment, tens of thousands of Victorian students are trying to cram as much information as possible into their brains. Theyre reading off flashcards, creating colour-coded study guides and reciting key events that might crop up their Australian history exam. But what if none of this was necessary? With all the talk of 21st century skills such as critical and creative thinking, education experts are calling for an expansion of open book exams in the VCE. As a knife-wielding man went on a rampage on Bourke Street on Friday afternoon, bystanders rushed to the chaotic scene to help police. One quick-thinking man, whom the internet has dubbed Trolley Man, rammed a supermarket trolley at the suspect as he attacked police. Video uploaded onto social media appears to shows the trolley slowing down the suspect as he lunges at police with a knife. A witness tried to help police by ramming the suspect with a shopping trolley. At one point, Trolley Man falls to the ground after the suspect swipes at him. There have been seven terrorist attacks and 18 disrupted attacks in Australia since 2005 and Melbourne has been the target of nearly half of these. Since 2005, police have arrested 41 people over alleged terrorist activity in Victoria, with 37 following Islamism, a radical political ideology, as distinct from Islam as a religion. The moment the car burst into flames on Bourke Street. Credit:Stuart Gaut On Friday we saw another lone-actor terrorist attack in Melbourne. Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, aged 30, with convictions for cannabis use and theft, drove a ute into the heart of Melbournes Bourke Street, set it alight and stabbed three people, killing one. Shire Ali arrived in Australia from Somalia in the 1980s or 1990s. He may have had links to radicalised members of the Somali community and was known to ASIO. He had his passport cancelled in 2015 after trying to travel to Syria but wasnt being actively monitored. But from what we know Shire Ali wasn't recruited to a terrorist organisation, or trained by them, or sent on his Bourke Street mission with operational support from any group. But according to the federal police he was inspired by fundamentalism. Its highly likely that online content would have played a part in his radicalism. Former AFL star Chris Yarran has been charged with a string of offences over an alleged crime spree on Friday evening. Yarran was initially charged with just two counts of obstructing a public officer and assaulting a public officer. Former AFL star Chris Yarran opened up about his ice addiction in 2017. However on Sunday police said they had added six more offences following an investigation. Yarran, 27, now faces robbery, criminal damage or destruction of property, two counts of attempted robbery, dangerous driving and aggravated robbery charges. Over a long career, Roy Bijkerk has boxed professionally, run a car rental chain, invested in property and, at one point, conspired to import cocaine. He was someone who could both arrange a loan for gambler Edward Hayson and set up a meeting with broadcaster Alan Jones, his evidence in the Federal Court last week suggested. Roy Bijkerk received millions of dollars in subcontracts from Guardian Youth Care. Credit:Facebook But when asked for his occupation, Mr Bijkerk said I think Im unemployed. His income vanished with the collapse of Guardian Youth Care, a childrens home care charity that subcontracted almost all its services to Mr Bijkerk's for-profit ventures. Political campaigning has been placed on hold until midday Sunday as Melburnians confront the tragic reality of another lethal attack in the heart of the CBD. But the battle to win the Victorian election will start again by Monday morning in the shadow of a deadly terrorist attack. Premier Daniel Andrews with Police Minister Lisa Neville Credit:AAP Just two weeks out from election day, November 24, the major parties now face the question of how to respectfully hit the hustings once their campaign buses begin rolling again. Sources at campaign headquarters would not be drawn on whether tactics or messages would change. Paris: It has been a long centenary of a long war, and it is very, very hard to find something new to say about a conflict that ended 100 years ago today and has been endlessly (and rightfully) commemorated since. But sometimes you dont need to say anything to say everything. In a clearing in a forest north of Paris, on Saturday, in cold, drizzling rain, the leaders of France and Germany held hands, and embraced, and even smiled. Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel unveil a plaque in the Clairiere of Rethondes during a commemoration ceremony for Armistice Day. Credit:AP The pictures say it all. They say as many thousands of words as there were millions dead. Sidon, Lebanon: Ain al-Hilweh is not a camp in the way that most Australians recognise the word. There are no tents here. People don't move in for a few weeks holiday, then pack up and go home. Here instead there are high walls, checkpoints, apartment buildings, schools, offices and armed men. Lots of armed men. It's a mini city composed of concrete and thwarted dreams. And, as usual, photographer Kate Geraghty is making a friend. Fatah soldier Abu Raban patrols the streets of the Fatah area of Ain al-Hilweh, the Palestinian camp in Sidon, Lebanon. Credit:Kate Geraghty "W'allah!", she exclaims, a grin splitting her face, "Aren't you magnificent?" A buff young man, striding with a military-style vest and a sub-machine gun down a street, stops and preens for her. Michelle Obama says she felt "lost and alone" after suffering a miscarriage 20 years ago and she and Barack Obama underwent in vitro fertilization to conceive their two daughters. "We were trying to get pregnant and it wasn't going well," Mrs Obama, 54, writes in her upcoming memoir. "We had one pregnancy test come back positive, which caused us both to forget every worry and swoon with joy, but a couple of weeks later I had a miscarriage, which left me physically uncomfortable and cratered any optimism we felt." Former first lady Michelle Obama, pictured speaking during a campaign rally for Hilary Clinton in October 2016. Credit:Jim Cole Due to be released in Australia on Wednesday, Mrs Obama's memoir, titled "Becoming", is one of the most avidly anticipated political books in recent memory. In the memoir, she writes of being alone to administer herself shots to help hasten the process. Her "sweet, attentive husband" was at the state legislature, "leaving me largely on my own to manipulate my reproductive system into peak efficiency." Missed Delivery? If missed delivery or wet paper please call our office 909-628-5501 ext 110 Leave a detailed message with name, address, and phone number. Readers must call before 1 p.m. on Saturday. Re-deliveries are available for Chino residents until 1 p.m. Saturdays. Click Here "I can tell you Matt Whitaker's a great guy. I mean, I know Matt Whitaker," he said then. Trump did not respond directly when asked about the legal dispute, which involves the constitutional provision that says the president "shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint" ambassadors, judges and "all other officers of the United States". Save Mueller protest. Credit:AP The Constitution allows "inferior officers" to be appointed by the president or by the "heads of departments". But the attorney-general is what the Supreme Court has referred to as a "principal officer" a person who ordinarily must have Senate approval. Last year, the justices ruled in a case raising a similar issue and struck down President Barack Obama's appointment of an acting general counsel at the National Labor Relations Board. "The Senate's advice and consent power is a critical structural safeguard of the constitutional scheme," said Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in NLRB vs. SW General. "The framers envisioned it as an 'excellent check upon a spirit of favoritism in the president' and a guard against 'the appointment of unfit characters,'" he wrote, quoting a passage from the "Federalist Papers." Looking back at early American history, Roberts said that Congress in 1792 had allowed President George Washington to make temporary appointments of "acting officials." He resolved the case without deciding the constitutional issue, ruling that Obama had violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 by appointing an acting general counsel who had been nominated for the same post at the labor board, but was not confirmed by the Senate. Justice Clarence Thomas in a concurring opinion went further. He said the Constitution makes clear "principal officers must be appointed by the president by and with the advice and consent of the Senate." Whitaker's suspect status could pose legal problems for the government. In the past, the Supreme Court has cast doubt on the legality of an agency's actions if a top official was serving illegally. Since the attorney general is cited by name in many of the Justice Department's actions, including criminal cases, and in regulations the department issues, Whitaker's status could quickly be challenged in court. Los Angeles attorney Alexander Stern said he and other lawyers planned to file such a challenge. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., also said he was considering such a suit. "You always need a plaintiff with standing, but that shouldn't be difficult," Stern said. "If you are being sued, prosecuted by, or suing the attorney general," a challenge could be in order, he said. Whitaker's appointment marked a sharp break with precedent. In the past, when an attorney general left office, the job would be filled by another senior Justice Department official who had been confirmed by the Senate. "As far as know, it would be the first time in U.S. history the president has designated as an 'acting' attorney general someone who was not then serving in an office to which he or she was appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate," wrote Georgetown law professor Martin Lederman, who worked in the Justice Department under Obama. Senate Democratic leader Charles E. Schumer of New York raised the same issue in a letter to Trump on Friday. "I am not aware of any precedent for appointment of an official who has not been confirmed by the Senate to serve as acting attorney general," he wrote. The first people to put a spotlight on the issue were Washington attorney Neal K. Katyal, who served as an acting solicitor general under Obama, and George T. Conway III, a prominent conservative lawyer who is also the husband of Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to Trump. Writing in The New York Times, they said Whitaker's appointment is "illegal. And it means that anything that Mr. Whitaker does, or tries to do, in that position is invalid." Walter Dellinger, a former White House lawyer under President Bill Clinton, said Trump could have easily chosen another of his Senate-confirmed appointees to serve as acting attorney general, which gives the government a weak case in defending Whitaker. "This is a terrible case for the government to argue that the officer should not have to be Senate confirmed. Their best argument might be that there are some urgent situations in which no Senate-confirmed officer is available," he said. "But that is very far from true here where there is a Senate-confirmed deputy attorney general, solicitor general, assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel and more who are perfectly competent to step in." Whitaker, 49, was a U.S. attorney in Iowa from 2004 to 2009 and was confirmed to the Senate for that post. He later ran as a Republican candidate for Senate in 2014, but came in fourth in the GOP primary. He gained attention in Washington as a conservative commentator, including on CNN, where he was a critic of Mueller's investigation. Late last year, the White House installed him as a chief of staff for Sessions. (EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE) How long he'll last in the new job - and whether he'll take any significant steps against Mueller - remains to be seen. Speaking to reporters in his home state Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky predicted that Whitaker's stint as acting attorney general would be short. "I think this will be a very interim AG," McConnell said, adding that he thinks the president will "pretty quickly" send the Senate a nominee for a new attorney general. He added that the "president has said repeatedly he's not going to dismiss the Mueller investigation." --- (c)2018 Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. ----- 2019 Mazda CX-5 Signature Makes North American Debut 2019 Mazda CX-5 Signature Makes North American Debut at 2018 Seattle Auto Show SEATTLE (November 9, 2018) Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today introduced the 2019 Mazda CX-5 Signature at the 2018 Seattle Auto Show. The show is open to the public from November 9-12. As Mazdas best-selling vehicle, with over 2 million units sold worldwide, the compact crossover SUV takes its next step with the unveil of the new 2019 Mazda CX-5 Signature top-tier trim level, which includes the turbocharged SKYACTIV-2.5T engine and new G-Vectoring Control Plus. The development team listened to customer wants when setting their goals for this update and wanting to create an SUV that enlivens all who ride it. They focused on improvements of a premium high-quality interior, refined powertrain and enhanced chassis. The new CX-5 Signature model incorporates premium materials, such as Caturra Brown Nappa leather, genuine layered wood trim, that are chosen with the closest attention to detail. Other features in the 2019 CX-5 that support comfort, convenience and safety include Apple CarPlayTMand Android AutoTMcompatibility, a reconfigurable 7.0-TFT gauge display, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, heated steering wheel, BOSE10-speaker premium sound system, windshield-projected Active Driving Display head-up unit and a 360View Monitor with front and rear parking sensors, amongst others. Overall these updates help realize a feeling of a higher quality vehicle. The powertrain lineup adopts the SKYACTIV-2.5T direct-injection turbocharged gasoline engine that is also found in the Mazda CX-9 crossover SUV and Mazda6 sedan. This engines strong torque helps provide a smooth ride with an effortless feeling of acceleration to create a refined and exhilarating driving experience. Additionally, refinements to the suspension system and addition of G-Vectoring Control Plus technology further embodies Mazdas Jinba Ittai horse and rider as one engineering philosophy in the 2019 CX-5. Improvements like this are what continue to help make the vehicle feel like an extension of the driver. While the 2019 Mazda CX-5 Signature is the main focus, it will be on display alongside Mazdas full lineup of vehicles and be available as part of the Mazda Drive Experience during three days of the 2018 Seattle Auto Show. Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. MHPS Selects "MEGAMIE" as the Series Name for Its Integrated Fuel Cell and Gas Turbine Hybrid Power Generation System - Name is a combination of "mega" evoking large fuel cells, and the Japanese word "megami" meaning a goddess of the land or beauty, conveying strength, elegance, and warmth. - Series name will enhance recognition of the hybrid system combining SOFC and MGT, and strengthen market penetration. YOKOHAMA, Japan, Nov, 08 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) has decided on the series name "MEGAMIE" for its pressurized hybrid power generation system that integrates solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks with micro gas turbines (MGT), developed for the commercial and industrial market. The aim of naming the series is to increase product recognition and strengthen market penetration amid the recent global increase in environmental consciousness. The name "MEGAMIE" is a combination of "mega," evoking an image of the high-output fuel cells with stable operating performance, and "megami," a Japanese word meaning a goddess of the land or beauty. The blended term conveys strength, elegance, and warmth. The final "E" represents the three "Es" of Environment (environmental conservation), Energy security (stable supply), and Economy (economic efficiency), thereby expressing the value that MHPS provides to customers, and the role the company plays in society. MHPS conducted demonstration tests of 250 kilowatt (KW) class hybrid systems through fiscal 2016 with the support of Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). Demonstration equipment was installed at four locations in Japan, and stable system operations were verified. MHPS then developed practical models for commercial and industrial applications, and began marketing the system in the summer of 2017. MHPS received the first order for this system at the beginning of 2018 as a distributed power system for the Marunouchi Building in Tokyo, owned and operated by Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. Installation work is currently underway, with full-scale operations scheduled to start in February of 2019. This hybrid system uses city gas as fuel and generates electricity with both ceramic SOFC stacks that operate at a high temperature of around 900degC, and MGTs. The fuel is not burned, but rather the SOFCs generate electricity from the chemical reaction between oxygen in the air and hydrogen and carbon monoxide extracted from reformed city gas, while the MGTs generate electricity from the post-process. Used in a cogeneration system, the remaining exhaust heat can be recovered as steam or hot water, significantly increasing the combined efficiency. Compared to conventional power generation systems, utilizing this hybrid system reduces CO2 emissions by nearly half, contributing to the realization of a low-carbon society. MHPS will utilize the integration of this hybrid system as momentum to advance its proposal-based sales, promote wider adoption of the system, and further enhance overall contribution to developing a highly sustainable, low-carbon society. About Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) was formed on February 1 2014, integrating the thermal power generation systems businesses of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Hitachi, Ltd. in a quest to further enhance their social response capabilities in all respects. These include the technological strength to create new products of outstanding quality and reliability, the comprehensive strength in engineering to oversee projects in regions across the globe, and finely honed sales and after-sale servicing capabilities. MHPS aims to come out a winner in global competition and achieve a solid position as a world leader in thermal power generation systems and environmental technologies. For more information, please visit www.mhps.com. Oil Prices Plunge CNN reported that it's so amazing how fast sentiment shifts," said Michael Tran, director of global energy strategy at RBC Capital Markets. "The economic slowdown fears are winning the narrative." And despite the recent Wall Street rebound, crude has continued to tumble. That's because oil bulls were disappointed by the Trump administration's decision to grant temporary waivers that allow India, China and other countries to continue to buy oil from Iran, the world's fifth-biggest producer. President Donald Trump said the move was designed to ease the impact of sanctions on Iran, which took effect on Monday. "We're going to let some of the oil go out to these countries that really do need it, because I don't want to drive the oil prices up to $100 or $150 a barrel, which could happen very easily," Trump said during a press conference on Wednesday. Trump argued that prices have "come down very substantially" recently "because of me." Yet the oil plunge is also due to Saudi Arabia and frackers in Texas ramping up production. US oil output, led by the Permian Basin in West Texas, raced above 11 million barrels per day in August for the first time ever. The United States recently surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer. After two years of waiting, local members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a place of worship to call their own. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/11/2018 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. After two years of waiting, local members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a place of worship to call their own. The 60 to 70 members who comprise the churchs Steinbach branch held their first Sunday service in their new meeting house late last month, said Josh Gruninger, president of the LDS churchs Manitoba stake. The 4,200-sq-ft. commercial space at 7-275 Main Street was renovated over the past few months. "Its a wonderful feeling," Gruninger said Tuesday, seated in the churchs white-walled sanctuary, which still smelled of fresh paint. The decor is unflashy and practical, with simple furnishings and carpet. A wall-mounted shelf near the entrance holds two neat rows of green hymnals. The buildings lobby will take on more colour when artworks depicting biblical scenes arrive, Gruninger said. Window signage is also planned. Gruninger, who lives south of Steinbach, oversees a dozen LDS congregations in Manitoba. In Steinbach, he provides administrative assistance to the congregations local pastor, or branch president. He said he was pleased to see the establishment of a Steinbach branch two years ago, when Winnipeg leaders noticed a critical mass of church attendees travelling in from the Southeast. "Its been a big benefit to have a local congregation here," he said. "We had been very close here for quite awhile." Until last month, the branch was renting space once a week in the Steinbach Cultural Arts Centre, an interim arrangement Gruninger said worked well on Sundays but made midweek ministries a challenge. The new meeting house, a stones throw from the citys clock tower, gives the congregation access to a large shared parking lot thats seldom used on Sundays, and is accessible for people of all ages. Going the renovation route isnt uncommon for LDS branches, but Gruninger said the construction of a standalone building remains a long-term goal. Whether building new or renovating, LDS meeting houses are centrally funded through the churchs headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. Standardized design elements and furnishings are used, but the church tries to hire local contractors. According to the LDS website, the church has more than 4,600 members in Manitoba, spread among 13 congregations. The Manitoba stake overseen by Gruninger stretches from Highway 59 to the Whiteshell, and from Highway 15 to the United States border, though some members in the far southeast corner of the province attend a branch in Warroad, Minn. The LDS church supplements the King James translation of the Bible with a second sacred text, the Book of Mormon. Members believe in living prophets and apostles, and young adults complete 18-24 months of missionary work, which Gruninger said includes proselytizing and community service. He was quick to point out commonalities the branch shares with other area churches. "Jesus Christ is central to our beliefs," he said. LDS churches often thrive in "community-minded areas" like Steinbach, a city Gruninger said values the same things members do: close-knit families, pioneer heritage, and service-oriented living. "Steinbach has a deep Christian heritage," he said. A sign to the Rhine car ferry of Bad Honnef-Rolandseck reads "out of order", in Bad Honnef, south of Bonn, Germany, on Oct. 21, 2018. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters) Butterfly Effect: Low EU River Stirs Fuel Market 10,000 Kilometers Away in Singapore SINGAPORELow water levels on the Rhine river have caused a fuel supply deficit in parts of Europes industrial heartlands that is sucking up cargoes from more than 10,000 kilometers away in Singapore. Following a long, scorching summer, water levels on the Rhinea key commodity shipping lane connecting industrial centers in Switzerland, Germany, France and the Netherlands to major seaportsfell to record lows, limiting the transport of coal, steel, grains and fuel. That has created a shortage of heating oil heading into the European winter, pushing up the market and triggering a search for supplies from as far away as Southeast Asia, where there is ample fuel and gasoil prices are low. Northwest European prices for gasoil hit a record $35-per-ton premium over Singapore values for November fuel deliveries, and December premiums are still above $20 a ton. That means gasoil could be pulled into Europe from Southeast Asia via arbitrage trades through the end of the year. The wide arb means its possible to shift gasoil to the West [Europe] at a profit, said Sukrit Vijayakar, director of Indian energy consultancy Trifecta, adding that the situation stemmed from the low Rhine water levels and Asian refineries coming out of turnarounds. The arbitrage to Europe from Asia is usually workable when the price spread is at least $15-$18 a ton. Many Asian refineries have just come out of maintenance, or turnarounds, increasing the regions availability of fuels like gasoil. Gasoil inventories held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp [ARA] refining and storage hub fell for the fourth straight week to 2.4 million tons, the lowest volume since mid-July this year, according to data from Dutch consultancy PJK International. By refilling ARA stocks with gasoil, including from Asia, traders said they hope to be able to ship gasoil up the river as soon as water levels recover. Market Distortions Some meteorologists expect low water levels to last until January, however, which may mean a continuation of the blockage and ongoing market distortions. As a result, European traders may start exporting gasoil out of the region to offset arbitrage volumes into ARA from Asia. It is one thing to ship the distillates from Singapore to Europe. But it will not reach the end-customer as long as ship traffic is constrained due to low water levels of the Rhine and other rivers, said Carsten Fritsch, a commodity analyst at Germanys Commerzbank. German retail gasoline and heating oil prices are very high as a result No visible improvement is in sight here in the near future, according to German weather forecasts, he said. Europe typically starts to stockpile gasoil, which is used for heating in the region, ahead of the cold winter months. Asian refiners, though, must act fast to serve the European demand window, as American and also Russian suppliers are also eying the opportunity. Comparing Asian refiners with their U.S. counterparts, the latter stand a better chance to go to Europe as freight rates are cheaper and the voyage time is very much shorter, one trader in Singapore said, declining to be named as she was not allowed to talk in public about commercial operations. Despite Americas advantage over Asia to supply Europe, ship-tracking data in Refinitiv Eikon shows one tanker, the Diva, carrying gasoil from Southeast Asia to Europe. The 37,000-ton tanker is currently in the Mediterranean and expected to arrive at Antwerp on Nov. 16. If this arb window stays open, Id expect more such routes to be fixed next week, said a Singapore-based tanker charterer, also declining to be named. By Koustav Samanta Fishing equipment damaged by the Nov. 4 hydrocarbon leak shown in a photo taken by locals in Quanzhou, Fujian province, China. (The Epoch Times) Chemical Leak in Southeast Chinese Port Incurs Local Rage Villagers and fishermen seething at government coverup More than seven tons of toxic chemicals were spilled a port in southern Chinas Fujian Province on Nov. 4. Due to censorship of the news by communist authorities and neglect of the spill, local fishermen have sustained considerable financial losses and health problems due to the pollution. News published by Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-controlled outlets, however, painted a quite different picture from villagers accounts as described in interviews with the Chinese-language Epoch Times. Official news media initially claimed that an undetermined amount of petroleum products had been leaked in the early morning of Nov. 4 due to a damaged hose between the dock and a tanker in the port district of Quangang, located in the municipality of Quanzhou in Fujian Province. The Donggang Petrochemical Industry Co., Ltd. was unloading the materials, according to official reports. The next day, however, the Quangang District Environmental Protection Bureau re-issued a notice with more details: the tanker had leaked 6.97 tonnes (7.68 tons) of C9 aromatic hydrocarbons, and cleanup had been basically completed by 6 p.m. on Nov. 4. C9 aromatic hydrocarbon solvents are a skin, eye, and respiratory irritant that hamper breathing respiratory rates and damage the liver and kidney with prolonged exposure. When The Epoch Times contacted local residents on Nov. 8, they said that the sea surface had apparently yet to be cleaned. The air was still filled with a nauseous stench and many people felt unwell. Ms. Li, a villager from Xiaocuo Village, four or five kilometers (2.5-3 miles) away from the incident, told an Epoch Times reporter on Nov. 7: My neighbors daughter was foaming at her mouth and her eyes were rolled back. Her parents took the child to the hospital and spent more than 600 yuan ($86.5) for a checkup. When asked if she had been poisoned, the doctor dared not to reply. Many villagers went to Quangang Hospital because they had been vomiting; many had this symptom. Villagers believe that the CCP authorities had censored the news. State-run media only mentioned one man who had fallen in the water and was sent to an intensive care unit for treatment. Mr. Wang, another resident in Xiaocuo, told the reporter that a villager received chemical burns on his hands when he put them in the water. A number of soldiers tasked with performing cleanup work were sent to the hospital to receive treatment for symptoms caused by the pollutants. A photo taken and circulated by locals shows Chinese soldiers tasked with cleaning up a Nov. 4 hydrocarbon spill in Fujian Province suffering from pollution symptoms. The caption reads: Our poor boys in uniform have suffered serious poisoning while cleaning up pollution for the common folk. (The Epoch Times) Villagers said that because the authorities concealed and falsified facts at the beginning, it had misled the public with serious consequences for them. Wang said that at the time of the hydrocarbon leak, fishermen sleeping on their rafts found that the foam under their vessels had been corroded, but nobody knew what was in the water that caused it. Villagers found that the sea water became gluey and sticky, Wang said. At first the government said it was an oil leak. Later it was changed to C9 aromatic hydrocarbon leak. Wang said that the Quangang District Environmental Protection Bureau used a fire truck to hose down the bureaus office building to reduce air pollution in the immediate vicinity, since the instruments for measuring air quality were located onsite. Shortly afterward, the authorities claimed that the air and water had returned to normal conditions. Locals expressed anger at the authorities failure to report the factual situation or inform villagers of protective measures they could have taken. Due to pollution, fish, shrimp, and other sea creatures harvested by the fishermen all died. Angry fishermen hauled their poisoned, rotting catches to the offices of the petrochemical company and district governmental offices, and dumped them outside the premises. Two to three hundred people protest there every day, one villager said. They want the mayor to buy their rotten fish and shrimp. According to the locals, neither the government nor the petrochemical company has issued any response or explanations. The chemical leak damaged net cages and fishing rafts, destroying property that poor fishermen had struggled to accumulate over decades of hard work. Each household probably lost five million yuan (about $700,000), a woman surnamed Liu said. Mr. Wang said: we spent 20 or 30 years getting over a thousand fish rafts; now theyre all gone. Gu Xiaohua contributed to this report. Former U.S. Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill attends the Salute To Heroes service gala to benefit The National Foundation For Military Family Support at The Majestic Downtown in Los Angeles, on March 14, 2015. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images for NFMFS) Ex-Navy SEAL Denounces Democrats Who Defend Socialism Former U.S. Navy SEAL Robert ONeill, who killed Osama bin Laden in a team action during the raid, says its disheartening to see some Democrats defend socialism. On a Nov. 9 tweet, ONeill said: Its actually disheartening to fight for this country; watch friends bleed and die see what socialists are doing and then listen to these [expletive] democrats defend this. The tweet got more than 15,000 likes and almost 5,000 retweets within 16 hours of being posted. My brother, a Marine, said the same thing, an Arizona woman who identified herself as 40-something army mom echoed ONeill. Its unclear who ONeill was specifically referring to in his tweet, but he said it along with a string of other tweets discussing the vote count in Floridas Senate race. Its so weird that the longer they count votes, the more Democrats get, he said, [Scott] was ahead by 55,000 votes on Tuesday. Its almost tied now. They are still adding up the votes from dead people, he posted right before the disheartening tweet. During a campaign event, Florida Governor and the Republican Senate Candidate Rick Scott called Bill Nelson, his Democratic rival and three-term incumbent Senator, and Floridas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, socialists. They want big government and socialism, Scott told Florida Today. Theyre both into higher taxes. Gillum said hes going to raise corporate taxes 40 percent. Nelson said that, if the Democrats get control, hes going to go back and raise the taxes. They dont believe that the tax cuts that we did this year are good for our state. If you look at their programs, they just want government to run everything. Nelsons aide Dan McLaughlin has denied the allegation. The guy just makes stuff up, he said. Three Statewide Races Heading for Possible Recount On the election night, Scott led by about 56,000 votes against Nelson and declared victory. However, Broward County and Palm Beach Countytwo heavily Democratic counties with a history of election integrity problemslater found 80,000 additional ballots. Scotts margin over Nelson narrowed greatly when emerging ballots from Broward County were counted. He led by just over 12,000 votes on the morning of Nov. 10, less than the 0.25-percent threshold to order a manual recount of overvotes and undervotes. Scott filed a lawsuit on Nov. 8 against Broward County Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes for hiding information about the number of ballots left to be counted. He was suspicious of how Broward County came up with tens of thousands of votes so late after the election night. Broward has voted more than 2-to-1 against him, and the additional votes have eroded his lead. Their goal is to keep mysteriously finding more votes until the election turns out the way they want, he said in a Nov. 9 early morning statement to media. And when that fails, they will file a bunch of lawsuits in order to try to overturn the will of the voters. Carol-Lisa Phillips, the Broward County Circuit Judge, ruled in favor of Scott and ordered the immediate release of voter information from Snipes. The Florida Governors race may also be heading to possible recounts. Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, conceded to his Republican rival Ron DeSantis on election night, but when the results began to narrow, he moved for a recount. DeSantis has said little about the possible recount and is proceeding for the transition. He is appointing a transition team and preparing to take office in January. Mayor Gillum conceded on Election Day and now Broward County has put him back into play. Bill Nelson conceded Election now hes back in play!? This is an embarrassment to our Country and to Democracy! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018 A third statewide race for agriculture commissioner, between Democrat Nikki Fried and Republican Matt Caldwell, is the tightest. The results may also be double-checked through a recount, as Fried holds a 3,120-vote lead, a margin of 0.039 percent. Petr Svab from the Epoch Times contributed to this report. The Associated Press contributed to this report. From NTD News Florida Officials Order Vote Recounts in Three Races Florida will begin a recount of votes in three races from the Nov. 6 elections. The Florida secretary of state ordered the recount due to close results in races for the governor, senator, and agriculture commissioner, Fox News reported. The Senate and gubernatorial races results fall within the legal requirements for a recount. The other recount stems from the race for Floridas agriculture commissioner. A mandatory machine recount is issued if the differences in votes is less than 0.5 percent. If less than 0.25 percent, a mandatory hand recount is issued. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum conceded the election to Republican Ron DeSantis on election night, but as more votes were counted and the gap in votes started to close, Gillum withdrew his concession via Twitter. I am replacing my earlier concession with an unapologetic and uncompromised call to count every vote, he wrote. By the afternoon of Nov. 10, Santiss lead shrank to 0.41 percent. Republican Rick Scott also had the lead over Democrat Bill Nelson in the race for Senate, but that lead shrunk to 0.15 percent. The shrinking leads in these key races caught the attention of President Trump. Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida! We are watching closely! Trump wrote on Twitter. Part of the controversy stems from the handling of votes in Floridas Broward and Palm counties. Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes admitted that more than a dozen rejected ballots were mixed in with over 200 valid ones. The ballots cannot be identified, said Snipes, via the Miami Herald. Previous Election Mishaps in Florida Florida counties became infamous for their mishandling of votes during the 2000 presidential election, when George W. Bush defeated Al Gore for the presidency. But even as recently as a 2016 election, Broward County officials were accused of mishandling the opening of absentee ballots. Republicans sued the next year. Law Enforcement is looking into another big corruption scandal having to do with Election Fraud in #Broward and Palm Beach. Florida voted for Rick Scott! Trump wrote on Twitter, on Nov. 8. For everyone concerned about election meddling, Broward County seems to be full of it. And for those worried about voter suppression, thats taking place in liberal Broward County, too. The will of the people is being subverted by Snipes illegal practices and sadly, the fate of Florida hangs in the balance of Brenda Snipes circus, wrote Richard DeNapoli, GOP State Committeeman from Broward County, via a piece for the Washington Examiner. Broward is Floridas second most populous county and has more than 1.9 million residents. Rick Scott was up by 50,000+ votes on Election Day, now they found many votes and he is only up 15,000 votes. The Broward Effect. How come they never find Republican votes? President Trump wrote on Twitter. Rick Scott was up by 50,000+ votes on Election Day, now they found many votes and he is only up 15,000 votes. The Broward Effect. How come they never find Republican votes? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018 The Miami Herald wrote that Broward County has been a source of frustration for voters from both parties. Out-of-state voters have complained of not receiving absentee ballots and leveled accusations of voter disenfranchisement against Snipess office. From NTD News Gowdy Hits Back on Schumers Demands Regarding Acting AG and Mueller Investigation Trey Gowdy hit back after a demand by top Democrats that the acting attorney general does not interfere with the Robert Mueller investigation. Gowdy appeared on Fox News on Nov. 7, during which he was shown a clip of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) arguing that the investigation should not be interfered with, no matter where it goes. Our paramount view is that any attorney general, whether [acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker] or another one, should not be able to interfere with the Mueller investigation in any way, Schumer declared at a recent press conference. They should not be able to end it, they should not be able to limit it, they should not be able to interfere with Mueller going forward. But Rep. Gowdy (R-S.C.), a former federal prosecutor who is moving out of public office at the end of the year to pursue a legal career, noted that Muellers investigation does have limits, contrary to what Schumer thinks. Every prosecutor has jurisdictional boundaries. I dont know a single prosecutor that does not. And Muellers jurisdictional boundaries were set by [Deputy Attorney General] Rod Rosenstein, Gowdy said. After then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation into alleged Russian interference of the 2016 election, Rosenstein appointed Mueller and technically oversees the investigation. In his appointment order, Rosenstein granted Mueller the authority to investigate any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation, reported The Epoch Times. Theres never been a prosecutor that just had unfettered power to go investigate whatever the heck he or she wanted to do, Gowdy added. If youre a state prosecutor, you cant investigate federal crimes. If youre in New York, you cant investigate things in Idaho. So the notion that were going to create a special council that has no boss, no jurisdictional restrictions at all is just typical Chuck Schumer. Matthew G. Whitaker is a highly respected former U.S. Attorney from Iowa. He was chosen by Jeff Sessions to be his Chief of Staff. I did not know Mr. Whitaker. Likewise, as Chief, I did not know Mr. Whitaker except primarily as he traveled with A.G. Sessions. No social contact Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018 .Mr. Whitaker is very highly thought of by @SenJoniErnst, Senator @ChuckGrassley, Ambassador @TerryBranstad, Leonard Leo of Federalist Society, and many more. I feel certain he will make an outstanding Acting Attorney General! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018 Whitaker to Become Attorney General Whitaker was moved to acting Attorney General after Sessions submitted his resignation to President Donald Trump. Trump said on Nov. 9, that Whitaker is a highly respected former U.S. Attorney from Iowa. He was chosen by Jeff Sessions to be his Chief of Staff. I did not know Mr. Whitaker. Likewise, as Chief, I did not know Mr. Whitaker except primarily as he traveled with A.G. Sessions. No social contact, Trump said via Twitter. Mr. Whitaker is very highly thought of by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ambassador Terry Branstad, Leonard Leo of Federalist Society, and many more. I feel certain he will make an outstanding Acting Attorney General! From NTD News Floral tributes can be seen outside Melbourne's Pellegrini's Cafe for Sisto Malaspina, the day after he was stabbed to death in an attack police have called an act of terrorism, in central Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 10, 2018. (AAP/James Ross/via Reuters) Melbourne Mourns Popular Italian Cafe Owner Killed in Terror Attack, Sisto Malaspina Customers of a cafe credited with pioneering Melbournes famous coffee culture piled flowers and condolences outside on Saturday, Nov. 10, mourning its well-known co-owner, Sisto Malaspina, who was stabbed to death in an attack police have called an act of terrorism. Malaspina, 74, a familiar face behind the coffee machine at the city-center Pellegrinis cafe, was killed in the attack on Friday, his business partner Nino Pangrazio told The Age newspaper. Many, many tears have been shed, Pangrazio said. Police have not confirmed his identity, only saying a 74-year-old city worker was killed by a Somali-born man who set fire to a truck laden with gas cylinders just outside the cafe before stabbing three bystanders. The two others were wounded. Pic by Raija Sunshine Frank Howson Pellegrinis, a cosy corner bar with 50s-style checkerboard tiles on the floor, was closed on Saturday but dozens of customers gathered outside, leaving flowers and tributes on the doorstep. The phone rang out when Reuters called. Sisto, il mio cuore si spezza, Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe wrote on Twitter, using the Italian for my heart breaks. Ive been going to Pellegrinis since 1987. Never been to Melbourne without dropping in on my man, Crowe wrote, one of many celebrities to pay their tributes. Related Coverage Melbourne Terror Attacker Hassan Khalif Shire Ali Was Inspired by ISIS, Police Say An Italian immigrant, Malaspina took over the cafe with Pangrazio in 1974, Pangrazio says in a Melbourne City Council video from 2014 that features the famous coffee house. They have hardly changed a thing about it since serving espresso coffee and fresh pasta that Malaspina said in the video learned to cook from his grandmother. Pellegrinis has witnessed a lot of change over its 60-odd yearsbut embraced very little of it, Hospitality Magazine said in a 2017 profile. This is the way food should be done. Its not contemporary food. Its secular, traditional, home cooking, Malaspina is quoted as saying in the article. Everyone on this end of the city knew him, Brendan Nottle, who has worked in an office across the street for two decades, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He had huge personality. He was always up and about, almost theatrical, in Pellegrinis. He was a guy with a great heart, he said, adding his death leaves a massive hole in the community. By Tom Westbrook Melbourne Terror Attacker Hassan Khalif Shire Ali Was Inspired by ISIS, Police Say MELBOURNEAn Australian man who set fire to a truck laden with gas cylinders in the center of Melbourne and stabbed one person to death was inspired by the terrorist ISIS group but did not have direct links with the group, police said on Nov. 10. Police identified the man responsible for the attack on Nov. 9 as Somali-born Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, 30, and said he was radicalized and inspired by the terrorist groups propaganda. He was shot by police and died in hospital. Police said Shire Alis Australian passport was canceled in 2015 after an intelligence report he planned to travel to Syria, but an assessment was made that while he had radical views, he posed no threat to national security. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, which came two days before Remembrance Day, marking 100 years since the end of World War One. However, ISIS did not provide any evidence. I think it is fair to say he (Shire Ali) was inspired. He was radicalized, Australian Federal Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney told reporters in Melbourne. Were not saying there was direct contact. Were saying it was more from an inspiration perspective. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the national terrorism advisory remained at probable, the midpoint of a five-tier system, and told reporters in Sydney that radical Islam was the issue. I need to call it out. Radical, violent, extremist Islam that opposes our very way of life. I am the first to protect religious freedom in this country, but that also means I must be the first to call out religious extremism, he said. Cafe Owner Mourned The attack on Nov. 9 began just before the evening rush hour and lasted only minutes. Shire Ali stabbed bystanders and attacked police while his utility truck carrying barbecue gas cylinders burned on busy Bourke Street. The cylinders did not explode and the fire was put out in 10 minutes, by which point the attack was over, though not before one man was fatally stabbed. Police said he was a 74-year-old man who worked in the city, and did not release his name. The mans business partner identified him as Sisto Malaspina, co-owner of Pellegrinis cafe, a Melbourne institution credited with forging the citys famous coffee culture. Many, many tears have been shed, the cafes co-owner. Nino Pangrazio, told The Age newspaper, and customers laid flowers and written tributes outside the cafe on Nov. 10. This shouldnt happen in a city like Melbourne, one witness who had returned to the scene on Nov. 10 told Reuters, crying. I just want to forget it, she said. Video posted to Twitter and broadcast on television showed Shire Ali swinging a knife at two police officers, while the truck burned in the background, before he collapsed when one shot him in the chest. Victoria state police said counter-terrorism investigators were searching two properties in suburban Melbourne in connection with the attack, but there was no immediate word on what the searches yielded. At one, a modest one-story brick house on the citys western fringe, armed officers wearing masks stood guard outside. Bourke Street also reopened on Nov. 10, and a Reuters reporter said there was an increased police presence in the area. A staunch U.S. ally, Australia has been on alert for such violence after a Sydney cafe siege in 2014, and its intelligence agencies have stepped up scrutiny. Victoria Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said there was no warning of the latest attack. He said there was no longer a threat to the public, but that security would be boosted at horse races and Remembrance Day memorials over the weekend. Authorities say Australias vigilance has helped foil at least a dozen plots, including a plan to attack Melbourne at Christmas in 2016 and a plan to blow up a flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi using a bomb disguised as a meat mincer. Two hostages were killed during the 17-hour Sydney cafe siege by a lone wolf gunman who was inspired by ISIS terrorists. By Melanie Burton and Tom Westbrook Tommy Robinson greets supporters outside the Old Bailey court in London, on Sept. 27, 2018. (Jack Taylor/Getty Images) PayPal Bans Anti-Islamic Activist Tommy Robinson, Freezes Account LONDONPayPal has canceled the account of Tommy Robinson, the controversial British activist and critic of Islam, freezing his funds for six months. Robinson posted on Facebook a notice from PayPal saying his account had been shut down for violating its policies. Robinson characterized the ban as fascism, and said that he knew nothing about it until he read it on BBC News on Nov. 8. PayPal has said it cannot comment on individual customers, but said that it regularly reviews accounts and shuts down those which violate its policies. We do not allow PayPal services to be used to promote hate, violence, or other forms of intolerance that is discriminatory, said a spokesperson in statement. In September, PayPal confirmed it had blocked InfoWars sites because they violated their inclusion policies. InfoWars founder Alex Jones is suing, claiming bias against conservative views. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is a long-standing street activist who has railed against Islamic extremism and influence in British communities. He is frequently labeled far-right and Islamophobic by critics and the media. Jailed, Judgment Overturned Robinson rejects the far-right label, and says he is not racist. He says he has nothing against individual Muslims, but reserves the right to criticize the doctrines of Islam and to highlight where he thinks its interpretationsuch as shariais at odds with Western values. Robinson became an international figure earlier this year when he was jailed for allegedly breaching a court order as he reported on a grooming trial. The judgment was quashed on appeal, Robinson was freed, and the case referred to the attorney general. Robinson has also been banned from Twitter and claims PayPals decision is part of a broader attempt to shut him down. It is simply fascism. I have a different political opinion. I report news and facts and stories that the media dont want to cover, Robinson said in a video posted to Facebook, where he has over 1 million followers. He said that the Big Tech companies are conspiring together, in order to silence and control what you hear. They dont want you hearing, you knowing the truth, the facts, the alternative story. They want to tell you who I am, what I am about, what my views are, rather than having you be able to listen to me yourself. Robinson said that PayPal had given him no specific reason for the ban. PayPal said in its statement, We do not take decisions like these lightly, and we work hard to be rigorous and fair-minded when reviewing PayPal accounts. Striking the necessary balance between upholding free expression and open dialogue and protecting principles of tolerance, diversity, and respect for all people is a challenge that many companies are grappling with today. Hotbed of Islamic Extremism At the age of 21, Robinson became a street activist in his hometown of Luton, which was later identified as a hot spot for Islamic extremism with links to terror attacks, including the London bombing on July 7, 2005. He says that he was vilified for sounding the alarm on issues that later turned out to be true problemssuch as the existence of predominantly Muslim grooming gangs and extremist preachers. Robinson founded the English Defence League (EDL) in 2009, which attracted members with extreme far-right views. He left the group after four years. He later joined Pegida UK, an anti-Islam organization. Robinson claimed that billionaire George Soros was one element behind the PayPal shutdown. Pressure group SumOfUs, funded by a Soros-founded organization with a $4 million annual purse, has been lobbying PayPal since July to ban Robinson, getting 64,000 signatures in an online petition. Tom Barns, Campaigns Manager at SumOfUs said in a statement, Other payment processors should take notethey cant hide behind a veneer of neutrality while quietly acting as corporate sponsors for fascists like Tommy Robinson. Many social media users criticized PayPals decision. Within 24 hours, an unrelated PayPal Facebook post had been hijacked by over 1,500 critical comments, most saying that they were canceling PayPal accounts. One person wrote on Twitter, Im no Tommy Robinson fan, but its strange how you can buy certain offensive/dangerous things online and PayPal will happily do the transactionweapons, hate speech books, Hezbollah flags, you name it. Arthur ODerrell Franklin, 53, serving concurrent 1,000-year prison sentences for brutally raping three women when he was a teenager. (Florida Department of Correction Rapists 1,000-Year Sentence Upheld, No Parole Till Hes 387 Years Old Floridas Supreme Court upheld three simultaneous 1,000-year prison sentences for a man convicted of violently assaulting and raping three women 35 years ago. The ruling means that Arthur ODerrell Franklin, who was 17 when he committed the crimes in 1983, will in effect spend the rest of his life in prison. Franklins lawyers argued he should be allowed to undergo a re-trial on the basis of a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court Graham v. Florida decision, which said that juveniles cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole if they have committed non-homicidal offenses, according to The Florida Times-Union. Another factor of the Graham ruling is that juvenile offenders should also be provided with some meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation, according to the report. The Graham ruling is based on the premise that young people differ from adult offenders in maturity levels and stages of brain development, and therefore deserve more lenient treatment. But the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday, Nov. 8, decided by a 4-3 majority that the Graham case did not apply to Franklin because he is eligible for parolein the year 2352. He would then, in theory, be 387 years old. A court similarly upheld Franklins sentence in 2014, according to the New York Post. Franklin was originally charged with multiple crimes in the Duval County area, including armed kidnapping, kidnapping, armed sexual battery, sexual battery, armed robbery, robbery, and aggravated assault. He has already served more than 30 years in prison. Thursdays majority opinion gave an overview of his crimes against the three women, and served as a reminder of the brutality of the offenses. In each case, the female victim testified that Franklin violently attacked her, kidnapped her, drove her to a secluded area and brutally battered, raped, and robbed her while evidencing an extraordinary cruelty and a perverse enjoyment of the suffering he was inflicting. In one case, the physician who performed the sexual assault battery exam testified that the victim suffered the worst injuries the physician had ever observed, the opinion said, quoting a lower-court opinion. The dissenting judges argued that Franklins case should be reconsidered to determine whether the parole process provides him with the constitutional right to a meaningful opportunity for release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation. Justice Barbara Pariente, who joined in dissent by justices Peggy Quince and Jorge Labarga, wrote that there was no indication that the Parole Commission has made the constitutionally required considerations regarding whether Franklin is entitled to release based on maturity and rehabilitation. At the very least, this case should be remanded to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing, where Franklin is represented by counsel, to determine whether the parole process, as applied to his case, provides Franklin the constitutionally required individualized consideration and a meaningful opportunity for release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation, Pariente wrote, according to the report. Resistance to 5G: Roadblock to a High Tech Future or Warning of a Serious Health Risk? In just a few years, weve been granted several fantastic abilities: the power to download videos, send pictures, search the internet, and talk to anyone we want from wherever we are, all from a small wireless device. But an even more sophisticated wireless world is just over the horizon. The network needed to bring it to life is called 5G, and telecommunications companies want to install it as fast as possible. The G stands for Generation, and each one is a chapter in the wireless revolution. The first (1G), allowed us to talk on a cellphone. 2G gave us talk and text. With 3G we could also send and receive a little data, and 4G gave us the power to transmit a lot more. These generations were all about connecting people. With 5G, the goal is more about connecting objects. Dubbed the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G makes possible a world of self-driving cars, smart appliances, and a variety of new devices that constantly transmit data. The architects of 5G envision a world where pill bottles, refrigerators, hair brushes, and just about anything else you can think of is supplied with a small antenna that can tap into the IoT network. How about a diaper that texts mom when baby needs a change? Or a bottle of laundry detergent that automatically orders a refill when its running low? The possibilities are endless, and promise a whole new level of comfort, convenience, and communication. But in order to accommodate so much data hurling through the air, the telecommunications industry needs a lot more bandwidth. The solution: higher frequencies and lots more equipment. The frequencies that currently make our wireless world run are called microwaves. Cellphone towers and Wi-Fi routers broadcast these microwaves to provide the medium for our smartphones and laptops to connect to. To carry even greater amounts of data, 5G broadcasts at frequencies much higher than either 3G or 4G. These are extremely high microwave frequencies known as millimeter waves. These frequencies offer more bandwidth, but they are also easily blocked by any obstacles in the surrounding environment (buildings, trees, etc), so it takes even more broadcast stations to make the system work. Thousands of small cells designed to broadcast the extremely high microwave frequencies of 5G have already been installed across the country, and a plan to erect millions more over the next few years has already been approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the U.S. Congress. It will cost a lot of money and effort, but it promises to pay off big time. Microwave Economy & Health In 2016, then FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler estimated that 5G would generate tens of billions of dollars in economic activity for U.S. companies, and called for a rapid roll out of the network. Unlike some countries we do not believe we should spend the next couple of years studying what 5G should be or how it should operate, Wheeler said. The future has a way of inventing itself. Turning innovators loose is far preferable to expecting committees and regulators to define the future. We wont wait for the standards. But with so many small cells transmitting such high frequencies so close to peoples homes, many experts fear that a frenzied push toward 5G lacks the consideration it deserves. More than 200 scientists and physicians from 35 countries have signed a call to action (pdf) demanding a moratorium on 5G deployment until its radiation levels are proven safe, particularly for children and pregnant women. Inaction is a cost to society and is not an option anymore. We unanimously acknowledge this serious hazard to public health, the appeal states. The scientists are calling for prevention measures to be adopted and prioritized in the face of a microwave worldwide pan-epidemic. One of the scientists speaking out against 5G is Martin Pall, PhD., professor emeritus of biochemistry and basic medical sciences at Washington State University in Oregon. Pall makes his case in a 90 page document titled 5G: Great risk for EU, U.S. and International Health! Compelling Evidence for Eight Distinct Types of Great Harm Caused by Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Exposures and the Mechanism that Causes Them. As the title suggests, Palls prediction is grim. I believe that 5G will be vastly more active in producing effects in our body than our current exposure. And our current exposures are already quite serious, Pall said. Considering how widespread wireless use has become, its hard to imagine that there could be any health hazards associated with such commonplace technology. Surely a large industry would not expose us to something if there was doubt that it might be dangerous. Surely regulators would stop them if they tried. And yet there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Since the 1970s, scientists have shown that exposure to the same kind of microwave frequency radiation flowing from our phones, cell towers, and Wi-Fi routers can negatively impact humans, animals, and plants. The evidence has since been confirmed in several thousand peer-reviewed studies, showing harm of the reproductive system and impacts on the brain, the hormonal system, the heart, and more. The impact isnt merely theoretical. Researchers in some countries have noted that a sharp rise in autism, cancer, neurological disease, and other chronic ailments observed over the last 10 years could have a direct link to the unprecedented levels of microwave radiation weve all been bathing in. However, both the industry, and the agency that regulates it, contend that the microwaves used in telecommunications are broadcast at too low of an intensity to hurt our bodies. They insist that since the waves are not intense enough to create heat (like in the case of a microwave oven) our biology cant suffer any ill effects. Regulatory guidelines are based on these assumptions. But Pall points to many studies that show harm without heat, and hes even identified the biological mechanism that proves it. It s a part of our cells that is sensitive to electrical charge, called the voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC). When EMFs stimulate the VGCC it can elevate oxidative stress (a key component of any chronic disease), damage DNA, and increase cell death. This structure is extraordinarily sensitive to the electrical forces that are produced by EMFs, Pall said. The industry argues that they cant do anything because it doesnt heat tissue. But we know based on the physics of this structure that is wrong. It is impacted by it. Because the millimeter wave frequencies to be used in 5G will be so highly pulsed, Pall believes they will have a stronger impact on our VGCCs and will likely cause more disease that develops at a faster rate. I think were looking at an absolute nightmare scenario, and its incredible that we would even be considering this sort of thing. This should be tested biologically for safety, he said. Pall shared his ideas with the FCC in 2016, but it didnt make much of an impact. When asked whether small cells have any health risk at a recent U.S. Senate Committee hearing on the Race to 5G, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr replied that his agency sees no problems. Theyve looked at all of the information and theyve reached the determination that these are safe. Thats a determination that is constantly undergoing review, and any new information that comes up is taken into account, Carr said. The Push for 5G Since the Industrial Revolution, weve seen one technological breakthrough after another. 5G represents the next leap forward, where the science fiction weve dreamed about for decades finally becomes a reality, and the economy grows to unprecedented levels as a result. Thats the industry narrative, anyway. With every industrialized nation rushing to get on the 5G bandwagon, the quick installation of this new network is promoted as a matter of national security. The threat is about missing out: those who are slow to adopt 5G will surely find themselves at a disadvantage as more forward-thinking nations get a better foothold on the future. But for Dafna Tachover, an attorney fighting the push toward 5G, the network is really just a strategy to expand a market. Almost every person on this planet already has a cellphone. Theres not much more you can do with it, right? There is little room for growth. So the industry had to come up with another source of income, Tachover said. According to Tachover, the real money to be made in 5G wont come from faster download speeds or a bike that can talk to your sound system, but from your data. According to a 2015 report, applications within the Internet of Things are estimated to rake in as much as $11.1 trillion by 2025, and much of this involves the collection, management, and dissemination of data that all our new smart objects will constantly broadcast about us. The whole thing is about data, collecting it and selling it, Tachover said. Until now you were buying products, now you are the product. Your data is the product. Thats what 5G is about. For Tachover, the fight against 5G goes much deeper than data. She is the founder of We Are The Evidence, a group representing people with health problems related to the exposure of wireless radiation. And, like Pall, her biggest concern are the diseases related to more microwaves flooding our airspace. I talk to people who are sick from this everyday, Tachover said. I dont know where theyll be able to go in a years time. Its pretty scary. Tachover points to the $25 million, 16-year study funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration which showed a causal link of cellphone use with cancer and DNA damage, as well as a review by the Army Institute of Research and the U.S. Air Force looking at 300 studies on millimeter waves for non-lethal weapons. 50 of those studies saw health effects related to millimeter waves at non-thermal levels. Tachover also points to another study from Hebrew University in Israel which showed that human skin becomes like an antenna when it is exposed to millimeter waves at levels that will be used for 5G. And the industry and our government says there is no problem, Tachover said. Living With a Small Cell Tachover notes several strategies for reducing our exposure to microwave radiation. Use your cellphone as little as possible, turn off its cell data sensor (your email and notifications wont get updated, but you can still receive calls and texts). Turn off your Wi-Fi router at night, or better yet, get a wired connection, and install jacks in each room. But theres some radiation we cant avoid, and its getting harder to find a place where microwave radiation isnt buzzing in the background anymore. It could be impossible once 5G is complete. Debbie Persampire is a mother of two. She first became concerned about the impact of microwave radiation when she discovered a small cell installed right outside her home in Huntington, New York. Its a brown cylinder attached to a post about five feet from her backyard fence, and aimed directly at her childrens second-floor bedroom. When I called Huntington town hall to find out about what this was and they told me it was cell antenna that emits radiofrequency radiation, I was pretty upset, Persampire said Local officials told Persampire not to worry. The small cell was designed to transmit a new network called 5G, and the frequencies it broadcast were FCC compliant. But with just a little research, Persampire lost confidence in the safety assurance. She learned that in 2012 the U.S. Government Accountability Office sent a letter to the FCC to update guidelines for exposure limits for transmitters based on concerns from several health agencies. The following year, the FCC opened a docket, and have since received nearly one thousand submissions from scientists, medical associations, and people whose health was directly impacted by microwave radiation. Today its still considered an open docket. Nothing ever happened. No changes have been made, Persampire said. Persampire has also discovered that, despite her distrust of the 5G network and protests of the small cell outside her home, she cant opt out of it. 5G does offer the consumer new technological wonders. But Tachover believes that if given the choice, most people wont want it once they know what theyll be sacrificing. If you ask most people if theyd want an antenna in front of their home, they would say no. If you ask them if they want all their data transmitted out there, they would say no. But no one is asking them, Tachover said. Article 704 of the FCCs 1996 Communications Act says that state and local governments cant dispute the placement of cellphone towers on the basis of environmental effects of microwave emissions if the site complies with regulations. But now that several small cells may soon be invading every neighborhood, more people are starting to challenge this clause. So the industry has recently introduced dozens of new bills at the state and federal level to keep the 5G build out on schedule and within budget. On September 26, 2018, the FCC passed a rule that takes away power from state and local government to regulate anything when it comes to 5G. It silences objections, and prevents any regulation that will ban 5G antennas. It also compels states to approve applications in a short window of time. But many are fighting back. At least 20 cities are suing the FCC for forcing municipalities to accept 5G infrastructure. In one city, Verizon withdrew applications after people resisted. Last year in California, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that granted a uniform permitting process for small cells. But by and large most state and federal lawmakers have given the green light to the 5G rollout. In May, Tachover gave testimony in front of the Michigan legislature when that state was moving their version of the 5G bill to the House. Despite her explanation, Tachover felt like lawmakers couldnt comprehend what was at stake. The industry gave them this long bill, and clearly none of them understand it, she said. These are very tricky legal documents. Tachover says that in some of these bills, the industry has built convenient loopholes in the event of damage or health problems related to the small cells, safely protecting them from any retaliatory lawsuit. The industry will create the damage, but the taxpayer will pay for it, Tachover said. No Escape On Oct. 1, 2018, the first live 5G broadcast was transmitted in just a few citiesSacramento, Houston, Los Angeles, and Indianapolisas part of Verizons First on 5G program. However, once the entire 5G build out is realized, experts predict that wireless radiation levels will increase to 10- to 100-times greater than it is today. Rather than replacing 3G and 4G, the network is just another layer of microwaves constantly oscillating in our already crowded airspace. That could be devastating for someone like Isabelle Gallo, a 17-year-old from Chicago who suffers from electromagnetic sensitivity (ES)a health condition characterized by debilitating reactions to even low levels of wireless radiation. Tachover says that the older name for ES is microwave sickness. The term comes from the U.S. Army in the 1950s, when soldiers would develop symptoms from working near radar equipment. Its not clear how many people suffer from ES, but a 2006 survey found that it afflicted as much as 10 percent of the population. However, consider that this was back before smartphones and Wi-Fi when there was much less microwave radiation in the environment. Gallo started noticing symptoms two years ago. At first, she assumed everyone felt funny when they used a computer. Later, she found that whenever she was in her high schools computer lab, she would experience headaches, nausea, and terrible brain fog. Over time, her sensitivity grew worse. Gallo said that whenever she found herself in a wireless environment, she would have trouble walking because she ran short of breath, and her heart hurt when she had to move. Then Id go outside in the park, and I could run around and jump and do whatever, Gallo said. As a result of ES, Gallos life is very limited. She now has to be homeschooled. Her family cant use devices near her. When she goes outside, she has to wear a special hoodie with silver sewn into it that blocks some of the microwave radiation in the environment. Without that I cant walk outside at all. I cant go into any building for more than 10 minutes. And 20 if its a little a really good day, Gallo said. But if Im out in the woods I can do anything. Gallo is happy to explain her ES for those suspicious of her ailment, but her biggest concern is for those around her. She notes several examples of family members and former teachers who experience mild reactions to these frequencies. But she says theyre too attached to their devices to see whats happening. I wish people understood that it affected them too, Gallo said. My own brother doesnt change his behavior unless hes around me, and I worry about him. He cant feel it, so he doesnt think its important. Despite her illness, Gallos parents may not have much say if Verizon or AT&T send a contractor to build a small cell outside their home. Current FCC rules prohibit any discussion of health in regard to cell tower placement, and the agency wants the same rules to apply to small cells. The idea is that its a waste of time and resources for local governments to dig into health concerns when the agency has already determined the emitted frequencies dont cause problems. Dozens of municipalities were sued when health was mentioned in the hearings over cell tower placement, and FCC rules allowed the industry to win each case. In an effort to fast-track 5G, the industry is counting on existing law that prohibits discussion of health effects, and passing legislation that makes it impossible to object to the massive deployment of microwave antennas. The industry with its check book and control of our legislators in Congress and the States legislatures win. The people undoubtedly lose, and most dont have the slightest clue, Tachover said. Settlement Reached in Arizona Over Senate Vote Count in McSally-Sinema Race Arizona Republicans who had alleged the states two biggest counties were illegally counting ballots, agreed on Nov. 9 to settle their lawsuit if rural voters also get an extra chance to fix problems with their ballots. The states Senate race between Republican Martha McSally and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema is extremely tight. The settlement was between Republicans and the states county recorders. Arizonas 15 counties now have until Nov. 14 to address the issue, which state Elections Director Eric Spencer said likely affects less than 10,000 votes out of more than 2.3 million cast statewide. The Republican lawsuit said the states county recorders dont follow a uniform standard for allowing voters to address problems with the signatures on their mail-in ballots, and that Maricopa and Pima counties improperly allow the fixes for up to five days after Election Day. The lawsuit settlement in a courtroom packed with more than a dozen lawyers and a host of reporters came a day after Sinema gained a slight lead over McSally in the midst of the slow vote count. On Friday night, the lead was about one percentage point of the two million ballots tallied, with Sinema at 991,433 votes and McSally at 971,331 votes. Some 80,000 ballots were submitted to the state from Maricopa County, tilting towards Sinema by more than 11,500, reported 12 News. More than 400,000 remain to be counted statewide, most from Maricopa. Sinema for Arizona campaign manager Andrew Piatt said in a statement that Sinema will win. Kyrsten will steadily build her advantage and be elected to the U.S. Senate. She will win this race, he said. McSally hailed the settlement in her own statement early Saturday. Equal protection under the law is a fundamental constitutional right for American voters. As a combat veteran, I fought to protect it. And today, we won an important battle to preserve that right for rural voters in Arizona. I will continue fighting until every ballot is counted, she said. Four local Republican parties filed the lawsuit Wednesday, challenging the two large counties practice of reaching out to voters after Election Day. If the signature on the voter registration doesnt match that on the sealed envelope, both Maricopa and Pima County allow voters to help them fix, or cure it, up to five days after Election Day. Many other counties in the state only allow voters to cure until polls close on Election Day. Now, all will follow the cure standard. Republicans agreed to the settlement but were also open to removing the standard for all counties, including Maricopa and Pima. This is a really great day for us, state GOP attorney Kory Langhofer said. The rural counties who were not going to be counting Republican votes on the same terms as the Democratic counties, they got caught with their pants down. When theyve got to show up in court and explain to the judge what theyre doing they gave us everything we were asking for. My statement on Maricopa County Recorder @Adrian_Fontes pic.twitter.com/UA0w20g44b Jonathan W. Lines (@JWLines) November 9, 2018 Voting Irregularities The settlement came as President Donald Trump said he learned there was corruption in the vote counting in Arizona. SIGNATURES DONT MATCH. Electoral corruption, he said via Twitter. Call for a new Election? We must protect our Democracy! Arizona GOP Chairman Jonathan Lines said on Nov. 9, that it found voting irregularities in the early voting period, and sent formal, written requests to all county recorders to preserve evidence of such irregularities, which included the creation of so-called emergency voting centers when no emergency existed. Maricopa County offered the emergency voting for three days before the Nov. 6 election day, reported the Arizona Republic. That decision may have violated state law, which only allows such voting in an emergency, defining that as any unforeseen circumstances that would prevent the elector from voting at the polls. I dont think its what the statute allows, Former Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcel said. Its something I never thought was allowed under the law. The state GOP may file a legal challenge based on the irregularities and wanted the evidence preserved, Lines said. But Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes intentionally destroyed the evidence, directing his office to mix the disputed ballots in with the undisputed ballots, Lines said. A similar process happened in Florida this week under Broward County Recorder Brenda Snipes. Adrian Fontes intentionally put himself above the law and judicial process, Lines said in a statement. We are reviewing all legal options at this time and will continue to protect the rights of every legal voter in Arizona. Republican Gov. Doug Ducey said in a statement that All legally cast votes MUST be counted, and counseled officials to follow the law, count the votes, prevent any cheating, and heed the will of the voters. Fontes officially endorsed socialist Bernie Sanders for president in 2016, reported the Phoenix New Times. He donated hundreds of dollars to Sanders campaign. Ballots Left A Maricopa County official said Thursday that only about 5,600 ballots were affected in her county and claimed the rate is similar in the 14 smaller counties. Spencer said that means less than 10,000 in all. Fontes said counting may continue until Nov. 15. We know theres urgency out there, but we want to get it right, not quick, he said. Arizona is notoriously slow at tallying ballots even though about 75 percent of votes are cast by mail. On the secretary of states website, the defense for the slow tally is given. One of the major reasons it takes time to count ballots is that there are hundreds of thousands of early ballots dropped off at the polls on election dayapproximately 320,000 statewide this time. The counties are currently working to verify the signatures on each and every one of those early ballots before they can be tabulated, the website stated. Once the county election officials verify the signature on each of those ballots (which is no small task!), they then make sure that a voter didnt cast an early ballot AND vote in person at a polling location. All of these processes take a little bit of time and is done to ensure that voters can trust the outcome of their elections. Even if McSally does end up losing, she could still end up a Senator, noted KGUN. Former Sen. Jon Kyl was appointed to replace Sen. John Mcain, who died earlier this year. Kyl only confirmed hed serve until the end of the year. The broadcaster said that Gov. Ducey could appoint McSally to the seat, which will be up for election in 2020. The Associated Press contributed to this report. From NTD News The Latest: WWI Centennial: Macron Backs European Army Idea French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing for a strong joint European military as he hosts international events marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Macron is launching a peace forum on Nov. 11, to stress the importance of multilateral cooperation to prevent new world wars, but he also stressed the importance of investing in Europes military forces. In a meeting with President Donald Trump, Macron said that its unfair to have European security today being assured by the U.S. He added, thats why I believe we need more European capacities and more defense. Macron has pushed for a European intervention force but the idea meets resistance in some capitals, which want to keep military capabilities under national sovereignty. He hailed a superb operation against Syria earlier this yearwhen United States, French, and British forces bombed targets believed to be part of President Bashar Assads chemical weapons program. Serbia is holding large military drills to mark 100 years since the end of World War I in an apparent show of force amid rising tensions with Kosovo. The live-ammunition maneuvers on Saturday, dubbed The Century of Winners, include 8,000 soldiers, 100 battle tanks and MiG-29 fighter jets supplied by Russia. Tensions recently have increased in the region, with Serbia and Kosovo accusing each other of undermining efforts at reconciliation following a 1998-99 war which ended after NATO intervention. The former Serbian province declared independence in 2008 which Belgrade doesnt recognize. Serbia is often wrongly accused of starting World War I after a Serb nationalist assassinated the Austrian archduke in Sarajevo, Bosnia, in 1914. Serbia suffered the worst losses proportional to the size of its army during the war. Canada Pays Tribute Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has paid homage to veterans at a World War I centennial commemoration in a cemetery in northern France, thanking soldiers for their service as he stood amid row upon row of silent graves. With medal-bedecked veterans in attendance Saturday morning, Trudeau spoke of the history for which you bled and fought, a history built on your sacrifice. He said Canada owes its veterans a tremendous debt of gratitude and added: From the very bottom of our hearts, thank you. Clutching a red chrysanthemum, Trudeau also walked among the white gravestones at the Canadian Cemetery No. 2, in Neuville-St.Vaast in northern France. It holds the remains of 820 casualties from the 1914-1918 war. A weekend of commemorations involving dozens of world leaders to mark 100 years since the end of World War I is underway, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kicking off the events in France and elsewhere with a visit to a cemetery. Trudeau met veterans and laid a wreath Saturday at a Canadian cemetery in northern France containing the remains of 820 casualties from the 1914-1918 conflict, many unidentified and lying under white headstones marked simply: A soldier of the Great War. More than 60 heads of state and government are converging on France for the commemorations that will crescendo Sunday with ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, exactly a century after the armistice. By Angela Charlton Trump, Macron Agree on Defense Spending PARISPresident Donald Trump and Frances Emmanuel Macron agreed on Nov. 10, on the need for more European defense spending. Trumps visit is aimed at bolstering the U.S.-European alliance at a symbolic time, with the world marking the centenary of World War Ones armistice. Meeting for talks at the Elysee a day before commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One, Macron welcomed Trump under rainy Parisian skies with a firm handshake. Seated on gilded chairs in the ornate presidential palace, Macron placed his hand on Trumps knee and referred to him as my friend. We want a strong Europe, its very important to us, and whichever way we can do it the best and more efficient would be something we both want, said Trump. We want to help Europe but it has to be fair. Right now the burden sharing has been largely on the United States. Macron echoed those sentiments, saying he wanted Europe to bear a greater share of the defense costs within NATO, a point he has made repeatedly since taking office, alongside his ambitions for Europe to have its own military capability. Thats why I do believe my proposals for European defense are totally consistent with that, Macron said in English. Discussing the growing dangers from cyber-hacking, meddling in electoral processes and the U.S. decision to withdraw from a missile treaty, Macron said Europe needed to protect itself against China, Russia and even the United States. Later in the interview he spoke about the need for a European army, saying: Faced by Russia, which is on our borders and which has shown that it can be threatening we need to have a Europe that can better defend itself by itself, without depending solely on the United States. Trump, who has pushed NATO allies to pay more for common defense and not rely on the United States, complained. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly, Trump said on Twitter. The Elysee said the misunderstanding, which it said had been caused by exaggerated U.S. press reports, was cleared up during more than an hour of talks it described as substantial and very constructive. We had a great discussion and we are aligned, the Elysee quoted Trump as saying during the meeting, which covered trade, defense, Syria and the fallout from the murder in Istanbul last month of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Solemn Commemoration After a lunch with Macron and their wives, Melania and Brigitte, Trump was scheduled to visit an American cemetery at Belleau Wood, east of Paris. But he canceled the trip due to the weather. White House chief of staff John Kelly, a retired four-star general, and General Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will attend the ceremony instead, the White House said. On Sunday, after a solemn commemoration at the Arc de Triomphe to honor the armistice centenary, Trump is scheduled to visit an American cemetery at Suresnes, on the western outskirts of the capital, where he will make formal remarks. While the talks with Trump covered trade and foreign policy, it was not clear if they touched on European concerns about Trumps plans to withdraw the United States from the 1980s Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Agreement. Macron told Europe 1 radio that the main victim of the U.S. withdrawal from the INF accord was Europe and its security. The French president, who tried but failed earlier this year to talk Trump out of withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, has also voiced worries about the impact of sanctions on European companies doing business with Iran. On Sunday, Trump may also chat briefly with Russian President Vladimir Putin when both are among the 70 world leaders set to gather at the Arc de Triomphe. Trump and Putin are expected to have formal talks later this month when both attend a G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. Protesters demonstrate outside the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office in Lauderhill, Fla., on Nov. 9, 2018. (Saul Martinez/Getty Images) Trump Suggests Election Fraud in Florida, Judge Orders County to Hand Over Ballot Counts President Donald Trump has suggested that election fraud occurred in Floridas Broward County, where election officials were two days late counting early voting and vote-by-mail ballots. Meanwhile, a judge has ordered the county to hand over ballot records in response to a GOP lawsuit. As soon as Democrats sent their best Election stealing lawyer, Marc Elias, to Broward County they miraculously started finding Democrat votes, Trump wrote in a Nov. 9 tweet. Dont worry, Florida I am sending much better lawyers to expose the FRAUD! Floridas Republican governor, Rick Scott, narrowly won the U.S. Senate race in the state based on the Oct. 9 results, with only provisional and overseas ballots left to count. Elias, a partner at Democrats law firm of choice, Perkins Coie, was retained by Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson to lead a recount. We believe that at the end of this process, Sen. Nelson is going to be declared the winner, Elias said on Nov. 8, Roll Call reported. The outcome is currently unknown, but I would rather be Nelson than Scott, he said in a Nov. 9 tweet. But as of Nov. 9 afternoon, Scott is still about 15,000 votes ahead. Delayed Counts Early voting and vote-by-mail ballots must be counted within 30 minutes after polls close, under Florida law. But Broward County has been notoriously late with submitting election results. It bought three new high-speed scanners to process the midterm ballots, but it was only done counting the early voting and vote-by-mail on Nov. 8 night, according to Miami Heralds Alex Harris. Scott was suspicious of Browards coming up with tens of thousands of votes so late after the election night. Broward has voted more than 2-to-1 against him, so the additional votes have eroded his lead, which was about 50,000 votes on election night. Their goal is to keep mysteriously finding more votes until the election turns out the way they want, he said in a Nov. 8 late night statement to media. And when that fails, they will file a bunch of lawsuits in order to try to overturn the will of the voters. The suit alleges that Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes denied Scotts campaign requests to inspect all ballots that have not yet been canvassed. Snipes violated her duties by refusing to provide access to the requested recordsincluding a refusal to provide any information regarding the number of ballots cast, the number of ballots counted, or the number of ballots left to be counted in Broward County, the suit stated. Circuit Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips found Snipes in violation of Florida public records laws on Nov. 9. She ordered Snipes to turn over the ballot numbers broken down by absentee, early, and election day votes by 7 p.m. that day, Miami Herald reported. Snipes has faced a barrage of criticism from Republicans, who pointed to at least 12 instances where Snipes has been outright incompetent and possibly criminal, The Daily Caller reported. In 2016, for instance, Broward posted early voting results a half hour before polls closed, which is illegal. In May, a judge found that Snipes illegally destroyed ballots after the 2016 congressional primary. Undervote In Broward, about 25,000 voters who marked their gubernatorial candidate on the ballot didnt mark one for Senate, based on the results. Some have suggested that the discrepancy was caused by the ballot design in the county, where the Senate race was tucked in the left column under voter instructions. Elias dismissed this possibility and said the scanners that read the ballots may have misread some and the issue would be resolved when they are re-calibrated for a recount. A recount is mandated by state law for a result this close. Snipes said theres no calibration issue with the machines, The Tampa Bay Times reported. The recount will be closely watched as Democrats commonly voice concerns that Republicans are trying to discard legitimate votes, while Republicans commonly worry that Democrats are trying to sneak in illegal votes. Nelson filed a lawsuit on Nov. 8 demanding that provisional and mail-in ballots with signatures not matching those on record be counted as valid, The Tampa Bay Times reported. Elias argued the process of matching the signatures is inconsistent across counties resulting in a disproportionate number of ballots cast by minority and young voters being discarded for mismatches. Scott campaign manager Jackie Schutz Zeckman said Nelsons lawsuit is asking the federal courts to allow voter fraud. Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the date of Gov. Rick Scotts statement to media. He gave his statement on Nov. 8. The Epoch Times regrets the error. NEW MILFORD As a Jewish girl in 1930s Germany, Susi Leiter quickly learned a knock on the door or the shuffle of boots outside was never a good sign. Everything was frightening, she said. We lived in constant fear. The dreaded knock came with a shattering of glass at midnight on Nov. 9, 1938, when the Gestapo arrived to arrest her family. They were herded onto a truck with other Jewish families and kept in a dark chamber at the local jail. Leiter said it could have been days, weeks or months that she and her mother were separated from her father. Her home was one of hundreds vandalized during Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass when Nazis and German civilians destroyed hundreds of Jewish businesses and synagogues, arrested thousands of Jews and killed nearly 100 Jewish men. It marks the beginning of what the Nazis referred to as The Final Solution. Leiter, 92, a Holocaust survivor who lives in Sherman, shared her story during a memorial service at Temple Sholom in New Milford on Friday, commemorating the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht and honoring the 6 million Jews killed during the Holocaust, or about two-thirds of the the Jews in Europe at the time. She lost 27 relatives in concentration camps during the war, including her brother. She was only one of three in her family to escape to the U.S., arriving here when she was 14 after 2 1/2 years hiding in France. Her parents had papers to leave because a high school friend of her fathers was willing to sponsor the family in the U.S. But after being smuggled to the American embassy in a friends moving truck, they learned Leiter wouldnt be able to get a visa because she was adopted. Instead, her father arranged for her to be brought to France through a Jewish underground organization. She moved to several different detention camps while in France, staying mostly in air raid shelters because the Nazis were bombing Paris daily. At the camps, the 2,000 or so children looked after each other, crying for their parents and then crying for each other. We became the nearest thing to a family, she said. Of those children, only she and another were able to reconnect with their parents through the French kinder transports, far less successful than the English operations of the same name. Leiters story was especially poignant following the Oct. 27 shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh that killed 11 people, making it what is believed to be the deadliest attack on Jews in the history of the U.S. We look at our history and ask if this is how it begins, Rabbi Ari Rosenberg said. But both he and Leiter acknowledged that America in 2018 is not the same as Nazi Germany as Kristallnacht was carried out by the government and supported by the people. Still, they said they were worried by the increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States. Its deja vu, Leiter said. Im nervous. Its scary. As Jews, we have to stand together now and fight it. She said anti-Semitism steadily increased in Germany during the 1930s, with ugly caricatures of Jews depicted in newspapers. She wasnt allowed to wear braided pigtails or participate in the military parades at school with the other girls. She remembers it escalated to J being written on Jewish businesses to deter people from going there, isolating the Jews. Then came Kristallnacht. We saw them take take torahs out of temples, burned them and danced around them, Leiter said. This is a nightmare Ill never forget. Rosenberg said its important to honor the memory of the Jews killed by the Nazis and show the world that they will never abide by this again. We must never forget the Holocaust, he said. kkoerting@newstimes.com, 203-731-3345 BRIDGEPORT Having survived being dragged from her home in the middle of the night and raped in the backyard, a Trumbull woman emotionally imploded before a packed courtroom Friday. He climbed into my bed and I thought it was my daughter having a nightmare and I rolled over to comfort her and then I felt the barrel of a gun and he said, Get up, the woman sobbed. I dont feel safe anymore, she continued. My brain is broken I feel like a loser Im 46 years old and I can no longer support myself and my daughter I dont want anyone to look at me. Many in the courtroom were overcome. A few left sobbing. But across the courtroom Geraldo Maldonado sighed. He was waiting for his agreed-upon 25-year prison term for the Trumbull crime as well as several others in Stratford and Bridgeport. This courtroom is completely filled with pain, Superior Court Judge Robert Devlin said, looking out at people still dabbing their eyes with tissues. Everybody felt it, just an outpouring. Why did this defendant do it? Because there is evil in this world, just plain evil. Then facing the 21-year-old Maldonado, the judge continued, You took a lot away from this woman and I am going to take a lot away from you. The judge sentenced the Bridgeport man to 35 years, suspended after he serves 25 years in prison and followed by 15 years probation. States Attorney John Smriga told the judge that from 2015 into 2016, Maldonado had gone on a crime rampage, all of it carefully planned. He used Google Earth to scope out the neighborhoods and plan his escape routes, Smriga said. In the early in the morning of Oct. 13, 2015 Maldonado broke into the Trumbull home. Police said Maldonado dragged the woman into her backyard and raped her, police said. He was later identified as the assailant through DNA, police said. The victims 14-year-old daughter appeared composed as she sat in front of the judge to deliver her remarks she had hidden behind some boxes in the attic as he mother was dragged screaming from the house. I held my favorite stuffed animal tight and I remember thinking to myself, Dont cry or he will find you, she told Devlin in a calm voice. I dont have any friends and I get startled, a lot. Smriga continued that during the next few months Maldonado broke into or tried to break into homes in Stratford and Bridgeport. On Feb. 2, 2016, schools in Bridgeports North End were put in lockdown after police said they chased an armed Maldonado following an attempted burglary on Sunnycrest Road. That April, Maldonado was fleeing police when his car crashed into a sport utility vehicle driven by David Anderson, 22, of Seymour, police said. The impact flipped Andersons SUV, and he Anderson was thrown from the vehicle, police said. He died at Bridgeport Hospital, police said. Maldonado later pleaded guilty to aggravated first-degree sexual assault, first-degree kidnapping with a firearm, home invasion and numerous burglary and attempted burglary charges, as well as misconduct with a motor vehicle. Maldonados lawyer, Richard Silverstein, quietly sat at the defense table through most of the hearing. And then he finally spoke. This is a dangerous world, he said. We see mass shootings and then we go to the weather. Something is very wrong with this world and I think its human nature. Im not surprised that the mass shooter in California spent time in the Marine Corps because there is nothing more dangerous than a 17-year-old with a gun. A Republican state delegate from Washington County, Maryland, is considering a run in 2020 for the state's yet-to-be-redrawn 6th congressional district. Del. Neil Parrott said Friday he is forming an exploratory committee as he weighs the decision. Parrott is the first person to announce a possible run for the seat since federal judges threw out the current map on Wednesday and ordered political leaders to redraw it for the 2020 elections. The ruling was the result of a lawsuit that says the 6th District was unconstitutionally gerrymandered at the expense of Republicans following the 2010 Census. The seat is currently held by Rep. John Delaney, a Democrat who defeated Republican incumbent Rep. Roscoe Bartlett in 2012, after redistricting moved a large swath of Democrats into the district. Delaney is leaving Congress at the end of the year. On Tuesday, Democrat David Trone defeated Republican Amie Hoeber by a wide margin to fill the seat. Although most of the district lies in Western Maryland, Trone, Hoeber and Delaney all live in Montgomery County. Parrott said with the court's ruling and Republicans losing control of the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, he "felt now is the time to form the committee." "We've had Delaney, and now David Trone; they both live in Potomac," Parrott said. "Many people have said they don't have representation at all in Congress for rural Maryland." Parrott, who has served in the state legislature since 2010, is a tea party leader from Hagerstown known for forcing statewide votes on several pieces of landmark legislation in recent years. In his freshman year in the General Assembly, he developed a website to collect the signatures that are required to petition laws to the ballot, a process that means legislation that has been passed does not take effect unless it is also approved by a popular vote. Parrot led efforts to place on the ballot legislation allowing same-sex marriage and the Dream Act, which allows undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition. Both were subsequently approved. A 2014 campaign to force a public vote on legislation to extend anti-discrimination protections to transgender people did not succeed in collecting enough signatures. The lawsuit challenging Maryland's congressional map was filed by seven Republicans who lived in the 6th District before the boundaries were reset. The Democratic officials who oversaw the redistricting said they were only making the district more competitive. The court disagreed, finding the map was drawn to dilute the influence of Republican voters. The ruling applies to the entire Maryland congressional map as drawn in 2011, but the challengers have proposed a modification at the border between the 6th and 8th districts that could address the court's concerns without affecting the shape of the other districts. A spokeswoman for Trone said the newly elected Democrat is reviewing the court's decision. "He has always been a strong supporter of national redistricting reform," Hannah Muldavin said. Maryland leaders have until March to redraw the district. Bebou set up the 19-year-old Linton Maina, who scored his first goal for Hannover with a volley after the half-hour mark. Bebou added to the lead from the penalty spot after Wolfsburg defender William fouled Marvin Bakalorz midway through the second half. The Togo forward sent Koen Casteels the wrong way to score inside the left corner. NORWALK As an Air Force pilot participating in war games outside Las Vegas nearly 40 years ago, Howard W. Dixon maneuvered a C-130 cargo plane through canyons, mountains and above the desert floor to evade enemy fighter planes. At the time, pilots were prohibited from flying lower than 500 feet. That didnt help in avoiding enemy fighters or radar. The lower you are, the more difficult it is to see the airplane, said Dixon, who now lives in Norwalk. The lower you can go, from our perspective, the better so they finally allowed us to go to 300 feet and before I left we had done some work at 100 feet. In 1981, Dixon envisioned a school that would teach such low-level flying skills. He presented his idea to the U.S. Department of Defense at the Pentagon, where it received support. Two years later, the Advanced Airlift Tactics Technical Center (AATTC) opened at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in St. Joseph, Mo. Dixon was named its first commander. On Nov. 3, he and his wife, Irene, returned to St. Joseph for the schools 35th anniversary. The school now enrolls 700 students annually from the Air Force, Marine Corps and other branches as well as pilots from 18 allied nations. Its programs have been expanded from advanced aircrew and tactical flying to munitions-loading and sophisticated intelligence courses, according to a summary of the anniversary event. Col. Byron Newell, current AATTC commandant, said the flying school is sometimes referred to as Howard Dixon University. Howard was the first commander and he was the driving force, said Newell, before explaining the importance of the training. The low-level flying is important because our job in C-130s was to delivery supplies to troops on the ground, and if youre in a contested environment where people are shooting at you, the lower you fly the safer you can be. The lower you fly, the more you can use terrain for masking. Starting in 2019, the AATTC will present The Dixon Award annually to an individual or group of individuals who demonstrate the innovative, forward thinking by taking risks, according to the summary of the anniversary event. Dixons road to the Air Force began at home. He was born in San Angelo, Texas, during World War II. His father was an Air Force flight engineer who flew B-29 bombers during World War II and the Korean War, and KC-97 transports during the Vietnam War. The younger Dixon spent his early years in Tampa, Fla., where his father was stationed at MacDill Air Force Base, and later Bossier City, La., after his father was transferred to Barksdale Airforce Base. After college, Dixon worked as a middle school teacher before joining the Air Force in 1966. Dixon attended pilot training at Webb Air Force Base in Big Spring, Texas. His first assignment was as an intelligence officer, and later safety officer, flying training instructor and director of operations, according to his biography. At the time, the Vietnam War was under way, and Dixon came close to being sent to Southeast Asia. I actually graduated in 1969 from pilot training, and the last airplane from our unit went to Vietnam just was I was walking in the front door, Dixon said. Vietnam was still going on but they sent our unit to Europe instead. Dixon retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 1988 and went on to pilot Boeing 747s to Europe, Africa and other destinations for various commercial airlines. While those journeys took him 35,000 feet above the earth, some of his fondest memories are of flying close to the ground at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in Missouri. Its a fantastic feeling to go back and watch what theyre doing today, Dixon said of returning to the flying school for its 35th anniversary. The award really got to me. PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron will be trying out for the role of leader of Europe this weekend. As he hosts more than 60 heads of state for a ceremony and peace summit tied to the centennial of World War I's bloody end, Macron will have an opportunity to show that he can bring great powers together and give voice to the values that bind them together. France's young president, just 40 years old, has long advocated a stronger, reinvigorated European Union and regularly condemned nationalism across the continent. He stands ready to continue the fight now that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has signalled she will exit the stage. But Europe at this moment may be too divided to accept a grand vision pronounced by a single leader, and Merkel's departure may do more to isolate Macron than to boost his standing. "Europeans are too deeply divided amongst themselves - and on the fundamentals," said Dominique Moisi, a foreign policy analyst at the Institut Montaigne in Paris and former Macron campaign adviser. "What you have is a Europe that is segmenting into different tribes," said Mark Leonard, director of the London-based European Council on Foreign Relations. These segments are multiplying along an increasing number of fractures, he said. "There is a clear north-south division over the euro crisis, and an east-west division over migration and Russia," he said. "You also have highly polarized societies in most member states, and that does mean that having a single leader of Europe is kind of utopian at the moment." Perhaps the biggest question for Macron's position in Europe is what will happen after Merkel leaves office. The German chancellor has announced she will not seek reelection as chairman of her political party next month or as Germany's leader when her term ends in 2021. Merkel has been a constant of European politics since she assumed the chancellery in 2005, outlasting many of her opponents abroad and challenges to her leadership from within. Without her, Macron will have less competition as the dominant player in Europe, but he will also lose a key political ally. The Franco-German alliance has been called the "motor" of the EU, the central connection without which the entire European machine would cease to function. Many of the EU's recent successes have depended on productive partnerships across the Rhine: Helmut Kohl and Francois Mitterand in the 1980s and 1990s, Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, dubbed "Merkozy," in the early 2010s. Macron and Merkel, too, have had a fine partnership. Internal pressure from the more conservative factions of her shaky coalition government forced Merkel to resist some of Macron's European proposals - notably his plans for further economic integration. But she has been a tireless defender of the EU since before Macron emerged onto the scene. Her absence will likely leave Macron on his own in the defense of an "ever greater" union. "The center doesn't really hold in the same way that it did," Leonard said. "It looks more like a Franco-German bunker than a motor." And there may soon be only one man left in that bunker. Even if Merkel is succeeded by someone with a similar ideology, that person undoubtedly would bring less clout. "France is a very important [EU] member state, but not strong enough on its own to bring other countries along with it," Leonard added. On the world stage, Macron has already had many disappointments. Despite his efforts to woo President Donald Trump, he watched helplessly as the United States withdrew from the Paris climate accord and the Iran nuclear deal. Trump will further slight the French president by attending the ceremony but skipping the peace summit this weekend. Within France, Macron has successfully pushed through a host of reforms designed to liberalize a famously regulated labor market and to stimulate economic growth. But he has paid a heavy price in popularity. According to a September poll from Ifop, a leading French polling agency, his approval rating is at 29 percent, less than half of what it was when he was elected in May 2017. By contrast, Europe's leading nationalist voices, whom Macron has publicly challenged on any number of occasions, remain quite popular. Matteo Salvini, Italy's interior minister and de facto leader, enjoys an approval rating of 59 percent, according to a poll released this week by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica - making Salvini roughly twice as popular among Italians as Macron is with the French. "He's weakened by the fact that he's orphaned by Merkel," said Moisi. "And he's weakened by inside by the spectacular fall of his popularity." A separate Ifop poll, published on Sunday, shows that Macron's party, La Republique en Marche ("Republic on the Move"), has less support than France's far-right Rassemblement National ("National Rally") in advance of the 2019 European parliamentary elections. "In a way, the summit that opens this weekend comes a bit too late for him," Moisi of the Institut Montaigne said. Macron, nonetheless, has focused his pitch this week on his concern about the resurgence of populist tribalism in Europe and the importance of political integration, which he credits with guaranteeing European prosperity and peace. In a number of rare interviews, he has appealed to the darkest chapters of Europe's recent history to underscore his anxieties about its present. "I'm struck to see two things that resemble terribly the 1930s," Macron told France's Europe 1 radio. "The fact that our Europe was rocked by a profound economic and financial crisis... and the rise of nationalisms that play on fears." The point, he said, is to recognize the fragility of the European enterprise launched after the two world wars. "We need a strong Europe, one that protects," he said. The question is how many of his guests agree. Chema Rodriguez put the hosts ahead less than five minutes into the match in Valencia, but Sociedad rallied with goals by Theo Hernandez in the 73rd minute, Juanmi in the 77th and Mikel Oyarzabal in the 83rd. CARLINVILLE A frequent contributor to the Telegraph is releasing a fresh look at the life of Abraham Lincoln as well as an updated edition of a work on Illinois in the Civil War. Tom Emery of Carlinville is releasing his full-length softcover The Civil War in Illinois as a second edition in December. The new book is an enhanced compilation of a bi-weekly newspaper column on Illinois in the Civil War that Emery wrote from 2011 to 2014. The latest edition will include additional articles and illustrations as Emery covers all of the leading topics of the Civil War in Illinois, including top leaders, regiments, the states participation in key battles, and life on the homefront. Quotes from dozens of men in the ranks highlight the work, which includes eighty articles, over thirty-five photos, a ten-page bibliography, complete footnotes with annotation, and index. Emerys book is a comprehensive look at the stories that define Illinois in the war, such as support for President Lincoln, Illinoisans who fought for the South, reaction to the Emancipation Proclamation, and the role of Illinois troops in such pivotal battles as Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Chickamauga, Shiloh, and the March to the Sea. The stories of the common soldier, however, are the heart of the The Civil War in Illinois, including the uplifting tales of battlefield angel Mary Mother Bickerdyke and Jennie Hodgers, who spent three years in service posing as a man. The stories of Christmas, family, and faith for Illinois soldiers are also included, and material on the war in the Riverbend is provided. Delivery of The Civil War in Illinois is expected around December 14, and readers are urged to reserve copies in advance. The book sells for $19.99 plus $1.25 tax and $3.76 postage and handling ($25 total). Emery is also releasing Moments in Lincolns Life, a unique look at the stories that helped define the greatness of Abraham Lincoln. This one-of-a-kind work will feature over fifty articles on a wide variety of lesser-known episodes that influenced Lincoln, from the friends, jobs, and events in his New Salem days to his life in Springfield and his incomparable years in the White House. Lincolns first political campaigns in the 1830s are covered, as are his relationships with his wife and family, his early romances, and his greatest speeches. Other key topics include some of Lincolns legendary legal cases, his divided support as President, and how he celebrated Christmas and holiday seasons. Little-known facts about the Lincoln assassination are also featured in Moments in Lincolns Life, including an analysis of the final week of Lincolns life, which fell over Holy Week. Narrative on Lincolns interaction with friends, associates, and White House visitors and employees are also highlighted. Illustrations, a list of sources, bibliographic essays, and index will be included. There are a lot of stories about Lincoln that need to be told, said Emery. Lincoln was a highly complex and fascinating individual, and I was drawn to some of the instances and relationships in his life that havent always been covered before. I wanted to bring out new information and new perspectives on Lincoln, to gain a different understanding. Moments in Lincolns Life will be released in early February, and reserve orders are recommended. The book sells for $19.99 plus $1.25 tax and $3.76 postage and handling ($25 total). A ten-percent discount is offered through December 10 for anyone wanting to reserve both books, as readers may have both selections for a total of $45, including tax and postage. Orders may be placed using PayPal (use the e-mail enjoyhistorytoday@gmail.com) or by mail by sending your name, address, phone, and check or money order to History in Print, 337 E. Second South, Carlinville, IL 62626. For more information, call 217-710-8392. Every chapter reveals a course and interesting tidbits of information that one may not know offhand things like musk pockets, treeing raccoons and how at the present, were in the middle of the good, old days of raccoon hunting. Along the culinary way, listeners get a chance to hear about America in Twains time the history, the politics and the insights into the national character with the help of Andrew Beahrs, the author of Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens (Penguin 2010) and whom according to Offerman in episode one, spent a decade learning about Mark Twain. EDWARDSVILLE Voters on Tuesday elected one Democrat and one Republican for circuit judge, and retained two sitting circuit judges by substantial margins. Associate Judge Sarah Smith defeated Republican challenger Mark D. Rabe by a vote of 56,130 to 45,332. Republican Dave Dugan defeated Democrat Marc Parker by a voted of 52,761 to 48,005. Dugan ran as an incumbent, having been appointed to fill a vacancy of John Barberis, who was elected to the Fifth District Appellate Court. Two sitting judges Dave Hylla, the chief judge, and Kyle Napp, who presides in the Criminal Division were easily retained. Circuit judges, once elected on a partisan basis, run for retention on a non-partisan ballot. Both Hylla and Napp are Democrats. The law requires a 60 percent yes vote for retention. Hylla received 68,837 yes votes compared with 21,770 no votes, for an approval rating of nearly 76 percent. Napp received 69,360 yes votes to 21,252 no votes for an approval rating of 76.5 percent. Smith, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, said Thursday she was still trying to take it all in. Its a surreal experience, she said. She said she made dozens of public appearances at union meetings, homecomings and other celebrations. I loved it. I loved meeting and making new friends. It was a great thing to tour and get to know people in Madison County, but my underlying message is for people to get out and get involved, Smith said. Dugan said he is honored, humbled and full of gratitude. He noted that, by agreement, the campaign was positive. We made it a gentlemans race. Marc and I agreed to make it a positive campaign and he stuck to his word, Dugan said. Hylla said he is pleased with the vote and noted that he and Napp are apparently recognized for doing a good job. Its nice to be recognized, he said. Hylla noted that the 76 percent yes votes he received was higher than he expected. I think people recognize all parties are getting fair treatment, Hylla said. He said he has not seen a reversal of any decisions or removal of any cases from Madison County, indicating that the judges are making good decisions. Napp agreed. She said she is honored to be retained, but the vote also shows that people believe that litigants in Madison County are on a level playing field. Elsewhere, Republican David K. Overstreet of Mount Vernon beat Democrat Kevin T. Hoerner of Belleville to fill the vacancy of Judge Richard P. Goldenhersh in the Fifth Appellate District of Illinois. The Fifth Appellate District covers 37 counties in Southern Illinois. Reach reporter Sanford Schmidt at 618-208-6449. ALTON Its are hard to miss, the cluster of flags that lines the outside of the Abundant Life Community Church. The bundle of American flags blow quickly, thanks to a northwestern breeze, helping the group to become a moving wave of red, white and blue. The church isnt the only location featuring the small army of flags. A plot of land near Fast Eddies Bon Air, the side of the new King Heating and Air Conditioning in Godfrey and the right side entrance of the Home Depot off Homer Adams Parkway are just some of the places that also sport the same large patches of colors. They were all placed there by one man Fred Smith. I just want to spread America around town, Smith said. Just so veterans can feel that everyday. Smith has been setting up flag displays like these, with flags that he mostly pays for out of his own pocket, for the last four years. Sometimes hell take a small donation or accept them as gifts, but he never asks. Sometimes they give me a discount at Home Depot when I buy them or my grandkids will say, Grandpa what do you want for Christmas? and Ill say, Oh, just a couple dozen flags, Smith said. Even now and then someone will toss me $20 and Ill use that to buy some or Home Depot will give some for free. In fact, he takes so much pride in buying his own flags, that in addition to making flag displays free of charge, he also donates individual flags to places that want them. Some places that want flags but cant afford them or dont know how to get them, Im more than happy to give them some of mine, Smith said. A regular old veteran A humble man, its obvious Smith doesnt like to talk about himself. In his stories about his quest to make veterans happy with his flags, he often brushes past the fact that he himself is a veteran. Smith served in the Vietnam War from 1956-58. When asked about what branch he served in and what he did while abroad, he replies, Doesnt matter. Just did what I had to do to serve the country. Im not a hero like some of these men, Smith said. Im just a regular old veteran. After returning home to the states after his service, Smith had a career in telephone and eventually retired, but in 2006 he still had the urge to serve. He joined the Patriot Guard Riders, a volunteer organization whose main mission is to attend funeral service of fallen service members, whether they be fallen military members, first responders, or honorably discharged veterans. The Patriot Guard shows up to these services to show respect and to shield mourning families from protesters, like the Westboro Baptist Church. It was in 2014 that Smith felt a pull to do even more. He always knew what the American flag meant to him, and his fellow service members while abroad, so he wanted to bring that feeling to the citizens of the Alton community. While I was serving we would always hang up a flag. No matter what or where we were, Smith said. Even if it was a little three-by-five (inch flag). Just so we could remember what we were doing it for. This was when Smith began setting up flag displays across the county. He chooses the locations for his displays based upon heavily trafficked roadways. He does this because he wants veterans or their family members to see them on their way to and from work. A far-reaching effect Smiths wife of almost 60 years, Neva Smith, says shes incredibly proud of the work her husband does and that he rarely realizes the impact he has on veterans. We were once at a restaurant and he stood up and announced that there was a WWII veteran eating and the whole restaurant stood and clapped. The man started crying, the workers started crying, Neva Smith said. Sometimes you just dont realize the impact you can have. She says she even laughs about the fact that their garage is always overflowing with flags. Smith just celebrated his 82nd birthday on Friday, at Bowl Haven Lanes in Alton. Even then, he doesnt take a day off from remembering those who have served. Before bowling with a large group of friends, most of whom are also veterans, Smith held a memorial service at the lanes for an unknown solider whose burial flag was found in a dumpster. He chose to pass it on to the bowling alley with a promise they would proudly display it. The ceremony was quick, only lasting about 15 minutes, but it was all that Smith needed to move the room. Some members of the group shed silent tears while other chose to salute the flag. Over the intercom system, Smith played Taps, otherwise recognized as the bugle played during military funerals. Smith said he could have been like what he calls closeted veterans, or service veterans who dont openly discuss their service, or the fact that they are veterans. He says he respects these men and women deeply, as the love for their county must be so large that they keep it to themselves. However, he says he has a different reason for being so open about this love for the United States and the stars and stripes. Earlier this year I met a man with his two grandchildren in the parking lot of Home Depot next to my display. I asked him what he was doing and he explained to me that his grandchildren love the flags and wanted to come see them, Smith said. So I went to my truck and came back and brought them two little stick flags and their grandfather took a picture of them in front of the display with their flags. After that, he told me that he himself was a veteran and that he had never told his grandchildren because he thought they wouldnt care, but now, he was so excited to tell them. His grandkids were so excited. Thats why I do this. Reach reporter Riley Newton at 618-208-6460. 1 hour ago Asian shares mixed after China warning on risks, stagflation Stocks were mixed in Asia on Monday after ending the week mostly lower on Wall Street, despite the Nasdaq's first close above 16,000. A resurgence of coronavirus outbreaks in the U.S., Europe and some other regions is weighing on investor sentiment. Read Article When these things come together as a big, unison phrase, it can be quite magical, but for me the real meat and potatoes of this work is in the solos and duets. Particularly poignant is a pattern having Robert Ssempijja running diagonally upstage, only to be pulled back, seemingly against his will, his body nearly bent in half backward. It seems to me as though hes having an internal battle navigating a cultural identity that has one foot in the past, and the other in the present, a thought I revisited when the men stepped in and out of the tires strewn around the set piece. This is an idea that was startling repeated as Ssempijja, with a tire about his waist, leapt head first out of the wings, to be violently yanked off stage by an attached bungie. And it comes up again near the end as all eight dancers journey together on a diagonal strip of light (by Margaret L. Nelson), but this time, those back bends are supported by the weight of others. To see students speak up and want the engagement and want their peer groups to be held accountable thats when you start to feel like its changing, that the campus, the country, is starting to want some differences, he said. Im happy to see that we got some young people to do it, but I dont think I would have said this five years ago to the same degree. For some reason, I had to write this article about the last standing Lun Bawang longhouse here in Bakelalan, which was inspired on my last visit here in October 2018. Though these people are a minority in the many ethnic tribes of Sarawak, the Lun Bawang people are also one of the smallest of the Orang Ulu group here. They can be found in the Lawas district of Northern Sarawak, which borders Brunei and Sabah, where Bakelalan is one of the original and traditional places to see them. After visiting Bakelalan several times, I finally learned about this friendly society that live in the beautiful highlands of Sarawak. The Last Lun Bawang Longhouse in Bakelalan Frontal view of the last longhouse in Bakelalan On my recent visit to Buduk Nur, Bakelalan, I was there on a bird-watching expedition. A cross border initiative was arranged between Sabah and Sarawak to promote birding in Sarawak. It was then when our group had the pleasure of staying at the lovely homestay of Cikgu Sang and his amazing wife, Julia Sang. By the way, Cikgu translates from the Malay language as a teacher. Just so you know, there are no hotels in Bakelalan and only warm homestays that make this one of the best experiential tourism places. We would be out at 7.00 AM daily to explore trails or bird watching, and just before lunch, the group would be back at Cikgu Sang's place for lunch. One of the days when we were relaxing after lunch, I was talking to Cikgu Sang about the Lun Bawang people here and asked him about their interesting culture. The topic leads on to why there was a proper traditional longhouse, and Cikgu Sang pointed out that there was, in fact, one last longhouse for the Lun Bawang people, and his relatives were living there. Pointing out his window, it was right there, about 200 meters from his home, and not looking like one of those authentic longhouses that I was expecting. Without fail, I got overly excited, and of course, an invitation by Cikgu Sang to visit the Lun Bawang longhouse was the following words. Grabbing my smartphone and camera, we headed to the longhouse, and along the way there, a barrage of questions started coming out of my mouth. Why, who, what, when were all asked, and has been a local growing up in Bakelalan, Cikgu Sang had explained what he knows about the Lun Bawang culture, dating back to his grandparent's era. History also states that the Lun Bawangs came from central Borneo and congregated in the Maligan Highland area, where they made it their home. A photo of a traditional Lun Bawang Longhouse in Long Semado, taken many years ago Originally, the community of the Lun Bawang people lived in multiple longhouses all over the Bakelalan heartland, coming in from Long Bawan across the border.History also states that the Lun Bawangs came from central Borneo and congregated in the Maligan Highland area, where they made it their home. Lun Bawang Longhouse The last Lun Bawang longhouse in Bakelalan is pretty much a modern wood and brick design, with a total of six doors or 'rumah panjang enam pintu'. This means six families stay at this double-storey building. The two photos above were taken in Long Semado or Long Tanid many years ago. I was informed that in the old days, these longhouses could have up to 20 to 30 doors and over 100 people from various families staying in one longhouse. The last few original longhouses were seen back in the '70s and '80s, and over the years, they started to break up and become individual homes. Some of them caught fire due to the materials, but most started to modernize and be standalone units. Right now, this one longhouse in Buduk Nur still remains, and from outside, you would not even notice that it is a longhouse. When you get closer and get inside, you will see that this is the last Lun Bawang longhouse left here in Bakelalan and possibly Lawas and the Maligan Highland area. Inside the back portion of the Lun Bawang longhouse in Bakelalan The current Bakelalan longhouse entrance serves as the main receiving hall, family and visitor area for guests, friends and family members. You will walk through the washroom and toilet area from the front portion and into the kitchen and common area, where families gather, cook, and eat. This is one huge and long open area with no divider; hence families are free to walk about in this section of the longhouse. In the kitchen area at the back, it is one long area open to all families. But each family has their own kitchen section and traditional wood stove where they still use for cooking and boiling water. Why did the Lun Bawang people live in longhouses? Well, from research papers, their main reason was for defence against other attacking tribes. However, since the turn of the 20th century, it is no longer happening, and most of the thatched longhouses have been replaced by wood, zinc and bricks. Lun Bawang Longhouse Photos Below are random photos taken inside the last Lun Bawang longhouse in Bakelalan. I specifically asked Cikgu Sang to show me around, except the personal bedrooms. Just to add that when I visited the longhouse, the entire village was there for their rare bamboo musical instrument tuning session, and you can see it in one of the photos below. In one of his articles, a good friend and travelling buddy, Kevin Nila, documented the The exterior of the longhouse A common sight at the longhouse main entrance The family common area in the longhouse Family and visitors area in the main longhouse Typical wall decoration for each of the family units in the common area Photos, a Lun Bawang ceremonial sword and a weaved basket The toilet and bathroom, connecting the main longhouse to the kitchen area One of the longhouse kitchens from one unit, at the back Another Lun Bawang longhouse kitchen set up The common wood fire stove of the longhouse, each unit has its own View of the Lun Bawang Longhouse from one end of the back portion A lounge area on the first floor of the longhouse where other rooms are found Lun Bawang men gather to make and fine-tune their bamboo instruments in the longhouse. The oldest Lun Bawang man in Bakelalan, aged around 90 years old Outside the end of the longhouse Where Is Bakelalan? Sadly, I do not have any photos of what an original Lun Bawang longhouse looks like, but I did find some examples on the internet, which the photos were taken in Long Semado a long time ago.The last Lun Bawang longhouse in Bakelalan is pretty much a modern wood and brick design, with a total of six doors or ''. This means six families stay at this double-storey building.I was informed that in the old days, these longhouses could have up to 20 to 30 doors and over 100 people from various families staying in one longhouse.The last few original longhouses were seen back in the '70s and '80s, and over the years, they started to break up and become individual homes.Some of them caught fire due to the materials, but most started to modernize and be standalone units.Right now, this one longhouse in Buduk Nur still remains, and from outside, you would not even notice that it is a longhouse.When you get closer and get inside, you will see that this is the last Lun Bawang longhouse left here in Bakelalan and possibly Lawas and the Maligan Highland area.The current Bakelalan longhouse entrance serves as the main receiving hall, family and visitor area for guests, friends and family members.You will walk through the washroom and toilet area from the front portion and into the kitchen and common area, where families gather, cook, and eat.This is one huge and long open area with no divider; hence families are free to walk about in this section of the longhouse.In the kitchen area at the back, it is one long area open to all families. But each family has their own kitchen section and traditional wood stove where they still use for cooking and boiling water.Why did the Lun Bawang people live in longhouses? Well, from research papers, their main reason was for defence against other attacking tribes.However, since the turn of the 20th century, it is no longer happening, and most of the thatched longhouses have been replaced by wood, zinc and bricks.Below are random photos taken inside the last Lun Bawang longhouse in Bakelalan. I specifically asked Cikgu Sang to show me around, except the personal bedrooms.Just to add that when I visited the longhouse, the entire village was there for their rare bamboo musical instrument tuning session, and you can see it in one of the photos below.In one of his articles, a good friend and travelling buddy, Kevin Nila, documented the Lun Bawang bamboo band , which stresses the 'Bas' of a bamboo horn. The altitude of Bakelalan is estimated to be around 950 meters above sea level, which makes this village a very cooling place. The immediate neighbour is no other than Long Bawan, a 20-minute drive across the Kalimantan-Malaysia border. The next closest village to Bakelalan in the Sarawak side is Bario, another highland village home to the Kelabit people. You can also read about my interesting What the Lun Bawang longhouse looks like from the field How To Go To Bakelalan? Bakelalan is located in the Maligan Highlands in the Limbang district of Northern Sarawak. This remote village is also 20 minutes from the border to Kalimantan and has a border checkpoint.The altitude of Bakelalan is estimated to be around 950 meters above sea level, which makes this village a very cooling place.The immediate neighbour is no other than Long Bawan, a 20-minute drive across the Kalimantan-Malaysia border.The next closest village to Bakelalan in the Sarawak side is Bario, another highland village home to the Kelabit people.You can also read about my interesting travel to the Bario Highlands , as I have visited the other village numerous times. There is only two way to get here, and the most practical is by taking a 4x4 off-road truck. But depending on the luxury of time, you have an alternative flight you can take. Driving to Bakelalan - Most people do this as it is much easier, but a unique rural journey passing villages and incredible landscapes. The dive from Lawas takes about five to six hours, depending on the weather. The best way to drive to Bakelalan is through Lawas, which sits in between Sabah and Brunei. This place is quite laid back and is one of the known Lun Bawang towns of Sarawak. For visitors coming here, they usually fly into Miri City, then connect with a MAS Wings flight to the town of Lawas. From Lawas, they will embark on the 4x4 journey to Bakelalan. Flight To Bakelalan - This is, of course, the fastest way to get here, but there are only two flights a week, and you need to plan your arrival and departures well to meet the flight schedule. Flying to Bakelalan can be done via Miri Airport or Lawas Airport, and in a day, there are only two flights. Tickets should be booked way in advance for these rural flights due to the plane capacity. Check-in luggage is 15 kgs, and each additional kilogram is charged at RM2.00 per kilo, which is purely subsidized for the local Lun Bawang people travelling. The A map of the Maligan Highlands and where Bakelalan is located Who Should Visit Bakelalan? The planes used are the DCH-6 Twin Otter turboprop aircraft, which sits a maximum of 15 passengers at one time.Check-in luggage is 15 kgs, and each additional kilogram is charged at RM2.00 per kilo, which is purely subsidized for the local Lun Bawang people travelling.The Bakelalan Airport is also one of the most unique Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) airports I have visited and can be a culture shock for regular travellers. To be very honest, Bakelalan is not for everyone. Yes, if you love the fast city life, lifestyle cafes, malls, fancy restaurants, fast food and so on, you will not find any of that here. There isn't even an ATM machine or banks available in the highlands; hence cash is king here. Unless you have something interesting to barter trade? Life remains simple and yet beautiful, with a lot of outdoor activities to participate in. Hence, this place is a bird watchers paradise or for anyone who loves trekking, culture and nature. And if you are considering visiting this stunning place, I have also written about the An elderly Lun Bawang lady plays a handmade bamboo flute in the longhouse. Conclusion This is a pure and natural destination, without any modernization or development. It is a farming culture that lives in the highlands and is perfect for anyone who wants to see the original side of Sarawak.Life remains simple and yet beautiful, with a lot of outdoor activities to participate in. Hence, this place is a bird watchers paradise or for anyone who loves trekking, culture and nature.And if you are considering visiting this stunning place, I have also written about the things to do in Bakelalan as a rough guide. In my few times of visiting Bakelalan over the last few years, nothing has changed here and remains the way it should be. What got me overly excited was that I managed to see and experience the last Lun Bawang longhouse here in Bakelalan, and I hope that the locals keep it the way it is. I would highly recommend this destination for anyone who prefers an ecotourism experience and see and learn about the amazing Lun Bawang people of Bakelalan, Sarawak. For more than an hour outside the Back of the Yard neighborhood home, officers ignored pleas from the grandmother, Cynthia Eason, 55, for clothing to cover the T-shirt and underwear she wore, according to the suit. With neighbors and onlookers watching the dramatic scene the SWAT team had arrived with an armored military vehicle Tate says she suffered a panic attack, requiring medical attention. The 39-year-old, who was cut in his hand, didnt want to sign complaints, but Leverson, whose last known address was in the 1600 block of West Le Moyne Street, was charged with several misdemeanor and traffic offenses. I think they wanted change. And Im not sure that we are changing for the better at this point in time. In fact, Im very skeptical because I think were looking at more taxes, Deckard said of the Chicago suburban election results. Most of us Downstate, we feel like were the redheaded stepchildren of Illinois. And they dont care about us. But we dont have the numbers down here to overcome it. And the numbers are getting smaller every day. WASHINGTON The United States will stop refueling Saudi Arabian aircraft fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen, the Pentagon and the Saudi kingdom said late Friday. The refueling change does not affect the U.S. military assistance and training to improve the Saudi airstrikes, which have reportedly caused thousands of civilian deaths. "The U.S. and the coalition are planning to collaborate on building up legitimate Yemeni forces to defend the Yemeni people, secure their country's borders, and contribute to counter al-Qaida and ISIS efforts in Yemen and the region," U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said. As a result, the decision to halt the U.S. refueling will likely have little impact on the fight, but will allow the Trump administration to say it has taken action against the Saudis for the devastation in Yemen. The Saudi statement said it had "increased its capability to independently conduct inflight refueling," and therefore "requested cessation of inflight refueling support for its operations in Yemen." The action comes amid growing congressional anger against Saudi Arabia, a key ally and the country where President Donald Trump made his first visit abroad after taking office. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has attracted the ire of U.S. lawmakers in the wake of the Oct. 2 killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi , a Washington Post columnist and a critic of the crown prince, inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Turkey says Khashoggi was strangled and dismembered at the consulate in Istanbul by a 15-member assassination squad, including agents close to the prince. Members of Congress have been calling for the administration to curtail arms sales to Saudi Arabia or take other action. And with the election handing control of the U.S. House to the Democrats, it becomes more likely that some retaliation against Saudi Arabia would gain traction on Capitol Hill. The refueling decision, which was first reported by The Washington Post, has been under discussion for a few weeks. U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said Senate staffers were asked about the issue Thursday and whether their bosses would support it. Mattis acknowledged "continued bipartisan interest from Congress," and said the Trump administration is "appreciative of the continued dialogue we have had with key members on this issue." Saudi Arabia has been paying the U.S. for the refueling, but there were no details on how much that cost. Anti-war groups hailed the decision as a victory and called for the U.S. to go further in halting support for the campaign. "It's clear the administration is finally beginning to recognize that it faces insurmountable opposition to continuing to fuel the war in Yemen," Win Without War said in a statement. The United States effectively gave a green light to the Saudi-led offensive when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sept. 12 certified continued American support for the coalition's air campaign against the Houthis. He said that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were taking adequate measures to minimize civilian deaths. Mattis has made similar remarks, saying American influence on the Arab air campaign has made a difference in reducing instances of errant bombing and the targeting of civilians. In Friday's statement, he said, "The U.S. will also continue working with the Coalition and Yemen to minimize civilian casualties and expand urgent humanitarian efforts throughout the country." The coalition has come under heavy criticism for its relentless airstrikes since 2015, which U.N. experts say have caused the majority of the estimated 10,000 civilian deaths in the conflict and could constitute a war crime. Several strikes in recent months have killed dozens of children. Mattis in August noted that U.S. support was conditioned on a Saudi commitment to doing "everything humanly possible" to avoid any loss of innocent life and Riyadh supporting a U.N.-brokered peace process to end the civil war. The U.S. has provided the Saudis and their UAE coalition partners with intelligence, aerial refueling and military advice, but U.S. forces are not directly involved in the airstrikes or other aspects of the fighting. In the last month, the UAE has mounted an all-out offensive to capture the critical Yemeni port of Hodeida. The conflict has plunged Yemen into a humanitarian crisis. According to experts, more than 22 million people in are in desperate need in what is already the Arab world's poorest country. The experts documented 6,475 deaths from March 2015 until last June, but said the real figure is likely to be significantly higher. Other groups have estimated that more than 10,000 have been killed excluding over 2,300 cholera deaths since April 2017 amid pitiful water supplies. Whitaker has told officials he served in a limited capacity as an outside legal adviser to the company and provided occasional advice when asked but that he was not part of the day-to-day operations, according to a Justice Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case. Phuket man nabbed with over 52,000 ya bah pills, ya ice PHUKET: Phuket Police on Wednesday (Nov 7) arrested a Chalong-based drug dealer and seized over 52,000 methamphetamine pills (ya bah) and 784.82 grams of crystal methamphetamine (ya ice). drugscrime By Eakkapop Thongtub Saturday 10 November 2018, 10:20AM Over 52,000 ya bah pills and 784.82 grams of ya ice were seized in a drug raid conducted last Wednesday. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Over 52,000 ya bah pills and 784.82 grams of ya ice were seized in a drug raid conducted last Wednesday. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Over 52,000 ya bah pills and 784.82 grams of ya ice were seized in a drug raid conducted last Wednesday. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Over 52,000 ya bah pills and 784.82 grams of ya ice were seized in a drug raid conducted last Wednesday. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Over 52,000 ya bah pills and 784.82 grams of ya ice were seized in a drug raid conducted last Wednesday. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub The arrest of Danai Hlankban, 35, was revealed by Col Akanit Danpitaksarn, a Deputy Commander of the Phuket Provincial Police, and Maj Kongpop Posane, Chief of Border Patrol Police Company 425, at a press conference held yesterday (Nov 9) at Phuket Provincial Police Station. The investigation was launched by Border Patrol Police Company 425 after officers received a tip off that Mr Danai may be distributing drugs in Phuket. Having checked Mr Danai's activities and behaviour, officers found the tip off trustworthy and cooperated with Phuket police to conduct a joint raid. On Wednesday (Nov 7) the joint task force arrived to a house on Soi Yodsane 1 in Chalong, arrested the suspect and seized over 52,000 methamphetamine pills (ya bah) and 784.82 grams of crystal methamphetamine (ya ice) hidden in a speaker. After his arrest, Mr Danai told police that he received the drugs from a man named Sompong Niyumwong (Mr Nung) from Phang Nga as he did six or seven times before. The drugs were delivered to Phuket by a private transportation company, Mr Danai's task was to distribute them among locals. According to Mr Danai, Mr Nung paid him some B20,000 for distribution of each shipment. Police charged Mr Danai with possession of Category 1 drugs (ya bah, ya ice) and distribution of drugs. Vachira Phuket Hospital calls for blood donations PHUKET: The Vachira Phuket Hospital blood bank invited both Thais and foreigners to donate blood during November 12-29 at various locations across the island. health By The Phuket News Saturday 10 November 2018, 12:55PM Vachira Phuket Hospital blood bank calls for blood donations. Photo: Vachira Phuket Hospital blood bank (file photo) We are happy accept blood of all groups, especially B and O (both Rh negative and Rh positive) because the available amounts of these two are smaller than the rest, a representative of Vachira Phuket Hospital blood bank said. The specialist specifically stressed the importance of having enough O- in the bank, as people with this blood group cannot receive blood of any other groups. The mobile blood-donation clinics throughout November will be held as follows: Nov 12 10am to 3pm Thalang Technical College; Nov13 1pm to 3pm Phuket Technical College; Nov14 10am to 3pm Kajonkiet Pattana School; Nov16 10am to 3pm SuperCheap (main store in Phuket); Nov19 10am to 3pm Kajonkiet International School; Nov 20 10am to 3pm Sleep with Me Hotel Patong; Nov 22 8.30am to 8pm Vachira Phuket Hospital blood bank; Nov 23 10am to 3pm Deevana Patong Hotel; Nov 26 10am to 3pm Patong Orientala Spa; Nov 27 10am to 3pm Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort; Nov 28 10am to 3pm Twinpalms Phuket Resort; Nov 29 10am to 3pm Phuket Graceland Resort & Spa. South Dakota qualifies for FCS playoffs for first time since 2017 E-cigarette startup Juul Labs Inc., faced with a regulatory crackdown and criticism that its marketing has attracted underage users, plans to stop selling most of its flavored nicotine liquids at bricks-and-mortar stores, according to people familiar with the matter. Juul plans to keep selling menthol- and tobacco-flavored products in stores, while all flavors, including cucumber and mango, will remain on its website, which has age-verification controls, the people said. The planned restrictions could heavily affect Juul Labs, according to analysts who say more than half of its sales come from flavors other than tobacco, mint and menthol. The move comes as the Food and Drug Administration prepares to announce sharp restrictions as soon as next week on the sale of such products, part of its effort to combat use of e-cigarettes by teens and children. The new rules would be effective immediately. The FDA also intends to pursue a ban on menthol cigarettes, agency officials said this week, though it could take years for the rule to take effect. A fifth of high-school students had used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, up more than 75% since last year, according to a federal survey. Much of that rise, the FDA said, is due to Juul Labs device, a thumb-drive shaped vaporizer that delivers a powerful dose of nicotine from liquid-filled pods. While traditional cigarette firms such as Camel maker British American Tobacco PLC also sell flavored e-cigarettes, Juul Labs has leapfrogged them in the market with a device that has become a teen status symbol. After a sales surge in late 2017 that continued this year, Juul now commands more than 75% of the $2.5 billion (U.S.) e-cigarette retail market, according to a Wells Fargo analysis of Nielsen data. The San Francisco company was valued at $16 billion when it completed a financing round that raised $1.25 billion this summer. Along with success, it has attracted public ire. Critics say the fruity flavors and Juul Labs hip marketing campaigns on social media have made vaping attractive to teens. It is illegal to sell tobacco or e-cigarettes to buyers under 18, 19 or 21 years old, depending on the state. Young people, whose brains are still developing into their 20s, are particularly vulnerable to addiction, scientists say. Alex Knapp began using Juul two years ago at age 17. He said he tried Juul at parties when it had started to become cool. I loved it more than anything I ever tried, he said. He gave about $50 to an 18-year-old friend to buy a Juul vaporizer for him at a convenience store. Today, he estimates he takes four to five drags every half-hour and likes cool mint and mango flavors best. I have it on me 24-7, said Mr. Knapp, who dropped out of Texas Tech University this year to start a ride-sharing company. A big number of Juul Labs U.S. sales come from minors, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in an interview, citing an FDA analysis. He declined to be more specific. Juuls youth sales are at such levels that its hard for me to believe as a regulator that it wasnt apparent to them, Dr. Gottlieb said. A Juul Labs spokeswoman said the company hasnt seen the data Dr. Gottlieb cited, but underage use is unacceptable to us. To keep the products out of teens and childrens hands, the FDA plans to restrict the sale of pod-style, flavored e-cigarettes such as Juul Labs to retail outlets that either bar minors from entry or have a separate section that children cant enter, said a senior agency official. That will effectively stop their sale in most convenience stores and gas stations. E-cigarettes in menthol, mint and tobacco flavors will remain on store shelves for now. FDA officials decided not to restrict those because they didnt want to create a situation in which cigarettes were more attractive to smokers who prefer menthol, senior agency officials said. Meanwhile, New York is planning to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes as early as next year. Juul was sold at about 84,000 convenience stores as of Oct. 1, up from 29,000 at the end of 2017, according to Pamela Kaufman, a Morgan Stanley analyst. A Juul Labs spokesman declined to comment on the effect the FDAs new restrictions and the companys voluntary actions could have on its sales. In addition to pulling back from bricks-and-mortar stores, Juul Labs executives have embarked on a number of efforts to quell teen use, while saying they never intended to attract kids. The device, they say, is meant to be a less-harmful alternative for adult cigarette smokers. Cigarettes are linked to an estimated 480,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. The effects of e-cigarettes arent fully known but public-health officials agree that they are less deadly than cigarettes. We dont want this to be a glamorous lifestyle product, Juul co-founder Adam Bowen said in an interview in August. This is a serious product with a serious purpose. At Juul Labs headquarters in San Francisco, Mark Jones, an associate general counsel, and a team of analysts spend 200 hours a week scouring the internet for evidence of underage use or sales to minors and asking the respective platforms to remove the content. In the first 10 months of this year, that has led to removal of about 14,000 items and 750 accounts from social media, the company said. Juul Labs has hired Washington insiders to help it combat potential regulation. And it has revamped its marketing to feature former smokers in their 20s and older who switched to Juul, in full-page newspaper ads including ones in The Wall Street Journal. The company also said it plans to launch a Bluetooth-enabled device in international markets next year that could be unlocked only by verified adults. Juul Labs said it would work with the FDA to find a regulatory pathway for its technology in the U.S. Juuls co-foundersMr. Bowen and Adam Monsees, who met as graduate students at Stanford Universitysaid they set out to develop a replacement for cigarettes that would appeal to tobacco users without the health risks of smoke. They wanted a product that would be superior to cigarettes, such that cigarettes become obsolete, Mr. Monsees recalled. When they launched their device in 2015, Juul Labs was able to use marketing practices, including social media and billboard ads, that are restricted for big tobacco companies. Advertising on social media and other platforms pitched Juul as a cool lifestyle accessory with images of people in their 20s and 30s. That branding appealed to teens, said Allen Adamson, co-founder of Metaforce, a brand-consulting firm. Teens are aspirational, he said: They dont look at the 14-year-old, they look at what the 24-year-old at the club is wearing. Sales of Juul, which had been growing slowly but steadily, suddenly took off late in 2017. The company had expanded manufacturing and distribution to meet demand, Mr. Monsees said. At the same time, Juul-related posts on Instagram, Twitter and other social media exploded, according to an analysis led by researchers at Georgia State Universitys School of Public Health. That likely reflected the brands growing popularity and aggressive promotion by the company, its retailers and fans, including kids, said lead author Jidong Huang, associate professor of health management and policy. Juul Labs said that 99.7% of Juul mentions on Twitter come from outside the company. Write to Betsy McKay at betsy.mckay@wsj.com, Jennifer Maloney at jennifer.maloney@wsj.com and Anne Marie Chaker at anne-marie.chaker@wsj.com ----------------- **** Image References **** ----------------- Article Reference: SB10006218093301204198504584584342954135368 Photo Reference: S1-BI233_1109JU_M_20181109121956.jpg or S1-BI233_1109JU_OR_20181109121956.jpg or B3-CI404_1109JU_OR_20181109184149.jpg Graphic Reference: CALGARYJust hours before his new federal political partys first rally in Alberta on Friday night, Maxime Berniers Peoples Party of Canada hit a roadblock when a report connected the group to a possible member whos been publicly noted as an alleged white supremacist. But undaunted by this news, attendees packed a standing-room-only room to hear the self-proclaimed Albertan From Quebec introduce his new party to Calgarians. Earlier on Friday, news broke that a former United Conservative Party volunteer Adam Strashok had at least briefly been listed as a member of the PPC. When questioned about whether the volunteer was still associated with the party and if he would have his membership revoked (as the UCP had done to Strashok for allegedly holding white supremacist views), PPC spokespeople said no one with extreme views is welcome in their party. Many of Berniers supporters at Fridays Peoples Party rally, held at the Best Western hotel on Crowchild Trail, werent concerned about potential ties to white supremacists or other extreme groups and individuals. Max has already very clearly stated everything he believes about what the party believes, what he doesnt believe, what hes going to support, what he doesnt support. Its already very clear-cut against white supremacy. So theres nothing to worry about, said William Maier, a PPC member from Edmonton. Read more: White supremacist who was disavowed by Albertas UCP briefly joined Maxime Berniers party Jason Kenney turfs UCP member amid report of hateful views UCP nomination candidate Lance Coulter says he knew who Soldiers of Odin were, defends photo In a province thats long been a stronghold of support for the Conservative Party of Canada, Bernier believes he can set himself apart from Andrew Scheers conservatives by proposing policy ideas based on a commitment to ideology and principles, rather than public consultation, to create a big-tent party. Im not a pragmatic politician. Im a principled politician. Thats important for us, and we dont try to please everybody, Bernier said in an interview days before his rally. If you have some principle, you must be out there and speak about it with passion and conviction, and youll have more people supporting you. And we know that because its based on western civilization values. Free market, entrepreneurship, more individual freedom, less government intervention. Some of the major policy points Bernier reiterated included changing the formula for equalization payments to less wealthy provinces, cutting corporate taxes and reducing government subsidies to corporations, privatizing Canada Post and cutting the CBCs budget. Bernier also wants to allow fewer newcomers to Canada, by reducing the immigration rate to 250,000 people per year, the same level it was under Stephen Harpers Conservative government. Thats opposed to the more than 300,000 immigrants who currently come to Canada each year. We dont try to please everybody and thats what I think Albertans and Canadians like. For me, I dont have a platform to please Quebecers or to please people. Its for all Canadians, Bernier said. The PPC leaders commitment to ideology, when mentioned at his rally, was consistently met with a wave of applause from supporters. Many of these attendees were happy to hear Bernier express conviction in his beliefs. Weve had the CPC for years, and theyve just stagnated and compromised on so many of our social values and economic values. I really want to see something that isnt like your dads conservatism and is going to stand up for traditional Canadian values, said another rally attendee, Michael Whiteley. (Bernier) is very libertarian with economics, and Alberta has kind of a rough-and-tumble cowboy reputation. So naturally, a lot of people align with that mindset. But Mount Royal University policy studies professor Lori Williams was more skeptical of how widespread Berniers appeal is so far, arguing that he still needs to show he has the leadership qualities to bring other candidates on board. Williams agreed that more ideological conservative voters will be drawn to Berniers party, leading up to the 2019 fall federal election. But she said that conservative voters may shy away from the PPC if theyre more concerned with casting a ballot in favour of a party that will form government and are willing to make compromises on policy points to do so. Hes counting on the appeal of that libertarian branch of conservatism that has a long and somewhat deep history in Alberta, Williams said. Frankly, those who are conservative-leaning, unless theyre really disgruntled with what the Conservative Party is doing, are not going to be drawn to a party like this. Williams was also less sure of how easily Berniers new party will be able to shake connections to extreme right-wing individuals and groups. She added that newer political parties are more vulnerable to association with fringe members or candidates. Jason Kenney and the UCP know this problem well. Despite being a merger of two provincial conservative parties, Williams said the UCPs new identity and lack of history makes them more susceptible to these connections. When youre a party that doesnt have much of a reputation, a lot of clarity around what you stand for or where youre likely to go, it can hurt you a lot worse, Williams said. This is a challenge for right-leaning populist parties right now that kind of element seems to be drawn more frequently into that camp. They will be attractive to extremists, including nationalist extremists, more than left-wing parties. So its a liability thats going to be an enduring challenge. Read more about: Not long ago, I spent a week walking around Paris. Before you yawn jadedly, let me clarify: I walked all the way around Paris. I began each day by donning a pair of beat-up Sauconys, consuming a prodigious breakfast at my hotel near the Porte Doree, tucking a notebook and pen into my pocket, and proceeding on foot in a counterclockwise direction along the perimeter of the oval-shaped metropolis. I did not visit the Latin Quarter, the Marais, or Montparnasse. I skipped the Louvre, the Musee dOrsay and the Eiffel Tower. I neglected to slurp oysters at Le Procope, eat ice cream at Berthillon, or stroll along the banks of the Seine although I crossed the oxbowed river several times along un-famous bridges. In all, I notched some 55 kilometres (resuming my journey each morning by taking the Metro roughly to where Id left off the previous day), a trek that included centrifugal excursions into the collar suburbs and occasional dips into the outer precincts of the city proper. During six days of wandering under miraculously cloudless skies this past May, I saw a Paris that was at turns familiar the workaday brasseries and tabacs, the bakeries with their yeasty aromas and morning chitchat, the busy traffic circles and eye-poppingly new to me: a vast and messy urban agglomeration thats home to the great majority of metropolitan Pariss 10 million residents. The walk had been conceived as a lark, a free-form perambulation in a city Id spent so much time in that Id ceased to see it with fresh eyes. But it turns out Id stumbled into a full-fledged civic movement. In fact, an extensive effort is afoot to redraw the political, social and cultural boundaries of Paris, to explode what author Mira Kamdar, who lives in the suburb of Pantin, has called the implacable logic of center and periphery, of included and excluded. Plotting the course Anyone who has taken a cab into the city from the airport has seen the physical manifestation of that logic: the clogged, multilane ring-road known as the BoulevardPeripherique, which, in the 1970s, replaced the last vestiges of Pariss 19th-century Thiers Wall and has arguably become a more impenetrable barrier. Inside the Periph reside the picturesque splendors of the City of Light. Outside it: la banlieue, as the suburbs are collectively known, with their housing projects and cheap kebab shops and social unrest. Or so things often appear in the public imagination. The reality is more complicated, of course. The edges of Paris and the patchwork of towns just beyond are fascinating and variegated, ranging from dense immigrant enclaves and repurposed industrial sites to leafy bastions of bourgeois comfort. Yes, I encountered imposing high-rise apartment blocks, but just as often I found myself strolling through a wooded park, along a disused rail line reclaimed as a pedestrian thoroughfare, or down a sleepy main street that could have belonged to a market village in rural France. Appreciating whats popularly known as Le Grand Paris essentially, Greater Paris, with a similarly hopeful double meaning has become nothing short of an evangelical cause for a growing number of public officials and activists. It wouldnt be a stretch to say that the most zealous among them are Renaud Charles and Vianney Delourme, founders of the cheekily named website Enlarge Your Paris, whose tagline is Le site qui vous fait oublier le Periph (The site that makes you forget the Periph). They are also the co-editors of a book, an English edition of which will be published in 2019, called Guide des Grands Parisiens, a 208-page compendium of whimsical things to do and see across Ile-de-France, the administrative region encompassing Paris and its environs. I emailed Charles and Delourme before my trip, and they invited me to meet them at their temporary offices in petit Paris, which turned out to be a cafe on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis. Over the course of an hour and a half, the two bearded 40-somethings one a journalist, the other a film and TV producer engaged me in a highly caffeinated disquisition about the heralds of a new era for Le Grand Paris: a suburbs-only Metro line under construction beyond the outskirts of the city; the extension of the 12-year-old beltway tram circuit; the recent elimination of concentric fee zones for public transportation; the new Jean Nouvel-designed Paris Philharmonic, which stands in the shadow of the Periph; a massive government reshuffling called Le Metropole du Grand Paris, which has given outer municipalities a greater voice in decision-making; and on and on. Not surprisingly, the two men also heaped upon me dozens of suggestions for my exploration. About that exploration: It yielded the kind of unexpected discoveries virtually all of them easily accessible by Metro or tram for those uninterested in a 35-mile ramble that I had all but given up hope of finding in hyper-gentrified tourist magnets like Paris. To cite just a few (a handful of which I owe to the Enlarge Your Paris guys, the others to happenstance): I hiked in a forest, had a close encounter with the actual embalmed heart of Louis XVII and listened to a cumbia band in an immense former marble factory alongside French hipsters drinking American IPAs. I gazed in awe at some of the most ugly-beautiful brutalist buildings Id ever seen, ate an exquisitely poached filet of whiting with spring peas at a serene restaurant where the bread comes in a miniature burlap sack, and ambled around an empty museum filled with sleek 1930s furniture that, in the absence of any other visitors or even (as far as I could tell) a guard, I found exceedingly hard not to sit on. My first mistake: Wine at lunch. (Soon repeated.) Heres one thing to know before trying to walk the perimeter of Paris in a week: The city and its pleasures will no doubt conspire against you. On my very first day, after a morning spent pushing north from my hotel along the Boulevard Soult, past a locksmith business, a car-insurance agency, a shoe repair shop and other emblems of everyday Parisian life, and after a foray into the unlovely suburb of Bagnolet, I found myself very badly in need of lunch. So I plunged a few blocks into the city and installed myself at an outdoor table at a busycafe in the 19th arrondissement called La Pelouse. One 11-euro plat du jour, a carafe of chilled Brouilly and a creme caramel later, I found the idea of rising to my feet much less continuing my trek less than appealing, especially with the ever-entertaining human pageant playing out before me on this busy corner in Belleville. After that, I made a promise to myself to exclude wine from lunch for the remainder of the week. (Its a promise I would fail to keep.) If a single observation stands out from that first, long days walk, which ended just before sunset in Pantin, alongside the recently restored and promenade-lined Canal de lOurcq a site Delourme had referred to more than once as the Champs-Elysees of Le Grand Paris its that Paris edge areas have for the past century served as a vast laboratory for bold and occasionally bonkers architecture. Beyond the Boulevards des Marechaux, the inner ring of surface streets that mark the limits of the Paris most visitors know, the uniform ranks of Haussman-era buildings give way to a crazy-quilt of styles and eras, from the orange-brick HBMs (Habitations a Bon Marche) erected near the city limits in the 1920s and 30s as affordable dwellings no longer very affordable at all to their much-maligned successors, the megalithic postwar housing projects known as HLMs (Habitations a Loyer Modere). The latter represent the most visible if not the most loved aesthetic legacy of architect and urban planner Le Corbusier, whose Leviathan visions of collective living haunt the outer areas of Paris like pre-cast-concrete ghosts. (Speaking of Le Corbusier, on the fourth day of my walk I would happen upon his home and studio in a western suburb; the building is perfectly human-scale and pleasant. Go figure.) Sitting at the edge of the canal in Pantin as the sky darkened, I stared open-mouthed for a long while at the modular-looking neo-brutalist structure housing the Centre National de la Danse. Designed as a municipal building in 1972 by Jacques Kalisz, the gray concrete behemoth somehow radiated childlike exuberance and dystopian menace at the same time. A few days later, I would be similarly blown away by Edouard Francoiss 2-year-old M6B2, a 17-story balconied residential building at the edge of the 13th thats wrapped entirely in mesh, onto which hanging plants have been encouraged, with debatable success, to grow. Certainly, picturesque churches and other jewels of Frances historical patrimony can be found outside central Paris, although theyre fewer and farther between. On my second day, limping slightly because of a nasty blister on my left pinkie toe, I followed a market street bustling with North and West African vendors hawking their wares iPhone cases, sunglasses, handbags, all of it spread out on blankets and folding tables and emerged onto the vast parvis of the Basilique Cathedrale de Saint-Denis. Inside, I explored the churchs magnificently creepy necropolis, which houses the remains of Frances kings dating back to Dagobert I in the seventh century. I found being surrounded by hundreds of dead monarchs to be exponentially more interesting than my visits to Paris more renowned basilica, Sacre Coeur, which receives 10.5 million visitors a year in comparison to Saint-Denis mere 134,000. To wit: I was able to enjoy several uninterrupted minutes in the presence of a child-kings shriveled heart, so close my breath was fogging the vitrine. Led astray by Google Maps I should point out that not every segment of my walk was filled with such memorable moments. In fact, if I had to put a fine point on it, Day 3 was pretty much devoid of them: a sun-hammered slog along warehouse-lined streets that took me much deeper into the northwestern suburbs than Id planned to go, thanks to a series of ill-considered route choices based on cursory glances at Google Maps on my phone. That days journey ended with a sore-footed, late-afternoon arrival at La Defense, its sparkling glass towers rising above me with monolithic indifference. Exhausted, I descended into the Metro and rode Line 1 for nearly its entire length, west to east, across Paris midsection to get back to my hotel. There, I had dinner at a cheap sushi place, collapsed on my bed and fell asleep with the TV on. By comparison, the next day which began with another long ride on Line 1, this time east to west, depositing me back at the La Defense terminal brought abundant splendors and comforts. Foremost among them: the Bois de Boulogne. What a tonic this 2,000-acre urban forest and prairie is, with its coolly shaded footpaths snaking through stands of Austrian pine. And what a strangely exhilarating sensation it is to emerge from those woods and behold the Fondation Louis Vuitton. The Frank Gehry-designed art museum, completed in 2014 at a reported cost of $900 million, thrusts skyward from its bucolic surroundings like a hallucinatory yacht. A 14-euro, reserved-in-advance ticket admitted me to a series of white rooms featuring the works of superstar contemporary artists grouped around a theme that, to quote an exhibition brochure, references current questions about the place of humans in the universe. My favorite part of the museum, which I found both visually arresting and strangely soulless, ended up being the roof deck, where I peered past Gehrys sail-like glass-and-steel panels at the Bois de Boulognes ocean of trees, the Eiffel Tower and La Defense, which from this vantage point looked for all the world like the skyline of Houston. The Fondation Vuitton has been elevated, rightly, in the French media as a gleaming symbol of an outer-Paris renaissance, as has the almost-as-costly Philharmonie de Paris, which opened at the opposite extremity of the city in 2015. That evening, after returning to my hotel to swap my Sauconys for a fairly new pair of Converse that would have to pass as dress shoes, Id see the Paris Orchestra perform there. Ensconced in the Parc de la Villette, Jean Nouvels creation cuts a striking silhouette: a wedgelike, vaguely biomorphic rejection of symmetry thats approached via a wide uphill esplanade paved with tiles in the same bird shape as those cladding the orchestra hall itself. The whole setup creates a convivial feeling of pilgrimage as throngs of well-heeled, perfumed Parisians stroll en masse from the tram station to the entrance. On the recommendation of the Enlarge Your Paris guys, after leaving the Bois de Boulogne I found my way to La Table de Cybele, an airy restaurant on a quiet street in the staid suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt. It was here that my moratorium on midday wine came to its premature end, with a taut Lirac, poured with wordy exposition by my willowy server, who might easily have stepped off the boat from Northern California, except she was speaking French. Later the chef she of the miniature burlap sack of bread came around and introduced herself to guests, in the American fashion. Which made sense, considering she actually was from Northern California and had moved to the Paris suburbs a few years ago. After lunch, my forward momentum once again slowed by wine and dessert, I wandered somewhat aimlessly around Boulogne-Billancourt, which is how I found the superb Musee des Annees Trente (Museum of the Nineteen-Thirties), the site of my solitary communion with vintage furniture. It was one of several museums I had more or less to myself during my visit. Another is the Musee de lHistoire de lImmigration, housed in a monumental art deco palais at the edge of the Bois de Vincennes, where I was able to catch an exhibition of Eugene Atgets early-20th-century photographs of the Roma encampments that were fixtures of Pariss perimeter up until World War I. A night in the Brooklyn of Paris If central Paris were a face, my route on Days 5 and 6 would look like a frilly ruff collar, swooping back and forth across the citys southern boundary. By this point, Id really hit my stride. My blister had healed, my pace had quickened and interesting things seemed to present themselves with uncanny frequency. In the suburb of Montrouge, I visited a shop earnestly named La Boutique du Futur, which sold notionally useful novelty items made by a freelance industrial designer and a former IT professional in a cluttered workshop in the basement like a corkscrew made from a cow bone and (their best-seller) a baby spoon shaped like an airplane. (Its name: Babyplane.) In Gentilly, the next suburb over, I discovered an enormous but impeccably curated wine-and-spirits shop, called Caves Fillot, housed in a former winery that still had the bewitching, musty smell of aging barrels. A little to the north and east, just inside the Periph near the river, I chanced upon a burgeoning arts corridor, anchored by a handful of spartan-looking galleries devoted largely to graffiti. Down the block, I met a middle-aged punk rocker named Benoit Maitre aka Ben Spizz who showed me around his street-art boutique, Le Lavo//matik, which sells artist monographs, custom T-shirts, LPs and original graffiti artwork, and, overall, evokes the feel of the East Village in its 1980s heyday, except the place is much cleaner. Beyond the river lay the homestretch, a jaunt of less than a mile that took me from Left Bank to Right across the Pont National, then past an immense SNCF train yard and what appeared to be a homeless encampment complete with tents and cook fires, a sight that harkened back to Atgets photos of Roma families and, finally, on toward the Porte Doree and my hotel. That night, the last of my trip, I decided to take the Metro back to the eastern suburb of Montreuil, which Id heard described, for better or worse, as the Brooklyn of Paris. Id skirted it on my very first day but hadnt noticed much beyond takeout joints and graffiti. Now, as I popped out of the Metro, the suburb seemed transformed: A small public park behind the town hall was heaving with young families, many of them clustered around a makeshift bar that had been strung with holiday lights and furnished with what looked like lawn furniture. A few blocks beyond that was La Marbrerie, the marble factory-turned-music venue, a spot that a Parisian friend of mine had recommended. The cumbia band was in full swing, and a few dozen people, ranging in age from 20 to 60, were dancing with the kind of joyful abandon I typically associate with weddings. After a couple of beers, the physical rigors of my weeklong trek started to make me feel like I had sandbags lashed to my limbs. So I splurged on a cab back to the hotel. As the driver eased onto the Periph, flowing smoothly at this late hour, I had the thought that the highway, which Id crossed over and under so many times on my walk, no longer felt like much of a barrier at all. When serial killer Elizabeth Wettlaufer confessed to murdering eight nursing home residents under her care, government inspectors scrambled to find evidence of more victims. By Oct. 7, 2016 two days after the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care was notified of Wettlaufers confession inspectors had obtained a list of all the residents who died during her scheduled shifts at two southwestern Ontario nursing homes. At the Caressant Care home in Woodstock, where she worked as a registered nurse from June 2007 to March 2014, Wettlaufer confessed to killing seven elderly residents. Inspectors learned that another 180 residents died during her shifts, according to ministry documents obtained by the Star through a freedom-of-information request. Wettlaufers method of killing was a lethal injection of insulin, which can result in many hours of physical distress before the victim dies. So, inspectors also searched Caressant files for residents who died within 24 hours of the killers shifts, and found 55 of them. At the Meadow Park nursing home in London, where Wettlaufer worked for about four months after being fired by Caressant, the same exercise was conducted. They discovered that 14 residents died during or shortly after her shifts, including the resident she confessed to killing, Arpad Horvath. Wettlaufer did her killing on her eight-hour evening and night shifts. At night she was the only registered nurse on site. Was she responsible for any of the other 248 deaths that occurred on or near her shifts, deaths she didnt confess to? Wettlaufer has denied killing more people. But the striking number of deaths on her shifts reveals the full investigative challenge police faced when, in September 2016, she confessed without prompting to killing eight nursing home residents, and assaulting or trying to kill six others. The numbers also reflect the importance of data collection for raising red flags in nursing homes. The commission examining what allowed Wettlaufer to continue killing undetected is likely to make more data collection part of its recommendations. It closely examined, for example, a new ministry study that for the first time flagged nursing homes where the ratios of unexpected deaths are highest. Read more: The nurse on the night shift Warnings early in Wettlaufers career Nurses college under fire over killers case But the commission showed little interest in specifically exploring the tracking of deaths during nursing shifts, despite testimony from expert witness Beatrice Crofts Yorker, a California professor of nursing and criminal justice, who conducted a landmark study on health-care serial killers worldwide. She noted that tracking deaths that occur in the presence of specific health-care workers can result in life-saving red flags. When this exercise is applied to Wettlaufer, the results compiled by the Star seem striking. Between July 2011 and June 2012, for example, 50 residents died at Woodstocks Caressant Care home, including residents who died within 30 days of being taken to hospital. The death/shift data obtained by the Star indicates that 37 residents died on Wettlaufers shifts during that 12-month period, including three she confessed to killing. Ontario Provincial Police Staff Sgt. Carolle Dionne told the Star that officers who investigated Wettlaufer identified all those that passed away during Wettlaufers shift and/or in the timeframe soon after her shift. They reviewed medical files, interviewed nursing home staff and consulted coroners, Dionne added, noting she had discussed the Stars questions about deaths on Wettlaufers shifts with Det. Insp. Rob Hagerman, who headed the investigation. No bodies were exhumed, she said. In the end, no charges were laid beyond the ones Wettlaufer confessed to. That doesnt surprise Jim Van Allen, former manager of the OPP Criminal Profile Unit. The deaths are historical so youre relying on paper records. And who completed those? She did, Van Allen said, referring to Wettlaufer. He said the OPP likely held round-table discussions with medical experts to assess possible foul play for residents who died during her shifts. Exhuming bodies, he adds, would not have been seen as useful, given the emotional strain on relatives and the difficulty in detecting insulin overdoses in autopsies, particularly in bodies buried for years. Van Allen believes a cold but reasonable calculation eventually set in with police and Crown prosecutors: You got her in custody for eight (murder) counts. Shell never get out, shell probably die in prison, so why would you try and convict her for 10? Wettlaufer pleaded guilty to all charges in 2017. Deaths under Wettlaufers watch were noted in a colour-coded calendar produced by ministry inspectors with the heading, Caressant Care Woodstock EW shift schedule & resident deaths. The calendar contains the dates of Wettlaufers more than 1,000 shifts at Caressant, which has 163 beds at its Woodstock home. Yellow is used to highlight dates for deaths occurring during EW shift; the colour grey notes deaths occurring within 24 hours of shift; and red indicates the murders Wettlaufer confessed to. It does the same for her 39 shifts at Meadow Park. The death/shift calendars existence was mentioned in only a sentence or two during commission testimony by ministry inspector Rhonda Kukoly, who did not reveal its contents. A ministry document attached to her affidavit notes the 14 people who died during Wettlaufers Meadow Park shifts. But for Caressant it states that data collection (is) in progress. The calendar is not a stand-alone exhibit among the 171 on the commissions website. Asked if the commission had it, Mark Zigler, its co-lead counsel, directed the Star to a 21-gigabyte sharefile, a subfolder with a volume number, a second subfolder called images, and finally a 13-digit exhibit number to find the calendar. He warned it would take a long time to download the sharefile. The fastest the Star was able to download it was 30 minutes. In an interview, Zigler expressed concern that the death/shift information could be used to speculate on whether Wettlaufer killed more people. He noted that many deaths at nursing homes are expected. He pointed to the new health ministry study, unveiled at the commission, indicating that about 20 per cent of nursing home residents die each year in Ontario: 21,074 during 12 months in 2015-2016. Police found no evidence that Wettlaufer killed more people; it couldnt even find forensic evidence linking her to the killings she confessed to, Zigler noted, given the difficulty of detecting insulin overdoses when death can occur days after the lethal injection. Only two of the victims Wettlaufer confessed to killing were exhumed, and cause of death could not be determined. This is all 20/20 hindsight, years later, Zigler said. The last thing we would want to do is engage in that wild goose chase because there are families involved. So is it possible that she killed other people? It may be, but one couldnt definitively prove it based on what we have. He also pointed to testimony from Kukoly, the ministry inspector, who described the death/shift calendar as useless, because some residents Wettlaufer killed died on the shift of other nurses. If the experts in the field are saying thats not a particularly relevant statistic, Zigler said, then you have to be careful with what you do with it, because you can scare a lot of people about something that may not be factually relevant. Zigler said its likely the commissions report expected in July 2019 will note the need for more nursing home data. But the specific data points that would be most useful for raising red flags will be left to experts, he added. Yorker, who was specifically invited by the commission as an expert witness, told the inquiry in September that serial murder in health-care settings is a phenomenon. Citing her landmark studies, she said there have been 131 prosecutions of health-care professionals for serial murders worldwide since 1970. Ninety have been convicted for killing a few hundred people, although the suspected number they killed is at least 2,600. These numbers are disturbing and demand that systemic changes in tracking adverse patient incidents associated with (the) presence of a specific healthcare provider be implemented, Yorker, a professor at California State University, Los Angeles, noted in one of her studies, which formed part of her affidavit to the commission. The tracking done by the Star indicating 37 out of 50 Caressant deaths occurred during Wettlaufers shifts in a 12-month period came from two commission documents: Wettlaufers death/shift calendar, and the ministrys new, province-wide analysis of nursing home deaths, which noted the total number at Caressant for three 12-month periods, from 2011 to 2014. The documents did not estimate the number of deaths that can be expected on a nurses evening or night shifts. During the years Wettlaufer was at Caressant, the home had three registered nurses working the day shifts, two working the evening shifts and one the night shift, according to testimony from its former director of nursing, Helen Crombez. The fact that Elizabeth Wettlaufer worked on the evening/night shift is consistent with many of the known circumstances in other health-care serial killers, Yorker stated in her affidavit. There are fewer health-care providers present, fewer family members are present, and a single RN is typically in charge on the evening and night shifts. We probably are not detecting the full extent of health-care killings in both long-term care and in home care, she told the inquiry, noting the difficulty in gathering hard evidence. The case of former nurse Niels Hogel illustrates the shocking point. In late October, he admitted to killing 100 patients under his care in two hospitals in northern Germany. He had been in prison since 2015, convicted of killing two patients and trying to kill two others. The 41-year-old admitted to the extra murders in a new trial. Asked by a commission lawyer what she would consider suspicious signs, Yorker included health-care professionals who fabricate their credentials, who purposely make patients in their care sicker a syndrome known as Munchausen by proxy and being associated with your presence to a discernible increase in adverse patient incidents including cardiac arrest and death. Those are red flags to me. Asked what information nursing homes should be sharing with the ministry and other employers, Yorker replied: Are adverse patient outcomes associated with the presence of a particular health-care provider or particular nurse? She added that judges have rejected statistical correlations in caregiver presence during deaths, no matter how strong, as evidence of murder. But the tracking can flag health-care providers who are outliers and trigger quality-of-care scrutiny of their work. Wettlaufer struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, was suspended from her nursing jobs multiple times and was fired twice. Yorker noted that internal investigations by health-care facilities are often triggered by spikes in deaths, or complaints about a nurse from co-workers, or patients and their familes. The Star outlined Wettlaufers death/shift evidence in a detailed email to Yorker. She said she would prefer to comment after the commissions final report. The commission spent little time exploring the need for nursing homes to track the presence of specific nurses when patients have adverse outcomes. It focused instead on the new ministry study analyzing deaths in Ontarios 633 nursing homes, from 2010 to 2017. The ministry applied a statistical method called the Standardized Mortality Ratio, used for the past decade in Canadian hospitals. It adjusts for factors such as age and level of sickness, making possible comparisons among hospitals or nursing homes. The models algorithm allowed Health Ministry analysts to calculate the number of residents expected to die at each nursing home in certain years, and compare that to the number who actually died. Any death above the expected number could be related to factors, such as quality of care, specific to the nursing home, according to testimony by Dr. Michael Hillmer, director of research in the ministrys analysis and evaluation branch. An especially high number of unexpected deaths could be seen by ministry inspectors as a red flag for closer scrutiny. In the three 12-month periods analyzed, when Caressant had about 230 active clients in each period, it ranked 64th, 61st and 64th among Ontarios 633 nursing homes. That means it was in the top 10 per cent of nursing homes with more actual deaths than expected ones, Hillmer said. During those periods, it respectively had 55, 50 and 53 deaths. Expected deaths were 39, 36 and 39. During testimony, Hillmer agreed with Caressant Cares lawyer, David Golden, that his analysis cant be used to draw conclusions about the quality of care in nursing homes. Golden listed several factors that the Hillmer study did not account for when it calculated expected deaths, including the ethnic makeup of residents, differences between urban and rural homes, or whether a resident has a personal physician that provides care. Golden also noted that by including residents who died 30 days after they left the nursing home, the study did not account for events that might have caused death after the resident entered hospital. The public report does not name other nursing homes. Hillmer noted, however, that 300 of them had deaths higher than the number his model predicted. He testified in September that the ministry hasnt decided whether this death-ratio analysis will become a yearly, provincewide exercise. He said his type of analysis would not have flagged Wettlaufers murders because the one, two or three per year she confessed to at Caressant were not enough to noticeably spike its ratio of unexpected deaths. He was asked by commission counsel Rebecca Jones if he had tracked caregivers present during time of death, or whether deaths occurred on the night or day shifts. We dont have that data, and I think even if we did it would produce an enormously complex model, Hillmer replied, adding that he would be skeptical that that much extra data would be a useful exercise. He was not asked if it would be useful for nursing homes themselves to collect the more specific death/shift data, or to comment on Wettlaufers death/shift record. Yorker, the California professor, agreed that red flags would not have been raised solely based on the deaths that Wettlaufer ultimately confessed to. One of the things that makes her different from the ones that we studied, she said, is that there were no clusters or significant increases in patient deaths, and that begs the question: had she not turned herself in, could this have continued? Read more about: VIMY RIDGE, FRANCEThe iconic monument at Vimy Ridge served Saturday as a reminder of Canadians wartime sacrifice, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made another visit to the memorial one day before the world marks 100 years since the end of the First World War. Running his hands along the carved names of Canadas war dead and walking among the graves some with names, others simply marked as a soldier of the great war Trudeau and his veterans affairs minister shook hands with veterans and thanked them for their service. The monument has become the symbol of Canadas experience during the War to End All Wars, during which approximately 650,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders served a number considered remarkable given the population of the country was roughly eight million. The prime minister visited Vimy Ridge last year to mark the centenary of the battle. On Sunday, more than 60 world leaders are scheduled to gather in Paris to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, making Trudeaus stop at Vimy politically symbolic. Many of them gathered Saturday night in Paris, walking a red carpet and stopping for photographers before having dinner inside the Musee dOrsay. Roland Paris, a former foreign affairs adviser to Trudeau, says the combination of events this weekend gives the prime minister symbols to put behind his repeated public push for governments to not tear down international alliances. Sunday will see Trudeau and other leaders stand alongside French President Emmanuel Macron at Armistice Day commemorations in Paris. Later on in the day, Macron will host a peace forum the French government hopes to make an annual draw for civil society and political leaders. Going to Vimy and the Armistice Day celebration ... provides the opportunity for the prime minister to underscore why it was that Canadians have sacrificed in the past and the importance of maintaining the rules-based international order, Paris said. Some 66,000 Canadian soldiers died during the First World War, between 1914 and 1918, and a further 172,000 were wounded. Those buried at Vimy and elsewhere believed defending Canadian values were worth that sacrifice, said Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus ORegan. We must remember the lesson of these conflicts: that freedom is not free. That it is not easy. Indeed it is hard fought, ORegan said. But to remember those lessons is to remember those who fought these battles and who fight them still. A lesson world leaders have learned from the First World War is how a regional dispute can spiral into a broader, global conflict, said Matthew Barrett, an expert on Canadian military history from Queens University in Kingston, Ont. That concern about becoming entangled in a conflict feeds into U.S. President Donald Trumps unease with military alliances such as NATO which in turn keeps Trudeau talking about maintaining alliances. Trump was noticeably not among the leaders to walk the red carpet for the evenings dinner gala in Paris. Earlier in the day, he received criticism for cancelling a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery outside the French capital due to inclement weather. Many of the 2,289 soldiers buried at the cemetery died in 1918, the last year of the war. Some 11,000 names of Canadians who died in France are inscribed on the Vimy monument, marking the ridge Canadian soldiers took from the Germans in April 1917. Fighting continued in Europe for a year afterwards before the armistice on Nov. 11, 1918. Canadians remember who you are, what you stand for and the history you defined, a history for which you bled and fought, a history built on your sacrifice. Thank you, Trudeau told a group of veterans during remarks at one of the cemeteries where Canadians are buried. Clouds hung over the site rain holding off until the service at the monument had come to a close and a cold, wet wind swept through the area, ever so slightly rustling the leaves of a sapling, grown in Canada and descended from oaks that once grew here. In the aftermath of the Vimy battle, a Canadian soldier, Lt. Leslie Miller, plucked a handful of acorns from a downed oak tree and sent them back home to Toronto where they grew. A group of volunteers have worked to get 100 saplings for the four-acre park to coincide with the centenary of the end of the First World War. The trees will grow inside four concentric rings, each one representing one of the four Canadian divisions that fought at Vimy. Trudeau and ORegan walked the newly opened memorial park. Read more about: Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told reporters at a news conference Friday evening that officials had found nine people who had been killed by the fire: Four were found dead in their cars in Paradise, down from the five officials had spoken about earlier; three outside of houses; and two others, one inside a home, and another near a car. The head of Torontos shelter and housing support division says hes very confident his department has taken steps to avoid a repeat of the challenges it faced last winter finding shelter for the homeless during cold weather. On Friday, the city rolled out its 2018-19 winter plan for the homeless. The plan calls for three new prefabricated structures theres an option for a fourth if demand warrants that can house single adults or couples, as well as pets. The portable Sprung structures, manufactured by a Canadian company will be scattered in the east, west and central sections of the city. The first, to sit on a Green P parking lot behind Lamport Stadium on King St. W. near Dufferin St. will open Dec. 15. The other two, one on a green field on Fleet St. near Strachan Ave., the other on a parcel of undeveloped property at Lake Shore Blvd. E. and Parliament St., are set to launch Jan. 31. The openings are staggered because the structures, which have metal skeletons, fabric coverings and thick core insulation, each take about 10 to 12 weeks to erect, the city said. The King St. and Lake Shore Blvd. structures have a capacity to shelter 100 people each, while the capacity of the one on Fleet is 80 people. The Lamport site will remain open for 12 months of the year, while the others will stay open based on demand, Paul Raftis, general manager of the citys shelter, support and housing administration, told reporters during Fridays press conference at city hall. All three, which cost $2.5 million each, have washrooms, as well as shower and laundry facilities. In addition, the city is opening a temporary 24-hour respite site with up to 200 spots at the Queen Elizabeth Building at Exhibition Place beginning Nov. 15 that will be phased out at the end of January, as the three prefabricated structures come online. In all, there will be 11 all-day respite centres eight in regular buildings that will be run during the winter by various social service agencies, up from one respite centre four years ago. The changes this year will see about 600 respite spaces in total this winter, up from the previous 455 and the city is budgeting $3 million to operate the winter enhancements, money that includes staffing, food, security, and costs to operate the buildings. The city will continue to use its Metro Hall facility as a warming centre when an extreme cold weather warning is triggered when temperatures drop to colder than -15 C or -20 C with wind chill. Last winter this happened on 31 days. Read more: Toronto buying four prefabricated structures as demand for emergency shelters surges Shortage of adjudicators hits Landlord and Tenant Board Advocates call for better services in shelters, respite centres The harsh cold caused chaos for the city. Some community centres and the Moss Park Amoury were pressed into service as shelters. This wont have to happen this year, the city says. A March report by the citys ombudsman that blasted its winter respite services, found staff gave inaccurate information about capacity at the Better Living Centre at Exhibition Place on at least two occasions. It is only reasonable to infer that they (staff) gave out this sort of misinformation in more instances than just the ones we investigated, Ombudsman Susan Opler wrote in her report. The report also found staff at Torontos intake call centre and the 311 information line had outdated details about the addresses for respite sites and their capacities. Raftis told reporters Friday that the findings from Oplers report informed the enhancements the city is making. Aside from adding 102 net new beds to the citys permanent shelter system by the end of this year (the city has 7,000 beds in 63 city shelters). Raftis told reporters the city has invested in its central intake referral service, with additional staff to respond to calls from the public. There will be better technology to manage the intake calls and new working space to help boost call centre productivity. The changes include the creation of a duty officer role that will be responsible for flagging problems that arise and working with central intake to ensure homeless clients coming into the system are transitioned smoothly. We improved operational reliability and system oversight of the entire shelter system, to address any unexpected events that may arise, Raftis said. He went on to say hes confident the changes will avoid what happened last winter, but we cant predict demand. So its possible we will receive many more people in the city looking for shelter services and we will respond to that demand. Share your thoughts Kira Heineck, the executive lead for Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness (TAEH), said the changes show the city is doing a very good job in preparing for winter. We know there will be people who will need immediate emergency shelter and assistance, and we need to have a robust system in place. The improvements they have made are significant, and the right ones. I cant criticize that, Heineck said. However, her group is working to reduce and end chronic homelessness, so in a few years wed like to be in a place where the shelter plans are about reducing beds and services and not increasing them, she said. An outgoing councillor seemingly trying to draw attention to a too-tall building instead brought focus on the citys low density-zoned areas with critics and city planners saying the real travesty is not a 75-storey highrise in the distance but the lack of higher-density housing options in the citys so-called yellowbelt. Earlier this week, outgoing city councillor Janet Davis tweeted a picture of a stretch of the Danforth facing west, and expressed her displeasure with the view of a tall building about three kilometres away the 257-metre-high mixed-use skyscraper at Bloor and Yonge Sts. Public reaction was swift. Many on Twitter pointed out that the building, called One Bloor East, is far from Danforth and is located at a busy intersection where even taller buildings are bound to arrive. Others complained that Danforth itself has many too-short structures and should get more developments. Yonge/Bloor is one of the most transit connected intersections thats precisely where we need to direct this sort of development, tweeted Brad Bradford, councillor-elect for Ward 19, Beaches-East York. In a city with a housing crisis, we need to provide a variety of options for people. Some will be in tall towers. And thats OK. Davis did not respond to the Stars repeated requests for comment. Urban planners and thinkers say Torontonians need to shelve any NIMBYism toward tall buildings both nearby and in their sightline in order to accommodate the citys growing population. When I see people complaining that theres a condominium or apartment tower too close to their $1.5 million home, that sounds to me like Ive got my situation figured out and I dont really care if you have no entry into this neighbourhood, into this city, said Glyn Bowerman, Spacing magazines managing editor. Last year a group of residents in The Annex, which included author Margaret Atwood, were up in arms against a proposal for a midrise condo development in their neighbourhood. Were the fourth largest city in North America, he said, adding we cant all live in two-storey houses. Bowerman said tall buildings springing up at the dead centre of a major city shouldnt surprise anyone. No one complains about being able to see the CN Tower from their window, he said. Experts in urban planning say the height of buildings in the core has a direct correlation to the growth of the city and its population. Cities have to build up so that people dont move out, said Richard Joy, executive director of Urban Land Institute Toronto. If height at the intersection of Canadas two busiest transit lines is objectionable, one wonders where it is acceptable, he said. Its quite essential that we allow tall buildings in the right places. He said there are a lot of things to be considered when tall buildings are being approved, such as good urban design and public realms at the sites. But, he said, Torontos ability to accommodate density in the core has made it a particularly strong city in comparison to other large metropolitan areas. Urban planner and researcher Cheryll Case said instead of focusing on how tall a building is, the discussions should centre around spreading the density across neighbourhoods. Daviss photo appeared to be taken from Greektown, an area made up of predominantly semi-detached houses. Tall buildings in urban areas, she said, give residents access to retail, jobs, recreational amenities and walkability, and such opportunities need to be shared among various pockets of the city. Maybe there needs to be more developmental housing in the Danforth area as well, Case said. Share your thoughts The citys manager of community planning Kyle Knoeck said Danforth Ave. has been identified as a major street with an opportunity to intensify and accommodate growth, but only in the form of midrise development. Some of those developments have already begun in the eastern stretch between Coxwell and Victoria Park Aves., and planning studies for similar projects in the western portion towards the Don Valley Pkwy. are planned for next year, he said. Its important to recognize that its not just planning policies that determine how the city grows and changes. There are also market forces there and the intentions of land owners, he said. Someone might decide not to redevelop because theyve got an existing building that works really well, and is well occupied by retail stores and is generating good income. Renowned urban planner and co-founder of Ryersons City Building Institute, Ken Greenberg, said the arrival of hyper-tall buildings is a reflection of a much-deeper problem: the extreme need for more housing options in and around the city. We are pushing developments into very limited areas, he said about the growing concentration of highrise condo and apartment buildings in the downtown core. Just as One Bloor East is completed, another even taller building, The One, is under construction next to it on the west side of Yonge St. Im not against density. I love density. I love Manhattan or Tokyo or Hong Kong, he said. But were heading to an extreme kind of asymmetry in the way were developing because weve made so many areas off limits, either through regulatory frameworks or through a kind of NIMBY resistance. A healthier solution, Greenberg said, would be to unlock the so-called yellow belt thousands of hectares that have been designated exclusively for single-family detached homes and lowrise developments, partly to preserve the character of neighbourhoods and allow for more robust developments on the citys main streets and into the inner suburbs. Areas such as Scarborough and North York could benefit from the amenities that usually come with new highrise developments, he said. We have to spread (higher density) development much more evenly. A whole different distribution strategy is needed to take the pressure off this extreme development that may not be sustainable in the long run, he said. The odd tall building here and there is fine, but if we end up having such an overconcentration of development in so few areas, I think it ends up being problematic. A former immigration detainee, jailed for almost five years, two of them in solitary, while border officials fought in court to have him deported, is suing Ottawa for failing to heed doctors warnings of his mental illness and provide him with proper care. Prosper Niyonzima, whose family was slaughtered in the Rwandan genocide, became a permanent resident of Canada in 1995 before criminal activity landed him in and out of jail, and resulted in the revocation of his immigrant status. In 2012, he was placed in detention to await deportation. In a statement of claim filed Friday with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Niyonzima said that period of incarceration, which included more than 760 days in solitary, led him to experience a mental breakdown and rendered him catatonic for more than two years. He claims that when authorities finally transferred him to a secure treatment facility under a court order, he was forced to undergo painful electroconvulsive therapy, which was unsuccessful in addressing his condition. The plaintiff suffered pre-existing mental-health issues from childhood trauma following the Rwandan genocide in which his parents and three siblings were massacred. The plaintiffs mental health issues were known to the defendant, alleges Niyonzimas $50-million lawsuit. Instead of ensuring enhanced medical treatment was provided, the defendant placed the plaintiff in solitary confinement . The plaintiff was denied, among other things, proper clothing, proper medical attention, proper food, proper hygiene and given insufficient yard time. The plaintiff was given approximately three showers in a full year. None of the allegations have been proven in court, and the respondent, the Attorney General of Canada, has 20 days to file an intent to defend. Niyonzima, 36, an ethnic Tutsi born in Burundi, lost his parents and siblings at age 11 when they were murdered in Rwanda. He fled to Canada in 1995 and was adopted by his aunt who successfully sought asylum here. Both became Canadian permanent residents that same year. As a young man, Niyonzima was convicted of a series of crimes, including break-and-enter, theft and drug-related offences. After serving jail time, the Canada Border Services Agency ordered his deportation in 2005. Eventually, he was given a five-year reprieve from deportation out of humanitarian and compassionate concerns that he would be returning to a country where he had no relatives and couldnt even speak the language. He met a woman and together they had a baby in 2009. However, Niyonzima returned to crime and was convicted of theft. Upon his release from jail in 2010, he sought help and was treated by psychiatrists, who diagnosed him with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from the massacre of his family, he says in his lawsuit. However, Niyonzima was stripped of his permanent resident status due to the new conviction and once again faced deportation from Canada. On Jan., 13, 2012, Canada Border Services Agency detained him for fear he would vanish as he waited for his deportation to Burundi. While being held, Niyonzima was scheduled for removal on three occasions but all three attempts were stayed by the federal court, which acknowledged he had made progress subsequent to the treatment of the mental health problems underlying his criminality. In July 2013, while incarcerated at Toronto West Detention Centre, Niyonzimas daughter was adopted out to another family. Around that time, Niyonzima became catatonic and was placed on suicide watch in segregation, according to the lawsuit. A month later, he was transferred to Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay. The lawsuit claims officials refused to transfer Niyonzima to a facility in Toronto where it would be easier for him to obtain a designated representative and access mental health professionals for assessment and treatment. The continued refusals resulted in an inordinate delay in obtaining proper psychiatric treatment resulting in further deterioration of Prospers health in solidarity confinement, says the lawsuit. In January 2015, Canada Border Services Agency was ordered by the Federal Court to pay for a psychiatric assessment. Niyonzima was diagnosed with catatonia and transferred to the St. Lawrence Valley secure treatment unit in Brockville, where he claims he was given the electroconvulsive treatment. He was released on Oct. 27, 2016 under the supervision of the Toronto bail program and monitored by a team of physicians and psychiatrists. Since then, he has been issued a three-year temporary resident permit, after which he can apply to restore his permanent residence if he doesnt have any more run-ins with the law. Immigration detainees are entitled to a detention review every 30 days before an immigration tribunal to decide if they should be released. Niyonzimas lawyer, Subodh Bharati said his client underwent close to 60 reviews but was never released. At each detention review, adjudicators of the Immigration division accepted the Canada Border Services Agencys representations (that he was a flight risk) and continually upheld Prospers detention, despite the fact that he had obtained three stays of removals from the Federal Court and despite the fact that he was now catatonic and in dire need of medical treatment, Bharati noted. Both the CBSA and adjudicators of the Immigration Division had a duty of care to the plaintiff to conduct their investigations in a competent manner. Read more about: The University of Toronto is banning smoking on campus starting next year. Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, smoking tobacco, cannabis and vaping will not be permitted on its three campuses, the university announced Nov. 9. We wanted to extend and update our smoking policy to ensure that we have a healthy campus and part of that was to ensure that we didnt have any smoking on the campus, said Kelly Hannah-Moffat, the universitys vice-president of human resources and equity. The policy that we currently have is decades old. The ban does not apply to Indigenous ceremonies or medical accommodations. The universitys smoking policy was last updated in 1995. Campuses will designate smoking areas while the university implements the policy, but these will be transitional as the school moves toward becoming completely smoke-free, said Hannah-Moffat. The details of the policy on designated smoking spots will be left up to each campus but these designated spots for people who feel the need to smoke, will be a set distance from campus buildings, she said. At the same time, the university will make smoking cessation services and programs available to staff and students to help them quit. One of these, Green Shield, includes some pharmaceutical coverage and counselling through pharmacists. Students will have access to similar programs through wellness centres on their campuses. Our ability to support peoples desires to not continue smoking...will be an important part of this change., said Hannah-Moffat. The policy will go before the universitys governing council for approval in December. Hannah-Moffat said there is no time set for how long the policy will run, but the university will review it in a year. The ban will make the university one of more than 65 Canadian colleges and universities to go smoke-free. LOS ANGELESDemocrat Katie Hill captured the last Republican-held House seat anchored in Los Angeles County on Friday, padding the Democrats advantage in the chamber next year. Hill ousted Republican Steve Knight, who was seeking a third term in the 25th District that cuts through suburbs, horse ranches and high desert in northern Los Angeles County and a slice of Ventura County. Knight conceded the race Wednesday, saying the voters have spoken. Hill maintained her election night lead after further vote counts were released Friday. A political newcomer, Hill promised to end politics as usual and stressed her centrist politics: Shes a gun owner and her Republican father is a police officer who had never voted for a Democrat before her primary. Her mother, a Democrat, is a nurse. Hill, 31, who worked as an executive for a group providing services for the homeless, supports universal health care and counts Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a liberal favourite, among her supporters. But she also highlighted her familys military service and says immigration policy must start with securing the nations borders, echoing a familiar Republican refrain. Her endorsements run from firefighters to unions to Equality California, an LGBT advocacy organization. Hill is married and openly bisexual. COLOMBO, SRI LANKASri Lankas President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved Parliament and called for fresh elections amid a deepening political crisis. An official notification signed by Sirisena announced the dissolution of Parliament effective midnight Friday. It said the names of candidates will be called before Nov. 26, and the election held on Jan. 5. The new Parliament is to be convened on Jan. 17. Sri Lanka has been in a political crisis since Oct. 26, when Sirisena fired his prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. Wickremesinghe insisted his firing is unconstitutional. He refused to vacate his official residence and demanded Parliament be summoned immediately to prove he had support among its members. Tensions had been building between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe for some time, as the president did not approve of economic reforms introduced by the prime minister. Sirisena also accused Wickremesinghe and another Cabinet member of plotting to assassinate him, a charge Wickremesinghe repeatedly denied. Sirisena was also critical of investigations into military personnel accused of human rights violations during Sri Lankas long civil war against a Tamil separatist group, which ended in 2009. Sirisena suspended Parliament for two weeks in a move Wickremesinghes backers said was designed to buy time to shore up support. There were calls both locally and internationally to convene Parliament to end the impasse. Amid the pressure, Sirisena announced the legislature would be summoned Nov. 14. He maintained his choice for prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, had a majority in Parliament. However, the decision to dissolve the house shows otherwise, observers say. The dissolution clearly indicates that Mr. Sirisena has grossly misjudged and miscalculated the support that he might or could secure to demonstrate support in the Parliament, said Bharath Gopalaswamy, director at U.S.-based analyst group Atlantic Councils South Asia Center. At the end of the day, he is a victim of his own homegrown crisis. Wickremesinghes camp is likely to contest Sirisenas move because of constitutional provisions stating a Parliament cant be dissolved until four and a half years after its election. The current Parliament was elected in August 2015. Its totally unconstitutional, said Harsha de Silva, a member of Wickremesinghes United National Party and a former minister. Sirisena has relegated the constitution to toilet paper. We will fight this dictator to the end. The party said in a Twitter message that it will meet the elections commissioner to discuss the constitutionality of Sirisenas move. The U.S State Department tweeted that it is deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka Parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis. As a committed partner of Sri Lanka, we believe democratic institutions and processes need to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity, the statement said. Earlier, U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and two other lawmakers wrote to Sirisena warning that actions circumventing the democratic process could impact U.S. assistance including a planned five-year aid package from the Millennium Challenge Corporation worth hundreds of millions of dollars. We fear that recent actions, if not corrected, will threaten your countrys democratic development and derail the progress made in recent years, the three lawmakers said in a letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Associated Press. Rajapaksa indicated what was coming hours before the dissolution in a speech. He said the government must go to the people for confirmation on whether the president made the correct decision when he appointed him as prime minister. Read more about: PARADISE, CALIF.The air thick with smoke from a ferocious wildfire that was still burning homes Saturday, residents who stayed behind to try to save their property or who managed to get back to their neighbourhoods in this Northern California town found cars incinerated and homes reduced to rubble. People surveyed the damage and struggled to cope with what they had lost. Entire neighbourhoods were levelled and the business district was destroyed by a blaze that threatened to explode again with the same fury that largely incinerated the foothill town. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said Saturday 14 additional bodies were found, bringing the death toll from the blaze to 23. He said an additional search and rescue team was being brought in to search for remains. The flames burned down more than 6,700 buildings, almost all of them homes, making it Californias most destructive wildfire since record-keeping began. There were 35 people still missing. Sheriffs deputies recovered human remains from at least five homes as they went house-to-house in Paradise canvassing for the missing. It was unclear if the remains were in addition to the nine fatalities already reported by the Butte County Sheriffs Office. More firefighters headed to the area Saturday, with wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour expected, raising the risk of conditions similar to those when the fire started Thursday, said Alex Hoon with the National Weather Service. The blaze grew to 404 square kilometres, but crews made gains and it was partially contained, officials said. Read more: Paradise lost after fire consumes northern California town People sidestepped metal that melted off cars and Jet-Skis and donned masks as they surveyed ravaged neighbourhoods despite an evacuation order for all of Paradise, a town of 27,000 founded in the 1800s. Some cried when they saw nothing was left. Jan MacGregor, 81, got back to his small two-bedroom home in Paradise with the help of his firefighter grandson. He found his home levelled a large metal safe and some pipe work from his septic system the only recognizable traces. The safe was punctured with bullet holes from guns inside that went off in the scorching heat. He has lived in Paradise for nearly 80 years, moving there in 1939 when he said the town had just 3,000 people and was nicknamed Poverty Ridge. The fire was not a complete surprise, he said. We knew Paradise was a prime target for forest fire over the years, he said. Weve had em come right up to the city limits oh yeah but nothing like this, he said. MacGregor said he probably would not rebuild: I have nothing here to go back to. Homes and other buildings in Paradise were still burning, and fire crews were trying to extinguish those blazes, said Scott McLean, a captain with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Officials warned firefighters to wear their helmets and be careful of falling trees. Abandoned, charred vehicles cluttered the main thoroughfare, evidence of the panicked evacuation as the wildfire tore through Thursday. The dead were found mostly inside their cars or and outside vehicles and homes. Five of the dead panicked when they couldnt escape by car because their route was cut off by a wall of fire, said Gabriel Fallon, who rode out the blaze with his parents to care for the horses, cows and livestock on their 10-acre farm in Paradise. The group turned the other way and dashed down the paved street until it turned into dirt and passed the Fallons farm, he said. One of the drivers stopped and asked Fallon if the direction they were going would lead them to safety. Fallon said he shook his head as the fire roared closer. The motorists parked at the end of the road. On Saturday, the charred shells of the five cars remained where they had been parked. Fallon went back to his property, where he, and his parents and their animals weathered the fire with a garden hose. The fire consumed their home, but left the barn intact. I was scared as hell, said Fallon, 42. I didnt know if I was going to die. His mother, Cathy Fallon, said she tries not to think of what she lost when her house burned to the ground. Two of her dogs and nine cats died. She also lost her great-grandmothers mandolin and end table. I just cant think about it, she said, beginning to cry. The thing that hurts the most is that I lost my cats. Elinor Jeannie Williams, 86, was not among the nine victims of the blaze but died as she waited to be airlifted from an evacuated hospital where she was being treated for a head injury. She was dying, and the family expected to lose her in a few days, said her stepdaughter, Lisa. Still, her death has been hard on her 84-year-old father, Robert, who also may have lost his home, she said. Hes lost, hes confused, hes trying to hang in there, she said. Its hitting him hard. Everything is gone, including his wife. Two destructive wildfires also burned in Southern California , tearing through Malibu mansions and working-class suburban homes and killing two people. State officials put the total number of people forced from their homes by Californias fires at more than 200,000. Evacuation orders included the entire city of Malibu that is home to some of Hollywoods biggest stars . President Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration providing federal funding for fires on both ends of the state. He later threatened to withhold payments to California, claiming its forest management is so poor. Trump tweeted Saturday that there is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly fires in California. Trump said billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments! California Governor-elect Gavin Newsom responded on Twitter that this was not a time for partisanship. This is a time for co-ordinating relief and response and lifting those in need up, he said. Trump took a more empathetic tone later in the day, tweeting sympathies for firefighters, people who have fled their homes and the families of those killed by the flames. Drought, warmer weather attributed to climate change and home construction deeper into forests have led to more destructive wildfire seasons that have been starting earlier and lasting longer. California emerged from a five-year drought last year but has had a very dry 2018. Much of the northern two-thirds of the state, including where the fire is burning, is abnormally dry, according to a U.S. government analysis. Just 160 kilometres north, the Carr Fire near Redding that burned this summer was the sixth-most-destructive wildfire in California history and one of the earliest. It killed eight people in July and August and burned about 1,100 homes. The fact is that we are saturated with these kind of fires, safety officer Jack Piccinini told firefighters in Chico. He warned of emotional fatigue among crews from the devastation, death and injuries. We need to make sure we take care of one another, we look out for our brothers and sisters out there, he said. THOUSAND OAKS, CALIF.Authorities trying to make sense of why a gunman killed 12 people at a Southern California bar are not publicly discussing what theyve learned, but at least one Instagram post he made after beginning the massacre has emerged as an early focus. Social media platforms have scrubbed that and any other posts following Wednesday nights massacre. But one law enforcement official said Ian David Long, a 28-year-old former Marine, posted about his mental state and whether people would believe he was sane. Authorities also were investigating whether he believed his former girlfriend would be at the Borderline Bar and Grill, said the official, who was briefed on the investigation but not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. A second law enforcement official, Ventura County Sheriffs Capt. Garo Kuredjian, said that based on time stamps the gunman apparently stopped shooting inside the bar and posted to Instagram. Kuredjian said he didnt know the content of any posts. Instagram and Facebook typically refuse to discuss individual accounts and did not respond to a request for comment. Authorities described an attack of military efficiency. None of those injured was hurt by gunfire. When the gunman shot his .45-calibre pistol, he killed. As scores of police officers closed in, Long apparently shot and killed himself. Several people who knew Long in the suburb of Thousand Oaks where the gunman went to high school and eventually moved back in with his mother described him in disturbing terms. Read more: Thousand Oaks mourns in wake of bar massacre I dont want prayers. I dont want thoughts. I want gun control, Thousand Oaks parents say Many who fled California attack were survivors of Las Vegas massacre Long made others feel uncomfortable going back to his teens. Dominique Colell, who coached girls track and field at the high school where Long was a sprinter, remembers an angry young man who could be verbally and physically combative. In one instance, Colell said Long used his fingers to mimic shooting her in the back of the head as she talked to another athlete. In another, he grabbed her rear and midsection after she refused to return a cellphone he said was his. I literally feared for myself around him, Colell said in an interview Friday. He was the only athlete that I was scared of. Colell said she wanted to kick Long off the team, but the boys coach urged her to reconsider because that could compromise his goal of joining the Marines. She relented when, at the next track meet, Long apologized in front of several coaches and administrators. Attempts to get comment by phone and in person from officials at Newbury Park High School and its school district were unsuccessful. Both were closed because of a destructive wildfire in the area. As investigators worked to figure out what set him off, President Donald Trump blamed mental illness, describing the gunman as a very sick puppy who had a lot of problems. At the White House on Friday, Trump touted his efforts to fund work on post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans and ignored questions about stricter gun control laws. Investigators have not commented on whether mental illness played a role in the rampage. But a mental health specialist who assessed Long after sheriffs deputies responded to a call about his agitated behaviour last spring worried he might be suffering from PTSD. The incident happened in April, when yelling and loud banging noises coming from the home Long shared with his mother prompted a next-door neighbour to call authorities. The mental health specialist concluded there were no grounds to have him involuntarily committed. Among the dead in the shooting rampage were a sheriffs sergeant gunned down as he entered the bar and a U.S. Navy veteran who survived last years massacre in which a gunman in a highrise Las Vegas hotel killed 58 people at an outdoor country music festival. Balsamo reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Tami Abdollah in Washington; Krysta Fauria, Christopher Weber and Kathleen Ronayne in Thousand Oaks; Amanda Lee Myers and Justin Pritchard in Los Angeles; and Don Babwin in Chicago contributed to this report. PARISPresident Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron met here Saturday amid tensions over Macrons call for a true European army remarks the U.S. president deemed very insulting moments after he landed here for World War I commemoration ceremonies this weekend. There were some visible signs of strain between the two men Saturday even as they exchanged warm words at the start of their bilateral meeting at Elysee Palace. Appealing to Trumps America First agenda, Macron stressed publicly that European nations in the NATO alliance should pay more in defence an attempt to soothe Trump over one of his constant irritations. I do share President Trumps views that we need a much better burden-sharing with NATO, Macron said at the start of their meeting, as Trump sat on the edge of his chair with a tight smile on his face. My proposals for European defence are totally consistent with that. Calling Trump my good friend, Macron proclaimed great solidarity between the two nations and said the leaders will discuss a litany of issues during their one-on-one meeting, including Iran, Syria, Yemen, trade and climate change. Trump reciprocated Macrons warm tone, telling the French leader that we have become very good friends and that the two countries have much in common in many ways. I appreciate what youre saying about burden-sharing. You know my view, Trump responded to Macron. Later, Trump added: We want to help Europe, but it has to be fair . . . we want to absolutely be there, we want to help, we want to be a part of it, but different countries have to help. Read more: Trudeau visits Vimy ahead of world leaders gathering for Paris peace forum On trade, Trump said that weve made a lot of progress; lets see if we can get it over the line. But even as their words aimed to gloss over their differences, their body language betrayed the growing tensions. Unlike previous meetings, when the two shared lengthy power-grip handshakes and hearty backslaps and hugs, there was no visible warmth between the leaders. At the end of their brief remarks ahead of their bilateral meeting, Macron reached over to pat Trump on the arm, but the U.S. president remained nearly motionless, failing to reciprocate or even acknowledge the touch. Foreign policy analysts said Macron and other European leaders have felt burned by Trump, who pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate accord, both negotiated by the Obama administration. I think he has shed any illusion about Trump that flattering him will be a way of getting concessions, said Thomas Wright, a Europe expert at the Brookings Institution. But he is hesitant to push back hard because hes not sure what that will get him. Its cautious realism. Trump arrived in Paris late Friday to attend a ceremony Sunday, organized by Macron, marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. More than 100 leaders will join in the remembrance, to be held in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe in the centre of the city. Yet Trump will depart shortly after visiting a memorial site marking the sacrifice of U.S. military troops, leaving town just as Macrons Paris Peace Forum gets underway, a meeting aimed at galvanizing multilateral co-operation on shared challenges, including climate change. Trumps snub of the event highlights the deep antipathy he and some top aides, including national security adviser John Bolton, have for such projects. At a recent campaign rally, Trump called himself a nationalist, while Macron considers such views the greatest threat to the liberal order that has defined European security since World War II. Meanwhile, Trump had been scheduled to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial in northern France later Saturday, but the White House said the trip was cancelled due to the bad weather in Paris. A U.S. delegation led by White House chief of staff John F. Kelly and Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will go in Trumps place. Trump is deeply unpopular in France, where 65 per cent of voters view the U.S. president negatively, according to an Odoxa poll released this week for Frances Figaro newspaper. Macrons political opponents have routinely criticized him for his relationship with Trump, and the French president came under heavy fire in April after the publication of a photograph from his White House visit appeared to show Trump leading Macron by the hand. Yet Julie Smith, who served as deputy national security adviser for Vice President Joe Biden, said other European leaders also are not enthralled with the Peace forum. Rising strains of populism have led some countries to express doubts about the European Union, and Britain is in the process of withdrawing from the collection of states. In Germany, longtime Chancellor Angela Merkel announced she would step down in 2021, in the face of strident opposition from some of the same anti-immigrant coalitions that backed Trumps political rise. That has left Macron, whose own popularity in France is at a low point, as the last man standing, said Smith, who is currently serving on an international affairs fellowship at the Bosch Academy in Berlin. Europe could use an injection of innovation and ambition right now that its sorely lacking, Smith said. Of Trump, she added that Europeans have tried a number of strategies. Some wanted to speak truth to power and see if they could challenge him directly. That did not go well. Some tried to flatter his accomplishments and obviously Macron does not have much to show for that. Fearful of waning U.S. commitment, Macron hinted at a new path forward for Europe during a radio interview this week in which he touted the project of a sovereign Europe and argued that the continent would not be protected if we dont decide to have a true European army. In front of Russia which is at our borders and which can be threatening, I would like to start a security dialogue with Russia, which is a country I respect and which is European, Macron said in the interview, conducted during his tour of the main battlegrounds of World War I in northeastern France. We have to have a Europe that can defend itself alone and without only relying on the United States in a more sovereign manner. That prompted an angry response from Trump in a tweet he sent as Air Force One touched down in Paris late Friday. Trump revived his frustration over countries in the NATO alliance that do not spend at least 2 per cent of their gross domestic product on their militaries. President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia, Trump tweeted minutes after he landed here. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its a fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly! In the interview, Macron also referred to Trumps recent announcement that the United States would withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a nuclear-arms-control pact that President Ronald Reagan struck with the former Soviet Union in 1987. The main victim of the withdrawal, Macron argued, is Europe and its security. Macron also said Europe has to protect itself with respect to China, Russia and even the United States on cybersecurity matters and fading multilateralism. Macron is at the point where he understands the limits of their relationship, said Smith, the former Biden aide. And, frankly, I think behind closed doors Macron fully appreciates the limits of what France an as individual nation can do. Read more about: Fallen soldiers admitted to bar, Nov. 5 This story, published just a few days before Remembrance Day, holds both national and personal significance. With research from a family in Western Canada and others, it outlines the life and death of John William Gow Logan, who enlisted in May 1915 and died in the Great War, World War One, on Nov. 18, 1916 on the last day of the Battle of the Somme. Originally a Manitoban, Logan had completed his legal studies at the University of Alberta and was awaiting acceptance to the bar when he enlisted in the Canadian war effort. I also am a great niece of Cpl. Logan and live in Toronto. Lawyers with the Alberta Bar Association and here in Toronto with a partner at Gowling WLG Law firm, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, tracked down the families of law students killed in battle to posthumously admit them to the Alberta Bar Association, a very touching and appreciative action. They were able to track down John William Gow Logan through the efforts of family, here in Toronto and in Alberta, and the Manitoba Historical Society, a remarkable organization of capable leadership, including Gordon Goldsborough. Mr. Golsborough recalled family connections to the Logan name and made the effort to assist the Gowling and Alberta Bar Association efforts to find families, including ours, of some of the 37 law students killed in battle, for this posthumous event, Nov. 9 in Calgary. Known in the family as Great Uncle Gow, rather than John, Cpl. Logan was succeeded in the family by a nephew, Arthur Gow Harvey, named for John William Gow. Gow Harvey, also a Manitoban, enlisted in the Second World War. Known in the family as simply Uncle Gow to distinguish the two, Arthur Gow, the son of Dr. Robert Harvey and Lois Ada (Logan) Harvey, joined the RCAF at age 18, served as a navigator in Bomber Command, was shot down over Germany the only member of his crew to survive and spent years as a PoW enduring harsh conditions and forced marches. Arthur Gow survived the war and, when he was finally demobbed, as it was known or demobilized and returned to Canada he was met late one evening on the docks of Halifax harbour, for one single precious night of long walks and long talks, by his sister, my mother, M. Lois (Harvey/Lavers) Dunn before continuing his journey home to Manitoba. M. Lois also enlisted in the war effort, as a WREN assigned to Halifax. Your story by Kevin Maimann illustrates the connections between generations and provinces, the significance, still, of those who enlisted, and the thoughtful and poignant efforts of those who remember. Daphne Lavers, Toronto Read more about: My father believed his entire adult life that he would die before he turned 45. He was 44. I was 17 and my sister, who was in the house at the time of the shooting, was 14. Our lives were forever altered. The state of Maine honored my father in many ways, but that is little consolation as I watch my two sons to grow into amazing young men and wish my father was next to me witnessing the magic. He would have loved being a grandfather. He would be furious with the current state of our union. He would be marching in the streets against the gun violence and hate crimes that define this century so far. On Nov.13, it will be 30 years since his senseless death. I dream of him most nights even now. The adage that failures can teach many lessons seems quite... How does a team coming off its bye week look this flat yet again? How did the Chicago Bears offense fail to find any rhythm in the five drives rookie Justin Fields led before suffering injured ribs in the second half? Why is there always such inexcusable sloppiness for Matt Nagy's team? The recent renaming of the historic town of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to an arguably older name, Prayagraj, has occasioned a fresh bout of disputation about the politics of name-changing. The self-appointed guardians of Indianness, convinced that the names of cities and landmarks reflect the colonisation of the national sensibility, had long set about nationalising nomenclature whenever they had the chance. When it was the Brits who were being corrected, no one objected terribly: it was right, after all, that the Anglicised Cawnpore should revert to Kanpur, or that Poona and Simla should adopt spellings that conformed more closely to their local pronunciations. Illustration: Bhaskaran Then came the next round of less-necessary changes, still of imperial-era names. So, in the mid-1990s, a chauvinist Maharashtra government renamed its capital Mumbai, proscribing the use of the word Bombay for any official purposes. Since Bombay was at that point arguably the best-known Indian place name internationally, attached to everything from Bombay gin to Bombay duck and the names of restaurants of varying elegance around the world, this struck me as the equivalent of a company jettisoning a well-known brand name in favour of an inelegant patronymicas if McDonalds had renamed itself Krocs in honour of its founder. Not to be outdone, the chauvinist government in Madras, capital of a state which had earlier been renamed as Tamil Naduhomeland of the Tamils decided that the city of Madras, too, would be re-baptised Chennai. As with Bombay, name recognitionMadras kerchiefs, Madras jacketswent by the board as Chennai was adopted without serious debate. So far, not so good. But, we all learned to adjust. Whats in a name, Shakespeare asked, and, of course, the weather will be just as sultry in Chennai as it used to be in Madras. But now the current ruling dispensation, with an enormous Hindu-chauvinist chip on its shoulder, has started replacing Muslim names with Hindu ones. Mughalsarai is now Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, Gorakhpurs Urdu Bazar is Hindi Bazar, Ali Nagar is Arya Nagar and Allahabad, sorry Prayagraj, has become the latest victim of this hindutva zealotry. Are we Indians so insecure in our independence that we still need to prove to ourselves that we are free? The Brits and Mughals are long gone; it takes a terrible inferiority complex, in any case, to think that one can overturn the experiences of history by altering a few names. And, what signal does this send to our own Muslim citizens? That they do not really belong to India with the same entitlements as those who bear, and now impose, Hindu names? Mughalsarai had century-old associations for those who travelled that way; Allahabad has a hoary history, especially in the anti-colonial movement, and as the seat of the nations intellectual ferment at Allahabad University. There is something altogether pettier here: a demarcation of territory, the weak asserting their strength. In some parts of India, it is customary for a bride, upon marriage, to take on a new namenot just a surname, but a first namechosen by her husbands family. It is as if our new rulers, unaccustomed to wielding real authority and unsure what to do with it, wanted to show that they were now the lords and masters of these places, and to demonstrate the change by conferring a new name upon them. They are asserting their power, the power to decide what a thing will be, the power to namefor if one does not have the ability to create, one can at least claim the right to define. editor@theweek.in 'Possibilities for a non-alienated life', the theme of the fourth edition of Asia's biggest contemporary art festival, Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), talks about inclusiveness. With just one month to the opening (on December 12), curator Anita Dube is all set to make it inclusive for more than 6 lakh expected visitors. She wants every visitor to be an active participant, not just a "consumer of culture", and show justice to the nickname of KMB"the people's Biennale". "The biennale will have exhibition space and a pavilion," said Dube at the Meet the Curator event held in Kochi on Friday. The exhibition space will feature 95 curated works of 135 artists from 31 countries. The pavilion will be a "democratic" space where every visitor can express their thoughts, ideas and arguments, making use of internet technology. "Everybody will be a curator, everyone can share in the pavilion," said Dube. Dube added that she wants to show futurisman artistic social movement with emphasis on speed technology, youth, violence and industriesthat can come from Asia and the global south. Coming from a family of doctors, Dube, who started her work life in art at the age of 30, is the first woman curator of the KMB. The artistic advisory committee of 9 artists selected her unanimously. She travelled to 32 countries to select works for the KMB. And, more than half the artists who will be featured this year, are women. In the aftermath of the destructive floods in Kerala in August, there were worries whether the biennale would happen as scheduled. The Kochi-Muziris Biennale Foundation, however, decided to go ahead. "People wanted the biennale to happen. General positivity was down after the floods. The biennale will lift the spirit and enthusiasm," said Sunil V, secretary, KMB. Bose Krishnamachari, president of KMB, announced that to help with rebuilding of Kerala post the devastating floods, the biennale will conduct a live auction of 50 artistic works on January 18, 2019. "We expect to donate Rs 5 crore towards Kerala's rebuilding through this auction," said Krishnamachari. British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor has done a special work for this auction. The KMB also plans to recycle the pavilion conversation space and build 12 homes of 600 square feet area for those affected by the flood. Dube added that the extent of the catastrophe was communicated with the artists, too, and some of the artists responded positively to slightly modify their work to show solidarity with Kerala. A court here on Friday allowed actor Dileep, accused in the 2017 actress attack case, to travel abroad. The actor had sought permission to travel to Bangkok from November 15 till the first week of January for a film shoot. The court gave the nod while asking the actor to submit all travel details, including place of stay. Dileep was allowed to travel to Dubai for business purposes for four days for the inauguration of his new restaurant in the Gulf in November 2017. Dileep was arrested on July 10, 2017, and granted bail on October 3, after 83 days in prison. While granting bail, the Kerala High Court had asked Dileep to surrender his passport, deposit a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh and two solvent sureties for the like amount. Besides, he was ordered to appear before investigating officers as and when required. Six persons, including key accused Pulsar Suni, have been arrested in the case. Resurrected in Bengaluru on July 1, 2016, at the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) of the Indian Air Force (IAF), No 45 Squadron, the Flying Daggers, was moved to Air Force Station Sulur, near Coimbatore on July 1, 2018. The Flying Daggers squadron is special: it is the first IAF squadron to operate the indigenous Tejas fighter. And both the Flying Daggers and the Tejas have come a long way, flourishing by leaps and bounds, every passing day. Today, the Flying Daggers squadron proudly stands as a hallmark of indigenisation, scripting new lessons in raising, maintaining and operating the Tejas, a desi flying machine that has caught the imagination of the nation. Air Marshal Balakrishnan Suresh, the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command, Thiruvananthapuram, has been playing a mentors role to the Flying Daggers since he took over the reins of the command. He told onmanorama that the Flying Daggers is shaping well as a squadron, ironing out all teething issues in operating the Tejas. By March 2019, the squadron will have more [Tejas] machines to operate, Air Marshal Suresh said. Great flying environment For the Flying Daggers, the move to AFS Sulur, endows a more conducive flying environment to operate the Tejas. The Daggers, in the fair winds of Sulur, have a typical IAF environment, which is conducive for safe and sustained flying, says an official of the air force station. He said the move of the squadron to a new location involved much more than just flying the Tejas fighters in. We had to physically move the entire range of ground equipment and then set up the maintenance facilities at AFS Sulur. We also had to establish the logistics support for spares and consumables to sustain unhindered operations, he adds. In addition, over 100 families had to move in at one go and they had to be settled at the new base in terms of housing and schooling among others. Air Commodore A.K. Puntambekar, Air Officer Commanding (AOC), AFS Sulur, is admired by the Flying Daggers for playing a key role in accommodating the new unit. Frequent flying Amid settling down, the Flying Daggers had to also ensure that the squadrons flying operations with the Tejas were not hindered at any point of time. The team is now focusing on training more Tejas pilots in both air combat and air-to-ground roles. The Flying Daggers squadron is hopeful that the increase in number of pilots and Tejas aircraft will enhance the operational capabilities of the squadron. The Tejas programme spearheads the countrys efforts to increase its self reliance, and the Flying Daggers are witnessing a moment of pride on their path to assume greater responsibilities towards safeguarding national skies, says an official. The Flying Daggers squadron is being commanded by Group Captain Samrath Dhankhar, a recipient of Vayu Sena Medal. The Flying Daggers moved to Sulur under his command. He is a fighter combat leader with flying experience of more than 1,600 hours. His deputy is Wing Commander Manish Tolani, the flight commander of Flying Daggers. He is a Cat A qualified instructor and an instrument rating instructor\examiner with vast experience of over 2,200 hours on MiG-29, MiG-21 and the Hawk MK 132A. The Flying Daggers now enjoy an envious operating environment and a modern squadron complex at AFS Sulur. Their move to the new base, with the Tejas, is a giant leap towards their re-establishment within the IAF as a formidable squadron. -Via onmanorama The US on Friday accused China of repression of religious groups in the country, in particular Christians, Tibetans and Uighur Muslims, even as Beijing asked Washington to stop interfering in its internal affairs. The issue of religious repression in China was raised by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis in discussions here with their visiting Chinese counterparts, Minister of National Defence Gen Wei Fenghe and Chinese Communist Party Office of Foreign Affairs Director Yang Jiechi. The visiting Chinese leadership denied the allegations and asked the Trump administration to stop interfering in China's internal affairs. "I stated the United States and the international communities will continue to express our concerns with respect to China's repression of religious groups and Christian, Buddhists and 800,000 to possibly millions of Muslims that have been denied their freedoms," Pompeo said at a joint news conference here along with Mattis and the two Chinese leaders. Yang immediately denied the US allegations. "China respects human rights, as other countries must do the same. As President Xi Jinping points out, there is always room for improvement on human rights," he said. Asserting that in China, people have the freedom to believe or not believe in religion, he said they are all Chinese citizens. "Their human rights have been fully respected and protected. It is our hope that the United States could respect the fact," Yang said. "All in all, China and the United States should step up communication on the basis of mutual respect, and work to handle well its own affairs," Yang said. Responding to a question on allegations of rights violations against Tibetans and Muslim Uighurs, Pompeo said the US is unequivocal when it comes to human rights. "We ask every country, China included," he said. "We have discussions to make sure that they treat the people of their nations with the respect and dignity that every human being is entitled to, and when it comes to religious minorities in China, we had a conversation about how it is that we hope the Chinese will treat their religious minorities, and our concerns with respect to that," Pompeo said. Yang said matters related to Xinjiang province are China's internal affairs and foreign countries have no right to interfere. The Chinese government attaches great importance to social and economic development in Xinjiang and it has taken a host of measures to promote stability, development, unity and people's well-being, he said. "At the same time, within the confines of law, the government has taken steps to crack down on ethnic separatist activities and violent terrorist crimes to safeguard national security and life and property of the people. These measures have paid off," Yang said. "Right now, Xinjiang enjoys social stability. Its economy is growing with a strong momentum, and ethnic groups are existing with each other in harmony," Yang said. "We hoped that the United States could respect the fact and look at relevant matters in an objective light, and stop interfering in China's internal affairs," he said. "In Tibet, ethnic minorities are having good relations, and their rights and interests are protected. A lot of foreign people have been to Tibet and Xinjiang. Facts are facts," Yang said. US Vice President Mike Pence and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would discuss India-US defence cooperation and bilateral relationship during their meeting in Singapore next week, the White House said Saturday, asserting that "sky is the limit" for New Delhi's role in the Indo-Pacific region. "They would be talking about the bilateral relationship and a defence cooperation in the kind of larger context. I can't really say if they'll get into trade (ties) specifically at this time," a senior administration official told foreign journalists during a conference call Saturday. Modi and Pence are scheduled to meet during the ASEAN and East Asia Summit in Singapore next week. Pence leaves on a four-nation Asia trip over the weekend, that would take him to Japan, Australia, Singapore and Papua New Guinea. He will be representing President Donald Trump at the ASEAN and East Asia Summit in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Papua New Guinea. Responding to a question, the official said the two leaders would be talking about "a common vision" for maintaining what the US refers to a free and open Indo-Pacific as India has talked about the Act East policy and their "enormous convergence" in these two approaches. In some respect, these are different names for common approach and talking about some of those common principles that "we share, seeks to promote and sustain including a freedom of navigation and overflight, sustainable development for the region; the importance of ASEAN and the role that they play, as well as a major democracy in the region that we have very good relations in common with like Japan," the senior administration official said. "Really the role for India (in Indo-Pacific region), the sky's the limit,"he said, when asked about what role the US sees for India in the region and President Trump's Indo-Pacific policy. Noting that India is "such a huge component" of the Indo-Pacific region, the official said, "It is the second largest population, the world's largest democracy, while the United States is the world's second largest democracy." He added that India is not only the dominant feature geographically, but also politically and culturally in the Indian Ocean. "With this administration there is a significant increase in quality and tempo of interaction from the top leadership on down," the White House official said. Referring to the recent two plus two dialogue in New Delhi, he said Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a "very, very good" meeting. "It was amazing to see the amount of progress that's been made in areas of cooperation as part of our partnership," said the official, who spoke with foreign reporters on condition of anonymity. Residents said the way they see it, more resources go to the main library downtown and to the Eola branch. They said more people might come to the West Branch if there were more programs and more hours. It is the tenth anniversary of the 26/11 terrorist attacks. What measures have you taken to strengthen the police force in terms of modernisation, capacity building and training? We gave modern weapons and equipment to the police. Earlier, money allotted for modernisation of police force was not fully utilised. The CCTV network that we have put in place has given us a great edge in surveillance. The gear and equipment that the Mumbai Police have is on par with [what] security forces in developed nations [have]. We have also covered the coastline with night vision cameras. Intelligence sharing has hugely improved, and this has helped in the formation of a joint strategy. What efforts have you taken for coastal security? During my tenure, we created 54 new police stations. Eleven of these are coastal stations. They had been announced after the 26/11 attacks, but nothing happened. We created these police stations. Do you have plans to set up a marine commando force on the lines of Force One? I have asked the Central government to create a new central police force to handle marine security. It will be based in Mumbai and [will be operational] in other coastal states. It is a job that requires specific expertise; and normal police recruitment would not be of help here. I had made the demand when chief ministers from the western region met Home Minister Rajnath Singh. He said that he will actively consider it. What are your thoughts on deradicalisation? Deradicalisation efforts certainly work. In absolute numbers, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad has saved many young people from joining the Islamic State. There is a great benefit in deradicalisation. Have you sent a fresh proposal for banning Sanatan Sanstha? There is no need for a fresh proposal. There was a need to send fresh information to strengthen our case. We have sent every bit of fresh information that was recovered during the recent police investigation. Will you be able to convince the Shiv Sena to ally with the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections? Our efforts are to fight the election together. I will be able to convince them. One must see what the political reality of the day is. The Congress and the NCP have decided to come together. So, if we fight separately, both of us will suffer. If Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar can come together, Mayawati and Mulayam Singh can come together, why cant we? Political reality will bring us together. And, if we are together, we will win the election easily. In the absence of an alliance, who will suffer more? I feel both parties will suffer equally. Just as the opposition is trying to avoid division of the so-called secular votes, we have to avoid the division of Hindu and nationalist votes. Who is closer to you? Uddhav Thackeray? Or, leader of opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil? Naturally, Uddhav Thackeray. Both of them are our critics, but Vikhe Patil criticises us in order to dislodge us from power. Uddhav Thackerays criticism, on the other hand, is like a critical analysis. At times, it is sweet to our ears. With elections round the corner, there is a lot of talk about Congress and NCP leaders getting in touch with you. Yes, a number of Congress and NCP leaders are in touch with me. They want to join our party. But, we will pick and choose on the basis of elective merit. Target zone: Indian Army personnel take position near the Taj hotel during the 26/11 attacks. Mumbai, even India, is no longer safe, according to Sevantilal Parekh, 87. He lost his son, Sunil, and daughter-in-law, Reshma, in the terrorist attacks at the Oberoi hotel on November 26, 2008. The loss drove him to send his granddaughters, Anindita and Arundhati, to the United States. They have no place in this country, where anyone can just ram into a hotel and go on a rampage, killing people, said Parekh, who runs a shipping and logistics business. Though we are affluent and can afford most luxuries, we would rather have our children work in another country, than be here and feel unsafe. Parekh says Mumbai is not equipped enough to handle another terrorist attack. His reaction is shared by many citizens, who live in constant anxiety. Even a small, unattended cardboard box, left in a suburban train, triggers phone calls to the police helpline. At railway stations, one routinely hears announcements instructing passengers not to touch any unattended baggage. Today, fear lurks in the mind of the Mumbaikarthe lingering impact of the 26/11 attacks. But, is our police force truly equipped to handle a terrorist attack, be it in terms of mindset, arms and ammunition or coordinated response? An additional director general of police in Maharashtra told THE WEEK that the 26/11 attacks shook the police establishment in Mumbai and the state to the core. Senior IPS officers like Hemant Karkare and Ashok Kamte were killed in the attacks, and the world saw the police force trying to fight AK-47 wielding terrorists with mere lathis. Huge changes have taken place since then, said the officer. There is far greater awareness about terrorism because of constant training and capacity building. Anti-terrorism cells, with dedicated manpower, have been established in every police station. Local police will always be the first responders in any situation, but our preparedness is such that Force One and QRTs will take over within a span of a few minutes. Dattatray Padsalgikar, director general of police, Maharashtra The state has around 60 fast patrol boats. And, a chain of radars was commissioned along the coastline of India32 radars; four in Maharashtra. A crucial initiative that the state government took in the aftermath of the attacks was to form Force One, a dedicated unit to combat terrorism. A crucial initiative that the Maharashtra government took in the aftermath of the attacks was to form Force One, a dedicated unit to combat terrorism, especially mass casualty attacks like 26/11. Founded in 2009, the unit was initially headed by officers like S. Jaganathan and Sadanand Date, both of whom had undergone training with GSG 9 (Grenzschutzgruppe 9), the special unit of the German Federal Police. Our approach has been multi-pronged, said Date, currently joint secretary in the department of justice in the Union law ministry. The police force is now equipped with Quick Response Teams (QRTs) across cities in the state. These teams consist of men who are trained better and have better weapons. There is one central QRT in each city, he said, and also regional or zonal QRTs. At the state level, there is Force One. The jawans of Force One are far stronger and fitter than the average policeman, said Date. They are trained to handle specialised and superior weapons, equipment and situations, and the training lasts for a year. The training in all counterterrorism aspects is imparted by top experts at the national and international level. Maharashtra Director General of Police Dattatray Padsalgikar said that Force One is on par with the National Security Guard (NSG). Force One and QRTs are fully prepared, he told THE WEEK. There is great coordination between them, and they conduct mock drills regularly. Local police will always be the first responders in any situation, but our preparedness is such that Force One and QRTs will take over within a span of a few minutes. At present, Force One is headed by Special Inspector General Sukhwinder Singh, a seasoned ATS hand. Force One has access to world-class equipment like CornerShot guns and monoculars. The teams have been trained by Israeli and German experts, and have been consistently winning national police commando competitions. In the aftermath of the 26/11 attacks, the state government also felt the need to create a dedicated intelligence apparatus, leading to the founding of the Maharashtra Intelligence Academy (MIA), Pune. So far, three batches have passed out from the academy. Each batch has 250 officers, said a senior police officer. We are getting a very good crop. Some of the officers are excellent. In addition, MIA also runs a number of other courses for serving policemen. Coastal security was also given high priority post the attacks, considering that the terrorists reached Mumbai by sea. The state has around 60 fast patrol boats. And, a chain of radars was commissioned along the entire coastline of India32 radars; four in Maharashtra. The state has also activated the Sagar Rakshak Dal, a network of around 25,000 persons from coastal villages, for collecting human intelligence. Also, 19 new coastal police stations and 32 new coastal police posts have been established. We will soon raise a marine commando force, too, said a top police officer. On guard: A Force One commando outside the Taj hotel. Maharashtras Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) lost its chief in the 26/11 attacks. Karkare was martyred in the lane near Rang Bhavan along with additional commissioner of police Kamte and senior police inspector Vijay Salaskar. So, special efforts have been taken to make Maharashtra ATS one of the best in the country. There has been a quantum leap in cyber technical data mining and data building. Our manpower strength also has gone up by almost 50 per cent, said a senior police officer. Moreover, the Mumbai Police has upgraded its weaponry, with policemen now carrying MP5 guns and Glock pistols and patrolling in armoured and amphibious vehicles. At the police station level, the anti-terrorism cells will act as a nucleus of the anti-terrorism response, said a high-ranking officer. They have been trained accordingly, in terms of terrain, identifying suspicious movement and activity. Our intelligence gathering activity, too, has improved vastly. In an audit of counterterrorism capabilities, conducted recently by the NSG, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana fared very well and were ranked excellent. The audit examined several criteriamanpower management, weaponry, mobility and equipment. Maharashtra has been placed in the excellent category, but one must remember that security and preparedness is always a work in progress and it can never be complete, said the officer. We have come a long way since the 26/11 attacks. But, it is not foolproof yet. We have to succeed each time. But, the terrorists have to succeed only once. Hence, the importance of continuous training and capacity building. India-Nepal relations are defined with a lot of cliches, but where do we stand right now? India-Nepal relations cannot be measured within the parameters of diplomacy and politics. They encompass a shared culture, economics and a common way of life. As a developing country which is just becoming a functional democracy, what are the aspirations of Nepal? We aspire to first establish and stabilise the federal democratic republic. Secondly, Nepal is a country of diversity in geography, religion, ethnicity and language. We have to recognise these identities and address the problems of the various groups, to unify all. Nepal is economically one of the least developed nations and we have economic aspirations. We have resourceshydro, tourism, agriculturebut they need to be developed. What are your expectations from India? India is our nearest neighbour and very closely related to us. Our life and future is together, so we have to move forward together for economic development. We have to be better developmental partners. We have hydro resources, India needs power. India has large lands, we have water for irrigation. Our cooperation needs to pick up pace. We need to pick up pace. We need to discuss the technical issues or financial issues that are slowing us down. How do you define your relationship with China? After India, there is China. We have very good diplomatic relations with China. However, the dynamics we have with India are not there with China. We have an open border with India, there is a visa policy with China. Relations between India and China have improved vastly since the 1960s, and that is good for Nepal. If we all work together, our entire region will thrive. There is a perception that Nepal is leaning closer to China. When I go to India, I hear that Nepal is getting close to China. What I hear in China is exactly the opposite. In China, they even confuse us sometimes with Indians. Why did Nepal pull back from the BIMSTEC military exercise? That was a very small incident, it was not a definer of relations between two close countries. We sent observers, like Thailand did. Our internal preparations to participate in the exercise were not in place. We were not against the exercise, we simply weren't ready. This is what the prime minister told me. What are Nepal's expectations from China? Nepal is landlocked, it has only two options, India and China. Between China and Nepal, right now there is only one road, the Kathmandu- Lhasa highway, which is in bad shape after the 2015 earthquake. We would like China's help in connectivity and infrastructure development. Mr Modi has assured us that the rail link from India will come to Kathmandu very soon. China has also proposed a 78km rail link to Kathmandu. The day we have one train arriving from India and another from China, Nepal will be a connectivity hub. But this will not be easy. I do not see it happening in our generation. China has offered its ports to us, but the closest Chinese port is 3,000 km away, Kolkata [less than 1,000 km away] remains the best option. China cancelled some hydro electric projects with Nepal recently. Yes, the Chinese cancelled the Seti and Budhi-Gandaki projects [the latter has been reissued to another Chinese firm]. They could not complete the works in time, so the companies decided to withdraw. They say the Nepal government did not co operate, Nepal says they failed to complete their task. Does Nepal feel threatened by India? Those who are closer to each other expect more from each other. These expectations may sometimes cause confusion. India has played a very vital role in establishing democracy in Nepal. Your party, Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum, was against the constitution initially. Now you are part of the government. Have the issues been resolved? Not yet. The constitution and the new constituencies are not adequately representative of the Madhesis, or the indigineous communities like Limbus, Gurungs, Sherpas and Tamangs. We decided to participate in the government on the assurance that these issues will be resolved once the constitution is amended. The government is enacting laws to implement the constitution. Then, we will begin work on the laws for amending the constitution. India was accused of interefering in the constitution-making process two years ago. When there is a problem in the Terai, it affects India, as it is an open border. It is natural that India will show interest then. To suggest something for the betterment is not interference, to my mind. But Mr Oli thought so. That was a political move to work upon a vote bank. First, to create an anti-Indian sentiment, then to cash in on that. This happens even in India and Pakistan politics. But after elections, those who raised these slogans are partnering with India, and even India reciprocated. These are vote bank politics and India knows that. What is the future you see for Nepal at the end of your term. In Nepalese politics is unpredictable. So, though we hope to complete the term, you can never tell. I hope that we achieve political stability and begin the starting of economic development. What is Nepal's foreign policy focus? India and China are superpowers, we cannot compare with either. Nepal is sandwiched between these two, and for its safety, as well as development, we have to maintain neutrality. It is true that in practice, the people to people ties are are stronger with India, and we are also more reliant on India, but it is our compulsion to maintain neutrality. But Nepal's foreign policy is not restricted to India and China. Nepal has better relations with SAARC members than even India, we have no conflict with any country. We strongly feel that SAARC should be revived as a regional body. See how successful other regional bodies like the Arab League, European Union and African Union have been. But SAARC hasn't succeeded beyond the ritual of summits largely because India and Pakistan bring their bilateral issues into the organisation, even though SAARC is clear that such matters should be kept out of it. Pakistan suggested that China should become a member, and there was further confusion. London, Nov 10 (PTI) A police officer has been sentenced to 18 months in prison by a UK court for causing the death of an Indian-origin shopkeeper when his car crashed into his van. Balvinder Singh was driving his vehicle in Wolverhampton when he was hit head-on by a car driven by Staffordshire Police officer Jason Bannister, who was off-duty at the time. Singh, 59, was rushed to a hospital but died of his injuries in December 2016. Bannister, who had pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving in a hearing in September, was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment by a Birmingham Crown Court on Friday. The 45-year-old was himself treated for minor injuries after the collision and following an investigation by West Midlands Police, he was charged with causing death by dangerous driving earlier this year, according to local media reports. Bannister has also been banned from driving for three years and nine months and will be required to complete an extended driving test in order to obtain a licence again. He remains suspended from his job at Staffordshire Police. The force said now that the court case has concluded, it would launch misconduct proceedings against Bannister. Shortly after his death nearly two years ago, Singh's family said in tribute: "He was the most loyal and hard-working family man, with three children and six grandchildren who were his everything one of which he never got to meet. He was loved throughout the community." PTI AK SCY SCY New Delhi, Nov 10 (PTI): Following are the top foreign stories at 1700 hours FGN6 US-PENCE-MODI Singapore summit: Pence and Modi to discuss bilateral, defence cooperation, says WH Washington: US Vice President Mike Pence and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would discuss India-US defence cooperation and bilateral relationship during their meeting in Singapore next week, the White House said Saturday, asserting that "sky is the limit" for New Delhi's role in the Indo-Pacific region. By Lalit K Jha FGN5 US-LD LANKA US says tracking situation 'very closely' after Sri Lanka President Sirisena dissolves Parliament Washington: The United States Saturday said it was tracking the situation "very closely" after Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved Parliament, with the White House voicing concern over the island nation's external debt situation. By Lalit K Jha FGN13 LANKA-UNP-PARLIAMENT Ousted Lanka PM's party to fight dissolution of parliament in court Colombo: Ousted Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Party will challenge in court what it termed as the illegal dissolution of Parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena a day after he announced a snap election in January. By Lalit K Jha FGN16 RAJAN-INDIA-LD ECONOMY India's economic growth held back due to demonetisation, GST: Raghuram Rajan Washington: Demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) are the two major headwinds that held back India's economic growth last year, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said, asserting that the current seven per cent growth rate is not enough to meet the country's needs.By Lalit K Jha FGN10 LDALL-US-SAUDI-YEMEN US welcomes Saudi's 'decision' to independently refuel planes engaged in Yemen war Washington: The US has welcomed Saudi Arabia's "decision" to cease taking American support and instead use its own military capabilities for refuelling aircraft from the Riyadh-led coalition engaged in the Yemen war. By Lalit K Jha FGN3 TRUMP-MACRON-2NDLD ARMY Trump says Macron's call for European Army 'very insulting' Washington: US President Donald Trump Saturday said the suggestion of his French counterpart Emanuel Macron that Europe should build its own army was "very insulting", asserting that Europe should first pay its "fair share" to NATO. By Lalit K Jha FGN9 US-CHINA-TRADE-TALKS China open to trade talks with US Washington: Asserting that US-China bilateral trade is "critical to the world economy", a top Chinese diplomat said Beijing has kept its door open for trade talks with the Trump administration, as the two top global economies are locked in a trade war. By Lalit K Jha FGN12 US-CHINA No country should use any excuse to engage in militarisation in South China Sea: Beijing Washington: Asserting that there is no problem of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, Beijing said no country should use any excuse to engage in militarisation in the region.By Lalit K Jha FGN11 US-CHINA-REPRESSION US expresses concern over repression of religious groups in China Washington: The US on Friday accused China of repression of religious groups in the country, in particular Christians, Tibetans and Uighur Muslims, even as Beijing asked Washington to stop interfering in its internal affairs. By Lalit K Jha GN4 AUS-STABBING-ATACKER Melbourne stabbing attacker identified as Hassan Khalif Shire Ali from Somalia Melbourne: Victoria Police Saturday identified the man, who set a car on fire and stabbed three people, killing one of them, before being fatally shot in the Australian city of Melbourne, as Hassan Khalif Shire Ali from Somalia. FGN15 FRANCE-WWI-COMMEMORATIONS World War I centennial commemorations underway Paris: A weekend of commemorations involving dozens of world leaders to mark 100 years since the end of World War I is underway, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kicking off the events in France and elsewhere with a visit to a cemetery. (AP) FGN8 US-LD FIRE Nine die in California wildfires, tens of thousands forced to flee Paradise (US): Nine people were declared dead and tens of thousands evacuated Friday as fierce wildfires raged across the western US state of California, with one rapidly spreading blaze threatening the famed resort of Malibu. RUP RUP Paris, Nov 10 (AFP) French President Emmanuel Macron's suggestion for a joint European army is "very insulting," Donald Trump said Saturday on arriving in Paris for ceremonies to mark the end of World War 1. "President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia," the US president tweeted as his plane landed in the French capital. "Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidizes greatly!," he added. Trump, who is visiting France with his wife Melania for the second time since becoming president, was referring to a call made by Macron on Tuesday for a "real European army". Macron, an ardent advocate of closer European integration, said a joint European Union military force was needed to wean Europe off American might, not least after US President Donald Trump announced he was pulling out of a Cold War-era nuclear treaty. "We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States," he told France's Europe 1 radio. He is specifically pushing for the creation of a nine-country European force, independent from NATO, that could rapidly mount a joint military operation, evacuate civilians from a war zone, or provide aid after a natural disaster. Trump's reaction is likely to add to strains in transatlantic relations, which will be under the spotlight this weekend as 70 world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russia's Vladimir Putin, gather in Paris to mark the centenary of the end of World War 1. (AFP) AQS AQS Melbourne, Nov 10 (PTI) Victoria Police Saturday identified the man, who set a car on fire and stabbed three people, killing one of them, before being fatally shot in the Australian city of Melbourne, as Hassan Khalif Shire Ali from Somalia. The police said it has executed search warrants in two properties and spoke to Ali's wife as part of the investigation. Ali, who was driving a ute, loaded with gas bottles, into the Bourke Street, allegedly set it alight and began stabbing members of the public Friday. He was shot by police as he lunged towards them with a knife. He later died in a hospital. Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton confirmed Ali died in the hospital after being shot by police. One man, who is yet to be formally identified, died at the scene after the stabbing. A 26-year-old man was in a stable condition in the Royal Melbourne Hospital, while a 58-year-old also remains in hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Police were treating the attack as terror-related at this stage, and counter-terrorism investigations were continuing into Ali's background. Ashton said he believed the suspect moved to Australia from Somalia in 1990s, and that his family members have been known to police on terrorism-related matters. On Saturday, the Joint Counter Terrorism Team began executing search warrants on two homes in Werribee and Meadow Heights. Ashton said police had spoken to Shire Ali's wife. He further said Ali was was the brother of a man arrested in relation to committing acts in preparation for a terrorist attack. "He is known to both Victoria Police and federal intelligence authorities," Ashton said, adding that ''there is no ongoing threat that we know of ... as I speak to you.'' "But certainly we are treating it as a terrorism incident. He's got family associations that are well known to us," he said. According to media reports, the IS had claimed responsibility for the attack via the Amaq news agency, which said the man was "one of Islamic State fighters" and had responded to IS calls for attacks in countries that are part of the international coalition fighting the militants in Syria and Iraq. In a statement, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he condemned the act of terrorism in Melbourne, describing it as an "evil and cowardly attack". He said he had been briefed by law enforcement and security agencies and acknowledged the investigation by the Joint Counter Terrorism Team, led by the Victoria Police. "Australians will never be intimidated by these appalling attacks and we will continue to go about our lives and enjoy the freedoms that the terrorists detest," he said. State Premier Daniel Andrews and the opposition leader Matthew Guy also condemned the attack. PTI NC AQS AQS The work of our boards and commissions is integral to the progress and success of Aurora, said Mayor Richard Irvin in a press release from the city. This is a great opportunity for residents to bring new ideas to the table as we continue building Aurora together. Mumbai, Nov 10 (PTI) The committee constituted by the Maharashtra government to probe the killing of man-eater tigress Avni is a "farce", Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said Saturday. In a statement issued here, he demanded that a panel be formed under a retired judge to probe the tigress' killing. The state government has come under fire over the death of the tigress, who was believed to have turned a man-eater and killed 13 people in the last two years in Yavatmal district. The big cat was shot dead in an operation in a forest in Yavatmal district last Friday. The killing of T1, as the tigress was officially known, led to an outrage among animal lovers and wildlife organisations. "Those who had given the 'supari' (contract) to kill the tigress have been made members of the (probe) committee. The committee set up is a farce," Thackeray said. Taking a dig at senior ally BJP, Thackeray said if Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis backed state Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar saying he could not be held responsible for the killing, why did Prime Minister Narendra Modi take credit for the surgical strike, when he had not himself conducted it. However, state Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said if Thackeray feels the committee is a "farce", then the state government is willing to form another panel under the Sena chief's leadership, if he so desires. "Uddhavji is an important figure in the alliance between the BJP and the Sena. If he does not want to head a committee under him, he should realise I have already asked the chief minister to appoint a committee under retired Supreme Court judges. Lowest level of politics is unnecessarily being played over the issue," he said. The state government had Friday constituted a four-member committee, comprising wildlife experts and officials, to conduct an "in-depth" probe into the tigress' killing. It is headed by Principal Chief Conservator of Forest S H Patil. It will include Wildlife Institute of India member Habib Bilal, Wildlife Conservation Trust chairman Anish Andheriya and Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Nitin Kakodkar, an official statement from the forest department said earlier. The committee will probe if established protocols and standard operating practices were followed in the case and submit a report to the government. Union minister Maneka Gandhi had lashed out at the state government over Avni's killing and dubbed it a "ghastly murder". Avni was the mother of two 10-month-old cubs. The Maharashtra government, however, defended itself calling the incident "sad" but necessary after the tigress attacked forest staff trying to tranquilise it. Opposition NCP dubbed the inquiry as an "eyewash". Earlier, when asked about the criticism by the opposition, Mungantiwar had said he has written a letter to Maneka Gandhi, asking for an independent probe by Supreme Court judges into the killing of Avni. "This inquiry (by SC judges) will happen when it has to happen, but the state government has to probe the issue at the earliest," he had said. PTI MM GK GVS Troubled Daribhit school reopens after 120 days Raiganj (WB), Nov 10 (PTI) The Daribhit High School in North Dinajpur district, which has remained shut since the death of two students in a firing in September, reopened on Saturday after 120 days, officials said. Family members of the two victims were on dharna in front of the school building demanding CBI probe into the incident and release of the eight arrested villagers. A meeting convened by the Islampur SDO Manish Mishra between the local administration and political parties was held on Friday on reopening of the school, officials said. As per decisions taken at the meeting, Mishra and officials of the school came to Daribhit on Saturday and mothers of the two deceased placed their demands once again. Mishra assured them to inform the higher authorities about the demands and they handed over the lock and keys of the school to him and the school's gate was opened. It is expected that academic activities would begin from next week. Police said the situation was normal in the area. Trouble broke out in the school on September 20 over the recruitment of Urdu and Sanskrit teachers as a mob clashed with the police and blocked roads. Two students - Tapas Barman and Rajesh Sarkar - were killed in the clash. Attempts to re-open the school have failed earlier as the families of the two deceased resorted to a sit-in protest outside the school. "We want the school to reopen by November 12. This uncertainty will not serve anyone's interest. For the sake of the students, we wish the school reopens and academic activities resume," state Education Minister Partha Chatterjee had said earlier this month. PTI COR NN NN Jammu, Nov 10 (PTI) An Army soldier was killed Saturday in sniper fire by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesman said. This was the second sniper attack along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir in as many days. An Army porter lost his life in a similar incident in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu Friday. At about 0945 hours, unprovoked ceasefire violation was initiated by Pakistan in which one Army soldier was shot by a sniper. He succumbed to injuries, the spokesman said. Official sources said Indian troops guarding the LoC retaliated to Pakistani firing effectively. On November 6, a soldier was injured when he was hit by a sniper from across the border at Kalal in the Noushera sector of Rajouri, while a BSF jawan was injured in a separate incident of firing by Pakistan along the LoC in theManjakote area of the Rajouri-Poonch sector Friday. The number of ceasefire violations this year by Pakistan has been the highest in the past eight years. The first seven months of this year saw 52 deaths and 232 people getting injured in 1,435 ceasefire violations in the state, according to an RTI reply by the Home Ministry. PTI TAS GVS New Delhi, Nov 10 (PTI) Hitting out at the Congress for celebrating the birth anniversary of Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, the BJP today dubbed it as a "party of hypocrites". Union minister and BJP leader Prakash Javadekar here said, "While Congress president Rahul Gandhi talks of love and brotherhood, his disciples celebrate Tipu Jayanthi. Tipu Sultan killed Hindus and Christians and destroyed temples and churches." He said the Congress' nature was to say something but do something else. "How can they explain this hypocrisy? This is the true nature of Congress," he said. He pointed out that the previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah began celebrating the birth anniversary of controversial 18th century Mysore kingdom ruler on November 10 every year since 2015 amid stiff opposition from the BJP. Protests by BJP and right-wing outfits broke out in several parts of Karnataka on Saturday against 'Tipu Jayanthi' celebrations, which were held amid tight security, while Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his deputy were unable to attend the main event. NAB NAB IND IND Srinagar, Nov 10 (PTI) Two unidentified militants were killed Saturday in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Tikken area of Pulwama in south Kashmir after receiving a specific information about the presence of militants there, they said. As the forces were conducting the searches, the militants fired upon them. The forces retaliated, ensuing an encounter in which two militants were killed, a police official said. The identity and group affiliation of the slain militants are being ascertained, he said, adding that some incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, were recovered from the site of the encounter. PTI SSB SCY SCY New Delhi, Nov 10 (PTI) The Vishva Hindu Parishad will hold public rallies in all parliamentary constituencies to urge the government and pressure political parties to bring a legislation for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, its working president Alok Kumar said Saturday. Kumar also praised the UP government's decision to rename Faizabad district as Ayodhya and linked it to national pride. "There was a king's road and a queen's road, there was a Hardinge Bridge in Delhi. They were renamed to Rajpath, Janpath, and Tilak Bridge by then Congress government. Restoring the old names or changing the names of places named after people who have attacked India is a sound thing to do for restoration of national pride," he said. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced at a public meeting on Tuesday that Faizabad will be renamed as Ayodhya. Kumar said they are meeting religious and social leaders, who in turn are meeting the governor of their states to tell them that people want Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The governors have assured us they will convey it to the president and the prime minister, he added. "We will hold public rallies and other programmes in all parliamentary constituencies and will meet all MPs to insist that they support the legislation on Ram Mandir. We will hold the first three public meetings on November 25 in Nagpur, Ayodhya and Bengaluru. The whole thing will culminate in a big public rally on December 9 at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi," Kumar said. He said these developments will be reported to the 'Dharma Sansad' on January 31 in Allahabad and the future course of action will be decided there. "We hope that this (public rallies) would strengthen the government to bring a bill and put pressure on other parties to support or at least not to oppose it," he added. PTI SLB SLB ABH ABH Varanasi, Nov 10 (PTI) Two labourers died after inhaling poisonous gas while cleaning a sewage tank in the Chowkaghat area here on Saturday, police said. Sewage tanks in the area are being linked with pumping stations of the Dinapur sewage treatment plant, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate on November 12 during his visit to Varanasi, they said. The newly-constructed sewage treatment plant was being made operational ahead of the prime minister's visit, for which more than a dozen labourers were engaged in the cleaning of sewage lines, police said. A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was rushed to the spot and fished out the bodies of two labourers. They were identified as Vikas Paswan (18) and Dinesh Paswan(27), natives of Bhabhua in Bihar. A junior official at the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam was taken into police custody for allegedly sending the labourers inside the sewage tank without safety equipment, police said. A probe into the matter was underway, they added. PTI CORR SNE SNE New Delhi, Nov 10 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party Saturday accused Delhi Police of working at the behest of its "political master" and registering an FIR against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal but not against BJP leader Manoj Tiwari in connection with a ruckus at the inauguration of the Signature Bridge. Delhi Police, however, said it is following the due procedure and the matter related to the ruckus on November 4 is being probed by the crime branch. At a press conference, AAP leaders Atishi and Raghav Chadha alleged that the police failed to register an FIR against Tiwari despite video evidence of him instigating people, assaulting on-duty police officials to sabotage a public event in a "premeditated attack". They said the police, instead, registered a case against Kejriwal by "blindly pasting the sections" mentioned by Tiwari in an email complaint sent to the department. "While Arvind Kejriwal's Delhi government gives a compensation of Rs one crore to the family of any police officer who loses his life in line of duty, on the other hand BJP leaders insult, assault and throw punches at senior police officers and enjoy impunity," Chadha said. Delhi Police said it has registered three cases in connection with the ruckus and a "proper and fair investigation" is being carried out. "The complaint filed by Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari had named Kejriwal and the complaint was replicated in the FIR. It cannot be said that Kejriwal has been named as accused. The FIR is always the gist of the complaint which contains the allegations of the victim," said an officer, requesting anonymity. The officer said the case registered on Tiwari's complaint has sections of criminal intimidation, attempt to commit culpable homicide, voluntarily causing hurt and wrongful restraint. The other two cases have sections of voluntarily causing hurt and wrongful restraint and criminal conspiracy, he said. Atishi and Chadha said more than a dozen "fake" cases against AAP leaders have fallen flat and courts have reprimanded Delhi Police for filing "motivated" cases against AAP. This FIR will face the same fate and find its way to the trash cap, the leaders said and added that the AAP is prepared to go to the highest court for justice. Atishi said, "It is to be seen now if Delhi Police will lodge an FIR against Manoj Tiwari and his mob against whom there is videographic evidence of clear intent of violence or will it be swift in acting upon its political master's orders and file an FIR against Amanataulla Khan who acted in defence and against Arvind Kejriwal who was in fact the victim." On Tuesday, police registered three cases, including one against AAP legislator Amanatullah Khan, in connection with the ruckus at the inauguration of the bridge. The cases were later referred to the crime branch. The cases were registered on complaints of Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, his colleague B N Jha and an Aam Aadmi Party worker Taukir. In the complaint against Khan, Tiwari alleged that he pushed him down and threatened to shoot him. Tiwari and his supporters allegedly got into a scuffle with AAP workers and police officials at the inauguration event, where they had gone to protest for apparently not being invited despite Tiwari being the member of Parliament from the area. PTI VIT SLB SLB ABH ABH New Delhi, Nov 10 (PTI) The Public Works Department (PWD) of the Delhi government has directed its senior officers to carry out "personal inspections" of all the foot overbridges (FOBs) in the city to ensure maintenance, cleaning and functional escalators at these facilities. According to the PWD, the move comes after several reports were received by the department that the maintenance of several FOBs was not up to the mark. The issue was taken up by the engineer-in-chief at a recent meeting attended by senior officers of the department. "The engineer-in-chief directed that personal inspections should be carried out by higher officers to ensure that proper maintenance/cleaning is being done and escalators are made functional in all FOBs," the minutes of the meeting stated. There are around 80 FOBs constructed and maintained by the PWD to facilitate pedestrians across the national capital. In June, the government had approved construction of seven FOBs at RTR Marg, Nelson Mandela Marg, ISBT in Sarai Kale Khan, inner Ring Road-Mahatama Gandhi Marg (Shakurpur village), Tamil Sangam Marg, Harswaroop Colony and Mayapuri. PTI BUN RC An elementary education digital curriculum by a European-based company combines social-emotional learning with computer science, and it may be coming to U.S. schools. FUNecole is an online learning platform and curriculum by Digipro Education Limited, based in Cyprus. The company describes its platform as a digital learning solution for teaching computer science, digital literacy, social-emotional learning and 21st century skills for students in first through sixth grade. (In French, ecole means school, so the program literally means fun school). The curriculum is currently used by a number of schools in Cyprus, Greece, Estonia and Romania, but so far in the U.S. only a handful of teachers know about it. Chryso Christodoulou, founder of FUNecole, presented her product at the 2018 International Society for Technology in Education Conference in Chicago last June. According to an ISTE affiliate leader, only one elementary school teacher in Mississippi is using FUNecole so far. The online learning platform is coming into the American K-12 market as demand for products and resources related to both social-emotional learning and computer science are increasing. According to a recent EdWeek Market Brief survey , 86 percent of district leaders say they have already invested in social-emotional learning products, or plan to do so in the coming year. Education Week has also reported that states are increasingly adopting computer science policies : 22 states now have academic standards outlining the computer-science skills and concepts that students are expected to learn, according to a Code.org Advocacy Coalition and Computer Science Teacher Association report. Rita Oates, who is a member of ISTEs professional learning network, said she has seen a lot of SEL programming thats cute, but doesnt have the right pedagogical design. But FUNecole is pedagogically sound, and clearly based on working with real teachers and real kids and integrating their criticisms and comments, said Oates, a former computer education and tech supervisor at Miami-Dade County public schools. She now runs an independent education consulting firm. FUNecole features videos with animated characters who discuss events that might happen to kids in real life, like breaking a lamp or fighting with a best friend. There are lesson plans and online activities teachers can choose from and can customize. The digital lessons provide immediate feedback and analytics on student performance from activities and formative assessments. For each grade level, the FUNecole curriculum is broken down into two parts: social-emotional learning and 21st century smart thinking skills, and computer science and digital literacy skills. The skills the students learn are age-appropriate, and as they move on to the next grade level, they build on the skills theyve already learned. The one thing that would give me pause is that in our education system, theres a lot of focus on test scores, so it might be hard for a creative product to get visibility, Oates said. If the product doesnt match the times, its not going to succeed. The online learning platform is in alignment with the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learnings framework for the core social-emotional learning competencies, as well as with the Computer Science Teachers Associations computer science standards. FUNecole recently received an ISTE seal of alignment for proficiency, which means the platform applies ISTE standards for students by providing activities that integrate key applications, programs and problem-solving through engaging learning activities. FUNecole provides teachers with a seamless way to direct students to apply their knowledge of critical software programs and web applications in unique activities focused on developing social and emotional skills, according to the ISTE review . In Europe, the program is aligned with the United Kingdom National Primary Computing Curriculum and endorsed by Cambridge International Examinations for Cambridge Information and Communications Technology Starters, a nonprofit program that introduces 5- to 14-year-olds to technology applications they need to acquire computer literacy. You can tell that they spent a large amount of time in developing this product, Oates said. See also: Within the corrections division, Hain hopes to roll out a new design for classifying inmates in the jail. He wants the north tower of the jail to hold maximum security and violent inmates and the south tower to be used as a rehabilitation tower to begin his initiatives involving mental health support and the jobs program. Raipur, Nov 10 (PTI) Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi Saturday released his party's manifesto on stamp paper for the state Assembly polls and challenged the ruling BJP, and the Congress to do the same. Jogi said he had released the 14-point manifesto of Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) on the stamp paper and therefore was committed to fulfilling the promises mentioned in it. "If I don't fulfil promises made in it, I can be sent to jail," he said. The state goes to polls in two phases on November 12 and November 20. Jogi's party is in an alliance with Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party and the CPI. The JCC (J) will contest 55 seats, the BSP 33 and CPI two seats. Jogi took a swipe at the Congress, his former party and the said its manifesto, titled 'Jan Ghoshna Patra', was a "true copy" of the one he had released on June 6, 2016 when the JCC (J) was formed. He said the Congress had promised farm loan waiver in Punjab and Karnataka within ten days of coming to power, but had failed to do so even after ten months having passed. Jogi's manifesto promises Rs 2,500 per quintal MSP for paddy, free power supply to agriculture pumps with a capacity of up to 5 horsepower, and complete waiver of farm loans among others. He said local youth would be given "cent per cent" reservation in government jobs while 90 per cent of other jobs would be reserved for them. Unemployed youngsters who had passed Class 12 would be given Rs 1001 as allowance, while graduates and post graduates without jobs would be given Rs 1501 and Rs 2001 respectively. The manifesto promised regularisation of non-permanent employees like shikshakarmis, panchayat secretaries, employment assistants, Anganwadi workers and the like. Jogi said if elected to power, his government would go for a ban on liquor in all parts of the state except Scheduled areas. The manifesto said the party would open a Rs 1 lakh joint account for every newborn girl child along with respective district collectors. The girl will get this amount, along with interest, when she attains 18 years of age, it said. His government will provide 45 kg rice, 10 kg wheat, 5 kg pulses, 5 kg salt, 2 kg sugar and 5 litres of edible oil to all ration card-holders, except income tax payees among them, Jogi said. He also promised a cut in state GST and excise on fuel as well as health insurance of Rs 7 lakh and setting up of hospitals on the lines of Delhi's AIIMS in every district of the state. PTI TKP BNM RCJ Bhopal, Nov 10 (PTI) The Congress Saturday promised to write off farm loans of up to Rs 2 lakh and provide a "salary grant" for five years to industries offering jobs to the youth if elected to power in Madhya Pradesh. Releasing its manifesto for the November 28 Assembly polls, the main opposition party also promised a slew of benefits for other sections of the society in the state where it is making a renewed bid to dislodge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power. Aggressively wooing farmers, who had launched a statewide protest last year, the party promised a social security pension to them and a rebate in the registration fee of land documents, besides a financial help of Rs 51,000 for the marriage of daughters of small cultivators. In its manifesto titled "Vachan Patra" (document of promises), the Rahul Gandhi-led party, out of power in Madhya Pradesh since 2003, also promised a minimum support price (MSP) for crops in accordance with the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations. Releasing the 112-page manifesto at a press meet here, state Congress chief Kamal Nath described it as the "voice of the people of Madhya Pradesh", saying the document was prepared after consultations with every section of the society. The manifesto offers sops to every section of the society, including government employees, homemakers, the common people, women and journalists, but the focus is largely on farmers and young people. Among the plethora of measures for farmers mentioned in the document, the Congress has promised a social security pension of Rs 1,000 per month to farmers who attain the age of 60 and whose land holding is below 2.5 acres, besides writing off farm loans of up to Rs 2 lakh. Other sops promised to farmers include a 50-per cent subsidy on loans for agriculture equipment, halving the power bill rates for them, a bonus on the MSP of some crops and a subsidy of Rs 5 per litre on milk procurement among others. The opposition party also promised a re-investigation into the Mandsaur police firing incident, in which six farmers were killed in June, 2017. It also promised a rebate in diesel and petrol prices. Professionals like tourist guides and lawyers would be provided an "encouragement fee" of Rs 4,000 per month for five years for settling down in their respective professions. The Congress also promised a "salary grant" of Rs 10,000 per job to the industries offering employment to the youth of the state. It promised the constitution of a Yuva Aayog (Commission for the Youth) to look into the problems of young men and women. The Congress also promised several sops, including a rebate in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and subsidised loans for setting up industries with an investment of at least Rs 100 crore. Those covered under the existing social security pension scheme would get Rs 1,000 per month, instead of Rs 300 now, if the Congress was elected to power in the state, according to the document. A subsidy of Rs 100 on gas cylinders to poor families and free education to girls up to the post-graduation level were also promised by the party. In a bid to appease the agitating general category people, the opposition party promised the constitution of a Samanya Varg Ayog (General Category Commission) to look into their issues. The state recently saw a series of protests by people from the unreserved (general) category communities. Besides, the Congress promised regularisation of daily wagers, 30 per cent government contracts to tribals, setting up of a Senior Citizen Board, a law to protect journalists and lawyers, honorarium to journalists above 60 years of age, tele-medicine facility in rural areas and four new medical colleges. Nath said a Jan Aayog (People's Commission) would be constituted for investigations into scams like Vyapam. A "jan jababdeh kanoon (public accountability law) would be enacted to hold the government departments responsible for providing public amenities, he added. The manifesto has 973 points on 50 subjects. State Congress Campaign Committee chief Jyotiraditya Scindia and former chief minister Digvijay Singh were also present at the press meet. Taking potshots at the BJP, Scindia said the Congress's manifesto was not like the saffron outfit's "jumla patra" (document of rhetoric) as the party would honour every promise made in the document. "We are bringing a vachan patra and not a jumla patra like the BJP. Our document of promises has something for everybody," the former Union minister said. The 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly will go to the polls on November 28 and the results will be announced on December 11. PTI ADU MAS RSY RC Congress stages protest rally against demonetisation Kolkata, Nov 10 (PTI) The Congress Saturday staged a protest rally against the failure of demonetisation and termed it as one of the "biggest scams" in the country. The West Bengal Congress unit today staged a protest outside the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the city against demonetisation that was announced two ago on November 8, 2016. "This year we are observing the second anniversary of the draconian decision of demonetisation. This was one of the biggest scams India has ever seen. This was nothing but an official money laundering scheme of the BJP government," WBPCC president Somen Mitra said at the protest programme. Congress workers also took out a candle light march carrying placards and posters against the state government. PTI PNT KK KK KK Washington, Nov 10 (AFP) The United States voiced concern Saturday after Sri Lanka's president ordered snap elections, as lawmakers warned that US aid was in question. President Maithripala Sirisena, who two weeks ago sparked a crisis by sacking the prime minister and installing former authoritarian leader Mahinda Rajapakse in his place, signed a decree for elections to be held January 5, nearly two years ahead of schedule. "The US is deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis," the US State Department said in a statement on Twitter. "As a committed partner of Sri Lanka, we believe democratic institutions and processes need to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity," it said. The incoming head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee warned Sirisena he was jeopardizing US assistance including a package under discussion through the Millennium Challenge Cooperation, which supports countries that observe democratic norms. "Unfortunately, we fear that recent actions, if not corrected, will threaten your country's democratic development and derail the progress made in recent years," said the letter to Sirisena. It was signed by three lawmakers including Representative Eliot Engel, who is set to take charge of the House committee following the Democratic Party's election victory. Sri Lanka's relations with the West have warmed significantly since the 2015 electoral defeat of Rajapakse, who as president crushed the long-running Tamil Tiger insurgency. He refused to acknowledge any human rights abuses in the final campaign, in which rights groups say up to 40,000 civilians died. But Rajapakse is short of votes in parliament to return to power as prime minister and the sacked, Western-friendly premier, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has refused to back down. An ally of Wickremesinghe has accused China of financing defections toward Rajapakse, who has pursued close cooperation with Beijing. China has denied the allegations. (AFP) AQS AQS Bengaluru, Nov 10 (PTI) With the Karnataka chief minister and his deputy skipping the Tipu Jayanthi celebrations, a Congress legislator Saturday termed it as an insult to the Muslim community. "This was the first Tipu Jayanthi of the new government. The information is that following doctor's advice chief minister H D Kumaraswamy is not taking part (in the programmes). Deputy chief minister G Parameshwara is on a foreign tour. This development has somewhere come across as though the community has been insulted. There is no doubt about it," MLA and former minister Tanveer Sait said. According to party sources, several Congress leaders, especially those from the Muslim community, are miffed with the chief minister and deputy chief minister for giving the event a miss. Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Sait said politics and party notwithstanding it was his duty to express the sentiments of his community. He requested the chief minister to at least attend a Tipu Jayanthi event at a place near to where he was taking rest. "I request the chief minister to try and attend the programme at H D Kote that is near to the place where he is taking his break," he added. Protests by BJP and right wing outfits and the absence of Kumaraswamy and Parameshwara marked Tipu Jayanthi celebrations in Karnataka, which marks the birth anniversary of 18th-century ruler Tipu Sultan. The previous Congress government, led by Siddaramaiah, began celebrating Tipu Jayanthi on November 10 every year since 2015, amid stiff opposition from the BJP, several Hindu organisations, and some individuals. Sait said the government should show the same enthusiasm when celebrating Tipu Jayanthi as is done during the jayanthis of stalwarts from other communities. "Cancelling celebrations or processions and banning all programmes other than scheduled government events just because someone will cause hurdle somewhere, causes insult to the community," he added. Kumaraswamy did not attend the event citing doctor's advice to take rest for three days till November 11. The chief minister's office had made prior announcement about Kumaraswamy's inability to attend the function and his name was also not printed in the invitations. Following the chief minister's decision to skip the event, reports had emerged about differences in opinion between the ruling coalition partners about Tipu Jayanthi celebrations. While in the opposition, Kumaraswamy had questioned the need for such celebrations. Kumaraswamy reportedly chose to skip the event, not wishing to antagonise voters in his party's bastion of old Mysuru region, as Tipu Sultan along with his father Hyder Ali had seized power from Maharajas of Mysuru, who are virtually revered there. Parameshwara, who was to inaugurate the main Tipu Jayanthi celebration event at Vidhana Soudha, the seat of state legislature here, in the absence of Kumaraswamy, also skipped the function Saturday. Parameshwara was reportedly in Singapore to visit a senior politician from Karnataka, who is ailing. His office maintained that the deputy chief minister was out of town. Later in a statement, Parameshwara, while hailing Tipu and his contributions to the state, maintained that due to unavoidable reasons he was unable to attend Tipu Jayanthi celebrations Saturday and wished success for the event. PTI KSU RA BN BN IND Chennai, Nov 10 (PTI) The AIADMK hit out at Tamil superstar Rajinikanth Saturday for slamming its protests against certain scenes in the Vijay-starrer "Sarkar", saying a mere censor certification would not justify contentious scenes. As the controversy was around the government's freebies schemes, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu equated those to providing reservation benefits to the deprived classes. Rajinikanth had lashed out at the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Friday for its protests against certain scenes in actor Vijay's Diwali release, "Sarkar", questioning the rationale behind protesting against a film certified by the censor board. He had "strongly condemned" the demands for deletion of scenes in the film. A write-up in AIADMK mouthpiece "Namathu Puratchi Thalaivi Amma" questioned Rajinikanth's statement on how demands for removal of scenes from a film certified by the censor board could be made. "Top star, give a frank response. If you find a lizard inside a packed food product that has all certifications, will you throw it away or consume it saying it has the required certifications," it said. It asked the veteran star to "advise" the film's director, AR Murugadoss, and not defend "a mistake" by showing the censor certificate. Even if a "misinformation" in a film passed the censor test, it "has to be stopped", it said in an apparent defence of the protests against the scenes and the demand for their removal. The makers of "Sarkar" had Friday removed certain "objectionable" scenes and "muted" an apparent reference to late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa as the Sun Pictures venture faced a backlash from the AIADMK over the depiction of its welfare schemes and its leader. The AIADMK was up in arms against "Sarkar" with senior ministers demanding deletion of the scenes reportedly showing mixer-grinders being burnt, seen as an obvious reference to a freebie scheme involving the object. The ruling party also took exception to a purported negative character played by a woman carrying a name deemed to be that of Jayalalithaa. Strongly defending the freebies, the party mouthpiece equated it to the quota system. "The freebies are like the reservation system that was brought to bridge the poor-rich divide," it said. Further, taking on actor Vijay, Murugadoss and Sun Pictures' Maran Brothers, it said these "affluent" people might "look down upon freebies" but the Amma canteens served thousands of aspiring filmmakers in the tinsel town. Another brand Amma scheme named after Jayalalithaa, these canteens serve delicacies like idli and chapati, besides rice varieties, at heavily subsidised rates and are popular among the masses. "Aren't the (free) mixers and grinders godsent for the havenots?" the AIADMK mouthpiece asked. It alleged that despite being aware of all these, the intent of the makers of "Sarkar" was to "incite" people against the government and added that most of the welfare schemes launched during the AIADMK regime were now being followed by some other states. It lashed out at the film crew for naming a character apparently referring to Jayalalithaa. Taking a swipe at actor Vijay's reported political ambitions, the party said he was "dreaming that he can become the chief minister just by mouthing emotional dialogues against the government". PTI SA ROH RC Noida (UP), Nov 10 (PTI) A former finance consultant of a private bank was arrested Saturday from the Delhi airport by the Noida police for allegedly duping a retired Army man of Rs 1.40 crore, officials said. The accused, Vinay Chadda (29), was held in the morning when he arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport from Dubai, they said. A case was lodged at the Noida Sector 20 police station against Chadda in 2016 for duping retired colonel Ravindra Nath Pandit (82) offering a bogus life insurance policy, police said. Chaddha, a resident of Delhi, had opened 23 fake insurance policies of Pandit, and between 2009 and 2016 defrauded him of Rs 1.40 crore, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Pal Sharma said. The company where he worked had terminated his services over complaints of cheating but he continued to pretend to the army veteran that he was still working with the firm, the officer said. "A case was registered against Chaddha at the Sector 20 police station in 2016 for a fraud worth Rs 1.40 crore. A lookout notice was issued against him. When a non-bailable warrant was issued against him then, he did not appear in court but fled to Dubai. He was tracked and held from the IGI airport upon arrival from Dubai," Sharma said. A sealed bag along with 4,675 Dinar and Rs 2,570 were seized from his possession upon arrival at the airport, the police said. He has been booked under Indian Penal Code section 420 (fraud), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (forgery for cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), among others, the police said. PTI KIS ANB ANB Jammu, Nov 10 (PTI) Over 27.85 lakh children were given the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine during an ongoing vaccination campaign across Jammu and Kashmir, an official spokesman said Saturday. The campaign was launched on September 24 to cover nearly 38 lakh children in the age group of nine months to 15 years to eliminate the congenital rubella syndrome, caused by the rubella virus. "A total of 37,72,960 children will be covered in the state, of whom 27,85,731 have been vaccinated till date with 17,00,994 children covered in the Kashmir division and 10,84,737 in the Jammu division," the spokesman said. The campaign is expected to be concluded by the end of this month as against the scheduled October 20 deadline. The measles-rubella campaign marks the introduction of the rubella vaccine in India's childhood immunisation programme for the first time. Rubella, which is commonly referred to as German measles, is a mild infection, but can have serious consequences if it occurs in pregnant women. India's latest MR vaccine also protects against measles, a major killer of small children. Highly contagious, it spreads through contact. Nearly 37 per cent of the global burden of deaths due to measles is in India, mainly due to complications such as diarrhoea and pneumonia. The spokesman said Principal Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Atal Dulloo reviewed the progress of the campaign at a meeting here and asked the health authorities to build up awareness on a big scale in schools and outreach areas, where a stiff resistance has come up against the vaccination drive. The meeting was informed that Kathua, Leh and Kargil districts had already achieved 100 per cent targets, while Samba in Jammu and Budgam and Kulgam in Kashmir were on the verge of achieving their targets. Dulloo instructed the health authorities of those districts, which were far behind the target, to gear up to achieve the set targets by the end of this month, the spokesman said. PTI TAS RC Kota (Rajasthan), Nov 10 (PTI) A youth in his early 20's was stabbed to death by five men here over old enmity, police said Saturday. Bhuvnesh Valmiki, a resident of Bhadana area was attacked at around 9 pm on Friday in the city's Naval Park locality, circle in-charge (CI), Nayapura Police Station Manoj Rana said. The victim sustained three fatal injuries, two in the abdomen and one in the heart and was taken to the Maharao Bhim Singh hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, he said. The accused identified as Suraj, Akash and three others fled the spot after committing the crime, he said, adding that the five were booked for murder. Valmiki's body was handed over to his family members Friday after the postmortem examination, he added. RHL Next to him was Fred Finn, who said he has resided in the subdivision next to the vacant land for 19 years. He called the columbarium a great use for the property. The sample renderings were beautiful, Finn said, adding that the noise level of the rifle volleys would be minimal. High Streets need all the help they can get. The Mail has been campaigning to save them, and Philip Hammond delivered a boost in the Budget with tax cuts for small shops. But help could also be at hand from retirees, who prefer butchers and bakers to home deliveries from supermarkets. 'We know our owners enjoy having a mixture of shops, cafes and services on their doorstep, and they also relish the social interaction that comes with this type of shopping, compared with bigger out of town stores,' says Spencer McCarthy, chairman of Churchill Retirement Living, which builds schemes within striking distance of town centres. Full of life: Lichfield's High Street is within walking distance of McCarthy & Stone's Scott Place 'It's obvious that struggling High Streets need regular spenders to keep them alive,' he adds. Research from Henley Business School found 80 per cent of people living in retirement developments shop daily, and 40 per cent use services such as libraries and post offices every day. Nigel Sibley, of LifeCare Residences which runs Battersea Place, London's first luxury retirement village only a bus ride from Chelsea's King's Road, argues that the shopping habits of older people and their interest in eating out will shape the High Street. Like many retirees, one of the reasons former company director Ken Malin, 83, and his wife Dorothy moved from their home in Solihull to an apartment at McCarthy & Stone's Bilberry Place development was so they could be nearer the shops. Ken says: 'Moving to Bilberry Place has given Dorothy and I so much freedom. We're always taking a walk down the High Street together. 'Living so close to the town centre is essential for us. Once you're over 80, it's important you live in a convenient location so when you are unable to drive you don't feel isolated.' McCarthy & Stone has several schemes near town centres. There are properties for sale at Scott Place near the buzzy centre of Lichfield, Staffordshire, with one-bedroom homes from 195,000. At Keatley Place, a short walk from the pretty hub of Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire, there are one-bedroom apartments from 222,500, and in the Yorkshire market town of Settle there are 22 homes at the Wickets with two-bedroom homes priced from 309,999. 'Our customers are typically mortgage free and thanks to their spending power, could lead a much-needed High Street renaissance,' says Gary Day, of McCarthy & Stone. Audley Villages is building its first retirement community in the heart of Clapham, South London. Due for completion in 2020, a mix of one and two-bedroom homes are selling from 665,000. 'Gone are the days where getting older means moving to the country and slowing down,' says Audley's chief executive Nick Sanderson. 'More people want the vibrancy of cities with restaurants, cafes, boutiques and theatres on their doorstep. Neil MacKichan, of the retirement property website Retiremove, says: 'It's a misguided assumption that older people only visit corner shops or boutiques. 'Their spending power can lead to big purchases in larger stores, which is why local authorities should consider the benefits of nearby retirement housing in the planning process.' Gardner Denver Holdings, Inc. provides mission-critical flow control and compression equipment; and associated aftermarket parts, consumables, and services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through three segments: Industrials, Energy, and Medical. The Industrials segment designs, manufactures, markets, and services a range of air compression, vacuum, and blower products, as well as offers associated aftermarket parts, consumables, and services. Its products are used in process-critical applications, such as the operation of industrial air tools, vacuum packaging of food products, aeration of waste water, and others. This segment sells its products through an integrated network of direct sales representatives and independent distributors under the Gardner Denver, CompAir, Elmo Rietschle, Robuschi, and other brand names. The Energy segment engages in the design, manufacture, marketing, and service of a range of displacement and liquid ring vacuum pumps, compressors and integrated systems, and engineered fluid loading and transfer equipment, as well as offers associated aftermarket parts, consumables, and services under the Gardner Denver, Nash, Emco Wheaton, and other brands. It serves customers in upstream, midstream, and downstream energy markets, as well as petrochemical processing, transportation, and general industrial sectors. The Medical segment designs, manufactures, and markets a range of specialized gas, liquid, and precision syringe pumps and compressors for use in oxygen therapy, blood dialysis, patient monitoring, laboratory sterilization and wound treatment, and other applications. This segment sells its products under the Thomas and other brands. Gardner Denver Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Read More Rolls-Royce Holdings plc operates as an industrial technology company in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Civil Aerospace, Power Systems, Defence, and ITP Aero. The Civil Aerospace segment develops, manufactures, and sells aero engines for large commercial aircraft, regional jet, and business aviation markets, as well as provides aftermarket services. The Power Systems segment provides high-speed and medium-speed reciprocating engines, and propulsion and power generation systems for the marine, defense, power generation, and industrial markets. The Defence segment offers aero engines for military transport and patrol aircraft applications; and naval engines and submarine nuclear power plants, as well as aftermarket services. The ITP Aero segment engages in the design, research and development, manufacture and casting, assembly, and testing of aeronautical engines and gas turbines. It also provides maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for regional airlines, as well as business aviation, industrial, and defense applications. Rolls-Royce Holdings plc was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More She is a member of the villages Economic and Commercial Commission, which advises village officials in areas such as economic development, marketing and business retention. Galante also serves on the Marketing and Branding Commission, which is focused on promoting the villages branding efforts centered around live music events. SRC Energy Inc., an oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids primarily in the Denver-Julesburg Basin of Colorado. As of December 31, 2018, it had net proved oil and natural gas reserves of 88 million barrels of oil and condensate, 771.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and 89.1 million barrels of natural gas liquids; and operated 985 net producing wells, as well as had 95,200 gross and 86,200 net acres under lease in the Wattenberg Field. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Read More Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF's stock was trading at $37.30 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, VWO stock has increased by 36.9% and is now trading at $51.06. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. The following companies are subsidiares of Sherwin-Williams: Acquire Sourcing LLC, CTS National Corporation, Comex North America Inc., Compania Sherwin-Williams S.A. de C.V., Contract Transportation Systems Co., Dongguan Lilly Paint Industries Ltd, Duron, EPS (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., EPS B.V., Geocel Holdings, Geocel Limited, Guangdong Valspar Paints Manufacturing Co Ltd., Inver East Med S.A., Inver France SAS, Inver GmbH, Inver Industrial Coating SRL, Inver Polska Spoka Z O.O, Inver Spa, Invercolor Bologna Srl, Invercolor Ltd, Invercolor Roma Srl, Invercolor Torino Srl, Invercolor Toscana Srl, Isocoat Tintas e Vernizes Ltda, Isva Vernici Srl, Leighs Paints, M.A. Bruder & Sons, Omega Specialty Products & Services LLC, Oy Sherwin-Williams Finland Ab, PT Sherwin-Williams Indonesia, PT Valspar Indonesia, Paint Sundry Brands, Pinturas Condor S.A., Pinturas Industriales S.A., Piton Paints Limited, Plasti-Kote Co. Inc., Plasti-kote Limited, Productos Quimicos y Pinturas S.A. de C.V., Quest Automotive Products UK Limited, Quetzal Pinturas S.A. de C.V., Ronseal (Ireland) Limited, SWIMC LLC, SWIPCO Sherwin Williams do Brasil Propriedade Intelectual Ltda, Sherwin Williams Colombia S.A.S., Sherwin-Williams (Australia) Pty. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Belize) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (Caribbean) N.V., Sherwin-Williams (Ireland) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Sherwin-Williams (Nantong) Coatings Technology Co. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Nantong) Company Limited, Sherwin-Williams (S) Pte. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Shanghai) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Vietnam) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (West Indies) Limited, Sherwin-Williams Argentina I.y C.S.A., Sherwin-Williams Aruba VBA, Sherwin-Williams Automotive Mexico S.de R.L.de C.V., Sherwin-Williams Balkan S.R.L., Sherwin-Williams Bel Unitary Enterprise, Sherwin-Williams Benelux NV, Sherwin-Williams Canada Inc., Sherwin-Williams Cayman Islands Limited, Sherwin-Williams Chile S.A., Sherwin-Williams Coatings India Private Limited, Sherwin-Williams Coatings S.a r.l., Sherwin-Williams Czech Republic spol. s r.o, Sherwin-Williams Denmark A/S, Sherwin-Williams Deutschland GmbH, Sherwin-Williams Diversified Brands Limited, Sherwin-Williams France Finishes SAS, Sherwin-Williams Italy S.r.l., Sherwin-Williams Norway AS, Sherwin-Williams Paints Limited Liability Company, Sherwin-Williams Peru S.R.L., Sherwin-Williams Pinturas de Venezuela S.A., Sherwin-Williams Poland Sp. z o.o, Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings, Sherwin-Williams Realty Holdings Inc., Sherwin-Williams Services (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Sherwin-Williams Spain Coatings S.L., Sherwin-Williams Sweden AB, Sherwin-Williams UK Coatings Limited, Sherwin-Williams do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., Spanyc Paints Joint Stock Company, Syntema I Vaggeryd AB, Taiwan Valspar Co. Ltd., The Sherwin-Williams Acceptance Corporation, The Sherwin-Williams Headquarters Company, The Sherwin-Williams Manufacturing Company, The Sherwin-Williams US Licensing Company, The Valspar (Asia) Corporation Limited, The Valspar (Australia) Corporation Pty. Ltd., The Valspar (Finland) Corporation Oy, The Valspar (France) Corporation S.A.S., The Valspar (France) Research Corporation SAS, The Valspar (Malaysia) Corporation Sdn Bhd, The Valspar (Nantes) Corporation S.A.S., The Valspar (Singapore) Corporation Pte. Ltd, The Valspar (South Africa) Corporation (Pty) Ltd, The Valspar (Spain) Corporation S.R.L., The Valspar (Switzerland) Corporation AG, The Valspar (Thailand) Corporation Ltd., The Valspar (UK) Corporation Limited, The Valspar (Vietnam) Corporation Ltd., The Valspar Corporation, The Valspar Corporation Limitada, UAB Sherwin-Williams Baltic, Valspar (India) Coatings Corporation Private Limited, Valspar (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Valspar (Uruguay) Corporation S.A., Valspar (WPC) Pty Ltd, Valspar Aries Coatings S. de R.L. de C.V., Valspar Automotive (UK) Corporation Limited, Valspar Automotive Australia Pty Limited, Valspar B.V., Valspar Coatings (Guangdong) Co. Ltd., Valspar Coatings (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Valspar Coatings (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Valspar D.o.o Beograd, Valspar Industries (Ireland) Ltd., Valspar Industries (Italy) S.r.l., Valspar Industries GmbH, Valspar LLC, Valspar Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Valspar Paint (Australia) Pty Ltd, Valspar Paint (NZ) Limited, Valspar Powder Coatings Limited, Valspar Rock Company Limited (Japan), Valspar Specialty Paints LLC, and ZAO Sherwin-Williams. The following companies are subsidiares of Xerox: A B S Digital Limited, Acorn Business Machines (Holmfirth) Limited, Alloy Acquisitions Corp. LLC, Altodigital Networks, Altodigital Networks Limited, American Photocopy Equipment Company of Pittsburgh LLC, Amici, Arena Group, Arena Group Holdings Limited, Arena Group Limited, Arizona Office Technologies Inc., B 2 Business Systems Limited, Back2Business Limited, Bessemer Insurance Limited, Bessemer Trust Limited, Boise Office Equipment Inc., Bright Ceramic Technologies Inc., Bunch CareSolutions, Business Systems (North Wales) Limited, CPAS Systems, CREDITEX - Aluguer de Equipamentos S.A., CTX Business Solutions Inc., Capitol Office Solutions LLC, CareAR Holdings LLC, CareAR Inc., Carolina Office Systems Inc., Carr Business Systems Inc., Chicago Office Technology Group Inc., ComDoc Inc., Concept Group, Concept Group Limited, Connecticut Business Systems LLC, Consilience Software, Continua Limited, Continua Sanctum Limited, Conway Technology Group LLC, Copyrite Business Solutions (Holdings) Limited, Copyrite Business Solutions Limited, Copytrend Limited, Criterion IT Limited, Customer Value Group, Dahill Office Technology Corporation, Digitex, Digitex Canada Inc., Docucentric Holdings Limited, Document Systems, Document Systems, Eastern Managed Print Network LLC, Elan Marketing Inc., Electronic Systems Inc., Fovia (Innovation) Limited, G-Five Inc., GDP Technologies Inc., Global Imaging Systems, Global PR Corporation, Groupe CT, Gyricon LLC, Healthy Communities Institute, Heritage Business Systems Inc., ITEC Group, Image Technology Specialists Inc., ImageQuest Inc., Imagetek Office Systems, Impika, Impika SAS, Inland Business Machines Inc., Institute for Research on Learning, Integrity One Technologies Inc., Intrepid Learning, Invoco Group, Irish Business Systems, LRI LLC, LaserNetworks, LaserNetworks Inc., Lateral Data, Learn Something, Lewan & Associates Inc., Limited Liability Company Xerox (C.I.S.), M & S Reprographics Limited, MRC Smart Technology Solutions Inc., MT Business Holdings Inc., MT Business Technologies Inc., MWB Copy Products Inc., Mail A Doc Limited, Merizon Group Incorporated, Michigan Office Solutions Inc., Minnesota Office Technology Group Inc., Mitral Systems Limited, Mr. Copy Inc., Nemo (AKS) Limited, NewField IT, NewField Information Technology LLC, NewField Information Technology Limited, Northeast Office Systems LLC, Osprey Business Systems Limited, PARC China Holdings Inc., Pacific Services and Development Corporation, Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated, Platinum Digital Print Solutions Limited, Precision Copier Service Inc., Quality Business Systems Inc., Quilver Business Services Limited, R. K. Dixon Company, RRXH Limited, RRXIL Limited, RRXO Limited, RSA Medical, Rabbit Copiers Inc., Reflex Digital Solutions (UK) Limited, Reprographics Egypt Limited, Saxon Business Systems Inc., Smart Data Consulting, SoCal Office Technologies Inc., Stem Networks Limited, Stewart Business Systems LLC, Stewart of Alabama Inc., StrataCare, Talegen Holdings Inc., Tektronix - color printing, Text Comm Limited (in receivership), The Xerox (UK) Trust, The Xerox Foundation, Time Business Systems Limited, Triton Business Finance Limited, Una-Stem Limited, Veenman B.V., Veenman Financial Services B.V., WDS, WaterWare Internet Services, XC Asia LLC, XC Global Trading B.V., XC Trading Hong Kong Limited, XC Trading Japan G.K., XC Trading Korea YH, XC Trading Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., XC Trading Shenzhen Co. Ltd., XC Trading Singapore Pte Ltd., XEROX CZECH REPUBLIC s r.o., XESystems Foreign Sales Corporation, XFS Secured Borrowing 2020-1 LLC, XHC Acquisition Corp., XMPie, XMPie Inc., XMPie Ltd., XRI Limited, XRO Limited, Xerox (Europe) Limited, Xerox (Ireland) Limited, Xerox (Nederland) BV, Xerox (Romania) Echipmante Si Servici S.A., Xerox (UK) Limited, Xerox (Ukraine) Ltd LLC, Xerox A/S, Xerox AG, Xerox AS, Xerox Argentina Industrial y Comercial S.A., Xerox Austria GmbH, Xerox Bulgaria EOOD, Xerox Business Equipment Limited, Xerox Business Services Bulgaria EOOD, Xerox Business Solutions Inc., Xerox Business Solutions Southeast LLC, Xerox Buro Araclari Servis ve Ticaret Ltd. Sti, Xerox Canada Inc., Xerox Canada Ltd., Xerox Canada N.S. ULC, Xerox Capital (Europe) Limited, Xerox Capital LLC, Xerox Computer Services Limited, Xerox Comercio e Industria Ltda, Xerox Corporation, Xerox DNHC LLC, Xerox Dienstleistungsgesellschaft GmbH, Xerox Distributor Operations Limited, Xerox Egypt S.A.E., Xerox Equipment Limited, Xerox Equipment UK Limited, Xerox Espana S.A.U., Xerox Exports Limited, Xerox Finance AG, Xerox Finance Leasing S.A.E., Xerox Finance Limited, Xerox Financial Services B.V., Xerox Financial Services Belux NV, Xerox Financial Services Canada Ltd., Xerox Financial Services Danmark A/S, Xerox Financial Services Finland Oy, Xerox Financial Services LLC, Xerox Financial Services Norway AS, Xerox Financial Services SAS, Xerox Financial Services Sverige AB, Xerox Foreign Holdings LLC, Xerox Foreign Sales Corporation, Xerox GmbH, Xerox Health Care LLC, Xerox Hellas AEE, Xerox Holding Deutschland GmbH, Xerox Holdings (Ireland) Limited, Xerox Holdings Inc., Xerox Hungary Trading Limited, Xerox IBS Limited, Xerox IBS NI Limited, Xerox India Limited, Xerox International Joint Marketing Inc., Xerox Investments Europe B.V., Xerox Israel Ltd., Xerox Italia Rental Services Srl, Xerox Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Xerox Latinamerican Holdings Inc., Xerox Leasing Deutschland GmbH, Xerox Leasing GmbH, Xerox Limited, Xerox Luxembourg SA, Xerox Mailing Systems Limited, Xerox Manufacturing (Nederland) B.V., Xerox Maroc S.A., Xerox Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Xerox Middle East Investments (Bermuda) Limited, Xerox N.V., Xerox Overseas Holdings Limited, Xerox Overseas Inc., Xerox Oy, Xerox Pensions Limited, Xerox Polska Sp. z o. o, Xerox Portugal Equipamentos de Escritorio Limitada, Xerox Products Limited, Xerox Products UK Limited, Xerox Professional Services Limited, Xerox Realty Corporation, Xerox Renting S.A.U., Xerox Reprographische Services GmbH, Xerox S.A.S., Xerox S.p.A., Xerox Secured Borrowing 2020-1 LLC, Xerox Servicios Compartidos Guatemala y Compani Limitada, Xerox Servicos e Participacoes Ltda, Xerox Shared Services Romania SRL, Xerox Sverige AB, Xerox Technology Services India LLP, Xerox Technology Services SAS, Xerox Telebusiness GmbH, Xerox Trading Enterprises Limited, Xerox Trinidad Limited, Xerox UK Holdings Limited, Xerox XHB Limited, Xerox XIB Limited, Xerox Xf Holdings (Ireland) DAC, Xerox de Chile S.A., Xerox del Ecuador S.A., Xerox del Peru S.A., Zeno Office Solutions, Zeno Office Solutions Inc., Zoom Imaging Solutions Inc., and inVentiv Patient Access Solutions. The following companies are subsidiares of Brinker International: BI INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LLC, BI MEXICO HOLDING CORPORATION, BIPC GLOBAL PAYROLL COMPANY LLC, BIPC INVESTMENTS LLC, BIPC MANAGEMENT LLC, BRINKER AIRPORTS LLC, BRINKER ALABAMA INC., BRINKER ARKANSAS INC., BRINKER ASIA INC., BRINKER BRAZIL LLC, BRINKER CANADIAN HOLDING CO. ULC, BRINKER CANADIAN RESTAURANT CO. ULC, BRINKER CB LP, BRINKER CB MANAGEMENT LLC, BRINKER FHC B.V., BRINKER FLORIDA INC., BRINKER FREEHOLD INC., BRINKER GEORGIA INC., BRINKER INTERNATIONAL PAYROLL COMPANY L.P., BRINKER LOUISIANA INC., BRINKER MICHIGAN INC., BRINKER MISSISSIPPI INC., BRINKER MISSOURI INC., BRINKER NEVADA INC., BRINKER NEW JERSEY INC., BRINKER NORTH CAROLINA INC., BRINKER OF BALTIMORE COUNTY INC., BRINKER OF CARROLL COUNTY INC., BRINKER OF CECIL COUNTY INC., BRINKER OKLAHOMA INC., BRINKER OPCO LLC, BRINKER PENN TRUST, BRINKER PROPCO FLORIDA INC., BRINKER PROPERTY CORPORATION, BRINKER PURCHASING INC., BRINKER RESTAURANT CORPORATION, BRINKER RHODE ISLAND INC., BRINKER SERVICES CORPORATION, BRINKER SOUTH CAROLINA INC., BRINKER TEXAS INC., BRINKER VIRGINIA INC., CHILIS BEVERAGE COMPANY INC., CHILIS INC. a Delaware corporation, CHILIS INC. a Tennessee corporation, CHILIS INTERNATIONAL BASES B.V., CHILIS OF BEL AIR INC., CHILIS OF KANSAS INC., CHILIS OF MARYLAND INC., CHILIS OF WEST VIRGINIA INC., Grady's Inc., MAGGIANO'S OF ANNAPOLIS INC., MAGGIANO'S OF HOWARD COUNTY INC., MAGGIANO'S OF KANSAS INC., MAGGIANOS BEVERAGE COMPANY, MAGGIANOS HOLDING CORPORATION, MAGGIANOS INC., MAGGIANOS OF TYSONS INC., MAGGIANOS PROPERTY CORPORATION, MAGGIANOS TEXAS INC., PEPPER DINING HOLDING CORP., PEPPER DINING Inc., and PEPPER DINING VERMONT INC.. The new deal guarantees dual admission for any ECC student who plans to transfer to Elmhurst and allows them to earn up to 70 credit hours that can be transferred toward a bachelors degree from Elmhurst, an ECC news release said. Beyond that, dual enrollment means Elgin students have access to academic advisers from both schools and can participate in Elmhurst events and activities, the release said. Johnson was charged with one count each of armed violence, unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, obstructing justice by destroying evidence, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, resisting a peace officer and possession of a firearm with out an FOID card and two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance. All but two of the charges are felonies. New York Americans take out roughly $50 billion in payday loans a year, each racking up hundreds of dollars in fees and interest. But a small and growing service that allows its users to take an advance on their paycheck might be giving the payday loan industry a run for its money. San Francisco-based financial technology company Even made headlines late last year when Walmart, the nation's largest private employer, announced it would start offering Even's service as part of its employee benefits package. Along with providing tools that allow employees to track their spending and save money, Even features Instapay, which allows users to advance some of their next paycheck up to 13 days before payday. Because the Even user is tapping into his or her already accumulated hours, Even doesn't charge the employee interest on the advance. Even is one of a handful of technology companies have popped up in recent years looking to get wages to employees faster and on demand. Companies like FlexWage Solutions and Instant Financial offer on-demand pay, but those services are often tied to a debit card issued by the company instead of an employee's primary bank account. Even founder Jon Schlossberg has said publicly that part of the company's mission is to put the payday loan industry out of business, claiming it exploits the financially vulnerable. He shared internal usage data exclusively with The Associated Press that shows, at least preliminarily, that Even users are less likely to tap the payday loan market once they sign up for the company's services. "You have this entire industry of financial institutions taking advantage of Americans struggling to live paycheck to paycheck, and payday lenders are really the most predatory," Schlossberg said. Payday lenders say they provide a necessary service, with many Americans unable to come up with cash to cover an unexpected financial emergency. They also say they lend to the country's most desperate, who are often the highest risk for not paying back the loan. But critics say the rates and fees are exorbitant and can trap the borrower in a cycle of debt that can last months. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, under the Obama administration, was trying to regulate the payday lending industry nationwide, but under the Trump administration the bureau has begun the process of reversing those regulations. Even's data show that roughly 28 percent of its users took out a payday loan in the months before signing up for the service. Four months after signing up for Even, that figure drops to less than 20 percent. Even calculated the figure by studying usage behavior of its members from December 2017 until September 2018. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Even is able to tell which users are still using payday loans because Even users link their bank accounts to the app. The company is then able to tell what types of transactions a user is making, and whether they bear the characteristics of a payday loan transaction or name a payday lender as the other party. Schlossberg admits that Even could be missing some payday loan transactions, particularly ones where a check is used instead of a direct debit from a borrower's account. The data is also limited by the fact that Walmart, by far its biggest customer, only started using the product on December 15, 2017. Schlossberg said the company is working with academic researchers on the efficacy of Even's Instapay product versus payday loan usage, with the goal of publishing sometime in 2019. Walmart is the only company that publicly says it uses Even, but an Even spokesman says it has "more than" 10 companies signed up, with 400,000 active subscribers. Even does charge Walmart employees a $6 monthly fee to use its premium features, which includes Instapay. Consumer advocates, who have long targeted the payday lending industry, said they were glad to see alternatives to payday loans available but urged caution about their usage. "The decrease is interesting and potentially promising but too soon to draw any conclusions," said Scott Astrada, director of federal advocacy at the left-leaning Center for Responsible Lending. Porch said her favorite shadow box is called December 26. It shows the day after Christmas. Mrs. Claus is greeting Santa with a kiss to welcome him home while the elves are having their annual after Christmas party. Theyre enjoying pizza and soda and one of the elves, tired from working all season, is sleeping in a hammock. So a screenwriter, a photographer, the district attorney of Clinton County and Ben Stiller drop by a small-town street corner together to see a manhole. It sounds like the setup of a joke and that was a problem. "I got that," Stiller said recently. "'Ben Stiller is going to come up and make a comedy about this and make fun of us.'" His response to those assumptions that met his arrival two years ago in Dannemora, Clinton County, arrives on Showtime on Nov. 18 in the form of a seven-part miniseries called "Escape at Dannemora." The series is based on the real-life escape of two inmates from the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in 2015 they emerged from that same manhole and the weekslong summer manhunt through the thick woods of upstate New York near the Canadian border. The series stars Benicio Del Toro and Paul Dano as the inmates and Patricia Arquette, almost unrecognizable after gaining 40 pounds and a brash upstate accent, as Joyce Mitchell, the prison employee who helped them get out. All seven episodes were directed by Stiller, best known for his work in front of and behind the cameras in his own comedies, including the "Zoolander" films and "Tropic Thunder." The tawdry elements of the prison break story, including Mitchell's romantic entanglements with both inmates, would seem to lend themselves to a dark comedy. Not to Stiller. On the contrary, he has delivered a gritty, intense drama that calls to mind the dark thrillers of the 1970s, a suspenseful addition to the prison genre that wears its deep research and attention to detail on its black-and-white-striped sleeve. "I was curious how something like this really happens," Stiller said in an interview in his office in Manhattan. "That sort of led to learning more about the prison dynamics and the whole ecosystem of the prison." Two screenwriters, Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin, were working together on the series "Ray Donovan" when the inmates were discovered missing on June 6, 2015. They found the sensational details riveting: the inmates, David Sweat and Richard Matt, both convicted murderers, painstakingly sawed through their cell walls and a thick, wide steam pipe beneath the hulking prison and emerged from the nearby manhole. The hacksaws and other tools they used came from Mitchell, who initially planned to kill her husband and flee to Mexico with the convicts, but instead had a change of heart and a panic attack. The writers began working on a script even as the manhunt dragged on that summer. Then, on June 26, officers found Matt outside a trailer in the woods and shot him dead. Sweat was captured two days later. Mitchell and a corrections officer, Gene Palmer, played by David Morse, were arrested and charged with aiding their escape. The two writers brought a draft of a screenplay to Stiller, who had been in Italy filming "Zoolander 2" during the manhunt. "I asked them how much of it was real," he said. Fifty percent, they answered. Stiller passed. "I don't want to make something up," he said. Then, a year later, the state Inspector General's office released a 150-page report revealing the details of the events leading up to the escape and the lax oversight behind the prison walls that allowed the inmates to work on their plan for months unnoticed. "It read like this novel," Stiller said. The screenwriters found material and excerpts from interviews with those involved that were better than anything they could have made up. For example, Palmer, the officer, had recalled giving inmate Matt a package of ground beef in his cell, not knowing that Mitchell had hidden a blade inside. The gift itself was forbidden, but hardly uncommon in the quid-pro-quo relationship between jailer and jailed. "I knew," Palmer told investigators, "we were in a gray area with the meat." That sentence became a sort of mantra behind the scenes of the show, Stiller said. "The complacency that grew out of how old the place was," Stiller said of the prison, which opened in the middle of the 19th century. "Generationally, it's just been the same rules for years and years. A lot of corrections officers' parents, their fathers worked there, their grandfathers." The director and writers studied transcripts from the interviews with Sweat and others. Stiller contacted Andrew J. Wylie, the district attorney of Clinton County, and they set up the meeting at the manhole. A photographer who was there offered to show Stiller the trailer in the woods were Matt was flushed out by officers, and the patch of grass where he was shot and killed. "That really drew me in," Stiller said, "It was so eerie, the trailer and that nook in the woods." He filmed in the same trailer and recreated Matt's final seconds in exactly the same spot of grass, even using police officers who were present that day in 2015. Stiller and the cast, after receiving the blessing of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, visited Clinton Correctional and saw the cells and the catwalk used in the escape, which seemed to impress the staff. "They saw we were trying to tell the whole story," Stiller said. ALBANY New York's Department of Health has rescinded regulations that sought to ban flavored e-cigarettes and liquids after industry insiders raised concerns over their legality. The regulations, published Wednesday in the State Register, proposed a ban on the possession, manufacture, distribution or sale of flavored e-cigarette liquid or products across the state, in an effort to curb youth consumption of the products, which have risen to epidemic levels in recent years, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Once published, they would have gone through a 60-day public comment period, at which point the state health department would be free to enact the regulations. But less than 24 hours after the regulations were published, the department rescinded them. Richard Azzopardi, a spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said that was because the health department wanted to do one more round of legal review on the regulations and plans to refile them shortly. "As the governor previously said, he's very concerned about the rise in youth e-cigarette use and this administration is looking to do everything it can to curb this emerging public health issue," he said. Vaping advocates said the regulations were rescinded because they wouldn't withstand legal scrutiny, and expressed doubt that amended regulations would either. "If it's a proper legal review, they will never see the light of day again," said Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, a nonprofit advocacy group. He said the regulations were an attempted end-run around similar, failed legislation that's come before the state Legislature for several years now. The most recent bill, sponsored by Democrat Linda Rosenthal in the Assembly and Republican Kemp Hannon in the Senate, proposed a ban on the sale and distribution of flavored e-liquid for use in e-cigarettes. But it's languished in the committee process of both chambers. Conley said the proposed health department regulations likely constitute executive overreach because they usurp the lawmaking power of the Legislature. He pointed to the 1987 case of Boreali vs. Axelrod, in which the state Supreme Court decided New York's Public Health Council could not ban smoking indoors not because tobacco smoke wasn't bad, but because the authority to ban it lay with the Legislature. "There's been a flavor ban before the Legislature in New York," Conley said. "They haven't acted on it. There was no directive from the Legislature to the department saying, enact a ban or shut down vape shops. They clearly didn't engage experts on this." Michael Frennier, president of the New York State Vaping Association, said the lobbyist for his trade association reached out to the governor's office after the regulations were published to express concerns over their legality. A ban on flavored products, he said, would be devastating to the nearly 700 vape shops around the state and their 2,700 employees. "Ninety-eight percent of vape is flavors," he said. "It just is." Vaping liquids can be nicotine-free or contain varying amounts of the addictive chemical found in traditional tobacco cigarettes. Still, vaping critics are concerned about the health impacts from chemicals present even in nicotine-free vaping products. The debate over flavors is a troubling one for vaping advocates. They recognize their appeal to young people, they admit. But they also say a ban on flavors would harm the millions of Americans each year who try to quit smoking. Flavors have come to play an important role in the psychology of quitting smoking, Frennier said. "I'm a reformed smoker," he said. "I haven't had a cigarette in eight years. And I don't want anything that tastes like a cigarette anymore, which is why I enjoy my vapor with a nice fruity flavor." Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. They also dispute broad claims that suggest e-cigarettes are a gateway to traditional smoking. In the regulations posted Wednesday, the state Department of Health noted an "astounding" rise in e-cigarette use among high schoolers since it began tracking such data from 10.5 percent in 2014 to 27.4 percent in 2018. It also noted concern about the association between e-cigarette and traditional cigarette use, citing a recently published National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine report. That report concluded there is substantial evidence that use of e-cigarettes among young people increases the risk of ever using traditional cigarettes, and moderate evidence that it increases the frequency and intensity of that subsequent cigarette use. State health officials also noted in the regulations that for the first time in recent history, they have recorded an uptick in traditional cigarette smoking among youth in the state, from a record low 4.3 percent in 2016 to 4.8 percent in 2018. "Evidence exists that use of e-cigarettes could reverse the long-standing decline in combustible cigarette use and reverse the public health benefits that New York state has achieved," the regulations said. One impetus for imposing a ban via regulations, the proposal stated, was the lack of action on the FDA's part. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported on Thursday that the FDA is planning to announce a ban next week on flavored e-cigarettes in retail stores and gas stations around the country. That news comes after increasing pressure and scrutiny of Juul, an overnight startup success whose e-cigarettes resemble USB flash drives, which are now nearly ubiquitous among teens. The American Lung Association applauded New York's attempt to ban flavored products, but thinks it should go even further, banning all flavored cigarette and tobacco products, including menthol flavors. "From our perspective it's important that New York move forward because, unfortunately, we've seen many delays from the FDA over the years," said Michael Seilback, national assistant vice president of state public policy for the association. "If New York has the opportunity to act, it should act." ALBANY Citing the need for more class time, the University at Albany is considering removing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur from its list of official campus holidays. The proposal has prompted an on-line petition opposing the plan, which would put UAlbany on the same holiday schedule as state government agencies. Also on the chopping block: the morning after Easter Sunday, which has been an official day off as well. University officials stress that the plan hasnt been finalized. And if Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are no longer official holidays, neither students nor faculty members would be penalized for skipping class on those days. State laws requiring religious accommodations would prevent, for instance, administering an important exam or assignment that students couldnt make up during some other time period. They also emphasized that the changes arent specific to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rather, they are looking to end holidays that are not state government days off. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, which usually falls in September. It is followed by Yom Kippur, or the day of atonement, during which observant Jews fast and pray for forgiveness of sins committed during the previous year. The two days comprise the High Holy Days, the most important Jewish holidays of the year. Thats why the petition signers believe the days should remain as official holidays. The disruption will cause significant stress and anxiety to the Jewish student and faculty population that will be required to manage the observation of faith vs. academics during these "Days of Awe," reads part of the petition on Change.org urging the campus to keep the days as official holidays. The Days of Awe describes the Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur period. Nearly 900 students had signed the online petition as of Friday. The trouble is, UAlbany is required by state law to offer a full 15 weeks worth of classes per semester, said spokesman Jordan Carleo-Evangelist. And adding in the growing popularity of summer and winter session courses, there is less and less wiggle room for official holidays, he explained. More for you SUNY will offer training for student conduct boards If a couple of potential snow days are declared, and say, classes gets cancelled due to a heating malfunction or some other incident, the school would run up against the 15-week requirement. Growth in the January course offerings, which students can use to earn more course credits and try to graduate faster, has been particularly rapid. Enrollment there grew by about 47 percent from 2014 to 2018 from 1,150 students to 1,691. It has absolutely not been considered lightly but when we consider the academic calendar, the primary purpose is to serve students, said Carleo-Evangelist. The petition cites the SUNY Albany Hillels student executive board as opposing the change. Leaders of the group couldnt be reached on Friday. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. The campus Student Association Senate earlier in the week defeated a proposed resolution against the planned changes. Chairman Brandon Holdridge, in an email, said opponents of the move noted that many students go to UAlbany because it recognizes Jewish holidays. But those who didn't oppose the plans said they realized that keeping the holidays would be unfair to other faiths that don't get their holidays off. There is a sizable Jewish presence at UAlbany. A 2017 sampling found nearly 5 percent of the schools undergraduates identified as being Jewish. Holidays at UAlbany have come on and off the official day-off list over the years. Good Friday at one point was a day off as were the two major Muslim holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid adha, said the Rev. Sandy Damhof, a Protestant minister at the campus Interfaith Center. And the morning after Easter Sunday has been an official day off as well. She, like campus officials, stressed that students cant be penalized if they dont come to class on their religious holidays. Carleo-Evangelist stressed that the proposal is not specific to Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah; if adopted, it would end the practice of suspending classes on or around any holidays that are not also legal/government holidays. UAlbany is among just a few SUNY campuses that still gives official days off for Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur. As UAlbany looks at these changes, though, the Albany City school district, which has the Jewish holidays off, is looking at adding Eid al-Fitr as an official day off next year, said spokesman Ron Lesko. rkarlin@timesunion.com 518-454-5758 @RickKarlinTU MALTA A town report to consider establishing a tax district for the Malta-Stillwater EMS has caused critics of the proposed tax plan to question spending at the EMS station. A few residents are seeking answers on the EMS' annual banquet, a Las Vegas conference, a large fund balance and the use of credit cards for meals. The report has inspired one resident, Woody Sloat, to call for an investigation from the state Comptroller's Office or the state Attorney General. "I believe this report clearly supports the need for an independent inquiry by the New York State comptroller and or the Attorney General," said Sloat who called much of the report "sketchy." "It is a limited report and was not prepared by independent, experienced audit personnel." The 28-page map, plan and report, which is dated Oct. 26, includes an audit conducted by town Comptroller Kevin King and offered a slew of best practice recommendations for Malta-Stillwater EMS, including more internal controls on credit card use and creating purchasing and travel policies. Town board member Cynthia Young, who is heading up the effort to create an EMS tax district, emphasized however, that the report finds nothing "inappropriate." "To insinuate there is impropriety after a very extensive investigation that would warrant calling in state, no," said Young. "Yes, there were little inconsistencies, but nothing glaring. We didn't find anything terribly problematic." On Friday, Malta-Stillwater EMS officials including President Jean Tranka, Vice President Peter Klotz and Director Scott Skinner defended the agency's spending and assured that the agency, with a $2.4 million annual budget, is work toward adopting town recommendations. The banquet for example, at a cost $10,615, is a modest affair for 80 to 100 guests, they said, and a way to thank volunteers and swear-in new officers. "It's a team-building experience, some place where all of us get together," Tranka said. "We are all one family. As such, we get together once a year to recognize that we are all in this together. It's a thankless task. We do the research and are conscious of our spending." As for spending on meals, about $1,400, Tranka said there are times that the crew is called to transport patients to Syracuse, Westchester or Boston. During those times, they are allowed to purchase meals. Tranka said the Las Vegas conference, costing $1,600, was for a member who returned with ideas on equipment and best practices "that he shared with us." The town, which currently funds the EMS out of its annual town budget at a cost of $484,000 in 2018, recommended the EMS agency to establish formal travel and meal policies. As for the fund balance, Tranka said that there are plans to divide the funds into designated spending pots including one for the 15-year-old building that needs new windows, which Allerdice will install for $24,650, and one for vehicles, including this year's purchase of an ambulance at $250,000 and a fly car at $48,000. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Sloat said those items could be paid for from the $730,119 fund balance and the EMS station would still have money leftover. Mainly, he's also doesn't want a tax. "I want to see cuts," Sloat said. "I would like to see a minimum of a $100,000 reduction. I don't think the EMS should continue to pile up money at our expense." Young said the tax rate, if established, now stands at 17 cents per $1,000 assessed value or 18 cents per $1,000 assessed value if Round Lake opts out of the tax district. The tax district would have to be approved by voters in a referendum, perhaps in 2019. Young said funding the EMS through a tax as opposed to a line item in the budget "is a more reliable funding source." Klotz, who sat on the town board, said he understands residents' anxiety over a new tax, but pointed out that Malta is the only town in Saratoga County that doesn't have one. He also said that he realizes updates in policies and bylaws are necessary. "We are not a little store working out of a gas station operating on the back of an envelope," Klotz said. "We are a multimillion dollar agency. We are asked to step up our game and are ready to do that." New York A ring of savvy car thieves in New York exploited a bureaucratic weakness by registering many of their ripped-off Lamborghinis and Range Rovers in South Dakota, a state that lets people register out-of-state vehicles by mail and wasn't thoroughly checking to see if they were stolen, the FBI said. Federal prosecutors in New York brought federal conspiracy charges against seven people this week, blaming them for the thefts of 60 vehicles. The ring registered many of the stolen cars in South Dakota, a state the FBI said conducted "fewer or no checks" to confirm lawful ownership of registered vehicles compared to other states. The South Dakota Division of Motor Vehicles did not respond to a request for comment Friday. A spokeswoman for Gov. Dennis Daugaard declined to comment. The FBI and New York State Police said they dismantled the crew following a months-long investigation that involved wiretapping, undercover surveillance in several states and an analysis of cell tower data. The defendants are charged with federal counts of conspiracy and possession, sale and transportation of stolen cars. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. "They stole from rightful owners and used a criminal network of thieves, fraudsters and forgers to line their pockets, all while driving themselves around in stolen Lamborghinis, Range Rovers and other pilfered prizes," U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement. "With our partners at the FBI and the State Police, we have slapped a boot onto these fast-paced heists and will now tow the defendants off to justice." In all, the group stole about $3.1 million worth of vehicles, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan. The heists included the theft of five 2017 Nissan Titan pickups taken from a dealership in Tallahassee, Florida, and a Lamborghini Huracan stolen in Miami, according to court documents. Two Vermont women face charges after one of them fled from police and the other later allowed her into her car, State Police said. Troopers Friday were on the lookout for a car that fled an incident on the state Thruway and spotted it heading north on the Northway in Saratoga County. She has been Maine Wests assistant principal for teaching and learning since 2017. Prior to that, she was assistant principal for curriculum and instruction at Highland Park High School for three years, and also served as chair of the schools English department for two years, District 207 said. McMahon previously taught English at Bexley High School in Ohio and at New Trier High School in Winnetka, according to the district. [November 09, 2018] Health Net Provides Assistance to Woolsey Fire Evacuees in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties Health Net of California, Inc. announced today that it is providing assistance to members in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties affected by the Woolsey Fire. Health Net is helping ensure that members who have lost their homes, or have been evacuated, due to wildfire activity in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties have access to essential prescription medications, critical Health Net information and other healthcare services to help them cope with grief, loss, stress or trauma. On Nov. 9, 2018, Acting Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties due to the Woolsey Fire, which has threatened critical infrastructure, homes and other structures, closed roadways and caused the evacuation of residents. Prescription Information Health Net will approve any essential prescription medications (with current copayments and deductibles) for any Health Net member in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties whose medicine was lost in a fire or remained behind during an evacuation. To obtain an emergency supply, affected members need to return to the pharmacy where the original prescription was filled. If the pharmacy is not open due to the state of emergency, or for questins or assistance, Health Net members should call 1-800-400-8987. Coping Assistance Health Net members who have lost their homes or have been evacuated due to the current wildfire should contact MHN, Health Net's behavioral health subsidiary, for referrals to mental health counselors, local resources or telephonic consultations to help them cope with stress, grief, loss or other trauma resulting from the fire. For the duration of the fire and its immediate aftermath, affected Health Net members should contact MHN 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-800-227-1060. Information for Healthcare Providers The company is taking steps to help ensure that healthcare providers in areas affected by the wildfire are able to continue providing for Health Net members' medical needs. Healthcare providers who contract with Health Net should call 1-800-641-7761 for guidance on prescription refill guidelines, length of time to obtain authorizations for treatment, or approval for out-of-network services in the event a contracting provider or facility becomes unavailable. Other Important Information Depending on how the fire situation progresses, Health Net may make additional changes to its policies as needed to help ensure members have access to necessary healthcare services. About Health Net At Health Net of California, Inc., we believe every person deserves a safety net for their health, regardless of age, income, employment status or current state of health. Founded 40 years ago, we remain dedicated to transforming the health of our community, one person at a time. The company's more than 3,000 employees and 85,000 network providers serve more than 3 million members across California. That's one in 13 Californians, throughout every county in the State. Health Net provides health plans for individuals, families, employers, people with Medicare, and people with Medi-Cal - a plan for every stage of life. Health Net also offers access to behavioral health, substance abuse and employee assistance programs, and managed healthcare services related to prescription drugs. Health Net of California, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC). For more information, visit HealthNet.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181109005608/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 09, 2018] Health Net Provides Assistance to Hill Fire Evacuees in Ventura County Health Net of California, Inc. announced today that it is providing assistance to members in Ventura County affected by the Hill Fire. Health Net is helping ensure that members who have lost their homes, or have been evacuated, due to wildfire activity in Ventura County have access to essential prescription medications, critical Health Net information and other healthcare services to help them cope with grief, loss, stress or trauma. On Nov. 9, 2018, Acting Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Ventura County due to the Hill Fire, which has threatened critical infrastructure, homes and other structures, closed roadways and caused the evacuation of residents. Prescription Information Health Net will approve any essential prescription medications (with current copayments and deductibles) for any Health Net member in Ventura County whose medicine was lost in a fire or remained behind during an evacuation. To obtain an emergency supply, affected members need to return to the pharmacy where the original prescription was filled. If the pharmacy is not open due to the state of emergency, or for questions or assistance, Health Net members shold call 1-800-400-8987. Coping Assistance Health Net members who have lost their homes or have been evacuated due to the current wildfire should contact MHN, Health Net's behavioral health subsidiary, for referrals to mental health counselors, local resources or telephonic consultations to help them cope with stress, grief, loss or other trauma resulting from the fire. For the duration of the fire and its immediate aftermath, affected Health Net members should contact MHN 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-800-227-1060. Information for Healthcare Providers The company is taking steps to help ensure that healthcare providers in areas affected by the wildfire are able to continue providing for Health Net members' medical needs. Healthcare providers who contract with Health Net should call 1-800-641-7761 for guidance on prescription refill guidelines, length of time to obtain authorizations for treatment, or approval for out-of-network services in the event a contracting provider or facility becomes unavailable. Other Important Information Depending on how the fire situation progresses, Health Net may make additional changes to its policies as needed to help ensure members have access to necessary healthcare services. About Health Net At Health Net of California, Inc., we believe every person deserves a safety net for their health, regardless of age, income, employment status or current state of health. Founded 40 years ago, we remain dedicated to transforming the health of our community, one person at a time. The company's more than 3,000 employees and 85,000 network providers serve more than 3 million members across California. That's one in 13 Californians, throughout every county in the State. Health Net provides health plans for individuals, families, employers, people with Medicare, and people with Medi-Cal - a plan for every stage of life. Health Net also offers access to behavioral health, substance abuse and employee assistance programs, and managed healthcare services related to prescription drugs. Health Net of California, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC). For more information, visit HealthNet.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181109005610/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 09, 2018] CAMPING WORLD SHAREHOLDER ALERT By Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against Camping World Holdings, Inc. - CWH Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until December 18, 2018 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Camping World Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CWH), if they purchased the Company's Class A shares between March 8, 2017 and August 7, 2018, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. What You May Do If you purchased Class A shares of Camping World and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-cwh/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by December 18, 2018. About the Lawsuit Camping World and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On August 7, 2018, the Company disclosed a wide range of disappointing results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 including a decline in same-store revenue, adjusted EBITDA 9% below guidance, a continuing decline in its adjusted EBITDA margin of 250 basis points year-over-year, and additional complications with its Gander Mountain Co. operations. On this news, the price of Camping World's Class A shares plummeted 14%, to close at $19.04 per share on August 8, 2018. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include the former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181109005603/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 09, 2018] SEABOARD INVESTIGATION INITIATED by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates the Officers and Directors of Seaboard Corporation - SEB Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into Seaboard Corporation (NYSE: SEB). Since September 2014, the Company has been the subject of numerous subpoenas and informal inquiries by the U.S. Department of Justice relating to foreign entities and an affiliate of Seaboard, including a 2017 probe into money transfers and bank accounts in Congo and other African countries seeking "to interview certain Seaboard employees and to obtain testimony before a grand jury." In February 2016, the Company revealed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was investigating it under the Clean Air Act with regard to ammonia releases at an Oklahoma processing plant, disclosing later in December 2017 that it had settled the violations by "agreeing to pay a civil penalty and to implement a supplemental environmental projectboth totaling less than $1 million." Recently, on November 8, 2018, the Company announced a $1,006,000 civil settlement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security nd the Oklahoma Attorney General relating to employment practices by the company's pork production plant in Guymon, Oklahoma. KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Seaboard's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to Seaboard's shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws. If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of Seaboard shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-seb/ to learn more. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181109005599/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A new trend in smartphone design is unfolding right before our eyes. After a decade of putting out candy-bar-style slabs, phone makers are looking to shake things up. And if expansive, bezel-free displays don't grab you, companies are hoping that devices with bendable screens will. Samsung is the latest to unveil a foldable smartphone, but it's certainly not the first company to do so nor will it be the last. By making devices with expandable displays, phone makers hope to meet the needs of people who increasingly view that device in their pocket as their primary way of getting things done. And if these new designs happen to give a jolt to smartphone sales, all the better. Here's an overview of all the foldable smartphones that have been announced and how they compare to one another. Phone ZTE Axon M Royole FlexPai Samsung Infinity Flex Phone Price $724.99 $1,318 Unknown Unfolded Screen Size (Resolution) 6.5 inches (2160 x 1920) 7.8 inches (1920 x 1440) 7.3 inches (2152 x 1536) CPU Snapdragon 821 Snapdragon 8 Series Unknown RAM 4GB 6GB, 8GB Unknown Storage 64GB 128GB, 256GB Unknown Cameras 20MP (f/1.8) 16MP/20MP (f/1.8) Unknown OS Android 7 Nougat Android 9 Pie Android 9 Pie Availability Now Shipping December 2018 Unknown Samsung Infinity Flex Phone After years of rumors, hints and teases, we finally got a look at Samsung's foldable phone when the company offered a sneak peek at its annual developers' conference. And yet, even after seeing the phone out in the wild, there's still plenty we don't know about it. Let's start with the name. Samsung hasn't told us what it's calling this phone, simply referring to the device's Infinity Flex display during that developers' conference preview. Rumors had Samsung naming the phone the Galaxy X or Galaxy F; we have no idea which of those two options the company will take or if it has a different name entirely in mind. If you're wondering what processor powers the phone, continue to speculate. Samsung hasn't talked about that, how the cameras might work or even what the physical dimensions of its Infinity Flex phone are. The phone was visible only from a darkened keynote stage, so we'd have to guess this is an early prototype. We do have a good idea of just how the phone will unfold, though. Samsung's device will open and shut like a book. When the handset's open, you're looking at a 7.3-inch AMOLED screen that offers more detail than what you'd get from a standard smartphone display. Fold up the phone, and you've still got a 4.58-inch cover display with the same touch-screen functionality you've come to expect from a mobile device. The phone will run a version of Android designed to support foldable devices, and Samsung is touting a couple of neat software features. App continuity means that the app you're looking at on the smaller, cover screen will remain open on the full display when you unfold the phone the part of the app you were looking at will even be front and center. You'll also be able to multitask on Samsung's phone, because the Multi-Active Window feature lets you run three apps side by side. MORE: How Apps Will Look on Samsung's Wild Foldable Phone When Can I Get It? Samsung says it's ready to start mass production on its foldable display in the coming months, though there's no explicit timeline. We'd guess that Samsung will have a fully fleshed-out foldable phone sometime in 2019. What Does It Cost? That's an even bigger mystery. The rumors building up to the unveiling of the Infinity Flex display suggested that the phone would be in the ballpark of $1,800. That's a pretty expensive device, but consider that Samsung sells the Galaxy Note 9 for $999, and the phone's screen doesn't fold at all. Expect to pay more for a device sporting breakthrough technology. FlexPai Samsung's announcement of a folding phone grabbed all the headlines, but that company's device is not the only foldable smartphone to debut this year. A week before the Infinity Flex announcement, a little-known company named Royole unveiled the FlexPai, which also has a foldable screen. And Royole is already taking orders on its device. (Image credit: Royole) The FlexPai works a little differently from Samsung's phone. Instead of folding like a book, the FlexPai's 7.8-inch display folds downward, leaving you with a screen on either side of the device. It looks the hinge of the FlexPai is an active screen as well when folded. Royole contends that the folded-up phone fits in your pocket, though it still looks pretty bulky to us, based on the hands-on videos posted since the phone's Oct. 31 debut. At 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches and 11.3 ounces, it's certainly not a slender device. The FlexPai enjoys another advantage over Samsung's phone besides beating it to market: Royole has posted the actual specs. The folding phone runs on a Snapdragon 8-series system on a chip Royole doesn't specify which Qualcomm chipset with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. You've got a pair of cameras on one corner of the device: a 16-megapixel lens and a 20-MP shooter. And a dual-view camera modes shows you the photo from each screen should you have the FlexPai folded. A 3,800-mAh battery powers the phone, and that unfolded AMOLED display offers 1920 x 1440 resolution. (Image credit: Royole) People who've seen the FlexPai in action say the phone is a little rough around the edges, and the videos posted online tend to support that verdict. A big problem seems to be that the FlexPai has trouble recognizing the orientation of the device when it's folded up, switching between landscape and portrait modes willy-nilly. Royole has said it's still fine-tuning the Android 9-based Water OS that runs on the FlexPai. When Can I Get It? You can order a FlexPai Developer Model from Royole right now if you're daring enough, but don't expect it to ship right away. As of this writing, Royole's website says that orders will be fulfilled starting in late December. That sounds a lot like the phone will arrive in early 2019. What Does It Cost? A 128GB FlexPai Developer Model will set you back $1,318. The price climbs to $1,469 if you double the storage to 256GB. Expensive? Sure. But to put that figure in context, an iPhone XS Max with 512GB of storage costs $1,449. Royole FlexPai Royole FlexPai ZTE Axon M What if I told you that a folding phone is already available and that you could have bought it at any time in the last year? That would be the ZTE Axon M, which debuted in the fall of 2017 but hasn't really captured the attention of smartphone shoppers. The Axon M isn't quite in the same class as the FlexPai or the foldable phone still in development at Samsung. Those phones feature screens that fold in two, whereas the Axon M is a dual-display phone that, when unfolded, positions those two LCD screens next to each other. The unfolded phone gives you a 6.5-inch display with 2160 x 1920 resolution and a visible hinge running down the center. When we reviewed the Axon M, we liked the ability to run two apps side by side but were disappointed by the phone's lone, 20-megapixel camera and the device's subpar battery life. Also, the phone ships with Android Nougat, which is a little behind the times. When Can I Get It? The Axon M is an AT&T exclusive, so you can buy it from that wireless carrier right now. What Does It Cost? At least you won't have to pay a lofty price for the Axon M. ZTE's phone costs a relatively cheap $724.99 at AT&T. Buy the phone in installments, and you'll pay $24.17 a month for the next 30 months. ZTE Axon M ZTE Axon M Other Rumored Foldable Phones The parade of folding smartphones hasn't ended just because Samsung entered the scene. If anything, you should expect to see more of these bendable devices as we head into 2019. Phone leaker Ice Universe predicted on Twitter that we would see foldable phones from "at least three smartphone brands" at the CES and Mobile World Congress trade shows and that total didn't include Samsung. So, who else has a folding smartphone tucked up their sleeve? Here are the rumors we've heard so far. Huawei: This one isn't exactly a state secret. Huawei CEO Richard Yu has said that the Chinese phone maker was working on a foldable phone of its own and that it would work on next-generation 5G wireless networks. (Image credit: Huawei) That last detail provides a hint as to when we can expect Huawei's foldable device. Most 5G wireless networks won't be ready until the first half of 2019, and that's only the initial rollout. Then again, nothing's stopping Huawei from offering a preview of the phone before 5G networking comes online. LG: Evan Blass, another well-regarded leaker of smartphone details, contends that LG will have a foldable phone at CES in January. The story's not out of left field; like Samsung, LG makes displays, and in the past, the company has demoed panels that can fold, bend and roll up. Earlier this year, LG received a patent for a smartphone that folded shut. What's more, the manufacturer will deliver a keynote address at CES. For its part, LG hasn't commented on the rumor. The company did tell Digital Trends that "anything is possible at CES." Others: Back in 2016, Lenovo demonstrated a prototype phone that could bend around your wrist like a bracelet, as well as a 10-inch tablet that could fold in two. In the subsequent two years, Lenovo and its Motorola phone brand have been awarded their own patents for foldable devices. Speaking of patents, Apple can point to its share covering foldable phone technologies and concepts. At least one analyst believes Apple will have its own folding iPhone out by 2020. As is typical, Apple is mum on its future phone plans. Credit: Tom's Guide The Samsung Galaxy S8 is a very good value because of its captivating infinity display, strong performance and long battery life for under $500. The Samsung Galaxy S8 is a very good value because of its captivating infinity display, strong performance and long battery life for under $500. The Galaxy S8 has been around for a couple of years, but it's still a strong choice for those looking for flagship-level design and solid performance for under $500. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ boast 5.8- and 6.2-inch infinity displays, which go from edge to edge, and these handsets feature Qualcomms relatively zippy Snapdragon 835 processor for speedy performance. Were still not fans of the fingerprint sensors location. But when you add in excellent battery life and improvements to a camera that was already very good, you have two winning handsets with the Galaxy S8 and S8+. See our best phones list for all of our top picks. Galaxy S8 price and release date The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ were released in April of 2017. You can now get the Galaxy S8 starting at $499 with 64GB of storage. The larger Galaxy S8+ isn't as readily available, but it retails for about $589. However, we've seen this phone for as low as $364 on Amazon. You may want to keep an eye out for Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday deals to see if these phones get discounted during the holiday season. Design: It feels like the future The Galaxy S8 exemplifies a nearly bezel-free phone done right. Samsung didnt just take away the bezels on this phone; it crafted a space-age work of art with a new infinity display that stretches from edge to edge. The Galaxy S8 not only has a slightly bigger screen-to-body ratio than LGs phone but also looks sleeker because of the way the Gorilla Glass curves toward the edges on the front and back. Other Android phones look like blah, flat slabs by comparison. The S8 is also thinner and narrower than the G6. The screen on the S8 is 5.8 inches, versus 6.2 inches on the S8+. But other than the difference in display size, the S8 and S8+ have the same design. Overall, we prefer the bigger screen on the S8+, but if you have small hands, youll likely find yourself repositioning the phone in your hand to reach certain buttons, including the home button, which is now a virtual button instead of a physical key. The button worked well in our testing, providing solid haptic feedback. Its flanked by the Recent Apps and Back buttons. Whats remarkable about the Galaxy S8 is how much more screen real estate it gives you compared with the S7, while still offering a compact and lightweight design. The S8s 5.8-inch screen is housed in a 5.5-ounce, 2.7-inch-wide chassis, whereas the 5.1-inch S7 weighed 5.4 ounces and had the same width. The S8 is taller, but its still easy to use with one hand. With its 6.2-inch screen, the 6.1-ounce S8+ is heftier than the 5.5-ounce, 5.5-inch S7 Edge. But the S8+ makes the iPhone 8 Plus (6.2 x 3.1 x 0.29 inches, 7.13 ounces) look positively bloated. Plus, unlike the latest iPhones, the S8 and S8+ have headphone jacks. No matter which size you choose, it wont be long before you see fingerprint smudges on the back of the phone. The smudges were especially prominent on the midnight black version of the S8 and S8+, but you can also choose the lighter orchid gray or arctic silver, which dont show smudges as easily. Galaxy S8 Galaxy S8+ Price From $499 From $589 Display (Pixels) 5.8 inches (2960 x 1440) Super AMOLED 6.2 inches (2960 x 1440) Super AMOLED Camera (Back) 12 MP, f /1.7 aperture 12 MP, f /1.7 aperture Camera (Front) 8 MP, f/ 1.7 aperture 8 MP, f/1.7 aperture Biometric Scanning Facial recognition, iris scanner, fingerprint reader Facial recognition, iris scanner, fingerprint reader CPU Snapdragon 835 Snapdragon 835 RAM 4GB 4GB Storage 64GB 64GB microSD up to 256GB up to 256GB Battery 3,000 mAh 3,500 mAh Battery Life (4G) 10:39 11:04 Size 5.9 x 2.7 x 0.3 inches 6.3 x 2.9 x 0.3 inches Weight 5.5 ounces 6.1 ounces Colors Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Arctic Silver Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Arctic Silver Android Version 7.0 Nougat 7.0 Nougat Charging USB Type-C USB Type-C Wireless Charging WPC and PMA WPC and PMA About that fingerprint sensor We were worried that the fingerprint sensors placement right next to the camera on the back of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ might be a problem. And it was, initially. Because the sensor is fairly narrow, its difficult to target it without looking. We got used to it after a couple of days, but we still wish it were below the lens. If you dont want to reach around the S8 to unlock your phone, you can choose from a couple of other biometric options that Samsung gives you. Theres facial recognition, as well as iris scanning. Iris scanning unlocks your phone faster and even works in the dark, but it doesnt work in direct sunlight; your eyes need to be fully open, so squinting isnt an option. The facial recognition is not only slower but also had trouble in direct sunlight and doesnt work in the dark. Our advice? Use the iris scanning everywhere except in the sun, and when there is bright light, just use the fingerprint scanner. Display: The perfect screen is here Apple is bringing an OLED screen to the iPhone X, but you have to pay a grand for the privilege. Sporting a resolution of 2960 x 1440 pixels, both the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ turned in nearly perfect scores on our tests, offering a very bright picture, amazingly vivid colors and near-perfect color accuracy. The extra-wide 18.5:9 aspect ratio doesnt work well with some apps, but overall, we like how immersive the experience is when watching video and playing games. When watching the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer, we could make out every wrinkle in Reys hands as she seemed to levitate the rocks around her with the Force, as well as every rising ring of smoke around Kylo Rens smoldering mask. As the camera panned around to the island where Luke was training Rey, it was hard not to be impressed by the golden sunshine that reflected off the water, as well as the lush, green foliage dotting the mountains. The S8 backed up our experience by reproducing a superb 183 percent of the sRGB color gamut. That blows away the LG G6s 134 percent, but the AMOLED screen on the Google Pixel scored an even higher 191 percent. (However, when you turn on Adaptive Display mode on the Galaxy S8, it can reach as high as 255 percent.) If youre looking for accurate color, the S8 can deliver that, too. In its AMOLED photo mode, the display notched a Delta-E score of 0.28 (0 is perfect). The LG G6 was closest, at 1.01, but the Pixel XL was way behind, with 5.88. Like the LG G6, the Galaxy S8s screen is HDR certified, which means you can enjoy a wider range of colors and better contrast on videos that support the standard. Amazon, Netflix and YouTube offer a growing variety of HDR-ready movies and shows. The 18.5:9 aspect ratio doesnt work well with every app. For instance, in Super Mario Run, we noticed unsightly bars above and below the game. But Samsungs own apps are optimized, and you can fill the screen by pushing a button while watching YouTube and Netflix, even if the video looks a bit stretched out. Since our initial review, some users complained about a red tint appearing on their S8 screens, but Samsung has released a fix. Audio: Poppin For a small speaker, the Galaxy S8 pumps out pretty sweet sound. When we listened to Justin Timberlakes Cant Stop the Feeling, on this phone, the lyrics were clearer, and the volume was louder, than the same track on the LG G6. The latter handset sounded slightly muffled by comparison. However, you dont get stereo sound from the Galaxy S8 as you do from the HTC U Ultra. The S8's Snapdragon 835 muscle blitzes every other Android phone on the market. Performance: A handheld powerhouse The Galaxy S8 goes boldly forward into a new era of speed, thanks to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 system on a chip (at least in the U.S.; in other regions, the S8 will have Samsung's Exynos 8895 chip). The S8 also comes with a healthy 4GB of memory, 64GB of storage (twice the amount you get from base models of the LG G6 and the Google Pixel) and microSD card expansion for people who need even more space. When you put it all together, the S8's muscle blitzes every other Android phone on the market, but it falls short of the iPhone 8's A11 Bionic chip. The S8 almost always feels exceedingly snappy, no matter if you're vaulting over Goombas in Super Mario Run or mowing down aliens in N.O.V.A. Legacy. We didnt experience any lag when using multiwindow mode for chatting with friends while streaming video on YouTube. If you pay close attention, you may notice that some of the transitions when switching between apps aren't 100 percent smooth, but that seems mostly cosmetic. In terms of benchmark performance, the Galaxy S8s multicore score of 6,295 in the Geekbench 4 overall performance test was more than 50 percent higher than that of its closest Android competitor, the Snapdragon 821-powered Google Pixel XL (4,146). However, the iPhone 8 scored above 10,000 on this test. The Galaxy S8's graphics power was also quite impressive, as it hit 36,508 on 3DMark's Ice Storm Unlimited test. Other Android adversaries, like the LG G6 (29,611) and the Google Pixel XL (28,182), were farther behind. But the iPhone 8 scored a much higher 64,532. New for the S8 is Samsung's Device Management tab, which is best accessed by swiping in from the Edge tab. It offers a quick look at the status of your device, including battery status, power mode (optimized, performance, game or entertainment), available storage and your current memory usage. There's even an optimization button that cleans up any lingering apps and clears your cache, which is a handy tool for people who go weeks or months without actually turning off their devices. Cameras: Better on both the front and back When we first found out that the S8's 12-megapixel rear camera is ostensibly the same as the one on last year's S7, we were a bit disappointed. But that rush of emotion was a bit premature, because under the hood, Samsung made some important software enhancements. And then you toss in a new, higher-resolution, 8-MP front cam, and you get a phone that produces noticeably better pictures no matter which shooter you're using. The most important tweak comes in the form of Samsung's new multi-image photo processing, which mimics the operation of the Google Pixel's HDR+ mode by taking multiple pictures when you press the shutter, selecting the best one, and enhancing that image with extra details and info from the remaining two pics. When we took both the S8+ and a Pixel XL out for some side-by-side testing, it was clear that Samsung's adjustments have had a pretty positive effect. At a nearby farmer's market, the S8 captured a crate full of apples with better contrast, richer colors and better details than the Pixel XL. And when I continued down the street, the S8+ topped the Pixel XL again when I snapped a pic of some flowers, this time offering better white balance than Google's phone, as evidenced by the greenish hue on the white flower's petals. But it wasn't a clean sweep for the S8+. When I really tried to push both cameras to the limit by shooting a backlit scene pointing straight at the sun, the Pixel XL stunned us with a shot featuring big, bold colors and sharp details, even though there was some serious lens flare going on. Inside, in pretty much ideal conditions, the S8+ and the Pixel XL were again neck and neck. The one difference is that the Pixel's cool color tone brought out the green in the pistachio macaroon, while the pic from the S8 sported a more neutral white balance, which led to a more pleasing overall photo. Finally, at a local bar with even less light to work with, both the Pixel XL and the Galaxy S8 impressed us with photos that were brighter than the scenes in real life. Small differences included less blown-out highlights in the S8's pic, which was countered by more detail in the darker areas of the scene in the Pixel's photo. When it comes to tweaking your photos or changing modes, Samsung has added new Snapchat-like filters that let you decorate faces with various animal masks, hats and other silly emojis. But if that doesn't strike your fancy, the camera also comes with modes for shooting panoramas, food, slow-mo and more. And as with all good camera apps, there's also a Pro mode that lets you adjust settings manually. As for selfies, the S8 and S8+ sport new 8-MP cams with a wide-angle lens, which makes it easy to snap you and all your besties at once. However, compared with the Pixel XL's 8-MP camera, the S8's selfies can sometimes be a little lacking. We compared photos shot by the S8 and the Pixel XL outside on a sunny day. The Pixel XL's photo had an extra level of sharpness and detail we didn't get from the S8+. Our face looked a little too smooth and perfect on the Samsung, to the point where we were wondering whether Beauty Mode was kicking in even when we had it set to 0. The Galaxy S8s camera can shoot 4K video at 30 frames per second and slow-mo video at up to 240 frames per second at 720p. (In comparison, the LG G6 shoots at just 60 fps in slow-mo.) To test the Galaxy S8s video quality, we shot some footage of a pond with fish swimming about in 4K. The S8s footage looked crisper and more vibrant than what the iPhone 7 Plus captured, even if the colors looked a bit oversaturated. However, when we put both phones on a mount to test image stabilization, the iPhone 7s video looked smoother; we saw a bit of stuttering in the S8s footage as we walked up a grassy hill. For a hallmark feature on a flagship phone, Bixby feels pretty half-baked right now. Bixby: Still a work in progress The Galaxy S8 introduces a new personal assistant, Bixby, to take on the likes of Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana. And for a hallmark feature on Samsung's flagship phone, Bixby feels pretty half-baked right now, even after Samsung has rolled out voice controls to its virtual assistant. The main difference between Bixby and other digital assistants is that it lets you use voice commands to control your phone in lieu of tapping the screen, which can save you time and energy. You can also use Bixby to tell you the weather or look up the definition of quixotic, but its real purpose is giving you a whole new way to control your phone. For instance, you can ask Bixby to show you emails from a specific person by name, and it will slickly pull up all your conversations in just a couple seconds. That's way faster than tapping to open the email app, hitting search and then typing in that person's name. Bixby can also understand complex commands with contextual language, so you can do things like ask Bixby to post the last photo you took to Instagram and add a caption, all with one command. You can also change almost any setting on the S8 using your voice, which is often much faster than trying to dig through a modern phone's increasingly complex array of menus and tabs. Or at least, that's how things should work. The big problem is that Bixby's voice-command functionality, while now available, was pretty erratic when we tested it. Sometimes Bixby will fail to understand your language at all, while other times, Bixby will get confused and try to open the wrong app or adjust incorrect settings. But every once in a while Bixby will get everything right and you won't even be able to tell that its voice commands are still a work in progress. Currently, simple commands have the best success rate. MORE: 11 Coolest Things Bixby Voice Can Do on the Galaxy S8 As of August 22, Samsung announced that the Bixby voice command feature is now available in more than 200 countries and territories, though you'll still need to use either English or Korean to make it work. Support for additional languages, as well as more third party apps, is in the works. Then there's Bixby Vision, which leverages the S8's camera along with object recognition to identify items in the world. We found this worked pretty well when we pointed the S8 at various household items, such as shampoos, snacks and aluminum foil. It also works for books. After pointing the Galaxy S8's camera at any object, we could check prices online on Amazon. Say you're at the liquor store and want to know the rating of that wine or what food to pair it with. Bixby has also partnered with Vivino to identify that bottle and spit back information. However, at a wine store in New York, the feature was more miss than hit, as it seemed to have trouble with the bright lights. At home, however, Bixby identified three wines correctly, though we were greeted with a home server error. Bixby's other talents include the ability to set reminders and a Bixby Home tool with a card-based interface that shows you your schedule, what's trending on Facebook, the weather, news and other info. All told, Bixby is a frustrating mix of success and failures, though there is a lot of potential should Samsung work out all the kinks. Thankfully, though, you can turn to the Google Assistant, which also comes preloaded on the S8. Software: Feature-rich but accessible Running Android 7.0 Nougat, the Galaxy S8 still has a skin on top of Android, but its fairly intuitive, and Samsungs minimalist, line-drawn icons are easy to understand. We like that you dont have to tap a button to see all of your apps from the home screen; just swipe down from the middle of the screen, and then swipe left to see more apps. If you swipe down from the very top of the screen from wherever you are, youll see your notifications and Samsungs quick-settings shortcuts. Finally, swiping in from the left provides access to Edge screen shortcuts, such as a customizable list of apps, a device maintenance screen (for battery, choosing performance mode, etc.) and a Smart Select tool for selecting an area of the screen and sharing it or pinning it to the top of your display. Youll also find a ton of advanced features. The ones at the top of our list include a one-handed mode that you can activate by tapping the home button three times to shrink the screen, as well as the ability to quickly launch the camera by pressing the power key twice. At least on the T-Mobile S8 we tested, there was minimal bloatware. T-Mobile included just five of its own apps: Device Unlock, T-Mobile, T-Mobile Name ID, T-Mobile TV and Visual Voicemail. Accessories: Way beyond Gear VR The Galaxy S8 works with the new Gear VR for those who want to experience virtual-reality games and content, but thats not the only interesting accessory. The new DeX ($149) is a dock that lets you use the S8 and S8+ as a mini PC. The dock can connect to a full-size monitor via its HDMI port, as well as a keyboard and mouse via Bluetooth. It also has an Ethernet jack and a USB port. Out of the box, the Samsung Connect app will let you access and control various Samsung-branded smart home gear. For instance, you can start your Samsung robot vacuum ($549) or peek inside your Samsung Family Hub fridge (about $2,900) to see what you need from the store while youre out. But youll get a lot more possibilities if you buy Samsung's $169 Samsung Connect Home a combination mesh Wi-Fi router and SmartThings hub that will let you control other items, such as Philips Hue lights and Netgears Arlo security camera. Samsung offers a slew of other accessories, including an LED View cover for always having the time in view, a wireless charging stand and more. Check out our roundup of the Best Galaxy S8 accessories and Galaxy S8 cases. Battery Life One concern about a phone with this much screen is how that extra real estate might impact battery life. The Galaxy S8+ has a slightly smaller battery than last years S7 Edge (3,500 mAh versus 3,600 mAh), and yet the S8+ improved almost 1 hour, to 11 hours and 4 minutes, on the Tom's Guide Battery Test (continuous web surfing on 4G LTE using T-Mobile's network). The standard Galaxy S8s 3,000-mAh battery endured for 10:39 on the same test, improving on the Galaxy S7's (8:47) time by nearly 2 hours. We obtained these results with the phones resolutions set to their max 2960 x 1440 pixels. They come with the less demanding 2220 x 1080 setting on by default. MORE: Smartphones with the Longest Battery Life Compared to the Galaxy S8+, the Pixel XL's battery life was just a bit longer, at 11:11. The iPhone 8 Plus hit 11:16, while the smaller iPhone 8 lasted 9:54. LG G6 finished way behind, with a time of just 8:39. On top of that, the S8 has battery smarts that let it learn about your usage patterns to help extend its longevity even further. And when you need to juice the phone back up, you can take advantage of the S8s fast-charging capabilities via its included USB Type-C cable or use one of Samsung's slick wireless chargers (available separately). Bottom Line Its clear that, with the Galaxy S8 and S8+, Samsung set out to create more than a phone. Its trying to build a more Apple-like ecosystem, with devices ranging from the Gear VR and the DeX dock to the new Samsung Connect app for controlling smart home gear and the Bixby assistant. Its also evident that Samsung hasnt yet reached that goal, as Bixbys voice features can be hit or miss. But even with that shortcoming, the Galaxy S8 still beats the Android competition while surpassing the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in terms of design, display quality and features. The iPhones are better, though, when it comes to sheer speed and their cameras. Some shoppers will prefer a newer Android phone in the same price range, like the $479 Pixel 3a XL, but overall the Galaxy S8 and S8+ remain good values for those who prefer Samsung handsets. Credit: Jeremy Lips/Tom's Guide; Comparisons: Samuel Rutherford/Tom's Guide. Kavanaugh's Shadow Over the Midterms | RealClearPolitics Brett Kavanaugh has been sitting on the Supreme Court for only a month, and the memory of his confirmation hearings cast a strong shadow over the Tuesday congressional elections. You could ask Sens. Claire McCaskill in Missouri, Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota or Joe Donnelley in Indiana. Actually, it was years of branding and maybe ranting against Democrats at the last minute that was part of her inevitable demise . . . But here's a perspective which assumes that everybody watches nothing but cable TV news throughout the day: Big alligator seized during eviction uneasy in new home Katfish, the 7-foot, 200-pound alligator that was seized from a Kansas City home this week, is still adjusting to his new home at an animal rescue center. First reports reveal this local reptile was understandably more comfortable in its hot tub. Take a look: Personally, I have some strange cravings for Duesenbergs (despite seeing one only once). If you were to ask me what car company Id like to see resurrected, it would be the Duesenberg. Forget Hispano Suiza, Packard, or Tucker. I want a Duesenberg. But done right. And that is the problem. I think it is impossible to have a Duesenberg in the world of today. After learning about the SSJ, the most expensive American car, you will know why... As a part of Monterey Car Week, Gooding auction house organized Goodings 15th Annual Pebble Beach Auctions and broke 23 records, selling some of the most extraordinary classic cars at the venue. Just to put the importance of this auction into perspective, I will say that of all the cars offered there, 25 were sold for more than $1 million. Yet, I am most interested about one - the $22 million 1935 Duesenberg SSJ - a car once owned by Gary Cooper. This isnt just about any expensive car sold at an auction. Gary Coopers 1935 Duesenberg SSJ became the most expensive American car ever sold at an auction. This is, ladies and gentlemen, the most expensive American car ever made. Save for the Lunar Rover (estimated price for development in 1972 was $38 mil), but I guess that the Lunar Rover isnt actually in competition with the Duesenberg. The Duesenberg SSJ is the fastest pre-war car in the world. It has provenance like no other car you will hear about. Find Out Why Its So Much Better Than Anything Else Why does it exist? Duesenberg was sort of a Rolls-Royce mating Bugatti but in America. Only the best would suffice, and the 1935 Duesenberg SSJ (Special Speedster Model J) was the best of the best. Only two were produced, in what seemed like Duesenberg's move to entice the rich and famous of the era to buy what was one of the most expensive American automobiles of the time. After the economic crisis of 1929 swamped most of the major car producers and dramatically reduced the number of people who were actually able to buy such extraordinary machines (like the Model J itself), Duesenberg moved to market its products in Hollywood. The money was there, and the two biggest stars of the big screen, Clark Gable and Garry Cooper were Brad Pitt and Chris Hemsworth of the day. I feel that the production of the SSJ in the first place was a marketing move as both of the produced cars ended up in their hands. First, both received their cars on a six-month loan, and Gary Cooper bought his "loaner afterward. This was probably agreed upon beforehand. Nevertheless, Clark Gable already owned a Duesenberg. Actually, I found out that stars like Greta Garbo, Marion Davies, and Clara Bow all owned Duesenbergs. This only shows that the marketing campaign with Clark Gable and Garry Cooper, as well as the overall image of Duesenberg, was really powerful. So, what did the stars of the time own in fact? In the simplest of terms, the Duesenberg SSJ was the best automobile in the world. It was a 400 horsepower machine, which made it the most powerful pre-war car. Also, it was probably the most luxurious and the best-built thing rolling the streets of Hollywood and the world. Right now, I can only compare it with the likes of the Bugatti Chiron, or even the new Divo, although they do not seem to be nearly as exclusive as the SSJ. With all that said, I am quite sure that the SSJ may be the most important American car. Ever. Even more important than the original Ford GT that beat a Ferrari, or the Bel Air, or the mighty Model T itself. I say that because this was the first time the American car industry beat everything. If you are having a discussion with somebody about pre-war cars, mention the Duesenberg SSJ. Youll beat them all. First, it looked right, it was powered right, and it was as luxurious as they get. At the time the only car that could really hold a candle to it was the 1936 Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic. Although, looking like no other car ever, it was not as fast as the SSJ. Heck, I have a problem writing these words as I cannot choose which one I like more despite never seeing any of them in person. Strange. I am thinking now that if someone, in that imagined discussion, were to mention the Type 57 SC Atlantic, youd lose. Enough with the conjecture. Lets talk tech. Technology Although it was based on top of the Model J chassis (the car marketed as "The Worlds Finest Motor Car), the SSJ received a shortened wheelbase. With 125 inches in length, the wheelbase isnt exactly short short, but compared with the long sedan the Deusie - there was 17 and a half inches less car. Such a considerable cut made it possible for the creation of a bespoke open-roadster body crafted by LaGrande. This was, of course, the best in the business. With all the gear inside, the weight of the Duesenberg SSJ hovered around 5,300 lbs - something to that of a modern-day Bentley Continental GT. Motivation was a major part of the equation here. The best car in the world had to have the most powerful engine in the world. Based on top of the 420 cubic-inch, straight-eight engine found in the Model J, where it produced 320 horsepower in its most potent form, Duesenberg additionally improved the eight-cylinder. With dual overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, and a centrifugal-type supercharger, power output surged to 400 horsepower, making it the most powerful pre-war car. Owners Well, Garry Cooper was the first owner of the Duesenberg SSJ with a chassis number J-563 (Clark Gables car had a chassis number J-567). Hell of a way for a car to start its life isnt it!? Obviously, with such provenance, it is hard to argue with the incredible value of this very SSJ. Cooper, who bought the car from Duesenberg for close to $5,000 after the six months loan period, said something curious about it: When I first came to Hollywood I used to dream, Boy, if I had money Id have the hell-firedest automobile ever assembled! I had one, I had two. I flashed around. In a lot of ways. For a time. Then I got to wondering why I wanted those sensational carsIt gave me a feeling of superiority to pull up beside some other fellows car in my deluxe job. Obviously, he did not mess around with telling the entire world he liked acceleration, craftsmanship or whatever, he just said what he felt. Duesenberg gives a feeling of superiority. Accept it. Expectedly, other owners had been rather picturesque as well. Gary Coopers Duesenberg SJJ ended up in the hands of Briggs Cunningham in 1949. This guy lived a dream. Not only did he sail yachts he built, but also raced cars he constructed. Quite a happy guy, who sold the whole car collection, including the famous SSJ, to Miles Collier in 1986. Miles Collier intended to build what was described as a purposefully curated assemblage of the most profound and rare automotive innovations of our time. The SSJ had to be a part of that collection. However, the time had come for the SSJ to continue its journey and Collier said why: Believe me; it is not easy to part with this wonderful car. It symbolizes so much in our history, and has so much glamour and speed. But my mission is bigger than just one car. In todays world, the automobiles continued ability to be meaningful is under threat. Will the personal car be part of peoples lives in the future? Will people understand and remember that the automobile is the most important invention of our age? That it shaped the world as we know it? I want to ensure the legacy of skills, appreciation, and care for the importance of motorcars is not lost. Anecdotes and Facts Yup, this anecdote is part of Wikipedia, so it must be the truth, right? Ok, I did thorough research, and it seems that this one is true - Gary Cooper and Clark Gable apparently used to race Duesenbergs SSJs on Hollywood Boulevard. Imagine the scene - two of the most notable actors of the time and the two fastest and most powerful cars on earth racing. Illegal race at that, but no police car could ever catch up to them. According to some sources, the Duesenberg SSJ was able to achieve up to 140 mph. However, more conservative (and I believe more realistic) estimates put a top speed at 126 mph. Despite being one of the most expensive cars on earth at $5,000, the Duesenberg SSJ was three times less expensive compared with certain editions of the Model J The two produced SSJs were identical, save for the paint job and rear lights Years did not affect Gary Coopers Duesenberg SSJ much. The car is still in excellent condition with only some leather inside the cabin actually getting a makeover. There was a third Duesenberg with the famed 420 cubic-inch, 400 horsepower engine. Dubbed the Mormon Meteor, it was actually a heavily modified Model J designed for speed records. E. L. Cord became a Duesenberg owner and actually greenlighted the SSJ project in order to reinvigorate the brand and even more precisely target the customers. E.L. Cords son, Charles, personally delivered the SSJs to Gable and Cooper in December 1935. Auction This incredible car embodies everything that is exciting about an automotive masterpiece: beauty, rarity, provenance, and sheer power. This SSJ is one of the all-time greatest classics and is poised to set an auction record for pre-war American cars, said David Gooding, Founder, and President of Gooding & Company. This introduction was welcomed with great enthusiasm at this years Gooding & Company Pebble Beach auction. The price hiked up to $10 million basically in an instant, with buyers actually bidding it all the way up to $22 million. Considered to be one of the finest American cars of all time, the Duesenberg SJJ owned by Gary Cooper thus became the most expensive American car ever sold at an auction. Conclusion The 1935 Duesenberg SSJ is one of only 378 Duesenbergs known to have survived. That makes it even more valuable considering that Duesenberg was built only for the rich (and famous I might add). Thus, reaching such a high price at an auction was actually expected. Many experts considered that it will break many records. And it did, by a large margin. However, its ties with Gary Cooper and the fact that it is possibly the best American car ever produced is only part of the story. The other part is the brand Duesenberg. It was built by Duesenberg brothers who constructed cutting-edge racing cars in the Twenties. Back then, they won the 1921 French Grand Prix and dominated the Indy 500. Obviously, history like this intertwined with race tracks, Hollywood actors and best tech imaginable can deliver impressive results. It is a bit sad that the U.S. does not have more of such powerful icons. Further reading Read our full review on the 1926 - 1937 Duesenberg Model A. uttara@tribuneindia.com London, November 10 A police officer in the UK has been jailed for 18 months for causing the death of an Indian-origin shopkeeper by dangerous driving. Balvinder Singh, 59, died in hospital from his injuries after the van he was driving was hit by off-duty Jason Bannister's vehicle in Wolverhampton in December 2016. Bannister, 45, of Wombourne, was treated for minor injuries following the collision and had pleaded guilty in a hearing in September. He was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment by a Birmingham Crown Court on Friday, the BBC reported. Bannister is currently suspended from duty. The Staffordshire police said they would launch misconduct proceedings now the court case had concluded. Bannister was also banned from driving for three years and nine months. He will be required to complete an extended driving test in order to regain his licence, the report said. IANS uttara@tribuneindia.com London, November 10 A statue of a Sikh soldier unveiled less than a week ago has been vandalised in the town of Smethwick in the West Midlands region of England. Photos tweeted by Amardeep Bassey, a journalist Huffington Post UK, shows a thick black line of black spray paint covered the words Great War of Lions of the Great War and added next to it were the words Sepoys no more and 1 Jarnail. A 10ft statue of a #Sikh soldier unveiled last week outside Smethwick Sikh gurdwara to commemorate the First World War was vandalised last night and had graffiti written over it - its been taken off now but this is what was written. Sepoy is how the British referred to soldiers pic.twitter.com/YdYI8WPlwz Amardeep Bassey (@ambassey) November 9, 2018 News portal Birmingham Live said the graffiti has since been removed. Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick had commissioned the monument, which depicts a turbaned Sikh soldier, to honour the sacrifices made by millions of South Asian service personnel of all faiths who fought for Britain in the World Wars and other conflicts as part of the British Indian Army. Meanwhile, the police have launched an appeal to arrest vandals who attacked the newly-inaugurated war memorial. We understand that this attack has caused a lot of concern in the community, and we are working to understand the reasons behind it and identify whoever is responsible, said Sergeant Bill Gill from the Smethwick Neighbourhood Team of West Midlands Police. Officers had already planned to be at the remembrance event which is happening tomorrow (November 11) at the statue. Id urge anyone with concerns to speak to the officers attending the event, he said. He added that CCTV footage is being recovered and officers are working closely with worshippers and management at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick, which had commissioned the statue to honour the sacrifices made by South Asian service personnel of all faiths from the Indian subcontinent who fought for Britain in the Great War and other conflicts. The words Sepoys no more were daubed on the base of the sculpture while a thick black line was drawn through the words Great War. Sepoy was the term used in the British Indian Army for a soldier. There was some vandalism to the back wall which is disappointing. The graffiti was cleaned off and the matter reported to the police, Jatinder Singh, president of the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick, said in a statement. He added, Working with the council, we wont allow this vandalism to undermine the very strong message created by this new monument and the overwhelmingly positive reaction to its unveiling. What makes this incident particularly distressing, is the complete disregard and lack of respect for the significance of the statue and inscriptions installed recently to commemorate the losses felt by many South Asian families who lost their dear ones during the First World War and to mark 100 years since the end of the Great War, he said. The bronze statue was unveiled last week to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I in November 1918, also referred to as the Great War. The gurdwara donated around 20,000 pounds for the sculpture, with the local Sandwell Council investing in creating the public space with seating and lighting to house the new monument. The inaugural event was attended by hundreds, including Labour Party MP Preet Kaur Gill, the UKs first female Sikh MP. It is an often overlooked fact that one in every six British soldiers was from the Indian subcontinent, making the British Indian Army larger than all the Commonwealth forces that they fought alongside, combined, the Birmingham Edgbaston MP said in her speech. With the Commonwealth Games coming to Birmingham in 2022, this statue will serve as a timely reminder to our Commonwealth guests of the camaraderie and sacrifice shown by Sikhs throughout the wars, and who sacrificed their lives in defence of democracy and in the fight for freedom, she said. Over 74,000 soldiers from undivided India laid down their lives in World War I. This weekend marks a series of events to commemorate the sacrifices of soldiers from around the world who participated in the war effort between 1914 and 1918, as part of the centenary of the Great War. PTI editorial@tribune.com Our Correspondent Pulwama, November 10 Two militants of the Hizbul Mujahideen, one of them a district commander, were killed in a brief gunfight in the wee hours of Saturday in Pulwama district. The militants, both locals, have been identified as Liyaqat Wani of Bellow village and Wajidul Islam of Babhara village in Pulwama district. Wani was an active militant since January 2016 and was made the district commander of the outfit after Sameer Bhat alias Tiger of the outfit was killed in April this year. The gunfight took place in Tikken village of Pulwama district around 7am. A senior police official from Pulwama said there were specific inputs regarding the presence of militants in the area, following which a joint operation was launched by the police, Army and the CRPF. The area was cordoned off and the house where militants were hiding was zeroed in on, the official said, adding militants tried to escape using indiscriminate fire as cover. He said the fire was retaliated and in the ensuing brief gunfight, both the militants were killed. Weapons were also retrieved from their bodies before being handed over to the respective families, the official said. Meanwhile, intense clashes erupted around the site of the encounter when the exchange of fire was still on. Security forces used tear smoke shells to disperse the protesting youths. No one was injured. Later in the day, thousands of mourners reached Bellow and Babhara villages to attend the funeral prayers for the militants. Clashes also erupted in some parts of the district and mobile Internet services were snapped early morning. Ceasefire violation in Tangdhar amansharma@tribunemail.com Amaravati, November 10 Anti-BJP parties would meet in New Delhi on November 22 to create a common platform and chalk out their future course of action, TDP president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said on Saturday. Addressing a press meet after a meeting with Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot who came here as an emissary of Rahul Gandhi at his riverfront residence here, the Telugu Desam president said the endeavour was to bring everybody on board to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party. Naidu said he would meet West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on November 19 or 20. "This is broadly anti-BJP platform. This is in the interest of the nation. Save democracy, save the nation and save the institutions..that is the agenda. That is the national agenda, an utmost important agenda," Naidu said. The TDP chief had recently met former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, his Karnataka counterpart H D Kumaraswamy and DMK president M K Stalin as part of his efforts to forge a front against the BJP. "Now I have convinced everybody. Everybody is willing to cooperate with us. In this experiment, Congress is the main opposition party. They have more responsibility. We have to acknowledge that," Naidu said. The New Delhi meeting would decide on "how to move forward" and also "build an organisational structure" for the anti-BJP platform, he added. Naidu said he had already met several leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah and others, and would meet Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Replying to questions, he said there were only "two platforms" in the country BJP and anti-BJP. "Political parties should decide which side they are. If they don't join us, it means they are with BJP," he said. "The Tamil Nadu government is controlled by remote control (from New Delhi). Telangana Rashtra Samitis (TRS) agenda is BJP agenda. Some parties are there. They are aligned with the BJP," Naidu said. The TDP chief said some parties might join them after the elections to Assemblies in five states and "one or two" might come after the Lok Sabha elections. "Our effort is to bring everybody on board to fight the BJP," he said. To a question, he said sharing of seats (in elections) and other things would come after some time. Gehlot said there was an "undeclared Emergency-type atmosphere in the country. Institutions are getting destroyed in the country. Constitution (of India) is getting weakened. People are worried. Not one section of the society is happy with the Modi administration in the last four and a half years," the former Rajasthan chief minister said. While anti-BJP parties have their foundations in secularism and democracy, the BJP and RSS people have only the "mask of democracy" on their faces, he said. "They dont have any faith in democracy. They are fascist...," Gehlot alleged. This was the "proper time" for (anti-BJP) parties to come on to a single platform and forge a grand alliance, the AICC general secretary added. PTI uttara@tribuneindia.com Raipur, November 10 The Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh had made the state "almost free" of Naxalism and developed it as a hub of power and cement production, BJP president Amit Shah said Saturday. Targeting the opposition Congress, he said a party that felt Naxalism was a medium for revolution could not do any good for Chhattisgarh. Shah exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would win this month's Assembly polls in the state for the fourth straight time. Addressing a press conference here after releasing his party's manifesto ahead of the first phase of polling on November 12, Shah said, "The BJP government under Chief Minister Raman Singh has contained Naxalism and made the state almost free of it". Earlier known as a BIMARU state, Chhattisgarh was now a "power and cement production hub", he said, and lauded the Raman Singh government for initiating several welfare measures for the state's prosperity. "Taking on the Congress's propaganda and working tirelessly for the state's development for the last 15 years is a big challenge. I am confident that the BJP will win a straight fourth term in office," Shah said. The state government had initiated several welfare measures and made the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme corruption-free, he added. The 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will go to the polls in two phaseson November 12 and 20and the results will be announced on December 11. PTI editorial@tribune.com Patna, November 9 RJD chief Lalu Prasads son and MLA Tej Pratap Yadav, who has been in the news for his failed marriage, is putting up in Haridwar and will not return home till his family backs his decision to divorce his wife of six months. Talking to a regional news channel over the phone, he wished his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav on his birthday but said he would not join the celebrations in New Delhi. The mercurial RJD leader was last seen in Bodh Gaya on Saturday where he checked into a hotel after meeting his ailing father at a hospital in Ranchi. Lalu Prasad is learnt to have been upset over his decision to seek divorce. Tej Pratap and Aishwarya Rai, daughter of RJD MLA Chandrika Rai and grandchild of former Bihar CM Daroga Prasad Rai, tied the knot on May 12. Our differences are irreconcilable. I had told this to my parents before the marriage was solemnised but nobody paid any heed then. Now too nobody is listening to me. Until they agree with me, I cannot return home, Tej Pratap said. He expressed displeasure over the role played by some close relatives, including his in-laws, in the marital discord. In an apparent rebuttal of reports that he felt slighted over his younger brothers growing clout, he said, I offer my blessings to Tejashwi. May he become the next CM. I would be by his side and help him the way Krishna assisted Arjuna in the battle of the Mahabharata. Meanwhile, party national general secretary and Lalu Prasads aide Bhola Yadav urged the media not to make news of the differences within the family, adding this was only causing further anguish to the ailing party chief. PTI 11-day puja to solve Tejs marital discord uttara@tribuneindia.com Smita Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 9 Amid reports of a significant shift in stance with India being represented in the same room as the Taliban in Moscow, the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday clarified that no direct conversation between the two sides was part of the agenda. India was represented at the Moscow Format of talks on Afghanistan at a non-official level by former high-ranking diplomats TCA Raghavan and Amar Sinha, who also served as ambassadors to Pakistan and Afghanistan, respectively. The Indian representatives, however, did not speak at the deliberations, attended by a delegation from the political office of the Taliban in Doha led by its head Stanakzai. Questions were asked of the government by Opposition leaders, including Omar Abdullah of National Conference, who wrote in response to a tweet, If non-official participation in a dialogue that includes the Taliban is acceptable to the Modi government, why not a non-official dialogue with non-mainstream stakeholders in J&K? Why not a non-official dialogue centered around J&Ks eroded autonomy and its restoration? The process is consistent with our policy of Afghan led, Afghan owned and Afghan controlled and also with participation of the government of Afghanistan. We will participate in any such process and we made it clear that our participation will be at the non-official level, stressed MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, Where did we say that there will be talks with the Taliban? We just said we will participate in a meeting on Afghanistan hosted by Russia, he added. Indias longstanding position has been to be a participant in any dialogue on Afghanistan only if the elected government in Kabul is at the table and that there is no distinction between good and bad Taliban. The first edition of the talks hosted by Russia earlier this year did not include the Taliban and was attended by an Afghan government delegation and a Joint Secretary-level diplomat from India, among others. This time, though, there was no government minister or official from Kabul. Rather, there was a four-member delegation of the High Peace Council as a national but non-government institution participating in its own capacity, according to the Afghan foreign ministry. A statement from Kabul said that as per its understanding with Russia, it hopes that this meeting leads to direct talks between the Government of Afghanistan and the Taliban. The United States had earlier announced boycott of this meeting previously scheduled for September 4 but postponed as the Ashraf Ghani government pulled out of it. In a changed stance, the United States sent an observer from its embassy in Moscow to the meet attended by Deputy Foreign Ministers and special representatives from 11 countries, including China, Pakistan and Iran. The main topic of discussion was the question of the speedy launch of a direct inter-Afghan dialogue on peace in order to stabilise the situation in this country, said a Russian government release. China will step up efforts to ease market restrictions over foreign investment, with measures to open up more sectors and guarantee equal treatment, according to a press conference on Friday. Tang Wenhong, an official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), said MOFCOM will make specific arrangements and set a clear agenda to push forward the implementation of policies designed to improve the business environment and encourage foreign investment. By the end of March 2019, the government will eliminate all limits that go beyond the official negative list for foreign investment and a special inspection will be launched to ensure all foreign-funded firms are treated equally in areas including government procurement, subsidies and licenses. By the end of this year, provincial authorities will establish and improve mechanisms to handle complaints from foreign businesses. China will scrap all laws, rules and normative documents that go against the current opening-up policy by the end of 2019, Tang said. From services to manufacturing and telecommunications, more sectors will become open to foreign businesses and the investment environment will become better, Tang said, adding that the revision of two guidance catalogues for foreign investment will also be finished by the end of March. China has also unveiled a string of policies to improve the business environment, including building a level playing field, strengthening intellectual property protection and reducing business operation burdens. Xiong Maoping from the State Administration for Market Regulation said efforts will be taken to promote more convenient and transparent market entry. "By the end of the year, the time required for opening a business will be cut to 8.5 days in major cities," Xiong said, adding the procedures will become clearer and more predictable. Zhou Xiaofei from the National Development and Reform Commission said the central government will pilot an evaluation system for the business environment in major cities in 2019 and promote the program nationwide in 2020. The evaluation system will rank cities in three areas, namely corporate life cycles, attraction to investment and high-quality development. amansharma@tribunemail.com Paris, November 10 Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday inaugurated the first India-bulit war memorial in northern France to pay tribute to thousands of Indian soldiers who fought selflessly and made supreme sacrifices during the World War I. Naidu, who is on a three-day visit to Paris starting Friday, also interacted with French armed forces veterans and children at the inauguration of the Indian War Memorial at Villers Guislain. "Extremely happy to unveil the Indian Armed Forces Memorial at Villers-Guislain town in France today. It's a great tribute to several thousands of Indian soldiers whose gallantry and dedication have earned worldwide recognition," Naidu said in a tweet. The memorial is the first-of-its-kind built by India in France after the country's Independence. The announcement to construct the memorial was made by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her last visit to Paris in June 2018. "India contributed immensely to the war effort in terms of both men and material. Her soldiers served with credit and honour in numerous battlefields around the globe: in France and Belgium, in Aden, Arabia, East Africa, Gallipoli, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Persia and Salonika," he said. "We therefore share a bond of sacrifice that joins us to French soil and society. The final resting places of these soldiers are spread over 158 cemeteries across various communes and cities of France. Their blood is permanently mixed with the soil here," he said. Naidu said despite India's significant role in the World War I, it was frequently "overlooked" as a result of the horrors experienced in trench warfare and by Europe's tendency to home in on battles such as those fought at the Somme and Verdun, which many assume only Europeans fought in. Vice President Naidu also addresses local community and members of Indian Diaspora after inaugurating the memorial. "I consider it my privilege to have this honour to be amongst you today and inaugurate the first War Memorial constructed by the GoI in France and to pay homage to the Indian soldiers who fought selflessly and heroically during World War I and made the supreme sacrifice," he said. Indian troops were on Western Front by winter of 1914 and fought at the first Battle of Ypres. By the end of 1915, they had sustained many casualties along with casualties from sickness, the decision was taken to withdraw Indian Corps from front line duty at the end of 1915. Naidu said 800,000 Indian troops fought in all the theatres of the war with 1.5 million volunteering to fight. They fought in most theatres of war, including Gallipoli and North and East Africa. In all 47,746 were classed as killed or missing with 65,000 wounded, he said. The Indian Corps won 13,000 medals for gallantry, including 12 Victoria Crosses. Khudadad Khan won the Corps first Victoria Cross. Such was the cost of the war, that India's economy was pushed to near bankruptcy, Naidu said. Vice President Naidu is in Paris to represent India at the Armistice of World War I centenary commemoration. Heads of state or government of over 50 countries and their representatives are expected to participate in the centenary activities. On Sunday, the vice president will attend the ceremony to commemorate the armistice of World War I at Arc de Triomphe, presided over by French President Emmanuel Macron. He will speak at a high-level panel discussion titled 'Dialogue of the Continents on Global Governance' and will also hold a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum, the Ministry of External Affairs said in statement. - PTI amansharma@tribunemail.com New Delhi, November 10 A hijack scare on a Kandahar-bound flight sent security officials at the Delhi international airport into tizzy on Saturday after the pilot "mistakenly" pressed the 'hijack button' when it was taxiing for take-off, officials said. The Ariana Afghan Airlines plane, with nine crew members and 124 passengers and an infant, took off nearly two hours later after "satisfactory" security checks, they said. The officials said the pressing of 'hijack button' had pushed all agencies concerned, including the anti-terror force National Security Guard (NSG), into action. NSG commandos and officials of other agencies swiftly responded to the situation and surrounded the aircraft, they said. After a two-hour operation that created panic among the passengers on board the aircraft, the plane was cleared for take-off, they said. The Delhi-Kandahar FG312 flight was scheduled to depart at 3.30 pm. According to senior officials in the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the plane, while taxiing for take-off, returned to the "isolation bay" presumably due to the pressing of the 'hijack button' by the crew. The aircraft was cleared for departure on confirmation that it was an error by the captain, one of the BCAS officials said. Before the flight was allowed to fly out, secondary security checks were carried out and customs clearance of all passengers was taken. - PTI pardeepdhull@gmail.com Bengaluru, November 10 Protests by the BJP and right-wing outfits coupled with the absence of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his deputy marked the Tipu Jayanti celebrations in Karnataka on Saturday. Tipu Jayanti is celebrated to observe the birth anniversary of controversial 18th-century ruler of the erstwhile Mysore kingdom, Tipu Sultan. The celebrations brought the state under a thick security blanket, amid threats of protests by the BJP and other organisations, with the main event in Bengaluru turning out to be lacklustre. Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, who was to inaugurate the main event at Vidhana Soudha, the seat of state legislature here, in the absence of Kumaraswamy, also skipped the function. Kumaraswamy did not attend the event, citing doctors advice to take rest for three days till November 11. The Chief Ministers Office had made prior announcement about Kumaraswamys inability to attend the function and his name was also not printed in the invitation. Parameshwara did not attend the event as he was out of town, sources at his office told PTI, without divulging any details. Following the Chief Ministers decision to skip the event, reports had emerged about difference of opinion between the ruling coalition partners over the celebrations. While in the opposition, Kumaraswamy had questioned the need for such celebration which was started by the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress government. Kumaraswamy reportedly chose to skip the event to not antagonise voters in his partys bastion of old Mysuru region, as Tipu Sultan had seized power from Maharajas of Mysuru, who are virtually revered there. The Chief Ministers Office (CMO), however, issued a statement on Kumaraswamys absence at the event. Wishing success for Tipu Jayanti celebrations, the JD(S) leader said Tippus progressive measures in administration, his quest for innovation were commendable. He said as he was taking rest on doctors advice, he was unable to take part in the programme. It is unnecessary to add special meaning to it. It is also far from truth that he is not taking part due to the fear of losing power, as he opposes such blind beliefs, the CMO statement said. This was the first such celebration of Tipu Jayanti after the Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) coalition government came to power in the state. The previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah began celebrating Tipu Jayanthi on November 10 every year since 2015, amid stiff opposition by the BJP, several Hindu organisations and some individuals. The BJP and several right-wing organisations held protests in different parts of the state opposing the celebrations. Calling Tipu a religious bigot, the state BJP unit had urged the state government to drop its decision to celebrate the Jayanti. In Kodagu district, where celebrations in 2015 were marred by widespread protests and violence, Tipu Jayanthi Virodhi Horata Samithi called for a bandh. VHP worker Kuttappa had died in Kodagu district during a clash that erupted during the Tipu Jayanthi that year. BJP workers along with MLA M P Appacchu Ranjan were detained by police at Madikeri in Kodagu district for protesting against the event after he allegedly had an argument with the police for not letting those without invitations to attend the event. Another BJP MLA and former Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah was detained in Virajpet during the protest, police said. In Mangaluru, some protesters tried to barge into the zilla panchayat office with black flags where the event was being organised. The protestors were later detained by police. In Yellapura of Uttara Kannada district too, there were reports of detaining protesters. Similar protests were reported from Chikkamagaluru, Ballari, Karwar and various parts of the state. Police have clamped prohibitory orders in most of the districts in the state as a precautionary measure. Extra security arrangements have been made in districts like Kodagu, Chitradurga, and also coastal regions among others where local communities are opposed to the celebrations. Tipu Sultan was considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces. The ruler, however, is a controversial figure in Kodagu district as Kodavas (Coorgis), a martial race, believe that thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forcible conversion to Islam. He is also accused of execution of Mandayam Iyengars at the temple town of Melkote in Mandya district on the day of Deepavali festival, as they supported the then Maharaja of Mysuru. Tipu Sultan is seen in a negative light in the coastal Dakshina Kannada district too, where the Christians believe he unleashed atrocities on their community. However, the scale of such suppression is disputed by several historians, who see Tipu as a secular and modern ruler who took on the might of the British. Meanwhile, a group of Muslim leaders along with state minister Zammer Ahmed Khan Saturday met senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah and honoured him on the occasion of Tipu Jayanthi. Calling Tipu a good administrator, Siddaramaiah hit out at the BJP for opposing Tipu Jayanti celebrations, while reminding about saffron party leaders attending similar events while in power. PTI monicakchauhan@gmail.com Ranchi, November 10 RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday said his elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav's divorce plea was not a matter of public interest and his family was capable of handling the situation. The former Bihar deputy chief minister made the remark when he was quizzed by the media whether Tej Pratap would agree to a compromise with his wife Aishwarya Rai. The divorce petition was filed recently. Tej Pratap, an MLA and a former Bihar health minister, had said Friday he would not return home till his family backed his decision to divorce his wife. He was last seen in Mathura from where he left for Delhi on Friday to celebrate Tejashwi's birthday. Rai is the daughter of RJD MLA Chandrika Rai and grandchild of former Bihar chief minister Daroga Prasad Rai. She married Tej Pratap on May 12. Tejashwi, hit out at the reporters here, saying "The thing which is not in public interest, I will not tell. It is a family matter and the family members are capable of looking into whatever is going on." He was in the Jharkhand capital to meet his ailing father Lalu Prasad at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences. The RJD supremo is serving sentences in a number of fodder scam cases and at present, is admitted at the hospital. Tej Pratap had met Prasad at the medical institute a week ago. The RJD chief is learnt to have been upset over his elder son's decision to seek divorce. An apparently peeved Tejashwi told reporters: "You tell me, who has prepared meals at your house. You prepared it or your wife? Was it good (taste) or bad (taste)? Did you eat together or not?" On his visit to Ranchi, he said,"Every Saturday family members get the opportunity to meet my father. Yesterday, was my birthday and obviously, I came to seek his blessings." "I also came to enquire about my father's health. His health is not well somewhat and we are concerned. We pray that doctors attending him will help him recover at the earliest," Tejashwi said. He also said the media has been his family's well wisher and asked reporters not to indulge in "A to Z (regular) update". "Earlier too, I had said that if you raise such issues nobody from the CM (chief minister) to PM (prime minister) will be spared... Therefore, let matters pertaining to home be at home." "Our (politicians) responsibility is that what is happening in the interest of the people should be raised. Issues related to the interests of the people should be raised," Tejashwi said. "I also say that I am more concerned with Bihar and the nation," he added. To a query on the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar, Yadav said the "people will answer at the appropriate time". PTI uttara@tribuneindia.com Naveen S Garewal Tribune News Service Hyderabad, November 9 Candidates with criminal records will to have to declare their criminal charges in newspapers, the Election Commission of India has said. the Election Commission of India has asked candidates to declare details of their criminal charges and status of these cases in three widely-read newspapers, Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar announced at a press conference on Friday evening. Newspapers must then submit such declarations to the election office within 30 days of completion of the election process. Failure to make such declarations could lead to cancellation of election results. The measure, primarily aimed at helping voters make informed choices, is not limited to candidates alonepolitical parties also have to declare in newspapers and to the election commission names of candidates with a criminal record, details of the alleged crimes and the current status of the cases. Besides having such details submitted to three print publications, candidates must also to give advertisements in local television channels anytime between the last day of filing of their nomination and two days before actual polling. The declaration should be made in a specified format has to be given in a widely printed newspaper and should not be smaller than 12 point size, Kumar said. Expenses for such declarations would be counted as election expenditure. Alarming speeches Kumar said tone of election speeches were becoming increasingly alarming, with several politicians being accused of using vulgar language or threatening opponents. The election office issued a notice to Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Raos nephew Harish Rao on Friday for allegedly threatening a political opponent. Meanwhile, seizure of cash and liquor has gone up as elections draw close. Police and excise department has so far seized Rs 64.36 crore in cash and about 2.18 lakh bottles of liquor estimated around Rs 5.16 crore. Although seizure of cash and liquor in Telangana is alarming, the incidents are now under control, he said, adding that the Director General of Telangana Police will be asked to evaluate the situation booth-wise after assembly elections are notified on November 12. There are some 32,575 booths in the state, and another 217 are likely to be added. Of these, some 10,000 booths have been marked critical because they are sensitive for various reasons, including political tension and being in Maoist areas. Telangana is scheduled to vote for Assembly elections on December 7. uttara@tribuneindia.com Panaji, November 9 Union Minister Shripad Naik said on Friday a change in leadership in Goa is a "requirement" "today or tomorrow" considering the health of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. Parrikar has been undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment for several months now and arrived in the state on October 14 post hospitalisation at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. "We will have to have a change in leadership either today or tomorrow. It is a requirement. You all know that the chief ministers health is not well but still he is working under such circumstances," the Union AYUSH minister said on the sidelines of a press conference here to announce International Yoga Day. While there has been periodic talk about a change in leadership in the state, the BJP has consistently ruled it out. PTI editorial@tribune.com Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 10 Cash-strapped Municipal Corporations plans to earn income from the proposed one-time settlement scheme for illegal buildings and start development works ahead of the Lok Sabha elections have hit a roadblock. The Local Bodies Department is taking too long to finalise the scheme. The state of civic amenities is bad in almost all cities, with no grants coming from the government. The department had been hoping to make an income of Rs 3,500 crore from the scheme, adequate for recarpeting roads, repairing streetlights and other works. Tenders for road works have not yet been floated, with MCs largely depending on the launch of the scheme for the purpose. Even if the process gets started now, it will take a month or so. By that time, the dip in temperature will not be conducive to carry out road works, said local Congress MLA Sushil Rinku. Principal Secretary, Local Bodies, A Venu Prasad said, We are still working on the policy. It will take time. We had sought written suggestions from the Mayors, which we have now received. The Mayors said they had been asked by the department about two weeks ago to send their objections to the draft of the scheme. They said they expressed dissent over certain points as these seemed impractical. Jalandhar Mayor Jagdish Raja said, One-time settlement means allowing relaxation of being as it is where it is and taking charges in lieu of the violations committed by the building owner. There are certain congested colonies with small houses where none of the owners have left any houseline. It is not practical to ask the owners to get their houses razed. They are ready to pay compounding fee, but this too must be at least halved for the poor lot from the proposed amount of Rs 200-300 per sq yard. Rinku, who has already shown resistance to demolition drives, said, The relief has to be unconditional. There should be no rider in the one-time settlement policy. Municipal Corporations have no money. This way, each MC will at least be able to collect Rs 100 crore or so. The real-estate market will also get a much-needed breather. According to Ludhiana Mayor Balkar Sandhu, We have to bring down regularisation fee for commercial properties from Rs 2,000 sq per metre if we want a good response from the business community. Former Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia said the never-ending wait for the scheme reminded him of Waiting for Godot (a famous play by Samuel Beckett). I think the scheme will never happen. Its delay amounts to a huge economic loss to the state and it is vitiating the business atmosphere. editorial@tribune.com Jaswant Shetra Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 10 Satwinder Satti (34) of Toose near Jagraon was a government teacher having a good life till she got married around 10 years ago. Since then, she has been spending most of her time in court, fighting a case against her NRI husband who deserted her, meeting politicians to seek justice and helping other women like her. My husband, who was a teacher in a private school here, went to Ukraine in 2010, promising to call me soon. But he never did. He returned to India in July 2015, but went back after a few months. That time I was sure that he would take me along, but he ditched me again, said Satti, regretting the time when her parents got her married. Satti claimed that her in-laws made her quit her job on the pretext that she was going to move abroad soon, which never happened. She got a case registered against her husband and in-laws and is running from pillar to post to get the accused deported. Similar is the story of Seema of Jagraon. She got married to Lakhvir Singh of Gurusar Kaunke village in 2012, who is settled in Kuwait. My husband had come back to India when I was at a later stage of my pregnancy. He, however, went back to Kuwait soon after I gave birth to a girl, Seema alleged. Satti and other women deserted by their NRI husbands have formed a forum Abb Nahi Brides Abandoned by NRI Husbands Internationally in November 2016. There are more than 32,000 women deserted by NRIs in Punjab. We have hundreds more in our contact from other states whose lives have been ruined by NRI grooms, claimed Satti, president of the forum. As many as 18 such women met All-India Valmiki Samaj president Geja Ram in Jagraon on Saturday to seek his support in their fight. Life has been tough for women like me. Besides earning livelihood for our families, we have been fighting legal battles for years. We want the government to make laws under which women deserted by NRI grooms can get justice in a time-bound manner. The government should also offer facilities like free legal aid, education and shelter for children of women deserted by NRI grooms, said Seema. editorial@tribune.com Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 10 Farmers have asked the state government to pay Rs 200 per quintal as bonus for not burning paddy stubble. Stubble management is a challenge for farmers as the window between harvesting of paddy and sowing of wheat is very short. Wheat straw is used as fodder for animals, but paddy stubble is practically of no use, said HS Lakhowal, general secretary of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal). Narinder Singh, a resident of Chaunkiman village, said the government was asking farmers not to burn stubble, but it had not offered any concrete management solution. It is very difficult for us to handle stubble, he said. Lakhowal said the government often announced compensation, but later failed to ensure its disbursal. Farmers are still awaiting relief for the crop damage due to heavy rainfall in September, he added. For stubble management, the bonus should be released within 15 days so that farmers are not burdened, he said. Omkar Singh, general secretary of BKU (Rajewal), said farmers belonging to the high-income group could buy machines and shun stubble-burning, but marginal ones could not afford the same. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has repeatedly approached the Centre, seeking the payment of bonus at the rate of Rs 100 per quintal for paddy straw management. editorial@tribune.com Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 10 Farmers having fields along the international border have said that they are facing losses due to delayed ripening of paddy on account of excess photosynthesis. They say the crop remains bereft of darkness, which is required to metabolise starch gathered by photosynthesis during the day, due to continuous exposure to floodlights at night. This is delaying the ripening of the crop. Harmeet Singh of Rajatal village said his paddy crop on 5 acres was ready to harvest except in pockets exposed to floodlights. He claimed that the yield had come down to 18 quintal per acre as against 21 quintal last year. Mohan Singh of Muhawa village said earlier there used to be searchlights at the height of barbed fencing. In the past over one year, these were replaced with floodlights atop long poles at regular distance. These lights have a negative impact on our crop, he claimed. Bachittar Singh of Daoke village said the situation was same across all fields located along the barbed wire fencing. He said: If I delay harvesting, I will lose the crop which has ripened. And if I harvest the mature crop now and the remaining later, the input cost will go up. He feared that the delay would also upset the crop sowing pattern as wheat sowing has already begun. Rattan Singh Randhawa, a farmer leader, said they appreciated the efforts of the government in preventing suspicious activities along the border by installing floodlights. But at the same time, the government must ensure that the farmers do not suffer any losses or they are adequately compensated, he added. Dr Astha, Assistant Professor at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, an extension of the PAU, Ludhiana, said the crop along the border remained under sunlight throughout the day and floodlights at night due to which the photosynthesis process did not stop. A PhD in plant pathology, Dr Astha said plants required different wavelength of visible light ranging from 400 to 720 nanometre (nm) at each growing stage. For paddy, low wavelength of visible light (460 nm blue light) is conducive. Leaf blade thickness is narrow in shadow and its thickness increases in excessive light, she said. In this case, night time light delayed the ripening of the crop as nutrients assimilated during daytime had to be metabolised at night, she said, adding that the whole process was getting disturbed. Sources, meanwhile, said such complaints were not received in case of wheat crop as foggy condition prevailed during its growing period did not allow floodlights to fall on the plants and disturb their photoperiod cycle. DS Chhina, Chief Agriculture Officer, said they had not received any complaint from the affected farmers so far. If required, we will not hesitate in carrying out a survey to assess the damage to the crops and its relevant reason, he said. China's top liquor brand Kweichow Moutai said on Friday it earned a record high of 383 million U.S. dollars from exports in the first three quarters of 2018, an annual increase of 34.5 percent. During the nine-month period, the group exported 1,769 tonnes of Kweichow Moutai and other alcoholic beverages, up 6.8 percent year on year. An Huailun, chairman of Moutai's import and export subsidiary, said Moutai products have newly entered 12 countries along the Belt and Road routes this year, as the company expands overseas. The export volume to 38 Belt and Road countries rose 36.4 percent, accounting for 22.6 percent of the firm's total overseas sales, said An at an overseas dealers' conference. Moutai Group has planned to increase the proportion of overseas sales to over 10 percent of total sales by 2020, as it shifts its focus to the Western mainstream market from mainly overseas Chinese consumers. Li Baofang, chairman of Moutai Group, said the company will seek to nurture international Moutai fans when expanding overseas. "We will also pay attention to the 70 million foreigners who learn the Chinese language and culture overseas as well as the nearly 500,000 international students in China," said Li. Representatives from 115 dealers in 68 countries and regions attended the conference. Moutai, produced in Renhuai, southwestern China's Guizhou Province, is often served on official occasions such as state banquets. Despite its high price (costing up from 215 U.S. dollars per bottle), domestic demand for Moutai has always exceeded supply. ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Lack of waste segregation awareness Shortage of funds has not only stalled the development works of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, but has almost stopped its other activities, except entertainment events. No campaigning has been carried out to create awareness among masses and garbage collectors regarding segregation of waste. The Municipal Corporation should create awareness before implementing such schemes. AS Ahuja, Chandigarh Shorten queues at CNG stations With the increasing number of CNG-fitted vehicles and three-wheelers in Chandigarh, one can see long serpentine queues at Indian oil pumps just three in Chandigarh and one in Mohali. It is surprising that the government agency responsible for the supply of CNG cannot see this. The management of the gas pumps are least interested in managing the queues. I request the Chandigarh administration and Indian Oil Corporation to take effective measures to improve the situation. Karan Thakur singhking99@yahoo.com Nivedita Choudhuri In Flanders fields the poppies blow, Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place: and in the sky, The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.' This poem penned by Canadian doctor John McCrae as he sat in an ambulance near the battle-scarred fields of Ypres, Belgium, in 1915 is a poignant reminder of the horrors and futility of war. November 11, 2018, marks the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. This year the Armistice Centenary on 11 November coincides with Britain's Remembrance Sunday. Remembrance Sunday is held in the UK and the Commonwealth countries as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. The Armistice was signed between the Allies of the World War I and Germany at Compiegne, France, for the cessation of hostilities. It took effect at 11 o' clock in the morning at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. A formal peace agreement was only reached when the Treaty of Versailles was signed the following year. Around 20 million people died and another 21 million were wounded during the war, ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history. The poppy has become the symbol of reverence, and remembrance, for the millions of soldiers who have lost their lives in conflict. During the World War I (1914-1918), much of the fighting took place in western Europe. The beautiful countryside was bombed and fought over. The landscape quickly became arid and desolate. However, bright red Flanders poppies were resilient flowers and grew in thousands, flourishing in the midst of upheaval and disarray. In 1915, after losing a friend in Ypres, Lt Col McCrae was inspired by the sight of the poppies to write the famous poem, In Flanders Fields. His poem inspired an American professor, Moina Michael, to make and sell red silk poppies which were brought to England by a French woman, Anna Guerin. The British Legion, formed two years after the end of the World War I, ordered nine million of these poppies and sold these on November 11, 1921. The poppies sold out almost immediately and that first ever 'Poppy Appeal' raised over 100,000, a huge amount of money at the time. The cash was used to help World War I veterans with housing and employment. India made a massive contribution to Britain's war effort. It sent vast numbers of volunteers to fight and die on behalf of the Allied forces. Almost 1.5 million Muslim, Sikh and Hindu men from present-day Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Bihar volunteered in the Indian expeditionary force which saw fighting on the Western Front, in East Africa, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Gallipolli. Volunteering offered a chance to bypass the caste system because becoming a soldier meant good pay and the opportunity to be part of the 'warrior caste'. Of these men, around 50,000 died, 65,000 were injured and 10,000 were reported missing. Besides a huge procession past the Cenotaph, a memorial built in Whitehall, London, at the end of the World War I, bells will also toll from Flanders to villages across the UK and Germany on Novembe 11. As news of the Armistice spread in 1918, church bells which had fallen silent across the UK, rang out in celebration. On the Armistice Day Centenary, Ypres will be focus of global media attention. This year, early on November 11, more than 3,000 bell towers across the UK will ring out with the sound of half-muffled bells in a heartfelt memory of those who laid down their lives. At midday, the bellringers will remove the muffles from the clappers and the bells will ring open to signal the thankfulness of the nation. The British and German governments have urged other governments to ring bells at the same time so as to show the unity and the reconciliation that has come about among former foes. singhking99@yahoo.com Lt-Gen Baljit Singh (retd) There are never any good wars. According to recorded history of World War I, India alone lost 78,187 men and another 67,000 were wounded. Yet, this dreadful carnage was wiped clean from mankinds memory a mere 21 years later, as it started yet another world war which only ended with nuclear annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When the news of the Great War reached India in August, 1914, the bulk of the Army were in and around the North West Frontier. In words of a subaltern of the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs, It seemed to most that we should be stuck where we were for the whole war....missing out on active service in Europe. But forty-eight hours later they had orders to mobilise and get down to Karachi, within 15 days. In almost all cases this seemed an impossible task.....our outpost were stretched over sixty miles and we had to march another eighty miles to railhead.... I was sent out with a bag of rupees to hire every donkey and camel I could find...... the loyalty and fighting spirit of the battalion was more than ever manifested by the way every sick man formed up and tried to persuade me, he was fit to go. The subaltern (John Smyth), later brigadier, has left an endearing account of Sepoy Harnam Singh in his book, The Only Enemy (by Brigadier Sir John, VC Smyth), first published in 1959. Harnam Singh was bedridden with malaria, but three days later, towards the end of a particularly trying march, I looked around at the men and thought I saw Harnam Singh black with sweat...but swinging along jauntily......when we got into camp later I asked the Indian officer if I had seen aright..... how has he possibly marched all this way? Smyth was amused to learn Oh, opium hes non-opium eater and the effect of opium on him is therefore very great...we give him a little before the march and put him to bed as soon as it is over and then do the same next day.... Harnam Singh managed to get to Karachi......and went through a year of trench warfare in France! The 15th Ludhiana Sikhs were among the first Indian troops to disembark at Marseilles. That being their first venture outside India, they were bewildered as they marched for several days through an environment totally alien even to their imagination. There was little by the way of logistical support. And The Sikh is a cleanly creature and gets under a pump at every opportunity no matter how cold the weather or the water. After the dusty march they took down their hair and beards and set about having a good wash. This absolutely brought the house down and there were delighted shrieks of Voila les femmes Indiennes! After a while this curiosity, good natured no doubt, became rather embarrassing and the battalion were glad to arrive at the live battle zone. The battalion had mobilised cotton uniforms and one blanket per head. However, the men soon got an issue of one warm vest and one long-john.... They didnt quite understand the underclothes at first and, on the day were issued, I came out of my tent just in time to prevent the Subedar Major walking out clad in a thick pink vest and pink long-john! On 24th October, 1914, the battalion was ordered to deploy in a gap in the line.....we had a Scottish battalion on our right and some French on our left. It was, of course, very difficult for the Indian soldier at first to distinguish between French and Germans.....I quite appreciated this difficulty and borrowed a French soldier and a German prisoner and paraded them slowly around in front of each company. Nevertheless, I regret to say that the first people we shot in the Great War were, undoubtedly, French. Shortly, the battalion was truly battle-blooded on 18 May, 1915, when Lt Smyth leading 10 volunteers in a near suicidal mission emerged with a VC and 10 I D S Ms (posthumous) for his comrades (including Harnam Singh of the opium episode) in the same mission. And two days later, the Czar conferred on Smyth the exceptional George Cross for the most valorous deed of the year. A few days later, we had a message that an Indian maharaja (of Tikkari) was coming to spend a few days in our trenches. He rolled up in a smart uniform and beautifully polished boots with an orderly carrying his kit. He was given a dugout and retired to sleep. Early next morning, clad in a pair of blue silk pyjamas, he came and asked if he could have a place to snipe from. I gave him a little cul-de-sac where he would be in no ones way, told him to be careful as the German trench was only forty yards from ours and then started off on my rounds and forgot about him. Shortly afterwards I heard some dull clangs followed by roars of rage from the German trench. I peeped over the top and saw that six of their steel loop-holes had been knocked out. This seemed rather queer as the .303 bullet generally used to ping off them. I suddenly thought of the maharaja and went along to see what he was at. There he was in his lovely pyjamas with a 500 express elephant rifle (strictly against every convention of war) chortling with joy and methodically knocking out every Boche loophole within range. I hated having to stop him but we had to go to ground in any case as the Boche put over an angry mortar concentration to register their disapproval. Smyth was given a five days leave before the battalion embarked for Egypt. As he prepared to board a return train at Victoria station, he was accosted by the wives of two newly-weds of the 15th, who asked if they could come along with me (Smyth). With the feckless assurance of youth I said yes. Never mind the squabbles with the railways and dodging the military police in France but I enjoyed the whole thing enormously until we got to Marseilles and I had to report to the CO... Well boy he grunted had a good leave? Yes Sir...but I have a confession to make... I got the biggest telling-off ... the CO, I knew, was susceptible to flattery ... I managed to blurt out They thought you might be able to fix it for them, Sir and I saw a gleam in his eyes and he said But tell me this. Just how the bloody hell does a subaltern, even a subaltern of the 15th Sikh, manage to bring two women right across France in the middle of a World War? I had read this book in 1960 but could not discover who the maharaja of the silk pyjamas was. Then in the 1990s, a frequent visitor to our home from the Kapurthala royal family traced out that the unsung hero of that episode. It was Gopal Saran Singh of Tikkari. But where is Tikkari? Again by chance, in 2003 I acquired the latest Oxford School Atlas and lo and behold, Tikkari showed up, not far from Bodh Gaya! But why had the maharaja sought out the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs only, on the Western Front? His grandson Robin Tikkari has no clue. According to Robin, Tikkaris jagir was conferred on the family by Alivardi Khan, the Mughal Governor of Bengal, for loyal services rendered in battles against the East India Company. And that the gentleman in silk pyjamas was, at the time, an honorary ADC to Field Marshal Douglas Haig. In recognition of material help during the war, post-Armistice he was appointed an honorary Captain in the Indian Army at a ceremony in St James Palace, on 19 September, 1919. The family still has the parchment signed by the King. A hundred years later, as we commemorate the memory of soldiers who fought the World War I, we should also salute their grit and valour against fearful odds, driven solely by their intangible commitment to Honour, Oath of Fidelity and Loyalty to Comrades. Monica Sharma Monica Sharma Wanted beautiful, slim, homely girl for marriage. Wanted smart, educated and working girl for alliance. Wanted girl who can score good bands in IELTS and ready to settle abroad. This is how the trend of advertisements seeking perspective brides has changed over four decades in India. Reason: the craze among Indians to make it big in foreign lands. Not only the IELTS brides, even grooms are in demand. The trend is quite common in North India, especially Punjab and Haryana. The youngsters who cannot score themselves to get admissions to Australian universities are marrying the ones with the right score and the willingness to take them as a dependent to the alien country. IELTS-qualified marriage candidates and contract marriages are the ticket to many who aspire to settle Down Under. While the IELTS scorer pursues education, his or her spouse works full time with the dream of applying for a permanent residency. In most cases, the groom side is even ready to fund the brides education. The struggle to settle in foreign country does not end with finding the right band partner and getting admission to the university. In fact, it is just the beginning. There are domestic violence cases being reported if foreign dreams fail to take off after marriage. After landing in an alien country, IELTS brides start complaining of harassment, domestic violence and dowry demands. Surjit Kaur (name changed), studying at an IELTS centre in Chandigarh, says, I have received many marriage proposals after being enrolled for the course. Many of them even offered to bear expenses of my study, but I declined it as I didnt want to get into a contract marriage. Dr Madhumita Iyengar, group head, Initiatives for Women in Need (IWiN), says, IWiN works for the well-being of the migrant women. Many young Indian women facing domestic violence have sought help from us. We have found that Australias migration programme has created a marriage-oriented visa market where bargain for IELTS-qualified marriage candidates has increased substantially. Iyengar says, Usually, the incidents of domestic violence are a result of power imbalances created within a family set up, disadvantaging young married women entering Australia as a dependent spouse. Last year, a New Zealand tribunal had allowed an Indian womans application for refuge. It heard that the woman, an IELTS bride, was married on the condition that she would obtain a visa to study in Australia. Her applications for Australian and Canadian student visas were refused, following which she was subjected to physical and emotional violence in India. Later, she got a visa for study in New Zealand, while her partner was denied dependent visa. FS Aijazuddin FS Aijazuddin To the fastidious aesthete Oscar Wilde, fashion was a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months. Changing the names of cities takes a little longer. Time has forgotten when Indraprashta became Delhi or when Roman Londonium evolved into the city we know of as London, or when Bucaphala on the banks of the Jhelum river yielded to a modern city ignorant of its Greek ancestry. Later, changes each driven by its own imperative have been better documented. For example, 19th century Lyallpur began life honouring the British administrator Sir James B Lyall. In 1977, it was told to rename itself and recall instead the contribution of a 20th century benefactor the Saudi King Faisal bin Saud. A year later, the metropolis of Montgomery caught the infection and converted to Sahiwal. In India, history is cyclical. Revisionists search for innovation in the crucible of tradition. Kashi becomes Banaras and then Varanasi; Waltair turns into Visakhapatnam, Madras into Chennai, Trivandrum into Thiruvananthapuram. Modern scribes are not intimidated by such elongations. What took minutes to transcribe manually can be done in a second on the computer. Pronunciation, however, can pose a problem for foreigners, just as changes for political reasons causes disquiet among historians. Gambits like de-toxifying Aurangzeb Road but renaming it after another Indian Muslim Dr APJ Abdul Kalam (wasnt Aurangzeb also born an Indian?), or to secularise Allahabad as Prayagraj, Faizabad as Ayodhya, and Ahmedabad into Karnavati are understandable as political sops. Would it be unfair to suggest that had Dalhousie or McLeodganj also been included in the list of targets, the other alterations would not have appeared so religion-specific? These changes concern the Muslims in India. It is their voice that should be heard, not of their co-religionists in Pakistan who may figure in the Indian electoral process but do not vote in it. In Pakistan, many streets and localities still retain their pre-1947 names. e.g. Kot Radha Krishan or Gajjumata. A newer generation of Pakistanis do not regard being anti-Indian as the credential for being pro-Pakistani. They are Pakistani. Period. It is the same reality that Prime mMinister Atal Bihari Vajpayee acknowledged in his famous speech at Lahore after visiting the Pakistan Day monument in 1999: Pakistan does not need Indias thapa or seal of endorsement. It exists. He added: We wish it well and hope that it will prosper, just as we expect it has similar feelings for India. Such sagacity has remained a high watermark in the history of India-Pakistan relations. Vajpayee addressed his remarks as much to reassure Pakistanis as to remind his fellow-Indians that being anti-Pakistani does not make for a better Indian. Todays world, thanks to fervid nationalists, has become a playground for pessimists. The US is riven with dissension. Europe is a mass whose edges like some icebergs are crumbling. Russia, like Great Britain after the Second World War, is in a state of mourning, lamenting a lost empire. The Saudis are rapidly degenerating into another Vatican, its authority challenged by impatient elements of an unquiet modernity. And China unlike the US, the UK or the Soviet Union remains a singular monolith, lumbering unimpeded towards the 22nd century. It seems ironical that at this time, extremists in our countries should see in street or city names unacceptable religious connotations or in a petty argument over the use of a common tap the ominous slur of blasphemy. How odd also that the Netherlands, despite its minute size, has shown the capacity to accommodate Geert Wilders and now Asia Bibi. The writer is a Pakistan-based historian uttara@tribuneindia.com WASHINGTON, November 9 The United States is halting refueling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen, the United States and Saudi Arabia said on Friday, ending one of the most divisive aspects of US assistance to the Saudi war effort. Saudi Arabia, in a statement released by its embassy in Washington, said it had decided to request an end to US aerial refueling for its operations in Yemen because it could now handle it by itself. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis backed the decision and said the US government was consulted. The move comes at a time of international outrage over the murder of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and after Democratic and Republican lawmakers threatened to take action in Congress next week over the refueling operations. Critics of the Saudi campaignincluding Democrats who won control of the House of Representatives in elections on Tuesdayhave long questioned US involvement in the war, which has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than 2 million and led to widespread famine in Yemen since it began in 2015. "I've been calling for this for over three years," said Representative Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California. "We shouldn't be supporting coalition war crimes and I look forward to continuing to scrutinise the US's role in Yemen when were in the majority next Congress." Even as President Donald Trump's administration has condemned Khashoggi's murder, the White House has sought to preserve its relationship with Saudi Arabia. A coordinated decision by Washington and Riyadh to halt the refueling could be an attempt by both countries to forestall further action by Congress. Senators Todd Young, a Republican, and Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, had warned the Trump administration was running out of time to act. "If the administration does not take immediate steps... we are prepared to take additional action when the Senate comes back into session," Young and Shaheen said. Continuing US support Beyond refueling, the United States provides limited intelligence support to the Saudi-led coalition and sells it weaponry used in Yemen's war. Mattis said the United States would play a continuing role to help the Saudi-led coalition and Yemeni forces minimise civilian casualties and expand humanitarian efforts. He also suggested plans to build up Yemeni troops. "The US and the Coalition are planning to collaborate on building up legitimate Yemeni forces to defend the Yemeni people, secure their countrys borders, and contribute to counter al Qaeda and ISIS efforts in Yemen and the region," Mattis said in a statement. Earlier this year, Mattis had defended US military support to Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen, when lawmakers weighed forcing the Pentagon to end Washington's involvement. Mattis argued that halting U.S. military support could increase civilian casualties, since US refueling had given pilots more time to select their targets. He told them cutting off support could jeopardise cooperation on counter-terrorism and reduce American influence with Saudi Arabia. Mattis also argued it would embolden the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, who have fired missiles at Saudi Arabia and targeted commercial and military vessels off Yemens coast. Still, a halt to refueling could by itself have little practical effect on the war. US officials told Reuters only a fifth of Saudi-led coalition aircraft require in-air refueling from the United States. In recent weeks, Mattis has appeared to voice a growing sense of urgency toward ending the conflict. At the end of October, Mattis joined US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in calling for a ceasefire. United Nations Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths is aiming to convene the country's warring parties for peace talks by the end of the year. Saudi Arabia, in its statement, said its coalition was hopeful that UN-sponsored negotiations would lead to a negotiated settlement and "an end to the aggression by the Iranian backed Houthi militias' against the Yemeni people and countries in the region". Reuters amansharma@tribunemail.com Jakarta, November 10 Indonesia on Saturday called off the search for passengers of a Lion Air plane, almost two weeks after the jetliner plunged into the Java Sea killing 189 people on board. Some 196 bags containing body parts have been recovered from under the water with 79 victims identified and handed over to their families for burial. "Since yesterday afternoon until today we have not found any more victims and therefore I declare the search and rescue operation is over," Muhammad Syaugi, head of the search and rescue agency, told reporters Saturday. "We apologise to the public, especially the families of victims if during the operation we were not able to satisfy everybody," he added. Rescuers have also retrieved parts of the plane's engines, wheels and seats from the sea. One diver died helping with search. Lion Air has begun paying USD 102,058 compensation money for each passenger to the grieving families. Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee has retrieved one of the black boxes-the flight data recorder-and is still hunting for the cockpit voice recorder, which recorded the last conversation between the pilot and co-pilot before the crash. The doomed jet was a Boeing 737-Max 8, one of the world's newest and most advanced commercial passenger planes, and there is still no answer as to what caused the crash. The government has ordered a check on all Boeing 737-Max 8 fleets and conducted a special audit on Lion Air management. The transportation ministry has also removed several executives and technical staff from the airline to help with the accident investigation. The Lion Air plane plunged into the Java Sea on October 29 minutes after takeoff from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang city. All 189 people on board were killed and the data from the flight recorder data has so far revealed the plane's air speed indicator had not been working properly on its last four journeys, including on the fatal flight. Following the fatal crash, Boeing issued a special bulletin on how to deal with the erroneous Angle of Attack sensor alert in 737-8 and -9 airplanes. - AFP vinaymishra188@gmail.com Washington/Cairo, Nov 10 Saudi Arabia and the United States have agreed to end US refuelling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi insurgents in Yemen, halting a divisive aspect of US support to a war that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. The move, announced by the coalition on Saturday and confirmed by Washington, comes at a time when Riyadh, already under scrutiny for civilian deaths in Yemen air strikes, is facing global furore and potential sanctions over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The US and Britain late last month called for a ceasefire in Yemen to support UN-led efforts to end the nearly four-year long war that has killed more than 10,000 people and triggered the worlds most urgent humanitarian crisis. Recently, the Kingdom and the Coalition increased its capability to independently conduct inflight refuelling in Yemen. As a result, in consultation with the US, the Coalition has requested the cessation of inflight refuelling support for its operations in Yemen, it said in a statement. Saudi Arabia has a fleet of 23 planes for refuelling operations, including six Airbus 330 MRTT used for Yemen, while the United Arab Emirates has six of the Airbus planes, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya al-Hadath channel reported on Saturday. Reuters Nokia, as the only telecommunication enterprise attending the First China International Import Expo (CIIE), presented its global leading 5G technology and digitalized solutions for certain industries, allowing visitors to experience its super-high download speed, VR live broadcast, and intelligent operation and maintenance of the 5G technology at its exhibition stand in Shanghai. The speed of 5G can be 10 to 100 times that of 4G; its latency time can be reduced from 60 to 70 milliseconds for 4G to less than 5 milliseconds; and it can support connectivity between millions of devices, including everything in our daily life, introduced Wang Jianya, president of Nokia Bell, at a news briefing held at the sidelines of the expo on Nov. 7. The advent of 5G will bring an unprecedented era featuring the connectivity of everything. Big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and the internet of things will all experience a leap forward development, Wang said. Currently there are 2 billion vehicles globally which have not yet been connected to the internet. High-speed 5G technology can make it a reality and Nokia has established a R&D center on the internet of vehicles in Munich to realize the dream of driverless cars, he added. He also noted that Nokia Bell has just signed cooperative agreements with China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom with the contract volume totaling two billion euros. A POLICE Constable and a Coastguardsman shot and killed each other yesterday morning in Diego Martin during an alleged dispute over a woman. Police said around 2.20 a.m., PC Jomo Gulston, 37, a soon-to-be father of Endeavour, Chaguanas had just dropped off an unidentified woman at the home of her boyfriend, Coast Guard officer Jabari Francois, 33, at Waterwheel Road, River Estate, Diego Martin. Ive noticed in recent times a series of letters with an anti-vaccination leaning from Kevin Baldeosingh culminating with one published on Saturday. Could Mr Baldeosinghs need to write in the public forum be the result of cognitive dissonance, where he is really trying to convince himself that what he is doing is correct? "Can you advice me sites for booking train inside switzerland" Booking is not needed in Switzerland and in fact not even available for many trains but if you must use only the official website for 'normal' trains and for the Bernina Express go to their website at For trains between Switzerland and Italy also use and you will require a reservation within Italy if you use the direct fast trains. " lucerne -> chur-> tirano-> milan" In one day! You can find these trains at and but as a summary here are the approximate journey times : Lucerne - Chur 3 hours via Zurich which is I think the quickest way Chur - Tirano by Bernina Express 4hrs 20 minutes, 4 to 5 hours by other trains. Tirano to Milan 2hrs 20 minutes. These trains cannot be reserved, operated by Trenord Italia. The last train from Tirano to Milan is at 20.08hrs so plan accordingly. Edited: 3 years ago Looking for advice on getting the most out of our trip to Costa Rica in March 2019. It will be just my boyfriend and I traveling (I'm 28 and he is 30). We are taking a red eye so that we will arrive at San Jose airport at 8AM on Sat March 2nd and have pretty much a full day our first day. We leave the following Sunday March 10th at 8:30A. So we really have almost 8 full days. I've been endlessly researching and I'm having trouble deciding which places we MUST see. I would love to hear any and all input - best rainforests/parks? Pacific coast vs Caribbean coast? Favorite places to stay? Rental car vs buses? We can't spend more than $2,000 for the both of us so I'm looking mainly at air bnb options and any tips on where we can save money. (We could probably afford ONE night in a nicer hotel if there is one you think we must experience) Here is the itinerary I have for us at the moment: Day 1: Arrive at 8am - head immediately to La Fortuna (public bus tips?) - hopefully have time for waterfall once we get there Day 2: Hike Arenal National Park - afterward relax at hot springs (advice on which one?) Day 3: Waterfall rappelling/white water rafting tour Day 4: Taxi-boat-taxi to Monteverde - get there and explore Day 5: Zip lining at Monteverde (11a-2p) - then maybe a coffee tour? Or just relax Day 6: Head to Manuel Antonio/Quepos (shuttle bus) - 3PM Sunset horseback riding Day 7: Spend the day exploring Manuel Antonio National Park Day 8: Head back towards airport (public bus?) - Will we have time to go to Paos Volcano? Day 9: Airport - early flight My boyfriend thinks this is too much in our time frame but I don't want to miss out on things and I think we could do it. What do you guys think? Is Monteverde worth fitting in there? Do you agree with my choice of Manuel Antonio over the Caribbean side? Do you think we will be ok with public buses/shuttle buses or is a rental car necessary? Cannot thank you enough for any tips and advice. THANK YOU!! Well, this is the Tanzanian forum so we are obviously going to suggest you come to Tanzania. I hope you are talking about December next year, not next month or you will have left it all rather late to organise. For you safari I would suggest you contact a local tour operator and ask them to provide an itinerary for you which includes Tarangire NP, Manyara NP, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater and Conservation area. Give them an idea of the type of accommodation you want (anything from Budget camping to 5** luxury lodges available with prices to match). Also mention about how many days you want on safari, any interests you have etc. I would tailor your trip to your sons interests and attention levels, a bored child will ruin it for all of you (and is a waste of money). In some areas you can include some out of car activities to break things up. We have used Swala safaris based in Arusha for our last 4 safaris in the North of Tanzania and they have been great, I would highly recommend them. However there are many other tried and tested TOs so I would contact about 5 and see what they offer. Then before/after safari, if you have a spare few days I would actually spend some time seeing a bit more of the country. We spend a lot of time in Moshi, a small town about 35KM from Kilimanjaro airport. It has plenty going on and is safe to wander around on your own with plenty of nice bars and restaurants where you can mix with locals and sample some local food. When in Moshi we stay at a local B&B called Tembotamu. It is very good value and a lovely relaxing place to stay. Frank and Sandra who run it are incredibly helpful and friendly and will happily organise anything for you. They have a 9 year old son of their own so it is very child friendly. There is plenty of to do around there eg Markets, schools, shops, lakes, waterfalls, hot springs, hikes, bike rides, local cooking lessons, coffee and banana plantations etc....all of which you can visit and enjoy. I would make sure you spend some time interacting with locals. Tanzanians are really friendly hospitable people and spending time with them will enhance you visit. Here are some links from my blog entries so you can have a look at things we have done over the last few years (I hope the links work). Please feel free to ask anything. Feel free to read any other entries on the blogs to get a feel for Tanzania. Market visit (Use the older button at the bottom of the page to carry on reading the entry) Local walk in surrounding area of Moshi Shopping for local produce and Cooking lesson Lake Chala (we stayed overnight but you can easily do a dat trip from Moshi) Coffee Plantation tour and local lunch School Visit - we support a local social enterprise based in Moshi that puts computers and ICT into schools so we have done many many school visits. These are great fun. Here is a link to one such visit but you will find loads on my blogs. I you and your son would fancy learning more about what we do then let me know. We have helped many families support a local school in Tanzania with one or more computers. I hope you have planning your trip and have a great time. Edited: 3 years ago If december 2018 I think you are cutting it fine but doable. You have some interesting adviceand comments above, If you have decided to do kenya and tanzania I want talk about the other options in Southern Africa. I think it is a good choice for wildlife as Tanzania can offer one of the best wildlife experiences in Africa especially when the migration is taken into account. In December I would skip the parks in Kenya and maybe go only to places in Nairobi like the Giraffe Manor before heading to Tanzania. For Dec. I would skip it as most of the wildebeest migration will be in Tanzania and the other animals there in the Masai Mara can be easily seen in Tz. You will be rushed if trying to visit both countries with children not worth it. Well worth it as it is an iconic location beautiful views from the crater rim and wildlife including Rhino easily seen. read the posts by Shep I would go on Safari first then visit Moshi before flying to Zanzibar Been to both love them both Seychelles is fantastic, depends on your budget, flights and interests. Both are doable in 21 days Zanzibar is closer of course but this is where you choose. I would do a five to seven day safari before heading to Moshi for 2-3 days then Zanzibar or the Seychelles for the balance the number of days will be decided by how many if any you spend in Kenya. No they are beautiful but too far keep them for another day. I wouldn't self drive but go with a private safari with a local Tanzania Tour Operator, easier, less hassle, can be more fun as the guide will know where to go, self drive with kids can be complicated.( my view I have kids and used to self drive when they were very young all the time) There are also other areas to visit like Lake Eyasi to walk (not hunt) with the bushman. I've also driven around SA, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and think a private safari in Tanzania offers the best wildlife experience of those countries. Edited: 3 years ago Chinese automaker FAW Group is set to launch a new Hongqi SUV model to target private buyers, the group said at this year's World Internet Conference (WIC) that closed Friday. The luxury SUV model Hongqi HS7 is scheduled to hit the market in 2019. Meanwhile, the company's first Hongqi electric SUV, unveiled at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition this year, is also scheduled to hit the market in 2019. Both the SUV and electric car models are being launched to explore the private car market. Earlier this month, the company unveiled a partnership with Baidu to develop a near-full autonomous vehicle in 2019 and achieve mass production by the end of 2020. The company's first fully autonomous Apolong minibuses, rolled out earlier this year, are now running in over 10 locations. Hongqi has set sales targets of 100,000 cars in 2020, 300,000 in 2025 and 500,000 in 2035, said FAW Group Chairman Xu Liuping. It will introduce 17 car models, including electric and SUV models, by 2025. The first Hongqi, or Red Flag, car was made in 1958. Hongqi is one of China's iconic sedan brands and has been used as the vehicle for parades at national celebrations. Established in 1953 in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun, FAW was the first automaker in China. I made my first and last trip to Saigon last year. I did not like most of the Vietnamese people, I met there. 1. There was an official openly taking bribes at Saigon Airport. 2. A pickpocket stole from my front pocket within one hour of arriving in Vietnam. 3. A bar owner tried to break a bottle of beer over my friend's head. 4. A Saigon Tourist taxi had a high speed meter. 5. Prostitutes enter restaurants, sit down at your table and proposition you while you try to eat your meal. 6. Staff of tourist bus companies laugh at you, if you miss a bus and do not offer alternative arrangements. 7. Drivers do not stop at crosswalks. 8. Motorcyclists ride on foot paths. 9. Sellers at the Ben Thanh Market in Saigon overcharge. I did not mind the pedlars selling books and knick knacks. I also did not mind the motorcycle taxi drivers, as they provide a useful service. I will be traveling to SE Asia in 2019 through JFK- Abu Dhabi- Bangkok. My question is I was in Brazil for 2 weeks in 2017 and have the visa in my passport book. I NEVER received the yellow fever vaccine and that was the last time I was in a yellow fever region. Will any SE Asia countries question this as I do not see how long I have to be not be in a yellow fever region to not have the vaccine. Singapore says 6 days but I do not see the exact days for any other country. I will be in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, and NZ. I checked the CDC website: There is no risk of yellow fever in Vietnam. The government of Vietnam requires proof of yellow fever vaccination only if you are arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever. This does not include the US. Can I assume this means I'm good and do not need the vaccine and will not be stopped at any of the immigration checkpoints? Thanks. It doesn't make any difference which day you choose. Obviously, the corner of Dong Khoi and Le Thanh Ton (the north wing of the City Hall) is where all the big department stores - and the Santas - are at. If you take Dong Khoi past the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Post Office, there's Diamond Plaza. From the front of the City Hall, walk the Pedestrian street Nguyen Hue, all the way to the riverfront. Make a left to the Majestic @ Dong Khoi and back. From the Opera House, walk the east side of Le Loi Blvd toward the Ben Thanh market. (They have retainer walls along that street for the work on the underground metro line such that the sidewalk is rather narrow on the other side.) The 23/9 Park and the backpacker area of Bui Vien should be lively. If you want to check out the decorations at some of the Catholic Parishes, take a cab to the Tan Dinh pink church on Hai Ba Trung (dinner at Banh Xeo Dinh Cong Trang if you wish), the Go Vap parish (they have several churches close to one another) or the Binh An Parish in Dist. 8 (several churches also). From Dist. 8, you can head to the Crestcent Mall in Dist. 7 nearby. Lots of elaborate decorations (and events) in that area and the upscale Phu My Hung Subdivision. Cheers, John Will be in Vietnam during December and buying a sim card for local use only for my unlocked iphone. I have a few questions I hope you can help me with: 1) Has anyone here at TA used both Mobiphone and Viettel sims, and have you experienced any significant differences between them? 2) I'm still a little unsure about what prefixes to use, and how to identify whether the numbers the hotels publish are landlines or mobiles. 3) I will be visiting HCMC, Cat Tien, Da Lat, Phan Thiet, and Vung Tau. Different prefixes for each location? I've found a useful website ( ) but still not quite 100% sure which correct prefixes to put in my contacts list. I'm aware the country code is +84, but I'll only be using the phone whilst in Vietnam. If you can help clear up my queries, I'll be most grateful. Edited: 3 years ago I will be going to New York from May 16 to 22, 2019. I am working my way down the island, so for this specific trip, I would like to visit one or two neighborhood a day between 23rd Avenue and Houston Avenue. I have done some research on Gramercy, StuyTown, East Village and Noho. I have mapped a few locations on Google Maps to make sure that it is walkable. Day 1 (the East side - I would like to see interesting places between 23rd street, Houston street, 5th avenue and 1st avenue) - Chelsea Savoy Hotel - Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace (not sure if I will go in, but would like to see it) - Gramercy Park (I know it is not accessible, will still be a photo op) - Stuyvesant Square (I am not sure it is accessible, it read that it is a private property) - St. Marks Church-In-The-Bowery (Ghost Church, 2nd oldest church, seems quite beautiful) - Tompkins Square Park - Bowery Mural - New Museum - The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral - The Bowery Market - Union Square - Back at the hotel (Chelsea Savoy) If I were to walk from one location to another without stopping it would take 2 hours, I usually just double up the time to take time to stop and do some people watching as well as eat, so this map should cover approximately 4 hours. I would appreciate any suggestion, tweaking and comments you may have. We are coming to Nyc to celebrate twin boys 16 bday ( we came here when they were in 2nd grade). Itenerary ideas: Fri- Today show (6-6:30 am arrive), Rockefeller area with St Patrick Cathedral, shops, Top of the Rock, Alexander Hamilton sites ( my boys have studied him), end with Broadway show( would love Hamimton, Dear Evan Hanson....). Any connections??? Sat- Debating a boat tour to see Statue of Liberty( we saw last time), Brooklyn Bridge, 911 Museum/area, financial district, One World Center, Central Park, end eith Knicks game Sun- NBC tour(sold out Fri/Sat), left over ideas, Empire State, Hoboken for Cake Boss? Leave late. Ideas for eating in tbose areas teen boys like? Pizza, must eats if in NYC.. Any price IDEAS???? ALBANY, N.Y. Alain Kayembe, a 2018 graduate of the Pathways Academy and Watervliet High School who is now pursuing his passion of video game design at Hudson Valley Community College, summed up his experience at Pathways Academy. Without the Pathways Academy, I wouldnt have graduated. I wouldnt be where I am, he said. Kayembe, who struggled in a traditional high school setting, was offered the option to enroll in the new Pathways Academy when it launched at Capital Region BOCES during the 2017-18 school year. While passionate about gaming, he had a difficult time focusing in class. The Pathways Academy gave him one-on-one academic help and a new opportunity at life and learning. I am going to Hudson Valley Community College now. I am taking Computer Information Systems (CIS) and Java and Algebra and other courses to prepare for a four-year college, Kayembe said. I really want to transfer when I am done with my two-year degree to NYU [New York University] to get a four-year degree in video game design. Without Pathways, I never would have passed French 1. Pathways allowed me to graduate and go to college, Kayembe added. In Watervliet, we recognize and believe that all students can learn and thrive given the right learning environment, Principal Ryan Groat said. When we met with Capital Region BOCES leaders, we had an opportunity to brainstorm learning styles and approaches that we believed could benefit our students. The Capital Region BOCES Pathways program fits the bill because it offers a non-traditional setting that places an emphasis on individual strengths and hands-on or experiential learning opportunities that, for students like Alain, can unlock the door to success. The Pathways Academy serves approximately 30 students from a half-dozen school districts. While in the Academy, students in grades 9 through 12 take all of the required classes for graduation, including making up classes they didnt have success with earlier. Additionally, students learn skills, such as how to prepare for a job interview and how to effectively communicate. Classes are offered through live classroom teaching, as well as through online courses with assistance from a Pathways Academy teacher. Students also meet with area business leaders and visit various businesses in the region to better understand the regions workforce. The idea is to provide students with an alternative path to graduation. Some of our students may have fallen behind credit wise in high school, others may simply need a different approach to learning, Mary Cahill, Capital Region BOCES director of educational support services said. Stories like Alains show the value of such an initiative. - Hesy came to limelight in 2017 when he killed pretty teenage girls who were alleged criminals - Boinnet confimed he has heard of Hesy but denied the cop has security intelligence - Hesy's way of fighting crime has attracted both praise and criticism in equal measure The dreaded Hesy wa Dandora has revealed his identity after months of intense speculations on his designation and how exactly he gets access to crucial security information on dangerous criminals. The crime buster whose actions have been nothing but chilling executions of gangsters, described himself as a mere civilian with great interest in matters of security. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens. READ ALSO: Nairobi tout-turned-church robber shot dead The police boss also denied knowledge of the anonymous killer cops and further confirmed they are not one of his officers. Photo: Joseph Boinnet/Facebook. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Killer cop Hesy wa Dandora reveals 2 deadly Nairobi gangsters with connections to high offices In a Facebook post on the night of Friday, November 9, Hesy also denied he was thirsty for fame by killing suspected thugs and bragging on social media insisting he was very much comfortable with secret demeanour. Hesy went on to say he would have used his real Facebook account in the operation but opted to hide under a pseudo account for reasons well known to him. This after Inspector General of Police (IG) Joseph Boinnet denied knowledge of the anonymous killer officer. "Don't ask me if am a police officer or not because the issue was clarified the other day by the Inspector General of police himself., I'm a civilian with great interest in matters of security, kindly get satisfied with that or if I may ask, what did you expect the IG to say?" he posed. READ ALSO: Tatizo la uzazi: Michelle Obama asimulia alivyohangaika kabla kujaliwa watoto Boinnet described him as excitable chaps who seems to have a lot of interest on security issues. The question on the identity of Hesy and his colleague Hesy wa Koyole given the secrecy and precision by which they identify and execute bandits in Nairobi. Hesy came to limelight in 2017 when they felled pretty teenage girls who were alleged criminals after ignoring his warnings. Hesy wa Dandora, Hesy wa Huruma, Hesy wa Kayole and Blackest Widow are Facebook accounts believed to be managed by a group of detectives fighting organised crime in Nairobi. But their way of fighting crime-through summary execution of suspects-has attracted both praise and criticism in equal measure. On Wednesday, November 7, a human rights group called upon Independent Police Oversight Authority to look into human rights violations in the hand of the law enforcers. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. Carolyne Nduti Untold Story: My Husband Left Me for My Cousin - Kenya Untold Stories | Tuko TV Source: Tuko.co.ke - Nyalong's family had auctioned her for marriage in line with Dinka culture - The competition attracted prominent suitors, the eventual winner led the pack with 520 cows and three V8 cars - Women lawyers have termed the practice dehumanising and amounts to commoditisation of women Nyalong Ngong Deng, the 17-year-old South Sudanese virgin from Awerial in former Lake State whose beauty attracted over six suitors is finally off the shelf. Nyalong exchanged vows with tycoon Kok Alat in a colorful wedding ceremony at Freedom Hall in Juba on Friday, November 9, bringing to a close the long extraordinary journey in search of a suitable suitor. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens. READ ALSO: Outrage as South Sudan family auctions 17-year-old girl for 500 cows, 3 V8 cars Deng Nyalong sits pensively next to her husband, visibly lost in thought during the wedding ceremony. Photo: Juba TV/Facebook. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Suitors in last minute rush to win heart of South Sudanese woman whose dowry is 520 cows, three V8 cars She sat pensively next to her new husband, visibly lost in thought throughout the wedding ceremony. One read anguish and family betrayal written all over her face and still it was easy to conclude she was out place. Prior to the nuptials, the teenager's family had auctioned her for marriage, a two-week event which attracted prominent figures in an epic competition. The groom beat at least five other men who had expressed interest to marry Nyalong in line with Dinka culture after each failed to match his 520 heifers, three Toyota V8 cars and KSh 1 million to win the beauty's heart. READ ALSO: Kitale man compelled by court to pay dowry after staying with wife for 10 years Among the competitors was the former commissioner of Awerial and the current Deputy Governor of Eastern Lakes State among other who is who in the Africa's youngest independent state. In Dinka culture, any man willing to marry must convince the girl's family he has the desired qualities which include ability to take care of their daughter. It is from here that contestants are carefully 'auditioned' before letting them battle it out in a long search for the lucky son-in-law able to meet dowry terms. Women lawyers from South Sudan have called out the government to investigate a bizarre incident and take action against those involved in the auction exercise. The lawyers said the practice though forms part of Dinka's culture, it amounts to commoditisation of women. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. Carolyne Nduti Untold Story: My Husband Left Me for My Cousin - Kenya Untold Stories | Tuko TV Source: Tuko Fuxing bullet trains between Beijing and Changsha, the capital city of central China's Hunan Province, will join the battle to deliver for Singles' Day, an annual e-commerce shopping spree in China that falls on Sunday. According to the Beijing Railway Bureau, it will be the first time that two Fuxing bullet trains between Beijing and Changsha deliver goods bought on Singles' Day from Nov. 11 to 20, each with a delivery capacity of about 50,000 tonnes. One carriage of each train will carry goods, mainly documents, garments, food, electronic devices, and others. Delivery time will be cut down to six hours, faster than road transportation which usually takes 20 to 24 hours, according to China Railway Express Co. Ltd. Special services to help couriers cope with the shopping spree will still continue this year. Cold-chain delivery will also be offered between Beijing and Shanghai and Beijing and Chengdu, capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province. Entirely designed and manufactured in China, the Fuxing, or Rejuvenation, trains are more spacious and energy-efficient, with a longer service life and better reliability than previous models. - Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko confessed he broke out of prison to bury his mother after being denied bail - The governor blamed the Judiciary of being insensitive to physical, social and psychological needs of suspects - He said the bias against suspects pushed them to resort to illegal means of getting out of prison - He blamed the judge who denied former Nairobi Town Clerk John Gakuo bail from prison for occasioning to deterioration of his health and eventual death Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has confessed that he once broke out of prison to attend the burial of his late mother.. Sonko's integrity was questioned during the Nairobi gubernatorial debate ahead of the 2017 General Election by fierce opponent and combative lawyer Miguna Miguna who claimed he had been convicted and jailed at Shimo La Tewa Prison. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: Museveni declares Babu Owino unwanted guest in Uganda nairobi Governor Mike Sonko said he broke out of prison to attend the burial of his late mother. Photo: Mike Sonko/Facebook. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Mataing'i dismisses matatu strike notice says crackdown is still on Speaking during the burial of former Nairobi Town Clerk John Gakuo in Ol Kalou, on Friday, November 10, Sonko attributed his action to the rogue and insensitive nature of judicial officers. Gakuo died at Mbagathi hospital on Tuesday, October 30, when he was still serving a three-year jail term at Nairobi West prison after he was convicted with corruption related charges. Sonko argued that judges and judicial officers handling the matter involving Gakuo proved they were inefficient and insensitive by denying Gakuo bail terms after his incarceration. "Inefficient judicial officers make suspects settle for other illegal means to access freedom. I broke out of prison to attend the burial of my mother. The magistrate had denied bail yet this was an urgent and sensitive issue," Sonko said. Former Nirobi Town Clerk John Gakuo died when he was still serving a three-year jail term at Nairobi West Prison. Photo: The Standard. Source: UGC READ ALSO: KSh 10 million raised in Harambee graced by William Ruto in Kakamega disappear mysteriously Sonko's sentiments were echoed by the late Gakuo's family members who blamed his death to rigidity of some judicial officers. "Gakuo had served the nation diligently and was about 70 years. He was not a flight risk at all and deserved bail," said Simon Makallah, brother in-law of the deceased. The Nairobi county chief once found himself in trouble by confessing he had been convicted and jailed in Kamiti Maximum and Shimo La Tewa prisons. Jubilee party Vice Chairman David Murathe wanted him impeached for acknowledging he had flouted Chapter six of the Constitution. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. Carolyne Nduti Untold Story: My Husband Left Me for My Cousin - Kenya Untold Stories | Tuko TV Source: Kenyan Breaking News - The three staff were traveling from Masalani to Ijara area during the 9am incident - Armed bandits emanated from the thicket in Ruka area and began firing at the car - One volunteer sustained bullet injuries and was taken to Malindi Hospital for treatment - Kenya Red Cross Secretary General Abbas Gullet confirmed incident said they would engage community to avert future attacks Three staff of Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) cheated death by a whisker after armed bandits opened fire on their moving vehicle injuring one of them. The three were confronted by the armed bandits suspected to be al-Shabaab militants in Ruka area on their way from Masalani to Ijara town on Saturday, November 10. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: Sonko narrates how he escaped prison to bury his mother Infran Aden one of the Red Cross staff who was shot by the assailants in Tana River. She was recuperating at Malindi Towfique hospital. Photo: Onesmus Baraka/TUKO.co.ke Source: Original READ ALSO: Joey Muthengi breaks down as she says goodbye to Citizen TV Abbas Gullet, KRCS Secretary General confirmed the incident saying one volunteer, Infran Aden was injured after the bandits emanated from a bush and began firing bullets at the vehicle they were traveling in. Aden was briefly admitted at Masalani sub county hospital before she was transferred to Towfique Hospital in Malindi county. The crew's brave driver David Jilo who pushed his way and sped past the attackers said they were initially six in the vehicle but dropped three of their colleagues in a nearby centre. "We had just left Ruka trading centre when the attackers struck. They immediately began firing from both sides of the thicket along the road forcing me to make and emergency turn to Masalani and sped away but one of our colleagues had been shot," he said. David Jilo narrating about the horrible attack. Photo: Onesmus Baraka. Source: Original READ ALSO: Ruto reiterates nothing will stop him from working with troubled Migori Governor Obado He said their car later broke down but managed to flee from the scene and were helped by Good Samaritans who had a private car to take the injured volunteer to the hospital. Addressing journalists in Malindi. KRCS North Coast regional Coordinator Hassan Musa said the staff were safe with those who did not get hurt put under psycho-social counseling. This inicident is unfortunate but will not deter us from our commitment to serve the needs of the people. We shall be meeting the community members and other stakeholders to see how we can tackle the insecurity issue together, he said. Story By Onsemus Baraka: TUKO Correspondent, Kilifi County Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. Carolyne Nduti Untold Story: My Husband Left Me for My Cousin - Kenya Untold Stories | Tuko TV Source: Tuko China plans to release one giant panda into the wild from a national nature reserve in southwest China's Sichuan Province at the end of the year. This will be the first time for the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas to release a captive-bred giant panda into the wild in the provincial capital of Chengdu. The panda, two years and four months old, will be released into the Longxi-Hongkou National Nature Reserve, a habitat for wild pandas, in the county-level city of Dujiangyan, the center said Friday. The number of wild pandas living in the reserve is small, posing a risk to reproduction there, said Zhang Zhizhong, director of the center. The panda, named "Qinxin", has received systematic wild training and gained relatively strong survival skills for the wild, Zhang said. The release is key in boosting the wild population of the giant panda, said Zhang. By the end of 2017, China had trained 25 captive-bred giant pandas to adapt to the wild and released nine of them. Seven survived. The number of captive pandas is currently at 548 worldwide, said China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration Thursday. A healthy, dynamic and sustainable giant panda population has basically been formed, laying a solid foundation for preserving a wild population. The administration plans to continue the captive breeding of giant pandas and releasing them back into the wild this year. The number of released captive pandas will reach 10 since the program was launched in 2003. Giant pandas are endangered and live mainly in the mountains of northern Sichuan Province as well as Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko will pay a visit to France on November 10-11. "November 10-11, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko will make a working visit to the French Republic," the press service of the head of state reported. At the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, Petro Poroshenko will take part in the events within the Paris Peace Forum to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, as well as in a round table "How to make multilateralism more effective for international problem-solving?". During the visit, Poroshenko will hold a number of bilateral meetings with leaders of the countries of the world. ish President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Rasa Jukneviciene believes that Ukraine defends not only its independence but also the whole democratic world. Chairman of the Donetsk Regional State Administration Oleksandr Kuts informed this on his Facebook page on Friday, when President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Rasa Jukneviciene and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy visited Donbas. Ukraine defends not only its independence but also defends the democratic world - President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Rasa Jukneviciene made such a conclusion after visiting Donbas together with Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy, the head of the region wrote. The NATO PA president visited Mariupol, Shyrokyne and Hnutove, talked to the military and civilians who live on both sides of the so-called line of demarcation and cross checkpoints. At Mariupol City Council, she held a general meeting with representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the military commanders of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) and the heads of law enforcement agencies. They discussed mine safety issues, improvement of the conditions for crossing checkpoints and others. Jukneviciene stressed that she supported the position of Ukraine regarding condemnation of fake elections in the temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and non-recognition of their results. The NATO PA president will speak about the situation in Donbas during a high-level meeting in Washington. And next week, this issue will be raised at the annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Halifax (Canada). "I am grateful to our allies and partners for their attention to Ukraine and for the extremely important support of our state in the international arena," Kuts stressed. ish Prague does not recognize the holding of so called elections in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, considering them to be a gross violation of international law. The Foreign Ministry of the Czech Republic said this in a statement on November 9. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic considers the holding of so called elections in parts of the Ukrainian territory controlled by non-state entities to be a gross interference into domestic affairs of Ukraine and fundamental violation of Ukrainian sovereignty, the statement reads. In accordance with international law, only the Ukrainian authorities have the right to organize any elections on the territory of Ukraine. No legitimate elections can take place on the territory that is de facto controlled by the Russian armed forces. Furthermore, holding of the elections prevents the implementation of the Minsk Agreements to which Russia is a party, Foreign Ministry of the Czech Republic stressed. As an EU Member State, the Czech Republic is involved in shaping the Union policy vis-a-vis the Russian Federation. Because of the illegal annexation of Crimea and Russian destabilising actions in Eastern Ukraine, the EU has introduced sanctions against the Russian Federation. These sanctions can only be changed once the causes for their introduction cease to exist. At the same time, the EU has agreed, in March 2016, on the five guiding principles for EU-Russia relations and the Czech Republic will continue to contribute to their implementation. The key principles include: full implementation of the Minsk agreements; closer ties of the EU with the states of the Eastern Partnership; strengthening EU resilience to hybrid threats and in the field of energy security; selective dialogue with Russia in the areas of common interest; and support to the Russian civil society. The Czech Republic will continue to support the reform efforts of Ukraine and further steps of Ukraine towards the EU and NATO. As reported, pro-Russian militants in Donbas announced the holding of so-called "elections" in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions scheduled for November 11. ish The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine has called fake "elections" in the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas scheduled for November 11 a charade and urged the Donbas residents not to take part in them. "Tomorrows sham elections will benefit only Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine, not the Ukrainian people. Residents of the Donbas should reject this charade and refuse to participate," the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine wrote on Twitter. As reported, pro-Russian militants in Donbas announced the holding of so-called "elections" in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions scheduled for November 11. Chief of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Vasyl Hrytsak called on Ukrainians not to violate Ukrainian legislation and not to vote in the so-called elections in ORDLO. President Petro Poroshenko at the European People's Party summit in Helsinki called for the intensification of political and sanctions pressure on Russia in connection with pseudo-elections scheduled for November 11 in the temporarily occupied territory of Donbas, as well as for the release of Ukrainian political prisoners of the Kremlin. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that the intentions of the Russian occupation administration to hold "extraordinary elections" in the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas grossly violate Russia's obligations as a party to the Minsk agreements. ish Responding to the increasing research and educational needs deriving from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) developing economies and projects, Shanghai University (SHU) announced its new academic institute, the Belt and Road Institute of International Business (BRIIB), at a ceremony on Friday. The School of Economics (SOE), Shanghai University will act as host. With Professor Maria Elo from the University of Turku (Finland) asExecutiveDean and Professor Anthony Ho from Shanghai University (China) asDeputyDean, the BRIIB aims to establish itself as one of the leading academic institutes and platforms connecting people involved in international business research, education and training, to become recognized for the quality of its academic research, education programs, as well as its contributions to international business circles. The BRIIB, serving as a platform for people-to-people exchanges, will conduct excellent research, provide a first-class education, and offer premium training under the strategy of Think Global, Act Local; Academic Mind, Practical Action. The BRIIB has already established connections with universities and institutes from, among others, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Latvia and within China. Invited to become the BRIIB Professor of International Business and Entrepreneurship, Executive Dean Professor Elo saw the publication of her new bookDiaspora Network in International Business by the Springer Publishing Company just before the launch ceremony. The launching of the BRIIB is one of the events being staged by Shanghai University to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Chinas reform and opening up, the 5th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and the 40th anniversary of its own School of Economics. The document stipulates the crossing of Ukraine's state border to harm the country's interests is punishable by imprisonment for up to three years. Law on the introduction of amends to the Criminal and Criminal Procedural Codes of Ukraine regarding liability for illegal crossing of the state border by citizens of the aggressor state came into force in Ukraine on November 10. According to the law, the Criminal Code of Ukraine is supplemented with Article 332-2 "Illegal crossing of the state border of Ukraine." Read alsoOSCE monitor: Political will could end eastern Ukraine conflict quickly media The document stipulates the crossing of Ukraine's state border to harm the country's interests is punishable by imprisonment for up to three years. This refers to persons who are denied entry to Ukraine and representatives of the armed forces' units or other law enforcement agencies of the aggressor state, who try to cross the state border of Ukraine by any means beyond official checkpoints or at checkpoints without proper travel documents or documents containing inaccurate information. The same acts committed repeatedly or by a group of persons will entail imprisonment from three to five years. Committing these acts combined with violence or the use of weapons will to be punished by imprisonment from five to eight years. The document comes into force the day following the date of its publication. As UNIAN reported earlier, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, passed the relevant bill on October 18. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko enacted it on November 7. The law was publication in the official newspaper of the Verkhovna Rada "Holos Ukrainy" on November 9. At the same time, the European Union reiterates its full support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini says the European Union condemns the so-called "elections" planned for November 11, 2018 in Russian-occupied Donbas, and considers them as illegal. Read alsoKlimkin: Russia needs fake elections in occupied Donbas to fragment, weaken Ukraine "The EU considers the 'elections' planned for 11 November 2018 in the non-government controlled territories of the so-called 'Luhansk People's Republic' ['LPR'] and 'Donetsk People's Republic' ['DPR'] as illegal and illegitimate and will not recognize them. The EU condemns these 'elections', as they are in breach of international law, undermine the commitments taken under the Minsk agreements and violate Ukraine's sovereignty and law. The Minsk agreements exclusively provide for local elections to be held within the framework of the Ukrainian legislation and under the OSCE standards and observation," Mogherini said in a statement on Saturday, November 10. At the same time, the European Union reiterates its full support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. "The European Union recalls that the implementation of the Minsk agreements by all sides remains key to reaching a sustainable political solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and underlines the responsibility of the Russian Federation in this regard. The EU welcomes Ukraine's decision to prolong the Law on Special Status for parts of eastern Ukraine until the end of 2019," she said. "We expect the Russian Federation to make full use of its considerable influence over the separatists it backs," she added. As UNIAN reported earlier, sham elections of "DPR-LPR heads" and "members of parliament" are scheduled to be held in the temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions on November 11. The EU and U.S. warn that such "elections" in the so-called "DPR" and "LPR" violate the Minsk agreements. In turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the issue of who will lead the occupying administrations is of "extreme importance," also claiming that the "elections" do not contradict the Minsk accords. Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected, Global Affairs Canada said in a statement. Canada is deeply concerned about illegitimate elections in Russian-occupied Donbas and condemns Russian actions that violate international norms and pose a threat to life in eastern Ukraine. Read alsoMogherini: EU considers 'elections' in Russian-occupied Donbas illegal, not to recognize them "Canada is deeply concerned about illegitimate elections planned in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine for November 11. Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. We condemn Russian actions that disregard international norms and further threaten lives in eastern Ukraine," Global Affairs Canada said in a statement on November 10. "Canada remains concerned about the ongoing situation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine as a direct result of Russian aggression. Since 2014, Canada has committed over $750 million in international assistance to Ukraine, including development, stabilization and security, and humanitarian assistance. Canadians will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine," reads the statement. As UNIAN reported earlier, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv called the "elections" in the self-proclaimed "DPR" and "LPR" scheduled for September 11 as sham. "Tomorrow's sham 'elections' will benefit only Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine, not the Ukrainian people. Residents of the Donbas should reject this charade and refuse to participate," it said. A rally demanding the release of film director Oleh Sentsov will be held in Paris on November 10. Dozens of cultural figures from France and other countries have signed an open letter calling on leaders of Western countries to influence the Kremlin to release illegally convicted Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov, who has been servicing his 20-year term in a Russian penal colony. The letter was published in the French newspaper Le Monde on the eve of the arrival of Russian President Vladimir Putin to France to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, RFE/RL's Ukrainian bureau wrote on November 10. Read alsoSentsov awarded 2018 Sakharov Prize journalist The letter, which was signed by film directors Jean-Luc Godard, Aki Kaurismaki, Sergei Loznitsa, Andrei Zvyagintsev and others, as well as a number of famous actors, including Marina Vlady, historians, writers, and politicians, says it is necessary to use all possible diplomatic methods, to free Sentsov and other Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russian colonies and prisons. If their actions fail, the authors of the letter propose that an analogue of the U.S. Magnitsky Act be adopted at the EU level to punish those involved in the conviction of Sentsov. A rally demanding the release of the Ukrainian film director will be held in Paris on November 10. As UNIAN reported earlier, Sentsov was arrested in Russian-occupied Crimea in spring 2014 and in August 2015, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison following an unfair trial where he faced "terrorism" charges stemming from his opposition to Russia's occupation of Crimea. He has been serving his term in a penal colony in the town of Labytnangi, Russia's Yamal. Sentsov began his hunger strike on May 14, 2018, demanding that Russia free all Ukrainian political prisoners. Doctors supported his life with the help of a nutrient mix. In early October, Sentsov announced he had to end his hunger strike due to the deterioration of his health and threats of forced feeding. Two enemy troops were killed and another two were wounded, intelligence reports say. Russia's hybrid military forces mounted nine attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas in the past 24 hours, with two Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action (KIA). Read alsoRussian invaders trying to boost escalation in Azov Sea Commander Nayev "Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed in action in the past day. According to intelligence reports, two occupiers were killed and another two were wounded," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said in an update on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on November 10, 2018. The Russian occupation forces shelled Ukrainian positions near the town of Avdiyivka, as well as the villages of Krymske, Vilne, Luhanske, Pisky, Taramchuk, Berezove, and Hnutove. "Russian occupation forces opened aimed fire from grenade launchers of various systems, heavy machine guns and small arms. The invaders were most active near Luhanske in the Svitlodarsk direction where they fired 120 mm mortars on the Joint Forces strong points twice. Near Krymske, the enemy employed grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, and 82 mm mortars to provide cover for their sniper," the report said. Since Saturday midnight, Russian-led forces have mounted one attack on the Ukrainian positions near Taramchuk. No heavy weapons have been used. There have been no casualties among Ukrainian troops from the start of the day, the press center said. China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) has urged courts nationwide to enhance their efforts to crack down on gang crimes in rural areas to better serve the country's rural vitalization strategy, saying in a guideline that perpetrators in such cases should be handled more harshly and quickly. The guideline, issued this week, mainly targets mafia-like gangs who manipulate the operation of village affairs, maneuver or disrupt elections at the grassroots level, monopolize village resources, misappropriate village collective assets and who use clan force and family power to play the bully in the village. Those running business operations related to prostitution, gambling, drugs as well as usury will also be harshly cracked down upon, it said. The SPC also demanded that cases related to land contracting and land use rights disputes should be properly coped with. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Iran will continue selling oil despite the United States re-introducing massive sanctions on Iranian entities and individuals and granting waivers to only eight countries to purchase the country's oil, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said. WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th November, 2018) Iran will continue selling oil despite the United States re-introducing massive sanctions on Iranian entities and individuals and granting waivers to only eight countries to purchase the country's oil, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said. "The fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran can sell its oil and will sell its crude ... even if these countries [buyers of Iranian oil] have not been offered waivers. We would have been selling our oil with honor ... We will break these sanctions with honor, because these sanctions are cruel and are against the international law," Rouhani said, as quoted by Press tv on Monday. Earlier in the day, the United States re-imposed massive sanctions on Iran targeting the country's energy, shipping, banking and shipbuilding sectors while granting exemptions to eight nations - China, Taiwan, Greece, South Korea, Turkey, Italy, India and Japan - for oil purchases from Tehran. US State Secretary Mike Pompeo said the United States will exert "relentless" pressure on Iran unless it changes its "revolutionary course." The announcement came hours after President Donald Trump restored all sanctions that were lifted under the nuclear agreement with Iran, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The United States re-imposed sanctions against Iran in August, but experts believe that the second round imposed on Monday is the most significant as some 700 entities and individuals were designated, including financial and other institutions as well as aircraft and other vessels. Among the sanctioned entities are the country's largest civilian airliner Iran Air and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. In addition, the United States sanctioned some 50 financial institutions, including the Russian subsidiary of Iran's Mir business Bank as well as two Belarus-based banks - Torgovy Kapital and Onerbank. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said after the United States re-imposed the second round of sanctions that Tehran is ready to re-engage with the United States to establish a new nuclear deal. "We are willing to wait out this approach. The Trump administration can change its approach ... We don't care who is behind that approach," Zarif told USA Today. Zarif criticized the United States for failing to be a reliable negotiating partner, adding that Iran is not only willing to resume its oil sales but also stands ready to engage with the United States on an alternative approach. European Union High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini told the UN General Assembly that the bloc is looking into possible vehicles to safeguard Iran's oil trade as the country faces US sanctions. "This will mean that EU member states will set up a legal entity to facilitate legitimate financial transactions with Iran and this will allow European companies to continue to trade with Iran in accordance with European Union law and could be open to other partners in the world," Mogherini said. European Union officials have said they came up with several initiatives to keep Iran in the multilateral nuclear agreement, including setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with Russia and China to allow countries to bypass the US sanctions and continue trading with Iran. US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on Monday that the United States has agreed to permit the European Union to keep conducting certain humanitarian and trade transactions with Iran. Other than the European Union and Iran, Russia and China have both decided to sidestep the US sanctions regime and continue trading oil with Iran. "China regrets the US decision. We also noted that the international community spoke against the use of unilateral sanctions and extraterritorial jurisdiction," Chinese Foreign Minister Hua Chunying said on Tuesday. "China will stick to its position of impartiality, objectivity and responsibility and will work to preserve the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, while firmly protecting its lawful interests." Russian officials echoed the Chinese sentiment, saying that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the international watchdog, has numerously confirmed Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal. Bushehr is Iran's first nuclear power plant whose construction began in 1975, but was suspended during the 1978-1979 Islamic revolution and amid Western sanctions against Tehran. Germany, which was responsible for constructing the power plant, joined the United States in imposing restrictive measures against Tehran. Iran reached a deal with Russia on constructing the first stage of the Bushehr nuclear power plant project - the Bushehr 1 - in 1992. The plant was connected to the national electric grid in 2011 and reached full capacity the following year. Russia's Rosatom nuclear energy corporation is currently working on constructing the second stage of the power plant. (@ChaudhryMAli88) The United States is unable to cut Iranian oil exports down to zero, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) The United States is unable to cut Iranian oil exports down to zero, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday. "The officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran were saying from the first day that Americans are not able to reduce Iran's oil export to zero, but they kept repeating that they would do this and they recently admitted that the cannot reduce Iran's oil export to zero," Rouhani said, as quoted on his official website. He went on to say that the new package of Iran sanctions had not influenced the country's economy as the United States had already used all the "bullets" that they had, and now had "nothing new to offer. " In May, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and reimpose sanctions against Tehran that were previously lifted under the accord, including secondary restrictions. While the first round of the Iran sanctions was reimposed in August, the second package, including restrictions targeting the country's oil industry, came into force on Monday. The United States seeks to force all the importers of Iranian oil to eventually reduce their imports to zero. Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shah Farman Saturday said that provision of quality education was key to development of nations and PTI leadership believed in quality education and was utilizing all resources in that regard. PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2018 ) : Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shah Farman Saturday said that provision of quality education was key to development of nations and PTI leadership believed in quality education and was utilizing all resources in that regard. He said this while addressing as a chief guest during the Parents Day ceremony of the Frontier Scouts Cadet College, Warsak. Deputy IG Frontier Corps (North) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Brigadier Muhammad Ahsan Khattak, Brigadier (Rtd) Principle Cadet College Pervez Khalid Babar, parents of the cadets and other military and civil officers were also present on the occassion. The cadets presented parade, gymnastic, jodo karaty, horse riding which were appreciated by the chief guest and participants as well. The Governor in his address, said that young generation was an assets for every nation as they play leading role in development of a country. "Present era is of science and information technology, and I was happy to know that this college is also focusing physical education," he said. The students of this college feel lucky because they are learning under the umbrella of Frontier corps that will help in their character building and personality development. The Principle Cadet College briefed the Governor about the history, performance and progress of the said college. At the end, the governor distributed award among the cadets with best performance and also lauded the efforts of teachers and trainers in making this institute best among prestigious institutions of the country. Earlier, The Governor visited the science laboratory andinspected the scientific products made by the cadets. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2018 ) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan Saturday urged the UN Human Rights for Europe in Brussels to implement the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Commission's recent report on human rights in the Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) at the earliest. MIRPUR (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2018 ) : Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan Saturday urged the UN Human Rights for Europe in Brussels to implement the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Commission's recent report on human rights in the Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) at the earliest. The AJK prime minister, who is currently on an official visit to Belgium to attend the European Union Kashmir week in Brussels, had an hectic schedule since his arrival there, siad a dispatch received here on Saturday. Farooq Haider inaugurated a photo exhibition on Kashmir in the press club Brussels. The exhibition of photos displayed by French Photographer depicting Indian forces atrocities in the IoK. He attended important meetings during the Kashmir EU Week, effectively highlighting the horrific atrocities and human rights abuses of Indian forces against armless people of Jammu and Kashmir. He also let the attendants know the historic background of Kashmir conflict. In different sessions of these meetings, the AJK prime minister emphasized the civilized nations, especially the members of European Parliament to influence India to stop massacre of Kashmiris, struggling for their internationally recognized right to self-determination. All those participating in the Kashmir EU Week meetings praised the role of AJK prime minister and said his briefing on Kashmir to the participants helped them understand the Kashmir issue better. Member EU parliament Sajjad Haider Karim observed that PM Haider vehemently and forcefully highlighted Kashmir issue in Kashmir Week. When the real party (Kashmiris) raise this issue at international level, it draws the attention of European countries, he added. Another EU member Wajid Khan admitted that the visit of Prime Minister of AJK to Brussels is of great significance. European nations are concerned about the gruesome atrocities and state terrorism of Indian forces against Kashmiris in the held valley, after they were informed the ground realities by AJK Premier, he stated. (@ChaudhryMAli88) A seminar commemorating the poet of East, Allama Muhammad Iqbal was held at the University of Kashmir in Srinagar under the auspices of Iqbal Institute of Culture. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2018 ) :A seminar commemorating the poet of East, Allama Muhammad Iqbal was held at the University of Kashmir in Srinagar under the auspices of Iqbal Institute of Culture. According to Kashmir Media Service (KMS), the vice-chancellor of the University, Prof Talat Ahmed, in his presidential address said that the thought and philosophy of Iqbal was relevant for all times to come and more work needed to be done to make the young generation aware about his contribution and his universal vision which transcended all barriers of geography and language. Assuring full administrative support to the institute so that more and more research is conducted on various dimensions of Iqbal's thought, Prof Talat said, "Imbibing the model of Iqbal is need of the time to make this world a better place to live in. " Former Director of Iqbal Institute of Culture and Philosophy, Prof Bashir Nehvi, in his address said that Iqbal's philosophical thought would remain relevant in the ages to come. "Iqbal had a fore-vision not only about the place where he lived but all his predictions on east and west are coming crystallized in the present times," he added. Prof Nehvi's book, 'Sarhad-i-idrak' and 'Difa-e-Iqbal' of Prof Rafiabadi were also released on the occasion. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, has awarded a contract worth AED288 million to construct two rectangular, reinforced, concrete 60-million-gallon reservoirs in Al Nakhali. This will hold 120 million gallons of desalinated water to increase Dubais storage capacity to 1,010 million gallons. DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 10th Nov, 2018) Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, has awarded a contract worth AED288 million to construct two rectangular, reinforced, concrete 60-million-gallon reservoirs in Al Nakhali. This will hold 120 million gallons of desalinated water to increase Dubais storage capacity to 1,010 million gallons. Commenting on the project, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA, said, "This project supports the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and is in response to the continued growth in demand for water to meet the needs of ambitious urban, economic, and social projects, in line with DEWAs strategy to provide water reservoirs. " He added that it also enhances the efficiency and reliability of water network and increases water flow to fulfil the increasing demand for water across all of Dubai. Work is expected to proceed according to project schedules, and the construction and operation of the reservoirs are expected to be complete within 24 months. DEWAs total storage capacity, as a result, will increase to 1,010 million gallons, compared to the current capacity of 830 million gallons. It is also expected to increase to 890 million gallons after the completion of the 60-million-gallon reservoir in Al Lusaily after 24 months. (@ChaudhryMAli88) The first of the new Dubai Metro trains had arrived in the emirate, with a total of 50 to be delivered by the end of October 2019. DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 10th Nov, 2018) The first of the new Dubai Metro trains had arrived in the emirate, with a total of 50 to be delivered by the end of October 2019. Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said the first train has been transported to the Metro Depot at Rashidiya. ''The manufacturer, Alstom, will continue supplying the remaining trains in batches,'' he said. "RTA will carry the test-run of the first train destined for Route 2020 on the Red Line of the Dubai Metro. It will start with the static tests of all operating systems of the train. In the following stage, RTA will embark on dynamic tests, which involve testing the performance of systems while in motion, such as motors, brakes and control systems," added Al Tayer. A total of 50 trains will be supplied, 15 to serve Expo 2020 and 35 to enhance the service level of the Dubai Metro. Several improvements have been introduced to the interior design of the new metro carriages to make more room for riders and increase the intake of carriages. Changes include dedicating the last carriage for women and children and leaving part of the first carriage for the gold class. Other carriages will be of silver class. Seat distribution will be transversal in the gold class, and longitudinal in the silver class, increasing the capacity of each train from 643 riders to 696 riders. ''The new carriages are also customised to serve people of determination,'' said Al Tayer. RIYADH, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 11th Nov, 2018) The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdualziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, discussed ways of further consolidating the robust brotherly relations between the two countries along with an array of regional and international issues of common concern. This came as the Saudi King welcomed Sheikh Mohamed and his accompanying delegation today at Al-Auja Palace, Riyadh. King Salman commended the progressively solid relations between the two sisterly nations and their peoples. Sheikh Mohamed conveyed to King Salman the greetings of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his wishes for further and continued prosperity and progress to the Kingdom. King Salman reciprocated the greetings to President Sheikh Khalifa, wishing him good health and continued progress to the UAE. The two leaders addressed ways of widening collaboration and coordination across all fields to the higher good of both nations in particular and to the best interest of the entire region in general. The latest developments in the region, including the ongoing challenges and crises, were reviewed as well by the two leaders. Sheikh Mohamed reaffirmed the solid basis the bilateral relations are founded on and the balanced approach they adopt towards various regional and international issues. "The UAE-Saudi ties are a model to be copied for how relations between world countries should be and they reflect the two nations' profound awareness of the regional developments," said Sheikh Mohamed. Highlighting the Saudi Arabia's pivotal role in countering risks besetting the Arab World, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed expressed his confidence that Saudi Arabia - thanks to its wise leadership and strong people - would continue to play that role for protecting the Arab interests and providing all drivers of progress and development for Arab peoples. ''The UAE will remain steadfast in one trench with its Saudi brothers out of its unequivocal belief in our common goal and destiny,'' he affirmed. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi added that the prudence of King Salman and his far-sighted vision and brave stances constitute the safety and stability valve in both the Kingdom and the region at large. He expressed his appreciation for the leading role assumed by King Salman in reinforcing security and stability in the region and protecting the interests of Arab countries and peoples amid the ongoing challenges and threats. The meeting was attended by a number of senior UAE officials, including H.H. Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser; Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, UAE Ambassador to Saudi Arabia; Dr. Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; and Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation. A number of Saudi royal family members and top officials were also present. Sheikh Mohamed arrived in Riyadh earlier today on a brotherly visit to Saudi Arabia and was welcomed upon arrival at King Khalid International Airport by Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Riyadh. (@FahadShabbir) Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Humanitarian Envoy of The Big Heart Foundation, TBHF, and Chairman of Sharjah Media Corporation, SMC, yesterday opened the hospital built by The Big Heart Foundation in collaboration with the Medicines Sans Frontieres Doctors without Borders, in Coxs Bazar district of Bangladesh. SHARJAH, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 10th Nov, 2018) Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Humanitarian Envoy of The Big Heart Foundation, TBHF, and Chairman of Sharjah Media Corporation, SMC, yesterday opened the hospital built by The Big Heart Foundation in collaboration with the Medicines Sans Frontieres Doctors without Borders, in Coxs Bazar district of Bangladesh. The AED3 million hospital aims to offer lifesaving aid and vital health care to around 140,000 displaced Rohingyas including a sizeable number of infants and young children. The 100-bed hospital is already taking in patients and is expected to serve 7,200 beneficiaries in its first year. Following the facilitys inauguration, in Kutupalong camp, Al Qasimi and his accompanying delegation went on an inspection tour of the various units and were told about the 24/7 medical services offered at the hospital. They also learned about the hospitals preparedness to contain infectious diseases and emergencies. The hospital is equipped with intensive care units, pediatric and maternity wards, mobile clinics, and other units including support services for sexual assault victims all delivered by a medical team from Doctors without Borders. The medical facility houses a water purification system, which will cater not just to patients, but to the areas residents exposed to water-borne disease outbreaks such as cholera, bloody diarrhoea, typhoid, and others. The hospital offers a much-needed response to the immense health needs of the Rohingya refugees by strengthening the areas current infrastructure in responding to emergencies in the wake of epidemiological conditions or natural disasters. It is also equipped with hi-tech warning systems to detect infectious diseases, and respond to and controls outbreaks. The delegation visited a host of Rohingya families residing in the refugee camp, where they saw first-hand their plight from close quarters, understood the harsh reality the dire need for practicable humanitarian efforts to fill existing gaps. Al Qasimi said, "The Rohingya refugees are among the most suffering communities anywhere in the world today. With the inauguration of this hospital, we have extended the compassion of H.H. Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of H.H. the Ruler of Sharjah, to people in dire need. Also, TBHF has reached a new milestone in furthering the UAEs historic legacy of selfless service to the most vulnerable communities worldwide." He highlighted that the hospital shows the emirates and the UAEs integrated efforts to spreading the humanitarian message worldwide. "The hospital mirrors the solemn humanitarian bonds that connect the UAE to the rest of the world," he added. In turn, Mohammed Khalaf, Director-General of Sharjah Media Corporation, said, "Since inception, SMC has taken its role in media and communications to unearth ground realities and take humanitarian messages to people. Inspired by the vision of H.H. Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and his wife, H.H. Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi, SMC has unified the efforts of Sharjahs organisations and individuals to achieve humanitarian development around the world. "As a media institution, we have a big humanitarian duty that stems from our authentic Arab and Islamic values that guide us to lend a helping hand to people in need," he noted. For her part, Mariam Al Hammadi, Director of TBHF, said, "The inauguration of the hospital follows a visit we paid earlier this year to Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh where we assessed the refugees overwhelming need for health care and basic necessities. The Sharjah delegation included Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah sports Council; Mohammed Khalaf; Mariam Al Hammadi, Reem BinKaram, Director-General of NAMA Women Advancement Establishment; Tariq Allay, Director of Sharjah Government Media Bureau; Nada Al Lawati, Executive board Member of NAMA; and Marwan Al Zaeem, Founder and CEO of Crown Construction. Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, ADFCA, the ninth edition of SIAL Middle East, the exclusive regional food, beverage and hospitality trade event, will run from 10th to 12th December, 2018 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, ADNEC. ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 10th Nov, 2018) Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, ADFCA, the ninth edition of SIAL middle East, the exclusive regional food, beverage and hospitality trade event, will run from 10th to 12th December, 2018 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, ADNEC. Expected to draw the participation of some 1,000 exhibitors, more than 30 country pavilions and 20,000 plus industry experts from more than 50 countries, the upcoming edition is set to mark a significant growth in terms of participation from leading local, regional, and international food-related organisations. Thamer Al Qasemi, Chairman of the Organising Committee of SIAL Middle East, said, "Within a short time span since its inception, SIAL Middle East has become one of the most anticipated industry events in food-related sectors within the region and beyond. In organising this annual platform, we seek to highlight the promising investment opportunities in this vital sector at a time when food security and food supply chain sustainability is high on national and international agendas." Al Qasemi added, "SIAL Middle East also serves as an ideal opportunity to highlight the compelling quality proposition and competitive advantages of various local products that meet the highest international standards. The event also helps the local food industry, especially small and medium enterprises, SMEs, in the UAE in general and Abu Dhabi in particular, to expand their business operations into new markets." Joanne Cook, Managing Director of SIAL Middle East, said, "SIAL Middle East has witnessed significant growth over the past editions, becoming one of the most important events and an ideal platform for showcasing investment opportunities in the region's fast-growing food industry. In addition to providing opportunities for networking and interaction with key representatives from major food producers and exporters from across the globe, the event offers an ideal platform to build strategic partnerships with industry peers as well as explore the latest trends in food, beverage and hospitality sectors." Held in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Food Festival, SIAL Middle East returns with support from Host Sponsor Abu Dhabi Chamber; Investment Partner Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development; Silver Sponsor Abu Dhabi Farmers' Services Centre; Bronze Sponsor Royal Horizon; Culinary Partners Emirates Culinary Guild & World Association of Chefs Societies; and Retail Partner Lulu Group. Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al Zaabi, UAE Ambassador to Pakistan, met today in Karachi with Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister of the Sindh Province. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 10th Nov, 2018) Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al Zaabi, UAE Ambassador to Pakistan, met today in Karachi with Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister of the Sindh Province. Ambassador Al Zaabi congratulated Shah on his re-election as Chief Minister of the Government of Sindh Province. He praised the strong historic ties between the UAE and Pakistan, founded on mutual respect and trust, as well as the identical views on both regional and international issues. He also renewed UAE's commitment to setting up and sustaining development and humanitarian projects in the Sindh province. The Chief Minister of Sindh asked Ambassador Al Zaabi to pass on his greetings and wishes of further progress and prosperity to the leadership, government and people of the UAE. He added that the Province has great potentials for investments in agriculture, water, energy, infrastructure and telecommunications. WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Nov, 2018 ) ::President Donald Trump seems adamant on pursuing his agenda to reform immigration laws in spite of losses his party suffered in the mid-term polls, as his administration said it was moving ahead with a plan to clamp down on asylum claims as part of efforts to control illegal immigration. Republicans lost House of Representatives to Democrats in this week polls, ending a one-party rule at least until President Trump's term ends in 2020, but his whirling election campaign did help the Republicans defend their majority in Senate, and even make some gains. Among other issues, President Trump used immigration to ignite his supporters' base mainly in the rural areas which helped him clinched the presidency in an unexpected win in the 2016 presidential elections. Two days after the polls results, the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security on Thursday issued a joint rule prohibiting certain people, who are apprehended while crossing the US southern border from Mexico, from claiming asylum. According to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, migrants can claim asylum irrespective of how they crossed the border. But the new law would require people to go to a legal port of entry to make a claim for asylum. The new role is expected to face legal hurdles from rights groups and opposition from a rejuvenated Democrats, who will take control of the House in January. The new immigration rule to curb asylum claims comes less than two weeks after President Trump sparked a new debate by saying he wants to deny the citizenship to babies born in the US to non-citizen parents. He said he would use his executive authority to take back the practice of granting citizenship to babies born in the US as provided by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. His remarks drew an immediate reaction from across the aisle, with the outgoing Republican Speaker Paul Ryan saying that the President could not do away with birthrights just by his executive order. But, there were also voices in his support. According to the 14th amendment All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and the subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside." Those with a more rigid position on the immigration have long argued that the 14th amendment was not applicable to illegal immigrants or those here on a temporary visa. President Trump has in the past aired his opposition to the birthright and now says he can do that through executive order. The new asylum rule will intensify court battles amid a long march by thousands of South Americans who were heading to the US in a caravan through Mexico to claim asylum. The new rule intends to target these people. President has called it an "invasion" of criminals and drug dealers had ordered deployment of troops to prevent them from entering the United States. (@rukhshanmir) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Tourism Muhammad Atif Khan said the government has identified fifteen tourist spots for promoting tourism in the province. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2018 ) :Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Tourism Muhammad Atif Khan said the government has identified fifteen tourist spots for promoting tourism in the province. Talking to Radio Pakistan, he said these spots were located in Malakand, Hazara and Mardan Divisions. Atif Khan said facilities at the existing tourist resorts were also being improved to facilitate the tourists. He further said one million tourists visited these tourist resorts last year while three million tourists were expected to visit these areas during the current year. (@rukhshanmir) The experts and stakeholders on Saturday suggested that the government ought to take a wide-ranging and holistic approach to tackle the issue of water crisis in Pakistan. HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2018 ) :The experts and stakeholders on Saturday suggested that the government ought to take a wide-ranging and holistic approach to tackle the issue of water crisis in Pakistan The recommendation surfaced at the one-day international seminar on 'Sustainable Water Management' organized by Centre of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry (NCEAC) here at Sindh University Jamshoro. Eminent analytical chemistry expert and Professor of International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal Bhangar was chief guest of the event. Prof Dr Jamaluddin Ahmed of University of Chitagong, Bangladesh, Dr Fateh Muhammad Marri of Sindh Water Sector Improvement Project (WSIP), Dr Jeffrey Layton Ullman of University of Utah, USA, and Prof Dr Tasneem Gul Kazi of NCEAC were among the experts who spoke on this occasion. Dr Ahmed in his presentation warned that water had become a potential factor that could trigger world war as almost all the countries experienced severe water resource depletion. He stated that the situation in the developing world was rather more serious as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and South Africa faced critical water shortfall. "Some 40 million people in Cape Town, South Africa, are not allowed to store more than 87 liters of water. They are also not allowed to use drinking water for toilet and car wash needs" he told. Dr Bhangar asserted that 90 percent of all waste water in the developing countries was discharged untreated directly into rivers, lakes and the sea leading to human health issues and degradation of the environment. He recommended stringent legislation in that regard to bound the industries to stop releasing untreated effluents in the waterways. "Ever increasing population, rain deficit, mismanagement, poor storage and supply system, line losses and lack of education are a few other causes behind water crisis in Pakistan," he outlined. Dr Marri said that Sindh Government had recently launched an extensive consultation study to assess the entire water phenomena to formulate what would be called the 'Sindh Water Policy'. Dr Ullman, sharing his recent study, informed how many pharmaceutical companies and personal care products furtively worked as pollutants and adversely affected ecology, human health and marine life. Dr Ullman said ethical commitment to medical practice, dissemination of education, increased awareness regarding hazardous effects of drugs and cosmetics could serve as strong antidotes in the given context. Dr Kazi reported various levels of arsenic in drinking water and traced arsenic's effects on life in all forms while recommending that the government should act to alleviate the menace. Noted scientists Prof D. Muhammad Yar Khuhawar and Prof Dr Haq Nawaz Bhatti prepared and presented recommendations of the seminar. Earlier, Prof Dr Shahabuddin Memon gave the welcome note while the seminar's coordinator Dr Najma Memon informed the participants about objectives of the moot. Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said on Saturday that Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to China was more successful than expectations. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2018 ) : Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said on Saturday that Prime Minister Imran Khan 's visit to China was more successful than expectations. Addressing a press conference here at Railways headquarters, he said, "politics of corrupt politicians in the country will end and new faces will emerge". To a question, he said, "If Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government delivers 20 or 15 percent in 100 days, it will be a great effort." (@ChaudhryMAli88) Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, who is on an official visit to Russian Federation visited Baltic Fleet Headquarters at Kaliningrad, Russia. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Nov, 2018 ) :Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, who is on an official visit to Russian Federation visited Baltic Fleet Headquarters at Kaliningrad The Naval Chief also met Commander of Baltic Fleet, Vice Admiral Aleksandr Nostatov, a press release issued here by Directorate of Public Relations of Pakistan Navy said. Upon arrival at Baltic Fleet Headquarters, the Naval Chief was received by Vice Admiral Aleksandr Nostatov, while ceremonial guard was presented with military honours to him on the occasion. During discussions, matters of mutual interest including maritime security and stability, counter piracy operations, drug trafficking and various avenues to enhance interoperability between both the navies were discussed. Vice Admiral Aleksandr Nostatov briefed Chief of the Naval Staff regarding operations of Baltic Fleet. Later, Admiral Zafar Mahmood visited polygon of Marine Corps Khmelevks and witnessed demonstration of armament of military equipment. He also visited Russian Federation Navy Ship BOIKIY and was briefed by the Commanding Officer. The Naval Chief interacted with ship's crew and appreciated their professional competence. The visit of Naval Chief to the Russian Federation would greatly augment bilateral cooperation between both thecountries in general and navies in particular. President Dr Arif Alvi Saturday said the idea of a Naya Pakistan could not meet success until the society played its role for uplifting the downtrodden people, who were unable to afford their children's education and healthcare. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2018 ) :President Dr Arif Alvi Saturday said the idea of a Naya Pakistan could not meet success until the society played its role for uplifting the downtrodden people, who were unable to afford their children's education and healthcare. Addressing the 11th Annual Teachers Development Conference 2018 organized here by the Millennium Institute of Professional Development, the teacher training institute of Roots Millennium Education, the president said prior to accomplishing the mission of Naya Pakistan, the well-to-do people would have to take the poor along in the journey of development. Around 1,000 teachers from 21 cities across four provinces attended the moot themed Iqbal Day that was also addressed by educationists, media persons, motivational speakers, psychologists, behaviorists and others. The president, who was flanked by First Lady Samina Alvi, said he was concerned about the 20 million out-of-school children and the people would have to first change their hearts before changing the society. He said unlike the old Pakistan, today's Pakistan wanted to move forward. The people should play their role to develop it as had been dreamt by Allama Iqbal. Sharing his experiences of schooling, he said his father had enrolled him in a public school to teach him mixing up with the poor children and know their issues. "I had also sent my son to the public school for the same reason," he added. The president said unfortunately the current education system focused more on grading system, not the character building. He said the children were more focused on their future career ignoring their role for the society. Even the parents as well as the teachers also seemed to be more concerned about grading, he observed. The president also explained the concepts of meta-knowing, meta-cognition, meta-subjective intelligence, accurate self assessment in the education system. He said every professional must play a role for societal welfare, be it was a doctor or teacher. He strongly censured the practice of child labour and said the children of that age deserved to be sent to the schools. "I am responsible for (education of) these 20 million children. You and me will have to make this Naya Pakistan. This will not become easily. It requires self-sacrifice," he remarked. Addressing the event, Founder and Chief Executive of The Millennium Education Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq said the conference conceptualized the Iqbal's philosophy of self-actualization. It also provided an opportunity to share new ideas and ponder over modern day challenges. He said the Roost Schools System provided scholarships worth Rs 10.5 million to the poor students coming from Sindh, Punjab and Northern Areas. After President Alvi drew attention to the issue of out-of-school children, Faisal Mushtaq announced to enroll the street children equaling one percent of the strength of the Roots schools on 100 percent scholarship. Earlier, the president distributed awards among the members of the school's management and faculty members. The chief executive also presented conference's mementos to both the president and the first lady. At the conclusion of conference, a minor school student presented to the president a cheque of Rs 50,000 from his pocket money to support the construction of Diamer Bhasha and Mohmand dams. (@FahadShabbir) Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday said Pakistanis could transform into the nation as dreamed by the forefathers, by believing nothing was impossible for them. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Nov, 2018 ) : Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday said Pakistanis could transform into the nation as dreamed by the forefathers, by believing nothing was impossible for them. "On Iqbal Day, I want to give my Pakistanis a message that for us nothing is impossible. Allah has bestowed us a country rich in everything. This was dreamed by Allama Iqbal. Quaid-e-Azam was our political leader we have to develop this country as it should be. For this, we should believe that nothing is impossible. This nation can become great and by the grace of Allah, we will be so,"the prime minister remarked in a video message to the nation on the occasion of Allama Iqbal's birth anniversary. The prime minister explained the characteristics of Allama Iqbal's 'Shaheen' embodied a human being free from intellectual thralldom, fear and ego, achieving distinction among all other humans. He explained that Iqbal's Shaheen also depicted the people who got excellence during the time of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) by defeating the great powers of that time and established a state that had dominated the world. The prime minister said such people had achieved that stature just because they had broadened their thinking, set aside their ego, thought of other humans and broke the shackles of fear. He said Edmund Hillary, the first mountaineer to scale the world's highest peak the Mount Everest achieved that distinction because he had rid himself of intellectual boundaries. He said the passion and ambition could lead the humans to turn every impossible into possibile and make him continue to achieve milestones one after the other. The prime minister said Allah Almighty had bestowed the humans with the powers to make elevations and make historic achievements following the footprints of the companions of Holy Prophet (PBUH). (@FahadShabbir) Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani Saturday said that Pakistan and China could play a vital role in shaping the destiny of Asia and common objectives of regional development. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2018 ) :Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani Saturday said that Pakistan and China could play a vital role in shaping the destiny of Asia and common objectives of regional development. He stated this during a meeting with 15-member Chinese parliamentary delegation led by Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of National Peoples Congress (NPC) Zhang Chunxian here at Parliament House, said a press release issued here. Sadiq Sanjrani said that Pakistan values its cordial and friendly relations with China and wants to further expand ties by opening up new vistas of cooperation. He greeted the Chinese side for organizing a successful first ever International Import-Export Expo and hoped that it would further pave the way for enhancing trade and economic links. The chairman said the Expo was organized at a time when the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was visiting China and participated in the event to explore new avenues of bilateral cooperation besides holding high level meetings. He said that Pakistan takes pride in its ties with China. "Relations between the two countries are time tested and have strengthened with the passage of time" Sanjrani said. Sadiq Sanjrani also appreciated Chinese President Xi Jinping's vision of shared prosperity and specially for taking steps for social development as millions of people had been lifted out of poverty by improving their standard of life in China. He said that agenda of domestic reforms of current government including improving governance, poverty alleviation and anti-corruption resonates closely with President Xi Jinping's agenda of national development. The Chairman said that both sides can learn from each other's experience and apprized the delegation of the recently held Asian Parliamentary Assembly Standing Committee on Political Affairs in Gwadar. He said that Gwadar has the potential to push forward the regional development agenda as envisaged by China and Pakistan. Sadiq Sanjrani thanked the Chinese government and people for the 'green Gwadar project' under which one million trees would be planted in Gwadar. He said that 100 delegates from 23 Asian countries had participated in the meeting in future's port city of Gwadar which was a testimony to the fact that Asian countries acknowledge the role of Gwadar in the overall socio-economic development of the region. Leader of the Chinese delegation welcomed the remarks of the Chairman Senate and said that trade was highly important for both the countries and economic development was given high importance. He said that Gwadar would further accelerate the growth and development. He also underscored the need for institutional cooperation at parliamentary other levels. He said that high investment in the industrial sectors in Gwadar would not only bring prosperity to Gwadar but also to Balochistan. Chinese side also assured that students from Balochistan would be given technical skills to enable them to benefit from the local employment opportunities. Senators Kauda Babar, Dilawar Khan, Ahmed Khan, Nighat Mirza and Special Secretary Senate Muhammad Anwar were also present during the meeting. ISLAMABAD, Nov 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Nov, 2018 ) :Senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), MNA, Andeelb Abass Friday said that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was completely independent institution and government had to do nothing with its official matters. Talking to a private news channel, she said that chairman NAB was nominated and appointed by the previous PML-N government and all the cases were started against PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) during the tenure of previous government. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government was in the favour of accountability across the board and now NAB was taking action against the corrupt people, she added. Responding to an other question, she said there should be no privilege for members of National Assembly, when they were found guilty. A Turkish film was screened on Friday as part of the satellite transmission of the ongoing European Film Festival. ADDIS ABABA (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Nov, 2018 ) ,:A Turkish film was screened on Friday as part of the satellite transmission of the ongoing European Film Festival. Award-winning "Once upon a Time in Anatolia" was directed by Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Turkish Ambassador to Ethiopia Fatih Ulusoy received scholars, artists, and foreign diplomats who had gathered to watch the thriller at Vamdas Cinema at a busy quarter in the city. Turkish soaps dubbed in local languages are popular in Ethiopia. Tewodros Tesfaye, an Ethiopian actor, producer and director, told Anadolu that introducing Turkish movies also helps the growth of Ethiopian cinema. Ulusoy on the occasion said films, like artistic production and display, is one way of accelerating cultural exchange. He said his embassy has been working to bring the people of Turkey and Africa closer together. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Austrian Ambassador to Russia Johannes Aigner has arrived in Russia's Foreign Ministry amid the detention in Austria of a retired Austrian Defense Ministry colonel on suspicion of spying for Russia, a Sputnik correspondent reported Friday. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2018) Austrian Ambassador to Russia Johannes Aigner has arrived in Russia 's Foreign Ministry amid the detention in Austria of a retired Austrian Defense Ministry colonel on suspicion of spying for Russia , a Sputnik correspondent reported Friday. The Kronen Zeitung media outlet has previously reported that a former Austrian Armed Forces colonel had been detained on suspicion of spying in favor of Russia for 20 years. The Russian Embassy declined to comment on the media reports. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Belgium, self-proclaimed inventor of the French fry or chip, urged Europe on Friday to help it fight a tariff slapped on its iconic export by Colombia. Brussels, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Nov, 2018 ) :Belgium, self-proclaimed inventor of the French fry or chip, urged Europe on Friday to help it fight a tariff slapped on its iconic export by Colombia The potato was first farmed in the Andes mountains of South America, but once it is chipped and fried Belgium claims it as it own -- and exports it home. Despite being widely dubbed "French", fries are a prized product in Belgium and its frites culture was added to the UNESCO cultural treasures list last year. Colombia, however, accuses Belgian, Dutch and German agribusiness of dumping cheap chips on its market and undercutting struggling local producers. Belgian firms deny this, and Foreign Minister Didier Reynders says he will ask the European Commission to bring the issue to the World Trade Organization. "I have had many meetings with our Colombian friends . .. but until now without any real effect," Reynders said as he arrived at an EU trade council. "We are going to ask the commission to do the job and to go to the WTO and start consultations," he warned. On November 1, Bogota decided to impose anti-dumping duties on frozen fries from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Belgium's potato processing sector has sprouted in recent years, jumping from 500,000 tonnes in 1990 to 4.6 million tonnes last year, according to Belgapom, the country's potato producer association. More than 90 percent of production is destined for export and one third of that goes outside Europe. Romain Cools of Belgapom said Colombia's tariffs would be confirmed in the coming days and come after similar moves in Brazil and South Africa. "For a third time, the anti-dumping procedure is being misused as a form protectionism," Kools told AFP. The Syrian Foreign Ministry has sent two letters to the United Nations over the recent airstrike by the US-led international anti-terror coalition on the city of Hajin, located in Syria's eastern Deir ez-Zor province, that left 26 civilians dead on Friday, local media reported on Saturday. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) The Syrian Foreign Ministry has sent two letters to the United Nations over the recent airstrike by the US-led international anti-terror coalition on the city of Hajin, located in Syria 's eastern Deir ez-Zor province, that left 26 civilians dead on Friday, local media reported on Saturday. The state-run SANA news agency specified that the ministry had sent letters to the UN secretary-general and to the UN Security Council. The Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, quoted by SANA, that the incident had "once again" denounced US "false" claims on contributing to terrorism fight, proving that the United States indeed aimed at "killing as many Syrian people's sons as possible. " The ministry called on the UN Security Council to take "serious and immediate" steps toward non-repetition of such attacks, and also to create an independent international mechanism for investigation into such incidents. The Syrian authorities have repeatedly called on the UN Security Council to put end to the coalition's presence in Syria, which Damascus qualifies as illegal. The US-led coalition of more than 70 countries is conducting military operations against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. The coalition's operations in Iraq are conducted in cooperation with the Iraqi government, but those in Syria are not authorized by the government of President Bashar Assad or the UN Security Council. (@rukhshanmir) A total of six Syrian servicemen were killed and five others were injured in nine firings breaching ceasefire in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia, the Russian Defense Ministry said in its daily bulletin on Saturday. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) A total of six Syrian servicemen were killed and five others were injured in nine firings breaching ceasefire in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia, the Russian Defense Ministry said in its daily bulletin on Saturday. "Over the past 24 hours, the Russian party of the Russia-Turkey Commission on violations of the Joint Agreement has registered nine cases of firing: four in the province of Aleppo, four in the province of Hama, and one in the province of Latakia. As a result of the firings, six Syrian servicemen were killed, and five others injured," the bulletin read. The Turkish side has registered no cases of ceasefire violation, the ministry added. According to the bulletin, the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides has not carried out any humanitarian actions over the given period. The number of areas that signed reconciliation agreements has not changed and currently amounts to 2,518. The number of armed formations claiming that they observe the ceasefire has remained the same as well, standing at 234, the bulletin added. Both Russia and Turkey, along with Iran, act as guarantors of the ceasefire in Syria. In September, Moscow and Ankara also agreed to set up a demilitarized zone in Syrian Idlib de-escalation zone to contribute to further improvement of the security situation in the country. An Iranian parliamentary delegation left Tehran to Aktau city in Kazakhstan Friday to attend a trilateral meeting between Iranian, Russian and Kazakh parliamentary officials, state-run IRNA news agency reported TEHRAN, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2018 ) :An Iranian parliamentary delegation left Tehran to Aktau city in Kazakhstan Friday to attend a trilateral meeting between Iranian, Russian and Kazakh parliamentary officials, state-run IRNA news agency reported. At the two-day trilateral meeting, the Iranian, Russian and Kazakh MPs will explore avenues for boosting cooperation among the three parliaments. The Iranian delegation is also scheduled to hold separate bilateral meetings with its Russian and Kazakh counterparts. Moscow expressed protest to Austrian Ambassador to Russia Johannes Aigner over the accusations that a retired Austrian colonel had been involved in intelligence activities allegedly in favor of Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2018) Moscow expressed protest to Austrian Ambassador to Russia Johannes Aigner over the accusations that a retired Austrian colonel had been involved in intelligence activities allegedly in favor of Russia , the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday. "In connection with the statements by the Austrian authorities about the suspicion of involvement of some former colonel of the Austrian Armed Forces in intelligence activities, allegedly in favor of Russia, we expressed protest," the statement said. The ministry said Vienna's steps were based on suspicions without evidence, adding that Austria's statements over the spy scandal had already complicated bilateral relations. The Kronen Zeitung media outlet has previously reported that a former Austrian Armed Forces colonel had been detained on suspicion of spying in favor of Russia for 20 years. The Russian Embassy declined to comment on the media reports. Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi opened a Chinese-built bridge in the capital Maputo on Saturday that cost $785 million, saying it would help link northern and southern Africa. Maputo, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2018 ) :Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi opened a Chinese-built bridge in the capital Maputo on Saturday that cost $785 million , saying it would help link northern and southern Africa The twin-tower suspension bridge stands 141 metres (463 feet) above Maputo Bay, is 680 metres-long and joins the city centre to the outlying district of Katembe. "Today is a unique day of our history, the achievement of the dream of (former president) Samora Machel," Nyusi said at a rally following the inauguration. "With the completion of this bridge... the connection of southern Africa to the north over land and across our country is guaranteed. " The bridge, which connects the north and south banks of Maputo that were previously linked only by boat, would help promote tourism, Nyusi said. It will also directly link the capital to the border of neighbouring South Africa by road for the first time. He described China, whose Road and Bridge Corporation began construction in June 2014, as a "brother and friend" of Mozambique. China's ambassador to Maputo Su Jian attended the opening and described Mozambique as a foreign policy priority for Beijing. Ninety-five percent of the bridge's cost was financed through loans provided by Chinese lenders. Norway has decided to close down its Embassy to the Azerbaijani capital, but will keep its diplomatic presence in the country, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Leyla Abdullayeva said on Saturday. BAKU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) Norway has decided to close down its Embassy to the Azerbaijani capital, but will keep its diplomatic presence in the country, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Leyla Abdullayeva said on Saturday. "Norway's decision to close the embassy in Azerbaijan is regrettable, but this is a choice of the Norwegian government," Abdullayeva told reporters. The spokeswoman went on to laud the Baku-Oslo relations, saying that the counties have started to cooperate on energy since 1990s. Norway plans to retain its diplomatic presence in Azerbaijan through consular activities, according to the ministry. "But it is not yet clear in what form this representation will be carried out - in the status of an honorary or diplomatic consulate," Abdullayeva added. An informed diplomatic source told Sputnik that the Norwegian Embassy in Turkey will be responsible for the relations with Azerbaijan and added that Oslo planned to open a Consulate General in Baku. The second round of the Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan, aimed at securing peace and facilitating the national reconciliation process in the country, was held on Friday in the Russian capital. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2018) The second round of the Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan , aimed at securing peace and facilitating the national reconciliation process in the country, was held on Friday in the Russian capital. The talks involved the Afghan High Peace Council and, for the first time, the political office of the Taliban in Doha. Representatives from China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the United States were also invited to attend the meeting. Afghanistan is a country in south-central Asia bordering Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China and India. The country has been mired in violent conflict for the past 40 years. After World War II, Afghanistan remained an underdeveloped country with substantial vestiges of feudalism. The military coup of 1973 abolished the monarchy, and the country was proclaimed a republic. However, the new government virtually toed a pro-monarchist line that culminated in the national-democratic revolution of 1978 and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. In 1987, it was renamed the Republic of Afghanistan. The Afghan revolution was met with tough domestic and external resistance. An armed confrontation flared up between the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan and other parties and movements opposing it. This power struggle escalated into a civil war. The situation was aggravated by foreign involvement in the domestic affairs of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union and some other countries supported the government of Afghanistan, with NATO countries, Muslim states and China siding with opposition forces. After the Afghan government's repeated requests, Soviet leadership, fearing that hostilities might spill outside Afghanistan and engulf Central Asian republics, deployed a limited military contingent to Afghanistan in late December 1979. In January 1980, Soviet forces became actively involved in combat operations against opposition forces, mostly supported by Pakistan. On April 14, 1988, the United Nations, assisted by the Soviet Union and the United States, persuaded Afghanistan and Pakistan to sign agreements on resolving the Afghan crisis in Geneva. In February 1989, Soviet forces pulled out of Afghanistan completely. Although the Soviet Union stopped providing military assistance to the Afghan government in January 1992, op position forces continued to receive such assistance from abroad. Opposition parties took over in Afghanistan in February 1992. An interim government was established and the Islamic State of Afghanistan was proclaimed. However, the conflict continued without respite, escalating into an armed power struggle between Islamic parties, primarily fundamentalist organizations. This struggle was mostly caused by a striving of former opposition leaders to gain power and divide spheres of influence. In 1992, graduates of Pakistani Madrasa Muslim religious schools for Pashtun refugees from Afghanistan established the fundamentalist Taliban Islamic movement. Headed by Mullah Mohammad Omar, the movement called for establishing a "truly Islamic" state and confronted the government of Afghanistan. In early 1995, large units of Taliban forces invaded Afghanistan from Pakistan. They established control over most of the country and proclaimed the creation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan there. Government forces retreated into northern Afghanistan and continued to fight the Taliban, with varying degrees of success. Pakistan provided all-round assistance, including military and financial support, to the Taliban movement. Television broadcasts and most types of leisure activities were banned on Taliban-controlled territory, and the rights of women and religious minorities were also curtailed. Staring from 1996, Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda terrorist group (banned in Russia) used the territory of Afghanistan as a staging area for attacks against the "infidels." In the late 1990s, Afghanistan virtually turned into a base for international terrorist activity. On September 9, 2001, Ahmad Shah Massoud, the leader of anti-Taliban forces, was assassinated. This murder was followed by the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. Osama bin Laden was accused of masterminding both attacks that caused Western countries to lash out at Afghanistan. In late 2001, units of the anti-terrorist coalition, including a US military contingent and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), launched a military operation in Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban regime. The international coalition's forces were deployed to Afghanistan under UN Security Council Resolution 1368, dated September 12, 2001. In December 2001, the German city of Bonn hosted a conference of leading Afghan political forces whose representatives established the Afghan Interim Administration headed by Hamid Karzai. Its officials focused on restoring peace in the country and establishing a democratic society. Surviving Taliban units continued to fight the government of Karzai and the forces of the international anti-terrorist coalition. They conducted successful guerrilla warfare in various Afghan provinces. Taliban militants became firmly entrenched in hard-to-reach mountain areas on the Afghan-Pakistani border, reorganizing their forces and continuing hostilities. The technically superior forces of the international anti-terrorist coalition that expelled Taliban militants from the majority of Afghan regions began to sustain casualties. In December 2009, then US President Barack Obama announced another surge of 30,000 US troops into Afghanistan, failing to obtain the desired results. The stalled military operation in Afghanistan triggered some disagreements among coalition members. On December 31, 2014, the US-led NATO coalition completed its combat mission in Afghanistan. On January 1, 2015, NATO launched a new non-military operation involving 12,000 service personnel in the country. These officers and soldiers train and consult personnel for Afghan security forces. Most ISAF contingents left the country after January 2015, with the Taliban stepping up its terrorist attacks and confronting government forces. Today, forces of the Taliban movement control about 50 percent of Afghan territory. According to the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (CIGAR), the national government controls 55.5 percent of the country's territory, an all-time low between November 2015 and July 2018. About 65 percent of the Afghan population lives there. The report notes that national security forces of Afghanistan have failed to establish control over additional areas, territories and population segments in the third quarter of 2018. The area of "disputed" territories that are not controlled by any warring party has also increased. The domestic Afghan conflict spilled out of the country long ago. Neighboring countries view Afghanistan as a potential source of terrorism and as an area for settling issues between major players, namely, Russia and the United States. Russia has always voiced a tough position with regard to the Taliban claiming that it must renounce its terrorist activities. This is a mandatory precondition for any follow-up dialogue and incipient talks with its representatives. Kazakhstan supports Russia, whose position also coincides with the rhetoric of Pakistan, Iran and China to some extent. These countries advocate efforts to launch a dialogue as soon as possible and to resolve the situation around Afghanistan. NATO and India side with the United States on the Afghan issue Afghanistan's position is greatly influenced by Washington's decision-making process. In early 2018, US President Donald Trump noted emphatically that there would be no talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Later, Gen. Joseph Votel, the commander of the United States Central Command, suggested that Taliban leaders and Kabul sit down at the negotiating table. The Afghan government has repeatedly noted that it is always ready for a dialogue without any preconditions, but that such talks must be conducted in line with the national constitution. However, the Taliban do not want to negotiate with the country's "puppet" government and would instead prefer to conduct a direct dialogue with the United States. Russia has repeatedly tried to broker peace talks between the members of Taliban and Kabul. The last such attempt was made in 2017. At that time, the project failed after Afghan authorities declined the offer because they were confident of US support and because they hoped that they would end the hostilities in their own favor soon. China also made the same futile attempts to launch intra-Afghan dialogue. At the same time, Russia has continued to try and normalize the situation in Afghanistan. It considers the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan, launched in early 2017, a perfect venue for conducting detailed talks on the Afghan national reconciliation issue and for launching a direct dialogue between the national government and Taliban movement. Besides the Moscow format talks, there are plans to hold a UN-sponsored ministerial conference on Afghanistan on November 27-28 in Geneva. (@FahadShabbir) A group of Palestinian protesters threw stones at the motorcade of Qatari Ambassador to Palestine Mohammed Al Emadi during the latter's visit to the Gaza Strip, local media reported. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) A group of Palestinian protesters threw stones at the motorcade of Qatari Ambassador to Palestine Mohammed Al Emadi during the latter's visit to the Gaza Strip, local media reported. According to the SAMA news agency, the incident occurred when the ambassador visited the Al Awda camp in the eastern part of the enclave. The visit was made amid massive Palestinian anti-Israeli protests, known as the Great March of Return, with Emadi planning to join the protesters. Several people reportedly threw stones at the diplomat's car urging him to leave the site. The motives of the Palestinian protesters remain unknown. The Great March of Return started in late March with some 220 Palestinians, including children and media workers having been killed by Israeli troops. Qatar is currently boosting its financial support for Palestine amid the UN decision to decrease its aid for the Palestinians. (@ChaudhryMAli88) WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th November, 2018) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian discussed the issues related to the boost of NATO as well as the situation in Iran, North Korea and Syria, the US Department of State said in a statement. On Saturday, Pompeo arrived in Paris accompanying US President Donald Trump, who will take part in the festive ceremonies, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. "They [Pompeo and Le Drian] discussed US-French cooperation on resolving global security challenges, including how to strengthen NATO. They also reviewed ways the United States and France can work together to counter Iran's malign behavior, denuclearize the DPRK, and push for a political solution to the crisis in Syria," the statement, issued on late Saturday, said. Over 60 heads of state and government will gather in Paris on Sunday for a military parade and a peace forum organized by French President Emmanuel Macron. On Saturday US President Trump has already held bilateral talks with Macron, with the leaders having focused on a number of trade and security issues. Serbia and Kosovo have failed to agree on details to normalize relations despite the recent meeting between their presidents. ZAGREB, Croatia, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Nov, 2018 ) :Serbia and Kosovo have failed to agree on details to normalize relations despite the recent meeting between their presidents. The European Union told both countries they must push for normalcy for a chance to join the bloc. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said after talks with Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini that dialogue would resume once Pristina withdrew its unlawful decisions. Vucic told Radio Television Serbia that his officials would "not show up" in Brussels until Pristina this is done, stressing that speaking in political terms "hard days are ahead of Serbia." Vucic said he was referring to Kosovo's decision to impose an import tax of 10 percent on produce from Serbia and Bosnia, claiming it was "protecting" local industry and retaliating for Belgrade's non-recognition of its former province. He also criticized Kosovo's plan to create an army, a move also opposed by the ethnic Serbian minority in northern Kosovo.j. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has urged Belgrade and Pristina to "swiftly deliver" and "refrain" from actions contrary to normalisation efforts intended to lead to formal EU accession talks for both Serbia and Kosovo. Last Monday, Kosovo imposed an import tax of 10 percent on produce from Serbia and Bosnia, claiming it was "protecting" local industry and retaliating for Belgrade's non-recognition of its former province. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th November, 2018) A total of six Syrian servicemen were killed, while five others were injured in the attacks in Syria's western-central province of Hama, the Russian Defense Ministry said late on Saturday. "Over the past 24 hours, insurgents attacked Tel-Maraq, Tell Bizam, Qubeybat-abu-al-Houda, Halfaya in Hama province, Ikko, Latakia province, Shukaydila and Zakhabia in Aleppo province, and western outskirts of Aleppo city. During an attack at Tall-Maraq in Hama province, two Syrian servicemen were wounded. Six Syrian servicemen died and three were wounded in Hama province as a result an attack at Halfaya," the ministry said in its daily bulletin. Moreover, ceasefire violations have been registered in the Idlib de-escalation zone over the last 24 hours, according to the bulletin. The Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides has also held a meeting with the local authorities of eastern province of Deir ez-Zor to discuss restoration of infrastructure. Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups and militant and terrorist organizations. Russia, along with Turkey and Iran, is a guarantor of the ceasefire regime in Syria. Moscow has also been providing humanitarian aid to residents of the crisis-torn country. (@rukhshanmir) US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he will make a decision on the Ambassador to the United Nations by the end of 2018. WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2018) US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he will make a decision on the Ambassador to the United Nations by the end of 2018 "I will make the decision over the next few weeks, but by the end of the year," Trump told reporters at the White House. Current US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley will stay in her position until the end of the year. Trump also said he is considering the next US ambassador to the United Nations among several candidates and time is not a factor in his decision. "We have plenty of time," Trump said. On Monday, Trump said he will name his nominee for ambassador to the United Nations before the end of the week. Earlier in November, Trump said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert was under "very serious consideration" for the position. As many as 15 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were either killed or captured in counter-terrorism operations by the Turkish forces in northern Iraq, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement on Saturday. ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) As many as 15 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were either killed or captured in counter-terrorism operations by the Turkish forces in northern Iraq , the Turkish General Staff said in a statement on Saturday. "[A total of] 15 members of the separatist terrorist organization [PKK], plotting armed attacks on our bases, were neutralized as a result of aviation operations on November 9 in Avashin, Gara and Zap areas in northern Iraq," the statement, published on the General Staff's Twitter account, read. Tensions between Ankara and the Kurds escalated in July 2015 when a ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK collapsed over a series of attacks allegedly committed by the PKK militants. The Turkish forces are involved in anti-PKK raids across the country and in northern Iraq. (@FahadShabbir) Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has signed a resolution under which Turkmenistan will build a 500-seat mosque in neighboring Afghanistan as part of providing humanitarian assistance to the crisis-torn country, local media reported on Saturday. ASHGABAT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has signed a resolution under which Turkmenistan will build a 500-seat mosque in neighboring Afghanistan as part of providing humanitarian assistance to the crisis-torn country, local media reported on Saturday. The resolution, which Berdimuhamedov signed at a government session, authorizes the Turkmen consulate in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif to sign a contract with Afghan construction company Ghazanfar Construction to build the mosque in the Afghan village of Akina, located in the northern Afghan province of Faryab, according to the Media-Turkmen news agency. The construction is set to start in November and be completed by end of 2020. As Turkmenistan is committed to promoting peace in Afghanistan, it has already constructed several medical and educational facilities in the country as part of its humanitarian support, while it also delivers Turkmen electricity to Afghanistan on favorable terms. Afghanistan has long been suffering from an unstable political, social and security situation due to simmering Taliban insurgency. The violence is exacerbated by the activities of various terrorist groups, including the Islamic State (IS, banned in Russia). On Friday, the Russian capital of Moscow hosted the second round of Moscow format talks on Afghan settlement, attended by representatives of the Taliban and by a delegation from the High Peace Council. ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) One person was killed and 20 others, including five children, were injured as a minivan carrying refugees and a cargo truck collided near the Greek port city of Thessaloniki on Friday, local media reported. The accident occurred at 08:30 p. m. (18:30 GMT) during a police chase, thestival.gr news outlet reported. Twelve ambulance cars had been dispatched to the site of the accident, the outlet added. One of the wounded children sustained head injuries. All those wounded have been hospitalized. (@ChaudhryMAli88) WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) A senior US diplomat is flying to Egypt, Israel and Cyprus this weekend to engage in energy security talks with government officials, the State Department said in a press release. "Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis R. Fannon will travel to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem; Nicosia, and Cairo from November 11 to 20, 2018," the release said on Friday. During his trip, the release added, Fannon will be meeting with government officials and private sector representatives to discuss energy security and regional cooperation, the release added. Fannon will also highlight economic opportunities in the energy sector for Eastern Mediterranean gas development and related exports, according to the release. WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook is set to visit Israel and the United Arab Emirates on November 12-20 to engage in discussions on addressing threats posed by Tehran, the US Department of State said in a press release on Friday. "Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook will travel to Israel and the United Arab Emirates November 12-20," the release said. "Hook will meet with officials to discuss cooperation on countering Iranian threats." (@FahadShabbir) Washington's withdrawal from theIntermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty may have grave consequences for the security of the whole continent, Russian ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov said in an exclusive interview with Sputnik. PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) Washington's withdrawal from theIntermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty may have grave consequences for the security of the whole continent, Russian ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov said in an exclusive interview with Sputnik. "As the United States continues its policy of dismantling the system of weapons control in Europe, it threatens to withdraw from the INF Treaty. This may have catastrophic consequences for the security of the whole our continent," Meshkov said. In October, US President Donald Trump claimed that Washington intended to leave the INF Treaty, accusing Russia of violating it numerous times, while the Kremlin rejected the accusations, adding that Russia would be forced to take measures to ensure its security if the treaty was terminated by the United States. The INF Treaty is a agreement that the United States and the Soviet Union signed in December 1987. It prohibited either country from possessing, producing or flight-testing ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (311 to 3,418 miles) and their launchers. (@ChaudhryMAli88) WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) The United States and Poland launched a Strategic Dialogue on Energy, which includes a goal of increasing US shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to counter Russia's position as Europe's main supplier, Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a statement. "This morning I signed a MOU [memorandum of understanding] with Secretary of State... for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Piotr Naimski to formally launch the US-Poland Strategic Dialogue on Energy," Perry said via Twitter. "The United States is ready to work with Poland on cybersecurity, nuclear, fossil, and energy infrastructure." Perry explained the US-Poland Strategic Dialogue on energy would begin with a meeting in early 2019. A speech prepared for Perry spelled out expectations for both nations, with an emphasis on expanding Polish imports of US . "After Poland and Lithuania opened their [liquefied natural gas] terminals, they saw dramatic reductions in pricing and were able to decrease reliance on Russia," Perry explained. "The growing availability of liquefied natural gas provides leverage when negotiating contracts with Russia." Perry noted that many European nations are highly dependent on a single supplier, Russia, which he said provides 75 percent of natural gas needs for 13 nations in Europe. Perry also reiterated US opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which when completed will ship gas beneath the North Sea directly from Russia to Germany. Perry and Polish President Andrzej Duda recently signed a 24-year contract to supply Poland's state-owned oil and gas company with up to 1.45 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year, about 1.95 billion cubic meters after regasification, Sputnik reported earlier. The four Catholic priests abducted by unknown gunmen in Nigeria, early this week, have been released. Africa Service Vatican city The priests abducted, last Tuesday evening, by unknown gunmen have been released. Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Benin, Fr. Mike Oyanoafoh announced this in Nigeria, Thursday evening. The God be the glory To God be the glory. I am happy to announce to you that Fr. Joseph Ediae and three other priests of Warri, Ijebu Ode and Abeokuta Dioceses have been released. They were released about 7.50pm this evening, said Fr. Oyanoafoh in the announcement. The priests were celebrating their tenth priestly anniversaries Frs. Joseph Ediae (Benin Archdiocese), Frs. Victor Adigboluja (Ijebu Ode Diocese), Anthony Otegbola (Abeokuta Diocese) and Obadjere Emmanuel (Warri Diocese) were returning from a special reunion meeting held in Warri on Tuesday evening on their way to Ekpoma when gunmen ambushed the convoy of vehicles ferrying them. The priests were on the way to All Saints seminary in Uhiele - Ekpoma, their Alma Mater, where they had planned to celebrate their tenth priestly anniversaries. Four other priests managed to escape in their damaged cars while the four priests were captured. No details were given about the health of the priests or the circumstances leading to their release. Armistice Day celebrations this year coincide with the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Bishop Paul Mason, Bishop of the Forces in Great Britain, speaks about the significance of remembering those fallen in battle. By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, as well as the annual celebration of Armistice Day. Bishop of the Forces in Great Britain, Bishop Paul Mason, spoke with Vatican News about the significance of remembering those fallen in battle as well as the ways Armistice Day is being honored in the United Kingdom. Remembering the fallen When remembering the dead is linked to learning from the past, it becomes a taking part in the writing of our own story, Bishop Mason said. We understand better where we come from. He continued, saying, taking common responsibility for our past is very good for any nation. It helps the nation shape its identity and understand the sacrifices that have been made for it. On a practical level, he said, knowing the nations past can help those living in the present from making the same mistakes, repeating the past. Most importantly, we remember the fallen because: We need to do it to remember our war dead, and to accept as a nation, that this was not in vain. This is something we respect and that we remember in that positive light. Listen to our interview with Bishop Paul Mason, Bishop of the Forces in Great Britain Remembering the end of World War I The United Kingdom is awash with poppies at the moment, Bishop Mason began when asked how the Bishopric is honoring the 100th anniversary of the end of the World War I. Just prior to our interview, Bishop Mason preached at an ecumenical service of remembrance held in St Margarets Church near Westminster Abbey. It was very good ecumenically that we did something together, the Bishop remarked. On Saturday evening there is a military concert in the Royal Albert Hall which he will be attending. It brings everyone together with music and prayer. Its something Im looking forward to, Bishop Mason said. Bishop Mason will also be participating at the official celebration and wreath laying ceremony with the Royal Family at Cenotaph on Whitehall in London. That is a good occasion, he explained, because not only Christian denominations, but people from all areas of our society, come together for a national act of remembrance, and for those of us who pray, a national day of prayer as well. Poppy Day Another popular name for Armistice Day in the UK is Poppy Day. These red poppies would have been seen by thousands of British troops fighting on some of the worst battlefields in Flanders, Belgium. For this reason, and because their red colour is a reminder of the blood spilt on those battlefields, it has been adopted as a symbol, worn by many, of Armistice Day. The poem written by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae also immortalized the connection of the flower with World War I. In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Pope Francis sends a message to the President of the Polish Bishops conference, Archbishop Stanisaw Gadecki, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Polands independence, commending Poles for their pursuit of freedom. By Francesca Merlo November 11th marks the end of the World War I and the day that Poland re-emerged as a nation 100 years ago, following Russian, Prussian and Austrian domination. Putting differences aside Pope Francis, in his message to Archbishop Gadecki, recalls the contributions Poland made to the history of Christian Europe prior to the partitions of the eighteenth century. The Pope pays homage to the many sons of Poland, whom he says were ready to sacrifice their personal freedom, their own good, and even their lives for their lost homeland. In quoting Pope St. John Paul II, he reiterates the support their faith provided when after independence, these same brothers had to seek unity despite differences, in order to rebuild the country together and defend its borders. One hundred years of freedom Pope Francis goes on to thank the Lord for having supported successive generations with His grace, and for having brought to life their hope of regaining the freedom lost one hundred years earlier. He closes his message with the prayer of Saint John Paul II - whom he calls a special witness of this century - saying: May the care of Mary, Queen of Poland on Jasna Gora, always accompany Your Homeland and all Poles! May Gods providence give the Polish nation peace and prosperity, now and in the future! Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York on Nov. 9 addressed a conference on Practical Solutions to Eradicate Human Trafficking. By Robin Gomes The Holy See and the Catholic Church are deeply committed in the fight against human trafficking and modern slavery, both in tackling the drivers that fuel the scourge and in reaching out to victims. Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York made the statement on Nov. 9 at a conference at the UN on Practical Solutions to Eradicate Human Trafficking. Crime still growing The Holy See diplomat noted that despite substantial progress against human trafficking through various initiatives, the number of those enslaved for sexual exploitation, forced labour or organ harvesting sadly continues to skyrocket. As the world is about to mark the 70th anniversary of the adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10, he noted that more than 40 million today are ensnared by various forms of so-called modern slavery. According to Pope Francis, the gap between our commitments and efforts and the horrors confronting victims of this atrocious scourge, crime against humanity, and open wound on the body of contemporary society, is increasing, not closing. Hence solemn commitments alone will not help, but we must ensure they are truly effective. 4 Ps In this regard, Archbishop Auza pointed to the 4 objectives, or the 4 Ps of the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons: preventing human trafficking by addressing its causes; protecting and assisting victims; prosecuting criminals; and promoting partnerships among institutions and civil society. Effective action Among the drivers that make people vulnerable to human trafficking, the Filipino archbishop said, armed conflicts and the refugee crisis have particularly exacerbated the dramatic situation of people, especially women and children. We must become far more practical, even ruthless, in addressing not just the evil fruit but also the roots of the problem, he said. Churchs commitment Catholic womens religious communities in many countries, Archbishop Auza said, have been among the practical leaders on the ground in this most important work. He mentioned Church initiatives such as the Santa Marta Group, an international alliance of police chiefs and bishops economic realities, and Talitha Kum, an international network of 22 institutes of Catholic religious sisters across 70 countries on five continents, in big cities and the most rural areas. Two weeks after 21 people drowned in a flash flood in the Dead Sea Area, Flash floods in Jordan have forced the evacuation of 4,000 tourists, with police stating that the death toll has risen to 11. By Nathan Morley The floods have been devastating local authorities now report at least 11 people were killed and rescue services are continuing to search for five people swept away in their car by a torrent of water on the outskirts of Amman. Weve divided the work into ten groups to continue searching. Drones are also searching, Mustafa Al Bazaiah, a civil defence worker, told journalists. Elsewhere, rain, accompanied by heavy winds, pelted the port city of Aqaba, whilst around 4,000 tourists were evacuated from the ancient city of Petra, which is a popular destination at this time of year, given the drop in temperatures. Listen to Nathan Morley's report Police said that floodwaters had risen to 4 metres in some areas. Images on national television showed police rescue squads rushing to reach the popular tourist attraction. Floods in this region are not uncommon. In 1963, twenty-three French tourists, along with a French priest and a Lebanese driver were killed when floods swept their bus off a road near Petra. Last month, 21 people drowned in a flash flood in the Dead Sea area, which is 400 metres below sea level. Heavy rain has returned to many parts of the Mediterranean region with the first in a fresh series of storms moving across the south of Europe. Murray SawChuck aka MURRAY The Magician, along with his guest act Lefty, visited Creech Air Force Base for a meet and greet with the families along with a visit in the sky from the Thunderbirds during their last air performance of the year. Creech Air Force Base is a United States Air Force command and control facility in Clark County, Nevada used to engage in daily Overseas Contingency Operations of remotely piloted aircraft systems which fly missions across the globe. Wikipedia Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May. (Photo: AFP/Tolga Akmen) Macron, who has spent the past week touring former battlefields of eastern and northern France, met May in Albert near the Belgian border for a working lunch as pressure to reach a deal on Britain's EU exit mounts. The two leaders then went to the nearby Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme to lay a wreath of poppies and cornflowers, the respective emblems of remembrance for Britain and France. The imposing brick arch commemorates 72,337 missing British and South African servicemen who died between 1915 and 1918 in a series of battles along the Somme river, and who have no known grave. May started the day with a visit to the Saint Symphorien Military Cemetery in Mons, Belgium, where she and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel laid a wreath at the graves of the first and last soldiers killed on the Western Front. "A century ago British forces fought side by side with our allies in Europe on the Western Front. Today in France and Belgium we reflect on our shared history, but also look ahead to our shared future, built on peace, prosperity and friendship," May said in a statement. Yet that future has been clouded by the deep divisions over the terms of Britain's exit from the EU in less than five months. France has taken a hard line in the negotiations, with Macron insistent that Britain should not be allowed to negotiate advantages for itself as it withdraws from the bloc. Negotiators have been racing to try to agree the outlines of a deal that could be approved at an EU summit this month. MULTILATERAL GOALS Macron, whose poll ratings have fallen sharply in recent months, will be hosting dozens of leaders converging on Paris for the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War. US President Donald Trump will hold talks with Macron on Saturday morning before a lunch with their spouses at the Elysee Palace. Macron will then travel to Rethondes, the clearing in the Compiegne forest where the WWI armistice was signed between German and Allied forces, for a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. French President Emmanuel Macron has taken a hardline stance in Brexit talks. (Photo: AFP/Ben Stansall) The ceremony is another symbol of reconciliation between France and Germany, as Rethondes was also the site imposed by Nazi Germany on the French when accepting their surrender in 1940 during World War II, the Elysee said. On Sunday morning Macron will host dozens of world leaders, including Russia's Vladimir Putin, at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris for a remembrance ceremony at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, 100 years to the day after the war ended. Later in the day, Macron, Merkel and UN General Secretary Antonio Gutteres will join other world leaders and representatives of civil society, for a peace forum held in the northeast of Paris. Macron, who would like the peace forum to become an annual event on the lines of the Davos economic forum, and Merkel - the first to speak at the event - will underline the importance of multilateralism in the search for peace. It comes at a time when the United States has disrupted the Western order by taking a more unilateral stance in international affairs. Trump is not expected to attend the forum. But even as Macron takes the international stage, he has been dogged with domestic criticism during his tour of WWI sites this week. At several stops he has been accosted by people complaining about high fuel costs and other grievances, and also stirred controversy by suggesting that WWI general Philippe Petain deserved to be honoured. After being hailed as hero after WWI, Petain was named as head of the French government during World War II that collaborated with the Nazis. He was found guilty of treason afterwards. Prime location and lavish design Before the launching event, Hoa Anh Dao Real Estate Joint Stock Company, the developer of King Palace, had not revealed any information about the design, facilities, and floor plans, yet King Palace still received great attention from investors thanks to its prime location at 108 Nguyen Trai, one of the most important main roads in Hanoi. Located beside the Royal City Complex, King Palace has a premium position, from where residents can easily reach other parts of the city. More importantly, this is the veritable beating heart of Hanoi in terms of economic growth, occupied by lots of universities, hospitals, and large commercial centre. King Palace has the most desirable address on Nguyen Trai Street The information revealed by the developer makes King Palace even more attractive since it matches customers needs and wants. King Palace is an alluring newcomer that clearly stands out in the high-end real estate market in Hanoi. Refined design and sophistication in every detail The 36-storey King Palace Complex consists of 410 luxurious apartments with area ranging from 82 to 259 square metres for 2, 3, 5, and 6 bedrooms, respectively. The building is a design masterpiece flaunting high-class, modern, and glamorous living spaces. Every detail of both the interior and exterior designs were carefully planned and constructed to provide future residents with an accommodation which is not only elaborate, but also matches all requirements of their modern lifestyle. Where Kings live Not only boasting prime location and exquisite architecture, King Palace also attracts customers with state-of-the-art facilities that can rarely be seen elsewhere in Vietnam. The rooftop pool offers a panoramic view of Hanoi The high-class commercial service centre and the Maple Bear Canadian Kindergarten are built from the first to the fourth floor. The building also has an international-standard gymnasium, and a rooftop outdoor pool with a panoramic view of Hanoi. All of these facilities are designed and managed in line with the standards of 5-star hotels, aiming to provide apartments owners the best services. Every detail of the living experience of King Palaces residents is cared for. For instance, King Palace is equipped with smart elevator system that travels at a speed of 4 m/s and modern fire-protection elevators. Regarding technical infrastructure, King Palace is integrated with the most updated technology that leads the 4.0 trend. The most modern fire prevention system fully meets American quality standards for high-rise buildings. The air-conditioning system and clean water filters are the ones in use in 5-star hotels. A highlight of King Palace is that the complex is integrated with an electric charging station in all 3 basement parking lots with an area of nearly 8,000sq.m. Ample state-of-the-art facilities to best serve the future Kings King Palace is not only a new symbol of architecture and first-class facilities, but it also serves as a new destination for an elite and vibrant community, complimenting modern lifestyle. For more information, please visit: www.kingpalacehanoi.vn Hotline: +84 936 351 579 The Fly Jamaica plane, which had been carrying 126 people on its way to Toronto, seen after crash-landing at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Georgetown, Guyana on Nov 9, 2018. (Photo: AFP/Denis Chabrol) The Fly Jamaica Airways plane was bound for Toronto when it suffered a hydraulic problem shortly after takeoff and returned to the airport, crashing and careening off the runway, Transportation Minister David Patterson said. "Everyone was going crazy, screaming, crying for their lives, everything," said passenger Invor Bedessee, describing how some people were injured getting off the flight. "There were (some people) injured because of coming down the slide or not getting off the flight fast enough, so the people behind them were kicking them," he told Canada's public broadcaster CBC. "There was a lot of chaos." Bedessee said takeoff had been delayed by about 45 minutes because one of the left-side doors had "not closed properly" and a maintenance crew was called to fix the problem. Patterson said the injuries were not life-threatening and the injured were taken to a hospital near the airport on the South America country's Atlantic coast. SPINAL INJURIES Guyana's Chief Medical Officer, Shamdeo Persaud, said five of the injured had been referred to another hospital for "further investigation" for spinal injuries. The 118 passengers on board the Boeing 757-200 included 82 Canadians. There were eight crew members. "To date, we have no reports of any Canadian citizens being injured," said government spokesman Philip Hannan in Ottawa. "Canadian consular officials are in contact with local authorities and stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadian citizens if needed." After departing at 2.10am (0610 GMT), the pilot reported a problem with the hydraulic system 10 minutes into the flight. "We flew about 10, 15 minutes in the air, just over the Atlantic ocean, and we were circling around a few times and the captain announced there's some hydraulic problems, and we had to return to the airport," Bedessee told CBC. "When we landed on the ground, the wheels were still spinning, they were not braking, there was no hydraulic brakes to brake the wheels and then we overshot the runway," the still-shaken passenger said. Pictures showed the plane had ground to a halt in the sand just short of a steep incline. "One of the wings came apart and the engine on the right side actually flipped over and we crashed into a big sand pile at the edge of a cliff. There's a big drop about 30, 40 feet (nine to 12 metres) on the other side," said Bedessee. "If we had 10 more feet, we would be down in the cliff, down in the ditch. It was a miracle." A resident told AFP that she heard a loud explosion and when she went outdoors, she saw smoke. "I saw bright lights and smoke, heard sirens, people screaming. I saw the plane turn off in an angle but before that I heard a loud explosion," Melana Perreira said. 'A LOT OF CHAOS' Bedessee said the incident had left him "very shaken and very, I don't know, nervous." "It's like all of my goose bumps are going crazy, just it's a shock and awe, more or less," he said. Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Egbert Field, said the pilots of the aircraft had not yet been interviewed but the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder had been removed from the wrecked plane and sent to the United States for analysis. "They have been retrieved and will be sent to the National Transportation Safety Board for decoding," Field said. Guyanese police and soldiers secured the crash site for investigators to begin working. "We can confirm that Fly Jamaica flight OJ256 bound for Toronto has returned to Georgetown with a technical problem and has suffered an accident on landing," the airline said. "At this time, we believe that all 118 passengers and eight crew members are safe. We are providing local assistance and will release further information as soon as it is available," it added. US President Donald Trump said that French President Emmanuel Macron's suggestion for a joint European army is "very insulting" and "perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO" (Photo: AFP/NICHOLAS KAMM) No sooner had Trump touched down in Paris for a weekend of commemorations to mark the end of World War 1, than he fired off a tweet castigating his host over proposals to endow the EU with its own, joint army. "President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia," the US president tweeted, referring to remarks made by Macron three days earlier. "Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidizes greatly!," he added. Trump, who is visiting France with his wife Melania for the second time since becoming president, was referring to a call made by Macron in an interview Tuesday for a "real European army." Macron, an ardent advocate of closer European integration, said a joint European Union military force was needed to wean Europe off American might, not least after Trump announced he was pulling out of a Cold War-era nuclear treaty. "We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States," he told Europe 1 broadcaster, suggesting for the first time that Europe might need to defend itself from America. The French president, who has enacted major defence spending hikes to bring France in line with NATO spending targets, is spearheading the creation of a nine-country European rapid reaction force, independent from NATO. The force, which would fall far short of an army in size and scope, would be able to rapidly mount a joint military operation, evacuate civilians from a war zone or provide aid after a natural disaster. Proposals for a full EU army with a joint command - a pet project of European federalists - remain deeply sensitive, however, among EU members anxious to defend their sovereignty. French officials said Macron's mooted EU "army" was merely a call for closer defence integration. BILATERAL TALKS, THEN LUNCH The row over EU defence risks overshadowing commemorations to be attended by 70 world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On Saturday morning, Macron and Trump will hold bilateral talks on issues expected to include Syria and Iran before lunching with Melania and Macron's wife Brigitte. The last time the Macrons hosted the Trumps in Paris in July 2017, during Bastille Day celebrations, they whisked them up the Eiffel Tower for a private dinner on the second floor. The tone of this visit will be markedly less festive. Trump is scheduled to visit two American cemeteries over the course of the weekend, which will culminate with a solemn ceremony Sunday at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe, a monument to France's war dead. Speaking to reporters Friday before his departure Trump said he was "looking forward" to the trip. "I think it will be something very, very special," he said. The isolationist US leader has, however, ducked out of a peace conference Sunday afternoon, which Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel intend to use as a platform for promoting multilateralism. US National Security Advisor John Bolton Friday downplayed Trump's decision not to attend the inaugural Paris Peace Forum - to be attended by Putin and Erdogan - telling reporters in Paris the president had "a lot of pressing issues" to attend to. Trump and Macron struck up a warm relationship initially, particularly during the US leader's first visit to Paris, but have repeatedly clashed since then over a growing list of issues, including Trump pulling America out of the 2015 Paris climate accord and the Iran nuclear deal. MEETING IN FOREST CLEARING The WWI commemorations come at a watershed moment for the liberal post-war order, with anti-immigration populists at the helm in the US and Brazil, sharing power in Italy, and making strong gains in Germany, prompting Merkel to announce she is bowing out in 2021. Macron met UK Prime Minister Theresa May near the Belgian border Friday to try to make progress on a Brexit deal and remember the fallen of the battlefields of the Somme. On Saturday afternoon, he will visit the northern town of Compiegne where the armistice ending World War 1 was signed by the Allies and Germany in a train carriage on Nov 11, 1918. Macron will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the site, in a visit symbolising the close ties between two countries that fought three wars between 1870 and 1945. Asylum seekers turn themselves in to a US Border Patrol agent after crossing from Mexico into the United States on Nov 7, 2018 in Mission, Texas. (Photo: AFP/John Moore) President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at halting the flow of migrants seeking to cross into the United States without authorisation, most of them requesting asylum due to violence in their home countries. "The continuing and threatened mass migration of aliens with no basis for admission into the United States through our southern border has precipitated a crisis and undermines the integrity of our borders," Trump said in the order. Trump used his emergency powers for the order, which critics said violates international law protecting asylum seekers. UNHCR, the UN human rights body, criticised Washington for not meeting obligations to help refugees. "UNHCR expects all countries, including the United States, to make sure any person in need of refugee protection and humanitarian assistance is able to receive both promptly and without obstruction," it said. The Geneva-based agency said that the United States was forcing migrants to turn to human smugglers to cross borders illegally. "Many asylum-seeking families making this desperate choice are not trying to evade border authorities," they said. The American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Center for Constitutional Rights together immediately filed a lawsuit challenging the order. "Ever since the horrors of World War II, the world's nations have committed to giving asylum seekers the opportunity to seek safe haven. The Trump administration cannot defy this most elementary humanitarian principle," said Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. PRESSURE ON MEXICO US officials said that as Mexico is the first safe country US-bound migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras arrive in, the asylum claims should be presented there. "Mexico is undoubtedly a safe country for these individuals fleeing persecution," an administration official told journalists Friday. "They should be seeking protection in Mexico." Trump's order was explicit in wanting Mexico to deal with the problem. It said the automatic denial of asylum claims to illegal border-crossers would continue for 90 days or until there is an agreement which "permits the United States to remove aliens to Mexico." The United States regularly sends Mexican undocumented entrants back across the border to their country, but has had difficulties gaining cooperation to repatriate Hondurans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans. The move came as a caravan of thousands of migrants, which Trump has branded an "invasion" of "criminals," makes its way northward through Mexico toward the border. The US order says asylum requests will continue to be accepted from migrants who seek to cross at official US ports of entry. "We want people to come into our country, but they have to come into our country legally," Trump told reporters at the White House. But directing the migrants to the official ports could create massive backups among applicants on the Mexican side of the border. US officials indicated that they had no plans to expand staffing of asylum claim facilities there. They said staff already had other duties processing legal travellers, inspecting cargoes and policing for drugs. "There are multiple responsibilities at a port of entry and you can't simply move all of your resources to migrant processing," said one border official. Pakistan has requested financial help from its close allies, including China and Saudi Arabia, and a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help revive its economy and deal with debt and balance-of-payments problems. Earlier this week, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan secured financial pledges from China during a four-day official visit to China, where he met with leaders, including President Xi Jinping. Chinese and Pakistan officials have not given details, but they say China plans to provide an unspecified financial grant to Pakistan. Among other financial dealings, Khan also secured more than $6 billion in financial support from Saudi Arabia during a September visit there. And the United Arab Emirates is reportedly considering Islamabads request for up to $6 billion. What strings are attached? Many experts, however, say taking financial assistance from the Saudis and UAE might require a diplomatic or strategic payback. Its unlikely a $6 billion gift would come with no strings attached, Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the U.S.-based Wilson Center, told VOA. I imagine in all likelihood Islamabad had to reassert its allegiance to KSA [the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia], with the implication that Pakistan should back away from the Imran Khan governments strong assertion of neutrality in the Iran-Saudi Arabia rivalry, Kugelman added. Husain Haqqani, Pakistans former ambassador to the U.S. and director for South and Central Asia at the Washington-based Hudson Institute, echoed Kugelmans assessment. In a recent op-ed for The Print, Haqqani said that Riyadh wants Pakistan to support the kingdom against Irans actions in the region. Stand with the Kingdom Saudi Arabia is also unwilling to continue giving cash first and making requests later, something it has done as a friend of Pakistan in the past. Its current leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al-Saud, wants Pakistan to shed ambiguity and stand by the Kingdom against Iran, in addition to providing troops or other material support for the Saudi war effort in Yemen, Haqqani wrote. The Saudis say they are willing to invest in Pakistan but, like the Chinese, would want security and a good return for their investments, Haqqani added. Saudi Arabia has money and Pakistan has military power with great strategic location. Saudi Arabia is facing pressure from Turkey, Iran, and now it is not in good alignment with Washington after [Saudi journalist Jamal] Khashoggis episode, and therefore it wants a big country like Pakistan to stand by its side, Kamran Bokhari, another Washington-based South Asia analyst, said. Domestic concerns While Pakistani officials claim the Saudi aid is based on mutual financial and strategic interests, some lawmakers in the country have voiced concern about what they call the ambiguity of the terms and conditions. Would Pakistan have to participate in the Saudi war in Yemen? Or have to side with Saudis on their Sunni-Shiite rivalry with Iran? Farhat Ullah Babar, a senior lawmaker from Pakistans opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, told VOA. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, however, told Pakistans Senate on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia had not asked Pakistan to participate in the Yemen war in exchange for financial assistance. We have received an unconditional package from Saudi Arabia. No conditions have been imposed, Qureshi said. Qureshi told lawmakers that Khan had only offered to play a mediator role to resolve the Yemeni conflict and that his initiative had been welcomed by all the parties concerned. Shiite vs. Sunni Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Pakistan-based security analyst, warns that any military involvement in the regional conflict between Saudi and Iran could have severe consequences for Pakistan. Saudi Arabia would want to use Pakistans military strength to its benefit. Pakistan needs to define its role clearly as it has a big Shiite minority and any fight or rivalry with Iran will have consequences to Pakistan, too, Rizvi told VOA. Some analysts like Fatemeh Aman, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Councils South Asia Center, believe that Irans Arab rival countries already support local insurgencies in the border region between Iran and Pakistan. Irans Arab neighbors are believed to be [a] major financial support for insurgency groups in the border regions of Iran, including Baluchistan. More insurgency in the highly volatile region of Baluchistan could have devastat[ing] effect on both Iran and Pakistan, Aman told VOA. Pakistan shares a 900-kilometer-long porous border with Iran in Baluchistan province, which has long been rife with drug smugglers, separatists and militant movements. Irans stance Iran has complained that anti-Iranian militants use Pakistani territory to plot cross-border attacks inside Iran, but the country has cautiously welcomed Saudi aid to Pakistan. Iran would always support Pakistan whatsoever is in its best interest, Mehdi Honardoost, Irans ambassador to Pakistan, told Pakistans APP news agency in reaction to Saudis $6 billion aid. Sahar Khan, a South Asian research fellow at the Washington-based Cato Institute, believes Tehran seems to give Islamabad the benefit of the doubt. I think Iran largely understands that Khans seeking Saudi money has more to do with Pakistans economic crisis than its relationship with Iran, Sahar Khan said. For years, Pakistan has had a good relationship with GCC countries without jeopardizing its relationship with Iran, and I think [Prime Minister] Khan is very cognizant of that, though his offer to serve as a mediator between the Saudis and Iranians in Yemen threatens this, she added. Sahar Khan was referring to Prime Minister Khans televised address in September, in which he announced that Pakistan would play the role of mediator in the Yemen conflict. Imran Khans offer to be a mediator in Yemen after accepting $6 billion of Saudi money seems a bit odd and not very well thought out. After all, how can Pakistan be a mediator when one party has given it money? Khan of Cato said. VOAs Mehdi Jenidia, Ayaz Gul and Asad Hassan contributed to this report. Conversion therapy and social exile for being gay are the subjects of two award-winning independent films this season. The Happy Prince by Rupert Everett and Boy Erased by Joel Edgerton are based on real life stories of gay men treated as pariahs by their communities. The Happy Prince In 1897, literary giant Oscar Wilde has fallen from grace for his openly romantic homosexual relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas. After a two-year prison sentence, Wilde emerges, a human wreck, impoverished and ostracized from society. Rupert Everett, an openly gay director, script writer and actor, directed and scripted the film and interprets Wilde. He says he wanted to show that in 19th century England, no man, not even a recognized figure such as Wilde, was impervious to social rejection for being homosexual. WATCH: 'The Happy Prince,' 'Boy Erased,' Two Films on Gay Exclusion Everett told VOA that although the film harkens to a different era, it serves as a reminder that despite progress in the West, gays around the world still face discrimination and persecution. He points to the fact that even forward thinking England decriminalized homosexuality as late as 1975 and notes in the epilogue of his film that as late as last year, under what is known as Turings Law, England pardoned Wilde for homosexual crimes. Yes, its very shocking and also the fact that they decided to pardon as opposed to apologize because pardon obviously infers to a crime to start with and we agree that homosexuality is not a crime, Everett said. Its a good reminder what can happen even in our countries with the waves of populism that are kind of rolling over us. So, I feel it really is a film for Trumps America in a way, I hope. Boy Erased American gay author Garrard Conley, who wrote the memoir-turned-movie Boy Erased about being forced to undergo gay conversion therapy after coming out to his conservative Baptist family in Arkansas, echoes Everetts warning. He tells VOA that many American communities have a very conservative view of the LGBTQ community. This rather insidious idea that was implanted in us from basically birth, which was that to be openly LGBTQ meant that you were either a predator or you were going to be beaten or you were going to end up dying of AIDS. And those were the stories that we were told, he said. The only child of a Baptist pastor father and a hairdresser mother, at the age of 19, Conley was sent to a sexual conversion facility in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2004. There, he had to surrender his personal belongings and cut off any communication with friends and family until he abandoned his gay identity. Conley describes the emotional harm he and others endured while attending the program. Actor and filmmaker Joel Edgerton tells VOA he was captivated by Conleys memoir and was deeply disturbed by Conleys loss of freedom because of his sexual identity. He decided to direct the story for the large screen. Actors Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe interpret Conleys parents, and Lucas Hedges interprets Conleys character. Edgerton plays Victor Sykes, a conversion therapist, who uses pseudo science, shaming and torture to treat his patients. Edgerton says he made Boy Erased to bring to light the mistreatment and dehumanization young people encounter in these conversion programs. I challenge people who are running these programs and there are a large percentage of people who work as staff in these programs, who identify as ex-gay and knowing that the reason they are there is because they are trying to help repress their own sexuality is to really tune in to the fact that, is it really working for themselves, and why if it is not inherently working for themselves, are they then trying to push these ideas onto kids? Despite the film showing Conleys family as unaccepting and responsible for subjecting him to conversion therapy, it does not vilify the parents but rather presents them as victims of the mindset of a fundamentalist community and the trappings of charlatans. The film is about dismantling misconceptions and helping young gay people find their voice, Conley tells VOA. And this is why we play the long game, with not making easy villains because its a longer battle. These kids that are currently either in conversion therapy or going through it or some way about to go through it, are surrounded by family members, pastors, people in the community, who are deciding their faith for them. So, our jobs in many ways is to educate those people and maybe, they are not on the right side yet, but they can at least agree on one thing, which is: this is torture. So, if we get them to agree on that, we can save lives, Conley said. At the days end, the author added, we got to choose how we love, when we love, what we do with our lives and no one gets to tell you how to do that. Robots have been put to work assembling cars in factories, answering questions at conventions and hotel lobbies, moving packages in warehouses, and more. Now, a team at the University of Southern California is studying how well robots work with autistic children, to offer personalized support and learning. Faith Lapidus reports. It was expected to be the war to end all wars. Instead, it created new rivalries and strife that would erupt into another global conflict just two decades later. This weekend's gathering of world leaders in Paris for the centennial of the World War I armistice serves not only to remember the millions of dead and the enormous destruction it wrought, but also to rehash the hard lessons learned from that conflict. World War I changed the political map of Europe and changed the concept of world order forever. It toppled centuries-old monarchies and established new states out of the ashes of the dead empires. Self-determination, in theory and practice Immediately after the war ended, said Georgetown University history professor Aviel Roshwald, it looked as if a new era had dawned in which nations could claim their fates and determine their futures. "In the immediate term of 1918-19, it looked as though the advocates of self-determination of the smaller peoples of Europe had won, as the big multinational empires like the Hapsburg empire, the Romanov empire, in the Middle East the Ottoman empire, either collapsed, were conquered or both, and gave way to new entities," he said. But each of those emergent or enlarged new nation-states that emerged from the rubble of empires was born in conditions of international chaos, economic disruption born of war, and their ostensible victories already carried in them the makings of future conflicts and future defeats." Though victorious, the newly minted countries were far from peaceful or stable. Their very sovereignty was being challenged from the start by the ethnic minorities they incorporated inside their new borders. It was a hard lesson in the shortcomings of self-determination, Roshwald said. "Self-determination does not offer a solution to ethnic problems; it's a formula that raises questions that can only be solved all too often have been solved through massive violence," he said. Historian John Lampe, global fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington, said that when then-President Woodrow Wilson proposed his Fourteen Points that would inspire the creation of the League of Nations, self-determination is not what he had in mind, especially not in the way it has been interpreted through the years. "It's a phrase that's been much used," Lampe said. "If self-determination means a constitutional government, a chance for all of the citizens to vote, that's one thing, that's fine. If it means self-determination for our ethnic group alone, then obviously it's not a recipe for success." Alienation of ethnic minorities Postwar Europe proved this well. As the victors claimed their territories and doled out punishments on the defeated nations, waves of ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses followed, deepening hostilities and polarizing the affected populations. "The result was an almost immediate alienation of the large ethnic minorities that each of these states incorporated within their territories," said Roshwald. "Had there been a greater willingness to grant meaningful autonomy to regionally based minorities, perhaps some of these conflicts could have been defused." The historian said these postwar traumatic events allowed for radical ideologies to take hold and dictate world events for ensuing decades. Without the violent disruption of World War I, he said, "the kind of radicalization and polarization that we associate with communism and of course at the other end of the spectrum with Nazism and fascism it's hard to imagine those emerging from the fringes of the political spectrum to become central factors in European and global history the way they did." LIke many other historians, Lampe sees a direct link between the abuses and recriminations that followed World War I and the even deadlier war that followed. "This Second World War is very much a settling of scores from the First World War that Hitler can play on," Lampe said. "Also, the Bolshevik party would not have come to power in Russia without the First World War and the strains imposed there." Need for tolerance, respect, dialogue Roshwald says the concept of self-determination for nations poses more questions than it solves in today's world of mixed populations and shifting identities. And when it results in redrawn borders, it often produces more upheaval. "In all too many cases, changes of borders create new sources of recrimination and irredentist claims in later years," he said. The historians said the lessons learned from the two world wars are enshrined today in powerful trans-Atlantic organizations designed to facilitate cooperation and dialogue among Western powers. WATCH: John Lampe: Learning the Lessons of World War II Such connections have enabled Germany and France bitter enemies in the two world wars to sit today as allies at the helm of the European Union. The lessons include a greater understanding of the need for tolerance, the rule of law, compromise and dialogue, along with respect for the rights of others. The world can only hope those lessons are not forgotten. U.S. President Donald Trump's suspension of asylum rights for immigrants illegally trying to enter the U.S. took effect Saturday, but some 4,000 Central American migrants remain undeterred as they continue their trek toward the U.S. Trump signed a proclamation Friday tightening the U.S.-Mexico border, maintaining the illegal entry of immigrants across the southern border is harmful to the national interests of the U.S. Still, a caravan of nearly 4,000 Central American migrants left a stadium in southern Mexico City early Saturday to embark on the most dangerous and longest leg of its journey. The caravan followed about 900 migrants who left Mexico City on Friday. The migrants planned to head toward the northwest, passing through the Mexican cities of Queretaro, Guadalajara, Culiacan and Hermosillo, until they arrive in Tijuana just south of the U.S. California border, Mexico's Human Rights Commission said. Mexico City is about 965 kilometers from the closest U.S. border crossing at McAllen, Texas, but the most direct route to McAllen is teeming with drug gang activity. While the route to California is more circuitous and still dangerous, the migrants consider it safer. Three civil rights groups immediately challenged Trump's plan to limit asylum requests in court. The American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Center for Constitutional Rights filed lawsuits Friday in San Francisco federal court seeking an injunction against the order. "President Trump's new asylum ban is illegal," said the ACLU's Omar Jadwat. "Neither the president nor his cabinet secretaries can override their clear commands of U.S. law, but that's exactly what they're trying to do." The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees criticized the Trump administration for not fulfilling obligations to help refugees. "UNHCR expects all countries, including the United States, to make sure any person in need of refugee protection and humanitarian assistance is able to receive both promptly and without obstruction," it said in a statement. The Geneva-based agency said that the U.S. was forcing migrants to seek help from human smugglers to cross borders illegally. Although migrant caravans from Central America are fairly routine, Trump made this caravan a campaign issue in the midterm elections in an attempt to energize his supporters. Trump ordered the deployment of more than 5,000 troops to the border to prevent the migrants from entering the U.S. In addition to making asylum more difficult to obtain, Trump has threatened to detain applicants in tent cities. Most of the migrants are from Honduras, while others are from Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. They say violence and poverty forced them to leave their home countries and seek refuge in the U.S. Caila Sanford rushed to donate blood as she wiped tears from her eyes. She started reliving a nightmare after hearing about the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Sanford, 22, survived the mass shooting at a concert in Las Vegas just a year ago, where a gunman killed 58 people. "This really hits home for me. I can imagine what these people are going through. I've been to this bar many, many times. I love college nights," Sanders said. It was college night at the Borderline when a gunman entered and opened fire, killing 12 people and then himself. The shooter was identified as Ian David Long, 28, a former military machine gunner. He apparently killed himself after Wednesdays attack. It was the second U.S. mass shooting to make recent headlines. An attack Oct. 27 at a Pittsburgh synagogue killed 11 people. Researchers at the Gun Violence Archive said there has been a mass shooting in the United States nearly every day this year. The group defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are wounded or killed by gunfire, not including the shooter. The frequency of mass shootings leaves some Americans numb. "It doesn't get easier to hear, but it gets more normalized. It's desensitized completely," Sanford said, adding, "I think twice about going anywhere, honestly. Not just here the grocery store, the mall." Parents worry that not even schools are safe. In May, a mass shooting at a school in Santa Fe, Texas, left 10 dead. "We are living in a state of fear within our own country, within our own borders, amongst ourselves," said Grace Fisher, a mother of three young children. Fisher went to the scene of the most recent shooting in Thousand Oaks with a sign that said, "Moms demand action for gun sense in America." She said U.S. society must find better ways to prevent such carnage. "I think that the problem in this country is multifaceted. It's going to take a multifaceted approach to solve this problem, but to say that guns are not the problem is a total cop-out," Fisher said. In addition to worrying about a test in school, students also have to think about an exit plan if they experience an active-shooter situation. "Parents and teachers now have to have these conversations with kids who are in school. What are you going to do if this happens? What is your plan? Where are you going to go? And they shouldn't have to worry about that," Sanford said. The U.S. man accused of mailing explosive devices to critics of President Donald Trump has been indicted on charges that could result in a sentence of life in prison upon conviction. The 30-count indictment against Cesar Sayoc was produced Friday in federal court in New York City. Sayoc made his first appearance in that court earlier this week. Charges against Sayoc, 56, include five counts of use of a weapon of mass destruction, five counts of interstate transportation and receipt of explosives, and five counts of issuing threatening interstate communications. He was also charged with illegal mailing of explosives, use of explosives to commit a felony, and use of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence. The charges in New York federal court are linked to the five people targeted with pipe bombs in the New York area: liberal political donor George Soros, former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, actor Robert de Niro, former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Targeted for similar attacks outside New York were former U.S. President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden. None of the mailed explosives detonated. Sayoc was arrested Oct. 26 in Florida and was charged on a five-count complaint there. He had been living in a van plastered with pro-Trump and anti-Democrat messages. Sayoc has not yet entered a plea in response to the charges. Australian investigators say a Somali-born man who stabbed bystanders in the center of Melbourne on Friday had been inspired and radicalized by the militant group calling itself Islamic State. Hassan Khalif Shire Ali was shot by police and died later in a hospital. The attack began when Shire Ali, 31, crashed his car, which was packed with gas bottles, in the heart of Australias second biggest city. He then stabbed three people. One, a 74-year-old restaurant owner, died at the scene while two others are being treated in a hospital. Neither is in serious condition. Cellphone video shows the knife-wielding attacker lunging at two policemen in a busy Melbourne street. He was eventually shot by one of the officers and died later in a hospital. Known for radical views Authorities say Shire Alis Australian passport had previously been canceled because of fears he planned to travel to Syria in 2015. Despite being known to hold radical views, he was not being actively monitored by Australian security agencies and had been assessed as not posing a threat to the community. It is thought the attacker moved to Australia from Somalia in the 1990s, and that members of his family had been known to police on terrorism-related matters. In relation to that person, he is known to police mainly in respect to relatives that he has that are certainly persons of interest to us, said Graham Ashton, Victoria states chief police commissioner. For operational reasons we now have the counterterrorism command and the homicide squad dealing with this matter and there are ongoing investigations being conducted by the counterterrorism command. Act of evil Victoria Premier Daniel Andrew says the community will not buckle to extremism. We will not as a city and a state be defined by this act of evil, he said. We simply refuse to do that. We will go about our business this weekend and every weekend because we are bigger and stronger than this. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said extreme Islam is one of the greatest threats to his country. Officials say Australias terror threat level would remain at probable. The death toll from Friday's car bomb blasts in Somalia's capital has climbed to 52, according to admission records from five hospitals. Somali security officials who responded to the attack say four militants entered the hotel and went to the roof, firing on people down below. They said the security forces eventually killed the assailants and rescued dozens of people from hotel rooms. The militant group al-Shabab, which has waged an insurgency for more than 10 years, claimed responsibility. The blasts, which occurred within minutes of each other, targeted Mogadishu's Sahafi Hotel and its surroundings. The hotel is near the headquarters of the Somali Police Force's Criminal Investigations Department (CID). Doctors and administrators of the five hospitals in the city that mainly treat the victims of gunshots and explosions Medina, Darul Shifa, Erdogan, also known as the Digfer, Kalkaal and Somalia Sudanese Hospital aside from putting the death toll at 52, say 106 others are wounded. Doctor Mohamed Yusuf, the director of Medina hospital, the biggest emergency care facility in the city, told VOA that 63 blast victims had been admitted. We received 63 victims. Thirty-two were brought wounded, but three of them died in the hospital and the 31 others were already dead and we transferred them to the morgue, he said. Yusuf said patients wounded by gunfire and explosions had been occupying almost 100 percent of Medina's beds, though recently the number has dramatically dropped due to a decline in the number of blasts and a longer timeframe between some of the larger bombings. "The number of receptions for the wounded people has been recently unusual, but we always remembered that we were in Mogadishu and things can happen at any time," stated Yusuf. Mohamed Osman Abas, director of Darul Shifa hospital, said 26 critically wounded people were being treated at that facility from the three car bomb explosions and gunfire that rocked the city Friday. A witness who was inside the hotel at the time said on condition of anonymity that the front of the building was destroyed by the force of the explosions. Former Somali lawmaker Abdi Barre Jibril said women and children were among the victims. "Two women and an eight-year-old child were among the dead," he told VOA. Sri Lankas president dissolved Parliament and called for elections on Jan. 5 in a bid to stave off a deepening political crisis over his dismissal of the prime minister that opponents say is unconstitutional. An official notification signed by President Maithripala Sirisena announced the dissolution of Parliament effective midnight Friday. It said the names of candidates will be called before Nov. 26 and the new Parliament is to convene Jan. 17. Sri Lanka has been in a crisis since Oct. 26, when Sirisena fired his prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. Both say they command a majority in Parliament and had been expected to face the 225-member house Wednesday after it was suspended for about 19 days. Foreign Minister Sarath Amunugama told The Associated Press Saturday that the reason for the president to dissolve Parliament was the need to go to the people to find a resolution to the crisis. On the 14th there was to be a lot of commotion and unparliamentary activities sponsored by the speaker, Amunugama said. The speaker was not planning to act according to the constitution and standing orders of Parliament. Sirisenas supporters had been irked by Speaker Karu Jayasuriyas announcement that he was going to call for a vote for either party to prove their support. Miscalculation The dissolution clearly indicates that Mr. Sirisena has grossly misjudged and miscalculated the support that he might or could secure to demonstrate support in the Parliament, said Bharath Gopalaswamy, director at U.S.-based analyst group Atlantic Councils South Asia Center. At the end of the day, he is a victim of his own homegrown crisis. Wickremesinghe has insisted his firing is unconstitutional. He has refused to vacate his official residence and demanded that Parliament be summoned immediately to prove he had support among its members. Tensions had been building between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe for some time, as the president did not approve of economic reforms introduced by the prime minister. Sirisena has also accused Wickremesinghe and another Cabinet member of plotting to assassinate him, a charge Wickremesinghe repeatedly denied. Sirisena was critical of investigations into military personnel accused of human rights violations during Sri Lankas long civil war against a Tamil separatist group, which ended in 2009. Rajapaksa, who ruled as president from 2005 to 2015, is credited as a hero by the ethnic Sinhalese majority for winning the conflict. But he lost a re-election bid in 2015 amid accusations of nepotism, corruption and wartime atrocities. Constitutional question Wickremesinghes camp is likely to contest Sirisenas move because of constitutional provisions stating a Parliament cant be dissolved until 4 years after its election. The current Parliament was elected in August 2015. Its totally unconstitutional, said Harsha de Silva, a member of Wickremesinghes United National Party and a former minister. Sirisena has relegated the constitution to toilet paper. We will fight this dictator to the end. The party said in a Twitter message that it will meet the elections commissioner to discuss the constitutionality of Sirisenas move. US urges caution The U.S. State Department tweeted that it is deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka Parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis. As a committed partner of Sri Lanka, we believe democratic institutions and processes need to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity, the statement said. Earlier, U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and two other lawmakers wrote to Sirisena warning that actions circumventing the democratic process could impact U.S. assistance, including a planned five-year aid package from the Millennium Challenge Corporation worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena's decision to dissolve parliament, worsening an already major political crisis, has drawn criticism from Western powers, including the United States and the European Union. Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday night, only five days before it was due to reconvene. A new cabinet he installed was in danger of losing a vote of no confidence. He also called a general election for Jan. 5. The president triggered a power struggle when he sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe late last month and appointed the island's former leader, Mahinda Rajapaksa, a pro-China strongman defeated by Sirisena in an election in 2015, in his place. Sirisena's rivals are set to challenge his decision, which they describe as illegal and unconstitutional, in the Supreme Court on Monday. The U.S. Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs said in a tweet that the United States was "deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka Parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis". It said democracy needed to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity. A spokeswoman for the European Union's foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement that the move "risks undermining public confidence in the country's democratic institutions and processes and further deepens the political and economic crisis in the country." Last week, the EU's ambassador warned it could consider stripping Sri Lanka of its duty-free access if it backs off commitments on rights. The EU is worried the return of Rajapaksa could derail halting progress made toward national reconciliation following a war with ethnic minority Tamil separatists that killed tens of thousands, many during the final stages under his watch as president. Mark Field, the British minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, tweeted his concern about the dissolution of parliament days before it was due to be reconvened. "As a friend of Sri Lanka, the UK calls on all parties to uphold the constitution and respect democratic institutions and processes," Field said. Canada's Foreign Policy twitter feed said that it was "deeply concerned" about the decision and referred to the risks to reconciliation work after the nation's civil war. Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne expressed both concern and disappointment in a statement, saying the move "undermines Sri Lanka's long democratic tradition and poses a risk to its stability and prosperity." Sirisena has said he fired Wickremesinghe because the prime minister was trying to implement "a new, extreme liberal political concept by giving more priority for foreign policies and neglecting the local people's sentiment." Parliament test Mangala Samaraweera, an ally of Wickremesinghe, said their party expects the court to rule that the dissolution of parliament was illegal and that eventually a vote in parliament will be held to test whether there is a majority. "We will show that we have the parliament majority and we will show that the dictator president has dissolved a government which had a majority in the parliament," he told reporters. They were supported by the Tamil National Alliance, the main party representing ethnic Tamil groups in parliament, who said it too will petition the Supreme Court against the dissolution of the house. "This is a clear violation of the constitution. The president can't do this," said M.A. Sumanthiran, a spokesman for the alliance. India and the West have raised concerns over Rajapaksa's close ties with China. Beijing loaned Sri Lanka billions of dollars for infrastructure projects when Rajapaksa was president between 2005-2015, putting the country deep into debt. Wickremesinghe has refused to vacate the official prime minister's residence saying he was the prime minister and had a parliamentary majority. Before he signed the papers dissolving parliament and calling the election, Sirisena appointed allies of his and of Rajapaksa to cabinet positions. One of them said Sirisena was right to order an election to end the political crisis. Dinesh Gunawardena, a newly appointed urban development minister, said the president had handed the country back to the people. "It is the people's right to vote. We have gone before the people. No force can interfere. The people's mandate is supreme," he said. Independent legal experts have told Reuters that parliament could be dissolved only in early 2020, which would be four-and-half-years from the first sitting of the current parliament. The only other legal way would be through a referendum, or with the consent of two thirds of lawmakers. Given those views, it was not immediately clear how Sirisena is on legal safe ground by dissolving parliament, though his legal experts have said there are provisions for him to do so. A wheelchair used by the late British physicist Stephen Hawking has sold at auction for almost $400,000, with the money going to charity. The motorized wheelchair, which was used by Hawking after he was paralyzed with motor neuron disease, had been expected to sell for around $20,000 in the online auction organized by Christies. A copy of Hawkings doctoral thesis, called Properties of expanding universes from 1965 sold for $767,000, much more than the estimate of $200,000. Proceeds from the auction will go to two charities, the Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Hawking was diagnosed with motor neuron disease at age 22 and given just a few years to live. However, he lived to the age of 76, dying in March. Hawking explored the origins of the universe, expanding scientific thinking about black holes and became a well-known figure in pop culture. A script from one of his appearances on the television series The Simpsons was one of the 22 items in the auction, selling for more than $8,000. Hawkings daughter, Lucy, said the sale gave admirers of his work the chance to acquire a memento of our fathers extraordinary life in the shape of a small selection of evocative and fascinating items. Other items sold at the auction included an early edition of Hawkings best-selling book, A Brief History of Time, marked with a thumbprint, a collection of his medals and awards, and essays. In total, the auction raised $1.8 million for charity. Hawkings family is donating other items from Hawkings archive to the British government in lieu of paying inheritance tax. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday he has shared recordings of the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi with Britain, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and the United States. There was no immediate confirmation from the five countries that they had received the recordings. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier this week his government has more information about the killing and that it likely will make the evidence public after investigations of his death have been completed. Speaking during a trip to Japan, Cavusoglu told reporters that Turkey said Saudi Arabia and other countries interested in the information have been given the opportunity to see it. Khashoggi was killed in Saudi Arabias consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Initially, Saudi Arabia said Khashoggi walked out of the consulate and that his whereabouts were unknown, then that he died in a fist fight and still later that he had died in a chokehold. The kingdom's public prosecutor has since called the killing premeditated, but has not said who planned or approved it. Cavusoglu said Tuesday that after multiple conversations with Saudi King Salman, President Erdogan was convinced the king was not involved. Cavusoglu said it is clear, though, that a 15-man team alleged to have traveled to Turkey to act as a hit squad would not have taken such action on their own, and that investigators need to find who would have given that order. Turkey said last week that Khashoggi, a U.S.-based journalist who had written columns for The Washington Post that were critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was strangled as soon as he entered the consulate, his body dismembered and then destroyed, possibly dissolved in acid. No trace of Khashoggi's remains has turned up, even as the 59-year-old journalist's sons appealed on the U.S. television news network CNN on Sunday for the Saudis to return his body so he can be buried in the major Islamic pilgrimage city of Medina with the rest of his family. A Turkish official, speaking anonymously, confirmed a Monday report in Sabah, a newspaper close to Turkey's government, that chemicals expert Ahmad Abdulaziz al-Janobi and toxicology expert Khaled Yahya al-Zahrani were part of a team sent from Saudi Arabia, supposedly to investigate Khashoggi's October 2 killing. The Sabah report said the two experts visited the consulate every day from their arrival on October 11 until October 17, with Saudi authorities allowing Turkish investigators to search the consulate on October 15. Seven Turkish soldiers were killed and 25 were wounded in an armory storage explosion in the southeastern province of Hakkari, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday. The explosion occurred at a base in Hakkari's Semdinli region near the borders with Iran and Iraq, the Hakkari governor's office said in a statement. "We have seven martyrs and 25 wounded soldiers due to the explosion," Erdogan said ahead of his departure to France for commemorative events on the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One. Officials are inspecting the site, he said. The Defense Ministry had said on Friday that 25 soldiers were wounded in the incident while firing heavy ammunition. Turkey has in recent months carried out airstrikes on bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, especially its stronghold in the Qandil mountains, where Ankara has also threatened to carry out a ground offensive. In Uganda, officials have stepped up measures to prevent an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. Ebola has infected 319 people in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo since August, killing 198. The border between the countries remains open, and health experts fear the virus will enter Uganda through the cross-border traffic. The Lamia River marks the border between the Democratic Republic of Congos Ebola-infected North Kivu Province and Uganda. Despite the deadly viral outbreak, Ugandas Health Ministry says 20,000 people cross the border every week, putting the country at high risk. Ugandan Jane Biira goes to the DRC side at least twice a week to buy food and charcoal to sell back home. We have heard the disease is there but, we have to go out and trade. We are only a little scared, because we have never seen anyone fall ill with Ebola where we go. We buy the merchandise and leave. When Biira and others cross into Uganda they get checked at screening points by health care workers and volunteers, like Boaz Balimaka. "We have the hand-washing, then disinfecting the feet, and screening, then we allow somebody to pass. While no Ebola cases have yet been detected in Uganda, it can take up to three weeks for symptoms to appear. The virus causes a severe hemorrhagic fever that kills at least half the people who become infected. Even with border screenings, Butogo Town Council head John Kandole says they worry someone with Ebola could slip through. Somebody who comes from Congo, we dont shake with him with hands. Once he comes to buy anything, he buy and go. And the money sometimes we have been fearing to get. Ugandas Health Ministry is stepping up preventive measures by deploying an experimental Ebola vaccine for health care and front-line workers along the border. Jane Ruth Aceng, Ugandas health minister, says vaccines are also on standy-by. Currently, in Uganda we have 2,100 doses of the vaccine available at the National Medical Stores, and preparations are in high gear, including training of the health workers that are to be targeted. A 2007 Ebola outbreak in Uganda, in the border town of Bundibugyo, infected 149 people, killed 37, and took several weeks to be contained. Florida election officials are expected to announce soon whether hotly-contested midterm election races for the U.S. Senate and governor will be subject to recounts after unofficial tallies were submitted Saturday. The contentious U.S. Senate race between Republican Governor Rick Scott and incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson has Scott ahead by about 15,000 votes, a lead of less than 0.25 percent. The governor's race between Republican former congressman Ron DeSantis and Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum has DeSantis leading by almost 36,000 votes, or about 0.4 percent. Florida law requires a statewide machine recount when the margin of victory is less than 0.5 percent and a manual recount if the margin is less than 0.25 percent. Unofficial vote counts from county canvassing boards were due to be submitted by midday Saturday. The Florida Secretary of State and the Division of Elections will then determine if the returns meet the legal thresholds requiring recounts. The possibility of recounts has deepened divisions among voters in a state that is likely to play a key role in the 2020 presidential election. Recounts would determine if Nelson returns to Capitol Hill or if Republicans increase their lead in the Senate. The fight for Nelson's seat has been particularly acrimonious, with both sides filing lawsuits. Scott, President Donald Trump and other Republicans have accused Nelson of trying to steal the election, while Nelson has alleged Scott is trying to stop officials from counting every ballot. Trump called the situation "a disgrace." Scott has asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the election departments in South Florida's Democratic-leaning Broward and Palm Beach counties after his lead narrowed as ballots continued to be counted throughout the week. A state election spokeswoman said Friday, however, an investigation would not be launched because there was no evidence of fraud. Judges ruled in favor of Scott late Friday, ordering election supervisors in the two counties to release information on the ballot-counting. Gillum conceded defeat Tuesday night but later said every vote should count after the results began to narrow. DeSantis has proceeded as if he is the victor, appointing a transition team in preparation for taking office in January. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed their Chinese counterparts on religious freedom, freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and other issues Friday in a meeting aimed at setting up a summit between their nations presidents later this month. While Pompeo noted the U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in Washington was "productive," he highlighted China's repression of some religious groups. "The United States and the international communities will continue to express our concerns with respect to China's repression of religious groups Christians, Buddhists, and 800,000 to possibly millions of Muslims that have been denied their freedoms," Pompeo said during a joint press briefing following Friday's talks. When pressed by VOA during the briefing, Chinese Politburo member Yang Jiechi said those issues are "China's internal affairs" and that "foreign countries have no right to interfere." Beijing has defended its internment camps in western Xinjiang that human rights groups say now house around 1 million Muslim men and women. China says the "vocational education centers" are aimed at ensuring security. Activists say there is evidence of torture, widespread surveillance, and signs that those being held are being forced to renounce their faith. Yang on Friday noted the Chinese government attaches great importance to social and economic development in Xinjiang and Tibet and has taken a host of measures to promote stability, "unity" and people's well-being there. Xinjiang is home to ethnic Uighurs, the region's Turkic-speaking minority, ethnic Kazakhs and other Muslims. Taiwan policy During Friday's dialogue, U.S. officials also reaffirmed "strong ties" with Taiwan, which has been self-ruled since the 1940s but claimed by China. "I reiterated the U.S. policy has not changed, and that we are concerned about China's increasing efforts to coerce others constraining Taiwan's international space," Pompeo said. In response to a question by VOA, senior Chinese diplomat Yang noted, "Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory," adding Beijing would continue to remain committed to its "One China principle." The nuance between Washington's One China Policy and Chinas One China Principle is that the U.S. stance leaves open the possibility that a future resolution could be determined peacefully by both China and Taiwan. The United States sees Taiwan as part of a network of Asian democracies, and informal Taiwan-U.S. ties have improved under U.S. President Donald Trump. He signed the Taiwan Travel Act earlier this year, which encourages visits "at all levels" between U.S. and Taiwanese officials. And a high-profile meeting could occur in the coming days, when U.S. Vice President Mike Pence travels to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Papua New Guinea. Diplomatic sources indicate arrangements are being made for Pence to meet with Morris Chang, a retired tech guru who founded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), on the sidelines of the APEC summit. A senior administration official said Pence's meetings with regional leaders were still being planned, but a meeting between Pence and Chang, Taiwan's envoy to APEC, was not being ruled out. "The United States will meet with whomever the United States wants to meet with," the official said when asked whether China was warning against such a meeting. South China Sea On the issue of the South China Sea, Chinese officials said the United States should stop sending ships and planes near islands that China claims as its own. The disputed sea is a major Asian trade route, where Beijing has landfilled areas for military infrastructure. "We have continued concern about China's activities and militarization in the South China Sea," Pompeo told reporters Friday. "We pressed China to live up to its past commitments in this area." U.S. officials said they would not halt so-called freedom-of-navigation patrols that are aimed at ensuring countries do not restrict traffic in international waters. Both nations have been seeking ways to lessen tension, maintain open lines of communication and reduce the risk of miscalculations in the South China Sea. Mattis said all military and civilian vessels and aircraft should "operate in a safe and professional manner" in the contested international waters. "The United States is committed to finalizing a military-to-military crisis deconfliction and communication framework with China," Mattis said following Friday's talks at the State Department. The United States is halting refueling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen, Saudi Arabia said Saturday, a move that would end one of the most divisive aspects of U.S. assistance to the Saudi war effort. Saudi Arabia, in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), said it had decided to request an end to U.S. aerial refueling for its operations in Yemen because it could now handle it by itself. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington supported the Saudi decision. The change comes at a time of international outrage over the killing of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and after Democratic and Republican lawmakers threatened to address the refueling operations next week in Congress. Critics of the Saudi campaign including Democrats who won control of the House of Representatives in elections on Tuesday have long questioned U.S. involvement in the war, which has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than 2 million and led to widespread famine in Yemen since it began in 2015. "I've been calling for this for over three years," said Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif. "We shouldn't be supporting coalition war crimes, and I look forward to continuing to scrutinize the U.S.'s role in Yemen when we're in the majority next Congress." Even as President Donald Trump's administration has condemned Khashoggi's slaying, the White House has sought to preserve its relationship with Saudi Arabia. Any coordinated decision by Washington and Riyadh to halt refueling could be an attempt by both countries to forestall further action by Congress. Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., had warned the Trump administration was running out of time to act. "If the administration does not take immediate steps ... we are prepared to take additional action when the Senate comes back into session," Young and Shaheen said. The Pentagon, State Department and White House declined to comment. More time for bombers Earlier this year, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis defended U.S. military support to Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen, when lawmakers weighed forcing the Pentagon to end Washington's involvement in the conflict. Mattis argued that halting U.S. military support could increase civilian casualties, since U.S. refueling had given pilots more time to select their targets. He told them cutting off support could jeopardize cooperation on counterterrorism and reduce American influence with Saudi Arabia. Mattis also argued it would embolden the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, who have fired missiles at Saudi Arabia and targeted commercial and military vessels off Yemen's coast. A halt to refueling could have little practical effect on the war. U.S. officials told Reuters only a fifth of Saudi-led coalition aircraft require in-air refueling from the United States. In recent weeks, Mattis has appeared to voice a growing sense of urgency toward ending the conflict. At the end of October, Mattis joined U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in calling for a cease-fire. Undecided races in Tuesday's midterm U.S. elections are keeping the states of Florida, Georgia and Arizona on edge. In Florida, center of controversy over the close presidential election in 2000, Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and Republican Gov. Rick Scott are locked in an extremely close contest for the Senate, with Scott holding a lead in the vote count of less than a percentage point but Nelson gaining ground. Scott, the challenger, has sued supervisors of elections in both Broward and Palm Beach counties, accusing them of mishandling the ballot count. These same two Democratic-leaning counties proved problematic in providing voter returns in the 2000 presidential election when Republican George W. Bush narrowly defeated Democrat Al Gore in a historic recount. The race to fill Scott's post as Florida governor also is still too close to call, which may trigger an automatic recount even though Democrat Andrew Gillum already has conceded to Republican Ron DeSantis. Florida is tied with New York for the third-highest number of Electoral College votes (29), so its political landscape will have significant influence on the presidential election in 2020, when President Donald Trump is expected to seek re-election and the Democrats will try to unseat him. In another close vote, Arizona is still trying to determine the winner of the contest between Democrat Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Martha McSally, who are vying to fill the seat left open by retiring Republican Senator Jeff Flake. Officials are still tallying mail-in ballots, with Sinema ahead by fewer than 10,000 votes. As of Thursday night, more than 400,000 ballots still had not been counted, because about 75 percent of Arizona voters cast their ballots by mail. In Mississippi, a runoff election is expected in late November between Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democratic challenger Mike Espy. Regardless of the outcomes in these states, Republicans will hold at least 51 Senate seats in the new term, giving them a majority in the 100-seat Senate. Trump spoke to reporters early Friday before boarding a flight to Paris. Commenting on the Florida controversy, he said Scott "won by a comfortable margin." He also criticized the woman in charge of supervising elections in Broward County, saying, "She has had a horrible history." In the southern state of Georgia, the governor's race is still in dispute, although Republican Brian Kemp, who at present has 50.3 percent of the vote, has declared victory. Democrat Stacey Abrams has 48.7 percent of the vote. But Abrams, the first African-American woman to be named a gubernatorial candidate in Georgia by either major party, has said she will not concede until every vote is counted. Photo: HBO Maybe Dolores was onto something with these violent delights meeting violent ends. With the Woolsey fires continuing to ravage through Southern California, a few sets of HBOs Westworld in the eye of the fires have, sadly, been burned down and destroyed. According to EW, the historic Western Town at Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills, which doubled as Westworlds Escalante for the two seasons a.k.a. where the White Church is was the primary set damaged by the disaster. (Interestingly, it was also the main set used by Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman in the 90s.) Westworlds other prominent sets, such as Sweetwater and the Valley beyond, never filmed at this location, and as such are unaffected. Westworld is not currently in production, and as the area has been evacuated, HBO said in a statement, we do not yet know the extent of the damage to any structures remaining there. Sad for fans of @WestworldHBO and shows like Dr Quinn Medicine Woman, the Paramount Ranch western town movie set has burned to the ground in the Woolsey Fire @CBSLA #westworld #Woolseyfire pic.twitter.com/DhZWaGbr6g John Schreiber (@johnschreiber) November 9, 2018 Also affected by the Woolsey fires is the infamous Bachelor and Bachelorette mansion, with the flames reportedly having reached the homes patio and guesthouse. The show, while currently in the midst of Colton Underwoods season, was no longer filming in California when the fires began. John Oliver. Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Turner Most people who know Scott Rogowsky lovingly refer to him as the Quiz Daddy, the breakout star of the app HQ Trivia, which became a sensation soon after its launch in 2017. But as comedy fans know, Rogowsky has been doing his late-night talk show Running Late With Scott Rogowsky for years, bouncing around various New York City comedy venues since its inception in 2011. As part of this years New York Comedy Festival, Rogowsky hosted a late-night edition of the show at the Team Coco House on Friday evening, wearing, in a cute touch, a jacket and tie inspired by the opening credits of HQ. But Rogowskys real passion is hosting a traditional talk show the kind with a live band, monologue, field pieces, characters, and interviews. All of those things were at play last night, when Last Week Tonight host John Oliver appeared as Rogowskys guest. Taking a page from the HBO shows segments, Rogowsky devoted 40 minutes to his interview with Oliver, and here are some tidbits we learned about Oliver in process. On why he came to the U.S.: In 2009, I will say in my defense, this was a different country, going in a different direction. Listen, when I got on this horse, it was galloping majestically, Seabiscuit-style. I didnt realize it was gonna take a hard right turn to the glue factory. On posters for Last Week Tonight: Each year, its been fun to come up with an image that my face is not in, because I dont really like the ephemera of being on TV very much. I have to put these things on buses, so the last two years, Ive been hiding behind the desk and then with my head on the desk, and the justification for it has been a joke, but really its just I dont want to be there. On whether satire is working today: Well, it depends what you think its job is. If youre in the Weimar Cabaret back in 1930s Germany, it depends if you thought, My job is to stop fascism, thats an overwhelming failure. Spoiler alert, if you havent gotten to that part of 20th century history. What we see our job as is to try to make a rigorous, factually solid, interesting, funny show. So in terms of the reverberations, we pay literally no attention to that whatsoever. We dont factor it into anything. On choosing the stories for his show: I think we can sometimes be an amplifier on issues that arent getting looked at. That is the kind of privilege of a having a show like this, is that you can look at unaddressed stories and give, especially in the moment, really, in the last couple of years, where this administration tends to cannibalize everything Weve had to protect the main body of our show, because theres so much low-hanging fruit around, you can kind of gorge yourself on that and forget that there are other things going on in the world, so we try and make sure that the vast majority of our main stories are not centered around the president You want to make sure that, if youre gonna talk to people about something for 20, 30, sometimes 35 minutes, one story, you want to make sure that at the end you have some sense of a solution, however small, even if its a solution to just a small part of the problem. On his safety during the recent mail bombs: The bombs were still getting sent out, he hadnt got caught, the guy, and I was walking between my office and home. Two separate people this on like a ten-minute walk to a car two separate people said, Have you got one yet? I was like, What do you mean? Have you got one? I bet youre on the list. Were talking about an actual bomb! On the shows animal mascots: I love a mascot. Tim Carvell, who runs the show, he and I are big fans of the Muppets, and basically were just trying to make a Muppet show and failing. On the shows mascot costumes: We used to just have them in this one room, but then kids occasionally would come in, and it was just a room basically full of decapitated mascots. And it was after the third kid cried, we thought, Lets put these somewhere else. On topics he hasnt covered on the show: Yes, theres loads of topics that either we couldnt find a way in or that the story had shifted or it had been slightly misreported, so the most tantalizing parts of it werent true or it had shifted because a solution is underway. You dont know if it works yet. Photo: Pedro Fiuza/NurPhoto via Getty Images Headphones connect to the iPhone / iPhone connected to the internet / Connected to the Google / Connected to the government, raps M.I.A. over The Message, the intro track for her 2010 LP Y (pronounced Maya). At the time, the provocative lyrics seemed ridiculous, carrying all the presumptive legitimacy of a stoned Jon Stewart getting paranoid about the intricacies of a dollar bill. The sentiment was widely maligned; in what stood then as her first negative Pitchfork album review, contributor Matthew Perpetua referred to The Message in particular as a simplistic, paranoid rap thats as rhetorically effective as someone in a dorm room ranting about the C.I.A. inventing A.I.D.S. But M.I.A. was right. Suddenly, her seemingly corny sentiments about government surveillance and the decay of living in private were incredibly prescient. At the very worst, M.I.A. was guilty of evoking a sociopolitical moment several years before it actually bore fruit which is the exact same position the rock band Muse find themselves in right now. Over the past decade specifically, during the eight years that Barack Obama held office as president of the United States of America the British prog-rock heavyweights have functioned as something akin to a modern rock version of QAnon, with lyrics that dive deep into anti-authoritarian sentiments and dystopian diatribes. Right-wing commentator and sometime conspiracy-theory fanatic Glenn Beck notoriously counts himself as a fan, and even though his and front man Matt Bellamys politics dont quite line up perfectly (the latter described himself in The Guardian in 2012 as a left-leaning libertarian whos slightly paranoid, and once considered himself a 9/11 truther), the mixed messaging embedded in Muses back catalogue is at times uncomfortably similar to the radical fringe beliefs that currently dominate American politics. Chuckle all you want at the obviousness of the album cover adorning 2015s Drones, but songs like The Globalist which features forgotten-man lyrical musings like Theres no country left / To love and cherish its bond echo current-day political talking points several years before they took over the discourse. As with so many British rock bands that got their start in the late 90s, Radioheads influence looms large on Muses discography. Their first two albums 1999s Showbiz and the 2001 follow-up Origin of Symmetry possessed the simmering angst of Thom Yorke & Co.s The Bends; to relay a brief anecdote, I remember being passed a pair of headphones blaring a pirated copy of Origin of Symmetry during a marching-band trip with the recommendation, They sound like Radiohead. Such an approach might scan as unfashionable in 2018, but in 1999, Muse were right on time arriving at the precise moment that, as cemented by the sharp turn represented by the 2000 landmark Kid A, Radiohead werent too interested in being Radiohead anymore. Journalists and fans alike spent much of the early 2000s searching for a new Radiohead, tapping everyone from Icelandic mystics Sigur Ros to sensitive British balladeers Travis as potential candidates. But Muse emerged as the most commercially successful of the lot, capably evoking the guitar-charged angst of Radioheads 90s work for audiences left cold by the latters frosty electronic diversions. As Muses music got denser, proggier, and more melodically playful encapsulating everything from skyscraping arena rock and Queens operatic tendencies to the stomping blare of EDM and quixotic orchestral grandeur they retained Radioheads own dramatic dystopian tendencies circa OK Computer, especially as the latter act headed down more explicitly sensual and sorrowful thematic paths. Whereas Radioheads music has become more obtuse and subtle over the last decade, Muse have become a capable pop band alongside their political provocations. Their 2006 album Black Holes and Revelations counted as their real-deal breakthrough to a larger audience, aided by the soaring and U2-esque Supermassive Black Hole; on 2012s The 2nd Law (arguably their strongest record to date), they dipped deeper into electronic textures than ever before, collaborating with EDM group Nero and offering a pleasingly sparse twist on commercial dubsteps aggression with Madness. More so than Drones, The 2nd Law is perhaps Muses closest precursor to their eighth LP Simulation Theory, which sees release this week; after a string of self-produced records, the band holed up in the studio with behind-the-scenes pop heavyweights like Timbaland, Shellback (Ariana Grande, Britney Spears), Dr. Dre collaborator Mike Elizondo, and radio-rock guy Rich Costey. Despite the rock riffage that pops up occasionally on Simulation Theory the most recent single from the album, Pressure, sways with dirty guitars and handclaps not unlike Queens of the Stone Age the record also finds Muse heading toward the synthetic, streaming-friendly territory that presumed modern-rock contemporaries Twenty One Plots have built a name on. Propaganda is built around a spare snap of a beat, an aggressive vocal sample of the song title serving as the sort-of chorus; the shuffling tropical pop Something Human slides into eliding, wordless vocal sighs, while Get Up and Fight the closest the album comes to recalling Muses earlier anthemic days switches off between a hard-charging chorus and the type of tricky-sounding hip-hop-inflected vocal sample thats made Imagine Dragons Thunder an enduring radio staple. But more so than the latest musical direction Muse have taken, the thematic bent of Simulation Theory is perhaps the albums most fascinating aspect. Much of the album is positively slathered in the type of retro-obsessed nostalgia thats taken hold in popular culture; the video for Something Human centers around a man trying to return a VHS tape before turning into a werewolf, and the 80s-tastic cover art was designed by Kyle Lambert, the British visual artist whose work you might recognize from the poster art for Stranger Things. In a Billboard interview, Bellamy cited childhood memories of watching Teen Wolf and Back to the Future while discussing the albums focus on virtual and simulated reality, before getting at an essential truism about culture at large: Weve moved beyond the point where its taboo to do something retro theres some sort of reaction where people are tuning out a bit to whats going on because its too troubling and too complicated to understand. So some people are choosing to revert into nostalgia and fantasy and dream-like states to escape reality. Its a strangely timed moment for Muse to willingly retreat toward the comforts of nostalgia. Simulation Theory is peppered with the type of vague us-against-them language typical to the Muse catalogue, with talk of blockades falling and groupthink-as-poison; Bellamy himself has referred to the driving ideological force behind single Dig Down as [counteracting] the current negativity in the world. But theres little that specifically mirrors the anti-government doom and gloom that has characterized much of the bands output over the last decade, at a point when said doom and gloom are very much in vogue on both sides of the political aisle. Its totally possible that Muses recent course correction is the direct result of realizing how similar their past rhetoric is to the extremist groups many consider to be endangering our very way of life but the issues that the bands previous three albums addressed, from the deepening global energy crisis to the banal carnage of perpetual war, have only taken on greater relevance in modern life. (The first installment in that presumptive trilogy was called The Resistance you dont get more accidentally prescient than that.) After years of essentially foreseeing the mass-cultural calamity that were currently mired in, Muse have ditched their wonky crystal ball on Simulation Theory for the kitschy comforts of a Magic 8-Ball possessing all the warm-and-fuzzy feelings of nostalgia familiarity, and none of the conviction of purpose. Nicole Kidman. Photo: Mike Marsland/WireImage/Getty Images Nicole Kidman married and divorced Tom Cruise at a young age and together, the former couple adopted two children, Connor and Isabella. Its been speculated that Kidmans reluctance to join the Church of Scientology of which her ex-husband is a high-ranking member resulted in the actress becoming estranged from the kids. Through it all, Kidman has stayed tight-lipped about both the church and her two older kids, but in a rare move, Kidman is now opening up her childrens decision to be Scientologists. Kidman married Cruise in 1990, and the couple adopted their children over the next few years. The marriage was over a decade later. By that point, Cruise had cemented himself as a member of the Church of Scientology. In the 2015 documentary Going Clear, it was claimed that the Church plotted to split up the pair over her lack of involvement with Scientology, and that they attempted to turn Kidmans kids against her for being a so-called suppressive person. Speaking with Australias Who magazine, Kidman who also has two young daughters with her husband Keith Urban opened up about her oldest children, Connor, now 23, and Isabella, now 25. Im very private about all that. I have to protect all those relationships, she told Who. I know 150 percent that I would give up my life for my children because its what my purpose is. Kidman continued of her older children, They are adults. They are able to make their own decisions. They have made choices to be Scientologists and as a mother, its my job to love them. She added, And I am an example of that tolerance and thats what I believe that no matter what your child does, the child has love and the child has to know there is available love and Im open here. The actress next starring as a mother whose son is sent to religious-based gay conversion therapy in the film Boy Erased further said, I think thats so important because if that is taken away from a child, to sever that in any child, in any relationship, in any family I believe its wrong. So thats our job as a parent, to always offer unconditional love. Photo: David Eustace/Netflix David Mackenzies Scottish war saga Outlaw King opened Septembers Toronto International Film Festival to muted, occasionally belittling reviews, which felt to me like looking not one but a hundred gift horses in the mouth horses, I should add, that had to writhe around in mud as actors playing English soldiers tumbled about them. (A closing credit assures us that no animals were harmed, which is a relief.) Scotlands Highlands, Lowlands, black mountains, and glistening lochs look more sublime than Ive seen them onscreen though still not a patch on how they look in life. As Robert the Bruce, the defeated Scotsman who, in the early 14th century, led the battle against England after first pledging his troth to Edward I, Chris Pine has a mythical handsomeness, and his legendary pickle shot is doubly admirable given that most men emerging naked from frigid Scottish waters would look down to find a pale blue acorn. (Pine didnt shrink from his task in any sense.) The exceptionally pretty Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth) with her wide-open face and husky voice plays Pines brave young English bride (a marriage arranged by Edward I that actually works out), who remains loyal to him despite hanging for months from the side of a castle in a steel cage. Robert also has an adorable daughter whos all smiles until people around her start being drawn and quartered. The Battle of Bannockburn, one of the most decisive of all time (it has a pride of place in a book I own, Robert Overys A History of War in 100 Battles) is staged as it reportedly happened, at horrifically close quarters in boggy, peaty muck mixed with gouts of blood as horsemen ride straight into wooden pikes. I suppose what Im asking is, Whats not to like? One thing not to like is that the movie shorn of 17 minutes since its Toronto world premiere has gone straightaway to Netflix, where all those lochs and mountains have shrunk to the size of your monitor. Fie on Netflix! I know that this is how most people see films nowadays, but the business model deprives much of the country of the option of having a good night out at the multiplex, where an audience can drink in that magnificent scenery along with ridiculously large sodas. Worse, wonderful movies like Tamara Jenkinss Private Life which should have had a chance to build an enthusiastic following in theaters quickly disappear amid the hundreds of other offerings. The company has backed down on putting Alfonso Cuarons magnificent Roma on its site from day one, but the film will still hit your home screen long before its natural theatrical life would have ended. Back to Outlaw King: The defense admits that the characterizations arent nuanced. Roberts chief antagonist is the future Edward II (Billy Howle), here with an especially ghastly bowl cut. Hes far less epicene than in Marlowes Edward II, never mind Mel Gibsons Braveheart, but he still makes pointless attempts to appear traditionally manly by challenging Robert to pointless duels and hissing pointless insults like, Its unfortunate you had some sentimental notion of fighting for the people. As usual in historical biopics, events are absurdly telescoped: Youd think the Scots won their war after a single battle. A scene I saw in Toronto in which Robert goes to see the fugitive rebel William Wallace (Gibson played him in Braveheart) has been lopped off, so the first we see of Wallace hes, well, lopped off reduced by three quarters, to be exact, an arm and drooping flesh hanging unceremoniously from a stake. This is the final straw for Robert, who shares the grim news with his Solomonic father just in time to see the old man die (I made a grave mistake in trusting Edward . ahhhgghhh), after which Robert promptly enlists his brothers and fiery redheaded pal Angus (Tony Curran), Lord of Islay, in a renewed fight. Despite disemboweling the leader of a rival clan in a church, Robert convinces the clergy to crown him king. He wears his power humbly, as strong, handsome men in movies do. What makes it easy to overlook the cliches is Mackenzies strong, handsome style which in his case, admittedly, is not worn humbly. Early on he signals that there will be some but not a lot of CGI cheating. His opening shot lasts nearly a dozen minutes, in which the camera finds Robert surrendering to Edward I in a dark tent; moves out with him into a muddy field, where Edwards son makes his challenge; travels back into the tent; and then emerges into the light once more for the king to demonstrate a nifty new boulder-hurling machine that takes out a whole castle turret at one go. Mackenzies touch is not as varied as in Hell and High Water (he doesnt have the latters script, with its rich sociological underpinnings), but the build to the climactic battle is stirring. I know you all as men, says Robert to his small but determined army, but today we are beasts! That battle really is beastly. Ive heard the criticism that the frames are so packed and muddy that you cant really tell whats going on, but for once the jumble is intentional. The pikes skewer rows of men on horseback, whereupon the hacking and slashing and screaming begins, the blood misting the mise-en-scene. Outlaw King has a wild card a really wild card in Aaron Taylor-Johnsons Lord of Douglas, whose family the English humiliated. Hes so wild that as soon as he reconquers his castle, he burns it to the ground for spite. In battle, he screams in exaltation, and just when you wonder how hell top that, he screams again, even louder, now drenched sopped in gore. That you wont get to see that in IMAX is a war crime. Still from Of Fathers and Sons. Photo: Kino Lorber Theres a sequence early on in Talal Derkis documentary Of Fathers and Sons that makes your blood run cold. A cheerful preteen boy finds a bird and shows it to his father. The father recommends that he kill the bird so their family can eat it. After its been killed, the boy returns to his father and gleefully reports on the slaughter. We put his head down and cut it off, he says to his dad, like how you did it, Father, to that man. The boy is Osama and his father is known as Abu Osama, a fighter in the Syrian Al Qaeda affiliate group al-Nusra Front. Derkis film which hits theaters November 16 follows the pair, their family, and the band of murderous killers that form their social circle as they all travel through the lawless hellscape of northern Syria at the height of that countrys ongoing civil war. In order to make the movie, Derki, a Syrian Kurd who fled the war and had taken up residence in Berlin, posed as a jihad-sympathetic documentarian and gained the full trust of the al-Nusra warriors for years. The resulting piece of work is eerily calm and casually jaw-dropping in the way it sheds light on what motivates ordinary people to become genocidal death-cultists. We caught up with Derki during a recent trip to New York City and talked about the remarkable filming process, watching young boys get trained to be murderers, and how this movie has endangered and continues to endanger his life. How did you find your main subject, Abu Osama? Lots of research. I was searching this area of Syria because this is the area that was established as the center for ISIS and al-Nusra, so all those jihadists moved there from all around the world. They all united in this place in the north of Syria. I had many fixers. I sent them the basic issue of what Im looking for and we found the kids, and we learned that the father belonged to al-Nusra, and that made things easier. So al-Nusra people who I have access with, they went with me to meet the father, and they asked him to do this film. And you told him you were sympathetic to al-Nusras cause? This is what I did to win their hearts and to make them trust me. Otherwise, they would not give me the access. Why do you think they believed you? Because there are thousands of people who have arrived in Syria with different skills in the past few years. They build all those terrorist groups. This is how it works. You go there and say you grew up in a bad society and you didnt learn your religion correctly, and now you want to correct all those mistakes and be useful for the jihad. I said I was a very experienced cameraman and they were very positive about that. They gave me support, gave me contacts, and they gave me this access and didnt harm me. But if they had just one doubt, I couldve been destroyed. If they have one doubt about me and Im there, it can end everything: Theres no film; theres no me anymore. If technical people went through my laptop, they couldve found conversations and my background, how I really am. Because Im secular, I dont have any religion or anything. Thats a red line for them. How could they not have been more suspicious? That was my fear all the time. I worked inside and outside of Syria for two-and-a-half years, like an acrobat, you know? I had to have this appearance where they trust me, where they dont have doubts about me, while at the same time I can be there and make a film. So I was an actor and a filmmaker at the same time. So you were going back and forth from the front lines of the war to your home in Berlin? Half of the time during those two-and-a-half years, I was there with a camera. More than 330 days. How big was the crew? In the village, we had only two people. The other was a cameraman. And that person had to also come up with a story about being sympathetic to al-Nusra? No, no, hes a total believer. He sympathized with them. He really sympathized with them. But hes a coward. Hes anti-violence. He never carried a weapon. I taught him in my previous film how to use a camera, and when [the jihad] became very strong, he became more religious than before. Now he doesnt talk to me, now that hes figured out what kind of film I was making. Do you feel bad about deceiving this guy youd taught? No. I didnt have another option. I needed to make my film. I wasnt a spy that was giving information about people, saying, Bomb there, or whatever. I was just in a village with this family to understand, psychologically, how a kid can grow up in this environment. I didnt criticize. I just captured moments that can answer questions for the audience and for me. What questions did it answer for you? What do you understand now that you didnt understand before you shot the film? Who these people are. What their motivation is. What the keys are. How we can prevent this from happening in the future. What the circle of violence is. And what the legacy of war is and what they believe in, the mythology behind their beliefs. I call it mythology; they call it Gods law. So all of this about who these people are, whats happening in closed rooms, how a person becomes a terrorist. This is how we can dismantle it. This is a war against ideology, not against specific people or groups. They dont have names. They get killed because they ask for it. This is their quest, to be killed for Allah. To be a martyr. Then a new generation continues and a new generation, etcetera, etcetera. So my question was, How can I capture the motivation that makes them capable of bringing people to their side? And what is that motivation? There are many things, but I believe the status of education in the Third World is the most dangerous thing. The violence in schools, violence in houses all of this can lead people, at some point, to carry weapons. We cant make people not believe. People need belief because its the hope for what happens after death. We cant get rid of religion. But what we can do is take the violence out of religion, out of society. When you grow up in a way where there are strict laws against harming children in schools, that anyone who breaks that law can go to court, even if theyre their parents, then you can be sure that, slowly, slowly, if chaos happens in the country, people wont carry weapons. Theyll be against violence because thats how they grew up. How hard was it to go back and forth from being at the front and being at your new home in Berlin? It was really bad. Very scary. Especially when I was back in Berlin. I was a shadow, a ghost of a person. When you have a percentage that its possible youll get killed, you cannot be satisfied. You cant be fine with it. Even if you know youre in Europe or in one month you can go to Europe, still, maybe something bad can happen to you. Now that the shooting is over, even though it was two years ago, Im still recovering. It changed me totally, this film. I will never do something like this again. I dont have the power to take that risk again. Because this kind of risk its not that Im on the front line. I have a skill for that, filming and knowing, Theres a sniper. Theres a bullet. Theres a bomb. Thats easier, actually, compared to the fear that somebody can arrest you and do very bad things to you, and you live with that somebody. [Rolls up right shirtsleeve to reveal a tattoo of rings around his wrist.] I got this tattoo so I wouldnt go back. Because tattoos are forbidden and if they saw it, theyd know you werent really religious? Yeah. I knew it was the only way to prevent myself from going back and being in real danger. Did al-Nusra ever come close to figuring out that you were lying? No. Never. Even after filming, he communicated with me Abu Osama after the end of filming. I was at Sundance in a fellowship program in 2017 and I told him, Please dont contact me again because the German secret service, theyre investigating me about being in Syria. I have to block all your accounts, you and your friends, until everything goes away. And he said, Yes, yes, Abu Youssef this was my nickname dont worry. Write me; call me when you feel safe. I never called him. And I heard that he was just killed. The 17th of October of this year. Two, three weeks ago. Oh, wow, Abu Osama just died? Yes. He was dismantling a car bomb. Theres a video. Someone was filming him from his mobile at the moment he was bombed. Have you watched the video? I watched the video. Its far away, but its clear what happened. Are you worried, now that the movies public, that people from al-Nusra are going to come after you? There are people I dont know who send me bad things, promising something, threatening me. Two of his brothers are threatening me, and some people I dont know. Some people suddenly sent me messages theyre jihadists they say, You dont have a right to publish this. Are you worried about that? Im worried, yeah. I stopped doing interviews in Arabic. Have you taken security precautions? Do you have a bodyguard or something? No, no. That wouldnt help. Not with them. That would be for neighbors or people in your area they can stop them. But these people, if they want to do something They do it. They do it. And, at the same time, I dont want to live in fear. Im a filmmaker. Im an artist. Freedom, for me, is the most valuable thing. To have a bodyguard? To have police at your door? Its the worst thing you can ever have. I want to talk about a specific scene. Theres a part where a group of young boys create a makeshift bomb and start playing around with it This was usual. As a filmmaker, you always have this judgment inside: Are you a witness, or a person who should do something, should be active? I usually asked them to not do it, but at some point, I said, Okay, I have to film it. Because it happens all the time. People should know. When you have a father like this, what can his kids play with? What are their toys? That said, I asked them to put it in a plastic bottle, instead of a glass bottle, to make it less strong. Filming it was really my adrenaline rose more than in any other scene. Its a game for kids in this village. For me, it was a moment when I said, I have to do this. I have to put this in the film. Because people should know. This is what the film is about. What was the moment during filming when you were most frightened? I mean, there were many moments. I can tell you that the whole period was very scary, especially the last year, when I started filming in the camp. Oh, you mean the al-Nusra training camp where the young boys are sent to? Yes, the camp with the boys. I wasnt living with the family anymore. I was living with a warrior, a fighter, a jihadist, someone I didnt know. I had to be really certain about waking up and praying in the morning, how to present myself. People would come and ask me questions about my background, about what I do. I always had to be aware and present myself correctly. A simple mistake could destroy everything. When the boys are at the training camp, the instructor keeps firing a rifle right next to them to teach them not to be afraid. Did you ever see one of the boys get hit by a bullet? No, no. At least where I was, it didnt happen. But that was happening often. Nothing bad happened that I saw. But it can be. I tried, in most of the film, to not show direct violence. Only when they kill the sheep. Right, the scene where they ritually slaughter a sheep. Why did you choose to put that in there? Because there should be a moment when blood comes out. This is a moment where they are sacrificing, and sacrificing is the main idea of the film. The father is sacrificing his sons, even when he shows love to them. How has the movie been received in the Arab world? Its been received well, actually. Film festivals there are small and connected to people who understand this illness in society, and they know this is a deep critique of our society. Not only to jihad but to the mentality of fathers, of masculine power. Its a dictatorship, the masculine power of fathers in our society. But do you think youll go back when the war is over? No. Me, personally? No. I made a lot of enemies because of my films, and those enemies are dangerous. And life is short, you know? You cannot change anything. Im 40 years old, and I dont want to end in a tragic way. What are you working on right now? Im producing a documentary, a Syrian documentary film, for my friend. Its an interesting project. Well talk about it soon. And also I want to write a script, fiction. I have something in my mind and want to do it. About Syria? Not about Syria. I told you, Im still recovering. I work in mythology. I do epic films. The Return to Homs, Of Fathers and Sons, and the upcoming film, its about mythology. Its about people who are really special, in a way. How do you find hope? There are moments when I play with my son and feel like, This is eternity. We run. We play. I look at his smile. We look at nature. I dont know about hope, but we need to keep struggling because we exist and we deserve better. A human has this brain, and he can make a world better than this one. He can make things easier, make less tragedy in our lives. Without hope, without dreams, without plans if you dont have a plan, youll surrender and be lost. You wont take any steps farther. You wont change anything. This is the meaning of struggle: hope. Of Fathers and Sons was nominated for an Oscar in 2019 for Best Documentary Feature. Photo: Courtesy of Sony Pictures The best thing about the film The Front Runner is that it gives Gary Hart, the Colorado senator and 1984 and 88 presidential candidate, a measure of dignity, and todays audiences a historical context in which to view his missteps. Not that Hart (played onscreen by Hugh Jackman) was a martyr: In the movie, he comes off as an excruciatingly limited man, unable to rise to the occasion when his infidelities are exposed. (Rise to the occasion, heh-heh. Hugh Jack-man, heh-heh. Gary Hart brings out ones inner Beavis. I remember David Lettermans Top Ten Gary Hart Pick-Up Lines: Can a Kennedyesque kind of guy buy you a drink? Ever seen a front runner naked?) Where was I? Oh, yes: a measure of dignity. The buzz saw Hart walked into in 88 hadnt existed before he was photographed on the deck of a yacht called, of all things, Monkey Business, with a young woman named Donna Rice on his lap. (Q: Wheres the beef? A: Its in the rice!) Until that moment, reporters who fancied themselves legitimate looked the other way when male candidates had illicit trysts. The question hangs over the movie: Was that journalistic abstinence a good or bad thing? Theres no firm answer, but the director, Jason Reitman, certainly has his biases. Based on a fine, sympathetic exhumation called All the Truth Is Out by Matt Bai (who co-wrote the screenplay with Jay Carson and Reitman), The Front Runner gets off to a lively start. Reitman has plainly studied the wonderful Robert AltmanGarry Trudeau mini-series Tanner 88, and in early scenes does a passable Altman imitation, his frames packed with people talking over one another while being careful to spoon-feed us with not very Altman-like close-ups. We watch the candidate resist his team (led by J.K. Simmonss Bill Dixon) as they attempt to squeeze him into more traditional molds: Hart thinks hes too serious, too issue-oriented, too real to strike game-show host poses, while his people just think that the personal isnt his comfort zone. We watch the news staff of the Washington Post (led by an unlikely Alfred Molina as Ben Bradlee) muse on the state of Harts on-again-off-again marriage. And we watch the Miami Heralds Tom Fiedler (Steve Zissis) fume over being kept in the reporters pool while the WaPos A.J. Parker (Mamoudou Athie) gets a rare one-on-one on a plane with Hart. Its Fiedler who stakes out Harts Washington townhouse after overhearing Harts indignant invitation to Parker to follow me around, put a tail on me if Parker doubts Harts marital fidelity. Which means that for all the reporters high-minded talk about journalistic responsibility, The Front Runner roots Harts comeuppance in a schlubby scribes resentment. Not a surprise, really: Reitman, like most showbiz children of extreme privilege (his father, Ivan, directed Ghostbusters and other hit comedies), will always take the side of the attractive and wealthy liar over the schlubs peering through the window wanting in. (His first film, Thank You for Smoking, took the side of a tobacco-company PR guy, which Reitman knew would make him seem edgy. He would probably remake Columbo with Columbo as the bad guy.) His contempt for journalists is in every frame (watch them envelop Sara Paxtons poor Donna Rice) and in how often they use self-serving language to justify diving into the muck. Reitman gives his game away in the climactic sequence in which Parker whom weve seen being gently and expertly comforted by Hart during a panic attack on the campaign plane does a Judas Iscariot turn as he debates whether to ask Hart a question in front of the national press corps that he suspects will be the killing blow. He looks at his pad. He suffers. He suffers some more. Then he earns his 30 pieces of silver. Reitman is canny, though: He knows how to protect himself in the age of #MeToo from seeming too much on the side of an older male taking sexual advantage of a woman who wants a job on his campaign. Reitman gives Ari Graynor as the WaPos Ann Devroy an excellent speech in which she bites the head off A.J. Parker for wondering aloud whether Harts affairs are anyone elses business: Hart, she says, is a man with power and opportunity, and journalists ought to care about his patterns of behavior. Vera Farmiga as Harts wife Lee and Kaitlyn Dever as his daughter, Andrea, are even stronger female counterweights. Its a mighty moment when the superb Farmiga trains those pale eyes (which chill and cut) on Jackmans Hart and tells him to take full responsibility for his deed instead of decrying the gutter press yet again: You carry it, she says, so I dont have to. The Front Runner gets tons of mileage from its smart, energetic actors from Jackman, Farmiga, and Simmons to Paxton, Zissis, Molly Ephraim, Alex Karpovsky, Kevin Pollak, and others. But its greatest strength is that, however much contempt Reitman has for the press, he and his co-screenwriters havent made up their collective mind about their protagonist. They make it clear that Hart was unlucky in his timing: A decade earlier and reporters would have kept their distance; a decade later and hed either have been more discreet or had a crisis team on hand. Maybe Harts personal integrity worked against him, too: He couldnt brazen it out like those libertines and alleged sexual predators Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. But when Lee says, You carry it, and Hart cant, he seems like the weakest man on earth. In the movies eloquent final shot, the screen is split in two: On one side, a TV on which a politician announces that hes leaving the field, on the other, a man in submission to a woman whom he has publicly betrayed. The Front Runner is serious business so serious that theres no place for breezier speculation about Harts bad habits. Id have liked to hear more, for example, about Warren Beatty, with whom Hart became friends while running George McGoverns 1972 campaign. Beattys name does come up once: Hes quoted as saying that the paparazzi are expected to follow showbiz celebrities but not politicians. But I know people who think Harts undoing can be traced to a decision to keep up with the most legendary Hollywood swordsman after Errol Flynn. Trying to match Beatty with women was like trying to match Keith Richards with drugs: You went down hard. But at least Hart is alive to see his own biopic. And still married, too. You are here: World Flash Two police officers escorting British Prime Minister Theresa May and Belgium's Charles Michel were flung to the ground after an accident on a motorway in Belgium, local media reported Friday. The incident happened as May and Michel were travelling from a remembrance event at St. Symphorien Military Cemetery in southern Belgian city of Mons, ahead of the centenary of the end of the First World War on Sunday. Two police motorcycles were knocked over by a car in the collision, and the officers were taken to hospital. Michel's spokesman described the incident as an "unfortunate accident", according to Belgian newspaper De Standaard. DECATUR, Ala. (AP) - A third man has been convicted in the 2013 death of an Alabama man during a burglary attempt. News outlets reported a jury in Morgan County on Thursday convicted 29-year-old Charles Makekau of murder. Makekau was charged in the shooting death of 21-year-old James Patrick Travers II at his home in Decatur. He will be sentenced next month. Two other men are already serving prison sentences for their roles in the death. Ryan Caudle pleaded guilty to murder in 2016. Dewayne Hicks was convicted earlier this year. District Attorney Scott Anderson says he's pleased with the jury decision. Police say Travers was killed as he tried to get away. Anderson says Makekau was not there when Travers was shot but had been indicted as a co-conspirator. DOTHAN, Ala. (AP) - A federal judge says an officer in Alabama was justified when she shot and killed a man she and another officer were fighting in 2014. The Dothan Eagle reported U.S. District Judge Emily Marks ruled that former Dothan animal services officer Adrianne Woodruff did not violate the rights of Robert Lawrence when she shot him after he grabbed her stun gun. Lawrence's family sued Woodruff and others. A federal magistrate had recommended that Woodruff should not qualify for immunity for her actions. But Marks said in a ruling Thursday the officer's actions were not objectively unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Marks said Lawrence initiated the fight and grabbed Woodruff's stun gun as he fought Woodruff and another officer. There was no word yet on whether Lawrence's family will appeal. ___ Information from: The Dothan Eagle, http://www.dothaneagle.com "It's just a good feeling....unexplainable," said Roosevelt Stone. Until Friday, Roosevelt Stone took the shuttle to work on weekdays and walked one hour on the weekends. Sometimes that meant walking through the rain and the cold. His dedication to get to work is why Veterans of North Alabama chose to give him his own 2001 Mercury Mountaineer. "He's proven to us that he is truly trying to get on his feet," said Jane Dow, the president of Veterans of North Alabama. Roosevelt Stone said he served in the Army from 1976 to 1983. He's worked with Veterans of North Alabama to help deliver furniture to other veterans in need, and he's always ready to help. "Anytime ya'll need me for anything, just call on me," said Stone. Veterans of North Alabama said it tries to give a car to a veteran in need twice a year. They're now asking for car donations for next Spring. WAAY 31 heard from a woman who's been fighting to get her fiance released from immigration custody. Next week, she's taking a trip to where he's being held, to make a life changing decision. Kayla Bradley's kids haven't seen their father in three months, but she's doing everything she can to bring him back home. Kayla Bradley and Cristian de Leon; Photos courtesy of Kayla Bradley Kayla Bradley and Cristian de Leon; Photos courtesy of Kayla Bradley "When I put her to bed every night, she says to me, 'I just want my daddy to come home,' and she'll just start to cry these big, you know how kids do, they have that ugly cry face," Bradley said. She says her fiance, Cristian de Leon, was taken into custody by immigration customs enforcement agents back in August when he was arrested after a car accident. She said he's being detained at a facility in Louisiana, and it's been three months since she's seen him. "Go there, get the marriage license. Gotta wait 24 hours and then we're going to get married on Wednesday at 10 a.m.," Bradley said. She is hoping their marriage will help de Leon's case. She said he came to the country legally on a visa but at some point, he didn't renew it. Now they have to fill out a form called an I-130, which will allow him to apply for a visa without having to go back to Guatemala. "I-130 and then the bond appeal. His chances are big of getting out but at the same time, we're just not sure," Bradley said. He has a court date at the end of the month where his lawyer will try to get him out. Bradley said she's excited to see her fiance next week, but she's not going to be ready to say goodbye. "I don't want to have to leave him there. It's the painful thing about going," she said. Flash China on Friday rejected the false allegation that "China had been monitoring the African Union building", urging the relevant news organization to objectively report facts instead of fabricating lies. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks during a daily news briefing when asked for comments on a German media report published on Thursday that accused China of "installing listening equipment at the headquarters of the African Union building" and "intending to increase political influence by assisting African countries." She said such lies had already been refuted by leaders of African countries. "The African people know best and are in the best position to say whether China-Africa cooperation is good or not," Hua said. She said that during the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in September and during the 73rd UN General Assembly, many African leaders publicly refuted the accusation that China-Africa cooperation has increased the continent's debt burden. They believe that China's support and assistance is not attached to any political conditions and does not interfere in their internal affairs, adding that China is the most reliable partner for the development and revitalization of African countries, Hua added. Former President of the German Parliament Norbert Lammert visited Namibia not long ago and expressed his concerns about the rising influence of China in the African nation. However, Namibian President Hage Geingob said the concern that other countries have about Chinese influence in Namibia is "annoying". Hua, referring to the president's words, said the international community "should not underestimate Africa's intelligence." The spokesperson also expressed confidence that media organizations would correct their attitudes and objectively report on the cooperation between China and African countries, instead of ignoring the fundamental facts and fabricating lies, or "it would only damage their own credibility". Christmas in Love (Hallmark at 8) A city CEO visits a small-town bakery intent on changing everything about the business but then falls in love and becomes the one who gets changed. Hard Pass: You and your husband need to find one excuse (sorry, make that reason) to miss this wedding, and stick with it. Piling on various (completely valid) reasons to miss this wedding makes it seem as if you are trying to create a smokescreen. (Do you want to go without your husband? If so, then attend, but understand that this will not satisfy his family.) Flash Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe and US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met in Washington for a postponed security dialogue on Friday. The two sides discussed a series of issues including military ties, the South China Sea, Taiwan as well as the Korean Peninsula. Beijing said the US side postponed the second round of the China-US Diplomatic and Security Dialogue earlier last month. Wei said a series of consensuses reached between President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump is the strategic guide for bilateral ties. The two sides should handle military ties properly, strengthen strategic communication and increase mutual trust, and work together to avoid conflicts. Mattis agreed with Wei that the two sides should work on building stable military ties and a stable relationship is always a goal of the US side. He said the US has no intention of containing China, and that he hopes the two militaries could make full use of the existing dialogue mechanism to communicate and strengthen crisis management and avoid misunderstanding and misjudgment. The increase in the graduation rate since June reflects, in part, students who earned their diplomas in the summer. City employees also worked to track down seniors who were no longer enrolled in school to determine whether they had dropped out or had enrolled in another school system or charter school. If students had enrolled elsewhere, their absence was not reflected in the graduation rate. Local school board members, who have the power to make changes, usually campaign on their credentials rather than on plans to help children learn. That may be a blessing because some of the most productive recent educational changes, such as the growth of demanding charter schools and the opening of college-level courses to more high school students, have been the work of energetic teachers, not politicians. Raskin is one of several Democrats from Maryland and Virginia, together with District Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), who are in line for key positions in the House now that they will be in the majority. They will play important roles on committees responsible for investigating the Trump administration and overseeing federal employees, mass transit and the Justice Department. Terwilliger, who has won many allies in his 10-year Justice Department career with a cheerful demeanor and indefatigable work ethic, thanked all three in his remarks. He earned a rare laugh from Whitaker with an allusion to Rosensteins embattled tenure, joking that when he first became chief of staff, back then, everybody loved Rod. Todays Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. Email address By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Driver sentenced for causing church bus crash that killed 13: A driver has been sentenced to 55 years in prison for causing a Texas church bus crash that killed 13 people. Jack Dillon Young, 21, of Leakey, Tex., was sentenced Friday after pleading no contest on May 31 to 13 counts of intoxication manslaughter and one count of intoxication assault. He had faced up to 270 years in prison after a three-day sentencing hearing. Prosecutors said Young was driving his pickup while under the influence of a prescription sedative and had smoked marijuana before the colliding with a church bus in March 2017 on U.S. 83 near Uvalde, about 75 miles west of San Antonio. Thousand Oaks is grappling with dual tragedies that struck within hours of each other, taking on more trauma and grief than a place could or should bear. After the shooting at Borderline, a popular country music bar, many residents said they stayed up late, waiting to hear news. They went to bed physically and emotionally exhausted Thursday, only to be waked in the middle of the night by the blare of emergency alerts from their phones and frantic knocks at the door from neighbors. They needed to get out, they were told. In Malibu, film and television producer Ben Rosenblatt, 35, took one look at the approaching fire and knew he had to get out fast. He had just enough time to walk the dog first. There arent many ways in and out of Malibu, with the roads that wind up through the canyons impassable because of fire. That left the Pacific Coast Highway, where traffic moved at a crawl. The drive to Santa Monica should have taken him 35 minutes, but the navigation app on his phone said it would be 2 hours 35 minutes. You are here: World Flash The scheduled meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump during the G20 summit in Argentina had great significance, said a senior Chinese official in Washington on Friday. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a press conference following the second China-U.S. Diplomatic and Security Dialogue. China and the United States should strengthen communication and keep close coordination with elaborate preparations to ensure that the important meeting will yield positive results, Yang added. Yang co-chaired the dialogue with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe participated in the dialogue. Floods kill 9 in Jordan, force visitors to high ground in Petra: Flash floods caused by heavy rain across Jordan killed eight people and forced hundreds of tourists to seek higher ground in the kingdom's ancient city of Petra, government officials and official media said. About two dozen people were hurt and dozens more evacuated from their homes in several areas of the kingdom as floodwaters rose. Amateur video posted online showed a powerful torrent rushing through the steep, narrow canyon through which visitors reach the Treasury, the main attraction of Petra, an ancient trading hub carved from rose-colored rock. Friday's floods came just two weeks after 21 people, many of them middle school students, were killed in a flash flood near the Jordanian shore of the Dead Sea. Flash Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Friday that the overseas Chinese community has contributed greatly to the development of Malaysia and other parts of the world. In his keynote address at the World Chinese Economic Forum, Mahathir said the Chinese community was a peaceful one that focused its energies on new technology, development and wealth creation. Mahathir praised the Chinese community's ability to adapt to any challenging condition, taking example from how Chinese-run shops in Malaysia were consolidated into shopping malls from those along the streets. Mahathir also praised the contributions of the Chinese community for being key to his country's wealth creation through their enterprising spirit. "Somehow they have the knack of creating wealth wherever they go, they are business oriented people and they know how to deal with money and business. "Malaysia fully appreciates their contribution to the development of Malaysia," he said. 2020 is the obvious next step for ORourke. Cornyn has already announced that he intends to run for reelection. But he is one of the least popular top-tier statewide officials in Texas; in June 2018, before the Brett M. Kavanaugh hearings and the election environment gave his ratings a boost, his positive job approval among Republicans was only 46 percent, 28 percentage points lower than Cruzs, according to a University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Cornyns relatively soft support among the GOP base, coupled with presidential year turnout among Democrats, makes Cornyn appear less formidable in 2020 than Cruz in 2018. Should ORourke instead choose to exit the stage or wait for the next round of elections for state government in 2022 the assets Democrats gained this year may well dissipate. His most recent arrest came on Nov. 28, 2016, this time on charges of illegally providing information to foreigners and possessing secret documents. The evidence was thin and absurd: He posted something citing a document from a local government official indicating plans for a crackdown on his website, and the posting was on a server that is situated overseas to prevent government hacking. His 85-year-old mother, Pu Wenqing, who has campaigned tirelessly for his release, says the information was fabricated to frame him. Mr. Huang has been held in pretrial detention for nearly two years; a planned trial this summer was canceled. He told his mother that he has been beaten by inmates and prison officials, interrogated endlessly and threatened with a long prison term if he did not confess. According to the website China Change, he told them that instead of a confession, they would get his dead body. And so it comes to this. With midterm ballots still to count, President Trump has compelled Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign, his only apparent rationale his pique arising from Mr. Sessionss proper recusal from oversight of the Russia probe. Time will tell whether Mr. Trumps action is obstruction of justice in plain public view. His elevation of Matthew G. Whitaker, whose own public statements demand recusal from supervising the special counsels investigation, to acting attorney general, is perhaps dispositive. Many questions nag: Will Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein be sacked? How will career Justice Department officials respond to Mr. Trumps meddling? Will the Trump administration honor probable subpoenas from the special counsel or from the new Congresss oversight committees? Will a Supreme Court with two Trump appointees respect the precedent of U.S. v. Nixon? Will Republican elected officials gainsay Mr. Trump or opt for studious inaction as the nation potentially lurches toward constitutional crisis and banana-republic governance? The GOPs recent conduct does not inspire confidence for any thinking citizen. It is for all of these reasons that Black Voters Matter has been saying, ever since Democrat Doug Joness surprise 2017 victory in Alabama, that the South is rising. We arent echoing that old line about the South trying to rise again rather, we see a new South in which black voters, along with other voters of color and progressive white voters, are reshaping not only political realities but also political possibilities. Whitaker has told officials he served in a limited capacity as an outside legal adviser to the company and provided occasional advice when asked but that he was not part of the day-to-day operations, according to a Justice Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. Day by day, the outlook for Democrats in the House has improved. At the offices of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, already high spirits have been rising all week as more races fell into the partys column. One joke that has been making the rounds there goes like this: This is actually turning out to be more of a Hanukkah than a Christmas election, meaning day after day of gifts, rather than just one. The fact that the blue wall reasserted itself again yielded some of the 2020 candidates an argument to say, I have the ability to appeal to Rust Belt voters, and thats the path to victory. And I think theyll get a fair hearing on that, said Brian Fallon, a Democratic consultant who served as Hillary Clintons press secretary in 2016. But I tend to still think that activists in Iowa will still go where their heart leads them, and wont necessarily make some sort of pragmatic decision about who can appeal to Obama-Trump voters. They are more likely to gravitate to the candidate that most inspires them. Gillum said he was dispatching hundreds of volunteers and lawyers across the state to make sure the count is fair and accurate. The outcome of the election, Gillum said, will have consequences beyond who wins and who loses. How we handle this election and this process will have reverberations for democracy for an entire generation of voters. Whitaker, who served as U.S. attorney from 2004 to 2009, announced the case against McCoy with much fanfare, alleging that the senator had used his office to extort about $2,000 from a local company that installed motion sensors in the homes of senior citizens to monitor their health. Prosecutors alleged that McCoy leveraged his position as a senator to demand a $100 commission on each unit. Pelosi plays her cards close. The moment of truth for those in her party who would not like to see her as speaker will come soon. As early as this week there could be a better indication of just how real the threat to her bid for speaker is. At this point, there is no challenger who has stepped forward, only names bandied about. Her allies continue to express near-total confidence that she will prevail. The coming days will reveal whether she underestimates the desire for new leadership in a new House. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman, celebrate a projected Democratic takeover of the House on Tuesday in Washington. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images) An ambitious crop of younger Democrats are reaping the spoils of victory in the House. After years of grumbling about House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosis hold on power, the new majority has opened up leadership posts with real responsibility, and the next generation is seizing this moment. More than a dozen Democrats have launched bids for six leadership positions, with almost every contender a junior lawmaker who has served fewer than four terms. Most of these Democrats have never been in the majority, but they have all viewed themselves as heirs to the trio who have run the caucus for almost 16 years. With a fresh majority, they have a chance to claim lower-level leadership posts that have some actual power. The question for Pelosi is whether this new dynamic might also help relieve the pressure on Pelosi and her top lieutenants, Reps. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) and James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.). All three are looking to grab the top three positions speaker, majority leader, majority whip in the face of resistance from some internal Democratic critics. Those rebels continue to try to find a way to topple Pelosi, but their biggest problem is the lack of any challenger so far in the Democratic vote, slated for Nov. 28. These wealthy neighborhoods delivered Democrats the House majority A precinct-level analysis of 2018 House races shows high-income suburban voters backed Democrats in key races. Once 10-term Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) lost his primary in June, the field of potential Democratic leaders quickly lost gravitas. Pelosis Democratic opponents scramble to organize the resistance Instead, the up-and-coming Democrats are scrambling for positions that will give them the chance to impress colleagues and then run for the top spots once Pelosi, 78, Hoyer, 79, and Clyburn, 78, inevitably head off to retirement. Im running for this leadership position because, as someone who comes from a district that voted for Donald Trump, I live and breathe this every day of my congressional career, Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) said Friday in a statement launching her bid to chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The most effective way I can improve the lives of hard-working Americans is by helping secure our new Democratic majority. Bustos, 57, just got elected to serve her fourth term in a somewhat rural district in western Illinois. A former reporter and editor for the Quad-City Times, she has been widely seen as one of the partys most effective communicators, particularly on economic issues relating to middle-class wage stagnation. But theres no such thing as a free pass, so Bustos is probably squaring off against a pair of Washington Democrats, Reps. Denny Heck, 66, and Suzan DelBene, 56, who have held deputy positions at the caucuss political arm the past few years. All three contenders were first elected to Congress in 2012. These were not wallflowers. These were not people who were content to be backbenchers, former congressman Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) said. As chairman of the DCCC in 2012 and 2014, Israel helped recruit those three and knows many of the other relative newcomers in leadership races. At least one Democrat is angling for one of the top spots as 61-year-old Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.) is challenging Clyburn for majority whip. Two other key contests are for assistant Democratic leader and the chairman of the Democratic Caucus. Pelosi created the first position after the 2010 midterms threw Democrats out of the majority, giving Clyburn a soft landing because the minority traditionally has one fewer leadership position. Know the power to win: Pelosi engineers a House Democratic comeback Hes running for his old job of majority whip, creating a contest to replace him as assistant leader that will test the ideological and political geographic bounds of the caucus: Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (N.M.) vs. Rep. David N. Cicilline (R.I.). Lujan, 46, is coming off a four-year run as DCCC chairman, from the disappointing 2016 election to Tuesdays romp over Republicans. Cicilline, 57, is a senior member of the Progressive Caucus, co-chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus and two years ago won election as co-chair of a policy committee. The caucus chair contest is a generational clash within the Congressional Black Caucus: 72-year-old Rep. Barbara Lee (Calif.), a 20-year veteran, against 48-year-old Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), first elected in 2012. Pelosi does not wield the same clout inside the caucus as she did eight years ago, so she is focused entirely on her own bid to lock down the votes to become the first person to return to the speakers rostrum since 1955. That means these down-ballot races are even more wide open, unlike in previous post-election seasons of defeat and recrimination. After those losses, Pelosi would tamp down rebellion by creating new leadership posts, some of which had real clout, some of which were just window dressing. The biggest wild card, for the speaker election and other posts, will probably be the incoming freshman class, which will at least number 54. Thats about 20 percent of the vote in the secret-ballot races. We keep our word, we keep our promises, and I hope people find that refreshing, Rep.-elect Jason Crow (D-Colo.) told The Washington Posts Mike DeBonis on Thursday in insisting he wont vote for Pelosi. Crow and several others pledged during their campaigns not to back Pelosi. Its unclear how many will vote against her during the internal vote later this month and then say that they have to vote for her in the public roll call Jan. 3 in the full House, rather than do anything to help Republicans. A final spoil of victory are committee assignments, which grow substantially for the majority party. Only 14 Democrats are returning next year who currently serve on the Ways and Means Committee, the panel that oversees health, trade and tax issues. The next speaker will be able to add about 10 new members to that committee. There will be about 10 more spots, combined, on the powerful Appropriations and Energy and Commerce committees. Pelosi will no doubt try to win over holdouts with promises of support for getting those lawmakers onto the key committees of their choice. Should she win, however, even close allies believe that she wont remain speaker for long. Israel said that once these junior Democrats get into the somewhat powerful leadership posts, they will soon view the top posts as theirs for the taking. This group will be content in these lower-level spots for the time being, he said. Those positions will be steppingstones. Read more from Paul Kanes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. He said he and Taylor had participated in several missions together, often talking about the war and their lives. Several weeks ago, they were chatting when Rahmani received a call from home. The children were making noise, and Rahmani started shouting. When he hung up, he said, Taylor asked him to speak more gently. The Peace Forum was intended a bit as a counterpoint to America First, Wright said, referring to Trumps nationalist foreign policy in which he has unsettled allies on trade and defense. Now they have this weird situation of Trump being there [in Paris] but the forum going against everything he and [National Security Adviser John] Bolton stand for. . . . My impression is that hes going to pretend like its not happening. But those interviewed said the decision is unlikely to rein in the coalition unless firmer action is taken. Nor will it alone change the trajectory of Yemens war, they said, or its growing humanitarian crisis, which now includes more than 14 million people on the brink of famine more than half of Yemens population. The problem isnt with the phrasing, you go to war and you come back and youre not the same that is true, you come back and youre not the same, said Kayla M. Williams, a former Army sergeant and senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. The concern I have is the idea that you come back more likely to be a mass shooter. That is not the case. Rajapaksa remains a popular figure in Sri Lanka for his role in ending the civil war. But the prospect of him returning to a leadership role in the country is a bleak one for human rights activists and many Tamils in the countrys north. Critics accuse him of human rights violations and of using intimidation to silence opponents. Rajapaksa also enabled the expansion of Chinese influence in Sri Lanka in the form of major infrastructure projects. THE FAVOURITE The story: A lady (Rachel Weisz) and a servant (Emma Stone) jockey for the favor of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) in early 18th century England. Working for it: Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Dogtooth), The Favourite subverts the historical costume drama at every step, brandishing a stinging wit and joyful decadence. Backstabbing has never been more fun to watch. Working against it: It's Lanthimos' most accessible film, but that doesn't mean everyone will be into his idiosyncratic flourishes. Anyone who found Downton Abbey to be occasionally a bit on the naughty side will be poleaxed by this. Released: December 26. A still from Alfonso Cuaron's Roma. ROMA The story: A quiet young woman (Yalitza Aparicio) becomes pregnant while caring for a wealthy family in a changing Mexico City during the early 1970s. Working for it: Alfonso Cuaron's (Gravity, Children of Men) achingly beautiful tribute to the women who cared for him in his youth floored festival audiences in Venice, Telluride, Toronto and London. Once they begin handing out prizes, look for critics groups to coalesce around Cuaron's movie. They might even create new awards just to find more ways to celebrate it. Working against it: It's a foreign language (Spanish and Mixtec) movie shot (by Cuaron) in (shimmering!) black and white and released by Netflix. And because it's Netflix, we have no idea how many people will be watching it in a theatres (absolutely essential for this film) as opposed to viewing Roma's opening four-minute shot of soapy mop water undulating across a stone driveway on their laptops and then switching over to Queer Eye. Screening at Cine Latino Film Festival, November 12-December 16; Streaming on Netflix from December 14. IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK The story: Childhood friends Tish (KiKi Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James) become lovers, but their bond is tested when Fonny is falsely accused of rape. Working for it: Barry Jenkins' follow-up to the Oscar-winning best picture Moonlight earned raves at its Toronto premiere for its sensitive and potent adaptation of James Baldwin's novel (and was the runner-up, along with Roma, to Green Book for Toronto's People's Choice prize). In its depiction of black love - between a man and a woman, between friends, between family, between community members - Beale Street feels as necessary as its predecessor. Working against it: After Moonlight, expectations could burden this movie, which gorgeously unfolds in a nonlinear approach that could prove off-putting to older academy members averse to flashbacks of the non-acid variety. Released: February 14. Viola Davis and Cynthia Erivo in Widows. Credit:MERRICK MORTON WIDOWS The story: Women, led by Viola Davis, carry out a robbery that their husbands planned but never completed. (The film's title betrays the reason why.) Working for it: Steve McQueen's first film since 12 Years a Slave is easily his most commercial effort. But it's no mere heist movie. Widows takes on toxic men, a broken political system, the widening chasm between the privileged and the poor and a world in which anything - and anyone - can be bought and sold. All these elements are baked into a crowd-pleasing thriller that has been producing gasps and cheers at academy and guild screenings in recent weeks. Working against it: Could disappoint those itching for a pure heist movie. And its genre trappings could dissuade some from voting for it. Released: November 22. Christian Bale stars as Dick Cheney in Vice. Credit:Greig Fraser / Annapurna Picture VICE The story: Dick Cheney becomes the most powerful vice president in US history, promising to handle the "more mundane jobs" of George W. Bush's presidency, such as "overseeing bureaucracy, military, energy and foreign policy". Working for it: Writer-director Adam McKay won an Oscar two years ago for The Big Short, his scathing, freewheeling indictment of Wall Street and regulatory irresponsibility. The idea of McKay training his moral outrage toward Cheney and Bush will have many in Hollywood sharpening their pitchforks with glee. Working against it: For some, a tax audit notice would be preferable to a movie centred on politics, much less Cheney. Also: Its late arrival - the movie won't begin screening in the US until mid-November - will have it scrambling for traction with voters. In other words, it'd better deliver. Released: December 26. Margot Robbie stars as Queen Elizabeth I in Mary, Queen of Scots. Credit:Parisa Tag MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS The story: Mary Stuart, queen of Scotland, and her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, vie for the English throne. Working for it: Two Oscar-nominated actresses - Saoirse Ronan in the title role and Margot Robbie playing Elizabeth - plus a nuanced exploration of what it means to be a woman in power. Working against it: It's more conventional than The Favourite and may suffer by comparison when critics' groups gravitate toward Lanthimos' film. Released: January 17. ON THE BASIS OF SEX The story: Biopic of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (played by Felicity Jones) centres on a landmark case focused on gender discrimination. Working for it: The commercial success of the extraordinary Ginsburg documentary RBG shows there's an appetite for this kind of film. Working against it: RBG might have satisfied that appetite, making this movie redundant. FEBRUARY 7 Clint Eastwood in The Mule. The story: True tale of an elderly man (Clint Eastwood) who becomes a prolific drug courier for a Mexican cartel. Of the 18 possible proposals explored for the redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial, 17 did not include the demolition of Anzac Hall, according to the head of Australia's peak architecture industry body. The only proposal to include the demolition of the 17-year-old award-winning building was chosen, Australian Institute of Architects president Clare Cousins said. Denton Corker Marshall design director Adrian FitzGerald, Australian Institute of Architects president Clare Cousins and radio personality Tim Ross have called on the Australian War Memorial to abandon the plan to demolish Anzac Hall. Credit:Fiona Benson Ms Cousins said the information was revealed to her during a meeting with war memorial director Brendan Nelson and other stakeholders. Ms Cousins said Dr Nelson informed her that at least one of the other plans was cheaper than the chosen proposal. They enrolled in the same degree at university, graduated with honours together, answered the call to fight in World War I and lost their lives on the same French battlefront on the same day. Queensland diggers Walde Gerard Fisher and Charles Robertson Wonderley died in 1918 and their stories were uncovered by the University of Queensland to mark the centenary of the Armistice. Queensland WWI diggers Walde Fisher and Charles Wonderley died on the same day in the Amiens region in France. Credit:UQ Fryer Library (left) & Australian War Memorial (right) UQ archivist Bruce Ibsen said their first interactions took place at inter-school sporting matches because Mr Fisher attended Ipswich Grammar and Mr Wonderley went to Toowoomba Grammar. "They were two people marching towards their fate in a parallel fashion," he said. "And to appreciate what people do and the courage they show in times of crisis." The two semi-retired educators said they were grateful to both police and private citizens who tried to stop the attacker on Friday. "I went up to the police today and shook their hands and said 'I appreciate what you do'," Mrs Page said. Both women are from the Gold Coast and were on holidays. Mrs Davies said the attack hadn't changed the way they felt about the city. "We love Melbourne ... we feel safe," she said. "The police are highly-trained and we have faith in them." If it weren't for the heavy police presence and the TV news crews, a passerby at Bourke Street on Saturday would have few clues to the horror that unfolded there less than 24 hours ago. Floral tributes began to be left in Bourke Street on Saturday afternoon. Credit:Joe Hinchliffe When the street reopened on Saturday morning, more than a dozen police were patrolling the area, including members of the Critical Response Team. Marked police cars and vans were parked in front of the Target store where the attack occurred. But many pedestrians seemed oblivious as they went about their daily business, with tram services restored and traffic flowing seemingly as usual. Others came to see the scene of the attack with their own eyes. Soot and oil still stained the pavers where the ute was set ablaze, but this and tiny fragments of broken glass were the only evidence of the horror left by Saturday morning. As the hours passed, more people came to pay their respects. "To remember your passion for music, RIP," was the message written on the CD of "Italian cool". A La Dolce Vita CD was left on Bourke Street on Saturday in tribute to Pellegrinis co-owner Sisto Malaspina. Credit:Joe Hinchliffe One of those who saw Mr Malaspina in his final moments was Lula Bao, who works at the City Duty Free store, directly opposite were the attack took place. "I saw the man die," she said." Ms Bao said she felt safe on Saturday due to the heavy police presence. But she was still shaken as she returned to work. Earlier, Kevin, Matthew and Geoff stood on the corner of Bourke and Swanston streets, each with a newspaper tucked under their arms. They had come from Koroit in western Victoria for the final day of Spring Racing at Flemington. "It's lucky there weren't more dead," said Matthew, watching the passing foot traffic. "[But] it's not going to stop us doing anything." "There are crazy people everywhere," Geoff added. Sia Kiat, 29, a student from North Melbourne, said she passed through Bourke Street regularly. "It makes me very scared," she said of the attack. "This is a shopping place, it's always got a lot of people." Sia Kiat, 29, a student from North Melbourne, said she would not avoid the CBD but would be "more careful" following Friday's attack. Credit:Joe Hinchliffe Though she said she would not avoid the area, she would be "more careful" following the terrorist attack. "Now it's not safe in Australia like before," Ms Kiat said. Workers at major retailers along the strip were briefed by security guards on Saturday morning. Many employees returned on Saturday to the place where they had witnessed death and destruction hours before. Bookstore manager Grace Beyer was walking down Bourke Street on Saturday morning to help a friend who runs a gift store. A defiant banner outside City Duty Free, near the scene of Friday afternoon's attack. Credit:Joe Hinchliffe She said many who worked on Bourke Street had been on edge since an attack on the same strip in January last year which killed six people and injured dozens more. "Since [then], my friends and I, we've been looking out for trouble, we don't walk around with our headphones on anymore, we keep our eyes open." "It could happen to anyone of us walking down here." Grace Beyer lays a stone at a floral tribute on Bourke Street. Credit:Joe Hinchliffe Before heading into the city, Ms Beyer collected a stone from a Mordialloc beach, which she laid at the floral tributes that had been left on Bourke St. "The stone has a lot of significance in the Jewish tradition," she said. "Part of it is about permanence." At the public seat next to 222 Bourke Street, a young man, Callum, sat rolling a cigarette. He had just come from JB Hi-Fi, where he had bought his Dad a Paul Kelly CD for his birthday. Callum had heard about Friday's attack. But he was unaware that he had sat in the exact spot in which Shire Ali had set his ute ablaze. Singe marks from Friday's ute fire were visible on a seat next to 222 Bourke Street on Saturday. Credit:Joe Hinchliffe Only after they were pointed out to him did he notice the faint singe marks on the seat, footpath and roof. Carol Trigwell is fighting to save her parents' graves after finding out by chance that Karrakatta Cemetery plans to remove their headstones as part of its "renewal" process. Carol's parents are buried in Karrakatta in the same plot but the right of burial expired in 2012. Carol Trigwell (right), with her sisters Lesley (left) and Jenny. Lesley has since passed away. Credit:Facebook Karrakatta is now full and in a process of "renewal" - headstones are being removed and graves lawned over, with new graves being dug over walkways. Plaques are being erected for those with their headstones removed, but not near their remains. An alleged one punch attack victim is unlikely to survive his injuries, a Perth court heard on Saturday. The 45-year-old man was allegedly punched in the head near a public housing block of flats on Mill Point Road around midday on Wednesday. Police arrested a man over the assault on Friday night. Credit:Fairfax The victim received critical injuries and was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital where he was placed on life support. A 24-year-old man faced the Perth Magistrates Court on Saturday charged with assaulting the 45-year-old. The quest to make curly hair straight, straight hair curly, and the in between just do something (anything) has been a constant since the ancient Egyptians started using flat iron plates to manage their unruly curls. The next big advancement in hair difference wasnt until some Parisian guy in the 1800s started using heated rods to style hair. That started the mainstream trend of burning your hair (and sometimes hands) while trying to tame hair to suit whatever the style was at the time. Aside from whatever crimping was aiming for in the 1970s and 80s, not a lot evolved in how people changed the waviness of hair, until Dyson came along. The production of Dysons new hair styler, the Airwrap, actually started at the same time as their Supersonic hair dryer, but it took them an extra two years to get it right because it turns out hair requires more finesse than our previous just burn it into submission attitude would suggest. Also, being Dyson, its $699. Its about getting the Government to wake up or there wont be any farming families Wexford IFA to attend protest march in Dublin Suspiria will be one of the more divisive movies of 2018. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/11/2018 (1108 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Suspiria will be one of the more divisive movies of 2018. Remakes are usually a "love it or hate it" proposition at the best of times. This is a remake by Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) that takes a comparatively lean little dread machine from 1977 by giallo maestro Dario Argento and transmogrifies it into a six-act, 153-minute art-horror piece. It takes many of the throwaway elements of the original and extrapolates them within an inch of their lives. So, yes, if you're sitting in the theatre and people are getting restless, it may be even odds that they are either terrorized or impatient. The new version of Suspiria does not hide the fact the ballet school is being run by a coven of witches. (Amazon Studios) Argento's movie is problematic, but its power as a horror film is undeniable. It follows Susie Bannion, a ballet student at a prestigious school in Germany where mysterious events including a few gruesome murders are decimating the lithe student body. Argento frames it all as a beautiful, lurid dream where each murder is practically colour-coded. It's a good thing it's so visually captivating, because it's also lacking when it comes to things like plot, dialogue and character. The remake, scripted by David Kajganich (who wrote Guadagnino's A Bigger Splash) offers up a new Susie (played by Dakota Johnson), and this girl has a backstory. She comes from a strict Mennonite community in Ohio and we gather from flashback snippets that she rebelled under the authority of an imposing mother. Now she is in Germany in 1977, except this film actually takes the trouble to portray the country of that era, wracked with radical politics and violence. (Argento's Germany, you may recall, was relatively pristine, save for some apocalyptic rainstorms.) After the mysterious departure of an apparently unbalanced, radicalized student Patricia (Chloe Grace Moretz), Susie is welcomed into the fold by the institute's star teacher, Madame Blanc (Tilda Swinton). Madam Blanc (Tilda Swinton, above) disagrees with the mysterious Mother Markos regarding the school's new student. (Amazon Studios) The remake does not hide the fact that Blanc and her fellow dance matrons are, in fact, a coven of witches. We soon learn this too when one student angrily departs from a rehearsal and finds herself trapped in a mirrored studio where she is cruelly folded into a misshapen mangle by invisible forces. (Rather than aping Argento's razor-centric violence, Guadagnino seems to be taking a page from David Cronenberg's body horror.) Berlin is still divided in 1977, and so too is the coven, between Blanc and the mysterious Mother Markos, who has sinister ambitions regarding Susie. It gets grisly, bloody and generally horrifying, but in a completely different way from the dreamlike Argento version. Guadagnino doesn't even try to replicate Argento's gorgeously lurid colour palette. If anything, the colour is more desaturated, befitting the grim tableaus of both East and West Berlin. By the way, one character traverses that divide. Dr. Josef Klemperer (credited to one "Lutz Ebersdorf" but in fact played by Swinton) is an elderly psychotherapist who had been treating the "delusional" Patricia and, upon her disappearance, attempts to investigate her dance school. Still haunted by the disappearance of his wife during the Second World War, he is reluctant to let Patricia's disappearance stand. The remake of Suspira gets grisly, bloody and generally horrifying, but in a completely different way from the dreamlike original. (Amazon Studios) If the running time is a bit of a stretch, the film itself is worth it, even for admirers of Argento's original. The acting is much better, and yet the new Suspiria finds enough about the original to create a strong backbone to the narrative arguably paying more respect to Argento's plotting than it deserved. And then it uses that enhanced plot to find interesting things to say about evil, about the abuse of power and if you stick to the end how some things are really not what they seem. randall.king@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @FreepKing If you value coverage of Manitobas arts scene, help us do more. Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. Gordon and Megan Wilding own two TVs, one that hasnt been plugged in since either can remember and a second they and their daughters, Jasper Lily, 12, and Laine, 8, use strictly for watching DVDs. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/11/2018 (1108 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Gordon and Megan Wilding own two TVs, one that hasnt been plugged in since either can remember and a second they and their daughters, Jasper Lily, 12, and Laine, 8, use strictly for watching DVDs. That might explain why the married couple, the brains behind Wooden Squirrel at Work, a two-year-old enterprise that turns out charming, old-world playthings that wouldnt look out of place in Geppettos workshop, were so perplexed a few months ago when their Etsy page suddenly "blew up," Megan says. In July, Making It, an American reality series that features craftspeople competing against one another for a shot at $100,000, debuted on NBC. During the premiere episode, hosted by Amy Poeller and Nick Offerman, a contestant constructed a unicorn marionette that mildly resembled one the Wildings sell. After the show aired, an online promo pointed viewers to where they could purchase items similar to what that weeks slate of makers had built. Among the sites tagged was Wooden Squirrel at Work. Gord and Megan Wilding with daughters Jasper Lily 12, and Laine 8, and their marionette avatars. The Wildings toy business, Wooden Squirrel at Work, has fielded orders from as far away as Germany and Japan. (Phil Hossack photos / Winnipeg Free Press) "I was at my parents cottage with the girls when, all of a sudden, we were selling a ton of DIY-unicorn-marionette kits," says Megan, seated in the living room of their two-storey country-style farmhouse in St. Francois-Xavier. "I Googled and Googled to figure out why, until I finally found the Instagram post that linked to the Making It advertisement." Although the Wildings have only seen a few episodes of Making It at her parents place they cant stream it, theyve tried the program, in their words, "made our summer." "Not so much the sales but more the fact somebody else wanted to sit down with their child and work on a special project we had created for our own kids," Megan says with a hint of pride. Megan, a high school art teacher and accomplished photographer, and Gordon, a production designer who has fashioned myriad sets and props for the motion picture industry, met in December 1998 when she was working in the Exchange District, directly around the corner from his Princess Street studio. Jasper Lily, dad Gord Wilding and a puppet pal share a laugh in the Wooden Squirrel toy workshop. A good number of their friends got married and had children before them, Gordon says, and one thing he began picking up on about other peoples kids was the amount of time some spent parked in front of a TV or computer monitor playing video games. "It sort of frightened me so I thought when we have children maybe not so much of that," he says. A few years ago, the Wildings hosted a family-themed New Years Eve party. To keep the youngsters occupied while their parents counted down the seconds to midnight, Gordon crafted a number of wooden noisemakers, which the kiddos were encouraged to paint and string beads to. Because they were such a hit, he did the same thing the following December, this time with marionette puppets. "It turned out the adults, who we invited to help glue on hair and paint the puppets too, had as much fun as the kids and thats when I started to think, Hmm, maybe were onto something here," Megan says. Before officially launching their biz, they needed a name. Deciding to involve the whole family, they summoned the girls to the kitchen one afternoon, at which point they placed folded slips of paper with different words written on them into a series of cereal bowls: nouns with the nouns, adjectives with the adjectives you get the picture. Laine Wilding shows off an assortment of Wooden Squirrels Dream Theatre figurines. Next, they invited Jasper Lily and Laine to take turns plucking a single note from each bowl, everybody having agreed ahead of time whatever combination of words was selected first would be what theyd call themselves. "I cant remember everything we wrote down, but yeah, we could have just as easily ended up as wooden octopus or sheep," Gordon says, tapping his finger to his noggin when asked where the ideas for his whimsical creations, which include superheroes, pirates and mermaids, come from. Since their official debut at a Scattered Seeds market in the fall of 2016, Wooden Squirrel at Work has fielded orders from as far away as Japan, Luxembourg and Germany. Because shes a curious sort "OK, nosy," she says with a laugh Megan usually makes a point of going online and street-viewing everybody who buys something from them. She was recently gobsmacked, she says, when she tracked down a customers home in Bedfordshire, a county in east England, and, after doing a bit of digging, discovered it sold for 4 million the last time it was on the market. "When I mentioned that to my brother a few days later, he said I should have doubled our price." An unexpected reference to Wooden Squirrel at Work on the NBC program Making It made our summer, says Megan Wilding. Gordon builds everything, including his ultra-delightful puppet theatres, by hand in their attached garage-turned-workshop. Hes an accomplished carpenter he helped design and build parts of the Manitoba Childrens Museum, plus various attractions at Assiniboine Park Zoo but hes not a machine, he points out, so there are always subtle differences from one plaything to the next. "I think thats part of the charm, that all their toys are one-of-a-kind," says Melissa Penner, co-owner of Made Here, a weeks-old shop located in the underground concourse directly beneath the Richardson Building. Made Here features the handiwork of close to 100 Manitoba artisans. Penner says it was a no-brainer to include Wooden Squirrel at Work in the mix when the shop, which donates a portion of all sales to various childrens charities, opened in October. "Prior to the store, my partner and I had a website called Made Here for You, and (Wooden Squirrel at Work) were one of our featured vendors," she continues. "When we were considering which makers would best suit our space and whose products would probably go over well, they were among the first people we thought of." Penner says the Wildings wares are eye-catching, to say the least, but the fact they dont require batteries seems to be what appeals to shoppers most. Dream Theatres, boxed up and awaiting shipment. "People I talk to love that aspect, how they encourage children to use their imagination, especially the ones that allow you to paint your own figures," she says. "I guess simple but elegant is the best way to describe what they do. Everybody who sees their stuff on the shelves immediately falls in love with it." On Nov. 24, Wooden Squirrel at Work will be on-hand at Third + Birds 10th annual Christmas market, in the basement of The Bay downtown. As well, Gordon and Megan have met with the owners of Toad Hall Toys where, as soon as they can figure out proper packaging, their goods should be for sale. Other than that, Megan, who handles all the marketing for the biz and helps her husband build dollhouses, isnt sure how much bigger Wooden Squirrel at Work can get, given they both work full-time. "The thing is, even if it stays relatively small, we think its important weve already shown our kids how important it is to have lots of things going on," she says. "They probably wont have the opportunity to grow up and stick with one job for the rest of their lives since they live in a different time. Because of that, we wanted to show them there are lots of valuable skills out there you can use if you just take that first step and arent afraid to jump into something." david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca In picking Robyn Denholm to keep Elon Musk in check, Tesla Inc.s board went with a numbers-first executive who climbed up the ranks of multinationals finance departments. Those who know her say her no-nonsense methods may be exactly what Tesla needs. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/11/2018 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In picking Robyn Denholm to keep Elon Musk in check, Tesla Inc.s board went with a numbers-first executive who climbed up the ranks of multinationals finance departments. Those who know her say her no-nonsense methods may be exactly what Tesla needs. "Everything about her is rational, reasonable and warm. Im not surprised she got the job," Scott McNealy, the co-founder and former chairman of Sun Microsystems, said in a phone interview. "If Elon listens to her, hell be way more successful." Robyn Denholm, Teslas first female board director, is the companys new chairwoman. As Teslas chairwoman, Denholm, 55, will be responsible for holding back celebrity CEO Musk while guiding an electric-car maker thats still in a volume expansion phase and vulnerable to financial setbacks. While Tesla just celebrated a blowout quarter posting a rare profit many analysts expect further capital increases are needed before the company is on firm footing. Denholm began her career in audit and accounting services at Arthur Andersen, and left the firm for a position in the finance department of Toyotas Australian subsidiary. She joined Sun in 1996 and was there for 11 years, including a position in the pioneering computer companys top leadership group. She declined to be interviewed. Musk, 47, is a classic Silicon Valley founder type, an eccentric visionary who is very much focused on products. The chairmen who oversee them often have been CEOs themselves, or led companies in other strategic roles. A chairman with a finance background isnt as common though in Teslas case that actually could be a strength; rapport with the financial community is precisely what the carmaker is seeking to improve. "She seems to be supremely competent in financial communications," said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, an expert on leadership who teaches at the Yale School of Management. "Of the likely choices, I think they made the best pick. Her strengths are not his and vice versa." Still, some see Denholm as being too close to Musk. A Tesla independent director since 2014, she was part of a board that failed to prevent the CEOs erratic actions this year, including his problematic August tweets about trying to take the company private. A settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over the matter stipulated that Tesla should strengthen a board criticized for being too closely aligned with its billionaire leader. Denholm "provides a potential spark for change," Loup Ventures Gene Munster said in a note. But Tesla needs to follow through with other actions, including turning over half of the board to bring in directors with manufacturing experience, he said. After Sun, Denholm worked at network-equipment maker Juniper Networks, where she was an executive vice-president and chief of finance and operations. Her technology background is an asset: Teslas cars constantly receive new features via over-the-air software updates, and the companys batteries are increasingly being sold to utility companies. Denholm also served on the board of ABB Ltd., the Swedish-Swiss multinational that works closely with utilities. "Robyn is very smart, tough-minded and ethical," said William F. Meehan, a lecturer in strategic management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business who was a director of Juniper while she worked there. Denholm joined Telstra, Australias largest phone company, in January 2017 as chief of operations, and took on the role of CFO on Oct. 1. Her decision to step down from the CFO role so quickly surprised many; just last month, she told Australian media through a spokesperson that she wasnt in contention for the Tesla chairmans job. Denholm, who is married and has adult children, lives in Sydney, and its not clear if she will move back to California for the chairman job. Bloomberg News Youre not likely to sit across a desk from Kristin Ramlal and talk about your financial plan. Nor is she going to chat with you about buying the next big stock. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/11/2018 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion Youre not likely to sit across a desk from Kristin Ramlal and talk about your financial plan. Nor is she going to chat with you about buying the next big stock. As far as financial advice professionals go, Ramlal may seem like a ghost. Tribune media The best financial advisers know where their strengths lie and when to ask for another experts advice in order to get you the best help. Yet the highly skilled investment expert helps thousands of individuals in Manitoba and across the Prairies. Her title doesnt offer much insight to lay folks, though. If anything, its opaque and a little long-winded like that of an 18th-century noble: Securities Specialist and Qtrade Advisor Product Solutions Centre, Mid-West (MB & NW Ontario) Great-West Life | London Life | Qtrade Advisor. But all the corporate, nomenclatural gobbledygook aside, her role with one of Canadas largest financial firms is helping advisers and their clients streamline their portfolios. Ramlal wrangles wayward investment accounts and unites them under one financial plan. "I often deal with high-net-worth asset-consolidation cases that arise during major financial milestones, such as retirement, intergenerational asset transfers, and business and property sales," says Ramlal, a 35-year-old mother of two. If Great-West Life advisers are helping guide their clients through one of lifes big deals, Ramlal is often there to ensure the investments will live up to the task. She has deep knowledge of the investment world, and plenty of education and professional accreditation to back it up, including a bachelors degree in actuarial mathematics and finance from the University of Manitoba. Her efforts to remain at the top of her game havent gone unnoticed. This month, Ramlal will receive the Distinguished Young Advisor Award in Quebec City from the Winnipeg-based Knowledge Bureau. Like Ramlal, the Knowledge Bureau is another gem hidden in this Prairie city often considered a fly-over town by the Bay Street big shots in Toronto. It has quietly built a reputation as a leading provider of financial literacy for those already well steeped in the art of investment, planning and other areas of finance. And its president Evelyn Jacks knows when an adviser has the right stuff. Whats more, Jacks says its important to recognize the efforts of young financial professionals who seek to arm themselves to the teeth with knowledge given the industry has more than its fair share of grey-haired professionals. "At a time when more than half the financial advisers in Canada are over the age of 50, we feel its important to recognize the new up-and-coming leaders," says Jacks, one of the pre-eminent Canadian boosters of financial literacy. "And Kristin has demonstrated her commitment to out-of-the-box thinking in a rapidly changing new economy." That continual search for knowledge about investing and finance translates into better outcomes for the pros she helps and their clients. Whats more, because she works with so many advisers, she knows what makes a good one. Considering this month is Financial Literacy Month in Canada, we asked Ramlal what common qualities she finds in great advisers. She offered up these three traits to look for. A master of one not a jack of all trades Good financial advisers should be experts no doubt. But by no means do they need to be good at everything in the world of finance. "As advisers, we often wear a lot of hats, but it can be challenging to specialize in every hat," Ramlal says. Good advisers seek the assistance of other professionals to help their clients. The best in the biz work with a team: investment managers, estate planners, tax professionals or business advisers to name a few. The reason being is they recognize its impossible for a one-woman or one-man show to have all the necessary expertise required to help clients with all their complex needs. A good adviser recommends seeking help from another expert when needed e.g. a lawyer for thorny estate-planning issues or an accountant for tax advice when selling an investment property. Moreover, the best advisers "know what their specialities are and then they partner with other experts to deliver solutions across a variety of areas," Ramlal says. Translating jargon into plain language Plan, save and invest. Its a simple formula for building wealth. Yet the industry often makes the recipe much more muddy, ripe with impenetrable jargon. And thats where great advisers provide clarity. Ramlal says "financial literacy is the most important component of wealth advice." Among advisers chief roles is providing education and understanding to clients about how their finances and situation fit together in the context of the markets and the economy. More broadly, good advisers know there are no stupid questions. Nor should you ever be afraid to ask one. And lets face it: lots of us have gapped out in the face of financialese. While its often up to us to step back and say, I dont get it, Ramlal says the best advisers are proactive. They understand the limits of their clients financial literacy and consequently provide proper context. "I often say, Clients dont know what they dont know a good adviser is the one who will take the time to educate you so that you understand all your options before you make a decision." A road map to the end of your rainbow Pardon the cliche, but when it comes to your wealth, it is true that failing to plan is planning to fail. And great financial advisers shine like a precious metal when it comes to planning, whether its a financial plan, investment plan or tax plan. If its something to do with your wealth, it can and should be planned for in detail. "To me, a financial plan is a road map to achieve peace of mind and live a truly fulfilled life," Ramlal says. The best advisers go beyond plugging your data into computer software that spits out cookie-cutter strategies. Good planning is all about customizing lifes details into a formula that ensures you reach that pot of gold at the end of your rainbow. "Comprehensive financial planning is so much more than saving, (investing) and budgeting," she adds. "Its about understanding your unique goals and dreams, quantifying these life events (and your lifestyle) and then implementing them into a long-term financial plan to most effectively reach your goals." Whether thats snowbirding in Arizona, puttering around the veggie patch in July or becoming a greying cannabis connoisseur, your adviser crunches your data and personal details, and integrates them to create as accurately as possible a financial forecast of your future self. In short, great plans and the advisers who make them are worth their weight in gold (again, apologies for the platitude) because they offer clarity. As Ramlal puts it: "When you have that confidence about your future, it really does help you live a better life today." Canada's engineers have set a goal of ensuring, by the year 2030, 30 per cent of newly licensed engineers are women. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/11/2018 (1108 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Canada's engineers have set a goal of ensuring, by the year 2030, 30 per cent of newly licensed engineers are women. It's a goal that goes beyond social justice and strives for better engineering outcomes and improved financial results for their employers, say engineers for some of the province's largest engineering workplaces. PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Elise Neufeld is a Winnipeg Engineer with Hatch. "There is so much research to show that a representative team, a diverse team, will improve creativity, improve innovation and in many cases, for instance when the board is diverse, it will increase the bottom line of the organization," said Lisa Stepnuk, the co-ordinator of the campaign for Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba. Across the country, organizations such as Engineers Geoscientists of Manitoba, are actively promoting engineering as a field of study for women students, as well as recruitment practices aimed at giving women a shot. "We (engineers) have big problems that need to be solved," Stepnuk said. "Climate change, food security, access to potable water... We need everyone at the table (including as many women as possible) to solve these problems. Otherwise we're selling ourselves short." Some of the province's largest employers, including Manitoba Hydro, Hatch and Boeing Canada, are launching a coalition Tuesday at the Manitoba Legislature with a public awareness panel discussion. With women representing about 21 per cent of the recent engineering grads, Manitoba is a little ahead of the national average. There are some workplaces and employers that exceed that and some that are behind. But with generations of unconscious biases deeply ingrained, a sudden, dramatic increase in the numbers is not likely. Hatch, the large global firm responsible for major infrastructure projects around the world, including much of the design work on the Keeyask generating station in Manitoba, has a recruitment policy that requires that women must represent one-third of experienced candidates and one-half of young professional and student applicants be interviewed for job openings. "What sometimes happens when people are selecting applicants to interview, they often select people who are most like themselves," said Elise Neufeld, a hydrotechnical engineer with a professional engineer (P. Eng) status at Hatch. "This policy is a way to deal with the unconscious bias. It's a way of ensuring that at least a diverse panel of candidates will be interviewed because that is how you get a more diverse workplace." No one says out loud that they don't want to hire women, but the lower counts are sometimes justified by the fact that there are fewer women in the educational pipeline. Neufeld, who spoke to a reporter from home where her three young children could be heard in the background, believes Hatch may be a little ahead of the curve. "My own department is half women. My supervisor is a woman and the company offers flexible and part-time work schedules," she said. "But that's a privilege not a right. If I was not getting my work done Hatch would be within their rights to ask me to be in the office." Members of the coalition say there is widespread support for the initiative. Maria Neufeld (no relation to Elise) is a manager in the transmission and compliance department of Manitoba Hydro and is a rare female electrical engineer who specializes in power engineering (even more rare for women). About 19 per cent of Manitoba Hydro's engineering cohort are women. "For starters, I would like to say that I work with some fantastic men," she said. But she also said she regularly receives emails from colleagues addressed to "gentlemen". She follows it up with polite reminders of her presence that she says are invariably met with apologies from her male peers. "We need to get more women in the pipeline to get there (30 by 30). It has to start very early for kids to recognize that this is a fantastic field to be in," she said. The Manitoba coalition is committing to work together to share best practices, provide outreach to the public, and hold each other accountable on their progress towards the 30 by 30 goal. Representatives from each company will meet to set goals, share information, and chart progress toward a more equitable and diverse future for engineering. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/11/2018 (1108 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion Grandpa Henry never spoke about the war. I asked him once: why did you go? NIIGAAN SINCLAIR / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Henry Sinclair, granddad of columnist Niigaan Sinclair, enlisted during the Second World War. "Everyone was going," he said, ending the conversation. My grandfather was like many Indigenous veterans. He didnt have to go to war, he chose to. Indigenous Peoples in those days werent Canadians, they were Indians. But, like 12,000 other Indigenous men and women who fought in two world wars and other conflicts, he enlisted. Grandpa was raised in a residential school. While there, he was abused sexually and physically. He never spoke about this we found out long after he died. One of the worst legacies of violence is silence. When Grandpa was 14, the Second World War broke out in Europe. Soon after, he lied about his age and signed up with the Armed Forces. He chose the war over another year in residential school: bullets over nuns. Following his friends and two brothers Melfort and Elmer (who enlisted, too), he loved his family. Try to remember that during this next part. As soon as Grandpa signed up, he also enfranchised himself, giving up his and his childrens Indian status. Indigenous soldiers had to become Canadians before they could be sent to fight. This meant Grandpa was no longer an Indian in the eyes of the government. He could not live, travel to or be buried on reserve. He was literally cut off from his community. He could not access anything under treaty. In those days, being an Indian meant a lot fewer rights and second-tier status. As an enfranchised Indian, he could now own property, work off-reserve and vote. Grandpa trained and was assigned to the Toronto Scottish Regiment. He was on the ground in France, a brutal scene of combat. He returned a short time after, injured for the rest of his life. By that time, he had started a family and tried to find work in Winnipeg. No one wanted to hire a wounded Indian, though so he found what work he could, mostly in the mines in the north. Work wasnt easy and Grandpas injuries challenged him. Still, he persevered. Staying in Winnipeg hotels, he waited for calls to go up north, and sent money and visited home in Selkirk when he could. Around this time, what was a casual drinking habit something he did with his army buddies became an issue for Grandpa. Soon, he began to drink more and more. When he drank, Grandpa was a combative, moody and abusive man. The cycles of abuse he learned in residential school, added to the trauma he experienced during the war, made him a difficult man to be around. During the worst of it, he hurt people around him, especially his children. My grandmother the person my grandfather loved more than anyone died giving birth to my uncle. Thats when things went really bad. Grandpa went to a dark, terrible place. Most stories about him during this time involve violence, including him seeking out guys to fight. One time, he got beat so bad he was hospitalized with permanent disabilities. My great-grandparents removed my dad, my two uncles and my aunt from their home, and raised them. I pray and say thanks for them every day. This isnt the end of Grandpas story. In fact, none of this is my story of him. My story of him begins Jan. 7, 1976. The day I was born. I was the first grandson in my family. To Grandpa, I was a big deal for whatever reason. He wanted to come and see his grandson. He was drinking a lot during those days, though. My dad confronted him. He told his father he would never see his grandson if he was drinking. I can only imagine the bravery it took for my father to do that. Grandpa quit drinking. He chose me over a future no one would have blamed him for. He easily could have drank himself to death. He was a residential school survivor with post-traumatic stress disorder from the war. If he had died that way, it would have been yet another tragic story. But he chose something different than the violence that had characterized his life. Grandpa began to visit me when I was a baby. He lived with us for a bit. When I was school-aged, he got an apartment nearby and I used to go visit him by myself. My parents would leave me there for a few hours, where he and I would have lunch, watch TV or play with toys he had bought for his grandchildren. We didnt talk much. You see, Grandpa was almost completely deaf one of his many injuries. So we passed notes, mostly with messages such as "turn the channel." I spent most of my visits rolling cigarettes for him. I must have rolled a few thousand from the ages of eight to 16. I remember the laughter. Grandpa was one of the funniest people I ever met. While we could barely communicate, Grandpa was always teasing me, playing tricks or pretending to chase me. All I knew was love from Grandpa. Every day I spent with him, he showed me how peace, kindness and commitment to another person can change everything. My cousins and sisters say thats what he showed them, too. Grandpa couldnt change the ugliness of the past still very much a part of my familys life but he showed me what love is. I try to live up to his gift every single day. Grandpas biggest war was to be a good Anishinaabe in a world that didnt value that. He won. National Aboriginal Veterans Day is celebrated each year on Nov. 8. Remembrance Day is Sunday. niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca Nearly six months after the prosecution admitted he may have been wrongfully convicted of murder, Frank Ostrowski is still waiting for Manitoba's highest court to decide whether he'll be acquitted. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/11/2018 (1108 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Nearly six months after the prosecution admitted he may have been wrongfully convicted of murder, Frank Ostrowski is still waiting for Manitoba's highest court to decide whether he'll be acquitted. The Winnipeg man spent 23 years in prison for a 1986 drug-related murder he's always claimed he didn't commit, and in May, Crown prosecutors conceded there had been a "miscarriage of justice." But the Court of Appeal has yet to release its decision that is expected to formally dispose of his conviction. "Its just nerve-wracking, waiting and waiting and waiting, and knowing that youve done nothing wrong. Its taken 31 years to resolve this problem," Ostrowski said. The question is whether the court will decide to enter an acquittal or a judicial stay of proceedings. Both options would effectively overturn the conviction, but Ostrowski has argued an acquittal would do more to clear his name. "My lawyers are saying that the judges are working very hard putting this together," Ostrowski said. "Im the one whos left hanging. Im the one thats hurting because of the decision not being finalized." Now 69, the former drug dealer and hairstylist has been out on bail for the past nine years. He remains on bail conditions while he awaits the court's decision, one of which prevents him from leaving the province without special permission. He said Friday he believes his bail conditions should have been removed as soon as the Crown conceded there had been a miscarriage of justice. "The miscarriage of justice in this case falls squarely at the feet of the state," Crown attorney Randy Schwartz told the Court of Appeal on May 28, 2018. The concession came after a lengthy appeal process led by Toronto lawyer James Lockyer, founding director of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, and Winnipeg lawyer Alan Libman. During hearings in 2017, the appeal introduced fresh evidence and called several key justice-system players to testify, including former Crown prosecutor George Dangerfield, about how Ostrowski's case was handled before and after his 1987 trial and conviction for ordering the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Robert Nieman. Until last May, no details of the appeal could be published. Ultimately, the Crown agreed Ostrowski's trial wasn't fair because police notes weren't disclosed to his defence lawyers, and neither was a secret deal to secure a key witness to testify against him. The Crown argued, though, that there was no clear evidence presented to the Court of Appeal that would prove the prosecution deliberately hid evidence and covered up the deal. katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @thatkatiemay This may come as a surprise, but anyone who knows me knows there is a lot I do not understand about politics. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/11/2018 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion This may come as a surprise, but anyone who knows me knows there is a lot I do not understand about politics. For instance, I really do not understand Tony Clement, who this week saw his long, distinguished political career go up in flames amid a bizarre sexting scandal. For those of you who have been too busy wondering where U.S. President Donald Trump buys his orange makeup in bulk, allow me to share a bit of background. The longtime Parry Sound-Muskoka Tory MP was punted from his partys caucus the day after admitting that sharing sexually explicit images and a video of himself led to an extortion attempt. "Over the last three weeks, I have shared sexually explicit images and a video of myself to someone who I believed was a consenting female recipient. The recipient was, in fact, an individual or party who targeted me for the purpose of financial extortion," is what Clement said in a statement earlier in the week. "The RCMP are currently investigating the matter to determine the identity of the party responsible for the extortion attempt." So, Tony apparently shared photos of his private parts excuse me if I do not use the phrase "honourable member" with a stranger and it turned out badly. Who could have predicted that? Well, definitely not Clement, despite the fact he was his partys justice critic, held multiple cabinet posts over the years, was a leadership contender and had top-secret clearance to sit on top-secret committees. It makes you wonder what you would find if you took a gander at his parliamentary to-do list: 1) Fix the economy; 2) Do something about unemployment; 3) Send nekkid pictures of self to a complete (bad word) stranger. I mean, seriously, maybe I am revealing my lack of political chops, but when did it become a thing to share private pictures of your "special purpose" online? I mean, with all sincerity, who is (another bad word) dumb enough to do something like that? Lets have a show of hands... OK, pretty much no one, except for that creepy guy in the corner wearing leather pyjamas and a rubber horse-head mask, which sort of proves my point. Initially, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer took Clement at his word that this "terrible lapse in judgment" was a one-time thing. But Scheer finally gave him the boot after allegations washed over social media suggesting Tonys online behaviour was creeping people out. "I dont know that too many people... have to be told not to share explicit images and videos with people that you havent met, but obviously, this is a terrible decision, extremely poor judgment," Scheer said in giving Clement the heave-ho from his party duties. Well, I suppose, "extremely poor judgment" is one way of putting it. Galactically stupid might be closer to the mark, but I dont want to appear overly judgmental. You know who has to be told not to share images of this nature online? I will tell you who. High school students have to be told not to do stupid things online. But that is why we typically dont elect high school students to public office or let them sit on top-secret panels such as the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. Consider the fact that police in the Montreal area were warning parents this week about online predators using the wildly popular video game Fortnite to lure teenagers into a sextortion scheme by offering them a chance to advance their game in exchange for providing revealing photos. Fortunately, even most teenagers seem to know more about the hazards of online activity than do any number of grizzled politicians we can name. Speaking of which, why is it that so many politicians who bumble into scandals of this nature seem to be named Tony? Unless you have been hiding in your basement for the past few years, you will recall the countless news stories about the downfall of U.S. politician Anthony Weiner, a former New York congressman whose sexting escapades eventually landed him behind bars. Tony Weiner was a big-shot Democratic congressman until he was forced to resign in 2011 after admitting to exchanging "messages and photos of an explicit nature with about six women" over a period of about three years. Weiner attempted a political comeback and was running for mayor of New York City in 2013 when it emerged that he was sending explicit photos to a 22-year-old woman under the pseudonym "Carlos Danger." But Tony Weiner sorry, make that "Mr. Danger" didnt learn his online lesson and he was sentenced to prison last year after pleading guilty to sexting with a 15-year-old girl. He is expected to be released in May 2019. As I may have mentioned already, there is a lot I dont understand about politics, but there is one thing I am fairly certain of people in public life need to keep their private parts private. Otherwise, legally speaking, they might already be a Weiner. doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca The proprietor of two rural newspapers says he will refuse to publish provincial government letters to the editor, local MLA columns or any other "generic messaging" requested by the province free of charge in protest of a bill that passed this week in the Manitoba legislature. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/11/2018 (1108 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The proprietor of two rural newspapers says he will refuse to publish provincial government letters to the editor, local MLA columns or any other "generic messaging" requested by the province free of charge in protest of a bill that passed this week in the Manitoba legislature. Ken Waddell, publisher of the Neepawa Banner and Press and the Rivers Banner, is upset over the passage this week of Bill 8 (The Government Notices and Modernization Act), which would make publication of certain government notices in newspapers optional. The Progressive Conservative government has said it will not immediately proclaim the sections of the bill relating to newspaper advertising. However, newspaper publishers had lobbied to have the offending clauses removed entirely. The bill would also make the Manitoba Gazette (the government's official publication of legal notices) available free online. "We wont run letters to the editor (from the provincial government) unless theyre of absolute local relevance. We wont run any press releases unless theyre of absolute local relevance. And well be quite discerning in how we do that," Waddell said in an interview Friday. In an email Friday to the press secretary for Crowns Minister Colleen Mayer, and copied widely, Waddell said he wouldn't publish a letter the minister had submitted to his newspapers. He said Bill 8 is "harmful to democracy, to local communities and Manitoba newspapers." Waddell, who is president of the 48-member Manitoba Community Newspapers Association and a one-time candidate for leadership of the provincial Progressive Conservative party, said he could not say how many other newspaper publishers will take the same stance with the government in the wake of Bill 8's adoption. But he said he is sure "there are several others" who will do so. Newspaper publishers have said the notices that the government has been required by law to place in their publications do not represent a significant source of income. They say they are primarily concerned that readers will not be aware of important government notices and decisions if the notices appear only on a website. A spokesman for Mayer said while media and newspapers "play a vital role in a healthy democracy," they "are not the only place Manitobans access their information." "We believe in informing citizens of the work of their government through a variety of means," he said. "The Manitoba Community Newspapers Association can choose whether or not they want to print information that comes from the government. But that will not stop our efforts to ensure Manitobans know what their government is doing," the spokesman added. Free Press publisher Bob Cox said his newspaper and its sister publications, which include the Brandon Sun, Steinbach Carillon and Canstar community newspapers, would not be taking similar action against the government. "I dont believe in using the editorial part of the newspaper to retaliate against the government," Cox said, while expressing disappointment that the legislative assembly approved the bill without removing the clauses relating to newspaper advertising. "We have to keep our commercial and our editorial sides separate." Earlier this year, after considerable lobbying by newspapers, the PC government withdrew sections of another bill that would have allowed municipalities to post certain notices on the internet instead of requiring their publication in local newspapers. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca Stella's, a Winnipeg restaurant chain associated with all things wholesome and homespun, is at the centre of a flurry of sexual harassment and unfair labour practice allegations. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/11/2018 (1108 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Stella's, a Winnipeg restaurant chain associated with all things wholesome and homespun, is at the centre of a flurry of sexual harassment and unfair labour practice allegations. The Free Press has been contacted by more than 20 former and current Stellas employees from all seven Winnipeg locations, alleging sexual harassment, unwanted touching, verbal abuse, lewd kitchen conduct, unfair labour practices and, in one case, a sexual assault that occurred on the job. Since Thursday, an Instagram account called @notmystellas has been steadily documenting similar allegations. The account paints a picture of a deeply toxic work environment: harassment, verbal abuse, racism, transphobia, unsafe work conditions, and pregnancy discrimination are among the complaints. By mid-afternoon Friday, it had almost 5,000 followers and nearly 200 posts. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS From left: Kelsey Wade, Amanda Murdock and Christina Hajjar are among several women who have come forward regarding a culture of harassment at Stella's restaurant. Former Stella's employee Christina Hajjar, who began posting her own and others' experiences to her personal Instagram before creating @notmystellas, said she has received hundreds of messages from past and present employees. "I got way too many messages to handle," she said Friday. "We have over 100 unread messages. There are more experiences we're not sharing out of fear of retaliation. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Christina Hajjar: 'A lot of people who have messaged me are currently employed and are having a bad time' "A lot of people who have messaged me are currently employed and are having a bad time." Stella's owners Tore Sohlberg and Lehla Abreder released a lengthy statement Friday afternoon. "We have engaged People First HR Consultants... to review all of our policies and procedures on workplace safety and harassment and to make recommendations to help us continuously improve," the statement read, in part. "Harassment in any form -- whether sexual, physical, psychological or otherwise -- is not and will not be tolerated within the Stellas family." Download Full comment from Stella's However, that's not the experience reported by several employees. One female server, who asked not to be identified, said she was harassed and assaulted by a male server during a shift in September 2017. "The perpetrator repeatedly made very inappropriate comments to me and attempted to touch me inappropriately," she told the Free Press. "He would rub his groin against my backside every time he would walk by me. I felt pretty shocked and unsure of what to do. "There were times I told him to stop, and it just kept going and going." She said despite speaking to a supportive manager, "it just never seemed like there was any concern (from head office) for what happened to me." Stella's at a glance Click to Expand Stella's Cafe & Bakery opened its first location on Osborne Street in 1999 as a small over-the-counter breakfast and lunch cafe. The operation expanded to Grant Avenue, with a Sherbrook Street location following in 2005. There are now seven Stella's locations, including the Buhler Centre on Portage Avenue, the Centre culturel franco-manitobain on Provencher Boulevard, Pembina Highway, and Richardson International Airport. It has become a Winnipeg institution, known for its scratch cooking. It is often held up as an example of a local success story. Co-owned by Tore Sohlberg (who is also a WestJet Airlines pilot) and Lehla Abreder, Stella's employs more than 500 people. When she gave notice two weeks later, she filed an incident report, and said she was told it would be sent to head office. "When I called head office, there was a recorded voice message with options and one of them was for HR. When I clicked the number for HR, I was pretty surprised it went right to the CEO's (Grant Anderson) phone line." Anderson asked her about the day of the alleged assault, and if she did anything different, because "people don't just do that," she said, adding he also reprimanded her for not filing an incident report sooner. "I was in tears," she said, adding she contacted police who looked into the incident, but no charges were filed. When reached for comment, Anderson said he would never say it wasn't prudent to come forward. "By the time I actually spoke to (the server), she had already left the company. She would not have been an employee at that time." The male server, meanwhile, was reportedly transferred to a different location. "I believe he also received a promotion," the woman said. Kelsey Wade, 22, worked at Stella's for almost three years as a server and supervisor. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kelsey Wade: '(CEO Grant Anderson would) grab my (face) and tell me how cute I am, which made me feel horribly uncomfortable, and I couldn't do anything about it because he was CEO and I thought it would put my employment at risk' She said Stella's distributed a questionnaire to employees following the September incident, asking for statements regarding the evening during which the alleged assault took place. One question asked to rate a staff member's credibility on a scale of one to five. Wade said Stella's completely disregards its own harassment policy, and Anderson made her feel uncomfortable at work. "He'd grab my (face) and tell me how cute I am, which made me feel horribly uncomfortable, and I couldn't do anything about it because he was CEO and I thought it would put my employment at risk." "I don't recall that specifically," Anderson said, when asked about the allegation. "I really don't remember any instance like that at all." Stella's distributed this questionnaire to employees following an alleged assault in September. People who worked at the management level in the restaurant chain told the Free Press staff were often insulted and demeaned in management meetings by higher-ups, or were made to feel "irrational and crazy" for bringing up concerns. "That's kind of what they do," said Amanda Murdock, who worked at Stella's from April 2013 to September of 2016 in assistant and general management positions. "I've witnessed how they trained management to approach staff this way. They would say things like, 'All servers are lazy bitches' and 'all servers are lazy c---s. We can replace them like that.'" Murdock, 37, became pregnant after she was promoted to a general management position. She was placed on medical leave. When she was cleared to return to work, Murdock said she was told by Anderson her job had been given to someone else and there wasn't a position left for her. She filed a claim with the Human Rights Commission, which she didn't pursue, as she was allowed to come back in an assistant manager position. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Murdock, 37, became pregnant after she was promoted to a general management position. She was placed on medical leave. When she was cleared to return to work, Murdock said she was told by Anderson her job had been given to someone else and there wasn't a position left for her. Anne Wyman worked at Stella's for five years as a server. She said she often felt unsafe at work. "I had so many experiences where the safety of staff, specifically the female staff, was not protected when serving customers who were sexually aggressive," Wyman said. "I saw so many occasions where people who had perpetuated really inappropriate behaviour, like touching or hitting on female staff, were allowed to come back to the restaurant over and over again." She said at Stella's Grant Avenue location, the front-of-house staff was subjected to constant sexual conversations by the kitchen staff, including rape jokes. "They project an image of being a supportive and safe place for a diverse group of folks to work, but that's not the case at all behind closed doors," she said. In their statement Friday, Stella's co-owners stressed they won't tolerate an environment of harassment for their employees. The other employees who contacted the Free Press said they felt like they couldnt complain due to fear of retaliation. Hajjar believes that social media allowed them to share their stories on their terms. "I hope people listen," she said. "I hope other restaurants and industries in general see that their actions are not without consequence, that people are listening and watching." "We do not believe that it would be constructive to try to publicly address matters raised in social media," the statement said. "We believe that all concerned individuals deserve to be treated with utmost respect and dignity, and their privacy must be respected. A memo signed by Grant Anderson regarding recent complaints. "For those who are critical of us, we regret that we have let you down. Please let us assure you that Stellas is committed to creating a positive environment for all members of the Stellas family by doing our utmost to ensure that everyone employee, customer, supplier and friend is treated with dignity and respect." The controversy spilled over onto Stella's official Instagram page, with many posts saying they plan to boycott the business and demanding an appropriate response. jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @JenZoratti In a military hospital room in Eastbourne, on the southern coast of England, a Manitoba soldier lies in a hospital bed. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/11/2018 (1108 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In a military hospital room in Eastbourne, on the southern coast of England, a Manitoba soldier lies in a hospital bed. Alone, far from home and family, his lungs are filled with liquid and his breathing is laboured. His skin is blue and he is in pain. Robert McCrae was likely the last Manitoban to die in the First World War. (Supplied) He takes his last breath. A nurse records the date and the time of his death. His battle has ended but, for a few more hours, another conflict is raging. Its 7 a.m., Nov. 11, 1918. Just four hours before the war that he came overseas to fight the Great War will come to an end. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the soldiers on both sides who have battled and bled through four miserable years of muddy trenches and bitter cold will lay down their weapons as the Armistice takes effect. They will not move their lines any further. And in all likelihood four hours earlier, 24-year-old Robert McCrae became the last Manitoba soldier to die in the First World War. Canadian Lt.-Col. John McCrae penned the famous poem In Flanders Fields during the First World War. (Archives Canada) Edmontons Lynn Gregory McCraes great niece and the granddaughter of Nellie McCrae explains that family lore says they are related to John McCrae, the author of In Flanders Fields. The records that would prove it were destroyed in a fire years ago. Gregory doesnt know anything about Robert McCrae. "I dont think I recall my grandmother or my mother ever talking about him," she says. "I know I did spend, as a young child, a lot of time with my grandmother, but it was so long ago I dont remember if she said anything." Gregorys daughter, Bonnie Pritchard, says she has been trying to find out more about all of her ancestors including Robert and shes hoping someone out there can give her a hand. It wasnt the first time a member of the McCrae family was in Britain. They trace themselves back to Cumnock, a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. William McCrae (back row, left) with three of his daughters and an unidentified man. (Supplied) William McCrae and Mary Hanna Frame who would become his wife were both born in Guelph, Ont. in 1852. When they were 18, they married at the communitys St. Andrews Church. Just two years later, according to the family history, the couple left Bruce County and joined a wagon train and headed west to Palestine. The community changed its name to Gladstone in 1882, because the villagers admired the prime minister of Britain, William Ewart Gladstone. According to the community history book, Gladstone Then and Now, 1871-1982, times were good for the first couple of years, but in 1874, just when farmers believed they were about to bring in "a good crop," the skies suddenly darkened in the middle of the day. So many grasshoppers descended they "literally covered the earth... our crop simply went down their ravenous maws. For those who had just settled among us the year before, it meant a tough time, but they braced up. "But the millions of pests had laid their eggs before departing and the second year of 1875 was, if anything, 10 times worse than the other." The dedication of the Gladstone cenotaph was held on July 1, 1923. (Gladstone then and now book) The book said many would have lost their farms if the federal government hadnt given them seed to plant and taken over the mortgages on their land for repayment. The grasshoppers came again the following year, but this time their stay was short and the crops suffered little damage. The family went on to become successful farmers and in the next few years they acquired four quarter sections of land in the area, two of which are now the west and southwest side of Gladstone. By 1907, they had 34 cattle, 12 horses, two pigs and $220 in the bank. Robert McCrae was born May 17, 1894 into a family that eventually had, including him, 11 children six daughters and five sons: George, William, John, Henry, Lizzie, Martha, Nellie, Bonnie, Maudie and Annie. Between the 1901 census and the one in 1906 Annie, who was the oldest child and whose last name was Boughton, was back living at home with her 18-month-old son William Jr. On June 2, 1907, the familys patriarch, William, died suddenly. He was 59. His obituary, printed in the Gladstone Age a few days later, called the death "a surprise" and went on to say he had returned two weeks earlier from a trip to British Columbia and had contracted a cold while working on his farm. The obit went on to say the cold "set in, reaching his heart which proved fatal." He didnt leave a will. When the value of the estate was added up, he was worth almost $12,000. With bills to be paid and the three boys at home just 14, 12 and nine, the Northern Trust Company scheduled an auction for the morning of Nov. 13. "The whole of the live and dead farming stock, furniture, etc., Comprising: 32 head cattle, 12 horses, pigs, Capital assortment of agricultural implements, harness, etc., etc. "The whole will be found of an exceedingly useful description and offered for absolute sale." His widow Mary never remarried and, perhaps because she learned her lesson when he died without a will, she wrote one for herself in 1933. When she died in Gladstone Dec. 15, 1941, the bulk of her $945 estate went to Nellie Regnier, her daughter living in Delmas, Sask. Daughter Elizabeth Bonney in Kelwood got $1. McCraes family today has no idea why the difference in bequests. The only other public record of the McCrae family in the years between 1907 and 1916 is from 1910; a document shows that McCraes mother received a homestead grant for a piece of property on the west side of Lake Manitoba, just north of Beckville Beach. Theres a gap of several years in the public record of Robert McCrae, but by the time he decided to join the Canadian Overseas Expedition Force in Winnipeg on March 4, 1916, he was a farmer in Roblin. McCrae, at age 21, was one of 99 soldiers from the Roblin area who enlisted. (Library and Archives Canada) According to local records, McCrae was one of 99 soldiers from the Roblin area who enlisted; 40 didnt return. McCrae must not have told his mother his plans because, with some estate documents left over from when his father died, she got a lawyer to track him down a few months later at Camp Sewell, later called Camp Hughes, the First World War training camp next to the present day CFB Shilo near Brandon. When McCrae the Roblin farmer signed up, becoming 718793 on his Attestation Paper, he was just 21. He was also single, noted he was Presbyterian, said he would agree to be vaccinated and that hed never served in the military before. He stood five-foot-eight-and-a-half inches tall and had a fair complexion, blue eyes and dark hair. The only mark noted was a small scar across the first joint on the thumb of his right hand. McCrae also answered in the affirmative when asked if he "understood the nature and terms of your engagement." He couldnt have been more wrong. Soldiers in the 107th Battalion in the Shell River Municipality. McCrae was initially assigned to the battalion. (Library and Archives Canada) McCrae was assigned to the 107th Battalion. He boarded the Olympic, a sister ship of the Titanic, in Halifax on Sept. 18, 1916 and arrived in Liverpool, England seven days later. Little more than two months later, when he was in France, McCrae was transferred to the 16th Battalion, also known as the Canadian Scottish, on Dec. 4, 1916. On Jan. 29, he was pulled off the battlefield and admitted to a hospital in Camiers, diagnosed with influenza. Records show McCraes movements. The History of the 16th Battalion in the Great War has clues about what happened. The book, written in 1922 by H.M. Urquhart, lieutenant-colonel, in the reserve of officers with the Canadian Non-Permanent Active Militia, talks about the conditions the regiment experienced January and February 1917. "In this period there came the longest spell of cold weather experienced by the Canadians in France," Urquhart wrote. "Whilst the unit was at Villers au Bois or occupying the trenches on Vimy Ridge the weather had been moderate... but the spell was of short duration. "On Jan. 21st, the cold snap returned. It increased in intensity until the 23rd, when there was a very heavy fall of snow and from that date until Feb. 16th hard frost, with frequent snowstorms prevailed. The whole landscape was enveloped in a white sheet; the ground was as hard as granite. The men on duty in the front line and on patrol suffered considerably." The book says it was so cold that even the water-supply pipes, which came within metres of the front lines, were frozen all the way to the back lines. The brutally cold weather took its toll on troops in the trenches. (National Library of Scotland) Did McCrae catch a cold while in those conditions and it advanced to pneumonia? Well never know, but his hospitalization in Camiers began his long stays in various hospitals during his more than two years in the military. The 16th Battalion, which had already fought at Passchendaele, Ypres, and Somme, went on to fight at Vimy, Arras and Scarpe, among others. Battalion members Lance Corp. William Henry Metcalfe, Lt.-Col. Cyrus Wesley Peck, Pte. William Johnston Milne and Piper James Richardson received Victoria Crosses while McCrae was convalescing in England. Dan Lindsay, a radiologist in Winnipeg and Selkirk, served five tours of duty as a civilian medical specialist with the Canadian Armed Forces, helping care for troops in Afghanistan. He is also a past-president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba and he was named the provinces doctor of the year by Doctors Manitoba in 2012. Dr. Dan Lindsay (Phil Hossack / Free Press) Looking at McCraes 1917-18 medical chart recently, Lindsay says the soldier had limited options for survival with the medical technology available at the time. "The treatment options today include kidney dialysis, heart-lung bypass machines and antibiotics. Antibiotics that save so many lives were not yet available" says Lindsay. "Today, wounded soldiers who we treated in Afghanistan would have certainly died during the First World War. We were able to treat most of the traumatic injuries and our men and women who served Canada are now back home enjoying productive lives." McCrae was diagnosed with influenza in January 1917 at the No. 20 Canadian General Hospital in Camiers. He was lucky this time around. He was sent first to the NGH Leeds on March 29, then the Canadian Division Convalescent Hospital in Woodcote Park, Epsom on April 4 before being discharged on May 1. McCrae was back serving in the trenches in France when he became sick again. He was diagnosed with nephritis at the No. 1 Canadian Field Ambulance on Jan. 6, 1918. These were the medical teams who served to remove casualties from the front to clearing stations where, if needed, urgent surgeries were done. Two days later, McCrae was at the No. 23 Casualty Clearing Station and the next day he was transferred to the No. 2 Canadian Field Ambulance with a new diagnosis: "albuminuria and PUO." "Albuminuria is an observation," Lindsay says. "He had protein in the urine, indicating kidney damage that could be the result of many types of illness. "And PUO was typed wrong; is was probably PUD indicating peptic ulcer disease." When McCrae was diagnosed in November 1918, he was described as deadly ill.. (Library and Archives Canada) Lindsay says with PUD it meant the inner lining of McCraes stomach was sore and inflamed with ulceration. It also meant McCrae continued to be on the move. By March 7, he was at the 83rd General Hospital, also known as the Dublin because of the volunteer staff from Irish hospitals, on the coast of the English Channel in Boulogne, France. It had formerly been named the13th Stationary General Hospital. A week later, on March 15, McCrae was back in England, now at the Boscombe Military Hospital in Bournemouth. This hospital was created when the War Office converted the Royal Victoria and West Hants Hospital to a 200-bed facility to look after sick and wounded soldiers. Two months later and almost a year since he had been there recovering from his first bout of pneumonia McCrae was back in Epsom at the Canadian Convalescent Hospital with his diagnosis now changed to trench fever and nephritis. But, just four weeks later, was transferred to the Kings Canadian Red Cross Convalescent Hospital, a Crown-owned house which the Canadian Red Cross was allowed to use, in Bushey Park, Hampton Hill. The Advanced Dressing Station east of Arras, France. Once treated, the wounded would be moved to a Casualty Clearing Station. (Library and Archives Canada) Trench fever is an infectious bacterial disease spread by lice. Its symptoms include high fever and severe headaches and recovery can take weeks. "You can imagine what they were going through in the trenches with the lice and the lack of sanitation," Lindsay says. McCrae was not alone in contracting the disease. It is estimated that between one-fifth to one-third of British soldiers had bouts of trench fever. As for nephritis, it is an inflammation of the kidneys and is caused by infections and autoimmune disorders. By June 8, 1918, McCrae was at a Remedial Treatment Gymnasium in Seaford, England, diagnosed with nephritis and experiencing vertigo and back pain. A note in his file says he "looks well." McCrae was able to get leave from July 24 to Aug. 5, before returning to continue his rehabilitation. His progress notes on Aug. 13 say he was doing all of his exercises. Canadian soldiers man the trenches at Vimy Ridge during the First World War. (The Canadian Press / Archives) But by Oct. 23, he was back in hospital with trench fever. A couple of weeks later, McCrae was taken to his final stop, the No. 14 Canadian General Hospital in Eastbourne, where, on Nov. 7, he was diagnosed with influenza and pneumonia and described as "dangerously ill." He died four days later. McCrae was diagnosed with several medical conditions, including albuminuria. (Library and Archives Canada) One of the documents in McCraes medical file, under remarks, notes in capital letters with a box around it: "DIED 11-11-18" But Lindsay says it was probably the combination of influenza, pneumonia and kidney disease that ended McCraes life. "He had influenza, but then he got a major medical complication with his kidneys." "You get cyanotic when you die which, simply, means to turn blue. When body fluids build up in your body, all organs are involved, including the lungs. He had influenza, renal failure, too much fluid in his body and probably fluid in the lungs and around the heart. The lungs are like a sponge filled with fluid before he died. "He ultimately died, probably of multi-organ failure." Lindsay says there are many medical procedures that McCrae would have received had he lived 100 years later. "Today, with the kidney failure, we would treat him with dialysis," he says. "They couldnt do dialysis then. We would intubate him to support his breathing. There are so many more medical options available today. "With a severe flu illness patients can die, but these days we can support people with intubation, intensive-care units and supportive medical techniques. But, if you already have medical conditions such as kidney disease or heart disease, the flu is just one more straw to get you in trouble." The public records and interviews with descendants dont offer a very detailed picture of Robert McCrae. Robert McCraes headstone in at Seaford Cemetery. (Seafords War Memorial) But Kathleen Epp, a senior archivist at Archives Manitoba, says McCrae is one of many Manitoba soldiers who died during the First World War whose names do not appear on the archives partial index. "You might think you could go by where they enlisted, but many from Saskatchewan enlisted at Camp Hughes in Manitoba so you cant always go by that," she says. "They didnt keep records together of the provinces they came from... they didnt think people would want to know something 100 years later." The list, which has 1,092 names, was compiled from a "shoebox" they received filled with index cards, she says. "We think Public Works was trying to assemble a comprehensive list of Manitobans killed in the war," she says. "We dont know why they stopped doing it or maybe they were trying to complete it after the war. We really dont know much about it." Its believed as many as 7,000 Manitoba men and women died in the First World War. Robert McCraes military records contain a mystery. Robert McCraes name is on three cenotaphs in Manitoba, including Gladstones. (Ken Gigliotti / Free Press files) Among the papers, there is a will, which names his beneficiaries. His mother, who was living near St. Rose du Lac at the time of his death is listed. So is Miss Hannah Howell of Roblin. A girlfriend? Someone McCrae met while farming in the Roblin area? A sweetheart back home he planned to marry when he returned? No one knows today, but years after McCraes death, in 1933, Howell married Jack Nastrom, from a farm north of Roblin. Nastrom served in both the First and Second World Wars and after the second he and his wife lived on Soldier Settlement Land in the Blue Wing district named for the nearby Blue Wing Lake, now in the RM of Shellmouth-Boulton just southeast of Roblin where they ran the local post office. The local history book says Howell died at age 74, after suffering several strokes in 1971, followed by her husband in 1981. They had no children and both are buried in the Roblin Cemetery. Seaford, England is a long way from home for a guy born and raised on the Manitoba Prairies. Seaford Cemetery is a picturesque spot in the coastal southeast England town about 100 kilometres south of London and east of Brighton. Here, for almost 100 years now, McCrae has lain accompanied by 252 other First World War soldiers of the Commonwealth, 191 of whom were Canadian. There is no Canadian War Memorial on the grounds. Like all of the other Canadians, McCraes white Portland-stone marker has a engraved maple leaf at the top, a cross towards the bottom and his name, rank and the same registration number, 718793, that was at the top of his Attestation Paper he filled out two years before. There is a large Great War Cross of Sacrifice looming above the graves and a stone chapel is behind. Photographs of the time show piled dirt and wooden crosses at fresh graves, but a century later the ground is flat with cut grass and perennial plants in front of each gravestone. Freshly dug graves, mainly for Canadian soldiers, in 1917 at Seafords Cemetery. (Seafords Memorial Inscriptions Group) McCraes white tombstone looks new, and its not an illusion. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission constantly monitors the graves of soldiers, both here and in cemeteries in France, to ensure they are in good condition. If not, they either re-engrave them or they are replaced. Back home in Manitoba, three different communities honour McCrae for his First World War duties. His name is inscribed on not just one, but three, community cenotaphs in Gladstone, Roblin and McCreary. He is also listed in Roblins local history book, along with all of the communitys other First World War soldiers. Asterisks appear after the names of people who didnt return. Theres an asterisk after McCraes name. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca If they are not remembered, was the sacrifice they made even worthwhile? asked an American veteran of the Iraq War, who named his son after a fellow soldier who was killed there. Its quite common, actually. My brother-in-law is named after a member of his fathers bomber crew who was killed over the Balkans in 1944. But the Second World War is still just within the reach of living memory. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/11/2018 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion "If they are not remembered, was the sacrifice they made even worthwhile?" asked an American veteran of the Iraq War, who named his son after a fellow soldier who was killed there. Its quite common, actually. My brother-in-law is named after a member of his fathers bomber crew who was killed over the Balkans in 1944. But the Second World War is still just within the reach of living memory. This weekend, we are asked to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. That is no longer memory; it is history. The images are familiar and some families have names and even pictures of relatives who died in the war, but very few people now alive ever knew them personally. So how should we commemorate the war? Theres not too much rhetoric about glory anymore, thankfully we have grown up a bit but a lot about sacrifice. Thats a safe subject, although the majority of the soldiers who fought in the war had no choice about being there. Just under the surface, however, almost everybody now realizes that the First World War was a huge, pointless waste of at least 11 million lives. Many people knew that even at the time. Yet nobody knew how to stop it and we in the present dont really know what to say about it. The best use of the brief interval of contemplation about war on Nov. 11, therefore, is to try to understand what kind of phenomenon it is. Start with a simple question: where does war come from? The answer is equally simple. Human beings didnt invent war, they inherited it. Our branch of the primate family has always fought wars. If there is an original sin, it goes back beyond the time when the chimpanzee and human lineages split five million years ago. (Chimpanzees still fight wars, too.) So forget about the "causes of war" in the history books. Every kind of human society, with every imaginable kind of economy, has fought wars. Second question: how did war get so big? The First and Second World Wars were far more destructive than previous wars, and the Third World War (if the Cold War had ever turned hot) would have been at least 10 times bigger than that. When the size and resources of a society grow, it tends to fight bigger wars just because it can. The issues at stake are not bigger than before, but losing a war is so unappealing that countries generally wont quit until they have thrown all their resources into it. And finally, how can you tell when some stupid little thing like an assassination in Sarajevo is going to blow up into a "world war" with all the trimmings? Answer: you cant. Which brings us to the Power Law. People want a big disaster to have a big cause and a recognizable villain, so people writing about the outbreak of the First World War try hard to find some country to blame. If they are writing in English or French, they generally blame Germany, which allegedly wanted the war and made it happen. But thats nonsense. The Power Law describes how so-called "critical systems" like those that produce earthquakes and forest fires are completely undiscriminating about the scale of the event. Most events will be on the smaller side, but you dont need special causes to get a huge one: literally any size of event can happen at any time. A critical system is one that is inherently unstable, and locks in more and more instabilities as time goes by. Think of the accumulating stresses along a fault line between two continental plates, or the accumulation of inflammable debris on the forest floor. From time to time, there will be earthquakes and forest fires, but most of them will be small. The Power Law says that any one of them could be the Big One. To know if a particular class of events is subject to the Power Law, you just graph the scale of the events against their frequency. If it turns out to be a straight relationship where doubling the size of the event decreases the frequency by half or makes it four times less likely, or 16 times, or any other power of two then you are dealing with a critical system. In that case, you can forget about seeking major causes for bigger events. A random pebble is 16 times less likely to cause a huge avalanche than a little avalanche, but it can cause either. Jack Levy, in a massive 1983 study titled War in the Modern Great Power System, measured the size of every war in the past 450 years by its casualties, and found that doubling the size exactly halves the frequency. This means that great wars do not need great causes. Once sufficient strains have accumulated in a critical system, a world war can strike out of a clear blue sky, as it did in the summer of 1914. Or now, for that matter. Gwynne Dyers new book is Growing Pains: The Future of Democracy (and Work). Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 9/11/2018 (1108 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. This Remembrance Day, poppies arent just adorning lapels. Theyre also adorning social media feeds. As 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the First World War, it seems fitting that the Royal Canadian Legion would launch Poppy 2.0. For the first time, those wishing to show their respect can go to mypoppy.ca, make a monetary contribution to the Poppy Fund and receive an official digital poppy that can then be posted to their Instagram, Twitter and Facebook feeds. People are also able to personalize and dedicate their poppy to a veteran. Perhaps most significantly, the advent of the digital poppy ushers in a new era in which donations to the Poppy Fund can, for the first time, be made online, which means folks no longer have to worry about having cash for the poppy box. Whether this translates into increased donations to the fund remains to be seen, but with the digital poppy, the Legion has made supporting the fund which is used to support Canadian veterans and their families even easier. The prospect of a digital poppy also makes sense in an era in which much of our lives are lived online. The poppy, the poignant symbol of remembrance thanks to Lt-Col. John McCraes famous poem In Flanders Fields, is meant to be visible, and we spend a lot of time looking down at our phones. A tablet displays a digital poppy Canadians can post on social media. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press files) Wearing a poppy is a show of reverence and respect, whether its on your parka or in your profile picture, but its worth remembering that the digital poppies are meant to complement, not replace, the lapel poppies which themselves are meant to complement, not replace, the act of observing Remembrance Day. And this Remembrance Day, especially, is momentous. Its been a full century since the guns fell silent at the end of a war that was supposed to end all wars. As time marches on and Nov. 11, 1918, moves further back in history, it becomes even more incumbent on the living to remember, and to honour the courageous Canadians who gave up so much. Those who were there in the trenches arent here to tell us. Canadas last known First World War veteran, John Babcock, died in 2010 at 109. In our busy lives, its easy for Remembrance Day to become another day off, with the 11th minute of the 11th hour rolling by without so much as a passing glance. Its easy to scroll past row upon row of digital poppies without pausing for a moment to reflect on the sacrifices made and the blood, sweat and tears shed in the First World War and the wars that followed. There are many opportunities to observe Remembrance Day in a way that allows one to connect with ones community, from the service at the RBC Convention Centre to the Brookside Cemetery tour and all the events in between. Or one might choose to take a private moment at home. The poppy, whether its physical or digital, is meant to be a reminder. Engaging in the act of remembrance is what gives it meaning. Its autumn 2018 and harvest time in Abruzzo, Italy. Thousands of sweet, mature green and purple grapes release their lifes juices into deep repositories to be transformed into fine local Trebbiano and Montepulciano wine. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/11/2018 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Its autumn 2018 and harvest time in Abruzzo, Italy. Thousands of sweet, mature green and purple grapes release their lifes juices into deep repositories to be transformed into fine local Trebbiano and Montepulciano wine. It was in the Italian autumn of 1943 that hundreds of young and war-weary Canadian soldiers poured their lifes blood onto the soil of these Abruzzi hills to harvest a hard-won victory at Ortona, the city that today in 2018 commemorates the 75th anniversary of those who died in that battle. Author Farley Mowat as a 2nd lieutenant in the Hastings Prince Edward Regiment, training in Canada. I am fortunate, or maybe not, to be living among the pages of Canadas history book, here on the Canadian battlegrounds of the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. I was helped along on my journey to a realization of what war is when I read Farley Mowats moving account of his experiences here in the Adriatic sector when he was just a a 22-year old platoon commander of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment. Anybody who has not read And No Birds Sang is encouraged to read this non-fiction book and to put themselves in his place, duty-bound in his inescapable encounters with horrific events and unforgettable people that transformed him forever. I had lived in Italy for 20 years before I saw my own particular forest for the trees. And by that, I mean I had never given the graves in The Moro River Canadian War Cemetery at Ortona a thought more profound than, "What a terrible waste all these gravestones, all those lives!" How shallow I had been, how callous, how stupid. And I cant really say exactly when I understood what these graves really meant. It was an awakening like one might feel living in the old family home all their life amid Dads pipes, Aunt Jens doilies, Grandfathers rocking chair. And then looking through the family photo album and being catapulted into a journey to know more about the grandfather you never knew but who had made that rocking chair over there with his own hands. You start out on a mission of discovery, then, to fill the void that you never even knew you had. It was like this for me. I decided to write to Farley Mowat in December 2009 and express my gratitude to him for his poignant account of war that had moved me to discover a closeness to it, and also for his part in bringing peace to troubled times. I spoke of his reference to his comrade, Dr. Homer Eshoo, of Winnipeg, who I also knew as a neighbour in St. Vital he lived on Kingston Row, my family was just around the corner on Mager Drive and who, as a young medic, had succoured the injured and, as Farley says, was "a man for whom I had enormous respect, and a touch of fear, because his ability to suppress his own needs and give of himself to those in dire need was simply limitless." Mowat himself was anything but self-aggrandizing when he writes that back in 1954, he had returned to the battlegrounds of his war and had then decided never again, as he put it, to "expose myself to that kind of memorial experience." The Ortona fighting had been brutal, often hand-to-hand fighting, and dealing with quagmires of mud and terribly maimed men. Mowat brought his version of war into my hands and into my heart. And now, I see each grave representing an individual human being who had only wanted a secure and safe world. Like Farley, like Dr. Eshoo. The least I can do is to collect as many personal stories as I can about these hometown boys and share them with visitors who come to the cemetery. Mowat sums up his March 2010 letter to me, saying, "One place I keep returning to in memory is the Ortona salient." His comrades who lie in these grounds are all part of that memory and, most probably, thankful for his poignant and recorded remembrances of them that will live on. We will remember them. Winnipeg-born Martha A. Sarmatiuk is a freelance writer and amateur historian who has lived in the Abruzzo region since 1983. On Sunday, we will pause and give remembrance to those who have sacrificed their lives so we may enjoy the freedoms we have and sometimes take for granted. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/11/2018 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. On Sunday, we will pause and give remembrance to those who have sacrificed their lives so we may enjoy the freedoms we have and sometimes take for granted. Memories of those lost are kept alive each year because they carry important lessons for us today. Wars take terrible tolls on families for generations. In Canada, we choose Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. as our time for silence and reflection the day, the hour and the minute that signalled the end of the First World War. Ron Pradinuk / Winnipeg Free Press The Ring of Remembrance at Ablain-Saint-Nazaire in France honours casualties from both sides of the First World War. While most countries honour their war dead, whether related to the First World War or not, they may do it on different days and even for different wars. Most countries recognize the importance of memorializing those who sacrificed their lives to help them gain freedom. The Netherlands is such a country. It honours Canadians who lost their lives in the Second World War, but its special day is on May 4 of each year. It is the day when Canadian soldiers are credited with freeing it from Nazi oppression. Hundreds now lie in Canadian cemeteries on Dutch soil. Every year on May 4, children are asked to place candles on each Canadian grave so that as young as they are, they, too, appreciate the role Canada played in helping the Netherlands become the prosperous country it is today. One of my most powerful emotional experiences came during my visit to the Holten Canadian War Cemetery three years ago. I asked a middle-aged man if his generation felt the same about the Canadian effort as his elders. He replied by telling me his father brought him to the cemetery once a year and said to him, "Look out there. They are the only reason you have what you have today." While Canadas official Remembrance Day is Sunday, July 1 commemorations in Newfoundland have more meaning. During the First World War, years before Newfoundland became a Canadian province, soldiers fought under the British flag. On July 1, 1916, the first day of what is known as the Somme Offensive, 758 of its soldiers went to battle. By the end of that day, 90 per cent of them were dead or dying. As we celebrate Canada Day, many Newfoundlanders will travel to Beaumont-Hamel in France, where they are still honoured annually by the French. A bronze caribou, their battle mascot, stands watch over those who lie below. It was erected to remind all of how much that small province sacrificed. Because Nov. 11 falls on a Sunday this year, Britain will commemorate Remembrance Day that day, as well. However, in other years, it takes place on the first Sunday closest to Nov. 11. In the United States, Memorial Day, which is always on the last Monday in May, is when U.S. soldiers who gave their lives are most remembered. It recognizes those who have fallen in all conflicts going back to the American Civil War, which is still the deadliest conflict in U.S. history. South Koreas day of memorial is June 6, to remember those who died in the Korean War, which began in 1950. A number of Canadians lost their lives in that conflict as well. Nigeria, a Commonwealth member, also observed remembrance on Nov. 11 at one time. However, after the end of its brutal civil war, in 1970, the country changed it to Jan. 15. Atomic bombs hastened the end of the Second World War in Japan. The near-complete devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki turned the country into one of the strongest opponents of using the instruments of war to settle disputes. Aug. 15, the day Japan surrendered to the Allied forces, is known as the Day for Mourning the War Dead and Praying for Peace. Russia also pays tribute to those who gave their lives in the Second World War. However, its day of remembrance is May 9, a day after VE Day is marked in much of Europe. Ceremonies are also held this day in Israel, as well as several eastern European countries. The almost yearlong Battle of Gallipoli was one of the most unsuccessful in the First World War for the Allies. For the combined Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, known as ANZAC, it was especially devastating. But it heralded the beginning of a national consciousness in those two countries, which would lead to the strong nationhood they are respected for today. In both countries, April 25, the day their forces landed in Gallipoli, is when those who died are commemorated. Turkey was an ally of Germany in the Battle of Gallipoli. It was part of the victorious side in that conflict, but many of its soldiers were lost in the fighting, as well. That country remembers its fallen troops on Martyrs Day, March 18 the date of a key naval battle in the conflict. The significant day of observance in Italy is known as the National Unity and Armed Forces Day. It falls on Nov. 4, marking the day in 1918 when the then-powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire was defeated and surrendered to Italian forces. France, too, will commemorate Armistice Day on Sunday. One of the more powerful recognitions that war affects all sides of a conflict is the Ring of Remembrance, on the grounds of the largest First World War military cemetery in France Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, near the Arras battlefield. Erected in 2014, it honours the 600,000 people, friend and foe, who perished in the battles there. Their names are carved into the circular monument to recognize the horrors of war for all nations. Please take time on Sunday to pay tribute to those who are gone, but whose memories live in the freedom we enjoy today. On Nov. 16, I will be doing a presentation on Athens and the Greek Islands at the Millennium Public Library at noon. There is no charge to attend, nor do you have to pre-register. If you would like to follow my Voices of Travel podcasts, you can subscribe to them on iTunes or Google Play. If you have travel question you would like answered contact me at pradinukr@shaw.ca. MENAGESHA, Ethiopia On a wooded hill near Ethiopias capital of Addis Ababa, bits of red clay litter the ground next to glittering flakes of obsidian. Nearby, half-buried stones are arranged in a line. On the other side of the hill, a rectangular stone slab appears to have been broken in half. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/11/2018 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. MENAGESHA, Ethiopia On a wooded hill near Ethiopias capital of Addis Ababa, bits of red clay litter the ground next to glittering flakes of obsidian. Nearby, half-buried stones are arranged in a line. On the other side of the hill, a rectangular stone slab appears to have been broken in half. For archeologists like Samuel Walker and his colleague Ayele Tarekegn, its evidence that this was once the site of a medieval city. The bits of clay are shards of pottery, the flakes of obsidian were tools used by artisans to work leather, and the stones probably were once the walls of churches and palaces. "Its unbelievable that its here," Walker said. "When I saw this, I thought this is just the tip of the iceberg everywhere we dig, we find stuff." Archeological digs are rare in Ethiopia, despite its wealth of potential sites. "Its a poor country, and archeology is a very expensive subject," said Ayele, who is trying to develop the field in the country. "Its all to do with money and developing the expertise, the personnel and the manpower." There are plans to organize a conference of donors in January to develop Ethiopian archeology, preserve existing sites and maybe explore new ones. More investment in the field could shed light on little-known parts of the countrys history. Perhaps more important, it may bring clarity to some of the modern debates roiling Ethiopia as it transitions from oppressive authoritarianism to a freer society in which its many ethnic groups can make their voices heard. When reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to office in April, he sought to open up the country by inviting back exiled rebels, releasing political prisoners and ending long-running government repression. His changes have been enormously popular, but they have also been accompanied by unrest. With more than 80 ethnic groups competing for land and influence, animosities suppressed by the old government have risen to the surface, especially between the two main groups: the Oromo the largest in the country, but one that has long felt marginalized and the Amhara, the historical rulers of much of Ethiopia. Both groups are sparring over which can lay claim to the capital, Addis Ababa. The Oromo say it was their land before Emperor Menelik II, the ruler of the Amhara-dominated Abyssinian Empire, took it away to found the city in 1887. The Amhara say it was part of their empire long before the Oromo migrated there. The remnants of the cities that Walker has found could help answer these questions. Suddenly, history and archeology have become political. While there are medieval ruins in Ethiopia, not much is known about the period. A map of the region drawn in 1450 by a Venetian monk showed Ethiopia covered in cities like the one Walker found. "The material culture we have surviving from that time shows significant direct importing of religious and cultural material from as far away as France and Flanders. It is incredibly wealthy and artistically articulate," said Verena Krebs, an expert on medieval Ethiopia at Germanys Ruhr-University Bochum. But when the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century, they found a place with few permanent settlements. So what happened in the intervening years? War. To be precise, religious wars. In the 1520s, Ethiopias Muslim vassal states rebelled against the Christian hegemony. Their forces descended on what was then the Abyssinian Empire and sought to destroy it, burning palaces, monasteries and trading posts and carrying off untold riches in gold and silver. With Portuguese help, the Ethiopians defeated the Muslims, but the two adversaries were left exhausted. The Ethiopian forces retreated from the area around modern-day Addis Ababa; into the vacuum came the Oromo people from the south. They settled the area and worked the land as farmers and herders until most traces of the ruined cities had vanished. Walker, using a combination of ancient maps, Google Earth and a knowledge of trade routes, is hunting for those lost cities. Such discoveries could remind modern Ethiopians of their countrys past as a wealthy, cosmopolitan trading empire with contacts around the world. Abiy, the new prime minister, has said he wants to restore the countrys links with the outside world, especially its international trade. As anger between Ethiopias many peoples reaches a fever pitch some 1.4 million people have been displaced this year by violence across the country archeology may provide a timely warning about how war, fanaticism and ethnic rivalry destroyed Ethiopia in the past. Washington Post The night was clear, the air thick with humidity and filled with the sounds of Vivaldis Four Seasons. It was Oct. 27 in Mosul, Iraq, and a makeshift orchestra was putting on a show one unlike anything the city had seen for decades, one local journalist said. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 10/11/2018 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The night was clear, the air thick with humidity and filled with the sounds of Vivaldis Four Seasons. It was Oct. 27 in Mosul, Iraq, and a makeshift orchestra was putting on a show one unlike anything the city had seen for decades, one local journalist said. The orchestra a mix of players, including a range of Baghdad professionals as well as local amateurs drew an audience of hundreds to a plot of land where the Islamic State group once trained its next generation of soldiers. For spectators and participants, it marked an artistic rebirth in a city still trying to rebuild after the militant groups harrowing three-year rule. Mosul, ruled by IS from 2014 to 2017, was the largest city under the groups control. Civilians were ruled by a strict religious code that called for harsh punishments; executions of men and women charged with crimes such as spying or adultery were routinely held in public squares. Then much of Mosul was destroyed during the Iraqi governments eight-month offensive to recapture the city, during which hundreds of thousands of civilians fled and thousands of others were killed. It has been more than a year after since then-prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared Mosul liberated, but much of the city is still in ruins and struggling to find the funding to pick up the pieces. Organizers of last months performance hoped the concert could help residents grapple with the trauma. "This city deserves culturally to be identified as somewhere where there should be music instead of the sound of bombs," said the concerts conductor, Karim Wasfi. Wasfi is the former conductor of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, whose Peace Through Arts foundation helped put on the show. Wasfi is known for bringing music to dark places. He drew international attention in 2015 when he played his cello atop some rubble in Baghdad where a car bomb had exploded the day before. Mourners and passersby sang along as he played Iraqs national anthem. That performance came during a bleak time: IS still held control of major swaths of the country, and hundreds of civilians were killed each month by acts of terrorism and violence. The purpose of playing, Wasfi told the Washington Post at the time, was to reach "out to people exactly where someone had experienced something so grotesque and ugly earlier." Wasfis organization hoped to do the same in Mosul and also perhaps draw attention from international donors who could help reconstruction efforts. "The government is depending on international support to rebuild Mosul," said Salih Elias, a local journalist who helped organize the show. "A concert like this will send a positive message to the international world." Sure enough, the city is drawing more cultural summits in the hopes of revitalization. This weekend, the annual Iraqi song festival took place at the University of Mosul, a choice made by the national government. "We insisted... to do the festival this year in Mosul to support this city because its been through a lot, and to send a message to the whole world that Mosul is alive," said Asia Kamal, the deputy head of the Iraqi Artists Association, who spearheaded the festival. Wasfi and his band of musicians will perform in Mosul again today. This time, Elias said, the concert will take place in the more heavily damaged western half of the city, near a tall building where IS used to execute LGBTTQ* people by throwing them from the roof. "We are fighting their terror with life and music," he said. Washington Post Victoria Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition, evaluation, and exploration of mineral properties in Canada and the United States. The company primarily explores for gold deposits. Its principal property is 100% owned Dublin Gulch property, which hosts the Eagle Gold deposit covering an area of approximately 555 square kilometers located in central Yukon, Canada. The company was formerly known as Victoria Resource Corporation and changed its name to Victoria Gold Corp. in July 2008. Victoria Gold Corp. was founded in 1981 and is based in Toronto, Canada. Read More Vitamin Shoppe, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a omni-channel specialty retailer and contract manufacturer of nutritional products in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Retail and Manufacturing. The company provides custom manufacturing and private labeling services for vitamin, mineral, and supplement products, as well as develops and markets own branded products. It offers vitamins, minerals, herbs, specialty supplements, sports nutrition products, and other health and wellness products of approximately 900 brands, such as own brands comprising The Vitamin Shoppe, BodyTech, True Athlete, Mytrition, plnt, ProBioCare, Next Step, and Betancourt Nutrition; and national brands, including Optimum Nutrition, Cellucor, Garden of Life, Quest Nutrition, Solaray, Solgar, Megafood, and Nature's Way. The company sells its products through Vitamin Shoppe and Super Supplements retail stores, as well as through its vitaminshoppe.com Website. As of November 7, 2018, it operated 775 company-operated retail stores under the Vitamin Shoppe and Super Supplements retail banners. It also operates franchise stores. The company was formerly known as VS Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. in November 2009. Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey. Read More iShares MSCI EAFE ETF's stock was trading at $56.05 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, EFA shares have increased by 43.3% and is now trading at $80.34. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. Bausch Health Companies Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets a range of pharmaceutical, medical device, and over-the-counter (OTC) products primarily in the therapeutic areas of eye health, gastroenterology, and dermatology. The company operates through four segments: Bausch + Lomb/International, Salix, Ortho Dermatologics, and Diversified Products. The Bausch + Lomb/International segment offers products with a focus on the vision care, surgical, and consumer and ophthalmology Rx products in the United States; and Solta products, branded and generic pharmaceutical products, OTC products, and medical device products, and Bausch + Lomb products in Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. The Salix segment provides gastroenterology products in the United States. The Ortho Dermatologics segment offers dermatological products in the United States; and Solta medical aesthetic devices internationally. The Diversified Products segment provides pharmaceutical products in the areas of neurology and other therapeutic classes, as well as generic and dentistry products in the United States. The company was formerly known as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. and changed its name to Bausch Health Companies Inc. in July 2018. Bausch Health Companies Inc. is headquartered in Laval, Canada. Read More 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 Countrywide plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides residential estate agency and property services in the United Kingdom. It operates through Sales and Lettings, Financial Services, and Business to Business (B2B) segments. The company offers surveying services, including valuation panel management services, residential valuations, and surveys for mortgage lenders; provides corporate, emergency, commercial, and social relocation services; estate, leasehold and block management services; and sells residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural properties, as well as land through public auction. It also provides integrated property services; conveyancing services, such as freehold and leasehold, remortgage, and separate legal representation; and residential property asset management services. In addition, the company is involved in the residential development and investment activities; and provision of single mortgage brokerage services, as well as home and personal insurance. It serves residential and commercial property markets. Countrywide plc was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Milton Keynes, the United Kingdom. Read More CCL Industries Inc. manufactures and sells labels, containers, consumer printable media products, technology driven label solutions, polymer bank note substrates, and specialty films. The company operates through four segments: CCL, Avery, Checkpoint, and Innovia. The CCL segment offers pressure sensitive and specialty extruded film materials for decorative, instructional, functional, and security applications in the consumer packaging, healthcare, chemicals, consumer electronic device, and automotive markets. This segment also provides extruded and laminated plastic tubes, aluminum aerosols and specialty bottles, folded instructional leaflets, precision decorated and die cut components, electronic displays, and other complementary products and services. The Avery segment offers printable media products, including address labels, shipping labels, marketing and product identification labels, business cards, and name badges supported by customized software solutions; and organizational products, such as binders, sheet protectors, indexes and dividers, and writing instruments. This segment also provides direct to consumer digitally imaged media products, such as labels, business cards, name badges, and family oriented identification labels supported by unique Web-enabled e-commerce URLs. The Checkpoint segment provides technology-driven, loss-prevention, inventory management, and labelling solutions, including radio frequency and radio-frequency identification solutions to retail and apparel industries. The Innovia segment offers specialty, high-performance, multi-layer, and surface engineered biaxially oriented polypropylene films for pressure sensitive label materials, flexible packaging, and consumer packaged goods industries. The company operates in Canada, the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and New Zealand. CCL Industries Inc. was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Read More Cenovus Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, and Refining and Marketing segments. The Oil Sands segment develops and produces bitumen in northeast Alberta. Its bitumen assets include Foster Creek, Christina Lake, and Narrows Lake, as well as other projects in the early stages of development. The Conventional segment holds assets primarily located in Elmworth-Wapiti, Kaybob-Edson, and Clearwater operating areas of British Columbia and Alberta, as well as various interests in natural gas processing facilities. The Refining and Marketing segment transports and sells crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs. This segment owns a 50% ownership in Wood River and Borger refineries located in the United States; and owns and operates a crude-by-rail terminal in Alberta. Cenovus Energy Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Read More United Technologies Corporation provides technology products and services to building systems and aerospace industries worldwide. Its Otis segment designs, manufactures, sells, and installs passenger and freight elevators, escalators, and moving walkways; and offers modernization products to upgrade elevators and escalators, as well as maintenance and repair services. The company's Carrier segment provides heating, ventilating, air conditioning, refrigeration, fire, security, and building automation products, solutions, and services for commercial, government, infrastructure, residential, and refrigeration and transportation applications. This segment also offers building services, including audit, design, installation, system integration, repair, maintenance, and monitoring. Its Pratt & Whitney segment supplies aircraft engines for commercial, military, business jet, and general aviation markets; and provides aftermarket maintenance, repair, and overhaul, as well as fleet management services. The company's Collins Aerospace Systems segment provides electric power generation, power management, and distribution systems; air data and aircraft sensing systems; engine control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems; engine components; environmental control systems; fire and ice detection, and protection systems; propeller systems; engine nacelle systems; aircraft lighting, seating, and cargo systems; actuation and landing systems; space products and subsystems; avionics systems; flight controls, communications, navigation, oxygen, and training systems; food and beverage preparation, and storage and galley systems; and lavatory and wastewater management systems. The company offers its services through manufacturers' representatives, distributors, wholesalers, dealers, retail outlets, and sales representatives, as well as directly to customers. United Technologies Corporation was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. Read More 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 Abbott Laboratories: 3A Nutrition (Vietnam) Company Limited, ABON Biopharm (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AGA Medical Belgium, AGA Medical Corporation, AGA Medical Holdings Inc., ALR Holdings, AML Medical LLC, APK Advanced Medical Technologies LLC, ATS Bermuda Holdings Limited, ATS Laboratories Inc., Abbott, Abbott (Jiaxing) Nutrition Co. Ltd., Abbott (UK) Finance Limited, Abbott (UK) Holdings Limited, Abbott AG, Abbott Asia Holdings Limited, Abbott Asia Investments Limited, Abbott Australasia Holdings Limited, Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd, Abbott B.V., Abbott Bahamas Overseas Businesses Corporation, Abbott Belgian Investments, Abbott Bermuda Holding Ltd., Abbott Biologicals B.V., Abbott Biologicals LLC, Abbott Bulgaria Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Capital India Limited, Abbott Cardiovascular Inc., Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc., Abbott Delaware LLC, Abbott Diabetes Care Inc., Abbott Diabetes Care Limited, Abbott Diabetes Care Sales Corporation, Abbott Diagnostics GmbH, Abbott Diagnostics International Ltd., Abbott Diagnostics Technologies AS, Abbott Doral Investments S.L., Abbott Equity Holdings Unlimited, Abbott Equity Investments LLC, Abbott Established Products Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Finance Company SA, Abbott Financial Holdings SRL, Abbott France S.A.S., Abbott Fund Tanzania Limited, Abbott Gesellschaft m.b.H., Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, Abbott Health Products LLC, Abbott Healthcare (Puerto Rico) Ltd., Abbott Healthcare B.V., Abbott Healthcare Costa Rica S.A., Abbott Healthcare LLC, Abbott Healthcare Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Healthcare Private Limited, Abbott Healthcare Products B.V., Abbott Healthcare Products Ltd, Abbott Holding (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding GmbH, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited Luxembourg S.C.S., Abbott Holdings B.V., Abbott Holdings LLC, Abbott Holdings Limited, Abbott Holdings Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Hungary Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Iberian Investments (2) Limited, Abbott Iberian Investments Limited, Abbott India Limited, Abbott Informatics Asia Pacific Limited, Abbott Informatics Canada Inc, Abbott Informatics Corporation, Abbott Informatics Europe Limited, Abbott Informatics France, Abbott Informatics Germany GmbH, Abbott Informatics Netherlands B.V., Abbott Informatics Singapore Pte. Limited, Abbott Informatics Spain S.A., Abbott Informatics Technologies Ltd, Abbott International Corporation, Abbott International Enterprises Ltd., Abbott International Holdings Limited, Abbott International LLC, Abbott International Luxembourg S.ar.l., Abbott Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Ireland, Abbott Ireland Financing Designated Activity Company, Abbott Ireland Limited, Abbott Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Abbott Knoll Investments B.V., Abbott Korea Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Bangladesh) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco (Dos) SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Laboratories (Mozambique) Limitada, Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Philippines), Abbott Laboratories (Puerto Rico) Incorporated, Abbott Laboratories (Singapore) Private Limited, Abbott Laboratories A/S, Abbott Laboratories Argentina Sociedad Anonima, Abbott Laboratories B.V., Abbott Laboratories C.A., Abbott Laboratories Finance B.V., Abbott Laboratories GmbH, Abbott Laboratories Inc., Abbott Laboratories International LLC, Abbott Laboratories Ireland Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited - Laboratoires Abbott Limitee, Abbott Laboratories NZ Limited, Abbott Laboratories Pacific Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Laboratories Products B.V., Abbott Laboratories Residential Development Fund Inc., Abbott Laboratories S.A., Abbott Laboratories SA, Abbott Laboratories Services Corp., Abbott Laboratories Slovakia s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trustee Company Limited, Abbott Laboratories Uruguay S.A., Abbott Laboratories Vascular Enterprises, Abbott Laboratories d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories de Chile Limitada, Abbott Laboratories de Colombia S.A., Abbott Laboratories de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Abbott Laboratories druzba za farmacijo in diagnostiko d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories(Hellas) Societe Anonyme, Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios del Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Abbott Laboratuarlari Ithalat Ihracat ve Ticaret Ltd.Sti, Abbott Laboratorios Lda, Abbott Laboratorios do Brasil Ltda., Abbott Limited Egypt LLC, Abbott Logistics B.V., Abbott Management GmbH, Abbott Management LLC, Abbott Manufacturing Singapore Private Limited, Abbott Mature Products International Unlimited Company, Abbott Mature Products Management Limited, Abbott Medical (Hong Kong) Limited, Abbott Medical (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Medical (Portugal) Distribuicao de Produtos Medicos Lda, Abbott Medical (Schweiz) AG, Abbott Medical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Australia Pty. Ltd., Abbott Medical Austria Ges.m.b.H., Abbott Medical Balkan d.o.o. Beograd (Novi Beograd), Abbott Medical Belgium, Abbott Medical Canada Inc./ Medicale Abbott Canada Inc., Abbott Medical Danmark A/S, Abbott Medical Devices Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Espana S.A., Abbott Medical Estonia OU, Abbott Medical Finland Oy, Abbott Medical France SAS, Abbott Medical GmbH, Abbott Medical Hellas Limited Liability Trading Company, Abbott Medical Ireland Limited, Abbott Medical Italia S.p.A., Abbott Medical Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Korea Limited, Abbott Medical Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Medical Laboratories LTD, Abbott Medical Nederland B.V., Abbott Medical New Zealand Limited, Abbott Medical Norway AS, Abbott Medical Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Medical Sweden AB, Abbott Medical Taiwan Co., Abbott Medical U.K. Limited, Abbott Medical spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Middle East S.A.R.L., Abbott Molecular Inc., Abbott Morocco SARL, Abbott Nederland C.V., Abbott Nederland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Netherlands Investments B.V., Abbott Norge AS, Abbott Nutrition Limited, Abbott Nutrition Manufacturing Inc., Abbott Operations Singapore Pte. Ltd., Abbott Operations Uruguay S.R.L., Abbott Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Overseas Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Overseas S.A., Abbott Oy, Abbott Point of Care Canada Limited, Abbott Point of Care Inc., Abbott Poland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Procurement LLC, Abbott Products (Philippines) Inc., Abbott Products (Spain) S.L., Abbott Products Algerie EURL, Abbott Products B.V., Abbott Products Distribution SAS, Abbott Products Egypt LLC, Abbott Products Limited, Abbott Products Limited Liability Company, Abbott Products Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Products Operations AG, Abbott Products Operations LLC, Abbott Products Romania S.R.L., Abbott Products Tunisie S.A.R.L., Abbott Products Unlimited Company, Abbott Resources Inc., Abbott Resources International Inc., Abbott S.r.l., Abbott Saudi Arabia Trading Company, Abbott Scandinavia Aktiebolag, Abbott Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, Abbott South Africa Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Strategic Opportunities Limited, Abbott Trading Company Inc., Abbott Universal LLC, Abbott Vascular Devices (2) Limited, Abbott Vascular Devices Limited, Abbott Vascular Inc., Abbott Vascular Instruments Deutschland GmbH, Abbott Vascular International, Abbott Vascular Japan Co. Ltd, Abbott Vascular Limitada, Abbott Vascular Netherlands B.V., Abbott Vascular Solutions Inc., Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott West Indies Limited, Abbott drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu za trgovinu i usluge, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., Alere, Alere (Shanghai) Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Healthcare Management Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Medical Sales Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., Alere A/S, Alere AB, Alere AS, Alere AS Holdings Limited, Alere BBI Holdings Limited, Alere Bangladesh Limited, Alere China Co. Ltd., Alere Colombia S.A., Alere Connect LLC, Alere Connected Health Limited, Alere Connected Health Ltd., Alere Diagnostics GmbH, Alere DoA Holding GmbH, Alere GmbH, Alere GmbH (Austria), Alere GmbH (Germany), Alere HK Holdings Ltd., Alere Health B.V., Alere Health BVBA, Alere Health Corp., Alere Health Sdn Bhd, Alere Health Services B.V., Alere Healthcare (Pty) Limited, Alere Healthcare Connections Limited, Alere Healthcare Inc., Alere Healthcare Nigeria Limited, Alere Healthcare S.L., Alere Holdco Inc., Alere Holding GmbH, Alere Holdings Bermuda Limited, Alere Holdings Pty Limited, Alere Home Monitoring Inc., Alere Inc., Alere Informatics Inc., Alere International Holding Corp., Alere International Limited, Alere Lda, Alere Limited, Alere Limited (New Zealand), Alere Medical BVBA, Alere Medical Co. Ltd., Alere Medical Pakistan (Private) Limited, Alere Medical Private Limited, Alere North America LLC, Alere Oy Ab, Alere Philippines Inc., Alere Phoenix ACQ Inc., Alere Pte Ltd, Alere S.A., Alere S.r.l., Alere S/A, Alere SAS, Alere San Diego Inc., Alere Scarborough Inc., Alere Spain S.L., Alere Switzerland GmbH, Alere Technologies GmbH, Alere Technologies Holdings Limited, Alere Technologies Limited, Alere Toxicology AB, Alere Toxicology Inc., Alere Toxicology S.r.l., Alere Toxicology Services Inc., Alere Toxicology plc, Alere UK Holdings Limited, Alere UK Subco Limited, Alere ULC, Alere US Holdings LLC, Alere s.r.o., Alisoc Investment & Co, Amedica Biotech Inc., Ameditech Inc., American Generics S.A.S., American Medical Supplies Inc., American Pharmacist Inc., Antares S.A., Apica Cardiovascular Limited, Aquagestion Capacitacion S.A., Aquagestion S.A., Arriva Medical LLC, Arriva Medical Philippines Inc., Arvis Investments Limited, Atlas Farmaceutica S.A., Avee Laboratories Inc., Axis-Shield AD III AS, Axis-Shield AD IV AS, Axis-Shield AS, Axis-Shield Diagnostics Limited, Axis-Shield Ltd., BBI Animal Health Limited, BBI Diagnostics Group 2 Public Limited Company, Banco de Vida S.A., Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions Inc., Bioalgae S.A., Biohealth LLC, Biosite Incorporated, Bosque Bonito S.A., Branan Medical Corporation, Brandex Europe C.V., British Colloids Limited, CFR Chile S.A., CFR Interamericas EL Salvador Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, CFR Interamericas Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CFR Interamericas Panama S.A., CFR Pharmaceuticals, California Property Holdings III LLC, CardioMEMS LLC, Caripharm Inc., Cephea Valve Technologies, Cephea Valve Technologies Inc., Colibri Medical Aktiebolag, Comercializadora y Distribuidora CFR Interamericas Honduras S.A., Concateno South Limited, Concateno UK Limited, Consorcio Tecnologico en Biomedicina Clinico-Molecular S.A., Continuum Services LLC, Cozart Limited, Dextech S.A., Diagnostik Nord GmbH, Distribuciones Uquifa S.A.S., Domesco Medical Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation, Duphar International Research B.V., Endocardial Solutions, Epocal (US) Inc, Esprit de Vie S.A., European Chemicals & Co, European Drug Testing Service EDTS AB, European Services S.A., Evalve Inc., Evalve International Inc., FARMINDUSTRIA S.A., Fada Pharma Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Fadapharma del Ecuador S.A., Farmaceutica Mont Blanc S.L., Farmacologia Em Aquicultura Veterinaria Ltda., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV Ecuador S.A., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV S.A., Fernwood Investment S.A., First Check Diagnostics LLC, Focus Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Forensics Limited, Forestcreek Overseas S.A., Fournier Pharma Corp., Fournier Pharma GmbH, Fournier Pharmaceuticals Limited, Framed B.V., Gabmed GmbH, Garden Hills LLC, Global Analytical Development LLC, Globapharm & CO LP, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Golnorth Investments S.A., Gynocare Limited, Gynopharm Sociedad Anonima, Gynopharm de Centroamerica S.A., Gynopharm de Venezuela C.A., Hi-Tronics Designs Inc., IDEV Technologies Inc., IG Innovations Limited, IMTC Finance B.V., IMTC Holdings B.V., IMTC Technologies Inc., Ibis Biosciences LLC, Igloo Zone Chile S.A., Igloo Zone S.L., Inmobiliaria Naknek S.A.C., Innovacon Inc., Instant Tech Subsidiary Acquisition Inc., Instant Technologies Inc., Instituto de Criopreservacion de Chile S.A., Integrated Vascular Systems Inc., Inverness Canadian Acquisition Corporation, Inverness Medical (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc., ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics. The following companies are subsidiares of Danaher: AB SCIEX, AB Sciex Germany GmbH, AB Sciex LLC, AB Sciex LP, AB Sciex Pte Ltd., Accu-Sort Systems, Acme Cleveland Corporation, Advanced Vision Technology, American Precision Industries, Applied Biosystems, Applitek NV, Aquatic Infomatics ULC, Aquatic Informatics, Armstrong Tools, BC Distribution BV, Beckman Coulter, Beckman Coulter Australia Pty Ltd, Beckman Coulter Biotechnology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter Biyomedikal Urunler Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited [irketi], Beckman Coulter Canada LP, Beckman Coulter Commercial Enterprise (China) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter France S.A.S., Beckman Coulter G.m.b.H., Beckman Coulter Genomics Inc., Beckman Coulter Hong Kong Limited, Beckman Coulter Inc., Beckman Coulter India Private Limited, Beckman Coulter International SA, Beckman Coulter International Shanghai Trading Co., Beckman Coulter Ireland Inc., Beckman Coulter K.K., Beckman Coulter Korea Ltd., Beckman Coulter Laboratory Systems (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter Limited Liability Company, Beckman Coulter Mishima KK, Beckman Coulter Nederland B.V., Beckman Coulter Nippon GK, Beckman Coulter S.L.U., Beckman Coulter Saudi Arabia Co.Ltd., Beckman Coulter Srl, Beckman Coulter Taiwan Inc., Beckman Coulter United Kingdom Limited, Beckman Coulter de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Beckman Coulter do Brasil Ltda., Beckman Finance ApS, Beckman Holdings Ltd., BioTector Analytical Systems Ltd, Biosafe S.A., Blue Software LLC, Cepheid, Cepheid AB, Cepheid Europe SAS, Cepheid GmbH, Cepheid HBDC SAS, Cepheid UK Ltd., ChemTreat, ChemTreat Inc., ChemTreat International Inc., Cispus Hong Kong Holding Limited, Cytiva, Cytiva BioProcess R&D AB, Cytiva Biotechnology (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Cytiva Biotechnology (Hang Zhou) Co. Ltd., Cytiva Europe GmbH, Cytiva Sweden AB, Cytiva Sweden Holding AB, DH Europe Finance II Sarl, DH Europe Finance Sarl, DH Holding Italia SRL, DH Japan Finance Sarl, DH Life Sciences LLC, DH Netherlands BV, DH Technologies Development Pte Ltd., DHKAB Company AB, DTIL Ireland Holdings Ltd., Danaher (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Danaher Hong Kong Limited, Danaher Medical ApS, Delta Consolidated Industries, Devicore Medical Products Inc., Easco Hand Tools, Esko, Esko BV, Esko Finance BV, Esko Graphics BV, Esko Software BV, FHAB Company AB, Fluke, G. Lufft Mess- und Regeltechnik GmbH, GE Biopharma, Gelman Sciences Inc., Gendex, Genetix Group, Gilbarco Veeder Root, Gilzoni Ltd., Global Life Sciences Solutions Austria GmbH & Co. KG, Global Life Sciences Solutions Germany GmbH, Global Life Sciences Solutions Korea Ltd., Global Life Sciences Solutions Manufacturing UK Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions New Zealand, Global Life Sciences Solutions Operations UK Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions Singapore Pte Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions USA LLC, Global Life Sciences Technologies (Shanghai) Co Ltd., Global Life Sciences Technologies Japan KK, Hach Company, Hach Lange Finance GmbH, Hach Lange GmbH, Hach Lange Sarl, Hach Sales & Services Canada LP, Hach Ultra Japan KK, Hach Water Quality Analytical Instru. (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., HemoCue AB, HyClone Laboratories LLC, Hybritech Incorporated, Hyclone Life Sciences Solutions India Private Limited, IDBS Group, IRIS International, Imaging Sciences International, Immunotech SAS, Immunotech Sro, Intabio LLC, Integrated DNA Technologies, Integrated DNA Technologies BVBA, Integrated DNA Technologies Inc., Integrated DNA Technologies Pte. Ltd., Iris International Inc., Joslyn Holding Company LLC, KVHG GmbH, KaVo, KaVo Kerr, Kaltenbach & Voigt, Keithley Instruments, Kipp & Zonen BV, Kollmorgen, Labcyte Inc., Laetus, Leica Biosystems Imaging Inc., Leica Biosystems Melbourne Pty Ltd, Leica Biosystems Newcastle Limited, Leica Biosystems Nussloch GmbH, Leica Biosystems Richmond Inc., Leica Instruments (Singapore) Pte Limited, Leica Microsystems, Leica Microsystems (UK) Limited, Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH, Leica Microsystems Cambridge Limited, Leica Microsystems IR GmbH, Leica Microsystems Inc., Leica Microsystems Limited, Leica Microsystems Ltd. Shanghai, Leica Mikrosysteme Vertrieb GmbH, Life Sciences Holdings France SAS*, Lifschultz Industries, Linx Printing Technologies, Linx Printing Technologies Limited, MDS Analytical Technologies, Marconi Data Systems, McCrometer Inc., Microtest, Molecular Devices, Molecular Devices (Austria) GmbH, Molecular Devices LLC, Navman Wireless, Navman Wireless OEM Solutions, Nihon Pall Ltd., Nihon Pall Manufacturing Limited, Nobel Biocare, OTT Hydromet Corp, Pall, Pall (Canada) ULC, Pall (China) Co. Ltd., Pall (Schweiz) GmbH, Pall Aeropower Corporation, Pall Artelis BVBA, Pall Asia Holdings Inc., Pall Australia Pty. Ltd., Pall Austria Filter Ges.m.b.h, Pall Corporation, Pall Europe Limited, Pall Filtersystems GmbH, Pall Filtration Pte. Ltd., Pall Filtration and Separations Group Inc., Pall France SAS, Pall GmbH, Pall India Pvt. Ltd., Pall International Sarl, Pall Italia Srl, Pall Korea Ltd., Pall Life Sciences Belgium BV, Pall Life Sciences Puerto Rico LLC, Pall Manufacturing UK Limited, Pall Medistad BV, Pall Netherlands BV Irish Branch, Pall Technology UK Limited, PaloDEX, Pantone LLC, Pelton & Crane, Phenomenex, Phenomenex Inc., Precision NanoSystems, QHC Ireland Finance Limited, Radiometer, Radiometer Basel AG, Radiometer K.K., Radiometer Medical ApS, Radiometer Medical Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Radiometer Turku Oy, Raytek, Reytek Corporation, SH Switzerland Finance Sarl, Sea-Bird Electronics Inc., SenDx Medical Inc., Shanghai AB Sciex Analytical Instrument Trading Co. Ltd., Sutron, Sybron Dental Specialties, TCIL Ireland Finance Ltd., Tektronix, Thomson Industries, Tianjin Bonna-Agela Technologies Co. Ltd., Trojan Technologies, Trojan Technologies Group ULC, VSS Monitoring, Videojet Do Brasil Comercio de Equipamentos Para Codificacao Industrial Ltda., Videojet Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Videojet Technologies Europe B.V., Videojet Technologies Inc., Viridor Waste Management Limited, Vision Systems Limited, Willett International, X-Ray Optical Systems Inc., X-Rite, X-Rite Europe GmbH, X-Rite Incorporated, X-Rite Switzerland GmbH, XOS, Yukon Hong Kong Holding Limited, and Zhuhai S.E.Z. Videojet Electronics Ltd.. Fraport AG operates airports in Germany, rest of Europe, Asia, and the United States. The company primarily focuses on the operation of Frankfurt Main airport. It operates through four segments: Aviation, Retail & Real Estate, Ground Handling, and International Activities & Services. The Aviation segment operates landside and airside infrastructure, which covers the area of airport charges. The Retail & Real Estate segment engages in retail activities, including marketing of real estate properties and land. This segment also manages buildings and facilities, and parking and retail areas; and rents advertising space. The Ground Handling segment provides loading, baggage, and passenger services through airmail and luggage transport to freight handling. The International Activities & Services segment acquires, operates, maintains, develops, and expands airports and infrastructure facilities. This segment also offers integrated facility and corporate infrastructure management, airport expansion south, and information and telecommunication services. Fraport AG was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Read More iShares National Muni Bond ETF's stock was trading at $114.45 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, MUB shares have increased by 1.6% and is now trading at $116.25. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF's stock was trading at $91.71 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, VOE shares have increased by 61.6% and is now trading at $148.24. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. Greka Drilling Limited, an investment holding company, provides drilling services for coal bed methane companies in China and India. It operates a drilling fleet, which includes purpose-built, hydraulic, and top-drive rigs for the application of drilling services within the unconventional gas industry; and offers completion and directional drilling, as well as geological and geophysical services. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in Zhengzhou, China. Greka Drilling Limited is a subsidiary of Green Dragon Gas (Holdings) Limited. Read More Franklin Covey Co. engages in consulting and training in the areas of strategy execution, customer loyalty, leadership, and individual effectiveness. It operates through the following three segments: Direct Offices, Education Practice, International Licensees and Corporate and Other. The Direct Offices segment includes sales personnel that serve the United States and Canada; international sales offices located in Japan, China, the United Kingdom, and Australia; governmental sales channel; and public program operations. The Education Practice segment includes domestic and international Education practice operations, which are focused on sales to educational institutions such as elementary schools, high schools, and colleges and universities. The International Licensees segment primarily comprised of royalty revenues received from these licensees. The Corporate and Other segment includes leasing operations, shipping and handling revenues, and certain corporate administrative expenses. The company was founded by Brent L. Bishop, Stephen R. Covey and Hyrum Wayne Smith in 1983 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT. Read More Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. is an international offshore energy company. It focuses on subsea construction, maintenance and salvage services to the offshore natural gas and oil industry. The firm also provides specialty services to the offshore energy industry, with a focus on well intervention and robotics operations. The company operates through three segments: Well Intervention, Robotics and Production Facilities. The Well Intervention segment offers vessels and related equipment that are used to perform well intervention services primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and North Sea regions. The Robotics segment involves four chartered vessels and also includes ROVs, trenchers and ROVDrills designed to complement offshore construction and well intervention services. The Production Facilities segment includes its investment in the Helix Producer I and Kommandor LLC. Helix Energy Solutions Group was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Houston, TX. Read More Infineon Technologies AG engages in the provision of semiconductor and system solutions. It operates through the following segments: Automotive, Industrial Power Control, Power & Sensor systems, and Connected Secure Systems. The Automotive segment designs, develops, manufactures, and markets semiconductor for automotive applications. The Industrial Power Control segment involves in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of semiconductors for the generation, transmission, and economy in the use of electrical energy. The Power & Sensor systems segment includes design, development, manufacture, and marketing of semiconductors for energy-efficient power supplies as well as for mobile devices and mobile phone network infrastructures. The Connected Secure Systems designs, develops, manufactures, and markets semiconductor-based security products for card applications and network systems. The company was founded on April 1, 1999 and is headquartered in Munich, Germany. Read More Indoor Skydive Australia Group Limited owns and operates indoor skydiving facilities in Australia and Malaysia. It operates facilities under the iFly Downunder brand located in Penrith; and the iFLY Gold Coast brand located in Queensland. The company also offers FREAK, a free roam and multiplayer virtual reality experience that offers the user the most cutting edge and real life 4D encounters, as well as provides home delivery services. It serves tourists, families, enthusiast, and military. As of November 13, 2020, the company operated 3 FREAK venues. Indoor Skydive Australia Group Limited incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Read More Thundelarra Limited engages in the mineral exploration activities in Australia. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, and uranium; and base metals, such as nickel, zinc, lead, silver, and graphite. Its flagship project is the Garden Gully property comprising 2 granted exploration licenses and 15 granted prospecting licenses covering an area of approximately 78 square kilometers located in Meekatharra in the Murchison district of Western Australia. The company was formerly known as Thundelarra Exploration Limited and changed its name to Thundelarra Limited in March 2013. Thundelarra Limited is based in Nedlands, Australia. Read More iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF's stock was trading at $49.50 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, FLOT stock has increased by 2.5% and is now trading at $50.73. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. iShares S&P 500 Value ETF's stock was trading at $104.96 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, IVE shares have increased by 44.4% and is now trading at $151.56. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. - T. S. Eliot Thoughts After Lambeth "The World is trying the experiment of attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time: so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization, and save the World from suicide." 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 iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol EAFE ETF's stock was trading at $65.02 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, EFAV shares have increased by 18.7% and is now trading at $77.18. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. The following companies are subsidiares of MetLife: 1001 PROPERTIES LLC, 10700 WILSHIRE LLC, 1201 TAB MANAGER LLC, 150 NORTH RIVERSIDE PE MEMBER LLC, 1925 WJC OWNER LLC, 23RD STREET INVESTMENTS INC., 500 GRANT STREET ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, 500 GRANT STREET GP LLC, 60 11TH STREET LLC, 6104 HOLLYWOOD LLC, AFP GENESIS ADMINISTRADORA DE FONDOS Y FIDECOMISOS S.A., AFP PROVIDA S.A., AGENVITA S.R.L., ALICO EUROPEAN HOLDINGS LIMITED, ALICO HELLAS SINGLE MEMBER LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, ALICO OPERATIONS LLC, ALICO PROPERTIES INC., AMMETLIFE INSURANCE BERHAD, AMMETLIFE TAKAFUL BERHAD, American Life Insurance Company, BEST MARKET S.A., BIDV METLIFE LIFE INSURANCE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, BLOCK VISION HOLDINGS CORPORATION, BLOCK VISION OF TEXAS INC., BORDERLAND INVESTMENTS LIMITED, BOULEVARD RESIDENTIAL LLC, BUFORD LOGISTICS CENTER LLC, CC HOLDCO MANAGER LLC, CHESTNUT FLATS WIND LLC, CLOSED JOINT-STOCK COMPANY MASTER D, COMPANIA INVERSORA METLIFE S.A., CORPORATE REAL ESTATE HOLDINGS LLC, COVA LIFE MANAGEMENT COMPANY, DAVIS VISION INC., DAVISVISION IPA INC., DELAWARE AMERICAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, DES MOINES CREEK BUSINESS PARK PHASE II LLC, ECONOMY FIRE & CASUALTY COMPANY, ECONOMY PREFERRED INSURANCE COMPANY, ECONOMY PREMIER ASSURANCE COMPANY, EURO CL INVESTMENTS LLC, EXCELENCIA OPERATIVA Y TECNOLOGICA S.A de C.V., FEDERAL FLOOD CERTIFICATION LLC, FORTISSIMO CO. LTD, FUNDACION METLIFE MEXICO A.C., GLOBAL PROPERTIES INC., General American Life Insurance Company, Grand Bank N.A., HASKELL EAST VILLAGE LLC, HIGH STREET SEVENTH AND OSBORN APARTMENTS LLC, HOUSING FUND MANAGER LLC, INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL AND ADVISORY SERVICES LIMITED, INVERSIONES METLIFE HOLDCO DOS LIMITADA, INVERSIONES METLIFE HOLDCO TRES LIMITADA, JOINT-STOCK COMPANY METLIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, LHC HOLDINGS, LHCW HOLDINGS, LHCW HOTEL HOLDING, LHCW HOTEL HOLDING LLC, LHCW HOTEL OPERATING COMPANY, LONG ISLAND SOLAR FARM LLC, LUMENLAB MALAYSIA SDN. BHD., Logan Circle Partners, MARKETPLACE RESIDENCES LLC, MAXIS GBN S.A.S., MC PORTFOLIO JV MEMBER LLC, MCJV LLC, MCMIF HOLDCO I LLC, MCMIF HOLDCO II LLC, MCP - WELLINGTON LLC, MCP 100 CONGRESS MEMBER LLC, MCP 1500 MICHAEL LLC, MCP 1900 MCKINNEY LLC, MCP 2 AMES LLC, MCP 2 AMES ONE LLC, MCP 2 AMES OWNER LLC, MCP 2 AMES TWO LLC, MCP 220 YORK LLC, MCP 22745 & 22755 RELOCATION DRIVE LLC, MCP 249 INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS PARK MEMBER LLC, MCP 3040 POST OAK LLC, MCP 350 ROHLWING LLC, MCP 4600 SOUTH SYRACUSE LLC, MCP 550 WEST WASHINGTON LLC, MCP 60 11TH STREET MEMBER LLC, MCP 7 RIVERWAY LLC, MCP 9020 MURPHY ROAD LLC, MCP 93 RED RIVER MEMBER LLC, MCP ALLEY 24 EAST LLC, MCP ASHTON SOUTH END LLC, MCP BLOCK 23 MEMBER LLC, MCP BRADFORD LLC, MCP BUFORD LOGISTICS CENTER 2 MEMBER LLC, MCP BUFORD LOGISTICS CENTER BLDG B LLC, MCP BURNSIDE MEMBER LLC, MCP CENTER AVENUE INDUSTRIAL MEMBER LLC, MCP CLAWITER INNOVATION MEMBER LLC, MCP COMMON DESK TRS LLC, MCP DENVER PAVILIONS MEMBER LLC, MCP DILLON LLC, MCP DILLON RESIDENTIAL LLC, MCP ENV CHICAGO LLC, MCP FIFE ENTERPRISE CENTER LLC, MCP FRISCO OFFICE LLC, MCP GRAPEVINE LLC, MCP HIGHLAND PARK LENDER LLC, MCP HUB I LLC, MCP HUB I PROPERTY LLC, MCP LODGE AT LAKECREST LLC, MCP MA PROPERTY REIT LLC, MCP MAGNOLIA PARK MEMBER LLC, MCP MAIN STREET VILLAGE LLC, MCP MOUNTAIN TECHNOLOGY CENTER MEMBER TRS LLC, MCP NORTHYARDS HOLDCO LLC, MCP NORTHYARDS MASTER LESSEE LLC, MCP NORTHYARDS OWNER LLC, MCP ONE WESTSIDE LLC, MCP ONYX LLC, MCP PARAGON POINT LLC, MCP PLAZA AT LEGACY LLC, MCP PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LLC, MCP SEATTLE GATEWAY INDUSTRIAL I LLC, MCP SEATTLE GATEWAY INDUSTRIAL II LLC, MCP SEVENTH AND OSBORNE MF MEMBER LLC, MCP SEVENTH AND OSBORNE RETAIL MEMBER LLC, MCP SHAKOPEE LLC, MCP SLEEPY HOLLOW MEMBER LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL ANAHEIM LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL BERNARDO LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL CANYON LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL CONCOURSE LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL FULLERTON LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL KELLWO00OD LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL LAX LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL LOKER LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL REDONDO LLC, MCP SOCAL INDUSTRIAL SPRINGDALE LLC, MCP STATELINE LLC, MCP THE PALMS AT DORAL LLC, MCP TRIMBLE CAMPUS LLC, MCP UNION ROW LLC, MCP VALLEY FORGE LLC, MCP VALLEY FORGE ONE LLC, MCP VALLEY FORGE OWNER LLC, MCP VALLEY FORGE TWO LLC, MCP VANCE JACKSON LLC, MCP VINEYARD AVENUE MEMBER LLC, MCP VOA HOLDINGS LLC, MCP VOA I & III LLC, MCP VOA II LLC, MCP WATERFORD ATRIUM LLC, MCP WEST BROAD MARKETPLACE LLC, MCP ENGLISH VILLAGE LLC, MCPF ACQUISITION LLC, MCPF FOXBOROUGH LLC, MCPF NEEDHAM LLC, MCPP OWNERS LLC, MCRE BLOCK 40 LP, MEC HEALTH CARE INC., MET 1065 HOTEL LLC, MET CANADA SOLAR ULC, METLIFE 1007 STEWART LLC, METLIFE 1201 TAB MEMBER LLC, METLIFE 425 MKT MANAGER LLC, METLIFE 425 MKT MEMBER LLC, METLIFE 555 12TH MEMBER LLC, METLIFE 8280 MEMBER LLC, METLIFE ACOMA OWNER LLC, METLIFE ADMINISTRADORA DE FUNDOS MULTIPATROCINADOS LTDA., METLIFE ALTERNATIVES GP LLC, METLIFE ASHTON AUSTIN OWNER LLC, METLIFE ASIA HOLDING COMPANY PTE. LTD., METLIFE ASIA LIMITED, METLIFE ASIA SERVICES SDN. BHD, METLIFE ASSET MANAGEMENT CORP., METLIFE ASSIGNMENT COMPANY INC., METLIFE AUTO & HOME INSURANCE AGENCY INC., METLIFE BL FEEDER, METLIFE BL FEEDER LP, METLIFE BORO STATION MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CABO HILTON MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CAMINO RAMON MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CAPITAL CREDIT L.P., METLIFE CAPITAL LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, METLIFE CAPITAL TRUST IV, METLIFE CB W/A LLC, METLIFE CC MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CHILE ADMINISTRADORA DE MUTUOS HIPOTECARIOS S.A., METLIFE CHILE INVERSIONES LIMITADA, METLIFE CHILE SEGUROS DE VIDA S.A., METLIFE CHILE SEGUROS GENERALES S.A., METLIFE CHINO MEMBER LLC, METLIFE COLOMBIA SEGUROS de VIDA S.A., METLIFE COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE INCOME FUND GP LLC, METLIFE COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE INCOME FUND LP, METLIFE COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE ORIGINATOR LLC, METLIFE COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE REIT LLC, METLIFE CONSQUARE MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CONSUMER SERVICES INC., METLIFE CORE PROPERTY FUND GP LLC, METLIFE CORE PROPERTY FUND LP, METLIFE CORE PROPERTY HOLDINGS LLC, METLIFE CORE PROPERTY REIT LLC, METLIFE CORE PROPERTY TRS. LLC, METLIFE CREDIT CORP., METLIFE DIGITAL VENTURES INC., METLIFE EMEKLILIK VE HAYAT A.S., METLIFE EMERGING MARKET DEBT BLEND FUND, METLIFE EU HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED, METLIFE EUROPE INSURANCE d.a.c., METLIFE EUROPE SERVICES LIMITED, METLIFE EUROPE d.a.c., METLIFE EUROPEAN HOLDINGS LLC., METLIFE FINANCIAL SERVICES CO. LTD, METLIFE FM HOTEL MEMBER LLC, METLIFE FUNDING INC., METLIFE GENERAL INSURANCE LIMITED, METLIFE GLOBAL BENEFITS LTD., METLIFE GLOBAL HOLDING COMPANY I GMBH, METLIFE GLOBAL HOLDING COMPANY II GMBH, METLIFE GLOBAL HOLDINGS CORPORATION S.A. De C.V., METLIFE GLOBAL INC., METLIFE GLOBAL OPERATIONS SUPPORT CENTER PRIVATE LIMITED, METLIFE GROUP INC., METLIFE HCMJV 1 GP LLC, METLIFE HCMJV 1 LP LLC, METLIFE HEALTH PLANS INC., METLIFE HOLDINGS INC., METLIFE HOME LOANS LLC, METLIFE INNOVATION CENTRE LIMITED, METLIFE INNOVATION CENTRE PTE. LTD., METLIFE INSURANCE AND INVESTMENT TRUST, METLIFE INSURANCE BROKERAGE INC., METLIFE INSURANCE K.K., METLIFE INSURANCE LIMITED, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL HF PARTNERS LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LLC, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED LLC, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND I LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND II LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND III LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND IV LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND V LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND VI LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND VII LP, METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS, METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS LLC, METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLC, METLIFE INVESTMENTS ASIA LIMITED, METLIFE INVESTMENTS LIMITED, METLIFE INVESTMENTS PTY LIMITED, METLIFE INVESTMENTS SECURITIES LLC, METLIFE INVESTORS DISTRIBUTION COMPANY, METLIFE INVESTORS GROUP LLC, METLIFE IRELAND TREASURY D.A.C., METLIFE JAPAN US EQUITY FUND GP LLC, METLIFE JAPAN US EQUITY FUND LP, METLIFE JAPAN US EQUITY OWNERS, METLIFE JAPAN US EQUITY OWNERS LLC, METLIFE LATIN AMERICA ASESORIAS E INVERSIONES LIMITADA, METLIFE LEGAL PLANS INC., METLIFE LEGAL PLANS OF FLORIDA INC., METLIFE LHH MEMBER LLC, METLIFE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, METLIFE LIFE INSURANCE S.A., METLIFE LOAN ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC, METLIFE MAS S.A. DE C.V., METLIFE MEMBER SOLAIRE LLC, METLIFE MEXICO HOLDINGS S. DE R.L. DE C.V., METLIFE MEXICO S.A., METLIFE MEXICO SERVICIOS S.A. DE C.V., METLIFE MIDDLE MARKET PRIVATE DEBT FUND LP, METLIFE MIDDLE MARKET PRIVATE DEBT GP LLC, METLIFE MIDDLE MARKET PRIVATE DEBT PARALLEL FUND LP, METLIFE MIDDLE MARKET PRIVATE DEBT PARALLEL GP LLC, METLIFE MULTI-FAMILY PARTNERS III LLC, METLIFE MUTUAL FUND COMPANY, METLIFE OBS MEMBER LLC, METLIFE OFC MEMBER LLC, METLIFE ONTARIO STREET MEMBR LLC, METLIFE PARK TOWER MEMBER LLC, METLIFE PENSION TRUSTEES LIMITED, METLIFE PENSIONES MEXICO S.A., METLIFE PET INSURANCE SOLUTIONS LLC, METLIFE PLANOS ODONTOLOGICOS LTDA., METLIFE POWSZECHNE TOWARTZYSTWO EMERYTALNE S.A., METLIFE PRIVATE EQUITY HOLDINGS LLC, METLIFE PROPERTIES VENTURES LLC, METLIFE RC SF MEMBER LLC, METLIFE REAL ESTATE LENDING LLC, METLIFE REINSURANCE COMPANY OF BERMUDA LTD., METLIFE REINSURANCE COMPANY OF CHARLESTON, METLIFE REINSURANCE COMPANY OF VERMONT, METLIFE RETIREMENT SERVICES LLC, METLIFE SAENGMYOUNG INSURANCE COMPANY LTD., METLIFE SECURITIZATION DEPOSITOR LLC, METLIFE SEGUROS S.A., METLIFE SENIOR DIRECT LENDING FINCO LLC, METLIFE SENIOR DIRECT LENDING FUND LP, METLIFE SENIOR DIRECT LENDING GP LLC, METLIFE SENIOR DIRECT LENDING HOLDINGS LP, METLIFE SERVICES AND SOLUTIONS LLC, METLIFE SERVICES CYPRUS LIMITED, METLIFE SERVICES EAST PRIVATE LIMITED, METLIFE SERVICES EEIG, METLIFE SERVICES EOOD, METLIFE SERVICES SOCIEDAD LIMITADA, METLIFE SERVICES SP Z.O.O, METLIFE SERVICIOS S.A., METLIFE SLOVAKIA S.R.O. V LIKVIDACII, METLIFE SOLUTIONS PTE. LTD., METLIFE SOLUTIONS S.A.S., METLIFE SP HOLDINGS LLC, METLIFE SYNDICATED BANK LOAN FUND SCSP, METLIFE SYNDICATED BANK LOAN LUX GP S.A.R.L., METLIFE THR INVESTOR LLC, METLIFE TOWARZYSTWO FUNDUSZY INWESTYCYJNYCH S.A., METLIFE TOWARZYSTWO UBEZPIECZEN NA ZYCIE I REASEKURACJI S.A., METLIFE TOWER RESOURCES GROUP INC., METLIFE TREAT TOWERS MEMBER LLC, METLIFE WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS LLC, METROPOLITAN CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN DIRECT PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC., METROPOLITAN GROUP PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN LIFE SEGUROS E PREVIDENCIA PRIVADA S.A., METROPOLITAN LIFE SOCIETATE de ADMINISTRARE a UNUI FOND de PENSII ADMINISTRAT PRIVAT S.A., METROPOLITAN LLOYDS INC., METROPOLITAN LLOYDS INSURANCE COMPANY OF TEXAS, METROPOLITAN PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN TOWER LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN TOWER REALTY COMPANY INC., MEX DF PROPERTIES LLC, MFA FINANCING VEHICLE CTR1 LLC, MIDTOWN HEIGHTS LLC, MIM CLAL GENERAL PARTNER LLC, MIM EMD GP LLC, MIM I LLC, MIM METWEST INTERNATIONAL MANAGER LLC, MIM ML-AI VENTURE 5 MANAGER LLC, MIM PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LLC, MIM PROPERTY MANAGEMENT OF GEORGIA 1 LLC, MIM THIRD ARMY INDUSTRIAL MANAGER LLC, MISSOURI REINSURANCE INC., ML - URS PORT CHESTER SC MANAGER LLC, ML 300 THIRD MEMBER LLC, ML ARMATURE MEMBER LLC, ML BELLEVUE MANAGER LLC, ML BELLEVUE MEMBER LLC, ML BRIDGESIDE APARTMENTS LLC, ML CAPACITACION COMERCIAL S.A. DE C.V., ML CERRITOS TC MEMBER LLC, ML CLAL MEMBER LLC, ML DOLPHIN GP LLC, ML DOLPHIN MEZZ LLC, ML MATSON MILLS MEMBER LLC, ML MILILANI MEMBER LLC, ML ONE BEDMINSTER LLC, ML PORT CHESTER SC MEMBER LLC, ML SENTINEL SQUARE MEMBER LLC, ML SLOANS LAKE MEMEBR LLC, ML SOUTHLANDS MEMBER LLC, ML SOUTHMORE LLC, ML SWAN GP LLC, ML SWAN MEZZ LLC, ML TERRACES LLC, ML THIRD ARMY INDUSTRIAL MEMBER LLC, ML VENTURE 1 MANAGER S. DE R. L. DE C.V., ML VENTURE 1 SERVICER LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 1 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 2 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 3 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 4 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 5 LLC, MLIA MANAGER I LLC, MLIA PARK TOWER MANAGER LLC, MLIA SBAF COLONY MANAGER LLC, MLIA SBAF MANAGER LLC, MLIC ASSET HOLDINGS II LLC, MLIC ASSET HOLDINGS LLC, MLIC CB HOLDINGS LLC, MLJ US FEEDER LLC, MM GLOBAL OPERATIONS SUPPORT CENTER S.A. DE C.V., MMP CEDAR STREET OWNER LLC, MMP CEDAR STREET REIT LLC, MMP HOLDINGS III LLC, MMP OLIVIAN OWNER LLC, MMP OLIVIAN REIT LLC, MMP OWNERS III LLC, MMP OWNERS LLC, MMP SOUTH PARK OWNER LLC, MMP SOUTH PARK REIT LLC, MREF 425 MKT LLC, MSV IRVINE PROPERTY LLC, MTC FUND I LLC, MTC FUND II LLC, MTC FUND III LLC, MTL LEASING LLC, MTU HOTEL OWNER LLC, NATILOPORTEM HOLDINGS LLC, NEWBURY INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, OCONEE GOLF COMPANY LLC, OCONEE HOTEL COMPANY LLC, OCONEE LAND COMPANY LLC, OCONEE LAND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LLC, OCONEE MARINA COMPANY LLC, OMI MLIC INVESTMENTS LIMITED, PACIFIC LOGISTICS INDUSTRIAL SOUTH LLC, PARK TOWER JV MEMBER LLC, PARK TOWER REIT INC., PJSC METLIFE, PLAZA DRIVE PROPERTIES LLC, PNB METLIFE INDIA INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, PREFCO FOURTEEN LLC, PREFCO XIV HOLDINGS LLC, PROVIDA INTERNACIONAL S.A., SAFEGUARD HEALTH ENTERPRISES INC., SAFEGUARD HEALTH PLANS INC., SAFEHEALTH LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, SEVENTH AND OSBORN MF VENTURE LLC, SINO-US UNITED METLIFE INSURANCE CO. LTD., SOUTHCREEK INDUSTRIAL HOLDINGS LLC, ST. JAMES FLEET INVESTMENTS TWO LIMITED, SUPERIOR PROCUREMENT INC, SUPERIOR VISION BENEFIT MANAGEMENT INC., SUPERIOR VISION HOLDINGS INC., SUPERIOR VISION INSURANCE INC., SUPERIOR VISION INSURANCE PLAN OF WISCONSIN INC., SUPERIOR VISION OF NEW JERSEY INC., SUPERIOR VISION SERVICES INC., Safeguard Health Enterprises, Security First Group Inc., THE BUILDING AT 575 FIFTH AVENUE MEZZANINE LLC, THE BUILDING AT 575 FIFTH RETAIL HOLDING LLC, THE BUILDING AT 575 FIFTH RETAIL OWNER, THE DIRECT CALL CENTRE PTY LIMITED, TRANSMOUNTAIN LAND & LIVESTOCK COMPANY, UVC INDEPENDENT PRACTICE ASSOCIATION INC., VERSANT HEALTH CONSOLIDATIONS CORP., VERSANT HEALTH HOLDCO INC., VERSANT HEALTH LAB LLC, VIRIDIAN MIRACLE MILE LLC, VISION 21 MANAGED EYE CARE OF TAMPA BAY, VISION 21 PHYSICIAN PRACTICE MANAGEMENT COMPANY, VISION TWENTY-ONE MANAGED EYE CARE IPA INC., Versant Health, WDV ACQUISITION CORP., WFP 1000 HOLDING COMPANY GP LLC, WHITE OAK ROYALTY COMPANY, and WHITE TRACT II LLC. Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. is a supplier of precision instruments and services. The firm manufactures weighing instruments for use in laboratory, industrial, packaging, logistics, and food retailing applications. It also manufactures several related analytical instruments and provides automated chemistry solutions used in drug and chemical compound discovery and development; and also, metal detection and other end-of-line inspection systems used in production and packaging and provides solutions for use in certain process analytics applications. Its operations are conducted by the following segments: U. S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations and Other. The U.S. Operations segment represents certain of the company's marketing and producing organizations located in the United States. The Swiss Operations segment includes marketing and producing organizations located in Switzerland, as well as extensive R&D operations that are responsible for the development, production, and marketing of precision instruments, including weighing, analytical, and measurement technologies for use in a variety of industrial and laboratory applications. Th Read More 13 Wall Street equities research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Munchener Ruckvers in the last twelve months. There are currently 1 sell rating, 5 hold ratings and 7 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street equities research analysts is that investors should "hold" Munchener Ruckvers stock. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in MEURV, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares. View analyst ratings for Munchener Ruckvers or view top-rated stocks. Pimco Total Return ETF's stock was trading at $110.14 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, BOND stock has decreased by 0.4% and is now trading at $109.65. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. The following companies are subsidiares of Travelers Companies: 10762962 Canada Inc., 350 Market Street LLC, 8527512 Canada Inc., Aetna Life and Casualty Co, American Equity Insurance Company, American Equity Specialty Insurance Company, Aprilgrange Limited, Arch Street North LLC, Auto Hartford Investments LLC, Bayhill Restaurant II Associates, Camperdown Corporation, Constitution State Services LLC, Discover Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Discover Specialty Insurance Company, F&G UK Underwriters Limited, Farmington Casualty Company, Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Company, Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Underwriters Inc., First Floridian Auto and Home Insurance Company, Gulf Underwriters Insurance Company, IHP Capital Partners Fund VIII L.P., Northbrook Holdings Inc., Northfield Insurance Company, Northland Casualty Company, Northland Insurance Company, Phoenix UK Investments LLC, SPC Insurance Agency Inc., Select Insurance Company, Simply Business Holdings Inc., Simply Business Inc., St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, St. Paul Guardian Insurance Company, St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company, St. Paul Protective Insurance Company, St. Paul Surplus Lines Insurance Company, Standard Fire Properties LLC, Standard Fire UK Investments LLC, TCI Global Services Inc., TPC Investments Inc., TPC U.K. Investments LLC, The Automobile Insurance Company of Hartford Connecticut, The Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company, The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, The Family Business Institute LLC, The Phoenix Insurance Company, The St. Paul Companies Inc., The Standard Fire Insurance Company, The Travelers Casualty Company, The Travelers Home and Marine Insurance Company, The Travelers Indemnity Company, The Travelers Indemnity Company of America, The Travelers Indemnity Company of Connecticut, The Travelers Lloyds Insurance Company, TravCo Insurance Company, Travelers (Bermuda) Limited, Travelers Brazil Acquisition LLC, Travelers Brazil Holding LLC, Travelers Casualty Company of Connecticut, Travelers Casualty Insurance Company of America, Travelers Casualty UK Investments LLC, Travelers Casualty and Surety Company, Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America, Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of Europe Limited, Travelers Commercial Casualty Company, Travelers Commercial Insurance Company, Travelers Constitution State Insurance Company, Travelers Distribution Alliance Inc., Travelers Excess and Surplus Lines Company, Travelers Global Inc., Travelers Indemnity U.K. Investments LLC, Travelers Insurance Company Limited, Travelers Insurance Company of Canada, Travelers Insurance Designated Activity Company, Travelers Insurance Group Holdings Inc., Travelers Lloyds of Texas Insurance Company, Travelers London Limited, Travelers MGA Inc., Travelers Management Limited, Travelers Marine LLC, Travelers Participacoes em Seguros Brasil S.A., Travelers Personal Insurance Company, Travelers Personal Security Insurance Company, Travelers Property Casualty Company of America, Travelers Property Casualty Corp., Travelers Property Casualty Insurance Company, Travelers Seguros Brasil S.A., Travelers Syndicate Management Limited, Travelers Texas MGA Inc., Travelers Underwriting Agency Limited, Ultramar Travel Management, United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, Xbridge Limited, Zensurance Brokers Inc., and Zensurance Inc.. The following companies are subsidiares of Quaker Chemical: AC Products Inc., Applied Surface Concepts Holdings Ltd. , Binol AB, Binol Biosafe OY, Commonwealth Oil Corporation, DA Stuart India Private Limited, DA Stuart Shanghai Co, ECLI Products LLC, EFHCO LLC, Engineered Custom Lubricants, Engineered Custom Lubricants GmbH, Epmar Corporation, G.W. Smith and Sons, GH Holdings Inc., GHG Lubricants Holdings Limited, GHGL London Ltd., GHI Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Global Houghton Ltd., Houghton (Shanghai) Specialty Industrial Fluids Co. Ltd, Houghton Argentina S.A., Houghton Asia Pacific Co. Limited, Houghton Australia Pty. Ltd., Houghton Benelux BV, Houghton CZ s.r.o, Houghton Canada Inc., Houghton Denmark AS, Houghton Deutschland GmbH, Houghton Europe BV, Houghton Holdings Limited, Houghton Iberica S.A. , Houghton International, Houghton International Inc., Houghton Italia S.p.A., Houghton Japan Co. Ltd., Houghton Kimya Sanayi AS, Houghton Magyarorszag Kft, Houghton Mexico S.A. de C.V., Houghton Oil (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd., Houghton Polska Sp. Zo.o., Houghton Romania S.R.L., Houghton S.A.S., Houghton Sverige AB, Houghton Taiwan Co. Limited, Houghton Technical Corp., Houghton Ukraine ToV, Houghton do Brazil Ltda., Houghton plc, Internationale Metall Impragnier GmbH, Lubricor Inc, Lubricor Inc., Lubricor Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Lubricor USA Inc., MIH Acquisition Company LLC, MX Systems International Ltd, Maldaner GmbH, NP Coil Dexter Industries, New Houghton Brazil Inc., Norman Hay Engineering Ltd., QH Chemical Limited, QH Europe BV, QH Holdings Limited, QH International Limited, Quaker (Thailand) Ltd., Quaker Australia Holdings Pty. Limited, Quaker Chemical (Australasia) Pty. Limited, Quaker Chemical (China) Co. Ltd., Quaker Chemical B.V., Quaker Chemical CV, Quaker Chemical Canada Holdings Inc., Quaker Chemical Canada Limited, Quaker Chemical Europe B.V., Quaker Chemical Holdings South Africa (Pty) Limited, Quaker Chemical India Private Limited, Quaker Chemical Industria e Comercio Ltda., Quaker Chemical Investment Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Quaker Chemical Limited, Quaker Chemical MEA FZE, Quaker Chemical Operacoes Ltda., Quaker Chemical Participacoes Ltda., Quaker Chemical S.A., Quaker Chemical S.r.l., Quaker Chemical Services EURL, Quaker Chemical South Africa (Pty.) Limited, Quaker China Holdings B.V., Quaker Denmark ApS, Quaker Houghton (Finco) Ltd., Quaker Houghton Holdings Limited, Quaker Houghton Holdings Ltd., Quaker Houghton International LP, Quaker Houghton Ltd., Quaker International Holdings LLC, Quaker Italia S.r.l., Quaker Russia B.V., Quaker Sales Europe BV, Quaker Shanghai Trading Company Limited, Quaker Spain Holding SLU, Quaker Specialty Chemicals (UK) Limited, SB Decking Inc., SIFCO Applied Surface Concepts (UK) Ltd, SIFCO Applied Surface Concepts LLC, SIFCO Concepts Sarl, SIFCO Concepts Sweden, Sterr & Eder Industrieservice GmbH, Summit Lubricants Inc, Summit Lubricants Inc., Surface Technology (Coventry) Ltd, Surface Technology (Dalian) Co Ltd, Surface Technology (East Kilbride) Ltd., Surface Technology (Leeds) Ltd, Surface Technology Aberdeen Ltd, Surface Technology Australia, Surface Technology Holdings Ltd., TecniQuimia Mexicana, Tecniquimia Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Thai Houghton 1993 Co. Ltd., Ultraseal Asia Limited, Ultraseal Chongqing Limited, Ultraseal Germany GmbH, Ultraseal International Group Ltd, Ultraseal Machinery Dongguan Ltd, Ultraseal Shanghai Limited, Ultraseal USA Inc., Unitek Servicios De Asesoria Especializad S.A de C.V., Verkol S.A.U., Verkol SAU, Wallover Enterprises Inc., Wallover Oil Company Incorporated, Wallover Oil Hamilton Inc., and Wuhan Quaker Technology Co. Ltd. There is not enough analysis data for Amerityre. 4.1 Community Rank Outperform Votes Amerityre has received 49 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.) Underperform Votes Amerityre has received 31 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.) Community Sentiment Amerityre has received 61.25% outperform votes from our community. MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Amerityre and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe AMTY will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe AMTY will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days. Previous Next The following companies are subsidiares of Quest Diagnostics: AmeriPath, AmeriPath Cincinnati Inc. (OH), AmeriPath Cleveland Inc. (OH), AmeriPath Consolidated Labs Inc. (FL), AmeriPath Florida LLC (DE), AmeriPath Hospital Services Florida LLC (DE), AmeriPath Inc. (DE), AmeriPath Indianapolis PC (IN), AmeriPath Kentucky Inc. (KY), AmeriPath Lubbock 5.01(A) Corporation (TX), AmeriPath New York LLC (DE), AmeriPath Texas Inc. (DE), AmeriPath Tucson Inc. (AZ), American Medical Laboratories, American Medical Laboratories Incorporated (DE), Associated Clinical Laboratories L.P. (PA), Associated Clinical Laboratories of Pennsylvania L.L.C. (PA), Athena Diagnostics, Athena Diagnostics Inc. (DE), Blueprint Genetics, Blueprint Genetics FZ-LLC (UAE), Blueprint Genetics Inc. (DE), Blueprint Genetics Oy (Finland), California Laboratory Associates, Cape Cod Healthcare - Business, Celera, ClearPoint Diagnostic, Clearpoint Diagnostic Laboratories LLC (TX), Cleveland HeartLab, Cleveland HeartLab Inc. (DE), Clinical Laboratory Partners, Colorado Pathology Consultants P.C. (CO), ConVerge Diagnostic Services, Consolidated DermPath Inc. (DE), DFW 5.01(a) Corporation (TX), DGXWMT JV LLC (DE), Dermatopathology of Wisconsin S.C. (WI), Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma LLC (OK), Diagnostic Pathology Services Inc. (OK), Diagnostic Reference Services Inc. (MD), ExamOne Canada Inc. (New Brunswick), ExamOne LLC (DE), ExamOne World Wide Inc. (PA), ExamOne World Wide of NJ Inc. (NJ), Focus Diagnostics, HemoCue, Hoffman M.D. Associated Pathologists Chartered (NV), Institute for Dermatopathology Inc. (PA), Isabella Street Urban Renewal LLC (NJ), Kailash B. Sharma M.D. Inc. (GA), Kilpatrick Pathology P.A. (NC), LabOne, LabOne LLC (MO), LabOne of Ohio Inc. (DE), Laboratorio de Analisis Biomedicos S.A. (Mexico), Lancet Labs, MACL, Med Fusion LLC (TX), Med fusion, MedPlus, Mid America Clinical Laboratories LLC (IN), Nomad Massachusetts Inc. (MA), Nuclear Medicine and Pathology Associates (GA), Ocmulgee Medical Pathology Association Inc. (GA), Pathology Building Partnership (MD) (gen. ptnrshp.), PeaceHealth Laboratories, PhenoPath Laboratories, PhenoPath Laboratories PLLC (WA), Q Squared Solutions Holdings LLC (DE), Q Squared Solutions Holdings Limited (UK), Quest Diagnostics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. (China), Quest Diagnostics Brasil Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics Domestic Holder LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics HTAS India Private Limited (India), Quest Diagnostics Health & Wellness LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Holdings Incorporated (DE), Quest Diagnostics Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (MD), Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NV), Quest Diagnostics India Private Limited (India), Quest Diagnostics Infectious Disease Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics International Holdings Limited (UK), Quest Diagnostics International LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Investments LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Ireland Limited (Ireland), Quest Diagnostics LLC (CT), Quest Diagnostics LLC (IL), Quest Diagnostics LLC (MA), Quest Diagnostics Massachusetts LLC (MA), Quest Diagnostics Mexico Holding Company Trust (Mexico), Quest Diagnostics Mexico S de RL de CV (Mexico), Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute (CA), Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute Inc. (VA), Quest Diagnostics Receivables Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics Subsidiary Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics TB LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Terracotta LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Venture LLC (PA), Quest Diagnostics Ventures LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics do Brasil Ltda. (Brazil), Quest Diagnostics of Pennsylvania Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics of Puerto Rico Inc. (PR), Quest HealthConnect LLC (CA), ReproSource, Reprosource Fertility Diagnostics Inc. (MA), Solstas Lab Partners, Sonora Quest Laboratories LLC (AZ), Specialty Laboratories Inc. (CA), Summit Health, UMass Memorial Medical Center - Anatomic Pathology Outreach Laboratory Business, Unilab Corporation, and Unilab Corporation (DE). SociAtA GAnArale SociAtA anonyme provides financial services in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and France. The company offers retail banking services, including deposits and loans, vehicles and asset management, corporate finance, insurance, payments, investment, and online brokerage and financial information services; Internet, mobile, telephone, and service platforms; and online banking to individual and professional customers, businesses, non-profit associations and local authorities under the Societe Generale, CrAdit du Nord, and Boursorama Banque brands. It also provides international retail banking and financial services, comprising of deposit and loan products; consumer finance and car finance; mortgage facilities; corporate and investment banking; infrastructure, renewable energies, and agribusiness financing; life, retirement savings, and personal protection insurance products; vehicle leasing and fleet management services; and vendor and equipment finance services to corporate and individual customers. In addition, the company offers capital market services, such as fixed income and currencies, equities, and securities services; mergers and acquisitions, advisory and other corporate finance advisory services, and corporate banking and investment banking, as well as capital raising solutions for debt or equity, financial engineering, and hedging for issuers; transaction and payment services, comprising of cash management, trade finance, cash clearing and correspondent banking, supply chain finance, and foreign exchange services; and export finance, aircraft finance, shipping finance, real estate finance, and structured solutions and leasing. Further, it provides financial engineering and wealth management solutions; structured products, hedge funds, mutual funds, private equity funds and real estate investment solutions; and asset management solutions. SociAtA GAnArale SociAtA anonyme was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Paris, France. Read More iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF's stock was trading at $170.68 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 (Coronavirus) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, IWO stock has increased by 83.2% and is now trading at $312.65. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. Everest Re Group Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of reinsurance and insurance services. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Reinsurance, International, Bermuda, and Insurance. The U.S. Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance and specialty lines of business, including marine, aviation, surety, and accident and health business, on both a treaty and facultative basis, through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies primarily within the U.S. The International segment offers foreign property and casualty reinsurance through Everest Re's branches in Canada and Singapore and through offices in Brazil, Miami, and New Jersey. The Bermuda segment comprises reinsurance and insurance to worldwide property and casualty markets through brokers and directly with ceding companies from its Bermuda office and reinsurance to the United Kingdom and European markets through its UK branch and Ireland Re. The Insurance segment writes property and casualty insurance directly and through brokers, surplus lines brokers, and general agents within the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartere Read More Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF's stock was trading at $48.36 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, SCHD shares have increased by 61.6% and is now trading at $78.16. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. The following companies are subsidiares of Textron: AAI Corporation, AAI Services Corporation, ALSTOM Gears, Able Aerospace, Able Aerospace Services Inc., Able Engineering & Component Services, Aeronautical Accessories LLC, Airborne Tactical Advantage Company LLC, Arctic Cat, Arctic Cat ACE Holding GmbH, Arctic Cat France SARL, Arctic Cat GmbH, Arctic Cat Inc., Arctic Cat Production LLC, Arctic Cat Production Support LLC, Arctic Cat Sales Inc., Arctic Cat Shared Services LLC, Arctic Cat UK Ltd., Arkansas Aerospace Inc., Avco Corporation, Aviation Service servis letal doo Ljubljana, Aylesbury Automation, B/K Navigational Equipment sro, Beech Aircraft Corporation, Beech Holdings, Beechcraft Defense Support Holding LLC, Beechcraft Domestic Service Company, Beechcraft Germany GmbH, Beechcraft International Holding LLC, Beechcraft International Service Company, Beechcraft New Zealand, Beechcraft Service Company UK Limited, Bell Helicopter GK, Bell Helicopter KK, Bell Textron Asia (Pte.) Ltd., Bell Textron Canada International Inc., Bell Textron Canada Limited/Limitee, Bell Textron Inc., Bell Textron Korea Inc., Bell Textron Miami Inc, Bell Textron Prague a.s., Bell Textron Rhode Island Inc., Bell Textron Services Inc, Bell Textron Supply Center BV, Bell Textron Technical Services Inc., Benzlers, Brazaco Mapri Industrias, Burkland, Cessna Aircraft Company, Cessna Citation European Service Center SAS, Cessna Dusseldorf Citation Service Center GmbH, Cessna Finance Corporation, Cessna Finance Export Corporation, Cessna Mexico S de RL de CV, Cessna Spanish Citation Service Center SLU, Cessna Zurich Citation Service Center GmbH, Citation Parts Distribution International Inc., Cushman Inc., Datacom Technologies, David Brown Group, Doncaster Citation Service Centre Limited, E-Z-GO Canada Limited, Energy Manufacturing, Flexalloy, HBC LLC, Hawker Beech de Mexico S de RL de CV, Hawker Beechcraft Argentina SA, Howe & Howe Inc., Howe and Howe Technologies, Industrial Technology Inc., InteSys Technologies, International Product Support Inc., KSB Annecy SAS, Kautex (Changchun) Plastics Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Chongqing) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Guangzhou) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Pinghu) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Shanghai) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Wuhan) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex Corporation, Kautex Craiova srl, Kautex Germany Holding GmbH, Kautex Inc., Kautex Japan KK, Kautex Shanghai GmbH, Kautex Textron (UK) Limited, Kautex Textron Benelux BVBA, Kautex Textron Bohemia spol sro, Kautex Textron CVS Limited, Kautex Textron GmbH & Co. KG, Kautex Textron Iberica SL, Kautex Textron Italia Srl, Kautex Textron Management Services Company de Puebla S. de RL de CV, Kautex Textron Portugal Produtos Plasticos Sociedade Unipessoal Lda., Kautex Textron de Mexico S de RL de CV, Kautex Textron do Brasil Ltda., Kautex of Georgia Inc., Kaywood Products Corp., Klauke, LCI Corporation International, LLC Textron RUS, Maag, McCord Corporation, Mechtronix, Medical Numerics Inc., Midland Industrial Plastics, MillenWorks, MillenWorks Themed Technologies, MotorFist LLC, OPINICUS Simulation and Training Services LLC, OmniQuip International, Opinicus, Optical Boring Co., Opto-Electronics, Opto-Electronics Inc., Overwatch Systems Ltd., PEINER Umformtechnik, Pirelli Tyres - General Rubber Goods (GRG) division, Premiair Aviation Maintenance Pty Ltd, Progressive Electronics, Ransomes, Ransomes Inc., Ransomes Investment LLC, Ransomes Jacobsen France SAS, Ransomes Jacobsen Limited, Ransomes Limited, Ransomes Pensions Trustee Company Limited, Replacement Part Solutions LLC, Response Technologies LLC, Rotor Blades Limited, Sukosim Verbindungselemente, TRU Simulation & Training Spain SL, TRU Simulation + Training Inc., TRU Simulation + Training LLC, TekGPS Engineering Srl, Textron Airland LLC, Textron Atlantic LLC, Textron Aviation Australia Pty. Ltd., Textron Aviation Canada Ltd., Textron Aviation Defense LLC, Textron Aviation Finance Corporation, Textron Aviation Inc., Textron Aviation Prague Service Center sro, Textron Aviation Rhode Island Inc., Textron Aviation Services de Mexico S de RL de CV, Textron Capital BV, Textron Communications Inc., Textron Far East Pte. Ltd., Textron Finance Holding Company, Textron Financial Corporation, Textron Financial Corporation Receivables Trust 2002-CP-2, Textron Fluid and Power Inc., Textron France Holding SAS, Textron France SAS, Textron Global Services Inc., Textron Ground Support Equipment Inc., Textron Ground Support Equipment UK Limited, Textron IPMP Inc., Textron India Private Limited, Textron Innovations Inc., Textron International Inc., Textron International Mexico S de RL de CV, Textron Limited, Textron Management Services Inc., Textron Motors GmbH, Textron Motors North America Inc., Textron Outdoor Power Equipment Inc., Textron Realty Corporation, Textron Shared Service Centre (Canada) Inc., Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc., Textron Sweden AB, Textron Systems Australia Holding Pty Ltd, Textron Systems Australia Pty Ltd, Textron Systems Canada Inc., Textron Systems Corporation, Textron Systems Electronic Systems UK (Holdings) Limited, Textron Systems Electronic Systems UK Limited, Textron Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Textron UK Pension Trustee Limited, Textron Verwaltungs-GmbH, Turbine Engine Components Textron (Newington Operations) Inc., United Industrial Corporation, Westminster Insurance Company, Williams Machine & Tool, Wuxi Textron Specialized Vehicles Co. Ltd., and Zhenjiang Bell Textron Aviation Services Limited. Thomson Reuters Corporation provides business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments. The Corporates segment provides a suite of content-enabled technology solutions for legal, tax, regulatory, compliance, and IT professionals. The Tax & Accounting Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on tax offerings and automating tax workflows to tax, accounting, and audit professionals in accounting firms. The Reuters News segment provides business, financial, national, and international news to professionals through desktop terminals, media organizations, and industry events, as well as directly to consumers. The Global Print segment offers legal and tax information primarily in print format to legal and tax professionals, governments, law schools, and corporations. The company was formerly known as The Thomson Corporation and changed its name to Thomson Reuters Corporation in April 2008. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Thomson Reuters Corporation is a subsidiary of The Woodbridge Company Limited. Read More Weatherford International plc, an oilfield service company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere. It offers artificial lift systems, including reciprocating rod, progressing cavity pumping, gas, hydraulic, plunger, and hybrid lift systems, as well as related automation and control systems; pressure pumping and reservoir stimulation services, such as acidizing, fracturing and fluid systems, cementing, and coiled-tubing intervention; and drill stem test tools, and surface well testing and multiphase flow measurement services. The company also provides safety, downhole reservoir monitoring, flow control, and multistage fracturing systems, as well as sand-control technologies, and production and isolation packers; liner hangers to suspend a casing string in high-temperature and high-pressure wells; cementing products, including plugs, float and stage equipment, and torque-and-drag reduction technology for zonal isolation; and pre-job planning and installation services. In addition, it offers directional drilling services, and logging and measurement services while drilling; services related to rotary-steerable systems, high-temperature and high-pressure sensors, drilling reamers, and circulation subs; managed pressure drilling, conventional mud-logging, drilling instrumentation, gas analysis, wellsite consultancy, and open hole and cased-hole logging services; reservoir solutions and software products; and intervention and remediation services. Further, the company provides equipment and drilling tools; tubular handling, management, and connection services; equipment rental services; and onshore contract drilling and related services through a fleet of land drilling and workover rigs. Weatherford International plc was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland. Read More Tallgrass Energy, LP, through its subsidiaries, provides crude oil transportation services to customers in Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, and the surrounding regions of the United States. The company operates through three segments: Natural Gas Transportation; Crude Oil Transportation; and Gathering, Processing & Terminalling. It also provides natural gas transportation and storage services for customers in the Rocky Mountain, Midwest, and Appalachian regions; natural gas and crude oil gathering and processing services for customers in Wyoming; and natural gas liquids (NGLs) transportation services in Northeast Colorado and Wyoming. In addition, the company offers water business services, including freshwater transportation, and produced water gathering and disposal in Colorado, Texas, Wyoming, and North Dakota; crude oil storage and terminalling services in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Kansas; and marketing services for NGLs and crude oil. The company was formerly known as Tallgrass Energy GP, LP and changed its name to Tallgrass Energy, LP in June 2018. Tallgrass Energy, LP was founded in 2013 and is based in Leawood, Kansas. Read More Zurich Insurance Group AG is a holding company. The Company and its subsidiaries provide insurance products and related services. Its segments include General Insurance, Global Life, Farmers, Other Operating Businesses and Non-Core Businesses. The General Insurance segment provides a range of motor, home and commercial products and services for individuals, as well as small and large businesses. The Global Life segment is engaged in providing unit-linked, protection and corporate propositions through global distribution and proposition pillars. The Farmers segment, through Farmers Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, provides certain non-claims administrative and management services to the Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange, and their subsidiaries and affiliates. The Other Operating Businesses segment includes the Company's Holding and Financing activities. The Non-Core Businesses segment includes its insurance and reinsurance businesses. Read More ALBANY The Cuomo administration has announced $372 million is available statewide for home heating through the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) this coming winter. In a press release, the governors office says the money will help low and middle income families heat their homes. Applications are due by November 13. The state says a household that demonstrates its eligibility can receive a one-time benefit of up to $726 this winter. Eligibility is based on income, household size and how the home is heated. Last year, more than 1.4 million households received heating assistance through HEAP, which is overseen by the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. "Higher energy prices are expected this winter and that makes it all the more crucial that people apply early since assistance is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Without this assistance, the cold winter months would be even colder for many of our fellow New Yorkers," said Commissioner Samuel Roberts. Update New York residents who want to apply for HEAP assistance can do so by clicking here. Utica, N.Y. - Veterans Outreach Center Executive Director Vincent Scalise says don't blame PTSD for Wednesday night's shooting at a country music bar in California even though the alleged shooter was a former U.S. Marine who suffered from PTSD. Scalise says those with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) shy away from violence rather that commit violence, "I dont think that was the root cause for the him going on a rampage. I honestly believe its mental illness, and I cant see anybody that would argue with the fact that a sane person does not go in and commit a mass shooting whether you have PTSD or not." He says he believes from what he's read that the shooter suffered from mental illness and may have never got the help he needed. Scalise is a veteran himself serving over in both Iraq and Afghanistan and he admits he too suffered from PTSD upon his return from combat missions, "It's a very heightened sense of awareness. I remember when I first got back from Iraq my father and I are going up N. Genesee St. and a bag fell off the back of a garbage truck and my father was driving and I grabbed the wheel from him because, you did it for so long, that was an automatic response. It might be an IED, so you have that light heightened level of awareness. You tend to get easily shaken and rattled, but all wounds heal in time." Scalise says he saw a counselor to help cope with his PTSD "I do feel better after it, absolutely and Im not ashamed to admit it. I encourage anyone to go do it, and I want people to know that were here and we will get you that counseling and it will be free, any kind of help you need, just come down and ask, were here for you." Scalise says there are case workers at the Veterans Outreach Center and if counselors are needed, they are available by appointment. He says those counselors will come from the VA in Syracuse to meet with veterans here in Utica, and the sessions are absolutely free. Purdue College of Education professors are transitioning out of election season into the holiday season with a Christmas gift guide for kids. As we approach that time of year, Purdues College of Education is releasing a guide that features educational gifts focusing on our government and nations history. Phillip VanFossen, Purdue University Democratic Citizenship Director, took part in creating the list, which features three gift categories including a toy, a game and a book. He said its never too early to teach the next generation about their place as citizens. If we can start earlier with Christmas gifts that help them develop the habits of mind of a democratic citizen... a citizen in a democratic society, then I think that's a good thing, said VanFossen. Each gift is geared toward children from grades K-12. VanFossen said the earlier kids grasp this information the better democracy we could have. That can't be only at the 12th grade level in high school, it needs to start earlier so that kids have an opportunity to experience what it means to be a citizen in a society like ours, VanFossen. This past election brought out an unusually high number of voters, particularly young voters. VanFossen said it's good that political interest is on the rise, however, it doesn't do us any good if voters are uneducated. Having an interests is only part of the equation so it's one thing to be interested but uniformed interest was just as concerning to the Founders as no interest at all, said VanFossen. In order to maintain our democracy we need an educated citizenship, he added. Vinton Elementary School Principal Cindy Preston said the gifts on the list are something that will benefit elementary school kids across the county. In the elementary world at least, everything is so focused on math, writing and reading that unfortunately, social studies and science don't get the time that they need, said Preston. Principal Preston said with not enough time in the school day, students having these educational games at home will hopefully prepare them for their middle school curriculum. Although the idea of an educational gift isn't usually at the top of a christmas wish list. Principal Preston said if parents show their interest than kids will often find interests as well. Click here for a link to the history learning toy, game and book suggested by Purdue Professors. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)- One of Purdue University's very own has received an honor from President Donald Trump. Suresh Garimella has been appointed to the National Science Board. The National Science Board manages operations and creates strategies for the National Science Foundation. This includes working closely with the President and Congress on national scientific matters. Purdue President Mitch Daniels nominated Garimella, who has been with the university for the past thirty years. He's been working as Executive Vice President of Research and Partnerships since 2014. Garimella will work a six year term alongside six other board members, coming from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Utah and Auburn University, to name a few. He said there is a lot of strategy to make sure the federal funding provided to the NSF is put to good use. "It's important for us to think very carefully about how to make the wisest investments so that we advance the most critical priorities," Garimella said. And he's very honored and excited to get started. "The National Science Board was one that always felt like this jewel of the crown, you know, sort of this great body that was in charge of setting the nation's research priorities," Garimella said. "And it's kind of humbling and very exciting to be part of that body that I so admired." Garimella will head to Washington, D.C. at the end of November for the first board meeting. Congratulations to him! Just last year, Garimella was chosen as a fellow to the National Academy of Inventors. Click here to read more. A delta is formed at a rivers mouth where the river deposits the sediments carried by it and branches out into distributaries that flow into the sea or lake or another water body. Very rarely, rivers do not drain into any other water body but simply empty onto a plain. Deltas can be classified on the basis of two major factors: (1) the major processes or influencing factors that determine the shape and size of the delta and (2) the shape of the delta. Types of Deltas Based on the Influencing Factor 1. Wave-dominated Deltas In wave-dominated deltas, the action of waves determines the size and shape of the delta. Such deltas usually have fewer distributary channels. Waves influence the formation of a delta by affecting the sediment depositional patterns near the mouth of a river. It disperses the sediments from the mouth along the shores so that it does not accumulate as a bar at the mouth of the river. Thus, there are no impediments to the movement of the river and hence there are fewer distributaries in such deltas. The waves also sort the sediments at the river mouth. The fine-grained sediments are washed away offshore while the coarser sediments remain behind. The delta of the Nile River along the Mediterranean Sea is an example of a wave-dominated delta. 2. Tide-dominated Deltas The rise and fall of tides shape the tide-dominated deltas. Such deltas are common in areas with a large tidal range. They usually have a large number of distributaries. Prominent sandbars and ridges exist in such deltas which lead to the formation of a dendritic structure of the delta. As one distributary silts up due to tidal action, it branches out to form two or more distributaries. The Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in India and Bangladesh is an example of a tide-dominated delta. 3. Gilbert Deltas A Gilbert delta is another type of delta that is formed by the deposition of coarse sediments at the mouth of a river. Grove Karl Gilbert, a geologist, was the first person to describe this type of delta. According to some, Gilbert deltas can have both marine and lacustrine locations, according to others, such deltas only occur at places where a river empties into a freshwater lake by depositing its coarse sediments at the mouth. Mountain rivers carrying coarser sediments at the upper course and emptying into a freshwater lake can form ideal Gilbert deltas. 4. Estuarine Deltas When a river does not directly empty into the sea but forms an estuary at its mouth, it is called an estuarine delta. An estuary is a brackish water body that is partially enclosed. Located in the transition zone between the river and the sea, and subjected to both marine and riverine influences, an estuary is one of the most productive natural habitats in the world. Some examples of rivers forming estuaries are the Yellow River of China and the estuary of the Tagus River in Portugal. Types of Deltas Based on Shape 1. Arcuate Deltas The term delta is derived from the upper-case Greek letter delta since a delta is expected to have a typical delta or triangular shape. However, not all deltas have this shape. Those that do are called arcuate deltas or arc-like deltas or fan-shaped deltas. The Nile delta is an example of an arcuate delta. 2. Cuspate Deltas A cuspate delta is formed in regions with stronger waves. It is quite similar to an arcuate delta in shape but is more pointed towards the sea. The delta formed by the Tiber River at its mouth on the Tyrrhenian Sea near Rome is an example of such a delta. 3. Bird-foot Deltas Such a delta is not exactly triangular-shaped but appears like a birds foot when viewed from above. Here, the distributaries are more widely spaced than in the above two mentioned types of deltas. An example is the delta of the Mississippi River as it drains into the Gulf of Mexico. 4. Inverted Deltas The inverted delta is another type of delta based on the shape of deltas. As the name suggests, an inverted deltas distributary network faces inland while a single stream leads to the sea. An example of such a delta is the one formed by the Sacramento-San Joaquin River in northern California. Other Types of Deltas Inland Deltas An inland delta is rare. It refers to a delta that empties into a plain. The Okavango Delta in Botswana is a classic example of this type of delta. The Okavango River does not empty into the sea or lake or any other water body. It simply spreads its water along a flat plain in the Kalahari Desert. The evaporation process prevents the water from accumulating in the plain. Abandoned Deltas An abandoned delta is the dry delta bed left behind after a river discards its former channel and enters or develops a new one. Such a situation often arises when the original channel is highly silted so that the river does not find a proper slope to flow through. Hence, it overflows its banks and finds a steeper and more direct route to the sea or lake into which it drains. The process of a river leaving a delta is called avulsion. The delta left behind thus dries up. The Mississippi River has several abandoned deltas that were formed over a period of over 5,000 years. Maryland is a state found on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. It is divided into 23 counties with 157 self-governing municipalities. About 26.2% of its population lives in the municipalities that also covers about 4.4% of the total state's land. The 2010 United States Census showed that Maryland is inhabited by approximately 5.8 million individuals thereby ranking among the top 20 most populous states. The state covers an area spanning about 9,707.24 square miles. The largest city in Maryland is Baltimore. Top Five Cities in Maryland Baltimore With over 612,000 inhabitants, Baltimore is the largest city in Maryland. It is situated 40 miles northeast of Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1729 as a seaport. The economy in the city is made vibrant by the over 2.8 million people who live in the Baltimore metropolitan area. Although the population growth rate is decreasing, the city is still the largest in Maryland. The negative population growth was brought by deindustrialization which saw the closure of major industries. Baltimore exhibits historic architecture spanning more than 2 centuries with some rare neoclassical designs. Columbia Columbia is the second-largest city in Maryland with a population of about 99,700 and it occupies 32.2 square miles. Columbia is only 20 miles south-west of Baltimore and 25 miles northeast of Washington D.C. Columbia is a comparatively young city having been founded in 1967 with the intention of eliminating subdivisions and religious, racial and class segregation. The town is well-planned with open spaces, pathways, and modern amenities making it one of the best places to live and work in America. Germantown Germantown was founded in Montgomery County in the 19th century. The population stands at 90,700 making it the third-largest city in Maryland. Germantown is found only 25 miles outside of Washington D.C. hence an important section of the US capital metropolitan area. Germantown has in recent decades experienced high economic growth leading to a rapid increase in population. The city is under the administration of Montgomery County. Silver Spring The city was named after the mica-flecked spring that was discovered by explorer Francis Preston in the 1840s. It is the fourth populous city in Maryland with about 76,716 residents, but the second largest in Montgomery County after Germantown. Silver Spring covers approximately 7.92 square miles Waldorf Waldorf is found in Charles County 23 miles south-southeast of Washington D.C. Being in the fifth position, it has a population of 67,752 as per the 2010 census. The city was a minor center known as Beantown established before it was established as a railway center in 1900. The city is a bedroom community hosting those who work in Washington D.C. Economic Activities Leading to Growth of Cities in Maryland Maryland state has one of the best performing economies in the US with its households being some of the highest incomes in the country. The cities have the highest number of millionaires per capita while poverty levels in the state are the lowest in the US. Marylands proximity to Washington D.C. gives the cities an economic lifeline with most of the staff for many companies residing in Marylands cities. The aerospace industry, research labs, and the Johns Hopkins University give a boost to the Baltimore economy. Agriculture, fishing, biotechnology, and tourism are other major economic activities. Two male students have been accused of sexually assaulting a female acquaintance in a campus residence hall at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Buffalo County Court records say 19-year-old Prestin Melroy, of Holdrege, and 18-year-old Zachary Reikofski, of Fairbury, are charged with felony sexual assault. Court records detailing what happened were not available Friday. Reikofski's attorney, Charles Brewster, said Friday that Reikofski will plead not guilty. Melroy's attorney didn't immediately return a message from The Associated Press. University spokesman Todd Gottula says the two students' cases and status with the college will be reviewed by the Student Code of Conduct Team. In the wake of the US midterm elections that shifted control of the US House of Representatives to the Democrats while increasing the Republican margin in the Senate, political tensions have mounted over remaining undecided statewide races in three states: for US senator in Florida and Arizona, and for governor of Georgia. The Senate races in Arizona and Florida remained too close to call, with the margins tightening as ballot-counting continued in the days after the November 6 vote. In Florida, the number by which Republican Rick Scott led Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson had fallen to only 15,175 votes, 0.18 percentage points of the total, a figure that would trigger a state-mandated hand recount. As vote counting of lengthy ballots proceeded slowly in the Democratic-leaning Florida counties of Broward and Palm Beach, Scott sued local officials. No ragtag group of liberal activists or lawyers from DC will be allowed to steal this election from the voters of this great state, Scott howled. The reaction of the candidate, the outgoing governor of the state, recalled the tactics following the 2000 presidential vote, when the Bush campaign effectively stole the presidency by suppressing a full recount of the states votes. In Arizona, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema led Republican Martha McSally by only 9,000 votes in the contest to succeed retiring Republican Jeff Flake. If the leads in Florida and Arizona hold up through remaining counting, and the Republicans emerge victorious as expected in a November 27 runoff vote in Mississippi, the Democrats will have lost a net of two seats in the Senate, giving the Republicans a 5347 margin, counting Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine, independents who caucus with the Democrats. Despite the widespread anger at the Trump administration and its policies, Democratic incumbents in the Senate went down to defeat in Missouri, Indiana and North Dakota after running right-wing campaigns. Democrat Jon Tester held on in Montana, and Republican incumbent Dean Heller lost to Democrat Jacky Rosen in Nevada. Democrat Beto ORourke narrowly lost his Senate race against Texas Republican incumbent Ted Cruz, despite raising and spending more than $70 million. Gubernatorial races were still in doubt in both Florida and Georgia, and were expected to remain so for at least the next few days. Excluding the close races in Georgia and Florida, Democrats had picked up seven governorships previously held by Republicans, with wins in Nevada, New Mexico, Kansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Maine. They also won California, New York and Pennsylvania. The Republican defeats in the three states which accounted for Trumps victory margin in the Electoral College, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, demonstrate the widespread anger at the Trump administrations policies. In Florida, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum conceded to Republican candidate Ron DeSantis on Election Night, but as counting continued, DeSantis lead narrowed to only 0.44 percentage points, a figure that would lead to a state-mandated machine recount. In both of the statewide Florida contests, thousands of absentee, provisional and overseas ballots remained to be counted, enough to lead to recounts, if not outright Democratic victories. The Republicans and Democrats appear to be reprising their roles from the Florida election crisis in 2000. While the Republicans take the offensive demanding a halt to vote counting, the Democrats respond with meek objections. It is the Republican Scott who has gone on the offensive with legal action, while the Democratic candidate for governor Andrew Gillum was so ready to concede that he gave a speech announcing it even though there is still a possibility that he could win. The margin between the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor of Georgia is not nearly as close as in Florida, with 63,000 votes, or about 1.6 percent of the total, separating Brian Kemp from Stacey Abrams. But because of a third-party Libertarian candidate, Kemp was much more narrowly above the 50 percent mark, only 13,000 votes. Under state law, a head-to-head runoff vote between Kemp and Abrams would take place in December in the event that Kemps vote ends up falling short of 50 percent, and Abrams has accordingly refused to concede defeat. Kemp refused to acknowledge that the race remained undecided. The Republican announced his resignation as Georgia secretary of state and the appointment of a transition team. Kemp had ignored earlier demands that he resign his official position, which oversees the administration of the voting process. He was accused of acting to suppress the vote in his official role while he was himself the candidate, purging hundreds of thousands of voters from the registration rolls and invalidating absentee ballots. In the 435 contests for the House of Representatives, 12 seats remain undecided, all previously held by the Republicans. The Democrats have made a net gain of 31 seats, enough for a secure majority, but are ahead in five of the remaining twelve. A gain of 36 seats would raise the Democratic majority in the House to 231204, a margin of 27 seats. Many of the seats won by the Democrats are in upscale suburban districts long held by the Republicans. In Illinois, for example, Democrat Sean Casten defeated incumbent Peter Roskam for the seat once held by Henry Hyde, the longtime anti-abortion Republican, while Democrat Lauren Underwood defeated incumbent Randy Hultgren for the seat held for two decades by the former Republican Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert. In Texas, Democrat Lizzie Fletcher defeated incumbent John Culberson in the Houston suburban district that once sent George H. W. Bush to Congress. In Georgia, Democrat Lucy McBath defeated incumbent Karen Handel for the seat once held by Newt Gingrich, the Republican speaker before Hastert who spearheaded the Clinton impeachment in 199899. McBath, a former Delta Airlines flight attendant, ran as an advocate of gun control. Her son Jordan Davis, an African-American youth of 17, was fatally shot six years ago by a white man after an argument over the volume of music coming from his car. Few of the successful Democrats have McBaths working-class background. One-third of the first-time Democratic representatives are CIA Democrats like Max Rose in New York, Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria in Virginia, Elissa Slotkin in Michigan, Tom Malinowski and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey, and Jason Crow in Colorado, with resumes highlighting service in the intelligence agencies, the military or the State Department. The midterm results underscore the fact that the Democrats, far from offering any genuine alternative to the Republicans and Trump, are part of the big business conspiracy against the working class. They sought to prove themselves as the party of the military-intelligence apparatus and of Wall Street, which in fact gave a greater amount to the Democrats than to the Republicans this year, in the most expensive congressional elections in history, with more than $5.2 billion raised and spent. The author also recommends: After midterm elections, Democrats call for bipartisan unity with Trump [8 November 2018] US multinational corporations are plundering the populations of the United States and the world to the tune of trillions of dollars by driving down and evading taxes on profits booked overseas. This is the conclusion that emerges from a recent study by University of California at Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman and British economist Thomas Wright. Their paper, titled The Exorbitant Tax Privilege, points to the use of US military violence to drive down taxes on American oil multinationals by oil-producing states and a massive expansion of non-oil US firms booking their overseas profits in tax haven countries to generate huge tax savings and increased profits. The statistics the authors provide translate into $180 billion a year in tax savings on US multinationals' overseas operations. This is money diverted from government revenues in the US and around the world and funneled into the bank accounts and stock portfolios of the global financial oligarchy. In what amounts to an international extortion racket and swindling operation, the US government and both big business parties function as the enforcers of the American corporate elite. Zucman and Wright note that oil-producing states in the Middle East and elsewhere slashed their tax rates on US oil companies from an average of 70 percent between 1966 and 1990 to an average of 45 percent following the first US-led Gulf War in 1990-1991. They write: The foreign tax rates of US oil multinationals fell significantly after the first Gulf War, during which the United States (and a number of other countries with significant investments in oil) intervened to protect Kuwait, a major oil producer. Although it is not possible to know for sure what caused this decline, a possible interpretation of the fall in the taxes collected by oil-producing countries is that they reflect a return on military protection granted by the United States to oil-producing States. This is diplomatic language to suggest that the United States used its destruction of Iraq through military violence and deadly sanctions to extort foreign governments to lower their tax rates on American multinationals. To put it more bluntly, the super-profits obtained by ExxonMobil and other mega-monopolies are based in significant part on the blood and bones of millions of men, women and children killed and injured in Iraq, Libya and other Middle Eastern oil-producing countries, as well as tens of thousands of US soldiers. Non-oil US multinationals have effected a dramatic reduction in taxes paid on overseas investments primarily by accelerating the shift of profit bookings to tax haven countries. Zucman and Wright report that American multinationals profits booked in offshore tax havens increased from 20 percent of total US overseas profits in the first half of the1990s to 50 percent today. The write: The effective foreign tax rate of US multinationals in sectors other than oil has collapsed since the mid-1990s. While part of this decline is due to the fall of corporate tax rates abroad, by our estimates almost half of it owes to the rise of profit shifting to tax havens. These havens include countries such as Ireland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore, Bermuda and Caribbean tax havens. The authors note that US multinationals face effective corporate tax rates in non-haven countries of 27 percent as compared to 7 percent in haven countries. Since the late 1990s, the effective overseas tax rate for US non-oil multinationals has fallen by nearly half, from about 35 percent to 20 percent. The sharp increase in the shift of overseas profit bookings to tax haven countries began with the removal in 1996 of US Treasury restrictions on tax avoidance by such means. The fact that the change took place under the Democratic Bill Clinton administration underscores the bipartisan character of the systematic reworking of tax laws to effect an ever-greater transfer of wealth from the working class to the financial elite. Zucman and Wright point out that US multinationals use tax havens far more than multinationals based in other countries. They estimate that half of all global profits booked in tax havens are shifted by US multinationals. The practice is considerably less widespread in other major economies that comprise the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where anti-tax avoidance laws remain in place. About 25 percent of profits from tax havens go to European Union countries, 10 percent to the rest of the OECD, and 15 percent to developing countries. The $1.5 trillion tax cut signed into law last December by President Trump, the benefits of which go overwhelmingly to corporations and the rich, provides additional windfalls for US multinationals that have parked trillions of dollars in profits in foreign tax havens to evade US taxes. Besides cutting the legal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent (the real, or effective, rate is much lower), the law allows companies such as Apple and Google to repatriate their overseas profits at a discounted tax rate of 8 percent to 15 percent, depending on the nature of the assets. That law has already sharply reduced the amount of taxes being collected by the federal government from major corporations, leaving their rich shareholders wealthier and the government deeper in debt. Just between January and June of this year, government revenues from corporate taxes dropped by almost $50 billion from the previous year, a decline of one-third. The cynical claim that corporations would use their tax savings to create more decent-paying jobs has already been exposed by record rates of corporate stock buy-backs and dividend increases. US big business is using its tax boondoggle to reward the bankers, big investors and CEOs with billions in additional wealthto buy more and bigger yachts, private islands and personal jetswhile squandering more resources produced by the labor of the working class on parasitic financial operations. The estimated $180 billion a year in reduced taxes on foreign earnings by US multinationals is five times the $30 billion per year needed to eradicate world hunger. These statistics shatter the lie, constantly recited to justify cuts in social programs and workers wages and benefits, that there is no money to pay for such things. They underscore the fact that no progress can be made in meeting elementary social needs without a frontal attack by the working class on the fortunes of the US and international oligarchs. On Wednesday night, 28-year-old Ian David Long, a US Marine Corps veteran of the Afghanistan war, shot and killed a dozen people at a dance club in Thousand Oaks, California, some 40 miles from downtown Los Angeles. He then killed himself. The massacre has horrified masses of people, both in the US and around the world. What could have led this young man to commit such a crime? The American media has made various attempts, most of them dishonest or superficial, to answer this question. All of them ignore the consequences of decades of militarist violence and neo-colonial war, along with the toxic social atmosphere in the US. The following were the final words Long posted on his Facebook page shortly before he initiated his shooting spree: I hope people call me insane wouldnt that just be a big ball of irony? Yeah, Im insane, but the only thing you people do after these shootings is hopes and prayers or keep you in my thoughts every time and wonder why these keep happening. Friends and neighbors interviewed by the media present a contradictory picture of Ian David Long. Long, described as a frequent patron of the Borderline Bar & Grill, arrived around 11:30 pm. He proceeded to shoot the security guard outside, then entered the bar and grill and shot the young woman at the cashiers desk. He went on to fire his handgun at the customers inside. It is not known how many bullets were fired. He apparently said nothing during the entire attack. Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean described the scene inside the Borderline after the shooting as horrific and said there was blood everywhere. Police found Long, dead of what Dean believes to be a self-inflicted gunshot. The 28-year-olds semi-automatic handgun, a modified .45-caliber Glock, was at the scene. Long served in the Marine Corps from 2008 to 2013 as an infantry machine gunner, and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010-11. In April 2018, a mental health crisis team from the Ventura County sheriffs department was called to his mothers home (also Longs residence) in the Newbury Park section of Thousand Oaks because Long was acting irrationally. At the time, a police mental health specialist suspected that Long suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, after talking to him and judging that the young man represented no threat to himself or others, the crisis team decided not to detain Long for mental health evaluation against his will. A neighbor of Long and his mothers described the scene. He was raving hell in the house, you know, kicking holes in the walls and stuff and one of the neighbors was concerned and called the police, Richard Berge, who lived one block away from the home, told Reuters. They couldnt get him to come out, so it was like a standoff for four or five hours. Dean added that police believe that Ian David Long suffered from PTSD as a result of the experiences he underwent during his four-and-a-half-year stint in the Marine Corps and in Afghanistan specifically. According to the American Psychiatric Association, PTSD is triggered by exposure to traumatic events in which the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted by death or serious injury to self or others and responded with intense fear, helplessness or horror. PTSD sufferers have described feelings of grief, depression, anxiety and anger. Many have flashbacks and nightmares and turn to drug abuse. Very high rates of PTSD and anger have been seen in US military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Matthew Tull at Verywellmind recently pointed to a study by a group of researchers [who] looked at rates of PTSD and anger problems among a group of 117 Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans. Similar to other reports, the veterans they studied exhibited high rates of PTSD. In fact, about 40 percent had PTSD and an additional 18 percent almost had a PTSD diagnosis, or what is often referred to as subthreshold PTSD (they were struggling with some severe symptoms of PTSD but not quite enough symptoms to meet criteria for a full PTSD diagnosis). Tull went on, In addition, over half of the veterans with PTSD indicated that they had been aggressive in the past four months, such as threatening physical violence, destroying property and having a physical fight with someone. Veterans with almost a PTSD diagnosis reported just about the same amount of aggressive behavior as the veterans with PTSD. As the number of veterans with PTSD and other forms of mental illness was increasing, a 2014 report from the Institute of Medicine (IoM) reported that treatments were inadequate, ad hoc, incremental and crisis-driven. There was minimal planning in developing long-range approaches, the IoM committee argued, lengthy delays in providing treatment for those who needed therapy (only 53 percent received the minimum therapy of eight sessions in 14 weeks) and the interruption and delay of individual counseling sessions. Thomas Burke, a pastor who served with Long in Afghanistan, said the latters battalion had arrived during intense fighting in Helmand province, a center of Taliban resistance. Burke told CNN: We train a generation to be as violent as possible, then we expect them to come home and be OK. Its not mental illness. Its that were doing something to a generation, and were not responding to the needs they have. In addition to confronting Taliban forces in Helmand, US and allied troops terrorized the Afghan population. In March 2017, in a military online forum, Ian Long described some of his military experience using the nickname doorkicker03, alluding to the repression of civilians. The news that Long had been the shooter, and that he had posted his dark Facebook message greatly shocked one his friends, who spoke to CNN; That does not sound like Ian to me at all. I dont know what was going through his head when he wrote this. It must have been terrible, he declared. I dont know what the hell happened. He was always happy. I never thought this would ever come from him. We used to go snowboarding all the time. He was a good guy, said another. He wasnt unhinged, he wasnt violent. He was a sweet guy who served his country and was using his GI Bill to go to college and get a degree to help more people, another friend declared. Out of our group of friends I thought the highest of him. Curtis Kellogg, who served with Long in the Marines, told CNN that while Long had a sense of humor, like most Marines who have seen combat it could get dark at times, just like all of us. The official response to the Thousand Oaks massacre is a combination of banal, formulaic expressions of sorrow and bewilderment. What do such people know about the consequences of their wars and invasions? Paul Delacourt, assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles FBI office, Reuters commented, said it was too early to speculate on the shooters motives but that he appeared to have acted alone. We will be sure to paint a picture of the state of mind of the subject and do our best to identify a motivation, Delacourt said, adding that the FBI would investigate any possible radicalization or links to militant groups. Ventura County Sheriff Dean told the media, Obviously, he had something going on in his head that would cause him to do something like this. Ian Longs precise mental state November 7 will perhaps never be known. That nights cryptic and troubled Facebook entry provides a clue. Hundreds of thousands of youth have been called on to participate in an unending series of wars and occupations (kicking in doors); tortured by their experiences in many cases and left with no opportunities, no real help for their mental and physical injuries, nothing more than hopes and prayers. That condition, working on the most psychologically vulnerable and susceptible, almost inevitably produces tragedies like the Thousand Oaks mass shooting. An important conference, held in Lincoln November 4 as part of the Economic and Social Research Councils Festival of Social Science, heard detailed reports on the relationship between media censorship and war. Organised by Dr. David Hughes, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Lincoln, it was titled Scrutinising the Media: Fake News, Censorship, and War. An audience comprising students and concerned members of the public listened attentively and posed questions. Dr. David Hughes speaking in Lincoln Hughes delivered three half-hour sessions, each followed by a 15-minute Q&A. War and the media provided examples of the ways in which the media has historically been used to condition public opinion in favour of war. Beginning with the Committee on Public Information in the United States (1917-1919, also known as the Creel Commission) and World War I, it worked forward to today and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) coverage, or non-coverage, of the Saudi-led intervention into Yemen. Media suppression of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam and US carpet bombing of Cambodia was cited, as was the use of a PR firm to train the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the US to fake an emotional testimony about Iraqi soldiers removing babies from their incubators to legitimise the 1991 Gulf War. The New York Times Butcher of the Balkans rhetoric in 1992directed against Slobodan Milosevicwas juxtaposed to the 2016 decision by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to exonerate the former president of Serbia of war crimes. Questions about the BBC were raised, such as why did it overwhelmingly reflect the government line on Iraq when the pretext for war was later shown to be based on lies? Why did it crop out Iranian President Ahmadinejad and depict a 2009 photo of Iranians taking to the streets as followers of Mir Hossein Mousavi (the opponent of Ahmadinejad)? Why did BBC Breakfast News in 2011 claim to show live scenes of jubilation and celebration from Tripoli when the broadcast featured archive footage from India? The second session covered Syria, the Media, and Propaganda. Footage of alleged victims of a chemical weapons attack was shown from the 2013 BBC Panorama documentary, Saving Syrias Children. It is widely alleged to have been faked, whereas real examples of chemical warfare by the US abound. The mainstream medias willingness to cite unreliable sources was highlighted, including the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (supposedly a clothes shop owner in Coventry), Bellingcat (set up by a lone blogger in Leicester), Bana al-Abed (an 8-year-old girl with a suspect Twitter account and barely able to speak English on an infamous CNN interview), and the White Helmets (with demonstrable links to Islamist terrorist organisations). The academic Working Group on Syria, Media, and Propaganda was discussed, including its conclusions that the UK governments Novichok claims could not be substantiated and that Prime Minister Theresa May had misled the House of Commons over the alleged chlorine attack in Douma in August 2018, with a managed massacre being the more likely explanation. Media smear campaigns against dissenters were documented, including those by the Guardian against investigative journalists Vanessa Beeley and Eva Bartlett, as well as those by the Times, Huffington Post, and Intercept against the Working Group on Syria, Media and Propaganda. The implications of fake terror was also considered. Footage clearly demonstrating a false flag terrorist attack in Mosul in 2016 was shown, posing the question that if that particular attack can be shown to have been demonstrably staged what other attacks could this apply to? Julie Hyland speaking at the event Socialist Equality Party assistant national secretary Julie Hyland was invited to present the third session on Censorship of the World Socialist Web Site and the Julian Assange Case. Hyland began by explaining that the conference could not have come at a more appropriate and urgent time. Only one week before, the fascist ex-army captain Jair Bolsonaro won Brazils presidential election and has begun assembling the most right-wing government since the end of the 20-year military dictatorship that came to power in a US-backed coup in 1964. In virtually every country, especially in Europe, there is the deliberate encouragement of right-wing reaction and the turn to authoritarianism. This is behind the efforts to censor socialist, left-wing, progressive and anti-war websites in a joint offensive by governments and the giant social media monopolies, Hyland said. Under conditions of massive social inequality and popular hostility to war, they are trying to silence opposition on the spurious basis of fake news and inauthentic behavior. Hyland detailed that the WSWS was a main target for this offensive and reviewed how it had uncovered and exposed the censorship measures deployed by Google that have now been taken up by Facebook, Twitter and others. The WSWS was taking the lead in opposing this assault on free speech and basic democratic rights with its call for an international coalition to fight Internet censorship, she said. Central to this campaign was the defence of Julian Assange. The WikiLeaks founder has been held captive in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for more than six years because he exposed the war crimes and machinations of the US and its allies. Hyland explained how, in Australia, the Socialist Equality Party was demanding the Australian government instruct the British authorities to release Assange and guarantee him safe passage, which won support from principled journalists such as John Pilger and broad sections of workers and youth. It is vital that the defence of Assange is stepped up, under conditions in which his health and safety were now in grave dangerwith Hyland citing the latest moves by Ecuadors President Lenin Moreno towards his eviction. In the final session, Fake News, Censorship, and War, Hughes began by citing Article 19 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, which enshrines the right to free speech. This was contrasted to the Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act, passed in the US in December 2016, which laid the pretext for curbing freedom of speech in the name of combating foreign state and non-state propaganda. The artificially manufactured anti-Russia hysteria in the US and the UK was noted, as was the way in which this has been used to legitimise censorship of anti-war viewpoints. The social media purge of 2018 was detailed, with extensive evidence presented of online censorship by Facebook, Google, Twitter and Wikipedia. Those who spoke from the floor or asked questions indicated their opposition to the clampdown on free speech and censorship. Several noted how the mainstream media had become even more untrustworthy, responding to the open exchange possibilities of social media by doubling down on its own fake news and support for censorship. One audience member cited the laborious efforts he had gone to in order to lodge an official complaint about BBC bias, only to receive a pro-forma acknowledgement but no reply to the concerns raised. Others noted that academia had generally failed to respond seriously to the attack on free speech. Those who were educated to apparently know better were going along with pro-war propaganda. Joe, a student, commenting afterwards described the presentations as eye opening. To anyone who doesnt know much I think it was shocking. Its a take on everyday life that affects everyone... Its wrong in all levels that what you say or think can be controlled in such a way. I guess online can be controlled more. Describing Assange as a brave man, he said the WikiLeaks founder should be seen more as an inspiration than a demonised traitor which the establishment, media and public have pegged him as. I think its disgraceful and criminal that hes been cornered in the Ecuadorian embassy all these years, and that he was forced to run there in the first place. He is living proof that at least some element of our so called liberal democratic society of rights and freedoms is in some way broken or flawed, and that the intelligence agencies/government/establishment/media/the system do not care about rights and freedoms. The United States, Japan and Canada this week concluded provocative war games throughout military installations in Japan and the western Pacific. Washington and Tokyo used the biennial exercises, known as Keen Sword, to menace China and make clear that preparations for war are intensifying. The drills began on October 29 and ended on November 8. They involved some 57,000 troops, including 47,000 Japanese Self-Defense Forces personnel, or one-fifth of Japans total military, alongside 10,000 US Marines, airmen and sailors. The total amounted to an increase of 11,000 troops from the last time the exercises were held in 2016. In addition, Canada, sent a frigate and a supply ship, participating in the drills for the first time. Observers from Britain, France, Australia and South Korea also took part. According to Lt. General Jerry Martinez, who leads US Forces Japan, this years war games were the largest and most complex joint exercises conducted by the two nations, featuring amphibious assault, anti-submarine and ballistic missile system drills. The USs largest warship in Asia, the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier from the Seventh Fleet, played a prominent role in the exercises. US and Japanese military officials claimed Keen Sword was aimed at providing stability in the Asia-Pacific. Rear Admiral Karl Thomas, from the aircraft carriers strike group, stated: We are here to stabilize, and preserve our capability should it be needed. Exercises like Keen Sword are exactly the kind of thing we need to do. In reality, the US militarys presence in the region and such war games are being used to threaten and pressure China to acquiesce to Washingtons demands as the US seeks to offset its relative economic decline. The Trump administrations trade war measures against Beijing are another aspect of this drive. Michael Kovrig, senior advisor at the International Crisis Group, last month noted that Donald Trump may be attempting to put more pressure on China on multiple fronts in order to gain negotiating leverage on trade. If so, this kind of linkage between issues is a risky tactic that could backfire by deepening the rift between the US and China. Furthermore, the Trump administration has carried out a growing number of provocative freedom of navigation operations around Chinese-controlled islands in the South China Sea, and twice sent warships through the Taiwan Strait this year, most recently in October. This coincides with increased military collaboration with Taiwanwhich China regards as a renegade provinceUS efforts to draw North Korea into its orbit, raising the possibility of US troops on Chinas border, and the exploitation of ethnic tensions in regions of China like Xinjiang. Japanese remilitarization has been a part of this agenda. During Keen Sword, Japan deployed its new Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB). Trained by the US Marine Corps, the ARDB was activated in April and is the first standing marine brigade Japan has operated since World War II. During the exercises, the ARDB engaged in drills to seize islands, alongside US marines on Guam and nearby Tinian. Tokyo portrays the ARDB and the drills as necessary for island defense as the dispute with Beijing over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea remains unresolved. Yet, these tensions were deliberately enflamed in recent years following Tokyos purchase of three of the five uninhabited islands in 2012 and the Obama administrations assertion that the US-Japan Security Treaty extended to the disputed islands, legitimizing Tokyos claims. The Trump administration has reiterated this position. The ballistic missile drills are another aspect of war planning, as US strategy would involve attacks on Chinas military installations to eliminate Beijings ability to use its relatively small nuclear arsenal. As a result, a US-instigated war could force China to retaliate with a nuclear strike, rather than risk losing the capacity to do so. The true reason for the expanding ballistic missile system in the Asia-Pacific, which includes THAAD (Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense) and Aegis Ashore batteries, is to prevent a Chinese counter-attack on US bases. Canadas involvement in Keen Sword demonstrates the desire of other imperialist powers to exploit the US-China conflict for their own gains. Ottawas defense attache in Japan, Captain Hugues Canuel, said Canadas participation for the first time in Keen Sword moved the bilateral drills into the realm of multilateral exercises while expressing Canadas desire to have a military presence in Asia. The war games are another step toward a dangerous global conflict. Along these lines, Tokyo and Washington are in talks to develop coordinated military responses over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, to be completed by March 2019. Based on the Bilateral Planning Mechanism developed under the 2015 security guidelines approved by the Abe and Obama governments, these plans could include military strikes should Chinese fisherman land on the islands, according to Japanese government sources. The expanded exercises are a further indication that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abes trip to China last month and the recent thaw in relations between Tokyo and Beijing by no means signals a turn toward long-term stability. Washingtons protectionist and trade war measures may push Asias two largest economies closer together, but Japan still views China as a threat to its overall economic interests and has never reconciled itself to playing second fiddle in the region. At the end of August, Japan deployed its largest warship, the helicopter carrier JS Kaga, for a two-month tour of the region, making stops in the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. Along with two destroyer escorts, the Kaga, designed to deploy marines with air backing, conducted naval drills in the South China Sea. The overall intensification of US and Japanese militarism demonstrates that rather than bringing stability to the Asia-Pacific, Washington and Tokyo risk an armed clash with Beijing that could develop into a broader, catastrophic conflict. The Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) has forced through its third pro-company wage contract with multinational companies Transdev and Hyundai Rotem (THR) covering 417 rail workers in Wellington, the New Zealand capital. The workers run and maintain the regions commuter rail service, which was privatised by the Labour Party-dominated Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) in 2016 in order to save $NZ100 million over 15 years at the expense of jobs, wages and conditions. The RMTU confirmed ratification of the Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA) in a one-page notice on November 5 that claimed 95.44 percent of members voted to accept the recommended settlement. THR issued a joint statement declaring they were pleased the deal had gone through. The result is a fraud, achieved through an anti-democratic ballot process in which 398 unreturned voting papers were automatically counted as supporting the agreement. The RMTU issued 417 voting papers by post and received 19 no votes against the union-company deal. The previous 201718 contract, imposed by the same dishonest methods, received eight no votes when finally ratified in April. The ballot was conducted after months of cynical manoeuvring by the RMTU designed to disenfranchise members. The terms were presented to rail workers following secret negotiations with employers. There were no mass meetings for union members to discuss what pay claims should be advanced or whether there should be a strike. In order to intimidate any opposition, workers who voted no were asked to write in a space on the ballot their reason for rejecting it. The union ensured that rail workers were isolated from Wellington bus drivers, who struck last month against the GWRCs private bus operators, as well as teachers, health workers and public servants who have held nationwide stoppages for improved pay and conditions. Workers are coming into conflict with the austerity measures of the Labour-led government. In every case the unions have sought to wear down and isolate workers to convince them there is no alternative to accepting sellout deals. The RMTU is not a workers organisation but an instrument of the companies and the GWRC. For decades, the union and its predecessors have collaborated with governments and big business to suppress workers resistance to privatisations, low wages and redundancies. In a settlement reached in August with the state-owned KiwiRail, the RMTU delivered a mere $1.60 per hour raise for more than 2,300 workers nationwide. KiwiRail Chief Executive Peter Reidy praised the RMTUs partnership with the company, declaring that they had worked closely together over the past three years on a High Performance, High Engagement program which brings management and workers together to develop frontline solutions to business issues. The new THR contract, to run from mid-2018 to July 2019, is another case of craven collaboration on the part of the union. It includes a wage increase of just 2.3 percent for most workers and 4 percent for passenger operators, who collect tickets. The RMTU dropped three of its own claims in negotiations: an increase in penalty rates for employee who work rostered-days-off, ten instead of six days sick leave, and a laundry allowance for uniforms. At a stop work meeting on October 10, RMTU general secretary Wayne Butson gave the podium to THR managers to sell the deal. General manager Mike Fenton claimed the company had shaken the couch upside down, but there was only a limited pot of money for wages. Butson then insisted that a 2.3 percent pay rise was the best offer possible and argued against striking. Most rail workers, excluding locomotive engineers, depend on penalty rates, paid at time-and-a-quarter (weekdays), time-and-a-half (Saturday) and double-time (Sunday). Passenger operators, who are part-time and do not earn regular penalty rates outside of special events, will go from $17.97 an hour to $18.69 an hour. A small number will earn $19.23 and $19.85 an hour. The paltry increases fail to keep up with rising living costs, such as petrol, electricity and housing. Property values in Wellingtons working-class suburbs leapt more than 50 percent in the past three years. As a result home ownership has become impossible for many workers and rents have skyrocketed. Last July, THR axed 11 full-time passenger operator jobs, assisted by the RMTU. Four workers were made redundant while others took part-time or different jobs without regular penalty rates. The threat of further job cuts remains. THR has merely agreed to disclose information from GWRC over any proposal for integrated ticketing (electronic ticketing) or any other changes that may affect the employment of members. In New Zealands largest city, Auckland, the utilisation of electronic ticketing has been used by the Labour Party-led council and Transdev to push for staff cuts. A Wellington train driver, who spoke to the WSWS on condition of anonymity, said he voted against the agreement because the union didnt actually ask us what we would like. It had simply presented the agreement with Transdev as an accomplished fact. Thats what Im angry about, the worker said. Asked what he thought of management appearing alongside Butson and union negotiators at the meeting to sell the proposed MECA, he said: It shouldnt have happened. The message was: This is all youre getting, take it or leave it. Thats not the way it should be. He said the union had little contact with workers during negotiations and even union delegates apparently didnt know whats going on. Union leaders behaved like a law unto themselves and like theyre part of the company, part of Transdev. He said it was wrong that workers who did not return their ballots were counted as having voted in favour of the agreement. The train driver said the 2.3 percent pay increase was not even anywhere near the actual cost of living. He noted that many workers who had left or were made redundant had not been replaced, putting additional pressure on those who remained. Last month, 28 services were cancelled because of understaffing. With long night-time shifts followed by early morning shifts your health and your family life goes down the gurgler. [The employers] dont value how difficult it is to drive. Fatigue among drivers was quite dangerous and had caused an increase in signal passed at danger (SPAD) incidents. In such cases, drivers can face disciplinary action, be temporarily stood down or even fired. Ive had a couple of SPADs over the years and I did not get any help from the union, the driver told the WSWS. The driver had voted for the Labour Party in the 2017 election, believing it was better than the previous National Party government. But, he said, It doesnt look like were doing any better. Its supposed to be a more left-wing government, but it hasnt done a lot yet. WSWS reporters explained that the Labour Party, which is supported by the RMTU, had begun the process of preparing New Zealands rail network for privatisation in the 1980s and had been instrumental in the attacks on rail workers jobs and conditions. The author also recommends: A reply to the RMTU on the anti-working class record of the New Zealand rail unions [29 September 2017] Growing strike movement in New Zealand [14 July 2018] In what seems like a cruel flashback to the 2000 presidential election, a recount in the Florida senate and governors races is happening. Floridas secretary of state officially ordered the recount on Saturday afternoon. As of the most recent tallies, Republican Governor Rick Scotts lead over Democratic Senator Bill Nelson narrowed to 12,562 votes, just 0.15 percent. Republican Ron DeSantiss lead over Democratic challenger Andrew Gillum shrunk to 33,684 votes, or 0.41 percent. The battle had already begun as attorneys from both sides argued over ballots and voter eligibility in Broward and Palm Beach counties this week. Depending on the percentage difference between the candidates, either a hand or machine recount will take place. The governors race, because it is within 0.5 percent, will be recounted by machine. The Senate race, because it is within 0.25 percent, will get a hand recount of overvotes and undervotes. Overvotes are when a voter chooses more than the appropriate number of candidates; undervotes occur when the voter chooses fewer than the correct number of choices or none. Nelson has the option of opting out of the Senate race recount, and a Scott representative called for him to do so in a public statement. Its time for Senator Nelson to accept reality and spare the state of the Florida the time, expense and discord of a recount, Scott spokesman Chris Hartline said. But Nelson issued a statement of his own in retort: We have every expectation the recount will be full and fair and will continue taking action to ensure every vote is counted without interference or efforts to undermine the democratic process. We believe when every legal ballot is counted well win this election. Scott has also accused unethical liberals and left-wing activists in Broward County of attempting to steal the election, stating without evidence that the Broward County and Palm Beach County elections officials were conducting rampant fraud. Story continues The Gillum camp issued a statement Friday walking back the candidates election night concession, On Tuesday night, the Gillum for Governor campaign operated with the best information available about the number of outstanding ballots left to count. Since that time, it has become clear there are many more uncounted ballots than was originally reported. We are committed to ensuring every single vote in Florida is counted. Gillum also tweeted Saturday afternoon calling for a recount. I am replacing my earlier concession with an unapologetic and uncompromised call to count every vote. Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) November 10, 2018 DeSantis, however, has been acting like he was decisively elected, appointing a transition team and telling reporters, Its a great honor. Were working really hard on the transition. Well let the lawyers do what they got to do. But, were good and look forward to serving. Protesters, meanwhile, have gathered in Palm Beach and Broward counties. The president also weighed in Saturday afternoon, tweeting (and citing no evidence) that the Democrats are trying to STEAL the Florida elections. When hes not hosting his late night show, Conan OBrien likes riding his mountain bike through the Hollywood Hills. He was recently peddling up a hill when he spotted a group of teenage BMX bikers doing tricks. He paused to let them pass, but they stopped after spotting OBrien. Theyre like, Conan, man, oh snap! OBrien says. They really didnt say that. No one says that anymore. But they really wanted to talk to me. I kind of wanted to say, Do you know how old I am? Look at this rotting pumpkin head. But it really doesnt matter to them. OBrien told the story Thursday during an onstage conversation with CNNs [ke Tapper in New York. 25 years into the late night game, OBrien is hyper-focused on appealing to kids like these; he believes they saved his career after he lost the Tonight Show in 2010. I have a lot of fans now that werent born when I went on the air. They dont know the old references what theyre passionate about is the stuff that weve done in the last three years. Thats exciting to me. OBrien is cutting the length of his TBS late-night show to 30 minutes in 2019, but he is doubling down on his digital output. This includes a podcast, Conan OBrien Needs a Friend, which starts November 19th and will feature OBrien talking with guests including Kristen Bell, Bill Burr, Wanda Sykes and more, and an online archive of more than 4,000 episodes that will launch in January. OBrien is also planning to release footage of his office life around the clock online. Part of what were trying to do in this new shift is you should be able to see what Im up to almost 24 hours a day, OBrien says. If we have something funny, we could comment on in the moment; that should be put out there at three in the afternoon. You shouldnt have to wait until a linear show. OBrien says hes done with the old approach: Im here behind my desk, this is what Ive prepared, this is my first guest, my second goodnight it doesnt make any sense anymore. Here are nine things we learned from OBriens conversation with Tapper. Story continues 1. He doesnt want to get too political. Since 2016, late night television has become defined by politics. OBrien admits he often wonders, am I supposed to be doing more of that? But ultimately, he doesnt see that kind of topical material as his strength. Something thats benefited me is making things that are silly and funny in more of a timeless way, Conan says. He adds that this is a big reason his old bits have found new life online. The Triumph [the Insult Comic Dog] Star Wars remote is as funny as it was 15 years ago Im trying to manufacture more of those. I think the best moments from my travel shows will still be funny long after I leave this earth, in nine years its a long story. 2. He recently rented a family in Japan. OBriens hit Conan Without Borders series has taken him to Cuba, Italy, Haiti, Mexico, Israel and, most recently, Japan, where he filmed what he calls one of his favorite bits of his career. You can rent a family in Japan if youre lonely, OBrien said. Its not a creepy thing; there are services for people who want companionship. It does sound creepy, but its something thats really part of the Japanese culture. So I rented a family: a wife, husband, a daughter. I made my Japanese father apologize for things my [real] father had done in the Seventies. This man doesnt speak much English and Im making him apologize for the time he yelled at me for spilling creamed corn on the linoleum floor in 1975. And hes apologizing to me very sincerely, and I felt like I had a breakthrough with my dad. Its one of the weirdest thing Ive ever shot. And thats just the tip of the iceberg. 3. He has advice on how to be a good guest: Be funny, he says. Get out there and be really funny and create a great moment and Ill make sure we plug what youre doing. If you spend the whole time saying Listen, Ill get to that, but first I want to say, What an incredible cast.and some of the pranks behind the scenes, I gotta tell ya those are the guests I want less and less of, because they drive me crazy. 4. He critiques his old hosting style. Its funny to look at a tape from 93 now, he says. Because they do look like theyre from the late Forties. First of all, I look like a 28-year-old Belgian woman and in a good way. Im so young, so inexperienced and Im trying to do a good job. Im shaking peoples hands and Im sort of moving how people do in 1930s news reels. I look at it now and realize that, over time, my hosting style became much more, forget the rules. If something interests me in the moment, drop everything and go for that. [Audiences] know when somethings real and when somethings been rehearsed 10,000 times. They can sense it. 5. He riffed on the differences between his old fans and new ones. During his years hosting Late Night With Conan OBrien, he says that conversations with fans usually went the same way: They usually gave me an explanation first as to why they were up that late. They would say, I saw what you did last night. See, I have this rash and have to put this cream on. It has to be every two hours, so I had to get up And Im like, I dont want to know any of this right now.' His new fans dont even own TVs. Theres a whole generation that expects to see their media that way. They expect to see it on their phone, on their tablet, on their computer They dont watch SNL the way we watch SNL. Theyre looking at the clips throughout the week. When I come into the office all the young people are looking at clips of all the different late night shows and seeing it on their time. The good news is, if the work is good, its going to be seen. Thats what I love. 6. Tapper felt tapped out. At one point in the conversation, Tapper took a sip from a Starbucks iced coffee, causing Conan to remark on his very fertile sip. I havent gotten a lot of sleep this week, Tapper said, referencing the midterms. Well, you probably couldnt sleep because of this thing, OBrien said. This is a big moment for you, Tapper. This is make or break for you. He broke into a Tapper imitation: Im gonna speak with Conan soon [and] were gonna talk about platforms! I cant sleep. What hes doing in the digital space is crazy! 7. He has a theory why there are no more late night wars. An audience member asked OBrien why, with more late night hosts than ever, there are no more rivalries like in the Leno-Letterman days. I hate them all, OBrien joked of his competitors. Theyre all pricks first of all, who knows what comedians are really thinking. But I think that theres no percentage in it anymore. For a long time there was one host: Johnny Carson. And he really was it. Then suddenly overnight theres two. And it was very controversial the way it all went down, so there was going to be bad blood, and then the media plays into that because the media loves a horse race. I think its very difficult with as many shows as there are right now. Theres 135 horses running. The media used to be able to report on, Jay just pulled ahead or Lettermans up now. I dont think theres a storyline there now. Theres so many shows, ratings are complicated, networks can use different metrics. Its not a fun story. 8. He has an analogy for the new half-hour format: I say I prefer [to call it] smaller cookie, more chocolate chips. What I want to make clear about the 30-minute show is its still me. Its still me being funny, so this is not check out the whole new Conan because theres no such thing I just feel energized. I feel very fortunate to be in this stage where Ive been doing it for 25 years and I think Im having more fun in some ways now than I ever have before. 9. His goal for the half-hour format? Informality. OBrien is vague about what his new half-hour format will look like. Its a radical change for me, he said. Its going from 44 minutes to 22 minutes. And that is going to be an adjustment. Its going to change the style and the flow of the show. When Variety asked Conan for specifics, he said hes still working it out. Theres a lot I do know. The band will not be there. Im looking for something that has a little bit more of an informality to it. Im very interested in bringing the audience even closer and pushing me into the thick of it. OBrien says hes planning on shooting for longer than 30 minutes, editing it down for TV and posting the full show online, along with behind-the-scenes bits like audience Q&As. In some ways, Ill be working less hard, and in some ways Ill be working harder, he says. What I really like is it to feel like Im playing. Ive done the 25 years Im really proud of the work. And now its time to try to break it: try to have fun and play with the conventions. I really want to go with informality: moments I think are great, and make sure you never see me running out the clock. If you see me for a second running out the clock, then I did not do my job. California wildfires leave at least 74 dead with more than 1,000 still missing: 'It's going to get worse' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Search crews have found eight more sets of remains in the burned-out rubble of Northern California, as officials there fear more deaths in the destructive wildfires raging at both ends of the state that has already claimed a total of 74 lives, including three lost in Southern California blazes. The deadliest and most destructive of the two massive blazes is the Camp Fire in Northern California's Butte County, which has killed at least 71 people. There were more than 1,000 people still missing in the Butte County fire zones on Friday night, though authorities were working to track them down. Officials asked residents to go to the Butte County Sheriff's Department's website to check the missing persons list to make sure they are not on it. PHOTO: Lane and Julie Walker, of Magalia, look for people they know on a list of people missing in the aftermath of the Camp Fire in Chico, Calif., Nov. 15, 2018. (Terray Sylvester/Reuters) Thom Porter, chief of strategic planning for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said the death toll from the Camp Fire is expected to climb higher as search crews comb through more than 12,000 structures destroyed by the flames. "It is by far the most deadly single fire in California history and it's going to get worse, unfortunately," Porter said of the Camp Fire. California Gov. Jerry Brown toured the devastation caused by the Camp Fire earlier this week with Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as well as U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. The government leaders visited the firefighters still battling the inferno, which has burned an area of 142,000 acres and obliterated the city of Paradise, ravaging nearly every home in the bucolic community of 30,000 people. "This is one of the worst disasters I've ever seen in my career, hands down," Long said at a news conference Wednesday in Northern California. PHOTO: An air tanker drops water on a fire along the Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway in Simi Valley, Calif., Nov. 12, 2018. (Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP) Brown said the destruction "looks like a war zone." He said he spoke earlier Wednesday to President Donald Trump, "who pledged the full resources of the federal government" to help in the recovery effort. Story continues Trump said he plans to visit the area on Saturday to meet with survivors and firefighters. A public health emergency U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday declared a public health emergency in California, where the wildfires forced the evacuation of at least two hospitals and eight other health facilities. "We are working closely with state health authorities and monitoring the needs of healthcare facilities to provide whatever they may need to save lives and protect health," Azar said in a statement. "This declaration will help ensure that Americans who are threatened by these dangerous wildfires and who rely on Medicare, Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program have continuous access to the care they need." A smoke advisory was issued for portions of Los Angeles County amid concerns that smoke from the fires could present a "significant health threat" for people with asthma and other lung conditions, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The best time to venture outside will be in the early afternoon, National Weather Service meteorologist Aviva Braun told reporters Wednesday night, blaming the light winds for the continued poor air quality. On Saturday, stronger northeast winds mixing in the valley will help improve the air quality, according to Braun. Lisa Almaguer, public information officer for Butte County Public Health, recommended residents stay indoors as much as possible and to wear properly fitting masks when going outside. In addition, an outbreak of norovirus has occurred at one of the shelters, Almaguer said, describing its presence as "not uncommon," especially at this time of year and "with hundreds of people living in close quarters." People who are ill at the shelter have been taken to a separate location, are using separate restroom facilities and are being cared for by public health experts, according to Almaguer. PHOTO: Homes leveled by the Camp Fire line a development on Edgewood Lane in Paradise, Calif., Nov. 12, 2018. (Noah Berger/AP) (MORE: 'We drove through hell but we're lucky': Couple who lost home in fire recounts harrowing escape with 4 kids) Battle rages on Thousands of exhausted firefighters battling the Camp Fire in Northern California and the Woolsey Fire in Southern California appeared to be getting a handle on the two massive blazes this week. Chief Ken Pimlott, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said weather conditions at both fires have improved and the strong winds firefighters were seeing over the past three days have started to dissipate. But Pimlott said "critical fire conditions" still existed with an abundance of dry vegetation in both fire zones that could flare-up with the slightest spark. PHOTO: Members of the Sacramento County Coroner's office look for human remains in the rubble of a house burned at the Camp Fire, Nov. 12, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. (John Locher/AP) "We're not keeping our eye off this ball at all," Pimlott said Wednesday, adding that 9,000 firefighters were working on the front lines of both blazes. Firefighters, with the help of out-of-state fire crews, were showing progress in their twin battles to subdue the widely destructive blazes that have blackened a combined acreage larger than the size of New York City. The Camp Fire showed "continued activity" on its northeast side, along the Feather River drainage basin, as it pushed toward the community of Big Bar, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced Tuesday night. The lower part of the area continued to be a challenge because of the "extremely steep, extremely rocky" terrain, fire officials said. Dry conditions will continue this week but precipitation is expected next week, Braun said. Camp Fire The Camp Fire ignited Nov. 8 in Northern California's Butte County and has since burned an area of 142,000 acres. The flames were 45 percent contained on Friday morning. The death toll from the monstrous blaze now stands at 71, making it the deadliest single wildfire in California's recorded history. Officials have tentative confirmation of the identities of at least 53 of those found dead, but are awaiting DNA confirmation, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told reporters Thursday night. The sheriff warned that the remains of some of the missing may never be recovered due to the severity of the fire. Two prison inmate firefighters were among three injured battling the Camp Fire, fire officials told ABC News. PHOTO: The Camp Fire burns along a ridge near Big Bend, Calif., Nov. 10, 2018. (Stephen Lam/Reuters) Many of the deaths from the Camp Fire have taken place in Paradise, which was virtually destroyed by the flames. "The entire community of Paradise is a toxic wasteland right now," Paradise City Council Member Melissa Schuster, who lost her home in the calamity, told ABC News' "Start Here" podcast. "In addition to that, and this is the hardest part for me to even talk about, is the number of fatalities is [among] things that we don't know at this moment and that's something that has to be determined before people can move back in." PHOTO: An aircraft drops flame retardant as firefighters battle the Woolsey Fire as it continues to burn in Malibu, Calif., Nov. 11, 2018. (Eric Thayer/Reuters) Schuster said teams from the Butte County coroner's office are combing through thousands of destroyed homes and burned cars in Paradise. "We will rebuild our homes, we will rebuild our town stronger, better, safer and more beautiful than ever," she told ABC News' "Start Here" podcast. Woolsey Fire The Woolsey Fire, which also started on Nov. 8, rapidly spread from Southern California's Ventura County to Los Angeles County, jumping the 101 Freeway before sweeping through the celebrity enclaves of Malibu and Calabasas. Authorities had warned the flames could potentially spread all the way to the Pacific Ocean. It has burned 98,362 acres and was 78 percent contained on Friday night, as firefighters successfully stretched containment lines. But the blaze has already damaged or destroyed over 900 structures, including many homes and a legendary Hollywood film set. The fire burned down a portion of Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills known as Western Town, where hundreds of movies and television shows, including HBOs Westworld, have been filmed, dating back to the 1920s. The blaze has been blamed for the deaths of at least three people, and three firefighters sustained injuries while battling the flames, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. (MORE: California wildfires polluting air more than 100 miles away prompt statewide health emergency) (MORE: 'It's just a recipe for destruction,' fire chief says of conditions on front lines of California fires) PHOTO: Map showing the location of the wildfires burning near Paradise and Thousand Oaks, Calif. (AFP/Newscom) ABC News' Karma Allen, Brandon Baur, Will Carr, Stacy Chen, Matthew Fuhrman, Marilyn Heck, Bonnie McLean and Daniel Peck contributed to this report Frank Reese may be known to the world as a poultry farmer, but hes truly a turkey evangelist. For four generations his family has been raising the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner in Kansas, starting when his great grandmother was gifted bronze breed eggs for a wedding present. They came from a farm in Pennsylvania considered to have the finest bronze turkeys in America, Reese says. They paid $5 per egg [$111 in 2020 money], they hatched and thats the foundation of what we have now. Breeds like bronzes, Narragansetts, bourbon reds, and black turkeys were common back then. But with the advent of factory farming creating genetically mutated turkeys cheap and quick for the table, those heritage breeds have faded away. As one of the last people to breed them, Reese is on a mission to keep non-factory farmed turkeys alive and available for people to eat. On his Good Shepherd Ranch, Reese tends to the countrys oldest flock of pure, standard-bred poultry, and fortunately for him, his birds are getting more and more popular. We cant keep up with demand. I have 3,000 turkeys on my farm and another 2,000 Ive hatched that are being raised by other farmers, Reese says. But its a tough, rough, time-consuming business. You cant have another life and do this. But I want to keep these birds alive and teach the next generation. Because once theyre gone, theyre gone forever. As Thanksgiving approaches, we wanted to better understand what heritage turkeys actually are, why they cost more, and how they taste different than supermarket birds. He told us the five things everyone needs to know as they get ready to buy their Thanksgiving turkey. What is a heritage breed turkey? I kind of hate the word heritage but were stuck with it. The real name of these turkeys and what theyve been called for the last 150 years is Standard Bred. Domesticated turkeys have been around for a couple thousand years. Its a turkey capable of reproducing itself and still has all the natural behavioral patterns. Story continues Even if you buy a turkey thats supposedly organic and free-range and all that stuff, the parents of those turkeys are still in horrible conditions. In fact, in the production of turkeys today, a male turkey never sees a female turkey in its entire life. All turkeys sold at grocery stores are manmade, dead-end animals. They cannot reproduce themselves. Theyre only here because of a factory farm and mans intervention. It makes no difference if theyre organic, free-range, all-natural, or whatever you want to call it. So even if youre buying from a local farmer who says the bird runs around in a pasture, 90 percent of those farmers are still buying them from the same place Butterball does. Theyre still artificial turkeys made through artificial insemination. They have been genetically engineered to grow faster. Weve gotten terribly far from the natural, normal animal. Why heritage turkeys are more expensive than supermarket birds. Industrial turkeys can get up to 40 lbs. in 19 weeks. Theyve literally destroyed the pituitary gland in the brain that tells the animal, Youre full, quit eating. So the industrial turkey never stops eating. My turkeys dont suffer from the morbid obesity gene mutation. My tom turkeys will get up to 24 lbs live weight in 24 weeks. It takes longer for them to grow. Part of the reason they cost so much also is because of infrastructure. I pay two- to three-times more for processing, and five- to ten-times more for transportation. Its hard for an independent farmer to survive. We live in a country where the people make the plastic bags that you put the turkeys in make more money than the farm who raises them. Its the chance to experience how turkeys should really taste. There are multiple things that change the flavor of the meat. One of them is the genetics that you choose to raise, and another is the animals access to exercise, in fact, a lot of my turkeys sleep in trees at night. That animals ability to maneuver and move changes them on a cellular level. That comes from genetics. The closer you get to its original ancestry, the better the meat is going to be in flavor, texture, aroma. If you have a factory turkey that can barely walk and is growing faster than normal, many of the nutritional things that happen in the muscle dont happen. Theyre not getting oxygen, theyre not getting mobility, theyre struggling to stay alive. My turkeys are going to be deeper in color. The whiter the meat, the poorer the nutrition, because oxygen wasnt getting to the muscle. With my turkeys you get deep, rich, heavy flavor of dark meat and I talk to a lot of people who never liked dark meat until they ate my turkeys. Its dark because the animal can run, jump, and fly. Is there a special way to prepare a heritage turkey? Theres not much difference in roasting temperature from the modern turkey, the temperature in the thigh should reach 165. But my old toms put on a huge amount of fat and your roasting pan will fill up. Thats where all the flavor is. We dont inject them or put any added flavoring. Ive been to a processing plant for supermarket turkeys and what they do is inject them. The turkey goes under a hood and about 500 tiny needles inject them with salt water to pre-baste them. We tell people you can brine our birds if they want, but they dont need all sorts of flavors injected to make it taste like something. You just need to roast it. Where you can buy Reeses turkeys. Patrick Martins at Heritage Foods has stood up and said, Nope, we cant let these breeds die. [Good Shepherd turkeys are available on Heritage Foods site ranging from 8 to 22 lbs and will be delivered in time for Thanksgiving.] Whenever someone buys one of my turkeys and pays those prices, I just want to thank them so much. More from Robb Report Best of Robb Report Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Photo credit: Evan Vucci/AP/REX/Shutterstock From ELLE In 1992, the year after Clarence Thomas was nominated to the Supreme Court over Anita Hill's allegations of sexual harassment, a record four women were elected to Senate. It was called the Year of the Woman. Coming off of Brett Kavanaughs Supreme Court nomination-over credible allegations of sexual assault by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford-some predicted that 2018 might be another year of the woman. Although more than 100 women were elected Tuesday, easily surpassing the previous record of 84, it feels wrong to call it that. We could call it a year of women of color. Its not just that non-white Democratic candidates- Sharice Davids, Rashida Tlaib, Letitia James, and more -broke historic barriers of gender, religion, age and sexuality. Its that white women emphatically did not elect Democrats in certain key races. In the Georgia gubernatorial race, 75 percent of white women voted for Brian Kemp over Stacey Abrams, according to CNN exit polls. In Texas, 60 percent voted for Senator Ted Cruz over Beto ORourke. Fifty-one percent voted for Ron DeSantis to be governor of Florida over Andrew Gillum. I would understand if women as a whole decided to divest from white women. Its strange that these numbers continue to surprise and disappoint me. Although many liberals take it as an article of faith that Democrats represent womens interests, white women have long backed Republican presidential candidates and 53 percent of us voted for Donald Trump. White women: footsoldiers of the patriarchy. Brian Kemp: 76% Ted Cruz: 59% Ron DeSantis: 51% pic.twitter.com/1RTZlppkiZ - Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) November 7, 2018 In retrospect, I think I was hoping white women who voted for Trump wouldnt matter. After Hillary Clinton lost, Democrats debated among themselves: Is it more important to persuade swing voters or turn out unlikely ones? As someone who felt ambivalent about Clintons leftist bona fides, I saw the value in the latter path. Support progressive candidates of any gender who have a strong message and can get people excited, the thinking went, and watch the woman-friendly policies roll in. And to a large extent, it worked. Forty-nine percent of white women voted for Democratic House candidates , compared to 43 percent in 2016. Abrams, ORourke, and Gillum achieved historically thin margins in Republican strongholds with historic voter turnout and in spite of serious voter suppression efforts. Story continues Still, seeing these three pro-woman candidates soundly rejected by white women, at the cost of winning, makes me realize that perfect candidates and campaigns might not be enough. Voter reform is an urgent first step towards getting ourselves out of this mess. But asking progressive candidates to turn out enough voters to cancel out white women's votes now looks like letting myself and other white women off the hook. Considering how white women might have tipped the scales in some races, it seems we are long overdue for a turn persuading other white women that progressive politics have something to offer them, or their nieces and nephews, or their grandchildren. For white women who, like me, are looking for marching orders, there are organizations doing this work: Stand Up for Racial Justice , GALvanize USA , and more listed in this excellent Twitter thread . I also think we need to further untangle the knot of white pop culture feminism and Democratic politics that formed leading up to 2016. Not all women like Lena Dunham, or Katy Perry, or Amy Schumer, it turns out-I rarely like all three at the same time-and, more importantly, they look nothing like the people leading the left. I also worry that I personally focus too much on reproductive justice, paid family leave and the wage gap. Its not that I think those are the only important issues, but they seemed like the easiest way to get other women on board. I no longer think thats true. Some of the white Republican women I know have largely relied on men financially and are afraid of the way the world their white sons will inherit is changing. The issues that directly affect me (see above) arent relevant to the way their lives played out. They have major blind spots around poverty, race, and trans rights that they may never overcome through lived experience or political persuasion. Still, Im optimistic that their compassion for people without health care, people affected by gun violence and people subject to inhumane immigration policies could translate to us voting similarly. At the very least, we have this melting planet in common. Other white Republican women, I think, care about preserving their wealth and the supremacy of their race at the expense of every other issue, including this melting planet. I dont want to strike a political bargain with them. Disconnecting from some white women might be as important as connecting with others. This is the danger of thinking of women like a bloc: woman isnt a very high standard. Women are human, and so lots of women are selfish. Who would want to be part of a year of the woman if all women were invited? ('You Might Also Like',) Jason/Courtesy Million Mile Secrets I had a strange childhood. My parents never took me to McDonalds (cue sad violin music). They said the food was gross. And this was before any scathing documentaries were released about the chain, so they were way ahead of their time. But all the anti-McD's talk was confusing to me because the commercials made it look so good. And those Happy Meal toys pulled on my heartstrings! While I never rebelled and became a die-hard Big Mac fan, I do visit McDonalds every time I find one outside of the U.S. The menu varies by country, and if theres one thing I like to eat, its something Ive never had before. So when I heard there was a McDonalds in Chicago with a global menu, I decided to dive in. If youre looking to save big on your Happy Meal purchases, check out our ranking of the best rewards credit cards to use at restaurants. The best cards come with bonuses worth $500+ and can earn you 4% cash back on restaurant spending! What is the McDonalds global menu? McDonalds recently moved their headquarters to Chicago (from the suburbs) on West Randolph Street just west of The Loop. They added a McDonalds to their new campus and, as far as I know, its the only McD's in the world with a global menu. [Editor's note: It is, although McDonald's is testing some global menu items in certain Florida markets.] The menu rotates every two months, and the more popular items can sell out. It took me two visits to conquer the global menu. And the first time I stopped in, several of the Canadian salads were sold out, eh? If youre planning a trip to Chicago to sample this menu, youll want to wait until November 2018 when the new menu comes out because the current options are a bit commonplace. Everyone I talked to about it expected me to be stuffing Black Ink Squid burgers in my mouth (even though thats a Burger King item), but it wasnt nearly that exotic. These are the bestselling McDonald's menu items ever. On a side note, as teenagers, my friends and I used to entertain ourselves by going to the McDonalds drive-thru and ordering a Whopper or going to the Burger King drive-thru and ordering a Big Mac. It was wild and crazy times back then in Amish country, Pennsylvania! Dont worry, Ive toned it down in my older years. Story continues Whats on the menu now? Overall, I was disappointed at how ordinary the selection was for this round. Even though the food wasnt as exotic as I was hoping for, I did experience something at this McDonalds I had never had at a fast food restaurant in the U.S. before: real customer service! The staff was friendly and attentive. They even brought out the bulk of my food early so it wouldnt go cold while my Flat White was being prepared. And the restaurant itself was immaculate. The trash cans and area above them where you return your trays was pristine. Heres a rundown of what items and countries are on the global menu through November 2018. Maestro Angus Burger: The Netherlands (Holland) Jason/Courtesy Million Mile Secrets The Maestro burger isnt that different than other classic fast-food burgers. Its got a special sesame-seed and poppy seed bun, bacon (yay!), two Angus beef patties, red onion, cheddar cheese, mustard sauce, ketchup, and Batavia lettuce. The mustard sauce gives it a nice zing, but I have no idea what Batavia lettuce is. It didnt seem that different from any other lettuce Ive had on a McDonalds sandwich. Pro Tip: If youre looking for a cheap flight to Europe, Delta has incredible award sales every week. And there are frequently excellent deals from the U.S. to Europe! Poutine: Canada Jason/Courtesy Million Mile Secrets Poutine is one of the best food combinations on the planet: cheese curds and fries drowned in gravy. And McDonalds doesnt do it justice. The gravy is the same fake beef-flavored sauce I used to get on my school cafeteria Salisbury steak. The cheese curds look like globs of butter and dont have any of the chewy cheesiness I like my curds to have. And Ive had comparable Poutine at a Dairy Queen in Canada, which isnt saying much. But I dont eat at McDonalds because I expect the food to be excellentthis met my expectations. Find out what the McDonald's menu looked like the year you were born. Other Canadian Treats Jason/Courtesy Million Mile Secrets The bakery menu included Canadian treats like blueberry muffins, brownies, and croissants. And several salads were listed as Canadian too, like the Keep Calm Caesar On, Im Greek-ing Out, and the aptly named Side Salad. Maybe its been too long since Ive been in a regular U.S. McDonalds, but can you really not get a Side Salad anywhere but Canada? Or is there something different about the Canadian version of the side salad? Sadly, Ill never know. Shortly after taking this picture I accidentally knocked my Maple Leaf Side Salad (couldnt they at least have named it that?) on the floor. Hersheys Cookies n Creme McFlurry: Chile? "Jason/Courtesy Million Mile SecretsJason/Courtesy Million Mile Secrets Whats going on here? I grew up 45 minutes from Hershey, Pennsylvania, and a cookies n creme ice cream treat isnt exactly foreign. But its definitely listed on the menu next to the Chilean flag. Im guessing the corporate committee that selected this months menu must have needed to get out early for the weekend. Is Chile the only place to get this flavor of McFlurry? Or is it just the country with the best Cookies n Creme McFlurry sales? Either way, this ones delicious! These are the secret menu items you never knew about at McDonald's. Ice Cream Sundaes: Brazil? Jason/Courtesy Million Mile Secrets I didnt think the global menu could get any more basic, and then I came across the Brazilian ice cream menu. What foreign delights did McDs bring over from Brazil? Treats like a Vanilla Cone, Chocolate Cone, Strawberry Top Sundae, Caramel Top Sundae, and Hot Fudge Top Sundae. Why didnt they just add the Red Bean & Matcha McFlurry to the menu and be done with it? Maybe Brazil has a different ice cream recipe? If so, I couldnt tell the difference. Don't miss these McDonald's menu items that were total fails. Flat White: Australia? Jason/Courtesy Million Mile Secrets McDonalds serves the Flat White in quite a few different countries. And now that Starbucks has added it to their menu, its lost its allure for me. Not sure what a Flat White is? According to my friend who owns a coffee shop, its basically a properly made latte thats small. The rest of the Australian coffee drink menu had all of the standard coffee shop drinks: espresso, chai latte, hot chocolate, hot mocha, cappuccino, etc. Again, are these not available at US McDonalds? Or do Australian McDonalds use different coffee? Personally, Id rather just save up my miles & points for a cheap flight to the land down under! Freedom Fries: USA! Jason/Courtesy Million Mile Secrets No visit to McDonalds is complete without a hearty helping of fries. Fun fact: If you grew up before 1990, you had the privilege of enjoying McDonalds fries in their heyday. Up until July of that year, they were fried in beef tallow. That iteration of the fry is universally regarded as superior to what youll get today, which is fries cooked in vegetable oil. They made the move in response to health advocates, but many argue it hasnt actually made us any healthier. Im in need of some trip-spiration, so whats the strangest item youve ever ordered at McDonalds and what country did you find it in? Next, check out 12 of the coolest McDonald's locations in the world. Love Readers Digest and also love travel? Sign-up for the fun Million Mile Secrets newsletter. We reveal 10 easy steps to big travel discounts! When you hear about someone who lost a lot of weight, its usually regarding how amazing they feel or how much healthier their lifestyle is now. But what about the not-so-glamorous parts, like living with loose skin or debilitating pain? Thats what happened to 27-year-old Lexi Reed from Indiana, and shes speaking up about it. Reeds weight-loss journey began with a New Year's resolution. On January 1, 2016, when she weighed about 485 pounds, she and her husband decided it was time to make some lifestyle changes. It was out with Netflix and junk food and in with exercise and healthy eating, Reed tells Health. Fast forward two years, and, thanks to a lot of hard work and dedication, Reed had lost 312 pounds. Talk about a whole new you. She was finally free of the weight that had kept her prisoner, she says, but no one told her she was about to face an entirely new obstacle: loose skin. RELATED: The 9 Best Anti-Aging Products on Amazon Under $20 In February of this year, Reed started experiencing severe neck pain. She went to multiple doctors and was put on various medications, but nothing was helping. No doctor could figure out exactly what was wrong, she says, and they started looking at her like it was all in her head. There were times when I didnt know if I would wake up the next day because I was in so much pain. Story continues Then she had an aha moment. One day we were in the bathroom, and my husband stood behind me and lifted my stomach so for the first time I could see what I would look like if my stomach wasnt covering my hips and everything else, she says. That was the first time that I didnt feel the neck pain and all of the pain I had been feeling for months. RELATED: These Real Women Showed Their Excess Skin to Make an Important Point About Weight Loss Reed says couldnt believe she hadnt thought of that before, but she had never heard anyone talk about the pain that comes with loose skin. People typically focus on the vanity of losing weight, she explains, not the complications that can come with it. Her struggle with her skin didn't stop there. Sometimes it felt so heavy that her arms would go numb from holding it up, she says. Another thing no one told her about: Loose skin would also take away from her ability to show off her new body. The day was finally here. Reed was going to an amusement park with her husband, and she was ready to rock a bathing suit for the first time. Needless to say, she was pretty excited. I wore this swimsuit that had a skirt, so I was still a little bit covered, but everybody was staring at my legs because the loose skin would flap as I would walk, she says. I felt so insecure by the end of it. You think, I lost 312 pounds, I want to rock bathing suits, but I couldnt. RELATED: I Had 7 Lbs. of Skin Removed After Major Weight LossHere's What You Should Know Regardless of what others thought, Reed knew she had every right to be proud of her body. I would rather have 10 times more skin than I have now than be 485 pounds back on my deathbed where I wasnt able to do anything, such as even go to that theme park, she says. In September, Reed decided she couldnt live her life in pain any longer. She scheduled a surgery to have some of her loose skin removed. She was terrified of surgery, she says, but she was even more terrified of what the long-term effects of carrying that much skin around could be. I dont know the long-term effects because theres not a lot of research on that, she says. On Halloween, Reed endured a nine-hour surgery performed by board-certified plastic surgeon Joseph Michaels, MD, who removed some of the excess skin from her stomach and contoured her butt to match her new curves. Now, just a week post-surgery, Reed says she knows she made the best decision of her life. I can already tell how different my life is going to be, she says. Reeds goal going forward: to help as many people as she can. She plans to write a book about her experience and hopes to inspire others who want to lose weight or are trying to navigate living with loose skin. Its not about the weight that you lose, but the life that you gain, Reed says. Yeah, I have loose skin, but it doesnt stop me from being able to do things like ride roller coasters, travel on airplanes, go canoeingall things that at 485 pounds I couldnt do. To get our top stories delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Healthy Living newsletter In an interview with the New York Times Thursday, newly minted congressional representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez admitted she isnt planning to head to Washington before her inauguration in January 2019. Although there are luncheons, an orientation, and various other events for new representatives leading up to January, Ocasio-Cortez wont draw a salary until after she starts work, making her early move to DC completely financially impossible. And although the upstart Democratic Socialist is excited to make waves (and change) in Congress from the get-go, her inability to actually get to her new home before she starts work shows that our entire political system is built for wealthier people to remain in leadership, making it hard (or in some cases, impossible) for average people to even get elected. I cant really take a salary, she explained of her current status. I have three months without a salary before Im a member of Congress. So, how do I get an apartment? Those little things are very real. Although Ocasio-Cortez did save up as much money as she could from her job in a restaurant before the election, that money will just barely cover her living expenses in New York and not finance a move to the capital. Were kind of just dealing with the logistics of it day by day, but Ive really been just kind of squirreling away and then hoping that gets me to January, she said. But the setup isnt a fluke for the low-earning upstart who won her election: The political system is designed by and for wealthy people across the board. Past election year data shows that most winners for the House have to raise at least $1.6 million dollars if their campaign will be successful a dollar amount thats hard to get to if you dont have the right donor connections among the wealthy. In fact, according to some statistics, although small donor donations are on the rise among politicians, large corporate contributions can make or break a campaign. But its not just finances. The entire structure of elections a system that was ostensibly designed to make politics accessible for any potential candidate has evolved to restrict the breadth of candidates, which has had the effect of squelching diversity. Story continues In the 1800s, uniform, printed ballots became part of the national political landscape, and with them came Republican and Democratic legislatures wringing control further away from independents, upstart political parties, low-wage earners, and racialized communities by privileging their parties (and their insider candidates) on the ballots. This has allowed for an electoral system that favors wealthy candidates. But Ocasio-Cortezs win shows not only that people are ready for change on that front, but also that shell shine a light on it. There are many little ways in which our electoral system isnt even designed (nor prepared) for working-class people to lead,Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Thursday. This is one of them (dont worry btw were working it out!). (Photo by Rick Loomis/Getty Images) A memorial to the thousands of horses that died World War One has been decorated by hundreds of hand knitted poppies ahead of remembrance day. The statue is a permanent memorial in the Memorial Park, Romsey - Solent News & Photo Agency They may no longer be with us - the last of their number, Harry Patch, died in 2009, aged 111 - but we will remember them. Around the country thousands of people will pay tribute on Sunday to those who died on foreign soil or at sea for their country, and those at home who endured the anguish and hardship of global war. On the 100th anniversary of the Armistice events will take place in every corner of the British Isles to commemorate the sacrifice of a generation during the First World War, which only came to an end at 11am on November 11, 1918, after an almost incalculable loss of life. The numbers still have the power to shock. Between 1914 and 1918, 886,345 UK troops were killed. Another 228,569 troops from the wider British Empire were killed, more than 74,000 of them from India. Each one was a son, father, husband or brother who willingly or not, whether with courage or almost paralysed by fear, died in a conflict whose causes and conclusion were beyond their control. In addition there were 6.32 million civilians killed when total war visited their communities, 109,000 of them in the UK , 300,000 in France and 426,000 in Germany. The acts of remembrance being organised to commemorate this loss will be as varied as they will be moving. They range from the formal state occasion of the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph, where Prime Minister Theresa May and the Prince of Wales will lay wreaths, and a special service at Westminster Abbey being attended by the Queen and other senior members of the Royal family, to the Yorkshire town of Otley, where posters will be hung on more than 100 doors to remember the man who lived there but never returned from the front line. In addition each house in the town will also display a knitted poppy, with another 16,000 installed along the railings outside of All Saints Parish Church. The familiar chimes of Big Ben will mark the centenary of the Armistice, despite the clock tower being covered in scaffolding for conservation works. Story continues The 13.7 tonne bell, which hangs in the Elizabeth Tower in Westminster, will sound 11 times at 11am today for the traditional two minutes of remembrance. It will strike a further 11 times at 12.30 with bells ringing across the UK and worldwide as part of a nationwide programme of events to mark the end of the war. Wire Sculptor Jackie Lantelli from Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, England, with her Wire Soldiers installation at St John's Churchyard, Slimbridge, Credit: PAUL NICHOLLS Many of todays commemorative events have been communal efforts, drawing in whole families to remember the dead. In the West Midlands town of Walsall almost 100 houses in one street have been covered with 24,000 red poppies and the black silhouette statues of soldiers, symbolising the men from the area who were killed. Geoff Talbot, 74, one of those who decorated his home, said: "Lots of people have put a lot of effort to do this. In those days Aldridge was only a village, but a lot of local young men left and never came back. It is an absolutely nice way to do a tribute for them." A huge wall of 2,500 poppies also festoons the Bell Inn in nearby Willenhall, after locals painstakingly knitted the individual flowers by hand over a 24-month period. The day will not be without the kind of ironic humour one imagines would have been appreciated by the Tommies whose death in their thousands across the Western Front remain embedded in popular memory. Thwaites brewery, in Lancashire, is honouring one of WWI's Victoria Cross winners by naming the Shire horse that deliver its beer around Blackburn after him. The two-year-old gelding is being named Drummer in honour of the East Lancashire Regiment's first WWI Victoria Cross winner, Drummer John Bent, aged 23. Bent was commended after saving a soldier from no-man's land and leading his platoon into action under fire after their officers and NCO's were all killed on 1st November 1914, near Le Gheer, Belgium. Drummer Bents was the 24th of a total of 628 VCs awarded during WWI. As well as recalling his heroism, the name 'Drummer' also commemorates the role of thousands of horses in the Great War. White van driver Christopher Curtis, 32, from Oldham, who served for 11 years as a Sapper in the Royal Engineers, has sketched the silhouette of a soldier standing over a field of poppies with the words "Lest We Forget" in the dirt on the back of his van. In Bolton, criminals sentenced to unpaid work orders by magistrates were deployed to decorate lamp posts, the town hall and other landmarks in the Lancashire town with 500 giant poppies. The factory in Aylesford, Kent, that makes poppies has worked around the clock for the first time to meet the unprecedented demand for the symbol of Remembrance Day, producing more than 1,500 a day for the past two and a half weeks. Mandy Barker, Head Flower Arranger, and Julia Weston, Volunteer, arrange flowers on the Remembrance Cross for Sunday's Service at York Minster Credit: Charlotte Graham/The Telegraph In a measure of the continuity of the tradition of remembrance a box of poppies believed to be from one of the early Poppy Appeals has been discovered in an old suitcase in Cardiff.. Bernie Axtell, 77, found them while searching for paperwork in his home. They are believed to date from before the Second World War and will be brought to the Cenotaph by Royal British Legion representatives today. Mr Axtell was handed the box of poppies by his friend Vic Luckhurst about 30 years ago, while working for the Legion in Street, Somerset. I said to Vic that I would find something special to do with them, he said. Thirty years is a very long time to wait, but now they are doing something extraordinary." In Portsmouth a 24-hour guard of honour was being held at the citys Cenotaph, with 200 people, including schoolchildren, veterans and serving members of the armed forces, working in 15-minute slots to stand by the monument until 10am today. Meanwhile silhouettes of soldiers from the First World War have been projected onto famous landmarks around the country by the There But Not There project to raise money for mental health charities. There include Marble Arch, Tate Modern, HMS Belfast, the Angel of the North, the Tyne Bridge, Titanic Belfast and Edinburgh Castle. In Ilfracombe, Devon, it was the bodies of people that made their mark yesterday, recreating a famous photograph from 100 years ago by spelling out the word peace on nearby Capstone Hill to remember those who died so that we might preserve it. Residents of a Devon town have re-enacted a classic photograph to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One. Locals and members of the public alike helped to recreate the original picture from 1919 by spelling out the word 'PEACE' on Capstone Hill in Ilfracombe. Credit: MARK PASSMORE/APEX The nations acting top law enforcement official was aligned with a company that is currently under investigation by the department he now oversees. Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker was paid $9,375 in 2014 by a Florida company called World Patent Marketing Inc. to serve in an advisory role, and, as a former U.S. attorney, vouch for the businesss general good standing. World Patent Marketing Inc. is now the subject of an ongoing criminal inquiry by the FBI, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. And as of Wednesday, Whitaker is serving as attorney general, a role that could give him ultimate oversight into that investigation. Per the Journal, the investigation is being undertaken by the FBI field office in Miami as well as the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Theres no indication that Whitaker, who has been acting attorney general for little more than 48 hours, has taken any action or even been briefed on the case. Justice Department ethics officials will undoubtedly call on Whitaker to recuse himself from the investigation, though its unclear whether he has met with ethics officials at this point. The troubled company shut down in 2017, after a federal injunction brought by the Federal Trade Commission, and was ordered to pay a $26 million fine last May. The Washington Post, citing two anonymous sources, reported that Whitaker rebuffed an FTC subpoena in 2017 seeking his records related to the company. Although the FTC argued World Patent Marketing was little more than a scam that has bilked thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars, Whitaker saw it differently in a December 2014 press release for the company: As a former US Attorney, I would only align myself with a first class organization. World Patent Marketing goes beyond making statements about doing business ethically and translates them into action. The revelation about the investigation comes as Whitaker, a little-known Iowa Republican whose relationship with President Donald Trump led to his appointment Wednesday, appears prepared to seize control of the Robert Mueller special counsel investigation in spite of his extensive remarks about the probe as a cable news commentator. Story continues Before he joined the Justice Department as former Attorney General Jeff Sessions chief of staff last year, Whitaker routinely disparaged the special counsel investigation in appearances on CNN and on the radio. Whitaker was paid a $402,000 salary by a dark money group called the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, which criticized Democrats on ethics grounds. FACT was meant to be the conservative answer to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a liberal watchdog group that on Thursday called on Whitaker to recuse himself from the Mueller investigation. Its unclear at this point whether Whitaker has been formally looped in on the status of the Mueller probe. Within the Justice Department, theres little faith that Whitaker will recuse himself from the Mueller investigation, even if DOJs career ethics officials recommend he do so. The Justice Department didnt immediately return a request for comment late Friday. Last month, Trump said on Fox News Fox & Friends show that Whitaker is a great guy and said that he knew him but declined to talk about any conversations he had had with him about taking on the role. But by Friday, Trump declared that he doesnt know Whitaker and claimed he had never spoken to him about the Mueller probe. By Friday evening, Whitakers LinkedIn page had already been updated to reflect his new title. Related Coverage Matt Whitaker, Trump's Acting Attorney General Pick, Is A Major Critic Of The Russia Probe Matt Whitaker's Appointment May Be Illegal, Fox News' Andrew Napolitano Says Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker Once Expressed Terrifying View Of Executive Power Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Phoblographer Thankfully, film photography still holds its place in the world. Some shoot film because they're hipsters, while others do it because they feel deeply about the science behind it and the aesthetic it produces. Shooting film isn't easy, most people fail to get to right. But for those that nail it, the results can be spectacular. Naturally, we've featured many of the wins. And below is some film photography you'll love by photographers who love their film cameras. Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp are locked in a dispute amid allegations of voter fraud something that has plagued Georgia in its history Georgias hard-fought and bitter governors race still isnt over. Nor was it just a gubernatorial campaign pitting rightwing Trump acolyte Brian Kemp against insurgent Democrat Stacy Abrams and her bid to become the first African American woman governor in US history. Instead it was a battle years in the making, and it was not so much about who to vote for but who could vote at all. Kemp has declared victory and handed in his resignation as secretary of state the very office that oversees this contentious election. The outgoing governor Nathan Deal, has declared him the victor. Theres just one catch. Abrams campaign team is still counting the votes. Her campaign manager, Lauren Groh-Wargo, said from the campaign headquarters Thursday: All of the votes in this race have not been counted. All the voters of Georgia deserve to be counted before the now-former secretary of state announces his victory. According to a statement posted on the Georgia secretary of states website while Kemp was still in that role, counties have until 9 November to verify provisional ballots and until 13 November to certify the results. As of Friday morning, the unofficial election results show Kemp with a lead of more than 63,000 votes a gap Abrams has closed from 75,000 since election night in an election where nearly 4 million ballots were cast. In Georgia, a runoff is triggered when neither candidate secures 50% plus one vote, which Abramss team claimed could happen if she gains 25,632 votes. After Kemps resignation, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People president Derrick Johnson released a statement, filled with refrains echoed by other legal experts, civil rights figures and Kemps adversaries during and prior to the election. He said: Kemps actions during the election were textbook voter suppression. His actions were strategic, careless and aimed at silencing the voting power of communities of color in the state. Story continues Consider these numbers. In the three months leading up to election day, more than 85,000 voters were purged from rolls under Kemp. During 2017 a huge 668,000 voters were purged, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Of those 2017 numbers, investigative reporter Greg Palast told Salon, 200,000 people left the state, died or moved out their district, making them legitimate cancellations. However, through litigation, he got the entire purge list. Of the 400,000 who supposedly moved, our experts will tell a court that 340,134 never moved wrongly purged, Palast told the Guardian, saying people had been purged for not voting in an election or two. Furthermore from 2012 to 2016, 1.5 million voters were purged more than 10 percent of all voters from records, according to a 2018 report from the Brennan Center for Justice. In comparison, 750,000 were purged from 2008 to 2012. Stacey Abrams campaign team said they were still counting votes. Photograph: Miguel Juarez Lugo/Zuma/Rex/Shutterstock Kemp took office in 2010 and he and fellow conservatives argue the law requires ineligible voters who move or die to be cleared from rolls. But voting rights advocates say the removals disproportionately affect groups who tend to vote at lower rates, like minorities and low-income voters the same groups who generally support Democrats. Its a fundamental problem that stretches back into the history of Georgia and the wider south where racial tensions and the fight over who can vote persists from the days of civil rights struggles. Sophia Lakin, a staff attorney on the ACLUs Voting Rights Project, points to the fact that until 2013 Georgia was covered by a section of the Voting Rights Act that stipulated it submit election changes to get pre-clearance from the federal government a protection meant to protect minority voters. She said: It was a hugely important part of maintaining fair voting practices in places in this country that had a long history of discriminating on racial grounds. But with those protections now gone for the last five years that covers Kemps period in office many activists say minority voting rights have been threatened again. Legally, it has been lawsuit after lawsuit in Georgia. Before the 2016 general election, Common Cause, a nonpartisan grassroots organization, and the NAACP filed a lawsuit against Kemp, seeking an injunction to block Kemp from more voter purges based on a registered voters failure to vote. Voter purges arent the sole concern for critics of the conservative, Trump-endorsed candidate. Abrams team also claims the race is too close to call because of other forms of voter suppression lobbied by her adversaries all ones that could have cost her the governorship. Days before early voting began, a civil rights group sued Kemp over the state of Georgias discriminatory and unlawful exact match voter suppression scheme, resulting in 53,000 pending voter registration applications which they claimed affected mostly minority voters. [Kemp's] actions were strategic, careless and aimed at silencing the voting power of communities of color Derrick Johnson, NAACP The exact match policy is when a voters application has to match without an errant dash, space, hyphen or period, for example the information listed in social security or drivers license databases. On the first day of early voting, a bus full of African American senior citizens on their way to a voting center were turned back. Organizers called it live voter suppression. A few days before the election a white supremacist group released racist and fake robocalls impersonating Oprah Winfrey, just as she arrived in metro Atlanta to stump for Abrams. Then there was the announcement Kemp was looking into unfounded hacking allegations against Democrats just two days before the election. On election day, Abrams fears seemed to come true. The Guardian witnessed long lines in various parts of metro Atlanta, where the majority of counties lean Democrat. MITs Election Performance Index for 2016 suggested Georgia ranked 49th out of 50 for wait times to vote. In the states second largest, hotly contested and traditionally Republican but becoming Democratic Gwinnett County, an entire polling location at Annistown elementary school was offline when the doors opened at 7am. The county cited issues with the express polling machines that make the electronic ballots, said Joe Sorensen, a county official who showed up at noon. The NAACP sued successfully to keep two polling precincts near the historically black colleges Spelman University and Morehouse College open until 10pm. Its easy to vote and hard to cheat in Georgia, Kemp said Thursday. But on election day, a local news channel claimed even Kemp had difficulties voting, with his vote card coming up as invalid. The current high stakes impasse between the two front-runners is actually a sequel. A similar scene played out in the lead up to the 2014 midterms when Abrams was the then-Democratic minority leader in the Georgia house and Kemp the secretary of state. In an effort to increase voter registration among minorities, young adults and unmarried women, Abrams launched the New Georgia Project. According to the non-partisan organizations website, the aim was to target more than 700,000 unregistered Georgians who happened to be people of color. Kemp accused the organization of voter fraud. Leaked audio from a Republican breakfast in Gwinnett county, now Georgias most diverse, recorded Kemp as saying: You know the Democrats are working hard, and all these stories about them, you know, registering all these minority voters that are out there and others that are sitting on the sidelines, if they can do that, they can win these elections in November. At the moment, Kemp is holding firm. Since the night of the election, he has said: The math is on our side. He implied that the argument over voting in Georgia is over. Abrams disagrees. The Georgia Democratic party filed a lawsuit Thursday to extend the deadline for absentee ballots in Dougherty county, a southern county affected by Hurricane Michael in October. Palast, though, agrees, unwillingly, with Kemp. [Voter purge] resulted in massive number of provisional ballots that Kemp [or his successor] wont count. Worse, most of the [people purged who] showed [up on election day] were denied the provisional ballots. Thats probably the election for Kemp. Boris Johnson, pictured here with brother Jo, Rachel Johnson and Stanley Johnson, has praised his brothers resignation over Brexit (Picture: Getty) Boris Johnson had praised his brother Jo Johnson for his resignation as a minister over Theresa Mays handling of Brexit. Jo Johnson quit as transport minister on Friday, saying the public should be given the chance to vote again on whether they want to leave the EU, and if so, whether whether they accept what is on offer or choose to leave without a deal. His former foreign secretary brother may have been on the opposite side of the Brexit divide, but Boris Johnson has voiced his boundless admiration for him. Despite their difference in stance, he said they were united in dismay at the intellectually and politically indefensible UK position. Mr Johnsons father, Stanley Johnson, told Channel 4 News: Im reminded of Tennysons Charge Of The Light Brigade. I mean volley to the left of the them, volley to right of them, and the Prime Minister charges on into the valley of death. MORE: The parking fines you may not have to pay and what to do if you get a ticket MORE: Flab-tastic Mr Fox: Super-size fox spotted waddling around London garden And thank God Jo has come out today with a bit of sanity. Saying we have got to draw back from this cliff edge. Mr Johnsons sister Rachel said she was hugely proud of her honourable and principled brother Jo who has put the interests of the country ahead of his political career. Resignation Jo Johnson resigned on Friday, calling for a second referendum on Brexit (Picture: REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo) Shadow Brexit minister Jenny Chapman said Mr Johnson is the 18th minister to resign from Theresa Mays government, saying: She has lost all authority and is incapable of negotiating a Brexit deal within her own party, let alone with the EU. Theresa May is in office, but not in power. Tory former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine, who backs the Peoples Vote campaign for another referendum, said: This is a very significant resignation. Here is a young politician with everything to gain from staying inside the Government, pursuing his distinguished career, keeping his head down and waiting for events to take their course. Story continues He has not done that. He has resigned on an issue of principle putting the country before his party and his own career. He said it was an important message to all Conservative MPs who are not saying what they think. This is the time for all of them, as Jo Johnson has done, to look deep inside their consciences, to reflect deeply on their responsibilities, and do the right thing for future generations. Images of billowing black smoke and homes set ablaze show the size and strength of three massive wildfires burning across California. Together, the Camp, Woolsey and Hill fires have burned 86,000 acres and killed at least five peopleand are continuing to spread. The town of Paradise, Calif was taken by surprise when the Camp Fire spread rapidly between Thursday and Friday, consuming 70,000 acres of land by Friday morning and forcing the towns 26,000 residents to evacuate. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or Cal Fire, 2,000 structures have been destroyed and 15,000 more are in danger as strong winds carry the blaze toward the city of Chico. Outside Los Angeles, the Woolsey and Hill fires threaten densely populated Ventura and Los Angeles counties. So far, 75,000 homes have been ordered to evacuate, including affluent areas of Malibu and Calabasas. News of the fire spread quickly as several celebrities, including Kim Kardashian and Alyssa Milano, announced on social media saying they were forced to leave their homes. The Woolsey fire has also endangered the town of Thousand Oaks, which is still recovering after a gunman opened fire at a country bar Wednesday night, killing 12 people. As thousands of firefighters continue to battle the blazes, photographers have set out to capture scenes of destruction, including Josh Edelson, a freelance photographer who has been covering fires for 10 years. Edelson spoke with TIME back in August after covering the destructive Carr Fire, remarking on the particularly intense fires 2018 has seen. Its hotter, its drier, and the fires are way more aggressive and active than anything weve seen at this level of frequency, he said. 2018 has been a particularly bad year for California in regard to wildfires. The Mendocino Complex Fire, which burned more than 450,000 acres in July, was the largest recorded wildfire in the states history. An American flag is seen at an engulfed car dealership during the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 8. Flames consume a home as the Camp Fire tears through Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 8. Nurse Cassie Lerossignol hugs a coworker as the Feather River Hospital burns while the Camp Fire rages through Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 8. A home is overshadowed by towering smoke plumes as the Camp fire races through town in Paradise, Calif. on Nov. 8. Burned vehicles during the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif. on Nov. 8. Local law enforcement standby to give mandatory evacuation orders to residents in Thousand Oaks, Calif. as the Wooolsey fire burns over 8,000 acres on Nov. 8. Hillery Johnson stands with her horse Augie, after she lost everything except the clothes on her back and her horse, watches as the Camp Fire burns out of control through Paradise, Calif. on Nov. 8. The unidentified driver who narrowly survived after a large tree fell on to the road and cracked the windshield during the Camp Fire, as it burned out of control through Paradise, Calif. on Nov. 8. A fireman runs to set up a hoseline to try and extinguish the flame of the Woolsey Fire in Thousand Oaks, Calif. on Nov. 8. The landmark gun violence restraining order was designed to handle at-risk individuals, but is rarely implemented A California law designed to help police or family members keep guns out of the hands of at-risk individuals might have stopped the shooter who killed 12 people at a country and western bar. After a mass shooting four years ago, the state passed a new law where courts could be asked to temporarily bar an at-risk person from owning guns. The massacre in Thousand Oaks, California, has troubling parallels to the 2014 shooting, experts said, highlighting the fact that Californias three-year-old gun violence restraining order law is still rarely used. Passed in the wake of the 2014 Isla Vista shooting, the new law was designed to close gaps in existing laws on mental health and violence gaps that had allowed the Isla Vista shooter, Elliot Rodger, to legally own guns, despite a history of disturbing behavior that had alarmed his family and prompted a welfare check from law enforcement. In both the Isla Vista and Thousand Oaks shootings, law enforcement officials had contact with the shooter before the attack, but had determined that they did not meet the criteria to be involuntarily detained for further mental health assessment. The California gun violence restraining order law, which went into effect in 2016, was supposed to bridge the gap, giving law enforcement or family members tools to disarm someone showing signs of dangerous behavior, even if their behavior does not warrant immediate detention. The idea of the gun violence restraining order is that you dont have to wait until someone is immediately dangerous and threatening someone, if there are behavioral indications of risk. The idea is to intervene upstream, said Jeff Swanson, a Duke University researcher and one of the nations leading experts on mental health and violence. Its an approach to gun violence prevention that has attracted increasing bipartisan support since the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, this February, which left 17 people dead. The 19-year-old Parkland shooter had a long history of troubled behavior and contact with law enforcement. The FBI received two separate warnings about threatening statements from the shooter, but failed to fully follow up on either. Story continues Gun violence restraining orders, also known as extreme risk protection orders, are meant to enable people who are most likely to know that someone is at risk of harming themselves or others to take action, to remove the most lethal form of harm for them, Anderman said. The laws only allow guns to be confiscated temporarily, provide ways for those targeted by the orders to contest them in court, and include penalties for anyone who tries to abuse the orders. Since Parkland, eight states, including Florida, have passed new versions of these laws. Five of these bills were signed by Republican governors. The Trump White House has endorsed the policy, encouraging more states to pass these laws at the state level. But experts say enforcement of the landmark law has lagged in California, and many people are still unaware that it exists. There are a lot of law enforcement officers in this state who have never heard of the gun violence restraining order, said Allison Anderman, the managing attorney at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, who is working to improve implementation of the law. Theres nothing at the state level that Im aware of that requires officers to be trained in this law. In 2014, prompted by concern from his parents and counselor over disturbing videos he had posted online, deputies from the Santa Barbara sheriffs office visited 22-year-old Rodger, but found him calm, shy and polite. Rodger told them his mother was a worry wart. A woman waits for news about a missing loved one after the shooting in Thousand Oaks. Photograph: Kent Nishimura/LA Times via Getty Images A month later, he stabbed three of his room-mates to death and then went on a shooting spree across the university town of Isla Vista, including targeting a sorority. When sheriffs deputies visited the home of the Thousand Oaks shooter, 28-year-old Ian David Long, this April, they found him somewhat irate and acting a little irrationally, but determined he did not meet the criteria to be involuntarily detained for further mental health assessment, the Ventura county sheriff, Geoff Dean, said on Thursday. Long opened fire at a Thousand Oaks bar popular with college students on Wednesday night, leaving 12 people dead, including a 25-year veteran of the sheriffs department. He used a 45-caliber Glock handgun that had been purchased legally, the sheriff said. Long was known among his neighbors for breaking things and kicking holes in the walls of the home he shared with his mother, the Los Angeles Times reported. They talked about how there was all this anger, but he didnt fit the criteria for an involuntary commitment. That is the sweet spot for where we think this tool should be used, said Christian Heyne, the legislative director for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, an advocacy group that has been at the forefront of pushing for gun violence restraining orders across the country. While it was too early to make definitive statements about what role a gun violence restraining order might have been played in preventing the Thousand Oaks shooting, Heyne said: There are a lot of places in California that are in desperate need for law enforcement to be trained, not only on the mechanism itself and how it works, but where it can be useful, what sort of gaps this can fill. Some efforts to improve training were already under way, he said, including one led by the San Diego city attorneys office. An investigation by the Sacramento Bee found that California courts had issued gun violence restraining orders fewer than 200 times in the first two years after the law went into effect. In press conferences on Thursday, the Ventura county sheriffs office made no mention of a gun violence restraining order related to Longs case. A spokesman for the sheriffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether law enforcement officials there had sought a gun violence restraining order for Long, or whether there had been any discussion of pursuing an order. In Ventura county, California courts issued just one gun violence restraining order in 2016, and three in 2017, according to the Sacramento Bee investigation. What happened in this situation why law enforcement didnt take the step to get a gun violence restraining order after this individual was not committed is I think something that were all waiting to hear about, Anderman said. By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California's pro-Russia congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, is one of four Republican incumbents in the state whose seats are still in danger of falling to Democratic opponents in the U.S. House of Representatives as America's most populous state slowly counts its votes. The outcome of those races - and how much they add to the Democrats' majority in the newly constituted House - may be uncertain for weeks to come because of mail-in and provisional balloting systems that California introduced in recent years to boost voter participation. According to the latest projections by media outlets and data provider DDHQ, Democrats have achieved a net gain of 32 House seats nationwide. California election results tallied as of Wednesday do not account for millions of outstanding ballots still to be processed statewide. Many were mailed by voters to local registrar offices by Tuesday's deadline but have yet to be delivered. In Orange County alone, well over 400,0000 votes remained left to be counted, more than half of them mail-in ballots, according to data provided by the county registrar's office on Wednesday. Tens of thousands of provisional ballots for voters who waited until election day to register also are outstanding. State returns on Wednesday showed Rohrabacher, a 13-term congressman in coastal Orange County in Southern California, trailing his Democratic challenger, Harley Rouda, a real estate entrepreneur and former Republican, by fewer than 3,000 votes - or 49.3 percent to 50.7 percent. Rouda, whose lead improved slightly on Thursday to 51 percent, versus 49 percent for Rohracher, estimated that 70,000 ballots remained to be counted in the district. Rouda said he was "cautiously optimistic" that "our lead will hold and in all likelihood will increase" when all votes are in, but said he would hold off on any announcements for at least several days. The Rohrabacher campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Rohrabacher-Rouda race has stood out nationally in part because of the incumbent's reputation for unabashedly pro-Russian views, widely seen as once putting him on a short-list for consideration as President Donald Trump's secretary of state. Rohrabacher's seat is one of several held by a Republican in a California district that supported Democrat Hillary Clinton over Trump in the 2016 presidential election or was otherwise seen as vulnerable to flipping Democrat. That race and three others in the state where Democrats were seeking to pick up a Republican seat were either still in play or, as was the cases in two districts, leaning so heavily toward Democrats that they had claimed victory. However, Republican incumbents appeared to have garnered comfortable leads in at least three other House races in Southern California that Democrats had viewed as up for grabs. Among them was Duncan Hunter, who has pleaded not guilty to felony corruption charges but managed to defeat Ammar Campa-Najjar, a former Obama administration aide of Mexican and Palestinian heritage. No races will be certified for at least a month, the time election officials are given to complete their "official canvass" of all votes. They have until Dec. 7 to report final results to the California secretary of state, who then will have another week to officially declare winners. (Reporting by Steve Gorman; editing by Bill Tarrant, Rosalba O'Brienand Leslie Adler) Donald Trump has been criticised as heartless after threatening to withdraw federal payments to California as two deadly wildfires, which have killed at least nine and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, sweep the US state. There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor, the US president tweeted. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments! His comments came as more than 200,000 people were ordered to evacuate from around 75,000 homes in Los Angeles County, threatened by the 35,000-acre (14,164 hectares) Woolsey Fire. Related Video: Dangerous California Wildfires Leave at Least Dead Some of the mandatory evacuation orders were for residents within the City of Los Angeles in the West Hills area. It was unclear how many homes have been evacuated within the City of Los Angeles. Celebrities including Will Smith and Lady Gaga were among those forced to flee their homes. Katy Perry meanwhile called Mr Trumps comments absolutely heartless. She tweeted: There arent even politics involved. Just good American families losing their homes as you tweet, evacuating into shelters. She earlier praised the firefighters who are working to tackle the blaze, writing: Theres a lot of unknowns tonight... but what we do know is we are here for you and as a community we will help in any way possible. Immense gratitude to all the brave first responders out there putting their lives on the line for so many families. Approximately 500 miles to the north of the Woolsey Fire, nine people were found dead in and around the northern California town of Paradise, where more than 6,700 homes and businesses were burned down by the Camp Fire. The remains of five of the victims in northern California were discovered in or near burned out cars, three outside residences and one inside a home, said Butte County sheriff Kory Honea. Story continues This event was the worst-case scenario. It was the event we have feared for a long time, he said. Regrettably, not everybody made it out. Another 35 people had been reported missing and three firefighters were injured, he added. The flames descended on Paradise so quickly that many people were forced to abandon their cars and run for their lives down the sole road through the mountain town. The Camp Fire, which broke out at the edge of the Plumas National Forest northeast of Sacramento, has since blackened more than 90,000 acres and was only 5 per cent contained as of nightfall on Friday. Agencies contributed to this report TECUN UMAN, Guatemala (Reuters) - Cradling a baby in his arms, the Central American man looks up fearfully as he scrambles away from a wall of Mexican police in riot gear. Thousands of migrants, mostly Hondurans fleeing poverty and violence, have been traveling in a caravan toward the United States in recent weeks. On Oct. 19, some of them rushed through Guatemalan border gates onto a long bridge connecting to Mexico. But the surge was halted by Mexican federal police. Reuters photographer Ueslei Marcelino was on the bridge and captured the picture of the man with the child. "The migrants had already broken through the first police barricade on the Guatemalan side of the bridge. After a while, they moved towards the second barricade on the Mexican side," said Marcelino. "Suddenly women and children formed a line and started to walk towards the police. There was a bit of pushing and shoving, and then things started to get increasingly chaotic." Eventually, Mexican police pushed the migrants back to the Guatemalan side. Many of the migrants spent that night on the bridge, while hundreds of others eventually chose to jump into the Suchiate River below in a bid to reach Mexican soil. Within a few days, as many as 10,000 migrants had entered Mexico, caravan members said. When Reuters photographer Leah Mills saw migrants jumping into the river from the Guatemalan side, she waded in and captured an image of an exhausted-looking man carrying a child. "To me this shows how desperate these people are. They are willing to cross rivers with strong currents, to lose any belongings they had, to struggle through the water with their children." Reuters photographer Adrees Latif saw a human cordon being formed in the river by migrant men, locking arms to make sure no-one was swept away. "A family that had made it to the middle of the river was handing their children to other men to help them reach the shore," he said. As a man grabbed the girl in front of him and took her to safety, Latif followed. "This photograph begs the question: why would a family leave home and not only risk their own lives but also the lives of their children by doing such extraordinary things? What propels someone to walk without knowing where they will next break bread or quench their thirst?" Photo Essay https://reut.rs/2SWacua (Reporting by Ueslei Marcelino, Leah Mills and Adrees Latif; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) When Max Niebylski was 10 years old, like most kids, he spent his freetime playing the popular video game Minecraft. Unlike most kids, he and his friends would take turns coordinating cyberattacks to take down each others servers for fun. Those same attacks in Minecraft that were once childs play, Niebylski came to realize were also costly security threats businesses face everyday. He even suffered the effects firsthand after an app he launched in college fell victim to an attack technique known as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) that costs as little as $5 to carry out and has existed for over 20 years, plaguing the likes of Sony, Microsoft and Amazon. But Niebylskis decentralized solution to the problem, which attracted over $20 million through its Gladius initial coin offering last fall, was so personally exciting, it prompted the then-19-year-old to drop out of the University of Maryland to pursue his project full-time. Twenty-year-old Max Niebylski (front left) dropped out of University of Maryland to pursue his crypto startup Gladius. In 18 months he moved out of a dorm room, established a Washington D.C. office with nearly 20 employees and raised over $20 million through an ICO last year. Unlike some crypto ventures that lack any real fundamental reason for tokens or decentralization, Gladius is unique in that decentralization is very much at the heart of why the project has caught the attention of people familiar with these attacks known as DDoS. Mainly, it lets everyday internet users rent out their unused bandwidth to make money on the side. If it sounds like another crowdsourcing startup or dare we say, Uber for bandwidth, its because it is. Youre at work for eight hours a day, youre asleep for another eight hours a day, thats 16 hours youre not using your home internet connection, he said on Yahoo Finances Morning Meeting. So it makes sense to kind of you know, sell that in a sense or rent it out to a website that needs it. Fighting decentralization with decentralization First, its important to appreciate what businesses are up against. In DDoS attacks, a cybercriminal sends an overwhelming amount of traffic to a specific IP address to take a site or a server offline. In the early days of the internet, a simple example would have included having friends from various computers refresh the same site at the same time until it crashed. Today, operatives would more simply use a botnet, or network of computers or internet-enabled devices, to carry out an attack by sending an overload of traffic to a specific site. Story continues Yet, for as simple as they seem, DDoS attacks can be an expensive threat for businesses that have fallen victim to one. According to a Kaspersky Lab survey, the cost of responding to a DDoS attack for enterprises jumped from $1.6 million in 2016 to $2.3 million in 2017. That number grows if you account for lost revenue as a result of a companys site being down. The real problem, however, lies in the fact that the costs to launch an attack is overwhelmingly less expensive. For about $20, a cybercriminal could buy a botnet with enough firepower to take a site down for an hour, according to Kaspersky Lab. Gladius is now testing its beta. In March of 2018, over 1,000 people signed up to use Gladius software. (Gladius) Niebylski hopes Gladius can help mitigate that price discrepancy by instead leveraging peoples unused bandwidth. Thus, a company experiencing an attack would be able to offload incoming traffic and users or enterprises renting their spare bandwidth to the cause would earn cryptocurrency in the form of Gladius tokens as repayment. From what Niebylskis seen from users downloading the Gladius software on their systems through the companys beta, he says individuals could earn anywhere from $2 worth of Gladius tokens, at current market value, a month to over $100 worth of Gladius tokens, depending on demand as the project grows. As we roll out and have more websites on board, our goal is to have users offset their entire internet bill, he said, adding that getting started with Gladius was built with his less tech-savvy parents in mind. The ease of downloading the software and installing it on a computer was purposely built to avoid alienating non-technical users. Its an entry-level solution There are, however, concerns that users might want to consider before playing a role in alleviating a DDoS attack, according to Colorado State computer science professor Christos Papadopoulos, who has also worked with the Department of Homeland Security on DDoS mitigation techniques. For starters, you might make your internet service providers, like Comcast, very angry, he said. If you participate enough, you might also make yourself a target for an attack yourself by revealing your IP address to a potential attacker. He also points out that the mitigation techniques arent all that dissimilar from whats offered by Amazon Web Services or cloud protection companies like Cloudflare, but concedes the ability for normal internet consumers to profit in the space is novel. What this company is doing is essentially a crowdsourced approach, sourcing IP addresses from various other people, Papadopoulos said. Its an entry-level solution. For smaller companies that might want DDoS protection it might work if they can tolerate variable amounts of delay but I find it hard to believe that this project can offer any performance guarantees. Gladius has taken at least initial steps to address some of those concerns. For starters, the company bolstered its ranks with two tech executives, one from Goldman Sachs, the other from Incapsula Imperva, a leading DDoS mitigation provider. The Washington D.C.-based team of 14 employees also announced a partnership in August with Andreessen Horowitz-backed cloud company DigitalOcean, which hosts millions of web apps and sites on its serves, to leverage network speed and integrate its security software. Zack Guzman is a senior writer and on-air reporter covering entrepreneurship, startups, and breaking news at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @zGuz. Read more: Juul surpasses Facebook as fastest startup to reach decacorn status How Juul became the FDAs latest target Where SoftBanks Vision Fund is deploying its $100 billion Damascus (AFP) - Abu Mohammed thought he could finally go home after jihadists were expelled from his Damascus suburb, but he says Syrian authorities have blocked his return by wrongly classifying his dwelling as unfit to live in. In May, regime forces turfed the Islamic State group out of a chunk of the capital's southern Tadamun neighbourhood with a campaign of air strikes and shelling. For the first time in six years that meant full government control was restored over the area, bringing with it a calm that sparked hopes of a homecoming. But instead, Abu Mohammed and others from Tadamun complain, the authorities have deemed many residences unfit, and are blocking their owners from returning ahead of a controversial redevelopment plan. Five months after IS was forced out, regime barrages impede access to the former jihadist stronghold now under tight security, and an AFP team was unable to enter. At the last checkpoint, rubble blocked the road. The floors of a nearby building lay pancaked one on top of the other, and a hole was blown in the minaret of a mosque. Abu Mohammed said he managed to see his home before the state inspectors arrived -- and insisted it was still fine to live in despite the official ruling. "There wasn't even a bullet hole. It had just been pillaged," he said, giving a pseudonym to avoid reprisals. "It's so unfair for citizens who have waited for years (to return) and always stood by the state." Another would-be returnee Othman al-Ayssami, 55, was indignant. "Why can't I and thousands of other residents go home?" asked the lawyer. "After the military operations ended, I entered the neighbourhood expecting huge damage," he said. But in his four-floor home, "only the windows were broken", said Ayssami, without specifying if his residence had been deemed unfit. - 'Right to go home' - The neighbourhood of Tadamun has long been in a grey zone. Story continues Once orchards, it has been populated since the late 1960s by people who fled the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights or flooded into Damascus from the countryside, often without official permission to build there. But today its fate seems particularly uncertain after provincial authorities last month announced it would be affected by a controversial development law. The law, known as Decree 10, allows the government to seize private property to create zoned developments, compensating owners with shares of the new projects. If their land is selected, owners inevitably lose their property and must apply to receive shares in exchange. Construction is not set to start in Tadamun for several years, but officials have already been dispatched to inspect its homes. A provincial commissionhas been charged with evaluating damage and rating whether around 25,000 residential units are fit for human habitation. Even if their homes are declared up to standard, no resident can move back until further notice. When they realised that a large number of the homes marked as unfit had in fact not been damaged in fighting, members of the community held several meetings with the commission. To vent their frustration, they set up a Facebook page named "The Tadamun Exiles". "It's our right to go home," wrote one displaced resident. - Red wax - The commission has split up the neighbourhood into three sectors, the last covering the area that IS once controlled. Commission head Faisal Srour told AFP that in the first two sectors inspectors "have visited 10,000 homes until now, of which 2,500 are fit for living in and 1,000 are not". The remainder were still being classified, he said, but most units in the former jihadist sector were likely to be rated as unfit. "That's where the fighting happened," he said. Tadamun was overrun by rebels in 2012, then part of it fell three years later to the jihadists of IS. Over the years, most residents were forced to flee their homes, and just 65,000 people live there today, compared to 250,000 before the outbreak of the war in 2011. Homes that are declared fit for habitation are given a serial number and sealed with red wax and officials insist that the owners can reclaim them easily. A resident can "get (their house) back normally after proving ownership", Tadamun mayor Ahmed Iskandar told AFP, talking by a portrait of President Bashar al-Assad in military uniform and sunglasses. But because Tadamun is an informal neighbourhood, only 10 percent of the homes have officially registered property deeds -- and that is if they have not been lost during the war. Most of the others from the area only have semi-official papers showing residency. Even for those who do manage to return, the respite appears only temporary. Eventually reconstruction, set to start in four to five years, should see the whole area razed to the ground. Then too, no more than a tenth of the suburb's population will ever be able to present property deeds to receive shares in the reconstruction project. But inspection commission head Srour said those who could not prove ownership -- likely at least 90 percent of residents -- would not be made homeless. "We won't throw people out into the street, but provide them with compensation or alternative housing," he said. Deb Haaland wears the same pearl necklace almost every day. Not a string of delicate iridescent beads that are usually coupled with the blazers and skirts on Capitol Hill, but a set of sturdy silver Navajo pearls that she bought at the annual Santa Fe Indian Market. Soon those beads will be making their debut in Washington, D.C., following a midterm election cycle that resulted in a historic number of women taking congressional seats in the 116th Congress. Haaland is in that group. She's Native American. She's a single mother. She bucks the status quo. And she's New Mexico's newly minted congresswoman. A long time ago people knew where you were from by the jewelry you wore, Haaland told Glamour over the summer. They knew you were Navajo or what pueblo you were from because theres different styles. This [necklace is] Navajo. Im not Navajo, but I love it so Ill wear it. Silver is protection. A member of New Mexicos Pueblo of Laguna tribe, Haaland, 57, is now one of the first Native American women to serve in Congress. On Tuesday she took the lead against her opponents, Republican Janice Arnold-Jones and Libertarian Lloyd Princeton, making history alongside another Native American congresswoman, Sharice Davids of Kansas. The two share more than the obvious connection in heritage and their new House statusHaaland and Davids go back, having supported each other since attending the same summer program at the American Indian Law Center. "Deb and I spoke soon after I announced I would run. The first time I called Deb, she was like, 'If you need to sleep on my couch, you can,'" Davids, who is also the first openly gay representative of Kansas, told Glamour in September. "In some way, I almost feelthat just hearing her on the other end in that first call, telling me, 'Yes, do this,' was the validation I needed." Story continues It's not hard to believe. The generational power of women and unbreakable family ties are embedded in Haalands DNA, she says. Her mother, who served in the Navy, raised Haaland and her two sisters and brother while her father, who was in the Marine Corps, fought in Vietnam. Haaland reflects on the unseen and underappreciated work and the emotional labor that mothers often shoulder to keep the families together. There were four of us and she had to keep order, and she was by herself a lot, Haaland says of her mom, whos 83. In spite of how strict she was, when it came to food, she would bend over backward to cook what we liked. As Pueblo Indians, food is important to us. I almost didnt realize how wonderful she was about that. I didnt like raw onions, so whenever shed make enchiladas, shed make mine without onions, and shed put toothpicks in the top so we knew which ones were mine. You know what I mean? These are the little things that make Haaland who she is today. It's how she can get so laser-focused and particular about the things her constituents need and why she vows to show up, fully and completely, for the Native American community. I will do my best to always bring in tribal leaders to speak to the issues that affect them, she says. I dont want to speak for tribes. But I feel like I can speak strongly in defending tribes and the U.S. governments aggregation of their trust responsibility. If anything, she has the background and resume to do just that. As the kid of military parents, Haaland moved around a lot, but New Mexico is her home base: She graduated from high school in Albuquerque and went to the University of New Mexico and UNM Law School. Significant to Haaland being a first is that shes also a working-class Indigenous woman who forged her own path into politics, without a silver spoon: As a young mom, she started a salsa company in the 1990s, delivering cases of the stuff out of her Maroon GMC Safari to grocers and gift stores across New Mexico. Her then-two-year-old daughter, Somah, would ride in the passenger seat. I wanted her with me 24 hours a day because I felt like I needed to influence her at that early age, and it paid off, she says. Deb Haaland and daughter Deb Haaland While pursuing her law degree, Haaland made ends meet with the assistance of food stamps. And with such a busy schedule, she had to teach Somah how to ride the city bus to school in case her mom couldnt be there. She earned her organizing chops volunteering for dozens of local and statewide campaigns, and mobilized Native voters on the 2004 John Kerry campaign and both of Barack Obamas campaigns (she served as Obamas Native American vote director in 2012). She eventually became the chair of the Democratic Party in New Mexico and ran for lieutenant governor in 2014. She's also served as chairwoman of her tribes economic development corporation. Dedicating much of her career to getting out the Native vote has primed Haaland to work even harder to protect it: In recent weeks the Supreme Court upheld a law in North Dakota that requires voters to show identification with a current street address, when many reservations dont use physical street addresses, leaving thousands of voters disenfranchised and unable to vote. Native Americans couldnt vote in New Mexico until 1948, [but] weve had elected officials who are deeply invested in making sure underrepresented folks get to the polls, Haaland says. Every time I think about the voter suppression happening in our country, it makes we want to win even more so I can go to Congress and work to overcome that," she told Glamour before Tuesday's victory. For those who can't vote, Haaland is hoping to be their voice: Just as she stood with activists at Standing Rock to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline, Haaland is committed to expanding the use of renewable energy in her state and securing strong health care and education. Her inclusivity efforts won't stop at her community, either: Somah, whos now 24 and identifies as queer, has educated her mom on gender identity and LGBTQ issues. Haalands campaign priorities include working to close the pay gap for black, Latina, Indigenous, genderqueer, and transgender people, and fighting bathroom bills that restrict trans people from using public restrooms. Shes unabashed about her criticism of Trump too. Haalands called out the Presidents immigration policies, which have separated thousands of children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border, and she is vocal about abolishing ICE. Its history repeating itself for no reason, other than a president who is just putting forward the most racist immigration policies weve almost ever seen, she says, comparing the historic separation of Native Americans to the separation of migrant children from their parents. But what makes Haaland so accessible, such a beacon for her community, is that she feels free to bare it all. Like many women who ran for office this election season, she didn't hide parts of her story that might traditionally hurt a candidate. In one of her campaign ads, she climbs Albuquerques Sandias Mountains while revealing that shes 30 years sober. Deb Haaland's campaign for Congress is a representation of the culture shift that is being led by Native and Indigenous women to build a future that is safe, abundant, and connected, says Vanessa Roanhorse, CEO of Roanhorse Consulting and cofounder of Native Women Lead. We need a voice that can advocate for women's reproductive rights, pushing for stronger laws to protect women and children from violence, and closing the pay equity gap that women, specifically Native American women, face, and a voice that has directly experienced the disparities themselves," she continued. "Deb is that voice and solution. What isn't lost on Haaland is how this moment almost didn't happen. While enrolled in Emerge New Mexicoa leadership and training program with the goal of getting more Democratic women into public officeshe says she learned that if you ask a man to run for office, hell say yes the first time. Women, Haaland says, have to be asked seven times before theyll actually run. I bet thats one of the reasons why women dont say yes right away, she says. If it were my mom, she would think, Whos going to cook for my kids the way that I do?" It's a good thing she did: Along with Davids, Haaland's historic win means that two Native American womenon the land where her indigenous ancestors livedare now U.S. representatives. It took more than two centuries from the time Congress was established in 1789. Representation matters, Haaland says. I feel like some young Native women are seeing me and saying, 'Finally, somebody who looks like me.'" Jessica Militare is a journalist living in New York City. MORE: Donald Trump Calls Her WackyDemocrats Call Her the Key to Winning Big The blue wave took a little longer to crest than usual, but after several days of vote counting it looks like Democrats beat the historical average for the midterm elections. With more races called since Election Night, Democrats have netted 30 seats in the House and are leading in five others. The midterms mean the White House, on average in all 25 non-presidential cycles in the last century, loses 29 allies in the House. It appears House Democrats are just past that benchmark, outpacing the gains of at least 12 other midterm election cycles since 1918. Typically, the party controlling the White House in this case, Republicans loses seats in midterm elections. In the last hundred years, only three times has the party in the White House seen gains in non-presidential years. It wasnt just the the House. Democrats picked up at least seven governors offices. The Senate map remains contingent on incredibly close races in Arizona and Florida; Democrats appear to have an advantage in Arizona, while Republicans in Florida have the advantage for now. Mississippi, which backed Donald Trumps presidential bid in 2016 with 58% of the vote, wont pick its Senator until a Nov. 27 runoff. All of which is to say: There was a resettling of Americas politics this week. Voters in large numbers 52 million and counting decided House Democrats were the right roadblocks for Trump and said a record 100 women should be part of that mix. Voters booted Republicans from governors mansions in Michigan and Wisconsin, and held it in Pennsylvania, three states that were crucial for Trumps 2016 win and his 2020 re-election bid. And the Senate, which began with Democrats facing a terrible uphill climb, is likely to fight to a draw. Democratic activists and strategists are still debating some, quite aggressively and publicly what fueled their successes. All corners of the still-fractured Democratic Party were trying to claim credit, and theres plenty of reason for each tribe to celebrate. Even so, the fight for credit suggests the silent 2020 presidential primary is already underway. Story continues Still, the midterms were among the most divisive in recent memory. One Trump ad deemed too racially charged by several networks to air suggested Democrats were inviting hordes of immigrants into the country illegally to commit crimes against Americans, including police officers. Another, from a House incumbent in California, linked a former official in Barack Obamas White House to the Muslim Brotherhood. Robocalls into some Southern states appealed to racism in messages against African-American candidates. They were also the most costly ever. The Center for Responsive Politics estimates the still-being-invoiced 2018 midterms cost a record $5.2 billion, a 35% increase over the last non-presidential federal cycle. Outside spending from groups like super PACs topped $1.3 billion. And Trump, as he was leaving Friday for a quick weekend in Europe to attend a World War I memorial, suggested much of the process was rigged and Democrats had won only through shadiness. Theres a lot of bad stuff going on in this country, and were finding out, and Im getting to the bottom of it. And Ive done a hell of a job, he said, offering no evidence for his assertions. During the flight to Europe, Trump repeatedly tweeted baseless claims that the Florida vote counting was election theft and potential corruption. How come they never find Republican votes? he tweeted. All of which could render Washington a morass for the next two years. Democrats are working out who will lead them, with Nancy Pelosi returning to the speakers role for the first time since 2011 and other leadership roles going to potential future speakers. Republicans appears to be retrenching, now more Trumpy than ever. And yet, people from both parties in the Capitol would do well to dig into the numbers behind this weeks blue wave. Democrats had history on their side, and they did even better than the norm. Republicans were at a disadvantage, particularly because they could never keep focus on the growing economy because the president kept hijacking the national conversation. And voters in record numbers decided they wanted to be part of the political process. Storyline A: We didnt lose! Storyline B: If we did lose, its because youre a racist! The Democratic partys transformation into an undergraduate intersectionality seminar at Oberlin is proceeding at a remarkable pace. The partys current strategy is to scream Racist! at people voting for Mia Love and Tim Scott while insisting that Jared Kushners father-in-law and Benjamin Netanyahus best political friend is a scheming anti-Semite. At issue is the defeat of Andrew Gillum in the Florida governors race and of Stacey Abrams in the Georgia governors race. Democrats are busily trying to undo those defeats as of this writing (Florida Democrats have a real knack for suddenly discovering caches of ballots from sympathetic voters at the opportune moment) while simultaneously arguing that the reason these two candidates failed is that they are black, and that Donald Trumps America is just one tweet away from repealing the 13th Amendment. Senator Bernie Sanders who abandoned his native Brooklyn for Vermont, the whitest state in the union insists that white voters are uncomfortable voting for a black candidate. Maybe some are. But Barack Obama won more than 100 more electoral votes running against Mitt Romney than Hillary Clinton won running against a man whod never run for office before. The signals are at least mixed. There may be a less nefarious explanation: Florida hasnt elected a Democratic governor since 1994. Alex Sink, the states chief financial officer, is at the moment the only Democrat to have been elected to a statewide office in Florida in this century. Georgia hasnt elected a Democrat as its governor in this century, either. (Georgia went the entire 20th century without electing a Republican governor, and Georgias Democratic governors havent exactly been covered in glory: The state could have done without the services of Lester Maddox.) Democrats of all hues have had a hard time of it in those states in recent years, for good reason the policies they support would be catastrophic for Georgia and Florida, two of the most prosperous states in the country. Florida is booming, and Georgia has been named the best state in the nation for doing business for five years in a row. Floridians and Georgians have good reason to be broadly happy with the direction of their governments. Story continues And what were the Democrats offering? Gillum has the taint of corruption on him after an FBI investigation into bribery in Tallahassee revealed that, while mayor, he accepted gifts from a man he thought was a favor-seeking developer but who was in fact a federal agent. One of Gillums campaign aides infamously denounced Florida as a cracker state who is bringing race into the campaign again? and Gillum ran on a far-left platform of abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, jacking up the minimum wage to $15, single-payer health care, and tax increases. Put him alongside Senator Elizabeth Warren and youd have as airtight proof as you could ever ask for that political stupidity transcends all racial barriers. Abrams, who once was photographed proudly burning a Georgia state flag, ran a similarly hard-left campaign in Georgia, suggesting from the get-go that opposition to her agenda was founded in racism. We have no doubt that there are racists who vote for Republicans. We have no doubt that there are racists who vote for Democrats, and we are even more confident that there are some fairly vicious anti-Semites who support the Democratic party, some of whom we see on television from time to time. Its a big country, and if 2 percent of the population is bananas, then there are 6.5 million or so embarrassing cases to choose from. There are hateful, god-awful elements broadly affiliated with the Right, and hateful, god-awful elements broadly affiliated with the Left. Picking out the worst of them and presenting those specimens as representative is the most sophomoric and cheap kind of politics there is. But that is the strategy to which the Democrats have committed themselves. Republican health-care reform? Racist. Regulatory reform? Racist. Defending the borders from an army of foreign nationals marching toward the United States with the stated objective of overrunning our security measures? Racist. Tax cuts? Racist. Cant imagine why they lose. By David Morgan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives pledged a new era of congressional scrutiny over President Donald Trump on Wednesday, shrugging off White House threats of political warfare if Democrats launch investigations into his affairs. "We have a constitutional responsibility for oversight," House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters a day after voters gave Democrats control of the House for the first time in eight years. "This doesn't mean we go looking for a fight. But it means that if we see a need to go forward, we will," she said. Incoming Democratic committee chairs are expected to lead investigations into Trump's long-hidden tax returns, possible conflicts of interest from his business empire and any collusion between Russia and Trump's campaign team in the 2016 election. Pelosi, who hopes to return as speaker when the new Democratic majority takes over in January, said committee chiefs would decide how to proceed and make their recommendations to the Democratic caucus. "But you can be sure of one thing: When we go down any of these paths, we'll know what we're doing and we'll do it right," said the 78-year-old San Francisco liberal. Trump earlier threatened to forgo any attempt at bipartisanship and urge retaliatory investigations against Democrats in the Senate, which Republicans retained on Tuesday. "We're going to do the same thing, and government comes to a halt, and I would blame them," Trump said at a news conference. Trump does not have the authority to order Senate investigations. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell declined to comment on the possibility of retaliatory probes, which Trump first raised in a morning statement on Twitter. Trump has never faced opposition party control in Congress as president. Democrats say their House majority will end the ability of Republican lawmakers to protect him from scrutiny. "The American people have demanded accountability from their government," Representative Jerrold Nadler, the New York Democrat poised to become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote on Twitter. Trump "may not like it, but he and his administration will be held accountable to our laws and to the American people." The confrontational tone on both sides may preview what is in store for the next two years of Trump's presidency. Nadler, once criticized by Trump as "one of the most egregious hacks in contemporary politics," is among four senior Democrats who have clashed with the president in the past and will take over key House committees when the new Congress convenes. The others are Elijah Cummings at the House Oversight Committee; Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee, derided by Trump as "sleazy;" and Maxine Waters at the Financial Services Committee, who Trump has said has "extraordinarily low IQ." Chairing the committees - where they are currently the highest-ranking Democrats - will give these Democrats the power to demand documents and testimony from White House officials and figures in Trump's campaign team and businesses, and to issue subpoenas if needed. "I plan to shine a light on waste, fraud, and abuse in the Trump administration," Cummings said on Wednesday. "I want to probe senior administration officials across the government who have abused their positions of power and wasted taxpayer money, as well as President Trump's decisions to act in his own financial self-interest," he said in a statement. Waters said the Republican-controlled Congress had neglected its oversight responsibilities "enabling corruption and destructive policies to run rampant" in the Trump administration. "It is critical that we bring accountability to the Trump administration and the regulatory agencies under the committee's jurisdiction," she said in a statement. The White House could respond to committee demands by citing executive privilege. That would likely result in court battles. 'NOT NERVOUS' Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway told CNN that House Democrats could encounter resistance from lawmakers within their own ranks who won swing districts. "People like when you focus on the issues, not investigations," Conway said. "The president's not nervous about anything." A first salvo is expected to come from Representative Richard Neal, who will likely be the Democratic chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, and who has said he will demand Trump's tax returns from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. That could set in motion a series of probes into any disclosures from the documents. Trump on Wednesday reiterated his assertion that the returns could not be released because of an Internal Revenue Service audit. Schiff has said his panel would probe allegations that Russian money may have been laundered though Trump businesses and that Moscow might have financial leverage over him. Waters and other Democrats have been clamoring for details about Trumps relationship with German-based Deutsche Bank and what it may know about links between the president and Russia. Nadler's panel would handle any effort to impeach Trump, depending on the outcome of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's federal probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections and possible Trump campaign collusion with Moscow. Trump denies any collusion and has long denounced Mueller's investigation as a witch hunt. Moscow denies meddling. Nadler has said any impeachment effort must be based on evidence of action to subvert the Constitution that is so overwhelming it would trouble even the president's supporters. (Reporting by David Morgan and Susan Cornwell; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Amanda Becker, Susan Heavey and Mark Hosenball; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney) Some of the migrants from poor Central American countries -mostly Hondurans- move towards the US in hopes of seeking asylum as Donald Trump issues an order limiting it: ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images President Donald Trump issued a proclamation to deny asylum to migrants who enter the country illegally as caravans of Central American migrants slowly approach the US-Mexico border. The plan was immediately challenged in court by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other legal groups who swiftly sued in federal court in Northern California, generally seen as a liberal federal court district. The arrival of large numbers ... will contribute to the overloading of our immigration and asylum system and to the release of thousands ... into the interior of the United States, Mr Trump said in the proclamation, calling it a crisis. The new regulations are intended to circumvent current US law which states individuals fleeing violence or persecution must enter the country in order to apply for the protected status. About 70,000 people per year who enter the country illegally claim asylum. We need people in our country, but they have to come in legally, Mr Trump said ahead of a trip to Paris for ceremonies to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. Migrants who cross illegally have been arrested but in the past were released and monitored as they awaited court hearings to determine their eligibility for asylum. The president is simply trying to run roughshod over Congresss decision to provide asylum to those in danger regardless of the manner of ones entry, ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt told the Associated Press. The litigation also seeks to put the new rules on hold while the case progresses. The regulations in Mr Trumps executive order go into effect 10 November 2018. They would be in place for at least three months but could be extended, and dont affect people already in the country. The Department of Justice, which has a new chief in Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, said in a statement the regulations were lawful. Mr Trumps announcement was the latest push to enforce a hard-line stance on immigration through regulatory changes and presidential orders, bypassing Congress, which has not passed any immigration law reform. Story continues But, those efforts have been largely thwarted by legal challenges and, in the case of family separations this year, stymied by a global outcry that prompted Mr Trump to retreat. The asylum law changes are meant to funnel migrants through official border crossings for speedy rulings instead of having them try to circumvent such crossings on the nearly 2,000-mile (3,200 km) border. The US Border Patrol says it apprehended more than 50,000 people crossing illegally in October 2018, setting a new high this year. However, overall, illegal crossings are well below historical highs from previous decades. Busy ports of entry already have long lines and waits, forcing immigration officials to tell some migrants to turn around and come back to make their claims. Backlogs have become especially bad in recent months at crossings in California, Arizona, and Texas, with some people waiting five weeks to try to claim asylum at San Diegos main crossing. Administration officials said those denied asylum under the proclamation may be eligible for similar forms of protection if they fear returning to their countries, though they would be subject to a tougher threshold. Those forms of protection include withholding of removal which is similar to asylum, but does not allow for green cards or bringing families or protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture. US Department of Homeland Security officials said they were adding staffing at the border crossings to manage the expected crush, but its not clear how migrants with families, would be held as their cases are adjudicated. Family detention centers are largely at capacity and Mr Trump has said he wanted to erect tent cities, but nothing has been funded after the massive outcry over the administrations family separation policy earlier this year. Because children are not allowed to enter the US criminal justice system, parents or guardians were detained for illegally entering the country and more than 2,000 children were housed in separate detention centres until another executive order ending the policy. The US is also working with Mexico in an effort to send some migrants back across the border. Right now, laws allow only Mexican nationals to be swiftly returned and increasingly those claiming asylum are from the Central American countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala where gang violence is rampant. Mr Trump pushed immigration issues hard in the days leading up to 6 November midterm elections, railing against the caravans which were still 1,000 miles from the border. At various times he referred to them as criminals and groups which contain unknown Middle Easterners. He has made little mention of the issue since the election, but has deployed more than 5,600 US troops deployed to the border mission, with about 550 actually working on the border in Texas. Mr Trump also suggested he would revoke the right to citizenship for babies born to non-US citizens on American soil in an attempt to stop chain migration, or those entering the country and bringing family members to come be with them later. There has been no executive order issued on that as yet, but the president has said: Were signing it. Were doing it. Mr Trump invoked the same powers he used last year to impose a travel ban on travellers from Muslim-majority countries Iran, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, and Syria as well as Venezuela and North Korea. After several challenges from federal courts, it was upheld by the Supreme Court earlier in the year. Agencies contributed to this report Donald Trump's proposal to ban asylum for certain undocumented immigrants has been attacked as "illegal" by human rights groups who say that asylum is a "lifeline" for those fleeing danger. Under the new measures from the White House, undocumented immigrants arriving at the nations borders between ports of entry would no longer be able to legally apply for asylum. The move relies on emergency powers the president had previously invoked through the implementation of his travel ban involving people from several Muslim-majority nations last year. Mr Trump's proclamation will effectively suspend the granting of asylum to migrants who cross the US border with Mexico illegally for up to 90 days, beginning on Saturday. In a statement shortly after news broke of the policy shift, one of America's biggest civil rights groups, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said: US law specifically allows individuals to apply for asylum whether or not they are at a port of entry. The group added, It is illegal to circumvent that by agency or presidential decree. By Friday afternoon, the ACLU had filed a lawsuit against the directive, likely paving the way for an exhaustive legal battle. Mr Trump has railed against undocumented immigration along the US-Mexico border since the start of his presidential campaign - but it has intensified in recent weeks with a number of caravans containing thousands of refugees and migrants slowly heading to the border. many of those travelling in the caravans are fleeing violence in Central American nations including Honduras and El Salvador. FACT: US law specifically allows individuals to apply for asylum whether or not they are at a port of entry. It is illegal to circumvent that by agency or presidential decree. https://t.co/vVRdFEQ1qX ACLU (@ACLU) November 8, 2018 The president recently proposed a slate of hardline policies to deal with the issue, including revoking the nations amendment-protected practice of providing birthright citizenship. The president has also called for housing immigrants in tent cities Story continues On Friday, the president told reporters he had signed the directive to revamp the asylum process, effectively barring undocumented immigrants who cross the border illegally from applying for asylum. Current law provides a year for migrants who have illegally crossed the border to apply for asylum, however, under the new orders migrants are required to go directly to a port of entry along the border in order to apply. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday that everyone fleeing violence or persecution should get protection "without obstruction". Many of the people on the move in Central America and Mexico today are fleeing life-threatening violence or persecution and require international protection, the UNHCR said in a statement issued in Geneva. UNHCR expects all countries, including the United States, to make sure any person in need of refugee protection and humanitarian assistance is able to receive both promptly and without obstruction in accordance with the 1967 refugee Protocol to which the United States is a party, the agency said, referring to a protocol to the 1951 Refugee Convention. It added that long-standing insufficient reception capacity at official U.S. southern border ports of entry was causing significant delays in northern Mexico, forcing many desperate asylum-seekers to turn to smugglers and cross the border irregularly. National security and dignified reception of refugees and asylum-seekers are not mutually exclusive, but rather mutually reinforcing, it said. Human rights group Amnesty International also rejected the new measures and claimed it needlessly places the lives of thousands of people in danger. Asylum is not a loophole, it is a lifeline, Secretary General Kumi Naidoo said. The White House has defended the new measures, claiming the policy will make it safer for migrants who attempt to cross the geographically arduous border. Today, we are using the authority granted to us by Congress to bar aliens who violate a Presidential suspension of entry or other restriction from asylum eligibility, Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a joint statement Thursday. President Donald Trump said gross mismanagement of the forests is to blame for the fast-moving wildfires that have torn through parts of California and killed at least nine people. In a tweet from Paris early Saturday, Trump said, There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Trump also threatened: Remedy now, or no more Fed payments. There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018 He offered no condolences to those killed in the blazes and did not explain how he believed the forests were being mismanaged by state authorities. Its also unclear exactly what federal funding he was threatening to pull. Almost 250,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes as the Camp Fire struck areas north of Sacramento, the Hill Fire spread near Thousand Oaks and the Woolsey Fire burned near the Los Angeles-Ventura County line. The fires are being fueled by dry conditions and extreme winds, The Los Angeles Times reported. California Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom (D) requested federal assistance for tackling the fires on Friday, which Trump later approved. Related Coverage James Woods Reaches Across Politics To Aid Alyssa Milano In California Wildfire Two Fast-Moving Fires Rip Through Los Angeles, Ventura Counties Stunning NASA Photos Show California's Devastating Wildfires From Space Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. U.S. President Donald Trump meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS) President Donald Trump traveled thousands of miles to Paris on Friday to participate in a number of events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. But a bit of rain on Saturday kept him from one of the solemn gatherings and his no-show prompted a chorus of scorn. Trump skipped a planned visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, with a White House statement citing scheduling and logistical difficulties caused by the weather for the decision. The cemetery is the final resting place of many of the 1,800 American soldiers killed in the battle of Belleau Wood. In his place, Trump sent a delegation led by White House chief of staff John Kelly, who traveled in a small motorcade to the cemetery that is about an hours drive from Paris. Trumps absence earned him harsh criticism from a range of current and former U.S. and European officials over social media. David Frum, a one-time speechwriter for President George W. Bush, voiced astonishment in a series of tweets, writing, Its incredible that a president would travel to France for this significant anniversary and then remain in his hotel room watching TV rather than pay in person his respects to the Americans who gave their lives in France for the victory gained 100 years ago tomorrow. It's incredible that a president would travel to France for this significant anniversary - and then remain in his hotel room watching TV rather than pay in person his respects to the Americans who gave their lives in France for the victory gained 100 years ago tomorrow David Frum (@davidfrum) November 10, 2018 It remains unclear how the weather impeded the presidents plans. A helicopter ride aboard Marine One may have been too risky. But the weather did not deter French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday from making a trip by car to a town in northern France where the Allies and Germany signed the Armistice ending the war, the BBC noted. Macron and Merkel unveiled a commemorative plaque at the event. Story continues British Parliament member Nicholas Soames a grandson of Winston Churchill reacted to Trumps absence at the cemetery event by calling the U.S. president pathetic. Soldiers died with their face to the foe and that pathetic inadequate [Trump] couldnt even defy the weather to pay his respects to The Fallen, Soames wrote on Twitter. They died with their face to the foe and that pathetic inadequate @realDonaldTrump couldnt even defy the weather to pay his respects to The Fallen #hesnotfittorepresenthisgreatcountry Nicholas Soames (@NSoames) November 10, 2018 Kelly Magsamen, a former high-ranking Pentagon official, borrowed one of Trumps derisive phrasing. saying he displayed real low energy by not bothering to head out in the rain. Somehow everyone else was able to do so today, she tweeted. Former Macron campaign adviser Francois Heisbourg also knocked Trump, posting a photo of a cyclist pedaling through a wet street corner in Paris. Nothing a cyclist cant handle, let alone a presidential [helicopter], he wrote. A view of the weather in Paris which is supposed to have deterred @realDonaldTrump from paying his respects to the brave American soldiers who gave their lives for freedom at the AisneMarne war cemetery this afternoon. Nothing a cyclist can't handle, let alone a presidential helo pic.twitter.com/60aYrKV58i Francois Heisbourg (@FHeisbourg) November 10, 2018 Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for the Obama administration, recalled his experience helping to plan President Barack Obamas trips for eight years. There is always a rain option, he wrote. Always. Rhodes continued with a scathing take: Trump will use the US military for a pre-election political stunt but sits in his hotel instead of honoring those who fought and died for America. He referred to Trumps deployment of more than 5,000 troops to the southern U.S. border in response to a caravan of migrants that remains hundreds of miles away in Mexico. Trump still plans to attend an Armistice Day event with other world leaders at the Arc de Triomphe on Sunday and to speak at the Suresnes American Cemetery on Monday. At Aisne-Marne cemetery, Kelly and Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, laid a wreath in honor of the deceased. No one used an umbrella. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. Related... Trump Picks 'Dandruff' Off Emmanuel Macron: 'We Have To Make Him Perfect' France's Emmanuel Macron Throws Down Trump Twitter Gauntlet: G7 Can Be G6 Trump Snipes At 'Very Insulting' Emmanuel Macron Comment As He Lands In Paris This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Members of a migrant caravan heading from Central America, through Mexico, to the US - AFP Donald Trump's administration announced it will deny asylum to migrants caught crossing the Mexican border illegally. Mr Trump is expected to sign a proclamation on Friday introducing what would be a major step to restrict asylum claims. Migrants would only be eligible for asylum if they came through official ports of entry. The latest crackdown on illegal immigration is expected to be challenged in the courts by civil liberties groups, who argue that anyone who reaches US soil is entitled to make an asylum claim. A senior administration official said the restriction on asylum claims will seek to address the "historically unparalleled abuse of our immigration system". Me and @JamesBreeden joined the migrant caravan in Mexico. Heres a video of what we saw - https://t.co/hCUBWqbRYk nick allen (@nickallen789) October 29, 2018 The official said: "What we are attempting to do is trying to funnel asylum claims through the ports of entry where we are better resourced, have better capabilities and better manpower and staffing to actually handle those claims in an expeditious and efficient manner." The regulation would largely affect migrants from the Northern Triangle - Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador - who have been crossing the US border with Mexico. A caravan of thousands of migrants, mainly from Honduras, is currently making its way through Mexico. Scores of Central American migrants rest in front of the office of the United Nation's human rights body in Mexico City Credit: AP The regulation, issued by the justice and homeland security departments, said: "The vast majority of aliens who enter illegally today come from the Northern Triangle countries, and large portions of those aliens assert a credible fear. "Channeling those aliens to ports of entry would encourage these aliens to first avail themselves of offers of asylum from Mexico." Immigrant advocates quickly denounced the Trump administration's move. Omar Jadwat, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Immigrants' Rights Project, said: "US law specifically allows individuals to apply for asylum whether or not they are at a port of entry. It is illegal to circumvent that by agency or presidential decree." Photo credit: . From Esquire Trump, the cliche goes, is a stress test for American democracy. The Founders had pessimistic assumptions about human nature and they designed a system that anticipated the possibility-even likelihood-that an illiberal demagogue like Trump might one day hold the countrys most powerful office. So they studded the architecture of government with choke points and countervailing forces that were meant to prevent a future Trump from doing too much damage before exiting office. In less turbulent times our creaky presidential system-which frequently features a co-equal legislature controlled by a different party fighting the president-can seem anachronistic, a system overly concerned with preventing a too-powerful executive at the expense of efficiently implementing an agenda. (In recent decades, few new democracies around the world have chosen to adopt an American-style presidential setup, seeing it as too sclerotic.) A lot of liberals in the Obama era, when Democrats controlled Congress with large margins but still had enormous difficulties passing legislation, argued for removing some of the impediments that presidents face, like the filibuster in the Senate. And as advocates of activist government, many prominent liberals have frequently pined for the efficiency of a parliamentary system in which the executive and legislature act as a unit. Photo credit: Getty Images Trumps election ended these debates. No liberal, or anyone who cares about democracy, would advocate altering the current system in ways that would provide someone like Trump, who openly celebrates the worlds worst authoritarians, with more powers. Trumps rise shifted the debate in the other direction: was our constitutional system equipped with enough chokepoints to stand up to a populist demagogue? Prominent scholars who study the subversion of democracies pointed to Turkey, Hungary, Poland, Russia, and other places where Trump-like populists have recently consolidated power and undermined liberal institutions and warned that it could happen here. Story continues So when I was watching the returns on Tuesday, the first national Election Day since Trumps victory, I processed the results in a different way than I had in the past. Every president faces a midterm backlash. But the question I and many others had was whether the scale of the backlash against Trump would be commensurate with the scale of the threat he poses to American democracy. Two years of extraordinary changes in American politics-marked by a return to the use of overt racism in campaigns, rhetorical attacks on the free press, efforts to undermine the independence of law enforcement, and a normalizing of attacks on the opposition party as illegitimate or criminal-ought to create an equally extraordinary backlash by voters. Did it? The gains for the opposition party are impressive: when the counting is over Democrats are likely to gain close to forty House seats, seven governorships, and more than 300 state legislative seats. Even in the U.S. Senate, where its common to point out Republicans gained seats, the story can be told a little differently: Democrats, defending a disproportionate number of seats in deep red territory, won two-thirds of the races. All of this occurred despite a roaring economy with unemployment under four percent. I asked the Harvard political scientist Yascha Mounk, an expert on populists and the threat they can pose to democracies, if he believed the American system responded effectively to the Trump threat this week. Mounk has pointed out that in the recent past successful populist demagogues have generally broadened their appeal once in office, expanding their support among middle class and moderate voters. He saw the midterms as a major repudiation of Trumpism and a vindication of the American system. The midterms are certainly an important test of Trump's popularity, he said, and they show that he really is as unpopular as polls have shown all along. So that raises the question of why Trump, at least at this juncture, is so much less popular than other authoritarian populists at a similar stage in their tenure-most of whom have tended to prevail at the ballot box. Mounks view is that Trump is simply inept at exercising power. Successful populists in recent years have been more strategic and disciplined. Trump, perhaps because of an overwrought narcissism that prevents him from focusing on anything that is not personally and immediately beneficial to him, hasnt worked on capturing institutions or pushing through laws the way populists in other countries have. In turns out being a true authoritarian is hard work and Trump is bad at it. But Mounk also argued that America really is better positioned to absorb and rebound from Trump than, say, Turkey or Hungary. We have a decentralized government, a free and independent press that, despite the bluster, hasnt been reined in in any way by Trump. As a result, Trump has found it harder to reshape public opinion than some of his populist peers, Mounk argued. Finally, Trumps nativist and racist appeals, which of course are as old as America, have been met with a loud and growing opposition that draws on the equally strong American strain of support for a melting pot society. As a result, Trump's race-baiting rhetoric has been rebuked by a larger number of voters than it might have been on other countries, Mounk said. Photo credit: Getty Images I think hes mostly correct. Tuesday showed that our system is still self-correcting. Though it also has to be said that the very idea that Trump poses some kind of a threat to democracy is still mostly an elite concern. Many Democrats who won on Tuesday ran campaigns that wouldnt necessarily have been different had Jeb Bush or Ted Cruz been president, and emphasized traditional issues like health care and education rather than running purely as anti-Trump candidates. A lot of voters dont take seriously the idea that Trump represents something uniquely perilous. If its true that this remains an elite concern, it is now also mostly a Democratic elite concern. Despite their poor showing, the post-midterm Republican Party is more monolithic in its embrace of Trump. The most prominent voices of dissent-people like Jeff Flake, Bob Corker, Mark Sanford, John McCain-have either retired, died, or been defeated over the last two years. Trump, unusual for a president in his first midterm, remained enormously popular among Republican voters. And Trumps insistence on Wednesday, at his deranged victory lap press conference, that his extreme rhetoric in the final weeks of the campaign helped more than it harmed Republican candidates is widely shared by analysts and elected officials on the right. But still: two cheers for American democracy. It still sort of works. Then again, as Mounk noted, Tuesday was just a warm-up. The crucial test will come in 2020, he said. It's only then that we'll learn whether Donald Trump is removed from office, or given another four years to denigrate American institutions. ('You Might Also Like',) Donald Trump has hit out at a call from French President Emmanuel Macron for the creation of a European Army to protect the continent from China, Russia and the US labelling the idea insulting. Earlier this week Mr Macron called for the creation of a true European army to allow the EU to defend itself from threats including Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump. We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America, Mr Macron told Frances Europe 1 radio in an interview. In a tweet before arriving in Paris for a weekend ceremony commemorating 100 years since the end of the First World War, Mr Trump said: President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of Nato, which the US subsidizes greatly! The issue of Nato has been a constant source of frustration for Mr Trump, who presidency has been built on the foundation of America First policies. He has called on all nations in Nato, the majority of are European, to contribute a minimum of two per cent of their GDP towards the cost of the alliance. President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018 Mr Trump has repeatedly called for the alliance to follow through on upping their financial contributions, with only a small number of Nato nations hitting the target. White House officials have said that Mr Trump would make clear the importance of America to European safety and security while on his trip. Although leaders like Mr Macron will not likely take kindly to the tone in the US president's tweet. Story continues The French president has pushed for closer defence cooperation between European allies since coming to power last year, but has been so far met with limited success amid foot-dragging by other member states. In his interview with Europe 1, Mr Macron made clear that he believed the current international situation, including the US pulling out of several international treaties including the Paris climate change agreement and most recently the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF) arms treaty with Russia, meant Europe needed to look after itself., When I see President Trump announcing that hes quitting a major disarmament treaty which was formed after the 1980s Euro-missile crisis that hit Europe, who is the main victim? Europe and its security, he said. We will not protect the Europeans unless we decide to have a true European army. We need a Europe which defends itself better alone, without just depending on the United States, in a more sovereign manner. Mr Macron was speaking in Verdun, northeast France on Tuesday, as part of a week-long tour of battlefields leading up to First World War Armistice centenary commemorations in Paris on Sunday. Both Mr Trump and Mr Putin will be among the leaders attending that ceremony. France is the strongest and most vocal proponent of an EU army but Germany has also tentatively endorsed Mr Macrons proposals for a joint command structure for military interventions. A number of proposals have been put on the table for how EU nations could cooperate more closely on defence. The European Commission says closer defence cooperation is not about creating an EU army. DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) A Syrian woman captured by Islamic State militants said her 8-year-old son died in her lap after the extremists shot him and his cousin during a military operation to liberate them more than 100 days after they were kidnapped. Najwa Abu Ammar, 35, was kidnapped with her two sons and daughter and nearly two dozen others in July from southern Sweida province in a bloody attack on their villages in which the militants killed over 200 people. When a military operation began to liberate them Thursday, the children panicked during the gunfire, she said. Her son Rafaat and his 13-year-old cousin Qusay ran and the militants fired at them. "We were in the open air at the bottom of a valley as the clashes raged between the army and gunmen," she said. "When my son tried to run away, they (IS militants) shot him. He was in my lap when he died." His cousin Qusay bled to death after nearly five hours, Abu Ammar said. "''I am very very sad," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview through a crackling line from her remote village of Shbiki. "I am tired." A large funeral procession for the two children set out Saturday from the national hospital in Sweida to their village, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) to the east. "What is the sin of those innocent children, who should now be in their classrooms," Monzer al-Shoufi, a resident of Sweida who took part in the procession, told AP by telephone. The family of Abu Ammar suffered another loss in the kidnapping Rafaat's grandmother was killed on the day of the abductions. Nashaat Abu Ammar, Rafaat's father, said his mother was among those kidnapped by the militants, who forced the elderly, sick woman to walk about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). When she failed to continue, they shot her dead. The militants kept their own injured who fell fighting with government troops in the hideouts with the hostages, another freed woman, Mashaal Saeed told reporters. Story continues "Two days ago there were airstrikes and they suffered a lot. Many were injured and killed. They buried their dead while some lost their limbs. They put them right there with us," Saeed told reporters in a video posted online. "This really scared the kids." Saeed said they were also held in a cave, and in a desert area, finally using a vehicle for the hostages to sleep in it, "under it and next to it," creating a second level as sleeping quarters. The rare attacks in the province populated mainly by minority Druze included several suicide bombings. The violence on July 25 devastated the community and shattered the region's calm. At least 216 people were killed and the militants walked away with the captives. Nashaat Abu Ammar said about 20 of those killed were close relatives and 60 others were related. Najwa Abu Ammar said the captors held the group in different hideouts, including a camp and a cave, and once kept them in a moving car for over 12 hours, the captives not knowing where they were headed. The militants fed them sporadically and beat and insulted the children. They didn't torture them, Abu Ammar said, but started threatening to kill them as time passed. At least two women and one man died in captivity, including a woman who was shot by the extremists to pressure authorities in negotiations for the captives' release. Abu Ammar's husband said she looked frail. "Sometimes they fed us once every two days and other times twice every day," Abu Ammar said, adding that it was mostly just olive oil, thyme and jam. "They held us first in a camp then a cave and kept moving us from one place to the other," she said. Abu Ammar said she didn't know about the killed hostages until they were liberated. Six other hostages, two women and four children, had been freed in an exchange with the government in October. Negotiations were expected to free the remaining hostages but talks failed and Syrian troops launched a broad offensive against IS in southern Syria. Separately, a war monitoring group and Syrian state media accused the U.S.-led coalition of killing over two dozen civilians in airstrikes in Hajin, a town in southeastern Syria near the border with Iraq, IS's last stronghold. Spokesman Col. Sean Ryan told the AP in an email that the U.S.-led coalition "successfully struck (and) destroyed" an IS observation post and staging area in Hajin "void of civilians at the time." Ryan said the coalition team in charge of tracking civilians reviews claims of civilian casualties they see in media reports. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 26 persons, believed to be members of IS families, were killed in Hajin and another seven were killed in Shafaa in airstrikes Friday. The Observatory said the dead were mostly Iraqi women and children. Syria's state news agency reported 26 killed, quoting locals. The Islamic State group posted a rare video from inside Hajin showing badly destroyed homes, bodies protruding from under rubble and dust still rising from some buildings. The U.S-led coalition and local allies have been battling IS militants on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River in a small sliver of territory around Hajin. ____ Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report from Beirut. New York (AFP) - Former Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfein met with a man at the center of the 1MDB corruption scandal involving former Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak, a person close to the matter confirmed to AFP. The US Justice Department charged three people in the case last week, two of them former Goldman bankers, and said a "high-ranking executive" of the bank was present at a November 2009 meeting with Low Taek Jho -- an alleged mastermind and intermediary to the Malaysian fund. The source, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed news reports that Blankfein, who stepped down as CEO last month after 12 years, is the executive named in the court documents. A Goldman Sachs spokesman declined an AFP request for comment. The source told AFP that Blankfein and Low attended a meeting in November 2009 hosted by Najib at his hotel in New York while visiting the United States. The private reception, which was described as an outreach effort, was held a few weeks after Najib created Malaysian public investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to modernize Malaysia. That meeting laid the foundation for a commercial relationship between the prestigious investment bank and Kuala Lumpur, the source said. - Low no show - The United States charged Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, with working with two former Goldman bankers -- Tim Leissner and Ng Chong Hwa -- to launder billions of dollars allegedly skimmed from 1MDB. Low remains at large. Leissner and Ng are charged with conspiring to launder billions of dollars from the sovereign wealth fund and for conspiring to bribe officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi to hire Goldman for lucrative consulting contracts. US authorities said the scam allowed the men to divert $2.7 billion from 1MDB in the form of commissions on three bond issues in 2012 and 2013, underwritten by Goldman Sachs. Goldman earned $600 million in commissions as a result. However, Blankfein did not know Low and did not know he would attend the November 2009 meeting, which also was attended by other Goldman Sachs bankers and Najib's entourage, according to the source. The discussion covered a broad range of topics. Story continues Another source told AFP that Blankfein also was scheduled to meet Low at a conference in New York on September 25, 2013 but Low did not attend, which contradicts news reports that the two met twice. Conference participants also included private equity firms such as Bain Capital and TPG to discuss "Investing in Malaysia." David Solomon, who took over Goldman Sachs after Blankfein retired in September, said Wednesday he was alarmed by the charges of corruption against the two former Goldman bankers. The bank has said it is cooperating with the US Justice Department's criminal investigation and Goldman lawyers are due to meet with investigators next week in Washington, a source close to the investigation told AFP. Kenny McPeek (right) left heart-broken by the death of work-rider Odanis Acuna A work-rider for top American trainer Kenny McPeek was killed this morning in a training accident at Churchill Downs in Kentucky on Saturday morning. Odanis Acuna, 42, who had been working for McPeek for around a decade, incurred fatal head and neck injuries after an unraced two-year-old he was riding broke down in both front legs whilst breezing on the track, which hosted last weekends Breeders Cup. The Daily Racing Form broke the news of the Cubans death, and McPeek told the publication: Obviously everyone is extremely upset about this. Odanis was a fantastic person and one of the hardest-working people youll ever meet. Its a real tragedy. READ MORE: Srivaddhanaprabha-owned Donjuan Triumphant secures emotional Doncaster win READ MORE: Stylish Frankie Dettori proves yet again no one is better on big day The two-year-old New York Harbor had to be put down and breezing at Churchill Downs was cancelled for the remainder of the morning. Hong Kong (AFP) - Dissident Chinese author Ma Jian hit out at threats to freedom of speech Saturday saying it was the "basis of civilisation" after a struggle to find a venue to host his talks at Hong Kong's literary festival. The venue battle fuelled growing concerns that semi-autonomous Hong Kong's freedoms are fast disappearing under an assertive Beijing. Ma, whose books are banned in mainland China, promoted his latest novel "China Dream" at two speaking events Saturday. The title plays on Chinese President Xi Jinping's rhetoric of national rejuvenation and is described by publisher Penguin as "a biting satire of totalitarianism". "Self-censorship is nothing wonderful and we have to have the courage to break that," he told reporters Saturday morning at a press conference at the new Tai Kwun arts centre, which hosts the Hong Kong International Literary Festival and had originally cancelled his talks. The venue reinstated them at the 11th hour Friday after a replacement location also dropped out. Ma, 65, said Tai Kwun's last-minute change of heart showed "self-censorship had failed". "The freedom to speak is the basis of our civilisation," he added. "We have to safeguard our freedom of expression. We have to safeguard our civilisation." - 'We were wrong' - Speaking to a packed audience about his new book later Saturday night at Tai Kwun, Ma had further words of warning for Hong Kong people. "You might not feel it now, but perhaps your children might have to read Xi Jinping Thought as their text book in school later," he said through a translator. He also said that Xi's hardline approach in China had been unexpected. "At first we thought Xi Jinping wasn't a Red Guard, he wouldn't think he owned the country," he said. "But we were wrong." Ma, who lives in London and has a British passport as well as holding Hong Kong residency, earlier said he had informed his local MP that he was coming to Hong Kong and they had told the British foreign ministry. Story continues "I know that they would protect me if I ever disappeared and would look for me," he said. "This is what I can do in a democratic country." Tai Kwun's director Timothy Calnin said Thursday it had cancelled Ma's talks because it did not want to be "a platform to promote the political interests of any individual". Backtracking Friday, Calnin said public statements by Ma had clarified he would not use the venue to "promote his personal political interests". Ma had said from the beginning of the row that he is a novelist, not a politician. "If anybody separates the political elements from other things in novels, that only shows the ignorance of that person," he told reporters. He added that the fact he had entered Hong Kong freely after concerns he would not be allowed in made him think the government had not been involved in the two venues' decisions to bar him. Literary festival organisers said they could not comment when asked by reporters Saturday for more detail on the reasons Tai Kwun had given them for the original cancellations and the backtrack. Its a dreadful reality of living in America (or, honestly, the world) right now that there are, and likely will be more, mass shootings. Though it may be impossible to predict where and when theyll occur and the odds are still very small that youll encounter one security experts have some basic safety tips that can help you prepare for the unlikely but horrific situation. During an active shooter situation, it is estimated that law enforcement response time may be between five to six minutes. And on average, an active shooter situation lasts anywhere between five to eight minutes, said Steve Guerrero, director of security for the nonprofit Green Dot Public Schools in Los Angeles. So saving your life may be up to you. No one should ever have to fear for their safety in a bar, a place of worship, an exercise class or any other ordinary location. But a little knowledge hopefully knowledge that you never have to use can be beneficial. HuffPost talked with the experts on what they want everyone to know about potential or active shooter situations, including steps to take when something seems off and other useful protection measures. 1. Be aware. It sounds basic but sometimes the most obvious points are the most crucial. Put down your phone and tune in to your surroundings. In security, we often refer to the phrase situational awareness, being aware of our situation wherever we are, said Brent OBryan, corporate vice president of training and organizational effectiveness at Allied Universal, a private North American security company. When you first walk into a building, OBryan recommends getting your bearings and taking inventory of your surroundings: Notice the people in the room, the layout of the venue, where the nearest exits are and whether anything appears off. 2. Make a brief, mental what if plan ahead of time. People have to unfortunately have the mindset these days that when you walk into anywhere, something bad can happen and you have to begin to mentally prepare yourself with the what if scenario, said Mike Zimet, owner of New York-based executive protection company Mike Zimet Protective Services. Story continues If used correctly, that strategy could potentially save somebodys life. We use the what-if scenario in protection all the time, Zimet said. What if this happens? What would you do with the person you are protecting? How would you evacuate them? This type of thinking, he added, trains you to be a lot more diligent in looking for exits or a safe room where you can shelter. Take a few minutes to put an escape plan into place when you first arrive at a venue, he suggested, and then go back to enjoying the evening. 3. Know what to look for. When taking inventory of a place or scenario, be on the lookout for anything that appears suspicious. The biggest red flag is somebody appearing out of place by their clothing they are dressed for the winter in the summer or by their actions, Zimet said. Actions to watch for include leaving a suspicious package behind or behaving uncharacteristically for the setting. 4. Dont be afraid to report something suspicious. Be aware of your neighbors, peoples activity on social media, and dont be afraid to share your concerns, OBryan said. If something seems suspicious, you shouldnt assume that somebody else is going to call it in or otherwise report it. Make the call yourself. We need to do better as a society with having that courage to step in when we see something that doesnt seem right, OBryan said. Law enforcement would rather have us be more proactive in sharing leads and concerns so they can say, OK, thats not a concern or That is a concern than have us thinking, That looks suspicious but Im not sure if it is so Im just going to hold back. Trust your gut instinct when something niggles at the back of your mind that something is wrong, added Robert Sollars, a security consultant based in Phoenix with 35 years experience in the industry. Too many people ignore those feelings even though they could save lives, Sollars said. 5. Try to remain as calm as possible. Focus on breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth as you take action. Remaining calm and focused can mean the difference between life and death, Guerrero said, adding that a heightened state of panic may impair your judgment and ability to make sound decisions when time is of the essence. Matt Harden, a SWAT team member and owner of the San Francisco Bay Area company OpTempo Training Group, which provides active shooter training, noted that staying calm also helps people to not alert the shooter to their location. 6. Run if youre able to. In a situation involving an active shooter, your immediate move should be to get out of the building if you can safely do so. And once you are through the door, dont stop. Keep going and get as far away from the line of fire as you can, Zimet said. Dont assume that youre safe once outside just because the gunfire is happening inside. Many gunmen go in through front door. The same way they went in shooting, they can come out shooting. So if you are lingering outside, you could find yourself back in the line of fire, Zimet warned. Even though it might be your first instinct, OBryan said you should not stop to dial 911 before running. Get to safety and then make that call. To stop and make that call immediately, you are risking yourself and youve gotten rid of a few seconds you could be using to get somewhere safely to make the call, he said. 7. Hide if you need to. If you cant get safely to an exit and out the door, your second choice is to hide. Law enforcement will arrive quickly and if you cant run, then your next best option is to hide and wait for them to arrive, OBryan said. Once you are hidden and secure, remain quiet and still. Hiding is not the time to get on your phone, OBryan added. If you have that opportunity and you truly think you are safe, you can reach out to 911, but you want to be very careful. Especially in a dark situation, you want to maintain the darkness. You dont want to have your phone on to give you away. Zimet recommended concealing yourself behind the hardest object possible so as to shield yourself from bullets. OBryan also suggested looking for a room with a door that you can lock from the inside, if possible. 8. Stay hidden for the long haul. Once hidden, dont come out until law enforcement arrives and announces that they are ready to escort you out. Dont try to determine when its safe to emerge on your own accord. If youre hiding and still in the building when law enforcement arrives, be prepared for officers with rifles entering to deal with the threat, Harden said, adding that its crucial you stay where you are and not try to run over to them even if youre injured. You can call out to them but they will find you, he said. Follow their commands. Officers are entering a very uncertain, chaotic scene and will be focused on clearing the entire structure to ensure there are no additional shooters or threats. The initial officers may bypass injured people asking for help until the scene is secure. But they will return to render aid and evacuate, Harden said. 9. Get low to the ground. If you cant run away or find a hiding space, or youre out in the open, youll want to get as low as possible. Duck down to the floor and try to put yourself in a fetal position because that reduces the amount of target that somebody is targeting at, Zimet said. Dropping to the ground can also help to get you out of the line of sight of an active shooter and reduce your chances of getting hit by gunfire. The more you reduce your size and your target, the better chance you have of surviving, said Zimet. 10. Fight back only as a last resort. Your safety comes first. Attempting to stop an active shooter is only advised if they are extremely close to you and you cannot take any of the above safety steps, Zimet said. Basically, only try this if its your sole option. Do not run across a huge distance to the attacker and hop into their line of sight in the process, he said, noting that if you do attack, your focus should be on lunging at the person and going after the weapon. The attacker will not be expecting an attack from a victim so the bigger, louder and more violent you can be, the more you will disrupt their train of thought. If you have a group of people, even better, said Tammy Johnson, CEO of Bravo1 Protection, an event security service in South Carolina. 11. Finally, curb your curiosity. If a shooting happens in your neighborhood and you are not actively caught in the situation, remain a safe distance away. Louis Perry, the owner and executive vice president of Los Angeles-based Kadina Security who has provided security for politicians, former presidents and other high-profile individuals, said that often someone shoots a gun and people actually run toward the sound of the gunfire to see whats going on. Its human nature to be curious but you dont want to do that, Perry said. I know it sounds silly to say this but if somebody shoots a gun, you want to run away from the gunfire. So if there is a shooting in your area, remain inside, keep your doors locked and wait until you are given the all-clear from officers to leave your premises. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. Also on HuffPost People comfort each other after a mass shooting at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California. People comfort each other as they stand near the scene. Nellie Wong cries as Chyann Worrell holds her. The two and Erika Sigman (right) were all inside when the shooting started inside the Borderline Bar & Grill. Tim Dominguez, who was in the bar with his son, sits under the freeway. In this image taken from video, a victim is carried from the scene of the shooting Wednesday evening. Holden Harrah, 21, (right), who witnessed the shooting, hugs family and friends. People leave the scene in Thousand Oaks. Sheriff and FBI investigators huddle at the command post. Police work in the area. A man speaks with law enforcement personnel as people stand near South Moorpark Road. Molly Esterline is hugged by David Crawford near the scene. People stand in a parking lot along South Moorpark Road. Jason Coffman displays a photo of his son Cody outside the Thousands Oaks Teen Center, where he came hoping to find his son who was at the Borderline Bar & Grill. A forensics team works the scene on Thursday in Thousand Oaks. Police officers guard the scene. Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean identifies Ian Long as the shooter at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks. Police investigate the scene. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's decision on Wednesday to oust Attorney General Jeff Sessions and replace him with a noted critic of Special Counsel Robert Mueller raised immediate fears among Democrats about the future of Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump appointed Matthew Whitaker, formerly Sessions' chief of staff, as acting attorney general under the U.S. Vacancies Reform Act, which lays out general rules for temporarily filling vacant executive branch positions. The department confirmed he would be assuming oversight of the Mueller probe from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The investigation is looking into U.S. allegations of Russian meddling in the election two years ago and any possible coordination between Russian and the Trump campaign, which the president denies. The appointment generated immediate controversy given Whitaker's previous public comments criticizing the probe. He previously wrote an opinion piece for CNN entitled "Muellers investigation of Trump is going too far" that said Trump's personal finances should be considered off-limits. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called on Whitaker to recuse himself over his previous statements and Democratic Representative Jerrold Nadler said the House Judiciary Committee would investigate Session's firing once he assumes the chairmanship in January. Here is a look at how Whitaker might stop or slow the Mueller investigation and the risks he might run in doing so. CAN WHITAKER BE FORCED TO RECUSE HIMSELF? Under government ethics regulation, federal employees are required to recuse themselves from matters where their impartiality could reasonably be questioned. Sessions, who was an early backer of the Trump campaign, recused himself in March 2017 from overseeing the Russia investigation under a similar rule which prohibits officials from overseeing investigations into subjects with whom they have a "a personal or political relationship." The department's No. 2, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, took over and appointed Mueller after Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey in May 2017. Kathleen Clark, a professor of legal ethics at Washington University in St. Louis, said Whitaker's previous comments about the Mueller probe raise questions about his impartiality and warrant his recusal. But Clark said there was no clear enforcement action, like a lawsuit, that could force Whitaker to recuse himself if he declined to follow the rule. "Essentially we need to shame him into acting in compliance with the law," she said. CAN WHITAKER FIRE MUELLER? The special counsel regulation under which Mueller was appointed gives the attorney general or acting attorney general authority to fire Mueller only for "good cause," such as misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity or conflict of interest. If Whitaker decided to fire Mueller, he would need to inform the special counsel in writing of the specific reason for his termination. Good cause is a difficult thing to show, especially since Mueller's actions were approved by the deputy attorney general, said Jens Ohlin, a professor of criminal law at Cornell Law School. "I don't think Whitaker has good cause to fire Mueller. He would have to trump up some charges," Ohlin said. COULD A MUELLER FIRING BE CHALLENGED ON LEGAL GROUNDS? Mueller could seek to challenge his own firing if he felt Whitaker lacked the good cause required by the special counsel regulation, said Ohlin. A court might then issue a temporary restraining order blocking his removal. Any action by Whitaker could potentially be challenged under the Vacancies Reform Act Trump used to appoint his acting attorney general. The law was intended to address vacancies created by deaths or resignations, but it is not clear it also applies to those created by firings. There is some question whether Sessions was fired or resigned. The former attorney general submitted a letter of resignation at the president's "request." The possibility that Sessions was fired could open Whitaker's appointment to court challenge by a range of people, including Mueller, impacted by his actions. Or by people who have nothing to do with the Russia investigation, said Ohlin. But Paul Rosenzweig, a former senior counsel to independent counsel Kenneth Starr, said he thought such a lawsuit would be unlikely to succeed because the U.S. Supreme Court has said the president has wide latitude to fire executive branch officials. HOW COULD WHITAKER IMPEDE MUELLER WITHOUT FIRING HIM? Under the special counsel regulation, Whitaker has the power to block any "investigative or procedural step" Mueller recommends, such as bringing an indictment or subpoena, if he determines it to be "inappropriate or unwarranted under established Departmental practices." Whitaker would be required to notify Congress of such a decision. The attorney general could also cut the budget for the special counsel's office. In fact, Whitaker told CNN last year that a future attorney general could limit Mueller by reducing the budget so low that his investigations grinds to almost a halt." Such actions would likely draw less political backlash than firing Mueller directly, said Rosenzweig. Short of legislation intended to protect Mueller, which is unlikely to pass, there is little Congress can do to challenge Whitakers oversight of Mueller, said Rosenzweig. The requirement that Whitaker notify Congress if he blocks Mueller from doing something is "about political accountability, not legal accountability," Rosenzweig said. "The notification to Congress is mostly about transparency." (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Anthony Lin and Grant McCool) By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court that is weighing a legal challenge to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's authority said Friday it wanted to know whether the sudden ouster of Attorney General Jeff Sessions could impact or change the outcome of how it should rule. The court's order directed each party in the case to file briefs by Nov. 19 outlining, "what, if any effect, the November 7, 2018 designation of an Acting Attorney General different from the official who appointed Special Counsel Mueller has on this case." The order came one day after a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard oral arguments on whether Mueller was unlawfully appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in May 2017 and wielded too much power. The challenge to Mueller's authority was being brought by Andrew Miller, an associate of President Donald Trump's long-time political adviser, Roger Stone. Several of Stone's associates have been subpoenaed by a grand jury in recent months, as part of Mueller's probe into whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia. Trump has called the investigation a witch hunt, and both he and Russia deny colluding. Miller defied the subpoena in May, was later held in civil contempt, and filed a lawsuit alleging that Mueller's appointment violated the U.S. Constitution and also that Rosenstein had no authority to hire him. Mueller was named special counsel by Rosenstein after Sessions recused himself from the probe. However, Rosenstein lost his role as Muellers supervisor on Wednesday after Trump forced Sessions to resign and replaced him with Matt Whitaker. As acting attorney general, Whitaker has assumed oversight of the Mueller investigation. Democrats have called on Whitaker to recuse himself as he has previously made negative comments about the probe. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Bernadette Baum) A Financial Times editor was barred from entering Hong Kong on Thursday just one month after the citys immigration authorities refused to renew his work visa without explanation, the Times reports. After several hours of questioning, immigration officers denied Victor Mallet entry on a tourist visa, the latest indication of what appears to be Beijings tightening crackdown on free speech in the semiautonomous Chinese territory. Mallets visa rejection last month is widely understood to be retribution for his chairing of an event with independence activist Andy Chan at the citys Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC), a local media hub where Mallet was also vice president. Chans fringe political group, the Hong Kong National Party, espouses Hong Kongs independence from mainland China and is now also banned. The FCC is shocked and baffled that the government of Hong Kong has denied entry to Victor Mallet, the FCC said in a statement Friday. The club also reiterated its demand for an explanation for the aggravated and disproportionate sanction that seems completely unfounded. British citizens are usually permitted to enter Hong Kong for up to 6 months without a visa, according to the U.K. government. This action places journalists working in Hong Kong in an opaque environment in which fear and self-censorship may replace the freedom and confidence essential to a free society, the FCC added. Hong Kong, a former British colony, was returned to China in 1997 under a 50-year framework called One Country, Two Systems. The agreement enshrined political and social freedoms enjoyed under colonial rule that are otherwise anathema to the Chinese government. But many fear those liberties, including free media and speech, have been steadily eroded under an increasingly assertive Beijing. Mallets rejection comes amid a string of recent events that have stoked fears of censorship. On the same day that Mallet was effectively blacklisted, a government-backed Hong Kong arts center canceled two talks by prominent Chinese dissident writer Ma Jian at an annual literary festival this weekend. Last week, an exhibition of a well-known political cartoonist and critic of the Chinese government, Badiucao, was also canceled. The Financial Times, which is appealing the Hong Kongs expulsion of the longtime journalist, says it has not yet received an explanation for Mallets rejection. Seventeen former presidents of the FCC have sent a letter to Hong Kongs chief executive Carrie Lam demanding an explanation. With one tweet less than 24 hours after the midterm elections, President Donald Trump ousted the head of the Justice Department and promoted his chief of staff in his place. Matthew Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney in Iowa who had been serving as Jeff Sessions top staffer in the Justice Department, is now acting attorney general. He was very, very highly thought of, Trump told reporters Friday morning. Matt Whitaker is a very smart man. He is a very respected man in the law enforcement community. But Whitakers appointment raises some key questions about Robert Muellers investigation and what comes next in the Justice Department. Here are the three most important questions currently being discussed. Is Whitakers appointment unconstitutional? Thats what Neal Katyal, former acting solicitor general under President Obama, and George Conway, a conservative lawyer and husband of top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway, argue in a New York Times op-ed. According to them, it is unconstitutional for Whitaker to be named acting attorney general under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, which says that principal officers of the United States must be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The problem with Whitaker is that, as Sessions chief of staff, he wasnt Senate-confirmed. (He was confirmed by the Senate to be a federal prosecutor in Iowa, but that was 14 years ago.) Constitutionally, Katyal and Conway write, Matthew Whitaker is a nobody. In other words, under this line of legal reasoning, Trump could have appointed the deputy attorney general or the solicitor general to fill the post, because both are Senate-confirmed positions. Or he could have appointed Whitaker to fill a lower vacant position in the Justice Department that isnt considered to be a principal officer. For the president to install Mr. Whitaker as our chief law enforcement officer is to betray the entire structure of our charter document, they write. Story continues In response, a Justice Department spokesman tells TIME, The VRA was passed in 1998 and Acting Attorney General Whitakers appointment was made pursuant to the procedures approved by Congress. The VRA refers to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. In this case, Trump has relied on a provision of that act that says the president can choose any senior Justice Department official to serve as acting attorney general as long as that person has served in a high-level position for 90 days. Under this rule, Whitaker qualifies for the temporary position. Its an unresolved question about which argument would prevail in court in a situation like this. in 2003, the Office of Legal Counsel wrote that someone serving in an acting capacity, even in a principal role, is still an inferior officer because theyre only serving in that role temporarily. Under that interpretation, Whitakers appointment is fine. But in a Supreme Court decision last year, Justice Clarence Thomas, arguably the most conservative justice on the court, wrote a concurring opinion that suggests he wouldnt be inclined to accept the Justice Departments reading of the VRA in this case. In a 2017 case, the Supreme Court found on statutory grounds that the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board had been unlawfully appointed to his job without Senate confirmation. Thomas wrote a concurrence arguing that it was also unconstitutional under the Appointments Clause, because he found the role to be a principal position. Granting the President unilateral power to fill vacancies in high offices might contribute to more efficient Government, Thomas wrote. But the Appointments Clause is not an empty formality. [The Framers] recognized the serious risk for abuse and corruption posed by permitting one person to fill every office in the Government. What power does Whitaker have over Muellers investigation? Trump said Friday that he hasnt talked to Whitaker about Muellers probe, and when asked whether he wants Whitaker to rein in the investigation, the president snapped, What a stupid question. In fact, its one of the most critical questions now facing the Justice Department and the country. When former Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from overseeing the investigation because of his role in Trumps presidential campaign, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein took over those duties. But now Whitaker, even in an acting capacity, assumes all of the power of attorney general and thus could take control of the investigation back from Rosenstein. When asked whether Whitaker would oversee Muellers investigation, Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Flores told TIME, The Acting Attorney General is in charge of all matters under the purview of the Department of Justice. That means Whitaker can take over the investigation almost immediately. He could certainly opt to leave Rosenstein in charge, says John Bies, chief counsel at American Oversight who was deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel under President Obama, but I think he wouldnt need to take any affirmative step to claim supervision other than to just tell Rosenstein, Im here, Im not recused, get me up to speed.' The special counsels office declined to comment. Now, Whitaker can limit the scope of Muellers investigation if he chooses to through funding decisions, by not allowing Mueller to pursue certain topics, or by declining requests on whether or not to prosecute someone, among other tactics. He could also fire Mueller, though he is bound by Justice Department regulations that say he can only fire a special counsel for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or for other good cause, including violation of Departmental policies. Should Whitaker recuse himself from the Mueller investigation? Democrats have already begun calling for Whitaker to recuse himself like Sessions did and leave the investigation in Rosensteins hands. In a letter to Trump, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer wrote that his concerns about Whitakers appointment are heightened by specific expressions of bias against the Special Counsel investigation that Mr. Whitaker made just last year. New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that it would be wholly inappropriate for Mr. Whitaker to supervise the Special Counsel investigation given his documented history of opposition to it. In May 2017, before he worked for Sessions and before a special counsel was appointed, Whitaker wrote an op-ed in The Hill opposing the idea of appointing a special counsel or independent prosecutor. Serious, bipartisan congressional investigations into the Russian allegations have been under way for weeks and they have made progress, Whitaker wrote. Hollow calls for independent prosecutors are just craven attempts to score cheap political points and serve the public in no measurable way. In a CNN op-ed published later that year, Whitaker wrote that, based on reports that Muellers team was looking into Trump Organization finances, Mueller has come up to a red line in the Russia 2016 election-meddling investigation that he is dangerously close to crossing. If he were to continue to investigate the financial relationships without a broadened scope in his appointment, then this would raise serious concerns that the special counsels investigation was a mere witch hunt, Whitaker wrote. If Mueller is indeed going down this path, Rosenstein should act to ensure the investigation is within its jurisdiction and within the authority of the original directive. In August 2017, he tweeted an article was worth a read that referred to Muellers team as a lynch mob. And last year he also told CNN that he could envision Sessions being replaced with an attorney general who reduces (Muellers) budget so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt. In addition, in 2014, Whitaker helped run a campaign for Sam Clovis, who is now a witness in the Mueller investigation. When asked Friday if he expects Whitaker to be involved in the Russia probe, Trump said, Thats up to him. Florida has declared a recount of votes cast in the governor and US Senate races: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Three days after the election, Florida has ordered a machine recount to be done in the gubernatorial race between Democrat Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis as well as the US Senate race between Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Rick Scott, who is also the current governor. Mr Scott currently leads Mr Nelson by just 12,500 votes or 0.15 per cent while Mr DeSantis holds a 0.41 per cent, or approximately 34,000 vote, lead over Mr Gillum, who is attempting to become the states first African American governor. Both races were originally called for the Republicans but as a result of the recount Mr Gillum has withdrawn his concession. A third race, for agricultural commissioner, will also be recounted, which requires a machine recount when candidates are separated by less than 0.5 per cent and a recount by hand if that difference is less than 0.25 per cent. The deadline for the machine recount to be completed is 15 November at 1500 local time [2000 GMT]. For Mr Scott and Mr Nelsons race, the hand count will take place after the machine recount and will be focused on ballots with overvotes, when voters selected more than the maximum number of candidates or options in a particular category, and undervotes, when voters have chosen less than the required number of candidates or options in that ballot section. Its time for Senator Nelson to accept reality and spare the state of Florida the time, expense and discord of a recount, Mr Scotts spokesperson Chris Hartline said, noting Mr Nelson can choose to opt out of a recount. There are no indications from Mr Nelsons camp that he will do so. Cries of voter fraud and voter suppression have rung out from Republicans and Democrats respectively. Mr Nelsons campaign has filed a lawsuit against the state which alleged its process for validating vote-by-mail ballots relied too heavily on the untrained opinions of poll workers to match signatures on such ballots, according to his campaign lawyer Marc Elias. Story continues Mr Elias said it led to complete lack of uniformity in judgement if the ballot matched the signature on file with the state, adding: This serves as an outright disenfranchisement and burden on the right to vote. Mr Scott fuelled the tensions further with a televised press conference ahead of the machine recount decision. He called out rampant fraud but offered no proof it was a problem in the election. He added: Every Floridian should be concerned there may be rampant fraud happening in Palm Beach and Broward counties. He and the National Republican Senatorial Committee are suing the counties boards of elections supervisors, seemingly for following state law regarding vote recounts. Mr Scott alleged Dr Brenda Snipes in Broward has not properly turned over ballot count information to the state and claimed Susan Bucher in Palm Beach County did not allow observers to watch absentee ballots being counted. Voter fraud does not appear to be a problem according to the Brennan Center at New York University, which found through its research that there have been only 31 instances of voter fraud in the last one billion votes cast. Mr Scott did not want a recount at all since his lead was decreasing as more and more absentee and provisional ballots were counted. He said: Every day since the election, the leftwing activists in Broward County have been coming up with more and more ballots out of nowhere. We all know what is going on. Every person in Florida knows exactly what is happening. Their goal is to mysteriously keep finding more votes until the election turns out the way they want. The governor then asked the Florida state police to investigate the matter, adding: No ragtag group of liberal activists or lawyers from DC will be allowed to steal this election from the voters of this great state. Donald Trump, who had campaigned more in Florida than in any other state because it is crucial to his 2020 re-election bid, also weighed in on the matter, saying those counties were finding votes ... Out of the wilderness in Florida and Arizona, where another incredibly narrow Senate race is taking place between Republican Martha McSally and Democrat Krysten Sinema. He also said Republicans won easily in Florida and pointed to the horrible history in Broward County, in particular. Broward County is infamously where the incident of hanging chads on paper ballots occurred during the 2000 presidential election between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W Bush. The chaotic recount that year took days and ultimately ended with Mr Bush becoming president after a Supreme Court ruling. By Ezgi Erkoyun ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey has given recordings related to the killing of Jamal Khashoggi to Germany, France and Britain, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, seeking to maintain international pressure on Riyadh over the Saudi journalist's death. Khashoggi, a critic of de facto Saudi ruler Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate last month in a hit which Erdogan says was ordered at the "highest levels" of the Saudi government. His killing provoked global outrage but little concrete action by world powers against Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter and a supporter of Washington's plans to contain Iranian influence across the Middle East. Speaking as he left Turkey to attend World War One commemorations in France alongside President Donald Trump and European leaders, Erdogan said for the first time that the three European Union states had heard the recordings. "We gave the tapes. We gave them to Saudi Arabia, to the United States, Germans, French and British, all of them. They have listened to all the conversations in them. They know," Erdogan said. CIA director Gina Haspel heard an audio recording of Khashoggi's death when she visited Istanbul, two sources told Reuters last month. A senior Saudi envoy was also played a recording, a source said. Erdogan did not give details of the contents of the tapes on Saturday but two sources with knowledge of the issue have told Reuters that Turkey has several audio recordings. They include the killing itself and conversations pre-dating the operation which Turkey subsequently uncovered, the sources said. These had led Ankara to conclude from an early stage that the killing was premeditated, despite Saudi Arabia's initial denials of any knowledge or involvement. Saudi Arabia's prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb has since said Khashoggi's killing was planned in advance, although another Saudi official said Prince Mohammed had no knowledge of the specific operation. Story continues One source familiar with the recordings said that officials who heard them had been horrified by their contents. One of Prince Mohammed's top aides, Saud al-Qahtani, featured prominently in them throughout, sources said. Last month two separate intelligence sources told Reuters Qahtani gave orders over Skype to Khashoggi's killers at the consulate. Qahtani did not respond to questions from Reuters at the time. Saudi state media said King Salman sacked him and four other officials over the killing. There was no indication that any of the suspects were detained. WHO KILLED KHASHOGGI? Erdogan did not repeat on Saturday his accusation that the operation was ordered by Saudi leaders. However, he called on Riyadh to identify the killer, saying it must have been a member of a team that arrived in Turkey hours before Khashoggi's disappearance. "There's no need to distort this issue, they know for certain that the killer, or the killers, is among these 15 people. Saudi Arabia's government can disclose this by making these 15 people talk," Erdogan said. Erdogan also accused Mojeb - who visited Istanbul to discuss the investigation with his Turkish counterpart and inspect the Istanbul consulate - of refusing to cooperate. "The prosecutor came to Turkey to make excuses, make things difficult," he said. During his visit, Mojeb revealed no information to Turkish authorities, a source said, but instead asked for Khashoggi's mobile phones which the journalist had left with his fiancee before entering the consulate. Erdogan repeated a demand for information on the whereabouts of Khashoggi's body. An adviser to the president has said the body was cut up for disposal, and Vice President Fuat Oktay has called for an investigation into reports that it was then dissolved in acid. A Turkish official said last week that Saudi Arabia sent two people, a chemist and a toxicologist, to Istanbul a week after Khashoggi's Oct. 2 killing to erase evidence, calling it a sign that top Saudi officials knew of the crime. Saudi Arabia has said members of the team which was sent to Istanbul, and returned shortly after the killing, have been arrested along with three others. Following a meeting on Saturday in Paris, Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed that Saudi authorities needed to shed full light on Khashoggi's murder, a French presidency source said. They also agreed that the matter should not be allowed to cause further destabilisation in the Middle East and that it could create an opportunity to find a political resolution to the war in Yemen, according to the official. (Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Dominic Evans and David Stamp) Marine Shannon Ihrke shares her story. (Photo: Shannon Ihrke) Despite being unsure about what she wanted to do with her life after graduating from high school, Shannon Ihrke enrolled in college. Little did she know that during her time there, she would find a passion for pushing her mind and body to the limit and become a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps. Almost two years into school and still undecided about her career, Ihrke began to feel overwhelmed from working two jobs to make ends meet and studying full-time. She met with a school adviser to go over financial aid, which she did not qualify for, and was told that the only way to get free tuition in Minnesota was by being a single mom or being in the military. I decided to research the different branches [of the military], and a Marine Corps recruiter caught me on the way out from talking to an Air Force recruiter, Ihrke tells Yahoo Lifestyle of the moment she decided to join the military. He explained how tough the program is and said, A girl like you probably wouldnt make it through boot camp in the Marine Corps. The statement resonated with Ihrke, who says, I took that as a challenge and asked, Where do I sign up? Ihrke in the Marines. (Photo: Shannon Ihrke) From there, Ihrke packed up for three months of boot camp, where she trained in mixed martial arts and rifle training and graduated. I loved it, she says. I loved pushing myself. I realized how mentally and physically strong I really am, and it was an empowering feeling, she says, noting that the all-female boot camp was a tough, but empowering experience. I had drill instructors that were beautiful, smart women. They were amazing and it motivated me even more. For Ihkre, boot camp and the month-long Marine Corps combat training that followed pushed her body and mind beyond what she had imagined. The hardest part about boot camp is your mental strength, she notes. Another tough part about officially becoming a Marine was the feeling of having to prove herself to her male peers. When people think of a Marine, they expect to see a man, but when I showed up to my unit, some people automatically thought that because I was a woman, I wouldnt be able to keep up or be as good. Story continues Being judged on appearance only fueled her drive to be the best. She says, You have to work twice as hard to be seen as an equal, so my goal was always to push myself to be as good if not better to show them you can be on the same level. Her discipline and dedication paid off. Within two years, she earned a rank that some four-year Marines dont even achieve. I was meritoriously promoted from E1 to E4, she says. Ihrke was evaluated on everything from her physical strength and military knowledge to an area where she has excelled in since childhood: shooting. I always liked shooting guns, she says, noting her expert-level rifle qualification by Marine standards. I grew up shooting guns with my dad, which is part of the reason I did so well in the rifle range when I was in the Marines. Ihrke grew up shooting guns with her father. (Photo: Shannon Ihrke) However, Ihrke believes her confidence in herself and drive to prove naysayers wrong are what ultimately helped her earn the rank of sergeant. Its kind of natural to judge a book by its cover, she muses. But then, it makes you want to be as good, if not better than those people to show that you can keep up and you are equal. Ihrke graduated from Elmhurst College with a bachelors degree and without student loan debt. Her time in the Marine Corps came to an end in 2016, but she says its something that has permanently affected her life and is a constant source of pride. In and out of uniform, I feel very proud because no one can take the experience away from me, says the veteran. She now trains horses full-time. (Photo: Shannon Ihrke) Present day: The now-30-year-old enjoys small-town life back in Minnesota where she trains horses full-time. I have about six horses right now, and I am training for roping competitions, she says of her next goal. She also works for her countys sheriffs department in its horse posse. The proud Marine continues to push herself physically too. I love running and working out Ive always been an athlete. If Im not training horses, Im at the gym. However, what she loves most is being able to reflect on her experiences in the Marines from the calm of her stable. I love being back in a small town, she says. Life is so simple. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Two senior Chinese officials said on Friday that China and the United States should respect each other, pursue mutual benefits, focus on cooperation, and properly manage and control their differences, for the interests of the peoples of the two countries as well as the world at large. Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump. [Photo: China Plus] Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and Wei Fenghe, Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister, made the remarks at a joint press conference with their U.S. counterparts after the second China-U.S. diplomatic and security dialogue held in Washington, The dialogue came ahead of an upcoming meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump during the G20 summit in Argentina slated later this year. Yang said that the meeting bears great significance, and both countries should strengthen communication, keep close coordination, and make elaborate preparations to ensure that the important meeting would yield positive results. China and the United States, the world's top two economies, and the world's largest developing and developed nations, respectively, have wide-ranging common interests and huge room for cooperation, despite differences in some areas, said Yang. Since the two nations established diplomatic relations nearly 40 years ago, their bilateral ties, despite some twists and turns, have kept forging ahead in general, he noted. It has been proved that cooperation is the only right choice for the two nations, and a win-win collaboration is the only way towards a bright future, Yang said. Facing the profound and complicate changes in the international situation, China and the United States should follow the consensus reached between their heads of state, work for the fundamental interests of the peoples of both countries and the whole world, respect each other, pursue mutual benefits, focus on consultation and communication and properly manage and control differences so as to ensure the sound and steady development of bilateral relations, and bring more satisfaction and benefits to their peoples, Yang said. Speaking of trade, Yang said that China-U.S. trade relations are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature. The economic and trade problems of the two nations are a result of their differences in economic structure, industrial divisions and development stage, thus they should be resolved through dialogue and communication, Yang said. China has, as always, kept its door open for dialogue, he noted. The senior Chinese official hoped that the two nations' teams should follow the spirit demonstrated by the recent telephone conversation between the heads of state of the two countries, strengthen contact and communication on the basis of equality and sincerity, so as to reach solutions acceptable for both sides. Wei Fenghe said at the press conference that relations between the two countries' militaries have been an important part of the two nations' overall relations. Noting that the two militaries have wide-ranging common interests and important responsibilities in maintaining world peace and security, Wei said that the two sides should work together and co-exist peacefully for the well-being of the two nations and the world at large, instead of engaging in conflicts and confrontations to spell disasters. The Chinese armed forces firmly defend China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests, and are willing to work together with its U.S. counterparts to respect each other's core interests and major concerns, strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, properly manage and control differences, and advance cooperation, so as to make the military-to-military relations a stabilizing factor in the overall bilateral relationship, Wei said. At the press conference, Yang and Wei also expounded the Chinese government's principled position in response to questions about China's foreign policy, defense strategy, China-U.S. ties, and specific issues concerning Taiwan, South China Sea and human rights. (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google said on Thursday it would make changes to how it handles sexual harassment claims, a week after thousands of its employees around the world walked off their jobs to protest its response to such issues. Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai announced a detailed "action plan", which included making arbitration optional for individual sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. "Going forward, we will provide more transparency on how we handle concerns," Pichai said in a note addressed to employees. Pichai also said Google will provide more details around sexual harassment investigations and outcomes, as well as improving processes used to handle such concerns, including the ability for its employees to be accompanied by a support person. Google said employees will now be required to undergo sexual harassment training annually, instead of every two years currently. "We will update and expand our mandatory sexual harassment training," Pichai said. The company also said it would publicly release its harassment, discrimination and retaliation policies. The protests at Google earlier this month followed a New York Times report that the company in 2014 gave a $90 million exit package to a senior vice president, Andy Rubin, after he was accused of sexual harassment. (Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru and Paresh Dave in San Francisco; Editing by Anil D'Silva) Sundar Pichai, on stage at Google's 2014 Google I/O Conference. Credit: Maurizio Pesce via Wiki commons Google Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai announced Thursday an action plan aimed at addressing sexual harassment and inequality at the tech giant, tweaking arbitration policies, training requirements and reporting processes in response to criticism that the company protected top executives and enabled misconduct to persist. Pichais memo to employees comes after thousands of employees at Google staged a walkout last week at the company's California headquarters and offices around the country. The protest followed a New York Times report that noted instances where the company allegedly suppressed accusations of sexual misconduct among top executives. Google joins an ever-growing list of companies that have been forced to reckon with accusations of workplace power imbalances between male and female colleagues. In the aftermath of the #MeToo movement, many large companies have updated internal policies and sought to curtail the use of nondisclosure agreements that can silence victims of abuse. Pichai said the revamped policies were part of an area where we need to continually make progress and are committed to doing so. Read the Google memo below: falcon-embed src="embed_1" The Times, in its investigative report, detailed a $90 million payout to an executive, Andy Rubin, who had faced sexual misconduct allegations. Rubin said on Twitter that the report presented "numerous inaccuracies about my employment at Google and wild exaggerations about my compensation." The report also said Google chief legal officer David Drummond fathered a child with a subordinate in an extramarital affair and the woman left the department after it ended. Google has said 48 people have been terminated at the company for sexual harassment in the past two years, which includes 13 people in senior management roles. As part of its new efforts, Google said it will make arbitration optional for sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. Pichai said, Google has never required confidentiality in the arbitration process and arbitration still may be the best path for a number of reasons (e.g. personal privacy) but, we recognize that choice should be up to you. Arbitration and nondisclosure are new focus points in the wake of stories spotlight high-profile sexual harassment cases. Many states have pushed measures that would limit agreements that keep accusations private. Both defense and plaintiffs side attorneys say private settlements are often preferable for victims, but critics say they enable those in power to remain in the shadows and for harassment to persist. Microsoft Corporation announced late last year it would end its practice of mandatory arbitration, and said it supported legislation that confronts this common employment practice. Pichai also said the company will provide more detail about sexual harassment investigations and the outcomes and overhaul reporting channels by bringing them together on one site. He also said Google would provide more counseling and career support to employees during and after the process. Mandatory sexual harassment training will be expanded, Pichai said. We recognize that we have not always gotten everything right in the past and we are sincerely sorry for that. Its clear we need to make some changes, Pichai said in the email to employees Thursday. Going forward, we will provide more transparency on how we handle concerns. Well give better support and care to the people who raise them. And we will double down on our commitment to be a representative, equitable, and respectful workplace. Read more: Report: Alphabet CLO Drummond Secretly Fathered Child With Subordinate When a Walkout Hits: Employees' and Employers' Rights During a Protest With Google Accused of Protecting Men in Power, Company's Policies in the Spotlight Get employment law news and commentary straight to your in-box with Labor of Law, a new Law.com briefing. Learn more and sign up here. Paris (AFP) - World leaders will put on a show of unity this weekend as they commemorate 100 years since the end of World War I, but modern-day tensions will be bubbling under the surface at the remembrances in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron will host around 70 leaders on Sunday for a ceremony on the Champs-Elysees to mark the signing of the Armistice between Germany and Allied forces that ended the fighting in Europe. It will cap a week packed with symbolism to remember the silencing of the guns, with memorials held across the world for a conflict that claimed around 18 million lives and involved more than 70 current-day nations. Macron, a centrist, has repeatedly invoked the war in recent weeks to hammer home his message that rising nationalism around the globe is again destabilising the world. In a speech on Sunday after the commemorations, he will "remind everyone of the need to defend and reinforce global multilateralism", an aide said this week. Two figures seen by Macron as responsible for undermining the rules-based world order and its institutions -- US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin -- will both be in Paris at the weekend. Macron reportedly requested that they postpone a planned meeting amid fears that the resulting headlines would overshadow the commemorations at the Arc de Triomphe, a memorial to France's war dead. "It should be a beautiful period of time," Trump said of his Paris visit before leaving Washington on Friday. "We will have many countries' leadership there, especially since they heard the United States will be there." The US leader has badly strained the alliance of Western countries since his election in 2016 by pulling out of international agreements covering climate change, Iran's nuclear programme, and missiles. Putin's decision to annex Crimea in 2014 and re-draw Ukraine's border by force plunged his relations with European leaders into their biggest crisis since the Cold War. Story continues World powers find themselves at loggerheads on a host of issues, from trade to climate change and even the use of chemical weapons -- which were first deployed to devastating effect during World War I. In the Syrian civil war, Russian, American, European and Middle Eastern forces are all in action in a complex web of alliances. - Fightback against nationalism - Trump is set to meet Macron for talks on Saturday, but he will snub a conference dedicated to international institutions and global governance on Sunday which has been organised by his French host. While Macron and Trump struck up a warm relationship initially, particularly during Trump's first visit to Paris as president in July 2017, they have repeatedly clashed since over a growing list of disagreements. "Their personal relationship is excellent," US National Security Advisor John Bolton told reporters in Paris on Friday. "There have been disagreements on substantive policy issues, for sure, but that's because leaders pursue what they perceive to be their national interests," he said. He played down Trump's decision not to attend the inaugural Paris Peace Forum to be opened by Macron on Sunday afternoon along with German Chancellor Merkel and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. "The president's schedule is tight. There are a lot of pressing issues that the president has to attend to," explained Bolton, a arch-hardliner and advocate of using US power unilaterally. The Paris Forum is part of the "fightback" against the rising tide of nationalism worldwide, chief organiser Justin Vaisse told AFP in a recent interview. "The aim of the forum is to show that there are lots of forces in the international system -- states, NGOs, foundations, intellectuals, companies -- who believe we need a world of rules, an open world and a multilateral world," he said. Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are expected to join a host of European heads of state and African leaders, including Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari and Kenya's Uhuru Kenyatta, at the forum. On Monday and Tuesday, philanthropists, corporate leaders and leading figures from international institutions will debate ways to tackle global challenges such as climate change and policing the internet. But recent events, particularly Brazil's decision to elect far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, have left some participants more concerned than ever about the future. "My mood is pretty grim," Jeremy Shapiro, research director at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told AFP. The forum "is obviously pushing against the tide and it's all the more admirable for that," he said. House Democrats are demanding that acting attorney general Matt Whitaker, who took over for Attorney General Jeff Sessions after President Trump requested, received, and accepted Sessionss resignation Wednesday, recuse himself from Special Counsel Robert Muellers Russia probe. In a letter to Whitaker, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee urged him to recuse himself based on previous criticisms he has made of the probe. There is little doubt that President Trumps decision to force the firing of Attorney General Sessions places Special Counsel Muellers inquiry at grave risk, Representative Jerrold Nadler and other Democrats wrote to Whitaker, adding that it would be inappropriate for him to oversee the probe. The Democrats also wrote a letter to the Judiciary Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte (R., Va.) requesting an emergency hearing. The president now directly threatens the rule of law itself. Democrats and Republicans [should] set aside partisanship to avoid a full-fledged constitutional crisis in the Watergate era, the letter read. It is therefore necessary that we set aside our political interests and work together to protect our nation and the rule of law from this grave threat. Sessions recused himself from the Mueller investigation last year, citing his association with the Trump campaign. Trump had frequently and publicly disparaged Sessions, the first Republican senator to endorse his campaign, over the recusal, and wasted no time after Tuesdays midterms in ousting the attorney general. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi both called on Whitaker to recuse himself from the investigation based on remarks he has made saying the probe went too far and calling on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to limit the scope of his investigation. Mueller has come up to a red line in the Russia 2016 election-meddling investigation that he is dangerously close to crossing, Whitaker wrote in a CNN op-ed last year, referring to reports that Mueller planned to look into the Trump family finances. Given his previous comments advocating defunding and imposing limitations on the Mueller investigation, Mr. Whitaker should recuse himself from its oversight for the duration of his time as acting attorney general, Schumer said in a statement Wednesday. Pelosi agreed, writing on Twitter that Whitaker should recuse himself, given his record of threats to undermine & weaken the Russia investigation. The day after the midterm elections, President Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions, replacing him at least temporarily with a more pliable loyalist. When Sessions got the news on Wednesday, he asked if he could finish the week. Nope. Close of business today was the answer. Now, as a matter of law, Sessions wasnt fired. The president asked him for his resignation, and Sessions agreed. That matters, because if Sessions had made Trump fire him, some restrictions would kick in that might make killing the Mueller investigation more difficult, if the president ends up going that way. In other words, Sessionss last official act as attorney general was one more act of unrequited loyalty to the boss. Trump talks a lot about loyalty. He says its very important to him. A few months ago, he suggested it should be against the law for people facing criminal charges to flip on their bosses. This was in the context of his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, reportedly considering doing exactly that. In Trumps best-selling book, The Art of the Deal, theres a fascinating passage about his mentor, infamous lawyer/fixer Roy Cohn. He was a truly loyal guy, Trump wrote. It was a matter of honor with him. He went on: Just compare that with all the hundreds of respectable guys who make careers out of boasting about their uncompromising integrity but have absolutely no loyalty. . . . Roy was the sort of guy whod be there at your hospital bed long after everyone else had bailed out, literally standing by you to the death. But it was a one-way street. When Cohn contracted AIDS, Donald found out about it and just dropped him like a hot potato, Susan Bell, Cohns longtime secretary, told Politico. It was like night and day. Trump literally and figuratively wouldnt stand by the man who wouldve stood by him. Sessions was the first senator to endorse Trump, at a time when doing so was still a considerable political risk. He campaigned for Trump. He defended Trumps most controversial statements about immigration, about Hillary Clinton, etc. A longtime advocate of restrictionist immigration policies, aggressive law enforcement, and the drug war, Sessions saw in Trump a real opportunity to get his preferred agenda implemented. Story continues And, as attorney general, Sessions more than any other cabinet secretary put policy meat on the bones of Trumps rhetoric. But none of that mattered, because Sessions, a former U.S. attorney and Alabama attorney general, believed he needed to recuse himself from the Mueller probe into allegations that Trump colluded with Russia. According to various reports, Sessions believed he not only had a legal and ethical obligation to do so, he also believed his recusal would be politically beneficial to the president because it would protect the integrity of the investigation. Trump saw it differently. He believed that the first loyalty of the attorney general should be to Trump personally, not to the law or the Department of Justice. This view was shared by Trumps most reliable loyalists, many of whom claim to be passionately committed to the Trump agenda. But whenever that claim is put to the test, they reveal they are more committed to Trump himself. Jeanine Pirro of Fox News railed against Sessions, calling him a shill and hectoring him to resign immediately or put on his big boy pants. Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., who tends to define both conservatism and Christianity as personal loyalty to Trump, said that Sessions was merely one of those conservatives who pretend to be friends of conservatives and the faith community. He also said Sessions should rot in jail because, well, because Falwell is an idiot. This is all one piece of the broader tapestry of what Trumpism always boils down to when put to the test: a cult of personality. Support of the man is more important than support of anything else, including Trumps own agenda. I disagree with Sessions on quite a few things, but the notion that he isnt a conservative is silly. More importantly, the idea that hes not a conservative or a man of integrity simply because he wouldnt display blind loyalty to the president is grotesquely unconservative. Sessions resigned from the Senate to become attorney general because he thought he could accomplish important things. Trump had him fired (he refused to even talk to Sessions personally) because at the end of the day, the only truly important thing in Trump world is Trump. 2018 Tribune Content Agency LLC A federal judge in Montana issued a landmark ruling temporarily blocking construction on the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline Thursday in a decision welcomed by environmental groups. The order came as a Canadian energy company prepared to assemble initial stages of the 1,200-mile long, cross-border project. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris said the Trump administrations projections for the pipelines contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, potential for oil spills and impact on the local Native American community fell short, the Montana-based Great Falls Tribune reports. The [State] Department must supplement new and relevant information regarding the risk of spills, Morris wrote. The $8 billion pipeline would convey up to 830,000 barrels crude oil per day from Alberta, Canada and the Bakken Shale Formation in Montana to facilities in Nebraska and Oklahoma. The State Department initially denied the pipeline a permit in 2015, under the Obama administration. A presidential permit is required for infrastructure projects that cross international borders. Read more: The Keystone XL Pipeline, Oil, and the Future of the Environment Thursdays ruling deals a major blow to President Donald Trump and the oil industry. Trump signed memoranda approving the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines early in his presidency in January 2017, promising the projects would provide jobs and stimulate the economy. Both pipelines have drawn significant public backlash, with activists arguing that the oil spills could pollute downstream water sources. But the Trump administration dismissed environmental objections as roadblocks and claimed that there were numerous developments related to global action to address climate change in the years since Obama-era rejection of the project. Yet Trump himself has pledged to withdraw from one the most sweeping of those efforts, the Paris climate agreement, which seeks to prevent global temperatures from increasing 2C. Story continues An agency cannot simply disregard contrary or inconvenient factual determinations that it made in the past, Morris wrote Thursday. He also demanded that the State Department provide a reasoned explanation for the turnaround. Read more: Oil in the Sand Photo Essays Morris ruling came as Canadian energy company TransCanada began delivering pipe to Montana in anticipation of construction in 2019. A coalition of environmental and indigenous rights groups filed a lawsuit against the firm and the State Department in March to block Trumps permit, according to the Tribune. Stephan Volker, an attorney for the complainants, called Morris ruling a landmark. We have never had a ruling against a president overturning a substantive finding a project is in the public interest, Volker told the Tribune. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) The Democratic lawmaker poised to lead the powerful tax-writing committee in the U.S. House said he would consider President Donald Trump's proposal for a middle-income tax cut, but only if there are adjustments on tax rates for top income earners. U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, of Massachusetts, is the ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee and is expected to take over as chairman of the panel when the Democrats assume control of the House in January after winning a majority of seats in Tuesday's election. Neal promised the committee would hold hearings on the $1.5 trillion tax cut pushed through by Republicans last year. "The tax bill was written in 51 days without one hearing or without one witness offering testimony," Neal said during a wide-ranging news conference in Massachusetts on Wednesday. Republicans, he said, had expected the massive tax package to solidify their hold on the House, but the election results demonstrate it fell on "deaf ears" with voters. Critics say the law is skewed to benefit wealthy taxpayers and corporations and is helping fuel record federal budget deficits. Trump said last month he wanted Congress to cut taxes by about 10 percent for middle-income people after the midterm elections, though he has yet to offer specifics. While describing Trump's proposal as a "campaign tactic," Neal added that the president's request might be able to be fulfilled if the administration is prepared to make accommodations. Neal cited changes to the top individual rate as an example of what would help the bill pass. Though Democrats will have a majority in the House, Neal said he was mindful of the reality that Republicans still control the Senate and Trump has a presidential veto. During his own Wednesday press conference, Trump said if Democrats offered an idea for middle-income tax cuts he would work with them, and said, "I would certainly be willing to do a little bit," when asked if he might consider adjustments to other tax rates. Story continues The House Ways and Means Committee also has oversight of trade and tariffs, and Neal said his party was prepared to reset the trade agenda by aggressively scrutinizing the renegotiated North American trade deal and back trade talks with the United Kingdom and European Union. Neal said he expected Trump's trade deal with Mexico and Canada to come before his committee soon and Democrats, who traditionally support labor unions, will want to ensure that international trade benefits American workers. He said he's had conversations with United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who he said shares many of his views on how to enforce the treaty. The European Union's stated objective for negotiating a trade deal with the U.S. was also an important consideration, Neal added, as was the potential for a bilateral agreement with the United Kingdom after it leaves the European Union at the end of the process known as Brexit. Neal said an agreement with the UK should also permanently eliminate the border in Northern Ireland. He's long been active in the Northern Ireland peace process and is the Democratic leader of the Friends of Ireland Caucus. Liverpool (AFP) - As Jurgen Klopp tries to maintain Liverpool's challenge for the Premier League title, the need to sort out his midfield is becoming an increasingly pressing issue. A home match against bottom club Fulham on Sunday may just offer the opportunity to start to put that right by giving both Naby Keita and Fabinho crucial game time to build momentum and confidence. Both players were signed at great expense during the summer with a view to strengthening Liverpool's midfield options. Keita was seen as a replacement for the attacking guile of Philippe Coutinho while Fabinho was viewed as the player to prove a defensive shield following Emre Can's departure. Neither has yet managed to establish themselves as a powerful presence in England, with Reds boss Klopp relying largely on the players used last season. Klopp has suggested both signings need time to settle in a new country, with Guinea international Keita arriving from German club RB Leipzig, and Brazilian Fabinho joining from French Ligue 1 side Monaco. While it is understandable that neither player would hit the ground running, the need for them to find form has become more urgent, given the lack of creative spark in Liverpool's midfield. If the front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have failed to hit last season's heights, the same is true of the midfield, where the injured Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been sorely missed. Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has seen the difference for himself. "Last season everyone was used to us scoring four or five goals. That can't be possible every single game," Robertson said. "Maybe we are missing a bit of a spark in terms of not winning 4-0 or 5-0 in most games but if the manager thinks that then we need to try to get it back. "We need to come together as a team and try to give what the gaffer wants, try to get the spark and try to win games more comfortably." Story continues - Vulnerable - Liverpool, currently third in the Premier League, have not been as threatening a force as they were last season en route to the Champions League final. The midfield has looked particularly vulnerable in their past two matches, a 1-1 Premier League draw at Arsenal last Saturday and a surprisingly meek 2-0 Champions League group defeat at Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday. Neither Keita nor Fabinho played in Serbia, while their other major outfield signing of the summer, Xherdan Shaqiri, was left in England, amid concerns about the reception he would receive from the home supporters because of his Kosovan heritage. Klopp's three-man midfield on Tuesday failed to distinguish itself, with hamstring injury victim Jordan Henderson clearly missed. James Milner's error led to the home side's second goal, with Georginio Wijnaldum shrugged aside too easily before Milan Pavkov scored. Adam Lallana, making a rare start, was anonymous. Fabinho was an unused substitute in Belgrade, having struggled against Arsenal, and is clearly not up to speed with the English game yet. Keita started well in England, then hit injury problems, as he suffered a back spasm during October's Champions League defeat by Napoli, and a hamstring problem playing for Guinea. Klopp has shuffled around his midfield this season, but appears reluctant to repeat the experiment he tried in September's Premier League win over Southampton, when Shaqiri was used in an advanced midfield role. The Switzerland international was substituted at half-time that day, because Klopp felt the match was too open. His best hope of regular game time now would appear to be as part of the attacking three, which means dislodging Salah, Firmino or Mane. Fabinho still has work to do to earn his starting spot too. Keita, though, will surely become a regular once he gets up to speed and a meeting with struggling Fulham could be the ideal place to start. Moscow (AFP) - The Kremlin said on Thursday that the Washington investigation into alleged interference by Moscow in the 2016 US election was not Russia's problem, after President Donald Trump sacked Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "This investigation is a headache for our American colleagues, it has nothing to do with us," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists when asked if Session's firing would influence the probe by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations it attempted to influence the vote that elevated Trump to the White House. "What Mueller's commission has produced up to now has hardly been able to stand up to serious critical assessment," Peskov added. On Wednesday Sessions became the first casualty of a cabinet shakeup that had been expected from Trump following midterm elections the day before. Trump had repeatedly publicly assailed Sessions for not taking a tougher approach to illegal immigrants. Trump also accused him of protecting Mueller's investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russians -- an investigation that is also examining whether the president himself obstructed justice. Sessions' firing immediately threw into question whether the 18-month-old Mueller probe would be able to continue unimpeded. Two people have been found dead in burn areas as the Woolsey and Hill fires roar on in Southern California, Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department Chief John Benedict confirmed. Sadly and tragically, I am reporting today that we have two fatalities that occurred in the fire area, Chief Benedict said at a news conference Saturday, according to KTLA. That is currently under investigation. We have our homicide investigators on scene, and well treat that as a fatality at this point, and well have more to talk about that later on as the investigation unfolds. According to the L.A. County Sheriffs Department Information Bureau, the two victims were discovered on the 33000 block of Mulholland Highway in Malibu on Friday at 4:43 p.m. No official cause of death has been released. Also Read: See the Shocking Devastation of Southern California's Wildfires (Photos and Video) Chief Benedict added that the sheriffs department is utilizing over 200 deputies to secure the property. Those deputies are out there to [sic] particularly just to provide security for that property, he said. So just to let you know, there is zero tolerance for any looting. If you have any qualms of going up and doing such things, you will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. Also Read: Lady Gaga, Alyssa Milano, Kim Kardashian, More Evacuate Amid California Fire Danger The Woolsey fires broke out late Thursday evening, affecting the Thousand Oaks, Malibu, Calabasas, Agoura and Hidden Hills areas of Southern California. Many stars like Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Caitlyn Jenner, Rainn Wilson and Guillermo del Toro have been forced to evacuate, with Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson tweeting he had lost his home. The Woolsey fire doubled in size to 70,000 acres overnight and forced the evacuation of over 250,000 people along the Ventura County-Los Angeles County border, Councilmember Bob Blumenfield said in a statement. Blumenfield added, The strong Santa Ana winds have made this fire unpredictable and the winds are expected to shift today which could mean new areas, including potentially the Western San Fernando Valley. Story continues As of Saturday evening it was 5 percent contained. The strong Santa Ana winds have made this fire unpredictable and the winds are expected to shift today which could mean new areas, including potentially the Western San Fernando Valley, Blumenfield said. Read original story 2 Deaths Confirmed, as Woolsey Fire Grows to 70,000 Acres At TheWrap LOS ANGELES (AP) Several Democrats gained ground Friday against Republican incumbents in closely contested U.S. House races in California, where votes continue to be counted. Fifteen-term U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher fell farther behind Democrat Harley Rouda, a real estate executive, in Orange County's coastal 48th District. Rouda extended his lead to 7,300 votes, or nearly 52 percent, returns showed. In the neighboring 45th District, Democrat Katie Porter inched closer to Republican U.S. Rep. Mimi Walters, whose lead shrank to 2,020 votes, or 1 percentage point, out of about 205,000 ballots tallied. Two days earlier, she led by about 6,000 votes. And in the Central Valley's 10th District, Democrat Josh Harder grabbed a nearly 2-point lead after trailing Rep. Jeff Denham. In retiring GOP Rep. Ed Royce's 39th District, the race was also tightening. Republican Young Kim held about a 2,600-vote edge over Democrat Gil Cisneros, or 2 points, with about 164,000 votes counted. If elected, Kim would become the first Korean-American immigrant woman elected to the House. At midweek, she had a 3-point edge. Tens of thousands of provisional and late-arriving mail-in ballots remain to be counted in each district. Like Royce, Rohrabacher and Walters represent districts in Orange County, a one-time Republican stronghold where Democrats are attempting to capture as many as four GOP-held districts. They already have won one retiring U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa's seat went to Mike Levin, a former Orange County Democratic Party official. And Democrats also have picked up the last Republican-held House seat anchored in Los Angeles County. First-time candidate Katie Hill, 31, ousted Republican Steve Knight, who was seeking a third term in the 25th District in northern Los Angeles County and a slice of Ventura County. Hill's victory gave Democrats a 40-13 advantage in California's congressional delegation. The Republican-turned-Democrat Rouda has depicted Rohrabacher as the face of gridlock on Capitol Hill. Rohrabacher, first elected as a Reagan Republican, had been campaigning as a maverick willing to buck both parties. Story continues Porter is a law professor and a protege of Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Denham, known for his involvement in water issues vital to agriculture, has proven tough to beat, despite the Democratic registration edge in the 10th District. But after taking a 1,300-vote lead on Election Day, he fell behind Harder by 3,200 votes on Friday, when about a third of the 174,000 votes were counted. Harder says Republican policies in Washington have hurt many residents in a region known as the state's fruit-and-nut basket. Hill stressed her centrist politics: She's a gun owner, and her Republican father is a police officer who had never voted for a Democrat before her primary. Her mother, a Democrat, is a nurse. Hill, who worked as an executive for a group providing services for the homeless, supports universal health care and counts Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a liberal favorite, among her supporters. But she also highlighted her family's military service and says immigration policy must start with securing the nation's borders, echoing a familiar Republican refrain. Her endorsements run from firefighters to unions to Equality California, an LGBT advocacy organization. Hill is married and openly bisexual. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Friday that it is not investigating allegations of fraud levied against Broward County elections officials by Governor Rick Scott, the Republican Senate candidate, despite Scotts claim to have ordered such an investigation. Right now, FDLE is working with DOS and will investigate any allegations of criminal activity or fraud. This morning FDLE communicated with Department of State and they indicated at this time, they had no allegations of fraud, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokeswoman told National Review. Florida law gives the Governor the ability to direct an investigation in writing to our executive director (Florida Statute 943.03). We havent received a letter at this time. Scott announced Thursday that hed ordered the department to open an investigation into the lack of transparency surrounding the vote count in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Scott, however, has not formalized that request. Scott was leading incumbent Democratic senator Bill Nelson by more than 50,000 votes as polls closed Tuesday night, but that margin has closed to roughly 15,000 votes as the Broward County Board of Elections continues to report previously uncounted mail-in absentee ballots three days after the election. Board of Elections supervisor Brenda Snipess refusal to disclose the number of uncounted absentee ballots her office received has prompted widespread Republican criticism as well as a legal challenge, filed by Scotts campaign, alleging Snipes is in violation of a Florida law that requires election officials to report the number of absentee ballots received within 30 minutes of polls closing. Snipes was found guilty in 2016 of prematurely destroying absentee ballots related to a lawsuit filed against her office. She was again found guilty of violating election law in February, when a judge ruled that shed opened mail-in ballots prematurely. Story continues President Trump criticized Broward County officials in a series of Friday tweets, as well as in comments made to reporters Friday morning. All of a sudden they are finding votes out of nowhere, Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that he is confident Scott won the contest by a comfortable margin. Nelson has retained veteran Democratic operative and attorney Marc Elias to litigate the legally mandated recount the race appears headed for on his behalf. In a conference call with reporters Thursday, Elias said he was certain that enough previously uncounted mail-in ballots would emerge in the coming days to erase Scotts margin of victory. Tripoli (AFP) - Libya's key political players are set to meet global leaders in Italy next week, in the latest bid by major powers to kickstart a long-stalled political process and trigger elections. A summit in Paris in May had seen the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) and eastern Libya strongman Khalifa Haftar agree to hold national polls on December 10. But acknowledging the chaotic political situation since dictator Moamer Kadhafi was deposed in 2011, the UN on Thursday conceded elections will not be viable before at least the spring of 2019. Analysts say next week's summit in the Sicilian city of Palermo risks being compromised not only by tensions between Libyan factions, but also the competing agendas of foreign powers. Just as in May, the key Libyan invitees are Haftar, the eastern parliament's speaker Aguila Salah, GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj and Khaled al-Mechri, speaker of a Tripoli-based upper chamber. Sarraj, in an interview with AFP, urged the international community on Thursday to find a "common vision" for the future of his chaos-hit North African nation. The GNA says it will use the Palermo talks to lobby for security reforms that unify the army, a constitutionally-rooted electoral process, economic reform and an end to "parallel institutions". - 'A fundamental step' - The US, Arab countries and European nations will all send representatives to the talks set to take place on Monday and Tuesday. For Rome's populist government, a top priority is stemming the flow of migrants who exploit Libya's security vacuum in their quest to reach European shores, often via Italy. "The Palermo conference is a fundamental step in the goal of stabilising Libya and for the security of the entire Mediterranean", Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said this week. UN envoy Ghassan Salame told the Security Council on Thursday that a national conference in early 2019 would be organised to provide "a platform" for Libyans to spell out their vision for the future. Story continues But diplomatic wrangling between Italy and France hangs over next week's summit. In September, Italy's defence minister and parliamentary speaker both partly blamed France for Libya's security crisis, which continues to simmer some seven years after the NATO-backed uprising toppled Kadhafi. The Italian swipes came as Tripoli was plagued by militia clashes that killed at least 117 people and wounded more than 400 between late August and late September. Rome and Paris have for months been at loggerheads over Libya's election timetable. While France repeatedly endorsed the December date, Italy opposed it. Rome and Paris have "many interests in common" in Libya including energy, immigration and terrorism, said Federica Saini Fasanotti at the Brookings Institution. But they have "different ideas in how to reach their targets", she added. - 'Consensus close to impossible' - Italy has not been alone in pushing for elections to be delayed -- the December 10 date was also viewed sceptically by Washington and Moscow. "We support elections as soon as possible, but artificial deadlines and a rushed process would be counterproductive," David Hale, the number three at the US State Department, told the Middle East Institute in Washington on Thursday. One Italian diplomatic source told AFP that no definitive poll date should be set next week and it is "not sure that there will be a final document" after the talks. For Libyan analyst Emad Badi, rivalry between Paris and Rome has only further polarised the political scene. The Palermo conference "certainly seems to be orchestrated as a counterweight to the French conference (rather) than ... focusing on genuinely solving the Libyan political deadlock," Badi contended. Some experts also say rivalries between Arab powers complicate Libya's crisis. For Claudia Gazzini, a Libya specialist for the International Crisis Group, a solution requires better coordination and not just between France and Italy. "What needs to happen is a joining hands also of Russian and US positions" with the UAE, Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, she said. According to diplomats and analysts, Russia, France, Egypt and the UAE support Haftar, while Turkey and Qatar have thrown their weight behind rivals to the eastern strongman, especially Islamist groups. "Forging a consensus at the current conjuncture is close to impossible", Gazzini said. WASHINGTON (AP) The forced resignation of Jeff Sessions as attorney general has caused profound leadership changes at the Justice Department, above all affecting oversight of the investigation into ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia. A look at the responsibilities of the Justice Department's top two leaders and the special counsel running the department's most consequential and politically sensitive investigation. ___ MATTHEW WHITAKER The new acting attorney general, Whitaker will assume the duties and responsibilities fulfilled by Sessions. It's a job he knows well given that Whitaker has spent the last year as Sessions' chief of staff. Whitaker is expected to assume oversight of Mueller's Russia investigation. That would give him authority over funding and allow him to make critical decisions such as signing off on charges and determining whether Trump should be subpoenaed. But if Whitaker moves to curtail Mueller, he would eventually have to disclose that to Congress. Under the special counsel regulations, the attorney general must notify the leaders of congressional judiciary committees of any time he rejected a proposed action by Mueller because he deemed it "inappropriate or unwarranted" under department policy. That information would be disclosed to Congress at the end of the investigation, the regulations say. Congressional Democrats are calling on Whitaker to recuse himself because of comments he made before joining the Justice Department that were critical and skeptical of the probe. Those include an opinion piece on CNN.com in which he said Mueller would be going too far, and straying beyond his mandate, if he were to investigate Trump's family finances. In an interview last year with a conservative talk radio host, Whitaker said there was "no collusion" between Trump's campaign and Russia, a key question being examined by Mueller. It's not clear that Whitaker will need to step aside, and there were no signs Thursday that he intended to do so. Sessions recused himself in March 2017 because of his work on Trump's campaign and following the revelation that he had met during the 2016 campaign with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. Story continues ___ ROD ROSENSTEIN As deputy attorney general, Rosenstein is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Justice Department, including the activities of the country's U.S. attorneys. One of those offices, in New York, is leading an investigation involving the president's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, and hush money payments Cohen says he made to two women who say they had sex with Trump. Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel after Sessions recused himself and after Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey. The No. 2 official remains in his position with most of the same duties as before, even though his own job status has appeared questionable at times. It's possible he'll still play a role in the Mueller investigation, but the Justice Department made clear Wednesday that Whitaker "is in charge of all matters under the purview of the Department of Justice." ___ ROBERT MUELLER The former FBI director has been working with a team of prosecutors and agents for the last year and a half to investigate whether the Trump campaign illegally coordinated with Russia to tip the 2016 election, and whether Trump tried to obstruct that investigation. The investigation has produced 32 criminal charges, including guilty pleas from four former Trump associates. But the key collusion and obstruction questions that underpin the investigation remain unanswered, and a grand jury in Washington continues to hear evidence about Trump confidant Roger Stone. Mueller, who has been negotiating with Trump's lawyers about interviewing the president, is expected to produce a written report for the Justice Department that explains the findings, though it's not clear how much will be public. ____ Associated Press writer Chad Day in Washington contributed to this report. Lucy McBath speaks during a rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams at Morehouse College in Atlanta on Nov. 2. McBath beat Republican incumbent Karen Handel in a tight race in Georgia's 6th Congressional District. (Photo: Associated Press) Democrat Lucia Lucy McBath won her race for Congress in Georgias traditionally Republican 6th Congressional District, the same suburban Atlanta seat where massively funded Jon Ossoff lost a special election just last year. McBath, a gun control advocate, beat Republican incumbent Karen Handel by only a few thousand votes with McBath declaring victory Wednesday and Handel conceding Thursday. McBath succeeded thanks foremost to the down-ballot impact of Stacey Abrams gubernatorial run, according to Kerwin Swint, a political science professor at Kennesaw State University. Lucy McBath had the Stacey Abrams energy and turnout and excitement that Ossoff didnt have, Swint said. Abrams is locked in a still-too-close-to-call race with Republican Brian Kemp in an election dogged by voter suppression issues. When the voters of Georgia are allowed to pick their candidate without the interference of vote suppression, Georgians choose leadership that is more reflective of the people of the state, said Nse Ufot, the executive director of the New Georgia Project, a nonpartisan nonprofit. If every vote is allowed to count, were going to see a bunch of Lucys. McBaths authenticity and deep roots in the district were also significant factors, according to Stacey Evans, a supporter who represented part of the 6th District in the state House until 2017. Republicans blasted Ossoff, who was raised in the district, for living just outside its boundaries during his high-profile run. She had the personal background of having been in the district for many, many years, raising a son there. She was the district, Evans said. Praising McBaths down-to-earth demeanor, Evans added, It doesnt matter if shes speaking to a big crowd or shes talking to you one on one you get Lucy. When President Donald Trump tapped Tom Price, the longtime conservative congressman from Georgias 6th Congressional District, as his health and human services secretary in early 2017, Democrats sensed an opportunity. Story continues The suburban district an increasingly diverse hub of highly educated and affluent Republicans had already shown its dissatisfaction with Trump. In 2016, Price won re-election there by 23 percentage points, but Trump edged Hillary Clinton there by less than 2 points. Jon Ossoff, a 31-year-old documentary filmmaker and former congressional aide, ran for the seat as a cautious, moderate Democrat focused on restoring civility to the office. He drew some criticism from some progressives for avoiding firm stances on pocketbook issues like student debt relief in favor of centrist bromides about deficit reduction and consolidat[ing] federal data centers. Playing to the center or trying to out-Republican Republicans is not how you win swing districts, Ufot said. To some degree, Ossoff was a victim of timing. Coming just months after Trumps election, his candidacy blew up first on Daily Kos and then more broadly. He became a national liberal rock star, complete with regular appearances on MSNBC and high-profile support from progressive actress Alyssa Milano and other celebrities. By the end of the race, Ossoff raised an eye-popping nearly $30 million. But the national attention and resources came at a high price: Republicans spent heavily as well, turning the race into a contest of partisan identity that Ossoff could not win in a district with so many registered Republicans. He lost to Handel, an ardent abortion rights opponent, by about 4 percentage points. In a special election the same day in another solid red district in South Carolina, the Democrat came up short by a smaller margin. Evans suggested that Ossoff lost not despite getting outsize attention and resources but at least partly because of it. She emphasized that she did not blame Ossoff for the national tenor his bid took on, but motivating your own base doesnt happen in a vacuum, she said. If you do something to motivate your base, you may well be doing something that motivates the opposite partys base. Jon Ossoff delivers his concession speech on June 20, 2017. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Ossoffs defeat was not a total loss for area Democrats. His candidacy prompted the creation of a sophisticated Democratic voter turnout operation driven by a base of enthusiastic volunteers that did not go away. The infrastructure was there for McBath, a 58-year-old African-American woman and former Delta Airlines flight attendant, to take advantage of a year later. Jon laid incredible groundwork, Evans said. Lucy was able to capitalize on the volunteer grassroots energy and put it to work. She ran on a platform of tougher gun safety regulations, affordable health care, ensuring womens reproductive rights and preserving middle-class tax cuts. Unlike Ossoff, who endured relentless attacks for living outside the district, McBath could point to an ongoing, deep presence in the community. In Cobb County, she helped create the Champion in the Making Legacy Foundation, which helps fund higher education for local high school graduates. And while she won endorsements from former President Barack Obama, Clinton and EMILYs List, her contest was among more than 100 hotly contested congressional races, ensuring that she would not endure the counterproductive level of attention that Ossoff got. Also, McBath had a compelling personal story that she connected to her moderately liberal policy stances. She was first thrust into the national spotlight in 2012 when her teen son, Jordan Davis, was shot dead by a white man at a Florida gas station angry about the volume of the music Davis was playing in his car. Her tragic loss spurred her into activism, as a spokesperson for gun safety group Moms Demand Action, and now into political office. McBath spoke frequently about her sons death in arguing for the closure of background check loopholes and raising the minimum firearm purchasing age to 21, among other changes. But she did not focus on gun safety to the exclusion of other issues. In a 30-second TV spot that came out in the final month of the race, she spoke about the tragedy as an event that inspired her public service without referring to guns at all. When my son was murdered, I vowed to make a difference, she says in the spot. I will fight to protect womens health care and middle class tax cuts. McBath is also a two-time survivor of breast cancer. She invoked her experience when making the case for defending the Affordable Care Acts protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Swint said women were the key swing voters in the district. By virtue of her gender and the ordeals she had undergone, McBath could simply speak to those voters in a way Ossoff could not. Her personal story resonated with the female voters in that district. McBath connected with them, Swint said. Notwithstanding Georgias pro-gun conservatism, the proliferation of mass shootings has nudged many suburban women with conservative fiscal tendencies to embrace stricter gun laws. And though Georgias 6th District is more than two-thirds white, constituents from communities of color may have found McBaths message particularly appealing. Polling shows higher support for gun control among black and Latino voters, who experience a disproportionate share of gun violence, than among their white counterparts. Talking about losing her son ... was able to connect her to a lot of mothers in the district who perhaps havent had to lose their child to gun violence, but they worry about it, Evans said. Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. NSA Surveillance Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), left, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), center, exit the Senate floor after Paul spoke about surveillance legislation on Capitol Hill on May 31, 2015. National Anthem From left: U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) place their hands over their hearts during the playing of the national anthem during a presentation ceremony for the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of the American Fighter Aces' service to the United States at the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2015. Congress honored the service of the pilots with the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow. Remembering Officers President Barack Obama (from left), Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson attend the 34rd Annual National Peace Officers' Memorial Service on Capitol Hill on May 15, 2015. Elton John Singer Elton John (right), founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and Pastor Rick Warren (left) of the Saddleback Church, arrive to testify about global health programs during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on May 6, 2015. Loretta Lynch Testimony U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch (right) appears before the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on May 7, 2015. The committee is hearing testimony on the Justice Department's budget request for fiscal year 2016. Bernie Runs U.S. Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) leaves after a news conference to speak on his agenda for America on Capitol Hill on April 30, 2015, after announcing he would run for U.S. president. Japanese Prime Minister Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe waves before he addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on April 29, 2015. Subway Smiles Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), second from left, smiles as he rides a Senate subway with a member of the press, left, after a vote April 23, 2015, to confirm Loretta Lynch as the next U.S. attorney general. Hotdish Competition Members of the Minnesota delegation taste each other's entries during the Minnesota Congressional Delegation Hotdish Competition on Capitol Hill on April 22, 2015. Hotdish is a meal similar to a casserole. Advocating For Loretta Lynch House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks while flanked by members of the Congressional Black Caucus during a news conference on Capitol Hill on April 22, 2015. Pelosi urged the Senate to immediately confirm Loretta Lynch's nomination as attorney general. Justice March Henry Singleton of New York City holds up a sign as U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) speaks during a rally to mark the finish of March2Justice on April 21, 2015, on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Dozens of marchers took part in an eight-day, 250-mile march from Staten Island, New York, to the nation's capital to demand congressional intervention to tackle "the national crisis of police violence." Special Guest Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, second from left, speaks with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), second from right, as they pose for a photo alongside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), left, and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), right, prior to a meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on April 21, 2015. Gyrocopter At The Capitol Capitol Hill police officers and other officials lift a gyrocopter that landed on the U.S. Capitol's South Lawn, onto a trailer on April 15, 2015. A man identified as Doug Hughes, 61, illegally landed his aircraft on the Capitol lawn, triggering street closures around the building and prompting a police investigation. Hughes is described as a mailman, and a logo appearing to be that of the U.S. Postal Service was visible on the tail fin of the aircraft. Secretary Of State Parade U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is trailed by staff and security while departing a meeting with members of the U.S Senate on the proposed deal with Iran at the U.S. Capitol on April 14, 2015. Kerry met with members of the House and Senate to discuss the ongoing Iran nuclear negotiations. Harry Reid's Retirement A large abstract painting of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is visible on a wall next to a stuffed eagle in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 27, 2015. Reid recently announced he will not seek re-election to another term. McCain Applauds Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) applauds the final comments from fellow committee member, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), as they conclude a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 26, 2015, to discuss the situation in Yemen. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) is at right. Ben Affleck Actor, filmmaker and founder of the Eastern Congo Initiative Ben Affleck testifies before a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs hearing on "Diplomacy, Development, and National Security" on March 26, 2015. His wife, Jennifer Garner, looks on. Bill Gates Bill Gates testifies during the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs hearing on "Diplomacy, Development, and National Security" on March 26, 2015. Twin Tears Golf legend Jack Nicklaus, left, and Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) wipe away tears after listening to the remarks of Nicklaus' son Jack Nicklaus II during the elder Nicklaus' Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on March 24, 2015. Nicklaus was lauded by family, friends and politicians for his many sports achievements and his philanthropy. Affordable Care Act Anniversary House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) lead the way down the House steps for the House Democratic Caucus media event to mark the fifth anniversary of President Barack Obama signing into law the Affordable Care Act on March 24, 2015. Meerkat In The House Conference aide SoRelle Wyckoff films a news conference in the Capitol after a meeting of the House Republican Conference using the live streaming app Meerkat on March 24, 2015. Congressional Gold Medal Golf legend Jack Nicklaus, center, is presented the Congressional Gold Medal by, from left, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in the Capitol Rotunda on March 24, 2015. Secret Service Talks To Congress Joseph Clancy, director of the U.S. Secret Service, testifies during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in on March 19, 2015. Spring Cleaning Code Pink peace activists discuss a letter to Iran's leaders written by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) outside his office in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 19, 2015. The group organized a "spring cleaning of Congress." Supreme Women House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) right, prepares to take a picture in her Capitol office with Supreme Court Justices, from left, Elena Kagan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, before a reception on March 18, 2015. The justices were in the Capitol to be honored at Pelosi's annual Women's History Month reception in Statuary Hall. When Irish Ties Are Smilin' From left: Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio), President Barack Obama (D) and Irish Prime Minister Taoiseach Enda Kenny depart the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon on Capitol Hill on St. Patrick's Day 2015. Colonial Visit For Marijuana Dressed in colonial garb, Adam Eidinger and fellow D.C. marijuana advocates visit the office staff of Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 17, 2015, to protest the congressman's stand in regard to legalized marijuana in the District of Columbia. Legislative Director Amber Kirby Talley receives a pipe from Eidinger. Goldendoodle Shawna Blair, of the Senate Periodical Press Gallery, holds her dog George Clooney, a 4-month-old Goldendoodle, for Kate Hunter of Bloomberg News to pet in the Capitol's Senate Press Gallery on March 13, 2015. Code Pink Protesters from Code Pink hold up signs as Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter arrive to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on March 11, 2015. Cruz Waves Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks during the International Association of Fire Fighters Presidential Forum at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on March 10, 2015. Warren Talks Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) speaks during the International Association of Fire Fighters Legislative Conference General Session at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on March 9, 2015. Speaking On Gun Control Former astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of former congresswoman and handgun violence survivor Gabby Giffords, is joined by Reps. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Bob Dold (R-Ill.), Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.) and Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) for a news conference about background checks for gun purchases in the Canon House Office Building on March 4, 2015. Selfie Time Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), shoots a video selfie as he heads to the House floor for votes on March 4, 2015. Giffords' Voice Former Congresswoman and handgun violence survivor Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) speaks during a news conference about background checks for gun purchases at the Canon House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 4, 2015. Netanyahu Speaks Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he steps to the lectern prior to speaking before a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 3, 2015. House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, left, and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) applaud. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Compiegne (France) (AFP) - President Emmanuel Macron of France Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany on Saturday unveiled a plaque to their countries' reconciliation in the forest clearing in France where the armistice ending World War I was signed. In a highly symbolic ceremony, Macron and Merkel met at the site near Compiegne in eastern France where Germany officially surrendered at dawn on November 11, 1918, bringing to a close more than four years of slaughter on the Western front. It was the first time a German leader had visited the site since World War II. The visit underscored the close ties between two countries that fought three wars between 1870 and 1945 but are now seen as the lynchpins of peace in Western Europe. Macron, sporting a cornflower in his lapel -- the French equivalent to Britain's remembrance poppy -- and Merkel reviewed grey-clad soldiers from the Franco-German brigade, part of the Eurocorps, before standing elbow-to-elbow at the centre of the clearing for the ceremony. "On the centenary of the November 11, 1918 armistice, Mr Emmanuel Macron, president of the French Republic, and Mrs Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the federal Republic of Germany, here reaffirmed the value of Franco-German reconciliation in the service of Europe and peace," read the plaque. It was laid next to another plaque dating back to World War 1, which reads: "The criminal pride of the German empire died here on November 11, 1918, vanquished by the free people it had sought to enslave." The open-air site at Rhetondes is doubly symbolic as Adolf Hitler chose the same spot to sign the surrender of the French on June 22, 1940 at the start of World War II. Germany insisted that the railway carriage in which the WWI armistice was signed be brought out of a museum and returned to Rhetondes for the ceremony. It was destroyed during the war and a replica now stands at the site. Macron and Merkel are due to travel to Paris where some 70 world leaders will gather Sunday to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the war at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe. French President Emmanuel Macron sought to defuse a row with President Trump on Saturday, hailing the "great solidarity" between their two countries, after Trump blasted his proposals for a European army. After killing and eating more than a dozen villagers in India over the last two years, an elusive tigress was shot dead by government-hired hunters on November 2. Killing endangered wild tigers certainly isn't ideal, as there are only some 2,150 to 3,150 adults left in the wild, globally. But, in the unusual case that a tiger begins hunting people, it's necessary that the tiger be killed, or if possible, relocated. The legendary cats' greater existence, in a human-dominated world, depends on it. "When you have a tiger thats killed 13 people, that really undermines the conservation effort," John Goodrich, a tiger biologist and chief scientist at the wild cat conservation group Panthera, said in an interview. A November 3, 2018, photo of the dead tigress, T-1 Image: AFP/Getty Images This particular tigress, officially called "T-1," eluded government rangers for two years. When community members live in perpetual fear of such a powerful carnivore, they can turn against the decimated species. "It's very easy to poison [tigers]," Anish Andheria, a large carnivore specialist and president of India's Wildlife Conservation Trust, said in a call from India. "So when you have a tiger like this, you should act immediately so the system remains intact." That means allowing the rare wild tigers to exist in healthy, growing numbers by feeding on wild prey, not being gradually picked off after ingesting poison-laden animal carcasses. Ideally, they live on protected, wild lands. But the furtive predators are not fenced in, so they commonly roam outside refuges and sometimes (less ideally) feed on domesticated cattle, goats, or pigs. SEE ALSO: The EPA completely axed its climate change websites. But why are NASA's still live? The rare rise of a man-eater, however, isn't fair to local people, many of whom have no choice but to enter tiger country. "They are the poorest of the poor, making $150 a year maximum," said Andheria. "They live in constant fear of attack," he said, noting that they have no choice but to go outside and graze their animals. Story continues "It's not a good feeling when staying at home isnt an option," he added. So the state government, Maharashtra, called in renowned wildlife hunter Nawab Shafath Ali Khan to find and dispatch the tigress with his team, the New York Times reported. Understandably, there has been an outcry, particularly on social media. The tigress was a mother with young cubs. "People are feeling sorry for her cubs," said Andheria. "The cubs will suffer." It's a tough situation, he agrees. But conservation trumps other concerns. "Animal welfare is different than conservation," Andheria emphasized. "What can you do if you have a murderer? You cant let the murder go scot-free." What drives a tiger to become a man-eater? "The bottom line, there's no one thing you can pin it on," said Goodrich. Goodrich, who spent 15 years working with tigers in Russia, captured those involved in various human-wildlife conflicts. Around 70 percent of tigers that interacted with people had some sort of injury that likely led them to act aggressively towards people, perhaps driven by hunger. The behavior of the tigress might also have been altered by an infectious disease, he noted. Yet, with a tiger that's been killing for two years, Goodrich said such health problems are unlikely. A poisoned Indian tiger found dead in 2010 Image: Aditya Singh/Barcroft India / Getty Images Still, like any animal from wild bears to pet dogs each tiger is different. And wildlife is inherently unpredictable. "Occasionally some predators have individual quirks or behaviors that lead them to conflicts with humans," Sugoto Roy, coordinator of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Program, said over email. "In some cases they are termed 'rogues.'" This is especially the case when they become habituated to people, and are no longer weary of approaching humans. This may be the case with the farmer the tigress T-1 killed, even though he was surrounded by cattle. "It is a matter of time before a tiger loses fear," said Andheria. It's important to note that humans, who are on the smaller spectrum of tiger prey, are not nearly a reliable, meaty-enough sustenance for tigers. "Humans are not an adequate but an easy source of prey, as they are easy to kill," said Roy. Sometimes people get too close to tigers that are munching on livestock, which leads to a human death. "This is how man-killing starts," added Roy. A bright, striped future? Most wild tigers in the world, about 65 percent, live in India, said Andheria. "Despite having 1.3 billion people, India supports more tigers than all the other countries put together," he noted. "To have them, in the 21st century, living alongside people is a miracle," Andheria added. "Nowhere else on Earth are large carnivores like tigers surviving in human-dominated landscapes." A track through forested tiger country in Tadoba National Park, Maharashtra, India Image: FLPA/REX/Shutterstock Some of these tigers live in protected national parks and sanctuaries. But about 30 percent live in non-protected areas interspersed with farmland, as did the once-deadly tigress T-1. And tiger populations in India have been rising, in part because they rarely seek out and distress people. "If they were predisposed to kill people, we would lose 60 or 70 people every two days," Andheria said. The killer tigress, although taking as many as 13 lives, could have easily taken many more. "She was probably coming into contact with people almost every day," said Goodrich. Though the last official count in 2014 arrived at an estimated population of 2,226 tiger adults in India, there's likely room for many more striped predators. "There is enough forest to support 5,000 to 10,000 tigers," said Andheria. It's less certain if Indian communities will accept the spread of more tigers. While protecting Tigers is a moral responsibility, protecting Humans is a bigger responsibility, and one that must be given preference to. The Tigress officially known as T1 was responsible for the death of 13 people in the last two years.https://t.co/TjO1YeTxCO Sudhir Mungantiwar (@SMungantiwar) November 7, 2018 "Biologically it is possible to hold more tigers, but socially its a question," he said. Regardless of how or if the population grows, a healthy human-tiger relationship simply can't tolerate man-eaters. Maintaining a harmonious coexistence has known, realizable solutions to avoid such rare circumstances, noted Roy. This includes connecting existing patches of forest together, fencing in farm animals, and developing rapid alert systems to notify communities when tigers are nearby. Tigers are wondrous, stalking creatures from another time when land was untrammeled and bona fide wild predators ruled the land. Coexistence is now the only solution if both species are to endure. But coexistence doesn't just mean killing man-eaters. It means giving tigers room to be tigers. "Tigers and people dont get along very well," said Goodrich. "Where they overlap, tigers lose." At least, eventually. FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) The Senate's top Republican expressed confidence Friday that the Russia investigation will be allowed to run its course, saying President Donald Trump has never signaled to him that special counsel Robert Mueller could be fired. Speaking to reporters in his home state, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also predicted that Matthew Whitaker's stint as acting attorney general will be short. McConnell said he thinks the president will "pretty quickly" send the Senate a nominee for a new attorney general. McConnell, a close Trump ally who said Friday that he talks frequently with the president, insisted that Mueller's investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia in 2016 is not under threat. "The president has said repeatedly he's not going to dismiss the Mueller investigation," McConnell told reporters at Kentucky's Capitol. "He's said repeatedly it's going to be allowed to finish. That also happens to be my view." McConnell, who sets the Senate's agenda, reiterated that legislation to protect Mueller from firing is unnecessary. Republican Sen. Jeff Flake and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons say they will try to force a vote next week on the measure. Trump has told confidants he remains deeply annoyed by the 18-month-old Mueller probe, believing it is not just a "witch hunt" but an expensive and lengthy negative distraction. The latest indication of his fury came Wednesday when he forced out his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, whose recusal opened the door to Mueller's appointment. McConnell didn't weigh in on whether Whitaker should recuse himself from the Mueller probe. He added that Whitaker's role heading the Justice Department will be a brief one. "I think this will be a very interim AG," McConnell said. - REUTERS A Somali-born Australian who set fire to a gas-laden truck in the centre of Melbourne and fatally stabbed one person before he was shot by police was inspired by Islamic State but did not have direct links with the group, Australian police said on Saturday. In an attack described by the state premier as an act of evil, the man sped a utility vehicle down Bourke Street, one of the citys busiest thoroughfares, and then stopped and apparently set it alight before randomly stabbing pedestrians. A man aged 74, who had been stabbed in the face, died at the scene. Two other men, aged 26 and 58, are in a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) claimed responsibility for the attack. Police identified the man responsible for Friday's attack as 30-year-old Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, 31, whose 21-year-old brother was accused of plotting a mass murder on New Years Eve at Federation Square last year, a city centre hub and popular tourist spot. He is in jail awaiting trial. A police officer inspects a body at the crime scene following a stabbing incident in Melbourne Credit: AFP Footage taken by witnesses showed the man lunging with a large knife at police, who shot him in the chest and killed him. Bystanders were yelling at police: "Just shoot him, just shoot him". Police said Shire Ali's Australian passport was cancelled in 2015 after an intelligence report he planned to travel to Syria, but an assessment was made that whilst he had radical views, he posed no threat to national security. "I think it is fair to say he (Shire Ali) was inspired. He was radicalised," Australian Federal Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney told reporters in Melbourne. "We're not saying there was direct contact. We're saying it was more from an inspiration perspective." Australian counter-terrorism investigators were searching two properties in suburban Melbourne on Saturday morning. "Joint Counter Terrorism Team investigators are executing search warrants at two addresses in Werribee and Meadows Heights this morning" Victoria police said in a statement. "More information will be provided when it's appropriate to do so." Story continues Scott Morrison, the Australian Prime Minister, said the national terrorism advisory remained at "probable", the midpoint of a five-tier system, and told reporters in Sydney that radical Islam was the issue. "I need to call it out. Radical, violent, extremist Islam that opposes our very way of life. I am the first to protect religious freedom in this country, but that also means I must be the first to call out religious extremism," he said. Isils propaganda channel said the group was behind the attack. "The perpetrator of the operation... in Melbourne... was an Islamic State fighter and carried out the operation... to target nationals of the coalition" fighting Isil, Amaq reported a jihadist security source as saying. Armed security personnel stand near the Bourke Street mall in central Melbourne Credit: AAP/James Ross/via REUTERS The attack began on Friday at about 4.30pm, as streams of people were shopping and heading home. Some pedestrians including one with a shopping trolley, now labelled trolley man tried to fend off the attacker. When police officers arrived, the attacker punched one through the car window and appeared to show little fear as he repeatedly tried to stab them. Some witnesses claimed the man, who was tall and wearing a long dark coat, was yelling Allahu akbar, though police said this was not confirmed. "He seemed to be waving something, people around me screamed that he had a knife," a witness told ABC News. "And then I heard one loud bang. It sounded like a gunshot. Another witness, who was taking a stroll during a break from work, said: It is a very strange thing to witness on the streets you walk everyday People were quite scared. They wanted to know what was going on. Victoria Polices Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the man moved from Somalia to Melbournes north-west suburbs in the 1990s and was known to state and federal counterterrorism agencies through his family associations. His family members are certainly known to us from a terrorism perspective, he said. "From what we know of that individual, we are treating this as a terrorism incident." The scene of the attack in Melbourne on Friday Commissioner Ashton said the man had convictions for cannabis use, theft and driving offences but not for violent offences. He said there was not believed to be an ongoing threat. Melbourne has experienced numerous terror attacks and plots in recent years. In 2009, authorities conducted raids and charged five Somali Australian men in Melbourne suspected of terrorism offences. Three were later convicted of planning to attack an army barracks. Significant fire in Bourke Street - road blocked between Swanston and Russell Streets pic.twitter.com/H6xO1pzy5L acuriouscook (@loumick3) November 9, 2018 Victorias state premier Daniel Andrews condemned the latest attack as an act of evil and pledged that the city would "go about our business this weekend and every weekend". This is an evil, terrifying thing that's happened in our city and state today, he said. We condemn it We'll not, as a city and a state, be defined by this act of evil. The incident came as the trial began of James Gargasoulas, who is accused of killing six people on Bourke Street last year after allegedly deliberately ploughing through them with a car. Mr Gargasoulas, 28, who was in a drug-induced psychosis at the time, has pleaded not guilty. Police do not believe the attacks were linked. Michelle Obama talked about her own infertility issues in her new book, Becoming. (Photo: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) In her new memoir, Becoming, former first lady Michelle Obama talks frankly about the infertility, the miscarriage and the IVF treatments that she and husband Barack Obama experienced before becoming parents. Advocates have immediately praised Obamas sharing of her story as a milestone for infertility awareness and the breaking down of shame and silence around the inability to conceive or give birth to a child. The news is especially poignant for women of color, who experience infertility at higher rates than the general population while being the least likely to seek medical help. In an interview with ABCs Robin Roberts about her memoir, Obama said that she wanted to share her infertility experience to spread the truth about how bodies work and dont work. I felt lost and alone, and I felt like I failed, she told Roberts about her miscarriage. Because I didnt know how common miscarriages were. Because we dont talk about it. We sit in our own pain, thinking that somehow were broken. After that miscarriage, she and her husband went on to conceive their two daughters, Malia and Sasha, through in vitro fertilization a medical procedure in which eggs are extracted from a womans ovaries and fertilized with sperm in a laboratory to create embryos. If viable embryos are created, they are transferred back into the womans body to establish a pregnancy. Obama hinted in the ABC interview that the couple turned to IVF due to an issue with egg quality. The biological clock is real because egg production is limited, she said. And I realized that as I was 34 and 35 we had to do IVF. Advocates for people facing infertility problems say that the revelation from one of the most admired women in America will help others feel less alone. The Rev. Dr. Stacey Edwards-Dunn, founder of the education and advocacy organization Fertility for Colored Girls, said that Obamas disclosure could give hope to other women of color who may be struggling alone with their infertility. Story continues So many black women [and] couples live in silence and shame for so many reasons, including myths and misconceptions about black women being hyper-fertile, Edwards-Dunn said. [Michelle Obama] just gave so many women permission to exhale and say, Im not alone, and I too can get support and help to become a parent! Obamas story will open up more conversations about infertility and black women, said Edwards-Dunn, who has gone through seven IVF cycles herself and now has a 4-year-old child conceived from the treatments. Not only is this the first time that we hear of a first lady being so transparent about her personal fertility challenges, but her courageous truth-telling gives more women, particularly black women and couples, the courage to talk about their own challenges, she said. Dr. Aaron Styer, an African-American reproductive endocrinologist and founding partner of the fertility clinic CCRM Boston, said this could encourage more couples to visit a doctor. As one of the most respected and revered women of color, Michelle Obamas openness to discuss her IVF treatments will open that dialogue and empower black women and all women, men, and couples facing infertility to seek these treatments to conceive, he said. Barbara Collura, president of the infertility advocacy group RESOLVE, similarly hopes that Obamas news might inspire others to act. The day-to-day impact really happens when people who care about this issue talk to their employers about adding family building benefits to help them, when they talk to their lawmakers about policy change, and when we as a community make sure that anyone struggling to build a family has access to information and support, said Collura. Related Coverage Cancer Patients Pay Thousands To Save Their Fertility. New Laws Aim To Change That. Most Young People Have No Idea When Fertility Begins To Decline Most Americans Who Can't Get Pregnant Have No Way To Access Treatment Infertility can strike all races, ethnicities and economic groups. Overall, about 12 percent of women in the U.S. have problems either getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term. But black women have higher rates of infertility (defined as unprotected sex with a man for more than one year without a pregnancy) and higher rates of pregnancy loss between 10 and 20 weeks gestation. The cause may be a complex mix of medical issues including higher rates of fibroids, obesity, and blocked fallopian tubes all factors that can affect fertility, said Styer. Black women are also less likely than other groups to seek medical help for infertility. A 2015 study surveying 300 reproductive-age women with infertility found that black women were less likely to visit a doctor for help getting pregnant and that they waited twice as long as white women before seeking help. Researchers say this is the result of both cultural and practical barriers to medical care. There is some evidence that black women in particular feel they cant reach out for support and experience shame about their condition because of the expectation (and stigma) that black women are especially fertile. But the most significant problem may be rooted in more practical concerns: Black women trying to get infertility treatment say its more difficult for them to get doctors appointments, take time off from work and pay for treatment. IVF is a common medical treatment, and more than one million babies have been born in the U.S. thanks to the technology. But most people who have fertility issues will never be able to access this or other treatments. Among women interviewed for the 20062010 National Survey of Family Growth, only 3.1 percent of those with fertility issues had ever used assisted reproductive technology like IVF. This could be because the average couple going through IVF will spend more than $24,000 in an 18-month period. And this is likely to be an out-of-pocket cost, as infertility treatment is generally not covered by insurance. Even when black women are able to seek help, the best treatments that medical science has for infertility dont seem to work as well with them. A study of about 4,000 women undergoing their first IVF cycle found that black women had lower odds of achieving a pregnancy and a live birth compared to white women, along with higher rates of miscarriage. Still, fingers are crossed that Obamas disclosure will at least drive more women of color to consult with fertility clinics just as Angelina Jolies 2013 New York Times op-ed caused a spike in genetic testing for breast cancer. As infertility sociologist Larry Greil of Alfred University put it, The fact that a lot of people see her not as a celebrity, but as someone like me could make a difference. Also on HuffPost US First Lady Michelle Obama (L) signs a copy of her book 'American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,' during a book signing event at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2013. Photo credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images US First Lady Michelle Obama signs a copy of her book 'American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,' during a book signing event at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2013. Photo credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images US First Lady Michelle Obama signs a copy of her book 'American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,' during a book signing event at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2013. Photo credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images US First Lady Michelle Obama signs a copy of her book 'American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,' during a book signing event at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2013. Photo credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images US First Lady Michelle Obama signs a copy of her book 'American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,' during a book signing event at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2013. Photo credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images People wait in a line with their copies of US First Lady Michelle Obama's book 'American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,' to get them autographed at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2013. Photo credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images US First Lady Michelle Obama signs a copy of her book 'American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,' during a book signing event at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2013. Photo credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images The jewelery worn by US First Lady Michelle Obama is pictured as she speaks during a book signing event of her book 'American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,' at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2013. Photo credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images US First Lady Michelle Obama signs a copy of her book 'American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,' during a book signing event at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2013. Photo credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images US First Lady Michelle Obama signs a copy of her book 'American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,' during a book signing event at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2013. Photo credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images US First Lady Michelle Obama speaks during a book signing event of her book 'American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,' at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2013. Photo credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images US First Lady Michelle Obama signs a copy of her book 'American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,' during a book signing event at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2013. Photo credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images US First Lady Michelle Obama speaks during a book signing event of her book 'American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,' at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2013. Photo credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Former First Lady Michelle Obama said she will never forgive Donald Trump for his role in promoting the birther conspiracy theory about Barack Obama. Mr Trump fuelled the flames of those saying her husband was a secret Muslim born in Kenya, where his father is from, and not really an American citizen, for several years of his presidency. The whole [birther] thing was crazy and mean-spirited, of course, its underlying bigotry and xenophobia hardly concealed. But it was also dangerous, deliberately meant to stir up the wingnuts and kooks, Ms Obama writes in her forthcoming memoir, Becoming. Ms Obama has been mum on criticising the president openly, often saying as she did during the 2016 campaign: When they go low, we go high. But, Mr Trumps continuous attacks on her husband, minorities, immigrants, and other people seem to have pushed the former legal professor. What if someone with an unstable mind loaded a gun and drove to Washington? What if that person went looking for our girls? Donald Trump, with his loud and reckless innuendos, was putting my familys safety at risk. And for this Id never forgive him, she adds, in excerpts that have emerged. The conspiracy theory first surfaced in 2008 but Mr Trump began stirring it up again in 2011 when Mr Obama began running for re-election. Mr Trump said that year on the Today programme: I would like to have him show his birth certificate, and can I be honest with you, I hope he can. Because if he cant, if he cant, if he wasnt born in this country, which is a real possibility ... then he has pulled one of the great cons in the history of politics. Eventually, towards the end of his run for president in 2016, he admitted he thought Mr Obama was born in the US but never accepted responsibility for his previous actions. Ms Obamas book reveals more about her personal life as well, including that she and her husband went through marriage counselling when they needed it and that her daughters, Sasha and Malia, were both conceived through in vitro fertilization. WASHINGTON (AP) For all the many successes among candidates of color, the midterm elections also proved to some the enduring power of racism, with minority politicians' intelligence and integrity called into question by their opponents and President Donald Trump in what were widely seen as coded appeals to white voters. Several Democratic strategists said Wednesday that the outcome showed the need for the party to recalibrate its strategy heading into 2020 and beyond. To win, they said, the party must expand its base of black and brown voters while also calling out racism more directly and doing more to persuade white voters to reject bigotry. "At some point, voters have to stop rewarding racist behavior," said activist Brittany Packnett. During the campaign cycle, Trump referred to black Tallahassee mayor and Democratic candidate for Florida governor Andrew Gillum as "a thief" because of an undercover FBI investigation into his acceptance of Broadway tickets. Trump also branded Gillum's city "corrupt." And he framed Yale Law School graduate, veteran lawmaker and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, a black woman, as incompetent. Republican Ron DeSantis, who beat Gillum on Tuesday, began the campaign by cautioning Florida voters not to "monkey this up" by voting for the Democrat a remark that was also decried as racist. In the end, Gillum came within less than 56,000 votes of DeSantis. In Georgia, the contest for governor was still too close to call on Wednesday. There were also campaigns around the country where allegations of racism were not enough to knock the candidate out of the running. In Iowa, Republican Rep. Steve King won a ninth term despite condemnation from his own party over his ties to white supremacists. "Progressives have to have a better rebuttal to Trump's tribalism than they have right now," said Democratic strategist Cornell Belcher. "We have to give moderate white voters who are bothered by a sense of division some skin in this racism game. That's not pivoting to health care. That's talking about how this tribalism will affect them and their children. You don't fix racism by not taking it on." Story continues In an often-combative morning-after news conference Wednesday, Trump rejected any suggestion that he emboldened white nationalists recently by describing himself as a "nationalist." The president repeatedly said the question, posed by a black journalist, was itself racist. On the plus side of the ledger for minorities Tuesday, a lot of the organizing during the midterm cycle was focused on minority voters, and record early turnout and long lines on Election Day suggested those efforts paid off. Organizers pointed to the election to Congress of blacks and Latinos such as Massachusetts' Ayanna Pressley, Connecticut's Jahana Hayes, New York's Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Texas' Veronica Escobar, and the passage of a constitutional amendment in Florida that will restore the right to vote to more than a million former felons. They also cited the defeat of GOP conservatives like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Kansas Gov. Kris Kobach as evidence that coalitions with liberal and centrist whites can work. Likewise, congressional candidates such as Illinois' Lauren Underwood and New York's Antonio Delgado showed that blacks can win in majority-white districts. Packnett said there was a lot to be hopeful for going into 2020. "I'm saddened that the white women who also possess a marginalized identity are not voting in their interests more," she said. "But just because we didn't get all the wins in our column that we wanted doesn't mean that there were not people who learned better and did better this election." Pressley, elected from a liberal, diverse Boston district as Massachusetts' first black congresswoman, said candidates of color ignited and expanded the electorate in this year's midterms. But she said America is not yet at the point where candidates of color are assumed to be capable or experienced. "When we're characterized as a fad or a trend or a fluke, that's a disservice to our leadership," she said. ___ Whack is The Associated Press' national writer on race and ethnicity. Follow her work on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/emarvelous. The last American to die in World War I didnt really want to fight in the first place which makes his decision to run ahead toward enemy lines all the more confusing. Henry Gunther died at 10:59 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, less than one minute before the end of the Great War. But it was only one year earlier that Gunther had been demoted after military censors intercepted a letter he sent home that criticized the war. You werent supposed to bad-mouth the American government, Jonathan Casey, the Director of Archives and the Edward Jones Research Center at the National World War I Memorial, tells TIME. Youre supposed to support everything and do what youre told, otherwise you could get in trouble: and [Gunther] did get in trouble. Gunther lost his role as a sergeant and became a private in the Army, slipping down multiple rankings. As strange as receiving such a punishment for a mere letter may seem, correspondence was about more than just keeping family up to date. It was also a kind of morale-boosting exercise for people back home. And, in light of the passing of the Espionage Act, it was clear what kinds of letters should be written by those on the front lines. They were told what they could say and not say, Casey says. A critical letter was thus uncommon for the period, according to Casey, who says that in the thousands of letters in the Museums collection, there is no similar example. Most letters sent home were about what the soldiers ate, how they slept, how they were enjoying things nothing overtly political or seditious, he says. Though the content of Gunthers infamous letter, which reportedly discouraged a friend from enlisting, remains unknown, it presumably fell into one of those problematic categories, or both. Gunthers participation in the war was a result of the draft, rather than a voluntary service. His life was pretty good back home, Casey says. When he was called to serve, it was with reluctance that he left his new job at a bank and new girlfriend, Casey explains so its perhaps no surprise that Gunther, a 23-year-old from Baltimore, verbalized his frustration. But after his letter was intercepted, Gunthers German heritage made his comrades suspect that there was something deeper to his dissatisfaction, and that perhaps he sympathized with the other side. Story continues When the author James M. Cain later covered Gunthers death for the Baltimore Sun, that dynamic was clear. Died to Prove Loyalty, the March 16, 1919 headline reads. Henry N. Gunther Felt He Was Under a Cloud. Cain, himself a private for the American Army writing from France after the war, described Gunther as a soldier who was tormented by the shameful loss of rank and someone who had always worked hard in his role as supply sergeant, regardless of his personal feelings about the military. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter Cains account also noted that Gunther had been shot in the wrist days before his killing on Nov. 11. The next day he reported for duty and went on as usual, Cain wrote. And so Gunther set out to continue proving his allegiance to the American side, Cain theorized. Gunther still must have been fired by a desire to demonstrate, even at the last minute, that he was courageous and all-American, Cain wrote. On Nov. 11, 1918, the Germans were already privy to the agreement between the Allies and Germany that fighting would end at 11 a.m. that day. Some accounts report that Gunthers unit, fighting in Chaumont-devant-Damvillers, France, was also aware of the armistice. But Cains 1919 article argued that the unit did not know the war was over. The Sun article says that the Germans tried to tell Gunther to go back as he began running towards them with his bayonet. After several vain efforts to make him turn back, the Germans turned their machine gun on him, Cain wrote. Thus, one minute from the end of fighting, the last American soldier was killed. Beyond Cains reporting, theres little to no record of what Gunther felt during the leap of faith that led to his death. But, like Cain, Casey thinks the shameful experience of losing rank made Gunther want to prove himself as a good soldier. He just had a change of heart, it seems like. He was just put in a position where he could make good of himself, Casey posits. Gunthers rank as sergeant was posthumously reinstated years later. Today, his body lies in his familys plot in Baltimore at the Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery. Despite the unnecessary nature of his death in the final moments of the war, his grave reveals how he is remembered. Beneath imprints of his photos and uniform decorations, Henry Gunthers tombstone reads, highly decorated for exceptional bravery and heroic action that resulted in his death one minute before the armistice. And, exactly one century after his death, were still talking about him. Why he died may remain something of a mystery, but whether hell be remembered as a soldier is no longer up for debate. Washington (AFP) - New Mexico Democrat Deb Haaland, who became one of the first Native American women elected to the US Congress this week, says she plans to make the fight for renewable energy a top priority. A 57-year-old member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, Haaland insists that indigenous rights are inextricably linked to climate change -- and vows to fight for "tribal nations ... battling the fossil fuel industry in their backyards." In an interview via email, Haaland recalled that two years ago she was at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, protesting along with Sioux tribal nations the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The protesters were concerned about the pipeline's impact on sacred tribal sites as well as the environment. "Now, I'm going to take that fight for 100% renewable energy to Congress," Haaland said. "I would like to make New Mexico a global leader in renewable energy, not only to fight climate change but because it can provide jobs for thousands of New Mexicans." Haaland was elected Tuesday in US midterms that also saw fellow native American Sharice Davids, a Democrat from Kansas, also win a seat in the US Congress. Both women gave prominence to environmental issues in their campaign, driven in part by US President Donald Trump's withdrawal of the US from the Paris climate accord last year but also influenced by their heritage. "70 years ago Native Americans right here in New Mexico couldn't vote, can you believe that?" she told AFP. "Growing up in my mother's Pueblo household and growing up as a 35th generation New Mexican, I never imagined being represented by someone who looked like me." A recovered alcoholic, Haaland made ends meet with the help of student loans and food stamps to get through law school -- and hopes to be a "strong voice" for minorities and the poor. "My ancestors have sacrificed a tremendous amount to keep my customs and traditions for me," she said before the vote. Story continues "So I want to make sure that I am bringing that perspective to the table in anything I do." Davids, 38, a member of the Ho-Chunk tribe, scored an upset victory in conservative Kansas against Republican incumbent Republican Kevin Yoder. "Climate change is real and should be addressed immediately," the attorney and former MMA fighter -- also the first open LGBTQ Kansan elected to Congress -- told voters during the campaign. Kuwait City (AFP) - Flash floods after heavy rains in Kuwait killed one man Saturday and damaged roads, bridges and homes, officials said, as several oil firms and ministries announced a state of emergency. The health ministry said the man, aged 30, was swept away by the flooding as he tried to rescue his family from their home which was submerged in water. An unspecified number of people were also reported injured in traffic accidents caused by the rains. Several vehicles in many areas of the desert kingdom were washed away by the floods, particularly in newly-build residential areas, AFP journalists said. The Kuwaiti army and the national guard launched search operations as authorities set aside several locations to receive residents threatened by flooding. The ministries of oil and electricity as well as several oil companies announced a state of emergency, and the government held an urgent cabinet session on Saturday morning. Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah chaired the meeting and said that officials will be investigated and those who failed in their duties to prevent the flooding will be held accountable. The state news agency KUNA, quoting the ministry of education, said that private and public schools would be closed on Sunday. Bad weather accompanied by torrential rains and flash flooding has hit several countries in the region, including Jordan where 12 people have been killed and nearly 4,000 tourists forced to flee the famed ancient desert city of Petra. Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - A Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire Friday during clashes along the Gaza-Israel border, the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave said. Rami Qahman, 28, died after being shot east of Rafah in southern Gaza and 37 other Palestinians were shot and wounded during the violence, the ministry added. The border between the blockaded Gaza Strip and Israel has been rocked by deadly violence since March 30 when major protests backed by Islamist group Hamas and clashes broke out along the frontier. But for the second second consecutive Friday, clashes along the border were lower in intensity than in previous weeks, amid talk of a truce deal between Hamas and Israel. The deadly violence came as Palestinian civil servants formed long queues in Gaza on Friday to receive millions of dollars in Qatari-funded salaries, as part of efforts to ease tensions in and around the impoverished territory. The funds were primarily to cover salaries of officials working for Hamas. Qatar has also said it would hand out $100 to each of 50,000 poor families, as well as larger sums to Palestinians wounded in clashes along Gaza's border with Israel. The Israeli-authorised money transfer appeared to be part of a deal that would see cash-strapped Hamas end months of often violent protests along the border in exchange for Israel easing its decade-long blockade of Gaza. At least 221 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the end of March, the majority shot during protests and clashes, while others have died in tank fire or air strikes. One Israeli soldier was killed by a Palestinian sniper. Israel says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop infiltrations and attacks, which it accuses Hamas of seeking to orchestrate. Paradise (United States) (AFP) - The number of people missing in one of California's deadliest wildfires soared to more than 600 on Thursday as the remains of seven additional victims were found by rescuers. Authorities said the list of missing people had jumped from 300 to 631 during the day as investigators went back and reviewed emergency calls made when the so-called Camp Fire in northern California erupted on November 8. "I want you to understand that the chaos we were dealing with was extraordinary" when the fire broke out, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told journalists, in explaining the staggering new toll of missing. The seven additional victims brings to 63 the number of people who have died in the Camp Fire. At least three other people have died in southern California in another blaze dubbed the Woolsey Fire, which engulfed parts of Malibu, destroying the homes of several celebrities. - Trump to visit - President Donald Trump is set to visit the western state on Saturday to meet with victims of the wildfires, believed to be the deadliest and most destructive in the state's history. Many of the victims and the hundreds missing in the Camp Fire were elderly people who lived in the Butte County town of Paradise, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It is believed they were unable to flee the fast-moving blaze or were trapped in their cars as they attempted to escape the inferno. Honea said the number of those missing was likely to fluctuate as people call in to report loved ones unaccounted for or found alive. "If you look at that list and see your name, or the name of a friend or loved one, please call to let us know," he said. Investigators on Thursday collected DNA samples from relatives to help identify victims as hundreds of rescue personel and sniffer dogs worked to locate more victims. Authorities said a wanted felon was killed inside the evacuation zone Thursday following a high-speed chase with police. The man was wanted for a double homicide in 2014 and had been seen for three days camped out in his car. Story continues Virtually every home in Paradise, located 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of the state capital Sacramento, was destroyed by the fire, which was driven by high winds. Body recovery teams are conducting a painstaking search of burned-out homes for human remains in the town and closely examining the many charred cars littering the roads. The 63 deaths reported from the Camp Fire make it the deadliest wildfire in California's history, as the inferno also became the most destructive. - 'A war zone' - The California fire department (Cal Fire) said Thursday that the Camp Fire has destroyed 141,000 acres (56,655 hectares) and was 40 percent contained. It said nearly 5,500 firefighters were battling the blaze and it did not expect it to be fully contained for another two weeks. The Camp Fire has destroyed more than 8,650 single family homes and 260 commercial buildings, Cal Fire said. The Woolsey Fire has razed 98,000 acres (39,660 hectares) and has been 62 percent contained. It is expected to be fully contained by Monday. Authorities said cooler temperatures and calmer winds had brought welcome relief to fire crews. A number of celebrities have lost their homes in Malibu as a result of the Woolsey inferno, including Pierce Brosnan, Miley Cyrus, Neil Young, Robin Thicke, Shannen Doherty and Gerard Butler. California Governor Jerry Brown, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Brock Long, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), toured the damage in Paradise on Wednesday. "This is so devastating that I don't really have the words to describe it," Brown told a press conference. "It looks like a war zone." Authorities said it was unclear when residents would be allowed back into the town. While the cause of the Camp Fire is still under investigation, a lawsuit has been filed against the local power company, PG&E, by fire victims claiming negligence by the utility. The complaint alleged that the fire began on November 8 when a high voltage transmission line failed, igniting tinder-dry vegetation. The utility was found to be responsible for several devastating fires in northern California last fall that killed at least 15 people, and it faces billions of dollars in liability for the latest wildfires. WASHINGTON (AP) Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi wants to establish a House diversity office to recruit and retain employees from different backgrounds to Capitol Hill as one of the first acts of the new Congress, according to a letter obtained Thursday by The Associated Press. Pelosi told colleagues in the letter that Democrats "take great pride" in having a House majority that she says will be more than 60 percent women, minorities and LGBTQ representatives. "We know that the diversity in our ranks is a strength and a reflection of the American people," she wrote. The leader, who is shoring up support to win a race for House speaker, is tapping into an issue that has been a priority for the Congressional Black Caucus and other Democrats and that reflects the results of the midterm election that swept more female and minority representatives into office. The House Diversity Initiative calls for creating a permanent office in the House with sufficient staff to help recruit and retain diverse employees to work in Congress, said a Pelosi aide. The office would be led by human resource and diversity professionals and would partner with outside institutions to attract talent and provide training to help existing employees advance their careers. The top Democrat on the Rules Committee, Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, has proposed the initiative as part of the package of rules for the chamber that will be voted on during the opening day of the new Congress in January, Pelosi said. "Embracing the value of diversity within our offices, especially in senior positions, will strengthen our ability to represent our constituents and craft solutions that benefit all Americans," Pelosi wrote. She called members of the "tri-caucus" the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus "a vital resource." Democrats had launched a similar effort when they last held the majority in 2010, but it languished after Republicans took control of the House. Democrats still run a similar program within their own caucus. But this move would make it a permanent office of the House. ___ Follow on Twitter at https://twitter.com/lisamascaro and https://twitter.com/AP_Politics People inspect a building in Sanaa, Yemen, destroyed in airstrikes carried out by warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition after the U.N. Special Envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, departed on June 6, 2018. (Photo: Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, D.C. Even as the humanitarian crisis precipitated by Saudi Arabias more-than-three-year war in Yemen has deepened, the Pentagon earlier this year launched a new classified operation to support the kingdoms military operations there, according to a Defense Department document that appears to have been posted online inadvertently. The existence of the new classified operation, code-named Yukon Journey, was partially revealed in a Defense Department inspector general report posted online earlier this month, which noted that the Secretary of Defense designated three new named contingency operations: Operation Yukon Journey, and operations in Northwest Africa and East Africa. The three operations, which focus on al-Qaida and ISIS, are classified, the report notes, and the Pentagon has not publicly disclosed their location beyond saying they are in the Middle East and Africa. But another document posted earlier this year on a Pentagon-affiliated website identifies Yukon Journey as a Central Command operation supporting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Partner Nations in Yemen. The existence of a classified operation in Yemen raises the possibility that even as the Pentagon scales back unclassified operations, such as refueling Saudi-led coalition aircraft, covert support, to include possible U.S. special forces on the ground, could continue. The document, marked for official use only, was posted on the All Partners Access Network, an unclassified website the Defense Department uses to share information with NGOs and humanitarian organizations. Though its unclear what type of support Yukon Journey provides to Saudi Arabia, it has long been suspected that the Defense Department has special operations forces on the ground in Yemen, where the Saudis are fighting Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. A photo distributed by the Houthi Military Media Unit shows the launch by Houthi forces of a ballistic missile aimed at Saudi Arabia, March 25, 2018. (Photo: Houthi Military Media Unit/Handout via Reuters) My guess and purely a guess is its something to do with going after Houthi ballistic missiles, Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, tells Yahoo News. Thats probably the thing the administration worries about the most, that the Houthis ballistic missile will cause a mass casualty event in Saudi Arabia or the UAE. Story continues Riedel pointed to previous reports of special forces assisting in the hunt for ballistic missiles. My guess is thats some part of that, but there may be some more aggressive part of it. Maybe operations inside Yemen, instead of just along the border, he said. U.S. Central Command declined to answer questions on Yukon Journey or confirm its location. The United States is currently providing limited support to the coalition in the form of logistical assistance (to include air-to-air refueling), intelligence sharing, best practices and other advisory support, a spokesperson for the command wrote when asked about current unclassified support. The Defense Department inspector general also declined to confirm that Yukon Journey was for support to the Saudi coalition in Yemen. It is indeed accurate to say that the location of Operation Youkon [sic] Journey is classified and is therefore not being discussed publicly, a spokesperson for the inspector general wrote. But the Pentagons refusal to name the location of operations appeared to bother the Pentagons top watchdog. The Pentagon did not answer the question as to why it was necessary to designate these existing counterterrorism campaigns as overseas contingency operations or what benefits were conveyed with the overseas contingency operation designation, the inspector generals report noted. While the Defense Department argued that the operations were classified to protect U.S. forces operating abroad, the inspector general did not sound convinced, writing that it was typical to classify such tactical information in any operation even when the overall location of an operation is publicly acknowledged. Steven Aftergood, who runs the Secrecy News blog of the Federation of American Scientists and was the first to call public attention to the Yukon Journey designation in the inspector generals report, said he wasnt surprised by the secrecy. When it comes to classified operations, I think the default position is to withhold all information unless there is a requirement to disclose it or a foreseeable benefit from doing so, he said. Women walk past graffiti denouncing strikes by U.S. drones in Yemen, painted on a wall in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2017. (Photo: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters) There is, he pointed out, no specific requirement to disclose the location of the operations. Whats interesting here and actually somewhat encouraging is that the DOD inspector general is not overly impressed by the military rationale for secrecy and seems determined to press for better answers, he added. The Trump administration has come under increasing pressure over its long-standing support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, which began under former President Barack Obama. In September, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo certified that the Saudis were attempting to minimize civilian casualties, a finding that allowed the U.S. military to continue refueling the coalition aircraft operating over Yemen. But U.S. patience may be wearing thin amid mounting civilian casualties in Yemen and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey at the hands of Saudi intelligence officers. Despite the September certification, on Friday night, just hours after the Washington Post reported that the Defense Department was considering halting its refueling of the Saudi-led coalitions aircraft, the Pentagon issued a formal statement confirming the decision. We support the decision by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after consultations with the U.S. Government, to use the Coalitions own military capabilities to conduct inflight refueling in support of its operations in Yemen, Defense Secretary James Mattis said in a statement. That decision would appear not to affect Yukon Journeys classified activities, however. While previous attempts in Congress to halt U.S. support have failed, opponents of the war believe they may now have the votes to take action on a resolution introduced in late September that would bring U.S. support for the coalition to an end. In the wake of the Khashoggi murder and the Pompeo certification, that left a lot of members upset, said one congressional aide. The prospect of classified operations in Yemen only deepens those concerns, according to the aide. Theres also concern among some members that the Pentagon has not been fully transparent about our role in the war against the Houthis in Yemen, the aide said. Boys demonstrate outside the offices of the United Nations in Sanaa, Yemen, to denounce an airstrike that killed dozens, including children, in the northwestern province of Saada in August. (Photo: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters) While a Democratic House of Representatives in January could put even more pressure on the administration, opponents might seek action before then. The aide said that when Congress comes back into session, it will vote on a resolution introduced earlier this year by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) that would end U.S. involvement in the war. When the bill was introduced in late September, before Khashoggis murder, it had high-level support among Democrats, but only a few Republicans supported it. The calculus now may have changed, said Riedel, the former CIA official. I think theyve got the votes now, he said. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Washington (AFP) - Eighteen years after Florida's embarrassing ballot recount spectacle that marred the 2000 US presidential election, the state is again in the spotlight, as two main races were recount-bound and Donald Trump warned of electoral fraud. Why is this happening again in the United States? Two election experts weigh in on the Florida races and what the disputes mean for election politics. - Why Florida again? - The populous southeastern state is a perennial political battleground. With Florida's races for governor and US Senate going down to the wire, and likely heading to recounts, Democratic-leaning Broward County is taking its time counting ballots. That has angered Trump and Republican Senate candidate Rick Scott, the state's outgoing governor. "A lot of people in Florida vote early or by absentee, and so those ballots are all in envelopes, they're all now being opened and being counted," said David Lublin, a professor at The American University. "Many people vote by mail, that just takes longer. Which is frustrating for all concerned." It isn't just Florida. Arizona's Senate race remained undecided Friday, as did some House races in California. Most other states also take days or weeks to finalize elections, but their races are often called quickly, and their outcomes are not in dispute. - Is Trump's voter fraud claim accurate? - The president lashed out at Broward County officials Friday, branding their actions outright "fraud." Unlikely, says Lublin, who called the accusations "highly irresponsible." "Nothing is happening except for the continued counting of all the votes," he said. But Trump "likes to create the impression that anything that undermines his success, or the outcome he'd like, is fraudulent," Lublin added. Scott, emboldened by Trump's support, said "unethical liberals" were trying to "steal" Florida's election, and said he urged authorities to launch an investigation. Story continues No investigation has begun. Still, allegations of Broward incompetence do ring true. "We don't know how many ballots remain to be counted," Lublin said. - Why do US results drag on? - Instead of a unified system, 50 separate states each have their own election operations. When races are close some states have laws mandating machine or manual recounts -- the path Florida is expected to take. "The governor doesn't like it, but that's life," said Charles Barrilleaux, a political science professor at Florida State University. "It could take a long time," Barrilleaux added, but said Scott could end up benefiting, as Bush did in 2000, because his party controls the state election apparatus. Americans vote for many positions in the midterms: senators, congressmen, governors, county executives, school board members, judges and more. US ballots therefore can be long and confusing. One Broward County voter told AFP her ballot was 10 pages. That can cause discrepancies. Studies show severe irregularities in Broward, including how some 24,000 ballots register a vote for governor but not for Senate. "The culprit appears to be ballot design in Broward, with Scott being the apparent beneficiary in a Democratic-majority county," Barrilleaux said. There could be a light at the end of the tunnel in Florida, where official returns are due no later than November 18. But there are expectations that parties could launch lawsuits that trigger lengthy court battles. - Will 2000 be repeated? - "Undoubtedly there will be disputes over some ballots, but unlike in 2000 when a lot of it was over these punch cards, there are no punch cards. There's no 'chads,'" Lublin said, referring to the half-punched paper bits, sometimes comically studied by recount officials, that became symbolic of Florida's disputed ballots in the Bush-Gore race. And yet the recounts are looming. But legal reforms have been implemented, and a new timeline after 2000 aims to ensure a speedier process. "So in Florida my expectation and hope is that it won't be quite the mess it was in 2000," Lublin said. DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that U.S. sanctions announced last week have had no effect on Iran's economy because Washington had already practically reimposed them earlier. The restoration of sanctions is part of a wider effort by U.S. President Donald Trump to force Iran to curb its nuclear and missile programs as well as its support for proxy forces in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East. "The sanctions have had no impact on our economy because America had already used all the weapons at its disposal and there was nothing new to use against us," Rouhani said in remarks carried live on state television. "They just issued a long list of banks, their branches ... and airlines and their planes. And this shows that they are merely trying to affect the Iranian nation psychologically," Rouhani said. The United States said it would temporarily allow eight importers to keep buying Iranian oil when it reimposed sanctions last Monday aimed at forcing Tehran to curb its nuclear, missile and regional activities. "It has now become clear that America cannot cut Iran's oil exports to zero," Rouhani added, speaking after a weekly meeting with the heads of the parliament and the judiciary. In May, Trump exited Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with six powers and Washington reimposed a first round of sanctions on Iran in August. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Kirsten Donovan) Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fractured three ribs after she fell in her office on Wednesday night. Ginsburg, 85, was admitted to George Washington University Hospital on Thursday morning, according to a Supreme Court press release. She initially went home after her fall, but experienced complications overnight. Tests showed that she fractured three ribs on her left side and she was admitted for observation and treatment, the statement read. The justice was released on Friday morning. She is doing well and plans to work from home today, a Supreme Court spokesperson said. Ginsburg, a cancer survivor, is the oldest member of the court and has had several medical emergencies in the past decade. In 2012, she fractured two ribs in a fall, though she kept the incident private for several months, according to CNBC. In 2014, she underwent a procedure to have a stent placed in her right coronary artery. On Thursday, the Supreme Court was scheduled to host a ceremony for new Justice Brett Kavanaugh. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were supposed to be in attendance. It remains unclear how Ginsburgs absence might affect the ceremony. Breaking: Justince Ginsburg broke three ribs in a fall last night, per the Supreme Court. She went to the hospital this morning and was admitted for observation and treatment, the public information office adds. pic.twitter.com/vu7udRwoMs Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) November 8, 2018 This entry has been updated to reflect that Ginsburg was later discharged from the hospital. Also on HuffPost Speaking to law students in February 2015, via PBS. Image: Getty In conversation with ABC correspondent Lynn Sherr before the New York State Bar Interview with Yahoo News in July 2014. Interview with Yahoo News in July 2014. In conversation with ABC correspondent Lynn Sherr before the New York State Bar. Speaking to law students in February 2015, via PBS Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Sarah Paynes killer Roy Whiting has reportedly been attacked in prison (Picture: PA) Sarah Paynes killer Roy Whiting was reportedly left drenched in blood and critically injured after being attacked by two fellow inmates in prison. According to The Sun, Whiting who was jailed for life in 2001 for the murder of the eight-year-old schoolgirl was stabbed repeatedly with makeshift blades after being attacked in his cell at Wakefield Prison. The 59-year-old was reportedly rushed to hospital with multiple stab wounds but received treatment and is expected to recover. He is said to be back in Wakefield prison and in a stable condition. Attacked Roy Whiting was reportedly stabbed in Wakefield prison, where he is serving a life sentence for the murder of Sarah Payne (Picture: PA) A source told The Sun the fact that Whiting was stabbed in prison meant he had received treatment so quickly. The source told the newspaper: If Whiting had been stabbed in the street he might have died. Because he was in prison, every alarm was raised and he was rushed to hospital within minutes. MORE: Melbourne attack: Police say knifeman also planned for pick-up truck to explode MORE: Final moments of tragic parents who died with son and boy, 12, in Outback after car broke down Sarah Payne, eight, was taken by Whiting in July 2000 as she played with her sister and brothers near her grandparents home in West Sussex. Whiting was found guilty of her murder in December 2001 and jailed for life. He will serve a minimum of 40 years. The paedophile had previously snatched another girl, sexually assaulting her, but was freed from prison. Sarahs mother Sara Payne went on to campaign for Sarahs Law, which allows people to find out if convicted sex offenders are living near them. The reported stabbing is not the first time Whiting has been attacked in prison. Previously he has been stabbed in the eye and has also had his face slashed. Hodeida (Yemen) (AFP) - Yemeni government forces pressed further into the strategic port city of Hodeida, seizing its main hospital in heavy fighting Saturday, as their Saudi-led coalition backers put a brave face on an end to US refuelling support. A loyalist official said mortar rounds were "falling like rain" in the streets as troops overcame rebel-laid mines and snipers to take control of the main hospital in the city of some 600,000 people. The rebels have put up fierce resistance to the government advance towards the city's vital docks, which are the point of entry for 80 percent of Yemen's commercial imports and nearly all UN-supervised humanitarian aid. The grinding Saudi-led war in Yemen has caused growing international unease after high-profile coalition air strikes that have killed scores of civilians, many of them children. The intensified coalition-backed push into Hodeida, which has claimed the lives of at least 382 combatants this month, comes despite aid agency warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe in the event of a protracted battle for the city. Some 14 million Yemenis are at risk of famine and many more are dependent on international aid, according to UN agency figures, making it vital that Hodeida's port remains open and undamaged. Yemeni officials said Saturday that pro-government forces had captured the city's May 22 Hospital. Amnesty International had earlier accused the Huthis of "deliberate militarisation" of the facility after they posted snipers on its roof. - 'Street fighting' - Two days after loyalist troops entered residential neighbourhoods of Hodeida for the first time, fighting raged in the city's east as pro-government forces backed by air strikes and helicopters sought to push deeper into the city. "The battles here are turning into street fighting," one loyalist official said, adding that pro-government forces had advanced around a kilometre along a major highway into the city on Saturday. Story continues Hodeida resident Lubna, who asked that her full name not be used for fear of retaliation, said "the noise of Apache helicopters, artillery and gunfire" was incessant. Huthi forces were using artillery to pound advancing loyalist forces, at times firing from residential areas, she said, fearing this "could mean that civilians pay the highest price". UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Saturday urged the coalition, the Huthis "and all those supplying arms to the parties to the conflict to take immediate steps to end the suffering of civilians in Yemen". Save the Children field coordinator Mariam Aldogani spoke of intense coalition air strikes, with over 15 hitting in the space of just 30 minutes. "This is the worst time for Hodeida children," she said. The UN Human Rights Office, meanwhile, said there were "serious concerns about the fate of 900 detainees" at six pre-trial detention facilities and Hodeida's central prison, which was hit by mortar shells on Monday. - Refuelling deal scrapped - The suspension of US assistance to refuel coalition aircraft comes as Washington's backing of the war effort faces increased scrutiny following international outrage over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder last month in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. In an apparent face-saving move, Saudi Arabia sought to project the decision as its own, not Washington's. The Pentagon had been providing refuelling capabilities for about 20 percent of coalition planes flying sorties over Yemen. Saudi-controlled media suggested the coalition had the capacity to make up the shortfall. Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath television reported that the kingdom has 23 planes of its own for refuelling operations devoted to Yemen operations, while the UAE has six. Loyalist commander Colonel Sadiq Duwaid said the decision would "not affect" the coalition assault on Hodeida, which would continue "until the Huthi militias surrender". The intensified battle for Hodeida comes despite Pentagon chief James Mattis calling last month for a ceasefire and negotiations between Yemen's warring parties within 30 days. The United Nations has since pushed that deadline back to the end of the year. In an op-ed published by The Washington Post on Friday, the head of the rebels' Supreme Revolutionary Committee, Mohammed Ali al-Huthi, said the escalating offensive in Hodeida showed Mattis's ceasefire call was "nothing but empty talk". The article infuriated Yemeni government officials, who accused the Post of providing a platform to a "war criminal". The Huthis have controlled Hodeida since 2014 when they overran the capital Sanaa and swept though much of the rest of the country, triggering the Saudi-led intervention the following year. The rebels have since been driven out of virtually all of the south and much of the Red Sea coast. At least 110 airstrikes were carried out in Hodeida, Saada, the Huthi stronghold in northern Yemen, and Sanaa between 31 October and 6 November, the UN Human Rights Office said Saturday. burs-mah-ac/rsc/del Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi King Salman hosted Abu Dhabi's crown prince on Saturday, state media said, as a military coalition led by the two Gulf allies pushes an offensive to seize the strategic Yemeni port city of Hodeida. Abu Dhabi's Prince Mohammed bin Zayed led a "top-level delegation" to Riyadh, the official Saudi press agency said in a brief statement, after the US halted a controversial refuelling arrangement for coalition air craft engaged in Yemen. The two leaders reviewed "current developments in the region and challenges and crises facing it", the UAE's state news agency WAM said, without elaborating. The Saudi and UAE-led war in Yemen has caused growing international unease after high-profile coalition air strikes that have killed scores of civilians, many of them children. Saudi Arabia in particular faces increased scrutiny following international outrage over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder last month in its consulate in Istanbul. Saudi rulers have sought to rally support from Arab allies following what is seen as the worst diplomatic crisis facing the kingdom since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. The United Arab Emirates has thrown its support behind Saudi Arabia, its main ally, over the Khashoggi affair. Yemeni government forces backed by the coalition pressed further into Hodeida, seizing its main hospital in heavy fighting on Saturday, as they shrugged off an end to US refuelling support. The intensified battle for Hodeida comes despite Pentagon chief James Mattis calling last month for a ceasefire and negotiations between Yemen's warring parties within 30 days. The United Nations has since pushed that deadline back to the end of the year. Senator Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that President Trump is delusional for claiming the midterm elections were a Republican success. If we had told you a year ago we were only going to lose two or three seats, people would have said, Forget it. What are you smoking? the Senate minority leader said. When the president says what happened in the Senate more than undoes the losses they suffered across the board elsewhere, hes delusional. Both parties pointed to Tuesdays results as reason to celebrate. Democrats picked up more than the 23 seats they needed to retake the House, while Republicans gained at least three seats in the Senate, solidifying their previously tiny two-seat majority. I will be honest, I thought that it was a very close to complete victory, Trump said Wednesday. Looking at it from the standpoint of gridlock, and I really believe there is going to be much less gridlock because of the way this is going than any other way. Its all about dealmaking, and again, if we had the majority and one or two or three votes to play with, we would never, we would have been at a standstill. Schumer cast his partys House victory, as well as the seven states Democrats flipped in gubernatorial races, as portending success in the 2020 elections. If I were him and I were looking at 2020 and beyond, Id be very nervous, the New York senator said. The map in 2020 is much better. Well have a very good shot. I think originally the Republicans hoped they could hold us down to 40, 41 [seats]. . . . Weve lost one, two, or three seats tops. Ankara (AFP) - Seven Turkish soldiers were killed in an "accidental" explosion at an army munitions depot, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday. The defence ministry said the accident occurred when a heavy artillery shell exploded at a base at Sungu Tepe in southeastern Turkey near the borders with Iraq and Iran on Friday. "We have seven martyrs in the munitions depot explosion... and also we have 25 wounded," Erdogan told a press conference. He said investigations were under way to find out exactly what happened. Both Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and armed forces chief Yasar Gulu went to the remote depot located in the mountains. Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast has seen years of fighting between the army and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), classified a "terrorist" group by Ankara and its Western allies. Turkey also regularly bombs PKK bases in northern Iraq. After a brief truce, fighting resumed in 2015, shattering hopes for a peaceful resolution to a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984. By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday night and called a general election for Jan. 5 in a move that will likely deepen the country's political crisis. The dissolution, which is expected to be challenged in court, was revealed in an official gazette notification signed by Sirisena which also set the next sitting of parliament for Jan. 17. The move comes after an intense power struggle in the past two weeks which followed Sirisena's sudden sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the appointment of former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, a pro-China strongman, in his place. Following the sacking, the president suspended parliament in a move which Wickremesinghe said was intended to prevent the ousted prime minister from contesting the decision in the legislature. Later Sirisena agreed to reconvene parliament on Nov. 14, but that will now not happen. Wickremesinghe has refused to vacate the official prime minister's residence saying he is the prime minister and had a parliamentary majority. Before he signed the papers dissolving parliament and calling the election, Sirisena appointed allies of his and of Rajapaksa to cabinet positions. "This is a gross violation of the constitution," Harsha De Silva, a lawmaker in Wickremesinghe's party, told Reuters in reference to the dissolution of parliament. Independent legal experts had told Reuters that parliament could be dissolved only in early 2020, which would be four-and-half-years from the first sitting of the current parliament. The only other legal ways would be through a referendum, or with the consent of two thirds of lawmakers. Given those views, it was not immediately clear how Sirisena can legally dissolve parliament, though his legal experts have said there are provisions for him to do so. Sri Lanka's Election Commission was quoted in some local media as saying that it will seek a Supreme Court opinion before conducting the election. Sirisena also put the police and government's printing office under his defense portfolio, local media reported. Ajith Perera, a lawmaker of the Wickremesinghe-led United National Party (UNP) said the party will challenge the decision at the Election Commission first and then may head to the Supreme Court. Perera said the dissolution was carried out so that Sirisena could avoid defeat in parliament next week. Keheliya Rambukwella, a spokesman for Sirisena's government, said the president's coalition had the backing of 105 lawmakers as of Friday, eight short of a parliamentary majority. Sirisena has said he fired Wickremesinghe because the prime minister was trying to implement "a new, extreme liberal political concept by giving more priority for foreign policies and neglecting the local people's sentiment." India and Western countries have requested that Sirisena act in line with the constitution while they have raised concerns over Rajapaksa's close ties with China. Beijing loaned Sri Lanka billions of dollars for infrastructure projects when Rajapaksa was president between 2005-2015, putting the country deep into debt. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Edited by Martin Howell and Toby Chopra) Satellite photos captured by NASA show how large Californias wildfires have become as they continue to burn vast areas of the state. In the photos below, taken from NASAs Terra satellite on Friday, massive plumes of smoke can be seen drifting over the Pacific Ocean from fires in Northern and Southern California. The Camp fire in Northern California has devastated the town of Paradise, while the Hill and Woolsey fires have prompted mass evacuations in Ventura County, north of Los Angeles. (Photo: NASA) One fast-moving wildfire, known as the Camp fire, likely wiped out the entire town of Paradise, where 27,000 people were forced to evacuate. As of Friday evening, the wind-fueled fire was only 5 percent contained after burning up to 70,000 acres and destroying 6,453 homes. At least nine people have died, with at least five bodies found trapped in vehicles. A fire official told The Associated Press on Friday that Paradise, 90 miles north of Sacramento, was pretty much destroyed. In Southern California, brush fires are nearing a community in mourning over a deadly mass shooting late Wednesday at Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks. The Woolsey fire, south of Simi Valley, spread to 35,000 acres and is making its way toward the coastal city of Malibu, where a mandatory evacuation was ordered. An estimated 75,000 homes were also evacuated along the borders of Ventura and Los Angeles counties, according to AP. At least 75 percent of Thousand Oaks residents were also evacuated. See NASAs satellite images below. The photo taken by NASA on Thursday shows the Camp fire burning through Paradise, California. (Photo: NASA) Massive plumes of smoke billow Friday over the state. (Photo: NASA) Related Coverage Video Of California Wildfires Is A Driving Tour Through Hell Two Fast-Moving Fires Rip Through Los Angeles, Ventura Counties California Wildfires Kill 11 People Trapped In Vehicles And Homes James Woods Reaches Across Politics To Aid Alyssa Milano In California Wildfire Heres How Governor-Elect Gavin Newsom Plans To Fight Californias Wildfire Crisis Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. The gunman who killed 12 people at a Southern California bar posted a social media message about his mental state before and during the massacre, investigators have revealed. Ian David Long opened fire with his handgun after storming the Borderline Bar & Grill In Thousand Oaks. He first shot a group of security guards and employees near the entrance before aiming at victims on the dance floor. Ventura County Sheriff's Captain Garo Kuredjian, said that timestamps showed that the suspect, who had prior run-ins with the police, made two separate Instagram posts during his shooting rampage. The 28-year-old former Marines Instagram account was still active several hours after he had apparently killed himself, but was immediately shut down after authorities became aware of it's existence. He had also posted messages about being branded insane on his Facebook account before methodically shooting at people the bar. One post read: I hope they call me insane .. wouldnt that just be a big ball of irony? Yea, Im insane, but the only thing you people do after these shootings is hopes and prayers or keep you in my thoughts .. every time .. and wonder why these keep happening. Facebook spokeswoman Sarah Pollack said: Our hearts are with the victims and families affected by this horrendous act. We've removed the shooter's accounts from Facebook and Instagram." The company also vowed to remove any praise or support for the crime or the shooter. While Investigators have not commented on whether mental illness played a role in the Mr Longs attack, a mental health specialist who assessed him in April after officers responded to a call about his agitated behaviour, suspected that he might be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A neighbour had complained of yelling and loud banging noises coming from the home the soldier, who had served in Afghanistan shared with his mother. Story continues Although a mental health crisis team was called to the scene, a specialist concluded there were no grounds to have him involuntarily committed. Authorities have yet to determine a motive for the massacre but investigators are looking into whether Mr Long believed his former girlfriend was in the bar, a police official told the The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump described the gunman as a very sick puppy who had a lot of problems. At the White House briefing, the US leader ignored questions about stricter gun control and instead touted his efforts to fund a program to help veterans suffering from PTSD. Turin (Italy) (AFP) - Tens of thousands of people rallied in the north Italian city of Turin on Saturday, to support a planned high-speed train line to Lyon that faced years of opposition, especially from environmental groups. Between 30,000 to 40,000 people packed the city's Castello plaza, one of the largest in the capital of Piemont region, in the first large-scale demonstration in favour of the TAV Lyon-Turin railway. The protest came after Turin city authorities, lead by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), in September approved a motion demanding a halt the project. The Piemont regional government has ruled in favour of the TAV. Italian and French transport ministers are expected to meet on Monday to discuss the project. "Turin is closing itself off, this is why we thought we have to do something as citizens," Giovanna Giordano and Patrizia Ghiazza, two of the organisers, told reporters. "Turin has come out onto the streets to say yes many times." Supporters see the train project as a pontential source of growth for the region and northern Italy. Elected in 2016, Turin Mayor Chiara Appendino of the Five Star Movement said on Saturday that "the door is open and will remain open" in a blog posting showing a photo of her office door. The Lyon-Turin project would involve construction of a 57.5 kilometre (35.7 miles) tunnel between Maurienne valley and Susa valley, to cut travel time between the two cities to two hours from current four hours. Luigi Di Maio, political chief of the M5S, has called for complete renegotiation of the project, which he dismisses as a waste of public money. France's Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne told the national assembly on Monday the government remains determined to complete the project. The EU has attempted to push the two countries to advance. The total cost of the tunnel is estimated at 8.6 billion euros ($9.7 billion), 40 percent financed by the EU, 35 percent by Italy and 25 percent by France. Warning: Contains spoilers for the movie Outlaw King Increasing anxiety about the U.K.s preparations for leaving the European Union has some Scots talking about how, in a world of Brexit, they might be able to actually pull off independence. And whenever talk of Scottish independence ramps up not infrequently; a referendum on the topic failed in 2014 people look for lessons in the story of the legendary king who led Scotland to independence in the 14th century: Robert I, also known as Robert the Bruce (Bruce being his family name). So its perhaps fitting that, amid the ongoing political turmoil, a dramatization of his story is in theaters and becomes available for streaming on Netflix on Friday. Outlaw King stars Chris Pine (and, yes, all of Chris Pine) and is based on a pivotal period in Scottish history. The film begins with the English siege of the Scots Stirling Castle in 1304, as a Warwolf a huge medieval trebuchet lobs boulders at the stronghold, in a motion similar to an overarm pitch, explains one of the films historical advisors Tony Pollard, Professor of Conflict History & Archaeology at the University of Glasgow (who also served as historical advisor to the TV series Outlander). At that time, most of Scotlands castles were already occupied by English garrisons, and the King of England, Edward I, was flexing his power as overlord of Scotland and demanding the Scottish elites give him their fealty. A succession crisis in Scotland had empowered Edward I. There were no heirs to the Scottish throne left after the death of the King of Scots Alexander III in 1286, so the Scottish nobility put together a committee of guardians to keep the government running. After the death of the Queen of Scots Margaret, Maid of Norway, in 1290, the guardians asked Edward I to come serve as an independent arbitrator to evaluate claims to the Scottish throne. As a result, John Balliol became King of Scotland in 1292. Story continues But his reign didnt last long. After Balliol sought an alliance with France, Englands enemy back then, Edward I himself came back to invade Scotland and drive out Balliol in 1296. Now the independent kingdom of Scotland was facing direct rule by the English crown. Hard up for cash after the invasion, having stretched his resources to a breaking point, Edward I tried to shake down the Scots including seizing their wool, the countrys main export at the time, according to Dauvit Broun, a professor of Scottish History at the University of Glasgow, who wasnt involved in the film. Thats when Robert the Bruce decided that enough was enough. He declared himself King of Scotland. But in order to rule, Robert had to eliminate the competition. Scottish nobles who backed Balliol had been keeping a government going in his name. To be king, Robert the Bruce would have to get rid of anyone who challenged his own claim to the crown. So in February of 1306 at the church of Greyfriars in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce met with John The Red Comyn, one of the most powerful nobles in Scotland, who had been spearheading the effort to establish a Balliol kingship. Comyn didnt walk away from the meeting alive. Theres debate about whether Robert the Bruce killed Comyn himself or whether accomplices did, but hes thought to have been in on it and in the film, hes depicted as murdering John The Red Comyn himself, which is what many people think happened. Robert the Bruce and his wife Elizabeth de Burgh were inaugurated King and Queen of Scots at Scone shortly after. Not a lot is known about de Burgh, and later in the year she was taken prisoner in England. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter But, though the murder of John Comyn secured his power in one way, it also made Robert the Bruce who by then called himself King Robert I a toxic figure in Scottish society. Soon enough, he was forced to flee. The most powerful nobles of Scotland treat him as a terrorist, says Broun. Not only is Robert I trying to establish an independent Scotland, but [also] hes facing a civil war. In June of 1306, he struggled to keep up with the English army in the Battle of Methven, depicted in the film. Hes basically an outlaw and the English are trying to bring him to book, says Pollard. [Robert the Bruce] comes close to being captured and beaten. His time as a fugitive is a mystery to historians. Nobody knows where he went when he was fugitive, but it looks like he thought hard about strategy, says Broun. He stayed out of a battle until he knew hed have a better chance of winning, and that was controversial because kings were meant to be military heroes. He resolved that every castle he took he would destroy because he reckoned that, for the King of England to win, he would need to garrison Scotland, and you cant do that unless youve got castles. Its a bit like taking a bomb and destroying Buckingham Palace. But Robert I took the view that if he was going to win, it was only going to be because he had the support of the people, so he didnt need castles. The film aims to depict Robert Is military genius by highlighting the guerrilla tactics he used to overthrow the superior military force that was Edward Is English army. One aspect of that involved creating what Pollard calls a human porcupine of sorts, with hundreds of men in one big group holding nearly 20-foot-long spears straight out in front of them. The Scots also had a home turf advantage in terms of navigating the boggy, marshy battlegrounds. Bruce deliberately picks land where the strength of the English Army cant be brought into play, says Pollard. The English are knights in armor on horses, and Scots were men on foot, who didnt have much in the way of cavalry. Roberts first victory as king came in May of 1307 at the Battle of Loudoun Hill, close to his longtime family stronghold of Carrick (now part of Ayrshire). Its significant because it means that hes no longer just a fugitive, says Broun. But hes still only someone who controls a small region of Scotland, his home region, which is not very different from being a noble except he claims to be king. So the most famous and most important battle in Robert the Bruces career came even later, after the period of time covered by the film. It was the Battle of Bannockburn, in June of 1314 that really paved the way for Scottish independence. Edward I had actually died shortly after the battle of Loudoun Hill, but at Bannockburn, Robert I defeated his successor Edward II. The Battle of Bannockburn is really the conclusion of the civil war, says Broun,[and] shows everyone who isnt an inveterate opponent of Robert I that hes in charge, that he can defeat the King of England. The few nobles who are still swithering say, Okay, the reality is Robert I is in charge.' Elizabeth de Burgh is said to have been returned to Robert I after the battle as part of a prisoner exchange. Scotlands independence from England would be official until the two nations signed the Treaty of Edinburgh in March of 1328. Robert I died the following year but Scotland would remain independent until James VI of Scotland inherited the kingdom of England after the death of Elizabeth I in 1603 and became James I of England. Oliver Cromwell conquered Scotland completely in 1650, and the Scottish and English parliaments merged in May of 1707. And yet Robert the Bruces reputation as a national hero endured. He was reduced to being a fugitive and yet managed to restore Scotland as a fully-functioning independent kingdom. This makes his achievement even more remarkable, Broun says. He had to improvise constantly and had to work really hard to be king, as opposed to being born into it and not having to struggle for it. Washington (AFP) - Special Counsel Robert Mueller lost crucial protective insulation for his Russia collusion investigation when President Donald Trump fired attorney general Jeff Sessions on Wednesday. That opened the way for the new acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, to assume direct supervision of Mueller, raising questions of whether he will halt the investigation to protect the president. - Can Trump stop the probe? Yes, but... Sessions had recused himself from Mueller's investigation, leaving oversight to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. For 18 months Rosenstein has allowed Mueller a generous budget and very broad mandate. Whitaker criticized both aspects last year, and as he is now taking over oversight of the probe, he could try to strangle it, or even rescind Mueller's appointment. However, the investigation is very far along. There have been indictments of 34 individuals and three companies, eight guilty pleas and one trial conviction. Mueller has likely gathered thousands of hours of interviews and sworn testimony, including from some former top lieutenants of Trump who agreed to testify in exchange for lighter sentences in their own cases. He is believed poised to release new indictments of Trump associates related to Russia collusion, and to have nearly completed his probe of alleged obstruction of justice by Trump. Whitaker likely could not block the new indictments, which could include Trump's son Donald Jr. But if Mueller is still gathering evidence on other matters such as Trump's business relations with Russians going back before the 2016 election, Whitaker may be able to stifle that, ruling it out of the realm of the original mandate. He could also refuse to sign off on a subpoena of Trump if the president refuses to voluntarily speak to investigators. - Can the probe's report on Trump be stifled? Probably. Mueller has clearly pursued allegations that Trump criminally obstructed the Russia probe, mainly by firing former FBI chief James Comey in May 2017 -- the move that led directly to Mueller's appointment. Story continues If he has found solid evidence, Mueller is not expected to indict the president, given the unsettled state of law on that course of action. He has two other options: make a report on his conclusions for the House of Representatives, which has the power to impeach the president. Or Mueller could empanel a grand jury -- some think he may have done so already -- which, if it finds the evidence strong enough, would send its report to the House. That happened in the 1974 Watergate impeachment of president Richard Nixon. In both cases Whitaker could stand in the way. He could refuse to approve a grand jury, and he has the power to prevent the reports from being submitted to Congress or being made public. - How can the probe proceed? Mueller's team and Democrats in Congress can fight back. The investigators can pass their evidence to federal prosecutors in other jurisdictions outside the special counsel's authority, making it harder for Whitaker to block new indictments. Mueller has already spun off two cases like this. As for the reports on Trump, if Whitaker suppresses them, the House Judiciary Committee could subpoena them and make them public. They could also call Mueller to testify and force him to divulge details from the investigation. In addition, few analysts dismiss the possibility that, if stifled, the conclusions of the Mueller probe will leak into the public. In any of those instances, a House investigation against the president could ensue with or without Mueller's report. PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, saying it was "very insulting" for him to suggest Europe should create its own army to protect itself from potential adversaries. Arriving in Paris for a World War One Armistice Day centenary celebration, Trump fired off a note on Twitter saying Macron had just "suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia." "Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly," Trump added, returning to his repeated demand that European nations do more to help fund the Western alliance. Macron said on French radio on Tuesday that Europe needed a real army to reduce reliance on the United States for defense in the face of a resurgent Russia. "We wont protect Europeans if we dont decide to have a real European army," Macron said. "Faced with Russia, which is near our borders and has shown it could be threatening - I want to build a real security dialogue with Russia, which is a country I respect, a European country - but we must have a Europe that can defend itself on its own without relying only on the United States," he added. The European Commission executive later echoed Macron's call for a European military capability. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is a long-time supporter of the idea the European Union should have more common defense capability. The Commission's chief spokesman, Margaritis Schinas, said the EU was working to collaborate on defense procurement and research as well as developing EU military peacekeeping capabilities. "I don't think that this defense identity will start with an EU army," Schinas said on Tuesday. "At some point in time, probably down at the end of this process, we may see something that people already describe as an EU army or an EU pooling of resources to make this EU defense identity more visible and more meaningful," Schinas said. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Tim Ahmann and David Alexander; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) Donald Trump has defended his appointment of Matthew Whitaker to replace Jeff Sessions, as a controversy grew over the man man now overseeing the Russia probe. The 49-year-old was appointed by Mr Trump this week after firing Mr Sessions, someone who shared many of his political instincts but who had angered the president by recusing himself from the investigation, being carried out by Robert Mueller. The move to appoint Mr Whitaker sparked a backlash, as fears grew he would seek to shut down Mr Muellers probe, which he last year described as a witch hunt. Mr Trump has repeatedly used that phrase himself to describe the special counsels investigation. On Friday, as Mr Trump left the White House to fly to France for events to mark the centennial of the end of the First World War, he defended the decision to appoint him, saying, he was a very smart man and highly respected. He said he had not spoken to Mr Whitaker about the Russia investigation and did not personally know him well. Its a shame that no matter who I put in they go after, he told reporters. You didn't have any problems with Matt Whitaker when he worked for Jeff Sessions. He added: This only comes up because anybody that works for me they do a number on them...Matt Whittakers a very highly respected man. Asked whether he would want Mr Whitaker to rein in Mr Muellers probe, Mr Trump replied: What a stupid question. Mr Trumps remarks came as the White House was said to be increasingly concerned about the backlash created by the appointment of Mr Whitaker as acting attorney general. Some officials, CNN said, were worried they would be unable to secure his confirmation by the Senate, as more and more questions have been asked about his suitability for the job, not just from Democrats, but also Republicans and conservatives. Three senior Republicans - Mitt Romney, Susan Collins and Lamar Alexander - issued statements praising Mr Sessions and saying it was important that Mr Mueller be allowed to continue his work. Story continues Among those legal voices questioning the suitability of Mr Whitakers appointment was George Conway, the husband of White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway. He co-authored a New York Times op-ed published on Thursday that called the appointment unconstitutional. He said that the appointments clause of the constitution, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2, means Mr Trump's installation of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general of the United States after forcing the resignation of Jeff Sessions is unconstitutional. It's illegal. And it means that anything Mr. Whitaker does, or tries to do, in that position is invalid. Reports said the concern within the West Wing had grown as more evidence emerged of Mr Whitakers long-stated opposition to the investigation being carried out by Mr Mueller. Last year, Mr Whitaker wrote that it was dangerously close to becoming a witch hunt. Meanwhile, during a television appearance he imagined a scenario in which the attorney general doesn't fire Bob Mueller, but he just reduces his budget to so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt. On Thursday, Democrats on Capitol Hill demanded emergency hearings to investigate Mr Trumps ouster of Mr Sessions, calling the move an effort to undermine Mr Mueller In a letter saying the move placed the country in the throes of a constitutional crisis, members of the House judiciary committee demanded action from the panels Republican chairman, Bob Goodlatte, and called for bipartisan legislation to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from any effort to stymie the probe. Congressional Democrats, including newly elected members of the House, held a conference call on Thursday to discuss Sessions' ouster, Democratic lawmakers and aides said. [Mr Sessions firing] just makes us all the more want to make sure we have that special counsel protection bill passed or added to any spending bill that may be moving in the end-of-year session, Democratic congressman Mark Pocan told Reuters. We are watching what appears to be continued obstruction by this White House. Donald Trump arrived in Paris on Friday on his first trip after the midterm elections, with the international stage offering him a brief respite from the bitter domestic battles to come following the congressional shake-up. The US president and his wife will attend ceremonies for the centenary of the end of the First World War, but will leave before a summit on global cooperation which is the main event in the gathering of world leaders. Mr Trump will hold bilateral talks with Emmanuel Macron, but there will be no meetings with Vladimir Putin, whose shadow has hung over the US president. Investigations into claims that the Kremlin helped to put him in the White House are ongoing. The topic of Russiagate was at the forefront immediately after the elections in America this week, with Mr Trump sacking his attorney general in what is widely seen as an attempt to curb the inquiry by special counsel Robert Muller. As the US president prepared for his journey on Air Force One there were persistent reports that the speed of Jeff Sessions dismissal was an attempt by the president to save his son, Donald Junior, from being indicted by Mr Mueller. While Democrat control of the House means that the remainder of Mr Trumps term as president will almost certainly be mired in recriminations, investigations, subpoenas and legislative deadlock, he has a freer hand when it comes to foreign relations. Mr Macron is the only international leader the US president will officially meet during the Paris visit. There had been rumours of a meeting with Mr Putin but the White House announced earlier this week that the tight schedule did not allow time. The French had let it be known they believed a de-facto Putin-Trump summit would be a distraction from the centennial. Some of the US presidents advisors also felt it may not be a good idea with the Russia investigations coming back into public eye. Although himself a Vietnam draft dodger, Mr Trump appears to be fascinated by all things military, as can be judged by the number of senior officers he surrounded himself with, at least initially, in politics. However, one of them, his former national security adviser, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, is now co-operating with the Mueller inquiry after being charged. His successor, Lieutenant General HR McMaster, has resigned and, according to reports, defence secretary General James Mattis is likely to go in the near future. Story continues Mr Trump was hugely impressed when he attended the Bastille Day parade in Paris at the invitation of President Macron last year and wanted one staged for him in Washington last November. The plans were abandoned in a dispute over costs with Washington city authorities and the US president tweeted in August: I will, instead, go to the Paris Parade, celebrating the end of the war. French officials say the US president may have misunderstood the nature of the commemorations, which will not be celebratory but low key. The Peace Forum, which Mr Trump will be missing, will stress the need to avoid conflict through cooperation and dialogue. Mr Trump, during his trip, will visit two cemeteries in Paris where 117,000 Americans who died in the First World War are buried. He will also give an address on Sunday at Suresnes, another burial ground, on the slopes of Mount Valerian. According to administration officials, Mr Trump will stress the primary role the US has played in stabilising Europe, helping its economic recovery and providing security over decades. He will discuss, with Mr Macron, the conflicts in Syria and Yemen and the reinstating of sanctions by the US on Iran. Although not having quite the toxicity of current American domestic politics, Mr Trumps previous visits to Europe have often been acrimonious, with the US president attacking the European Union, hectoring fellow Nato members for not spending enough on defence often using false figures in the process and declaring that Russia, expelled from the G8 group of countries after the annexation of Crimea, should be re-admitted into the group. Despite a degree of unity among the west European states and the US on policy towards Syria, there are diametric differences over Iran. Other signatories to the nuclear deal, including Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia, have stressed the agreement was working and should continue despite American punishments. Mr Macron and Mr Trump are said to have a good personal relationship, but there are major differences on public policy. The French president presents himself as a champion of liberal values, while Mr Trump has a populist approach, which has been echoed in eastern and central Europe. Mr Macron has stated that the real frontier in the European Union is the one between progressives and right-wing populists. Charles Grant, of the influential think tank Centre for European Reform in London, described the French president as someone who has got a rather Manichean view of good fighting evil and he wants to be the liberal global order fighting nationalism. Robert Emerson, a security and political analyst, said: Macron sees himself as someone standing up for western democratic values against the forces of xenophobia, narrow nativism the things Trumps critics would say he espouses. The disconnect felt by many western European states towards the Trump presidency was illustrated when Mr Macron, before a conference of defence ministers on a projected European Union military force, stated: We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America. Nevertheless, with German chancellor Angela Merkel, who had been seen for years as the continents senior leader, withdrawing from public life and the future of Theresa May uncertain with Brexit Mr Macron is likely to be the main European interlocutor Mr Trump deals with for the remainder of his presidency. Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron held what officials called a very constructive meeting shortly after a public dispute over European defence. The two leaders emphasised cooperation after earlier in the week the French president had called for the creation of a true European army to defend the European Union from outside threats, including China, Russia and the US. Taking to Twitter as he touched down in Paris, the US president called the suggestion very insulting and said Europe should first pay its fair share of Nato, which the US subsidises greatly. But as they met the Elysee Palace as part of a weekend marking 100 years since the end of the First World War, the pair appeared to be seeking reconciliation. Mr Trump stating the US wanted to help in the realm of defence, explaining that its very important to us to have a strong Europe. Whichever way we can do it the best and most efficient would be something that we both want, he said. Asked about his counterpart's tweet, the US president said Mr Macron understood that the US can only do so much and added that they were "getting along from the standpoint of fairness". Referring to his US counterpart as his good friend, the French leader reached out to give him a pat on the thigh as a reporter asked about their apparent dispute. An Elysee Palace official said there had been a "misunderstanding" over the tweet and that Trump, had told Macron in their meeting: "I think we are much closer than it seems. They also described the leaders meeting as very constructive. Nato has been a contentious subject for the US president, and he has repeatedly called on European nations to contribute at least two per cent of their GDP towards the cost of the alliance. Mr Macron said: "I do share President Trump's views that we need a much better burden sharing with Nato and that's why I do believe that my proposal for a European defence is utterly consistent with that." Story continues Later, the French president reiterated that Europe needs to develop its military because it can no longer depend on the US for defence. This echoes Mr Trumps previous comments about repercussions from the lack of European spending on Nato. The US also recently announced it would pull out of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF) arms treaty with Russia, a move that could further compromise Europes security. The French and US leaders have had a turbulent relationship, clashing over subjects ranging from climate change to world trade. Mr Trump had flown into Paris to join other world leaders on Sunday for a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe to mark the First World War centennial. He was due to visit the American cemetery in Belleau, France, on Saturday, but the visit was called off due to poor weather. President cancels first world war graves visit due to rain and faces Le Monde report he muddled Baltics and Balkans As Donald Trump met Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Saturday, he was beset by potential diplomatic embarrassment. First, the French newspaper Le Monde reported that on a previous diplomatic occasion in Washington, the American president caused embarrassment by mixing up the Baltic states and the Balkans. Then, amid ceremonies in the French capital to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the first world war, a planned presidential visit to the American cemetery at Belleau, a site of immense importance to the US military, was cancelled because it was raining. Amid brewing international consternation, Trump was criticised in harsh terms by Winston Churchills grandson, Nicholas Soames, who tweeted: They died with their face to the foe and that pathetic inadequate @realDonaldTrump couldnt even defy the weather to pay his respects to The Fallen #hesnotfittorepresenthisgreatcountry. Nicholas Burns, an American diplomat who served both Republican and Democratic presidents, called that choice astonishing. The Le Monde report concerned events in Washington in early April this year, when the leaders of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia visited the White House for a meeting and a joint press conference. At the press conference, Trump praised his visitors and their countries for being good members of Nato and for not producing fake news. But Le Monde perhaps risked provoking a presidential tweet on the latter subject when it reported that at the private meeting, Trump opened by attributing to [the Baltic leaders] the responsibility for the war in Yugoslavia. Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania, Kersti Kaljulaid of Estonia and Raimonds Vejonis of Latvia, the paper said, took a moment to realise that Baltics and Balkan were getting mixed up in the mind of the American president. Donald and Melania Trump with Emmanuel Macron first lady Brigitte Macron on 10 November. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Trump, Le Monde said, remained apparently uneducated in the matter by his wife, Melania, originally from the former Yugoslavia. Story continues Melania Trump is from Slovenia, which gained its independence in 1991, at the start of the bloody Balkan conflicts which only ended with the Kosovo war of 1998-99. The White House did not immediately comment on the Le Monde report. At the Elysee Palace, Trump and Macron made nice for the cameras, despite a Trump tweet on Friday in which he said his opposite numbers remarks about Europes need for military security against the US, China and Russia were very insulting. Trump told reporters: Were getting along from the standpoint of fairness. Despite the cancellation of the visit to Belleau, where nearly 2,000 US marines died in a ferocious battle in June 1918, Trump was scheduled to visit a different cemetery on Sunday, exactly 100 years since the end of the first world war. A White House statement said the Belleau visit was canceled due to scheduling and logistical difficulties caused by the weather, and said a delegation led by Chief of Staff Gen John Kelly and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Joe Dunford would attend on behalf of the Trumps. Nonetheless, Burns, the former ambassador, committed his thoughts to Twitter. Did the President really not visit the American military cemetery today in France? he asked. It is his duty to honor our soldiers who fought in 1917-18. Among veterans groups, one progressive organisation responded angrily. Donald Trump complained about having to stand in the rain, to speak about the massacre in Pittsburgh, because it messed his hair up (more), said VoteVets in a tweet, referring to Trumps remarks after a mass shooting two weeks ago in which 11 people were killed. Today, he will skip honoring fallen American heroes of WWI, and stay in his hotel room, because of some rain. The chief of staff, John Kelly, went to Belleau in Trumps place. Photograph: Geoffroy van der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images Like the Baltic leaders, Macron visited Washington in April this year. As a gift, he brought Trump a tree from Belleau Wood. The sapling was briefly the subject of intrigue when it disappeared from the spot on the White House lawn where Trump and Macron planted it. It was revealed to have been taken away temporarily, to be quarantined. In one tweet on Saturday, Trump celebrated the 243rd birthday of the US Marine Corps. In another, the president asked of his French visit: Is there anything better to celebrate than the end of a war, in particular that one, which was one of the bloodiest and worst of all time? Washington (AFP) - The United States embarked Friday on a policy of automatically rejecting asylum claims of people who cross the Mexican border illegally in a bid to deter Central American migrants and force Mexico to handle them. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at halting the flow of migrants seeking to cross into the United States without authorization, most of them requesting asylum due to violence in their home countries. "The continuing and threatened mass migration of aliens with no basis for admission into the United States through our southern border has precipitated a crisis and undermines the integrity of our borders," Trump said in the order. Trump used his emergency powers for the order, which critics said violates international law protecting asylum seekers. UNHCR, the UN human rights body, criticized Washington for not meeting obligations to help refugees. "UNHCR expects all countries, including the United States, to make sure any person in need of refugee protection and humanitarian assistance is able to receive both promptly and without obstruction," it said. The Geneva-based agency said that the United States was forcing migrants to turn to human smugglers to cross borders illegally. "Many asylum-seeking families making this desperate choice are not trying to evade border authorities," they said. The American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Center for Constitutional Rights together immediately filed a lawsuit challenging the order. "Ever since the horrors of World War II, the world's nations have committed to giving asylum seekers the opportunity to seek safe haven. The Trump administration cannot defy this most elementary humanitarian principle," said Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. - Pressure on Mexico - US officials said that as Mexico is the first safe country US-bound migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras arrive in, the asylum claims should be presented there. Story continues "Mexico is undoubtedly a safe country for these individuals fleeing persecution," an administration official told journalists Friday. "They should be seeking protection in Mexico." Trump's order was explicit in wanting Mexico to deal with the problem. It said the automatic denial of asylum claims to illegal border-crossers would continue for 90 days or until there is an agreement which "permits the United States to remove aliens to Mexico." The United States regularly sends Mexican undocumented entrants back across the border to their country, but has had difficulties gaining cooperation to repatriate Hondurans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans. The move came as a caravan of thousands of migrants, which Trump has branded an "invasion" of "criminals," makes its way northward through Mexico toward the border. The US order says asylum requests will continue to be accepted from migrants who seek to cross at official US ports of entry. "We want people to come into our country, but they have to come into our country legally," Trump told reporters at the White House. But directing the migrants to the official ports could create massive backups among applicants on the Mexican side of the border. US officials indicated that they had no plans to expand staffing of asylum claim facilities there. They said staff already had other duties processing legal travelers, inspecting cargoes and policing for drugs. "There are multiple responsibilities at a port of entry and you can't simply move all of your resources to migrant processing," said one border official. Paris (AFP) - US President Donald Trump will not attend a conference organised in Paris this weekend to discuss democracy and multilateralism, organisers said Thursday, in a snub to French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump is due in the French capital along with around 70 other world leaders for a ceremony on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Dozens of leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Germany's Angela Merkel, are then expected to attend the opening of the inaugural Paris Peace Forum, which Macron will host. Ending uncertainty about whether the US leader would participate, chief organiser Justin Vaisse confirmed to AFP on Thursday that Trump would not attend. Earlier this week, Vaisse had played down the importance of his presence -- while explaining why Trump might not have found the agenda to his liking. "The aim of the forum is to show that there are lots of forces in the international system -- states, NGOs, Foundations, intellectuals, companies -- who believe we need a world of rules, an open world and a multilateral world," he said. "This world needs to meet up and defend itself," he said. "It doesn't matter if those who don't believe in multilateralism aren't there." Macron has been an outspoken critic of Trump's "America First" policies and his decisions to pull out of international agreements such as the Paris climate accord, the Iran nuclear deal and most recently a nuclear arms treaty. While the two leaders struck up a warm relationship initially, particularly during Trump's first visit to Paris as president in July 2017, their ties have cooled recently amid a growing list of disagreements, diplomats say. Macron has used the WWI commemorations to issue a series of warnings about the rise of nationalism across the world -- embodied by Trump -- and has likened it to "leprosy". The Paris Peace Forum, which will run until Tuesday, is part of what he sees as a "fightback" against nationalist forces which risk destabilising the international system, Vaisse said. Macron conceived the forum as an annual gathering for political leaders and civil society groups to discuss democracy -- along the same lines as the Davos meeting in Switzerland, which is devoted to economics and business. Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump's new acting Justice Department chief Matthew Whitaker drew tough criticism Friday over his denial of Russia's meddling in the 2016 elections and his past involvement in a company fined millions for bilking clients. Just two days after being named acting attorney general, the former federal prosecutor and TV commentator faced questions over his ability to fairly supervise Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia, given Whitaker's proposal last year to starve Mueller of funding. Questions were also being asked about his role on the board of a patent marketing company fined $25 million last May to settle fraud allegations. Late Friday, the Wall Street Journal said the FBI -- which is now under Whitaker -- is conducting a criminal investigation of the company, World Patent Marketing Inc. And members of Congress said his appointment was unconstitutional, because he has never been confirmed for top office by the US Senate. "As an unconfirmed political appointee, Mr Whitaker has not been subject to the scrutiny that the Constitution requires to ensure that he has the character, integrity and ability to fulfil the grave responsibilities of this job," top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said in a letter addressed to Trump Friday. "These concerns are heightened by specific expressions of bias against the special counsel investigation that Mr Whitaker made just last year," Schumer said. - Proposed denying Mueller funds - Whitaker was named to the powerful job Wednesday after Trump fired attorney general Jeff Sessions. His appointment was greeted by protests in different cities calling for the protection of the Mueller probe, which potentially threatens the president and his family. As Sessions' chief of staff for barely one year, the 49-year-old lawyer and Republican operative is widely thought to have earned Trump's nod for the top job for his opposition to the investigation. Story continues In radio and television interviews last year, Whitaker repeatedly supported Trump's "illegal witch hunt" charge against the investigation. "The left is trying to sow this theory that essentially Russians interfered with the US election, which has been proven false," Whitaker said in an interview with a conservative Christian broadcaster. "They are trying to suggest that essentially the Trump campaign had these deep ties into Russia, which is not true." He subsequently attacked the investigation on CNN as too broad, saying -- as Trump has -- that Mueller has no business examining the finances and Russian ties of the president's businesses. And he said the attorney general could kill the investigation by starving it of funding. - Crucial time for Mueller probe - Whitaker's appointment came at a crucial moment. After staying quiet for two months ahead of last Tuesday's midterm elections, Mueller is believed to be close to unveiling new indictments, possibly against former campaign consultant Roger Stone and Trump's son Donald Jr. He has also been pressing to interview Trump on his 2016 campaign's ties to Russia and allegations that he obstructed the investigation. Sessions angered Trump when he recused himself from overseeing the Mueller investigation. Whitaker has no such restriction -- though some believe he should. Experts said he has the power to block Mueller from chasing investigative leads and issuing significant subpoenas -- of Trump for example -- and indictments. "Starting yesterday, it would have been possible that Whitaker could have been saying, 'No, you can't indict Donald Trump Jr. or whoever,'" no matter how strong the evidence, said Fordham University Law School Professor Andrew Kent. - Trump: 'I don't know Matt' - Whitaker's appointment left many worried that Mueller could be shut down before he concludes his investigation. Republican Senate chief Mitch McConnell insisted the probe was not under threat and that Whitaker was only a "very interim" Justice head, while Trump weighs candidates for a permanent attorney general. Trump meanwhile rejected Democratic calls for Whitaker to recuse himself like Sessions, saying that his television comments did not disqualify him from high position. At the same time, Trump appeared to distance himself slightly from Whitaker, rejecting reports that they have met a number of times inside the White House. "I don't know Matt Whitaker. He worked for attorney general Sessions," Trump said. "He was very very highly thought of... It's a shame that no matter who I put in, they go after them." "The Russia investigation is a hoax... a phony hoax," Trump added. Lodz (Poland) (AFP) - European Union chief Donald Tusk on Saturday accused US President Donald Trump of being averse to a "strong and united" Europe and also warned against the emergence of a "brownshirt" nationalist front in EU elections next year. His comments came as Trump, in France for World War I centenary commemorations, blasted French President Emmanuel Macron over his proposals for a European army. "For the first time in history we have an American adminstration that is, to put it mildly, not enthusiastic about a united and strong Europe," Tusk said in a speech in his native Poland. "I'm speaking about facts, not propaganda," Tusk -- a possible future Polish president -- said on the eve of celebrations to mark Poland's 100th anniversary of independence. The EU Council president has previously voiced fears that Trump was seeking to tear down the post World War II order, with the US leader once calling the EU a foe in trade. In an interview published Saturday by the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, Tusk also said he believed Trump wanted a world with "the United States on one side and on the other, a disparate collection of other countries". Trump on Friday fired off a tweet berating Macron's calls for a European army, but the French president on Saturday sought to ease the row, hailing the "great solidarity" between the two countries. Looking ahead to the European Parliament elections in May, Tusk warned against the emergency of a nationalist front opposed to the EU itself. "It cannot be ruled out that there will be two streams represented: one in the colours of the brownshirts -- anti-European and focused on nationalism, and the second which wants to push as much as possible for EU integration." The former Polish prime minister also spoke of rising anti-European sentiment in several capitals, saying some forces wanted "conflict rather than cooperation, disintegration rather than integration". Without naming names, Tusk criticised Polish leaders for their stance on Europe, after this week warning that the eurosceptic ruling party's policies carried the risk of a "Polexit". "Those who are opposed to a strong Polish presence in Europe are de facto against our independence," he declared. By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is halting refueling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen, the United States and Saudi Arabia said on Friday, ending one of the most divisive aspects of U.S. assistance to the Saudi war effort. Saudi Arabia, in a statement released by its embassy in Washington, said it had decided to request an end to U.S. aerial refueling for its operations in Yemen because it could now handle it by itself. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis backed the decision and said the U.S. government was consulted. The move comes at a time of international outrage over the murder of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and after Democratic and Republican lawmakers threatened to take action in Congress next week over the refueling operations. Critics of the Saudi campaign - including Democrats who won control of the House of Representatives in elections on Tuesday - have long questioned U.S. involvement in the war, which has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than 2 million and led to widespread famine in Yemen since it began in 2015. "I've been calling for this for over three years," said Representative Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California. "We shouldn't be supporting coalition war crimes and I look forward to continuing to scrutinize the U.S.'s role in Yemen when were in the majority next Congress." Even as President Donald Trump's administration has condemned Khashoggi's murder, the White House has sought to preserve its relationship with Saudi Arabia. A coordinated decision by Washington and Riyadh to halt the refueling could be an attempt by both countries to forestall further action by Congress. Senators Todd Young, a Republican, and Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, had warned the Trump administration was running out of time to act. "If the administration does not take immediate steps... we are prepared to take additional action when the Senate comes back into session," Young and Shaheen said. CONTINUING U.S. SUPPORT Beyond refueling, the United States provides limited intelligence support to the Saudi-led coalition and sells it weaponry used in Yemen's war. Mattis said the United States would play a continuing role to help the Saudi-led coalition and Yemeni forces minimize civilian casualties and expand humanitarian efforts. He also suggested plans to build up Yemeni troops. "The U.S. and the Coalition are planning to collaborate on building up legitimate Yemeni forces to defend the Yemeni people, secure their countrys borders, and contribute to counter Al Qaeda and ISIS efforts in Yemen and the region," Mattis said in a statement. Earlier this year, Mattis had defended U.S. military support to Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen, when lawmakers weighed forcing the Pentagon to end Washington's involvement. Mattis argued that halting U.S. military support could increase civilian casualties, since U.S. refueling had given pilots more time to select their targets. He told them cutting off support could jeopardize cooperation on counter-terrorism and reduce American influence with Saudi Arabia. Mattis also argued it would embolden the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, who have fired missiles at Saudi Arabia and targeted commercial and military vessels off Yemens coast. Still, a halt to refueling could by itself have little practical effect on the war. U.S. officials told Reuters only a fifth of Saudi-led coalition aircraft require in-air refueling from the United States. In recent weeks, Mattis has appeared to voice a growing sense of urgency toward ending the conflict. At the end of October, Mattis joined U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in calling for a ceasefire. United Nations Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths is aiming to convene the country's warring parties for peace talks by the end of the year. Saudi Arabia, in its statement, said its coalition was hopeful that U.N.-sponsored negotiations would lead to a negotiated settlement and "an end to the aggression by the Iranian backed Houthi militias' against the Yemeni people and countries in the region." (Reporting by Phil Stewart and Makini Brice in Washington and Nayera Abdallah in Cairo; writing by Phil Stewart; editing by David Alexander, Cynthia Osterman, Sonya Hepinstall and Nick Macfie) A federal appeals court has upheld a nationwide injunction halting the Trump administrations effort to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, which has allowed early 700,000 people who were brought to the US illegally as children to stay in the country. The decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of the United States to uphold the injunction brings the fate of the programme, referred to as DACA, one step closer to its day before the Supreme Court and that review may be coming sooner than usual after the Trump administration petitioned this week for the court to consider the issue as soon as possible. President Donald Trump has frequently criticised DACA, saying that it is an amnesty-first approach to immigration reforms, and that the US Congress should strike a deal to handle the nations myriad immigration issues. The Ninth Circuits ruling is the first from a federal circuit court, and comes just one day after Attorney General Jeff Session announced his resignation from that post. Mr Sessions had announced that the DACA program would end gradually over six months. In the courts opinion on Thursday, the judges rejected arguments from the government that President Barack Obama had illegally introduced the programme in an act of executive overreach. DACA was a permissible exercise of executive discretion, the judges wrote. Mr Obama announced the creation of DACA in 2012, noting that the measure was meant to be a temporary fix for a problem that congress had repeatedly failed to fix. The programme allows people who were brought to the United States without American authorization to remain in the US temporarily, and to hold legal jobs. But, the programme does have limitations, and everyone applying for the program was required to have a clean criminal record, and to have finished high school or received an equivalent degree. Washington (AFP) - The United States will no longer allow people who enter the country illegally to claim asylum, officials said Thursday, unveiling a controversial new crackdown on immigration. The restriction on asylum claims will seek to address what a senior administration official called the "historically unparalleled abuse of our immigration system" along the border with Mexico. The new rule was published by the Department of Homeland Security and is expected to get President Donald Trump's signature shortly -- as well as face court challenges. The American Civil Liberties Union said that the right to request asylum must be granted to anyone entering the country, regardless of where they were. "US law specifically allows individuals to apply for asylum whether or not they are at a port of entry. It is illegal to circumvent that by agency or presidential decree," the ACLU said. But according to the new rule, Trump has authority to restrict illegal immigration "if he determines it to be in the national interest." Trump's administration argues that he has the executive power to curb immigration in the name of national security, a power he invoked right after taking office with a controversial ban on travelers from several mostly-Muslim countries -- the final version of which was upheld by the US Supreme Court on June 26 after a protracted legal battle. "Today's rule applies this important principle to aliens who violate such a suspension or restriction regarding the southern border," Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker said. Those seeking political or other kinds of asylum -- nearly all of them coming from impoverished and violent crime-plagued countries of Central America -- will be heard exclusively at the border crossings, administration officials told journalists. This is expected to put a dent in those streaming into an already overburdened system, officials said, noting that there is a backlog of more than 700,000 cases in the immigration courts. Story continues - Campaign controversy - Many politicians on both sides of the aisle agree that the US immigration system is hugely inefficient and unable to cope with demand. However, Trump's focus on the issue during campaigning for Tuesday's hotly contested midterm congressional elections was criticized as veering into immigrant-bashing and even racism. In speeches and on Twitter, Trump hammered away nearly daily at "caravans" of a few thousand impoverished Central Americans that periodically attempt to walk up through Mexico and then gain entry to the United States. He called a current caravan, which is still hundreds of miles from the US border and dwindling in numbers, an "invasion" and said it would bring hardened criminals to US streets. Administration officials say that aside from the rhetoric the border really does have a problem, given that anyone who manages to get across can request asylum and subsequently often vanish while their case sits in the court system. "The vast majority of these applications eventually turn out to be non-meritorious," a senior administration official said, asking not to be identified. Less than 10 percent of cases result in asylum being granted, the government says. Human rights campaigners and other critics of the Trump crackdown say that by restricting asylum seekers to the narrow border crossing points -- which are already under enormous pressure -- the government is effectively shutting the door on people who may truly be fleeing for their lives. "The government cannot abdicate its responsibility towards migrants fleeing harm," the New York Immigration Coalition advocacy group said. "We will resist this." But the administration official argued that "what we're attempting to do is trying to funnel credible fear claims, or asylum claims, through the ports of entry where we are better resourced." That way, he said, courts will "handle those claims in an expeditious and efficient manner, so that those who do actually require an asylum protection get those protections." In 2018, border patrols registered more than 400,000 illegal border crossers, homeland security said. And in the last five years, the number of those requesting asylum has increased by 2,000 percent, it said. Washington (AFP) - The United States will no longer allow people who enter the country illegally to claim asylum, officials said Thursday, unveiling a controversial new crackdown on immigration. The restriction on asylum claims will seek to address what a senior administration official called the "historically unparalleled abuse of our immigration system" along the border with Mexico. The new rule was published by the Department of Homeland Security and is expected to get President Donald Trump's signature shortly -- as well as face court challenges. The American Civil Liberties Union said that the right to request asylum must be granted to anyone entering the country, regardless of where they were. "US law specifically allows individuals to apply for asylum whether or not they are at a port of entry. It is illegal to circumvent that by agency or presidential decree," the ACLU said. But according to the new rule, Trump has authority to restrict illegal immigration "if he determines it to be in the national interest." Trump's administration argues that he has the executive power to curb immigration in the name of national security, a power he invoked right after taking office with a controversial ban on travelers from several mostly-Muslim countries -- whose final version was upheld by the US Supreme Court on June 26 after a protracted legal battle. "Today's rule applies this important principle to aliens who violate such a suspension or restriction regarding the southern border," Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker said. Those seeking political or other kinds of asylum -- nearly all of them coming from impoverished and violent crime-plagued countries of Central America -- will be heard exclusively at the border crossings, administration officials told journalists. This is expected to put a dent in those streaming into an already overburdened system, officials said, noting that there is a backlog of more than 700,000 cases in the immigration courts. Story continues - Campaign controversy - Many politicians on both sides of the aisle agree that the US immigration system is hugely inefficient and unable to cope with demand. However, Trump's focus on the issue during campaigning for Tuesday's hotly contested midterm congressional elections was criticized as veering into immigrant-bashing and even racism. In speeches and on Twitter, Trump hammered away nearly daily at "caravans" of a few thousand impoverished Central Americans that periodically attempt to walk up through Mexico and then gain entry to the United States. He called a current caravan, which is still hundreds of miles from the US border and dwindling in numbers, an "invasion" and said it would bring hardened criminals to US streets. Administration officials say that aside from the rhetoric the border really does have a problem, given that anyone who manages to get across can request asylum and subsequently often vanish while their case sits in the court system. "The vast majority of these applications eventually turn out to be non-meritorious," a senior administration official said, asking not to be identified. Less than 10 percent of cases result in asylum being granted, the government says. Human rights campaigners and other critics of the Trump crackdown say that by restricting asylum seekers to the narrow border crossing points -- which are already under enormous pressure -- the government is effectively shutting the door on people who may truly be fleeing for their lives. But the administration official argued that "what we're attempting to do is trying to funnel credible fear claims, or asylum claims, through the ports of entry where we are better resourced." That way, he said, courts will "handle those claims in an expeditious and efficient manner, so that those who do actually require an asylum protection get those protections." In 2018, border patrols have registered more than 400,000 illegal border crossers, homeland security said. And in the last five years, the number of those requesting asylum has increased by 2,000 percent, it said. Jet fighters of the Saudi royal air force: Getty The US will stop the inflight refuelling of Saudi-led coalition jets in Yemen amid growing anger over civilian casualties from the kingdoms air strikes. The decision by Americans to pull out also comes amid outrage by US politicians from both political parties over the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The Saudis said it had requested cessation of inflight refuelling by the US, which appeared to suggest it was the kingdom was behind the decision. We support the decision by the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after consultations with the US government, to use the coalitions own military capabilities to conduct inflight refuelling in support of its operations in Yemen, US defence secretary Jim Mattis said in a statement. The US will also continue working with the coalition and Yemen to minimise civilian casualties and expand urgent humanitarian efforts throughout the country. It was not immediately clear what impact the US withdrawal from air refuelling operations would have. American officials earlier said Saudi forces now handled some 80 per cent of their refuelling operations, which crucially allow aircraft to fly longer sorties over possible targets and can ease the pressure for quick strikes. Yet even with that refuelling support, Saudi Arabia has faced widespread international criticism over its campaign of airstrikes in the Saudi-led coalitions war in Yemen, targeting Shia rebels known as Houthis who hold the capital, Sanaa. The strikes have hit public markets, hospitals and other non-military targets, killing scores of civilians, according to the United Nations. US officials said the end to refuelling would not stop American training and military assistance. The Saudi statement, carried on the state-run Saudi Press Agency, did not acknowledge the Trump administrations discussions and pressure for its withdrawal. Recently the kingdom and the coalition has increased its capability to independently conduct inflight refuelling in Yemen, the statement read. As a result, in consultation with the United States, the coalition has requested cessation of inflight refuelling support for its operations in Yemen. Agencies contributed to this report On November 12, the bishops will convene in Baltimore for what promises to be an important meeting. All eyes will be on a series of reforms that address sexual abuse, especially as it concerns the role of bishops. The 2002 Dallas norms applied to priests, but not the bishops. Central to the meeting is the role of the laity. There have been many calls by the laity over the past few months seeking to influence the discussion, and some have organized. In fact, some will be present when the bishops assemble, hoping to have their voice heard. They cover a wide range of views. Some are responsible and some are an utter disgrace. Should the bishops listen to the laity? Of course. Should the laity govern? No. They should know their place: Their role is advisory. If the bishops want to extend greater authority to them, they can, but it smacks of arrogance for the laity to think that they are better equipped to run the Church than the bishops. Many of them can't even run their own lives without crashing on a daily basis. Who among the laity should the bishops listen to? The ones who know their place. The first time I sat down with Cardinal John O'Connor was in December 1993. I started working at the Catholic Leagueour office was in the Catholic Center (the same building where O'Connor worked) on July 1, 1993. I had made some media splashes, motivating O'Connor to write about me. We had met briefly at a public event in the fall, but now he wanted to have a meeting. Within five minutes, O'Connor asked me, "What do you need?" "Nothing," I said. A few minutes later, he asked the same question, pressing me to respond. I said, "I want nothing from you. I came to serve you. I came to inherit your problems." He turned to his assistant, an attorney, and said he could count on one hand the number of times this has happened to him over the years. That's why O'Connor listened to me. So have some other bishops. I don't have a hidden agendathe Catholic League is here to defend the Church against wrongdoing. I hasten to add that we are not here to defend wrongdoing committed by the clergy. Any lay person who wants to help the bishops deal with the issue of sexual abuse should be as committed to the rights of the accused as he is to the welfare of victims. Unfortunately, we hear a great deal about the latter these days, but little about the former. In today's environment it takes courage to insist on the due process rights of priests and bishops who are accused of sexual misconduct. However, not to do so is a grave injustice. All of the accused must be considered innocent until proven otherwise, and there should be no exception for anyone who works for the Catholic Church. There are serious juridical issues that will constrain the bishops from adopting measures to effectively address wrongdoing done by those in their own ranks. It is therefore not helpful to raise expectations of reform too much; canon law can be changed, but existing norms cannot be ignored. Any real changes must be embraced by Rome. Bishops looking for guidance on which lay groups and individuals they should listen to should keep in mind the content of the proposed reforms and the tone of those making them. They should sniff out lay clericalism whenever it arises. Beware of those on the right and the left who are proposing a mountain of reforms. Some are so intrusive as to be a menace. As a corollary, beware of those who pledge to "fix" everything. It should never be assumed that everything the bishops have done is in need of repair. Indeed, the bishops need to be more vocal in touting their successes: the fact that in the last two years for which we have data, only .005 percent of the clergy have had a credible accusation made against them is testimony to the success of the Dallas reforms. Tone matters. When the laity become lordly, look out. The most recent example is the condescending editorial posted on November 9 by the National Catholic Reporter. It does not advise the bishopsit lectures them. That this is coming from the same people who reject the Church's teachings on sexuality, and who have long promoted a libertine visionone that was adopted by many seminaries in the late 1960s and the 1970s, causing the sexual abuse scandalmakes the editorial all the more despicable. There are those on the right and the left who are purists, men and women who insist that all the bishops are corrupt and should resign. No, those making such charges should resign. Sweeping generalizations made about any demographic groupindicting all of its leadersare morally irresponsible. Most of the bishops, like most of the priests, are good men. They need the support of the laity in times like these. What they don't need is to be shouted at by self-righteous savants. Washington (AFP) - The United States will stop refueling aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition that is bombing Yemen, the Washington Post reported Friday. The move comes amid an ongoing international outcry over Saudi actions in Yemen, particularly after a string of high-profile coalition strikes that have killed scores of civilians, many of them children. The Pentagon would not confirm the Post's story. "We continue to have discussions with the Saudis. We have nothing to report at this time," Pentagon spokeswoman Commander Rebecca Rebarich said. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in August warned that US support for the coalition was "not unconditional," noting it must do "everything humanly possible to avoid any innocent loss of life." Currently, the Pentagon provides refueling capabilities for about 20 percent of coalition planes flying sorties over Yemen. Mattis last month made a surprise call for a ceasefire in Yemen and urged warring parties to enter negotiations within the next 30 days. The United Nations has now pushed that deadline back to the end of the year. Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in the conflict between embattled Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, whose government is recognized by the United Nations, and the Huthis in 2015. Nearly 10,000 people have since been killed and the country now stands at the brink of famine. International criticism over US support for Saudi Arabia grew further following the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The US sees Saudi Arabia as a key ally, especially in terms of providing a counter to Iranian influence in the region. Press secretary stood by decision to revoke CNN reporters access and sharing video edited to make his actions more aggressive The White House has stood by its decision to revoke the access of CNN reporter Jim Acosta after a fiery standoff with the president, and defended sharing a video on social media that had been altered to make Acostas actions towards an intern look more aggressive. The video, originally made by an employee of Infowars, a far-right conspiracy website, shows Acostas reaction to a White House employee who tried to grab a microphone from him while he attempted to question Donald Trump at a press conference on Wednesday. The video is cut so that it appears that Acosta tries to forcefully use his arm to push away the White House staffers arm, rather than use his arm to pull back the microphone. The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, shared the video on Twitter on Wednesday night and said: We stand by our decision to revoke this individuals hard pass. We will not tolerate the inappropriate behavior clearly documented in this video. Despite the videos dubious origins, Sanders doubled down in a White House statement on Thursday saying The question is: did the reporter make contact or not? The video is clear, he did. We stand by our statement. Paul Joseph Watson, who makes videos for Infowars, called claims that he had altered the video a brazen lie. But in an analysis done for Storyful, which describes itself as a social-media intelligence agency that sources and verifies insights for media, there are apparently several frames repeated in the video. According to an analysis by Shane Raymond, a Storyful journalist, these frames do not appear in the original C-SPAN footage, and appear to exaggerate the action of Acosta. In an interview with Fox Business Network on Thursday, senior White House communications advisor Mercedes Schlapp insisted that the intern was shaken up and intimidated by Acosta and added: What we are seeing is bad behavior that cannot be tolerated. Story continues The revocation of Acostas hard pass, which provides access to the White House grounds, is without any precedent in modern history. The CNN reporter has made a name for himself by asking forceful questions of Trump and other administration officials. Acosta has served as a White House correspondent for CNN since 2013 when he covered the Obama administration. He was promoted to chief White House correspondent earlier this year. Acosta called the White Houses claims lies and CNN defended its reporter in a statement. The network said: [The revocation] was done in retaliation for his challenging questions at todays press conference. In an explanation, press secretary Sarah Sanders lied. She provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better. Jim Acosta has our full support. Dont believe the lies coming from the WH. Believe in our freedoms. Thank you all for your support. We wont back down. #1A Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 8, 2018 A network spokesman later attacked the video shared by Sanders on Twitter. Matt Dornic, a CNN executive, tweeted at Sanders that her behaviour was absolutely shameful. He added You released a doctored video actual fake news. History will not be kind to you. The White House Correspondents Association also condemned the action to revoke Acostas credentials. Its president, Olivier Knox, said in a statement Wednesday night that the group strongly objects to the Trump administrations decision to use US Secret Service security credentials as a tool to punish a reporter with whom it has a difficult relationship. Revoking access to the White House complex is a reaction out of line to the purported offence and is unacceptable. Knox added: We urge the White House to immediately reverse this weak and misguided action. We encourage anyone with doubts that this reaction was disproportionate to the perceived offence to view the video of the events. This article was amended on 9 November 2018. An earlier version misnamed Shane Raymond as Shane Richmond. This has been corrected. A powerful wildfire in northern California has left at least nine dead after incinerating most of a town of about 30,000 people and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people including some of Hollywoods biggest stars. The blaze has grown into the states most destructive fire in at least a century, growing to nearly 140 square miles and destroying more than 6,700 structures in just a day. Fires are also burning in Southern California and state officials have put the total number of people forced from to evacuate their homes at about 250,000. Incinerated a huge wildfire in the north of California has incinerated an entire town, leaving at least nine people dead (Picture: AP) Firefighters said crews gave up attacking the flames and instead helped people get out alive (Picture: AP) In the north of the state, people reported seeing much of the town of Paradise, where the blaze started, go up in flames, including homes, supermarkets, businesses, restaurants, schools and a retirement centre. There was really no firefight involved, Captain Scott McLean of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said, explaining that crews gave up attacking the flames and instead helped people get out alive. MORE: Teen cyclist, 17, left dead, and another critically injured in hit-and-run MORE: Flab-tastic Mr Fox: Super-size fox spotted waddling around London garden The massive blaze spread north on Friday, prompting officials to order the evacuation of Stirling City and Inskip, two communities north of Paradise along the Sierra Nevada foothills. The wind-driven flames also spread to the west and reached Chico, a city of 90,000 people. Firefighters were able to stop the fire at the edge of the city, California Fire captain Bill Murphy said. Evacuation hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to evacuated across the state (Picture: AP) Fires have spread through both the north and the south of California (Picture: AP) Further south, evacuation orders included the entire city of Malibu, which is home to 13,000 people including some of Hollywoods biggest stars. Kim Kardashian West, Will Smith, Caitlyn Jenner and Denise Richards have all been forced to leave their homes. Oscar-winning director Guillermo Del Toro also confirmed he had been evacuated and feared for his home and his extensive movie memorabilia collection, while former EastEnders star Patsy Palmer, who now lives near Los Angeles, was also forced to leave her home. Story continues Popstar Katy Perry slammed Donald Trumps response to the California wildfires as absolutely heartless after the US President who has issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds for Butte, Ventura and Los Angeles counties wrote on Twitter that they were the result of poor forest management. This is an absolutely heartless response. There arent even politics involved. Just good American families losing their homes as you tweet, evacuating into shelters. https://t.co/DJ4PN26bLZ KATY PERRY (@katyperry) November 10, 2018 Perry blasted: This is an absolutely heartless response. There arent even politics involved. Just good American families losing their homes as you tweet, evacuating into shelters. According to reports, the wildfire is also thought to have destroyed the TV and movie production location known as Western Town at the Paramount Ranch, which was used for productions including 1938s The Adventures Of Marco Polo and TVs Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, and more recently for hit drama series Westworld. YAKIMA, Wash. Lloyd Gabriel enjoyed seeing the crowd as he kicked off the annual Yakima Veterans Day Parade as the parade marshal. Moroccos King Muhammad VI has recently decided to integrate the study of the Holocaust into the countrys educational curriculum. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Moroccan Education Minister Said Amzazi publicly announced the kings decision during a round table discussion on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September. Children at Auschwitz-Birkenau camp According to Le Desk, a Moroccan news website, Amzazi relayed the kings message regarding the matter, saying that anti-Semitism is the antonym of freedom of expression. It manifests the negation of the other and is an admission of failure, insufficiency and the inability to coexist." This is the anachronistic return to a mythical past. Is this the past that we want to leave as a legacy for future generations?" the education minister said. For all that, the battle against this plague cannot be handled carelessly. It is fought neither with the military nor with money; it above all depends on education and culture. This battle has a name: education. And in the interest of our children, it is important for us to win it because they will be the beneficiaries and our ambassadors in the future, Amzazi added. Israeli MK Michael Oren (Kulanu) immediately praised the decision on Twitter. Moroccos King Muhammad V sent a profound moral message to the world. Anti-Semitism & Holocaust denial is rising in the West; the leader of a proud Arab country is introducing Holocaust education into Moroccan schools with the goal of fighting anti-Semitism. There is indeed hope, he tweeted. Marrakech, Morocco (Photo: shutterstock) Le Desk also reported that Morocco had considered incorporating Jewish-Moroccan history, as well as Holocaust studies, into its educational system back in 2008. The government, however, failed to devise a concrete plan toward that end. But in more recent years, Moroccan educational authorities began to collaborate with other institutions, notably the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, to develop an appropriate curriculum and pedagogyone that includes Holocaust studies with the general aim of countering racial hatred. Moroccos decision marks a turning point in what some analysts see as shifting Arab perspectives toward the regions Jewish community, although it is unclear how teaching about the Holocaust could translate into warmer relations with Israel. The kingdom, like many other Arab countries, does not recognize the Jewish state. Prof. Meir Litvak, chair of the Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University, told The Media Line that in the Arab world the general view on issues surrounding the Holocaust has always been whatever happened to the Jews in Europe was a European affair. Europeans were perpetrators and the Jews were victims. But the real price was paid by the Arabs when Israel was established. Jewish children at Auschwitz concentration camp after the camp's liberation (Photo: AP) Therefore, he explained, attitudes among Arabs toward the Holocaust were often seen as part and parcel of the conflict with Israel, and not as an event in itself. This led to various views of the Holocaust on a spectrum from total or what is called soft denials of it, to sometimes justification of it, as well as various equations between Zionism, Judaism, and Nazism, or between Israel and Nazi Germany. Many Arabs also believed that Israel benefited from the Holocaust, which the Israelis used to gain political support and money. But starting in the 1990s, we see a different and minority view emerging among some Arab intellectualsespecially many liberals, many of whom lived in the Westwhich held that there was a Holocaust, it was horrible and we should try to understand and accept it, Litvak said. It happened for two reasons, he explained. First, these intellectuals felt that to be part of the civilized world, Arabs needed to accept and recognize the Holocaust. Second, to make peace with Israel, they deemed it important to understand how Israelis viewed such a tragic event in Jewish history. But this is still, unfortunately, a minority position in the Arab world, Litvak added. March of the Living at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in Poland (Photo: AFP) Moroccos decision, he concluded, is significant because it is the first time an Arab state takes such a courageous decision. But how much impact it will have on other Arab countries remains uncertain as Arab governments now have other matters to attend to. Also, raising the issue would clearly arouse the anger of Islamists. Dr. Ido Zelkovitz, an expert on Palestinian history and politics and a Policy Fellow at the Mitvim Institute, told The Media Line that by and large, the Holocaust has played a major role in Palestinian discourse regarding Israel and Zionism. The Palestinians have used it in the pastand perhaps also in the presentto describe themselves as the victims of the victims, Zelkovitz said, adding that the issue of victimization is a central pillar of modern Palestinian identity. But in the last few years, he added, we are seeing progress among Palestinian elites in the way they are approaching the topic. We saw delegations of Palestinian activists who came to explore Yad Veshem and later even published their impressions of the visit, he added. March of the Living at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp (Photo: Reuters) The Holocaust has also played a large role among Palestinian politicians in their efforts to better understand Israelis, Zelkovitz explained, recalling that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wrote a 1984 book on how the Nazi-perpetrated Holocaust had been exaggerated by Zionists for political ends. Though he didnt deny the Holocaust in the book, he vastly underestimated the number of its victims. One can argue that this is a form of Holocaust denial, he contended. From the Palestinian perspective, I dont see any true empathy when it comes to the Holocaust and its implications, but there is an understanding of how the Palestinians can use the event in their political calculations with the Israelis, Zelkovitz concluded. But this is a sign that in fact the Palestinians already recognize the Holocaust. And maybe in the future, from recognition they can move to the next step of perhaps not compassion, but a deeper understanding of it. Article written by Terrance J. Mintner While the Republicans breathe a sigh of relief, and the Democrats celebrate winning control of the House of Representatives, Israel is mainly focused on analyzing the political ramifications of the United States midterm elections outcome, and has yet to comment on the results. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Michael Oren was the only one who said that the Republican Party's loss of the House, would prompt US President Donald Trump to invest more time in foreign relations and present his "deal of the century," meant to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Capitol Hill (Photo: AP) According to Oren, the US midterm election results will effect Israel, leading the country to reinvest efforts in the battle against Democrats and liberal Jews. However, Israeli officials said Wednesday that the Senatewhich remains under Republican controlwould not change its stance towards the Jewish State. However, the fact that several American Muslims, who publicly express their anti-Israel views, had been elected to the House, makes the situation there far more complex. Nevertheless, pro-Israeli Democrats will still lead House committees, with the most prominent being Eliot Engel, a Jewish congressman that will head the Foreign Affairs Committee. A total of five Jewish Democrats will lead main committees in the House of Representatives, among them California's Adam Schiff, heading the House Intelligence Committee. Democrats' test: committee appointments Israeli senior officials expected that a tie in Congress, which would see the Senate remain Republican control and the House under Democratic control, would alter the dynamics of US politics. However, it is still too soon to tell whether it would trigger domestic or foreign changes in US politics. One of the first tests of the new leadership will be the elections for Congress, whose Foreign Affairs Committees' members are considered to be critical of Israel. House minority leader Nancy Pelosi's victory speech () X "We have to wait and see how this pans out. If (Congress members known for their criticism of Israel-ed) are appointed to domestic affairs committees, it would signal the leadership is not interested in a confrontation with Israel," according to Israeli Consul General in New York Dani Dayan. Dayan said that over the past few months, he had met with almost all new congress members in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in an attempt to establish joint work relations. In addition, AIPAC (the pro-Israeli lobby in Washington) representatives have met with all candidates for Congressional elections. Democratic Party officials added that many of the Congress members elected by the party are pro-Israeli. However, officials affiliated with the Republican Party said Israel should be very worried, since the Democratic Party is shifting more and more to the left wing, with its anti-Israel policy strengthening. Israel is losing young voters' support in the US The Jewish State's main problem is the criticism it draws among the Jewish and non-Jewish American youth. According to latest surveys, the voting rate among the young people in the US has increased by 50 percent in the last elections in comparison to the previous ones, and by 2020, 22 million young voters will be eligible to vote. The younger segment of the population in America views Israel as the bad side of the conflict with the Palestinians. In other words, the Democratic electorate in the US is gaining power in anticipation of the next presidential elections, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should prepare for a possibility of losing his good friend in the White House. Another point against Israel is the fact the Democratic candidates are more dependent of small rather than on big funding sources for their campaigns, which will decrease the influence of major Jewish donors. Seventy-nine percent of American Jews gave their vote in the midterm elections to the Democratic Party. Most of them do not consider Israel as a factor influencing their vote, find less interest in the Jewish State and are more preoccupied with domestic issues, especially social matters. US President Donald Trump (Photo: EPA) J Street, the American liberal lobby attempting to promote an Israeli-Palestinian agreement, scored a big achievement after 120 candidates whom it had endorsed were elected to the House. The pro-Israeli lobby doubled the sums it raised for its candidates in the 2014 midterm elections, and now supports more than half of the Democratic members in the Senate and the House. J-Street's President Jeremy Ben-Ami said, "Voters across America, including a large majority of American Jews, strengthen the democratic values in the US and its ability to demonstrate responsible leadership to the world." "By impeaching many of Trump's allies, US citizens said no to hatred, no to racism, and no to wars of choice in the Middle East. They elected a Congress that will act with responsibility to restrain Trump and his policy," Ben-Ami explained. Germany has a moral duty to fight rising anti-Semitism, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday in an emotional speech at a Berlin synagogue to mark the 80th anniversary of a Nazi campaign of attacks on Jews. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Dressed in black, Merkel told Jewish leaders that violence against Jews, blamed on far-right militants or Muslims, was growing in Germany now, eight decades later. "Jewish life is blossoming again in Germanyan unexpected gift to us after the Shoah," she said, using the Hebrew word for the Holocaust. "But we are also witnessing a worrying anti-Semitism that threatens Jewish life in our country." Merkel at a Berlin synagogue (Photo: EPA) Shortly before Merkel spoke, an appeal court in Berlin overturned a decision by police to ban a far-right march in the capital planned for later on Friday. Police had barred the event on the grounds it would be unacceptable to hold a far-right march on the same day as the rest of the country was commemorating Jewish victims of Nazi violence. But the court was of the view that the constitutional rights to freedom of expression and assembly were paramount. A counter-demonstration by leftist groups was also planned. Merkel at a Berlin synagogue (Photo: EPA) Merkel called for zero tolerance of attempts by far-right groups to hold Germany's large Muslim community responsible for violence committed by Islamist militants. MIGRANTS The chancellor's decision in 2015 to welcome almost a million migrants, most of them Muslim, has fuelled the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which says Islam is incompatible with the German constitution. Germans were shocked by images of skinheads chasing migrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz in September after the fatal stabbing of a man was blamed on two migrants. Far-rightists also clashed with police and attacked a Jewish restaurant. "This form of anti-Semitic violence reminds us of the beginning of the pogroms," Merkel said. In Vienna the head of Austria's government, which includes a party founded by ex-Nazis, pledged support for Israel's security on Friday as Austria marked the Kristallnacht anniversary. Austria for decades presented itself as a victim of Nazism rather than acknowledge its collaboration with its crimes, including the Holocaust. Conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that had changed. "We did it too late but we have grappled with our own history ... we do not simply suppress the events of the darkest hours of our history in the year 2018," he told a ceremony in parliament marking the anniversary. The event was attended by members of Kurz's coalition partner, the far-right Freedom Party. Although it was founded by ex-Nazis in the 1950s, the party says it opposes anti-Semitism and denounces the Holocaust. Party officials have, however, been embroiled in recent anti-Semitism scandals. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Friday anti-Semitic attacks had surged in his country in the past nine months. Israel and Qatar have reached an agreement the establishment of a sea route between Gaza and Cyprus, Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar reported on Saturday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter According to the report, the sea route will be under international supervision in addition to Israeli security monitoring. However, it is yet unclear how and in what manner the sea route will operate. Israel has reportedly asked to have physical presence at the sea route, while Hamas has demanded the supervision to be more similar to the one at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, where monitoring is done via security cameras. 'March of Return' protest flotilla near the Israel-Gaza naval border (file photo) (Photo: AFP) $15 million Qatari cash infusion was paid out to Palestinian civil servants in the Gaza Strip on Friday. Qatari Ambassador to Gaza Mohammed Al Emadi said his country will continue transferring $15 million a month for salaries and stipends for needy families over the next six months, while $10 million will be allocated to electricity for the strip. "We reached an agreement with Israel on the solution of the electricity problem - line 161 (the direct power line from Israel) and the naval route," he said without going into details about these agreements. Hamas employees in Gaza receive salary from Qatari money (Photo: AFP) Al Emadi added that "the UN is not involved in the current Qatari grant, and it is under full supervision of the Qatari committee." On Friday afternoon, Al Emadi's convoy came under attack while he was visiting one of the "March of Return" campaign protest sites on the Gaza border. A group of Palestinian rioters pelted the convoy with stones and other objects. No one was hurt in the incident. Qatari Ambassador to Gaza Mohammed Al Emadi arriving at the March of Return protest site Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, also arrived at one of the protest sites, where he declared that "there is no arrangement with the occupation, but with Qatar, Egypt and the UN." Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar at the March of Return protests Also on Friday, a Palestinian infiltrated Israel from the strip and set alight a greenhouse in Moshav Netiv HaAsara in Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. Greenhouse on fire (Photo: Dedi Poled) "This is a grave incident, the likes of which we haven't seen in many years in our community. Hundreds of thousands worth of damages were caused here," one of the residents told Ynet. On Friday, Al Hayat reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to accept the ceasefire understandings reached between Israel and Hamas on the condition they are in line with the ceasefire agreement reached at the end of the 2014 Operation Protective Edge and do not include any political or diplomatic aspects. Next week, delegations from Abbas's Fatah and from Hamas are expected to travel to Cairo to once again discuss the Palestinian reconciliation efforts. Israel's public radio said contact had been lost with three Israeli tourists in southern Jordan. The Arabic-language Makan Radio said the tourists had last been heard from in the Wadi Rum area, a major tourist attraction. French officials say the Trump administration has agreed to consult with NATO partners on its plan to pull out of an arms control treaty with Russia. Aides to French President Emmanuel Macron said the decision was made during a meeting between President Donald Trump and Macron in Paris on Saturday. The head of Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah said his group will not be compelled by threats or sanctions to give up its rocket a capability, urging his government in comments Saturday to contend with the diplomatic pressure it faces. Hassan Nasrallah said succumbing to diplomatic pressure would allow Israel to attack Lebanon at will. Qatar's Gaza envoy Mohammad al-Amadi, visited Saturday the power plant in the strip amid efforts to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. "We do not support any faction and we have no desire to solve all the problems of the Gaza Strips residents," he said, referring to the financial aid Qatar provides the Hamas government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to attend Sunday an event commemorating 100 years since the end of World War I in Paris. The prime minister will not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to the French capital, as was reported earlier. At least 25 soldiers were injured and seven more went missing after an explosion in military base in Turkey's southeastern Hakkari province on Friday, Turkish Defense Ministry said. A Turkish soldier stands guard at a military post in Cukurca, in the Hakkari province, on the Turkish-Iraqi border, southeastern Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007. [File Photo:AP] According to the initial information, the incident was an "accident" that occurred due to explosion of ammunition during shooting exercise in a military base, the ministry said in a written statement. The injured soldiers have been taken to the hospital, and search activities continued for seven other missing, said the military. An investigation has been launched on the incident. The incident occurred in Ortaklar Sungu Tepe military base in Semdinli district of Hakkari province, which is located near the borders with Iran and Iraq, Hakkari provincial governor's office said in a statement. 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. By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY While it hasnt committed to spending any money yet, the Iron County Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to seek bids for rebuilding the Saxon Harbor campground. With the Federal Emergency Management Agency announcing in recent months it would be capping the amount of money the county can be reimbursed for the campground after its destruction in the July 2016 storm, the board decided it was worth seeing the bids for various parts of the project before deciding how to proceed. Ultimately, what were looking at is another bid p... MUSKEGO, Wis. - Eugene Reinerio, 95, resident of Tudor Oaks Senior Living Community in Muskego, passed away peacefully on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018, with family and friends close by. He was born on Aug. 9, 1923, in Pence, Wis., son of the late Dominic and Anna (Brackett) Reinerio. Eugene attended local schools and graduated from Hurley High School in 1941. After a tour of duty serving with an Army medical section in WWII, he was honorably discharged with several service medals in 1946. On June 19, 1948, Eugene married the love of his life, Bernice Calligaro, in a wedding at the Pence church in the Italian community where they both grew up. They resided in Madison while Eugene attended the University of Wisconsin, receiving a degree in geology. He went on to work in the field of oil exploration, employed by a U.S. company in various locations throughout the west and Canada. In 1959, he started his own business in Madison and achieved significant success as a geophysicist, developing a proprietary technique to store natural gas underground. In 2013, Eugene moved into Tudor Oaks and developed many new friendships in the community. He was known for his unforgettable smile and genuine interest in others. He loved his life and was grateful for all he had accomplished. Gene was an avid reader of history and investment books and loved listening to opera. He touched many lives and will always be remembered for his humor, his intelligence, and his "Gene-isms," like "Keep it moving." Survivors include two daughters, Deborah, Oakland, Calif., and Emma (Michael) Busby, Chicken, Alaska; two grandchildren, Josea and Wesley Busby and their partners, Anthony Sandoval and Kyenna (McKinstry) Busby; along with five sisters, Isabel, Eleanor, Kathy, Rosemarie and, in particular, Virginia (Reinerio) and Richard Randa, who visited almost daily; and all the extended family living in the Milwaukee area who have always known Eugene as Curly, due to his curly hair. He was proud to be a part of such a large family! Cremation has taken place. A memorial will be held at Tudor Oaks in Muskego on Saturday, Nov. 17. Interment will be in the Hurley Cemetery on June 19, 2019. Please post condolences on InformedChoice.org or send to the daughters: Deborah Reinerio, 6122 Merced Ave., Oakland, CA 94611; Emma Busby, 10 Quail Lane 271, Tubac, AZ 85646. In lieu of flowers, memorials are appreciated to the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute, University of Wisconsin Medical School, 7818 Big Sky Drive, Suite 215, Madison, WI 53719. News Washington, DC - Under my Administrations policies, our Nations economy is booming and Americans have more opportunities than ever before. Men and women from all walks of life are moving off the sidelines and into the workforce. In this economic context, our country needs workers with world-class skills and abilities to fill vacant positions in the labor force. During National Apprenticeship Week, we recognize the importance of apprenticeships in helping our countrys hardworking people develop the competencies that enable success in todays dynamic, 21st century economy. As a lifelong businessman who has hired thousands of workers, I am a strong believer in the apprenticeship model, and my Administration is committed to expanding apprenticeship opportunities. Apprenticeship programs, when implemented effectively, provide workers with an opportunity to earn and learn on the job, and pair workplace education with classroom instruction, accelerating the learning process for participants and increasing their marketability. Since I took office, American employers have hired over 400,000 apprentices. In 2018 alone, we committed $145 million to diversify and scale apprenticeship programs, and we provided an additional $150 million in grant opportunities to promote apprenticeships in industries where they have not traditionally existed, including advanced manufacturing, banking and finance, information technology, and healthcare. In addition, as a result of our Pledge to Americas Workers, in just 3 months, we have secured commitments from more than 160 companies and associations to provide jobs, education, and workforce development opportunities to 6.4 million American workers. In June of last year, I signed an Executive Order creating the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion, which focused on identifying proposals to cultivate apprenticeships across all sectors of the economy and reform ineffective education and workforce development programs. The Task Force was composed of representatives from business, the trades, labor and industry groups, and educational institutions; each participant contributed a unique set of insights and experiences. The Task Force helped my Administration map out a strategy for creating new, industry-recognized apprenticeship programs that will encourage employers and industries to adopt the apprenticeship model. In addition to supporting apprenticeships, I am advancing tax and regulatory policies that are increasing opportunities for all Americans. Last month, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.7 percent, its lowest point in nearly 50 years, and more Americans are working today than ever before in our history. At the same time, right now, there are 7 million unfilled jobs in our country. By successfully deploying the apprenticeship model, the United States can build a workforce strong enough to quickly fill all of those jobs and better compete on the global stage. This week, I encourage all participants in our economy, from business leaders to government officials to educators, to join in our efforts to expand apprenticeship programs. Together, we can build and educate our Nations workforce, securing American economic greatness for future generations. NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 12 through November 18, 2018, as National Apprenticeship Week. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-third. DONALD J. TRUMP Today Clear to partly cloudy. Low 63F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low 63F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Tomorrow A mix of clouds and sun early, then becoming cloudy later in the day. High 82F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. KAZ Minerals PLC, together with its subsidiaries, engages in mining and processing copper and other metals primarily in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan. It operates through Bozshakol, Aktogay, East Region and Bozymchak, and Mining Projects segments. The company operates the Aktogay and Bozshakol open pit copper mines in the east region and Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan; three underground mines in the east region of Kazakhstan; and the Bozymchak copper-gold mine in Kyrgyzstan. It also develops greenfield metal deposits; operates Koksay deposit in Kazakhstan, and the Baimskaya licence area in the Chukotka region of Russia; and produces and sells various by-products, such as gold, silver, molybdenum, and zinc. In addition, the company supplies and distributes heat, water, and electricity; and offers construction, project management, financing, management, sales and logistics, and repairs and maintenance services. The company was formerly known as Kazakhmys PLC and changed its name to KAZ Minerals PLC in October 2014. KAZ Minerals PLC was founded in 1930 and is based in London, the United Kingdom. Read More YEN.com.gh understands that the taxi driver who allegedly knocked down a student of the West African Senior High School on the Madina-Adentan highway, has been arrested by the police. The suspect has been placed in police custody and investigations into the matter has commenced. His arrest has sparked various comments on social media from a cross-section of Ghanaians: Source: Supplied Source: Original READ ALSO: Otabil's Central University reportedly on the verge of collapse The victim, reportedly died on Thursday, November 8, 2018, as she tried to cross the road near the 'uncompleted' footbridge. This has led to a protest by the youth in the area as they are burning tyres on the main road to block cars from accessing the route. READ ALSO: Photo of pretty lady who lost her life in the Madina-Adentan car accident Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh YEN is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via Instagram or on YENs official Facebook page. Source: Yen.com.gh Talent they say is very expensive and these days it is even more difficult to find people who are multi-talented. However, in Takoradi there is a vibrant young lady who has garnered the courage to venture into a field that would normally be tagged as male-dominated. Arabas dream is to become a professional painter/designer and, in truth, shes already doing well in her own small corner. READ ALSO: Medikal jabs Sister Deborah In a Facebook post, she shared some of the amazing works shes produced with her talent, and these include wall paintings, designs and artwork. She is also into the making of cakes. According to her, she can make red velvet, birthday cakes, wedding cakes, banana cakes, chocolate cakes, sponge cakes and other pastries. Araba is also good at baking. Source: Facebook Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Mother and son hit by stray bullet in Adentan highway rage Her biggest problem, however, is that she lacks the customers to employ her to make use of her talents. She basically lacks the needed customers on the market. Araba is, therefore, advertising her works and calling on the public to give her a call if they need any of the above services. Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh READ ALSO: Photo: Ataa, lady who was knocked down in the Madina-Adenta Highway crash Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: Yen.com.gh The government of Ghana on Thursday, November 10, signed an agreement with a South African group, Africa Investment (Ai) SkyTrain Consortium, for the construction of the Accra Sky Train Project. Railways Development minister, Mr Joe Ghartey, signed the agreement for Ghana on the sidelines of the Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa. The minister emphasized that the Sky Train Project was the solution to the ever-increasing road traffic congestion in Accra, with its detrimental effects on economic activity, pollution and the quality of life. Signing of Accra Sky Train Project MoU. Credit: President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Police aimed at us and fired - Victim shot in Adentan demonstration says There is confidence in the project. The promoters (Ai SkyTrain Consortium) are very serious, and that is why we invited the President, himself, to witness the signing. This should assure the investors that Government is solidly behind it. The economics of this project are also good. We are very excited about the prospects, he said. We have signed an MoU, which will last nine months, where they (Ai SkyTrain Consortium) can do their feasibility into detail. After which we have given ourselves 45 days to take our concessionary agreements for approval by Cabinet and also by Parliament. By January 2020, we should start the construction of the project, Mr Ghartey said. The minister was hopeful that the project was going to create more jobs for people in the construction and fabrication industries since their input would be detrimental to the project. Sky Train Project. Credit: Graphic.com.gh Source: UGC He also stressed that most of the fabrication was going to be done in Ghana South Africas Deputy Minister for Transport, Sindisiwe Lydia Chikunga, who was present at the signing ceremony, stated that their country was happy to have signed the MoU and were looking forward to completing their feasibility and start work in earnest come January 2020. READ ALSO: Photos: Bill Asamoah, Mercy Asiedu & other Kumawood stars visit Abass Blinkz's family President Akufo-Addo, who was present at the signing stated that after the deterioration of Ghanas rail infrastructure over the years, it had become a priority of the government to rehabilitate, revive and expand, and get a railway infrastructure that was fit for purpose. He said the project is a good example of intra-Africa co-operation. It is Ghana-South Africa co-operation, meeting and coming together to deal with the problem of urbanisation, which is facing all our countries. President Akufo-Addo said Accra, with a population of some 250,000 when Ghana gained its independence, now had a population of roughly six million people. He added that the Accra SkyTrain Project was going to serve as a very efficient solution to the growing population and help reduce the traffic situation in the capital city. The African Investment SkyTrain Consortium is made up of Wilson Bayly Holmes, a construction engineering company in South Africa; BUNENGI Group, a project development company focused on developing projects in infrastructure; and AI Capital, the investment and financing arm of the AI Group, one of the most in influential international investment banking advisory groups focused on Africa. READ ALSO: On corruption; no serious evidence against my appointees so far - Nana Addo Watch: Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: Yen - The police in Abuja has arrested one Emmanuel Emeka Onuma for breaking into an ATM and stealing N14 million - According to police report, Onuma worked with a new generation bank, but was dismissed for alleged fraudulent acts - The suspect revealed that he worked with the bank for about 11 years and was sacked without any benefit The police command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja on Wednesday, November 7, paraded one Emmanuel Emeka Onuma for allegedly breaking into the vault of an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and stealing N14 million (GHC187,000). Onuma was one of the 15 suspects paraded for various offences by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Valentine Olumese, Daily Trust reports. READ ALSO: Little boy spotted staring at his late father's photo on his coffin causes grief The suspect, according to the police, was an employee of the new generation bank where he was sacked in August, 2018 for fraudulent activities. In his confession, Onuma revealed to newsmen that he worked with the bank for about 11 years and that he was dismissed unjustly without any benefit. He however said there was no justification for what he did. As to how Onuma was caught and arrested, Olumese explained: On 1st November, 2018 in furtherance with an on-going investigation, police operatives attached to Garki Division arrested one Emmanuel Emeka Onuma m 34 years old who broke into the ATM lobby of a bank located in Garki on 19th October, 2018 at about 12 midnight and stole the sum of N14 million. READ ALSO: Efia Odo goes wild again; displays her full 'tonga' in latest video The ACP further stated that the suspect confessed that some of the money he stole from the bank was converted to foreign currency ($33,000) at Abuja and Kaduna for ease of movement. He added that $28,000, N1,650,120, nine pieces of Ghanaian cedis and flight tickets were recovered from Onuma. Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh: Share your views on this with us in the comments section below. Do you have a story to share with us? Inbox us on our Facebook/Instagram page and we could feature your story. To stay up to date with the latest news, download our news app on Google Play today Source: Yen Some Ghanaian students in Italy have lost their scholarships after a massive visa fraud was spotted by the Italian Embassy here in Ghana. Currently, over hundred Ghanaian students in Italy are reported to have been stripped of their scholarships, with many more at risk of losing theirs. The Italian Embassy in Ghana has always been in charge of validating the documents of Ghanaian students on scholarship in Italy to enable them keep their scholarships. Italian Ambassador to Ghana, Giovanni Favilli. Source: Myjoyonline.com Source: UGC READ ALSO: Girl commits suicide after father caught her having sex on his bed To get the scholarship, students are required to submit proof of family composition and income, based on tax clearance certificate from Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), as well as an affidavit from the Supreme Court. However, the scholarship scheme didnt go very well this year, with some Ghanaians students accusing the Italian Embassy of causing their scholarships to be cancelled. According to the students, they submitted their documents for validation months ago but the October 31, 2018 deadline has passed and yet the Embassy has still not validated their documents. Accra-based Adom FM, however, reports that this was the case because the Italian Embassy discovered massive fraud in their visa and scholarship acquisition. The report suggests there is a network of fraudsters in Ghana and Italy who collect between 1,000 and 3,850 from students and fake documents for them to collect visas. Apparently, there is an Italian-based Ghanaian ringleader, only identified as George, who advises the students on how to deceive Embassy officials into giving them both visas and scholarships. They reportedly fake documents, including lying about the state their family income. If you state a high income you may get the visa but lose the chance of getting a scholarship because it means your parents have money to pay the fees; and if you state low income you will not get the visa because it means you have no means to take care of yourself while in Italy, so take the middle line, George was captured on audio telling some students. Speaking on the issue, Italian Ambassador to Ghana, Giovanni Favilli, said they suspected something fishy due to the increasing number of visa applications in the last five years. He explained that visa applications increased from about 200 in 2013 to a whopping 1,500 in 2018. According to him, at some point in their investigations, the Embassy had to fire one of their own workers because they suspected complicity. READ ALSO: Medikal jabs Sister Deborah "Italy is happy to welcome Ghanaian students and treat them same as Italian students but we will not countenance fraudsters taking advantage of our hospitality to defraud the system," the Ambassador said. "If anyone takes your money and promises you a visa, remember that we will verify every minute detail of documents submitted for visas and if fraud is determined you may become an accomplice of the criminal behind the fraud," he added. Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh READ ALSO: This is what happened when Nana Ampadu visited Sarkodie Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YEN's official Facebook page. Source: Yen Ghanaian actress Moesha Boduong has once again set social media on fire with her latest photo. The photo posted by Moesha Boduong has set tongues wagging. The photo sighted by YEN.com.gh, Moesha Boduog is seen wearing a beautiful smile and looking gorgeous in a nice outfit. READ ALSO: 12-year-old boy becomes an Instagram sensation posing as a girl Moesha Boduong in her outfit displayed her huge backside. She captioned the photo, God is going to keep blessing you in thier faces because they lied on you ,gossiped about you,and prayed against you back . Amen. Moesha Boduongs photo attracted lots of reactions from her followers as many hailed her. READ ALSO: 7 "heavy cargo" photos that explain why Medikal fell flat for Fella Makafui @faustinaekonlah was simply in love with the actress photo: Wawo what a sweet sister ooo. @sowande_frederick admired Moesha Boduongs beauty: You are very beautiful blessed woman's. @bigsamnyc also wrote: Looking pretty and lovely. @ahmed_dinho_de_conscious_ also commented: Beautiful out fit. Despite the praise, one fan @nelsonshadrack went hard on the Instagram queen as he advised her to give his life to Christ. He wrote: Give ur life to christ pls,what shall you gain,if you get the whole world and loses ur soul. READ ALSO: This is what happened when Nana Ampadu visited Sarkodie YEN.com.gh previously reported a story of how Moesha dazzled her fans with a video of her shapely body. In the video, Moesha is seen in a shirt which was tucked into a very tight dress as she cat-walked away. She has been in the news for both good and bad reasons in recent times but she looks to be moving on just fine. Xandy Kamel Interview on Star Gist: 'Benedicta Gafah Has No Womb' Xandy Drops Bombshell| #Yencomgh Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YEN's official Facebook page. Source: Yen - A photo of a boy staring at his late father's photo has gone viral - The little boy was spotted while his father was being buried From the age of 4 to 9 a child is unable to comprehend what happens when someone they love, especially a parent dies. There is the pain of the loss and pain of the people grieving around them, but do they really understand what happened? This viral photo of a little boy staring at his father's photo during his burial makes one wonder what goes through the mind of little children after the loss of a loved one. Photo of little Nigerian boy staring at his late father's photo during burial goes viral Photo: Facebook Source: Rariya Facebook page Source: Original In the viral photo, the little boy who looked like he could not be more than age 5 was seen staring for long at his late father's photo. READ ALSO: Sad photos as powerful Kumawood delegation visits Abass Blinkz's family Looking more closely at the photo it seemed like the little boy was curious about what his father's photo was doing on a wooden box. It was gathered that the deceased identified as Mustafa Ingawa was buried on Thursday, November 8. Reports allege that Ingawa was killed during a clash between security operatives and members of a religious sect in Abuja. It was also alleged that the deceased was a member of the religious sect. YEN.com.gh came across the heartbreaking photos of the little boy after it was shared on a Facebook page known as Rariya. READ ALSO: Tears flow as Kumawood actor Abass Blinkz gets buried in Kumasi (Video) The viral photo has since its publication on Facebook stirred a lot of emotions on the social media platform. READ ALSO: Efia Odo goes wild again; displays her full 'tonga' in latest video Though the reactions were written in the Hausa language, translations suggested they were comments to show pity and sorrow for the unfortunate incident. Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh: Share your views on this with us in the comments section below. Do you have a story to share with us? Inbox us on our Facebook/Instagram page and we could feature your story. To stay up to date with the latest news, download our news app on Google Play today Source: Yen President Nana Akufo-Addo has hit back at opposition politicians who have criticised his running of the country as well as the state of the economy that they believe is poor. While intentionally refusing to mention anyone by name, the President said he was not responding to any of the flagbearer aspirants until they are duly elected as party presidential candidates. In a tweet posted on Saturday morning, the President wrote: Im sure you have seen and heard some of the presidential aspirants of the leading opposition party taking jabs at my government in order, ostensibly, to prop up their campaign." And whilst at it, they are desperately trying to get me to respond to them." READ ALSO: Efia Odo puts her 'tonga' on full display in latest video The tweet went on to say that the President "will not respond to presidential aspirants." Akufo-Addo said he will be ready to listen to criticisms made by presidential candidates elected by their parties. The President said it is after their internal party elections that he will engage those "who still think Ghanaians have short memories. Twelve men are vying for the slot of presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), including former president John Mahama. READ ALSO: Four things you should know that happens when you are drunk Meanwhile, Member of Parliament (MP) for Klottey-Korle constituency, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings joined the campaign team of former President John Dramani Mahama during its tour of the Greater Accra Region. Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh: Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: Yen.com.gh Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan has been directed by the court to amend the name of his wife on his application for annulment of the marriage. Per report by MynewsGH.com sighted by YEN.com.gh, Gyan was ordered by the court after he referred to his wife as Gifty Oware (her maiden name) instead of Gifty Gyan. According to information, Giftys lawyer found it more insulting which they pushed for the right thing to be done. Asamoah Gyan (Photo credit: supplied) Source: UGC READ ALSO: 7 "heavy cargo" photos that explain why Medikal fell flat for Fella Makafui News went viral some weeks ago about the Kayserispor forward divorcing his wife. But Gyan through his lawyers said he is not divorcing his wife but rather annulling his marriage with Gifty. Reports have been rife that Gyan wants to leave his wife for Accra-based business woman, Nina Atalah. Gifty Gyan and kids (Photo credit: supplied) Source: Instagram READ ALSO: 12-year-old boy becomes an Instagram sensation posing as a girl Nina is an ex wife of jailed Jamaican dancehall sensation Buju Banton. According to reports, Nina has allegedly dated Stephen Appiah, John Dumelo, Ibrahim Mahama, among a host of high profile personalities. Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us message via YEN's official Facebook page. Source: Yen A pimp who was said he was inspired by Donald Trump to get involved in politics has been elected to Nevada's state assembly even though he died three weeks before the elections. Dennis Hof, a television star and pimp who owned several brothels, had been running for Nevada's state legislature when he was found dead on October 16, two days after this 72nd birthday. The Business Insider reports that the deceased Hof won his election on Tuesday, November 6 against Democrat Lesia Romanov, with almost 70% of the vote. By that time, it was too late to take his name off the ballot. Republicans in the state urged voters to cast their ballot for him anyway to keep the seat from the Democrats. READ ALSO: I will not respond to presidential aspirants until they're candidates - Nana Akufo-Addo Under state law, if a candidate who has died is elected, someone from the same party is appointed by local officials to fill the seat. Hof called himself "The Trump of Pahrump," after his town in Nevada, and beat a three-term incumbent Republican in June's primary. He told BuzzFeed in November that he thought support for him mirrored the continued support for Trump after the emergence of the "Access Hollywood" tape. READ ALSO: Court directs Asamoah Gyan to remove Gifty Gyan's maiden name out of application Hof's platform was largely conservative, as he looked to expand gun rights and vowed to take a tough stance on immigration. He also wanted to push to make the brothel industry more mainstream and introduce more sex education to schools. Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us message via YEN's official Facebook page Source: Yen Pokello Nare is wasting no time after ending her marriage with Ghanaian actor and fashion designer Elikem Kumordzi. Pokello has stunned social media users after flaunting her new boyfriend. The Zimbabwean celebrate her new boyfriend a few weeks after her divorce with Elikem Kumordzie was made public. READ ALSO: Gifty Gyan, children get new passports after Baffuor Gyan failed to return seized ones Pokello shared a photo of a gentleman who happens to be an actor. However, with respect to the caption, it is obvious the two have been in some kind of relationship for a whole year. She wrote, Some Uniqueness in a World full of Actors #365DaysAndLoading #WhatAYearItsBeen #ToMakingMoreMemories. READ ALSO: Court directs Asamoah Gyan to remove Gifty Gyan's maiden name out of application The photo caught the attention of social media users as they took to the comment section to express their views. @sandra_aaron admired Pokellos new found man: He is so cute. You look good together. @ellenvaraidzo simply wrote: Beautiful. @mssands_commented: Perfect match and hot couple. @akindeletaye stressed: Too clean and too classy. READ ALSO: 7 "heavy cargo" photos that explain why Medikal fell flat for Fella Makafui YEN.com.gh had previously reported the divorce story between Pokello and Elikem after the former filed a notice to defend summons issued by the latter. Elikem who met Pokello during Big Brother Africa (BBA) in 2013 filed for divorce against her saying he lost affection and love before he declared their relationship irreparable. Elikem stressed that the reason for seeking divorce against Pokello was because the latter was jealous of his roles in movies. Ghana News Today: Adenta on Fire as Angry Residents Protest Over Frequent Deaths| #Yencomgh: Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YEN's official Facebook page. Source: Yen.com.gh An undervote is when a voter casts a ballot but doesnt vote in one of the contests on the ballot. At the moment, there are a lot undervotes in the Senate race in Broward. If Mr. Scott ultimately prevails by a margin of 10,000 votes or less, the undervotes in Broward County could be what cost Mr. Nelson the race. Broward County has reported about 25,000 fewer votes cast for Senate than for governor, a difference of about 3.7 percent. That means voters left their Senate choice blank, or the choice was not counted because of a tabulation error like an equipment problem. This is highly unusual, and theres nothing like this discrepancy elsewhere in the state. Immediately across the county line in Miami-Dade County, about the same number of people voted in the Senate race and the governors race. There are two distinct patterns of undervoting in Broward County. Undervotes in the 24th Congressional District A particularly large number of undervotes came in the part of Broward County that belongs to the 24th Congressional District, a discrepancy first identified by Matthew Isbell, a Democratic consultant. There, the undervote is about 9 percent. In other parts of that congressional district in Miami-Dade County theres no significant undervote. One possibility is that theres some kind of tabulation error, because the scale of the undervote is so significant. If thats true, the votes could be recovered in a recount. If the undervoted ballots were similar to those of other voters in each precinct and were recovered, they would add a net 1,500 votes to Mr. Nelsons total. The rest of Broward County In other parts of Broward County, the undervote was around 3.3 percent. If you again allocated the undervotes to Mr. Scott and Mr. Nelson by precinct, based on how each precinct voted, that would net Mr. Nelson an additional 8,300 votes. Together, those 8,300 votes and 1,500 votes would mean an estimated additional 9,800 votes for Mr. Nelson. With the statewide margin at 15,000 and likely to shrink further, were not far from being within the margin of Browards undervote, meaning that it could be pivotal. If there was not a tabulation error, and voters truly didnt vote in the Senate race, the votes wouldnt be recovered in a recount. One possible culprit: ballot design In Broward County, the Senate contest appeared in the lower left section of the first page, under a set of instructions rendered in several languages. This design could explain the undervote if even a small fraction of voters, thinking it was part of the instructions, overlooked the Senate race. The only other race that appeared in the lower-left hand section of the ballot was the race for Congress. It seems there was a similar undervote in those contests. In Floridas 22nd and 23rd Districts, the only two contested congressional districts inside Broward, the undervote was just as large as it was in the Senate race. There was virtually no undervote in the congressional contests in the Eighth and 18th Districts, which sit in counties north of Broward. Theres another possible explanation for why there were so many undervotes in the 24th District. The 24th District House race was uncontested, and Florida is one of the few states where votes arent counted in uncontested races. We have not yet acquired an image of the ballot in the 24th District, but its possible the Senate race was alone in the lower left-hand corner, making it even easier to miss. Mr. Scott has filed a lawsuit against Broward County election officials, and they have also come under criticism from President Trump and other Republicans. Browards vote count has been particularly slow, and its late vote count has cut into Mr. Scotts lead. But while the slow vote count has the appearance of helping Democrats, it seems possible that Browards ballot will ultimately cost the Democrats a Senate seat. President Donald Trump , U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel all piled on, complaining that Snipes office manufactured votes in the middle of the night. From our front-row seat to Snipes performance over the years, we find the allegations against her impossible to believe. Snipes is not someone who would manufacture boxes of ballots to throw an election. Shes simply incompetent. She has a track record of mistakes and failing to own up to them. Shes long been willing to settle for coming in last in reporting elections results. Yet, despite her record of poor performance, she keeps getting re-elected, perhaps because she prominently promotes her name and face at the polls. Gov. Scott has every right to be concerned about Snipes. We all do. It was alarming to see the number of Broward ballots cast steadily rise well after the polls closed Tuesday. Mid-day Wednesday, for example, Snipes website said 708,974 ballots had been cast. Late Wednesday that number jumped to 716,209. And late Friday, it jumped to 717,187. With his vote margin shrinking against U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, you can see why the governor might think Snipes is playing Santa Claus to a fellow Democrat. However, people familiar with the supervisors website tell us theres another explanation. They say her site mislabels ballots counted as ballots cast. It seems a plausible explanation, given how the number of ballots cast grew as ballots were counted. But given that this same phenomenon happened during the primary, why hasnt it been fixed? Ballots cast should be a fixed number as votes are tabulated. Even still, Gov. Scott went too far Thursday night when, without any evidence, he said he was asking the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate Snipes for "rampant fraud. Scott oversees FDLE as governor and a couple years back, he engaged in some shenanigans to fire an FDLE chief who didnt do his bidding. Now a candidate, Scott sets a dangerous precedent by interjecting police muscle into his race. (FDLE told the Sun Sentinel on Friday that it was not investigating.) Scott could remove Snipes for misfeasance or malfeasance, as he was asked to do in June by Tim Canova, a law professor who successfully sued Snipes for having too quickly destroyed the paper ballots in his 2016 primary race against U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. But its too late for Scott to suspend Snipes. Any appointment he would now make would look blatantly partisan and lack credibility. Now we need to hear from Snipes. We need answers to questions, including: Why did Snipes not know how many ballots were in her possession after the polls closed? Does she not record them as they are received? If so, she should have been able to say how many remained to be counted. What took so long to count ballots from Early Voting? We understand that Vote By Mail ballots take longer because signatures must be matched against the voter rolls. But Early Voting ballots are tabulated by machine. Why were they last to cross the finish line? Why were 65 other Florida supervisors able to complete their work in a timely way? Saying her office was not as slow as last year offers little consolation. Why were more votes cast for down-ballot candidates, such as agriculture commissioner and attorney general, than for the marquee U.S. Senate race? The Sun Sentinel found more than 24,700 Broward citizens voted in the governors race than in the Senate race. This oddball pattern didnt show up anywhere else in the state. Why can Snipes still not produce a personalized sample ballot, rather than a generic one, to help voters see what they face before entering the polls? While there is no evidence of fraud, there is a case to be made for an audit to assess Snipes ability and competence to manage a major election. These problems must be fixed before the 2020 presidential election In May, after her office destroyed the ballots sought by Canova, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner met with Snipes in Fort Lauderdale. Later, he told Sun Sentinel reporter Anthony Man that he had confidence in all the supervisors in the state, saying they know what theyre doing. But because of what shed done, the governor said he would send state employees to monitor her work in this election. The Secretary of States office will continue to ensure that every Supervisor of Elections understands and follows the law, Scotts statement said. The monitors were on site this week, but they obviously didnt make a difference. In the 2016 election, we endorsed Snipes opponent in the Democratic primary, saying she was too disconnected from the office's operations, too unaware of its failings and too slow to make improvements. The supervisors office, we said, needs new energy. In June, after Canovas lawsuit, we again questioned Snipes competence for this office. We urged her to announce that her current term would be her last. In the absence of any evidence of fraud to justify Snipes immediate removal, we do so again. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The custom of getting married in a church was born in the late 16th century. The religious reformer Luther still sees marriage as a worldly business. He thinks there is no connection between marriage and church. But in the face of the impact of Protestantism, Catholicism began to reiterate the churchs power to believers weddings. The impact of the Catholic Church on marriage began with the Trento religious meeting held in the middle of the 16th century. The conference refuted Protestant reforms and proclaimed that all Protestantism was heresy. It believed that since the Middle Ages, Catholic teachings and rituals were correct and correct. The conference insisted on the seven sacraments (sacraments), namely, baptism, firmness, communion, confession, final evangelism, miracles, and marriage. Most of these sacraments were used from the time of the apostles, but the sacrament of marriage was not formally confirmed until this time. Afterwards, the ceremony for the conclusion of each effective marriage must be held in front of the local priests and two witnesses, but there is still no dedicated clothing for marriage. The church supports the imperial provisions concerning clothing and believes that any extravagant acts must be cursed. It is guilty to wear a dress for only one day. Throughout the Middle Ages, there was simply no color for wedding dresses and no special style. Color and cut-out can be as long as it meets the universal fashion. In The Statue of Giovanni Arnolfini, painted by Jan van Eyck in around 1420, the groom is a wealthy cloth trader who wears a piece of clothing. There is a brown cape with fur decoration, and the bride wears a green fur dress. In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome! International Trade and Investment Promotion Minister Bandula Gunawardana said yesterday the new government did not intend abrogate the much criticized Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement because it was an international trade pact. An FR has been filed against this agreement in the Supreme Court and President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed Prof. W.D. Lakshman to study it and file a report. Therefore, the government would not abrogate the Sri Lanka-Singapore Trade Agreement immediately. Besides, It has been printed only in English and as such we must also print it in Sinhala and Tamil as required by Parliament Standing Orders, he said The minister said his prime concern would be to narrow the gap between exports and imports and as such would introduce drastic changes to the trade, investment and monetary policies adopted by the previous government. The previous regime followed a policy that ruined the local industry. They were more concerned on attacking political opponents. The abandoning of the Port City project and deserting of many sub contractors led to loose the confidence among investors. The FCID questioned business leaders, chairmen and directors of various companies compelling them to leave the country and that affected the economy badly, he said. The minister said he would try to resolve issues pertaining to the economy, investment and trade in a non-vengeful manner. "The government is confident of a majority in Parliament and has the support of 104 MPs at present, Minister S.B. Dissanayaka said. He said Mr. Ranil Wickremesinhe's struggle right now was not to secure the premiership but to be the leader of the opposition and leader of the UNP. The minister said those who left the UPFA camp were in contact with the UPFA leadership to come back and that he was confident that former minister Rishad Bathiudeen would support Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa. I believe we can rope in three more UNP members. But some members of our camp do not like them. That is the delay. The UNP right now has only the support of 98 members. The TNA and the JVP would not vote in favour of making Ranil Prime Minister. Anyhow, if the TNA supported Ranil, it will be fragmented into three fractions, the minister said. (Sandun A Jayasekera) Not-so-great Scott. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call In the Trump era, prophesying Americas imminent collapse into a second civil war has gone from being an occupation for street-corner cranks, to something approaching a national pastime. In recent months, U.S. news outlets have published articles under the following headlines: As those last two headers indicate, most of this speculation about imminent insurrection is driven less by the premises credibility, than by social medias insatiable demand for doomsaying. And yet, that demand is rooted in an important truth about American politics, circa 2018: The two major parties have developed worldviews so irreconcilable and thus, the stakes of whether one or the other controls government have become so high that their ability to exchange power peacefully can feel almost miraculous (and therefore, unsustainable). The U.S. remains a long way from state failure. But the threat that distrust in the legitimacy of the democratic process will inspire routine acts of domestic terrorism is already a live one . In this context, political leaders have a profound responsibility to avoid sowing distrust in the legitimacy of election results, unless they have a strong evidentiary basis for doing so. Their reckless rhetoric did stem from (what appears to be) a legitimate grievance . On Tuesday night, Scott appeared to have won a Senate race in Florida with virtually all precincts reporting, the governor led incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson by more than 57,000 votes, and Nelsons campaign signaled its intention to concede. But then, over the ensuing days, election supervisors in Broward County began releasing large batches of previously uncounted ballots, which steadily narrowed Scotts margin until, on Thursday, his lead dropped to under 16,000 votes well beneath the threshold for a mandatory recount. No other county in Florida failed to tabulate its votes in a timely manner on Tuesday night. And no other county in the state has as poor a reputation for competent and ethical election supervision. Broward County Election supervisor Brenda Snipes has repeatedly failed to execute the duties of her office in perfect compliance with the letter of the law. In one instance, her office prematurely disposed of ballots cast in the 2016 Democratic congressional primary between incumbent Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Tim Canova. Critically, Snipes did not destroy the ballots before they were counted, but merely failed to wait the statutorily mandated amount of time before eliminating them. Given that the SchultzCanova race wasnt a close contest in the initial vote (and wasnt expected to be), theres little reason to interpret Snipess actions as consequential or nefarious (which is to say, there is little reason to think she destroyed the ballots to secure her preferred candidates victory). In another instance, a judge found that Snipes was not following the proper procedure for tabulating absentee ballots. Now, in the days since Scott declared victory, Snipes has refused to tell his campaign how many absentee and early-voting ballots remain uncounted information that the Republican Party says that it is entitled to, under Floridas Public Records Act. Thus, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has filed a lawsuit against Snipes , demanding such data. On Friday afternoon, a Florida District Court found in the committees favor , ordering Snipes to hand over voter records by 7 p.m. that evening. Meanwhile, the combination of Snipess checkered history, Browards singular tardiness in processing its votes, the countys refusal to disclose how many ballots remain to be counted (before tomorrows noon deadline for certification) and the steady erosion in Scotts margin of victory has led Republicans to fear foul play. Such concerns are understandable. But they are also utterly unsubstantiated. When networks called the race for Scott Tuesday night, the New York Times forecasting algorithm was still giving him a mere 53 percent chance of winning the election because, based on the vote totals in other parts of the state, the model assumed that there had to be a lot of missing votes in (heavily Democratic) Broward County. Which is to say: One doesnt need to invoke a vast left-wing conspiracy to explain why Nelson gained votes between election night and Thursday afternoon. And yet, that is precisely what Scott, Rubio, and Trump have done. Every day since the election the left-wing activists in Broward County have been coming up with more and more ballots out of nowhere, Scott told reporters Thursday night. I will not sit idly by while unethical liberals try and steal this election from the great people of Florida, the governor who had personally disenfranchised so many former felons in the Sunshine State, more than 20 percent of its voting-age African-American population was not allowed to cast a ballot on Tuesday continued. Earlier in the day, Marco Rubio had leveled similar charges, tweeting that democrat lawyers are descending on #Florida . They have been very clear they arent here to make sure every vote is counted. They are here to change the results of election; & - #Broward is where they plan to do it. In reality, Democratic lawyers descended on Florida because the margins in both the states Senate and gubernatorial races had thinned to the point where Florida law would require a recount. And in the Senate race, a recount appears especially necessary, due to irregularities in Nelsons pattern of support. Specifically, an aberrant percentage of voters in Broward County marked their ballots for gubernatorial candidates but left the Senate ballot line blank. This might have been the product of poor ballot design (in which case, Nelson has no way to rectify the error). But there is a chance that it might be the result of glitchy voting machines (in which case, a hand recount just might throw the race to Nelson). Nevertheless, the president of the United States decided that there was simply no explanation for why the Democratic Party would send lawyers to Florida right around the same time that major statewide races hit the the threshold for a recount other than an elaborate conspiracy to commit election fraud. As of this writing, there is good reason to believe that Broward County election officials are incompetent but no evidence to suggest that they are willing to undermine the foundations of our democracy, in order to safeguard partisan gains. Turkey remembered Ataturk on 80th anniversary of his death The founder of modern-day Turkey, Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, was remembered 80 years after his death. Turkey's founder, first president and the leader of the Independence War Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, died at 9:05 a.m. on Nov. 10, 1938. People across Turkey on Saturday marked the 80th anniversary of death of him. SIRENS SOUNDED THE SAME TIME OF HIS DEATH The nation grinding to a standstill for sirens that have sounded at exactly the same time every year since. A high-profile ceremony held at Antkabir, the mausoleum of Ataturk in the heart of the Turkish capital of Ankara. Sirens of police vehicles, ambulances, ships and fire truck wailed while people walking on the streets stop and observe the one minute of silence. ATATURK TRANSFORMED THE FORMER EMPIRE INTO A SECULAR COUNTRY Ataturk was born in 1881 in Thessaloniki, which is now in Greece, in what was then the Ottoman Empire. He made his mark in the military in 1915 during World War I for his part in repelling the allied invasion in Canakkale, known in the West as the Dardanelles Campaign. Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after the war, Ataturk led the Turkish War of Independence, which defeated Greece and the European powers that occupied part of Anatolia. When he became president, Ataturk transformed the former empire into a modern and secular country. ATATURK PASSED AWAY ON NOVEMBER 10 Ataturk passed away on Nov. 10, 1938 at the age of 57. In Istanbul, Dolmabahce, an Ottoman palace where Ataturk spent his last days, will also be at the center of the commemoration events. The room where the revered leader passed away will be opened to visitors, as is the tradition after a remembrance ceremony. ERDOGAN RELEASED A STATEMENT YESTERDAY Visitors, who formed long lines to see the room, left carnations in the colors of the Turkish flag on Ataturk's bed. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who released a statement yesterday for the occasion, commended Ataturk's leadership for uniting the nation during and after the Independence War. AKAR ALSO RELEASED A STATEMENT He called for children and young people to be taught about his determination and the principles upon which the republic was founded. Erdogan also said the government was resolute in its efforts to achieve the objectives of Vision 2023, which aim at transforming Turkey into one of the world's top 10 economies. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar also released a statement, praising Ataturk and his comrades in arms who secured Turkey's freedom. Written by ACM *Strasbourg/CoE/Angelo Marcopolo/- Speaking at the eve of the International Forum for Peace in Paris, with 80 Heads of State/Government and UNO's Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, the New President of CoE's PanEuropean watchdog for Local and Regional Democracy (CLRAE), experienced Swedish ChristianDemocrat/EPP MEP Anders Knape, gave a Positive Reply to "Eurofora"s Question on Cyprus' President Nicos Anastasiades' proposal to Facilitate and Supplement the efforts for a Peaceful ReUnification of the island via an agreed Solution of the Political Problem, by adding also a large Decentralisation : - Indeed, Knape clearly told us that he found that Latest move, (made Earlier this same week), to be "Interesting", and did not exclude that CLRAE might also Examine and Discuss that, in the foreseable Future. + The New President of CoE's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (CLRAE) also told "Eurofora" that his officialy proclaimed Aim for the CLRAE to become a frequent and Direct Interlocutor of National Authorities and Governments, (enshrined in a Report on the "Consultation of Local Authorities by Higher Levels of Government", just Discussed and Adopted by the PanEuropean body's Plenary, earlier Today, during its Autumn 2018 Session in Strasbourg, 6-8 November 2018), would include Both the implementation of CoE's PanEuropean Texts for Local/Regional Self Government, and "various Other relevant Topical Issues", depending on the Specific situation and stakes in "Each Country". - CRLAE "is a Political body tasked with protecting local Democracy", and "an Important part of the COE and of the System of safeguarding Democracy in Europe". "That's why .... we must ...engage in regular Dialogue with Governments", stressed, earlier, in his Speech on his Election for the Next 2 Years (2019-2020), Anders Knape, who has already replied also to Various other "Eurofora" Questions on Topical PanEuropean Issues, (including, f.ex., the Fights against Radicalized Islamization, Ghettos, etc, but for Integration, and/or against the Economic Crisis, but for Jobs-creating Investment : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/coelocalautonomychiefknapeonterror.html , http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/clrae.html , etc). ---------------------------------- Anastasiades, at an exceptionaly Long Press Conference, earlier this Week in Nicosia, (which Coincided with the Beginning of CLRAE's Plenary in Strasbourg, on November 6), presented his idea to Add DeCentralisation to the Federal Structure of a State for a United Cyprus, in order to Prevent Problems from systematic Vetoes ("1 Positive Vote") by a Minority, (as had Asked Turkish Cypriot leaders, even whenever Decisions concerning Simply "EveryDay Life" will be taken by the Federation), which may Risk to provoke an Institutional Deadlock and Break Down, as in the Past. (Something that UNO's SG Guterres seems to have realized, when he urged for a "Normal State" in Cyprus, able to Work Efficiently). Only Issues where Core Interests of the Turkish Cypriot Community are at stake, might, eventually, be submitted to such a procedure, on Condition to set up an Efficient Mechanism for Resolution of such Problems, as also UNO implies. For the Rest, whenever possible, (i.e. for EveryDay Issues which are not Vital for the Federation as a whole : i.e. Security/Defense, Diplomacy, Natural Resources, Citizenship, etc), a Normal Local/Regional DeCentralisation can allow an eventual Diversity, here or there, without risking to jeopardise the overall functioning of a Federal State. ---------------------- Knape, a ChristianDemocrat/EPP, is member of the Biggest Political Party in Sweden currently, that of "Moderates", headed by Ulf Kristersson, who has just Won the Latest, September 2018 Elections, holding a Mandate to seek how to form a New Government Coalition, after an Historic Fall of the "Socialists", and, particularly, whether he'd manage to agree, or not, for a Unity of the Right, going from Liberals up to "Swedish Democrats" (Rightists : who won the most, in percentage, on 2018), to whom, the Swedish People's Votes gave an absolute Majority. I.e. whether Sweden will follow the Example of its Neighbor : Norway, (where a Traditional Center-Right, EPP Party joined a new, Rightist Party, in a Coalition Government, headed by Ema Solberg : "the Best Prime Minister in the World" for German Chancellor Angie Merkel), and Austria (the current EU President), after Bulgaria (the former EU President), or a Different Formula, among Various kinds of Unity of the Right also in Denmark, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Finland, (incoming President of the PanEuropean CoE, for November 2018 - May 2019), etc. Indeed, by a Coincidence, the move took place while CoE's Secretary General, Thornbjorn Jagland, (a Norwegian), was meeting the Foreign Minister of Finland, Timo Soisi, former Long-Time Head of such a Rightist Party, and recently of a New Rightist Party, at Helsinki, (where was also going on, currently, on 7-8 November 2018, the ChristianDemocrats/EPP's Summit for the Election of their Leader to May 2019 EU Parliament's Elections, and Top Candidate for EU Commission's new President for 2019-2024). "Eurofora" saw that Knape was in a hurry to leave Strasbourg at Mid-Day, by Flying towards Scandinavia, where several EPP Heads of State/Government, including Cyprus' President Anastasiades, still remained, before travelling to Paris overnight or next morning. ------------------------------------ + At any case, concerning another Topical Big Issue, the New President of the CLRAE, who holds a particularly Extensive and intensive Experience also as co-Rapporteur on Local/Regional Democracy in Turkey, as Long as "since 1999", and already faced personaly "Pressure" from Turkish Government, (as he has reminded recently), replying also to another "Eurofora"s Question, ensured that he will keep a Careful eye on that Serious Issue inside the CLRAE, (whose Elementary Values and Principles are obviously at Stake there). Several CLRAE's Resolutions on the Situation of Local/Regional Democracy in Turkey, have clearly Denounced Ankara's Government, inter alia, also for an "UnParalleled" Oppression, which has practically "Suspended Democracy", or even exerted a "disproportionately DESTRUCTIVE effect on... Democracy", particularly in South-Eastern, mainly Kurdish, Regions, throwing Turkey "Back to the 1990ies", (i.e. when EU had Refused any controversial and Unpopular Turkey's EU bid, and had "Freezed" all EU Funds to Ankara), as Knape himself had pointed then out. (See, inter alia, also, f.ex.: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/turkeylocaldemocracysuspended.html, http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/coepressuredbyturkeyonpersecutedmayors.html, http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/clraeslamsturkeyforjailedmayorsunmonitoredelections.html, http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/coeasksturkeyfordemoraticalternativetokurdscondemnsviolence.html, http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/kurdsandcyprus.html, etc). ++ Meanwhile, in Parallel, the Other Co-Rapporteur on Turkey, experienced Dutch MEP Leendert Verbeek, (an atypical Social-Democrat), has just been re-Elected as Chairman of CLRAE's "Monitoring" Committee, entrusted with the Key role of Checking the real Situation of Local/Regional Democracy in all CoE's Member Countries, "Eurofora" learnt during this Autumn 2018 Session. There is an excellent chance that western Washington is going to be hit by a major lowland snow event. And yes, the mountains will be b... Verdi lawsuit : December Sunday trading in Bonn under threat Bonn During the Christmas markets the Sunday shopping due to take place on 9th December in Bonn city centre and on 16th December in Bad Godesberg and the Hardtberg district is under threat. On Friday, Bonn city council announced that it would make an official statement about Sunday trading to the Administrative Court in Cologne and would try to convince the court of the legality of the trading permit. The trade union Verdi has filed a complaint against the Sunday trading at the Administrative Court in Cologne. "The city council is confident that it will succeed," was reported from the town hall. But Britta Munkler is also confident that the court will decide in favour of the Verdi lawsuit. The Vice Managing Director of the Verdi district Cologne/Bonn/Leverkusen accuses Bonn city council of not having sufficiently justified the approval of the Sunday store opening. Among other things, the sales areas of the stores which will be open are larger than the surface area of the planned event (i.e. the Christmas market) and this contradicts the shop opening law. In addition to the forecasts on the number of visitors, there was merely a reference to the press coverage of past Sundays in Bonn when the shops were open for business. "As a rule, this information comes from those organizing the Sunday trading and is therefore questionable", Munkler explained. Karina Krober from the City Marketing Association is still waiting for a meeting with the city council. If it really is just down to the event surface areas being too small, we will muster up enough creativity in the city to fix this in time, she announced. Consequences of court decision : Why the driving bans in Bonn will be expensive Bonn It may become expensive for consumers in future. The driving bans on Reuterstrae and Belderberg will also affect companies - and thus indirectly their customers. Small traders in particular are struggling to deal with the situation. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Von Nadine Klees Jurgen Brustkern has a roofing company in Bad Godesberg and drives his Mercedes white van along Reuterstrae every day, sometimes several times - the street where, according to a court ruling, there will be driving bans from April next year for diesel vehicles with engines up to Euro 5 and petrol engines with classes Euro 1 and 2. "In theory, I'd have to raise my prices," Brustkern explains. He would have to bypass Reuterstrasse in the future and the journeys would take longer, something which costs time and money. However, he is unsure whether he can actually do this with his customers in mind. Only one thing is certain: he cannot buy a new car. He feels the same way as many other small traders. Armin Klein, owner and manager of the Elmar Klein bakery in Bornheim, would have to pay 60,000 euros for a new car. He needs special cars with cooling elements and special dimensions. He has a total of three cars which he uses to supply his eleven stores. Some of these are also in Bonn. "You already get stuck in traffic jams in Bonn anyway," explains Klein. But things will not be too bad for him because his Bonn stores are located in the north of the city; he doesn't drive regularly along the Reuterstrae. Reliant on Reuterstrae Its another story for Thomas Radermacher from the District Trader's Association, who has a joinery in Meckenheim with 15 employees and constantly has to drive to Bonn's Sudstadt, but also to Dottendorf, Kessenich and Gronau: "50 percent of my customers live in these districts," explains the district master trader. "How am I supposed to get there in the future? The answer would probably be to take the back roads. "Then the emissions will just be distributed elsewhere." He also suspects that the driving ban will affect his prices in the future: "We'll have to recalculate", thinks Radermacher, who has five vehicles for his business - all diesel. "You'd have to invest a lot of money in buying new cars." On the other hand, a lot of orders will take more time in the future if he has to drive through the narrow streets in residential areas. Either way, it would probably be more expensive for his customers. But Radermacher emphasises that he is not the only one affected: it concerns all traders who bring their services to the customer, including electricians, roofers, painters and companies in the food trade. "There is great bafflement and bewilderment in the trade," he says, summing up the mood. The owner of the Bonn bakery Rott also relies on Reuterstrasse: "I can't really stop driving along the Reuterstrasse," he says. If this were no longer possible due to the driving ban, he would have to make detours to the right and left of the street. Fewer problems for large companies However, he is off the hook, as he explains: the leasing contracts for his fleet have expired and he has fortunately just ordered new cars. The six new cars to supply his 21 branches will probably be available this year. However, as deputy district master trader he also knows that many bakers cannot afford to buy new cars. In the Bonn/Rhein-Sieg region there are a total of 63 bakeries. The bigger companies will probably have fewer problems. Deutsche Telekom's fleet will be exchanged in annual cycles of three to a maximum of five years. This means that most vehicles are no more than three years old, some up to five years. When purchasing new vehicles, attention is always paid to the latest diesel technology, which is why almost all vehicles are equipped with Euro 6, explains press spokesman Peter Kespohl. Exceptions to this are a few special vehicles, for which you would have to ask the city for a special permit on a daily basis, if necessary. The situation is similar at the Deutsche Post. Upon GAs request, the Bonn-based DAX Group advised that the majority of its conventional vehicles (including company and business vehicles) comply with Euro 5 and 6 standards. Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here. When it started raining during the last day of early voting, voters rushed inside the Anointed Temple of Praise polling location in Memphis. Worried they wouldnt control the crowds, poll workers called the police. The Pew Charitable Trusts Earle Fisher, right, a senior pastor at Abyssinian Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis, speaks to South Memphis voter Charlette Wright. He held a block party on Election Day to attract voters with free food, music, and tables with job recruiters. The Pew Charitable Trusts Purges, Glitches and Lawsuits The Mad Dash to the Polls Several organizations held block parties outside polling locations in Memphis. At this one at the Pine Hill Community Center in South Memphis, there was a DJ and free food truck for voters. The Pew Charitable Trusts Turning on the Machines Stateline For several hours after the polls closed Tuesday, as darkness settled and candidates and journalists anxiously scrolled through their phones, people in Tennessees most populous county couldnt be sure they were getting up-to-date, accurate results in one of the closely watched races of the midterm election.Frantic local broadcast reporters, lined up in a drab, cold room at the Shelby County Elections Commission, warned viewers time and again that results were not yet complete, despite what the county website claimed.Until 11 that night, four hours after polls closed, the only complete results in local contests were not on the countys website, but on the sheets of paper passed out to journalists and campaign workers in the countys offices.The realities of using a 15-year-old computer system, said Linda Phillips, the countys elections administrator, by way of explanation, describing a system of memory cards, thumb drives and very antiquated technology. It was a frustrating conclusion to a frustrating midterm election.Tennesseans voted in record numbers this year, drawn to the polls by a U.S. Senate race that saw Republican Marsha Blackburn defeat Democrat Phil Bredesen.Problems in Georgia got more attention, but here in western Tennessee, long lines, glitchy voting machines, voter registration purges and other difficulties also tarnished the electoral process. As in Georgia, leading civil rights activists here accused local officials of making it harder for people of color to vote.It was a similar story across the country Tuesday: Voters from New York to Utah complained of broken machines, confused poll workers and hours-long lines.In one Georgia county, officials neglected to bring power cords to keep the machines running. In Texas, a poll worker yelled a racist comment at a black voter. In North Dakota, Native Americans were told their IDs werent precise enough, so tribal leaders re-printed the documents on the fly.spent the past week in one place, Shelby County, Tennessee, investigating how seemingly small and isolated challenges can add up and leave voters feeling disenfranchised.There are active, explicit attempts to suppress the vote in Shelby County, said Charles McKinney, an associate professor of history at Rhodes College in Memphis. Voter suppression is real and not a figment of our imagination. Its not an imaginary monster under the bed. It has an impact.The legacy of racism in Memphis, from the city's role in the domestic slave trade to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., scars many people of color here. In the past decade, voter-registration purges and voter ID laws have disproportionately affected minority and low-income voters.Because of these policies, Tennessee is the third-most-difficult state in which to cast a ballot , according to a recent study published in theCivil rights activists claim the county is complacent, if not an active participant, in discrimination. But Linda Phillips, Shelby Countys elections administrator, said the county is following state law and that shes doing everything she can to get people to the polls.Phillips was hired in May 2016 by the county Elections Commission, whose partisan control is determined by which party controls the state legislature giving Republicans a 3-2 advantage over Democrats on local elections decisions. Her goal when she was hired was to improve community relations, she said.Memphis has some history to overcome, she said. It really does. But every voter thats registered is welcome to vote.There is a history of distrust, said Myron Lowery, who served on the Memphis City Council from 1991 to 2016. Phillips has inherited that distrust, he said. But thats no excuse for the ongoing problems.At some point, you have to stop making mistakes, he said. They always have hiccups. Its time-out for hiccups.Elections in Shelby County are chock-full of mishaps, said Steven Mulroy, a law professor at the University of Memphis. In the past two decades, he said, voters at times were given the wrong ballots, people were falsely told they had already early voted and were turned away, and election results appeared to be manipulated by officials.When you add it all up, theres a climate of distrust thats palpable, Mulroy said. We have a 15-year history of election problems. But this one is silly season. Its just one thing after another.Some of the issues this season involved equipment. At times, electronic poll books lost connectivity. At the Collierville Church of Christ on the first day of early voting, for example, poll workers who didnt realize they could check in voters manually told them to cast their ballots elsewhere or wait until the electronic poll books were fixed.Voting machines also provided headaches. When voters across Shelby County pressed a button that enlarged text on the screen, Democrat Karl Deans name was bumped off the first page of gubernatorial candidates and onto the middle of the second page. Republican candidate Bill Lee still appeared on the first page.The county was forced to put up signs at voting booths telling voters not to enlarge the text. Poll workers handed out magnifying glasses to voters struggling to read the ballot.Shelby County voters used paperless machines that were more than a decade old, leaving them vulnerable to hacks and breakdowns . Its also one of the many counties in Tennessee that does not have a post-election paper audit.Starting next year, the county will use new machines that produce a paper trail. They are expensive, Phillips said, but voters prefer a paper record.At polling places, several voters were skeptical the current machines were secure.I was wondering where my vote is being recorded, said Chris Moorer, 38, who voted early a week ago. Is it being recorded here on site? I wonder what happens if that machine breaks. Its just mind-boggling we dont have better machines. I dont know what the gap is with government technology.Germantown resident Matt Johnston, 55, works in information technology and worried the machines lack a paper backup.How do you verify your vote is part of the official tally? he asked. It all comes down to trusting the system is working.And then there were the lawsuits.In July, the county lost a lawsuit filed by the Shelby County Democratic Party and the local NAACP chapter, which claimed the county was suppressing the black vote by setting up a single polling place for the first four days of early voting during last summers county elections.The location was on the eastern edge of Memphis, far from the inner city, difficult to access by public transportation and in a predominantly white area.A judge ordered the county to open five early voting locations for that four-day early voting period in July, two of which were in heavily black areas. All 27 early voting sites opened the next week.The county Election Commission found itself in court yet again in October over thousands of voter registration applications it had put on hold.Shelby County said 4,000 to 6,000 applications turned in right before the registration deadline were missing information sometimes as minimal as not checking the Miss/Mrs./Mr. box on the form. Others, the county claimed, were missing addresses or names, or had illegible handwriting.Phillips said it was a widespread attempt to commit voter fraud and create chaos for her office by turning in 10,000 applications on the last day, including some by felons, who are restricted from voting in the state.Thousands and thousands of those applications were fictitious, she said, though she did not offer specific evidence.Tequila Johnson, the statewide director of the Tennessee Black Voter Project, a voter-registration group that turned in 35,000 registration applications in Shelby County since July, said the county Elections Commission is blaming her organization for its own lack of preparedness and efficiency.Its disheartening, Johnson said. Were being punished for being excited about participating in democracy. How could you not think this is voter suppression?Her organization and the local NAACP chapter sued the county to let those voters cast regular votes on Election Day as long as they corrected the information. An appeals court ruled the county had to notify residents that they could correct any deficiencies on their voter registration forms, but that they would have to cast provisional ballots.Phillips said Tuesday night there was a countywide uptick in provisional ballots this election, but she said she wouldnt know exact numbers until they are counted around Thanksgiving.While the court cases were ongoing, Tennessee elections officials were cutting infrequent voters from the registration database.Under state law, Tennessee counties must purge people from the registration rolls if they fail to vote in two subsequent November elections and do not respond to a mailer asking to confirm their address. Recently, the county removed 24,532 voters from its registration database, determining they had either moved or didnt wish to vote anymore. Phillips pushes back on claims from Democrats that the purges amounted to a voter suppression tactic.Its Tennessee state law, she said. I dont get to make the law. We very carefully followed the law.On the last afternoon of early voting last week, voters waited 10 minutes to vote at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in the predominantly white suburb of Germantown. But predominantly black voters at the Anointed Temple of Praise church, known locally as ATOP, were having a very different experience.At ATOP the wait was about 35 minutes and it was about to get worse.Already a chilly 50 degrees, it started raining on the 200 or so voters in line at ATOP 15 minutes before polls closed at 7 p.m. Three of the precincts nine voting machines were not being used. The wait time to vote for some was an hour and 45 minutes.The chorus of cold voters complaining of the rain rose above the roar of nearby Riverdale Road and the buzz of the powerlines overhead.When the rain picked up, the mass of voters attempted to go inside, snaking around the hallways of the church. Overwhelmed, poll workers inside called the police and threatened to shut down the polling place if people didnt go back outside. Three officers arrived soon after.Theyre deterring people from voting, one voter exclaimed.Thats not right, another woman said.We votin today.After voters went back out in the rain and officers headed back to their cruisers, one officer mumbled, Were not your crowd control.Voters there said poll workers didnt handle the incident properly and worried some voters might have left. The polling place was too small and there werent enough machines to meet demand, others said.Being cold is one thing, rain is another, said Collierville resident Lenova Senter. They didnt control the situation. They need more machines. If theyre out in the cold and the rain, youre telling people to go home.But people didnt go home. Instead, they waited.If I had to stay here for three hours, I would have been out here three hours to cast my vote, said Memphis resident Patrick McCaskill Sr., 32.The last voter of the last night of early voting, Memphis resident Terry Sharp, cast his ballot more than 90 minutes after polls officially closed. Its worth the vote, said Sharp.Sharp was among the more than 20,000 people who cast their ballot on the last day of early voting. But lines that long are unacceptable, said McKinney, the Rhodes College professor.Theres a critical mass of folks who are going to be disinclined to vote if its not efficient, fair or functioning the way its supposed to function, McKinney said. If Im on the clock and I got an hour for lunch and it takes three hours to vote, Im not going during lunch.Phillips blamed the long lines at the ATOP church on voters who needed to change their addresses a complicated process, she said and not the broken machines. Regardless, McKinney said, voters in these areas need better engagement from the county and grassroots groups.But what happened at ATOP fits into a larger national pattern: Black and Hispanic voters often wait longer to vote , research shows. In the 2016 presidential election, black voters, on average, waited 16 minutes to vote, while Latino voters waited 13 minutes, an MIT survey of voters found. In the same election, white voters waited 10 minutes.Earle Fisher, a senior pastor at Abyssinian Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis, founded Up the Vote 901. The nonpartisan organization aims to increase turnout throughout the county through ballot education efforts, partnering with churches to drive voters to polls, and holding block parties to attract voters with free food, music and tables with job recruiters.Voting should be easy and timely, which are two things that it is not in Shelby County for people of color, especially in low-income communities, he said. Suppression is strategic and intentional. This is not new.Fisher said there should be more polling places in areas with the lowest turnout North Memphis, South Memphis, Frayser, Binghampton and Hickory Hill to encourage more participation.But Phillips disagrees that adding more voting locations in some of those places will increase turnout. More polling locations means more equipment and staff something she said she worries will cost too much. Her office has put enough polling locations along bus lines, she said.After the drama of early voting, Election Day had far fewer errors, but Tuesday wasnt without flaws.At Trinity United Methodist Church in Midtown, things got off to a rough start when the polls opened: The voting machines werent working.The line swelled to 80 people in the 20 minutes it took poll workers to fix the connectivity issues. Some decided to leave and come back later.The poll workers were panicked, said Sam Goff, a Midtown resident. They just didnt know how to turn on the machines.Voters were clearly excited this year. But facing those voters were the realities of local, underfunded election offices using outdated equipment susceptible to glitches and human error. Phillips said she was proud of her staff, who hadnt had a day off in six weeks, despite the challenges.This is not a typical election, Phillips said. This is not a typical midterm. But I work very hard to make sure that every eligible voter has the same opportunities.In the final hours of Election Day, state Sen. Raumesh Akbari rolled up to Pine Hill Community Center in her white SUV and stepped out to greet constituents.Vote Mob, a national nonprofit that tries to engage millennial voters, had set up a DJ table and food truck at the precinct, blaring R&B and pop classics, and giving out a meal to every voter.Akbari, a Democrat, said the voting problems add to the apathy of many people who live in South Memphis, who struggle in their everyday lives.You feel like its not going to make a difference, she said. I dont want to say its sinister and deliberate, but theres just a high level of incompetence. Its always something going on some foolishness. You see it on the news and think, theyre going to take away my vote. A Brief History of Tax Incentive-Based Economic Development Programs Setting Opportunity Zones Apart From Other Programs Challenges Ahead Tax Relief Has Limited Impact on Business Decisions As previously noted, GAO reports on Enterprise Zones found that market access and site characteristics have a greater influence on business decisions than tax cuts. Additionally, the Brookings Institute reported sparse academic evidence supporting the effectiveness of tax-incentive based economic development programs. Lack of Governmental Oversight The GAO report mentioned earlier also noted the challenges with a lack of data to enable federal oversight and evaluation of effectiveness of prior programs. Additionally, Rosenthal highlighted the remarkable lack of a governmental oversight role in the OZ program. Given this, monitoring where and how QOF dollars are spent or ensuring money is spent appropriately will be incredibly difficult. Trouble Linking Tax Benefits to Economic and Social Outcomes Academic research has repeatedly found little evidence to support that tax incentives ...are properly targeted to businesses and industries that can offer the greatest economic and social benefit. While the intention of the Opportunity Zone program is to create a fund that will invest in businesses in a targeted community, the federal government is leaving QOF investment decisions in the hands of local governments with little to no guidance on how to effectively reinvest that money. This provides no guarantee that investments will be made in businesses that will grow and create jobs for local residents. Overcoming Barriers to Success The Power of Geospatial Data The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which went into effect this February, included a little-known new program called Opportunity Zones (OZs). According to the IRS , an OZ is an economically-distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment in order to incentivize economic development.At first glance, the concept has enormous promise, but it also feels oddly familiar. Thats because this program, or at least its core principles, are far from new. In fact, there have been several different iterations of place-based tax relief programs since the early 1980s. The idea was first presented in Congress in 1980 by Rep. Jack Kemp (R-NY) and was then picked up by both the Reagan and H.W. Bush administrations. Ultimately, President Reagan failed to garner support from Congress to pass legislation. President H.W. Bush was able to get legislation through Congress, but he vetoed the final bill because of provisions added to it that increased government spending.The 1993 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act established nine Empowerment Zones and 95 Enterprise Communities. This was a five-year, $3.5 billion program made to stimulate the economy, create jobs and revitalize economically distressed urban communities through public-private partnerships, regulatory relief, tax incentives and block grants . The Enterprise Zone Approach was supposed to encourage private businesses to take root and grow with the aim of making such an area more attractive for private investment and job creation. The Clinton administration eventually phased out block grants to primarily focus on tax relief efforts.In 2014, President Obama announced the Promise Zone Initiative. As part of this program, 20 of the countrys most economically distressed communities were carefully selected to receive 10-year federal designations as Promise Zones. In addition to tax credits, these communities received technical assistance from federal staff and AmeriCorp members to ensure they were able to access all federal resources available to them and make the most effective use of federal funding. The ultimate goal was to create jobs and increase economic security.The Trump administrations Opportunity Zone Initiative is the latest attempt in a long history of tax relief programs aimed at incentivizing investment and creating jobs in economically distressed communities. It is also common practice among U.S. cities to provide tax relief to businesses as an incentive to set up shop locally; the most famous case currently underway is the fight over Amazons second headquarters.Historically, these tax incentive programs have fallen short of their intended impact. While it is too soon to measure the impact of President Obamas Promise Zone initiative, Enterprise Zones from the Clinton administration have been evaluated by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). One study from the GAO reviewed Enterprise Zones established in Maryland and tried to measure the effectiveness of the tax incentive program. Overall, the study found the employment rates were boosted in the three designated zones, but that the increase could not be tied to the program. They discovered that market access site characteristics and financial incentives had greater influence on business decisions than tax cuts. Another GAO study reviewed how Enterprise Zone communities were spending federal dollars and dispersing tax benefits to ensure money was being spent properly and to link the program benefits to return on investment (ROI). They found that communities were indeed investing grant money in community development projects that supported education, housing, job training and loan programs.Unfortunately, the study also found that the IRS had no data available that tracked tax benefits from the Enterprise Zone program. The GAO noted that this lack of data limited both federal oversight and GAO's ability to assess the effect of the program and that there had been similar challenges in assessing the use of tax benefits in other federal programs. It is important to note that the GAO was able to collect and use some data to report improvements in the poverty, unemployment and economic growth rates in some Enterprise Zone communities.In looking at tax break incentive programs more broadly, researchers at the Brookings Institute noted that there is little academic evidence to support that tax incentives truly influence business decisions to nearly the extent policymakers claim nor are they properly targeted to businesses and industries that can offer the greatest economic and social benefit.According to Steven Rosenthal of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, what sets OZs apart from other similar programs is a delayed tax benefit plan that encourages longer-term investments. Tax benefits only go into effect if the profits from the sale are reinvested in a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) that, in turn, invests in businesses in a targeted community. Also, if the fund is held for a decade, investors can exclude tax from any gains that arise from investing in the fund. Additionally, the criteria that determine an OZ are broader than other similar programs, with the U.S. Treasury certifying 8,700 OZs under the program guidelines . What stood out most to Rosenthal was the remarkable lack of a governmental oversight role and for [the OZ programs] generosity to investors.The following map , built by the Opportunity360 team at the nonprofit organization Enterprise with support from the Kresge Foundation, highlights all Qualified OZs in the US. Communities across the country interested in benefiting from the OZ program can use this tool to better understand their eligibility for OZ designation. Users can browse eligible tracts, filter by other federal place-based programs, and look at outcomes related to housing stability, education, mobility, economic security, and health.Despite differences in the details, tax incentive-based economic development programs share common challenges including:While it will be a challenge for local governments to make effective QOF investment decisions, their close interaction with affected communities will help them address local priorities. A recent analysis by the Brookings Institute noted that the first 18 states to submit their OZ designations have done a great job picking deeply impoverished places to receive the tax benefits for investment. The average poverty rate of OZ designations in these states was 30%, the distress indicators of the selections (i.e., child poverty and educational attainment) were higher on average than the low-income tracts they did not select, and selections had larger minority populations. The choices states make at this stage of the program are incredibly important because it will ultimately determine whether distressed communities truly benefit from investment opportunities, or if investors will be the only true beneficiaries.In light of these challenges, t he map below was created by SMB Intelligence , a market intelligence firm focused on small business ecosystem dynamics based out of New York City, to help communities make these decisions. In an interview, Founder and CEO Steve Waters told me his companys mission is to drive inclusive economic growth through a stronger small business ecosystem. Waters noted that the Kauffman Foundation recently said that for every 1 percent increase in the rate of new businesses started in the state, there is 2 percent decline in the poverty rate. We believe that intentionally redirecting capital to help small business owners in distressed communities start and expand their businesses helps those communities grow and thrive.SMB Intelligence built this mapping tool to help local governments and QOFs direct capital to growth-minded small businesses. They do this by identifying investable operating businesses, as well as prime growth activity in OZs. Prime Growth is a growth-based classification standard created to identify the small businesses currently most likely to experience substantial growth and create new jobs. For a more complete breakdown of what constitutes an investable operating business or prime growth activity please go to their website Investable operating businesses are represented by blue dots on the map and prime growth activity by grey dots. The database that powers this map is updated every two weeks, with data sourced using an extensive open-source intelligence operation and self-reporting from individual firms, local agencies and nonprofits.Run the cursor over any of the dots on the map and one can see both growth-based and socioeconomic indicators for the firm, as well as information about the owners and the census tract they are located in. It also provides insights into current job creation status, noting whether businesses are currently adding new jobs or will be in the near future. The database incorporates the Investment Score and Gentrification Flag created by the Urban Institute to determine if the area is likely to have gentrified already, and what level of investment has previously flowed into the zone.Another challenge for local governments and QOFs in making investment decisions through this program is that the small business sector is incredibly large. Many firms will likely not qualify as investable operating businesses and many are not primed for growth. This tool is meant to help funds and agencies quickly identify firms that are likely to qualify and potentially provide a positive ROI in the future. It is also meant to assist local entrepreneurs to identify and pursue new businesses in OZs.Just a few weeks after I interviewed Mr. Waters in early September, SMB Intelligence announced its pilot cohort for the Opportunity Zones tool in early October. Participants include Empire State Development, the California Governor's Office of Economic Development, the DC Mayor's Office, Access Ventures, the Fund for Our Economic Future, the Jain Family Institute, and Opportunity Alabama. They have also reached an agreement to support research by economists at the Federal Reserve Board and the White House Council of Economic Advisors. The map is also already being put to work by local government agencies, nonprofits, and small business investors.Fittingly, implementation of this place-based program benefits from geospatial data to help stakeholders make informed investment decisions. Mapping has a key role to play in the ability of the OZ program to succeed and to improve economic conditions in distressed communities through strengthening small business ecosystems. Sometimes we look at the slow advancement of technology or applications here in the United States and we bemoan our current fate. Sometimes it is good to put things in perspective. Take Pakistan for instance, they will be holding their 21st National Health Sciences Research Symposium starting today. Also note, many rural hospitals in the United States are failing and in danger of being closed. In that respect, we are going backward.See below which will provide you with a different look at our situation when compared to less developed areas of the world:The global Disease Control Priorities Project estimates that nearly half of deaths and over a third of disability in low- and middle-income countries can be addressed by the implementation of effective emergency care.The solution is to establish integrated emergency and trauma care systems with pre- and post-emergency department care nationwide, said Dr Junaid Razzak, director of the Center for Global Emergency Care and professor of emergency medicine and international health at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.Dr Razzak was the keynote speaker at the inaugural ceremony of the Aga Khan Universitys 21st National Health Sciences Research Symposium that is focusing, this year, on emergency care: time and life matter.He recalled how he played a vital role in the establishment of emergency medicine as a specialty in Pakistan and became the founding chair of the department of emergency medicine at AKU his alma mater in 2008.Although College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan recognised emergency medicine as a specialty in 2011, there are not more than nine qualified emergency medicine specialists in the country today. Studies have also found significant gaps in the availability of essential resources, accessibility, patient-centricity and staff training, said Dr Razzak.This is an alarming situation in the country with a population of over 220 million. The impact on saving lives can only be achieved through a health system that is sponsored by the state with support from public and private institutions.He stated that emergency care demands highly functional integrated health system, and complex and prompt care decisions. We need a multi-prong strategy: predict the potential path of emergency care development if we follow the trajectory followed by the high income, more developed countries; and explore how new technologies such as telemedicine, artificial intelligence and machine learning can augment and impact the future of emergency care in low resource settings.He stressed that emergency departments should aim to provide a safe, committed, compassionate and caring service.AKU and other academic institutions in Pakistan can play a significant role in developing and testing innovations for futuristic emergency care system, he added.The second keynote speaker was Dr Scott Newton, a graduate of the Johns Hopkins Universitys Doctor of Nursing Practice programme and the vice president of Care Model Solutions.Globally, emergency medicine is innovating to meet the demands of a growing population for care, said Dr Newton. Increased demands do require an agile workforce ready for high-touch and high-tech practice. Transportation officials in Los Angeles will soon have access to lots of additional real-time usage data generated by hundreds of e-scooters and bikes racing up and down city streets.An agreement among app-based bike and scooter rental operators Lime and Spin, along with software technology firm Remix , will make use data available to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT). Remix is a private-sector partner with LADOT, aiding in the city's transportation and transit planning.The move to more openly share data related to where the scooters and bikes are ridden, routes taken, when they are used and other details reflects a growing trend where cities are requiring data sharing from private-sector mobility providers like e-scooter operators, bike-shares and others, as a condition to operate. This trend is, in part, a reflection of the evolution of the mobility industry as it branches off into bikes and other mobility modes which have moved beyond a niche audience to widespread use among urban dwellers.All of the scooters and the dockless vehicles kind of represent this next wave of mobility that cities are now prepared for, and they know what they want to ask for, said Tiffany Chu, Remix co-founder, referring to the data being sought by cities and transit agencies. I think before, they didnt even know what to ask for. And now, because of all new awesome electric vehicles at our doorstep, it kind of represents the second chance for cities to be at the center of transportation, and access that data that helps them plan out the entire transportation ecosystem.Decision-making around where to place infrastructure like bike lanes, bike racks, parking pads for electric scooters and recharging equipment is best when its driven by data, say both public- and private-sector transportation officials.The idea is that better data leads to better planning, and ultimately, better infrastructure to serve all of these multiple mobility forms, said Chu.Right now its so hard for cities to basically make the case for better bike lanes, and better active transportation infrastructure because a lot of times, what it requires is taking away a parking spot or two, she added. And now, if were able to point to real usage, real metrics, real data that says, 'hey, so many people are riding along this corridor, and you know, (using) five different electric vehicle modes,' I think that really tells us something, we have to prioritize it, or else it becomes unsafe.The use data is generally available via application programming interface (API) and companies like Remix will often make data available to cities the company partners with. Los Angeles is the first city where Remixs data sharing agreement with Lime and Spin will be executed as a two-way API for cities to communicate with mobility providers operating on city streets. Los Angeles transportation officials will have access to real-time location data related to the bikes and scooters as well as trip route and device status information.At LADOT, our job is to move people and goods as quickly and safely as possible, but we can only do that if we have a complete picture of what's on our streets and where, said Seleta Reynolds, general manager of LADOT, in a statement. That's what this partnership is all about.Cities like San Francisco, St. Louis, Mo., and Columbus, Ohio, also require some form of data sharing from scooter and bike operators. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 9) Filipino journalist Inday Espina Varona bagged the prestigious Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Prize for Independence. The prize, which is part of RSF's 2018 Press Freedom Awards, is given to journalists, media, and NGOs resisting financial, political, economic, or religious pressure and credits "the values and rules that enable them to resist." "A veteran journalist, [Inday Varona] has done a lot of reporting on issues that are sensitive in the Philippines, such as child prostitution, violence against women, LGBT issues and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on the island of Mindanao," RSF wrote in a tweet. Varona also heads the social media campaign #BabaeAko, which TIME Magazine named one of the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet in 2018. The movement aims to forward the voices of women, and it has called out President Rodrigo Duterte for his sexist remarks and rape jokes. The veteran journalist, who is now a contributing editor to the broadcast network ABS-CBN, dedicated her win to other Filipino mediamen. "I share this with embattled Philippine colleagues: the 185 killed since the 1986 restoration of a fragile, perpetually threatened democracy, 12 of them in the first two years of President Rodrigo Duterte's rule," Varona said in her speech, which she shared on Facebook. Just last year, RSF found that the Philippines was the deadliest country for journalists in Asia. One of the most notorious incidents showcasing the culture of impunity is the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, which took the lives of 58 individuals at least 30 of whom worked in the media. Under President Rodrigo Duterte's administration, the media has also faced the rampant spread of disinformation online and trolling. Duterte has slammed some outlets as "fake news," threatened to close ABS-CBN, and even revoked the license of online news site Rappler. Varona also called out the practice of journalists being listed as witnesses to cases filed by cops in exchange for access to police operations, and urged people to support the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines' initiative to repeal the law that enabled the set-up. She also warned against efforts to tag all critics of the government as terrorists. "If I am independent, it is because there are colleagues and fellow citizens who fight for rights and freedoms, who refuse to be silent in the face of thousands of murders and other injustices, who fight on despite threats, arrests and torture, whose words and deeds speak from beyond the grave," said Varona. "Filipino journalists are brave because we come after the many who showed courage over hundreds of years. And we are brave because our people are brave." The 2018 Press Freedom Awards were held in November 8 in London. Other awardees are Indian journalist Swati Chaturvedi for the Prize for Courage, Maltese journalist Matthew Caruana Galizia for the Prize for Impact, and British journalist Carole Cadwalladr for the newly created 'L'Esprit de RSF' Prize. CNN Philippines' multi-platform writer Regine Cabato contributed to this report. OLYMPIA, WASH. As technology continues to develop, so do the privacy and security issues around it. Advances in biometrics, data analysis and machine learning offer seemingly limitless applications to improve government and the lives of customers and citizens. But the experts warn those benefits come with inherent risks that cannot be ignored.During a panel discussion at the Washington Digital Government Summit* on Nov. 8, privacy experts took aim at the issues surrounding our growing reliance on technology and the problems that relationship brings.Alex Alben, Washington state's chief privacy officer, moderated the conversation with technology transactions associate Tiffany Georgievski and Washingtons Military Department Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer Beth Hutchens. While the trio agreed there are benefits to be had from data sharing in many regards, those benefits often come with costs some obvious, some unseen.They weighed in on the need for data control, citing recent California legislation and enactment of the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as examples of policy efforts being made in the space.Prior to going into effect, GDPR created a flurry of activity in the private sector as companies rushed to meet stringent new requirements. While Georgievski said her clients were very concerned about the potential for fines, Alben and Hutchens said government remained largely unaffected.State agencies have reached out to me, as the chief privacy officer, and said, Do we need to worry about GDPR, and my answer is generally, No, you do not need to worry about compliance with GDPR, Alben said. By its terms, the European law can apply to anything, any state or local entity, if you are keeping the data of European citizens. But by and large, it is not going to monitor the kind of functions that a state government does.In her work providing legal advice for the private sector, Georgievski said the new rule quickly got the attention of companies concerned about the financial implications of non-compliance fines of as much as 4 percent of global revenue.From the private sector, it definitely hit a wave. From the consumer side, youve probably all noticed an influx of Weve updated our privacy policy. Weve updated our privacy policy, she said.Hutchens has seen benefits from the privacy regulations when it comes to vendors working with the government, if they've done the leg work to comply with the European rules.Ive seen some vendors just say, You know what, we are not even going to try to have two sets of books because it is too much of a pain in the neck. So they are applying GDPR protections across the board, which makes my life as a security and privacy officer much easier because I do security and privacy reviews of, for example, software applications , Hutchens said. If its going to pass muster under GDPR, its going to pass muster in any state or federal law that we can think of.She cautions, however, that some vendors are willing to keep two sets of books, one GDPR-compliant and one for use everywhere else.The conversation shifted away from compliance and policy and turned toward potential threats emerging in the privacy and data space. Asked what keeps her up at night, Hutchens said education of personnel continues to be a concern at a time when phishing attacks are only growing in number.Fileless malware, she explained, is making protecting data even more difficult because it doesnt require personnel to open anything only to follow what look like official IT administrator prompts.My pain point is fileless malware, she said. What we are starting to see, and these are making the rounds, is that before wed have a phishing email that would say, Hey, you have an invoice here. Click this. Now theyll take an Office product logo, like SharePoint, Outlook or Word even, and say, You have three unread messages due to a server upgrade from your IT division. Click here to reset your password.For Georgievski, the proliferation of facial recognition technologies is cause for concern. While she jokes that the technology used to apply bunny ears to videos is not the problem, the tools being developed and data being collected by larger tech companies is.Who has access to or can purchase that data leads to larger questions around digital surveillance and companies and governments being able to literally pick you out of a crowd and study your habits.You think about just taking your camera out at a protest, collecting that video stream and starting to ping those faces and see where they pop up in other places. That type of technology that can so easily go out to an end user, a teenager who knows how to code a little bit, and then not have any controls about how its used, kind of freaks me out, she said.Asked whether smartphone biometrics were a concern, Georgievski said users should first establish whether that data is the product or meant to enhance a product and its security features. She used the example of Facebook and Apple. Where Facebook makes its billions off of data collection and sales, Apple sells a product and has a history of being very privacy-focused.Hutchens put it simply when it comes to any tool or service that requires data from the user.I always tell my end users and anybody who will listen, 'If its free, youre not the customer, youre the product,' she said.Government Technology's This week West Virginia became the first state in the nation to use Internet voting with blockchain technology in a federal general election, piloting the program for military and other voters living overseas. Despite what officials are calling a successful trial for the app, from Boston-based startup Voatz , Secretary of State Mac Warner has no plans to extend the program to domestic civilians, according to The Washington Post West Virginia used the Voatz app in a similar limited capacity for the primary election in May . The app works by recording votes on a blockchain, a cryptographic concept popularized with cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Facial recognition technology verifies the voters identity by comparing it to a drivers license or other photo ID, and their vote is recorded on a chain containing all the votes cast, where each one is mathematically proven. This allows the user to vote from anywhere in the world and verify their vote was recorded as intended, with no potential for human error from an election official counting their vote.According to a news release Tuesday from Warners office, an estimated 144 West Virginia voters stationed in 30 countries cast their ballots with Voatz for the 2018 midterm election. They included active military service members, Peace Corps volunteers and U.S. citizens overseas for other reasons. Of West Virginia's 55 counties, 24 participated in the test.Talking to theon Tuesday, Michael Queen, Warner's deputy chief of staff, said that he was pleased with the trial and it had already been very successful, with only two voters reporting difficulties using the app. But Queen also told thethat the state had no plans to expand mobile voting in the future.Election security expert Maurice Turner, from a Washington think tank called the Center for Democracy and Technology, told thethat Voatz is likely more secure than sending absentee ballots by email, but far less secure than paper ballots, echoing concerns from other experts. If an Abu Dhabi comeback does not work for Niki Lauda, the Mercedes team chairman should be back in the paddock by Melbourne next year. That is the claim of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, reacting to news that 69-year-old F1 legend Lauda in fact wants to be back in action after his long layoff for a lung transplant in just two weeks. Wolff told Osterreich newspaper in Brazil: "It's all Niki and the doctors' decision. "But if it's not Abu Dhabi, then he will be with us in Australia in March." Wolff laughed that Lauda will be giving staff at the rehabilitation clinic a hard time as he chases his comeback target. "He torments the therapists to the maximum. I'm sure they wish he was back with us already," the Austrian laughed. (GMM) Brazilian GP 2018 Friday Team Quotes Romain Grosjean, Brazilian GP 2018 RV Press Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport Valtteri Bottas (1st, 1:08.846): "It was a bit of a mixed day; FP2 was much better than FP1. The morning was quite difficult, it was easy to make mistakes. I had a few lockups and aborted laps, so it was difficult to build a good rhythm. But we really improved the car for the afternoon and I managed to find a rhythm. The pace seemed to be good, but it is a short track, so the margins are small. There was not a lot of tyre drop-off today, but we're expecting warmer temperatures, so we will have to wait and see if that might bring about some issues. It looks like it might rain tomorrow, but we've had a good package in the wet all year, so I don't think that would be a big problem for us. It is very close between the top three teams, so we can't feel satisfied about our results today; we know everyone else is going to be working on their performance overnight, so we will have to keep pushing as well." Lewis Hamilton (2nd, 1:08.849): "It's been a relatively normal day, we got through everything we needed to. The car felt better than it did in Mexico, but we are still working our way through some issues. The pace doesn't seem too bad, so we just have to keep working on it and improving it. In FP2, it was quite windy and very gusty through the corners, which meant that the car was actually quite tricky to drive. There's rain forecasted for tomorrow, but I love driving in the rain, so that wouldn't be a problem. We just need to make sure that we are quick enough in the dry. It's very close between all of us at the front, but I think there's more potential in our car, so we just need to try and squeeze it out." James Allison, Technical Director: "I don't think it was a particularly easy day for anyone today with a track that was giving plenty of understeer challenge on the start of the run, but where it was very easy to overheat the rear tyres as well as the run went on; everyone was wrestling with that to a degree. We got the short-run pace good, although we think there's more to come tomorrow, and the long-run pace was there or thereabouts, but I think that we have work to do overnight - as probably do our competitors - to get the car in a place where it is going to be alright for the hotter track that is coming on Sunday. So lots and lots of things for us to think about overnight, just one short one-hour session tomorrow to confirm everything - and then we're off to find out whether we've made a good job of it or not." Scuderia Ferrari Sebastian Vettel (3rd, 1:08.919): Kimi Raikkonen (6th, 1:09.412): Maurizio Arrivabene, Team Principal: Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Daniel Ricciardo (4th, 1:09.164): "It was a pretty good afternoon and we made a good step forward between FP1 and FP2. It's always a tricky track to get the car set-up perfectly as it's quite demanding on the tyres. We struggled a bit with that this morning but we found a sweeter spot in FP2. This afternoon we had a decent car but we are still three tenths off, so pole is probably a bit of a stretch in these conditions. The others haven't turned it up yet either but our race pace seems solid and that will be our main focus due to the grid penalty. I've known about the penalty since last week as the turbo was unfortunately damaged when a marshal used a fire extinguisher on the car in Mexico. I've come to terms with that and I'm ready to try and qualify well, race hard and make the best of the weekend." Max Verstappen (5th, 1:09.339): "I was pretty happy with the car as soon as I jumped in it this morning, which isn't usually the case around here and showed in the first session. The car felt good but I had a bit of traffic on my quick lap, so I feel the time can still improve a little bit. As this circuit generally doesn't suit us I don't have any major expectations for qualifying, our focus is on the race. My long run pace looked OK, the second session was compromised a little bit so I couldn't do everything I wanted but it felt alright. With only a few tweaks tomorrow I'm confident we can get the set-up where I want it. I was delayed getting out on track this afternoon due to a small oil leak and we wanted to make sure that was fixed and therefore shouldn't cause any further issues. Looking at the weather, I think today was supposed to be the worst and it didn't rain, so I'm not sure we will get any help in that respect." Sahara Force India F1 Team Esteban Ocon (10th, 1:10.159): "I am pleased with today. Both sessions were straightforward for me no issues on my side of the garage and we did a lot of laps. It's not an easy circuit to get everything right and there is still some work to do before qualifying. It's those small details we need to work on to make me feel more comfortable. The target is definitely to reach Q3 tomorrow. In terms of the weather, I don't mind if it's wet or dry." Sergio Perez (11th, 1:10.320): "It was not the best day because I lost quite a lot of running at the start of second practice. There was a hydraulic issue with the steering assistance and we had to make some changes during the session. So I've only done 23 laps today which isn't ideal on such a technical track. Also, because it's a short lap, every tenth of a second is even more important. We made the best of the session after making the changes, but I still feel we need to make some good steps overnight to be ready for qualifying." Nicholas Latifi: "It was a bit difficult in the car today, definitely harder than I hoped. We struggled to find the right balance with the car and as a result it was not where I needed it to be to maximise the performance of the tyres. It is similar to how I felt in Sochi, earlier in the year. I wish I had been quicker today but I am still satisfied with my work. In the end, when you jump in the car you don't want to make any silly mistakes and you focus on helping the team prepare the car for the race drivers, which is what I did today, so from this perspective it was a positive day." Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer: Williams Martini Racing Sergey Sirotkin (16th, 1:10.569): "It was a busy day today, we had some interesting bits on the car for next year's development. We managed to collect a lot of data and went right back to the baseline. We then had to switch back to race weekend preparations and car set-up which went fine. In these conditions I think we are reasonably good. There are a few bits I could have done better on my lap but I think pace looks good, particularly long pace, which was surprisingly good. Overall busy, but a good day." Lance Stroll (18th, 1:10.662): "It was the usual Friday, just learning as we are running. It is great to be back in Brazil on this track. I think we made some good steps with the car today and it felt ok. We will see what tomorrow brings and where we are compared to the rest of the field. Perhaps we can get into Q2, and I hope that will be the case, but we will see after FP3 when we will have a much better idea. In qualifying it is a short lap here, so it is about piecing it together and getting the most out of it. it is going to be very tight in that midfield, so it is about every hundredth and every thousandth, which means it should be exciting." Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: "It's great to be back at Interlagos. The cars come around very quickly due to this being a short circuit, meaning life on the pitwall and in the garage is quite intense. We had a lot of problems with traffic today and both drivers struggled to get a fully clear lap when on their one lap pace runs. Nevertheless, we managed to complete our programme without any issues. We've tested all three compounds thoroughly, both at low and high fuel. There's certainly opportunity to compete here. A very close grid means half a tenth can make a significant difference. We will be working very hard tomorrow to see if we can translate that into some good grid positions and a strong race." Renault Sport Formula One Team Carlos Sainz (14th, 1:10.458): "Today wasn't as straightforward as I wanted and we have some work to do to find a better balance with the car as it's a difficult place to get the car working as you want at every corner. However, it's a great circuit to drive and we have a good idea of the areas we need to improve for tomorrow." Nico Hulkenberg (20th, 1:11.674): "We weren't able to get on top of the car today and losing so much track time in FP2 obviously didn't help the cause. I ran wide and went over the kerb, making the car bottom-out which caught me out. I wasn't able to avoid the barriers so that's a shame and I've given my crew some work to do. On the plus side, Carlos was able to have a productive day so we'll be looking at the data and we're hoping to hit the ground running tomorrow." Nick Chester, Technical Director: "It was an unusually eventful Friday for us with Nico's shunt, but fortunately he's fine and we'll have the car repaired for FP3. Other than that, FP1 had been straightforward and we made progress. In FP2 Carlos was able to show decent long-run pace, but it's clear we have work to do on our qualifying pace. We also have yet to find the best balance for the car, so we have plenty to keep us occupied ahead of qualifying." Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda Pierre Gasly (12th, 1:10.330): "I like coming to this circuit and it was great to drive here again for the second time. It was a productive day of testing and we made some improvements from FP1 to FP2. Overall, I think we made some effective changes to the setup, but we still need to work overnight to find more balance for tomorrow. I think we are getting closer to the top 10 and hopefully with some good work tonight we can close the gap tomorrow. I think we have a chance to do well here but we just need to put everything together, that will be the main target tonight." Brendon Hartley (19th, 1:10.734): "It's good to be back in Interlagos! I wouldn't say we were as competitive as we would have liked to be, but we have been fighting with the balance of the car a bit today. There's some work to do with the engineers overnight to hopefully find some more time for tomorrow." Jonathan Eddolls, Chief Race Engineer: "It was a fairly productive day where everything went to plan with no issues. We have the new aero package here on both cars, which is behaving very well, so that's a positive sign for the team. The focus in FP1 was to carry out some aero tests to try and build on our knowledge of the package. The track was very dirty to start with so the grip was quite low. In terms of car balance, both cars suffered with understeer in FP1, and although we tried to address it, we didn't achieve a good balance by the end of the session. Based on what we saw in the morning, we took the optimum aero configuration into FP2 and planned the normal tyre compare on short runs before going to high fuel. The red flag compromised both of our first runs, but at least Hulkenberg was OK because it looked like a quite big hit. We improved the balance in FP2 and our competitiveness on low fuel looks reasonable. We didn't look as competitive on the high fuel run, so we need to understand why that is. We'll work on this tonight to ty and find the best compromise between qualifying and race pace. We've also seen low track temperatures, much lower than we expect on Sunday, so we have to be careful in what we've learned about the tyres and how we take that forward into the race when the temperatures rise." Toyoharu Tanabe, Honda F1 Technical Director: "Everything went smoothly on the PU side throughout today's three hours of track time. The team improved the balance of the car between the two sessions, allowing Pierre to set 12th fastest time in FP2 which is encouraging for tomorrow. However, there is some uncertainty over the weather with rain forecast at some point during Saturday afternoon, so a flexible strategy to qualifying could be the key to a good result." Haas F1 Team Romain Grosjean (7th, 1:09.769): "It was a good day. I think the car worked pretty well here, especially after Mexico where we struggled a little bit. It was good to be best-of-the-rest in both sessions. I'm happy with that. There's some more work to be done. We're exploring a few different things on the setup to see which direction to go. We'll put it all together to be ready for FP3 and qualifying tomorrow, and then for the race on Sunday." Kevin Magnussen (9th, 1:10.007): "It wasn't too bad today. It was a good start for us. The car felt good from the get-go. It was fast, as well. The pace looked good. As always, we have a few things to work on and get right, but we're in a good place, I believe. I think we're more or less in the window balance-wise. There are always things you can do better and improve, but we'll try and be best-of-the-rest here." Guenther Steiner, Team Principal: "We've had pretty good sessions today. It's good to be back performing again after Mexico. I always say a Friday doesn't mean a lot, but it gives us an idea where we should be. Hopefully, tomorrow we can continue on the path we were on today and enjoy a good qualifying session." McLaren F1 Team Fernando Alonso (13th, 1:10.332): "It was a positive Friday. I missed FP1 and testing one tyre compound, but we still managed to get all the information we needed and do all the tests we wanted anyway, as we had a clean second session, only slightly disrupted by the red flag. We now need to analyse everything and we'll hopefully be more competitive tomorrow. As always on this track, one or two tenths can mean five or six positions, so we need to find the right tuning on the set-up tonight and meet perfection on our lap tomorrow. There is a lot of work to do, but I am quite confident." Stoffel Vandoorne (17th, 1:10.596): "It's not been the ideal Friday for us. We had a couple of issues in FP1 and FP2 which cut our day a little bit short, so we've not had quite the running we wanted. We did a lot of testing and preparation for next year in FP1, so it's not the kind of preparation you want to go into the weekend, but that's the way it is sometimes. Hopefully tomorrow everything will be sorted out and we can start to build on a proper weekend. The field here is always super tight, so it's important to really extract every tenth you have in the car. We'll aim to do that tomorrow in qualifying to try and get the maximum there. The weather looks a bit unsettled for Sunday as well hopefully that can play to our advantage. If the conditions are difficult and tyre degradation is hard, then I think there's always a good opportunity for us. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and we can go into qualifying with a bit more preparation, and then we'll see where we end up." Lando Norris: "Today was definitely a more productive day than my last visit to Interlagos! It's a new track again for me and I was trying to get into the rhythm of the circuit. I got up to pace pretty quickly. I did the tests I needed to do for both my side and the team's side, and I did some practice starts, so it was a good session. During FP2 I try to learn as much as I can in the garage. It's not just about watching and listening to what the engineers and drivers are saying and going through the data, there are a lot of interesting things that go on in the background that people don't hear. I like going through the data to see what's good and what's bad, and comparing some things to my run this morning. Even though the conditions changed slightly and we were on different tyres, there are still things that I like to compare. Whatever I can learn is a good thing. You can learn a lot from just one session on track, even if by the end of FP1 I didn't manage to try everything I wanted different lines or braking points, for example because of the amount of time I had. But by already doing what I did, I can come back next year knowing a lot more and can try those things straight away. I can watch Fernando and Stoffel and see what they do, but by doing FP1 on a weekend like I am now and then going into FP1 next season is a big help and I think it prepares you a lot more. I can go straight into knowing what's good and what's bad next year, without it taking me a whole session to build up to things. Interlagos is quite tricky and it's easy to lock the tyres in Turns Eight, Nine and Ten. It's quite tough and I don't think it'll be the easiest track to overtake on. But it's a good track and pretty fun and enjoyable to drive." Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director: "We're generally satisfied with the running today. Unfortunately, we had a couple of issues on Stoffel's car that curtailed track time in both FP1 and FP2. On the positive side, we made consistent progress throughout the day on the balance of the car and were able to perform all the tests that were scheduled. Overall, we seem to be in a reasonable position. Looking ahead to tomorrow, there are still some doubts over weather stability, however we also expect temperatures to rise throughout the weekend, which will play an important part in our decision-making." Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team Charles Leclerc (8th, 1:09.943): "It was a positive day overall. We were quite strong in our qualifying pace and feel confident for tomorrow. Some work still lies ahead of us in determining where we are in terms of our race pace in comparison to the other teams, but it is looking good so far. The weather was better than expected, and we gathered quite a bit of data in dry conditions, which is positive. I look forward to seeing what we can achieve tomorrow." Marcus Ericsson (15th, 1:10.532): "It was a decent day for me, taking into account that my running time was limited by missing out on FP1. The second practice session went smoothly, and I completed plenty of laps then. The car felt good in terms of the balance and we will work over night to analyse and define what we will do tomorrow. We know that the lap times are very tight here, so it will be about putting everything together in qualifying. In general, it has been a positive Friday and we have a good base to work on for the rest of the weekend." Antonio Giovinazzi: "It was a good session this morning. The programme was quite similar to the previous free practice sessions I have completed so far, and my target was to give the team as much feedback as possible. I enjoyed driving here in Sao Paulo, and now look forward to my next session in Abu Dhabi." Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 10) Presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio reacted to reports of Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano eyeing the House Speakership, saying she is her "best bet." It's unclear, however, if she was only joking or dead serious. "To end all the loose talk and gossip, my bet for Speaker is none other than myself," Duterte said in a statement released to media Friday. CNN Philippines is trying to reach out to the Mayor to clarify her statement, but has not yet received a reply. Duterte has filed her certificate of candidacy for re-election in the 2019 polls. Her brother, Sebastian, is gunning for vice mayor while her other brother, Paolo, has filed for the post of Davao City 1st District Representative. Duterte on Friday led her party, the Hugpong ng Pagbabago, in an event in Quezon City to announce an alliance with other local and national parties for midterm polls. In her speech at the event, she said the regional party would support whoever her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, would endorse as next Speaker. "Kung sino 'yung gusto ni president 'yun ang susuportahan natin," the Mayor said. [Translation: Whoever the President wants, that's who we'll support.] Cayetano earlier in October said he had the President's backing to become the next House Speaker. Velasco, on the other hand, is also a known friend of the President and attended the congressman's birthday on November 3 in Marinduque. The President previously confirmed his daughter maneuvered the ouster of former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, amid clashes between the two. READ: Duterte: Mayor Inday Sara maneuvered Alvarez' ouster As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. 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. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. 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. Adams Emergency Road Repairs Almost Complete ADAMS, Mass. The most significant road damage made by the severe rainstorms in September have been repaired. Interim Town Administrator Donna Cesan told the Selectmen on Wednesday that she expected J.H. Maxymillian Inc. to have completed work on the washouts on Glen Street and East Road by week's end. "I am happy to say that Maxymillian have been working very diligently," she said. "We were fortunate to have them working in town so they could mobilize immediately and address this." Two storms within a week of each other overwhelmed the town's flood control system causing damage on the Lime, Davis, North Summer, and Charles street areas. The town declared a state of emergency and received town meeting approval to borrow up to $2.5 million to make these repairs with the hopes of receiving federal or state reimbursement. Two critical projects the town immediately addressed were the Glen Street sinkhole and damage to East Road because it hindered emergency vehicle access. Cesan said new drainage pipes have been placed in Glen Street as well as new curbing where it had been destroyed. The culvert on East Road has been restored and drainage has been improved. She said they are currently installing the guard rails. Cesan added that the Adams Visitors Center parking lot improvement project is also largely complete. That was being funded through Community Development Block Grant monies. "It was successful, and the contractor is finishing up ... but the project is essentially complete," she said. "I was pleased with the quality of the work, and I think there were some nice improvements." She said the project won't be closed until the spring to allow for landscaping and the installation of parking meters. "Quite frankly if they seed it now it is just not going to take so they will come back in the spring," she said. "If there are any issues such as sidewalk cracking they are still under contract." Cesan said the Town Hall roof repair project will be delayed until the spring so contractors don't have to work in difficult conditions through the winter and to keep the building scaffolding-free through the holidays. "Because of all of the unique angles on the roof they will need scaffolding around the building during the holidays and that didn't seem particularly great," she said. "We decided to get all of our ducks in a row and be ready to go forward when the winter breaks. It certainly made the contractor happy." She said any leaks in the roof are manageable and will not cause further damage. Before closing her report, Cesan said the town received a $28,500 grant to develop a new stormwater bylaw. She said this is needed to be in compliance with the MS4 Stormwater Management Program. During subcommittee reports, Selectwoman Christine Hoyt said representatives from Community Paradigm Associates visited Town Hall to go over the town administrator search process. She said they met with the selectmen individually and some of the department heads. "I know they are still working on meeting the department heads and they will bring forward a town profile and an advertisement for our review as early as tomorrow," she said. The town officials paused their search earlier this year when they failed to attract suitable candidates. They recently executed a contract with Community Paradigm Associates, not to exceed $10,000, to aid in the next search round. Hoyt said they hope to have a new administrator by early February. Before closing the meeting, acting Chairman Joseph Nowak announced that the town is looking for an 8-foot Christmas tree donation for Summer Street. Anyone with a tree to donate can contact the DPW at 413-743-8300, Ext. 122. He added that the DPW will be conducting leaf pickups Nov. 12 through the 19. He said leaves should be raked to the curb and the DPW will only do one pass through. A recent statement by the Kaduna state governor, Nasir El- Rufai has sparked reactions among members of opposition parties. El-rufai, in response to a publication on Friday, accused Peter Obi, running mate to Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar of being a religious bigot. According to the Kaduna state governor, the former Anambra state governor, publicly justified his detention in SSS custody in National television. El-Rufai wrote: Peter Obi is a tribal bigot. He was widely quoted on national television that the SSS was right to detain me for 48 hours in an hotel in 2014 on the grounds that El-Rufai has no business being in Anambra State as it is not Katsina State! I sued the SSS and awarded N4m damages. Apparently, reacting to the statement, Senator Shehu Sani, who dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) because he was denied the partys senatorial ticket to represent his constituency in Senate, said it was better for one to be a tribal bigot than a divisively religious He wrote: An ethnic bigot is a lesser evil than a divisively religious one. Kaduna state governor, Nasir El- Rufai has come under severe criticisms after he called Peter Obi, Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) vice presidential candidate, a tribal bigot. The latest to respond to El-Rufais attack on Obi, is Reno Omokri, a former presidential aide. Omokri, in a post via his Twitter handle on Saturday, revealed that El-Rufai himself had called Southern women whores, in an email, he(El Rufai) sent him (Omokri). According to the PDP chieftain, he protected the Kaduna state governor, all the while but has now decided to expose him, because he called Obi, a bigot. He wrote: In 2011 El-Rufai forwarded me an email calling Southern women whores and he wrote so true! In case he tries to deny, I STILL HAVE THE EMAIL. I protected Elrufai all these years, but chose to expose him to Nigerians after he called Peter Gregory Obi, a tribal bigot. See tweet below Vanguard The Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, yesterday, raised the alarm that the upkeep of its incarcerated leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky is being used as an avenue to loot public funds.Continue reading N3.5m Feeding: Stop stealing public funds in Zakzakys name, Shiites warn The Nation Six governors implicated in plot Adamant APC chair arrivesFor eight hours last Sunday, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, was held hostage at the Department of State Security Service (DSS) at the behest of some governors and some forces in the party to force him to resign.Oshiomhole, however, stood his groundand rebuffed the pressure mounted on him to resign.He told the DSS that he committed no crime and would therefore not resign, ThisDay By David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka The vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Peter Obi, has charged members of the party in Anambra State to brace up to take power. Obi addressed members of the party Friday evening at the state party secretariat in Awka during a stakeholders meeting meant for the candidate The Sun An elder statesman and one of the leaders of Afenifere, the apex Yoruba socio-political organization, Chief Femi Okurounmuis not happy ahead of 2019. Why He believes Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and former governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande are deceiving the Yoruba ethnic region. The Authority The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Imo has displayed names of governorship candidates of 67 political parties without that Daily Times Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai has taken to social media to describe PDP presidential running mate, Peter Obi as a tribal bigot. El Rufai while Daily Trust In a dramatic twist, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in the late hours of Friday displayed the name of Senator Hope Uzodimma as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, inImo state for the 2019 election. The name of Uzodimma with Akaolisa Cyprain Okechukwu as his running mate was pasted at the Leadership President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, in Abuja, pledged the commitment of his administration to revive the good old days when the cotton and textile industry employed hundreds of thousands of Nigerians. Receiving the CEO of Vlisco Group, David Suddens, at the Presidential Villa, President Buhari, in a statement by his special adviser, media, Femi Adesina, Daily Independent Yenagoa The challenge of insecurity has heightened in Bayelsa State with the killing of a female undergraduate of the Niger Delta University (NDU), Seiyefa Fred, by an armed gang in Yenagoa. The 16-year-old Seiyefa, a 100-level student, was said to have been shot by the bandits suspected to be cultists in Amarata area of the The Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has reacted to a recent statement by the Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai.l, in which he called Peter Obi, its vice presidential candidate, a tribal bigot. In its statement on the matter, the opposition party warned the governor not to bring anywhere near it, the kind of statement that led to a breakdown of peace in his state. PDP also noted that, with that statement, Nigerians are now aware of those who carryout smear campaigns against Atiku Abubakar, its presidential candidate. In the statement by the party on Saturday, PDP urged the Kaduna governor, to face the problems in his state and leave, its party alone. See full statement below El-rufai should not attempt to export the kind of inciting and inflammatory statements that have led to conflagration and bloodletting in his Kaduna state to our national political firmament. From El -rufais comment, Nigerians now know those behind the series of smear campaigns and spurious allegations against our Presidential candidate, Abubakar Atiku and his running mate, Peter Obi. Instead of fixating on our party and the soaring popularity of our Presidential candidate, Atiku we expect El-lrufai to show remorse that he was part of those who brought in the Muhammadu Buhari administration, which has inflicted so much pain on Nigerians in the last 3 and 1/2;years. We therefore advise El-rufai to face the myriad of problems he has caused in Kaduna state for which the people have resolved to vote him out and stop his attempt to further foul the nations political space by making comments capable of stoking religious and ethnic division. Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai remains unshaken in his resolve, that Peter Obi, running mate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar is a tribal bigot. El-Rufai, in a tweet a few days ago, blatantly called the former Anambra state governor, a tribal bigot, who publicly supported his detention by SSS officers, while Obi was governor. Again, El-Rufai, in a twitter post on Saturday, stressed that any person who doesnt think its OK for all Nigerians to move freely within the country, except in their state of origin, isnt fit to be vice president. He wrote: In his latest note, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple will be using a new antenna technology for its 2019 iPhones. As per the TF International Securities analyst, Apple will use a modified polyimide (MPI) antenna technology instead of Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) on next years iPhones. Apple currently uses six LCP antennas on its 2018 iPhones which includes the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. For next years iPhone, the company plans to use four MPI antennas and 2 LCP antennas. Among other benefits, the switch will provide Apple will better bargaining power against its LCP material suppliers. It will also allow the company to diversify its supply chain business as it cannot add more LCP material suppliers due to its complicated production process. LCP is more brittle in nature and has a low yield rate. By switching to MPI, Apple can solve these issues for good. Kuo notes that Apple can get the performance of the MPI antenna to be as good as LCP by using an improved fluoride formula. Apple will be exclusively sourcing the LCP antenna technology for its 2019 iPhones from Japanese suppliers thanks to their better vertical integration. Apple currently sources its antenna materials from two different vendors. With this switch, it would be able to expand its supply chain to include five vendors. Theres no word from Kuo as to how the switch from LCP to MPI antennas will have any impact on network performance or reception. The switch to MPI antennas will further help Apple in transitioning to a 5G iPhone in 2020 and beyond. Kuo in his previous note said that 2019 iPhones will feature upgraded Face ID hardware. [Via AppleInsider The world of phone imaging is settling somewhat in late 2018, with such immense processing power available in todays chipsets that camera software can process multiple images almost in real time. Typically, many shots will be taken for a single photo and then these will be combined using computational photography. Throw in the ready availability of telephoto and wide angle lenses, with software again managing any parallax issues from having multiple cameras side by side, and weve never been able to take such high-quality images on our smartphones. Here I take the top three contenders, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, Apple iPhone Xs Max and Google Pixel 3, and push them to the limits in terms of subject matter, lighting, and zoom. On paper, the Mate 20 Pro, with its three lenses (8MP 3x telephoto with OIS, 40MP main, 20MP wide), should win out, but there are as ever question marks over Huaweis image processing and their love of enhancing everything. The iPhones twin lens set-up (12MP 2x telephoto and 12MP main, both with OIS) is an excellent middle ground, while Google has stuck resolutely to a single camera (12MP, OIS) and prefers to do even more in software, including lossless zoom (using multiple frames and natural hand wobble!!) But which approach is best and can I pick a winner? As usual, Ill throw some challenging example shots at these three phone cameras and then look in at 1:1 pixel level to see the innate IQ (Image Quality) of the photos. Notes: all three phones were on very latest firmware and application updates all shots were taken in full auto (except where stated) and handheld, as would be the case for most phone users if you dont trust my judgement and selection of the crops below, then youre welcome to browse my folder of all the full resolution photos here and do your own analysis(!) Test 1: Sunny landscape An easy test, every phone camera in the world should nail this one! Heres the overall scene, then see below for 1:1 crops. And here are the 1:1 crops from, in turn, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, the iPhone Xs Max, and the Google Pixel 3: As expected, even down at the pixel level, all three phone cameras produce good results. Just a tinge of edge enhancement spoiling the handling of the greenery from the Mate 20 Pro, but not enough to dock it a point. Honours even so far! Huawei Mate 20 Pro: 10 pts, Apple iPhone Xs Max: 10 pts, Google Pixel 3: 10 pts Test 2: Zoom time! The same church scene as shown above, but this time zoomed in on the clock on the tower, by 3x on the Mate 20 Pro (i.e. using its telephoto), by 2x on the iPhone Xs Max (2x telephoto) and by some unknown zoom factor on the Pixel 3, since the UI doesnt give any clues! Here are the 1:1 crops from, in turn, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, the iPhone Xs Max, and the Google Pixel 3: Some clear differences here, though the iPhone does better with its 2x telephoto than the Mate 20 Pro with its 3x, I think. The Mate 20 Pro zooms in further but doesnt actually resolve any more detail, plus the sun reflections off the clock face get blown out in ugly fashion. At the other end of the zoom spectrum, the Pixel 3 uses a software-based Super Res Zoom system to render sub-pixels as your hand wobbles during capture, and the system kind of works. Kind of. Its better than traditional digital zoom, but its not as good as a true telephoto lens. As is proved by the iPhone here, with stunningly good zoom shot details and no blowing out of reflections. Just perfect. Huawei Mate 20 Pro: 8 pts, Apple iPhone Xs Max: 10 pts, Google Pixel 3: 7 pts Test 3: Ultra-HDR Shooting almost into the sun, heres a nice aviation landscape. I could see very little with my eyes because it was so bright. But can the phone cameras work their magic with multi-frame, multi-exposure combination? Heres the overall scene, then see below for 1:1 crops. And here are the 1:1 crops from, in turn, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, the iPhone Xs Max, and the Google Pixel 3: Although all three photos were incredible considering what I was asking, you can see the edge enhancement and noise reduction reducing the detail in the Mate 20 Pro shot see the engine cowling and the small red sensor thing on top the wing. Yes, Im being picky, but these are the flagship phone cameras in the world, so I think Im entitled. The Pixel 3 does slightly better in terms of real detail but I think it goes just a bit too far, with texture and grain thats a little ugly. Meanwhile, the iPhone Xs Max gets a superb balance of detail and noise reduction and wins this shot by a nose. Huawei Mate 20 Pro: 8 pts, Apple iPhone Xs Max: 10 pts, Google Pixel 3: 9 pts Test 4: Zoom take two I wanted to try zoom again, especially in light of the Mate 20 Pro and iPhone Xs Maxs telephoto hardware. In this case there was a reason too a closed aviation museum meant that I couldnt get closer to this Gannet than peering through the front gate! Heres the overall scene, then see below for 1:1 crops of zoomed photos. And here are the 1:1 crops from the zoomed photos of, in turn, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, the iPhone Xs Max, and the Google Pixel 3. Note that in this case I wanted to fill the frame with the plane and I used each phones natural digital zoom algorithms over and above any telephoto capabilities: I picked out detail in shadow here, to make things even harder for the phone cameras. A dramatic win for the Mate 20 Pro here, as youd expect, given that its 5x zoom is hybrid, formed from both the telephoto lens and cropping into the main 40MP sensor. An amazingly detailed shot from a phone camera. Meanwhile the iPhone Xs Maxs part telephoto, part lossy digital shot is disappointingly noisy and indistinct. And one step behind again obviously is the Pixel 3s pure digital zoom. Which produces a surprisingly clean result Googles algorithms are pretty good, but it has slightly less detail than the iPhones shot. Huawei Mate 20 Pro: 10 pts, Apple iPhone Xs Max: 7 pts, Google Pixel 3: 6 pts Test 5: Indoor fine detail Inside the church, heres the altar, with a handily placed Bible and loads of detail to try and capture. Heres the overall scene, then see below for 1:1 crops. And here are the 1:1 crops from, in turn, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, the iPhone Xs Max, and the Google Pixel 3: Three pretty good overall photos (again, see my folder of full shots if you care to browse!), but look closely and you can see that the Mate 20 Pro again struggles with really fine detail, producing jaggies and uncertainty where it really should do better. The iPhone does quite a bit better, with a decent balance of detail, purity and sharpening, while the Pixel 3 just nails all the detail here, you can even make out some of the page edges. Very impressive. Huawei Mate 20 Pro: 7 pts, Apple iPhone Xs Max: 9 pts, Google Pixel 3: 10 pts Test 6: Detail in the dark Up at the back of the altar area in the church, there were engraved figures lurking in the shadow. They were very hard to make out with the naked eye, but I thought these phone cameras would have a much better chance. Heres the overall scene, made much lighter to the camera here than to my eyes! And here are the 1:1 crops from, in turn, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, the iPhone Xs Max, and the Google Pixel 3: The Mate 20 Pros large main sensor (40MP pixel-binned in a quad-Bayer arrangement) comes through here, with amazingly clear and pure detail. Yes, theres a bit of the usual edge enhancement going on, but the algorithms suit this sort of subject very well, it seems. The Pixel 3 isnt that far behind with far more noise but also more genuine detail, while the iPhone Xs Max has more noise and less clarity again. However, I should emphasise again how well all three phones did here, the figures were in deep and gloomy shadow! Huawei Mate 20 Pro: 9 pts, Apple iPhone Xs Max: 7 pts, Google Pixel 3: 8 pts Test 7: Low light In even deeper gloom, hard to make out details with my naked eyes, is this pile of books on a small cabinet at the back of a side room. Heres the overall scene from the amazing phone cameras here, making it look like a well lit alcove and not gloomy at all. Should I be upset that none of the phones accurately represents how dark the scene really was or should I celebrate that we can now all see in the dark at last?! And here are the 1:1 crops from, in turn, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, the iPhone Xs Max, and the Google Pixel 3: You can see how dark it really was when you look at how much the phone cameras are struggling here at the pixel level. The Mate 20 Pro has the most in terms of ugliness, arguably. The noise reduction makes its photo look clean, but when you look at the greater detail and texture from the Pixel 3 then you can see how far the Mate 20 Pro could go. The iPhone is somewhere in the middle, with enough noise left in keep original detail, but without enough multi-frame combination to get rid of the digital noise. Huawei Mate 20 Pro: 8 pts, Apple iPhone Xs Max: 9 pts, Google Pixel 3: 10 pts Test 8: Flash time! With LED flash forced on, in a dark room, heres a shelf full of natural detail toys, books, etc. Heres the overall scene, then see below for 1:1 crops. And here are the 1:1 crops from, in turn, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, the iPhone Xs Max, and the Google Pixel 3: At first glance, the Mate 20 Pro seems to nail this shot, with a bright and clear result. But look at some of the captured text, e.g. the author and title of the bottom book, for plenty of artifacts caused by the Mates edge enhancement. The iPhone has the best detail but the darkest image, while the Pixel 3 is somewhere in between, in terms of noise, detail and captured light. I cant pick a real winner here, so all three get the same score! Huawei Mate 20 Pro: 8 pts, Apple iPhone Xs Max: 8 pts, Google Pixel 3: 8 pts Verdict Adding up the scores gives us an idea of how the phone cameras did: Apple iPhone Xs Max: 70/80 pts Google Pixel 3: 68/80 pts Huawei Mate 20 Pro: 68/80 pts Regular readers will know that Im not an iOS user or fan and I was genuinely surprised by the iPhone besting the Pixel 3 and Mate 20 Pro here. Apple has a great balance of zoom, detail, sharpening and noise reduction, the X, Xs Max and Xs all have great cameras that get things right more often than not. Having said that, the Pixel 3 (reviewed here) and Mate 20 Pro (reviewed here) arent far behind. If you ignore the two zoom tests then the Pixel 3 actually wins, showing that Googles HDR+ camera software is perhaps top dog for snap it in one table stakes. Plus Google is still tweaking its software, not least the fancy software zoom. Huawei is also still adjusting its camera software, with new OS builds coming out monthly and its worth noting that imaging purists like me can take advantage of a bizarre provision whereby if you set the Camera software to Pro mode and also turn on RAW capture then its JPG output improves markedly, without the edge enhancement that let the phone down here. The downside? You lose 80MB per photo as you have to live with the RAW creation too! Im sure Huawei will fix this in the future, possibly by making all photos shot in Pro mode miss the edge enhancement. That alone would almost certainly in it the imaging comparison here. Katoikos is embarking on a new phase by joining the Foundation for Global Governance and Sustainability (FOGGS). [pro_ad_display_adzone id=4] [pro_ad_display_adzone id=6] Four years after its establishment, Katoikos is embarking on a new phase by joining the Foundation for Global Governance and Sustainability (FOGGS), a Brussels-based not-for-profit public utility foundation. The Foundation focuses on the development of a Grand Narrative for a fairer and more inclusive globalisation. According to the motto used by FOGGS, this Grand Narrative is meant to explain, challenge and bind the world. This is no small ambition, for sure. It rather reminds of a puzzle with numerous pieces that have to be put together in a way that reflects the unity of humanity, while allowing the expression of the multitude of identities and diverging views that exist within it. Katoikos is very happy to contribute to this, as a discussion forum, host of diverse opinions, challenger of established wisdom and interpreter of global events. Although previously focused primarily on developments, ideas and analyses within the broader European space, this publication has always been characterised by a cosmopolitan, humanist spirit, which is also at the core of FOGGS. As you will see in the article on The fault lines of globalisation and things we can do about them, many of the tensions and contradictions in todays world can be explained by globalisations excesses and the different way in which people belonging to the Rooted and the Movers categories participate in and react to developments. The resulting culture wars are already raging in the US but also in an increasing number of other countries around the globe. One of the most worrisome consequences is that populism is becoming the predominant approach to political discourse, with leaders increasingly telling people what they want to hear, responding to and exploiting their fears and insecurities, without addressing the potential repercussions of unilateralism and isolationism, for example. This has grave consequences for the substance of democracy beyond electoral mechanics, and for openness, tolerance and truth. For all the faults of the previous liberal regimes, the negativity, deception and witch-hunt of populist leaders are challenging the very institutions of the countries they rule and put to question established human rights and other norms of international law. It is unsettling to observe the intensifying trend where each country feels the need to fend for itself and all the hard-won international agreements and human rights are up for renegotiation. On the one hand, we are convinced that certain values human rights, tolerance, gender equality, freedom of expression, and the dignity and inviolability of individuals and groups, in particular the vulnerable ones have universal applicability and should be uncompromisingly defended. On the other hand, we cannot remain oblivious to the historical lessons of colonialism and the pitfalls of a wholesale and forced universalism and of disregarding the particularities of different cultures and traditions. We are also not blind to the more evident shortcomings of globalisation, the corrupting influence of the unhinged quest for profit, the increasing inequalities, the disconnect between the economy and society, the strains on the environment and natural resources, the unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, as practised by the developed world and by the rapidly increasing global middle classes. Globalisation could even be seen as a natural or logical expression of the unity of humanity, if only it could be built on the positive commonalities and treated our differences with respect. We therefore feel at home in our new institutional setting and are ready to open a new chapter in the history of Katoikos.eu, which is transforming itself into Katoikos.world. We hope to have you with us on this new journey as readers, contributors or benefactors. We will do our best to provide articles worth reading and to create a community of global citizens for the exchange of news and views with significant added value for our lives and for the future of our world. A light armoured vehicle that's been turned into a monument is shown in London, Ont., in this undated handout photo. A monument to honour the Canadian Armed Forces who served in Afghanistan was unveiled in London, Ont. ahead of Remembrance Day. Light armoured vehicles that were used to carry Canadians troops through Afghanistan are being decommissioned as part of a project to turn them into memorials to be installed in 33 communities across Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Shawn Deane Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Mostly clear skies this evening will give way to mostly cloudy skies overnight. Low 23F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Mostly clear skies this evening will give way to mostly cloudy skies overnight. Low 23F. Winds light and variable. This is the sixth and final article in a series on Zandari Festa 2018, held Oct. 4 to 7. By Anastasia Traynin It's the first Thursday night of October and the Zandari Festa 2018 crowd, full of musicians, organizers, music industry delegates from around the world and dedicated fans, is gathered outside The Convent, transformed earlier this year from the legendary Freebird Cosmic Live, previously known as 500. Downstairs in the dimly lit basement, have the packed venue up and dancing, with a rockabilly vibe bolstered by the double bass. The band is the opener for Hungary Night, the first time Zandari highlights this country's eclectic and diverse music scene. After their set, I sat down with lead vocalist and guitarist Magnus Maloy who hails from Norway, double bassist and vocalist Ian O'Sullivan from Ireland, and native Hungarian drummer Halo Gergo, two of three names that are much more compelling before removing all the accents and symbols The Korea Times style guide can't publish. The name Mongooz and the Magnet doesn't have any particular origin story, just a name that stuck and is hard to forget. Since their formation in the town of Pecs in 2014, they have played for audiences of 2,000 or more. As international students in Hungary, Maloy and O'Sullivan experienced their band's songs in heavy rotation on the radio, keeping them going in their adopted country. Mongooz and the Magnet arrived in Korea earlier in the week, their first time in Asia. "We're part of the first wave coming out of Hungary and trying to show what's going on," said O'Sullivan, whose choice of instrument is influenced by Hungarian music and traditional gypsy culture. He credits their manager Denes Pecsi-Szabo at Up Music Budapest with their broadening horizons. "Once we had an opportunity, we decided to do it. Now we're eating noodles and drinking soju." While the Hungarian underground scene is going strong locally, they are still taking baby steps to get heard around Europe as well. "No one is selling out in a place in London or Berlin from Hungary," Maloy said. Speaking about their upcoming new recording, O'Sullivan half-jokingly talked about creating something between an LP and EP, to hold people's attention and channel their own creative energy. "Nowadays people don't buy records or sit down and listen to an entire album anymore. You can become a huge band by just releasing three singles. But we have a certain inspiration to create something. We're going to create an MP (medium play?), with an indescribable number of songs. Life is long and has many chapters and we definitely have a couple more albums in us." Little did anyone know on the first night that Mongooz and the Magnet would also be closing out Zandari with their final performance at MUV Hall's closing night party Sunday, with Korean musicians joining them up on stage. After a short whirlwind week in Korea after heading back to Hungary, hopefully the trio will be back in this part of the world before we know it. Top officials of the United States and China met in Washington on Friday to discuss their bilateral relationship and efforts to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons. In a press conference following the talks, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he urged China's cooperation on sanctions enforcement to help achieve the denuclearization of North Korea. "I expressed in our meeting today the importance of remaining united in pursuit of a final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea as agreed to by Chairman Kim in Singapore," he said, referring to the historic summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June. "This means maintaining pressure through the continued strict enforcement of all U.N. Security Council (sanctions) resolutions," Pompeo said, adding that China's cooperation "will help achieve meaningful breakthroughs on this important denuclearization issue." The U.S. and China have been at odds over sanctions policy, with Washington insisting that the sanctions remain on until North Korea fully dismantles its nuclear program and Beijing calling for a gradual easing of sanctions in return for Pyongyang's disarmament steps. Speaking alongside Pompeo, Yang Jiechi, director of the Chinese Communist Party's Office of Foreign Affairs, said the two sides held "in-depth" talks on the Korean Peninsula. "China reaffirmed its position and commitment to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula, and a solution through conversation and negotiation," he said. On the sanctions, he said China will "continue to enforce strictly" the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions. And on the diplomatic dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea, he said China hopes that the two sides will "meet each other halfway, accommodate each other's legitimate concerns, build trust and advance the denuclearization process and the establishment of a peace mechanism in tandem." His remarks come after a scheduled Thursday meeting between Pompeo and a top North Korean official in New York was postponed at the last minute due to what the U.S. said were scheduling issues. The sudden cancellation raised speculation that the North canceled the meeting in anger over the U.S. refusal to lift sanctions until after the full denuclearization of the regime. Friday's meeting, called the U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue, was also joined by U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe. Separately, South Korean Ambassador to the United States Cho Yoon-je called for confidence to further move North Korea's denuclearization forward and bring peace to the Korean Peninsula. "We should note that confidence is the key to take a much bigger step in the future," Cho said, calling North Korea's suspension of nuclear and missile tests, and dismantlement of its nuclear test site "a big progress" in building confidence. The envoy made the comments in a speech earlier in the day after receiving the Distinguished Diplomatic Service Award from the World Affairs Council-Washington, DC, a nonprofit nonpartisan group, in recognition of his service to foreign affairs. The award has been given each year since 2009, and Cho is the first South Korean to receive it. (Yonhap) Piles of workbooks at a private cram school in Seoul, Thursday. This year's College Scholastic Ability Test will take place on Nov. 15. / Yonhap Buddhist temples are crowded nowadays with mothers ardently praying for their children's success on the annual college entrance exam, which is just a week away. The state-administered exam is extremely important for students as getting into a good college can mean getting decent jobs after graduation in the academic background-oriented Korean society. Many parents visit prayer sites nationwide, mostly Buddhist temples, around this time of the year to wish for their children's good test results. Here are some of the famous temples near Seoul: Yongmunsa Temple Yongmunsa Temple A 100-day prayer for success on the exam is currently under way at Yongmunsa Temple in Yangpyeong, 55 kilometers northeast of Seoul. Built in 913, the temple boasts a gingko tree designated as a natural monument. The giant tree, which is 67 meters high and estimated to be about 1,100 years old, is widely deemed to have spiritual power, and many visitors offer their prayers in front of the tree. There are two legends regarding the tree. One has it that the Crown Prince Maui, a son of Gyeongsun, the last king of the Silla Dynasty (BC 57-AD 935), put a stick in the ground on his way to Mount Geumgang for a reclusive life after the collapse of the kingdom, and the stick grew into the gingko tree later. The other is that the famous Buddhist priest Uisang (625-702) put his stick in the ground, and it grew into the tree. Chiljangsa Temple Chiljangsa Temple Located in Anseong, south of Seoul, Chiljangsa Temple is known as the place where Park Mun-su (1691-1756) visited to pray to pass the highest-level state examination called the "gwageo" that was used to recruit ranking officials during the Joseon Dynasty. Staying at the temple, he is believed to have dreamt the exam questions in advance. Recently, the city built the Park Mun-su Bridge, which is frequented by school parents. Silleuksa Temple By Park Si-soo Two United States Forces Korea soldiers were caught stealing clothes from a shop in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, police said Saturday. They entered the shop at 11 p.m. Friday, and got away with a jacket priced at 60,000 won ($54), according to Gwangju Dongbu Police Station. Officers, called by the shop's manager, traced the two and apprehended them. The two suspects, from an air base in Gyeonggi Province, remained , refusing to answer questions from investigators. Police are reviewing CCTV footage to help them in their investigation. By David Tizzard Well, obviously nothing too forward. I am British after all. We generally become frightfully embarrassed whenever such topics are raised and resort to tugging at our sleeves, muttering something about the weather, or adjusting our shirt collar. However, many of the stories here in Korea of late have revolved around the issue and so perhaps it needs to be brought out in the open just a little. There have been reports of a drastic rise in the number of people diagnosed with syphilis particularly those in their 20s. This dovetails with statistics highlighting that a majority of South Koreans no longer feel marriage is necessary: Statistics Korea has revealed that among the 39,000 people questioned, less than half believed they would get married. This perhaps seems par for the course for a developing society. With more and more young women seeking to embark on a professional career or a life of personal attainment, aided in some parts by social and technological changes allowing them more freedoms, there is less likelihood of them seeking early marriage if at all. Domestic neologisms have arisen as testament to this and they are used among women and men. Where previous generations prided themselves on being part of the 386, some young Koreans now reference the sampo-sedae. They are the generation that has given up three things: dating, marriage and childbirth. (The 386 generation, a hat-tip to the popular computer processing chips of the time, referred to those in their 30s who attended university in the 1980s and were born in the 1960s. More than simply age, however, it was also a mindset that arose after the years of military dictatorship and helped push the country toward democracy.) There is a rather unseemly side to all this, however. During the week, one of the top trending terms on Naver was "what is grooming?" as the story broke of an Incheon-based pastor accused of sexually assaulting 20 women over the past seven years. A press conference in Seoul was held by four of the victims on Tuesday while the pastor has apparently fled to the Philippines in a bid to escape any trial or punishment. There has also been the case involving Yang Jin-ho. Video footage of him three years ago slapping a former employee has been on a non-stop cycle of the Korean news broadcasts, as have pictures of his Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce. With much of the initial revelations being brought to light by Newstapa and a journalism project called Sherlock, there seems little chance of it stopping soon. Investigations into the wider business practices of Yang and his associates are taking place, there is talk of higher collusion, with the word cartel frequently used, activist groups been very vocal in not only their condemnation of Yang but also in their demands that the investigative authorities do their job correctly, and various petitions have of course been sent to the Blue House's website. Questions of anger management, bad haircuts and slain chickens aside, attention has also turned to how he made his fortune. Some media outlets, including this paper, have labeled him the "Porn King." The online storage company WeDisk, of which Yang is chairman, is said to have made about 40 billion won in profit over the past four years roughly $35 million. Reports claim that the money has been primarily made through hosting illegal pornographic material. Single-variant causal explanations are often as silly as they are inaccurate, but internet users also point to a 2011 U.S. weekly magazine Newsweek article claiming South Koreans as the world's top buyers of pornographic materials. And it is not just normal pornography if such a thing can exist in this day and age but rather manifestations of broader social issues that have appeared sporadically here in Korea: spy-cam pornography and revenge pornography. These two categories seem rather more distressing than normal, were we to place pornography on a scale, because they contain images and footage of people that have not given their consent. "I am not your porn" was one of the more charged and rightly voiced cries at the well-attended protests that filled Gwanghwamun, other locations around the country, and domestic and international news reports. But while no one will surely condone the use of such materials, because it violates a whole host of legal and moral rights, it did make me think, how and where if at all pornography on a broader scale should be legal in Korea? Adult-themed shops are now far more prevalent than previously and also more visible. K-pop videos verge further and further into the risque, often pushed forward by a director's cut of the videos intended for a more late-night audience. But with a whole host of societal, demographic and medical issues surfacing, what stance does Korea take on the issue of sex? Does it remain true to its more conservative roots and repress the wider discussion where possible, despite what side effects this might bring? Or does it openly embrace a '60s-esque revolution and aim for a peninsula of free love? Of course, as always, the answer is one for the Korean people themselves to find. One might suggest that it probably lies somewhere in the middle. The doctrine of the mean has been a stance advocated by Aristotle and Confucius as well as many others over the years. Nevertheless, regardless of the position taken, I wonder whether recent issues will lead the people of Korea to a discussion of the topic. It is all frightfully embarrassing, though. Do beg your pardon. And how about that weather? David Tizzard (datizzard@swu.ac.kr) is an assistant professor at Seoul Women's University. The Standing Buddhas of Yongmi-ri. By Robert Neff An engraving of Yongmi-ri, Isabella Bird Bishop, circa 1897. In the early 1890s, three Western missionaries traveling from Seoul to Pyongyang rounded a corner of a rocky hill and were suddenly confronted by "two immense stone figures representing a Korean man and a Korean woman" perched high above them they were the Standing Buddhas of Yongmi-ri. One of the men, Homer Hulbert, wrote: "Surrounded by and half hidden among beautiful pine trees, they form an exceedingly novel and pleasing break in the monotony of the road." He was not the only one to be impressed with their sudden appearance. In the mid-1890s, Isabella Bird Bishop, an English author and traveler, wrote: "Beyond Ko-yang, standing out in endless solemnity above a pine wood on the side of a steep hill, are two of the strangely few antiquities of which Korea can boast. These are two mirioks, colossal busts, about 35 feet in height, carved out of the solid rock. They are supposed to be relics of the very early days of Korean Buddhism, when men were religious enough to toil at such stupendous works and to represent the male and female elements in nature. They are side by side. One wears a round and the other a square hat. The Buddhistic calm, or rather I should say apathy, rests on their huge faces, which have looked stolidly on many a change in Korea..." The Buddhas from a distance. Even after Bishop's visit, the images continued to witness change. In 1935, Yongam Temple was built and perhaps that is when the legend began. It is said that the statues were built during the reign of Seonjong of Goryeo (1083-1094) after his queen had seen two monks in a dream asking her for food and drink. The queen, desperate to have a son, told her husband of her dream and besieged him to send some men out to find the monks. But when the men arrived at the spot in her dream, they found only the large granite formation. The king commanded that the granite be carved into the shape of the monks and shortly after the carvings were complete, the queen gave birth to a son. Word spread, and soon the site was popular with women seeking to be blessed with the birth of a son. There were other changes. During the Korean War, Janji Mountain was the site of a fierce battle between North and South Korean soldiers. Bullet holes from the battle still scar the statues' faces. From Yongam Temple. According to Jihoon Suk, a fountain of information, on October 11, 1953, President Syngman Rhee visited the site and "thought that the Buddhas lacked a bit of symmetry between them, so he requested to have an accompanying statue on the shoulder be built." His request was complied with and for a couple of decades there were actually three Buddhist images overlooking the valley. The third image has since been removed and now enjoys a place of honor at the base of the hill next to a small seven-story pagoda commemorating the visit of the former president. Change is again in the air and perhaps the Standing Buddhas of Yongmi-ri will eventually see the reunification of the Korean Peninsula. The steps leading from the temple to the Buddhas. A coin on each lap. The view of the Buddhas from behind. What the statues of Yongmi-ri see. The third Buddha image and the seven-story pagoda. By Jane Han Han Gun-young Freely accessible local news is vital. Please power our reporters and help keep us independent with a donation today. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe On Wednesday night around 11:15 p.m., a dozen students at California Lutheran University were finishing their final dress rehearsal for Columbinus, a play that explores the aftermath of the 1999 Columbine high school shooting. At around the same time, approximately five miles away, a gunman walked into the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, pulled out a .45-caliber Glock 21 with an extended magazine and began pulling the trigger. He killed 12 people. Dozens of other Cal Lutheran students were at the scene of the carnage that night. Among the dead was 23-year-old Justin Meek, a recent Cal Lutheran graduate who reportedly died trying to save other people. "I was literally in the process of giving [my students] notes about how to make their portrayal of a mass shooting, victims and survivors, more realistic," says Brett Elliott, the director of Columbinus and a theater professor at the small, liberal arts university. "And now, it is more real for them than I ever would have wished." Elliott spoke to KPCC's Take Two about the production, and what happens now. Opening night, which was scheduled for Thursday, was cancelled. Elliott doesn't know if the show will go on -- or if it should. "The cast feels more motivated to do the show than ever before, understanding that it will be difficult. At the same time, people need space to grieve, and if they feel this is somehow disrespectful to their grief, we would never want to give people that impression, so we're conflicted," he says. Rehearsals for the play Columbinus at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. (Photo by Josh Clabaugh/California Lutheran University) VICTIMS & VICTORS The first time Elliott read Columbinus, which draws on eyewitness accounts from survivors of the Columbine shooting, he wasn't sure he wanted to, wasn't sure that he could, direct the play. "When I sat down and read this script, I put it down two-thirds of the way through and thought, 'I don't know if I can live in this mental space for the two months that it would take to put this up,'" he says. As he got to the end of the work, he was impressed by how it handled the tough stuff. A documentary featuring Columbine survivors also helped clarify his intentions. He particularly remembers the account of one man, who had been pulled to safety by the SWAT team, saying: "He said, 'I could think of myself as a victim or I could think of myself as a victor.' And I thought to myself, 'That's exactly right.' That's how I'm going to approach this play. I'm going to approach this play like I have something positive to contribute. This show needs to be done. This story needs to be examined." That may be even more true now than it was before. Rehearsals for the play Columbinus at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. (Photo by Josh Clabaugh/California Lutheran University) 'A DIFFICULT PROCESS' "I call theater the gymnasium for empathy," Elliott says. "As theater artists, our job is to literally put on the shoes of somebody else and walk a mile in [them]. And then the audience, as they come in, they do the same thing." Columbinus is unvarnished and intense, theatricalized in some parts and documentary-esque in others. Written by PJ Paparelli and Stephen Karam, it begins by focusing on the shooters, pulling from their journals to examine the high school culture that spawned the massacre. The second half of the play takes audiences through a beat-by-beat account of the events of the day, drawn from the accounts of survivors, first responders, witnesses and anxious parents. "We can tackle these things in documentary films or interviews or books and there's just nothing like putting a live person in the same room with you, having them speak the words of somebody like Eric Harris or Dylan Klebold to try to get into that mindset," Elliott says. "What could be more important to try to understand how this kind of thing comes about and what we can possibly do to get out of this cycle?" Elliott says every day in rehearsals was emotional. Some of the young actors were cast as parents of Columbine students, waiting to hear news of their children -- similar to what some of them later experienced waiting to hear about their friends who'd been in the Borderline bar. "It has been a difficult process," Elliott says. "I knew it would be." (Cal Lutheran has clergy members and psychological services on campus to support students and staffers dealing with the massacre's emotional aftermath.) But, he also says, "The theater faculty at Cal Lutheran thought it was important to tackle this problem, this epidemic that we find ourselves in, in this country. We wanted to contribute to the national conversation about it and take a hard, honest look at it, which this play really does." Whether or not the performances of Columbinus go on, he hopes the play will help people understand that they aren't alone and, possibly, spur them to action. "I don't think there are simple answers," Elliott says. "One of the survivors of Columbine called it the threat of our time and I think that is absolutely right. I hope people would come away understanding that and motivated to do something about that." This interview was conducted for a Take Two segment. You can hear the full show here. Hey, thanks. You read the entire story. And we love you for that. Here at LAist, our goal is to cover the stories that matter to you, not advertisers. We don't have paywalls, but we do have payments (aka bills). So if you love independent, local journalism, join us. Let's make the world a better place, together. Donate now. Strong winds blow smoke horizontally over the the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean over the city of Malibu, far distance, in Southern California, seen from the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles Friday morning, Nov. 9, 2018. The director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services says fires across California have forced 157,000 people from their homes. The fire near the Northern California town of Paradise has grown to nearly 110 square miles. Another fire northwest of Los Angeles has been swept southward toward the ocean by strong Santa Ana winds. Evacuation orders were issued for residents of the beachside community of Malibu. (Reed Saxon/AP) Freely accessible local news is vital. Please power our reporters and help keep us independent with a donation today. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe By Emily Guerin and Ashley Alvarado LAist/KPCC is covering the fires burning in Southern California and are working hard to answer community members' questions. Let us know what you need to know. Have answers to some of the questions you're seeing? You can email Ashley Alvarado directly at aalvarado@scpr.org. YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Fire curiosities | Transportation | Evacuation | Preparedness FIRE CURIOSITIES Q: WHO NAMES THESE FIRES ANYWAY? That honor goes to the dispatch center that sends the first firefighters to the scene of a fire, or sometimes to those firefighters themselves, according to CalFire. Fires are usually named for the area where they started: a local landmark, a street, a creek, a mountain, etc. The Thomas Fire, for example, was named for Thomas Aquinas College. The Skirball Fire started near the Skirball Center, and the Rye Firestarted near Rye Canyon Loop in Santa Clarita. Q: WHAT HAPPENS TO WILD ANIMALS IN A WILDFIRE? It really depends on the animal. National Park Service researchers studying the aftermath of the 2013 Springs Fire in the Santa Monica Mountains have found three things: The animals that remained in burn zones a year after the fire were either mobile and escaped the flames, like deer, or they could eat a wide variety of food, like coyotes. Some animals that had disappeared from burn zones were less mobile, like rabbits, meaning they died in the fire or starved to death afterwards in the charred, barren landscape. Still other animals that had disappeared from the burn zones after the fire were picky about their habitat. Bobcats, for example, prefer dense, woody undergrowth, which disappeared in the burn. Q: CAN FIREFIGHTERS USE SEA WATER TO PUT OUT THE FIRES? According to Cal Fire, yes, but it's not ideal. Spokeswoman Debbie Strong says firefighters prefer freshwater, like lakes and reservoirs, but if that is not available, they can dip their buckets into the ocean. However, they have to clean their buckets out afterwards to prevent salt corrosion. One reason firefighters prefer freshwater, Fire Captain Larry Kurtz told the Orange County Register in 2016, is that it is safer to hover close to the surface of the water than at sea. Q: HOW FAR CAN AN EMBER TRAVEL? Three to four miles! That's according to Robyn Broyles with the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. She says the distance depends on what kind of vegetation is burning and how strong the wind is blowing. Fires that burn in the crown, or top, of trees and bushes are the most likely to produce embers that can get carried by the wind. In fact, it is wind-blown embers, not a huge wall of fire sweeping through a neighborhood, that generally cause houses to burn down, according to a trio of San Diego firefighters standing outside the smoldering remains of a house in a Ventura neighborhood. Many residents had chosen not to evacuate and instead were dousing their roofs with water, stamping out small fires that ignited in potted plants and on their decks and frantically cutting brush and dead vegetation so flying embers had less fuel to burn. For tips on how to fireproof your home from embers, read this. Q: WHY DON'T FIREFIGHTERS USE THAT THICK FOAM LIKE THEY DO AT AIRPORTS? We put this question to Cal Fire, and they said the foam used at airports to put out jet fuel fires just doesn't work when dropped from airplanes onto wildfires. Instead, they use three different kinds of firefighting chemicals, according to Shirley Zylstra with the U.S. Forest Service. Gels, which are are similar to the chemicals found in baby diapers, allow water to stick to trees and bushes, creating a thick layer of fire protection. Gels are only useful until the water they contain evaporates: about an hour. Foams are like a strong dishwashing detergent. They allow water to absorb more easily into trees and bushes, protecting plants from flames. Foams last even less time: no more than 20 minutes. Retardants, the red liquid you often see falling from planes, are by far the most popular form of firefighting chemical because they can be dropped ahead of the fire line and last longer than foams or gels. They create a chemical reaction that pulls heat away from the fire, cooling it to the point where it can't sustain itself -- except when the wind is strong, causing flames to grow to 4 or 8 feet in length. In those situations, retardant is "not helpful," according to Zylstra. EVACUATION Q: HOW ARE PEOPLE NOTIFIED IF THEY ARE IN A NEW EVACUATION ZONE? Unfortunately, there is no centralized alert system in Southern California to notify residents about fire evacuation orders. Instead, each county in the region - Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside - has its own text alert system. Here's how you can opt in. Q: HOW DO I CHECK TO SEE IF MY LOVED ONES ARE OKAY? One way that police recommend is for those looking for missing family or friends to visit the American Red Cross's website, Safe and Well, where people can register themselves as safe. Q: WHAT DO I DO WHEN I RETURN HOME AFTER A FIRE? Check for fires on the drive back home. When you get there, walk around the inside and outside of your house checking for embers or dangers from downed power lines or gas. If you find fires during your checks, Cal Fire says to call 911 immediately. KPCC just put together a great list of do's and don'ts. You can check it out here. Q: HOW DO I KNOW WHEN IT'S SAFE TO GO HOME? You might find out in a number of different ways. If you live in Ventura County and you've signed up for VC Alerts, you could get a message telling you the evacuation in your area has been lifted. There will also be information posted on vcemergency.com. Reporters will also be monitoring that site, so pay attention to the news, too. And for everyone else, we broke it down county by county. Q: IF WE LIVE OUTSIDE OF EVACUATION AREAS, DO WE NEED TO WEAR MASKS OUTSIDE? The answer has less to do with whether you're in an evacuation area, and more to do with local air quality. This map, from the PurpleAir network of sensors, has real time information on particulate pollution in the air. If you're near an sensor that's colored orange, the elderly, children, or people with respiratory illnesses could begin to feel the effects of poor air quality and may want to consider wearing a mask. Once the sensor is red or purple, everyone will be impacted. You can also sign up for text or email alerts about smoke and poor air quality here, and look at the South Coast Air Quality Management District's map here, although it's not as local as PurpleAir's. In general: if you see or smell smoke, wear an N95 respirator mask. If you have a respiratory illness, you may want to take extra precautions. Q: WHY DON'T WE HAVE A SIREN FOR EARTHQUAKES LIKE MEXICO CITY DOES? IS THERE A SIREN FOR FIRES? Outdoor warning systems were used in Los Angeles in war-times - air-raid alarms in the 1940s and sirens for the event nuclear attack in the 1960s. But because there are so many different hazards in the region, (fires, earthquakes, mudslides and more) Jeff Reeb, director of emergency management in the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office, says it wouldn't be clear what any one siren might signify. The use of siren systems has fallen out of use in favor of county-specific Wireless Emergency Alerts that can provide specific instruction about what action to take. Reeb encourages people to keep the emergency alert feature active on their phones, despite the unnerving sound. "There's no magic bullet," said Reeb. "It take a variety of ways to get out information." Outdoor warning sirens are generally uncommon in the state, but there are some used to warn of tsunamis. In the Bay Area, Oakland does have a siren system with three distinct sounds - a steady tone that means shelter in place, a slow wail for a tsunami alert and a fast wail for a fire alert. In Ventura County, the only siren system is in place is to warn of flooding near the Lake Casitas Dam. As for earthquake alerts, there are a number of systems in development, including a cell phone-based system called Shake Alert that's in the beta-testing phase. TRANSPORTATION Q: HOW CAN I FIND OUT WHAT ROADS ARE CLOSED? It depends where you live and what roads you're trying to find out about. CalTrans has closures of major roads and freeways listed here. The agency also has a mobile app you can download. PREPAREDNESS Q: WHAT AIR MASK SHOULD I BUY? We tested five different masks, from the simple bandana (avoid that) to the hardcore respirator. You definitely want one that has the N95 label, which means it filters out 95 percent of airborne particles, including smoke. Q: IN L.A., WHAT CAN WE DO TO PROTECT OURSELVES FROM THE FIRES? Let's break this into two categories: inside and outside the house. Inside, it's really important to have a working smoke alarm. Also, have an evacuation kit ready to go in a portable container, like a backpack or a tub. It should include: Three days of food and three gallons of water per person Paper maps Medication Extra clothes Glasses and/or contact lenses Extra set of car keys, credit cards, and cash First aid kit Batteries and battery-powered radio Flashlight Copies of important documents Sanitation supplies Pet food and extra water There are also number of things you can do outside your house and on your property to limit the risk of wildfire burning down your home. All cities and counties have different rules (here are the City of L.A.'s), but most require you to cut brush and grass within 100 or 200 feet of your home, remove all low branches on trees to keep fires from climbing into the canopy and remove tree branches hanging over the roof of your house. If you're a renter, ask your landlord to make sure this gets done. Make sure you're signed up to receive messages from local emergency officials about evacuations. They may also come down your street or send you a notification using the Amber Alert system. Finally, when an evacuation order is given or if you see smoke or flames in the distance, grab your evacuation kit and go. Hey, thanks. You read the entire story. And we love you for that. Here at LAist, our goal is to cover the stories that matter to you, not advertisers. We don't have paywalls, but we do have payments (aka bills). So if you love independent, local journalism, join us. Let's make the world a better place, together. Donate now. Freely accessible local news is vital. Please power our reporters and help keep us independent with a donation today. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Editor's note: This story is no longer being updated. You can find our most recent coverage here. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes as two wildfires burn in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. While firefighters have made progress on the Hill Fire, the much larger Woolsey Fire has been more difficult, destroying an unknown number of homes and other property as displaced residents wait for answers. However, firefighters started to get a handle on things Saturday in a lull in the winds, reaching 5 percent containment. Here's the latest on the Woolsey and Hill fires on Day 3 as of 7:30 p.m. Saturday. (You can see more photos of the Woolsey Fire and the destruction left in its wake here.) WOOLSEY FIRE (Via KPCC Fire Tracker) The fire held at 70,000 acres burned from Saturday morning to Saturday afternoon, according to officials, with some progress being made -- containment increased from 0 to 5 percent. Firefighters on Saturday had managed to paint a lot of fire retardant along ridges and canyon areas, as well as cutting line along the back side of the fire. Between 7 and 10 homes in Agoura Hills have been red-tagged, the town's Mayor William Koehler said. Winds shifted Saturday in a way that helped firefighters, but not Southern California's air quality. It was expected to shift back the other direction Saturday night, with Santa Ana winds kicking back up Sunday. The wind Saturday night will be gusting to 45 mph in Santa Clarita, 55 mph over mountain areas. Firefighters expect winds from 30-45 mph Sunday through Tuesday, they said at an afternoon press conference. "Don't be lulled into a false sense of security," Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said. Red Flag parking restrictions will be in effect due to the weather conditions in the city of Los Angeles, starting at 8 a.m. Sunday. They will remain in effect until further notice in order to help keep roads clear for LAFD vehicles. Most areas that had been evacuated remained under mandatory evacuations, but some restrictions have been lifted -- you can see the full Ventura County list here. Officials are asking residents not to try to come back until they've received notifications that they can do so from officials. When people do return to Agoura Hills, they should wear particulate masks when they're outside, Agoura Hills Councilmember Lidna Northrup said. Crews were set to be up all night, putting in more containment lines, L.A. County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said. Firefighters were also set to be putting hot spots out throughout the night. "This has been a very challenging and emotional incident for our organization," Osby said. He noted that some fire personnel had lost homes themselves, while also noting that the size of the fire meant there were huge amounts of line to cut. Damage asessment teams were still out late Saturday afternoon, but don't have a number on how many homes have been lost. Several officials also asked for the federal government to issue a Major Disaster Emergency declaration in addition to the federal assistance already being provided. The fire jumped the 101 Freeway and county line Friday morning and blazed a path through the Santa Monica Mountains and south to the ocean. The entire cities of Malibu and Hidden Hills, portions of Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Calabasas, as well as the Los Angeles community of West Hills, were forced to evacuate as flames neared homes. Two people were found dead Friday afternoon in the 3300 block of Mullholland Highway, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. On Saturday morning, homicide investigators made their way to the scene, which is inside the footprint of the Woolsey Fire. L.A. County Sheriff's Chief John Benedict said authorities were investigating the deaths as fire-related fatalities. This familiar spot near Mulholland Highway has been transformed by fire pic.twitter.com/VZQ3py7uqg Sharon McNary (@KPCCsharon) November 10, 2018 Officials also said there had been two known incidents of looting in the area, one of which led to a pursuit. Two people have been arrested, an L.A. County sheriff's official said. L.A. County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said they still don't know how many homes have been lost, but that firefighters "saved thousands of homes" from the "miles and miles of flame fronts coming at multiple communities." The fire doubled in size overnight. BY THE NUMBERS 70,000 acres burned, according to Cal Fire At least 50 homes destroyed in Ventura County No estimate of homes lost in L.A. County, though officials say it is "very significant" More than 200,000 residents and 75,000 homes under mandatory evacuation Containment is at 5% -- up from 0% on Saturday morning -- and they don't know when it will be contained 3,500 structures were threatened More than 900 firefighting personnel on scene A road sign on PCH burns from the Woolsey fire on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (Brian Feinzimer/Fein Image for LAist) 'MALIBU IS DEVASTATED' Tim Morris stayed to keep flames from reaching his family's business, the Paradise Cove Beach Cafe. "Malibu is devastated. It's completely devastated." He and others held back the fire from his business, but the destruction in Malibu is like nothing he's ever seen. Read more of his story and the stories of others in Malibu affected by the fire here. CONFUSION AND FRUSTRATION AT PEPPERDINE Pepperdine University issued a shelter-in-place order for its Malibu campus as the fire burned closer, but conflicting instructions from law enforcement led to confusion and tension overnight. UPDATE: #Woolseyfire keeps getting closer to @pepperdine campus. Students are still in shelter-in-place locations. pic.twitter.com/JoMzviB0Ib Araceli Crescencio WLNS (@aracelireports) November 10, 2018 In a video shared on social media shortly after midnight by Araceli Crescencio, a Pepperdine journalism student, President Andrew K. Benton spoke to anxious students to clarify what was going on. Benton said sheriff's deputies "without authority -- instructions -- but not authority" had told people gathered in one of the campus libraries to evacuate. Benton said evacuation was not the arrangement the school had with law enforcement officials. "So we got it stopped," he said, going on to express extreme frustration. "We continue to get layer after layer of law enforcement and fire authorities who are not getting good communication from central command." "We have an arrangement that we shelter in place on this campus and we keep you safe here with all the resources that we have with food, water with buildings that are built to withstand challenges like this." "When people get into a big a hurry - fire department, sheriff's department -- they move on instinct and their instinct is just get everyone out of harm's way and move them move them move them. But the question is how where do you go, how do you get there what's there when you arrive wherever you are going." Benton told the students that fire resources were just then getting to the campus, which is along the coast in Malibu with limited routes in and out. "I'm very irritated that fire (officials) did not anticipate this, did not get assets here, did not realize we were going to have 3,500 people on this campus," Benton said. "And now they've frightened some of your brothers and sisters out onto the roadways and I don't know where they are and I'm just fit to be tied." "Stay here, you're safe here," he told them. "I'm sorry that there's tension in my voice. I'm feeling a little tension right now. If you are people who pray, pray." Crescencio, who continued to report on Twitter throughout the night, shared at just after 7 a.m. that students had been allowed to return to their dorms. At this time, Pepperdine has lifted its shelter-in-place order. The University community is safe and individuals are free to move about the campus. More info: https://t.co/dhWdcq6sLG (1/2) Pepperdine University (@pepperdine) November 10, 2018 IMPACT ON LOCAL PARKS Paramount Ranch was decimated by a wildfire Friday. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) A number of Southern California parks are closed to visitors due to fire danger. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreational Area was burned as the Woolsey Fire crossed the 101 freeway moving south, and it remains closed. A beloved movie set and tourist attraction there was burned down Friday. The Paramount Ranch site had been used as a western town backdrop since the 1920s for dozens of TV shows and films. The Woolsey Fire has also prompted the closure of Malibu Creek State Park, where the fire had entered. Firefighters at a fire-retardant pink helispot in Malibu Creek State Park. Hoses from hydrant and fire engine fill water-dropping helicopters. pic.twitter.com/btzfpieHCg Sharon McNary (@KPCCsharon) November 10, 2018 Leo Carrillo and Point Mugu State Parks were closed in connection with the Hill Fire but had been burned, according to the California State Parks system. Here's How You Can Prepare For A Wildfire Right Now SMOKY AIR IS BAD AIR A man watches as the Woolsey Fire reaches the ocean along Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images) Smoke from the Woolsey Fire is blanketing Southern California skies, sparking warnings from health officials. The South Coast Air Quailty Management District (AQMD) issued an advisory for a large swath of the region, including portions of Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. #WoolseyFire Health information on smoke, ash, food safety, power outage and more on our website https://t.co/6Yl3web9rn pic.twitter.com/2kGhAX5xdn LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) November 10, 2018 FIRE MAP This map, created by Ventura County emergency officials, shows where the Woolsey and Hill fires are burning. The purple areas are the approximate fire perimeters, red regions are mandatory evacuation zones and the orange areas are under voluntary evacuation. NOTE: The map does not show evacuation zones in L.A. County. That list is available here. HILL FIRE Ventura County fire officials they had made "good progress" on the Hill Fire, which started about 2 p.m. Thursday. Saturday afternoon, officials said they were looking at starting to repopulate some areas affected by the Hill Fire. Firefighters caught a break as the fire burned into the footprint of the Springs Fire, which scorched the area in 2013. With less fuel to burn, the fire started to die down. Ventura County Fire Department Captain Stan Zeigler said firefighters were seeing "very minimal active fire activity and just a little bit of smoldering and burning and interior hot spots." All of the Ventura County evacuations for the Hill Fire have been lifted: BY THE NUMBERS 4,531 acres burned (downgraded from 6,100 acres) Containment is at 25% No structures destroyed or damaged 437 structures threatened One firefighter injured About 900 firefighting personnel assigned to fire #HillFire [update] at Hill Canyon Rd and Santa Rosa Rd, Santa Rosa Valley (Ventura County) is now 4,531 acres and 25% contained. Unified Command: CAL FIRE and @VCFD https://t.co/PAzCzDhWGL pic.twitter.com/2ESZWxlujZ CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) November 10, 2018 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES For the latest information straight from local emergency officials, including evacuation orders, road closures, evacuation centers and animal shelters, check the following sites and socia media accounts: This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Ryan Fonseca, Mike Roe, Sharon McNary, Megan Garvey, Kristen Muller and David Wagner contributed to this story. UPDATES: 7:25 p.m. This article was updated with additional details on evacuation orders being lifted. 6:49 p.m. This article was updated with information on Red Flag parking restrictions. 5 p.m. This article was updated with information from an afternoon press conference. 3:30 p.m. This article was updated with additional photos. 1:28 p.m.: This article was updated with quotes from a local business owner. 11:54 a.m.: This article was updated with information about regional air quality. 11:40 a.m.: This article was updated with information about local parks. 10:47 a.m.: This article was updated with information about Pepperdine University. 10 a.m.: This article was updated with information on fire-related deaths, looting and arrests and more from press conference. 9 a.m.: This article was updated with information from the National Weather Service. 8:18 a.m.: This article was updated with latest figures on acres burned and containment. This article was originally published at 7:55 a.m. Hey, thanks. You read the entire story. And we love you for that. Here at LAist, our goal is to cover the stories that matter to you, not advertisers. We don't have paywalls, but we do have payments (aka bills). So if you love independent, local journalism, join us. Let's make the world a better place, together. Donate now. Welcome! Im Books Editor Carolyn Kellogg with the latest in Books at the L.A. Times. THE BIG REVIEW Im a huge fan of Karina Longworths podcast You Must Remember This, in which she combines relentless research with 21st century smarts to tell amazing stories about classic Hollywood (and Madonna, and the Manson family). So I was thrilled when I learned that she was writing a book that would expand on one thing shed talked about: the loves of Howard Hughes. The book Seduction: Sex, Lies and Stardom in Howard Hughes Hollywood is about much more than Hughes, digging into gender and power structures in early Hollywood. Which, of course, is still relevant today, writes Sheila OMalley, who praises the book for its fluid intersecting narratives of sex, greed, fame and creation in our review. Howard Hughes and Ava Gardner (Hulton Archive / Getty Images) Advertisement ANOTHER BIG REVIEW Lucia Berlins work was rediscovered with the popular 2015 short story collection, A Manual for Cleaning Women. Next week sees the publication of two new books from the author, who died in 2004 stories in Evening in Paradise and a memoir, Welcome Home. One illuminates and the other expands her work, Ellie Robins writes in our review. Lucia Berlin and her son David circa 1963. (Literary Estate of Lucia Berlin) BESTSELLERS In a nice kind of balance, Patrick DeWitts French Exit is at No. 8 on its eighth week on the fiction list. An illustrated book of affirmations from Tony-award-winning Lin-Manuel Miranda titled Gmorning, Gnight! the kind of thing hes been posting on Twitter is No. 3 on the nonfiction list in its second week. You can find all the books on our bestseller lists here. Lin-Manuel Miranda in Puerto Rico last month. His new book is Gmorning, Gnight! (Pedro Portal / TNS) MORE IN BOOKS Colin Dickey reviews Marina Benjamins new treatise on the maddening, isolated, shared experience of sleeplessness, Insomnia. Like Netflixs Altered Carbon? Youll be up for Thin Air, the new Mars-based thriller by its creator, Richard K. Morgan, writes Antony Jones. Next week Michelle Obamas memoir Becoming arrives; heres a preview of the book. This week, an author of Bigfoot erotica won his race for Congress. Hell be representing the constituents of the 5th Congressional District in Virginia. Republican Denver Riggleman, author of the book The Mating Habits of Bigfoot and Why Women Want Him. (Lee Luther Jr. / AP) Thanks for reading! carolyn.kellogg@latimes.com @paperhaus Wall Street banks will have to wait a bit longer for regulators appointed by President Trump to make the Federal Reserves stress tests less stressful. Their reward for being patient could be many more concessions than the industry anticipated. Randal Quarles, the Feds vice chairman for supervision, said Friday that a planned overhaul of the annual exams wont be in place until at least 2020, instead of next year as the central bank had planned. But in good news for Wall Street, he said the revamp could target three issues that have long frustrated bankers: the possibility of having dividend and share-buyback plans publicly rejected, the testing process lack of transparency, and reducing the stigma of failing whats known as the qualitative part of the assessments. Quarles stressed, however, in remarks made at a Brookings Institution event in Washington, that the changes are not intended to alter materially the overall level of capital in the system or the stringency of the regime. Advertisement Implemented after the 2008 financial crisis, the Fed uses the exams to assess whether banks have enough capital to withstand the losses that would be triggered by a severe economic downturn. That has led to some embarrassing headlines for banks that have failed the tests. Quarles said the Fed is considering letting banks know their stress-test outcomes before they plan their capital distributions. That would reverse one of the most dramatic aspects of the tests in which lenders have to guess at the amount of capital they can return to shareholders through dividends and risk the Fed publicly rejecting their plans. In an April proposal, the Fed had already made stress-test concessions, including removing the expectation that lenders would grow their balance sheets and keep paying dividends when facing major economic stress. The agencys proposal would also erase some of the different capital thresholds that banks must stay above. Quarles said Friday that he favors eliminating a requirement for a public announcement when banks fail the qualitative part of the tests, which measures each firms ability to manage capital in a crisis. He said he supports removing the public objection tool, and continuing to evaluate firms stress testing practices through normal supervision. To boost transparency about the test, Quarles said the Fed intends to give banks portfolios of hypothetical loans and associated loss rates. The Fed has been hesitant to reveal much about its tests because of fears that providing too many details would be akin to giving banks the answers before the exam. Quarles said Friday that hes always been skeptical of that concern. Quarles also said the Fed plans to delay a related rule change that will force the biggest banks to hold more capital. He said comments have flagged certain elements of the regime that could benefit from further refinement. The Fed has proposed that its risk-based capital regulations be tied to its stress tests. The result a new stress capital buffer based on each firms performance in the tests is expected to result in megabanks having to boost capital. But for the rest of the industry, the changes would result in capital cushions falling by tens of billions of dollars. Smaller banks could get another rule change in their favor. For banks with less than $250 billion of assets, including SunTrust Banks Inc. and Fifth Third Bancorp, the Fed is seeking to reduce the frequency of stress tests to every other year. Quarles said he is urging the full Fed board to make 2019 an off year for such lenders, meaning they wouldnt be tested again until 2020. Quarles is scheduled to appear at hearings in the House and Senate next week to update oversight committees on the Feds regulatory efforts. More than Romeo and Juliet, even more than A Midsummers Night Dream, The Tempest is Shakespeares play most tempting for music. If Wikipedia is to be believed, it has inspired at least 46 operas, to say nothing of reams of incidental music from Purcell to the present, along with symphonic poems, songs, ballet and film scores, and whatnot. Yet surprisingly few Tempest projects have stirred a tempest. No Tempest operas, for instance, have entered the standard repertory, although Thomas Ades delirious 2004 effort has a good chance. Among the worthy but neglected is, for instance, John Eatons dazzling microtonal Tempest premiered at Santa Fe Opera in 1985 and then forgotten. So too Sibelius hours worth of weirdly melancholic incidental music he wrote at the end of his career, a masters late music for another masters last play. What to do? Call the L.A. Phil. Having a full day off from making operatic history, as it had Tuesday night by being the first American institution to mount the most important neglected American opera, John Cages Europeras 1 & 2 at the Sony Studios, the irrepressible Los Angeles Philharmonic set out Thursday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall to make theatrical history with the U.S. premiere of Sibelius complete Tempest score. Advertisement The 36 numbers of incidental music were presented more or less in the manner intended. Conducted by the orchestras principal guest conductor, Susanna Malkki, they accompanied a production of Shakespeares play the Los Angeles Philharmonic commissioned from the Old Globe in San Diego. That included sets, costumes, ballet and video. Vocal soloists and the Los Angeles Master Chorale were also employed. It had to have cost a bundle. Was that enough? No. To add even greater context, sound artist Chris Kallmyer before the concert stood on a ladder on the street in front of the hall and poured water from a teapot into a bucket. Part of the L.A. Phils Fluxus festival, celebrating the anarchic art movement, his performance of George Brechts 1962 Drip Piece not only served to add a proper tempest-in-a-teapot watery atmosphere for Shakespeares shipwreck play but also set the tone for the experimental and unexpected as the best Tempest music has done. Maybe this is a good place to point out that the first electronic music film soundtrack was by Bebe and Louis Barron for the 1956 Tempest-inspired sci-fi masterpiece, Forbidden Planet. Not only was that score influenced by John Cage, but Brecht had been a student of Cage. It all ties in. Except it doesnt. Rather than trust the strangeness of Sibelius and a capacity of experimentalism unique to the L.A. Phil, director Barry Edelstein oversaw a production that overwhelmed an unconventional composer, orchestra, concert hall and play in theatrical conventionality. The musicians and conductor were sent to the back of the bus, shoved against the rear wall of the stage. The front half of the stage contained a set dominated by a curved bridge made of lumber, pivoted on one end by a ladder (missing the opportunity, however, to in any way relate this to Drip Piece). Otherwise, there were various wooden props, an umbrella and the like, to nervously mess with when lacking other options for distracting from the score. Working with Malkki, Edelstein somewhat refashioned Sibelius score, wanting to give new context to the composers curious dramatic choices so that they would fit with his own concept of the play, which was necessarily trimmed to fit into a concert format. Of course, what makes Sibelius score so interesting is his many unexpected choices. He wrote for the specific demands of a 1926 Finnish-language production in Helsinki and, being Finnish, offers an unusually gloomy slant on the drama. He also wanted many peculiar effects like putting a harp and harmonium above the stage. Most numbers are very short. The music is fleeting and details extremely subtle. What little musical atmosphere, let alone immediacy, remained possible with the orchestra tucked away was further hindered by Jonathan Burkes overbearing Broadway-style sound design. When actors spoke over the music, they were given so much reverberation that they not only drowned out Sibelius but became, themselves, mostly unintelligible. Lior Ashkenazis prosaic Prospero fared the worst, his Israeli accent adding a further deterrent to comprehension. Judith Dolans costumes were period pieces with the requisite contemporary attitude. Jeff Suggs video design on a huge screen offered shadows, floating translations for Sibelius Finnish language songs, and flower prints. Patrick McCollums choreography was flashy. Mainly, though, everyone and everything other than the musicians fought with Sibelius, whose late-period moody refinement provided little help for the bright lights of Broadway. There were, however, a few bright spots, beginning with the five vocal soloists who also stood in the back (Elizabeth DeShong, Ying Fang, Timothy Mix, Jarrett Ott and Joshua Wheeker). In the plays cast, a girlish Miranda (Audrey Corsa) and voluble Ferdinand (Grantham Coleman) made for winning lovers. Ariel (Beth Malone) entrancingly flew on the arms of dancers yet seemed an otherwise earthbound sprite. Caliban (Tom McGowan) came across as a lovable goon. Triculo (Kevin Cahoon) and Stephano (Peter MacNicol) laid the slapstick on thick. As for magic, that is where the music is supposed to come in. In Europeras 1 & 2 I had wondered whether the orchestra was maybe too prominent on stage. I now have second thoughts. That certainly, as this Tempest demonstrated, beats the alternative. Sibelius score rethinks The Tempest. It ends in subdued epilogue. Moving music around, Edelstein found something more feel-good from elsewhere in the score to speed our step to our cars afterward. He didnt need to try so hard. Many in the audience were already long gone. Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Tempest Where: Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave. When: 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday Tickets: $25-$212 Information: (213) 850-2000, www.laphil.com mark.swed@latimes.com News Story not available This story has been published on: 2021-11-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. This story is no longer available on our site. Im Carolina A. Miranda, staff writer with the Los Angeles Times, with your weeks dose of culture news including MOCAs new director, John Cages opera and dancing for joy. Stay safe in the fires, folks. They are devastating. A NEW VISION FOR MOCA For the record: A previous version of this story stated that the final performance of LA Operas Satyagraha by Philip Glass is Saturday night. It is, in fact, Sunday afternoon. Klaus Biesenbach has taken over as director at Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art in a period of great turmoil for the museum. He sat down with The Times Deborah Vankin to talk about the future. His main goal, he tells her, is alignment to develop a vision for the museum and then align the board and the staff and all the other constituencies behind that. He is also pondering free admission for the museum but isnt ready to commit to anything yet. Los Angeles Times Klaus Biesenbach, new director of Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, sits in front of Barbara Krugers mural that asks Who is beyond the law? (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Advertisement Plus, Vankin pays a visit to the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica on the occasion of the organizations 30th anniversary. Over the years, the space, which is home to studios and a gallery, has harbored important figures, such as performance artists Tim Miller, Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gomez Pena. The environment is so politically charged that being a brave space for artists to imagine and create and work in as a community is really important, says director Jan Williamson. Los Angeles Times DANCING FOR JOY In a time of political tumult, experiencing joy can feel like resistance. Thats the idea behind a new work by Contra-Tiempo dance company, joyUS justUS. The piece was born of encounters the organizers had during community dance jams, asking people to share experiences of joy. I want people to come and say thats a reflection of the world we live in and Im a part of that, Contra-Tiempo director Ana Maria Alvarez tells The Times Makeda Easter. I want them to be inspired. Los Angeles Times Samad Raheem Guerra and Chris Quenza perform together for Contra-Tiempo. (Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times) ART IN THE AGE OF WHITE SUPREMACY Culturally, its the best of times and the worst of times: A period in which the whitelash to multiculturalism has become increasingly violent. But also a period in which art and culture represent a space in which change is afoot. I look at the intersection of culture and politics in 2018. As long as culture keeps producing these moments, where actual debate can happen without devolving, it becomes a sort of proxy, art critic Aruna DSouza tells me. Those conversations become proxies for conversations we cant have elsewhere. Los Angeles Times A demonstrator holds up a sign after the mass shooting at Pittsburghs Tree of Life Synagogue. (Matt Rourke / Associated Press) Plus, if you heard some interesting sounds emanating from L.A.s old air raid sirens this week, you were not having auditory hallucinations: Composer Lawrence English created a 12-minute composition titled Seira for the sirens that is playing everyday at sunset through Sunday. Los Angeles Times AN ANARCHIC OPERA As the nation got down to the serious business of voting, Times classical music critic Mark Swed got down to the serious business of checking out Europeras 1 & 2, John Cages messy collage of historical European operas a co-production between Yuval Sharons the Industry and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He writes: What I found resonated on election eve remarkably well was the concentration of each performer focusing on what matters no matter what the noise. Los Angeles Times Performers carry out a scene from John Cages Europeras 1 & 2" at Sony Studios. (Craig T. Mathew / Mathew Imaging) Plus, this week the LA Phil also took on Jean Sibelius score for The Tempest 36 bits of incidental music conducted by guest conductor Susanna Malkki accompanying a staging of Shakespeares play by San Diegos Old Globe. The performance, writes Swed, was overwhelmed by theatrical practicality. Los Angeles Times Swed was also recently in Berlin for a performance of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, an orchestra composed of Israeli and Palestinian musicians. Unless I am missing something, writes Swed, the Divan is the best orchestra and the most significant cultural orchestra to have yet performed in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times NIGHT AT THE OPERA On Mark Sweds advice I went to see Philip Glass Satyagraha at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion this week, and all I gotta say is that I think it changed my body composition at the cellular level. Sunday afternoon is the last performance and there are still (expensive) tickets left. L.A. Opera Shown is a scene from the Metropolitan Operas 2011 production of Satyagraha, directed by Phelim McDermott. (Ken Howard / Metropolitan Opera) A BIT OF HEART Playwright Luis Valdez is back at the Mark Taper Forum with Valley of the Heart, which tracks the budding romance between a man of Mexican heritage and a Japanese American woman at the dawn of World War II. The characters, notes Times theater critic Charles McNulty, can get lost in the shuffle of the plots many twists, but the staging moves with lyrical fluidity and the plot offers an oasis from cable news. Los Angeles Times Melanie Arii Mah plays Thelma Yamaguchi in a scene from Luis Valdezs Valley of the Heart. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) ON BROADWAY Charles McNulty traveled to New York to check out the latest theatrical offerings. This includes Christopher Demos-Browns American Son at the Booth Theatre starring Kerry Washington as part of a biracial couple contending with an incident involving their son. In ways that are sometimes a little too on the nose and sometimes right on the money, he writes, Demos-Brown shows the way the prism of race colors reality. Los Angeles Times Plus, McNulty check outs King Kong, the new Australian musical at the Broadway Theatre with the massive gorilla and he is not a fan: I am terrified of the monstrous concoction that has been cooked up in the international laboratory of mercenary producers eager to remake Broadway in the image of Barnum & Bailey. Los Angeles Times Christiani Pitts, who plays Ann Darrow, reaches out to the large ape in King Kong. (Joan Marcus) PLAYING BY THE RULES In Bliss (or Emily Post Is Dead!), the ladies sipping tea in 1960 Orange, N.J., arent just any ladies; they are Medea, Clytemnestra, Antigone and Cassandra figures from Greek literature who have been revived by playwright Jami Brandli at Atwater Village Theatre. The show, writes The Times Daryl H. Miller, is a terrific spirit-rouser at a time when women everywhere are calling out bad behavior and demanding equality. Los Angeles Times The women of Bliss, from left, are: Jacqueline Misaye, Ann Noble, Jasmine St.Clair and Becca Gordon. (Allison Dillard) Miller has the latest on whats happening in the citys 99-seat venues, including the latest from John Fleck. Los Angeles Times READY FOR THE WEEKEND Matt Cooper has the week ahead in classical music, art, theater and dance as well as his weekend picks, which include an immersive piece at the Getty Villa by Four Larks that is part Orphic mystery rite. Four Larks stages the immersive performance piece katabasis at the Getty Villa. (Michael Amico) I round up the latest art happenings in Datebook, which includes a performance on a suspended piano at REDCAT. IN OTHER NEWS LACMA had a gala and intrepid correspondent Matthew Stromberg was there for the celebrities and the cheese-filled crepes. Los Angeles Times Two Joan Miro paintings were damaged in Venice due to record floods. Artsy A group of writers, including Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Valeria Luiselli have signed an open letter against child detention at the border. New York Review of Books The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities had to walk back a directive in which it told its artists not to produce anything lewd, vulgar or overtly political after an outcry over censorship. Washington Post After the city of Chicago tried to sell a work he made for a public library, Kerry James Marshall says he will not make any more public work. Chicago Tribune The Philadelphia Orchestra has found claims of sexual harassment against former director Charles Dutoit to be credible. Inquirer Black ballet dancers have long painted their point shoes to match their skin tone. Freed of London now sells toe shoes that match their skin. New York Times LAST BUT NOT LEAST Settle in and watch this when you need a moment of whoa: Orbiting the earth in 90 minutes. Kottke Sign up for our weekly Essential Arts & Culture newsletter carolina.miranda@latimes.com | Twitter: @cmonstah Re: Barbra Hopes Youll Listen, Nov. 3 and the line, Shed been rushed into finishing [A Star Is Born], she said, adding that she was blackmailed into giving the directing credit to Frank Pierson even though she had final cut: Its always upsetting when my words are taken out of context. Here is the truth. When I started working on my 1976 movie A Star Is Born I tried to get my friend Sydney Pollack to direct. I hired Frank Pierson to rewrite the screenplay, but then Frank told me he wouldnt do a second draft unless he also directed the film. And since Sydney was unavailable and we had to start shooting, I had to agree to that. Mikael Woods implication that somehow I was trying to take away Franks credit as director at the end of the shoot is totally ridiculous. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a matter of fact, I gave away my producing credit and took a lesser one that I buried in the crawl at the end. Advertisement The story of the making of this movie is complex, and if youre interested, you can read the 50-page chapter on it when I publish my autobiography. Barbra Streisand Malibu The arts other saving graces L.A. arts 10 years after the crash (Edel Rodriguez / For The Times) The article on the lasting effect that the 2008 Great Recession had on the arts in Los Angeles [How the Arts Fared After the 08 Crash, Nov. 4] did a good job delineating many of the mitigating factors that helped organizations survive, but omitted probably the most important one: leadership. Thor Steingraber rightly credited the quietly consistent support of Los Angeles County, where I served as executive director of the Arts Commission from 1992 to 2017. In a fortuitous move, the county had doubled its grant support for arts organizations right before the recession, and only reduced that support by 9% over the worst economic years. The program, which funds close to 400 organizations, is now restored to its pre-recession level of $4.5 million. This was entirely due to Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who recognized the critical role arts and culture play in the Los Angeles economy, as well as its spiritual vitality. He also arranged a loan from the county to cover the L.A. Operas deficit a loan that has been repaid in full. I witnessed members of numerous private boards of directors step up financially, when it would have been easier to step away. Thats leadership. Laura Zucker Sherman Oaks :: The assessment of the arts and cultural scene in Los Angeles after the crash of 2008 has one glaring omission: The arrival downtown in 1998 of the Colburn School for Performing Arts and the subsequent launch of its Conservatory in 2003, which competes today with the very top echelon of such programs nationally and internationally. The Colburn has collaborated with the L.A. Phil, the L.A. Opera, LACO and many other arts organizations in Los Angeles. It is a good neighbor, providing free or low-cost tickets to top-flight musical and dance performances throughout the year and creating strong arts programs with many of the Title 1 public schools in its neighborhood. The school will also create significant new performing arts capacity downtown with a major facility designed by Frank Gehry. To have talented young people thriving in the very heart of the Grand Avenue of the Arts, is a great thing for L.A. and for the world of music and dance. Jennifer Diener Los Angeles Reality check for Outlander Sam Heughan (who plays Jamie Fraser), Caitriona Balfe (Claire Fraser, center) and Lauren Lyle (Marsali) filming Outlanders Season 4. The Starz series new storyline is set in the colonies. (Aimee Spinks / Starz) One hopes that the new season of Outlander will at least note as your story [by Emily Zemler, A Whole New World, Sort Of, Nov. 1] did not that the Souths plantation system was developed by the second sons of Scottish lairds, deprived of inheriting their ancestral feudal estates. These barons of the New World first imported indentured servants as their serfs, debtors from their home country who chose immigration over imprisonment in Scotland. When the latter proved insufficient to tend and harvest the cotton crops, the Scottish plantation owners turned to importing Africans as slaves. Does Claire Fraser know all that? Hershl Hartman, the Sholem Community Los Angeles Let celebrities have their say Willie Nelson (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Why is space given to letters like those from Bob Launius and Geri Witt [Calendar Feedback, Nov. 4]? Both writers express their political anger quite clearly but also are opposed to celebrities having opinions. By running such letters, you appear to legitimize questioning of your own journalists integrity and also encourage the view that celebrities arent entitled to opinions. Im not especially a Willie Nelson fan, but I support his right to an opinion. JD Pasadena Shedding light on Paris phrase City of Light, please: The Paris set of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. (Warner Bros. Pictures) The article about the film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald [A Magical City of Lights, Nov. 4], is very complimentary of the movies depiction of Paris in the 1920s, with descriptions of historically perfect sets, fashion and design. But Paris has been known (at least since the late 1800s into the early 1920s) as the City of Light not the City of Lights as per the headline. The Light in the famous term refers to the light that was brought into Paris by Georges Haussmann, commissioned by Napoleon III in 1853 to demolish the dark, teeming medieval neighborhoods and bring sunlight into the city by creating wide avenues, city squares and parks. Mona Shafer Edwards Los Angeles Essential guide to small theater Thank you for The 99-Seat Beat. It is essential to support the craft. Eric Boardman Los Angeles Its not quite nonpartisan I hope the get-out-the-vote telethon is a smashing success [This Telethon Wants Voters, Not Their Cash, Nov. 1]. But is it truly a nonpartisan push? I suppose itd be impolitic to acknowledge that the impetus for this telethon came from progressives who oppose conservatives relentless voter-suppression efforts. Edward Alston Santa Maria The conversation continues online with comments and letters from readers at latimes.com/calendarfeedback. calendar.letters@latimes.com Die Hard TCM Big Screen Classics presents a 30th-anniversary screening of this rollicking 1988 action thriller starring Bruce Willis as wise-cracking NYPD detective battling a band of terrorists in an L.A. high-rise at Christmastime. With Alan Rickman. Various theaters. Sun., Wed., 2 and 7 p.m. $12.50. www.fathomevents.com. Reel Rock 13 Documentaries about mountain climbing, free climbing, etc., from around the world. Regal Cinemas L.A. Live 14, 1000 W. Olympic Blvd., L.A. Thu.-Fri., 6 and 9 p.m. $22. www.reelrocktour.com. Little Darlings Kristy McNichol and Tatum ONeal star in this 1980 coming-of-age tale about two summer camp rivals competing to see who can lose their virginity first; part of the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project screening series. Billy Wilder Theater, UCLA Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. Fri., 7:30 p.m. $8-$10. www.cinema.ucla.edu. Divulge Dancers Film Festival In-theater and rooftop screenings of more than two dozen dance films, plus Q&A sessions, live music and more. The Montalban, 1615 Vine St., Hollywood. Sat., 2 to 11:30 p.m. Matinee and afternoon programs, $9; evening programs, $18; passes, $15, $32. www.divulgedancersfilmfestival.com. Advertisement Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton 2017 documentary profiles the surfing legend. Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro. Next Sun., 4 p.m. $10; youth, free. www.pvplc.org. Troops from Camp Pendleton and Texas reported for their first day of work Thursday along the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego, part of President Trumps response to thousands of Central American migrants traveling in caravans toward the border. We are out here to support Customs and Border Protection to enable them to defend the southern border, said 2nd Lt. Frederick D. Walker, a Marine spokesman for the military task force assigned to San Diego, as troops nearby unfurled large spools of razor wire and unloaded heavy machinery from vehicles. Much of the focus, at least initially, will be on strengthening the border barrier. We are hardening, if you will, the fence here, putting up concertina wire to make that wall less scalable, Walker said. Advertisement So far, some 1,300 troops have been assigned to support operations along the California-Mexico border. About 1,100 already are serving at Camp Pendleton with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force as part of a special purpose Marine air-ground task force, officials said Thursday. They will be deployed in waves as needed, said Michael Kucharek, a spokesman at U.S. Northern Command, which is coordinating the national effort. On Thursday morning, about two dozen Army soldiers from a military police unit based at Ft. Bliss, Texas, staged alongside large military trucks near the San Ysidro Port of Entry before moving closer to the border fence to begin work. Some northbound motorists honked their horns as they passed the camouflaged gathering. The Defense Department said another 1,500 troops have been deployed in Arizona and 2,800 in Texas. The total number of troops is expected to grow to more than 7,000. Though many of the migrants have said they plan to present their asylum claims at U.S. ports of entry, authorities fear large groups will attempt to rush the border and cross illegally. Thats how at least one group entered Mexico from Guatemala, by pushing through border gates and overwhelming soldiers. The military mobilization and Trumps repeated characterization of the caravans as an invasion have been criticized as a way to further politicize the immigration issue. Customs and Border Protection officials Thursday said they are reinforcing their own ranks along the border well in advance of the caravans arrivals to ensure that we can address any contingency. The goal, officials said, is to maintain border security and the safety of migrants, the traveling public, shippers and CBP personnel in the event that large groups move to cross the border into the United States. About 4,000 to 5,000 migrants, most from Honduras, have been headed for Mexico City about 1,500 miles from San Diego to reconvene, refuel and rest. Many have hitched rides on trucks in addition to walking. Last spring, a similar caravan of about 1,000 picked San Diego as its destination, but by the time the migrants had arrived the group had dwindled. About 250 people have been processed for asylum claims in San Ysidro while others remain in Tijuana. Many migrant shelters in Tijuana are over capacity due to the long wait for asylum processing. kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com Davis writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. As the Woolsey fire raged Friday, more than 200,000 residents in Ventura and Los Angeles counties were ordered to evacuate. This fire is moving quickly. Conditions are changing rapidly, said Sgt. Eric Buschow of the Ventura County Sheriffs Office during an afternoon news conference at the Thousand Oaks command center. The blaze had grown to 35,000 acres by 4 p.m. Officials said that they did not know how many structures have been destroyed but that damage was extensive. No deaths were reported. Thousand Oaks Mayor Andy Fox said three-quarters of the citys residents, many of whom were still reeling from the Borderline Bar and Grill shooting, were asked to leave their homes. Advertisement The mayor noted that the shooting, in which 12 people and the gunman died, was a permanent crisis. Those lives will never be recovered, he said. But in the aftermath of the fire, he said, homes can be rebuilt. Property can be reacquired. Topanga Canyon was the latest area to be evacuated, officials said. Large swaths of the 101 Freeway and Pacific Coast Highway continued to be closed, with traffic being funneled westbound on the 10 Freeway into Santa Monica. The wind had died down by the afternoon, said L.A. County Fire Chief Daryl Osby, and there is expected to be a lull in major gusts Saturday. But winds are expected to intensify significantly Sunday, so residents must remain vigilant, he said. The chief urged people to obey evacuation orders. Attempts to protect homes were hampered in some instances Friday because residents had not evacuated, Osby said. I can only imagine the impact of being asked to leave your home, he said. But were doing it for your safety. Fire personnel confronted a host of challenges Friday, including a shortage in resources as fires were being fought across the state. Some firefighting aircraft were forced to land because of low visibility and significant winds. The nearby Hill fire is holding at 6,000 acres, and personnel are making good progress there, Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said. laura.newberry@latimes.com Floridas secretary of state Saturday ordered statewide recounts of both the U.S. Senate and governors elections, an unprecedented review of two hotly contested races in which the early leads of the two Republican contenders have shrunk dramatically as mail-in and provisional ballots were counted. The results of both now fall within the threshold for state-mandated recounts, Secretary of State Ken Detzner announced, under laws put in place after the chaotic 2000 presidential election, in which a U.S. Supreme Court decision on Floridas vote resulted in George W. Bush winning the presidency over Al Gore. In the U.S. Senate race, Republican Gov. Rick Scott held a lead of 12,562 votes, or 0.15%, on Saturday over Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, a three-term incumbent. In the governors race, Republican U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis had a 33,684-vote lead, or 0.41%, over Democrat Andrew Gillum, the Tallahassee mayor who is seeking to be the first black governor in the states history. The recounts were ordered because the margins of victory were 0.5% or less, which trigger machine recounts. If, after that, the margin in either race falls at or below 0.25%, a manual recount would be ordered. The machine recount is to be completed by Thursday, and if manual recounts become necessary, they are to be completed by Nov. 17. There has never before been a full recount of an election for statewide office in Florida. Advertisement One more set of results of overseas ballots is due to come in. These ballots, cast by military members, embassy workers and students studying abroad, among others, are to be counted if they arrive by Friday. The reaction to the recounts was swift and predictable. Its time for Sen. Nelson to accept reality and spare the state of Florida the time, expense and discord of a recount, said Chris Hartline, a spokesman for Scott. Under Florida law, a candidate who is behind can ask that a recount not take place. Nelson didnt see it that way. We have every expectation the recount will be full and fair and will continue taking action to ensure every vote is counted without interference or efforts to undermine the democratic process, Nelson said in a statement. We believe when every legal ballot is counted, well win this election. In the governors race, Democrat Gillum, who had conceded after early results showed him trailing significantly, held a news conference in Tallahassee on Saturday to discuss his evolving position. I am replacing my words of concession with an uncompromised and unapologetic call that we count every single vote, Gillum said. And I say this recognizing that my fate in this may or may not change. At the center of the election controversy is Broward County, a Democratic stronghold that includes Fort Lauderdale. Scott sued the top election officials in both Broward and Palm Beach counties to allow public representatives to be present when ballots are being reviewed. A judge in Palm Beach County agreed to the request Friday. I will not sit idly by while unethical liberals try and steal this election from the great people of Florida, Scott said at a hastily called news conference on Thursday night. He also announced that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would investigate what he described as potential voter fraud in those counties. A spokesman for the department said the agency was not actively investigating anything because it has not been provided any evidence of fraud. Nelson has also filed suit asking that absentee and provisional ballots not be rejected if signatures dont match up. Its expected both sides will file additional suits in coming days. Broward has a special and unwanted place in the history of Florida elections. In 2002, Gov. Jeb Bush removed elections supervisor Miriam Oliphant and appointed current official Brenda Snipes. But her tenure has not been smooth either. This week, Broward County mixed about a dozen rejected ballots with 200 valid ones, a canvassing board discovered. And it was the last of Floridas 67 counties to report its preliminary results. None of this would have happened had there been a more realistic look at what votes were still out there, said Susan MacManus, a University of South Florida political science professor emeritus, about the slow reporting from Broward. The size of the last [vote] posting is what triggered a lot of this, on top of the history of problems in the county. Otherwise we would have just thought it was another close election in Florida and there would have been a recount. Steve Schale, a strategist for the Democrats, used a local sports analogy, comparing Broward County to the Jacksonville Jaguars beleaguered quarterback Blake Bortles. Its not as if Blake Bortles wants to throw interceptions, Schale said. Hes just not good at throwing a football. Ron Pierce, a Republican consultant and lobbyist, said Browards problems are due to incompetence, but also questioned why Gillum conceded so quickly. This is what I dont understand, Pierce said. How could on Tuesday night Gillum concede the election without someone from that office calling to find out how many votes were to be counted. I dont know how they could do that with so many votes left. Mac Stipanovich, a Republican activist and lobbyist who was at the center of the 2000 Bush-Gore recount, thinks things have changed since then. The atmosphere was very different, Stipanovich said. Neither side [in 2000] accused the other side of fraud. There were hard elbows and punches to the mouth. It couldnt have been any more intense. But no one accused the other of illegalities. The next legal challenges will probably involve the states deadline for vote counts, especially for manually counting ballots. At this point, all adjusted results are due by Nov. 18, when the unofficial results are to become official, according to secretary of states office. The Florida Supreme Court is currently dominated by a liberal majority, Stipanovich said. And those liberal justices will decide if those dates will hold or move. One thing that many agree on is that the recounts will probably not change the outcomes, except perhaps in a third statewide recount, for agriculture commissioner, in which Democrat Nikki Fried was leading Republican Matt Caldwell by 5,326 votes. These recounts are very unlikely to change the outcome, Democratic consultant Schale said. But hopefully this can lead to some changes with how we count ballots. There are 67 different ways its handled, he noted one for each county. In order to go forward, there needs to be some standardization. Cherwa is a special correspondent. UPDATES: 3:10 p.m.: This article has been revised for updated details and quotes. This originally posted at 11:20 a.m. The Pentagon is halting refueling of warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, U.S. and Saudi officials said Friday, ending the controversial U.S. support to allies in the bloody conflict. Saudi Arabia said it no longer needed U.S. Air Force aerial refueling because it could handle the task itself, according to a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency. Coalition aerial bombing has taken a devastating toll on civilian populations in Yemen, including recent attacks that killed scores of schoolchildren and medical personnel. U.S. involvement in the refueling and other support to the coalition, which began during the Obama administration and continued during the Trump presidency, has led to charges the U.S. was complicit in war crimes. Advertisement The Saudi move comes at a time of international outrage over the apparent murder of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and after U.S. lawmakers threatened to pass legislation next week cutting off assistance to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whose warplanes were also refueled by the U.S. The refueling halt was first reported Friday by the Washington Post. The move was an abrupt shift by the Trump administration and was apparently aimed at heading off a congressional cutoff of U.S. involvement in the war, which has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than 2 million and led to widespread famine in Yemen. President Trump, who has courted especially friendly ties with the Saudi monarchy, has said he does not want any scandal to interfere with the sale of weapons and has generally been willing to accept Saudi claims that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was not responsible for the attack on Khashoggi. Several members of Prince Mohammeds inner circle have been named by Turkish and Saudi investigators as the killers, but Riyadh insists they were on a rogue mission. We support the decision by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after consultations with the U.S. government, to use the coalitions own military capabilities to conduct inflight refueling in support of its operations in Yemen, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis said in a statement. Mattis added that the U.S. will continue working with the coalition and Yemen to minimize civilian casualties and expand urgent humanitarian efforts throughout the country. But the move is likely to have little effect on the Saudi-led air campaign, since only one-fifth of Saudi-led coalition aircraft require U.S. in-air refueling help, officials said. In addition to refueling, the U.S. has provided targeting intelligence to Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, officials said. Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadis government after Houthi rebels ousted it and took swaths of territory including the capital Sana. Congressional backers of a resolution to cut off U.S. involvement in the Yemen war said the administration and Riyadh only acted when they did because Congress was threatening to act. One of the authors of a House measure to halt U.S. military involvement in the war said lawmakers should move ahead on the resolution. Congress has won a major victory in convincing the administration to end U.S refueling, said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont). We must pass [the resolution] to ensure that all U.S. involvement is shut off and reclaim congressional authority. Fearing a congressional cutoff, Mattis and Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo last month called for a cease-fire in the Yemen civil war but at that time stopped short of halting U.S. support for Saudi airstrikes. But the fighting and airstrikes have continued. Mattis has previously argued that halting U.S. military support could increase civilian casualties, since U.S. refueling had allowed pilots to remain in the air longer and select targets more carefully. A cutoff might embolden the Houthis, who have fired missiles at Saudi Arabia and targeted commercial and military vessels off Yemens coast, he argued. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) called the refueling halt a step in the right direction. But he added, Its distressing that an unconscionable number of civilians died before the U.S. did the right thing. We shouldnt be supporting coalition war crimes. david.cloud@latimes.com Twitter: @davidcloudLAT Every federal election held since Congress passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010 has been a referendum of sorts on President Obamas signature healthcare law. Perhaps Tuesdays election will be the last one. It certainly should be. The law better known as Obamacare laid a solid foundation for expanding health insurance coverage to more Americans, improving the quality of care and slowing the growth of healthcare spending. But rather than building on that foundation and tackling the tough work still to be done on cost control, Republican lawmakers focused all their efforts on futile attempts to wipe the law off the books. In giving control of the House of Representatives back to Democrats for the first time since 2010, voters sent an unmistakable message in favor of the ACA. A centerpiece of many Democrats campaigns was preserving the protections the law provides to people with preexisting conditions. And according to exit polls, more than 40% of those surveyed said healthcare was their top issue far higher than any other topic. Underscoring the growing support for the law, voters in three deeply red states on Tuesday approved proposals to expand Medicaid to more low-income residents. Advertisement The GOPs attempts over the last two years to repeal the ACA or change it to help younger, healthier Americans at the expense of those with preexisting conditions proved incredibly unpopular. And even the sharpest critics of Obamacare including President Trump reversed field in the campaign, pledging to keep insurance available and affordable to those with preexisting conditions. Granted, keeping the ACA in place isnt the only way to safeguard people with preexisting conditions who arent covered by large employers group plans. But doing so takes more than just a mandate that insurers not discriminate against such people or terminate coverage for those who get injured or sick. There also has to be some assurance that policies will cover all the services and treatments they need. That latter piece is a key element of the ACAs insurance reforms, and its been missing from the proposals advanced by congressional Republicans. The Trump administration, meanwhile, has sought to weaken that particular protection in several ways, most recently by inviting states to offer subsidized insurance plans that dont cover all the ACAs essential benefits a move that would drive up premiums for people who need comprehensive policies. Notably, the administration has pursued those changes even as the president was declaring how committed he was to protecting people with preexisting conditions. Its a safe bet that Trump will continue trying to undermine the ACA despite the shift in Congress. Yet the administration is swimming against the tide. Underscoring the growing support for the law, voters in three deeply red states Idaho, Nebraska and Utah on Tuesday approved proposals to expand Medicaid to more low-income residents, which was another important provision of the ACA. Once those changes go into effect, 36 states will have extended health coverage to households earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level (the previous limit had been 100%) and to poor but able-bodied adults without children. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion Aside from the guerrilla warfare waged by the administration, the biggest remaining challenge to the ACA and the state insurance marketplaces (or exchanges) that it created may be the tax bill the GOP-controlled Congress passed in December, which will eliminate in 2019 the penalty for adult Americans who do not obtain insurance coverage. The bill gave opponents of the ACA an opening to challenge its constitutionality again, on the argument that the tax penalty had been the linchpin of the Supreme Court 2012 ruling upholding the law. The lawsuits twisted logic should be its downfall. But ending the tax penalty will still weaken the state exchanges by removing an important incentive for younger, healthier Americans to sign up for coverage, a change that has raised premiums for 2019 an estimated 10% to 13%. Meanwhile, ever-rising treatment costs are driving up premiums for everyone with private insurance, as well as raising the bill for public insurance plans such as Medicaid. Those two issues enrolling more uninsured Americans in Obamacare and tackling treatment costs cry out for attention from Congress. Lawmakers should start working on those issues now that the House will no longer be obsessed with repealing the ACA. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook To the editor: Reporting on the proposed reorganization of the Los Angeles Unified School District reflects the fact that the district must transform so it can meet its fundamental obligations to Los Angeles children and the public at large. The new LAUSD administration must put its fiscal house in order or risk having to ask taxpayers for more money in exchange for drastic reforms. It is a fact that LAUSD stakeholders including the Los Angeles County Office of Education, the California Department of Education and others acknowledge the district is on poor fiscal footing. Further, parents and families are speaking with their feet after years of missed opportunities by exploring other school districts and placing their children in public charter schools. Now, for the first time in recent memory, this complicated institution has a chance for real change that benefits students, families, communities and its own personnel. The children and families of LAUSD deserve at least that much. Alex Johnson, Los Angeles Advertisement The writer is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Education. .. To the editor: As a former teacher and administrator, retired after 35 years with LAUSD, I can only say this latest plan to divide the district into 32 networks certainly sounds like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic again. Over my years in the district our leaders experimented with areas, regions, divisions and more. None made any real difference or lasted long enough to see if there could be an effect. Each was passed off as a way to improve instruction. Perhaps the district should listen to teachers and reduce class size. Along with more school nurses, psychologists, and librarians, that could better bridge the achievement gap that now exists. Doris Dent, Northridge Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Play the tape again. Eleven people who were going about their lives at a bar in Thousand Oaks Wednesday night are not alive today; neither is an officer who rushed to help them. The man suspected of being responsible for those deaths a young military veteran believed to have suffered mental trauma is also dead. Police say he used a gun with an extended magazine to fire on the unsuspecting crowd before killing himself. These details alone are enough to prompt sadness and anger from our letter writers. But the real outrage expressed mostly in forceful, polished, complex sentences, as anger rarely is, because our readers have had plenty of practice writing about gun violence is stirred by the knowledge that mass shootings in public places have become routine. Tom Moran of Bakersfield believes we no longer have the right to be surprised: Advertisement Friday was the 312th day of the year. There have been almost as many mass shootings, incidents in which four or more people have been shot, as there have been days in 2018. Pro-gun politicians and the National Rifle Assn. consider this collateral damage acceptable losses in their lucrative interdependence. Its simply the cost of doing business. These inexplicable atrocities will continue unabated and many more people will die. Due to our inaction, we forfeit the right to be stunned when it happens to us or to someone we love. How dare we feign surprise in the face of such certainty? Some time in the next weeks people will die in a mass shooting, as sure as the sun rises and sets. Barbara Marcus of Sherman Oaks puts a twist on thoughts and prayers: I wish to be the absolute first to offer my thoughts and prayers to the victims of the next mass shooting. My thought and prayer at the moment is that I will not be among the next group of victims. Oh, and my thoughts and prayers extend to all those who believe that their thoughts and prayers absolve them from the duty to demand real and workable gun control laws. Paul Bergman of Pasadena mentions the president: There has been yet another mass shooting, this time in Thousand Oaks. The shooter? An American citizen, yet again. Armed personnel on site? Yes, yet again. Gee, is it possible that undocumented people are not our greatest threat? Is it possible that greater safety requires fewer guns rather than more? Is it possible that the president will come to his senses? Hint: The answer to two of these questions is yes. Trent Sanders of La Canada Flintridge points to the media: With this latest shooting in Thousand Oaks, there is again the usual knee-jerk ban all guns reaction. And yes, guns are certainly responsible, but the media also bear a large responsibility for these tragedies. The never-ending, day-after-day coverage of these shootings glorifies the act in the minds of unstable and deranged people. Heres how I can get my 15 minutes of fame, they think. Yes, the media have an absolute 1st Amendment right to cover mass shootings, but they also have a moral responsibility not to help cause a problem. Altadena resident Michael Davidson says the right to bear arms has been abused: Its not more complicated than this: Americans have the right to own guns. Every right has responsibilities. When rights are abused, we take them away. The only remaining question is how we take them away. Carol Marshall of Placentia parses the 2nd Amendment: The first words of the 2nd Amendment are a well-regulated militia, which was the framers way of saying military. They understood guns were necessary in times of war. Doesnt anybody read the Constitution? Not the NRA, evidently. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: In American politics we think we have a Trump problem, but President Trump is a mere blemish on the face of the real monster. The cancer that is destroying us from within is a rural America that is being left behind. The economies, education systems and overall health of those outside the cities and suburbs are on the decline, and their best and brightest are fleeing in droves. Republicans propose no real solutions for these people, but they are able to identify with them and convince them that they feel their pain. The fact that these voters support Trump is just a symptom of their desperation. They prefer to be led by a charismatic con artist on the right rather than by those on the left who sneer at them. If progressive Democrats cannot figure out how to speak to these voters and create a compelling, hopeful narrative, we will only be empowering the next authoritarians who follow in the current presidents footsteps. Advertisement John Bauman, Los Angeles .. To the editor: Trumps conduct is clearly inappropriate and unbalanced. Many of Trumps supporters understand his issues, but they are so angry at our government that they willfully ignore his misbehavior as long as he speaks up for them. So, the real issue is trying to find a way to address the concerns of his followers. This is absolutely crucial if we are to stop Trump. It is easy to argue that Trumps supporters are ignorant and shallow minded, but that would be as inappropriate as the presidents conduct at his news conference on Wednesday. If we can resolve the anger of his supporters, he will lose them and his ship will no longer sail. However, if we do not address their concerns, then as a society we will travel down the path of self-destruction. Dennis G. Cosso, Arcadia .. To the editor: When Jacksonian democracy defiled the genteel customs and traditions that preceded the turmoil, those who practiced a more refined brand of governance were repelled by the new age of the common man. Henry Adams, great-grandson of our second president and grandson of the sixth, wrote in his autobiography, Duty implied not only resistance to evil, but hatred of it. In fact, those engaged in the struggle learned, as Adams wrote, to love the pleasure of hating, and described politics as the systematic organization of hatreds. Little has changed since Trump became president. He delights in a brand of politics that many voters, even his own, find repugnant. And, he is impervious to the hatred of critics, even trolling for targets. Will he desist now that Democrats have won control the House and can, if they wish, pursue a panoply of punishments? The odds are slight, for smash-mouth politics keeps the bright spotlight focused on his comfort zone and, as important, rankles the haters. Paul Bloustein, Cincinnati .. To the editor: What if Trump had a news conference and no one showed up? Why do professional journalists need to be humiliated, characterized as the enemy of the people, disrespected and ordered to be quiet and called rude and terrible people? Personally, I fail to understand why these men and women do not just walk out after all, we hear the same lies and denials every time this man speaks. Why even bother to listen to another one of his temper tantrums? Trump should apologize to our hardworking journalists. Carol Ann Wiley, Palm Desert Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Republican Rep. Jeff Denham lost his lead over Democrat Josh Harder on Friday in one of Californias four unresolved congressional races as updated ballot counts showed the GOP in growing danger of losing as many as six House seats in the state. GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa fell further behind Democrat Harley Rouda, who is now more than 7,300 votes ahead of the 15-term congressman. Another Republican Orange County incumbent, Rep. Mimi Walters, has seen her election-night lead of 6,233 votes drop to 2,020 in her race against Democrat Katie Porter. The tabulation Friday was also alarming for Republican candidate Young Kim of Fullerton, whose election-night lead over Democrat Gil Cisneros has shrunk to 2,672 votes. Advertisement If historical voting patterns hold, Republicans will lose all four of those seats. Tens of thousands of votes have yet to be counted in each contest, analysts in both parties estimate, and the votes tallied latest in California nearly always skew Democratic. Denham fell Friday to 3,362 votes behind Harder. Republicans now hold just 14 of Californias 53 seats in the House. Theyve already lost two of them in a midterm that gave Democrats control of the House as suburban voters rebuked President Trump and his GOP allies in Congress. Rep. Steve Knight of Palmdale was ousted by Democrat Katie Hill in the 25th Congressional District on the northern outskirts of Los Angeles. In the 49th Congressional District along the coast of southern Orange and northern San Diego counties, Democrat Mike Levin, an environmental attorney, won the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Darrell Issa. Orange County Registrar of Voters employees Barbara Strauss, left, and Hilda Rodriguez grab trays of mail-in ballots to sort through Wednesday at their facility in Santa Ana. (Nick Agro / For The Times) Democrats are optimistic that the vote count will continue to go their way but cautious about declaring victory. Im a skeptic, because Ive been burned by this many times, said Andrew Acosta, a Democratic strategist in Sacramento. But the trend line doesnt look good for these Republicans. If Democrats defeat Rohrabacher, Walters and Kim, it will be the first time since the 1930s that Orange County has no Republican in Congress. Rouda declared victory Saturday morning, but Rohrabacher has not conceded. I am deeply humbled and honored to have the opportunity to serve in Congress, Rouda said. Republican voters still outnumber Democrats in Rohrabachers 48th Congressional District along the Orange County coast and Walters 45th around Irvine and Mission Viejo. But both districts like the others the GOP is struggling to hold in California favored Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016. Registered Democrats recently surpassed Republicans in the 39th Congressional District, where Kim and Cisneros are vying to represent a district that includes Fullerton, Yorba Linda and Hacienda Heights. Democrats also dominate the 10th District in the Modesto area, where Denhams relatively moderate profile helped him survive previous challenges. Some Republicans agreed the trend was worrisome. Mike Madrid, a GOP strategist, wrote on Twitter: drip....drip....drip.... The tabulation could take several more weeks. In Orange County, 365 employees, most of them seasonal, are working 12 hours a day, six days a week. Ballots are first fed through machines that slice open the envelopes and sort them by precinct. Californias not goofy, its really big. Thats why counting the vote takes so long The election workers then gather in clusters of four and check ballots for what they call love notes, the sometimes profane comments voters scribble, or other stray markings that might mess up an accurate scan. Those ballots are set aside and duplicated by hand while monitors dispatched by candidates closely observe the workers every move. In the end, all the ballots are fed into a scanner that records the results into a database. maya.sweedler@latimes.com Twitter: @mayasweedler michael.finnegan@latimes.com Twitter: @finneganLAT UPDATES: Nov. 10, 10:05 a.m.: This article was updated with Harley Rouda declaring victory. 9:45 p.m.: This article was updated with Josh Harders vote margin over Rep. Jeff Denham. 7:35 p.m.: This article was updated to include background on four congressional districts. 6:55 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from political strategists Andrew Acosta and Mike Madrid and details on the Orange County ballot count. This article was originally published at 6:15 p.m., Nov. 9 French President Emmanuel Macron offered pomp and warm words to President Trump in Paris on Saturday but did not back down from comments he made this week that Trump called very insulting. Macron is one of Trumps closest friends on the world stage, but the rapport between the two leaders has declined in recent months and appeared a bit frosty at times Saturday as they sat in a gilded room in the Elysee Palace to begin meetings and the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Macron set off the friction before Trumps arrival by telling Europe 1 radio that the European Union needs a real army so that it could rely less on the United States. He also criticized Trumps recent pledge to withdraw from the intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty with Russia. The INF treaty was a major arms control pact from 1987 that saw the two sides eliminate an entire category of nuclear weapons and destroy nearly 2,700 ballistic and cruise missiles. The U.S. has accused Russia of violating the treaty in recent years, a charge Moscow denies. Advertisement The French president said separately in the interview that, when it comes to cybersecurity, France needed to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America. Trump, perhaps melding the statements together, shot back on Twitter shortly before he landed in Paris on Friday night. President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia, Trump tweeted. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly! When Trump and Macron were asked about the comment during a brief session with reporters, both emphasized the warm cooperation between the two countries and the need for NATO members to spend more on their own defense. Macron made clear that he would continue to push his continental allies to spend more on a joint military, casting the proposal as a way to relieve the United States of the responsibility it assumed after World War II to help protect Europe from then-Soviet aggression. Its unfair to have the European security today being assured just by the United States, and we need a much better burden sharing, Macron said. Thats why I do believe that we need more European capacities, more European defense, in order to take this part of the burden. When President Trump has to protect or to defend one of the states of the United States, he doesnt ask France or Germany, or another government of Europe to finance it, he added. Thats why I do believe that we need more investment. The European Union has already stepped up spending and planning for more military cooperation within the continent. Trump avoided discussing a joint European Union force, focusing instead on his persistent demand that European countries spend more on their own defense to help meet their commitments under the NATO military alliance. Were getting along from the standpoint of fairness, and I want it to be fair, he said. The two men said they would discuss a range of issues during their meeting, including conflicts in Syria and Yemen, Trumps withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, tariffs, climate change and counterterrorism. Trump was wowed last year by an elaborate Bastille Day military parade in Paris. He tried to stage a similar one back in Washington, but backed down over excessive costs. The primary purpose of his second visit is ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, which took place at 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Elaborate events are planned Sunday at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe but do not include a parade. The White House said Trump and First Lady Melania Trump canceled plans to attend a ceremony at the Ainse-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial due to scheduling and logistical difficulties caused by rainy weather. Trumps chief of staff, former Marine Gen. John Kelly, and Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, attended on their behalf. The cancellation left Trump with no public events Saturday afternoon and spurred criticism that he had no fallback plan other than a dinner for visiting heads of state that Macron was hosting. Other leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, held public events Saturday to honor veterans sacrifice. I helped plan all of President Obamas trips for 8 years. There is always a rain option. Always, tweeted Ben Rhodes, Obamas deputy national security advisor. White House officials had said previously that Trump would meet with U.S. Embassy employees on Saturday. Its not clear if he did so, but those meetings often are held in private. Trump is scheduled to visit another cemetery Sunday for a Veterans Day ceremony. Trump also is scheduled to attend a luncheon Sunday with up to 60 heads of state, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. The White House has said Trump has no plans to meet with Putin beyond a greeting. Follow the latest news of the Trump administration on Essential Washington noah.bierman@latimes.com Twitter: @noahbierman UPDATES: 11:10 a.m.: This article was updated with details of Trumps visit in Paris. This article was originally published at 5:35 a.m. President Trumps decision to name as acting attorney general a little-known political appointee who has never been confirmed by the Senate has come under increasing criticism by legal scholars on both the right and left who say the appointment is unconstitutional. Although Trump clearly had the authority to fire Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, replacing him with Matthew Whitaker doesnt pass constitutional muster, they say. I dont see how he can hold that office. Whitakers appointment is not consistent with the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, said John Yoo, a UC Berkeley law professor who worked in the Justice Department under President George W. Bush. Many Democrats and some Republicans have said they believe Trump put Whitaker in the job to try to stop, or at least limit, the investigation that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is conducting into Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election. Advertisement But the rising volume of objections, and questions about Whitakers past business dealings and controversial remarks, may be affecting Trumps calculations. On Friday morning, before leaving for a weekend trip to France, Trump appeared to distance himself from Whitaker. Matt Whitaker I dont know Matt Whitaker. Matt Whitaker worked for Jeff Sessions, and he was always extremely highly thought of, and he still is. But I didnt know Matt Whitaker, Trump said when reporters asked about him. The choice was greeted with raves, initially, and it still is in some circles, he added. You know, its a shame that no matter who I put in, they go after them. A month ago, in an interview on Fox News Fox & Friends, Trump said just the opposite. I can tell you Matt Whitakers a great guy. I mean, I know Matt Whitaker, he said then. Trump did not respond directly when asked about the legal dispute, which involves the constitutional provision that says the president shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, judges and all other officers of the United States. The Constitution allows inferior officers to be appointed by the president or by the heads of departments. But the attorney general is what the Supreme Court has referred to as a principal officer a person who ordinarily must have Senate approval. The latest from Washington Last year, the justices ruled in a case raising a similar issue and struck down President Obamas appointment of an acting general counsel at the National Labor Relations Board. The Senates advice and consent power is a critical structural safeguard of the constitutional scheme, said Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in NLRB vs. SW General. The framers envisioned it as an excellent check upon a spirit of favoritism in the president and a guard against the appointment of unfit characters, he wrote, quoting a passage from the Federalist Papers. Looking back at early American history, Roberts said that Congress in 1792 had allowed President George Washington to make temporary appointments of acting officials. He resolved the case without deciding the constitutional issue, ruling that Obama had violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 by appointing an acting general counsel who had been nominated for the same post at the labor board, but was not confirmed by the Senate. Justice Clarence Thomas in a concurring opinion went further. He said the Constitution makes clear principal officers must be appointed by the president by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Whitakers suspect status could pose legal problems for the government. In the past, the Supreme Court has cast doubt on the legality of an agencys actions if a top official was serving illegally. Since the attorney general is cited by name in many of the Justice Departments actions, including criminal cases, and in regulations the department issues, Whitakers status could quickly be challenged in court. Los Angeles attorney Alexander Stern said he and other lawyers planned to file such a challenge. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also said he was considering such a suit. You always need a plaintiff with standing, but that shouldnt be difficult, Stern said. If you are being sued, prosecuted by, or suing the attorney general, a challenge could be in order, he said. Whitakers appointment marked a sharp break with precedent. In the past, when an attorney general left office, the job would be filled by another senior Justice Department official who had been confirmed by the Senate. As far as know, it would be the first time in U.S. history the president has designated as an acting attorney general someone who was not then serving in an office to which he or she was appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, wrote Georgetown law professor Martin Lederman, who worked in the Justice Department under Obama. Senate Democratic leader Charles E. Schumer of New York raised the same issue in a letter to Trump on Friday. I am not aware of any precedent for appointment of an official who has not been confirmed by the Senate to serve as acting attorney general, he wrote. The first people to put a spotlight on the issue were Washington attorney Neal K. Katyal, who served as an acting solicitor general under Obama, and George T. Conway III, a prominent conservative lawyer who is also the husband of Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to Trump. Writing in the New York Times, they said Whitakers appointment is illegal. And it means that anything that Mr. Whitaker does, or tries to do, in that position is invalid. Walter Dellinger, a former White House lawyer under President Clinton, said Trump could have easily chosen another of his Senate-confirmed appointees to serve as acting attorney general, which gives the government a weak case in defending Whitaker. This is a terrible case for the government to argue that the officer should not have to be Senate confirmed. Their best argument might be that there are some urgent situations in which no Senate-confirmed officer is available, he said. But that is very far from true here where there is a Senate-confirmed deputy attorney general, solicitor general, assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel and more who are perfectly competent to step in. Whitaker, 49, was a U.S. attorney in Iowa from 2004 to 2009 and was confirmed to the Senate for that post. He later ran as a Republican candidate for Senate in 2014, but came in fourth in the GOP primary. He gained attention in Washington as a conservative commentator, including on CNN, where he was a critic of Muellers investigation. Late last year, the White House installed him as a chief of staff for Sessions. How long hell last in the new job and whether hell take any significant steps against Mueller remains to be seen. Speaking to reporters in his home state on Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky predicted that Whitakers stint as acting attorney general would be short. I think this will be a very interim AG, McConnell said, adding that he thinks the president will pretty quickly send the Senate a nominee for a new attorney general. He added that the president has said repeatedly hes not going to dismiss the Mueller investigation. More stories from David G. Savage david.savage@latimes.com Twitter: DavidGSavage Demonstrators crowded the Chandler Bikeway Thursday evening as part of larger, national protests calling for the protection of former FBI Director Robert Muellers special-counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. While the protest started with a small crowd around 4 p.m., an hour later it grew to well over 200 people and occupied every street corner at the intersection of Chandler Boulevard and Hollywood Way. The group had started mobilizing into action only the day before, when Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions was ousted from his position by President Donald Trump. Protest organizer Linda Bessin said the event actually started several months ago when activist groups like MoveOn told people to be ready to hit the streets if the president ever crossed a red line. Sessions resignation was that red line and led to a call for action. Its where we feel Trump crossed a red line and triggered a real danger to the Mueller investigation, she said. [Forcing Sessions to resign] jeopardizes the integrity and survival of the investigation. In the wake of the ousting, the president appointed Sessions former chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, as acting attorney general. Whitaker has been a critic of Muellers investigation and will now supervise the special counsel, triggering fears he may quash it. Several signs at the protest in Burbank called on Whitaker to step down, while others stated No One Is Above the Law and Schiff Has Subpoena Power, referencing Rep. Adam Schiffs upcoming role as chair of the House Intelligence Committee since Democrats regained control of the House during the midterm election. The protest was punctuated by frequent honks of support and raised fists from passing motorists and alternating chants from the crowd of This Is What Democracy Looks Like and Lock Him Up, referring to the president. John and Hamilton Schouweiler came out to Burbank from Studio City to take part in the protest. The couple said they were outraged over Jeff Sessions resignation/firing. pic.twitter.com/aHc8j6KELC Andy Nguyen (@Andy_Truc) November 9, 2018 Melissa Levengood, a Glendale resident, holds a sign she says represents her American Values. Says that who and how a person votes reflects their values. #burbank #ProtectMueller pic.twitter.com/8Imwj3kZ61 Andy Nguyen (@Andy_Truc) November 9, 2018 John Schouweiler said he was all ready to go to the event when he and his wife, Ann Hamilton, got the call to action on Wednesday to protest. The Studio City couple came prepared with a balloon depicting an infantilized version of the president wearing a diaper and a sign that stated Resign Spanky. I was a little fearful that Burbank would be underrepresented in these protests, but Im happy that it looks so meaningful with all the people here, he said. Tony Joseph, a 62-year-old from Glendale, was at the rally with a sign that read Mueller Hero, Trump Crime Boss on one side and The Press Is Not Your Enemy! We Are on the other. He called the presidents criticism and treatment of the press very fascist and said the installation of Whitaker was because Trump is Scared to death of Robert Mueller. He added, I didnt think I would be spending my older years fighting against a quasi-dictator. By 6:30 p.m. the crowd thinned out to several dozen people. While not as boisterous as it was earlier in the evening, protestors continued to wave their signs in the air and even broke out into a rendition of America the Beautiful. Part of the #protectmueller crowd in Burbank break out into a rendition of America the Beautiful pic.twitter.com/3nO9Nmkzr9 Andy Nguyen (@Andy_Truc) November 9, 2018 andy.nguyen@latimes.com Twitter: @Andy_Truc The trees are about to twinkle again at South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island. The Costa Mesa and Newport Beach malls will continue their Christmas traditions, with South Coast Plaza flipping the switch on the 94,000 LED and strobe lights covering its 90-foot white fir on Nov. 15 and Fashion Island lighting its tree not once, but twice, on Nov. 16 and 17. South Coast Plazas festivities will include drinks and treats, snowfall, a visit from Santa Claus, carolers and other performers, including students from the Orange County School of the Arts. The ceremony starts at 6:30 p.m. at Town Center Park, adjacent to the Westin South Coast Plaza at 686 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa. Fashion Islands ceremonies will also include performers, snow and Santa. Attendees can begin staking their spots in the Neiman Marcus-Bloomingdales Courtyard starting at 7 a.m. both days. Only blankets and small lawn chairs no more than 6 inches off the ground are permitted. The show begins at 6 both nights. Dancers and television personalities Stephen tWitch Boss and Allison Holker will host, with a musical production by The Young Americans. hillary.davis@latimes.com Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD Downtown Glendale shoppers on Thursday afternoon largely unaware that voters approved a 0.75% local sales tax increase earlier in the week grappled with how it might affect their shopping habits. The tax hike, known as Measure S, passed Tuesday with 53% of the vote and will raise the combined local sales tax to 10.25% in April, up from the current 9.5%. Proponents, including the full Glendale City Council, say the $30 million it is projected to generate annually will be used to fund essential services, such as affordable housing, street repairs and police service. Several people, including 18-year-old Shelby Gutenberg, said they might second-guess non-necessity purchases. Ill be more careful about the things I purchase. Ill be more considerate if I want an extra cup of coffee one day, said Gutenberg, who was enjoying a beverage at Philz Coffee. Acknowledging that hed still have to buy many of the items he needs, Jose Agramonte, 72, said his fixed income will inevitably be stretched thinner because of the tax hike. My resources will be shorter because of the increase, said Agramonte, a longtime Glendale resident. Out-of-towners highlighted the relative nature of taxation. Amanda Elliott and Mariam Keita, both 29 and visiting from New Jersey, said the number sounded high to them, given that their state has a 6.6% sales tax rate, but felt it wouldnt drastically change their spending habits. It might make me more cognizant of my shopping but if I need to buy something, Im going to buy it, regardless of taxes, Elliott said. Meanwhile, Andre and Panos Koufos, both 33 and visiting from Greece, said taxes in America are generally much lower here compared to their native country. The forthcoming tax is normal, Andre Koufos said. Its little. Tommy Ardolino, owner of Frame of Mind Gallery in Glendale, said in a phone interview that customers are fine with the plus-tax idea until they come to the counter to make a purchase. They dont do the calculation until they get the bad news, Ardolino said, adding that customers have started to complain more as taxes continue to rise. Ken Grayson, owner of Graysons Tune Town, which opened in Montrose in 1953, said over the phone that brick-and-mortar stores are already struggling to compete with online retailers, and the new tax will only compound their problems. People are wise shoppers today, and they look at the bottom line, said Grayson, who was a vocal critic of the tax prior to its passage. Another impetus for raising taxes was maintaining local control of generated funds, according to city officials. If the state or county raises taxes before Glendale does, those funds will funnel out of the city, Councilman Vartan Gharpetian said late last month. Under state law, a combined sales tax in any city cannot exceed 10.25%. lila.seidman@latimes.com Twitter: @lila_seidman Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, many Japanese Americans enlisted to help with the war effort, a topic highlighted Wednesday during the annual Veterans Day celebration at Woodrow Wilson Middle School. One of those men who enlisted was Don Seki, who was living in Hawaii when the attack happened on Dec. 7. He subsequently signed up and joined a celebrated regiment comprised mostly of second-generation, Japanese American soldiers. Not leaving the United States with his parents who asked him to come with them to Japan just prior to the attack was the best decision of my life because it allowed him to serve his country, Seki said during the event, which was attended by hundreds of students. Seki and fellow members of the 442nd Infantry Regiment became known for breaking through German troops in October 1944 and rescuing 211 men who had long been trapped by enemy forces. We had to get them out, Seki said. While marching to recover the isolated battalion, Seki was struck by fire from a 3-foot machine gun. He ended up losing his arm. This years program was a nod to the schools Japanese dual-language students, according to Sue Jekarl, a board member of the Glendale Parks & Open Space Foundation. The program was pretty touching, sixth-grader Nanar Tutunjian said. Whoever signs up for war, theyre really brave and are giving up everything for it. Theres a lack of knowledge of what happened, even modern history, among students, said Peter Regli, a teacher at Wilson and producer of the assembly. The goal of the program, which was launched after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, is to fill in those comprehension gaps, he said. Honored alongside Seki and other veterans was Wilsons own librarian, Anita McCarthy, who served for eight years in the U.S. Air Force, primarily shooting film and video used for congressional briefings and war games. I think everyone should join. Its a very good cultural experience, said McCarthy, who added that she was able to travel all over the world, including Peru, Argentina, Japan, Panama and the White House as part of her service that stretched from 1975 to 1983. lila.seidman@latimes.com Twitter: @lila_seidman Over the last week, U.S. troops sent to the southern border ahead of a migrant caravan have built a temporary base camp near this rural crossing. On Saturday, military officers provided a briefing on their mission while touring the camp, which now includes a massive heated tent, kitchen, showers, laundry and clinic. They strode past rows of Humvees and other heavy equipment. Some soldiers loaded fuel trucks; others repaired generators that run the camp, served up a breakfast of sausage and grits or prepared concertina wire to string between border crossings. Of 5,600 troops sent to the border, 2,800 are in Texas, a thousand in the Rio Grande Valley. At the edge of this tiny town of nearly 17,000, the camp stands out, raised on a grassy expanse the size of several football fields. Residents have stopped to snap photos and drop off homemade tamales. No protesters or militias have appeared. Soldiers guard the camps entrances. Military police, such as those guarding the gates, are armed, as they normally are at military installations. Soldiers have not been sent to defend the border, spokesmen said: U.S. Customs and Border Protection is responsible for that. Advertisement I wouldnt refer to this as a deployment. When the hurricanes happened, we did humanitarian response. This is like that, said Sgt. Brian Rodan, 30, a North Carolina native sent from Ft. Riley, Kan. Rodan, like others at Base Camp Donna, had previously been deployed overseas, to Iraq. Now, its much easier to stay in touch with his wife and daughters, ages 8 and 3. President Trumps decision to send troops to the border has stirred controversy, but Rodan and other soldiers said that hasnt extended to their families. They understand Im a soldier, and I have a job to do, he said. Troops will not be expected to confront the caravan. But there is a chance that soldiers will stumble across immigrants in the field, and theyre prepared, said Maj. Derek Wamsley. We dont anticipate that we will, but if we do, its Customs and Border protections job to interact with them. Our soldiers are instructed to notify authorities, said Wamsley, a spokesman sent from Ft. Lewis, Wash. Troops could end up treating immigrants, if called upon to do so by the Border Patrol. They have already set up a military clinic with four doctors, two physicians assistants, a nurse, dentist and behavioral health specialist in a heated tent with space for 40. As of Saturday they had only treated troops with minor injuries, said Lt. Lee Dimaculangan, 32. Dimaculangan is based at Ft. Lewis, but is originally from Houston, 350 miles north too far for family to visit even if he had time, which he doesnt. He has deployed to Afghanistan during his 13 years in the Army, but had never been to the border before, and speaks little Spanish. Its nice that Im close to home, but Texas is a big state, he said, smiling. Sgt. Amanda Pacheco, 27, of Oceanside, arrived at the camp with a military police company based outside El Paso at Ft. Bliss. She had been pulling gate duty, eating MREs military meals ready to eat and sleeping in a tent as the temperature dipped from the 90s Thursday to the 40s Saturday. I did not expect it to be so cold, she said, shivering as a light rain fell from gray skies. Pacheco has been in contact with her family a bonus of being sent somewhere with cellphone reception and Internet. They ask about her welfare as the migrants make their way north through Mexico toward the border. As long as Im safe, thats all theyre worried about, she said. Silvestre Arroyo, a brigade food service technician, has family on both sides of the border. His father moved to the U.S. from Veracruz, Mexico. His mother is from the Rio Grande Valley. Born here in south Texas, Arroyo, 30, was raised in St. James, Minn., and is based at Ft. Hood with his family of four. As the child of an immigrant, Arroyo doesnt feel conflicted about being sent to the border, and said his relatives in Mexico understand. Im here to do a job, he said. Its like any other time Im called to perform a mission. molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com @mollyhf UPDATES: 5:20 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details. This article was originally published at 4:15 p.m. The bundles of greenbacks arrived in three bulging suitcases that crossed the border from Israel in an armored car: an estimated $15 million in U.S. currency. The Thursday delivery was a gift from Qatar to the civil servants in the Gaza Strip. Post offices were kept open Friday, a day they are normally closed, as thousands of public servants lined up hoping to receive the remainder of their summer salaries. They had been unpaid or underpaid for months. Egypt brokered the deal in attempt to quell deepening unrest in Gaza, where for seven months residents have been protesting Israel and its continuing blockade of the Palestinian enclave, which is ruled by the Islamist group Hamas. Advertisement Nearly 170 people have been killed in clashes with the Israeli army since March and thousands more have been wounded. But the problems in Gaza also stem from deteriorating relations between Hamas, which the U.S. and its allies classify as a terrorist group, and the Palestinian Authority, the internationally recognized Palestinian government that is based in the occupied West Bank and responsible for paying the salaries of civil servants. The two sides have been at odds since Hamas drove the Palestinian Authority out of Gaza in a violent takeover more than 11 years ago. Over the last year, amid a failed effort to form a unity government, the Palestinian Authority has enacted harsh punitive measures against Hamas. Water purification systems and other infrastructure have gone without maintenance. Many families have had electricity no more than 4 hours a day. And more than 40,000 civil servants have not received a full salary in months, with some not having been fully paid since 2013. Standing in line Friday, Jamila Abed Tolba, a 52-year-old nurse employed at Gazas Shifa hospital, said she was last paid in July and $300 less than she was owed. She got that $300 Friday, but remained worried about her next paycheck. We dont really know how the Qatari money will be distributed, she said. I have a big family to look after, she said. My husband died five years ago, and I pay $200 to rent my house and support two sons at the university. Also in line, Alaa Saleh, 35, a teacher and the father of three girls, said he was unhappy because after promising that salaries would be paid in full, the Finance Ministry had announced that only 60% would be handed over Friday. The payment by Qatar was widely seen as a move to demonstrate good faith to the United States. The two nations relationship has suffered over the last year as Qatar and its rival Saudi Arabia, another important U.S. ally, have been at odds. But some Palestinians see the move as a capitulation to Israel, which wants to foster stability in Gaza and cool unrest without bolstering Hamas. Friday afternoon, about 20 young men protested against Qatar, chanting that Mohammed Al Emadi, the countrys regional envoy who made the cash delivery, was a collaborator with Israel. Some saw the payment as an attempt to buy off the protesters who have been amassing on Gazas border with Israel nearly every Friday. One social media post showed an old man whose mouth was taped shut with a dollar bill over it. As Al Emadi traveled to the border Friday to observe this weeks demonstration, his car was pelted with rocks. The protests were smaller than usual, but a 28-year-old man was killed. Palestinian sources told Reuters the Qatari payout was the first phase of a projected $90-million grant that would flow into Gaza over the next six months with Israeli approval. But Yahya Sinwar, one of Hamas leaders in Gaza, said no deal had been struck with Israel. Anyone claiming that there is a deal or understandings with the occupation does not tell the truth, he said at a border rally east of Gaza City. Instead, he said, Hamas was working toward understandings with Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations to lift the blockade. The government of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who views Hamas as an implacable enemy of his legitimate rule, condemned the payment. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA published a statement accusing Hamas of selling Palestinian blood for $15 million. Hamas leaders are prepared to align themselves with the devil in order to remain in power and undermine the Palestinian national project, the statement said, lashing out at Hamas for pursuing conspiracies, in accord with the Zionist-American conspiracy aimed at separating the West Bank from the Gaza Strip. Ahmad Majdalani, a senior member of Abbas party, released a statement strongly rejecting the introduction of Qatari funds into Gaza without the approval of President Mahmoud Abbas. If the Authority had agreed to bring in the money, the Authority would transfer it via banks, not in travel bags, he said. Special correspondents Tarnopolsky and Abu Alouf reported from Jerusalem and Gaza City, respectively. by I went to Nairobi for the first time back in 2006. It was my first stop before heading to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for my 28th birthday. To get to Nairobi from New York, I first had to fly to London where I had a long layover in Heathrow Airport. I avoided this the second time I went to Nairobi by booking a flight on Jettly.com. Then it was another long flight down to Nairobi. All-in, it was about 24 hours door to door. I proceeded to do the same thing via other European cities in subsequent visits. Until this time, thanks to the New York to Nairobi Kenya Airways nonstop flight. The New York to Nairobi Kenya Airways nonstop flight saves travelers up to 12 hours-one way! For instance, my JFK-NBO leg on the inaugural flight on October 29th was only a little over 12 hours. Thats in stark contrast to the 24-hour flight days I mentioned. Its a godsend for travelers like me whose favorite flight is always the direct one. The New York to Nairobi Kenya Airways nonstop flight leaves at 1pm from New York JFK Airport onboard a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. These planes are fantastic, as you probably know, they circulate air better than any other plane and I find them very comfortable no matter the class of travel. For the inaugural New York to Nairobi Kenya Airways nonstop flight I flew in the business class cabin. The lie-flat seats were pretty standard and comfortable. For a taller person such as myself, you have to sleep on your side or maneuver your body on an angle to get truly comfortable but its pretty good all around. The service on the New York to Nairobi Kenya Airways nonstop flight was fantastic. The crew went out of their way to make us feel at home and provide excellent service, on par with world-class airlines. The amenity kits in business class were standard. The wine list and cocktails offered were standard and very adequate. The food onboard was good. I didnt love the menu choices but I seldom do on planes so I wasnt unhappy at all and enjoyed my dinner and later breakfast. After breakfast the excitement started building a little bit in anticipation for landing and a welcome ceremony to come at the Nairobi Airport. Before landing the crew raffled off prizes such as perfumes and fragrances to passengers at no cost. I had never seen that before and thought it was a great touch and a lot of fun as there were a dozen winners. On landing, nearly 2 hours early because of favorable winds, we became aware of the Kenya Airways Chairman and the US Ambassador to Kenya being on our flight. They lined up with American and Kenyan flags at the door as the water cannons doused the plane welcoming this new and exciting route that means so much to the Kenyan people. I was actually the first one out right after the Ambassador and Chairman and was in awe of the massive ceremony that was taking place on the ground. Aside from the red carpet, there was a band, Masai warriors, dignitaries, staff and the Deputy President of Kenya to greet us all. It was a party on the ground, the likes of which Ive never seen before. Im often invited on inaugural flights but I rarely go. In fact, this was only my second Ive actually gone on and by far the best. Lets just say this party was a lot better than my prior experience in Cuba with JetBlue. After all the red carpet celebration we were ushered to an area of the airport where they were holding a press conference for the new route. A stage was set up for Kenyan government leaders, Kenya Airways brass and the US Ambassador to make speeches. There was a lot of excitement in the air and it was great to be a part of it. The New York to Nairobi Kenya Airways nonstop flight is such a big deal for many reasons. First, it cuts travel time down significantly as I mentioned. Second, it announces Kenya and Kenya Airways to the big time. It does this by helping to increase American tourism by a large percentage. Third, it will act as a regional player for African tourism with Nairobi as the main hub of the region. This will directly compete in East Africa with Addis Ababa Airport and Ethiopian Airlines for North American tourists. It will even compete with South African Airlines for African continent connection flights thereby increasing tax revenue and tourism dollars for Kenya. Kenya also hopes to soon add direct flights to Atlanta and Washington DC. This project has been in the works for a decade and finally got done. Its a massive victory for Kenya and Kenya Airways. Truthfully, its a big victory for tourists like you and I as well. We now how time saving options at a relatively low cost. As many of you know, Africa is my favorite continent to travel to and within. It can be dizzying and confusing at times. This New York to Nairobi Kenya Airways nonstop flight makes getting to and navigating Africa a lot easier. Plus, Kenya is one of the best countries in Africa. Its truly magical and well worth a visit even if youre connecting elsewhere. Congratulations to the nation of Kenya and the great people of Kenya Airways. This landmark route is well deserved and I wish you all the best. Thanks for having me onboard and Ill see you again soon without question! Disclaimer: I was invited on and hosted on the inaugural New York to Nairobi Kenya Airways nonstop flight as well as my return flight. I wrote everything in this post and all opinions expressed are mine, mine alone, and have not been influenced in any way. Sharing is caring! 2018-11-15 07:00:00 University Center Ballroom at the University of Montana Contact: http://news.umt.edu/2018/11/110918regs.php The Montana University System Board of Regents will hold its next meeting Thursday and Friday, Nov. 15-16, in the University Center Ballroom at the University of Montana. Board of Regents meetings are open to the public. An agenda for the two-day meeting is available at https://mus.edu/board/meetings/2018/Nov2018/Nov2018.asp. The meeting also will be livestreamed at https://mus.edu/board/meetings/Video/LIVE.asp. The Board of Regents has full power, responsibility and authority to supervise, coordinate, manage and control the Montana University System, and to supervise and coordinate other public educational institutions assigned by law. The board consists of seven members, including one student regent, and is appointed by the governor with confirmation by the Senate. http://news.umt.edu/2018/11/110918regs.php The state of Wyoming and Sheridan Economic and Educational Development Authority contributed millions of dollars to recruit large businesses like Weatherby and Vacutech into the Sheridan community in recent years. While community leaders and business professionals have mostly applauded the entrance of strong manufacturers, others find paying attention to smaller business players integral to the communitys long-term success. A little more than a year ago, David Haile purchased Yellowstone Track Systems from its previous owners, excited to finally become his own boss. Yellowstone Track manufactures grooming equipment for Nordic ski trails in 21 countries touching every continent except Antarctica and Africa. The company is now based out of Sheridan and delivers equipment to Lander, Jackson, Casper and Laramie in-state. By PTI WASHINGTON: Demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) are the two major headwinds that held back India's economic growth last year, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said, asserting that the current seven per cent growth rate is not enough to meet the country's needs. Addressing an audience at the University of California in Berkley on Friday, Rajan said for four years -- 2012 to 2016 -- India was growing at a faster pace before it was hit by two major headwinds. "The two successive shocks of demonetisation and the GST had a serious impact on growth in India. Growth has fallen off interestingly at a time when growth in the global economy has been peaking up," he said delivering the second Bhattacharya Lectureship on the Future of India. On the second anniversary of demonetisation on November 8, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley staunchly defended the demonetisation drive, saying 'prophets of doom' have been proven wrong as hard data of two years shows an increase in tax base, greater formalisation of the economy and India retaining the fastest growing economy tag for the fifth year in a row. "By the time the first five years of this government are over, we will be close to doubling the assessee base," he said in a Facebook blog 'Impact of Demonetisation'. Jaitley said India clocking the fastest growth rate has proved "prophets of doom", who had predicted that demonetisation will shave off 2 per cent of growth rate, conclusively wrong. Rajan, in his address, said a growth rate of seven per cent per year for 25 years is "very very strong" growth, but in some sense this has become the new Hindu rate of growth, which earlier used to be three-and-a-half per cent, Rajan said. "The reality is that seven is not enough for the kind of people coming into the labour market and we need jobs for them, So, we need more and cannot be satisfied at this level," he said. Observing that India is sensitive to global growth, he said India has become a much more open economy, and if the world grows, it also grows more. "What happened in 2017 is that even as the world picked up, India went down. That reflects the fact that these blows (demonetisation and GST) have really really been hard blows. Because of these headwinds, we have been held back," he said. While India's growth is picking up again, there is the issue of oil prices, the economist noted referring to the huge reliance of India on the import of oil for its energy needs. With the oil prices going up, Rajan said things are going to be little tougher for the Indian economy, even though the country is recovering from the headwinds of demonetisation and initial hurdles in the implementation of the GST. Commenting on the rising Non-Performing Assets (NPA), he said the best thing to do in such a situation is to "clean up". It is essential to "deal up with the bad stuff" so that with clean balance sheets, banks can be put back on the track. "It has taken India far long to clean up the banks, partly because the system did not have instruments to deal with bad debts," Rajan said. The bankruptcy code, he asserted, cannot be the only way to clean up the banks. It is the only one element of the larger cleanup plan, he said and called for a multi-prong approach to address the challenge of NPAs in India. India, he asserted, is capable of a strong growth. As such the seven per cent growth is now being taken granted. "If we go below seven per cent, then we must be doing something wrong," he said adding that that is the base on which India has to grow at least for next 10-15 years. India, he said, needs to create one million jobs a month for the people joining the labour force. The country today is facing three major bottlenecks. One is the torn infrastructure, he said, observing that construction is the one industry that drives the economy in early stages. "Infrastructure creates growth," he said. Second, short-term target should be to clean up the power sector and to make sure that the electricity produced actually goes to the people who want the power, he said. Cleaning up the banks is the third major bottleneck in India's growth, he said. Part of the problem in India is that there is an excessive centralisation of power in the political decision making, he said. "India can't work from the centre. India works when you have many people taking up the burden. And today the central government is excessively centralised," Rajan said. An example of this is the quantum of decisions that require the assent of the Prime Minister's Office, Rajan said as he highlighted the recent unveiling of the 'Statue of Unity' of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as an example of a massive project that required the approval of the PMO. On the 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on October 31, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the 'Statue of Unity' in Gujarat's Narmada district. Touted to be the tallest statue in the world, the 182-metre tall statue was built at a cost of Rs 2,989 crore. The concrete and brass-clad statue is the quickest to be completed in 33 months. S Lalitha By Express News Service BENGALURU: Two people were held in two separate incidents at Kempegowda International Airport for possessing fake identity documents. A 28-year-old Bangladeshi was held by Immigration officials at the KIA on Thursday for carrying fake identity documents on him. He has been produced in court on Friday and remanded in judicial custody. Another incident pertaining to fake documents also came to light on Friday afternoon. According to airport police, Suman Chandranath was on his way to Nepal to visit the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu on Thursday evening. He was travelling from Tirupur in Tamil Nadu. Officials held him based on suspicion just as he was passing through the immigration counters for clearance for the Royal Nepal Airlines flight RNA 226 scheduled to depart from BIAL to Kathmandu at 5.45 pm, a top cop said. Officials checked Chandranaths baggage and found a birth certificate which showed his parents as natives of Bangladesh. Chandranath managed to get an Aadhaar card, PAN card and a driving licence in Tirupur to establish himself as an Indian, the cop said. Officials later handed him over to the airport police. On interrogating him, cops found out that he sold readymade garments at his shop S S Garments at Tirupur in Tamil Nadu. His wife was also of Bangladeshi origin. Chandranath claims to have lived in Tirupur for over 10 years but that is yet to be verified, a cop said. We booked an FIR and produced him at Devanahalli court on Friday morning. Investigation is on, he added. In another incident on Friday pertaining to fake documents, Y S Saini from Tamil Nadu was held on Friday afternoon for attempting to cheat immigration officials by producing fake documents. His passport too had been tampered with, a cop said. There has been a surge in the production of fake passports at the KIA this year by people of various nationalities, a top cop said. By PTI NEW DELHI: About 70 shanties were gutted after a fire broke out at a slum in Rohini, the Delhi Fire Service said Saturday. The incident took place on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, they said. No casualty has been reported. A call about the fire was received at 12.18 am and 14 fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The fire was brought under control by 4.40 am, a senior Delhi Fire Service officer said. About 70 shanties were gutted in the fire that broke out at Rohini Sector 26, he said. The cause of fire is yet to be ascertained, officials added. By PTI NEW DELHI: A hijack scare on a Kandahar-bound flight sent security officials at the Delhi international airport into tizzy on Saturday after the pilot "mistakenly" pressed the 'hijack button' when it was taxiing for take-off, officials said. The Ariana Afghan Airlines plane, with nine crew members and 124 passengers and an infant, took off nearly two hours later after "satisfactory" security checks, they said. The officials said the pressing of 'hijack button' had pushed all agencies concerned, including the anti-terror force National Security Guard (NSG), into action. NSG commandos and officials of other agencies swiftly responded to the situation and surrounded the aircraft, they said. After a two-hour operation that created panic among the passengers on board the aircraft, the plane was cleared for take-off, they said. The Delhi-Kandahar FG312 flight was scheduled to depart at 3.30 pm. According to senior officials in the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the plane, while taxiing for take-off, returned to the "isolation bay" presumably due to the pressing of the 'hijack button' by the crew. The aircraft was cleared for departure on confirmation that it was an error by the captain, one of the BCAS officials said. Before the flight was allowed to fly out, secondary security checks were carried out and customs clearance of all passengers was taken. By Express News Service KOCHI: Australian Navy Ship HMAS Ballarat, commanded by Commander Paul Andrew Johnson, arrived in Kochi on Friday for a five-day visit. On arrival, the Commanding Officer of HMAS Ballarat called on Rear Admiral R J Nadkarni, VSM, Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command, and discussed professional subjects of common interest to both navies. During the discussions, the Chief of Staff conveyed his gratitude to the Commanding Officer for the assistance rendered by HMAS Ballarat for locating and rendering medical assistance to Commander Abhilash Tomy of the Indian Navy during the search-and-rescue mission coordinated by the Royal Australian Navy. On September 21, Tomy whilst on a voyage in his sailing vessel Thuraya in the southern Indian Ocean, encountered rough seas following which his boat got de-masted while he himself suffered a severe back injury. During the stay at Kochi, various activities such as the visit of Indian naval personnel onboard HMAS Ballarat, professional interaction and a friendly volleyball match between the two navies have been planned. The visiting ships crew were also given a conducted tour of Navigation & Direction, Damage Control Training Facility (DCTF), Water Survival Training Facility (WSTF) and Flight and Tactical Simulator (FATS). Indias bilateral relations with Australia are rooted in historical social and cultural interactions and extensive people-to-people contact. The cooperation between the two navies is in pursuance of Indias Act East policy and is aimed to enhance interoperability.The HMAS Ballarat will depart for Manama on Tuesday. Jijo Malayil By Express News Service KOCHI: Yet another petrochemical expansion project of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd - Kochi Refinery (BPCL-Kochi) at Ambalamugal - has been accorded environmental clearance by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change even as residents demanded the PSU oil major keep 500 m of greenbelt between the residential area and the unit, giving them a fair chance at sustenance. The expansion plan with an estimated cost of Rs 11,000 crore pertains to the manufacturing of Polyols, Propylene Glycol, and Mono Ethylene Glycol. The new facility will be set up at Puthencruz area, a BPCL-Kochi spokesman told Express. Meanwhile, Pramod Luckose, president of the residents welfare association at South West Ambalamugal, said this 70-acre takeover of land from FACT for the proposed phase of expansion will lead to massive deforestation in the proposed green belt. Several units are not adhering to the minimum requirement of maintaining 500 m from residential units and water bodies, making it difficult for local people to survive in the highly polluting environment, he said. The residents demand that BPCL form a natural boundary as a countermeasure for destroying the thickly wooded area for this Polyol project. We are not against BPCL or industries, we are bothered only about our childrens health, the safety of the city and state, said Pramod. In an open letter, the residents said: We have supported BPCL for its growth, bearing with a lot of suffering. The refinery started with 2.5 MMTPA and has now reached its production capacity nearly 6 times (15.5 MMTPA) with the expansion of IREP. But, its disheartening BPCL is constructing the Petrochemical Project surrounding our residential area. Now the three sides of our houses are BPCL, Petrochemical Plants, and the polluted Chitrapuzha River. Close to 600 families residing in and around the BPCL and FACT projects in the Ambalamugal industrial belt have long been demanding a fair compensation package for relocation. BPCLs recent expansion plans cost Rs 40,000 crore. Even if the company spends 3 per cent of it for a relocation package, the residents will happily accept it, said Pramod. Locals alleged since BPCL is a Navaratna company making huge profits, the Ministry of Environment is turning a blind eye to the blatant violation of rules with respect to the expansion plans. The issue of rising water, air and noise pollution had already been a bone of contention with locals, BPCL and FACT at Ambalamugal. The State Pollution Control Board was pulled up for its apathy in initiating action against industries responsible for polluting the environment.However, the BPCL spokesman did not comment on the allegations of environmental violations in the companys expansion plans. By PTI BHOPAL/INDORE: The war of words between the BJP and the Congress has intensified ahead of the November 28 polling in Madhya Pradesh with both parties raising a range of issues to attack each other. While the Congress accused the BJP of raking up the issues of Pakistan and Ram temple to ward off an impending electoral defeat, the ruling party said the main opposition outfit is feeling like a "fish out of water" since it lost power in Madhya Pradesh 15 years ago. Talking to reporters at Indore Friday, Congress national spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad said the BJP starts taking the name of Pakistan whenever it senses defeat in elections. ALSO READ: Survey gives thumping majority to Congress in Rajasthan, simple majority in Madhya Pradesh It also starts doing politics in the name of Lord Rama when elections are just around the corner, he said. Asked about the Congress' stand on the Ram temple issue, he said, "This matter is being heard at the Supreme Court. We will surely react if Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes any statement about construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya." The Congress leader said, "If the BJP government at the Centre wants to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya then why it is not brining an ordinance? This government is only trying to deceive people in the name of Lord Rama." Ahmad said India's key defence needs were ignored in the controversial Rafale deal. Meanwhile, Union Minister for Minority Affairs and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi hit out at the Congress. Talking to journalists at Mandsaur while accompanying local BJP candidate Yashpal Singh Sisodiya for filing his nomination papers, Naqvi said the Congress feels restless when out of power and flutters like a "fish out of water". Accusing the Congress of engaging in corruption and running governments in a dictatorial manner, Naqvi said the Rahul Gandhi-led party is spreading canards about Prime Minister Narendra and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. ALSO READ: I'm working for state so Congress is angry with me, says Shivraj Chouhan Taking potshots at Congress and opposition leaders, Naqvi said there are two dozen candidates for the posts of prime minister and Madhya Pradesh chief minister, but there is no vacancy for these top positions. Union minister and BJP leader Suresh Prabhu said the Congress is running out of ideas in elections and hence it is doing politics on the country's security. He accompanied local BJP candidate Devendra Verma at Khandwa in a rally to file his nomination papers. Prabhu said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has given answers of all questions related to the Rafale fighter jet deal. There should be no politics on the issue of country's defence and security, Prabhu said. All the BJP candidates contesting from assembly seats in Bhopal district reached the returning officer's office in a rally to file their nomination papers. These candidates offered prayers at a temple in Bhopal's Somwara Chowk along with Chief Minister Chouhan before taking out the rally. By Express News Service BHOPAL: Internal dissent continued to rankle the state units of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress on Friday, the last date of filing nominations for the November 28 assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh. Things took an extreme turn for the Congress when veteran party leader Prem Singh Kushwah allegedly attempted to commit suicide by consuming poison reportedly over being denied a party ticket from any seat in the Gwalior district. Kushwah, 65, was immediately rushed to the Jai Arogya Hospital in Gwalior, where his condition is said to be stable. He was hoping for a ticket from Gwalior East and Gwalior South. A suicide note, purportedly written by Kushwah, was widely circulated over social media. In it, the leader is said to have mentioned that he was pained by rumours about him joining the ruling BJP. The note also mentioned the Congress was giving tickets to those who had joined it from other parties and that it was neglecting the interests of committed party workers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh at a rally in Jagdalpur, Bastar district on Friday | PTI The principal Opposition party is also facing rebellion in several other parts of the state. Local workers have been protesting in maoist-affected Balaghat district against the partys choice of Sanjay Singh Masani brother-in-law of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the Waraseoni seat. Three-time former MLA Pradeep Jaiswal on Thursday filed his nomination as an Independent from the seat. Sources close to him said there is a strong possibility of him and several other Congress leaders quitting the party. Protests also broke out among the partys ranks over the leaderships choice of Naresh Gyanchandani as the candidate for the Huzur seat in Bhopal district. Incidentally, the ruling BJP, which holds the seat currently, is also experiencing opposition over its choice of candidate for the seat from incumbent MLA Jitendra Daga. Daga then filed his nomination as an Independent. In the adjoining seat of Berasia also, the ruling BJP is seeing dissent against the sitting MLA Vishnu Khatri. Meanwhile, sitting BJP MLA from the Bhind seat, Narendra Kushwah, joined the Samajwadi Party on the same day and filed his nomination as an Independent against the saffron partys choice for the seat, Chaudhary Rakesh Singh Chaturvedi. In another significant development, former state finance minister Raghavji filed his nomination as an Independent for the Shamsabad seat after his daughter, Jyoti Shah, was denied a ticket by the BJP. The 84-year-old former minister is facing trial for alleged sodomy, owing to which he had quit the Chouhan government in 2013 and was arrested later. In Ujjain district, supporters of Jitendra Pandya protested outside the party office. Pandya was abruptly denied a ticket on Friday after being named as the partys candidate for the Badnagar seat earlier. Anguish over being left out Things took an extreme turn for the Congress when, veteran party leader Prem Singh Kushwah allegedly attempted to commit suicide by consuming poison reportedly over being denied a ticket By PTI BHOPAL: The Congress on Saturday promised to disband the Vyapam and refund the examination fees of the lakhs of youth who had appeared for the recruitment tests conducted by the scam-hit board in the last 10 years. The Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, popularly known by the acronym Vyapam (Vyavasayik Pareeksha Mandal), is at the centre of a massive recruitment scandal, involving bribery and fudging of marks among others, that is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation. In its 112-page manifesto released here, the opposition party said it would disband the board if it comes to power in the state and replace it with a "Rajya Karmachari Chayan Aayog" to ensure transparent recruitments and a corruption-free system. ALSO READ: Congress promises bicameral legislature, Vidhan Parishad formation In MP, recruitment in government jobs and admission for professional courses in medicine, engineering and others are conducted by Vyapam. In the manifesto, titled "Vachan Patra" (document of promises), the Congress stated it would set up a board and enact a policy for the welfare of transgenders. The party promised laptops for Class XII students obtaining over 70 per cent marks, and subsidised two-wheeler loans for female college students. It proposes to bring a law to give housing rights to the people, as well as 35 kilograms of wheat and rice at Re 1/kg to the poor. It also talks about setting up a 'Vidhan Parishad' or legislative council, the upper House in a bicameral system. The manifesto was released at a press meet in the presence of state Congress president Kamal Nath, state campaign committee chief Jyotiraditya Scindia and former chief minister Digvijaya Singh. The state goes to polls on November 28 and counting of votes will be on December 11. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will meet on Sunday to take up the much delayed decision on the list of candidates for the Rajasthan Assembly elections, party officials privy to the matter, said on Friday. This will leave candidates just eight days to file their nominations for each seat. The BJP CEC will meet on Sunday at the party headquarters. It will take up for consideration the list of candidates for Rajasthan, said a senior functionary of the party.The committee was slated to take up the decision in its November 1 meeting, said the official, adding that it was delayed because of differences between party chief Amit Shah and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Union Minister of state for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is considered to be Shahs point person for the state, is learnt to have met senior party leaders to share feedback from local workers in the state about its sitting legislators, which Shah is reportedly using to assess each name. There is a clear stand off between Shah and Raje over ticket distribution. The BJP chief is armed with assessment reports for each of the Assembly seats in the state, and favours dropping a large number of MLAs to beat the anti-incumbency against them. Raje, on the other hand, wants to back trusted legislators, said a BJP leader privy to the partys affairs in Rajasthan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely attend Sundays meet to clear the way for the list, said another party functionary. The last date of filing nomination papers for the 200-seat Rajasthan Assembly is November 19, while the state will go to the polls on December 7. Shahs point person Union MoS for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is considered to be Shahs point person for the state, is learnt to have met senior party leaders to share feedback from local workers on the states MLAs Manish Anand By Express News Service NEW DELHI: With a large number of BJP's Rajasthan MLAs reaching the national capital on Saturday to secure their nominations by reaching out to senior party leaders and Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) functionaries, the state chief minister Vasundhara Raje is learnt to have come up with a new formula in her list of 140 candidates in which she has proposed to change constituencies of about a dozen sitting legislators. ALSO READ | Rajasthan elections: Row over who is 'outsider', Sachin Pilot or Vasundhara Raje Caught in a battle of wits with the BJP chief Amit Shah, Raje has seemingly pitched for axing not more than 30 MLAs out of the total 163 in the state screening meeting held at the residence of the Union Minister and state election in-charge Prakash Javdekar on Saturday. The BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) is scheduled to meet Sunday evening to consider the list of candidates for Rajasthan which goes to polls on December 7 even while the last date of filing nominations is November 19. The BJP CEC had earlier not been able to take up the list of Rajasthan on account of Shah and Raje reportedly not arriving at a consensus on the issue of axing a large number of sitting MLAs in the state. "Following up the direction of the BJP chief to come out with a fresh list of candidates in tune with the ground assessment report, the chief minister has submitted a list 140 nominees out of the total 200 seats in the state. She has favoured changing constituencies of the sitting legislators against whom there are adverse reports which had been prepared on the basis of the feedback of the party workers. She's ready to drop 30 sitting legislators," said a senior BJP functionary, who is privy to the parleys during the screening committee meeting. With the RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat in the national capital, scores of BJP MLAs are camping in New Delhi to reach out to influential functionaries at Jhandewalan, headquarters of the umbrella saffron outfit. The chief minister along with state ministers is also likely to meet the BJP chief later in the evening to discuss the fresh list of candidates. However, the BJP chief is learnt to have prepared a separate list of candidates for the state by enlisting the services of Union Minister of state Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, sources said. Sources said that the chief minister is bracing to protect the nominations of at least 70 of the sitting legislators who are known to be her staunch supporters in the state politics. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Just hours after the Congress high command finalised 74 candidates and seat sharing pact with allies, widespread dissent erupted in various parts of the State. Leaders across Congress revolted against denial of tickets in the rumoured list. The party, which was until then in a preparatory mood, was met by rebels holding protests at not just Gandhi Bhavan but also in Delhi, giving jitters to already stressed partys top bosses. Leaders from BC communities, Osmania student leaders, Telangana activists, party office bearers like official spokespersons have all been severely upset over the ticket allotment. With dissent all over, it is unlikely that the first list would be announced on Saturday morning. Even Congress allies expressed displeasure with the seat sharing arrangement. CPI has made it clear that it is not going to accept less than five seats (it has been promised three seats). The party called for an emergency meeting of its state executive committee and even announced that it would contest in Wyra, Kothagudem, Husnabad, Munogode and Bellampalli constituencies, much to Congress consternation. Meanwhile, former PCC president D Srinivas, who recently returned to Congress after a brief stint in TRS, met with Congress matron Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Friday. It is reported that he has been given the responsibility to coordinate between the warring grand alliance parties until the elections are over. Also, BC leaders in the party have expressed their displeasure over the number of seats assigned to them. AICC top leaders have repeatedly said that a social justice agenda would be key while issuing tickets. But among the total 74 candidates finalised till now just 15 to 18 are BCs, said a senior Congress leader. The voices Komatireddy backs Lingaiah for Nakrekal Congress prospective Nalgonda candidate Komatireddy Venkat Reddy warned his party high command that he would sit out of the election if Chirumarthy Lingaiah is not given the Nakrekal tikcet. Speaking at a party workers meeting at Narketpally on Friday, Reddy said, I appeal to Uttam Kumar Reddy and Jana Reddy to make sure that Lingiah gets the ticket, he said.It may be recalled that Lingaiah had represented the constituency in the past in united AP. Party divided into two factions in Adilabad The party is in a world of pain in Adilabad. The cadres have been divided into two groups, one led by DCC president A Maheshwar Reddy and the other by ex-MLC Prem Sagar Rao, both vying to come out on top. If the rumoured list is to be believed, Rao has been successful in securing tickets for his followers, much to the annoyance of Reddy whose followers are worried about their future. Meanwhile, former Khanapur MLA Hari Naik, on being denied the ticket, protested in front of Gandhi Bhavan in the city. Ruckus over ticket for Ponnala Lakshmaiah Former TPCC chief and senior leader Ponnala Lakshmaiah was stuck in an unenviable situation. It is said that Jangaon, which was represented by him in the past, would be allotted to TJS chief Kodandaram.This has created much ruckus in the party. Senior leader Jana Reddy tried to control the damage by saying that Kodandaram was not getting the ticket, however Ponnala has already expressed his anguish in public. He said that party would be hurt if the ticket was given to a Reddy such as Kodandaram. Uttam goes to Dubai, interacts with emigrants Meanwhile, TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy travelled to Dubai to interact with emigrants from the State in the Gulf country. If voted to power, Congress will establish Gulf Facilitation Centres to help nearly 10 lakh migrant workers from the State working in Gulf countries, he said. Uttam along with senior leaders RC Khutia and T Jeevan Reddy visited labour camps in Alqouz area of Dubai on Friday. They interacted with the Gulf migrant workers to get first hand information on the problems being faced by them. Dissent in alliance: CPI angry with only 3 seats As part of the seat-sharing agreement finalised between the alliance, CPI has been given the fewest seats, with only three. The Left party called for an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the situation. It has refused to settle for less that five seats and has even announced its candidates for these places Wyra, Kothagudem, Husnabad, Munogode and Bellampalli. By PTI SINGAPORE: Director Andy Serkis says his iteration of "The Jungle Book", which is significantly darker than the earlier retellings of Rudyard Kipling's classic, deals with identity, colonialism and misappropriation of jungles. Though "Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle", was not shot in India, Serkis said he has stayed true to the story's Indian roots. "In the book, there is a mention that when men come, there are brown men with drums and white men with guns. That for me is a very significant; small but very important passage that formed how we were going to set up different societies in 'The Jungle Book' storytelling," Serkis said while responding to a question posed by PTI at Netflix's "See What's Next: Asia" event here. "Within the realms of magic realism and a metaphorical language, we are looking at the misappropriation of the jungles and man enters and there is expansion and colonialism and taking over the jungle The metaphor of that." Featuring an ensemble cast of Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Serkis, Freida Pinto, Matthew Rhys and Naomie Harris, the film will have a theatrical release in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and London on November 29. A week later, the film will make its debut on Netflix. There is no word on whether the film will get a theatrical release in India and when asked about the same, Serkis assured that there is something that they have planned for the country. "Well, I can't tell you what's happening. The film will be seen in India. I'm not sure if I can release the timings. But there will be very significant moment where this film begins its life in India." Indian-American child actor Rohan Chand plays Mowgli in the film, which has some of the biggest names from Hollywood, something that was difficult to manage for Serkis. "The cast came through because of the script. They loved the story, particularly the way the script was adapted. It is an emotional journey and is rooted in the search for identity. The cast really responded to the underlined themes of the script, the fact that we live in a world that is challenged by identities. It is a very important topic at the moment." The actor, who is considered the master when it comes to performance capture technology in films such as "Planet of the Apes" series, believes it is the future and will serve as a great tool in storytelling. "I think we are in a very interesting state of flux in terms of how people want to receive their stories. Performance capture sits somewhere in the middle." By Online Desk NEW DELHI: Former Miss India and actor Niharika Singh opened up about her #MeToo experiences in entertainment industry calling out Bollywood biggies Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sajid Khan and Bhushan Kumar. The "Miss Lovely" actor's account was shared on Twitter by journalist Sandhya Mennon. Niharika said she decided to write the piece "to expand my own understanding of what constitutes abuse, who we choose to punish and whom we are willing to forgive". The actor said she has dealt with various forms of exploitation throughout her life and her main struggle started once she decided to move to Mumbai to make her name in the modelling and movie business. Bhushan Kumar Soon after her Miss India pageant win, Niharika said she was signed by Raj Kanwar for her Bollywood debut but the project got shelved and Bhushan Kumar decided to launch her. "Bhushan Kumar asked Kanwar to release me from his contract as a favour so I could be cast in his other film. Bhushan Kumar called me to his office to sign 'A New Love Ishtory' where he gave me an envelope as a signing amount for the film. It contained two 500 Rupee notes." "I got a text from him later that night- 'I would love to know you more. Let's get together sometime'. I wrote back saying- 'Absolutely! Lets go on a double date. You bring your wife. I'll bring my boyfriend. He never wrote to me again," she wrote. The film got delayed and the actor claimed she never got paid for her work on the project. Nawazuddin Siddiqui The actress wrote that she met Nawazuddin Siddiqui in 2009 for an indie film called 'Miss Lovely'. While she allegedly began to get closer to Nawazuddin, she began to "discover one lie after another" about him. He had apparently married a woman and was sued for dowry demands. She cut ties with him after that. She again met Nawazuddin in 2012 at Cannes, and she became friends with him when he was apologetic about his earlier actions. In 2013, when they acted together in a film called 'Anwar ka ajab kissa', Niharika alleged, "He tried to re-engage me sexually, begging me to be with him but I refused, saying I was happy to be his friend and nothing else." Anil George, Niharika Singh and Nawazuddin Siddiqui at an event (Photo | IMDB) Once again during the promotions of 'Miss Lovely' in 2014, Nawazuddin apparently tried to grab Niharika, but she just walked away. In 2017, Nawazuddin wrote a memoir in which he claimed that he was in a relationship with Niharika, which the actress refuted. She says: I wasn't sure what to make of this relationship. He told me it was his dream to have a Miss India or an actress wife, just like Paresh Rawal and Manoj Bajpayee. I found his little confession funny but endearing. He often complained about how he was judged on his looks, skin colour and that he wasn't fluent in English. I tried to help him deal with his insecurities, but he was stuck in a state of victimisation." In the post Niharika also called Nawazuddin a "sexually repressed Indian man whose toxic male entitlement grew with his success is hardly surprising. What is interesting to note that despite not identifying as a Hindu, he carries deep caste prejudices since he chose to protect the honour of his 'Brahmin' wife after their names came in CDR scam, while he felt very comfortable painting me as a seductress wearing faux fur in his book, who he could sexually exploit, for public imagination." She blasted Nawazuddin's frequent collaborator, director Anurag Kashyap for continuously supporting him. Mayank Singh Singhvi Niharika Singh also spoke about the abuse she experienced with a man named Mayank Singh Singhvi, who is the husband of a female flight attendant, who allegedly committed suicide in July. She alleged the man of being a sociopath and physically violent when they were briefly engaged in 2011. Anissia Batra, who worked with a German airline, had allegedly jumped from the terrace of her house in July. Her husband Mayank Singhvi was arrested on the charge of dowry death, and her in-laws were also arrested earlier this month. ALSO READ | Delhi flight attendant suicide case: Husband sent to 14-day judicial custody In the post, Niharika said she had met Singhvi at a birthday party.Within two months of meeting me, Mayank tattooed my name on his chest and told me that he loved me." I didnt feel the same way about him but he managed to get into my social circle and develop a bond with my family and friends who insisted I settle down. In 2011, on my 29th birthday, he gave me a ring and asked me to marry him, Singh said. I found out later, that Singhvi was a sociopath, and I broke off my engagement at the end of 2011. His ego was completely bruised and his anger was uncontrollable. He got abusive and physically violent. I went to a friends house to protect myself and left Mumbai, she said. Sajid Khan "Violence against women may be a common feature faced by all women in India, but there is no denying the fact that certain kinds of violence are customarily reserved solely for Dalit women," Niharika said. She said patriarchy has no gender nor does abuse. "We can't forget the role of mothers and wives who are equally responsible in covering or enabling their sons' and husbands' crimes. It's time to realize that the pompous, neoliberal, savarna feminism is not going to liberate anyone," she added. Niharika concluded her post by sharing her encounter with Sajid, who was recently dropped as the director of "Housefull 4" following sexual harassment allegations by multiple women. "Filmmaker Sajid Khan, who I met a couple of times while he was dating an actress I knew years ago, made a few predictions when a close friend of ours was opening her second restaurant - 'This place will shut down within a year, mark my words. To his actress girlfriend he said, 'She won't survive a day without me in Bollywood'. 'And, this one', looking at me straight, 'will soon commit suicide'. "My restaurateur friend is opening her fourth restaurant. It is difficult to get a table at the other three. The actress' career skyrocketed after she dumped the filmmaker and I, have managed to stay alive," she wrote. (With inputs from Express News Service and PTI) By IANS MUMBAI: Bollywood stars Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh were all smiles and were twinning in white as they left for Italy for their wedding in the picturesque Lake Como next week. The actors were seen leaving the Mumbai airport here, wading through the paparazzi. Deepika, unperturbed by the crowd, smiled her way to the entry gate at the airport and then struck a smiling pose for the shutterbugs, and Ranveer shook hands with the crowd and folded his hands, expressing gratitude for the love. The bride-to-be was dressed in a white skirt and a turtle neck sweater and Ranveer was dressed formally in a bandhgala. His family members made their way into the airport with huge bags. SEE PHOTOS | Deepika and Ranveer's epic love story The couple, whose on-screen chemistry in films like "Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela" and "Bajirao Mastani" has been loved as much as their off-screen camaraderie, will tie the knot in a ceremony which will take place over two days on November 14-15. @RanveerOfficial really did roll up in a white Aston Martin wearing all white blasting Mehndi Laga ke Rakhna on a speaker through the airport i love him hes so extra what a entrance #deepika #ranveer #deepveer #DeepVeerKiShaadi pic.twitter.com/k8610tz0yI KiKi (@Kikirani19) November 10, 2018 They have been dating each other since six years, but never confirmed their relationship until recently. They put rest to months of speculation about their nuptials with a social media announcement of their wedding dates. Earlier this month, a traditional puja took place at Deepika's home in Bengaluru, while Ranveer had a fun-filled 'haldi' ceremony to kickstart the wedding celebrations. After the wedding, Ranveer and Deepika will have a reception in India later this month. By Online Desk Breaking his silence on the mysterious death of his former girlfriend Jiah Khan, actor Sooraj Pancholi, on Friday, came out on social media stating his social predicament on being accused to have contemplated her death. Pancholi, who turned 28 that day, said that while there have been allegations and accusations from the past 6 years against him stating that he pushed Khan into committing suicide, there has been no proof of the same and that it has been an emotional journey for him. Khan committed suicide in June 2013 and she left behind a suicide note blaming Pancholi for ruining her life. Pancholi, who made his debut in the 2015 movie Hero, is currently shooting for the upcoming movie Satellite Shankar which will also be the debut of Kollywood actress, Megha Akash. By Online Desk After the Diwali blockbusters 'Sarkar' and 'Thugs of Hindostan' were leaked on Tamil Rockers, another tweet on Twitter claimed that '2.0' was coming soon on the website. However, the original website claimed that they did not have a Twitter account. According to India Today, the tweet from the Twitter handle "TamilRockersMV", read: "#2Point0 Coming Soon in Tamil Rockers." The Twitter account has now been suspended. But in the Tamil Rockers website, a text ran on the top of the page, which said: "We are not available on Twitter or any other Social networks. If someone posts anything using our name on social networks, Then that should be fake. Please don't believe on those kind of id's and rumours spread by them." (sic) READ | Thugs of Hindostan leaked by Tamilrockers within hours of theatrical release Tamil Rockers, and other websites that pirate newly released films, are a big threat to filmmakers and the film industry. The websites constantly change their domains as and when one domain is blocked. While celebrities and filmmakers are raising a voice against these websites, Tamil Nadu theatres are also taking measures to combat piracy. ALSO READ | TN cinema theatres to install cameras to curb piracy Recently, theatre owners resolved to install CCTVs in theatres to check for audiences who are filming the movie. The Tamil Film Producers' Council also blacklisted some theatres which are involved in piracy. Fayaz Wani By Express News Service SRINAGAR: A Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad militant was killed and a policeman injured in an encounter in Tral area of south Kashmir on Friday. A police official said the CRPF, Army and J&K police in a joint operation laid siege around Dar Ganiegund Village in Tral after receiving information about the presence of some terrorists there. He said while the security men were conducting searches, they came under fire from militants hiding in a house. "The fire was returned by the troops, triggering an encounter," he said. The official said the exchange of fire between the militants and security forces continued for nearly five hours during which a Jaish militant, identified as Adnan was killed. He said a policeman Zial Singh sustained splinter injuries during the encounter and has been hospitalised. Some arms and ammunition were recovered from the encounter site. Meanwhile, Governor Satya Pal Malik on Friday chaired a high-level security review meeting at Rajbhavan, in Jammu. "Governor obtained the sector-wise assessments of the prevailing security situation and arising challenges. He reviewed law and order situation throughout the State," an official spokesman said. The Governor directed the security officials to heighten vigil and ensure the safety of protected persons and security of all important establishments and installations. He also discussed security arrangements made for the smooth conduct of the forthcoming elections to Panchayats and the need for a safe environment for the elections. By PTI NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a two-day visit to Singapore beginning November 14 to attend the East Asia Summit, an influential bloc which delves into political, security and trade related issues in the Asia-Pacific region. Making the announcement, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said Modi is also expected to participate in a number of other events during the visit. "PM will make an official visit to Singapore to attend the 13th East Asia Summit and associated meetings on November 14th and 15th," he said. Kumar said the prime minister is also scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Summit. The East Asia Summit is a premier forum in the Asia-Pacific region. Since its inception in 2005, it has played a significant role in the strategic, geopolitical and economic evolution of East Asia. Apart from the 10 ASEAN member-states, East Asia Summit includes India, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, United States and Russia. The annual ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit is also taking place in Singapore next week. However, there will be no ASEAN-India summit during the annual congregation of the powerful grouping. The ASEAN-India summit was held in January this year when leaders from all 10 ASEAN nations visited India to attend the Republic Day celebrations. By PTI PANAJI: The Goa government Saturday announced a ban on import of fish into the state for six months. The move comes against the backdrop of a scare in the coastal state that formalin, a potential cancer-causing chemical, was being used to preserved fish. Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane announced the ban Saturday and added that its duration could be extended by another six months, if needed, till measures to check the quality of fish are in place in the state. "Till such measures are in place (to test fish), the import of fish into Goa is banned for six months with immediate effect," Rane told reporters. The state government is banning fish imports for the second time this year, the earlier one, for fifteen days, having been announced by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar in July. The ban at the time was lifted after the government introduced border checks for trucks bringing fish into Goa. Rane told reporters that the state government would set up testing laboratories with Central agencies like Quality Council of India, Export Inspection Council and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. He accused fish-importing traders of failing to comply with guidelines laid down by Goa Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). By IANS LUCKNOW: Former Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) Mukul Upadhyaya on Friday alleged that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati had sought money to give him the Lok Sabha ticket from Aligarh, a charge refuted by the BSP. Hours after he was expelled from the party, he said the four-time chief minister had sought Rs 5 crore to give him the party ticket. The former BSP leader is the younger brother of senior party leader and former power minister Ramveer Upadhyaya. The former MLC has also alleged that his brother plotted against him for political ambition. He also threatened to "expose" his brother and other BSP bigwigs. He also claimed that Ramveer Upadhyaya wanted to get the Aligarh Lok Sabha ticket of the party for his wife Seema and therefore conspired against him. The rebel leader also alleged that party coordinators had asked him a few days back to deposit Rs 5 crore for the party fund in lieu of the Aligarh parliamentary constituency ticket. The big infighting in the Upadhya clan has jolted people in western Uttar Pradesh. Four brothers of Upadhyaya are in active politics while the other two work for the state government. The BSP has trashed the allegations and said that the party had expelled him because he was trying to defect to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Chief zonal coordinator of the BSP for Agra-Aligarh division Sunil Chittor clarified to reporters that Upadhyaya was "rattled" by his expulsion and was making wild and baseless allegations. Anurag Singh By Express News Service BHOPAL: Eyeing return to power in Madhya Pradesh after 15 years, the opposition Congress on Saturday, released its manifesto for the November 28 polls, promising to waive off farmers' loans up to Rs 2 lakh within 10 days of being voted to power. Titled the Vachan-Patra, (document of promises) the document was released by state Congress chief Kamal Nath in presence of other senior leaders, including state election campaign committee chief Jyotiraditya Scindia, Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh, ex-CM Digvijaya Singh, manifesto committee chief Rajendra Singh and former union minister Suresh Pachouri. "This is detailed Vachan-Patra which will be fulfilled in letter and spirit and not the like BJP manifestos of previous years which have ended up becoming Jumla Patras (document of hollow slogans). Owing to 15 years misrule of successive BJP governments, every section of MP population is troubled," said Nath.The 112-page manifesto comprises 972 points, out of which 75 are focal points which pertain to the welfare of each and every segment of population, including farmers, youth, women and traders."Once our party is elected to power, a definite time-frame will be fixed for every ministry and department for executing the promises on ground," said Scindia. READ| Chhattisgarh elections: Raman Singh government has almost eliminated Naxalism, says Amit Shah The manifesto promises to waive off farmers loans of nationalized and cooperative banks up to the limit of Rs 2 lakh. The loan waiver will come into effect within ten days of the Congress being elected to power, said Nath. In line with Swaminathan Committee recommendations for ensuring profitable prices to farmers for their produce, the manifesto mentions about not allowing farmers produce to be sold in mandis below the MSP. Also, bonus would be given on wheat, paddy, jawar, bajra, makka, soybean, mustard, cotton, tuar, moong, chana, masoor, urad, garlic, onion, tomato and sugarcane.The manifesto promises halving the electricity bills of farmers through 50 per cent concessions and also rendering Rs 5 per litre bonus on milk. A new crop plan has also been promised in the manifesto.A Krishak Kanya Vivah Sahayata Yojana to help small and marginal farmers in the marriage of their daughters has been promised. An incentive amount of Rs 51,000 would be paid for marriage of daughter of every farmer who holds agricultural plot up to 2.5 acres. The Holy Cow In what is being seen the part of Congress' brand of cow politics, the party has promised gaushalas (cowsheds) in every village panchayat, besides cow sanctuaries in identified areas. Government would render grant for running and maintaining the gaushalas. Emphasis has also been laid for professionalized production of gobar khad (cow manure), Kanda (cow dung cakes) and Gau Mutra (cow urine) in the cowsheds. Temporary camps would be started on all main roads and highways for protection of stray cows and arrangements would also be made for the treatment of ill and injured cows as well as the burial of cow carcasses. Fighting Corruption The manifesto resolves to make MP a corruption free state by enacting a new anti-corruption law, which will make indulging in corruption (both taking and giving bribe) a serious and non-bailable offence. Special anti-corruption courts would be constituted where charge-sheets will have to be filed within 30 days. Government officials, including those holding important positions in state secretariat will not be allowed single posting of more than three years. Newly appointed public servants and nominated public representatives will have to submit affidavit of assets held by them and kin as well as the source of the income at the time of appointment/nomination, which would serve as the basis for ascertaining their income and confiscating assets disproportionate to their income in future. A Jan Ayog (Public Commission) comprising experts, educationists, journalists, women and representatives from all other sections will probe all scams that happened during the BJP regime (2008-2018), including the multi-crore Vyapam scam.The government recruitment process would be made transparent and the scam tainted Vyapam (MP Professional Examination Board) would be shut down.Youth and Women All such new industries which render employment to unemployed educated youths will be rendered 25 per cent of salary or Rs 10,000 whichever is less as Salary Grant from the government over a period of 5 years. A Youth Commission will be constituted and a New Ideal Youth Policy will be formulated.Girls would be given free education till PhD. Level, while smart-phones, smart cards and health cards will be given to women. Students scoring 70 per cent marks or more would be gifted laptops, while concessional loans would be rendered to college going girls for having their own two wheelers. A new battalion of police, Rani Durgawati Battalion would be raised which will include only women in all ranks, special cells for probing crime against women will be constituted in every district and dedicated women police outposts would be established in areas housing girls schools and colleges, besides places where women are working in large numbers. Also, it promises waiving off outstanding loans of women self help groups (SHGs) and rendering them loans at concessional rates.Other points Social security pension to be hiked from Rs 300 to Rs 1000Rajiv Gandhi Smartcard to every person Right to House law to be enacted which will ensure Rs 2.5 lakh and 450 square foot residential plot to every homeless family. Rationalization of taxes and fees and lowering Mandi Tax to 1per cent. Making petrol, diesel and cooking gas cheaper 100 units of power for just Rs 1 per unit Constitution of Transgender Board Constitution of Upper Caste Commission Constituting Senior Citizen Welfare Board Journalists and Advocates Safety Act. Daily wage employees in all departments, including safai staff to be regularized and framing rules for their promotion along with benefits of Seventh Pay Commission. 24x7 electricity supply for domestic and industrial consumers. By UNI AIZAWL: The ruling Congress, the opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) and the BJP fielded candidates in all the 40 constituencies for November 28 Assembly elections in Mizoram. The Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) would contest 35 seats while a newly floated Zoramthar (New Mizoram) comprising many church leaders and headed by Rev Zaichhawna Hlawndo has fielded 24 candidates. Another small party PRISM has fielded 15 nominees. Friday, November 9 was the last date of filing nomination papers in Mizoram. According to official sources altogether 208 candidates filed their papers. National People's Party (NPP) nominated candidates in 9 seats and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will be contesting 5 seats for the 40-member assembly. Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla will be contesting from two constituencies - Serchip and Champhai South. Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) chief ministerial candidate Lalduhoma also filed his nominations from Serchhip and Aizawl West - I seats. By PTI AMARAVATI: Anti-BJP parties would meet in New Delhi on November 22 to create a common platform and chalk out their future course of action, TDP president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said Saturday. Addressing a press meet after a meeting with Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot who came here as an emissary of Rahul Gandhi at his riverfront residence here, the Telugu Desam President said the endeavour was to bring everybody on board to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party. Naidu said he would meet West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on November 19 or 20. "This is broadly anti-BJP platform. This is in the interest of the nation. Save democracy, save the nation and save the institutions..that is the agenda. That is the national agenda, an utmost important agenda," Naidu said. The TDP chief had recently met former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, his Karnataka counterpart H D Kumaraswamy and DMK president MK Stalin as part of his efforts to forge a front against the BJP. "Now I have convinced everybody. Everybody is willing to cooperate with us. In this experiment, Congress is the main opposition party. They have more responsibility. We have to acknowledge that," Naidu said. The New Delhi meeting would decide on "how to move forward" and also "build an organisational structure" for the anti-BJP platform, he added. Naidu said he had already met several leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah and others, and would meet Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Replying to questions, he said there were only "two platforms" in the country BJP and anti-BJP. "Political parties should decide which side they are. If they don't join us, it means they are with BJP," he said. "The Tamil Nadu government is controlled by remote control (from New Delhi). Telangana Rashtra Samitis (TRS) agenda is BJP agenda. Some parties are there. They are aligned with the BJP," Naidu said. The TDP chief said some parties might join them after the elections to Assemblies in five states and "one or two" might come after the Lok Sabha elections. "Our effort is to bring everybody on board to fight the BJP," he said. To a question, he said sharing of seats (in elections) and other things would come after some time. Gehlot said there was an "undeclared Emergency-type atmosphere in the country. Institutions are getting destroyed in the country. Constitution (of India) is getting weakened. People are worried. Not one section of the society is happy with the Modi administration in the last four and a half years," the former Rajasthan chief minister said. While anti-BJP parties have their foundations in secularism and democracy, the BJP and RSS people have only the "mask of democracy" on their faces, he said. "They dont have any faith in democracy. They are fascist...," Gehlot alleged. This was the "proper time" for (anti-BJP) parties to come on to a single platform and forge a grand alliance, the AICC general secretary added. By PTI JAMMU: Over 27.85 lakh children were given the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine during an ongoing vaccination campaign across Jammu and Kashmir, an official spokesman said Saturday. The campaign was launched on September 24 to cover nearly 38 lakh children in the age group of nine months to 15 years to eliminate the congenital rubella syndrome, caused by the rubella virus. "A total of 37,72,960 children will be covered in the state, of whom 27,85,731 have been vaccinated till date with 17,00,994 children covered in the Kashmir division and 10,84,737 in the Jammu division," the spokesman said. The campaign is expected to be concluded by the end of this month as against the scheduled October 20 deadline. The measles-rubella campaign marks the introduction of the rubella vaccine in India's childhood immunisation programme for the first time. Rubella, which is commonly referred to as German measles, is a mild infection, but can have serious consequences if it occurs in pregnant women. India's latest MR vaccine also protects against measles, a major killer of small children. Highly contagious, it spreads through contact. Nearly 37 per cent of the global burden of deaths due to measles is in India, mainly due to complications such as diarrhoea and pneumonia. The spokesman said Principal Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Atal Dulloo reviewed the progress of the campaign at a meeting here and asked the health authorities to build up awareness on a big scale in schools and outreach areas, where a stiff resistance has come up against the vaccination drive. The meeting was informed that Kathua, Leh and Kargil districts had already achieved 100 per cent targets, while Samba in Jammu and Budgam and Kulgam in Kashmir were on the verge of achieving their targets. Dulloo instructed the health authorities of those districts, which were far behind the target, to gear up to achieve the set targets by the end of this month, the spokesman said. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: As the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) gears up to hold a 'Janagrah rally' in Ayodhya along with similar events in Nagpur and Bengaluru on November 25 to muster support for the construction of a Ram temple, speculation is rife about a possible meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in Varanasi on November 12, when both leaders will be in the city. While the PM will be in his parliamentary constituency to dedicate development projects worth Rs 2,400 crore, apart from holding a public rally, Bhagwat will arrive in the holy city on Sunday for a six-day sangh workshop beginning on Monday. Highly-placed BJP sources did not rule out the possibility of a meeting between the two. Political observers are attaching significance to the possible meeting in the wake of vociferous demands for construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya from various quarters, including the RSS, which is trying to create public opinion in favour of temple construction ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. A number of senior BJP leaders and state ministers will be present in Varanasi on Monday. Sources said that several BJP leaders, including a few Union ministers, were likely to meet Bhagwat during his stay in Varanasi. Apart from Hindu seers, right-wing outfits, including the RSS and the VHP, have been mounting pressure on the BJP-led Union government to facilitate temple construction in Ayodhya through a law. On Dussehra eve, the RSS chief had demanded that the Centre take the legislative route to temple construction. More than 5,000 seers are expected to attend the Janagrah rally on November 25, and 5-10 lakh people are expected to throng the temple town for the purpose as the "temple issue is connected with the faith of millions of people not only in India but across the world," said a senior RSS functionary. The same day, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will also be visiting the temple town to give a push to the demand for temple construction at the earliest. During the rally, the opinion of participants would be sought on the temple issue. By Express News Service RANCHI: Tata Trust Chairman Ratan Tata believes that the Tata Trust in association with the Government would be able to set a pattern to reduce the deaths caused by Cancer in the next 10-20 years. Ratan Tata while laying foundation stone along with Chief Minister Raghubar Das for the world-class cancer hospital in Ranchi on the lines of TMH in Mumbai, also lauded the central as well as the State Governments for showing their vision to tackle cancer by springing up a number of cancer hospitals across the Country. "In the next 20-30 years, Tata Trust hopes to set up a pattern along with the Government to reduce the number of deaths taking place due to cancer," said Tata. Lakhs of people die due to cancer and many have lost their will to live due to the high cost of treatment and the difficulty involved, he added. Tata said that since North East region have a lot of cancer patients this hospital in Ranchi will be a great relief for the patients coming from the region and also play a leading role to tackle the disease. "Tata Trust was committed to make Ranchi hospital a success which will also be a symbol of prosperity and good health of the people living in the area," said the Trust Chairman. Tata praised the initiatives taken by the Governments, both at the Center and States, to tackle the disease. "I believe the government at the Centre and the state governments have displayed considerable vision in setting up a string up cancer hospitals for the screening of cancer early and treat cancer at a reasonable cost and provide access to State of the art hospitals in India," Tata added. Chief Minister Raghubar Das, in his speech, said that the demand for this hospital was raised during Momentum Jharkhand summit in the year 2017 so that people do not have to go outside the State for treatment of cancer and other illnesses. "As I was quite aware of the problems faced by the people, I tried to improve health services in the State, as soon as I became Chief Minister and started construction for 6 medical colleges in the last 4 years along with a centre of All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)," said the CM. With the start of the work for a cancer hospital in Ranchi, one of his greatest wishes was fulfilled, he added. Initially, there will have a facility of 50 beds in the Hospital which will be gradually increased to 300. People of Jharkhand will be given priority in the hospital and given some special facilities in the hospital. 50 per cent beds of the hospital will be reserved for the people hailing from Jharkhand. The hospital will have 14 world class operation theatres with 28 beds Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and a blood bank. By PTI MUMBAI: A retired Army Captain was arrested Saturday for allegedly duping people of several lakh rupees on the pretext of giving them jobs at a Navy canteen, a senior Crime Branch official said. The scam came to light Saturday morning when six of these job aspirants approached the Defence Audit Controller's office in south Mumbai with "appointment letters" as canteen attendants, the official said. "The candidates had received these letters from Delhi, On verification, they were found to be fake, following which an inquiry was initiated," he said. The six persons told police that they were students of Sarasvati Defence Academy in Andhra Pradesh's Vishakhapatnam city, he said. "The academy is run by retired Captain Imendri Shailendranath Trinetra (49). The six persons said they had paid Rs 6 lakh each to Trinetra to get jobs as canteen attendants," the official said. "Trinetra, who was in Mumbai, was called for questioning. We found that Trinetra made false promises to the aspirants and also managed to get them undergo a medical test at a local hospital there," said Dilip Sawant, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection), Mumbai. He said Trinetra sent the candidates fake appointment letters from New Delhi. Police said a case was registered on a complaint made by the office of the Chief Defence Audit Controller, following which the accused was arrested. By IANS SHILLONG: Two persons were arrested on Friday in the murder attempt on a women's rights activist, Agnes Kharshiing, and two others in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district. Condemning the murder attempt on Civil Society Women's Organisation president, Agnes Kharshiing and her two aides at Sohshrieh, a coal belt area of East Jaintia Hills district, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) has demanded a CBI or judicial probe. "We demand a CBI or judicial probe into the attack and also to find out if there is a conspiracy between coal mafia and authorities (police or politicians) to instigate and provoke the mob," BJYM President Egenstar Kurkalang said. The BJYM also asked the government to provide free medical treatment to Kharshiing and her aide Amita Sangma. Demanding immediate arrest of the attackers, Kurkalang said, "All these problems (Thursday's attacks) have arisen from a ban on coal mining. The government should speed up the mining policy in the best interest of the public and the society of Meghalaya." The suspects, Elphon Dkhar and Meklison Siangshai, were arrested in Kongong area in a pre-dawn raid. "A suo moto case was taken up by police since the victims are not in a position to file an FIR as they are in a serious condition. We are interrogating the two accused and a manhunt is on to arrest the other attackers," said Sylvester Nongtnnger, police chief of East Jaintia Hills. Meanwhile, officials at the North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) said Agnes Kharshiing was in a "critical condition" while the other two persons -- her aide Amita Sangma and their driver E Kurbah -- were stable. "Kharshiing is on ventilator. The condition of Sangma is stable, while the driver was discharged," NEIGRIHMS spokesperson K.K. Pandita said. On Thursday, Kharshiing, along with Sangma and Kurbah were brutally assaulted by a group of some 40 people after the activist lodged a complaint on the illegal mining and transportation of coal in the district. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had ordered an interim ban on "rat-hole" coal mining in Meghalaya from April 17, 2014, after the All Dimasa Students' Union and Dinasa Hasao District Committee filed an application before it alleging that the water of the Kopili river was turning acidic due to coal mining in the Jaintia Hills. Several political and non-governmental organisation leaders have condemned the attack on Kharshiing and her aides. "The government should punish those responsible as per law," said Meghalaya State Commission for Women Chairperson Theilin Phanbuh. The attack on Kharshiing was the second such incident on a social activist in the district. On March 19, RTI activist Poipynhun Majaw, who was the president of the Jaintia Youth Federation, was found murdered in Khliehriat, the district headquarters of East Jaintia Hills. By IANS SRINAGAR: Security forces on Saturday gunned down two heavily armed terrorists hiding in a village in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said. Receiving information about their presence in Tekkin village, a cordon and search operation was started that led the militants to fire at the forces. Both were killed in the ensuing gun battle. Their identities were yet to be established. OnTuesday, two Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including an Army deserter, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district. Exchange of fire at #Pulwama between SFs and terrorists. Area under cordon. Information is preliminary in nature.@JmuKmrPolice Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) November 10, 2018 The region has been tense since state secretary Anil Parihar and his brother Ajeet, also a BJP leader, were shot dead by suspected militants in Kishtwar district on November 1. The killing of Parihar brothers triggered massive protests across the Jammu region following which authorities suspended internet services in the curfew-bound areas, while the internet speed was slowed down in the rest of the division, including the winter capital Jammu. (With online desk inputs)